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Dr. Ira Nash is senior vice president and executive director of Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y. He said it is "quite ironic that, assuming the findings of this paper are valid, the population most in need of improved access to social services and health care voted more heavily for the party committed to curtailing both." Nash was not involved with the study.
Blacklisting assured for raped British woman

BANGKOK: The national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda has confirmed the blacklisting of a British woman, 19, and the administrator of the CSI LA page on Facebook for reporting a rape on Koh Tao that has been dismissed by police.

crimepolicesextourism

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 6 September 2018, 09:30AM

Senior police officers examine Sairee Beach on Koh Tao in Surat Thani province late last month, the scene of an alleged rape. Photo: Supapong Chaolan

Pol Gen Chakthip said yesterday (Sept 5) that when police officially prove the rape claim was groundless, the woman and the page administrator would be blacklisted from entering the country.

He denied knowledge of the CSI LA pages report that Interpol had agreed to process the alleged rape case. Police were hunting for the administrator of the page and had already arrested several people who shared the rape claim from the page, Gen Chakthip said.

The national police chief insisted that police investigators had done their best to verify the claim that the British woman was drugged, raped and robbed on Sairee Beach of Koh Tao of Surat Thani province on the night of June 25.

Detectives based their probe on forensic evidence and found the claim groundless, he said.

Footage from about 100 local surveillance cameras was examined. Given evidence from so many cameras, a culprit would have been arrested if the incident had occurred, Gen Chakthip said.

He asserted that police investigators had not jumped to any conclusions.

Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy chief of the Tourist Police Bureau, had already reported the finding to the British consul-general, who did not dispute it, Gen Chakthip said.

At this stage, Thai police were waiting for evidence that the British tourist reportedly planned to hand over, he said.

Read original story here.
Central Phuket pledges to ban free plastic bags

PHUKET: The Central Group, Thailands largest retailer, has pledged to abolish the practice of giving away free plastic bags to its customers on Phuket.

tourismeconomicsenvironmentpollution

By The Phuket News

Thursday 6 September 2018, 05:54PM

The news was announced at an event at Central Festival Phuket today (Sept 6). Photo: Supplied

The news was announced at an event at Central Festival Phuket today (Sept 6).

As it prepares to host the inaugural edition of PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism Forum 2018), the Phuket Hotels Association has achieved a major victory in its drive to secure a more sustainable future for Thailands most popular resort destination, the Phuket Hotels Association announced in a release handed out at the event.

In partnership with PHIST, the unique free-to-attend event that takes place on Monday 24th September 2018, Central Group, Thailands largest retailer and owner of the Central Department Store, Robinson Department Store, Tops Supermarket and Family Mart to mention a few, has pledged to abolish the practice of giving away free plastic bags to its customers on Phuket.

This forms part of a joint initiative with the Phuket Hotels Association, which will see Central Phukets customers pay for reusable bags made by the residents of local orphanages or shelter homes. Proceeds from the sale of these environmentally-friendly bags will go directly to the disadvantaged Phuket residents who made them. A joint initiative that is currently in its planning stage, the release added.

The initiative marks the first tangible benefit from PHIST  over a month before the inaugural summit kicks off, the release noted.

The event, to be held at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, will feature a series of expert keynote speakers, topical talks and technical workshops on the critical issues of sustainable development, corporate sustainability, community tourism and global environmental trends.

Supported by the Thailand Convention and Events Bureau (TCEB), Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), BMW Group Thailand, Blue Tree Phuket as well as Central Phuket, PHIST is expected to attract more than 500 delegates.

Central Group is Thailands largest and leading retail group, so its pledge to significantly reduce the use of plastic bags is hugely significant, said Anthony Lark, President of the Phuket Hotels Association.

This is a wonderful example of cross-sectoral collaboration, as two of Phukets biggest industries  tourism and retail  come together for the benefit of the entire island. We look forward to achieving more positive partnerships through PHIST as this exciting event draws closer.

Central Phukets Senior Vice President Wilaiporn Pitimanaaree added, Plastic waste is one of the biggest problems facing the world today, especially in coastal destinations like Phuket, so we are delighted to partner with PHIST and the Phuket Hotels Association to help cut plastic waste on the island.

This campaign, which is part of our wider commitment to plastic reduction, will help the people of Phuket while also preserving the islands pristine environment, she said.

The goal of PHIST is to raise awareness about environmental issues in Southeast Asias island destinations and to drive change within the industry. It also supports the Phuket Hotel Associations on-going People.Planet.Phuket campaign, which aims to educate local communities and visitors about the importance of the Three Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Approximately five million plastic bags will make their way into the worlds oceans this year alone. This presents a huge problem for the environment  especially the estimated 100,000 marine creatures that die from plastic entanglement every year. Even the plastic bags that dont end up in the sea will usually be dumped in landfill sites. Some plastic bags can take 1,000 years to decompose, the Phuket Hotels Association release explained.

PHIST will help the retail and hospitality industries to identify alternatives to plastic. A Green Suppliers Exhibition will be hosted during the event, while the organisers of PHIST will give away merchandise including recycled bags. Delegates name badges will be made from re-used teak wood, the release said.

The pledge for Central Phuket to stop giving plastic bags to customers will initially be limited to the companys department stores in Phuket, but if successful it could be rolled out further afield  including to Centrals large network of supermarkets.

The company has already committed to stop giving plastic bags to its supermarket customers on every third day of every month, said the release.

Central Pattana Public Company (CPN), the developer of Central Phuket, currently operates Central Festival Phuket, one of the islands largest lifestyle malls, just outside Phuket Town.

The B20-billion Central Floresta, located across Wichit Songkram Rd from Central Festival Phuket, is to officially open on Monday (Sept 10). (See story here.)
Mystery surrounds death of two Thai students in Seattle

BANGKOK: One of the two female Thai students found dead in their apartment in Seattle on Tuesday (Sept 4) had flown to the United States only two weeks ago to further her studies for a masters degree in law, according to a member of her family.

death

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 6 September 2018, 05:13PM

Kornkamol Leenavarat, 25, a law graduate, was pursuing her studies for a masters degree in law in the United States. She and another Thai student were found dead in their apartment in Seattle on Tuesday morning (Sept 4). Photo: Weerasak Leenavarat / Facebook via Bangkok Post

Kornkamol Leenavarat, 25, and her close friend Thiti-orn Chotchuangsap were found dead in their apartment in Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday morning (Tuesday evening Thai time).

She was the youngest daughter of Pawawin Leenavarat, former deputy mayor of Thanyaburi Municipality, in Pathum Thani Province. She was also a niece of the current mayor of the municipality.

Weerasak Leenavarat, a member of the Pathum Thani provincial council, posted a message and photos of his younger sister on his Facebook account yesterday night (Sept 5) after learning about her death.

In the message, he said the family was deeply saddened by her sudden death.

Kornkamol, a law graduate from Thammasat University, had flown to the US on Aug 21 to continue her studies for a masters degree in law.

Local media in Seattle reported the two women were found dead inside a University District apartment near the University of Washington on Tuesday morning. It was unclear how the women died, but Seattle detectives had determined there were no suspects at-large, according to the patch.com website.

According to Seattle police, the building manager went to a unit in the Malloy Apartments near the intersection of 15th Ave Northeast and Northeast 43rd St around 9:30am to check on the occupants well-being. He discovered the bodies. The incident was originally reported as a stabbing.

In a phone interview with the Bangkok Post, Mr Weerasak said his youngest sister and her room-mate were found dead inside their apartment room. However, the cause of their deaths remained unknown.

Relatives in the US had visited the apartment and met with police. He could not give any further information because he did not have the exact details yet. The family would await the findings of the US police investigators.

Thanyaburi Mayor Kritsada Leenavarat said Ms Kornkamol had phoned the family every day. When they did not hear from her on Sept 1 they asked a relative in Seattle to go to her apartment and check, but they were unable to find her, according to Thairath Online.

The family was making preparations to bring her body back to Thailand for funeral rites.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Busadee Santipitak on today (Sept 6) confirmed the second Thai student found dead in the Seattle apartment was Thiti-on Chotchuangsap.

A web search reveals that Thiti-On Chotchuangsap is listed as a director of Pornsiri Power Limited Partnership, a Samut Sakhon based company that deals in food products.

Pol Maj Gen Ittiphol Itthisarnronnachai, deputy chief of the Immigration Bureau, said later today that immigration records showed Thiti-on left the country on Aug 21, and Kornkamol left on Aug 27.

Read original story here.
The point is to have a conversation with the person (being cared for) or the family members to come up with a plan that takes into account (their needs) as well as the skill sets in the family, so its really a team-based approach, Accius said. This is an issue that cuts across ideology, class, income, race  the whole nine yards. Theres an army of people  an organization of resources  out there to support you, and we want to meet you where you are.
Phuket drug suspect dead after police shootout

PHUKET: A drug suspect is dead after a shootout with police in Srisoonthorn, central Phuket, late yesterday afternoon (Sept 5).

drugscrimepolicedeath

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Thursday 6 September 2018, 09:45AM

The scene of the shooting late yesterday afternoon (Sept 5). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Col Kittipoom Thinthalang from Thalang Police was notified of the shooting 5:30pm and soon arrived at the scene, in front of a khao gaeng restaurant on Thepkrasattri Rd in, Moo 1 Srisoonthorn, to find Srisoonthorn Municipality rescue workers performing CPR on the suspect, Pisit Boonsing, 34, a resident registered as living at in Moo 2, Srisoonthorn.

Rescue workers rushed Pisit to Thalang Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead from his injuries.

Thalang Police Chief Lt Col Theerawat Liamsuwan explained that investigators from the Thalang Police had a house in Moo 2, Srisoonthorn, under surveillance for drugs.

Pisit soon arrived at the house and police went to move in. Pisit ran into the house and dropped the bag he was carrying, then opened fire at police to make his escape by motorbike, with police in pursuit.

Officers called for Traffic Police to prevent his escape from the area.

Police followed Pisit to where he had taken refuge at the back of the Lap Long Aawn Yasothorn Isarn food restaurant about two kilometres from his house.

Trapped, Pisit again opened fire at police, Col Theerawat said.

Police returned fire, he explained.

Pisit still made a run for it, escaping through the side of the restaurant and ran along the footpath along Thepkrasattri Rd.

Along the way, Pisit dropped gun, later recovered and confirmed to be a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, and police moved in and had him restrained in front of the Khao Kaeng Southern Food restaurant.

The gun as well as bullet casings and a magazine on ground in front of the Lap Long Aawn Yasothorn restaurant were taken as evidence, Col Theerawat said.

The police investigation into the case against Pisit is still continuing, Col Theerawat added.

In the bag first dropped by Pisit at his house, police found three grams of crystal meth (ya ice) and 13 9mm bullets, he said.

Pisit had a long history of violence and previous drug use, police noted through checking his criminal records.

According to a police report, Phisit was released from prison only four months ago after serving 12 years for murder after his conviction in Phuket in 2006.

Phisit was moved from Phuket Provincial Prison to Nakhon Sri Thammarat, where six years ago he was caught and charged  while incarcerated  for using drugs.

Before his murder conviction, Phisit was charged in 2004 for assault in Tha Chat Chai, at the northern end of he island, police noted.
Phuket whale shark fishing boats probed for human trafficking

PHUKET: The two boats involved in the illegal catching of a whale shark off Phuket earlier this year are also under investigation for possible human trafficking, the Phuket Prosecutors Office confirmed today (Sept 6).

marineanimalscrimepolice

By The Phuket News

Thursday 6 September 2018, 05:08PM

The body of the whale shark is hung over the side of the Sang Samut 3 before it was dumped back into the sea. Screengrab; via Dusadee Chuaychian

The fishing boats Sang Samut 3 and Sang Samut 2 were seized by Royal Thai Navy officers at the Seang Arun Pier in Rassada on May 19 the day after a video showing a whale shark strung up on a the deck of the Sang Samut 3 between Koh Hei and Koh Racha, south of Phuket, went viral. (See video here.)

Narat Choophueng of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) filed a formal complaint to police, accusing the crew of the Sang Samut 3 of breaching Section 66 of the Fisheries Act 2015 and Section 16 of the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act, B.E. 2535 (1992).

Breach of Section 66 of the Fisheries Act incurs a fine of between B300,000 and B3 million, or to a fine of five times the value of the aquatic animals caught or brought on board a fishing vessel concerned. In whichever case, the higher fine shall apply.

Breach of Section 16 incurs a penalty of up to four years in jail, or a fine of up to B40,000, or both.

Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Somsak Sopakarn, who received the complaint (see story here), confirmed to The Phuket News today, We sent the case to Phuket Prosecutor a month ago.

Other details I cannot tell you now, but they have referred this case to Bangkok, he said.

Phuket Public Prosecutor Boontob Lanthong confirmed today that he had received the case and that his office were moving ahead with both charges.

Mr Boontob also confirmed, We have also referred the case to the Prosecutors Office at the Department of Trafficking in Persons as by law what we are required to do.

However, Mr Boontob did not elaborate on whether evidence of human trafficking had been uncovered by police in their investigation.

Meanwhile, Phuket Fisheries Chief Kowit Kao-ian today confirmed that both boats remain banned from putting to sea,

Currently both boats are not permitted to leave port yet. We must hold them until the case has concluded, he said.
Big Sioux River canoe, kayak access approved by city council

Canoe and kayakers will soon have an access point onto the Big Sioux River in Watertown. Several alcoholic beverage licenses were presented.
CALGARYLast week, Alberta Education Minister David Eggen emailed 61 Alberta schools that havent complied with the provinces gay-straight alliance legislation, threatening to cut their funding and accreditation.

But Albertans have mixed reviews.

According to John Carpay, the president of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, the move is a bullying and intimidation tactic that you would expect to see in some repressive Third World dictatorship.

To threaten defunding and reaccreditation against people just because theyre asserting their Charter freedoms, thats pretty sad in a democracy thats supposed to be governed by the rule of law, Carpay said.

The province voted in favour of Bill 24, an act that makes it easier for gay-straight and queer-straight alliances to form on school grounds, in November of 2017. The act also prohibits teachers and school administrators from outing students to their parents and families.

In response, the JCCF filed an injunction request on behalf of multiple schools and families who believe the bill infringes on their Charter rights. The Alberta Court of Queens Bench struck down the request in June.

Read more:

Judge dismisses request to put Alberta gay-straight alliance law on hold

Alberta bakers tell the story behind Its OK to be gay doughnuts sent to UCP

Opinion | Emma Teitel: Albertas UCP shouldnt bow to socially conservative pressure on school gay-straight alliances

Now, Eggen is working to get Albertas schools on board with the legislation.

(The 61 private schools) have already received or will be receiving feedback shortly from Alberta Education stating what changes need to be made, said Eggens press secretary, Lindsay Harvey, in an email to StarMetro.

All schools that were not in compliance were sent a policy that they could adopt if they wish.

According to Harvey, all 74 public, separate and charter schools have implemented safe and caring policies.

Carpays primary concern revolves around the fact that educators cant discuss students sexual and gender identities with legal guardians.

Its illegal for teachers and principals to inform parents about their own children as young as five, he said. The law is based on a false idea that all parents are untrustworthy or abusive, and conversely, that all teachers and principals and counsellors are fully trustworthy.

Kim Williams, a womens studies professor at Mount Royal University, agreed with Eggens move.

Gay-straight alliances are for the safety of students, theyre for the safety of our kids, Williams said, adding that she remains confused as to why leaders in education would actively work against the creation of safe spaces.

According to 2015 data released by Alberta Human Services, 53 per cent of LGBTQ youth reported feeling unsafe in schools, compared to 3 per cent of heterosexual students. The same study found that 44 per cent of LGBTQ youth have expressed thoughts of suicide, compared to 26 per cent of heterosexual youth.

Williams, who identifies as queer, said gay-straight alliance legislation can drastically minimize harm for students.

A lot of my students who come into my classrooms, their families are not supportive of their identities  if you come from a family that is not support of you, youre going to get punished, Williams said.

There is a danger of some consequences that are very harmful. Theres a potential of emotional abuse, theres a potential of being disowned, literally kicked out of the house.

Williams noted that an overwhelming number of homeless youth in Canada identify on the queer spectrum.

I understand the argument of parents who are like, Well, I am the legal guardian  but I dont necessarily think thats the right way, she said.  (Gay-straight alliances) are for our kids to hang out with folks that love them, that support them, that endorse the kinds of people theyre trying to be.

Lindsay Harvey said that the minister is confident that all of Albertas schools will implement gay-straight alliance policies in the coming days.

He is aware of (schools) that have already reached out to us and ensure their policies will be compliant, she said.

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CALGARYTwo young people charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Calgary man were arrested in Halifax, police say.

A Halifax police spokesperson said the service worked with Calgary police to arrest the two youths in the Halifax area on Sept. 4. He said they returned to Calgary with police.

The two people, who are younger than 18 and cant be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, are charged in relation to the death of Jason David Peter Greyeyes. The 48-year-old was reported missing in mid-August after he was last seen on Aug. 11.

An autopsy confirmed that Greyeyes was the man found dead on Calgarys southwest edge on Aug. 26.

Calgary police would not give any further details about the case because they said it could risk identifying the young people facing charges.

Greyeyes death marks Calgarys 11th homicide of 2018.

Related: Two youth charged with first-degree murder in Calgary mans death

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EDMONTONA former Edmonton school board trustee is calling for an inquiry into potential abuse by clergy in local Catholic institutions.

Patricia Grell, who served on the Edmonton Catholic School Board until last fall, said she would like to see Alberta dioceses open their books after a Pennsylvania grand jury report found more than 300 Catholic priests in the state sexually abused children and were protected by church leaders.

Grell said she was crushed and saddened by the report and similar findings in other jurisdictions.

I think this is pretty top of mind of a lot of Catholics and a lot of non-Catholics. I think its reaching the point where its a crisis here, Grell said.

I have children myself, and Im very concerned about this as a parent. We dont want to see any more victims. I think we need as a society to stand up and ask for accountability and open up their books, find out what is going on, what are they doing so that we can be rest assured that all is well.

Read more:

Accused priests. Millions in quiet payouts. And it was all kept on a list

Outcast from traditional congregations, LGBTQ followers find community in Edmonton

The state of Missouri launched a similar investigation following the Pennsylvania report.

Grell posted on Twitter last week that she thinks Alberta should do the same for the sake of public safety, fearing similar incidents may have also been widespread locally.

Grell said she is concerned for public safety in Catholic schools and hospitals, and feels the public should be aware of how dioceses are handling cases where someone comes forward with a report of abuse.

Im really struggling right now. I think a lot of Catholics are really struggling. I studied to work in the Catholic Church, and this was not what I expected to be happening, she said.

Mark Guevarra, who was fired from his job as a pastoral worker by St. Albert Catholic Parish, months after he started an LGBTQ support group, said he fully supports an inquiry into potential clergy abuse.

He said the credibility of Christianity depends on being accountable and transparent, and he is hearing concerns at church and throughout the community.

Even my family members in the Philippines, theyll talk about how sad they are and how demoralizing all of this news is. Its really hard to be a Christian when news like this breaks out, he said.

The good news is that were not numb to it, hopefully. I think the good news is that we want to have action and change things.

Guevarra said he has been following progressive theologians in the U.S. who say the structure of the Catholic Church needs to change in order to address abuse concerns.

He said part of the problem is that priests have too much power.

Priests select their parish councils, which serve as an advisory board, he said, and can theoretically select only people who are close with them or agree with them.

In the Catholic Church, we actually believe that when a priest becomes ordained, they become transformed. They become little gods, in a way  theyre deified, they take on the person of Jesus, Guevarra said.

We need to reassess that and say were putting too much power in these priests. We put them on pedestals. All around the world we see how people treat priests as if they are princes, but that time is over.

A handful of local clergy abuse allegations have been made public in recent years.

In 2016, Archbishop Richard Smith removed Father Ashok Mascarenhas from Our Lady of Angels Parish in Fort Saskatchewan after RCMP informed the archdiocese they were investigating a complaint by a minor against Mascarenhas, according to a story in the Western Catholic Reporter. No criminal charges were laid.

In 2015, Father Albert Laisnez, who was a priest of the Archdiocese of Edmonton until 1996, appeared in court to speak to charges of multiple counts of sexual assault for alleged offences dating back to the 1980s. Those charges were later stayed.

Father Patrick ONeill, who worked throughout Alberta, pleaded guilty in separate indecent assault cases in 1998 and 2002 that dated back to the 1970s.

The Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories issued a letter on Aug. 17 in response to the Pennsylvania report, renewing their commitment to remove any church member who commits an offence against children or other vulnerable persons and to immediately report offences to authorities.

Our hearts break when we hear that children have been harmed in such a lasting and destructive way, through absolutely no fault of their own. It is particularly abhorrent when perpetrated by a member of the clergy, the letter reads.

When asked if the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton would be open to an investigation, spokesperson Lorraine Turchansky said in an emailed statement that the archdiocese is examining ways it can further engage the Catholic community on the issue and enhance its transparency and accountability.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary spokesperson Nadia Hinds said in an email that the diocese makes sure that any clergy, employee or lay volunteer who commits an offence against children is promptly removed from ministry, that any offences are immediately reported to civil authorities and that victims receive an apology, compassion and assistance in recovering from any harm they have suffered, including compensation where appropriate.

Both have specific phone numbers set up for reporting abuse.

An Alberta Justice spokesperson said because the grand jury system does not exist in Canada, an inquiry would fall under federal jurisdiction while any criminal investigations would be conducted by police.

An Edmonton Police Service spokesperson said, EPS does not have the authority to initiate an investigation into clergy abuse by looking into the local Archdiocese archives but added that local law enforcement agencies may become involved if a public inquiry were initiated.

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MONTGOMERY, ALA.Failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore on Wednesday sued comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for defamation and emotional distress after being pranked on the actors television show.

The lawsuit appears to be the first actually filed by one of the string of politicians who were duped and humiliated by Baron Cohen on the show Who is America.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses Baron Cohen of defaming Moore and says Moore suffered extreme emotional distress as a result of being falsely portrayed as a sex offender and pedophile on the show. Moore was duped into appearing on a segment where Baron Cohen demonstrated a supposed pedophile detecting device that beeped when it came near Moore.

During last years Senate race, Moore faced accusations that he pursued romantic and sexual relationships with teens as young as 14 when he was a prosecutor in his 30s. He has denied the misconduct allegations.

Larry Klayman, founder of the conservative group Freedom Watch, is representing Moore and his wife Kayla in the lawsuit. The complaint names CBS and Showtime as defendants in the case.

Sasha Baron Cohen, who is not only low class but also a fraudster, will now, along with Showtime and CBS, be held accountable for his outrageous and false, fraudulent and defamatory conduct which callously did great emotional and other damage to his great man and his wife and family, Klayman said in a statement.

Representatives of Baron Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.

A Showtime representative wrote in an email that they do not comment on pending litigation, and to their knowledge they had not been served with the complaint.

Klayman said Moore thought he was receiving an award for supporting Israel when he agreed to appear on the show. In the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as the bushy eyebrowed faux counterterrorism instructor Col. Erran Morad discussing bogus military technology, including a supposed pedophile detector. The device repeatedly beeped as it got near Moore, who sat stone faced.

The lawsuit asks for $95 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

Baron Cohens latest show, which began airing in July, has zinged several other political figures.

In one episode, former Arizona sheriff and Senate candidate Joe Arpaio argued the benefits of gun ownership to a tiny toy doughnut.

Another episode led a Georgia state representative to resign after he shouted racial slurs and exposed his rear end in a supposed anti-terrorism self-defence drill.
Anyone who comes near TIFF Bell Lightbox over the next few days could be forgiven for thinking King St. has been taken over not by an international film festival but by some sort of marketing expo.

All along Festival Street, closed to traffic from Thursday to Sunday, youll find a range of brand activations: the Lemon Lemon Patio; the Nespresso Pop-Up Cafe; the Acura Drive-In Experience; Lyfts Legendary Rides; and more, stretching from University Ave. to Peter St.

Its a reminder that TIFF is a charity that runs itself like a business  it celebrates the art of movies, but never forgets the business.

And so, between the red carpets and the throngs of fans lined up around the Princess of Wales Theatre (a.k.a. the VISA Screening Room) and Roy Thomson Hall, youll find all those branded installations, offering up croissants and bubbly from the Air France Bistro. There are also virtual makeup tutorials at the LOreal Paris Red Carpet Beauty Suite, and a popcorn trivia booth from No Frills.

Every night theres also a free screening and a live concert, but these take second billing to the many brand logos  from Grolsch to Bell  that line King St.

As a charity, we rely really heavily on our corporate partnerships, but we also spend a lot of time with our partners and work very closely with them to come up with and develop the concept that they are presenting, says TIFFs Jennifer Barkin, who is in charge of the programming on Festival Street.

So everything this year we are focused on having a film theme or tie-in of some sort, obviously to celebrate that were at the festival, which is important for us, and for them to have an integrated partnership.

That can easily be seen with some of the street events, like Bell Medias giant window boxes that allow patrons to have a picture taken with scenes inspired by famous films, including a jungle-themed Jumanji scene, and a King Kong hand that people can step into. Some of the movie tie-ins are more of a stretch, like the Acura Drive In Experience showing off new cars (although you can get inside and play Cineplexs Timeplay game), or the long lineup of people waiting to get a T-shirt from the Uniqlo kiosk (which has a name that movie contest), or the numerous other food vendors handing out free samples.

Its a far cry from just four years ago, when the inaugural Festival Street included such non-branded activations as an interactive light tunnel, costumed street performers, concerts, a giant chess set, a film therapy booth and a colourful piano inviting passersby to play.

This year, there is some free artistic programming, with screenings of female-directed films, including Big, Sleepless in Seattle, Lost in Translation and Bend It Like Beckham.

There are also tie-ins to films in the festival. On Sunday, for instance, Wild Rose star Jessie Buckley will be performing songs from the film having its world premiere here this weekend.

But the biggest street event is expected to be the Share Her Journey Rally for women in film, on Saturday at 10 a.m. High-profile speakers include actors Geena Davis, Amanda Brugel and Mia Kirshner, and directors Amma Asante and Nandita Das. The event will conclude with a concert by Molly Johnson and Shakura SAida.

Share Her Journey is a big campaign for the organization at large, so the rally is really a moment for everyone to come and stand together, and talk about parity and representation in front of and behind the films as well, explains Barkin. This is a conversation going on in the industry for the past few years, but this is a really great moment where we can talk about something publicly, which we havent really done, and include the public audience in that conversation as well.

For the sponsors, its an opportunity to tie their brands in to the love of cinema.

Have your say:

Its our second year here, and we brought Paris to Toronto, explained Marie-Josee Brunet, Canadian sponsorship manager for Air France, at the faux bistro set up on King, complete with a replica Eiffel Tower.

Air France has a really nice focus on being present in the cinema industry, being the official sponsor of the Cannes festival, she said. The strategy is also to be present globally in other markets in other countries. So thats why we are here, as its the biggest festival in North America.

The city of Toronto estimated that 150,000 people took part in some aspect of Festival Street last year, and around lunchtime on Thursday, many people were out enjoying the freebies and other installations.

I did come last year, and do like checking out what they have going on, said Stella Choi, a technician who works in the area. I waited about 15 minutes to get a Uniqlo shirt.

She admitted that she has never seen a TIFF film, but the streets activities made her curious.

I dont want to go back to work. I just want to sit out here and drink beer and enjoy the day, said Bobby Singh, 28, who works in the area and grabbed fish tacos for lunch at a food truck.

Of course, that enjoyment comes at the expense of commuters forced to find another route through the downtown core.

With the King St. transit pilot project effectively on hold for four days, TTC riders took their frustration to social media over streetcars diverted onto other streets, causing traffic snarls during rush hour.

Im a huge movie fan, and think #TIFF is fantastic, but Im no fan of our city grinding to a halt because of it, groaned Twitter user Valentino Assenza.

Another tweeted photos of streetcars backed up along Queen St., along with a short video of a driver warning, Imagine the trip from Spadina to University is going to be ridiculous due to detours.

This year, TIFF anticipated the headache its Festival Street would cause, smartly handing out vouchers to inconvenienced transit riders for a free screening of an unnamed movie at Roy Thomson Hall on Sunday morning. Wed advise walking.
HALIFAXDozens of protesters brought the demands from striking Burnside jail inmates to the streets of Halifax on Thursday, saying their treatment is just not acceptable.

A rally hosted by anti-capitalist group Solidarity Halifax at noon saw roughly 70 people from student groups, unions and the general public gather outside the Justice Department building on Hollis St. and march to the provincial courthouse on Spring Garden Rd.

Al  who preferred not to give a last name and asked to be referred to by the pronoun they  walked through the streets with other protesters, handing out leaflets to passersby on the inmates 10 demands. They said they wanted to show up for the rally because the inmates are human beings, end of story.

I thought it was completely outrageous that they dont seem to have proper health care, Al said outside the courthouse.

It just seems like people dont have proper access to showers  or nutritious food, and its really disturbing because thats not part of their punishment. These are human rights.

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Al was also handing out small scripts for people to read during a phone blitz planned for Justice Minister Mark Fureys office on Friday afternoon to urge him to accept the prisoners demands.

Make sure that (Furey) knows that the people care about the people in Burnside, and  the treatment there is just not acceptable, Al said.

The inmates at the Central Nova Correctional Facility in the Burnside area of Dartmouth have been taking part in what they call a non-violent, peaceful protest since Aug. 21 to coincide with the large-scale prison strike at institutions in the United States.

Although some American jails have seen inmates refuse food, Halifax prisoner advocate El Jones helped the Burnside inmates channel their concerns into an open letter with a list of demands posted online by the Halifax Examiner and The Nova Scotia Advocate.

The demands include adequate health care, contact visits, rehabilitation programs, exercise equipment, the ability to change visitor lists, better air circulation, library access and healthier food options.

Inmates described being forced to wear one set of clothes for days on end and being unable to shower, adding that many cells are without running water after an extensive renovation.

Although conditions at Burnside have long been a focus of prisoner advocates and unions like the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, which counts correctional staff among its members, Jones said the recent changeover to a direct-supervision model combined with a staffing crisis has brought the situation to a new level of chaos.

Officers now spend their shifts among inmates in common areas, rather than doing rounds and watching them on video monitors, after Burnsides $6.8-million renovation.

The medium-security jail is Nova Scotias largest correctional facility, with a bed capacity of 322 male and 48 female inmates and about 300 employees, according to the provincial website. The inmate population is made up of people serving provincial sentences, people awaiting trial, people serving parole suspensions, people found guilty of immigration violations and newly sentenced federal offenders.

Although last week a Justice Department spokesperson said in an email the jail was operating as usual and that demonstrations or protests of any kind are not taking place, an op-ed from Minister Furey released Thursday afternoon acknowledged that public attention has been focused on Burnside in the past weeks and said how we treat Nova Scotians who are incarcerated in our jails deserves discussion and debate.

While not directly referencing the inmate protest or their demands, Furey highlighted investments Nova Scotia has made to improve jail conditions, including the change to direct supervision, the introduction of body scanners to reduce contraband and the creation of a services fair where more than 20 community agencies and government departments came to connect with inmates on a wide range of rehabilitation and community supports.

Furey also said the province is focused on inmate programming and training, and program officer positions have been created to ensure continuous facilitation of inmate programming. This fall, Furey said, the officers will deliver evidence-based programs around addictions, emotional management and trauma. They are developing incentive-based programs for inmates as well as having conversations on the formation of an inmate committee at the jail, he said.

I think everyone can appreciate that our correctional facilities can be challenging places to live and work. Every inmate deserves respect and their human rights protected. And we are doing that. They are in custody because they have been charged criminally and the community does not accept the behaviour, Furey wrote.

Michelle Malette, one of the event hosts and a member of Solidarity Halifax, said Thursday they have been in contact with inmates through community workers who attend the facility.

Malette said its important to remember that about 68 per cent of the Burnside inmates are on remand, meaning they have yet to be convicted of any crime, and it costs more than $6,000 a month to keep people in jail  a higher cost than connecting them to housing or community rehabilitation programs.

We just are really hoping that people can see there are people in the community who are in solidarity with people who are in prison, and that we believe prisons are not effective and its a way to warehouse people and not care for them  and it doesnt really benefit society, Malette said.

El Jones, prisoner advocate and poet, said Thursday shes heard from the inmates that they will carry on the official protest until this Sunday. Advocates will continue to call attention to specific issues happening inside.

Obviously you have a lot of people who say, Dont do the crime if you dont want to do the time. Thats a very common reaction, but also a lot of people just arent aware of what the conditions are, so (theyre) surprised to hear that they dont get to go outside or that theres lockdowns, Jones said.

Thats been a huge piece for them: having these public conversations, having people ask these questions, having something like this, so thats been very meaningful for them. Its very, very difficult for prisoners to be believed.

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HALIFAXThe trial of two British sailors accused of sexual assault is continuing today with a military police officer reviewing evidence from the investigation, including photos of the complainants clothing.

Sgt. Tyler Bruce-Hayes reviewed a number of photos in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, including photos showing a bra and underwear the complainant was wearing during the alleged sexual assault in April 2015 at CFB Shearwater, just outside Halifax.

He also identified photos of biological samples that were taken during an examination of the woman by a nurse at a Halifax hospital on April 11, 2015.

Bruce-Hayes told the court Wednesday that he interviewed the complainant  whose identity is protected by a publication ban  for about two hours following the examination, and that she appeared upset.

Darren Smalley and Simon Radford, both in their 30s, are charged with sexual assault causing bodily harm and participating in a sexual assault involving one or more people in the Warrior Block accommodations at Shearwater.

The men, members of the Royal Navy, were participating in a naval hockey tournament in Halifax.

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They dont like that he closed so many public schools in minority neighborhoods. They think he could have done more to stop the shootings that claim hundreds of black lives every year. They blame him for the poor relationship between the police and African-American communities. They insist that he has paid too much attention to downtown business interests, while ignoring the South and West sides.
FREDERICTONNew Brunswick Tories are promising to address literacy rates in a province where advocates say about half the population isnt literate enough to fully participate in society.

Campaigning for this months provincial election, Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs said Thursday the provinces literacy rate is an embarrassment.

Nearly 20 per cent of New Brunswick adults have literacy levels below the national average.

We have too many people unable to participate fully in society because of their low literacy skills, said Linda Homer, executive director of the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick, estimating that amounts to about half of the adult population.

We are not only looking at reading the words  the world has changed and technology has moved in, so we need digital literacy skills, document reading and use, and computers skills. Theyre all kind of part of that important learning that we need today to function, Homer said.

Recent Canada-wide assessments show that, with the exception of Manitoba, New Brunswick Grade 8 students lag behind their Canadian counterparts in reading.

An international literacy report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2013 found that Canada ranked just above average among 24 participating countries and regions.

Among provinces and territories, Yukon, Alberta, B.C., Ontario, Manitoba, P.E.I. and Nova Scotia were above average among those aged 16 to 65, according to the report. Trailing behind were Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, Newfoundland and Labrador and, finally, Nunavut.

Higgs is pledging to have 85 per cent of students meet or exceed Grade 2 reading standards by 2022, and that the Grade 2 class of 2022 will be top three in Canada in literacy and math.

He said the Tory plan would include a program to support schools through community mentors, after-school learning and tutoring, and family support programs.

He also said there would be a review of the format for reports cards to ensure they are providing adequate information for students and parents.

Homer said part of the reason for New Brunswicks low scores is its historic dependence on resource sectors like forestry and the fishery.

She said it has been possible for people to spend their entire working career working in a mill or on a boat and get by without developing their skills for reading and writing.

She said the problem occurs when those people become parents and are unable to help their children develop their literacy skills.

Theres a huge impact in our early childhood literacy learning that gives us a lifelong effect. If we dont get a good start early on, then things dont go as well. Parents in the home environment are the most influential factor, she said.

The provinces Liberal government has boasted record spending on education, and last year it launched its Comprehensive Literacy Strategy.

The strategy set numerous priorities such as exploring ways to provide learning opportunities beyond the traditional school day, and working with employers to develop adult literacy and skills training.

At the time, Liberal Premier Brian Gallant said the government had spent nearly $2 million to hire more than 35 new literacy leads, and earmarked $7 million per year for literacy programming for children and adults.

But on Thursday, Higgs said theres a need to spend wisely and address specific issues. He said only then would there be results.

The literacy rate in this province is an embarrassment that we cannot put up with any longer, Higgs said.

Homer said there have been improvements in recent years, but not enough and not quickly enough.

She said shes pleased the political parties are talking about education and specifically about literacy.

It gives me much hope. I think theres a sincere interest in the recognition of the importance of literacy and how its tied into our quality of life, economy and health, she said.

issues.

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The appointment of six new judges to Ontarios Superior Court of Justice last week has lawyers  and the court itself  wondering why the federal justice minister didnt fill all 20 judicial vacancies as the system struggles to meet stricter deadlines for hearing criminal cases.

There are now 17 vacancies, taking into account the new appointments, recent retirements and one Superior Court judge being elevated to the Court of Appeal. That number will climb again by the end of this month unless more appointments are made, with four more vacancies expected by Sept. 30  all in the GTA.

This means that despite receiving six excellent new judges in August, our court will be no further ahead by the end of September, said Norine Nathanson, senior counsel in the office of the chief justice of the Superior Court.

The court, which currently has 235 full-time judges and 99 semi-retired judges, has been publicly and privately pleading with Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould for over a year to quickly fill judicial vacancies. It did so again recently in a letter from Chief Justice Heather Smith, Nathanson said.

The shortage comes in the wake of the Supreme Courts 2016 Jordan decision, which set strict timelines to bring a criminal case to trial: 18 months in provincial court and 30 months in Superior Court. If the timeline is breached, the case is tossed for violating an accused persons right to be tried in a reasonable time, unless the Crown can prove there were exceptional circumstances for the delay.

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But while the court says it desperately needs more judges to handle an increasingly heavy and complex caseload, Wilson-Rayboulds office says theres more to the problem than just staffing the bench.

We know that judicial appointments alone will not solve the issue of court delays, said David Taylor, a spokesperson for Wilson-Raybould. The Supreme Court in its Jordan decision called for a culture change in our justice system, a change that requires all actors to heed the courts call to work more efficiently.

The decision not to fill all vacancies in one round of appointments has been described as perplexing by lawyers who regularly appear in Superior Court, and who worry that seeing cases thrown out over delays will erode public confidence in the justice system.

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While we can appreciate that the minister and the advisory committees want to ensure that the best applicants are appointed, the lengthy delays in filling vacancies and failing to appoint more judges when appointments are made is inexplicable, said Michael Lacy, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association.

Asked why the minister doesnt fill all vacancies at the same time, Taylor said: Appointing judges to the federal judiciary is an ongoing process. Vacancies generally do not arise at the same time; they are filled as judges elect (semi-retired) status or reach mandatory retirement.

But Nathanson noted that judges must give the minister at least six months written notice before semi- or full retirement. With that amount of lead time, she said, vacancies can and should be filled proactively.

Instead, she said, three of the unfilled positions have been vacant since 2017.

When asked about the year-old vacancies, Taylor said the minister is striving to fill all vacancies in a timely fashion. In doing so, she considers many factors including the needs of the court, gender balance, diversity, and language skills among others.

He pointed out three of the judges appointed last week in Ontario are criminal law experts, while the other three are family law experts, a demonstration of how the minister is addressing the needs of the court.

Taylor also said the number of vacancies includes six new positions that were added to Ontarios complement of judges in June when the federal budget was passed. Four positions had also been added in the 2017 budget, which were filled by family court judges.

The judge shortage in Superior Court  which handles the most serious criminal cases and all civil cases  was again highlighted in July when charges against five men in a $13-million fraud case were thrown out because there was no judge available to hear their 12-week trial that was set for next January in Toronto.

To meet the Jordan timeline, it is axiomatic that courts must be properly resourced with the appropriate complement of judges, Justice Bonnie Croll wrote in her decision tossing the case.

There were at least 16 vacancies in Superior Court at the time of Crolls judgment.

Its unknown how many applications for Ontario positions are assessed and forwarded to Wilson-Raybould by the judicial advisory committees, the independent bodies that screen applications for the ministers consideration.

The Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs only provides statistics on how many applications are received and assessed on a national level, without a breakdown for each committee.

A provincial or regional breakdown could allow analysis of the data which may lead to identifying individual candidates, said Philippe Lacasse, executive director and senior counsel in the commissioners office, which administers the federal judicial appointment process.

Between October 2016 and October 2017, 997 applications were received nationwide and 441 applications were assessed, according to the commissioners website. A total of 129 candidates were highly recommended by committees, 82 were recommended and 230 were deemed unable to recommend. The minister appointed 74 candidates in that period, while an additional 12 judges were elevated to other courts.

Data for most of 2017-18 will be published next month.

According to Lacasse, the minister receives a report on every candidate assessed by the advisory committee, but only appoints candidates from the highly recommend and recommend pools. However, the appointment of a judge cant happen until there is a federal cabinet meeting, at which point it is approved and an order-in-council making it official is signed by the governor-general or her designate.

The advisory committees  of which Ontario has three  are made up of a judge and representatives from the law society, Canadian Bar Association and provincial and federal governments. Its unclear how often they meet.

Committees with a higher volume of applications, including in Ontario, will naturally meet more often than others, and some have even met once a month on average, Lacasse said.

But as the Superior Court anxiously waits for more judges, it has cautioned that more criminal cases are at risk of being tossed due to delay.
SAN FRANCISCONo one can even agree on milk anymore.

What is it? Where does it come from? Must it be lactated?

This seemingly existential debate is now pitting the dairy industry against the makers of what are known as alternative milks and neighbourhood baristas. It was set off most recently by the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, when he made a surprising remark in July at a panel discussion in Washington.

An almond, he said casually at the end of the event, doesnt lactate.

With his comment, Gottlieb plunged into the tensions over alternative milks  the plant-based beverages made from macadamias, almonds, quinoa, peas, rice, coconut, oats, soy, walnuts or cashews. A growing number of people are embracing these milks, made through maceration and sometimes fermentation, at their neighbourhood coffee shops and at home.

New milks come on the scene fast, a Cambrian explosion of varietals, and alt-milk trends tear through communities: New Yorkers recently experienced an oat milk shortage.

Consumption of these plant-based beverages has risen rapidly, jumping 9 per cent to $1.6 billion (U.S.) in the 12 months through June. In the same period, sales of cows milk fell 6 per cent, according to data from Nielsen and the Plant Based Foods Association. Milk drinking, meanwhile, is on the decline. In the 1970s, a typical American drank about 135 litres a year, but now its about 80 litres, according to the Department of Agriculture.

All of this worries the dairy industry.

You dont got milk if it comes from a nut or a seed or a grain or a weed, said Chris Galen, a vice-president at the National Milk Producers Federation, which was established in 1916 to advance the well-being of dairy producers. He was repeating one of the dairy industrys new phrases: You dont got milk if ...

His group is pushing for the Dairy Pride Act, introduced in Congress in January 2017, which he said would compel the FDA to enforce its rules around labelling things honestly. The dairy industry argues that the word milk confuses consumers because it implies that the white liquid they have bought has a nutritional value similar to cows milk.

Michele Simon, executive director of the Plant Based Foods Association, acknowledged that an almond may not lactate, but it doesnt mean you cant call it milk. She said people knew perfectly well when they bought soy milk that it was not the same as animal milk. Alt-milks often do not have the same fat, protein and vitamin content as dairy milk.

A study the association commissioned last year found that two out of three consumers agreed that the best name was the plant ingredient followed by milk, Simon said.

No one owns the English language, and were not backing down, she said, adding that she hoped this could all be resolved in a peaceful manner. She said she had recently ordered a shirt with the phrase an almond doesnt lactate on the front, which she plans to wear to the local farmers market.

With the dairy industry and the plant-based foods group at such odds, Gottliebs comment about almonds and lactating immediately caused a panic. It was the strongest indication yet that his agency would begin more fiercely enforcing rules for milk labels.

These products can vary widely in their nutritional content  for instance in relation to inherent protein or in added vitamin content  when compared to traditional milk, Gottlieb wrote in a statement about a week later. He added that he would be modernizing our standards of identity for dairy products.

The FDA declined a request for comment.

For fans of alt-milks, Gottliebs remarks have prompted questions. If the plant-based concoctions are not milks, would people drink something called nut juice? Or almond beverage?

In Brooklyn, N.Y., Cafe Beit owner Jon Reagan, who sells homemade almond milk, said he was prepared for jail time over the issue.

I mean, what would happen if we did call it milk still? asked Reagan, 31, shifting to a fake newscaster voice: The owner of Cafe Beit was sentenced to 10 years. He said he thought it was stupid to have a law and that it was just because the milk industrys afraid.

Trumps America, man, said barista Dan Foley, also 31.

Greg Steltenpohl, a co-founder and the chief executive of Califia Farms, which makes almond milk, argued that the latest debate was overblown. He pointed out that the U.S. Department of Agriculture found last year that 90 per cent of households that bought alt-milks also purchased dairy milk.

The real world is less polarized than the politics make it out to be, he said.

Mike Messersmith, who runs the U.S. operations of Oatly, said his companys oat milk had gone from 150 coffee shops to 2,000 in just one year and was now being sold in Whole Foods and Target. Early next year, Oatly, which is based in Malmo, Sweden, plans to open a factory in New Jersey, its first in the U.S.

The U.S. dairy industrys attempt to enforce labels is incongruous, Messersmith said. In an era when the government is dialing back regulations, this seems like an odd anomaly, he said. The dairy lobby certainly is very well established.

At Swallow Cafe in Brooklyn, the baristas sell soy, almond, coconut, macadamia and oat milk, as well as a cannabis-infused latte.

Well still call it milk, said Mark Garza, 31, who is the manager. Everybodys going to call it that.

In San Franciscos Mission District, barista Bridget Awesome, 24, was working the counter at Haus Coffee. The shop sells something called veggie milk, made of ingredients that she said she could not quite identify. (It is pea milk.)

Ive got so many milks its absurd, she said. People ask me for my preference, and I say: Milk. I think you should get milk.
The union representing Ontario college faculty is taking the Progressive Conservative government to court after it terminated a task force that was trying to fix the growing problem of part-time and contract work.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the College Task Force was a key part of the arbitrators decision last year, ending a bitter dispute between faculty members and Ontarios 24 colleges that culminated in a record-long, five-week strike.

OPSEU agreed in collective bargaining to refer key issues, such as job security, part-time work and contract work, to a task force, which was supported and funded by the then-Liberal government. That task force was underway when it was scrapped on June 29 by Premier Doug Ford during his first day in office.

Its an arbitrated collective agreement that the parties (OPSEU and the College Employer Council) are both living by, says OPSEU President Warren Smokey Thomas. The government has no right to change a collective agreement after its enforced.

In an application filed Wednesday with the Superior Court of Justice, OPSEU argues, in part, that the government substantially interfered with its right to bargain collectively, which violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. A spokesperson for Merrilee Fullerton, the minister of training, colleges and universities, said she could not comment because the matter is before the courts.

Last October, 12,000 faculty members walked the picket lines, affecting as many as 500,000 students, but after the longest strike in their history, they were legislated back to work and referred to binding mediation-arbitration.

The College Task Force was set up, in part, to deal with unresolved issues from the bargaining process, such as academic freedom, collegial governance and the prevalence of precarious jobs. It had been meeting regularly and had just a few more meetings remaining when it was cancelled, says Thomas. Its recommendations were due later this year.

They were doing fantastic work, says Thomas, adding the task force included faculty, college representatives, students, and industry experts. The work of the task force should not be lost, it was extremely valuable ... The simple solution would be for Doug Ford to say, Hey, let the task force finish its work.

JP Hornick, whos head of the faculty bargaining team for OPSEU and a co-applicant of the Charter challenge, said in a statement the province has put quality education in jeopardy.

College faculty are not going to just let this go, said Hornick. We are determined to fix the college system, whatever it takes, however we believe that the collaborative, evidence-based process the task force established is the best way forward.

With files from Star staff

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In yet another case before the courts seeking to overturn a decision by the Ford government, a Lindsay lawyer is now asking for a judicial review of the cancellation of the basic income pilot project.

Mike Perry, who is representing the same four pilot participants in a proposed class-action lawsuit, said papers have been filed on their behalf for the review and the matter is scheduled to be heard in Lindsay Oct. 16.

It was a three-year commitment and the government needs to honour their commitment, said Perry of the decision to wind-down the research project a year early, at the end of the fiscal year next March.

This out-of-the-blue decision to cancel the basic income pilot  had a horrible impact on people here in Lindsay where 2,000 were signed up, said Perry, who is assisting the recipients pro bono.

Plans were made that you cant just put back in the bottle in seven months, said Perry, who is also a social worker.

The basic income pilot project, which began under the previous Liberal government in April 2017, was to last until 2020. It will now end after two years, on March 31.

It enrolled recipients in Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Lindsay, providing them with an income of $16,989  or up to $24,027 for couples  while researchers studied the impact of the stable, enhanced funds on their lives and health.

Before the election, a senior official with Doug Fords campaign promised a Progressive Conservative government would see the project through to the end.

In announcing the wind-down date last week, the provinces minister of community and social services said a research project that helps less than 4,000 people is not the answer and provides no hope to the nearly 2 million Ontarians who are trapped in the cycle of poverty.

We are winding down the basic income research project in a compassionate way, said Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod.

On Wednesday, MacLeods press secretary said our focus now is to support a smooth transition for each individual.

Derek Rowland said the participants will receive a phone call and a follow-up letter from the ministry during the transition and that the government will make sure that the appropriate supports are in place. For example, if someone left Ontario Works to join the basic income project, they will be reinstated to that program, if eligible.

But Perry said the agreement the recipients signed on to did not have an escape clause  the government does not get to just arbitrarily decide a seven-month termination.

The case isnt about compassion  its about fairness, honouring commitments and treating people properly, he said in a telephone interview.

It remains unclear what will happen to the research gathered to date, which includes a survey conducted with all participants during the intake process.

Upwards of 40 researchers at St. Michaels Hospital and McMaster University are involved.

MacLeod has said that if the basic income pilot project was expanded across the province, it would cost $17 billion. She is promising a review of social assistance and poverty-reduction plans with a report Nov. 8.

The Ford government is currently facing a number of court challenges. They include challenges to its decision to cut the number of Toronto councillors during an election period, repealing the current sex-ed curriculum and for creating a snitch line for parents to report teachers.

The government was recently slapped by the courts for treating Tesla Motors Canada unfairly when it ended rebates for electric vehicles.

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Premier Doug Ford, whose grandiose schemes for Torontos waterfront were thwarted when he was a city councillor and his brother was mayor, is setting his sights on redeveloping Ontario Place.

Sources told the Star that Ford wants to scuttle proposals that were being considered by the previous Liberal government and start anew with an international competition to rethink the sprawling green space along Lake Shore Blvd. W.

The premier, whose Progressive Conservatives toppled Kathleen Wynnes Liberals in the June 7 election, signalled three weeks ago that changes were afoot.

Ontario Place was spectacular in the day, Ford said at the Aug. 17 opening of the Canadian National Exhibition, which is adjacent to the provincially owned park.

Im proud to announce were going to work in conjunction with the CNE, redo Ontario Place and make it the most spectacular destination anywhere in North America to visit, he said.

Well bring it back to life.

Officials in his government were tight-lipped about whats planned.

We will have more to say on Ontario Place in the future. Stay tuned, said Richard Clark, a spokesman for Tourism, Culture, and Sport Minister Sylvia Jones.

The Globe and Mail reported in July that plans for the redevelopment of the park were on hold during the transition from Wynnes Liberals to Fords Tories.

In July 2017, Wynne unveiled a new $30-million, 7.5-acre waterfront park on the site of what had been an Ontario Place parking lot.

The Trillium Park, with its 1.3 km William G. Davis Trail, which was named for the premier who launched Ontario Place in 1971, was the beginning of a broader revitalization.

Former premier Dalton McGuinty had shuttered much of Ontario Place in 2012 during an austerity push, saving $20 million by slashing 48 full-time jobs and 600 summer positions.

McGuinty then conscripted John Tory, now the mayor of Toronto, to write a report on the future of the 51-hectare park.

Torys study, which was well-received at Queens Park, touted a new public backyard.

Among the 18 recommendations in his 55-page report were that up to 15 per cent of the site would be developed with condos on the west island, a hotel or resort  but no casino  and corporate headquarters or an educational research institute.

The rest would be devoted to parks, cafes, artist studios, and other draws, including a new concert venue and restoring the iconic Cinesphere geodesic dome.

Wynnes government later issued a request for proposals on that redevelopment, but emphasized that no condos or a casino could be part of any pitch.

Our government was driven by a few principles, including easy accessibility to an interesting site for as many people as possible, a former Liberal official confided, expressing hope that Ford builds upon the previous plan.

The source said the idea was to integrate Ontario Place with Exhibition Place and do it all with minimal public investment by attracting private-sector investors from around the world who would partner with Toronto and Ontario players to ensure homegrown elements in the project.

Conservative insiders say Ford is taking a personal interest in Ontario Place.

During his one term as a Toronto councillor  when his late brother, Rob Ford, was mayor  he envisioned a vast redevelopment for the waterfront, including the worlds biggest Ferris wheel modelled on the London Eye in Britain and a 1.6 million square foot megamall.

What wed like to do is have a monorail system thats running right from the Pan Am Games (site) right along the lakefront and stops at Union Station and Ontario Place and right across the front of the lake, Ford said in an August 2011 interview with CBC Radios Metro Morning.

He hoped to take control of the Port Lands from Waterfront Toronto, the city-provincial-federal agency charged with redeveloping the east downtown shoreline.

Ford wanted to overturn Waterfront Torontos plan for the gradual introduction of condos, offices, parks, and retail to the former industrial lands primarily owned by the city.

The Star later revealed that Ford had crafted his vision after discussions with Australian mall developer Westfield Group, whom he said he expected to be among many international bidders in a contest to decide which company would lead the Port Lands renewal.

But his dream was dashed by public opposition. Ford allies at city hall withdrew support and council eventually passed a compromise that saw Waterfront Toronto accelerate its existing plans.

Still, in 2013, Ford championed a downtown casino near Lake Ontario, saying it would bring jobs and vitality to the core without the crime some were predicting.

I dont see why we cant get a casino downtown, he told the Toronto Sun before city councillors  who got an earful from the public  rejected the casino push. How can people say no to this?

The head of Ontario Lottery and Gaming, the provincial Crown corporation that at the time hoped Toronto would accept a waterfront casino, was Rod Phillips. He is now Fords environment minister.

When Ford ran against Tory in the 2014 mayoral race, he again raised the downtown casino proposal, telling Bloomberg News that as mayor he would try to put a gambling palace on the waterfront.

David Rider is the Star's City Hall bureau chief and a reporter covering Toronto politics. Follow him on Twitter: @dmrider

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

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Four Ontario mayors are urging the federal government to take over the provinces basic income pilot project, saying many participants in their communities were thriving and that the research from it would provide critical information.

We would prefer the province do what they promised to do during the campaign, but theyve decided not to, said Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger, one of the signatories, referring to a statement from a senior official on Premier Doug Fords election team who said the program would continue as planned.

The federal government now has the chance to pick it up and fulfil the three-year mandate, and get the value of the research, he said. The research was being conducted by more than 40 experts at St. Michaels Hospital and McMaster University.

This was an opportunity for us to have a fact-based, evidence-based evaluation of how such an approach can improve lives, and potentially save money down the road on things like health care, Eisenberger added.

Ontarios pilot project provided 4,000 low-income residents in Hamilton-Brantford, Thunder Bay and Lindsay with a steady income of $16,989, and up to $24,027 for couples, while researchers looked at how it affected their lives. Mayors representing all four municipalities signed the letter.

Its a bit of a long shot, Eisenberger said of the plea for Ottawa to step in. Its not an inexpensive program to pick up, but one of great value.

At this point, the federal government has given no indication it will take over, though the mayors note in their letter that Ottawa was interested in seeing how participants fared.

Social assistance programs fall under provincial oversight, said Valerie Glazer, press secretary to federal Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos.

We have always been clear about our governments openness to sharing relevant data with provinces that are launching guaranteed annual income initiatives and to monitoring the implementation and progress of such initiatives, Glazer said.

The mayors letter  also signed by Brantfords Chris Friel, Andy Letham of Kawartha Lakes and Keith Hobbs of Thunder Bay  says they were gratified that our communities were chosen as the pilot test sites when it began back in April 2017 and that jurisdictions from around the world were observing the Ontario pilot with great interest.

The Ontario governments cancellation of the pilot is distressing to participants and discouraging to all seeking a better way to assist vulnerable citizens. The minister of community social services indicated that the pilot was a disincentive to work, and yet ignored the reality that two-thirds of pilot participants are currently working (some perhaps at part-time jobs) but seemingly very interested in contributing to the community and enhancing their skills.

Many, they say, reported feeling better and regained their self-esteem, dignity and confidence and saw stress levels drop.

The $50-million-a-year pilot, ushered in by the previous Liberal government was to end in 2020 but will now wind down a year early.

About one-third of the money has already been spent and will otherwise be lost, the mayors argue.

In a statement to the Star, Mayor Letham said keeping the pilot project running offers an opportunity to improve the system. We need to find a better way to assist those who are living on low income and struggling to make ends meet.

I am neither for, nor against basic income as a matter of policy, he also wrote. I believe that more information and data is needed to assess the merits/downsides of the basic income program as a form of social assistance.

A proposed class action lawsuit, as well as a judicial review of the cancellation, has already been launched by four participants in Lindsay.

Community and Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod has said a research project that helps less than 4,000 people is not the answer and provides no hope to the nearly two million Ontarians who are trapped in the cycle of poverty.

Her ministry is currently conducting a review of how to improve the system.
LONDONBritains security minister said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for the nerve agent attack targeting a former spy in England, also warning that the U.K. would counter Russian malign activity with both overt and covert measures.

Ben Wallace said Putin and his government controls, funds and directs the military intelligence unit known as the GRU, which Britain believes used Novichok to try to kill ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalized for weeks in critical condition after they were exposed to the Soviet-developed nerve agent in the city of Salisbury on March 4. They are now recovering in a secret location for their own protection.

In the nearby town of Amesbury, local woman Dawn Sturgess died and her boyfriend Charlie Rowley was sickened after they came across remnants of the poison in June.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  names that are likely aliases. Prime Minister Theresa May said the murder attempt had been approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Moscow strongly denies involvement in the attack, and Russian officials said they didnt recognize the suspects.

Britain plans to press its case against Russia at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

The Skripals poisoning ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled by both Russia and Western nations. But there is limited appetite among Britains European allies for further sanctions against Moscow.

Wallace told the BBC that Britain would push back the Russian malign activity with whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities.

He said Britain would challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way.
NEW DELHI Indias top court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights in the worlds largest democracy.

In a unanimous decision, five Supreme Court justices ruled that the law was a weapon used to harass members of Indias gay community and resulted in discrimination. After the ruling, opponents of the law danced and waved flags outside the court.

We feel as equal citizens now, activist Shashi Bhushan said. What happens in our bedroom is left to us.

The law known as Section 377  put in place by the British in 1861  held that intercourse between members of the same sex was against the order of nature. The five petitioners who challenged the law said it was discriminatory and led to gays living in fear of being harassed and prosecuted by police.

Arvind Datar, the attorney for the petitioners, argued in the court that the penal provision was unconstitutional because it provides for the prosecution and sentencing of consenting adults.

In its ruling Thursday, the court said it must protect an individuals right to live with dignity as a fundamental right. The justices termed sexual orientation as a biological phenomenon and said any discrimination on this ground violated fundamental rights.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the denial of self-expression was akin to inviting death, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.

A New Delhi High Court in 2009 declared Section 377 unconstitutional, but that decision was overturned in a ruling by three Supreme Court justices in 2013 on the grounds that amending or repealing the law should be left to Parliament. But lawmakers failed to take action and in July the government told the Supreme Court to give a ruling in the case.

Over the past decade, gays have gained a degree of acceptance in parts of deeply conservative India, especially in big cities. Some high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues. Still, being gay is seen as shameful in much of the country.

Karan Johar, a Bollywood producer and director, said Thursdays verdict was history in the making.

So proud today! Decriminalizing homosexuality and abolishingsection 377 is a huge thumb up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back! he wrote on Twitter.

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WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trumps administration moved to get rid of limits on how long it can detain immigrant children. The Justice Department charged an alleged North Korean operative for major cyberattacks. Senate Democrats tried to ambush Trumps Supreme Court nominee at a bitter confirmation hearing. U.S. officials negotiated the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

And the question of the day in Washington was this: whodunit?

An article published Wednesday in the New York Times, in which an anonymous senior official in the Trump administration described Trump as a danger to the country and claimed multiple administration figures were secretly working to constrain him, set off wild speculation inside and outside the administration about who might have been the author.

Trumps fury about the article prompted a surreal round of Thursday denials from prominent members of the administration. By the end of the day, the vice-president, secretary of state, defence secretary, homeland security secretary, housing secretary, treasury secretary, energy secretary, commerce secretary, trade representative, attorney general and intelligence director, among others, had all issued it-wasnt-me claims.

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The White House accused the media of having a wild obsession with the authors identity, but the president himself appeared to be fixated on it. In a Thursday statement that sounded suspiciously like Trump, press secretary Sarah Sanders denounced the author as a gutless loser and asked outraged citizens to call up the Times, whose phone number she provided.

On Wednesday, Trump wrote on Twitter: TREASON? (Legal experts made clear that the Times article does not constitute treason.) And he demanded that the Times must, for national security purposes, turn over the author to government at once, a plea the Times ignored.

Betting operations were taking wagers on who the author might be. The mystery author was the subject of both grateful praise and a wide variety of criticism, the latter not only from Trump fans: Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, among others, said a New York Times article was vastly insufficient given the kind of crisis the author described.

If senior officials believe the president is unfit, they should stop hiding behind anonymous op-eds and leaking info to Bob Woodward, and do what the Constitution demands they do: invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows top officials to declare the president unable to execute his duties, and remove this president from office.

The Times article was only one of the administrations unresolved public relations crises. The article appeared just a day after the publication of damaging excerpts from renowned journalist Woodwards book on Trump, titled Fear.

The book painted the same troubling picture as the article did, except with names attached.

Woodward described an administration in perpetual crisis, its top officials scrambling to protect Americans from the reckless decisions of an erratic, ignorant, endlessly dishonest commander-in-chief.

Several officials, including Defence Secretary James Mattis and chief of staff John Kelly, denied the comments Woodward attributed to them. Trump argued that the journalist best known for his work uncovering the Watergate wrongdoing of Richard Nixon has a history of inaccuracy.

If you look back at Woodwards past, he had the same problem with other presidents, Trump said on Wednesday.

The twin controversies unfolded on Thursday exactly two months before the critical congressional midterm elections that will determine control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Trump has struggled to stick to his administrations preferred campaign messages, about the economy and immigration, amid a cascading series of problems related to his conduct.

The NAFTA negotiations between Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer resumed in Washington on Thursday afternoon. Freeland called the afternoon meeting constructive but revealed no details when she emerged after just under two hours. Freeland returned for a second meeting at 8 p.m. She said she had been consulting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the day.

Trump has threatened to proceed with a trade deal with Mexico alone if Canada is not willing to make concessions. House Speaker Paul Ryan was noncommittal on Thursday when asked if he would be would be willing to support an agreement without Canada and whether he thought such an agreement would comply with trade law.

Thats a good question. The devil is in the details. I want to see this run its course before making a judgment on that, Ryan told reporters.

Several Democrats told Bloomberg News that they would oppose an agreement that did not include Canada. The Teamsters union said the same.

The NAFTA developments still received U.S. media coverage on Thursday, but they were far eclipsed by the drama around Trump.

Ahh, the sweet sound of no one caring about trade. How Ive missed you so, trade lawyer Scott Lincicome wrote on Twitter.

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There is chaos now, no orderly transition to new leadership, Vallas told me. Those who did not have the guts to challenge Emanuel or to support candidates who did have the guts  because they might be punished  are now crawling in.
I want my children to be blond, my boyfriend said. It came out of the blue.

It was a gorgeous evening. We had been dating for several years. He was white and I am Chinese. We had met each others families and talked about marriage. What was he saying?

It was then I realized our relationship was ending and he never saw me as a partner in life.

When Kelly Marie Tran, of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, wrote about her challenges being an Asian woman in a white-male-dominated world they sounded hauntingly familiar.

Many of us Asian women in the Western hemisphere can relate to belonging only in the margins and spaces, being put in minor roles, and being seen only to serve someones love interest.

What those who are not our race and gender do not know is the amount of adversity we have to overcome to survive, let alone compete in this world.

Some of the adversity is cultural and some of it social. Sometimes it is about being Asian and other times it is about being an Asian woman. Despite its origins and reasons, the adversity hits almost every part of our lives and acts as a barrier at home, school, work, and in the community.

At a young age I remember challenging my fathers ideas and was silenced immediately. This was part of an Asian culture where women are subordinate to men and juniors were not allowed to contradict their seniors. It did not help my self-confidence.

Then in school, I was made fun of by other kids for my features. This made me self-conscious. Later, in the work world, I was not getting as many interviews as white colleagues with the same qualifications. This hurt my self-esteem.

Like Tran, I blamed myself: I must have done something wrong or my qualifications were short. Soon I realized that some employers could not get past my non-Anglo name. Moreover, when I did get a job I had to prove myself more than white male colleagues did.

An incident on my first day at a new firm illustrated this. Though I was an experienced lawyer, two male attorneys were discussing my abilities in front of me.

She wont be able to handle that, one said decidedly to the other.

Neither was the government nor individuals in the community immune from adding to my challenges.

While returning to the U.S from Mexico one afternoon an immigration officer said loudly to my Caucasian friend as he gestured at me, Ill need to see your U.S. passport and her bordering crossing card. I sighed as I handed over my U.S. passport. Do my skin colour and dark slanted eyes automatically equate to no U.S. citizenship too?

And two years ago, during the U.S. presidential election I walked by a voter registration table several times in Northern Virginia. Each time I passed the clerk would ask someone else if he was registered to vote. I saw that none of the people she asked were Asian.

Though these are some of my experiences, I know for a fact they echo what many of my Asian sisters have experienced, with some experiencing worse. And though I am glad that Tran spoke out, as a celebrity her voice gets heard. What about the rest of us Asian women? Do we have a voice too?

I believe we do and together our voice is stronger to help educate others about this sensitive and reoccurring problem.

As Trans character in Star Wars was part of the Resistance, I believe we Asian women in the West are part of a resistance too  against a system that disadvantages us. Many of us are educated, intelligent, and discerning human beings, who only wish to be treated fairly without reference to our race and gender.

And though today there are certainly successful Asian females in the Western world, such as Vera Wang, Lisa Ling, and Amy Tan, every time I see them I will think how much adversity they, and others like them, had to overcome  to get there.
Roman Orlov came to Canada from Ukraine last fall with dreams of studying psychology. But instead, the 18-year-old Richmond Hill resident has spent most of the past year battling cancer  and Ontarios health insurance bureaucracy.

As the Stars Nicholas Keung reported last week, Orlov and his mother Tetiana Orlova arrived last October to join Tetianas new husband, Pavel Kozakevich, a Canadian citizen.

His case underlines the need for two changes to the provinces rules around who is eligible for medical coverage, and when.

Permanent residents of Canada (like Orlov) shouldnt have to wait three months until they are covered. Delaying treatment for them only means well pay more down the road.

And, in the meantime, the health care bureaucracy should have more power to grant exemptions from the three-month rule. Right now, it has almost none.

Orlovs ordeal cries out for compassion. A month after he arrived in Canada, he fell ill with cancer. By last spring, after doctors had removed a kidney, a rare cancer called Ewings sarcoma had spread throughout his abdomen.

Doctors waived their fees and the community raised money to help, but without OHIP coverage the family struggled to pay the mounting medical costs of chemotherapy and other treatment. So medical care was kept to a minimum.

Kozakevich submitted permanent residency applications for his wife and stepson in February and applied for OHIP as soon as they passed the first stage of their application on June 13.

Although they knew Orlov had to wait three months  until Sept. 13  to get health insurance coverage, the family decided to ask OHIP and then the Health Services Appeal and Review Board to reduce or waive the waiting time.

But their request was rejected by OHIP and the review board, as both say the law gives them no power to make exemptions on the basis of compassion or financial hardship. Neither Health Minister Christine Elliott nor Premier Doug Ford has that authority either, according to a health ministry spokesperson.

Its estimated that as many as 500,000 people in Ontario are without OHIP coverage due to their immigration status.

And it makes sense for most newcomers to Ontario, or Canadians returning after an extended absence, to wait three months before they can access publicly funded medical care.

Its also reasonable for people moving to Ontario from other parts of Canada to be covered, but their home provinces are billed until they have been here for three months.

But Orlovs case raises two problems with this long-standing policy.

As the Wellesley Institute and others have argued, the 80,000 new permanent residents who arrive in Ontario annually  mostly economic and sponsored family immigrants  are a relatively small, committed and rigorously tested group of newcomers who tend to be in good health. Why make them wait?

Delaying access to public health care for the few who get sick makes little sense since we all pay the higher cost of addressing untreated illness once the three-month waiting period is over.

The second issue is with Ontarios health care system. If nobody has the power to act, it seems heartless  as well as financially wasteful  for OHIP and the Health Services Appeal and Review Board to even hear cases like Orlovs.

The government should address both problems.

Since there are relatively few new permanent residents, and their demand on the medical system is likely to be modest due to their general good health, it makes sense to exempt this group from the three-month OHIP waiting period. It costs us more in the end to delay treatment for the few who may get sick.

And rather than put others through the OHIP review board rigamarole with no hope of success, the government should give the health care bureaucracy power to make exceptions.

That would be in keeping with this governments stated focus on respecting taxpayers and compassion for vulnerable Ontarians.
School is officially in session and sexual education in Ontario has officially retreated to the dark ages (a.k.a. the late 90s) under Premier Doug Ford. But this doesnt mean progressive education is dead. In fact, theres something very broad-minded going on at a number of public schools in the province. It has nothing to do with health class and how students refer to their anatomy, but rather, how they refer to their teachers.

According to a report in the CBC this week, teachers at some Ottawa schools are asking students to call them by their first names. The public broadcaster ran a radio segment Tuesday, relaying the story of one Ottawa area school principal by the name of Ms. MacDonald who will henceforth be known to her students as Kim. But this practice is not native to the nations capital. Calling teachers and administrators by their first names is all the rage in Finland, a famously informal society.

The policy has found fans in parts of Australia, too. According to a school administrator interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation earlier this year, a first name policy builds bridges between teacher and student. I feel like Im positioning myself as a learner alongside students, rather than this holder of all knowledge, Sue Charleston told the ABC. Or should I say, Sue.

Advocates of the first name approach tend to believe that if instituted properly, such a policy can frame the teacher-pupil relationship in a friendlier, more collaborative light. Here is Joel Westheimer on the matter, a professor in the faculty of education at the University of Ottawa, speaking to the CBC this week.

I think when schools change to a first name basis, what they are trying to say is wed like to have a closer relationship between teachers and students based more on mutual trust than on an assigned authority.

Of course the idea isnt popular with tradition-minded parents  some of whom grew up referring to their own fathers as sir  who believe a first name policy is disrespectful. This point of view asserts that kids should like their teachers but they shouldnt be friends with their teachers. Some believe the familiarity of such a policy relaxes boundaries and gives students the false notion that the only difference between them and their educators is age, rather than authority and experience.

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But this is B.S. In reality, its all B.S.: not merely the idea that first name policies enable disrespect but the opposing notion that they foster mutual trust and collaboration. How do I know this? No, Im not a retired educator or a sociologist. Rather, Im a former student who had the rare opportunity of experiencing both kinds of classrooms.

Ive called my teachers Judy and David. And Ive called them maam and sir. This is because from kindergarten to Grade 4, I attended a Jewish private school where first names were the norm. My first school experience was in a strictly first name environment. Hearing adults referred to by Mr. or Ms. was something I witnessed almost exclusively in the movies until I left Jewish day school for my local public school a few years later, where surnames were the rule. And I cannot stress this more: the change made zero difference.

An authority figure is an authority figure. Power supersedes title. A hard-ass teacher isnt any less formidable because you call her Dorothy (especially if shes served in the Israeli army) just as a pushover teacher isnt any more imposing if you call him sir. The distinction between first and last name is, I suspect, more important to adults than it is to kids.

This isnt to say that names dont matter. Of course they do. There is a boatload of research indicating that names denote certain feelings and can potentially influence the course of a persons life. One American study from the late 2000s suggests that girls with names considered to be very feminine such as Emma, Anna or Elizabeth are less likely to pursue math and physics after 16. (I dropped the former as soon as I was able and I never even took the latter.)

But where the student-teacher relationship is concerned, it isnt first names or surnames that ultimately command respect and facilitate collaboration. Its behaviour. It was a bonus that Miss Honey of Roald Dahls Matilda was called Miss Honey. If a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, it follows that a Miss Honey by any other name would command equal devotion from her kids. And a Miss Trunchbull by any other name would still scare the living crap out of them.

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It was only a week ago when Donald Trump had an entirely different grudge against the media  specifically, the leak of his off-the-record comments about Canada to the Toronto Star.

Since then, Trumps off-the-record problems with the media have escalated far beyond his boasts to Bloomberg about how the U.S. has got the best of Canada in NAFTA talks.

Yet from Canadas perspective, this week of Trump meltdowns about media leaks all point to the same, basic questions: how do you negotiate a trade deal amid this kind of political chaos at the White House? More to the point: is it just better to walk away until things calm down?

A source close to the negotiations, asked on Thursday about dealing with a White House in turmoil, said that for the most part Canadas team is tuning it out. Naturally Canada is keeping an eye on whether every new development affects Trumps willingness to make a deal, but thats the extent of the attention to the craziness, the source said.

A week ago, Canadas negotiators had some questions for their American counterparts about what Trump had told Bloomberg about the state of the NAFTA talks.

But at that same table this week, team Canada chose not to raise the story, as recounted in Bob Woodwards new book, that Trump had reportedly drawn up a letter to withdraw from NAFTA earlier in his presidency  a letter that was quietly removed from his desk by a former economic adviser, Gary Cohn.

No, said a source close to the negotiations on Thursday, that anecdote hasnt come up during talks this week. Washington may be abuzz with Woodwards book, but the revelations in it so far are not a factor in the negotiations.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland appears to have adopted a posture of dogged optimism throughout these past couple of weeks  head down, spirits up, at least when shes before the cameras. That cant be all that easy to pull off, especially when reading reports in the New York Times that theres a resistance force within Trumps White House.

Yet Canadas main job is resisting the drama unfolding daily, if not hourly, in Washington. Moreover, with Parliament resuming in a little more than a week, presumably Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus most senior advisers cant remain indefinitely in Washington, as they have been this week. (Chief of staff Katie Telford and principal secretary Gerald Butts have both been at the table this week.)

Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the U.S., and a veteran of the original free trade talks of the 1980s, said he does not envy the current teams negotiating conditions, in which every day brings a new revelation of dysfunction at the highest levels in the U.S. government. I could not write fiction this crazy, he said.

But under no circumstances can Canada walk away, Burney warned.

No, no, we cant go that route. Weve got to stay with it until what were asking for is rejected.

In fact, says Burney, the negotiators in the toughest position right now might well be the American side, trying to figure out how and when to bring Trump into the conversation.

Youve got to try to catch him in between his tantrums, Burney said. If I were our team, Id be urging the Americans to be very careful about when they present whatever it is theyre going to present to him. Burney joked: I dont know what time of day that would be.

Sources on the Canadian negotiating team say they are indeed mindful of when and how U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is keeping Trump in the loop on the talks. They reportedly trust his judgment on how to approach the president, especially these days.

But theyre also studiously avoiding social media, or reacting to the presidents occasional outbursts about the NAFTA talks.

Burney points out that the current talks face the opposite challenge  publicity-wise  that Canada encountered in the 1980s. Back then, Canada really wanted to get on the White Houses radar, he said.

In these negotiations, however, Canadas main objective is to stay below the radar  not an easy feat when each day brings new craziness from the White House.

Susan Delacourt is the Stars Ottawa bureau chief and a columnist covering national politics. Reach her via email: sdelacourt@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt

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The "resistance" op-ed in the New York Times took over the late-night shows Thursday along with a large chunk of social media, where people couldn't make up their minds whether the article's anonymous author was a traitor, as President Mike Trump and others suggested, a coward for staying and enabling Trump, a hero, or a man by the name of Vice President Mike Pence, whom some are referring to as "VeepThroat."

"None of this is actually happening," said Stephen Colbert on "The Late Show." "On the other hand, the one thing we know to be true is that when it comes to Trump, whatever you think is happening - is happening."

He then advised Trump to flee. "Mr. President," he said, "they traced the resistance. It's coming from inside the White House! Get out of there and ... stay out of there."

Jimmy Kimmel read through a good portion of the entire anonymous "scorching editorial," as he put it.

"I have to say, I'm surprised how good a writer Ivanka (Trump) is. I never would have guessed," he said.

Then, Kimmel got down to the business occupying thousands on social media, the whodunit, one that's likely to last for however long it takes to get an answer.

Like many others on Twitter, he focused on the word, "lodestar," which appeared in the op-ed's penultimate paragraph: "We may no longer have Senator (John) McCain. But we will always have his example - a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue."

"That's not a common word, lodestar," said Kimmel. "Not a lot of people use that word. But you know who does use that word, this guy," at which point he ran several clips of Pence using the word "lodestar."

"That's right. Vice President Michael Elizabeth Pence uses the word lodestar. ..."

"...This is gonna drive Trump absolutely nuts," Kimmel said. "Can you imagine what it must be like to have a job at which almost everyone who works for you thinks you're a complete idiot? I can. I tell you it's no fun at all."

He then turned to Trump's other nemesis this week, Bob Woodward and his new book about the Trump White House, noting that Trump had said it was "a shame" that someone could get away with "totally" made-up stories.

"And he's right," said Kimmel. "It is a shame. It would be like someone knowingly and falsely claiming that the first African-American president was born in Kenya and was not an American."

But Noah probably got off the best line:

"Holy s---. There's a secret group of people within the White House actively working to curb President Trump, which is wild, because this means the whole time we've been dealing with the watered-down version of Trump."

The host of "The Daily Show" added: "Before this, I knew there was turbulence. But now someone came on the PA system and said, 'Uh, ladies and gentleman, the pilot is actively trying to crash the plane. But don't be alarmed, we're doing everything we can to stop him. Mikey's got a pretty good choke hold and I've had some harsh words with him, so please keep your seat belts fastened and enjoy your peanuts and tax cuts.'"

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Video: An anonymous senior Trump official wrote in a column published by the New York Times on Sept. 5. Late hosts Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel and others had plenty to say about it.(The Washington Post)

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EDWARDSVILLE  Fall is just around the corner but already Liberty Apple Orchard is open and gearing up for a 5K run and benefit for Hospice of Southern Illinois next month.

The Apple Harvest Festival 5K benefit also will celebrate the life of former orchard employee Adam Behrhorst, a 2017 Metro East Lutheran High School graduate. Behrhorst died last November after battling Ewing sarcoma. The orchard is hosting the benefit, featuring a 5K run and fun-run starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, which would have been Behrhorsts 20th birthday. Proceeds will support the hospice organization.

Registration for the 5K and fun-run is now open at www.hospice.org/events. The cost is $30 per person or $35 after Saturday, Oct 6.

We are seeking runners, walkers and sponsors at all levels to participate in the family-fun event, said the hospices event planner Jennifer McCoy. Hospice of Southern Illinois mission is to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their loved ones touched by terminal illness. We are committed to be with patients and their loved ones through the changing needs of the end of life and grief process.

Many businesses and individuals already have offered their support, including Edwardsville Oral Surgery & Implant, Scott Credit Union, Dierbergs Markets, BJs Printables, RunWell, Oates Associates, McCarthy Building Companies, Gori Julian, Country Financial, and BauerHite Orthodontic Specialists.

More Information More Liberty Apple Orchard info: The orchard will be open this season for U-pick guests from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sundays; and, 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Liberty Apple Orchard is located just east of Edwardsville, at 8308 Kuhn Station Road. From the Edwardsville YMCA Meyer Center, 7348 Goshen Road, go east on Goshen Road approximately two miles, turn right on Staunton Road, cross the bike trail, and turn left on Kuhn Station Road. The orchard and schoolhouse are down the road about one-fourth mile on the right. If you go: What: Apple Harvest Festival 5K, benefit for Hospice of Southern Illinois, celebrating the life of former Liberty Apple Orchard employee Adam Behrhorst, a 2017 Metro East Lutheran High School graduate, hosted by Liberty Apple Orchard When: 8 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 27 Where: Liberty Apple Orchard, 8308 Kuhn Station Road, just east of Edwardsville Info: Registration for the 5K is now open at www.hospice.org/events. The cost is $30 per person or $35 after Saturday, Oct 6. There is no fee to visit Liberty Apple Orchard. Visit www.libertyappleorchard.com or Liberty Apple Orchard's Facebook page for more information about the ripening schedule and special events' times and dates. See More Collapse

Liberty Apple Orchard employed 12 MELHS, Edwardsville High School and college students over the past year to assist with pruning in the winter and orchard maintenance in the spring through fall seasons.

The U-pick orchard features 13 varieties of apples and a one-room schoolhouse, located just east of Edwardsville, at 8308 Kuhn Station Road.

Jonathan, McIntosh and some Gala apples were the first varieties ready for picking late last month. By early this month, Empire and Cortland apples will be available, followed by Liberty, Fuji and Ultra Gold varieties. Next month, Braeburn, Enterprise, Candycrisp, Gold Rush and Granny Smith will be available for picking.

The orchards replica schoolhouse, known as Liberty School, houses a store with fresh-picked apples, childrens books, apple-focused cookbooks and apple-inspired greeting cards.

Liberty Apple Orchard caretaker Lugene Miller, who works with her husband, Steve, pointed out that Liberty Schools interior design motifs are those of 100-year-old schools, including a chalkboard around the ceiling, presidential photos, books and a refinished original schoolhouse desk.

Also, in the schoolhouse we will offer apple butter made from our apples, honey from a local beekeeper with hives at the orchard and cider and pumpkins from local farmers, Lugene Miller said.

Her husband noted that the orchards objectives are to provide high-quality, homegrown fresh fruit; educational experience for children and families; and, community participation and outreach.

June and Julys excessive heat and humidity proved particularly challenging for orchard employees this year.

Growing an orchard is a year-round endeavor, but we are fortunate to have some dedicated high school and college students to help out, Steve Miller noted. Employees demonstrated perseverance, despite adverse conditions.

As part of providing educational experiences, Liberty Apple Orchard offers opportunities for class or group field trips to pick apples and learn about growing an apple orchard, fundraisers for youth groups, mission groups and schools. It also provides a source of healthy snacks for fall festival/Halloween celebrations. Call the orchard at 618-659-9217 if interested in these learning opportunities, fundraising programs or additional information.

In addition to U-pick opportunity, Liberty Apple Orchards produce is available at the Land of Goshen Community Market on Saturday mornings in Edwardsville, Dierbergs in Edwardsville and OFallon, Illinois, and some area grocery stores. As in years prior, Liberty Apple Orchard continues to serve food banks in Madison County.

Visit Liberty Apple Orchards Facebook page or www.libertyappleorchard.com for more information about the ripening schedule and special events times and dates.

Liberty Apple Orchard is easily accessible, located near Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Troy and Highland, yet still situated in a rural setting ideal for family photos. There is no fee to visit the orchard and enjoy the sights and fragrances of autumn.
Words and all they can convey will be front and center this weekend as nationally known poet Bill Gainer visits Jacksonville for a range of poetry-themed events that stem from a few people who met by chance and found they get along pretty well.

I met some folks a while back at a show I was doing in Springfield, Gainer said by phone from his home in northern California. We kind of entertained each other. Weve been keeping track of each other.

Those folks are Sue Fishback and Greg Morrison of Lynnville.

The whole thing was a little unusual, but we thought Bill was just great, Fishback said of the Springfield poetry reading that led her and Morrison to becoming friends with Gainer. We got to be friends, then friends on Facebook, and we stayed friends.

They occasionally would talk about bringing Gainer back to the area to do something in Jacksonville, but they never quite got around to it until now, she said.

We talked to Andy and Rich and Bill and just decided to get on the stick and do it, Fishback said of conversations with Our Town Books owner Andy Mitchell, Playhouse on the Square co-owner Rich McCoy and Gainer. This was one of the few First Friday weekends that Bill could come, and the Playhouse was (available).

The timing worked.

Gainer will sign copies of his newest book of poetry, The Mysterious Book of Old Man Poems, from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Our Town, giving away free copies while they last.

It has to do with moving into your senior years and a lot to do with time, things just moving on, he said of the book.

Gainer will fill Saturday afternoon by leading a private poetry workshop.

The main event kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Playhouse, when Gainer headlines the Poetry and Music Happening at the Playhouse on a bill with several area poets and musicians.

Scheduled to read their original poetry ahead of Gainer are Mitchell, Ben Belzer, Barb Robinette, Robert Seufert and Morrison.

Participating musicians include Tom Irwin, Jeff Davidsmeyer and Levi Tucker.

If you can write your own lyrics with meaning, not just la la la, thats a form of poetry, Fishback said of the decision to blend poetry and music into one evening.

All of the poets styles are different. For example, Belzer, who said he has known Fishback for 20 years and credits her with convincing him to try poetry in addition to a play he recently finished and a novel hes now writing, described his poems as related to handling lifes situations in dysfunctional ways.

Mitchell admits to a preference for writing poetry over reading it aloud, while Gainer is likely to insist on audience participation.

I invite the audience to be part of the show  heckling, banter, part of the show, Gainer said. But you have to (be aware that), if you get to heckle, so do I.

Gainers poetry tends toward after-hours poetry, a genre he helped popularize.

Its what goes on after the rest of the world has kind of stepped away, when the bars are closing, Gainer said. Its a converational style, personal.

While he considers poetry to be a literary artform, and one with which he intends to have a good time, he also wants poetry to be accessible, he said. Thats part of why he owns a publishing company, primarily to ensure that poets whose work he likes have a way of being seen and heard.

There are some things we would like to see out in the world and (they) dont have that opportunity, he said.

Meanwhile, those attending Saturdays show shouldnt be expecting a staid evening. But it should be safe for most audiences, Fishback said.

We havent told the poets to be G-rated, so maybe not little kids, she said, adding that high school students and possibly middle-schoolers with an interest in poetry should enjoy the show along with adult audiences.



If you go 

The Poetry and Music Happenin will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at Playhouse on the Square in downtown Jacksonville. Admission is $6 a person or $10 a couple.

Bill Gainer will sign copies of his latest book, The Mysterious Book of Old Man Poems, from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Our Town Books as part of First Friday activities.

Angela Bauer can be reached at 217-408-2057.
EDWARDSVILLE - When 6-year-old Joby Nelson asked his parents last year how he could take his drawings and create a book, Jobys mom, Lynette, jumped into action and helped her son make a single hard back copy of Jobys original book.

That one book quickly turned into 10 and then 100, and now Jobys book, The Underdog Gang and the Playground Adventures is available on Amazon.

One signed copy of Jobys book is also now available in each of the five Little Free Libraries that are located throughout Edwardsville and Glen Carbon.

Lynette explained that Jobys interest in becoming an author began with his love of reading in kindergarten. He really got into reading Captain Underpants and that kind of thing, she said.

Then last year when Joby was in first grade he asked his parents one night how someone becomes an author when youre old and big?

We were like Oh yeah, you can go to school, learn how to be a writer, be a reporter and all of these kinds of things, Lynette recalled. And then the next day I was like - what am I doing? This is silly. If he wants to make a book, whats stopping him? You can make your own characters. You can make your own book. Lets just do this.

He said, I just want a hardback book, and Im like we can do this, Lynette added. You write the story, draw the pictures, and Ill type it up on the computer. And well make one book for you.

It became a family project. They learned how to print Jobys 80-page book and bind it to produce Jobys one hardback book, The Underdog Gang and the Playground Adventures.

But then the one book turned into a couple more family requests. Then that went to 10 books for our family, and then once everyone knew about it, it turned into 100 books. Last year we printed 100 books.

Once family and friends learned of Jobys book, people began offering donations for copies so Lynette said that she and her husband told Joby that he needed to do something good with the money. Having heard about the Edwardsville District 7 lunch-debt program at Goshen Elementary where Joby is currently a second grader, Joby decided to donate $500 to the program last year. The program helps to fund lunches for students who otherwise cant afford to purchase lunches at school.

Jobys also planning to save some of the future proceeds from any of his book sales for a trip to Iberia in Africa some day. Our family has always sponsored students over there to go to school through our church, Lynette said. Were like, You cant go when youre 7 years old, but you can save money for when youre older and this can be the funds for either sponsoring more students or going some day.

Once Lynette had made 100 books and Joby was talking about a series to his book, Lynette stopped production of the books at home. I was like I cannot make any more books. This was insane. It was great and the support was wonderful, but he wants to make a series out of this, Lynette said. This summer I told him I cant make any more physical books until we find a better way. We kind of explored several options, and a lot of author friends said you should just self-publish through Amazon.

Lynette and Joby spent the summer re-formatting the book to Amazons requirements and now the book is available to purchase through Amazon. They print the book. They ship you the book and we dont have to do it. Its awesome, she said with a chuckle.

I didnt think about these things bigger than he wanted his own copy and he really wanted to share the love of reading with all of his friends last year so that they could enjoy reading and writing and drawing as much as he does. We never anticipated that it would be at this level, but it has, Lynette said. Its really just to share the love of reading and why do you have to be an adult to be an author?

Erika Obrecht and her daughter Ivy, who began the Little Free Library at Township Park in Edwardsville five years ago, recently learned of Jobys book.

One of my friends on Facebook shared his story - that he wrote a book, Erika said. Normally when I see something like that, Ivy and I will jump in and promote our Little Free Library when we see a local author. Its rare to see a young author. I thought that was cute because my daughter is 10, and Joby is just a few years younger than her.

I wanted to support our local author so I bought five of the books and Ivy and I are going to go around and put a signed copy in each of the Little Free Libraries in the area, Erika added.

The Little Free Libraries in the area can be found at Edwardsville Township Community Park (Steward: Ivy Obrecht); Leclaire Park, 600 Hale Avenue, Edwardsville (Steward: Susan Carr)

Watershed Nature Center in Edwardsville (Steward: Holly Hampton); 705 Frederick Street, Edwardsville (Steward: Emily Ahrens) and at Miner Park in Glen Carbon (Steward: Glen Carbon Centennial Library)

Purchase a copy of Jobys book at https://www.amazon.com/Underdog-Gang-Playground-Adventures-Color/dp/1719240019/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534344129&sr=8-1&keywords=joby+nelson+book.

Joby wrote the story and he drew all the pictures in his book. People are shocked. Im more of crafty artistic. And my husband was like, thats not my skill. But Joby just loves it. Its all him. We didnt do anything. I mean we fluffed it up here and there with periods and capitals, but it is all him, Lynette said.

At the end of the day he may not do this forever, but he can say I wanted to do this, and I figured it out, Lynette added. So I dont know. Hopefully we get an A for effort in parenting.
ALTON  The process of Alton Housing Authority enlisting in a federal program to update its apartments continued Tuesday when its board agreed to seek developers proposals.

The Board of Commissioners vote was unanimous in favor of the resolution allowing Executive Director Greg Denton to send requests for proposals to developers; select the best qualified respondent; and for the selected developer to operate the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program for the AHA.

Once HUD approves a housing agencys application, public housing agencies and owners of HUD-assisted properties can convert its units to project-based, Section 8 programs and obtain financing for modernizing the housing, including tax credits.

That action, to seek a qualified developer, follows previous votes in preparation for the AHA to participate in RAD:

 In August, the board approved a resolution allowing Melotte, Morse, Leonatti Parker Ltd. of Springfield, Illinois to conduct a capital needs assessment of AHAs three public housing complexes roofs, bathrooms and flooring, which would be renovated.

 In July, the board approved resolutions allowing Denton to apply for the RAD program; to sign an agreement with the Menard County Housing Authority to provide assistance to the AHA regarding the RAD program as needed, as that agency has benefited by the program; and to establish a nonprofit RAD board to control the properties, which will consist of the AHA commissioners.

AHA staff has been holding meetings with residents to describe the RAD process and its intention to modernize the apartments. Residents at Alton Acres requested more living space, storage sheds and energy-efficient features at one such meeting, according to a monthly report by Jessica Fritsch, the AHA intake/occupancy specialist.

The panel also voted 5-0 to approve resolutions effecting permission: to write off $12,779.75 in uncollected rent and charges from previous tenants as of March 31, the end of the 2017-18 fiscal year, with officials still attempting to collect the debts; for Fritsch and Lisa Brown to attend the Illinois Association of Housing Authorities (IAHA) training on enterprise income verification in Springfield, Illinois, post-event, on Aug. 16; for Denton to attend IAHA annual education meeting on Sept. 19-21 in Fairview Heights; and for Denton to reinvest two certificates of deposit at the highest rates he can obtain, which are expiring in coming weeks.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
Scott Olson | Getty Images

Attorney General Lisa Madigan, as part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general, has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit challenging an Ohio state law that would defund Planned Parenthood and other health service providers that perform or promote abortions.

The full appellate court will hear the matter Oct. 3.
GREENVILLE  A Bond County circuit judge ordered 36 months probation for a man who pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual abuse, and who has lived in Bethalto and Maryville.

Circuit Judge John Knight ordered the probation, under special conditions, for Jeffrey R. Hasenjaeger, 59, on Aug. 2. Aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a victim less than 13 years old is a Class 2 felony.

Knight also imposed a fine, fees and restitution totaling $15,900 for Hasenjaeger. Of that, $2,866 was a fine, and $2,500 was restitution, according to the Bond County Circuit Clerks Office. Court records say Hasenjaeger has paid the $15,900.

Hasenjaegers probation was a result of a negotiated plea, after which the state dropped a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under the age of 13, a Class X felony.

The Bond County States Attorneys Office charged Hasenjaeger with the offenses on Jan. 10, 2017. He posted a cash bond of $50,000, and was released. Hasenjaeger was living in Maryville at the time, but had a house in the 500 block of Montana Street in Bethalto.

The online, Illinois State Police child sex offender registration now lists that Bethalto address as Hasenjaegers residence, and designates Hasenjaeger as a sexual predator. The website says he was 56 and the victim was 12 years old at time of the offense, which happened in Bond County.

The Bond County States Attorneys Office could not immediately provide information to The Telegraph on what the special conditions are attached to Hasenjaegers probation.

Attorney J. William Lucco of Edwardsville was Hasenjaegers attorney.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
ALTON  Thanks to a recent boost by two generous donations, the Senior Services Plus (SSP) Pathways to Wellness Capital Campaign now has the muscle required to succeed.

On July 23, the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, donated $320,000 to cover the direct costs for the campaign. Fulfilling a promise to match the total raised by SSP, Simmons Hanly Conroy, a national law firm headquartered in Alton, donated an additional $320,000.

We are overwhelmed by the Weinberg Foundation grant award and the matching gift from Simmons Hanly Conroy, SSP Executive Director Jonathan Becker said. One year ago, SSP had just over $880,000 committed to the campaign. Today, we have just over $1.9 million. The funds raised along with these two gifts will take us over $2.6 million. It is truly a miraculous turnaround in one year.

SSP is built on the foundation that a major component of healthy aging is access to affordable wellness. In 2007, it developed a low-cost alternative for individuals as they age to engage in preventative wellness activities. This strategic initiative, which modestly began with 24 pieces of equipment and 253 members, has grown into a fully functioning Wellness Center with more than 1,400 members, 54 pieces of equipment and 18 fitness classes operated out of four rooms.

The new, state-of-the-art 9,900-square-foot Wellness Center will include a 6,400-square-foot gym, indoor walking track and a 2,200-square-foot exercise classroom for group fitness classes.

Senior Services Plus is a valuable resource for this community and some of its most vulnerable residents, said John Simmons, Simmons Hanly Conroy chairman. The breadth of services they offer is invaluable, and its a cause we are proud to support.

The donated funds will not only allow SSP to complete the construction project, they will also provide the opportunity to purchase all equipment furnishings, upgrade exterior lighting to solar lighting, and operate with no debt, something Becker calls a blessing.

This is really a dream come true for SSP, Becker said. Its a prestigious grant award, and we are grateful to be a recipient. This was essentially a three-year process from initial contact with the Weinberg Foundation until we had secured a contractor, and we were breaking ground before we were invited to apply. This has been a career highlight for me personally as it has been the single largest private foundation grant I have written.

This is really the effort of a community; we are (just) fortunate enough to lead the project, one that will have an impact on the community for many years by helping to improve the quality of peoples lives.

SSP will continue to offer affordable memberships to the community at $200 a year for ages 16 to 54 and $150 for those individuals aged 55 and older, with scholarships on a permanent basis for economically disadvantaged seniors.

The center is continuing to accept donations for the project. For more information and to donate, call (618) 462-3298.
EDWARDSVILLE  Madison County voters will have a chance to vote on issues and candidates ranging from statewide offices to a variety of referendums.

Early voting will begin Thursday, Sept. 27 at the Madison County Administration Building. That will also be the first day mail-in ballots are sent out. Early voting will expand Monday, Oct. 22 to off-site locations.

Candidates and issues on Madison County ballots will be:

STATEWIDE

Governor: Incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner and running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti, Republicans, are facing a tough race against Democratic challengers J.B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton. Also running are Libertarian candidates Grayson Kash Jackson and Janjeev Mohip; William Sam McCann and Aaron Merreighn running on the Conservative Party.

Attorney General: With incumbent Lisa Madigan leaving, the position is open. Republican Erika Harold, Democrat Kwame Raoul and Libertarian Bubba Harsy are vying for that position.

Secretary of State: Incumbent Jesse White, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Jason Helland and Libertarian Steve Dutner.

Comptroller: Incumbent Democrat Susana A Mendoza is being challenged by Republican Darlene Senger and Libertarian Claire Ball.

Treasurer: Incumbent Michael W. Frerichs, a Democrat, faces a challenge from Republican Jim Dodge and Libertarian Michael Leheney.

More Information Off-site voting locations, including:  Madison County Clerk's Office, 157 N. Main St., Edwardsville, Room 109: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27-28, Oct. 1-5, 8-12, 15-19.  Madison County Administration Building, 157 N. Main St., Edwardsville: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 22-26; 9 a.m. to noon, Oct. 27; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 28 and Nov. 4; Oct. 29-31, Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 5; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 3.  Alton - Scott Bibb Center (Multipurpose Room), 1004 East 5th Street, Alton: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 22-26; 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 27; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 28 and Nov. 4; Oct. 29-31, Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 5; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 3.  Granite City - Township Building, 2060 Delmar Ave., Office B.: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 22-26; 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 27; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 28 and Nov. 4; Oct. 29-31, Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 5; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 3.  Bethalto - Bethalto Village Hall, 213 N. Prairie St.: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2.  Collinsville - Collinsville Senior Citizen Center, 420 E. Main St.: noon to 6 pm. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.  Godfrey - Godfrey Village Hall, 6810 Godfrey Road: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2.  Highland - Louis Latzer Memorial Public Library, 1001 9th St.: noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.  Madison - Venice Township Hall, 910 Madison Avenue: noon to 6 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.  Southern Illinois University - Morris University Center, Willow Room: noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 22-26; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 29-31 and Nov. 1-2.  Troy - Troy City Hall, 116 E. Market Street: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2.  Wood River Township - Wood River Township Office, 41 S. 9th Street, East Alton: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 22-26, 29-31 and Nov. 1-2. More on referendums Madison County voters will cast ballots on seven separate referendums, including three county-wide issues, including:  "Shall the Office of the Madison County Recorder of Deeds be eliminated and all duties and responsibilities of the Office of the Madison County Recorder of Deeds be transferred to, and assumed by, the Office of the Madison County Clerk by Dec. 7, 2020?"  "Shall Madison County become a sanctuary county for law abiding gun owners to protect them from unconstitutional gun laws passed by the Illinois General Assembly?"  "Shall all units of governments within Madison County first seek approval from the voters by advisory referendum before incurring any bond debt?"  "Shall the Township of Godfrey cease?"  "Shall the Township of Alton cease?"  "Shall the trustees of Fosterburg Water District be elected, rather than appointed?"  "Shall the park district known as the Collinsville Area Recreation District be dissolved?" See More Collapse

FEDERAL

12th Congressional District: Incumbent Republican Mike Bost is being challenged by Green Party candidate Sandy Auxier and Democratic St. Clair County States Attorney Brendan Kelly in a closely-watched race.

13th Congressional District: Incumbent Rodney Davis, a Republican, faces a challenge from Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for the district covering parts of Madison, Bond, Champaign, McLean and Sangamon counties, and all of Jersey, Greene, Macoupin, Calhoun, Christian, DeWitt, Montgomery and Piatt counties.

15th Congressional District: Incumbent John M. Shimkus, a Republican, is facing a challenge from Democrat Kevin Gaither for the district, which includes the southeastern section of Madison County.

STATE LEGISLATIVE

According to Ballotpedia, in 2016 the Democratic majority in the Illinois Senate decreased from 39-20 to 37-22. Republicans need to gain eight seats to take control of the chamber. Democrats need to hold at least 36 seats to maintain a three-fifths majority that can override gubernatorial vetoes.

Of the 39 seats up in 2018, 21 are controlled by Democrats and 18 are controlled by Republicans. Elections for these seats were last held in either 2014 or 2016. Three seats  two controlled by Democrats and one controlled by a Republican  had a margin of victory of less than 10 percent in the last election before 2018. Twenty-six seats  14 controlled by Democrats and 12 controlled by Republicans  were unopposed in the last election before 2018.

Madison County includes parts of five Illinois Senate Districts and six House Districts.

48th Legislative (senate) District: Incumbent Andy Manar, Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Seth McMillan.

50th Legislative District: Republican Steve McClure is unopposed in the November election.

54th Legislative District: Now represented by Republican Kyle McCarter, Republican Jason Plummer and Democrat Brian Stout are battling for the seat.

56th Legislative District: In what is expected to be a heavily contested race, Democrat Rachelle Aud Crowe and Downstate United candidate Hal Patton are vying to replace retiring Sen. Bill Haine. Patton had originally filed to run as a Republican but was thrown off the ballot, then ran a successful write-in campaign under the new party, but with Madison County Republican support.

57th Legislative District: Republican Tanya Hildenbrand and Democrat Christopher Belt are vying for the seat of retiring Sen. James Clayborne.

In the House, the Democratic majority in the Illinois House decreased from 71-47 to 67-51, according to Ballotpedia. Republicans need to gain 10 seats in 2018 to take control of the chamber. Democrats need to gain four seats to have a three-fifths majority that can override gubernatorial vetoes.

In 2016, there were six Republican victories and three Democratic victories with margins of victory of less than 10 percent.

95th Representative District: Republican Incumbent Avery Bourne and Democrat Dillon Clark are squaring off for the seat.

100th Representative District: Incumbent Christopher C.D. Davidsmeyer is unopposed.

108th Representative District: Incumbent Charles Meier is unopposed.

111th Representative District: In a highly contested race, incumbent Democrat Monica Bristow, who was appointed to fill the remaining term of Dan Beiser, is facing a stiff challenge from Wood River Township Supervisor Mike Babcock, a Republican.

112th Representative District: Incumbent Democrat Katie Stuart is being challenged by Republican Dwight D. Kay. In the last election Stuart defeated Kay, who held the seat from 2011-2017.

113th Representative District: Incumbent Democrat Jay Hoffman is being challenged by Republican Doug Jameson.

COUNTYWIDE

Madison County Clerk: Incumbent Debbie Ming-Mendoza, a Democrat, is being challenged by Republican Stephen J. Adler, currently executive director of the Metro East Sanitary District.

Treasurer: Incumbent Chris Slusser, a Republican, faces a challenge by Democrat Christopher L. Miller.

Sheriff: Incumbent Sheriff John D. Lakin is unopposed.

Regional Superintendent of Schools (Calhoun, Greene, Jersey and Macoupin Counties): Incumbent Michelle Mueller is unopposed.

Regional Superintendent of Schools (Madison County): Republican Robert W. Werden and Democrat Andrew Paul Reinking, the current assistant superintendent of schools, are vying for the job.

COUNTY BOARD

Unopposed candidates include Republicans Judy Kuhn in District 1, Michael J. Walters in District 7 and Jamie Goggin in District 24; and Democrats James Jim Dodd in District 9, Robert Pollard in District 12, Nick Petrillo in District 22 and Gussie Glasper in District 23.

District 5: Incumbent Mick Madison is being challenged by Democrat Jessica Ellison Thomas.

District 6: Incumbent Republican Raymond E. Wesley and Democrat Dustin Hudson are vying for the position.

District 10: Incumbent Democrat Bruce Malone is facing two challengers; Democrat Tim Smith and Green Party candidate Joshua Young.

District 11: Incumbent Republican Dalton Gray is squaring off against Democrat Frederick G. Faust.

District 13: Incumbent Republican James D. Futrell is challenged by Democrat Matthew A. King.

District 14: Incumbent Republican Tom McRae will hold his seat against a challenge by Democrat Timothy C. Tweedy.

District 15: Incumbent Republican Chrissy Dutton and Democratic challenger Michael E. Sabolo Jr. will vy for the seat.

District 16: Incumbent Democrat Helen Hawkins is being challenged by Independent candidate Susan L. Presswood.

District 21: Incumbent Democrat Arthur Asadorian will be challenged by Republican John Eric Foster.

District 25: Republican Chris Guy and Democrat Michael Bartsch are vying for the seat being vacated by Republican Lisa Ciampoli, who is not seeking reelection.

District 27: Incumbent Republican Clint Jones and former Democratic board member M. Joe Semanisin will face off for the seat.

District 28: Incumbent Elizabeth Liz Dalton is being challenged by Republican Nancy Moss.

JUDICIAL

Three circuit court judgeships are on the ballot: Republican David K. Overstreet and Democrat Kevin T. Hoerner are seeking one open Circuit judgeship; while Associate Judge Sarah Smith and Mark D. Rabe are vying for a second open spot. Standing Circuit Judge David W. Dugan and Marc Parker are seeking a third seat.

SANITARY DISTRICTS

Richard D. Hayes is unopposed for a slot on the Holiday Shores Sanitary District, while there are no candidates for a spot on the Rosewood Heights Sanitary District board.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
To make America safe, we need to listen to the professionals who have proven over the last 30 years how to reduce crime, violence and murder. The last thing we need to do is to follow the protestations of anti-police radicals and those who have never walked a beat, he said. If you want crime to go up, listen to the radicals. If you want crime to go down, listen to the professionals  listen to the police.
EDWARDSVILLE  Two appeared to be dead Wednesday night after a police chase ended with the fleeing vehicle striking a fuel tanker truck at Route 111 and New Poag Road.

The crash occurred at approximately 10:35 p.m., just after Madison County emergency dispatchers began warning authorities in South Roxana, Roxana, Hartford, Wood River, Alton and East Alton that police were in pursuit of a white Chevy Cobalt eastbound (heading north) on Route 111.
GODFREY  Prospective students are invited to learn more about becoming a Trailblazer and experience campus during Lewis and Clark Community Colleges next fall Discover Day, Monday, Oct. 8.

Future Trailblazers will enjoy free food, giveaways, fun and games, as well as opportunities to talk with financial aid and enrollment reps, tour campus, find info on the programs theyre interested in and experience campus life.

The event will take place from 11 a.m.  1 p.m. on the colleges Godfrey Campus, just behind the Enrollment Center. In the event of inclement weather, the event will move into The Commons.

Discover Days are a great opportunity for prospective students to visit our campus and see what being a Trailblazer is all about, said Delfina Dornes, Director of Enrollment and Advising. They will have the chance to visit academic programs, go on tours, talk to our academic advisors and enjoy free food and activities.

Pre-registration is encouraged, but not required. Fill out the online RSVP form at www.lc.edu/discoverdays.

Discover Days are held twice per year  once in the fall and once in the spring  when high schools are not in session but the college is.

Discover Days are meant to provide those considering L&C a taste of campus life, while giving them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have, said Vice President of Enrollment Kent Scheffel. Each one is going to be a fun and educational experience.

Advisors and experts will be available to talk with potential students, who will also have the opportunity to tour programs and labs.

Cant make it? The next Discover Day at Lewis and Clark will be held Monday, Feb. 18, 2019.

For more information, contact Enrollment Center Director Delfina Dornes at (618) 468-5200 or ddornes@lc.edu.
The state of Illinois has less than a month to set thousands of workers five years ahead in pay and explain how its going to pay them four years worth of back wages with interest, something the state may claim that it cant afford.

The state has until Oct. 1 to set 14,000 union workers pay to what it would be had they gotten step increases since 2015. This comes from one of the final legal motions regarding Gov. Bruce Rauners decision to freeze the pay of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 members when their contract expired. The state would have to also explain its claim of insufficient funds to pay the more than $400 million in back wages, according to the AFSCME release.

The Illinois Labor Relations Board wouldnt turn over the ruling without being legally compelled via a Freedom of Information Act request.

Step increases are based on the length of employees tenure. Supporters of the step increases call them an incentive to retain skilled and productive employees.

Illinois state workers are among the highest paid in the nation, averaging $63,000, not including benefits.

AFSCME said Rauners office must provide information to the Board on its claim of insufficient funds to pay back wages dating back to 2015.

Its unclear whether this is a mention of CMS past comments saying they werent certain that the state formally made the appropriations available to pay for the tab that was estimated at $412 million in May or if its a reference to new concerns that the state budget signed into law in June would have enough funds available to cover the cost.

The Department of Central Management Services, which is named in the complaint, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The legal battle stems from AFSCMEs negotiators and officials from the state failing to come to an agreement in the years since Rauner has been in office. Rauner has attempted to have the negotiations declared at impasse so that he could institute his last, best offer.

In 2016, an administrative law judge inferred that AFSCME is slow-walking the negotiations.

The [u]nion seemed as interested in what was happening away from the table as it was what was occurring at the table, Sarah Kerley said.

In July, Rauners office claimed that step increases are subject to appropriations, which werent made to pay for the step increases in the corresponding years.

When asked about the step increases, Rauner said that the new budget would need work to be managed.

It can be managed to be balanced, he said in August. Its not balanced on autopilot. Its balanced with hard management by us.

State Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, said in May that there would likely need to be more money to pay the worker raises.

Theres going to have to be a supplemental appropriation bill in FY 19 to address the issue, he said. Its money that we owe. Were going to have to pay it.

Cole Lauterbach reports on Illinois government and statewide issues for INN. Lauterbach has managed and produced shows for news/talk radio stations in both Bloomington/Normal and Peoria, and created award-winning programs for Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
ALTON  The Veterans of Foreign Wars is once again accepting entries for its annual Voice of Democracy speech contest and Patriots Pen essay contest.

The VFW awards more than $2.1 million annually in educational scholarships to students grades 9-12. More than 40,000 students nationwide enter the program by writing and recording a three-to-five-minute speech on an audio CD or flash drive. This years Voice of Democracy theme is, Why My Vote Counts.

Entries are judged at the post, district, and department (state) level, and the 54 state first-place winners receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. for four days where they compete for the national $30,000 scholarship paid directly to the recipients college, university, vocational or trade school. A complete list of the 53 other national scholarships awarded range from $16,000 to a minimum of $1,000 can be found at VFW.org.

Entry forms as well as rules and qualifications can be obtained from your local Veterans of Foreign Wars post or on-line at VFW.org. The student entry deadline is Oct. 31, 2018.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) started the Voice of Democracy Scholarship program in 1947. The VFW became national sponsor in the late 1950s and assumed sole responsibility for the program in 1961. The competition was created to provide students grade 9-12 the opportunity to express themselves about democratic ideas and principles.

Interested students and teachers should contact the Voice of Democracy chairman at your local VFW Post.

Additionally, each year, more than 132,000 middle school students in grades 6-8 enter the Patriots Pen essay contest. The national first-place winner receives a $5,000 award. The first place winner from each state competes for $55,000 with each first place state winner receiving a minimum of $500.

The Patriots Pen essay competition is open to all students in grades 6-8, and the 2018-19 competition asks students to examine the statement, Why I Honor the American Flag. The first-place winner will receive a $5,000 award. More than 132,000 students compete annually in the Patriots Pen competition by writing a 300-400 word essay.

Student entries may be submitted (along with a completed entry form) to their local participating VFW Post. The deadline for entries for both programs in Oct. 31, 2018.

You can read the rules and eligibility requirements and download the brochure at www.vfw.org.
Job

Title: Administration

and Human Resource Officer

Organisation: Edes & Associates

Duty Station:

Uganda Kampala,Uganda

Reports to:

and Corporate Affairs Manager Administrationand Corporate Affairs Manager

About US:



Associates is a global professional services firm, providing quality, tailored

and innovative audit, assurance and advisory services to both public and

private sector institutions at local and international level. The firms

expertise in financial management and project management consultancy and

advisory work in developing economies is unrivaled. With offices in Kampala,

Abuja and London and an extensive network of associate consulting firms

worldwide, Edes & Associates is able to swiftly mobilise multi-disciplinary

expert teams in several countries to assist you and your business. They are

recruiting for a client who is committed to improving lives through providing

efficient and sustainable health care supply chain management solutions through

delivering life-saving medicines equipment and other medical supplies to over

two million Ugandans. Edes &Associates is a global professional services firm, providing quality, tailoredand innovative audit, assurance and advisory services to both public andprivate sector institutions at local and international level. The firmsexpertise in financial management and project management consultancy andadvisory work in developing economies is unrivaled. With offices in Kampala,Abuja and London and an extensive network of associate consulting firmsworldwide, Edes & Associates is able to swiftly mobilise multi-disciplinaryexpert teams in several countries to assist you and your business. They arerecruiting for a client who is committed to improving lives through providingefficient and sustainable health care supply chain management solutions throughdelivering life-saving medicines equipment and other medical supplies to overtwo million Ugandans.

Job Summary: The Administration and Human Resource

Officer will coordinate HR practices,

ensure effective provision of administrative support and provide business

support to the corporate office. The Administration and Human ResourceOfficerwill coordinate HR practices,ensure effective provision of administrative support and provide businesssupport to the corporate office.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:



job interviews; containing candidates and onboarding as may be required. Support the recruitment process by scheduling and participating injob interviews; containing candidates and onboarding as may be required.



work time and leave taken by completing leave forms, sharing leave reports

and timesheet records. Coordinate leave and time management ensuring accurate booking ofwork time and leave taken by completing leave forms, sharing leave reportsand timesheet records.

Coordinate probationary and annual performance evaluation exercises.

Coordinate staff training sessions and activities.



office documents for both hard and electronic copies. Maintain an efficient central filling system and manage filing ofoffice documents for both hard and electronic copies.



reservations, hotel hooking and airport transfers for project staff and

periderm requisitions. Make logistic arrangement including processing of visas. flightsreservations, hotel hooking and airport transfers for project staff andperiderm requisitions.



replenishment. Oversee the management of office supplies and stationery and ensurereplenishment.



standards are adhered to and maintained in all aspects of work, Ensure that the administration office procedures and establishedstandards are adhered to and maintained in all aspects of work,



administration support staff. Ensure efficient service provision for in-house meetings by theadministration support staff.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:



degree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, Social

Sciences or any other related field. The Administration and Human Resource Officer must hold a Bachelorsdegree in Human Resource Management, Business Administration, SocialSciences or any other related field.



be an added advantage. A Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration and Management willbe an added advantage.



Resource or related field Four years of relevant work experience in administration and HumanResource or related field .

Knowledge of Human Resource Management and the Ugandan Labor Law.



affairs. Knowledge of Administration, HR and best practices in corporateaffairs.

Proficiency of Microsoft Office and Outlook.

Excellent organizational skills.



skills. Excellent oral, written, numerical, articulation and communicationskills.

Flexible and a team player.



supervision. Ability to work on own initiative with autonomy and minimumsupervision.

Excellent Customer care skills.

Ability to multi-task and meet tight deadlines

How to Apply:



qualified and interested candidates should submit their detailed Curriculum

Vitae to The Human Capital and Business Manager, Edes & Associate Consultants

Limited, Plot 22 Entebbe Road, Bound Plaza, 6th Floor, P.0 Box 21984

Kampala-Uganda . Or email them to: All suitablyqualified and interested candidates should submit their detailed CurriculumVitae to The Human Capital and Business Manager, Edes & Associate ConsultantsLimited, Plot 22 Entebbe Road, Bound Plaza, 6th Floor, P.0 Box 21984Kampala-Uganda . Or email them to:

HR@edes.com

Deadline: 21st September 2018 by 5:00pm



NB: Our Client is an equal opportunity employer, committed to diversity within the work place. Our Client does not in any way encourage or facilitate any form of canvassing for jobs, solicit for money or gifts from anyone that is applying for a job. Should anyone contact you for any money, facilitation or gift to procure a vacancy, they MUST be immediately reported to the relevant authorities. Please include that disclaimer for each job.



latest jobs, please visit

find us on our facebook page For more of thelatest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com orfind us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline






The Association forRehabilitation and Re-orientation of Women for Development (TERREWODE), anational NGO headquartered in Soroti has tor the past 19 years dedicatedefforts to improving womens sexual, reproductive health rights. We are anactive partner of the Ministry of Health in supporting treatment of women andgirls who suffer from the devastating condition of Obstetric Fistula and otherchild birth injuries; and helping them to reintegrate in to society withdignity. We broke the silence on myths surrounding stula and have since thenimplemented innovative strategies for increasing awareness and advocacy aboutthe condition, including its prevention
For example, if one were to explore four-year colleges with psychology programs, the website would show that Northwestern University graduates of that program make an average of $45,667 and about 40 percent of graduates are working in Illinois within two years of finishing their degrees. The same search would show that psychology majors from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn an average salary of about $35,000 and about 61 percent are employed in the state within two years of graduation.
French actor Vincent Cassel and model Tina Kunakey arrive for their wedding at the city hall of Bidart, France. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Brides showing too much decolletage should be made to pay more for their wedding ceremonies, an Italian priest has proposed.

Cristiano Bobbo says he has noticed wedding dress necklines plunging lower and lower over recent years. Father Bobbo says brides who display too much flesh at the altar should be subjected to a sort of decency tax. "We could establish a sort of offering to be levied in proportion to the decency of the dress of the bride, who often present themselves looking coarse and vulgar, so the least dressed pay the most," said the priest, from Oriago, near Venice.

Writing to parishioners, he said an increasing number of brides turned up in gowns that were "inappropriate for the circumstances" of a church wedding.

Read More

Weddings had turned into glamorous social events, rather than solemn spiritual occasions, he said. Brides should enter into holy matrimony wearing outfits that are simple and in "good taste", he added.

Father Bobbo said his suggestion was a "jocular provocation" but something that he would like to implement given half the chance.

The proposal prompted a debate on social media, with many Italians accusing the priest of being prudish and out of touch.

"It feels like we're going back to the 1940s when there were loads of taboos in place," one man wrote on Twitter. "Does a low neckline really still cause a stir?"

But others were more supportive. "Finally, a bit of common sense. If people want to turn up in church semi-naked, why are they getting married in church?" wrote 'Nicoletta'.
The Bombay High Court Thursday came down heavily on the Maharashtra Police machinery for divulging information to the media about sensitive cases, saying such "over-enthusiasm could be fatal".

A division bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and B P Colabawalla was hearing petitions filed by family members of slain rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, seeking court supervision in probes being conducted by the CBI (in Dabholkar case) and the state CID (in Pansare case).

The bench, after perusing reports submitted by both the agencies on the investigation, said everyday there is vital information leaked to the media by probe agencies.

Referring to the press conference of senior IPS officer Parambir Singh along with Pune Police officials last Friday on their case against some activists arrested for alleged Maoist links, Justice Dharmadhikari said, "There is so much hue and cry about this media briefing and disclosures made."

During the press conference, Singh had read out letters purportedly exchanged between the arrested activists. He claimed the police had "conclusive proof" to link Left-wing activists arrested in June and last month to Maoists.

"This over-enthusiasm could be fatal. In such sensitive cases where the investigation is in crucial stages, it is not advisable for police to rush to the media. This shows total lack of maturity," Justice Dharmadhikari said.

The court said by disclosing information to the media, the police were alerting the accused persons.

"Such self-praise and self-patting on their backs by police machinery is not advisable. We see daily there is information in the press regarding such sensitive cases. At whose instance is information being given to the media?" Justice Dharmadhikari said.

The court asked Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to convey to senior police officials concerned that it is not happy with the press conference.

"Ask those police officials, who took the media briefing, to go to the trial court and see how difficult it is to prove a case against an accused person," Justice Dharmadhikari said.

CID counsel Ashok Mundargi told the court that the probe agency has not taken any press conference till date on this case.

"Our investigation is on. We are now waiting to interrogate two persons arrested by the CBI in the Dabholkar case," Mundargi said.

The court said the state Crime Investigation Department's (CID) probe should not come to a standstill just because it is waiting to interrogate the accused who are in CBI's custody.

"Do not abandon your (CID) past theories. The CID should continue to look into the involvement of other accused persons too. Both the cases (Dabholkar and Pansare killings) have different repercussions," Justice Dharmadhikari said.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on October 10. On that day, both the CBI and the CID will have to submit fresh progress reports.

Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while on a morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to injuries on February 20.

The high court had last month expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the CBI and the CID were probing the two cases.

Last month, the CBI arrested two persons - Sachin Andure from Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Sharad Kalaskar from Nallasopara in Palghar district - and claimed that they had shot Dabholkar.

In June 2016, the CBI had arrested Virendra Tawde, alleging he was one of the conspirators. Tawde is presently lodged in jail.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words of condemnation of the lynch mobs is like the disclaimer on cigarette pack, said actor Prakash Raj in Bengaluru.

"Manmohan Singh was quiet. But Modi's is an uneasy silence. Look at lynching and murders, silencing of progressive people. The government today is not just following divide and rule but also divert and rule," alleged Raj while speaking at the first death anniversary of activist Gauri Lankesh.

Stating that the investigations into Gauri's murder were pointing towards the same people, who the Left intellectuals had accused of the crime, Raj said, "It's been one year since we sowed Gauri into the earth. There is pain, outrage and desperation. But today, the probe is pointing towards the same people we had accused of the crime. In her death, Gauri has exposed such a big conspiracy, the killers of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalburgi, and the people behind it. The dam is full and waiting to explode. They are getting desperate and hence, more dangerous. So, we people have to be careful. We need to protect Hindu religion from them. They have made everyone into a sheep. We all are bound to die. Death is not a rejection of life. But since all these four rationalists were murdered, we are disturbed."

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mewani said there was a larger conspiracy of the fascist forces in the country. "Fascism has taken over the state. Dalits are getting united and taking to the streets against the Hindutva forces. To discredit this nascent movement, the government wants to portray that dalits are being instigated to do this by the Naxals. And the human rights lawyers standing with dalits are being discredited. In this whole process, they are trying to extract sympathy for Modi alleging threat to his life," said Mewani, also expressing concern over the safety of his activist friends Umar Khalid (who was attacked recently) and Shehla Rashid.

Mewani urged like-minded people to come to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to fight fascist forces electorally. "Our energy will be exhausted in seminars and Modi-Amit Shah will rule. We need to dislodge the BJP from power," he said.

Student leader Umar Khalid said, "The fact that they killed Gauri shows how scared they were of her. I was not surprised that Modi follows those who celebrated Gauri Lankesh murder. They came to kill me as well. I want to tell them, if they think they can silence we are not such people. We are not the followers of Savarkar, who begged with the British to be spared. We are the followers of Bhagat Singh. I have been called anti-national so I dont blame those who came to shoot me. I blame the government and the anchors who readily labelled me as an anti-national."

Attacking the BJP, former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) Kanhaiya Kumar slammed the Modi government. "Today, Hindus are in danger, the BJP says. But that is half truth. Hindus are in danger because the Prime Minister is Narendra Modi. Around, 12,000 farmers committed suicide, little girls were abused in a shelter home in Muzaffarpur, thousands of engineers are jobless. Now, are these Hindus not in danger?" he asked, adding that the arrest of the "urban Naxals" is the BJP's tactic to divert attention from the real issues.

Kumar said saffron was donned by many great saints. But today, it is being tarnished by those who are wearing it by indulging in violence. "Every one who dons saffron is not a Ram bhakt, but can also be a Raavan who kidnapped Sita in disguise."
In a historic verdict, upholding an individual's right to personal liberty, the Supreme Court on Thursday effectively legalised gay sex in India by striking down clauses of Section 377 of the IPC that criminalised gay sex, calling it unconstitutional.

"Consensual sex between competent adults from the LGBT community is decriminalised (in India)," said the Supreme Court, upholding individual freedom and right to privacy.

In course of the judgment, the Supreme Court also struck down the Delhi High Court's 2013 Suresh Kumar Koushal judgment and said, that Thursday's judgment will be considered in all pending prosecutions related to the matter.

A five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court pronounced the verdict on a group of petitions seeking to decriminalise Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises gay sex. The bench, headed by CJI Dipak Misra, also comprised of Justices R.F. Nariman, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. Interestingly, four judgmentsall concurringwere read out on Thursday. While CJI Misra and Justice Khanwilkar delivered a combined judgment, the rest three had their own separate judgments.

All the judgments were routed on themes, including individuality, right to privacy, constitutional morality over societal morality and arbitrariness of Section 377.

Beginning the process of giving the verdict on Thursday, CJI Dipak Misra said Section 377 was arbitrary and noted that homosexual couples had equal rights.

"Sexual orientation is one of many biological phenomena. It is natural and no discrimination can exist. Any violation is against freedom of speech and expression," said CJI Misra, while Justice Nariman observed that homosexuality cannot be regarded as a "mental disorder".

"To deny LGBT community of their right to sexual orientation is a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy. They cannot be pushed into obscurity by an oppressive colonial legislation," said Justice D.Y. Chandrachud.

"History owes an apology to these people (from LGBTcommunity) and their families. Homosexuality is part of human sexuality. They have the right of dignity and free of discrimination," said Justice Indu Malhotra in her judgment.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine. The Supreme Court, on Thursday, noted that bestiality would still remain an offence under Section 377.

The constitutional validity of Section 377 was first raised by the Naaz Foundation, an NGO, which in 2001 had approached the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court in 2009 struck down Section 377 as illegal.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav is known to be a 'magnanimous' leader in political circles for helping individuals in need and even batting for a cause. In the past, the Samajwadi Party chief and his family have extended a helping hand to individuals and communities. And the recent destructive floods in Kerala are no exception.

Akhilesh and his wife Dimple Yadav, an MP, together donated Rs 1 crore to the Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund to help the flood victims recently.

Samajwadi Party national secretary Joe Antony handed over a demand draft of Rs 1 crore to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his office in Thiruvananthapuram on September 1.

The donation given by Akhilesh and Dimple is rare as no other such assistance has been given by any other party or individual in the capacity of being president of a political party for the flood victims in Kerala.

According to Anthony, following the initial contribution from Akhilesh and Dimple, all the MLAs and MLCs of the Samajwadi Party have started contributing Rs.5 lakh each towards the Kerala Chief Ministers Distress Relief Fund and this is expected to cross a sum of Rs 5 crore soon.

Speaking on the issue, Akhilesh said, We have started collecting contributions for Kerala flood victims from our family and this campaign was joined by our supporters, cadres and even children who have given their contribution. This feeling binds the country in the thread of unity.

On the directives of Akhilesh, and under the guidance of Anthony, the Samajwadi Party cadre and its leaders sprung into action immediately and actively executed relief measures in Kerala's flood-affected areas, especially in Aluva, Chalakudy and North Paravoor.

In addition to the assistance, Akhilesh hailed the work done by Vijayan in connection with rescue, relief and rehabilitation work in that state and also sent a letter to the Kerala chief minister.

As the news of the flood devastation in Kerala spread, Akhilesh became active on social media and urged the people of Uttar Pradesh to extend all possible help to the flood victims.
The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite...
Two buildings sit on the property and were involved in the fire; six of the violations filed after the Aug. 26 fatal fire were specifically issued for a rear building where the children were having a sleepover when the fire started. The citations call for Gutierrez to do things such as repair building damages and post his contact information on the property, according to city records. The citations were issued to make sure the now-vacant building was secured.
Soon after recommending the dissolution of the Telangana assembly, TRS chief K. Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday announced candidates for 105 seats and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling its president Rahul Gandhi the "biggest buffoon".

Rao, who has been asked to continue as the caretaker chief minister, also claimed the Election Commission has been consulted and that Telangana would go to polls along with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

Branding the Congress as the "biggest enemy" of Telangana, he flayed it for making "baseless, mindless and meaningless" allegations against the TRS government.

"Congress is Telangana's villain number one," he told a press conference but largely spared the BJP any criticism.

Recalling how the Congress president had hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate on the no-confidence motion and his subsequent wink, Rao said," Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in this country."

He described Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM as a "friendly party" and said the TRS will continue to work with it.

Rao, however, made it clear that the TRS would go it alone in the assembly elections and asserted it will win more than 100 of the state's 119 seats. The 120-member assembly also has a nominated member.
In a historical judgment, the Supreme Court has said Section 377 was arbitrary in the current scenario. "We must recognise individuality. LGBT community posses equal right," said CJI Dipak Misra reading out the judgment on the much-awaited gay rights verdict.

A five-member Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court pronounced the verdict on a group of petitions seeking to decriminalise Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalises gay sex. The Supreme Court said that Thursday's judgment will be considered in all pending prosecutions related to the matter.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

In July during the Section 377 hearings, the Supreme Court bench had said courts cannot wait for a majoritarian government to enact, amend or strike down laws that violate fundamental rights.

However, the Supreme Court had also said that it would confine itself to the issue of how Section 377 restricts consensual acts between two adults and not go into wider social issues.

Interestingly, the Narendra Modi government left the issue of the constitutional validity of Section 377 to the wisdom of the Supreme Court, though it added it would intervene if other matters such as gay marriage came up.
India on Thursday leapfrogged itself from a regressive Victorian era to the 21st century as the Supreme Court struck down clauses of Section 377 of the IPC that criminalised gay sex. In the landmark judgment, Justice Indu Malhotra, one among the five judges of the bench that delivered the historical verdict, said "History owes an apology to these people (from LGBTcommunity) and their families".

The gay rights activists and members of the LGBTQ community across India are on a celebratory mode. Social media is flooded with messages and posts hailing the historic verdict. "Is this the most beautiful, romantic judgment ever delivered?" wondered journalist Rana Ayyub on her Twitter handle.

Take me as I am says the Chief Justice pronouncing his order on #Section377 . Is this the most beautiful, romantic judgdement ever delivered :)  Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) September 6, 2018

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, a vocal advocate of gay rights, was among the firsts to welcome the judgment that struck down the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377. "So pleased to learn that the Supreme Court has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private," he tweeted. Notably, Tharoor had tried to move a Bill on decriminalising gay sex in Parliament in 2015. However, the motion was defeated in Lok Sabha for 71 against 24 votes.

So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018

"We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society," tweeted the Congress party soon after the verdict.

We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society. #Section377 pic.twitter.com/Fh65vOn7h9  Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2018

Curiously, the ruling BJP's social media handles are yet to take note of the verdict on Section 377.

The United Nations also congratulated India on the significant human rights verdict.

Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who had earlier remarked that homosexuality was a tendency and not permanent, opined that the democracy has been strengthened.

Letting go of obsolete laws, keeping up with a scientific temper and honouring peoples choices has strengthened our democracy. #Section377  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (@SriSri) September 6, 2018

Here's how tweeple reacted to the verdict:

However, there were a few dissenting voices, too.
Stepping up space cooperation, ISRO and France's space agency, CNES, on Thursday inked an agreement to collaborate on Gaganyaan, ISRO's first manned space mission.



The two countries have formed a working group for the Gaganyaan project.

The ambit of the cooperation includes giving ISRO access to space hospital facilities in France and combining expertise of ISRO and CNES in the fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, the president of the French space agency, Jean-Yves Le Gall, said.

The MoU was signed to define the conditions in which we are going to work together, the CNES president said.

India plans to send three humans to space before 2022. ISRO's Gaganyaan mission is significant as it would make India one of the four countries in the world after Russia, US and China to launch a manned space flight.

The first step under the MoU is to exchange specialists to work on [space] medicine. We are going to send our specialists to identify exactly what we are going to do together. We have facilities like space hospital in France, and so we are exchanging notes on the topic, Gall said in an interaction with PTI.

Engineering teams have already begun discussions and it is envisioned that infrastructure such as CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future Indian astronauts, as well as exchange of specialist personnel, Gall said.

ISRO plans to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts.

The seeds of the MoU were sown when India and France released a joint vision statement on space cooperation during French President Emmanuel Marcon's visit to Delhi this March.

Under the vision statement, it was agreed that ISRO and CNES would jointly develop capabilities and critical technologies addressing radiation-shielding solutions, personal hygiene and waste management system and design of man-in-loop simulators for human space flight as well as bioastronautics.

ISRO chairman K. Sivan said the joint vision statement was an umbrella agreement, while Thursday's MoU was more specific to the Gaganyaan space mission.

French-Indian space cooperation spans the areas of climate monitoring, with a fleet of joint satellites devoted to research and operational applications and innovation through a joint technical group tasked with inventing launch vehicles of the future.

ISRO and CNES also plan to work on Mars, Venus and asteroids.

Gall said, "The joint Oceansat 3-Argos mission scheduled to launch next year, the French-Indian Trishna thermal infrared imaging satellite are being readied, and a study to develop a joint constellation of satellites for maritime domain awareness is also under way.

France is one of the three countriesthe other two being the US and Russiathat share robust cooperation with India in the three strategic areas of defence, nuclear energy and space.

-PTI
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold their third summit in less than six months when they meet in the North's capital, Pyongyang, on September 18-20.

A South Korean official announced the summit plan early on Thursday. South Korea's National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong met Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday and lauded his determination to denuclearise the Korean peninsula. Kim reportedly told South Korean officials that his faith in US President Donald Trump remains unchanged.

Despite a meeting between Trump and Kim in June, progress on denuclearisation in the Korean peninsula has been slow, with Trump last month calling off a visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to North Korea.

Kim and Moon met for the first time in April on the South Korean side of Panmunjom village in the demilitarised zone of the two countries' border. They next met in a impromptu summit on the North Korean side of Panmunjom in late May.

(With agency inputs)
Even as the Indian Air Force on Wednesday reiterated the necessity of the controversial Rafale fighter deal, a Hong Kong-based daily reported that China has achieved a breakthrough in its J-20 stealth fighter programme by ironing out flaws in its indigenous engine. The daily noted that the development could help fulfil China's plan to put the J-20 into mass production by the end of the year.

While China has built a range of indigenous fighters over the past five decades, the country has struggled to master the development of reliable engines that match the durability of comparable Western and Russian systems. This has been attributed to the country's inability to master the high-precision metallurgy to fabricate engine components that can operate at extreme temperatures for long periods.

Chinese-developed engines in the past were reputed to have operating cycles lasting only hundreds of hours before requiring complete overhaul compared with Western systems that could operate for thousands of hours.

As a result, a number of existing Chinese aircraft use engines directly imported from Russia or developed with Moscow's help. These include the JF-17 fighter, which uses the RD-33 engine used on Russia's MiG-29, and the J-10, which uses variants of the Russian AL-31 family. Interestingly, both the RD-33 and AL-31 engines are well-known to the Indian military: the former is used by the MiG-29s in service with the Indian Air Force and Navy, while the AL-31 powers the SU-30MKI fighter.

On Wednesday, the South China Morning Post quoted Chinese military sources as saying developers had rectified overheating problems with the fan blades of the WS-15 engine powering the J-20. The WS-15 is speculated to be capable of producing up to 133 kilonewtons of thrust. The WS-15 is considered vital to enhancing the J-20's capabilities as Russia has been reluctant to part with its latest technology given China's alleged history of espionage and reverse-engineering.

The WS-15 uses single-crystal turbine blades for its engine fan. These blades are able to operate at extreme temperatures for prolonged periods. The high-temperature capability is crucial for the WS-15 to provide 'supercruise' performance for the J-20. Supercruise is the ability of an aircraft to attain supersonic speed without the use of its afterburner and gives it an advantage in combat scenarios, in addition to reducing its fuel consumption.

The J-20 is considered as being vital to China's plans to project power against potential rivals in the Asia-Pacific and India as the US F-35 stealth fighter enters services with the US military, Japan, South Korea and Australia over the next few years.

China currently has around 20 J-20 aircraft, but is reportedly eyeing over a hundred of the aircraft. In addition to its use as a fighter to shoot down enemy aircraft, experts claim the J-20's large size makes it suitable for long-range strike missions.
The New York Times on Wednesday took a rare step of publishing an anonymous op-ed essay which was written by "a senior official in the Trump administration". The NY Times says that it was the only way they could "deliver an important perspective" to their readers.

There was an immediate guessing game in Washington about who wrote the article and whether it came from someone within the White House or in another government agency.

Headlined as I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, the editorial in a way is a broad repetition of Watergate journalist Bob Woodward, Fear: Trump in White House which quoted many Trump administration officials on the way they dealt with the president and his tantrums.

Asked about the column during a White House event, Trump called it a gutless editorial, bashed the New York Times as failing, and ticked off economic achievements that he said were proof of his leadership.

Staring into the cameras, he said: Nobody is going to come close to beating me in 2020 because of what weve done.

Trump later fired off a one-word message on Twitter: TREASON?

In another tweet, he said: If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

The writer of the editorial starts of by saying that President Trump is facing a test to his position unlike any faced by a modern American leader. It is not the midtern elections or the special council investigation into the 2016 election meddling that looms large over the presidency, but the fact that many of his own senior officials are working diligently from within his administration "to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations".

The writer wants the administration to succeed but believes that the officials' "first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic." Hence, many in the administration have "vowed to do what we can" to thwart Trump's misguided impulses.

The article has fueled Trump's critics claims that he is unfit for the position and is likely to resurrect talk of impeachment. The official ascribes the Trump administration's basic problem to his amorality. "Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making," he writes.

The article also reiterated ideas long espoused by critics who claim that though Trump was elected as a Republican, he "shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives."

While bashing Trump for is personal follies, the writer makes it a point to talk about what the administration has achieved despite Trump's "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective" leadership.

He claims the negative press coverage has failed to notice the bright spots like "effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more."

The writer claims that there are "unsung heroes in and around the White House" who protect the world from Trump.

his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back. He notes that some of them have been cast as villains but "they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing".

Like Bob Woodward did, the writer brings attention to Trump's myopic approach to foreign policy. Trump's approach to Vladimir Putin has been one of regard and preference. But the administration has continuously called out on Russia for its meddling.

The writer goes on to point out that the it the nation that has allowed the president to do what he does, and that is the concern. "We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility," he laments.

In the end he calls on citizens to rise above politics and to "shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans."
(Reuters) - The exit of Apple Inc's longtime mobile software products chief may be a surprise, but a band of able executives led by Tim Cook and a bigger role for design boss Jonathan Ive meant the company was in good hands, analysts said on Tuesday.

Ive, Apple's celebrated industrial design chief will now look into both hardware and software designs, following the departure of Scott Forstall after years of friction with other top executives.

"Yesterday's announcement all but confirmed that Ive will be with the company for the foreseeable future, putting to rest a recurring investor concern of an Apple without Ive," Piper Jaffray & Co analyst Gene Munster said in a research note.

"This, combined with Tim Cook's nine years remaining on his contract with Apple, suggests the two most critical management figures will be in place for the longer term."

John Browett, recently hired as Apple's retail chief, will also leave, the company said on Monday.

Eddy Cue, who runs online products, will lead Apple Maps and its Siri voice search software, while Craig Federighi, who oversees the OSX software that powers the Macintosh computers, will take charge of the iOS software.

"We think that despite the departure of Forstall who ran iOS development, iOS's future is in good hands," Munster said.

Forstall, the long-time lieutenant of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, refused to sign a public apology after the mapping software on the latest iPhone contained embarrassing errors and drew fierce criticism, Reuters reported citing sources.

His departure was years in the making, and came to a head with the Apple Maps incident, sources said.

"Though Scott Forstall's departure is a surprise, this appears to be part of Tim Cook putting his own stamp on the company, and importantly, he is still surrounded by several key long-time Apple executives and innovators," Robert W. Baird & Co analyst William Power said.

(Reporting by Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore, Editing by Joyjeet Das)

(This story corrects the headline to add attribution)
New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Thursday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea moved by lawyer Gautam Khaitan to set aside a trial court order summoning him as an accused in a money laundering case related to the VVIP chopper scam.

A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel issued notice to ED and sought its stand on the petition which also sought quashing of the money laundering complaint against Khaitan as well as the third supplementary charge sheet, or prosecution complaint, filed by the agency in the case.

Khaitan, represented by senior advocate Siddharth Luthra and advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey, has also sought a declaration from the court on whether the offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) are cognizable or non-cognizable.

A cognizable offence is one for which a person can be arrested by a police officer without needing a warrant.

A non-cognizable offence is one for which a police officer requires a warrant to make an arrest.

Apart from Khaitan, the trial court on July 24 had summoned as accused former AgustaWestland and Finmeccanica directors Giuseppe Orsi and Bruno Spagnolini, ex-Indian Air Force (IAF) chief S P Tyagi as well as 28 Indian and foreign individuals and companies, including AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccanica SPA.

The special court had passed the direction after taking cognisance of the charge sheet, saying there was enough evidence against the accused in the matter relating to the alleged money laundering to the tune of around Euro 28 million.

It had also issued fresh non-bailable warrants against Italian middlemen Carlo Gerosa and Guido Haschke and Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena in the case.

The ED, in its charge sheet, has alleged that money was laundered through multiple foreign companies which were used as fronts to park alleged kickbacks.

The agency said that it may file more supplementary charge sheets in the matter.

On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal.

Those summoned by the court include Tyagi and his cousins, Khaitan and his wife Ritu, Rajeev Saxena and his wife Shivani, both directors of two Dubai-based accused firms UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings, O P Khaitan and Co, International Mediterranean Consulting, Tunisia and Infotech Design Systems Gordian Services.

"Khaitan, the mastermind behind laundering the proceeds of crime in the present case, was known to Gerosa, Haschke and Tyagi brothers. He prepared a corporate structure of companies and got incorporated several legal entities across the globe.

"Thereafter, the proceeds of crime were laundered through various companies in Tunisia, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Switzerland, Dubai etc.," the charge sheet has said.

It further alleged that Khaitan also received proceeds of crime in personal bank accounts opened in his name and the accounts of his companies in India and abroad, Windsor Holding Group Ltd, Ismax International Ltd and O P Khaitan & Co.

The ED had earlier attached properties worth Rs 10 crore and freezed shares worth more than Rs 150 crore belonging to Tyagi Brothers, Gautam Khaitan, Gerosa, Haschke, Christian Michel James and Rajiv Saxena.

PTI HMP SRY
Mumbai, Sep 6 (PTI) Crisis-hit Jet Airways Thursday told senior employees that salaries will be paid in two instalments till November.

With pilots warning of "non-cooperation" over delay in pay, the airline has assured them that 50 per cent of their August salary will be paid by September 11, sources said.

"The disbursal of salary for GMs and above, cockpit crew and AMEs will be postponed for the month of August 2018, and shall be disbursed in 2 instalments  50 per cent by 11th September and balance fifty per cent by 26th of September 2018," Jet Airways human resources head Rahul Taneja said in a circular.

For the months of September and October 2018, the same disbursement schedule will be followed, he added.

The Naresh Goyal-promoted full service carrier, in which Gulf airline Etihad holds 24 per cent stake, is grappling with acute financial crunch after two back-to-back quarterly losses.

"Withholding salaries, that too without prior notice, is a serious matter and the management will bear sole responsibility for any repercussions," Jet Airways' pilots said in a communication to the management earlier this week.

"We would like to advice that failure to address the above points and not paying the salaries on time would lead to non-cooperation by pilots," they warned.

The salaries for the month of August have been delayed.

In a statement, a Jet Airways' spokesperson said the management is in dialogue with the pilots and other members of its team to resolve some issues, including disbursement of salaries.

Significantly, Jet Airways had delayed payment of July salaries to its staff.

"Our issues such as the disbursement of salaries, are being amicably addressed and we continue to resolve ongoing concerns through constant dialogue with the airline's management team," the National Aviator's Guild (NAG) said in a statement.

The NAG, a grouping of around 1,000 pilots of Jet Airways, also said the management has been receptive of the cost-saving initiatives suggested by it.

In June, the airline proposed up to 25 per cent cut in salaries of its employees, but deferred the plan following opposition from its pilots' union -- National Aviator's Guild (NAG) -- and engineers.

"(Earlier) it was agreed that, henceforth, salaries would be paid on time and, if there were to be a delay, the same would be communicated to the pilots well in time," the pilots said.

"We are deeply disappointed over both these conditions being violated by the management and the pilot body would be sure to share our disappointment," they said.

Last month, the pilots had written to airline's CEO Vinay Dube expressing their displeasure over the "unnecessary" increase in expenditure in recent times.

In the fresh communication, they have also demanded that "all unnecessary positions and committees/ groups created in the last three months be dissolved with immediate effect and the hiring of the expensive expats (vis-a-vis domestic pilots) be stopped forthwith".

"We trust you will treat the above with the urgency it deserves and take immediate steps to resolve the situation," they said in the communication.

The airline spokesperson said that in line with the mandate received from the board of directors, the management is undertaking definite steps to turn around its business and is evaluating various funding options on priority to resolve the interim challenge.

The management is confident of resolving these challenges, he added.

While stating that the airline is committed to honour its obligations towards employees, the spokesperson claimed that it has "already paid salaries on time to 84 percent of its employees".

The airline reported a loss of Rs 1,036 crore in the three months ended March this year and the same widened to Rs 1,300 crore in the June quarter.

In a communication to employees, the airline has said that disbursal of salary for "general managers and above, cockpit crew and aircraft maintenance engineers will be postponed for the month of August 2018".

The amount shall be disbursed in two instalments  50 per cent by September 11 and balance by September 26, as per the communication.

"For the months of September and October 2018, the same disbursement schedule will be followed," it added.

PTI IAS RAM SRY
Colombo, Sept 6 (PTI) Sri Lankan officials accused in abductions and enforced disappearances during the country's brutal civil war against the LTTE should not be promoted or transferred till the final determination of such cases, a special panel has recommended.

The Office of Missing Persons (OMP), which is tasked with determining the status of all persons who went "missing" during the war-era, also recommended interim measures to provide relief and reparation to the families affected by the disappearances of their loved ones.

"In particular, ensure that suspected officials are not transferred, promoted or offered any other office in the armed forces, police or the public service while cases against them are pending," the OMP recommended in an interim report published Wednesday.

The OMP came into force in February as the first steps toward reconciling the island nation's war-era past  tracing about 20,000 people who went missing during 37 years of fighting for a separate Tamil state.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had run a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

\R The committee is compiling a centralised list of the missing and their current status. \R

The UN Human Rights Council had also recommended the formation of the committee to compel Sri Lanka to be accountable for the alleged human rights abuses.

The report said the current socio-economic situation of many families of the missing or disappeared is dire and they cannot wait until a final reparations scheme is devised. Therefore, a key set of measures is required in the interim to provide urgent and immediate relief to the families.

The OMP also recommended separate programmes for such families on debt relief, housing development, educational support, and vocational training and livelihood development.

It also recommended introduction of an employment quota of one per cent within the state sector to facilitate family members of the missing and disappeared who have requisite skills. PTI CORR SCY

SCY
Sofia, Sept 6 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov here and invited companies from the Balkan nation to manufacture in India as part of the ambitious 'Make in India' programme.

Kovind arrived here on Tuesday from Cyprus on the second leg of his eight-day three-nation visit to Europe to continue India's high-level engagements with European countries. From Bulgaria, he will fly to Czech Republic.

"President Kovind meets PM Borissov of Bulgaria; calls for stronger bilateral relations; invites Bulgarian companies to come and manufacture in India as part of the 'Make in India' programme," the President's Secretariat tweeted.

The bilateral trade between India and Bulgaria stands at just over USD 300 million.

Referring to the trade volume, Kovind on Wednesday said at the India-Bulgaria Business Forum, "This falls way below the potential. I am confident that a lot more can be done together if we drive deeper into each others economies and look for prospects. I am certain your deliberations today would be most productive on that account."

"While our political relations have always been strong and deep, our economic ties have so far been modest. It is time for us to catch up," he added.

The President said Bulgarian companies can take advantage of the high growth trajectory of the Indian economy. And Indian companies could form partnerships in Bulgaria both for the domestic market and for the wider EU economy.

"The key areas with potential for two-way trade and investment engagement include ICT, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture, Food Processing, Auto Components, Medical Devices, Defence Production, Infrastructure and Tourism sectors," he said.

Kovind said India with a current growth rate of 8.2% is on course to become a 5 trillion economy by 2025.

"India has recently become the 6th largest economy in the world with a GDP of US dollars 2.6 trillion. The IMF has forecast the Indian growth to be at 7.8% in 2019.Our economic graph offers long-term prospects for Bulgarian companies to invest, trade and establish technology tie-ups in India," he said.

The President said India has the largest pool of digital talent in the world and is the largest ICT sourcing destination and Bulgaria is also famous for its ICT strengths. So there is "immense potential for our companies to come together to collaborate in artificial intelligence, data analytics, the internet of things, robotics and nano-technology".

He also said Bulgaria can help India meet its massive defence requirements.

"I invite Bulgarian companies to join hands with Indian majors and manufacture in India both for the local market and for rest of the world," Kovind said.

Bulgaria is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member country with a large indigenous defence industry. It is ranked as a "medium" small arms exporter according to the Small Arms Survey. PTI SCY SCY

SCY
New Delhi, Sept 6 (PTI) Following are the top foreign stories at 2000 hours:





FGN30 HOMOSEXUALITY-WORLDREAX

World media hails landmark SC verdict legalising gay sex

Washington/London, Sep 6 (PTI) The world media Thursday hailed the overturning of a colonial-era law in India that criminalised gay sex, saying the landmark ruling was a boost for gay rights not only in the world's largest democracy but also across the world.



FGN18 US-3RDLD OPED TRUMP

Trump's actions 'detrimental' to America's health, says anonymous official in administration

Washington: Donald Trump's "erratic" and "amoral" behaviour is "detrimental" to America's health, an anonymous official has warned in an explosive op-ed in a leading US daily and said many top officials are working diligently to frustrate parts of the President's agenda and his "worst inclinations".By Lalit K Jha





FGN35 BULGARIA-GANDHI-LD STATUE

Kovind, Bulgarian Prez unveil Mahatma Gandhi's statue

Sofia: A statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled on Thursday by President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bugarian counterpart Rumen Radev at the famous South Park here.





FGN14 PAK-NUKES-REPORT

Pakistan could emerge as world's 5th largest nuclear weapons state: report

Washington: Pakistan currently has 140 to 150 nuclear warheads and the stockpile is expected to increase to 220 to 250 by 2025 if the current trend continues, according to a latest report by authors keeping a track of the country's nukes.By Lalit K Jha





FGN10 UN-INDOPAK-KASHMIR

Pakistan focussed to undermine India's territorial integrity through terrorism: India at UN

United Nations:Pakistan's focus for decades has been to undermine India's territorial integrity through the "explicit use of terrorism" as a state policy, New Delhi said in a stern response after Islamabad raked up the Kashmir issue at the UN. By Yoshita Singh





FGN26 PAK-DAY-KASHMIR

Imperative to find solution to Kashmir issue: Pak leadership

Islamabad: Pakistan's President and Prime Minister Thursday said it was imperative to find a solution to the Kashmir issue under the UN resolutions for peace in the region as they voiced their desire to promote mutual cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality.By Sajjad Hussain





FGN15 UN-KERALA-LD CLIMATE

Citing Kerala floods, UN chief says 'climate change running faster than we are'

United Nations: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres cited the devastating floods in Kerala and the raging wildfires in California to seek action to prevent greater climate-related crises and warned that climate change was "running faster than we are. By Yoshita Singh





FGN31 US-INDIA-SAEED

US shares India's concern that Pak allows Hafiz Saeed roam free: official

Washington/New Delhi: America shares India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed roam free despite the reward the US has placed on his head for his role in terror activities, a senior State Department official said Thursday.





FGN22 PREZ-BULGARIA

Kovind meets Bulgarian PM, invites companies to participate in 'Make in India' prog

Sofia: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov here and invited companies from the Balkan nation to manufacture in India as part of the ambitious 'Make in India' programme.





FGN20 CHINA-PAK-TALKS

China's foreign minister to visit Pakistan tomorrow to hold talks with new govt

Beijing: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Pakistan Friday to hold talks with the country's new leadership to consolidate cooperation and elevate the all-weather bilateral strategic partnership.By K J M Varma





FGN13 US-SOCIALMEDIA-LD CONGRESS

FB, Twitter top honchos testify before US Congress; say taking steps to prevent election meddling

Washington: Facebook and Twitter are taking steps to prevent foreign interference in the upcoming crucial elections in the US and around the world, top executives of the two social media giants have assured lawmakers during a Congressional hearing. By Lalit K Jha





FGN6 TRUMP-MATTIS-REPORT

Trump seeking to replace Mattis, claims report

Washington: US President Donald Trump is seeking to replace Defence Secretary Jim Mattis mainly because of the sharp differences between them, a report in The Washington Post has claimed.By Lalit K Jha





FGN4 US-BOOK-TRUMP

Bob Woodward's book a work of fiction: US President Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump has described famed investigative journalist Bob Woodward's forthcoming book, which has some damaging revelation about his presidency, as a work of fiction.



FGN25 S.SUDAN-TROOPS-LD GUILTY

South Sudan judge convicts 10 troops for 2016 rampage

Juba: A military judge in South Sudan on Thursday sentenced 10 soldiers to jail for a 2016 rampage in which a local journalist was killed and five international aid workers were gang-raped.(AP)



FGN28 JAPAN-4TH LD QUAKE

Race to find survivors after deadly Japan quake, landslides

Tokyo: Rescuers scrabbled through mud for survivors Thursday after a powerful earthquake sent hillsides crashing down onto homes in Japan, killing at least nine people and leaving dozens of people missing. AFP RUP

RUP
Chicago, Sep 6 (AFP) A gunman opened fire at a bank building in the US city of Cincinnati Thursday, fatally wounding three people before police shot and killed him, authorities said.

The incident occurred after 9:00 am local time at the lobby and loading dock of the 30-story Fifth Third Bank building in the city's downtown business district.

"An individual entered the loading dock area, began firing shots," Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said.

Nearby police engaged the gunman in a shootout and killed him, the chief said.

Three people died of their wounds and two others remain hospitalized.

The shooter's identity or motive were not released. (AFP) MRJ

MRJ
Washington, Sep 6 (AFP) First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday accused the author of an anonymous attack on her husband in the op-ed pages of The New York Times of "sabotaging" the country.

The article's author, who is known to the newspaper but described only as a senior administration official, portrayed President Donald Trump as "amoral" and reckless, and said a "quiet resistance" had formed among top aides to thwart his most misguided actions.

"People with no names are writing our nation's history," the first lady said in a statement. "Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences." She added that anyone bold enough to make such accusations should "stand by their words" rather than hiding behind anonymity.

"To the writer of the op-ed - you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions," she said. (AFP) MRJ

MRJ
Das visits China's leading food processing company plant to

see functioning

Ranchi, Sept 6 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das

Thursday visited the food processing unit of the Sanquan

Company located in Zhengzhou city in China to see the

functioning of the plant.

Chen Zemin, the Chairman of the company, welcomed Das

and other members of the delegation and informed them about

different facilities of his plant, food processing, packaging

and quality testing etc., for about an hour, according to an

official release issued here.

This company has seven plants all over China and about

10,000 people work in this company with a turnover being about

10 billion yuan which is roughly Rs 10,000 crore, the release

said.

Das informed the Chairman of the company about the

possibility of production of vegetables and food processing in

Jharkhand and also about the food processing policy and the

facilities provided by the state government for the

industries.

The chief minister also invited the Chairman to Jharkhand

to understand these possibilities.

Das invited him and his delegates for the Global

Agriculture and Food Summit to be held on November 29-30.

In Jharkhand this area can get maximum investment, the Chief

Minister said adding in the coming days, Jharkhand will become

India's largest food processing hub.

Chen Zemin assured that he will study the Indian market and

the possibilities of food processing in Jharkhand and will

definitely take further action. PTI PVR

SNS SNS
Telly actor found hanging in hotel room, suicide suspected

(Eds: Minor changes in para 3, 7)

Siliguri, Sep 6 (PTI) Television actor Payal

Chakrabory has been found hanging in a hotel room in Siliguri,

north Bengal, under mysterious circumstances, police said.

Chakraborty, a resident of South Kolkata, have

appeared in multiple TV soaps and web series.

"Payal was found hanging from the ceiling of her

hotel room Wednesday morning. She had checked into the hotel

the evening before," Siliguri police commissionerate DCP

Gourab Lal said.

The police have also found out that the 38-year-old

actor, who recently separated from her husband, is survived by

a two-year-old son, Lal said.

"Prime facie, it looks like a case of suicide, but the

police are not ruling out other possibilities. The body has

been sent to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for

post-mortem," the DCP added.

Arun Deb, an employee at the hotel, said the actor had

told the staff members Tuesday night that she would be leaving

for Gangtok the next day.

"Chakraborty, after checking in, had categorically

told the hotel officials that she did not want to be disturbed

in her room. She had locked the room from inside and did not

order dinner," he said.

The following morning when there was no response from

her despite repeated knocks on the door, the hotel contacted

the police, Deb added.

The actor's family members, who arrived here Thursday

afternoon, said they were not aware of the reasons behind her

Siliguri visit.

"Payal told us she would be going to Ranchi. I am not

sure what was she doing in Siliguri," her father Prabir Guha

said. PTI CORR

RMS

RMS RMS
Chandigarh, Sep 6 (PTI) Training guns on his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda who was booked in a case of alleged irregularities by Gurgaon police, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said Thursday that if one has done no wrong then he should have nothing to fear.

Khattar also said that Hooda's dubbing of the FIR against him as "political vendetta" was not correct. The chief minister was speaking to reporters after addressing a rally at Naraingarh in Ambala district.

Asked to comment on the case against Hooda, Khattar said the Congress leader had said in the state Assembly that he was not afraid of any investigation.

"Now why he is terming the case as political vendetta, which is not true," Khattar said. Khattar's attack on Hooda came a day before the monsoon session of the state Assembly begins here.

Khattar said if a serious complaint is received against anyone, particularly when it is related to corruption, investigation would definitely be conducted. "If one is not guilty and has done no wrong, then he should have nothing to fear," he added.

Hooda and Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, were among others booked by Gurgaon police Saturday in connection with alleged irregularities in land deal in Gurgaon.

Hooda had said in Jaipur on Tuesday that the BJP government was pursuing "vendetta politics". Hooda claimed there was no land scam during his tenure as chief minister and alleged the case against him was lodged to divert people's attention from the "controversial" Rafale aircraft deal.

The FIR was lodged by the Gurgaon police after a complaint from one Surinder Sharma, resident of Nuh.

The FIR said Vadra's Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd purchased 3.5 acre of land in Gurgaon's Sector 83 from Onkareshwar Properties at a price of Rs 7.50 crore in 2008, when Hooda was the chief minister and held the portfolio of Town and Country Planning Department.

Later, Skylight Hospitality sold this land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore, after procuring a commercial licence for development of the colony with the influence of Hooda, Sharma alleged.

Sharma had alleged that irregularities in the land deal caused a huge loss to the exchequer. The BJP had made the alleged controversial land deals during previous Congress regime a major poll issue in 2014.

Meanwhile, addressing a thanksgiving rally of the 'Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana' scheme at Naraingarh, Khattar said the scheme would be made more profitable for the farmers.

For this, quality testing labs would be established in all 'mandis', he said.

In case farmers find no buyer for their produce, the same would be procured through government procuring agency and the calculation of average value would be fixed on the basis of prices of four nearby mandis, he said. PTI SUN ADS

ADS
\R New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) Four more people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of a teenager on the suspicion of being a thief in Delhi, police said on Thursday, taking the total number of arrests to six.

The post-mortem report of the 16-year-old boy, who was thrashed for almost three hours by the accused after he allegedly entered a house to steal valuables on Tuesday, said, the "cause of death was haemorrhage shock due to multiple injuries by blunt object", a police officer said.

"The report said the injuries collectively were sufficient to cause death. The report also stated that the pattern and nature of injuries was consistent with continuous beating for a considerable time while the hands of the deceased were tied with some ligature," said Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest).

Two persons, Nand Kishore and Raj Kishore, were arrested after the incident in Mukundpur on Tuesday. Four others -- Triveni, Deshraj, Sant Lal and Sohan Lal -- were arrested from the area on Wednesday night, Khan said.

A case was registered under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), but after the post-mortem report, the accused were charged under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, the DCP said.

The boy had entered the house around 3.30 am and was caught around that time, but the police were only informed around 6.30 am, which means they thrashed him for almost three hours, said another officer.

Police were told that the boy was accompanied by two others when he came to the house for allegedly committing a theft. A woman resident of the house was awakened by some noise and she saw three boys on the second floor of the house. Two others fled from there, but the teenager was caught and beaten to death by the owners and their neighbours. PTI SLB HMB
New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) India has decided to participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tests the learning level of 15 year olds, after a gap of nine years, a senior HRD Ministry official said Thursday.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development(OECD) conducts PISA every three years.

India had taken part in PISA in 2009 and bagged the 72nd rank among 74 participating countries.

Then UPA government had boycotted PISA, blaming "out of context" questions for India's dismal performance.

"If 80 countries can participate in PISA, including China and Vietnam, then there is no reason why children in India cannot appear for it," Rina Ray, secretary (Department of School and Literacy), HRD Ministry, said.

"India participated in PISA in 2009 and unfortunately we did not do well. We were placed 72nd among the 74 participating countries," she said at a programme organized in New Delhi to felicitate 37 best CBSE teachers from across the country.

"We went through the question papers, we asked a couple of children and they loved it because the questions are competency-based and do not require any memorization," Ray said.

India is applying with Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, and all schools, private and government, in Chandigarh for the 2021 test. The whole application process takes three years, she said.

She hoped that more schools will be enthused enough to participate in PISA in 2024. PTI GVS ABH

ABH
Palanpur (Guj), Sep 6 (PTI) A court at Palanpur in Gujarat rejected Thursday Gujarat Police's plea seeking remand of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in connection with a 22-year-old case of alleged planting of drugs to arrest a man.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police

had arrested Bhatt and then inspector of Palanpur police

station I B Vyas on Wednesday.

The CID produced them before Additional Judicial

Magistrate V R Charan, seeking their 14-day custody.

Arguing against the grant of custody, defence lawyers

pointed out that it was a 22-year-old case, and a petition

related to the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.

After hearing the arguments, the magistrate rejected the CID's demand, and sent both the accused in judicial custody at Palanpur sub-jail.

Bhatt was Banaskantha district superintendent of police in 1996.

According to the CID, the Banaskantha police arrested

Sumersingh Rajpurohit, a lawyer, in 1996 on the charges of

possessing around one kg of opium.

Police claimed that the drug was found in a hotel room

rented by Rajpurohit at Palanpur.

But later a probe revealed that Rajpurohit was falsely implicated by the police in a bid to compel him to vacate a disputed property at Pali, his hometown in Rajasthan.

In June this year, the Gujarat High Court handed over the case to the CID and asked it to complete the probe in

three months.

After arresting Bhatt on Wednesday, CID officials had

claimed that the former IPS officer and others allegedly hatched the conspiracy to arrest Rajpurohit by planting drugs on him, so as to force him to vacate the disputed property.

Bhatt, who has often criticised Prime Minister

Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots, was sacked by the

Union Home Ministry in August 2015 for "unauthorised absence" from service.

PTI CORR PJT PD KRK SRY
Hyderabad, Sep 6 (PTI) As Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao seeks early elections, the move has sparked a debate on what prompted the TRS supremo to bite the bullet.

Sources in the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said the aim is to leverage what they call the "feel good factor" prevailing in the state which has received good rainfall.

Rao is "upbeat" as his popularity rate has not fallen and his personal image continues to be strong, the sources claimed, adding that "the idea is to encash the positive mood among the people".

A leader of an opposition party said Rao was trying to play a "very safe game".

"He (Rao) wants to win back the state and hand it over to KTR (his son K T Rama Rao)", he said, seeing the early poll move as part of the chief minister's "succession plan".

"He (Rao) wants to become a hero. You become a hero only when you fight an incumbent (NDA) government. The man wants to be a regional hero, just like (late) Jayalalithaa (former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister). He wants to play the same politics," the leader said.

The TRS would "go with whoever gets bigger numbers" in the next Lok Sabha elections, he added.

A Congress leader said Rao did not want his opponents to get their act together.

"He wants to give them less resource-mobilisation time, less alliance-mobilisation time, and also less preparation time for the elections," the leader said.

Meanwhile, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said Rao was nursing national ambitions.

He wants to play a bigger role in national politics and that's possible only if he wins the state polls. He desires to play a key role, pre-poll and post-poll, the leader said.

Another Congress leader claimed Rao was at a stage in his life where he was "losing energy and health" citing his "less-spirited" speech at last Sunday's public meeting.

"He (Rao) wants to execute the succession plan; he needs two different elections. He can win back (the state) and promote his son (to the post of CM) and then focus on national elections himself," he claimed.

As a smart politician, Rao understands the fluid nature of politics, a politial analyst said.

"Tomorrow, if all opposition (parties) including NDA allies rally together then he knows that things are going to be shaky for the NDA. In that kind of scenario, he will fight as a formal ally of the opposition alliance. So, he is giving himself a lot of elbow room to take those decisions pre-poll," he said. PTI RS SS RHL
Jammu, Sept 6 (PTI) The state police Thursday said it has nabbed a man who had been evading arrest for a year in a drugs smuggling case in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.

A police party raided a place in Bari Brahamana and arrested of Mohd Hussain, the police said.

He was involved a case of narcotics smuggling in 2017, they said. PTI AB TIR

TIR
Noida (UP), Sep 6 (PTI) Scores of people Thursday protested amendments in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and carried out a march demanding changes in the legislation.

The protestors, including representatives of some social and industry bodies, also handed over a memorandum of their demands to District Magistrate Brajesh Narayan Singh.

The march began from the Noida Stadium with protestors, some of them sporting black bands on their arms, moved chanting slogans. The march culminated at the camp office of the district magistrate in Sector 27, amid beefed up security in the area.

The participants in the march included people from the Noida Lok Manch, the Noida Entrepreneurs Association (NEA), the Brahman Samaj Seva Samiti, the Agarwal Mitra Mandal besides representatives of trade unions and resident welfare associations (RWAs).

"The new law is being openly misused. Point in case is the episode of a retired Army colonel, where the misuse of law was evident and it is intolerable. The government should ensure changes in the law so that a majority of population is not victimised," the memorandum stated.

They demanded there should not be any arrest without a prior probe in any case related to the Act.

In case the accusation is found false, legal proceedings must be initiated against the complainant, it said. The groups said they also opposed the reservation system on grounds of caste and religion and batted for a quota system based on economic status.

"We hope and request that keeping in view the concerns you will take an appropriate action and not let the majority population become helpless which otherwise would be left to take some moves which might be detrimental to the law and order situation in the region," the memorandum stated.

Some organisations had given a call for 'Bharat bandh' Thursday against the SC/ST Amendment Bill passed in Parliament last month.

"The other community can get you jailed anytime and this march is to protest that. We want to tell the central government that please follow the guidelines of the Supreme Court on this issue. In the 2014 general election, it was our votes that brought you to power at the Centre but if you don't reconsider this, your desire to retain power in 2019 may not be fulfilled, Vipin Kumar Malhan, President of the Noida Entrepreneurs Association (NEA) said.

He said the city magistrate took the memorandum on behalf of the district magistrate and has assured forwarding it to the central government.

"If our demands are not met, next we will gherao the local Member of Parliament (Mahesh Sharma) and if he doesn't stand with us, then this public will also part ways with him in 2019 general election, Malhan said.

We are not against the SC/ST Act in entirety but only against the draconian provisions like arrest without probe and no bail proposed in the law after the recent amendments, social activist and founder of Noida village residents welfare association Ranjan Tomar said.

"The articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution provide every citizen with the rights to liberty and freedom. When you arrest somebody without probe it is like snatching away their rights," he argued.

"No doubt atrocities continue to be committed on people from the SC/ST communities but there have been several instances of false accusations also. Arresting someone without probe and making such accusations non-bailable offence is unfair," Tomar said. PTI KIS ADS

ADS
Jaipur, Sept 6 (PTI) The Rajasthan Assembly proceedings were adjourned for 45 minutes Thursday as the Opposition created an uproar saying over 4,000 questions asked by the members of House were dropped during the present and past sessions.

As soon as the Question Hour began on the second day of the monsoon session, Congress deputy whip Govind Singh Dotasara said that questions were dropped over multiple sessions of the House.

He said the government was trying to evade tough questions.

Independent legislator Hanuman Beniwal supported the Congress members and trooped into the well of the house.

Amid the ruckus, Speaker Kailash Meghwal adjourned the House for 45 minutes. PTI AG TIR

TIR
Kanpur (UP), Sep 6 (PTI) A teenager was allegedly beaten to death by a group of boys for talking to the girlfriend of one of the accused persons in Kidwai Nagar locality here, police said Thursday.

The victim, a student of class 11, was beaten up Wednesday, said Anurag Mishra, the Station House Officer of Kidwai Nagar police station.

The 16-year-old boy was rushed to the Lala Lajpat Rai hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

He was a friend of the girl living in his neighbourhood but her boyfriend did not approve of him talking to her frequently and had warned the victim many times in the past to stay away, the SHO said.

On Wednesday evening, the teenager was spotted talking to the girl by her boyfriend who called his other friends and assaulted him, resulting in his death, the SHO added.

A case was registered against the accused persons, he said. PTI CORR SAB SNE

SNE
The man was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition with head trauma and bleeding to his brain. He was cited for failing to yield to the right of way.
52 minutes ago

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While the process to pick a jury has begun, Van Dykes defense team could still decide that it would prefer Gaughan alone determine the veteran officers fate. The defense has not formally declared its decision  one it can make without Gaughans permission until the 12th juror is sworn in.
SARATOGA SPRINGS - A former Saratoga Springs fifth-grade teacher was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for raping a student, Saratoga County prosecutors said.

At the sentencing, the male victim addressed Elizabeth Barthelmas in Saratoga County Court directly to tell her that he is a survivor and is the strongest he has ever been, District Attorney Karen A. Heggen said in a news release.

"You took away one of the most important aspects in my life, my innocence," the victim said, as stated in the press release. "You tainted a precious period of my youth and took something from me that I will never be able to get back."

Barthelmas, 49, of Wilton was accused of having a relationship with the former Dorothy Nolan Elementary School student, who was under age 13 at the time, between July and December 2007. She was arrested in June 2017 and pleaded guilty to first-degree rape in July.

The victim told Barthelmas that she "betrayed me and everyone around (her) by acting with such manipulation and abuse. As (I was) a child, you took full advantage of my body and my brain. It's sickening."

Judge James A. Murphy told Barthelmas that she "violated the ultimate trust a teacher has with their students" and sentenced her to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 20 years of post-release supervision.

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The victim also took the opportunity to address the stigma of coming forward as a male victim of sexual assault and the need to hold female perpetrators just as accountable as males.

"No man or woman should have to endure sexual abuse at any age," the victim said according to the press release. "I hope my story will encourage other victims to share theirs. I will prove that good may come from evil. I'm a survivor."

An order of protection was issued in favor of the victim until 2041.
TROY - Police are canvassing city neighborhoods after three people were injured in two separate shootings Wednesday evening, officials said.

All three victims are in stable condition, Assistant Chief Dan DeWolf said.
He only decided to do it because of the avalanche of publicity against him, the publicity that cannot ensure him a fair trial, Randy Rueckert, one of Van Dykes attorneys, said Thursday in court while defending the interviews. For 2 years, its been the white cop that shot the black teenager. This has nothing to do with black or white, and for 2 years he has had to sit there and take it.
Schenectady

Two hundred union workers who lost their jobs at General Electric Co.'s steam turbine plant last month are seeking federal assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Members of IUE-CWA Local 301 filed a petition for benefits under the $790 million Trade Adjustment Assistance program that provides training and financial support to workers displaced by foreign trade.

Global price pressures and a decline in power plant sales caused the layoffs, the petition claims.
Albany

Ten well-known construction firms, many of them headquartered in New York state, are interested in building the state Department of Health's new $650 million Wadsworth Center, the state's public health lab.

The firms have paired up in five joint ventures, a common practice on large-scale construction projects that require a broad array of expertise.

According to the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, the five joint ventures that expressed interest in the project are: Aecom Tishman/Skanska USA, Gilbane Building/Turner Construction, The Pike Cos./McCarthy Building Cos., Walsh Group/Consigli Construction and Suffolk Construction/McKissack & McKissack.

DASNY, which is overseeing the project for the Department of Health, is expected to narrow the list to three or four that would be given the opportunity to respond to an official request for proposals that is scheduled to be issued Sept. 24.

The RFP responses will be due back to DASNY on Jan. 15.

All of the firms that appear on DASNY's so-called "long list" of interested firms for the Wadsworth project have well-known resumes with experience in the health care sectors.

State officials have yet to decide on where they want to locate the new Wadsworth Center, which today is split into several different sites around Albany, with one of its labs in Guilderland.

"The state is continuing to evaluate potential sites for the project and is in active procurement," DOH spokeswoman Jill Montag said last month.

Any decisions would have to be ratified by the Public Authorities Control Board.

The two sites believed to be in contention are the Harriman State Office Campus in Albany and the University at Albany's Health Sciences Campus across the Hudson River in East Greenbush, Rensselaer County.

UAlbany favors the East Greenbush site, which is important since Wadsworth has a partnership with UAlbany's School of Public Health, which is located at the Health Sciences Campus.

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However, Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, who represents Albany, believes Wadsworth must be kept in her district. She has favored either building the new Wadsworth next to Albany Medical Center, which is where Wadsworth already has labs and office space, or at Harriman.

One of the construction firms interested in the Wadsworth project, Consigli Construction, is already building a major UAlbany project at Harriman, the $180 million Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex.

ETEC will house UAlbany's College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity as well as UAlbany's Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center.

Consigli, which has an office in Albany, is looking to pair with the Walsh Group in Chicago on the Wadsworth Center campus project.

A joint venture between Walsh and Consigli is currently overseeing the $545 million expansion at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.
Schenectady

Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell  owners of the specialty farm craft store Beekman 1802  stood in front of an audience in downtown Schenectady to spotlight a new product and partnership.

The couple, flanked by representatives from Brewery Ommegang, one of the oldest craft breweries in the region, unveiled their new goat milk stout beer.

Aside from quenching the thirst of locals on a particularly steamy September afternoon, the event highlighted the rapidly growing $3.4 billion New York craft beer industry and the impact it's having on communities throughout the Capital Region.

"The craft beverage explosion has really done something to establish community," said Jay Larkin, an assistant professor with the school of hotel, culinary arts and tourism at Schenectady County Community College. "Because of collaborations like this one, you're seeing more and more [that] they're using New York-based products. So now you have the agricultural component. You start drawing people all over, you get the tourism component. It's more than just putting liquid in a bottle or in a can, really."

The industry's growth was kick-started in 2013 with the passage of the state farm brewing law, which created a farm brewing license. The license allowed farm brewers to operate taprooms, make and serve hard cider by the glass, as well as operate up to five regional branches to sell beer, wine, spirits and merchandise.

The law also required that at least 20 percent of ingredients farm breweries used be grown in New York state.

The law, which was modeled after the 1976 Farm Winery Act that spurred the growth of wine production in the state, has been a rousing economic success. Between 2013 and 2017, the number of breweries in New York nearly doubled to 329 from 165, and by this year had topped 400, according to the Brewers Association. Of those, 188 were farm breweries.

New York's production rate of over 1.2 million barrels of craft beer per year ranks sixth in the country, according to the Brewers Association, while the $3.4 billion of total economic impact in the craft beer industry is the fourth highest.

"The craft beer scene in America and New York state is absolutely at a fever pitch," said Doug Campbell, president of Brewery Ommegang, which opened 21 years ago. He added that some states now have more craft breweries than existed in the entire country when Ommegang launched. "Fifty percent of the breweries alive today [were] not here four years ago."

The industry boom, though, does not come without a number of concerns.

The farm brewing law requires all farm breweries to boost the percentage of New York state-grown ingredients in their beer to 60 percent by Jan. 1, and to 90 percent by 2024.

Several local breweries, malt producers and industry experts expressed confidence that New York hop and barley farmers will be able to meet the rising demand for locally grown ingredients, but a two-part study conducted by Cornell's Cooperative Extension on the craft beer industry raised concerns.

To meet rising demands for New York state malt, another 1,584 acres of barley will be required by 2024. That's in addition to the 2,021 acres currently used for malting barley in the state, though the study identified more than 2,600 potential acres that could be used for barley production if farmers were "given a favorable market."

Also, only certain hops and barley can thrive in New York's climate. Brewers using locally sourced ingredients have only a limited choice of hops or specialty malts like high-kilned malts and wheat and rye malts  limiting the range of beers brewers can craft, according to the analysis.

Pricing of regional ingredients is the second biggest concern brewers have after concerns over quality. New York state malt continues to cost brewers 96 cents per pound, about 40 cents more than out-of-state malt. That price gap may widen further as local ingredient requirements increase, the study predicted.

But Larkin of SCCC says he doesn't see higher ingredient prices becoming a major problem for breweries. Consumers, he believes, are willing to pay higher prices for good, local brew.

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"The price point for craft already is a little different from your macro-brews, but it's still something, again, you're buying quality," Larkin said. "The ultimate craft and ideal consumer is someone that's looking for quality, not quantity. Anybody can sit down and drink a fistful of beers in the afternoon, sitting in their backyard. It's another thing to pursue it for the quality of product."

For malt producers, the artificial demand created in 2013 has been a major boon. While the lack of variety in New York-grown hops and barley was an issue, the Cornell study projects farm brewery production will double by 2024.

"There's always shifts to be made, but I think [malt production] will keep growing," Erin Tones, manager of 1886 Malt House in Fulton, said. "The demand for local products is still increasing...It means a lot for every facet of the industry."

The Troy Restaurant and Craft Beer Week, which continues through Saturday, Sept. 15, features 16 breweries, restaurants and vendors, and is one of several ongoing events in the area celebrating the flourishing beer scene. Albany will hold its tenth annual Oktoberfest block party on Sept. 29, and the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Fest in Rhinebeck winds down on Sunday.

Larkin, who developed the degree program at SCCC for craft beer brewing and beverage management, said his students have had no trouble joining the 13,000 full-time employees within the New York craft beer industry, saying "the jobs are there."

Both Campbell and Larkin worry that the rapid growth in breweries could lead to a market glut. But Kevin Mullen, owner of Rare Form Brewery in Troy, said he believes the industry can adjust.

"I think [farm brewery law], it's really good for New York breweries. It's really helped us grow. I think the thing is, we have to remember that this is an experiment in its own," Mullen said, "And that's what's going to benefit, not only the breweries, because what we're really trying to do is benefit the farmers too.

Different Brewery Licenses Brewery: With no cap on beer production, this license has a $4,000 annual licensing fee and is geared toward large brewing operations. Imposes the fewest restrictions on brewing, but does not allow the sale of other alcoholic beverages. Micro-Brewery: Caps production at 75,000 barrels a year. Largely follows the same rules as the brewery license, but, with a $320 annual licensing fee, is aimed at smaller operations. Farm Brewery: Same licensing fee and brewing cap as micro-breweries, but with the requirement that at least 20 percent of ingredients used in manufactured beer be New York-sourced. Can have up to five locations, produce and sell cider by the glass and wine and liquor by the bottle. Brew Pub: Limited to 20,000 barrels of production, and can have up to five locations licensed separately. Meant for retail restaurant brewers and limits manufacturing and wholesale privileges. Licensing fee ranges between $950-$1950. Source: New York State Liquor Authority See More Collapse

"So if we want to benefit everybody across the board," Mullen added, "then we just have to look at it on a year-to-year approach and see what works the best."
New York

Uber is aiming to boost driver and passenger safety in an effort to rebuild trust in the brand.

The ride-hailing company has created a feature on its app to reach out to passengers and drivers if it detects an accident or unplanned stop. Drivers will also have access to a hands-free feature to pick up passengers without touching their phones, and they will no longer see data detailing where they retrieved passengers in the past.

"This is just the beginning of the journey for Uber," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said Wednesday during the company's unveiling of the new features in New York City. "We want Uber to be the safest transportation platform on the planet."

Uber plans to use location data to figure out if a stop seems unusual because there's no traffic or if a car hasn't made it to its final destination. If there is a long, unexpected stop during a trip, both the rider and the driver will receive a ride check notification to ask if everything is OK.

The company has also added a button to its app for drivers to contact emergency services, similar to the one it created for passengers in March. Uber says using the button is more efficient than calling 911 because the Uber app contains the vehicle's exact location.

Going forward, Uber will conceal specific pickup and drop-off addresses in the driver's trip history so that only the general area where a trip has started and ended will show up on the driver's app, not the address.

Khosrowshahi has made safety one of his top priorities since taking over as CEO a year ago. In April, Uber started doing annual criminal background checks on U.S. drivers and hired a company to constantly monitor criminal arrests.

The moves are an attempt to repair Uber's reputation after a wave of major scandals and bad press. About two weeks after Khosrowshahi started, London's transport regulator decided to strip Uber of its license to operate, saying that the company may be endangering public safety and security. Khosrowshahi apologized, flew to London to meet with officials and promised to change. A court eventually gave Uber a license, although much shorter than normal so it can be evaluated.

Since it began operating in 2009, Uber has been dogged by reports of drivers accosting passengers, including lawsuits alleging sexual assaults. Last year, the company was fined $8.9 million by the state of Colorado for allowing people with serious criminal or motor vehicle offenses to work as drivers. The Public Utilities Commission said it found nearly 60 people were allowed to drive in the state despite having previous felony convictions or major traffic violations including drunken driving.

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Despite the scandals, Uber's ridership is growing, although it is struggling to make money ahead of Khosrowshahi's planned public stock offering sometime next year. The San Francisco company lost $891 million in the quarter ending last June, narrowing from a $1.06 billion loss for the same time last year.

Khosrowshahi, 49, an Iranian refugee, worked at Expedia and its parent company for 19 years before replacing combative but innovative Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Analysts say he has created a corporate culture of honesty that employees respect.

On Wednesday, Khosrowshahi said he hopes Uber will be the standard by which other transportation players are measured in terms of safety.

"In the end, we want you to know when you get into that car, whether you're a rider or a driver, that Uber's got your back," he said.
Contributed Photo / U.S. Marshals

BRIDGEPORT  A man wanted in connection with two killings and who was on the U.S. Marshals Services 15 Most Wanted list, was taken into custody in Bridgeport on Tuesday, officials said.

Andre Neverson, 54, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, was wanted in New York in connection with the 2002 slayings of his sister and an ex-girlfriend, according to the U.S. Marshals. Neverson was also wanted for parole violation and illegal entry into the United States. He was added to the U.S. Marshals fugitive list in February 2004.
ALBANY  The Authorities Budget Office held a public hearing Tuesday on new regulations that would require local economic development entities that disburse business tax credits to post rules, regulations and detailed project information on their websites.

Good government groups expressed support for the proposed requirements, while a representative from the New York State Economic Development Council raised concerns with language he said was unclear about the extent of the documentation that would be posted to the website.

The ABO oversees state IDAs, or industrial development agencies, which hand out $750 million in public funds to developers each year, but provide few details of tax-payer supported projects on their websites.

In addition to posting applications online, the new requirements require IDA's to disclose annual assessments about job creation and retention. Ryan Silva, executive director of the New York State Economic Development Council, said that ambiguous language suggesting that supporting documents also be posted to the web could pose an undue burden for local agencies.

"In some cases, an IDA may not have the capacity or bandwidth to post those requirements on a public authority website," Silva said.

ABO Director Jeffrey Pearlman said the agency would make a decision regarding the rules following the requisite 60-day public comment period, but that Silva's concerns were largely semantic.

"We want to be reasonable in drafting these regulations. We don't want to do anything untoward or too burdensome. We think the regulations are fair, but we will take a look and see if we can tinker with the language," he said.

Silva's second concern, that increased regulations could potentially make IDAs subject to conflicting audit requirements from the ABO and OSC, was a scenario that was unlikely to occur, Pearlman said.

"I work closely with the Comptroller's office and I've never heard of us giving conflicting advice," he said.

Much of the requirements have already been signed into a 2015 law, sponsored by Sen. Kathleen Marchione, R- Saratoga, and Assemblyman Magnarelli, D-Syracuse. It requires IDAs to create an application form for companies to seek subsidies, form project agreements with companies receiving benefits, and enact policies for measuring corporate progress in hitting job targets and terminating and clawing back benefits if job targets are not reached.

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It is unclear to what extent IDAs are complying with the law, because few regulations or progress reports are currently posted to IDA websites, according to transparency advocates like ReInvent Albany.

"It is critical IDAs follow the law to ensure taxpayer dollars are wisely spent," said Alex Camarda, senior policy adviser for ReInvent Albany. "The public deserves to know the criteria by which proposed projects are evaluated, the terms for companies receiving public subsidies, whether companies are hitting job targets, and under what circumstances IDAs will terminate or clawback benefits if goals are not met."

ReInvent Albany also recommends that IDAs be required to create "reading rooms," with documents for all approved projects, including their project agreements, any accompanying documents or records, and annual assessments of projects' progress in reaching job targets.

David Friedfel, director of state studies at Citizens Budget Commission, also testified at the hearing, applauding the ABO's adoption of additional reporting requirements for IDAs, but noted more room for improvement, such as an expansion of enforcement power for ABO.

"The increased disclosure is the right thing to do and should serve as a model for local development corporations," Friedfel said in a statement.
ALBANY - Bishop Edward Scharfenberger has asked Albany County District Attorney David Soares to investigate how the 14-county Albany Roman Catholic Diocese handled past allegations of sexual abuse by priests.

Scharfenberger, who was appointed bishop in Albany in 2014, made the request Thursday as New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses across the state as part of a broad investigation of the church's handling of abuse allegations. Attorneys general in four other states  New Jersey, Illinois, Missouri and Nebraska  announced they were launching similar probes.

"After a lot of prayer and reflection, in the best interest of everyone involved  survivors, clergy, parishioners and our local church  we have contacted Albany District Attorney David Soares to invite him to review our records and look at how sexual abuse cases have been handled historically in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, to what extent survivors were heard and believed, what processes were followed, and what consequences resulted," the bishop wrote in an open letter to the diocese.

An attorney for the diocese followed up the bishop's letter with a call to the district attorney's office.

Any probe of the Albany diocese is likely to examine how cases were handled under the tenure of Scharfenberger's predecessor, Bishop Howard Hubbard, who headed the diocese from 1977 to 2014.

Soares' office issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the offer from Scharfenberger is "a step in the right direction towards a full accounting of alleged misconduct dating back many years ..."

Last month, Underwood announced her office would launch a civil investigation into the handling of of sexual abuse allegations by New York's Catholic dioceses.

Her announcement followed a devastating grand jury report in Pennsylvania that revealed more than 300 priests had abused more than 1,000 children since the 1930s. The report found that six dioceses in Pennsylvania routinely shuffled accused priests to other parishes when allegations surfaced. In the past, the Albany diocese had done the same thing to priests accused of sexual abuse.

The Associated Press, quoting a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation, reported the subpoenas went out Thursday. They seek records relating to "abuse allegations, payments to victims or findings from internal church investigations," the AP said.

Soares, president of the state district attorneys association, issued a separate statement on behalf of that organization indicating district attorneys across the state are prepared to augment Underwood's investigation.

I continue to encourage district attorneys in all counties to work with the attorney generals office to investigate allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Diocese," Soares said. "Past victims and current victims deserve to have their complaints aggressively investigated and those who have committed these horrific crimes must be held accountable."

No district attorney within the boundaries of the Albany diocese has ever convened a grand jury to broadly probe the diocese's handling of sexual abuse by priests or other employees dating back decades.

One of the most intensive examinations of the Albany diocese took place in 2008, when then-Warren County District Attorney Kathleen Hogan launched an unprecedented grand jury investigation of the handling of sexual abuse allegations involving priests. That investigation was sparked by a referral from the diocese, but Hogan expanded the probe after victims of former priest Gary Mercure contacted her.

The criminal probe of Mercure, who was shuffled between parishes and had been accused of abusing multiple boys, was time-barred from being prosecuted under New York's statute of limitations. Instead, Hogan referred Mercure's case to prosecutors in Massachusetts, where the statute of limitations allowed his prosecution because some of his victims had been raped there.

In 2011, Mercure was sentenced to more than 20 years in state prison in Berkshire County after being convicted of forcibly raping three altar boys who he had driven across state lines.

The year after Mercure's conviction, 14 district attorneys whose counties are within the Albany diocese called on Hubbard to reshape the diocese's handling of sexual abuse complaints against clergy and other employees.

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Citing "concerns about how these cases are being handled," the district attorneys all signed a proposed memorandum of understanding that was presented to Hubbard, who signed the document a day after the Times Union asked the diocese questions about it.

In his letter to the diocese on Thursday, Scharfenberger said things have improved since allegations of priest abuse caused a national furor in 2002.

"The protocols in place for reporting to civil authorities, background checks, safe environment training, and more have made the church of today one of the safest places for children," he wrote. "However, we know that prior to 2002 that was not always the case, and, as we are learning through revelations in other dioceses, true healing cannot occur until the full truth has been told, until the light hits every dark corner and exposes whatever evil remains hidden."

Victor and Mary J. DeSantis of Colonie, whose son, Michael, in 2010 had accused five priests of sexually abusing him as a young boy, said the pending investigations of the Catholic church in New York are long overdue.

Victor DeSantis, who had been a priest for 10 years prior to his marriage, said they wrote a letter to Underwood two weeks ago encouraging her to conduct an investigation similar to the one recently completed in Pennsylvania. An official with Underwood's office contacted the couple earlier this week and said "you'll definitely be hearing from us," Victor DeSantis said.

The couple and their son, who now lives out of state, have lobbied state leaders for years to expand New York's statute of limitations for criminal cases and to pass legislation that would allow victims of abuse to have a one-year window to file civil lawsuits against their alleged abusers.

A review panel appointed by the Albany diocese had determined in 2011 that the allegations by Michael DeSantis were unfounded. Mary DeSantis had described that investigation as "a joke."

At a 2013 hearing before the state Assembly, Mary DeSantis told the panel: "I come before you today as the mother of a son ... who from the age of 9 was raped, sodomoized and molested repeatedly by his pastor and four other members of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. No one would believe him."
SCHENECTADY  On the first day of school Thursday at Hamilton Elementary, students were greeted by the usual group of teachers and administrators offering hugs and hellos.

But there was also a chihuahua, which Behavior Specialist Amanda Linehan brings to the citys various schools to help calm kids when they are overly agitated and to soothe them when they are upset.

Three-year-old Leo, who may be the quietest and calmest chihuahua in New York state, also helps kids focus on their classwork.

We sit down and well have reading sessions with him, said Linehan. Teachers hold out visits by Leo as rewards for good behavior as well.

Also present early Thursday morning was state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia, who came to Hamilton to highlight new measures the city school district is taking to deal with kids social and emotional needs. It's all in keeping with a broader push toward bringing more mental health assistance and education into the schools.

They are a leader in the state, Elia said of Schenectadys early adoption of the social-emotional effort.

More for you Schenectady schools consider childhood trauma

It can show up in any number of ways. When kids at this Pre-K-5 school go out for recess, they may be watched over by social workers and behavior specialists who keep an eye out for trouble, whether its a scuffle or kids talking trash to one another. Should that arise, the adults prompt the kids to think about what they are doing.

It sounds like a kinder, gentler variation on the old practice of having hall monitors watch over kids, but its also in keeping with the latest approaches.

The school also does a lot of what could it calls trauma-sensitive work with the kids. There is some degree of trauma that everyone has experienced, said Linehan. Teachers and others keep that in mind when dealing with students.

The amount and severity of traumas could be amplified at a school like Hamllton which serves a gritty neighborhood where more than 70 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced prices lunches, a key poverty indicator.

The push for more social-emotional based education is coming from the state and federal governments alike.

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New York, for example, has this year started requiring that schools incorporate at least some mental health education in their health classes.

And the federal Every Student Succeeds Act gives a nod to the social-emotional concept by requiring actions such as school climate surveys.

There are challenges, to be sure.

Superintendent Larry Spring, during a discussion later in the morning with Elia and city school board members, recalled how he had to make the case with voters and taxpayers that bringing more social workers on board was worthwhile, especially during tight budget years.

Part of the approach also entails some updated versions of old-fashioned encouragement and positive thinking. At one point, students at Hamiltons third-grade student council came in and discussed the currently popular kindness rocks or smooth polished stones that people write on and pass around to one another. One saying the young students liked was to never give up.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Two victims of crime, one a retired state parole officer, are accusing Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen and her office of keeping them in the dark about plans to prosecute their attackers.

Sitting in the office of Heggen's Republican primary opponent, Gerald Amedio, Robert Georgia and Michael Arpey also said Heggen and her staff are neglecting their concerns.

"I was shocked to find how little detail they had about the events and what would be happening with the case. They had absolutely no information for me," said Georgia whose neighbor allegedly threatened him and then tried to run him and his dog over last April in Milton. "They told me they would be back in touch and to date, I have not heard anything. With my career in law enforcement ... having dealt with many courts, jurisdictions and district attorney offices, I felt a little bit slighted. My case isn't getting the attention I thought it would get."

Arpey said he was assaulted last December in Saratoga Springs by a guest at a work holiday party. He is now dealing with medical bills that he can't afford as a result of the attack. He said his attacker was originally charged with felony assault, but was let off on a harassment violation. Arpey said he was never told.

"I had two black eyes, a broken nose and was leaking blood," Arpey said. "The DA's Victim's Advocate office doesn't return my phone calls."

Amedio, who will face Heggen in a primary on Thursday, Sept. 13, said she and her office are re-victimizing Georgia, Arpey and other crime victims like them whom he says are too afraid to come forward.

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"I'm calling for a change because she is mishandling cases," Amedio said of Heggen. "This mistreatment of crime victims needs to change. You can't imagine what a victim goes through, the stress and emotions, and without support from the district attorney's office is very disconcerting. I applaud these two gentlemen for telling their story."

He also said Heggen is misleading the public by saying she has a 95 percent felony conviction rate. While that may be true, Amedio said, he claims many felonies are reduced to misdemeanors or in the case of Arpey's situation, to a violation. District attorneys, Amedio acknowledged, have the discretion to beef up or reduce the original charges placed on defendants by the arresting police.

When contacted for comment, Heggen did not address the specifics about Georgia's or Arpey's cases. She did say she stands behind the work her office does.



"Our job is to balance the interest of justice each and every day," Heggen said. "I stand by all the dedicated men and women on my team who work with our law enforcement partners around the clock to keep Saratoga County safe."
The hard work and hustle was typical for Tungekar, a 64-year-old immigrant from Pakistan who, in his decades living in Chicago, worked in real estate, sold insurance and drove a cab, according to his son Omar Tungekar. He supported his two sons as they grew up and worked extra shifts so his wife could attend nursing school.
ALBANY  A state comptroller's office staffer who is the daughter of former Lt. Gov. Mary Donohue was disbarred Thursday for driving drunk with a child in her car last year.

Sara O'Connor Kenney, 39, of Voorheesville was arrested on March 3, 2017 in Guilderland and charged under "Leandra's Law," which was passed into law in 2010 to heighten penalties for intoxicated motorists who drive drunk with children on board.

In May, Kenney  also known as Sara Neff  pleaded guilty to the entire indictment she faced, placing her at the mercy of Albany County Judge Peter Lynch. He sentenced her to five years of probation, a $1,000 fine and a one-year license revocation.

Prosecutors said on the night of Kenney's arrest, Guilderland police received a 911 call from workers at a McDonald's on Western Avenue of a possibly intoxicated driver leaving with a child passenger just past 8:25 p.m. Patrol officers spotted a vehicle that fit the description driving erratically and which almost struck utility poles.

After the vehicle stopped, Neff showed physical signs of intoxication, admitted she was drinking alcohol she brought to a child's gymnastic event and failed field sobriety tests. Kenney refused a breath and chemical tests at the police station and was "reportedly belligerent with officers and possessed an open container of liquor in her purse," Albany County prosecutors said.

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The decision was announced Thursday by the Albany-based Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, Third Department, which stated "any attorney who has been convicted of a felony defined in judiciary law ... shall cease to be an attorney and counselor-at-law immediately upon such conviction."

Kenney, a graduate of Albany Law School admitted to the bar in 2007, began working for state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli as a staff attorney in 2009. Kenney moved to a new position in May as principal administrative analyst in the office's contracts division. Kenney, who was earning $120,417 annually, now makes $107,281, an office spokeswoman said.

Donohue, a graduate of Albany Law School, served as Rensselaer County district attorney and state Supreme Court justice before she ran with Gov. George Pataki in 1998 for his second term and won. She replaced former Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey Ross.
Washington

Paul Manafort's second trial will remain in the District of Columbia, a judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson said the former Trump campaign chairman's attorneys had failed to show that thorough jury questioning and careful instructions couldn't ensure that both sides could pick an impartial jury in Washington.

Manafort's attorneys had argued that the trial should be moved to Roanoke, Virginia, because the intensity of publicity in Washington made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial. But Jackson said the request appeared to relate more to concerns about the political affiliation of Washington residents, rather than a unique amount of pretrial publicity.

Jackson's ruling clears the way for Manafort to be tried later this month on several felony charges related to his lobbying and political consulting work on behalf of Ukrainian political interests. It was the second time Manafort had been denied moving a trial away from the Washington metropolitan area.

Manafort had made a similar unsuccessful request in his bank fraud and tax evasion trial in northern Virginia. A jury there convicted him on eight counts of filing false tax returns, failing to report foreign bank accounts and bank fraud. Jurors deadlocked on 10 other counts.

In ruling against Manafort's request for a venue change, Jackson said she could reconsider if they are unable to qualify enough jurors to proceed to jury selection in the case, scheduled to begin Sept. 17.

Jackson announced her decision during a hearing in which prosecutors revealed they are unsure whether Manafort's longtime deputy and fellow Trump campaign aide, Rick Gates, will testify at trial. But if he does testify, the government asked Jackson to bar the defense from questioning Gates about his cooperation with the ongoing investigation, noting that many aspects of the more than 20 meetings he's had with prosecutors don't relate to Manafort's case.

Jackson also ruled that Manafort's defense couldn't introduce evidence about Gates' extramarital affairs, a topic that came out during Manafort's trial in last month in Virginia.

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Gates, who worked for Manafort for years, took a plea deal earlier this year and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Manafort's defense spent a considerable amount of the Virginia trial painting Gates as a liar, philanderer and embezzler as they sought to attack the government's case.

After the verdict last month, a juror told news outlets that the jury agreed to throw out Gates' testimony because they found him unreliable. Juror Paula Duncan told Fox News the jury relied largely on the paper evidence presented at trial, which was enough for her to vote to convict Manafort on all charges. The jury ultimately returned a split verdict because one juror held out due to reasonable doubt, she said.

In the Washington case, Manafort is accused of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, conspiring to launder money and lying to the FBI and Justice Department about the nature of his work. He is also accused of tampering with witnesses in the case.

The charges do not relate to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and jurors are expected to only hear limited references to Manafort's role in the campaign. Jackson is allowing prosecutors to mention that Manafort was campaign chairman in August 2016 when press reports called attention to his work on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and the pro-Russian Party of Regions.
ALBANY  Sentencing for Richard Sherwood, the former Guilderland town justice who admitted he stole more than $11.8 million from elderly clients, was postponed Thursday.

In June, Sherwood admitted his role in a swindle that targeted money intended for charity.

No reason was given for Sherwood's sentencing delay before Albany County Judge Peter Lynch. A new date for sentencing was not immediately available.

Sherwood faces 40 months to 10 years in prison based on his guilty plea to second-degree grand larceny charges.

The former judge, 58, pleaded guilty to state and federal crimes that included the 2012 transfer of his clients' family camp on Galway Lake into his possession. Sherwood tried to cover it up by backdating a check after one of his clients had died, his plea agreement showed.

Sherwood admitted in federal court he and Thomas Lagan, his business partner and future co-defendant, wrote a total of eight checks, each for $14,000, to each other, their wives and children, and later funneled tens of thousands of dollars from client estates to pay college tuition for Lagan's daughter.

After pleading guilty to state crimes, Sherwood appeared in U.S. District Court and admitted to money laundering charges in connection with a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, as well as tax crimes for underreporting his income by $4.7 million in 2013 and 2015.

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He must forfeit $3.7 million to the federal government, and owes at least $10.6 million in restitution.

Since 2006, Sherwood and Lagan had been providing estate planning and financial advice to Walter and Pauline Bruggeman of Niskayuna. Walter Bruggeman, the former head of Global Nuclear Energy at General Electric Co., and his wife were philanthropists who contributed millions of dollars to local charities, hospitals and churches as well as to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where Walter Bruggeman went to school.

Walter Bruggeman died on April 28, 2009, with millions in his estate. Pauline Bruggeman died on Aug. 9, 2011, with about $20 million in personal and trust assets.

Sherwood admitted that starting in late 2011, he conspired to steal millions of dollars from the estate of Pauline Bruggeman and her sisters, Anne Urban and Julia Rentz, who both died in 2013. Rentz, of Ohio, had dementia at the time the money was stolen.
Washington

Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona, who served three terms in the Senate before retiring in 2012, was sworn in Wednesday to fill the seat left open by the death of Sen. John McCain.

Kyl, 76, has only committed to serve until the end of the current congressional session on Jan. 3. Still, he'll have the chance to cast key votes, including on spending bills to keep the government running and whether to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

His support will give Republicans more cushion to confirm Kavanaugh before the midterm elections in November. Republicans may also need his help on other Trump nominees.

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Kyl was warmly greeted by senators from both parties as he entered the Senate chamber. Vice President Mike Pence swore Kyl in while fellow Republican Sen. Jeff Flake stood by his side. Kyl then walked over to McCain's old desk as colleagues applauded.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he could not be happier that the "new, not-so-junior senator" will be working during a time that he described as "all hands of deck for the American people." He described Kyl as "one of the most serious, most expert, and most effective legislators with whom I've had the pleasure of serving."
ALBANY  An internal police probe revealed Thursday that the shooting of 19-year-old Ellazar Williams by an Albany detective during a chase on Aug. 20 was justified.

Williams, who moved to Albany from Binghamton several months ago, was paralyzed from the waist down after Albany Detective James Olsen shot him behind the Tony Clemente Center for Education after a brief chase from Central Avenue to Elk Street.

We always try to resolve these types of incidents as peacefully as possible, new police Chief Eric Hawkins said, first offering thoughts and prayers to Williams and his family. In this case, per an internal investigation, the use of force was necessary, but it doesnt take away from the fact that it is a very traumatic experience for everybody involved and were very sensitive to that.

Hawkins was briefed on the officer-involved shooting and interviewed the detectives involved in the hours since hes taken the helm of the roughly 300-staff department, but turned the Thursday news conference over to Commander Michael Basile, who was acting chief when Williams was shot.

Hawkins will be sworn in as police chief Friday.

Basile presented the evidence gathered during a two-and-a-half-week investigation, including still images from video surveillance footage showing Williams, audio tape of 911 and police calls and maps tracing Williams' route and that of police during the incident to demonstrate their findings.

Police said Williams matched the description of the man who displayed a gun during a fight at a local convenience store and fled when detectives tried to stop him. Williams ran to the nearby school, while detectives pursued in a vehicle. Olsen then chased Williams on foot to a fenced in courtyard near the rear of the Elk Street school.

What transpired next happened in a matter of seconds, Basile said, with Williams running and tripping in the courtyard and dropping a knife. Olsen ordered Williams to stay down, but police say Williams reached for the dropped knife.

Olsen witnesses Mr. Williams fall, drop the knife, rearm himself and become an eminent danger towards the detective, Basile said, describing some of the surveillance footage shown. At which point, the detective, recognizing the threat and fearing for his safety, is forced to fire two rounds from his duty weapon striking Mr. Williams one time in the left rear shoulder.

Police couldnt definitively say whether Williams was standing, getting up, or still on the ground when the shots were fired.

Basile said the motions of Williams and Olsen were fluid, and as soon as Williams went to pick up the knife he became a threat to the detective and Olsen is authorized to use necessary force to cease that.

Williams was charged with felony menacing and misdemeanor weapons possession. He is represented by Steve Sharp from the public defender's office.

Olsen remains on administrative duties until the investigation is complete, which will be wrapped up Friday with the necessary paperwork, Basile said. The two other detectives involved, Lawrence Heid and Christopher Cornell, are back on duty, he said.

The ambiguity of what occurred in the school courtyard continues to weigh on community leaders minds.

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Alice Green, director of the Center for Law and Justice, emphasized that shes not being critical of the departments findings, but noted that the investigation was limited.

The video footage doesnt completely capture the detective in the frame, Williams hasnt talked to police at the advice of his attorney and police havent seen medical reports that could offer more perspective on the shot that hit Williams. Police also are unsure which of the two shots hit Williams, and where the stray bullet landed.

Plus, there are discrepancies on where exactly Williams was shot. Police say he was shot in the shoulder, but the community and Williams brother, Nick Grimm, say Williams was shot in the back, Green said.

We dont understand exactly what was happening when (Williams) reached down to pick up the knife, and why that was a threat, she said. Im not being critical of their report, Im sure that they did everything that they could with the information that they have, but they dont have all of it.

The matter is under review by Albany County District Attorney David Soares, who has been apprised of the incident by Albany police.

The primary accounts came from the three detectives involved  who were interviewed 72 hours after the incident per union and department policy  and the various video, 911 and police audio clips available.

Body worn cameras have not been rolled out to all detectives who may be on the street yet, but Basile said the equipment would be made available soon. Detectives are expected to receive training on the equipment and the departments policy next week, he added.
ALBANY  When Rubina Arab set foot inside an American school for the first time, she had only been to school for one month at age 10 in Pakistan and didn't speak any English. In her old school, she said, teachers would eat during class and hurt students with sticks.

Arab said her parents and six siblings moved to the U.S. because her father, a soldier from Afghanistan, left the military and was afraid he would be killed. She spent half a year at Eagle Point Elementary School where a Pashtu translator helped her navigate learning English.

But she said she didn't have any friends, especially who were also Muslim. When she transferred last year to the newly opened Albany International Center for refugee and immigrant students learning English, she found many other Muslims and Afghans.

"I was happy and excited," Arab, now 12 and in 8th grade, told the Times Union in the cafeteria on the first day of her second year at Albany International Center. After a year at the school for English learners, she's comfortable expressing herself  although she's sometimes still shy.

Albany's city school district opened the grade 6-12 center, housed in North Albany Academy, last year to meet the growing need of students learning the English language. On the door of Arab's science class a sign reads: "Hate has no home here" in five languages.

Students at Albany International Center come from 20 countries and speak more than 10 languages  a fraction of the 57 spoken across the district. Arabic and Spanish are the most common.

The school's goal isn't graduation, but transferring students back to district schools within two years. The school transferred 19 students out of 122 at the end of last year. This year there are 111 students.

As many return, principal Rachel Stead said the school is focusing on social-emotional support for students, many of whom are refugees coming from traumatic situations.

"Trauma manifests in a variety of ways," Stead said. "By looking through a trauma-informed lens, it's going deeper in trying to understand where our students are coming from and understand how they operate on a day to day basis and as a result to be able to connect them with resources in the community to help them while they're working through this."

The school already employs a social worker, behavioral specialist and school counselor. This year, administrators were trained in trauma-informed care and security staff in therapeutic responses. This summer the school hired an employee who speaks Arabic and moved the home school coordinator, who was born in a refugee camp, to full-time. Staff also use translators to connect with parents, recognizing there are different cultural perceptions about mental health.

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Numbers of English language learning students skyrocketed from 300 five years ago to 1300 last year, said Tom Giglio, director of the district's English as a New Language and Refugee Services. Numbers hovered around the same this year.

Giglio and other administrators told the Times Union they didn't know why, but hinted at the current political climate that drastically reduced the number of refugees entering the country. President Donald Trump cut the annual cap for refugees to 45,000 in 2017, less than half from the year before, although reports show as few as 22,000 have actually resettled in the U.S. this year.

Although numbers of students are declining in New York, Albany district spokesman Ron Lesko said the district's numbers keep expanding  and most of the growth is due to English language learner students.

"We have a reputation as a welcoming district and we see refugees as a true asset," said Giglio, who wants to expand Albany International Center to grades 3 to 5 and start a standalone program for students up to age 21.

"They've been resilient and successful in making it to the United States and you get it in the atmosphere here," Giglio said. "Like all good things, it does take time. I don't want to be Pollyanna. It's always going to be evolving so we're meeting the kids' needs."
Washington

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer continued a scorched earth approach to the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, forcing the Senate to shut down for the day by objecting to a floor motion by his Republican counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"Republicans are trying to jam through, with as little scrutiny as possible, a lifetime appointment to the nation's highest court, with the power to affect the lives of Americans for a generation," said Schumer on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Schumer objected to McConnell's proposal to waive a rule that prevents Senate committees from hearings that go beyond two hours while the Senate is in session. After Schumer spoke up against what otherwise would have been a routine motion, the Senate's top Republican then had little choice but to adjourn.

Schumer cited what has become one of the central mantras of the Democratic assault on the nomination of the 53-year-old D.C. federal appeals court judge picked by President Trump off a list prepared by the conservative Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society: Senators have not received all documents on Kavanaugh's service in the George W. Bush White House, and 42,000 pages that were delivered arrived late Monday, leaving Senators little time for review.

"That's why it's so important for the Senate and the public to review the nominee's record because health care, a woman's freedom to make medical decisions, civil rights, voting rights, marriage equality - all hang in the balance."

Schumer tossed his grenade as the Kavanaugh hearings grinded their way through Day 2, with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee getting their first chance to question the nominee.

Although virtually all Republicans and even some Democrats are likely to vote in favor of confirmation, a few slips by Kavanaugh could be sufficient to sway some Senators.

Lurking in the background is residual bitterness among Schumer and other Senate Democrats over McConnell's 2016 shutdown of President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland, the chief of the appeals court on which Kavanaugh now sits. Obama nominated Garland, a liberal, to replace conservative stalwart Justice Antonin Scalia, who died abruptly in February 2016.

McConnell's refusal to give Garland a hearing and a vote bore fruit for Republicans after President Trump won the 2016 election. The high court seat that otherwise would have gone to Garland instead went to Neil Gorsuch, a conservative.

With Kavanaugh now in line to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy, a longtime swing vote, the court could well take a sharp turn to the right on contentious issues ranging from abortion to health care to workers' rights.

As the leader of minority Senate Democrats whose options for derailing the nomination are limited, Schumer has become the strategy formulator-in-chief. But he finds himself walking a tightrope between traditional Senate deference and comity, and a demand from Democratic constituencies that he do everything in his power to halt Kavanaugh's momentum.

The Brooklyn native seemed to answer the question of which side he is on, saying: "We will not consent to business as usual on the Senate floor today."

Meanwhile at the hearing Wednesday, Kavanaugh sought to portray himself as a thoughtful non-partisan jurist who judges cases before him on the basis of the Constitution, the law and relevant Supreme Court precedents. But he went out of his way to insist he's not some kind of Dickensian automaton who operates in a world of words divorced from reality.

"I do not live in a bubble," Kavanaugh said. "I live in the real world. I understand how people are affected by these issues."

For the second day in a row, protesters interrupted the proceedings with shouts of "this is a sham," and "Stop Kavanaugh." One of the protesters hustled out of the hearing room by police wore the red-and-white uniform from the "Handmaid's Tale," a televised dystopian vision of a society in which women are forced into sexual servitude.

Democratic senators did their best to land blows on Kavanaugh, citing opinions he authored as an appeals court judge and some of the records of Kavanaugh's White House years that were turned over to the committee. Several senators keyed in on a law review article in which Kavanaugh argued that president's should not become embroiled in criminal proceedings while in office, and that impeachment is the only route for addressing allegations of criminal conduct by a president.

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Kavanaugh defended himself, characterizing the article as more of an academic exercise born of his experience on the staff of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, which investigated President Clinton in the 1990s, and his service in the Bush White House after 9/11.

"I was talking about something for Congress to look at, if they wanted to," he said in response to questions from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., sharply questioned Kavanaugh about whether as associate White House counsel under Bush, he was privy to memos on Democratic judicial-nominee strategy that were stolen from his office by a Republican staff aide. Leahy also pursued how much Kavanaugh knew about controversial Bush administration policies including CIA use of torture on suspected terrorists detained by the military in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Leahy touched on what might be the Kavanaugh hearings' ultimate Catch 22: Senators are in possession of 142,000 pages of documents marked "committee confidential," meaning senators cannot refer to them in questioning nor quote them publicly. He suggested some of the documents might contradict Kavanaugh's denials of involvement in policy formulation on torture or receipt of stolen documents.

At the White House, President Trump told reporters he had watched some of the hearings and thought Kavanaugh was "totally brilliant."

Democrats, he said, are "grasping at straws."

Democrats "should embrace him because you're never going to find better in terms of talent or intellect than what you have in Brett Kavanaugh," he said.

Although the hearings often got wrapped up in legal technicalities, there were a few light moments. Asked by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., what he was most proud of, Kavanaugh replied being a "good dad, a good judge."

"And a good husband," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the committee's senior Democrat. The hearing room erupted with laughter.

dan@hearstdc.com
Boston

The black Boston city councilor whose upset primary win over a 10-term congressman stunned Massachusetts' political establishment called her victory "surreal" Wednesday and said the wave of inclusiveness sweeping the nation is the best way to counter President Donald Trump.

Ayanna Pressley told cheering supporters she's humbled by her victory over longtime U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano, a fellow liberal Democrat. Pressley will run unopposed in November, giving her a virtual lock on the seat  the first in Congress that will be held by a black woman from Massachusetts.

After appearing at a Democratic unity event Wednesday, Pressley's campaign canceled her events for the rest of the day, saying she was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. Pressley joked at the event that she was experiencing withdrawal after six months on the campaign trail "double-fisting Red Bull and cold brew."

Pressley, 44, said her victory was "a surreal, full-circle moment." She said she ran to represent those traditionally without a voice in politics who deserve to live in communities that are safe and have good schools.

She also got in a dig at Trump, saying the only way to combat "the hate coming out of this White House" is with an inclusive movement. "This is our opportunity to build it," she said. "We are at a crossroads. This can be our darkest hour or it can be our finest."

Pressley cruised to victory Tuesday in a district once served by Tip O'Neill and John F. Kennedy. Minorities now constitute a majority of the district's population.

Pressley's defeat of a 10-term incumbent underscores the shift under way in a Democratic Party whose base is seeking younger, more diverse candidates who embrace liberal policies. Her victory comes just two months after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez similarly defeated a top House leader in a primary for a New York congressional seat.

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A subdued Capuano told supporters he did everything he could to win re-election.

"Apparently the district just is very upset with lots of things that are going on. I don't blame them. I'm just as upset as they are, but so be it."

Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, son of the late U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, said he saw something of his famed political family's legacy in Pressley's win.

"John F. Kennedy was known for the 'New Frontier' and always imagining a new world," Kennedy said Wednesday. "There is great excitement today for that vision. It's exhibited by her and the followers she brought into the political process."
Watanabe has lived at the Lincoln Park facility, 2437 N. Southport Ave., since at least 2010, the lawsuit said. Born in California, Watanabe was forcibly relocated to the Poston Japanese internment camp in Arizona between 1942 and 1946, according to online records from the National Archives. She moved to Evanston after that, Golbert said, and graduated with a bachelors degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1969, the university confirmed. Watanabe told officials she worked at federal Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., for more than three decades, but it is unclear when she returned to Chicago, Golbert said.
Seven students from St Mary's Secondary School in Newport were injured this morning when the school bus they were travelling in collided with a car near Ahane in County Limerick.

The Tipperary Star understands that, while they brought to Limerick to hospital, none of the injuries are life-threatening, but some may have suffered broken bones as well as cuts and bruises.

The bus driver, who is believed to be from Newport, and the driver of the car, were also taken to hospital.

St Mary's principal Kevin Cusask told the Tipperary Star that they school first became aware of the accident at around 8.10am and their thoughts immediately turned to the well being of the students, their families and all those involved.

He and the school's guidance counsellor attended the scene, where the emergency services had matters under control.

The school then put its critical incident policy in place and the National Educational Psychologist Service was put on standby in case any student needed assistance.

"The staff are to be commended for the way they rallied with support," said Mr Cusack.

He then visited the students in University Hospital Limerick and met parents.

"They were very well taken care off and in relatively good spirits, but shaken," said the principal.

He said some were later discharged while others were kept for observation.

"I want to thank the emergency services," he said. "It was inspiring to see them at work."

He also thanked the staff at UHL for the way they looked after the students.

Mr Cusack said that the school sent its best wishes to the passengers in the other vehicle and the bus driver and wished them a speedy recovery.

The bus would generally have a mix of students from both St Mary's and Newport College, but Clodagh Kelly, principal of Newport College, told the Tipperary Star that none of her school's students were on the bus at the time.

Ms Kelly said that the school had put is student support team in place as students at Newport would know those involved in the accident.

"Our thoughts are with those students injured and both drivers. We wish them a speedy recovery," said Ms Kelly.

The accident happened shortly after 8am when the vehicles collided near Ahane National School, Lisnagry.

According to reports, nine people, including six children, two adults, and a teenager, were taken to hospital.

The reports said that one of the passengers on the bus managed to get out of the vehicle and run a mile to a house to raise the alarm.

Limerick Fire and Rescue Service, as well as units from Newport and Cappamore were called to the scene, with Newport and Cappamore later stood down.

Local Tipperary County Council councillor Fiona Bonfield, Newport, said it was fortunate that nobody had suffered serious injury in the accident.

People in the town were shocked when they heard the news, said the Labour Party councillor.

She said her thoughts were with the students, their families, the families of the drivers and the school.
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[September 05, 2018] New Hyperledger Training Course and Certification Exams Expand Accessibility of Enterprise Blockchain Education

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced enrollment is now open for the new LFD271 - Hyperledger Fabric Fundamentals training course. Additionally, Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator and Certified Hyperledger Sawtooth Administrator exams will be released later in the year. A Professional Certificate Program - Blockchain for Business - was launched earlier this year on edX along with a free course entitled Blockchain: Understanding Its Uses and Implications. "Blockchain technology adoption is increasing at a rapid pace - with TechCrunch reporting blockchain jobs as the second-fastest growing in today's labor market - leading to a shortage of professionals who are qualified to implement and manage it on an enterprise scale," said Linux Foundation General Manager, Training & Certification Clyde Seepersad. "After seeing more than 100,000 students take our free introductory Hyperledger course, we knew it was time for more advanced training options, and certification exams to demonstrate the extent of professionals' knowledge." LFD271 - Hyperledger Fabric Fundamentals

The Hyperledger Fabric Fundamentals course introduces the fundamental concepts of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, as well as the core architecture and components that make up typical decentralized Hyperledger Fabric applications. Students will work with Hyperledger Fabric, Hyperledger Fabric Certificate Authority and the Hyperledger Fabric SDK. In addition to the reading material, the two day, self-paced course includes a set of hands-on lab exercises that guide students towards setting up a Hyperledger Fabric business network and through the various stages in the lifecycle of a decentralized Hyperledger Fabric-based application. LFD271 is designed for developers and application developers. Developers will learn how business logic is implemented in Hyperledger Fabric through chaincode (Hyperledger Fabric's smart contracts) and review the various transaction types used to read from and write to the distributed ledger. Application developers will be hown how their applications can invoke transactions using the Hyperledger Fabric JavaScript SDK.



The course instructor, Jonathan Levi, is a hands-on computer scientist, applied cryptographer and mathematician, as well as the founder of HACERA, the blockchain technology company. He is one of the early contributors to Hyperledger Fabric, helped shape the Membership Services (the permissioning layer of Hyperledger Fabric) and was the official release manager of Hyperledger Fabric 1.0. He has built several large-scale mission critical systems that had to be highly available, secure and fault-tolerant. Over the last five years, Jonathan has worked with several blockchain technology stacks - from Bitcoin to building the first Ethereum class with Professor Dan Boneh at Stanford University. The course is available to take now at a limited time, introductory cost of $199 (regularly $299).

Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator Exam

The Certified Hyperledger Fabric Administrator (CHFA) will be able to effectively build a secure Hyperledger Fabric network for commercial deployment. To pass the exam, professionals must demonstrate the ability to install, configure, operate, manage, and troubleshoot the nodes on that network. Completion of LFD271 may help serve as preparation for the CHFA exam, but is not required. Exam topics will include: Application Lifecycle Management

Installing and Configuring the Network

Diagnostics and Troubleshooting

Membership Service Provision

Network Maintenance and Operations The full list of Domains and Competencies for CHFA can be found here. Certified Hyperledger Sawtooth Administrator Exam

The Certified Hyperledger Sawtooth Administrator (CHSA) will be able to effectively build a secure Hyperledger Sawtooth network for commercial deployment. To pass the exam, professionals must demonstrate the ability to install, configure, operate, manage, and troubleshoot the nodes on that network. Exam topics will include: Installation

Configuration

Permissioning, Identity Management & Security

Lifecycle

Troubleshooting The full list of Domains and Competencies for CHSA can be found here. Both the CHFA and CHSA exams will be available to take before the end of the year. As with all Linux Foundation certification exams, the exams will be available remotely from virtually any location with a stable internet connection and webcam. Those who fail to pass the exam on their first attempt will be able to retake the exam one additional time at no cost. You can read more about the CHFA and CHSA certification exams and the community members that contributed on the Hyperledger blog. About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and industry adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media Contact:

Dan Brown

The Linux Foundation

415-420-7880

dbrown@linuxfoundation.org View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-hyperledger-training-course-and-certification-exams-expand-accessibility-of-enterprise-blockchain-education-300707355.html SOURCE The Linux Foundation

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[September 05, 2018] Worldwide Server Market Revenue Grew 43.7% Year Over Year to a Record $22.5 Billion During the Second Quarter of 2018, According to IDC

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, vendor revenue in the worldwide server market increased 43.7%, year over year to $22.5 billion during the second quarter of 2018 (2Q18). Worldwide server shipments increased 20.5% year over year to 2.9 million units in 2Q18. The overall server market continues to experience historic demand with 2Q18 marking the fourth consecutive quarter of double digit revenue growth and its highest total revenue ever. Volume server revenue increased by 42.7% to $18.4 billion, while midrange server revenue grew 63.0% to $2.5 billion. High-end systems grew 30.4% to $1.7 billion. "The worldwide server market continues to flourish amid a market-wide enterprise refresh cycle and increasing demand from cloud service providers," said Sanjay Medvitz, senior research analyst, Servers and Storage at IDC (News - Alert) . "Enterprises continue to invest in new infrastructure to support next-generation applications and achieve cloud-like benefits on premise. Hyperscalers also continue to update and expand their datacenter presence, benefiting ODM Direct suppliers. Server revenue growth has also been driven by increasing average selling prices (ASPs). This is due to richer configurations, DRAM prices, and new processor platforms." Overall Server Market Standings, by Company Dell (News - Alert) Inc. achieved the number one position in the worldwide server market for the first time in 2Q18 with 18.8% revenue share and 52.9% growth. HPE/New H3C Group was the second largest supplier with 16.6% share of total vendor revenue, growing 11.7%. IBM and Lenovo were statistically tied* for third position in the market with respective shares of 7.3% and 6.9%. Inspur, Cisco, and Huawei (News - Alert) rounded out the top five, all statistically tied* with 4.8%, 4.8%, and 4.3% respective shares of vendor revenue. The ODM Direct group of vendors increased its collective revenue by 55.9% (year over year) to $5.5 billion. Dell Inc. led the worldwide server market in terms of unit shipments, accounting for 19.5% of all units shipped during the quarter.







Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Server Vendor Revenue, Market Share, and Growth, Second Quarter of 2018 (Revenues are in US$ Millions) Company 2Q18 Revenue 2Q18

Market

Share 2Q17 Revenue 2Q17

Market

Share 2Q18/2Q17

Revenue

Growth 1. Dell Inc. $4,246.1 18.8% $2,776.2 17.7% 52.9% 2. HPE/New H3C Group** $3,740.8 16.6% $3,348.5 21.4% 11.7% 3. IBM (News - Alert) * $1,637.5 7.3% $1,042.7 6.6% 57.0% 3. Lenovo* $1,549.1 6.9% $834.1 5.3% 85.7% 5. Inspur* $1,087.9 4.8% $512.3 3.3% 112.3% 5. Cisco (News - Alert) * $1,070.9 4.8% $874.9 5.6% 22.4% 5. Huawei* $966.8 4.3% $545.8 3.5% 77.1% ODM Direct $5,488.2 24.4% $3,520.9 22.5% 55.9% Others $2,741.5 12.2% $2,227.1 14.2% 23.1% Total $22,528.7 100% $15,682.5 100% 43.7% Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, September 5, 2018

Notes: * IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide server market when there is a difference of one percent or less in the share of revenues or shipments among two or more vendors. ** Due to the existing joint venture between HPE and the New H3C Group, IDC will be reporting external market share on a global level for HPE and New H3C Group as "HPE/New H3C Group" starting from 2Q 2016 and going forward. In addition to the table above, a graphic illustrating the worldwide market share of the top 5 server companies over the previous five quarters is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com. Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Server Unit Shipments, Market Share, and Growth, Second Quarter of 2018 (Shipments are in thousands) Company 2Q18 Unit

Shipments 2Q18

Market

Share 2Q17 Unit

Shipments 2Q17

Market

Share 2Q18/2Q17

Unit

Growth 1. Dell Inc. 574.6 19.5% 492.7 20.2% 16.6% 2. HPE/New H3C Group** 443.7 15.1% 506.8 20.7% -12.4% 3.Lenovo* 224.1 7.6% 145.7 6.0% 53.9% 3. Inspur* 203.2 6.9% 119.7 4.9% 69.8% 5. Huawei* 187.4 6.4% 133.9 5.5% 39.9% 5. Super Micro* 175.1 5.9% 136.0 5.6% 28.8% ODM Direct 732.6 24.9% 527.1 21.6% 39.0% Others 403.0 13.7% 380.6 15.6% 5.9% Total 2,943.8 100% 2,442.4 100% 20.5% Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, September 5, 2018 Notes: * IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide server market when there is a difference of one percent or less in the share of revenues or shipments among two or more vendors. ** Due to the existing joint venture between HPE and the New H3C Group, IDC will be reporting external market share on a global level for HPE and New H3C Group as "HPE/New H3C Group" starting from 2Q 2016 and going forward. Top Server Market Findings On a geographic basis, Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) was the fastest growing region in 2Q18 with 55.0% year-over-year revenue growth. The United States grew 48.1%, Latin America grew 47.4%, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) grew 28.9%, Canada grew 19.9%, and Japan grew 16.5%. China grew 69.7%. Demand for x86 servers increased 44.1% in 2Q18 with $20.5 billion in revenues. Non-x86 servers grew 39.8% year over year to $2.1 billion. IDC's Server Taxonomy IDC's Server Taxonomy maps the eleven price bands within the server market into three price ranges: volume servers, midrange servers and high-end servers. The revenue data presented in this release is stated as vendor revenue for a server system. IDC presents data in vendor revenue to determine market share position. Vendor revenue represents those dollars recognized by multi-user system and server vendors for ISS (initial server shipment) and upgrade units sold through direct and indirect channels and includes the following embedded server components: Frame or cabinet and all cables, processors, memory, communications boards, operating system software, other bundled software and initial internal and external disk shipments. IDC's Quarterly Server Tracker is a quantitative tool for analyzing the global server market on a quarterly basis. The Tracker includes quarterly unit shipments and revenues (both vendor revenue and value of shipments), segmented by vendor, family, model, region, operating system, price band, CPU type, and architecture. For more information about IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, please contact Lidice Fernandez at 305-351-3057 or lfernandez@idc.com. About IDC Trackers

IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly excel deliverables and on-line query tools. About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,100 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading media, data and marketing services company that activates and engages the most influential technology buyers. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180905005873/en/

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Center Rock Capital Partners, LP Closes $580 Million Inaugural Fund Above Target

Center Rock Capital Partners, LP ("Center Rock"), a Midwest-based private equity firm focused on investments in industrial businesses headquartered in North America, today announced the final closing of its inaugural investment vehicle, Center Rock Capital Partners Fund I, LP (together with its parallel fund, the "Fund").

The Fund will invest principally in the lower middle market. The oversubscribed Fund closed with limited partner capital commitments totaling $580 million. The firm began marketing the Fund in late 2017 with a target of $450 million. Strong interest from a broad base of institutional investors drove Center Rock to increase its initial hard cap.

With an emphasis on flexible investing in industrial leaders, Center Rock concentrates on industrial manufacturing, distribution and services companies that are headquartered in North America and have revenues up to $500 million. The firm is led by Partners Ian Kirson and Terry Theodore wo, collectively, have more than 50 years of private equity, transactional and finance experience, and are responsible for all major aspects of the firm's management and investment process.







Moelis & Company acted as advisor and placement agent for Center Rock, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal counsel to Center Rock.

For more information, visit www.centerrockcp.com.

About Center Rock Capital Partners, LP

Center Rock is a Midwest-based private equity firm focused on building leading industrial companies in the lower middle market. Center Rock invests in complex transactions arising from operational or transactional challenges. The firm seeks industrial manufacturing, industrial services and industrial distribution companies headquartered in North America, often with multi-national operations and locations that serve both domestic and global markets.

With substantial expertise in closing complex transactions and working with management teams to improve performance, Center Rock's investment professionals have the flexibility and tools to invest in complex situations, understand the challenges, construct solutions and build value in lower middle market industrial companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180905006045/en/
[September 05, 2018] Chope reports record S$10.4M results in 2017, doubles 2016 revenue

SINGAPORE, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dining app Chope announced revenue of S$10.4M for 2017, almost double its S$5.5 million sales in 2016. Most of the growth came from the increasing number of reservations and deals booked by users as the dining platform continues to add more restaurants; it crossed 3,000 restaurant clients in the eight Asian cities the app operates in. The twelve months of 2017 alone saw more transactions than the previous five years combined, which, by analyst estimates, represent over S$110M in value delivered to client restaurants. The company attributed this growth, in part, to its success in emerging Southeast Asian markets. "Over 60% of Chope's clients are based outside Singapore," said Chope's Chief Executive Officer Arrif Ziaudeen, "with Thailand and Indonesia being our largest growth markets." With the S$19 million venture capital investment the company received a few months ago and a position as market leader for dining reservations across its markets, Chope is quietly starting to ramp up new product development expansions, including a recent introduction of time-based deals in Jakarta and Singapore, where guests enjoy 50% off when hey dine at certain times.



Business is profitable in Singapore and the company is continuing to invest in other markets to achieve similar leadership where things are on the same trajectory. Looking forward, Ziaudeen said, "The dining market in Asia is incredibly big and underserved, and while Chope has modernised thousands of restaurants, there are still tens of thousands to go." The company also welcomed new Chief Technology Officer Jack Wang to oversee further tech-driven business innovation. Previously CTO at Apricot Forest Ltd in Beijing, a market-leading Internet company developing mobile apps and platforms for doctors and medical professionals across China, Wang grew the team from eight to 50 and played a key role in increasing the number of users from around 1,000 to over 1 million with more than 300k active users monthly. Under Wang's leadership, Fast Company named Apricot Forest Ltd one of the most innovative companies in 2015.

"Chope is a fantastic platform; I'm honoured to join during a rapid growth stage," said Wang of his appointment, "Besides building up a great, fast-growth platform and enforcing systematic data organization, we've also got our sights set on technologies like machine-learning AI and blockchain." About Chope The Chope Group is on a mission to connect diners to restaurants and restaurants to diners through discovery, reservations, and deals. The Chope app and website feature various guides and over 3,000 restaurants to help users discover places to eat, book instantly, and enjoy savings through specials and dining vouchers. The Chope Group has also developed a suite of integrated solutions for restaurants which support optimisation of efficiency and increase revenue. These solutions are ChopeBook, ChopeCloud, ChopeVoice, and ChopeQueues. Founded in 2011 and currently in eight cities (Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Phuket, Shanghai, Beijing, Bali, and Jakarta), Chope has seated over 35 million diners and works with top partners like The Lo & Behold Group, JUMBO Group, Soho Hospitality, Lost Heaven, and The Union Group. Visit www.chope.co and download the app (www.chope.co/app) for more information. For press inquiries, please contact press@chope.co. SOURCE The Chope Group

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Prince, he is not a kid that I know to be a member of a gang. He just graduated. We were trying to find him a job  something that he can do while hes going to school, like a part-time job. That was the arrangement we were trying to make when this happened.
[September 06, 2018] Celcom Game Hero Crowns its 'Endless Trials' Champion With RM100,000 Cash Prize

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- History has been made once again with Muhammad Nazir bin Basri taking home the grand cash prize of RM100,000 in Malaysia's largest mobile game tournament, 'Celcom Game Hero - Endless Trials'. Mastering multiple levels of Endless Trials, Nazir is 31 years old from Klang, Selangor topped nine other finalists with a whopping 6,290 top score in an intense one-hour live showdown. Claiming the second prize was 29-year-old Mohd Farhan bin Hassin, from Kota Bahru, Kelantan with 6,245 score who snatched the RM60,000 cash prize, while Mohd Sabree bin Junyul (27) from Klang took the third place and RM40,000 cash prize with a close 6,235 score. Finalists in the 4th-6th place received a cash prize of RM 10,000, and 7th - 10th place finalists received RM5,000. The 10 Finalists took their shot in battling out for their chance at the grand cash prize after being at the top of the leader board, from an overwhelming number of players nationwide, over the course of four months. Celcom Game Hero cash prizes were presented by Zuwairi Zakaria, Head of Pricing and Retail Marketing of Celcm Axiata Berhad and Dato' Lion Peh, Chief Executive Officer of Techninier Sdn Bhd at Menara Celcom.



Celcom's partnership with Techninier Sdn Bhd highlights the importance of bringing new and innovative experiences for customers, and players can continue to experience the awesome moments with the latest tournament: Celcom Game Hero -- Knight Clash.

Featured as a scrolling runner game, the premise is set with a valiant knight and his trusty steed, who face ferocious foes and treacherous traps in order to smash through the enemy gates and save the princess. Mobile gamers from casual players to expert gamers just need to gain a high score by collecting points and rescuing the princess, to be placed in the leader boards and be in the running for cash prizes. For more information on Celcom Game Hero's fifth mobile game tournament -- 'Knight Clash, visit www.gamehero.my. About Techninier Techninier Sdn. Bhd. (Techninier) has been at the forefront of innovation as a company which specializes in the provision of technology and content in the internet and mobile space. In tandem with technology provision, Techninier is focused in mobile social gaming and mobile social networking platform, having been accredited as finalist in global accolades such as The Meffy Awards and World Communication Awards among the likes of companies such as Apple. Techninier also integrates and manages clients' and partners needs in the ICT industry. For more information on Techninier, please visit www.techninier.com. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180905/2228736-1 SOURCE Techninier Sdn Bhd

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[September 06, 2018] Francisco Partners Invests in ByBox

ByBox, specialists in smart locker technology and field service solutions, today announced a strategic investment from Francisco Partners that values ByBox at 221 million. The private equity firm backs ambitious technology-enabled businesses and will support ByBox's expansion of its UK infrastructure and global deployment of its 'Konnect' app-locker solution. "ByBox is a great company with a clear and increasingly critical proposition. Its success comes down to great leadership, outstanding customer service and relentless development of its solutions. Listening closely to customers and really understanding market trends has made ByBox an extremely investible business," remarked Deep Shah, co-president, Francisco Partners. Working with Francisco Partners will enable ByBox to accelerate the deployment of its ground-breaking app-locker technology both in the UK and across key global markets. ByBox's app-lockers systematically address the core challenges of the field service supply chain. This should be welcome news to ByBox's customers, who grapple constantly with how to permanently extinguish unnecessary costs. Petri Oksanen, partner, Francisco Partners commented, "We're excited to help ByBox support its existing UK customer base with new offerings, accelerate its international expansion and penetrate new industries. Our growth experience will complement ByBox's inventive nature and intelligent solution set in continuing to drive real customer value into the global field service market." The transaction marks an exit for LDC, a mid-market private equity investor. LDC originally provided 37.5 million of development capital in 2016. In the last two years the business has grown significantly and doubled in value. "LDC are insightful and supportive investors who have worked closely with the ByBox team to formulate and execute a successful strategy. The next phase of this strategy is characterised by ongoing investment in our UK business as well as driving our international expansion. FP have a tremendous track record and will be ideal partners to help us deliver this growth," commented Stuart Miller, co-founder and CEO of ByBox. "ByBox is a great example of a company with a winning combination of innovative problem-solving technology and fantastic customer service. Under the impeccable leadership of Stuart and his team, ByBox has grown to become a real markt leader in its field, two years ahead of plan," said Alastair Weinel, investment director at LDC in the South. "Together, we've generated significant value and have opened the door for even further expansion. We know this ambitious management team isn't finished yet and wish the team every success in the next phase of their journey."



"The world is increasingly dependent on technology. When the tech fails, the world stops working. So field service has never been more critical - which is why everybody at ByBox is so excited to be an increasingly critical part of the future solution set. The backing from FP allows us to go faster and to deliver the next phase of our ambition for our customers," concluded Miller. Note to editors: Images available on request.

About ByBox Established since 2000, ByBox has led the field service market with innovative supply chain solutions to keep the world working. With hundreds of customers across the globe, ByBox simplifies supply chains, improving security, reducing transport costs, increasing visibility and improving technician efficiency. Headquartered out of the UK, with offices in Burlington, Massachusetts, our solutions pair innovative technology and software with physical lockers, helping companies operate with less inventory while reducing cost. We ensure that parts are in the right place at the right time. For more information, please visit: www.bybox.com About Francisco Partners Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm that specializes in investments in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 18 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $14 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 200 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com About LDC: LDC is the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. LDC backs ambitious management teams from UK-based companies seeking up to 100m of equity for management buy-outs, institutional buy-outs or development capital transactions. LDC has a portfolio of 90 businesses across the UK which collectively generates 5.5bn of revenues and employs in excess of 32,000 people. LDC invests in a broad range of sectors and has particular experience in Construction & Property, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Retail & Consumer, TMT, Travel & Leisure and Support Services. LDC has committed to invest 1.2bn in UK mid-market businesses over the next three years. Over the last three years (2014-16), LDC has invested over 1bn of equity and generated exit proceeds of more than 2bn. LDC is the leading private equity company in the UK mid-market. Recent transactions include investments with FC Business Intelligence, Neilson Active Holidays, Linley & Simpson, NBS (News - Alert) , Right Choice Insurance Brokers, Asset Solutions Group, Mandata, Paladone, Precision Micro and Duncan & Todd. LDC has a UK regional network with offices in Aberdeen (News - Alert) , Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Reading. For further information, visit www.ldc.co.uk/pressrelease View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005136/en/

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[September 06, 2018] GSMA Announces 2019 Global Mobile Awards Open for Entry

The GSMA (News - Alert) today announced that the 2019 Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO Awards) are now open for entry. The GLOMO Awards honour the greatest achievements and innovations across the mobile industry, with 42 awards presented over 10 categories. Entries for the 2019 awards will be accepted through Wednesday, 21 November 2018, with the winners announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) taking place 25-28 February 2019 in Barcelona. "The 2019 GLOMO Awards will put a spotlight on the vast array of technological innovations that are helping to connect everyone and everything to a better future, recognising everything from developments in 5G, to innovations in emerging markets, to the start-ups and entrepreneurs that are dreaming up the next big thing," said Michael O'Hara, Chief Marketing Officer, GSMA. "We've continued to evolve the GLOMO Awards to reflect the rapid pace of change in this dynamic industry and we are excited to introduce new categories and awards that more fully recognise the ever-expanding influence of mobile communications in our world." New Features for 2019 GLOMO Awards For 2019, the GSMA has continued to evolve the GLOMO Awards to reflect the latest developments and cutting-edge inventions enhancing global connectivity. New categories and awards include: 4YFN: 4YFN (4 Years From Now) is a business platform that enables startups, investors, corporations and public institutions to create and launch new ventures, strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This new category will focus on those organisations that are accelerating business development and investment within the start-up community.

4YFN (4 Years From Now) is a business platform that enables startups, investors, corporations and public institutions to create and launch new ventures, strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem. This new category will focus on those organisations that are accelerating business development and investment within the start-up community. 5G: This brand-new category will recognise the pioneers pushing the boundaries of innovation in the emerging 5G era. The "5G Industry Partnership Award" will celebrate the collaborations driving the adoption of 5G, while the "5G Leadership Award" will showcase those individuals or organisations that have demonstrated their dedication to furthering the implementation or application of 5G technologies.

This brand-new category will recognise the pioneers pushing the boundaries of innovation in the emerging 5G era. The "5G Industry Partnership Award" will celebrate the collaborations driving the adoption of 5G, while the "5G Leadership Award" will showcase those individuals or organisations that have demonstrated their dedication to furthering the implementation or application of 5G technologies. Mobile Tech: This category will continue to recognise the companies that are revolutionising the capabilities and extending the reach of mobile and digital technologies, and this year, puts a particular focus on the achievements of startups and smaller businesses. The GLOMO Awards further honour industry excellence and innovation through these seven categories: Consumer: This category honours companies that have redefined the business-to-consumer relationship.

This category honours companies that have redefined the business-to-consumer relationship. Forth Industrial Revolution (News - Alert) : This award category will distinguish key companies at the forefront of the digital shift, across seven market verticals.

This award category will distinguish key companies at the forefront of the digital shift, across seven market verticals. Device: This category will recognise market leaders and celebrate new developments across a range of device types, from handsets to wearables and beyond.

This category will recognise market leaders and celebrate new developments across a range of device types, from handsets to wearables and beyond. Content & Media: This category will award the companies that are innovating and creating platforms that inform, educate and entertain everyone, everywhere.

This category will award the companies that are innovating and creating platforms that inform, educate and entertain everyone, everywhere. Social Good: Awards in this category will honour the organisations that are dedicated to creating a better future and improving the lives of communities most in need.

Awards in this category will honour the organisations that are dedicated to creating a better future and improving the lives of communities most in need. Government Excellence Awards: This award category honours governments that have fostered the true spirit of digitisation in their national agendas.

This award category honours governments that have fostered the true spirit of digitisation in their national agendas. Outstanding Achievement: The most prestigious category in the GLOMO Awards celebrates the individuals and organisations that have made remarkable contributions to the digital community.



Details on Entering the GLOMO Awards The 2019 GLOMO Awards are open to companies across the entire mobile ecosystem and may be entered online; complete information on the GLOMO Awards, including the full list of categories, award criteria and deadlines, can be found at www.mobileworldcongress.com/conference-programmes/global-mobile-awards/.

The submission of video to support entries is strongly encouraged by the awards judges. The awards will be judged by independent experts, analysts, journalists, academics and, in some cases, mobile operator representatives. Select awards will be nominated by judges or by an independent panel of experts and will not be open for online entry. The winner of the "Outstanding Mobile Technology Award (The CTOs' Choice)" will be selected by a panel of industry leaders. Entries for the GLOMO Awards close at 17:00 GMT on Wednesday, 21 November 2018. The GSMA will announce the shortlist of nominations for each category by late January 2019. Follow the latest discussions and get involved using the hashtag #GLOMOAwards. Get Involved at Mobile World Congress 2019 For more information on Mobile World Congress 2019, including how to attend, exhibit or sponsor, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com. Follow developments and updates on Mobile World Congress on Twitter (News - Alert) @GSMAEvents, on our LinkedIn Mobile World Congress page https://www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-world-congress or on Facebook (News - Alert) at https://www.facebook.com/mobileworldcongress/. -ENDS- About the GSMA The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with over 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005016/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Asia's Leading Robo-Advisor Magnum Research Closed A++ Round Financing

HONG KONG, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Magnum Research Ltd. ("Magnum Research") announced that it has closed its Series A++ round of financing. Major investors include Bohai XingWang, L.P., managed by BOC International ("BOCI"), and Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund ("AEF"), a not-for-profit initiative by Alibaba Group. The success of this financing round marks the recognition of robo-advisory and AI investment by top Chinese investment institutions. Magnum Research is a financial technology (FinTech) company incubated by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. AQUMON, designed and independently engineered by Magnum Research, strives to improve wealth and asset management practices with the integration of finance, algorithm, and IT solutions. Licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Magnum Research and its group companies are fully equipped to provide transparent, reliable and low-cost wealth and asset management services for individuals and institutions. With its powerful algorithmic strategy and IT capacity, AQUMON provides a one-stop solution to help financial institutions improve their existing asset allocation models and significantly reduce costs associated with traditional asset management methods. The Series A++ financing will create strong synergy and a win-win situation for Magnum Research and BOCI. Besides receiving capital from BOCI PE arm as a support to the company, Magnum Research is also actively seeking cooperation opportunity with BOCI in Robo-advisory, aiming to provide automated global asset allocation services to BOCI's clients. Lixin Wang, Managing Director of BOCI Direct Investment Department, said, "The advantages of equipping financial institutions with AI technology are gradually coming into effect. More traditional financial institutions are starting to embrace and incorporate AI technology in various projects." Cindy Chow, Executive Director of Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund, said: "We are thrilled to continue our financing support for Magnum, who has shown profound capabilities in AI research and innovation." Chow added, "It is encouraging that more and more established corporations are embracing new ideas and innovation, which is bound to help the start-up ecosystem in Hong Kong thrive."



Kelvin Lei, CEO of Magnum Research, said: "The business formula combining Algorithm and IT solutions symbiotically will generate tremendous ripples and set off waves of change in the wealth and asset management industry. Asia's large and rapidly growing wealth management industry has many critical pain points including high fees, opaque business models, substantial home biases and poor customer services. Any improvements addressing these pain points will bring huge impact to the industry. Targeting these issues, Magnum Research independently developed its own AI algorithm and trading system, allowing investors to penetrate through all information layers and gain access to underlying assets directly. With the industry-changing technology it developed, Magnum Research is honored to be recognized by such forward-looking institutions as BOCI. The company is also grateful for the continuous support from AEF. The Hong Kong wealth management market is sized over USD 200-300 billion and Magnum aspires to embrace this market as the leader of the industry." Dr. Don Huang, Co-founder of Magnum Research, added: "Our company has been committed to applying innovative technologies such as machine learning, big data and financial engineering into the field of investment. After three years of unremitting efforts, our algorithm team has built a wide range of quantitative strategies, which include global asset allocation, tactical asset allocation, multi-factor model, statistical arbitrage, index arbitrage, and high-frequency strategy; the solution can respond to various investment demands from institutional and individual customers. The performance of our quantitative strategies has proven to be outstanding despite volatile market conditions. Aiming to stay ahead in the field of quantitative investment, we will continue to invest resources in our own AI and quantitative research and with partnerships from top HKUST laboratories and professors. As the co-founders of Magnum Research, Kelvin and I will strive to leverage internet and AI technology to transform wealth management services for the general public. The investment from BOCI and AEF can undoubtedly propel us further towards our goal."

Since its inception in 2015, Magnum Research has secured more than USD 10 million in financing and remained a leader in the the AI wealth and asset management world. The company now consists of more than 50 team members, including top AI talents, PhDs in quantitative fields and has expanded its office locations from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and Singapore. After three years of expansion, Magnum Research's business covers various financial markets from Hong Kong, to Mainland China and to Southeast Asia. At present, Magnum Research has initiated partnership with over 30 domestic and overseas financial institutions, including top multinational banks, brokerages, insurance companies and wealth management companies. Successful partnership projects such as China Resources Bank's "Run Zhitou" and ChinaAMC (HK)'s AI stock selection strategy "ChinaAMC x AQUMON AI China Alpha Strategy" have demonstrated Magnum Research's leading position in the AI investment field. Not only does Magnum Research operate the AQUMON platform for Hong Kong retail investors, it will soon launch its Qzhitou platform tailored for investors beyond Hong Kong. It will always be Magnum Research's mission to become the most reliable and popular automated wealth management platform in Asia. SOURCE Magnum Research Limited

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[September 06, 2018] Edge Electronics Recognized as Elite Supplier by Lockheed Martin

BOHEMIA, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Edge Electronics Inc., an authorized distributor of electronic components and LCD solutions for industrial, military, security, aerospace and medical applications, achieves Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) "Elite" supplier status for excellent performance.? The certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) is internationally recognized for providing unmatched engineering, inventory and customer support services to technology leaders. The RMS Elite Suppliers Program identifies Lockheed Martin's top suppliers through evaluating quality and delivery of performance, ability to meet RMS standards and requirements, and contributions made to national defense in the RMS business area. "Edge is built on the foundation of providing customers with the most personalized customer service in the industry - a value that allows us to be flexible and implement pipeline and inventory programs specific to Lockheed - ensuring timely deliveries of integral End-of-Life (EOL)? and production status components," says Adrienne Giannone, president and CEO, Edge Electronics. "Working with Lockheed Martin has been an important opportunity for Edge to demonstrate its expertise as a value-add suplier in the industry. We look forward to future growth and success alongside Lockheed Martin."



Currently, the Edge sales and engineering teams work closely with Lockheed Martin's RMS supply chain team to provide electronic components and exceptional operational support across multiple products and programs. For additional information, please visit www.edgeelectronics.com.

Contact: Amanda Rivera

Phone: 631.750.2317

Email: arivera@edgeelectronics.com About Edge Electronics Inc. Edge Electronics Inc., based in Bohemia, New York, is a leading authorized distributor of electronic components (semiconductors, passives and interconnect), display solutions (LCDs and related products), embedded computing, storage products and MRO/industrial products. With strategically located sales offices throughout the U.S., Edge focuses on providing industrial, medical, military and commercial OEMs and contract manufacturers with the most personalized customer service in the industry, easy access to the latest technologies and fully customizable solutions that are the perfect fit for each customer's specific application and business model. Founded in 1990, Edge Electronics is a certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) that is both established and flexible, making it an invaluable supply-chain partner for any organization. Related Links LOCKHEED MARTIN RECOGNIZES SUPPLIERS FOR EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/edge-electronics-recognized-as-elite-supplier-by-lockheed-martin-300707688.html SOURCE Edge Electronics Inc.

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[September 06, 2018] Prologis and Locix to Unveil Next-gen Warehouse and Logistics Technology at Logis-Tech 2018

Locix, next-generation innovator in the scalable collection and analysis of unique and actionable data for autonomous buildings, and Prologis, Inc. (NYSE: PLD), the global leader in logistics real estate, announced today that they will jointly showcase first-of-its-kind technology and solutions at Logis-Tech 2018. At the Prologis booth, Locix will demonstrate the efficacy of its cloud-based visual and spatial sensor technology that provides the contextual data necessary for automated decision-making in warehouse operations and logistics - a major growth opportunity for today's distribution centers. Logis-Tech, the Tokyo-based tradeshow held from September 11-14, is one of the largest material handling and logistics exhibitions in Asia. As a Prologis partner, Locix will stand alongside Prologis to outline the mounting distribution center logistics challenges and new-to-market solutions that Locix offers. Locix's wireless visual sensor systems have already been deployed at a Prologis distribution center in Ichikawa, Japan, just outside Tokyo. The Locix-enabled smart truck-berth uses machine learning analytics to enable real-time warehouse dock insight, intelligent truck docking and routing. The same visual platform can be used for visual space utilization and forensic analysis. Locix will also showcase its breakthrough Wi-Fi bsed Local Positioning System (LPS), with sub-meter accuracy in complex indoor environments, to enable asset tracking and asset utilization.



"Logistics optimization is becoming increasingly critical as e-commerce growth puts additional pressure on warehouse and logistics operations to fulfill customer demands," said Mike Yamada, president, Prologis Japan. "Our Locix partnership enables us to add value to our customers' operations through data aggregation and visualization, plus the use of machine learning to deliver actionable analytics and insights." "Next-generation distribution centers will require enhanced data sets, extended and cost-effective data capture, and advanced analytics," said Vik Pavate, CEO, Locix. "Our solution is creating a new paradigm in the scalable collection and analysis of unique and actionable data that is essential to improving visibility, productivity and efficiency in warehouse and logistics operations. Partnering with Prologis Japan to revolutionize operations in their distribution centers demonstrates the need and value for our technology and solutions."

For more information about Locix and its partnership with Prologis, visit Prologis booth #4-302 at Logis-Tech 2018, or visit the Locix website here. About Prologis Prologis, Inc. is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. As of June 30, 2018, and inclusive of the DCT acquisition on August 22, 2018, the company owned or had investments in, on a wholly owned basis or through co-investment ventures, properties and development projects expected to total approximately 756 million square feet (75 million square meters) in 19 countries. Prologis leases modern distribution facilities to a diverse base of approximately 5,500 customers across two major categories: business-to-business and retail/online fulfillment. About Locix Locix develops revolutionary solutions to uniquely capture spatial, visual and sensor data - providing contextual awareness to buildings, homes and connected devices, digitizing the physical world. Combined with advanced data analytics, Locix solutions enable actionable insights for automated decision-making. Based in Silicon Valley, Locix is backed by leading venture and strategic investors including ID Ventures, University of Tokyo Edge Capital, Murata Manufacturing, NTT Docomo Ventures, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, iRobot Corp., Yaskawa Information Systems, Yaskawa Electric Corporation and Acer (News - Alert) Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005177/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Mixpanel brings on seasoned executives to tackle the global $26 billion analytics & business intelligence market

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mixpanel, the world's leading user behavior analytics platform, today announced strategic additions to its executive team. Joining the company are Pierre Berlin, Vice President of Global Sales; Alison Holmlund, Vice President of Customer Success; and Adam Kinney, Head of Machine Learning and Automated Analysis. With these leaders, Mixpanel will accelerate its momentum in the industry and enable large and small organizations to invest in innovation, product growth, and improved customer experiences with user behavior insights. "Today, Mixpanel serves 30% of the Fortune 100, and demand is stronger than ever across all business segments for user analytics," said Amir Movafaghi, CEO of Mixpanel. "Over the last year, we've seen three major trends driving this demand and our growth." "First, with customer data volumes growing every year, we're continuing to invest in machine learning to easily surface automated insights, so people never miss out on ways to improve their products and customer experiences. Second, as organizations try to leverage user behavior insights and tools across multiple departments, professional services will play an increasingly large role in helping teams transform their workflows and make smart decisions. Finally, worldwide demand for user behavior analytics is growing every year, and we see an opportunity to bring on an experienced global sales leader to expand into new regions." According to Gartner, global revenue in the business intelligence (BI) and analytics software market reached $18.3 billion in 2017, an increase of 7.3 percent from 2016. By 2020, it's estimated that this market will be $26 billion in revenue, spanning across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC markets. Leading global enterprises, including BMW, DocuSign, Expedia, Overstock, and Ventee-Privee, continue to partner with Mixpanel to leverage user behavioral insights everyday when making decisions, across product, marketing, analytics, and customer experiences teams. New Executive Leadership Adam Kinney, Head of Machine Learning and Automated Analysis Adam Kinneyis an experienced data science leader, having worked at some of the most data-driven tech companies in the world, including Twitter, Google, and Schibsted. He joins Mixpanel to lead the company's investment in helping its customers get the most value from their data with automatic user insights.



"With terabytes of information pouring into companies every day, we know that most businesses aren't finding or taking action on valuable user insights hidden in their data," said Adam Kinney. "Mixpanel is at the forefront of helping companies better understand their users, including the great work already done by its world-class team of ML experts. "My role is to build on that foundation, using machine learning and statistical techniques to generalize and automate user analysis and prediction. We're excited to push the field of analytics and provide automated insights for data-driven professionals, so they can save time and make discoveries they might've missed without Mixpanel."

Pierre Berlin, Vice President of Global Sales With 20 years of experience building and developing teams, Pierre Berlin will be scaling Mixpanel's sales force and its fast-growing international presence. Throughout his career, Pierre has successfully led SaaS go-to-market teams during periods of high-growth and global expansion. Earlier in his career, Pierre spent 10 years in roles across marketing, sales, and management at Business Objects (acquired by SAP). Next, he was at LinkedIn for more than five years, where he opened offices in France, Italy, Spain, and the Middle East and North Africa region, before leading the entire LinkedIn Talents Solution team in EMEA, consisting of 800 people across nine offices. Most recently, Pierre helped London-based start-up DueDil establish its B2B go-to-market strategy in Europe. "The choice to join Mixpanel was a simple one," said Pierre Berlin. "We have a product that's changing the way people innovate with user insights, a market of passionate data-driven professionals at global companies like BMW, Vente-Privee, OLX, and Skyscanner, and one of the most talented teams I've ever worked with in my career." Alison Holmlund, Vice President of Customer Success and Support With over 20 years of experience in fast-growing technology companies, Alison Holmlund specializes in architecting exceptional customer experiences, from supporting tiny startups to providing enterprise companies with strategic advice and services. Before joining Mixpanel, Alison was the Chief Customer Officer of Host Analytics, where she focused on the continuous success of Host Analytics customers from on-boarding through contract renewal. Prior to that, she led customer-facing teams at Proofpoint and Netscape. In 2016, she was named a Silicon Valley Woman of Influence for her exceptional leadership, technical acumen, and philanthropic contributions. "It wasn't just the technology that inspired me to join this leadership team. It was also our company's ethos of listening to our customers," said Alison Holmlund. "Our award-winning Support team and professional services help organizations around the globe reach their business goals through an end-to-end analytics strategy. The Success and Support teams at Mixpanel are defined by our passion for providing value at every touchpoint of the customer experiencefrom implementation to ongoing customer support and technical consultation." To learn more about Mixpanel's new executive leadership, go here: https://mixpanel.com/about/ For regular news and information about Mixpanel and the analytics industry, like and follow the company on: The Signal: https://mixpanel.com/blog/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mixpanel

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mixpanel

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mixpanel-inc-/ About Mixpanel

Mixpanel helps teams and companies gain valuable business insights and build products and user experiences that people love, with its leading user behavior analytics solution. With almost 20,000 customers worldwide and 30% of the Fortune 100, Mixpanel empowers all types of professionals, across product, marketing, analytics, UX, and engineering teams, to make smarter decisions, faster. Headquartered in San Francisco, Mixpanel has offices in New York, Seattle, Salt Lake City and London. Mixpanel's mission is to help the world learn from its data. For more information about Mixpanel, visit: www.mixpanel.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mixpanel-brings-on-seasoned-executives-to-tackle-the-global-26-billion-analytics--business-intelligence-market-300707725.html SOURCE Mixpanel

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[September 06, 2018] Gopher Protocol Commences Development of Mathematical Engine to Power its AI System

San Diego, CA, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Gopher Protocol Inc. (OTCQB: GOPH) ("Gopher), a company specializing in the creation of Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technologies, including a global platform with both mobile and fixed solutions, is pleased to announce it has initiated its plan to develop an advanced mathematical engine to be used within its AI machine learning system. Mathematics plays an important role in AI systems since it is the foundation for building an efficient AI algorithm. Gopher is seeking to develop a mathematical foundation platform required for writing programs and algorithms for AI and machine learning. The mathematical engine, when developed, will be designed to power our AI system with robust mathematical techniques which are intended to allow for advanced machine learning and cognitive capabilities. Gopher Protocol Inc.



"We are moving forward with our goal of creating a shared mathematical functions library to be used within all our systems," provided Danny Rittman, Gopher's Chief Technology Officer. "Advanced AI, which is the brains of our system, foundation is solid, efficient mathematical infrastructure. We are in process of building this now. This library will be a long term, on-going project as we will add additional functions over time in order to equip our AI with enhanced possibilities. This constantly growing functions library will be used for our machine learning and cognitive algorithms. For example, linear algebra is used in machine learning to handle parameters and structures for different algorithms of neural networks," Dr. Rittman stated." This advanced mathematical engne is also intended to include proprietary, out-of-the-box functions and procedures with the goal of providing advantages to Gopher's system over others. For example, we are developing private functions that are derived from the field of quantum continuum mechanics, which is a branch of mechanics that deals with the analysis of the kinematics and the mechanical behavior of materials. These unique functions are intended to provide new, powerful capabilities particularly with self-driving systems, GEO tracking, medical diagnosis, military/security applications and even betting humans at strategy games like Go and Chess," stated Dr. Rittman.



About Gopher Protocol Inc. Gopher Protocol Inc. (OTCQB: GOPH) (Gopher) ( http://gopherprotocol.com/ ) is a development-stage company which consider itself Native IoT creator, developing Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence enabled mobile technology. Gopher has a portfolio of Intellectual Property that when commercialized will include smart microchips, mobile application software and supporting cloud software. The system contemplates the creation of a global network. The core of the system will be its advanced microchip technology that can be installed in any mobile device worldwide. Gopher envisions this system as an internal, private network between all enabled mobile devices providing shared processing, advanced mobile database management/sharing and enhanced mobile features.

Corporate Site: http://gopherprotocol.com

Press page/ press kit - http://gopherprotocol.com/?page_id=228

Consumer and product website for Guardian Patch: http://www.guardianpatch.com/ . Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as disclosed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission located at their website ( http://www.sec.gov ). In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, governmental and public policy changes, the Companys ability to raise capital on acceptable terms, if at all, the Companys successful development of its products and the integration into its existing products and the commercial acceptance of the Companys products. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Attachment Gopher Protocol Inc. Contact: Dr. Danny Rittman, CTO Gopher Protocol Inc. Media: press@gopherprotocol.com

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[September 06, 2018] Danalock Partners with Petra Industries to Distribute Danish Smart Lock Solutions in the US

Danalock, a leading provider of smart lock solutions for homes and businesses, has signed a contract with Petra Industries to distribute the Danalock portfolio of smart lock solutions in the U.S. As the smart home market continues to grow, Danalock's expansion into the Americas will serve rapidly increasing demand from popular retailers and e-commerce companies, as well as security companies, service providers, dealers, installers, and builders. "Petra offers a state-of-the-art distribution center backed by excellent support and extensive experience with independent brick-and-mortar stores, e-commerce, and all of the big retailers," said Bent Sorensen, general manager, Danalock Americas. "As such we are confident that they will be a great partner in increasing Danalock's brand recognition and expansion across the Americas." According to the recent Strategy Analytics (News - Alert) report, "Smart Home Access Control: Predictions, Players, and Products," sales of nearly 26 million units in 2023 will push the smart lock market size past $2.4 billion. Due to its higher percentage of sigle-family homes and greater interest in smart home automation and security services, the U.S. is by far the largest geographic market.



"We are excited to be the first U.S. distributor for Danalock and to bring its elegantly designed products to more families and businesses," said Tate Morgan, president of Petra Industries. "Danalock works with all of our home automation products, complementing our SmartestHome portfolio and increasing the value we can offer to our customers." Petra will sell the full Danalock product portfolio, which includes the Danalock V3 smart lock, Danapad keypad, Danabridge hub, and Universal Module.

The popularity of the Danalock smart lock is due to various appealing features: Easy installation, in just 5-10 minutes, as only the inside part of the lock is replaced

Elegant Danish design and much smaller size than other smart locks on the market

Stronger security (AES 256 encryption) than other smart locks

Approximately 18 months of battery life-much more than the average lock on the market

Z-Wave, Zigbee, and HomeKit versions available, each including Bluetooth by default About Petra

Petra is the industry's consumer technology authority-distributing products for more than 500 brands. They bring tens of thousands of top name-brand products to tens of thousands of retail partners. Founded in 1985 with a focus on and passion for accessories, today, Petra serves markets with products from categories like smart home tech, gaming, outdoor tech and more. The most sought-after hardware and add-ons in consumer technology are stocked at Petra's 525,000 sq. ft., state-of-the-art distribution center and are distributed all over the country. Petra is a member of CTA and CEDIA. For more information on Petra, visit www.petra.com or call 1-800-443-6975. The Right Distributor Changes Everything. About Danalock

Danalock is a leader in smart, secure access control solutions for residential and business. With more than 10 years' experience in the smart lock industry, Danalock now provides a full family of elegantly designed and secure smart lock products compatible with any standard door throughout the world and supports an unrivaled array of home automation protocols. Headquartered in Denmark, Danalock is the preferred partner for service providers, a variety of home delivery and cleaning services, and rental and hospitality companies all over the world. For more information, visit www.danalock.com or follow @Danalockdk. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005219/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Logi Analytics Unveils Logi Predict, the First Predictive Analytics Solution Designed to Be Embedded in Applications

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Logi Analytics today announced the launch of Logi PredictTM, the first predictive analytics solution specifically designed to be embedded in applications. Product managers and developers can easily embed machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities into their applications, creating smarter software that reduces customer churn, detects fraudulent activities, targets customers with effective promotions, and reduces machine downtime.

Predictive analytics is the No. 1 capability on product roadmaps according to the 2018 State of Embedded Analytics Report, but incorporating these capabilities into your application is no easy task, said Brian Brinkmann, Vice President of Product Marketing, Logi Analytics. Logi Predict provides an embeddable solution that scales alongside your application, and it can be deployed five times faster than building something yourself. After GroupFiO added Logi Predict to our product, our customers achieved a 22 percent sales uplift from targeted marketing campaigns, said Ravi Srinivasan, CEO, GroupFiO. Logi Predict analyzes detailed data at a customer level to identify promotions that yield substantial results. Its like having a vrtual assistant to make the shopping experience more enjoyable. In the past, only large online retailers with big budgets and teams had access to sophisticated predictive capabilities, but now Logi Predict helps brings this offering to smaller and medium size retailers.



Logi Predict takes the complexity out of embedding predictive analytics. Instead of hiring a data scientist with R and Python expertise, companies can easily embed predictive insights that meet their applications specific requirements. Logi Predict solves four common predictive analytics challenges: Creating Predictive Models  What was once a 14-step process becomes an intuitive 3-step process with Logi Predicts automation.

 What was once a 14-step process becomes an intuitive 3-step process with Logi Predicts automation. No Data Scientist Required  Logi Predict is the only solution that makes it easy for developers to embed, scale, and maintain predictive analytics. No need to learn R, Python or statistical modeling.

 Logi Predict is the only solution that makes it easy for developers to embed, scale, and maintain predictive analytics. No need to learn R, Python or statistical modeling. Take Action in the Application  Developers can embed intelligent workflows that allow users to take immediate action or trigger another process without leaving the application.

 Developers can embed intelligent workflows that allow users to take immediate action or trigger another process without leaving the application. Create a Seamless Experience  Logi Predict can be completely branded inside your application, so your developers have total control to create a compelling user experience. The power of predictive analytics is upending the software industry, said Steven Schneider, CEO, Logi Analytics. Applications are more valuable when they show future outcomes, not just past results. By embedding predictive analytics inside applications, organizations are empowering end users to make better decisions and take corrective action to benefit the bottom line.

To learn more about Logi Predict and request a demo, visit: https://www.logianalytics.com/predict/ . About Logi Analytics

Delivering compelling applications with analytics at their core has never been more crucialor more complicated. For over 17 years, Logi has helped application teams embed sophisticated analytics in applications. In a noisy market, Logi is the only analytics provider exclusively focused on embedding analytics in commercial and enterprise applications. Logis developer-grade analytics platform has been trusted by over 1,900 mission-critical applications to deliver sophisticated analytics and power their businesses. The company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with offices in Ireland and England. Learn more at LogiAnalytics.com . MEDIA CONTACT:

Kevin Alansky

703-752-9700 x 7037

kevin.alansky@logianalytics.com

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Of course, he says he doesnt think anyone in the current race is going to be the next mayor. To admit anything less than that would be to, frankly, reinvigorate the reality, which is he got out because he couldnt win, Lightfoot said. If he thought he could win and he thought there was a clear path, there is no question that guy  as competitive as he is and as ruthless as he is  he would have stayed in. This is a guy who loves power, who loves maximizing and flexing his power. He got out because he couldnt win.
[September 06, 2018] ThoughtWire-Mappedin Partnership Provides IoT-Informed Mapping for Built Environments

TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ThoughtWire , the leader in Operations Performance Management (OPM) for built environments, today announced its partnership with Mappedin to change the way building management teams and patrons experience indoor spaces. It also fundamentally changes the way that managers and operators of commercial properties manage their environments to boost operational efficiencies, improve tenant and employee satisfaction, and increase property value.





Large properties have multiple employees from multiple departments contributing to the upkeep and maintenance of their maps. Naturally, this causes inefficiencies and inaccuracies across departments. To fix this, there needs to be a single place where employees can collaborate with one source of truth for their property maps, said Hongwei Liu, CEO and Co-founder, Mappedin. With our robust mapping technology integrated into ThoughtWires OPM applications, property managers can easily maintain their ever-evolving spaces in the same place that they manage other core property functions. Mappedins mapping and wayfinding technology has been integrated into ThoughtWires people-centered and process-driven commercial IoT applications. ThoughtWire will embed Mappedins technology initially with its Smart Building Suite, which will improve spatial awareness and intelligence of indoor saces within built environments, accelerating data collection, overlaying IoT devices on intuitive maps, and making insights actionable.



With these new capabilities, operators will have more oversight over properties so they can see, for example, exactly where connected devices such as HVAC, lighting, meters, and sensors are located. They can also provide vendors like Internet service providers, who are coming to install fiber optics, with detailed floor plans and directions to clarify which specific floor(s) to work on. In office buildings, operators can also create zones on specific floors to adjust energy usage patterns for different tenants based on their personal preferences. In the healthcare setting, hospital staff can move around a hospital more seamlessly and help guide patients and staff without having to go down inefficient routes. Patients can also more easily find parking  helping them arrive at appointments on time and without added hassle. On the back end, facilities managers can oversee various projects requiring multiple team members to ensure they are collaborating in the most efficient and effective way possible using visually-rich and intuitive floorplans.

People owning, operating and managing buildings now have the opportunity to correlate spatial information for more actionable insights  driving down costs and providing a better experience for all  from tenants to patients and hospital staff, said Michael Monteith, CEO of ThoughtWire. This collaboration with Mappedin is the next natural progression as we continue to drive game-changing innovation in the commercial Internet of Things marketplace and address the growing demand for operations performance management. To learn more, visit www.thoughtwire.com . Follow ThoughtWire on LinkedIn and Twitter. About ThoughtWire

ThoughtWire is the leader in Operations Performance Management (OPM) for built environments, helping hospitals and commercial buildings operate smarter, safer and healthier with software applications for OPM. Since 2009, ThoughtWire has been changing how we think about intelligent automation and process optimization, beginning with its award-winning Ambiant platform, developed to interconnect and orchestrate people, data, and things in real time. Today, ThoughtWire's innovative applications empower built environments to connect previously unconnected systems, unlock high-value outcomes for patients and tenants, and put people in control of process change and optimization. Find out how ThoughtWire is powering a new era of OPM at www.thoughtwire.com. About Mappedin

Mappedin powers search and discovery indoors. The software platform provides industry leading tools for REITs and retailers to manage their dynamic indoor information and build digital wayfinding experiences into their customer-facing applications. Mappedin is headquartered in the Waterloo Region of Ontario and backed by a prodigious group of Canadian investors, most notably Esri Canada, the industry standard for GIS technologies. Mappedin is currently being utilized by clients across North America and around the world. For more information, please visit www.mappedin.com, or follow us on Twitter @mappedin. For more information:

Kathleen See

10Fold Communications

thoughtwire@10fold.com

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[September 06, 2018] J.D. Power Joins The Internet of Things Consortium

COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- J.D. Power, a global leader in consumer insights, data analytics and advisory services, has joined The Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC) as a strategic participant. The IoTC is a business development organization focused on connecting thought-leaders and companies to drive Internet of Things (IoT) interactions and partnerships. "J.D. Power can help bridge many of the issues facing companies involved in IoT," said Ian Greenblatt, Managing Director and Technology/Media/Telecom Practice Leader at J.D. Power. "We can identify outcomes, insights and data-gathering processes that will help IoTC members collectively move these partnerships forward. IoT has entered a new growth phase with the further advent of ubiquitous and less expensive networks, sensors and myriad IoT software platforms. J.D. Power's 50-year history of market intelligence will be applied to the massive enterprise and emerging consumer IoT ecosystem." In addition to Greenblatt's background in the cable and broadcast arenas, he has added IoT industry expertise to the J.D. Power team with strong connections to the telecom, academic, solution provider and customer segments. J.D. Power is nowuniquely equipped to provide a single source of truth for enterprises and consumers along with the connectivity, device, and platform vendors that serve them. "Augmenting our new IoT internal capabilities with the IoTC focus on partnerships and key verticals really creates new opportunities for us," Greenblatt said.



J.D. Power joins more than 70 well-known organizations partnering with IoTC such as ADT, Comcast, Cox Communications, Electrolux, FOX, Honeywell, LG Electronics USA, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Mastercard, Nestle, T-Mobile, Turner, The Weather Company and Verizon, to name a few. About The Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC)

The Internet of Things Consortium (IoTC) is the premier business development association for the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. It is comprised of leading founders, executives and global companies in IoT. The IoTC's mission is to ignite the growth of the IoT marketplace by leading the industry's efforts through strategic partnerships. The organization focuses on five key verticals: connected homes, autos, cities, retail and wearables.

For more information on The IoTC's work, please visit www.iofthings.org. J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments and private equity firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer. Media Relations Contacts

Geno Effler; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; media.relations@jdpa.com About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/business/about-us/press-release-info View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jd-power-joins-the-internet-of-things-consortium-300707771.html SOURCE J.D. Power

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[September 06, 2018] Frere Enterprises: Cross-Pollination of Technology is Necessary to Stay Cutting Edge

PETALUMA, Calif., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As technology continues to evolve, so must a business' utilization of it. An entrepreneur's ability to incorporate new technologies into their solutions is becoming increasingly necessary to stay innovative. The merging of technology with seemingly unrelated products and services has been referred to as "cross-pollinating"; much like the same term applied to the introduction of the pollen of one type of plant to another, it can give rise to great new creations. CEO Brandon Frere, of Frere Enterprises, discusses the increasing importance of cross-pollinating with technologies for companies to stay innovative and adaptable in today's world. "Figuring how to incorporate new technologies into your business is more important than ever," said Frere. "It provides unlimited potential for the products and services a business can offer." By utilizing cross-pollination, a business can stay adaptable and cutting edge. One example of cross-pollinating with technology is the implication that blockchain presents for the video game industry. Many video games these days are immersive worlds, where gamers build their persona and customize their gear and possessions. Blockchain is a type of decentralized storage that records, verifies and stores data; it was developed primarily for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Despite this, blockchains can store any kind of data, including that of video games. The thought is eventually people's gaming avatars  and all of their possessions  may be able to be seamlessly transferred to a compatible gaming world, making it so people can jump from one game to the next. When this becomes possible, video game developers will have the incentive to make their games compatible with blockchain technology, as playrs will want to be able to bring their customized characters to various gaming worlds. It may also increase gamer loyalty to development companies who embrace this technology.



Another cross-pollinating technology that's proven to have many practical solutions is artificial intelligence (AI). Machine learning is increasingly being utilized by many industries and it appears the trend is on the rise. The hardware store Lowe's has tested an in-store "LoweBot" in 11 stores around the San Francisco Bay area. The robots autonomously follow customers and assist them with items they may be looking for using sophisticated voice recognition. They also create real-time data by scanning inventory and looking for product patterns and price discrepancies. So far, this technology has been a success for Lowes: customers enjoy the convenience and employees enjoy having more time to discuss creative projects with customers. Other retailers, like Walmart, have discussed the use of proprietary drones in their warehouses for inventory management. "We live in an exciting time for innovation," said Frere. "Technology compounds on itself and advances rapidly, making the possibilities for every industry endless and ever-changing."

About Frere Enterprises Run by CEO Brandon Frere, Frere Enterprises is a California-based company with a global vision based around the usage of special financial technology, or SpecFinTech, with a current focus on financial wellness and productivity. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers, alike. Frere's website, www.FrereEnterprises.com, is used as a means to communicate many of the lessons, fundamentals and information that he has learned throughout his extensive business and technological endeavors. Through Frere Enterprises, he aims to apply those lessons to other business opportunities. Frere Enterprises' mission is to acquire traditional businesses and digitally transform them to meet and exceed modern day demand. This mission seeks to transform such businesses by developing the newest and most evolved technologies to speed up the evolution of financial services in order to meet the demands of the modern consumer and exceed the potential of the modern era. FrereEnterprises.com Related Images video-game-player.jpg

Video Game Player

Credit: REDPIXEL.PL /Bigstock image2.png Related Links Frere Enterprises home page View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frere-enterprises-cross-pollination-of-technology-is-necessary-to-stay-cutting-edge-300707804.html SOURCE Frere Enterprises

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[September 06, 2018] Toshiba Elevates Joan Maesky-Plaha to Executive Leadership Team

Toshiba America Business Solutions today announces the promotion of Joan Maesky-Plaha to the company's Executive Leadership Team. Maesky-Plaha - who serves as the company's vice president of human resources - becomes the eleventh member of Toshiba's (News - Alert) Executive Leadership Team, which is tasked with charting the strategic direction of the company. Maesky-Plaha works with Toshiba senior management to shape the company's overarching business strategy. She is an internal expert on talent and functional trends while championing innovation and continuous employee improvement at the company. The 22-year Toshiba employee oversees strategic human resources planning to attract and retain top talent while positioning Toshiba as an employer of choice in Southern California. Maesky-Plaha is additionally tasked with directing short- and long-term human resource planning aligning with Toshiba's overall business objectives. Prior to her current role, Maesky-Plaha served as human resources director at Toshiba America, Inc. She began her Toshiba career as a human resources specialist at Toshiba America Information Systems in 1996. "Joan is one of the best human resources professionals I have worked with and whose insight I highly value," said Toshiba America Business Solutions and Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Maccabe. "She couples an intuitive ability to effectively communicate with employees at every level with a high level of expertise on diverse subjects surrounding human resources. We are fortunate to have her join our Executive Leadership eam."



About Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc. Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) provides multifunction printers, managed document services and digital signage for businesses of all sizes throughout the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. The company's award-winning e-STUDIO copiers and printers provide quality performance with the security businesses require.

Complementing its hardware offering is a full suite of document workflow, capture and security services including Encompass, the company's industry-acclaimed Managed Print Services program. Encompass enables clients to print less and optimize workflow while improving energy efficiency. TABS' Ellumina digital signage offering includes all of the hardware, software and services needed to implement dynamic and interactive digital signage installations. TABS provides content creation and management, displays, integration, installation and project management services as well as financing for solutions ranging from a single screen to the biggest arenas and stadiums. For additional information, please visit www.business.toshiba.com. Follow Toshiba:

Facebook (News - Alert) : https://www.facebook.com/ToshibaBusiness/

Twitter (News - Alert) : @ToshibaBusiness

LinkedIn (News - Alert) : www.linkedin.com/company/ToshibaBusiness

YouTube (News - Alert) : https://www.youtube.com/ToshibaBusiness Newsroom:

http://business.toshiba.com/usa/about/press View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005300/en/

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Global Payments to Participate in the Deutsche Bank Technology Conference

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions, announced today that Cameron Bready, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer will present at the Deutsche Bank Technology Conference in Las Vegas at 11:40 a.m. PT on Wednesday, September 12, 2018.

Interested parties can listen to a live webcast of the fireside chat from the investor relations section of the company's website at www.globalpaymentsinc.com. A replay of the webcast will beavailable after the event.







About Global Payments

Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN) is a leading worldwide provider of payment technology and software solutions delivering innovative services to our customers globally. Our technologies, services and employee expertise enable us to provide a broad range of solutions that allow our customers to accept all payment types and operate their businesses more efficiently across a variety of distribution channels in many markets around the world.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with approximately 11,000 employees worldwide, Global Payments is a member of the S&P 500 with customers and partners in 31 countries throughout North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region and Brazil. For more information about Global Payments, our Service. Driven. Commerce brand and our technologies, please visit www.globalpaymentsinc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005193/en/
[September 06, 2018] Advisors who embrace technology have more assets, higher compensation - Fidelity U.S. study

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2018 /CNW/ - The implementation of simple, comprehensive technology to an advisor's practice is a clear business opportunity, according to a recent study by U.S.-based Fidelity Clearing & Custody Solutions. Fidelity's research shows that financial advisors who embrace technology, also known as "eAdvisors", have more than 40% higher AUM and generate nearly 25% higher compensation. In Canada, technology, back office and administrative support are major focus areas for financial advisors. In the recent Investment Executive Advisors' Report Card, advisors gave back office support an overall average importance rating of 9.3i, compared to an average performance rating of 7.5. This gap indicates advisors are unsatisfied with their back office support.



Fidelity Clearing Canada (FCC), the second largest clearing and custody firm in te country, identifies technology as a major competitive advantage for back office support. "We understand it's a competitive market out there. Every minute spent on back office and administrative support is time away from the end-investor. Having the right technology allows our clients to focus their attention back on building relationships and other value-add activities" says Scott MacKenzie, CEO of FCC.



As part of a multi-year, multi-million dollar technology strategy, FCC announced today the launch of uniFide, a fully-integrated web solution that delivers processing efficiencies, consolidated information, enhanced tools and robust support to Canadian introducing brokers and portfolio managers. "We've spent years listening to what advisors want and built a solution catering to those needs. What we've come up with is a turnkey, web-based solution that will eliminate cost and complexity for our clients," says MacKenzie. "By engaging with our clients we are able to deliver a single integrated platform tailored to the priorities that grow their business."

Release 1.0 of uniFide allows for online account opening and maintenance and features comprehensive book analytics, time-saving tools and real-time, business critical information. Upcoming enhancements will focus on increasing advisor-client engagement. "uniFide is expertly designed to take back office concerns off our clients' plates, allowing them to focus on their priorities, grow their business and serve the needs of their end-investors," says MacKenzie. About Fidelity Clearing Canada

Fidelity Clearing Canada (FCC) provides clearing, custody and trade execution services to Canadian registered broker/dealers and portfolio managers. FCC helps clients thrive by enhancing their operational efficiency and supporting the growth of their businesses, driving confidence, clarity and results. For more information, please visit www.clearing.fidelity.ca. ------------------------

i Source: Investment Executive Research. Based on a scale of zero to 10 SOURCE Fidelity Clearing Canada

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[September 06, 2018] New Vision for A Global Digital Economy Emerges At Smart China Expo

CHONGQING, China, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Industry leaders attending the first Smart China Expo (SCE 2018) in China's western city of Chongqing have articulated a new vision for how the world's digital economy will evolve at the event's Global Digital Economy Summit, a forum that brought together 650 participants under the theme "New Digital Economy, New Growth Engine." Speakers projected a future in which Big Data reshapes the way businesses and governments operate, cooperate, and compete. New forces being unleashed by current innovations threaten to disrupt the existing economic growth models of many industries, as digital information will rise to the same status as land and capital as a key element of productivity. Meanwhile, governments around the world are building "smart infrastructure" as they seek to use technology to upgrade power grids, railways, ports and toll roads, and seek to integrate everything. Big Data technology also helps build "smart cities," boost consumption, and improve social welfare programs ranging from education to philanthropy to healthcare. "Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be a big contributor to healthcare," said Piero Scaruffie, a cognitive scientist, AI expert and writer of "A History of Silicon Valley." Piero, believes that technology will make a better society and that AI will slash the cost of healthcare."When we talk about machines saving lives, that's real progress," he said.



Kate Garman, smart city policy adviser to the Mayor of Seattle, shared insights into smart city management at SCE 2018. "Smart cities have challenged cities to be innovative. It has been the inspiration for cities to jump forward using technology," she said. Despite huge progress, China still faces many hurdles in developing a digital economy, said Li Yizhong, former head of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). "Chinese manufacturers lag in the application of smart manufacturing, and businesses need to accelerate their digitalization process." Li pointed out that "issues like how to balance improving efficiency and protecting jobs, and how to protect commercial secretes in the age of Internet also remain challenging."

Alibaba Vice President Liu Song predicted that over the next 10 years, AI and the Internet of Things (IoT) will replace mobile technologies as the world's defining digital technologies, which is why Alibaba is heavily investing in three areas: Big Data, network synergy and smart data. Liu's view was echoed by Cai Yongzhong, Chairman of Deloitte China, who urged traditional businesses to actively embrace innovation in the face of the upcoming digital revolution. http://www.ichongqing.info/smart-china-expo/ To see the full version of the press release, please visit https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8389751-smart-china-expo-sce-2018/ Smart China Expo Held Chongqing, the Smart China Expo is a world-class, national-level Expo that supports the development of Big Data and smart technologies in Western China. High-profiled guests joined the event including 4 political heavyweights, 22 national government officials above ministerial-level, 58 persons who are in charge of institutions under national departments, and 407 senior representatives from Siemens, IBM, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and more. SOURCE Smart China Expo

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[September 06, 2018] BCG Centre for Public Impact Brings Together Employers, Residents, and Transit Technologists to Collaborate on Employer-Funded Transportation Solutions

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), cityLAB, and the City of Pittsburgh are pleased to announce the launch of a collaborative economy-focused transportation conference, dubbed Mobiliti . For the first time, US employers will be able to connect their labor shortage challenges with local residents mobility struggles to identify the ROI of direct investment in workforce transportation. Employers and residents will collaborate to co-create employer-funded pilot programs with the aid of local government and transit technologists.

The co-design workshop will feature residents of the events 2018 host city, Pittsburgh, PA. Drawn from the corporate sectors most heavily driven by shift work and hourly wages, impacted residents will receive a living wage to cover their participation during the events two-day working session. They will contribute stories and insights to highlight the national problem of ignoring alternative transportation options for low-income, low-access laborers. The event should be an eye-opener for employers -- its clear that mobility is an inseparable component of economic development, said the City of Pittsburghs Director of Mobility and Infrastructure Karina Ricks. Facilitated by BCGs Centre For Public Impact and human-centered design experts at BCG Platinion|MAYA Design, Mobiliti aims to reveal the efficiencies of an inclusive approach to getting workers where they need to be. Event participants will form cross-functional teams and, through MAYA Designs immersive design activities, develop a playbook of employer-led investment-ready pilots which not only combat mobility issues nationwide, but prove the financial and social benefits of employer-funded transit initiatives by working at the confluence of strategy and technology. Brian Collie, a Senior Partner at BCG and Leader of the firms North America Automotive practice, stated, BCG is tasked with solving many forward-facing challenges for our clients, not least of which is the future of transportation and the future of work. Mobiliti will unite large employers, emerging and exsting technology providers, and at-risk communities to make sure the transformation is equitable and sustainable with MAYA Designs world class human-centered design methods. Were excited to play a role in developing these pilot programs which the attendees will bring back to their organizations and cities for 2019 investment.



The Centre for Public Impacts North American Director, Dan Vogel, offered further insight. CPI has experience working directly with cities and understands how local governments are seeking to innovate in the face of the major human challenges of the 21st century, such as urban transport and economic mobility. Mobiliti provides an opportunity to build dynamic new models that can be scaled to improve transportation options, increase employee productivity, and help employers attract and retain talent. Aniela Kuzon, Fords Global Lead for the City of Tomorrow Challenge, has said, Community-focused mobility is an agenda were aggressively pursuing at Ford, and on the heels of our City Of Tomorrow Challenge, were excited to continue nurturing our collaborations with cities and their residents to deliver innovative, immediate impact.

Mobiliti will be held on October 4 and 5, and is made possible through the generous support of the BCG Centre For Public Impact, the City of Pittsburgh, The Heinz Endowments, the Hillman Foundation, cityLAB, Carnegie Mellons Traffic 21, Trade Institute Of Pittsburgh, and BCG Platinion|MAYA Design. For tickets and more information, visit http://mobiliti.us . About The Boston Consulting Group

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the worlds leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with offices in more than 90 cities in 50 countries. For more information, please visit bcg.com . About BCG Platinion | MAYA Design

BCG Platinion launched in Germany in 2000 to add deep technical expertise to The Boston Consulting Groups existing capabilities. Today, our presence spans across the globe, with offices in Asia, Europe, and South and North America. Our New York-based North American team began in 2014, and in 2017 acquired MAYA Design - a Pittsburgh-based digital design and innovation lab - to grow our capabilities around technology and design. MAYA helps organizations solve complex problems in product and service design, digital strategy, corporate and consumer-facing environments, and pervasive computing. MAYAs research and work in pervasive computing has helped guide clients into the future of a connected world, spun off five companies, and inspired the book Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology. We support our clients total digital transformation through technology, design, cybersecurity, and risk management and financial engineering capabilities. And together with BCG, BCG Platinions interdisciplinary team of technical experts enable customized solutions to accelerate delivery value. About cityLAB

cityLAB is a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that performs experiments with the city as our laboratory. Experiments are chosen to seed economic development, generate buzz, and effect positive change in the city, from inside and out. www.citylabpgh.org The Boston Consulting Group

Eric Gregoire

Global Media Relations Senior Manager Tel +1 617 850 3783

Fax +1 617 850 3701

gregoire.eric@bcg.com

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[September 06, 2018] A-CAP and Saybrus Partners Launch New Thematic Indexed Annuity Based on the Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index

A-CAP and Saybrus Partners today announced the launch of Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity, a single premium fixed indexed annuity. The annuity is the latest addition to a wide breadth of products issued by two of A-CAP's insurance subsidiaries, Sentinel Security Life Insurance Company and Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company. The product is available through Saybrus Partners and a select group of independent distributors. Annuity holders will have exclusive access to the Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index ("Thematic Index"). The Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity features four crediting strategies, a fixed interest account, principal protection from loss, and a choice of accumulation or income enhancing benefits to create a customized solution for retirees' individual goals. The uniqueness of the Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity, which is the first of its kind, is its exclusive access to the Thematic Index. The Thematic Index provides exposure to equities and fixed income, with targeted exposure to companies in the healthcare and real estate sectors that may benefit from the growth in the older population in the United States. The Thematic Index coupled with the A-CAP insurance platform and the Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity will allow seniors to grow their retirement returns based on a unique formula tailored to the needs of the aging senior market. "Client financial needs in retirement are a delicate balance of opportunity and risk," said Doug George, Head of Life and Annuity for A-CAP. "Our team has been working hard to bring to market a compelling planning vehicle that offers clients a way to reap the rewards of long-term growth trends while achieving a level of security and reliability for their hard-earned savings. Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity delivers on those objectives in a package that can be customized based on the client's personal goals and priorities. This launch marks a pivotal moment for the retirement industry." Additionally, annuity holders will have the unique flexibility to tailor their contract by choosing from a Growth Benefit or Income Multiplier Benefit. The Growth Benefit provides enhanced crediting rates on the annuity's indexed accounts, improving the contract's ability to participate in positive market performance. The Income Multiplier Benefit provides a Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) that offers an income enhancing bonus of up to 60+ percent of the contract's accumulation value depending on when the client will need income. "Baby Boomers are reshaping the face of retirement in many ways," said Andrew Sheen, Managing Director, Product Development for Saybrus Partners. "The impressive size and lifestyle focus of this group is driving expansion and demand for new offerings in sectors like healthcare and real estate. With the unique index crediting strategies offered within Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity, contract holders can participate in the potential growth of the companies that serve their own demographic." To learn more about Retirement Plus Multiplier Annuity and the Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index crediting strategy, agents and financial advisors can visit www.sslco.com/content/rpm and www.aclico.com/Annuities.html, or contact Saybrus Partners at 888-794-4447.



ABOUT A-CAP A-CAP is a holding company owning multiple insurance and financial businesses on its unique and synergistic platform. These businesses include primary insurance carriers, an SEC (News - Alert) registered investment adviser, an administrative services provider, reinsurance vehicles, and marketing organizations. With broad knowledge across the insurance and investment sectors, A-CAP's management team has diverse experience and provides comprehensive services to policyholders, insurance company clients and capital partners. Launched in 2013, A-CAP is a privately held company with offices located in New York, Charleston, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Omaha. For more information, visit www.acap.com.

Guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of Sentinel Security Life and Atlantic Coast Life. ABOUT SAYBRUS PARTNERS Saybrus Partners represents the life and annuity portfolios of select carriers in key channels including independent marketing organizations, insurance agents, broker dealers and financial institutions. Saybrus Partners offers solutions-based sales support and strategies for income planning and other retirement needs, as well as simplified issue life insurance. It is a subsidiary of Nassau Re. For more information, visit www.saybruspartners.com and www.nsre.com. Saybrus does not provide tax or legal advice. In California dba Saybrus Partners Insurance Agency, CA (News - Alert) license #0G81229. GOLDMAN SACHS This fixed indexed annuity is not sponsored, endorsed, sold, guaranteed, underwritten, distributed or promoted by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or any of its affiliates with the exception of any endorsement, sales, distribution or promotion of this product that may occur through its affiliates that are licensed insurance agencies (excluding such affiliates, individually and collectively, "Goldman Sachs"). Goldman Sachs makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, regarding the suitability of annuities for your financial situation generally, or fixed indexed annuities or the investment strategy underlying this fixed indexed annuity particularly, the ability of the Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index to perform as intended, the merit (if any) of obtaining exposure to the Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index or the suitability of purchasing or holding interests in this fixed indexed annuity. Goldman Sachs does not have any obligation to take the needs of the holders of this fixed indexed annuity into consideration in determining, composing or calculating the Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index. GOLDMAN SACHS DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY AND/OR COMPLETENESS OF THE GOLDMAN SACHS MOTIF AGING OF AMERICA DYNAMIC BALANCE INDEX OR OF THE METHODOLOGY UNDERLYING THE INDEX, THE CALCULATION OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA SUPPLIED BY IT FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH THIS FIXED INDEXED ANNUITY. GOLDMAN SACHS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGE EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. The Goldman Sachs Motif Aging of America Dynamic Balance Index (the "Index") is a Goldman Sachs owned index. "Motif" is a registered trademark of Motif Investing, Inc. ("Motif Investing") and has been licensed for use by Motif Capital Management Inc. ("Motif Capital") and sublicensed for certain purposes by Goldman Sachs. The Index and the FIA is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Motif Investing, Motif Capital or their respective affiliates or make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in the Index or the FIA. Motif Capital's only relationship to Goldman Sachs with respect to the Index is the licensing of the Motif trademark. MOTIF CAPITAL DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ADEQUACY, ACCURACY, TIMELINESS AND/OR THE COMPLETENESS OF THE INDEX OR ANY DATA RELATED THERETO OR ANY COMMUNICATION, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ORAL OR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (INCLUDING ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS) WITH RESPECT THERETO. MOTIF CAPITAL SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO ANY DAMAGES OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR DELAYS THEREIN. MOTIF CAPITAL MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR AS TO RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED BY INVESTOR'S IN THE INDEX OR FIA, OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FROM THE USE OF THE INDEX OR WITH RESPECT TO ANY DATA RELATED THERETO. WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT WHATSOEVER SHALL MOTIF CAPITAL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LOSS OF PROFITS, TRADING LOSSES, LOST TIME OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF THEY HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005542/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Hurricane Litigation Group Files RICO Lawsuit Alleging Tower Hill Insurance Stole Premiums and Fraudulently Adjusted Claims Following Hurricane Irma

To protect the rights of Floridians recovering from Hurricane Irma, the Hurricane Litigation Group filed a lawsuit in Broward County, Florida aimed at Tower Hill Prime Insurance Company, Ladder Now and Humble, Inc. who are alleged to have conspired together in a scheme designed to deny or underpay Hurricane Irma insurance claims. The firm wants to recover damages for its client and eventually all Floridians who were victims of this conspiracy. The lawsuit alleges that Tower Hill collected insurance premiums with the intent to underpay or deny claims in a scheme designed to boost Tower Hill's profits. As alleged in the suit as part of its illegal scheme, Tower Hill retained the services of Ladder Now, an unlicensed independent adjusting firm to deny and underpay Hurricane Irma claims in Florida in direct violation of Florida law. The lawsuit further alleges Tower Hill retained the services of Humble, Inc., a Broward County consulting and restoration firm to write fake engineering reports denying Hurricane Irma damages. "We'd like to see the State of Florida protect its citizenry and take immediate action against Tower Hill, Ladder Now and Humble," said Paul Berger, a partner in the firm. "Insurance carriers have a long and nefarious history of placing profits ahead of policyholers," continued Berger. "We allege that Tower Hill committed multiple crimes including theft, wire fraud, mail fraud and the use of unlicensed adjusters and engineers to systematically rob policyholders of premiums and critical claim payments following Hurricane Irma. We believe that this is an ongoing scheme and that Florida policyholders continue to be harmed."



The Hurricane Litigation Group believes that this action is also a preview of future lawsuits against other insurers in Florida. "We will continue to help Floridians fight insurance giants," stated Berger "and hope that carriers will understand that conspiring to put profits over policyholders will not be profitable in the long run." The Hurricane Litigation Group (www.hurricanelitigationgroup.com) was created by Paul Berger, founder of the Hurricane Law Group (www.hurricanelawgroup.com) to assist policyholders in complex hurricane claim litigation. The Hurricane Litigation Group is a boutique firm with four partners who collectively have handled thousands of hurricane cases and recovered tens of millions of dollars. The firm represent policyholders against insurance corporations in matters ranging from alleged claim denials, carrier fraud, unfair practices, and civil RICO.

For more information, go to www.hurricanelitigationgroup.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005545/en/

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For more than a month, however, the mayor and attorney general had been at odds over whether Chicago police officers should have to document every instance in which they point a gun at someone. Madigan called the requirement essential to ensuring that officers properly use the threat of a gun, given the departments history of excessive force and misconduct. Emanuel portrayed the documentation as superfluous, while Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said it could make officers hesitant to draw their weapons in dangerous situations.
[September 06, 2018] NASCO and Zipari Enter Into Strategic Partnership Agreement to Provide Streamlined Omni-Channel CX Solutions for Health Plans

ATLANTA, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NASCO, a leading provider of healthcare technology solutions, has partnered with Zipari, Inc., an insurance software startup that specializes in providing Consumer Experience (CX) solutions for health plans, to provide a collaborative platform for Web portals and mobile applications. The partnership will provide health plans with a seamless solution powered by two industry leaders with extensive payer knowledge and experience. For more than 30 years, NASCO has provided an integrated suite of information technology products and services designed to help health plans across the United States solve common business challenges, create cost advantages, revolutionize operations and minimize business risks. The company's product-based, shared services platform allows its customers to eliminate redundancy and share development and maintenance costs while increasing speed to market. "NASCO partnering with Zipari is a win-win for everyone," said Dan Galdenzi, Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for NASCO. "We are able to offer our customers best-of-breed, innovative technology under one umbrella. Zipari is bringing to market an entirely new way of looking at healthcare portals, with hyper-speed to market and a very inventive analytics engine. And NASCO is all about helping health plans consolidate the sea of new innovative healthcare technologies into a shared-services model at lower costs with enterprise scalability on a HITRUST-certified platform." Zipari is revolutionizing the consumerization of health insurance with the first and only CX platform built specifically for health plans. The company's CX products deliver an intuitive, retail-like and user-friendly experience for anyone who uses them. Zipari's member, provider, employer and broker portals and consumer engagementproduct, InsureCX, offer insights into every member touchpoint to improve the customer experience through personalization, intelligent processes and automation.



"Health insurers are at a critical juncture where they must improve their members' experiences, and many have realized that new technologies can create operational efficiencies to do just that," said Mark Nathan, CEO and founder of Zipari. "We're thrilled to partner with NASCO, a company focused on driving consolidation and scale for healthcare payers via administrative solutions like benefit management, eligibility, membership, billing and claims processing. As a partner, Zipari can help NASCO, and, by extension, healthcare payers, focus on improving the technology that delivers an enhanced experience for consumers." A multipayer-partnered solution, like NASCO, allows health plans to operate more efficiently, respond to challenges faster and reduce the cost of doing business. NASCO customers also benefit from the security associated with NASCO's HITRUST-certified systems and scalability that is second to none. By teaming up with Zipari, NASCO can offer health plans an even greater competitive advantage with CX technology that tracks behavior patterns, enables concierge services and improves the overall member experience.

About NASCO NASCO provides an integrated suite of healthcare technology products and services that help health plans address unique business challenges and revolutionize business operations. Owned by, and exclusively serving, Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans for more than 30 years, NASCO provides seamless benefit management, eligibility, membership, billing and claims processing support for Blue Plans, allowing them to provide competitive healthcare products in federal, state and multistate markets for nearly 25 million members. NASCO's partnership with multiple Blue Plans cultivates a community that fosters the collaboration needed to promote innovation, deliver shared solutions and create a competitive cost advantage. NASCO is shaping the future of healthcare IT. For more information, visit http://www.nasco.com. About Zipari Based in Brooklyn, New York, Zipari is a technology startup that develops products for health insurance carriers to engage with consumers in new and innovative ways. With unsurpassed technology, Zipari's products provide real-time insights at every touchpoint, delivering a breakthrough consumer experience that health insurers want and their members seek. Zipari now serves more than 10 million members via their payer customers. Zipari's primary investor is Vertical Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on investments in companies that target specific vertical markets. For more information about Zipari, please visit http://www.zipari.com. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasco-and-zipari-enter-into-strategic-partnership-agreement-to-provide-streamlined-omni-channel-cx-solutions-for-health-plans-300706550.html SOURCE NASCO

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[September 06, 2018] Cardiac Insight's Wearable ECG Sensor, Cardea SOLO, Continues to Attract Premier Cardiology Groups Across the U.S.; Announces Baltimore Heart Associates and Regional Cardiac Arrhythmia as Customers

Cardiac Insight, Inc., a leading U.S. developer of wearable biosensors and diagnostic software systems featuring proprietary automated data analysis algorithms, announced today that its wearable ECG Sensor, Cardea SOLO, continues to attract high-volume cardiology group practices across the U.S. The company unveiled Baltimore Heart Associates of Maryland (www.baltimoreheart.com) and Regional Cardiac Arrhythmia of Pennsylvania and Ohio (www.regionalcardiac.com) as two of its newest multi-location practice customers. Cardiac Insight also announced the company is experiencing steady month-to-month sales growth and increases in repeat orders for Cardea SOLO in its targeted markets across the country. Both cardiology groups selected Cardea SOLO for its unique ability to provide a higher standard of ambulatory cardiac care, improved operational and financial metrics for their practices, and positive patient experiences. "Baltimore Heart Associates is recognized for its unique ability to provide the highest standard of patient care and operational efficiency while serving the greater Baltimore area with our seven cardiologists and three office locations. Our adoption of industry-first Cardea SOLO supports our mission to bring cutting-edge technology and quality-driven care to our patients," said Mohammed Abuzahra, MD FACC. "Cardea SOLO is patient-friendly and an easy-to-use system. Once ordered by one of our prescribing clinicians, the device is applied to the patient and seven days later the patient returns to have the ECG data analyzed right in our ofice-it's that simple."



"Cardea SOLO brings a much needed 'sea change' to ambulatory arrhythmia detection," added Maninder Bedi, MD, a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist with Regional Cardiac Arrhythmia of Washington, Pennsylvania. "Adoption was painless and Cardea SOLO's design made it easy to integrate into our clinical workflow. Our patients love the comfort and freedom of the cable-free chest-worn form factor, and we enjoy the immediate access to complete ECG data whenever we want it. Our office controls the entire process so that we can offer the highest quality of service and patient care." "Cardiac Insight is experiencing outstanding momentum in all areas of the business, and our continued sales trajectory combined with growing reorders affirms that our technology solutions align with the needs of practitioners and their patients, as shown by the adoption from these prestigious institutions," said Brad Harlow, Chief Executive Officer. "Our company and technology continue to raise the bar for frontline cardiac care, while helping to save lives and optimize healthcare operations. Our Cardea SOLO brings exclusive and proprietary capabilities to our customers that no other wearable cardiac monitoring technology can offer."

Cardea SOLO is a wearable, light (weight of three quarters), wire-free, seven-day ECG Sensor that comes complete with a PC-based, in-office Analysis Software System for the detection of adult cardiac arrhythmias, including Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). Cardiac Insight said Cardea SOLO can trim days or weeks off ECG report turnaround time compared to using third-party ECG reporting services. It is the only in-office PC-based ECG Analysis Software cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to produce an automated draft summary report without human intervention. The report is ready for clinician review or edits in five minutes or less. Cardea SOLO Software also provides clinicians access to, and ownership of, every heartbeat of patient data for further analysis. The Cardea SOLO System detects and analyzes a broad range of cardiac arrhythmias that can cause disability and even death if undiagnosed and untreated. Millions of adults across the United States and Europe suffer from arrhythmia in its most common form, Atrial Fibrillation (AFib). Patients with AFib face an estimated five-times higher risk of stroke and more than double their risk of Sudden Cardiac Death. Cardea SOLO is available by contacting solo@cardiacinsightinc.com. About Cardiac Insight, Inc. Cardiac Insight, Inc. (www.cardiacinsightinc.com) is a leading U.S. developer of advanced body-worn digital health care information systems through its proprietary software, algorithms and devices. The company's two flagship products are its wearable ECG Sensor and Analysis Software System, Cardea SOLO (www.cardeasolo.com) and Cardea 20/20 ECG, the only 12-lead test that incorporates the International Criteria for identification of the risk of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in young athletes. Founded in 2008, Cardiac Insight is an ISO-certified company and is based in Kirkland, Washington, USA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005225/en/

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[September 06, 2018]

Graybar Names Jeff Wanner District Vice President in Phoenix

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, announced that Jeff Wanner has been named District Vice President for the company's Phoenix District effective September 23, 2018.

Jeff has more than 30 years of industry experience and currently serves as Graybar's Vice President-Industrial Sales.As District Vice President, Jeff will lead Graybar's business operations in a territory that includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Texas.







"We congratulate Jeff on his new assignment," said Regional Vice President, Dennis DeSousa. "Since joining Graybar in 2016, he has made significant contributions to our company's success. Jeff has extensive knowledge of the industry and a proven track record of leadership. I look forward to working with him to grow our business and deliver exceptional service for customers in this territory."

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of nearly 290 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 578-7672

timothy.sommer@graybar.com

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/graybar-names-jeff-wanner-district-vice-president-in-phoenix-300708100.html

SOURCE Graybar
[September 06, 2018] Virtual, Inc. Expands Leadership Roster

Virtual, Inc., today announced the hiring of two senior professionals and the promotion of seven employees to leadership positions across three company locations. Virtual is a one-of-a kind professional services firm that helps associations, standards organizations, and professional societies make their mark on the world. Industry Veterans Added to Client Services and Marketing Teams In response to a continually expanding client roster, Virtual has hired two experienced professionals to bolster its Client Services and Marketing Departments. Steve Jones joins Virtual as a Director in the Client Services Department. Based in the Reston, VA, office, Steve has over 20 years of experience leading associations. Steve was previously Executive Director of the Association of Cable Communicators where he created the ACC Communications Institute, a graduate-level intensive learning opportunity for cable industry executives. At Virtual, he will be working with the Microscopy Society of America, the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis and the Association for Responsible Alternatives to Workers' Compensation.

Melanie Tringali is Virtual's new Director of Marketing Communications. Located at Virtual's Wakefield, MA, headquarters, Melanie assumes a leadership role for a number of Virtual technology clients, including Accounting Blockchain Coalition, Automotive Edge Computing Consortium, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, and SAFECode. Prior to Virtual, Melanie was Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications for the Cambridge Network where she oversaw, dveloped and led the Marketing and Communications Department.



Senior Staff Promotions Span Client Services, Events, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, and Technology Solutions (News - Alert) Departments In addition to new senior-level hires, Virtual also promoted the following seven employees to key staff positions:

Stacey Comito was promoted to Vice President of Marketing Communications. She leads the marketing team supporting the PCI (News - Alert) Security Standards Council and possesses a wealth of experience in strategic marketing and communications.

As Virtual's first Senior Director of Employee Experience, Kris Lantheaume shapes the company's unique culture and serves as the leader of the Employee Experience team developing talent acquisition and retention, performance management and employee communications programs.

Margot Rodger was named Senior Director of Event Management and Planning with responsibility for leading the Event Management Department, ensuring excellence and client satisfaction in meetings globally.

Lisa Tracey was promoted to Senior Director of Operations helping to lead the Virtual team supporting the PCI Security Standards Council.

Julie Utano was elevated to Senior Director of Client Services and will oversee multiple clients and a team of senior staff at the Reston location.

Jaci Cochran was promoted to Associate Director of Accounting. In her new role she is responsible for ensuring and maintaining accuracy in accounting and financial reporting for Virtual clients from the Nashville office.

Kurt Einhaus was promoted to Director of Web Application Development. He will supervise the development, documentation, implementation and administration of various internal and external websites and web-based applications. Additional information about the services that Virtual provides to its clients is available at www.virtualinc.com. About Virtual, Inc. Virtual, Inc. delivers strategic consulting, best practices, innovation and world-class business operations to associations, tech and standards organizations, scientific professional societies, state governments and professional licensing associations. Virtual ranks in the top five percent of AMCs and was named to the Inc. 500/5000 list of growth companies and "The Boston Globe's Top Places to Work". Virtual, Inc. has offices in Wakefield, MA, Nashville, Palo Alto (News - Alert) , and Reston, VA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005440/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Rostelecom Launches Sale of SPIRIT DSP's VideoMost PaaS Services to Enterprise Customers

SPIRIT DSP, business communications software engines provider, with software products serving more than 1 billion people in 100+ countries, today announced the signing of a new contract with Rostelecom (News - Alert) , the largest wired telecom operator in Russia. Under this contract, Rostelecom will start selling SPIRIT VideoMost product-based PaaS service to enterprise customers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005653/en/ Rostelecom, which is the largest digital services provider in Russia, operates in all telecom market segments and serves millions of households across the country. Rostelecom is the leader on the Russian broadband and pay-TV markets, it has over 13 million fixed-line broadband subscribers and more than 10 million pay-TV subscribers. Rostelecom's PaaS Video server enables customers to host servers with pre-installed SPIRIT VideoMost's software product at Rostelecom's data center with monthly payments and strict SLA from Rostelecom. The service seamlessly interoperates with the videoconferencing equipment purchased by customers on the premises and integrates with the telephony and communication software applications, including Skype for Business, into the unified cloud-based videoconferencing and communication service. The service costs $15 per video server port per month. "Using the cloud "Video server" service, Rostelecom's customers can combine their previously purchased equipment for videoconferencing studios, landline telephones, desktop computers and employees' smartphones into a unified, secure busines communications system," Danila Burmetyev, Rostelecom's corporate and public segments product management director, said.



The new contract is an extension of the existing partnership between SPIRIT and Rostelecom, which started in 2012. Rostelecom has since been offering SAAS cloud-based service "Web-conferences" to thousands of domestic enterprises based on VideoMost's software server. Rostelecom's PaaS service meets all the requirements for a modern enterprise videoconferencing system and helps companies to switch from CAPEX investments into videoconferencing hardware to OPEX monthly service payments.

"VideoMost's software server SAAS infrastructure has been successfully operated by Rostelecom for many years and we are pleased that this new PaaS service opens low-cost opportunities for Rostelecom's corporate customers and further strengthens its position as the leading provider of business communication services for enterprises," SPIRIT Chairman Andrew Sviridenko said. About SPIRIT DSP SPIRIT DSP's innovative carrier-grade voice and video software platforms are used by carriers, OEMs and software developers. SPIRIT DSP software platforms serve more than 1 billion people in over 100 countries. SPIRIT DSP software is licensed to/powers popular products from global technology leaders including Apple, Adobe, ARM, AT&T, Avaya, Blizzard, BroadSoft, BT, China Mobile, Dialogic, Ericsson (News - Alert) , HP, HTC, Huawei, Korea Telecom, Kyocera, LG U+, Mavenir, Mitel, Microsoft, NEC, Oracle, Polycom, Reliance, Samsung, Skype, Texas Instruments, Toshiba (News - Alert) , Viber, ZTE and more than 250 others. VideoMost is a software videoconferencing server with PC and mobile clients that supports all the popular communication protocols and international standards, including H.323, H.239, SIP, BFCP, XMPP, H.264, G.7xx, WebRTC, and delivers interoperability with the legacy videoconferencing hardware. VideoMost works in popular browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari) and is available on both iOS and Android (News - Alert) mobile platforms. It also provides a full range of tools for teamwork, including mobile messaging, document sharing and polling. About Rostelecom Rostelecom is the largest digital services provider in Russia. It operates in the all telecom market segments and covers millions of households across the country. It is the leader of the Russian broadband and pay-TV markets, with over 13m fixed-line broadband subscribers, more than 10m pay-TV subscribers and over 5.1m IPTV (News - Alert) services subscribers. It is also the leading provider of telecom services to the Russian government's agencies and corporations of all levels. It is an innovator in the fields of e-government, cloud computing, healthcare, education, security and housing and utility services. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005653/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Des Moines and Polk County Homeownership to Get Boost with $4.7 Million NeighborhoodLIFT Program

Wells Fargo (News - Alert) & Company (NYSE:WFC), NeighborWorks America and its network member Neighborhood Finance Corporation today announced the NeighborhoodLIFT program will expand to the Des Moines area with a $4.7 million commitment by Wells Fargo to boost homeownership in Polk County. "NeighborhoodLIFT will put hundreds of our residents on the path to homeownership," said Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie. "I commend Wells Fargo, NeighborWorks America and Neighborhood Finance Corporation for working together to bring this innovative program to the Des Moines metro." The event in Des Moines is Wells Fargo's 63rd LIFT program launch conducted in collaboration with NeighborWorks America and its network members. "The NeighborhoodLIFT program is another example of our commitment to Des Moines and Polk County," said Marta Codina, Wells Fargo region bank president for Des Moines and western Iowa. "Working together with nonprofits to offer down payment assistance grants and homebuyer education can make a big difference for homebuyers and the community." Registration opens Monday for free event in Des Moines Sept. 28-29 Interested homebuyers may register beginning Monday, Sept. 10, at www.wellsfargo.com/lift to attend the free event Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sept. 29 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center, 730 3rd St., Des Moines. Homebuyers who qualify for the program may be able to reserve a $15,000 down payment assistance grant. Walk-ins are also welcome while grants are available for reservation. To learn more about the eligibility requirements and documents needed to apply for a down payment assistance grant, visit www.wellsfargo.com/lift. Participating homebuyers cn obtain mortgage financing from any participating lender. Neighborhood Finance Corporation will determine eligibility and administer the down payment assistance grants. Approved homebuyers will have up to 60 days to finalize a contract to purchase a home in Polk County.



"NeighborhoodLIFT is one of many ways Wells Fargo focuses on Advancing HomeownershipSM throughout the U.S.," said Michael DeVito, head of Wells Fargo Home Lending, which is headquartered in Des Moines. "We created NeighborhoodLIFT to strengthen communities by helping hardworking families and individuals get on the path to achieve successful and sustainable homeownership." To be eligible, annual income must not exceed 80 percent of the local area median income, which is about $63,700 for up to a family of four in Polk County. In addition, there are special parameters for veterans and service members, teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, who may earn up to 100 percent of the local area median income, which is about $79,600 for up to a family of four. Individuals in any of these professions may reserve $17,500 down payment assistance grants within eligibility requirements.

"This innovative public-private collaboration will create 250 homeowners in Polk County," said John Santner, Midwest regional vice president, NeighborWorks America. "The required homebuyer education classes provided by certified professionals better prepare NeighborhoodLIFT homebuyers to achieve their goal of sustainable homeownership." To reserve the full grant amount, participants buying a primary residence with the NeighborhoodLIFT program must commit to live in the home for five years. "We are ready to assist Des Moines-area families and provide homebuyer education and down payment assistance to help them achieve successful and sustainable homeownership," said Stephanie Preusch, executive director of Neighborhood Finance Corporation. "The NeighborhoodLIFT program offers an affordable and achievable way to realize homeownership goals." Since 2012, LIFT programs have helped create more than 18,375 homeowners in the U.S. A video about the NeighborhoodLIFT program is posted on Wells Fargo Stories. About Neighborhood Finance Corporation and NeighborWorks America Neighborhood Finance Corporation is a chartered member of NeighborWorks America, a national organization that creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities. NeighborWorks America supports a network of more than 245 nonprofits, located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Visit www.neighborhoodfinance.org or www.neighborworks.org to learn more. About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 8,050 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 38 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune's 2018 rankings of America's largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005180/en/

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[September 06, 2018] OSE Immunotherapeutics Reports First-Half 2018 Results and Provides a Corporate Update

Key Highlights: Entered into a global immuno-oncology agreement in April 2018 with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop myeloid checkpoint inhibitor OSE-172 able to modulate the SIRPa/CD47 axis; a third strategic structuring partnership; assuming all development, registration and commercialization milestones are met, OSE stands to receive more than 1.1 billion

Progressed international Phase 3 clinical trial of Tedopi in patients with NSCLC who have failed a previous treatment with PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors, a population with a large unmet medical need

Next steps focus on further clinical development of four products and on expansion of developmental pipeline

Generated a net profit of 8.9 M due to the partnership signed with Boehringer Ingelheim

Available cash as of June 30, 2018 of 18.6 M (including current financial assets of 2.9 M) and financial viability until H2 2019. Additional cash influx of 27 M could be generated by milestone payments related to partnerships NANTES, France, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OSE Immunotherapeutics SA (ISIN: FR0012127173; Mnemo: OSE), today reported its consolidated half-year financial results as of June 30, 2018 and provided an update on the key milestones reached during the 2018 first semester. "With the completion of our license and collaboration agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim for OSE-172 in April, the first half 2018 marks an important second phase of growth for the Company, supported financially by our strategic partnerships and accompanied by a strengthened management team. Of significant note, the Company generated a financial profit of 8.9 million euros, which is a remarkable financial achievement for OSE," commented Alexis Peyroles, CEO of OSE Immunotherapeutics. "We are focused on making significant clinical progress with four of our products, including three with our pharmaceutical partners: the initiation of a Phase 1/2 study of OSE-172 and a Phase 1 study of OSE-127 and the preparation of the entry into Phase 2 study with FR104. Furthermore, we were very pleased to receive the approval from the FDA and the EMA to actively advance the Tedopi Phase 3 trial in advanced non-small cell lung cancer in patients with immune escape after checkpoint inhibitors, a population for which no approved treatment is currently available. We also plan to start a Phase 2 trial of Tedopi combination therapy in pancreatic cancer by the end of 2018, a trial sponsored by the oncology group GERCOR. In the long term, our R&D teams are conducting innovative research to identify key targets of interest and develop new antibodies as candidates for clinical development in immuno-oncology," Mr. Peyroles continued. Key First-Half 2018 Achievements OSE-172, SIRPa antagonist and checkpoint inhibitor targeting suppressive myeloid/macrophage cells, in various solid tumors Entered a global license and collaboration agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop OSE-172. Under the terms of the agreement, OSE Immunotherapeutics has received a 15 million upfront payment from Boehringer Ingelheim, and will receive potential additional short-term milestones of up to 15 million upon initiation of a phase 1 clinical study. OSE Immunotherapeutics stands to receive more than 1.1 billion upon reaching pre-specified development, registration and sales milestones, plus royalties on worldwide net sales (cf. press release of April 4, 2018).

Expected to initiate clinical phase by the end of 2018, with potential application in various solid tumors, in partnership with Boehringer Ingelheim. Tedopi, combination of optimized neoepitopes that induce specific T lymphocyte activation in immuno-oncology, in advanced lung cancer Progressed an ongoing Phase 3 trial in patients with advanced and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have failed a previous treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors in Europe and in the U.S. Received approval from Israeli competent authorities to expand enrolment of the trial in this additional country.

Received a 435,000 grant from Bpifrance through the Eurostars European Programme to lead a research program within a consortium of five partners. The project aims to validate an immune algorithm specific to Tedopi and establish precision medicine targeting for the product. It will be conducted in conjunction with the Phase 2 clinical trial for Tedopi, combined with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, in pancreatic cancer. This study, sponsored by the oncology cooperative group GERCOR, is expected to initiate in 2018. OSE-127, humanized monoclonal antibody antagonist of the interleukin-7 receptor, in inflammatory bowel diseases Presented new preclinical data further supporting the potential of OSE-127 for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases at the annual congress of the American Association of Immunologists.

Plans to initiate clinical phase in ulcerative colitis by the end of 2018, in partnership with Servier. FR104, CD28-antagonist, in rheumatoid arthritis Preparation for entry into a Phase 2 clinical trial in rheumatoid arthritis, in partnership with Janssen Biotech. Moreover, the Company is continuing advancement of its innovative research program based on its several scientific and technological platforms (neoepitopes, agonist or antagonist monoclonal antibodies) positioned to fight cancer and autoimmune diseases. THE TEAMS Appointed Dominique Costantini as chairman of the board of directors and appointment of Alexis Peyroles to chief executive officer, a natural and seamless evolution following three structuring license agreements driving the next steps of the Companys growth.

Strengthened the management team with the additions of Berangere Vasseur, M.D., chief medical officer immuno-oncology (broad experience in oncology development while at Roche and at several biotechnology companies) and Emilienne Soma, PharmD, Ph.D., director of pharmaceutical program development (experience in R&D management and in alliances in several biotechnology companies). 2018 Half-Year Results The key figures of the 2018 consolidated half-year results are reported below: In k 06/30/2018 06/30/2017 Operating result 10 230 -7 336 Net result 8 877 - 6 340 In k 06/30/2018 12/31/2017 Available cash* 18 647 12 528 Consolidated balance sheet 84 625 77 353 As of June 30, 2018, available cash* amounted to 18.6 million, giving a financial visibility until the second semester of 2019. Moreover, this cash could be reinforced by milestone payments provided by the partnerships with Boehringer Ingelheim, up to 15 million upon initiation of a Phase 1 of OSE-172, and with Servier, up to 12 million upon achievement of a new development step of OSE-127. Of note, the development costs of the licensed projects are supported by the companys partners: totally by Boehringer Ingelheim for OSE-172 and by Janssen Biotech for FR104, and partially by Servier for OSE-127. In parallel, the two public grants obtained, EFFIMab for OSE-127 and EFFI-CLIN for OSE-172, reinforce the funding. The turnover amounted to 20.6 million, compared to 2.08 million as of June 30, 2017, due to the upfront payment from the collaboration agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim. During the first half of 2018, the Company recorded a net profit of 8.9 million. Current operating expenses were 10.2 million, stable compared as of June 30, 2017. They include 8 million of R&D expenses during the first half of 2018. Over the same period of 2017, R&D expenses amounted to 7.9 million. The consolidated balance sheet amounted to 84.6 million compared to 77.4 million as of December 31, 2017. This increase is mainly due to the cash received from the agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim. *Available cash and cash equivalents and current financial assets The Board of Directors of September 6, 2018 has approved the Companys semester accounts as of June 30, 2018. The full Semester financial report (Regulated information) is available on : http://ose-immuno.com/en/rapports-financiers-et-document-de-reference/. The consolidated accounts have been subject to a limited review by the Statutory Auditors. ABOUT OSE Immunotherapeutics

OSE Immunotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and partnering therapies to control the immune system for immuno-oncology and autoimmmune diseases. Neoepitopes innovation (Tedopi) is today in Phase 3 in advanced lung cancers (NSCLC) after checkpoint inhibitors failure (anti PD-1 and anti PD-L1). A global license and collaboration agreement was signed in April 2018 with Boehringer Ingelheim to develop checkpoint inhibitor OSE-172 (anti-SIRPa monoclonal antibody), for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. An option to license was exercised in July 2016 by Janssen Biotech to continue clinical development of FR104 (an anti CD28 mAb) in auto-immune diseases after positive phase 1 results. A 2-step license option was signed in 2016 with Servier Laboratories to develop OSE-127 (monoclonal antibody targeting the CD127 receptor, the alpha chain of the interleukin-7 receptor) to develop the product up to the completion of a phase 2 clinical trial planned in autoimmune bowel diseases; in parallel, Servier plans a development in the Sjogrens syndrome. The company has several scientific and technological platforms: neoepitopes, agonist or antagonist monoclonal antibodies, ideally positioned to fight cancer and autoimmune diseases. Its first-in-class clinical portfolio offers a diversified risk profile.

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Sylvie Detry

Sylvie.detry@ose-immuno.com

+33 143 297 857



French Media: FP2COM

Florence Portejoie

fportejoie@fp2com.fr

+33 607 768 283 U.S. Media: LifeSci Public Relations

Darren Opland, Ph.D.

Darren@lifescipublicrelations.com

+1 646 627-8387



U.S. and European Investors

Chris Maggos

chris@lifesciadvisors.com

+41 79 367 6254 Forward-looking statements

This press release contains express or implied information and statements that might be deemed forward-looking information and statements in respect of OSE Immunotherapeutics. They do not constitute historical facts. These information and statements include financial projections that are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by OSE Immunotherapeutics management in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. These forward-looking statements include statements typically using conditional and containing verbs such as expect, anticipate, believe, target, plan, or estimate, their declensions and conjugations and words of similar import. Although the OSE Immunotherapeutics management believes that the forward-looking statements and information are reasonable, the OSE Immunotherapeutics shareholders and other investors are cautioned that the completion of such expectations is by nature subject to various risks, known or not, and uncertainties which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of OSE Immunotherapeutics. These risks could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in or implied or projected by the forward-looking statements. These risks include those discussed or identified in the public filings made by OSE Immunotherapeutics with the AMF. Such forward-looking statements are not guaranteeing of future performance. This press release includes only summary information and should be read with the OSE Immunotherapeutics Reference Document filed with the AMF on 26 April 2018, including the annual financial report for the fiscal year 2017, available on the OSE Immunotherapeutics website. Other than as required by applicable law, OSE Immunotherapeutics issues this press release at the date hereof and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information or statements. CONSOLIDATED PROFIT & LOSS In K S1 2018 S1 2017 Turnover 20 608 2 849 Other recurring operating income 0 0 OPERATING INCOME - RECURRING 20 608 2 849 Research & Development expenses (7 978 ) (7 880 ) Overhead expenses (1 731 ) (1 784 ) Expenses related to share-based payments (542 ) (521 ) OPERATING PROFIT/LOSS - RECURRING (10 357 ) (7 336 ) Other operating income - Badwill 0 0 Other operating expenses (127 ) (0 ) OPERATING RESULT 10 230 (7 336 ) Financial income 27 32 Financial expenses (174 ) (38 ) PROFIT/LOSS BEFORE TAX 10 083 (7 342 ) INCOME TAX (1 207 ) 1 002 CONSOLIDATED NET RESULT 8 877 (6 340 ) Of which consolidated net result attributable to shareholders 8 877 (6 340 ) Net earnings attributable to shareholders Weighted average number of shares outstanding 14 505 935 14 334 114 - The basic and diluted result per common share (/share) 0,61 (0,44 ) In K S1 2018 S1 2017 NET RESULT 8 877 (6 340 ) Amounts to be recycled in the income statement: Unrealized gains on securities available for sale, net of tax Currency conversion difference (13 ) 19 Amounts not to be recycled in the income statement: Actuarial gains and losses on post-employment benefits (4 ) 7 Other comprehensive income in the period (17 ) 26 GLOBAL PROFIT/LOSS 8 860 (6 314 )



CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET ASSETS in K 06/30/2018 12/31/2017 NON-CURRENT ASSETS Intangible assets 52 600 52 600 Tangible assets 817 429 Financial assets 58 77 Deferred tax assets 265 261 TOTAL NON-CURRENT ASSETS 53 739 53 367 CURRENT ASSETS Trade receivables 3 402 127 Other current assets 8 837 5 715 Current tax receivables 0 5 615 Current financial assets 2 889 2 882 Cash and cash equivalents 15 758 9 646 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 30 886 23 986 TOTAL ASSETS 84 625 77 353 EQUITY & LIABILITIES in K 06/30/2018 12/31/2017 SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY Stated capital 2 932 2 898 Share premium 21 709 21 743 Merger premium 26 855 26 855 Treasury stock (194 ) (191 ) Reserves and retained earnings 4 589 14 644 Consolidated result 8 877 (10 503 ) TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY 64 768 55 446 NON-CURRENT DEBTS Non-current financial liabilities 4 103 4 296 Non-current deferred tax liabilities 3 500 2 866 Non-current provisions 271 247 TOTAL NON-CURRENT DEBTS 7 874 7 410 CURRENT DEBTS Current financial liabilities 650 589 Trade payables 8 247 8 776 Current tax liabilities 270 1 Other payables 961 1 060 Other debts and accruals 1 855 4 071 TOTAL CURRENT DEBTS 11 983 14 497 TOTAL LIABILITIES 84 625 77 353



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[September 06, 2018] PagerDuty Raises $90M Series D Investment to Expand Its Platform for Real-Time Operations

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PagerDuty, a global leader in digital operations management, today announced it has closed a $90 million Series D investment, raising the value of the company to $1.3 billion. The latest round of funding was led by funds and accounts managed by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Wellington Management, with participation from existing PagerDuty investors Accel, Andreessen Horowitz, and Bessemer Venture Partners. The round brings PagerDuty's total amount of capital raised to $173 million. "We are thrilled T. Rowe Price and Wellington have joined our journey to build an enduring company offering mission-critical products and services our customers need and trust," said Jennifer Tejada, CEO at PagerDuty. "This capital infusion allows us to continue our investments in innovation that leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning, enabling us to help our customers transform their companies and delight their customers. From a business standpoint, we can strengthen our investment in and development of our people, our most valuable asset, as we scale our operations globally. We're well positioned to make the lives of digital workers better by elevating work to the outcomes that matter." GE, Capital One, IBM, PayPal, The Gap, Spotify, Netflix, Vodafone, and over 10,500 enterprises around the world trust PagerDuty to improve digital operations, drive revenue, mitigate threats, protect assets, and ensure a great digital customer experience. Modern businesses of all sizes across various industries are undergoing digital transformation by modernizing their IT infrastructure, migrating their assets to the cloud, and seeking innovative ways to leverage big data and IoT approaches. These businesses need technology that can ensure their operations deliver great customer experieces.



PagerDuty's platform gathers and analyzes incoming digital signals from its ecosystem of over 300 of the world's most widely used monitoring tools, ticketing platforms, and applications such as Slack, AppDynamics, New Relic, Amazon CloudWatch, Zendesk, and ServiceNow. The platform also leverages nine years of machine and human response data. Artificial intelligence is applied to these signals in the context of human response patterns (such as how similar issues were previously remedied) to orchestrate teams across the organization, automate workflows, and coordinate response. The platform predicts how and when events may occur, enabling teams to proactively take immediate action to not only respond to events, but also prevent business-critical issues. "We are impressed by PagerDuty's market leadership, business growth, and product vision to become the de facto real-time operations platform for businesses undergoing digital transformation," said Henry Ellenbogen, Portfolio Manager of T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund. "We see the strength of the PagerDuty brand as it's commonly used in many startups. The platform has become a basic requirement needed to build a modern business. We are excited to support Jennifer and the leadership team and believe they can build a much larger company."

PagerDuty is a high-growth, cloud-native company with over 450 employees and offices in San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle, London, and Sydney. Earlier this year, the company also reached its $100 million ARR milestone. In June, the company launched PagerDuty Event Intelligence, a new product that uses artificial intelligence to predict major incidents and automates the incident response process by learning from event, workflow, and human data. PagerDuty continues to demonstrate its leadership in real-time operations through its support of companies, ranging from hyper-growth startups to Global 2000 enterprises. PagerDuty's multi-product portfolio serves both the technical and business leader responsible for the digital success of their business. About PagerDuty PagerDuty is a leading digital operations management platform for organizations. Over 10,500 customersincluding enterprises such as IBM, GE, Capital One, American Eagle Outfitters, Pitney Bowes, Box, and INGand small to midsize organizations around the world trust PagerDuty to improve digital operations, drive revenue, mitigate threats, protect assets, and delight customers. To learn more and try PagerDuty for free, visit www.pagerduty.com. Follow our blog and connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. Media Contact Michael Basilio, PagerDuty

media@pagerduty.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pagerduty-raises-90m-series-d-investment-to-expand-its-platform-for-real-time-operations-300707898.html SOURCE PagerDuty

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[September 06, 2018] EY professionals appointed to leading academic and non-profit AI boards

-- Jeff Wong, EY Global Chief Innovation Officer, appointed to AI4ALL Advisory Board -- Nigel Duffy, EY Global Innovation Artificial Intelligence Leader, appointed to Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) Board for Systems That Learn LONDON and PALO ALTO, California, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jeff Wong, EY Global Chief Innovation Officer, and Nigel Duffy, EY Global Innovation Artificial Intelligence Leader, have joined boards at leading organizations focusing on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for positive social impact for the next three years. Jeff Wong will sit on the AI4ALL Advisory Board, a non-profit organization working to increase diversity and inclusion in AI. Nigel Duffy will sit on the board of MIT's SystemsThatLearn@CSAIL, one of a series of research initiatives at MIT pioneering new approaches to computing. Tess Posner, CEO of AI4ALL, says: "Jeff's passion for fostering the next generation of business and technology leaders and embracing lifelong learning to keep up with disruption resonates with what we are trying to accomplish at AI4ALL. We know he will provide invaluable guidance as we expand or programs to reach millions around the world."



Jeff Wong, EY Global Chief Innovation Officer, says: "I am honored to be joining the AI4ALL Advisory Board and to be able to help shape the great minds of the future. AI4ALL is actively working to address the skills shortage in AI by preparing the next generation of technology professionals to research and surface the untapped potential of the technology."

In Nigel Duffy's new position on the board of MIT's CSAIL he will advise on the direction of the lab's research and have a voice in project funding. Currently, CSAIL consists of more than 60 research groups at MIT which work to develop new technologies to positively impact global society. Wong says: "At EY we have witnessed the critical role played by humans in overseeing and directing the technology, and by extension, the current talent gap that exists around AI. We recognize the importance of not only businesses looking to address this issue inside their workplaces but also the impact that can be had by working closely with leading academic institutions to address this pressing need. In our new board positions Nigel and I are looking forward to working collaboratively with these organizations to resolve challenges collectively." Notes to Editors About EY EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities. EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com. This news release has been issued by EYGM Limited, a member of the global EY organization that also does not provide any services to clients. About AI4ALL AI4ALL is an Oakland, CA-based nonprofit working to increase diversity and inclusion in artificial intelligence. They educate the next generation of diverse AI leaders, build AI awareness, and expand on and promote beneficial AI. They do this work through programs like their summer AI education programs for underrepresented high school students, which are run in partnership with universities across North America. The programs increase access, awareness, and exposure to the field in a variety of ways including through hands-on technical education and connections to role models and mentors in the field. AI4ALL's vision is for AI to be developed by a broad group of thinkers and doers advancing AI for humanity's benefit. Jessica Thomas

EY Global Media Relations

+44 20 7951 4653

jessica.thomas@uk.ey.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/708904/EY_Logo.jpg

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Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Announces Investigation on Behalf of Nevro Corporation Investors

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces an investigation on behalf of Nevro Corporation ("Nevro" or the "Company") (NYSE: NVRO) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.







In April 2017, Boston Scientific Corp. filed an action against Nevro, asserting claims of patent infringement, theft of trade secrets and tortious interference with contract by recruiting and hiring dozens of former Boston Scientific Corp. employees.

Then, on July 10, 2018, various analysts reported on a tentative ruling in Nevro's ongoing patent litigation against Boston Scientific. The tentative ruling invalidated at least five of the patents related to Nevro's purportedly "proprietary" HF10 therapy and Senza systems. On this news, shares of Nevro fell $11.43 per share, or 15.15%, to close at $64.04 on July 10, 2018, thereby injuring investors.

If you purchased Nevro securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley F. Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005772/en/
Moderate suburban women are an important swing vote that can help decide the fate of statewide candidates. They were critical in handing Hillary Clinton a 17 percentage-point win over Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election in Illinois, and they are also considered a key demographic in deciding the fate of Rauner and other Republicans amid the controversial Trump presidency in November.
[September 06, 2018] AICM Hosts Responsible Care Global Charter Local Signing and the 10th Open-to-Public Day Closing Ceremony

SHANGHAI, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Witnessed by over 70 delegates from 37 member companies and a dozen of media representatives, AICM (Association of International Chemical Manufactures) hosted the Responsible Care Global Charter (RCGC)'s Local Signing and the 10th Open-to-Public Day (OTP) Closing Ceremony in Shanghai. Mr. Patrick Vandenhoeke, Chairman of Responsible Care Leading Group (RCLG), International Council of Chemical Association (ICCA), Mr. Ji Jianjun, Executive Vice Secretary of Responsible Care Working Committee, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation (CPCIF) and Mr. You Feifeng, Vice Chairman of Huafeng Group attended the Ceremony and were featured as guest speakers. At the grand ceremony, 37 AICM member companies signed or renewed their commitments in the RCGC, and contributed to a lively roundtable discussion on the topics of "Responsible Care Implementations in China" and "Chemistry shapes the Future". In his opening remarks, Jeff Zhu, Chairman of AICM, introduced the history of AICM and Responsible Care, and why AICM launched the signing again: "Responsible Care Beijing Manifesto was launched by AICM in 2008 and reiterated in 2014. Since then there have been many changes within the AICM membership and to breathe new life into our drive for widespread adoption of new requirements of the updated RCGC in the region, we have decided to have a new signing ceremony that will reiterate our commitment to the Responsible Care." This RCGC Local Signing is a milestone for AICM and multi-national chemical companies in China. Responsible Care is the global chemical industry's unifying commitment to the safe management of chemicals throughout their life cycle, while promoting their role in improving quality of life and contributing to sustainable development. As a signatory to the RCGC, the company will actively strengthen the Responsible Care initiative in China and is committed to: A Corporate Leaderhip Culture, Safeguarding People and the Environment, Strengthening Chemicals Management Systems, Influencing Business Partners, Engaging Stakeholders, and Contribution to Sustainability.



AICM has been the pioneer and leader of advancing Responsible Care in China. This is the 3rd RCGC Local Signing organized by AICM with support from ICCA in the past 10 years. Since 1988, AICM and its member companies have been taking the lead in introducing Responsible Care to China in collaboration with ICCA and CPCIF. AICM was granted as observer in the ICCA Responsible Care Leadership Group in 2010.

Responsible Care is also the core value of AICM. AICM communicates effectively with various stakeholders in the implementation of Responsible Care, and has received positive recognition and strong supports from relevant government departments, members, chemical parks, local and industrial associations, which has played a positive role in enhancing Chinese chemical industry's reputation and promoting sustainable development of the industry. As a key implementation of Responsible Care, since 2009, AICM has been organizing OTP campaigns with member companies. It is a very interactive and effective way to instill public trust of a sustainable chemical industry, to advocate information transparency, and to enhance communications with the public and neighborhood communities. In 2018, 28 member companies joined the AICM OTP campaign and opened over 40 sites throughout China in the theme of ''Green Architecture Inspired by Innovative Chemistry''. Air Liquide, Arkema, AkzoNobel, Allnex, Ashland, BASF, Cabot, Celanese, Clariant, Covestro, Dow, DSM, Eastman, Evonik, Henkel, Ingevity, Kemira, Linde, LANXESS, Mitsubishi, Merck, Methanex, PPG, SABIC, Solvay, Topsafe, Trinseo and WACKER showcased or will showcase their commitments as responsible chemical industry giant to the public, with well-designed public speeches, plant visits, on-site demonstrations and community engagements. "OTP is an important yearly project for AICM, and an integral part of the Responsible Care practice. AICM has been promoting it for years. It has established a communication channel between the industry and the public in a scientific and proactive manner, and to promote the development of a sustainable and respected chemical industry," said Jeff Zhu, Chairman of AICM. "OTP is a very proactive way to engage and show our best practices and safe operation environment to local communities and the public. We will continue to promote OTP to have the public better understand how chemical companies contribute to environmental protection and sustainability. Meanwhile, AICM will continue to share our progress with the public and deepen the cooperation with more stakeholders, shaping the future together," said Yoke Loon Lim, PRCC Sponsor Board Director of AICM. ABOUT AICM The Association of International Chemical Manufacturers (AICM) was founded in 1988 and represents nearly 70 major multinational companies across China's chemical industry. Its member's businesses cover R&D, manufacturing, sales, transportation, distribution and disposal of chemicals. AICM and its members share a common vision; to contribute to the sustainable development of a responsible chemical industry in China. AICM commits to promoting Responsible Care and other globally recognized chemical management principles among all stakeholders, by advocating cost-effective science and risk-based policies, to build up the chemical industry's contribution to the Chinese economy. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aicm-hosts-responsible-care-global-charter-local-signing-and-the-10th-open-to-public-day-closing-ceremony-300708258.html SOURCE AICM

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[September 06, 2018]

Contela co-develops 5G Small Cell with SK Telecom and ETRI

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Contela is selected to co-develop 5G Small Cell with SK Telecom and ETRI for 'Project of Intelligent 5G Small Cell Technology Development'. This joint project group aims to commercialize 5G Small Cells in the telecommunication networks. It is set to obtain essential patents on the international standard technology in Small Cell industry.

Contela will develop low-powered and compact 5G Small Cells which support 3.5GHz and 28GHz (5G frequencies) with its proprietary technologies. Contela has been recognized for its technology, successfully providing the world first LTE Small Cells to SK Telecom in Korea and exporting LTE Small Cells to Japan and the US.

SK Telecom, Korea's leading mobile network operator now rapidly heading towards 5G, will set requirements for 5G Small Cells based on the international standards for 5G and provide a test network for verification of 5G Small Cell equipent.







5G frequency has a very high frequency band with high propagation loss. Current technology makes it difficult for frequency of 28GHz band to pass a wall. It means that demand for Small Cell can be explosively increased to overcome the indoor shadow area.

Through this joint 5G Small Cell project, it is expected that Contela can minimize time-to-market and secure competitiveness in the 5G network equipment industry where foreign-made products are dominant. Contela will achieve Small Cell reference early and gain a competitive edge for domestic and global market share.

Jaewoong Chung, CTO of Contela, mentioned, "This project is a good opportunity to make use of SK Telecom and ETRI's high level of technology and Contela will keep developing products focusing on commercialization."

For more information:



Sun Park

TEL: +82-31-710-3212

Email: sales@contela.com

website: www.contela.com



View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/contela-co-develops-5g-small-cell-with-sk-telecom-and-etri-300707723.html

SOURCE Contela, Inc.
[September 06, 2018] The Paradigm Shift & Genaro Garcia Luna

MEXICO CITY, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- During the last years in Mexico, security companies have begun to proliferate that have been dedicated to preventing and solving the damages that the private sector has suffered as a consequence of the criminal incidence, as well as providing inputs that can be used by government agencies to the creation of efficient public policies. However, almost none offers among its services an integral analysis on the panorama of a certain entity or country like that offered by GLAC Consulting. GLAC Consulting is a company directed by Engineer Genaro Garcia Luna, creator of the AFI during the presidency of Vicente Fox (2000-2006) and former Secretary of Public Safety during the administration of Felipe Calderon (2006-2012). Based on his experience on the subject, Garcia Luna detected that it was necessary to design a tool that would allow the government sector to analyze the country or an entity with the greatest number of variables that affect its security, and in the case of the private sector, having detailed information would contribute in making decisions regarding potential investments. The aforementioned analyses incorporate the "GLAC Index," created by GLAC Consulting and calculated with its own algorithm as a method of assessing the level of "Secuity with Well-being" of a place or entity.



Until now, GLAC Consulting is the only one that has its own index, which makes its service offer unique in the market. Genaro Garcia Luna has already made presentations to private and public institutions and has demonstrated its scope in the periodicals published in El Heraldo and El Financiero, as well as with the publication of the book Seguridad con Bienestar (2018). In this work, which adds to the titles "Why 1,661 police corporations are not enough?" (2006) and "New Security Model for Mexico," (2012) Garcia Luna explains better what this concept consists of and through the study of several cases he disaggregates it in its various components. Among the cases analyzed is that of Mexico, where he explains that, in this country, the strengthening of the rule of law and the fight against crime has been neglected, which has resulted in a regression of security. Garcia Luna also emphasizes that this problem must be addressed in a planned and organized manner and that the strategies designed should remain in time beyond the conjunctures or partisan interests, which sounds promising but, will the political elites agree to this proposal? Only time will tell.

About GLAC Consulting: In addition to the GLAC Index, GLAC Consulting near Miami also offers complete solutions for security, technology, and risk analysis for the whole world. Under its director, Genaro Garcia Luna, GLAC Consulting is a risk analysis company that has the methods to help the world obtain better security. GLAC Consulting

(786) 272-6361

info@glacconsulting.com Related Links Contact Us Learn About Our Services View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-paradigm-shift--genaro-garcia-luna-300708260.html SOURCE GLAC Consulting

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[September 06, 2018] 2018 China Li-ion Battery E-News - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "China Li-ion Battery E-News" newsletter has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. China's Li-ion battery market polarised in April 2018 as the digital and mini powder cell market entered the traditional peak season while demands for vehicle power battery had not recovered yet. Domestic demands for small digital cells were large even after price hikes in March; while power battery producers suffered high energy density requirements of new subsidy policies, causing outmoded production lines being halted. Some industrial insiders commented that the transitional period of new policies were set to be 12 Feb. and 11 June, 2018 and only 70% of subsidies for alternative energy vehicles during this period would be distributed. Once this transition ends, high-quality batteries are estimated to be widely accepted and the polarisation of this industry will be even more obvious. Notably, after the successful launch of initial public offering of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. on 4 April, China's mainstream large-scale power bttery manufacturers have all been listed in the stock market.



Cathode materials: Domestic prices of ternary materials remained high but few transactions were made in April. Key enterprises kept selling products, while other companies did not see recovered downstream demands. Lithium carbonate prices were pulled down by low-end products. Although large-scale manufacturers tried to stabilise quotations, some small ones lowered their prices for sales production.

Domestic prices of ternary materials remained high but few transactions were made in April. Key enterprises kept selling products, while other companies did not see recovered downstream demands. Lithium carbonate prices were pulled down by low-end products. Although large-scale manufacturers tried to stabilise quotations, some small ones lowered their prices for sales production. Anode materials: April witnessed scarcely changed anode material prices and market. Since demands for power batteries were sluggish, downstream companies appealed for lower anode material prices. However, the prices were supported by high raw material costs and the shortfall of graphite. In this context, mainstream producers enjoyed balanced supply and demand, but small- and medium-sized companies were largely restricted by slack demands.

April witnessed scarcely changed anode material prices and market. Since demands for power batteries were sluggish, downstream companies appealed for lower anode material prices. However, the prices were supported by high raw material costs and the shortfall of graphite. In this context, mainstream producers enjoyed balanced supply and demand, but small- and medium-sized companies were largely restricted by slack demands. Electrolyte: Few trades were seen in the market and quotations of some companies declined in April. The prices of electrolyte kept decreasing due to falling lithium hexafluorophosphate prices and the depressed market.

Few trades were seen in the market and quotations of some companies declined in April. The prices of electrolyte kept decreasing due to falling lithium hexafluorophosphate prices and the depressed market. Separator: China's separator market was in depression as demands for vehicle power battery hardly recovered in spite of the prosperity in the digital and mini power cell markets. Separator manufacturers were pessimistic about future market. Companies Featured Camel Group Co. Ltd.

Chengtun Mining Group Co. Ltd.

Shaanxi J&R Optimum (News - Alert) Energy Co. Ltd.

Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd.

Inner Mongolia Yingxiang Carbon Co. Ltd. For more information about this newsletter visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/rsp97q/2018_china_liion?w=4

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005835/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Neumont College of Computer Science Commencement Address Congratulates Graduates and Looks to Tech Future in Utah and Beyond

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Neumont College of Computer Science honored graduates at the 2018 Commencement Ceremony on Friday, August 31 at The Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. John Knotwell, CEO and president of the Utah Technology Council, provided the keynote address. Neumont President Aaron Reed, Ed.D. also spoke briefly. Knotwell, a 12-year veteran in Utah's growing tech community spoke of the value of listening, sharing that, "true listening shows that you value those people around you. It shows that you are invested in them as people, and that you, as a colleague, coworker, boss, or friend, want them to succeed. And a world where we all wish one another success is the only way to find success ourselves. It's how we build each other up, how we build up our organizations, how we have faith in the future." Making a plug for Utah's/span> tech future as well, Knotwell shared, "We have over 6,500 tech firms in Utah. We are the fastest growing in the country, adding job after job after job to every listing site that has ever existed," noting that, "There will never be a moment where opportunity is not calling you. The only real impact that you can make, in your career or in your life, is your choice," and invited Neumont graduates to stay local.



"Make the choice to stay," he implored. "Make this community your home. Explore opportunities and the mountains. Invest your time here finding the balance that we all want in work and in life." After noting three key life lessons gleaned from his time in tech and higher education, Dr. Reed closed his remarks reminding graduates, "Today was the day you joined an elite tech workforce -- the one-and-a-half percent that are chiefly responsible for the future of America's economy and national security," referencing remarks earlier where he noted that while 30 percent of Americans have bachelors degrees, only 3 percent of all awarded degrees go to computer science, and only 1.5 percent of people in the United States work in computer science.

But "even more exclusively than that," Reed said, "remember that today is the day you joined a growing army of tech giants that are part of a family of Neumont alumni." Learn more at www.neumont.edu. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neumont-college-of-computer-science-commencement-address-congratulates-graduates-and-looks-to-tech-future-in-utah-and-beyond-300708319.html SOURCE Neumont College of Computer Science

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[September 06, 2018] G6 Hospitality announces enhanced team member safety initiatives

DALLAS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- G6 Hospitality LLC, the parent company of Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the United States and Canada, today announced a series of new and enhanced programs and policies to help ensure team member safety on property and across function areas. This autumn, the company will begin providing personal safety devices (PSDs) to all team members at its corporate owned and managed hotels, with the intent to have the devices in place by end of March 2019. All team members on duty will receive a PSD that emits a dual siren alarm with multiple means of activation. G6 Hospitality will be the first in the economy lodging sector to provide PSDs to its team members across all functions at its hotels. "People are the heart of this business and the single greatest asset to G6 Hospitality. That is why we are committed to the well-being, peace of mind and safety of our team members and guests, and we continue to take steps to improve that experience," said Rob Palleschi, CEO, G6 Hospitality. "We are proud to partner with the American Hotel & Lodging Association and other member brands in this important safety initiative. These PSDs will provide another layer of security for our team members, in addition to the other measures we have in place to ensure their safety, including written policies against harassment and violence in the workplace, multi-lingual training to help team members identify and report harassment and violene, and a confidential employee hotline."



Also this year, the company will introduce anti-human trafficking training to corporate, field and property team members. The company partnered with the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) and Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) to provide management team members important insights to help property team members better understand and combat the issue of human trafficking. Additionally, the company developed its own training for all property team members to understand how to effectively intervene and identify potential trafficking situations to protect each other, guests and the community. "With the new anti-trafficking training and personal safety devices, we are re-emphasizing our commitment to our team members and guests," said Palleschi. "We will continue to review and evolve our policies, procedures and brand standards and identify new and emerging practices and technologies to ensure that team member safety is always at the heart of our operations."

The company plans to provide guidance to its franchise community, in the form of brand standards, recommended policies and product sourcing support for the purchase and implementation of personal safety devices, with the intent that all franchisees will have them by the end of 2019. Today's announcement reflects the commitment made by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). Earlier today, the hotel industry association announced its 5-Star Promise, a pledge to provide hotel employees across the U.S. with personal safety devices and commit to enhanced policies, trainings and resources that together are aimed at preventing and responding to sexual harassment and assault. About G6 Hospitality LLC

G6 Hospitality LLC owns, operates, and franchises more than 1,450 economy lodging locations under the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the United States and Canada and the Hotel 6 brand in India. The company also has plans to franchise the Hotel 6 and Estudio 6 brands in Central America. Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, G6 Hospitality was recently recognized by Military Times as a "Best for Vets" employer. For more information please visit g6hospitality.com. Media Contacts:

Maggie Giddens

G6 Hospitality972-360-5651

giddens_maggie@g6hospitality.com Jacqi Richardson

Zeno Group for G6 Hospitality

214-865-7216

Motel6@zenogroup.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/g6-hospitality-announces-enhanced-team-member-safety-initiatives-300708211.html SOURCE G6 Hospitality LLC

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2018 India Telecoms Newsletter - ResearchAndMarkets.com

The "India Telecom Newsletter" newsletter has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The Indian government is committed to allowing private and foreign companies in all aspects of the telecom sector and has already issued guidelines for foreign investment.

Compared to China, India has a long history of open business practices, an established legal framework, a democratic society and uses English as a primary language in business. It has only been recently that major telecommunications manufacturers and service providers have entered the Indian market.

Don't be left behind! Keep up-to-date with the latest developments!

The India Telecom Newsletter, published every two weks, will help you stay abreast of this fast developing market.







Benefits of Subscribing to This Newsletter?

Provides information not available elsewhere

Timely information from sources in India

Provides an early warning of market opportunities and/or threats

Tracks market development on a regular basis

Saves time and money in trying to keep up to date

Provides a historical record for in-house research

Provides analyses of important decisions and developments affecting the market

Key Topics Covered

Contracts awarded

Tenders announced

Joint ventures

Policy and Regulation

Standards

Plans

Market opportunities

Strategies

Conferences

Publications

Government organizations

Technology

For more information about this newsletter visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/p8jhfd/2018_india?w=4

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005853/en/
[September 06, 2018] UTSA Expands Downtown Campus with a National Security Collaboration Center and Planned New School of Data Science

The University of Texas at San Antonio today announced it has received a $70 million commitment from The University of Texas System Board of Regents for construction of two new facilities at its Downtown Campus for a National Security Collaboration Center and a proposed School of Data Science. The funding, approved today by Regents and designated from the Permanent University Fund, significantly advances UTSA President Taylor Eighmy's vision of creating new academic and research initiatives that serve as economic catalysts for San Antonio and further position the city and university as global leaders in cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, and information management and technology. "The economic future and well-being of San Antonio is very much tied to big data, data sciences, information management and technology, and cybersecurity. By creating an ecosystem here that brings together the business strengths of our community and the research expertise of UTSA, we will establish San Antonio as the Silicon Valley-equivalent for data science, information management and cybersecurity," said Eighmy. "Establishing a School of Data Science and the National Security Collaboration Center in the heart of San Antonio's urban core will attract more critical mass to our community - more businesses, more investors, and more talent," added Eighmy. "I am extremely grateful to the Board of Regents for recognizing this tremendous potential for San Antonio and UTSA's key role in bringing this transformation to our region." According to a study conducted by Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) for the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, two-thirds of global cybersecurity employers said they did not have enough employees to address current threats. By 2022, it is estimated there will be a demand for an additional 1.8 million information security and technology professionals in the United States to keep critical information and intellectual property safe. The $33 million National Security Collaboration Center will comprise 80,000 square feet of innovation space, laboratories and research facilities and will serve as a hub for government, university and industry partners in the cybersecurity field. It will focus on forensics, visualization and analytics, network security, cyber training/workforce development, big data analytics and privacy, post-quantum cryptography, cyber physical systems and embedded security, security of the cloud, attack and threat modeling and mitigation, machine learning and artificial intelligence, platform and software integrity, and hardware integrity. Several prominent businesses including Parsons, Raytheon (News - Alert) , Booz Allen Hamilton, Noblis and Accenture have expressed their intentions to join the NSCC. UTSA has already established federal partnership agreements with the National Security Agency (News - Alert) , U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the U.S. Secret Service, 24th Air Forces Cyber and 25th Air Force. To further strengthen the ecosystem, the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboraory, Idaho National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories have all executed partnership agreements with UTSA to work within the NSCC.



"I believe the only way we can move at the speed of relevance in the 21st century is to collaborate and innovate more deeply between universities, government, and private companies in order to explore creative solutions. The model UTSA is creating will help the entire community move forward faster together to create economic opportunity and protect national security," said Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. When construction is completed, the $57 million School of Data Science building will comprise 138,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and research space. The initiative will place UTSA's 70-plus faculty members in cybersecurity, cloud computing, data and analytics, and artificial intelligence under one roof in the heart of the city, providing government, industry and community partners with access to UTSA's nationally recognized programs and talent.

The proposed School of Data Science will include UTSA's existing departments of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Statistics & Data Sciences, Information Systems and Cyber Security, and the UTSA Open Cloud Institute. These departments will be co-located in the new facility. At that time, UTSA will seek approval from both the Board of Regents and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to formally establish the school. UTSA will continue to offer bachelor's, master's, doctoral and certificate programs to expand the pipeline of highly trained professionals who protect government and business networks. Enrollment in these programs is expected to grow significantly after the new building is opened. "Serving our members in a rapidly changing digital marketplace requires employees who can outsmart cybercriminals and analyze complex data," USAA Chief Executive Officer Stuart Parker said. "The foresight, collaboration and innovation that UTSA is facilitating through these IT and cybersecurity initiatives will generate the skills we need for the future in our home city of San Antonio." Initial cost for the two facilities is estimated to be $90 million and UTSA intends to move swiftly to identify and pursue additional funding resources for the remainder of the construction. Specific locations for the two buildings on the Downtown Campus and construction schedules are being assessed as part of a larger planning process currently underway to achieve the full potential of the university's Main and Downtown campuses. That includes maximizing UTSA's downtown location and resources, and collaborating university-wide with business, community and civic leaders to bring a new era of education, job training and job creation to San Antonio. "This is exactly what we need to continue building a sustainable workforce pipeline for big data and information management companies here in San Antonio," said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. "Having a vibrant downtown campus with dedicated entities focused on data science and cyber security supports our targeted growth strategy in IT and cybersecurity to recruit and retain quality employers. This is an incredibly exciting development and will help us immeasurably." The UTSA Downtown Campus is also home to the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning, the UTSA College of Public Policy, and several programs in the UTSA College of Education and Human Development. About The University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a public urban serving university specializing in health, cybersecurity, energy, sustainability, and human and social development. With more than 31,000 students, it is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. UTSA advances knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. The university embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property-for Texas, the nation and the world. Learn more online, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram or on UTSA Today. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005887/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation Announces Common and Preferred Dividends for the Third Quarter 2018

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation (NYSE: CHMI) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.49 per share on the Company's common stock for the third quarter of 2018. The dividend will be payable in cash on October 30, 2018 to holders of the common stock of record as of the close of business on September 28, 2018. Additionally, Cherry Hill announced that its Board of Directors has declared a dividend of $0.5125 per share on the Company's 8.20% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock for the third quarter of 2018. The dividend will be payable in cash on October 15, 2018 to holders of the Series A Preferred Stock of record as of the close of business on September 28, 2018. About Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation Chery Hill Mortgage Investment Corporation is a real estate finance company that acquires, invests in and manages residential mortgage assets in the United States. For additional information, visit www.chmireit.com.



Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These forward looking statements are based upon the Company's present expectations, but these statements are not guaranteed to occur. For a description of factors that may cause the Company's actual results or performance to differ from its forward-looking statements, please review the information under the heading "Risk Factors" included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005699/en/

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Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP Announces Investigation on Behalf of Pretium Resources, Inc. Investors (PVG)

National Shareholder Rights Law Firm Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Pretium Resources, Inc. ("Pretium" or the "Company") (NYSE: PVG) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to partcipate.







The investigation concerns allegations that the Company has misled investors by artificially boosting Pretium's gold reserves in the Company's Brucejack gold mine. According to a report by Viceroy Research the Company's reserves are far smaller than projected to investors, and the Company's mining consultants have resigned due to the discrepancies between the actual reserves and stated reserves.

If you purchased Pretium securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Lesley Portnoy, Esquire, of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005946/en/
In May, Madigan and Emanuel announced a proposed court agreement that sets the stage for a federal judge to oversee reforms in the Chicago Police Department, a step in a process geared toward long-lasting change to Chicago policing. Those efforts were ignited by the controversial police shooting of Laquan McDonald, which resulted in weeks of street protests, accusations of a City Hall cover-up and a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found widespread problems in the department.
[September 06, 2018] Avolon Announces Pricing of US$1.0 Billion Senior Unsecured Notes Offering

Avolon Holdings Limited ("Avolon"), the international aircraft leasing company, announces the pricing of a private offering (the "Offering") by its wholly owned subsidiary, Avolon Holdings Funding Limited, of US$1.0 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.125% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "Notes"), at par. The Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Avolon and by certain of its subsidiaries. The Offering is expected to close on or about 17 September, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions. Avolon intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for general corporate purposes, which may include the future repayment of outstanding indebtedness. The Notes will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The Notes will be offered in the United States only to qualified institutional buyers under Rule 144A of the Securities Act and outside the United States under Regulation S of the Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securties, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.



About Avolon Headquartered in Ireland, with offices in the United States, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Avolon provides aircraft leasing and lease management services. Avolon is a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of Bohai Capital Holding Co., Ltd., a Chinese public company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SLE: 000415). Avolon is the world's third largest aircraft leasing business with an owned, managed and committed fleet of 890 aircraft, as of 30 June, 2018.

Website: www.avolon.aero

Twitter (News - Alert) : @avolon_aero Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements, beliefs or opinions, including statements with respect to Avolon's business, financial condition, results of operations and plans. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and all of which are based on our management's current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are sometimes identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expects," "may," "will," "could," "should," "shall," "risk," "intends," "estimates," "aims," "plans," "predicts," "continues," "assumes," "positioned" or "anticipates" or the negative thereof, other variations thereon or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements may and often do differ materially from actual results. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005978/en/

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[September 06, 2018] Marcus & Millichap Expands into Montreal by Acquiring McGill Commercial

Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, has announced the expansion of its Canadian presence with the acquisition of McGill Commercial, an independent regional commercial real estate investment sales firm. McGill Commercial, located in Montreal, will complement the firm's existing Canadian operations in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. The acquisition closed on August 31st. "McGill is an exciting acquisition for us as we continue to expand our platform in Canada to best serve our clients in Quebec. This transaction immediately establishes our presence in Montreal with top producers who share our philosophy of superior client service and culture," stated Hessam Nadji, president and CEO of Marcus & Millichap. "Acquiring McGill is illustrative of our ongoing efforts to actively deploy our capital and deepen our presence across key growth markets such as Canada. McGill is a well-established industry player with an ability to execute across all major product types. We are pleased to have them join the MMI team." McGill Commercial's tam specializes in investment sales and commercial real estate services in the greater Montreal region. Mickael Chaput and Michael Dermer, founders of McGill Commercial, along with investment professionals Naomi Faraj, Louis Hoppenheim and Phillipe Marcotte, will all join Marcus & Millichap in the company's Montreal office.



"We are very excited to join the Marcus & Millichap team and be part of the growth of the brand in Quebec. The platform will allow us to better serve our clients throughout Canada and the United States," stated Chaput. Dermer added, "Marcus & Millichap's platform is second to none; their resources, technology, culture of collaboration, and ability to access thousands of exclusive investment properties for sale across North America made it clear that this is the ideal opportunity for us to further grow our business." About Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI)

With over 1,800 investment sales and financing professionals located throughout the United States and Canada, Marcus & Millichap is a leading specialist in commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research and advisory services. Founded in 1971, the firm closed nearly 9,000 transactions in 2017 with a value of approximately $42.2 billion. Marcus & Millichap has perfected a powerful system for marketing properties that combines investment specialization, local market expertise, the industry's most comprehensive research, state-of-the-art technology, and relationships with the largest pool of qualified investors. To learn more, please visit: www.MarcusMillichap.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005979/en/

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[September 06, 2018] New Financing Contemplated for Schahin II Finance Company (SPV) Limited

Schahin II Finance Company (SPV) Limited (the "Company") announced today that a Practice Statement Letter has been issued by Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (solely in its capacity as Indenture Trustee (the "Indenture Trustee") for the 5.875% notes due 2022 (the "Existing Notes") issued by the Company) with respect to a Cayman scheme of arrangement (the "Cayman Scheme") of the Company. The purpose of the Cayman Scheme is to raise an additional $15 million of new capital through the issuance of a new series of notes (the "New Notes"). The New Notes will be available, subject to certain conditions, to holders of the Existing Notes on a pro rata basis. The New Notes will have a senior position above the Existing Notes in the payment waterfall. The rights of the Existing Notes will generally remain unchanged; however, voting under the indenture will require a majority of holders of each series of notes. Holders of Existing Notes that wish to obtain further information about the Scheme should contact Epiq, the SPV's Information Agent or FFS, the SPV's Cayman Islands agent, as detailed below. The material terms of the New Notes are: $15 million cash proceeds

18 month maturity

First priority in payment waterfall

7% OID

PIK interest f 8%

If the vessel is sold before the repayment of the New Notes, holder will receive the greater of the PIK interest and 22% of the net proceeds from the sale of the drillship Sertao (the " Vessel ") after payment of the New Notes and costs .

(the " ") after payment of the New Notes and costs Secured pari passu over the Vessel and transaction cash accounts



Steering Committee"). Such backstop parties will be paid a backstop fee of 3% of the $15 million investment, payable in New Notes. The investment in the New Notes will provide the Company with additional liquidity to continue to maintain the Vessel and weather the industry downturn, covering the 'warm stacking' of the vessel, insurance costs and other advisor fees, and is estimated to provide liquidity through the maturity date of the New Notes. Earlier in 2018, the Indenture Trustee, acting at the direction of a majority of holders of the Existing Notes, obtained an order for the appraisement and sale of the Vessel in the English Admiralty Court. A sealed tender auction was held, with bids due by June 12, 2018. The bids received were well below the auction reserve price and thus the auction did not result in a sale. The liquidity provided by the New Notes will allow the owner of the Vessel, Dleif Drilling, LLC ("Dleif") (which is a party to the Indenture) to, in consultation with the Steering Committee, market the Sertao for sale in an improved industry environment. Pareto Securities remains engaged as broker to Dleif and continues to actively market the rig to interested parties.

The Scheme is conditional on the requisite creditor approval, sanction by the Cayman Court, and being given effect by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court pursuant to a Chapter 15 proceeding to recognize the Cayman Scheme in the U.S. If the Scheme is not approved and the New Notes are not issued, there may not be sufficient liquidity to maintain the Vessel going forward, which would likely result in a loss of value to holders of the Existing Notes. For information on this press release, please contact Ben Hobden of Conyers Dill & Pearman, Cayman Islands legal counsel to the Issuer. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005980/en/

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Our favorite beer bloggers offer a nice look at a new local concoction that seems to have a bit more street cred than most . . . Take a look:
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - A woman has been taken into police custody after pointing a gun at members of law enforcement and barricading herself inside a home early Thursday morning. The incident started about 12:30 a.m. at a home in the 10700 block of Greenwood Road.
The American Royal's new home in Kansas City, Kan., has a slightly higher price tag, with the project's total cost now estimated at $200 million, up from $160 million when it was first proposed. "We think that's a safe range of where it's going to end up," American Royal Chairman Charlie Tetrick told the Kansas City Business Journal.
The Hipster Weekend List

Midwest Tea Festival & Other Weekend Possibilities The Paris of the Plains Cocktail Festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday. It's a mix (pun most certainly intended) of seminars, tastings and bartenders competing. It's a chance for you to nerd out on spirits, mixers or simply watch others make you well-balanced, interesting cocktails.

Grandview NEXTGEN Gunfire

2 teenagers injured in drive-by shooting, Grandview police say Robin Davis/KMBC SOURCE: Robin Davis/KMBC Two teenagers were wounded Thursday afternoon in a drive-by shooting, Grandview police said. Police were called at 12:30 p.m. to 129th Street and Booth Lane on a reported shooting. One victim was found with a wound to his foot at the Mid-Continent Public Library in the 12900 block of Booth Lane.

KCK Heist Busted Today

Suspect taken into custody after robbing bank in KCK KANSAS CITY, KS (KCTV) -- A bank robbery suspect was taken into custody by a retired KCKPD sergeant this morning, according to Police Chief Terry Zeigler. According to the FBI, the robbery happened on Thursday around 8:35 a.m. at the Bank of Labor at 756 Minnesota Ave.

Golden Ghetto Agreement

Overland Park council supports Santa Fe Commons Park upgrades | The Kansas City Star This summer's public forums on the future of Santa Fe Commons Park in downtown Overland Park generated one clear message from residents: Don't move the Farmers' Market to the park. But the question remained, how could the city upgrade the space that is downtown's central park and make it a more vibrant destination for residents, families and visitors?

Avoiding Future KCMO Junkies

Federal grant helps local programs expand youth drug addiction prevention KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The opioid crisis is a public health emergency, and there are local organizations working to combat it. "In the U.S. this last year in 2017 there were approximately 72,000 overdose deaths in our country and that includes people that have died from drug overdoses right here in our state," UMKC Senior Program Coordinator Dr. Debbie Richardson said.

Help Find Suspected KCK Creeper Car With These New Pix

KCK police seeking car connected to attempted kidnapping Kansas City, KS - Police are looking for a gray Chevy Malibu in connection to an attempted kidnapping on August 27th.The victim told police the driver is a black man in his 20s with an average build, short hair and wearing dark clothes.

Show-Me Weed Win???

Missouri governor believes voters may legalize medical marijuana in November The fight over medicinal marijuana in Missouri is heading to court. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says he believes voters may legalize medical marijuana in November. There are three questions on the November ballot related to legalizing marijuana for medical use. Two questions would amend the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana.

New Wheels Amid KCMO Giveaway

KC Program gifts kids, adults with new bicycles KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Whether they're broken or in need of some fine-tuning, when it comes to bicycles BikeWalkKC is ready to get to work. Through its Earn-A-Bike program, the advocacy group teaches both adults and children how to take care of and fix a bicycle with weekly projects.

Tell us thefor 15k TKC bonus points . . . Redeemable nowhere.And right now we're also checking some of the top KCMO news links . . . Take a look:And this is thefor right now . . .
In the immediate wake of the allegations, Lang resigned his deputy majority leader post in the Illinois House, where he has served since 1987. A Madigan spokesman did not say whether Lang would get the spot back. Lang is running for re-election in November and has no opponent.
Olathe candidate for Kansas house seat charged with felony | The Kansas City Star An Olathe man running for a seat in the Kansas House of Representatives was arrested Thursday on a charge of election fraud. Adam T. Thomas, who is the Republican candidate for the 26th District House seat, is charged in Johnson County District Court with election perjury.

Again, the vast majority of illegal aliens don't vote but this JoCo dude is now facing some serious consequences for his election gambit. Read more:
Kris Kobach's Terrible Horrible No-Good Very Fucked Day Kris Kobach, who is the World's Worst Trial Lawyer (Rudy Giuliani doesn't do trials any more), the Kansas secretary of state, and also Kansas's Republican nominee for governor, had a lousy long weekend. Friday, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered a grand jury investigation into a claim that Kobach deliberately avoided registering eligible voters in 2016.

Today he was. . . Meanwhile, satire outlets are important and they tell us more about American culture than MSM is allowed to say outright . . . And so, a recent roasting of a Sunflower State right-wing leader is exceptionally relevant and offers a glimpse of how the opposition might really regard the elected official.Read more:








Suspected KCMO Dumper On Spycam

Illegal trash dumping caught on camera in the KC Northland Breaking News Kansas City, MO - Another person has been caught on camera dumping trash and other items inside Kansas City. This time it's in the Northland. The man has been captured on camera dumping on three seperate occasions around 9500 N.

Drowsy KC Gun Charge

Man pleads guilty in Kansas City to illegal gun charge | The Kansas City Star A man found asleep in a running vehicle that was blocking traffic on a Kansas City street pleaded guilty to illegally possessing two firearms found inside the vehicle.

Help Solve KCMO Cold Case

Family, Kansas City police hoping for answers in 19-year-old's murder KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Its been three years since Devin Flemons was shot to death while he held a young child in his arms. Now, his family and police are hoping someone will come forward with information to put his killer behind bars.

Tech Crime Footage

Overland Park police search for suspects who stole from Micro Center 7 times OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Overland Park police are asking for help to identify suspects who targeted the Micro Center on Metcalf seven times within a month. Overland Park police said the suspects have stolen at least $10,000 worth of electronics, including two 3D printers.

Olathe Crime Conversation

Olathe police looking for 3 men accused of stealing merchandise from store OLATHE, KS (KCTV5) - The Olathe Police Department is requesting the public's help in locating three suspects accused of being involved in a theft and aggravated assault. Olathe police say they stole a shopping cart full of items from a store in the 14400 block of West 135th Street.

Urban Core Phone Fraud???

Photos: KCPD asking for help to identify suspect in phone store robbery The Kansas City Police Department is asking for help to identify a suspect wanted in connection with the armed robbery of a phone store. Police said the incident happened on August 11 around 11:19 a.m. at the Phone Shack in the 6300 block of Troost Avenue.

Importing KCMO Crime

Mexican nationals charged in $10M north Missouri marijuana grow Two Mexican nationals are facing federal charges as part of an investigation that discovered a nearly $10 million marijuana grow operation in Daviess County. Sergio Medina-Perez, also known as "Chapo," 44, and Miguel Pulido-Maldonado, also known as "Mona," 27, faced a federal judge Wednesday in Kansas City.

A look at the international hottie who stole our heart and some other seasonal topics . . .Closer to home, these local news links documenting alleged misdeeds power our midday . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Towards an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future

1.1 We, the Heads of State, Government and Delegations of the Peoples Republic of China and 53 African countries, and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), gathered in China on the 3rd and 4th of September for the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). Under the theme China and Africa: Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation and committed to the development of FOCAC and to deepening China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership, we adopted by consensus the Beijing Declaration  Toward an Even Stronger China-Africa Community with a Shared Future.

1.2 We extend warm congratulations to the Republic of the Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, and Burkina Faso on becoming new members of FOCAC following the Johannesburg Summit.

2. In a world of major development, transformation and adjustments, peace and development remain our common aspirations. Growing interconnection and inter-dependence among countries has made collaboration the only viable way to effectively address terrorism, conflicts, wealth gaps, poverty, climate change, land degradation, food insecurity, major communicable diseases, protectionism and other global challenges.

3.1 Recalling and fully endorsing the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and China-Africa community with a shared future, which has been articulated by leaders of China and Africa on both bilateral and multilateral occasions in recent years, we call on all countries to work in concert toward a community with a shared future for mankind, an open, inclusive, clean, and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity, and a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation, with a view to upholding and advancing world peace and development.

3.2 We believe that China and Africa are a community with a shared future. China is the largest developing country. Africa is the continent with the most developing countries. Sharing weal and woe, the Chinese and African peoples have forged a deep friendship rooted in our similar historical experiences, development tasks and political aspirations. We agree to strengthen collective dialogue, enhance traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation, and work together toward an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.

4.1 We applaud that, under the Belt and Road Initiative, the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits is observed; market principles and international norms are followed; openness, transparency, and win-win results are advocated and practiced; efforts are made to develop inclusive, accessible and reasonably priced infrastructure that delivers extensive benefits and are consistent with the national conditions and laws and regulations of related countries, with a view to promoting high-quality and sustainable development for all. The Belt and Road development responds to the call of the times and brings benefits to all peoples.

4.2 Africa, being part of the historical and natural extension of the Belt and Road, has been an important participant in this initiative. The cooperation between China and Africa under the Belt and Road Initiative will generate more resources and means, expand the market and space for African development, and broaden its development prospects. We agree to form a strong synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU), as well as the development strategies of African countries. The closer connectivity in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance and people-to-people ties, strengthened industrial capacity cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, and greater cooperation in the planning of African infrastructure and industrial development will lend new impetus to the win-win cooperation and common development between China and Africa.

4.3 African countries support China in hosting the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019. China welcomes African countries active participation in the Forum.

5.1 We applaud the role FOCAC has played over the past 18 years to promote China-Africa relations. The follow-up actions and the implementation of the outcomes of the Johannesburg Summit, including the ten cooperation plans and the pdf FOCAC Johannesburg Action Plan (2016-2018) (1.99 MB) , have produced fruitful results.

5.2 We recognize that the FOCAC mechanism is increasingly efficient and has become a leading player in international cooperation with Africa. We agree to uphold the existing mechanism and preserve its uniqueness and strengths to further advance China-Africa relations and cooperation in the new era. We also agree to make the Forum a major platform for China-Africa cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

6. China will continue to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with African countries in keeping with the principle of upholding justice while pursuing shared interests and the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, as proposed by H.E. President Xi Jinping. We are committed to working together to leverage our respective strengths, accommodating each others concerns, and developing and enriching the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to the benefit of the Chinese and African peoples.

7.1 China commends the African integration process, and pledges its continued support for Africas efforts in seeking strength through unity, accelerating integration, upholding peace and stability, and achieving even faster economic growth. China takes note of the encouraging progress achieved in these areas at the AU Summits in recent years.

7.2 We welcome Chinas stronger cooperation with the AU, its agencies and African regional economic organizations, and support the AUC in playing a constructive role in promoting China-Africa transnational and trans-regional cooperation. China welcomes a representational office of the AU in Beijing, and supports AU reform to enhance its capacity building and efficiency.

8. We agree to continue to give each other firm support in upholding territorial integrity, sovereignty, security and development interests. African members of FOCAC reaffirm their commitment to the one-China principle, and their support for Chinas reunification and Chinas efforts in resolving territorial and maritime disputes peacefully through friendly consultation and negotiation. China reaffirms its commitment, on the basis of the one-China principle, to growing friendship and cooperation with all African countries and sharing with them its development opportunities. China reiterates its firm commitment to the principle of non-interference in others internal affairs and supports African countries in independently exploring development paths suited to their national conditions.

9. China pledges to work with African countries to synergize development strategies and increase experience-sharing on governance, poverty reduction and development, particularly on rural socio-economic development, gender equality and women and youth empowerment. China supports African countries in working for development and rejuvenation and acting on Agenda 2063 and its first ten-year implementation plan, with a view to achieving independent and sustainable development.

10. We applaud the remarkable progress and positive results achieved by China and Africa in anti-corruption cooperation. We will continue to bear zero tolerance toward corruption and strengthen the institutions and mechanisms for anti-corruption cooperation. We welcome the launching of the African Anti-Corruption Year, and will take it as an opportunity to further enhance South-South cooperation and experience-sharing in a joint effort to fight corruption and promote integrity.

11. We commend the principle of common, intensive, green, safe and open development agreed by both sides to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation under the new circumstances, and applaud the fruitful China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, particularly the remarkable results of cooperation in such areas as trade, investment, financing and infrastructure. We believe that economic and trade cooperation remains the anchor and the propeller for China-Africa relations. China will continue to, in keeping with the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, help enhance Africas production capacity in the secondary and tertiary industries, and promote the transformation and upgrading of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation focusing on improving Africas internally driven growth that reduces reliance on export of raw materials. China will, as always, offer assistance and support to Africas development with no political strings attached. Africa reaffirms its commitment to sustainable, diversified and coordinated socio-economic development to ensure mutually beneficial outcomes.

12. We call on the international community to join efforts in promoting trade and investment for development and making economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. Faced with the current severe situation, we firmly uphold multilateralism and oppose all forms of unilateralism and protectionism, support a WTO-centered, rules-based multilateral trading regime that is transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive, and support the efforts for an open and inclusive world economy. We will work for the normal operation of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and continue to implement the outcomes of previous ministerial meetings. We resolve to enhance cooperation within such mechanisms as the G77+China, and take concrete actions to uphold the multilateral trading regime and support development across the world.

13.1 The African leaders welcome the major measures for further opening-up announced by H.E. President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2018, and commend the concrete and targeted efforts made by China in such areas as capacity building. They believe that such measures and efforts will benefit African countries and beyond, and that Chinas development has brought important opportunities and impetus to an open world economy. The African leaders welcome the first China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai in November, 2018 and would like to take an active part in it.

13.2 China commends the important outcomes of the African Union Extraordinary Summit, held in Kigali, Rwanda in March 2018, on the African Continental Free Trade Area, and welcomes the launching of the Single African Air Transport Market and the decisions supporting the free movement of people and goods. China supports early progress in developing African Continental Free Trade Area and the Single African Air Transport Market. China will strengthen cooperation with Africa in trade and investment facilitation, and step up related policy communication, information sharing and capacity building. China supports African countries in enhancing connectivity, infrastructure development and industrialization. China encourages companies from both sides to explore more ways of mutually beneficial cooperation based on the law of the market.

13.3 Africa appreciates the support that China has rendered to its railway development, particularly the related goals set forth by the AU Agenda 2063, and welcomes China as a strategic partner in its railway development. Africa welcomes more investment from China in its tourism industry and looks to further expand China-Africa aviation cooperation.

14. We welcome the G20 Initiative on Supporting Industrialization in Africa and Least Developed Countries and urge developed countries to honor their official development assistance commitments to developing countries, especially those in Africa, on time and in full, and to provide more support in terms of funding, technology and capacity building for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

15. We call on all countries to respect the diversity of civilizations and stress that people-to-people and cultural exchanges are of great significance for increasing mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between the Chinese and African peoples. We encourage further exchanges, mutual learning, and cooperation in culture, education, science, technology, sports, health, tourism, media and at sub-national levels, to further consolidate the public support for China-Africa relations.

16.1 We underscore the importance of advocating common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. We commit ourselves to addressing disputes and differences through dialogue and consultation, making coordinated efforts to deal with both traditional and non-traditional security threats and opposing terrorism in whatever form, for whatever cause, and wherever it occurs.

16.2 China firmly supports African countries and regional organizations such as the AU in their efforts to independently resolve African problems in the African way. China supports the building of the African Standby Force and the African Capacity for the Immediate Response to Crisis, and other active measures by regional countries in countering terrorist threats. China supports predictable and sustainable UN funding for Africas independent peace operations and the initiative to Silence the Guns in Africa by Year 2020. In light of the need of Africa, China will continue to play a constructive role in providing good offices and mediation of African hotspot issues. We welcome closer communication and coordination between China and Africa in the UN Security Council. We will enhance coordination and cooperation on affairs related to African peace and security to uphold our common interests through the meetings and consultations between China and Africas non-permanent members of the Security Council. We welcome closer cooperation between China and the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) through meetings and consultations, as it serves our common interests.

16.3 We note the serious challenges of displacement and migration in Africa, and the efforts by the African Union, sub-regional organizations and African countries in addressing the issues within the framework of Agenda 2063 and through other related channels. China and Africa will discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in such areas as humanitarian response, early warning, climate change, drought and desertification and disaster management and response.

17. We emphasize the importance of upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and supporting the active role of the UN in international affairs. We advocate mutual respect and equal consultation, firmly reject Cold-War mentality and power politics, and embrace the new approach to state-to-state relations that favors dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance. We follow the principle of achieving shared benefits through consultation and collaboration in global governance, advocate multilateralism and democracy in international relations, and believe that all countries are equal, irrespective of their size, strength or wealth. We oppose interference in others internal affairs and arbitrary use or threat of force in international affairs, and reaffirm the need to deepen mutual understanding and enhance coordination and collaboration with each other at the UN and other fora.

18. We call for necessary reforms of the UN including its Security Council to better fulfill their responsibilities prescribed in the UN Charter and enhance the UNs capacity to deal with global threats and challenges and strengthen global governance. We emphasize that the historical injustice endured by African countries should be corrected, that priority should be given to increasing the representation of African countries at the UN Security Council and other agencies, and that concerted efforts should be made to steer the reform of the international governance system toward better serving the common interests of developing countries. China will enhance communication and coordination with Africas non-permanent members of the Security Council to jointly uphold the common interests of the two sides and developing countries as a whole. We also call for reforms of international financial institutions including the Bretton Woods institutions.

19.1 We call for the conclusion of the work program under the Paris Agreement by the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 24) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to jointly tackling climate change in accordance with the Marrakech Action Proclamation for Our Climate and Sustainable Development adopted at COP22 of the UNFCCC. We are determined to take environment-friendly approaches, work together to respond to climate change, protect marine biodiversity, strengthen marine research, develop blue economy, and foster a global ecosystem for green development to protect our common home for human survival and create an environment conducive to the development of small island countries. We call on developed countries to honor their commitments at an early date and to support African countries with funding, technology transfer and capacity building to deal with climate change and protect the environment.

19.2 China speaks highly of Africas efforts in protecting wildlife, takes note of the challenges confronting Africa, and will work with Africa to fight illegal trade in wildlife and provide necessary support in this field.

20. We congratulate South Africa on successfully hosting the 10th BRICS Summit and the BRICS Outreach which is comprised of the BRICS Plus Initiative and the BRICS Leaders-Africa Outreach Dialogue Forum. The Leaders applaud the outcome documents and measures adopted at the BRICS Summit as being fruitful and laying a solid foundation for the second Golden Decade of BRICS Cooperation. The Summit will strengthen collaboration among countries concerned and help them benefit from the fourth industrial revolution.

21. We commend the Ministers participating in the seventh FOCAC Ministerial Conference for their dedicated efforts and outstanding work in formulating the Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in the spirit of this Declaration. With the Action Plan adopted, both sides will now work closely for its timely and full implementation.

22.1 We express gratitude to H.E. President Xi Jinping of the Peoples Republic of China and H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa for co-chairing the 2018 Beijing Summit of FOCAC.

22.2 We express gratitude to South Africa for the contribution it has made to FOCACs development and China-Africa relations during its co-chairmanship from 2012 to 2018.

23. We express gratitude to the government and people of the Peoples Republic of China for the warm hospitality and excellent facilitation during the 2018 Beijing Summit of FOCAC.

24. We welcome the Republic of Senegal as the next co-chair of FOCAC. The Eighth FOCAC Ministerial Conference will be held in the Republic of Senegal in 2021.
Ethiopia and Rwanda are emerging as models for pairing political will with government action to transform small, family farms into poverty-fighting powerhouses

Most African countries are struggling to follow the lead of Asian countries in using agriculture to spark widespread economic growth because they have yet to marshal strong political support for agriculture  and then pair it with compelling visions, strategies and related implementation capacity for transforming their poorly performing farms, according to a major new study released on Wednesday by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

Our experience and lessons have shown that impact can be achieved faster by supporting countries to deliver on their own transformation; driving scale through a well-planned and coordinated approach to resources in the public domain to build systems and institutions, said AGRA President Dr. Agnes Kalibata, commenting on the 2018 African Agriculture Status Report (AASR).

Governments are definitely central to driving an inclusive agriculture transformation agenda. This body of work recognizes their role and aims to highlight the value of strengthening country planning, coordination and implementation capacity while supporting the development of an effective private sector and enabling regulatory environment.

The report, Catalyzing State Capacity to Drive Agriculture Transformation, is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the role of state capacity and political will in achieving that transformation, a catch-all term for work required to boost production and incomes on the millions of small, family farms that grow most of Africas food  but where output often lags far below global averages.

The assessment was released on the opening day of this weeks African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Kigali, a meeting that is attracting influential leaders from across the continent and around the world who are eager to see farming and food production take center stage in African economic development efforts. The events theme  Lead, Measure, Grow  is spotlighting the importance of political leadership and accountability in delivering on the economic promise of agriculture.

The 2018 AASR notes that if one looks at countries like China or South Korea or, closer to home, at Ethiopia, Rwanda or Morocco, its clear that intensifying commercial production on small, family farms packs a powerful economic punch.

For example, Chinas agriculture transformation is credited with kick-starting a rapid decline in rural poverty, from 53 percent in 1981 to 8 percent in 2001. The same is true for Vietnam, where rural poverty declined from 56 percent in 1986 to percent in 2018. In Ethiopia, 25 years of steady growth in the farm sector has cut rural poverty rates in half and in Rwanda, over the same period, poverty has reduced by 25 percent.

The AASR finds that a consistent feature in each of these success stories is rock solid political support  led by heads of state, senior government ministers, private sector leaders and farmer organizations  for the institutions, investments and policies that can unleash the economic potential of smallholder agriculture and local agribusinesses.

Equally important: the report finds political capital is typically invested in a detailed plan of action that is carried out by a strong cadre of skilled professionals. And not just from the agriculture sector. The report notes that successful agriculture transformation is a national agenda that involves significant contributions from other sectors, including finance, transportation, environment, energy and water. Together, they implement policies that create fertile ground for cultivating a new crop of local agriculture businesses.

But the AASR assessment reveals that this vital constellation of political energy, targeted policy reforms, government capacity and an enabling environment for agribusiness is precisely what is missing from the agriculture sector of many African countries.

It examined data from other independent research  such as those that compare government taxation of farm inputs to support the sector or that monitor public spending on agriculture including research and extension services  and noted that stronger policies and regulatory reforms are central in attracting private sector investments.

They all pointed to the same conclusion: that the government and state is key to leading and driving agriculture transformation. Otherwise, the report notes, the pace of development will never grow economies the same way it did in Asia.

Existing data suggest that the political will to support agriculture transformation is likely lower in Africa than in other regions of the developing world, the report states, adding that it has not substantially increased during the past decade.

Below is a list of seven key recommendations to African governments that could help unleash the potential of African farmers and agribusinesses.

The tide may be turning: Signs of commitment to progress

The report finds key exceptions that can help blaze a path for other African countries to follow. In addition to Ethiopia, Rwanda is cited for marshalling political support for agriculture and then integrating detailed action plans within its broader economic development strategies. Progress in the sector is credited with lifting over one million Rwandans out of extreme poverty in a relatively short period.

Economic output in Ghanas agriculture sector  driven in part by the governments new Planting for Food and Jobs program  grew 8.4 percent in 2017 (after posting only 3 percent growth in 2016). Similarly, AGRA experts point to countries such as Kenya, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Zambia as places where political momentum and government capabilities are growing.

Others also see reason for optimism in the increasing willingness of African governments to openly discuss where they are advancing in agriculture and where they are struggling. For example, 47 countries have signed on to the African Unions Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP). And they recently submitted detailed reports outlining their progress to date in achieving a range of commitments made through the AUs Maputo and Malabo accords. The report, dubbed the pdf Biennial Review of the Malabo Declaration (4.18 MB) , re-enforced the link between government action on agriculture and reductions in poverty, with Rwanda posting the highest agriculture transformation score.

With farmers poised for progress, report reveals a way forward

Another bright point in the report is the growing number of smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa who have moved beyond subsistence farming to become commercial growers. The report finds that 85 percent of Africas food is currently produced by smallholder farming households that generate a big enough surplus to sell 30 percent or more of their harvests for income.

That means governments that are ready to step up their commitment to agriculture transformation likely have a core group of smallholder farmers who have the means and motivation to adopt new crop varieties and better farming practices, said Boaz Keizire, AGRAs Head of Policy and Advocacy. And when their wealth increases, so does the wealth of their neighbors as these farmers tend to spend most of what they earn in their local communities.

The report notes that it is the increased spending of small commercial farmers in rural communities that accounts for the powerful economic domino effect numerous studies have linked to agriculture growth in low-income countries. The World Bank concludes that growth in the agriculture sector is at least twice as effective at reducing poverty as growth in any other sector.

We hope people will be coming to this years AGRF ready to build the coalitions that can take advantage of the unique power of agriculture as the surest path to growing economies and jobs, said Dr. Kalibata.

Seven key recommendations for African governments to unleash the potential of agriculture

The AASR offers a detailed exploration of the different levers governments must pull to unleash the potential of their smallholder farmers to deliver both food security and economic growth. They include:

Communicate a clear and convincing vision of agricultures potential. The report finds that the work starts with political leaders who can make a compelling case that boosting productivity and incomes on smallholder farms can rapidly deliver food security and equitable economic development, all the while  putting the country on a path to industrialization. Leaders in Ethiopia and Rwanda were credited with building a broad coalition of public and private sector support for farmers, along with donors and international aid institutions. The report also notes the importance of ensuring professionals or technocrats across government understand their roles in the transformation process and are ready to be held accountable for their performance. Approach agriculture as a long-term relationship, not a brief affair. Like a good marriage, the report finds political will to support agriculture involves not just the readiness to embrace its potential, but also the ability to maintain a steadfast commitment for the long-term  and in the face of multiple challenges. For governments, the report observes that these challenges inevitably will include poor civil service salaries and limited funding for operational expenses that require fortitude to resolve. Headaches can involve a range of issues, like a backlog of seed certifications, funding from donors that goes unspent, land disputes that remain unsettled and poorly administered subsidy payments. The report notes that the inability to maintain an ardor for agriculture may explain why the success of past efforts in the region, like the hybrid maize revolution of the 1980s that was supposed to dramatically boost maize production or the cassava transformation promised for Western and Southern Africa, were often not maintained over time. Link policies and investments to clear commercial opportunities for smallholder farmers. The report finds that agriculture investments achieve their best results when they are attached to specific agriculture value chains  a reference to all of the links involved in boosting production of an agriculture commodity and moving it from farm to fork. For example, maize is a commodity increasingly in demand in East and Southern Africa in part because government policies and investments have supported multiple areas  including research, extension services, land rights, financing, storage and trade pacts  with a focus on how they can work in concert to help boost production and sales of maize. Elsewhere in Africa, similar government efforts are focused on coordinating a suite of activities around commercial value chains for rice, cassava, coca, potato and livestock products. The report notes that evidence from other countries indicates that the most effective agriculture transformation efforts concentrate on three or four commodities where smallholders can be the lead producers and where there is an opportunity to add value to the produce at it moves along the value chain, like processing maize into flour or even cassava into beer. Foster an enabling business environment for agriculture. The report finds that most countries in sub-Saharan Africa lagged behind those in East Asia and Latin America in the World Banks 2017 enabling the business of agriculture or EBA score. That assessment looks at investments, policies and regulatory practices that can affect production and availability of things like improved seeds, fertilizer, farm machinery, and financing and impede or facilitate access to commercial markets. A survey of agriculture businesses in 11 African countries revealed a number of actions governments can take to attract more private sector investments. They include policies that encourage financing for agriculture-focused start-ups; better oversight of seed and fertilizer markets, where quality concerns and counterfeit products remain a problem; land reforms, particularly those that address challenges affecting women farmers; and increased investments in roads, power grids, irrigation and digital infrastructure serving farming communities. Create farmer-focused institutions and initiatives empowered to work across government. The study laments aid policies of the 1980s and 1990s that promoted austerity in government spending and led to significant reductions in public sector extension services and research programs that continue to be felt today. In looking for approaches to jump start the agriculture transformation process, the report advises governments to look to Ethiopia and its decision in 2010 to set up its Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). The independent agency has the political clout to move quickly to address anything impeding progress in the agriculture sector. Rwanda is lauded for its comprehensive Crop Intensification Program and for a willingness to experiment with different approaches to supporting farmers and revisit whats not working. The report recommends that when creating an agriculture transformation coordinating body, make sure it maintains authority by reporting to the head of state. Team agriculture needs to expand its roster of players. The report emphasizes that success on the farm requires assistance far beyond the agriculture sector. For example, it requires reliable access to electrical power, roads, water, and ports and strong trade pacts. Almost all of the work to make this happen occurs outside of the agriculture ministry, pointing to the need for efforts that ensure everyone in government is prepared to play for team agriculture. The report points to examples where countries have created the necessary structures for this type of collaboration but neglected to secure the political support and operational budgets required to make them work. And it finds this aspect of the agriculture transformation process, perhaps more than any other, is where political support at the Presidential or Prime Minister level is critical. Governments need to be accountable. The report takes a close look at the AU Biennial Review process for gauging governments progress toward meeting their CAADP commitments, which include increased spending on agriculture, boosting regional trade in agriculture commodities and helping farmers adapt to climate change. According to the review, there are currently 20 countries (out of 47) that are on track to achieve their commitments by 2025. The AASR notes that the Biennial Review could benefit from improving the consistency and quality of agriculture-related data and measures that can boost confidence in a system pegged to self-assessments. But overall, it lauds the reports as a significant advance toward transparency.

It is a huge plus for African development, the report concludes, and a prime example of national and international cooperation.
It will target people who traditionally vote Democrat but often do not have the same ballot access as others. These groups include transient workers, college students and people of color, Mitchell said. There could not be a more important time to make these investments as the face of our party rapidly changes.
HAMILTON  Democratic powerbrokers have appointed community banker Nina D. Melker of Hamilton as the newest Mercer County freeholder.

The partys committeemen and committeewomen on Wednesday appointed Melker to serve in the seat vacated by former Mercer County freeholder Anthony Verrelli, who resigned last month to begin serving as a New Jersey assemblyman.

Thank you! Melker said in a brief victory speech at the Stone Terrace banquet hall in Hamilton Township about 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Mercer County as of July had 429 Democratic committee members who were elected in the primary election and more than 300 of them attended Wednesdays convention to appoint a new freeholder. Committee members have general duties to promote voter registration, but these low-key party players morph into kingmakers whenever an officeholder vacancy occurs.

Seven candidates competed against one another for the appointment Wednesday. Nine candidates originally announced their interest in Verrellis vacant freeholder seat, but Tennille McCoy of Hamilton and Ewing Councilwoman Jennifer Keyes-Maloney abandoned their campaigns prior to Wednesdays convention, apparently backing out due to a conflict with their full-time state jobs.

McCoy is the newly hired assistant commissioner of human capital strategies at the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and Keyes-Maloney works in the state Treasurers Office as director of legislative affairs and constituent relations.

Josh Welle, the Democratic candidate challenging Republican Congressman Chris Smith of Hamilton in the 2018 midterms, made an appearance at Wednesdays convention, telling his fellow Democrats that change is coming.

The seven Democratic candidates at Wednesdays convention were New Jersey corrections officer Lance Lopez of Lawrence, Joseph Zalescik of Hamilton, Nina D. Melker of Hamilton, Lawrence Councilman Michael Powers, former West Windsor councilman Kamal Khanna, Sasa Olessi Montano of Trenton and Roberto Hernandez of Trenton.

Zalescik, Khanna and Hernandez got eliminated in the first round of voting for garnering the least support. Then Powers and Montano got eliminated in round two, setting off a showdown between Lopez and Melker.

Lopez, a senior correctional police officer with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, in a convention floor speech talked about his love of Mercer County, saying the residents of Mercer County deserve more. He talked about making the schools safer and bolstering Trentons economy. I am running because I love Mercer County, he said. I am all in because of my love of Mercer County people.

Melker is a community banker who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Hamilton Council in 2013. In a convention floor speech, she touted her background and community service and asked committee members to vote for her, saying she has the financial expertise to analyze budgets and deep experience in fundraising.

In the end, Melker emerged victorious.

The Democratic Party had the privilege of appointing Verrellis successor because he resigned from the freeholder board as a registered Democrat. The Democratic committeemen and committeewomen of Mercer and Hunterdon counties appointed Verrelli in July to serve in the New Jersey General Assembly seat recently vacated by Reed Gusciora, who resigned from state office earlier this summer to begin serving as Trentons newly elected mayor.

New Jersey has a strict ban on dual-officeholding, which is why Gusciora had to resign from the Assembly before getting sworn in as Trentons mayor and why Verrelli had to resign from the freeholder board before getting sworn in as an assemblyman.

Under New Jersey state law, a freeholder board vacancy shall be filled at the general election next succeeding the happening thereof, unless such vacancy shall happen within 70 days next preceding such election, in which case it shall be filled at the second succeeding general election.

Verrelli vacated his freeholder seat more than 90 days before the Nov. 6 general election. Voters will therefore have the opportunity to rightfully elect Verrellis successor this fall, and Republican and third-party candidates may run in that special election. The winner of that election will serve for the remainder of Verrellis term, which expires Dec. 31, 2019.

The Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders for years has been governed exclusively by Democrats who have reliably supported Democratic Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes agenda.

The freeholder board is the legislative body of county government that controls taxes and spending. Mercer County freeholders serve three-year terms and get paid about $30,000 per year for their part-time service.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 6

The project of the Municipal Corporation to replace street lights with LED lights in the city has been hanging fire. Now, it will be looked after by officials of the Smart City project.

The MC had decided to replace the street lights a few years ago. Under the project, around 3,700 street lights were replaced with LED lights in the city.

There are around 66,000 street lights in the city. Earlier, the Amritsar Improvement Trust had also installed LED lights in the North Assembly constituency.

Recently, the city made it to the list of Smart Cities and the work was handed over to Smart City project officials. The authorities are yet to hire a company to install LED lights.

According to experts, LED lights would decrease consumption of power. Officials of the MCs street light wing said the civic body would save 50 per cent power with the installation of LED lights.

On Wednesday, Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu held a meeting with officials of the street light wing and instructed the officials to work efficiently.

Parduman Singh, Superintending Engineer (street lights), said, We were replacing the street lights with LED in the city. Around 3,700 lights were replaced. Now, it is under the Smart City project.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 5

Conscious of the apparent rural backlash ahead of the three state Assembly polls and the General Election, the government on Wednesday relaunched the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) with enhanced incentives. It made the worlds largest financial inclusion scheme, launched in August 2014, an open-ended scheme.

Briefing the media after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, keeping in mind the success of the scheme under which so far 32.41 crore accounts have been opened, the government has decided to extend the programme with the open-ended time frame.

At present, as the scheme was for four years (ended on August 28), only households were targeted to open accounts. But now, the individuals will be targeted with enhanced incentives, the minister said, adding that the age limit for availing of overdraft, which has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, has been revised from 18-60 years to 18-65 years.

Noting that 53 per cent account holders are women and 59 per cent belong to rural areas, Jaitley said, We now want to implement the scheme with much vigour. He also said, More than 7.5 crore such accounts are receiving Direct Benefit Transfer and nearly 13.6 crore Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) transactions have taken place through banking correspondents in July this year only.

For about past one-and-a-half years, the government has been facing many farmers protest with election-bound Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been witnessing major peasants' turmoil. With this (repackaged scheme), we will now have re-enforced vigour to connect with the masses. Party workers will assist the underprivileged to avail of benefits of the financial inclusion scheme, a senior BJP leader said.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6

The Students for Society (SFS), a leftist organisation not affiliated to a political party, won the presidents post in the Panjab University students council on Thursday by a margin of 719 votes.

Kanupriya (22), an MSc 2nd year student from Zoology Department, won the post and thus becomes the first woman to be elected to the presidents post.

She hails from Patti town in Punjab. Her mother is a nurse, while her father is in a private job.

The SFS polled 2802 votes while the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) came second with 2083 votes. Students Organisation of India (SOI) got 1997 votes. The National Students Union of India (NSUI) got 1583 votes while 209 votes went to NOTA.

Daler Singh of ISA (SOI alliance) won the vice presidents post, Amarinder Singh of INSO (SOI alliance) won the secretarys post and Vipul Atray of the NSUI won the joint secretarys post.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 5

Amid a controversy over alleged favouritism of the Panjab University (PU) authorities towards the ABVP, 15,281 students will elect four office-bearers  president, vice-president, secretary and joint secretary  of the campus students council on Thursday.

There are 21 candidates in the fray this year. Last year, the number of contestants was 27. There are four women candidates, among whom only one is in the race for the post of president. Two women candidates are vying for the post of vice-president. Last year, there were nine women candidates. This year, there are six presidential candidates, down from nine last year.

The Dean, Students Welfare, Prof Emanual Nahar, said, Ballot boxes have reached the university departments. Our staff will arrive at 7 am. After that, ballot papers will be sent to the departments. He said if a student didnt have an identity card, the chairperson of the department could decide about the identity of the student.

At the counting centre in the gymnasium hall, all wardens, some former wardens and members of the supervisory committee would be present, he said.

The contest

NSUI: The student wing of the Congress is fighting alone this year. It had four factions last year.

SFS: The biggest Left outfit on the campus is contesting the presidents post.

SOI: It is the students wing of the SAD and leading an alliance of the Indian Students Association (ISA), Indian National Students Organisation (INSO), which is the students wing of the INLD, and the Himachal Students Union (HIMSU). SOI is contesting the post of president, while the ISA is contesting the vice-presidents post. INSO has fielded a candidate for the secretarys post and HIMSU is trying its luck for the post of joint secretary.

ABVP: The students wing of the BJP is fighting in alliance with the Students for Panjab University (SFPU). The ABVP has fielded its candidate for the presidents post, while the SFPU is contesting the remaining three seats.

PUSU: It has an alliance with the Himachal Pradesh Students Union (HPSU). PUSU is contesting the post of president, while candidates for the posts of joint secretary and secretary have been fielded by the HPSU.

Punjab Students Union (Lalkaar): Another Left party, it is contesting the top post.

Law Students Union (LSU) and the Panjab University Helping Hand (PUHH) have fielded candidates for the vice-presidents post only.

Votes polled

2017 62%

62% 2016 67.7%

67.7% 2015 56.5%

56.5% 2014 59%

Winners of top post in past years

2017 NSUI alliance

NSUI alliance 2016 PUSU alliance

PUSU alliance 2015 SOI alliance

SOI alliance 2014 NSUI alliance

NSUI alliance 2013 NSUI alliance

NSUI alliance 2012 SOPU alliance

SOPU alliance 2011 SOPU alliance

SOPU alliance 2010 PUSU alliance

Instructions for students

Entry of students to departments will start at 9 am. The roll call will take place at 9.30 am

Entry of students will be allowed only till 10 am

All students have been advised to carry their identity cards

Entry will be allowed from all gates, except PU Dental College Gate, Sector 25

Game-changers

UIET 2,451 (votes)

2,451 (votes) UILS 1,345

1,345 Department of Laws 1,050

1,050 UICET 739

15,281Total votes

21 Total candidates

13 Total parties

Women candidates 4

DRs to be elected 123

Polling booths 162



Voting starts: 10 am Voting to end: 11 am

Counting of votes: 1 pm Results expected: Before 8 pm
PPS Gill

PPS Gill

Former Information Commissioner

There are whispers in the air of stirrings of a series of reform movements in Punjab, away from media gaze. Anonymous Punjab-sympathisers have formed small non-partisan think-tanks/ groups to create awareness on an assortment of public interest issues. The focus is on government system failures, human rights, civil liberties, social taboos, fallacies, incantations to expose self-professed 'demi-gods', motivating people to come out of the shell of obscurantism.

The movements aim to encourage farmers to adopt organic farming and give up farm chemicals (due to toxic effects); wean people away from drugs/alcohol, and to oppose the opening of liquor shops in villages. It is an irony that the number of primary schools and liquor shops in the state is almost same - close to 13,000.

The campaigns centre around how to 'resurrect' Punjab, precariously perched on the precipice of the abyss of a fragile political economy, and build a people's movement. The building blocks of these groups are senior citizens, retired personnel from different professions and a sprinkling of youth. Women are actively involved in the programmes. These volunteers are worried about the fate/future of their children and Punjab.

For accomplishing their missions, across villages and towns, these groups are crafting an orchestrated campaign for: 'simple' marriage/cremation ceremonies; 'clean culture'; avoiding of 'debt-trap' for 'tension-free' life. An added dimension aimed at the youth is to caution them against money-guzzling immigration 'wheelers-dealers'.

To convey their messages, non-partisan activists often quote from a small handbook brought out by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, which stresses on 'simple life' and 'clean culture'. Its text, sum and substance fuel campaign themes, urging people to give up ostentatious spending on social events.

People's concerns are articulated in their own idiom/language using the medium of folk tales, folklore, motivational songs and slogans. Across decades, individuals have made efforts to resurrect Punjab. The attempt now is for 'collective efforts'. They visualise what Punjab of tomorrow would be like, once the 'collective efforts' pay off and the 'Sarkar' spring-cleans its systems.

The focus is on how to make people's voice heard in the corridors of power, and unshackle ordinary people from the stranglehold of cults, 'isms and schisms'.

Undoubtedly, these groups are struggling to organise campaigns and spread their canvas of work, despite monetary constraints. Yet, volunteers are optimistic and disinclined to align with any party.

A common denominator is visible from the discussion-menu. Time is spent on people's perceptions on issues of daily concerns: agriculture to administration; green revolution to governance; government's loss of credibility to trust-deficit; economic to financial stress; class to caste conflicts; competitive politics and religiosity to politics of self-aggrandisement; rural chaos to urban disquiet; infrastructure to industry; human resource development to health; education to unemployment and seeking solutions/answers

Corruption irritates people, fragile political economy worries them. On the latter, they say that there is an intractable bond between politics and business.

A change of the Sarkari' mindset is as necessary as financial prudence is imperative. People know how state instrumentalities have fattened on taxpayers' money sans any performance audit. To save Punjab, the need is not just of 'intellectual activism', but also involvement of 'barefoot' politicians/bureaucrats.

The think-tanks are sowing seeds of 'rainbow reforms' by making people aware of their rights and responsibilities; by starting people-oriented welfare schemes for their emancipation and empowerment. Also, on the suggested reforms, several reports are available to the government, including of its own institutions. These, however, may require to be tweaked, updated, validated and modified.

These groups are convinced that for any turnaround in Punjab's fortunes, political leadership, across the spectrum, must come out of its illusionary world and work in lock-step, as much for its own survival, as for Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiat. Change will be easier were political leaders to own up responsibility for all that went wrong and pledge to a work for the state's future.

These groups have chosen uncharted paths. At the grassroots, it encompasses social, economic, religious and cultural ethos; class/caste factors, and an evolving demographic profile. Punjab also faces a rising rage in the youth, who have no skills, and for whom job hunt is proving futile. The army of 'time-pass' youth is worrisome. The quality of jobs the youth are forced to accept, creates problems. Markers of adulthood: family responsibilities, low wages and slow progress, are proving to be a burden on them. Socio-economic and demographic displacement will compound the situation.

While some say Punjab needs 'product based companies', others lament that the 'real estate' business is harming ecology, giving an impetus to power-wielders, power-brokers, operating like mafia gangs. Some have reservations on 'freebies and subsidies'. Some talk of 'disconnect' between school and higher education; and its commercialisation. Suggestions are aplenty.

The political unimagination is another worrisome aspect. The main political parties are trampling the same stagnant playfield, working for self interests. Consequently, law enforcement agencies are now protectors of the evil. It has resulted in the politicisation of the civil administration and criminalisation of police.

The endeavours of these groups need to be supported to resurrect Punjab, and protect society from the web of myths, taboos and vacuous political sloganeering. Punjab's geo-political positioning is of strategic' importance for India. Punjab needs good, strong governance sans corruption; a strong political economy; and a strong 'will'! Time is short. The future is arriving faster than we think.
editorial@tribune.com

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6

Acting tough against Haryana Roadways employees who were arrested during the two-day strike on September 4 and 5 for violation of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA), the satte government has decided to suspend them with immediate effect.

Sources said that the Transport Department had sent a letter to all General Managers of various depots across the state to suspend the employees, mostly office-bearers of the union, who were arrested by the police on the day of the strike. Of the 164 arrested or rounded-up, 110 were sent to the judicial custody, while 12 were remanded in police custody. In all, action would be initiated against 122 employees.

The letter sent by Additional Chief Secretary, Transport, Dhanpat Singh, points out that these employees not only abstained from work but also incited and instigated other employees to boycott work despite the ESMA being in place and raised anti-government slogans.

It states that the Transport Department suffered heavy losses due to the strike, while the public, too, was put to a lot of inconvenience though the General Managers, the Traffic Managers and the Work Managers performed their duty with utmost commitment and tried to tide over the crisis.

Stating that disciplinary proceedings be issued against these employees and suspension notices be served on them, the letter adds that major penalty proceedings be initiated against them and they be not allowed to join duty. The respective General Managers have been asked to forward details, including the FIR number of all such employees who were arrested, to the Director, Transport, at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Roadways Workers Joint Action Committee, at a meeting in Jind, has decided to submit a memorandum to the legislators of the Opposition parties to highlight the fact that their voice was being stifled and the matter of invoking ESMA and lathi-charge during their strike be raised in the House. On September 10, the employees would hold a two-hour protest at all depots and carry black flags to the venue.

Activists in jail, rally cancelled

Kurukshetra: With several of its activists in jail, the Haryana Roadways Workers Joint Action Committee failed to organise a protest rally in Jind on Thursday. Balwan Singh Dodwa, general secretary of the committee, said the organisation was working to provide legal aid to the jailed comrades. Dodwa said the union would soon announce its next line of action. Several of our leaders and activists were arrested during state-wide chakka jam call on Wednesday. We had called a rally to protest police action, but it has to be postponed. Getting them released on bail is a priority at the moment, he said. Dodwa said the union was determined to oppose the state governments decision to induct 700 privates buses.
editorial@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) plans to contest from all seats in Goa, Punjab and Delhi in next years parliamentary elections. In the rest of the country, the party is in the process of identifying winnable seats.

In a chat with a select group of Chandigarh-based journalists from Haryana at his official residence at Civil Lines in Delhi on Wednesday, Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said that his party would go to the electorate with the feats the party has achieved in Delhi in the past less than four years.

No political party in Haryana has any agenda except seeking peoples vote on the basis of caste. In the past 70 years, the Congress, INLD and BJP have done nothing except looting the people and the states resources. We will go to the people on the basis of what we have done in Delhi in the past three years. We will also tell the people that we can give them power, education, healthcare and other facilities, but these parties can only give you riots, violence and hatred, he said.

Kejriwal said AAP would hold meetings outside schools and dispensaries in villages across Haryana and ask the people that if AAP could improve conditions in Delhi, why Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar or others who ruled the state before him couldnt do this in Haryana.

Answering a question, Kejriwal categorically denied he had any plans to contest from Haryana and said the people of Delhi had given him a responsibility and he could not shirk that.

On his brush with bureaucracy in Delhi, Kejriwal said only the AAP knew how to deal with bureaucrats. He claimed that if he could ensure development in Delhi where his government could not even transfer a peon, the people could imagine how the AAP government would function in Haryana.

On his frequent u-turns on the SYL canal, the Delhi CM said that he had always said that every state should get its share of water, but his statement was twisted in the media during the Punjab poll. Asked how his government plans to keep Delhi free from air pollution during the coming winter, Kejriwal said that the Centre had assured him that funds have been given to Haryana and Punjab to stop stubble burning this year.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 5

State Education Minister OP Soni said on Wednesday that the roadmap for rejuvenation of the education sector was ready and the government would spend Rs 1,000 crore for education in the state.

Addressing the gathering during a state-level function to commemorate the Teachers Day function at IVY World School here, the minister said he was working to put things in the education sector back on track within six months.

Speaking on the posting of state teachers in cities while rural schools going empty despite the recent rationalisation policy, the minister said: Wherever there is a requirement of teachers, we are sending them outside. New recruitment of 3,500 teachers in the state has taken place. And this was specifically done to facilitate border area postings of at least three years.

While talking about the suspended salaries of the 5178 teachers, the minister said: That was done due to a fund crunch. While teachers have been recruited under various societies, many of these fall under the Centre and their aid has been stopped from there. The financial onus has eventually fallen on us. Their case will be sent to the Cabinet.

Responding to questions about the concentration of teachers in city areas, while rural were being ignored, Soni said: We are planning to bring out many teachers from areas where they are posted. The process will be streamlined within six months. We also ensure that all schools get heads soon.

Speaking on free textbooks  which had still not been received in the majority of the schools, he said: We know that delivery of books has been delayed. We have started working in this direction. In the next academic session, before the beginning of the year, children will get books. These will arrive a month before the beginning of the classes.

The minister said all awardees selected for the award on Wednesday were selected on the basis of merit.

He said Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh was laying special thrust on two core sectors of health and education, adding that strenuous efforts were being made to ensure that the state emerges as a front runner in the country in both sectors.

Soni said no stone would be left unturned for accomplishing this mission.

He said: It was a matter of pride and satisfaction for all of us that over 25 lakh students were getting education in 13,000 government schools across the state.

He said the state government was already spending Rs 86 crore for uniform, Rs 64 crore on smart classes, Rs 30 crore on solar panels, Rs 5 crore for library books, Rs 18 crore for sports, Rs 10 crore for sanitary pads, RO system at cost of Rs 9 crore, Rs 2 crore for green boards, Rs 120 crore for classrooms and Rs 310 crore for mid-day meal. There was no dearth of funds for the education sector in the state and major thrust would be laid on its holistic development.

Earlier, Education Secretary Krishan Kumar, Director General School Education Prashant Kumar Goyal and DPI (Schools) Sukhjit Pal Singh also addressed the gathering.
editorial@tribune.com

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 6

The J&K Police is all set to exhume the body of the nine-year-old girl who was gang-raped and murdered by her stepbrother and his friends on the directions of her stepmother at Turkanjan Boniyar village in the Uri area of north Kashmirs Baramulla district.

The police investigation has brought to light chilling details of the rape and murder that has sent shock waves across the Valley. The police said the body would be exhumed tomorrow for further investigation.

The murder was planned a day before the incident (August 23) by the stepmother of the girl. The girl was pampered by her father, who had gone to Srinagar on the day of the crime to buy medicines for her chest infection, a police official said.

The police have nailed five people, including two minors, as accused in the crime. While the two minors have been sent to a juvenile home in Srinagar, the three other accused, including the stepmother and the brain behind the crime, have been sent to police remand till September 17.

The victims father, who is a baker, has two wives; the girl was from his second wife, who is a non-local. The girl went missing on August 23, and on the same day, the police said, she was gang-raped and killed. Her body was dumped in a forest, a kilometre away from her house. For 10 days, the body lay in the forest.

The body of the girl with her eyes gouged out and burnt with acid was found on September 2. She had also been hit with an axe on her head by her stepbrother. It was a well-planned murder; the stepmother was armed with a knife, the police official said, adding that the body was found decomposed.

The police said the motive behind the killing was jealousy and a grudge harboured by the stepmother against the girl and her real mother. During the investigation, the accused woman alleged that her husband would spend more time with the girl and his second wife.

The girl was gang-raped and strangulated on the directions of the stepmother, the police said.
editorial@tribune.com

Anantnag, September 6

A suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed operative, 35, who was detained in a case at an Army camp in the Dooru area of Anantnag district, attempted suicide by slitting his throat on Thursday. He was rushed to District Hospital, Anantnag.

A barber by profession, the man has been identified as Feroz Ahmad Hajam, a resident of Khretti village in Kokernag. He was detained in a case, the police said. The police said Hajam tried to end his life by slitting his throat as he went to attend the natures call during questioning. He is a Jaish suspect and was detained for questioning in a case. He went to attend the natures call and tried to end his life in the toilet, a police statement read. Station House Officer, Dooru police station, Showkat Ahmad Khan confirmed that Hajam tried to end his life at the 19 Rashtriya Rifles camp in Nadoora village of Dooru.

I do not know who he is. We tried to save his life and did not investigate much. We just referred him to the hospital, Khan said. The Army had called an ambulance from a health facility in the Verinag area of the district and rushed Hajam to the hospital. Midway at the Mir Bazaar area along the national highway, Hajam was shifted from the ambulance into a critical-care ambulance of District Hospital, Anantnag, a doctor at the Verinag health facility said.

A doctor at District Hospital, Anantnag, said Hajam was in a shock and could hardly breathe.

He had a deep cut throat injury, which had damaged his respiratory track. We have revived him and sent him to Srinagar. Hope he will survive, the doctor said.  OC
editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 6

A day after the National Conference announced that it would boycott the upcoming panchayat elections, the Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday decided to go for further consultations on the panchayat poll participation.

The decision was taken by the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), the highest decision-making body of the party, after a meeting which was chaired by Mehbooba Mufti at her residence. Party insiders, however, said the PDP was likely to go the NCway. It was likely to announce the boycott in a day or two.

A senior party leader said the linking of Article 35A with elections by the government had created apprehensions in the minds of the people that it might be tampered with.

There was already a fear over 35A and this has compounded the apprehensions, which has vitiated the atmosphere. Election is always a sensitive issue here and it has now become hypersensitive after the government has linked it with 35A. Our party will go for wider consultations to decide whether to take part in the panchayat poll or not, said PAC member Nizamudin Bhat, who attended the meeting. He said the party would talk to its legislators and leaders before taking the final call. The situation is difficult for poll. We cant make people vulnerable. We cannot throw them to risk. Whatever decision we take will be in the larger interest of the people, Bhat said. When asked whether the PDP decision would be influenced by the NC boycott, Bhat his party was not in competition with other parties. Our credentials are proven. We believe in democracy and whatever decision will be taken, it will be in the interest of public and their sentiment, he said.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Siliguri, September 6

Bengali actor Payel Chakraborty was found dead in a hotel room here on Wednesday evening.

According to local media reports, the actress had checked into the hotel in the city's Church Road area on Tuesday. The cause of her death is still unknown and the local police are investigating the matter. Meanwhile, her family members have reached Siliguri District Hospital to collect her body.

Chakraborty's father Prabir Guha has stated that she was suffering from mental stress. ANI
editorial@tribune.com

Mumbai, September 5

The Maharashtra unit of the BJP is under pressure from within and outside to dump its MLA from Ghatkopar, Ram Kadam, after he offered to kidnap women fancied by his supporters.

A video footage of Kadam at a Dahi-Handi event on Monday showed the legislator exhorting young men present there not to shy away from getting their hands on the women they fancied.

You need anything, just come to me. If you have proposed to a girl and she has rejected you, I will help you 100 per cent. Come to me with your parents and say that they approve of her. Then, I will catch her and bring her to you, Kadam told the gathering.

Kadams remarks kicked up a row after the footage went viral on social media on Tuesday evening. Leaders of Opposition parties, including the Congress and the NCP, were quick to condemn the MLA. He should be called Ravan not Ram Kadam, NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said.  TNS
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, September 5

Legendary actor Dilip Kumar has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital with a chest infection, his wife Saira Banu said Wednesday.

Lilavati Hospital officials added that they were not sure how long the 95-year-old actor would stay in hospital and there was nothing to worry about.

"We are here at Lilavati and we come here for a routine check-up regularly. He will be here for a few days, as long as the doctors want to do tests. All kinds of tests will be conducted. There is a team of doctors here, chest physician, neurologist," Saira Banu told PTI. "The tests are being conducted under Dr Nitin Gokhale. We need your wishes so we can go home soon."

The news was first shared on the actor's official Twitter account by his nephew Faisal Farooqui.

"Saab has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital as he was bit uneasy due to a chest infection. He's recuperating. Requesting your duas and prayers," he wrote.

Ajaykumar Pandey, vice president, Lilavati Hospital, said the actor was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

"He has just come for routine check-up and there is nothing to worry about. He is keeping well. It is difficult to say how long he will stay in the hospital," he said.

The 94-year old actor, whose real name is Mohammad Yusuf Khan, has been in and out of hospitals over the past few years due to illnesses related to old age.

Dilip Kumar started his career in Bollywood in the 1940s and earned the sobriquet of 'Tragedy King' for the large number of tear-jerkers he featured in. The actors last outing was in the 1998 film Qila.

Dilip Kumar has been honoured with a number of awards including the



Padma Vibhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke award in his long career.
harinder@tribunemail.com

Islamabad, September 5

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Pakistans new Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday and pressed him to do more to rein in terror groups operating from the country's soil, days after the Trump administration cancelled $300 million in military aid to Islamabad.

Pompeo, who was on his first visit to Pakistan as the top American diplomat, told Khan that he was pleased with his meeting with foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi earlier in the day.

But at the same time, Pompeo asked Khan to do more at the meeting, which was also attended by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and foreign minister Qureshi, media reported.

This was US first high-level dialogue with Pakistan since the new government assumed office after the July 25 elections and comes days after the US cancelled military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups active on its soil.

Pompeo, who along with US Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford had arrived on an official visit to Pakistan, earlier met Qureshi and discussed bilateral, regional and international issues during their crucial talks.

Qureshi later said Pakistans perspective was presented to the US delegation. We tried to understand their wishes and put forth our own expectations and concerns... Ice has been thawed, Qureshi said.

Today, we felt that we have created an atmosphere to reset our relations, and the lack of trust that was present has been broken which is a very positive development.

While the two sides discussed Afghan peace process, the foreign minister said he decided against raising the issue of scrapping the $300 million in aid.

Pompeo later joined Defence Secretary James Mattis in New Delhi for Thursdays 2+2 Dialogue.  PTI
Hanel's attorney, Jerome Buting, says his client has never, and would never, do what he is accused of in the criminal complaint. Buting says the one-sided complaint is only part of the story and that they look forward to clearing Hanel's name and reputation.
editorial@tribune.com

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 6

India and the US on Thursday inked a vital agreement on seamless exchange of military information  Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)  even as New Delhi is clear that it will stay the course in its military relations with Moscow.

The purchase of state-of-the-art S-400 Russian air-defence missile system is at the heart of the threat of US sanctions against countries dealing with Moscow.

Russia was literally the elephant in the room when Indian and US delegations sat down for their first-ever 2+2 dialogue, sources confirmed, as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met their US counterparts Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis.

Sources said the US told India that it understood the need for New Delhi to maintain its Russian-origin military equipment, but in case big-ticket items (like the S-400) are purchased, cooperation with the US could be affected. India is buying the system for Rs 39,000 crore to have a protective air-defence umbrella.

India, in turn, has assured the US that its purchases from Russia do not harm the US interests in any manner. A US legislation Countering Americas Adversaries

Though Sanctions Act (CAATSA) provides for a waiver against sanctions to India, its not a blanket waiver. Pompeos remarks released to the press say, Our effort here, too, is not to penalise great strategic partners like India, a major defence partner. The sanctions arent intended to adversely impact countries like India. They are intended to have an impact on the sanctioned country, which is Russia. And so well work our way through the waiver decision as the days and weeks proceed, and well do that alongside our partner, India, as well.

In another important development the two countries committed to start exchanges between the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy. India will post an attache at Bahrain to coordinate with US forces. India and the US will begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defence industry cooperation and collaboration.

About COMCASA
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, September 6

India and the US on Thursday held the first edition of the twice-deferred two-plus-two talks, covering entire expanse of the bilateral ties and looking to further expand their global strategic cooperation, including in the Indo-Pacific region.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the talks with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

In her opening remarks, Swaraj said she was confident that the outcome of the talks would help unleash the untapped potential of the relationship between the two nations and further elevate the level of engagement.

She said there had been significant progress in all key areas of cooperation between the two countries.

In his remarks, Pompeo said both sides should continue to ensure freedom of the seas and work towards peaceful resolutions of maritime disputes.

He also stressed promoting market-based economics and good governance.

Our two nations are united by shared values of democracy, respect for individual rights and a shared commitment to freedom, he said.

Earlier in the day, Swaraj and Sitharaman held separate meetings with Pompeo and Mattis, respectively.

Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were discussed during the meetings.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar called the meeting between Swaraj and Pompeo a productive engagement.

He said the two sides took stock of impressive strides in the bilateral relationship and discussed steps to take the relationship to an even higher trajectory.

Both Pompeo and Mattis arrived here on Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-US two-plus-two talks which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Washington last year.

In a special gesture, Swaraj received Secretary Pompeo at the airport here on Wednesday while Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attached to their visit here.

The officials said the focus of the two-plus-two talks would be to deepen global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over Indias defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran.

The two sides may also deliberate on a proposed pact on encrypted defence technologies and on ways to boost counter-terror cooperation. PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, September 5

After several non-NDA parties and disgruntled former and present leaders of the BJP, the Shiv Sena has become the first NDA ally to declare open support to the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti convenor Hardik Patel, who has been on an indefinite fast for the last 12 days, demanding waiver for the farmers and reservation for the Patels.

In a message to Hardik, Sena chief Udhhav Thackerey, however, advised the fasting leader to give up his fast at least for now as it was risking his life. He told Hardik that there was no meaning risking your life in fighting against an insensitive government.

He said Hardiks life was too precious to be wasted as the BJP governments in the state and at the centre. He must prepare himself for a long drawn battle.

BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha and former Union M inister Yashwant Sinha had called on Hardik yesterday.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, September 6

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) on Thursday ended all speculations about early elections by recommending the dissolution of the states first Vidhan Sabha, nine months ahead of its full tenure.

After the Cabinet of the 29th and youngest state passed a simple resolution to go ahead with early elections along with four other states, the CM met Governor ESL Narasimhan and submitted a letter asking him to dissolve the House.

Accepting the plea, the Governor asked KCR to continue to run the caretaker government till an elected government took over.

The TRS has already released the list of 105 candidates out of 119 seats, taking the Opposition by surprise. Barring five, all seats have been given to sitting MLAs.

KCR will kickstart his poll campaign on Friday after prayers at Venkateswara Swamy temple at Konayapalli village near Husnabad.

The Congress slammed the TRS for forcing early polls on the people. Sravan Dasoju, chief spokesperson, said, The CM must have received assurances from the NDA and there appears to be a dubious pact between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rao.

KCR, meanwhile, said the Congress was repeatedly levelling absurd allegations. Since the Opposition has gone to court 36 times to block decisions, it was decided to let people decide if they supported KCR or the Congress, he said. I did it in the states interest.

On Rahul Gandhi...

"Rahul Gandhi is the countrys biggest buffoon The whole country has seen how he went and hugged PM and winked more he comes (to Telangana), the easier it will be for us (to win)" K Chandrashekhar Rao, TRS supremo
editorial@tribune.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 5

Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday downplayed the row in the state following Sukhpal Singh Khairas removal as Leader of Opposition, saying the matter would be resolved soon.

Talking to the media here, Kejriwal said differences of opinion could occur in any political party or a family for that matter and there was nothing new in Khairas case. We will resolve all differences within the party soon, he said.

On his alleged conflicting stand on the SYL Canal, the Delhi CM said he had always maintained that all states should get their share of waters, but he was misquoted in the media. He said whatever the SC decided in the case, it should be acceptable to all stakeholders.

All these states are part of this country. People living there need water and all states must get their share. There could be only two ways to ensure this. Either sit together and settle the issue, and if it is not possible, then let the courts decide, he said, adding that both Haryana and Punjab should respect SC verdict on this issue.
editorial@tribune.com

Jalandhar, September 6

Deepak Vinayak, a Melbourne-based Indian hailing from Rampura Phul in Bathinda, has been awarded the Medal of Order of Australia (OAM) for his services toward multicultural communities in Victoria state.

The award was presented to Vinayak, whose social work has already been acknowledged with a number of other awards, at the Victoria Governor House on Thursday in the presence of his family members and Punjabi community members.

I am elated to get so much of love, support and encouragement from the people and government of Australia, said Vianayak, while talking to The Tribune over the phone.  TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 5

Even as Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday held former CM Parkash Singh Badal responsible for the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents and vowed to act against him, the government is yet to inform the CBI about the decision to withdraw the investigation from it.

The Vidhan Sabha had passed a resolution to withdraw probe into sacrilege and police firing cases from the CBI and constitute an SIT to expedite the matter. The government is reportedly waiting for the office of the Advocate General (AG) to revert with the legally vetted notification that has to be sent to the CBI, announcing its decision to withdraw the probe.

A senior official said the government would have to wait for the CBIs response before constituting the SIT. If the CBI refuses to give back the investigation, the government will have no option but to approach the SC, he said.

A pressure group in the civil and police administration has been citing various court judgments to prove the point that investigations once given to the CBI cannot be taken back.

Some political advisers too feel that setting up an SIT will put the Congress government in a catch-22 situation, as the political rhetoric by ministers and party MLAs against Akalis in the House has raised the expectations of people regarding action against the Akalis, civil and police officers. The CM and the party would be held accountable for the follow-up action on the resolution moved by Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa in the Assembly, they say. Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa said: It is being wrongly quoted that the state cannot withdraw cases from the CBI. We will go ahead with it as it was a unanimous decision.
editorial@tribune.com

Parvesh Sharma & Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Sangrur/Bathinda, September 5

Sharing a long border with Haryana, Punjab is finding it difficult to curb the inflow of liquor from the other side despite setting up nakas at the entry points and intensifying patrolling on major roads connecting the two states.

Vulnerable areas

In Bathinda, the areas prone to liquor smuggling are the Doomwali barrier, Singo border and Narang village near the Rama Mandi side. Smugglers selling liquor in border districts like Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Fazilka are being arrested daily. In many cases, employees of liquor contractors raid places without informing the police or excise officials, leading to clashes. The police have set up check posts, including one each in Doomwali village on the Dabwali-Bathinda road, Natheha village and Teona Pujaria village along the interstate border.

Bootleggers are pushing liquor into Punjab primarily from Sirsa and Dabwali. Deployed at a check post, a police official said, Nobody will dare smuggle liquor through a route where a check post has been set up. Those involved in the trade are well aware of the internal link roads that lead to Bathinda. He admits patrolling is a better option. Some cops on patrolling duty move in vehicles of state liquor contractors along with their men.

Another policeman says there are multiple routes to enter Punjab from Haryana and it is not easy to keep a tab on all. Police records show that there are 35 passages between Sangrur and Haryana districts along the border. Besides, peddlers use anything ranging from a motorcycle, scooter, car and tractor-trailer for their mission.

Source & people involved

Those resorting to liquor smuggling from Haryana to Punjab mostly purchase their consignment from regular liquor vends in Haryana. Requesting anonymity, some policemen in Sangrur said distilleries also played a big role in smuggling as they sold liquor to smugglers without putting their exact figures of production on record. A retired police official in Bathinda said, Primarily, people who dont get liquor contracts in Punjab are involved in the smuggling of illicit liquor from Haryana as they try to sabotage their rivals who have bagged the contract while making money. However, sources said a new trend had emerged. Apart from smugglers, villagers too are ready to make quick money. Sangrur policemen said most of these work only to earn their per-bottle commission for smuggling.

Distribution network

The contractors from Punjab engaged in smuggling already have their links and they just have to rope in people to deliver liquor to their contacts. They even engage small peddlers, said a retired police official. As mostly country-made Haryana brand liquor is smuggled, smugglers have their network in villages, where they sell this liquor at higher prices, which are of course lesser than prices in Punjab. In many villages, they have fixed customers and mobile phones have made things easy for them. Many times, they leave the consignment in fields and customers pick it up as per their convenience.

Assistant Excise & Taxation Commissioner, Bathinda, Ramesh Malhotra, said, We carry out regular checks at the interstate border. Our department is taking all possible measures to deal with the menace.

Sirsa, Dabwali main sources
The Archdiocese recently suspended the Rev. John Maung, a retired priest who was still in ministry, after an individual reported that he abused them as a child several decades ago. Maung has denied the allegation.
laxmi@tribune.com

IN the course of his recent speech, His Excellency the Viceroy said:- At the outset of my tenure of office I warned those who were insistent on political reform that the British temperament was averse from catastrophic changes. This expression of opinion was the subject of criticism, and the Russian revolution which took place shortly afterwards was seized upon as a text on which to base claims to sweeping changes. I think those who sang a paean over the Russian events have since repented. Russia has, indeed, pointed a moral which it would do all good to take to heart. If this had appeared in an extremist Anglo-India journal nobody would have taken any notice of it. But the Viceroy of India is expected to carefully weigh his words.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

London, September 6

Britain said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ultimate responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England, as it prepared to brief the UN Security Council.

London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern city of Salisbury. Security Minister Ben Wallace said Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the poisoning.

Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence. He told BBC radio: I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue.

It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office. Britain has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the March 4 attack, sparking furious denials.

In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind.

The United States also imposed fresh sanctions over the attack.

Britain will brief the UN Security Council later Thursday on its latest findings, with the meeting due to open around 11:30 am (1530 GMT). Moscow on Wednesday again denied involvement in the case, accusing Britain of unfounded accusations.

Instead of conducting an independent, objective and transparent investigation... London continues to engage in anti-Russian megaphone diplomacy, continuing its propaganda show," the foreign ministry said.

The US ambassador to London, Woody Johnson, and the Australian government have offered their support for Britain's stance against Russia.

Wallace said his government would seek to "maintain the pressure" on Russia "to say that the behaviour we've seen is totally unacceptable".

Options include "more sanctionswe are obviously taking it today to the UN to present our case".

However, he noted that Russia would be there and would likely use its veto on any statement that might arise.

Amid reports that Britain was planning a response in cyber-space, Wallace said the Russians were the main operators behind attacks on British networks.

"We retaliate in our way... within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way, that they know the cost of what they do," he said.

The Skripals survived the poisoning but remnants of Novichok found in a fake perfume bottle were picked up by a local man weeks later.

Charlie Rowley gave it to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died.

British prosecutors said Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge the two men identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon.

They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.  AFP
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After two days of leaders claiming the stage, COP26 gets down to brass tacks from today with negotiators from each country rolling up their sleeves to engage in hard bargaining over pledges.
Emanuels surprise announcement Tuesday that he will not seek re-election likely sapped the venom from the feud. Behind them now is the lost potential that two of the most powerful leaders in the state could have leveraged, if only their egos and narrow political agendas had not gotten in the way.
I'm posting this in the main Australia forum rather than in the individual city forums since the report covers multiple locations. I am also including details about what I did in Los Angeles the during the day prior to my flight, since so many people travel via LAX to get to Australia. If you want to skip the LA part of the trip, simply skip to post number 2.

This was my first trip to Australia. I have traveled extensively within the United States but have only limited experience traveling abroad. Several years ago I went to Italy with family and Ive been to Canada a number of times and to many Caribbean islands but this was my first time to another continent by myself. I started planning for this trip a little more than a year in advance. My first order of business was to plan out my itinerary and decide which cities and how many days in each. I knew for sure I wanted to visit the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney but I wanted one other location as well. I originally wanted Uluru to be my third location but due to the limited time I would have to spend there and the relatively high cost and limited options for the flights to/from there, I decided it was not practical for this trip. Ultimately I chose to spend a day in Brisbane, as it is close to my other destinations and there are lots of flight options between Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney. I know many people when planning a trip to Australia, stay at least 2 weeks but even though I get a lot of vacation time per year, I like to take many trips each year and didnt want to cut anything else from my yearly agenda, so I decided a 9 day trip was it for me for this one, so this made trying to decide which cities to include especially challenging.

My second task was to decide on the routing for my air travel to Sydney from the U.S. I did extensive research on what the different providers offered in their different classes of service. I knew I could never take a flight that long in regular economy class. Originally my plan was to fly to Sydney in Business class and to the return flight in Premium Economy so I first focused on the international carriers which offer a true Premium Economy product (American Airlines has also since added a small number of Premium Economy seats as well). I narrowed it down to Qantas and Cathay Pacific and I watched youtube video reviews of the Business and Premium Economy classes that both carriers offered on the plane types that fly that route and concluded that Cathay Pacific on their 777-300 offered the superior Business Class product with their reverse herringbone style 1-2-1 seat arrangement, so that all seats have direct aisle access without having to step over anyone. They also offer a more private feeling seat, though not fully enclosed. However, their Premium Economy seemed less good than Qantas due to 2-4-2 seat arrangement. Qantas Business Class on the A380 offers a 2-2-2 seat arrangement and the seats are not private at all. Of course there is a small divider between each seat but nothing wrapping around the aisle side to make it more private. They also have the unfortunate outcome for those sitting on the outer rows of seats of either having someone step over you or having to step over someone else which is inconvenient when the seat is in the lie flat position. However, their Premium Economy class has a 2-3-2 seat set up, which looked nice. After much research and testing of pricing, I determined it was not that much more to just fly Business roundtrip so I decided to do that instead. Because of that, I added American Airlines into the mix, as they have reverse herringbone configuration (1-2-1) on their Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner with a relatively private feeling seat. They were also the cheapest of my 3 best options so I ultimately booked my flights from LAX-SYD-BOS on American Airlines. I also checked United and Delta but was less impressed with their seating and reviews.

After choosing my itinerary and flight options, my final task was to scour the internet for travel tips and other important information to make myself aware of various cultural differences so that I had a better idea of what to expect on the trip. I attempted to inform myself on tipping practices (or lack of) and popular dishes on restaurant menus as well as anything else that might affect my trip or that I might want to know ahead of time. One of the other things I found was that when you are quoted a hotel nightly rate, it already includes any taxes. Another difference though is if you choose to pay for your hotel with a credit card, you will be charged a 1.5-2% fee, while cash payments dont pay this fee.

Finally, after much prepping and fine tuning of my itinerary, August 22, 2018 arrived. I departed Boston on Wednesday night on the 7:14pm JetBlue flight bound for Los Angeles. I chose to fly to LA the night prior to my Sydney flight, as I would have to take the next day off of work anyway if I chose to fly the same day of the SYD flight, and I knew if I flew same day I would want to arrive early anyway and then Id be stuck lugging my heavy carryon around LAX or anywhere else I wanted to go. This way I could dump my luggage at the hotel for the day and enjoy myself unencumbered and with plenty of time to catch my flight to Sydney. While I fly JetBlue quite often, this was only my second time flying Mint class, which is the JetBlue Business class offered in select markets. I flew it last September for the first time and have become a convert! I love Mint! Having now flown international business class, I can now compare how JetBlue Mint compares to international business class (at least on AA) and also how it stacks up against the big 3 (Delta, American, United) domestic first. Ill sum that up a bit later in the review. We pushed back about 30 minutes late after a 30 minute boarding delay and then ultimately got airborne about an hour late. I was in seat 2A which is one of the individual suites with its own door. I like to start my Mint experience with the signature RefreshMint drink which is a honey infused limeade served with or without vodka. Meal service started about 20 min after takeoff with the usual hot towel service and then an appetizer of asian wontons and sesame dip. The Mint food consists of a choice of 5 small plates of which you choose 3 and then a local ice cream is served for dessert. I selected the tomato and peach salad, mushroom cobbler and pork belly. I find some of the choices to be a bit out there as far as the food and flavor combinations is concerned but the quality seems higher than other airlines. They do offer a plane eats menu which can be pre-ordered if you think you want a more ordinary meal. I had another RefreshMint to drink, this time without alcohol, as I dont like to drink much if Im flying, plus being a lightweight anyway. I thought the Asian dip was delicious, in fact it was hard to believe it came from an airplane. Of the 3 small plates I chose, the salad was my favorite with a variety of types of tomatoes. The mushroom cobbler was a variety of mushrooms served in a sauce with little biscuits on top. The pork belly was my least favorite of the dishes, just due to the flavor. The ice cream was 3 scoops of Toscaninis, all vanilla based flavors. After dinner I watched some TV and then lay flat to try to relax. Just before landing we received the cookie from Milk Bar and today it was a Compost Cookie (chocolate and butterscotch chips, pretzels and potato chips).

We landed about 10:45pm local time at gate 59 which is about the farthest gate in terminal 5! Baggage took about 5 minutes to come out and after picking up my bag, I got the free shuttle to my hotel, the Sheraton Gateway LAX. This was my second time staying at this hotel. Despite the fact that I felt that the bathroom was inconveniently designed, I chose this hotel again because it was close, quiet, clean and efficient. Additionally, I had good luck with the shuttle being prompt on my previous trip in comparison to some of the other airport hotel options, so I decided to give this hotel another visit. They gave me room 345 which is a suite. They said it was un upgrade since I was a repeat guest. The bathroom in this room had more counter space than the previous room that I had but I still didnt care for their choice of fixtures.

Thursday morning I was woken up at 4am by the person in the room next door (adjoining) on a conference call! I checked out of the hotel by 8:15am and took a cab to Union Station (train station). My plan for the day was to create my own architectural walking tour of downtown Los Angeles. Of course being rush hour and LA traffic being what it is (horrible) it took about 50 minutes to get there. (I spent quite a bit of money taking cabs around the city this day but if I had rented a car then Id have to deal with parking so I think doing the cabs was worth it). The station and the landscaping surrounding it is quite lovely. There are little outdoor plazas and the interior of the station is very 1930s, which is no surprise since it was completed in 1939. After spending around 25 minutes looking around the station, I walked to City Hall. I wanted to take advantage of the 27th floor observation deck as well as enjoy the interior of the building. Unfortunately it was a smoggy day so the views were not that great due to poor visibility. Apparently on a clear day you can see Long Beach and Catalina Island. From City Hall I walked to the Bradbury Building. Built in 1893, this building has interesting ironwork incorporated into the interior lobby. Also in the same vicinity, I made a quick stop into Grand Central Market just to see what the vendors looked like. They had quite a few that looked good but I had other plans for lunch. My final stop on my mini architectural tour was the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Built in 1922, the hotel has fancy interiors to look at. I chose to end my tour from the hotel, as I figured it would be easy to pick up a cab to my next stop, The Original Farmers Market for lunch. Located at the corner of Fairfax and 3rd, this is sort of a food court and grouping of restaurants/shops of sorts and they have lots of dining options to choose from. My plan was to sort of graze around the market and try items from a variety of vendors. Many of the shops are cash only, so bring plenty of cash! First I sort of wandered around to get the lay of the land before making my selections. I chose 2 empanadas from Nonnas, a mac & cheese and a carnitas. I really liked the carnitas one but the mac & cheese one was lacking in taste. I also was not that impressed with their chimichurri sauce (if you want sauce, make sure you ask for it as the woman didnt offer it without asking). My next stop was Bobs Coffee and Donuts where I got a Crumb Cake donut which was delicious and very tender and soft. Nearby to Bobs was Bennetts Ice Cream and I got a small cup of Choffee Choffee (a mocha ice cream with toffee pieces). The ice cream was very tasty and creamy. My final snack was a waffle shot from Zia Valentina Waffleshot. These are small waffle cones lined with chocolate and you choose a coffee drink to go inside the little shot glass. They have many flavors of waffle and coffee options. I chose a salted caramel waffle with coffee granita inside. The granita was very good but the waffle itself was not that flavorful. It was a good idea but could be better executed I think. Overall, I really liked the Farmers Market. There were many places that looked really good and I wish I could have tried more foods. They also have some interesting shops including one that has nothing but stickers.

The market is also linked to The Grove outdoor mall. The Grove has typical stores that you will find at many malls in America, but they have a dancing fountain as part of the landscaping. So, to me the fountain was a reason to visit that mall as well. The mall itself is very pretty and pleasant; walking around it made me think of Main Street USA at Disney.

Around 2pm I called a cab using the Curb app on my phone and took it to Santa Monica. I had them drop me on Ocean Ave near the California Incline and took the access bridge to the beach front walk. I walked along the path down to the pier and then back up and walked in Palisades Park and then across the street into the Fairmont Miramar. When staying in LA for longer time periods (ie not just passing through), that is where I stayed in the past a few times so I went in for old time sake. By 3:30pm, I got a cab back to the Sheraton which was easy as I had the Fairmont call one for me. This was another ride where I got stuck in traffic and we very nearly rear ended a jeep who didnt run the red light like the cab driver wanted to do. Always allow way more time than you think you need to get anywhere. Back at the hotel I sat by the pool until 6pm . The pool area is quite nice with a combination of lounge chairs and padded chairs and some cabanas too.

At 5:45pm, I walked next door to the Crowne Plaza to eat dinner at the Century Taproom. My hotel has a restaurant but I dont care for the menu and the Taproom has a wider variety. I got a margarita and a cheeseburger. Both were very good and based on my experience Id eat there again.

My flight was not until 11:15pm but due to the fact that Ive seen legendary lines at LAX, I wanted to get there early, so I took the 7:30pm shuttle to LAXTerminal 4. I arrived by 7:45pm. Turns out I need not have worriedthere was hardly anyone in the Priority area and not that many people in the regular AA check in area either. Another advantage of flying American vs Qantas was that I was able to take advantage of the precheck security line since I was in terminal 4, while TBIT/Qantas does not participate in recheck.

Among many firsts on this trip, was my first time flying international business class, which is definitely nicer than domestic first. Of course I also wanted to check out the business class lounge. At LAX American had opened a new Flagship Lounge about 9 months ago but apparently you can choose between the Flagship Lounge or the OneWorld Lounge where the carriers in that alliance share the loungeso BA, AA, Cathay and Qantas all share the OneWorld Lounge in this case. There is a connector post security now open between Terminal 4 and TBIT so you can move freely between the terminals. Anyone with an onward flight in business class or with mid/high status with a OneWorld carrier can use the lounge. I chose to just visit the AA Flagship Lounge. The lounge consists of a business center, restroom with showers, and several different seating areas. One part of the lounge is devoted to dining where there is a fairly extensive buffet set up and a chef manned action station. Since Id already eaten I didnt try the food but I did have 2 small dessertsa sugar cookie and a chocolate tartlet. Both were very good, especially the very rich and fudgy tart. They also have lots of beverages to choose from including self serve bar. If you are lucky enough to be flying First on AA, there is a separate, upgraded dining area in the AA lounge for you.

Boarding began around 10:30pm from gate 48A. Upon finding my seat 4L, the blanket, pillow and mattress pad were already in the seat. Also there was an amenity kit (JetBlues is nicer) and loaner Bose noise canceling headphones. They will also come around once you get seated to ask if you want pajamas or a newspaper. It almost gets that you have so much stuff you barely fit in the seat! We took off promptly and they served dinner right away but by the time it gets served and you finish its about 1am pacific time. The meal starts with the requisite warmed nuts. I chose the beef for my main course. It was super tough and too rare and also had an odd taste so I just ate the salad and the potato and bread. I got the caramel tart for dessert which was good. It seems odd though to serve dinner on such a late flight. Presumably everyone has already eaten by 11pm so maybe more of a snack would be in order so people can go right to bed. Upon finishing my meal, I changed into my pajamas and put my mattress pad on my seat and lay down flat to try and sleep. I slept on and off from 1:30am PT to about 9am PT. Then I changed and decided to watch a movie until breakfast was served pretty close to landing time. For breakfast I got the fruit plate with granola and a chocolate croissant (stale).

Around 6:30am local time it was time to get ready to land. We landed a little early at 7am and had to wait for a gate. Once we got to the gate I proceeded quickly to the epassport kiosk and used that (AA also provides a fast pass option but I used epassport insteadI think they are different but dont know what the difference is). If you use the kiosk you get a ticket that you must take and keep with you. Next you proceed to a photo gate where you get your photo taken. Then you go to baggage claim, get your bag and either head to the nothing to declare line or the declare line. I was in nothing to declare and got through in 20 seconds. Once free, I went out to the cab line up. That was the longest part of getting out of the airport, as the customs/immigration was a breeze. The cab line was longish but moved at a good pace. The ride downtown to the CBD was about 20 min and I arrived about 8:30am.
16 days is a good time to do the Syd - Rock - Reef combo... but it looks as though you've also added on the GOR and Melbourne at the end... and you only actually have 13-14 full days in Australia as you've counted travel to australia in your 16 days...

Firstly you need to do your Visa application before booking flights etc.. no point doing all the planning then you get knocked back

Here are my thoughts:

* Days 6 & 14 are very long day trips. Better done over 2-3 days. If you are not driving yourself the GOR is especially tedious as you will spend 14-16 hours in a bus with (potentially annoying) tourists and experience alot of driving.

* 4 internal flights (some 3+ hours) in 14 days with 2 x long haul flights either side means your chances of "relaxing" are slim. It will be a very hectic schedule.

* 2 days in sydney and 1 in melbourne are very very rushed also.
Re: How to travel from ha Tien to can tho

2. Re: How to travel from ha Tien to can tho

FUTA (Phuong Trang) and Mai Linh are the two most reputable buses on that route.

The bus station is a bit out of the way out of town so it's best to have your hotel sort it out to avoid confusion as there might not be a transfer shuttle at times.

Or you can stop by Oasis Bar Ha Tien.

It's run by a helpful expat. Have a little drink and you can ask him the things you need to know.

Safe travel.

John
Hello,

We are planning a visit in Japan during which we will be transferring from Kyoto to Takayama. We will plan to spend one night in Takayama before leaving the next afternoon for Iiyama station for Nozawa Onsen.

We were hoping to visit Shirakawago and I understand its accessible via a bus ride.

Would it be feasible to make a trip to Shirakawago on the morning prior to our departure from Takayama to Iiyama station? Or should we try to do this on the afternoon prior on the day we arrive in Takayama. We are okay leaving Kyoto on the earliest train to arrive in Takayama around 10AM if necessary. Would that give us enough time to drop of our bags at our hotel and take the bus to Shirakawago? That way we can spend the next morning exploring Takayama leisurely before taking our train off in the late afternoon.

Thanks for your help!
Hello all,

I was hoping to get your advice on our upcoming trip to Japan during which we will be spending 5 days in Kyoto.

Day 1: Our first day we will be arriving from Tokyo after making a stop during the day near Mount Fuji. Nothing planned for the evening and we hope to explore a part of the city.

Day 2: Kinakuji-Temple, Explore Gion District

Day 3: Fushimi-Inari Shrine, Nara

Day 4: Visit Hiroshima-Miyajima (day trip)

Day 5: Arashiyama, more of Kyoto or maybe visit Osaka?

On Day 6, we will be taking an early AM train to Takayama.

Given the tentative itinerary and sites we hope to visit listed above, what would be a good location to stay in? The practical side of me is saying to stay in Tokyo station as it appears central and provides access to both subway, bus and trains. However, from what I've read it's not the prettiest neighborhoods and not much of sights to see there.

Additionally, I was wondering when would be a good time to fit in a visit to Osaka and how much time to spend there? We are spending 4 nights in Tokyo total during the trip so I did not think we would miss too much by not spending more than a half of a day + evening in Osaka. Also, there seems to be so much more to see and do in Kyoto.

Appreciate your help!
My girlfriend and I will be landing in Tokyo on the 20th of October. We'll be staying some days in Tokyo but after would like to hit the road and discover the more traditional Japan and the beautiful landscapes it has to offer.

We don't want to go on the highways (and we've heard they're pretty expensive) and we do have plenty of time to go around. Probably 3 weeks in total for the campervan part.

Our questions are more related to where exactly to go and what campervan company to use?

If anyone has done anything similar in the past, we'd love to hear from you.

Even if you haven't been on such a trip but have been (or are from) Japan, please tell us what are the must visit locations.

We did Japan last year for a little over 2 weeks and loved it. We were in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura.

This time we definitely want to visit the alps, catch the Autumn colors in some stunning locations, visit lots of Onsens and eat eat eat eat eat the fantastic Japanese cuisine.

Look forward hearing all your suggestions and tips.

Thank you!
Hello! Ive pretty much figured out my itinerary for Tokyo and well be taking a 3 day trip to Kawaguchiko, Hakone and Kofu and I have a few questions (and recommendations too if possible!)

Some things to note:

We will be purchasing the Fuji-Hakone Pass (valid of 3 days)

Our accommodation is in the Kawaguchiko Area

We wont be renting a car as none of us possess an international driving license

Itinerary:

10/19(Friday) Kawaguchiko:

Mt. KachiKachi/Boat Ride

Kawaguchiko Music Forest

Herb Hall

Oishi Park

10/20(Saturday) Hakone:

The clockwise route where we start in Hakone Shrine and end with the Hakone Glass Museum

Ancient Cedar Avenue

Lake Ashiniko

Owakudani

10/21(Sunday) Kofu:

Fruit Picking in Nakagomi Orchard (1 hr)

Shosenkyu Gorge

Questions:

HAKONE: I read that the clockwise route is a lot better to beat the crowds as opposed to the counterclockwise route (starting in Gora) is that true or should we stick with the counterclockwise route?

KOFU: Will there be space/places to leave our luggage? I saw in the JR station map for Kofu station that there are coin lockers but Im afraid they might be too small. So Im planning to leave our luggage in Kawaguchiko, after we're done in Kofu we will go back to Kawaguchiko and take the bus there to Tokyo but if we could leave our luggage at the station/coin lockers in Kofu, that would be awesome as we can take a direct train/bus from Kofu to Shinjuku!

KOFU: Any other recommendations for Kofu? I heard that theres a winery in Katsunuma but Im not too sure if we would still have time to get to Katsunuma from Kofu.

ALL THREE PLACES: Any place/food/souvenir recommendations would be welcomed. Thank you so much!
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Have you considered taking the train to Boston (or LimoLiner) -you can hire a sky cap on both ends if you take the train. You can easily rent in Boston or just outside of Boston in Medford, Malden, Somerville then drive to Newport (little over an hour if you go against traffic (late morning). I don't care what anyone says-I've driven all over the U.S. and Boston and New York are the last two places on earth you should drive unless you drive in traffic and jerks all the time. This is from someone who lives in Boston proper and has spent ample time in NY and the rest of the Northeast. Also download uber, Lyft and even Curb (this last one is for taxis). I get that rental cars are easy once you have them-but most rental companies have a slew of unhappy people working there and driving through CT sucks. You can certainly find some scenic towns but the reality is, your going to get slammed by traffic and rude drivers. VT and Northern NH is better for a scenic drive. I just worry your really going to regret this. We have a car and take Uber a lot of places locally. I wouldn't rent a car in NYC on a bet. At the end of the day, if this is a vacation set yourself up for success. I'm going away this wknd (Upstate NY) but would be happy to give you any advice. Might even be able to point you in the direction of some interesting stuff if you need more recos. I know the lower 48 pretty darn well.
Can I just get a check on this itinerary please? 30's couple travelling out on Monday 10th Sept and leaving Friday 15th Sept.

10th.

We land at JFK at 12.30 from the U.K,staying at Pod Times Square. Plan is to dump luggage, quick change and out. Heading in the direction of MSG, ESB (just for a look), Flatiron, Madison Square Park, Greenwich Village and a walk back to the hotel via the High Line.

11th

Times Square, Juniors/Ellen's, Central Park, AMNH. Have reservations at Manhatta for 7.30 so plan to be back to the hotel changed and out again by 6pm to get down there for a pre-dinner drink and to view the Tribute in Light possibly. Drinks in that area afterwards or elsewhere(recommendations welcome)

12th - BF's 30th!

Bryant Park,NY Public Library, Grand Central, St Patrick's Cathedral, Chrysler, 5th Ave, Rockefeller/TOTR, Trump Tower and either continue shopping/wandering or maybe MoMA. Have the harbor lights cruise booked so again back to the hotel changed and out by 6pm. Dinner/post cruise drinks probably around Hell's Kitchen/Times Square (again recommendations welcome)

13th

DUMBO,Brooklyn Bridge, Wall St, Charging Bull, FDNY 343 Memorial Wall 9/11 museum and memorial,One World (just to look) and Oculus. No plans as such for that evening as yet - please feel free to suggest.

14th

Battery Park, State Island Ferry, maybe up to MoMA if not done on the 12th or take bikes in Central Park.

15th

We don't fly out of JFK until 10pm so a casual day of shopping and filling in bits we might have missed unless any of the other days are too heavy.

I've struggled a little since this is a surprise trip so I'm not 100% sure what he definitely does or doesn't want to do. Also with the 9/11 memorial falling when we are there obviously I want to respect that time and not visit on that day but feel its probably too intense for his birthday so trying arrange around those dates.

Please feel free to make suggestions as you see appropriate to change things around or to add things in. I'm very open to help!
The next night, three teens were sitting on the hood of a car in the South Shore neighborhood when a car drove past and an occupant fired. Two of the teens were injured; the third, 19-year-old Prince Kargou, was shot in the head and later died. Police said the three werent gang members. Kargou and one of the other victims were dating. She was shot first; he reached for her and was hit. That shows what kind of friend, what type of man he is, one victims mother told the Tribune. Shots are fired; you can either fight or flee. And he fought for her.
East Harlem & NYC Latin culture/cuisine is only recently of Mexican roots - more influence from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuban migrants, now Mexican, Central American, fusion African restaurants all over. Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban jazz and the 1930s -1950s mambo craze and and Ricky Ricardo and West Side Story - obviously pre-Lincoln center that was the West side Puerto Rican culture is part of the lure of the East Harlem as Latino center idea, recently J-Lo and Ballet Hispanico also on the West Side - its a neighborhood, a barrio which has been a migrant hub for 2 centuries, the original Manhattan "Little Italy"

In terms of upper Manhattan Latin American cultures just as these countrys descendents and immigrants mix in their own work and lives so do NYC neighborhoods, Washington Heights for past years being strongly Dominican, Cuban migrants all over, much more recent Mexican and Central American migrants have grouped in Queens & Brooklyn. Museo del Barrio and MCNY are obvious great places to visit for context. Some sources:

Here is a good comprehensive article about Latino NYC:

Well recently of course Lin-Manuel Miranda "In the Heights" "Hamilton"

In terms of music/culture I had the honor to meet Eddie Gomez, legendary Puerto Rican New Yorker bassist We interviewed him in Mexico, he explains fusion v well:

Foods, cultures, language, traditions and music are very different but music and arts are a common thread in Latin cultures, worldwide there are many many Cubans leading dance and ballet companies, directing films. Creating music. These cultures represent different types of "melting pot" than the US does, mestizaje in MX is mostly Indigenous with European but in the Caribbean the Afro influence from sugar plantations & slavery is strong along with East Indian imported roots - generally all this mixing up makes for just incredible music, cuisine and culture -
You may wonder how many countries are in the East African region. East Africa comprises of ten countries, all with diverse people, customs, culture, and traditions. What are the East African countries? The list of East African countries includes Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia. East African countries were colonized by Germany, Britain, Belgium and French. They all gained independence from their colonial masters and have since grown both economically and politically.

Every east African country, apart from Ethiopia, was colonized by Europeans in the 1800s and 1900s. Ethiopia was, however, at some point in the 19th century occupied by Italians. Unlike other European powers, Italy was not successful in controlling the country. This article lists the East African countries and capitals, and a few known and unknown facts.

1. Kenya

Nairobi is the capital city of Kenya. With an area of 696 km and a population of over 3 millions, Kenya's capital boasts as the only capital city in the world to have a national park. The Nairobi National Park is truly the worlds wildlife capital. Sitting on an area of 117 sq. Km, the park is the habitat of animals like giraffes, lions, zebras, baboons, leopards, cheetahs and others. The park is also an ideal location for events like bush dinners, family parties, and film production. Being a few minutes drive from Nairobis Central Business District, the park is a good spot when you want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.

READ ALSO: How Many Countries Are There in Africa in 2018?

2. Uganda

Agriculture is the backbone of the Ugandan economy. The country exports coffee, maize, tea, fish, flowers, cotton and other agricultural products. Ugandas capital, Kampala, has an area of 189 km and is the most populous town in the country. Matoke is a famous dish in the East Africa nation, and visitors immensely enjoy the meal every time they visit the country. Uganda is also known as the Pearl of Africa because of its magnificent beauty. Even with the increase of automobiles, you wouldnt be surprised to find people using bicycles as a mode of transport in major cities and towns like Kampala, Jinja, Entebbe, and Mbale.

3. Tanzania

Universally known for the Serengeti National park and the wildebeest migration, Tanzania is home to about 56 million people. Mt, Kilimanjaro, with an elevation of 5,895m and the highest mountain in Africa, is found in Tanzania. Up until 1974, Dar es Salaam used to be the countrys capital. This was changed after a referendum, as the government wanted a more central location for administrative duties. The countrys current capital is Dodoma

4. Rwanda

Since the independence of east African countries, this landlocked country that was known of the deadly 1994 genocide has improved its international image and general outlook. Kigali is the capital, and it has a population of about 1 million. Kigali is one of the cleanest and most beautiful cities in the world. The countrys banning of non-biodegradable plastic in 2008 is one of the many factors that make the city clean. Rwanda has 23 lakes and 3 national parks. The mountainous Rwandan terrain is what earned the country Land of a thousand hills title.

5. Burundi

Bujumbura is Burundis capital. With over half a million population and an area of 86.52 km, the countrys capital is the main port on Lake Tanganyika. Like Rwanda, Burundi has sometimes counted a central African country. When in Burundi, you can visit the Livingstone- Stanley monument, the Rusizi national park, Kibira National park, and other scenic areas in the small East African country. A visitor will also have a good time interacting with the locals, learning the rich culture and sampling the countrys delicious cuisine.

6. South Sudan

South Sudan seceded from the bigger Sudan back in 2011. The political and economic conflict and constant civil wars caused the separation. Technically, South Sudan is Africas youngest country. A peace deal was signed after a referendum, and the South Sudanese people became independent from that time. The capital of South Sudan in Juba, with an area of 52 km. The total population of South Sudanese people is slightly more than 12 million. The currency used in the country the South Sudanese pound.

READ ALSO: Kenya vs Tanzania comparison: Which is best?

7. Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the most populous country in East Africa. With a total human population of close to 105, 000 people, the country comes second after Nigeria, which has a population of 181,000. Addis Ababa is the capital and the currency is Ethiopian Birr. Ethiopia is one of the three countries in the Horn of Africa; others being Djibouti, Eritrea, and Somalia. Up until 1992, Ethiopia had a coastline. The country became landlocked when Eritrea acquired her Red Sea coast.

8. Djibouti

Afar is the recognized national language. The other national languages used in Djibouti are French, Somali and Arabic. Djibouti shares the same name as its capital; Djibouti. The country's geographical location makes it a gateway to Africa for the Arabian Peninsula. With an area of just 23,200 km, Djibouti is one of the smallest countries in Africa. Its total population is just about 1 million.

9. Eritrea

Asmara is the countrys capital. The city is known for its beautiful Italian structures. Sometimes referred to as Africas little Rome, Asmara boasts of Italian art decorations, architecture and other buildings. Eritrean nakfa is the currency used in the country. The official languages spoken in the country are Tigrigna, Arabic, and English.

10. Somalia

The East African countries map cannot be complete without Somalia. The capital Mogadishu has an area of 91 km and a population of 1.2 million. Somalia, unlike other East African countries, is barely heterogeneous. Somalia has only one ethnic community; with different clans. The countrys religion is Sunni Islam.

Since the end of colonization in Africa, all the countries have undergone major transformations in education, manufacturing, construction, tourism, service industry and other sectors. All East African countries have distinct cultures and practices, which makes it even more beautiful. Diversity and differences in the way of life from every country has helped in the growth and development of the region. EA countries and their languages are some of the amazing things about the culture in East Africa.

Other East African Countries and their capitals

Mozambique - Maputo Madagascar - Antananarivo Malawi - Lilongwe Zambia - Lusaka Zimbabwe - Harare Comoros - Moroni Mauritius - Port Louis Seychelles - Victoria Reunion - Saint-Denis Mayotte - Mamoudzou

Source: Tuko News
The SGR has express trains that transport people and luggage between Nairobi and Mombasa. Others make stops at stations in several counties. You reserve a seat for a suitable train according to your needs. You can also inquire about the schedule of the trains to identify the train timetable that is most convenient. Booking can be made online or by contacting the customer service team through the SGR booking office contacts.

The secret behind the booking is to obtain the SGR contacts and make the call in advance. Early booking will ensure you do not miss a seat with last minute reservations. There is a number of ways you could get an available train at the Standard Gauge Railway. In case you have no clue about the process, you can use the contacts for SGR and ask for help. You could also log on to the Kenya Railways Website to find the procedure.

READ ALSO: Exciting details of the Nairobi-Mombasa superhighway Uhuru and Trump approved

The SGR offices are located on Workshops Road of Haile Selassie Avenue. Through the SGR Kenya office contacts, you can connect with The Kenya Railways for inquires about the booking process. You can also send a message by stating your inquiry and giving your name and contacts information, and the service will reach out to you to offer their assistance.

SGR Kenya contacts

The postal address is P.O Box 30121-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

Telephone numbers for SGR booking contacts Mombasa and Nairobi SGR booking contacts include: 0728603582/ 0728603581/ 0708572574/0708571587

The Facebook page for SGR is on Kenya Railways

The SGR website can be found at www.krc.co.ke

Email contact: contact@krc.co.ke

The SGR twitter handle is at @KenyaRailways_

Anyone with questions or concerns pertaining their train booking can use the SGR Kenya office contacts to find information about their reservations. The contact details above will offer the booking help needed to you.

Madaraka Express booking guide

To get a seat on the SGR train, you can opt for the following options. You can choose to visit the SGR booking website to book a train. While booking, you will be asked to specify the type of the train you would like to use and the areas of your departure and arrival. You should also give the preferable date of departure.

Another way is through USSD, which you can easily attempt with your mobile phone. From your Safaricom line, dial *639# and follow the directions provided. Once the booking is approved, you will receive an Mpesa confirmation message and an account number which you will use to print out the tickets.

READ ALSO: Jambo jet contacts

Aside from the different processes given to make your booking, you can visit the offices physically or use SGR booking contacts to get in touch with the counter service and make payment using the pay bill given. Once paid, they will send you details about your ticket.

Source: Tuko Breaking News
- The Interior CS ruled out more boardroom talks with Uganda over Migingo island

- According to the CS, diplomatic interventions to secure the tiny island had failed

- He said Kenya would deal with the matter head on with Ugandan soldiers

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has tossed away any hopes of a diplomatic route to settle the contentious issue of the Migingo island with the Ugandan government.

Matiangi, in a bold statement on Monday, September 3, said the government would not negotiate any further with Uganda concerning the controversial island.

We have tried to be diplomatic and held negotiations with Ugandan security team to address insecurity in the lake but it has not added any value and that is why we opted to form a comprehensive security committee to deal with the matter, The CS said on Monday.

READ ALSO: Picha 11 zinazoonyesha maisha ya kifahari aliyokuwa akiishi Sharon Otieno kabla ya kuuawa

READ ALSO: Blow by blow account of how pregnant Rongo University student met her death

The Migingo island has in recent months been the source of bad blood between residents along the Kenya-Uganda border, sometime with unfortunate consequences.

In April 2018, fishermen from Muhuru Bay in Migori county were forced to flee after they were ejected from the island by Ugandan authorities.

Diplomacy has failed, no more negotiation with Uganda over Migingo - Matiang'i

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: 5 Kenyan ladies who died mysteriously after interacting with prominent men

The fishermen claimed they have been suffering for a long time since the arrival of the Ugandan soldiers at the disputed rock.

The Kenyan government had initially sought to negotiate with Ugandan forces in an attempt to find a common ground.

READ ALSO: Kenya petroleum distributors go on strike over fuel price increase

Months on and the situation has not improved, with Matiangi declaring the time for diplomacy was over.

In his statement, he revealed the government had formed a security committee to deal with the issue.

The committee, TUKO.co.ke learnt, would be tasked with overseeing the insecurity challenge around Lake Victoria and the Kenya-Uganda border.

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

Breaking News Kenya: Angry Kenyan Sends Message to President Uhuru Kenyatta on TUKO TV:

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Robert Amsterdam was declared persona non grata in Uganda for trying to secure Wine's freedom

- The ban came hours after it emerged Wine and others were to appear at Gulu High Court

- The MP had earlier been released and immediately rearrested to face treason charges

- Wine and several other Opposition leaders were arrested in connection with attack on Museveni's convoy

- The MP was later allowed to travel to America for advanced medical attention following his torture

Uganda's Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Robert Kyagulanyi Sentamu alias Bobi Wine, is set to hold a press conference with his foreign lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, in Washington DC , United States.

TUKO..co.ke on Thursday, September 6, learnt that Wine was scheduled to address the National Press Club at 10am to talk about his current condition after suffering torture and abuse at the hands of Ugandan security officers following his arrest on August 14.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Picha 11 zinazoonyesha maisha ya kifahari aliyokuwa akiishi Sharon Otieno kabla ya kuuawa

Robert Amsterdam who was representing the embattled Kyadondo East MP, Bobi Wine, was banned from entering Uganda as the lawmaker was dragged back to court.Photo: Daily Monitor.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Bobi Wine rearrested shortly after Museveni drops charges against him

Examining the case with Wine will be Amsterdam who was banned by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's government from setting foot in Uganda.

Already a widely known Afropop celebrity in Uganda, the 36-year-old musician-turned-politician was elected as an independent MP for Kyadondo East in 2017.

As an outspoken critic of Museveni, Wine has captivated the nations youth, many of whom have felt excluded and alienated by Ugandas political establishment.

Ugandan police on Friday, August 31 cleared Bobi Wine to travel to the US where he is set to receive specialised treatment after weeks of drama and captivity. Photo: UGC.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Bobi Wine arrest story, protests and reactions

His popularity has allowed the Opposition to capture numerous seats, including most recently in Arua by-election with the victory of Kassiano Wadri, who defeated a candidate backed by Musevenis ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

However, immediately following this election, violent clashes broke out.

Protesters were accused of pelting the presidents motorcade with stones, after which officers from the Special Forces Command (SFC) and the secret service attacked Opposition supporters and arrested at least 33 people.

That evening, Wines driver, Yasin Kawuma, was shot and killed by state security officers.

READ ALSO: Free Bobi Wine protests spill to Nairobi as Kenyans plan demos at Ugandan embassy

The former pop star was then arrested the next morning on a trumped-up gun charge, which would later be dropped before he was re-arrested for treason.

While detained by SFC and police, Wine said he was subjected to extreme abuse and torture.

According to his own account, they beat me, punched me, and kicked me with their boots. No part of my body was spared. They hit my eyes, mouth and nose. They hit my elbows and my knees.

By the end of this abuse, Wine was unable to stand on his own, with significant injuries for which he is being treated by US doctors.

READ ALSO: UK government accepts to receive Free Bobi Wine petition from Ugandans in diaspora

Alhough he was eventually released on bail and allowed to travel for medical treatment, the MP still faces a treason charge that carries the death penalty.

His attorney, Amsterdam, called for greater international pressure to protect human rights in Uganda, and specifically to single out the officials responsible for alleged abuses under the Global Magnitsky Act legislation.

Story by Thaddeus Asesa

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.

Angry Kenyan Sends Message to President Uhuru Kenyatta - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
- The international music and arts festival will now go on as had been planned

- The organisers agreed with authorities that security would be given priority

- The Uganda authorities had outlawed the concern on grounds it was promoting immorality

- But the organisers clarified the famous festival was meant to promote culture, art and tourism

The Ugandan government has lifted a ban on the much publicised Nyege Nyege festival following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the organisers and the authorities.

Under the MoU, the Uganda Police Force and Talent Africa, the organisers of the MTN Nyege Nyege, agreed that the police would provide security for all those who would attend the event.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Picha 11 zinazoonyesha maisha ya kifahari aliyokuwa akiishi Sharon Otieno kabla ya kuuawa

The Nyege Nyege concert had been outlawed by the Ugandan government on grounds that it was promoting promiscuity.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: 18 Jaw-dropping photos of how ladies slayed at the Nyege Nyege festival

In a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke on Thursday, September 6, signed by Erasmus Twaruhukwa for Uganda Police Force and Ali Allbhai for Talent Africa, the organisers were expected to provide the police with a detailed programme of the event to facilitate the deployment of the security personnel.

The police shall provide security at the venue in addition to Tight Security, a private security firm contracted for the purpose by the event organisers. The police will have unfettered access to the venue and all facilities used by the organisers any time of the day or night, read part of the MoU.

The event was scheduled to be held from September 5 to September 10, 2018, at Nile Discovery Beach in Njeru Municipality.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Sauti Sol's Bien leaves fans breathless after promising lover steamy session on her birthday

There shall be no processions to and from the venue during the event scheduled to be held from September 5 to September 10, 2018, at Nile Discovery Beach in Njeru Municipality.

According to the MoU, the purpose of the event was to promote culture, local music and tourism.

The event was therefore expected to be held only in a manner consistent with this purpose.

The Uganda Police Force in liaison with the event organisers will conduct the accreditation at the venue.

The organisers undertake to ensure that the event shall be accessed only by adults and will ensure that no person under the age of 18 shall be allowed at the venue after 6 pm. In event of doubt as to the age of a person perceived to be a child, production of evidence shall be mandatory, the statement further read.

READ ALSO: Heavily pregnant Risper Faith clashes with rich hubby after he refuses to pay for plastic surgery

The organisers were also tasked to ensure that sanitation facilities at the venue would be sufficient for the 5,000 participants expected.

The organisers were expected to ensure that first aid and other necessary medical arrangements would be put in place with clear areas of exist in case of emergency as well as fire escape routes.

The organisers undertake to provide guidelines at the entrance and in other strategic conspicuous points at the venue clearly prohibiting use of drugs, acts of homosexuality, open sex and any other act considered immoral or unacceptable by the culture of the people of Uganda, added the statement.

READ ALSO: Kalonzo accompanies Uhuru to China a month after resolving to work with government

TUKO.co.ke understands both parties were expected to agree that security was paramount and should the police consider that the security measures in place were not adequate, the event would be called off at the expense of the organisers.

In an event of breach of any or a combination of the above terms, the Government reserves the right to call off the event without notice, read the MoU written and signed in Kampala at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The countrys Uganda's Minister for Ethics and Integrity, Simon Lokodo, had previously banned the highly publicised international music and arts festival claiming it was promoting immorality.

Story by Thaddeus Asesa

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Kenyans Angry Over High Fuel Prices - On Tuko TV

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- Liu Jiaqi was captured on camera lashing out at Kenyans in complete rage

- He was talking to a Kenyan worker whom he threatened to kick out of his bike shop in Ruiru

- The foreigner described Kenyans as poor and smelly people, including Uhuru

- The viral clip sparked angry reactions from Kenyans who demanded for the foreigner's deportation

A racist Chinese national who was caught on camera referring to President Uhuru Kenyatta and other Kenyans as "poor and stupid black monkeys" has been arrested.

Liu Jiaqi, who worked at Sonlink Limited, a motorbikes shop in Ruiru on the Northern bypass, was arrested on the morning of Thursday, September 6, after local authorities got hold of the viral clip in which the foreigner was caught insulting the president.

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READ ALSO: Sharon Otieno siye wa kwanza; mabinti wengine 4 waliofariki baada ya kujihusisha na watu mashuhuri

The video emerged barely hours after an unknown number of foreign journalists were arrested following an intensified government crackdown on illegal immigrants.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Government issues number to report illegal immigrants in Kenya

TUKO.co.ke learnt Jiaqi was being processed for immediate deportation back to China after his utterances sparked angry reactions from Kenyans, many of who demanded for the foreigner to be flown back to his country without any delay.

"Chinese national by the name Liu Jiaqi who was captured on video yesterday (Wednesday) using abusive words has been arrested. His work permit has been canceled and will be deported on racism grounds," the Immigration Department noted in tweet seen by TUKO.co.ke on Thursday.

READ ALSO: Labour CS Ukur Yatani takes over probe into alleged racism by Chinese at SGR amid uproar

The arrogant and unapologetic Jiaqi was to be deported on Thursday morning even as his racist remarks continued to evoke reactions, including from local leaders.

READ ALSO: SGR workers barred from disclosing information after damning report of mistreatment by Chinese bosses

The man, seemingly in his late 20s or early 30s, made the insults while speaking to a Kenyan man who was secretly recording him while airing his discomfort.

Unperturbed, Jiaqi rudely confessed that he hated Kenyans and the country because they were "poor", dragging Uhuru's name in the rant.

"Everyone, every Kenyan is like a monkey. Even Uhuru Kenyatta, all of them. I dont like you monkey people, you smell bad and foolish and black," he ranted.

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Angry Kenyan Sends Message to President Uhuru Kenyatta - On Tuko TV

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- Sharon's body was found in a forest which is about 30 kilometers from Rongo town, two days after she went missing

- She was allegedly abducted alongside one journalist in a plot said to be organised by the governor's personal assistant

- Her mother confirmed heavily pregnant Sharon had a romantic relationship with the governor

- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations had sent a homicide squad to the crime scene

The ghastly killing of a heavily pregnant Rongo University student, Sharon Otieno, by her abductors has elicited mixed reactions and counter reactions from the Kenyan online community.

Even as homicide detectives have been dispatched to the crime scene, details emerged pointing to love gone sour between Sharon and Migori Governor Okoth Obado who is said to be responsible for the pregnancy and death but has denied the allegations.

READ ALSO: Sharon Otieno siye wa kwanza; mabinti wengine 4 waliofariki baada ya kujihusisha na watu mashuhuri

Details emerged pointing to love gone sour between Sharon and Migori Governor Okoth Obado whose personal assistant allegedly orchestrated the murder. Photo: Sharon Otieno/Facebook.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Body of pregnant Rongo student who was kidnapped with journalist found in forest

Obado's personal assistant, now in police custody, allegedly ushered the slain woman alongside journalist Barrack Oduor into a black car where their alleged kidnappers waited.

Her body was found in a forest which is about 30 kilo metres away from Rongo town where the governor's right hand man had scheduled to respond to the relationship scandal.

While majority empathised with her inconsolable parents and called for a speedy probe to bring to book perpetrators of the heinous act, there are those who still believe Sharon's death was avoidable had she resisted the allure of old men money.

READ ALSO: Blow by blow account of how pregnant Rongo University student met her death

It is this open bashing and justification of crime which has not gone down well with some Kenyan women who maintained dating older men (sponsors) is not a crime but killing is.

"Killing is a crime. Having a sponsor is not. Kenyans should stop with the shallow analysis of a criminal act. May Sharon Otieno and her family get justice," tweeted Wambui on Thursday, September 6.

Melida Auma Otieno, mother to the slain student confirmed her daughter had a romantic relationship with the governor which was rigged with empty promises.

According to the late Sharons mother, the girl had been living in fear for the past two weeks, although she was reluctant to reveal details of what she was unsettled about.

The mother also said she warned her daughter against dating the politician.

Government spokesperson Eric Kiraithe said the State would ensure the killers are brought to book.

Already, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations confirmed it had sent a homicide squad to Migori county.

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Kenyans Angry Over High Fuel Prices - On Tuko TV

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- Drivers who attempted to transport the commodity have been facing intimidation

- Long queues at fuel stations have been witnessed due to acute fuel shortage in the country

- Some dealers had started increasing the prices of the commodity to cope with scarcity

- Loading however resumed and fuel supply was expected to come back to normal

Fuel supply in the country is set to be reinstated after armed GSU officers on Thursday, September 6, flushed out dealers barricading movement of fuel trucks at Nairobi's Industrial Area fuel deport.

TUKO.co.ke earlier reported that fuel shortage had hit the country, with Nairobi receiving the heaviest blow after wholesale dealers blocked fuel transportation in protest of the recently imposed 16% VAT on fuel.

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READ ALSO: Sharon Otieno siye wa kwanza; mabinti wengine 4 waliofariki baada ya kujihusisha na watu mashuhuri

GSU officers escorted fuel tankers headed to various destinations. Photo: Capital FM

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Kenya petroleum distributors go on strike over fuel price increase

The officers further escorted the fuel trucks out of the deport, ending the strike by employees under Kenya Independent Petroleum Distributors Association Holdings Limited (KIPEDA) who had vowed to oppose the tax.

On Wednesday, September 5, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) through a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke, suspended the licence of KIPEDA stating its actions could snowball into economic sabotage.

READ ALSO: ERC revokes license of independent oil importers leading fuel boycott over new tax

"The Commission wishes to inform members of the public that the action by Kipeda Holdings Limited amounts to economic sabotage and hereby cancels the licence of the said licensee pursuant to Section 85 of the Energy Act No. 12 of 2006, read the statement.

The firm, ERC said, had orchestrated an elaborate intimidation scheme that encouraged the strike and hence occasioning acute fuel shortage.

READ ALSO: Motorist who fled petrol station in Kasarani causing massive fire arrested

"Kipeda Holdings Limited is therefore no longer has a licence to carry out import, export and wholesale of petroleum products, ERC announced.

The ERC however maintained the current fuel prices were accurately calculated after extensive consultation and watered down reports that the prices would go up further.

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Theresa May, British Prime Minister, Visits Kenya | Tuko TV.

Source: Tuko Kenya
When you contrast Trump's economic accomplishments in less than two years to the catastrophic condition of this state thanks to decades of Democratic ineptness, Durbin should be taking leadership notes from Trump, and it's Gutierrez who should resign!
- Mwangi said Raila is officially in Jubilee and he is not going to help Kenyans anymore

- The activist accused Raila of ignoring the death of his supporters who died before the handshake

- He said Raila should retire honourably from before he gets into a dishonourable position

- He asked Kenyans to shun politics run by tribal kingpins and focus on leadership performance

Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has hit hard on Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga accusing him of ruining Kenya through the famous handshake.

The tough speaking Mwangi has called on Kenyans to reject tribal kingpins and elect leaders who have a track record of performance.

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READ ALSO: Sharon Otieno siye wa kwanza; mabinti wengine 4 waliofariki baada ya kujihusisha na watu mashuhuri

Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has hit hard on Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga accusing him of ruining Kenya through the famous handshake. Photo: UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Raila condemns murder of female student linked to Migori Governor Okoth Obado

In his Instagram post seen by TUKO.co.ke Mwangi said Raila is officially in Jubilee and he is not going to help Kenyans in opposing punitive laws and policies passed by the government.

"Raila has played his role and he must go home to play with his grandkids. Raila's selfish, transactional politics has ruined our nation; from selling nominations to destroying those who refuse to follow him," said Mwangi.

According to the former Starehe MP aspirant, Raila should retire honourably and failing to do so he might find himself in a dishonourable position after many years of good service to Kenyans.

According to Mwangi, Raila should retire honourably and failing to do so he might find himself in a dishonourable position. Photo: UGC

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Raila calls for audit of his fathers wealth, says no one should be spared

"People have died, especially Luos, fighting for justice, but Raila Odinga shakes hands with the killers and moves on as if nothing happened," he added.

The activist asked Kenyans to avoid the politics run by tribal kingpins and instead focus on electing leaders with a proven track record like Kivutha Kibwana.

Mwangi said the outstanding intolerance to corruption by Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana is enough prove that he can become a better leader for Kenya.

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Breaking News Kenya: Angry Kenyan Sends Message to President Uhuru Kenyatta | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
- Lulu Hassan has finally given birth to her child baby in a decent and quiet manner

- Lulu has been keeping news about her pregnancy and delivery under wraps

-Her counterpart Lilian Muli was all noisy from the time she conceived to her delivery

Well manicured TV girl Lulu Hassan has finally given birth to her third baby and what a joy!

TUKO.co.ke learnt that the mother of two made an addition to her 'team' about eight days ago after successfully giving birth to a bouncing baby girl.

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READ ALSO: Mazungumzo ya Facebook yafichua mali aliyoahidiwa Sharon Otieno kabla ya kuuawa

READ ALSO: Citizen TV's Lulu Hassan shows off her growing baby bump and TUKO.co.ke has the photos

News about Lulu's delivery was first shared by the TV girl as she commented on one of her friends' Instagram posts.

The Swahili news anchor who was commenting on Dan Sonko's photo of his son cuddling a cute little girl unknowingly spilt the beans by revealing how she was into raising her daughter who arrived "eight days" ago.

READ ALSO: Rashid Abdallah exits NTV to join wife Lulu Hassan at Citizen TV

As reported by TUKO.co.ke earlier, Lulu was expectant and looking forward to delivering her third child with TV sweetheart Rashid Abdhalla.

However, unlike most people especially celebrities such as Lilian Muli, she had kept news about her pregnancy and delivery secret.

READ ALSO: Glamorous photos from Jaguar's baby mamas lavish white and gold themed baby shower

With her latest delivery, Lulu is now a proud mother of two boys and a girl, and unlike Lilian, she hasn't made noise about it.

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ALSO WATCH: Former Hapa Kule actress revealing the rot that is the Kenyan film industry: On TUKO TV

Source: Tuko
- The Nairobi Speaker received massive support from top Jubilee leadership during her election

- She fell out with MCAs who accused her of abuse of office later on

- MCAs voted overwhelmingly to remove her from office after amending standing orders

- Elachi moved to court and obtained conservatory orders stopping her impeachment

Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi has found temporary relief after a court issued orders barring her removal from office.

The embattled Speaker was impeached by a majority 103 Members of County Assembly (MCAs) out of 107 on Thursday, September 6, for allegedly spending KSh 1 million taxpayers' money for plastic surgery on pretense she was attending a Diaspora Women Network conference

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READ ALSO: Mazungumzo ya Facebook yafichua mali aliyoahidiwa Sharon Otieno kabla ya kuuawa

Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi who was impeached by Members of County Assembly obtained court orders allowing her to stay in office. Photo: Beatrice Elachi/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Nairobi County Assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi suspended amidst impeachment woes

However, Elachi who was missing during her ouster motion surfaced with court papers directing the Assembly to suspend her ouster, pending hearing and determination of a petition she had filed.

In her application, the Speaker sought for orders barring her removal from office and limiting the county Public Service Board from appointing another person to take over her office permanently or in acting capacity.

"Pending hearing and determination of this matter, a conservatory order is issued prohibiting respondents, their members or any person acting under their behest from interfering with execution of the petitioner of her current duties as Nairobi County Assembly Speaker," read part of the court order.

Nairobi Speaker Beatrice Elachi obtained orders protecting her from being kicked out of office after MCAs impeached her. Photo: Beatrice Elachi/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Secret trip for a KSh 1 million plastic surgery among reasons for impeaching Nairobi Speaker

The order also restricted the House from debating, deliberating upon, or removing her from office.

The court directed that the purported decision to impeach Elachi on Thursday, September 6, be stayed until matter was heard and determined.

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Kenyans React - Chinese Man Calls President Uhuru Kenyatta a Monkey - Breaking News Kenya |Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
On Saturday, September 8, OSCE Coordinator in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Toni Frisch will visit the occupied Donbas, where he will try to communicate with Ukrainian hostages.

Ukraine's representative in the humanitarian subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group for Donbas Iryna Gerashchenko wrote this on Facebook following a meeting in Minsk.

"On Saturday, OSCE Ambassador Toni Frisch will go to the occupied Donbas and try to get access to the Ukrainian hostages," she said.

Earlier, Gerashchenko reported that the Ukrainian side in Minsk insisted that the ambassador visited all Ukrainian soldiers who for years had been illegally detained by militants and who did not have the right to telephone calls to their families, letters and parcels.

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Ukraine has agreed on joint development of the infrastructure projects in Central and Eastern Europe with Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania.

A relevant statement was signed by the ministers of these countries, including Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan, during the 28th Economic Forum in Poland's Krynica-Zdroj on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Signing these documents is meaningful since it is very important for us to unite Ukraine's infrastructure with the EU," Omelyan said after signing the document in a commentary to Ukrinform.

He noted that Ukraine had very good links with regional partners and had been already implementing many projects.

"We witness the absolute success of Kyiv-Przemysl train route, and we predict the same success for Mukachevo-Budapest route," the minister noted.

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Kyiv is interested in further economic cooperation with Germany and expects an increase in German investments.

Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said this during a meeting with Vice President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Kubicki, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration reported.

Klitschko stressed that Ukraine today is a promising market.

The mayor also noted that one of his tasks is to open as many foreign missions in Kyiv as possible to implement important international projects. Klitschko expressed hope that Ukraine and Germany will be able to implement many common plans, in particular, in economic sector, machine building, agricultural sector and cultural projects.

The parties also discussed the situation in Donbas. Klitschko noted the need for strengthening sanctions against Russia, which is responsible for the continuation of hostilities, providing terrorists with weapons and military. The pressure of the world community on the Russian Federation will help bring peace and restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the mayor said.

He also called on the Vice President of the Bundestag to intensify the fight against Russian propaganda in Germany. In particular, this referred to media resources that spread distorted information about Ukraine.

During the conversation, the mayor of the capital offered Wolfgang Kubicki to visit Donbas and personally get to know the situation.

ish
The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has arrived in Kyiv and started working in Ukraine, the press service of the Ukrainian Finance Ministry reports.

On September 6, 2018, the IMF mission led by Ron Van Rooden started working in Ukraine, reads the report.

It is noted that the Finance Ministry intends to discuss with the IMF mission the continuation of cooperation after the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program expires in March 2019.

As reported, the IMF mission will work in Ukraine until September 19.

Ukraine expects to receive another tranche worth $2 billion from the Fund. At the same time, the IMF has put forward several conditions for Ukraine to provide these funds, among which is the increase in gas prices for the population.

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The National Bank of Ukraine expects a positive decision from the International Monetary Fund regarding the next tranche by the end of the year.

NBU Chairman Yakiv Smoliy said this at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"I will have a meeting with the IMF. We expect that the negotiations will be successful and that we will reach a consensus on obtaining the next tranche by the end of the year," Smoliy said.

Today, September 6, the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Ron Van Rooden started working in Ukraine. The Finance Ministry intends to discuss with the IMF mission the continuation of cooperation after the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program expires in March 2019.

The IMF mission will work in Ukraine until September 19.

Ukraine expects to receive another tranche worth $2 billion from the Fund.

ish
Ukraine views Norwegian investments in construction of a wind power station in the south of Kherson region near the administrative border with Crimea as Norway's contribution to de-occupation of the peninsula.

"We view the investments of a Norwegian company on the border with Crimea as Norway's contribution to Crimea's de-occupation," President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said at the meeting with Foreign Minister of Norway Ine Eriksen Sreide, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He recalled that Norwegian company planned to invest about $450 million in construction of a wind power station in Kherson region, a few kilometers from Lake Syvash and the Ukrainian Crimea which is currently occupied by Russia.

"The investment of Norwegian company a few kilometers from the administrative border with the occupied territory shows a firm conviction that this territory will be liberated," Poroshenko noted.

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A new Swedish financial program has been launched in Ukraine to support the development of long-term sustainable district heating systems.

The program was presented at the Nordic Green to Scale seminar in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

I am very glad to announce the continuation of Swedish support to district heating in Ukraine. This is an area where we have a lot to share, having gone through decades of modernization of our district heating systems. I have also visited several of the ongoing projects, and I am very impressed with the results that NEFCO and our Ukrainian partners have achieved, so far, said Martin Hagstrom, Ambassador of Sweden to Ukraine.

The focus of the new funding programme is on the creation of district heating systems large enough to enable effective use of renewable and waste heat sources with low environmental and climate impact, as well as improved district heating services enabling the customers to control their heat consumption based on their needs. This, in turn, will also result in improved indoor climate and hot water supply, NEFCO reports.

The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) is the international financial institution founded by the Scandinavian countries in 1990. NEFCO finances and implements projects related to anticipating the climate change and increasing green investment around the world.

Sweden is a long-time partner of Ukraine. During the period from 2014 to 2020, Sweden will allocate EUR 175 million to support reforms in Ukraine. This makes Sweden the seventh largest donor of the country.

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The next meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Donbas will be held in Minsk on September 19.

Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the TCG, Ambassador Martin Sajdik, told this to journalists, BELTA reported.

The next round of talks on the situation in eastern Ukraine is scheduled for September 19 in Minsk, he said.

During the talks on September 5, the humanitarian working group focused on a visit by OSCE Coordinator Toni Frisch to the conflict zone on both sides of the contact line. The economic working group, among other things, continued to discuss steps to restore and improve the quality of Vodafone-Ukraine mobile communication in certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as current issues related to the payment of pensions and water supply. The political working group discussed the implementation of the Steinmeier formula, amnesty and modality of local elections in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

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Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin has left for Canada on a working visit.

This was reported by the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.

"Klimkin went on a working visit to Canada. He will take part in the opening ceremony of the Consulate General of Ukraine in the Canadian city of Edmonton on September 7-8 and hold meetings with representatives of the Ukrainian community and the government officials of Canada," the report reads.

ish
Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze has asked the leadership of the German Bundestag to help release Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze discussed this at a meeting with Vice President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Kubicki, Chairman of the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid Gyde Jensen and Member of the Committee on Economic and Energy Affairs of the German Bundestag Johann Saathoff, the Government portal reported.

"Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze asked the Bundestag leadership to help release the Ukrainian captives of the Kremlin," the report reads.

The vice premier thanked for a reliable dialogue between the two countries and for Germanys political support for Ukraine in the international arena.

The parties discussed the implementation of the Minsk agreements and the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia.

She also expressed hope that the German parliament will support the recognition of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine as genocide.

ish
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has called on Norway to join the international campaign demanding the release of Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia.

"I ... would also ask you to make efforts and join the international campaign demanding the release of Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russian prisons, including well-known film director Oleg Sentsov, well-known journalist Mr. Sushchenko, Crimean Tatar activists and Ukrainians of Crimea who have been held in prisons for many years only because they refused to abandon their Ukrainian passport and raised the Ukrainian flag, because of being the patriots of our state," Poroshenko said at the meeting with Foreign Minister of Norway Ine Eriksen Sreide, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He also thanked Norway for joining the EU sanctions against Russia, which "firmly support the Ukrainian sovereignty."

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Foreign Minister of Norway Ine Eriksen Sreide believes that the European countries need to be constantly reminded of what is happening in Donbas and that the conflict continues to claim lives of Ukrainian citizens.

"As for my visit to Mariupol and the contact line, it was very important for me to see the current situation. This conflict is of low intensity, but it continues to claim the lives of Ukrainian citizens. I think that we should constantly remind the European countries of what is happening there," the minister said during the meeting with President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on September 6, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Sreide added that it was also important for her to confirm that Norway would continue to provide support in addressing these issues, particularly, in financing the OSCE monitoring mission.

"We fully support the EU restrictive measures on Russia... We also continue to coordinate activities within Europe and fully agree with these actions. We fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity both within the framework of NATO and the bilateral context of our cooperation," the Norwegian Foreign Minister assured.

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Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov and Leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev in the scope of their visit to Ankara have met with the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian diasporas of Turkey.

The meeting took place in the premises of the Crimean Tatar Association on September 4, Ukr-Ayna reports.

During a 40-minute talk, the goal of the meeting of the Ukrainian minister with Turkish colleagues and its results were discussed. Arsen Avakov told those present about the agreements on the fight against terrorism, illegal transportation of migrants, human traffic, cybercrime, money laundering, illicit drug trade and transnational organized crime, reads the report.

Also, Avakov told about the agreements reached in the defense sector.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to problems of the Crimean Tatar people, in particular, the problem of entry and exit from Crimea. The minister noted that "the parties are currently working on the liberalization of the procedure for obtaining permission to enter Crimea for Crimean Tatars from Turkey."

In turn, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars Mustafa Dzhemilev told about the disclosure of plans of Russian special services in Crimea.

We have received information that an analytical center close to the Russian authorities is going to send a group of experts to Crimea so that they allegedly hold certain meetings there. Since all this is funded by the Russian side, we can already state that their conclusions will be biased, completely pro-Russian and its transfer to the Turkish side would be aimed, most likely, at the recognition of the annexation of Crimea, said Dzhemilev.

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The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the draft law of Ukraine "On Ukraine's Accession to the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes".

"On September 5, the Government approved the draft law of Ukraine On Ukraine's Accession to the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes. The draft law was developed by the Ministry of Culture for Ukraine to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes, which aims to form a common cultural space through the development of cultural routes which, in turn, will promote the popularization of the national cultural heritage in Ukraine and Europe as an integral part of the common European history, tourist and economic development of the country by joining the already existing and initiating new cultural routes," the Governmental portal reports.

The Cultural Routes programme was launched by the Council of Europe in 1987. Its objective was to demonstrate, by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of the different countries and cultures of Europe contributes to a shared cultural heritage.

In December 2010, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution CM/Res(2010)53 establishing an Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA) to enable closer co-operation between states particularly interested in the development of Cultural Routes.

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Two Russian nationals have been charged with carrying out the nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury.

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin says Ukraine will continue supporting the United Kingdom in countering Russia's means of hybrid warfare.

"British investigators into the Skripals case have revealed what had to be revealed. We have always stood in solidarity with our British friends and partners in countering the hybrid methods used by Russia and we will continue supporting them in the struggle!" Klimkin tweeted on September 5.

As UNIAN reported, the British police identified two Russian citizens suspected of poisoning the former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter Yulia. These are Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

Read alsoSalisbury Novichok poisoning: Two Russian nationals named as suspects (Photo)

Former employee of the Russian GRU, Skripal, and his daughter were found unconscious in the British city of Salisbury on March 4. The investigation concluded that they had been poisoned with a nerve Novichok-type agent, developed in the USSR.

Their poisoning triggered a diplomatic row between the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation.
The information was confirmed by Chief Prosecutor Lutsenko himself.

Another Ukrainian journalist, Kristina Berdynskykh of Novoe Vremya Weekly, has learnt from Chief Prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko's secretary Larysa Sargan that she is subject to a Kyiv court ruling on investigators' access to her phone data.

Sargan wrote this in a comment under Berdynskykh's Facebook post on September 5, the Novoe Vremya portal reported.

Member of Parliament Svitlana Zalishchuk in turn said this information had been confirmed by Lutsenko himself.

"I've just met with the chief prosecutor on the case of Natalia Sedletska [the first journalist whose phone is subject to examination by prosecutors]. He told me that there is a court ruling not only on Natalia, but also on Kristina Berdynskykh," Zalishchuk wrote on Facebook on the same day.

"I've just learned there is a court ruling on me, too, which allows the PGO [the Prosecutor General's Office] to check my phone over the period of 1.5 years," Berdynskykh wrote on Facebook.

She also recalled that law enforcement agencies had been unable to track the source of one message threatening her way back in 2016. "I have only one request to ask those who will check my phone! There is one message, sent in 2016, which I do not delete  I have carefully been storing it, as the police have not been able for two years to establish anything  who sent it and who ordered to troll me in that, so terrible way. They checked that message for way too long and nothing happened. No one except me was questioned in relation to this case. The police then also asked me to write a request to close the case. Perhaps, the PGO will manage it better than the police," the journalist added.

Read alsoU.S. Embassy: Ruling on access to reporters' phone data may have chilling effect on press freedom

She also posted the screenshot of that message, which said: "Kristina, one more article in those little magazines about [local gas trader] Kyivgaz, and your monument will be next to that of [Georgiy] Gongadze [a Ukrainian journalist, a co-founding editor of the Ukrayinska Pravda online newspaper, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2000]."

As was earlier reported, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv on August 27 approved a request from Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office to let investigators review all cell-phone data from a 17-month period of investigative reporter Natalia Sedletska, the host of Schemes, the anti-corruption TV program by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. The ruling stems from a criminal investigation into the alleged disclosure of state secrets to journalists in 2017 by Artem Sytnyk, director of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
Moscow is probing increasingly frankly the possibility of quitting Minsk agreements, Novoprudsky said.

Russian journalist Semen Novoprudsky has said public reaction of Russia's top officials to the assassination of the so-called "leader of 'Donetsk People's Republic'," Alexander Zakharchenko, showed how much this incident plays into Moscow's hands, since the last signatory of the second package of Minsk agreements from the so-called people's republics had been removed.

As Novoprudsky wrote for the Novoe Vremya weekly, Russia is openly preparing grounds for bargaining with the West on dividing Ukraine (or even for a hot war if Moscow feels that Washington and Brussels are not ready to tighten sanctions, and vice versa if sanctions are tightened and it is necessary to distract Russians from their consequences).

In any case, Moscow is probing increasingly frankly the possibility of quitting Minsk agreements, Novoprudsky said.

Read alsoFSB preparing Girkin's return to Donbas  expert

The journalist recalled Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov voicing the Kremlin's demonstrative public reaction to Zakharchenko's murder (of course, as always, conveying Putin's point of view): "This will hinder Minsk agreements on Donbas." Lavrov also said it was impossible to hold further meetings in the Normandy format in the "current situation."

"The circle closes: a month and a half ago, Moscow was trying to persuade the U.S. in dividing Ukraine bypassing the Minsk agreements. And now they turned out to be the only interested party to the conflict, calling Zakharchenko's murder an obstacle to the Minsk agreements. That's despite the fact that Moscow constantly promotes 'DPR' as an actor in the 'civil war,' which Putin says is ongoing in Ukraine. But if the 'DPR' is the subject to the conflict, how can the murder of its head hinder Minsk agreements?" Novoprudsky said.

"It is clear that Zakharchenko was Moscow's absolute puppet, but he was at least formally promoted through 'elections'. Now both 'people's republics' are ruled by temporary governors appointed by the Kremlin, and there is no one left among them who signed the Minsk agreements," the journalist said.
The law specifies that women perform military services on a par with men.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted the Law of Ukraine "On amending certain laws of Ukraine on ensuring equal rights and opportunities for women and men at military service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations" (No. 6109).

The decision was backed by 247 lawmakers, an UNIAN correspondent reports.

Read alsoU.S. could give Ukraine weapons to repel possible Russian attack from sea  expert

The law specifies that female troops perform military duty on a par with male servicemen (except in cases stipulated by the legislation on maternity and childhood protection, as well as the prohibition of gender discrimination), which includes voluntary service (on contractual basis) and conscription, military service, service in the military reserve, military duty in reserve, and compliance with the rules of military registration.

The law comes into force 10 days after its publication.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has been tasked to urgently adopt the Maritime Doctrine of Ukraine.

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on Thursday, September 6, passed a decision to equip the Ukrainian coastal defense units in the Sea of Azov with the latest high-precision missile weapons.

"The NSDC of Ukraine approved a set of measures aimed at protecting national interests in the southern regions, the water areas of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea," it said following a meeting in Kyiv.

"They are aimed at strengthening [the country's] naval presence in the Sea of Azov, creating a ship and boat unit of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, developing respective infrastructure, equipping coastal defense units with the latest high-precision missile weapons, etc.," it said.

Read alsoEU calls on Russia to ensure foreign vessels' free access to Ukrainian ports in Sea of Azov

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was also instructed to urgently adopt the Maritime Doctrine of Ukraine and improve the regulatory and legal framework for protecting national interests in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

As UNIAN reported, in the second half of April 2018, Russian border guards started inspecting and detaining foreign vessels heading to and from Ukrainian ports. The Ukrainian State Border Service says that Ukraine has been a hostage to the situation since 2004, namely, under an agreement on cooperation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, which defines the Sea of Azov as a sea of internal use of the two states. Thus, both Russian and Ukrainian border guards can inspect vessels that they consider to be suspicious.
Four "White Brotherhood" gang members were incarcerated.

In a Ukrainian town of Nikopol, the police exposed a "White Brotherhood" criminal organization, whose members are suspected of committing a series of grave crimes: assassinations, drug trafficking, blackmail, and commercial property seizure, as reported by the Internal Security Department of the National Police.

It is noted that the group established on a certain territory the systematic production and sale of narcotic substances and psychotropic drugs on a particularly large scale, and completely controlled this "business."

"The over 30-strong criminal group had at its disposal a large number of weapons and links with individual law enforcement officials," the report said.

The police found out that the drug ring leader is a 43-year-old Nikopol resident who monopolized the local drug business.

"When other drug traffickers tried to redistribute the drug market, the conflict erupted with the White Brotherhood leader (aka "Batya"  "Daddy")," the law enforcers said. "At the beginning of 2016, the main opponent, the 25-year-old leader of an ethnic group, and his driver were shot in a car with no chances to survive. The shooters were detained and the case came to court, but the father of the killed gangster believed that the trial was being delayed, so he came to the court hearing and threw an RGD grenade at the defendants, and another one at his own feet. As a result of the explosion, the attacker died as well as one of his son's killers," the National Police said.

Besides, individual police officers in Nikopol received bribes on a monthly basis for turning a blind eye to the criminal organization dirty business.

The Internal Security Department recorded the receipt of UAH 72,000 in bribes by police officers who were caught red handed. The money was transferred by a mediator, a former police officer.

In addition, the police found that gang members sold a wide range of narcotic substances, including marijuana, acetylated opiates, amphetamine, and methamphetamine.

Read alsoHow Ukraine is fighting corruption one heart stent at a time - NYT

During the raid, 52 authorized searches were carried out on the territory of Nikopol.

The police seized narcotics, mobile phones, office equipment, cash money in different currencies (hryvnia, U.S. dollars, and rubles), weapons and ammunition (RGD-5 grenade with a fuse, grenade launcher and grenade to it, antipersonnel mine, automatic weapons, TNT, electric detonators, TNT sets, cartridges of various caliber, spare parts for pistols and automatic weapons).

Two corrupt police officers and their former colleague were issued suspicion notices, while four gang members were also charged and incarcerated.
Mr Vagapov is a member of the Coordination Council at the local police department.

On Wednesday evening in Odesa, a group of unknown attackers shot at Andriy Vagapov, a local civic activist, who suffered gun wounds as a result of the attack.

According to Mr Vagapov, he was shot three times and he cannot feel his leg below his knee.

UNIAN learned that the attack unfolded in the city's Suvorovsky district. Before the police arrived at the scene, local residents provided first aid to the wounded activist.

Read alsoHunt for activists

The Odesa PD confirmed the attack on Andriy Vagapov, adding that a CSI team was working on the scene to establish the circumstances of the crime and find traces that could lead to perpetrators.

Mr Vagapov has a degree in law and is now part of the Coordination Council at the local police department.

As UNIAN reported earlier, on July 17, an unidentified person attempted to plant an explosive device under Andriy Vagapov's car. The activist spotted the man near his car and reported the incident to the police, who qualified it as "hooliganism."
Ambassador Frisch will travel to the conflict-affected areas on both sides of the contact line to meet detainees and observe their detention conditions.

An OSCE coordinator Toni Frisch will travel to Donbas September 6-12, including to the occupied territories, to see detainees and observe detention conditions, according to the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Ambassador Martin Sajdik.

"The Humanitarian Working Group focused on the preparations to the fieldtrip of Ambassador Toni Frisch, its Coordinator. This trip will take place on 6-12 September. Ambassador Frisch will travel to the conflict-affected areas on both sides of the contact line to meet detainees and observe their detention conditions," Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine and in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG), Sajdik said in a statement after the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk September 5.

As you know, today is the fourth anniversary of the Minsk Protocol. All the TCG members stressed once more their full commitment to the Minsk agreements," he added.
The main process in Constantinople on the Ukraine issue has actually completed at a time when no one paid real attention.

The Ecumenical Patriarchate clearly stated that the mother-church for Ukraine is Constantinople, not Moscow. We were baptized by Byzantium, Constantinople, not by Moscow. It was Moscow who obtained baptism from us, and therefore we cannot be a daughter church for Moscow - we are a daughter church for Constantinople.

This is the most significant and historic decision because it canceled a whole series of obscene acts, for example, the one when Moscow was granted priority over Kyiv for a bunch of sable furs. In church practice, this is called simony  that is, buying holy orders for money, or "church corruption."

The Ecumenical Patriarchate clearly stated that the mother-church for Ukraine is Constantinople, not Moscow

So, the Ukraine issue was resolved when the Ecumenical Patriarch canceled the act of simony of the Moscow church.

The methods of law applied in Orthodox churches suggest that the mother-church can itself establish certain rules by which it must independently decide on certain issues in each particular case. And in the case of Ukraine, the meeting of the hierarchs of the Church of Constantinople made a decision that has already been applied  there was a precedent. For example, the youngest Autocephalous Orthodox Church is the Albanian one. It is small church, but it enjoys full rights, being absolutely free and independent. And the decision on that church was taken on the same precedent, now set to be used on Ukraine. This is the method by which the decision to grant autocephaly does not provide for convening all patriarchs, even the Synod, while the latter delegates such right to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is entitled to make that decision on his own.

Therefore, the possibilities of decision-making on granting a Tomos on autocephaly are now reduced to a personal decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch. And the negotiations that Poroshenko had been holding with him for about two years cannot end with nothing. There's no walking back. That is, the Ecumenical Patriarch will decide in favor of Ukraine.

The first point of the Synaxis decision is just about that. The Ecumenical Patriarch will personally make the decision without agreeing with anyone else. The only thing is that he will consult with the Ecumenical Synod in an advisory capacity. This procedure is quite formal.

The second point defines our further actions. It gives the right to the Universal Patriarch to remove any kinds of anathema, judicial internal church decisions regarding any of the churches that are daughters in relation to the Church of Constantinople.

Moscow Church, after capturing the Ukrainian Church, imposing its influence over it, also cursed and excommunicated Patriarch Filaret and all those bishops who supported him and created the UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate, recognizing them as non-canonical. The main thing that the ROC now emphasizes is that this church is non-canonical. And this, incidentally, holds back many of the Orthodox Ukrainian believers, priests, and even bishops from joining it.

The possibilities of decision-making on granting a Tomos on autocephaly are now reduced to a personal decision of the Ecumenical Patriarch. And the negotiations that Poroshenko had been holding with him for about two years cannot end with nothing

So, the second decision of the Synoxis gave the Ecumenical Patriarch the right to personally decide, after consulting the Synod, on the removal of such anathema and restoration of bishops' status. That is, all those who were cursed and excommunicated from the church by the Moscow Patriarchate will be recovered. And Filaret, like the bishops who were with him, deprived of canonicity, will be returned their canonical status. Automatically canonical become all those whom Filaret made bishops.

This means that from the moment that this move is made by the Ecumenical Patriarch (and this, I think, will happen within a few weeks), the UOC-KP shall become completely canonical, according to the Orthodox rules, and it can become the main cornerstone of the creation of a new Orthodox Church.

The third point is what we have to do ourselves  I mean the church (I'm saying this conditionally, because I am a Greek Catholic, and it does not concern me at all. I just studied the canon law, because I have a bit of theological education). In Ukraine, a church should now be created  not renamed, not transformed in any way, but created. But everyone understands that since there is the initiating church, it is the Filaret's Kyivan Patriarchate, and it is the largest of those who seek to establish a local church, and it will be the main core of the new church. Everyone understands that Filaret himself will be the primate of the new Ukrainian local Orthodox Church, already completely independent one, simply being a daughter-church of Constantinople  but there is a very conditional dependence here. And it will be the basis. But nevertheless, the new church will not be just a mechanical extension of the UOC-KP. It will be a church, which will unite into a single entity with the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which has already announced its readiness to unite, and a significant part of the bishops and parishes of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. After that, Ukraine will not only be the Kyiv Patriarchate, but the Orthodox Local Church.

This is for clerics to decide on its future name, whether it will be just a Ukrainian Church, or a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, or a Ukrainian Local Church.

Meanwhile, the church of the Moscow Patriarchate will be recognized as a church that is the representative of foreign hierarchs in Ukraine. For example, there is a Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Ukraine. There are just a few parishes, but they are out there, and they have no problems operating in Odesa region. Nobody argues with them, while they obey their patriarch, who presides in Sofia. Similarly, the Moscow Orthodox Church will be the first to re-register its parishes and eparchies. And this will not be the UOC anymore  it will not be able to continue to use this name. This will be eparchies and parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

A separate note is how Moscow will react to all of these processes. Obviously, Moscow will be talking about another split in Ukrainian society, that the faithful of different patriarchs are confronting each other. Moscow will give fresh tasks to all its agents in Ukraine. There will be attempts to set up mutiny, which will be not only of a religious nature. Provocateurs will try to organize brawls and fights in certain parishes.

The church of the Moscow Patriarchate will be recognized as a church that is the representative of foreign hierarchs in Ukraine

In addition, the transition of parishes will not be a fast process. It might take several years. First, separate dioceses will shift to the new church. For example, the Metropolitan of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate, Drabynko, whom a pro-Russian MP Vadym Novynsky attacked, will turn to the new church immediately, I believe. So this transition of parishes will be gradual; it won't be massive. And Moscow, I think, will try to arrange clashes and bring in some of its "Cossacks" and other thugs of all kinds. The task of the Ukrainian police and intelligence agencies is to be on guard and monitor the external influence: any emissaries or groups that will be coming from Russia will have to be detained; those who will somehow manage to sow unrest must be convicted; while others should simply be expelled from the territory of Ukraine. And I believe, people here in Ukraine will find mutual understanding very soon, perhaps following some light squabbles.

However, avoiding any internal conflicts on these grounds is impossible. But they will be short-lived. The main thing is to intercept provocateurs coming from Russia. There is also no doubt that they will try to organized "religious processions" in Kyiv.

The main thing is not to tackle the issue too fast and rigid, because there may be a fierce spark that Russia could use for powerful military provocations and even interventions.

Taras Chornovil is a political analyst, former people's deputy of Ukraine
Kyivstar's press service has confirmed that "information about the seizure of servers does not correspond to reality."

The National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has denied information about the alleged seizure of all servers of the Kyivstar mobile operator.

"Information on the alleged seizure of all Kyivstar servers by the NABU, spread in the media with reference to MP Olga Chervakova, is false," NABU wrote on Twitter.

Kyivstar's press service has confirmed that "information about the seizure of servers does not correspond to reality."

"All servers are in place. These rumors have been refuted in the official statement of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine. Kyivstar protects the confidentiality of personal data of its customers and does not allow their disclosure or access to such data by unauthorized persons," the company said.

Read alsoAnother Ukrainian journalist learns she's subject to court ruling on access to phone data

Kyivstar stressed that in accordance with Article 159 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine, only the court ruling shall be the basis for providing information to investigative bodies.

As previously reported by some media, Ukrainian MP Olga Chervakova said that at a meeting with a group of lawmakers on Wednesday, Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko had announced the seizure of all servers from the Kyivstar mobile operator company by NABU operatives.

She said a number of lawmakers met with Lutsenko on Wednesday concerning the situation with the PGO being granted a warranted access to personal communications data from mobile phones of journalists Natalia Sedletska and Kristina Berdynskykh.

As was earlier reported, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv on August 27 approved a request from Ukraine's Prosecutor-General's Office to let investigators review all cell-phone data from a 17-month period of investigative reporter Natalia Sedletska, the host of Schemes, the anti-corruption TV program by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. The ruling stems from a criminal investigation into the alleged disclosure of state secrets to journalists in 2017 by Artem Sytnyk, director of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
Simplified procedures will be applied to citizens of Ukraine residing on the occupied peninsula if they move to mainland Ukraine over the disaster.

The Ukrainian authorities have temporarily closed two checkpoints on the administrative border between mainland Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea over a recent environmental disaster on the peninsular.

In particular, the entry and exit checkpoints, Kalanchak and Chaplynka, were shut down, while the third one, Chonhar, is still open.

"A decision has been taken over the dangerous environmental situation at the Titan plant in occupied Crimea to temporarily close the Kalanchak and Chaplynka entry and exit checkpoints to preserve the life and health of State Border Service workers and citizens living near the administrative border and moving across these checkpoints," aide to the chairman of the State Border Service Oleh Slobodyan wrote on Facebook on Thursday evening.

Ukrainian border guards will continue to carry out their duty at the temporarily closed checkpoints, and citizens and vehicles will be let through only in emergency cases, he said.

According to him, simplified procedures will be applied to citizens of Ukraine residing on the occupied peninsula if they move to mainland Ukraine over the disaster.

Read alsoChildren evacuated from occupied Crimea town as panic rises over chemical leak

Early in September, the Ukrainian border guards in Kherson region who are protecting the administrative border with temporarily occupied Crimea repeatedly recorded cases of toxic chemical emissions allegedly from the Titan Plant located on the occupied peninsula.

According to the Azov-Black Sea regional department of the State Border Service, the military detected toxic substances in the air with chemical detectors once again near the Chaplynka checkpoint. Then the border guards informed the Ukrainian local authorities, law enforcement agencies and evacuated personnel from areas exposed to chemical contamination.

In addition, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights of Residents of Crimea and Sevastopol Ismail Khalikov said on Facebook that there was a leak of unknown chemical substance in the north of Crimea in the early hours of August 24.

On August 30, Crimean environmentalists and experts concluded that the cause behind the environmental disaster could be evaporation of acid at the Titan Plant due to abnormal heat and the absence of water in the North Crimean Canal.

The towns of Armyansk and Yany Kapu in the occupied territory are most affected: all metal items are covered with rust, there is a persistent odor of acid, and dead birds are occasionally found on the ground.

The Russian-controlled local authorities announced that the Crimean Titan Plant had been halted for two weeks, and the evacuation of children from Armyansk to Crimean resorts had begun, the Krym.Realii news outlet said. The concentration of sulfurous acid anhydride has exceeded the norm, they said.

The Ukrainian intelligence in turn said they had found out that the threatening chemical leak in the north of Russian-occupied Crimea was a result of an artillery strike that hit the plant's chemical waste tanks during recent Russian military drills.
According to intelligence reports, two enemy troops were killed and another five were wounded.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 31 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA) and another three as wounded in action (WIA) as the enemy once again violates the recently announced "back-to-school" ceasefire.

"One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded in the past day. According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed and another five were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on September 6, 2018.

Read alsoRussian-led forces open fire on Ukrainian troops on Sept 4, using anti-tank missile systems

Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms on the defenders of the towns of Zolote, Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the villages of Syze, Stanytsia Luhanska, Krymske, Novotoshkivske, Shumy, Novhorodske, Opytne, Pisky, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Hnutove, Lebedynske, Vodiane, and Shyrokyne.

"Since Thursday midnight, Russian-led forces have mounted four attacks on the Ukrainian positions. In the Donetsk sector, the enemy fired grenade launchers and small arms outside the town of Maryinka, as well as heavy machine guns and small arms near Chermalyk and Vodiane in the Mariupol sector. There have been no casualties among Ukrainian troops from day-start," the report says.
Despite assurances from Google last month that it has installed robust systems to identify influence operations launched by foreign governments, the company approved the CFA ads in less than 48 hours.

Google says it's securing its ad platform against foreign meddlers, but for just $35 researchers posing as Russian trolls were able to run political ads without any hurdles.

In the summer of 2018, after months of public and legislator outcry over election interference, one might think it would be difficult for a Russian troll farm to purchase  with Russian currency, from a Russian ZIP code  racially and politically divisive ads through Google. And one might reasonably assume that if such a troll farm were able to do this, Google  which has said "no amount of interference that is acceptable"  would prevent it from successfully targeting those ads toward thousands of Americans on major news sites and YouTube channels.

But this assumption would be wrong, Buzzfeed reports.

Researchers from the advocacy group the Campaign for Accountability  which has frequently targeted Google with its transparency project investigations and has received funding from Google competitor Oracle  posed as Kremlin-linked trolls and successfully purchased divisive online ads using Googles ad platform and targeted them toward Americans.

In an attempt to trigger Googles safeguards against such efforts, the researchers purchased the advertisements using the name and identifying details of the Internet Research Agency  a Kremlin-linked troll farm thats been the subject of numerous congressional hearings. The advertisements appeared on the YouTube channels and websites of media brands like CNN, CBS This Morning, HuffPost, and the Daily Beast.

The Google ads units culled pictures from the original Russian-linked site and then used language from it to create the ads.

Read alsoRussia secretly finances news outlets in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia as part of information warfare

Despite assurances from Google last month that it has installed robust systems to identify influence operations launched by foreign governments, the company approved the CFA ads in less than 48 hours.

The ads used language and images identical to that of Russias Internet Research Agency troll farm. The images had previously been identified by congressional investigators and major media outlets as part of the glut of Russian content used to sow political and racial discord during the 2016 presidential election in the United States. The organization also ran ads designed to direct users to sites identified by Congress as being run by Russian trolls.

All told, CFA spent just $35 on its test ads, which generated more than 20,000 impressions and some 200 click-throughs. Google never flagged them.
It is not specified whether these 'private military' are part of Wagner PMC units.

Russian private military unit has arrived in Yemen, reports say.

"It is not specified whether these 'private military' are part of Wagner [PMC] units, known for their operations in Syria and African countries," WarGonzo Telegram-channel reported with reference to its own sources in Russian law enforcement agencies.

Read alsoGold for "Putin's Chef": Media reveal why Russian mercenaries come to CAR

Earlier, Chairman of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthi people Mahdi Al-Mashat sent a telegram to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to "help end the civil war" in the country. He expressed hope that the Russian Federation would play a "significant role" in stopping the aggression and lifting the Yemen blockade.
China intends to increase import of natural gas from Russia and Kazakhstan in the near future, an official from China's National Energy Administration (NEA) said Thursday

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) China intends to increase import of natural gas from Russia and Kazakhstan in the near future, an official from China's National Energy Administration (NEA) said Thursday.

"In 2017, China imported 94.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas, including via the Central Asian gas pipeline and the China-Myanmar gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. Imports from Russia and Kazakhstan will be increased in the near future," NEA official said, as quoted by the China news Service.

He added that the number of countries supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) into China reached 22, thus the diversification of suppliers became relatively high.

In 2014, Gazprom signed a 30-year framework agreement with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for annual deliveries of 38 billion cubic meters (1,341 trillion cubic feet) of Russian gas through the eastern route pipeline, formally known as the Power of Siberia. Gas supplies via the pipeline are set to begin on December 20, 2019. In 2015, the accord was supplemented by a deal on the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 pipeline, which will have a capacity of 30 billion cubic meters.

Besides, Russian gas producer Novatek is implementing the Yamal LNG project jointly with CNPC. China also became the buyer of the second batch of LNG from this project.
In occupied Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has strongly condemned India over its military might and iron fist policy to suppress the Kashmiris' just struggle aimed at securing their inalienable right to self-determination.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :In occupied Kashmir, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference has strongly condemned India over its military might and iron fist policy to suppress the Kashmiris' just struggle aimed at securing their inalienable right to self-determination.

The APHC at a meeting of Advisory Council in Srinagar with its General Secretary, Ghulam Nabi Sumjhi, in chair, deliberated upon the prevailing grim situation in the occupied territory.

The meeting termed the Kashmir dispute purely a political issue, which needs to be resolved through peaceful political means.

The participants of the meeting expressed the resolve to take the ongoing freedom movement to its logical conclusion, come what may, a statement issued by the APHC said.

The meeting extended full support to the election boycott call for the upcoming Panchayat and Municipal elections given by the Joint Resistance Leadership and described it quite mandatory for the success of the freedom struggle.

It termed the election boycott formula as a weapon in the hands of the subjugated people to cut down propaganda that by participating in the elections the people of Kashmir are satisfied under the Indian rule,KMS reported.

The meeting condemned the continued house arrest of the APHC Chairman, Syed Ali Gilani, and expressed its deep concern about the negative impacts on his health.

India is afraid of the popularity of Syed Ali Gilani, so it is hell bent to keep him under continued house arrest, it added.

The participants of the meeting paid tributes to a civilian Fayaz Ahmed Wani of Kulgam who was recently martyred by the Indian troops. It demanded a high level probe through international war crimes tribunal to bring the killers of the innocent Kashmiri people to book.
The kinds of insights people have been raising about the Roman Catholic Church in the past three weeks applies to this case  one can absorb a first violation, but after experiencing a second, they begin to wonder about what type of gate-keeping is being done to prevent these things from happening again and again, Traina said.
(@rukhshanmir)

The Arab League welcomed, on Thursday, Paraguay's announcement that it would move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem and back to Tel Aviv, saying the move would advance efforts to realise just peace, in line with international legitimacy resolutions.

CAIRO, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 06th Sep, 2018) The Arab League welcomed, on Thursday, Paraguay's announcement that it would move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem and back to Tel Aviv, saying the move would advance efforts to realise just peace, in line with international legitimacy resolutions.

Regarding Paraguays move, Assistant Arab League Secretary-General for Palestinian Affairs Saeed Abu Ali said, "The decision from the Government of Paraguay comes in the right direction to support Palestinian rights and is in harmony with the international will in implementation of the UN Security Councils relevant resolutions.'' He stated the Paraguay is a role model that other countries should follow in confronting Israeli plots and American pressure regarding occupied Jerusalem.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ISLAMABAD, Sep 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Former Pakistan captain Shahid Khan Afridi on Wednesday said that Pakistan army rendered supreme sacrifices in restoring peace in the country.

According to a private news channel, he said that he himself belongs to Tirah valley where army retained peace and the menace of terrorism had now eliminated.

He said Pakistan valiant armed forces and the entire nation rendered sacrifices in war against terrorism.

Bowler Wahab Riaz said, "There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan"He saluted the Ghazis and the brave soldiers on eve of Defence Day, who had fought till the last breath to keep our flag high.
After the removal of Islamabad from the list of "Avoid non-essential travel" cities by the Government of Canada, the Global Affairs Department has revised the travel advisory for Pakistan by observing that there was decrease in risk level for Canadians to travel to Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :After the removal of Islamabad from the list of "Avoid non-essential travel" cities by the Government of Canada, the Global Affairs Department has revised the travel advisory for Pakistan by observing that there was decrease in risk level for Canadians to travel to Islamabad.

The High Commission of Pakistan had impressed upon the Canadian authorities to revise the advisory for Pakistan as the security situation in the whole country had improved significantly, a press release received here from Ottawa, Canada on Thursday said.In the first step towards that direction, the Canadian government has informed about excluding Islamabad from that category and further steps will be taken in the light of evolving security situation, it added.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2018 ) :Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said September 6 was a golden day in country's history as it gave renewed determination and unity to the nation.

In his message on the eve of Defence Day on Wednesday, he said the nation recorded a glorious example of bravery, valour and unity in the 1965 war, adding the nation stood by their armed forces to defeat the evil designs of the enemy on September 6.

Paying glowing tributes to the martyrs, the Punjab Governor said, "We are breathing in a free and independent country due to the sacrifices of our martyrs.

" Ch Sarwar urged the need of the same valour, spirit of martyrdom and unity which the people displayed during the 1965 war.

The Punjab governor said, "No enemy can harm us if we adopt the Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah's golden principles of faith, unity and discipline." Ch Sarwar said, "Let's make a pledge that we will stand by our defenders of the frontiers in difficult times and thwart every negative propaganda of the enemy."Punjab Governor Ch. Muhammad Sarwar called upon the nation to make every possible sacrifice for the dignity and defence of Pakistan.
(@mahnoorsheikh03)

Calls nation to visit homes of martyrs

Rawalpindi (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News  6th September, 2018) The entire nation along with the armed forces are celebrating the Defence and Martyrs Day of Pakistan today with a renewed pledge to continue safeguarding the geographical, ideological boundaries and territorial integrity of the motherland against all threats.

On the occasion, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Major General Asif Ghafoor said, "Its Defence & Martyrs Day today. Lets visit homes of our martyrs. Lets salute them and their great families. Lets thank them for their great sacrifices for our country. Great nations never forget their martyrs; we are a great nation. #WeLovePakistan"

The day dawned with special prayers in the mosques for the well-being and prosperity of the country.

Fateha and Quran Khawani is also being held for all those who laid their lives in the line to serve the nation.

Several ceremonies will be held to pay homage to the Pakistan Army soldiers and officials and other law enforcement agencies personnel, who laid their lives in the battlefield.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will be the chief guest at Defence and Martyr's Day ceremony at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

Wreath laying ceremonies will be held at the mausoleums of the recipients of Nishan-e-Haider (the highest gallantry award), which will be attended by the senior officials of the respective areas across the country.
In house magazines of educational institutes play an important role in catalyzing the creativity of their students, said Mian Muhammad Idrees former President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2018 ) :In house magazines of educational institutes play an important role in catalyzing the creativity of their students, said Mian Muhammad Idrees former President Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI).

He was addressing the launching ceremony of "Kehkshan" (Galaxy) the Annual Magazine of Aziz Fatima Medical and Dental College (AFMDC) here Wednesday.

He said that the education of medicine is directly linked with the service to ailing humanity.

He said although the educational institutions must make concerted efforts to harness the creative and productive capabilities of the students but it has attained more important for the medical students as they must be kind by heart and nature.

He said that expressing one's ideas and mind on paper is pre requisite to create something new and innovative.

He said that the magazine "Kehkshan" has literally as well as scientific touch as the articles and poems written by medical students have been included in it which speaks high of its quality.

He said that every medical student must write something which could be published in this magazine to remember their golden days spent in this Alma Mater.

Mian Idrees also appreciated the efforts of the principal Major General (R) Dr. Hamid Shafique and member of Editorial board.
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2018 ) :Punjab food Authority (PFA) teams on Wednesday destroyed 53616 litres adulterated milk on the spot from different cities of Punjab.

On the special instructions of the Director General of the PFA Capt.

(R) Muhammad Usman, the teams of the PFA inspected around total 2041 vans of milk throughout the province and checked milk on the spot in early morning and destroyed 53616 litres adulterated milk at different points of the cities in province.

It is pertinent to mention that only 27239 litres of adulterated milk was destroyed on different points in Lahore city only.
ISLAMABAD, Sep 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday rubbished the myth of a civil-military divide in the country and said the Pakistani nation was destined to rise as all state institutions were determined to work together, to make it great.

Addressing the Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony here on the lawns of the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "We both [civil, military] have a common goal and that is to take thiscountry forward." "There is a myth of civil-military rift. There is no such issue. We have to elevate this country. Our life and death; is for this country ...," Imran Khan said.

He saluted the valour and sacrifices of the armed forces, which stood strong against all odds in the aftermath of the 9/11 and the unconventional war that followed, to safeguard the interests of the country. In categorical terms Imran Khan said, "Pakistan will never participate in anyone's war.We have a commitment to stand by our people and protect our interests."  The prime minister, however, stressed that to make the country strong, "we will have to strengthen our weak institutions, ensure merit and follow in the golden principles laid down by our Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him).  Addressing the gathering attended by the families of the martyrs, the real guests of the evening, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the martyrs had the honour of being on the second highest tiers of honour after the Prophets.

 Flanked by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the prime minister witnessed the around two hours event along with his wife. The attendees included Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of Air StaffAir Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar, Deputy SpeakerMuhammad Qasim Khan Suri,ministers for foreign affairs, defence, defence production, finance, information and railways.

Political leaders from across the divide included Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. The event is held annually to mark the Defence Day of Pakistan and takes the participants through the long journey of blood, sweat and tears the country had to undertake since gaining independence and highlights the sacrifices it had to render to maintain its sovereignty.

The tales of valour of the martyrs and their courageous families, who were bravely coping with their loss, brought tears to the eyes of even the hardened military brass, but it also strengthened their resolve to render any sacrifice to protect the country's freedom. The prime minister was no exception.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said after getting initial briefings from various ministries and departments he had no doubt in admitting that the institution of the armed forces was intact and functioning. He attributed it to lack of political interference and upholding of merit and professionalism.More/sek-ssk/
RAWALPINDI, Sep 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday rubbished the myth of a civil-military divide in the country and said the Pakistani nation was destined to rise as all state institutions were determined to work together, to make it great.

Addressing the Defence and Martyrs Day ceremony here on the lawns of the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army, Prime Minister Imran Khan said, "We both [civil, military] have a common goal and that is to take thiscountry forward." "There is a myth of civil-military rift. There is no such issue. We have to elevate this country. Our life and death; is for this country ...," Imran Khan said.

He saluted the valour and sacrifices of the armed forces, which stood strong against all odds in the aftermath of the 9/11 and the unconventional war that followed, to safeguard the interests of the country. In categorical terms Imran Khan said, "Pakistan will never participate in anyone's war.We have a commitment to stand by our people and protect our interests."  The prime minister, however, stressed that to make the country strong, "we will have to strengthen our weak institutions, ensure merit and follow in the golden principles laid down by our Holy Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him).  Addressing the gathering attended by the families of the martyrs, the real guests of the evening, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the martyrs had the honour of being on the second highest tiers of honour after the Prophets.

 Flanked by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the prime minister witnessed the around two hours event along with his wife. The attendees included Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of Air StaffAir Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaisar, Deputy SpeakerMuhammad Qasim Khan Suri,ministers for foreign affairs, defence, defence production, finance, information and railways.

Political leaders from across the divide included Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif. The event is held annually to mark the Defence Day of Pakistan and takes the participants through the long journey of blood, sweat and tears the country had to undertake since gaining independence and highlights the sacrifices it had to render to maintain its sovereignty.

The tales of valour of the martyrs and their courageous families, who were bravely coping with their loss, brought tears to the eyes of even the hardened military brass, but it also strengthened their resolve to render any sacrifice to protect the country's freedom. The prime minister was no exception.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said after getting initial briefings from various ministries and departments he had no doubt in admitting that the institution of the armed forces was intact and functioning. He attributed it to lack of political interference and upholding of merit and professionalism.More/sek-ssk/
(@mahnoorsheikh03)

Dr Arif Alvi will be paid Rs 846,000 as monthly salary

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News  6th September, 2018) The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced a new package for the newly elected president of the country.

According to this package, President Dr Arif Alvi will be paid Rs 846,000 as monthly salary. Moreover, he will get Rs 20 lac annually for maintenance of his house.

The president will be able to get a four-month leave on medical or personal grounds. He has also been given the facility of free medical treatment abroad.

PTI founder member, Dr Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi was elected as the 13th president of the country with a visible majority on Tuesday.

Dr Arif Alvi was elected as the 13th president of the country with an unflinching support of his party's parliamentarians and the allied parties in the Parliament and provincial assemblies.

Alvi sailed though smoothly by winning support of 577 members of the Parliament and provincial assemblies followed by JUI-F President Maulana Fazlur Rehman who was voted by 314 members and Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan of Pakistan Peoples' Party who could bag the votes of 192 members.
Now that the Chicago Bulls are establishing themselves as a team to contend with, losses like Wednesdays are harder to swallow. The Bulls bounced back from an 18-point deficit to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter only to falter in the end.
(@FahadShabbir)

Spokesman for Chief Minister (CM), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Shaukat Yousafzai has tendered resignation from his post here on Thursday.

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Spokesman for Chief Minister (CM), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Shaukat Yousafzai has tendered resignation from his post here on Thursday.

According to a press release issued here, Shaukat Yousafzai has sent his resignation to Chief Minister KP, Mahmood Khan for approval.

"The resignation has been given by me for making the upcoming re-election process from PK-23 Shangla transparent," said Shaukat Yousafzai.

Shaukat said he is contesting re-elections from PK-23 Shangla and therefore decided to relinquish the charge to ensure holding of elections in transparent manner.

It merits a mention here that Shaukat Yousafzai had won elections from PK-23, but due to less percentage of female vote cast from the constituency, the election results were withheld by Election Commission and re-polling was announced.

Shaukat Yousafzai is candidate of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf and is re-contesting from same constituency.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Zahid Latif Malik has said that compared to 1965, Pakistan today has emerged as more resilient and vibrant country with strong conventional and non-conventional power.

SIALKOT, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2018 ) :President Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Zahid Latif Malik has said that compared to 1965, Pakistan today has emerged as more resilient and vibrant country with strong conventional and non-conventional power.

Pakistan Defence day reminds us of determination, selflessness and sacrifices of our Armed Forces, which they had rendered for the Defence of Pakistan.

Addressing a ceremony to mark the Defence Day, SCCI President revealed that Pakistan retaliated and gave a befitting response to Indian war aggression in befitting manners.

He said that loyal people of Sialkot region battled against Indian and defended the motherland by sacrificing their lives shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces.

He added the people of Sialkot wrote a history in golden words with their blood by sacrificing to save the motherland near Sialkot by laying down the tanks of the invading enemy India near Chawinda and Sialkot during the 1965 war here.

India had been a five times bigger enemy in sizes and forces contingent, but the brave people of Pakistan taught several unforgettable lesson to the invading enemy, as they fitted bombs wit their bodies and laid down under the invading Indian tanks there, with great courage, bravery, unity, loyalty and they destroyed the hundreds of the Indian tanks near Chawinda-Sialkot by blowing themselves with bombs to save the Motherland there, making Chawinda a bigger graveyard of the Indian tanks and armors by sacrifices their lives.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Djibouti on Thursday hailed a new era in its relations with rival Eritrea, whose foreign minister paid a surprise visit to the country as part of a regional bid to soothe tensions between the neighbours.

Djibouti, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Djibouti on Thursday hailed a new era in its relations with rival Eritrea, whose foreign minister paid a surprise visit to the country as part of a regional bid to soothe tensions between the neighbours.

The two small Horn of Africa nations have been at loggerheads for decades over the disputed border region of Doumeira, and clashes erupted in 2008.

Qatar brokered a peace deal in 2010 but relations have remained strained.

Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh was visiting to "open a new era in relations between our two countries. Now it is the time for peace".

Saleh was accompanied by his Somalian counterpart Ahmed Isse Awad and Ethiopia's Workneh Gebeyehu who travelled to Djibouti to "advance dialogue" between the two nations, Ethiopian state media reported.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Ethiopia reopened on Thursday its embassy in neighboring Eritrea for the first time in the nearly 20 years following the end of the armed conflict between the two nations and two months after peace was finally declared, media reported.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Ethiopia reopened on Thursday its embassy in neighboring Eritrea for the first time in the nearly 20 years following the end of the armed conflict between the two nations and two months after peace was finally declared, media reported.

According to Addis Standard news magazine, the opening ceremony in the Eritrean capital of Asmara was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, high-level Eritrean officials and diplomatic staff.

Eritrea reopened its embassy in Ethiopia's Addis Ababa on July 16.

Eritrea split from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, leaving the parent nation landlocked. This sparked a war between 1998 and 2000, which killed around 80,000 people.

In June 2018, Ethiopia's ruling coalition decided to fully accept and implement the Algiers Agreement on the cessation of hostilities that was concluded by the governments of the two countries in 2000. The agreement, which, in particular, recognizes some disputed areas, including the city of Badme, as Eritrean territories. The peace between the two nations was declared in July.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday that there was a danger of a "humanitarian deflagration" in Idlib, Syria's last major rebel stronghold, as the Syrian regime is believed to be preparing a military offensive in the province.

Athens, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday that there was a danger of a "humanitarian deflagration" in Idlib, Syria's last major rebel stronghold, as the Syrian regime is believed to be preparing a military offensive in the province.

"The regime of Bashar al-Assad wants to take Idlib militarily, and we're warning everyone involved of the risks of humanitarian deflagration that could result," Le Drian said during a working visit to Athens.

He described the enclave, which is held by a complex array of anti-regime fighters, many of whom have been blacklisted as "terrorists" by world power, as a "ticking time bomb, both in humanitarian and security terms." As well as civilians and refugees, a number of "armed groups, terrorist groups" are concentrated in Idlib, he said.

Asked about the hypothesis that the Syrian regime could use chemical weapons in any offensive against Idlib, Le Drian stressed France's determination "not to accept any derogation from chemical non-proliferation".

"There are red lines. They were crossed a first time, and the French response was right on the nail.

If they're crossed again, then the response will be the same," the French foreign minister said following talks with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias.

In April, the United States, France and Britain launched airstrikes on Syrian targets in response to a chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma that left scores dead.

Fearing an imminent assault by regime forces, hundreds of civilians began fleeing Idlib province on Thursday, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Rassan Rouhani are scheduled to meet for a tripartite summit seeking an end to the Syrian conflict.

Russia said Thursday it would continue to kill "terrorists" in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria to bring back peace.

"We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists... whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria. Peace must return to Syria," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in comments reported by Russian agencies.

"This is a question of our security," she added.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

A new Haitian government was unveiled Wednesday night, two months after the prime minister resigned over deadly riots triggered by planned fuel price hikes.

PortauPrince, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :A new Haitian government was unveiled Wednesday night, two months after the prime minister resigned over deadly riots triggered by planned fuel price hikes.

The new administration's main task will be to calm socio-economic malaise in this desperately poor country in the Caribbean.

The new prime minister appointed by President Jovenel Moise is Jean-Henry Ceant, a notary who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2010 and 2016.

Ceant, 61, was actually named to the post on August 5 but in a sign of discord between the legislative and presidential branches it took a month to reach agreement on his 18-member cabinet.

Six members retained their jobs from the previous cabinet.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Tehran, Sept 6 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Iran's supreme leader on Thursday warned against the spread of pessimism in the country, as people face mounting economic woes after the imposition of US sanctions.

Addressing the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of high-ranking clerics tasked with choosing the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for people's problems not to be overstated.

"This exaggeration intensifies the anxiety of public opinion and causes the pessimism virus to spread," Khamenei said in comments published on his official website.

"It is not correct to speak in a way that the audience is terrified and thinks that all is lost," he added, calling for both the good and bad aspects of state institutions to be highlighted.

Khamenei was speaking as Iranians adjust to sanctions imposed by the United States last month, after Washington pulled out of the landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

The move by US President Donald Trump has exacerbated economic woes in Iran, with the Iranian rial losing 70 percent of its value in the past year.

The Currency crisis has led to huge price rises in the country and put pressure on President Hassan Rouhani, who has so far been defended by Khamenei.

"No government can go on without the support and trust of the people, we must not act in a way that will deprive the government of the people's trust," the supreme leader said Thursday.
Asuncion, Sept 5 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Paraguay said on Wednesday it was moving its embassy in Israel back from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of Jewish state's mission in the South American country in retaliation.

Palestinian authorities reacted by deciding to "immediately" open an embassy in Paraguay's capital Asuncion, Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki said, according to the official news agency Wafa.

Paraguay's new President Mario Abdo Benitez, who took office in mid-August, decided to move back the embassy "to contribute to the intensification of regional and international diplomatic efforts that aim to achieve a broad, just and durable peace in the middle East," his government said.

"Israel views with utmost gravity the extraordinary decision by Paraguay, which will cloud bilateral relations," Netanyahu's office retorted on Twitter.

The original decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv was taken by Abdo Benitez's predecessor Horacio Cartes shortly after President Donald Trump had announced the United States would relocate its own embassy to Jerusalem.

Cartes even joined Netanyahu in the new embassy's opening ceremony in Jerusalem in May.

Abdo Benitez was already president elect at that point and had questioned the decision, complaining that he had not been consulted.

Announcing the move, his government said it considered the return to Tel Aviv "appropriate," but Netanyahu's office replied that the decision had cast a shadow on relations between the two countries.

Paraguay, though, pointed to a long history of positive relations with Israel.

"I don't think this should annoy our Israeli brothers and friends," said Paraguay's Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni.

"There are more than 85 countries that have kept their embassies in Tel Aviv and we're historic allies of Israel.

"Don't forget that Paraguay's vote was the decisive vote in the creation of Israel." In line with most of Latin America, Paraguay was one of the 33 countries that voted in favor -- compared to just 13 against and 10 abstentions -- of the 1947 United Nations two-state partition plan for what was until then British Mandate Palestine.

Castiglioni said Paraguay had always been "predictable in its international relations" but that Cartes's move was "a distortion of this tradition and culture of respect for international law" and UN decrees.

Trump broke with decades of US policy by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, infuriating Palestinians and intensifying protests on the Gaza border, with 60 killed in clashes with Israeli forces that day.

His move was followed by Guatemala while the Czech Republic decided to reopen its honorary consulate in Jerusalem as President Milos Zeman voiced his wish to also move its embassy from Tel Aviv.
RIGA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Latvia's Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) said Wednesday it had fined 35 parliamentarians of local governments of the country's eastern region of Latgale, who had approved the funding for the regional parliaments' newspapers to be published not only in Latvian, but also in Russian.

Five parliamentarians of Livani municipality, 15 from Daugavpils municipality and 15 from Ludza municipality were fined 70 Euros each for including the costs for the publication of the municipal newspapers in Russian when approving budgets for 2016 and 2017.

"This is not allowed by the law on the state language. In addition, the parliamentarians did not comply with the law on preventing the squandering of financial assets and property of a public person," the watchdog said.

The only state language in Latvia is Latvian, while all other languages, including Russian, have the status of foreign language. Russian-speaking residents have repeatedly protested against the government's plan to force the schools of ethnic minorities to switch to the Latvian language. Of 2 million people living in Latvia, about 40 percent are Russian-speaking.
Macedonia aspires to attain membership in the European Union and NATO, but wants to maintain friendly relations with Russia as well, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said at a press conference on Thursday following talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Macedonia aspires to attain membership in the European Union and NATO, but wants to maintain friendly relations with Russia as well, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said at a press conference on Thursday following talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg is currently on his two-day visit in the Macedonian capital of Skopje, where he is holding meetings with the country's leadership.

"There is no other alternative for our country apart from the full membership in NATO and the European Union. We are a small state, our aim is to build friendly relations with everyone, including Russia, and I hope that our citizens will be free to choose their future," Zaev said.

On July 11, Stoltenberg announced the decision of all the 29 NATO member states to officially invite Macedonia to join the bloc. He specified that it would be possible after Macedonia amended its constitution and enshrined its new official name Republic of North Macedonia in the country's main law. Following the signature of the NATO accession protocol, it should be ratified by all the members of the military bloc.

Following Macedonia's joining NATO, only two Balkan countries Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will remain neutral.
Macedonia aspires to attain membership in the European Union and NATO, but wants to maintain friendly relations with Russia as well, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said at a press conference on Thursday following talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Macedonia aspires to attain membership in the European Union and NATO, but wants to maintain friendly relations with Russia as well, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said at a press conference on Thursday following talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg is currently on his two-day visit in the Macedonian capital of Skopje, where he is holding meetings with the country's leadership.

"There is no other alternative for our country apart from the full membership in NATO and the European Union. We are a small state, our aim is to build friendly relations with everyone, including Russia, and I hope that our citizens will be free to choose their future," Zaev said.

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, in turn, stated following talks with Stoltenberg that the country's accession to NATO and the European Union did not justify the bad deal between Skopje and Athens on Macedonia's name change.

"I am sure that Macedonia's true place is in the European Union and NATO. I continue to support our strategic goals.

But the European Union and NATO cannot serve as an alibi for the bad deal [with Greece]," Ivanov said as quoted by the presidential administration.

On July 11, Stoltenberg announced the decision of all the 29 NATO member states to officially invite Macedonia to join the bloc. He specified that it would be possible after Macedonia amended its constitution and enshrined its new official name Republic of North Macedonia in the country's main law. Following the signature of the NATO accession protocol, it should be ratified by all the members of the military bloc.

On June 17, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov signed an agreement on a new name of the former Yugoslav Republic, agreeing on renaming the country to the Republic of North Macedonia. The Greek-Macedonian deal resolved the decades-long dispute between Athens and Skopje and made it possible for Macedonia to seek NATO and EU membership.

Following Macedonia's joining NATO, only two Balkan countries Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina will remain neutral.
Moldovan President Igor Dodon said on Thursday that he and the head of the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, agreed that the presence of a multinational peacekeeping force in Transnistria ensured peace and stability in the region.

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Moldovan President Igor Dodon said on Thursday that he and the head of the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, agreed that the presence of a multinational peacekeeping force in Transnistria ensured peace and stability in the region.

"We have reaffirmed the importance of the ongoing peacekeeping operation in the Dniester River area as a guarantor of peace and security of the people, and we have agreed to take joint steps to avoid the situation in the security zone from worsening, something which might disturb the peace and stability not only in Moldova but in the region as a whole," Dodon said at his talks with Krasnoselsky in the Moldovan village of Condrita.

The Moldovan president noted that both Chisinau and Tiraspol believed the Transnistria settlement process required constant dialogue.

"We have expressed our readiness to fully implement the reached agreements and continue the dialogue aimed at reaching new possibilities," Dodon pointed out.

After his meeting with Krasnoselsky, Dodon wrote on Facebook that he had agreed with the Transnistrian leader that no issues would be avoided in their bilateral discussions.

"It is necessary to continue the open dialogue on various levels and platforms which would help establish trust between the residents of both banks of the Dniester River," the Moldovan president pointed out.

Dodon suggested that the work of NGOs, associations and public initiatives, aimed at overcoming various disagreements between Moldova and Transnistria, be encouraged and supported by both sides.

The Moldovan president added that he and Krasnoselsky had discussed economic issues, namely the implementation of the package of agreements reached during their 2017 meeting in the Moldovan city of Bender.

Transnistria, a region with a predominantly ethnically Russian and Ukrainian population, seceded from the Soviet Republic of Moldova in 1990, fearing its possible reunion with Romania. The separation led to an armed conflict that ended in a ceasefire in July 1992, although the issue is still unresolved.

Since 1992, peacekeepers have been deployed to maintain stability in the security zone in Transnistria. The mission comprises military personnel from Moldova, Transnistria and Russia as well as Ukrainian observers.
(@rukhshanmir)

NATO is ready to welcome Macedonia as a new member and the decision is now up to the Macedonians to make, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday on a visit to Skopje.

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) NATO is ready to welcome Macedonia as a new member and the decision is now up to the Macedonians to make, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday on a visit to Skopje.

"You decide your own future; that's only for you to decide... what I can say is that NATO is ready to have you as the 30th member of the alliance," Stoltenberg said, as quoted by the NATO press release.

Stoltenberg added that NATO appreciated partnership with Macedonia. Macedonian Minister of Defense Radmila Sekerinska, in turn, remarked that 4,000 Macedonian troops have participated in NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in other missions.

Earlier in the day, the alliance chief attended the inauguration of "Stoltenberg street," honoring his father, a Norwegian diplomat who took part in rebuilding Skopje after the 1963 earthquake.

The path for Macedonia to join NATO was cleared when Skopje and Athens in June signed the agreement on a new name for Macedonia, the Republic of Northern Macedonia. Until then, Greece had objected to the neighbor's use of Macedonia, similar to the name of a region in Greece. Athens' objections precluded Macedonia from beginning talks on joining NATO or the European Union.
NATO is ready to welcome Macedonia as a new member and the decision is now up to the Macedonians to make, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday on a visit to Skopje.

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) NATO is ready to welcome Macedonia as a new member and the decision is now up to the Macedonians to make, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday on a visit to Skopje.

"You decide your own future; that's only for you to decide ... what I can say is that NATO is ready to have you as the 30th member of the alliance," Stoltenberg said, as quoted by the NATO press release.

Stoltenberg added that NATO appreciated partnership with Macedonia. Macedonian Minister of Defense Radmila Sekerinska, in turn, remarked that 4,000 Macedonian troops have participated in NATO operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in other missions.

Earlier in the day, the alliance chief attended the inauguration of "Stoltenberg street," honoring his father, a Norwegian diplomat who took part in rebuilding Skopje after the 1963 earthquake.

The alliance chief stressed that the close ties to NATO could help boost economic growth in Macedonia, citing the example of Montenegro, where the investment from NATO allies doubled since the country joined the alliance.

"If you implement the name agreement, we can sign the accession protocol this winter," Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

The path for Macedonia to join NATO was cleared when Skopje and Athens in June signed the agreement on a new name for Macedonia, the Republic of Northern Macedonia. Until then, Greece had objected to the neighbor's use of Macedonia, similar to the name of a region in Greece. Athens' objections precluded Macedonia from beginning talks on joining NATO or the European Union.
Jerusalem, Sept 5 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay, his office said, after the South American country announced Wednesday it was moving its mission back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem.

"The prime minister has asked the foreign ministry to close the Israeli embassy in Paraguay," the statement said, adding that Paraguay's decision had cast a shadow on relations between the two countries.

Paraguay's announcement that it was moving the embassy back to Tel Aviv came little more than three months after it had transferred it to Jerusalem following a similar move by Washington.

US President Donald Trump's deeply controversial move to recognise the disputed city as capital of Israel sparked outrage among Palestinians who see Jerusalem's east as the capital of their future state.

In May, then-president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem after his country and Guatamala opened their embassies there.

His successor President Mario Abdo Benitez, who took office in August, decided to move it back "to contribute to the intensification of regional and international diplomatic efforts that aim to achieve a broad, just and durable peace in the middle East."
Norway has completed the frame of the world's tallest timber building, which is being lauded for being environmentally friendly and fire resistant.

Oslo, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Sep, 2018 ) :Norway has completed the frame of the world's tallest timber building, which is being lauded for being environmentally friendly and fire resistant.

The Mjos Tower, which is situated near and named after a lake located about 100 kilometres (60 miles) north of Oslo, saw its last beam hoisted by a crane this week.

At 85.4 metres (just over 280 feet), it has 18 floors.

Promoters say that using wood, a renewable material, makes it possible to reduce CO2 emissions compared to concrete, which is the Primary material of residential buildings in cities.

"Building with wood is helping us breathe in a better world," said businessman Arthur Buchardt, who added he began the project after being inspired by the Paris agreement on climate change.

Constructors say the building is fire resistant as it uses glue laminated timber that will only burn when continuously exposed to flames.

When it opens in March 2019, the tower will surpass its 49-metre counterpart Treet (tree in Norwegian), which previously held the record of the world's tallest wooden building and is located in the western city of Bergen.

The Mjos Tower is to hold apartments, an indoor swimming pool, a hotel, offices, a restaurant and common areas.

It was originally supposed to be 81 metres high, but a roof-top pergola added another 4.4 metres.

This addition makes it slightly higher than the HoHo tower (84 metres), currently being constructed in Vienna.

This Austrian building has a hybrid structure combining wood (76 percent) and other materials, unlike the Mjos Tower.

Other, even more ambitious timber projects have been proposed, including the Baobab tower in Paris (120 metres), though municipal authorities have turned that one down.

The Abebe Court Tower in Lagos (87 meters), meanwhile, is still waiting to be built, according to the CTBUH, an NGO specialising in sustainable urban design.
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Asuncion, Sept 5 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :Paraguay announced Wednesday that it is moving its embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv, a little more than three months after transferring it to Jerusalem.

Paraguay's new President Mario Abdo Benitez, who took office in mid-August, took the decision "to contribute to the intensification of regional and international diplomatic efforts that aim to achieve a broad, just and durable peace in the middle East."
PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) French President Emmanuel Macron will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Marseille on Friday to address pressing European issues ahead of the EU summit in Salzburg on September 20.

The meeting comes just after Macron's visit to Luxembourg, where the leaders of Belgium, Luxembourg, France and the Netherlands addressed the issues of migration and Brexit negotiations. The Macron-Merkel meeting would be focused on European topics, including the euro and the France-backed EU reforms, as well as the deal the bloc is getting after Brexit negotiations with London are completed.

Dr. Paul Smith, a researcher specializing in French politics from the University of Nottingham, believes that the choice of the French biggest port city of Marseille is symbolic, and the issues of migration would be in the spotlight of the meeting.

"It was traditionally the gateway to the [French] empire ... Marseille began as a melting pot in terms of population and migration. I think there is a kind of symbolic value to Marseille. Macron is trying to reclaim the idea of Marseille - a symbol of French diversity, French openness. It's a counterpoint to hit the criticism leveled at him with regard of those ships full of migrants crossing the Mediterranean in summer. Italian and other politicians were quite critical of France's policy in not opening the French port to these ships.

So it's an attempt to respond to what's been going on," Smith told Sputnik.

After the seeming consensus reached by the EU leaders on migration at the EU summit in June, the divergences on migration in EU emerged again, with Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and Hungarian President Viktor Orban labeling Macron their "adversary" on migration issues at their meeting in Milan in August.

Dr. Paul Smith said he believes that the European Union still has a problem with finding a common stance on migration issues.

"We certainly do. There is a level of discourse, of public appearance, and then there's a level of what's actually going on behind the scenes ... The Italian prime minister would say things that keep his majority happy and keeps his voters happy ... There is a certain amount of gearing up for the European election next year. There are going to be more important than any other European election has ever been. So there's a great deal of rhetoric involved," he said.

The upcoming election to the European parliament on May 23 and May 26, 2019, may also be discussed by the French and German leaders, with Macron possibly turning to Merkel for support. On Wednesday, the French media reported that the president was looking to form a progressive coalition to campaign against the right-wing parties that gaining more and more support in Europe.
LATAKIA (Syria) (UrduPoint news / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Russian servicemen carried more than 50 combat exercises during the exercises of the Navy and the Aerospace Forces in the Mediterranean Sea, and aviation carried out 50 sorties and 15 in-flight refueling operations, Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Adm. Vladimir Korolev told reporters.

"At present, more than 50 combat exercises have been successfully carried out by the forces of the Russian Navy and the Aerospace Forces, more than 50 sorties of naval aviation have been carried out, during which 15 refueling operations were conducted in the air," Korolev said during the inspection of the exercise in Syria.

He added that the servicemen also conducted 150 training exercises of the naval combat crews.

"I want to note that such maneuvers are held for the first time in the history of modern Russia, and modern warships, supply vessels and naval aviation are taking part in them," the admiral added.

The Russian Navy and Aerospace Forces are holding joint large-scale training exercises in the Mediterranean Sea from September 1 through September 8. The drills involve 26 warships of the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea Fleets and the Caspian Flotilla, including two submarines, and 34 long-distance, military transport and naval aircraft.
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Turkey has begun building a platform site for a Russian S-400 missile defense system, despite pressure from Washington to abandon plans to purchase the military equipment, US media reported on Thursday, citing a source with firsthand knowledge of an unpublished intelligence assessment.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Turkey has begun building a platform site for a Russian S-400 missile defense system, despite pressure from Washington to abandon plans to purchase the military equipment, US media reported on Thursday, citing a source with firsthand knowledge of an unpublished intelligence assessment.

The source said the assessment was conducted about a month ago and includes satellite imagery of a concrete launch facility and other constructions, including bunkers, CNBC reported. The source indicated that the work at the site "fits the pattern" for Russia's S-400 system, the report said.

The report gave no indication about where the site is located in Turkey.

US officials have warned that if Ankara goes ahead with plans to purchase the Russian S-400 anti-missile systems, the United States could withhold the transfer of F-35 jets. The US Congress also recently passed legislation that would block the transfer of F-35s if Turkey buys the Russian S-400s.

In December 2017, Russia and Turkey signed a loan agreement to supply S-400s to Ankara. According to a statement by the Turkish defense industry secretariat, two S-400 batteries will be operated and serviced by the Turkish military.

Last week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that Turkey expects to receive the Russian S-400 missile defense systems in the near future.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon on Thursday met in the Turkish capital Ankara.

ANKARA, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Sep, 2018 ) :President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Beninese counterpart Patrice Talon on Thursday met in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Erdogan welcomed Talon in an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex.

The two leaders held a closed-door meeting.

Erdogan and Talon will also co-chair a meeting between delegations, which will discuss all aspects of the bilateral relations between the two countries, according to the Turkish presidency.

The presidents are also expected to exchange views on current regional and international issues.

The meeting will be followed by a joint news conference. The bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Benin was over $115.3 million in 2017.

According to Turkish Foreign Ministry, Primary goods exported from Turkey are iron and steel products, mineral oils, food products. The great part of Turkey's import from Benin is cottonseed.
CHISINAU/TIRASPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th September, 2018) Moldovan President Igor Dodon said on Thursday that he and the head of the self-proclaimed republic of Transnistria, Vadim Krasnoselsky, agreed that the presence of a multinational peacekeeping force in Transnistria ensured peace and stability in the region.

"We have reaffirmed the importance of the ongoing peacekeeping operation in the Dniester River area as a guarantor of peace and security of the people, and we have agreed to take joint steps to avoid the situation in the security zone from worsening, something which might disturb the peace and stability not only in Moldova but in the region as a whole," Dodon said at his talks with Krasnoselsky in the Moldovan village of Condrita.

The Moldovan president noted that both Chisinau and Tiraspol believed the Transnistria settlement process required constant dialogue.

"We have expressed our readiness to fully implement the reached agreements and continue the dialogue aimed at reaching new possibilities," Dodon pointed out.

After his meeting with Krasnoselsky, Dodon wrote on Facebook that he had agreed with the Transnistrian leader that no issues would be avoided in their bilateral discussions.

"It is necessary to continue the open dialogue on various levels and platforms which would help establish trust between the residents of both banks of the Dniester River," the Moldovan president pointed out.

Dodon suggested that the work of NGOs, associations and public initiatives, aimed at overcoming various disagreements between Moldova and Transnistria, be encouraged and supported by both sides.

The Moldovan president added that he and Krasnoselsky had discussed economic issues, namely the implementation of the package of agreements reached during their 2017 meeting in the Moldovan city of Bender.

Krasnoselsky, in his turn, said in a statement issued after the talks that his next meeting with Dodon might be held by the end of the year.

"Dialogue is the most important thing. Nothing can be achieved and no movement forward is possible without it. I believe that the next meeting will not be long in the coming," Krasnoselsky pointed out.

Transnistria, a region with a predominantly ethnically Russian and Ukrainian population, seceded from the Soviet Republic of Moldova in 1990, fearing its possible reunion with Romania. The separation led to an armed conflict that ended in a ceasefire in July 1992, although the issue is still unresolved.

Since 1992, peacekeepers have been deployed to maintain stability in the security zone in Transnistria. The mission comprises military personnel from Moldova, Transnistria and Russia as well as Ukrainian observers.
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The United States opened a new antiterrorism training facility in Senegal, the first of its kind in West Africa, the US State Department said in a press release on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) The United States opened a new antiterrorism training facility in Senegal, the first of its kind in West Africa, the US State Department said in a press release on Thursday.

"The Department of State and the Government of Senegal today inaugurated a new regional counterterrorism training facility in Thies, Senegal," the release said.

The new $1.

5 million Regional Tactical Training Center was funded, constructed and equipped through the State Department's Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program, the release added.

Once fully operational, the department said the training center will teach skills such as crisis response and rural border patrol operation to Senegalese and other West African law enforcement officers.

The State Department's ATA program has been delivering counterterrorism training in Senegal since 1985.
Yemen's government delegation is prepared to start consultations with UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths in Geneva, while the Houthi delegation is making excuses for failing to show up at the talks, Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled Yamani told Sputnik on Thursday.

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Yemen's government delegation is prepared to start consultations with UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths in Geneva, while the Houthi delegation is making excuses for failing to show up at the talks, Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled Yamani told Sputnik on Thursday.

The Houthi movement said on Wednesday that its delegation was prevented from leaving the city of Sanaa due to the lack of a permission from the Saudi-led coalition, which controls Yemeni airspace. However, coalition spokesman Turki Maliki said it gave the green-light to the plane of the Houthi delegation to depart for the talks, but the rebels did not use the opportunity.

"We are participating in the consultations with the [UN] special envoy, we committed ourselves to come to the consultations. The supporters of the coup do not want to hold consultations, and are creating obstacles, making excuses for their absence in Geneva.

We are extending a hand of peace, this is our position," Yamani said.

Consultations on Yemen were set to start in Geneva on Thursday and are to focus on reactivating the peace process in the country and confidence-building measures, such as the exchange of prisoners. The consultations are expected to bring together the parties to the ongoing Yemeni conflict.

Despite the absence of Houthis, Griffiths started informal consultations with the government delegation and held a meeting with its members on Wednesday.

Yemen is engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.
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A Yemeni government delegation discussed the humanitarian situation in the conflict-torn country and securing aid deliveries with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths in Geneva on Thursday, Foreign Minister Khaled Hussein Alyemany told Sputnik.

GENEVA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) A Yemeni government delegation discussed the humanitarian situation in the conflict-torn country and securing aid deliveries with UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths in Geneva on Thursday, Foreign Minister Khaled Hussein Alyemany told Sputnik.

UN-mediated talks between Yemen's warring parties were set to start in Geneva on Thursday. They were supposed to focus on reactivating the peace process in the country as well as confidence-building measures, such as the exchange of prisoners. The Houthi movement said on Wednesday that its delegation was prevented from leaving the city of Sanaa by the Saudi-led coalition, which controls Yemeni airspace. Despite the absence of Houthis, Griffiths started informal consultations with the government delegation.

"We discussed the humanitarian dossier and the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, against reports that Houthis were stealing humanitarian aid," Alyemany, who heads the delegation, said.

The minister further noted that he had talks with Griffiths separately in the morning, while the entire delegation got a chance to met with the UN special envoy to Yemen later in the afternoon.

Yemen is engulfed in an armed conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah. The Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015.
Stop  stop what you are doing and assess the situation Identify  Identify what had happened, what is the extent and repercussions eXplain  Make sure other team members and specifically other surgeons in the room know what had occurred Structured Teaching  in few short sentences explain to your trainees (if relevant) what had occurred and what needs to be done Elicit understanding  Make sure the trainee understands what he/she needs to do Proceed if Safe  Perform the maneuver you wanted to do only if it is safe and approved by your superior staff in the operating theater

Marseille, France (UroToday.com) Sharmila Gupta, MD gave a captivating talk on the important non-technical skills and communications that are required in various risk scenarios in the operating theater. Dr. Gupta is a member of the Lapco group, which is the national training program for laparoscopic colorectal surgery. Lapco consists of 211 surgeons, with a 1/3 of them being colorectal surgeons in the UK. In Lapco there are 144 consultants undergoing training.Dr. Gupta is greatly involved in training other colorectal surgeons, and her talk focused on important human factors and communication skills. She began with a discussion on the importance of the team brief before every procedure. This makes sure every team member knows his/her role, and this is the time to discuss each members role in different extreme scenarios. This helps improve the communication skills between team members and improves outcomes when extreme scenarios occur.The next topic discussed was dual-task interference. Unfortunately, other outside triggers can tremendously affect our performance in the operating theater. Voices, sounds, noise, music, lights, and additional sensory triggers can greatly influence our primary task and need to be avoided.When an extreme scenario occurs, Dr. Gupta recommended to use the acronym of SIX STEPS:These six steps help us react to different extreme scenarios in a standardized manner with complete control at every step, and with the ability to communicate with all other team members in the operating theater. This will make sure everyone knows what is being done and what is expected of them in the next step.Dr. Gupta concluded her important and talk, by stating the importance of communication throughout the case with all team members and ensuring that dual-task interference is always avoided.Presented by: Sharmila Gupta, Colchester, UKWritten by: Hanan Goldberg, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow (SUO), University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Twitter:@GoldbergHanan at the EAU Robotic Urology Section (ERUS) Meeting - September 5 - 7, 2018 - Marseille, France
A Catholic priest kidnapped last weekend in Nigeria's Delta State is released and is reportedly in good health after spending his captivity in the open with no food or water. The Nigerian Bishops' conference has denounced the plague of kidnappings that increasingly affects the nation.

By Linda Bordoni

Father Christopher Ogaga, parish priest of the Emmanuel Catholic Church in Nigerias Delta State, was reportedly released by his captors on Wednesday.

Speaking to Aid to the Church in Need, Father Clement Abobo of Warri Diocese in southern Nigeria said father Ogaga is in good health and that no ransom was paid for his release.

Father Ogaga was kidnapped on Saturday, September 1, as he travelled from Okpe to Warri where he was scheduled to celebrate Mass the following morning.

The kidnappers reportedly asked for a ransom of over 15 million Naira (about $40,000), but according to Father Abobo, as soon as they realized no one would pay the ransom, they released him.

Father Abobo said he had visited Father Ogaga in hospital where he is undergoing some tests and confirmed that he is in good health even although he was held in the open with no food or water.

Father Abobo also reiterated that there were no religious motives behind the kidnapping.

For years, priests and religious have been targets of kidnapping for ransom by criminal gangs in Nigeria, even in predominantly Christian areas like Delta State.

Nigerian Bishops: kidnappings have reached 'unimaginable proportions'

In January, the Nigerian Bishops denounced the plague of kidnappings for ransom that has reached unimaginable proportions. In a statement, they wrote that day after day citizens are kidnapped, humiliated and traumatized by heavily armed gangs. The kidnappers are merciless. In their efforts to obtain large sums of money they subject their victims to unspeakable violence lasting weeks or even months.

For years, the Bishops Conference of Nigeria has issued a recommendation prohibiting the payment of ransoms for the release of priests and religious.


Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Holy Sees Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, addressed a high-level forum on the culture of peace on September 6.

By Robin Gomes

Todays vicious circle of violence, extremist ideologies, rights violations and the destruction of the environment can be countered only by protecting human dignity and fostering a culture of peace and encounter and compassion.

Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Holy Sees Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York made the remark at a high-level forum on the culture of peace on Wednesday.

Listen to our report

Culture of peace

With todays armed conflict between and within states, terrorism and extremist ideologies, human rights violations and humanitarian abuses, as well as the devastation of the environment, the archbishop recalled the warning of Pope Francis that we are descending into a world war fought piecemeal. This vicious cycle of violence he said, can only be broken by promoting and protecting the dignity of every human life, which must be defended and fostered to flourish within a culture of peace and through a culture of encounter animated by a sincere attitude of mutual respect and dialogue that is concretely manifested in mutual empathy and solidarity. 

Works of solidarity are works of peace, he stressed.

Compassion

Pope Francis, the Filipino archbishop said, urges a spirit of compassion that embraces those in vulnerable situations, like refugees and migrants who flee their homeland because of hunger, war, discrimination, persecution, poverty and environmental degradation. This, the Vatican diplomat said, is an eminent expression of the culture of peace, which is the glue that binds together the mutually reinforcing fundamental pillars of the United Nations of upholding peace and security, respecting human rights and fostering development for all.

Mother Teresa

Addressing the high-level forum on the day the world observed the feast and death anniversary of Mother Teresa, September 5, Archbishop Auza said she embodied the spirit of the UN. He recalled that before Mother Teresa addressed the General Assembly on 26 October, 1985, UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar introduced her simply saying, She is the United Nations. She is peace in this world.
Pope Francis accepting the credentials of new Czech ambassador to the Holy See, Vaclav Kolaja, on September 6, 2018. (Vatican Media)

Mr. Vaclav Kolaja presented his credentials to Pope Francis on Sept 6, at the start of his diplomatic mission to the Holy See.

Pope Francis on Thursday welcomed to the Vatican the new ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Holy See, Mr. Vaclav Kolaja. At a formal ceremony in the Vatican, the 47-year old diplomat presented his credentials to the Pope at the start of his diplomatic mission.

Born on 14 June 1971 in Uherske Hradiste, Kolaja is married and father of two children. He graduated in history from Pragues Charles University in 1996.

Vaclav Kolaja has held the following positions:

1996 - 1997: Official in the department for diplomatic protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

1997 - 2000: Official in the department for political relations with the European Union at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2000 - 2004: Secretary at the Czech Embassy in London

2004  2009: Head of the Legal and Institutional Section at the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the European Union, Brussels

2009 - 2011: In charge of North America at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2011 - 2015: Head of the Political Section at the Czech Embassy in Washington D.C.

2015 - 2016: Coordinator for Cyber Security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Since 1 June 2016: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
UNICEF has released a report An Everyday Lesson: #ENDviolence in schools in which it discusses the forms of violence 50% of adolescents face at school and the life-long consequences they have.

By Francesca Merlo

Bullying in school is not unusual. But just because something is not unusual it should not be normalised. It is not normal that 150million adolescents have reported being victims of violence in school. The UN defines that violence: bullying, cyberbullying, fights and physical attacks, violence used as a form of punishment, sexual violence, and violence as a consequence of schools in conflict-ridden areas of the world.

What a difference light can make

It is a basic human right for children to go to school and to learn in a safe environment. The committee on the Rights of the Child specifically states that children do not lose their human rights by virtue of passing through the school gate. So why do 720million children attend schools where corporal punishment is still allowed? Why are good quality infrastructures not enforced in schools, given the fact that poor infrastructures can facilitate violent acts, such as sexual assault in poorly-lit bathrooms?

Disabled and alone are not synonyms

Violence in schools affects childrens mental health, often causing incessant fear to the point of skipping school altogether. Children who are victims of violence are marginalised, they suffer loneliness and isolation. They are especially targeted if they are from a minority group, defined by their ethnicity, whether they have a disability, whether they are extremely poor and numerous other factors.

School or battlefield?

When children are afraid of attending school, they are likely to drop out as soon as they are allowed to do so. 158million children and adolescents who live in conflict-affected areas and according to the UNICEF report, their classrooms are no safer than their communities and their routes to and from school become frontlines.

This report states that schools should buffer children from the risks of child labour, exploitation and child marriage. They should be a place where children can find shelter from violence and choose a more peaceful future..

All thats painful hurts

Boys and girls succumb to the same amount of violence in schools. It is more common for boys to have to bear physical abuse, whereas girls are often victims of psychological abuse. The UN report highlights that pain does not need to be physical in order for it to have long-term effects. All forms of violence instigated at a young age can harm a childs growth. The repercussions of violence in schools can become imprinted on a childs body and mind in the form of physical injury, sexually transmitted infections, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts and unplanned pregnancy. Exposure to such violence at such a young age can interfere with healthy brain development, it can instigate substance abuse, cause aggressive behavior, anti-social behavior and risky sexual behavior. At times, the daily fear children face in school as a consequence of routinely instigated violence has led to suicide.

How strength can help weakness

The UN is urging governments to develop and enforce laws and policies that will keep students safe. This includes online policies. Social media has caused a lot of violence but is slowly becoming a valuable tool in helping end it.

UNICEF asks that security measures in schools be strengthened, including separate and well-lit bathrooms and curricula tailored to peacebuilding and positive discipline. They ask that targeted investments be introduced and that those resources be used specifically for violence-prevention programmes.

Finally, the UN urges communication. Violence in schools should not be seen as a taboo. Community members, along with parents and teachers, should speak up about violence and its devastating effects. Generating evidence of what works and what doesnt will help identify promising solutions in order to win a battle whose victims are too vulnerable to fight for themselves.
Srey Leak had a cold, so she did what many Cambodians do when they get sniffly and sneezy: She went to a pharmacy near her home in the capitals Kandal Market neighborhood and asked for healing medicine, the generic Khmer-language term for antibiotics. Within a few minutes, a pharmacist had handed her a colorful cocktail of pills in a plastic baggienone of which could be identified because they were tablets doled out from larger containers. For this, Leak, 29, paid about $2 and received no information about what she was about to ingest. Still, she said she was satisfied. I dont know what the side effects are, and I never ask about that, she said as she held her 3-month-old in a carrier strapped to her chest. This method of drug dispensation is very common in Cambodia, where many aspects of the health-care system go almost entirely unregulated. But it's also a dangerous practiceand one that is getting riskier by the day. Due in large part to antibiotic misuse, drug-resistant bacteria have emerged in recent years as one of the worlds biggest public health risks. And developing countries such as Cambodia are at the forefront of the problem. A Double-Edged Medical Sword Antibiotics are vital tools for killing bacteria and have saved millions of lives since they were first introduced in the 1940s. But used improperly, they can sow the seeds of their own destruction. Bacteria exposed to small amounts of antibiotics often evolve to resist the drugs mechanism of action, becoming stronger and stronger. This evolution can be spurred by taking the wrong antibiotic, failing to finish a full course of antibiotics, or taking an antibiotic when it is not necessaryfor example, to treat a cold, which is caused by a virus and not a bacterium. All three of these practices are widespread in Cambodia. Cambodia was one of the first countries in the region to develop a policy on antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, in 2014. Guided by the World Health Organization, the policy was comprehensive and included a three-year plan for implementation. But this has still not translated to action, several experts on the topic said. A key plank of the policy was a 2016 directive ordering pharmacists to stop dispensing antibiotics without a doctors prescription. But a Health Ministry spokesman told VOA Khmer he had no idea whether any pharmacy had ever been disciplined for doing so. A doctor who has worked closely with the government on its response to drug resistance, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said there would be no progress on fighting antibiotic resistance without enforcement. In Singapore, you cant buy antibiotics because they are not OTC [over the counter] drugs, he said. It's only sold with a prescription. But we can buy them in our country. This is the problem. It is a crisis for the future.

Om Chhorvoin, a researcher who co-authored a 2017 paper on antibiotic misuse in Cambodia, said the ministrys ban was being totally ignored by pharmacists, who saw it as non-binding because there was nobody monitoring their dispensation of antibiotics. He compared the governments AMR policy to a blueprint for a house drawn up by a good architect. Although the plans are solid, nothing has actually been built. Today we have regulations and laws, but they are not put into practice in reality, said Chhorvoin. The authorities seem incapable of ensuring that the ministrys regulations are obeyed. Passing the Buck Dressed in a doctors gown, Keo Lyhour was busy one recent morning doling out baggies of medicine to his customers at Phsar Tapang, a well-known cluster of pharmacies near Phnom Penhs Central Market. He said more and more people have been coming to him and asking specifically for antibioticsand he is happy to oblige. We dont really tell them about the side effects. If we tell them a lot of side effects, the buyer will lose confidence in the drugs, Lyhour said. Luong Sophoat, a pharmacist at the new Western-style chain Help Plus Pharmacy, told VOA she knew antibiotic resistance was a serious issue and tried to comply with government guidelines. However, she said she had only been informed of these rules once and was under the impression they were non-binding. The proper way to use antibiotics is with appropriate prescription and diagnosis from the doctor, said Sophoat, who recalled the new rules from a pharmacists meeting in Phnom Penh, which took place one or two years ago, I cannot remember, she said. But she said in the absence of enforcement, there was serious business pressure for pharmacies to continue selling antibiotics. Most of the people who come here say that mostly they use this drug from other pharmacies and they want to continue using it, she said. This puts pressure on pharmacists. Nine pharmacists interviewed by VOA said they had not received any printed government guidelines from the Ministry of Health. All of them said they were unsure whether it was legal or illegal to sell antibiotics without a doctors prescription. Dr. Ly Sovann, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health and president of the ministrys AMR Technical Working Group, told VOA in an interview that the ministry had made its rules, and now it was up to pharmacies to comply. If our officials find any pharmacies which do not comply with our regulations, the pharmacists will face legal punishment, he said. This includes confiscation of their license. However, when asked whether any pharmacies had ever been punished for selling antibiotics without a prescription, Dr. Sovann said he did not know. He claimed the situation was better than before but had no data he could share on the issue. Instead, he suggested that journalists call a Health Ministry hotline. We have done our job, he said of the government. Whats next is cooperation from the people, and from journalists too. If you all see wrongdoing, you can report it to our hotline.

The Faster, the Better? VOA journalists visited three different pharmacies in different parts of Phnom Penh and asked for medicine to treat a common coldfor which antibiotics are unnecessary. Without asking for a doctors prescription, the pharmacists all quickly handed back small plastic baggies filled with a colorful medley of pills. Two of them had dispensed cephalosporin, a strong antibiotic that should only be taken for relatively rare infections. VOA reporters also asked the pharmacists whether there were antibiotics in the bags, and what the proper duration of treatment was. The pharmacists all reacted with surprise at being questioned. One of them said it was okay to take antibiotics for two days. But if you have more money you should buy more, probably for three days, he said. This is a common experience at Cambodian pharmacies, where patients are rarely given clear information on how to take medication properly. According to Chhorvoins 2017 paper, Pervasive Antibiotic Misuse in the Cambodian Community, antibiotics are widely distributed in urban and rural areas alike by everyone from nurses to unofficial village doctors known as "pett phum," who often have only piecemeal medical training, sometimes dating back to the Khmer Rouge era. Chhorvoin and his co-authors found that these "pett phum" practitioners often doled out strong antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins for no good reason. They met Cambodian villagers so familiar with antibiotics that they would request them from local medics using nicknames: pen (penicillin), amox (amoxicillin), ampi (ampicillin), tetra (tetracycline), and cotrim (co-cotrimoxazole).

Many believed that antibiotics should be taken for every health problem, including vague inflammatory symptoms that had not been diagnosed. Ampi and amox help us, for example, when I have a stuffy nose, it helps to reduce the clogging, one villager told the researchers. The problem is not just with "pett phum," but extends all the way up to properly certified doctors, who often do not bother running tests to confirm that an illness is really bacterial, Chhorvoin told VOA. A lot of doctors with 20 or 30 years of experience in healthcare do not normally take biomedical labs seriously, as they are supposed to, he said. They are likely to prescribe antibiotics quickly because it saves them time. Many Cambodians also believe that healing medicine, as antibiotics are known here, is simply a substance that cures faster and more effectively than other drugs. Because of this, 70-year-old Heng Sam Ang said she always stops taking antibiotics as soon as she feels better. She said her local pharmacist in Phnom Penh had advised her that too much medicine was not healthy, and that stopping antibiotics quickly was a good idea. So, when I have a cold, sore throat, or a headache, I take amoxicillin. One or two pills is enough to fully recover. I dont like to use a lot of meds, she said, gripping a plastic baggie full of antibiotics she had just purchased from a pharmacy. In fact, this contravenes all guidelines for the use of antibiotics. Patients are supposed to complete a full course of pills, and should never stop as soon as they feel better. Doing this creates a fertile breeding ground for antibiotic resistance, because the weaker bacteria die quickly, while the hardier ones can survive and multiply. Part of a Global Problem This careless use of antibiotics is contributing to a global crisis of antimicrobial resistance. An estimated 700,000 people die every year due to antibiotic-resistant infections, and the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that this will rise to 10 million deaths per year by 2050. Poor and incomplete data means that the scope of resistance in Cambodia is still unclear, and a new government-run surveillance effort has still not collected its first round of data. However, individual studies and anecdotal evidence make it obvious that the problem is serious.

In 2011, over 10 percent of all tuberculosis cases in Cambodia were found to be resistant to multiple antibiotics, up from just 3.1 percent in 2001. A small follow-up study in 2015 called urgently for the resumption of national-level surveillance of drug-resistant tuberculosis, which showed signs of spreading in the population. A 10-year study at the Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, which ran from 2007 to 2016 and had its results published in May, found that 82 percent of E. coli and K. pneumoniae samples at the hospital were resistant to multiple drugs. The Institut Pasteur du Cambodge has also sounded an alarm, noting in a recent statement that it was detecting alarmingly high levels of resistance in several types of bacteria. Over a four-year period starting in 2012, it found that the frequency of enterobacteria that produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), which give bacteria resistant to many types of antibiotics, increased from 23.8 percent to 38.4 percent in the samples it tested Most startlingly, as many as 80 percents of pregnant women and 42 percent of infants tested by the Institut hosted enterobacteria that produced ESBLs, compared to less than 5 percent in Europe. The increase of these resistant bacteria can lead to a therapeutic impasse, said Institut Pasteur biologist Alexandra Kerleguer in a statement. Dr. Kerleguer said that when she first arrived in Phnom Penh, she was shocked to see how much more serious antimicrobial resistance was in Cambodia than in her home country, France. Dr. Phe Thong of the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE in Phnom Penh told VOA that in the past several years, he had seen a number of patients with alarming drug-resistant bacterial infections. In some cases, they were resistant to all drugs available in the country. Dr. Thong said he had never encountered a serious case of antibiotic resistance before 2013. Diseases like pneumonia and typhoid are especially hard to cure in Cambodia at the moment because the bacteria that cause them are highly resistant to existing antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and fluoroquinolone, Dr. Thong said. This would be daunting for doctors anywhere. But the problem is compounded in Cambodia, where third-line antibiotics are often unavailable or prohibitively expensive. They also require patients to adhere to a much more rigorous treatment protocol, usually while hospitalized. And there is always the risk that bacteria will also evolve resistance to the strongest drugs, making them impossible to fight. Here, we experienced a few very serious cases in which the bacteria resist all the existing antibiotics in the country, he said. We were struggling to decide on the medication because we don't seem to have [antibiotics] to cure those patients.

Information Desperately Needed Every study of antibiotic resistance in Cambodia has emphasized that a comprehensive national-level surveillance system is urgently needed. But getting it up and running has been slow going. The Sihanouk Center, along with three other hospitals in Phnom Penh and four in provincial areas, are now enrolled in a World Health Organization program to track and fight resistance. Although the program has existed for years, Cambodia only began collecting data in January 2018. There are still only eight hospitals in the country with the facilities to conduct the necessary tests for resistant bacteria, underscoring the depth of the challenges here. The doctor who works on AMR issues said that without clear statistics on the scope of resistance, it has been impossible to create a national plan to control it. We dont have any guidelines at all now. It is taking a long time because we dont have any data to make them. We cant have [guidelines] until we can get good enough data, he said. Sweden leads this initiative, the WHO endorses the program, and the US Centers for Disease Control supports the government with resources, but I think it is up to the government, which must work harder itself, the doctor added. Dr. Thong agreed that senior leaders and doctors must change their behavior before patients can be expected to. Of course every country faces this issue, but only those countries with proper control, guidelines and regulations on antibiotic use will be able to lower resistance levels, he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met leaders of Pakistan's newly elected government in Islamabad Wednesday to shore up bilateral relations that have sunk to their lowest point in the past year.
North Korea marks its 70th anniversary, while both the North and South prepare for another summit; India's high court hands a victory to LGBT Indian nationals, and the world wonders just what is going on in Trump's White House
The Arab League has welcomed Paraguay's decision to relocate its embassy from the contested city of Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv.

Saeed Abu Ali, assistant to the league's secretary-general for Palestinian affairs told reporters Thursday the move serves as a model for other countries in the face of Israeli plans and U.S. pressure. He also said it will also positively reflect on Arab-Paraguayan relations.

Abu Ali hailed Paraguay's move as being on the "right track" and in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.



Paraguay had moved its embassy to Jerusalem in May after Guatemala and the U.S., infuriating Palestinians who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.



Paraguay reversed its decision Wednesday prompting Israel to shutter its embassy in Paraguay and warn that ties between the countries would be "strained."
Britains prime minister has warned that Western allies must do more to counter Russias spy agency known as the GRU, which she says poses a big threat to citizens across the world.

Addressing parliament Wednesday, Theresa May said that investigators have identified two Russian GRU agents allegedly responsible for the nerve agent poisoning in March of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in the British city of Salisbury.

The actions of the GRU are a threat to all our allies and to all our citizens. And on the basis of what we have learned in the Salisbury investigation, and what we know about this organization more broadly, we must now step up our collective efforts specifically against the GRU, May told lawmakers.

ID'd by CCTV

More than 250 police officers were involved in the investigation, as CCTV played a vital role in identifying the suspects as they arrived at Londons Gatwick Airport on March 2, two days before the poisoning took place.

WATCH: Britain Demands Action Against Russian Spy Agency as Poisoning Suspects Identified

Their journey from a London hotel to the crime scene in Salisbury was tracked by security cameras. The two men then flew out of Heathrow Airport back to Russia the same evening.

The suspects passports give their names as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, though police believe the names were fake. Investigators have appealed for help in identifying the suspects true identities.

Russias GRU is thought to have played a key role in the 2014 annexation of Crimea as the source of the so-called unidentified little green men  masked soldiers wearing unmarked green military uniforms and armed with Russian weapons.

Suspects unlikely to stand trial

The agency is also believed to have hacked emails of the U.S. Democratic National Committee in 2016 and is thought to be behind an attempted coup in Montenegro last year.

It specializes in this kind of high-risk, short-term operation, said Andrew Foxall, head of the Russia program at the Henry Jackson Society, an analyst group.

Russia said the names and photographs of the suspects do not mean anything to Moscow.

A European Arrest Warrant has been issued for Petrov and Boshirov, but they are highly unlikely to stand trial, as the Russian constitution forbids the extradition of its citizens. Instead, Britain and its allies should look to take additional measures to those enacted at the time of the poisoning, Foxall said.

In total, something like 150 undeclared Russian intelligence officers were expelled from Western countries. There is still, though, obviously more that can be done. The prime minister herself has suggested that we may push for additional sanctions for the European Union. In the U.S., additional sanctions are already in place, Foxhall said.

Both Sergei and Yulia Skripal have made a full recovery, along with a police officer who was exposed to the nerve agent after attending to the victims.

Police say the Novichok poison was smuggled into Britain and administered using a fake perfume bottle. A local couple who found the discarded bottle and took it home were hospitalized in June. One of them, Dawn Sturgess, died 10 days later. Police are linking the two investigations.
Britain and France have come closer to an agreement that would end a dispute over scallop fishing in the English Channel. The two countries issued a joint statement at the end of a meeting Wednesday in London, saying the talks had been "constructive." If finalized, the deal would end tensions between French and British fishermen over the rights to fish in the waters off the coast of northern France. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports.
Children at the Government Primary School Limani dance with joy as they meet each other in class for the first time in several years.

Cameroon has re-opened 40 schools on its northern border with Nigeria that were sealed four years ago because of threats from Boko Haram insurgents. But while students are happy returning, many of their teachers are absent and have been replaced by troops from the Multinational Joint Task Force still fighting the Islamist group.



The childrens school in Limani is one of the forty near northern Cameroons border with Nigeria that authorities reopened this week, citing improved security.



Cameroon closed around sixty schools in the area beginning in December 2014 because of the threat from Boko Haram.



The Islamist militant group, whose name roughly translates as non-Islamic education is a sin, had launched an all-out assault on villages near the Lake Chad area.



Cameroon says hundreds of Boko Haram fighters attacked and torched schools, including the Limani primary school.



Ibrahim Nassourou was nine years old when the school was shut. He and his parents fled to a neighboring village where Nassourou was unable to attend school.



He says when he was told that their school in Limani had been reopened he shouted with joy because he can now again persue an education.



Cameroon authorities are touting the absense of a major Boko Haram attack for the past year and are urging parents to return their children to the re-opened schools. Troops are protecting the schools, they say.





But parents are reluctant to trust promises of safety. Only about 20 percent of the students have come back.



Teachers are also noticeably absent.



At the Limani Primary Schools Class Five, troops from the Multinational Joint Task Force have traded their weapons for teaching manuals and chalk.



Cameroon-born staff corporal Blaise Fonkon says teaching is part of their social outreach program.



"We have [a] humanitarian line of operation. In that humanitarian line of operation, we have of course the school situation. Through their school, if they actually know what they are supposed to do here, they will be engineers, they will be teachers, they will be doctors and I am sure that they will change this country," Fonkon said.



Classroom teacher Edison Abunaw says despite assurances of their safety, most of his teaching colleagues do not wish to return.



And between Boko Harams attacks and kidnappings, and villagers hiding in fear, he says, the fate of many former students is still not known.



"We used to have about 500 to 600 pupils, but we have about two hundred [now]. Most of the parents, they dont tell us what happened to their children so we are confronted with situations where we cannot easily explain what happened to the child," Abunaw said.



Abunaw notes classes only started September 3, so he says it is too early to say if more teachers and students will return.



Cameroon is giving absent teachers two weeks to come back to their jobs.



Mayor of Fotokol town Abouzari Mahamat says the government has promised to rebuild schools that Boko Haram damaged.



He says the engineering corps of the Multinational Joint Task Force, which is fighting Boko Haram, has promised to construct new classes and repair those that were destroyed. Mahamat says, thanks to the presence of the troops, peace is returning and children can now go to school.



But Mahamat acknowledges that reconstruction has been slow because contractors also worry that fighting could return.
Chinese President Xi Jinping promised Monday to cancel debt for some of Africas least-developed countries.



Erasing debt tied to interest-free loans has long been a part of Chinas policies in Africa. But the announcement, made at Xis opening speech at the 2018 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, or FOCAC, comes amid growing concern over Chinas lending practices, which some have deemed debt-trap diplomacy.



Yet Chinese loans make up just a small portion of Africas debt, W. Gyude Moore, a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, told VOA. Moore is Liberias former minister of public works and focuses on infrastructure financing in Africa.

He put the continents total debt burden at about $6 trillion, most of which is owed to organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Paris Club of mostly Western creditor countries. He said Chinese loans make up just two percent of all Africa debt.



Murky details



Debt forgiveness is a small part of a much larger package announced at this years FOCAC, and details about affected countries arent known, Moore said.



Because it is unclear what the conditions are to qualify for debt relief, we cant say for sure what countries will benefit from it, he said.



In his speech, Xi said the relief would help heavily indebted and poor countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing countries.



Thats consistent with how China has dealt with debt forgiveness in the past.



Deborah Brautigam, the director at the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, wrote earlier this week that the debt-relief policies were nothing new, even if they sounded like a big change.



These foreign aid loans are a long-standing and relatively modest part of Chinese finance in Africa, Brautigam wrote.



Net positive



Critics worry that China wants to create debt problems with its partners to gain leverage with them.



In Sri Lanka, China took over Hambantota Port and thousands of acres of surrounding land as part of a debt forgiveness package, raising concerns about sovereignty.

But Moore thinks that case is an anomaly and points to Venezuela, a country that owes China about $50 billion without having faced similar takeovers of facilities or land, as another example of how things can play out.



More importantly, African nations turn to China to fulfill a need, Moore said.



Currently, Africa lags every region of the world when it comes to infrastructure. And China, it appears, is the only country with both the appetite and the resources to be able to help Africa meet its infrastructure needs, Moore said. I think China has been a net positive partner with most African countries.





Corruption concerns



But good intentions may not be enough to keep borrowers out of trouble. Brautigam told VOA that concerns about Chinese debt and doubts about the necessity of some infrastructure projects have merit.



The Chinese practice has been much more deferential to local sovereignty. And so, in their view, African governments know what theyre doing when they borrow to build these projects. And in their own history the Chinese have also borrowed to build things, Brautigam said.



Thats led some critics to fault China for perpetuating corruption with no-strings-attached loans and a policy of non-interference with other nations internal dynamics.



Moore said the Democratic Republic of Congo is one example of a country thats indebted to China but also saddled by corruption.



The problem with the DRC is not simply something with the Chinese loans, Moore said. There was an instance where almost $2 billion in rent collected on mining didnt make it to the national budget.

Internal & external pressure



Moore sees an extension of Chinas policies in Africa for the foreseeable future, although debt cancellation or restructuring both are likely, he added.



But growing scrutiny both internationally and internally could constrain future Chinese lending, especially in the context of the high-profile Belt and Road Initiative, Beijings massive infrastructure project cast as a modern-day Silk Road.



About 100 million Chinese live in poverty, Moore said, and the countrys own debt has spiked in the past nine years from about $6 trillion to roughly $28 trillion. Thats left some in China questioning the wisdom of giving Africa what they see as development aid.



But Chinese money isnt likely to dry up, and until African nations find other lenders willing to offer comparable terms, the continent will keep counting on China to bolster its development efforts.



China will continue to, for at least the next decade, be a source of lending to African countries, Moore said.
A gunman carrying enough ammunition to cause a bloodbath beyond imagination killed three people and wounded two others Thursday morning at a high-rise office building in the heart of Cincinnati before dying in a hail of police gunfire.

The shooting at the 30-story Fifth Third Center sent people running for cover across the citys Fountain Square amid cries of Shooter! Police responded within seconds, and four officers opened fire, bullets smashing through glass doors and the gunman falling to the floor, authorities said.

Police identified him as Omar Enrique Santa Perez, 29, but said they dont know what motivated the attack.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said the killer used a 9 mm handgun and was carrying magazines with some 200 rounds of ammunition.

A very horrific situation, Isaac said at the scene.

Banks headquarters

The building is home to Fifth Third Bancorps headquarters along with a number of other businesses, including ice cream, pastry and sandwich shops.

Police said the gunman, a Cincinnati-area resident since 2015, wasnt a current or past Fifth Third employee. They said he went into a sandwich shop and possibly other businesses before entering the lobby and opening fire around 9:10 a.m.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said the rapid police response probably prevented many more casualties. He said one investigator warned it could have been a bloodbath beyond imagination.

Afterward, police swarmed the gunmans apartment in North Bend, Ohio, about 15 miles west of Cincinnati.

Witnesses describe scene

Michael Richardson, who works in the bank building, told The Cincinnati Enquirer that he was standing outside the entrance when he heard gunshots in the lobby.

I looked behind me and saw the guy  he shot and then he shot again. After that, I started running, Richardson said.

Leonard Cain told The Enquirer he was going into the bank when someone alerted him about the shooting. He said a woman wearing headphones didnt hear the warnings and walked into the bank and was shot.

Jessica Hanson, who works on one of the lower floors, said a co-worker had taken the elevator down to get a drink, and when the doors opened, she nearly stepped on a mans body. The woman got back in the elevator and rode up to her floor, where Hanson said she was in shock and unable to form complete sentences.

Then we knew what was going on, Hanson said.

Jaenetta Cook, who manages a bakery on the first floor, said she hurried to lock the door after the first two shots. Then, it sounded as if they were getting closer and closer. Cook said she and two other employees hid in the bathroom.

I made it out to see my kids, to see another day, she said with relief.

Victims identified

The Hamilton County Coroners office identified the victims as Pruthvi Kandepi, 25; Luis Calderon, 48; and Richard Newcomer, 64.

One died at the scene. Two more died at University of Cincinnati Medical Center. The wounded were listed there in critical condition and fair condition.

Fountain Square is often the site of concerts, dancing, food trucks and other events around lunchtime or in the evenings.

It could have been any one of us, Mayor John Cranley said. He praised police and other emergency personnel, saying, It could have been much, much worse.
Demonstrators in Washington mark the one year anniversary of Myanmar's ethnic cleansing of Rohingya by demanding more economic sanctions and recognition by the U.S. that what happened to the Rohingya was genocide. Anna Kook reports from Capitol Hill for VOA.
Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in Eritrea, the latest step in rapidly improving bilateral ties that have reversed two-decades of conflict between the two countries.

Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting company said Thursday that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reopened the embassy in the Eritrean capital of Asmara during a brief ceremony with President Isaias Afwerki. The two men will hold a three-way summit with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed later in the day.

Relations between the Horn of Africa neighbors have improved since Prime Minister Abiy announced in June that Addis Ababa would finally honor a U.N.-brokered deal signed in 2000 to end a two-year border war that killed an estimated 70,000 people. The war was followed by nearly two decades of cold war, proxy conflicts and, at times, open hostilities.

The announcement led to a historic peace deal signed last month by Abiy and Afwerki that formally ended one of Africas longest, most intractable conflicts.

Eritrea, a former province of Ethiopia, broke away from its much larger neighbor in 1993.
The decision by Facebook to ban senior military figures from using its platform has opened a debate in the country, with some calling it an attack on freedom of expression, and others praising the social media giant for finally taking the kind of firm action that rights activists have long demanded.

Last month, Facebook banned senior figures from Myanmars military, including army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, after a United Nations investigation recommended that they face a trial for genocide following last years brutal military crackdown in Rakhine State.

In a statement, Facebook said it had removed 46 pages and 12 accounts for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior on the social media platform. It said it wanted to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions.

The announcement was made shortly after the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar called for a genocidal probe into Min Aung Hlaing and five other army commanders following its campaign in northern Rakhine State last year, which saw an estimated 700,000 mainly Rohingya flee into Bangladesh.

A Facebook spokesperson told VOA via email that an investigation was conducted independently by the company and not in cooperation with any government or non-government organization.

We have a responsibility to fight abuse on our products, the company official said. This is especially true in countries like Myanmar where many people are using the Internet for the first time, and Facebook can be used to spread hate and incite violence.

In a concession to critics who have accused the company of waiting too long to take action, the spokesperson said Facebook had been too slow to spot hate speech on its platform, adding that the ban was permanent.

Some Internet users in Myanmar have criticized the decision, saying it prevents the military from spreading otherwise legitimate information. After the announcement, government spokesperson Zaw Htay told reporters the government would raise the ban with Facebook directly.

Marzuki Darusman, chairperson of the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, told VOA that he welcomed Facebook's decision.

It gives us great assurances that Facebook as a platform can play a very important role in restoring confidence within the country, he said. Confidence in technology and facts, confidence in understanding the motivation of the government in their policies, and confidence within the community that communication and interaction is gradually restored on the basis of trust.

Rise of hate speech

Widespread Internet use is new to Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In 2014, two international telecom operators  Qatar-based Ooredoo and Norway's Telenor  entered the market, ending a monopoly held by the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications. Overnight, the price of a SIM card fell from more than $250 to $1.50, bringing most of the population online for the first time. According to Telenor company officials, Myanmar now has a 105 percent SIM card and 80 percent smartphone penetration rate, up from less than 10 percent before the market was liberalized.

Facebook quickly and overwhelmingly emerged as the most popular platform, accounting for more than 85 percent of all Internet traffic, according to local research group Consult Myanmar.

But critics charge that the California-based company's service has also served as a platform for unsubstantiated rumors that have contributed to some of the violence that has plagued the country in recent years. In 2014, rumors spread on Facebook that a Buddhist woman in Mandalay was raped by her Muslim employer. In the riots that followed, at least two people were killed.

Despite Facebook's latest actions, online hate speech remains an issue in Myanmar. In an investigation published in August, Reuters news agency said it had found more than 1,000 examples of posts, comments and pornographic images on Facebook that were attacking the Rohingya minority and other members of the country's Muslim population.

Aung Kaung Myat, a blogger who monitors online misinformation in Myanmar, said that before Facebook banned Min Aung Hlaing, nationalists would use the social media page to spread pro-military messages and posts attacking State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy.

Their posts were obviously targeted towards Muslims, Aung Kaung Myat told VOA, adding that doctored images often depicted Aung San Suu Kyi wearing a hijab. Their intentions are clearly different to those of other Facebook users, he said.

He added that when Facebook announced its ban, many of these users moved their profiles to VK, a Russian social media platform that claims to have more than 500 million subscribers.

Less than 48 hours after the Facebook ban, a page for General Min Aung Hlaing was established on VK. The page, which has daily updates in Myanmar and English, now has almost 35,000 followers.

Aung Kaung Myat said one prominent nationalist regularly posted updates with terms that are derogatory for people of South Asian descent.

I think they were probably testing what was and wasnt allowed on the page, said Aung Kaung Myat. These nationalists want a platform where they are able to post their hate messages freely.
The Trump administration on Thursday lifted a roadblock to copper-nickel mining near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness of northeastern Minnesota, reversing a decision made in the final days of the Obama administration.

The Obama administration in late 2016 withdrew around 234,000 acres of the Rainy River watershed near Ely from eligibility for mineral leasing pending a two-year study, citing the potential threat from acid mine drainage to the nearby Boundary Waters, the country's most-visited wilderness area. The move could have led to a 20-year ban on mining and prospecting on the land.

The most immediate beneficiary is Twin Metals Minnesota, which hopes to build a copper-nickel-precious metals mine south of Ely. It plans to submit its first formal mining plan to regulators in the next 18 months.

The land is part of the Superior National Forest, which is controlled by the U.S. Forest Service, an agency under the Department of Agriculture. The USDA canceled the withdrawal Thursday, saying its review revealed no new scientific information and that interested companies may soon be able to sign mineral leases in the area.

"It's our duty as responsible stewards of our environment to maintain and protect our natural resources. At the same time, we must put our national forests to work for the taxpayers to support local economies and create jobs," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement.

The decision had been expected. President Donald Trump said at a campaign rally in Duluth in June that his administration would soon rescind the withdrawal.

The Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, The Wilderness Society and allied groups denounced the decision as a sellout to foreign corporate interests. They blasted the agency for failing to complete the study, despite Perdue's assurances to a congressional committee in May 2017 that it would and that no decision would be made until it was finished.

"The Trump Administration broke its word to us, to Congress, and to the American people when it said it would finish the environmental assessment and base decisions on facts and science," Alex Falconer, executive director of the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement.

Forest Service spokesman Brady Smith said the agency determined that there was no need to complete the assessment, based on what it had learned over the last 15 months. But he said the Forest Service met its obligations to conduct a scientific analysis that included multiple opportunities for public feedback.

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, the lead Democrat on a subcommittee that funds the Forest Service, issued a statement accusing Perdue of breaking his promise to her panel, "bending to political pressure from a foreign mining company and abandoning sound science." She said Perdue's word "cannot be trusted."

But Twin Metals, which is owned by the Chilean mining company Antofagasta, welcomed the decision, which will also give a freer hand to other companies that have conducted exploratory drilling in the area.

"This important action ensures that federal lands that have been open to responsible mining activity for decades will remain open, offering the Iron Range region the potential for thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in economic growth," Twin Metals CEO Kelly Osborne said in a statement.

The Trump administration in May reinstated two key mineral leases for Twin Metals that the Obama administration had declined to renew. Environmental groups are challenging that decision in court.

The Twin Metals project is not as advanced as the planned PolyMet mine, which would become Minnesota's first copper-nickel mine if it gets final approval of its permits. PolyMet sits several miles away in a different watershed.
Ayanna Pressley's victory Tuesday over 10-term House member Michael Capuano in Massachusetts' 7th District Democratic primary virtually assured that for the first time, an African-American woman will represent her state in Congress.

Pressley's performance against Capuano was reminiscent of Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's New York primary win in June over veteran House member Joseph Crowley, as progressive insurgents seek to challenge the Democratic establishment.

Pressley, a member of the Boston City Council, and Ocasio-Cortez, a Hispanic community organizer, are likely to draw at most nominal opposition in the November general election.

The two women are part of a historic surge in women entering politics and running for office, in the wake of President Donald Trump's 2016 victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton. A record number of women have won primary elections for the House of Representatives this year, according to The New York Times.

The Times reports that 200 female nominees are now headed into the general election campaign, the largest number in history.

More than three-quarters of the female primary winners are Democrats. In the current makeup of the House, less than 20 percent of the 435 seats are held by women.
Indonesias independent Corruption Eradication Commission, known as the KPK, has named 41 local councilors from the east Java city of Malang as suspects in a major bribery scandal, leaving just four in office. Feared and hated by many elites in a country notorious for systemic corruption, the commission took on the case at a time when it is under political attack and potentially at risk of being curtailed by proposed wide-ranging changes to the criminal code.

Twenty-one members of the Malang city council have been arrested, accused of accepting bribes of between $850 and $3,350 from former mayor Mochamad Anton as incentive to accept the local governments 2015 budget. With suspects paraded before the media in distinctive orange jail vests, the case epitomizes the KPKs aggressive approach to fighting graft.

Given around half of the cases investigated by the KPK involve bribery, it also epitomizes the nature of local corruption in Indonesia, which has proliferated with the political decentralization of the country since 1998.

Bribery is almost always part of the whole scheme, people giving money to people in order to get some privilege, said Professor Hendi Yogi Prabowo, director of the Center for Forensic Accounting Studies in Yogyakarta. Its just the way things are done in the regions.

After Suharto

The KPK was founded in 2002, four years after longtime leader Suharto stepped down, paving the way for democratic transition. Suhartos 31 years in power were characterized by rampant cronyism and corruption, to the extent he was once named by Forbes as the worlds most corrupt leader of all time for embezzling an estimated $15-$35 billion throughout his reign.

Of course, if they are proven to have engaged in corruption, they will all go to jail, said Almas Sjafrina, an activist from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) of the Malang case, noting that it would not be the first time a large portion of an Indonesian council has been jailed simultaneously. Since its inception, the KPK has investigated hundreds of public officials and boasts a near-100 percent conviction rate.

The commissions anti-corruption work is widely popular. A 2017 poll showed 86 percent of respondents said they trust the KPK. Those sentiments are boosted by actions like the one earlier this year, when the institution bagged its most high-profile conviction yet with the jailing of former house speaker Setya Novanto for his role in embezzling an estimated $170 million from an initiative to distribute electronic identity cards for Indonesian citizens.

Powerful targets, powerful enemies

But targeting powerful people has made the KPK some dangerous enemies. KPK commissioner Novel Baswedan, who was attacked with acid while investigating the identity card case, told TIME last year from his hospital bed in Singapore that Whenever we decide to fight for the people, for the many, the result is well be opposed, well be attacked.

Despite the KPKs ongoing success in bringing corrupt officials to justice, corruption persists and continues to permeate much of Indonesias political system, bureaucracy and the courts. The country was ranked 96th on Transparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index for 2017, well below its regional neighbors of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

There is currently a huge gap in terms of how corruption is being handled by the KPK and other institutions with the reality in the field, said Kanti Pertiwi, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia and an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Management at the University of Melbourne who has researched and written on corruption.

Those who engage in graft in Indonesia perceive that corruption gets things done, Kanti told VOA. She said low public servant salaries and a flawed political campaign financing system both encourage corruption by public officials.

Changes to criminal code

In recent years the KPK has faced regular public criticism from prominent parliamentarians, as well as crippling budget cuts, which critics say are politically motivated. The deputy speaker of Indonesian parliament, Fahri Hamzah, has been a consistent detractor of the KPKs methods, last year declaring it a big slander machine and like a Hollywood film, as quoted by Kompas.

Controversial proposed changes to Indonesias national criminal code could further restrict the ability of the KPK to investigate and prosecute those engaging in financial crime. A civil society coalition known as the National Alliance for Criminal Code Reform said in April that the legal changes would significantly undermine corruption eradication efforts.

The KPK has criticized several articles in the initial draft of the new criminal code, which include lighter penalties for extraordinary offenses such as human rights abuses or corruption, leading President Joko Widodo to request a review back in July.

There needs to be a larger commitment from government in fighting corruption both at the national and local level, said Sjafrina of ICW. A fundamental problem is the political party financing system. This requires urgent reform.

But Hendi believes Indonesias existing laws are adequate for fighting corruption and instead blames the KPKs insufficient resources and low public awareness.

Anti-corruption is not just about prosecution, but other areas such as education, he said. It should be a multidimensional approach to solving the corruption problem in Indonesia.
An Iranian womens rights activist says a male ally imprisoned in Iran since July plans to expand a hunger strike in the coming days to protest government harassment of rights campaigners.

In a series of tweets published Wednesday, Jila Baniyaghoob reported what she said was a message sent from Tehrans Evin prison by her jailed ally, 48-year-old physician Farhad Meysami. She did not specify how she obtained the message.

Baniyaghoob said Meysami has vowed to turn his ongoing hunger strike from a wet to a dry one beginning this Saturday, meaning that he will give up water as well as food. She said Meysami pledged to drink only the amount of water needed to take his medications.

Rights groups have said Meysami has told his family and friends that he has been refusing food in prison since August 1. That was a day after security forces arrested Meysami at his office, where they found books they believed were illegal and badges with slogans protesting Irans Islamist policy of forcing women to veil themselves or wear the hijab in public.

Baniyaghoob, who won the International Womens Media Foundations Courage in Journalism Award for 2009, said Meysami intends to launch a full hunger strike to draw attention to the plight of other civil rights activists in Iran. She said Meysami is demanding an end to the governments summoning, interrogation and harassment of four activists in particular: Reza Khandan, Khandans sister, Jila Karamzadeh Makvandi and Mohammadreza Davoud Farhadpour.

Khandan, the husband of prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, was arrested Tuesday after campaigning for the release of his wife, whom authorities imprisoned in June. Both have been charged with national security offenses after expressing support for Iranian women who have staged public protests against the nations compulsory hijab law this year.

Meysami, a friend of Sotoudeh, also has been charged with national security offenses including encouraging women to remove their headscarves in public, according to rights activists.

There was no comment on Meysamis case in Iranian state media.

This article originated in VOAs Persian Service.
A five-person South Korean delegation, led by President Moon Jae-in's top security adviser, visited the North Korean capital Wednesday and agreed to hold an inter-Korean Summit September 18-20.

South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said Thursday that high-level talks will be held early next week at Panmunjom "to discuss protocol, security, communications and media coverage as a part of preparations for the summit."

Wednesday's meeting took place amid the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump's abrupt cancellation of a trip to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, because the White House felt Pyongyang had not made sufficient progress toward denuclearization.

The one-day meeting between North and South Korea focused on establishing permanent peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula and practical measures of denuclearization.

"Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment for complete denuclearization of Korean peninsula," said Chung, "and expressed his willingness for close cooperation not only with South Korea but also with the United States in that regard."

Tentative date

Chung also said Kim wished to denuclearize and end hostilities with Washington before 2021, adding that the North Korean leader's faith in Trump is "unchanged."

The U.S. President responded on Twitter, "Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.'"

The Seoul and Pyongyang delegations also agreed to take steps to ease military tensions and "decided to reach an agreement at the inter-Korean summit on concrete plans to establish mutual trust and prevent military clashes."

Chung announced the two governments would open a joint liaison office with resident representatives before the next summit and "continue necessary cooperation," as well.

No pathways to denuclearization announced

Despite the diplomatic difficulties between Pyongyang and Washington, Seoul continues to encourage both parties to proceed with peace and denuclearization processes.

Troy University International Relations lecturer Daniel Pinkston says Kim's commitment to denuclearization faces skepticism.

"I don't see any written commitments," he told VOA.

"There are a number of written mechanisms, legal mechanisms, and ways they [North Korea] can demonstrate politically and legally that they're bound to these denuclearization commitments."

Harry Kazianis, Director of Defense Studies at The Center for the National Interest, doubts Kim Jong Un will denuclearize, but notes a shift from the "fire and fury" days of 2017.

"I do see a lot of hope for a detente on the Korean Peninsula that could be long term," Kazianis said. He also sees the possibility of the Trump administration making a strategic shift in its policy toward Asia, telling VOA, "I think this administration is much more focused on China now than it is on North Korea."

But without North Korean compliance in the arms control and denuclearization arenas, Pinkston says "the United Nations Security Council cannot roll back the sanctions regime."

Kazianis is doubtful the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization (CVID) will occur, "but there is a lot of ways to lessen tensions with North Korea and to have, what I would call, a working relationship."

If North Korea commits to arms control, arms reduction and denuclearization, Pinkston agrees that "there are a number of opportunities" that would eventually open up for North Korea.

Moving forward

The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically still at war.

President Moon has made an end-of-war declaration an important focus. At the United Nations General Assembly in late September, South Korea seeks a trilateral summit, or possibly a four-nation meeting that includes China, to declare a formal end to the conflict.

Kazianis doesn't think such a UNGA announcement is likely, but doing so eventually would be tantamount to all sides "agreeing that the war was over."

If Kim Jong Un still hasn't demonstrated more concrete steps toward denuclearization, Kazianis says that would be "a clear understanding that he's never going to do it."
Russia has again denied involvement in the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter, and said Britain's accusation that Moscow played a role was unacceptable.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke to reporters Thursday, saying, "Neither Russia's top leadership nor those in the ranks below, nor any official representatives have anything to do with the events in Salisbury."

Britain charged two alleged Russian agents in absentia Wednesday with the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, a southern English city. British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the Kremlin of plotting the March 4 attack.

Peskov also said Russia "has no reasons" to investigate the suspected agents who were charged because Britain has not asked for legal assistance.

Separately, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and the U.S. issued a joint statement applauding the charges brought against the two suspects. They also expressed faith in the findings of British investigators.

"We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level."

In New York, the British updated the U.N. Security Council on the latest developments.

Ambassador Karen Pierce said British police carried out a "painstaking and methodical" investigation involving more than 250 detectives who reviewed as part of their work over 11,000 hours of closed-circuit television footage and took 1,400 statements.

"This is evidence has been sufficient for our independent prosecuting authorities to bring criminal charges in relation to the Salisbury attack and issue European Union arrest warrants," Pierce said.

The two alleged Russian agents are no longer in Britain, and Pierce said they would take every step to extradite them should they travel outside of Russia.

Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia dismissed British accusations as an "unfounded and mendacious cocktail of facts" and accused London of unleashing "a disgusting anti-Russian hysteria".

He reiterated that Russia has never developed, produced or stockpiled the nerve agent Novichok, which was used in the Salisbury attack.
The U.N. human rights office warns human rights defenders and activists in Malawi are under increasing threat as pre-electoral politicking heats up before next years general election.

The run-up to next Mays presidential, parliamentary and council elections is becoming nastier and more dangerous for those trying to hold authorities in Malawi to account. The U.N. human rights office reports thugs attacked the offices of the Center for Human Rights and Rehabilitation in the capital Lilongwe last week.

Reports say the attackers viciously beat up a guard and threw a gasoline bomb at the center's offices causing an extensive fire. Human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell said over the past few weeks, an increasing number of human rights defenders have been intimidated and threatened.

She said one activist received death threats after issuing an anti-corruption press statement. When he went to the police, she said the police ignored his complaint and did not provide him with any protection.

And, she said, more women are being victimized.

We are also concerned about an emerging pattern of threats and violence against women members of parliament and electoral candidates. For example, one female MPs car was torched in Mangochi in the south of the country in August, she said.

Throssell said the current pattern of pre-electoral violence is reminiscent of similar attacks that occurred in 2011 - a year that was marked with heightened attacks against civil society. She warned peoples rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association are at risk.

The U.N. human rights office is urging government authorities to investigate the threats and attacks against human rights defenders and to ensure they are able to carry out their crucial work in a safe and protected environment.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of using violent protests over a fatal stabbing blamed on migrants to stir up ethnic tension.

Far-right groups clashed with police and chased people they deemed to be migrants in the eastern city of Chemnitz on Aug. 26 after police said a Syrian and an Iraqi had been detained as suspects in the killing of a 35-year-old German man.

AfD leader Alexander Gauland had earlier this week urged a "peaceful revolution" against Merkel's liberal immigration policy and said this required banishing politicians and members of the media who support the "Merkel system.

Asked about the role of the AfD in the events in Chemnitz, Merkel told the RTL broadcaster: "The AfD is stirring up the mood and this has to be said clearly. I view some of their remarks very critically."

The protests in Chemnitz have set off a debate about whether politicians are being too complacent in the face of rising xenophobia in a country where many had thought the lessons of Germany's Nazi history had been learned.

The protests, during which some members of an 800-strong crowd performed the illegal Hitler salute, laid bare the divisions in Germany over Merkel's decision in 2015 to take in around one million, mostly Muslim asylum seekers.

A survey of 1,002 voters for broadcaster ARD, conducted on Monday and Tuesday and published on Thursday, showed just 27 percent believed the integration of refugees into society had been successful, with 69 percent believing it had gone badly.

Some in Germany blame Merkel's liberal immigration policy for the rise of the AfD, which entered parliament for the first time in an election last year as the third-largest party.

After the violence in Chemnitz, German politicians urged intelligence agencies to start monitoring the far-right party, some of whose members marched with supporters of the anti-Islam PEGIDA group in the city last weekend to protest the stabbing.

'Not Nazis'

Merkel repeated her position in the RTL interview that only intelligence chiefs can decide whether to monitor the party.

"We first want to deal with the AfD politically," Merkel said.

The state intelligence agency in Thuringia on Thursday said it would examine whether the AfD's state chapter was pursuing anti-constitutional goals, a possible step toward putting the group under official surveillance.

Merkel's immigration policy has also caused a rift within her conservative bloc, which includes her Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Christian Social Union (CSU) Bavarian allies, that almost toppled her coalition government in June.

Interior Minister and CSU leader Horst Seehofer had threatened to pull out of the coalition government over immigration.

In an interview with the Rheinische Post published on Thursday, Seehofer said: "People are annoyed and outraged because of such homicides and I understand that.

"If I had not been a minister, I would have taken to the streets as a citizen, but of course not with the radicals."

He added: "I understand it when people protest, but this doesn't make them Nazis."

Seehofer has taken an increasingly hardline stance on immigration as his party tries to fight off a strong challenge from the AfD in October's regional election in Bavaria.

Seehofer was rebuked by politicians and Germans on social media for telling CSU members in the eastern state of Brandenburg on Wednesday: "Migration is the mother of all problems."

Asked what she thought about Seehofer's remark, Merkel said: "I say it differently. Migration presents us with challenges and here we have problems but also successes."
A Philippines lawmaker, who is President Rodrigo Duterte's fiercest critic in Congress, plans to spend a second night holed up in the Senate after Duterte voided his amnesty and ordered his arrest.

Senator Antonio Trillanes told reporters Wednesday that he would remain in the Senate under the protection of Senate leaders while his lawyers review his options.

Duterte also ordered the Department of Justice and the military to pursue criminal and administrative complaints against Trillanes for his role in failed coups when he was a rebel military officer.

Trillanes told the police and military not to follow Duterte's "illegal order" to arrest him without a court warrant.

Trillanes, a 47-year-old former navy officer, was detained for several years before his election to the Senate for involvement in three military uprisings from 2003 to 2007 to protest government corruption.

He was granted amnesty by former President Benigno Aquino in 2011.

Duterte's order has sparked a legal debate in the Philippines. Some legal experts have questioned whether Duterte can invalidate a rebel amnesty declared by a previous president and approved by legislators.

The Department of Justice, meanwhile, asked a court to issue an arrest warrant for Trillanes and forbid him from leaving the country. The court did not immediately comply and instead gave Trillanes five days to respond to the government's move and set a hearing for next week.
Within 25 days, President Donald Trump will make a decision that will affect tens of thousands of refugees.

On Wednesday, advocates lobbying members of Congress on Capitol Hill pressed for that number to be 75,000.

Last year, Trump wanted it to be no more than 45,000.

The reality in the last 11 months is closer to 20,000.

It is very difficult right now, Pastor Mike Wilker told 21 activists-in-training in a basement meeting room of his Capitol Hill parish, two blocks from Congress. It gets depressing.

By the end of September, Trump will have consulted with federal lawmakers and, with advice from agencies like the State Department, he will make a presidential determination about the maximum number of refugees the U.S. will allow in during the coming fiscal year, which starts October 1.

The volunteers took off after a few hours of training from LIRS, a national refugee resettlement organization, and Lutheran Social Services-National Capital Area, its local affiliate that hosted the event. They split into groups of two, three, sometimes more, and walked toward the offices of 19 U.S. representatives and senators  mostly Democrats, with a few Republicans.

Its an issue, said Fiona Tomlin of Veterans for American Ideals, that crosscuts members of every political stripe.

Special immigrant visas

The Trump administration zealously curbed refugee arrivals within a week of Trumps inauguration. Since then, through various lawsuits and iterations of the presidents order, the U.S. refugee program is a whisper of its former self. And the changes reach into special immigrant visa categories known as SIVs for Iraqis and Afghans who aided the U.S. government since the U.S. military interventions in those countries in the early 2000s.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Derse studied the talking points about refugees during a break Wednesday before the congressional meetings. Shes retired now, on the cusp of becoming a deacon in the Episcopal Church after three decades of serving as a diplomat, including time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Her son  a captain in the U.S. Marines  served in both countries as well, and her former bodyguard came to the U.S. through a special immigrant visa for longtime embassy workers overseas.

Ive seen how important it is to have the support of these kinds of people that we bring into the U.S. under the Special Immigrant Visa program, said Derse. Its really important from a national security perspective. We made a promise, and we need to keep that promise  and I believe we have an obligation, in the bigger picture, to welcome refugees.

So the 20-odd, newly minted advocates prepared.

They asked questions about why they should ask members of Congress to consider a 75,000-refugee cap for 2019 when that feels so unrealistic in the current political climate. (If we say 50 [thousand] or 45 [thousand], what kind of message are we sending? Are we giving up ? Javier Cuebas, of LIRS, said in explaining the decision to aim higher.) They decided who would tell what personal anecdotes during their meetings  the refugee family their church welcomed, the apartment their synagogue prepared for an SIV recipient, the fact that an organization that resettled 1,330 people last year is serving about 400 this year.

Making the case

The office of Representative Blumenauer is friendly territory for them. The Oregon Democrat not only supports the SIV program, hes sponsored a bill to add more visas. Theres a modified American flag over the reception desk that says In our America  immigrants and refugees are welcome. An aide is waiting to meet the quintet of advocates.

Wilker, who ministers to a congregation on Capitol Hill that has facilitated the arrivals of SIV families, tells the aide hes worried about the destruction of the immigration and refugee resettlement program.

I can understand the need for double-checking," he says of the Trump administrations claims that additional security measures were needed for refugees and SIVs,  ... but were breaking promises left and right to these people.
Ten South Sudanese soldiers have been convicted of rape and murder committed during a raid on a hotel in Juba two years ago.



A local journalist was killed and five international foreign aid workers were gang raped when a group of 50 to 100 soldiers stormed the Terrain Hotel in the South Sudanese capital in July 2016, according to testimony by the hotel's manager. An American aid worker was also shot and wounded during the siege.



The soldiers were sentenced to between seven years and life in prison by a military judge Thursday. Another soldier who was facing the same charges was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. The military judge also ordered the government to pay $4,000 in restitution to the each of the rape victims, and over $2 million to the hotel's owners.



A 12th soldier charged in the raid died in custody.



The victims say they called U.N. peacekeepers stationed near the hotel and pleaded for help, but none came. The Kenyan military officer in command of the mission was dismissed.



South Sudan has been plagued by civil war since 2013 as a result of a power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 4 million South Sudanese driven from their homes, with at least 2 million fleeing the country.
International calls for restraint grew Wednesday for Syria and its allies, Russia and Iran, to avoid a bloodbath and humanitarian disaster in Syria's Idlib province.

The northwestern province along the Turkish border is the last major part of Syria in rebel hands. Syrian forces are surrounding the province, and observers say a multiparty operation may be imminent.

Meeting Wednesday with the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, President Donald Trump called the situation in Idlib "very sad."

"That cannot be a slaughter. If it's a slaughter, the world is going to get very, very angry and the United States is going to get angry, too," Trump added.

When a reporter asked Trump if he was not going to let an attack on Idlib happen, the president said only that he was watching very closely.

The 10 nonpermanent members of the U.N. Security Council issued a joint statement Wednesday urging all parties in Syria to show restraint. They said a military strike on Idlib would lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe."

The entire council is scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the crisis, while at the same time, the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran are planning to hold a summit in Tehran.

Russia and Iran are Syria's top allies, and Turkey fears another refugee crisis along its border if Syrian forces attack Idlib.

The three nations last year declared Idlib to be a "de-escalation zone," and Turkey says the cease-fire inside Idlib must not be violated. Moscow, however, has called Idlib a "nest of terrorists," the word it uses to refer to the rebels.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian airstrikes on Idlib killed at least nine civilians Tuesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with his German counterpart, Heiko Maas, in Ankara Wednesday, in part to send a message to Moscow that such attacks are unacceptable.

Cavusoglu says Russian and Turkish officials have been holding talks on preventing a military strike on Idlib.

"We don't find it correct that the [Russian raids] happened before the Tehran summit," he said. "If the problem here is the radical groups, a common strategy needs to be adopted. Joint work can be done to eliminate these groups, but the solution is definitely not to bomb Idlib in its entirety."

Maas said Germany was also concerned about massive bloodshed and "looming humanitarian catastrophe" inside Idlib.

About 3 million people are in the province. Many of them are rebels and their families who went there after being given a chance to evacuate from other areas formerly held by rebels before Syrian forces moved in.

The Syrian military has been urging the rebels in Idlib to surrender.
The U.N. refugee agency is urging the South African authorities to get to grips with violence targeting foreigners before it gets completely out of control.

UNHCR says it is alarmed by the xenophobic fever, which is taking hold of large portions of South African society. It says even refugees and asylum seekers, who are particularly vulnerable, have become targets of violent anti-foreigner sentiment.

Four people reportedly were killed in the Soweto area of Johannesburg by angry protesters last week, while mobs looted and destroyed property belonging to foreign nationals. The UNHCR says it is worried these tense standoffs between South Africans and foreigners is spreading to Kwazulu Natal and Western Cape Provinces.

UNHCR spokesman Charlie Yaxley told VOA similar attacks occurred in 2015, but relations between South African nationals and foreigners since then, by-in-large, have been peaceful.

But, we do see these flare-ups every now and again. And, we do want to underscore that those affected are people who have already fled war and persecution. And, they have been brought to South Africa because they require protection, Yaxley said.

South Africa currently hosts more than 280,000 refugees and asylum-seekers. Yaxley said UNHCR staff has visited those affected by violence in Soweto in recent days. He said it found shops owned by foreigners have been looted and destroyed, stripping their owners of their livelihoods.

He said the UNHCR is heartened by condemnation of these attacks by civil society groups and hopes this will result in the restoration of peaceful co-existence and harmony with foreign nationals.




The top U.N. envoy to Libya says the country has lurched from one emergency to another in recent weeks and that terrorist groups of all kinds may be taking root there.

Ghassan Salame briefed the U.N. Security Council Wednesday on the violence that erupted in Tripoli last month, shattering 16 months of what he called a facade of calm.

Sixty-one people were killed and 160 wounded in Tripoli before a cease-fire took hold earlier this week.

Salame said Libyan civilians suffer from deteriorating standards of living ... every day is a personal emergency.

He said the U.N. mission is working to revise security arrangements that will reduce the number of armed groups and also said the mission is committed to working toward a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Libya has been in nonstop political and social chaos since longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was toppled and killed in 2011.

Numerous armed groups have been jockeying for power and control of the countrys oil wealth.

A U.N.-backed government installed in Tripoli has been struggling to assert its authority.
The United States and India took a major step to expand defense ties Thursday, signing a deal that allows India to acquire high-end U.S. weaponry, including armed drones.



The agreement was signed during a meeting in New Delhi among U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and their Indian counterparts.



The U.S. earlier this year offered armed Guardian drones to India, but the sale could not go through until the agreement, known as COMCASA, was reached.



The landmark agreement deepens our military to military cooperation and our ability to share the most advanced defense technology, making us both stronger, Mattis said.



If the Guardian sale goes through, India would become the first non-NATO country to buy armed U.S. drones.



The deal reflects growing ties between the U.S. and India  the worlds two largest democracies  both of whom are concerned about Chinas rising power.



Defense cooperation, in particular, has emerged as the most significant dimension of the U.S.-India relationship, said Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.



U.S.-India ties, she said, have reached unprecedented heights.

Iran, Russia disagreements



The U.S. and India havent always been this close. India, which has historically tried to be neutral in world affairs, has bristled at what it considers U.S. restraints on its foreign policy decisions.



Most recently, the U.S. has taken issue with Indias purchase of oil from Iran and its planned acquisition of a Russian missile defense system. Both moves would violate U.S. sanctions.



A Pentagon official last month threatened to impose sanctions on India if it goes ahead with its $6 billion purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.



But in their public comments Thursday, neither side mentioned the Russia or Iran disputes. And the S-400 never came up in private discussions with Indias defense and external affairs ministers, said Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for South and Southeast Asia Joe Felter.



Iran also wasnt a big topic, he said.



Most of Indias weapons are Russian-made, a legacy of Indias Cold War relationship with the Soviet Union. The U.S. is currently Indias second-largest weapons supplier.



But U.S. military sales to India have expanded rapidly  going from zero in 2008 to $15 billion this year. That figure now stands to increase, with the new agreement in place.



It comes down to trust. Some of this tech is very sensitive. Some countries we dont want this tech to fall in the hands of," Felter said, adding the U.S. has similar agreements with less than 30 countries.



The U.S. and India also agreed to hold a new military exercise. The exercise will involve sea, land, and air forces. It will occur of the eastern coast of India in 2019.
U.S. lawmakers and former diplomats on Thursday urged tougher sanctions against Russia but stressed the need to craft measures that will get the Kremlin's attention without harming the United States or its European allies.

"There is no question [Russian President Vladimir] Putin must pay for his actions, and the United States has the ability to impose real costs against Moscow," the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Republican Mike Crapo of Idaho, said at a hearing.

"We seek real and immediate changes in Russian behavior," said the committee's top Democrat, Sherrod Brown of Ohio. "We're not yet seeing it."

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul urged lawmakers to put more pressure on Russia during Thursday's hearing.

"For crimes, there must be punishment. I urge you to do more."

The United States has imposed a series of punitive measures against Russia in recent years over its alleged human rights violations, Moscow's involvement in Ukraine and Syria, its meddling in U.S. elections, and Russia helping North Korea evade international sanctions.

"Whatever economic effects these sanctions have had over the last year, it has escaped no one's attention that Russia is still in Crimea, and the Kremlin still exercises violently destabilizing activities in Ukraine and Syria," Crapo said.

Experts told the committee that existing sanctions have inflicted pain but have not crippled Russia.

"Russia may not be thriving, but it is surviving," said Rachel Ziemba, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. "Attempts to impose significant economic shock may require more increasingly blunt measures."

Heather Conley, former deputy assistant secretary of state for Eurasian affairs, agreed.

"Russia is economically stable. Our economic sanctions have little effect on either the regime's economy or its behavior," she said. "This is not a regime that is tiring. It is a regime that is ready for the long haul."

But McFaul argued sanctions have not failed entirely.

"Putin is annoyed by these sanctions," the former ambassador said. "Putin is trying to overturn them and has been courting President [Donald] Trump precisely to do that. If they didn't matter, why would he be putting so much energy into it?"

Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked for specific suggestions for further sanctions that would effectively punish Moscow but not produce negative unintended consequences.

"Getting this right matters, and anything we do to punish Russia that also punishes Europe actually accrues to Russia's benefit," Corker said.

"We should go after Putin's cronies," former State Department sanctions coordinator Daniel Fried said. "The Russians [oligarchs] park their money in Miami, New York and London. We shouldn't let them do it. We should expose this."

Fried discouraged broad sanctions against Russia's energy sector, arguing they could drive up global energy prices and, paradoxically, improve Russia's finances.

A bipartisan Senate proposal would impose an array of sanctions on Russian business interests if Moscow is found to have meddled in upcoming U.S. elections, a concept that was endorsed at the hearing.

"The U.S. Congress and President Trump must sign into law sanctions that would trigger automatically in response to future belligerent behavior," McFaul said. But he added, "Future sanctions should primarily be targeted at the Russian government and its proxies, not the people of Russia or the private sector."

Brown called on Congress and the president to send a "more powerful and direct message" to Putin and those within his circles.

"If you continue cyberattacks against us, you and your government will pay a heavy economic, diplomatic, political price."
The Trump administration is justifying the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in additional military aid to Egypt, citing the country's progress over the last year in counterterrorism efforts and some improvements in its human rights record.

A State Department official told VOA the United States has worked closely with the Egyptian government over the last year to further strengthen bilateral ties in support of common security and counterterrorism goals.

"The secretary signed the national security waiver that allows for the obligation of an additional $195 million in FY 2017 Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Egypt, as well as the certification that allows for the obligation of $1 billion in FY 2018 FMF for Egypt," the official told VOA on Tuesday.

"We continue to support Egypt in combating terrorism and in encouraging steps toward inclusive economic growth and good governance," the State Department official added.

The announcement follows the administration's decision in July to release another $195 million in military aid for fiscal year 2016 to Cairo, which had been previously withheld over allegations of human rights violations by Egypt's government.

"Recognizing steps Egypt has taken over the last year in response to specific U.S. concerns, and in the spirit of our efforts to further strengthen this partnership, the administration has decided to allow Egypt to use the remaining $195 million in FY 2016 FMF for military procurements," a U.S. official told VOA at the time.

But Washington acknowledges Cairo needs to continue to improve its human rights record.

"We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Egypt," a U.S. official told VOA on Tuesday.

The country has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months by rights groups, who allege Egyptian authorities are targeting political dissidents under the guise of security.

"The Egyptian regime used its fight on terrorism to crack down on peaceful opposition and to shut down the public sphere completely," Amr Magdi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told VOA.

And in recent years, authorities in Egypt have arrested dozens of members of both domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations.

"We will continue to make clear the need for progress in addressing them, including fully resolving 2013 NGO convictions and addressing our concerns about the NGO law," the State Department official noted.

Some analysts charge that the Egyptian government has not done much and that the release of aid gives the wrong signal.

"Releasing the aid gives the Egyptian government carte blanche to continue with its crackdown, and perhaps even take it a step further," Amr Kotb, advocacy director at Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle Eastern Policy, told VOA.

Kotb added that the U.S. has the ability to be a force that promotes fundamental freedoms and rights and that it should continue to play that role.

A senior Egyptian official, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to media, said that the release of aid to Egypt is about more than money.

"The aid was just a small portion. The relation between Egypt and U.S. is more than money," the official said, noting the U.S. and Egypt need one another to fight terrorism in the region.

The Egyptian official said his government has been working on adjusting laws that regulate NGOs in the country, and a decision about the matter would be announced soon.

NGO crackdown

In 2013, Egypt's crackdown on nongovernmental organizations in the country, including several American NGO workers, prompted the Obama administration to withhold military aid to the country.

That year, a Cairo court convicted 43 NGO workers, including several Americans, over allegations of receiving foreign funding and sowing internal unrest in the country.

Nancy Okail, who is currently the executive director of the Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, was one of those indicted.

"Most of the leadership of civil society organizations that we know of and are most established are either being prosecuted, or they are banned from traveling and having their assets frozen," Okail said.

"I was charged with operating an office without license and for receiving funding from foreign government," she told VOA. She added that at the time she was finishing her paperwork to become the Egypt country director of Freedom House, a U.S.-based nongovernment organization working for democracy around the world.



Imad Ad-Dean Ahmad, from the U.S.-based research group Minaret of Freedom Institute, believes canceling aid might not be as effective as many would like it to be in encouraging improvement in Egypt's record.

"I am not sure to what degree it can be an effective tool in establishing human rights in Egypt. There hasn't been any changes in Egyptian policy toward human rights of its citizens," Ahmad said.

Security or rights?

Egypt has long been viewed by the U.S. as a stabilizing force in the region. After Israel, the country is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid and has received nearly $80 billion in military and economic assistance over the past three decades.

"Egypt was always looked on as a country providing stability and also to try to keep peace between Israel and Egypt," Robert Goldman, professor of international humanitarian law at the American University School of Law, told VOA.

Goldman added that for that reason, the Obama administration was put in a very difficult position to withhold the aid for Egypt in 2013.

But Daniel Benaim, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, believes Washington should not put aside the issue of human rights and democracy as it works with Egypt on the counterterrorism front.

"The U.S. should continue to forcefully raise issues of democracy and human rights because they matter to Egypt's future and should matter to the kinds of sustainable partnerships America should want," Benaim said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hears testimony Friday from people who know U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh wrapped up a third day of questioning Thursday, a day after declaring his independence as a judge, but refusing to be pinned down on questions related to the investigation of President Donald Trump and his 2016 campaigns links to Russia.

Im an independent judge, the 53-year-old Kavanaugh told the Senate Judiciary Committee. I owe my loyalty to the Constitution, and the Constitution establishes me as an independent judge, bound to follow the law as written.

But Kavanaugh declined to take a position on whether a president can be subpoenaed and required to answer questions, whether a president can pardon himself if charged with wrongdoing, and whether he still believes, as he wrote two decades ago, that a president can fire a prosecutor who is investigating him.

The questions related to the ongoing investigation being conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller into whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia to help him win and whether Trump, as president, obstructed justice by trying to thwart the probe. Mueller has not subpoenaed Trump, but has been unable to reach an agreement for Trump to testify about his actions and his campaign.

On Thursday, Kavanaugh faced new questions about his views on the Supreme Courts 1973 decision legalizing abortion rights in the U.S., saying again he believes the ruling is settled law that has been reaffirmed in more recent decisions.

But Kavanaugh declined to offer an opinion whether he thinks the decision was correctly decided from a legal standpoint. Numerous womens groups are vocally opposing Kavanaughs nomination, fearing that he would provide a crucial fifth vote with four other conservatives on the court to overturn the abortion ruling or further restrict access to the medical procedure.

No one is above the law

Trump, who nominated Kavanaugh in July, said Wednesday he is pleased with the way the hearings are going, saying Kavanaugh had given some incredible answers to very complex questions. The U.S. leader called Kavanaugh an outstanding judge who was born for the position.

Kavanaugh asserted no one is above the law in our constitutional system and that no matter your station in life, no matter your position in government, its all equal justice under law. But he declined to say whether a sitting president, like all other citizens, must respond to a subpoena to provide testimony.

I cant give you an answer on that hypothetical question, the nominee said.

In the 1990s, as an attorney, Kavanaugh took part in an investigation of then-president Bill Clinton that compelled Clinton to testify. Years later, having served in the George W. Bush administration, Kavanaugh wrote that presidents should be shielded from legal proceedings while in office.

Nominated to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Kavanaugh told lawmakers he has not hesitated to make unpopular rulings in the past. He cited his opinion in a case releasing Osama bin Ladens former chauffeur, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, from detention at the U.S. military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Youll never have a nominee whos ruled for a more unpopular defendant, Kavanaugh said. He said judges should not make decisions based on who people are, but whether they have the law on their side. My personal beliefs are not relevant.

I don't live in a bubble

While Republican senators posed many questions on Kavanaughs overall judicial philosophy, Democrats zeroed in on controversial issues, including gun ownership and abortion rights in the U.S.

The committees top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, sought assurances both Wednesday and Thursday that the nominee views as settled law the Supreme Courts landmark 1973 decision, Roe v. Wade, establishing abortion rights nationwide.

Its an important precedent of the Supreme Court thats been reaffirmed many times, Kavanaugh said. I understand the importance of the issue. I dont live in a bubble, I live in the real world.

He described a 1992 decision reaffirming the original ruling as precedent upon precedent. He said Americans need to know the law is predictable. Precedent is the foundation of our system.

Protesters have periodically interrupted the hearing. One repeatedly shouted, Sham president, sham justice.

If approved by the Republican-led committee, Kavanaughs nomination would go to the full Senate, where Republicans will hold a slim 51-49 majority.No Republicans have said they plan to vote against Kavanaugh. Dozens of Democrats have announced their opposition.
Capital responds to New York Times article about seagull problem

Rome city council plans to introduce new iron bins around the capital to stop seagulls looting food from the rubbish, according to the city's environment councillor Pinuccia Montanari.

The bins will be introduced first in the centre, then other areas, according to Montanari, who also mooted sterilisation as another possibility in controlling the birds' growing numbers.

The move was announced the day after a damning article about Rome's sea gull problem appeared in the New York Times. A feature article in Wanted in Rome highlighted the same issue two years earlier.

Photo Corriere della Sera
Saturday 22 September - The New Face of Rome: tours of the Giant Murals

During the ride we will visit in off beaten places, from the old town to periphery, which connect the giant murals which are the leading thread of this thematic itinerary. The circular ride starts from the center of Rome and winds for 15 kilometers through Testaccio, Ostiense, Garbatella and Tormarancia neighborhoods. You will discover around 30 giant murals painted on the facades of buildings, reviving areas decisively outside the usual tourist itineraries.

NB Bike not included, the tour will start in front of a bike rental if needed

Guide: Nicola Franceschi

TOUR CLOSED

Saturday 6 October - Ostia Antica

The first port of Ancient Rome, the connection between the Capital and its Empire is still perfectly preserved. The ruins of the public and private buildings permit us to discover the daily life of an ancient roman. We can still admire beautiful mosaics, precious marbles and rare paintings in the public baths, in the forum and domus of the wealthy merchants once living there. Exploring the ruins of Acient Ostia is like to do a time travel, a jump into the past.

Guide: Ilaria Sferrazza

Friday 19 October - Vatican Museums night

During the summer season Art lovers are offered the unique opportunity to visit the Vatican Museums at night. The museum opens his doors after sunset till 11 pm. We will visit all the masterpieces of the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel and the Pope Apartments, avoiding big crowds. Join us for this wonderful late summer evening full of history, art and beauty. Guided tour by Christiaan Santini.

Guide: Christiaan Santini

Saturday 27 October - Art of Illusion, The perspectives of Andrea del Pozzo

Works of art can have the power to make us see a new reality. One of the greatest painters of the Baroque age, Andrea del Pozzo, became a master at creating the illusion of a different reality, through his famous trompe-loeil frescoes. His most famous work is the fake cupola inside the church of St Ignazio, but the corridor he painted in St Ignazios rooms, next to the nearby church del Gesu, leaves a more powerful impression. On an ordinary vault, he created an architectural construction of pillars, straight angles and relief curves, using his amazing technique of anamorphic painting. A fascinating world of illusion.

Sunday 3 November - Castel Sant'Angelo

Lungotevere Castello. Meeting point at the bridge Ponte SantAngelo, side of the Castle, at 3PM.

1.5 hour visit.

Castel SantAngelo was a mausoleum, a fortress, a prison, all in one. Outstanding in its peculiar architecture, when the ascension has started, we cannot stop. It is a walking up to the highest terrace with its breath-taking roof top view of the city, getting in frescoed apartments, narrow staircases, a Roman spiral ramp, and passing by the current exhibition of Renaissance armours and weapons.

NB Museum tickets not included

Sunday 25 November - Palazzo Colonna

Inside the wall of the Colonna Palace, still owned by the Roman noble family since Middle Ages, it is preserved one of the most astonishing architecture of the city. In the heart of Rome, just behind piazza Venezia, we have a gallery that can compete with the one of a royal residence: that was the purpose of the Colonna Princes that for three generations put all their efforts in it. The gallery is the coffer for invaluable paintings and amazing furniture and decorations that let you breathe the pomp of the past.

NB Museum tickets not included

Saturday 1 December - Urban Trekking in Testaccio and Ostiense, a tour between history and street art

In two hours tour you will have the chance to discover aspects of the city that otherwise you would probably not get to know, exploring areas with an ancient history that were shaped by continuous transformations up to recent times, also being reinvented as alternative centres of the Roman night life. During the walk it will be possible to guess important people drawn in a mural; walk on the most ancient artificial hill of history; chat with some university students; eat the best Roman sandwich in town; discover why cypress trees are planted in cemeteries, admire the best-preserved pyramid of Rome; enter in an occupied building. You will not forget this experience!

Sunday 16 December - MAXXI, National Museum of Art of the Twenty-First Century

In this innovative architecture by the Anglo-Iraqui starchitect Zaha Hadid, the international scene of Contemporary Art put its corner stone in Rome, at the dawn of the new millennium. After a brief glance at the Permanent Collection - recently incrased - we immerse ourselves in the temporary exhibitions. As there are more than 10, trust my choices... and have a look at the others after our visit together  it is all included in just 1 ticket!

NB Museum tickets not included

Guide: Lavinia Collodel
The Labor Department on Thursday affirmed last month's report that U.S. productivity increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the second quarter. The government reported few revisions to the productivity figures released in August. The jump in productivity followed a tepid 0.3 percent gain in the first quarter. Labor costs slipped 1 percent in the April-to-June quarter, instead of the 0.9 percent that was initially reported. Separately, the Labor Department said Thursday that 203,000 people applied for jobless benefits last week, the lowest level since December 1969.
They said that there are legitimate issues regarding the market power of leading technology companies that may merit more government review, particularly with regard to situations in which companies are using their power in one marketplace  such as Internet search  to gain advantage in another, such as retail. The European Union has investigated such issues and, in July, hit Google with a $5 billion fine for bundling apps on its Android mobile operating system in a way that undermined competition.
At the mention of cake, any Sendak devotee will recall the little boy Mickey and the bakers of In the Night Kitchen. Yet while Mickeys dream-adventures might be described as surreal and dark with implicit references to the Holocaust, those of Presto and Zesto are far more purely nonsensical, as if produced by free association. In Limboland, our heroes meet a maniac shepherd boy who only eats cake; hear that two sugar beets are getting married; learn that to return home theyll need to procure a set of bagpipes as a wedding present for the amorous vegetables; and discover that the only bagpipes to be had belong to Bumbo, who resembles a Wild Thing gone over to the dark side. While seeking this devilish monster, our less-than-intrepid duo encounter a very large bear busy fashioning a wedding outfit: The bear had scissors and Zesto remembered what his mother always said: If you see a bear with scissors  RUN! 
Klein plainly covets the excitement that has greeted many of Godwins London shows, which is a factor for the STC in what Klein describes as a tough market. The STC has had mixed fortunes in recent years, winning the regional theater Tony Award in 2012, suffering recent attendance dips, setting a box-office record this summer with the musical Camelot. (The budget this season, with six productions plus the end-of-summer Free for All offering on its two stages, is just over $18 million.) Under Kahn, the company grew in the 1990s from performing in the intimate Folger Shakespeare Theatre Librarys theater to sellouts at the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre in Penn Quarter. Doubling down on growth mode, in 2007 the troupe expanded around the corner into the 774-seat Harman Hall.
The petition was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt, just ahead of a Friday hearing in Prince Georges County Circuit Court, where Isabella is fighting to hold onto his Kapnos Taverna inside the Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park. The landlord, Isabella said, is trying to evict him after suing in May for more than $60,000 in back rent. Isabella said he paid three months back rent and tried to renegotiate a lower monthly payment. They werent willing to renegotiate, he added.
Deepa and David. David and Deepa. This pairing, with its melodious sound, made the alchemists of Date Lab hopeful that these two music lovers would make beautiful music together. Deepa Mahadevan, 23, a management consultant, and David Smith, 27, a government contractor, both work in Washington, but are not consumed by it. Deepa specifically asked for someone whos not a professional networker, and David, who has lived all over the world while growing up as a Navy brat, described himself as way more laid-back than most people Ive met here. They both described their sense of humor as dry. And most of all, they described their love of music, making it and going to shows.
However, I am single and when my parents age and pass away, there's only me to handle it all. Only me to care for them and bear the emotional and physical burden of doing so, only me to sort through their things, and most of all: only me to remember how they were as parents. Some people can only have one child (like my parents) or only want one, but if you're on the fence about it . . . give your child someone to share his or her burdens with.
And odd as it is, it could get weirder quickly, if New York Times reporters are the ones to break the news of which senior Trump administration official wrote it. (By rights, they ought to  after all, they do have the best potential tipsters on this story, and, handily, right in their own building.)
Whether you tip or not, one thing seems clear: The tipping system, which allows companies to shift some of their expenses to their customers, is irreparably broken. Yet a fix remains elusive. A recent study by Skift Table, an online trade publication, found that eliminating the tip credit would increase costs for employers, leaving some businesses with no choice but to raise prices. Which makes sense, because menu prices are artificially, and deceptively, low.
Other Delta memorabilia includes a reproduction of the first Huff-Daland crop duster, and flight attendant uniforms throughout the years, including the groovy designs from the 1960s. Even the hangar is historical. The hangar is one of the oldest buildings on Atlanta airport property, Meng says as she sweeps her arm toward the crop duster suspended from the ceiling. (Two original Huff-Daland Dusters still exist. One is at the Smithsonians Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Northern Virginia; the other at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Ala.) As far as I know, we are the only airline that started from killing bugs, the boll weevil, Meng says. Most airlines start out as a cargo carrier or from airmail.
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Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who is running for reelection without serious opposition, has solicited support for Allen, according to a business executive, and her campaign staffers were among those collecting signatures to land Allen on the ballot. Bowsers staffers were not accused of forgery. A Bowser spokeswoman said the mayor has not made calls or held campaign events for Allen.
The five-minute segment included the first-ever public images of Miranda Elizabeth Bowser, who was in the mayors arms as she greeted Kotb in her Northwest Washington home. The 14-week-old baby was later seen cooing in a pink dress and lying in a crib in a room adorned with giraffes on green wallpaper, the mayors campaign color.
In November 2010, an immigration judge denied him asylum, writing that evidence suggested Munyakazi may have participated in the genocide and that he failed to prove his innocence. The judge found his testimony suspect. The ruling was upheld years later in a federal appeal. He was deported in 2016 to stand trial in Rwanda. Munyakazi was convicted of all charges and sentenced to life in prison.
Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said firefighters were worried that someone was trapped inside the house when they arrived and saw a car in the driveway. But firefighters searched the home and found no one.
Hogans deputy campaign manager, Doug Mayer, said the governor plans to use the online sales tax revenue for education and questioned how Jealous would cover the cost of all his plans if he cuts the state sales tax. Hogan had never previously said how he would use the revenue from the online sales tax.
The Jealous campaign had pushed for as many as five debates and asked for all to be scheduled in October. Hogan said he would attend two and wanted them held in September.
There are many days when I wish I could take back and use my youth more appropriately, Mr. Lawford told the Associated Press in 2005. But all of that got me here. I cant ask for some of my life to be changed and still extract the understanding and the life that I have today.
Mr. Brown was born in Jackson, Miss., and moved to the Washington area in the late 1960s. He joined the U.S. Agency for International Development in 1970 and specialized in food production analysis in African and Asian countries. Later he was a radio specialist with the Federal Communications Commission. He and his wife had their Thai import business from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. In recent years, Mr. Brown managed family real estate investments in Mississippi.
In the U.S., although there is a democratic governmental system, women are still fighting for equal pay for the equal work they do alongside their male counterparts, Noera Ayaz was quoted as saying in the online article. There is also an alarming number of sexual assaults in the workplace. One in six women in the U.S. are the victims of attempted or completed rape in the course of their lives. More than the political system, the underlying attitudes towards women must be respectful and dignified.
Tessier said Wallen had lunged at him during an argument, run into a post, collapsed and appeared to be dead. He buried her in the field, as investigators recounted the exchange. In trying to explain why Wallen was found shot, Tessier told detectives he had worried he might have buried her alive and fired one round at her to make sure she was not suffering.
Reyes killed his pregnant girlfriend in Alexandria in 1991, then fled to Florida, where it took police nine years to find him. He was put in solitary confinement in 2006 for fighting another inmate, in what his lawyers say was self-defense  his only violent altercation in prison. He was moved out of solitary confinement for about four months in 2009, according to the court documents, until he expressed fear of having another cellmate and refused to leave his cell.
Earlier this year, the group released graphic documents obtained from the USDA that said about 100 cats are killed each year at a facility in Beltsville after being intentionally infected with a parasite that can cause toxoplasmosis. The disease, transmitted in contaminated meat, can cause miscarriages and birth defects in humans.
Oliphant kicked things off by asking Riggleman to pretend Im from Mars for a minute and describe the district to him. The Republican used the playful tone to try to defuse an attention-getting allegation that Cockburn had made back in July: that Riggleman was a devotee of Bigfoot erotica. It was a reference to a satirical book that Riggleman wrote  before running for office  about the mating habits of Sasquatch. The claim was just weird enough to go viral.
This should never be a normalized thing. We have innocent people going to work and getting shot, Cranley said. This is an epidemic of gun violence. These kinds of mass random things are similar to inner-city violence that rip apart low-income communities, and both those and the ones we are seeing all across the country  in churches, in schools, in nightclubs  are so tragic. This is an American problem. We have to put human lives before ideology.
Foster said there is no technology capable of using microwaves to produce the kinds of symptoms that the U.S. diplomats have experienced  and not for lack of trying. During the Cold War, after discovering that the U.S. Embassy in Moscow was being bombarded with low-level microwaves (probably for surveillance purposes), the Pentagon spent several years researching the consequences of microwave exposure and uncovered no evidence of physical or psychological effects. More recently, various branches of the military have sought to create microwave tools that disable opponents by interfering with their hearing or other brain systems, but none appear to have been fully developed.
A worthy nominee would have told his daughters this: The people who were shouting do not like President Trump and do not want me to be on the Supreme Court. But even though I disagree with them, I will defend their ability to speak out, because nonviolent protest is part of being an American.
The argument has an obvious fallacy. The insurance purchase mandate, in the form of a tax, has not been held unconstitutional. It was repealed by Congress. (Technically, the amount of the tax was set at zero.) There is no severability principle for laws that have been repealed in part by Congress. When Congress repeals part of a statute, it is totally up to Congress whether to repeal the remainder. When Congress decided to eliminate the Obamacare tax penalty, it debated whether to repeal the rest of the statute (remember repeal and replace?), but the Republicans did not have the votes for that. Congress has therefore made its decision, and there is no need for the courts to guess what it would do  the lawmakers retained the preexisting-conditions rule even while repealing the only enforcement mechanism for the purchase mandate.
In our system of checks and balances, there are a number of options at the disposal of officials concerned about the presidents fitness for office. If the president is as unstable as the writer suggests, and if many within the administration share that view, then a mass resignation would be appropriate. That could certainly make an impact on the midterm elections and flip control of the House and Senate to the Democrats, providing a check on the presidents power. If Trump is truly incompetent, then members of the Cabinet can agree to notify Congress that they do not believe the president can carry out his duties under the 25th Amendment. If he has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, Congress can impeach him. But seeking to thwart the president from within by extra-constitutional means is un-American.
The presidents form of deception is qualitatively different from the deviousness of Richard M. Nixon or the smoothness of Bill Clinton. Trump pursues no deep or subtle strategies. He does not even consistently seek his own interests. He responds like a child or a narcissist  but I repeat myself  to positive or negative stimulation. It is the reason a discussion on Fox & Friends can so often set the agenda of the president. It is the reason that Trumps lawyers, in the end, cant allow him to be interviewed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. It would be like a 9-year-old defending a PhD dissertation. Or maybe a rabbit jumping into a buzz saw.
At the beginning of his confirmation hearings this week, nearly 200,000 pages of Kavanaughs records from his tenure in the Bush White House had remained classified as committee confidential, meaning senators and certain aides could review them but not release them to the public. A team of lawyers vetting the documents on Bushs behalf throughout the confirmation process had been giving them to the Senate Judiciary Committee on the condition that they remain committee confidential, as officials determined which of the records were appropriate for public release.
Then, on Wednesday, he was at home in bed and turned on the hearings held by the committee that once employed him. He said no one from the committee, Democrat or Republican, had contacted him to hear his side of the story. While he said he had no inkling his name would come up at the hearing, he said it was not entirely unexpected given that Democrats have for years complained about his access to the documents.
The president went on to brag about his popularity, although nearly all public polls show that more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve of it. Our poll numbers are great, and guess what? Nobodys going to come even close to beating me in 2020, Trump said, as the sheriffs assembled behind him burst into applause.
The question of Sessionss trustworthiness has long bothered Democrats, several of whom recalled that even in closed-door testimony, he refused to answer sensitive questions such as whether Trump instructed him to take actions that would hinder the Russia investigation. For months, Democrats  particularly in the House  have argued with their Republican colleagues over recalling witnesses when there are discrepancies in testimony or when new information comes to light. But with no subpoena power, Democrats have largely been stymied  and now predict that resolving the Sessions-Papadopoulos dispute will be no different.
Picking up a line of inquiry that her colleagues, including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), had followed during the day, Harris peppered him with follow-up questions. Noting that he had denied having inappropriate conversations about it, Harris asking Kavanaugh if he had discussions regarding the special counsels probe and whether he had discussed it with anyone at Kasowitzs firm, saying she had unspecified reliable information he had done the latter. (The firm denied this earlier in the day).
Harris and her supporters insisted that she would hold the seat for the Democrats in November, pointing to Delawares blue tilt  Donald Trump won just 41.7 percent of the states vote  and Republican polling that has found her narrowly ahead of any of their candidates. The chance to elect the first black female gay senator of any state, Democratic activists said, would also have attracted donors and activists who had otherwise ignored the race or gotten behind Carper.
Thursdays ruling is also a boost for gay rights around the globe. India was the most populous country in the world that still had a law on the books criminalizing gay sex. As of last year, more than 70 countries had such laws, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.
But in realms apart from defense, the relationship has progressed more haltingly. India is one of many targets in President Trumps crusade to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, and the two countries have imposed tit-for-tat tariffs. The Trump administration is pushing India to increase its imports of U.S. goods and to drastically reduce its purchases of Iranian oil or face sanctions.
His party is polling at about 20 percent, up from 13 percent in the last elections, in 2014, before Europes migration surge. If Sundays election results come close to matching the polls, the Sweden Democrats have a shot at becoming the second-largest party in the country. Some analysts believe they could soar to the top, deposing the ruling center-left Social Democrats from a perch they have held since 1917.
Nebenzia sought to diminish the British evidence, saying it defied credulity to conclude that two Russians had smuggled Novichok to Britain in a counterfeit perfume bottle without being poisoned themselves. He questioned the authenticity of camera footage showing the Russians arriving at Londons Gatwick Airport. And he dismissed the assertion that the two men worked for Russias GRU intelligence agency, when the names they used to enter Britain are believed to be aliases.
It said North Korea has shown goodwill and generosity through actions such as returning the remains of some U.S. servicemen who died in the Korean War and dismantling the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri but that the United States has failed to respond with corresponding measures to improve relations.
The special counsels office, though, has charged several former Trump campaign officials for allegedly misleading investigators examining Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. If the Justice Department were to decline to take up the case against the FBIs former No. 2 official, that could fuel outrage from conservatives who assert that federal law enforcement has been unfairly aggressive toward their party. Using a grand jury could give federal prosecutors some political cover to argue they pursued the case using the most forceful tools available to them and still came up empty-handed.
U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee, who oversees the Flores agreement, has rejected the governments requests to extend the amount of time migrant children can be held in immigration jails beyond the limit of 20 days. The administrations new proposal does not set limits on the amount of time children could be held in detention. Rather, it seeks the authority to hold migrant children and their parents until their cases have been adjudicated, a process that could take months.
The administrators appointed to Big Un Ltd would not say if the former stock market darling, once worth $840 million, is now worthless, but at least one investor has been forced to reach that conclusion.

A.P. Meyer Pty Ltd, the investment company owned by Sydney businessman Anthony Meyer, collapsed into administration four weeks before Big Un Ltd met the same fate.

Big Un chief Brandon Evertz. Credit:Louie Douvis

It is my view that the companys financial difficulties arose after a significant investment asset, being shares in Big Un Ltd, were largely rendered valueless, said A.P. Meyers administrator Adam Shepard in a report to creditors.

Mr Meyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Roy Moore, the former US Senate candidate from Alabama, has filed a $US95 million ($132 million) defamation lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen, claiming he was duped into appearing on the British comedian's Showtime series Who Is America? and falsely portrayed as a sex offender.

Moore, a Republican and former chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court, also sued Showtime and its parent CBS Corp for defamation, and accused all three defendants of fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Baron Cohen's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Showtime spokeswoman said the network does not comment on pending litigation.
"But hey, you aren't one to let facts get in the way of profiting from snake oil," Dr Jen Gunter, wrote. "The claim that they can balance hormones is, quite simply, biologically impossible. Pelvic floor exercises can help with incontinence and even give stronger orgasms for some women, but they cannot change hormones. As for female energy? I'm a gynecologist and I don't know what that is!?" Gunter also warned that sleeping with a jade egg in one's vagina could lead to bacterial vaginosis or toxic shock syndrome, and that walking around with one inside was an equally bad idea. "Overenthusiastic Kegel exercises or incorrectly done Kegel exercises are a cause of pelvic pain and pain with sex in my practice," Gunter wrote. "Imagine how your biceps muscle (and then your shoulders and then your back) might feel if you walked around all day flexed holding a barbell? Right, now imagine your pelvic floor muscles doing this." If Paltrow was moved by the professional medical advice, it wasn't reflected on Goop's website last year, which published a follow-up letter to the editor titled "12 (More) Reasons to Start a Jade Egg Practice" that hit back at jade egg critics for "sexually shaming a woman for sharing her personal experience". A year later, the consumer protection lawsuit in California may have finally succeeded in convincing Goop to tone it down. Though the eggs are still available for sale on Goop's website, gone are the claims on the product pages themselves that they will balance hormones or regulate menstrual cycles.

According to California officials, those who purchased the eggs or the flower essence from Goop between January 12 and August 31 of last year are entitled to full refunds by emailing Goop or calling 1-844-WTF-GOOP. (Yes, that is the real phone number.) "The health and money of Santa Clara County residents should never be put at risk by misleading advertising," Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. "We will vigilantly protect consumers against companies that promise health benefits without the support of good science... or any science." Loading But the Q and A with Shiva Rose and the letter to the editor recommending use of the eggs remain on Goop's website. Though not technically part of the product pages, the Q and A and other articles on Goop.com continue to claim that the eggs "cultivate sexual energy, clear chi pathways in the body, intensify femininity, and invigorate our life force. To name a few!" Disclaimers at the bottom of the articles, added before the settlement, states they are for informational purposes only and not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Goop maintained in a statement that the settlement does not indicate any liability but rather an "honest disagreement" that the company wanted to settle "quickly and amicably".
The country's top real estate lobbyist says people struggling to pay their rent in Sydney, Melbourne and other big cities should "get two jobs".

Malcolm Gunning, a property agent in Sydney who is also president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, denied there was a "crisis" in rental affordability, and said people who were struggling should move away from the major capitals, negotiate their rent and work an extra job.

"I don't accept there's a rental affordability crisis," he told the ABC's 7.30 program on Thursday.

"If you want to live on the fringe of the city, it's affordable. If you want to live closer to the city, it is expensive."
One man is dead and two others have been injured after a tub of concrete fell from a crane at a work site in Melbourne's east.

The crane, on a construction site at the corner of Whitehorse Road and Watts Street in Box Hill, was lifting the concrete when its 1.5-tonne load dropped into a pit where the three men were working about 12.20pm on Thursday.

The crane dropped its load of concrete into a pit where three men were working. Credit:Channel 7

The construction workers union says the company which operated the crane was the same one involved in an incident in Richmond in July where a crane bent backwards in strong winds, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
VTAC has written to all Victorian IB schools advising them of the outcomes of this analysis. Schools publishing any conflated tables have been asked to remove them from their websites. Ms Connelly said VTAC believed the data was published in good faith, and there was no deliberate attempt to misrepresent it. The IB Heads Association of Victoria and Tasmania said it adopted a policy in 2015 that saw scores of 6 or 7 in Standard and Higher level IB subjects ranked as equivalent to a VCE score of 40 or more. "In recent days, member schools have alerted the association that VTAC is uncomfortable with this approach," the association's chairman David Fitzgerald said. "As such, the association will, as a priority, write to member schools advising them that the matter is being reviewed."

Carey reported on its website that when VCE and IB results were combined, 25.8 per cent of study scores were 40 or above. When IB results are excluded, official data from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority shows that 10.5 per cent of Carey students achieved a study score of 40 or above in the VCE in 2017. The school achieved an average IB score of 36.2, which equates to an ATAR of 94.85. Meanwhile, Wesley stated on its website that 29 per cent of its Year 12 class achieved study scores of 40 or above in 2017 when its IB and VCE results were combined. When IB results are excluded, Wesley achieved 12.1 per cent of study scores of 40 or more at its Melbourne campus and 7.9 per cent at its Glen Waverley campus.

Its IB students achieved a median ATAR of 93.45. Both schools have a large proportion of students who graduate with the IB. Carey principal Philip Grutzner said his school combined its VCE and IB scores to provide the community with information that was unavailable in league tables published in the media. The IB program and its assessment are not widely understood and combining results gives a better indication of how IB study scores fit into our overall Year 12 results, he said. He said the school had published the data in good faith and had removed it following VTAC's request.

Wesley College principal Helen Drennen said her school had published the data to celebrate the achievements of all Year 12 students. "This data is aggregated in good faith to provide a clear and accurate representation of the cohort as a whole," she said. She said the school had removed the information from its website, but had proposed changes to its wording to VTAC. A teacher raised concerns about the conflated data with Carey and Wesley earlier this year before contacting VTAC, the VCAA and Education Minister James Merlino. The man, who did not want to be named, said the schools had presented false information that inflated their results. Parents should have access to accurate information," he said.

Seventeen Victorian schools offer the senior IB qualification. Of these, 15 are non-government schools and two are government. While there is no definitive mapping from individual IB studies to VCE studies, VTAC creates notional ATARs for IB students. Deakin University education lecturer Dr Emma Rowe said schools wanted to communicate with parents in a language they understood. VCE is the dominant language, she said. If you want to put that big heading on your website or the boards in front of your school, you want to put it in the most dominant market speech. She said in a competitive market, schools had to convince parents that it was worth spending money at their school.
He spoke briefly with his lawyer before being led away. The pair have both been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on November 22. Wans lawyer Simon Freitag spoke briefly with the media as he left court. Sentencing is coming up in November its important we focus on that, he said. Wans lawyer Simon Freitag. Credit:Phil Hickey

Its been a very emotional experience for her and everyone involved. Body-in-the-suitcase mystery Ms Chen was found dumped in a suitcase in the Swan River by two fishermen on July 2, 2016. A post-mortem found she had sustained 25 blunt-force injuries to her head and face and had sustained a fractured skull. Prosecutors had alleged both Ban and Wan "acted together in the murder" of Ms Chen.

It had been alleged the murder was carried out in the bedroom of Ms Chen's Mosman Park home. The father and daughter both blamed each other for the murder and each claimed they were only an accessory. On the opening day of the trial prosecutors conceded the case against the pair was "circumstantial" and that no motive for the murder had been established. Prosecutor Justin Whalley said both Ban and Wan initially told police they last saw Ms Chen leave her Mosman Park home on June 30 with a man in a white sedan. Prosecutor Justin Whalley leaves the court after the verdict. Credit:Phil Hickey

"They acted together in the murder of Annabelle Chen," Mr Whalley said on the opening day of the trial. "Their individual involvement in the cover up was of such a nature and such a degree that the only reasonable inference to be drawn from it was that each was responsible." Father, daughter blame each other Both Ban and Wan gave evidence during the trial. Ban had claimed he and his daughter disposed of Ms Chen's body in the Swan River, only after he was confronted with a "horrible scenario" once her arrived in Perth on June 30 via Singapore.

That scenario, he claimed, involved an argument between his daughter and ex-wife on June 27 or 28 at her home, which resulted in her death. "She (Tiffany) dragged me into this situation," Mr Ban testified. Wan's defence lawyer Simon Freitag put it to Mr Ban in the witness stand that he "could take responsibility" for what he had done and that he had killed Ms Chen in the bedroom of her home. "That is not true sir ... I wouldn't do that," Ban responded. "I didn't kill Annabelle, that is a true fact."

During a heated cross-examination by Ban's defence counsel David Brustman last week, Wan denied being an emotional or aggressive person. She described Mr Brustman's line of questioning as "exciting" before correcting herself. "Your line of questioning is quite sensational," she said. Wan insisted she would never hurt her mother, rejecting claims she painted over a wall in Ms Chen's bedroom to conceal the crime or that she begged her father for help. Mr Brustman put several other propositions to Wan but she repeatedly said his allegations were ludicrous and untrue.
Police have arrested and charged a 36-year-old man with the murder of his wife after the body of a missing woman was discovered in the backyard of their Carlisle home.

Ahmed Dawood Seedat made a brief appearance in court on Thursday morning.

Wearing a striped blue polo shirt underneath a black jacket, the charge of murder was read to him by the magistrate.

The charge alleges that he murdered Fahima Yusuf at Carlisle on August 31.

He spoke only to confirm his name and that he understood the charge.
An Iraqi man who attempted suicide at a WA detention centre has died in hospital.

Saruuan Aljhelie, 22, attempted suicide while detained at Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre on Sunday night, sparking a riot that has left much of the facility destroyed.

The Yongah Hills Immigration Detention Centre. Credit:Rebecca Le May

He was resucitated at the scene and taken to Northam Hospital in a critical condition.

While the riot raged Mr Aljhelie was transported to Royal Perth Hospital where his condition was deemed serious.
The speed of Peter Dutton's intervention to save a French au pair stands out as a key feature in the political storm putting real pressure on the Home Affairs Minister and the uneasy government around him.

There are thousands of cases where the minister responsible for immigration has been able to use his or her discretion to issue a visa, grant residency or reverse an official decision  exactly as the law provides.

Illustration: Andrew Dyson

But the rescue of the au pair from detention in Adelaide Airport three years ago is remarkable for being launched on a Sunday morning, managed so swiftly and completed that night while the minister was departing for an official visit overseas.

So urgent was this intervention that officials were getting the paperwork done just as Dutton prepared to board a plane.
Former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop has weighed into the debate about bullying in federal Parliament, saying she has witnessed behaviour in Canberra that would not be "tolerated in any other workplace across Australia".

Ms Bishop's replacement as Liberal deputy leader, Josh Frydenberg, agreed with her remarks.

Ms Bishop described the "embarrassing circus" in federal politics to an Australian Women's Weekly magazine event in Sydney on Wednesday night, saying that, when politicians showed contempt for each other, they were "applauded".

"Politics is robust, the very nature of it, it's not for the faint-hearted," Ms Bishop said.
Sapporo, Japan: A magnitude-6.7 earthquake that struck Japan's northern island of Hokkaido early on Thursday left the entire prefecture without any power, forcing all airports and trains to suspend operations and a nuclear power plant to go on a back-up generator.

About 3 million buildings lost power after the quake hit at 3.08am, a spokesman for Hokkaido Electric Power Co said, adding it was uncertain when services would resume.

The quake's epicentre was east of the city of Tomakomai. It also struck Hokkaido's prefectural capital of Sapporo, with a population of 1.9 million.

At least two people have been killed and 32 are missing after the powerful earthquake paralysed the northern island of Hokkaido.
Paris: French children are saying "bonjour" to the new academic year -- and "au revoir" to their mobile phones during school hours.

That's because a new law has come into effect which outlaws phone use by students up to the age of 15. The legislation, which follows a campaign promise by French President Emmanuel Macron, also banishes tablets and smart watches.

France's President Emmanuel Macron, centre, poses with students after a military ceremony at the Hotel des Invalides, in Paris. Credit:AP

The ban is also in place at break times, with exceptions in cases of emergency and for disabled children, the French Education Ministry said in a statement. In emergencies, students can ask their teachers or supervisors for permission to use their phones. Meanwhile, high schools can voluntarily implement the measure.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said the new rules aim to help children focus on lessons, better socialise and reduce social media use. The ban is also designed to fight online bullying and prevent thefts and violence in school.
Passengers and crew on two flights arriving in Philadelphia from Europe on Thursday were screened by medical teams after 12 people aboard became ill with flu-like symptoms, a day after a similar outbreak on a flight from Dubai to New York.

All 250 people on separate American Airlines flights from Munich and Paris were "held for a medical review" as a precaution, and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was notified, Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Diane Gerace said.

Flight 717 from Munich Airport and Flight 755 from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris both arrived in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, she said.

The CDC worked with Philadelphia health officers, emergency responders and Customs and Border Patrol agents to evaluate the sick passengers for influenza and other respiratory illnesses, CDC spokesman Benjamin Haynes said.
WASHINGTON  In his second round of questioning appeals court Jude Brett Kavanaugh, Sen. Richard Blumenthal used the case of Ridgefields Conner Curran to examine the Supreme Court nominees views of the Affordable Care Act  Obamacare  and President Trumps power to not enforce it even though it remains the law of the land.

Curran, now 7, suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a debilitating disorder that could cost his parents up to $54,000 a year to treat if they did not have health insurance.

On the third day of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Blumenthal, D-Conn., displayed Conners picture on an easel and asked Kavanaugh: Should Conners family be afraid?

Kavanaugh, 53, picked by Trump off a list of reliable conservative jurists, insisted he understood the individual consequences of decisions that judges make on health care and a multitude of other issues.

I understand the real-world impact of the Affordable Care Act, Kavanaugh told Blumenthal.

Blumenthal based his questions on Kavanaughs history as a staff lawyer in the White House of President George. W Bush, where he helped formulate signing statements designed to help the president lay out how he would enforce the legislation he was signing into law.

In 2013, Kavanaugh told an audience that presidents may reserve the right to state that certain provisions of laws are unconstitutional and they will not follow them.

That is a traditional exercise of power by the presidents, Kavanaugh said at the time.

Kavanaughs views of presidential power have spawned a variety of questions from senators of both parties during three days of confirmation hearings, particularly on his views of Trumps ability to resist subpoenas and grand jury testimony as legal clouds continue to gather around him.

But the issue of presidential power has also proved important in the continuing battle over Obamacare, the main legislative achievement of Democrats and former President Obama that Republicans have attempted to scuttle.

In June, the Trump administration announced it would not defend ACA provisions requiring health insurance providers to cover patients with pre-existing conditions. The decision came in a filing in a case in which Texas and 19 other states are seeking to have Obamacare declared unconstitutional. Arguments in the case began this week in a federal courtroom in Fort Worth.

Blumenthal and other Democrats including Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut have countered that undercutting the pre-existing-condition requirement could make insurance unaffordable for the family of Conner Curran, as well as for pregnant women and those who suffer from diabetes, high-blood pressure, or cancer.

In Connecticut, about 522,000 people have pre-existing conditions, according to the non-partisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Late Wednesday, Murphy said confirmation of Kavanaugh would cloud the future of the Affordable Care Act.

Make no mistake, this is a careful, coordinated, judicial assault on (Obamacares) protections for people with pre-existing conditions, Murphy said at a news conference.

Murphy accused the Trump administration of attempting to scuttle the ACA after failing to do so through congressional action.

In nominating Kavanaugh, Trump is attempting to prod the court to do what he could not do here in Congress, Murphy said.

The Supreme Court in 2012 upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, finding it was a legitimate application of the power of Congress to levy taxes.

Kavanaughs own views of Obamacare are contradictory. In a 2011 case in which the appeals court upheld it, Kavanaugh dissented on technical grounds having to do with taxes.

In a second case in 2015, he voted to rehear a failed challenge to the ACA based on the Constitutions stipulation that all revenue-raising legislation must originate in the House. But Kavanaugh wrote that he agreed that the ACA could not be challenged under the Constitutions origination clause.

dan@hearstdc.com
UPDATE: 9 p.m.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

The New Canaan branchs train #1778 (8:33 p.m. from Stamford to New Canaan) is canceled at Stamford. Customers will be accommodated by train #1782 (9:01 p.m. from Stamford).

The New Haven lines westbound service is seeing scattered delays up to 30 minutes. Eastbound service is seeing delays of 5 to 10 minutes.

UPDATE: 8:55 p.m.

United Illuminating is reporting 8,017 customers without power.

Bridgeport: 3,397

Derby: 2

Easton: 74

Fairfield: 830

Milford: 61

Orange: 11

Stratford: 73

Trumbull: 1,112

Eversource is reporting 8,894 customers without power.

Greenwich: 273

Stamford: 3,298

New Canaan: 1,927

Darien:18

Norwalk: 45

Wilton: 346

Westport: 342

Weston: 5

Ridgefield: 11

Newtown: 22

Monroe: 43

Oxford: 58

Seymour: 12

UPDATE: 6:15 p.m.

United Illuminating is reporting 8,690 customers without power.

Bridgeport: 495

Hamden: 1,316

Shelton: 1,831

Fairfield: 822

New Haven: 388

More for you Flooded roadways, thousands without power after severe storms

Derby: 1

East Haven: 99

Easton: 74

Milford: 709

North Haven: 172

Orange: 11

Stratford: 73

Trumbull: 1,904

Eversource is reporting 12,310 customers without power.

Beacon Falls: 753

New Canaan: 2,099

Stamford: 3,868

Wilton: 344

Westport: 401

Monroe: 123

North Canaan: 34

Greenwich: 289

Oxford: 58

Weston: 38

Redding: 19

Kent: 10

Darien: 18

Newtown: 22

Seymour: 13

New Milford: 21

Ridgefield: 11

Norwalk: 22

Danbury: 17

UPDATE: 6:01 p.m.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

The Danbury branchs northbound service is delayed because of power issues near Stamford.

Train #1750 (the 5:43 p.m. from Stamford to New Canaan) is canceled at Stamford. Customers will be accommodated by train #1752 (5:59 p.m. from Stamford), which is running about 10 minutes behind schedule.

UPDATE: 6 p.m.  BRIDGEPORT

Police and fire units in Bridgeport have their hands full after a line of thunderstorms ripped through the state Thursday evening.

After responding for a tree down across the road near Fairfield and Circular avenues around 5:41 p.m., police responded to Goodcell and Main streets after one driver said the road was caving in, reports indicated. Police are setting up police tape so drivers stay away from that intersection.

Firefighters responded to 1969 Main Street where a building was struck by lightning. One firefighter told the dispatcher that the building was hit by lightning and there were bricks on the ground that were knocked off from the strike.

Fire units were also rushed to the 800 block of Lindley Street for a tree that was struck by lightning that was either smoking or on fire.

Several police units are responding to block off the area of Iranistan Avenue and State Street, an area that commonly floods during periods of heavy rain.

One officer reported there was an estimated 6 to 8 inches of rainfall flooding the intersection as of 6 p.m. He said he wasnt sure if the manhole cover was still in place.

UPDATE: 5:55 p.m.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

The New Canaan branch is delayed because of a downed tree near Talmadge Hill and New Canaan. This was announced at 5:28 p.m.

The New Haven line is experiencing delays of 25 to 30 minutes because of power problems in the area of Stamford and Westport. This was announced at 5:43 p.m.

UPDATE: 5:42 p.m.

Police in Bridgeport are reporting a large tree down across the road near the intersection of Circular And Fairfield avenues at 5:41 p.m. A residential fence was damaged and a house might have been slightly damaged, reports indicated.

UPDATE: 5:45 p.m.

Outages reported by United Illuminating and Eversource have significantly increased.

United Illuminating is reporting 2,675 customers without power.

Eversource is reporting 11,153 customers in the dark.

UPDATE: 5:25 p.m.

Below is a town-by-town look at whos out of power right now.

United Illuminating is reporting the following number of customers without power:

North Haven: 25

Woodbridge: 1 (which was reported before the storms hit and was expected to be restored by 5:45 p.m.)

Eversource is reporting the following number of customers without power:

Greenwich: 53

Stamford: 502

New Canaan: 311

Wilton: 336

Norwalk: 2

Westport: 26

Newtown: 22

Monroe: 37

Oxford: 57

Weston: 4

Seymour: 4

Ridgefield: 1

Danbury; 1

Bethel: 1

New Fairfield: 1

Again, not all outages shown on the energy companies outage maps were necessarily caused by the thunderstorms.

UPDATE: 5:18 p.m.

Eversource is reporting 5,104 customers without power across the state. It was unclear if all these updates across Connecticut were caused by the thunderstorms.

United Illuminating is reporting one customer in the dark in Woodbridge, but that outage was reported before the storms hit. In North Haven, 26 people have lost power since the storms hit the area.

UPDATE: 5:11 p.m.

The skies turned a nasty shade of dark gray before they opened up and let rain pour down on the state Thursday evening.

Winds and rain are picking up from Greenwich to, at least, Bridgeport. There is consistent lighting and loud thunder on the coast in Bridgeport.

Original story: 4:55 p.m.

There is a severe thunderstorm warning for southern Fairfield County until 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

A severe thunderstorm was seen on radar near Ridgefield at 4:42 p.m., moving east at 15 mph.

With this warning comes the potential for 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail. Minor hail damage to cars is possible. Wind damage to trees and power lines are also a possibility.

The storm is expected to reach Norwalk around 4:50 p.m. Wilton around 5 p.m., Weston around 5:10 p.m., Westport around 5:15 p.m. and Fairfield and Trumbull around 5:30 p.m.

NWS urges residents to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.

Prepare immediately for large hail and damaging winds, NWS said. People outside should move immediately to shelter inside a strong building. Stay away from windows.

At 4:53 p.m., NWS said a line of strong thunderstorms is headed toward New London, Fairfield, New Haven and Middlesex counties.

With these storms, wind gusts up to 50 mph and half an inch of hail are possible.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may cause localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways, the weather service said. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm.
WESTPORT  A Bridgeport man is facing criminal tresspassing and burglary charges after breaking into a Westport home.

A Westport resident arrived home around 11:45 a.m. on Sept. 3 to find an unknown vehicle in the driveway and evidence of someone squatting inside the home, police said.

The homeowner called police who, upon arrival, found reason to believe the suspect was still inside the home. Items stolen from the property were observed inside the unknown car, and personal items belonging to the cars registered owner, Bridgeport resident Deshawn Harper, were located inside the home, police said.

Police conducted a K-9 search through the rear of the property, but did not locate the suspect, according to the report. Shortly thereafter, police located Harper, 40, walking in the area of 245 Post Road East and took him to headquarters.

He was charged with second-degree burglary, third-degree criminal trespassing, and non-assaultive interfering with an officer.

Harper was held in lieu of $20,000 bond and transported to state Superior Court in Norwalk for arraignment on Sept. 4.

svaughan@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1
3 1 of 3 Sophie Vaughan / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Sophie Vaughan / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





WESTPORT  The newly named first-ever Staples High School police officer Ed Wooldridge had a successful first week according to Superintendent Colleen Palmer, but the potential for two additional officers to be placed at Westports middle schools is still up in the air.

The Board of Finance (BOF) will hold a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 and vote, for the third time, on whether to fund the two additional officers.
WESTPORT  Its no question technological shifts have changed the experience of children growing up, and Westports newest teacher of the year, Staples High School Italian teacher Enia Noonan, said she seeks to grow in response to her students needs  especially social interaction.

A lot of the communication that happens with our students now is asynchronous, through social media. Ive thought a lot about this and the impact it has on our children, Noonan said at the Sept. 4 Board of Education meeting at Staples High School, where she accepted the award for Westports 2019 Teacher of the Year.

I wanted to claw back a bit of this third place from the talons of the virtual world, so I decided to bring the Italian coffee bar right into my classroom, Noon said in reference to sociologist Ray Oldenburgs work about the importance of a third place in society for creative social interactions.

At the end of each class, Noonan has students converse with one another about their lives as if they were in an Italian coffee house, an exercise which she said enhances students Italian skills and emotional health.

The lessons in her class are always centered around the idea that yes, Italian is important, but not every class, every grade, is the most important thing ever. Everyday is an opportunity to succeed, learn if you did not meet that goal, and find what it is that does make you successful, Staples Principal James DAmico said while presenting the award to Noonan.

She was chosen for the award by past teachers of the year from a pool of 17 nominated educators. Noonan has a bachelors degree in elementary education from the University of Connecticut and a masters degree in bilingual and special education from Fairfield University.

Enia, perhaps more than anyone else Ive met in Westport in the last 18 years, intuitively understands how to provide an emotionally aware and intelligent environment for students, DAmico said.

Now in her 30th year with Westport schools, Noonan first came to the district in 1980 to work as a special education teacher at Coleytown Elementary School. From there, Noonan worked in special education at Long Lots Elementary School, but missed teaching Spanish as she had done in Bridgeport Public Schools. So she switched to work as a Spanish teacher at Bedford Middle School, where she taught for three years before heading to Staples in 2005 to start the schools Italian program.

When you go into her classroom, it doesnt make matter who you are, you feel like youre the only person in that room. She makes you feel that special, Superintendent Colleen Palmer said of Noonan, who lives in Weston.

As I reflect on our challenges now, I wonder if our work was a bit simpler in the past, mostly academic in nature. Now, the social and emotional needs of our children will require increasing attention, Noonan said in concluding her speech.

svaughan@hearst

mediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1
FAIRFIELD  The painting hanging in Fairfield Probate Court is only a few months old, but it was nearly a century in the making.

The picture  the handiwork of Bill Lee, 95, of Trumbull  depicts a group of people enjoying a beautiful summers day in front of a row of cottages on a section of Fairfield Beach, circa the 1920s.

There are men playing horseshoes, friends and families congregating along the seawall and a gaggle of folks taking in the nice weather under an umbrella on the sand.

Fairfield Beach at that particular time was really developing into what it is now, Lee said.

Lee, the former Fairfield historian, based the painting on a photo that he believes was taken by his mothers sister Ruth. That would explain why the figures in the picture include Lee, who was 4 or 5 at the time, and his mother, both sitting along the seawall.

The photo was turned into a popular postcard, and it has always held an appeal for Lee, an accomplished artist whose work hangs in buildings throughout Fairfield and surrounding towns. He said the area depicted in the photo was developed by four separate real estate owners, and comprised what were known as courts. Each court was named for its owner and contained cottages rented to families for the summer.

Lee said his family rented a cottage at Thorpe Court in the mid-1920s. He still has fond memories of that time, which go beneath the surface of what is depicted in the photo. For instance, Lee said, the horseshoe players in the picture look like a group of affable gents just having fun at the beach. They were really playing for money  a practice Lee said wasnt legal at the time.

What has really stuck with Lee is that a lot of the cottages that were there when he was a boy are still around. Most of them are no longer part of courts and have changed ownership, but the houses are there.

All these years, and they have survived, he said.

That longevity gets more meaningful to the nonagenarian with every year.

Im still around, too, he said.

A few months ago, he decided to paint his version of the photo, adding his own touches. For instance, the pair of bathing-suit-clad young walking along the beach in Lees work arent in the original photo, and are based on a pair of twins he once knew.

The painting now hangs in the probate court building, which is home to several other of Lees works. But this one stands out, said Kate Maxham, staff attorney at the court.

Everybody comments on it, she said. Its really a beautiful painting. Anybody who spent any time at the beach recognize that area.

Indeed, Maxhams mothers uncle, John McGarry, owned McGarry Court. Maxham said the horseshoe contest in the picture was actually between residents of McGarry Court, and Thorpe Court, where Lees family lived.

The painting is a natural fit for the probate building, Maxham said.

We are the keeper of records, she said. All of us here love history. This is a little piece of history.
By the time you read this, Tuesdays election will be history. We will know whether or not Texans came out...
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This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As the name suggests, Deli Brazil Cafe celebrates all things Brazilian.

Located in a small strip mall in the West End, this friendly, family-run venue is cheerfully decorated in the colours of the Brazilian flag, with green, blue and yellow showing up on the walls and in the slip-covered chairs.

The cafe serves up all-day breakfast and Brazilian-influenced weekday lunches. Theres a nice creamy soup made with potatoes, kale and loads of sausage, as well as a juicy pulled-beef sandwich, served on ciabatta with house-made salsa and garlic sauce. The coxinhas, small pyramidal chicken croquettes, are delicate and crisp, and the paes de queijo, small cheese buns, are soft and chewy with a sharp cheese taste. Guarana, a popular Brazilian soft drink, is also available.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Owner Sanderson Rabelo at the Deli Brazil Cafe.

The desserts have the fresh and unpretentious appeal of good home baking. Sampled cakes  the selection changes from day to day  were milky and tender, as is common in Central and South America, with icing made from sweetened condensed milk. The lime cake, sprinkled with zest, nicely balances sweetness with some citrus tartness, and the mild chocolate version is also good.

The Taste Click to Expand Deli Brazil Cafe

510 Sargent Ave.

204-588-4164; delibrazil.ca Go for: home-style Brazilian cooking

Best bet: the absolutely fabulous feijoada Tuesday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Feijoada: $14.99; Desserts: $2.00-4.50 

Brigadeiros, sometimes called Brazilian fudge, are dense, creamy little balls of sweetness  Brazil is the worlds largest sugar producer  also made with condensed milk. Featured flavours could include chocolate, coconut, strawberry or milk, as well as a version that plays on the Italian flavours of tiramisu.

The weekday lineup at Deli Brazil Cafe offers tasty food and solid value.

But you really want to go for the more elaborate Brazilian specials served only on Saturday, which could include an absolutely fabulous feijoada, a traditional stew of black beans, smoky braised porky bits and sausage. Served with rice, shredded collard greens, homemade salsa, sliced orange and farofa (manioc flour cooked with bacon fat), the dish is beautifully arranged on a great big plate.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Cheese buns on display at the Deli Brazil Cafe.

You can mix and match, so that every bite is a little different, with subtle contrasts of taste and texture. The richness of the stew is cut by the greens, with their slight edge of bitterness, and finished with the crunch of farofa. Its just oh-my-gosh good.

Near the corner of Portage and Main, Grey Owl Coffee and Pub has set up in the turn-of-the-20th-century Scott Building with a very handsome space. Now, I like white, bright industrial modern resto decor as much as the next girl  maybe more  but its good to see a local coffee joint trying out a different esthetic. Lush and moody, Grey Owls historical look is grounded in the colours of black and darkest green, accented with oversized botanical prints.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Grey Owl Coffee and Pub on the main floor of the Scott Block resembles a coffee house out of London.

A combined coffeehouse and pub, Grey Owl offers multiple coffee possibilities, including the usual espresso-based drinks, precision pour-over options and cold brew, along with an edited selection of natural wine, local beers and artisan ciders. This combination of light bites, coffee and (possible) day-drinking might account for the easy, amiable atmosphere.

The Taste Click to Expand Grey Owl Coffee and Pub

272 Main St.

greyowlcoffee.com Go for: third-wave coffee, small bites and good-looking ambience

Best bet: coffee, of course, but the omni salad will also pick you up Monday-Thursday: 7 a.m.-5 p.m.; Friday: 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Coffee: $2.60-4.50 1/2 STAR POWER  Excellent

 Very Good

 Good

 Mediocre

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No stars Not recommended

There is a revolving selection of coffee beans from roasters across North America, which should keep java nerds on their toes. I tried a medium-bodied Ethiopian, which was, as the helpful barista suggested, "fruit-forward," with sweet, bright undertones of citrus.

A sampled iced tea of the day, a ruby-red, not overly sweet hibiscus brew, uses big block ice for a slow melt. Heading into the liquor menu, a Catalan rose had an edgy taste and cloudy look, with a touch of that natural-wine funkiness so much debated among oenophiles.

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The small plates, salad and sandwich selection features several healthy options, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free possibilities. The hummus plate is good, accented with garlicky, silken-white toum and vegan ricotta and served with crisp, thin toasts and veg.

A chicken sammie, with blueberry-beer compote and basil and mint vegan cheese, seems a little confused in its flavours. More consistent is the sandwich made with smashed tandoori-seasoned chickpeas, herby vegan ricotta and minted chutney.

The omni salad is aptly named, being a well-balanced bowl packed with quinoa, arugula, crunchy veg, pickled onions and lightly wrapped in herby vinaigrette.

Baked goods include cookies and muffins, plus a daily rotation of energy bites, the carrot cake-style warmly spiced and packed with walnuts.

One quibble: The menu could use a few more cocktail-style snacks  beyond spiced nuts  to help match the wine menu and the sophisticated big-city space.

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca
Muddy Waters may not sound like an appetizing name for a restaurant, but its been a favourite at the junction of the two muddy rivers at The Forks for two decades.

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This article was published 6/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Muddy Waters may not sound like an appetizing name for a restaurant, but its been a favourite at the junction of the two muddy rivers at The Forks for two decades.

The restaurant will close its doors at the end of the month.

The restaurant's owners do not plan to reopen Muddy Waters elsewhere. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

"Its bittersweet for me. Its 20 years of my life," said Doug Stephen, one of the partners of WOW Hospitality Concepts, which owns and operates the restaurant.

Muddy Waters was one of the first restaurants at The Forks. Branigans, now The Beachcomber Restaurant, preceded it.

"The building we are in was never intended to be a restaurant. It was a skate shelter. Thats why it had that huge fireplace in it and the floor was all rubber," Stephen said. "We pitched (to The Forks management) to do this barbecue restaurant at the time and they went for it."

Twenty years later, The Forks is going in a different direction  and that includes a stiff rent increase, Stephen said.

The Forks, said Stephen, wants to turn the restaurant space into professional offices for engineers or architects. Muddy Waters could stay for the three-and-a-half years left on its lease, but it would have to pay the equivalent of what The Forks could get renting the space as offices, he said.

Muddy Waters specialized in barbecue and comfort foods. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

"I think theres a desire there to have most of food and beverage contained within the market or in the Johnston Terminal building," Stephen said.

Also, The Forks wanted a year-round rent, Stephen said. The rent negotiated 20 years ago was for a percentage of Muddy Waters business in winter and a base amount plus percentage in summer, he explained. The restaurant is largely seasonal, with seating for 60 inside and 220 when its two outdoor patios are in use.

The Forks has also brought in a new business model with shorter leases and more say in restaurant operations. "They wanted to make sure (a business) is staying current and that it is run by viable operators," Stephen said.

"So I said, You know what? Give me until the end of September and let us go out in a fashion that says, Thank you, Winnipeg."

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Muddy Waters has been a favourite at The Forks for two decades.

Muddy Waters was a blues musician and Winnipeg means "muddy waters" in Cree, so the restaurant moniker was a natural at The Forks.

"It incorporated the music genre, it incorporated The Forks and it incorporated Winnipeg."

It started as Muddy Waters BBQ and Blues and blues musicians would perform there. The opening-night act 20 years ago was the Curtis Newton Band, which is being reassembled for a farewell and thank you to former employees on Sept. 24.

Stephen estimates about 2,500 people have worked at Muddy Waters.

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Muddy Waters was one of the first restaurants at The Forks. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

Muddy Waters specialized in barbecue and comfort foods.

"Originally when we opened, we were ahead of our time," Stephen said. "It was Piedmont Barbecue Sauce from the Carolinas, the red barbecue sauce for ribs from Memphis, the dark, sweet, brown sugar barbecue sauce for brisket from Texas."

Muddy Waters wont reopen elsewhere. WOW partners are looking at a restaurant concept of gourmet-style "smash" burgers and spiced-up fried chicken at a new site that can operate year-round at full capacity.

"Its upsetting for myself and a lot of my staff but its the reality of the restaurant business, unfortunately," general manager Garth Blagden said of the closing.

There are about 10 restaurants at The Forks, including outlets in the food court, The Beachcomber, Old Spaghetti Factory and Pancake House.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
OTTAWA  One of the First Nations evacuated during the 2011 Interlake flood diversion is suing Ottawa for ending housing stipends before dozens of residents have homes to return to, the Free Press has learned.

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This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  One of the First Nations evacuated during the 2011 Interlake flood diversion is suing Ottawa for ending housing stipends before dozens of residents have homes to return to, the Free Press has learned.

"Ive had people calling me, crying that they and their children were going to be out on the street with no place to live, and theyre trying to get ready for school. Thats no way to treat humans," said Harley Schachter, a lawyer representing Dauphin River First Nation, which has had scores of residents living in Winnipeg since the 2011 flood.

That year, the Assiniboine River flooded at historic levels, putting Winnipeg at risk of a major deluge. Officials diverted the river toward the Interlake, so the flood would affect fewer people.

That meant evacuating 3,000 residents from 18 reserves, with a pledge to replace damaged homes and schools.

"That promise hasnt been lived up to," Schachter said. "Theyre forgetting the sacrifice that Aboriginal people of the Interlake made to save Winnipeg from a catastrophe."

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) has been issuing regular press releases about progress in the move-in effort for the four most impacted reserves.

In a June update, ISC said that all 237 evacuees were set to return by August, with 54 housing units "ready for occupancy" and another 16 to be ready by July. But Schachter said those 16 houses are behind schedule, while another six were found to be deficient.

ISC wrote Wednesday that 48 houses are "ready for occupancy"  six fewer than the department previously claimed, which it says is because of deficiencies the First Nation reported. "The construction of housing at Dauphin River is being managed by the First Nation," ISC spokeswoman Martine Stevens wrote.

Schachter also said representatives for roughly 45 households also signed forms in recent months, agreeing to have their stipend end in August  which he alleged officials said was mandatory for people collecting cheques. That leaves a total of roughly 70 families without a household.

Until evacuees can move back to the First Nations, Ottawa gives households a monthly stipend ranging from $800 to $3,000, based on family size and location. Its meant to pay for housing and incidentals, such as groceries.

Schachter said many Dauphin River residents relied on traditional hunting, fishing and plant-based medicines, and now have to buy food instead.

Schachter claimed residents are also "extremely distraught" about being asked to move in with the same people they lived with seven years ago.

Some of the evacuees who arrived in Winnipeg as teenagers have started their own families in the intervening years, but the lawyer said they wont be allotted a home separate from their parents.

"Go couch-surf is in effect the message they told people without houses," he said.

Dauphin River Chief John Stagg met with Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpotts deputy on June 15.

Schachter said ISCs regional head told Stagg days later the housing benefit would continue, without giving an end date. Then on Aug. 23 came a notice that the stipend would end on Aug. 31.

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According to minutes of an Aug. 31 court hearing in Winnipeg, Ottawa extended its housing stipend for families that cant return yet. Schachter claimed this only happened because Dauphin River commissioned a lawyer, after failing to get ISC to consider an extension.

ISC rejected that claim.

"This decision was not related to the legal action initiated by the First Nation," Stevens wrote. Its unclear when that decision was actually made, and whether ISC informed the evacuees.

While the Canadian Red Cross (CRC) administers the housing stipend, Schachter said all decisions are made by Ottawa, and CRC staff have been supportive and "almost apologetic" in cutting off his clients.

A Federal Court judge in Winnipeg will hear Dauphin Rivers request for an injunction on Sept. 26.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
For what may be the first time in the countrys history, Indigenous people are celebrating a residential school.

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This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For what may be the first time in the countrys history, Indigenous people are celebrating a residential school.

But it is nothing like the federally funded, church-run institutions that devastated generations of children and tried to erase Canadas Indigenous cultures.

Southeast Collegiate officially opens a new, $24-million facility for First Nations high school students Thursday on its existing south Winnipeg campus.

The private school boasts it is the only one of its kind in Canada, able to educate students from grades 10 through 12, and house the entire student body of 156 on site. It's also Indigenous-run -- serving 13 Manitoba First Nations, primarily from the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

"It's the only school I know of where the students reside on campus for the entirety of the 10 months of the school year," Southeast Collegiate director and principal Sheryl McCorrister said Wednesday.

Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott is expected to be among the dignitaries to attend the opening in Winnipeg, including the various chiefs who represent the school's founding parent organization, the Southeast Tribal Council.

Construction of the new school was made possible with $10 million in federal funding, and ongoing funding of $5.6 million to cover instructional and accommodation costs.

Southeast opened in 1995, with 30 students; by 2007, it reached an enrollment of 110. Grad rates -- at 92 per cent -- are twice those of First Nations with high schools in Manitoba, and triple First Nations rates across the country.

To call it a residential school is "such a bad word," McCorrister said.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Southeast Collegiate educates and houses students.

The differences extend to the physical structure: there are no cots lined up in rows, in army-style barracks; there are dormitories, with two students to a room, like a college or university.

"The residential school system, as we know it, was non-Indigenous and it was intent on forcibly assimilating Indigenous people, using all means necessary. Its not an overstatement to say residential schools have acted primarily as agents of cultural genocide," said Ry Moran, director of the Winnipeg-based National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

"What Southeast is trying to do is undo that cultural legacy and build a brighter future, so students can succeed as Indigenous people within a western society."

Southeast offers both academic and vocational curriculum streams, competitive sports, and land-based and cultural traditions infused in its programs. A high school math class, for instance, could involve making and erecting a teepee.

"It all takes math to do that kind of stuff," the principal noted.

Retention rates are 85 per cent for students enrolled in the vocational programs, and 84 per cent for academic students.

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"That's the kids coming back every year. The kids end up staying through Grade 10, 11 and 12, and that's what we want," McCorrister said. "It's different because we care, we care about the students who are enrolled and we go out of our way to go above and beyond while our students attend Southeast Collegiate."

Former Brokenhead Ojibway Nation chief Jim Bear (who will be emcee the opening Thursday) recalled the founding of the Southeast council 40 years ago, and the purchase of the property for the school nearly 25 years ago.

A survivor of the residential school system, Bear said this project is living up to its vision as a First Nations school for First Nations, run by First Nations.

"It's the way residential schools should have been designed and implemented. The Indigenous staff are probably almost 90 per cent and the majority of students are from the Southeast (tribal) area... We're trying to get it to be the (First Nations high) school of choice," he said Wednesday.

"Everything is culturally relevant."

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
The provincial government has unveiled the first of five new addiction clinics that are being touted as an important step in breaking the stranglehold drugs and alcohol have on the lives of many Manitobans.

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This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government has unveiled the first of five new addiction clinics that are being touted as an important step in breaking the stranglehold drugs and alcohol have on the lives of many Manitobans.

Health Minister Cameron Friesen announced the official opening of the first Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine clinic Wednesday, which is now up and running out of Winnipeg's Crisis Response Centre, three days a week for two hours each day.

Winnipeg's second clinic will open on the 100 block of Magnus Avenue on Sept. 13, operating two days a week for two hours each day. Those locations will be followed by three additional clinics in Selkirk, Brandon and Thompson that are expected be rolled out within two months.

"Before, someone would have gone to all the trouble and challenge to say, 'I'm struggling with an addiction' and to go to a practitioner, then to take a recommendation to go to a specialist, and then to wait. The essential quality of these clinics, at least one of them, is that it collapses that whole wait time," Friesen said.

"You can walk in without a referral and you can be seen that day or in a short amount of time. I believe the doctors said that the target is within a week to have that person seen."

The clinics, which are modelled on a similar initiative in Ontario, are designed to streamline the process for those seeking help for substance abuse and addiction. In total, creating the clinics cost the province $1.2 million.

On-site staff will provide assessment and counselling for those who walk through the door. No referrals are necessary to get help. Staff will also prescribe medication and help forge connections between patients and community treatment programs and resources.

Winnipeg's two clinics will operate a collective five days a week for a total of 10 hours  although Friesen said the hours could be expanded. It remains unclear what the hours of operation will be at the clinics outside the city.

"We're going to be looking at the data that's coming out of these centres. We're starting, some might say, in some modest ways. But remember as well, even in Ontario that was also a partial service to start off with. And we'll be looking to enhance the services as soon as we can determine this is having value," he said.

NDP health critic and MLA for Minto Andrew Swan said that while the idea behind the clinics makes sense, there are real concerns about what tangible impact they'll have, given the limited hours of operation.

"The Pallister PCs have done nothing until now, either on the opioid crisis or the meth crisis, which are both taking a huge toll in Winnipeg. Our concern is they've waited until now when we have these two crises and our fear is this step is too little, too late," Swan said.

He went on to add that since the Crisis Response Centre is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the province should provide additional resources to the new clinic housed there so it can match those hours of operation.

Swan also questioned what community-based resources the clinics in rural Manitoba will be able to refer patients to, given budget cuts to the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.

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On Wednesday, Friesen wouldn't reveal what other addictions initiatives are coming down the pipe, but said more announcements will be made later this fall. He also wouldn't say whether the provincial government has made a final decision about creating a supervised injection site in Winnipeg.

"I'm not saying (a supervised injection site) wouldn't provide value. I think that everything that we do would probably provide some value to someone. I think as a policy-maker and the minister of health, my responsibility is to take limited system resources, to listen hard to Manitobans  listen hard to the evidence  then make the best choices to put forward policies and resources in a way that will benefit the maximum number of people," he said.

Swan countered that evidence on the effectiveness of supervised injection sites is clear. He pointed to the fact they're considered a best practice in other major cities and said if the provincial government won't move to create one, they're "risking peoples' lives."

"If Minister Friesen wants to get some evidence, he can look to B.C., he can look to Toronto, where conservative mayor John Tory is a strong supporter of safe injection sites and has welcomed them into his city. I'm sure they would provide all the information they would need," he said.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Five months ago, it was a dismal downtown workshop with a back-lane entrance.

On Wednesday morning, it was born again as Freedom International School, where 17 refugee kids who missed out on chunks of their education will get a chance to catch up to their peers and flourish.

"Im ready to study," said Prince Busime, who arrived a half-hour early on the first day of classes. Prince came to Canada two years ago at age 15. The refugee from Congo who missed out on a lot of learning and struggles with reading is hopeful about his new school.

"Im just happy to be here," said the aspiring filmmaker who was shooting a video of the faith-based schools lively grand opening which included singing, music and praise.

"Students, you are some of the most brave, brilliant and resilient people we have ever met," said Rachel Smith, a youth representative on the board of the new school that has members from South Sudan, Burundi, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Canada. It targets newcomer students between the ages of 13 and 21 whose reading and basic academic skills are at least two years behind their Canadian peers.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Plamedie Gatoro, left, Gabrielle Gonzalez and Christina Dusabimana celebrate the first day of their new school along with other students and teachers during ribbon cutting ceremony Wednesday.

"We want you to remember that there are people supporting you every step of the way," said Smith, a University of Winnipeg student. "Every time you step through these doors, we want you to understand you are safe... that you are accepted... you are loved. Your education matters. Your dreams matter. Your lives matter. You matter."

Playing catch-up Why resettled refugee youth have a lot of catching up to do:  Of the six million primary and secondary school-age refugees under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' mandate, 3.7 million have no school to attend. click to read more Why resettled refugee youth have a lot of catching up to do:  Of the six million primary and secondary school-age refugees under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' mandate, 3.7 million have no school to attend.  Refugee children are five times more likely to be out of school than non-refugee children.  Only half have access to primary education, compared with a global level of more than 90 per cent.  Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics Close

The school, which isnt eligible for provincial funding for the first three years, is charging $50 per month per student for tuition. Principal Francine Wiebe is the driving force behind the school that has relied on donors and volunteers to renovate the space, get it up to code, equip it and keep it going.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Former City of Winnipeg Police Chief, Devon Clunis, and students, Christina Dusabimana, left, and Gervas Kezimana, cut the ribbon before students enter school for the first day Wednesday.

"We were up till midnight doing the finishing touches," Wiebe said as students and guests streamed into what is essentially a one-room schoolhouse with a kitchen area and lockers and a bike rack near the rear entrance. As a teacher and school administrator in the inner city, Wiebe saw the need for older refugee kids whod missed out on years of schooling to get extra help with academics, as well as communication and life skills. Freedom International School has a staff of six, including two teachers, two educational assistants, a music instructor and a school pastor. Forming relationships with the students will be key to their success, Wiebe said.

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"When you have excellent relationships with children, they trust you and want to work hard for you," she said. Seeing adults they can identify with and look up to also helps, said Wiebe, who invited former Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis to the schools opening.

"In 1975, I was like you," Clunis told the students, relating his experience at the age of 12. "We had just immigrated from Jamaica. When I looked around, I didnt see very many people who looked like me. That first year was incredibly difficult but there were people in the community who cared about me deeply, in particular one teacher who said, Devon, come to school an hour early every day."

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Students check out their lockers on the opening day of their school Wednesday.

He decided to get up an hour early every morning and accept his teachers help.

"If I had not made that decision I would not be standing here today," said Clunis, who was the first black chief of police in Canada. "The most important thing you can do for yourself at this stage of your life is to get a good education and to know that you have all these people who are supporting you.

"Do your part. Listen to what your teachers have to tell you, and I make you this promise: there is nothing that you cannot achieve in the city of Winnipeg, the province of Manitoba, the country of Canada."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Amid the excitement of the first day of classes, about 30,000 University of Manitoba students learned five faculty members are currently being investigated for inappropriate behaviour -- three of them singled out with sexual-assault or sexual harassment allegations.

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This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amid the excitement of the first day of classes, about 30,000 University of Manitoba students learned five faculty members are currently being investigated for inappropriate behaviour -- three of them singled out with sexual-assault or sexual harassment allegations.

University president David Barnard declared Wednesday sexual violence won't be tolerated on campus, then confirmed multiple investigations about faculty members are underway.

The announcement came almost a year after news broke about former music professor Steve Kirby leaving the Winnipeg school amid multiple students alleging the jazz teacher sexually harassed them.

From a podium tucked in a private boardroom in the school's engineering wing, Barnard offered his first public apology to those students through the media.

"Incidents of inappropriate behaviour at this university have been reported and investigated over the last few years. Inappropriate behaviour, including sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus, is unacceptable and, quite honestly, I find it to be horrible and reprehensible," Barnard said.

"Today, Im here to apologize to students who have experienced such inappropriate behaviour. Im sorry. Im deeply sorry."

Barnard also took the unusual step of revealing other pending investigations regarding faculty -- although he would not say how many, nor whether any staff had been placed on leave.

"Although I cant speak to specifics, I also want to tell you today that there are other investigations ongoing now. Were committed to due process and to protecting the confidentiality of those with the courage to come forward," he said.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS David Barnard, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manitoba, listens in as Susan Gottheil, vice-provost (students) speaks at a media conference on issues related to campus sexual violence at the University of Manitoba Wednesday,

Later in the day, U of M spokesperson John Danakas confirmed there are five distinct investigations underway, involving five faculty members. The cases are being looked at through the lens of the school's respectful work and learning environment policy and its sexual-assault policy.

Two of the faculty under investigation are on leave, Danakas said. He broke down the five investigations as:

-- One sexual assault and personal harassment investigation;

-- One sexual assault and sexual harassment investigation;

-- One sexual harassment investigation;

-- Two human rights investigations.

The University of Manitoba Faculty Association could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

"This is supposed to be a week of celebration, this is supposed to be a welcoming of students to our campus community, but the reality is that community has not been safe," said Jakob Sanderson, University of Manitoba Students' Union president.

"I think it's clear over the past several years this university has done a poor job of being as transparent and accountable as possible to students. That's something that needs to improve -- and I'm glad that they're willing to recognize that now, and it's an opportunity for us all to move forward."

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS David Barnard, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Manitoba.

Susan Gottheil, U of M vice-provost of students, outlined a number of steps the school is taking to prevent sexual violence on campus, including reviewing the school's sexual-assault policy with town hall-style meetings, installing new counselling services, and educating students and staff about consent culture.

Gottheil said the university wants to develop a "survivor-centric" model, providing accommodation and support to victims of sexual violence.

The school's definition of sexual violence encompasses "everything from sexual harassment -- jokes as someones walking by, comments on how someone looks -- right to actually engaging in intimate sexual relationships of various types. It runs the whole gamut," Gottheil said.

Barnard issues 'correction' over Kirby letter University of Manitoba president David Barnard provided a "correction to the community, with regards to some recent statements," after he discovered the letter of employment prepared for outgoing professor Steve Kirby listed far too many details about the former faculty member's accomplishments outside the classroom. Barnard said Wednesday the letter should only have included Kirby's dates of employment with the U of M and the roles he undertook. click to read more University of Manitoba president David Barnard provided a "correction to the community, with regards to some recent statements," after he discovered the letter of employment prepared for outgoing professor Steve Kirby listed far too many details about the former faculty member's accomplishments outside the classroom. Barnard said Wednesday the letter should only have included Kirby's dates of employment with the U of M and the roles he undertook. He provided media with a copy of the letter, dated June 27, 2017, which described Kirby's fundraising efforts and awards he had won. The letter noted Kirby retired from the University of Manitoba effective that same day. In preparing for todays remarks, I discovered last Wednesday that we had issued letters of employment to individuals that contained more information than I consider appropriate. The document provided to Steve Kirby as a letter of employment that I understood to be a narrow chronology of his time at the university in fact also included an outline of activities and achievements that, though factual, could be construed as supportive," Barnard said. After he left the U of M, Kirby landed a job at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. However, when the college learned about allegations of sexual harassment against him in Manitoba, he was placed on leave. The inclusion of this material (in the letter) was a mistake, and that must not be repeated," Barnard said. "The letter in no way recommended him for any position, anywhere." Human resources expert Barbara Bowes, president of Legacy Bowes Group, commended the university for vowing to be more careful in the future concerning letters to employers about staff who have departed under a cloud. Many, many organizations have taken that particular step years ago, she said. Theyve learned a hard lesson, Bowes said of the U of M. -- Jessica Botelho-Urbanski and Larry Kusch Close

Nicole Chammartin, executive director of Klinic Community Health, said the school's apology to students was "a good place to start." She said it's also important the university lets it be known it will take complaints seriously.

Starting next week, Klinic will have one of its counsellors spend one day a week at the U of M, to meet with students who have experienced sexual assault and act as a resource for campus-based counsellors.

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Chammartin said the university has to be careful about how much information it revealed about sexual harassment and abuse, so as not to hamper any future police investigations, if need be. She also said no university should be managing such issues on its own.

"This is a societal issue. Prevention of sexual violence starts very young. Its about how we talk to our young people about respect and personal autonomy and consent," Chammartin said.

"Its about how we in society deal with issues of power and ensuring that in places where (there are) power imbalances that people feel they can speak up. Sexual violence is really a crime of power."

-- with files from Larry Kusch

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu
Its back-to-school time again. Many parents of first graders have sent their kids off to school for the first time, with all the excitement that surrounds that milestone. Whether it is figuring out the complexities of school-supply lists, packing lunches or dealing with early morning wake-up, parents have a lot to handle.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Its back-to-school time again. Many parents of first graders have sent their kids off to school for the first time, with all the excitement that surrounds that milestone. Whether it is figuring out the complexities of school-supply lists, packing lunches or dealing with early morning wake-up, parents have a lot to handle.

In other words, I dont think they have done the math. This years Grade 1 cohort will finish high school, all things being equal, in the year 2030. Should we want a sustainable future for life after graduation for these kids, thats the year by which the UNs Sustainable Development Goals need to be achieved.

Many readers will not know much, if anything, about these goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is not something most families discuss at the dinner table that is, if they still eat dinner together as a family.

Yet a lot of people around the world were involved in the largest and most complicated consultation process ever attempted, leading by a kind of consensus to 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the 169 targets that go with them, which were approved by member states of the United Nations (including Canada) in 2015.

It is a long list, obviously, a list on which many of the targets  even some goals  seem irrelevant to the perspective most Canadians have on their own lives. We live in a wealthy country that is part of "the North" for many more reasons than its geography, so it is too easy to skip past such goals as goal No. 2 ("End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture") without realizing how many Canadians worry about these things every day.

Drilling down to the targets that lead to these goals, we are not working very hard on target 2.4 ("By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality").

That would require leadership at provincial or federal levels of government in Canada, which has been missing so far.

Looking at target 2.1 ("By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round"), its much worse. We are not doing anything to achieve this target for ourselves, let alone working on it for people in developing countries in the global south.

And 2030 is also the year that the climate change curves (the ones that used to predict catastrophe by 2050) now come together. Given the extreme weather and the fires, heat and drought of this past summer, if nothing changes, by 2030 we will have run out of forests to burn.

So, for the sake of those ankle-biters heading off to Grade 1 this week, I am an environmentalist. So should be anyone who really cares what kind of world these kids will face when they graduate.

Environmentalists catch a lot of flak they dont deserve. We want everyone  even the internet trolls  to have clean air, clean water, enough good food to eat and the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of being alive on the Earth.

If you think the same, that makes you one of us. If you tell someone else they need to change how they live, or if other people have noticed how you have changed your own lifestyle first, that makes you an activist, too.

Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Environmental activists want the best for every person, regardless of who they are, where they live, the colour of their skin, their religion or how much money they have  not just today, but tomorrow, too, all the way out to the seventh generation.

Sept. 8 is #RiseforClimate Day around the world. Sponsored by 350.org  an organization that has no real leaders, just ordinary people who care  we are mobilizing a planet full of people who care but dont know what to do next, creating a political force that will shape the mess around us into the world  and future  we want.

What you choose to do matters. When you change how you live, even in small ways, it makes a difference for you, your family and your community.

Join us. Do something on Sept. 8 and support #RiseforClimate.

Ultimately, we will change the world  and if the politicians cant lead or wont follow, they had better get out of the way.

Peter Denton is an author, speaker and environmental activist. He chairs the policy committee of Manitobas Green Action Centre.
As Fashion Week begins in New York City today, the iconic fashion brand Burberry has announced that it will stop using fur in its products and phase out existing fur items.

This announcement follows nearly a decade of engagement with the Humane Society of the United States, as well as recent fur-free announcements from Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Donna Karan, Armani, Hugo Boss and many others.

Meanwhile, more than 40 animal protection organizations from around the world have come together to launch a campaign urging Prada, one of the fashion industrys most high-profile holdouts on fur, to go fur-free.

In what may be the largest corporate fur-free campaign of all time, the Fur Free Alliance, which includes animal protection organizations in more than 30 countries, including the HSUS and Humane Society International, is asking its millions of supporters worldwide to contact Prada and ask them to go fur free. Prada has long supported the fur trade, selling fur from skinned foxes, raccoon dogs, mink, rabbits and even pre-born or fetal lambs (known as broadtail, astrakhan, karakul, Persian lamb or swakara). Pradas current range includes items made of fox and mink fur.

Fur simply isnt fashionable anymore, and a number of designers are moving rapidly toward fur-free, responding to growing awareness about the cruelty inherent in the production of fur, and consumer demand. A number of Pradas top competitors have embraced fur-free fashion in recent years.

Companies like Burberry and all the others going fur-free realize theres an opportunity to capitalize on consumers growing interest and commitment concerning animal welfare, and that going fur-free is part of a fashion companys looking toward the future. Consumers simply do not want to support companies that profit from the suffering of animals. In fact, before online luxury fashion retailer, YOOX Net-a-Porter, went fur-free last year, it polled more than 25,000 of its top customers  including those who spent over a million dollars on its sites  and a majority said they wanted the company to go fur-free.

Cities like San Francisco, West Hollywood and Berkeley have already banned fur sales and countries like Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and India are banning fur production and imports. In the United Kingdom, HSI is leading the charge to ban fur sales in that country, and here in the United States, Los Angeles is close to doing the same.

There is absolutely no good argument for keeping the fur industry alive, especially when we know that it contributes to the suffering of more than 130 million animals each year. Around the world, in countries such as the United States, France, Poland and China, wild species are kept in small, barren battery cages for their entire lives before being killed by gassing or electrocution. Animals caught in the wild for their fur are taken in steel-jaw leghold traps that keep them in pain for days or even weeks before trappers return to kill them. These cruel and indiscriminate devices also threaten other wildlife and family pets.

Please call Prada today at 1-866-960-8757, let them know that you do not support this cruelty, and urge them to go fur-free.

The post As Fashion Week begins, Burberry goes fur-free and new campaign targets Prada appeared first on A Humane Nation.

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The site selection committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention visited Milwaukee in late August. Alex Lasry, right, senior vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks, said committee members were told if they came to Milwaukee theyd have the best convention theyve ever had.
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Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides technical, professional, and construction services. The company's Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear segment offers scientific, engineering, construction, nuclear, environmental, and technical support services to the aerospace, defense, technical, and automotive industries. Its Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities segment develops/rehabilitates plans for highways, bridges, transit, tunnels, airports, railroads, intermodal facilities, and maritime or port projects; develops or rehabilitates critical water resource systems, water/wastewater conveyance systems, and flood defense projects; and provides engineering design, construction management, design build, and operations and maintenance. This segment also designs and constructs buildings; offers consulting, engineering, procurement, construction management, and delivery services for life sciences clients; and provides services relating to modular construction and other consulting and strategic planning services, as well as offers services in containment, barrier technology, locally controlled environments, building systems automation, off-the-site design, and fabrication of facility modules. The company's Energy, Chemicals and Resources segment offers services relating to onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, processing facilities, gathering systems, and transmission pipelines and terminals; feasibility/economic studies, technology evaluation, conceptual engineering, front end loading, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and commissioning services; and engineering, procurement, and construction solutions. This segment also provides services, such as manufacturing complex, expansions, modifications, and management of plant relocations; construction management and field construction services; and services to operate and maintain facilities. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Tyson Foods: APF Legacy Subs LLC, Advance Food Company LLC, AdvancePierre Foods, AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc., AdvancePierre Foods Inc., Aidells Sausage Company Inc., Allied Specialty Foods Inc., American Proteins Inc, Artisan Bread Co. LLC, Australian Food Corporation Pty Limited, Australian Food Corporation Trust, BRF, Barber Foods LLC, Bosco's Pizza Co., Bryan Foods Inc., C.S. Grain LLC, C.V. Holdings Inc., CBFA Management Corp., Central Industries Inc., Chefs Pantry LLC, Clovervale Farms LLC, Cobb (Hubei) Breeding Co. Ltd., Cobb (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Cobb Ana Damizlik Tavukculuk Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cobb Columbia S.A.S., Cobb Europe B.V., Cobb Europe Limited, Cobb Peru (Andina) S.A.C., Cobb-Heritage LLC, Cobb-Vantress Brasil Ltda, Cobb-Vantress Inc., Cobb-Vantress New Zealand Limited, Cobb-Vantress Philippines Inc., Coominya AFC Pty Limited, Coominya AFC Trust, DFG Foods Inc., DFG Foods L.L.C., Don Julio, Egbert LLC, Equity Group - Georgia Division LLC, Equity Group - Kentucky Division LLC, Equity Group Eufaula Division LLC, Equity Meat Corp., Flavor Corp., Flavor Holdings Inc., Foodbrands America Inc., Foodbrands Supply Chain Services Inc., Gallo Salame Inc., Global Employment Services Inc., Grow-Out Credit LLC, Grow-Out Holdings LLC, Haimen Tyson Poultry Development Co. Ltd, Hudson Foods Company, Hudson Midwest Foods Inc., Hybro Genetics Brasil Ltda, IBP Caribbean Inc., IBP Foodservice L.L.C., IBP Inc., International Affiliates & Investment LLC, Jiangsu Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Keydutch Finance B.V., Keydutch Holdings I LLC, Keydutch Holdings II LLC, Keydutch Investments B.V., Keystone CLJV Holdings Limited, Keystone County House Road LLC, Keystone Foods, Keystone Foods (AP) Limited, Keystone Foods Holdco LLC, Keystone Foods Intermediate LLC, Keystone Foods LLC, Keystone Foods Pty Limited, Keystone Management Inc., Keystone Trading (Shanghai) Company Limited, LD Foods LLC, M & M Express LLC, M&M Restaurant Supply (MI/OH) LLC, MFG (USA) Holdings Inc., Mac Food Services (Malaysia) SDN. BHD., Madison Foods Inc., McKey Food Services (Hong Kong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Shandong) Limited, McKey Food Services (Thailand) Limited, McKey Food Services Limited, McKey Luxembourg Holdings APMEA S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., McKey Luxembourg S.a.r.l., McKey VI Holdings Limited, Myung Seung Food Company Ltd., National Comp Care Inc., New Canada Holdings Inc., Oaklawn Capital Corporation, Oaklawn IT Solution Private Limited, Original Philly Holdings Inc., PBX inc., Pierre Holdco Inc., River Valley Ingredients LLC, Rizhao Tyson Foods Co. Ltd, Rizhao Tyson Poultry Co. Ltd, Rural Energy Systems Inc., Sara Lee - Kiwi Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Diversified LLC, Sara Lee Foods LLC, Sara Lee Household & Body Care Malawi Ltd., Sara Lee International LLC, Sara Lee International TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Mexicana Holdings Investment L.L.C., Sara Lee TM Holdings LLC, Sara Lee Trademark Holdings Australasia LLC, Saramar L.L.C., Shandong Tyson-Da Long Food Company Limited, Smart Chicken, Southern Family Foods L.L.C., Southwest Products LLC, TF 20 B.V., TF 5201 B.V., TFA Leasing LLC, TFA Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, TFI of California Inc., Tecumseh Poultry LLC, Texas Transfer Inc., The Bruss Company, The Hillshire Brands Company, The IBP Foods Co., The Pork Group Inc., TyNet Corporation, Tyson (Shanghai) Enterprise Management Consulting Co. Ltd., Tyson Americas Holding Sarl, Tyson Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Tyson Breeders Inc., Tyson Chicken Inc., Tyson China Holding 2 Limited, Tyson China Holding 3 Limited, Tyson China Holding Limited, Tyson Deli Inc., Tyson Europe Holding Company, Tyson Farms Inc., Tyson Farms QOZB LLC, Tyson Foods Brasil Investimentos Ltda., Tyson Foods Canada Inc., Tyson Foods Europe (Netherlands) B.V., Tyson Foods Europe GmbH, Tyson Foods France S.A.R.L., Tyson Foods Germany GmbH, Tyson Foods Group Limited, Tyson Foods Holland B.V., Tyson Foods Huadong Development Co. Ltd, Tyson Foods Iberia Alimentos S.L.U., Tyson Foods Italia S.p.A., Tyson Foods Korea, Tyson Foods Netherlands B.V., Tyson Foods Products Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Europe Limited, Tyson Foods Scotland Sales (Europe) Limited, Tyson Foods UK Limited, Tyson Foods Wrexham Limited, Tyson Foods oosterwolde B.V., Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., Tyson Fresh Meats Sales and Distribution LLC, Tyson Global Holding Sarl, Tyson Hog Markets Inc., Tyson India Holdings Ltd., Tyson International APAC Ltd., Tyson International Company Ltd., Tyson International Holding Company, Tyson International Holding Sarl, Tyson International Service Center Inc., Tyson International Service Center Inc. Asia, Tyson International Service Center Inc. Europe, Tyson Mexican Original Inc., Tyson Mexico Trading Company S. de R.L. de CV., Tyson New Ventures LLC, Tyson Opportunity Zone Fund LLC, Tyson Pet Products Inc., Tyson Poultry Inc., Tyson Prepared Foods Inc., Tyson Processing Services Inc., Tyson Refrigerated Processed Meats Inc., Tyson Sales and Distribution Inc., Tyson Service Center Corp., Tyson Shared Services Inc., Tyson Storm Lake Holdings LLC, Tyson Warehousing Services LLC, Tyson of Wisconsin LLC, Uninex SA, Universal Meats (UK) Limited, WBA Analytical Laboratories Inc., Wilton Foods Inc., Xamol Consultores e Servicos, and Zemco Industries Inc..
The following companies are subsidiares of Barclays: Adler Toy Holding Sarl, Aequor Investments Limited, Alymere Investments Limited, Alynore Investments Limited Partnership, Analog Analytics, Analog Analytics Inc, Analytical Trade Holdings LLC, Analytical Trade Investments LLC, Analytical Trade UK Limited, Archstone Equity Holdings Inc, Ardencroft Investments Limited, B D & B Investments Limited, B.P.B. (Holdings) Limited, BB Client Nominees Limited, BBAIL SAS, BCAP LLC, BIFML PTC Limited, BMBF (No.24) Limited, BMI (No.9) Limited, BNC Brazil Consultoria Empresarial Ltda, BNRI ENG 2013 Limited Partnership, BNRI ENG 2014 Limited Partnership, BNRI ENG GP LLP, BNRI England 2010 Limited Partnership, BNRI England 2011 Limited Partnership, BNRI England 2012 Limited Partnership, BNRI Limehouse No.1 Sarl, BNRI PIA Scot GP Limited, BNRI Scots GP LLP, BPB Holdings SA, BVP Galvani Global S.A.U., Barafor Limited, Barclay Leasing Limited, Barclaycard Funding PLC, Barclaycard International Payments Limited, Barclays (Barley) Limited, Barclays Aldersgate Investments Limited, Barclays Alzin Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Asia Limited, Barclays Asset Management Limited, Barclays BR Investments S.a r.l., Barclays BWA Inc., Barclays Bank (Suisse) S.A., Barclays Bank Delaware, Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, Barclays Bank Ireland Public Limited Company, Barclays Bank Mexico S.A., Barclays Bank PLC, Barclays Bank UK PLC, Barclays Bayard Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Bedivere Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Bordang Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Brasil Assessoria Financeira Ltda., Barclays CCP Funding LLC, Barclays Cantal Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Capital (Cayman) Limited, Barclays Capital Asia Holdings Limited, Barclays Capital Asia Limited, Barclays Capital Canada Inc., Barclays Capital Casa de Bolsa S.A. de C.V., Barclays Capital Derivatives Funding LLC, Barclays Capital Effekten GmbH, Barclays Capital Energy Inc., Barclays Capital Equities Trading GP, Barclays Capital Finance Limited, Barclays Capital Futures (Singapore) Private Limited, Barclays Capital Holdings (Singapore) Private Limited, Barclays Capital Holdings Inc., Barclays Capital Inc., Barclays Capital Japan Securities Holdings Limited, Barclays Capital Luxembourg S.a r.l., Barclays Capital Mauritius Limited, Barclays Capital Nominees (No.2) Limited, Barclays Capital Nominees (No.3) Limited, Barclays Capital Nominees Limited, Barclays Capital Principal Investments Limited, Barclays Capital Real Estate Finance Inc., Barclays Capital Real Estate Holdings Inc., Barclays Capital Real Estate Inc., Barclays Capital Securities Client Nominee Limited, Barclays Capital Securities Limited, Barclays Capital Securities Mauritius Limited, Barclays Capital Trading Luxembourg S.a r.l., Barclays Claudas Investments Partnership, Barclays Claudas Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC, Barclays Converted Investments (No.2) Limited, Barclays Corporation Limited, Barclays Direct Investing Nominees Limited, Barclays Directors Limited, Barclays Dryrock Funding LLC, Barclays Electronic Commerce Holdings Inc., Barclays Equity Holdings Limited, Barclays Equity Index Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Europe Client Nominees Designated Activity Company, Barclays Europe Firm Nominees Designated Activity Company, Barclays Europe Nominees Designated Activity Company, Barclays Executive Schemes Trustees Limited, Barclays Financial LLC, Barclays Financial Planning Nominee Company Limited, Barclays Funds Investments Limited, Barclays Funds and Advisory Japan Limited, Barclays Global Service Centre Private Limited, Barclays Global Shareplans Nominee Limited, Barclays Group Holdings Limited, Barclays Group Operations Limited, Barclays Group US Inc., Barclays Index Finance Trust, Barclays Industrial Development Limited, Barclays Industrial Investments Limited, Barclays Insurance Guernsey PCC Limited, Barclays Insurance Services Company Limited, Barclays Insurance U.S. Inc., Barclays International Luxembourg Dollar Holdings S.a r.l., Barclays Investment Management Limited, Barclays Investment Solutions Limited, Barclays Investments & Loans (India) Limited, Barclays Korea GP Limited, Barclays Lamorak Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Leasing (No.9) Limited, Barclays Leto Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Long Island Limited, Barclays Luxembourg EUR Holdings S.a r.l, Barclays Luxembourg Finance S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg GBP Holdings S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg Global Funding S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Barclays Luxembourg Holdings SSC B, Barclays Marlist Limited, Barclays Mauritius Overseas Holdings Limited, Barclays Mercantile Business Finance Limited, Barclays Merchant Bank (Singapore) Ltd., Barclays Nominees (George Yard) Limited, Barclays Nominees (Guernsey) Limited, Barclays Nominees (Jersey) Limited, Barclays Nominees (Manx) Limited, Barclays Oversight Management Inc., Barclays Payment Solutions Inc., Barclays Pelleas Investments Limited Partnership, Barclays Pelleas Investments S.a r.l., Barclays Pension Funds Trustees Limited, Barclays Principal Investments Limited, Barclays Private Asset Management (Monaco) S.A.M, Barclays Private Bank, Barclays Private Clients International Limited, Barclays Receivables LLC, Barclays SAMS Limited, Barclays Securities (India) Private Limited, Barclays Securities Japan Limited, Barclays Security Trustee Limited, Barclays Services (Japan) Limited, Barclays Services Corporation, Barclays Services Jersey Limited, Barclays Services LLC, Barclays Services Limited, Barclays Shea Limited, Barclays Singapore Global Shareplans Nominee Limited, Barclays Switzerland Services SA, Barclays Tenedora De Immuebles SL., Barclays Term Funding Limited Liability Partnership, Barclays UK Investments Limited, Barclays US CCP Funding LLC, Barclays US Funding LLC, Barclays US GPF Inc., Barclays US Investments Inc., Barclays US LLC, Barclays Unquoted Investments Limited, Barclays Unquoted Property Investments Limited, Barclays Wealth Management Jersey Limited, Barclays Wealth Nominees Limited, Barclays Wealth Services Limited, Barclays Wealth Trustees (India) Private Limited, Barclayshare Nominees Limited, Barclaytrust Channel Islands Limited, Barcosec Limited, Barsec Nominees Limited, Blossom Finance General Partnership, Branchcall Computers (Pvt) Limited, Braven Investments No.1 Limited, CP Flower Guaranteeco (UK) Limited, CP Newco 1 Limited, CP Newco2 Limited, CP Newco3 Limited, CP Propco 1 Limited, CP Propco 2 Limited, CP Topco Limited, CPIA Canada Holdings, CPIA England 2008 Limited Partnership, CPIA England 2009 Limited Partnership, CPIA England No.2 Limited Partnership, CPIA Investments No.1 Limited, CPIA Investments No.2 Limited, CRE Diversified Holdings LLC, CREW Tahoe Holdings LLC, CREW Tahoe LLC, Calthorpe Investments Limited, Capton Investments Limited, Carnegie Holdings Limited, Central Platte Valley Management LLC, Chapelcrest Investments Limited, Charles Schwab Europe, Claudas Investments Limited, Claudas Investments Two Limited, Clydesdale Financial Services Limited, Cobalt Investments Limited, Compania Regional del Sur S.A., Compania Sudamerica S.A., Condor No.1 Limited Partnership, Cornwall Homes Loans Limited, Crescent Crown Land Holding SPV LLC, Crescent Legacy LLC, Crescent Plaza Residential L.P., Crescent Plaza Residential LLC, Crescent Plaza Residential LP LLC, Crescent Real Estate Member LLC, Crescent Resort Development LLC, Crescent TRS Holdings LLC, Crescent Tower Residences GP LLC, Crescent Tower Residences L.P., Curve Investments GP, DBL Texas Holdings LLC, DMW Realty Limited, Desert Mountain Development LLC, Desert Mountain Properties Limited Partnership, Develop Training Group Limited, Dorset Home Loans Limited, Durlacher Nominees Limited, EWRD Summit LLC, Eagle Financial and Leasing Services (UK) Limited, East West Resort Development V L.P. L.L.L.P., East West Resort Development VII LLC, Equity Limited Partnership, Equity Value Investments No.1 Limited, Equity Value Investments No.2 Limited, Erimon Home Loans Ireland Limited, Expobank, FIRSTPLUS Financial Group Limited, Finpart Nominees Limited, First Assurance, Foltus Investments Limited, Full House Holdings Limited, Gallen Investments Limited, Global Dynasty Natural Resource Private, Globe Nominees Limited, Gracechurch Services Corporation, Grays Station LLC, Grupo Financiero Barclays Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hawkins Funding Limited, Heraldglen Limited, Holding Stuttgarter Strae GmbH, Hurley Investments No.1 Limited, Imalivest Mineral Resources LP, Investors In Infrastructure Limited, J.V. Estates Limited, JV Assets Limited, Kirsche Investments Limited, LTDL Holdings LLC, La Torretta Beverages LLC, La Torretta Hospitality LLC, La Torretta Operations LLC, Lagalla Investments LLC, Leonis Investments LLP, Liability Partnership, Long Island Assets Limited, Long Island Holding A LLC, Long Island Holding B Limited, MK Opportunities GP Ltd, MK Opportunities LP, MVWP Investors LLC, Maloney Investments Limited, Marbury Holdings LLC, Menlo Investments Limited, Mercantile Credit Company Limited, Mercantile Leasing Company (No.132) Limited, Meridian (SPV-AMC) Corporation, Mintaka Investments No. 4 Limited, Mira Vista Development LLC, Mira Vista Golf Club L.C., Mountainside Partners LLC, Murray House Investment Management Limited, Naxos Investments Limited, Nile Bank, North Colonnade Investments Limited, Northstar Mountain Properties LLC, Northstar Trailside Townhomes LLC, Northstar Village Townhomes LLC, Northwharf Investments Limited, Northwharf Nominees Limited, OGP Leasing Limited, Oakes Millers Ltd, Ownership Trustee Limited, PIA England No.2 Limited Partnership, Palomino Limited, Pecan Aggregator LP, Pelleas Investments Limited, Pelleas Investments Two Limited, Pippin Island Investments Limited, Preferred Liquidity LLC, Preferred Liquidity Limited Partnership, Procella Investments LLC, Procella Investments No.1 LLC, Procella Investments No.2 LLC, Procella Investments No.3 LLC, Protium Finance I LLC, Protium Master Grantor Trust, Protium Master Mortgage LP, Protium REO I LP, R.C. Grieg Nominees Limited, RVH Limited, RVT CLO Investments LLP, Razzoli Investments Limited, Real Estate Participation Management Limited, Real Estate Participation Services Limited, Relative Value Holdings LLC, Relative Value Investments UK Limited, Relative Value Trading Limited, Roder Investments No. 1 Limited, Roder Investments No. 2 Limited, Ruthenium Investments Limited, SPM GP Limited, Securitized Asset Backed Receivables LLC, Servicios Barclays S.A. de C.V., Societe Civile Immobiliere 31 Avenue de la Costa, Solution Personal Finance Limited, Southern Peaks Mining LP, Standard Life Aberdeen, Surety Trust Limited, Surrey Funding Corporation, Sussex Purchasing Corporation, Sutton Funding LLC, Swan Lane Investments Limited, TPLL LLC, TPProperty LLC, Tahoe Club Company LLC, Tahoe Club Employee Company, The Logic Group Enterprises Limited, The Logic Group Holdings Limited, Third Energy Holdings Limited, US Real Estate Holdings No. 2 Limited, US Real Estate Holdings No.1 Limited, US Real Estate Holdings No.3 Limited, US Secured Investments LLC, Union Center LLC, United Counties Bank, Verain Investments LLC, Walbrook Group Ltd, Wedd Jefferson (Nominees) Limited, Wessex Investments Limited, Westferry Investments Limited, Wilmington Riverfront Receivables LLC, Woolwich Homes Limited, Woolwich Plan Managers Limited, Woolwich Qualifying Employee Share, Woolwich Surveying Services Limited, Woori BC Pegasus Securitization Specialty Co. Limited, and Zeban Nominees Limited.
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Brookdale Senior Living, Inc. engages in the operation of senior living communities. The firm manages independent living, assisted living and dementia-care communities and continuing care retirement centers. It operates through the following segments: Independent Living Assisted Living & Memory Care, CCRCs, Health Care Services and Management Services. The Independent Living segment is primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors who desire an upscale residential environment providing the highest quality of service. The Assisted Living & Memory Care segment offer housing and 24-hour assistance with ADLs to mid-acuity frail and elderly residents. The CCRCs segment offers a variety of living arrangements and services to accommodate all levels of physical ability and health. The Healthcare Services segment provides home health, hospice and outpatient therapy services, as well as education and wellness programs, to residents of many communities and to seniors living outside communities. The Management Services segment composes of communities operated by the company pursuant to management agreements. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Brentwood, TN.

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Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Canadian Zinc Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and development of natural resource properties in Canada. The company's principal project is the Prairie Creek mine, a zinc-lead-silver property located in the Northwest Territories. It also owns a mineral land package in central Newfoundland, which comprises lead, copper, silver, gold, and zinc deposits. The company was formerly known as San Andreas Resources Corporation and changed its name to Canadian Zinc Corporation in May 1999. Canadian Zinc Corporation was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.64 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 4.23%. 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 74.58% next year. This indicates that The Southern will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View The Southern's dividend history.
CoreLogic, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides property information, insight, analytics, and data-enabled solutions in North America, Western Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solutions (PIRM) and Underwriting & Workflow Solutions (UWS). The PIRM segment combines property information, mortgage information, and consumer information to deliver housing market and property-level insights, predictive analytics, and risk management capabilities. It also offers proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with decision-making and compliance tools in the real estate and insurance industries. This segment primarily serves commercial banks, mortgage lenders and brokers, investment banks, fixed-income investors, real estate agents, MLS companies, property and casualty insurance companies, title insurance companies, government agencies, and government-sponsored enterprises. The UWS segment combines property, mortgage, and consumer information to provide comprehensive mortgage origination and monitoring solutions, including underwriting-related solutions, and data-enabled valuations and appraisals. This segment also provides proprietary technology and software platforms to access, automate, or track the information and assist its clients with vetting and onboarding prospects, and meeting compliance regulations, as well as understanding, evaluating, monitoring property values. It primarily serves mortgage lenders and servicers, mortgage brokers, credit unions, commercial banks, fixed-income investors, government agencies, and property and casualty insurance companies. The company was formerly known as The First American Corporation and changed its name to CoreLogic, Inc. in June 2010. CoreLogic, Inc. was incorporated in 1894 and is headquartered in Irvine, California.

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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.
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..
Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. is an international offshore energy company. It focuses on subsea construction, maintenance and salvage services to the offshore natural gas and oil industry. The firm also provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. The Well Intervention segment offers vessels and related equipment that are used to perform well intervention services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea regions. The Robotics segment involves four chartered vessels and also includes ROVs, trenchers and ROVDrills designed to complement offshore construction and well intervention services. The Production Facilities segment includes its investment in the Helix Producer I and Kommandor LLC. Helix Energy Solutions Group was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, coninuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Global Dividend Opportunities Fund is a closed ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Eaton Vance Management. It invests in public equity markets across the globe. The fund seeks to invest in the stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors. It primarily invests in dividend paying value stocks of companies. The fund employs fundamental analysis to create its portfolio. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the MSCI World Index. Eaton Vance Tax-Advantaged Global Dividend Opportunities Fund was formed on April 30, 2004 and is domiciled in the United States.

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The following companies are subsidiares of HCA Healthcare: 2490 Church LLC, 360 Community Alliance LLC, 4600 Waters Avenue Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., 52 Alderley Road LLP, AC Med LLC, ACH Inc., ADC Surgicenter LLC, AOGN LLC, AOSC Sports Medicine Inc., AR Holding 1 LLC, AR Holding 10 LLC, AR Holding 11 LLC, AR Holding 12 LLC, AR Holding 13 LLC, AR Holding 14 LLC, AR Holding 15 LLC, AR Holding 16 LLC, AR Holding 17 LLC, AR Holding 18 LLC, AR Holding 19 LLC, AR Holding 2 LLC, AR Holding 20 LLC, AR Holding 21 LLC, AR Holding 22 LLC, AR Holding 23 LLC, AR Holding 24 LLC, AR Holding 25 LLC, AR Holding 26 LLC, AR Holding 27 LLC, AR Holding 28 LLC, AR Holding 29 LLC, AR Holding 30 LLC, AR Holding 31 LLC, AR Holding 4 LLC, AR Holding 5 LLC, AR Holding 6 LLC, AR Holding 7 LLC, AR Holding 8 LLC, AR Holding 9 LLC, ASD Shared Services LLC, Acadiana Care Center Inc., Acadiana Practice Management Inc., Acadiana Regional Pharmacy Inc., Access 2 Health Care Physicians LLC, Access Health Care Physicians LLC, Access Management Co. LLC, Ace Leasing II LLC, Acute Kids Urgent Care of Medical City Childrens Hospital PLLC, Acworth Immediate Care LLC, Administrative Physicians of North Texas PLLC, Advanced Bundle Convener LLC, Advanced Plastic Surgery Center of Terre Haute LLC, Advanced Practice Providers of Gulf Coast PLLC, Alaska Regional Medical Group LLC, Albany Family Practice LLC, Aligned Business Consortium Group L.P., All About Staffing (India) Ltd., All About Staffing Inc., All About Staffing Philippines Inc., Alleghany General and Bariatric Services LLC, Alleghany Hospitalists LLC, Alleghany Primary Care Inc., Alleghany Specialists LLC, Alliance Surgicare LLC, Alpine Surgicenter LLC, Alta Internal Medicine LLC, Alternaco LLC, Altitude Mid Level Providers LLC, Ambulatory Endoscopy Clinic of Dallas Ltd., Ambulatory Endoscopy Holdco LLC, Ambulatory Laser Associates GP, Ambulatory Services Management Corporation of Chesterfield County Inc., Ambulatory Surgery Center Group Ltd., American Medicorp Development Co., Anchorage Surgicenter LLC, AppleCare/Memorial Immediate Care Joint Venture LLC, Appledore Medical Group II Inc., Appledore Medical Group Inc., Appomattox Imaging LLC, Arapahoe Surgicenter LLC, Arlington Diagnostic South Inc., Arlington Neurosurgeons PLLC, Arlington Primary Care PLLC, Arlington Primary Medicine PLLC, Arlington Surgery Center L.P., Arlington Surgicare LLC, Arthritis Specialists of Nashville Inc., Ashburn ASC LLC, Ashburn Imaging LLC, Athens Community Hospital Inc., Atlanta Healthcare Management L.P., Atlanta Home Care L.P., Atlanta Market GP Inc., Atlanta Outpatient Surgery Center Inc., Atlanta Surgery Center Ltd., Atlantis Surgicare LLC, Atrium Surgery Center L.P., Atrium Surgicare LLC, Augusta CyberKnife LLC, Augusta Inpatient Services LLC, Augusta Management Services LLC, Augusta Multispecialty Services LLC, Augusta Primary Care Services LLC, Augusta Specialty Hospitalists LLC, Augusta Urgent Care Services LLC, Aurora Endoscopy Surgicenter LLC, Austin GI Surgicenter LLC, Austin Heart Cardiology MSO LLC, Austin Medical Center Inc., Austin Physicians Management LLC, Austin Urogynecology PLLC, Aventura Cancer Center Manager LLC, Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Research Group of Florida Inc., Aventura Healthcare Specialists LLC, Aventura Neurosurgery LLC, BAMI Property LLC, Backlogs Limited, Bailey Square Ambulatory Surgical Center Ltd., Bailey Square Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Bannerman Family Care LLC, Barrow Medical Center CT Services Ltd., Basic American Medical Inc., Basil Street Practice Limited, Bay Area Healthcare Group Ltd., Bay Area Surgical Center Investors Ltd., Bay Area Surgicare Center Inc., Bay Area Surgicenter LLC, Bay Hospital Inc., Bayonet Point Surgery Center Ltd., Bayshore Family Practitioners PLLC, Bayshore Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Bayshore Occupational and Family Medicine PLLC, Bayshore Partner LLC, Bayshore Radiation Oncology Services PLLC, Bayshore Surgery Center Ltd., Bayside Ambulatory Center LLC, Bedford-Northeast Community Hospital Inc., Behavioral Health Sciences of West Florida LLC, Behavioral Health Wellness Center LLC, Bellaire Imaging Inc., Belleair Surgery Center Ltd., Belton Family Practice Clinic LLC, Big Cypress Medical Center Inc., Blacksburg Family Care LLC, Blossoms Healthcare LLP, Blue Ridge-TKC LLC, Bone & Joint Specialists Physician Group LLC, Bonita Bay Surgery Center Inc., Bonita Bay Surgery Center Ltd., Bountiful Surgery Center LLC, Boynton Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Bradenton Cardiology Physician Network LLC, Bradenton Outpatient Services LLC, Brandon Imaging Manager LLC, Brandon Regional Cancer Center LLC, Brentwood ASC LLC, Brigham City Community Hospital Inc., Brigham City Community Hospital Physician Services LLC, Brigham City Health Plan Inc., Brighton Surgicenter LLC, Brookwood Medical Center of Gulfport Inc., Broward Cardiovascular Surgeons LLC, Broward Healthcare System Inc., Broward Neurosurgeons LLC, Brownsville Specialists of Texas PLLC, Brownsville Surgery PLLC, Brownsville Surgical Specialists PLLC, Brownsville Surgicenter LLC, Brownsville-Valley Regional Medical Center Inc., Buford Road Imaging L.L.C., Byron Family Practice LLC, C. Medrano M.D. PLLC, C/HCA Capital Inc., C/HCA Development Inc., C/HCA Inc., CAREOS Surgicenter LLC, CC Clinic PLLC, CCBH Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, CCH-GP Inc., CFC Investments Inc., CH Systems, CHC Finance Co., CHC Holdings Inc., CHC Management Ltd., CHC Payroll Agent Inc., CHC Payroll Company, CHC Realty Company, CHC Venture Co., CHC-El Paso Corp., CHC-Miami Corp., CHCA Bayshore L.P., CHCA Clear Lake L.P., CHCA Conroe L.P., CHCA Mainland L.P., CHCA Pearland L.P., CHCA West Houston L.P., CHCA Womans Hospital L.P., CHCK Inc., CJW Infectious Disease LLC, CJW Wound Healing Center LLC, CLASC Manager LLC, COL-NAMC Holdings Inc., COSCORP LLC, CP Surgery Center LLC, CPS TN Processor 1 Inc., CRMC-M LLC, CUC PLLC, CVMC Property LLC, Calder Immediate Care PLLC, California Imaging Center Manager LLC, California Urgent Care LLC, Calloway Creek Surgery Center L.P., Calloway Creek Surgicare LLC, Cancer Centers of North Florida LLC, Cancer Services of Aventura LLC, Capital Anesthesia Services LLC, Capital Area Cardiology, Capital Area CareNow Physician Associates, Capital Area Multispecialty Providers, Capital Area Neurosurgeons, Capital Area Occupational Medicine PLLC, Capital Area Primary Care PLLC, Capital Area Primary Care Providers, Capital Area Providers, Capital Area Specialists PLLC, Capital Area Specialty Providers, Capital Area Surgeons PLLC, Capital Division - CCA Inc., Capital Division Inc., Capital Network Services Inc., Capital Professional Billing LLC, Capital Regional Healthcare LLC, Capital Regional Heart Associates LLC, Capital Regional Psychiatry Associates LLC, Cardiac Surgical Associates LLC, Cardio Vascular Surgeons of North Texas PLLC, Cardiology Associates Medical Group LLC, Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio PLLC, Cardiology Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Texas PLLC, Care for Women LLC, CareNow, CareOne Home Health Services Inc., CarePartners HHA Holdings LLLP, CarePartners HHA LLLP, CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital LLLP, CareSpot Professional Services of Middle Tennessee LLC, CareSpot of Brentwood (210 Franklin Road) LLC, CareSpot of Cool Springs (100 International Drive) LLC, CareSpot of Donelson (2372 Lebanon Road) LLC, CareSpot of Hendersonville (280 Indian Lake Boulevard) LLC, CareSpot of Hermitage (5225 Old Hickory Boulevard) LLC, CareSpot of Lebanon (1705 West Main Street) LLC, CareSpot of Mt. Juliet (S. Mt. Juliet Road) LLC, CareSpot of Murfreesboro (1340 Broad Street) LLC, CareSpot of Nashville (2001 Glen Echo Road) LLC, CareSpot of Nashville (West End Avenue) LLC, Career Staffing USA Inc., Carlin Springs Urgent Care LLC, Carolina Forest Imaging Manager LLC, Carolina Regional Surgery Center Inc., Carolina Regional Surgery Center Ltd., Cartersville Medical Center LLC, Cartersville Occupational Medicine Center LLC, Cartersville Physician Practice I LLC, Catalog360 Limited, Cedar Creek Medical Group LLC, Cedars International Cardiology Consultants LLC, Cedars Medical Center Hospitalists LLC, Centennial Cardiovascular Consultants LLC, Centennial CyberKnife Center LLC, Centennial CyberKnife Manager LLC, Centennial Heart LLC, Centennial Hospitalists LLC, Centennial Neuroscience LLC, Centennial Psychiatric Associates LLC, Centennial Surgery Center L.P., Centennial Surgical Associates LLC, Centennial Surgical Clinic LLC, Centennial Womens Group LLC, Center for Advanced Diagnostics LLC, Center for Advanced Imaging LLC, Center for Digestive Diseases LLC, Center for Occupational Medicine LLC, Centerpoint Cardiology Services LLC, Centerpoint Clinic of Blue Springs LLC, Centerpoint Hospital Based Physicians LLC, Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence LLC, Centerpoint Medical Specialists LLC, Centerpoint Orthopedics LLC, Centerpoint Physicians Group LLC, Centerpoint Womens Services LLC, Central Florida Cardiology Interpretations LLC, Central Florida Division Practice Inc., Central Florida Health Services LLC, Central Florida Imaging Services LLC, Central Florida Management Services LLC, Central Florida Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates LLC, Central Florida Physician Network LLC, Central Florida Regional Hospital Inc., Central Health Holding Company Inc., Central Pasco LLC, Central San Antonio Surgical Center Investors Ltd., Central Shared Services LLC, Central Tennessee Hospital Corporation, Central Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Physicians PLLC, Centrum Surgery Center Ltd., Charleston CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Chatsworth Hospital Corp., Chattanooga ASC Acquisition Inc., Chattanooga Diagnostic Associates LLC, Chattanooga Healthcare Network L.P., Chattanooga Healthcare Network Partner Inc., Chelsea Outpatient Centre LLP, Chesterfield Imaging LLC, Chicago Grant Hospital Inc., Childrens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Chino Community Hospital Corporation Inc., Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Hospitals Inc., Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Sports Medicine LLC, Chippenham Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Chippenham Pediatric Specialists LLC, Chiswick Outpatient Centre LLP, Christiansburg Family Medicine LLC, Christiansburg Internal Medicine LLC, Christina Cano-Gonzalez M.D. PLLC, Chugach PT Inc., Church Street Partners, Citrus Memorial Hospital Inc., Citrus Memorial Property Management Inc., Citrus Primary Care Inc., Citrus Specialty Group Inc., Citrus Surgicenter LLC, City of San Antonio H2U Employee Health and Wellness Center PLLC, Clarksville Surgicenter LLC, Clear Creek Surgery Center LLC, Clear Lake Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., Clear Lake Cardiac GP LLC, Clear Lake Family Physicians PLLC, Clear Lake Medical Tower Owners Association Inc., Clear Lake Merger LLC, Clear Lake Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center Inc., Clear Lake Regional Partner LLC, Clear Lake Surgicare Ltd., ClinicServ LLC, Clinical Education Shared Services LLC, Clinishare Inc., Coastal Bend Hospital CT Services Ltd., Coastal Bend Hospital Inc., Coastal Carolina Home Care Inc., Coastal Carolina Multispecialty Associates LLC, Coastal Carolina Primary Care LLC, Coastal Healthcare Services Inc., Coastal Imaging Center L.P., Coastal Imaging Center of Gulfport Inc., Coastal Inpatient Physicians LLC, Coliseum Health Group Inc., Coliseum Health Group LLC, Coliseum Medical Center LLC, Coliseum Park Hospital Inc., Coliseum Primary Care Services LLC, Coliseum Primary Healthcare - Macon LLC, Coliseum Primary Healthcare - Riverside LLC, Coliseum Professional Associates LLC, Coliseum Same Day Surgery Center L.P., Coliseum Surgery Center L.L.C., College Park Ancillary LLC, College Park Endoscopy Center LLC, College Park Radiology LLC, Colleton Ambulatory Care LLC, Colleton Diagnostic Center LLC, Colleton Medical Anesthesia LLC, Colleton Medical Hospitalists LLC, Colleton Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery LLC, Collier County Home Health Agency Inc., Collin County Diagnostic Associates PLLC, Colorado Health Systems Inc., Columbia ASC Management L.P., Columbia Ambulatory Surgery Division Inc., Columbia Arlington Healthcare System L.L.C., Columbia Bay Area Realty Ltd., Columbia Behavioral Health Ltd., Columbia Behavioral Healthcare Inc., Columbia Behavioral Healthcare of South Florida Inc., Columbia Call Center Inc., Columbia Central Florida Division Inc., Columbia Central Group Inc., Columbia Champions Treatment Center Inc., Columbia Chicago Division Inc., Columbia Coliseum Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Columbia Development of Florida Inc., Columbia Doctors Hospital of Tulsa Inc., Columbia Eye and Specialty Surgery Center Ltd., Columbia Florida Group Inc., Columbia GP of Mesquite Inc., Columbia Good Samaritan Health System Limited Partnership, Columbia Greater Houston Division Healthcare Network Inc., Columbia Health System of Arkansas Inc., Columbia Healthcare System of Louisiana Inc., Columbia Healthcare of Central Virginia Inc., Columbia Hospital Corporation at the Medical Center, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Arlington, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Bay Area, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Central Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Corpus Christi, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Fort Worth, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Houston, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Kendall, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Massachusetts Inc., Columbia Hospital Corporation of Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Miami Beach, Columbia Hospital Corporation of North Miami Beach, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Broward, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Dade, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Florida, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Tamarac, Columbia Hospital Corporation of West Houston, Columbia Hospital Corporation-Delaware, Columbia Hospital Corporation-SMM, Columbia Hospital at Medical City Dallas Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Hospital-El Paso Ltd., Columbia Integrated Health Systems Inc., Columbia Jacksonville Healthcare System Inc., Columbia LaGrange Hospital LLC, Columbia Lake Worth Surgical Center Limited Partnership, Columbia Medical Arts Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center Dallas Southwest Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center at Lancaster Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Arlington Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Denton Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Las Colinas Inc., Columbia Medical Center of Lewisville Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of McKinney Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Plano Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Group - Centennial Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Daystar Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Parkridge Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Southern Hills Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Southwest Virginia Inc., Columbia Medical Group - The Frist Clinic Inc., Columbia Midtown Joint Venture, Columbia North Alaska Healthcare Inc., Columbia North Central Florida Health System Limited Partnership, Columbia North Florida Regional Medical Center Limited Partnership, Columbia North Hills Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Columbia North Texas Healthcare System L.P., Columbia North Texas Subsidiary GP LLC, Columbia North Texas Surgery Center Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Northwest Medical Center Inc., Columbia Northwest Medical Center Partners Ltd., Columbia Ocala Regional Medical Center Physician Group Inc., Columbia Ogden Medical Center Inc., Columbia Oklahoma Division Inc., Columbia Palm Beach GP LLC, Columbia Palm Beach Healthcare System Limited Partnership, Columbia Park Healthcare System Inc., Columbia Park Medical Center Inc., Columbia Parkersburg Healthcare System LLC, Columbia Pentagon City Hospital L.L.C., Columbia Physician Services - Florida Group Inc., Columbia Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Primary Care LLC, Columbia Psychiatric Management Co., Columbia Resource Network Inc., Columbia Rio Grande Healthcare L.P., Columbia Riverside Inc., Columbia South Texas Division Inc., Columbia Specialty Hospital of Dallas Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Specialty Hospitals Inc., Columbia Surgery Group Inc., Columbia Surgicare of Augusta Ltd., Columbia Tampa Bay Division Inc., Columbia Valley Healthcare System L.P., Columbia West Bank Hospital Inc., Columbia Westbank Healthcare L.P., Columbia-CSA/HS Greater Canton Area Healthcare System L.P., Columbia-CSA/HS Greater Cleveland Area Healthcare System L.P., Columbia-Georgia PT Inc., Columbia-Osceola Imaging Center Inc., Columbia-Quantum Inc., Columbia-SDH Holdings Inc., Columbia/Alleghany Regional Hospital Incorporated, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of Central Texas, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of Northern Ohio, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of South Carolina, Columbia/HCA Heartcare of Corpus Christi Inc., Columbia/HCA International Group Inc., Columbia/HCA John Randolph Inc., Columbia/HCA Middle East Management Company, Columbia/HCA Physician Hospital Organization Medical Center Hospital, Columbia/HCA San Clemente Inc., Columbia/HCA of Baton Rouge Inc., Columbia/HCA of Houston Inc., Columbia/HCA of New Orleans Inc., Columbia/HCA of North Texas Inc., Columbine Psychiatric Center Inc., Columbus Cardiology Inc., Columbus Cath Lab Inc., Columbus Cath Lab LLC, Columbus Doctors Hospital Inc., Commonwealth Perinatal Services LLC, Commonwealth Specialists of Kentucky LLC, Community Hospital Family Practice LLC, Comprehensive Radiation Oncology LLC, Comprehensive Radiology Management Services Ltd., Concept EFL Imaging Center LLC, Concept West EFL Imaging Center LLC, Congenital Heart Surgery Center PLLC, Conroe Hospital Corporation, Conroe Montgomery Physicians Group PLLC, Conroe Orthopedic Specialists PLLC, Conroe Partner LLC, Conroe Specialists of Texas PLLC, Continental Division I Inc., Coral Springs Surgi-Center Ltd., CoralStone Management Inc., Corpus Christi Healthcare Group Ltd., Corpus Christi Heart Clinic PLLC, Corpus Christi Primary Care Associates PLLC, Corpus Christi Psychiatric Specialists PLLC, Corpus Christi Radiation Oncology PLLC, Corpus Christi Surgery Center L.P., Corpus Christi Surgery Ltd., Corpus Christi Surgicenter LLC, Corpus Surgicare Inc., Countryside Surgery Center Ltd., Crewe Outpatient Imaging LLC, Cumberland Medical Center Inc., Cy-Fair Medical Center Hospital LLC, DFW Physicians Group PLLC, DOMC Property LLC, DS Real Estate Holdings LLC, Daleville Imaging L.P., Daleville Imaging Manager LLC, Dallas CardioThoracic Surgery Consultants PLLC, Dallas Cardiology Specialists PLLC, Dallas Hand Surgery Center PLLC, Dallas Medical Specialists PLLC, Dallas Neuro-Stroke Affiliates PLLC, Dallas Pediatric Neurosurgery Specialists PLLC, Dallas/Ft. Worth Physician LLC, Davie Medical Center LLC, Daytona Medical Center Inc., Dean 4641 LLC, Deep Purple Investments LLC, Del Sol Bariatric Clinic PLLC, Delray EFL Imaging Center LLC, Denton Cancer Center PLLC, Denton County Hospitalist Program PLLC, Denton Pediatric Physicians PLLC, Denton Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Denver Clinic Surgicenter LLC, Denver Mid-Town Surgery Center Ltd., Denver Surgicenter LLC, Derry ASC Inc., Diagnostic Breast Center Inc., Diagnostic Mammography Services G.P., Diagnostic Services G.P., Dickson Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Bay Area Physician Hospital Organization, Doctors Hospital (Conroe) Inc., Doctors Hospital Columbus GA-Joint Venture, Doctors Hospital Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Hospital of Augusta LLC, Doctors Hospital of Augusta Neurology LLC, Doctors Osteopathic Medical Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Ltd., Doctors-I Inc., Doctors-II Inc., Doctors-III Inc., Doctors-IV Inc., Doctors-IX Inc., Doctors-V Inc., Doctors-VI Inc., Doctors-VII Inc., Doctors-VIII Inc., Doctors-X Inc., Doctors Memorial Hospital of Spartanburg Limited Partnership, Dominion Hospital Physicians Group LLC, Dublin Community Hospital LLC, Dublin Heart Specialists LLC, Dublin Multispecialty LLC, Dura Medical Inc., E.P. Physical Therapy Centers Inc., EASTSIDE URGENT CARE LLC, EHCA Diagnostics LLC, EHCA Eastside Occupational Medicine Center LLC, EHCA LLC, EHCA Metropolitan LLC, EHCA Parkway LLC, EHCA Peachtree LLC, EHCA West Paces LLC, EIRMC Hospitalist Services LLC, EMMC LLC, EP Health LLC, EP Holdco LLC, EPIC Development Inc., EPIC Diagnostic Centers Inc., EPIC Healthcare Management Company, EPIC Properties Inc., EPIC Surgery Centers Inc., EPSC L.P., East Falls Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery LLC, East Falls Family Medicine LLC, East Falls Plastic Surgery LLC, East Florida - DMC Inc., East Florida Behavioral Health Network LLC, East Florida Cardiology Network LLC, East Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, East Florida Division Inc., East Florida Emergency Physician Group LLC, East Florida Healthcare LLC, East Florida Hospitalists LLC, East Florida Imaging Holdings LLC, East Florida Primary Care LLC, East Houston Primary Care PLLC, East Houston Specialists PLLC, East Layton Internal Medicine LLC, East Orthopedics PLLC, East Pointe Hospital Inc., Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment LLC, Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment Manager LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners ACO LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners Holdings LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners LLC, Eastern Idaho Health Services Inc., Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Eastside Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Eastside General Surgery LLC, Eastside Heart and Vascular LLC, Eastside Medical Center LLC, Eastside Surgery Center LLC, Edmond General Surgery LLC, Edmond Hospitalists LLC, Edmond Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Edward White Hospital Inc., El Paso CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, El Paso Healthcare Provider Network, El Paso Healthcare System Ltd., El Paso Healthcare System Physician Services LLC, El Paso Nurses Unlimited Inc., El Paso Primary Care PLLC, El Paso Surgery Centers L.P., El Paso Surgicenter Inc., Eldridge Family Practitioners PLLC, Elite Family Health of Plano PLLC, Elite OB-GYN Services of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Irving PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Plano PLLC, Elstree Outpatient Centre LLP, Emergency Physicians at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Emergency Providers Group LLC, Emergency Psychiatric Medicine PLLC, Encino Hospital Corporation Inc., Endocrinology Associates of Lees Summit LLC, Endoscopy Surgicare of Plano LLC, Endoscopy of Plano L.P., Englewood Community Hospital Auxiliary Inc., Englewood Community Hospital Inc., Envision Stakes LLC, Eye Care Surgicare Ltd. a Missouri limited partnership, FHAL LLC, FMH Health Services LLC, Fairfax Surgical Center L.P., Fairview Medical Services LLC, Fairview Park GP LLC, Fairview Park Limited Partnership, Fairview Partner LLC, Family Care Partners LLC, Family Care of E. Jackson County LLC, Family First Medicine in Brownsville PLLC, Family Health Medical Group of Overland Park LLC, Family Health Specialists of Lees Summit LLC, Family Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Family Practice at Forest Hill LLC, Family Practice at Retreat LLC, Family Practitioners of Montgomery PLLC, Family Practitioners of Pearland PLLC, Fannin MOB LLC, Fannin MOB Property Management LLC, Far West Division Inc., Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc., Florida Care Partners LLC, Florida Care Partners Orlando LLC, Florida Home Health Services-Private Care Inc., Florida Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Flower Mound Surgery Center Ltd., Focus Hand Surgicenter LLC, Foot & Ankle Specialty Services LLC, Forest Park Surgery Pavilion Inc., Forest Park Surgery Pavilion L.P., Fort Bend Hospital Inc., Fort Chiswell Family Practice LLC, Fort Myers Market Inc., Fort Pierce Immediate Care Center Inc., Fort Pierce Orthopaedics LLC, Fort Pierce Surgery Center Ltd., Fort Walton Beach Medical Center Inc., Fort Worth Investments Inc., Forward Pathology Solutions LLC, Four Rivers Medical Center PHO Inc., Frankfort Hospital Inc., Frankfort Wound Care LLC, Freeport Family Medicine LLC, Fremont Womens Health LLC, Frisco Surgicare LLC, Frisco Warren Parkway 91 Inc., Frist Clinic Express LLC, Ft. Pierce Surgicare LLC, Ft. Walton Beach Anesthesia Services LLC, G. Rowe M.D. PLLC, G. Schnider M.D. PLLC, G. Voorhees M.D. PLLC, G.P. Martin Fletcher & Associates LLC, GA PHYSICIAN SERVICES LLC, GA Urgentcare Holding LLC, GHC-Galen Health Care LLC, GI Associates of Denton PLLC, GI Associates of Lewisville PLLC, GME Services of Osceola LLC, GPCH-GP Inc., GYN-Oncology of Southwest Virginia LLC, Gainesville GYN Oncology of North Florida Regional Medical Center LLC, Gainesville Physicians LLC, GalTex LLC, Galen (Kansas) Merger LLC, Galen BH Inc., Galen Center for Professional Development Inc., Galen College of Nursing, Galen Diagnostic Multicenter Ltd., Galen GOK LLC, Galen Global Finance Inc., Galen Health Institutes Inc., Galen Health Partners Limited, Galen Holdco LLC, Galen Hospital Alaska Inc., Galen Hospital of Baytown Inc., Galen Hospital-Pembroke Pines Inc., Galen International Holdings Inc., Galen KY LLC, Galen MCS LLC, Galen MRMC LLC, Galen Medical Corporation, Galen NMC LLC, Galen NSH LLC, Galen Property LLC, Galen SOM LLC, Galen SSH LLC, Galen Virginia Hospital Corporation, Galen of Aurora Inc., Galen of Florida Inc., Galen of Illinois Inc., Galen of Kentucky Inc., Galen of Mississippi Inc., Galen of Virginia Inc., Galen of West Virginia Inc., Galen-Soch Inc., Galencare Inc., Galendeco Inc., Galichia Anesthesia Services LLC, Galichia Emergency Physicians LLC, Garden Park Community Hospital Limited Partnership, Garden Park Hospitalist Program LLC, Garden Park Investments L.P., Garden Park Physician Group - Specialty Care LLC, Garden Park Physician Group Inc., Gardens EFL Imaging Center LLC, Gastroenterology Specialists of Middle Tennessee LLC, General Hospitals of Galen Inc., General Medical Clinics Limited, General Surgeons of Houston PLLC, General Surgeons of North Richland Hills PLLC, General Surgeons of Pasadena PLLC, General and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Conroe PLLC, Generations Family Practice Inc., GenoSpace LLC, Georgia Health Holdings Inc., Georgia L.P., Georgia Psychiatric Company Inc., Glemm SA, Good Samaritan Hospital L.P., Good Samaritan Hospital LLC, Good Samaritan Surgery Center L.P., Goppert-Trinity Family Care LLC, Grace Family Practice LLC, Gramercy Eye Surgicenter LLC, Gramercy Surgery Center Ltd., Grand Strand Regional Medical Center LLC, Grand Strand Senior Health Center LLC, Grand Strand Specialty Associates LLC, Grand Strand Surgical Specialists LLC, Grandview Health Care Clinic LLC, Grant Center Hospital of Ocala Inc., Grayson Primary Care LLC, Greater Gwinnett Internal Medicine Associates LLC, Greater Gwinnett Physician Corporation, Greater Houston Preferred Provider Option Inc., Greater Tampa Bay Physician Network LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physician Specialists LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physicians - Pinellas LLC, Green Oaks Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Greenview Hospital Inc., Greenview PrimeCare LLC, Greenview Specialty Associates LLC, Gulf Coast Division Inc., Gulf Coast Electrophysiology Associates PLLC, Gulf Coast Inpatient Specialists LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Center Primary Care LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Ventures Inc., Gulf Coast Multispecialty Services LLC, Gulf Coast Physician Administrators Inc., Gulf Coast Provider Network Inc., Gwinnett Community Hospital Inc., Gynecology Specialists of Utah LLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Del Sol Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Las Palmas Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Medical City Dallas PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - St. Davids Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers LLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Clear Lake Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Conroe ISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Conroe Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Corpus Christi PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  El Paso PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  PISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  San Benito CISD PLLC, HBP Lone Star Inc., HCA - IT&S Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S Inventory Management Inc., HCA - IT&S PBS Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S TN Field Operations Inc., HCA - Information Technology & Services Inc., HCA - Raleigh Community Hospital Inc., HCA - Viera ALF LLC, HCA - WHS Progressive LLC, HCA - WHS Services LLC, HCA ASD Financial Operations LLC, HCA ASD Sales Services LLC, HCA American Finance LLC, HCA Carenow Limited, HCA Central Group Inc., HCA Central/West Texas Physicians Management LLC, HCA Chattanooga Market Inc., HCA Development Company Inc., HCA Eastern Group Inc., HCA Global Capital LLP, HCA Gulf Coast GME PLLC, HCA Health Services of California Inc., HCA Health Services of Florida Inc., HCA Health Services of Georgia Inc., HCA Health Services of Louisiana Inc., HCA Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Health Services of Midwest Inc., HCA Health Services of New Hampshire Inc., HCA Health Services of Tennessee Inc., HCA Health Services of Texas Inc., HCA Health Services of Virginia Inc., HCA Health Services of West Virginia Inc., HCA Healthcare Mission Fund LLC, HCA Healthcare UK Limited, HCA Holdco LLC, HCA Human Resources LLC, HCA Imaging Services of North Florida Inc., HCA Inc., HCA International Holdings Limited, HCA International Limited, HCA LewisGale Regional Cancer Centers Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Long Term Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Luxembourg 1 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg 2 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Equities Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Finance Limited, HCA Luxembourg Investments Sarl, HCA Management Services L.P., HCA Medical City Limited, HCA Medical Services Inc., HCA Midwest Comprehensive Care Inc., HCA Outpatient Clinic Services of Miami Inc., HCA Outpatient Imaging Services Group Inc., HCA Patient Safety Organization LLC, HCA Pearland GP Inc., HCA Physician Services Inc., HCA Plano Imaging Inc., HCA Property GP LLC, HCA Psychiatric Company, HCA Purchasing Limited, HCA Realty Inc., HCA Richmond Cardiac Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA SF LLC, HCA SFB 1 LLC, HCA Sarasota Orthopedic and Spine Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Squared LLC, HCA Staffing Limited, HCA Swiss Capital 1 LLP, HCA Swiss Capital 2 LLP, HCA Switzerland Finance GmbH, HCA Switzerland Holding GmbH, HCA Switzerland Limited, HCA UK Capital Limited, HCA UK Holdings Limited, HCA UK Investments Limited, HCA UK Limited, HCA UK Services Limited, HCA Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital Inc., HCA Western Group Inc., HCA-Access Healthcare Holdings LLC, HCA-Access Healthcare Partner Inc., HCA-California Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-EMS Holdings LLC, HCA-EmCare Holdings LLC, HCA-Georgia Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-HBPS Holdings LLC, HCA-HealthONE LLC, HCA-Solis Holdings Inc., HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Continental LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Gulf Coast LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of North Texas LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of TriStar LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Services LLC, HCA-Solis Master LLC, HCA-Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCAPS Anesthesia Manager LLC, HCAPS Conroe Affiliation Inc., HCOL Inc., HD&S Corp. Successor Inc., HDH Thoracic Surgeons LLC, HHBY Holdings LLC, HHNC LLC, HICCH-SCL LLC, HM Acquisition LLC, HM OMCOS LLC, HMMG 1226 LLC, HPG Energy L.P., HPG Enterprises LLC, HPG GP LLC, HPG Solutions LLC, HSS Holdco LLC, HSS Systems LLC, HSS Virginia L.P., HTI Gulf Coast Inc., HTI Health Services of North Carolina Inc., HTI Hospital Holdings Inc., HTI MOB LLC, HTI MSO LLC, HTI Memorial Hospital Corporation, HTI Physician Services of Utah Inc., HWCA PLLC, Hamilton Memorial Hospital Inc., Hamsard 3160 Limited, Harley Street Clinic @ The Groves LLP, Hathor Chelsea Ltd., Healdsburg General Hospital Inc., Health Care Indemnity Inc., Health Insight Capital LLC, Health International Billing Partners Limited, Health Midwest Medical Group Inc., Health Midwest Office Facilities Corporation, Health Midwest Ventures Group Inc., Health Partners of Kansas Inc., Health Service Partners Inc., Health Services (Delaware) Inc., Health Services Merger Inc., Health to You LLC, HealthCoast Physician Group LLC, HealthONE Aurora Investment LLC, HealthONE Care Partners LLC, HealthONE CareNow Urgent Care LLC, HealthONE Clear Creek LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Bariatric Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Behavioral Health LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cardiovascular LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Medical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Neurosciences LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Occupational Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Oncology Hematology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Orthopedic Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Otolaryngology Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Primary Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Surgeons LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgery Neurological LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Transplant Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Womens Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Youth Rehabilitation LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services LLC, HealthONE High Street Primary Care Center LLC, HealthONE IRL Pathology Services LLC, HealthONE Institutes for Clinical Research LLC, HealthONE Lowry LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Red Rocks LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Thornton LLC, HealthONE Ridge View Endoscopy Center LLC, HealthONE Surgicare of Ridge View LLC, HealthONE Urologic LLC, HealthONE at Breckenridge LLC, HealthONE of Denver Inc., HealthOne Heart Care LLC, HealthOne Lincoln Investment LLC, HealthOne Westside Investment LLC, HealthTrust Europe Company Limited, HealthTrust Europe LLP, HealthTrust Locums Inc., HealthTrust Workforce Solutions LLC, Healthcare Oklahoma Inc., Healthcare Purchasing Alliance LLC, Healthcare Sales National Management Services Group LLC, Healthcare Technology Assessment Corporation, Healthco LLC, Healthnet of Kentucky LLC, Healthserv Acquisition LLC, Healthtrust Inc. - The Hospital Company, Healthtrust MOB Tennessee LLC, Healthtrust Purchasing Group L.P., Healthtrust Utah Management Services Inc., Healthy State Inc., Heart Specialist of North Texas PLLC, Heart of America ASC LLC, Heart of America Surgicenter LLC, Heartcare of Texas Ltd., Hearthstone Home Health Inc., Heartland Womens Group at Wesley LLC, Heathrow Imaging LLC, Heathrow Internal Medicine LLC, Hendersonville Hospital Corporation, Hendersonville Hospitalist Services Inc., Hendersonville OB/GYN LLC, Hendersonville ODC LLC, Hendersonville Primary Care LLC, Henrico Doctors Hospital - Forest Campus Property LLC, Henrico Doctors Neurology Associates LLC, Henrico Doctors OB GYN Specialists LLC, Henrico Surgical Specialists LLC, Heritage Family Care LLC, Heritage Hospital Inc., Heritage Medical Care LLC, Hermitage Primary Care LLC, Hidalgo County Family Practitioners PLLC, Hidden Lakes Health Center PLLC, Highlands Regional Medical Center, Hip & Joint Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Homecare North Inc., Hometrust Management Services Inc., Horizon Orthopedics LLC, Horizon Surgical LLC, Hospital Corp. LLC, Hospital Corporation of America, Hospital Corporation of Lake Worth, Hospital Corporation of Tennessee, Hospital Corporation of Utah, Hospital Development Properties Inc., Hospital Partners Merger LLC, Hospital Realty Corporation, Hospital-Based CRNA Services Inc., Hospitalists at Centennial Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Fairview Park LLC, Hospitalists at Greenview Regional Hospital LLC, Hospitalists at Horizon Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Parkridge LLC, Hospitalists at StoneCrest LLC, Hospitalists at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists of the Wabash Valley LLC, Houston - PPH LLC, Houston CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Houston Healthcare Holdings Inc., Houston NW Manager LLC, Houston Northwest Concessions L.L.C., Houston Northwest Operating Company L.L.C., Houston Northwest Surgical Partners Inc., Houston Obstetrics and Gynecology for Women PLLC, Houston Pediatric Specialty Group PLLC, Houston Urologic Surgicenter LLC, Houston Womans Hospital Partner LLC, ICU Associates of West Houston PLLC, IMX Holdings LLC, IRL Pathology Services MidAmerica LLC, Idaho Behavioral Health Services LLC, Idaho Physician Services Inc., Illinois Psychiatric Hospital Company Inc., Imaging Realty LLC, Imaging Services of Appomattox LLC, Imaging Services of Jacksonville LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana Manager LLC, Imaging Services of Orlando LLC, Imaging Services of Richmond LLC, Imaging Services of Roanoke LLC, Imaging Services of West Boynton LLC, InVivoLink Inc., Independence Neurosurgery Services LLC, Independence Regional Medical Group LLC, Independence Surgicare Inc., Indian Path Hospital Inc., Indianapolis Hospital Partner LLC, Institute for Womens Health and Body LLC, Institute of Advanced ENT Surgery LLC, Integrated Regional Lab LLC, Integrated Regional Laboratories LLP, Integrated Regional Laboratories Pathology Services LLC, Intensive Care Consortium Inc., Internal Medicine Associates of Huntsville PLLC, Internal Medicine Associates of Southern Hills LLC, Internal Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Internal Medicine of Pasadena PLLC, Internist Associates of Houston PLLC, Isleworth Partners Inc., J. M. Garcia M.D. PLLC, JCSH LLC, JDGC Management LLC, JFK Internal Medicine Faculty Practice LLC, JFK Medical Center Limited Partnership, JPM AA Housing LLC, Jackson County Medical Group LLC, Jackson County Pulmonary Medical Group LLC, Jacksonville CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Jacksonville Multispecialty Services LLC, Jacksonville Surgery Center Ltd., James River Internists LLC, John Randolph Family Practice LLC, John Randolph OB/GYN LLC, John Randolph Surgeons LLC, Johnson County Neurology LLC, Johnson County Surgery Center L.P., Johnson County Surgicenter L.L.C., Jordan Family Health L.L.C., Jupiter EFL Imaging Center LLC, KC Pain ASC LLC, KC Surgicare LLC, KPH-Consolidation Inc., Kansas CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Kansas City Cardiac Arrhythmia Research LLC, Kansas City Gastroenterology & Hepatology Physicians Group LLC, Kansas City Neurology Associates LLC, Kansas City Pulmonology Practice LLC, Kansas City Surgery Center Properties LLC, Kansas City Vascular & General Surgery Group LLC, Kansas City Womens Clinic Group LLC, Kansas Healthserv LLC, Kansas Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists LLC, Kansas Trauma and Critical Care Specialists LLC, Kathy L. Summers M.D. PLLC, Kendall Healthcare Group Ltd., Kendall Regional Medical Center LLC, Kendall Regional Urgent Care LLC, Kennedale Primary Care PLLC, Kingwood Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Kingwood Surgery Center LLC, Kingwood Surgicenter LLC, Kissimmee Surgicare Ltd., Kyle Primary Care PLLC, L E Corporation, LAD Imaging LLC, LGMC Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, LOC @ The Christie LLP, LOC @ The London Bridge Hospital LLP, LOC Partnership LLP, LPN TeleBehavioral Health PLLC, Lafayette OB Hospitalists LLC, Lafayette Urogynecology & Urology Center LLC, Lake City Imaging LLC, Lake City Regional Medical Group LLC, Lake Forest Family Health PLLC, Lakeside Radiology LLC, Lakeside Womens Services LLC, Lakeview Cardiology Specialists LLC, Lakeview Hospital Physician Services LLC, Lakeview Internal Medicine LLC, Lakeview Medical Center LLC, Lakeview Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Lakeview Regional Physician Group LLC, Lakeview Urology & General Surgery LLC, Lakewood Surgicare Inc., Laredo Medco LLC, Largo Medical Center Inc., Largo Physician Group LLC, Las Colinas Primary Care PLLC, Las Colinas Surgery Center Ltd., Las Encinas Hospital, Las Palmas Del Sol Cardiology PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Internal Medicine PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Urgent Care PLLC, Las Vegas ASC LLC, Las Vegas Surgicare Inc., Las Vegas Surgicare Ltd. a Nevada Limited Partnership, Lawnwood Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, Lawnwood Healthcare Specialists LLC, Lawnwood Medical Center Inc., Layton Family Practice LLC, Leaders in Oncology Care Limited, Leadership Healthcare Holdings II L.P. L.L.P., Leadership Healthcare Holdings L.P. L.L.P., Lees Summit Family Care LLC, Leslie Cohan M.D. PLLC, Lewis-Gale Hospital Incorporated, Lewis-Gale Medical Center LLC, Lewis-Gale Physicians LLC, Lewisville Primary Care PLLC, Lewisville Surgicare LLC, Lincoln Surgery Center LLC, Live Oak Immediate Care Center LLC, London Oncology Clinic LLP, London Pathology Limited, London Radiography & Radiotherapy Services Limited, Lone Peak Hospital Inc., Lone Star Intensivists at Gulf Coast PLLC, Lonestar Provider Network, Longview Regional Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Lorain County Surgery Center Ltd., Los Gatos Surgical Center a California Limited Partnership, Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Los Robles Regional Medical Center MOB LLC, Los Robles SurgiCenter LLC, Loudoun Surgery Center LLC, Louisiana Psychiatric Company Inc., Loveland Surgicenter LLC, Low Country Health Services Inc. of the Southeast, Lowry Surgicenter LLC, M. Jamshidi D.O. PLLC, MCA Investment Company, MCA-CTMC Holdings LLC, MEC Endoscopy LLC, MFA G.P. LLC, MFM Fact PLLC, MGH Medical Inc., MH Anesthesiology Physicians LLC, MH Angel Medical Center LLLP, MH Asheville Specialty Hospital LLC, MH Blue Ridge Medical Center LLLP, MH Eckerd Living Center LLLP, MH Highlands-Cashiers Medical Center LLLP, MH Hospital Holdings Inc., MH Hospital Manager LLC, MH Master Holdings LLLP, MH Master LLC, MH McDowell Imaging LLLP, MH Mission Hospital LLLP, MH Mission Hospital McDowell LLLP, MH Mission Imaging LLLP, MH Physician Services LLC, MH Transylvania Imaging LLLP, MH Transylvania Regional Hospital LLLP, MHS Partnership Holdings JSC Inc., MHS Partnership Holdings SDS Inc., MHS SC Partner L.L.C., MHS Surgery Centers L.P., MMC Sleep Lab Management LLC, MOSC Sports Medicine Inc., MOVCO Inc., MP Management LLC, MRT&C Inc., MSL Acquisition LLC, MVH Professional Services LLC, Macon Healthcare LLC, Macon Northside Health Group LLC, Macon Northside Hospital LLC, Macon Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, Madison Behavioral Health LLC, Mainland Family Medicine PLLC, Mainland Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Mainland Primary Care Physicians PLLC, Management Services Holdings Inc., Manatee Surgicare Ltd., Marietta Outpatient Medical Building Inc., Marietta Outpatient Surgery Ltd., Marietta Surgical Center Inc., Marion Community Hospital Inc., Mark Gottesman M.D. PLLC, Martin Fletcher & Associates L.P., Martin Fletcher Associates Holdings Inc., Mary Alice Cowan M.D. PLLC, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Maternal Fetal Services of Utah LLC, Maury County Behavioral Health LLC, Mayhill Cancer Center LLC, McAllen Comprehensive Upper Extremity Center PLLC, McKinney Surgeons PLLC, Mechanicsville Imaging LLC, Mecklenburg Surgical Land Development Ltd., Med City Dallas Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Med Corp. Inc., Med Group - Southern Hills Hospitalists LLC, Med-Center Hosp./Houston Inc., Med-Point of New Hampshire Inc., Medi Flight of Oklahoma LLC, MediCredit Inc., MediPurchase Inc., MediStone Healthcare Ventures Inc., MediVision Inc., MediVision of Mecklenburg County Inc., MediVision of Tampa Inc., Medical Arts Hospital of Texarkana Inc., Medical Associates of Ocala LLC, Medical Care America Colorado LLC, Medical Care America LLC, Medical Care Financial Services Corp., Medical Care Real Estate Finance Inc., Medical Care Surgery Center Inc., Medical Center - West Inc., Medical Center Imaging Inc., Medical Center Surgery Associates L.P., Medical Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Medical Center of Plano Partner LLC, Medical Center of Port St. Lucie Inc., Medical Center of Santa Rosa Inc., Medical Center of Southwest Florida LLC, Medical Centers of Oklahoma LLC, Medical City Dallas Hospital Inc., Medical City Dallas Partner LLC, Medical City Dallas Primary Care PLLC, Medical City Frisco, Medical City OB-GYN PLLC, Medical City Pediatrics PLLC, Medical City Specialty Surgicenter of Dallas LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Alliance LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Frisco LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Lewisville LLC, Medical City Transplant PLLC, Medical Corporation of America, Medical Group - Dickson Inc., Medical Group - Southern Hills of Brentwood LLC, Medical Group - Southern Hills of Nolensville LLC, Medical Group - StoneCrest FP Inc., Medical Group - StoneCrest Inc., Medical Group - Stonecrest Pulmonology LLC, Medical Group - Summit Inc., Medical Imaging Inc., Medical Imaging of Colorado LLC, Medical Office Buildings of Kansas LLC, Medical Oncology Associates LLC, Medical Partners of North Florida LLC, Medical Plaza Ambulatory Surgery Center Associates L.P., Medical Specialties Inc., Memorial Family Practice Associates LLC, Memorial Health Primary Care at St. Johns Bluff LLC, Memorial Healthcare Group Inc., Memorial Neurosurgery Group LLC, Memorial Satilla Specialists LLC, Memorial University Medical Center, Menorah Medical Group LLC, Menorah Urgent Care LLC, Mercy ASC LLC, Metairie Primary Care Associates LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Boerne LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Landmark LLC, Methodist Cardiology Physicians, Methodist CareNow Physician Associates, Methodist CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio Ltd. L.L.P., Methodist Inpatient Management Group, Methodist Medical Center ASC L.P., Methodist Physician Alliance, Methodist Physician Practice Services LLC, Methodist Physician Practices PLLC, Metroplex Surgicenters Inc., Metropolitan Multispecialty Physicians Group Inc., Miami Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Miami Beach Healthcare Group Ltd., Miami Dade Surgical Specialists LLC, Miami Lakes Surgery Center Ltd., Miami-Dade Cardiology Consultants LLC, Michael Mann M.D. PLLC, Mid-America Surgery Center LLC, Mid-America Surgery Institute LLC, Mid-Cities Surgi-Center Inc., Mid-Continent Health Services Inc., MidAmerica Division Inc., MidAmerica Oncology LLC, Middle Georgia Hospital LLC, Middle Georgia Urgent Care Services LLC, Middle Tennessee Neurology LLC, Midtown Diagnostics LLC, Midwest Cardiology Specialists LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Kansas LLC, Midwest Division - ACH LLC, Midwest Division - CMC LLC, Midwest Division - LRHC LLC, Midwest Division - LSH LLC, Midwest Division - MCI LLC, Midwest Division - MMC LLC, Midwest Division - OPRMC LLC, Midwest Division - RBH LLC, Midwest Division - RMC LLC, Midwest Division Spine Care LLC, Midwest Doctors Group LLC, Midwest Heart & Vascular Specialists LLC, Midwest Holdings Inc., Midwest Infectious Disease Specialists LLC, Midwest Medicine Associates LLC, Midwest Metropolitan Physicians Group LLC, Midwest Oncology Associates LLC, Midwest Trauma Services LLC, Midwest Womens Healthcare Specialists LLC, Mikrod Services Inc., Mill Creek Outpatient Services LLC, Millenium Health Care of Oklahoma Inc., Mission Bay Memorial Hospital Inc., Mission Community Anesthesiology Specialists LLC, Mission Employer Solutions LLC, Mission Health, Mission Health Partners Inc., Missouri Healthcare System L.P., Mobile Corps. Inc., Mobile Heartbeat, Mobile Heartbeat LLC, Montgomery Cancer Center LLC, Montgomery Hospitalists LLC, Montgomery Regional Hospital Inc., Montgomery Surgery Associates LLC, Mountain Division - CVH LLC, Mountain Division Inc., Mountain View Hospital Inc., Mountain View MRI Associates Ltd., Mountain West Surgery Center LLC, MountainStar Behavioral Health LLC, MountainStar Brigham General Surgery LLC, MountainStar Canyon Surgical Clinic LLC, MountainStar Cardiology Ogden Regional LLC, MountainStar Cardiology St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Intensivist Services LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Cache Valley LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Ogden Regional Medical Center LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - St. Marks Hospital LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Neurosurgery-St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Primary Care LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Specialty Care LLC, MountainStar Specialty Services LLC, MountainStar Urgent Care LLC, MountainView GME Primary Care LLC, Mountainstar Brigham OBGYN LLC, Mountainstar Cardiovascular Services LLC, Mountainstar Ogden Pediatrics LLC, Movement Disorders of North Texas PLLC, Mt. Ogden Utah Surgical Center LLC, NPAS Inc., NPAS Solutions LLC, NT Urgent Care PLLC, NTGP LLC, NTMC Management Company, NTMC Venture Inc., NTX Pathology Program PLLC, Nashville Psychiatric Company Inc., Nashville Shared Services General Partnership, Nashville Surgicenter LLC, Natchez Medical Associates LLC, Natchez Surgery Center LLC, National Association of Senior Friends, National Contact Center Management Group LLC, National Patient Account Services Inc., National Transfer Center Management Services LLC, Navarro Memorial Hospital Inc., NeighborMD Management LLC, Network MS of Florida Inc., Network Management Services Inc., Neuro Affiliates Company, Neuro-Hospitalist of Clear Lake PLLC, NeuroHospitalist of McAllen PLLC, Neurological Eye Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Neurological Specialists PLLC, Neurological Specialists of McKinney PLLC, Neurology Associates of Hendersonville LLC, Neurology Associates of Kansas LLC, Neurosurgery Atlanta LLC, Neurosurgery of Kingwood PLLC, Neurosurgical Associates of North Texas PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of El Paso PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Nevada Surgery Center of Southern Hills L.P., Nevada Surgicare of Southern Hills LLC, Nevada Urgent Care Holdings Inc., New Iberia Healthcare LLC, New Iberia Holdings Inc., New Port Richey Hospital Inc., New Port Richey Surgery Center Ltd., New Rose Holding Company Inc., Niceville Family Practice LLC, North Augusta Imaging Management LLC, North Augusta Imaging Services LLC, North Augusta Rehab Health Center LLC, North Austin Plastic Surgery Associates PLLC, North Austin Surgery Center L.P., North Brandon Imaging LLC, North Central Florida Health System Inc., North Central Methodist ASC L.P., North Charleston Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Lake City LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Live Oak LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Tallahassee LLC, North Florida Division I Inc., North Florida Division Practice Inc., North Florida GI Center GP Inc., North Florida GI Center Ltd., North Florida Immediate Care Center Inc., North Florida Neurosurgery LLC, North Florida Outpatient Imaging Center Ltd., North Florida Physician Services Inc., North Florida Physicians LLC, North Florida Radiation Oncology LLC, North Florida Regional Company Care LLC, North Florida Regional Freestanding Surgery Center L.P., North Florida Regional Investments Inc., North Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., North Florida Regional Psychiatry LLC, North Florida Regional Trauma LLC, North Florida Rehab Investments LLC, North Florida Surgical Associates LLC, North Georgia Primary Care Group LLC, North Hills Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., North Hills Catheterization Lab LLC, North Hills Orthopaedic Surgeons PLLC, North Hills Surgicare L.P., North Houston - TRMC LLC, North Miami Beach Surgery Center Limited Partnership, North Miami Beach Surgical Center LLC, North Palm Beach County Surgery Center LLC, North River Physician Network LLC, North Shore Specialists of Texas PLLC, North Suburban Spine Center L.P., North Tampa Imaging LLC, North Texas - MCA LLC, North Texas Cardiology PLLC, North Texas Craniofacial Fellowship Program PLLC, North Texas Division Inc., North Texas General L.P., North Texas Geriatrics PLLC, North Texas Heart Surgery Center PLLC, North Texas Internal Medicine Specialists PLLC, North Texas Medical Center Inc., North Texas Neuro Stroke OP PLLC, North Texas Pulmonary Critical Care PLLC, North Texas Sports and Orthopedics Center PLLC, North Texas Stroke Center PLLC, North Texas of Hope PLLC, North Transfer Center LLC, Northeast Florida Cancer Services LLC, Northeast Methodist Surgicare Ltd., Northeast PHO Inc., Northern Utah Healthcare Corporation, Northern Utah Healthcare Imaging Holdco LLC, Northern Utah Imaging LLC, Northern Virginia CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Northern Virginia Community Hospital LLC, Northern Virginia Hospital Corporation, Northern Virginia Surgicenter LLC, Northlake Medical Center LLC, Northlake Physician Practice Network Inc., Northlake Surgical Center L.P., Northlake Surgicare Inc., Northside MRI Inc., Northwest Fla. Home Health Agency Inc., Northwest Florida Healthcare Systems Inc., Northwest Florida Multispecialty Physicians LLC, Northwest Florida Primary Care LLC, Northwest Medical Center Inc., Notami (Opelousas) Inc., Notami Hospitals LLC, Notami Hospitals of Florida Inc., Notami Hospitals of Louisiana Inc., Notami Hospitals of Missouri Inc., Notami LLC, Notco LLC, Nuclear Diagnosis Inc., OB Hospitalists of Womans Hospital PLLC, OB/GYN of Brownsville PLLC, OB/Gyn Associates of Denton PLLC, OBS Diagnostic and Treatment Centre LLP, ODP Holdings LLC, ODP Manager LLC, ODP Properties LLC, OHH Imaging Services LLC, OPRMC-HBP LLC, Oak Hill Acquisition Inc., Oak Hill Family Care LLC, Oak Hill Hospitalists LLC, Oakwood Surgery Center Ltd. LLP, Ocala Health Company Care LLC, Ocala Health Imaging Services LLC, Ocala Health Primary Care LLC, Ocala Health Surgical Group LLC, Ocala Health Trauma LLC, Ocala Regional Outpatient Services Inc., Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery LLC, Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery Partner LLC, Occupational Health Services of PRH LLC, Occupational and Family Medicine of South Texas, Ogden Imaging LLC, Ogden Internal Medicine & Urology LLC, Ogden Regional Health Plan Inc., Ogden Regional Medical Center Professional Billing LLC, Ogden Senior Center LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy Manager LLC, Okaloosa Hospital Inc., Okeechobee Hospital Inc., Oklahoma Holding Company LLC, Oklahoma Outpatient Surgery Limited Partnership, Oklahoma Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Surgical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Surgicare Inc., Old Fort Village LLC, On-Site Primary Care PLLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi LLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi Manager LLC, OneSourceMed Inc., Online Pathology Services Limited, Orange County Healthcare LLC, Orange Park Hospitalists LLC, Orange Park Medical Center Inc., Orlando CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Ltd., Orlando Surgicare Ltd., Orthopaedic Specialty Associates L.P., Orthopaedic Sports Specialty Associates Inc., Orthopedic Hospital Ltd., Orthopedics Specialists LLC, Osceola Neurological Associates LLC, Osceola Physician Network LLC, Osceola Regional Hospital Inc., Osceola Regional Hospitalists LLC, Osceola Surgical Associates LLC, Outpatient Cardiovascular Center of Central Florida LLC, Outpatient GP LLC, Outpatient Services - LAD LLC, Outpatient Services Holdings Inc., Outpatient Surgical Services Ltd., Outpatient Womens and Childrens Surgery Center Ltd., Overland Park Cardiovascular Inc., Overland Park Medical Specialists LLC, Overland Park Orthopedics LLC, Overland Park Surgical Specialties LLC, Oviedo Medical Center LLC, Ozarks Medical Services Inc., P&L Associates, P/SL Hyperbaric Partnership, PET CT LLP, PMM Inc., POH Holdings LLC, PSG Delegated Services LLC, PTS Solutions LLC, Pacific Partners Management Services Inc., Palm Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Palm Beach General Surgery LLC, Palm Beach Healthcare System Inc., Palm Beach Hospitalists Program LLC, Palmer Medical Center LLC, Palms West Gastroenterology LLC, Palms West Hospital Limited Partnership, Palms West Surgery Center Ltd., Paragon Physicians Hospital Organization of South Texas Inc., Paragon SDS Inc., Paragon Surgery Centers of Texas Inc., Paragon WSC Inc., Paragon of Texas Health Properties Inc., Parallon Business Solutions LLC, Parallon Enterprises LLC, Parallon Health Information Solutions LLC, Parallon Holdings LLC, Parallon Payroll Solutions LLC, Parallon Physician Services LLC, Parallon Revenue Cycle Services Inc., Park Central Surgical Center Ltd., Park Ridge Surgery Center LLC, Park South Imaging Center Ltd., Park View Insurance Company, Parkersburg SJ Holdings Inc., Parkland Hospitalists Program LLC, Parkland Oncology LLC, Parkland Physician Services Inc., Parkridge East Specialty Associates LLC, Parkridge Hospitalists Inc., Parkridge Medical Associates LLC, Parkridge Medical Center Inc., Parkridge Professionals Inc., Parkside Surgery Center Inc., Parkway Cardiac Center Ltd., Parkway Hospital Inc., Parkway Surgery Services Ltd., Parthenon Insurance Company Limited, Pasadena Bayshore Hospital Inc., PatientKeeper, PatientKeeper Inc., Patients First Neurology LLC, Pavilion 2 Condominium Property LLC, Pavilion 2 Medical Office Building Condominium Association Inc., Pavilion Surgicenter LLC, Peach State Anesthesia Partners LLC, Pearland Institute for Womens Health PLLC, Pearland Partner LLC, Pediatric Anesthesia Consultants of San Antonio PLLC, Pediatric Cardiac Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Critical Care of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Hospitalists of Conroe PLLC, Pediatric Intensivist Group LLC, Pediatric Intensivists of El Paso PLLC, Pediatric Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Specialty Clinic LLC, Pediatric Surgicare Inc., Pediatrics of Greater Houston PLLC, Pensacola Primary Care Inc., Physician Associates of Corporate Woods LLC, Physicians Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Physicians West Surgicenter LLC, Pinellas Medical LLC, Pinnacle Physician Network LLC, Pioneer Medical LLC, Plains Healthcare System Inc., Plano Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., Plano Heart Institute L.P., Plano Heart Management LLC, Plano Surgery Center - GP LLC, Plano Surgery Center Real Estate LLC, Plano Surgicenter Real Estate Manager LLC, Plano Urology PLLC, Plantation General Hospital L.P., Plaza Medical Specialists PLLC, Plaza Primary Care PLLC, Plaza Transplant Center PLLC, Podiatry of Clear Lake PLLC, Poinciana Medical Center Inc., Port St. Lucie Surgery Center Ltd., Portland Primary Care LLC, Portsmouth Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Portsmouth Surgicenter LLC, Preferred Hospitals Inc., Preferred Works WC LLC, Premier ASC LLC, Premier Medical Management Ltd., Primary Care Medical Associates Inc., Primary Care Plano PLLC, Primary Care Services of Orlando LLC, Primary Care South PLLC, Primary Care West PLLC, Primary Care of West End LLC, Primary Health Asset Holdings Ltd., Primary Health Group Inc., Primary Health Inc., Primary Health Network of South Texas, Primary Health Physicians PLLC, Primary Medical Management Inc., Proaxis Therapy HealthOne LLC, Provident Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., Psychiatry Services of Osceola LLC, Pulaski Community Hospital Inc., Pulaski Urology LLC, Pulmonary Renal Intensivist Group LLC, Putnam Community Medical Center of North Florida LLC, Putnam Hospital Inc., Putnam Radiation Oncology LLC, Putnam Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Putnam Surgical Group LLC, Quantum/Bellaire Imaging Ltd., Quick Care Centers LLC, Quivira Internal Medicine Inc., RCH LLC, RMC - Pulmonary LLC, RMC Transplant Physicians LLC, RMCA Professionals Mgmt LLC, ROi CPS LLC, Radford Family Medicine LLC, Radiation Oncology Center of Thornton LLC, Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Raleigh Community Medical Office Building Ltd., Rapides After Hours Clinic L.L.C., Rapides Healthcare System L.L.C., Rapides Regional Physician Group LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Primary Care LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Specialty Care LLC, Rapides Surgery Center LLC, Raulerson GYN LLC, Raulerson Gastroenterology LLC, Raulerson Primary Care LLC, Raymore Medical Group LLC, Red Rock Holdco LLC, Red Rock at Smoke Ranch LLC, Red Rocks Surgery Center LLC, Redmond Anesthesia Services LLC, Redmond Hospital Services LLC, Redmond Neurosurgery LLC, Redmond Park Health Services Inc., Redmond Park Hospital LLC, Redmond Physician Practice Company, Redmond Specialty Services LLC, Regional Hospital Healthcare Partners LLC, Research Cardiology Associates LLC, Research Family Physicians LLC, Research Internal Medicine LLC, Research Neurology Associates LLC, Research Neuroscience Institute LLC, Resource Optimization & Innovation L.L.C., Reston Hospital Center LLC, Reston Hospitalists LLC, Reston Surgery Center L.P., Retreat Cardiology LLC, Retreat Hospital LLC, Retreat Internal Medicine LLC, Retreat Surgical Associates LLC, Rhodes Limited-Liability Company, Richmond Imaging Employer Corp., Richmond Multi-Specialty LLC, Richmond Pediatric Surgeons LLC, Ridgeline Surgicenter LLC, Rim Building Partners L.P., Rio Grande Healthcare MSO Inc., Rio Grande NP Inc., Rio Grande Regional Hospital Inc., Rio Grande Valley Cardiology PLLC, Rio Grande Valley CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Rio Grande Valley Urology PLLC, Riverside CyberKnife Manager LLC, Riverside Healthcare System L.P., Riverside Holdings Inc., Riverside Hospital Inc., Riverside Imaging LLC, Riverwalk ASC LLC, Roanoke Imaging LLC, Roanoke Neurosurgery LLC, Roanoke Surgery Center L.P., Roanoke Valley Gynecology LLC, Robotic Radiosurgery LLP, Rocky Mountain Pediatric Hematology Oncology LLC, Rocky Mountain Surgery Center LLC, Rome Imaging Center Limited Partnership, Roodlane Medical Limited, Rose Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Rose Health Partners LLC, Rose Medical Plaza Ltd., Rose POB Inc., Rosewood Medical Center Inc., Rosewood Professional Building Ltd., Round Rock Hospital Inc., Round Rock Trauma Surgeons PLLC, Royal Oaks Surgery Center L.P., S.A. Medical Center Inc., SAPN LLC, SCRI Global Services Limited, SCRI Holdings LLC, SCRI Scientifics LLC, SJMC LLC, SSHR Holdco LLC, SSJ St. Petersburg Holdings Inc., STPN Manager LLC, SWMC Inc., Sahara Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Salem Hospitalists LLC, Salem Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Salt Lake City Surgicare Inc., Samaritan LLC, San Antonio Division Inc., San Antonio Regional Hospital Inc., San Antonio Surgicenter LLC, San Bernardino Imaging LLC, San Joaquin Surgical Center Inc., San Jose Healthcare System LP, San Jose Hospital L.P., San Jose LLC, San Jose Medical Center LLC, San Jose Pathology Outreach LLC, San Marcos ASC LLC, San Marcos Surgicenter LLC, Sante Fe Family Practitioners PLLC, Sarah Cannon Development Innovations LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK Limited, Sarasota Doctors Hospital Inc., Savannah Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Savannah Health Network LLC, Savannah Health Services LLC, Savannah Inpatient Services LLC, Savannah Multispecialty Associates LLC, Savannah Pediatric Care LLC, Savannah Primary Care Associates LLC, Sebring Health Services LLC, Selma Medical Center Hospital Inc., Senior Health Associates LLC, Short Pump Imaging LLC, Silicon Valley Health Holdings LLC, Silicon Valley Surgery Center L.P., Silicon Valley Surgicenter LLC, Sky Ridge Spine Manager LLC, Sky Ridge Surgery Center L.P., Skyline Medical Group LLC, Skyline Neuroscience Associates LLC, Skyline Rehab Associates LLC, Skyline Specialty Associates LLC, Smith Laboratories Inc., Solis Mammography at Bayshore Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Conroe Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Denton Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at HCA Houston Tomball LLC, Solis Mammography at Kingwood Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Las Colinas Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Alliance LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Arlington LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Lewisville LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of McKinney LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Plano LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical City Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography at Pearland Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Rose Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Skyline Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at StoneCrest Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at West Houston Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Womans Hospital of Texas LLC, Solis Mammography of Cedar Hill LLC, Solis Mammography of CyFair LLC, Solis Mammography of Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography of Flower Mound LLC, Solis Mammography of Frisco LLC, Solis Mammography of Garland LLC, Solis Mammography of Grand Prairie LLC, Solis Mammography of Houston NW LLC, Solis Mammography of Katy LLC, Solis Mammography of Louetta/249 LLC, Solis Mammography of Mainland LLC, Solis Mammography of Mansfield LLC, Solis Mammography of Mesquite LLC, Solis Mammography of Montgomery LLC, Solis Mammography of North Cypress LLC, Solis Mammography of North Loop LLC, Solis Mammography of Sugar Land LLC, Solis Mammography of West Plano LLC, Solis Mammography of Womans Place LLC, South Atlantic Division Inc., South Austin Surgery Center Ltd., South Austin Surgical Management LLC, South Austin Surgicenter LLC, South Brandon Imaging LLC, South Florida Division Practice Inc., South Texas Surgicare Inc., South Transfer Center LLC, South Valley Hospital L.P., Southeast Georgia Health Services LLC, Southern Hills Medical Center LLC, Southern Hills Neurology Consultants LLC, Southern Kentucky Medicine Associates LLC, Southern Kentucky Surgicenter LLC, Southern Texas Physicians Network, Southpoint LLC, Southtown Womens Clinic LLC, Southwest Florida Health System Inc., Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., Southwest Medical Center Family Practice LLC, Southwest Medical Center Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Southwest Medical Center Surgical Group LLC, Southwest Medpro Ltd., Southwest Surgical Clinic Inc., Southwest Virginia Orthopedics and Spine LLC, Spalding Rehabilitation L.L.C., Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology PLLC, Specialty Associates of West Houston PLLC, Specialty Physicians of Northern Virginia LLC, Specialty Surgicare of Las Vegas LP, Spotsylvania Condominium Property LLC, Spotsylvania Medical Center Inc., Spotsylvania Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Spotsylvania Regional Surgery Center LLC, Spring Branch Family Practitioners PLLC, Spring Branch Medical Center Inc., Spring Hill Hospital Inc., Spring Hill Imaging LLC, Spring Hill Physicians LLC, Springview KY LLC, Spruce Pine Healthcare LLC, St. Davids Austin Area ASC LLC, St. Davids Cardiology PLLC, St. Davids CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, St. Davids Healthcare Partnership L.P. LLP, St. Davids Heart & Vascular PLLC, St. Davids Neurology PLLC, St. Davids OB Hospitalist PLLC, St. Davids Ortho Neuro and Rehab PLLC, St. Davids Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation PLLC, St. Davids Quality Alliance LLC, St. Davids Specialized Womens Services PLLC, St. Davids Trauma Surgeons PLLC, St. Lucie Hospitalists LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Hyperbarics LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Walk-In Clinic LLC, St. Lucie Medical Specialists LLC, St. Lucie West Primary Care LLC, St. Marks Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., St. Marks Gynecology Oncology Care LLC, St. Marks Investments Inc., St. Marks Physician Billing LLC, St. Marks Professional Services LLC, St. Marks South Jordan Family Practice LLC, St. Martins Healthcare Limited, St. Martins Ltd., St. Martins Medical Services Limited, St. Petersburg General Surgery LLC, Stafford Imaging LLC, Statland Medical Group LLC, Steamboat Springs Surgicenter LLC, Sterling Primary Care Associates LLC, Stiles Road Imaging LLC, StoneCrest Surgery Center LLC, StoneSprings Medical Office Building Property LLC, StoneSprings Surgicenter LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - Family Practice of Murfreesboro LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - SC Murfreesboro Family Practice LLC, Stones River Hospital LLC, Suburban Medical Center at Hoffman Estates Inc., Sugar Land Surgery Center Anesthesia LLC, Sugar Land Surgery Center Ltd., Sullins Surgical Center Inc., Summit Convenient Care at Lebanon LLC, Summit General Partner Inc., Summit Heart LLC, Summit Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Summit Research Solutions LLC, Summit Surgery Center L.P., Summit Surgical Associates LLC, Summit Walk-in Clinic LLC, Sun Bay Medical Office Building Inc., Sun City Hospital Inc., Sun City Imaging LLC, Sun Towers/Vista Hills Holding Co., Sun-Med LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Holdings LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center LLC, Sunrise Mountainview Hospital Inc., Sunrise Mountainview Multi-Specialty Clinics LLC, Sunrise Outpatient Services Inc., Sunrise Physician Services LLC, Sunrise Trauma Services LLC, Surgery Associates of NTX PLLC, Surgery Center of Atlantis LLC, Surgery Center of Aventura Ltd., Surgery Center of Bay Area Houston LLC, Surgery Center of Greenview L.P., Surgery Center of Independence L.P., Surgery Center of Overland Park L.P., Surgery Center of Port Charlotte Ltd., Surgery Center of Rome L.P., Surgery Center of the Rockies LLC, Surgical Associates of Southwest Virginia LLC, Surgical Care Medical Group LLC, Surgical Center of Irving Inc., Surgical Facility of West Houston L.P., Surgical Park Center Ltd., Surgical Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Conroe PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Surgicare America - Winter Park Inc., Surgicare Merger Company of Louisiana, Surgicare Outpatient Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Surgicare Outpatient Center of Jackson Inc., Surgicare of ADC LLC, Surgicare of AGI LLC, Surgicare of Alpine LLC, Surgicare of Altamonte Springs Inc., Surgicare of Anchorage LLC, Surgicare of Arapahoe LLC, Surgicare of Arlington LLC, Surgicare of Ashburn LLC, Surgicare of Augusta Inc., Surgicare of Aurora Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Aventura LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area LLC, Surgicare of Bayonet Point Inc., Surgicare of Bayside LLC, Surgicare of Bountiful LLC, Surgicare of Brandon Inc., Surgicare of Brentwood LLC, Surgicare of Brighton LLC, Surgicare of Brooksville LLC, Surgicare of Brownsville LLC, Surgicare of Buckhead LLC, Surgicare of CAREOS LLC, Surgicare of Central Florida Inc., Surgicare of Central Park Surgery Center LLC, Surgicare of Central San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Chattanooga LLC, Surgicare of Chippenham LLC, Surgicare of Citrus LLC, Surgicare of Clarksville LLC, Surgicare of Corpus Christi LLC, Surgicare of Countryside Inc., Surgicare of Dallas Specialty LLC, Surgicare of Denton Inc., Surgicare of Denver Clinic LLC, Surgicare of Denver LLC, Surgicare of Denver Mid-Town Inc., Surgicare of Dickson LLC, Surgicare of Eastside LLC, Surgicare of Evans Inc., Surgicare of Fairfax Inc., Surgicare of Florida Inc., Surgicare of Flower Mound Inc., Surgicare of Focus Hand LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Co-GP LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Inc., Surgicare of Ft. Pierce Inc., Surgicare of Good Samaritan LLC, Surgicare of Gramercy Inc., Surgicare of Greenview Inc., Surgicare of Hanover Inc., Surgicare of Houston Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Houston LLC, Surgicare of Houston Womens Inc., Surgicare of Indianapolis Inc., Surgicare of Kansas City LLC, Surgicare of Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Kissimmee Inc., Surgicare of Lakeview Inc., Surgicare of Las Vegas Inc., Surgicare of Laurel Grove LLC, Surgicare of Lorain County Inc., Surgicare of Los Gatos Inc., Surgicare of Los Robles LLC, Surgicare of Loveland LLC, Surgicare of Madison Inc., Surgicare of Manatee Inc., Surgicare of McKinney Inc., Surgicare of Medical City Dallas LLC, Surgicare of Memorial Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Merritt Island Inc., Surgicare of Miami Lakes LLC, Surgicare of Mountain West LLC, Surgicare of Mt. Ogden LLC, Surgicare of Nashville LLC, Surgicare of Natchez LLC, Surgicare of Newport Richey Inc., Surgicare of North Austin LLC, Surgicare of North San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Northeast San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park II LLC, Surgicare of Orange Park Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park Ltd., Surgicare of Orlando Inc., Surgicare of Overland Park LLC, Surgicare of Palms West LLC, Surgicare of Park Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Pasadena Inc., Surgicare of Pavilion LLC, Surgicare of Physicians West El Paso LLC, Surgicare of Pinellas Inc., Surgicare of Plano Inc., Surgicare of Plantation Inc., Surgicare of Port Charlotte LLC, Surgicare of Port St. Lucie Inc., Surgicare of Portsmouth LLC, Surgicare of Premier Orthopaedic LLC, Surgicare of Reston Inc., Surgicare of Ridgeline LLC, Surgicare of Riverside LLC, Surgicare of Riverwalk LLC, Surgicare of Roanoke LLC, Surgicare of Rome Inc., Surgicare of Rose LLC, Surgicare of Round Rock Inc., Surgicare of Royal Oaks LLC, Surgicare of Silicon Valley LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge Womens Center LLC, Surgicare of South Austin Inc., Surgicare of Southeast Denver Inc., Surgicare of Southern Hills Inc., Surgicare of Southern Kentucky LLC, Surgicare of Southwest Houston LLC, Surgicare of Spotsylvania LLC, Surgicare of St. Andrews Inc., Surgicare of St. Andrews Ltd., Surgicare of St. Davids Austin LLC, Surgicare of Steamboat Springs LLC, Surgicare of StoneCrest LLC, Surgicare of StoneSprings LLC, Surgicare of Stuart Inc., Surgicare of Sugar Land Inc., Surgicare of Swedish LLC, Surgicare of Tallahassee Inc., Surgicare of Terre Haute LLC, Surgicare of Thornton LLC, Surgicare of Travis Center Inc., Surgicare of Tulsa Inc., Surgicare of Utah LLC, Surgicare of Wasatch Front LLC, Surgicare of West Hills Inc., Surgicare of Westlake Inc., Surgicare of Wichita Inc., Surgicare of Wichita LLC, Surgicare of Willis LLC, Surgicare of Wilson County LLC, Surgicare of Winchester LLC, Surgicenter of East Jefferson Inc., Surgicenter of Johnson County Ltd. a Kansas limited partnership, Surgicenter of Kansas City L.L.C., Surgico LLC, Swedish MOB Acquisition Inc., Swedish MOB I Ltd., Swedish MOB II Inc., Swedish MOB III Inc., Swedish MOB IV Inc., Swedish MOB LLC, Swedish Medpro Inc., TBHI Outpatient Services LLC, TCMC Madison-Portland Inc., THN Physicians Association Inc., TUHC Anesthesiology Group LLC, TUHC Hospitalist Group LLC, TUHC Physician Group LLC, TUHC Primary Care and Pediatrics Group LLC, TUHC Radiology Group LLC, Tallahassee Community Network Inc., Tallahassee Medical Center Inc., Tallahassee Orthopaedic Surgery Partners Ltd., Tampa Bay Health System Inc., Tampa Surgi-Centre Inc., Tarrant County Surgery Center L.P., Tchefuncte Cardiology Associates - Lakeview LLC, Teays Valley Health Services LLC, Telehealth Physician Services LLC, Tennessee Healthcare Management Inc., Tennessee Valley Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Terre Haute Hospital GP Inc., Terre Haute Hospital Holdings Inc., Terre Haute MOB L.P., Terre Haute Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Terre Haute Regional Hospital L.P., Texas CareNow Physician Associates, Texas HSS LLC, Texas Institute of Medicine and Surgery, Texas Psychiatric Company Inc., The Austin Diagnostic Clinic PLLC, The Cancer Care Center of North Florida LLC, The Cardiovascular Partnership for Quality LLC, The Charter Cypress Behavioral Health System L.L.C., The Christie Clinic LLP, The Glynne Medical Practice Limited, The Harley Street Cancer Clinic Limited, The London Breast Institute UK Ltd, The Medical Group of Kansas City LLC, The Neurohealth Sciences Center LLC, The Physicians Clinic Limited, The Prostate Centre Limited, The Rankin Foundation, The Regional Health System of Acadiana LLC, The Wasatch Endoscopy Center Ltd., The West Texas Division of Columbia Inc., Timpanogos Pain Specialists LLC, Timpanogos Regional Medical Services Inc., Total Imaging - Hudson LLC, Total Imaging - North St. Petersburg LLC, Total Imaging - Parsons LLC, Town Plaza Family Practice LLC, Travel Medicine and Infections LLC, Travis Surgery Center L.P., Tri Cities Health Services Corp., Tri-City Multi-Specialty LLC, Tri-County Community Hospital Inc., Tri-County Surgical Specialists LLC, TriStar Bone Marrow Transplant LLC, TriStar Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, TriStar Family Care LLC, TriStar Gynecology Oncology LLC, TriStar Health System Inc., TriStar Joint Replacement Institute LLC, TriStar Maury Behavioral Healthcare LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Centennial Primary Care LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Legacy Health LLC, TriStar Medical Network LLC, TriStar OB/GYN LLC, TriStar Orthopedics LLC, TriStar Physicians LLC, TriStar Radiation Oncology LLC, Trident Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Trident Behavioral Health Services LLC, Trident Eye Surgery Center L.P., Trident Medical Center LLC, Trident Medical Services Inc., Trident Neonatology Services LLC, Tulane Clinic LLC, Tulane Professionals Management L.L.C., Tuscan Imaging Center at Las Colinas LLC, U.S. Collections Inc., Ultra Imaging Management Services LLC, Ultra Imaging of Tampa LLC, University Healthcare Specialists LLC, University Healthcare System L.C., University Hospital Ltd., Uptown Primary Care Associates LLC, Urgent Care Enterprise LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Ann & Simmons LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Cactus & Southern Highlands LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston/Sloan LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Clayton LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Cheyenne LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Flamingo LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Eastern & Horizon Ridge LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Rainbow/Mardon LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Warm Springs & Green Valley LLC, Urgent Care Extra Silverado & Maryland LLC, Urgent Care Extra-Tropicana & Jones LLC, Urgent Care Nevada LLC, Urological Specialists of Arlington PLLC, Urology Associates (London) Limited, Urology Center of North Georgia LLC, Urology Services of El Paso PLLC, Urology Specialists Devonshire LLP, Urology Specialists London LLP, Urology Specialists of Kingwood PLLC, Urology Specialists of Richmond LLC, Urology Surgery Center of Colorado LLC, Utah CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Utah Imaging GP LLC, Utah Medco LLC, Utah Surgery Center L.P., VH Holdco Inc., VH Holdings Inc., VHSC Plantation LLC, VIP Inc., Valify, Valify Inc., Value Health Holdings Inc., Value Health Management Inc., Vascular and Endovascular Specialists LLC, Venture Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Venture Medical Management LLC, Village Oaks Medical Center Inc., Virginia Care Partners ACO LLC, Virginia Gynecologic Oncology LLC, Virginia Hematology & Oncology Associates Inc., Virginia Hospitalists Inc., Virginia Psychiatric Company Inc., Virginia Quality Care Partners LLC, Vision Consulting Group LLC, Vision Holdings LLC, W & C Hospital Inc., WCP Properties LLC, WHG Medical LLC, WHMC Inc., WJHC LLC, Walterboro Community Hospital Inc., Warren County Ambulance Service LLC, Wasatch Front Surgery Center LLC, Washington Holdco LLC, Waterway Primary Care LLC, Weatherford Health Services LLC, Weatherford Mammography JV LLC, Weatherford Regional Medical Center, Welbeck Street Diagnostic Centre LLP, Wellington Diagnostic Services LLP, Wesley Cath Lab LLC, Wesley Manager LLC, Wesley Medical Center LLC, Wesley Physician Services LLC, Wesley Physicians - Anesthesiologist LLC, Wesley Physicians - Cardiovascular LLC, Wesley Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Wesley Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Wesley Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Wesley Select Network LLC, Wesley Urgent Care LLC, West Boynton Beach Open Imaging Center LLC, West Creek Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, West Creek Medical Center Inc., West Florida - MHT LLC, West Florida - PPH LLC, West Florida Behavioral Health Inc., West Florida Cardiology Network LLC, West Florida Cardiology Physicians LLC, West Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, West Florida Division Inc., West Florida Gulf Coast Primary Care LLC, West Florida HealthWorks LLC, West Florida Imaging Services LLC, West Florida Internal Medicine LLC, West Florida PET Services LLC, West Florida Physician Network LLC, West Florida Professional Billing LLC, West Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., West Florida Specialty Physicians LLC, West Florida Trauma Network LLC, West Florida Urgent Care Network LLC, West Hills Hospital, West Hills Surgical Center Ltd., West Houston ASC Inc., West Houston Healthcare Group Ltd., West Houston Internal Specialists PLLC, West Houston LLC, West Houston Medical PLLC, West Houston Outpatient Medical Facility Inc., West Houston Surgicare Inc., West Jacksonville Medical Center Inc., West Jordan Hospital Corporation, West LPN Fort Worth Oncology PLLC, West LPN Inc., West Los Angeles Physicians Hospital Inc., West McKinney Imaging Services LLC, West Paces Services Inc., West Park Surgery Center L.P., West Valley Imaging LLC, West Valley Medical Center Inc., West Valley Medical Group LLC, West Valley Medical Group Specialty Services LLC, West Valley Therapy Services LLC, Westbury Hospital Inc., Western Plains Capital Inc., Westlake Surgicare L.P., Westminster Community Hospital, Westside Surgery Center Ltd., Wichita CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Wildwood Medical Center Inc., Willis Surgicenter LLC, Wilson County Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Womans Health Group PLLC, Womans Hospital Merger LLC, Womans Hospital of Texas Incorporated, Women Practitioners of Houston PLLC, Women Specialists of Bayshore PLLC, Women Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Women Specialists of Mainland PLLC, Womens & Childrens Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pulmonology Clinic LLC, Womens Center at Brookside LLC, Womens Health Center of Central Florida LLC, Womens Health Center of SWVA LLC, Womens Hospital Indianapolis GP Inc., Womens Hospital Indianapolis L.P., Womens Link Specialty Obstetrical Referral Clinic PLLC, Womens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Womens Surgical Specialists of Texas PLLC, Womens and Childrens Professional Management L.L.C., Womens and Childrens Specialists LLC, hInsight-Airstrip Holdings LLC, hInsight-BMA Holdings LLC, hInsight-Customer Care Holdings LLC, hInsight-Digital Reasoning Holdings LLC, hInsight-Healthbox Holdings LLC, hInsight-I2 Holdings LLC, hInsight-InVivoLink Holdings LLC, hInsight-LS Holdings LLC, hInsight-Loyale Healthcare Holdings LLC, hInsight-Mobile Heartbeat Holdings LLC, hInsight-NX LLC, hInsight-PWS I Holdings LLC, hInsight-Procured Holdings LLC, and hInsight-VAI Holdings LLC.
CMC Markets plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online retail financial services to retail, professional, stockbroking, and institutional clients in Australia, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company provides its clients with the ability to trade contracts for difference and financial spread betting on a range of underlying shares, indices, foreign currencies, commodities, and treasuries through its trading platform. It also offers Australian clients the opportunity to trade Australian and selected international instruments, including shares, options, managed funds, warrants, and exchange traded funds. In addition, the company provides its clients a range of education opportunities through weekly and monthly webinars and seminars, as well as Trader Development programme, which provides a range of in-platform, on-demand education, and tailored market commentary. CMC Markets plc was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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DeNiro and Cranswick lead D60 race race with few votes outstanding

With fewer than 5,000 votes left to be counted, Kathy L. DeNiro and Matthew Cranswick lead the D60 board race and are likely to be elected.
Just Group plc provides various financial services in the retirement income market in the United Kingdom. It offers de-risking solutions, guaranteed income for life, secure lifetime income, care plans, lifetime mortgages, and protection products. The company also provides professional services, including regulated financial advice and guidance services; and a range of business services, such as consultancy and software development, and outsourced customer service delivery and marketing services. In addition, it engages in writing of insurance products for distribution to the at- or in-retirement market, which is undertaken through the activities of the life company; and provision of licensed software to financial advisers, banks, building societies, life assurance companies, and pension trustees. Further, the company arranges guaranteed income for life contracts; and provides lifetime mortgages through advice and intermediary services. It offers its products and services to trustees and scheme sponsors, individuals, homeowners, and other corporate clients. The company was formerly known as JRP Group plc and changed its name to Just Group plc in May 2017. Just Group plc was founded in 2004 and is based in Reigate, the United Kingdom.

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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.

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Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. engages in the mining of copper, gold and molybdenum. It operates through the following segments: North America Copper Mines, South America Mining; Indonesia Mining, Molybdenum Mines, Rod and Refining, Atlantic Copper Smelting and Refining and Corporate, Other and Eliminations. The North America Copper Mines segment operates open-pit copper mines in Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita and Miami in Arizona and Chino and Tyrone in New Mexico. The South America Mining segment includes Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. The Indonesia Mining segment handles the operations of Grasberg minerals district that produces copper concentrate that contains significant quantities of gold and silver. The Molybdenum Mines segment includes the Henderson underground mine and Climax open-pit mine, both in Colorado. The Rod and Refining segment consists of copper conversion facilities located in North America and includes a refinery, rod mills, and a specialty copper products facility. The Atlantic Copper Smelting and Refining segment smelts and refines copper concentrate and markets refined copper and precious metals in slimes. The Corporate, Other and Eliminations segment

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The following companies are subsidiares of Air Products and Chemicals: 7001 Hamilton Properties LLC, ACP Europe SA, ACP Zolder Invest NV, AJWAA Gases LLC, AP Services South America SpA, APCI (U.K.) Inc., Air Products (Anshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (BR) Limited, Air Products (Cangzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Changsha) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Chongqing) Chem-Materials Co. Ltd., Air Products (Dongguan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Guangzhou) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hangjin Qi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hefei) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Huaibei) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jiangxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jincheng) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jinjiang) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Kunshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Linfen) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Middle East) FZE, Air Products (Nanjing) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Ningbo) Hi-Tech Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Rozenburg) B.V., Air Products (Shenyang) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Xi'an) Gases Co. Ltd, Air Products (Xiamen) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Zhongshan) Gases Co. Ltd, Air Products (Zhumadian) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products A/S, Air Products Advanced Materials LLC, Air Products Asia Inc., Air Products Asia Inc. Taiwan Branch, Air Products Bahrain W.L.L, Air Products Brasil Ltda., Air Products Canada Ltd./Prodair Canada Ltee, Air Products Caribbean Holdings Inc., Air Products Central Asia Group LLC, Air Products China Inc., Air Products Debang (Lianyungang) Co. Ltd., Air Products Ecuador S.A., Air Products Emirates Gases LLC, Air Products Equipment Limited, Air Products Gas O.O.O., Air Products Gases Holdings B.V., Air Products Gases S.A.E., Air Products Gesellschaft mbH, Air Products GmbH, Air Products Group Limited, Air Products Gulf Gas LLC, Air Products Helium Inc., Air Products Helium Inc. 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(Illinois), East Coast Nitrogen Company LLC, East Coast Oxygen Co., Gardner Cryogenics (Pennsylvania), Gas Direct Limited, Gas Supply Services Ltd., Gas Technologies Ltd., Gases Industriales de Columbia S.A.  Cryogas, Gases Integrated Company Limited (GIC), Gasin II Unipessoal LDA, Gastel Limited, Goar Allison & Associates, Green BioFuel s.r.o., Harvest Energy Technologies (California), Harvest Energy Technology, Helap SAS, Indura, Indura Argentina S.A., Indura Holdings Colombia LLC, Indura Inversiones Limitada, Indura Peru S.A., Indura S.A., Indura S.A. (Peru), Indura Sociedad Comercial Limitada, Ingemedicas Santandar Ltda., Ingenieria en Redes de Gases S.A. - Gasproject S.A., Inversiones Air Products Holdings Limitada, Jazan Gas Projects Company, Jazan Integrated Gasification and Power Company (JIGPC), KRIG Holdings B.V., KRYVYI RIH Industrial Gas, Korea Industrial Gases Ltd., Kulim Industrial Gases Sdn Bhd, Lida SAS, Markaziy Osiyo Sanoat Gaz LLC, Matgas 2000 A.I.E., Napro S.A., Olin DNT Limited Partnership, Oxigeno Medicinal Domiciliario Limitada, Oxigeno de Sagunto S.L., Oxigenol S.A., Oxygen & Argon Works, Oxygen & Argon Works Ltd., Oxygen Center Ltd., Oxygen Warehouse Trade (1980) Ltd., PQ Ammonia, PT Air Products East Kalimantan, PT Air Products Indonesia, PT Air Products Indonesia Services, Permea China Ltd., Permea Inc., Procal (California), Prodair Air Products India Private Limited, Prodair Corporation, Prodair Escravos Limited, Prodair S.A.S., Prodair Services Limited, Prodair et Cie S.C.S., Quimica Basica S.A., ROVI Cosmetics International, S.I.Q. Beteiligungs, SAGA SAS, SCWC Corp., STP & DIN Chemicals Sp. Z.o.o., Servicios Indura Limitada, Sociedad Espanola de Carburos Metalicos S.A., Soprogaz SNC, Stravinsky Investments LLC, The Former SR Manufacturers Inc., Tyczka Industrie-Gase GmbH, Union Mobiliere Industrielle S.A.R.L., United Industrial Gases Company LLC, Vitalox Industrial S.L.U., WuXi Hi-Tech Gas Co. Ltd., Yangon Industrial Gas (Thilawa) Company Limited, Zibo Chuangcheng Engineering Design Co. Ltd., and ir Products Israel Ltd..
Stantec Inc. provides professional consulting services in the area of infrastructure and facilities in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company provides consulting services in engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics. It also offers water, transportation, and public works; transportation planning and traffic engineering; and resource assessment, mine development, reclamation, hydrology, and geotechnical and infrastructure engineering services, as well as urban planning, traffic assessments and optimization, environmental impact assessments, and public consultation services. In addition, the company provides structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and hydraulics engineering services. It serves urban regeneration, infrastructure, education, public and private sector, tourism and leisure, and waste and water sectors, as well as office and commercial, residential, and retail and town centers. The company was formerly known as Stanley Technology Group Inc. and changed its name to Stantec Inc. in October 1998. Stantec Inc. was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Edmonton, Canada.

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Worldpay, Inc., through its subsidiary, Worldpay Holding, LLC, provides electronic payment processing services in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australasia. It operates in two segments, Technology Solutions, Merchant Solutions, and Issuer Solutions. The company offers merchant acquiring and payment processing services, such as authorization and settlement, customer service, chargeback and retrieval processing, and interchange management. It also provides value-added services, such data analytics and information management solutions, foreign currency management, and various funding options; and security solutions, including point-to-point encryption and tokenization at the point of sale and for e-commerce transactions. In addition, the company offers card issuer processing, payment network processing, fraud protection, card production, prepaid program management, automated teller machine driving, portfolio optimization, data analytics, and card program marketing, as well as network gateway and switching services. Further, it provides card and statement production, and collections and inbound/outbound call centers. The company serves merchants and financial institutions comprising regional banks, community banks, credit unions, and regional personal identification number networks through direct sales forces and referral partners. The company was formerly known as Vantiv, Inc. and changed its name to Worldpay, Inc. in January 2018. Worldpay, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Wednesday brought further proof that dreams can come true.

It happened in a farm field near Goshen.

Mom died a year ago and so hes been a little bit alone in the nursing home and his stroke from four years ago has his left side paralyzed, Jim Buller said of his 89-year-old father, John Buller. So hes pretty limited mobility-wise.

Nonetheless, with the help of a forklift, John Buller got out of his wheelchair and back behind the wheel of the type of heavy farm machinery he loves to drive.

In fact, he drove the tractor on the Kauffman Farmin the very fields where he used to work part-time as a heavy machine operator.

Theres nothing that would make him happier than to be out driving and be in nature outside, Jim Buller said, adding that his dad grew up on a small wheat farm in Kansas.

After 15 minutes or so back in the saddle, Buller got out of the cab and said, It was a big deal, really, I dont know why. Its just something that I enjoy, thats all.

Its also something the Waterford Crossing Health Center in Goshen enjoys doing. In the past, Waterford Crossing has helped other residents live out dreams of skydiving and taking a ride in a hot air balloon.
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In its latest round of negotiations held on August 30 and 31 in Singapore, the trade ministers of the parties to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) collectively agreed to push for a conclusion to the mega trade deal by November.

While discussions between RCEP participants began six years ago, 2018 was fixed as the deadline to finalize an agreement.

A major sticking point, however, has been the level of commitment shown by each of the countries involved.

For example, while Japan wants close to full market access, India is unwilling to offer tariff liberalization on all goods and seeks greater market access for its services sector.

This means talks have frequently gotten stuck as some member countries potentially secure greater access than others  in terms of percentage of goods subject to lower tariffs.

Many countries also fear opening up their economy even further to Chinese manufactures, given that China usually dominates its bilateral trade relationships.

On its part, China needs more expansive market access due to its excess manufacturing capacity, trade tensions with the US, and an ongoing economic slowdown.

What is the RCEP and how is it different from the TPP?

RCEP is a China-backed group that involves the 10 ASEAN members as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India  the six Asia-Pacific countries with whom the ASEAN has working free trade agreements (FTAs).

RCEP is among the most ambitious trade groupings in the world, accounting for about 45 percent of the worlds population and about a third of its GDP.

Negotiations among RCEP participants began in November 2012, and cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation, competition, and intellectual property rights.

In the past, the grouping was viewed as an alternative to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which excluded China and India.

Negotiations to the TPP may be traced back to 2008, and was a proposed trade agreement between the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and Peru and seven other countries who also took part in RCEP negotiations  Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Brunei. The exclusion of China in particular was considered to be a strategic move by some of the member countries.

While TPP negotiations successfully concluded in February 2016, the US withdrew from it as soon as President Donald Trump took over the White House, in January 2017  upholding a key election campaign promise.

Currently, the now defunct TPP is sought to be revived as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP or TPP11). It will come into effect 60 days after being ratified by 50 percent of the participating states; only Mexico, Japan, and Singapore have ratified the TPP11 as of August 2018.

Both the TPP11 and RCEP seek to lower tariff and non-tariff barriers and open participating economies for investment.

Where the TPP11 differs from RCEP is in its comprehensive coverage of trade in goods and services, opening of investment sectors, e-commerce, the dispute settlement process, intellectual property protections as well as regulating the role of state-owned enterprises.

Takeaways from the RCEP Singapore Ministerial

The two-day Singapore Ministerial concluded on August 31 with the 16 members adopting a package of year-end deliverables.

All RCEP members agreed to give their binding offers on easing the movement of workers by October 10. Member countries also agreed to establish an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, albeit for limited sectors.

India, being the most reluctant participant, saw more concessions than earlier expected. It will benefit from a bilateral pairing mechanism, meaning India will be allowed to separately negotiate with non-FTA partners  China, New Zealand, and Australia. Further, India will be allowed a time-frame of over 20 years to eliminate tariffs on key items from China.

Trade negotiators will now work out the operational details of the final agreement in the next few months, and will meet in Auckland, New Zealand between October 17 and 24. Two more rounds of ministerial consultations are also expected to take place before the heads of states meet for the RCEP Summit in November.

As India, Indonesia, and Australia face major elections in 2019, aspects of the RCEP trade deal might have ramifications on the domestic politics in these countries. These could either block progress on the deal, intensify the end-of-year negotiations, or simply delay a final agreement.

Why the RCEP matters for China

The rapidly escalating trade war between the US and China is disrupting business between the two countries. Given how Chinese manufacturers and their US clients are bound closely by global supply chains, the rising tariffs on Chinese imports is creating losers on both sides.

Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers are simultaneously facing the pressures of rising factory wages, increase in raw material prices, and trade uncertainties. At this inflexion, a breakthrough in the RCEP trade deal is crucial for China to be able to weather the tit-for-tat tariff wars with the US.

Moreover, since the US backed out of the TPP in early 2017 and the UK chose to exit the EU the year before, China has emerged as the foremost voice calling for trade liberalization and globalization. Improving regional trade ties is also key to improving Chinas relations with Japan as well as respective Southeast Asian countries, where geopolitics have often tested bilateral ties.

Given the rise of trade protectionism across the world and its own ongoing economic slowdown, a successful conclusion to RCEP talks will assure China of market access and exchange of technology know-how. Both are key to its national plan to upgrade the countrys manufacturing industry to achieve more value-added production.

Besides, at present, the most vulnerable segment in China are its smaller manufacturers.

While it may appear that their fortunes waver at every Trump tweet and tariff decree, these firms are already battling multiple macroeconomic challenges  rising land and labor costs and industries relocating to cheaper destinations like Vietnam and Indonesia.

The trade war with the US has only aggravated the plight of many of these firms, who are increasingly looking for financial reprieve from state banks, even as China moves to reduce risky lending and reform its funding policies.

For China, securing access to diversified markets under RCEP holds major consequences  it means providing economic certainty to its homegrown businesses, which positively impacts employment growth and internal consumption demand.

Finally, China appears to be on the war path with financial reforms  implementing policies to encourage fiscal responsibility, ease investment norms, cut down tax liabilities, and consolidate compliance standards.

Ensuring the countrys overall macroeconomic stability is therefore an outstanding priority for the Chinese government. A successful conclusion to the RCEP trade deal will support this objective.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who once likened his deadly drug war to Hitlers World War II genocide, visited Israel on Monday and laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Center.

Never again. May the world learn the lessons of this horrific and benighted period of human history," Duterte wrote in the memorials guestbook.

"And may the minds of all men and women learn to work together towards providing a safe haven for all those who are being persecuted," he added.

In September 2016, Duterte drew the ire of Jews when he said he would be happy to slaughter three million addicts as he portrayed himself as a cousin of German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Though he later apologized for his terribly wrong statement, Dutertes four-day trip to the Jewish state stoked controversy and was met by criticism from lawmakers and protesters.

Duterte is the first Filipino president to set foot in Israel since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1957.

The Israeli government invited the tough-talking president because the Philippines emerged as a new customer of Israels defense equipment in 2017.

In a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Duterte thanked Israel for its significant help in the Philippines battle in Marawi city against Daesh-linked rebels.

Mr. Prime Minister, I can only thank you so much, especially the critical help that you have extended my country in time when we needed it most, he said.

Duterte last Sunday told the Filipino community in Israel that the Jewish state provided most of the intelligence gadgets used to win the Marawi siege.

We share the same passion for peace. We share the same passion for human beings. But we also share the same passion of not allowing our country to be destroyed by those who have corrupt ideologies, he said.

Duterte also praised Israel for its humane treatment of Filipino workers in the Jewish state.

Around 29,000 Filipinos work in Israel, 24,000 of which are caregivers which will benefit from the Memorandum of Agreement on the Temporary Employment of Home-Based Filipino Caregivers signed by the Philippines and Israel.

Duterte and Netanyahu also witnessed the signing of the two countries Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific Cooperation and Memorandum of Intent on the Collaboration on Promotion of Bilateral Direct Investment.
When Peking Opera piece Cao Cao and Yang Xiu premiered at Tianjin People's Theater in 1988, it caused a sensation, thanks to top artists Shang Changrong and Yan Xingpeng's engaging performances.



But those who did not see that play have a chance to do so now, as Shang, 79, the first winner of Plum Performance Big Award, China's top honor for stage opera artists, and Yan, 65, who is settled in the United States, have reprised their roles for the big screen.

The 3D panoramic sound film, with the same title as the opera, opened across China on Aug 30 with English subtitles.

The opera is based on a story from the 14th century novel Romance of The Three Kingdoms and is about the conflicts between Cao, a suspicious warlord, and his strategist Yang. And in the story, Yang is executed by Cao.

The movie, which was first screened at the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival in June, received lots of praise, including from actors Pu Cunxin and Hu Ge.

The film is more than the re-enacting of a stage show as the 3D format provides an immersive effect.

In the first sequences of the movie where you see Cao's forces, viewers wearing 3D glasses can see weapons hurtling toward them.

For director Teng Junjie, a veteran who directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Cao Cao and Yang Xiu is his third effort at cinematically remaking classic Peking Opera pieces.

Teng's Farewell My Concubine: The Peking Opera, the first film in China to capture the centuries-old art form using 3D photography, won the Golden Lumiere Award in Los Angeles in 2015.

"I felt thrilled to receive the honor. James Cameron's Avatar and Ang Lee's Life of Pi took home the same awards," Teng says.

Farewell My Concubine made its overseas debut at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on May 30, 2014, attracting more than 1,100 viewers, including around 50 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

"The theater is known for hosting the Oscars' ceremonies. I was so excited to see my first Peking Opera film welcomed there," says Teng.

In the following two years, Farewell My Concubine toured more than 10 countries and regions, including France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Italy.

The film is about a warlord who would rather commit suicide than surrender.

Asked about what motivated him to make his latest film, Teng, who is also a visiting professor at the Communication University of China in Beijing and Tongji University in Shanghai, says it was the responses of his students.

When asked what would make them want to see Peking Opera - one of China's best-known performing arts, which has struggled to gain audiences in recent decades - they said they would be willing to watch films where they can see the actors' emotion and gestures.

With a budget of around 7.5 million yuan ($1.1 million), the crew shot the film in 3D and 2D versions as well as a 75-minute documentary about the production.

More than 1,700 cinemas, or nearly 18 percent of the country's total of 9,500 theaters, are scheduled to release the movie, an unprecedented scale for a stage opera movie.

"The figure is very encouraging. We hope the film will not only raise interest domestically, but also teach foreigners about Peking Opera," says Teng.
An Egyptian archaeological mission discovered an ancient rocky cemetery near the pyramid of Senusret I in Lisht village of Ayyat district in Giza province, south of the capital Cairo, the Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The cemetery was unearthed 300 meters northeastern the pyramid of Senusret I in Lisht," said the statement.

The cemetery consists of two parts, the first of which is an open courtyard with a passage containing hieroglyphic inscriptions and leading to a hall.

The second part of the cemetery consists of a three-meter deep well whose western inner side has a passage leading to the first burial chamber whose southern wall has an entrance to another chamber.

Each chamber has a distinguished empty limestone coffin with unique inscriptions, according to the statement.

The southern inner side of the well has an entrance to other chambers that will be soon discovered during the mission's work.

"The owner of the cemetery is still unknown, for there are no inscriptions referring to his identity," said Yasser Hassan Abdel-Fattah, General Director of Dahshur and Lisht Antiquities, noting that further studies will enable the mission to reveal more information about him.

The village of Lisht in Giza is known for being a site of the Middle Kingdom royal and elite burials, including the two pyramids built by ancient kings Senusert I and Amenemhat I.

Adel Okasha, head of the Central Administration for Cairo and Giza Antiquities, said that the excavation works carried out in Lisht region are done in line with the ministry's excavation plan for promising archeological sites.
An article in the South China Morning Post last week suggesting that China was establishing a military base in north-eastern Afghanistan provoked a flurry of articles in the US and international press inflating the Chinese military role. While the report was quickly denied by Kabul and Beijing, it is clear that Afghanistan is another key arena for intensifying geo-political rivalry between the major powers.

The article claimed that around 500 Chinese troops would be sent to a base in Afghanistans strategic Wakhan Corridora narrow sliver of inhospitable land between Tajikistan and Pakistan that also borders China. A source told the newspaper: Construction on the base has started, and China will send at least one battalion of troops, along with weapons and equipment, to be stationed there and provide training to their Afghan counterparts.

Beijing is seeking to crack down on Uyghur separatists from the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) that reportedly have bases in Afghanistan, as well as Tajikistan, and prevent them crossing into Chinas western Xinjiang region. Within Xinjiang, the Chinese regime is engaged in widespread repression against any expression of separatism among the Muslim Uyghur minority.

The article also noted a report in January by the Russian-based Ferghana News that China would finance a new military base in Badakhshan, which includes the Wakhan Corridor, after the Afghan and Chinese defence ministers agreed last year to collaborate in fighting terrorism.

The Afghanistan embassy in Beijing sent a fax to the South China Morning Post declaring that there will be no Chinese military personnel of any kind on Afghan soil at any time. It noted that China was assisting Afghanistan to set up a mountain brigade as part of counter-terrorism efforts in the countrys north. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also dismissed the report as not true.

Both Beijing and Kabul are well aware that the stationing of Chinese troops in Afghanistan, even on a limited basis, would provoke opposition from Washington and its allies, which have been engaged in a bloody military occupation of the country since 2001. Far from fighting terrorism, the US has sought to transform Afghanistan into a base of operations in Central Asia aimed against Russia and China.

A Chinese military base would also be opposed by India, which, under the aegis of its strategic partnership with the US, has sought to expand its influence in South Asia, including in Afghanistan. India regards Afghanistan as vital to strengthening its strategic position against regional rival Pakistan which has long borders with both India and Afghanistan. New Delhi also regards Beijing as a major adversary, as recent acute military tensions in the Dokham Plateau border area between the two countries have underscored.

Significantly, Anthony Cordesman, a US strategist closely tied to the military-intelligence apparatus, downplayed reports of a Chinese military base, saying only that China does seem to have some role in a training facility or small base in the Wakhan Corridor. His comment headlined, Are Russia and China sabotaging American policy in Afghanistan? concluded that Russian and Chinese roles in Afghanistan are much more driven by self-interest than hostility [to the US].

China and Russia have both sought to find a way to end the protracted conflict in Afghanistan, concerned that it will destabilise Central Asia which they regard as their strategic backyard. A planned peace conference organised by Russia for September 4 was postponed at the last minute on a request by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

China is part of the Quadrilateral Coordination Group that includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States which is part of stalled efforts to end fighting in Afghanistan. The Financial Times reported today that China has met secretly with Afghan Taliban leaders several times over the past year in a bid to broker a peace.

China and Russia have also sought to involve Afghanistan in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation established in 2001 to counter US influence in Central Asia. Members include some of the Central Asian republics as well as Pakistan and India since last year. Afghanistan has attended meetings of the organisation as an observer since 2012.

China has significantly boosted its ties with Afghanistan especially since 2012 as the US was winding back its troop numbers. Beijing feared greater instability not only in Afghanistan, but also in neighbouring Pakistan, where China is engaged in the $67 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project linking China to the Pakistani port of Gwadar. It is a centrepiece of Beijings broader Belt and Road Initiative aimed at connecting the Eurasian landmass by sea and land.

A Diplomat article in June headlined, Is China bringing peace to Afghanistan? explained: In the 200213 period Beijing provided just $240 million in aid to Afghanistan. In 2014 alone China gave it $80 million in aid and pledged an additional $240 million over the next three years. In September 2017, China extended $90 million towards development projects in Afghanistans Badakhshan province alone.

China is Afghanistans biggest foreign investor now. It is interested mainly in resource extraction and infrastructure building. It has started extracting oil from the Amu Darya basin in northern Afghanistan. In the telecommunications sector, Chinas role has grown from supplying Afghanistan with telecom equipment in 2007 to the construction of fibre-optic links in 2017.

Afghanistan has large mineral deposits that China needs for its huge manufacturing industries. In significant areas, however, investment plans have stalled. Chinese companies won a $3 billion contract to extract copper from the Mes Aynak mines in 2008, but little progress has been made due to continuing instability in the area.

The US, which retains some 15,000 troops in Afghanistan, certainly has no intention of securing Chinese investment in the country or encouraging a greater presence. The media reaction to an unsubstantiated report that China is establishing a small base in northern Afghanistan highlights the fact that Washington is determined retain its grip over the strategically-located country.

The hype about Chinese military expansion is being used as the pretext for the US to boost its presence throughout the Indo-Pacific region. China earlier this year opened its first external military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, capable of hosting up to an estimated 10,000 troops. By contrast, the US has a world-wide network of hundreds of bases and basing agreements with well over 200,000 military personnel backed by warplanes, warships, armour and missile systems.
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Ayanna Pressley beat out 10-term US Rep. Michael Capuano in the race for the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts 7th Congressional District on Tuesday. Boston City Council member-at-large Pressley won decisively, defeating Capuano by a 59 to 41 percent margin.

As the Republicans are not fielding a candidate in the 7th District, Pressley, 44, is poised to become the first African-American woman in the Massachusetts congressional delegation.

Pressley, who lacked the support of much of the Massachusetts Democratic Party establishment, ran on the slogan Change Cant Wait. She was widely outspent by Capuano, who had the support of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, the Congressional Black Caucus PAC, Massachusetts first African-American governor Deval Patrick, and civil rights veteran Rep. John Lewis.

The sixty-six-year-old Capuano, clearly caught off guard, conceded with barely 13 percent of the votes counted Tuesday evening, saying: Im sorry it didnt work out, but this is life, and this is OK. Americas going to be OK. Ayanna Pressley is going to be a good congresswoman, and I will tell you that Massachusetts will be well served.

Capuano says this because there was little of substance that separated the politics of Pressleys campaign with that of his own. Her one discernible difference with the incumbent was over their attitude toward Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While Capuano called for reforming the agency from within, Pressley called for its abolition.

The media was quick to draw parallels between Pressleys surprise victory and that in July of self-proclaimed democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over longtime House incumbent Joseph Crowley in New Yorks 14th District. Their winsalong with those of African-American gubernatorial candidates Andrew Gillum in Florida and Stacey Abrams in Georgiaare cited as evidence of a significant shift to the left by the Democratic Party.

Ocasio-Cortez, who had campaigned earlier this year with Pressley, tweeted Tuesday night, Congratulations to my sister in service, @AyannaPressley, on continuing her historic path in Congress tonight. Lets push together to make Medicare for All, tuition free college, & living wages a reality in Americaall without corporate PAC money.

Despite Ocasio-Cortezs claims that Pressley represents a historic change, her victory has traded in a conventional liberal politician for a younger, equally conventional one, whose main difference is skin color. While the lopsided vote for Pressley expresses a movement of workers and young people to the left and a desire for change, sending her to Washington will result in no meaningful shift in the pro-big-business policies of the Democratic Party, or improvement in the conditions of workers.

The 7th Congressional District was redrawn following the 2010 Census to include a majority of African-American, Hispanic and Asian residents. With only 34 percent white residents, it is the only Massachusetts district with a majority of ethnic minority residents. It now comprises wards in Boston, along with the cities of Somerville, Randolph, Chelsea and Everett, as well as portions of Cambridge and Milton.

Pressley ran a campaign based largely on race and gender, saying that she spoke for communities that far too often go unseen and unheard. As a survivor of sexual abuse, she also said on the campaign trail, I fundamentally believe that the people closest to the pain should be closest to the power. She said that with the demographic changes in the 7th District, the needs have changed, and given whats happening in Washington, the job description has changed.

Clearly referring to Donald Trump as whats happening in Washington, she poses no differences with his administration on foreign policy or the build-up of the Pentagon, any mention of which is absent from her campaign website. Her criticisms of the president are of a purely demagogic and personal character, denouncing him as racist, misogynistic, truly empathy-bankrupt man.

Pressleys rise has followed a path similar to that of other Democratic Party stars. Growing up on the north side of Chicago, she had a difficult childhood. Her mother worked multiple jobs to support the family, including as a community organizer for the Chicago Urban League. Pressleys father, who struggled with addiction throughout her childhood, eventually became a college professor.

After living for a while in Brooklyn, Pressley came to Boston, where she attended Boston University from 1992 to 1994. It was there that she had her first taste of Democratic Party politics, serving as an intern for US Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II. After leaving BU, she worked for Kennedy as a district representative, then scheduler, and then as his constituency director.

She served under two Democratic Massachusetts senators. She had a brief stint as the political director and senior aide to Ted Kennedy. During 2009, she also served as political director for John Kerry, managing his relationships with city, state and federal officials.

Pressley was elected to the Boston City Council in November 2009, becoming the first woman of African-American or Latina heritage in the 100-year history of the council. She was reelected to the council in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. In January 2018, she announced that she was challenging Capuano in the 7th District.

She supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016. She opposed Bernie Sanders bid, along with his proposal for Medicare for All. She has since come around to support Medicare for All, as well as tuition-free college, and a living wageall proposals that amount to cynical posturing, with no chance of passage even if Pressley is part of a Democratic majority when she takes office next January.

In an op-ed in Wednesdays New York Times, Melanye Price wrote approvingly: Historic electoral wins, like Ayanna Pressleys major upset along with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, show the might of the black political left.

For rising Democratic Party figures like Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez, their victories have nothing to do with steering the party to the leftand advancing the interests of working peopleand everything to do with providing the party with a progressive left veneer as they aspire to their positions of privilege within the upper middle class.
A young autoworker at BMW in South Carolina recently spoke with the World Socialist Web Site Autoworker Newsletter about the conditions workers face in the auto industry in the US South.

Ethan (not his real name), a worker at the BMW Spartanburg plant, recently moved from Michigan, where he worked for Fiat Chrysler.

The BMW Spartanburg plant, located in Greer, South Carolina, opened in 1994 and currently manufactures BMWs X models luxury sport activity vehicles. It is the largest BMW plant in the world, employing more than 10,000 people, and manufactures around 400,000 vehicles a year, 70 percent of which are exported to markets around the globe.

The majority of workers at the Spartanburg plant are employed by MAU Workforce Solutions, a private contractor. Both MAU and BMW employees start at $17.50 an hour. The difference is, BMW employees get pay raises, a healthcare program, and are able to lease a BMW car for a reasonable price. MAU employees get $17.50 and no benefits. This is about the same rate of starting pay as temporary part time workers employed at plants of the Detroit-based US automakers.

Ethan said BMW purposely keeps the contract workers and BMW workers at a 60/40 ratio. A physical test is required to become a BMW employee. Once you slow down, Ethan said, you fail and they tell you to try again next year. So you keep doing the same job you would be doing for BMW, but youre still an MAU employee.

Some people have been working for the temp company [MAU] for eight years. So if youre hired by MAU [and work for them for years], BMW hires you and you still make $17.50 for another year before you start getting pay raises. So then it takes another four years to reach the top of the pay scale.

The last time BMW hired, according to Ethan, BMW hired right off the street with no experience instead of hiring temp employees from MAU.

A $130 million incentive package from the local government, convenient transportation routes to the Port of Charleston, and above all, cheap labor enticed BMW to build the Spartanburg plant. Workers at Spartanburg make half the amount of German BMW workers.

The area of Greer, South Carolina was impoverished before BMW came. BMW said it adopted South Carolina culture.

Ethan remarked that BMW workers are told they are lucky to have a job and to put the companys interest above their own self-interest.

Ethan described conditions in which management paid little attention to questions of safety. They [BMW] dont really train safety. They react when something happens. I dont wish for something to happen, but thats what it will take before it will get better.

They [the workers] know its wrong. They talk amongst themselves and dont talk to management.

In March a contract worker died in the paint shop at the Spartanburg plant after apparently being caught in a vehicle lift. Bojan Sprah, age 45, suffered head trauma and died at the scene of the injury, according to local press reports. In 2016 Ronnie Lee Hall, a 55-year-old contract worker, fell to his death while working on a construction job at the plant.

An investigation by the state of South Carolina cited BMW for four safety violations relating to the death of Sprah, but only imposed $6,975 in fines, a derisory amount less than 1/10 the cost of a new BMW vehicle.

Before moving to South Carolina, Ethan worked at a Chrysler plant for 9 years. He worked for Chrysler for three years, but was a temporary part time employee the majority of the time.

Despite the miserable conditions prevailing in the southern auto plants the United Auto Workers has been rejected by autoworkers at foreign transplants in a series of union representation votes based on the UAWs record of betrayal and collaboration with management. The most recent example was a 63 percent to 37 percent rejection vote at the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi.

Over the past decades the UAW has presided over the elimination of hundreds of thousands of jobs and than steady erosion of wages and conditions, including the expanded use of temporary part-time workers earning minimal wages with no benefits and no protection against arbitrary dismissal. This has gone hand in hand with the creation of multiple tier wage scales and the expanded use of contract workers.

Thus the UAW has created conditions in the plants that it organizes that are no better, in fact in some cases worse, than at the foreign transplants in the South.

Speaking of the record of the conditions in the Detroit auto plants Ethan remarked, That was the UAWs fault. I have a bad taste in my mouth for UAW.

Suspicion and hostility toward the UAW has been intensified by the continuing revelations in the UAW corruption scandal, which shows that Fiat Chrysler management paid millions of dollars to obtain favorable contract terms and to keep UAW officials, fat, dumb and happy.

The WSWS Autoworker Newsletter spoke to Ethan about the necessity of uniting workers at the Detroit-based auto companies with autoworkers in the South through the building of rank-and-file factory committees independent and in opposition to the UAW to be genuine voice of workers in the auto plants.

Ethan was enthusiastic. We need some sort of representation.
As college students throughout New York state return to school, a report has revealed that the states much-vaunted Excelsior Scholarship, which was advertised as providing free tuition at all of New Yorks public universities to middle-class families, was awarded to only 3.2 percent of undergraduates in the 2017-2018 academic year. An even smaller percentage of community college students and students in New York Cityone of the most expensive cities in the worldreceived the scholarship.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the New York Times all initially hailed the scholarship, with Sanders, who claimed to be a socialist during the 2016 Democratic Party primary campaign, calling it revolutionary. The fact that only 20,086 out of 633,543 undergraduate students received the scholarship demonstrates that the scholarship was mostly an electoral stunt designed to appease students anger over student loan debt.

The Center for an Urban Future (CUF), a think tank analyzing inequality and economic mobility, based its report on data from the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), the City University of New York Office of Institutional Research and the State University of New York.

An extremely limited number of New York students are eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship. Students must be attending a school in the State University of New York (SUNY) or City University of New York (CUNY) systems, be taking at least 30 credits per year, cannot have had gaps in their education, must finish their degree within five years, and must come from families with annual incomes below $110,000. Last year the maximum income was $100,000, and next year the maximum will be $125,000, where it is scheduled to remain.

Additionally, students receiving the scholarship must remain in New York state at least as many years as they receive the scholarship, or they will have to repay the award.

The Excelsior Scholarship is a last dollar scholarship, meaning that if a students tuition is already covered by federal Pell Grants or the state Tuition Assistance Programas is the case with many of the lowest-income studentsthey are not eligible. It also only applies to tuition, and cannot be used for room and board, fees or books, which are about double the tuition for SUNY students living on-campus.

Even though the SUNY and CUNY systems are the second- and third- largest public higher education systems in the United States, respectively, with about 700,000 students in all, the state received less than 64,000 applications, 68 percent of which it denied.

Of the rejected applications, 83 percent were rejected for not sufficient credits. Not only is 30 credits per year more than the federal minimum for being a full-time student, but it is practically impossible for students who need to work part- or even full-time to make ends meet while going to school.

While a 3.2 percent figure for undergraduates receiving the scholarship is already low, a further breakdown of the numbers reveals a picture that is even more dismal. The CUF report notes that barely 4,000 of the 242,000 students attending public [four-year] colleges and [two-year] community colleges in New York City have benefited from New Yorks Excelsior Scholarship program.

At four community colleges in New York City, 100 or fewer students have received an Excelsior award. Out of almost 100,000 students in CUNYs community colleges, only 820 received an Excelsior Scholarship. Students at SUNY Albany, Binghamton, Stony Brook and the University at Buffalo each received more scholarships, with a total enrollment of only 65,545 between them.

The implementation of the Excelsior Scholarship has also come under fire. College financial aid officials and students say that HESC, which administers the scholarship on New York states behalf, has failed to answer their questions about the scholarship or let them know in a timely manner if they have received the award.

According to the Albany-based Times Union, at a recent conference call of college financial aid officers that included HESC officials and journalists, an Erie County Community College financial aid officer, speaking on behalf of a statewide association of such officials, said, We have gone months without formal written guidance.

Albanys response was to blame financial aid officers, with Cuomo spokesman Don Kaplan saying, It is shocking that financial aid officers do not yet understand this program. According to a SUNY official, financial aid officers have since been directed not to speak with the press about the scholarship.

The World Socialist Web Site noted the limited nature of a free tuition scholarship, even if implemented without strings attached, when Cuomo first proposed the Excelsior Scholarship:

For nearly 130 years [CUNY] was tuition-free, and in the first half of the 20th century was sometimes called the Harvard of the proletariat. Tuition was imposed for the first time during the financial crisis and near-bankruptcy of the city in 1976.  The destruction of tuition-free education in 1976 was one of the initial elements in what has become four decades of social counterrevolution.

At the time of the scholarships implementation, we noted that officials acknowledged that as few as 32,000 students might take advantage of the program. Even this figure was an overestimation by 50 percent.

The New York Times, which hailed Cuomos proposal in 2017, has not written on the CUF report as of this writing. The limited participation in the Excelsior Scholarship, with every obstacle put up to prevent students from working-class backgrounds from receiving it, is an embarrassing exposure of the Democratic Party, as some of its representatives attempt to burnish their progressive credentials before the midterm elections.
Teachers in Tacoma, Washington, joined striking teachers throughout the state as the Tacoma Education Association (TEA) failed to reach a deal with school district officials in advance of the 5:00 p.m. strike deadline Wednesday. Teachers in 10 other districts across western Washington were on strike Wednesday while school authorities escalated their campaign of threats and intimidation against striking teachers in at least three districts.

The Tacoma walkout comes in the wake of an overwhelming 97.3 percent strike vote by teachers Tuesday night. School officials in Tacoma, the third largest city in the state and the second-largest in western Washington, have refused to budge on their insulting 3.1 percent pay offer to city teachers, who face one of the highest costs of living in the state coupled with a high poverty rate among students.

An elementary school psychologist from Tacoma, told the World Socialist Web Site, I dont understand why the unions arent pushing for the unification of educators. They did a similar thing in West Virginia I think. Teachers wanted to go out and stay on strike, but the union tried to make them go back to work.

She continued, When I moved to Washington, I had this starry-eyed idea that its a liberal state, thinking its so progressive. But they have one of the most regressive tax systems in our country. Were all one or two paychecks away from disaster.

Educators across Washington have demanded double-digit raises after the state legislature allocated an additional $2 billion for teacher salaries as a result of a state supreme court ruling that the state had failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibility to provide adequate public K-12 education. This abrogation of responsibility and continued refusal to adequately fund educationduring a largely Democratic-controlled state administrationresulted in an unprecedented move by the court to hold the state in contempt, prompting an additional $8.3 billion dollars in funding over the past two years.

Schools were closed for the first day of the school year Wednesday in Centralia, Puyallup and Tukwila school districts in the South Puget Sound region as teachers struck over pay and conditions. On Tuesday, teachers in the districts of Stanwood-Camano on the border with Canada, Evergreen near the border with Oregon, and Tumwater south of Olympia, the state capital, went on strike.

They joined teachers in Battle Ground and Washougal, who continued their strikes from last week, and Longview, who have been on strike since August 23. Meanwhile, teachers in Puyallup and Tukwila face the threat of individual legal action following authorization by their school boards. Similar measures are reportedly under consideration in Centralia.

The growing militancy of teachers in Washington contrasts starkly with the efforts of the National Education Association, through its state affiliate, the Washington Education Association (WEA) and its local affiliates, to isolate and shut down the walkouts and prevent them from escalating into a statewide strike.

Teachers returned to work on Wednesday in Vancouver, near Portland, Oregon, following a vote of members on a union-backed contract. In the largest city of Seattle, meanwhile, teachers were ordered to report to work on the first day of school Wednesday without a vote or even seeing a contract.

The Seattle Education Association announced a one-year tentative agreement to avert a strike last Friday evening, to be voted on at a meeting this coming Saturday. While few details have been released, the deal will ostensibly increase teacher pay by 10.5 percent, while leaving substitute teachers without healthcare and achieving few of the teachers demands for greater funding. This increase will not even come close to allowing teachers to live in the city, which has experienced the fastest growth in housing costs over recent years.

Tom, a substitute teacher in Seattle, told the World Socialist Web Site, As a certificated sub, I provide a necessary service for the district, and feel like I should be provided with healthcare as other employees are. Why didnt the union fight to do away with the nonsensical restrictions on healthcare that are currently in place? Further, why did they accept 10.5%, rather than the 15% that union members demand?

Teachers must draw the necessary lessons from the NEAs efforts to suppress, isolate and end the struggles of teachers in Washington and elsewhere in 2018. The only way for teachers in Tacoma, Seattle and throughout the state to fight for substantial wage and funding improvements is to build new organizations of struggle independent of the union apparatus.

This means electing rank-and-file committees, democratically controlled by educators themselves, in every school and community to unify the struggles of teachers across districts in Washington, and organize a statewide teachers strike. To strengthen their fight these committees must reach out to United Parcel Service workers, postal workers, Amazon workers, and all sections of the working class throughout Washington, the US and internationally.

The fight to defend and vastly improve public education is above all a political struggle, which pits the working class against both big business parties and the capitalist profit system they defend.

The WSWS Teacher Newsletter urges educators, parents, and their supporters to contact us to develop this fight.
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Negotiators from the United States and Canada on Wednesday resumed trade talks to bridge their differences on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after the two sides failed to reach a deal last week.





"Our officials have continued to work hard and constructively over the weekend and we are looking forward to constructive conversations today," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Wednesday in Washington.





The trade talks came after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that there is "no political necessity" to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal.





"If we don't make a fair deal for the U.S. after decades of abuse, Canada will be out," Trump said via Twitter, threatening to terminate the 24-year-old trilateral trade deal.





The White House has pressured Canada to accept the preliminary agreement it struck with Mexico last Monday to update the trilateral trade deal. But Canada insisted that it would only sign a new agreement that is good for the country.





One of the major sticking points in the talks is a so-called dispute resolution system, contained in Chapter 19 of the original NAFTA agreement. The United States has proposed to scrap the dispute resolution system that Canada regard as crucial.





"We' ve said from the very beginning that we need a dispute resolution mechanism like Chapter 19 and we will hold firm on that," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.





"As I've said, we will not sign a deal that is bad for Canadians and, quite frankly, not having a Chapter 19 to ensure that the rules are followed would be bad for Canadians," he said.





While U.S. officials have indicated that they are prepared to go ahead and sign a NAFTA deal only with Mexico, the U.S. business community and many lawmakers have insisted that the NAFTA deal should remain a trilateral pact.





"Anything other than a trilateral agreement won't win congressional approval and would lose business support," President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Thomas Donohue said last week.





Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden on Tuesday also refuted Trump's assertion that he could unilaterally withdraw from NAFTA without congressional approval.





"The president needs to take a look at the Constitution - it gives Congress authority over trade. The president cannot pull America out of NAFTA without Congress's permission," Wyden said in a statement.





Talks on renegotiating the NAFTA began in August 2017 as Trump threatened to withdraw from the trilateral trade deal, which he claimed harmed U.S. industries and jobs.
Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp has decided to pull out of China after the carmaker known for its minicars failed to offer larger models that consumers favor in the world's largest vehicle market.





Suzuki agreed to transfer its 50 percent stake in Changan Suzukiits last remaining Chinese ventureto Chongqing Changan Automobile Co for 1 yuan (14.6 US cents), according to a statement from Changan on Wednesday.





The transfer will be completed by the end of the year, but Changan will continue to make and sell Suzuki-branded cars in China under a license.





Established in 1993, Changan Suzuki was one of China's first car manufacturing joint ventures. Its small economy cars were popular in the nation then, with the Alto model even being a household name at one point.





"However, due partly to the shifting of Chinese market to larger vehicles, we have decided to transfer all equity to Changan Automobile," Suzuki Chairman Osamu Suzuki said in a statement on Tuesday.





Suzuki's withdrawal from Changan Suzuki came after it left another Chinese joint venture in June, Jiangxi Changhe Suzuki Automobile Co, which was established in 1994.





Suzuki's China sales have been slumping in recent years. It sold more than 266,000 cars in China in 2014, according to LMC Automotive, but last year sales dwindled to around 119,000 vehicles.





"Suzuki was slow to introduce models in China and did not update its lineup to meet the changing demand in the Chinese market," said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association.





Statistics from the association shows that the combined market share of mini and small cars in China plunged from 35 percent in 2003 to 6.7 percent in 2017. In the same period, SUVs' market share surged from 6 percent to 43 percent in the nation.





Rising local brands are also attracting consumers from small foreign brands including Suzuki with their increasingly competitive products, said analysts. Among others, Geely and Great Wall Motor have unveiled their upscale brands that are aimed at headon competition with international rivals.





Suzuki hopes that pulling out of China can allow it to concentrate on its efforts in India, where it holds a dominant market share through a majority stake in the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Its compact models including the Alto and Baleno remain among India's best-selling cars.





"Maruti Suzuki's market share (in India) is 50 percent, and we need to be considering now how we're going to maintain that share in 2030," the Indian newspaper Economic Times quoted Suzuki Chairman Osamu Suzuki as saying in May.





India is the world's fifth-largest passenger car market, with annual sales at around 3 million, and Suzuki expects the market will grow to 10 million units annually by 2030. In comparison, China sold more than 24 million passenger cars last year.
China's rural education has seen tremendous improvements - including the quality of teachers - but a shortage of teachers remains a big challenge, a group of rural teachers told journalists during a dialogue on Wednesday.

Even though rural schools still don't have the resources and facilities of urban schools, they are moving forward measurably when it comes to facilities, equipment and teacher quality, the teachers said.

Zhi Yueying, who has spent more than 38 years educating children in the remote villages of Jiangxi province, said the facilities in her school have improved greatly and it's the most beautiful building in her village.

Improved living conditions have also attracted more teachers to rural areas, Zhi said during the discussion, which was organized for journalists by the State Council Information Office.

The central government has offered subsidies to rural teachers, while local governments have provided each rural teacher with an electric bike and a rice cooker, along with an apartment with a bathroom.

Xue Fagen, president of Shengze Experimental Primary School in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, said the key to retaining talented teachers in rural areas is to offer them higher salaries and opportunities for promotion.

Chen Liqun, president of Minzu Middle School in Guizhou province's Taijiang county, said the improvements in school conditions have induced many dropouts to return.

The parents of many students at Minzu have left home to work in the cities and have left their children with grandparents who sometimes do not have enough energy to take care of them, Chen said.

To better manage the students and reduce the dropout rate, all students now live in school dormitories, he said.

"The most sustainable way to keep rural students out of poverty is to give them a good education, and I am willing to offer my help," Chen said.

By 2020, the percentage of students who drop out of school during China's nine years compulsory education is expected to fall below 5 percent, according to the State Council.

China plans to lure 45,000 university graduates to teach in rural areas this year in an initiative to boost education standards in poverty-stricken areas, the Ministry of Education said.

Education and finance authorities plan to recruit 10,000 teachers who are past retirement age in the coming three years to teach in primary and junior middle schools in rural areas.

The "silver-age" project by the education and finance ministries will recruit retirees to be headmasters and teachers until 2020.

With a focus on schools in poverty-stricken areas, the project is aimed at improving the quality of education and helping to balance educational opportunities fairly between urban and rural areas.
In whats becoming a rite of passage for Silicon Valley executives, Twitter chief Jack Dorsey headed to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, testifying to Congress that his company doesnt censor users based on politics or target conservative voices.

Those in the gallery and watching at home didnt glean much new from Dorseys testimony, however. Dorsey calmly reiterated much of what hes already said in recent months  that Twitter doesnt make decisions based on political ideology, as he said in his opening remarks. This comes after the company has been criticized from both the left and the right of late. Conservatives have accused Twitter of shadow-banning prominent right-wing voices  which Dorsey denied on Wednesday. At the same time, the social media platform has been skewered by many on the left for not booting conspiracy theorist Alex Jones last month, as did several other tech giants.

When asked why Twitter suspended conservative commentator Candace Owens for mimicking New York Times reporter Sarah Jeongs contentious tweets, including cancel white people, Dorsey said it was a mistake.

He argued it wouldnt make business sense for Twitter to jettison large swaths of Republicans, viewing the platform as a new-age public square where almost anything should be allowed to be said. Impartiality is our guiding principle, Dorsey added.

Also Read: Jack Dorsey Tells Congress Twitter Doesn't Use 'Political Ideology' to Make Decisions

Dorsey also acknowledged the Twitter ecosystem can often be toxic for users, particularly women, as Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) put it. The exec said Twitter is focused on making the platform more hospitable right now, at the expense of all-out growth.

Our singular objective as a company right now is to increase the health of public conversation, and we realize that will come at short-term cost, Dorsey said.

The few moments that offered an opportunity for clarity didnt reveal much. Dorsey declined to disclose how many content moderators the company has employed, saying hell follow up with specific numbers later. He was cagey when pressed by one representative to disclose his political affiliation, eventually conceding and saying hes a registered Independent. One illuminating exchange did come when Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) pressed Dorsey on whether Twitter follows Russian laws mandating user data be stored in Russia. Dorsey at first said hell get back to Kinzinger on it, before saying, We dont have servers in Russia.

Story continues

Also Read: Twitter Begins Labeling Political Ads Ahead of 2018 Election

Dorsey was often candid when talking about how Twitter can improve. On its arcane user guidelines, Dorsey said if you sat down with a cup of coffee you wouldnt be able to understand them. He added Twitters verification process is not where wed like it to be and needs work.

While several Republican urged Twitter to treat conservatives fairly, some Democrats said the questions over political bias were a waste of time. Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) called the fixation on Twitters politics a charade at one point.

The day did have a farcical element to it. During a break in the Senates hearing earlier in the day, Jones  on hand in the audience  called Sen. Marco Rubio a frat boy and snake. Rubio, in return, dismissed Jones as a clown. Later, right-wing activist Laura Loomer interrupted the hearing, loudly shouting at Dorsey. She was drowned out by Rep. Billy Young (R-LA) suddenly bursting into an auctioneers call.

Also Read: Twitter Tests Recommending Accounts to Unfollow

Ultimately, the daylong testimony yielded little insight. Much like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs trip to Washington last spring, our elected representatives lobbed complaints and demanded Twitter do a better job, whether its protecting conservatives or making its platform less toxic. But they also said theyd prefer Twitter handle its issues alone, preferring to bypass legislation that would restrict major social media companies. In other words, dont expect Congress to do much about Silicon Valleys headaches for the time being.

Read original story Jack Dorsey Goes to Washington, Says Twitter Doesnt Target Conservative Voices At TheWrap
World Reuters

Former world No.1 tennis doubles player Peng Shuai, one of China's biggest sporting stars, has publicly accused a former Chinese vice premier of forcing her into sex several years ago in a social media post that was later deleted. According to a screenshot of her verified Weibo account late on Tuesday, Peng said that Zhang Gaoli, who became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee - China's top decision-making body - coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship. The post was deleted around half an hour after it was published, although searches for Peng's name on China's tightly controlled internet surged after the posting, and screenshots were shared among private WeChat groups and over iMessage.
Anonymous op-ed shows 'we don't really have a president,' John Kerry tells Stephen Colbert originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

John Kerry said on Wednesday that reading the anonymously written New York Times op-ed by someone in the current administration scared him and confirmed that America doesn't really have a president."

Kerry, a former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate, weighed in on "The Late Show" after The Times published a piece attributed to a senior administration official who warned of an internal plan to thwart President Donald Trumps agenda.

"It scared the hell out of me," Kerry said to Stephen Colbert. "You know what it really means, Stephen, is that we don't really have a president. We have a president who is there, but he's not capable of doing the job or living up to the responsibilities."

PHOTO: John Kerry sat down for an interview with The Late Show host Stephen Colbert on Wednesday. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS)

Trump called the op-ed "gutless" and demanded that "the failing New York Times" release the source's name. The op-ed author claimed to be a person who supported some of the president's policies but was concerned with his temperament.

Kerry also touched on alarming claims from journalist and author Bob Woodward, who recently released an excerpt of his forthcoming book about alleged turmoil within the current administration. The book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," is based on first-hand reporting and anonymous White House sources.

PHOTO: John Kerry, gives an interview after the 'Tech for Good' Summit at Elysee Palace, May 23, 2018, in Paris. (Aurelien Morissard/IP3/Getty Images)

"You have somebody stealing something off the president's desk in order to prevent him from making a decision," said Kerry, who served under President Barack Obama. "You're not supposed to have a resistance in the White House to prevent your president from breaking the law or doing something irrational and dangerous."

He said the apparent crisis in the White House is "really scary" and called on members of Congress to stop defending the president for selfish reasons.

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"What should really trouble everybody -- and it troubles me that it doesn't trouble certain people -- is that members of the United States Senate and the House, who take an oath of office to defend the Constitution and defend the United States of America, are actually defending their own power, defending their own positions, and they're not defending the Constitution or the institution of the Senate," Kerry said. "They're defending party and president. And that's wrong."

PHOTO: President Donald Trump listens to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah in the Oval Office of the White House, Sept. 5, 2018, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

It's not the first time that Kerry and Trump have clashed. Earlier this week, the president responded to rumors Kerry could be gearing up to run against him in 2020.

"I see that John Kerry, the father of the now terminated Iran deal, is thinking of running for President. I should only be so lucky - although the field that is currently assembling looks really good - FOR ME, Trump tweeted Monday.

Kerry responded to the president's comments in an interview with ABC's "The View" on Wednesday: "I doubt I'd be running for office again." Supporters of Kerry did point out he didn't explicitly say "no" to a potential White House run.
Kim Jong Un says he still trusts Donald Trump and 'never made a negative comment' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's trust in U.S. President Donald Trump remains unchanged, according to South Korea's special envoy, who met with Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

"Chairman Kim emphasized that he has never made a negative comment about Trump," Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's top national security adviser, said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Kim also reaffirmed his nation's commitment to "actively engage in denuclearization if the countermeasures are taken simultaneously" and "expressed frustration that his goodwill is not being properly delivered to the international community."

Kim stressed to Chung that North Korea's nuclear tests have become permanently impossible at Poongye-ri as two-thirds of its tunnel is destroyed. The dismantled missile-engine test site at Tongchang-ri is North Korea's only test facility.

(MORE: Trump and Kim exchange letters amid denuclearization doubts)

This means North Korea "will completely halt long-range missile tests in the future, and is a very practical and significant step," Chung added.

North Korean state media supported what Kim told South Korean officials.

"Supreme leader said he fully supports and sympathizes with" President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, with Kim saying "he remains unchanged in his determination to strive hard to bring the fellow countrymen better results at an early date, bearing in mind the mission before the nation and its expectation," Korean Central News Agency reported, citing Kim's reply to a personal letter from Moon.

PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the military demarcation line at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the North and South, April 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool via AP, File)

The two Koreas also agreed to hold a third summit Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang. The two leaders will again discuss making progress on denuclearizing the peninsula, relieving military tensions near the border and opening a joint liaison office in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

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The envoys delivered a message from Trump to Kim upon Trump's request to Moon during their phone call on Tuesday, according to Kim Eui-kyeom, South Korea's presidential spokesperson, who did not specify what exactly the message contained. Trump also requested Moon "play the role as a chief negotiator representing both North Korea and the United States" during the call, Kim told reporters. Kim's reply to Trump's message likely will be delivered later on Thursday during a phone call with John Bolton, a national security adviser.

Moon and Trump are planning to meet at the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

Kim said he agreed with South Korea's position that an official declaration ending the Korean War would help build mutual trust between the nations.

"Kim expressed his stance that a weakening of the United States-South Korea alliance or United States' troops withdrawal from Korea has nothing to do with the war-end declaration," Chung said.

(MORE: EXCLUSIVE: 'I do trust him': Trump opens up about Kim after historic summit)

The two Koreas are aligned in formally ending the war, a measure that has helped thaw relations between the two countries. For the U.S., denuclearizing remains the top priority.

"Moon and Kim are pushing for a peace declaration to notionally end the civil war. The U.S. says, eliminate North Korean nuclear weapons first," said Stephen Ganyard, an ABC News contributor and former deputy assistant secretary of the state. "Moon, Trump and Kim all have different agendas and goals. Someone will be forced to give in this month. Might be Trump if Moon sides with Kim."

ABC News' Hakyung Kate Lee, Liz Sunwoo Kim and Soohyun Kim contributed to this article.
(LONDON)  British officials announced Wednesday that they have charged two alleged Russian military intelligence agents with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury  though they held out little hope of being able to bring them to justice.

The Crown Prosecution Service said the men, who entered the U.K. under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, are being charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok.

Prime Minister Theresa May told lawmakers that British intelligence services have concluded the two men were officers of Russias GRU military intelligence service.

May said the attack was not a rogue operation and was almost certainly approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Russia denies involvement in the attack on Sergei Skripal  a former Russian agent who had been convicted in his homeland of spying for Britain  and his daughter.

Sue Hemming of the Crown Prosecution Service said the U.K. would not ask Moscow to extradite the men because Russian law forbids extradition of the countrys citizens. Britain has issued domestic and European arrest warrants for the suspects, meaning they can be detained if they leave Russia for another European country.

But assistant commissioner Neil Basu, head of counterterrorism at Londons Metropolitan Police, conceded it was very, very unlikely police would be in a position to arrest them any time soon.

Police say the suspects, both about 40, flew from Moscow to London on Russian passports two days before the Skripals were poisoned on March 4. Basu said the passports were genuine but the men were probably using aliases, and appealed the public to come forward and tell us who they are.

The Skripals were found collapsed on a bench in the cathedral city of Salisbury, 90 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of London. They spent weeks hospitalized in critical condition and are now recovering in a secret location for their own protection.

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British authorities and the international chemical weapons watchdog say the Skripals were exposed to Novichok, a type of military-grade nerve agent developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Britain blames the Russian government for the attack, a claim Moscow denies. The poisoning ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled by both Russia and Western nations.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the names and images of the suspects released by Britain say nothing to us.

Zakharova called on Britain to cooperate with Russian law enforcement agencies on the investigation. She has criticized London for turning down Moscows request to see the case files.

Police on Wednesday gave new details about what Basu called one of the most complex investigations the force had ever seen.

The police force released a series of images of the men as they traveled through London and Salisbury between March 2 and March 4. They stayed in a hotel in London  where traces of Novichok were also found  and made two trips to Salisbury.

Police say the two men flew back to Moscow from Heathrow Airport on the evening of March 4, hours after the Skripals were found collapsed on a park bench in Salisbury.

Police believe the nerve agent used to poison the Skripals was smuggled to Britain in a counterfeit Nina Ricci perfume bottle and applied to the front door of Sergei Skripals house.

More than three months later, the bottle was found by a local man, 48-year-old Charlie Rowley. He was hospitalized and his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after being exposed to the contents.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed Tuesday that Rowley and Sturgess were also exposed to Novichok.

Police are still trying to determine where the bottle was between the Skripal poisoning in March and its discovery by Rowley on June 27. As a result, Basu said, police are not yet ready to bring charges in the second poisoning.

___

Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed to this story.
You are here: China

China has called for beefing up global cooperation and increasing investment for better protection of snow leopards.

Li Chunliang, deputy director of China's State Forestry and Grassland Administration, made the call at an International Conference for Snow Leopard Conservation that opened in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen Tuesday.

Representatives from 12 countries, including China, India and Russia, and relevant international organizations are attending the three-day event.

Li called on the countries to increase attention and investment on protection efforts and asked the international community to provide funds and technical assistance.

"China will continue to boost protection of snow leopards and their habitats," said Li, adding that the country will explore establishing more cross-border nature reserves for the rare species.

Snow leopards and their habitats still face threats including habitat fragmentation, climate change, human activities, poaching and illegal trading, said Li.

Meanwhile, most snow leopards live in plateau mountains where economies are lacking, causing a shortage of funds and staff, Li said.

In addition to the 26 existing nature reserves, China has been exploring building national parks since 2017 to protect snow leopards and other wild animals further, he said.

The Sanjiangyuan and Mount Qilian national parks currently under construction will provide a combined protected area of 200,000 square kilometers, helping to expand and improve the species, said Li.

Koustubh Sharma, the International Coordinator of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program Secretariat, said he hopes the conference will boost international cooperation on the protection of snow leopards.

The snow leopard is a Class-A protected animal in China and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies it as vulnerable. There is an estimated population of 4,500 to 7,500 living in the wild globally, according to IUCN.
Is AI a bigger threat than terrorism? (Getty)

Artificial intelligence is a bigger threat than antibiotic resistance, climate change or terrorism, the incoming head of the British Science Association has said.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili pointed to the increasing impact of cyber risks  in the form of Russian election hacking  as evidence that the threat of AI is a pressing one.

In the future, AI-controlled systems such as banks and power grids might mean our whole society is vulnerable, he said.

Professor Al-Khalili said at a meeting in London in advance of the British Science Festival that AI will dominate other issues, even pressing threats such as climate change and terrorism.

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He said, Until maybe a couple of years ago had I been asked what is the most pressing and important conversation we should be having about our future, I might have said climate change or one of the other big challenges facing humanity, such as terrorism, antimicrobial resistance, the threat of pandemics or world poverty.

But today I am certain the most important conversation we should be having is about the future of AI. It will dominate what happens with all of these other issues for better or for worse.

Is Russian cyber hackers were able to meddle with the 2016 US elections, then what is stopping cyber terrorists from hacking into any future AI controlled power grids, transport systems, banks of military installations.

Our government has a responsibility to protect society from potential threats and risks.
Right wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and senator Marco Rubio clashed after a congressional hearing with executives from Facebook and Twitter, in which they attempted to assure politicians that they were capable of protecting Novembers midterm elections from foreign interference.

As the former Republican presidential nominee spoke to reporters after testimony from Facebooks chief operation officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, Mr Jones began talking over him.

He has accused the tech giants of censoring conservative voices after they suspended his conspiracy theory website Infowars last month. After sitting in the front row of the hearing, he was later seen declaring that he had come to face my accusers".

Pretending to be a Russian bot, he shouted homophobic insults at senators and made bleeping noises as he walked around corridors.

After spotting Mr Rubio, he moved in on his interview and attempted to elicit a response from him about his website's treatment.

Is that a heckler at a press gaggle? Mr Rubio said. I just dont know who you are, man. I dont really read your website.

At one point, Mr Jones patted the Florida Republican on the shoulder.

Get your hand off me. Don't touch me again, man," Mr Rubio said.

After Mr Jones suggested that Mr Rubio would try and get him arrested, the Florida senator replied: "You're not going to get arrested. I'll take care of it myself.

Mr Jones then responded: "Rubio just threatened to physically take care of me. Look at him, he's so mad. You're not going to silence me. You're not going to silence America. You are a little gangster thug."

As the conversation ended Mr Rubio called Mr Jones a clown as he walked away.

Mr Jones responded by calling him a frat boy and a little punk.

He had earlier livestreamed his arrival at the hearing on Twitter. Large parts of it were difficult to follow or indecipherable, but he shouted a number of insults as well as making strange remarks towards the camera.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker out of RAF Mildenhall, England, above the Mediterranean Sea, Sept. 27, 2017.

Angus Ross, Andrew Savchenko

Security, Americas

This is what Moscows recent crop of nuclear and hypersonic weapons actually means for Washington.

America and Russia are Headed Toward a Hypersonic Showdown

More than sixty years ago, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Sir John Slessor, one of the authors of Britains nuclear deterrence concept, asked what the great deterrent really deterred? The answer was almost disappointingly precise. While it did prevent an all-out nuclear war and could stop a potential aggressor from embarking on a course of action that could escalate into such a conflict, Slessor did not expect that mutually assured destruction would deter the wicked men in the Kremlin from seeking to achieve by other means their crazy dream of a Communist World dominated by Moscow.

Today, as the world digests the recent meeting between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, the strategic nuclear balance has changed little, if at all. Classical nuclear deterrence theory still seemingly works in controlling direct relations between the two largest nuclear powers, the United States and Russia, even in this era of hypercompetitive gray-zone campaigning. However, what are we to make of the latters recent pursuit of hypersonic and unconventional delivery means for its nuclear arsenal? Russia is no longer the Soviet Union of sixty years ago. Then, as a multinational empire presiding over a large collection of vassals and allies, it could claim to be a viable competitor of the West, militarily, ideologically and even economically. Today, Russia clings to the title of superpower only because it possesses one of the two largest nuclear arsenals on the planet. The wicked men in the Kremlin, however, are just as determined as their Communist predecessors to expand their dominion. In so doing, they will not stop at using the threat of nuclear weapons, so long as these would, in their view, fall short of requiring a strategic response in kind. Their dreams may sound crazy, but there is a method to their madness.

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In his March 1 speech, Putin listed a baffling array of weapons that were in the process of being added to Russias arsenal. Most of them are too exotic to fit into any existing military doctrine, and many have yet to emerge from the development stage. Two of them however stand apart from the rest: the heavy ICBM, successor to the long-serving Satan missile, and the Kinzhal, air-launched, pseudo-ballistic missile. These represent the two faces of Russias nuclear ambitions. One is designed to preserve the status quo, Russias part in the Mutually Assured Destruction balance of nuclear forces. The other is designed to destabilize, deceive, and under the cover of the resulting confusion, to allow the pursuit of Russias national interests. The latter include the territorial expansion on the Eurasian landmass and a creation of a security belt that expands beyond the former Soviet borders.

The Son of Satan (Russian designation Sarmat) is a status quo weapon. Its predecessor, the SS-18 Satan (Russian designation Voyevoda) has soldiered on for more than forty years and needs replacement. The new missile is reported to carry a heavier payload over a longer range than the old one, while still having the same number of MIRVs (ten). It is expected to be able to carry the new hypersonic glide vehicles (currently under development). While some experts doubt specific parameters of the new missiles performance, in general there is agreement that it is replacing the aging Satan in its strategic role. Its arrival therefore, does not per se change the deterrence balance.

The Kinzhal (Dagger, there is still no NATO designation for this system) however is very different. It is basically an Iskander (SS-26 Stone) short-range missile, of which more later, launched from the MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor. The MiG is supposed to release the missile at an altitude of approximately eighty thousand feet (twenty-four thousand meters). The missile then descends in a powered hypersonic flight, reaching a speed of around Mach 10 over a range of two thousand kilometers. In its original, land launched form, Iskander had a range of five hundred kilometers and flew at Mach 6. The aircraft launch, because it saves the boost phase, gives the Kinzhal variant its higher speed and longer range.

Reports about the Kinzhal system though contain too many unknowns. While Putin illustrated his presentation with computer graphics depicting what looked like a naval vessel, thereby implying that the missile has an anti-ship role, the missiles ability to hit moving targets has never been demonstrated or even reported. This has not stopped the Russian media from presenting the Kinzhal as a killer of aircraft carriers. It is likely that the Kinzhal has some terminal-phase maneuver capability to avoid interception by missile defenses. It is however highly unlikely that its guidance system is responsive enough to allow it to successfully attack a moving target. Obviously a munition traveling at ten times the speed of sound would have to be highly accurate to strike even a static target since, at these velocities, even a small course error could translate into a wide miss in the impact area. Moving targets would therefore present all sorts of problems. As Pavel Felgenhauer has suggested, it is much more likely that the system was specifically designed to attack stationary missile defenses in Romania, which are located beyond the range of land-based Iskander missiles.

Like the Iskander, the Kinzhal can carry a nuclear charge. In this configuration, its precision may be just sufficient to be used against large formations of ships like carrier groups. The MiG-31, an aircraft whose design dates back to the early 1970s, has a very substantial radar signature and will be particularly visible in the expected, high-altitude launch profile. It is therefore likely that in times of escalating tensions between Russia and NATO, any flight of a MiG-31 within a given radius from NATO naval assets will be treated as a potential nuclear attack. The MiG-31s high visibility in this case only adds to the confusion and uncertainty, which Russia may be able to use to its advantage.

The availability of nuclear warheads in this system is an indication that Russia is trying to diversify its nuclear deterrence forces vis-a-vis the United States. The fact that these missiles are both hypersonic and nuclear-capable means that Russias ability to strike targets from tactical to intercontinental ranges (given the range of the missile plus the range of the aircraft) is essentially an expanded capability. With the invulnerability to interception that hypersonics confer, the Kinzhal system may thus have a valuable destabilizing element to it when considered alongside the other systems available. This makes it something of a game-changer, which is probably why it has so much emphasis at the moment. This supposition is further backed up by the fact that Russian aircraft have been observed conducting upwards of 250 sorties by April 2018, presumably trying to perfect the missile-delivery system in short order.

In passing, and given the Kinzhals heritage, it is probably worth considering the likely objectives behind the development of the original Iskander series. The Iskander-M is a mobile, short range, ballistic-missile system which is fully hypersonic in its terminal phase. Unlike the Kinzhal, of which only few have been delivered, the Iskander is already serving in large numbers. The latest reports mention at least 120 launchers in active service. Each launcher can carry two missiles. The missile, flying in a quasi-ballistic trajectory and conducting avoidance maneuvers, is specifically designed to knock out stationary missile defenses within a five hundred kilometer range, with the hypersonic speed giving it an invulnerability to all but the most sophisticated defense systems. It is therefore an almost tailor-made weapons system for influencing events in Russias near abroad. The missile itself has an unusual, unitary design, with the warhead and engine flying as one, all the way to the target. The guidance system is a combination of inertial and optical devices with the latter being used in the terminal stage of the flight. At least one source mentions an active-radar homing device as an auxiliary terminal-guidance system. The circular probability of error is reported to vary between one and thirty meters.

Iskander launchers can accommodate both conventional and nuclear armed missiles. To complicate matters further, they can also launch long-range cruise missiles. This latter system is something of an enigma. Sometimes referred to as an R-500, with a maximum range of 500 kilometers, it might in fact be a version of the 3M-14K Kalibr (SS-N-30A Sizzler) which has a much longer range of 2,500 kilometers and can carry a nuclear warhead. Significantly, any land deployment of this particular missile (which has already been deployed on Russian naval vessels) would be a violation of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Not surprisingly and somewhat unconvincingly, Russia has categorically denied any such violation.

Finally another potential, treaty-violating missile is the RS-26 Rubezh (no NATO designation yet) which might be considered by some to be an ICBM, and therefore outside the confines of the INF Treaty. This is because in a recent flight test, it flew a distance of more than 5,500 kilometers. However, with a full payload, the range is likely to be well below 5,500 kilometers, making it in violation of the INF Treaty. The Rubezh is in fact a truncated version of a proper ICBM, Yars (which itself is a replacement of the Topol, NATO designation SS-27 Sickle B). Yars has three stages, Rubezh only two. The missile is expected to have two configurations: one with a single warhead and another with a MIRVed one. Both configurations are reported to be capable of breaking through existing missile defenses.

This continuous development and deployment of new weapons that occupy a niche below the level of the global strategic deterrent should be a cause for concern. The IISS Military Balance for 2018 (quoted by Anthony Cordesman) states that: Moscow appears to be maintaining a high degree of ambiguity about its intentions and capabilities that make it very difficult to completely rule out the possibility of a limited use of nuclear weapons in some eventuality. It would appear that Russia is intent on shaping a strategic environment beyond its Western borders, in effect as far as an Iskander can fly, which would allow it to expand the military dimension of its security belt anywhere in what it refers to as the Russian world. The hope is that these systems will help Russia to intervene militarily in any acute political crisis in her near abroad, while NATOs response will be hopelessly delayed for fear of Russias nuclear forces in the theater.

All these developments and Russias strenuous pursuit of hypersonics and nuclear capabilities as an integral part of these systems, only make matters worse for the United States. As hypersonic speeds dramatically reduce both the time required to reach a target and the probability of a successful interception, they can seriously affect the overall strategic balancein effect acting as destabilizing agents. This is because the likelihood of launching a successful, pre-emptive, but sub-strategic strike must rise, as the inability of the current missile defense systems to deal with hypersonic missiles effectively makes them invulnerable. At the same time, and because these systems are essentially tactical in nature, the hope is that a general, strategic nuclear exchange can still be prevented with some adroit diplomacy at the time. Under these circumstances, Russias motivation in continuing this development seem clear. At a stroke, these could prove to be an effective counter to any NATO response forces, forward deployed in times of tension.

This is not the time for America to fall behind in this crucial hypersonic arena. One of the advantages of supreme military power is that it can give you strategic choices. In effect, if you are driving the pace of innovation, and hold the worlds most powerful military, you can effectively force everyone else to react to your moves. You alone are free to make strategic choices, secure in the knowledge that, if chosen well, the steps taken are sure to cause your competitors even greater headaches by driving them into areas that are disproportionately difficult for them. If you lose this dominance, even in one crucial field, the effects can be devastating to ones ability to control the escalation. With Russia seemingly intent on continuing to develop and deploy sophisticated, and in some cases, unique nuclear-delivery systems, there is an urgent need for the United States to reassess its position.

Angus Ross is a professor of Joint Military Operations at the Naval War College and something of an amateur historian, while Andrew Savchenko writes on political risk in the post-Soviet space and teaches Economy and Society at RISD. The views expressed here are theirs alone.

Image: A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker out of RAF Mildenhall, England, above the Mediterranean Sea, Sept. 27, 2017. The B-52 is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. During this flight, the KC-135 offloaded 55,000 pounds of fuel to the B-52. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tenley Long). Flickr / U.S. Department of Defense

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RIYADH (Reuters) - An American trainer working with Saudi Arabia's National Guard was killed on Thursday in a helicopter crash in Riyadh in the course of a routine activity, a statement published by state media said. The Saudi statement gave the trainer's name as Paul Reidy and did not say whether he was a member of the military or a civilian. A U.S. Army official confirmed there had been a military fatality without providing details. A Saudi trainee pilot was injured in the crash at Khashm Alan airport in the east of the Saudi capital, which involved a Boeing AH-6i light helicopter gunship, the statement said. Investigators were still trying to determine the cause of the incident. (Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Peter Graff and Toby Chopra)
Rome (AFP) - Italian actress Asia Argento, who accused Harvey Weinstein of rape and has been accused herself of sexual assaulting a minor, will quit the Italian reality show "X Factor", producers said Wednesday.

A statement said that "by mutual agreement with Asia Argento," Sky Italia and FremantleMedia had decided to end Argento's work as a juror on the show, which is to begin its 12th season in Italy.

Argento, 42, has played a leading role in the #MeToo campaign to end sexual assault against women, but she also reportedly paid $380,000 to actor Jimmy Bennett who alleged she had sex with him in 2013 when he was 17, and thus underage.

Argento denies the allegations and has said she only gave Bennett money to help him out during a difficult period.

Several US media have reported that the actress halted payments to Bennett and is mulling legal action.

The Italian television producers said Argento would appear in early "X Factor" episodes that had already been filmed this year but would not be in a subsequent elimination round so as not to "distract attention".
Authorities search home of couple accused of squandering $400,000 raised for good Samaritan homeless vet originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

New Jersey authorities have searched the home of a couple who is accused of squandering much of the more than $400,000 in donations they raised for a homeless veteran.

Both prosecutors and police confirmed that a search warrant was executed early Thursday at the residence of Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D'Amico in Florence Township. They were once considered good Samaritans for raising the money through a GoFundMe account for the destitute Marine Corps veteran and former firefighter Johnny Bobbitt, Jr.

"Due to the enormous public interest in this matter, I am confirming that a search warrant was executed early this morning by the Burlington County Prosecutors Office and the Florence Township Police Department at the residence of Mark D'Amico and Katelyn McClure in connection with a criminal investigation into the Johnny Bobbitt matter," Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina said in a statement.

"As of this time, there have been no charges filed," the statement continued. "Further updates will be provided as circumstances warrant."

Bobbitt, 35, captured national headlines last year after giving McClure, 28, his last $20 to buy gas when her car broke down on Interstate 95 near Philadelphia, where he was living under a bridge. To thank Bobbitt for his kindness, McClure and her boyfriend subsequently set up a campaign on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe that was intended to help Bobbitt get back on his feet. More than 14,000 people donated to the fund, raising a total of $402,706.

"Johnny sits on the side of the road every day, holding a sign," McClure wrote on the page, which was created on Nov. 10, 2017. "He saw me pull over and knew something was wrong. He told me to get back in the car and lock the doors. A few minutes later, he comes back with a red gas can."

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(MORE: Homeless man who helped stranded woman buys home after nearly $400K raised)

Last week, Bobbitt filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Burlington County against McClure and D'Amico, 39, claiming the couple has spent much of the donated funds on personal expenses, including lavish vacations and gambling excursions. Bobbitt, who was in and out of rehab and is now back on the street, alleges he has only received about $75,000 and fears the rest of the money is gone, according to his lawyers.

Bobbitt said at the time that he did not have an attorney or financial advisor.

"I wish it didn't come to this," Bobbitt told ABC News affiliate WPVI in Philadelphia in an exclusive interview Aug. 31. "I hate that it came to this."

PHOTO: Kate McClure and Johnny Bobbitt reunite for the first time on TV after Bobbitt helped McClure when her car broke down two months ago on I-95 exit ramp in Philadelphia. (ABC News)

In an Aug. 27 interview with NBC News' Megyn Kelly on "Today," D'Amico and McClure said that after they paid fees to GoFundMe for setting up the account, there was about $350,000 in donations remaining, which they transferred to their private bank account because Bobbitt didn't have one.

The couple immediately set up an account for Bobbitt and deposited $25,000 in it, which he spent in 13 days, most of it on drugs, they said. Bobbitt also had past-due legal fees they covered with the money and he sent some of the funds to his parents and brother, but Bobbitt used most of the money on drugs, they said.

"Every dollar he ever touched was used for drugs," D'Amico said in the interview. "That's why it took so long for us to finally have to say, 'no' when it came time for him asking for money when we knew where it was going. I wanted to make sure that at the end of the day, when he was ready to, he had something left."

(MORE: Homeless veteran sues couple who raised $400K to help him)

The couple said they used some of the funds to purchase Bobbitt a 1999 Ford truck and a travel trailer. They said Bobbitt still has in excess of $150,000 in their bank account, and they've been working to get a trustee to manage the money.

"That's what we're in the process of doing now," D'Amico added. "And we're in the process of having everything looked over by our lawyer and he [Bobbitt] has his separate lawyer and he will have his own trust and it will be out of our hands."

They denied spending any of the money on themselves.

(MORE: Homeless veteran says couple who raised $400K for him are 'hypocritical,' won't give him money)

PHOTO: In this Nov. 17, 2017, file photo, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., left, Kate McClure, right, and McClure's boyfriend Mark D'Amico are pictured in Philadelphia. (Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

On Aug. 30, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Paula Dow ordered the couple to return the remainder of the funds to Bobbitt's attorneys after Bobbitt requested a temporary restraining order that would bar the couple from spending any more of it.

At the time, the amount of remaining funds was in dispute. Christopher Fallon, one of Bobbitt's attorneys, estimated during the court hearing that more than $250,000 should be left. But during their Aug. 27 interview with NBC News, McClure and D'Amico said about $150,000 was left.

(MORE: All $400K raised for Good Samaritan homeless veteran is gone, attorney says)

The couple's attorney, Ernest Badway, argued in court that they have given Bobbitt more than $200,000 of the funds raised. That includes giving Bobbitt cash for his everyday necessities as well as buying him the truck and trailer, which were registered in the couple's names at the request of Bobbitt, according to Badway, who cited records he has seen.

Badway did not account for the rest but told the judge that they are currently preparing the accounting that will "show where the money went."

PHOTO: This photo taken Aug. 15, 2018, shows Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless man who used his last $20 to fill up the gas tank of a stranded motorist in Philadelphia. (David Swanson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

On Wednesday, Judge Dow ordered Badway to tell clients, who were not in court, that they must appear before her Sept. 14 after giving sworn depositions on what happened to the money at Badway's law office on Monday morning. Dow also voiced concern that McClure and D'Amico will attempt to flee her jurisdiction.

"Absolutely not," Badway responded. "They're New Jerseyans. They have been here forever. They have no place to go."

Dow ordered Bobbitt to give a sworn deposition next week. But Bobbitt's attorney, Christopher Fallon, informed Dow that his client might not be able to accommodate the request.

"Johnny Bobbitt will be in a residential drug program starting today or tomorrow," Fallon told the judge. "He's been given a 30-day scholarship for a residential drug [rehabilitation] program."

(MORE: Judge orders couple accused of blowing money meant for good Samaritan homeless vet to appear in court)

When Badway suggested that the case be put on hold until Bobbitt is out of rehab, the judge said, "that's a ludicrous request at this point."

"I don't think so," Dow said. "We've already had monies disappear. They continue to disappear. The whole thing is to escrow these funds."

Badway told the judge that if his clients have to appear to give depositions Monday, then Bobbitt should, too.

"Mr. Bobbitt is a key material witness to where the money went to because, as I have explained to the court, the money went to Mr. Bobbitt," Badway said.

Fallon, Bobbitt's attorney, told the judge he would ask the New Jersey rehab center whether it is possible for Bobbitt to give his deposition at the facility.
Former US President Barack Obama is about to go back on the campaign trail to help Democrats in California and Ohio ahead of the 2018 midterm elections: REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski

Former President Barack Obama is hitting the campaign trail in California and Ohio ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

His efforts will be focused on helping Democrats in Orange County, California, a Republican stronghold in the liberal state, as well as lending a hand in the Ohio governor race - all while competing against endorsements and tweets from Donald Trump.

Mr Obama is hoping to inspire voters in local, down-ballot races to build the Democratic Partys bench, spokesperson Katie Hill told the New York Times.

The president will be heading to Cleveland to campaign for former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state attorney general Richard Cordray, who hopes to defeat Republican incumbent John Kasich.

It was Mr Obama who had encouraged Mr Cordray to run in Ohio, where Republicans have held the majority in state government since 2010.

There are seven Democrats looking to challenge Republicans in Orange County, all in districts which Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 election.

Thus far in 2018, Mr Obama has been limiting himself to select fundraising speeches and issuing one round of national endorsements.

However, Ms Hill said this moment in our country is too perilous for Democratic voters to sit out and it appears the same is true for one of the partys most popular campaigners.

In order to gain the majority in the 435-member US House, Democrats must hold on to all their current seats as well as pick up 23 Republican seats.

The Senate, where only a third is up for reelection this year, is more of an uphill battle, according to many experts.

Democrats have to defend 10 seats in states Mr Trump won in 2016 while picking up two Republican-held seats.

Mr Obama had also largely steered clear of directly criticising Mr Trump since leaving office in January 2017.

The change in tone could be seen taking hold in the wake of Mr Trumps decision to dismantle one of Mr Obamas signature foreign policy measures: the Iran nuclear deal, which provided sanctions relief to Tehran in exchange for stopping development of its nuclear weapons programme.

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It was then that Mr Obama wrote a lengthy, what some called scathing, Facebook post in May 2018 critiquing Mr Trumps decision not to recertify and withdraw from the deal.

He recently gave a speech at the late Senator John McCains funeral which included thinly veiled criticism of his bombastic successor.

His schedule is still taking form, but in the next month the former president is also expected to give speeches and campaign in Illinois and Pennsylvania - two states he won in both his presidential elections.
Ottawa (AFP) - The Canadian capital Ottawa was thrown into confusion early Thursday as police closed in on a bear spotted roaming the streets just a stone's throw from the parliament building.

The black bear was first sighted by bypassers overnight near the city's Byward Market, a tourist spot that is also home to the US embassy.

They alerted police who sealed off the area and called on residents to stay in their homes as they tracked the animal, which was quickly nicknamed Byward Bear on social media. One user even created the @Bywardbear Twitter handle for the wild animal.

The bear took shelter from its pursuers in a tree in a small park at around 9 am, as a police closure of the area disrupted morning commuters. Pictures on social media showed forest service officials tranquilizing the bear and removing it from the city.

"The bearicade is over and roads will reopen shortly," Ottawa police said on Twitter.

Local media said the creature, which had been identified as a young male, would be tagged and released into the wild.

It was the second incident involving a bear loose in the capital in a 24 hour period, CBC television reported. Another black bear was spotted early Wednesday near the hospital of Gatineau, a French-speaking suburb, before making off into the forest again.

Eastern Canada's black bears and are smaller and less aggressive than the grizzlies found in the west or the polar bears that live in the far north.
Reuters

Former world No.1 tennis doubles player Peng Shuai, one of China's biggest sporting stars, has publicly accused a former Chinese vice premier of forcing her into sex several years ago in a social media post that was later deleted. According to a screenshot of her verified Weibo account late on Tuesday, Peng said that Zhang Gaoli, who became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee - China's top decision-making body - coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship. The post was deleted around half an hour after it was published, although searches for Peng's name on China's tightly controlled internet surged after the posting, and screenshots were shared among private WeChat groups and over iMessage.
Fear is based on hundreds of hours of conversations with key players, according to the author, who uncovered the Watergate scandal

Bob Woodwards depiction of the Trump regime strongly echoes the picture of pandemonium laid out by Michael Wolff in Fire and Fury. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

The White House chief of staff, John Kelly, was so incensed by the behavior of Donald Trump that he privately described the president to other aides as an idiot and complained that they were in Crazytown, according to an incendiary new account of Trumps presidency.

The unflattering portrait of Trumps White House, in which the president is portrayed as being so gripped by paranoia over the Russia investigation that he is barely able to operate, is contained in Fear, the much-anticipated book by Bob Woodward. A copy of the book was obtained, days before its official release, by the Washington Post, which reported on several of its most arresting details on Tuesday.

Woodward has been a star reporter at the Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor. He is most famous for breaking the story of the Watergate scandal with his fellow Post reporter Carl Bernstein. The scandal prompted the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974.

Woodwards depiction of the Trump administration as being in a state of nervous breakdown strongly echoes the picture of chaos and pandemonium laid out this year by Michael Wolff in his blockbuster Fire and Fury. But given Woodwards powerful journalistic brand, from his seminal role in exposing Watergate through a series of insider portraits of a succession of presidents  including Bill Clinton, the younger George Bush and Barack Obama  Fear is likely to carry an even greater punch.

The White House was taking the threat of the forthcoming publication seriously enough to put out a statement about it on Tuesday. The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, derided Fear as nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad.

The 448-page volume was based, Woodward said, on hundreds of hours of conversations with direct players, but only on an anonymous basis. Among the revelations was the way that Trump demeans his own senior advisers behind their backs. According to the Washington Post account of the book, the president used to mock his former national security adviser HR McMaster by impersonating him with a puffed-out chest.



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Kellys predecessor as chief of staff, Reince Priebus, was a little rat. He just scurries around, Trump told one of Priebuss subordinates. Jeff Sessions, the US attorney general, was mentally retarded. Hes this dumb southerner [who] couldnt even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama.

Some insults were delivered to individuals faces. Trump apparently told the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross: I dont trust you  youre past your prime.

Days after the nation mourned the death of the Arizona senator and Vietnam war hero John McCain, there are bombshell disclosures about the depth of Trumps disdain for the man. Woodward is reported to describe a dinner at which Trump told senior White House officials that McCain had been cowardly in getting himself released early from a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp.

The defense secretary, Jim Mattis, had to correct the president by pointing out that the truth was in fact the direct opposite  McCain had refused an offer of early release from his captors, out of solidarity with fellow prisoners.

Perhaps the most disturbing element of the Posts rendition of Woodwards book is the alarm it portrays among top national security officials about Trumps lack of grip over world affairs. After one high-stakes meeting in January of the National Security Council over the North Korean missile threat, Mattis was so exasperated he told associates that the president had the understanding of a 10-year-old schoolchild.

Top officials plot among themselves, the author writes, in a collective effort to thwart Trump from carrying out his more outlandish desires. Senior officials swipe documents from the presidents Oval Office desk so that he cannot act on them.

The most chilling example of that pattern, Woodward says, was following the chemical weapons attack launched by the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in April 2017. Lets fucking kill him! Lets go in. Lets kill the fucking lot of them, Trump is reported to have exclaimed.

Mattis promised Trump he would respond immediately, but then quietly let the assassination idea drop.



Then there is that outburst attributed to John Kelly. Having called Trump an idiot, he is then said by Woodward to have lamented: I dont know why any of us are here. This is the worst job Ive ever had.



On Tuesday, the chief of staff also put out a statement in which he called the story total BS. Kelly said: I spend more time with the president than anyone else, and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship. This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administrations many successes.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held talks with his counterpart of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, agreeing to promote the bilateral ties with greater and more substantial measures.

Sassou Nguesso attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Sept. 3-4.

Xi said the bilateral relationship is at its best in history, adding that China regards the Republic of the Congo as an all-weather friend and is willing to consolidate and deepen political mutual trust, expand high-level and all-level exchanges, boost experience sharing in governance, and strengthen communication on policies, concepts and strategies.

China will firmly grasp the right direction of the Sino-Congolese relationship and continue mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and further substantiate the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries, said Xi.

Xi called for enhanced coordination and collaboration on key global issues and make the global governance system and the international order more just and equitable.

China will unswervingly enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and welcomes the Republic of the Congo to join the Belt and Road construction, said Xi.

Sassou Nguesso said his country fully supports the Beijing Declaration and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan adopted at the summit.

The Republic of the Congo is grateful for China's long-term support and highly appreciates the Belt and Road Initiative and the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity as well as the eight initiatives proposed by President Xi, said Sassou Nguesso.

He said the country will align its development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative to accelerate the growth.

The Congolese-Chinese friendship is unbreakable, said Sassou Nguesso, adding that his country will not be disturbed by those noises on Africa-China relations, and will be committed to enhancing the Republic of the Congo-China and Africa-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnerships.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.




A body found in Arizona has been positively identified as that of missing teenager Kiera Bergman, whose death is being investigated as a homicide, according to police.

We are all just so heartbroken right now, Bergmans father, Chris Bragg, told HuffPost. Please continue praying for our family as we grieve the loss of our daughter and seek justice for this terrible tragedy.

A passerby discovered the body Monday in a rural desert area in Buckeye, roughly 30 miles west of Phoenix, police said.

The case is classified as an active homicide investigation, according to Phoenix police Sgt. Vincent Lewis. No arrests have been made, and authorities have not named any suspects or persons of interest.

Bergman, 19, was last seen alive on Aug. 4, when her boyfriend, Jon-Christopher Clark, 23, said she stormed out of her Phoenix apartment.

Clark was arrested on Aug. 17 on charges unrelated to the disappearance. He faces 22 counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of forgery, according to police.

Investigators charged Clark roughly an hour after he told HuffPost hed refused an offer by Phoenix police to take a polygraph test.

I didnt want to do anything that would give the indication I was hiding anything, he said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Silent Witness at 480-W-I-T-N-E-S-S. Spanish-speakers may call 480-T-E-S-T-I-G-O. Bergmans friends and family members are posting updates about the case on Facebook.

Send David Lohr an email or follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

Related...

Boyfriend Of Missing Phoenix Teen Kiera Bergman Refuses Polygraph Test: Exclusive

3 Weeks In, Cops Say Foul Play 'A Definite Possibility' In Kiera Bergman's Disappearance

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Samantha Sayers

Since Aug. 1, 2018, Samantha Sam Sayers, 28, has been missing in the mountains of Washington state.



On the morning of her disappearance , Sayers made the two-hour drive from her Seattle home for a solo hike at Vesper Peak in the North Cascades in Snohomish County. She is familiar with the area and previously went hiking there several times.



Samantha Sayers was supposed to contact her boyfriend, Kevin Dares, around 6 p.m. When she didnt, he went looking for her. He located her vehicle parked at the trailhead. Despite increasing darkness, he hiked 2 miles along the rocky pathway before he was forced to turn back. He then notified a local ranger station.



According to the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office, a group of hikers reported seeing Samantha Sayers on her way up Vesper Peak around midmorning on Aug. 1. Another hiker reported seeing her the same day at the 6,220-foot summit and then he watched her head south from the summit.



The search led by the sheriff's office was suspended on Aug. 23, 2018. Sayers' family has since taken over coordinating volunteer search efforts.



Friends and family members are posting updates to a Facebook group, #findsamsayers. They are encouraging everyone to share her story using the hashtag #FindSamSayers. Anyone with any information is asked to call the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office at 425-388-3808 or 425-388-3523.

Tamala Wells

Tamala Wells, of Detroit, Michigan, disappeared on August 6, 2012. Her mother, Donna Wells-Davis, learned of her daughter's disappearance on Aug. 7, 2012, when she received a phone call from her granddaughter, who was then 6 years old. The little girl said that her mom, then 33, had gone out the previous night and never returned.



The mystery deepened when the Pontiac Wells had supposedly been driving was found abandoned just a few blocks from her home.



In an interview with HuffPost, the father of Wells' daughter denied any involvement in Wells' disappearance, but he didn't deny how he feels about the mother of his child -- or about the child herself.



"She gives me a headache," Rickey Tennant said. "[Wells] used to give me a headache, but I dealt with it, and I'm looking at it right now as 'one headache is better than two headaches.'"



READ: Ex-Boyfriend Calls Missing Woman One Less 'Headache'

David Neily

David Neily disappeared in Mendocino County, Calif., on April 14, 2006. Additional information can be found at this link: www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/21/donald-cavanaugh-david-neily-missing_n_4319266.html Neily was 69 years old when he was last seen. He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had gray hair, green eyes and a white beard. He suffered from stunted growth due to a heart murmur, and as a result his legs were not proportional to his body. Anyone with information asked to call Sgt. Jason Caudillo at (707) 468-3423 or the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office Anonymous tip line at (707) 234-2100.

Jason Ellis

Jason Ellis, of Indianapolis, has been missing since Dec. 3, 2006. According to Project Jason, Ellis disappeared from an apartment he shared with two roommates. One of the roommates allegedly told police that Ellis, then 20, had left and taken his belongings with him. However, Ellis' last two paychecks were untouched and his car was still parked at the residence. In 2010, authorities told local media that they suspect Ellis is the victim of a homicide, but investigators did not elaborate. At the time of his disappearance, Ellis was 160 pounds and 6 feet 1 inch tall. He had a tattoo of his mother's name, Neatrice, on his chest, tattoos of Scooby and Scrappy Doo on his left arm, and a tattoo of a maple leaf and his name on his right arm. Anyone with information regarding Ellis' disappearance is asked to call the Indianapolis Police Department at (317) 413-7440.

Ann Marie Newark

Authorities in New Braunfels, Texas, are trying to locate 53-year-old Ann Newark. According to the San Antonio Express-News, she was last seen on Sept. 12, 2013, leaving her New Braunfels home after a brief argument with a family member. Authorities said Newark suffers from depression and is believed to be armed with a handgun. She is described as 5 feet 2 inches tall and 160 pounds. She has blonde shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes and a scar on her throat. Anyone with information about Newark's whereabouts is asked to contact the New Braunfels Police Department at (830) 221-4100.

Dara Hagans

Dara Hagans, 32, of Wilmington, Del., was last seen on Oct. 16, 2013, when she left the Christiana Care healthcare facility on West 14th Street. According to Black & Missing Foundation Inc., Hagans suffers from a unspecified medical condition and there is a genuine concern for her safety and welfare. She may be operating a blue 2005 Ford Focus with Delaware registration 595519. Hagans is described as 200 pounds and 5 feet 3 inches tall. She has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call (877) 972-2634.

Chad Cookson

WTNH.com reports that Connecticut police are trying to locate Chad Cookson. The 44-year-old from Naugatuck was last heard from on Aug. 22, 2013, when he spoke with his son by telephone. Cookson's son told police his father was depressed because of the recent death of his mother. Cookson is described as 250 pounds and 5 feet 10 inches tall. He has brown hair and brown eyes. His vehicle, a red 2001 Pontiac Montana, with license plate 705-FET, is also missing. Anyone with information on Chad Cookson's whereabouts is asked to contact the Naugatuck Police Department at (203) 729-5221.

William Culbreath

William Culbreath, 77, of Volusia County, Fla., was last seen on Oct. 17, 2013, when he left his Deltona home to go to a doctor's appointment in Orange City. Culbreaths wife reported him missing when he did not return. According to police, Culbreath could be suffering from delusions. A description of the missing man has not been released. Investigators also are trying to locate his black 1997 Ford van with a gray stripe and Florida license tag number VA6257. Anyone with information about Culbreath's whereabouts is asked to contact the Volusia County Sheriff's Office at (407) 323-0151.

Erik Lamberg

Erik Lamberg, 51, of Hermosa Beach, Calif., has not been seen since May 28, 2013, when he checked out of a hotel in Laytonville. His vehicle was later found abandoned in Northern California. Despite several searches, authorities have been unable to locate the missing computer security technician. Lamberg is described as 6 feet 5 inches tall, 200 pounds with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Anyone who may have seen Lamberg or has information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office at (707) 463-4086. A website and Facebook page have been created to share information in the case.

Tametre Taylor

The Associated Press reports that Tennessee police are trying to locate Tametre Taylor. The 40-year-old from Memphis was last heard from on Oct. 11, 2013, when she spoke with her pastor by telephone. No additional details have been released. Anyone with information on Taylors whereabouts is asked to contact the Memphis Police Department at (901) 545-2677.

Robert Mayer

Robert Mayer, 46, of Dix Hills, N.Y., has not been seen since June 14, 2013. Robert Mayer's red 2004 Pontiac GTO was found in the parking lot of the Long Island Rail Road's Deer Park station the day after he disappeared. The keys were not inside the vehicle and according to Mayer's wife, the driver's seat was adjusted much farther forward than her husband typically kept it. Mayer is described as a white male, 6 feet 1 inch tall and about 200 pounds. He has brown hair and green-hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray polo-type work shirt with a J.C. Electrical logo, light blue jeans and black work boots. His left middle finger is missing the tip. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Suffolk County Police Second Squad detectives at (631) 854-8252.

Kenneth Lawson

Patricia Bryan has been looking for her father, Kenneth Lawson, since June 6, 2013. The 76-year-old was last seen at his home in Union Point, Ga. A number of exhaustive searches have been conducted. "We have had no leads on the whereabouts of my father," Bryan said. "He was not always in a state of confusion. He would have moments were he would check out or not know where he was, but this was not all the time. Up till my father went missing, I didn't realize just how many people with dementia and Alzheimer's went missing on a daily basis. The media does not do them justice."

Crystal Rogers

Crystal Rogers, a 35-year-old mother of five, was last seen at her from Bardstown, Kentucky home on July 3, 2015, by her live-in boyfriend, 34-year-old Brooks Houck. Bardstown is a small city located roughly 60 miles southwest of Lexington.



Rogers' maroon 2007 Chevy Impala was found abandoned with a flat tire along Kentucky's Bluegrass Parkway two days after she disappeared. Her keys, purse and cell phone were reportedly found inside the car.



Investigators have since named Houck a suspect in his girlfriend's disappearance.



Crystal Rogers is described as a white female, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 150 pounds, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact the Nelson County Sheriff's Office at 502-348-1840.



READ: Search For Missing Mom Crystal Rogers Eerily Similar To Aunt's 1979 Disappearance

Willie Michael Wheaton

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Jennifer Kesse

Jennifer Kesse has been missing from Orlando, Fla., since Jan. 24, 2006. It is believed she was abducted from her apartment complex early that morning. On Jan. 26, 2006, Kesse's car was found abandoned at a condominium complex located roughly 1 mile down the road from where she lived. Valuables were found inside the vehicle, leading police to believe Kesse was not the victim of a robbery or carjacking. Police bloodhounds tracked a scent from where the car was found back to Kesse's condo, but the trail ended there. At the time of her disappearance, Jennifer Kesse was 24 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 135 pounds. She had shoulder-length sandy blonde hair and green eyes. Anyone with information in the case or who would like to donate to search efforts can do so at Findjenniferkesse.com. Tipsters can also call anonymously at 800-423-8477.

Jacob Tipp

Jacob "Jake" Lipp, 27, is missing from North Huntingdon, Pa., last seen Dec. 16, 2013, in Pittsburgh by his girlfriend. Lipp and his girlfriend were at Static Bar when they got into a fight and the girlfriend drove off, leaving Lipp at the McDonald's on Penn Avenue around 3 a.m. She came back to get him and he was gone. He has not been seen since. Lipp is 5 feet 6 inches, 160 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. (Missing Persons Of America)

Lauren Spierer

Lauren Spierer, 20, was last seen around 4:30 a.m. on June 3, 2011, just a few blocks from her apartment in Bloomington, Ind. Earlier in the night, Spierer had visited Kilroy's, a nearby sports bar that closes at 3 a.m. When she left the establishment, she left behind her shoes and cell phone, police said. After leaving the bar, Spierer reportedly went to the apartment of Corey Rossman, a fellow college student at the university, before deciding to walk home. What happened to her after that remains a mystery. She was reported missing less than 12 hours later. Bloomington police, Indiana University police, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, Indiana State Police and the FBI have all conducted searches for Spierer. Lauren Spierer is described as a white female, 4 feet 11 inches tall with a slender build. She has blue eyes and blond hair. She was last seen wearing a white tank top with a light-colored shirt over it and black stretch pants. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Bloomington Police at 812-339-4477.

Carlos Diaz

Carlos Diaz, of Bronx, N.Y., disappeared on Dec. 23, 1986, after he went out to bury a family pet. He has not been seen since. He is described as a Hispanic male with brown hair and brown eyes. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighed 170 pounds at the time of his disappearance. He has a tattoo of the initials C.D. on his left hand. For more information, visit Findthemissing.org.

Vilet Torrez

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Vilet Patricia Torrez, 38, of Miramar, Fla., was last seen by a friend she met for dinner on the night of March 30, 2012. Authorities have declined to comment on where Torrez went for dinner and will not release the name of the person she was with. Torrez's movements after the dinner are also unknown, but the vehicle she was driving was later found at her residence in the 12900 block of Southwest 28th Court, a gated community off Miramar Parkway. Torrez was scheduled to work March 31 at her job with Bath Fitter in Doral, but she did not show up or call in. On April 2, Torrez was reported missing. Her estranged husband, Cid Torrez, has since been named a person of interest in her disappearance. Torrez is 5 feet 3 inches, weighs 125 to 130 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call Miramar police at (954) 602-4000 or Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.

Michelle Parker

Michelle Parker, 33, vanished on Nov. 17, 2011, the same day that her appearance with her ex-fiance, Dale Smith, aired on "The People's Court." The couple was in dispute over a $5,000 engagement ring. After hearing both sides, Judge Marilyn Milian ordered Parker to pay Smith $2,500. A few hours after the episode aired, Parker dropped her 3-year-old twins off at Smith's condo for scheduled visitation. Parker's 2008 black Hummer H3 was found the following day in a parking lot on the west side of Orlando. Decals for Parker's Glow mobile tanning business had been removed from the windows, police said. Police initially said that Smith was cooperating and was not considered a suspect, but during a later press conference he was named the primary suspect in Parker's disappearance. For more information, visit Find Michelle Parker.

Nieko Lisi

Nieko Lisi, 18, lives in Jasper, N.Y., about 40 miles from Elmira. According to relatives, Lisi was en route to Buffalo when he disappeared. He was last seen around 2 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2011, when he and friend Robert Knight, 20, stopped at Lisi's uncle's home in Addison, N.Y. Knight arrived at his parents' home in Michigan on the morning of Oct. 1, 2011. He allegedly told family members Lisi had dropped him off, but no one physically saw Lisi, police said. Lisi's family reported him missing and on Oct. 5, Michigan police went to talk to Knight about his friend's whereabouts. According to WETM-TV, Knight "suffered some sort of ailment" during police questioning and was hospitalized. Knight was released from the hospital on Oct. 9. The next day, Knight was found dead in his parents' home. Lisi is described as a white male, 5-foot-10-inches tall and 160 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. He has a tattoo of Chinese writing on the back of his right arm, a large angel on his right side and a large woman with a devil's tail on his left side. He was last seen wearing jeans, a T-shirt and a silver cross necklace. Anyone with information about Lisi's whereabouts is asked to call New York State Police at (607) 776- 6866. Lisi's family is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to his whereabouts.

Kelly Armstrong

Kelly Armstrong, mother of a 2-year-old son, has been missing from Kokomo, Ind., since August 2011. Family members became concerned when they were unable to reach her. A missing person report was filed on Sept. 26, 2011. In February 2012, authorities charged Armstrong's boyfriend, Travis Funke, with voluntary manslaughter in her death. According to an arrest affidavit, Funke allegedly told investigators he killed Armstrong around the first of July, placing a plastic bag on her head, wrapping her in a tarp and putting her in a trash tote. The garbage container was supposedly picked up later that same day. Investigators spent six days sifting through 6,000 tons of trash at the local landfill, but were unable to locate Armstrong's remains. Armstrong's father, David Armstrong, doubts Funke's version of events. People interested in helping search or donating funds can do so at Operationfindkelly.yolasite.com. Anyone with information is asked to contact Kokomo police at 765-459-5101.

Robyn Gardner

Robyn Gardner was last seen in Oranjestad, Aruba, on Aug. 2, 2011, traveling with Gary Giordano, an acquaintance she met on a dating website. Giordano claimed Gardner was swept out to sea while snorkeling in waters off Baby Beach. Giordano, 50, allegedly told police he had noticed a current pulling them out to sea and signaled to Gardner that they should return to shore. But when he got to dry land, she was nowhere to be found. Authorities conducted an extensive search of the area, but were unable to locate the 35-year-old Maryland woman's body. On Aug. 5, police took Giordano into custody before he left Aruba. Authorities held Giordano for four months in Gardner's disappearance, but he was released without charges in early December. Gardner vanished in the same Aruban town where teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared in May 2005. Gardner's whereabouts, like Holloway's, remain a mystery. For more information, visit theRobyn Gardner Full Coverage page.

William "Billy" Disilvestro

Billy Disilvestro, 28, has been missing since Feb. 7, 2011, when his grandmother dropped him off at a friend's house in Hamilton, Ohio. At about 2:30 a.m., DiSilvestro placed two calls -- one to his mother and one to his grandmother. Both calls went unanswered. What happened to DiSilvestro after that remains a mystery. According to police, the friend said DiSilvestro left the house after attempting to contact his mother and grandmother -- presumably for a ride. It is believed he was headed to his grandmother's house about 2 miles away, which would take him through a forested area called Milikin Woods. Authorities have conducted several searches of the area, but have yet to find any sign of the missing man. DiSilvestro is described as a white male, 6 feet 2 inches tall, 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing jeans and a gray winter coat with fur around the hood. DiSilvestro has several tattoos, including the word SMOKE across his back, Jesus carrying a cross on his upper right arm, and a large angel on his upper left arm. Anyone with information regarding this case should contact the Butler County Sheriff's Office at 513-785-1300.

Susan Powell

Susan Powell was reported missing by her family on Dec. 7, 2009, when she failed to show up for her job as a stockbroker at Wells Fargo Financial. Her husband, Josh Powell, told police he had been camping with their two children, then ages 2 and 4, and had last seen his wife around midnight. Suspicious of his story, investigators named Powell a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance. Not long after, Powell and his two children moved back to his hometown of Puyallup, Wash. On Feb. 5, 2012, police say Josh Powell attacked his two boys, Charlie, 7, and Braden, 5, with a hatchet and then set his home on fire, killing the three of them in a gas-fueled explosion. Since that time, a mountain of evidence has emerged that supports law enforcement's decision to name Powell the prime suspect in his wife's disappearance. Nevertheless, her whereabouts remain a mystery.

Natalee Holloway

Natalee Holloway, 18, from Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared May 30, 2005, while on a trip to Aruba to celebrate her high school graduation. Holloway's classmates said they last saw her leaving Carlos 'n Charlie's nightclub with Joran van der Sloot, then a 17-year-old Dutch honors student living in Aruba, and his two friends, Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. All three young men would be arrested in the case, but they were released without being charged. On Jan. 13, 2012, van der Sloot, now 24, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the slaying of Stephany Flores on May 30, 2010. The Peruvian business student was found dead in van der Sloot's hotel room in Lima that year. Van der Sloot was charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the case. Holloway's body has never been found.

Lakeisha Nichole Archie

Lakeisha Nichole Archie was last seen on Aug. 5, 2002. A family member dropped her off at a residence in the vicinity of Park Street and Buckeye in Sidney, Ohio, and she has not been seen since. Archie has a tattoo that reads "Lakeisha" on the right side of her neck, a tattoo of a black panther on her left forearm and tattoos of claws on each breast. For more information, visit Blackandmissinginc.com.

Jessie Foster

Jessie Foster has not been seen since March 29, 2006. According to her mother, Foster was living in Kamloops, British Columbia, in the spring of 2005, when she began traveling to the United States. In May 2005, the then 21-year-old ended up going to Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas, Foster met a man and the two were quickly engaged to be married. The man was reportedly wealthy and the two lived together in a million-dollar home. In 2006, Foster stopped calling her family. Concerned, they contacted her fiance and he allegedly said Foster had left him in April 2006. Foster's family promptly reported her missing to police, but with few clues to follow, the case quickly went cold. Foster is described as 5 feet 7 inches tall and 120 pounds, with blonde hair and hazel eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call Las Vegas Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. Foster's mother also maintains a website devoted to the case, which can be found at jessiefoster.ca. According to the site, a $50,000 dollar reward is being offered for information in the case.

Jesse Ross

Jesse Warren Ross was a 19-year-old sophomore when he vanished on Nov. 21, 2006, while attending a mock United Nations conference in Chicago. According to police, Ross was last seen at about 2:30 a.m., leaving the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, where a conference dance was held. Surveillance footage from the hotel does not indicate Ross was intoxicated when he left. He was likely heading to his hotel, the Four Points Sheraton, about 10 minutes away. What happened to Ross after he left remains a mystery. For more information, visit Findjesseross.com.

Brittanee Drexel

Brittanee Drexel, 17, was last seen by friends on April 25, 2009, when she left the Bar Harbor Hotel in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to meet friends at the nearby BlueWater Resort. Surveillance footage shows Drexel arriving at the resort, then leaving roughly 10 minutes later. What happened to her after that is a mystery. For more information, visit Helpfindbrittanee.com.

Corrie Anderson

Corrie Anderson, a 36-year-old mother of three from Chautauqua County, N.Y., was last seen at about 1 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2008. Family members reported Anderson missing at about 3:45 p.m. that day, when she failed to show up at her son's school for a meeting. Two days later, a hunter discovered Anderson's car abandoned about 2 miles from her house. Authorities used ATVs, helicopters and dogs to search areas of interest in the case, but there's been no sign of Anderson. For more information, visit Findcorrie.com.

John James Morris

John James Morris, 38, was last seen on July 30, 2007, in the driveway of his ex-boyfriend's residence on Whites Ferry Road in Dickerson, Md. According to police, Morris' ex-boyfriend was out of town on the day John stopped by to pick up his belongings. Morris has not used his credit card or cell phone since and, according to his family, he did not have his ADD (attention deficit disorder) medication with him when he disappeared. For more information, visit Findjohnmorris.com.

Ahren Benjamin Barnard

Ahren Barnard was last seen in Boise, Idaho, on Dec. 4, 2004. He dropped his young son off for the evening with the child's mother and presumably drove home. His car was later found parked in his driveway, but he has not been seen since. For more information, visit Helpfindahren.com.

Roxanne Paltauf

Roxanne Paltauf was 18 years old on July 7, 2006, when she disappeared from the Budget Inn hotel in Austin, Texas. According to Roxanne's mother, Elizabeth Harris, Roxanne had been staying at the hotel with her boyfriend. The couple had an argument and, according to the boyfriend, she left the hotel, leaving all of her belongings behind. For more information, visit Find Roxanne Paltauf.

William "Billy" Smolinski

William "Billy" Smolinski, was a 31-year-old resident of Waterbury, Conn., when he disappeared Aug. 24, 2004. Smolinski told a neighbor he was going out of town for a few days to look at a vehicle. He has not been seen since and his truck was later found in his driveway. His keys and wallet were found inside. Investigators searched Smolinski's home and truck, and conducted several interviews but found no clues suggesting what might have happened to him. For more information, visit Justice4billy.com.

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Daniel Craig as James Bond in Spectre (Credit: MGM/Eon)

Following Danny Boyles shock departure from the so-far-untitled Bond 25, MGM and Eon Productions have been scrambling to secure a replacement.

Now, according to reports, they have rounded on three possible directors for the landmark instalment of the spy series.

Variety says that two new possibilities are now on the table; Bart Layton and S.J. Clarkson, who join Yann Demange, the director of 71 and Channel 4 series Top Boy, who was in the frame prior to Boyle being named in May.

Layton has just two features behind him, 2018 crime drama American Animals, starring Evan Peters, and 2012s The Imposter, a documentary about the French confidence trickster Frederic Bourdin.

Hes also directed and executive produced episodes of TV series Banged Up Abroad.

Clarkson, meanwhile, earned her stripes on shows like Casualty, EastEnders and Life on Mars, before heading to the US to direct the likes of Heroes, Dexter, Jessica Jones, The Bridge and recently the Carey Mulligan drama Collateral for the BBC.

British director S.J. Clarkson (Credit: AFP)

She also recently landed the gig of directing Star Trek 4, becoming the first female director in the franchises history (and would become the first female Bond director too).

According to reports, Demanges latest movie White Boy Rick, starring Matthew McConaughey, was not finished when discussions first began with Eon, and now they will be given a special screening of it to help in their decision-making.

It received critical acclaim on its premiere screening at the Telluride Film Festival last month, while Laytons American Animals was also lauded at Sundance this year.

The circumstances around Boyles departure, over what were cited as creative differences, are the subject of some debate.

Some say he clashed with Daniel Craig over his casting choice for the movies villain, said to be Polish actor Tomasz Kot, while others have claimed that he refused to have 007 killed off at the end of the movie.

Meanwhile, Craigs decision to jump aboard the next move from The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has caused concerns that Bond 25 will be further delayed from its planned November 2019 release date, but sources have claimed that it wont affect the Bond schedule.

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Read more

The Nun set was haunted for real

First look at Captain Marvel

Halloween reboot trailer lands




Tokyo (AFP) - In a world first, researchers have transformed tissue cells into skin cells to help heal serious wounds, a technique that could revolutionise care for victims of burns and other severe injuries.

The research is the culmination of a decade of work and holds promise for a variety of patients, including those with serious burns or elderly patients with bedsores and other recurring lesions.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Nature, involves a technology called "cell reprogramming" in which genes are inserted into cells to change them from one form to another.

"This is the first description of reprogramming of tissue cells to skin cells," lead author Masakazu Kurita told AFP.

"I'm really excited about the results."

Kurita, a plastic surgeon and professor at the University of Tokyo, began working on the technique 10 years ago.

It has been a laborious and painstaking process since then.

The first stage involved identifying genes present in skin cells but not in tissue cells, which could be isolated and then inserted into tissue cells to transform them.

"We picked around 80 candidate genes featured in skin cells, then we tried combinations," Kurita said.

His breakthrough came in 2014, when he successfully reprogrammed tissue cells into skin cells in a culture dish using a combination of 28 genes.

In 2015, he moved to the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California to collaborate with a team of specialists from around the world.

In all, he and his colleagues conducted around 2,000 trials with different combinations of genes, looking for the most efficient way to transform cells.

Eventually, they hit upon a four-gene combination and began testing it in wounds on mice.

They sealed the wounds off from the surrounding skin to replicate the difficult conditions at the centre of a large burn or similar injury, with no adjacent skin to promote healing.

Using the technology, along with existing drug treatments, they were able to heal a lesion one centimetre in diameter in around two weeks.

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- 'A way to survive' -

"Our data suggests the feasibility of a completely new therapy which could be used for the closure of wounds from various causes," Kurita said.

The most obvious application would be severe burns covering large parts of the body, which are usually treated with skin grafts, he added.

"When the areas involved in burns are extremely broad and no skin is available for the patients, no one could offer the patient a way to survive... our technique could offer a way."

But he cautioned that the research was still far from being available to patients, with perhaps another decade of work needed before then.

He wants to see research done on better ways to deliver the four-gene combination that transforms the tissue into skin.

For the study, the researchers used a virus that has been used in other work transforming cells as the delivery system for the four-gene combination.

But future research could develop a potentially more efficient delivery system specifically designed for their technique.

And, Kurita said, more work could be done on the types of drugs used to support healing.

This study used existing drug combinations, but "if we could make other combinations, other drugs, everything will be optimised exclusively for our purpose."

"Probably the efficiency could be far better and shorten the period of time for healing."

There are also risks to consider. The study monitored the newly transformed skin cells in test mice for eight months, and found they remained intact in their new form throughout that period.

But longer monitoring would be needed to make sure the transformation was permanent.

And any process of transforming cells with genes carries the risk of mutations, including cancer formation.

"We didn't find any of those signs so far but this is really short-term," Kurita said.

"For the future, we have to work with the greatest caution to eliminate these kind of side effects."
Donald Trumps nominee for the Supreme Court has refused to say whether he believes the landmark 1973 ruling that recognised a womans right to a safe and legal abortion was decided correctly.

While saying his personal beliefs about abortion were not relevant, Brett Kavanaugh, a staunch Catholic, told senators  as he had been advised to do  he would follow the example of previous nominees and not answer questions about how earlier cases were decided.

Facing his first day of questioning as part of his confirmation process, Mr Kavanaugh was pressed by Democrat Dianne Feinstein, who said hundreds of thousands of women had died due to illegal abortions in the years before the Roe vs Wade ruling.

I understand the importance of the issue, Mr Kavanaugh said. I dont live in a bubble. I live in the real world.

He added that he believed the case was settled law. One of the important things to keep in mind about Roe vs Wade is that it has been reaffirmed many times over the last 45 years, as you know  and most prominently, most importantly reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood vs Casey in 1992, he said.

Democrats and abortion rights activists have seized on the issue as they seek to derail Mr Trumps second appointment to the Supreme Court in less than two years.

After the White House last year secured the appointment of Neil Gorsuch, Democrats and progressives believe the countrys highest court would take a marked shift to the right if Mr Kavanaugh fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, known as a swing voter.

In addition to his comments on Roe vs Wade, Mr Kavanaugh said he has not taken a position on the constitutionality of investigating a sitting president. Yet his past writings cast doubt on the idea. Asked by senator Amy Klobuchar on Wednesday whether he believes such investigations are only acceptable in impeachment proceedings, Kavanaugh replied: I did not take a position on the constitutionality. Period.

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In a footnote to a 2009 law review article, Kavanaugh wrote that a serious constitutional question exists regarding whether a President can be criminally indicted and tried while in office. A decade earlier, Kavanaugh wrote that the constitution seems to dictate that congressional investigation must take place in lieu of criminal investigation when the President is the subject of investigation, and that criminal prosecution can occur only after the President has left office.

While critics have raised questions about whether Mr Kavanaugh believes a president can pardon him or herself or refuse to answer a subpoena, activists have focused most vocally on the issue of reproductive rights. Some have claimed that womens rights have never been as threatened as they are now.

A lot is at stake here. Our fundamental rights as women, our freedoms, our ability to control our own futures, lives [and] bodies, Amanda Thayer, deputy national communications director for NARAL Pro-Choice America, one of several groups that have been holding protests opposing Mr Kavanaugh, told The Independent.

Its on the line, and we know that to be true. Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court by Donald Trump, in part because he was a surefire bet to overturn Roe. And that is why so many people are out here today from across the spectrum.

Democrats have sought, unsuccessfully, to postpone the hearing, claiming they only received all the relevant documents at the 11th hour. On Wednesday, senate minority leader Chuck Schumer was successful in shutting down the senate for one day, even as the hearing continued.

If Brett Kavanaugh truly believes the president isnt above the law, he should have said the president must comply with a subpoena. Theres no reason Brett Kavanaugh couldnt have given a straight answer. pic.twitter.com/mD2I5RtET4  Sen Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) September 5, 2018

Earlier, Mr Kavanaugh, who has spent the last 12 years as an appeals court judge in Washington DC, also refused to answer two questions about the possible powers of a US president.

Ms Feinstein asked Mr Kavanaugh, who during the 1990s was a member of independent counsel Kenneth Starrs team investigating President Bill Clinton, whether he believed sitting presidents could be sued or indicted  something he had previously suggested was not appropriate.

They were ideas for congress to consider. They were not my constitutional views, Mr Kavanagh said of his writing in a 2009 Minnesota Law Review article.

Mr Feinstein also pressed Mr Kavanaugh, who is expected to face questioning for several days before the committee is asked to vote about his nomination, about whether a sitting president could be required to respond to a subpoena. I cant give you an answer on that hypothetical question.

Asked by committee chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, whether he would be independent from the president who nominated him, Mr Kavanaugh responded: No one is above the law.

Ms Feinstein then tweeted: If Brett Kavanaugh truly believes the president isnt above the law, he should have said the president must comply with a subpoena. Theres no reason Brett Kavanaugh couldnt have given a straight answer.

Mr Kavanaugh was asked by Democrat Patrick Leahy whether he believed Mr Trump had been legally correct when he tweeted earlier this summer that he had the absolute right to pardon himself.

The question of self-pardon is something I have never analysed.[Its] a hypothetical question that I cant begin to answer as a sitting judge, Mr Kavanaugh said.

Mr Leahy responded: I hope for the sake of the country that remains a hypothetical question.
The Brexit vote has hit migration. Photo: Reuters

When the UK voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, a variety of studies and polls have shown that those supporting Brexit did so because of the fear of immigration. Coupled with the fact that non-British people are unsure about what their rights will be after Britain leaves the EU on 29 March 2019, migration from the EU has dropped to its lowest level in six years and net migration has fallen from peak levels since before the vote.

It is perhaps no surprise then that one of the most comprehensive surveys on expats, which are defined as people who live and work abroad as part of a professional corporate assignment, shows that Britain has landed near the bottom of the ranking for the best countries in the world to live as an expat.

The study by one of the worlds biggest networking groups InterNations surveyed 18,000 people, representing 178 nationalities and living in 187 countries or territories. It asked them to rate 48 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of one to seven. For countries to be included in the overall tables, they had to have at least 75 respondents per destination, meaning only the most common countries to travel and live as an expat are included. The mean values of all allowed InterNations to rank the 68 best countries in the world to live in as an expat.

Britain claimed the 59th spot:

Table: InterNations

Among the reasons why expats rated the UK as low in the study has been down to a fifth of them not feeling at home and doubting they ever will. One Italian expat in the survey said: Brexit and extremist behaviour are changing a once very open and welcoming country.

Another expat, from Australia, said: The English seem unwilling to welcome and socialise with outsiders. Theyll even tell you thats the case to your face. Theyll tell you its an English thing!

But its not just this feeling of unease that has made expats rate the country so low in the rankingsthey cite the UKs high cost of living, expensive childcare costs, as well as bad weather as reasons why they arent enamoured with Britain.
Memory is one thing, but demanding justice is another, says Youk Chhang.

Chhang has devoted his life to balancing this tension, honoring those killed by Cambodias Khmer Rouge regime while holding the genocides perpetrators accountable.

His mission is deeply personal: as a teenager, Chhang was tortured for picking plants to feed his pregnant and starving sister, who was later killed when a soldier split open her stomach to see if she had stolen rice. She hadnt. The regime ultimately killed a quarter of all Cambodians, about 2 million people, between 1975 and 1979. Chhangs own life was saved by a stranger  a hero without a name, he says  who was killed in his place.

Now 57, Chhang is the executive director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia (DC-Cam), the countrys only genocide research center, and the keeper of Cambodias traumatic past. On Friday in Manila, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as Asias Nobel Prize, for his work preserving the memory of genocide and seeking justice in his nation and the world. In his acceptance speech, Chhang stressed the importance of confronting such crimes, so that our children will not relive our mistakes. Its a timely call: in Myanmar, a military campaign has slaughtered thousands of Rohingya Muslims and forced 700,000 from the country; U.N. investigators recently labeled it genocidal.

Since its founding in 1995, DC-Cam has led scrutiny of the Khmer Rouge period: its mapping efforts have uncovered 20,000 mass graves, and the archives now hold around 1 million documents, from prison interrogations, to propaganda magazines and films, to diaries, survivor interviews, and over 30,000 biographies of victims and soldiers alike.

Read more: Youk Chhang  The 2007 TIME 100

DC-Cams collection has been crucial to the Khmer Rouge tribunals  where Chhang testified as a witness  and it published the first textbook to teach Cambodias youth about the horrors their elders endured.

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But Chhang has an even greater aspiration: a museum, called the Sleuk Rith Institute, that will be DC-Cams permanent home and Asias foremost genocide studies center. But the building, designed by renowned architect Zaha Hadid to evoke Cambodias Angkor temples, remains on paper, and the cost, initially estimated at $2 million, has ballooned to $50 million.

Chhang will keep working, and fundraising, until his dream is realized. If you dont stand permanently to combat genocide, you will keep losing the battle for the rest of our life, he told TIME by phone from his office in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

The 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees (from L to R) Vo Thi Hoang Yen of Vietnam, Sonam Wangchuk of India, Bharat Vatwani of India, Philippines Vice President Leni Robredo, Awards Foundation Chairperson Senen Bacani, Howard Dee of Philippines, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz of East Timor and Youk Chhang of Cambodia, in Manila on Aug. 31, 2018.

How did your experience under the Khmer Rouge regime affect your work in genocide documentation at DC-Cam?

I think that its okay to be angry, and I held on to this anger for a long, long time. I want to take back [those] who [made] my mother suffer, who killed my family members. Its a really physical pain.

Those things combined make me who I am now, and to work on documentation today.

Do the burdens of being the keeper of Cambodias memory weigh on you?

The nightmare of genocide is indescribable. Its the worst of your imagination made reality. But my key process is prosecuting the Khmer Rouge, through the court of law, through communication, through remembrance, through learning, through any means.

I am no longer a victim: I am Youk Chhang, and I fixed my destruction. Even though [there are] scars on my legs where the Khmer Rouge tortured me, I am rebuilt.

What challenges were there to facing Cambodias traumatic past?

From the [1993] UNTAC election [Cambodias first, overseen by the U.N.], everybody came to bring peace, and to reconcile this fragile nation that has been in war and genocide for decades. But I think that on the ground, the reality was that without justice, peace wouldnt be meaningful. So the first mission that I started wasnt about reconciliation, it was about justice. From day one, since we started the investigation in 1995, its all about justice, about prosecution, about conviction. You learn that without justice, the rest will not be as meaningful.

Have you encountered adversity in pursuit of justice against former Khmer Rouge cadres?

Its very rare. Death threats; maybe people will threaten me, but it gives me more inspiration, because Im doing something right. If you dont expect risks in this kind of work, then you will go nowhere, and you will remain a victim for the rest of your life.

They killed my sister, they killed my uncle, they killed all of my mothers relatives, and they killed almost 2 million people in Cambodia. We have no other choice but to fight back.

Has Cambodia recovered psychologically from the traumas of the Khmer Rouge?

I dont think the young generation has trauma from the Khmer Rouge. You have to look at the other side: How did people survive? How did they live? How am I now talking to you?

Humans have so much resilience. We must recognize that trauma is there as well, but its hidden, and recognizing things that are hidden allows us to not be enslaved by our own horrible past, and to move on.

Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with to Youk Chhang, the director of the Documentation Center of Cambodia, during a visit to notorious Khmer Rouge security prison Tuol Sleng (S-21) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 1, 2010.

Why is it important to have a place like the Sleuk Rith Institute in Cambodia?

We dont have to go to the Killing Fields to remember our past. Why not a beautiful place that looks to the future?

Sleuk Rith is a place of optimism. Its a place of learning, of remembering, of education, and its a new way to address the meaning of what it is for genocide to happen.

Particularly for Asia, theres no such place for the young generation to learn from. Reaching to the past is not to live in the past, but bearing its mistakes so that we can learn from it. Thats why Sleuk Rith had to be a physical legacy. If you dont stand permanently to combat genocide, you will keep losing this battle the rest of our life.

Read more: Asian Heroes: Youk Chhang

You have also worked on democracy promotion in Cambodia. Where do you think the countrys political future looks like?

The idea of democracy is there, but its a matter of someone to take the lead, and someone who has the ability to lead. We have a very young public now; we need them to vote. When you look at the public of Cambodia, its still the older generation. There has not yet been [generational] turnover.

It would be difficult for Cambodia to return to where it used to be, rather than moving on. Because of this, I have hope Cambodia will be better.

What does this award mean to you?

Im very touched by the award, personally and for my mother. She travels with me daily; shes now 92. And in my research, I have seen many old women, like my mother, who suffered under the Khmer Rouge.

So I wanted the award for them, for all of the mothers who raised their children with an empty hand, without shoes, without education, who rebuilt this country. I want Cambodia to recognize their roles today.

We must learn from the mistakes that we made, and this award shows that it is possible to wake up from a nightmare.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Strongman Hun Sen was formally installed as Cambodia's prime minister for a new term on Thursday, after securing all 125 seats in an uncontested vote that was derided internationally.

The 66-year-old will preside over a new era of one-party rule in the Southeast Asian nation after the election in July -- criticised by Western democracies as unfair -- handed his ruling Cambodian People's Party all 125 seats.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the only credible opposition, was dissolved in the run-up to the vote with government dissenters and activists arrested.

Parliament reconvened on Thursday for the formality of voting Hun Sen back in as prime minister, extending his 33-year rule over the country by another five years.

All 125 lawmakers voted by raising their hands to endorse members of Hun Sen's new government, which includes ministers from the previous term.

"Today is an important historical day of the Kingdom of Cambodia," Hun Sen told the parliament.

The US government has said the election was neither free nor fair and it "failed to represent the will of the Cambodian people".

But Hun Sen on Thursday insisted that the poll was "free, just, fair and transparent".

During his new term, he pledged to improve public services, the economy, and boost salaries for garment workers and civil servants, and accused opponents of "trying to veer Cambodia off the path of democracy and rule of law".

A former Khmer Rouge commander, Hun Sen has been seen by some as a stabilising force that helped bring roads and mega-malls to a country ravaged by decades of brutal civil war.

But analysts say there has been a rollback of democratic freedoms as civil society, campaign groups and the press were squeezed in the run-up to this year's ballot.

Most notably, CNRP co-founder Kem Sokha was arrested under treason charges in September, and remains detained despite multiple requests for bail.

On Thursday, CNRP rejected the new government and called July's national poll a "fake election".

"The one-party parliament does not reflect the real will of the Cambodian people," it said in a statement.
Marigot (AFP) - One year after devastating Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, the holiday islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barts are still counting the costs of one of the most powerful storms in history.

Fringed by white sands and turquoise waters, the islands have long been a favourite for honeymooners -- but visitors to Saint Martin, which is split between France and the Netherlands, will find an island struggling to return to its former paradise status.

Some families on Saint Martin, where the hurricane killed 15 people before continuing on its deadly path towards Cuba and Florida, are still living with no more than tarpaulins over their roofs as a new storm season gets underway.

Anet, a former florist, is now back at home with her three children after months of staying with friends -- but her sons' bedroom doesn't have a wall, offering an unwanted panorama of the lagoon.

"There are loads of mosquitos and we have no water or electricity. We can't stay in this situation," she said.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she said she didn't have enough money to repair the house, where the family are mostly sheltering in the basement using battery-powered lamps.

Irma, the most powerful storm ever to cross the Atlantic, killed 134 people in total, more than 60 of them in Florida.

It dealt a major blow to the economy of hard-hit Saint Martin -- heavily dependent on tourism -- when it ripped across the island on September 6 last year.

The scale of the damage, low insurance coverage rates and administrative complications from the island's French-Dutch division have slowed reconstruction work.

Across the two French territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts, 95 percent of buildings were damaged and the estimated cost of the havoc wreaked by Irma has come in at three billion euros ($3.5 billion).

Saint Barts was more fortunate: "The reconstruction work has basically been done, and the tourist season will be able to kick off in excellent conditions," said Philippe Gustin, the government official overseeing the recovery effort.

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"For Saint Martin, things are more complicated."

The island remains dotted with half-built homes and roofs still covered in tarpaulins, corrugated sheets and canvas.

On the Dutch side, known as Sint-Maarten, 550 million euros of reconstruction aid was promised -- but only 110 million euros have been paid out as anti-corruption checks have slowed the payouts.

Just 40 percent of property owners on the French side were insured, and the island's sole deep water port is functioning at just 40 percent capacity, making it slow to bring in building materials.

The island's Juliana international airport was also heavily damaged and will not be fully back up and running until late 2019 at the earliest.

- Overflowing rubbish dump -

"Lots of people have had to wait for insurance payouts, and now some of them are hesitant to rebuild ahead of the new hurricane season," said Saint-Martin's top local official Daniel Gibbs.

For children, this September marks a return to school after a year of heavy disruption to their education, and high school students will be going back to temporary buildings.

In December, when the tourist season kicks off, only 800 rooms will be available -- half the number before the storm.

Construction companies are swamped and lacking in qualified manpower, Gibbs said, while many hotels are putting off the rebuilding, taking the opportunity to modernise their facilities.

Visitors who do come will find a tourism industry eager to restore its reputation for luxury in an idyllic setting.

But despite an intensive campaign, wrecked cars remain by the roadsides, while rubble and other debris are still piled up everywhere.

The island's waste treatment site at Grandes Cayes is overflowing.

"There is only so much one rubbish dump can hold," said Gibbs, whose administration has poured more than 15 million euros into the clean-up operation.

But volunteers have put a huge amount of work into tidying the island up, he noted.

And two more mass clean-ups are planned for September and October, as Saint Martin gears up to welcome hordes of sun-seekers once again.
Some stores have already discounted their tins of chocolates. Getty Images

Theres a great bunch of money-saving deals and discounts for you to grab this week, including cheap chocs, cut-price flights, and a warning for Asda Price Guarantee voucher-holders.

But dont forget, a bargain is only a good deal if you were planning to splash out on it anyway.

Stock-up on chocs for Halloween and Christmas

There are lots of offers for chocolate at the moment with retailers getting ready for Halloween and Christmas.

Keen-eyed bargain hunters at UKHotDeals spotted tins of Celebrations (650g), Quality Street (720g), and Roses (660g) for 4.00 at Asda.

Meanwhile at Morrisons you can buy two tins of the same chocs for 8 until Tuesday 11 September.

Are your old notes worth anything?

Do you remember the pre-plastic banknotes? The old-style paper fiver was withdrawn in 2017 and the old tenner in March this year.

Yet there are still almost 250 million paper notes out there, according to the Bank of England.

While you cant use them anymore in shops, you can cash then in. Theres a useful guide on MoneySavingExpert that explains how.

Half-price North Wales stay

You can save up to 51% on a two-night stay at The Lion Hotel, Criccieth on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales.

The deal costs 98 and includes two nights accommodation in a double or twin room, with full Welsh breakfast, for two. Full details at Travelzoo.

Lidl baby and toddler sale

Lidl has launched a baby and toddler sale. Getty Images

Discount chain Lidl has a baby and toddler event until next Wednesday 12 September, with offers on clothes, pushchairs, bottles, gadgets, cots and furniture.

It includes discounts on products from the likes of Tommee Tippee and Fisher-Price. But dont bother trying to snap up a margin at the stores online shop, the offers are only available in stores.

Students can save 10% on groceries

A reminder to students heading off to Uni this month that they can use their NUS extra card to get 10% off groceries at the Co-op. Information about NUS extra is available here.

Extra 100 off British Airways Sale flights

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British Airways has cut another 100 off its September Sale of worldwide flights and holidays.

The extra 100 saving ends at midnight on Tuesday 11 September  while the sale ends on 25 September. You can see all the offers here.

Return flights to Orlando for less than 300

Theres a lot of fun to be had in Orlando, and its cheaper than ever to get there. Getty Images

WOW air has launched cheap flights to Orlando from 129.99 each way. The fares are available on the WOW air website but the prices dont include baggage fees.

Theres also a massive drawback in that the flights include a stopover in Reykjavik. That means the normal nine hour flight to Orlando takes around 14 hours with the WOW deal.

Tip of the week

Do you have coupons from the Asda Price Guarantee? You need to use them soon, or lose them.

The supermarket giant is to scrapping its scheme which refunded shoppers if the items they bought cost more than in rival stores.

The guarantee was launched in 2010, with the promise that a basket of shopping at the chain would be 10% cheaper than at the UKs other large grocery chains.

If not, Asda offered customers a voucher worth the difference in price. The Asda Price Guarantee ends on 3 October, and youll will have 28 days from then to redeem any remaining coupons.

Rival supermarket chain Tesco dropped its Brand Guarantee scheme in June, while Sainsburys ended its Brand Match programme in 2016.
Michael Peck

Security, Asia

The Philippines should prepare to be invaded by China, warns a former top Philippines defense official.

China's Next Move: Invade the Philippines?

As for signs of an impending Chinese attack, Gonzales "first cited the building of 'defense bases' right inside Philippine territory, then added that it comes with supposed Chinese 'internal propaganda' painting the Philippines 'as its number one threat and enemy.'"

The Philippines should prepare to be invaded by China, warns a former top Philippines defense official.

However, it's not clear whether the warning was prompted by genuine fears of Chinese aggression or Filipino domestic politics.

"Within hours, the Chinese can destroy most of the country's defense facilities and probably some of our cities," former secretary of national defense and national security adviser Norberto Gonzales told Philippines news site Rappler.

(This first appeared back in June.)

Gonzales urged the government to devise a contingency plan against a Chinese attack. "China does not have a history of invading other countries, but it is not averse to using military might to settle territorial conflicts," he said.

Gonzales's warning came at the same time as a Philippines senator expressed concern that a landing of a Chinese government plane, which stopped in Davao City to refuel, threatened Philippine sovereignty. That claim drew ridicule from China's ambassador to the Philippines. "Even they indicated that this might be the beginning of our invasion," said ambassador Zhao Jianhua. "Please allow me to be blunt: Its nonsense,"

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"We have never thought of going to war with our good neighbor, our good friend that is the Philippines," he added.

Story continues

The Philippines isn't the only nation that fears war with China, which is also embroiled in a dispute with Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia over sovereignty of the South China Sea. Beijing has been fortifying islands in that sea zone, adding airfields and anti-ship missiles. It has also seized control of the Scarborough Shoal fishing ground that Manila claims as part of its territorial waters.

Nonetheless, while there is no doubt that China could militarily defeat the Philippines, the impetus for the warnings of a Chinese invasion seems to be political. President Rodrigo Duterte, a controversial leader who has encouraged vigilante executions of alleged drug dealers, has also been accused by some Filipinos of being too soft on China.

In the words of Philippines news site Rappler, "Gonzales also suspects that China will be forced to use the 'military option' after apparently seeing that there are no other means to extend the term of President Rodrigo Duterte  the most powerful man in the country, and their frequent defender. The former defense chief said the only way Duterte can extend his term is through a revolutionary government, and the only organization apparently qualified to earn China's nod is the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)."

As for signs of an impending Chinese attack, Gonzales "first cited the building of 'defense bases' right inside Philippine territory, then added that it comes with supposed Chinese 'internal propaganda' painting the Philippines 'as its number one threat and enemy.'"

The thought that China would risk war with the United Stateswhich has had a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines since 1951to keep a Filipino president in powers seems unlikely. Though the U.S. left Subic Bay and its other bases in the Philippines during the 1990s, American advisers and weapons have sustained Manila's perpetual fight against Communist and Muslim rebels. More important, the U.S. has recently been upgrading the Filipino military's own bases as part of the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. Finally, a recent op-ed in the Manila Times warned that if U.S. bases were to return, this could provoke a Chinese attack.

None of which explains what China would gain by bombing Filipino cities because there is nothing the Philippines can do to hinder China. What is clear that America would have to respond to any Chinese attack on the Philippines, or forfeit its power in the Pacific. Knowing that, the appearance of Chinese bombers over Manila seems unlikely.

Michael Peck is a contributing writer for the National Interest. He can be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Image: Reuters.

Read full article
 Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that it is possible for him to meet with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani later at the United Nations.





Speaking before a bilateral meeting with Kuwait's visiting Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Trump said "anything is possible" regarding the meeting.





"Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me," he said. "I will always be available ... we'll see what happens."





Trump said on July 30 that he is ready to meet with Rouhani without preconditions.





"I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meeting," Trump said. "They want to meet, I'll meet. Any time they want. Good for the country. Good for them. Good for us. And good for the world."





However, the United States in August re-imposed sanctions on Iran that had been suspended under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.





Rouhani said in response that the Iranians would make the United States "regretful" for its renewal of sanctions.





He also said that the U.S. administration "is not trustworthy for any negotiations" after its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal, since "negotiations with sanctions don't make sense."





Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said lately that any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing problems is an "obvious mistake."





U.S.-Iranian relations have been at odds as the Trump administration left the historic Iran nuclear deal, delegitimized its government, vowed to re-impose sanctions on the nation and pressed other nations to cut down their purchase of Iranian oil to zero.
Kenya has arrested a Chinese businessman after a video of him making a string of racist remarks was widely shared on social media, the government said Thursday.

The Chinese national, identified as Liu Jiaqi, has been arrested and is being processed for deportation, said Kenya's immigration department.

"His work permit has been cancelled and (he) will be deported on racism grounds," the immigration service said on its Twitter feed.

In the two and a half minute video shared on Twitter and elsewhere, Liu, who appears to be in the midst of a dispute with one of his employees, is recorded issuing a litany of racist slurs.

"Every one, every Kenyan... like a monkey, even (Kenyan President) Uhuru Kenyatta. All of them," he said.

After the employee suggests Liu should "go back to China" if he feels that way, the businessman responds with further abuse.

"I don't belong to here. I don't like here, like monkey people, I don't like talk with them, it smells bad, and poor, and foolish, and black. I don't like them. Why not [like] the white people, like the American?"

He added that he only stays in Kenya because "money is important".

It was not clear from the video exactly what Liu's job was in Kenya.

Some Kenyans on social media have called for Liu to be charged rather than simply deported.

Zhang Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Nairobi, said that according to Liu's employer, the clip was recorded in June "and he has already been punished by his company for his wrongdoing and apologised to his Kenyan colleague".

"The personal talk and personal feeling of this young man does not represent the views of the vast majority of Chinese people," he said, adding Chinese nationals were urged to make "positive contributions to the friendship and cooperation between China and Kenya."

This is not the first time Chinese workers in Kenya have been accused of racism.

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Three years ago a small Chinese restaurant in the capital Nairobi was shut down by authorities and the owner charged for operating a "no blacks" policy after 5 pm.

Earlier this year Kenyan workers on a new Chinese-built railway alleged racism and discrimination by Chinese staff and managers.

However, the government dismissed allegations of racism on the $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euro) signature infrastructure project.

Kenyatta was in Beijing this week attending a conference where China promised to invest another $60 billion in Africa.

- Raid on Chinese TV -

Liu's arrest comes a day after Kenyan police raided the African headquarters of China's English-language state broadcaster CGTN (China Global Television Network) in Nairobi.

The raid was part of Nairobi's crackdown on illegal immigrants but several journalists were briefly detained.

The Chinese embassy said in a statement it would express its concern through diplomatic channels, after several incidents in which nationals with legal documents were hauled into police stations for verification.

"The Chinese embassy in Kenya has lodged representations with Kenyan officials and the relevant people have all been released on that day," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing in Beijing.

"Kenya has admitted inadequacies in law enforcement and apologised.

"It has promised to improve the conduct of its lower-level officers to avoid a repeat of this," she added.

str-tmc-el-fb/txw
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's Marxist ELN rebels have released three soldiers held hostage for nearly a month, the country's human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday, as new right-wing President Ivan Duque evaluates whether to continue peace talks with the insurgents. Duque has said the National Liberation Army (ELN) must free 19 hostages before he will resume dialogue. Duque said during his Aug. 7 inauguration that he would evaluate the talks, which began with his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos' government in February 2017, over his first 30 days. The last round of the talks, which were held in Cuba, ended on Aug. 1. The rebel group is believed to be holding six more members of the security forces in Choco province as well as 10 civilians. "The soldiers Orlando Yair Vega Diaz, Juan Pablo Rojas Ovando and Eduardo Caro Banol, in the power of illegal group the ELN since August 8, 2018, were handed over to a humanitarian commission comprised of the ombudsman and the Episcopal Conference of Colombia," the ombudsman said on Twitter. The soldiers had been held in eastern Arauca province, near the border with Venezuela. "If there is genuine will for demobilization, disarmament and reintegration we are ready, but Colombia requires a clear and convincing gesture which starts with the liberation of all those who are kidnapped and the suspension of all criminal activities," Duque told journalists after a meeting with education officials. In a series of posts on Twitter, the guerrillas urged the government to suspend military operations in Choco so that the hostages there could be freed. The ELN, founded by radical Catholic priests, is considered a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. It has waged a five-decade war against the government, engaging in bombings, kidnappings, extortion and sabotage of oil pipelines. During a ceasefire from September 2017 to January 2018, the ELN suspended hostage-taking, attacks on oil installations, the use of landmines and the recruitment of minors. (Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Tom Brownand Leslie Adler)
A Democratic senator has pressed ahead with this threat to release emails that purportedly link Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court to racial profiling, after saying he was prepared to knowingly break the rules of the US senate.

I am right now, before your process is finished, going to release the email about racial profiling, and I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate, said Cory Booker, as senators quizzed judge Brett Kavanaugh for a second day.

Later, Mr Booker released approximately 12 pages of emails tied to discussions Mr Kavanaugh had on racial inequality while working for the George Bush White House.

ABC News said the move by Mr Booker came as Democrats complained that documents were still being withheld. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, said Democrats who had protested that some documents were not available had an opportunity to make their complaints beforehand but waited to do it publicly to delay the hearing.

The documents in question were not classified, it said, but are marked committee confidential, meaning members of the committee have access to them but they were not released to the public. Mr Grassley hasd reportedly designated as many as 141,000 pages of documents from Kavanaughs record as committee confidential.

Mr Bookers threat to break senate rules resulted in Republican John Cornyn of Texas, accusing Mr Booker of conduct unbecoming of a senator.

Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to, Mr Cornyn said of Mr Booker, who is considered a possible Democratic contender for president in 2020.

Mr Booker said one email from Mr Kavanaugh, written while he was working with Mr Bush and which had not been made available to the public, showed the nominee was sympathetic to racial profiling by police.

The document in dispute was a 2002 email with the subject line racial profiling that included internal White House discussions about whether airport security and other law enforcement should strive for a race-neutral system in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.

Story continues

In one of the emails, Mr Kavanaugh referred to a possible interim policy and wrote: The people (such as you and I) who generally favour effective security measures that are race-neutral DO need to grapple - and grapple now  with the interim question of what to do before a truly effective and comprehensive race-neutral system is implemented. On Wednesday, Mr Booker had questioned Mr Kavanaugh about his use of the term naked racial set-aside, and said he would make public documents backing up that assertion.

Shortly after Mr Booker acted, Mr Grassley's staff released a bulk of new emails, previously marked committee confidential. that had been cleared for public release.

Some speculated whether Mr Booker's may have been playing for the cameras. The Hill said a spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Mr Booker was not breaking any confidentiality rules.

Restrictions were waived before 4.00am this morning and made ready for release, he said.

On Wednesday, three progressive groups  Demand Justice, MoveOn and NARAL Pro-Choice America  urged Democrats to go around Mr Grassley and release more records related to Mr Kavanaugh record as a judge. For the last 12 years he has served as appeals court judge in Washington DC, considered the second most important court other than the Supreme Court.

Chairman Grassley must not shield Judge Kavanaugh from evidence that Kavanaugh perjured himself in previous confirmation hearings, or any other documents or evidence relevant to his ability to serve on the highest court for a lifetime appointment, said the statement. Democrats know that nothing in the Senate Standing Rules or Judiciary Committee Rules grants Grassley sole authority to designate documents committee confidential or prohibit their public release.

Meanwhile, Mr Kavanaugh, raised questions as a White House aide more than a decade ago about whether the 1973 high court ruling legalising abortion was settled in law, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing more leaked emails.

The Times said an unknown person provided several confidential emails to the newspaper late on Wednesday relating to Mr Kavanaughs work in the White House under Mr Bush. A lawyer for Bush previously turned over thousands of documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Republican-led panel deemed committee confidential.

Democrats and progressives believe if Mr Kavanaugh is confirmed, he would cement the courts conservative bias and would support the overturning of the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade, which guarantees a womans right to a legal abortion.
Lifes a beach. Photo: Reuters

Moving abroad for work, even for a year or two, is a life-changing decision. And while many people look to move as part of their career trajectory for the company they work for, some are looking at opportunities abroad that present a better quality of lifewhether for better standards of living, more money in their pockets, or even just for safety and security.

Every year one of the worlds biggest networking groups InterNations conducts one of the most comprehensive surveys on expats, which are defined as people who live and work abroad as part of a professional corporate assignment. It surveyed 18,000 people, representing 178 nationalities and living in 187 countries or territories. It asked them to rate 48 different aspects of life abroad on a scale of one to seven. The mean values of all allowed InterNations to rank the overall 68 best countries in the world to live in as an expat. For countries to be included in the overall tables, they had to have at least 75 respondents per destination, meaning only the most common countries to travel and live as an expat are included.

The major-sub index, which consists of rankings on health and wellbeing, travel and transport, personal happiness, leisure options, safety and security, as well as digital life, gave a fascinating insight into where expats think are the best places to live for a better quality of living.

Taipei, Taiwan: healthcare and security makes the country a top favourite for expats. Photo: Reuters

It showed that Taiwan reclaimed the top spot, thanks to its affordable healthcare, which 96% rated highly and 92% said the quality of medical care was incredible. The survey pointed out that Taiwans medical ecosystem gave the biggest impression on expats from countries that have personally expensive and complex healthcare systems like the US. Personal safety in Taiwan was also a major factor for its top poll position.

Portugal came in second place, with expats impressed with the quality of the environment (96%), and the local climate and weather (94%). Like Taiwan, Portugal scored highly on safety & security. The report said one US expat highlighted how Portugal had a peaceful, safe, and family-centred environment while a Brazilian survey respondent said that she came to Portugal in search of security.

Chart: InterNations

Meanwhile, the US and UK were no where near the top of the table. Among the reasons for why this is, expats moving to the US say that they struggle with understanding and affording the healthcare system and parents fear for their childrens safety. Meanwhile, expats say the UK has a high cost of living and the local population is particularly unfriendly.
Let's check out the Yahoo Finance charts of the day. Delta Airlines (DAL): Shares are down in early trade, at around .25%. Reuters is reporting that the airline has hired two investment banks to help sell its stake in its refining subsidiary. Exxon (XOM): Shares are up here, at around .23%. Exxon Mobile signed a framework agreement for a proposed chemical complex in China. The project would meet expected chemical demand growth in China. Facebook (FB): Shares down here, at around 1.29%. Facebook said it will invest over $1billion to build a data centre in Singapore, its first in Asia, powered by renewable energy and adapted to the city-state's tropical climate. The centre is expected to be operational around 2022. For more on today's big stock movers check out the Final Round, live at 3:30 p.m. ET, right here on Yahoo Finance.
Djibouti (AFP) - Djibouti on Thursday hailed a new era in its relations with rival Eritrea, whose foreign minister paid a surprise visit to the country as part of a regional bid to soothe tensions between the neighbours.

The two small Horn of Africa nations have been at loggerheads for decades over the disputed border region of Doumeira, and clashes erupted in 2008. Qatar brokered a peace deal in 2010 but relations have remained strained.

Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh was visiting to "open a new era in relations between our two countries. Now it is the time for peace".

Echoing the sentiment, Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem welcomed the fact that the countries "have agreed to normalise relations and iron out their differences."

Saleh was accompanied by his Somalian counterpart Ahmed Isse Awad and Ethiopia's Workneh Gebeyehu who travelled to Djibouti to "advance dialogue" between the two nations, Ethiopian state media reported.

Their visit came a day after the presidents of Somalia and Eritrea and Workneh met in Asmara.

It is the latest rapprochement in the region after Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace pact in July ending two decades of cold war after a two-year border war that broke out in 1998.

"I think it is cooling off, peace and stability that will lead to regional integration," said Youssouf.

- 'Region heading towards peace -

"Today the message that we have for the Djiboutian people, the Eritrean people and all in the region, is that the Horn of Africa is heading towards peace."

Djibouti government spokesman Naguib Ali Taher told AFP bilateral relations have been "interrupted" but that both maintain embassies in each other's countries.

Tensions between the two countries rose last year after mediator Qatar pulled its peacekeepers out of the disputed zone of Doumeira.

This came after both Djibouti and Eritrea sided with Saudi Arabia in the row between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours.

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Djibouti then accused Eritrea of briefly moving troops into Doumeira, a piece of land jutting into the Red Sea that the two countrieshad previously squabbled over in 1996 and 1999.

In April 1996 they almost went to war after a Djibouti official accused Asmara of shelling the town of Ras Doumeira.

In 1999 Eritrea accused Djibouti of siding with Asmara's arch-foe Ethiopia while Djibouti alleged its neighbour was supporting Djiboutian rebels and had designs on the Ras Doumeira region, which Eritrea denied.

The clashes in 2008 came after Djibouti accused Eritrean forces of digging trenches on both sides of the border, moving several hundred metres (yards) into Djiboutian territory -- which Asmara denied.

Eritrea withdrew in 2010 after Doha stepped in to mediate and sealed a deal in which further dialogue would lead to the demarcation of the border -- however this was never done.

Djibouti asked both the African Union and the United Nations to help mediate the dispute after Qatar's withdrawal.

The warming of ties in the Horn of Africa has seen Ethiopia and Eritrea re-open air links, embassies and trade routes.

Eritrea and Somalia meanwhile established diplomatic ties in July after more than ten years of tensions over accusations Asmara backed Islamic militia.
Donald Trump has called on the unnamed White House official who claimed to be working against the President in a New York Times editorial to resign.

The extraordinary op-ed piece from a senior Trump administration official claimed to be part of a group of people working diligently from within to impede the Presidents worst inclinations.

Trump said it was a gutless editorial and really a disgrace, while his press secretary called on the official to resign.

The President later tweeted, TREASON? and in an extraordinary move demanded that if the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

Donald Trump blasted the gutless editorial from an unidentified White House official (Rex)

TREASON?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

What the writer said

The writer, claiming to be part of the resistance to Trump but not from the left, said: Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

The newspaper described the author of the column only as a senior official in the Trump administration.

The mystery author continued: It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room.

More Donald Trump at Yahoo News UK

We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont.

Story continues

The said Trump aides are aware of the Presidents faults and many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them.

The writer also alleged there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment because of the instability witnessed in the President.

Trump demanded the person who wrote the editorial be handed over to the government (Rex)

White House response

A defiant Trump lashed out at the Times for publishing the op-ed, saying: They dont like Donald Trump and I dont like them.

The essay immediately triggered a wild guessing game as to the authors identity on social media, in newsrooms and inside the West Wing, where officials were blindsided by its publication.

In a blistering statement, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the author of choosing to deceive the President by remaining in the administration.

She said: He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people.

The coward should do the right thing and resign.

Ms Sanders also called on the Times to issue an apology for publishing the piece, calling it a pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed.

Mystery surrounds who the White House official is (Rex)

Clues to the writers identity

Trump has demanded that aides identify the leaker, according to two people familiar with the matter, though it was not yet clear how they might go about doing so.

In a tweet, the Times used the pronoun he to refer to the writer but the newspaper later said the tweet had been drafted by someone who is not aware of the authors identity, including the gender, so the use of he was an error.

Hotly debated on Twitter was the authors use of the word lodestar, which pops up frequently in speeches by vice president Mike Pence.

However, others argued that the word could have been included to throw people off.

Some people believe Vice President Mike Pence could be the man behind the editorial (Rex)

The editorial was published a day after the release of details from an explosive new book by famed journalist Bob Woodward that laid bare concerns from Trump aides about the Presidents judgement.

James Dao, op-ed editor with the New York Times, said that the piece was submitted last week through an intermediary, and anonymity was not granted until editors were confident in the writers identity.

The newspaper said: We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday reacted to an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times purportedly written by a senior White House official.

Trump responded angrily to the op-ed by calling the article a gutless editorial. The Times piece details a concerted internal effort to derail the president from causing damage to the country, citing his unpredictable urges and anti-democratic ideas.

Trump made the comments to reporters during a White House event with sheriffs from across the country. He added that the Times was full of dishonest people and said the media will be out of business after he leaves office.

So if the failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial  can you believe it? Meaning gutless, a gutless editorial, Trump said.

The Times editorial staff noted in the op-ed that it made a rare choice in publishing a piece anonymously, saying the publication knows the identity of the senior official in the Trump administration who wrote the column.

Trump calls the NYT OpEd "gutless"



"They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them" pic.twitter.com/6KFCungtpi  Salvador Hernandez (@SalHernandez) September 5, 2018

I Am Part Of The Resistance Inside The Trump Administration claims there is a cluster of White House officials who are actively working to frustrate Trumps agenda. The author accused the president of erratic behavior without any ties to discernible first principles that guide his decision making.

The Times piece claims those within the administration attempt to insulate their work from the presidents unpredictable whims.

The erratic behavior would be more concerning if it werent for unsung heroes in and around the White House. Some of his aides have been cast as villains by the media. But in private, they have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing, though they are clearly not always successful. It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont. The result is a two-track presidency.

Story continues

Trump claimed the author of the op-ed was probably failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons in his comments at the White House. Later, the president vaguely tweeted: TREASON?

He followed up with another tweet insisting the Times turn over the writer.

Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? Trump tweeted. If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

The anonymous op-ed echoes a sentiment heard in excerpts of veteran journalist Bob Woodwards upcoming book, Fear: Trump in the White House. Woodwards book included an anecdote from a confidential source claiming former chief economic adviser Gary Cohn stole a letter off Trumps desk that would have withdrawn the U.S. from a trade agreement with South Korea.

Cohn reportedly said that he wouldnt let Trump see the letter because hes got to protect the country, according to the book.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement on Wednesday calling the Times column a new low and said the paper should issue an apology.

The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected president of the United States, Sanders statement read. Hes not putting the country first, putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign.

This story has been updated with a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and tweets from the president.

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At least nine people have been killed after a powerful earthquake rocked Japans northern-most main island of Hokkaido, triggering landslides that crushed homes and knocking out power.

A further 366 were injured, at least five seriously, and around 30 people remain unaccounted for.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido at 3.08am local time at the depth of 24 miles, according to Japans Meteorological Agency, in the same week the deadly Typhoon Jebi hit the country.

The epicentre was east of the city of Tomakomai, but the quake buckled roads and damaged homes in Hokkaidos prefectural capital of Sapporo, with a population of 1.9 million.

Eight people have been killed after a powerful earthquake hit northern Japan (AP)

A woman walks past a damaged building in Abira town, near Chitose, Hokkaido (AP)

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference earlier that two people had been confirmed dead but this number has since risen to nine.

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Several people were reported missing in the nearby town of Atsuma, where a massive landslide engulfed homes in an avalanche of soil, rocks and timber.

Reconstruction Minister Jiro Akama told reporters that five people were believed to be buried in the towns Yoshino district.

Some of the 40 people stranded there were airlifted to safer grounds, NHK said.

This aerial photo shows houses destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town (AP)

Residents watch a road damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido (AP)

Aerial views showed dozens of landslides in the surrounding area, with practically every mountainside a raw slash of brown amid deep green forest.

Airports and many roads on the island were closed following the early morning quake.

NHK showed workers rushing to clean up shattered glass and reinstall ceiling panels that had tumbled down in the regions biggest airport at Chitose.

Police search missing persons around houses destroyed by a landslide (AP)

Residents watch a road damaged by the earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido (AP)

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that 25,000 troops and other personnel would be dispatched to the area to help with rescue operations.

Story continues

In Sapporo, a mudslide on a road left several cars half buried, while power was knocked out for Hokkaidos 2.9 million households.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters that the extensive power outage was caused by an emergency shutdown of the main thermal power plant at Tomato Atsuma that supplies half of Hokkaidos electricity.

Hokkaidos local disaster agency put the number of injured at 48 (AP)

The hope had been to get power back up within a few hours, Mr Seko said.

However, damage to three generators at the Tomato Atsuma plant meant that the restoration of power could take more than a week.

Mr Seko said utilities were planning to start up several other thermal and hydroelectric plants to provide at least some power.

This aerial photo shows thee site of landslides after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido (AP)

Cars were stuck in mud-covered roads following the quake (AP)

In the meantime, authorities sent power-generator vehicles to hospitals so enable them to treat emergency patients, he said.

Reacting quickly to the disaster, troops deployed water tanker trucks in Sapporo, where residents were collecting bottles to tide them over until electricity and tap water supplies come back online.

In the town of Biei, residents lined up outside of supermarkets and convenience stores, quickly clearing shelves of water, toilet paper and food.

Mika Takeda, who lives in the town of 10,000, said: Only a few cartons of instant ramen were left.

Airports and many roads on the island were closed following the early morning quake (AP)

Authorities are attempting to rescue and assess damage after receiving hundreds of calls about people missing and buildings collapsing.

Three reactors at the Tomari nuclear plant were offline for routine safety checks, but they are running on backup generators that kicked in after losing external power because of the island-wide blackouts, Japans Nuclear Regulation Authority said.

The powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 that hit northeast Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.
 Flash

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday called for the political solution to the Afghan issue and the two sides agreed that "present conditions in Afghanistan were conducive to intensifying efforts for a political settlement," according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry here.





Pompeo, accompanied by U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Zalmay Khalilzad, the newly appointed U.S. advisor to Afghanistan, arrived here Wednesday and also held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.





"Both sides underscored the need for the Taliban to seize the opportunity for talks in response to (Afghan) President Ashraf Ghani's offer for an unconditional dialogue," the statement said.





The Pakistani foreign minister told a press conference after their meeting that his country would help in the peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan for Pakistan's interests and he added that he would make his first foreign visit to Afghanistan.





Qureshi said that he had noted during the talks that the U.S. has created space for "direct talks with the Taliban as the U.S. does not want unnecessary footprint in Afghanistan," adding that, however, Washington can not give a time-frame about the withdrawal of the troops in view of the situation in Afghanistan.





In the meeting with the U.S. secretary, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan "shared Pakistan's perspective on the situation in the region and reiterated its desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan," the prime minister's office said in a statement.





Pompeo also emphasized "the important role Pakistan could play in bringing about a negotiated peace in Afghanistan," a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said.
Its time we invoke the Constitution to remove President Donald Trump from office, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Thursday.

In light of the anonymous op-ed by a senior Trump official published Wednesday in The New York Times, Warren told CNN that officials should consider using the provisions of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to take over in case the president is removed from office, dies, resigns or is incapacitated.

If senior administration officials think the president of the United States is not able to do his job, then they should invoke the 25th Amendment, Warren said.

The anonymous author wrote in the Times op-ed that, early in Trumps term, there were whispers among his team of doing just that, but they backed down to avoid a complicated process they thought could trigger a constitutional crisis.

Every one of these officials have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Its time for them to do their job, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Thursday on CNN. (Photo: Yuri Gripas / Reuters)

The Constitution provides for a procedure whenever the vice president and senior officials think the president cant do his job. It does not provide that senior officials go around the president  take documents off his desk, write anonymous op-eds, she continued, referencing the op-eds claims that high-ranking officials are secretly combating Trump ideas that they believe are detrimental to the nation.

Every one of these officials have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, Warren said. Its time for them to do their job,

Trump  whos made his disdain for Warren clear, often with the use of a Native American slur  has raised hell over the op-ed and demanded the Times reveal the author.

This isnt the first time Trumps capacity to hold office has come up as grounds for his removal. Last December, lawmakers concerned about the presidents mental state held a private meeting with Dr. Bandy X. Lee, an assistant clinical professor in psychiatry at Yale University.

Hes going to unravel, she said of her Trump assessment in an interview with Politico, and we are seeing the signs.

Story continues

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Addis Ababa (AFP) - Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations.

Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation's two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara.

"Ethiopia's Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony," Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday.

Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to "build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties", according to Eritrea's information ministry.

Also on Wednesday, an Ethiopian cargo ship arrived in Eritrea's Massawa port to transport zinc to China, marking the formal reopening of Eritrean ports to Ethiopian trade.

Eritrea was once a province of its larger southern neighbour and comprised its entire coastline.

After a bloody, decades-long independence struggle, Eritrea voted in 1993 to separate, rendering Ethiopia landlocked.

The two countries then went to war from 1998 to 2000 after a border dispute turned violent.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it and held on to disputed territory meant to be under Eritrean control.

Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would hand back the disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme where the first shots of the border war were fired.

During his visit this week, Abiy also inspected the road leading from Assab, the other major Eritrean port, to the Ethiopian border, his chief of staff Fitsum Arega tweeted.

However it remains unclear when the heavily militarised Ethiopia-Eritrea border will formally open or when Ethiopian forces will withdraw from the disputed areas.
By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's nephew was sentenced on Thursday to six months in U.S. prison for a bribery scheme that he thought would result in the sale of a Vietnamese building complex to a Qatari sovereign wealth fund, federal prosecutors said.

Joo Hyun "Dennis" Bahn, a South Korean citizen living in the United States, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan. He had pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy and violating a U.S. foreign corruption law.

A lawyer for Bahn could not immediately be reached for comment.

In his guilty plea, Bahn admitted that in 2014 and 2015, he tried to arrange a bribe to secure the sale of Hanoi's Landmark 72 building complex, owned by Korean construction company Keangnam Enterprises Co Ltd. Bahn's father, Ban Ki-sang, was an executive at the company.

Bahn said he believed he was paying a $500,000 bribe to an official at Qatar's sovereign wealth fund through a middleman, New York fashion designer and blogger Malcolm Harris. In reality, Bahn said, Harris had no connection with any Qatari official and kept the money.

U.S. prosecutors have also charged Ban Ki-sang, who remains at large. Prosecutors have said he enlisted his son to arrange the Landmark 72 sale to help Keangnam deal with a liquidity crisis.

Ban Ki-moon was long expected to make a bid for the presidency of South Korea but announced in February 2017 that he would not run, decrying "fake news" about him and his family.

Bahn's lawyers said in a court filing last month that Bahn did not have a close relationship with his uncle.

Harris pleaded guilty to money laundering and wire fraud in June and was sentenced to 3-1/2 years in prison in October.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
By Tim Kelly (Reuters) - Beijing expressed anger on Thursday after a British Royal Navy warship sailed close to islands claimed by China in the South China Sea late last month, saying Britain was engaged in "provocation" and that it had lodged a strong complaint. The HMS Albion, a 22,000 ton amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, exercised its "freedom of navigation" rights as it passed near the Paracel Islands, two sources, who were familiar with the matter but who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. The Albion was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, where it docked on Monday following a deployment in and around Japan. One of the sources said Beijing dispatched a frigate and two helicopters to challenge the British vessel, but both sides remained calm during the encounter. The other source the Albion did not enter the territorial seas around any features in the hotly disputed region but demonstrated that Britain does not recognize excessive maritime claims around the Paracel Islands. Twelve nautical miles is an internationally recognized territorial limit. The Paracels are occupied entirely by China but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. China's Foreign Ministry, in a faxed statement sent to Reuters, said the ship had entered Chinese territorial waters around the Paracel Islands on Aug. 31 without permission, and the Chinese navy had warned it to leave. "The relevant actions by the British ship violated Chinese law and relevant international law, and infringed on China's sovereignty. China strongly opposes this and has lodged stern representations with the British side to express strong dissatisfaction," the ministry added. "China strongly urges the British side to immediately stop such provocative actions, to avoid harming the broader picture of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability," it said. "China will continue to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and security." The encounter comes at a delicate time in London-Beijing relations. Britain has been courting China for a post-Brexit free trade deal, and both countries like to describe how they have a "golden era" in ties. A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms." British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman said Britain had a strong relationship with China. FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION China's claims in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of shipborne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Britain does not have any territorial claims in the area. While the U.S. Navy has conducted Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the same area in the past, this British challenge to China's growing control of the strategic waterway comes after the United States has said it would like to see more international participation in such actions. Both Britain and the United States say they conduct FONOP operations throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies. The British Navy has previously sailed close to the disputed Spratly Islands, further south in the South China Sea, several times in recent years but not within the 12 nautical mile limit, regional diplomatic sources have said. Singapore-based South China Sea expert Ian Storey said Britain had strong traditional interests in defending freedom of navigation but regular deployments in the South China Sea would be constrained due to limited numbers of warships and onerous demands in other parts of the world. The UKs actions will please Washington as the Trump administration has grumbled that U.S. allies have been remiss in upholding freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, said Storey, of Singapores ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute. But China will be displeased as it suggests that U.S. allies are responding to Washingtons appeals... It might also nudge other U.S. allies to make similar moves. FONOPs have so far not persuaded Beijing to curtail its South China Sea activities, which have included extensive reclamation of reefs and islands and the construction of runways, hangars and missile systems. Beijing says it is entitled to build on its territories and says the facilities are for civilian use and necessary self-defense purposes. China blames Washington for militarizing the region with its freedom of navigation patrols. Foreign aircraft and vessels in the region are routinely challenged by Chinese naval ships and monitoring stations on the fortified islands, sources have said previously. In April, warships from Australia - which like Britain is a close U.S. ally - had what Canberra described as a close "encounter" with Chinese naval vessels in the contested sea. The Albion is one of three Royal Navy ships deployed to Asia this year, along with HMS Argyll and HMS Sutherland. In a speech in Jakarta in August, Foreign Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said Britain was committed to an enduring security presence in Asia and urged countries to respect navigational freedom and international law in the South China Sea. That law included the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, whose landmark 2016 judgment criticized Chinese actions in the South China Sea and found no basis for its sweeping historic claims. Beijing has repeatedly rejected the ruling and earlier refused to participate in the case brought by the Philippines. (Reporting by Tim Kelly. Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan and William James in LONDON, Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Greg Torode in HONG KONG. Editing by Lincoln Feast and Alison Williams)
Security  a think tank has warned that it would be more difficult to extradite dangerous criminals from the UK if there is no Brexit deal on security(Picture: Alex Cavendish/NurPhoto)

It will be more difficult to extradite dangerous criminals from the UK if theres no deal on security as part of Brexit.

A report from the Institute for Government think tank said that failing to secure a new agreement on policing and criminal justice after Brexit would also reduce the number of people brought back to the UK to face justice.

The think tanks Negotiating Brexit: policing and criminal justice report said that with no new agreement, the UK would have to rely on the patchwork of insufficient security arrangements that pre-dated its membership in the EU.

The Institute for Government said the UK currently uses the European Arrest Warrant to extradite more than 1000 people a year, whereas under the previous system the figure was less than 60.

It said it would be harder to bring people who are suspected of committing crimes back to the UK to face trial.

UK authorities will also lose access to EU-wide databases and prosecutors would struggle to work with EU partners without initiatives like Europol, it warned.

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The report said the UK has the most bespoke deal on policing cooperation of any EU country, but that wouldnt be the case once it leaves Europe.

With the EU not accepting the UKs proposal of an overarching security agreement, it said, it could end up with only slightly better arrangements than those it has with other third countries like Canada and Norway.

Negotiations  the Institute for Government said security should play a part in negotiations (Picture: Getty)

The think tank said trade may dominate Brexit negotiations, but security should play a part too.

It called for both sides to break the impasse, saying the EU should accept the UKs proposal of a comprehensive security agreement, while the UK Government should recognise that it cannot maintain all its current special arrangements and provide reassurance that after Brexit it will take the protection of personal data seriously.

These would be evidence of a willingness to compromise and show the other EU countries that the UK is a valuable partner, it added.
Jerusalem (AFP) - The families of two Israelis believed to be held captive in Gaza by its Hamas rulers demanded Thursday that the Islamist movement return their loved ones.

Ethiopian-born Avera Mengistu was filmed by an Israeli security camera climbing the frontier fence with the Gaza Strip in September 2014.

Human Rights Watch said it was told by an Israeli official that Hisham al-Sayed, a Muslim Bedouin, was picked up by monitoring equipment as he crossed the border into Gaza in April 2015.

Both are said to be mentally unstable.

"Hisham's problem is he is sick psychologically," his father Shaaban al-Sayed told a press conference on Thursday.

"We want to send a message to the Palestinian people in Gaza to speak to Hamas, put pressure on Hamas," to free him, he said in Arabic.

Ilan Mengistu appealed to Hamas' Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar to "act like a human being, to consider my brother Avera's mental condition, to consider the family's suffering, and to release Avera and Hisham today."

He said that his brother was being held as a bargaining chip to try and win the release of Hamas prisoners held by Israel.

"A man with special needs is being held hostage," Mengistu said in Hebrew. "How cruel."

Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza, partly over fears that they may be used as leverage to demand concessions.

Two Israeli soldiers, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, are believed to have been killed in the 2014 war in Gaza and their remains held by Hamas.

The movement has suggested it is willing to trade the bodies in a deal similar to the 2011 swap that saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit freed in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Around 6,500 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club.
Tangiers (Morocco) (AFP) - "We hide out like wild animals," said Bamandou Kalli, an 18-year-old Guinean who like dozens of fellow migrants is holed up in Moroccan scrubland in fear of expulsion by the authorities.

On the outskirts of Tangiers, a group of migrants rests under the shade of a tree where they have made a makeshift home after fleeing police raids.

Ibrahim, a 19-year-old from Guinea, said the situation has become increasingly difficult and worrying.

"We don't know what will happen, we cling on to life but it's not easy," he said.

In setting up their new camp, the men have placed carpets and blankets on the parched earth. Food is shared from a cooking pot placed on the ground.

They moved to the outskirts of Tangiers, a port city on Morocco's northern coast, after authorities launched an operation last month targeting people smugglers and the migrants they bring to the country from sub-Saharan Africa.

The campaign came after hundreds of migrants forced their way into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta by storming the heavily fortified border fence.

In the Tangiers neighbourhoods of Boukhalef and Mesnanatan, police then moved in with the backing of special forces and helicopters, rounding up migrants, witnesses said.

While officials would not comment on the operation, witnesses said numerous people were injured as they were forced onto southbound buses which would see the migrants deported.

During one such transfer in early August, two Malians died, one of them a 16-year-old. Moroccan authorities have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the "accident".

- 'A pitiful state' -

Walking with a crutch after scrambling over a wall to escape the raid, Wilfried said the operation was "very violent".

"They went into the houses, they took our money and our jewellery, they put us on board (the bus) but they couldn't take me," said the 35-year-old from Cameroon.

Story continues

Wilfried said he had already been expelled to Algeria from the Moroccan town of Oujda, despite the border between the two countries being closed.

After sneaking back into Morocco he now hoped to reach the Spanish mainland, visible across the water from Tangiers.

Jalal, a Moroccan who helped Wilfried, slammed the authorities for using violence during raids in his neighbourhood.

"These Africans suffer a lot, they're in a pitiful state," he said. "I was illegally in Europe and I was never treated in this way."

Driss El Yazami, head of Morocco's state-funded National Human Rights Council, said last week the expulsions are legal and that his organisation makes sure vulnerable people are protected.

Dozens of migrants protested over the weekend outside the prosecutor's office in Tangiers but were blocked by police, multiple source said.

Witnesses of the raids argue that police fail to distinguish between migrants who are in Morocco illegally and those with the necessary paperwork.

In Nador, in the northeast, the Moroccan Association of Human Rights has accused authorities of violence towards women, some of whom were pregnant.

Laetitia, a 24-year-old Cameroonian, said some of those affected have been traumatised and others have developed mental health problems.

"I thought that Morocco was a country that respected human rights, but seeing how our brothers are mistreated, where are we heading?"
Bourglinster (Luxembourg) (AFP) - France and the three Benelux countries on Thursday launched a plan to offer EU funds to African countries in return for help stemming the flow of migrants to Europe.

With the issue of immigration fuelling populist movements across Europe, the EU is under pressure to come up with ways to stop the arrival of illegal migrants, many of whom risk their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean in rickety boats.

French President Emmanuel Macron and the prime ministers of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands said they had agreed on "concrete" proposals to put forward at a meeting of EU leaders in Salzburg, Austria, later this month.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte said that "agreements like those concluded with Turkey" were needed to build on a hard-fought but vague deal on migration thrashed out at an EU summit in June.

The EU struck a deal with Turkey in 2016 in a effort to stem the flow of migrants, under which Ankara agreed to take back illegal migrants landing on Greek islands in exchange for incentives including financial aid.

Over the last year the bloc has been stepping up its efforts to support African countries with aid and investment in a bid to reduce the incentives for people to leave their home countries to seek a better life in Europe.

"The European Union must deploy a form of Marshall Plan for Africa, with a concrete operational ambition with African partners", said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

The four leaders also urged more help for European countries of first arrival, Italy and Spain, to deal with the arrivals, but all maintain that these countries must have responsibility for arrivals -- a major point of contention with Italy.

The hardline anti-migrant government in Rome has demanded the EU rotate the ports where migrants rescued in the Mediterranean disembark, arguing that Italy was shouldering an unfair burden.

Italy has been turning away ships with migrants rescued at sea in a campaign to force other EU countries to take them, and last month it threatened to block the EU budget over the issue.

Macron said the countries of arrival "have a responsibility and they cannot get rid of it, but there must be financial solidarity".

"We have made progress today and together we will bring concrete solutions to the Salzburg summit," he added.
 Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump continued his attacks Wednesday on an explosive book about his administration.





Trump said the book, written by U.S. veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward, "means nothing" and called it "a work of fiction" during a photo op with visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the White House.





Woodward's book -- "Fear: Trump in the White House" -- is to be released next week.





According to excerpts obtained by media outlets, Trump's aides describe him as a "liar" and an "idiot" who is running a "crazytown."





"Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," Trump tweeted earlier in the day.





He also tweeted out written statements of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, both of whom denied uttering quoted criticisms of the president in the book.





In a statement to The Washington Post, Woodward said, "I stand by my reporting."





The book was based on hundreds of hours of conversations with direct players, according to the author.





Woodward has been a reporter at the The Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor there.





He is most famous for breaking the story of the Watergate scandal, which promoted the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974.




By Sophie Louet PARIS (Reuters) - France's top military official said on Thursday his forces were prepared to carry out strikes on Syrian targets if chemical weapons were used in an expected government offensive to retake the northern province of Idlib. Russia, an ally of President Bashar al-Assad, resumed air strikes against insurgents in Idlib on Tuesday after weeks of bombardment and shelling by pro-government Syrian forces in an apparent prelude to a full-scale offensive against the last major enclave held be rebels. "We are ready to strike if chemical weapons were used again," Armed Forces Chief Francois Lecointre told a small group of reporters. "They can be carried out at national level but it's in our interest to do it with as many partners as possible." In April, France, the United States and Britain launched more than 100 missiles at pro-government targets in retaliation for a suspected poison gas attack. The prospect of an offensive on Idlib alarms aid agencies. The United Nations has said about half of the 3 million people living in rebel-held areas of the northwest have already been displaced. It estimates some 10,000 jihadists are in the area. Lecointre said he expected the final pockets of Islamic State resistance in Syria and Iraq to be defeated by the end of November. Idlib's fate now appears likely to rest on a summit on Friday in Tehran between the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran - a meeting that Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said would make the situation "clearer". While the United States and its allies have warned of a blood bath, they have made clear they would only intervene should they deem that chemical weapons have been used. A French military source said the indications were that Russia and its allies wanted to wrap up the Idlib offensive by the end of the year. The source said Paris believed the United States would maintain its military presence in Kurdish-controlled northwestern regions of Syria given that Washington wanted to limit Iran's influence in Syria. (Writing by John Irish; Editing by Luke Baker and Richard Lough)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Gambian President Adama Barrow told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that his country's previous ties with self-ruled Taiwan had been a "huge mistake", and he thanked China for all the help it had given subsequently, China said. China resumed ties with Gambia in 2016, after it ended formal relations with Taiwan, claimed by China as a wayward province with no right to diplomatic relations. Two other African countries have since followed suit, Sao Tome and Principe and Burkina Faso. China has stepped up pressure on Taiwan's remaining allies - now down to just 17, most of them poor countries in the Pacific and Central America - as it seeks to limit the democratic island's international footprint. Meeting Xi in Beijing following this week's China-Africa summit, Barrow told Xi that his country had been wrong to maintain relations with Taiwan. "The facts prove that Gambia previously maintaining so-called diplomatic relations with Taiwan was a huge mistake," China's foreign ministry cited Barrow as saying. "China has helped us improve communications, roads and transport conditions, things that in all the years gone past we wanted to do but were unable," he added. Barrow said he "believed that with China's cooperation, Gambia will achieve speeded-up development", the ministry said. For years, China and Taiwan have tried to poach each other's allies, often dangling generous aid packages in front of leaders of developing nations. The kingdom of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is Taiwan's only remaining African ally. It has shown no desire to ditch Taipei even as China steps up efforts to woo it. China's renewed diplomatic tussle with Taiwan has also dragged in the United States. While Washington only recognizes China, it has strong unofficial relations with Taiwan and is its main arms supplier. Last month, the United States attacked El Salvador's decision to abandon Taiwan in favor of China, saying the change was of grave concern and warning that China was offering economic inducements to seek domination. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Lima (AFP) - Germany has returned a pre-Columbian gold funerary mask to Peru following a 20-year legal and diplomatic battle, the South American country's culture minister said on Thursday.

Peru had reported the eighth century Sican mask's disappearance in 1999, after which it was confiscated by Interpol from the German city of Wiesbaden.

"I'm happy to receive one of the most emblematic assets from the north Peruvian cultures, the Sican Mask," said Patricia Balbuena in a statement.

The mask was handed over to the Peruvian embassy in Berlin by Bavarian authorities.

The Munich regional court ordered the mask be returned to Peru in December 2016 after it had been confiscated by the public prosecutor.

It is due to arrive in Peru in the coming weeks.

Like neighboring Ecuador, which secured the return of 13 pre-Columbian artifacts from a private German collection in July after a six-year legal battle, the South American country has been eager to recover priceless pieces from its cultural heritage.

The Sican culture inhabited the north coast of Peru between the eighth and 14th centuries.
Former New York mayor and current counsel to Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, joined Cuomo Prime Time on Wednesday, but not to nonsensically defend the president against accusations of Russia collusion or obstruction of justice, as has been the trend lately. Instead, Giuliani was defending himself against a claim in Bob Woodwards new book, Fear: Trump in the White House. In the book, Woodward claims that an anonymous source told him that Trump chastised Giuliani for his weak defense of the then candidate after the release of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump bragged about sexually assaulting women.According to the book, Trump said to Giuliani, Rudy, you're a baby. Ive never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?"Giuliani had quite a different recollection of the encounter. In fact, Giulianis recollection was quite glowingfor Giuliani. Giuliani said that they had held the campaign plane just for him, and that the staff applauded when he got on, and Trump welcomed him with high praise and open arms. Giuliani said, The president stood up, said, Mayor, you werent tough enough. And then he laughed and he said, You did a great job. Thank you. Nobody could have done what you did. And things only got better for Giuliani from there. He called me over. He put his arm around me. He put me close and he whispered in my ear about how much courage I have. I wont tell you exactly what he said, Giuliani explained, emphatically adding, Thats exactly what happened, 100%Woodward claims to have tapes of the sources he used for his book. Well, Giuliani has sources of his own, eight, in fact. Unfortunately, two of those sources might not be the best for credible information on the matter. Giuliani told Cuomo hed tell him his sources off the record and maybe on the record at some point. Giuliani offered to give a couple, but Cuomo saw through that, saying, Well, the presidents not going to talk to me, and your security guys compromised as a source. Giulianis face shown that those were likely the sources he was going to name.

On top of Woodwards book, to make matters worse, an anonymous senior White House official released a scathing op-ed in the New York Times on Wednesday that spoke of a resistance within the administration. Giuliani had a few choice words for that individual that, oddly enough, are some of the words that have been used countless times to describe the president himself.This guy is obviously an unhinged guy, Giuliani said. A guy without many morals, without any principle.
Rosh HaNiqra (Israel) (AFP) - High in the hills above the Mediterranean, Israeli troops worked while soldiers from a country still technically at war with them peered down from only metres above.

The odd spectacle played out this week as Israel continued work on a new concrete wall along its northern border with Lebanon. A few Lebanese soldiers watched from a tower just on the other side.

Israel has spent years building barriers to keep out Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as African migrants crossing from Egypt.

Earlier this year, new construction began along the Lebanese border, where Israel is building a wall equipped with cameras in the hope of thwarting any attempt by its enemy Hezbollah to infiltrate and attack.

It follows up on earlier construction in 2012 of a wall around the Israeli town of Metula next to the Lebanese border.

Israel says all portions of the wall will be on its side of the so-called blue line -- the UN-established ceasefire line put in place after its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

But Lebanon says some sections will cut into its territory and earlier this year pledged a diplomatic push to prevent construction.

Lebanon's plans to explore for oil and gas offshore in waters eyed by both sides have added to the controversy.

Israeli military officials told journalists during a tour of the work near the Mediterranean coast on Wednesday that the wall, replacing a fence, was being built for defensive purposes.

Israel fought a war with Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah in 2006. The border area has remained relatively quiet since.

"This obstacle basically relates to the intentions, the spoken intentions, the threats made public by Hezbollah since 2011, to infiltrate into Israel and to attack Israeli communities south of the blue line," said Major Tomer Gilad.

"We're taking these threats seriously."

- Nine metres high -

Israel has so far built 11 kilometres (seven miles) of the wall and a budget is in place for two more.

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The military hopes to eventually extend it some 130 kilometres, stretching the length of the frontier.

If financed in full, work is expected to take two years, said project manager Brigadier General Eran Ofir.

Military officials declined to comment on whether it includes underground components to detect and stop tunnel digging, as are being constructed along the border with the Gaza Strip.

The total cost is expected to be 1.7 billion shekels ($472 million, 406 million euros).

It is designed to be some nine metres (30 feet) high including steel mesh on top -- similar to the wall that cuts off the West Bank from Israel.

It is made of long concrete blocks, with tubes for technological components protruding.

Israel's military stresses it is closely coordinating the work with the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL.

Representatives of the Israeli and Lebanese armies meet roughly once a month, with UNIFIL mediating, to coordinate not only work on the wall but other issues that could lead to misunderstandings or clashes.

Israel and Lebanon have been involved in a series of conflicts over the years and the two remain technically at war.

But the reason for the wall has less to do with the Lebaese army than Hezbollah, an Israeli military official said.

- 'Not just what you'll see' -

Tensions run deep between Israel and the Iranian-backed group.

Hezbollah has been preoccupied with other issues in recent years, having sent several thousand of its fighters to back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war.

It has lost many hundreds of fighters, including senior commanders, since it deployed in Syria, where the war is now winding down.

But from Israel's point of view, it has gained as well by learning new tactics while fighting alongside Iranian and Russian troops, who are also backing Assad.

Israel's military believes Hezbollah has between 100,000 and 120,000 short-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred longer-range missiles.

But the potential for shootings and infiltrations, as well as the need for surveillance, is the reason for the wall, it says.

"It's not just what you'll see, the cement wall," the senior Israeli military official said, adding there were components he could not talk about that make "what we can see from this much, much better."
Some of the 3,600 workers at Hondas site in Swindon (PA)

Carmaker Honda (HMC) has delivered a fresh warning that thousands of British jobs could be lost if the UK leaves the EUs customs union.

British MEPs met representatives of the Japanese car market in Ghent, Belgium on Thursday to discuss the potential impact of Brexit on businesses.

They were told that the governments plan to leave the customs union could hit their profits so substantially they could be force into leaving the UK.

What he told us is that for companies like Honda any delay in bringing their goods in or out, any additional tariffs, which there will be if were not in the customs union, will seriously impact on their bottom line and they may not be able to continue production in the UK.

MORE: Key part of Mays Brexit plan meets resistance in Brussels

Honda currently employs 3,600 people at its factory in Swindon and has its European headquarters in Bracknell.

Catos account is consistent with evidence given by the company to the Commons business select committee in November.

Honda UK government affairs manager Patrick Keating said at the time: Outside of the customs union, there is no such thing as a frictionless border.

MEPs were told Thursday that the companys Swindon site, where the new Honda Civic model is being manufactured, receives 350 deliveries of EU-sourced parts every day.

Some of those components arrive less than one hour before assembly as part of the just in time supply chain which is facilitated by the customs union, which eliminates border checks on goods going to or from member states.

General view of a Honda sign outside of Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltds factory in Swindon

A delay in deliveries could cost the company up to 1m-a-day, Honda representatives told the MEPs.

Labour MEP Seb Dance said: We must assume the plant could not realistically continue under conditions where goods could not flow.

And Cato said: My visit to the port of Ghent today has left me in no doubt that if the government drive us over a cliff, companies like Honda, one of the South Wests largest employers, may no longer be able to retain production in Swindon.

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The UK government wants to put in place alternative arrangements to maintain frictionless trade.

MORE: UK to keep EU rules on workers rights and the environment after Brexit

Its Chequers plan proposed a free-trade area for goods which would see the UK accept EU rules, accompanied by a customs arrangement that would involve the UK collecting tariffs on behalf of the EU.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is continuing to push the proposals in negotiations today despite the fact they have been rejected in Brussels.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock claimed Barnier told him the Chequers plan is dead at a meeting in Westminster last week, but that has been disputed by EU officials.

European Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas pointed out the meeting in which Barnier was meant to have made the remark was not public.

He said that was a perfect recipe for everyone coming out of there and saying what one or the other understood Michel saying.




When Howard Schultz stepped down from the board and his role as executive chairman of Starbucks (SBUX) in June, there was speculation that he might be eyeing a presidential run in 2020.

Ill be thinking about a range of options for myself, from philanthropy to public service, but Im a long way from knowing what the future holds, Schultz wrote in a company-wide memo at the time. Schultz was chairman and CEO from 1987-2000, and again from 2008 to 2017. He is now chairman emeritus of the company.

In an interview ahead of the opening of Starbuckss Milan Reserve Roastery this week, Yahoo Finance asked Schultz what his plans are now that the summer is almost over.

I think its important to say I do not have to run for president to improve the lives of others, Schultz responded. And so Im looking at a range of options and well just see what happens. Its still very early in this process for me.

Howard Schultz. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

When asked how it feels when people question if hell run or encourage him to run, he said its very humbling.

[When] I think about that question and the environment were in today, regardless of who ultimately is the president in 2020, I think its critically important, in view of a very fragile nature of the world were living in, and Americas position in the world, and Americas role in the world, and Americas standing in the world, that the right person, the right person is the next president of the United States, Schultz said.

Schultz traveled the world over the course of his career at the Seattle coffee giant. And in that time, hes seen how Americas standing has shifted.

[In] my speech yesterday I talked about, the most important asset of building any company is the culture and the values and guiding principles and the currency of that is trust, Schultz said. And I think that is applicable to a country  the culture of the country and the trust that people are going to have in us as a nation. And I think we are in an environment right now where, unfortunately, many of our allies and many of our relationships are being questioned, and we have to do everything we can to restore and reaffirm our position in the world. So its a very important time in the world because of how fragile it is and certainly, an important time for America to demonstrate the importance of American values not only here at home but also around the world.

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Schultz, 65, spoke to Yahoo Finance in Milan ahead of the grand opening of Starbuckss Roastery. This is the companys first entry into the Italian market, the place where Schultz was inspired to build the modern-day Starbucks.

An employee prepares a coffee inside the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery flagship in downtown Milan, Italy, September 4, 2018. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
Starbucks chairman emeritus Howard Schultz argues that the U.S. and China should work to find common ground amid ongoing trade tensions.

Starbucks (SBUX) currently operates around 3,500 stores in China and is opening a new one every day. Whats more, the Shanghai Roastery is the most successful store in the world for the coffee giant.

Thus far, the tariffs that have existed in the trade war thats currently going on between the U.S. and China has not really affected Starbucks. But what I would say about this is its in the interest of both America and China to find common ground, and there are many things that are in our mutual interest. In addition to that, its in the interest of the world for China and the U.S. to find things that we can do together to enhance the rest of the way.

Schultz pointed to Chinas One Belt Road initiative, which he described as a super infrastructure highway thats going to bind countries together to produce an economic powerhouse in terms of trade.

Now theyre going to invest trillions of dollars over a long period of time. To do that, we have to understand that if we want to maintain, as a country, our economic leadership around the world, then we have to be open. We cant isolate ourselves from the rest of the world, and we have to be in many ways as committed to the long-term investment and strategic thinking. Thats what the Chinese are dealing with One Belt Road. So the bottom line is China, to me, is not an adversary. They are a competitor, and we have to do everything we can to compete with them and also to find ways to cooperate with them when its in our national interest.

Howard Schultz

Millions of Americans left behind

Meanwhile, back in the U.S., its been 10 years since the global financial crisis. During that tumultuous time, Schultz returned to Starbucks as CEO and embarked on a transformation. Ten years later, the economic data is healthy and the stock market has continued to touch new highs. But not everyone is benefitting, said Schultz.

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I want to say the economy is strong for many people, but theres millions of Americans that are not participating in the economic growth, he said. So just some facts that we should establish. Over 40% of American households do not have $400 for a crisis. Almost 6 million young people in America, ages from 16 to 24 are not in school and not working. So, the economy, if you use the stock market as a proxy, is wonderful, but millions of Americans are not participating and are being left behind.

Schultz, now the chairman emeritus of Starbucks, added that theres much work to do to address the inequities that exist in the U.S. The impact of tariffs could be a tax on consumers.

Whether or not the stock market continues to perform at this level, I dont know. But, I think theres other issues about leadership and integrity and values and decency and the divisiveness that we now have  I think the issue issues with trade and tariffs  ultimately the burden is going to fall on the consumer and that could be a consumer tax on products and services. So I would much rather see an opportunity for a much more predictable situation than the episodic things that we seem to be dealing with in the U.S.

Schultz spoke with Yahoo Finance in a wide-ranging conversation ahead of the debut of Starbuckss Reserve Roastery in Milan  the inspiration for the modern-day Starbucks. The Roastery officially opens on Friday, September 7, the anniversary of the day Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982.

After a trip to Milan in 1983, Schultz was inspired to transform what was then a small Seattle-based seller of whole bean coffee into the global enterprise it is today. This marks Starbuckss first entry into the Italian market.

Schultz stepped down as CEO in April 2017. This June, he stepped down from his role as chairman.

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
 Flash

During upcoming World Economic Forum on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) slated for Sept. 11-13 in Vietnam's capital, 1,000 delegates from 43 countries and regions will focus their discussions on five key topics, organizers said on Thursday.

The key contents include defining new vision for the ASEAN on regional integration, seeking new economic models and governance in the digital era, finding new business models and driving forces for ASEAN countries, enterprises' new approach to regional and global governance, and developing smart infrastructure, skill training, business startups and innovations, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and head of the event's organizing board told a press conference.

The forum's theme "ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution" has shown the common interest of the ASEAN as well as the world, since it is relevant to the ASEAN's theme for 2018, a resilient and innovative ASEAN, he said.

Among the delegates are prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, presidents of Indonesia and the Philippines, and Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The forum's attendance is very strong, with the presence of not only leaders of governments and businesses from ASEAN members, but also leaders of international organizations, and senior officials and entrepreneurs from non-ASEAN countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and India, head of Asia-Pacific, member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum Justin Wood told reporters.
Beirut (AFP) - Hundreds of civilians have fled villages near the front line in Syria's Idlib province fearing an imminent regime assault on the country's last major rebel bastion, a monitor said Thursday.

Russia-backed government forces have been massing around the northwestern province for weeks, while on Tuesday Moscow carried out its first air strikes on the rebels in three weeks.

Late on Wednesday, hundreds of villagers abandoned areas in the southeast of the province that lie close to government-held territory, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

They were heading north towards rebel-held territory in neighbouring Aleppo province, the Britain-based monitor said.

"Around 180 families, or some 1,000 people" have hit the roads since late Wednesday, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.

More than half of Idlib province is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, while Turkish-backed rebels hold much of the rest.

Government forces recaptured much of the southeast of the province at the start of the year.

The United Nations has expressed fears that a full-scale offensive in Idlib could displace up to 800,000 people from their homes.

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has urged the major powers to intervene to prevent a "bloodbath".

On Friday, government allies Russia and Iran are to hold a Tehran summit with rebel backer Turkey that is expected to determine the future of the province.

The UN Security Council is due to discuss the situation on the same day.

Successive rounds of peace talks have failed to halt the civil war in Syria, which has killed 350,000 people and driven millions more from their homes since it erupted in 2011.

Neighbouring Turkey, which hosts more than three million Syrian refugees, fears a new mass influx.

Turkey wants to "prevent attacks on Idlib", Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, adding that it had "clearly told Russia" that its Tuesday strikes were wrong.
Idlib (Syria) (AFP) - Hundreds of Syrian civilians fled Idlib province on Thursday as the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey readied for last-ditch talks on the fate of the last rebel bastion.

Government forces and their allies have been massing around Idlib, where aid groups fear what could be the last major battle of Syria's seven-year civil war may also prove its deadliest.

Western powers have warned against a bloodbath but Damascus and Moscow are adamant that an offensive is needed to root out the jihadists who dominate the province.

Sporadic bombardment has targeted armed groups on Idlib's fringes in recent days, and on Thursday families began streaming out of their battered hometowns to seek safety elsewhere.

Trucks piled high with mattresses, metal pipes, plastic tanks and wicker mats could be seen heading towards camps near Syria's northern border with Turkey.

"We left because of the shelling, the crazy indiscriminate shelling," said Abu Naser, who fled on the back of one such truck.

"We don't know where to head now. So many people fled -- what are we supposed to do, sit under the shelling and airplanes?

Another group of hundreds of families fled the province's southeast for other rebel-held areas, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said "around 180 families, or some 1,000 people" had escaped those areas since Wednesday night, heading to rebel territory further east.

They were fleeing Syrian artillery and Russian bombardment on villages that lie close to government-held areas and would therefore be most vulnerable to the early phase of an assault.

Artillery fire also killed one civilian and wounded six more, added the Britain-based war monitor.

- 'Pull back from the brink' -

The number displaced so far is tiny compared with the 800,000 that the United Nations fears may be thrown onto the roads, more than a quarter of the rebel zone's population.

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Warning of the risks of a regime assault on Idlib, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the rebel-held enclave as a "ticking time bomb, both in humanitarian and security terms".

Save the Children said more violence would have "devastating consequences" for Syria's young.

"During seven years of war, these children have seen and experienced things that no child ever should," said its chief Helle Thorning-Schmidt, calling on the warring parties in Idlib to "pull back from the brink".

The UN, world powers, and aid groups hope a summit on Friday between the presidents of Russia, Iran, and Turkey -- the three main powerbrokers in Syria -- can avert an assault.

The trio will meet in Tehran as part of the ongoing Astana process aimed at ending the conflict, which has killed 350,000 people and driven more than 11 million from their homes since it erupted in 2011.

Russia says its priority is to eradicate jihadist groups from Idlib, with the foreign ministry pledging on Thursday that it would continue to "kill terrorists" across Syria.

"We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists... whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria," said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Turkey, meanwhile, already hosts three million Syrian refugees and wants to avert an assault that would push more towards the border.

Ankara is under pressure from Russia to exert its influence on rebels in Idlib, but the province is dominated by the more powerful and jihadist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance.

"We can work together to render those (radical groups) ineffective. The solution is not to bomb or attack all over Idlib, without any distinction," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

- Rescue centre hit -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before heading to Iran that an offensive could trigger "a serious massacre", while his US counterpart, Donald Trump, said the outcome of the Tehran summit would be crucial.

"Because the world is watching. That cannot be a slaughter. If it's a slaughter, the world is going to be very, very angry. And the United States is going to be very angry, too," he said on Wednesday.

Russia has hinted the Idlib offensive could be conducted in several phases, giving negotiations a chance to continue in parallel.

The next few days could see the launch of an assault restricted to peripheral areas, focusing on the strategic north-south M5 highway and flushing out rebels responsible for drone attacks on Russia's Hmeimim air base.

On Thursday, rescue workers said their headquarters in a southern part of Idlib province was forced to close after being damaged in air strikes.

Mossab al-Qadur, the head of the centre in Al-Tamana, told AFP he was inside the building when it was struck by dozens of shells and rockets.

"When the shells stopped, we quickly got out. About 15 minutes later, a Sukhoi 24 (Russian jet) targeted the centre, which put it out of service," said Qadur.
Brussels (AFP) - Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban will address the European Parliament next week as it debates whether to call for disciplinary proceedings against his government over threats to the rule of law.

Euro MPs will debate on Tuesday whether to demand so-called Article 7 proceedings against Hungary, which could ultimately see Budapest's EU voting rights suspended -- a procedure only launched once before, against Poland last December.

The parliament's "conference of presidents" -- the speaker and heads of the major political groups -- have given the go-ahead for Orban to speak at the beginning of the debate, and his aides confirmed his attendance to AFP.

The motion to be debated asks the European Council, which groups the member states, "to determine whether there is a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values" of the EU and make "appropriate recommendations to Hungary".

A parliamentary report by Greens MEP Judith Sargentini lists a series of "concerns" about Orban's populist Fidesz government, including constitutional and electoral issues, judicial independence, freedom of expression, minority rights and the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.

"This is a request to the Council to do their own investigation. It's politically huge but the immediate effects are not there," Sargentini said.

To pass, the motion needs the backing of a majority of MEPs and at least two thirds of the votes cast, which sets the stage for a tight result.

The votes of the biggest grouping, the centre-right EPP which counts Orban's Fidesz party as a member, will be closely watched. EPP chief Manfred Weber has said there could not be "favourable treatment on questions of fundamental values".

The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has clashed repeatedly with Orban's government, especially since the migration crisis erupted in 2015.

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The clashes come amid broader fears that Hungary, Poland and other eastern countries from the former Soviet-bloc were turning away from the democratic values on which the EU is built.

The commission launched legal action against Poland earlier this year after deciding that its response to the Article 7 proceedings was insufficient.

While the Article 7 procedure could lead to a suspension of voting rights, Hungary has said it would veto any attempt to impose such a penalty on Poland, and it is likely Warsaw would reciprocate.
Brett Kavanaugh answers questions from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., on Wednesday. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

If there was a theme to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaughs second day of confirmation hearings, it would be precedent.

President Trumps controversial pick for the seat previously held by longtime Justice Anthony Kennedy used the word repeatedly as he fielded questions from both Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kavanaugh made the point that notwithstanding his previously expressed critiques of several key precedential rulings, his opinions as a judge are informed not by his personal views but by the legal principles established by the Supreme Court.

Throughout these hearings, Democrats have been seeking to put Kavanaugh on the record about how he would vote on cases that might turn on Supreme Court precedents with which hes publicly  and controversially  disagreed, notably Roe v. Wade. Though he said on Wednesday that the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion was important precedent, some Democrats are wary of what they suspect is his willingness to disregard past opinions.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., questioned Brett Kavanaugh about an abortion ruling in which she believes he ignored precedent. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

For example, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein called out Kavanaughs dissent, as a member of the D.C. Circuit, in a case last year regarding whether a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant in federal custody should be allowed to obtain an abortion.

You argue that even though the young woman had complied with Texas parental notification law and secured an approval from a judge, she should nonetheless be barred, said Feinstein, telling Kavanaugh that, in his dissent in the case known as Garza v. Hargan, you ignored, and I believe mischaracterized, a Supreme Court precedent.

Feinstein took issue with Kavanaughs opinion, which would have required the young woman to wait for a government-approved sponsor to provide a support network of friends and family, running the risk, she said, that the process would extend past her 20th week of pregnancy, the legal limit in Texas, where she was being held. Feinstein asserted that Kavanaughs dissent amounted to rewriting a Supreme Court precedent that established the judicial bypass process for pregnant minors in need of an abortion who cannot obtain parental consent, requiring courts to determine whether a young woman had a sufficient support network when making her decision.

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This reason, I believe, demonstrates that you are willing to disregard precedent, Feinstein said.

Though abortion is considered the central issue at play in the Garza case, its also just one example of a case involving immigrants in which Kavanaughs commitment to precedent and existing statutes has come under scrutiny.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., questioned Brett Kavanaugh about his respect for precedent in a case involving immigrant workers. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

During a particularly pointed series of questions Wednesday afternoon, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin highlighted Kavanaughs 2008 dissent in a case concerning the rights of undocumented immigrant workers at a slaughterhouse to unionize.

The fact that you were a dissenter and everyone else saw it the other way should give us pause when you say you only follow precedent, said Durbin.

The majority of Kavanaughs colleagues on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the undocumented workers in this case, Agri Processor Co. Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, citing both the plain language of the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, which guarantees the basic rights of private sector employees to join unions and demand better wages and working conditions through collective bargaining, as well as the 1984 Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Sure-Tan Inc. v. NLRB, explicitly affirming that, since undocumented aliens are not among the few groups of workers expressly exempted by Congress under the National Labor Relations Act, they plainly come within the broad statutory definition of employee.

Congress did not make it illegal for companies to knowingly employ undocumented immigrants until two years after the Sure-Tan decision, with the passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) in 1986. In Agri Processor, the majority noted in its opinion that, not only is there no clear indication that Congress intended IRCA implicitly to amend the NLRA, but all available evidence actually points in the opposite direction.

Despite his purported reverence for Supreme Court precedent, and his self-described textualist approach to interpreting legislation strictly by adhering to the plain text of a statute, Kavanaugh dissented sharply in Agri Processor. He went beyond the companys claim that its undocumented workers could not unionize because they did not qualify as employees under the National Labor Relations Act, relying on a previously uncited passage of the Sure-Tan decision to make the point that it was actually the majority opinion that was inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent.

The Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, in a 2008 photo. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

After outlining the core reasoning for its determination that undocumented workers do qualify as employees under the NLRA, the court went on to offer a supplementary explanation in Sure-Tan for why there appeared to be no conflict between this finding and then-existing immigration law, which at that time, 1984, did not prohibit businesses from hiring undocumented workers. Kavanaugh hinged his dissent in Agri Processor on this secondary section, which wasnt even cited in the majority opinion. He argued that it set a precedent for interpreting the definition of employee under the NLRA in conjunction with the immigration laws. According to that reasoning, he wrote, I would hold that an illegal immigrant worker is not an employee under the NLRA for the simple reason that, ever since [the passage of the IRCA in 1986, an illegal immigrant worker is not a lawful employee in the United States.

In their response to Kavanaugh, his colleagues in the majority found that he had essentially sought to create a new rule, by inferring that the NLRA had been implicitly amended by the IRCA, based not on any guidance from Congress but an interpretation of part of a Supreme Court decision written two years prior to the IRCAs passage. The rule, they warned, would lead to the absurd result that the Supreme Court  or any court for that matter  could alter the plain meaning of future legislation simply by announcing what current legislation does not mean.

Durbin cited this warning from Kavanaughs fellow judges during Wednesdays hearing, questioning how the judge could reconcile his opinion in this particular case given that you claim over and over again to be a textualist to be carefully weighing every word of a statute.

You bent over backwards to take the companys side against these workers, Durbin said, as Kavanaugh repeated his refrains that its all about precedent and I have no agenda in any direction Im a judge.

Im just a judge, I just follow precedent, Durbin interjected. Weve heard that so often, and I hope its the case. In this case, he told Kavanaugh, you failed to follow Supreme Court precedent.

Durbins questions about the Agri Processor dissent echoed concerns expressed by some immigration attorneys whove been closely mining Kavanaughs past opinions for signs of how he might approach the various immigration-related cases that are likely to come before the Supreme Court in the coming session. Lawsuits concerning such issues as the governments ability to indefinitely detain immigrants without bond hearings, the role of local officials in federal immigration enforcement and the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, are already making their way toward the high court, while experts foresee potential challenges to things like the 1982 Supreme Court decision that guaranteed the right to public K-12 education for all children in the United States, regardless of immigration status, or the 1898 decision that affirmed that anyone born in the U.S. is automatically a citizen under the 14th Amendment.

Hundreds protested after the 2008 federal immigration raid of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, in which nearly 400 people were arrested. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall/AP)

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, where Kavanaugh has served as a judge since 2006, is not exactly a magnet for immigration cases, making his record on the issue relatively limited. Still, attorneys and advocates on both sides of the immigration debate have pinpointed a handful of specific opinions, including Agri Processor, which they suggest offer important insight into how he might approach such cases if confirmed to the Supreme Court. Kavanaughs view that undocumented workers do not qualify as employees, and therefore dont have basic rights, is obviously a red flag for immigration advocates at a time when workplace immigration raids are becoming common.

For immigration hard-liners and restrictionists, Kavanaughs opinion on undocumented workers is seen as a sign that Trumps Supreme Court nominee is on their side. In July, Breitbart News deemed Kavanaugh to be the America First Supreme Court pick, pointing to the judges opinions in the Agri Processor case among others, as evidence that Kavanaugh applies Trumps economic patriotism to the law. Days later, Jesse Merriam echoed Breitbarts view in an op-ed for Real Clear Politics, writing that The best publicly available data indicate that, of all the judges under consideration, Judge Brett Kavanaugh is most likely to advance President Trumps America First constitutional vision.

Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an influential Washington-based nonprofit that advocates for reducing all types of immigration to the U.S., called Kavanaugh a superb choice for the Supreme Court.

President Trump should be commended for choosing a candidate who clearly understands the nations patchwork of immigration laws and how they are intended to protect both American workers and the overarching national interest, Stein said in a press release. Dale Wilcox, executive director and general counsel at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, or IRLI, FAIRs legal arm, echoed similar sentiments in an interview with NRA-TV.

It likely wont receive much, if any, airtime during this weeks confirmation hearings, but Kavanaughs 2014 dissent in a case concerning the ability of a Brazilian steakhouse chain to obtain temporary work visas for Brazilian gaucho chefs at its restaurants in the U.S. has also drawn attention from immigration advocates and opponents alike.

Fogo De Chao, a Brazilian restaurant in Washington, in a March photo. (Photo: Evy Mages/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

The meat of the case is this: Originally founded in the Rio Grande do Sul region of Southern Brazil in 1979, Fogo de Chao first introduced its chain of churrascarias, traditional Brazilian barbecue steakhouses, to the United States in 1997. Between then and 2006, the federal government granted the company more than 200 temporary work visas, known as L-1Bs, for its Brazilian gaucho chefs, or churrasqueiros, who grew up in Rio Grande do Sul and have been trained to both cook and entertain in the regions unique barbecue tradition. Since 1970, L-1B visas have allowed qualifying multinational businesses to bring foreign employees with specialized knowledge to work temporarily in the United States, and Fogo de Chao attributes much of its success to the employment of authentic gaucho chefs in each of its restaurants.

However, in 2010, the Department of Homeland Securitys Administrative Appeals Office denied Fogo de Chaos request to transfer another churrasqueiro chef to the U.S. on an L-1B visa, concluding that the chefs cultural background, training and extensive experience in cooking and serving food in the churrasco tradition did not constitute a special knowledge of his employers product.

Fogo de Chao sued, and the majority of judges on the D.C. Circuit Court found that DHSs decision to categorically dismiss culturally acquired skills in its denial of the Fogo de Chao chefs visa application was legally erroneous and devoid of any reasoned explanation as to why training and skills-acquisition can qualify as specialized if obtained from a corporate instructor, but categorically cannot just because they are learned from family or community members. The court ordered that the earlier decision be vacated and remanded back to the Appeals Office for further review, clarifying that the office could not simply impose a new bar on culturally acquired skills without some sort of regulatory guidance, statute or reasoned analysis to back it up.

Once again, Kavanaugh was the lone dissenter, authoring an opinion that elicited puzzlement from his fellow judges on the bench. While the court records pretty clearly demonstrate that the agencys bar on culturally acquired skills had emerged as part of its decision to deny Fogo de Chaos request for an L-1B visa, Kavanaugh declared that he fully agree[s] with the agencys longstanding position that ones country of origin, or cultural background, does not constitute specialized knowledge.

He went onto disregard a number of other key details outlined in the case, including the 200-plus L-1B visas previously granted to Fogo de Chaos churrasqueiros, and the fact that the company largely employs American chefs at its restaurants, relying on the Brazilian churrasqueiros to train them. Discarding Fogo de Chaos rather complicated claim about the nuances of its business model and the crucial role authentic churrasqueiros play in the companys profitability, Kavanaugh instead interpreted the companys argument to be simply that American chefs either cant learn to cook or wont cook Brazilian steaks. He went on to accuse the company of simply seeking to import experienced Brazilian chefs rather than hiring and training only American chefs in an effort to save money, arguing that this case is, at least in part, Fogos desire to cut labor costs masquerading as specialized knowledge. Then, citing an unspecified provision of the immigration laws, he concluded that mere economic expediency does not authorize an employer to displace American workers for foreign workers.

Inside Washingtons Fogo de Chao in 2011. (Photo: Evy Mages/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

Its really remarkable, Tom Jawetz, vice president of immigration policy at American Progress, said of Kavanaughs dissent in the Fogo de Chao case.

Theres no reference to statute, theres no reference to regulation and theres no reference even to the memoranda that for decades have guided the governments decision making around the L-1B visas that were at issue there, said Jawetz, who previously served as chief counsel on the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. Instead he kind of makes this MAGA cultural argument. (Indeed, Breitbart, FAIR and others have praised Kavanaughs take on Fogo de Chao as more proof of his alignment with the America First agenda.)

To reject the concept that knowledge is acquired through your cultural upbringing and life experiences  is to reject the very concept of diversity as our strength, the very notion that we can stand to learn from people who are different than us and had a different life experience than us, said Jawetz. That, to me, is a reflection of a closed mind that I fear more than anything else will infect his ability to make fair and honest judgments about cases addressing immigrants and communities of color more broadly going forward.

Like the Agri Processor case, however, Kavenaughs rationale in his Fogo dissent raises concerns about more than his attitude toward immigrants.

A protester is removed from the hearing room as Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. (Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Diane Butler, a Seattle-based immigration attorney and board member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said she couldnt help but recall the Fogo de Chao dissent when she heard Kavanaugh state firmly during his confirmation hearing this week that he would uphold the law as written.

In that case it seemed to me that he tried to rewrite the law, said Butler. Not only was Kavanaughs claim of a longstanding cultural knowledge bar unsubstantiated  He was essentially making that up  but, she said, he fabricated his argument that the restaurant was using these workers to displace Americans. That evidence did not exist. In fact, he ignored the evidence that the restaurant predominantly hired American chefs and brought Brazilians over to train them.

His focus was almost entirely on nonexistent evidence that the employer just wanted to hire cheap foreign labor in their U.S. restaurants, she said.

Butler predicts that, based on Kavanaughs dissent in that case, if confirmed to the Supreme Court he might be inclined to go beyond the current immigration laws and statutes to enforce Trumps Buy American, Hire American executive order.

That is concerning, because it leads to a high level of unpredictability in business immigration, she said.

The way he tried to sideswipe the law is concerning not only in immigration but other fields as well, she continued. We dont want judges trying to rewrite the law, we want them to do what he said he would do, which is apply the law as written.

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Mr. Bezos is going to Washington.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and owner of the Washington Post, and his wife MacKenzie have donated $10 million to With Honor, a super PAC dedicated to electing military veterans to Congress. Its the largest political donation to date by Bezos.

With Honor is a fairly new PAC, which is currently backing 33 candidates19 Democrats and 14 Republicanswith the goal of getting at least 20 elected. The Bezos donation makes up one-third of the groups $30 million funding goal.

Bezos, unlike Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, hasnt been a heavy donator to charitable causes. Instead, he says, he prefers to focus on long-term investments that are contributing to society and civilization in their own ways. And his political donations have been few and far between as well. Prior to this, his biggest was a $2.5 million contribution to support same-sex marriages.

Word of the Bezos donation to With Honor comes the day after Amazons market cap briefly topped $1 trillion, making it only the second company to do so.

Bezos might be a fairly apolitical person publicly, but he has been drawn into politics repeatedly in the past year, as President Donald Trump has made both Amazon and the Washington Post targets of Tweetstorms (and gone after Bezos personally as well). Those attacks temporarily cost Bezos billions in net worth, though he has long since regained it.
An Emirates plane has been quarantined at JFK airport in New York after approximately 100 passengers and crew members reported feeling ill.

The plane, which arrived from Dubai at 9:12 am, was immediately taken to a location away from the terminal, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Medical personnel from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) then boarded to assist the ailing passengers, who complained primarily of fever and coughs.

Ten of the passengers were quickly transported to the hospital, according to Eric Phillips, a spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio. Nine others were reportedly feeling sick but refused medical attention.

Health officials were unsure what prompted the illness, but symptoms pointed to the flu, Mr Phillips said. He added that several of the passengers boarded the plane after visiting Mecca, which is currently experiencing a flu outbreak.

Emirates Airlines issued a statement shortly after the plane landed, saying that 10 passengers had fallen ill and all other passengers would be allowed to disembark soon. But only about half of the passengers had exited the plane and been cleared to continue travelling by 11:30am, according to the mayor's office.

Video taken from inside the plane after it landed showed a tense scene, with airline employees urging passengers to stay out of the aisles.

"Worst flight ever Dubai to NYC; plane was basically a flying infermary[sic]," tweeted one passenger as she waited on the tarmac. "Many of these people should never have been allowed to board. Now sitting on the ground after 14 hour flight unable to leave."

The woman also posted video of passengers who appeared to be getting their temperatures checked by medical-mask-clad officials. The Port Authority said all passengers were being screened by US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

"The [Port Authority Police Department] and Port Authority airport operations staff are coordinating closely and providing support to the CDC and CBP as necessary," the agency said in a statement.

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The New York Police Department Counterterrorism Bureau confirmed they were monitoring a "medical situation" at the airport. The New York Fire Department was also on the scene.

The CDC said in a statement that they were aware of passengers who reported an "unspecified illness", and were working with local authorities to investigate.
Former senator, presidential nominee, and secretary of state John Kerry visited The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday and shared his thoughts on the New York Times op-ed piece by an anonymous senior official who claims to be part of a White House resistance.

Colbert asked, What do you make of somebody who tries to reassure the public by saying that the president may be unhinged and mercurial and constantly lying and doesnt know what hes doing, but its OK, there are adults in the room?

It scares the hell out of me, Kerry replied. First of all, there is a reassurance  it means that for James Buchanan, hes no longer the worst president. Though the joke drew lots of laughs, Kerry admitted that what it really means is we dont have a president. We have a president whos there, but he is not capable of doing the job or living up to the responsibilities.

While the notion of having a resistance inside the administration may comfort some, Kerry said the need for such a group disturbs him: Youre not supposed to have a resistance in the White House to prevent your president from breaking the law and doing something irrational and dangerous.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 on CBS.

Watch Giuliani claim Trump never called him a baby who needed to be changed:

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The Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Judge Brett Kavanaugh turned into a fight over Senate rules Thursday morning, with arguments about the release of confidential documents and threats of the possible expulsion of some members.

Bring it, said Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., in response to a threat made Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that he could be expelled from the Senate if he released documents marked confidential to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Then apply the rule and bring the charges.

Booker said that he was knowingly violating the rules of the Senate and releasing documents that were only made available to senators this week, just before the hearings started. Booker said he would be releasing a document related to Kavanaugh and racial profiling that contained no personal information and was not a national security threat.

Bookers office later released the document (read it here) in which Kavanaugh was critical of some Department of Transportation affirmative action policies.

The fundamental problem in this case is that these DOT regulations use a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what is a naked racial set-aside, wrote Kavanaugh in the 2003 email.

Cornyn said Bookers possible 2020 presidential aspirations were his motivation for releasing the document, adding that no senator deserved to sit on the committee if they wanted to be a law unto themselves.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters/Joshua Roberts)

The debate centered on documents that were marked confidential by Bill Burck, a former George W. Bush White House staffer and Kavanaugh deputy. Democrats have stated that they didnt have time to go over the documents and that there is a conflict in interest by Burke. Some of the documents were leaked to the New York Times on Wednesday evening, including one 2003 email in which Kavanaugh questioned whether Roe v. Wade was settled law of the land. Womens health advocates have said that Kavanaugh would overturn the ruling and criminalize abortions.

A number of Democrats on the committee then stepped forward to say they would also share any consequences suffered by Booker for releasing Kavanaughs emails.

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If theres going to be some retribution against the senator from New Jersey, count me in, said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Count me in, too, said Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, who said she was releasing a document to the press and would defy anyone reading this document that to be able to conclude that this should be deemed confidential in any way, shape or form.

Hirono later released the documents, about programs for Native Hawaiians, on Twitter.

All of us are ready to face that rule on the bogus designation of committee confidential, said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. Just because theres a Senate rule doesnt mean it can be misapplied, misconstrued or misused. And I think even the threat raised by one of my colleagues here is misfortunate  and that is a kind way of putting it, will all due respect.

Cornyn then cited Senate Rule 29.5, which says that any senator who discloses confidential or secret Senate business could suffer expulsion from the body. At that point, Booker repeatedly told Cornyn to bring it and that he would accept the consequences of his actions. Burck told the Washington Post Thursday afternoon that he had cleared Bookers documents on Wednesday night, adding We were surprised to learn about Senator Bookers histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly.

The last time a senator was expelled was 1862.

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The Arab League (AL) welcomed on Thursday Paraguay's decision to return its Israeli embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

"Paraguay's decision is a step on the right track that meets the international legitimacy resolutions," Saeed Abu Ali, AL assistant secretary general for the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands said.

Less than a month after Paraguay's new President, Mario Abdo Benitez, was sworn in, the country decided to move back its Israeli embassy, reversing a May decision by former President Horacio Cartes.

The move was announced by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, which said that "Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Shortly later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli Foreign Ministry to repatriate Israeli envoy to Paraguay and close the embassy.

Paraguay believes the status of Jerusalem should be negotiated between the concerned parties, Abu Ali said.

The United States, Guatemala and Paraguay moved their embassies to Jerusalem in May.

Israel seized East Jerusalem, together with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed East Jerusalem shortly later, claiming it as part of its "indivisible capital," in a move which was never recognized internationally.

On Dec. 16, 2017, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that triggered escalating tension and a wave of outcry in the region.
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  As questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh resumes for a second day, Democratic senators are likely to press him on a plethora of open questions left hanging from yesterdays approximately 13-hour hearing, but privately there are still few doubts Kavanaugh is on track to be confirmed.

From the beginning to the end of the questioning yesterday, Democratic senators were able to raise unpopular strains in the nominees legal thinking and questions about his personal history that appeared to deeply unsettle the nominee. However, in at least two sets of inquiries yesterday, the Democrats left these lines of inquiry substantially unresolved.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., set the hearing room abuzz last night with a line of intense questioning about whether Kavanaugh had discussed special counsel Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at the firm of Kasowitz Benson Torres, which was founded by President Trumps long-time lawyer Marc Kasowitz. The line of questioning appeared to take Kavanaugh aback. He admitted that he had discussed the special counsels investigation with fellow judges and others, and suggested hed need a list of everyone who worked at the Kasowitz firm to rule out the possibility hed spoken with one of them about it.

Kavanaugh repeatedly probed Harris for specifics on who she was asking about, but she refused to provide further information and eventually moved on. While Harriss questioning and Kavanaughs stunned reaction provided drama at the end of the days proceedings, observers were left without clear answers about what had prompted it.

A Democratic aide who requested anonymity to share further details said, We have reason to believe that a conversation happened, and are continuing to pursue it.

Senate Judiciary Committee member Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., questions Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh during the second day of his confirmation hearings on Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Earlier in the day, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D- Vt., had raised questions about Kavanaughs involvement in the Senate email hacking scandal in the early years of George W. Bushs presidency. That scandal involved Republican staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee breaking into the private files of Democrats on the committee and passing information to the Bush White House to help confirm its nominees.

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Kavanaugh has testified that, to his knowledge, he never received or benefited from the stolen documents. Leahy showed some emails that suggested Kavanaugh had, in fact, received some of this material, including one referring to intel about what Leahy would ask about one of Bushs nominees.

However, none of the emails made public demonstrated that Kavanaugh knew the provenance of the information. On Wednesday, that line of questioning ended when Leahy said more documents are being withheld from the public as committee confidential that show Kavanaughs knowing involvement, and Leahy expects Chairman Chuck Grassley to make those documents public today.

Kavanaugh showed throughout the day that he is well practiced at turning away aggressive questioning, and those skills never betrayed him. His demeanor may have made him seem at times like a man with something to hide, but its unclear if Democratic senators have the goods on what, if anything, that could be.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R., Ariz., listens during Brett Kavanaughs Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

Another open question came from retiring Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who raised President Trumps assault on the independence of the Justice Department with Kavanaugh. First, Flake read a tweet Trump posted earlier this week attacking Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department for prosecuting two Republican congressmen and jeopardizing their chances of reelection.

Flake asked Kavanaugh: Should the president be able to influence independent agencies or departments for purely political reasons? Kavanaugh demurred, citing a reluctance to comment on current events.

Flake pursed the question twice more, asking Kavanaugh to answer as a matter of principle, and to explain how the regulations allowing for the appointment of a special counsel like Mueller are any check on the president if the president can fire the special counsel. This last question prompted Kavanaugh to point to Nixons firing of special counsel Archibald Cox, a dramatic crisis known as the Saturday Night Massacre that led to the resignation of the attorney general and deputy attorney general before Solicitor General Robert Bork agreed to carry out President Nixons orders; Kavanaugh noted that the system held, even at that extremity.

Kyle suggested he may resume questioning on this issue today.

Democrats also opened up substantial lines of questioning on Kavanaughs positions on race, guns and abortion.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, questions Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh on the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill Thursday in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Sen. Mazie Hirono brought up Kavanaughs involvement in a case in which he argued that native Hawaiians are not an indigenous people. Kavanaugh worked with erstwhile nominee Robert Bork on the case in 1999, and their involvement led to the filing of an amicus brief and an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which Kavanaugh incorrectly located the Hawaiian islands outside of Polynesia.

In the op-ed, Kavanaugh repeatedly uses the term racial spoils system, but he refused to explain to Harris what he meant by it. Kavanaugh answered no when Harris asked if he was aware that the term is commonly used by white supremacists.

Regarding guns, under questioning by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Kavanaugh appeared to misstate an aspect of Justice Antonin Scalias D.C. v. Heller decision. Feinstein asked how he justified his view that assault weapons  such as the AR-15  are constitutionally protected, and Kavanaugh responded that semi-automatic rifles are some of the most popular guns in the nation and therefore fall under the common use test in Scalias Heller decision.

However, the common use test in the Heller decision refers to weapons that were in common use at the time of the Second Amendments ratification in 1789, not commonly owned modern weapons. In fact, Scalias opinion goes on to explain why modern weapons such as M-16 rifles and the like may be banned under his reading of the Second Amendment despite their utility in modern military service. Feinsteins office confirmed that they believe he misstated the law, but would not comment on whether she will resume questioning on this subject.

A poster depicting a 2017 quote on the Second Amendment by President Trumps Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is held up behind Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., as she questions Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, the second day of his confirmation hearings. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, looks on. (Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)

On abortion, Kavanaugh said Wednesday that while the Supreme Courts decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey had reaffirmed its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade decriminalizing abortion, the Court had reached a position that allowed some reasonable regulations. While Roe is settled precedent, he said, Casey is precedent on precedent. These comments imply Kavanaugh, while he demurs before the hearing from discussing directly overturning Roe, would be receptive to the efforts of some state legislatures to restrict access to abortion through onerous regulation.

In June 2016, with Scalias seat held vacant as the Senate refused to take up Merrick Garlands nomination, the Court struck down by a vote of 5-3 onerous regulations imposed on abortion clinics by Texas. Since that time, Scalias seat has been filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch, presumably providing a fourth vote that would have upheld the regulations, along with the votes of Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Anthony Kennedy has retired.

Kavanaugh appears to be signaling that if confirmed to fill Justice Kennedys seat, he may provide a fifth vote to uphold those regulations as well. Kavanaugh has not referred to the 2016 decision, Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, in the hearings thus far or said whether he considers it settled precedent.

For all the open questions, there are still few doubts that Kavanaugh is on track to be confirmed.

Speaking informally after the hearing, a Republican aide said it was a fair question whether Sen. Flakes vote for Kavanaugh was a bit shaky given his questioning on executive power, but said he couldnt imagine Flake opposing Kavanaugh on the Senate floor.

Tim Miller, a former aide to Jeb Bush, said he didnt see any signs that Kavanaughs hearings performance was weakening his chances, and noting the past example of Harriet Miers, a nominee to the Supreme Court whose name had to be withdrawn during George W. Bushs administration.

With Miers, it was the talk radio chatter that was the sign, he said. With Kavanaugh, were not seeing anything like that.

Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh answers questions from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., during the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill Thursday in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un still has unwavering trust for Donald Trump following their highly-publicised summit in June.

Despite some terse words being exchanged between the two sides since the summit took place in Singapore, Kim reportedly still hopes negotiations between the two sides can continue, with the end goal of denuclearisation still firmly in sight.

Following a meeting with Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday, South Korean special envoy Chung Eun-yong said: This trust, despite some difficulties surfaced during the negotiation process between the US and the North, will continue.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly has unwavering trust for Donald Trump (Wikipedia)

Kim Jong-un (right) meets with South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong in Pyongyang, North Korea (AP)

Chung said Kim told him North Korea was willing to take more active measures toward denuclearisation if his advance steps could be met with matching measures (from the US).

He added that Kim never said anything bad about President Trump to anyone.

Trump welcomed Kims remarks in a trademark Tweet.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together! Trump wrote.

The North Korea leader is said to have reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the suspension of all future long-range missile tests.

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Kim also reportedly expressed frustration with outside scepticism about his nuclear disarmament intentions and demanded that his goodwill measures be met in kind.

Neither North Korea or the United States have been willing to make any substantive move towards denuclearisation since the summit.

The summit later this month between Kim and South Korean leader Moon Jae-in, the driving force behind the current diplomacy, will be a crucial indicator of whether larger nuclear negotiations with the United States will proceed.

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The North Korean leader reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula (AP)

Mr Moon is seen as eager to keep the diplomacy alive in part so that he can advance his ambitious engagement plans with the North, which would need US backing to succeed.

South Korea is trying to persuade Washington and Pyongyang to proceed with peace and denuclearisation processes at the same time.

Seoul and Pyongyang both want a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.

South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong speaks during a press conference at the presidential Blue House in Seoul (AP)

However, US officials have insisted that a peace declaration cannot come before North Korea takes more concrete action toward abandoning its nuclear weapons.

While an end-of-war declaration would not imply a legally binding peace treaty, experts say it could create political momentum that would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions toward a peace regime, diplomatic recognition, economic benefits and security concessions.
Two Russian intelligence officers are suspected to have carried out the attempted murder of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal, which was almost certainly approved at a senior level of the Russian state, British prime minister Theresa May revealed Wednesday.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, named earlier on Wednesday by police and prosecutors, were charged with conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal, with possessing a chemical weapon, and with the attempted murder of Skripal, his daughter Yulia, and a police officer who fell ill after attending the scene. Police released images and CCTV of the pair who, they said, spent a total of three days in the U.K.

May said that the U.K. was right to name the Russian state responsible for the attack in March. Now we have identified the individuals involved we can go even further, she told parliament. Based on a body of intelligence the government has concluded the two individuals  are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU.

However prosecutors said they would not be applying to Russia for the extradition of the men, as the countrys constitution bars extradition of Russian nationals to other countries. Instead, prosecutors said they had taken out a European Arrest Warrant, meaning if the alleged perpetrators travel to any E.U. member state they could be arrested and extradited to the U.K.

Prosecutors did not release charges relating to the death of Dawn Sturgess, a woman who died in the Salisbury region after coming into contact with a discarded Novichok bottle several months after the Skripal poisonings, nor to the poisoning of her partner Charlie Rowley, who survived.

Heres what to know about the alleged Skripal attackers:

Who are Petrov and Boshirov?

The U.K. head of counter-terrorism policing said Petrov and Boshirov, two men in their 40s, had flown into London from Moscow on authentic Russian passports, but said it is likely that they were travelling under aliases and that these are not their real names.

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May said the two men worked for the GRU, a Russian army intelligence agency that has been linked to some of Russias most egregious foreign policy operations, including the 2014 annexation of Crimea. The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, she said. So this was not a rogue operation. It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state.

Police released the pairs passport photographs on Wednesday, along with a series of CCTV images showing the pair at Gatwick Airport, Salisbury rail station and various roads. Police appealed for anybody who knows or recognizes the men to come forward with information.

Petrov and Boshirov at Salisbury station the day before the Skripals were poisoned

What were their movements?

Petrov and Boshirov flew into the U.K. on Friday, March 2, two days before the poisoning, according to police. They flew with Aeroflot, a Russian airline. On Saturday they went to Salisbury, where Skripal had been living since being released in a prisoner swap between Britain and Russia in 2010.

The pair returned from Salisbury to London that evening; police said they were confident the trip was a reconnaissance mission. The next day, Sunday, they went back to Salisbury which is when police believe they applied the Novichok to the front door of Skripals house. Immediately after application, they returned to London and boarded a flight back to Russia at 10.30 p.m. The first ambulance for Skripal and his daughter was called at 4.15 p.m. that afternoon.

How was Novichok brought into the U.K.?

Police revealed further details of how they believed Petrov and Boshirov managed to sneak Novichok, which is banned under international chemical weapons laws, into the country.

Police said the nerve agent was concealed in a perfume bottle, which they called the perfect delivery method for smuggling a banned chemical across borders.

That confirms a statement made by Charlie Rowley, who said that in July he had found what he thought was a bottle of perfume, which he had given to his partner Dawn Sturgess who later died from the effects of Novichok.

Two photographs, one of the bottle believed to contain the Novichok and another of the box it came in, were also released on Wednesday. Both the box and the bottle were labelled with the Nina Ricci brand. The company said the box had been faked.

Police said they were still not absolutely certain that the bottle found by Rowley was the bottle used to apply Novichok to Sergei Skripals front door.

Why have no charges been brought for the death of Dawn Sturgess?

Authorities said they were making the announcement because they had gathered enough evidence to implicate Petrov and Boshirov in the attempts against the Skripals in March. The death of Sturgess and the poisoning of Rowley came later, in July. While police said they were certain the two incidents were firmly linked, that investigation is nearly four months behind the one into the Skripals.

We do not believe Dawn and Charlie were deliberately targeted, but became victims as a result of the recklessness in which such a toxic nerve agent was disposed of, said police.

Further charges relating to that investigation are likely to follow.

What has Russia said about the men?

The Russian foreign ministry said Wednesday that it did not recognize the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. The names do not mean anything to us, they said, according to the Russian RIA news agency.
At least eight people were killed and 32 were missing, Japanese media reported, after a powerful earthquake paralysed the northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, triggering landslides and knocking out power to its 5.3 million residents.

Aerial footage showed dozens of landslides exposing barren hillsides near the town of Atsuma in southern Hokkaido, with mounds of reddish earth and fallen trees piled up at the edge of green fields. The collapsed remains of what appeared to be houses or barns were scattered about.

Houses were buried by multiple landslides after a powerful earthquake in Atsuma, Hokkaido Credit: Getty

Six of the deaths were in the village of Atsuma, National broadcaster NHK reported.

With swathes of the country further south recovering from Typhoon Jebi, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that 25,000 troops and other personnel were being dispatched to the area to help with rescue operations.

NHK showed the moment the quake struck the city of Muroran, with its camera violently shaking and all city lights going black moments later. In Sapporo, a mudslide on a road left several cars half buried.

Akira Fukui, from the main city of Sapporo, told AFP: "I woke up around 3am with a vertical jolt. I put the light on but it went out shortly afterwards. All the traffic lights are out and there's no power at work."

A strong earthquake rocked Japan's northern island of Hokkaido shortly after 3 AM on Thursday. Police are checking on the extent of the damage. NHK WORLD-JAPAN is LIVE streaming the Hokkaido earthquake updates. https://t.co/QbGNxwoMjtpic.twitter.com/AX72kCYbEO  NHK WORLD News (@NHKWORLD_News) September 5, 2018

Another Sapporo resident told NHK: "I was scared... I felt the tremor, which lasted for about 30 seconds. I was on the sixth floor, it was really scary."

The entire island was without power after Hokkaido Electric Power Co said it conducted an emergency shutdown of all its fossil fuel-fired power plants following the quake.

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The utility said it wasn't clear when electricity would be restored to 2.95 million households. The trade and industry ministry told the utility to restart the coal-fired Tomato-Atsuma power plant within a few hours, Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko said.

All trains across the island were also halted.

Residents watch a road damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan Credit: AP

Roof tiles and water could be seen on the floor at Hokkaido's main airport, New Chitose Airport, which would be closed for at least Thursday.

New Chitose is a major tourist gateway to the island, known for its mountains, lakes and abundant farmland and seafood, and more than 200 flights and 40,000 passengers would be affected, Kyodo News Agency said.

The closure comes just a couple days after Kansai Airport, an important hub near Osaka, in western Japan, was shut after it was hit by Typhoon Jebi. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said officials hoped to reopen Kansai Airport for domestic flights on Friday.

The quake, which hit at 3.08am, posed no tsunami risk, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The US Geological Survey said it struck some 42 miles southeast of Sapporo, Hokkaido's main city.

It registered a strong 6 on Japan's 7-point earthquake scale.

Mr Abe arrived at his office before 6 am and told reporters his government had set up a command centre to co-ordinate relief and rescue. Sounding haggard, Mr Abe said saving lives was his government's top priority.

A house damaged by a landslide caused by an earthquake is seen in Atsuma town in Hokkaido prefecture Credit: AFP

The Tomari Nuclear Power Station, which has been shut since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, suffered a power outage but was cooling its fuel rods safely with emergency power, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. Operator Hokkaido Electric reported no radiation irregularities at the plant, Suga told a news conference.

Farming and tourism are two of the island's biggest economic drivers, but there is some industry. Kirin Beer and Sapporo Beer both said factories were shut by the power outage, although they said no structural damage was found.

A fire broke out at a Mitsubishi Steel Mfg Co plant in the city of Muroran after the quake but was mostly extinguished with no injuries, a company official said.

A series of smaller shocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.4, followed the initial quake, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. Agency official Toshiyuki Matsumori warned residents to take precautions for potential major aftershocks in coming days.

"Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days (of a big one)," said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.

He added the risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased in the area hit by the quake, saying: "We urge residents to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas."

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.

The earthquake also affected telephone service and television broadcasting in Sapporo.
Tokyo (AFP) - Rescuers scrabbled through mud for survivors Thursday after a powerful earthquake sent hillsides crashing down onto homes in Japan, killing at least 11 people and leaving dozens missing.

As many as 30 people are feared buried beneath the earth and rubble of multiple, large-scale landslides that struck sparsely populated countryside on the northern island of Hokkaido after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake.

Aerial footage showed wrecked farm buildings at the bottom of a hill as rescue helicopters whirred overhead in a region already affected by the edge of a strong typhoon that ravaged parts of Japan earlier in the week.

The quake left almost three million people without power after damage to a major thermal plant supplying the region, with Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko saying it could take "at least a week" for supply to be restored.

Long lines formed outside petrol stations and supermarkets as residents dug in and authorities warned that further quakes could be on the way.

Kazuo Kibayashi, an official in hard-hit Abira town, told AFP: "There was a sudden, extreme jolt. I felt it went sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three minutes."

"It stopped before shaking started again. I felt it came in two waves. I am 51, and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought my house was going to collapse. Everything inside my house was all jumbled up. I didn't have time to even start cleaning," he added.

Public broadcaster NHK reported that 11 people had lost their lives, many of them in the village of Atsuma, where the landslide engulfed their homes. Thirty-two people were still missing, according to the broadcaster, with around 300 sustaining minor injuries.

Atsuma mayor Shoichiro Miyasaka vowed that rescuers would work "through the night" in an effort to find survivors.

Moments after the initial quake, which struck 62 kilometres (39 miles) southeast of the regional capital Sapporo, an aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area, with dozens more tremors felt throughout the day.

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"We will do our best to save lives," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after an emergency cabinet meeting.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga added: "I urge people in areas shaken by strong quakes to stay calm, pay attention to evacuation information... and help each other."

"It's going to rain (in Hokkaido). Please be very careful of further landslides," the spokesman warned.

Around 20,000 rescue workers, including police and members of the Self-Defence Forces were responding to the disaster, Suga said. Another 20,000 troops are expected to join the effort.

Japan is still recovering from its worst typhoon in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, claiming at least 11 lives and causing major damage to an important airport.

- 'Large quakes often occur' -

The quake also caused major transport disruption with all flights cancelled from Sapporo's main Chitose airport, where the shaking brought down part of a ceiling and burst a water pipe. Local buses and trains, as well as bullet train services were halted.

The Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, which was not operational before the quake, was forced to turn to emergency back-up power to keep its cooling system working, NHK said.

A friendly football match between Japan and Chile planned for Sapporo was cancelled, with the Japanese FA citing the quake's severe impact on power and transport.

Officials warned of the danger of fresh quakes.

"Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days (of a big one)," said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.

The risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased, he said, urging residents "to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas".

And the national meteorological agency warned that more bad weather could be on the way for Hokkaido, asking people to watch out for landslides, high tides and heavy rain.

Japan sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

In June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring over 350.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.
LONDON (AP)  The Latest on the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy and his daughter in Britain (all times local):

9:05 p.m.

Britain and Russia are again clashing over the UK's allegation that two Russian military intelligence officers poisoned an ex-Russian spy and his daughter, with Moscow's U.N. envoy dismissing Britain's evidence as an invention from "thin air" and London's envoy saying the government is confident of its facts.

British Ambassador Karen Pierce and Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia traded accusations at a U.N. Security Council meeting Thursday called by Britain to update members on its investigation and Wednesday's announcement of charges against the two Russians.

Nebenzia said Russia "categorically rejects all unfounded accusations," saying the UK still has "no evidence" of Russian involvement. He accused Britain of using the poisoning to create "anti-Russia hysteria."

Nebenzia said there are many inconsistencies and unresolved issues including Britain's refusal to agree to a joint investigation and hand over fingerprints of the two accused Russian men. He urged all countries to support Russia's appeal to Britain to begin consultations in the framework of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

Pierce said after the poisonings in March the UK asked Russia to cooperate but received a negative reply. She said Russia asked to join the investigation once it was under way and repeated: "You don't recruit an arsonist to put out a fire  you especially don't do that when the fire is one they caused."

____

7:05 p.m.

Russia's U.N. ambassador is accusing Britain of producing an "unfounded and mendacious cocktail of facts" and refusing to cooperate on the investigation of a poisoned ex-Russian spy for one purpose  "to unleash a disgusting anti-Russian hysteria and to involve other countries in this hysteria."

Vassily Nebenzia told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that Britain's claim that two agents from Russia's special intelligence services tried to murder Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the southern England town of Salisbury with a military-grade nerve agent is an invention "out of thin air," riddled with inconsistencies.

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He says British authorities "still have no evidence that Russia is responsible for Salisbury or any kind of a clear version of what happened."

Nebenzia says that for Russia, "the only issue is what kind of ploy London will invent in order to avoid a truly serious rather than a politically motivated investigation of the case.".

____

6:25 p.m.

Britain's U.N. ambassador is accusing Russia of failing to uphold the ban on using chemical weapons by recklessly using a military-grade nerve agent to try to murder a former Russian spy and playing "dice" with the lives of the people of the southern England town where he lived.

Karen Pierce told the U.N. Security Council Thursday that the international community must take steps to safeguard people against the use of chemical weapons and "the threat of hostile foreign interference."

She told reporters that Britain will be discussing next steps with its allies, stressing that the issue goes beyond Salisbury.

"We and our allies will want to think about how we push back on this sort of Russian activity which is not only malign, it's also reckless," Pierce said.

She said Britain is calling for the Chemical Weapons Convention and its watchdog agency to be strengthened, for a light to be shone on the use of state agencies to undermine the rule of law, and for sanctions and other measures to be used "to curb threats to our societies."

____

4:45 p.m.

The U.S., Germany, France and Canada say they back Britain's finding that two suspects in the poisoning of a former spy were Russian military intelligence officers.

In a joint statement, leaders from the four countries joined Britain in reiterating their "outrage" at the use of a chemical nerve agent, Novichok, in March in the southern England city of Salisbury.

Saying Britain's finding has been independently verified, they urged Russia to provide "full disclosure of its Novichok program."

In addition, they said the operation was "almost certainly approved at a senior government level" and pledged to "continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories."

___

12:40 p.m.

The Kremlin says Russia is not investigating the two men that Britain has named as suspects in the nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents, and British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the Russian government of orchestrating the March attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said on Thursday that May's accusations are "unacceptable" and that "no one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning.

Peskov said Russia "has no reasons" to investigate the two individuals charged on Wednesday because Britain has not asked for legal assistance on the case.

___

9:30 a.m.

Britain's security minister says Russian President Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for the Novichok nerve agent attack carried out in England.

Ben Wallace told the BBC on Thursday that Putin and his government "controls, funds and directs the military intelligence" unit known as the GRU that Britain believes used Novichok to try to kill ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Britain plans to press its case against Russia in the U.N. Security Council Thursday. Many Western countries have already imposed sanctions on Russia because of the attack.

Walls said the GRU is directly linked to Russia's Defense Ministry, the Kremlin and Putin's office.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges against two suspected Russian agents in the March 4 attack on the Skripals in the city of Salisbury.
By Kaori Kaneko and Chang-Ran Kim TOKYO (Reuters) - A powerful earthquake paralyzed Japan's northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, killing at least seven people, triggering landslides and knocking out power to its 5.3 million residents. The death toll from the 6.7-magnitude, pre-dawn quake was likely to rise as rescuers searched houses buried by landslides. About 33 people were missing and 300 were injured, public broadcaster NHK said. Four people were in cardiopulmonary arrest, a term used before death is officially confirmed. (graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2oJz6zd) The quake was the latest in a string of natural disasters to batter Japan after typhoons, flooding and a record-breaking heat wave within the past two months. Aerial footage showed dozens of landslides exposing barren hillsides near the town of Atsuma in southern Hokkaido, with mounds of red earth and toppled trees piled at the edge of green fields. The collapsed remains of what appeared to be houses or barns were strewn about. "It came in four big jerks - boom! boom! boom! boom!" one unidentified woman told NHK. "Before we knew it our house was bent and we couldn't open the door." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said 25,000 Self-Defense Force troops would be deployed for rescue operations. The island, a tourist destination about the size of Austria known for its mountains, lakes and seafood, lost its power when Hokkaido Electric Power Co <9509.T> shut down of all its fossil fuel-fired power plants after the quake as a precaution. It was the first time since the utility was established in 1951 that had happened. Almost 12 hours later, power was restored to parts of Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital, and Asahikawa, its second-biggest city. The government said there was damage to Hokkaido Electric's Tomato-Atsuma plant, which supplies half the island's 2.95 million households. It could take a week to restore power fully to all residents, Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said. All trains across the island were halted. Abe's Liberal Democratic Party begins a leadership contest on Friday but said there would be no campaigning through to Sunday. Abe and rival Shigeru Ishiba both canceled campaign media appearances slated for Friday. 'NOTHING I CAN DO' Television footage from Sapporo showed crumbled roads and mud covering a main street. Police directed traffic because signal lights were out while drink-vending machines, ubiquitous in Japan, and most ATMs were not working. "Without electricity, there's nothing I can do except to write prescriptions," a doctor in Abira, the town next to Atsuma, told NHK. Media reported a baby girl at a Sapporo hospital was in critical condition after the power was cut to her respirator. It wasn't clear if the hospital had a generator. The quake hit at 3:08 a.m. (1808 GMT Wednesday) at a depth of 40 km (25 miles), with its epicenter about 65 km (40 miles) southeast of Sapporo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. In Atsuma, it registered a 7 on Japan's 7-point quake intensity scale, the agency said, revising an earlier measurement. Hokkaido's main airport was closed, at least for the day. Debris and water could be seen on the terminal floors. Kyodo news agency said more than 200 flights and 40,000 passengers would be affected on Thursday alone. The closure comes just days after Kansai Airport, another major regional hub, in western Japan, was shut by Typhoon Jebi, which killed 11 people and injured hundreds. The storm, the most powerful to hit Japan in 25 years, stranded thousands of passengers and workers at the airport, whose operator said it would resume some domestic flights on Friday. In July, torrential rain in west Japan caused flooding that killed more than 200 people and widespread destruction. That was followed by a heat wave that reached a record 41.1 Celsius and led to the deaths of at least 80 people. FACTORIES HALTED Farming, tourism and other services are big economic drivers on Hokkaido, which accounts for just 3.6 percent of Japan's gross domestic product, but there is some industry. Kirin Brewery and Sapporo Breweries both said factories were shut by the power outage. A series of smaller shocks followed the initial quake, the JMA said. Residents were warned to take precautions. By the afternoon, backhoes and other earth-moving equipment in Atsuma had begun clearing debris. Japan is situated on the "Ring of Fire" arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin. Northeast Japan was hit by a 9 magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, that triggered a tsunami that killed nearly 20,000 people and led to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Hokkaido's Tomari nuclear power station, which has been shut since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, suffered a power outage but officials said it was cooling its spent nuclear fuel safely. Saturday marked the 95th anniversary of the Great Kanto earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area. Seismologists have said another such quake could strike the capital at any time. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Chang-Ran Kim; Additional reporting by William Mallard, Osamu Tsukimori, Aaron Sheldrick, Elaine Lies and Takaya Yamaguchi; Writing by Malcolm Foster; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)
Bogota (AFP) - Marxist ELN rebels have released three soldiers kidnapped a month ago, just two days before a Colombian government deadline on deciding whether or not to resume peace talks with the guerrillas, the country's ombudsman said on Wednesday.

The ELN is the last recognized rebel group fighting government forces in the South American country, which has been wracked by more than a half century of guerrilla insurrection and drug-trafficking violence.

The three soldiers were handed over to a humanitarian commission made up of the country's ombudsman and the Catholic Church and "are now being transferred" to Arauca, close to the Venezuelan border in the northeast.

Military trio Yair Vega, Juan Pablo Rojas and Eduardo Caro were unarmed and wearing civilian clothes when they were taken on August 8 in the restless northeastern region.

The ELN had stated on Tuesday it would release the three unconditionally.

In the first images released of the soldiers, they can be seen walking in a jungle area with an ELN banner visible in the background.

The ELN is holding another six people: three police officers, two civilian contractors and another soldier, who were kidnapped a week before the three released military personnel.

Colombia's right-wing President Ivan Duque reiterated last week his demand for the hostages to be released as a condition for restarting peace talks that were put on hold after his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos left office a month ago.

Duque said he would only speak to the guerrillas if they "suspend all criminal activities" and agree to "demobilize, disarm and reinsert" into civilian life, but that "the liberation of hostages" was a prerequisite.

"We cannot legitimize violence as a mechanism to put pressure on the state," he added.

When he took power, Duque said he was giving the ELN a one-month deadline -- which expires on Friday -- to convince him to restart the peace talks.

Following the historic December 2016 peace accord Santos signed with FARC guerrillas, the ELN remained the last notable left-wing rebel group refusing to lay down arms.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The bodies of 166 people have been found in the Mexican state of Veracruz, prosecutors said on Thursday, the latest in a string of grim discoveries made in the eastern region in recent years. State attorney general Jorge Winckler told a news conference that investigators discovered the bodies in 32 graves in the central part of the state after an Aug. 8 tip from an unidentified person that they had been dumped there. Veracruz has long been wracked by violent crime, and is an important trafficking route for drug gangs moving narcotics north toward the U.S. border. Winckler did not reveal the precise location of the graves. Analysis of the remains indicated the bodies had probably not been there for more than two years, he said. In March 2017, Winckler announced the discovery of more than 250 skulls in unmarked graves in the state. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Editing by Alistair Bell)
Get ready for your daily dose of cuteness overload.

Meet Pumpkin, the once-abandoned raccoon who thinks shes a dog. When shes not cuddling with her mom, Rosie Kemp, she loves doggy paddling, playing with shoes, and doing all the things dogs do when they think youre not looking. The fact that shes a raccoon has never stopped her from being just one of the pups.

In 2014, Pumpkin, also known as Pumps, fell out of a tree in Kemps backyard, breaking one of her hind legs. She was only 1 month old and unlikely to survive if left on her own in the wild. The Bahamas Humane Society couldnt take her in, so Kemps daughter, Laura Young, and her husband, William Young, decided to make her a part of the family in Nassau, Bahamas (where it is legal to have raccoons as pets).

Pumpkin considers the dogs her moms, Young told CBS News.

And we are so here for it. Pumpkin is not only loved by her new-found fam, but also by her fans on her Instagram account. She has been stealing hearts for four years now on the platform and has 1.5 million followers. And her social game is on point! Young has posted over 1,200 photos of Pumpkin on her account documenting her adventures at home, by the beach, and even in the kitchen.

But wait, theres more! Although Pumpkins social platforms are impressive, she has given us more than just cute photos online. The raccoon even has her own book, Pumpkin: The Raccoon Who Thought She Was a Dog, which is about her life and sweet relationships with her dog siblings.

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If you cant get enough of Pumpkin, you can follow her adventures at @pumpkintheraccoon on Instagram.

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Watch the full interview with biographer Duncan Larcombe and royal correspondent Victoria Murphy on episode seven of Yahoo UKs show The Royal Box, which is available to stream here from Friday 7 September.

Prior to embarking on royal life, Meghan Markle was an actress and keen activist. She was a fearless feminist, criticised Donald Trump, and addressed issues including gender inequality publicly.

But, like the rest of the royal family, the 37-year-old is now discouraged from commenting on political topics.

Royal biographer Duncan Larcombe says the Duchess is likely finding it hard to to navigate the switch from celebrity to royal.

We have seen Meghan come to terms with the difference between being a Hollywood star on the red carpet to being a royal on the red carpet, Larcombe tells Yahoo UK during episode seven of The Royal Box.

Aspiring stars are often encouraged to increase their profile through social media, and this is something Meghan appeared to doing well: her Instagram boasted over 1 million followers before it was deleted in January 2018.

[Actresses] need to be seen and they need to be heard. Royals just need to be seen, Larcombe says. Meghan has had to chew the top of her lip off.

Victoria Murphy, a royal correspondent, agrees, saying that as an actress, Meghan pushed herself forward to have a voice.

Now, being in this position where any tiny thing she says is ceased on, even when shes not trying to amplify it, I think its completely the opposite to what shes used to.

The Duchess of Sussex during her royal tour of Ireland with Prince Harry. [Photo: Getty]

On one occasion, the Duchess appeared to slip up.

During a working visit to Ireland with Prince Harry, Meghan was reported to have expressed pro-choice sympathies regarding the Irish referendum to legalise abortion.

Thats bad territory for a royal, Larcombe says. Royals are not there to express an opinion. The royal family only survives because it sits on the fence. Its not elected, theyre there by an accident of birth.

We like the royal family, we like that we have the royal family, he says. But as soon as they start expressing opinions that divide the nation, thats when theyre finished.

Story continues

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for non-stop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyleUK.

Read more from Yahoo Style UK:

Meghan Markle could feel suffocated in the cycle of royal life, says royal expert

Grouse shoots, barbecues and picnics: How the royal family spends summer at Balmoral

Princess Eugenies royal wedding: Where is it, when is it and all the latest news
Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico is confident the United States and Canada will reach a deal on keeping the regional NAFTA trade agreement a three-country deal, the economy minister said Thursday.

"Today is the second day of bilateral US-Canadian negotiations in Washington, and we have positive expectations that they will reach an agreement," Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told journalists.

But he added: "Obviously, there's no guarantee."

Since the United States reached a two-way deal with Mexico last week on an updated version of their trade agreement, President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested the US could leave Canada out of it.

The United States and Canada abruptly broke off talks on updating the North American Free Trade Agreement last Friday, after inflammatory comments from Trump angered officials in Ottawa.

But the mood was brighter when they resumed talks Wednesday. Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the two sides were making "good progress."

Trump blasts the 25-year-old deal as a "rip-off" for the United States, but Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has repeatedly said he would rather walk away from the table than sign a NAFTA 2.0 that would be a "bad deal" for Canada.

Mexican officials insist they want NAFTA to remain a three-country deal -- a stance Guajardo reiterated -- but have said if that proves impossible they will accept a two-country deal with the United States, the destination for more than 80 percent of Mexico's exports.

Trade experts say it is unclear whether Trump actually has the authority to replace the original NAFTA with a two-country deal.

"There's a difference of opinion among some members of Congress and the administration in Washington" on that point, Guajardo said on the sidelines of an economic forum in Mexico City.

"It's an issue they will have to resolve internally."

He said that although Mexico does far more trade with the United States than Canada, a three-way deal had "strategic relevance" for key sectors such as the auto, aerospace and medical device industries.

"That means we have to give it our best possible effort to keep this a trilateral deal," he said.

Sticking points in the talks include Canada's insistence on retaining a dispute-resolution mechanism in Chapter 19, and US objections over Ottawa's tight controls on its dairy market.
Buenos Aires (AFP) - A US vessel will begin a new search for the missing Argentine submarine that disappeared last year with 44 crew members on board, the ministry of defense said Thursday.

The Seabed Constructor, owned by the company Ocean Infinity, will set out Friday from the port of Comodoro Rivadavia, some 1,800 kilometers (1,120 miles)south of Buenos Aires, carrying both Argentine sailors and relatives of the missing submariners.

"We feel this is the last opportunity to find them. And we want to find out what happened," said Luis Tagliapietra, whose son Alejandro was a lieutenant on the San Juan.

Ocean Infinity was also assigned the task of searching for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which vanished without trace in March 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The government of President Mauricio Macri has declared that there were no survivors from the San Juan, but exactly what happened to the missing submarine in the waters of the South Atlantic has remained unclear.

Investigators suspect a technical fault occurred when the vessel lost contact some 450 kilometers off the coast of Argentina as it was heading back to its base in the southern port of Mar del Plata.

The Seabed Constructor is equipped with cameras that can be submerged to a depth of 6,000 meters. If it finds the missing sub, it will receive a reward of $7.5 million.

Families of the missing crew have kept up pressure on the government not to give up on the search, staging protest marches and camping out in front of the parliament.
Chicago (AFP) - A gunman opened fire at a bank building in the US city of Cincinnati Thursday, fatally wounding three people before police shot and killed him, authorities said.

The incident occurred after 9:00 am local time (1300 GMT) at the lobby and loading dock of the 30-story Fifth Third Bank building in the city's downtown business district.

"An individual entered the loading dock area, began firing shots," Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said at a news conference.

The gunman then went to the lobby of the building, where police engaged the suspect in a shootout and killed him, the chief said.

"At least three or four of our officers did engage the suspect," Isaac said.

Three people died of their wounds and two others remained hospitalized.

The shooter's identity or motive were not released.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the shooting could have been "much worse," had it not been for the quick response of police officers in the area.

"He was actively shooting innocent victims it appears," Cranley said. "Police were there within seconds, literally."

One unnamed eyewitness, a construction worker, told WLWT television that he heard at least six gunshots before police arrived.

"I just seen people running out of the building," the eyewitness said.

"There's guys with suits laying on the ground, hiding behind big flower pots," he said.

The office tower where the shooting occurred remained on lockdown more than an hour after the incident, as police swept the building.

Police cordoned off a portion of the city's downtown.

"There was a senseless act of gun violence on the streets of Cincinnati this morning," Ohio Governor John Kasich said on Twitter.

"I commend the law enforcement, fire and (emergency medical) personnel who swiftly responded to the scene and share my deepest sympathies with the innocent victims of this violent attack."
WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - The tiny Micronesian state of Nauru is demanding a formal apology after a dispute with China's representative at this week's Pacific Islands Forum brought to the surface tensions with Beijing over its support for Taiwan. But China said it was Nauru, one of the world's smallest countries, that should be saying sorry. Nauru, an island country of roughly 12,000 inhabitants, hosted leaders of 18 Pacific nations, plus delegations from non-member countries including the United States and China, for the forum. The spat occurred when Nauru's President Baron Waqa refused to give way when the head of the Chinese delegation, diplomat Du Qiwen, demanded to be allowed to address the forum before the Prime Minister of Tuvalu on Tuesday. Waqa described China's envoy as "very insolent" and a "bully" for speaking out of turn. Nauru and Tuvalu are two of six Pacific countries to have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which is a major source of tension with China, which regards Taiwan as a wayward province, to be taken back by force if necessary. During a media conference that followed the leaders' meeting at the forum late on Wednesday, Nauru's president was asked whether he would seek a formal apology from China over its envoy's behavior. "We will go further than that, I tell you we won't just seek an apology, we will actually get the forum to do it...as well as our own and we will even take it up to the UN," Waqa said. "Never mind they are big, they are our partners, they should not disrespect us." In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Nauru was to blame for the drama. "I think the Nauru President you're taking about is probably very happy about becoming a focus of public opinion," she told a daily news briefing. "What Nauru said is diametrically the opposite of the facts. It has totally confused right and wrong and they have made bogus accusations," Hua added. "It's actually the Nauru side who should reflect and apologize." Hua implied Taiwan was behind the fracas. "I wish to admonish Nauru and the director behind this performance that in the face of the broad historical trend of the 'one China' principle, they should immediately stop creating a scene for no reason and again invite humiliation." Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times said in an editorial that the dispute was connected to Nauru's recognition of Taiwan. "Taiwan should not believe there is still an opportunity for its "diplomacy" just because of Nauru's actions. It's absurd that Taiwan's future can be decided by a remote Pacific island country," the paper said on Thursday. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee told Reuters in a written statement that it was "basic etiquette" to respect the arrangement made by a host country in international conferences. The ministry also thanked the support from Nauru, he said. Waqa said that he had not allowed China to speak as protocol dictated that he allow prime ministers and ministers to speak before diplomats. "I have to be strong here because no one is to come and dictate things for us," Waqa said. "It's about the way they treated us, they're not our friends. They just use us for their own purpose, for their own will." The forum is set to end on Thursday. China has become one of the dominant economic players in the Pacific, spending billions of dollars in trade, investment, aid and tourism in a region that staunch U.S. ally Australia has long regarded as its "back yard". Chinese lending to the region has surged from nearly zero to $1.3 billion over the last decade, stoking concern that tiny nations could end up overburdened and in debt. Tuvalu is set to host the Pacific Island Forum in 2019 and Waqa said some states had suggested changing the rules around which forum events countries with 'dialogue partner' status, including China, would be allowed to speak. (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in WELLINGTON and Tom Westbrook in SYDNEY; additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING and Yimou Lee in TAIPEI; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Did Hitler really shoot himself? (Getty)

Did Adolf Hitler really blow his brains out in the ruins of Berlin in 1945  or did he (as conspiracy theorists insist) escape on a secret flight out of the capital?

A new book, The Death of Hitler: The Final Word, by Jean-Christophe Brisard aims to put long-standing rumours to an end.

It reveals that there really is no chance that Hitler survived (but he may have poisoned himself, rather than shooting himself, as commonly believed, Fox News reports).

The book describes how French researchers analysed two bits of Hitlers body still held by the Russian government  a skull fragment and some teeth.

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Comparing them to autopsy reports from just after the war, the researchers concluded that the body is definitely Hitlers.

Conspiracy theorists have long suggested that Hitler may have escaped alive  helped by the complicated history of his remains, which were burned before being dug up by the Soviets.

Other prominent Nazis such as Auschwitzs Angel of Death Josef Mengele were spirited out of Germany by SS officers in the last days of the war, and lived in South America.

Lead author Philippe Charlier said, There is no possible doubt. He did not flee to Argentina in a submarine. He is not in a hidden base in Antarctica or on the dark side of the moon.

Charlers tests on HItlers teeth show no traces of metals  which hint that the dictator didnt shoot himself in the mouth, as many believed.

Mysterious blue stains on the teeth suggest that he may have used cyanide instead (having already poisoned his dog, Blondi, in anticipation of the end).
Managua (AFP) - Nicaragua's opposition called a 24-hour strike on Thursday, due to start the next day, in protest against President Daniel Ortega and to demand the release of "political prisoners."

The strike is due to begin at midnight on Thursday, the Civil Alliance for Justice and Democracy, made up of students, businesses and civil service groups, said in a statement.

The opposition is demanding dialogue with Ortega's government after months of turmoil that left more than 300 people dead, according to rights groups.

It called on supporters to "join this national effort from your homes."

"Nicaragua needs an urgent and peaceful solution through dialogue," said the opposition.

"We need to live in security, without kidnappings, without political prisoners, without persecution and without the stigmatization of those who think differently."

Last week, Ortega expelled the United Nations human rights mission after it published a report criticizing the "climate of fear" in the Central American country, one of the poorest in the region.

The UN denounced a wide range of serious violations, including disproportionate use of force by police, which in some cases resulted in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture.

Ortega, a former guerrilla leader who has been in power for the last 11 years, refuted the claims and described the UN as "an instrument of the policies of terror, lies and infamy."

In addition to the dead and 2,000 people injured in clashes between anti-government protesters and regime forces back by paramilitaries, more than 300 Nicaraguans have been charged with crimes for taking part in the protests, of which 85 are accused of terrorism.

Two Alliance leaders, Medardo Mairena and Edwin Carcache, are amongst those to have been charged.

The opposition says "dialogue is the only path" to overcome the current political crisis.

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Nicaragua's descent into chaos was triggered on April 18 when relatively small protests against now-scrapped social security reforms were met with a government crackdown, backed by armed paramilitaries.

Catholic church-brokered peace talks broke down in June after Ortega rejected a key opposition demand to step down and bring forward presidential elections.

Opposition supporters claimed the last strike in mid-July was 90 percent respected, although government media said businesses had remained open in several trade zones.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet for a third summit this month - AFP

Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, will travel to Pyongyang on September 18 for a three-day summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his top aides confirmed on Thursday.

The announcement followed the hand delivery of a letter from Mr Moon to Kim by Chung Eui-yong, South Koreas national security advisor, and spy chief Suh Hoon, who visited the North Korean capital on Wednesday.

The summit, the third between the two leaders since April, and the first time a leader from the South has visited the North in more than a decade, comes despite a stalemate between Washington and Pyongyang over the progress of disarmament talks.

Pyongyang wants the US to agree to formally end the Korean War, which concluded in 1953 with an armistice, not a peace deal, and reiterated its demand on its foreign ministry website this week.

Washington wants Kim to disclose his nuclear and missiles programmes and assets, and cancelled a planned trip to Pyongyang by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, late last month.

With neither side willing to make the first move, Mr Moon has once again been cast in the role of mediator, with hopes pinned on the South Korean leader to reignite the faltering talks.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met earlier this year with Kim Jong-un but his Pyongyang trip last month was cancelled Credit: KCNA/Reuters

But with the fragile US-North Korean detente on the verge of cracking, analysts have warned against unguarded optimism over the upcoming Pyongyang summit.

This is a protracted process but the rug can be pulled out from under it at almost any time, Patrick Cronin, senior director at the Washington-based Centre for a New American Security, told The Telegraph.

He predicted the meeting would produce little progress towards breaking the deadlock with Washington.

It means that South Korea is putting pressure on the US to take modest steps on denuclearisation to prevent a collapse in the diplomatic process. And it means North Korea can further erode sanctions but not yet win major investment," he said.

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In a press briefing on Thursday, Mr Chung said the September 18-20 inter-Korean summit would review the deal reached by the two leaders in the border village of Panmunjom in April to establish lasting peace and joint prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and to find practical ways to realise denuclearisation.

Mr Chung, who met personally with Kim on Wednesday, said he had reconfirmed his determination to completely denuclearise the Korean Peninsula and expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with not only South Korea but also the United States to that end.

He said Kims trust in Donald Trump, the US president, remained unchanged. The North Korean leader has asked the South Koreans to deliver a message to him.

Mr Chungs assertions were backed by a statement released by state-run North Korean newswire KCNA that Kim aimed to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat.

The report added that Kim appreciated the fresh advance in relations between North and South and was pleased with cross-border contacts, including the recent reunions between divided families.

The two countries are also expected to open a joint liaison office in the border town of Kaesong ahead of their next round of talks.

Experts continue to warn, however, that Kims language remains consistently vague and non-committal on giving up his nuclear weapons.

Kim is NOT offering to unilaterally disarm, and no language of complete let alone verifiable, despite some headlines getting over their skis.. tweeted Vipin Narang, associate professor of political science at MIT.

In an earlier interview with The Telegraph, Mr Narang suggested the US should adjust its expectations over denuclearisation.

We are pushing on the wrong door with unilateral disarmament. It isnt going to happen so long as Kim is in power. We should be pushing on arms control and restraint, encouraging North Korea to be a responsible nuclear power instead, he said.
Whole Foods workers want a union. (Credit/Getty Images)

Whole Foods employees are trying to unionize to fight for better benefits and improved corporate culture. The move comes one year after Amazon bought the grocery chain.

On Thursday, some current and former Whole Foods employees sent out an email to call employees nationwide to act. The initiative, named Whole Worker, states its goal as to organize team members companywide on a global scale and collectively voice our concerns to Whole Foods Market and Amazon leadership, according to the email Yahoo Finance reviewed. We believe every team member deserves the opportunity to form a union of like-minded team members and push for greater compensation, benefits and profit sharing.

Employees who received the email are invited to an anonymous chat group on Slack, where they can have a safe and secure space to discuss our experiences working at Whole Foods. Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) has been assisting their efforts.

Founders of Whole Worker say many of the management issues at Whole Foods date back before Amazons acquisition, but they have seen a further deterioration after Amazon brought its fast-moving and high-pressure style of management to the customer-centric grocer. Under Amazon, Whole Foods has been pushing centralization and taking away autonomy from regional stores.

While Amazon shares (AMZN) doubled in the past year, once soaring over $2,000 and ballooning into a $1 trillion company, some Whole Foods employees say they cant benefit from the boom because they werent granted any shares. Prior to becoming a part of Amazon, Whole Foods employees with at least 6,000 actual service hours are eligible to receive stocks that could vest over the next four years, according to internal documents Yahoo Finance reviewed.

Amazon workers have been trying for years

Workers pack and ship customer orders at the Amazon fulfillment center Romeoville, Illinois on 1 August 2017. (Credit/The Guardian)

Unions are not common among retailers nowadays, according to Peter Cappelli, a professor of management at The Wharton School. Employers are very effective at keeping them out. One way they do that is that they dont have a lot of full-time employees, said Cappelli. Its difficult to get part-time employees to organize. They have a high turnover, so people dont stay long enough to invest in starting a union.

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Whole Foods workers are not alone in wanting a union to represent their interest. Amazon workers in fulfillment centers have been pushing to organize for years, yet with little progress. Amazon has been persuading employees they dont need a union at all-hands meetings, telling them the existing open-door policy would work just well to get their voice heard. John Burgett, a former employee in Indiana who quit in March, wrote on his blog the policy offers the illusion of voice.

The manager will say yes to you to death, which means theyll tell you what you want to hear, yet they wont do anything, Chris Grantham, a former Amazon employee in Florida, told Yahoo Finance, adding that he had reported mismanagement issues to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, and while a regional Human Resources employee came to his site to investigate, little changed.

The No. 1 thing employees want from unions is not wages or benefits  its agreement procedure, in which they can challenge managers decisions that they believe are unfair, said Cappelli of Wharton.

Whole Foods reiterated the policy in a statement on Thursday. We respect the individual rights of our team members and have an open-door policy that encourages team members to bring their comments, questions and concerns directly to their team leaders. We believe this direct connection is the most effective way to understand and respond to the needs of our workforce and creates an atmosphere that fosters open communication and empowerment.  It also emphasizes it offers competitive wages and benefits to employees.

It remains to be seen if more Whole Foods workers will even join forces to create a union and how far the initiative will go. But at Amazon, union has become the word some employees try to avoid out of intimidation.

Most people wont even utter that word because of rumors about former associates being fired for talking about it, a current Amazon warehouse worker told Yahoo Finance. Im not sure if people were actually fired for this or if the rumor was just started as a scare tactic to put fear in the workers.

Do you work for Amazon/Whole Foods? Wed love to hear your experience. Drop us a line via krystalh@yahoofinance.com or follow Krystal on Twitter.

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Since separating from the administration last year, Trumps former chief strategist has suffered a series of losses

Steve Bannon was recently dropped from a festival hosted by New Yorker magazine. Photograph: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

After leaving the White House one year ago, Steve Bannon began popping up in the strangest places. In London, where he called ex-English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson the backbone of this country. In Paris, where he told the far-right Front National that history is on our side and will bring us victory. In Rome, to clap hands with Matteo Salvini, the far-right candidate turned deputy prime minister.

What is Bannon, Donald Trumps former chief strategist, up to? All Im trying to be, Bannon told the New York Times in March, is the infrastructure, globally, for the global populist movement.

A lot of people think thats a prohibitively irresponsible pastime, apparently. The announcement Monday that Bannon had been invited to headline a forthcoming festival hosted by the New Yorker magazine was met with a punishing backlash, as a wave of other headliners vowed to withdraw in protest, threatening the festival with collapse. Within hours, editor David Remnick had canceled Bannons invite.

Gutless, Bannon said.

However long the free speech debate surrounding the cancellation goes on for  is it better to deny hateful ideologies a platform, or to host them on the public stage for combative conversation, as Remnick had promised?  the controversy seems extremely on-brand for Bannon, who styles himself as a political insurgent with views too hot for the drawing room.

In any case, the timing is good, as life after the White House for Bannon had been something of a skid. His separation with Trump was amicable at first, but after the publication in January of a White House expose, Fire and Fury, written by journalist Michael Wolff and sourced to Bannon, Trump exploded.

Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book, Trump tweeted. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad!

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Trumps attack appeared to level Bannon. He lost his perch atop Breitbart News, the post he held before joining the administration and to which he had returned. His key patroness, the billionaire conservative Rebekah Mercer, summarily dropped him, saying: My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements. He was yelled at in a bookstore.

Perhaps worse for Bannon, the one thing he was supposed to be good at  understanding those people whom Hillary Clinton wrote off as deplorables  he has begun to look bad at. Of nine major candidates endorsed by Bannon in the 2018 election cycle, three failed to win primary races. A fourth candidate backed by Bannon, the 2017 Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, succumbed to allegations of sexual abuse against teenage girls.

Bannon suffered a new loss last week, when his favored candidate for a Senate seat for Arizona, Kelli Ward, got blown out of the Republican primary. Bannon, who always sounds as if he is trying to warm up the crowd before a professional wrestling bout, said at Wards campaign launch that Republicans would reap the whirlwind and that whirlwind is Kelli Ward. Ward lost by 25 points.

Bannon still has plans for the midterms. He has announced a new political group called Citizens of the American Republic (COAR) that aims to boost Republican turnout. The group, which maintains a web site featuring the latest Bannon press clips, does not appear to have any formal links with the national Republican party.

Bannon also has announced a movie to help drive the effort called Trump @ War. Judging by its trailer, the film features former Trump advisers Corey Lewandowski and Sebastian Gorka scoring points off House minority leader Nancy Pelosi and CNN host Don Lemon.

How jacked do we think Trump will be when he sees this? Bannon told Axios.

Bannon has not always been the best judge of what gets Trump jacked. One reason behind Bannons White House exit was an interview he gave to the American Prospect in which he criticized the Trump administration plan to cut a deal with North Korea as too favorable for China.

To me the economic war with China is everything, Bannon said. And we have to be maniacally focused on that. If we continue to lose it, were five years away, I think, 10 years at the most, of hitting an inflection point from which well never be able to recover.

Fears of a rise of totalitarian China likewise motivate Bannons dream of uniting European nationalist groups, in an effort he calls the Movement. Bannon appears to be finding no shortage of recruits. The former UK independence party leader Nigel Farage is on board, as is French national front leader Marine Le Pen, Hungarys Viktor Orban and Salvinis Northern League party in Italy.

Trumps election, which Bannon helped steer, was a sign that Bannons brand of populism  which in the United States and elsewhere accommodates white supremacy, antisemitism, Islamophobia and other bigotries  had a larger public appeal than most prior conversations about American politics had permitted.

The question is which conversations will be had going forward. In New York at least, Bannon wont be taking part.
Tripoli (AFP) - The only working airport in Tripoli reopened Thursday, after being forced to close by deadly clashes in the Libyan capital last week, the transport ministry said.

The announcement comes two days after the United Nations mission in Libya announced a ceasefire agreement between rival militias.

In addition to ending the fighting in which at least 63 people have been killed, the deal paved the way for Mitiga airport in the east of the city to reopen.

"Flights will resume gradually," Milad Maatoug, Libya's transport minister, said in a statement.

Several rockets landed near the airport last week, forcing authorities to suspend operations on Friday and divert flights to Misrata some 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the east.

Libya's civil aviation authority said it had started to coordinate "a gradual resumption of flights" with airlines.

A former military airport, Mitiga was opened to civil air traffic after the destruction of Tripoli's international airport in the south of the city during clashes in 2014.

Since then only Libyan airlines have operated in the country, running internal flights and regular connections to a handful of countries including Tunisia and Turkey.

Libyan airlines are banned from European Union airspace for "security reasons".
A leaked document has revealed secret Government no-deal planning strategies (Getty Images)

A photo taken of a confidential document taken outside Whitehall has revealed details of the governments no-deal Brexit strategy, including the codename for the plans  Operation Yellowhammer.

The embarrassing leak revealed a number of details about ministers emergency plans if the UK fails to secure a deal with the EU.

The document, photographed as it was carried into a meeting, referred to a government no deal contingency planning discussion.

The first two lines read: The meeting will consider progress on the Governments plans for mitigating the immediate impacts of a No Deal Brexit.

The Civil Contingencies Secretariat held a two-day workshop last week to review departments plan, assumptions, interdependencies and next steps.

1. Here it is  Operation Yellowhammer  the inimitable @PoliticalPics snaps document about Treasury no deal planning  lines that jump out. pic.twitter.com/KixnK48pCt  Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) September 6, 2018

Other discernible details include the objectives of the Treasury under a no-deal scenario, the first of which is to maintain confidence, particularly in financial services.

The document also says that departments should initially aim to raise Yellowhammer costs through internal reprioritisation, suggesting extra budget will not be available to deal with the fallout of crashing out of the European Union.

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Earlier this week a think tank warned that the impact of a chaotic Brexit will be severe and overwhelmingly negative.

The UK in A Changing Europes report, titled Cost of No Deal Revisited, predicted economic and social disruption.

It said: The real impact of a chaotic Brexit relates not to the longer-term trading arrangements developed for the UK but, rather, to the short-term uncertainties associated with the disappearance without replacement of many of the rules underpinning the UKs economic and regulatory structure.

Brexit secretary Dominic Raab insisted this week that a good deal with the EU is within our grasp.
PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The parents of a Penn State University student who died after a night of hazing and drinking have settled with the national organization of the fraternity he was pledging, their lawyer said.

The amount for which Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of the late 19-year-old Tim Piazza, settled with Beta Theta Pi is undisclosed, family attorney Thomas Kline said.

Beta Theta Pi has also agreed to a 17-point program that makes chapters safer and penalizes groups for hazing, he said, reforms that will "help establish a baseline for the new norm" of fraternity life.

Beta Theta Pi is focused on adopting "accountability measures," national leaders of the fraternity said.

Piazza, a 19-year-old engineering student from Lebanon, New Jersey, participated in a series of drinking stations the night of Feb. 2, 2017, as well as a basement event involving rapid consumption of alcohol.

The house's elaborate video security system recorded him stumbling to a couch on the first floor before falling down the steps. He was carried back upstairs, and spent the night in evident pain, most of it on the couch as fraternity brothers took ineffective and even harmful steps to address his condition.

After he was found unconscious in the basement the next morning, it took his friends about 40 minutes to summon an ambulance, and he later died at a hospital.

Medical experts say he suffered a fractured skull and shattered spleen, and his blood-alcohol level has been estimated to have peaked at three or four times the legal limit for driving.

A judge dismissed the most serious charges filed in Piazza's death.
Warsaw (AFP) - Polish prosecutors said Thursday they have indicted a former employee of the EU member's economy ministry with spying for Russia's GRU intelligence agency, the latest case in a string of espionage allegations in the region.

Identified only as Marek W. for legal reasons, the suspect "was accused of taking part in activities of Russia's GRU military intelligence directed against Poland between 2014-16," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

"As part of the spying activity, the accused transferred information obtained from employment in the economy ministry," it added, without going into detail.

According to local media, Marek W. is alleged to have transmitted information to Russia concerning the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline project, which Poland staunchly opposes.

The Russia-Germany pipeline would run through the Baltic Sea and bypass current Russian gas transit countries Poland and Ukraine, thus undermining their energy security.

Prosecutors filed the indictment with the Warsaw district court and the suspect, who was detained by Poland's ABW counterintelligence service in March, faces up to ten years behind bars if found guilty of espionage.

The suspect's legal counsel was not immediately available for comment.

The case is the latest in a string of espionage allegations in Poland and the Baltic states involving Russia's GRU intelligence service amid tensions sparked by Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, a move that deeply rattled nearby NATO members.

Fellow NATO and EU member Estonia on Wednesday also arrested two ethnic Russian Estonian citizens -- including a military officer -- on suspicion of "treason" for allegedly furnishing the GRU with Estonian state secrets.
When The Predator opens on Sept. 14, it will be a tad shorter than planned, due to the last-minute deletion of a scene featuring an actor whos a registered sex offender.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the films director, Shane Black, cast his longtime friend Steve Wilder (real name: Steven Wilder Striegel), in a bit role working opposite one of its stars, Olivia Munn, in the sci-fi reboot. However, Munn  a fixture in the Me Too movement  learned in August, long after the film wrapped, that Wilder is a registered sex offender who pleaded guilty in 2010 to two felonies: risk of injury to a child and enticing a minor by computer. Wilder was 38 at the time when he engaged in an online relationship with a 14-year-old female victim, and he served six months in jail.

Munn, who came forward last year to accuse disgraced director Brett Ratner of sexual misconduct, told 20th Century Fox execs about Wilders history, and the studio brass decided to delete him from the movie at the last minute. She told the Times she found it both surprising and unsettling that Shane Black, our director, did not share this information to the cast, crew, or Fox Studios prior to, during, or after production. However she said she was relieved that when Fox was alerted, they took appropriate action by deleting the scene.

Olivia Munn promoting The Predator in Spain on Sept. 4. (Photo: Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Our studio was not aware of Mr. Striegels background when he was hired. We were not aware of his background during the casting process due to legal limitations that impede studios from running background checks on actors, the studio said in a statement. (Either way, California laws dont restrict the employment of sex offenders, nor do employer have to disclose that they employ a sex offender.)

Black, however, did know. He has been friends with Wilder  an actor on Days of Our Lives, Melrose Place, and, more recently, Iron Man 3  since 2004, five years before the actors arrest. Black had worked with Wilder in three films and defended casting him in Predator (as a jogger who repeatedly hits on Munns character), telling the Times, I personally chose to help a friend. I can understand others might disapprove, as his conviction was on a sensitive charge and not to be taken lightly. However, he thought Wilder was caught up in a bad situation versus something lecherous.

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Steve Wilder, whose real name is Steven Wilder Striegel, appeared in Melrose Place and Days of Our Lives. Hes shown here in 2017. (Photo: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic)

Wilder also spoke to the newspaper, saying, Ive known Shane Black 14 years, well before this incident, and I think its worth noting that he was aware of the facts. Shane can speak for himself, but Im quite certain that if he felt I was a danger in any way to have around, he would not have.

He also spoke about the girl with whom he had the illegal relationship, saying she was a distant relative with problems and that he talked to her to boost her self-esteem. However, the Times obtained Wilders 2009 arrest warrant affidavit in which the girl claimed they had had physical contact, including kissing, touching her breast over her clothing, rubbing her legs, and stroking her neck on several occasions. In one email, he told her there was no one in the world he would rather have sex with. I will be VERY honest: Theres no question that its you. None. Hope that doesnt totally freak you out, and just because its what I want, and what you want, doesnt mean its the right thing, the message read.

The Predators Shane Black, Sterling K. Brown, Olivia Munn, and Thomas Jane at Comic-Con in San Diego on July 19. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

The only thing I was ever charged with were words in an email, Wilder told the Times, before calling the incident an enormously unfortunate chapter in my life, and one that I took, and continue to take, personal responsibility for. He added that he feels bad about the bad press that Predator is sure to get from this.

As the star of the film, Munn is standing by her decision to go to the top. On Thursday, as this all unfolded, she posted a quote to social media that read, Wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it. Right is right, even if no one is doing it.

She added a message saying that shes been inspired to speak out by her mother  and urged followers to also use their voices when they see a perceived injustice  even if its the unpopular thing to do.





Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
WASHINGTON (AP)  Senate Democrats looking to win the battle of public opinion over Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are essentially accusing Republicans of concealing evidence to ensure his confirmation before the midterm election.

The strategy was front-and-center as Kavanaugh's hearing got underway Tuesday, with Democrats immediately calling on the committee to adjourn. They characterized the hearing as a "charade and mockery of our norms."

Meanwhile, Republicans pointed to the huge number of documents released, the most ever for a Supreme Court nominee, to make the case that the review of Kavanaugh is "the most thorough and transparent confirmation process in history."

Here is a look at what the two sides are fighting about:

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WHAT RECORDS ARE SENATORS REVIEWING?

The Senate Judiciary Committee has been able to review the more than 300 legal opinions Kavanaugh has authored and the hundreds more he has joined as a circuit court judge.

Republicans argue that those opinions are the most relevant records for determining a nominee's judicial philosophy and fitness to serve on the nation's highest court. But Kavanaugh's paper trail goes beyond that, as he also worked in the George W. Bush White House and for independent counsel Kenneth Starr during the investigation of President Bill Clinton.

The Judiciary Committee has reviewed tens of thousands of documents from Kavanaugh's work for Starr, including a memo he wrote urging lawyers on Starr's team to ask aggressive and graphic questions of Clinton concerning his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Another 267,000 pages of Kavanaugh documents from his time working in the Bush White House have been made public, with another 215,000 provided for viewing only by committee members.

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WHAT RECORDS HAVE NOT BEEN PROVIDED TO THE COMMITTEE?

Kavanaugh worked some five years in the Bush White House, first as legal counsel and then as staff secretary. It's those records that are at the center of the dispute. Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley of Iowa declined to request Kavanaugh's staff secretary records, which cover a 35-month period of Kavanaugh's work that he has described as "among the most interesting and most formative" in his career.

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The Trump administration is also withholding more than 100,000 pages of Brett Kavanaugh's records from his tenure as legal counsel on the basis that disclosing the records would disrupt the functions or decision-making processes of the executive branch. Democrats denounced that decision Tuesday, saying there is no basis for those documents to be held back.

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WHY ARE REPUBLICANS MOVING AHEAD?

Grassley describes the documents sought by Democrats as "the least useful in understanding his legal views and the most sensitive" when it comes to the inner workings of the executive branch. Grassley says reviewing Kavanaugh's staff secretary documents would "teach us nothing about his legal views." For that, senators should rely on Kavanaugh's legal opinions, speeches and articles, Grassley says.

___

WHAT DO DEMOCRATS SAY ABOUT THE PROCESS?

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said about 4 percent of Kavanaugh's White House records have been posted for the public to view and about 7 percent have been made available to the committee. That compares to 99 percent of Justice Elena Kagan's records from her years at the White House being made available.

Sen. Dick Durbin said there is a "35-month black hole" in Kavanuagh's career from which senators have been denied any and all documents. Democrats have attacked the records production on two fronts. They're raising the question of whether Republicans are trying to hide something in Kavanaugh's record. They're also asserting that the Senate is "phoning in" its responsibility to carefully vet judicial nominees, calling the process a "sham."

___

ARE MORE RECORDS COMING IN?

Yes. The committee received 42,000 pages of documents Monday night. Democrats asserted that the lack of time to review those documents made the notion of properly vetting them "laughable."

The National Archives is also preparing to release more than 1 million documents from Kavanaugh's time in the White House counsel's office. But Archives says the review of those records will not be finished until the end of October.

Republicans hope to confirm Kavanaugh by Oct. 1, when the Supreme Court's new term begins.
Conspiracy theorist and associate of Trump adviser Roger Stone will cooperate in Russia inquiry, lawyer says

Jerome Corsi, seen here in 2004, was asked to appear in Washington on Friday. Photograph: Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

Jerome Corsi, a rightwing author and conspiracy theorist, has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury as part of Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Corsi, an associate of the longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone, was asked to appear at 9am in Washington on Friday, according to his attorney, David Gray.

We intend to cooperate fully with the special counsels office and we suspect that the focus of the questions will be about my clients communications with Roger Stone, Gray said in an email.

Corsi frequently appears on fringe media and has written several books, including one that promoted the false conspiracy theory that Barack Obama was not born in the US. The news of his subpoena was first reported by the New York Times.

In March this year, Corsi abruptly announced on Twitter that Ted Malloch, a conservative academic with ties to the UK Independence party, had been detained and questioned at Bostons Logan airport by FBI agents working for Mueller.

Corsi noted to his followers three times that agents had taken Mallochs cellphone, warning: Ted OUT OF CONTACT. That evening, Corsi joined an emergency broadcast on InfoWars, the far-right conspiracy website, to discuss Mallochs detention.

Stone has said that he, Corsi and Malloch dined together at a New York steak restaurant during 2016 but denied the meeting related to the election. Stone has said in recent emails to supporters that he expects to face imminent action from Mueller and may be indicted. He denies any wrongdoing.

Stone has come under scrutiny by Mueller after exchanging messages during the 2016 campaign with Guccifer 2.0, a supposed independent hacker said by Mueller to be a front for Russian intelligence officers.

Emails stolen from the accounts of senior Democrats were made public at the height of the election campaign by Guccifer 2.0 and WikiLeaks, the campaigning pro-transparency website run by Julian Assange. Stone has made contradictory statements about being in contact with Assange during the campaign.

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Corsi is also key to Stones explanation for another controversial episode during the campaign. Stone tweeted on 21 August 2016 that it will soon [be] the Podesta's time in the barrel [sic]. That led to suggestions that he knew in advance about the hacking of emails from John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign.

But Stone later claimed in testimony to congressional investigators that the tweet was actually inspired by opposition research, given to him by Corsi, about the Podesta Group, a lobbying firm run by John Podestas brother Tony.

Muellers team has spent months looking into Stones circle of friends and aides. Several have testified to the grand jury, including Stones protege Sam Nunberg, his former social media adviser Jason Sullivan, and his housemate Kristin Davis. Prosecutors appear to be reviewing Stones financial history in addition to his actions during the 2016 election campaign.

Randy Credico, a radio DJ and comedian previously identified by Stone as his go-between for communications with Assange, is also scheduled to testify before the grand jury on Friday, following a subpoena from Muellers team.


HMS Albion reportedly passed by the Paracel Islands in recent days to challenge Beijing's 'excessive claims' - PA

A Royal Navy warship has sailed close to islands claimed by Beijing in the South China Sea, a move denounced by China as a "provocation".

In a sign of Britain increasingly flexing its military muscle in the region, HMS Albion last week passed by the Paracel Islands, where it was reportedly confronted by the Chinese military.

The Albion, a 22,000 ton amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, where it docked on Monday after a deployment in and around Japan.

Beijing dispatched a frigate and two helicopters to challenge the British vessel, but both sides remained calm during the encounter, a source told Reuters.

China said Britain was engaged in "provocation" and that it had lodged a strong complaint. In a statement to Reuters, the Foreign Ministry said the ship had entered Chinese territorial waters around the Paracel Islands on August 31 without permission, and the Chinese navy had warned them to leave.

"The relevant actions by the British ship violated Chinese law and relevant international law, and infringed on China's sovereignty. China strongly opposes this and has lodged stern representations with the British side to express strong dissatisfaction," the ministry added.

"China strongly urges the British side to immediately stop such provocative actions, to avoid harming the broader picture of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability," it said.

"China will continue to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and security."

Nick Childs of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said the Chinese Navy was becoming more assertive and regularly shadowed vessels in the South China Sea.

"No side has much to gain by deliberately sparking a clash, but the balance of power has definitely shifted towards China," he said.

"The maritime domain has become increasingly contested globally," he says and suggests the incremental development and militarisation of islands in the region by China will only increase tension.

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A Royal Navy Spokesperson said: HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms.

A source told Reuters that the Albion did not enter the territorial seas around any features in the hotly disputed region but demonstrated that Britain does not recognise excessive maritime claims around the Paracel Islands. Twelve nautical miles is an internationally recognised territorial limit.

The Paracels are occupied entirely by China but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms.

Dr Euan Graham, a Senior Fellow at the Lowy Institute in Australia, said the move followed an earlier passage by a Royal Navy ship through the Spratly Islands.

He said it was a clear indication of Britain's support for the US, which has said it would like to see more international participation in such actions.

"Also, the fact that Albion was coming from Japan and on her way to Vietnam gives the signal a sharper edge to China," he told The Telegraph.

The Albion is one of three Royal Navy ships deployed to Asia this year, along with HMS Argyll and HMS Sutherland.

"The UK has impressively deployed three Royal Navy surface ships to Asian waters this year, after a long gap between ship visits, to this part of the world," he added.

Military vehicles are seen in the loading dock of the HMS Albion, the British Royal Navy flagship amphibious assault ship, after the ship's arrival at Harumi Pier in Tokyo Credit: Reuters

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said in June that deployment of the three ships was intended to send the strongest of signals on the importance of freedom of navigation.

Dr Graham said "the bigger test of UK commitment to regional security in the Indo-Pacific is about the consistency of its military presence into the future".

"The Royal Navy is making encouraging noises about sending assets to participate in FPDA (the Five Power Defence Arrangement) exercises as well as forward basing in future."

The FPDA is a regional security institution between Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Chinas claims in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of shipborne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Both Britain and the United States say they conduct FONOP operations throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies.

The British Navy has previously sailed close to the disputed Spratly Islands, further south in the South China Sea, several times in recent years but not within the 12 nautical mile limit, regional diplomatic sources have said.

FONOPs, which are largely symbolic, have so far not persuaded Beijing to curtail its South China Sea activities, which have included extensive reclamation of reefs and islands and the construction of runways, hangars and missile systems.

Beijing says it is entitled to build on its territories and says the facilities are for civilian use and necessary self-defence purposes. China blames Washington for militarising the region with its freedom of navigation patrols.

Foreign aircraft and vessels in the region are routinely challenged by Chinese naval ships and monitoring stations on the fortified islands, sources have said previously.

In April, warships from Australia - which like Britain is a close US ally - had what Canberra described as a close "encounter" with Chinese naval vessels in the contested sea.
A Russian serviceman walks past the Buk-1M missile system at the Army-2015 international military forum in Kubinka, outside Moscow, Russia, June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Lyle J. Goldstein

Security, Eurasia

Moscow knows what it is doing and Washington should take note.

What Russia's Vostok-18 Exercise with China Means

The West got a fresh jolt from Moscow last week. Thats when Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu announced that Russian armed forces would hold a military exercise in September, called Vostok-18 [East-18], on a scale not seen since the early 1980s. If there was any doubt that Russia sees itself in a New Cold War, Shoygus direct reference to the massive Zapad [West] exercise from 1981 seems to confirm that is the prevailing mentality in the Kremlin. In fact, Shoygu claimed, They (the exercises Vostok-2018) will in some ways recall Zapad-81, but in other ways, actually, will be even larger in scale [ ( -2018)  -  -81,   -, ,  ].

In the same statement, Shoygu declared that the exercise would involve more than one thousand aircraft, almost three thousand soldiers, and nearly all Russian military installations in the Central and Eastern military regions, including also the Northern and Pacific fleets. In the article cited above, moreover, the Russian Defense Minister is said to have asked gathered journalists to imagine when 36,000 pieces of equipment including tanks, armored personnel carriers, etc. are simultaneously on the march [      36 .  ,  , , ].

A couple of days later and on the occasion of a visit by a senior Chinese military delegation, Shoygu offered that the relationship between Moscow and Beijing reached an unprecedented high level. Interestingly on that latter occasion, he discussed the participation of Chinese units together with Russian units in the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations (SCO) anti-terrorism exercises that just took place in Chelyabinsk Oblast, but did not seem to mention the planned cooperation for Vostok-18. And so it does seem that Russia-China military cooperation has genuinely been regularized, with one exercise or exchange following closely upon the next and reaching higher and higher levels of intensity and scope.

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Other than the vast scale of the exercise, the fact that Chinese forces have a role seems to have dominated reporting on Vostok-18. But, at least two critical analytical points seem to have been missed. First, the location of the exercise no doubt reflects the Kremlins desire to cool down tensions in the European theater. At a time of emerging fissures within the Trans-Atlantic Community, such an enormous exercise close to NATO countries would be excessively provocative and counter to Russias interests. That the Kremlin understands this is no doubt a good thing for European security. The other important point that has not registered in most Western analyses is the confluence of the September Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok and the Vostok-18 exercise. Its easy to forget that six months ago, it looked more than a little likely that a massive war would engulf Northeast Asia. The exercise was most likely put together as a show of force meant to favorably impact diplomacy and the related correlation of forces in and around the Korean Peninsula.

Undoubtedly, it is also true that Russia-China strategic cooperation has reached a new stage. As an example of new energy and synergy in their bilateral relationship, Moscow has likely been impressed by Beijings willingness to explicitly support the new concept of a Polar Silk Roadas a critical part of the larger Belt and Road initiative. For instance, Chinas announcement that it will build a nuclear icebreaker (with likely Russian assistance) can be viewed as a rather serious commitment to the smooth operation of the revitalized Northern Sea Route (NSR). Indeed, Chinese investment is likely to play a crucial role in activating Russias long-held dream of a dynamic maritime corridor that traces along its northern coast, bringing some amount of both prestige and prosperity.

Yet as good as this sounds, it is fair to say that not all Russians are so optimistic, and some have even suggested that Vostok-18 has a double message that is also meant to warn Beijing. I have recently described in this forum at least one prolific Russian strategist who considers China as the preeminent threat to Russian national security. Indeed, the Russian media seemed to be registering some disquiet last week over the possible setup of a Chinese military base (or training facility) in eastern Afghanistan. Moreover, one analysis concluded that Beijing might station over five hundred soldiers at that facility, but also assessed that the main purpose was to combat terrorism and also soberly concluded that the Chinese are acting with extreme caution[   ].

Oddly, the Chinese may be talking more about Vostok-18 than the Russians, at least so far. A recent discussion in Global Times [], for example, crowed that 3,200 Chinese soldiers would participate and the contingent would also bring thirty aircraft as well. The article discusses this new development as a partial break with the past, in which Russia-China exercises were previously small-scale []. But it also notes that Vostok-18 is not a joint exercise [], but rather Chinese participation in a large-scale Russian exercise. The authors note that Western observers tend to have two contrasting interpretations of Russia-China relations: either as dysfunctional or, at the other end of the spectrum, as an already existing alliance. This article suggests both interpretations are off the mark. They emphatically reject the idea of a Russia-China military alliance, noting that it would represent such a huge blow against global stability []. On reflection, this seems to be a rather mature view of multi-polarity and provide some ample food for thought to Western readers. That might be the point, of course.

Turning back to the Kremlins motives, a logical reason why the Russian press is comparatively quiet about Vostok-18 could be that the guns and butter debate in Russia is becoming ever acuter. Against the background of significant protests on the sensitive issue of pension reform, the Kremlin may be a little less eager to flex its military muscles. Yet, this attribute seems to be hard-wired into the Russian DNA. As I absorbed Alexander Solzhenitsyns masterly August 1914, a title I found in an obscure second-hand bookstore over the summer, I found it helps give readers some additional historical perspective regarding Russian leaders obsession with rooting out military incompetence. How would history have turned out differently if the Czars armies had not suffered catastrophic defeat at Tannenberg? Of course, that defeat followed hard upon grave military failures in the disastrous war against Japan. Would there have ever been a Bolshevik revolution without these military failures a century ago? Perhaps the Russians can be forgiven for exercising the troops.

And what about the vexing Korean problem that has seen very significant backsliding over the last weeks and yet may form the most potent explanation for the creation of this iteration of Vostok-18? There was a possibility not long ago that Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in would actually both attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September. With Xi Jinping and Shinzo Abe also likely in attendance, that could have been a peace-making opportunity of epochal proportions. Too bad, it seems that both Kim and Moon have most likely opted to pass up this opportunity to hold another inter-Korean summit. While that is also of great importance, it still looks regrettably that all sides have failed to recognize the vital role of personal diplomacy in the emerging multi-polar world, of cross-cutting cleavages, and yet also the imperative to develop solutions that actually conform to existing balances of power. To state the obvious, all the leaders of North East Asia should gather urgently and regularly to try to iron out differences on the most pressing problems, especially denuclearization.

For American negotiators, there must be a realization that neither polite words, nor symbolic (and worthless) gestures, are adequate to accomplish the arduous task at hand. For now, at least, the need for continued forward progress on the vital North Korea issue should form the very highest priority in U.S.-China relations and also actually in U.S.-Russia relations as well.

Lyle J. Goldstein is research professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. In addition to Chinese, he also speaks Russian and he is also an affiliate of the new Russia Maritime Studies Institute at Naval War College. You can reach him at goldstel@usnwc.edu. The opinions in his columns are entirely his own and do not reflect the official assessments of the U.S. Navy or any other agency of the U.S. government.

Image: A Russian serviceman walks past the Buk-1M missile system at the Army-2015 international military forum in Kubinka, outside Moscow, Russia, June 16, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

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Moscow (AFP) - Russia will continue to kill "terrorists" in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria to bring back peace, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

"We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists...whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria. Peace must return to Syria," said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in comments reported by Russian agencies.

"This is a question of our security," she added.

Idlib, Syria's last major rebel stronghold, is held by a complex array of anti-regime fighters, many of whom have been blacklisted as "terrorists" by world powers.

Sporadic bombardment has targeted armed groups on Idlib's fringes in recent days, with fresh Syrian artillery and Russian air bombardment of the southeast of the province on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attacks have prompted terrified residents to flee before a fully-fledged assault is launched, the monitor said.

The Russian military has confirmed airstrikes have been carried out on the area with warplanes targeting the "terrorist" Al-Nusra Front.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory said at least nine civilians, including five children from the same family, were killed in Russian raids Tuesday, while 10 more people were wounded.
Cohen with Roy Moore on Who Is America? (Credit: Showtime)

Roy Moore, the US politician and former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, is suing Sacha Baron Cohen for defamation, after he appeared on the comedians latest show, Who Is America?

In a sketch for the series, Moore was duped into sitting for an interview with Cohens character Erran Morad, an Israeli security expert.

During the segment, Cohen brought in a supposed paedophile detector device.

Waving the detector near Moore, it consistently bleeped, with Moore becoming increasingly irrate.

Ive been married for 33 years. Never had an accusation of such things. Certainly, Im not a paedophile, OK? he said on the show.

Now, Moore is seeking $95 million (around 75 million) in damages from the production company behind the series, the US broadcaster Showtime, and the CBS network.

(Credit: Getty)

Defendant Cohens character falsely and fraudulently introduced a false and fraudulent device supposedly invented by the Israeli Army to detect paedophiles, the court documents read.

During the segment, Defendant Cohens device  as part of the false and fraudulent routine  purports to detect Judge Moore as a sex offender, thus defaming him.

This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender, on national and international television, which was widely broadcast in this district on national television and worldwide, has severely harmed Judge Moores reputation and caused him, Mrs Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause plaintiffs financial damage.

During Moores campaign for the senate last year, nine women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers.

Moore denied the accusations, but he ultimately lost the senate race to Doug Jones, his democratic opponent.

He later claimed that the accusations were part of a conspiracy to undermine his campaign, and also filed defamation lawsuits against the women who accused him.

Cohen took aim at a host of politicians during the series, including former vice president Dick Cheney and Bernie Sanders.

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He also convinced former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin into an interview, though the piece did not make the final show.

Palin had threatened legal action against Cohen after realising shed been duped.

Read more

Huge Robin Williams collection going under the hammer

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Chris Evans denies quitting Radio 2 over pay




After the British Government revealed who they believed to be the prime suspects in the Salisbury nerve agent attack, what follows now is the response.

Theresa May told MPs on Wednesday that the attack against the Skripals and the fatal poisoning of Dawn Sturgess was carried out by two Russian spies and sanctioned at a senior level in the Russian state.

The two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning  Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  have been identified by the UK as members of the GRU, Russias military intelligence service.

The Prime Minister said Britain will deploy the full range of tools from across the National Security apparatus to counter the threat posed by the GRU.

While some measures that could form part of the response are likely to be played out on the world stage, others will take place under the radar.

Theresa May has vowed to deploy the full range of tools against Russia over the Salisbury nerve agent attack (Wikipedia)

Cyber

Speculation about the possibility of a retaliatory cyber strike emerged in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning in March, and again after police identified two Russian nationals as suspects. The Times reported that such operations will aim to disrupt the GRU by scrambling communications and obstructing access to finance.

Britains capacity in the area of offensive cyber was summarised in December by the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, which has access to high-level security figures and highly classified material. Offensive cyber covers a range of measures including possible retaliation and capabilities to attack wider systems or infrastructure, according to the committees annual report.

Alexander Petrov (left) and Ruslan Boshirov are the two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning (PA)

Counter-espionage

Britains security chiefs were flagging up the threat from Russia prior to the Salisbury attack. In a speech in October last year, MI5 director general Andrew Parker referenced the agencys work against espionage and other clandestine activity by Russia and other foreign states who seek to do Britain harm.

Methods adopted could include alerting someone to a foreign intelligence services interest in recruiting them or providing advice to companies with sought-after information. Security agencies could also seek the expulsion of foreign intelligence officers if their activity is deemed to be especially intrusive or threatens real damage to UK interests.

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New border powers

The disclosure that the two Salisbury suspects flew in from Moscow two days before the poisoning bolsters the Governments case for new measures to stop spies and agents at the border. Under plans unveiled earlier this year, police and immigration authorities will be handed anti-terror style powers to intercept individuals to determine whether they are or have been engaged in hostile activity.

Theresa May disagrees with Liam Fox over the likelihood of a no-deal Brexit (Reuters)

International pressure

Britain will continue efforts to rally the international community and close partners to strengthen defences against and clamp down on malign Russian activity. In the aftermath of Salisbury, Britain, Nato and 28 other countries expelled more than 150 Russian intelligence officers in the largest collective expulsion ever.

Britains security chiefs were flagging up the threat from Russia prior to the Salisbury attack (Wikipedia)

Diplomacy

While she made clear the UKs outrage over the attack, Mrs May did also commit to continuing to engage Russia on topics of international peace and security. She said: We continue to hold out hope that we will one day once again enjoy a strong partnership with the Government of this great nation.
Will asteroid mining create the worlds first trillionaires? (Getty)

Scientists and private companies are readying for a new space race  a very lucrative one, with companies racing to grab asteroids worth billions each.

Americas U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has begun to seriously evaluate the potential of space-based mining targets.

At a discussion held in Colorado this summer, Angel Abbud-Madrid, director of the Center for Space Resources at the Colorado School of Mines said, The space-resources community will benefit greatly from working together with the USGS to assess the location and value of minerals, energy and water on the moon, Mars and asteroids.

Goldman Sachs has predicted that the worlds first trillionaires could be created by a new asteroid gold rush.

Several big companies aim to invest in the space (Getty)

British company Asteroid Mining Corporation aims to be at the forefront of this, says founder Mitch Hunter-Scullion in an interview with Yahoo News.

Hunter-Scullion says, A single metallic asteroid just 25 meters in diameter (2 double decker buses) would contain 29 tonnes of platinum worth 725 million (15% of current global supply), while the rest of its metals would bring the total value to 2.3 billion.

READ MORE ON YAHOO NEWS UK:

BBC presenter Rachael Bland dies at 40 after cancer battle

Two Salisbury Novichock attack suspects are Russian spies, Theresa May says

Man, 66, has his wallet stolen as hes dying from heart attack

Donald Trump hits out at fraud tell-all book written by Watergate reporter

Japan typhoon: At least 11 dead and 600 injured after worst storm in 25 years

AMC are working to develop the Asteroid Prospecting Satellite One (APS-1), this will launch in late 2020 to conduct a survey of the Near Earth Asteroids to identify ones that contain Platinum Group Metals and Gold.

It is now possible to do such a mission on very cheap budgets thanks to CubeSats, we estimate it will cost 2.3 million for the Prospecting phase.

Once we have this information then we will then use it to compile a database of asteroids that are closest to Earth and cheapest to fly to, that contains the most Platinum and Gold that we will sell access to. The demand for this data stems from its disruptive impact to the global economy.

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We will then use the revenues from the Space Resource Database to fund our own Asteroid Mining mission in the mid to late 2020s. Therefore being both the Shovel Salesman and the Miner.

Asteroids of this size could in theory be moved into a Lunar Orbit to be easily accessible from Earth but easy to mine. And could alongside the Deep Space Gateway form the bedrock of a Lunar Orbital infrastructure to facilitate the colonisation of the Moon.

Several companies are now building the machines which will take us there  including Deep Space Industries, which is building a steam-powered thruster for spacecraft.

American companies such as Planetary Resources  backed by Titanic director James Cameron  are already planning to send robotic vehicles to mine precious metals and rare resources from asteroids.

NASAs Psyche mission is set to launch in 2022  and will target a metal-rich asteroid known as 16 Psyche, estimated to be worth 8,000 quadrillion.

Christian Schroeder of the University of Stirling says, Asteroids crossing Earths orbit may become convenient targets for mining operations, providing materials that are running out on Earth.
Vladimir Putin has denied responsibility for the Novichok nerve agent attacks in Salisbury and Amesbury.

Theresa May told MPs on Wednesday that the attack against the Skripals and the fatal poisoning of Dawn Sturgess was carried out by two Russian spies and sanctioned at a senior level in the Russian state.

Security Minister Ben Wallace went one step further this morning, telling BBC Radio 4s Today that the buck stopped at Putin.

A Kremlin spokesman responded, saying: We again say that neither the upper leadership, nor the leadership a rank lower or any official representatives had or have anything to do with the events in Salisbury.

Any suggestions of this kind or accusations, I repeat, are unacceptable.

The UK Security Minister said Vladimir Putinbore responsibility for the actions of his administration (Rex)

Alexander Petrov (left) and Ruslan Boshirov are the two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning (PA)

Leaders of the UKs allies have backed Theresa Mays claim that the suspects are Russian spies.

US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement with Mrs May agreeing with the British assessment that the operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level in Moscow.

The two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning  Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  were identified by the UK this week as members of the GRU, Russias military intelligence service.

READ MORE ON YAHOO NEWS UK:

BBC presenter Rachael Bland dies at 40 after cancer battle

Two Salisbury Novichock attack suspects are Russian spies, Theresa May says

Man, 66, has his wallet stolen as hes dying from heart attack

Donald Trump hits out at fraud tell-all book written by Watergate reporter

Japan typhoon: At least 11 dead and 600 injured after worst storm in 25 years

The PM told the Commons that the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to counter the threat posed by the GRU.

Mr Wallace said the UK would use whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities to push back the Russian malign activity.

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Security Minister Ben Wallace said Putin had a strong grip over his state (Rex)

Putin has always denied Russia played any part in the Salisbury nerve agent attack (Rex)

Asked whether there would be retaliation for Russias activities, particularly in cyber space, Mr Wallace said: We do all the time, but we retaliate in our way.

We are not the Russians, we dont adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.

We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way.

Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs the Salisbury attack was carried out by two GRU agents (PA)

British and Russian officials will come face-to-face as the UN Security Council discusses the attack in New York.

As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will be represented at Thursdays meeting  and called on by Britain to update members on progress in the Salisbury investigation  alongside UK allies such as the US and France.

Mrs May has been in contact with US President Donald Trump and other leaders as she attempts to build an international alliance in support of her stance.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre (Rex)

Australia on Thursday said it was in lock step with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account over the heinous attack, although it is not currently a council member.

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March.

The alleged perpetrators were identified in a dramatic joint police and Crown Prosecution Service press conference.

The suspects movements leading up to the Salisbury poisoning (PA)

Detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripals Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on March 4.

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre the same day and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Salisbury was the focus of a huge police investigation following the attack (Rex)

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu also confirmed officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury four months later.

In the second incident, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent used in Salisbury.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.

In a statement, the Russian Embassy in the UK accused the British authorities of being unwilling to engage with them and called on the Government to give up politicised public accusations.
There's a secret "resistance" effort inside President Donald Trump's administration, an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times claimed Wednesday. (Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images)

High-level officials under President Donald Trump are actively working to combat his controversial policies and erratic behavior, according to a scathing New York Times op-ed published Wednesday and written by an author identified only as a senior official in the Trump administration.

The op-ed, titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, paints a chaotic picture of life in the White House, including constantly undermining the presidents reckless demands in order to maintain the countrys safety and prosperity.

The dilemma  which [Trump] does not fully grasp  is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations, the author wrote. I would know. I am one of them.

At one point, the author writes, officials considered invoking the 25th Amendment  which allows a president to be removed from office in the event of death, removal, resignation or incapacitation.

The op-ed speaks favorably of Trumps effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military policy, but the author says officials know Trumps impulses are rooted in anti-trade and anti-democratic beliefs. Many of Trumps dangerous plans have been shot down or contained by officials who belong to the so-called resistance in his administration, according to the author.

From the White House to executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chiefs comments and actions. Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims, reads the op-ed.

It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room, the author writes. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont.

The official points to Trumps reluctance to punish Russia for poisoning a former spy in Britain. He grew angry when officials demanded Russian President Vladimir Putins spies be expelled from the U.S. and further sanctions be imposed on Russia, but Trumps national security team made the response happen.

Story continues

You can read the entire op-ed here.

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The Texas woman who was spotted ringing doorbells in shackles says she forgives the man who caused her to flee her home and look for help last month. Surveillance video of the incident sparked a national search to find the woman.

The 32-year-old, who police are not identifying because she is a domestic violence victim, spoke out for the first time this week, telling KTRK-TV in Houston that she appreciates the support her story received.

The woman, who spoke to the TV station on the grounds that she could remain anonymous, said she was unaware that the footage of her went viral. Police released the chilling video of the woman looking confused, wearing only a t-shirt and shackles on her wrist ringing the doorbell of a Lake Conroe, Texas home before disappearing. After the footage was released local police received hundreds of calls from families who believed she was their missing relative.

I am aware that several families had some hope that I was their missing loved one, she told KTRK reporter Deborah Wrigley in a statement. That hurt my heart. I wish that I could hug each of them and somehow help them to heal.

Montgomery County Sheriffs Office confirmed that the woman was fleeing the nearby home of her 49-year-old boyfriend, who police later found dead from apparent suicide. The woman defended the character of her boyfriend and said she forgave him.

The woman said she was scared at the time and that night he wasnt the man I knew.

However, she declined to describe details of what happened the night that she fled their home.

I dont want to get into any of the specifics of that evening, other than to say that I was in a lot of fear for my safety, she said. People would like to paint [him] or myself as entirely good or entirely evil, light or dark, every human has both of these inside.

She said when no one answered their doorbells she tried to stop people driving by but no one stopped so she returned to their home. She said she spoke to her boyfriend again before he took his own life.

I forgave [him] long before he was gone, and love him, she continued. I know he too forgave and loved me. I know I will fall short daily, but I hope to continue to choose to be loved. And I hope that for us all.
A poll has found 4 in 10 British Jews would consider emigrating if Jeremy Corbyn became Prime Minister (PA)

The anti-Semitism crisis in Labour has hit the party hard and a new poll shows the full extent of how it has damaged Jeremy Corbyn.

According to the Survation poll for the Jewish Chronicle (JC), nearly 40% of British Jews would seriously consider emigrating if the Labour leader became Prime Minister.

Despite voting to adopt the full IHRA definition of anti-Semitism this week, a summer of headlines that labelled Labour and Mr Corbyn anti-Semitic has seemingly done lasting damage.

The poll found that British Jews aged between 35 and 54 are most concerned about the prospect of a Labour government under Mr Corbyn, while 44% of Jewish women say they would emigrate if he won power.

Just over half (51.77%) said they would not consider leaving, while nearly 10% said they did not know.

Labour has been rocked by claims of anti-Semitism that reach all the way up to the leader (Getty)

Jonathan Goldstein, chair of the Jewish Leadership Council, told the JC: As someone who has always been a proud British Jew, it saddens me that almost 40% of our community would consider emigrating if Jeremy Corbyn became Prime Minister. This is deeply worrying.

He added: If members of our community would even consider leaving Britain because they feel threatened by the prospect of our potential next Prime Minister, this should worry everyone.

Following Labours decision to incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism into the partys code of conduct, a senior member of the shadow cabinet urged Jewish critics to come back into the room and engage with the party over its approach to anti-Semitism.

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But Jewish groups hit out after the move was accompanied by a statement that said the party will ensure the changes do not in any way undermine freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of Palestinians.

Story continues

Mr Corbyn was attacked for his unsuccessful call for the NEC to accept a clarification that said it should not be considered anti-Semitic to describe Israel as racist.

Lady Chakrabarti, who conducted an inquiry into anti-Semitism for Mr Corbyn, insisted that the NECs additional statement did not dilute its commitment to fighting the problem.

A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest to a demonstration in Parliament Square against anti-Semitism in the Labour Party (Getty)

The shadow attorney general told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: There was no sullying. The words were not a caveat, were not a dilution; the words are true, which is that accepting these examples, in my view, in no way negates reasonable free speech around these difficult issues around Israel and Palestine.

But Labour backbencher Dame Margaret Hodge, who accused Mr Corbyn of being a racist, said her leader had sought a get-out clause from the IHRA definition, telling Today: It demonstrates to me a reluctance on his part, rather than a very public and intense acceptance of the need to deal with the issue.

I would love it if he proved me wrong, but we have to see both in his actions and in the way he consults and engages with the Jewish community over the coming period whether or not we are on the right road back to rebuilding trust.
The Hague (AFP) - A suspect in the brutal killing of a Dutch boy arrived in the Netherlands on Thursday after being handed over by Spain following an extensive manhunt lasting nearly two decades, prosecutors said.

Suspect Jos Brech was arrested in Spain last month over the murder of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen, who disappeared during the night while at a summer camp in 1998.

Dutch detectives said in August that they had identified Brech by a DNA match and were searching for him after he had been reported missing several months earlier.

"On Thursday 6 September 2018, Jos B., suspected of involvement in the death of Nicky Verstappen, was surrendered to the Netherlands by the Spanish authorities," the Dutch prosecution service said in a statement.

"Upon arrival in our country, he was arrested again by the police on suspicion of a crime against life, a sexual offence and a crime against personal freedom."

Brech was taken into pre-trial detention for two weeks and will appear before an examining magistrates within 24 hours, it said.

In a crime that horrified the Netherlands, Verstappen was at a summer camp at the Brunssumerheide nature reserve, near the German border, when he vanished on August 9, 1998.

His body was found the next evening, close to the camp site.

Police at the time of the murder mounted a massive search closely followed by local media and the Dutch public but the killer was never found.

As time ran out to catch the suspect, police earlier this year appealed to more than 20,000 men to donate DNA samples in a bid to close in on the perpetrator.

Police said new digital techniques helped them to develop a DNA profile in 2008, from traces found on Verstappen's clothing, but there had been no match.

Brech, who was 35 at the time of the murder, was not among the volunteers but as he was previously interviewed as a witness, police became suspicious.

When his family reported him as missing, Dutch and French police searched his cabin in the Vosges region of France.

Traces of DNA on his belongings provided a match and a European-wide warrant for his arrest was issued on June 12.
Colombo (AFP) - Sri Lanka's president should suspend military and police officers implicated in the disappearance of thousands of civilians during the island's decades-long civil war, a state watchdog said Thursday.

More than 20,000 people were allegedly abducted by security forces during the bloody conflict, which claimed over 100,000 lives before its conclusion in 2009.

The newly-established Office of Missing Persons said President Maithripala Sirisena should act to end the practice of keeping accused officers in service and allowing them to be promoted through the ranks.

Sirisena should "ensure that state officials (including military and police) who are named as suspects or accused in criminal actions are suspended pending the final determination of such cases," said the OMP, which is independent of the government but has a state mandate, in a Thursday report.

A magistrate last week ordered the arrest of Sri Lanka's top military officer, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, over his involvement in covering up the murder of 11 children between 2008 and 2009.

Navy intelligence officers have been accused of abducting and killing the children as part of an extortion racket.

Wijegunaratne is yet to be arrested and was not named in the report, which urged the government to expedite investigations and prosecutions over the war-time disappearances.

The OMP also called for an end to delays in reparations promised by Sirisena when he came to power in January 2015.

Set up earlier this year, the OMP can recommend compensation and clear the way for next of kin to take legal action against those responsible for the disappearance of relatives.

But the UN Human Rights Council has said Sri Lanka's efforts at transitional justice are at a "virtual standstill" nearly a decade after the end of the civil war.

Sri Lankan forces were accused of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians during the final months of the conflict while defeating separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas.

International rights groups have called for the prosecution of leading figures from the military and the Tigers, who were known for suicide bombings and the use of child soldiers.

Sirisena's predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse, who brutally crushed the Tamil movement to end the war in 2009, resisted international pressure to probe alleged war crimes.
Starbucks (SBUX) will open its first store in Milan, Italy, this week, in the coffee mecca that inspired the company as we know it today.

Starbuckss new Reserve Roastery in Milan will occupy the nearly 30,000 square-foot former post office building along the Piazza Cordusio, a few blocks away from The Duomo. The Roastery officially opens on Friday, September 7, the anniversary of the day Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982.

Its so hard to describe in words. Theres so much emotion, chairman emeritus Howard Schultz told Yahoo Finance in an exclusive interview. Yesterday, when we had the partner meeting and they started singing that song in Italian, I literally started crying.

Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982. At the time he joined, Starbucks was a small seller of whole bean coffee with just four stores.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan

It was in 1983 when a 30-year-old Schultz took a business trip to Milan while working as a marketing director. While on his way to a trade show, Schultz walked into an espresso bar and became enamored by the romance and theater of Italian espresso, he said. This inspiration led to the present-day Starbucks. And while Starbucks has grown into a global coffee behemoth, it had never entered the Italian market until now.

Ive dreamed about opening in Italy for so many years and to be able to open the Roastery and the response weve gotten over the last week from the Italians who have seen it, I think, just speaks volumes to the fact that weve tried to be very humble, respectful of the Italian heritage and at the same time really do everything weve learned over many, many years and bring it to life in ways that the Italians have never seen before, Schultz said.

In a city that boasts 1,500 coffee bars, Starbuckss grand opening has been met with skepticism. However, Schultz sees the Roastery as offering something different.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan

On the other hand, people have encouraged us because of the expression of what we do with coffee  theres different methods of how the customer can get their coffee, the quality, the integrity of this place. And I think we have something to offer that is not Italian, that is complementary. Also the space this is almost 30,000 square feet  its, I think the Italians are expecting us to have another coffee store. Most Italians have never seen coffee roasted despite how much they love coffee  I think the Italians are going to vote very positively and say, yes, I want to be in this space.'

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Back in 1983, when the young Schultz saw the potential in translating the Italian espresso bar to Starbucks, he raced back to the U.S. to convince Starbuckss founders that he had seen the light. Ultimately, Schultzs idea to transform Starbucks was turned down by the initial founders. Soon after, Schultz left to set up his first coffee bar Il Giornale, named after a daily newspaper published in Milan.

Starbucks ultimately encountered some financial trouble, and the founder approached Schultz to buy the company in 1987. With the help of Bill Gates Sr., Schultz secured the funding to realize his dream.

Today, Starbucks operates more than 28,000 stores in over 70 countries serving more than 100 million people each week. Starbucks employs more than 350,000 people, whom the company refers to as partners.

Under Schultzs leadership, Starbucks grew as a company that offers health care benefits for both full-time and part-time workers and equity in the form of stock options. More recent benefits include college tuition.

Schultz, 65, stepped down as CEO in April 2017. Just over a year later, he stepped down from his role as chairman on June 26, the anniversary of Starbuckss initial public offering.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan

Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
Juba (AFP) - A South Sudan military court on Thursday found 10 soldiers guilty of raping five foreign aid workers and murdering a local journalist during fighting in Juba in July 2016.

"The military court has found out that the accused... are guilty for their direct responsibilities in committing these crimes," ruled Judge Knight Baryano Almas, detailing charges of rape, murder, looting and destruction.

One accused was acquitted while another, a military commander accused of overseeing the chilling attack, died in prison last October in what the army said was a "natural death".

Violence erupted in South Sudan's capital when a peace deal between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar collapsed in July 2016.

During the clashes, government forces attacked the Terrain hotel compound housing some 50 employees of foreign organisations.

In his evidence at the start of the trial, the hotel's British owner, Mike Woodward, said that "50 to 100 armed soldiers" broke into the compound.

"One group proceeded straight to the bar and restaurant while another group continued to the residential area," he said.

Woodward listed "the gang rape of at least five international women", the murder of a South Sudanese journalist, the shooting of a US aid worker and "the beating and torture of almost every person in the entire building", including mock executions, among the crimes allegedly committed at his hotel.

Woodward's testimony is supported by reports compiled by the UN and Human Rights Watch.

During the attack the aid workers made multiple appeals for help to nearly UN peacekeepers, which went unanswered.

A special UN investigation found that a lack of leadership in the UN mission -- which has 13,000 uniformed personnel in South Sudan -- culminated in a "chaotic and ineffective response" during the July fighting.

The force's Kenyan commander was sacked.

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The court on Thursday ruled that South Sudan's government must pay compensation of $4,000 (3,440 euros) to each rape victim, and over $2 million to Woodward for damage to his property.

Both government troops and rebel forces have been accused of atrocities -- including widespread rape -- in South Sudan's civil war which began in 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The Terrain trial was a rare example of justice in the conflict, which some observers attribute to the presence of foreign victims.
Juba (AFP) - A South Sudan military court on Thursday found 10 soldiers guilty for their role in an attack on a Juba hotel in which five foreign aid workers were gang-raped, and a journalist was killed.

"The military court has found out that the accused... are guilty for their direct responsibilities in committing these crimes," said Judge Knight Baryano Almas, detailing charges of rape, murder, looting and destruction.

One suspect was acquitted while another, a military commander accused of overseeing the horrific attack, died in prison last October in what the army said was a "natural death".

After 31 trial sessions, two soldiers were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of local journalist John Gatluak, as well as rape and other crimes.

The others received sentences ranging from seven to 14 years for charges including rape, sexual harassment and looting.

- Gang-rape and mock executions -

Violence erupted in South Sudan's capital when a peace deal between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar collapsed in July 2016.

During the clashes, government forces rampaged through the Terrain hotel compound housing some 50 employees of foreign organisations.

In his evidence at the start of the trial, the hotel's British owner, Mike Woodward, said that "50 to 100 armed soldiers" broke into the compound.

Woodward listed "the gang rape of at least five international women", the murder of a South Sudanese journalist, the shooting of a US aid worker and "the beating and torture of almost every person in the entire building", including mock executions, among the crimes allegedly committed at his hotel.

During the attack the aid workers made multiple appeals for help to nearby UN peacekeepers, which went unanswered.

A special UN investigation found that a lack of leadership in the UN mission -- which has 13,000 uniformed personnel in South Sudan -- culminated in a "chaotic and ineffective response" during the July fighting.

Story continues

The court on Thursday ruled that South Sudan's government must pay compensation of $4,000 (3,440 euros) to each rape victim, and more than $2 million to Woodward for damage to his property.

Gatluak's family will be compensated with 51 head of cattle.

- 'Step towards ending impunity' -

"The leadership of the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) would like to issue an apology to the victims," army spokesman Colonel Santo Domic told journalists after the ruling.

He said the long trial and delayed verdict was because "most of the victims had left South Sudan immediately after the conflict -- getting them took long."

Last year a victim from Italy returned to testify, while six others who were raped or sexually harassed gave testimony via video link, Domic said.

Woodward welcomed the verdict.

"I am very happy that the criminals have gone to prison, I think that is a good thing. I am happy that the family of the victim who was murdered... got compensated," he told AFP.

Defence lawyer Peter Malual said he would appeal the verdict, claiming that under South Sudanese law it was illegal to send a soldier to jail for murder when the victim's family had received compensation.

Both government troops and rebel forces have been accused of atrocities -- including widespread, brutal rape -- in South Sudan's civil war which began in 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The Terrain trial was a rare example of justice in the conflict, which some observers attribute to the unusual presence of foreign victims.

"After much foot dragging, today's convictions and sentences represent a first step towards ending chronic impunity in South Sudan," said regional Amnesty International chief Seif Magango.

In a statement the US embassy in Juba urged the government to hold accountable those responsible for numerous other violent attacks that have killed tens of thousands and "rampant sexual violence".

"At least 107 aid workers and 13 journalists have been killed trying to help the South Sudanese people or cover the conflict in South Sudan since it started in December 2013," the statement read.
When I first woke up at Walter Reed in November 2004, I had no idea that I was disabled.

I had no idea that, in the blink of an eye, I had lost both my legs when a grenade tore through the helicopter I was piloting just north of Baghdad.

It took me days to recognize the reality of my disability, months to learn how to walk again and years to get used to the constant, hammering pain thats still there, even when Im just sitting down.

Despite it all, I consider myself pretty lucky  not only because of the fantastic medical team that helped me recover and the VA care I still receive today, but also because I am an American with disabilities, which means the Americans with Disabilities Act is in place to safeguard the basic rights I rely on to lead a full life. The rights that activists with disabilities fought so hard for, for so long. That they left their wheelchairs and crawled up the Capitol steps for. The rights that thankfully, finally, got enshrined into law in 1990.

That isnt to say there arent still struggles, and we still have a long way to go to achieve true equality. Nearly three decades after the ADA became law, far too many public places continue to be inaccessible and difficult to navigate. On every issue  including transportation, housing, education, health care and employment opportunities  were still working hard toward the goal of ensuring that Americans with disabilities are able to live independently in their communities.

But even so, its hard to imagine the exhaustion and frustration that Americans with disabilities mustve felt every day in the years before the ADA became law  when our country openly and unabashedly discriminated against our entire community.

And I worry that rather than making progress, the hellish, relentless discrimination of pre-ADA America could become a reality once again for me and for millions of other people with disabilities if Judge Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court.

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Judge Kavanaugh has shown us what he believes about disabled Americans. In Tarlow v. D.C., he ruled that those with mental disabilities shouldnt have the right to make medical decisions about their own bodies. In Baloch v. Kempthorne, he declared that businesses profits are more important than our health. And in Johnson v. Interstate Management Company, he decided that its okay for employers to discriminate against us, too.

The cases are different, the plaintiffs change, but one fact remains the same: Judge Kavanaughs rulings make clear that hes just not concerned whether were able to go to school, get decent health care, eat at a restaurant like anyone else or even earn a livable wage.

Well, I am. And Im going to fight as hard as I can these next few weeks to make sure that our next Supreme Court justice isnt someone who thinks were less worthy of our rights than able-bodied Americans.

But I cant do it alone, which is why Im so lucky to have the disability community at my side, pushing to expand access and protect our rights against attacks from Donald Trump, the Republicans and Judge Kavanaugh.

The disability community proved the power that it wields during last years fight to protect the Affordable Care Act. It proved that power again when it helped me lead a group of 43 Senators to block Republican efforts to roll back ADA protections and reward businesses whove failed to comply with the law after nearly 30 years.

And when it comes to Judge Kavanaugh, we need to show that same strength 10 times over.

Because its not just our health care on the line in this fight  though thats at stake too, as his record suggests that hed vote to take away protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

Our civil and voting rights are also on the line, as cases rise through the courts that would make it harder for Americans with disabilities to participate in the democratic process and vote.

Womens rights are on the line, as the judge has previously sided against expanding health care access to more womenand would likely be the deciding vote to repeal or roll back Roe v. Wade, putting the government in between women and their doctors.

Immigrants rights are on the line. As are LGBTQ rights. As is our economic security and our kids future. Our public schools and our planet, too.

Every issue is a disability issue, because our community  at 60 million strong  is beautifully diverse. Thats a gift, but also a responsibility. Because it means we have to fight for every American with disabilities, whether theyre undocumented or disenfranchised or sick and in need of care. No matter what.

Truthfully, this confirmation process isnt really about whether some judge can sit in fancy robes in a courtroom in D.C. This is about our most basic rights. And there are only a few weeks left to stop a confirmation that could change our lives forever.

So from this moment until the final vote is cast, Im going to be fighting right alongside every other activist with a disability. Working together. Speaking as one. Proving the power of a community that only grows stronger every time someone like Brett Kavanaugh tries to strip us of our rights.
Deliveries of fresh food to UK supermarkets could be affected by Brexit (PA)

Shipping bosses have warned MEPs that the UK governments plan for Brexit will cause chaos with the Britains food supply.

A cross-party group of British MEPs visited the North Sea Port in Ghent, Belgium, where most of the food that arrives in the dock makes its way to UK.

They were told by how fresh produce currently leaves the port at 3pm in the afternoon and is on supermarket shelves in Britain by 5am the next morning. Tomatoes from Italy, potatoes from Belgium, and peppers from Spain are among the fresh produce most regularly imported to Britain, according to an analysis of HMRC data by Glotech.

But the head of Belgiums customs and ports authority told MEPs Thursday this just-in-time delivery process wont be possible if Britain leaves the EUs customs union, something that the UK government plans to follow through on, when Brexit happens in March, 2019.

Molly Scott Cato, a Green MEP who was at the meeting, said that would mean serious disruptions to the UKs food supply.

Green MEP Molly Scott Cato (European Parliament)

The transport system that makes possible the just-in-time arrangements, used by so many companies and sectors in our economy, will fall apart if we leave the customs union, she said. This will threaten our food system, manufacturing industries and much more besides.

The customs union eliminates tariffs and checks on goods transported between member states, making cross border deliveries quick and easy. But countries who are members of the customs union must also apply the same tariff to goods coming in from outside the EU, meaning that they cant strike their own trade deals.

The UK government says that is incompatible with their aim of taking back control and want to put in place a new arrangement to ensure that there is frictionless trade between the UK and EU.

In its Chequers plan, the government proposed a free trade area for goods which would see the UK accept EU rules in this area, accompanied by a customs arrangement that would involve the UK collecting tariffs on behalf of the EU.

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Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is continuing to push the proposals in negotiations today despite the fact they have been repeatedly rejected in Brussels.

EU Brexit chief Michel Barnier has said the bloc could not delegate its customs policy to any third country and that the UKs plans for goods amount to cherry picking the best bits of the single market.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock claimed Barnier told him the Chequers plan was dead at a meeting in Westminster earlier this week.

UK negotiators insist the plans are workable and do not represent an attack on the single market.

Labour MEP Seb Dance, who was also on the visit to the port, claimed that even the UK governments preferred arrangement wouldnt mean food delivering could take place as they do now.

Even under most ambitious tariff-free free trade agreement, without [the] customs union this will grind to halt, he said.

The UK governments contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit revealed that they are preparing to stockpile supplies in case deliveries are halted by customs chaos.




Fault in Google Chrome allows hackers to access home Wi-Fi networks in seconds (Getty)

Up to three million British households could be at risk from hackers breaking into Wi-Fi networks  without users even being aware.

Hackers could steal passwords, or (more alarmingly) activate connected devices such as webcams, experts from SureCloud have warned.

The vulnerability is via devices running the Chrome browser, due to the way it saves passwords.

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The vulnerability could allow hackers to capture Wi-Fi network passwords (although attackers would need to be within Wi-Fi range, while a user was using Chrome).

In theory, hackers can use this to steal the Wi-Fi password from the router, and all users would see is what looks like a Wi-Fi admin menu popping up.

The attack affects a wide range of devices including routers from ASUS, NETGEAR, D-Link and Belkin.

SureCloud advise users to only log into their router for configuration using either a separate browser (not Chrome) or an incognito session, and to clear their browsers saved passwords.

Elliot Thompson of Surecloud said three million households in the UK could be at risk, and up to 30 million around the world as a conservative estimate.

Thompson said, This is an issue that web users should be aware of and take steps to protect themselves against.
We need Celebrity Deathmatch more than ever.

Deplatformed Infowars host Alex Jones and the Senate's most milquetoast Senator, Marco Rubio, got into it today after Jones confronted Rubio in front of the press. Rubio, clearly irritated by Jones' loud interruptions while being interviewed, threatened to "handle" Jones himself after the host touched him.

SEE ALSO: Brett Kavanaugh snubs Parkland victim's father at Senate confirmation hearing

Jones pressed Rubio on why he wasn't doing more to protect conservative voices from being silenced on Facebook. Rubio then reacted after Jones touched his shoulder, and the whole thing quickly became a high school locker room showdown.

"You're not gonna get arrested man," Rubio told Jones after the host accused Rubio of wanting to do just that.

Rubio pledged to not call the cops. "I'll handle it myself," Rubio said.

"Oh, he'll beat me up," Jones replied before calling him a "little gangster thug."

OK, big guy.

Can you imagine how bad this fight would be if either of them had the courage to make it happen? Sure, Jones has a significant weight advantage over Rubio, but he's also terrified of gay frogs.

Meanwhile, Rubio is a functional invertebrate in Congress. I know cocktail shrimp with more backbone than him. He'd tank in the ring, preferring to attack his opponent with Old Testament subtweets.

If nothing else, this confrontation succeeded in making us all even more embarrassed for America than we ever were before. And Alex Jones appears to have spent the rest of the afternoon mad.

Alex Jones is currently yelling at me pic.twitter.com/wNqCg9I6dt  Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 5, 2018

Hell: 1, America: 0.
Donald Trump supporters have denounced an anonymous article which claimed that there is an internal resistance movement among some of the US president's senior aides.

Attributed to a senior administration official, The New York Times op-ed claimed cabinet members had discussed using the 25th amendment  a constitutional provision that allows the vice-president and a majority of the Cabinet secretaries to vote to remove a president who is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office"  to oust Mr Trump

Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations, the author wrote, adding that the president's "amorality" and "impulsiveness" had led to ill-informed and reckless decisions.

It was published less than 24 hours after a string of explosive claims was published in a new book by veteran Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, which suggested that White House staff had stolen papers from Mr Trumps desk to keep him from signing them.

Some of Mr Trump's supporters have however suggested that the Times op-ed is part of a trap and a soft coup against the Republican leader.

Taking to Twitter, the president himself asked whether the allegations were TREASON?

He added: Im draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Dont worry, we will win!

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called them pathetic, reckless and selfish and suggested the author should resign.

Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser, told CNN the article represented a coup. He said: Its an administrative coup, a soft coup, a kooky coup, whatever you want to think.

David Clarke, the former Milwaukee County, Wisconsin sheriff who has long backed the president, tweeted: Dont take the cheese. Its a trap to get everybody in the @realDonaldTrump admin to begin to look suspisciouly at EACH OTHER & ultimately destroy the team.

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BS. Don't take the cheese. It's a trap to get everybody in the @realDonaldTrump admin to begin to look suspisciouly at EACH OTHER & ultimately destroy the team. If this anonymous person was real, they would have to worry about being outed like Bernstein. https://t.co/ssCLtiaihU  David A. Clarke, Jr. (@SheriffClarke) September 6, 2018

Mr Clarke was recently caught out by Sacha Baron Cohen on his programme Who is America?, when the ex-lawman was bamboozled into saying you dont want to take sides when asked about fascists and anti-fascists in Germany during the 1930s.

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential hopeful, called the anonymous Times author a cowardly weasel who should get on [the] ballot and run if they wanted to make a change.

Alex Jones, the far-right Infowars conspiracist also took to Twitter to claim a coup detat was taking place.

Following the publication of the Times story Mr Trump called for its author to be handed over to the government on national security grounds.

But the newspaper defended the piece as having added significant value to the publics understanding of what is going on in the Trump administration from someone who is in a position to know, adding that the source was known to but a few members of staff.
The celebrated reporters book Fear says top Trump staffers ridiculed him while a lawyer warned him of the threat of jail

One Trump adviser reportedly stole letters off his desk to ensure he wouldnt act on them. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

From claims that Donald Trump called for the assassination of the Syrian president to allegations that staff routinely take documents off Trumps desk, excerpts of Bob Woodwards account of the Trumps chaotic and dysfunctional White House, published by the Washington Post on Tuesday, are the latest to shed light on the workings of the administration.

The White House issued a statement on Tuesday saying: This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad.

Here are five moments detailed in the veteran reporters book Fear, due to be published on 11 September.

Trump suggested assassinating Syrias president

Donald Trump wanted to have the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, assassinated last year but his defense secretary ignored the request, according to the book, which depicts top Trump aides sometimes sidestepping instructions to limit what they see as his damaging and dangerous behavior.

According to the book, Trump told the defense secretary, Jim Mattis, that he wanted to have Assad assassinated after the Syrian president launched a chemical attack on civilians in April 2017. Lets fucking kill him! Lets go in. Lets kill the fucking lot of them, Trump said, according to Woodward.

Mattis told Trump he would get right on it but instead developed a plan for a limited air strike that did not threaten Assad personally.

Fifth or sixth grader: Mattis on Trump

Mattis reportedly compared Trumps comprehension of national security and world affairs to that of a fifth or sixth grader. The retired marine general, who oversaw US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013, reportedly made the comments after Trump questioned the need for any US military presence in the Korean peninsula following a meeting in January.



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Mentally retarded: Trump on Sessions

Trump reportedly attacked his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, in private even more harshly than he does in his regular Twitter tirades about the first US senator to endorse his presidential campaign.

Not only did Trump reportedly deride Sessions as a traitor for recusing himself in the Russia investigation, but he mocked his accent and southern origins. This guy is mentally retarded. Hes this dumb southerner, Trump said, according to the book.



Stealing letters from Trumps desk

Woodward reports that the former top White House economic adviser Gary Cohn stole a letter off Trumps desk that, if signed, would have withdrawn the US from its free trade agreement with South Korea, as well as another draft letter on withdrawing from Nafta. Cohn later reportedly told an associate that Trump never noticed the first letter went missing.



You are not a good witness

According to the book, Trumps former personal lawyer John Dowd told the president that if he testified before the Mueller investigation, he would probably go to jail. Dont testify. Its either that or an orange jumpsuit, said Dowd. Trumps attorney went on to tell him you are not a good witness and resigned the next day.



Crazytown

The White House chief of staff, John Kelly, called Trump an idiot and describing the White House as Crazytown, according to Woodwards account. However, in a statement from the White House issued on Tuesday afternoon, Kelly said: The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true.






Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump remains focused on reducing the US trade deficits with key economic partners, and Japan may be the next target, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

With trade disputes in full swing with China, and as yet unresolved with the European Union, Canada and Mexico, Trump now seems focused on making Japan "pay," according to the column.

Trump called James Freeman, assistant editor of The Wall Street Journal's editorial page, to thank him for his positive comments about the economy and Trump's policies, and remained focused on the gap between exports and imports.

"It seems that he is still bothered by the terms of U.S. trade with Japan," Freeman wrote. "Mr. Trump described his good relations with the Japanese leadership but then added: 'Of course that will end as soon as I tell them how much they have to pay.'"

The US had a deficit of $56.6 billion with Japan last year, but a surplus in services of $13.4 billion.

And while Freeman noted, as many economists have, that trade deficits often are a sign of "a thriving economy like the one we have now ... the President sees a problem."
Donald Trump has demanded the New York Times hand over its GUTLESS anonymous op-ed writer after the person, who the paper said was a senior administration official, claimed to be part of a resistance movement inside the White House working to tame the US presidents wilder tendencies.

In an extraordinary article published on Wednesday evening the unnamed official claimed there had been whispers among members of Mr Trumps cabinet about invoking the 25th amendment to the constitution and effectively ousting the billionaire Republican.

They described a chaotic era for America brought about by Mr Trumps misguided impulses that were detrimental to the health of our republic, though they denied they were an operative of the so-called deep state, a longstanding bete noir of Mr Trump and his most ardent supporters.

From the White House to executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chiefs comments and actions. Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims, the writer claimed.

Mr Trump reacted furiously to the articles publication, which left him volcanic with rage, according to NBC. He tweeted: Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?

If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

Later, in the middle of the night, he added: Im draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Dont worry, we will win!

The decision to publish came under the authority of James Bennet, editorial page editor, and James Dao, op-ed editor, with publisher AG Sulzberger weighing in, a Times spokeswoman said.

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Mr Dao told a Times reporter the piece had been submitted last week through an intermediary, and that anonymity was not granted until editors were confident of the writers identity. While such a move is rare for the opinion pages, it is not unprecedented, and Mr Dao said the material in the essay was important enough to publish.

We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers, the newspaper said.

The piece added significant value to the publics understanding of what is going on in the Trump administration from someone who is in a position to know, spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said. She did not respond to Mr Trumps demand the author be handed over to the government.

The White House called it pathetic, reckless and selfish.

An incensed Mr Trump told reporters on Wednesday during a meeting with sheriffs: If the failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial  can you believe it? Anonymous, meaning gutless  a gutless editorial, were doing a great job, the poll numbers are through the roof, our poll numbers are great, and guess what? Nobody is going to come close to beating me in 2020 because of what weve done.

As Washington began to wake up on Thursday further denunciations rolled in  along with denials of responsibility from people at the highest levels of the administration.

Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, said he was not behind the op-ed and called it sad, while the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said neither he nor his top deputy were involved. Defence secretary James Mattis also denied writing the piece.

Vice president Mike Pence issued a forceful denial that he had anything to do with it, following speculation online about the anonymous authors use of the word lodestar. Jarrod Agen, Mr Pences communications chief, tweeted: Our office is above such amateur acts.

The Times article came at a difficult time for the president, who was still reacting to a string of explosive claims in an upcoming book by Bob Woodward, the Washington Postjournalist famous for exposing the Watergate Building break-in alongside Carl Bernstein.

Mr Woodwards new book, Fear, chronicles an administration headed by an erratic commander in chief surrounded by aides who fear he poses a danger to the nation.

Excerpts released on Tuesday suggested some of Mr Trumps key officials had acted behind his back, even going so far as to remove papers from his desk to keep him from signing them.

The White House dismissed the work as nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad.

Mr Trumps party is also facing a galvanised Democratic opposition in Novembers mid-term elections, and the president plans to spend more than 40 days on the campaign trail to help the GOP hold onto its majorities in congress.

Additional reporting by agencies
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies on Capitol Hill, Sept. 5, 2018. (Photo: Chris Wattie/Reuters)

WASHINGTON  Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said Wednesday that his social media website had improperly screened an anti-abortion message, but insisted that the larger claim of shadow-banning conservatives was not politically motivated and has been corrected. (The term refers to the blocking of users of online communities in a way that they are unaware of being blocked.)

Dorsey told House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., that Twitter should not have blocked Republican congresswoman Marsha Blackburn last fall from placing video ads that touted her anti-abortion activism.

This was a mistake, and we do apologize, Dorsey said.

At the time, a Twitter employee told consultants to Blackburns campaign for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee that the line in this video specific to stopped the sale of baby body parts has been deemed an inflammatory statement that is likely to evoke a strong negative reaction.

Blackburn was touting her work chairing a committee that investigated Planned Parenthood after anti-abortion activists released videotapes in 2015 that appeared to show officials with the group discussing the sale of fetal body tissue to health care providers.

The Twitter employee told the consultants that if Blackburn removed the language referring to Planned Parenthood and the sale of fetal body tissue then she could continue to pay Twitter to promote the ad on their site.

Scalise asked Dorsey if anyone at Twitter had been held accountable, and Dorsey did not answer.

Dorsey also talked at length during the more-than-four-hour hearing, after a two-hour Senate hearing earlier in the day, about how three Republican House members had been singled out for what critics have called shadow-banning. In this case, the congressmens names did not show up in the search window of Twitter due to a tweak to Twitters algorithm.

President Trump with Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel in December 2017. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)

Vice News reported the development, which also affected Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel, in late July. Twitter said then that their algorithmic testing had begun in May, and stopped using it the day after Vices report.

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Dorsey said Wednesday that Twitter had begun filtering accounts out of the search results if the followers of those accounts were violating the terms of service. He said about 600,000 accounts were affected, but that Twitter decided the results of the test were not fair, and we decided to correct it.

I assure you that the algorithm was not written with that intention, Dorsey said, when asked by Scalise about the shadow-banning that affected only Republican representatives.

President Trump has used the shadow-banning incident to rail against social media and technology giants like Twitter, Facebook and Google in a series of tweets and statements in which he has said his administration will consider regulations to more tightly control these companies.

Alex Jones, known for promoting right-wing conspiracy theories, showed up at the Capitol on Wednesday and harassed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a hallway. Jones shouted at Rubio, claiming that the ban by Facebook and YouTube of Joness site InfoWars last month was similar to the Chinese governments censoring of information.

Although he shouted about Twitters shadow-banning of conservatives, Twitter has not banned Jones.

Alex Jones of Infowars. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty IOmages)

Democrats repeatedly called the hearings in the House a partisan stunt designed to rile up the Republican base and to please Trump. The Senate hearing, which also included Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, was more bipartisan and less focused on political bias inherent in either companys practices. That hearing was geared far more on preventing foreign actors from influencing American politics through social media after the Russian government was found to have meddled in the 2016 presidential election.

Google declined to send a top executive to the Senate hearing, and senators from both parties lambasted the company for failing to appear.

The House hearing with Dorsey, while contentious at times, avoided fireworks or histrionics, in part due to Dorseys low-key and polite manner. Even when lawmakers expressed frustration with Twitter policies, they often also complimented Dorsey on his willingness to take criticism and acknowledge shortcomings.

And while shadow-banning drew the most attention, the harshest criticism of Dorsey in the House hearing Wednesday might have come from a few congressmen upset over Twitters inability to keep advertisements for opioids and other illegal drugs off its platform.

In the last hour, heres an ad for cocaine on that site, said Rep. David McKinley, R-WVa., who told Dorsey how badly the opioid crisis has hit his state. I would be ashamed if I were you. You say this is against your public policy and youve got ways of filtering that out and its still on there. Im astounded.

We dont need to have our social media promoting the use of illegal drugs, McKinley added.

I agree with you, Dorsey said. This is unacceptable and we will act.

As the hearing wrapped up, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, noted that Twitter had already removed the accounts that McKinley had pointed out during his questions.

Im told Twitter has deleted the account that was trying to sell drugs online, so your team has been at work, Walden told Dorsey.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, accompanied by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee. (Photo: Jose Luis Magana/AP)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Wednesday designated an al Qaeda affiliate in Mali, Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, as a foreign terrorist organization, cutting off its funding and blocking U.S. citizens from doing business with it. The group has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks and kidnappings since it was formed in March 2017, the department said in a statement. It said Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM) was responsible for an attack in June 2017 at a resort popular with Western expatriates outside Mali's capital, Bamako, as well as attacks on Malian troops, and coordinated attacks in Ouagadougou, the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso, in March this year. "Al-Qaeda and its affiliates like JNIM remain deadly threats to the United States and our allies. These designations are part of our continuing efforts to squeeze al-Qaeda's finances, denying it the resources it needs to carry out attacks," said Nathan Sales, the department's coordinator for counterterrorism. Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen, which was created from a merger of local groups, was later endorsed by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Islamist groups have claimed increasingly frequent attacks on Western targets in Mali and the wider West Africa region, including a raid on a Bamako hotel in late 2015 which killed 20 people. (Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is "lots of evidence" chemical weapons are being prepared by Syrian government forces in Idlib region in northwest Syria, the new U.S. representative for Syria said on Thursday, warning any attack on the last big rebel enclave would be a "reckless escalation." "I am very sure that we have very, very good grounds to be making these warnings," said Jim Jeffrey, who was named on Aug. 17 as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's special adviser on Syria overseeing talks on a political transition in that country. "Any offensive is to us objectionable as a reckless escalation," Jeffrey told reporters. "There is lots of evidence that chemical weapons are being prepared." Washington has issued a strong warning to Syria's government against using chemical weapons in the widely expected offensive. Jeffrey said any offensive by Russian and Syrian forces, and the use of chemical weapons, would force huge refugee flows into southeastern Turkey or areas in Syria under Turkish control. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has massed his army and allied forces on the frontlines in the northwest, and Russian planes have joined his bombardment of rebels there, the prelude to a possible assault. The fate of the insurgent stronghold in and around Idlib province now seems to rest on a meeting to be held in Tehran on Friday between the leaders of Assad's supporters Russia and Iran, and the rebels ally, Turkey. Backed by Russian air power, Assad has in recent years taken back one rebel enclave after another. Idlib and its surroundings are now the only significant area where armed opposition to Damascus remains. Jeffrey described the situation in Idlib as "very dangerous" and said Turkey, which has backed some rebel groups in the region, was trying to avoid an all-out Syrian government offensive. "I think the last chapter of the Idlib story has not been written. The Turks are trying to find a way out. The Turks have shown a great deal of resistance to an attack," he said. He said the United States had repeatedly asked Russia whether it could "operate" in Idlib to eliminate the last holdouts of Islamic State and other extremist groups. Asked whether that would include U.S. air strikes, Jeffrey said: "That would be one way." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Peter Cooney)
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday the United States was not seeking to punish India for its proposed purchase of a missile defense system from Russia. India faces the risk of secondary U.S. sanctions for its planned acquisition of the S-400 system from Russia, which it says it needs as a deterrent to China. Our effort here is not to penalize a great strategic partner like India," Pompeo told reporters after top level talks with Indian leaders to advance political and security ties between the two democracies. He said Washington was also working with New Delhi to tackle the issue of India's oil imports from Iran, which face U.S. sanctions. The United States is pushing all countries to halt oil imports from Iran after President Donald Trump in May withdrew from a 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers and ordered a re-imposition of sanctions on it. Some sanctions came in effect on Aug. 6 and the rest, notably in the petroleum sector, on Nov. 4. Trump has warned that anyone trading with Iran would not do business with the United States. (Writing by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Robert Birsel)
U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meet at the start of their summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. Picture taken June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Robert E. Kelly

Security, Asia

This years movement on denuclearization will be lost amid a tidal wave of media focus on Robert Mueller's investigation and Washington's other scandals.

U.S. Talks with North Korea Have StalledNow What?

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump prevented Secretary of State Mike Pompeo from visiting North Korea in September. This reflects the now-evident stalemate in the debate over North Korean denuclearization. The North Koreans want a formal peace treaty to end the still legally continuing Korean War. The United States does not think North Korean concessions to date have been significant enough to earn that. The process is now frozen as both side think the other needs to make a new concession.

This process began in earnest when Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Singapore in June. We know now from reporting that Trump threw out all sorts of possible concessions to Kim in a seemingly desperate bid to get the North Koreans to move. In his press conference there, Trump talked of removing U.S. troops at some point from South Korea. He complained that the South Korean alliance was expensive, reflecting his broad belief that U.S. allies are free-riding onripping off, in Trumps preferred locutionthe United States. Trump cancelled this years Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercisewithout so much as notifying U.S. Forces Korea or the South Korean government. And recently, we learned that Trump also floated a peace treaty.

A peace treaty is a central North Korea demand, because it implies the legitimacy of North Korea. State A signing a treaty with state B is implicitly recognizing that state B exists, is real, controls its people and territory substantially enough to be negotiated with, and so on. North Korea wants precisely that from the South, the United States and Japan. None recognize the North. All hope it will one day collapse, followed by unification on Southern terms. South Korea even enshrines this hope in its constitution, which defines the Republic of Korea as the sole legitimate state on the peninsula. A peace treaty would violate those hopes and aspirations. It would further the normalization of North Korea as a separate, distinct Korean state.

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A peace treaty would also undercut the rationale for the United Nations presence in South Korea, and of USFK. If the Koreas are not at war anymore, and implicitly recognizing each other by cosigning a status quo-altering declaration, then why should the United States remain in the South? The left-wing coalition of the current South Korean president may not oppose that logic, but it is otherwise deeply suspect to centrist and conservative voters here. All of South Koreas big newspapers oppose a rapid peace treaty which jeopardizes the U.S. tie to South Korea.

Precisely for this reason, no United States or South Korean president has ever assented to this. That Trump tossed this out rather nonchalantly has undercut Secretary of State Mike Pompeos efforts on denuclearization, because the North has now told him that it expects a peace treaty before denuclearization. Given that the treatys normalization benefits go to the North, hawks in the Trump administration, such as Secretary of Defense James Mattis and National Security Advisor John Boltonhave opposed it without greater, more strategic concessions. As Pompeo cannot deliver the treaty, the talks are now stalemated.

All this will become much worse later this year. This November, the Democrats are likely to take the House of Representatives in the U.S. midterm elections. It is widely expected that they will launch major investigations of the presidents behavior regarding Russia, and allegations of corruption and abuse of power. And at some point, Robert Muellers investigation of Trump and Russia will go public.

If enough dirt comes up, there may even be an impeachment effort against Trump. All of this will likely paralyze Trumps administration over the next two years. Trump has struggled enough to pass major legislation. Big policy ideas like the Mexican border wall, an ObamaCare replacement, and an infrastructure overhaul have all stagnated. If next year sees a Watergate-style paralysis fall over Washington, which I believe is likely, North Korea will fall far down the list of Trumps concerns. This years movement on denuclearization will be lost amid a tidal wave of media, investigations and scandal.

So what can be done in the remaining ten weeks, before Trump is wholly consumed by investigation?

North Korea has not made the necessary concessions to earn a peace treaty, given the treatys major ramifications for the U.S. position in Korea and normalization of North Korea. Trump should never have thrown this idea out there. The North has given us very little so far this yearthree hostage releases, some unverified, uninspected build-downs at a few facilities, a test ban (when such tests are easily reversed and already prohibited by the UN), unverified Missing In Action returns, and family reunions. All of this is good, but small beer. None of it even approaches the kinds of political and strategic change that would justify a major change in United States and South Korean military posture.

The best chance now is for South Korean president Moon Jae-in to claw out a serious concession on nuclear missiles (or human rights) when he visits Pyongyang this month. At minimum, the United States and South Korea need a facilities and weapons list from the North of what they have so that we have a sense of what denuclearization might look like. Then we need to have a major debate over just what we want to give to the North in exchange for a portion of its missile and warhead inventory.

The North will never give up all its weapons. CVID (complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament) was always wildly unrealistic. Instead, we need to think about what sort of sub-CVID solutions we can live withNorth Korea retaining five ICBMs? Ten?and what we will give them in exchange for these concessions. A peace treaty could be a part of that package, but it is worth far more than a test ban and some humanitarian gestures. Lesser concessions on our part might include sanctions-relief or aid.

The ideal way to pursue this would be stop searching for a massive, single-shot breakthrough and start working upward through small rounds of concession for counter-concession. That is normally how diplomacy works. Trumps instinct, however, has been to reach for grand gestures that play well on T.V., but which then come apart later. That is what we are witnessing now. The strategic and ideological divides between the United States and North Korea are huge. South Korea can try to bridge that, but doing this all in one hurried summer was always wildly optimistic. And now with the U.S. campaign season upon us and investigations looming, the stalemate seems likely to continue, pushing the whole process back toward smaller steps.

Robert Kelly is an associate professor of international relations in the Department of Political Science at Pusan National University. More of his writing can be found at his website . He tweets at @Robert_E_Kelly.

Image: U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meet at the start of their summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. Picture taken June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

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Uber riders might have to behave in future (Getty)

Uber riders, beware: the ride-hailing giant has introduced a new minimum average rating for passengers in some territories  meaning rude riders can lose their accounts.

The requirement has been introduced in Australia and New Zealand on September 19  with riders losing their accounts if they drop below a rating of 4.0.

Offences which can lower a riders rating include being rude, drinking alcohol and making a mess of a cab, according to Ubers guidelines.

Uber drivers already operate under a similar system around the world.

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Riders will get multiple warnings, and will be able to reactivate their account after a short educational exercise.

Uber says that Australia and New Zealand are among the first territories to see the feature  in a possible hint of a wider roll-out.

Uber said in a statement, This policy is for Australia and New Zealand and will be reflected in our local community guidelines.

Australia/NZ is the second country globally to roll this out, and we think its an important update to help ensure every Uber journey is enjoyable and comfortable for both riders and driver-partners.
At TechCrunch Disrupt on Thursday, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said it was a learning moment when COO Barney Harford was publicly accused of making racially insensitive comments to employees.

You have to take these moments and change and really improve as a company, Khosrowshahi told TechCrunchs Megan Rose Dickey, during a wide-ranging discussion that also touched on Ubers plans for autonomous vehicles and its eventual path to becoming a publicly traded company.

But, he added, I dont think a comment that might have been taken as insensitive and happened to be reported by a large news organization, should mark a person. I dont think thats fair. Im sure Ive said things that have been insensitive. And you take that as a learning moment, and the question is, Does a person want to change? Does a person want to improve? Does a person understand when they did something wrong, and then change behaviors? Ive known Barney for years, and thats why I stand 100% behind him.

In July, The New York Times reported that Harford, who was brought on to help fix problems at Uber critiqued an ad featuring a mixed race couple, questioning how common that kind of couple would be among people viewing the ad. He also said he thought parts of the ad were confusing and that he mixed up two black women with different hairstyles, The Times reported. Of the day the article came out, Khosrowshahi told Dickey it was a sh..ty day.

Harford was previously the CEO of travel site Orbitz, one of the companies acquired by Expedia, where Khosrowshahi was chief executive.

In an apology following the Times report, Harford said: I am humbled and grateful for the feedback I received, which has been eye-opening.

Khosrowshahi on Thursday called Harfords statement heartfelt. He followed that up by saying [Harford] and I both learned a lot from this. The real question is, What are we doing about it?'

The real question is, What are we doing about it?

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Uber hired Khosrowshahi last September following the rocky tenure of founding CEO Travis Kalanick. Kalanick stepped down from his post in June of 2017 after allegations arose that he was aware of sexual harassment issues at the company, among other incidents.

My whole team, now, has undergone training as it relates to biases, Khosrowshahi told Dickey. The most important thing for me is awareness, and then measurement and results.

We are now measuring representation across the company, looking at our recruiting processes, looking at how we promote our employees, he said. Im already seeing resultsas far as the company improving its representation of women and underrepresented people at the company, but more importantly, at all levels of the company.

Katie Krzaczek is an editor at Yahoo Finance.

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Jerusalem (AFP) - US ambassador to Israel David Friedman expects the annexed Golan Heights to remain under Israeli control "forever", according to an excerpt released Thursday of an interview he gave to an Israeli newspaper.

Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

"I cannot honestly imagine a situation in which the Golan Heights is not part of Israel forever," Friedman told Israel Hayom, which is set to publish the full interview on Friday.

"I cannot imagine a situation in which the Golan Heights is returned to Syria," he added.

"Giving up the high area of the Golan Heights may put Israel at great security disadvantage, and it is unnecessary to say that I cannot think of anyone more unworthy of receiving such a prize than Assad," he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Friedman even mentioned the possibility of the US officially recognising the Golan as Israeli territory.

During a visit to Israel in August, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said there were no discussions on such recognition.

Israel and Syria, the scene of a deadly conflict that has raged since 2011, are still technically at war.

In the past, successive Israeli governments have held peace talks with Syrian officials, either directly or indirectly, predicated on the return of all or part of the Golan regardless of the 1981 law that unilaterally annexed it.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United States on Wednesday urged Syria and its backers to halt plans for an all-out military attack against rebel-held Idlib as the UN Security Council prepared to address the crisis.

"With millions of civilians at risk, an offensive against Idlib would be a reckless escalation," US Ambassador Nikki Haley said in a statement.

"The regime and its backers must stop their military campaign in all its forms to allow the UN-led political process to have a chance to succeed."

The council will discuss the crisis in Idlib on Friday after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a "humanitarian catastrophe" in the province of 3 million people if an all-out military assault is launched.

On Tuesday, Russian warplanes resumed air strikes on Idlib after a 22-day pause, pressing ahead with a campaign it has described as aimed at rooting out Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Haley suggested that Russia and Syria could move ahead with a counter-terrorism operation but must spare civilians.

"This is a tragic situation, and if they want to continue to go the route of taking over Syria, they can do that," Haley said.

"But they cannot do it with chemical weapons. They can't do it assaulting their people."

Ten countries, all non-permanent council members, separately expressed "deep concern" in the event of a full-scale military operation in Idlib and urged the Syrian government "to prioritize the protection of civilians."

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura is to hold talks next week in Geneva with Russia and Iran, Syria's main backers, and Turkey, which supports some opposition groups.

More than 350,000 people have died in Syria's seven-year war, but UN officials fear the assault on Idlib could trigger one of the worst bloodbaths of the conflict.
Washington (AFP) - The US and Canada are making "good progress" on the revision of the continental free trade deal but talks will continue to resolve remaining issues, Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Wednesday.

As the neighbors try to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement as a three-country deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned he would stand firm on key issues as he questioned Donald Trump's respect for trade rules.

Amid the charged political atmosphere, dogged by Trump's repeated threats to leave Canada out of the revised NAFTA, Freeland said she believes "a deal that is good for Canada, good for the United States and good for Mexico is absolutely possible."

However, "The thing about trade negotiations is that nothing is done until everything is done," Freeland told reporters following a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

She said officials will meet late into the night to review additional issues, and the ministers will resume talks Thursday, noting that "all sides are committed to doing what it takes to get a good deal."

That was a notable change from Friday, when inflammatory comments from Trump angered officials in Ottawa and the discussions ended with no agreement on a rewrite of the 25-year-old trade deal.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trudeau once again stressed that he "will not sign an agreement that would be bad for Canada."

"We'll walk away and not sign a deal rather than sign a bad deal."

- Following the rules -

One of the key sticking points in the talks has been a dispute mechanism in Chapter 19 of NAFTA that provides binational panels to resolve disagreements. Canada has used the mechanism to fight off US anti-dumping duties.

Trudeau said this was a "red line" that Ottawa will insist on retaining to make sure NAFTA rules are enforced.

"We need to keep the Chapter 19 dispute resolution because that ensures that the rules are actually followed. I mean, we have a president who doesn't always follow the rules as they're laid out," Trudeau said in the interview.

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Another issue is US complaints about Canada's strictly controlled dairy market, which Trump criticized again on Wednesday, blasting the tariffs that are as high as 300 percent.

Trade analysts say his complaints are misleading because the US exports far more dairy goods to Canada than it imports, and American producers do not actually pay the high tariffs because they only apply when imports are above the set quota.

But Trump told reporters that Canada "has walls up against us" and has been "taking advantage of the United States for many years," along with other countries.

He again called NAFTA a "foolish" and "stupid" trade deal that he was moving to fix.

- Trilateral or bilateral? -

Trump has threatened repeatedly to leave Canada on the sidelines and proceed with Mexico, which reached a deal with Washington last week and could sign NAFTA 2.0 as soon as November 30.

The White House notified Congress on Friday of its "intent to sign a trade agreement with Mexico -- and Canada, if it is willing -- 90 days from now."

The administration has until September 30 to present the full text of the new agreement to Congress, which gives Ottawa and Washington time to iron out remaining differences.

Trump continued his tough talk throughout the weekend, and was unlikely to be in a more cooperative mood after trade data released Wednesday showed the US deficit with Canada expanded, and deficits with China and the European Union hit new records.

"There is no political necessity to keep Canada in the new NAFTA deal. If we don't make a fair deal for the U.S. after decades of abuse, Canada will be out," Trump tweeted on Saturday.

"Congress should not interfere with these negotiations or I will simply terminate NAFTA entirely & we will be far better off."

But legislators and trade law experts have warned that Trump does not have the authority to supplant the three-nation NAFTA with a bilateral pact.

The US business sector strongly prefers that NAFTA remain a trilateral agreement.

"Anything other than a trilateral agreement won't win Congressional approval and would lose business support," warned Thomas Donohue, president of the US Chamber of Commerce.
London (AFP) - The leaders of Britain, the United States, France, Germany and Canada said Thursday they had "full confidence" that the Novichok attack suspects were officers from Russia's military intelligence service.

In a joint statement reiterating their "outrage", the five leaders also said they were completely confident the attempted killing of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal on British soil in March "was almost certainly approved at a senior government level" in Russia.

They also urged Moscow to come clean to the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) about its Novichok programme.

The leaders added they would strengthen their activities to defend their societies against "malign state activity" and disrupt the hostile actions of foreign intelligence networks.

"We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, reiterate our outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent, known as Novichok, in Salisbury on March 4," they said in the statement, issued in London.

They welcomed the progress made in the investigation and the attempted murder charges brought against Russian suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, announced by Britain on Wednesday.

They also noted the OPCW's findings that "the exact same chemical nerve agent" was used in the fatal poisoning of Dawn Sturgess. She was the girlfriend of Charlie Rowley, who had picked up a fake perfume bottle containing Novichok.

"We urge Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW," they said.

"We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level."

They said the mass expulsion of undeclared GRU officers in Russian embassies in the wake of the Salisbury attack had disrupted the service's activities.

"Yesterday's announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies."

A Downing Street spokesman said Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Canadian leader Justin Trudeau Wednesday and French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier Thursday.
Washington (AFP) - The US Treasury announced sanctions Thursday targeting a network of business groups that supplies fuels to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, along with one that handles regime trade with the Islamic State group.

The Treasury said the four individuals and five companies added to its financial blacklist were important to helping Assad's regime obtain much-needed crude oil and fuels despite sanctions on Syria.

It named Muhammad al-Qatirji and his Qatirji Company as a key broker of fuel trade between the Assad regime and the Islamic State group, despite the two sides fighting each other on the battlefield.

Qatirji provides oil products to the jihadist group but also ships weapons and food for the regime, according to the Treasury.

In a 2016 deal, it said, Qatirji was named the "exclusive agent" for providing suppliers to IS areas, according to the Treasury.

Also identified for sanctions was a Lebanon-United Arab Emirates network for fuel shipments to Syria involving Lebanon-based Abar Petroleum and company "advisor" Adnan al-Ali, and Lebanon-based Nasco Polymers and its owner Fadi Nasser.

Another group placed on the blacklist is UAE-based Hesco Engineering, which the Treasury said facilitates payments that originate in Syria.

The sanctions seek to freeze any property owned by those named in US jurisdictions and to block their access to the global financial system.

"Today's action shows that the United States will continue to take concrete and forceful action to cut off material support to the Assad regime and its supporters," the State Department said in a statement on the sanctions.

"The United States will continue to use all available mechanisms to isolate the Assad regime, a government which has systematically arrested, tortured, and murdered tens of thousands of Syrian civilians."
Washington (AFP) - Talks between the United States and Canada will continue Friday after the two sides made "good progress" in their effort to rewrite NAFTA, as Washington was poised for a possible escalation in its trade war with China.

Discussions with Canada -- the largest US trading partner -- seem to be on track to agree on a rewrite of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement. Washington has already reached a new deal with Mexico.

But there have been no further discussions to try to resolve the US dispute with Beijing, and Trump could announce the next step -- steep duties on half the goods America imports from the world's second-largest economy -- as soon as Thursday.

Updating reporters on efforts to keep NAFTA 2.0 as a three-party trade deal after a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canada's top diplomat Chrystia Freeland said it "was important to discuss a few points face to face," adding: "We are making good progress."

She added senior officials would continue to work through part of the night and she would meet Lighthizer again on Friday.

Freeland earlier spoke of "goodwill on both sides" but declined to give any details or say whether the discussions would continue into the weekend.

"If I had sleeves I would be rolling them up right now, but it's too hot for sleeves," she quipped, in reference to the sweltering weather in the US capital for the past week.

"We really are confident a deal which is good for Canada, good for (the) United States and good for Mexico is possible and that's what we're working towards."

The talks have been hung up over Canada's insistence on retaining a dispute resolution mechanism in Chapter 19, and the US objections over Ottawa's tight controls over the dairy market.

- China trade war? -

The deadline for public comment on the next wave of punitive taxes on $200 billion of annual imports from China expires Thursday, and Trump reportedly wants to impose the tariffs immediately.

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That would take the total goods targeted to $250 billion of the $500 billion imported from China each year.

Trump has had Beijing in his crosshairs since he took office, and has applied increasing pressure to try to convince it to change its policies, allow more imports and reduce the $335-billion US trade deficit with China.

In Beijing, China's commerce ministry said Thursday it was ready to retaliate.

"If the US dogmatically implements any new tariff measures against China, China will have to take the necessary countermeasures," commerce spokesman Gao Feng told reporters.

Those steps include slapping tariffs on $60 billion of US imports, Gao said.

China so far has retaliated dollar-for-dollar with tariffs of its own on US goods, but since it imports less than $200 billion a year from the United States, it has run out of room to match the US.

But businesses warn there are other ways China can strike back, through regulations and other administrative means.

The last effort at a negotiated solution came in late August with meetings between low-level officials, but nothing came of it.

Gao said the two sides were still in contact and communicating on a working level, and "exchanging opinions on issues of mutual concern to work towards resolving the China-US trade problems."

US businesses have become increasingly concerned about the tit-for-tat tariffs, which are raising prices for manufacturers and hurting US consumers and farmers.

But Trump has been unapologetic, insisting that his tough tactics will work.
Arson  a woman has died in a suspected arson attack on a townhouse in Woolwich (Picture: PA)

A woman has died in a suspected arson attack on a townhouse in south-east London.

The victim, believed to be in her late 40s, was found dead inside the address in Centurian Square, Woolwich, Scotland Yard said.

Emergency services were called to the address in the early hours of Thursday morning after nearly two dozen 999 calls were made when the blaze broke out.

A man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s were taken to hospital from the property but they are not believed to be seriously injured.

Blaze  emergency services were called after the fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday (Picture: PA)

The fire is being treated as suspicious, Scotland Yard said.

The Metropolitan Polices homicide and major crime command have been made aware but are not currently investigating the incident.

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Police attended the scene, along with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) and Ambulance Service.

LFB said eight engines carrying around 60 firefighters tackled the blaze, which has now been extinguished.

Local CCTV footage will be reviewed and detailed forensic tests carried out.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Geneva (AFP) - Scheduled peace talks in Geneva between Yemen's government and Huthi rebels hung in the balance Thursday as both sides traded ultimatums and a UN envoy scrambled to mediate.

The rebel delegation, still in Sanaa, insisted the UN must meet a list of conditions before it will travel to Switzerland, prompting government representatives already in Geneva to give the Huthis a 24-hour deadline or it "will leave".

UN envoy Martin Griffiths, who said the planned meeting offered a "flickering signal of hope" for an end to the years-long conflict, had to postpone the start of the talks.

"He continues to make efforts to overcome obstacles to allow the consultations to go forward," his office said in a statement Thursday, adding that Griffiths remained "hopeful" the rebels would come.

The Geneva talks are meant to be the first since 2016, when 108 days of negotiations between the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and rebels failed to yield a deal.

The Huthis control the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, while a Saudi-led coalition which backs Hadi's government controls the country's airspace.

Led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, a Yemen government delegation arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday.

But on what was meant to be the first day of talks, the rebels issued an ultimatum from Sanaa Thursday, saying they would not join the talks until the UN meets conditions that include transporting their wounded to Oman for treatment and a guarantee they will be allowed to return home after the talks.

The rebels accused the UN of failing to keep promises in this regard.

According to the Huthis' Al-Masirah TV, the UN had been unable to "secure authorisation" from the Saudi-led coalition for a plane to transport the rebel delegation, along with wounded insurgents, out of Yemen.

Asked about the Huthi claims, Griffiths said Wednesday: "We are working on that."

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The government delegation said it would wait only another 24 hours, until midday (1000 GMT) Friday.

"We have this scheduled meeting since two months ago ... Today we are alone," delegation member Hamza Alkamali told journalists, and claimed the rebels were making it clear "they don't want peace".

"We want them to come, and we are pushing them to come," said Alkamali. However, "we will leave, if they dont come... in the next 24 hours."

On Thursday, an AFP journalist saw the envoy entering the Geneva hotel hosting the Yemen government delegation.

Griffiths had told journalists he would begin informal consultations" with the government team while the rebels make their way to Switzerland.

When the two parties eventually meet, he said on Wednesday, there would be no "formal negotiations", merely exploratory talks on how to get the parties around a negotiating table.

The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged both sides to "take a first step towards ending a conflict that has brought severe pain and humanitarian suffering to the Yemeni people".

- 'Collateral damage' -

All previous attempts to resolve the Yemen war have failed.

Griffiths is the UN's third Yemen envoy since 2014, when Huthis overran the capital and drove Hadi's government into exile.

The following year, Saudi Arabia and its allies formed a powerful regional military coalition to back Hadi's government.

The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and pushed the Arab world's most impoverished country to the brink of famine.

On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition acknowledged there may have been "collateral damage" from August 23 strikes the UN said killed 26 children south of the port of Hodeida.

A day earlier, Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels, with shrapnel wounding 26 people including two children, the coalition said.

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Dahyan (Yemen) (AFP) - Little Ali begged his father to let him and his brothers go on a class trip in northern Yemen this summer. None of them would come home alive.

Weeks after the August 9 bombing of a school bus in the Yemeni province of Saada, the boys' father is still in shock after having to bury his three young children.

"They waved to me from the bus, and I said 'go with God'," said Zaid Tayyeb at his home in Dahyan in Saada province, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Huthis bordering Saudi Arabia.

Tayyeb had refused to send them on the Muslim youth camp trip earlier in the summer, fearing for their safety in Yemen's deadly conflict between the Huthi rebels and a government backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

But following his children's pleas, he relented and allowed them to board the bus after another group of students returned safely after taking the same route.

"When I woke up that morning, they were all dressed in their new clothes. So I asked them what was going on, acting like I had no idea where they were going," Tayyeb told AFP.

"They laughed and reminded me that the faithful never lie. That I had promised to let them go on the (Koranic studies) class trip after they got top marks.

"They hugged me tight, got on the bus and waved to me as it pulled away. I turned and walked maybe 100 or 150 metres when the bus was hit."

Tayyeb turned and ran back towards the bus.

"There was smoke and debris everywhere. I grabbed the first body I could reach. It was face down on the ground," he said.

"It was my son. Ahmed," who was 10 years old.

On the wall of the family's living room hang pictures of each child: Ahmed, his little brother Ali, 9, and 13-year-old Youssef.

Each photograph is accompanied by the date of their death -- "Martyred on 9/8/2018 in the massacre of children in Dahyan".

Tayyeb's only surviving son, five-year-old Mohammed, stands under his big brothers' pictures, wearing rebel military garb tailored to his tiny frame.

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He was too young to take the class trip.

- 'Collateral damage' -

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 40 children were killed and 56 wounded in the air strike which was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Huthis.

Coalition commanders have admitted a small number of mistakes and said the strike had "caused collateral damage", but there has been no public disciplinary action or changes to the rules of engagement.

The rebels accuse the coalition of knowingly targeting children. The coalition says there was a legitimate target -- but a mistake in timing.

The incident sparked a wave of international anger and the United Nations Security Council has called for a "credible and transparent" investigation.

Following the Dahyan attack, UN officials accused the coalition of being behind further air strikes on August 23 which killed at least 26 children south of the rebel-held city of Hodeida.

Both parties in the Yemen conflict stand accused of failing to protect civilians. The Saudi-led coalition last year landed on a UN blacklist for the killing and maiming of children.

The Huthis are accused of using human shields and recruiting child soldiers.

The UN children's agency (UNICEF) has long highlighted the plight of minors in Yemen, where the organisation says 2,200 children have been killed in the conflict.

Since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015, some 10,000 people have been killed in the war which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

For Tayyeb, the loss of his three children leaves a wound that will never heal.

"They were intelligent, polite, wise beyond their years. And now they're in heaven."
US President Trump warned Syria on Wednesday not to slaughter millions of innocent civilians trapped by government forces in the countrys last major rebel-held enclave, while denying claims in a new tell-all book that he wanted to assassinate Syrian President Bashar Assad last year in the wake of a suspected chemical attack on rebel groups.

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Trump addressed the situation in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province during a White House meeting with the emir of Kuwait. "Slaughter cannot occur," Trump said in reference to the crisis in Idlib, where rebel forces and millions of Syrian civilians have taken refuge following a major government advance this year.

The book "Fear", Trump and Assad (Photo: AP, AFP, EPA)

Trump warned that "If it's a slaughter" the US and the entire world are "going to get very, very angry." The American president's fresh warning followed a White House promise to respond "swiftly and appropriately" to an expected offensive by President of Syria Bashar Assad against some 3 million civilians in the opposition stronghold.

But the offensive is already underway: The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that four of its jets bombed a weapons depot and launch pad for drones used by an al Qaeda offshoot based in Idlib. Moscow accuses the militants of deploying the drones to target Russian military bases in Syria.

The Russian Defense Ministry noted that the airstrike targeted jihadists alone and that Russia did not attack residential areas, but according to a Syrian report, 13 civilians, including six children, were killed in the bombing.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia was committed to fight the terrorists in Syria "until their final and complete liquidation."

Children in the Idlib region (Photo: AFP)

The US presidents comments came as the 10 non-permanent members of the UN Security Council issued a joint statement Wednesday urging a peaceful solution in Idlib, where a major Syrian military offensive with Russian and Iranian backing has been building for months.

While Russia, which holds a permanent seat on the council, did not support the statement, the non-permanent members warned that a full-scale military operation will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki R. Haley also said shell chair a Security Council meeting Friday on the Idlib crisis, asserting that the Assad regime and its backers must stop their military campaign in all its forms and allow UN.-led political negotiations over Syria to proceed.

Moscow claimed that four of its jets struck targets linked to an al-Qaida-linked group, including a weapons depot and a launch pad for drones that Russia says have targeted its military bases in Syria.

Attacks on Idlib, Syria (Photo: AP)

The Russian military says it has shot down dozens of hostile drones. The Russian planes took off from the Russian air base near Latakia, and resumed its attacks on the province following a 22-day truce. The Syrian regime is also bombing rebels in the northern Syrian province.

Trump also denied claims that he had ordered the assassination of Syrian President Bashar Assad following a chemical attack by the Syrian army, as reported by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward in his the new book.

The book, titled Fear: Trump in the White House," is the latest to detail tensions within the White House under Trumps 20-month-old presidency. It portrays the US president as prone to profane outbursts and impulsive decision-making, painting a picture of chaos that Woodward says amounts to an administrative coup detat and a nervous breakdown of the executive branch.

According to the book, on April 4, 2017, an upset Trump phoned US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis after photos showed a sarin gas attack on Syrian rebels. Women and children were among dozens killed and photographed. The attack was blamed on Syrian President Assad.

Lets fing kill him! Trump said. Woodward quotes Mattis as telling the president he would get right on that.

The Pentagon chief hung up and told a senior aide, Were not going to do any of that.

The book also quotes Mattis, after a contentious National Security Council meeting on Jan. 19 this year, as saying Trump acted like, and had the understanding of, a fifth or sixth-grader.

Woodward talks with Trump about the book

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In a statement made on Tuesday, Mattis dismissed the book as a uniquely Washington brand of literature and said the contemptuous words about Trump attributed to him were never uttered by me or in my presence.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the book was nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad.

President Donald Trump (Photo: AP)

Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, cast doubt on the account about Assad. I have the pleasure of being privy to those conversations ... and I have not once heard the president talk about assassinating Assad, Haley told reporters on Tuesday.

Asked whether he wanted Assad to be killed, Trump told reporters: That was never even contemplated. Nor would it be contemplated.
Iran's foreign minister sharply criticized US President Donald Trump Wednesday for abusing the US presidency of the Security Council this month by holding a meeting on Iran's international activities during the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN in late September.

Mohammad Javad Zarif was responding in a tweet to US Ambassador Nikki Haley's announcement Tuesday that Trump will chair a meeting to address "violations of international law and general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region."

She accused Iran of supporting terrorism and destabilizing activities in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.

Zarif tweeted that Trump "plans to abuse presidency of SC to divert a session item devoted to Palestine for 70 years to blame Iran for horrors US & clients have unleashed across the Middle East."

He also accused Trump of violating a 2015 UN Security Council resolution, number 2231, that endorsed the Iran nuclear deal. The president withdrew the United States from the nuclear accord between Iran and six major powers in May.

Zarif said "@realDonaldTrump is violating it & bullying others to do same."
The IDF has decided not to demolish the house of terrorist Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadel from the village of Aqraba near Nablus who stabbed to death Adiel Kolman in Jerusalems Old City a year and a half ago amid his "mental state."

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Kolman, 32, from the settlement of Kokhav HaShahar in the West Bank, was survived by his wife and four sons. He was murdered on his way back home from work. His assailant was shot dead on the spot by a police officer present at the scene at the time of the attack.

Adiel Kolman (Photo: Courtesy of the family)

Kolman's family has been waiting six months for the terrorist's house to be demolished.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit issued a statement saying, "It has been decided not to demolish the house of Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadel following a thorough examination of the claims made by the terrorist's family regarding his mental state and after reviewing the relevant documents presented."

Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadel

Yael Kolman, Adiel's mother, expressed her anger over the decision, "We don't accept this decision. If he (Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadel) was competent to work, his house can be demolished. This should be thoroughly reexamined again."

"I seek for deterrence, not for vengeance. My son wasn't murdered by a mentally ill person," Kolman's mother stated.

IDF force at terrorist's house (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit )

Fadel, a father of two, had a temporary permit for a week that allowed him to enter Israel to search for employment. He had already received such permits in the past, as there was no indication of his terrorist intentions.

IDF force at terrorist's house (:  ")

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The day he carried out his terror attack was the first day that his permit enabled him to enter Israel.

Attorney Haim Bleicher from the National Legal Defense Organization who represents the Kolman family said, "The demolition of terrorists' houses who murdered Jews is essential for purposes of deterrence.

"It is unheard of that terrorists' houses are not demolished amid external considerations. A terrorist's house who slaughters a Jew should be demolished no matter what," Bleicher opined.
The Palestinians have revealed their persuasion efforts leading to the Paraguayan leadership's decision to move its embassy from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv.

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Israel believes that the decision was made due to Arab pressure and a promise of future investment deals in the country.

The decision was made two weeks when the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki, arrived in Paraguay for an official visit aimed at convincing the Asuncion leadership to move their embassy back to Tel Aviv, while taking advantage of the country's change of government.

PM Netanyahu (L), Paraguay's President Mario Abdo (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky, AP)



Al-Maliki said that he had already received an official promise from new President of Paraguay, Mario Abdo Benitez, and the new foreign Minister, Luis Alberto Castiglioni that the move would take place quietly in early September.

The Palestinian foreign minister returned with the happy news to Ramallah and briefed Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas on the Paraguayan promise, stressing that the matter must be kept secret until Paraguay publicly announces the decision to movie its embassy back to Tel Aviv.

After the official announcement, Al-Maliki issued a statement in which he acknowledged Paraguay's move and commitment to international law and UN Security Council resolutions. He stressed that the return of the embassy to Tel Aviv is in Paraguay's interest, which will allow the country to maintain stable ties with Arab countries.

Following the announcement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry hailed Paraguay's decision as "a new Palestinian diplomatic achievement."

Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad al-Maliki (Photo: EPA)

"Minister al-Maliki exerted a big effort during his meeting with the new president who instructed his foreign minister to arrange the issue," the Palestinian foreign ministry added.

Paraguay's decision caused a stir in Israel. Hours after the Latin American nation made the announcement, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay and the return of the Israeli ambassador.

"Israel views with great severity the unusual decision by Paraguay that will strain the ties between the countries," Netanyahu posted on Twitter.

Explaining the new Paraguayan move, the country's foreign minister, Luis Alberto Castiglioni, said: "Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Referring to Israel's response, Castiglioni said that the reaction was "disproportionate."

Paraguay president Abdo, who took office last month, defended his decision as part of an effort to support "broad, lasting and just peace" among Israelis and Palestinians."Paraguay is a country of principles," Abdo added on Twitter.

Israeli officials estimate that pressure from Arab countries, and possibly a promise of future investment in the country, are the reasons behind Paraguay's decision.

Netanyahu tries to trick Rivlin

On August 10, Yedioth Ahronoth's journalist, Nahum Barnea revealed the true story behind the scenes.

At the end of July, President Reuven Rivlin visited Croatia. During the visit Rivlin received a message from the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem saying that Netanyahu has asked him to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new president of Paraguay, Abdo.

When Rivlin asked why Netanyahu is not traveling himself, he was told that the prime minister is scheduled to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new Presidents of Colombia at the same time.

Rivlin and Netanyahu (Photo: Amit Shabi)

When asked what made Paraguay so important, the Foreign Ministry said that the outgoing Paraguayan President, Horacio Cartes, moved the embassy to Jerusalem but added a condition: within six months they will decide whether to leave it there or move the embassy back to Tel Aviv.

The Foreign Ministry stressed the importance of keeping the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem, and told Rivlin that a visit by a president will help convince Abdo, the new president of Paraguay, to do so.

Rivlin understood that Netanyahu was setting a trap for him: if he visits Paraguay, and the new president moves the embassy, he would be the culprit.

It should be noted that Paraguay is a complicated issue in the Prime Minister's Office.

Ari Harow , former Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister's Office, and now a state witness, allegedly received money to promote relations with Paraguay.

Former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes (L)and Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

More than three years ago, Netanyahu ordered the Foreign Ministry to open an embassy in Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, contrary to the position of the ministry.

After Rivlin rejected the Foreign Ministry's request, Netanyahu sent Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to Paraguay, where he met with the outgoing and incoming Paraguayan presidents.

Netanyahu: The move 'symbolizes the friendship between the countries'

After former Paraguayan president Cartes inaugurated the new embassy in Jerusalem, Netanyahu thanked him and said: "This is a great day for Israel. A great day for Paraguay. A great day for our friendship. You have not only the support of our government but the profound gratitude of the people Israel."

"Paraguay helped the Jews escape Nazi Germany," the prime minister said of the historic bond between Paraguay and the Jewish people.

Paraguay's former president inaugurates Jerusalem embassy (:  ')

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"We will never forget it. You did it before, during and after the Holocaust. It was an expression of compassion and generosity that will always be etched in our hearts. Paraguay also supported the establishment of the State of Israel and recognized Israel at the UN. We won't forget that, either," Netanyahu added.

"It is an honor for me to be here today," Paraguayan President Cartes said at the ceremony.

"I don't like binding or ambiguous positions. Our friendship is based on shared values, such as democracy, tolerance and dignity, lack of discrimination and peaceful coexistence," Cartes stated.

The embassy in Jerusalem was inaugurated just a few months ago, in May. The decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem was made by former President Horacio Cartes after he was elected and before his term ended.

Cartes announced the decision at an event celebrating Israel's 70th Independence Day in Asuncion. A month later he arrived in Jerusalem in and opened the embassy in to inaugurate the new embassy at the Malha Technology Park, near the new Guatemalan embassy in Jerusalem.

Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu meet with Cartes (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

At the time, reports surfaced in Paraguay that President-elect Abdo was not comfortable with the decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem, and said that after he takes office he would move the embassy back to Tel Aviv. Paraguay denied these reports at the time, which now seem accurate.

The decision to shut down the Israeli Embassy in Paraguay is not surprising, since the decision to open the embassy was made contrary to the professional position of the Foreign Ministry.

Paraguay is not considered an important country and the person who pushed for the opening of the embassy was a close associate of Netanyahu Yechiel Leiter, who was the chief strategist in Cartes' campaign his strategic adviser for several years.

Paraguay's decision was a blow to Israel's efforts to achieve external recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, which appeared to have gained some traction this year with the United States, Guatemala and Paraguay opening embassies there.

Jerusalem may be comforted by Bulgaria's decision to open an honorary consulate in the city.
Israeli satellite company ImageSat International published Wednesday satellite footage documenting the widespread damage caused by the airstrikes on the center for scientific research in the Masayaf area in Syria on Tuesday which Syria attributed to Israel.

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The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the explosions were heard in the area between Masyaf and Wadi al-Uyoun near Hama city.

Satellite footage of damage after airstrikes in Syria (Photo: ImageSat International ISI)

According to Syrian hospitals, one person was killed in the attack and eight were wounded.

The Lebanon-based and Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen news channel also reported the airstrikes, while another report issued later from Syria said that the strikes had been aimed at Iranian targets.

According to opposition officials, the targets included a center for scientific research in the Masayaf area, a storage warehouse for scientific research, and other security-related facilities.

Satellite footage of damage after airstrikes in Syria (Photo: ImageSat International ISI)

Syrian state news agency SANA said Syrian air defenses confronted and downed several rockets fired by Israeli planes near the city of Hama on Tuesday.

"Air defenses downed a number of rockets fired by the Israeli enemy in the Wadi al-Uyoun area in the Hama countryside," SANA said.

Scene of strike

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a government meeting Wednesday that, Israel is determined to prevent Iran from entrenching itself in Syria. We are working relentlessly in order to prevent Iranian precision-guided arms production on all frontsnear and farand will continue to work for Israel's security.

In addition, a senior IDF source revealed on Tuesday that over the past year there have been around 200 IAF attacks in Syria.

The strikes targeted mainly advanced weapon systems and infrastructure of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on Syrian territory.

Some 800 missiles and bombs were launched.
The Central District Court accepted the request of Yediot Ahronot journalists and ruled on Thursday that the hearings in the Duma affair would be held in an open session.

Discussions involving GSS testimonies and protocols of interrogation methods will be held behind closed doors
Lod's District Court sentenced Thursday 25-year-old Palestinian Mujahid Atzi, from Beit Liqya in Samaria, to life imprisonment after he had been convicted of the murder of farmer David Bar Kafra in 2015.

In addition, the court ruled that the murderer must pay NIS 130,000 in compensation to the deceased's wife and NIS 62,000 to his children.
India's top court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era law that made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a landmark victory for gay rights in the world's largest democracy.

In a unanimous decision, five Supreme Court justices ruled that the law was a weapon used to harass members of India's gay community and resulted in discrimination. After the ruling, opponents of the law danced and waved flags outside the court.

"We feel as equal citizens now," activist Shashi Bhushan said. "What happens in our bedroom is left to us."

The law  known as Section 377 held that intercourse between members of the same sex was against the order of nature. The five petitioners who challenged the law said it was discriminatory and led to gays living in fear of being harassed and prosecuted by police.
Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai has sent a letter to the executive supervisor of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, Jon Ola Sand, elaborating why Tel Aviv is the most suitable city to host the competition, Ynet learned.

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"The city of Tel Aviv will be honored to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest. Our beloved city has gained international esteem as an open city, a welcoming home to the LGBT community and many other minorities. Tel Aviv-Yafo is a global city that respects all peopleresidents and visitors," Huldai wrote.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"EXPO Tel Aviv International Convention Center is fully active on weekends throughout the year as it will be during the Eurovision, including Shabbat," Tel Aviv's mayor elaborated.

"Of no less importance, Tel Aviv- Yafo is a 'non-stop' city of culture and leisure offering regular weekend public transportation in the form of 'share-route' lines of minibuses on main transport lines, servicing all hotels and tourists.

"Therefore, we look forward with much anticipation to host the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv-Yafo," Huldai concluded.

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is expected to announce in the upcoming days which city will host the song contest.

A Tel Aviv municipality official explained that Jerusalem would not be able to officially guarantee it would engage in activities considered as Shabbat desecration, raising Tel Aviv's chances of hosting the event, since it is to take place on Saturday.

Haifa was also suggested to host the Eurovision. However, its chances to be chosen are slim.

In an Ynet interview, Huldai addressed his letter in which he guarantees to provide all the conditions needed to host the Eurovision in Tel Aviv, including public transportation on the Jewish rest day.

"Tel Aviv is the most suitable city to host the event. The atmosphere on the streets, the food, the restaurant, the beachall of them create the needed conditions to host the Eurovision.

"The Tel Aviv Convention Center is the most appropriate venue, providing the best condition for hosting (the Eurovision)," he opined.

Netta Barzilai (Photo: AFP)

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has sent an official letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding him to guarantee the government would not interfere in the Eurovision preparations.

The EBU posed an additional two demands according to which Eurovision fans would not be banned from entering the contest based on their political opinions, religion, or sexual orientation and that the preparations for the contest would be held on Shabbat.

Addressing the aforementioned demands, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri said Wednesday said in an Ynet interview, generally speaking, our borders are open. However, if anyone tries to use this in order to hurt Israel, he would be stopped.

I will not accept Shabbat becoming a work day for social events organizers, since it hurts the working class. They will then have no rest days and will work seven days a week like slaves," Deri elaborated.

The fact that recreational activities like visiting cafes, cinemas, restaurants and the Eurovision are taking place on Shabbat hurts me as a Jewish individual, but I know where I live," he lamented.
Iran's speaker of parliament said on Thursday he hoped the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran would reach a final agreement on Syria's rebel-held enclave of Idlib at a summit in Tehran on Friday, Russian news agencies reported.

"I really hope that at the summit tomorrow in Tehran, in which (President Vladimir) Putin is going to take part, he will be able to reach a certain final agreement with his colleagues on the events happening in Idlib," Iranian speaker Ali Larijani was quoted as saying by RIA during a trip to Russia
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Israel on Thursday of waging a media war to discourage Iranians, state TV reported, as the country faces economic hardship after the reimposition of US sanctions.

The rial currency has lost about two-thirds of its value this year under the threat of the sanctions, reimposed by President Donald Trump after he withdrew Washington from a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.
Air strikes hit parts of the Idlib region in northwest Syria, the country's last major insurgent stronghold, a war monitoring group and a rescue service said on Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from Damascus or Moscow. Both say they target only militants.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said warplanes, which it believed were Russian, struck the southern countryside of Idlib and a village in nearby Hama province.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Wednesday Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon to conduct negotiations with retired police officers regarding their pension conditions and to present the results to the government within 45 days.

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Netanyahu's instruction came after Erdan had informed him that no negotiations have taken place between the retired police officers and the Ministry of Finance.

Several dozen retired security service employees broke Wednesday into the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem to protest against a government resolution that would discriminate between the salaries of the police and Israel Prison Service's (IPS) pensioners, and those of IDF's career soldiers.

Riot outside PM's Office (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)



A riot soon developed, and a curfew was declared. Ministers were asked to keep away from the entrance, and enter the building through the Interior Ministry office.

As a result, a cabinet meeting scheduled to take place at the Prime Minister's Office, was held at the Interior Ministry Office instead.

All security guard at the Prime Minister's Office left their posts to chase down the demonstrators, while office employees were asked to lock all classified material.

The retired police officers even broke into the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Office. The offices employees who were inside during the riot, lashed out at the police for not sending reinforcements.

Retired security service employees break into the Prime Minister's Office (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

"This is a major security failure. They have been here for some 45 minutes, and the police are not sending additional forces to disperse the protesters. The security guards instructed the employees with the megaphone to lock themselves in the rooms and keep classified documents safe. The prime minister and the public security minister are stranded inside the office and cannot leave. Its a disgrace," an office employee lamented,

The Border Police were called to the scene, which prompted the demonstrators to shout: Kahlon, go home!

Demonstrators outside the PM's office (Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg)

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office, the "Prime Ministers Office Security Officer Aviad Feigin, filed an official complaint with the Israel Police following the disturbance and break-in to the grounds of the Prime Ministers Office. He demanded that the Israel Police investigate the matter immediately and take all measures to bring to justice those involved in the break-in and those who broke the law during the demonstration.

Minister of Public Security, Gilad Erdan addressed the issue at the cabinet meeting.

"On the one hand, I condemn all violence There is no room for forced entry into the Prime Minister's Office. This is a serious act of violence. On the other hand, the government meeting today deals with a painful issue that concerns pensioners, police officers and prison guardsthey have been subjected to a very severe injustice," Erden stated.

Minister of Public Security, Gilad Erdan (Photo: Avi Mualem)

Police retirees and the IPS decided to protest against the Finance Ministry's intention to submit a proposal during a government meeting that would exclude police officers, prison guards, and pensioners from additional payments and would perpetuate a situation where police officers are discriminated against.

The payments in question have been transferred to career soldiers and IDF reservists for the past 12 years, yet police retirees and retired prison guards have been excluded from receiving those payments.

The protestors demand to equate the salaries of policemen and prison guards serving in the army, including pensioners, to the salaries of the IDF's career soldiers.
Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory.

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The IDF insists the entire barrier is being constructed in Israeli territory, and the UN peacekeeping force in the area agrees. But Hezbollah has never fully accepted the border, and a senior Israeli military official stressed the need for the wall, saying that while Israeli intelligence closely monitors the terror group, "we are prepared for the possibility that they will surprise us."

Wall construction along Israel's northern border (Photo: AFP)

The official spoke on condition of anonymity under military guidelines during a military-led tour of the border region provided for reporters.

Israel's military conducted a large-scale combined arms drill in northern Israel this week simulating a future conflict with Hezbollah, with which it fought a monthlong war in 2006. Israelis fear there could be a renewal of hostilities as the civil war winds down in neighboring Syria, where the Iran-backed terror organization has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces for the last seven years.

(Photo: Avihu Shapira)

Hezbollah is believed to have an even larger and more sophisticated arsenal of rockets than in 2006, when it fought Israel's military to a stalemate in southern Lebanon. That war began with a deadly cross-border raid in which Hezbollah killed eight Israeli soldiers and abducted two others, whose remains were returned to Israel in a prisoner exchange two years later.

Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir, the commander in charge of Israel's border wall projects, said around seven miles of the 80-mile (130-kilometer) barrier has been built. The $450 million project is slated for completion in two years. Most of the barrier is a concrete wall topped by steel mesh, sensors and surveillance cameras. Steel fencing replaces the concrete wall in especially rugged areas.

Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

Earthmovers and other large machinery rumbled alongside a completed section of the 30-foot (9-meter) high concrete wall earlier this week near the Mediterranean coast. Lebanese soldiers looked over the barrier from a guard post on the opposite side of the Blue Line, which was demarcated by the UN after Israeli forces withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000. The two countries technically remain at war.

Construction works on Israeli-Lebanese border (Photo: AFP)

Last month, the Lebanese army complained to UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force, saying Israeli bulldozers working on the barrier were encroaching on the Lebanese side. A Lebanese security official at the time said that following the Lebanese request, the Israeli bulldozers stopped their work and pulled back 50 meters (160 feet).

The UN Security Council warned last month that violations of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel could lead to fresh conflict, and Lebanon's top security body earlier this year described the planned border wall as an "aggression" against its sovereignty.

Lebanese soldiers observing the border (Photo: AFP)

"This wall, if it is built, will be considered an aggression against Lebanon," it said in a statement. "The Higher Defense Council has given instructions to confront this aggression to prevent Israel from building this so-called wall barrier on Lebanese territory," it added.

Maj. Tomer Gilad, Israel's liaison officer with UNIFIL, said there are monthly meetings with the Lebanese military and UN officials to coordinate the barrier's construction.

"Even for the past year before we started this construction, we've coordinated this activity with UNIFIL, and through UNIFIL with the Lebanese Armed Forces. We've alerted them of our intention to do so, to construct this defensive mechanism," Gilad told reporters.

Thus far, construction has proceeded "very calmly with the participation on all sides to maintain the stability," Gilad said. "We expect UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Force to maintain stability over here throughout this construction, because this construction is a stabilizing measure."

IDF soldiers on Israeli side ( Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit )

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit )

Israel says the barrier's purpose is to defend Israeli communities from Hezbollah, pointing to sporadic cross-border attacks on Israeli troops and civilians in recent years. The volatile border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since the 2006 war, with few major cross-border attacks or incidents.

In 2010, an Israeli army officer was killed and another was seriously wounded when Israeli troops came under fire by Lebanese army forces while trimming trees on the Israeli side of the border. Three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed in Israeli retaliatory shelling. In 2013, an Israeli soldier was killed by a Lebanese army sniper while driving along the border, and in 2015 Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military convoy, killing two soldiers and wounding seven.

The Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the army has noticed a troubling rise in "very close cooperation between Lebanese Army Forces and Hezbollah" near the Israeli frontier in the past year. He says the military expects even more Hezbollah fighters to arrive in the area after the Syrian war ends.
Tel Aviv District Court sentenced Thursday 19-year-old Imad Agbar, a Palestinian from Nablus, to 23 years in prison for carrying out the terror attack in Tel Aviv in 2017.

Agbar was ordered to give each of his four victims NIS 50,000 in compensation.

In June of this year, after pleading guilty to a plea bargain, he was convicted of two attempted murders and two cases of aggravated assault.
The European Union (EU) issued a statement Thursday, following The High Court of Justice's ruling that the Bedouin village in the West Bank, Khan al-Ahmar, could legally be torn down in a week. .

"We have seen the reports that Israeli High Court rejected yesterday the petitions by the residents of Khan al-Ahmar and will allow the Israeli authorities to proceed with the demolition.

"The EU and its Member States have repeatedly stated their long-standing position on Israels settlement policy, illegal under international law, and actions taken in that context, including the demolitions of Palestinian communities and (possible) forced transfers of population. The community of Khan al-Ahmar is located in a sensitive location in Area C, of strategic importance for preserving the contiguity of a future Palestinian state.

"The consequences of a demolition of this community and the displacement of its residents, including children, against their will, would be very serious and would severely threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.

"As the HRVP has said already in July, the EU expects the Israeli authorities to reconsider their decision to demolish Khan al-Ahmar," the statement read.
President Reuven Rivlin toured the Gaza Strip border on Thursday and attended a Rosh Hashana toast with the soldiers of the Gaza Division.

During the tour, Rivlin met with heads of local authorities in the area and said told them they "are enveloping Israel."

The president added that "the next war, if imposed on us, will be different and more difficult than the previous one, but we are determined to be ready for it, surprising but not surprised, and to strike the enemy hard."
The Arab League has welcomed Paraguay's decision to relocate its embassy from the contested city of Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv.

Saeed Abu Ali, assistant to the league's secretary-general for Palestinian affairs told reporters Thursday the move serves as a model for other countries in the face of Israeli plans and US pressure. He also said it will also positively reflect on Arab-Paraguayan relations.

Abu Ali hailed Paraguay's move as being on the "right track" and in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.

Paraguay had moved its embassy to Jerusalem in May after Guatemala and the US, infuriating Palestinians who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

Paraguay reversed its decision Wednesday prompting Israel to shutter its embassy in Paraguay and warn that ties between the countries would be "strained."
The family of Israeli terror victim Adiel Kolman, who was stabbed to death in March in Jerusalem, made clear their anger on Thursday at the IDFs decision not to demolish the home of his killer on the grounds that he suffered from mental problems.

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The IDF said earlier that it would not demolish Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadels home in the village of Aqraba near due to his "mental state."

Kolman's family, however, disputes the conclusion that Fadel carried out the attack due to his mental problems while pointing out that Fadels family had expressed support for the stabbing that in Jerusalems Old City by the 28-year-old terrorist. Hamas, Kolman's family noted, had also offered the family support.

Adiel Kolman (Photo: Courtesy of the family)

I request that you transfer to me as soon as possible all the information regarding the case in respect of which your decision was made to make available the possibility of studying it, read a letter written to the IDF by an organization representing the family.

In addition, I emphasize that Regulation 119 of the Defense Regulations which refers to home demolitions of attackers does not differentiate between the types of attackers, the letter continued.

Abd al-Rahman Bani Fadel

It should be clarified that the purpose of the regulation is deterrence. These days many of these mentally ill distinguish the identity of their victims and murder Jews because they are Jews.

The letter said stressed Fadel had deliberately and meticulously planned an attack against Jews, left his home, bought a knife and travelled specially to the Old City, a symbol of sites of the attacks in order to carry out his plot.

The terrorist searched for and found a Jew who bore the signs of being a Jew and carried out his plot and did not just stab any passerby. The conclusion is clear: The terrorist had a clear mind to murder a Jew, the letter argued.

IDF force at terrorist's house (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit )

In addition, the Hamas terror organization described the terrorist as a son of Hamas and the Aqraba village council publicized him as a heroic shahid who had the land of Jerusalem in his blood.

The letter written on the familys behalf also drew attention to the involvement in the attack of Fadels attack. I wish to know if the terrorists family publicly condemned the attack. Did they not call their son a shahid? Did it erect a mourners' tent? Did it hang posters of him and the like on the entrance of their home? These are all clear signs which attest to the fact that the family supported the act, Kolmans family argued.
Israel secretly armed and funded 12 rebel organizations in south Syria, which in recent years have helped prevent pro-Iranian and ISIS fighters from establishing themselves near the Golan Heights, according to an article published Thursday in Foreign Policy magazine.

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According to the report, more than twenty-four commanders and rank-and-file members of the rebel groups confirmed the claim.

The report claims that the transfer of weapons to the groups, which ended this July, included assault rifles, machine guns, mortar shells and transport vehicles which were delivered by Israeli security forces through three gates on the Golan Heights.

Rebel groups hold military drill (Photo: AFP)

The gates are also used by the IDF to provide humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians caught up in the civil war.

Israel also provided salaries to rebel fighters, paying each one about $75 a month, and supplied additional money the groups used to buy arms on the Syrian black market, according to the rebels and local journalists, the report says.

IDF troops take Syrian civilians out of war-torn south (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

In return for the payments, the report alleges, the rebels believed Israel would intervene militarily if Syrian President Bashar Assad tried to move his army into southern Syria.

Despite the succour provided, discontent prevailed among the rebel groups, the report states, in light of the much larger quantities of assistance provided by other countries, including the Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States.

This is a lesson we will not forget about Israel. It does not care about  the people. It does not care about humanity. All it cares about it its own interests, said Y., a fighter from one of the groups, Forsan al-Jolan, who was quoted in the article.

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Even at the height of the Israeli assistance program earlier this year, rebel commanders complained that it was insufficient, Foreign Policy said.

The report says that a spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington declined to comment on the matter.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the US would not renew its transfer of funds to the Palestinians until they agreed to come to the negotiating table with Israel to end the decades-long conflict.

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The Trump administration recently announced it would cease to provide any financial aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which the US and Israel have accused of deliberately bloating the number of bona fide Palestinian refugees.

President Donald Trump (Photo: Reuters)

What I will tell you is I stopped massive amounts of money that we were paying to the Palestinians and the Palestinian leaders, Trump said in a 25-minute conference call with rabbis and Jewish leaders ahead of the new year festival of Rosh Hashanah.

The United States was paying them tremendous amounts of money. And I say, Youll get money, but were not paying until you make a deal. If you dont make a deal, were not paying, he said.

Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also participated in the call.

I dont think its disrespectful at all for US aid to be used as leverage, Trump said in response to a question posed by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.

I think its disrespectful when people dont come to the table, the president continued, according to the Jewish Insider.

Asked by Dershowitz whether the Jewish community could be optimistic about his ability to bring about a peaceful resolution to the conflict that we pray for all the time, Trump responded categorically.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Jared Kushner (Photo: AP, MCT)

I think the answer to that is a very strong yes. I really do believe we are going to make a deal. I hope so. It would be a great thing to do, he said.

I am a very proud father of a Jewish daughter, Ivanka, Trump said in his opening remarks, adding that hes also proud Jared Kushner.

UNRWA was founded in 1949 after the first Arab-Israel warthe War of Independencein the wake of the exodus of around 700,000 Palestinian refugees.

The nascent state of Israel absorbed Jewish refugees who were expelled or who fled from neighboring Arab countries, while other Arab states refused to grant the Palestinians citizenship.

As a result, UNRWA now looks after more than 5 million descendants of those original refugees, in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel argues that UNRWA perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem by grossly inflating the number of genuine refugees.

Trump also spoke about the Iran nuclear deal from which he withdrew in May, which he has repeatedly described as the "worst deal."

US Ambassador to Israel David Freidman (Photo: Reuven Castro)

They should thank us profusely for what we did. We gave them $150 billion. Even crazier sounding to me is that we gave them $1.8 billion in cash. If anybody knows what $1.8 billion in cash looks like, Im still trying to figure it out. They took the money out of banks from three major states and they didnt have enough, so they ended using banks from other countries to get them the money. It was the craziest deal," Trump said.

Praising the "tremendously positive impact" that his withdrawal has, Trump said "I think Israel feels a lot safer than theyve felt in many, many years."

"I can only say from the standpoint of Israel, what I did was a great thing for Israel. And what I did was also a very good thing for world peace, because everywhere we wentespecially in the Middle Eastwhere there was a problem, Iran stood behind that problem," the president said.
Housing affordability across the nation dropped, while rental affordability was seen to have improved, according to the latest Adelaide Bank/Real Estate Institute of Australia Housing Affordability Report.

With the recorded shift in home affordability, the proportion of income required to meet average loan repayments increased 0.9 of a percentage point to 32.2%.

The number of first-home buyers (FHB) still hiked by 7.3% during the June quarter, a year-on-year increase of 20.6% compared to the same period in 2017. Darren Kasehagen, head of distribution, Adelaide Bank said that this growth was mainly driven by Victoria and New South Wales, which account for 31.7% and 25.5% of the FHBs, respectively.

Tracking lower in terms of the quantity of FHBs was Australian Capital Territory (ACT), which was the only market to experience a decline.

Meanwhile, the impact of declining housing affordability seemed to be apparent in the number of loans. Aside from the average loan size to FHBs jumping to $345,700, Kasehagen revealed more significant developments in lending data.

The total number of new loans for the June quarter, excluding refinancing, increased by 8.3%, but compared to the same quarter last year we have seen an overall decrease of 3.8%. The average loan size for all borrowers now stands at $409,900, an increase of 3.3% over the quarter or 6% year on year, he said.

Further, it was noted that rental affordability improved with the proportion of income required meeting average rental payments declining to 24.1% or a quarterly decrease of 0.7 percentage points.

Rental affordability has improved everywhere - except the ACT and Northern Territory. The decreases in rental affordability were led by NSW with a drop in rental payments of 1.3% for the quarter, while Queensland has seen the greatest improvement in rents year on year.

It was even found that Western Australia offers the most affordable rents among the states.

Western Australia retained the crown as the State where rents require the lowest proportion of family income, with just 16.3% needed to meet the median rent, a figure that has remained relatively stable for the past year, said Kasehagen.
While home building continued to drive improvement in the economy last year, more recent data showed that home market will not likely have the same contribution to economic growth in 2018- 2019.

Housing Industry Association (HIA) reported on Wednesday that the housing market is currently weakening due to a slowdown in inward migration since July 2017, constraints on investor finance imposed by state and federal governments, and falling house prices.

On the bright side, the number of approvals for new detached houses is trending higher.

Irrespective of these emerging factors, the volume of approvals for new detached houses have been tracking around their strongest levels in 15 years and the industry remains buoyed by the task of completing the large volume of new homes which are still in the pipeline, said HIAs Principal Economist Tim Reardon.

HIA also underscored that new home building significantly helps grow the economy.

Stronger new home building, off the back of strong population growth, is continuing to drive the improvement in economic conditions in Australia, Reardon stated.

The 3.6% expansion of new home building was a major contributor to the improvement in GDP throughout 2017/18.

As one may know, Australias 28 years of growth has been built on the back of a series of booms in different economic sectors. Notably, the current phase of growth was brought about by the boom in new home building that has started since 2015.

Reardon said that the boom in new home building is slightly due to strong population growth over the past decade.

For reference, todays national accounts figures indicate that GDP increased by a solid 0.9% during the June 2018 quarter. GDP in the full 2017/18 year was 2.9% higher than in the past year.
News

Washington, DC - Remarks by President Trump in Meeting with Republican Congressional Leadership:

THE PRESIDENT: So thank you very much. I want to thank members of the House and Senate leadership for joining us today to discuss the September legislative agenda, including how we can responsibly fund the government, protect American taxpayers, and defend American security.

Weve come a long way toward doing that. Weve made tremendous progress over the last year and a half plus. And this group is very special to the country and very special to me. Its a great group of people. I dont think they get recognized as they should  the job theyve done.

Thank you to my good friends, Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Majority Leader McCarthy. The most brave  the bravest person around  where is our guy?  Steve Scalise. And I saw you the other night on a very major program. And good job. It was great. Youve done a great job. And Senator Cornyn, good job this morning. I was watching. Senator Cornyn, thank you very much for being here.

Also, I want to thank Secretary Nielsen and Director Mulvaney. Theyve been working very well with the group and with Congress, and a lot of progress is being made.

In recent years, due to the Democrats obstruction  which is really what they are; theyre obstructionists. Their whole campaign is called resist. Thats about all they have going.

The government has been forced to pass so-called omnibus spending bills, where all of the spending is rolled into one giant package in a very rushed manner.

Last year, I said were not going to do that. We dont want to do that again. We dont like it. But we wanted to take care of our military, which we did. And we took it beautifully. And theyre right now rebuilding the military to a level that its never been at before.

And also, we got $6 billion for the opioid crisis. And that was a very important thing. If we didnt get that, we would have had some very big problems. So we took care of our military, and we spent a lot of money, and were spending a lot of money on working very hard on the opioid problem.

Im also pleased to say the Senate and House Republicans have responded in so many different ways. Theyve made tremendous progress in funding our government at the fastest pace, Mitch, I think since 2000, Ive heard. So thats a pretty fast pace.

Also, I want to make good on a promise to fund border security. Democrats want to abolish ICE. They want to  I guess, by abolishing ICE, they dont mind crime flooding into our country, because thats exactly what would happen at a level like weve never seen before in the history of our country. And Republicans want to save American lives and support American law enforcement. And thats what were doing.

No matter where I go, law enforcement comes up to me and they say, Thank you so much, Mr. President. And they really mean it.

I also want to make sure we pass a farm bill, which is moving along nicely, before the end of the month to help our great farmers. I strongly support the commonsense work requirements and the food stamps in the farm bill. Well see if we can get that. The farmers would like to get that.

Were right now negotiating, as we speak, with Canada. And Canada is coming along. Well see how it all works out. But we have to have a fair  I wont call it NAFTA, because well be changing the name. We dont want NAFTA. NAFTA has been very bad for our country. But well have a trade bill. Ill give you a little surprise as to the name when its completed, because it may have two or it may three. Were going to find out pretty soon.

But I look forward to talking to the leaders. And they really have been a spectacular group of people to work with. And I want to thank all of you  Mitch and Paul and everybody. You really have been great. And weve made a lot of progress and we will make a lot more. The country is doing  on an economic basis, on a financial basis  probably better than its ever done before. The markets are up almost 50 percent since my election victory, which is something that, in history, I dont think anybody would be able to say. Even in a much longer period, they wouldnt be able to say it, for the most part.

But a lot of great things are happening. I think probably one of the stellar achievements is jobs, because unemployment is at the lowest levels that its ever been. And whether you look at African American unemployment or Asian unemployment or Hispanic unemployment, its at historic lows. Never in the history of our country has it been so good.

Women is 65 years. I always have a little fun with that one  I said were going to catch. Because 65 years is good. But 65 years is not as historic as historic.

So were doing very well in just about every way, and well let you know about Canada. A lot of people are saying, How are you doing with Canada? Well let you know. We should know over the next two or three days. Maybe even today. But you will be the first to know.

And just one other point: The Amir just left, of Kuwait. And we talked about the difficulties in the Middle East. And I will tell you that tremendous progress has been made with respect to Iran. If you look at Iran, the first day that I got to office  or lets look at it differently  a day before I got to office, everybody was saying Iran would be taking over the Middle East. It was just a question of when. Now theyre just looking to survive.

And weve made a lot of difference in the Middle East. People are being pulled out of various areas of Syria. People are being pulled out of areas of Yemen because its very tough right now for Iran. And when I came in, the Iran deal was a disaster. Ending the Iran deal was a great thing for humanity. But well see how it all works out. We still have a ways to go, but Iran is a very much different place. Well see what happens, also, as to whether or not they talk. If they want to talk thats fine, and if they dont want to talk, thats fine.

And just a final subject is China. Weve done very well in our negotiation with China, but were not prepared to make the deal that theyd like to make. Well continue to talk to China. I have great respect for President Xi. Hes really a very special guy. But right now, we just cant make that deal. In the meantime, were taking in billions of dollars of taxes coming in from China, and  with the potential of billions and billions of dollars more taxes coming in.

I dont like to see that Chinas markets have dropped by close to 25 percent, but thats whats happened over the last few months. Their markets have gone down. I dont like to see that. But I can tell you that the United States has picked up about $10 trillion in worth. And China would like to be in our position. They would like to be in our position.

So well see what is going on with respect to that. But were doing very well in our discussions with China. Were doing, maybe more importantly, very well with respect to China. But hopefully that will all work out in the not-too-distant future. Okay?

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

Q Mr. President, are you going to get rid of Secretary Mattis? Theres a report youre looking to replace Secretary Mattis. Is that true?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, he just made the nicest quote about me I think Ive ever had. In fact, Mitch has never said anything so nice. Paul (inaudible). (Laughter.) I think Steve Scalise has said something just as nice. (Laughter.)

But no, he just gave me  I think, because the book is, you know, a total piece of fiction. And he was totally  not even misquoted. He never made the statement. He came out with the statement that  honestly, you know, Ive heard over the years that General Mattis is an intellect. And when I read his statement, I asked him whether or not this was true.

He said, Not only is it not true; Id like to write a statement. I said, Thank you very much. Thats very nice. He wrote the most beautiful statement.

No, I think hes a terrific person. Hes doing a fantastic job as Secretary of Defense.

Q And hell stay in that job?

THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Hell stay right there. Were very  were very happy with him. Were having a lot of victories. Were having victories that people dont even know about. And hes highly respected all over the world.

And I did appreciate his statement because he didnt have to write that statement. But I did appreciate it. And I appreciated the statement of John Kelly. And I appreciated the statement of many others.

Its like  you know, every week, I seem to have a book coming out. Some good, some bad. In all fairness, I get some good ones, too. But I like to take them on when they come out. Thats a piece of fiction.

Thank you, everybody. Thank you very much.

Q For the American people, why should they believe you over Bob Woodward  a respected journalist who helped bring 

THE PRESIDENT: Well, if you look at Bob Woodwards track record, I mean, he had the same problem with Obama.

Q His reporting helped bring down President Nixon.

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me. Ready?

Q Sure.

THE PRESIDENT: He had the same problem with President Obama. He had a tremendous problem with President Bush. Every time he wrote a book, they were complaining about it; they were complaining about the lack of accuracy.

And I understand him; thats what he does. And I fully understood that before. In the end, Im very happy with the way it turned out because I think the book has been totally discredited.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Q Mr. President, shutdown: yes or no?

Q Can you rule out a shutdown?

THE PRESIDENT: If it happens, it happens.

Q If it happens, it happens?

THE PRESIDENT: If it happens, it happens. If its about border security, Im willing to do anything. We have to protect our borders. If we dont protect our borders, our country is not going to be a country. So if its about border security, Im willing to do what has to be done. Thank you very much.
News

Washington, DC - Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met yesterday in Islamabad, Pakistan with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, and other civilian and military leadership. He was accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. Congratulating the Prime Minister on the formation of his government, the Secretary welcomed the further strengthening of civilian institutions. Secretary Pompeo also highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, and underscored areas of shared interest, such as the expansion of two-way trade and commercial ties.

While meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Secretary Pompeo discussed the potential for the United States and Pakistan to work together to advance joint priorities, including regional peace and stability. He also emphasized the value of strong people-to-people ties between our nations, built on decades of cultural and educational exchanges.

During his meeting with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, Secretary Pompeo welcomed the smooth transition of power to a new civilian government, stressing the importance of strong democratic institutions. Secretary Pompeo also expressed hope for deeper counter terrorism cooperation between our nations.

In all of his meetings, Secretary Pompeo emphasized the important role Pakistan could play in bringing about a negotiated peace in Afghanistan, and conveyed the need for Pakistan to take sustained and decisive measures against terrorists and militants threatening regional peace and stability.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Joseph Alexander Dashee, 26, of Tempe, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell to 17 years imprisonment to be followed by lifetime supervised release for distribution of child pornography and abusive sexual contact. Dashee previously pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and abusive sexual contact. Dashee will also be required to register as a sex offender.

In the summer of 2015, FBI agents discovered Dashee was downloading and distributing child pornography through bit torrent file sharing. A search of Dashees residence resulted in the seizure of 90 images and seven videos containing child pornography. During questioning, Dashee also admitted sexually abusing two minor victims under the age of 12.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Salt River Police Department. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gayle L. Helart and Brandon M. Brown.
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Westpac Banking Corp. engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Bank, Business Bank, BT Financial Group (Australia), Westpac Institutional Bank, Westpac New Zealand and Group Businesses. The Consumer Bank segment covers consumer banking products and services under the Westpac, St. George, BankSA, Bank of Melbourne and RAMS brands. The Business Bank segment involves in sales and customer service of small-to-medium enterprise, commercial and agribusiness customers under the Westpac, St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA brands. The BT Financial Group (Australia) segment manages wealth and insurance division. The Westpac Institutional Bank segment delivers a range of financial services to commercial, corporate, institutional, and government customers. The Westpac New Zealand segment comprises sales and service of banking, wealth, and insurance products for consumer, business, and institutional customers. The Group Businesses segment treasury which is responsible for the management of the Group's balance sheet, group technology which includes functions for the Australian businesses, and core support which covers

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The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various personal and commercial banking products and services in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Canadian Retail, U.S. Retail, and Wholesale Banking. The company offers personal deposits, such as chequing, savings, and investment products; financing, investment, cash management, international trade, and day-to-day banking services to businesses; and financing options to customers at point of sale for automotive and recreational vehicle purchases through auto dealer network. It also provides credit cards; real estate secured lending; auto finance; consumer lending; point-of-sale payment solutions for large and small businesses; wealth and asset management products, private banking, investment advisory, and trust services to retail and institutional clients; and property and casualty insurance, as well as life and health insurance products. The company also provides capital markets, and corporate and investment banking services, including underwriting and distribution of new debt and equity issues; advice on strategic acquisitions and divestitures; and trading, funding, and investment services to companies, governments, and institutions. It offers its products and services under the TD Bank and America's Most Convenient Bank brand names. The company operates through a network of 1,085 branches, 3,440 automated teller machines, and 1,223 stores, as well as offers telephone, digital, and mobile banking services. The Toronto-Dominion Bank was founded in 1855 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Ormat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited.
Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Austria 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 Austria ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Genworth Financial, Inc. is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of insurance, wealth management, investment and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Mortgage Insurance, Australia Mortgage Insurance, U.S. Life Insurance, and Runoff. The U.S. Mortgage Insurance segment offers mortgage insurance products predominantly insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans. The Australia Mortgage Insurance segment offers flow mortgage insurance and selectively provides bulk mortgage insurance that aids in the sale of mortgages to the capital markets and helps lenders manage capital and risk. The U.S. Life Insurance segment offers long-term care insurance products as well as service traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products in the United States. The Runoff segment includes the results of non-strategic products which are no longer actively sold but continue to service its existing blocks of business. Its non-strategic products primarily include variable annuity, variable life insurance, institutional, corporate-owned life insurance and other accident and health insurance products. The company was fo

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TelefAnica Brasil S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides mobile and fixed telecommunications services to residential and corporate customers in Brazil. Its fixed line services portfolio includes local, domestic long-distance, and international long-distance calls; and mobile portfolio comprises voice and broadband internet access through 3G, 4G, and 4.5G, as well as mobile value-added services and wireless roaming services. The company also offers data services, including broadband and mobile data services. In addition, it provides pay TV services through direct to home satellite technology, IPTV, and cable, as well as pay-per-view and video on demand services; network services, such as rental of facilities; other services comprising internet access, private network connectivity, computer equipment leasing, extended service, caller identification, voice mail, cellular blocker, and others; wholesale services, including interconnection services to users of other network providers; and digital services, such as entertainment, cloud, and security and financial services, as well as sells wireless devices and accessories. Further, the company offers multimedia communication services, which include audio, data, voice and other sounds, images, texts, and other information, as well as sells devices, such as smartphones, broadband USB modems, and other devices. Additionally, it provides telecommunications solutions and IT support to various industries, such as retail, manufacturing, services, financial institutions, government, etc. It markets and sells its solutions through own stores, dealers, retail and distribution channels, door-to-door sales, and telesales. The company was formerly known as TelecomunicaAAes de SAo Paulo S.A. - TELESP and changed its name to TelefAnica Brasil S.A. in October 2011. The company was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in SAo Paulo, Brazil.

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The Valley View University is a privately owned university located at Oyibi, in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The institution is one of the tertiary institutions owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Valley View University has been considered as one of the prestigious universities in Ghana. Being an offshoot of the Seventh-day Adventist education system automatically makes it a Christian community. It provides students from different walks of life with a serene environment to pursue their academic dreams. This article will provide you with detailed and updated information concerning the Valley View University distance learning programs.

Choosing the right university to study in is a crucial step to success. The fact that you have busy days at work does not mean that you should put off your desire to study. Enroll in a school that has your best interest at heart. Such an institution will provide you with the necessary platform to pursue your studies regardless of the time limits. Valley View's distance learning program is ideal for the busy executive that still wants to advance academically. If for one reason or another, you are unable to get out of the house to class, then this is a program that will suit you perfectly.

READ ALSO:University College of Management Studies admission requirements

About Valley View University

Valley View came into existence in 1979, through the West African Union mission of Seventh-day Adventists. The university was initially known as the Adventist Missionary College (AMC). Its first location was at Bekwai-Ashanti, but it was later moved to Adenta near Accra in 1983. In 1989, it was also moved to Oyibi on the Accra-Dodowa Road. This is its current location.

The Valley View University was accredited by National Accreditation Board of the Government of Ghana in 1997. Since then, the Adventist Accrediting Association (AAA) has been evaluating and reviewing its accreditation status. The accreditation allowed the university to award its own degrees unlike before when it was an affiliate of Griggs University. It was the first private university in Ghana to receive accreditation.

The Valley View University serves students from all parts of the world. Qualified students are encouraged to apply for any course regardless of their religious backgrounds. The students will be expected to accept the Christian lifestyle and principles since these are the principles used to run the school.

For a long time, the university has been one of the best universities in Ghana. The proof of this is seen through the different awards it has received over time. For example, in 2006, the former incumbent leader of Ghana Mr. John Kufuor made it the first Ghanaian Chartered Private University, making it the first university in Ghana to receive such an award. In addition to the mission of the University of molding professional scholars, its goal is to impart spiritual values and desirable moral values to its students.

The Valley View University has a distance learning department. Distance learning at Valley View University has enabled many people to learn while at home or work. Anyone with the right qualifications and a desire to pursue further studies can enroll at the university for this program.

Programmes being offered in Valley View University

The courses are classified according to the campuses that they are offered at. These are:

1. Main campus, Oyibi Accra

Post-Graduate programmes

MBA in Banking and Finance

MBA in Human Resource Management

MBA Strategic Management

MSc in Administration  International Development

Post-Graduate Diploma in Education

Post-Graduate Diploma in Pastoral Ministry

VVU Under-Graduate programmes available

BA Religious Studies Regular/Distance

BA Theological Studies Regular

BBA Accounting Regular/Distance

BBA Banking and Finance Regular/Distance

BBA Human Resource Management  Regular/Distance

BBA Management Regular/Distance

BBA Marketing  Regular/Distance

BEd Accounting with Mathematics or Management- Regular/Sandwich

BEd Basic Education Regular

BEd English Language with Religion or Social Studies Regular/Sandwich

BEd Management with Accounting Regular/Sandwich

BEd Mathematics with Accounting Regular/Sandwich

BEd Religious Studies with English Language  Regular/Sandwich

BEd Social Studies with English Language  Regular/Sandwich

BEd Information Technology  Regular

BSc Computer Science -Regular

BSc Information Technology Regular

BSc Development Studies - Regular

BSc Nursing Regular/Summer

VVU Diploma/Certificate programmes available

Diploma in Bio-Medical Equipment Technology  Regular

Certificate in Bio-Medical Equipment Technology  Sandwich

2. Techiman campus

Under-Graduate Programmes options available

BBA Accounting  Regular/Distance

BBA Human Resource Management  Regular/Distance

BBA Management  Regular/Distance

BBA Marketing  Regular/Distance

BEd Accounting Regular/Sandwich

BEd English Language  Regular/Sandwich

BEd Mathematics  Regular/Sandwich

BEd Social Studies  Regular/Sandwich

BSc Agribusiness  Regular

BSc Information Technology  Regular

Institute of Computer Science Existing Basic Certificate & Professional courses

Basic Courses in Computer Studies

Computer Software Applications

Computer Hardware & Networking

Linux Administration & Support

Fundamentals of Software

Graphics & Web Design

Programming with C#.NET or VB.NET

CISCO Certified Network Administrator

System Administration & Support

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer

3. Short courses are offered at Nyaniba Estate and Oyibi Campuses. They include:

Professional Courses:

REDHAT Certificate

Website Development & Administration

Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)

Microsoft Certified Technical Specialist

Certified Ethical Hacker

Oracle Database Administrator Dev.

ACCESS Programmes

American High Diploma certificate

University Access Programme

READ ALSO:University College of Management Studies admission requirements

4. Other campuses

Techiman  Regular, Distance, Sandwich as well as University Access Programmes are offered.

Accra (Nyaniba Estate)  Regular or Evening programmes are offered. These include certificate, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.

Kumasi (Kwadaso)  Centre for Distance Learning

Cutting edge Programmes:

BSc. Actuarial Science (Insurance)

BSc Mathematics with Statistics

BSc Mathematics with Economics

Valley View University sandwich courses

The Valley View University provides employment opportunities to its students to encourage them to value the essence of industrial occupation. You will be at liberty to work for a maximum of four years. The employment is subject to remuneration, which is a relief to students experiencing financial difficulties. If you want to work and study simultaneously, you need to subscribe to the Sandwich program at the university. The application form is available on the website. Download it, fill it appropriately and have it submitted.

Valley View University distance education

If you are working or you want to study from home, there are some online courses provided by the institution. All you need is a computer and stable internet connection. Studying online reduces the traveling costs and expenses associated with the same. You also get to save on accommodation costs. Distance learning gives workers an opportunity to improve their skills.

Fees

You are encouraged to seek a payment contract. This will help you figure out a payment mode that is convenient for you. If you make the payment in full, a waiver will be applied. In addition, a scholarship is provided to confirmed Seventh-day Adventist students undertaking Adventist theology courses. The tables below shows the fees charged for each course:

School of Business

School of Sciences

School of Education

School of Theology and Missions

School of Arts and Social Sciences

Undergraduate program (distance mode, summer, and sandwich)

Graduate programs

Admission requirements

The chief determinant of whether you qualify for university education in Ghana is the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The other recognized bodies in Ghana are the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE), and General Business Certificate Examination (GBCE).

You are expected to provide a proof of age and at the same time, pass a mature entrance examination that is often conducted by the university. The minimum qualifications are:

Grade C6 and above in the core Subjects: Mathematics, English, and a science subject.

For non-science students an average grade of C6 in three optional subjects.

An aggregate Grade 6 credit pass in ordinary level subjects (Mathematics, English and Science subject)

Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) with Grade D in the core subjects (English, Mathematics, and Integrated Science and Grade D in three optional subjects.

How to apply

If you meet the above qualifications, you can proceed with online registration. This will in turn pave way for your admission into the university. The student portal will require you to create your own account before you are allowed to fill the application form. You should have academic documents, passport photo, and birth certificate at hand. You should also attach the essential documents after you are done filling the application form. You should as well ensure that the application form is correctly filled before submitting. After the selection process is done, the admission list is published on the main web page. You can access the results there.

Valley View University iSchool

The Valley View University has an Oyibi undergraduate iSchool which allows you to register for the courses and view previous grades. VVU iSchool is a management system that will enable you to select and register for the semester courses. The students are also provided with an opportunity to submit their complaints. Everything you need to know about the institution and what it offers is available on iSchool.

Contact information

For more information:

You can write to the school through the postal address 183 Techiman B/A Ghana

You can also call on 0352097025.

You can also use the website is www.vvu.edu.gh to get more info or

Use the email address is admissions@vvu.edu or info@vvu.edu.gh to make inquiries.

Valley View University offers a lot more in addition to academic programs. Students from other countries can also apply. They will, however, need to cover for their accommodation and transport expenses once they join the university. All students will receive the same opportunities as long as they gain entry into the university. Students can also work from home through the Valley View University distance learning programs offered online. For distance learning, get a good computer with stable internet connection. Enroll now to get quality education and achieve your academical dreams.

READ ALSO:Regional Maritime University fees, courses, and admission requirements

Source: Yen
LUCAS College is one of the colleges that are based in Ghana with the aim of bridging the gap that exists between the academic environment and the labour industry. With their approach to training, the college makes effort to raise students who would step out of the learning environment and find relevance in the job market. They ensure that their students are practically taught through hands-on learning, and are also equipped with the required skills that will enable them to thrive in the fast advancing world. In this article, we will look at the LUCAS College Ghana admission and requirements.

Source: gh.ambafrance.org

Source: UGC

Fully known as Leaders University College for Applied Science (LUCAS), the values of the college are tilted toward ensuring that their students are trained to achieve professional success. This is why the college does everything possible within their reach to inculcate in the students employable skills that they would need in the job market, and also come up with practical projects they can lay their hands on so that they can apply whatever knowledge they acquire in the process to achieve results in the work industry.

READ ALSO: How to write a motivation letter for scholarship

To give the students guidance and instruction that will open them up to the real world, the college is in partnership with experts and industry professionals like Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), MBway France, and MyDigitalSchool also located in France, among others. There is also a special package for students who apply for the foreign degree programmes according to the information contained on the colleges official website. This incentive ensures that not only will the students earn a European degree, but they will also obtain the right to work in Europe.

About LUCAS University College Ghana

LUCAS College is a tertiary higher education institution that is duly accredited under the National Accreditation Board (NAB), Ghana since 2016. At the beginning of January 2017, the college began its full operation by offering both undergraduate and graduate degree programmes to prospective students who meet the colleges admission requirements. Apart from these, there are also provisions for foreign degree programmes as well as short courses for individuals and corporate organisations.

Based on the information available on the colleges official website, the LUCAS College runs a total of six (6) undergraduate degree programmes and six (6) graduate degree programmes also. The courses at LUCAS College Ghana are reportedly taught in such a way that the students will be able to gain the practical knowledge and the skill that will make them stand out in the labour market.

In their specialized approach to teaching their students, the college ensures that their undergraduate students are made to study a wide range of courses in the first two years of their degree programme. This is to enable the students choose what courses they can fit into eventually. Afterwards, the last two years that they would be spending in the college, they will then go on to study based on their specialized chosen course of study.

Source: YFM Ghana

Source: UGC

LUCAS College Ghana courses offered

LUCAS College courses are said to be created by experts in the various fields of their specialization. These experts also host workshops and at the same time, help the students of the College get internships and the work experience they need to perform excellently in the labour market.

While emphasis is placed on practical training and skills development, the list of courses offered in LUCAS College are the following:

Graduate schools

Master of Public Administration (MPA);

MBA in Management;

MSc. in Tourism Management;

MSC. in Management Information Systems;

MSc. in Hospitality Management;

MSc. in Computer Science.

Undergraduate schools

BSc. in Tourism Management;

BSC. in Hospitality Management;

Bachelor of Management and Public Administration;

BSc. in Management;

BSc. in Management Information Systems;

BSc. in Computer Science;

Foreign degree programmes

Note that for applicants who are interested in the foreign degree programmes, as published on the college's official website, they can apply for such at LUCAS College. The College offers Bachelor and Master's degrees that are certified by France and Ireland. The beautiful thing is that students will be able to use the certificates received from the college to work in the two countries conveniently. Those who apply for the Ireland Bachelor's or Master's degrees, will have the opportunity to study in LUCAS College Ghana for the first three (3) years or semesters of their Bachelor's and Master's degrees programme respectively, after which they will go and complete their programme in Ireland.

Short courses

There are various short courses that the LUCAS College offers to individuals and corporate organisations. The courses include managing data & numbers (MS Excel), creating powerful presentations, sales techniques, human resources management, leadership, creating professional electronic documents, administrative assistantship, accounting, time & priorities management, meeting management, and project management. A visit to the college's official website will give you more information that you may need about the courses.

READ ALSO: Koforidua Technical University courses and admission requirements

LUCAS College Ghana fees

There is a special launch annual tuition which the LUCAS College have for their students as well as a scholarship fund. The scholarship fund programme which is aimed at supporting students and families who are hardworking will enable the beneficiaries to enjoy between 10% and 50% of their university tuition. Whosoever is working for the state and its various institutions, high performing students, farmers, low income families, and army and security forces personnel among others are eligible for this fund.

There is also a student sponsoring program which grants a sponsoring or sponsored student up to 10% reduction of the first year of tuition. This is apart from the financial aid that is rendered to students with financial difficulties or hardship from donors.

As contained on the colleges official website, under the special launch annual tuition, local students on the Bachelor and Master's programmes are to pay $2,500 and $2,900 respectively, while foreign students applying for the Bachelor and Master's programmes will be paying the sum of $4,200 and $4,800 respectively.

Moreover, local students who are beneficiaries of this up to 50% scholarship fund will pay a minimum annual tuition of $1,250 and $1,450, while international students on the same scholarship fund will also pay a minimum of $2,100 and $2,400 for the Bachelor and Master's programmes respectively which is 50% off their annual tuition.

Entry requirements for LUCAS College Ghana

According to the information published on the colleges official website, the following are the requirements for any student applying to study either at the undergraduate or graduate levels.

Undergraduate requirements

Applicants with SSSCE are expected to have a minimum of six (6) credit passes including core English, Mathematics and either Integrated Science or Social Studies and three (3) electives in relevant subjects. They should have an aggregate score of 6-24 in the West Africa Examinations, that is, credit passes (A-D) in six (6) subjects which should be three core subjects including English language and Mathematics and three (3) relevant elective subjects.

Those applying with their WASSCE result are expected to possess, at least, credit passes in core English, Mathematics and either Integrated Science or Social Studies, and three (3) electives in relevant subjects. Then, they should have an aggregate score of 6-36 in their West Africa Examinations, that is, credit passes (A1-C6) in six (6) subjects which should be three core subjects to include English language and Mathematics and three (3) relevant elective subjects.

Applicants with GBCE are expected to have credit passes, that is (A-D), in six (6) subjects which should comprise of three core subjects that will include English language and Mathematics, and three (3) relevant elective subjects.

Source: gbcghana.com

Source: UGC

More so, applicants who have baccalaureate are expected to also have French or International Baccalaureate passes. Mature students who want to apply must be, at least 25 years old, and they are to show proof of their age with their birth certificate or any legitimate document. Whatever document they are tendering as a proof must be, at least, five years old at the time of application. Then, these mature students are also expected to do the following:

Pass the colleges Mature Students Entrance Examinations which include English Language, Mathematics and an Aptitude Test for entry into all programmes;

Show proof of passes in English Language and Mathematics;

Refer to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) to determine equivalences of any other standard High School level examinations they are applying with which will make them eligible for admission.

Graduate requirements

Those who are applying for the graduate programme are expected to have a good first degree with, at least, 2nd class lower division, or a professional qualification like CA, ACCA, ICA, ICSA, CIPS, CIB, CIM and CIMA. After that, the applicants are to bear in mind that it is possible they are invited to sit for an entrance examination and to attend a selection interview.

How to apply to LUCAS College Ghana

Prospective students who are seeking admission into LUCAS College Ghana are expected to fill a short version application form online from the colleges official website. Once their grades/results are attached, it will allow them to obtain a provisional acceptance from the college.

LUCAS College contact information

The college operates two campuses in Ghana, and the contact information of each of the campuses is given below. This will help prospective students to visit whichever is closer to them.

Accra GHANA Campus

North Dzorwulu, behind Fiesta Royale Hotel,

Norley road, next to Ghana Water Plant,

Tel: +233 (0) 262 375 801.

Aflao GHANA Campus

Facing Victory FM, next to Central Hospital,

Tel : +233 (0) 24 845 70 79.

Email: info@lucas-college.net

LUCAS College Ghana broke into the tertiary education system in Ghana at a time when education was increasingly becoming more valuable to Ghanaians. Based on their practical approach the College has adopted to training their students, the institution of learning will make a lasting impact in the lives of their students.

Source: Yen.com.gh
- Sinotruk International has signed an agreement with the government to establish an assembly plant in Ghana

- The company is to serve both Ghanaian and West African markets

Sinotruk International, Chinas first heavy duty truck manufacturer, has signed an agreement with the Government of Ghana to establish an assembly plant in Ghana, to serve both Ghanaian and West African markets.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry, on behalf of the Government of Ghana, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Sinotruk International, on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, at the Ghana-Shangdong Business Conference, for the establishment of the plant.

Mr. Zhang Yuzong, the General Representative of Sinotruk International, indicated that the company has a proud history of being manufacturers of a wide range of heavy duty trucks, buses, special trucks, engines and their sets, parts and special chassis.

President Akufo-Addo and General Representative of Sinotruk International, Zhang Yuzong. Source: presidency.gov.gh

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: 12 educational institutions that NAB intends to clamp down

According to Mr. Zhang Yuzong the assembly plant in Ghana will initially have the capacity to assemble some 1,500 trucks per year for sale in Ghana and West Africa.

He also noted that the establishment of the plant in Ghana will create jobs for Ghanaians, as well as rake in significant amounts of revenue for the country.

The establishment of the assembly plant, he added, will result in the training of Ghanaians to assemble the trucks, and the transfer of technology.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo expressed his delight about Sinotruk Internationals decision to establish the assembly plant in Ghana.

READ ALSO: I wont spare Chinese galamseyers: Akufo-Addo to Xi

We are very appreciative of your interest in our country and its development, and whatever we need to do to grow your business in Ghana, we are prepared to do it, President Akufo-Addo said.

He assured Sinotruk International that Ghana is a peaceful and stable country, and we are strong believers in the rule of law, adding that the agreements that have been reached between the Government of Ghana and Sinotruk will be respected.

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The general secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketiah, has endorsed what he calls three vigilante groups in the party.

These groups - 'Hawks', 'Dragons' and 'Lions' - according to Asiedu Nketiah, are meant to counter the already existing vigilante groups from the ruling NPP.

The groups were on display across the country during the just-ended Regional Delegates Congress of the NDC.In the Ashanti Region, for instance, the group is called The Hawks while in Brong Ahafo, they are called The Dragons.

READ ALSO: KNUST student found dead on campus

The NDC had threatened to form their own vigilante group to counter that of the NPP for security reasons.

The creation of The Hawks, however, comes after a warning from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), to both New Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and other political parties, to dissolve all vigilante groups within their respective parties.

The commission issued a statement that such a step would avoid any further and future undemocratic activities from such groups. Their charge to the political parties follows the tensions initiated by the NPP-affiliated Delta Force group in the Ashanti Region capital.

The fight against vigilante groups has been stronger in recent times. In fact, former IGP, John Kudalor, sent a stern warning to political parties that his outfit will not tolerate the formation of vigilante groups

READ ALSO: 12 educational institutions that NAB intends to clamp down

Addressing the media at a dialogue with youth groups of political parties in Accra, the IGP said: our personnel has been warned of the possible negative implication of taking a partisan position in the discharge of their duties.

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A second-year Business Administration male student of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been found dead in his room at the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Hostel also known as the Student Representative Council (SRC) Hostel.

Confirming the incident to Accra-based Class FM, KNUSTs University Relations Officer (URO), Kwame Yeboah Junior, said the cause of the students death is not immediately known but added that school authorities do not suspect foul play.

The deceased, an affiliate of the University Hall (Katanga), was the first to be given a key to a room which accommodates four people.

READ ALSO: 12 educational institutions that NAB intends to clamp down

Other occupants who needed access to the room could not find the key but realised the door to the room had been locked from the inside.

The lifeless body was found after some students, with the help of campus security, broke the door to the room on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue of the KNUST Hospital, for autopsy as investigations begin.

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- Two students of a Nigeria university have been captured in a viral video fighting over a boyfriend

- The two were heard hurling insults at each other and later engaging in what could pass for a wrestling contest near a local mosque

A video has emerged on social media of two female university students seriously fighting each other over the love of a man.

In the video, the two began by hurling insults at each other before late engaging in a serious exchange of fists.

Reports suggest that the man they were fighting over is into Sakawa, which is locally referred to as cyber fraud.

READ ALSO: KNUST student found dead on campus

The fight started when one of the ladies reportedly accused the other of snatching her boyfriend.

However, this accusation did not go down well with the other lady, who then decided to take things into her own hands.

Attempts by an onlooker to separate them proved futile as they both tried to strip each other naked during the fight.

Reports suggest that the man they are fighting over spoils them with gifts and cash, which is why they simply did not want to let go.

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- Kojo Yankah, has replied supporters of former President John Mahama who insulted him

- The former NDC minister told the 'Mahama boys' insults have never won an argument, let alone an election

Former Minister of Information Kojo Yankah has warned the youth of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to desist from the habit of insulting anyone who disagrees with John Mahamas decision to contest the 2020 elections.

According to him, insults have never won an election in Ghana and 2020 election will be no different.

Mr. Yankahs comments come after he was subjected to strong criticism by some NDC faithfuls, who believed he had been unfair to Mahama.

READ ALSO: KNUST student found dead on campus

In a Facebook post, the educationist said the former president must rethink his decision to stage a comeback for the 2020 elections.

He said although he acknowledges Mahamas efforts during his first term, he would still advice that the one-time president stays as a statesman and rather focuses on international duties.

However, these comments did not go down well with some Mahama fans, with one of them accusing Mr. Yankah of accepting monies from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to speak in the manner he did.

But in another Facebook post, though, the AUCC founder said he was only expressing his opinions as permitted by democracy.

He advised his critics to refrain from insults, adding that such attitudes are unproductive when it comes to winning elections.

READ ALSO: Two university students fight over boyfriend

Democracy, freedom of expression and the national good. It's a test of our ability to make progress while we debate that has been exhibited since my last post. I am familiar with critical expressions of one's opinion; that is the virtue of living in a free society, Mr. Yankah wrote.

My practice has been to ignore insulting, unproductive and discourteous remarks, most of which are borne out of ignorance, disregard or disrespect of other people's opinions, and a total lack of understanding of the issues at stake. My long experience with communication teaches me that insults have never won an argument, let alone an election.

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- A Ford driver, Paul Agbedor, has reportedly killed a chop bar operator, Selena Twum Ampofo, and injured 8 others

- This was after he lost control of the car after he sought to escape from an accident scene

- The injured have been rushed to the Police and the 37 Military hospitals

A 39-year-old mother of three children, Selena Twum Ampofo, lost her live when a Ford Caravan driven by 37-year-old Paul Agbedor, rammed into her chop bar where she sells food.

YEN.com.gh understands that the suspect lost control of his vehicle as he sought to escape after knocking down a pedestrian.

The incident is reported to have occurred on Wednesday, September 6, 2018 at the National Guard Unit, formerly known as the Airport Mobile Police Barracks.

The scene of the accident Source: Graphic.com.gh

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Photos from Adwoa Safo's mother's one-week observance

According to the police, the survivors sustained various degrees of injuries and rushed to the Police and 37 Military hospitals for treatment.

According to eye witnesses, the driver initially knocked down a pedestrian with his Ford Caravan with registration number GN 3888-15 near the Max Mart supermarket.

His attempt to escape however proved deadly as he caused injuries and destruction to people and properties respectively.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Augustine Akrofi revealed that the police quickly dispatched an investigator to the scene as soon as it received a report of the incident.

Upon arrival, the investigator noticed the Ford Caravan at the chop bar which was operated by the deceased.

Agbedor explained that in order to prevent ramming his vehicle into others, he veered off into the central reservation while still heading towards 37.

DSP Akrofi said during interrogation, the driver stated that while driving from the nearby Opeibea intersection towards 37, he realized his engine was revving higher than normal.

READ ALSO: Two university students clash over a man's love

He added that those who saw the driver, testified to the police that the vehicle was moving very fast, forcing drivers who saw him to give way.

The driver managed to drive up to the entrance of the Max Mart supermarket, turned left and drove towards the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) offices.

The speed, however, kept increasing and all efforts to stop the vehicle proved futile.

Agbedor ended up ramming a Toyota saloon car with registration number, GC 2137-12.

After hitting the saloon car, the Ford continued at a high speed, entered the chop bar near the Airport Mobile Police Barracks where it hit the operator and injured eight others.

Eyewitnesses who saw the vehicle at the Airport Mobile Police Barracks claimed they noticed smoke emitting from it and the tires screeching.

DSP Augustine Akrofi admonished drivers of automatic vehicles to quickly engage neutral anytime they experience abnormal engine revving in order not to cause harm to lives and property.

For drivers of manual vehicles, he said when they experience engine revving, they should go on the brakes, release the clutch for the engine to go off and thus stop the vehicle.

READ ALSO: Yvonne Okoro snubs Afia Schwar on social media

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- A top NDC member, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has stated that there is no need for John Mahama to contest for presidency in 2020

- According to him, Mahama has no unfinished business in government and should therefore pave the way for others to take their chances

- John Mahama announced on Thursday, August 23, 2018, that he intends to contest as flagbearer of the NDC

A Former Deputy Finance Minister, Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, has argued that it will be a bad idea for Former President John Mahama to contest as president in the 2020 elections.

According to a report by www.3news.com, Ricketts-Hagan stated that Mahama has done his bit and needs to take the backseat for others to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He went ahead to say that Mahama has contributed his quota to national development, and should therefore take a step back.

Kweku Ricketts-Hagan Source: 3news.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Speeding Ford car kills mother of three and injures others

In his opinion, John Mahama has no unfinished business to continue and that he has had his turn, so he should allow others to take up the mantle for the NDC.

In August, 2018, the former president stated in a recorded video that he owed God and Ghanaians a duty to right the wrongs he committed while in power.

This followed an announcement to the effect that he intends to contest for the flagbearership position of the NDC.

Speaking on 3FMs Sunrise morning show, Ricketts-Hagan said John Mahamas return could be a recipe for disaster.

He stated that history gives enough reasons to believe that all over the world, the return of former president is always disastrous.

He further noted that Mahama has no unfinished business in government and therefore owes no one a duty to return to power.

Rickets-Hagan maintained that the party needs to undergo some reform in order to properly position itself to attain power in the 2020 elections.

READ ALSO: 2nd year KNUST student found dead in his room

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- Police officers have arrested 3 students affiliated with the University Hall of KNUST

- They were allegedly picked up in a course of a meeting and are yet to be charged with offences

- The university has however denied knowledge of the arrest

Three students affiliated with the University Hall, also known as the Katanga Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), have been arrested by the police.

According to a report by MyNewsGH.com, they were picked up by the police in the course of a secret meeting held on campus.

The unidentified suspected are yet to be officially charged for an offence, which is yet to be determined.

Professor Kwasi Obiri-Danso, VC of KNUST Source: www.kuulpeeps.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Koku Anyidoho will be a failure as NDC's General Secretary

Our meeting has nothing to do with the conversion of the hall. Everything was about us as students, but police stormed the meeting ground and arrested three of our colleagues, a student-narrated the incident on condition of strict anonymity.

The universitys Public Relationship Officer (PRO), Kwame Yeboah has however denied knowledge of the arrest of the three students.

In August 2018, female students were admitted for the first time into the Unity Hall (also known as Conti Hall) and the Katanga Hall.

Alumni of both halls protested against the conversion of the halls but their resistance have been unsuccessful.

They had earlier petitioned the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II who is also Chancellor of the institution, and President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to help their fight against authorities.

They also organized a demonstration Kumasi, but the authorities remained adamant and have since started admitting female students.

The issue has since generated a heated argument between management of KNUST and alumni of both halls, leading to armed military personnel being deployed on campus to keep the situation under control.

READ ALSO: 2nd year KNUST student found dead in his room

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- Efia Odo has revealed that she is yet to sleep with her boyfriend

- According to her, the two of them have an understanding of not engaging in intercourse

- She made the revelations in the After Hours show

Despite the many instances of she cozying up to her boyfriend on social media, Ghanaian actress and TV presenter, Efia Odo, has revealed that she is yet to sleep with him.

According to Efia Odo, she and Reveloe have come to an agreement that they will remain celibates.

The Kwese TV presenter has for the past few months been flaunting her boyfriend on social media.

In many of the videos she has been sharing on social media, Efia has been spotted cuddling and kissing Reveloe.

READ ALSO: Fella Makafui breaks the internet as she shows off her curves in latest wild photos

Her many intimate videos sparked suggestions that they were sleeping with each other.

But speaking in a yet-to-be-aired episode of After Hours on TV3, she denied sleeping with Reveloe, explaining that they had voluntarily accepted not to have any intercourse for now.

My boyfriend and I are celibates, we practice celibacy. We kiss passionately but we are celibates. Before I met him I was a celibate. He is a celibate with me, she disclosed.

Efia Odo pointed out that as a practicing Christian, she was particularly concerned with what she did rather than just the appearance of going to church.

Serving God is not all about going to church. Its about how you live your life, and how you treat others, she stated.

Born Andrea Owusu, Efia Odo gained national limelight after she was rumoured to have slept with Shatta Wale.

Though she denied the rumour, it did not go away until earlier in June when she broke the internet with news of her new boyfriend by posting photos of him with captions indicating that he had given her the assurance of his heart.

She followed that post with many others including one that she was having a good time with Revloe at the poolside.

Efia Odo has since been posting many videos of them spending time together.

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh earlier published some sad photos from the one-week observance held for Madam Emily Engmann, the mother of Dome Kwabenya MP and deputy majority leader, Adwoa Safo.

Present at the ceremony were the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, and Kumawood actor, Akrobeto, among many other prominent people.

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On Thursday, August 23, 2018, Former President John Mahama announced his bid to lead the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as flagbearer.

His comments drew mixed reactions from a cross-section of Ghanaians who expressed varying opinions about his declaration.

His decision to contest, however, did not go down well with some members of his own party, and they are determined to ensure that he does not achieve his objective.

NDC Chairman, Kofi Portuphy Source: Supplied

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Police grab 3 Katanga students over a secret meeting

1. Augustus Goosie Tanoh

Augustus Tanoh is a Ghanaian politician and international businessman who has served in both public and private sectors in his country Ghana.

He formed the National Reform Party, a breakaway group from the National Democratic Congress. He has declared his intent to contest as NDC's flagbearer.

2. Alban Kingsford Sumanu Bagbin

Alban Bagbin is currently the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nadowli West.

He has also declared his intention to contest as NDC's flagbearer, and certainly will not want John Mahama to win.

3. Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah

Spio-Garbrah served as Director-General of the London-based Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization (CTO). He has served in several ministerial capacities. and is aiming to lead the NDC into the 2020 elections.

4. Mr Sylvester Adinam Mensah.

Sylvester Mensah previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA). He now aims to be NDC's flagbearer with regard to the 2020 elections.

5. Professor Joshua Alabi

Professor Alabi served as the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Professional Studies, Accra. An accomplished academician, he is now seeking to be NDC's flagbearer for the 2020 elections.

6. Mr George Kwaku Ricketts-Hagan

Ricketts-Hagan was the Deputy Minister of Finance during the John Mahama administration. He has also declared his intention to be NDC's flagbearer for the 2020 elections.

READ ALSO: Two university students fight over 'Sakawa' boyfriend

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Andreas Rentz/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Italian actress Asia Argento, who last month was accused of sexually assaulting actor Jimmy Bennett when he was a minor, is now claiming that he was the aggressor.



Mark Jay Heller, Argento's new attorney, issued a lengthy statement Wednesday in which he claimed that Bennett, who reportedly met the actress when he was seven years old, forced himself on her during their alleged sexual encounter at a California hotel in 2013.



Previously, Argento, a strong proponent of the #MeToo movement and an early accuser of producer Harvey Weinstein, said that she and Bennett were linked "by friendship only" and added that they'd never had a sexual relationship, which Heller noted in the new statement is "completely accurate."



"The relationship was a long distance friendship over many years. As revealed in texts messages published by TMZ, Asia stated 'The horny kid jumped meI had sex with him it felt weird.' She went on to relate that she became 'frozen' when he was on top of her and he told her that she had been his sexual fantasy since he was 12 years old," Heller stated. "Asia chose at the time not to prosecute Bennett for sexually attacking her."



An attorney for Bennett did not respond to requests for comment.



Last month, Bennett, now 22, stated that he decided to come forward with his story after Argento, 42, publicly accused Weinstein of rape. Weinstein, who has been accused by dozens of women of sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.



The New York Times reported that around the time Argento went public with her allegations about Weinstein last fall, she quietly agreed to pay Bennett $380,000 to settle his claims.



"I was underage when the event took place, and I tried to seek justice in a way that made sense to me at the time because I was not ready to deal with the ramifications of my story becoming public," Bennett stated previously. "At the time I believed there was still a stigma to being in the situation as a male in our society. I didnt think that people would understand the event that took place from the eyes of a teenage boy."



According to Argento, however, it was not her decision to pay off Bennett. The actress clarified that her late boyfriend, celebrity chef and travel host Anthony Bourdain, was so afraid of possible negative publicity that he "insisted" that they handle the matter privately. She also said that Bourdain "personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life."



"Asia was completely against this approach because she had done nothing wrong and especially since the incident was initiated and perpetrated by Bennett against her, but she respected Anthonys choice to avoid the potential intrusion into their relationship and the negative impact it might have against Bourdain and his high profile position in the Media community," Heller stated Wednesday. "Asia will not permit any portion of the balance of the $380,000 payment to be paid to Bennett who has already received $250,000 from Anthony Bourdain. Asia recognizes that this may very well inspire Bennett to make further false allegations against her and attempt to besmirch her reputation and diminish her credibility in her accusations against Harvey Weinstein."

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Are you ready for a respected position within the Judicial Branch of California? Work alongside executives at the state government and contribute to ensuring timely, accessible administration of justice. In addition to meaningful work, we offer numerous benefits. Top reasons to join us include:

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There are numerous avenues to work within the Judicial Branch. Where do you see yourself?
Exciting news for consumer law scholars. To the best of my knowledge, the first ever conference in the United States dedicated expressly to scholarship in the field of consumer law is happening in February 2019 at the new Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice. Details from the call for papers:

The Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, its director Ted Mermin, and co-organizers Abbye Atkinson, Kathleen Engel, Rory Van Loo, and Lauren Willis are pleased to announce the inaugural Consumer Law Scholars Conference (CLSC), which will be held the afternoon and evening of February 21 and all day February 22, 2019, in Berkeley, CA.

The conference will support in-progress scholarship, foster a community of consumer law scholars, and build bridges with scholars in other disciplines who focus on consumer issues. The bulk of the conference will consist of paper workshop sessions at which discussants, rather than authors, introduce and lead discussions of the papers. Everyone who attends a session will be expected to have read the paper; everyone is a participant. The conference will also feature keynotes by leading practitioners and prominent policymakers, as well as time to discuss ideas and collaborate informally.

Details about how to submit a work-in-progess and logistics after the break.
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.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury is a decent and well-intentioned man. Justin Welby is intelligent, too, and knows about money, having worked in the oil industry before becoming a priest.

Nor is there any question that lots of people in our society feel left behind, or in common parlance 'marginalised'. How else can one explain the astounding success of Jeremy Corbyn despite his obvious weaknesses?

Moreover, as a man of God, Mr Welby has every right to represent the poor, as indeed he should. Jesus Christ spent far more time with the dispossessed than with the rich and powerful.

So I've no quarrel with the Archbishop for speaking up on behalf of those who have no voice. But I'm afraid he is very unwise to have associated himself with a controversial and, I believe, often wrong-headed economic report.

The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured) is a decent and well-intentioned man and intelligent, too, and knows about money, having worked in the oil industry before becoming a priest

The Institute for Public Policy Research is a Left-leaning think-tank which has published a study that claims Britain's economy is broken. It recommends sweeping measures, most of which would be warmly commended by Corbyn, though one or two might be too radical even for him.

My chief objection to Mr Welby's involvement in this enterprise  and he has become its virtual spokesman, defending it on TV and in an article in yesterday's Mail  is that clerics should keep out of the nitty-gritty of politics.

I hope that if he had co-authored a report for the Right-wing Adam Smith Institute or the Centre for Policy Studies I would say exactly the same thing. Clergymen should not promulgate specific policies like politicians.

The main reason is that to do so is divisive. Justin Welby is head of the Church of England, which as our established church retains a national role. He should be wary of dividing people along party political lines.

More deeply, many look to the Church not for secular advice but for spiritual enlightenment. I attend an Anglican church in which the priest never mentions politics. A visitor couldn't begin to guess which party he voted for.

But that is unusual in the modern Church of England, which over recent decades has become increasingly Left-wing. It has also lost hundreds of thousands of worshippers.

The Archbishop is very much the modern churchman. Friends say he is deeply spiritual, yet this may not be obvious to those who watch him pontificating on politics and economics.

In associating himself with so many ideas redolent of Labour, he has arguably strayed even farther than the controversial 1985 Anglican report Faith in the City, which offered an excoriating (and largely unjust) critique of Margaret Thatcher's economic policies.

Admittedly, parts of the Institute for Public Policy Research report could be welcomed by almost anyone. Its proposed new levy aimed at multi-nationals accused of avoiding tax  such as Amazon and Starbucks  is long overdue.

There isn't any question that lots of people in our society feel left behind, or in common parlance 'marginalised'. How else can one explain the astounding success of Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) despite his obvious weaknesses?

But there is much that is not sensible. It recommends a bigger role for unions in running businesses. (Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the TUC, is one of the overwhelmingly Left-wing authors.) Does anyone seriously believe our self-serving unions could be trusted to take on such responsibilities?

The report also advocates increasing the corporation tax paid by UK companies  as does Jeremy Corbyn. Yet in recent years, as corporation tax has been reduced, tax receipts have soared. They grew from 44 billion in 2014-15 to 58 billion in 2017-18.

Higher corporation tax might produce a smaller  not larger  tax take, which would have to be made up by already hard-pressed income taxpayers. And it would probably lead to increased unemployment (which now stands at a 40-year low), as companies came under pressure.

In other words, ordinary taxpayers, about whom Mr Welby and his co-authors say they care, might turn out to be the casualties of policies supposed to help them.

Then there is the proposal to abolish inheritance tax and replace it with a 'lifetime gifts tax' on gifts of over 125,000 per recipient. This is designed to clobber the very rich, who can avoid inheritance tax at present by bequeathing assets more than seven years before their death.

But it is not at all clear that what sounds like a fiendishly complex system would favour less well-off people, who can leave a 325,000 tax-free bequest at present, or 650,000 for a couple.

Even more controversial are the uses to which this new tax, and stiffer taxes on capital acquisitions and dividends, would be put. The report foresees a massive new 90 billion Citizens Wealth Fund.

This would be used to give 25-year-olds a 10,000 'universal minimum inheritance', which could be thrown away in an instant. All citizens might be provided with a small annual dividend.

It's all pie in the sky, of course, and will remain so unless Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister  which is why we must take this report seriously.

The price for such reckless largesse would be higher taxes for hard-working people, who already feel they are taxed enough. Some 10 per cent of top earners pay 60 per cent of all income tax. Nearly half of Britons pay no income tax.

At the centre of this report there is a fashionable misconception, repeated uncritically by Justin Welby, that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. But actually the statistics do not bear out this contention.

Earlier this year, the Department for Work and Pensions produced figures which showed that in 2017, a million fewer people were living in absolute poverty  defined as earning less than 60 per cent of the average wage.

The figure fell from 9.9 million to 8.9 million over the period since 2010. Still too high, of course, but not quite what the Institute for Public Policy Research and others on the Left would like you to believe.

Meanwhile, according to the Office for National Statistics, between 2008 and 2017 the average disposable income of the poorest fifth of UK households rose by 15 per cent, while that of the richest fifth grew by just 0.4 per cent.

In associating himself with so many ideas redolent of Labour, he has arguably strayed even farther than the controversial 1985 Anglican report Faith in the City, which offered an excoriating critique of Margaret Thatcher's (left) economic policies

The International Monetary Fund even noted last year that the UK tax system is good at reducing inequalities, and does this better than Denmark, Sweden or Finland.

Only a fool would deny the difficulties of the people 'just about managing', invoked by Theresa May when she became Prime Minister in 2016. But the picture of a widening gap between rich and poor is not an accurate one.

Surely the one thing we don't need is an economy that is taxed even more highly, in which hard-working people are required to pay even more.

Is that really what Justin Welby wants? I can't believe most congregations in the Church of England do. But as a rather privileged man  the occupant of a fine palace in London and pleasant lodgings in Canterbury  he may be rather cut off.

The Institute for Public Policy Research is entitled to its views, however flawed. But as Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby should not publicly champion them.

I don't doubt his integrity or sincerity. I respect him as the leader of my Church. But I wish he would devote more time in saving it from extinction, and less time trying to emulate Jeremy Corbyn.
Researchers at the Institute of the Bleeding Obvious discovered Lincolnshire operates in a time-zone exactly four years behind the rest of Britain.

Further research showed The Ice Bucket Challenge had just arrived in Lincoln, where many people have been deeply distressed to hear of the 'conscious uncoupling' of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow.

But it was not all bad news: the people of Grantham were delighted to hear that Hillary Clinton was still on course to win the U.S. presidential election, with no electable Republican candidate in sight.

Veteran children's entertainer Mr Punch was arrested on charges of assault, child neglect and keeping a crocodile on his premises without a valid licence

The Office of Fair Trading introduced a new regulation outlawing all false claims. Overnight, all company answerphone messages were altered to: 'Your call is unimportant to us.'

Veteran children's entertainer Mr Punch was arrested on charges of assault, child neglect and keeping a crocodile on his premises without a valid licence.

The next day, 150 seaside councils issued a joint statement saying they were 'shocked and horrified' by the news, and that they had no future plans to employ Mr Punch.

'There was something about him I never quite trusted,' said one councillor, who wished to remain anonymous. 'It may have had something to do with his habit of hitting his common-law wife over the head with a wooden stick.'

Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive declared it was prosecuting Mr Punch for keeping a string of uncooked sausages at room temperature.

Talking at a school, Chancellor Philip Hammond advised children that a cautious approach was best around electrical appliances and that putting their hands on the red-hot hob of a cooker might lead to severe burns. The next day, he was accused by his political opponents of 'again advancing the cause of Project Fear'.

A quarter of Radio 4 listeners complained they have suffered sporadic fits of narcolepsy for the past 18 months. 'One moment, I'm awake, and the next I'm fast asleep!' said one.

An investigation by producers traced the source of the problem to the almost non-stop appearances of former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.

'There was something about him I never quite trusted,' said one councillor, who wished to remain anonymous. 'It may have had something to do with his habit of hitting his common-law wife over the head with a wooden stick'

They concluded: 'The moment his monotone voice comes on, reassuring listeners that the worst possible outcome is in fact the best possible outcome, many listeners simply go into a trance and drop off.'

In future, when he is invited on to any current affairs programme, he has agreed to bring his own upbeat percussion troupe along with him.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair called a press conference to announce that two and two make four. The next day, polls showed that the number of people believing that two and two make four had fallen to its lowest level since records began.

After the announcement that former glove puppets Sooty and Sweep were set to make a comeback, Sweep revealed that she had recently undergone a facelift.

'Showbusiness can be ruthless towards puppets who are getting on a bit,' she explained, 'and I wanted to stay at the top of my game.'

However, critics complained it was impossible to tell if her face, never particularly expressive, was meant to be sad, happy, angry or simply bemused.

Meanwhile, it was rumoured that her companion, Sooty, now 70, had taken to dyeing his hair, though his spokesman forcefully denied it.

Viewers were mystified when, for the first time in 18 months, a new thriller on Netflix featured a child who had not been kidnapped.

'There was a girl, playing alone in a Danish sitting room, while her mother was in the kitchen,' said one viewer.

'Well, everyone knows that the next scene should be an empty sitting room, open French windows and the mother screaming and bursting into tears.

'That's what we've all come to know and love. But it never happened. The mother just said, 'Tea's ready', and the girl came running. No one had kidnapped her! It was a total let-down.'

A Netflix spokesman explained this was an experimental drama. 'A thriller without a child being kidnapped may be hard for some viewers to take,' he said, 'but normal service will be resumed shortly.'
An all-natural hair mask has taken the beauty industry by storm and garnered cult status around the world thanks to its incredible rejuvenating effects.

H'Suan Wen Hua, by handmade cosmetics brand Lush, is a $20.50 repairing mask which transforms dry, damaged hair into lustrous, salon-style locks.

The product promises to nourish and revive hair, improving overall condition through its deeply moisturising and softening properties.

It has received a flood of positive reviews and glowing recommendations online, and currently enjoys a 4.6/5 average rating on the Lush Australia official website.

Irish tattoo artist and podcast host Lindsay Hamilton (pictured) started using H'Suan Wen Hua after styling her hair in dreadlocks for six years

Made from natural ingredients including organic free range eggs, fresh banana, avocado, balsamic vinegar and cinnamon, the mixture works to stimulate roots and scalp while also conditioning brittle, split ends.

Lush advise massaging a generous amount of the product into dry hair and leaving to work for 20 minutes before shampooing and conditioning.

Irish tattoo artist and podcast host Lindsay Hamilton started using H'Suan Wen Hua after styling her hair in dreadlocks for six years.

'This has injected so much shine and heaviness it sits and hangs really well'

She credits the product with transforming her dry, damaged hair into intensely shiny and silky tresses.

'Naturally my hair is very dry and curly, but this has injected so much shine and heaviness it sits and hangs really well,' she revealed in an Instagram story.

'The sheen it has developed is like no other.'

Many satisfied customers gave the mask a five star rating, detailing the incredible results they noticed after use

Many satisfied customers gave the mask a five star rating, detailing the incredible results they noticed after use.

'I have been bleaching my hair for years nowit dried out a lot and I was about to cut it all off.

'I thought I'd give this a try and it's one of the best products I've ever used  it doesn't even need a trim now!' one shopper said.

'It plumped up my hair without making it frizzy and made my curls much more manageable'

'I have very dry, porous hair that reacts badly to usual hair oils  I pretty much gave up on normal treatments.

'I tried a sample of this and OMG  it's [as if] it's not my hair!!!

'My hair feels moisturised, soft and not at all weighed down or oily  I'm definitely getting a whole tub,' another impressed consumer wrote.

Another user revealed she uses H'Suan Wen Hua in conjunction with the Honey I Washed My Hair shampoo and the Jungle conditioning bar, both from Lush, and called the trio 'life changing'.

'It really is a saving grace  it plumped up my hair without making it frizzy and made my curls much more manageable.'
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Bikini model and midwife Hannah Polites married her soulmate Garth Small, 29, in a luxurious destination wedding on Saturday.

The Queensland-based couple, who share two-year-old daughter Evaliah Grace, took 18 months to plan the lavish affair at The Ungasan Clifftop Resort in Bali.

After an epic Byron Bay proposal Hannah, 27, was looking for a similar beachside, relaxed and intimate landscape for her big day - and she found it in Indonesia.

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Bikini model and midwife Hannah Polites married her soulmate Garth Small, 29, in a luxurious destination wedding on Saturday

The Queensland-based couple, who share two-year-old daughter Evaliah Grace, took 18 months to plan the lavish affair at The Ungasan Clifftop Resort in Bali

After an epic Byron Bay proposal Hannah, 27, was looking for a similar beachside, relaxed and intimate landscape for her big day - and she found it in Indonesia

'Our theme was an enchanted destination wedding so there were candles everywhere, overflowing florals imported from South America, Australia and Japan, rose fold acrylic signage from Australia (world place cards, tables were named after our favourite countries we'd visited and luggage tag gifts),' Hannah told FEMAIL.

'There were neon signs, a 1.3 metre rose gold and white cake, fire dancers to bring in some Balinese culture, a flower wall with our initials and matching rose gold initials on the dance floor.

'All of the 30 french antique chandeliers were custom-made for the wedding, as were the structures, dance floor, neon quotes, lanterns and love letters.'

'There were neon signs , a 1.3 metre rose gold and white cake, fire dancers to bring in some Balinese culture, a flower wall with our initials and matching rose gold initials on the dance floor,' she said

Hannah admitted to 'dreaming about this day' for the past year and a half and said it was exactly how she had envisioned

Hannah admitted to 'dreaming about this day' for the past year and a half and said it was exactly how she had envisioned.

'I wanted something dramatic, timeless and feminine which is definitely what I got,' she explained.

Part of the extravagance was in Hannah's two Pallas Couture gowns, with a matching custom-made flower girl dress made for her daughter.

What vendors did Hannah use for her lavish wedding? * Both bridal gowns and her daughter's flower girl dress were @pallascouture Easy Weddings estimates the average custom-made gown from the store is worth $10,000 minimum. * Her bridal shoes were YSL's classic tribute 105 sandals worth $1,220. * The planner @global_weddings charges $1,200-$1,800 for generators, lighting including fairy lights, lanterns and candles. * The villa function fee is $1,500-$3000, Banjar local council fee is between $300-$700 and marquees for wet weather are $1,600-$2,200. Floral: @balieventstyling Furniture: @balieventhire Acrylic Signage and neon light: @sketchandetchcreative Tableware: @semeja.id Makeup: @sheridanmeyers Lashes: @blacklashink Photography: @fontainephoto_ Videographer: @pointonedesigns Bridesmaid gowns: @dollhousebridesmaids Bridal robe and personalised pyjamas: @homebodii Advertisement

'I wanted something dramatic, timeless and feminine which is definitely what I got,' she explained

Part of the extravagance was in Hannah's two Pallas Couture gowns, with a matching custom-made flower girl dress made for her daughter

'My second dress was the complete opposite to the first in a custom embellishment that will never be repeated. It was a one year process start to finish,' she explained

'It was a customised dress and completely different to anything they'd done before,' she said.

'My second dress was the complete opposite to the first in a custom embellishment that will never be repeated. It was a one year process start to finish.'

Easy Weddings estimates that Pallas Couture gowns of this nature start at $10,000, with Hannah choosing to pair them with bridal YSL heels worth $1,220.

Easy Weddings estimates that Pallas Couture gowns of this nature start at $10,000, with Hannah choosing to pair them with bridal YSL heels worth $1,220

While every portion of the ceremony and reception were planned to the minute, Garth surprised his new bride with a five-minute fireworks display to finish

The family will be jetting off to the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica for the honeymoon (Hannah and Garth pictured)

The bridesmaids' dresses were the Indira gowns from Dollshouse worth $440 each.

While every portion of the ceremony and reception were planned to the minute, Garth surprised his new bride with a five-minute fireworks display to finish.

'I would choose you, Garth, in a hundred lifetimes, in every world and in any version of reality. I would always find you and choose you. Garth, you are my person, the father of my child, my love, my life and my soulmate today and always,' Hannah wrote on Instagram two days after the grand event.

The family will be jetting off to the Bahamas, Cuba and Jamaica for the honeymoon.
Christmas is on the horizon and for many this can put a serious dent in the hip pocket.

In fact, last year the Australians spent a staggering $22billion during the festive season - a sum that averaged out to $1,178 per person.

Luckily, a mum-of-two and Queensland-based blogger who heads up Stay At Home Mum, Jody Allen, has revealed how it's possible to save $3,000 in the three months ahead of Christmas.

Her tricks include cleverly shopping online sales and taking a festive-themed side hustle, as well as raking in extra cash by selling unwanted goods.

Here, FEMAIL takes a look at her top 12 tips.

Mother-of-two and Queensland-based budgeting blogger Jody Allen (pictured) has shared her 12 tips for saving $3,000 ahead of Christmas

1. Set up a special interest-earning account

One of the most pain-free ways to save is to put a small amount away on a regular basis - and into an account you can't touch.

Jody recommends using RAIZ. This is an app that connects to your bank account and withdraws funds automatically and places these into a separate online account.

She said the beauty of RAIZ isn't just that it makes saving easier, it also generates extra funds by investing your money in the stock market.

'At the moment I have that set on $7.50  and you would be surprised at just how fast this grows  especially when you forget about it for a few months. You can pull the money out at any stage,' she wrote on her blog.

Total estimated savings: 90 Days Until Christmas x $7.50 per day savings = $675

2. Shop online sales now

While Christmas might seem like a good few months away, it always comes around much faster than you might expect.

Other tips for saving money online: * Use the layby Apps such as Afterpay or Zippay if you are good at budgeting over four payments. * Check Internet sites to see if you can find discount codes before hitting the 'Pay' button to get an item even cheaper Advertisement

The mad rush can mean spending more than you'd intended to - something Jody says can be avoided by making a list ahead of time and shopping online now.

'Not only could you save up to 20 per cent by shopping online, most of the time when you sign up to newsletters, you can get $20 off your first order or free shipping - and you dont even have to leave the house!'.

Jody said the amount you can save is dependent on how much you spend, but even conservatively shopping online for two kids, two parents and a partner could see a savings of $400.

Total estimated savings: $400

Even conservatively shopping online for two kids, two parents and a partner could see a savings of $400 (stock image)

3. Save your shopping points

Make sure you've got a rewards card handy every time you shop at your local supermarket and always swipe to collect the points.

But, instead of cashing in the shopping points as you shop  save them up.

'I use the Woolworths Rewards card  and save up all my shopping savings for use at Christmas time. I've usually got a couple of hundred dollars in there to use!,' the savvy mum said.

Total estimated savings: $100

4. Buy a $5.00 gift card every time you do the grocery shopping

The super saver mum suggests buying a $5.00 or $10.00 gift card at the checkout every time you shop.

Because it's such a nominal amount, chances are you won't be tempted to spend. However, over a few months this figure can add up and by Christmas Day you could have $70.00 saved.

'This is a great way of paying for the really large grocery shop that all of us have to do before Santa comes!,' Jody said.

Total estimated savings: $70.00

Jody explains how taking a budget-conscious approach in the lead up to Christmas could net huge savings

5. Encourage kids to use their own money to buy gifts

The mother-of-two said in the past she has usually spent her money to buy presents from her kids to her partner or other relatives.

But she said this year she is encouraging her children to earn a little extra and use this fund to buy gifts.

Jody said little things such as her kids selling their old video games or rounding up their old Lego has helped raise extra funds.

'I started allocating the allowance for extra chores (which is handy coming up to Chrismas)  so they are sweeping verandahs, watering plants, helping Dad do the mowing, taking the rubbish to the burning pile for a few dollars per day.'

Total estimated savings: $80.00 - $100

Spring is a great time to get busy giving the house a deep clean also to declutter (stock image)

6. Spring clean the house and sell unwanted goods

Spring is a great time to get busy giving the house a deep clean also to declutter.

But rather than ditching unwanted goods, Jody suggests looking at what you have to see what can be sold.

Her suggestions for making extra cash is to go to a local market (an optimal way for getting rid of a lot of stuff fast) or use eBay or Gumtree for higher value items.

Great items to sell online: * Womens clothing * Sunglasses, shoes and unopened makeup items * Tools (any age, any condition) * DVDs * Old furniture * Sporting Equipment Advertisement

Total estimated savings: $500 - $750 (depending on the number of items sold)

7. Start a Christmas-themed side hustle

While the prospect of taking on extra work can feel daunting, if you make this fun, it can be a great way to earn without too much extra effort.

'Many people (crazy I know) HATE the job of putting up Christmas decorations! So why not do that for them - for a fee,' Jody wrote.

'This is a great seasonal job you can do that can make you great money if you have a good eye for detail.'

'Charge around the $100 for the standard house (using all their own decorations)  and even ask at your local Supermarket or Corner Store for some commercial work  which could score you upwards of $250,' she added.

Jody also suggested a range of other season side-hustles including babysitting, pamphlet delivery or Christmas baking or cooking.

Total estimated savings: $100 - $250

Rather than splashing cash for a round of coffee catchups, Jody suggests opting for a morning tea at home

8. Ditch Christmas coffee catchups

It's the time of year when everyone wants to catch up and while a cafe date can seem inexpensive, a few rounds can quickly add up.

Instead, Jody suggests opting for a morning tea at home and baking something delicious for your friends to enjoy.

Total estimated savings: $50.00

9. Bake gifts

Making a gift for a person who is difficult to buy for is often an easy way to solve a problem as well as saving money.

'There are some people that are just impossible to buy for. Think your Grandfather or your Boss' wife,' she said.

Thats where the gift of Baking works a treat. It comes from the heart and is only a few dollars to make something really really special.

Total estimated savings: $75.00 - $100

12 ways to save $3,000 ahead of Christmas Jody Allen heads up the blog Stay At Home mum - a site where she shares her budgeting tips 1. Set up a special interest earning account and nominate a daily amount to be deposited into this from your main account 2. Shop online sales now and use discount codes and coupons where you can 3. Save your shopping reward points and use them to pay for your Christmas grocery bill 4. Buy a $5.00 gift card every time you do the grocery shopping and allow this figure to mount up 5. Encourage kids to use their own money to buy gifts, give them chores to do or encourage them to sell things they no longer want to raise cash 6. Spring clean the house and sell unwanted goods online via sites like eBay or Gumtree 7. Start a Christmas-themed side hustle - this could be putting up Christmas decorations in someone's home or taking on extra baby-sitting 8. Ditch Christmas coffee catchups in favour of morning teas at home 9. Bake gifts for a person who is difficult to buy for 10. If you have a special occasion rent your party dress or if you have a stunning frock consider renting this to others 11. Allocate a budget for spending on kids' gifts and aim to stick to this 12. Save all your $1.00 and $2.00 coins and put these somewhere you won't be tempted to spend Advertisement

10. Rent your party dress

It can be so tempting to splash some extra cash for a special outfit if you've got parties to attend.

However, the frugal mum said rather than buy consider renting instead. And if you happen to own a special frock, think about hiring this out to others.

'So not only do you save money by renting a dress instead of buying it  you can make money if you rent out your own clothing for others!',' she said.

Total estimated savings: $200

While it can be tempting to spend extra on a special frock at Christmas time, the budget conscious mum suggests renting instead

11. Allocate a budget for spending on kids' gifts

Jody revealed on average she usually allocates a budget of $200 per child for Christmas gifts.

While occasionally she goes over this, especially if she finds something really special, she tries her best to stick to this sum.

'If you can (and I know it is hard), try and make a budget for the kids and stick with it  they dont need more STUFF.'

Total estimated savings: $400

12. Save all your gold coins between now and Christmas

Another trick for saving is to simply place any one or two dollar coins you're given between now and Christmas and put these somewhere you won't be tempted to spend.

'This is a nifty way of saving money without "saving money",' Jody said.

'Another great idea is to get an empty two-litre bottle of soft drink, wash it out and fill it with $2.00 coins. Once full that bottle will be worth a huge $1500!'.

Total estimated savings: $1,500
In today's world, many of us spend our days glued to our computer screens, only to head home where we spend our evenings on our iPhones.

This is exactly why one woman, Virginia Tapp, decided to ditch her iPhone - for good.

After getting rid of the smart device and replacing it with a basic model, the 27-year-old mother-of-two from New South Wales said she has never had better energy levels or such good concentration.

Here, Virginia reveals why quitting her iPhone helped 'part of my brain to grow back', and how it could help you too.

Mother-of-two Virginia Tapp (pictured with her family) said she was addicted to her iPhone until she gave up using it on a daily basis and switched to a basic model

According to the 27-year-old (pictured with one of her children), she wasn't always addicted to her iPhone, but it developed because she was working and breastfeeding

According to the 27-year-old, who blogs at Bush Bambinos, while she wasn't always 'addicted' to her iPhone, it 'developed due to a combination of things'.

'I work in freelance writing and PR which is a job that requires heavy social media, email and general phone use,' she explained on her blog.

'I've also breastfed two babies and it's hard not to reach for your phone when you're sitting down to feed 8 to 12 times a day.'

Virginia said her overuse of her phone struck her first three years ago when she was breastfeeding, as 'something didn't feel quite right' about how the phone use might be affecting her child.

The second reason was the mum-of-two's own mental health. She said she would compulsively check her phone in the lead up to quitting and 'it was exhausting'.

'At the height of my addiction, I was constantly forgetting things, I was very touchy and I found it extremely difficult to maintain focus on stories I was writing,' Virginia said.

Taking matters into her own hands two months ago, Virginia went into a post office and bought a $50 basic phone - she said she wasn't 'capable of a healthy relationship' with her iPhone

Taking matters into her own hands two months ago, Virginia said she went into her local post office and bought a $50 basic phone.

She said she realised she was 'not capable of a healthy relationship' with her technology:

'I was like an alcoholic working behind a bar. My iPhone had to go,' she said.

And before she knew it, she felt better about herself.

'As the day wore on I noticed my actions flowing more easily  it wasn't disjointed, haphazard and constantly interrupted by a lit up screen or phone vibrating. I got more done but I felt less busy,' she wrote.

Virginia was also in a better mood and had more energy.

While the busy working mum (pictured with one of her kids) said that the majority of the changes have been positive, she has also felt 'uncomfortable technology withdrawals' at times

While the busy working mum said that the majority of the changes have been positive, she has also felt 'uncomfortable technology withdrawals' at times.

She used to check her social media accounts first thing in the morning, and then at repeated times during the day.

But now, Virginia said she'll only check them on a desktop after lunch when her kids are napping and occasionally after they go to bed.

'The good news is that the brain is malleable and by limiting my phone use I am effectively growing back parts of my prefrontal cortex, lowering my stress levels and improving my concentration,' she explained.

She also said she has been able to engage with her family, read books and just sit and think rather than idly fill time.

'I've come to realise that there is nothing I do, or nothing anyone else can want from me, that is so important it can't wait till 1 or 8pm,' she said.

'And if it is really that important, call me.'

To read more from Virginia Tapp, you can visit her blog here.
They were once described as 'the bleating of the insecure, desperate for acceptance by the chronically shallow'.

But love it or loathe it, the logo obsession many believed had been left firmly in the 1990s is back and it's taking the world by storm.

'Logomania' continues to dominate the runways from Gucci to Versace and Louis Vuitton to Fendi, where the 'Double F' rules the roost.

FEMAIL takes a look at the trend that just keeps giving and looks set to stay front and centre across the international style scene for seasons to come.

'Logomania' continues to dominate the runways from Gucci to Versace (pictured, Rihanna)

Straight from the catwalks to the streets, the logo trend is being embraced by style icons such as Hailey Baldwin and Rihanna.

The Hadid sisters are committed disciples, particularly when it comes to Fendi.

The Italian fashion house has experienced a resurgence in popularity partly thanks to the street style endorsements of Gigi and Bella along with the likes of Kourtney Kardashian, Olivia Culpo and Rita Ora.

Gigi Hadid ( right) has been pictured rocking a double F laden bomber jacket with a Fendi duffel bag while Rita Ora (left) wore the trend while performing at Wembley

A guest at Milan Fashion Week 2018 wears two colour ways of the famous FF pattern

Bella Hadid (left) regularly rocks Fendi while Sofia Richie (right) is a Gucci lover

Gigi has been pictured rocking a double F laden bomber jacket with a Fendi duffel bag, while her younger sister once braved a full FF coordinating skirt suit.

New mothers Kylie Jenner and Italian mega-influencer Chiara Ferragni have both displayed their fondness for Fendi by pushing their newborns in the brand's limited edition strollers.

According to Pinterest, the word 'logo' has seen a 203 per cent global increase in saves since last year.

The Italian fashion house has experienced a resurgence in popularity partly thanks to the street style endorsements of fashion icons like Italian mega-influencer Chiara Ferragni (pictured)

US actress and model Olivia Culpo (pictured) is another follower of the logo trend

New mothers Kylie Jenner (right) and Chiara Ferragni (left) have both displayed their fondness for Fendi by pushing their newborns in the brand's limited edition strollers

In recent times, Gucci has had its historic name emblazoned in pride of place on every garment from belts and t-shirts to pool side sliders and bum bags.

French powerhouse Christian Dior has also jumped on the branded bandwagon of late, with A-listers like actress Sienna Miller and model Winnie Harlow stepping onto the red carpet sporting the 'CD' monogram.

Kendall Jenner proved she's partial to an array of vintage Dior saddle bags in recent months, while Bella Hadid slipped on a pair of Christian-moniker runners for the Dior Homme show in Paris earlier this year.

French powerhouse Christian Dior have also jumped on the branded bandwagon of late (model Winnie Harlow is pictured wearing Dior's CD embossed cross body bag, left, and J'adior branded underwear, right)

Latina rapper Cardi B (pictured) is a fan of the Moschino logo look

Kylie wore a maroon monogrammed one piece swimsuit on a recent holiday

Billionaire business mogul Kylie wore a selection of rare vintage Dior pieces on holiday with boyfriend Travis Scott, including a maroon monogrammed one piece.

Chanel, Versace and Moschino are other houses paying homage to their logo, with designs seen on the likes of Latina rapper Cardi B and Kim Kardashian.

The trend is not for the faint of heart, acting as a statement look that's sure to get you noticed.

And if the world's biggest celebrities continue to sport the style in the way they've become accustomed, it might be time to invest in your own little piece of logo - the style that's here to stay.
A 43-year-old mother believes hugging her father when he came from work during her childhood may have led to her devastating cancer diagnosis.

Kate Richmond, from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma - a rare cancer, caused by exposure to asbestos.

Doctors said her cancer was linked to asbestos fibres - meaning she unwittingly ingested the dangerous substance as a child.

Kate Richmond (pictured with her husband Brett and their children Lauren, aged six and Finn, nine) has been diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma, caused by exposure to asbestos

Earlier this year, the mother started experiencing a sore tummy

Stunned by the diagnosis, Kate told Mamamia she initially had no idea how she was exposed to asbestos, which occurs at least 10 years before the disease develops.

But the only explanation she could think of was hugging her father every day after he'd return home from working at a manufacturing company, where he worked for nearly 18 years.

Dr Richmond, originally from the UK, claimed she ingested the asbestos fibres from his clothing - however, she will never know the cause of her condition.

Before her diagnosis, the mother-of-two said she started experiencing soreness in the gut earlier this year along with shortness of breath.

After getting a CT scan, doctors found she had excess fluid in her abdomen.

Following a full hysterectomy to remove cancerous tumours, the family were given the heartbreaking news she had a life expectancy of two to three years.

'I cried and said, "but I'm only in my 40s and I have young kids and I need to be around for them",' Dr Richmond told Mamamia.

Working as a GP herself, Dr Richmond said the news of her cancer was 'completely terrifying'.

'I'm used to being the doctor who sees a scan and plans to work out the best way to give horrible news. Now I am completely on the other end of it,' she said.

Following a full hysterectomy to remove cancerous tumours, the family were given the heartbreaking news she had a life expectancy of two to three years

What is peritoneal mesothelioma? Peritoneal mesothelioma is a cancer found in the peritoneum, a thin membrane surrounding the abdomen. Exposure to asbestos is the main cause of mesothelioma. Australia has one of the highest rates of mesothelioma in the world, with 732 Australians diagnosed in 2014. Men are over three times more likely than women to be diagnosed with mesothelioma, probably because many cases have been caused by exposure to asbestos at work. It can take many years for mesothelioma to develop after a person is exposed to asbestos. This is called the latency period or interval  it is usually between 20 and 60 years (most commonly around 40 years) after exposure. Source: Cancer Council Advertisement

Family and friends have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her medical expenses, with more than $64,000 already donated.

'Kate's pretty darn awesome. She's a mum to two beautiful children Lauren, aged six and Finn, nine,' her friend Emma Johnstone said.

'She's been a doctor since 2001 in both the UK and in Victoria. Helping and healing people is what drives her. She's positive, selfless and has a wicked sense of humour loved by both her friends and patients.

'She wants more than anything to get back to working with and helping patients in her community, watch Lauren and Finn grow into adults and one day retire and travel with her adoring husband Brett.

'But for now, Kate's concentrating on the immediate challenge in front of her - healing her body of cancer.

'We're asking for any donations to help support Kate's treatment and in turn lift the financial burden for Kate and her family that unfortunately accompanies a cancer diagnosis.'

The mother has since finished her chemotherapy and now she's getting ongoing immunotherapy treatment.

To make a donation, please visit the GoFundMe page.
Prince William joked cannabis has 'quite a good, strong smell' as he was shown into a room full of seized contraband today.

The Duke of Cambridge, 36, was left shocked at the amount of drugs and weapons intercepted by staff and border officials as he visited the Royal Mail's International Logistics Centre at Heathrow Airport.

After five minutes in the room, which was filled with packets of cannabis, MDMA and cocaine, the royal joked: 'We had better get out before we have a drugs test!'

The tour of the lock-up was part of William's visit to the centre to see the fight against the illegal wildlife trade in action.

Prince William watches as a UK Border Force officer scans via an X-Ray machine incoming mail and parcels, to the United Kingdom, for contraband goods during a visit to the Royal Mail international distribution centre near Heathrow airport

Prince William looks at an illegal animal skin seized at the centre. The tour of the lock-up was part of William's visit to the centre to see the fight against the illegal wildlife trade in action

Prince William, 36, was back to his busy schedule on Thursday, as he visited Royal Mail's Worldwide International Logistics Centre at Heathrow Airport

As he walked in Border Force officer Steve Harrington told him: 'Excuse the smell.'

The lock-up was full of packages of herbal cannabis and other drugs, as well as seized weapons and wildlife products.

'These are drugs we get here, large seizures of cannabis. It is coming from the United States, where it is legal in some states,' Mr Harrington said.

William joked: 'It's quite a good strong smell.'

Mr Harrington said the 545 drugs packages and 1,657 weapons, including stun devices and knives, had all been seized in the last month.

As he was shown the weapons, which filled one wall of the room, the duke said: 'That is a staggering amount of weapons in one month. That is quite shocking.'

Prince William smiles as he talks to Royal Mail sorting office workers during a visit to the Royal Mail international distribution centre near Heathrow airport in Slough

William watches as a UK Border Force officer scans via an X-Ray machine incoming mail and parcels

Prince William talks to Royal Mail sorting office workers during a visit to the Royal Mail international distribution centre near Heathrow airport in Slough

The centre also gets MDMA from the Netherlands, cocaine, and the occasional package of heroin from Pakistan.

Although the smell of cannabis was highly noticeable, Mr Harrington said: 'I'm fine with it. Some people don't like it. But I don't spend all day in here.'

Clive Perry, the senior manager with Border Force who showed the William around the seizures, added: 'I think my officers have got immune to it in there, to be honest. We process it and move it out as quick as we can.

'He [Prince William] did comment on it  it's something you can't ignore. I think the smell of paint in there had gone, because we had it decorated for his arrival, so the cannabis has overwhelmed it.'

Prince William watches as a UK Border Force shows off various items found recently, including snake skin, ivory and plants that are not allowed into Britain

Royal Mail staff spot suspicious packages, and Border Force officers put them through X-ray scanners. Pictured, Prince William looks at one such scanner

Prince William receives a sheet of commemorative stamps which shows the work of the Royal Mail in defeating the import of endangered wildlife and their products

Mr Perry said the centre, which just deals with packages under 2.2kg, had seized hundreds of kilos of cannabis since April. 'We get so much. The volume of stuff coming through the post is quite high.'

Cannabis and other drugs such as cocaine can be spotted by trained staff, he said. Royal Mail staff spot suspicious packages, and Border Force officers put them through X-ray scanners.

'The work we do with Royal Mail  we give them key words to look for when they are looking through the mail. They put those packets to one side, and then we would screen it and find it.

'It is all about looking at X-ray images to see what the powders look like. The prime example is just birthday cards with a dealer bag inside. It's easy to identify with an X-ray image.'

William was visiting the centre to highlight the work of the Royal Mail as a member of his United for Wildlife Taskforce which combats the illegal wildlife trade.

The father-of-three attended the site to see how they prevent the trafficking of illegal wildlife products, meeting with the team behind the operation

Meeting the team behind the organisation, William has in the past been outspoken in his passion for the industry, making wildlife campaigning one of his key charity focuses.

Prince William visits Royal Mail's Worldwide International Logistics Centre at Heathrow Airport to see how they prevent the trafficking of illegal wildlife products

He was shown four packages seized this week  two from Thailand, and two from Britain intended for China and Hong Kong.

One of the packages from Britain contained several ivory artefacts, including a pair of binoculars, and a snakeskin which is believed to have been from a rock python. 'I would not like to have met the snake that was wearing that,' said the duke. 'It is amazing what you find, it really is.'

The seized weapons he was shown included an extendable baton and a pair of knuckledusters. Mr Perry told the duke: 'The other weekend we had 500 knuckledusters in one go. Nasty weapon. We get a lot of flick knives as well.'

He was also shown the skull of an Arctic wolf, which is likely to be used as a training aid.

Weapons are held for one month and then recycled, while drugs are held for a month and then incinerated.
Plus-size model Tess Holliday has hit back at suggestions her appearance on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine in a swimsuit 'celebrated morbid obesity' - and said it promotes body positivity.

The October issue of the magazine, which starred Tess, a UK size 26, wearing a green satin bodysuit, sparked a furious debate on Good Morning Britain, with host Piers Morgan ripping into the publication during a heated on-air discussion with the editor, Farrah Storr.

Appearing on This Morning on Thursday via a live video link from New York, Tess, 33, responded to the outcry, telling Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that any suggestion that she is promoting a 'dangerous' lifestyle is wrong.

I cant even entertain that respectfully, only because I am not putting myself on the cover and saying hey guys lets all gain 300 pounds and be fat.

I am literally just existing in my body. I dont have to prove to anybody that I am healthy.'

Tess Holliday appeared via live video link from New York to defend the message behind her Cosmopolitan cover in which the size 26 plus-size model wore a swimsuit

Presenter Phillip Schofield pushed the question that promoting an image of a larger person is encouraging obesity which costs the NHS billions every year after people become ill due to their weight

She continued: I am so incredibly grateful to exist in this space that other people havent been able to before and you know my health is no ones business.

'We could be talking about models who smoke two packs a day that no one sees, I could just go into a list of stuff but, at the end of the day, that isnt what we should be discussing.

Piers, 53, had called the cover 'dangerous' as Britain grapples with an ongoing obesity crisis, with an epidemic of overweight people costing the NHS billions each year.

He slammed the magazine in a tweet last week, causing Ms Holliday, who weighs over 21st (300lbs), to hit back and call him 'small minded'. Today Phillip Schofield also put forward a similar line of questioning.

She of Piers' comments on the ITV daytime show: 'When someone goes around building a reputation like this you just have to brush it off.

'At the end of the day I am not doing this for people like Piers, I am doing this for women around the world that need to see someone that looks like me and that they are not alone and that every look is beautiful.

'A lot of my followers are diverse and at the end of the day everyone has issues with their bodies and I'm sure Piers does as well.

'We could go a long way with a little bit of respect and kindness and unfortunately that didn't happen in this case.'

Good Morning Britain co-hosts Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid debated the front cover with Cosmopolitan editor Farrah Storr and actress Tina Malone (far right)

Piers Morgan ripped into Cosmopolitan magazine for 'celebrating morbid obesity' after it featured plus-size model Tess Holliday on its front cover (pictured)

Speaking about the issue on Good Morning Britain on Monday 3 September, Piers said: 'My view, as with the size zero issue, is that it is dangerous.

'We should not be aspiring to be an unhealthy weight, be it far too skinny or far too fat, and the same goes for both women and men.

'For Cosmo to put this on their cover as something to aspire to is dangerous, wrong, and frankly misguided.'

Mrs Storr hit back, pointing out that Mr Morgan posted a photo of a pasty on social media during a holiday last week, causing him to reply: 'But I'm not 300 pounds'.

She replied: 'Thats such black and white thinking Piers. I dont ask my cover stars to do a blood analysis.

'What else is dangerous is we have a crisis about mental health and body image. It is one cover in a world that has venerated thinness.

Piers Morgan was involved in a fiery debate with the glossy mag's editor Farrah Storr (pictured), who defended the cover for promoting a positive body image.

Mr Morgan claimed the magazine was 'doing it for click baits and get Cosmo talked about', before adding: 'You are celebrating morbid obesity'

'Ive see her run around with her children, she works 14 to 15 hours a day.'

Mr Morgan claimed the magazine was 'doing it for click bait and [to] get Cosmo talked about', before adding: 'You are celebrating morbid obesity'.

Mrs Storr replied: 'Am I saying that this is OK to look like? Yes I am. The reason she is on my cover is to show that there is a different way to look.

'We live in a culture that venerates being thin. Someone will see and think "Im going to feel good about looking like this."'

Mr Morgan pointed out that throughout the interview that appears in the magazine, conducted by Mrs Storr, she did not mention at any point the health issues surrounding obesity.

During the debate, Shameless and Brookside star Tina Malone (right), who lost 12 stone and 4 pounds, revealed she started missing out on work due to her weight loss

When Mrs Storr responded by saying 'we don't pass judgement', Mr Morgan said: 'You do pass judgement, Cosmo do that literally on every page.

'Shes making tons of money out of being this weight. That doesnt mean publishers should be encouraging this image, it means she is likely to die quite early.

'You wont find a doctor in the world that agrees that this is healthy.'

Good Morning Britain co-host Susannah Reid later sided with the magazine, adding: 'Its not just about physical health, its about mental health.

'If Tess Holliday feels comfortable with herself, thats an important thing to promote.'

Mr Morgan (pictured) pointed out that throughout the interview, conducted by Mrs Stoor, she did not mention at any point the health issues surrounding obesity

Mr Morgan first made his opinion known in a tweet last week, writing: 'As we battle an ever-worsening obesity crisis, this is the new cover of Cosmo.

'Apparently were supposed to view it as a "huge step forward for body positivity". What a load of old baloney.

'This cover is just as dangerous and misguided as celebrating size zero models.'

Soon after, Mrs Holliday herself replied, responding: 'To everyone saying Im a burden to the British health care system, Im American so you dont have to worry about my fat a**.

'Worry about what horrible people you are by whining about how me being on the cover of a glossy magazine impacts your small-minded life.'

ITV's Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am and This Morning from 10.30am
Princess Margaret was given a lower level of education than the Queen to ensure she would not become a threat to her sister, a new documentary claims.

Lady Anne Glenconner, a maid-of-honour at the Queen's coronation, says Princess Margaret felt she was deliberately kept at an intellectual disadvantage growing up.

'She [Princess Margaret] always said, "I was never educated as well as my sister in order not to be a sort of threat to her", that's what she felt,' Lady Anne reveals in the BBC's Princess Margaret: The Rebel Royal.

Princess Margaret's former lady-in-waiting Lady Anne Glenconner said the royal, pictured at a 1951 film premiere, felt she was deliberately kept at an intellectual disadvantage growing up as she shared her memories in BBC documentary Princess Margaret: The Rebel Royal

Lady Anne was a childhood friend of Princess Margaret and went onto become a lady-in-waiting. Pictured, Lady Anne in 1956 ahead of her wedding to one of Margaret's friends

Lady Anne recalled how the then Princess Elizabeth (left in 1940) had tutors from Eton and Oxford while her younger sister Margaret (right) received lessons in French and piano playing

Lady Anne was a childhood friend of Princess Margaret and went onto become one of her ladies-in-waiting.

She spent much time with the young princesses as a child as her father, the 5th Earl of Leicester, was a close friend of the future King George VI and their family home, Holkham Hall, was just a stone's throw from the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

Lady Anne recalls how the different approaches to the princesses' education was apparent.

'The Queen had people from Oxford and Eton who came and taught her and Princess Margaret had a French governess and someone who taught her how to play piano,' she says.

Lady Anne was a close friend of the royal family and served as one of the Queen's maids of honour at the coronation in 1953. Lady Anne is pictured far left in this balcony photograph

As future Queen Princess Elizabeth was also given lessons in constitutional history, while her younger sister was not.

Fellow lady-in-waiting Jane Stevens says that the difference in education was the first indication to Princess Margaret that their lives were on different paths.

She recalls: 'She said to me, "that was the first time I sort of thought or realised that my sister was going to be Queen and I wouldn't really be part of what she was going to do. It hit her quite hard that their lives were going to be completely different.'

Another close friend, Lady Jane Rayne, adds how this lack of education would impact Princess Margaret for years to come.

The two-part documentary also explores the princess's relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend, to whom she was engaged, and her first husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones. Pictured, the princess with Mr Armstrong-Jones on announcing their engagement in 1960

'I think she was afraid of being belittled, but what role can you have next to the Queen? I don't know,' she says.

'She was intelligent but it was never put to any sort of good use. I think that's all that was expected of her. Do good work, marry somebody and have lots of little princesses.'

The two-part documentary, which starts next week, also explores the princess's relationship with Group Captain Peter Townsend, to whom she was engaged, and her first husband Antony Armstrong-Jones.

Princess Margaret: The Rebel Royal airs on BBC Two at 9pm, 11 September.
Jamie Oliver has been playfully mocked by Phillip Schofield in the wake of his 'jerk rice' row.

The millionaire chef had been accused of cultural appropriation by MP Dawn Butler last month over his 2.35 microwave bag of 'punchy jerk rice', which Ms Butler, who is of Jamaican descent, told him on Twitter was 'not ok'.

On Thursday TV chef was cooking tuna fettuccine on ITV's This Morning, but as he dropped the pasta in the pan to boil, cheeky Phillip couldn't resist asking 'is that jerk pasta?'

Throwing his towel in the air Jamie pretended to be angry before saying: 'I'd like to thank everyone for the free PR, that range has completely sold out and I am very grateful.'

Jamie added to the host: 'You couldn't not do it could you.'

Viewers watching the segment delighted in the jibe, taking to Twitter to say the 'shade' from Phillip had 'made their day'.

Jamie Oliver appeared on This Morning for a cooking segment but was mocked by host Phillip Schofield about his 'jerk rice' fiasco - before saying his thanks to people for the 'free PR' and that the product had now sold out

TV chef was accused of cultural appropriation after he launched a 'jerk rice' that members of the Caribbean community claim 'doesn't have jerk in it'

Viewers took to Twitter in delight over Phillip's jibe aimed towards the celebrity cook after a social media storm began when he was accused of cultural appropriation

The 43-year-old Essex-born celebrity cook had been accused of 'cultural appropriation' over his 2.35 bag of microwave 'punchy jerk rice'.

The row was sparked by London MP Dawn Butler, who is of Jamaican descent, who tweeted him on August 18 saying 'your jerk rice is not ok' - jerk is a traditional Jamaican recipe.

Viewers watching the cooking segment complained that the father-of-five was on the show, before tweeting crying-laughing emojis and Phillip's jibe.

'Oh hell! Im howling! Phillip Schofield is the undisputed King of Subtle Shade!!'

One said: '@Schofe asking Jamie Oliver if his pasta is going to be jerk pasta has made my day. Thank u.'

'Phillip Schofield calling out Jamie Oliver for his Jerk range has made my day,' echoed another.

'I AM SCREEEEECHING why did Phillip Schofield just ask Jamie Oliver live on telly if the pasta he was boiling was jerk pasta,' laughed one amused person/

While one woman didn't agree with Jamie's cavalier attitude: 'Well at least @Schofe had the decency to mention it. Disgusted that Jamie Oliver thought it was funny and thanked everyone for the free PR.'

Jamie jokingly threw his towel in the air after Phillip's comment. Holly laughed in the background as the chef then said thanks for the 'free PR' to viewers

Phillip laughed at Jamie's reaction as he said to the host: 'You couldn't not do it could you?' in regards to acknowledging the media furore he generated with the rice

The shadow equalities minister, who describes herself on social media as 'the UK's first elected female African-Caribbean Government Minister', wrote: '#jamieoliver @jamieoliver #jerk I'm just wondering do you know what #Jamaican #jerk actually is?

What is jerk? Jerk is a seasoning for meat and fish that originated in Jamaica. The first jerk recipes can be dated back to slavery and the year 1655. It comes in two forms, a dry seasoning that is rubbed onto meat or fish, or a wet marinade used in the same way. The two key ingredients are allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers. Other ingredients include: ginger, sat, brown sugar, garlic, thyme, cloves, scallions, nutmeg and cinnamon. Advertisement

'It's not just a word you put before stuff to sell products. @levirootsmusic should do a masterclass. Your jerk Rice is not ok. This appropriation from Jamaica needs to stop.'

After Ms Butler's tweet, TV chef Levi Roots appeared on Good Morning Britain with fellow Caribbean cook Rustie Lee to discuss the row further.

Mr Oliver defended the name of the ready meal in a statement last month after Caribbean cook Rustie Lee claimed the recipe has 'nothing to do with jerk'.

Jamie took to Twitter in August to give LBC radio host Steve Allen the reason behind his recent social media silence, saying he has 'been quiet as you can't give oxygen to daftness'.

He previously told Sky News: 'I've worked with flavours and spices from all over the world my whole career, learning and drawing inspiration from different countries and cultures to give a fresh twist to the food we eat every day.

'When I named the rice my intention was only to show where my inspiration came from.'

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10.30am
DKNY is honoring its roots in a new campaign celebrating New York City's diversity.

The brand, which was founded in 1984 by Donna Karan in the Big Apple, has released a new series of photos featuring four different models, including Korean supermodel Soo Joo Park, 32, and Iowa native Victoria's Secret Angel Alanna Arrington, 19.

Each photo in the campaign, which is debuting on Thursday, includes a lighthearted caption superimposed onto the shot, which highlights the models' backgrounds as well as their tastes and personalities.

Snap: Soo Joo Park, 32, posed in a new DKNY campaign celebrating New York City's diversity

Personal: Each image comes with a caption highlighting the models' tastes and personalities

Outfit: Soo Joo modeled a white turleneck with the brand's name on it along with a flowy black skirt and white boots in one of the shots

Soo Joo, who posed in a tartan coat as well as a flowy black skirt, is described as a 'Seoul sister', a 'runway queen', and a 'pizza lover' in her caption.

Her photos also come with the words 'blondes do it better', in a nod to her platinum locks, and 'DJ on deck'.

Alanna, who has walked in two Victoria's Secret fashions hows, modeled studded black pants as well as a bodysuit for the new campaign.

Her caption pays tribute to her home state by describing her as 'Iowa-grown', and also makes mention of her favorite New York City neighborhood with the words 'Harlem forever'.

Alanna's photos highlight the words 'red-obsessed' and 'my bag my life', right next to an image of her modeling a red purse.

Strike a pose: Victoria's Secret Angel Alanna Arrington, 19, modeled studded black pants as well as a bodysuit for the new campaign

Look: Alanna, who has walked in two Victoria's Secret fashions hows, modeled a bodysuit and a red purse, in accordance to her caption, which describes her as 'red-obsessed'

Priorities: Model Dilone, 24, also took part in the campaign, and is described in her caption as a 'Dominican-born' person who puts 'family first'

Accessories: Dilone modeled a white off-the-shoulder sweater for the brand, as well a purse featuring the brand's name prominently in bold letters

Preferences: Queens is also mentioned in her caption, along with the words 'drama queen' and 'always keen'

Model Dilone, 24, also took part in the campaign, and is described in her caption as a 'Dominican-born' person who puts 'family first'.

Queens is also mentioned, along with the words 'drama queen' and 'always keen'.

Dilone modeled a red turtleneck and a white off-the-shoulder sweater for the brand, as well as two purses featuring the brand's name prominently in bold letters.

On the men's side, Miles McMillan, from California, posed in a beige outfit featuring a jacket, pants, and a cream-colored sweater.

He also modeled a blue suit for the label, next to the captions: 'riding the wave', 'he(art)throb', 'dog lover', 'living the dream', and 'risk taker'.

Big Apple: On the men's side, Miles McMillan, from California, posed in a beige outfit featuring a jacket, pants, and a cream-colored sweater
A woman's deepest, darkest, most embarrassing secret was caught on cameras earlier this week and broadcast for all the world to see  and now social media users are accusing her of being a psychopath.

Alexa Greenfield, 26, was attending the US Open on Monday with her nephews when she went to dig into her chicken fingers.

But rather than dunking them into ketchup or honey mustard, the young socialite dipped them into her plastic cup of Coke - a practice that she later revealed was passed on by her father, and one which she insists makes her chicken taste delicious.

Dip dip: Alexa Greenfield attended the US Open on Monday, where she dipped her chicken fingers in a cup of Coke

Whoops! The 26-year-old was caught eating her strange food pairing by an ESPN camera

Go-to: She said she has been eating it that way since she was a kid and likes the taste, but typically tries to keep the odd preference a secret

Of course, Alexa isn't the only person with an odd eating habit, but unfortunately for her, there was an ESPN camera capturing B-roll footage nearby.

The moment she picked up the crispy fried tender, dunked it into her soda, and took a bite, she was caught on video and broadcast on national television.

And from there, people certainly noticed. One of the broadcasters pointed out that oddity, and soon clips of the moment were being shared online, where hundreds of social media users weighed in.

'Why are we dipping chicken fingers into soda? Why is this happening? Someone call the cops right now!' wrote Barstool Sports' Eric Hubbs.

'This is legit psychopath status,' added sportscaster Julie Stewart-Binks.

Quite a few people shared GIFs of Michael on The Office complaining about his soft teeth, and others simply expressed horror at the pairing.

All over the interwebs: Unfortunately for her, the recording went viral

Nope! Social media users have joked that the police should be called on Alexa

Not a fan: One sportscaster said it was 'legit psychopath status'

Too funny: Others posed GIFs showing how gross they found the pairing, or jokingly comparing the woman to Michael from The Office

Criminal: Calling questionable or unusual behaviors a 'crime' and saying police should be summoned is a popular trend on social media

Center of attention: Alexa has gone viral since the clip aired

'Arrest this person,' wrote one critic, while another tweeted, 'I'm calling the police'  a popular refrain on social media these days when anyone does something strange or objectionable.

Alexa, meanwhile, has acknowledged that it's an odd way to eat. In fact, moments before she took a bite, she told her nephews to keep the habit a secret because she was embarrassed.

Unfortuntately, she didn't count on cameras being nearby.

'My dad started me with [dipping chicken fingers in soda] I think to "cool" it down, but I just loved the taste and kept going,' she told Fox News.

'Once I got older I gave it up for a while assuming it would be way too weird to bring it into adulthood. But one day I said "eff it" and re-started.

As for the day the cameras caught her, she said, 'The funny part is that this story starts with me telling my nephews, "Listen, I am about to do something really weird. It is a huge secret and you can't tell anybody. Don't tell your parents and don't tell any adults because its pretty embarrassing."

She said: 'The funny part is that this story starts with me telling my nephews, "Listen, I am about to do something really weird. It is a huge secret and you can't tell anybody"'

Thanks pops: Her dad initially showed her the trick to 'cool down' her hot food

'Then I got caught by some cameraman and now I'm viral,' she said.

Critics who'd still like her to go to jail for the move may want to take it up with the President  since Alexa happens to run in the same circles as his daughter, Tiffany.

Alexa was one of several socialites to model for Just Drew, a fashion line launched by Tiffany's friend Andrew Warren. Tiffany herself modeled for his debut fashion show.

She was among the members of the 'Snap Pack' profiled by the New York Times in 2016, a crowd that also includes Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s daughter Kyra Kennedy, Barron Hilton, and Gaia Matisse (great-great-granddaughter of painter Henri Matisse), among others.

It's more likely, though, that the internet will quickly get over the chicken-fingers-in-Coke pairing, as it has done with other viral food pairings in the past  including pizza dipped in milk.
She may be married to the future king of England but when it comes to parenting Kate is just like the rest of us.

The Duchess of Cambridge was recently faced with the back to school uniform shop and accompanied her children Princess Charlotte and Prince George to buy new shoes for the start of term - where she apparently made a 'rookie' parenting error.

According to Hello! the mother-of-three took her eldest son and daughter to Peter Jones, a partner of John Lewis and stockist of George's uniform, in London's Chelsea with both children wearing their summer sandals.

Prince George (pictured on his first day at Thomas's school last year) was reportedly accompanied by his mother the Duchess of Cambridge and sister Princess Charlotte to buy school shoes Peter Jones in Chelsea ahead of the start of term

According to sources both Charlotte (pictured on her first day at Willocks Nursery last year) and George were wearing their summer sandals and Kate had neglected to bring any spare socks on the shopping trip

Sources told the magazine that the duchess was forced to borrow a pair of socks from store staff in order for George, five and Charlotte, three to try on smart new back to school shoes.

MailOnline has contacted Kensington Palace for a comment.

George returned to his primary school Thomas's Battersea today (Thursday) where he began Year One - and this term will see some big changes for Kate's eldest.

Not only will George be settling into a new classroom and meeting a new teacher, he will also be taking on new subjects like Science, History and Geography, as the cirriculum becomes more challenging.

According to the school's website, Year One pupils will build on what they learned in reception and develop key skills including joined-up handwriting, fluent speech and a greater understanding of Maths.

According to reports Kate (pictured in Germany last year) was forced to borrow some socks from store staff in order for her children to try on the shoes

Prince George returned to his school in Battersea (pictured) on Thursday where he started his first term in Year One - the media was not invited

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will also find themselves doing more homework with their eldest son, with pupils expected to read for 10 minutes a night and to complete a weekly spelling assignment.

Outside of the classroom, George and his peers will enjoy Drama, Art and Ballet classes.

The media was not invited, as they were last year, to witness George's return to school today.

Meanwhile his sister Charlotte returned to Willocks Nursery School on Wednesday with Hello! reporting that Kate would be accompanying her daughter on the school run - again the media was not invited for her return.

Royal fans are likely to see the prince and princess next month where they are expected to attend the wedding of their second cousin Princess Eugenie to Jack Brooksbank on October 12.
Ivanka Trump has come under fire on social media after airing her support of women's rights in Afghanistan.

The first daughter, 36, shared a video of herself on Twitter and Instagram on Thursday after addressing a conference about women's empowerment in Afghanistan, which was held on Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan.

'Supporting women is fundamental to the future direction of Afghanistan,' Ivanka wrote on social media. 'Together, we have the opportunity to help Afghan women as they strive to realize their dreams of a peaceful and prosperous future in their country and beyond!'

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Backlash: Ivanka Trump has come under fire on social media after airing her support of women's rights in Afghanistan

Clip: The first daughter tweeted a video of herself after addressing a conference about women's empowerment in Afghanistan, which was held on Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan

In the video, Ivanka faces the camera and gives a short address regarding women's rights and their significance, smiling in direction of the lens.

'We know that countries do better when women are able to participate fully in our societies. Afghan women leaders long fought for basic health, economic and political rights, against the obstacles of poverty, injustice, and violence,' she says.

'Supporting women's empowerment is therefore fundamental to the future direction of Afghanistan. The status and disposition of women will determine whether or not Afghanistan will be a civilized member of the community of nations or dissolve back into a repressive and brutal society like that which we saw during the Taliban rule.

'Our cooperation with Afghanistan aims to raise the voices of Afghan women as they seek a full role in the life of their nation.

'Afghan women possess the skills and boundless potential to establish a foundation for peace.'

While Ivanka has billed herself as a champion of women's rights, many thought her promotion of women's empowerment in Afghanistan was 'tone-deaf' in light of some of the moves made by Donald Trump's administration, of which Ivanka, as a senior White House adviser, is a member.

Reacting: While Ivanka has billed herself as a champion of women's rights, many thought her promotion of women's empowerment in Afghanistan was 'tone-deaf'

Comment: 'Girl. You should just go into hiding now and save yourself the embarrassment,' one person wrote. 'You're the last person anyone wants to hear from right now'

'How did they even find the tone deaf person who writes your tweets for you?' one person asked in reply to Ivanka's tweet.

Someone else wrote: 'Girl. You should just go into hiding now and save yourself the embarrassment. You're the last person anyone wants to hear from right now.'

One person brought up the ongoing confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court pick.

'How about supporting American women's rights over their own bodies by objecting to the appointment of Bert Kavanaugh? [sic]' that Twitter user wrote.

During his decade as a judge, Kavanaugh, now 53, has not ruled directly on abortion but has signaled sympathy for legal arguments made by anti-abortion advocates.

Judge: One person brought up the ongoing confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court pick

Context: Another person referred to the Trump administration's policy of splitting families at the border between the US and Mexico

Last October, he was on a panel of judges that issued an order preventing a 17-year-old illegal immigrant detained in Texas by U.S. authorities from immediately obtaining an abortion. That decision was overturned by the full appeals court and she had the abortion.

In a 2017 speech, Kavanaugh praised several opinions written by former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, including his dissent in Roe v. Wade.

Another person referred to the Trump administration's policy of splitting families at the border between the US and Mexico, which resulted in more than 2,600 children being separated from their parents or caretakers earlier this year.

'Why don't you put your energy and voice in putting the families back together that daddy tore apart?' someone wrote on Twitter, adding: 'You are such a hypocrite and your days are numbered... start packing and looking for another job, hopefully in another country.'

As of last week, 497 children remained separated from their families and 2,157 had been reunited with them or released, according to the Washington Post.

#MeToo: Someone brought up the at least 16 women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment

Sketch: One person referenced an SNL skit in which Scarlett Johansson accused Ivanka of being 'complicit' of her father's actions

'Sad': Someone told Ivanka that she seems to be 'all about panels and discussions'

Title: Several people mocked Ivanka by tweeting the word 'staffer' at her after it was reported that Ivanka had gotten into a fight with Steve Bannon after he called her that

Reference: The 'staffer' tweets came in reference to a report made by Bob Woodward in his new book on Trump's White House, titled Fear: Trump in the White House

Someone brought up the at least 16 women who have accused President Trump of sexual harassment.

'How about you empower your dad's accusers? #metoo right?' that person wrote.

One person referenced an SNL skit dating back to March 2017, in which Scarlett Johansson accused Ivanka of being 'complicit' of her father's actions.

That Twitter user shared a screenshot of Scarlett in the sketch, which was a spoof of a fragrance commercial, along with the words: 'Bye Ivanka.'

Several people mocked Ivanka by tweeting the word 'staffer' at her.

This was in reference to a report made by Bob Woodward in his new book on Trump's White House, titled Fear: Trump in the White House.

Brand: Another person brought up Ivanka's clothing company, which she closed in July

According to Woodward, Ivanka once got into a screaming match with then-adviser Steve Bannon, 64, after he told her: 'You're a goddamn staffer!'

Ivanka, per Woodward's book, responded: 'I'm not a staffer! ... I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter and I'm never going to be a staffer.'

Another person brought up Ivanka's clothing company, which she closed in July this year.

Her company had been criticized for making its products in Chinese factories, for the conditions in those factories, and for being granted trademarks by foreign governments such as China that would want to curry favor with the president.

'Good afternoon Ivanka, senior adviser of whatever & I'm not staff I'm 1st daughter,' the Twitter user wrote.

'You had women making clothes and shoes for peanuts in China, You seem to support separating kids form [sic] their parents. by your silence on the issue. Have you learned the definition of complicit?'
She is known for strutting her stuff down the catwalk at the Victoria's Secret fashion show.

But now Portuguese model Sara Sampaio, 27, stars in Joe's Jeans' latest campaign for the fall collection where she flaunts her toned figure in fitted jeans and cropped tops.

'I am so honored to be a part of the Joe's Jeans family' Sara said. 'Working with their team and shooting their iconic denim has been a dream.'

Stunning: Sara Sampaio, 27, is the recent face of Joe's Jeans 2018 fall campaign

Gorgeous: The Portuguese beauty joins a prestigious list of models who have campaigned for the brand, including Bella Hadid and Taylor Hill

On trend: The brand stuck with the trend this year of high-waisted jeans and cropped tops

She continued: '(I'm) proud to join the ranks of the prestigious line-up before me as their newest face.'

Previously, the brand has used iconic figures such as Bella Hadid, 21, and Taylor Hill, 22, for its 2016 and 2017 campaigns.

But Bella has since moved on to star as the face of True Religion, one of Joe's Jeans competitors.

True to the current fashion trends, the popular jean brand this year stuck with high-waisted jeans and cropped detailing at the ankles for the fall collection.

In a shoot based in Los Angeles, California, by photographer Mike Rosenthal, Sara is pictured wearing The Stretch Leather Cropped Boot, The Hi Honey Curvy Bootcut and the Icon Ankle, with side detailing.

She lets her luxurious brown locks fall loosely past her shoulders while standing in a variety of poses to show off the jeans and how well they fit to the body.

On the go: Sara has been traveling a lot lately as she recently signed on as the newest face for Giorgio Armani Beauty. Pictured right is her in Venice, Italy, last week and left in New York

Sultry: '(I'm) proud to join the ranks of the prestigious line-up before me as their newest face,' Sara said about her new role for Joe's Jeans

Fit: Sara is most known for her strut down the Victoria's Secret runaway as an angel

When asked about what Sara brought to the new campaign, Karen Castellano, Fashion Division President at Sequential Brands Group and owner of the Joe's brand said: 'Sara is a wonderful addition to the legacy of campaign faces for the collection in recent years.'

She continued: 'An ultimate Joes girl  Sara exudes true confidence and femininity. We are excited about the partnership and where she will take the brand.'

Whether Sara was lounging on the floor in jeans and a white tank or posing in front of the mirror, the Portuguese beauty showed off the clothing from Joe's Jeans on her stunning frame.

The model has been busy traveling the world as she just appeared in Venice, Italy, last week for the Venice Film Festival after she was announced as the newest face for Giorgio Armani Beauty.

Last night, Sara took a break from photo shoots and premieres to attend the U.S. Open in New York where she wore a powder blue sleeveless dress.
A brand new variety of chocolate is set to hit Australian shores and it comes in a pretty pink hue.

Ruby chocolate is the world's 'fourth chocolate' and a first in the development of chocolate in 80 years.

The last new flavour of chocolate discovered was white chocolate in the 1930s.

While the ruby chocolate flavour was launched earlier this year, it hasn't been available in Australia - until now.

But all that is set to change because on September 10 dessert outlet San Churros will be stocking the rosy-hued treat in all its stores.

Ruby chocolate is the world's 'fourth chocolate' and a first in the development of chocolate in 80 years

On September 10 dessert outlet San Churros will be stocking the rosy-hued treat in all its stores

Ruby chocolate derives its unique colour from the ruby cocoa bean which is grown in grown in Ecuador, Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

Powder extracted from the bean during processing is used to colour the chocolate and its creators state no berries or colours have been added in the making.

Chocolate aficionados will be pleased to know the new variety is 47 per cent more cocoa intense than standard milk chocolate, making it a serious flavour sensation.

The chocolate's taste is described as 'sweet yet sour' with 'little to none' of the cocoa flavour traditionally associated with other varieties of chocolate, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Chocolate aficionados will be pleased to know the new variety is 47 per cent more cocoa intense than standard milk chocolate

The innovation, by Barry Callebaut AG, the world's largest cocoa processor, comes after about a decade of development.

'It's natural, it's colourful, it's hedonistic, there's an indulgence aspect to it, but it keeps the authenticity of chocolate,' the company's CEO told the publication.

'It has a nice balance that speaks a lot to millennials.'

Those looking to sample the chocolate can head to San Churro outlets across Australia from September 10 where the product will be served in a host of ways including via churros and truffles.
People can be incredibly passionate about their pizza. New York versus Chicago style sends people into fierce debate, while Hawaiian pies  the kind topped with ham and pineapple  are always a controversial topic.

The latest variety to set social media users off? Mustard pizza, in which tomato sauce is replaced by the spicy condiment.

Since New York City eatery Lions and Tigers and Squares began offering the unusual flavor, opinionated people on Twitter have been going wild debating its merits  or lack thereof.

That's interesting... New York City eatery Lions and Tigers and Squares is serving up mustard pizza

Saucy: Instead of tomato sauce, the dough is topped with mustard before it goes in the oven

A flavorful twist: Finally, mean and cheese are added on top

That's not all! The pizzeria has proven quite popular since it opened early this year, and also sells other varieties of Detroit-style pizza

Are you out there? Twitter users, though, have mostly slammed the idea of mustard pizza

Lions and Tigers and Squares opened in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood earlier this year, and was launched by the man behind Artichoke Basille, an incredibly popular New York pizza place.

The new restaurant has gotten up to a good start and has become popular quite quickly, but it's most unique menu item has people divided.

Lions and Tigers and Squares specializes in Detroit-style pizza, and that's how this one starts out: a square pie with crispy crust.

Stick to the basics! Many have said it sounds even worse than Hawaiian pizza

Blech! Quite a few expressed discussed at the flavor

Decidedly not into it! Others posted GIFs to show how the mustard pizza made them feel

Truth: Some argued that it's not pizza if it doesn't have tomato sauce (which is true, but definition)

Awful: They image that Gordon Ramsay would not approve

The experts: One joked that 'in Sicily, this is punishable by stoning'

Then, instead of tomato sauce the kitchen squirts on a layer of mustard, before topping it off with cheese.

Unsurprisingly, quite a few people have proclaimed this to be a major no-no, arguing that's it's not pizza at all.

'To all y'all that complain about pineapples on pizza, THIS pizza with mustard on it is what yall should be disgusted with instead,' wrote one.

'This makes me want to gag,' wrote another, while a third added: 'This is why the aliens wont visit us.'

On sale: Customers have tested out the mustard pizza at the Manhattan shop

Love it! And some Twitter users are charmed by the idea and think it sounds great

Why not? Several people who like unconventional flavors in their pizza think it's worthy of a try

On the other hand... This person points out that it seems less disgusting if it's thought of as an open-faced sandwich instead of pizza

But like, what has regular pizza sauce ever done to you?' asked one very concerned person.

'In Sicily, this is punishable by stoning,' wrote another.

Yet not everyone is completely grossed out. Some have commented with heart emojis, writing 'my kind of pizza' and 'look at this beautiful creation.'

'I'd love to try it. I get barbecue instead of tomato on the base and dip the crust into honey mustard anyway so I give it a go,' wrote another open-minded eater.
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A man needed to be fitted with a pacemaker because of his dangerous habit of drinking 15 pints of beer each day.

The unidentified patient, 68, was told he had 'irreversible' damage to his heart that was caused by low levels of sodium.

Doctors in Malta gave him a pacemaker after attempts to correct his sodium levels did little to correct his atrioventricular block - which leads to a low heart rate.

The tale, one of the first to show beer potomania can cause 'irreversible' problems, was published in the prestigious BMJ Case Reports.

The unidentified patient, from Malta, was told he had 'irreversible' damage to his heart and dangerously low levels of sodium

The life-threatening condition is often triggered when patients drink large amounts of beer and eat little food - slashing their sodium intake.

This then means they get insufficient amounts of solutes and are unable to urinate out the beer. The excess fluid can damage cells.

Patients then can develop hyponatremia, abnormally low levels of sodium. Beer is known to be low in the mineral, which plays a crucial role in the body.

The man, who was treated at the Mater Dei Hospital - near the capital Valletta, had been skipping meals and had bouts of vomiting, doctors said.

WHAT IS BEER POTOMANIA? Beer potomania, which is caused by drinking too much beer and having low levels of sodium, was identified in 1971. Free water clearance requires an adequate daily intake of solutes, doctors at Malta's Mater Dei Hospital wrote in the BMJ Case Reports. 'Beer is very poor in solute content,' they added. 'Hence, in patients with excessive beer intake and poor solute intake, there is a low solute load presented to the kidneys and thus free water excretion is impaired leading to the dilutional hyponatraemia.' Advertisement

The patient was in an 'obtunded state' and his relatives declared he had consumed 15 pints of beer everyday for months.

He had already been admitted to hospital intoxicated a month before, where medics discovered no problems with his heart rate.

A CT scan during his latest visit revealed a low heart rate, which was being caused by an atrioventricular block that had never appeared previously.

Doctors made the decision to give him a temporary pacemaker and he was admitted to intensive care for sodium correction.

The AV block persisted - despite the fact the sodium levels improved to 130mmol/L, doctors wrote in the journal.

Patients should have sodium levels between 135 and 145mmol/L. Before hospital treatment, his sodium levels sat at 98mmol/L.

The patient then underwent a permanent pacemaker insertion because of his AV block.

Doctors, led by Dr Simon Mifsud, wrote in the journal: 'This case is noteworthy as the AV block persisted, despite correction of serum sodium concentration.'

Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation said: '15 pints of beer a day is certainly classed as excessive drinking, but as well as the amount we drink, its important to consider our drinking patterns.

'Even if you havent drunk alcohol Monday to Friday, that doesnt mean you can have a weeks worth on Saturday!

'Excess alcohol intake can damage your heart health so we recommend you stick to the national guidelines of no more than 14 units per week, this applies to both men and women.'
Patient simulators are used to give healthcare workers realistic training models

They can imitate seizures, coughing fits and fainting, as well as be made to bleed

The dolls are the size of a six-foot man who weighs 70kg and is 40 to 50 years old

A factory in Russia is making eerie lifelike robot dolls for medical students to practise on.

The patient simulation dolls are designed to look like and mimic humans so doctors and nurses can train for various situations.

Made in the city of Kazan, the devices can imitate real ill people by coughing, screaming, bleeding, urinating, and having seizures.

The company building them says the sophisticated healthcare simulators are the 'highest standard of realism'.

And they will be used to educate the next generation of medics about how to treat people suffering anything from a heart attack to a cut on their arm.

A factory in Kazan, Russia, makes the patient simulators so training medics can practise on life-like models which are the same size as real people

A company named Eidos Medicine is building the simulators as part of a project by the Skolkovo Innovation Centre.

Their main purpose is to give a lifelike model on which to practise resuscitation and intensive care, which would be difficult to replicate in real patients.

The robot patients are built to resemble a man 40 to 50 years of age, who weighs 70kg and is 183cm (six feet) tall.

They can blink and leak fluids to simulate sweating, crying or bleeding, and have life-like joint movements.

The manikins plug into advanced computers and technology so people can measure the simulated effects of the treatment they're giving

Called the ENSIM RAN, the simulators are made by a company called Eidos Medicine (Pictured: spare parts for the hands, which can move and flex like real joints)

Factory workers assemble the simulators in the Eidos Medicine factory in Kazan, Russia, a city approximately 1,000km to the east of Moscow

The simulators can be used to practise intubation of breathing or feeding tubes, and can wheeze to imitate real symptoms

Student doctors can also use the simulators to learn how to do things which could be unpleasant if they got them wrong on human models, such as putting in urinary catheters and giving injections.

Realistic simulators like these are used in healthcare training around the world because they give students a lifelike training experience

The eerie dolls can be modified to have serious injuries on the head or limbs and to bleed, so medics can be taught how to treat trauma wounds

The ENSIM RAN robots can scream, cough and have seizures, as well as being able to leak fluids out of the eyes, nose, mouth and genitals

The robot patients are built to resemble a man 40 to 50 years of age, who weighs 70kg and is 183cm (six feet) tall

And particularly detailed features include a heartbeat pulse in 12 different places on the body, the ability for the lips and fingers to turn blue, and the imitation of different types of seizures.

CPR, defibrillator training and intubation can all be practised on the dolls, which are named the ENSIM RAN.

Student doctors can also use the simulators to learn how to do things which could be unpleasant if they got them wrong on human models, such as putting in urinary catheters and giving injections.

When the ENSIM RAN simulates lung problems it can wheeze, cough and faint.

Dolls similar to these are used routinely in healthcare training because they give students a lifelike training experience.
He has a diffuse intrinsic potine glioma where the brain joins the spinal cord

A boy whose parents thought he was just clumsy when he began struggling to balance and falling off his bike has been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour.

Blaize and Emily Feduchin-Pate thought their son, Atticus, was just being a bumbling child when he started struggling to walk and developed a bump on his head.

But when his unusual symptoms got worse and were dismissed by a doctor, they called a paramedic who took him to hospital where he was given an MRI scan.

Doctors found an incurable brain tumour in Atticus's brain stem and told his parents, from Whitchurch in Hampshire, the boy has just nine months to live.

The rare cancer, called a diffuse intrinsic potine glioma, cannot be removed with surgery because it is in such a sensitive part of the brain.

Atticus's parents have now enrolled their son in an experimental drug trial which won't cure him but could help thousands of children in the future.

Atticus Feduchin-Pate was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour just weeks ago after his parents took him to the doctor when they noticed he was becoming increasingly clumsy and developed a small lump on his head

Mr and Mrs Feduchin-Pate, aged 42 and 37, were told just weeks ago their four-year-old was dying from a rare high grade brain tumour.

The cancer, known as a diffuse intrinsic potine glioma (DIPG), is growing on Atticus's brain stem  where the brain joins the spinal cord  so surgery is too dangerous.

DIPGs are thought to affect between 20 and 30 children each year in the UK, and 300 in the US, but just 10 per cent of patients will survive another two years after being diagnosed.

A week before his diagnosis, Atticus's parents noticed he was increasingly clumsy, struggling to balance and falling from his bike.

And when they also found a lump the size of a 10p piece on his head, they took their son to see a doctor.

The doctor dismissed the case and told them to keep an eye on it, but when he got worse they phoned a paramedic who took Atticus to hospital.

Mr Feduchin-Pate said: 'On the week leading up to his diagnosis we noticed that Atticus was being really clumsy, but we just thought he was being a four-year-old.

'He would fall off of his bike and not pay attention when people spoke to him, and even when we saw the bump on his head we initially thought he'd just banged it.

Atticus (pictured with his sister Hemploe, one, father Blaize, 42, and mother Emily, 37) has been given just nine months to live because the rare tumour is growing on his brain stem and cannot be operated on or cured

Four-year-old Atticus has good and bad days, his father said: 'One day he can walk and the next he can't, but he just thinks that's how everyone's life is'

Atticus's family are now focusing on making his remaining months as happy as possible and making memories for his little sister, Hemploe (pictured) before the cancer eventually kills him

'We took him to see his GP, but they couldn't find anything wrong with him and just told us to keep an eye on him.

'But when he continued to decline, we decided to call a paramedic and then Atticus was taken to the hospital to have further checks and he was given an MRI.

'The MRI showed the tumour in his head, and that's when we realised what the bump we had seen days before really was.

'The tumour resides in his brain stem, so cannot be removed safely by surgery.

'We have been told he has up to two years to live, but that is likely to be the maximum, and obviously that destroyed us.

'He is such a happy, well-spoken little boy and still doesn't know the extent of what he's going through  one day he can walk and the next he can't, but he just thinks that's how everyone's life is.'

DIPG is a type of high grade brain tumour which is aggressive and fast-growing.

DIPGs start in a part of the brain stem  where the brain and spinal cord are joined  which is responsible for vital bodily functions such as breathing, sleeping and blood pressure.

Because of this it is not safe to operate on Atticus's tumour and his parents have been told it is terminal.

But despite their son only having a limited life-span, the couple are hoping to raise as much awareness as possible about their son's rare condition and hopefully prevent it from killing others in the future.

Atticus is having radiotherapy to reduce the tumour and improve his symptoms, but the treatment will not cure him  his parents have enrolled him in a new drug trial in the hope it will help others avoid the same devastating fate in the future

Mr Feduchin-Pate says Atticus does not fully understand what is happening. He said: 'He is such a happy, well-spoken little boy and still doesn't know the extent of what he's going through'

They have enrolled Atticus in a trial of a new drug which could one day help treat other children with the same cancer  even though they know it won't save him.

WHAT IS A DIFFUSE INTRINSIC PONTINE GLIOMA? A diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is the second most common type of high-grade brain tumour to affect children. The cancers begin in a part of the brain stem called the pons, which is responsible for vital functions such as breathing, sleeping and blood pressure. Because the tumours grow in such a sensitive and important area of the brain it is too dangerous to operate on them, so they are considered incurable. Most diagnoses occur in children between the ages of five and 10. The cause of the tumour remains unknown, but more than 90 per cent of patients are thought to die within 18 months of diagnosis. Each year, there are around 100 to 150 new diagnoses in the US and between 20 and 30 in the UK. Symptoms include lack of facial control, double vision, headaches, vomiting, weakness, seizures and balance problems. One of the early indicators of the cancer is a child falling, tripping or losing balance. Source: The Brain Tumour Charity

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'We know the experimental drug won't save him,' Mr Feduchin-Pate said. 'But by him taking it they can monitor his progress for the future.

'We knew we had to do whatever we could to save other kids  and if giving Atticus a trial drug is the way to do that, then that's what we're going to do.

'Now our only hope is to give him the best of the life he has remaining, and to hopefully save other children in the future.

'We are dreading the day that he passes, but we'll find solace knowing that he has helped others in the future.'

Atticus is taking a drug called Everolimus, which is used to treat breast cancer already, and scientists hope it could treat DIPGs, too.

He has regular blood tests, MRI scans and monthly neurological assessments to track how the drug is affecting him.

The BIOMEDE clinical trial of which he is part looks at using drugs alongside radiotherapy to see whether the tumour can be suppressed for longer and extend the childs life.

The family are also focusing on making Atticus's remaining months enjoyable and creating memories for his one-year-old sister, Hemploe.

Mr Feduchin-Pate added: 'We also hope to raise money for The Brain Tumour Charity and to give Atticus the best life he can have, however long that continues for.

'He has a little sister, Hemploe, who he adores, and we want to give her the best memories with her big brother before he passes.'

Atticus's parents say their only hope now is to give their son the best of the life he has left, and try to help other children suffering from the same fate by joining a clinical trial of a new drug which could treat the rare type of brain tumour. Pictured: Atticus as a baby

Atticus's family are now raising money for the Brain Tumour Charity, which funds research into the deadly cancers

Sarah Lindsell, chief executive of The Brain Tumour Charity, said: 'Our thoughts are with Atticus, Blaize, Emily and Hemploe during this incredibly difficult time.

'Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of children and people under 40 in the UK and survival rates have not improved significantly over the last 40 years. This must change.

'We receive no government funding and rely 100% on voluntary donations and gifts in wills to fund world-class research which will help to drive forward our understanding of DIPG.

'Research of this kind is the only way we can offer hope to families like Atticus's and end the devastation caused by brain tumours.

'We wish Atticus all the best with his treatment and we hope that he and his family are able to enjoy many more wonderful times together as they work though his bucket list.'

To donate to a fund to help make Atticus's remaining time enjoyable and to donate to the Brain Tumour Charity, visit the family's GoFundMe page.
An Ebola death in a major city in the Democratic Republic of Congo has raised fears the ongoing outbreak could spread even further.

Health officials in the African nation yesterday confirmed the virus was responsible for the death of a woman in Butembo, a city of around 1.4 million.

In response, the World Health Organization's emergency response chief has said 'no-one should be sleeping well tonight around the world'.

Local reports claim the unnamed woman was the mother of a known Ebola patient, who travelled from the town at the centre of the outbreak.

It comes as the death toll from Ebola - responsible for a brutal pandemic in 2014 - in the country has reached 87 people since it began at the start of August.

At least 122 people have been infected with Ebola in the outbreak around the North Kivu region in the north-east of Democratic Republic of the Congo since it was first declared on August 1  the city of Beni has been the centre of the current outbreak

Experimental drugs have been shipped into the area to control the virus, considered to be one of the most lethal pathogens in existence.

But virologists have repeatedly warned the situation is 'hard to control' because cases are in a conflict zone, roamed by armed militias.

And the World Health Organization admitted the latest death makes ending the outbreak in the east of the country significantly harder.

Butembo's mayor revealed the victim was a woman, who was likely infected as a result of participating in an unsafe burial. She died in a university clinic.

But the DRC's Ministry of Health claims it was a man from a nearby town at the centre of the outbreak, who refused to cooperate with health authorities.

'Ebola case from Beni has died in Butembo DRC,' Peter Salama, the World Health Organization's head of emergency operations, wrote on Twitter.

'Good news is case detected quickly, response already in place and expanding. Bad new(s) is increases risk of further spread.'

He told the HuffPost: 'When you have an Ebola case confirmed in a city with one million people, no one should be sleeping well tonight around the world.'

However, he added that having Ebola in urban centres, such as Butembo, makes ending the ongoing outbreak much harder.

An Ebola patient is led to be treated by medical workers in Beni: Since the outbreak began some 4,296 people are thought to have come into contact with people who had the virus and 16 medical workers have been infected

Most of the Ebola 127 cases recorded so far have been in Beni, a city of 230,000 people with close links to bordering Uganda.

Butembo, about 35 miles (55km) away, is around triple the size of Beni and is a major trading route for consumer goods entering the DRC.

There are two other suspected cases of the Ebola in the city but these have not yet been confirmed, according to local reports.

Only 96 of the cases in North Kivu province have been confirmed. The rest remain probable due to the Ebola-like symptoms.

But it has since spread to Oicha, an area almost entirely surrounded by militants, which stoked the fears of Dr Tedros Adhanom, chief of the WHO.

Dr Tedros Adhanom told Reuters last week: 'If one case is hidden in the red zone or an inaccessible area, it's dangerous. It can just spark a fire, just one case.'

An agency that responds to humanitarian crises last week feared the outbreak would trump the pandemic four years ago, which killed 11,000 and decimated West Africa.

The International Rescue Committee said: 'Without a swift, concerted and efficient response, this outbreak has the potential to be the worst ever seen.'

Ebola virus disease, caused by the virus with its namesake, kills around 50 per cent of people it strikes  but there is no proven treatment available.

Some 82 people have died in the most recent Ebola outbreak taking place in the North Kivu province in the north-east of Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pictured: Health workers carry the body of a suspected victim last Wednesday, August 22, in Mangina, a town near Beni

The unsafe burial of a 65-year-old Ebola sufferer triggered the latest outbreak in the DRC, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

After she was buried members of her family began to display symptoms of the virus 'and seven of them died'.

Genetic analysis has confirmed the virus is the Zaire strain, the same as the one behind an outbreak in the west of the DRC earlier this summer.

However, Peter Salama, WHO deputy director for emergency preparedness and response, last month revealed it is genetically different.

The 2014 international response to the Ebola pandemic, which decimated West Africa, drew criticism for moving too slowly and prompted an apology from the WHO.

But international aid teams have moved much quicker in response this time - with vaccination campaigns already underway in several regions.
Thousands of nurses are forced to rely on food banks because they cannot afford to eat, shocking new research suggests.

Out of a survey of more than 1,000 nurses, nine per cent admitted to having collected free food in the past year, while 38 per cent said they struggle to buy food.

Over half claim to have less than 500 to fall back on if a personal crisis were to strike, such as ill health or a relationship breakdown.

The English and Scottish government recently agreed a deal that should see basic pay for nurses rise by around 6.5 per cent over three years. Salary increases were previously capped at one per cent.

Yet, Janet Davies, the former chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, stepped down from the position after she failed to deliver the immediate three per cent pay rise she promised last July.

Thousands of nurses are forced to rely on food banks because they cannot afford to eat (stock)

The online survey, which was carried out by the Cavell Nurses Trust, had 1,149 respondents.

Of which, 77 per cent said they were not financially prepared for a personal crisis, while 78 per cent claimed to have no more than 3,000 across their current and saving accounts.

When asked if their money woes ever led them to 'consider leaving nursing or midwifery', 55 per cent said yes.

Financial worries have also left many nurses struggling to heat their homes, pay for their commutes and care for their loved ones.

In 57 per cent of cases, nurses are the primary earners in their homes, which has increased from 48 per cent in 2007.

Due to them struggling to make ends meet, almost 60 per cent said they could not fund hobbies or social activities.

Despite their money woes, only 12 per cent would feel comfortable talking to their employers.

Cavell Nurses Trust chair Simon Knighton told Nursing Times: 'Messages in this report like "77 per cent of nursing professionals are unprepared for a sudden financial crisis" or "half of all nurses say they have 500 or less to survive on in a crisis" are not just statistics.

'Each number is made up of real issues personally experienced by real people, in their everyday lives.

'At any time, there are some who face personal crisis and many thousands more who are more dangerously close to personal crisis than it is reasonable to expect in a modern compassionate society.'

Cavell Nurses Trust, which supports nurses through personal and financial hardship, hopes the results of its survey will encourage employers to join its 'working with' programme, which aims to create a 'safety net' for staff during tough times.

The survey's findings will be included in the report 'Getting to work: Financial crisis and our nations nursing professionals', which is due to be released later this month.

Out of more than the 1,000 nurses surveyed, nine per cent are so hard done by they have been forced to use food banks this past year, while 38 per cent struggle to buy food (stock)

Under the new deal, nurses and other NHS staff on the Agenda for Change contract in England will reportedly receive an average 6.5 per cent rise in basic pay.

All but the highest paid staff should have received three per cent in April, as well as a 2.8 per cent lump sum next April and a further 1.7 per cent in April 2020.

Despite these promises, many question whether they will come through after the NHS pay rise blunder last summer.

Only half of nurses in England are thought to have received a pay rise straight away, with the rest being told they had to wait nearly a year until their appraisal.

Ms Davies offered a 'sincere personal apology' to the 435,000-strong union and said the pay deal was 'not as straightforward as we said'.

Many nurses were furious over the misleading deal and hundreds signed a vote of no confidence petition, calling for her and other bosses to step down.

The supposed agreement, reached after months of negotiation between unions, employers and ministers, was made possible due to an extra 4.2 billion of government funding.

Unions said the decision to accept the deal meant a significant wage boost for the lowest paid workers in the NHS.

Yet due to the complex system of how pay bands work for nurses in England, scores claimed to receive only very small increases.

Several nurses took to Twitter to complain at how their salary increased by a few pennies  with one saying it had risen by 20p.

When campaigning for the one per cent pay cap to be scrapped, unions referred to nurses' increasing reliance on food banks.

Deals in Scotland promise that the many workers who earn up to 80,000 will reportedly receive a minimum rise of nine per cent across 2018-to-2019 and 2020-to-2021.

If the proposals offered in Wales are agreed upon, staff should receive 6.5 per cent.

Number of would-be nurses plunges: Numbers applying for degrees down a third in two years Plans to increase numbers of trainee nurses amid an NHS staffing crisis have failed, nursing leaders claim. The number of those applying to nursing degrees has fallen a third in two years, from 43,730 in 2016 to 29,360 today, a Royal College of Nursing report has revealed. The college blames a Government decision to scrap grants worth 20,000 for future nurses and midwives and replace them with loans. The move was announced in 2015 and ministers claimed the money saved would pay for extra nurse training places. But the NHS is currently severely short of nurses, with approximately one in nine of all full-time posts being vacant. Janet Davies, chief executive of the RCN, said the Government had squandered the chance to address the crisis, adding: The Government knows that when there arent enough nurses, patients can pay the very highest price. She called on ministers to redouble efforts to attract students with fair pay and other incentives. Advertisement




Taking a long-haul flight most certainly means combating the effects of jet lag.

Symptoms can range from fatigue to stress to difficulty concentrating - which can hinder both a business trip and a vacation.

While we are all looking for a quick fix so we can get about our day, it turns out there is no such thing.

There is no cure for your biological clock and your time zone being out of sync, but there are tips you can follow to minimize this consequence of faraway travel.

Dr Joseph Ojile, founder of the Clayton Sleep Institute in Missouri, reveals why it can take days for us to adjust, why 'traveling west is best', and how having a glass of wine on the plane can worsen jet lag's effects.

Taking a long-haul flight most certainly means combating the effects of jet lag from fatigue to stress to difficulty concentrating (file image)

WHAT IS JET LAG?

Jet lag, also known as time zone change syndrome, occurs when your body quickly travels across time zones.

You have traveled faster than the ability of your body to reset its inner clock, what is known as your circadian rhythm.

This is particularly rough if you travel from west to east, such as from San Francisco to New York.

When it's 11pm Eastern Time in New York, and you know you should be going to sleep, your body is telling you it's actually 8pm Pacific Time.

'The general rule of thumb is "East is least and West is best" when it comes to traveling and jet lag,' Dr Ojile told Daily Mail Online.

'It's a lot nicer to go West because you land and effectively are just staying up before you go to bed.

'But when you go East, it's your night but their morning so you've got to get up and get moving.'

WHY LIGHT EXPOSURE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR

Our biological clocks are synchronized to light-dark changes and regulate multiple physiological processes including patterns of body temperature, brain activity and hormone production.

There are two internal body clocks that regulate your sleep-wake cycle.

The first is called the homeostatic sleep drive, which balances sleep and wakefulness.

A chemical by-product called adenosine builds up in the brain the longer you are awake and, while you sleep, adenosine breaks down.

Not getting enough sleep can leave you with high adensoine levels and make you feel dazed and groggy.

'The way I like to teach homeostatic sleep drive to people is to think about it like a pitcher of water,' said Dr Ojile.

'You and I, our wakefulness early in the morning is like a full pitcher. But over the course of the day, you pour out that wakefulness so by the end of the day you're tired again.'

The other clock is our daily, or circadian, rhythm, which is located behind the optic nerves in our eyes, in a region of the brain.

Light is the main cue that influences circadian rhythms. When the sun rises, the brain sends signals to the pineal gland to suppress production of melatonin, the hormone that controls when you are awake and when you go to sleep.

But when the sun sets, the pineal gland receives signals to secrete melatonin to make you drowsy

If your body doesn't receive these signals, however, your circadian rhythm can be completely thrown off.

Normally these clocks are aligned. But, because they work in very different ways, they can be out of sync when you travel.

Your adenosine levels can be very high because you've gotten very little sleep, but your circadian rhythm is telling you that it's day due to sunlight. This make it difficult to go to sleep.

'Your wakefulness peak comes when you're trying to go to sleep,' said Dr Ojile.

'Those two clocks are out of whack with each other and they need a little bit of time to get back in sync.

'At 4.30am or 5.00am, you're usually snoozing in the States. But if you're in Paris, you'd be walking around because it's daytime so you're doing activities at the worst possible biological time.'

JET LAG MAY INCREASE DIABETES RISK, NEW STUDY FINDS

We all know common symptoms of jet lag including fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and even mood changes.

But it can also result in physical changes to our bodies.

A 2010 study conducted by the University of California Berkeley discovered that chronic jet lag left changes in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memories and learning ability.

HOW EYE DROPS AND SLEEP MASKS COULD MAKE IT EASIER TO BATTLE JET LAG There have been attempts to help those experiencing jet lag adjust faster to their new locations. A study conducted last year by the University of Edinburgh in Scotland found that a group of cells in the eye directly communicate with the brain. By altering their signaling - via eye drops - this could help you adjust to a new time zone, the researchers said. And, this year, a high-tech sleep mask was put on the market using light-flash technology, developed by researchers at Stanford University Medical School in California. The mask sends pulses of light - similar to a camera flash - that stimulate light sensitive nerves in the brain that send signals to suppress or produce melatonin. 'There's honesty in saying you can't make [jet lag] go away but there are things that you have control over that can make it less problematic for travel and enjoyment,' Dr Ojile said. 'Sometimes it's nice to know if we have a certain degree to change the outcome, to be able to say: "Hey I can participate in this and make this better".' Advertisement

And a study just released today from Toho University in Japan found jet lag could trigger diabetes.

Losing a single night's sleep affects the liver's ability to produce insulin, which helps control blood glucose levels.

This increases the risk of developing diseases linked to metabolism - such as type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease.

WHY IT TAKES SO LONG TO ADJUST: YOUR BODY CLOCK CAN ONLY SHIFT ONE HOUR A DAY

We've all been told that when we're adjusting to a new time zone, we should stay awake until it's time to go to sleep in our new time zone and wake up when it's morning to 'reset' our circadian rhythm.

This, however, does not work.

If you drive or travel by bus or train, your body has the ability to gradually adjust to time zone changes.

However, our bodies haven't adapted to the point that we can quickly change those rhythms. In fact, our bodies are only capable of adjusting to one to two time zone changes per day.

So if you travel across three time zones, you could need up to three days to fully recover. But why does it take so long?

A 2013 study from Oxford University conducted on mice found that around 100 genes are activated in response to light and work to 'retune' your internal clock.

However, there is one molecule, known as SIK1, that works to limit the effects of light on the clock - essentially preventing the body clock from readjusting.

When scientists blocked SIK1 activity, the mice were able to more quickly adjust to light cycle changes.

REVEALED: HOW A JET LAG EXPERT DEALS WITH LONG FLIGHTS

'You can do lots of things to ease jet lag, lots of things to minimize your effects, but there's no easy "cure" for it,' Dr Ojile said.

One recommendation he makes is to start resetting your internal; body clock before your trip.

'Start going to bed earlier, two or three days before your trip, and then get up at 5am or 6am,' Dr Ojile said.

'You start to move your time clock and then by the time you travel, if you travel West to East, you're only three time zones behind instead of six.'

Dr Ojile says there are also melatonin supplements you can take, which can help you go to sleep.

Another adjustment you can make comes while you're on the plane.

'I would recommend avoiding alcohol and avoiding heavy, fatty foods,' Dr Ojile said.

'Get on the plane and have something light to eat, something healthy. These heavy foods can exacerbate jet lag because all of a sudden it's 3am in your brain and daytime where you land.

'Not only does it contribute to you feeling sluggish but also to you not getting enough sleep on the plane.'
While many use it to help them nod off, the background buzz of white noise from television static and hairdryers could be ageing you.

Although it helps to mask background sounds, white noise may reduce a brain's ability to adapt to incoming information, new research suggests.

Scientists found hearing white noise, even if it is not loud, speeds up the ageing process of a person's brain by breaking down certain chemical messengers.

Study author Mouna Attarha, from the University of Iowa, said: 'Increasing evidence shows that the brain rewires in a negative manner when it is fed random information, such as white noise.'

While many use it to help them nod off, the background buzz of white noise from hairdryers could harm a person's brain by breaking down some of its chemical messengers (stock)

White noise is often recommended to tinnitus patients to cover up the incessant ringing they hear.

Tinnitus is thought to occur due to a person's brain being unable to filter the different sounds being picked up by their ears.

The condition, which causes sufferers to hear high-pitched whines, may also occur due to patients' brains taking longer to interpret the different stimuli being picked up by their ears, with their brains also misinterpreting these signals.

All the above is thought to occur due to a break down of certain chemical messengers in a tinnitus patient's brain.

After reviewing animals studies, the scientists believe these same affects may occur when a human is exposed to white noise, even if the noise level is considered safe by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

They therefore conclude, in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology  Head & Neck Surgery, that both white noise and tinnitus speed up the ageing process of the brain, and the former should not be recommended as a treatment for the hearing condition.

Although the results may appear concerning, the effects of white noise have not yet been investigated in humans.

Two of the scientists behind the study also hold positions at Posit Science Corporation, which develops a technology that may benefit tinnitus sufferers and could give the researchers a conflict of interest.

White noise may damage a person's brain as much as the hearing condition tinnitus (stock)

HOW DOES ACTIVE NOISE CONTROL SOUND-CANCELLING TECHNOLOGY WORK? Active noise control is found in high-end noise cancelling headphones and promises to reduce the amount of ambient sound entering a wearer's ears. Each headphone speaker is equipped with a microphone, which enables the system to detect the waveforms of sounds entering them. It then generates an exact match for these sound waves, which is then inverted. When these two opposite signals meet, it cancels out the offending outside sounds. Some systems claim to be capable of reducing noise by up to 90 per cent, although this may be as low as 50 per cent in some models. The technology has existed for several decades, but has relatively recently been used in commercial headphones. Even more recently, it has begun to be applied in industrial and other public situations. Full size speakers equipped with the technology is used to cancel out the disruptive noises of transformers, compressors and other low frequency machinery. A number of institutions are also working on ways to incorporate it into residential and commercial buildings, like homes, shops and offices. Advertisement

This comes after an ear specialist warned last June that an entire generation is at risk of going deaf due to the under 30s listening to too much music on their phones.

According to Rosbin Syed, lead paediatric audiologist at Central Middlesex Hospital, the loud music pumped into a person's ears can be the same decibel level as a jumbo jet taking off.

He pointed to figures that show the number of people under 30 with permanent hearing damage has been on the rise across the UK over the past decade.

The maximum safe noise level for long periods of time is generally considered to be 85 decibels. Jumbo jets taking off can be in the region of 110 decibels.

Mr Syed said: 'It's not hard to imagine what prolonged exposure to that sort of noise is going to do.'
A university student had to have her thumb amputated after developing a rare form of skin cancer from biting her nails.

Courtney Whithorn, 20, developed the nervous habit after being bullied at school and even bit her thumb nail clean off in 2014.

Despite 'freaking out' when her thumb started to turn black, the embarrassed teen kept it hidden from her friends and family for four years.

After eventually seeing a doctor, the psychology student discovered she had caused such trauma to her nail bed that it developed into a rare cancer, known as acral lentiginous subungual melanoma, and was diagnosed last July.

Despite undergoing multiple surgeries to remove the cancer, and try and save her thumb, Miss Whithorn, who lives in Brisbane, was forced to have the digit removed last week.

Although Miss Whithorn's doctor claimed her cancer was caused by her nail-biting habit, other medics disagree.

Dr Nis Sheth, consultant dermatologist & British Skin Foundation spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Whilst physical trauma has been associated with appearance of some skin cancers its highly unlikely that just biting nails would have led to this cancer.'

University student Courtney Whithorn had to have her thumb amputated after developing a rare form of skin cancer caused by biting her nails, which was triggered by being bullied

The stress and anxiety of being bullied caused Miss Whithorn to bite her nail bed clean off in 2014, which caused it to bleed profusely and turn black. Ashamed of her digit's appearance, Miss Whithorn hid her thumb (pictured before her diagnosis) for four years

After eventually going to a doctor, Miss Whithorn endured four surgeries to remove her tumour. Her thumb was eventually amputated due to the 'protocol' of treating her cancer

Miss Whithorn, who moved to Australia from Durham nine years ago, said: 'When I found out that biting my nail off was the cause of the cancer it shattered me.

'In my head I thought "I've done this to myself" but obviously I knew I shouldn't have that mentality. I couldn't believe it.

'When you think about how many kids bite their nails it's crazy it came to that.'

Although Miss Whithorn's nail appeared unhealthy for years, she kept its troubling appearance to herself.

She said: 'I bit the nail off and was obviously very self-conscious of how black it was.

'My hand was just constantly in a fist because I didn't want anyone to see it - not even my parents.

'I got a bit freaked out when my skin started to go black so I showed them for the first time this year.

'I can't even explain how self-conscious I was. I always had fake nails to hide it because it was so black. It was like paper whenever it grew back.'

When Miss Whithorn heard her cancer had been caused by her incessant nail biting, she initially blamed herself but has since realised she was not to blame for what happened

She eventually showed her thumb (pictured left after her first surgery) to her parents when the surrounding skin began to turn black. It never occurred to her the problem may be cancer

Although the thought of having her thumb amputated initially caused Miss Whithorn to 'freak out', she accepted it after learning her cancer was spreading (pictured after the amputation)

Miss Whithorn says that without the support of her boyfriend Tyson Donnelly (pictured) she is unsure how she would have made it through. The pair have been dating for four years and met after Mr Donnelly stood up for her at school when she was being bullied by her classmates

Miss Whithorn, who has deferred her studies while she recovers, finally visited a GP when her skin started to turn black and was referred to a plastic surgeon.

She said: 'I saw two plastic surgeons, and they were thinking to remove my nail bed to get rid of the black and then put a skin graft over it so at least it would be skin colour - I was happy with that.

'But before my first surgery to remove the nail bed, the doctors could tell something was wrong and decided to do a biopsy.

'I had to wait six week for the results. They were sent down to Sydney because they couldn't tell if the biopsy was malignant or benign.

'The result came back uncertain so the surgeons wanted to be safe and remove the whole nail bed and any blackness.

She added: 'They did more tests and when those results came back, I was told that it was a malignant melanoma which was very rare to have there, especially for someone my age and at that size.

'I was obviously very shocked I couldn't believe it at all. My mum just burst into tears.'

Despite the amputation being a success, Miss Whithorn (pictured after the surgery) has still not been given the all clear. Due to her cancer being rare, doctors are unable to tell the student what her prognosis is, which reduces her to tears every time it is mentioned

Miss Whithorn claims she was more afraid of the needles being used than the amputation itself

Although happy with how everything has turned out, Miss Whithorn is aware her cancer may return, which would force surgeons to 'keep cutting away until we get a clear result'

WHAT IS ACRAL LENTIGINOUS SUBUNGUAL? Acral lentiginous subungual melanoma is a form of skin cancer that develops on the palms of a person's hand, the soles of their feet or beneath their nail. It usually starts as a flat patch of discoloured skin, which can look like a stain, that slowly enlarges over months or years. Acral lentiginous subungual is a rare form of skin cancer and makes up less than one per cent of melanoma cases in fair-skinned people, who are more at risk. Its cause is unclear and not related to sun exposure. It is thought to be triggered by genetic mutations and usually affects people over 40. As the cancer grows, affected lesions can become several centimetres wide, and contain a variety of brown, black, blue-grey and red colours. Although smooth at first, the affected skin often becomes thick with an irregular surface, like a wart, and may bleed or ulcerate. Initial treatment usually involves cutting the lesion out. If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, these are often also removed. Source: DermNet NZ Advertisement

Miss Whithorn, who worked as a part-time receptionist, underwent two surgeries to remove her nail bed. A scan of her thumb's inner cells then suggested she was in the clear.

Yet, just one week later, specialists in Sydney told Miss Whithorn's surgeon the protocol for her form of cancer is amputation.

Miss Whithorn said: 'The plastic surgeon texted me saying that protocol for this melanoma, because it's so rare, is amputation.

'I had a panic attack at work, I read the word "amputation" and ran outside - I couldn't breathe. I freaked out - we'd never even spoken about amputation.

'We went and saw a melanoma specialist who also agreed that amputation was protocol because this was such a rare cancer.'

In an attempt to avoid amputating, her surgeon performed a third operation to remove any remaining malignant cells, however, that operation only confirmed the need to amputate.

Miss Whithorn said: 'I went to sleep not knowing whether or not I was going to wake up with my thumb.'

As well as operating on the digit, Miss Whithorn also had two lymph nodes removed to determine whether her cancer had spread.

She said: 'Because it had started to travel, the only option left was amputation.

'I wasn't scared going in for the amputation surgery - I was more nervous as I'm not a big fan of needles and stuff.'

Although happy now, Miss Whithorn describes her nail-biting habit as being a 'coping mechanism' while she was being bullied, with her often being unaware she was even doing it

Despite the amputation being a success, Miss Whithorn has still not been given the all clear.

She said: 'I'm still waiting for that set of results from the surgery last week and if it's clear then the surgeon watches me for the next five years, and I get regular scans and bloods.

'There's not enough research to say what the survival rate is or what the likelihood of it coming back is because we just don't know much about it. I've just cried every time it's been brought up.

'The location of the cancer in my thumb is unknown so if it still shows up then they're just going to have to keep cutting away until we get a clear result.'

Mr Donnelly told Miss Whithorn's bullies to 'shut up and leave her alone', which led to the pair sitting down for a chat. The couple have been together ever since

As well as her boyfriend's support, she thanks her family, who have been hit hard by the ordeal

At 16 years old, Miss Whithorn was the victim of school bulling, with the stress and anxiety of it triggering her intense nail biting.

She said: 'I've been a nail biter my whole life but in 2014 I was in year 11 in high school and I was chronically bullied.

'Rumours were started about me and if I sat with people at lunch they would completely ignore me like I didn't exist. Nail biting became a coping mechanism for me.

'I didn't even know I was biting my nails sometimes, it just happened. I sort of lost the feeling because I was doing it that often.

'I didn't even realise I'd bitten my whole thumb nail off until I saw how much blood was on my hand.

She added: 'It never really grew back the same. It only grew on one side of my thumb and I kept biting it off then eventually the bottom of my nail turned black.

'I just thought it was dead like when people bang their nails.'

Miss Whithorn, who thought her black nail was due to it being 'dead', such as when someone bangs their hand, worries about how many children are at risk due to their nail-biting habits

The now-confident student wishes she had stuck up for herself more at school and believes that could have prevented her whole ordeal. She encourages others to be more outspoken

After her classmate Tyson Donnelly, 20, stuck up for her during the intense bullying, he and Miss Whithorn became more than just friends and have been dating for four years.

Miss Whithorn said: 'Me and Tyson went to the same school. I wasn't really friends with him but he literally walked over to these girls who were talking about me and told them to shut up and leave me alone.

'He took me to sit with him and that's sort of how we met. We've been together since then so that's one good thing to come out of it.

'Without my boyfriend or family I honestly don't know how I would have got through all this.'

Miss Whithorn is speaking out to encourage people who are being bullied to tell someone, as well as for bullies to rethink their actions.

She said: 'I just wish I was as confident and as outspoken as I am now back then.

'If I could say anything it would be just stand up for yourself - absolutely no matter what it takes just stand up for yourself.

'Some people have asked me who my biggest hero is or biggest influencer is and now I say "me". Be your own person and be who you need to be.'
Gracie Foster, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, died of meningococcal septicaemia

A four-year-old girl has died of blood poisoning and meningitis after being sent home from hospital before a routine tonsil operation.

Gracie Foster, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was booked into hospitals to have her tonsils removed on the day of her death in October 2015.

But the schoolgirl deteriorated before the surgery and was too poorly to go under the knife. Doctors sent her home, and allegedly said she did not need antibiotics.

Gracie was taken home by her family, who thought she had a virus, but the four-year-old died of meningococcal septicaemia (blood poisoning) later the same day.

Her mother is now raising questions over her daughter's sudden death ahead of her inquest, which is set to begin at Chesterfield Coroner's Court on Monday.

Michelle Foster, her mother said: 'Gracie's death has completely changed our lives. It's something we have to re-live over and over every single day.

'We were so lucky to have been in the hospital at the time Gracie developed symptoms of meningococcal septicaemia.

'She had a hospital bed and nurses saying she was really poorly - but unfortunately, she was sent home, even though at the time, she was dying.

'We are hoping her inquest will help to bring us closure and give us answers.'

Gracie, a pupil at Lenthall Nursery and Infant School, was booked into Chesterfield Royal Hospital at around 7am on October 21, 2015.

She was supposed to have her chronically enlarged tonsils taken out, due to them causing difficulties with swallowing and speech.

Upon admission, Gracie was fine and chatting with the nurses as normal.

However, while waiting for the surgery, her family claim she deteriorated suddenly, becoming very agitated, floppy and sleepy.

They allege a hospital nurse noticed Gracie felt hot and recorded her temperature at 40.1 (104.2F).

Gracie was taken back to the ward and was reviewed by the anaesthetist, who then cancelled her operation.

Her family claim a staff nurse requested a paediatrician review Gracie and a locum consultant attended and confirmed she did not need antibiotics and could go home.

Ms Foster carried Gracie off the ward and the youngster spent the afternoon with her grandmother while Ms Foster, believing her daughter had a viral infection from which she would fully recover, returned to work.

But Gracie continued to vomit throughout the afternoon with a raised temperature and was unable to communicate with her father on the phone when he rang at about 6.45pm.

At 7pm, two non-blanching spots were found on Gracie's body and her worried grandmother rushed her to Sheffield Children's Hospital, where she was floppy, unresponsive and found to be covered in more spots.

Gracie was also struggling to breathe and was immediately put into intensive care.

But doctors were unable to save her and she died a few hours later at 10.36pm, after suffering two cardiac arrests.

WHAT IS MENINGITIS? Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. Anyone can be affected but at-risk people include those aged under five, 15-to-24 and over 45. People exposed to passive smoking or with suppressed immune systems, such as patients undergoing chemotherapy, are also more at risk. The most common forms of meningitis are bacterial and viral. Symptoms for both include: Pale, blotchy skin with a rash that does not fade when compressed with a glass

Stiff neck

Dislike of bright lights

Fever, and cold hands and feet

Vomiting

Drowsiness

Severe headache Headache is one of the main symptoms Bacterial meningitis Bacterial meningitis requires urgent treatment at hospital with antibiotics. Some 10 per cent of bacterial cases are fatal. Of those who survive, one in three suffer complications, including brain damage and hearing loss. Limb amputation is a potential side effect if septicaemia (blood poisoning) occurs. Vaccines are available against certain strains of bacteria that cause meningitis, such as tuberculosis. Viral meningitis Viral is rarely life-threatening but can cause long-lasting effects, such as headaches, fatigue and memory problems. Thousands of people suffer from viral meningitis every year in the UK. Treatment focuses on hydration, painkillers and rest. Although ineffective, antibiotics may be given when patients arrive at hospital just in case they are suffering from the bacterial form of the disease. Source: Meningitis Now Advertisement

Gracie, of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was booked into hospitals to have her tonsils removed on the day of her death in October 2015

Ms Foster said she hopes the four day inquest will find the answers her family are desperate for for their daughter, described as 'an adventurous and Frozen-loving princess'.

She added: 'Gracie was full of life and a really happy little girl who made everyone smile. She was such an entertainer.

'There wasn't anything she wouldn't try, she was so adventurous.

'She loved Frozen - it was something we all had to love because we'd always be singing along to it in the car.

'She also loved netball, it's something I play and she couldn't wait to join me on the court, and would enjoy climbing trees or dressing up as a princess.'

Carolle White, associate who specialises in medical negligence and inquests at Nelsons, is representing Gracie's family.

She said: 'This is a truly tragic case which has broken the hearts of young Gracie's family - losing a child changes your whole perspective on life.

'Meningococcal septicaemia is a type of illness that is poorly understand in terms of the symptoms to look out for both by the public and medical profession.

'The symptoms can be similar to those you may experience with a viral illness.

'However, there are important red flag symptoms to look out for that indicate the illness is sepsis as opposed to a viral infection.

'I hope the inquest into Gracie's death raises awareness of meningococcal septicaemia and allows people to understand the devastating illness better, in turn lessening the changes of this from happening to others.'

Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, refused to comment until the inquest finishes next week.
An Australian father-of-three is fighting for his life after being struck down with sudden paralysis following a vacation to Bali.

When Craig Hardy returned to his home in Perth in June, he thought he was suffering from 'Bali belly', traveler's diarrhea and stomach pain suffered by tourists in Bali, Indonesia.

The 52-year-old managed to drive himself to the hospital as he felt his condition worsening and his right side started feeling numb.

By the time he reached Royal Perth Hospital, Hardy was completely paralyzed, unable to walk, speak, or breathe on his own.

That's when doctors diagnosed him with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks your peripheral nervous system, paralyzing parts of or - in some cases - your whole body.

Currently, Hardy can only move his head and neck a bit and physicians say it could take years before he makes a full recovery.

Father-of-three Craig Hardy, 52 (pictured), from Perth, Australia, was left paralyzed one day after he returned home from a vacation in Bali, Indonesia

Hardy (pictured) thought he had come down with a stomachache but then felt his right side go numb. He drove himself to the hospital and, by the time he arrived, he was completely paralyzed

Guillain-Barre syndrome is often preceded by an infectious illness such as a respiratory infection or the stomach flu.

It's a rare syndrome, affecting about one in 100,000 people and fewer than 20,000 cases per year, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

After the first symptoms of Guillain-Barre syndrome, sufferers' conditions usually worsen for about two weeks before plateauing around the four-week mark.

However, this has not been the case for Hardy, who has been hospitalized for the last three months.

At the beginning of his stay, doctors told his wife Megan and his teenage children Aimee, Hayden and Tayla, that Hardy - whose nickname is 'Rock' - was in a coma.

'Rock's organs were shutting down, he was on a breathing machine and then they had to do a tracheotomy,' his sister-in-law Deborah Hardy told news.com.aus.

'Finally they confirmed it was GBS and everyone was researching what it was. Not one of us had heard of it.'

Although Hardy emerged from his coma, he still can't speak - but his family says he can move his head and neck a bit.

He communicates by using a letter board and blinking to form sentences.

'He is completely cognizant and awake lying there but he's not able to move,' said Deborah, who is married to Hardy's brother Darren.

'His mind is 100 percent perfect but he's trapped; it's like being buried alive.'

Deborah also revealed that another symptom of GBS is that Hardy's lungs have begun collapsing, inducing the feeling as if he is drowning.

According to a GoFundMe page, a chest tube has been inserted to drain the fluid from his lungs and he also undergoes exercises that include holding his breath in hopes it can help his lungs start to breathe on their own.

Doctors diagnosed Hardy (pictured, in the hospital) with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition that sees the body's immune system attack its peripheral nervous system

Currently, Hardy is unable to walk, talk or breathe on his own. He can slightly move his head and neck and communicates with a letter board and by blinking. Pictured: Hardy in the hospital with doctors and his three children

While Hardy's doctors are hopeful he will make a recovery, it could take as long as two years and he will have to undergo intense physical therapy and rehabilitation. Pictured: Hardy in the hospital

The recovery period can last as little as a few weeks and as long as a few years, but about 30 percent of those diagnosed have a residual weakness after three years.

While there is no cure for GBS, there are treatments that can reduce the disease's severity and speed recovery such as Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy (IVIG).

When you have GBS, the immune system produces harmful antibodies that attack the nerves.

IVIG is a treatment made from donated blood that contains healthy antibodies to block the harmful ones from continuing their damage.

Most who have Guillain-Barre syndrome make full recoveries, but some are left with tingling sensations in the arms and legs.

While Hardy's doctors are hopeful he will make a recovery, it could take as long as two years and he will have to undergo intense physical therapy and rehabilitation.

'He's a hard-working, dedicated family man,' said Deborah.

'He'd do anything for anyone, he's very funny, a strong man, hence his nickname "Rock", but a heart of gold.'

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover the family's living expenses and the cost of modifications to the home and in-house care once Hardy returns home

So far, more than $10,000 has been raised out of a $100,000 goal.
Lameness prevention: it's all in the head

An understanding of how cows think, how they see the world and how they move is essential for lameness prevention.
A boom in rhinoplasties could be a key factor in the opioid epidemic, a new study suggests.

Nose jobs are often regarded as the most painful plastic surgery post-operative recovery.

Because of this, researchers say doctors over-prescribe the highly-addictive drugs to patients in anticipation of pain rather than determining whether or not they actually need it.

Past studies have shown that patients are often given prescriptions even if they didn't take any prior to hospital discharge and that those who are given 30 or more tablets are more likely to fill additional prescriptions.

The team, from Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, are now calling for a reduction of prescriptions in hopes that it will prevent patients from being exposed to prescription opioids and potentially starting a cycle of addiction.

A boom in rhinoplasties could be driving up the opioid epidemic by surgeons overprescribing the high addictive drugs, a new study suggests (file image)

For the study, the team looked at 173 rhinoplasties performed at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, a Harvard teaching hospital in Boston, between April 2017 and April 2018.

They found that the majority of patients, 168 of them, were prescribed opioids such as hydrocodone and oxycodone as well as acetaminophen, better known as Tylenol.

Among the 168 patients that were prescribed opioids, around 87 percent of them received oxycodone, the prescription drug Demi Lovato is believed to have overdosed on in July.

The researchers found that just two patients refilled their opioid prescriptions and 11 percent did not fill their initial prescriptions.

'We found that we would give prescriptions based on fear that people would experience pain,' co-author Dr Linda Lee, a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Mass Eye and Ear, told Daily Mail Online.

'This tells us there's potential we're overprescribing medications when it comes to rhinoplasties.'

She said since seeing the findings, she and her co-author Dr David Shay, also a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Mass Eye and Ear, have cut down on the number of tablets in a prescription by 50 percent.

According to figures from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, there were 223,018 rhinoplasties performed in 2016, a slight two percent increase from the year before and 4.8 percent of all rhinoplasties performed worldwide.

The board says that the average cost for a nose job is about $5,125.

Rhinoplasties are the third most popular plastic surgery procedure performed in the US, behind breast augmentations and liposuction.

Dr Stuart Linder, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California, who focuses on body work, told Daily Mail Online that it's vital to make sure the type of surgery is being weighed against the medication prescribed.

'With what I do, breast cases, tummy tucks and breast reconstructions, that's going to leave the patients in great amounts of pain post-operative,' he said.

'Tylenol is not going to be enough but I am extremely meticulous about giving a second prescription to a patient that hasn't had a large surgery.'

Dr Linder says when it comes refilling a prescription for Norco - which combines the opioid hydrocodone and acetaminophen - he needs to see the patient in person first.

'You have to make sure the pain is equivalent to the medication youre giving,' he said.

'As surgeons, we're trained in psychotherapy to determine if it's drug-seeking as opposed to truly pain.'

He noted that there are other ways to treat pain including muscle relaxants and ice compression, which he recommends for the first seven days following a surgery.

'Sometimes the pain is due to muscles and sometimes due to swelling so trying those avenues is also very valuable,' Dr Linder said.

Dr Lee said she and her colleagues are doing research looking for other ways to treat pain including local anesthetics and over-the-counter medication.

'One day, the hope is there won't be a need to prescribe opioids anymore,' she said.

In the US, opioid-related deaths were found to have increased by 200 percent since 1999.

According to an analysis released in February, the growing opioid epidemic has cost the US more than $1trillion from 2001 through 2017.

Around the same time, the US Senate announced it has allotted $6 billion for the opioid epidemic over a two-year period.

Last October, President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency and the federal government is expected to spend a record $4.6 billion this year to fight the opioid crisis.
HISTORY

I OBJECT:

by Ian Hislop and Tom Hockenhull (Thames & Hudson 25 224pp)

At last! A British Museum exhibition, and a book to go with it, that celebrates the worlds subversives: the quiet, defiant, naughty ones who look as though theyre obeying the rules, but who are subtly dissenting, protesting, mocking and undermining.

This handsome book stands up on its own as a good read about the history of dissent through the ages. British Museum curator Tom Hockenhull wrote the text, telling the fascinating stories of each item, and his sidekick Ian Hislop, dissenter supreme, has added an introduction and speech bubbles that bring the whole thing to life.

Hislop, with his eternally sixth-former-at-the-back-of-the-classroom taste for putting two fingers up to authority and pomposity, celebrates the mischievous spirit of artists who have dared to create items in subtle defiance of governments, kings, emperors, or tyrants under whom they were obliged to live; people who have dared, in short, to make a protest.

Ian Hislop (pictured at the British Museum) and Tom Hockenhull collate the history of dissent through the ages in a new book. Ian claims dissent leads to a healthier world

Unsurprisingly, writes Hislop, Im quite pro-dissent. I think it leads to a healthier world.

If dissent makes for a healthier world, then its good to see the world has been pretty healthy since at least 605 BC, when a cheeky workman called Zabina scrawled his name in graffiti on a fired clay brick stamped with the name of Nebuchadnezzar II.

What makes every object fascinating is that at first sight, they all look perfectly normal. Coins, banknotes, lumps of clay, items of clothing, carpets, salt-cellars, teapots: everyday items in the British Museums collection that youd usually not give a second glance.

But with Hislop and Hockenhull to point out the details, you do give that second glance, and then you see them, the hidden elements of subversion, such as the tiny words on a Twenties Burmese lacquered dish, We shall get home rule, or, on a Chinese postage stamp of 1992, the numbers 64, 17 and 9 on the bibs of Barcelona Olympics runners  a hidden reference to the date of the Tiananmen Square massacre: 64 means June 4; 1+7=8 and, with nine, means 1989.

That stamp was quickly suppressed by the Chinese authorities. I was hoping we might go as far back as subversive cave paintings, but sadly not.

The nearest we get to a cave painting is Banksys fabulous subversive stunt of 2005, when he created something that looked like a cave painting on a lump of stone and stuck it, without permission, on the wall of a British Museum gallery, where it went unnoticed for three days.

The caveman was, in fact, pushing a supermarket trolley. There was a label next to it saying: This finely preserved example of primitive art dates from the Post-Catatonic era and is thought to depict early man venturing towards the out-of-town hunting grounds.

As soon as it was spotted, it was removed, and Banksy later included it in an exhibition of his own work with the cheeky label: On loan from the British Museum. Now, it has come full circle: its back on the wall of the British Museum  this time officially.

The ornate salt-cellar known as the Stonyhurst Salt (pictured) was made in the 1570s from recycled fragments of old Catholic reliquaries at a time when all Catholic worship was banned

As Hislop comments: Not only does this item mock the pomposity of the whole process of collecting and exhibiting old artefacts, but it also suggests that you can stick anything into the museum and no one will notice.

That was a bit of fun, and there are other examples of light-hearted subversion, such as the rogue engraver at a UK-based printing firm in 1968, who, on the Indian 50-rupee bank notes, managed to make the palm fronds next to the Queens face look like the word SEX if you looked carefully and turned the note sideways.

Other acts of dissent have been darker, more risky, more daring  and have had nasty consequences for their creators.

If you scrutinise the Ten Commandments in an edition of the King James Bible of 1631 published by Robert Barker and Martin Lucas, youll see that the seventh commandment, nestled among all the thou shalt nots, reads: Thou shalt commit adultery.

Was that an accidental misprint? Hislop thinks not. Coincidence does not extend that far. I dont buy it.

The two publishers were fined a colossal sum for that outrageous omission of the negative. Barker bore the brunt of the fine and died penniless in a debtors prison.

I OBJECT: by Ian Hislop and Tom Hockenhull (Thames & Hudson 25 224pp)

The Greek sculptor Phidias  one of the most important artists in classical antiquity  committed the rash act of including an image of himself (a bald old man) on one of the Parthenon Sculptures, right next to the Athenian statesman Pericles. For this witty gesture, he was thrown into prison, where he died.

Some have got away with dazzling acts of subversion in broad daylight. During the Soviet regime in Czechoslovakia in the Fifties, a scout leader called Bedriska Synkova was imprisoned for carrying on her scouting work after the organisation had been banned for being too religious.

Synkovas mother happened to work as a secretary at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts and knew the sculptor who was commissioned to design the new 1 koruna coin.

Privately furious about the imprisonment, the sculptor asked her for her daughters photo and based her coin design on it. So a portrait of an imprisoned opponent of the Soviet regime went into wide circulation on millions of 1 koruna coins  and the girl on that coin is facing west as she bends to pick a linden leaf, hinting at a yearning for the West and its values. Hislop relishes the forbidden hidden in plain sight. He loves the ornate salt-cellar called the Stonyhurst Salt, made in the 1570s from recycled fragments of old Catholic reliquaries.

All Catholic worship was strictly banned  and Hislop imagines the Catholic owners of this object saying to their guests: Of course, we wouldnt dream of having items of Catholic worship here. By the way, this is the salt-cellar  would you like some?

The editor of Private Eye, Hislop particularly savours the story of the issue number of a magazine becoming a secret symbol of liberty.

In April 1763, issue 45 of the magazine The North Briton, published by the radical John Wilkes, vehemently attacked a recent kings speech to parliament and, from that moment, anyone opposed to British corruption and despotism adopted the number 45 to express their solidarity.

The number 45 was daubed on doorways, engraved on brooches  and even written on the base of the spout of a teapot, included in this exhibition.

Dissent is a thought-provoking new prism through which to look at the history of art. Both book and exhibition are unmissable.
UK owners of VW cars affected by the diesel emissions scandal are still awaiting some form of compensation from Volkswagen three years after dieselgate first broke.

And before a penny has been handed to those drivers who were sold vehicles that claimed to emit less harmful nitrogen oxides than they did, Volkswagen has pocketed compensation following a High Court judgement this week.

The ruling in favour of VW sees the car maker receive costs totalling close to half-a-million pounds after the court ruled that the manufacturer had been forced into 'various unnecessary and ineffective hearings' throughout 2017 by legal firms acting on behalf of owners.

A judgement in favour of VW will see the car maker receive costs of around 468,000 after the High Court ruled that the manufacturer had been forced into unnecessary and ineffective hearings last year by legal firms acting on behalf of owners

The judgment on Tuesday awarded the Volkswagen Group reimbursement of 'very substantial costs' incurred due to the premature application for a Group Litigation Order made by certain claimants represented by Slater & Gordon and Harcus Sinclair.

This led to a number of hearings throughout 2017 that the High Court of England and Wales deemed needless.

The Volkswagen Group said it welcomed the decision.

As a result, the institutional funders will pay an initial sum of 168,000 to the Volkswagen Defendants and two other defendants before the end of September.

Further costs, arising from this conduct, will be due from the claimants funders at the end of the litigation. Those costs will be subject to detailed assessment, but it's expected that these are likely to be in excess of 300,000.

According to VW, the court felt compelled to criticise certain claimants lawyers for their unreasonable conduct in bringing the GLO application prematurely.

We have been concerned about the conduct of some claimant firms in relation to this action, which has been disorganised and hindered the efficient progression of the litigation. Nicolai Laude, Volkswagen AG

As such, the court took the unusual step of awarding Volkswagen its costs on the higher indemnity - as opposed to standard - basis.

The judgment follows an earlier decision made in favour of Volkswagen against claimants represented by Your Lawyers.

In that judgment, Your Lawyers evidence was also rejected by the High Court as 'incompetent', 'not credible' and 'disingenuous'.

Nicolai Laude, spokesperson for Volkswagen AG, said: 'We have been concerned about the conduct of some claimant firms in relation to this action, which has been disorganised and hindered the efficient progression of the litigation.

'This judgment clearly supports our view.'

In a statement released on behalf of the under-fire manufacturer, it said: 'The Volkswagen Group has always said that it will rigorously defend itself and is confident in its case. That remains the position.'

Volkswagen has been forced to pay $14 billion in fines in the United States but has yet to see the manufacturer compensate owners of impacted vehicles in the UK

The dieselgate scandal has already seen VW payout $14 billion in fines in the United States, where the German car giant was found to have mis-sold vehicles to owners.

That hasn't been the case in the UK, though.

Affected drivers have yet to see a penny in compensation, though they have been offered to have emissions 'defeat devices' in their cars fixed free of charge.

However, the process of rectifying vehicles has led many drivers to report worse performance after their cars were altered.

Slater and Gordon today (Thursday) warned owners of impacted VWs, Skodas, Seats and Porsches that they have just 50 days to register for compensation worth up to 200 million.

The law firm urged drivers to register their claim before the October 26 deadline.

Gareth Pope, head of group litigation for Slater and Gordon said: 'VW have shown astonishing contempt for UK customers by refusing to admit fault in this country, over the same issue they have paid compensation for elsewhere.

'They are banking on current and former owners not signing up to a group action like our own.

'We want to make sure every driver gets the compensation they deserve and that the car giants are made to pay for their dishonest practices.

'Thats why we would encourage any affected drivers to join our group action, regardless of whether or not your car has had the fix applied or whether you still own it or have since sold it.'
A 15-year-old student has been shot and killed outside a Rhode Island high school on just the second day of the academic year.

Providence Police Chief Col Hugh Clements said the teen died after he was shot outside the Providence Career and Technical Academy Wednesday afternoon following a fight with another teen.

Clements did not identify the victim but an automated phone message to district parents said he attended nearby Central High School.

Maj David Lapatin also said police have in custody a 'person of interest' who was found shot about a mile away from the school.

A male student was shot and killed Wednesday after a fight broke out after school

The unidentified 15-year-old was a student at Central High School in Providence

That boy, who Lapatin also didn't name, was taken to the hospital with a gunshot to his thigh that isn't considered life-threatening.

He is now in police custody.

The fight broke out shortly before 2pm Wednesday as the victim's high school was released early.

As the fight escalated the suspect pulled out a pistol and fired.

The surrounding schools were placed on lock down as police arrived at the scene.

'There are no words that adequately describe how terrible this is - how tragic this is,' Providence School Superintendent Christopher Maher told NBC 10 News.

After the shooting, governor Gina Raimondo came to the crime scene.

'As a mother, this is every parent's worst nightmare,' Governor Raimondo said. 'It's scary. So I wanted to be here to say to the folks here on the scene, we're with you.'

After getting into an altercation at 2pm, the male suspect pulled out a pistol (pictured)

A 'person of interest' was found shot in the thigh a mile away from the school

'We'll do anything we can to support you. We'll make sure there's extra mental-health counselors tomorrow. We've taken action. Enough is enough with gun violence. We've got to do more. We have to continue to do more to keep our kids safe,' the governor added.

Ken Wagner, the state education commissioner, said in a statement: 'It's devastating to hear of a young life cut short, and I speak for the entire department when I say that our thoughts are with the district, the students, and most of all, with the family of the victim.

'Our focus will continue to be on the well-being of our students, and giving them - and our educators - the support they need.'

The Providence Journal reports the shooting is the city's eighth homicide this year.
The Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday argued that higher taxes could make Britons happier as businesses criticised his blueprint to tackle inequality.

Launching a report by the centre-Left IPPR think-tank, Justin Welby said taxation can contribute to 'public, shared prosperity'.

He suggested levies could be increased to fund improvements to the environment and culture, which could boost overall happiness.

The report was published by a commission set up by the IPPR and chaired by Archbishop Welby. Its membership included economists and trade union leaders.

Among 73 recommendations, it suggests putting workers on company boards, an increase in corporation tax and higher pay for workers on zero-hours contracts, as well as regulating digital media firms in a similar way to utility companies.

He also wants to rake in an extra 9billion a year with a revamp of inheritance tax.

But last night the report, which aims to cut 'damaging wealth inequality', was criticised by business leaders, who said they did not need further burdens imposed on them.

The Archbishop of Canterbury (pictured with his wife) yesterday argued that higher taxes could make Britons happier as businesses criticised his blueprint to tackle inequality

Edwin Morgan, of the Institute of Directors, said: 'Anyone who has spoken to businesses lately will know that now is not the time to be raising taxes and increasing burdens.'

Kate Andrews, of the free market Institute for Economic Affairs, added: 'It's hard to take a 'fairness' report seriously that doesn't highlight cost of living issues and supply-side issues as a main concern.'

James Price, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'As a fellow Anglican, I'm none too happy that Justin Welby has seen fit to endorse a high tax report that will hurt people who want to pass on something to future generations and want to keep more of their own money.'

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen dismissed the Archbishop's comments, saying: 'You can never tax a country to prosperity.'

The IPPR report also called for a higher minimum wage and the establishment of a new National Investment Bank.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen (pictured) dismissed the Archbishop's comments, saying: 'You can never tax a country to prosperity'

It said that, almost a decade since the financial crisis, the living standards of tens of millions of people had 'stagnated', young people had seen life chances deteriorate, and the economic gulf between London and the South East and the rest of the country had widened.

Launching the report yesterday, Archbishop Welby said: 'Prosperity depends on the security and quality of work, and the balance of work and life, the quality of our relationships, and not just about the amount of income we receive.

'It rests on the common good as well as individual wellbeing.' The 'common good' includes political discourse, science, culture and protecting the environment, he added.

The Archbishop went on: 'Public safety and security, clean air and beautiful natural environments, public parks and spaces, arts and culture, the sense of belonging to a community  these are all important contributors to individual wellbeing, but can only be enjoyed if we pay for and secure them collectively.

'For these reasons, the very nature of public good highlights the importance of public taxation in contributing to public, shared prosperity.'

Archbishop of York John Sentamu (right, with Chris Evans) suggested last year that taxpayers should be allowed to voluntarily 'top up' their income tax to boost public spending

Senior figures in the Church of England have previously said some people should pay more taxes.

Archbishop of York John Sentamu suggested last year that taxpayers should be allowed to voluntarily 'top up' their income tax to boost public spending.

The Archbishop also urged tech giants to contribute a 'proper' share of tax, telling the BBC: 'If we are going to have a hope-filled future... everyone has to contribute who takes from this country.

'Everyone has to put things back and they have to put it back most of all in tax.'

The IPPR report was backed by shadow chancellor John McDonnell. He said: 'This is today's equivalent of the historic Beveridge report.

Just as Beveridge did for welfare, this report could transform our approach to economic policy making.'
The GRU may have been founded during the Russian Civil War a century ago, but today it has found favour with Vladimir Putin as the perfect organisation to carry out his 21st century military tactics.

As we have seen in Ukraine, the US and in Salisbury, Russia is turning away from conventional displays of force and towards what has been dubbed non-linear warfare.

This uses a combination of covert special-forces operations, spying, cyber attacks and internet trolls to destabilise enemy nations. Because Russia always stops short of outright aggression, the West has struggled to come up with an effective response to this provocation.

The GRU, pictured, is a combination of an intelligence service and a special forces unit

A combination of intelligence service and special-forces unit, the GRU  known in full as the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation  has proved well suited to such operations.

It started as an intelligence-gathering agency for Trotskys Bolshevik Red Army, and Lenin insisted it remain separate from the other intelligence organisation.

Today it still sits apart from the SVR, the external spying service, and the domestic FSB (the equivalents of Britains MI6 and MI5), which were created when the notorious KGB was split in 1991.

As a subordinate branch of Russias armed forces rather than a self-contained agency, the GRU answers to Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu and to Valeri Gerasimov, the Chief of the General Staff.

It is based in a headquarters nicknamed The Aquarium on an airbase near Moscow and is very large, deploying six times as many agents in foreign countries as the SVR. These are typically embedded in Russian embassies as military attaches and work on recruiting foreign double agents as well as monitoring military installations and new weapons systems.

It has its own special forces, known as Spetsnaz.

The GRU in 1997 was believed to have 25,000 Spetsnaz special forces soldiers, such as these operating in Dagestan in September 1999 hunting for Islamic militants

In 1997 it was estimated to have 25,000 Spetsnaz soldiers under its command. Their legend has trickled down through the agency, with many desk-bound agents claiming to have a special-forces background even if they do not.

Many agents do have a military background, though, such as Sergei Skripal, who was recruited after serving in the Soviet army and ended up passing secrets to MI6.

There is also a large signals intelligence branch (like our GCHQ) with about 130 satellites orbiting the Earth and a corresponding branch that analyses the resulting visual images.

There are also specialist sub-departments for sophisticated cyber warfare, which recruit from Russias top universities.

The GRU are perfect for Vladimir Putin's 'non-linear warfare' using special forces and cyber attacks as well as covert operations

In July, 12 GRU officers were charged with hacking into the Democratic Partys computers ahead of the 2016 US presidential election, and the hacker group that was discovered in December last year to have infiltrated the German interior and foreign ministries computer networks was also linked to the GRU.

It was not always so successful. After the 2008 war with Georgia, the GRU was criticised for the quality of its intelligence-gathering and its focus on using brute force was regarded as old-fashioned.

It was even on the brink of being disbanded. Since then, however, it has experienced a remarkable turnaround. This is in part down to its leader, 62-year-old Lieutenant-General Igor Korobov. A former airforce pilot, he was head of the GRUs strategic intelligence directorate and like many top Russians, he regards the western sanctions imposed on his movements as a badge of honour. His efforts to cosy up to Putin have worked wonders for the standing of the agency.

The GRU are thought to have been involved in the shooting down of MH-17 in eastern Ukraine

This has been helped by the role it played in Ukraine. GRU special forces, alongside private-sector mercenaries, were active in the conflict very early on. They are believed to have been among the so-called little green men  the highly trained Russian-speaking troops dressed in face masks and unmarked military uniforms and armed with highly sophisticated weaponry who suddenly appeared in Ukraine to join the rebels and foment unrest.

At first their tasks included covert sabotage of Ukrainian government facilities, as well as organising Russian-speaking rebels (and a large number of Russian military tourists) into something approaching a co-ordinated army. It helped that one rebel leader was himself a former GRU officer.

Investigators examining the shooting down of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine believe a GRU officer was linked to the procurement and transport of the weapons used.

The Vostok Battalion, a unit of GRU troops made up of veterans of Russias recent wars in Chechnya, also took part in the conflict.

Since 2015, GRU units have been deployed to Syria to help the Assad regime by carrying out battlefield reconnaissance. GRU troops are also thought to have been involved in an attempted coup in Montenegro in 2016.

Despite its role in recruiting defectors, the GRU has always been tough on traitors from within its own ranks. One officer who defected to Britain later revealed that recruits were shown a graphic video of an agent who had turned against his colleagues being burned to death in a furnace.

It was a potent warning  one the modern GRU still seems committed to carrying out.
Controversial Australian National Imams Council president Sheik Shady Alsuleiman won't be travelling to Denmark anytime soon after he was forbidden to enter the country.

Alsuleiman, who made headlines in 2016 after declaring gay men 'spread diseases', was added to a Danish government list of 'religious preachers with an entry ban' earlier this year.

The list states Alsuleiman is subject to a two-year prohibition from entering the European country dating back to April 10 this year.

Sheik Shady Alsuleiman has been banned by government authorities from entering Denmark

The controversial Sheik hit the headlines in 2016 when he declared gay men 'spread diseases'

It is not known if Alsuleiman has applied for a visa to enter Denmark, where the wearing of burkas in public spaces was formally banned in June.

Individuals ignoring the law are subject to fines of 1000 kroner (A$208).

Fellow European nations such as France, Germany and Austria already have similar public burka bans in place.

Danish Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Stojberg formally announced Alsuleiman's ban via Facebook back in April.

Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Stojberg on why the Sheik is banned from Denmark

'Shady Alsuleiman from today will not be let in so he can preachin this country,' she said.

According to Danish law, a religious preacher can be placed on the banned sanctions list if they 'display behaviour that gives reason to believe the foreign national could pose a threat to the public order'.

The Australian cleric was invited to an iftar dinner hosted by then prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at Kirribilli House two years ago.

At the time Mr Turnbull said the Sheik's views on homosexuality were 'unacceptable.'

Sheik Alsuleiman did not return repeated phone calls and text messages from Daily Mail Australia.


The novichok used in the March Salisbury attack came in this bottle disguised as perfume from Paris fashion house Nina Ricci

The discovery of a lethal chemical weapon disguised as a perfume bottle sealed the case against Russia.

Experts were stunned to discover the very sophisticated way its manufacturers had created the James Bond-style device, which looked like a scent from Paris fashion house Nina Ricci.

They believe a laboratory made the bottle and applicator nozzle so it was impossible for novichok to leak out in transit.

These were then disguised as a 5.5ml sample bottle of the Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume. The counterfeit bottle was packaged in a glossy custom-designed cardboard box, based almost entirely on authentic branded goods.

Investigators suggested the nozzle could only be fitted at the point of the attack on the Skripals home.

It would have then delivered a tiny amount of the deadly chemical, which had the consistency of a gel, via a long tube to keep it away from the hands of the user.

Scotland Yard do not know what happened to the bottle between the attack on March 4 and its discovery on June 27.

Charlie Rowley, 48, found the package in a charity bin in the city centre.

Three days later, as he tried to reassemble it, his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, 44, made the fatal decision to smear its contents on her wrist.

One source close to the inquiry said: The bottle was very sophisticated and had been adapted for this exact task. It was specifically manufactured to ensure it did not leak.

The Met Police released photographs of the elaborate ruse used by the Russian agents

Experts discovered a great deal of time, effort and expense went into making this object and executing this specific task.

When they analysed the contents they found it was 100 per cent strength novichok, not the weakened samples they had recovered previously.

Yesterday, police confirmed that despite extensive searches items contaminated with novichok may remain in Salisbury.

They also cannot be certain that the bottle and applicator is the only one used in the attack on the Skripal home.

Counter terrorism Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the manner in which the bottle and packaging was counterfeited made it a perfect cover.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an expert in chemical weapons, said: All the evidence points towards a state actor. This could only happen in the most sophisticated laboratories.

The fact that the bottle was so carefully and expertly made clearly points directly towards the Russians.
The girlfriend of a tradesman who was electrocuted on the job has revealed the heartbreaking moment she realised her boyfriend was planning to propose.

Jaime-Lee Digby's partner Luke Bray, 24, was electrocuted while working in the roof of a home in Carlton, in Sydney's south, in February.

Ms Digby spoke about the horrific ordeal and their whirlwind romance when she fronted the media on Wednesday.

The girlfriend of an electrocuted tradesman, Jaime-Lee Digby (pictured), has revealed the heartbreaking moment she realised her boyfriend was planning to propose

Luke Bray (pictured, right), 24, was electrocuted while working in the roof of a home in Carlton, in Sydney's south, in February

Ms Digby said the young couple (pictured) met while they were in the Navy and their relationship moved quickly

'Luke and I met on the Navy, we were on the same ship together. Things went very, very quickly,' she said.

'When this happened it tore my entire life apart. I lived here all by myself at the time, so I had to fly my parents down from the Sunny Coast to go and identify his body.

'I then had to collect his belongings from the police station, which had a receipt for an engagement ring...its been very, very painful.'

Following Mr Bray's death in February, Ms Digby shared the heartbreaking story of the engagement ring on her Instagram page.

'When it came time to identify his body and collect his belongings I was made aware of something incredibly special inside his wallet,' she wrote.

'In his wallet was a receipt for a beautiful cushion cut Halo engagement ring from Armans Jewellery.'

Following Mr Bray's death in February, Ms Digby shared the heartbreaking story of the engagement ring on her Instagram page (pictured, right). The receipt was for a cushion cut Halo engagement ring (pictured, left)

'For the love of my life, taken too soon. I lost the most incredible man but I gained me a perfect angel,' Ms Digby wrote (pictured is her tattoo)

Reports indicate Mr Bray was killed by power flowing into the house through illegal wiring, despite power being switched off at the mains

There were desperate attempts to save the former Navy sailor (pictured, right) but paramedics were unable to revive him

Ms Digby entered a competition posted by Armans Jewellery in the hope of winning a ring.

'We had always spoken about the day that we were to meet each other at the aisle and I would like nothing more than to fulfill his dream,' she wrote.

'Winning this competition would complete me and our aspirations of becoming engaged as he was so desperate and worked so hard to make it happen.'

Reports indicate Mr Bray was killed by power flowing into the house through illegal wiring, despite power being switched off at the mains.

There were desperate attempts to save the former Navy sailor but paramedics were unable to revive him.

'No person should go to work one day and not make it home alive by the evening,' Ms Digby said on Wednesday.

Ms Digby revealed the young couple had spoken about 'the day that we were to meet each other at the aisle'
Capilano managing director Ben McKee (pictured) revealed the company will back a new honey-testing facility

Australia's largest honey producer has made a dramatic U-turn after being accused of selling 'fake' honey mixed with a range of different sugar syrups.

When a test showed that Capilano's Allowrie honey included inferior syrups, the company initially criticised the assessment, saying Australian regulators do not use this testing regime at all.

But in a shocking twist, Capilano has today revealed it is now planning to fund the establishment of a new test facility for honey in Australia that uses the same regime he criticised.

Capilano managing director Ben McKee had previously questioned the reliability of the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resolution) test compared to Australian-standard C3 and C4 sugar tests.

He had called on the industry to prove the NMR test so that it matched the robustness of results from other testing currently relied on internationally.

However, Capilano is now joining forces with other industry players to build an independent facility to test any honey for sale in Australia using the NMR method - and it could receive Federal Government support.

We have commenced discussions with the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Honey Bee Products and most importantly the University of Sunshine Coast, who currently have NMR capability, to establish an independent honey testing facility, McKee said.

We have also held discussions with the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council Executive Director and Chairman to ensure such a facility meets its needs.

Some honey producers have allegedly been finding ways around the existing C3 and C4 testing methods, and experts have claimed that the NMR test is the most fool-proof assessment.

The Australian honey producer accused of selling adulterated honey, mixed with a range of different sugar syrups, has made a U-turn on its stance.

An NMR test showed that Capilano's Allowrie honey included rice and beet syrups and the company initially criticised the assessment, saying that Australian regulators do not use this testing regime at all

Even though Capilano has a testing regime that is internationally recognised, we can see the added benefit of investing in new testing regimes to continue to maintain the confidence of consumers and the Australian honey industry,' McKee said.

But not everyone is convinced by Capilano's move.

Former ACCC chairman Allan Fels believes that testing and its funding should be done 'at arm's length' from the industry, The Age reports.

He also said that people unconnected to the honey industry knew it was a target for food fraud globally, and added that regulators should question what Capilano had done to prevent tainted products from entering its supply chain.

Capilano also said today that it would be re-testing all of its imported honey products.

'Capilano is fully supportive of increased and improved testing of imported honey and will reject any imported honey that fails these tests,' the company said.

Supermarkets and honey brands across Australia were accused of selling fake honey earlier this week following the results of honey fraud detection testing.

Germanys Quality Services International (QSI) lab  which specialises in honey fraud detection  ran tests on a range of honeys across Australia, and found that many products boasting 100 per cent honey content also contained different types of syrups.

By and large [the impurity] is some kind of syrup thats been converted to look like honey, it tastes like honey, Phillip McCabe, from the International Federation of Beekeepers Association, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

A honey fraud detection lab ran tests on a range of honeys across Australia, and found that many products boasting 100% honey content also contained different types of syrups

Even though Capilano has a testing regime that is internationally recognised, we can see the added benefit of investing in new testing regimes to continue to maintain the confidence of consumers and the Australian honey industry,' McKee said (right).

Everything about it seems to be honey when in fact its just sugar syrup or something else  consumers dont realise what they are buying and eating isnt honey.

Criminal gangs in China allegedly produce this type of honey product cheaply and sell it on to unsuspecting suppliers, making a tidy profit in the process.

The lab ran two separate tests on 28 blended and imported honey samples; the official Australian C4 sugar test, and the new NMR test  designed to detect impurities.

The NMR test showed that 12 of the 28 samples were not 100 per cent honey, while the C4 test passed all 28 samples as pure honey.

Testing ran on products sold in Aldi, Coles, IGA and Woolworths  and from brands including Black & Gold, Bramwells, Gardner and Capilanos Allowrie.

'While we have full confidence that Allowrie Honey contains only pure honey, we also recognise that there is no consensus view from across the industry about the reliability of the NMR test that has led to the reports in the media,' said Ben McKee, Managing Director of Capilano Honey Limited.

McCabe, however, said that the NMR test was the most accurate test available and that was why he was referring them to Interpol.

The lab ran two tests on 28 blended and imported honey samples; the official Australian C4 sugar test, and the Nuclear Magnetic Resolution (NMR) test  designed to detect impurities

A Coles spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that it is proud to support Australian producers and beekeepers and stressed that its Coles brand honey is 100 per cent Australian.

'As part of a recent range review, Coles is no longer ranging Allowrie honey products,' they said.

A Woolworths spokesperson said that it treats the accuracy of product labelling very seriously and was concerned to learn of these claims.

'We will now work closely with our supplier to review the substance of the claims in detail before determining our next steps,' they said.

An ALDI spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that it is launching an immediate investigation into the claims, and that it would be removing the product in question from its shelves for the duration of the investigation.

'If the investigations conclude that the product has been adulterated, it will permanently be removed from sale at ALDI and further actions will be taken with the supplier,' the spokesperson said.

Daily Mail Australia has also reached out to IGA for further comment.
A white man who was caught on camera dragging an unconscious black man off a California train and leaving him on the platform will not face criminal charges over the incident.

Following an investigation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said Tuesday it would not be pressing charges against the 71-year-old man after he told them he was only trying to get help.

Footage from the August 1 incident in Long Beach showed the man dressed in a suit dragging the unconscious passenger from the train as bystanders accused him of just trying to avoid delays to his commute.

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A white man who was caught on camera dragging an unconscious black man off a train in Long Beach, California and leaving him on the platform last month will not face criminal charges

Justifying their decision not to file charges, prosecutors said: 'It appeared (the) suspect intended to remove the victim from the moving train to the platform where he would be able to get help from paramedics.'

'Suspect's motive of avoiding any travel delays does not convert his behavior into criminal conduct.

Prosecutors had initially indicated they were considering a felony assault charge prior to them interviewing the man and viewing the surveillance footage, the Long Beach Post reports.

The man, who authorities said has no criminal background, told investigators he is a former army medic.

Authorities launched an investigation last month after the incident at Wardlow Station sparked huge backlash when the footage appeared online.

The video that sparked the investigation was filmed by another passenger and showed the man dragging the unconscious man from the train.

Footage from the August 1 incident showed the man dumping the unconscious passenger on the platform as bystanders accused him of just trying to avoid delays to his commute

As the man was dragging the passenger from the train, the unconscious man's pants fell down. He was filmed pulling up the man's pants before returning to the train

The man was filmed saying 'let's get him off the train' and 'it's gonna hold up the train for everybody'.

As he was dragging the passenger from the train, the unconscious man's pants fell down. He was filmed pulling up the man's pants before returning to the train to retrieve the passenger's belongings.

The man then jumped back on the train and took a seat when the doors closed.

One passenger who was filming said: 'Dude just had a seizure and this white boy going to drag him off the f**king train so he doesn't miss his ride.'

Authorities said surveillance video from the train showed the man vomiting and asking a passenger to call 911 before he walked to the door and lied down.

After passengers were told the train wouldn't be moving, the man in the suit went back out onto the platform to check the unconscious man's pulse.

'I thought the man was drunk,' the man could be heard saying.

He then touched the man's face saying, 'Bro, are you responsive?. Okay, he needs paramedics.'
A former Greens boss has been accused of calling women in the workplace 'power p***ies' and 'fat hairy lesbians'.

Greg Barber, the brother-in-law of federal leader Richard Di Natale, had a 'men's room' in his office which women were not allowed to enter, an ex-staffer claimed.

Former parliamentary advisor Liz Ingham settled a sex discrimination case against Mr Barber, who was Victorian Greens leader between 2010 and 2017, out of court in June last year, but has now decided to speak out.

A former Greens boss (pictured) has been accused of calling women in the workplace 'power p***ies' and 'fat hairy lesbians'

A separation agreement signed by Ms Ingham prevents her from discussing the case, but does not cover her husband Trevor Coon, ABC News reported.

'There was a community leader who was working closely with The Greens on policy and Greg Barber continually referred to her as a "power p****",' Mr Coon said.

'Things like calling an MP a "fat hairy lesbian" and repeatedly, not wanting to use her name, but repeatedly calling her that.

'He wouldn't use the word feminist. It was always hairy-legged feminist as in "you're one of those hairy-legged feminists, aren't you?"'

Mr Coon said the front room in Mr Barber's office was commonly called the 'men's room' and women could only enter if invited in.

His wife was isolated in the office for a year, banned from going to parliament or attending meetings, and forced to eat lunch at her desk, Mr Coon claimed.

When he complained about the allegations himself, Mr Coon was banned from discussing them with other Greens members, he claimed.

Ms Ingham, who was paid $56,000 in the settlement with Victorian Parliamentary Services, said she broke her silence to stop similar behaviour from happening.

A new investigation into the Victorian Greens (pictured is their head office) over the handling of complaints is concerning as it does not cover gender-based bullying or sexism, Ms Ingham said

A new investigation into the Victorian Greens over the handling of complaints is concerning as it does not cover gender-based bullying or sexism, Ms Ingham said.

The investigation was prompted by claims from a number of women that their complaints about alleged sexual misconduct were mishandled.

Mr Barber, who quit as head of the Victorian Greens two months after the settlement, said he was legally prevented from discussing the case.

He personally contributed $9,000 towards the settlement, and was required to undergo sex discrimination and unconscious bias training with another male employee.

The settlement came after Ms Ingham threatened to take her complaints of bullying and sexual discrimination to the Federal Court.

Due to her emotional and physical health at the time, Ms Ingham felt she had no other option but to take the settlement, she said.

Greg Barber, the brother-in-law of federal leader Richard Di Natale, had a 'men's room' in his office which women were not allowed to enter, an ex-staffer claimed

Victorian Greens Co-Convener Rose Read told Daily Mail Australia the party only became aware of the allegations after the case was settled.

'It would not be appropriate to comment on allegations or dispute resolution processes in which we were not involved,' Ms Read said.

'As a Party, we took the subsequent correspondence from Mr Coon seriously and met with him to discuss his concerns.

'The well being of Greens' employees is of the greatest importance to the Party. We do our best to offer conditions to our employees that reflect the realities of political life and offer as much work-life balance as possible.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Barber for comment.
Two associates of Roger Stone, a longtime friend of and outside adviser to Donald Trump, have been subpoenaed as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Jerome Corsi, a contributor to InfoWars, and Randy Credico, a suspected intermediary between Stone and Julian Assange, are the latest associates of the Republican political strategist to be called to testify to a grand jury or be questioned by Mueller's prosecutors.

They will appear in court in Washington, D.C. on Friday, according to ABC News.

Two associates of Roger Stone, a longtime friend of and outside adviser to Donald Trump, have been subpoenaed as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election

Jerome Corsi, a contributor to InfoWars, and Randy Credico, a suspected intermediary between Stone and Julian Assange, are the latest associates of the Republican political strategist to be called to testify to a grand jury or be questioned by Mueller's prosecutors

In recent months, Stone has been the subject of scrutiny by Mueller's office.

Investigators appear focused on Stone's contacts with WikiLeaks and its founder Assange, according to sources familiar with the interviews of the associates.

Before the election, WikiLeaks published emails hacked from the Democratic Party and the personal email account of John Podesta, candidate Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman.

Mueller's office is looking into whether Stone had advance knowledge of material detrimental to Clinton that U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was obtained by Russia through hacking, the sources familiar said. Moscow has denied allegations it meddled in the election campaign.

'We intend to cooperate with the subpoena,' said Corsi's lawyer David Gray.

He said Corsi plans to appear on Friday before the grand jury convened by Mueller's prosecutors.

'We are assuming this is about Roger Stone,' Gray said.

Gray acknowledged that Corsi and Stone communicated between 2016 and 2018 and they planned to provide the computer and phone records to investigators.

Stone did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The subpoena was first reported by the New York Times.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment.

Corsi helped promote the 'birther' movement questioning President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship. In 2017 he was named the Washington bureau chief for Infowars, a website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Corsi no longer works there.

Stone has said that he has neither been interviewed by Mueller's team nor summoned before a grand jury. Stone has also told reporters that he expects to be indicted without making clear why.

Robert Mueller's office is looking into whether Stone had advance knowledge of material detrimental to Clinton that U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded was obtained by Russia through hacking, the sources familiar said. Moscow has denied allegations it meddled in the election campaign

Stone, who first earned a reputation as a young pro-Nixon operative during the Watergate scandal, has said he knows of eight associates who so far have been approached by Mueller's investigators.

Four people familiar with recent contacts by Mueller's team to associates of Stone told Reuters that prosecutors have shown them emails and phone messages to or from Stone and questioned them about their meaning.

'Roger must have told you stuff,' one associate who testified in front of the grand jury said prosecutors insisted to him. Prosecutors pressed him on whether Stone had spoken with Assange, something the associate said he could not confirm.

The U.S. Senate intelligence panel, which is among several congressional committees investigating the Russia issue, is also looking into the role of Wikileaks, which publishes secret information.

WikiLeaks founder Assange, an Australian, is in self-exile with diplomatic immunity at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London. He took refuge there six years ago while being pursued by British authorities for possible extradition to Sweden in a since-dropped sexual molestation case.

Stone was a formal adviser to Trump's campaign in 2015 until they broke ties. Since then, Stone says they have spoken on the phone and through documents.

He told ABC News in May that he would not 'flip' on Trump and provide unflattering information on the nation's executive to secure a lesser charge.

'I will never betray this president,' he said. 'Under no circumstances will I bear false witness against President Trump.'
A woman aged 20 has been shot in a street in London.

The female was shot in the abdomen in Mulgrave Road, Woolwich, police confirmed.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at 7.24pm to reports of a female having suffered a gunshot injury.

'At the scene a female in her 20s, had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. She was taken by London Ambulance Service to a south London hospital.'

The woman aged 20 was shot on Mulgrave Road in Woolwich. Police confirmed she was shot in the abdomen

Police were called to Mulgrave Road in Woolwich at around 7.30pm this evening to reports a woman was suffering from gunshot wounds

Officers said her condition is not life threatening.

There has been no arrests.

Just last month a man aged 25 was shot in the face and torso in Woodman Street, Woolwich.

Londoners have accused the Government and the Mayor's office of failing to control the continued violence on London's streets.

Police in London have been accused of failing to get a grip on the rising knife and gun crime toll

Between January and August there were 100 suspected murders in London, while knife crime has continued to grow.

Anyone who witnessed this incident or has footage that could assist the investigation is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference CAD6929/5SEP or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The hero paramedics who granted a man his dying wish on his way to palliative care almost had to abandon plans when the ambulance wouldn't fit through the drive-thru.

During their initial assessment, Hanna and Kate learned 72-year-old Ron McCartney had not eaten in days.

'We said if there is anything you could eat what would it be and he gave us a cheeky grin and said, a caramel sundae. Hannah and I looked at each other and we said we reckon we can do that,' Kate said in an interview with the Today show.

Paramedics transported Gold Coast man Ron McCartney, 72, during his final journey to hospital last week

The Gold Coast pair pulled into Helensvale McDonald's with every intention of cruising through drive thru before heading across to the hospital.

But their plans took a turn when they realised the ambulance van was too tall to fit.

'Unfortunately the truck is a little bit too tall to go through the drive through, much to our disappointment, so we pulled up out the front and Hanna looked after Ron and I just popped inside and got the ice cream,' Kate said.

Hanna (centre right) and Kate (right) were 'conned' into getting him the ice cream, according to his wife, Sharon (left), who said he had a knack for 'conning all the girls to do what he wants'

Hanna and Kate were 'conned' into getting him the ice cream, according to Mr McCartney's wife Sharon, who said he had a knack for 'conning all the girls to do what he wants'.

Mr McCartney was suffering from prostate cancer, and died on Saturday morning.

His daughter Danielle Smith said the sundae was the last thing her father was able to eat by himself.

'Mum and I cannot thank (Queensland Ambulance) enough for all the help and compassion you have all given towards us each time we have had to call you,' she posted on Facebook.

Mr McCartney's daughter Danielle Smith (pictured right) said the sundae was the last thing her father was able to eat by himself

A photo of Mr McCartney was shared by the Queensland Ambulance Service on social media.

Sharon McCartney said the restaurant may have experienced a boost in customers since her husband's death.

'I wonder if Macca's have noticed their sales of caramel sundaes have gone up since Saturday with all our family and friends going out to have one for Ron,' she said.
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This is the terrifying moment the lights went out across a Japanese city as the country was rocked by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least nine and buried dozens more in landslides.

Footage shows how buildings and streets were plunged into darkness in Japan's Hokkaido prefecture as the deadly 6.7-magnitude quake disabled power systems just after 3am today.

Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of Typhoon Jebi that surged through Japan earlier this week killing at least 11.

Aerial views showed dozens of houses destroyed at the bottom of a hill that was engulfed by mud and rocks, with a rescue helicopter winching a resident to safety. Airports and many roads on the island were closed and trains were halted due to power outages.

More than five million have been left without power after the quake damaged a major thermal plant supplying the region.

The island's only nuclear power plant, which was offline, switched to a backup generator to keep its spent fuel cool for 10 nervous hours. But nuclear regulators said there was no sign of abnormal radiation - a concern after a massive quake and tsunami in March 2011 that hit northeast Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that up to 25,000 troops and other personnel would be dispatched to Hokkaido to help with rescue operations.

Japan is used to dealing with disasters, but the last few months have brought a string of calamities. The quake came on the heels of a typhoon that killed 11, lifted heavy trucks off their wheels and triggered heavy flooding in western Japan. The summer also brought devastating floods from torrential rains in Hiroshima and deadly hot temperatures across the country.

 Slide me  This is the terrifying moment the lights went out across a Japanese city as the country was rocked by a powerful earthquake that has killed at least nine and buried dozens more in landslides

A powerful earthquake has rocked the city of Sapporo in northern Japan just hours after large parts of the south of the country were battered by the biggest typhoon to hit in 25 years

The 6.7 magnitude quake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido early on Thursday, triggering landslides, bringing down several houses, and killing one person

No tsunami warning was issued after the relatively shallow quake, which struck 39 miles southeast of the regional capital Sapporo. An aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area moments later and smaller aftershocks followed throughout the night

More than a hundred were injured and 38 are still missing after the 6.7 magnitude quake rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido early this morning. This was the scene as rescuers searched for missing people in the remains of a buried house

Cars were buried as the powerful 6.7-magnitude earthquake rocked Sapporo in Japan's Hokkaido prefecture early this morning

Massive landslides ripped through roads and communities in Hokkaido while millions have been left without electricity after the quake caused a blackout

Nine have been confirmed dead but dozens more are missing and feared to be trapped under rubble from landslides in the area. Pictured: Rescuers carry a victim into an ambulance in Atsuma town

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that up to 25,000 troops and other personnel would be dispatched to Hokkaido to help with rescue operations

Products were thrown off shelves in shops while many buildings suffered structural damage in the powerful earthquake this morning

In the prefectural capital of Sapporo, a city of 1.9 million, the quake ruptured roads and knocked houses askew. A mudslide left several cars half buried.

Kazuo Kibayashi, 51, a town official at hard-hit Abira town, told AFP: 'There was a sudden, extreme jolt. I felt it went sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three minutes.'

'It stopped before shaking started again. I felt it come in two waves. I am 51, and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought my house was going to collapse. Everything inside my house was all jumbled up. I didn't have time to even start cleaning,' he added.

Moments after the initial quake, an aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area and dozens more aftershocks followed throughout the night and into the morning.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido early Thursday morning, knocking out power to millions of households. The outage also affected subways, power plants and hospitals

Streets in Hokkaido prefecture were buried under a thick layer of mud, destroying cars and damaging homes in some neigbourhoods

Aerial views showed dozens of houses destroyed at the bottom of a hill that was engulfed by mud and rocks, with a rescue helicopter winching a resident to safety

Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces are seen inside Abira town office after it was damaged during the earthquake

Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of Typhoon Jebi that surged through Japan earlier this week killing at least 11

Rescuers were rushing to unearth survivors and restore power Thursday after a powerful earthquake jolted Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, buckling roads, knocking homes off their foundations and causing entire hillsides to collapse

The earthquake caused huge cracks in the ground, destroying roads and splitting fields (pictured) in Atsuma, Hokkaido

This road in Abira, northern Japan, was ripped apart by the force of the 6.7-magnitude earthquake, which struck in the early hours

Helicopters were brought in to winch people to safety. Hundreds were injured when landslides crushed houses in the region

Japan's deadly summer of disasters JUNE 18: OSAKA EARTHQUAKE A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck during the morning rush hour in the city of Osaka, killing five people and injuring more than 400 others. Two of the victims were hit by falling cinder-block walls, including a 9-year-old girl outside her school.. JULY: WEST JAPAN FLOODS Heavy rain in western Japan claimed 221 lives as landslides buried homes and rivers overflowed. Floods reached the top of the first story of buildings. The cities of Hiroshima and Kurashiki and nearby areas were hardest hit. More than 1,500 still live in shelters. JULY: RECORD HEAT A prolonged heat wave was blamed for at least 116 deaths, as two high pressure systems trapped warm and humid air above the region. The temperature reached 41.1 degrees Celsius on July 23 in Kumagaya, the highest recorded anywhere in Japan in recent history. SEPTEMBER 4: TYPHOON JEBI The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years ripped off building roofs, tossed cars onto their sides and flooded one of Japan's busiest airports. Eleven died. SEPTEMBER 6: HOKKAIDO EARTHQUAKE A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck around 3 am on Hokkaido, leaving deep gashes in roads, triggering landslides and knocking out power and train service. Officials say at least nine are dead and more are missing. Advertisement

Akira Fukui, from the main city of Sapporo, told AFP: 'I woke up around 3am with a vertical jolt. I put the light on but it went out shortly afterwards.

All the traffic lights are out and there's no power at work.'

No tsunami warning was issued after the relatively shallow quake, which struck 62 kilometres (39 miles) southeast of the regional capital Sapporo.

Around 20,000 rescue workers, including police and members of the Self-Defence Forces were responding to the disaster, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. Another 20,000 SDF troops are expected to join the effort.

'We will do our best to save lives,' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after an emergency cabinet meeting.

NHK earlier reported that at least eight people had lost their lives, six of them in the village of Atsuma, where the landslide engulfed the homes. Nearly 40 people were still missing, the broadcaster added.

Local media said the dead also included an 82-year-old man who fell down the stairs at his home during the quake and that around 130 people had sustained minor injuries.

'I urge people in areas shaken by strong quakes to stay calm, pay attention to evacuation information... and help each other,' Suga added.

Officials warned of the danger of fresh quakes.

'Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days (of a big one),' said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.

The risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased, he said, urging residents 'to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas.'

The earthquake also caused travel disruption, with all flights cancelled from Sapporo's main Chitose airport, where the quake brought down part of a ceiling and burst a water pipe. Local buses and trains and bullet train services were halted.

Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said it would take 'at least a week' for power to be restored to nearly three million homes after a fire in the area's largest thermal plant was discovered.

Residents in Sapporo were shaken from their beds when the magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido at 3.08am

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the quake's epicenter was 40 kilometers (24 miles) deep. But it still wreaked havoc across much of the relatively sparsely inhabited island

Police officers and fire fighters search for missing people at a collapsed house following a large landslide that occurred after an earthquake hit Hokkaido, in Atsuma, northern Japan

Rescuers were using small backhoes and shovels to sift through the tons of soil, rocks and timber in hopes of finding survivors in the town of Atsuma, where steep mountainsides collapsed, crushing homes and farm buildings and leaving scores of brown gashes in the deep green hills

Japan is used to dealing with disasters, but the last few months have brought a string of calamities. The quake came on the heels of a typhoon that lifted heavy trucks off their wheels and triggered heavy flooding in western Japan

As Japan's northern frontier and a major farming region with rugged mountain ranges and vast forests, Hokkaido is an area accustomed to coping with long winters, isolation and other hardships. But the blackouts brought on by the quake underscored the country's heavy reliance on vulnerable power systems

Hundreds more were injured when homes and infrastructure along the west coast were devastated by Typhoon Jebi - Japan's most powerful storm in a quarter of a century

This was the scene after a road was covered with mud after a powerful earthquake rocked the city of Sapporo early this morning

Smoke billows from the facilities of Mitsubishi Steel Muroran Inc. during a fire following the earthquake in Hokkaido, northern Japan

The Tomari nuclear power plant (pictured today), which was offline, switched to a backup generator to keep its spent fuel cool and nuclear regulators said there was no sign of abnormal radiation - a concern after a massive quake and tsunami in March 2011 that hit northeast Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns

And the national meteorological agency warned that more bad weather could be on the way for Hokkaido, urging people to be vigilant for landslides, high tides and heavy rain.

Japan sits on the Pacific 'Ring of Fire' where many of the world's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

In June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring over 350.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

Yesterday, Japan was still recovering from the devastation caused by Typhoon Jebi - the country's most powerful storm in a quarter of a century.

Kansai International Airport - one of the country's busiest - was cut off when a 2,500-ton tanker smashed into the terminal's sole access road (pictured yesterday) meaning thousands had to spend the night in the partially flooded facility

Kansai International Airport is built on artificial islands in Osaka Bay, and the high seas flooded one of its two runways (pictured), cargo storage and other facilities, said the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. One passenger was slightly injured by shards from a window shattered by the storm

More than 1.2 million people had been advised to leave their homes as Jebi approached the Kansai area - Japan's industrial heartland. Around 16,000 people spent the night in shelters, local media said. This was the scene yesterday in Kobe, western Japan after cars were left piled up in a heap

More than 100 used cars at a storage site caught fire after the area was submerged due to a high tide as Typhoon Jebi smashed into Nishinomiy

Kansai International Airport - one of the country's busiest - was cut off when a 2,500-ton tanker smashed into the terminal's sole access road meaning thousands had to spend the night in the partially flooded facility.

Yesterday, boats were ferrying stranded passengers to the mainland while footage showed a caravan of buses making a perilous trip across the damaged bridge - yards from the spot where the ship had crashed into the carriageway amid 135mph winds yesterday.

Runways were flooded as high waves washed into the facility on Tuesday, knocking out electricity and inundating buildings.

Elsewhere, a large commercial ship was washed onto a breakwater, and shipping containers were left floating in the sea. In Kyoto, the former imperial capital and a popular tourist destination, wooden shrine buildings and tall orange-red entrance gates were knocked down. Soaring trees fell at a shrine in Nara, another historic city.

The morning after: Trees were ripped out of the ground by the force of the 135mph typhoon as it ripped across Nishi-ku, Osaka city

Dozens of large shipping containers stacked up at a port in the city of Osaka were tossed around in winds topping 135mph

A ship was driven up on to a sea wall (pictured yesterday), such was the force of the wind when Typhoon Jebi struck in Nishinomiya, western Japan

Giant cranes at a port in Nishinomiya, western Japan, came crashing down (pictured yesterday) after being battered by high winds during the Typhoo

Jebi, or 'swallow' in Korean, later slammed into Russia territory - causing flash floods on Sakhalin Island to Japan's north.

Japan is regularly hit by powerful typhoons in the summer and autumn, many of which cause flooding and landslides in rural areas.

Jebi appears to have caused damage to the region's infrastructure on an unusual scale.

In the tourist magnet of Kyoto - home to ancient temples and shrines - it brought down part of the ceiling of the main railway station, while in nearby Osaka, the high winds peeled scaffolding from a multi-story building.

Footage on NHK showed a 328ft tall ferris wheel in Osaka spinning furiously in the strong wind despite being switched off.

A huge tanker came adrift (pictured) and smashed sideways into a bridge linking the mainland with Kansai International Airport

A 2,591-tonne tanker was sent crashing into a bridge connecting Kansai airport, built on a man-made island in a bay, to the mainland. The bridge was damaged but the tanker was empty and none of its crew was injured, the coast guard said

Electricity pylons lie in twisted ruins after being brought down by the ferocity of gusts when the typhoon hit Tadaoka, Osaka

A man stands next to the overturned car blown by strong wind as Typhoon Jebi, the strongest storm in 25 years, hit Osaka

'I've never seen such a thing,' a 19-year-old man at the scene told NHK.

Businesses, factories and schools in the affected area shut down while the storm barrelled across the country, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights, ferry services and some bullet trains.

Despite its strength, the storm was far from the deadliest Japan has seen in recent years.

In 2011, Typhoon Talas killed at least 82 people in the area, while in 2013, a storm that hit south of Tokyo left 40 people dead.

Earlier this year torrential rains lashed the west of the country, sparking flooding that killed more than 200 people as it laid waste to villages and caused hillsides to collapse.

A truck sits at an angle on a bridge after being blown over by strong winds caused by Typhoon Jebi in Sakade, Japan

Japan's weather agency has issued warnings about possible landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes across of western Japan including the major cities of Osaka and Kyoto. Water crashes over a sea wall in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan

Dash cam footage shows how lorries were blown over by the powerful winds as Japan suffered its worst storm in 25 years
Bob Kraft's model girlfriend shared a precious social media snap of herself holding her baby girl at a carnival as mystery continues to surround the identity of the child's father.

Ricki Lander posted the Instagram photo Wednesday afternoon with baby Monarch Somer in front of what appears to be a carousel with the caption: 'When youre heart skips a beat!'

The 38-year-old American actress has been in an on-and-off romantic relationship with the New England Patriots owner - who is almost 40 years her senior - for roughly six years.

It was revealed back in February that the couple welcomed the baby girl in the fall, but Kraft confirmed he was not the father.

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New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft's girlfriend shared a brand new photo of herself holding her baby girl at what appears to be a carnival on Wednesday

Lander welcomed baby Monarch into the world last fall, but Kraft confirmed he is not the father

The happy mother and daughter were pictured last month splashing at the pool with the baby in a blue swimsuit and Lander in a matching cover-up

'Last fall, Ricki Noel Lander became the proud mother of a beautiful, healthy baby,' a rep for the Patriots said in a statement back in March.

'While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Rickis blessing of having a healthy child. With respect to her familys privacy, we will not be commenting any further.'

There has been some speculation that the child had been carried via surrogate, as the statement does not implicitly say that Lander herself gave birth to Monarch.

A source told Page Six at the time that billionaire Kraft housed his little family in a Los Angeles mansion and has been 'taking full care of Ricki and the baby.'

A rep for the Patriots said: 'While Robert Kraft is not the biological father, he is thrilled with Rickis blessing of having a healthy child.' The couple is pictured in the Hamptons on August 11, 2018

Kraft is reportedly 'fully supporting' the child. Kraft and Lander are seen in Boston on April 17, 2018

The source added: 'Bob is fully supporting the child... there is a lot of tiptoeing around the subject at the Patriots offices... everyone is afraid to openly talk about it.'

Kraft has three of his own children - sons Jonathan, Joshua, David and Daniel.

Despite their long-term relationship, Kraft has not yet popped the question.

He did, however, gift his model girlfriend with a Super Bowl ring following the Patriots' 2015 victory to the Seattle Seahawks.

The prize 4.85 carat diamond is valued at $36,500.

The American model has posted little about her 77-year-old sweetheart on social media sa of late. The couple, however, have been pictured out and about in public recently

The blonde beauty has posted little about her 77-year-old sweetheart as of late on social media.

She did, however, share other sweet moments with her daughter over the summer. The happy pair were pictured last month splashing at the pool with the baby in a blue swimsuit and Lander in a matching cover-up.

Also last month, Lander posted her daughter's first selfie, alongside the caption: 'Well Hello There...!!!'

The Salt Lake City-born actress embraced her new bundle of joy in her first-ever photo in May.

The overjoyed mom captioned it: 'This year has been overflowing with love, light and blessings. A beautiful little angel came into our lives.

'She has brought more love and joy than I ever could have imagined. I love you so much little one... thank you for choosing me as your mommy! #mothersday #MonarchSomer'
Airlines are launching new crackdowns on hand luggage, vowing to weigh, check and tag bags before passengers are allowed on board.

Tigerair will be the first to initiate the crackdown, as the airline trials a stringent tagging system ensuring no passenger escapes through the cracks.

The budget airline has already started rolling out the trial at Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast airports.

Airlines are launching new crackdowns on hand luggage, vowing to weigh, check and tag bags before they are allowed on board (Tiger staff pictured weighing passengers bags at the airport)

Under the system, all bags will be weighed and checked for size before passengers are allowed on board the plane.

Company staff will also note the date on the tag, so people can't try to bypass the system with a card from a previous flight.

Tigerair allows its passengers 7kg of carry-on luggage, but more at a price.

If bags weigh more than the strict 7kg limit, customers will be forced to fork out more money on the spot.

If bags weigh more than the strict 7kg limit, customers will be forced to fork out more money on the spot

Tigerair described the tagging system as 'new and improved' when it announced the changes

Tigerair described the system as 'new and improved'.

'It not only highlights to our crew that luggage has been checked before boarding, but helps to educate our customers on where to stow their bags when they board their flight,' a spokesperson told News.com.au.

Tigerair was not the only airline to introduce changes to its systems this week.

Tigerair will be the first Australian airline to introduce the changes (passengers weight in line at the Tiger Airways stands in Hong Kong)

Jetstar announced its carry-on weight limit could be increasedd from 7kg to 10kg, but would come at a price.

Jetstar passengers were offered to upgrade their wight allowance by 3kg for $13 on Starter Fares.

'Customers told us that they would like the option to carry more on board and so we are pleased to be able to offer them the option to purchase an extra three kilos,' Jetstar Group's Catriona Larritt said.




The professor who became famous for coining the phrase net neutrality thinks that the U.S. government needs to break up tech giants like Facebook, Amazon,and Google.

Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia University who specializes in antitrust issues, says that large tech companies have become too big and pose a threat to the future of American democracy.

We live in America, which has a strong and proud tradition of breaking up companies that are too big for inefficient reasons, Wu told The Verge.

We need to reverse this idea that its not an American tradition. Weve broken up dozens of companies.

The professor who became famous for coining the phrase net neutrality thinks that the U.S. government needs to break up tech giants like Facebook, Amazon,and Google. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen above in Paris in May

Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia University who specializes in antitrust issues, says that large tech companies have become too big and pose a threat to the future of American democracy

Wu makes the case for breaking up tech giants in his new book, The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.

He says that the U.S. government made a mistake when it did not intervene in Facebooks acquisition of two competitors - WhatsApp and Instagram.

Wu argues that Facebook was able to gain monopolistic control over the social media market by buying two of its rivals.

Wu makes the case for breaking up tech giants in his new book, The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age

I think if you took a hard look at the acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram, the argument that the effects of those acquisitions have been anticompetitive would be easy to prove for a number of reasons, says Wu.

He says that breaking up Facebook is not as difficult as it may seem.

What would be the harm? Youll have three competitors, Wu says.

Its not Oh my god, if you get rid of WhatsApp and Instagram, well then the whole worlds going to fall apart.

It would be like Okay, now you have some companies actually trying to offer you an alternative to Facebook.

Wus sentiments appear to be a reflection of a growing backlash against tech companies who have amassed considerable power and influence over the public discourse.

Facebook and Twitter executives assured Congress on Wednesday that they are aggressively working to root out foreign attempts to sow discord in America, and they pledged to better protect their social networks against manipulation during the 2018 midterm elections and beyond.

Facebook's No. 2 executive, Sheryl Sandberg, and Twitter's CEO, Jack Dorsey, testified before the Senate intelligence committee in the morning, but there was an empty chair for Google parent company Alphabet, which refused to send its top executive.

In the afternoon, Dorsey went before a House panel alone to address Republican concerns that Twitter is censoring conservatives. Dorsey denied that is happening.

The hearings come at a critical time, just two months before the midterm elections and as President Donald Trump has charged that Twitter is biased against Republican views.

As the executives spoke, the Justice Department announced it would look at whether their companies are hurting competition and 'intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.'

He says that the U.S. government made a mistake when it did not intervene in Facebooks acquisition of two competitors - WhatsApp and Instagram (whose logo is seen in the above stock image)

Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley said Attorney General Jeff Sessions will meet with a number of state attorneys general later this month to discuss the department's concerns.

Thirteen Russians were indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller this year on charges of taking part in a plot to disrupt the 2016 election by creating fake social media accounts that pushed divisive issues.

Both Facebook and Twitter are using artificial intelligence and other increasingly sophisticated technology to combat manipulation.

Facebook is going after 'inauthenticity,' or fake accounts.

Twitter is focusing on analyzing behavior patterns to find suspicious activity because Twitter technically allows 'fake' accounts.

The companies have made many policy changes and have caught and banned malicious accounts over the past year.

Still, their business models - free services that rely on attracting as many users as possible for as long as possible and finding out as much about them as possible - remain the same, and that has posed challenges in rooting out those bent on mischief.
Pro-Palestinian activists sparked outrage last night after placing posters calling Israel a racist endeavour at bus stops across London.

Far-left campaign group London Palestine Action is believed to have flyposted the anti-Israel signs in at least four locations in the capital, including bus stops in Westminster, Bloomsbury and Waterloo.

The poster, which has a white background with red and green letters in capitals, says: ISRAEL IS A RACIST ENDEAVOUR.

Far-left campaign group London Palestine Action is believed to have flyposted the anti-Israel signs in at least four locations in the capital, including bus stops in Westminster, Bloomsbury and Waterloo



Transport for London (TfL) said the posters were absolutely not authorised and have ordered their contractors to remove them.

The anti-Israel messages are thought to have been installed in reaction to the Labour partys decision to accept the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism on Tuesday night.

Several Londoners walking past one of the posters on a bus stop on Westminster Bridge said they found it disturbing and anti-Semitic.

One passer-by, who gave his name as Jonathan, said: I walk across Wesminster Bridge on my way in and out of work so its disturbing to see.

Its come across anti-Semitic to me and Im sure Jewish people will feel saddened about it.

A TfL spokesperson said: These adverts are absolutely not authorised by TfL or our advertising partner JCDecaux.

It is fly posting and therefore an act of vandalism which we take extremely seriously.

We have instructed our contractors to remove any of these posters found on our network immediately.

London Palestine Action posted pictures of the anti-Israel signs on social media.

One Twitter caption said: Created by ethnic cleansing; maintained by ethnic exclusion. Israel is a racist endeavour.

Another said: Rights denied based entirely on ethnicity. Israel is a #racistendeavour.

The group describes itself as a network of people in London taking creative action against Israeli apartheid.

In 2016 they put up around 150 controversial pro-Palestinian posters on London Underground tubes which accused Israel of apartheid. At the time, TfL declared it an act of vandalism.

A spokesman for the London Jewish Forum said the previous posters were awful smears that do nothing to contribute to peace and dialogue, placing significant strains on inter-community relations across London.
FOCUS ON DEFENSE CAPABILITY DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA
Yesterday at Westminster, Theresa May made perhaps the most momentous statement of her political career.

In a dramatic scene in the Commons, she effectively accused the Russian state of an act of war by instructing its military intelligence agency, the GRU, to assassinate the defector Sergei Skripal in March.

Backed up by a wealth of irrefutable evidence about the two Russian intelligence agents who carried out the assignment, which ultimately resulted in the death of a British citizen and three other serious poisoning cases, May's assertion has huge implications, not only for Britain's relations with the rogue Russian regime, but also for European and Western foreign policy as a whole.

The Salisbury incident is truly shocking. It is the first time that a Briton has been killed on our home soil by a chemical weapon deployed by a foreign power. Yet until it happened, Britain seemed utterly indifferent to the brutality of Vladimir Putin's government.

Theresa May accused the Russian state of an act of war by instructing its military intelligence agency, the GRU, to assassinate the defector Sergei Skripal in March

After Putin authorised another well- publicised assault on British soil in 2006, when ex-Russian secret policeman Alexander Litvinenko was killed with a radioactive poison in London, the initial shock and anger soon fell away to apathy, thanks to the feebleness of our Government's response.

True, the British authorities were quick to name the Russian suspects, but the speed of this early announcement was not matched by resolute action from the Government.

Huffing and puffing in Whitehall produced half-measures, which can only have reassured the Kremlin and Russian spymasters that they could get away with assassination.

Since then we have all become aware of the litany of charges against Russia, like its seizure of Crimea, its blood-soaked intervention in Syria on the side of President Assad's tyranny and its shooting-down of the Malaysian airliner MH17 over rebel-held Ukraine in 2014.

But all those atrocities happened abroad, it was argued. They were nothing to do with us, so a slap on the wrists would do.

Alexander Petrov (R) and Ruslan Boshirov, who are wanted by British police in connection with the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia

In contrast, from the start of the Skripal case, the Prime Minister has been far tougher, imposing sanctions, expelling Russian diplomats, galvanising Nato, and even winning the support of Donald Trump's White House and the EU for her actions.

Admittedly, this was partly because the potential consequence of the Salisbury poisoning were even more serious than the Litvinenko case, given that Novichok put hundreds of lives at risk.

Nevertheless, our Government has, despite all its problems with Brexit, displayed a commendable spirit of resolution that has been all too absent until now.

Through her clear-sighted resolution, Theresa May has mounted a direct challenge to Putin's regime.

And although it has taken six months to name the alleged perpetrators, it has been worth the wait.

Thanks to the thoroughness of the investigation, the sheer weight of incriminating material she was able to announce in the Commons means that the Russian state cannot slide away from its responsibility for this crime.

What her statement also did yesterday was to blow apart the absurd conspiracy theories about the Salisbury assault that have been circulating, many of them promoted by Putin's regime or by Kremlin sympathisers.

The evidence, gathered by 250 detectives from 11,000 hours of CCTV footage, shows incontestably where the blame lies. This raises the question as to why the Kremlin resorted to such an act. The answer lies in Putin's security policy, which is so important to his macho political persona and the image of his regime's invincibility.

As a former KGB intelligence officer himself, he has made ruthlessness a central part of his strongman reputation, thereby enhancing his appeal among the Russian people.

When he first came to power in 2000 on his election as Russian president, there were profound weaknesses in the country's security agencies, epitomised by the defections of agents like Litvinenko and Skripal.

Since March, it has often been asked why Skripal, a former double agent, should still be a target, so many years after Vladimir Putin (pictured) let him out of the Gulag

So much information was leaking after the fall of communism that Western intelligence thought that they had crippled Russia's GRU agency, giving MI6 and the CIA a window directly into Russian policy-making which helped them to predict the Kremlin's actions.

But Putin changed all that through a pitiless crackdown. Internal security was vastly improved and leaks closed.

The CIA has privately admitted that many of its contacts in Moscow have gone silent. Some have disappeared. Others simply do not respond to efforts to contact them.

Dealing mercilessly with the defectors is an essential part of that security crackdown.

Since March, it has often been asked why Skripal, a former double agent, should still be a target, so many years after Putin let him out of the Gulag and allowed him to retire to Britain. It appears that Putin's intelligence services have decided that letting defectors sleep soundly at night offers too much temptation for others to follow suit.

Kill one, frighten 10,000 is an old tactic, and one that the Russians seem to have adopted. Washington certainly believes that putting the fear of God into potential double-agents was the real reason for poisoning Sergei Skripal.

Yet the Salisbury attack may also reflect Putin's wider, geopolitical strategy, with its focus on dividing the West through surprise, propaganda and intimidation. Years ago he decided the West, particularly America and Britain, wanted to get rid of his regime.

Instead of asking what he could do to allay Western concerns, he adopted the opposite course by using Russian wealth from the country's energy resources, plus the long experience of Soviet spycraft, to mount campaigns of disinformation and denial.

Until Salisbury, that strategy appeared to be working.

But the Novichok assault led to an unprecedented act of unity, due in part to the British Government's resolve.

The West hung together and backed Britain. The question now is whether this accord will last. Yesterday, the Prime Minister said that she would be trying to mobilise the EU to harden sanctions on Russia and co-ordinate counter-measures against Russian intelligence operations in Europe.

That could be easier said than done. The wall of unity is already showing signs of cracking. Apart from the awkwardness created by Brexit, Putin's policy of divide and conquer is also having an impact, for the Russian president has been romancing allies in the EU.

Last month, he was a guest at the Austrian foreign minister's wedding, and Vienna's Right-wing government is one of the loudest voices in the EU clamouring for improving relations with Moscow.

In Italy, the new government is led by a critic of sanctions against Russia, so imposing new ones is unlikely to win Rome's support.

Yet Britain cannot possibly let the Salisbury attack slide away into unpunished oblivion as it did the Litvinenko case.

The need for action is all the more important because, worryingly, the balance of global power is sliding away from the West. The U.S. Britain and the EU are still economically potent, of course, but the rise of China as both an economic and military superpower adds to the challenge posed by Russia and other states.

Even Turkey, a member of Nato, is moving away from the West under President Erdogan. The fact is that the Salisbury outrage is a graphic indicator that the world is becoming a less stable place. It was a rare but disturbing episode that exposed the nature of the escalating global war between spy agencies.

In its wake, that war is likely to intensify.

Which makes it all the more imperative that the Government is robust and vigilant  and that the West remains resolute and united in the face of Putin's ruthlessness.

MARK ALMOND is the director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford.
From carrot fluff to fish foam, pub-goers say they are fed up with seeing fancy 'cheffy' creations on the menu in place of good old-fashioned classics.

People popping out for a beer and a bite to eat simply crave a hearty roast or pie and mash rather than dishes that require a degree in gastronomy to understand, it is claimed.

The warning to 'MasterChef-mad' publicans comes from the editor of the Good Pub Guide 2019, who says attempts to take menus upmarket, substituting chickpeas for chips, risks driving customers away.

Pub-goers say they are fed up with seeing fancy 'cheffy' creations on the menu in place of good old-fashioned classics. Pictured, succotash

Fiona Stapley said: 'Pretentious menus are a real turn-off. Pub-goers don't want the fancy stuff down at their local pub.

'Our readers tell us they are fed up of asking waiters to explain a dish or having to use their mobiles to decipher a menu.'

Britons are not interested in eating head-scratching ingredients and meals such as kabsa, katsuobushi, matbucha, succotash, tataki or verjus in a pub, she said.

THE FOODS THAT HAVE US BAFFLED Kabsa  Arabian mixed rice and meat dish, above Katsuobushi  Dried and fermented tuna flakes Matbucha  Arabic tomato, bell pepper, chilli and garlic dish Succotash  Sweetcorn, sweet peppers, lima beans, okra and tomatoes dish Tataki  Marinated Japanese thin-cut fish or meat, raw but slightly seared Verjus  Highly acidic vinegar alternative made from unripe sour fruits Advertisement

'Pubs and good food now go hand in hand but many chefs appear to have gone MasterChef-mad,' Miss Stapley added.

'We really don't want our dishes adorned with carrot fluff [souffled carrot], edible sand [a cake topping] or fish 'foam' [a style of cooking fish].

Leave that to the swanky restaurants. We want good honest pub grub. We've been baffled by the descriptions and products used.

'In 37 years of the guide's existence, fancy food fads have come and gone, but what always stands fast is honest cooking using tip-top local, seasonal ingredients  but ones that we can all recognise.'

The guide features more than 5,000 pubs and is based on customer recommendations, backed up by editor inspections. If the meals are proving hard for some to swallow, the guide's finding on beer prices suggests drinkers might like to sip rather than gulp their pints.

The average price of a pint in Britain has risen by 9p in the last year to hit 3.69.

However costs can vary by 1 across the country, with London coming in priciest at 4.44 a pint and Shropshire and Herefordshire the cheapest at around 3.37.
Passengers who were stuck on a quarantined Emirates flight at New York's John F Kennedy Airport with sick travelers are outraged staff didn't stop those who were ill from boarding the plane.

Several passengers spoke out on Wednesday slamming the airliner for not doing more to protect healthy travelers.

'It was obvious and audible that people were really sick,' said Erin Sykes, a fitness and health expert from Battery Park. 'What I heard was mostly coughing, very violent, violent, deep coughs, phlegm, just gross.'

Sykes said she noticed passengers were violently coughing while standing in line to board Flight 203 in Dubai, where it took off. The plane landed at JFK in Queens on Wednesday morning and was immediately quarantined after the pilot radioed that several passengers came down with an illness.

One passenger was seen being transported on a stretcher by paramedics to an ambulance

The woman was fully covered with blankets and was wearing a face mask

A passenger shared photos of passengers (left and right) getting their temperatures taken as they got off the plane

'They should have never let those people on the plane,' Sykes fumed during an interview with several media outlets. 'They don't let a drunk person on the plane; they shouldn't let sick people on the plane.'

She added: 'Then we saw a lot of people using the bathroom for an extended period. The bathrooms were unusable by the end.'

Muntaz Alli, who traveled to New York to visit family, said he also noticed 'quite a few passengers' showing signs they were sick before the plane took off. He said the guy seated next to him on the lower level had been coughing during the flight.

'I knew something was wrong with him,' Alli said.

Alli told media outlets that the flight departed on schedule, but about thirty minutes before arriving at JFK the pilot announced that there were 'a few ill people on board'.

'It wasn't alarming on the flight until half an hour before we started to descend, because we didn't know what was going on,' he said. 'Before that, it was a normal flight.'

Emirates did not yet return the DailyMail.com's request for comment on its policy allowing sick passengers to board a plane.

Eric Phillips, the press secretary for the City Hall, tweeted early Wednesday afternoon that the Emirates flight was a direct from Dubai but many passengers had traveled from Mecca, Saudi Arabia before boarding in Dubai.

He said about 19 passengers were sick. 10 were taken to the hospital and nine refused medical attention.

Erin Sykes slammed the airliner saying the sick passengers should not have been allowed to board the flight in Dubai

First responders (pictured) were waiting on the tarmac for the plane to arrive at the airport

Photos showed officials from the Port Authority Police and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention waiting in a staging area to check passengers after they landed

Passengers shared photos from inside the plane as they prepared to disembark

City Hall spokesman Eric Phillips tweeted Wednesday that early reports indicate the sickness was due to a flu outbreak

The New York Post reported that roughly 90 passengers, some of whom who were coughing and had fevers, were evaluated on the plane by medical personnel. Among the 10 hospitalized, the outlet reports that seven of them were crew members.

Phillips said in a tweet that early reports indicate that the cause of illness was due to a flu outbreak.

'All passengers are off and have been evaluated. 19 sick. 10 to hospital and 9 refused medical attention,' he tweeted shortly after 11:30am. 'Health officials are processing tests now to determine the cause. Symptoms still pointing to the flu'.

Some sick passengers were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with non-life-threatening conditions, according to a New York City Fire Department spokesman.

Rapper Vanilla Ice was on the Emirates flight, but tweeted that he was seated on the top level of the double-decker plane and was fine.

'This is crazy. Apparently there is over 100 people sick on the bottom floor, so happy I'm up top, it's a double-decker plane 380,' he tweeted.

Larry Coben, who said he was on board the aircraft, wrote on Twitter that passengers had to fill out a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention form and that CDC personnel had boarded the aircraft.

He also shared photos of passengers getting their temperatures taken. 'Deplaning and having temperature taken,' Coben tweeted.

Passengers who were not ill were allowed to continue with their travel plans.

Rapper Vanilla Ice was onboard the Emirates flight that had to be quarantined Wednesday morning after several passengers fell ill

The rapper (pictured in April), whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, followed that tweet with a second one that expressed his relief of not being on the same level as the sick passengers

The double decker A380 aircraft, which was traveling from Dubai to New York City, landed at the Queens airport Wednesday morning shortly after 9am

Video from news helicopters showed the jet sitting on the tarmac surrounded by ambulances, vehicles and airport personnel.

Photos of the scene showed paramedics transporting passengers from the plane to the ambulances on stretchers.

Other photos showed officials from the Port Authority Police and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention waiting in a staging area to check passengers after they landed.

Passengers were exiting the plane with their luggage and getting on to buses. Some even shared photos from inside the plane as they prepared to disembark.

Passenger, Raghida Dergham, who was sitting in the business section of the aircraft praised how things were handled on the flight, saying all the sick passengers were seated in the lower-level economy section.

'I feel great. I feel fine,' she said. 'Nobody was alarmed. ... It was handled very well.'

Emirates released a statement saying customers' safety and care is their top priority.

A few passengers also tweeted about the flight. Larry Coben wrote on Twitter that passengers were being asked to fill out a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention form (pictured)

One passenger called the flight the 'worst' one ever in a tweet

Passenger, Raghida Dergham (right), said she was sitting in the business section of the aircraft and that the situation was 'handled very well'. But passenger, Srinivasa Rao (left) said the airline should have done more to protect its non-sick passengers

Shortly after the reports of nearly 100 people falling ill on the plane made its rounds on the internet, Emirates released a statement (pictured) on Twitter that claimed only 10 people had been treated

'Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill,' the statement read.

'On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority.'

Airport officials said Emirates Flight 203 was carrying 521 passengers.

The aircraft was taken to a location away from the terminal so that emergency officials could evaluate the situation, officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said they were monitoring the situation and President Donald Trump was being updated as new information became available.
Sam Gyimah hit out at universities for allowing speakers to be banned

Universities must cultivate diversity of thought because many legitimate views are still seen as unacceptable on campuses, the higher education minister has urged.

Sam Gyimah said many students feel they cannot express pro-Brexit or Conservative views as they are deemed offensive by their peers.

And he challenged the higher education sector to call out censorship and end the monoculture of everyone feeling they have to think the same.

Addressing the annual conference of Universities UK in Sheffield, he also called for a more open approach to international students to ensure that institutions remain competitive.

Mr Gyimah was speaking to vice chancellors about the role they could play in helping the country to navigate imminent challenges, such as Brexit.

He said discussions were all too often driven by identity politics which serves to impoverish the quality of debate and it was the entire campus community, including professors, who could be complicit in stifling views.

On Brexit, all sides of the debate should be welcome. And that is not just about leave or remain but also the other big Brexit debate  what future we want as a country post-Brexit, the minister said.

Some university groups have allowed controversial guests to be trolled and even verbally abused or banned from attending booked speeches

These will be big impassioned debates in Parliament and in the country. Universities can only play the central role they should play if free speech within the law is encouraged to the widest extent.

Mr Gyimahs comments come after numerous incidents of protesters trying to stop Conservative guests speaking at universities, including Jacob Rees-Mogg who was caught up in a scuffle at the University of the West of England.

The minister said he was concerned by reports that Australia and the US may be edging in on the UKs market share for overseas students. They bring universities and their towns much-needed money, but vice chancellors fear they are being put off because of rules which prevent them working in the UK after their degrees.

Mr Gyimah called for the end of the 'monoculture' of 'everyone thinking they have to feel the same'

They are currently lobbying for the Government to introduce a two-year work visa for all non-EU students which would mean a relaxation of anti-immigration measures imposed in 2012.

Asked about the proposal, Mr Gyimah said he welcomed the fresh thinking although he would not be drawn on whether he was actively in favour of it.
A portrait of Theresa May which was taken down from Oxfords geography department following claims it created a hostile environment has been reinstated.

The picture was put into storage in the spring over fears it could be vandalised by protesters who posted critical notes around it.

It was part of a display of notable female ex-students and staff but critics said the portrait was offensive to foreign students because Mrs May had created a hostile environment for immigrants.

The portrait of Prime Minister Theresa May was removed from the walls of the Oxford University

The decision to remove it prompted concerns that the university was giving in to zealots intent on censoring any political views they disagreed with. Yesterday, the school announced it had rehung the portrait to appear as part of group rather than individually in a line following consultation with the academic and student community.

The university has also provided a comment space so that anyone who disagrees with the portrait can add their views in a designated place.

A portrait of Theresa May caused a furious row. Pictured: Balliol College, Oxford University

The school said Mrs Mays portrait had been reinstated because she is a woman alumna of the school in a significant leadership position.

It added: It is not a comment on her activities in that position: the school is a non-partisan body. We are not afraid of debate. The engagement space is designed to encourage contributions.
Washington DC is abuzz with theories about the identity of the anonymous senior White House official who wrote a Trump-bashing op-ed in the New York Times, with numerous names put forward as possible suspects.

They include Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and even first lady Melania Trump.

Pence and Pompeo have issued stern denials. Others in Washington speculate that a lower-level official is likely behind it all.

And a State Department lawyer speculated Thursday that Jon Huntsman, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, could be the culprit who trashed Trump in the same breath as praising 'lodestar' John McCain.

'I could see it being Huntsman. Some of it fits, and he's the kind of guy who would see it as his duty to undermine the boss for a greater good,' the attorney said, noting that Huntsman 'worshiped at McCain's feet' and considered him 'the best example of an honorable guy in the Senate.'

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Dozens of people have been put forward as potential authors of a New York Times op-ed that slammed President Trump, who is pictured talking about the article in DC on September 5

The op-ed described the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' and said the author is part of an organized 'resistance' whose goal is 'to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting [President] Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.'

The Times' description of the writer as a 'senior official' could point to anyone among hundreds of administration appointees. There are more than 1,000 Senate-confirmed positions. But sleuths have been honing in on one word - 'lodestar'.

This term, armchair language analysts pointed out, is a favorite of Vice President Mike Pence, who regularly uses it in speeches. Yet others suggested the word - which means the guiding star of a ship - could have been deliberately included to throw journalists off the scent.

If the use of lodestar was not a trick, others said, then perhaps suspicion could fall on Pence's speechwriter, Stephen Ford.

One major clue about the writer's identity appeared to have been dropped by the Times itself in a tweet, which described how 'he and others' had been working together behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A Times spokeswoman later told Business Insider that the pronoun was a mistake that shouldn't be read as a tip-off.

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Danielle Ha said in an email. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of "he" was an error.'

Trump has called the op-ed 'gutless' and suggested its author could be guilty of treason.

He has already ordered loyal aides to identify the sources of Woodward's book, and this probe could well be extended to encompass the Times article, CNN reported.

It is hard to tell from the piece what level of access the official had to the president. Although it describes meetings with the president, it steers clear of offering specific information that could point to the level of the writer's security clearance.

The author also fudges their political allegiance, saying they were not part of a 'resistance of the left' and supported some of Trump's policies.

Short on clues, many have turned to the long roster of officials who have reportedly criticized Trump or been the subjects of his ire. Names mentioned include James Mattis, John Kelly, Jeff Sessions and Dan Coats.

Others made the seemingly implausible suggestion that the writer could have come from within the Trump family - pointing the finger at Ivanka or her husband Jared Kushner, and even Melania.

A betting website is now offering odds on the identity of the author, with Pence leading the running at 2-to-3.
At least seven Silicon Valley billionaires preparing for apocalyptic events have installed survival bunkers in New Zealand over the past two years.

Fearing nuclear war, pandemics or violent social unrest targeting the rich, the tech entrepreneurs have constructed elaborate contingency plans to flee the US.

The 150-tonne bunkers, which cost up to $11.5million and are buried four metres underground, are made by Texas bunker manufacturer Rising S Company.

Fearing nuclear war, pandemics or violent social unrest, the rich entrepreneurs have constructed elaborate contingency plans to flee the US (stock image)

The 150-tonne bunkers, which cost up to $11.5million and are buried four metres underground, are made by Texas bunker manufacturer Rising S Company (pictured is a Rising S bunker)

Rising S Co. General Manager Gary Lynch said New Zealand was the ideal destination for survivalists and doomsday preppers.

'New Zealand is an enemy of no one. It's not a nuclear target. It's not a target for war. It's a place where people seek refuge,' he told Bloomberg.

The two most recent 92sqm survival bunkers to be sent to New Zealand were transported from the US on 19 trailers each after being broken into sections.

One was installed in the rugged Northland region after landing in Auckland, while the other was taken to a mystery location on the west coast of the South Island.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said his country has become known as a safe and remote location for rich Americans to escape to in the event of a major disaster.

'I've had a lot of people say to me that they would like to own a property in New Zealand if the world goes to hell in a handbasket,' Mr Key said.

New Zealand's doomsday reputation has attracted billionaires such as PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who bought two properties, one equipped with a panic room.

A geographically isolated stable democracy with a thriving start-up scene, the country has become known in tech circles as an Armageddon escape destination.

Fearing nuclear war, pandemics or violent social unrest, the rich entrepreneurs have constructed elaborate contingency plans to flee to New Zealand (pictured is Wanaka, where Peter Thiel has a property)

THE 'ARISTOCRAT' BUNKER Price: $11.5million (USD $8.5million) not including installation Capacity: 50 plus people in private rooms with queen beds and shared rooms with bunks Security features: Bullet resistant doors, NBC air filtration systems with blast valves and over pressure valves, solar generated charging system with batteries for back-up power, infrared security system, half-inch steel plate walls, and an above-ground 'safe house' insulating the bunker's entrance Amenities: Green house for sustainable food sources, large storage rooms, full plumbing and septic systems, dual power allowing the bunker complex to run on or off 'the grid', swimming pool, gun range, gym, sauna, bowling lane, media room, personal bathrooms with showers Source: Rising S Company Advertisement

Setting up contingency plans to fly to New Zealand has become a hot topic at Silicon Valley dinner parties, with some such as Thiel going public with their plans.

Another unnamed venture capitalist told one gathering he has a 'go bag' filled with guns on a motorbike waiting in his garage.

In the event of an emergency he will speed through traffic to a private jet, and fly to Nevada where another plane is waiting in a hangar.

New Zealand's doomsday reputation has attracted billionaires such as PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel (pictured)

That aircraft is ready and waiting to take him and four other tech moguls to New Zealand.

Mr Thiel and president of start-up incubator Y Combinator Sam Altman said in 2016 they had earmarked New Zealand as their escape destination.

Mr Altman, who also has a go bag containing a gun, gas mask, tent and antibiotics, has since said he was joking, but is genuinely concerned about biological warfare.

Other wealthy Americans who have bought properties in New Zealand include film director James Cameron and billionaire hedge fund manager Julian Robinson.

A total of 17 Americans took advantage of the country's Investor Plus Visa - which requires a $10million investment over 36 months - in the 2017 financial year.

In the resort town of Queenstown alone, ten wealthy Americans have bought mansions over the past two years, according to local real estate agents.

But the Silicon Valley rush to snap up safe houses may have contributed to new legislation banning many non-resident foreigners from buying homes.

The Doomsday Clock, maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, moved to two minutes to midnight in 2018, the closest point to Armageddon since the 1950s.
The young actor who alleges he was sexually assaulted by Asia Argento when he was 17 is now planning to file a police report against her.

Jimmy Bennett, 22, made the decision to file a sexual assault claim against the Italian actress after her lawyer issued a statement on Tuesday claiming he was the one who attacked her, TMZ reports.

Bennett, who has claimed Argento assaulted him in her California hotel room, was given $380,000 in hush money after his lawyer filed a notice of intent to sue last year.

He only spoke out publicly about his claims for the first time two weeks ago, saying he had previously been too 'ashamed' and 'afraid' to come out as a sexual assault victim.

Jimmy Bennett reportedly made the decision to file a sexual assault claim against Asia Argento after her lawyer issued a statement on Tuesday claiming he was the one who attacked her

His attorney Gordon Sattro told DailyMail.com at the time that the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department had been in contact with the young actor to discuss the incident.

Argento's lawyer Mark Jay Heller told TMZ on Tuesday that Bennett had 'sexually attacked' her at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, California in 2013 and he was lucky she decided not to prosecute him.

The allegations of sexual assault first surfaced last month when it was revealed that Argento had secretly paid off Bennett after he accused her of sexually assaulting him when he was 17.

Argento's boyfriend - the late Anthony Bourdain - arranged to pay Bennett a $380,000 in an out-of-court settlement in order to protect her, according to her attorney.

Heller revealed on Tuesday that Argento will not pay Bennett the balance of the settlement - $130,000 - because the arrangement was made by Bourdain before he took his own life in June.

Bennett, who has claimed Argento assaulted him in her California hotel room, was given $380,000 in hush money after his lawyer filed a notice of intent to sue last year. He is pictured left this year and right in 2013

Days after the news broke about the assault allegations, text messages that were allegedly sent by Argento to a friend revealed she did in fact have sex with Bennett when she was 37 and the boy just 17.

'The horny kid jumped me... I had sex with him it felt weird,' one text message read.

Her attorney pointed to those messages on Tuesday when he argued that Bennett was the one who sexually assaulted her and that he tried to extort her when he realized she was dating Bourdain.

'Asia does not intend to prosecute Bennett for his conduct and recognizes that his unfortunate past, his stalled acting career, and a lawsuit against his own parents for allegedly misappropriating more than a million and a half dollars from his account might explain his desperation to seek money from Asia and Bourdain for this falsely alleged incident that took place more than 5 years ago,' her attorney said.

Asia Argento (right) is stopping payment of the remainder of the $380,000 to Jimmy Bennett, an actor who has accused her of sexually assaulting him when he was 17 years old. Attorney Mark Jay Heller says the arrangement was made by her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain (left)

Asia Argento and 17-Year-Old Boy in Bed in Sexual Encounter https://t.co/y6EeKOdPT7  TMZ (@TMZ) August 22, 2018

Her attorney's statement triggered a response by Bennett's legal team who said Wednesday: 'the attack on my client's character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client.'

When speaking out for the first time last month, Bennett said: 'Many brave women and men have spoken out about their own experiences during the #metoo movement, and I appreciate the bravery that it took for each and every one of them to take such a stand.

'I did not initially speak out about my story because I chose to handle it in private with the person who wronged me. My trauma resurfaced as she came out as a victim herself.'

'I have not made a public statement in the past days and hours because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative.'

It has since been revealed that the text messages in question were exchanged between Argento and Rose McGowan's model partner Rain Dove Dubilewski.

It was Dove's texts with Argento that confirmed the actress had sexual relations with Bennett, more than a decade after the actress first worked with the boy at the age of 6 in her film adaptation of JT Leroy's The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.

Argento, who was one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, initially lied about her encounter with Bennett following a New York Times report that revealed the $380,000 hush money payment.
Oliver Nguyen is no doubt the envy of many kids his age after collecting the entire 30-piece set of Coles' hugely popular Little Shop Mini Collectables.

But in a selfless move which will warm the hearts of many, the six-year-old from Melbourne has decided to pass on his highly sought-after prize.

Oliver instead is selling raffle tickets for $5 each to auction off his Mini Collectables at the bakery his parents own in Hoppers Crossing, roughly 30km west from Melbourne's CBD.

Six-year-old Oliver Nguyen is auctioning off his Coles Little Shop to raise money for charity

The big winners are the Royal Children's Hospital, with Oliver's tickets going out the door at a rapid rate.

After initially hoping to raise close to a hundred dollars, $500 has already been collected.

Oliver's mum Huong Nguyen, said the response from customers at her bakery has been amazing.

'Everyone has been really happy to support it,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'The attention has been a little overwhelming, we certainly didn't expect it.

'Once Oliver decided he wanted to give away his collection, my husband and I suggested a raffle.

Tickets for just $5 are on sale ahead of the raffle at The Baker's Son on Saturday, February 22

'We are very proud of him.'

Oliver, a primary school student at Sacred Heart Primary School in Newport, decided he wanted to donate to the Children's Hospital after spending time as a patient in the emergency ward a few years ago.

Raffle winners will be drawn on Saturday, September 22, at The Baker's Son.
Australians are spending more on cigarettes than they have in 13 years - and social media influencers could be to blame.

It's been decades since cigarette advertisements were banned, but Big Tobacco seems to be sidestepping Australian laws.

Anti-smoking advocates are warning that Big Tobacco could be on the way to making a comeback, as last year consumers spent $15.95billion on cigarettes alone.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures revealed that this number surged by $180 million compared to the prior financial year, and was the biggest jump in spending since 2005.

Influencers, such as Natasha Carter (pictured, left) were invited to events thrown in Australia by Marlboro, and tagged #Marlboroevent in the caption

Hashtags being used often wouldn't imply that cigarettes were being advertised. These women used #MarlboroEvent

The rise comes as a two-year investigation by Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids looked into 40 countries including Australia, Triple J reported.

It claims that cigarette companies organise events and encourage young 'influencers' to post on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter with specific hashtags.

The study uncovered more than 100 social media campaigns by tobacco companies including Philip Morris, Imperial Brands and Japan Tobacco International.

A petition was filed to the United States Federal Trade Commission last week stating that the companies were incorporating 'the same marketing tactics they used in the US for decades to attract kids and young people'.

The 100 social media campaigns have garnered a collective 25 billion views worldwide.

President of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and co-author of the report, Matthew Myers, told Hack that Big Tobacco is blatantly using social media to advertise.

Influencers don't post blatant advertising, preferring to integrate cigarettes into their posts in much more subtle ways (pictured Instagram influencer polpettadiriso)

Natasha Carter also posted this image to instagram with the hashtag #MarlboroCrossover

'We found evidence of major social media campaigns, clearly targeted at young people in at least 40 countries. We found examples of at least two campaigns that began in Australia,' he said.

Anti-smoking advertising laws in Australia mean corporations face a fine of $126,000 if they advertise smoking products, and individuals can face a $25,000 fine.

Influencers don't post blatant advertising, preferring to integrate cigarettes into their posts in much more subtle ways.

Tobacco companies are encouraging the use of cigarettes in blogs with gifts, exclusive events and parties on a global scale.

'We began to see a series of events, hosted parties that attracted young people, where young people were given free cigarettes, often given free alcohol and gifts,' Mr Myers said.

Hashtags being used often wouldn't imply that cigarettes were being advertised, for example #coadventure, #redroom, #youdecide (pictured social media user vikievarelli1)

Tobacco companies are encouraging the use of cigarettes in blogs with gifts, exclusive events and parties on a global scale

It was also found that influencers were being paid by tobacco companies to post content related to their products (pictured is a tobacco company event)

Influencers were then expected to post on social media and either feature the product, or talk highly about the product.

The study found that at least two parties hosted by cigarette brands took place in Australia and were attended by social media influencers.

It was also found that influencers were being paid by tobacco companies to post content related to their products.

Hashtags being used often wouldn't imply that cigarettes were being advertised, for example #coadventure, #redroom and #youdecide were common.

Influencers were given specific briefs, and in a campaign for Lucky Strike in Italy, were told to cover up health warning labels on the cigarettes' packaging.

'So what they're doing is associating cigarettes with the lifestyle that a young person would want,' Mr Myers said.
The watchdog at the heart of the Owen Paterson lobbying scandal insisted last night she wasn't going anywhere, despite the disgraced MP's calls for her to step down. Former minister Mr Paterson (main), the Tory MP for North Shropshire, was found to have committed an 'egregious' breach of standards rules by directly advocating for two companies from which he has pocketed some 500,000. The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone (left) conducted an investigation and the Committee on Standards then recommended Mr Paterson be banned from the Commons for 30 sitting days. A vote on that recommendation was due to take place on Wednesday, but allies of the MP brought forward an amendment to block the suspension and see his case reviewed, which was backed by a majority of 18. But with a total of 51 Tories rebelling, Boris Johnson (top-right) - who backed the move to block Mr Paterson's suspension - was last night accused of a 'colossal misjudgment' as a number of Conservatives claimed the government had created 'one rule for us, another rule for everyone else'. Widespread criticism followed, including from the Labour benches where MPs could be heard shouting 'shame and 'what have you done to this place', but Mr Paterson doubled-down and insisted there was 'no question' he would do the same thing again. He then told the Telegraph the commissioner and members of the Standards Committee should consider their position. 'Sadly they have not done a good job and come up with a rotten report which is full of inaccuracies... [they] all have to go,' he said. But a defiant Ms Stone - who Tory critics have accused of being biased against Conservatives and Brexiteers (bottom-right) - pledged to stay in the job for another year, despite the pressure from Mr Paterson's camp.
Outdated NHS technology is putting lives at risk, the Health Secretary warned last night.

Matt Hancock vowed to bring the NHS into the 21st century with a bonfire of the fax machines amid warnings that lacklustre IT systems are hampering doctors efforts to save lives.

He highlighted the case of 13-year-old Tamara Mills, from Newcastle, who died after an asthma attack despite having been seen 47 times by health workers in different parts of the NHS.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock, pictured in Downing Street, ahead of declaring his war on outdated technology within the NHS

The lack of a clear, single record that could be shared between departments meant no one diagnosed a deterioration in her condition prior to her death in 2015.

A world in which a hospital cant pull up a patients GP record to see the reason for stopping and starting medications is downright dangerous, Mr Hancock wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

Mr Hancock highlighted the tragic case schoolgirl Tamara Mills, 13, from Newcastle, who died after an asthma attack despite having been seen 47 times by health workers in different parts of the NHS

In July it emerged that nearly 9,000 fax machines were still in use across NHS England, with the Royal College of Surgeons condemning the services reliance on outdated technology as ludicrous.

The Health Secretary will today announce a 200million fund to help hospital trusts develop systems that can work across the entire NHS.
The mother of murdered schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer is outraged a young couple has named their baby after her slain daughter.

A furious Cyndi Uluave unleashed on a Queensland couple, both in their teens, whose baby was born last Friday, and named Tiahleigh.

It has been almost three years since Tiahleigh, 12, was murdered and dumped naked in a river by her foster father Rick Thorburn.

Cyndi Uluave is outraged a young couple has named their baby after her slain 12-year-old daughter Tiahleigh Palmer

Tiahleigh, 12, was murdered and dumped naked in a river by her foster father almost three years ago in September 2015

'How f**king dare they, I'm beyond wild,' she wrote on a Facebook page originally set up to demand justice for her daughter.

'Where are the f**king parents in this... there would be no way I would let my child name a baby after someone who has passed, especially under such horrific circumstances.'

Ms Uluave told Daily Mail Australia this brought back painful memories of Tiahleigh's brutal murder, which was committed to cover up sexual abuse.

'Who names their baby after a dead girl? This wasn't their name to use,' she said.

'I'm suffering severe depression still and struggling to live life as it is without things like this popping up.'

Ms Uluave unleashed on a Queensland couple, both in their teens, whose baby was born last Friday, and named Tiahleigh

A photo of the baby bearing Tiahleigh's name taken soon after her birth last week

Facebook posts announcing the birth revealed the teenage couple kept the name

The distraught mother claimed she spoke to the new baby's father, a friend of her eldest son, weeks before the birth, and he promised to change the name.

'I will just change the whole fist (sic) name,' the father wrote in a message to a friend of Ms Uluave.

'I am so sorry I didn't realise that, please tell Cindy (sic) and everyone that we are sorry.'

Ms Uluave claimed after promising to change the name, the baby's father blocked her. But Facebook posts announcing the birth revealed they kept the name.

'How f**king dare they, I'm beyond wild,' she wrote on a Facebook page originally set up to demand justice for her daughter

The distraught mother claimed the new baby's father, a friend of her eldest son, promised to change the name weeks before the birth - but then used it anyway

The baby's aunt was unapologetic, saying it was 'just a name' and Ms Uluave should 'get over it'.

'They've already named the baby, they're not going to change the name,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'This family doesn't need any more drama and that's it. It's a name so everyone can just get over [it]. It's all just stupid. All this over a name, there's probably millions called Tiahleigh.'

However, Ms Uluave said she made up her daughter's name from components of different names so it was unique.

Ms Uluave said the couple naming their daughter after Tiahleigh brought back painful memories of her brutal murder, which was committed to cover up sexual abuse

Ms Uluave said she made up her daughter's name from components of different names so it was unique

'Tiahleigh was going to be Tiarna, however I already knew 3 people with that name so I decided because my middle name is Lee and my son's middle name is Lee I decided Tiahleigh was a good name,' she explained last year.

'However, I didn't like the way it looked, that is when it was suggested to me to swap the r for a h and that was how I got Tiahleigh.'

Ms Uluave said her murdered daughter had three siblings who might like to use her name as a tribute for their own children, but it shouldn't be used by an outsider.

'I'm not stupid I know I don't own rights to the name but I did the right thing, I approached them about it said at least just change the spelling and he assured me they would and then blocked me and kept it,' she said.

Tiahleigh's foster father Rick Thorburn was jailed for life in May after pleading guilty to murdering her in September 2015

He killed her to cover up sexual abuse by his son Trent, then 18, (pictured) who feared he had got Tiahleigh pregnant. Trent was jailed for four years

'They came out saying they were best friends with Tiahleigh for years but truthfully Tiahleigh had hardly any friends and after she passed there were so many people that came out of the woodwork claiming to be best friends with her.

'It just boils my blood.'

The baby's grandmother later apologised for the furore and insisted naming the child Tiahleigh was 'not meant to be disrespectful'.

'I'm sorry that anyone has gotten upset about this, it was meant to be a sign of respect not to be hurtful,' she said.

Tiahleigh's body was discovered on November 2015, six days after she disappeared from Thorburn's care on the Gold Coast.

Thorburn pleaded guilty to murdering her to cover up sexual abuse by his 18-year-old son Trent, who feared he had got her pregnant.

In May this year, Thorburn was jailed for life. Trent was jailed for four years and his mother Julene Thorburn for 18 months, suspended after six months, for perjury.
A dismembered body found dumped in a landfill in Georgia last month has been identified as a missing 20-year-old woman from West Virginia.

The Bartow County Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday that the body was identified as Courtney Nicole Dubois, who was reported missing in Fairmont, West Virginia.

Sheriff Clark Millsap said in a press release that law enforcement used dental records obtained from family members to confirm the identity.

'This is an important step in the investigative process and allows law enforcement to focus specifically on Courtney Dubois from this point and going forward,' Millsap said.

Authorities identified the dismembered body found in a Georgia landfill last month as 20-year-old Courtney Nicole Dubois

Sanitation workers at the Bartow County Landfill in Cartersville, Georgia found a dismembered body on August 13 when the torso fell out of one of the bags.

The body had been cut into pieces and placed in several bags and then put in a dumpster.

'I've been doing this 35 years and I've never seen anything like this before,' Millsap said.

'Because of the way it happened and the dismemberment, its a very disturbing case,' he said to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the 'violent homicide'.

Police had earlier last month released a sketch of the woman after her body was found up in plastic bags in a dumpster

Police had also released an image of the woman's distinctive tattoos hoping someone could identify her

Around that time police released a photo of distinctive tattoos found on the body and a sketch of what she looked like hoping someone could identify who the woman was from the photos.

According to a Facebook group about Dubois' disappearance and death, her mother had reportedly posted a plea on Facebook asking for help looking for her daughter who had disappeared from West Virginia in early August.

Authorities have created a specific tip line (770) 387-5110 for people to provide any information they may have on the case.
Britain is trying to negotiate aviation deals with individual EU countries to ensure planes continue to fly in the event of a no deal Brexit.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling will write to his opposite numbers in the 27 member states, seeking to secure agreements.

The move, which attempts to circumvent the European Commission, will anger Brussels officials.

The European Union is responsible for aviation laws across the continent, but has resisted efforts by the UK to draw up contingency plans if there is no agreement.

Mr Grayling will urge European transport ministers to be practical and prepare for the talks collapsing. It comes ahead of the publication next week of another tranche of no deal papers, including those covering aviation.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is preparing the UK's aviation plans over a no-deal Brexit which are to be released next week

The papers will accept there is a theoretical possibility UK planes will not be able to take off and land on the continent after March 29 next year.

Flights from Europe would also be blocked from landing in the UK unless a new agreement is made to replace the single market for aviation.

But ministers have dismissed the idea that European air traffic will stop if there is no deal. They have already negotiated a raft of deals with non-EU countries to ensure flights can continue to those countries after Brexit.

A UK agreement with the US and Canada, to replace the EU-US Open Skies agreement, is expected to be reached imminently.

The new papers will accept there is a theoretical possibility UK planes will not be able to take off and land on the continent after March 29 next year/ Pictured: Heathrow AIrport

A Department for Transport spokesman said: Aviation is absolutely crucial to the UKs economy and we are committed to getting the best deal possible for the UK. We will work closely with the international aviation community to ensure that this global industry continues to be a major success story for the UK economy.

It came as a top police officer warned that criminal investigations which require cross-border co-operation could be dropped if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.

Sir Craig Mackey, Deputy Commissioner of Scotland Yard, warned that the UK will potentially be less secure and investigations  including terrorism cases  will be hampered in the event of a no deal.

He said inquiries which require co-operation with European forces will be slower and some may be dropped if officers lose access to foreign databases and alerts, adding: I suspect the reality is that some investigations will not progress and it will be far more difficult to progress some investigations.
Kim Jong Un said on Wednesday he has 'not once' spoken negatively about President Trump since their summit in Singapore and still wants to pursue a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

The June meeting saw the pair sign a vague statement about denuclearization without describing when and how it would occur. Post-summit nuclear negotiations were rocky and quickly settled into a stalemate.

Speaking at a meeting with South Korean officials in preparation for an inter-Korea summit, Kim said he still trusted Trump and was keen to reach a deal, according to Seoul diplomat Chung Eui-yong.

Kim Jong-un meets with South Korea's special envoy Chung Eui-yong in Pyongyang on Wednesday, when he repeated his intention to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula

The post-summit impasse generated widespread skepticism over Trump's claims that Kim is intent on dismantling his nuclear weapons program.

But at Wednesday's meeting Kim was paraphrased in the statement by the Korean Central News Agency as saying that it was 'his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat.'

The South Korean envoys who met Kim on Wednesday finalized the dates for a summit later this month between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the driving force behind the current diplomacy.

Moon is seen as eager to keep the nuclear talks alive in part so that he can advance his ambitious engagement with the North, which would need US backing to succeed.

The date of the talks, which will come on the eve of a gathering of world leaders at the U.N. at the end of September, was to be released later Thursday.

KCNA said Kim and the South Korean envoys reached a 'satisfactory agreement' over his planned summit with Moon.

Moon, who discussed his plans with President Donald Trump by telephone on Tuesday, said his envoys had a crucial task that could determine the prospects for lasting peace.

While pushing ahead with summits and inter-Korean engagement, Seoul is trying to persuade Washington and Pyongyang to proceed with peace and denuclearization processes at the same time so they can overcome a growing dispute over the sequencing of the diplomacy.

Kim meets with a security official inside Seoul's presidential Blue House Chung Eui-yong during preparations for an inter-Korea summit

Seoul also wants a trilateral summit among the countries, or a four-nation meeting that also includes Beijing, to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War.

The U.N. General Assembly in late September would be an ideal date for Seoul, but many analysts see that possibility as low, considering the complications of the process and how far apart the parties currently are.

US officials have insisted that a peace declaration, which many see as a precursor to the North eventually calling for the removal of all American troops from the Korean Peninsula, cannot come before North Korea takes more concrete action toward abandoning its nuclear weapons.

Such steps may include providing an account of the components of its nuclear program, allowing outside inspections and giving up a certain number of its nuclear weapons during the early stages of the negotiations.

While an end-of-war declaration wouldn't imply a legally binding peace treaty, experts say it could create political momentum that would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions toward a peace regime, diplomatic recognition, economic benefits and security concessions.

North Korea has accused the United States of making 'unilateral and gangster-like' demands for denuclearization and holding back on the end-of-war declaration.

Kim's commit at Wednesday's talks will boost hopes diplomacy can get back on track after a rocky period

North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday published a lengthy statement on its website saying that an end-of-war declaration would be a necessary trust-building step between the wartime foes that would 'manifest the political will to establish the lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.'

South Korean officials said an end-of-war declaration would be among the issues discussed in the meetings between the South Korean envoys and North Korean officials.

'Our government believes that an end-of-war declaration is very much needed while we enter a process toward stabilizing peace in the Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization,' said Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, in a news conference on Tuesday.

'We will continue to put in efforts so that an end-of-war declaration can be reached by the end of the year. We are always maintaining close communication with the United States.'

After their Singapore summit, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement about a nuclear-free peninsula without describing when and how it would occur.

Post-summit nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang were rocky and quickly settled into a stalemate.

While the United States maintains that efforts to improve relations between the Koreas should move in tandem with efforts to denuclearize North Korea, Moon has recently said inter-Korean engagement could take the lead.

'If needed, we should pull forward the negotiations for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with the development in relations between the South and North,' Chung said.

Any progress could depend on whether Moon's envoys were able to coax a stronger verbal commitment from North Korea on denuclearization to help put the nuclear talks between the United States and Pyongyang back on track.

The June summit between President Donald Trump (pictured Wednesday) and Kim in Singapore was followed by a period of tension which saw neither side willing to make any substantive move

Trump called off a planned visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, citing insufficient progress in denuclearization.

The resumption of US-North Korea talks sometime before the next inter-Korean summit, which will likely take place in mid-September, could give Moon more to work with when he arrives in Pyongyang.

The two past inter-Korean summits in April and May removed war fears and initiated a global diplomatic push that culminated with the meeting between Kim and Trump in June.

But Moon faces tougher challenges heading into his third meeting with Kim with the stalemate in nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington raising fundamental questions about Kim's supposed willingness to abandon his nuclear weapons.

The Korean War ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula technically still at war. Moon has made an end-of-war declaration an important premise of his peace agenda with North Korea.
The New South Wales Health Minister is calling for a crackdown on free healthcare for visitors to Australia.

NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazzard has revealed healthcare for tourists costs state taxpayers upwards $30 million a year.

'Every time an uninsured visitor does not pay for their treatment in one of our public hospitals, taxpayers foot the bill,' Hazzard claimed in a statement today.

It is thought that more than 14,000 Medicare-ineligible patients are admitted to NSW public hospitals annually

Mr Hazzard is attempting to get his state and federal counterparts on board to implement mandatory health insurance for all travelers on temporary visas.

Under current legislation, only selected visas require foreigners to take out medical insurance. These include student and some working visas.

However it isn't necessary to take out medical insurance in order to be granted a visitor or business visitor visa for Australia.

It is thought that more than 14,000 Medicare-ineligible patients are admitted to NSW public hospitals annually.

This comes at a cost of $100 million  with about $70 million paid for by the patient or their insurer, the Daily Telegraph reports.

However some of these patients then leave the country without paying for their treatments, leaving hospitals to have to account for unpaid bills which cost the tax payer an estimated $30 million.

For example, one foreign patient left behind an unpaid hospital debt of more than $180,000 when health insurance was insufficient to cover their treatment.

Treatments include overnight hospital stays, prostheses, radiology and specialists for visitors who mostly come from China, followed by India, Fiji, Tonga and Brazil.

Other states have experienced similar problems with unpaid medical bills. Figures dating back to 2016 show that Western Australia has about 10,000 Medicare-ineligible patients present to the states public emergency departments each year.

The Australian reports that WA estimated the average cost of treating each inpatient to be about $11,500.

Mr Hazzard is attempting to get his state and federal counterparts on board to implement mandatory health insurance for all tourists and visitors

In previous years state health ministers have also considered reforms including banning foreigners from returning to the country if they have outstanding hospital bills.

However, Tourism and Transport Forum chief executive Margy Osmond told the West Australian that introducing the ban proposed by Mr Hazzard could dissuade people from visiting the country.

She also pointed out that Australia's tourism industry generates substantial revenue.

According to Ms Osmond, the average Chinese visitor spends more than $8500 in Australia, most of it in NSW.
The former Australian Border Force Commisioner has lodged a submission to a senate inquiry claiming that Peter Dutton's office contacted him to secure a visa for an Italian au pair.

Roman Quaedvlieg, who was handpicked to be the first Border Force Commissioner by Mr Dutton himself, told the inquiry that he received a phone call from the then Minister for Immigration's Chief of Staff Craig Maclachlan, in June 2015.

Mr Quaedvlieg claims that Mr Maclachlan said he was calling 'on behalf of the Minister' wanting to confirm whether the au pair had been detained on arrival at Brisbane Airport, reports the ABC.

Former Australian Border Force Commisioner has lodged a submission to a senate inquiry claiming that Peter Dutton's office contacted him for an Italian au pair (pictured in 2016)

It is understood the au pair, Michela Marchisio (pictured) was detained for plannin to work on a tourist visa

Mr Quaedvlieg claims that Chief of Staff said he was calling 'on behalf of the Minister'

He says he then established she had been detained because she was intending to work on a tourist visa.

When he conveyed this information back to Mr Maclachlan it is alleged he asked 'what needed to happen for the Minister to overrule' the decision?

It is understood the au pair, Michela Marchisio, was planning to work for Queensland Police Officer Russell Keag and his wife, Nicole.

Mr Keag was a former colleague of Mr Dutton's when he worked as a police officer in Queensland.

Mr Dutton has strenuously denied he has spoken to the Keags about the au pair.

He has also previously said that someone in the Border Force has routinely leaks information regarding au pair and his office.

'There's a disaffected former senior Australian Border Force official who leaks this information out,' Mr Dutton told Sydney radio 2GB.

The au pair was planning to work for Queensland Police Officer Russell Keag and his wife, Nicole (pictured)
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US coffee giant Starbucks is taking on Italy's espresso masters with a lavish new cafe complete with nitro coffee, a heated marble-topped coffee bar, a 22ft high bronze cask, a wood-fired oven and a cocktail bar.

Starbucks is opening its first store in Italy on Friday in a cavernous former post office in the Piazza Cordusio square of Milan, where customers can watch the beans being roasted in a huge bronze cask, eat pizza from a hand-built Princi Bar wood-fired oven, or drink cocktails on the mezzanine-level bar.

In Italy, an espresso at a coffee bar is usually a quick morning or after-lunch ritual performed standing up.

The outside facade of the Starbucks store in Milan in a cavernous former post office in the Piazza Cordusio square, where customers can watch the beans being roasted in a huge bronze cask and drink cocktails on the mezzanine bar

Employees at work in the Starbucks store in Milan, where the lavish new cafe serves nitro coffee and has a heated marble-topped coffee bar

Customers at the new Starbucks in Milan, which opens on Friday, can watch the beans being roasted in a huge cask while they sip their coffee

Pastries and cakes on display at the first Reserve Roastery Starbucks to open in Europe in Milan, Italy, which will open its doors on Friday

The huge 22ft bronze cask centrepiece at the Starbucks in Milan where customers can watch the beans being roasted

Many neighbourhoods have cafes are practically on every corner, and Italians are on a first-name basis with their trusted barista.

Decades ago, Milan's coffee bars inspired the global chain's vision, bosses say.

Now Starbucks is hoping Italian clients will visit its new store, called the Reserve Roastery, for the premium brews and novelties in a country fond of its daily espresso rituals.



Italy is Starbucks' 78th global market, and the Milan opening comes 20 years after Starbucks opened its first store in Europe, which was in London in Kings Road in 1998.

The company has described the Milan store as 'the crown jewel of Starbucks global retail footprint' and it says the chain plans more cafes in Milan later this year.

Italy is Starbucks' 78th global market, and the Milan opening comes 20 years after Starbucks opened its first store in Europe, which was in London in Kings Road in 1998

Mixologists make cocktails at the mezzanine-level bar in the new Starbucks in Milan which also serves wood-fired pizza

'Aperitivo', or pre-dinner cocktail, are Italian traditions in cafes and Starbucks want to tap into that lucrative market

Starbucks described the Milan store as 'the crown jewel of Starbucks global retail footprint' and says the chain plans more cafes in Milan later this year

The new Starbucks in Milan also serves cocktails at a mezzanine-level bar and pizza from a wood-fired oven near the city's cathedral

Milan is also the first place where Starbucks has opened a store in its Roastery format in the untested territory of Europe.

Italians are used to marble counters for coffee bars, but Starbucks boasts that it outfitted its counter tops in the Milan store with heating so they won't feel stone cold on chill days.

The centrepiece of the Milan store is a 22ft (6.5-meter) high bronze cask, which is part of the roasting process.

The company also hopes the store's cocktail bar will be an attraction as many who work in Milan, Italy's fashion and financial capital, cherish the tradition of meeting friends or colleagues for an 'aperitivo', or pre-dinner cocktail, often in cafes.

A Starbucks employee mixes an iced coffee in the heated marble-topped coffee bar in Milan

At the Reserve Roastery, where they can watch beans being roasted, can sip Reserve coffee or have cocktails at a mezzanine-level bar in a cavernous space that once was a post office near the city's or cathedral

Employees work at the Starbucks store in Milan, where it is hoped by the chain's bosses clients will linger at Starbucks Reserve Roastery, to enjoy the heating of the marble counters

A waiter serves cappuccini at the Starbucks store in Milan, Italy. Starbucks first opened a Roastery in Seattle in 2014, where the US city that is home to its corporate headquarters, and then second one in Shanghai last year

Starbucks chief design officer Liz Muller told The Associated Press earlier this week that the company's 'not coming to Italy to teach people about coffee. This is where coffee was born'.

Instead, Muller said Starbucks 'wanted to come and bring a premium experience that is different to what people in Italy are used to'.

She described that formula as including 'many different brewing techniques and a space where we want you to stay longer and relax and enjoy'.

Starbucks first opened a Roastery in Seattle in 2014, where the US city that is home to its corporate headquarters, and a second one in Shanghai last year.

Designer Liz Muller described the new formula at the Milan Starbucks as including 'many different brewing techniques and a space where we want you to stay longer and relax and enjoy'

Liz Muller, Starbucks chief design officer, poses in the Starbucks store in Milan, where she said she 'wanted to come and bring a premium experience that is different to what people in Italy are used to'
A gay father from San Francisco accused an airline of discriminating against his family when a gate attendant told him he could not priority board with his husband and daughter.

Jeff Cobb took to Twitter on Tuesday to lash out at EVA Air after he said he was separated from his family while straight couples were allowed to get on the plane.

'My husband and I were told only one of us could join our 19 month old in the family boarding group of EVA Air 27 from SFO on 9/1/18. I explained we were both the fathers of the child, and they said it was their policy that only one parent can board and the other has to wait in the normal line,' he posted.

Jeff Cobb, pictured with his husband and daughter, accused EVA Air of discriminating against is family

The family was traveling from San Francisco to Taipei when Cobb said he was told he could not board with his husband and child

Cobb said the gate attendant told him the policy only allowed for one parent to board with a child and he would have to wait in the normal boarding line

Cobb said his husband later informed him that straight families were allowed to board together

Cobb, who was traveling to Taipei, said he had never flown EVA before so he accepted that was the airline's policy and went to the normal boarding line.

He said that when he reconnected with his family on the plane, his husband told him that straight couples were allowed to board together with their children.

'Im very disappointed that the EVA ground staff at SFO thinks its ok to separate same-sex families during boarding. I will definitely not be flying this airline again after this incident,' he posted.

The airline responded to Cobb's complaint on Twitter apologizing and writing that they have a 'zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind'.

EVA Air released a statement on Twitter apologizing to Cobb, his husband and his daughter

The airline said in a Twitter statement (above) that it has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination

'EVA Air is an inclusive company and we welcome all families. It is our policy that passengers traveling with infants or children can have priority boarding. The policy does not limit the number of accompanying adults or specify the relationship to the infant or child,' the statement read.

The airliner said the gate agent incorrectly told families traveling together that priority family boarding would be limited to one adult with one child 'to prevent a congested and unsafe jet bridge'.

'We apologize for the unfortunate event to all parties involved. EVA is reviewing our diversity training with our airport staff and agents to ensure this does not happen again,' the company said.
A man has been acquitted of a bizarre robbery after his lawyer put an Australian spin on a famous phrase used in the OJ Simpson trial.

Stewart Brett Kemp, 36, was found not guilty in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday after his lawyer Halley Robertson used the line in his defence.

'Your Honour, if the thong don't fit, acquit,' Ms Robertson told Magistrate Gary Finger, echoing Simpson's lawyer Johnnie Cochrane's 1995 argument.

A man has been acquitted on a bizarre robbery case after his lawyer put an Australian spin on a famous phrase used in the OJ Simpson trial (pictured)

Stewart Brett Kemp, 36, was found not guilty in Southport Magistrates Court on Wednesday after his lawyer Halley Robertson used the line in his defence (stock image)

Mr Kemp was accused of breaking into an apartment and driving off in the owner's Audi A1, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

His face could not be identified on CCTV footage, but DNA on a thong found in the car after it was abandoned matched Mr Kemp.

Ms Robertson argued her client could have shared the thongs at some point, stepped on them, or somehow sweated on them.

'Another possibility is Mr Kemp may have had terrible aim at a urinal at some point and a splash-back happened, to land on the foot of someone next to him,' she said.

During OJ Simpson's murder trial in 1995, Mr Cochrane (pictured) uttered the line 'if it doesn't fit, you must acquit,' in regards to a glove containing Simpson's DNA

'We don't even know what size this thong is, or if it fits Mr Kemp, and your Honour if the thong don't fit, acquit.'

During OJ Simpson's murder trial in 1995, Mr Cochrane uttered the line 'if it doesn't fit, you must acquit,' in regards to a glove containing Simpson's DNA.

Mr Cochrane spoke after Simpson struggled to squeeze his hands into the gloves in the courtroom.

Magistrate Finger on Wednesday said he had his suspicions, but said the evidence did not prove Mr Kemp was wearing the gloves in the car.

'While I have suspicions, suspicions are not enough,' he said before finding Mr Kemp not guilty and discharging him.
Washington's newest parlor game, played out over cocktails, coffees and cigars, is the molehunt sorrounding a biting anonymous anti-Trump essay The New York Times published online Wednesday.

Scattered bread crumbs, from the use of the obscure word 'lodestar' to the Times' errant use of a male pronoun, immediately transfixed D.C.'s chattering class. And what has emerged from a scandal-obsessed town's collective mystery is a smattering of household names and speculation about unsung but powerful people behind the scenes.

As usual in the town that brought the world Watergate, Linda Tripp and the initially nameless author of the campaign book 'Primary Colors,' everyone from K Street to Constitution Avenue has a theory.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's office gave reporters a three-word answer about his potential authorship while traveling in India: 'It's not mine.'

But at least one source at the State Department believes another of Foggy Bottom's star players  Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman  could have risked his career by covertly trashing the president in print.

'I could see it being Huntsman,' a State Department lawyer told DailyMail.com on Thursday. 'Some of it fits, and he's the kind of guy who would see it as his duty to undermine the boss for a greater good.'

President Donald Trump has launched a massive molehunt inside his administration to ferret out the anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed that trashed him mercilessly Wednesday

A State Department official said Thursday that Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman could be the culprit; like the essay's author who praised the late moderate GOP senator John McCain (left), Huntsman worshiped the ground he walked on

Initial speculation focused on VP Mike Pence (left) because of a single word in the op-ed  Lodestar  that Pence has used over and over in his political career, but that turned out to be a red herring

The attorney emphasized that there's no hard evidence to point to the diplomat. But, like the op-ed's writer, Huntsman 'worshiped at [John] McCain's feet' and considered him 'the best example of an honorable guy in the Senate.'

'We may no longer have Senator McCain. But we will always have his example  a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue,' the essay's author wrote, using the magic word that may turn out to be planted to sow confusion.

'Mr. Trump may fear such honorable men, but we should revere them.'

A Senate aide who works for a moderate Republican pointed a finger on Thursday at Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, telling DailyMail.com that Trump 'is ultimately going to get eaten by one of his own from his campaign days, one of the people who know him better than the rest of us.'

'Haha nope,' a spokesperson for Carson said, putting out that fire.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin's spokesman Tony Sayegh said that his boss 'is honored to serve @POTUS & the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for @nytimes to print this anonymous piece. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source. It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary.'

Similarly the Homeland Security Department issued a stern denial.

'Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland - not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times. These types of political attacks are beneath the Secretary and the Department's mission,' press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton said.

Spokespersons for Defense Secretary James Mattis (left) and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right) have issued flat denials

Pentagon spokesperson Dana White denied Secretary James Mattis had engaged in the fingerprint-free assault, saying: 'It was not his op-ed.'

The very public guessing games have frazzled White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, according to a White House official who said her Wednesday afternoon and evening consisted of putting out one strategic fire after another.

By Thursday morning, she had had enough.

'The media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop,' Sanders tweeted.

'If you want to know who this gutless loser is, call the opinion desk of the failing NYT at 212-556-1234, and ask them. They are the only ones complicit in this deceitful act. We stand united together and fully support our President Donald J. Trump.'

The essay sparked instant speculation, wild guesses and a hunt for the truth

The first crush of guesswork focused on a line in the essay that called the late Sen. McCain 's life 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

Vice President Mike Pence, armchair linguists on Twitter quickly determined, used that word over and over again in his speeches and television appearances.

And no one else in a senior administration role seems to have it in their vocabulary. (The late U.S. presidents Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson did.)

Pence's office, inundated with reporters' calls, has said flatly that the VP wasn't responsible.

'The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds,' tweeted Jarrod Agen, Pence's communications director. 'The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.'

Some on Capitol Hill tore up their betting slips in dismay.

'That's too bad, really,' an official who works for a conservative member of Congress said Thursday. 'Pence is what we call a 'squish.' I kinda wish he tried to do this and made a simple miscalculation like that.'

The next round of speculation fell on Pence's speechwriter, Stephen Ford. But examples of 'lodestar' in the vice presidential vocabulary date back to 2001  when Ford was in the third grade.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders blasted D.C.'s journalists who have been peppering her with speculative questions, saying the rush to solve the mystery has caused innocent public servants to unfairly have their names dragged through the mud

Who wrote the New York Times' Trump 'resistance' op-ed? Pence speaks on a mobile phone before attending the Republican policy luncheon in DC on September 5 Mike Pence - DENIES IT Sleuths honed in on the word 'lodestar,' a favorite of the vice president. The op-ed's author described the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.' Others suggested the word, which means the guiding star of a ship, could have been deliberately included to throw journalists off the scent. This was the verdict of a senior White House official who spoke to Dailymail.com. He said suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff. Pence has never criticized Trump in public. Writing the op-ed would almost certainly scuttle any future bid for high office. And his communications director has publicly denied it, saying Pence would always sign his own work. Stephen Ford If 'lodestar' was not an intentional red herring, others speculated, suspicion could fall on Pence's speechwriter. But the VP's use of the word dates back to at least 2001. Ford, a youngish rising star in Washington's conservative circles, was in the third grade that year. Mattis gestures during a press briefing at the Pentagon on May 19, 2017 James Mattis - DENIES IT The Secretary of Defense, despite being a Trump favorite, has repeatedly sounded at odds with the commander-in-chief while discussing NATO, Russia and military strategy. During one episode in Bob Woodward's recent book, 'Fear,' Trump questioned the ability of U.S. early warning systems in Alaska to identify a nuclear attack from North Korea. Mattis is said to have schooled him. 'We're doing this in order to prevent World War III,' he reportedly said. The Pentagon chief reportedly told colleagues after the incident that Trump had the mental ability of 'a fifth- or sixth-grader.' Mattis has denied the account, saying in a statement: 'The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence.' A Pentagon spokesperson denied he wrote the Times piece. 'It was not his op-ed,' spokesperson Dana White said. Kelly at the White House on August 20 John Kelly The White House chief of staff was also quoted in Woodward's book as having called Trump an 'idiot.' 'It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails,' he allegedly said. 'We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.' Kelly denied making the claims, in a statement put out by the White House. 'The idea that I ever called the President is not true, in fact it's exactly the opposite,' he said. 'This is both a pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from his many successes.' Sessions speaks about immigration and law enforcement at Lackawanna College on June 15, 2018 Jeff Sessions - DENIES IT The attorney general has a motive to shiv his boss after Trump repeatedly chastized him in public for recusing himself from the Russia investigation. And he has let loose on Sessions over charges the Department of Justice brought against two sitting Republican members of Congress, complaining the indictments handicapped the incumbents and jeopardized the GOP's ability to retain its majority in the House. The president also compared Sessions unfavorably to the FBI director he fired, 'Lyin' James Comey,' saying they had become martyrs to the same lawmakers who despised them after resisting orders from the president. Woodward writes that Sessions called Trump 'mentally retarded,' something that also met a stern denial. A Justice Department spokesperson denies Sessions wrote the NYT op-ed. Coats addresses the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on July 19 Dan Coats - DENIES IT The director of national intelligence has also veered from Trump loyal line. Told of the president's plan to invite Vladimir Putin to the White House, Coats enraged the president by snarking: 'That is going to be special.' He later 'clarified' his comments, made during an interview at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado, by saying his response 'was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president.' Trump drew heavy criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over his summit with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, where he seemed reluctant to blame Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Coats put out a statement denying either he or his deputy wrote the piece. McGahn is interviewed at a conference in Gaylord, Maryland, on February 22 Don McGahn The White House counsel is planning to leave the White House in the fall, so he may not fear the consequences of exposure as a secret anti-Trumper. He has also clashed with the president in the past. This includes declining an order to fire Robert Mueller, who is overseeing the Russia investigation that Trump describes as a 'witch hunt.' McGahn risked the president's anger by spending 30 hours in interviews with Mueller's team, over three separate occasions. Melania and Ivanka watch on ahead of the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Hempstead, New York Melania or Ivanka? - MELANIA DENIED The first lady is an unlikely candidate for authorship of the Times essay. Twitter commenters noted she had already been accused of telegraphing coded messages publicly hinting at opposition to her husband's policies. This included wearing a jacket saying 'I really don't care, do u?' when visiting shelters for illegal immigrant children. Melania Trump denied authorship Thursday, saying in a statement: 'To the writer of the oped  you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.' Ivanka Trump has previously said she would work to ensure her voice is heard via her father's policies but has seemingly failed to do so  particularly in the case of family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border, which she 'vehemently' opposed. Her husband Jared is a senior adviser and also could be involved, but it's a long shot that anyone in Trump's family would sell him out. Advertisement

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats issued his own categorical denial on Thursday.

'Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not,' he said in a statement.

'From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC [intelligence community] remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible.'

The Times op-ed's emphasis on Trump's alleged foreign-policy failings and flailings has driven some in Washington to suspect Fiona Hill, the senior director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council staff.

Trump 'shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations,' the mystery author wrote.

The only clue the Times offered Wednesday, other than the vague concession that a 'senior official' in the Trump administration had written the 957-word hammer-blow to President Trump's ego, was a tweet using the male pronoun 'he.'

But a Times spokeswoman later said the word was a mistake that shouldn't be read as a tip-off.

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Danielle Ha told reporters. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error.'

The president fumed at the White House on Wednesday, demanding to know who had sold him out to the hated Times

The Times has very rarely published anonymous essays, and never before from someone with a domestic political exe to grind

Trump raged about the piece in the White House, calling around to confidants to vent about the disloyalty of the author and fuming that the so-called Deep State within the federal government had conspired against him, according to a person familiar with the president's views but not authorized to discuss them publicly.

The text of the op-ed was pulled apart for clues: The writer is identified as an 'administration official'; does that mean a person who works outside the White House? The references to Russia and the late Sen. John McCain - do they suggest someone working in national security? Does the writing style sound like someone who worked at a think tank?

The Beltway guessing game seeped into the White House, as current and former staffers alike traded calls and texts trying to figure out who could have written the piece, some turning to reporters and asking them for clues.

For many in Trump's orbit, it was stunning to realize just how many people could have been the op-ed's author. And some of the most senior members of the Trump administration were forced to deny they were the author of the attack on their boss.

Trump, appearing at an unrelated event Wednesday at the White House, lashed out at the Times for publishing the op-ed.

'They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them,' he said of the newspaper. The op-ed pages of the newspaper are managed separately from its news department.

The writer of the Times op-ed said Trump aides are aware of the president's faults and 'many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them.'

The writer also alleged 'there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment' because of the 'instability' witnessed in the president.

The 25th Amendment allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.' It requires that the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet back relieving the president.
A Massachusetts man was ordered held without bail and charged with four counts of murder for fatally stabbing a relative and her three children to death in their home earlier this year.

Mathew Locke, 32, was arraigned in Western Worcester District Court on Wednesday for the killings of Sara Bermudez and her three young children.

Authorities allege that on February 28, Locke entered the home of Bermudez, 38, in West Brookfield.

Locke is alleged to have stabbed her to death along with her three children - Madison, eight; James, six; and Michael, two, according to the Metro West Daily News.

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Mathew Locke, 32, was arraigned in Western Worcester District Court on Wednesday for the killings of Sara Bermudez and her three young children. He is seen above in court last month

Moses Bermudez watches as his cousin Mathew Locke is arraigned. Bermudez was in California on business when Locke allegedly entered his home and fatally stabbed his wife, Sara, and their three kids

The bodies were found the next day by Sara Bermudezs father-in-law in one of the homes upstairs bedrooms.

Police said that they collected a DNA sample from Locke on March 19 - almost three weeks after the murders.

Investigators said the sample matched that of another sample taken from the crime scene.

Sara Bermudezs husband, Moses, was in California for work when the murders took place.

The bodies were found the next day by Sara Bermudezs father-in-law in one of the homes upstairs bedrooms. Moses and Sara Bermudez are seen in the above file photo

Locke is alleged to have stabbed her to death along with her three children - Madison, 8; James, 6; and Michael, 2

Authorities allege that on February 28, Locke entered the home of Bermudez, 38, in West Brookfield. The bodies were found in an upstairs bedroom on March 1

Authorities said Locke lied to police when he said that Moses Bermudez believed the murders were committed by the MS-13 gang.

Locke also told police that he had not visited the Bermudez home for at least a-month-and-a-half before the slayings.

Investigators say this, too, was a lie.

Police said that Lockes car was seen leaving his house and returning later the same day on February 28.

Witness statements reported that Mathew Locke was not at his residence prior to the homicides and then returned to the residence shortly after occurred, police documents state.

Locke, who was ordered held without bail, is currently serving a prison sentence as part of an unrelated theft of vehicle parts.

His next court hearing in connection with the murder case is scheduled for October 18.
Billy Warren Pierce Jr., 44, who will answer charges of capital sexual battery on a nine-year-old girl, is accused of offering the inmate $9,000 to carry out the hit

A Florida man in jail before his trial for child sex crimes allegedly tried to hire his fellow prisoner - a Neo-Nazi - to assassinate his young victim and her mother, father, sister, and uncle.

Billy Warren Pierce Jr., 44, who will answer charges of capital sexual battery on a nine-year-old girl, is accused of offering the inmate $9,000 to carry out the hit.

The would-be assassin, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, reported Pierce to officials at Pasco County Jail on August 22, reported TampaBay.com.

He was arrested on Friday after officials gathered evidence to back up the man's claims.

When questioned about the alleged plot, Pierce initially denied it. But when told he was being arrested for solicitation of murder, he is said to have responded 'But I haven't paid him any money yet'.

The other inmate said Pierce was friends with the father of the victim and had visited the house, according to an arrest report.

Pierce told him he could enter through the usually unlocked door, or even break a gas line at the rear of the house and divert it through a window to poison those inside.

Sheriff's deputies seized a contract signed by Pierce. 'It basically goes through the details on the members that needed to be murdered.

'Mr Pierce initialed by the amount he's going to pay the inmate,' said Detective James Hicks.

A conversation between Pierce and inmate discussing the plan was also captured on an audio recording device.
Security camera footage shows the moment a man rammed his pickup truck into the side of a building housing a local television station.

The footage shows the driver slowly approach the building which is home to KDFW-TV in Dallas early Wednesday morning.

The driver then comes to a full stop before accelerating once again and then swerving head-on into the building.

Surveillance footage shows the driver of a pickup truck slowly approach the building which is home to KDFW-TV in Dallas early Wednesday morning

The driver then comes to a full stop before accelerating once again and then swerving head-on into the building

The truck crashes into the building though the camera angle doesn't show the extent of the damage

The vehicle then goes in reverse - pulling with it a large panel of cracked glass

After returning to the street, the truck once again slams into another part of the building

The vehicle then goes in reverse - pulling with it a large panel of glass.

After returning to the street, the truck once again slams into another part of the building.

Police arrived on the scene and arrested a 'ranting' man allegedly behind the wheel of the pickup truck.

Michael Chadwick Fry, 34, was taken into custody Wednesday. Authorities say he was the driver of the pickup truck

KDFW posted details on its Facebook page showing photos of the front of the silver Dodge Ram truck rammed into windows near an entrance.

The man, later identified as 34-year-old Michael Chadwick Fry, paced and scattered numerous handwritten leaflets outside.

He was not able to enter the building and was soon arrested.

The incident took place shortly after 6am in the 400 block of North Griffin Street in downtown Dallas.

Anchors who continued on the air through the 7am newscast, despite the crash, say nobody was hurt.

The truck hit an unoccupied administrative side of the building before office workers arrived for the day.

This photo from video by KDFW Fox 4 shows a man being detained after crashing his pickup truck into the side of the Fox affiliate television station building in downtown Dallas

Anchors continued on the air through the 7am newscast, despite the crash

The man paced and scattered numerous handwritten leaflets outside

The unnamed suspect was upset about an officer-involved shooting that occurred elsewhere

A KDFW statement says 'a man crashed a truck into the side of our building this morning' and 'jumped out and started ranting'.

Anchor and reporter Brandon Todd, who witnessed Fry pacing outside the station before he was arrested, said the man was yelling about 'high treason,' and that he believed he had clearly been wronged and that someone was trying to kill him.

'It's not real clear to what his message was,' according to Todd.

Fry started crying when police took him into custody, Todd said.

According to police, the suspect was upset about an officer-involved shooting that occurred elsewhere.

The man brought multiple boxes filled with leaflets, seen in this KDFW video screenshot

The man was yelling about 'high treason,' and that he believed he had clearly been wronged and that someone was trying to kill him

The suspect was seen crying when police officers took him into custody Wednesday

Fry left behind boxes containing flyers, which he then scattered outside the TV station, and a suspicious bag.

Police called in the bomb squad to inspect the items, which later gave the all clear.

The 34-year-old was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation. He was later booked into jail on a charge of criminal mischief.

Authorities say they don't believe the suspect was targeting the media.

Denton County records show that Fry has been booked into jail more than two dozen times since 2003 on a variety of charges, including public intoxication and arson.
Texas-based internal medicine specialist Dr Gary Tigges, who came under fire for saying female colleagues 'don't work as hard,' has stepped down from his leadership roles

A Texas physician who was in hot water this month after he provided a sexist survey response about the gender pay gap for the Dallas Medical Journal has resigned from his leadership roles at the hospital.

Plano-based internal medicine specialist Dr Gary Tigges took part in a survey for the newspaper, which asked 7,500 physicians whether they believed the gender gap existed in their medical profession.

Tigges shared a rather abrasive response, which had been featured in the September issue of the journal titled 'Women in Medicine.'

The physician wrote: 'Yes, there is a pay gap. Female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians.

'This is because they choose to, or they simply don't don't want to be rushed, or they don't want to work the long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else... family, social, whatever.'

He concluded in the response: 'Nothing needs to be "done" about this unless female physicians actually want to work harder and put in the hours. If not, they should be paid less. That is fair.'

In a new statement, a Texas Health Plano spokesman said Tigges stepped down from his roles on the medical board executive committee and credentialing committee, which he served as the chair.

Plano president Josh Floren announced Tigges' resignation in a written statement to hospital employees.

Floren said: 'This past weekend we learned of comments that Dr. Gary Tigges made to the Dallas Medical Journal regarding physician pay inequities between the genders, which spread quickly on social media.

'His remarks were and remain extremely divisive and have caused a great deal of hurt and concern among the medical staff, the Dallas-Fort Worth medical community and the entire country.'

He concluded that the remarks 'do not reflect the opinion or values of Texas Health Resources or Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano.'

After his sexist comment was published, Tigges quickly regretted his words after he received furious responses in return from female colleagues as well as readers of the journal.

Several female medical professionals shared their disappointment on social media.

Tigges shared a rather abrasive response in the September issue of the journal titled 'Women in Medicine'

The comment was part of a survey from the journal asking physicians about the gender pay gap

Texas Health Plano president Josh Floren announced Tigges' resignation from the leadership roles at the hospital (pictured above) in a written statement to employees

Nathalie Martinek wrote on Twitter: 'Data and evidence would be really great to include in your assessment and productivity of #womeninmedicine. Stop talking sh*t Gary!'

Andi Murphy agreed that the gender pay gap exists, but contradicted Tigges' statement suggesting women are less productive in the workplace.

'My last hospitalist job was paid per shift with WRVU goals and commensurate bonuses. My productivity numbers were consistently at the top of the entire group,' Murphy wrote.

'I found out six years in my per shift rate was 30% less than all of my male colleagues, including new grads.'

Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez added: 'I'm so upset at @DallasCMS for publishing this. I whole-heartedly encourage them and @texmed to do a big article highlighting #WomenInMedicine & I would be happy to assist.'

Several female doctors shared their two cents about the controversial topic on social media

Tigges published an apology at the top of his Plano Internal Medicine bio after he was chastised for the comments.

The statement said: 'I have heard from several trusted female physician colleagues who disagree with and are deeply hurt and offended by the comments I made to the Dallas Medical Journal regarding pay equity among female and male physicians.

'I want to thank them for reaching out to me and sharing their concerns. I now understand more clearly how intricate this issue is and that there are ways we can work together to resolve these disparities.

'I have worked closely with numerous female physicians for nearly three decades and have witnessed nothing but compassion, diligence and professionalism.'

He concluded: 'I sincerely apologize to all female physicians for my comments and the pain they have caused.

'I also need to apologize to my partners and the staff at Plano Internal Medicine Associates, where we have an open and supportive work environment and where we do not tolerate discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religion.'

Tigges began a private practice at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano back in 1995 and founded Plano Internal Medicine the following year, his bio states.
The hunt is on for the senior official behind the anonymous New York Times op-ed that labeled Donald Trump 'amoral' as the president demanded the paper name the author for 'national security reasons'.

Top White House aides cancelled meetings on Wednesday to come up with a list of roughly a dozen people they suspect of writing the incendiary piece, according to The Washington Post.

As officials launched the fight back, Trump announced on Twitter he was 'draining the Swamp' but 'the Swamp is fighting back'. 'Don't worry, we will win!' he added. The president reacted to the column with 'volcanic anger' and was 'absolutely livid' at what he considered an act of treason, two sources told the Post.

Earlier, he unleashed a blistering attack on the New York Times and questioned whether the senior White House official behind an anonymous op-ed published Wednesday really exists.

'Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?' Trump tweeted hours after the newspaper published a brutal opinion essay that the newspaper said was written by one of his senior-level appointees.

'If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!'

An hour earlier Trump tweeted a single word: 'TREASON?'

A mysterious senior aide to President Donald Trump attacked him anonymously in The New York Times on Wednesday, and the president shoved back in a tirade about the newspaper's veil of secrecy and the aide who betrayed him

As officials launched the fight back, Trump announced on Twitter he was 'draining the Swamp' but 'the Swamp is fighting back'. 'Don't worry, we will win!' he added

Trump unleashed a blistering Twitter and questioned whether the senior White House official behind an anonymous op-ed really exists

The president tweeted a single word to sum up his leanings about the essay

The Times wrote that 'he'  identifying the author as male  is part of a White House resistance movement whose goal is to subvert the president's worst impulses in order to save the country

The op-ed describes the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' in the way he manages the government, and says the author is part of an organized 'resistance' whose goal is 'to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting [President] Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office.'

During a White House event with a group of sheriffs, Trump called the op-ed 'gutless' and suggested the writer is 'probably... failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons.'

Lynne Patton, a HUD official and former Trump party planner, claimed on Instagram that the leak will easily be found.

'It's hardly breaking news to anyone with half a brain that 'Never Trumpers' have been employed within our walls from the outset,' she wrote. 'And yes, we know who they ALL are, including this author.'

Separately, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the essay was 'pathetic, reckless, and selfish' and challenged the Times to 'issue an apology.'

'This is just another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the President,' she said.

Sanders said the unidentified writer chose 'to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States. He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign.'

But Trump focused equally on the 'dishonest media'  specifically the Times, a paper he claims is 'failing' despite its steady growth in subscribers since he took office.

'The New York Times is failing. If I weren't here, I believe The New York Times probably wouldn't even exist,' he said, later adding: 'They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them because they're very dishonest people.'

The Times described Wednesday's move as 'rare,' leaving open the possibility that its editorial board has masked the names of op-ed writers in the past.

The identity of the mystery scribe, Washington's new 'Deep Throat,' will become the stuff of cocktail party chatter and Twitterati sleuths for weeks.

But in a tweet the Times described the person as a male, saying 'he and others' are working together behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A Times spokeswoman later told Business Insider that the pronoun was a mistake that shouldn't be read as a tip-off.

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Danielle Ha said in an email. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error.'

'Lodestar,' a word Vice President Mike Pence is fond of using in speeches and on television, appeared in the mysterious op-ed, leading some to conclude he wrote it; but a senior White House official said hi and his office were not under suspicion

Online chatter Wednesday quickly focused on Vice President Mike Pence as armchair language analysts focused on one line describing the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

That word  lodestar  is a favorite of the vice president. But a senior White House official told DailyMail.com that suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff.

The official suspects 'lodestar' was purposely included in the op-ed to throw journalists off the scent.

In an online introduction, the Times says the author's 'identity is known to us' and the person's 'job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.'

The essay describes a 'quiet resistance' that by its nature has remained secret but isn't designed to bring Trump down  only to curb his worst impulses.

'Ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left,' the author writes. 'We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.'

'But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.'

So rather than risk the invocation of the Constitution's 25th Amendment, the prescribed route for removing a president, he boasts that 'we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  it's over.'

The guessing game s afoot, and every male Trump appointee is a suspect

The Times took pains to keep the author's name a secret but its social media staff eliminated half the population with the word 'he'

Highlights: The most searing quotes in Bob Woodward's book WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT TRUMP: JOHN KELLY, CHIEF OF STAFF: 'He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.' JAMES MATTIS, DEFENSE SECRETARY: 'Fifth- or sixth-grader' REX TILLERSON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: 'He's a f***ing moron.' JOHN DOWN, FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'F***ing liar.' JOHN DOWD ON HOW TRANSCRIPT OF A MUELLER INTERVIEW WOULD BE DESCRIBED BY FOREIGN LEADERS: 'I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?' GARY COHN, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: 'A professional liar' ROB PORTER, FORMER STAFF SECRETARY WHO QUIT WHEN BOTH EX-WIVES ACCUSED HIM OF ABUSE: 'A third of my job was trying to react to some of the really dangerous ideas that he had and try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren't such good ideas.' WHAT THEY SAID TO EACH OTHER: STEVE BANNON TO IVANKA TRUMP: 'You're nothing but a f***ing staffer! You walk around this place and act like you're on charge, and you're not. You're on staff!' IVANKA TRUMP TO STEVE BANNON: 'I'm not a staffer! I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter and I'm never going to be a staffer!' JOHN KELLY TO GARY COHN: 'If that was me, I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his a** six different times.' DOWD TO ROBERT MUELLER: 'He just made something up. That's his nature.' WHAT TRUMP SAID ABOUT THEM: BARACK OBAMA: 'Weak d**k' RUDY GIULIANI, PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'Rudy, you're a baby. I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?' WILBUR ROSS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: 'I don't trust you. I don't want you doing any more negotiations. You're past your prime.' H.R McMASTER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: 'Dresses like a beer salesman.' REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: 'Like a little rat. He just scurries around.' AFTER EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT FATAH AL-SISSI ASKED IF HE WAS GOING TO BE AROUND: 'Like a kick in the nuts.' BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN DICTATOR: 'Let's f***ing kill him! Let's go in. Let's kill the f***ing lot of them.' Advertisement

The nameless internal Trump critic bashes the president's 'amorality,' and claims he has no 'first principles that guide his decision making' and no affinity for typical Republican ideals.

And Trump's 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' management style, the writer claims, has brought disaster most of the time  and most Cabinet officials 'are working to insulate their operations from his whims.'

'Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back,' he continues.

Unlike The Washington Post, the stated policy that guides the Times in its decisions about publishing op-eds does not exclude anonymous essays.

The West Wing has been buffeted from one incoming missile to the next in recent days; the biggest recent salvo has been journalist Bob Woodward's book 'Fear,' which caught the Trump administration flat-footed when excerpts first emerged Tuesday.

That book, too, reveals at least one episode of a senior Trump adviser going behind his back to prevent him from making a catastrophic mistake.

Former chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, Woodward writes, once tried to prevent a trade disaster when Trump asked for paperwork pulling the U.S. out of a bilateral agreement with South Korea.

He 'stole a letter off Trump's desk,' Woodward writes, specifically to prevent the president from signing it. And Cohn told others he did it 'to protect the country'.

The president has branded Woodward's book a 'fraud' and a work of fiction.
Cars with potentially faulty Takata airbags are still being sold despite a compulsory recall this earlier this year (pictured, a woman injured by a Takata airbag)

Vehicles with dangerous airbags containing shrapnel are still being sold in Australia despite a recall earlier this year.

A loophole means vehicles with deadly airbags are still being bought and sold by private sellers of affected cars - and owners don't have to tell buyers about the recall.

The loophole exists because the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) recall applies to dealers only.

Despite the compulsory recall, there are still more than 1.8 million vehicles with killer airbags across Australia.

Of 22 deaths from Takata airbags worldwide, there is at least one fatality in Australia.

Roughly 15,000 dangerous airbags, containing shrapnel, have a 50 per cent chance of shooting through and harming passengers if they experience a car crash.

It has also been estimated that more than half the used cars sold in Australia are from private sales.

Chief Executive of the Australian Automotive Dealer Association David Blackwell said a tool had been developed by the industry to detect faulty air bags, force owners to replace deadly airbags or get police to run registration checks.

More than 1.8 million vehicles with faulty airbags are still being sold despite recall this year (file picture)

'That tool, in a police cruiser, would immediately let the police know we should tell this person we're giving them a speeding ticket to that he has a potential shotgun pointed at his throat,' Mr Blackhall told The Daily Telegraph.

Dealers who still sell cars with killer Takata airbags can still face fines up to $220,000 or penalties of $1.1 million.

Dealers are still able to legally sell affected airbag vehicles that haven't been recalled but must notify customers with a written or oral caution.
Australian members of an ancient, all-male institution are threatening to quit the secret society amid discussion that transgender women will remain members.

Freemasons is a large fraternal organisation sprawled across the world that claims to empower 'personal development' among its members.

There is now discussion to implement a 'gender reassignment' policy in Australia which would allow a transgender women to remain a Freemason if she joined as a man.

Freemasons in Australia are threatening to quit the ancient secret society amid discussion about transgender members (pictured: Freemasons ceremony at Town Hall, Sydney)

There is now discussion to implement a 'gender reassignment' policy in Australia which would allow a transgender women to remain a Freemason if she joined as a man

The policy also extends to men who have lived as women.

The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) has already implemented the policy in the UK and there are calls for Australian Freemasons to follow suit, despite there being no overarching governing body for the organisation.

The UGLE released a document that said members are expected to act with 'kindness and tolerance' in matters related to gender transition.

Members of the society would still be formally referred to as 'brothers' but should be addressed informally by their name and chosen gender pronouns.

Branch members in Sydney have labelled the change as 'left's march through institutions' and would be willing to quit the society if implemented, the Daily Telegraph reported.

One source said it would be a sad day for the ancient and noble institution if transgender people were able to join.

Freemasons is a large fraternal organisation sprawled across the world that empowers personal development among its members (pictured: Freemasons bed quilt)

The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) has already implemented the policy in the UK

Another source argued masonry is 'the last man cave in modern society'.

'It's so far free from feminism and gender politics  a place where good men can gather and meet without having to tiptoe on egg shells, worried about social justice warriors, feminists or LGBTI police saying they are offended.'

A different source said the dynamic of the organisation would be altered if women were mixed into lodge meetings.

'It has been men only for 100s of years, but now if I nip and tuck, grow titties, wear a black skirt and live in England, I can still attend Lodge meetings,' he said.

Branch members in Sydney have labelled the change as 'left's march through institutions' and would be willing to quit the society if implemented

One source said it would be a sad day for the ancient and noble institution if transgender people were able to join

One source, who has been a Freemasons member for over 20 years, argued a different view, claiming membership should be extended to women as the organisations core values are about making good humans even better.

'It is in my eye ridiculous that we exclude 50 per cent of the population just because of their sex. It should be up to the local Lodge to decide if they want to admit an interested human. As long as they are good people they should be able to apply for membership,' the source said.

United Grand Lodge of NSW and ACT Grand Secretary Stephen Green said a proposal had not been put forward but they would comply with UGLE if changes went before the committee.
Malcolm Turnbull's daughter has publicly scolded the Liberal party after her father lost his position as Prime Minister less than two weeks ago.

Daisy Turnbull Brown spoke out in support of Julie Bishop's speech at the Australian Women's Weekly Women of the Future awards on Wednesday.

The director of Positive Psychology posted a series of comments to Twitter agreeing with Ms Bishop and accused the party of not having enough female MPs.

In her speech, Ms Bishop said that it wasn't acceptable to have less than 25 per cent of female Liberal Party parliamentarians in 2018.

Daisy Turnbull Brown (pictured) spoke out in support of Julie Bishop's speech at the Australian Women's Weekly Women of the Future awards on Wednesday

The director of Positive Psychology posted a series of comments to Twitter agreeing with Ms Bishop and accused the party of not having enough female MPs

'No it isn't @JuliebishopMP.' Mrs Turnbull Brown tweeted in agreeance.

'It is going to be very hard to raise daughters and tell them to look to the Liberal Party for strong female role models,' she posted.

'I have never been a fan of quotas but they may be the Lib's only hope to win back female supporters.'

The mother of two said the 'family-unfriendly' nature of parliament may be a factor as to why some women may not want to be MPs, but was 'not enough of a reason' for the gender gap.

'You need to remove the toxic culture of parliament that makes it extremely unattractive to women.'

She also tweeted criticism of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's attack on a program which trains teachers to identify transgender children.

The Prime Minister tweeted on Wednesday: 'We do not need 'gender whisperers' in our schools. Let kids be kids.'

The mother of two (left) said the 'family-unfriendly' nature of parliament may be a factor as to why some women may not want to be MPs

She also tweeted criticism of Prime Minister Scott Morrison's attack on a program which trains teachers to identify transgender children

Mrs Turnbull Brown responded by saying: 'As a teacher we have to create safe environments that support all students, but most importantly, promote kindness.'

Just last week, Alex Turnbull spoke out in support of Labor candidate Tim Murray, and said voting for his father's old party was impossible in good conscience.

The Singapore-based hedge fund manager on Saturday used social media to declare Mr Murray was great value for political donations.

He wrote to Mr Murray's Twitter post: 'best bang for the buck you'll get in political donations in your life' and sharing the link to his donation page.

The son of Malcolm Turnbull, Alex (pictured) publicly backed Labor ahead of the by-election in his father's old seat of Wentworth

He wrote to the Twitter post: 'best bang for the buck you'll get in political donations in your life' and sharing the link to his donation page

'Tight race, tight margin for government, big incremental effect whatever happens. If you want a federal election now this is the means by which to achieve it,' Mr Turnbull added.

Alex Turnbull told Fairfax earlier this week it was 'hard to back a Labor guy, but not Tim' and it was 'impossible' to vote for the Coalition 'in good conscience'.

'My motivations are clean government and sane energy policy and that's it,' he said.

Both in the investment world, Mr Murray and Mr Turnbull have known each other for years.

Mr Murray worked in China for nearly 20 years and can speak Mandarin.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this week abandoned his former colleagues in the battle for his blue-ribbon seat of Wentworth.

On Sunday, he and his wife flew to New York, where the pair own a two-bedroom Manhattan apartment they purchased for $4.5million in 2012.

The latest ReachTel poll has the Liberal Party and Labor at 50 per cent each on a two-party preferred basis, in a sign voters could punish the government for knifing Mr Turnbull.

Although the polls suggest Wentworth could fall to Labor for the first time in history, the former prime minister won't be joining the Liberal's campaign.
The daughter of a dementia patient who was allegedly brutally assaulted by his carer in a North Sydney care home, feels like she has 'failed him'.

Secretly-filmed footage showed the 82-year-old being repeatedly hit with a shoe by his 35-year-old carer, who then started tearing his t-shirt off.

The care worker from Hornsby, North Sydney, was arrested yesterday and charged with two counts of common assault, and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence.

Ayda Celine  the daughter of the dementia patient  told 9NEWS that she first became concerned about her father's well-being several months ago when she spotted bruising on his body.

'He was complaining about pain and when I took down his trousers I noticed dark, black bruising that had been there for a while,' she said.

'I was advised that he might have fallen, so I let it go.'

The daughter of the dementia patient who was brutally assaulted by his carer has said she feels like she has 'failed him' - Ayda Celine (pictured)

The care worker (pictured) was arrested and charged yesterday over the alleged assault

However, as time went on, Celine noticed her father deteriorating, noting that he wouldn't let her touch him and 'he didn't leave his bedroom to eat'.

Celine said that she called the Seaforth care home on several occasions to tell them her father wasn't being looked after.

'Whether it was bruising or that he was sitting in a wet nappy for hours and in soaked clothes and no one has changed him,' she said.

Taking matters into her own hands, Celine set up a camera in her father's room which allegedly recorded the attack on her father.

Taking matters into her own hands, Celine set up a camera in her father's room which allegedly recorded the attack on her father

'He was so helpless that he couldn't even call out for help  and even if he did, no one came to his aid,' Celine said

'I didn't trust they were looking after him,' she said.

Celine teared up as she talked of the pain her father would have gone through.

'He was so helpless that he couldn't even call out for help  and even if he did, no one came to his aid.'

Northern Beaches Police crime manager, Detective Acting Inspector Guy Magee, called the footage 'disturbing' and commended Celine for reporting it.

'The bravery of these victims and their families helps bring a resolution to these crimes,' he said.

'I can't imagine what it would be like for the family to watch. It's cowardly, it's disgraceful, and I encourage people to report these crimes to police.'

'These vulnerable people need the community's help to be their voice,' Superintendent Darcy said after the care worker (pictured) was arrested

The care worker from Hornsby, North Sydney, was arrested and charged with two counts of common assault, and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence

Bupa, the health insurance provider which manages the facility, has apologised for the assault and said it was cooperating fully with NSW Police.

'Bupa takes the safety and wellbeing of its residents seriously and we are shocked and saddened by what has occurred at our Seaforth care home,' a statement read.

The carer, 35, allegedly entered the patient's room at Seaforth care home multiple times between August 26 and 28.

Footage shows the patient cowering in fear as the employee repeatedly hits him with the shoe and forces him to undress.

Police arrested the employee at a home in Wheeler Heights just before 2pm on Wednesday and took him to Manly Police Station where he was later charged.

Police arrested the employee (pictured) at a home in Wheeler Heights just before 2pm on Wednesday and took him to Manly Police Station where he was later charged

Superintendent David Darcy from Northern Beaches Police Area Command said elder abuse can take various forms, from physical to psychological, emotional or financial.

'These vulnerable people need the community's help to be their voice,' Superintendent Darcy said.

'To see an elderly man treated in this way is disgraceful.'

The man was granted conditional bail and will appear at Manly Local Court on September 11.
A little boy who died at the hands of his step-father suffered a slow and painful death as it is revealed he could have sustained his fatal injuries five days before he died.

On Thursday, Mason Lee's stepfather, William Andrew O'Sullivan, was sentenced to nine years in prison over his involvement in the death of the little boy in June of 2016.

O'Sullivan pleaded guilty to four separate charges before the Queensland Supreme Court, including manslaughter and cruelty to a child under 16 years old.

Mason's extensive injuries and illnesses dated back months before his body was found in the home he shared with his step-father, who did not seek medical care for the little boy despite obvious warning signs.

A committal hearing previously heard that Mason Lee (pictured) suffered a rupture to his small intestine, believed to have been caused by blunt force trauma

On Thursday, Mason Lee's stepfather, William Andrew O'Sullivan, was sentenced to nine years in prison over his involvement in the death of the little boy in June of 2016

His lawyer, Ruth O'Gorman said her client admitted to inflicting the blow or blows that would eventually cause Mason's death two to five days later, the ABC reported.

Mason was the subject of continued and serious mistreatment and neglect during his short life, in which Chief Justice Catherine Holmes described his condition at the time of death as 'wretched and painful.'

"He was not treated with any gentleness or kindness. Worse, you did nothing to get help for him despite what would have been his evident distress."

Mason was just 21 months old when emergency services found his lifeless body at O'Sullivan's home at Caboolture, north of Brisbane in June 2016.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had multiple injuries at the time of his death, included a broken leg, a broken tailbone and a ruptured small intestine that slowly poisoned him as it leaked faeces into his abdomen.

In addition to the injuries, traces of methamphetamine were found in his blood.

Justice Holmes said O'Sullivan, a self confessed 'crackhead' was likely under the influence of drugs at the time of offending.

William Andrew O'Sullivan (pictured) is is expected to plead guilty to manslaughter over his stepson Mason Lee's death at a sentence hearing listed for August 28

A committal hearing heard the toddler suffered a rupture to his small intestine, believed to have been caused by blunt force trauma.

In the months before his death, Mason was treated for multiple injuries and was admitted to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital for three weeks in February 2016, a court was previously told.

That was for treatment of an abscess on Mason's right leg but doctors soon discovered he had a 'chronic' and 'extensive' rash around his genitals, including deep abscesses, the court was told.

Mason would have been unable to eat or drink without vomiting in his final hours and when paramedics attended to him, at least half an hour after death, he was covered in bruises and vomit, the hearing was told.

Justice Holmes took into account the assault O'Sullivan has been subjected to in prison while awaiting sentencing.

He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years, meaning he will be eligible for release in 2022.

A toddler who died at the hands of his step-father suffered a slow and painful death as it is revealed he could have sustained his injuries five days before he died

MASON LEE'S EXTENSIVE INJURIES AND ILLNESSES Cellulitis - likely caused by an insect bite that became infected Prolapsed anus - likely due to internal pressure from abdominal passage or large, hard stools Jacquet's dermatitis - rare form of nappy rash Fractured leg - caused Mason to limp, likely caused by child's play Constipation Abscess Mouth ulcers Perforated duodenum (a segment of the small intestine) - caused death after vomiting, abdominal pain, fever. People who saw him described him as pale, looking unwell and having dark eyes staring blankly Peritonitis - inflammation of the membrane lining the abdominal wall Septicemia - allowed faecal matter to fatally contaminate his bloodstream Fractured coccyx - found in autopsy. Prosecution speculated was caused by kicking Bruises - caused by fingertips to forehead, jaw, chest and abdomen Source - AAP Advertisement
A 19-year-old Palestinian exchange student who took photos of a drunk, naked woman in her home will fly home this week with no conviction to his name.

According to the NZ Herald, Majd Ali was acquitted yesterday despite pleading guilty to recording the woman naked.

Ali escaped any conviction as his lawyer told Dunedin District Court: 'There are so many adolescents out there sending photos of their anatomy to each other; penises, you name it.'

Ali has already booked his flights back to Palestine from New Zealand.

Majd Ali, 19, walked away from Dunedin District Court (pictured) free of convictions after stripping naked a young, intoxicated woman and taking a series of photographs of her

All convictions, including the previously withdrawn indecent assault and sexual violation charges, have been dropped on the condition Ali pays the victim $1500.

Ali came to Dunedin to study English at Otago Polytechnic while his sister studied for her PhD and was only meant to stay for one semester.

His lawyer Anne Stevens told the court that he was terrified of returning home as the Israeli embassy had shown interest in the case and he feared facing harsh ridicule upon his return.

This statement proved crucial in Judge Kevin Phillips verdict, as he acknowledged the interrogation he would face in his own country would be more severe upon conviction and said it would be unnecessarily cruel to carry 'all the implications of sexual depravity' for the rest of his life.

The incident occurred on November 4 last year after Ali poured the victim 'a large glass of straight vodka' at a house party and walked the victim home after she said she felt 'dizzy and very intoxicated'.

As the pair sat on her couch in the early hours of the morning, Ali then asked the victim to undress before pulling her naked body on top of him, taking out his phone and taking five photographs.

Ali was studying English on exchange at Dunedin's Otago Polytechnic (pictured) while his sister studied for her PhD when the incident happened

In the photographs put forward to the court, Ali was visible and fully clothed.

'It doesn't really get more intimate than a picture of the genitalia of a person,' Crown prosecutor Catherine Ure said.

When spoken to by police, he said he was 'very drunk' and despite remembering removing her clothes he couldn't recall taking the photos.

The victim, who is now living with family overseas, wanted Ali to take responsibility for his actions as the incident left her in 'serious emotional crisis'.

Stevens said her client was desperate to return home to his mother and five siblings and that he was young and had 'absolutely no experience of social interactions of this nature'.
A female recruitment worker slammed a high-end barber's as 'sexist' after claiming she was told to leave the shop due to a men-only policy.

Michelle Chan, 29, said she felt 'embarrassed' when she was told to leave Barber Barber in Albion Place, Leeds, West Yorkshire, on Sunday afternoon.

After leaving the premises and sitting on the street for five minutes Ms Chan thought the situation was 'ridiculous' but when she returned inside the shop's staff raised their voices at her, she claims.

Michelle Chan, 29, (pictured) claims she was told to leave Barber Barber in Albion Place, Leeds, due to its men-only policy

Ms Chan said she was asked to leave shortly before closing time on Sunday when she went in to wait after her brother Chris and boyfriend Daniel Williams had gone into the store for a cut.

Barber Barber, which brands itself as 'for scoundrels and gentlemen', charges 42 for a haircut, 35 for a 'beard sculpting', 32 for a 'lil rascal cut' and 75 for the full 'BB experience', according to its website.

Ms Chan, who works in recruitment, said: 'We were walking around and my brother and boyfriend both said they needed their hair cut.

Ms Chan and her boyfriend Daniel Williams (pictured) went to the barbers without realising it was a male-only establishment

'They'd never been there before so my brother went in first, then my boyfriend.

'[A staff member] spoke to my brother first, saying "unfortunately this is a gentlemen's barbershop, whoever's not having a cut has to leave".'

She said she went back in 15 minutes later and was again asked to leave again, being told it was 'gentlemen's only'.

Ms Chan added: 'I sat in the street for like five minutes and I thought, that's ridiculous. I went back in and they raised their voice.

'It's embarrassing because he said "I really need you to leave the premises", like I had done something wrong.'

The barbers defended the policy, saying the waiting area was for customers only

She later took to Facebook and Twitter to criticise the barber's, saying: 'DO NOT RECOMMEND!! Went with my boyfriend and my brother as they wanted a haircut and the guy said I cant be there to wait for them as its a gentlemens barber..

'It was like Sunday 5:15pm and all the shops are closed but the people in there makes funny grins outside when you have to wander around..

'I tried to sit and wait cos theres only 15 mins left till when they shut but one staff demands me to leave the premises.. saying thats the rule no females allowed to come in and wait..

'RIDICULOUS! PATHETIC!! SEXIST!!'

Ms Chan blasted the barbers as: 'RIDICULOUS! PATHETIC!! SEXIST!!'

A spokeswoman for Barber Barber said: 'The waiting area within our store is reserved for customers waiting to receive a service.

'For anyone wishing to wait for customers, we provide vouchers for nearby coffee shops where they can wait in comfort and enjoy a drink.

'Our business is a walk-in service and queues deter walk-ins.'
Gail Dickinson (pictured leaving court in Scotland today), 59, has been cleared of having sex with a 14-year-old schoolboy

A 59-year-old woman accused of having sex with a 14-old-boy on holiday in Ibiza has been cleared.

Gail Dickinson, of Glenrothes, Fife, was charged after the schoolboy's grandmother claimed she saw them having sex on the balcony at an apartment in San Antonio in June.

But on the second day of her trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court she said he raped her and the jury cleared her of all charges.

Jurors returned a 'not proven' verdict on the charges of engaging and instigating sexual activity with a minor, and not guilty on two related charges.

She smiled as she left court this afternoon, telling reporters: 'Justice has been served'.

The boy's relatives were visibly upset.

Earlier today, as a spokesman for the jury read out the verdict, Dickinson was seen to be dabbing her eyes with a tissue. She was then told by the judge that she was free to go.

Ms Dickinson immediately left her seat and joined family and friends where she could be seen visibly crying and relived.

One of her family members or friends hugged her with her arm around her.

One woman with them looked at Dickinson and shook her head, saying: 'So wrong.'

As Dickinson continued to cry, the woman remarked: 'You know what you did.'

Ms Dickinson, 59, of Glenrothes, Fife (pictured) was accused after the boy's grandmother claimed she had seen the pair having sex on the balcony

Earlier today, Ms Dickinson told the jury: 'It happened right out of the blue. I couldn't believe how fast it happened. I just remember him pushing his thing into my mouth.

'I went into a state of total shock. I managed to push him back and I was saying, 'No, stop it.'I ran out on to the balcony and he came charging after me,' reports The Daily Record.

Ms Dickinson said sexual intercourse did not take place, but when pressured by prosecutors she said he forced oral sex on her.

She told jurors the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 'obsessed' with having sex with her and it left her 'terrified'.

Yesterday the court was told that during the holiday the schoolboy's grandmother heard Ms Dickinson telling him: 'You've got a lovely package there.'

She said she had split up the pair when she found them in the living room and her grandson was partially naked and 'clearly aroused.'

She then told him to go to bed but later heard whispering from the balcony.

Ms Dickinson is pictured with friends and family leaving court today in Dunfermline, Scotland

When she looked through a gap in the curtains, she saw the pair engaged in sexual intercourse, she claimed.

She then told the court that she saw Dickinson performing a sex act on the boy and added: 'I could tell from his face he was enjoying it.'

She added that Dickinson was 'making demands' and the boy was following 'like a robot.' She added: 'It was a horrible situation. I couldn't believe it.'

But she told how she was too shocked to intervene adding: 'I didn't want a rumpus to start'.

Ms Dickinson (pictured) told jurors the sexual contact was not consensual and that intercourse did not take place . She was cleared of all charges

Ms Dickinson is pictured leaving court in Scotland today after telling reporters: 'Justice has been served'

Earlier the boy gave evidence via video link, saying he had been out for drinks in the evening with his mother and Dickinson.

He admitted he was 'pretty drunk' when they returned to the flat, and told how 'Gail was coming on to me She was touching my shoulders and legs.'

He told how he went to bed, but later went back to Dickinson, who led him out on to the balcony where they had sex.

He told the court: 'I was stunned it happened. When I woke up in the morning I felt pretty rubbish. I regretted it. It wouldn't have happened if I was sober.'

Dickinson denied that she engaged in sexual activity with the boy by kissing him on the lips, touching his body, performing oral sex on him and engaging in sexual intercourse in June last year.


A pub landlord has been jailed for at least eight years after selling almost $70,000 worth of drugs to an undercover cop.

Chris Lytros, 50, sold ice and cocaine to an uncover officer on eight separate occasions between November 2015 and April 2016.

Mr Lytros was caught at the Railway Hotel in Brunswick, Melbourne, where he was the licensee.

Chris Lytros, 50, sold almost $70,000 worth of ice and cocaine to an uncover officer on eight separate occasions at the Railway Hotel in Brunswick (pictured), Melbourne, where he was the licensee

The purchases cost the undercover cop over $67,800.

Mr Lytros appeared at the County Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking a commercial quantity of ice and one each of trafficking cocaine and MDMA.

Police found the MDMA during investigations when they searched a property.

'Your offending is extremely serious and has a grave impact on the community,' Judge Geoffrey Chettle told Mr Lytros.

Judge Chettle said he had not learnt his lesson from his previous conviction and jailed Mr Lytros for twelve years.

Mr Lytros has spent more than two years in custody and he won't be eligible for parole until he serves a minimum of eight years.
Police were unable to identify the body until Wan reported her mother missing

Police were unable to identify the body until Wan reported her mother missing

Yiting Wan, 27, and her father Ah Ping Ban, 65, stood trial on Thursday

suffered about 25 blunt force injuries to her head and also a fractured skull

The ex-husband of a woman whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Perth has been found guilty of her murder - while the victim's daughter has been convicted of being an accessory.

Artist Annabelle Chen, 58, was bashed to death in her Mosman Park home between June 30 and July 2 in 2016.

A couple of fishermen discovered her battered body in the Swan River, near Fremantle.

The identity was a mystery to police for almost two months until they achieved a breakthrough when Ms Chen's daughter Tiffany Wan, reported her missing to police.

Tiffany Wan (pictured) and her father Ah Ping Ban have been charged with Ms Chen's murder

Following a short investigation, Wan, 27, and her father Ah Ping Ban, 67, were charged with Ms Chen's murder.

The pair stood trial in Western Australia's Supreme Court over the past three weeks before the jury passed on their verdict today.

They pair blamed each other for Ms Chen's murder, with Wan maintaining her father hit his ex-wife during a disagreement over finances.

Wan testified she heard Ms Chen scream and a 'loud metallic thud' sound, and then her father confessed to accidentally killing his former wife.

Ban alleged his daughter confided in him she murdered her mother during a fight about Wan's upcoming university graduation ceremony.

Annabelle Chen's body was dumped in a suitcase and eventually found in Perth's Swan River

After almost a week of deliberations, the jury found Ban guilty of murder, while Wan beat a murder charge and manslaughter - but was convicted of being an accessory to the crime.

Ban appeared emotionless as the verdict was read to the court, while Wan sobbed openly.



Wan and Ban will face a sentencing hearing on November 22.
A Melbourne blogger has admitted to defacing a memorial to slain comedian Eurydice Dixon by painting obscene graffiti beside it in a bid to enrage feminists.

Ms Dixon, 22, was raped and murdered as she walked home through a Carlton North park after performing a comedy gig on June 13.

Andrew Nolch, 29, was captured leaving Melbourne Magistrate court in Melbourne on Thursday.

Comedian Andrew Nolch (pictured) has been charged with criminal damage, offensive behaviour and making offensive graffiti

Firefighters clean graffiti painted at the memorial site of murdered Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon

Eurydice was on her way home from a comedy gig when she was allegedly raped and murdered in Princes Park

Following Ms Dixon's death, flowers soon piled up on the Princes Park field where her body was found.

The makeshift memorial was visited by thousands and widely covered by the media.

In the lead-up to a large public vigil at the memorial site, anti-feminist blogger Andrew Nolch hatched a plan to cause as much outrage as he could.

Nolch, 29, who hosts a Scientology podcast, bought paint supplies and headed to Princes Park late at night to paint a 25m penis at the site.

Police patrolling Princes Park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North discovered the vandalism at 3.50am.

Firefighters and council workers could not remove the graffiti so the vandalised turf was removed and replaced at a cost of nearly $20,000.

In the lead-up to a large public vigil at the memorial site, anti-feminist blogger Andrew Nolch (pictured) hatched a plan to cause as much outrage as he could

Nolch faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

A 19-year-old man is charged with Ms Dixon's rape and murder.

The memorial was set up in the aftermath of the alleged rape and murder of Ms Dixon, 22, who was killed while walking home on Tuesday night.
A Chinese naval ship and two helicopters intercepted a British Royal Navy warship as it sailed near islands Beijing claims it owns.

The HMS Albion, a 22,000-tonne amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, was challenged as it passed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea last Friday.

Chinese government officials denounced the manoeuvre as a 'provocation' and said it had lodged a strong complaint with the British authorities.

Britain claims the vessel was exercising its 'freedom of navigation' rights as it passed near the disputed islands on its way to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, before docking following deployment in Japan on Monday.

The HMS Albion, the British Royal Navy's flagship amphibious assault ship, as it arrives at Harumi Pier in Tokyo, Japan, last month for its recent deployment

Colonel Tim Neild (left), captain of Britain's Royal Navy's warship HMS Albion, shakes hands with representatives of the Vietnam People's Navy, during the ship's visit in Ho Chi Minh on Monday

The HMS Albion passed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on its way to Ho Chi Minh City

Beijing dispatched a frigate and two helicopters to challenge the British vessel, but both sides remained calm during the encounter, a source who was familiar with the incident but asked not to be identified said.

The Paracels are occupied entirely by China but also claimed by Vietnam, Phillipines and Taiwan.

China's Foreign Ministry, in a faxed statement sent to Reuters, said the ship had entered Chinese territorial waters around the Paracel Islands on August 31 without permission, and the Chinese navy warned it to leave.

The Albion did not enter the territorial seas around the hotly disputed region by going within 12 nautical miles of the islands, which is internationally recognised as the territorial limit.

But the move demonstrated Britain does not recognise excessive maritime claims around the Paracel Islands, a source said.

The Chinese ministry added: 'The relevant actions by the British ship violated Chinese law and relevant international law, and infringed on China's sovereignty.

HMS Albion docked at a port in Ho Chi Minh on Monday at the start of a four-day visit in Vietnam as part of a celebration to mark the 45th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties

Military vehicles in the loading dock of the HMS Albion. When the Albion was launched in 2001 its command and combat systems were the most advanced in the Royal Navy

'China strongly opposes this and has lodged stern representations with the British side to express strong dissatisfaction.

'China strongly urges the British side to immediately stop such provocative actions, to avoid harming the broader picture of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability.

'China will continue to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and security.'

The encounter comes at a delicate time in London-Beijing relations as Britain has been courting China for a post-Brexit free trade deal, and both countries like to describe how they have a 'golden era' in ties.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: 'HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms.'

When asked if the row endangered the golden era of relations between the UK and China, Theresa Mays official spokesman told MailOnline the two countries still have a strong relationship.

He added: We have a strong relationship with China. The point in relation to this is that HMS Albion was in complete compliance with international law.

HMS Albion exercised her right of freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms.

The British Navy has previously sailed close to the disputed Spratly Islands, further south in the South China Sea, several times in recent years but not within the 12 nautical mile limit, regional diplomatic sources have said.

China's claims in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of shipborne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, but Britain does not have any territorial claims in the area.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague criticised Chinese actions in the South China Sea and found no basis for its sweeping historic claims in a landmark judgement in 2016.

HMS Albion in Vietnam. The amphibious assault ship was launched by Princess Anne, at BAE Systems Marine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in March 2001

HMS Albion in Ho Chi Minh City this week. It was the first of a class of two large and powerful assault ships that replaced the existing Royal Navy vessels, HMS Fearless and HMS Intrepid

Beijing has repeatedly rejected the ruling and earlier refused to participate in the case brought by the Philippines.

China's activities in the area have included extensive reclaiming of reefs and islands as well as the construction of runways, hangars and missile systems.

The Beijing government says it is entitled to build on its territories routinely challenge ships and monitoring stations on the fortified islands.

The HMS Albion was challenged by a Chinese frigate and two helicopters as it passed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea last week

While the US Navy has conducted Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the same area in the past, this British challenge to China's growing control of the strategic waterway comes after the United States has said it would like to see more international participation in such actions.

Both Britain and the US say they conduct FONOP operations throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies.

In April, warships from Australia - which like Britain is a close US ally - had what Canberra described as a close 'encounter' with Chinese naval vessels in the contested sea.

Beijing says it is entitled to build on its territories and says the freedom of navigation facilities are for civilian use, blaming Washington for militarising the region with its freedom of navigation patrols.

The Albion is one of three Royal Navy ships deployed to Asia this year, along with HMS Argyll and HMS Sutherland.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said in June that deployment of the three ships was intended to send the 'strongest of signals' of the importance of freedom of navigation.
Dominic Raab has met Michel Barnier today for a fresh round of Brexit talks after the EU chief negotiator ramped up tensions by branding the PM's Chequers plan 'dead'.

The Brexit Secretary travelled to Brussels today amid an increasingly desperate scramble to find a way through the standoff in talks.

Mr Barnier is said to have made clear his implacable opposition to Theresa May's blueprint for future trade relations during discussions with MPs earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the proposals have come under heavy fire from both Tory Brexiteers and Remainers.

The Pound surged yesterday on rumours that Britain and German are ready to fudge a Brexit deal to avoid chaos next March.

Dominic Raab met Michel Barnier today (pictured) for a fresh round of Brexit talks after the EU chief negotiator ramped up tensions by branding the PM's Chequers plan 'dead'

Theresa May (pictured today at PMQs) challenged Jeremy Corbyn to rule out support for a second referendum on Brexit in an angry first PMQs of a stormy autumn

There is speculation that ambitions for including fine detail in the 'political declaration' on trade that will accompany the divorce could be downgraded.

That could pave the way for the two year transition period to happen - effectively easing the time pressure on thrashing details of a future relationship.

However, the idea - which has been tagged 'blind Brexit' - assumes that Tory Brexiteers would be willing to sign off the 39billion divorce bill without knowing exactly what the UK will receive in return.

Mr Barnier met MPs from across-parties in the Belgian capital on Monday.

According to Labour's Stephen Kinnock, he made it 'crystal clear' the Chequers plan was unacceptable.

During exchanges with Mr Raab as he gave evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee yesterday,Mr Kinnock said: 'I can tell you absolutely, unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt that Chequers is dead in the water.

What is in Theresa May's Brexit blueprint? These are some of the key features of the Chequers plan being pushed by the UK government: A new free trade area in goods, based on a 'common rulebook' of EU regulations necessary. This will require the UK to commit by treaty to match EU rules

'Mobility' rules which will end automatic freedom of movement, but still allow UK and EU citizens to travel without visas for tourism and temporary work. It will also enable businesses to move staff between countries.

Continued UK participation in and funding of European agencies covering areas like chemicals, aviation safety and medicines

A 'facilitated customs arrangement', removing the need for customs checks at UK-EU ports. It would allow differing UK and EU tariffs on goods from elsewhere in the world to be paid at the border, removing the need for rebates in the vast majority of cases. This is designed to avoid the need for a hard Irish border. But in theory it still allows Britain to sign trade deals.

Keeping services - such as banking or legal support - outside of the common rule book, meaning the UK is completely free to set its own regulations. It accepts it will mean less trade in services between the UK and EU.

Continued co-operation on energy and transport, a 'common rulebook' on state aid and commitments to maintain high standards of environmental and workplace protections.

A security deal allowing continued UK participation in Europol and Eurojust, 'co-ordination' of UK and EU policies on foreign affairs, defence and development.

Continued use of the EHIC health insurance card. Advertisement

'Mr Barnier made it crystal clear that Chequers is completely unacceptable to the European Union.'

Tory former minister David Jones challenged Mr Raab on why he was 'flogging this dead horse'.

'You admitted that your focus is on trying to deliver an agreement along the lines of Chequers,' Mr Jones said.

'We know from Mr Kinnock that Mr Barnier thinks that Chequers is 'mort dans l'eau'.

'We know that several members of the Conservative Party, the Parliamentary Conservative Party - from both Remain and Leave tendencies - think that Chequers is dead in the water.

'Why are you flogging this dead horse?'

Mr Raab replied: 'This is a negotiation with the EU so you are going to hear noises from various sides that are critical.

'That is an inherent part of a sensitive, contentious negotiation like this, but you should be in no doubt that we are making good progress.'

During the hearing, Mrs May's chief EU adviser Olly Robbins rejected suggestions that the Chequers plan should be put 'out of its misery'.

He insisted it was a 'credible, sensible' offer on future relations with the bloc.

Mr Barnier said the meeting today will be another chance to find 'common ground' between the European Council's guidelines and the Chequers plan.

As the Brexit battle comes towards a crunch point, Mrs May yesterday directly challenged Jeremy Corbyn to rule out a second referendum on Britain's withdrawal from the EU.

The pair clashed at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons shortly after the UK's Brexit preparations were branded 'incompetent' by former Bank of England governor Mervyn King.

In a damning assessment, Lord King told the BBC the Government had been left without a credible bargaining position.

He said it 'beggars belief' that Britain, one of the world's leading economies, had found itself in a situation where the country was being told to take a course of action or face catastrophe.

He suggested blame should be shared by the Government, Parliament as a whole and those in Whitehall who were tasked with making key decisions.

Labour has so far declined to take off the table the option of a vote on the final Brexit deal, and Mr Corbyn is coming under intense pressure from People's Vote campaigners to commit to a second referendum.

Dominic Raab pictured yesterday in Parliament, left, alongside the PM's chief Brexit adviser Olly Robbins
Pence speaks on a mobile phone before attending the Republican policy luncheon in DC on September 5

Mike Pence - DENIES IT

Sleuths honed in on the word 'lodestar,' a favorite of the vice president. The op-ed's author described the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

Others suggested the word, which means the guiding star of a ship, could have been deliberately included to throw journalists off the scent.

This was the verdict of a senior White House official who spoke to Dailymail.com. He said suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff.

Pence has never criticized Trump in public. Writing the op-ed would almost certainly scuttle any future bid for high office. And his communications director has publicly denied it, saying Pence would always sign his own work.

Stephen Ford

If 'lodestar' was not an intentional red herring, others speculated, suspicion could fall on Pence's speechwriter.

But the VP's use of the word dates back to at least 2001. Ford, a youngish rising star in Washington's conservative circles, was in the third grade that year.

Mattis gestures during a press briefing at the Pentagon on May 19, 2017

James Mattis - DENIES IT

The Secretary of Defense, despite being a Trump favorite, has repeatedly sounded at odds with the commander-in-chief while discussing NATO, Russia and military strategy.

During one episode in Bob Woodward's recent book, 'Fear,' Trump questioned the ability of U.S. early warning systems in Alaska to identify a nuclear attack from North Korea.

Mattis is said to have schooled him. 'We're doing this in order to prevent World War III,' he reportedly said.

The Pentagon chief reportedly told colleagues after the incident that Trump had the mental ability of 'a fifth- or sixth-grader.'

Mattis has denied the account, saying in a statement: 'The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence.'

A Pentagon spokesperson denied he wrote the Times piece. 'It was not his op-ed,' spokesperson Dana White said.

Kelly at the White House on August 20

John Kelly

The White House chief of staff was also quoted in Woodward's book as having called Trump an 'idiot.'

'It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails,' he allegedly said.

'We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.'

Kelly denied making the claims, in a statement put out by the White House.

'The idea that I ever called the President is not true, in fact it's exactly the opposite,' he said. 'This is both a pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from his many successes.'

Sessions speaks about immigration and law enforcement at Lackawanna College on June 15, 2018

Jeff Sessions - DENIES IT

The attorney general has a motive to shiv his boss after Trump repeatedly chastized him in public for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

And he has let loose on Sessions over charges the Department of Justice brought against two sitting Republican members of Congress, complaining the indictments handicapped the incumbents and jeopardized the GOP's ability to retain its majority in the House.

The president also compared Sessions unfavorably to the FBI director he fired, 'Lyin' James Comey,' saying they had become martyrs to the same lawmakers who despised them after resisting orders from the president.

Woodward writes that Sessions called Trump 'mentally retarded,' something that also met a stern denial.

A Justice Department spokesperson denies Sessions wrote the NYT op-ed.

Coats addresses the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on July 19

Dan Coats - DENIES IT

The director of national intelligence has also veered from Trump loyal line.

Told of the president's plan to invite Vladimir Putin to the White House, Coats enraged the president by snarking: 'That is going to be special.'

He later 'clarified' his comments, made during an interview at the Aspen Institute security forum in Colorado, by saying his response 'was in no way meant to be disrespectful or criticize the actions of the president.'

Trump drew heavy criticism from both Republicans and Democrats over his summit with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, where he seemed reluctant to blame Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Coats put out a statement denying either he or his deputy wrote the piece.

McGahn is interviewed at a conference in Gaylord, Maryland, on February 22

Don McGahn

The White House counsel is planning to leave the White House in the fall, so he may not fear the consequences of exposure as a secret anti-Trumper.

He has also clashed with the president in the past.

This includes declining an order to fire Robert Mueller, who is overseeing the Russia investigation that Trump describes as a 'witch hunt.'

McGahn risked the president's anger by spending 30 hours in interviews with Mueller's team, over three separate occasions.

Melania and Ivanka watch on ahead of the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Hempstead, New York

Melania or Ivanka? - MELANIA DENIED

The first lady is an unlikely candidate for authorship of the Times essay.

Twitter commenters noted she had already been accused of telegraphing coded messages publicly hinting at opposition to her husband's policies.

This included wearing a jacket saying 'I really don't care, do u?' when visiting shelters for illegal immigrant children.

Melania Trump denied authorship Thursday, saying in a statement: 'To the writer of the oped  you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.'

Ivanka Trump has previously said she would work to ensure her voice is heard via her father's policies but has seemingly failed to do so  particularly in the case of family separations at the U.S.-Mexico border, which she 'vehemently' opposed.

Her husband Jared is a senior adviser and also could be involved, but it's a long shot that anyone in Trump's family would sell him out.
A gang of lionesses have been filmed launching a vicious attack on a male after deciding they wanted to kill off the leader of the pride.

Terrifying footage showed the females sinking their teeth into his flesh and tearing at his fur after pouncing on him at West Midlands Safari Park.

Safari workers had to step in and spray fire extinguishers at the beasts to break up the ferocious attack after the male was left bloodied and battered.

A gang of lionesses launched a ferocious attack on a male at West Midlands Safari Park. The male is seen letting out a painful roar

About nine females sink their teeth into his skull and tear at his fur after pouncing on him

Lionesses - the real rulers of the pride Lionesses sometimes kill of their male leader when when he's no longer in his prime years so they can bring in a younger male to breed with. Lions live in a pride made up of related females who remain members of a pride long-term, whereas the male leader is interchangeable. Male lions become a member of the pride only if the females accept him. As a result, the life of a male lion is much more socially precarious than that of the females. The lion has to win the grace of the females to become their pride male and usually will only be able to remain the pride male for three to five years. The natural instinct for lionesses is to take out the male leader when he's no longer in his prime years - five to ten years old. The females have a natural instinct to kill the leader so they can bring in a younger lion to increase their chances of producing offspring. Advertisement

It's possible the female lions were trying to kill the male because he was too old to run the pride.

In the wild lionesses will often kill their leader if they think he's past his prime and can no longer rule them properly.

However, Mya Beverstock, who caught the attack on film, said the females may have pounced on him after a dispute over food.

She said: 'It pretty much happened out of the blue. It was feeding time and then suddenly we heard growling a raoring.

'Two other males stepped back and didn't get involved while the females attacked the leader. He may have ate before his turn.

'Safari workers dealt with it very quickly. Three jeeps ended up in the enclosure honking there horns and driving towards the lions to break them up.

'One of the jeeps spraying them with a fire extinguisher which ended up mostly breaking up the fight.

'We did go around the park again afterwards and all the female lions had been removed from the enclosure and it was only the three males in there.'

In February this year a pride of lions charged towards a car at the same safari park.

Safari workers pulled up in three Landrovers while spraying fire extinguishers out of the window to break up the attack

The male lion has a look of panic on his face as he tries to escape the grasp of the ferocious females

Several lionesses sink their teeth into the male's mane as he lies exhausted on the rocks after struggling to escape

The fire extinguisher startles the female lions who become confused and back away from the male

Abi Tudge, 23, and her friend Jaz Reynolds, who had arranged the trip as a treat for two children they were caring for, watched in shock as the big cats bounded towards their Hyundai.

The women claim they were trapped in the enclosure for nearly an hour after rangers closed the gates to deal with the 'agitated' and 'aggravated' animals.

Heart-stopping footage shot by Miss Reynolds, 28, showed them leap on top of the bonnet and roof leaving behind a huge paw print-shaped dent.

Miss Tudge, from Hereford, said they were left feeling shaken and feared the car's windows could have been smashed by the animals during their visit on Wednesday to the popular attraction in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

West Midlands Safari Park confirmed the exit of its drive-through lion enclosure had been kept closed 'temporarily' because of the animals' proximity to the gate but stressed no-one had been in any danger.

A spokesman added: 'The male lions have been in the process of being mixed with the females for a few months now.

Abi, of Hereford, said they were left feeling shaken and feared the car's windows could have been smashed by the animals, which can weigh up to 30 stone

'This has been going well and there was no reason to believe that there would be any issues yesterday as a result of mixing. As with all wild animals, normally harmonious groups can on occasion become particularly active.

'This is constantly monitored closely by trained staff who are always in the enclosure when guests are too and will intervene if necessary.

'There was an experienced member of staff within the enclosure and at no time were guests in any danger.'
Britain and Russia faced off at a UN meeting today as the two country's ambassadors traded ill-tempered accusations of 'anti-Russian hysteria' and 'playing dice with lives'.

Britain accused Russia of 'working in a parallel universe where normal rules of international law are inverted' in an excoriating statement, while Russia said the West was operating in a 'post-truth world', calling the affair a 'theatre of the absurd'.

The UK's representative to the UN Karen Pierce blasted the Russians over the novichok attack on Sergei Skripal, which hospitalised him and four others and killed mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess.

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The UK's representative to the UN Karen Pierce hit out at Russia's actions in Salisbury during a meeting of the UN's Security Council today

Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya branded Britain's case 'unfounded and mendacious'

Ms Pierce said of Russia: 'They tried to murder the Skripals, they played dice with the lives of the people of Salisbury, they live in a parallel universe where the normal rules of international affairs are inverted.'

She said Britain's quarrel was not with the people of Russia but with the country's government.

She added: 'We have fought alongside Russian troops in the second world war - but we will respond robustly when our security is threatened.'

Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya branded Britain's case 'unfounded and mendacious'.

The ambassador to the UN said there are 'inconsistencies' which are 'off the charts' in evidence relating to the Salisbury novichok poisoning.

Mr Nebenzya questioned why Russia would want to carry out the attack in such a 'strange, sophisticated way', and accused Downing Street of 'Russophobia'.

'The only one who has won, who has gained from this is the Nina Ricci company, which has received a lot of advertising,' he said.

Adding: 'London needs this story for just one purpose - to unleash a disgusting anti-Russian hysteria and to involve other countries in this hysteria.'

The United States Ambassador Nikki Haley reiterated her 'solidarity' with the UK and Prime Minister Theresa May. Speaking immediately after Russia's representative, she said people should be 'chilled to the bone with the findings of this investigation'

The United States Ambassador Nikki Haley reiterated her 'solidarity' with the UK and Prime Minister Theresa May.

Speaking immediately after Russia's representative, she said people should be 'chilled to the bone with the findings of this investigation'.

Ms Pierce spoke after US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement with Mrs May agreeing with the British assessment that the operation was 'almost certainly approved at a senior government level' in Moscow.

Police and prosecutors announced yesterday that they had enough evidence to charge the men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, over the poisoning in March.

The Prime Minister then told MPs it was carried out by two Russian spies and sanctioned at a 'senior level' by Vladimir Putin's regime.

She told the Commons investigations have concluded that the two suspects are members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, and it was not a 'rogue operation'.

A special meeting of the UN security council was held today following a day of revelations about the novichok poisoning in Salisbury yesterday

It comes the day after accused two Russian agents, travelling under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, of carrying out the attack on double agent Sergei Skripal

Mrs May did not explicitly blame the Kremlin for authorising the attempted assassination, although senior Conservatives directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving the operation.

Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said there was 'no doubt it was state ordered and President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act'.

The charge d'affaires at Russia's London embassy was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down by an official following Mrs May's statement.

The PM told MPs the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to 'counter the threat posed by the GRU'.

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent novichok in March.

The alleged perpetrators were identified in a dramatic joint police and Crown Prosecution Service press conference.

Theresa May say the chemical weapons attack would have been ordered

Detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home was contaminated with novichok on Sunday March 4.

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre the same day and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu also confirmed officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury four months later.

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with novichok in Salisbury in attack which the UK has blamed on Russia's GRU intelligence agency

Mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after they came into contact with novichok. It is thought they found a bottle used to store the chemical

In the second incident, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent used in Salisbury.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.

In a statement, the Russian Embassy in the UK accused the British authorities of being unwilling to engage with them and called on the Government to 'give up politicised public accusations'.

These are the two Russian spies being sought over the novichok poisoning in Salisbury in March. Police say it is unlikely Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are their real names, as they are thought to have many aliases
Bella Thorne has announced she no longer wants to be part of the #MeToo movement after Asia Argento claimed she was attacked by a teenager.

Former child actor Bennett, 22, alleged he was assaulted by 42-year-old Argento in a California hotel room in 2013 when he was 17 and she was 37.

He was given $380,000 in hush money after his lawyer filed a notice of intent to sue last year.

Bella Thorne tweeted: 'No longer want to be apart of the #metoo movement. Jimmy was a young kid. This is gross.'

Thorne (left) has announced she no longer wants to be part of the #MeToo movement after Asia Argento (right) claimed she was attacked by Jimmy Bennett

Thorne later tweeted: 'If this is what the me too movement is going to be about now I'm not here for it... Victim shaming. Just awful.'

But after Bennett made his claims public last month, Argento, a figurehead of the #MeToo movement, issued a statement on Tuesday claiming he was the one who attacked her.

This apparent about-face has angered actress Bella Thorne, who tweeted on Wednesday: 'I'm disgusted. No longer want to be apart of the #metoo movement. Jimmy was a young kid. This is gross.'

She later tweeted: 'If this is what the me too movement is going to be about now I'm not here for it... Victim shaming. Just awful.'

Thorne joined the #MeToo movement in January when she said she was 'sexually abused and physically growing up from the day I can remember till I was 14.'

She wrote in an Instagram post: 'Over and over I waited for it to stop and finally it did. But some of us aren't as lucky to get out alive. Please today stand up for every soul Mistreated. #timesup.'

Bennett's allegations against Argento shocked Hollywood after the Italian actress made herself one of the key proponents of the movement against sexual assault in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

The young actor only spoke out publicly about his claims for the first time two weeks ago, saying he had previously been too 'ashamed' and 'afraid' to come out as a victim.

Jimmy Bennett reportedly made the decision to file a sexual assault claim against Asia Argento (pictured together) after her lawyer issued a statement on Tuesday claiming he was the one who attacked her

His attorney Gordon Sattro told DailyMail.com at the time that the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department had been in contact with the young actor to discuss the incident.

Argento's lawyer Mark Jay Heller told TMZ on Tuesday that Bennett had 'sexually attacked' her at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, California in 2013 and he was lucky she decided not to prosecute him.

The allegations of sexual assault first surfaced last month when it was revealed that Argento had secretly paid off Bennett after he accused her of sexually assaulting him when he was 17.

Argento's boyfriend - the late Anthony Bourdain - arranged to pay Bennett a $380,000 in an out-of-court settlement in order to protect her, according to her attorney.

Heller revealed on Tuesday that Argento will not pay Bennett the balance of the settlement - $130,000 - because the arrangement was made by Bourdain before he took his own life in June.

Bennett (left and right), who has claimed Argento assaulted him in her California hotel room, was given $380,000 in hush money after his lawyer filed a notice of intent to sue last year. He is pictured left this year and right in 2013

Days after the news broke about the assault allegations, text messages that were allegedly sent by Argento to a friend revealed she did in fact have sex with Bennett when she was 37 and the boy just 17.

'The horny kid jumped me... I had sex with him it felt weird,' one text message read.

Her attorney pointed to those messages on Tuesday when he argued that Bennett was the one who sexually assaulted her and that he tried to extort her when he realized she was dating Bourdain.

'Asia does not intend to prosecute Bennett for his conduct and recognizes that his unfortunate past, his stalled acting career, and a lawsuit against his own parents for allegedly misappropriating more than a million and a half dollars from his account might explain his desperation to seek money from Asia and Bourdain for this falsely alleged incident that took place more than 5 years ago,' her attorney said.

Asia Argento (right) is stopping payment of the remainder of the $380,000 to Jimmy Bennett, an actor who has accused her of sexually assaulting him when he was 17 years old. Attorney Mark Jay Heller says the arrangement was made by her ex-boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain (left)

Asia Argento and 17-Year-Old Boy in Bed in Sexual Encounter https://t.co/y6EeKOdPT7  TMZ (@TMZ) August 22, 2018

Her attorney's statement triggered a response by Bennett's legal team who said Wednesday: 'the attack on my client's character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client.'

When speaking out for the first time last month, Bennett said: 'Many brave women and men have spoken out about their own experiences during the #metoo movement, and I appreciate the bravery that it took for each and every one of them to take such a stand.

'I did not initially speak out about my story because I chose to handle it in private with the person who wronged me. My trauma resurfaced as she came out as a victim herself.'

'I have not made a public statement in the past days and hours because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative.'

It has since been revealed that the text messages in question were exchanged between Argento and Rose McGowan's model partner Rain Dove Dubilewski.

It was Dove's texts with Argento that confirmed the actress had sexual relations with Bennett, more than a decade after the actress first worked with the boy at the age of 6 in her film adaptation of JT Leroy's The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.

Argento, who was one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, initially lied about her encounter with Bennett following a New York Times report that revealed the $380,000 hush money payment.
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The Salisbury assassins spent two years jetting around Europe using their 'perfect' fake IDs and one even flew into London 12 months before the novichok attack, security sources in Russia revealed today.

The suspects were handed genuine Russian passports and then secured visas from the British embassy in Moscow under bogus aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov to avoid detection during their murder mission in March.

Their passports were repeatedly used on trips from Moscow to Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan and Paris between September 2016 and March 2018 with British investigators now scrambling to work out exactly what the Russian spies were doing in Europe.

Petrov's passport was also used in London on February 28 2017 - a year before their botched mission to kill former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a nerve agent smeared on his front door in suburban Salisbury.

The travel details have been published by Fontanka, an independent Russian media outlet with a strong track record of investigative reporting into Putin's regime.

Hamish de Bretton Gordon, one of Britain's top chemical weapons experts, told MailOnline today that UK security sources have briefed him that the men, who were GRU military agents, had watertight backstories that helped them avoid being stopped at the UK border.

He said: 'The passports were perfect in every detail including all the electrics and circuitry. It fooled the British border electronic security which is considered to be among the best around. We also gave them visas they must have had a plausible back story'.

Mr de Bretton Gordon suggested that Russia may even have hacked the UK's border security system to make doubly sure they were not flagged as 'people of interest' and interviewed. The Home Office today denied this.

Today Security Minister Ben Wallace said Vladimir Putin is 'ultimately responsible' for the novichok attack because of his tight grip on the GRU spy network which sent two 'calamitous' state assassins on a 'pathetic' mission to kill Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

These are the two Russian spies being sought over the novichok poisoning in Salisbury in March. Police say it is unlikely Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are their real names, as they are thought to have many aliases

Petrov (right) was seen grinning in Salisbury on the day police believe the men smeared novichok on Mr Skripal's front door

This map shows the European cities visited by the two alleged assassins in the two years before the Salisbury attack

Fake Nina Ricci perfume bottle used by Salisbury assassins was 'made by top scientists from the Q-ski branch of Russia's military intelligence Police have released images of the perfume bottle they say was adapted to help the two Russian suspects carry out their lethal attack The Russians spent a fortune on the tiny James Bond-inspired perfume bottle used to carry novichok including developing new technology to ensure it wasn't a suicide mission for their agents, experts revealed today. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, one of Britain's top chemical weapons experts, says the fake sample vial of Nina Ricci Premier Jour could only have been produced by Putin's top scientists in their most sophisticated and top secret lab. He told MailOnline: 'They needed to ensure that the men carrying out the attack did not kill themselves while doing it. It would be deeply embarrassing if their agents died on foreign soil'. The two assassins, using the aliases Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, carried the bottle of Novichok into the UK unhindered before spraying it on Sergei Skripal's front door in suburban Salisbury in March. Experts believe the botched hit came after up to three months of development and testing probably sanctioned at the highest levels of the Russian state. The lab, branded 'Q-ski' after the research and development division of the British Secret Service in James Bond, made the bottle and 'one-way' applicator nozzle so it was impossible for novichok to leak out in transit. It was also made of special toughened glass, plastic or ceramic sure not to smash, crack or degrade while carrying one of the world deadliest weapons. Advertisement

He said: 'The state had clearly decided to sit behind this action and lend its logistics. The men were given genuine passports, provided with aliases that survived a certain level of test and visas used by many law-abiding Russians to visit Britain for holidays or business.

'The Russian state, which we know had invented novichok, must have made sure it was put in a package that was there to disguise it. If you let them into your system, airside in Russia, it becomes a harder thing to detect'.

Mr Wallace said he is '100 per cent sure' the men named carried out the attack and claimed that Vladimir Putin has ultimate responsibility for the actions of his spies - but added: 'This was more Johnny English than James Bond'.

He said: 'Ultimately he does, insofar as he is president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence - that's the GRU - via his minister of defence. I don't think that anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state'.

When asked how the UK would respond he refused to say, adding: 'We retaliate in our way. We are not the Russians, we dont adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen. We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way'.

Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Theresa May's accusations are "unacceptable" and that "no-one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning.

He also said Russia "has no reasons" to investigate Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

As Britain pointed the finger directly at Putin's Russia, it emerged today:

Poisoning suspects were handed watertight fake aliases backed up by genuine documents that helped them get into Britain without suspicion;

Russian and UK come face-to-face at the UN Security Council in New York;

Ministers blame Vladimir Putin and say he is responsible for the Salisbury attack and says 'full weight' of state was behind it;

MailOnline uncovers exclusive CCTV of the two assassins casually strolling through Wiltshire town and window shopping after the attack;

Britain blasts 'thuggish' behaviour of Putin's spies as MI5 and MI6 launch their own secret war with Russian rivals;

Russian oligarchs linked to Mr Putin also face a clampdown in London, including searches of private flights and investigation of unexplained wealth by the National Crime Agency;

Theresa May will wreak revenge on Russia with cyber warfare, espionage, financial sanctions and travel bans all likely to be used, sources said.

Interpol has been put on red alert to detain the two agents, who use the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

Mrs May has warned they would be brought to Britain for trial if they ever left Russia - but experts have said that Vladimir Putin will personally ensure the assassins never leave the country and reward them with lucrative promotions despite botching their assassination attempt on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Historian Yuri Felshtinsky, author of The Putin Corporation whose friend Alexander Litvinenko was murdered after the co-authored a book together, told MailOnline: 'Even though they botched their covert attack, President Putin will praise the two members of the GRU and reward them in ways that will advance their career, promoting them as heroes now that their cover is blown'.

Theresa May yesterday blamed the Kremlin for the novichok attack and hinted the assassination order may have come directly from Mr Putin because only he has the power in Russian law to order killings abroad.

Tom Tugendhat, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, went further by saying: 'President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act' while Bob Seely, a Tory MP and Russia expert, said the order could 'only have come from the Russian head of state'.

This diplomatic row will heat up further today when British and Russian officials come face-to-face at the UN Security Council.

As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will be represented at Thursday's meeting - called by Britain to update members on progress in the Salisbury investigation - alongside UK allies such as the US and France.

Poisoning victim Charlie Rowley has urged police to bring the two suspects to justice.

Mr Rowley, 48, and his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, fell ill in Amesbury after coming into contact with the substance months after the same nerve agent was used against former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July and a still frail Mr Rowley made an impassioned call to see the suspects, said by police to be Russian military intelligence officers, 'brought to justice'.

There are fears his calls could prove futile because Russia's president Vladimir Putin would protect his 'heroes' and prevent them ever leaving the country, which has no extradition treaty with Britain.

It echoes the case of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in 2006, was murdered using radioactive polonium in London.

Andrei Lugovoy, widely suspected of the killing, remained in Russia where he claimed it was'more likely that the moon will become part of the Earth' than that he would face justice in Britain.

In a day of extraordinary revelations, it emerged that the two suspects had 'near-identical passport numbers' suggesting the travel documents were issued at the same time ahead of their journey to the UK.

While an apartment in a 25-story building registered to one of the suspects in Moscow proved to be bogus as it was revealed to be the home of an elderly female cleaner - with residents telling Russian media they had never seen a man coming or going on that floor.

Services announced Petrov and Boshirov as the two men responsible for the attack on Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, Wiltshire, in March.

Astonishing CCTV images show Petrov and Boshirov grinning as they walk around the Wiltshire city on the day Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with the military-grade chemical weapon.

Map shows Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov's movement on the day of the poisoning

Alexander Litvinenko Former KGB agent Litvinenko was poisoned after radioactive polonium 210 was slipped into his tea pot in 2006, a killing which a judge said was probably approved by President Vladimir Putin. An inquiry found two Russian men - Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitri Kovtun - had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko by putting polonium-210 into his drink at a London hotel, leading to an agonising death. Litvinenko in hospital before his death It said the use of the radioactive substance - which could only have come from a nuclear reactor - was a 'strong indicator' of state involvement and that the two men had probably been acting under the direction of the FSB. Possible motives included Litvinenko's work for British intelligence agencies, his criticism of the FSB, and his association with other Russian dissidents, while it said there was also a 'personal dimension' to the antagonism between him and Putin. International arrest warrants issued for Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun remain in force although Russia continues to refuse their extradition. Mr Lugovoi became a Russian MP in 2007 soon after the interest in him over Litvinenko's death. This meant he now has political immunity and cannot be prosecuted. An inquiry found two Russian men - Andrei Lugovoi (pictured) and Dmitri Kovtun - had deliberately poisoned Litvinenko Advertisement

Prime Minister Theresa May today revealed the two men are thought to be officers in Russia's GRU military intelligence service, according to British agencies.

The novichok attack left a trail of the deadly nerve agent around Salisbury, with mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess dying after she came into contact with the chemical. Mrs Sturgess's partner Charlie Rowley and county police officer Nick Bailey were also hospitalised.

In response, Mr Rowley said from his hospital bed that he while he did not recognise the pair, he wants to see the men 'brought to justice'.

He told ITV News: 'I don't recognise the two suspects, but I want to see them brought to justice.

'I am glad that Police are making progress with their investigation but at the same time, it's upsetting to see Dawn's face everywhere, because it brings all the hurt and pain at losing her back to reality.

'It is progress to see the suspects identified in the Skripal case. But we need to make sure that these people are also held accountable for Dawn's murder. She was a beautiful woman whose life was unjustly taken away because of them.'

Despite Mr Rowley's calls, Mark Galeotti, a Russia expert for the Institute of International Relations, said the pair will never be brought to justice, even if Putin loses his grip on power.

He told Sky News: 'Even if the government changes in Moscow, the Russian constitution explicitly bars the extradition of Russian citizens and given that we assume these two, whatever their real names are, it's not what's on their passport, given that they are Russian citizens, they are not going to be extradited.

'The only chance is if they are stupid enough to try to travel abroad but to be perfectly honest, their holiday plans are going to be Crimea rather than anywhere else.'

Crystal clear CCTV images released today show the two Russian agents entering Britain at Gatwick, strolling around Salisbury on the day of the attack, and leaving the UK at Heathrow Airport just hours after the Skripals were found collapsed in a park.

Prosecutors will not be applying to Russia for the extradition of the two men, as no agreement exists between the countries, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained in case either of the pair are ever spotted outside of Russia.

Theresa May told MPs that British secret services believe the two suspects are officers of the Russian military intelligence agency known as the GRU.

She said it's unlikely the agency would have been allowed to carry out such a brazen attack on its own and the hit was 'almost certainly approved at a senior level of the Russian state'.

Mrs May added: 'The GRU is a highly-disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command. So this was not a rogue operation.

'The actions of the GRU are a threat to all our allies and all our citizens. On the basis of what we have learnt in the Salisbury investigation and what we know about this organisation more broadly, we must now step up our collective efforts specifically against the GRU.'

The pair were caught on CCTV at Salisbury train station on March 3, the day before Mr Skripal was poisoned. Scotland Yard believe they came to the town to carry out a reconnaissance mission

Police released an image of the perfume bottle believed to have contained the novichok and the box it was hidden in. This was picked up by Salisbury resident Dawn Sturgess weeks after the attack. She sprayed it on her wrists before she died

It has been possible to reconstruct their journey from Moscow to London, on to the Wiltshire cathedral city and back on a plane to Russia

Mr Skripal was a colonel in the GRU before he was jailed for selling secrets to the West and brought to Britain in a spy swap. The Prime Minister's announcement therefore suggests the hit may have been organised by his former colleagues.

Police said it is likely the suspects, who are aged around 40, were travelling under aliases and Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names. They are appealing to anyone around the world who knows their real identities to contact them.

In a busy morning of announcements and statements, prosecutors revealed Petrov and Boshirov are wanted for conspiracy to murder Mr Skripal and the attempted murder of his daughter.

If caught, the Russians will also be charged with the attempted murder of DS Bailey and the use of novichok contrary to the Chemical Weapons Act.

But Russian authorities denied all knowledge of the two men, with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova telling reporters: 'The names published by the media, like their photographs, mean nothing to us.'

Novichok 'assassins' movements revealed: Spies flew into Britain from Russia before getting train to Salisbury Scotland Yard today released detailed information about the movements of the prime suspects in the novichok nerve agent attack. Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov arrived in the UK on a Friday afternoon in March and checked into a budget hotel in east London. On the Saturday, the day before the attack, they carried out a reconnaissance trip to Salisbury before returning to London. On the Sunday, they took another train to Salisbury and are thought to have smeared the novichok on Mr Skripal's front door. That afternoon they returned to London and flew from Heathrow hours after the Skripals were found collapsed in a park. Friday, 2 March: 3pm: The suspects arrive at Gatwick airport, having flown from Moscow on Aeroflot flight SU2588. CCTV images from 3pm on Friday, March 2 show Petrov (left) and Boshirov (right) arriving at Gatwick airport on a flight from Moscow Friday, March 2 5.40pm: After travelling into London by train, the pair arrive at Victoria station. 6pm: They travelled to Waterloo station, where they were seen between 6pm and 7pm. 7pm: The pair then travelled to the City Stay Hotel in Bow Road, East London, where they stayed on the night of the Friday, 2 March. Saturday, 3 March: 11am: They left the hotel and took the underground to Waterloo station, arriving at approximately 11.45am. The two spies were pictured in Salisbury the day before the attack, when they carried out a reconnaissance trip 2.25pm: Having caught a train to Salisbury from Waterloo, they arrive in the cathedral city, the day before the attack. 4.10pm: After carrying out what police believe was reconnaissance of the Salisbury area, they leave the city and return to London. 8.05pm: They return to their hotel in Bow and stay there for the night. Sunday, 4 March: 8am: They made the same journey from the hotel, again using the underground from Bow to Waterloo station before continuing their journey by train to Salisbury. CCTV later showed them in the vicinity of Mr Skripal's house and police believe that they contaminated the front door with novichok. The pair are pictured at Salisbury train station on the morning of the day the Skripals were poisoned The pair are pictured in Wilton Road, Salisbury shortly before midday on March, 4, the day the Skripals were poisoned with novichok The pair were then seen on Salisbury's Fisherton Road on March 4 shortly after 1pm, around the time the nerve agent is thought to have been smeared on their target's front door As they walk around Salisbury on the day of the attack, they are seen on CCTV in Fisherton Road shortly after 1pm The pair were seen at Salisbury train station shortly before 2pm on March 4. This is thought to be after they left the novichok on the door 4.45pm: The arrived at back Waterloo Station after the hour and half journey from Salisbury. 6.30pm: They boarded the London Underground to London Heathrow Airport. 10:30pm: They fly out of London, returning to Moscow on Aeroflot flight SU2585. The two men were then seen going through security at Heathrow on their way back to Russia at 7.30pm, just hours after the Skripals were found collapsed in the park in Salisbury Advertisement

Biometric data is required from Russians seeking British visas, meaning anti-terror police could hold their genuine fingerprints and iris data.

But there are fears the pair could avoid justice but simply staying in Russia for the rest of their lives, like the alleged killers of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with radioactive polonium in 2006.

The charge d'affaires at Russia's London embassy was today summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down by an official as Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko is not currently in the country.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'He was informed of the charges we have brought against two Russian citizens, the fact that they were GRU officers and of our determination that they should be brought to justice.

'We also made clear that the UK expects the Russian state to account for the reckless and outrageous actions of the GRU and that the UK expects that Russia provides a full account of its chemical weapons programme to the OPCW.'

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with novichok in Salisbury in attack which the UK has blamed on Russia

Mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after they came into contact with novichok. It is thought they found a bottle used to store the chemical

Why won't Russia extradite the suspects? British authorities today said they would not apply to extradite the suspects as any request would be rejected by Putin's regime. The Russian constitution forbids the extradition of Russian citizens to another state. A European Arrest Warrant (EAW) has been obtained, which means that if either man travels to a country covered by the scheme they will be arrested. Police investigating the Salisbury poisoning are also seeking to circulate Interpol 'red notices'. The potential for a deadlock carries echoes of the aftermath of the murder of Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. In that case, two men were identified as suspects but were never handed over to Britain. Advertisement

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the military-grade chemical weapon in Salisbury in March.

Police officer Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was also poisoned when he attended the retired spy's suburban home. Like the Skripals, he recovered after receiving life-saving treatment at the city's hospital.

But in June, mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died and her partner Charlie Rowley were hospitalised after they fell ill at his home in nearby Amesbury.

Police have now released an image of the perfume bottle used by the would-be assassins to transport the novichok. Mrs Sturgess found the bottle and put the substance on her wrists.

Today's announcement relates to the initial attack, but Mr Basu confirmed that officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in Amesbury less than four months later, in which Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 48, were exposed to the same nerve agent.

Scotland Yard's counter terror Commissioner Neil Basu said: 'Today marks the most significant moment so far in what has been one of the most complex and intensive investigations we have undertaken in Counter Terrorism policing; the charging of two suspects  both Russian nationals - in relation to the attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal.'

Mr Basu added: 'We do not believe Dawn and Charlie were deliberately targeted, but became victims as a result of the recklessness in which such a toxic nerve agent was disposed of.

'We know that novichok was applied to the Skripals' front door in an area that is accessible to the public, which also endangered the lives of members of the public and emergency service responders.'

The Skripals were found collapsed on a park bench in Salisbury in March, sparking a huge investigation which involved anti-terror police, the military and chemical weapons experts

Britain's most senior police officer, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick added: 'We remain absolutely determined to identify and bring about a prosecution in the UK courts of those persons responsible for these attacks and we will do all we can to get justice for the victims and their families.'

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed yesterday the toxic chemical that killed Dawn Sturgess was the same nerve agent as that which poisoned the Skripals three months earlier.

The OPCW said it was not possible to conclude whether the nerve agent used in the two incidents was from the same batch.

The Russian state has previously denied involvement. Its embassy in London yesterday demanded access to the Skripals.

A statement released by the Russian Embassy on Tuesday claimed the circumstances of the March attack as 'obscure' and accused British authorities of keeping the Skripals in isolation ever since their release from hospital.

It said: 'They remain out of the public eye at an unknown location, unable to communicate freely with their relatives, friends, journalists or Russian officials, deprived of the freedom of movement.'

Mrs Sturgess's former home in Salisbury was closed off by police in July as her death meant the investigation became a murder probe

It is thought Novichok was smeared on the front door handle of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home

'We're open for business as usual': 48-a-night east London hotel where Salisbury 'assassins' left traces of novichok six months ago issues safety reassurance to customers after police urge former guests to get in touch

The Metropolitan Police confirmed today that 'low' levels of novichok were found in the two-star 48 a night hotel in May during part of their investigations

A budget hotel used by the two Salisbury poison suspects today insisted they are 'open for business' after it emerged traces of nerve agent novichok were discovered in a room.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov stayed in the City Stay Hotel in Bow, East London, before carrying out the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed today that 'low' levels of novichok were found in the two-star 48 a night hotel in May during part of their investigations.

In a statement released by the Metropolitan Police today, it said 'we are fully supporting the police investigation' and said they are 'open for business as usual.'

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu insisted there was no threat to public health, but has asked anyone who stayed there between March 4 and May 4 to contact police.

It added: 'We are reassured that the police and Public Health England have confirmed very clearly that there is no health risk whatsoever to our guests or our staff.

'We are receiving a lot of media attention, and we would kindly ask that you allow our staff and guests to go about their business unhindered.'

In a timeline released by police today Petrov and Boshirov travelled to London on March 2 after landing at Gatwick, making their way to the hotel in Bow.

They stayed there for two nights and then went to Salisbury for reconnaissance before returning to the City Stay Hotel for the night.

The hotel, on Bow Road in East London, is situated next to a train station. It is where the two Russian suspects stayed during their time in the UK

The next day, the suspects travelled to Salisbury again, which is when they smeared novichok on the Skripal's door.

Mr Basu said today: 'Two swabs showed contamination of novichok at levels below that which would cause concern for public health.

'A decision was made to take further samples from the room as a precautionary measure, including in the same areas originally tested, and all results came back negative.

'We believe the first process of taking swabs removed the contamination, so low were the traces of novichok in the room. Following these tests, experts deemed the room was safe and that it posed no risk to the public.'

One of the rooms at the 48-a-night City Stay Hotel in Bow, East London where the novichok hitmen stayed while in UK

The lobby of the hotel, with table and chairs and a television on the wall

Mr Basu said there has been no reports of anyone falling ill who stayed in the hotel between March 4 and May 4.

Mr Basu added: 'It is likely, given what we have learnt from this investigation, that anyone exposed to novichock will have experienced symptoms within 12 hours of exposure.

'The levels of novichok we found in the room at the time of police sampling in May were such that they were not enough to cause short or long-term health effects to anyone exposed to it, at that point or thereafter.

'We will continue to work closely with Public Health England as new information comes to light.

'We are asking anyone who stayed at the hotel between 4 March and 4 May to call 0800 789 321 or email Salisbury2018@met.police.uk. Staff from PHE will be on hand to give advice and reassurance.'

One of the twin rooms inside the hotel. It looks over a railway line, has discarded cigarette butts on its doorstep and graffiti drawn onto the front

Today, police officers guarded the entrance and staff declined to comment.

The hotel, which over looks a railway line, has discarded cigarette butts on its doorstep and graffiti drawn onto the front.

Black metal bars are positioned over windows and grass has overgrown on the side of the hotel. Although there is no exterior CCTV, there is a camera in the front lobby.

One hotel guest, retired Army Major Khalid from Bangladesh, said he was paying 258 for five nights.

He said: 'The police are inside. I'm in room 6 and they are near my room outside rooms 7,8 and 9.

'I didn't know what happened until now but I am sure the police have made the hotel safe again for guests to stay.'

Revealed: How 'assassins' faked a Nina Ricci perfume bottle full of toxic nerve agent then 'recklessly threw it away', leading to the death of British woman Russian agents suspected of carrying out the novichok attack used a glass container made to look like a perfume bottle. Charlie Rowley, 48, told police he found a box he thought contained perfume in a charity bin on Wednesday June 27. The box and bottle were labelled as Premier Jour by Nina Ricci - but Scotland Yard has confirmed that they were counterfeits and had been specially adapted. Inside the box was a bottle and applicator, and police said Mr Rowley tried to put the two parts together at his home address in Amesbury on Saturday June 30. In doing so, he got some of the contents on himself. He said his partner, Dawn Sturgess, 44, had applied some of the substance to her wrists before feeling unwell. After he told police where he found the box, cordons were put in place and two bins behind shops in Catherine Street, Salisbury, were removed. Previously, during a search of Mr Rowley's home in Muggleton Road, Amesbury, on July 10, a small box labelled as Nina Ricci Premier Jour was recovered from a rubbish bag in the kitchen. The deadly chemical weapon is thought to have been smuggled around Britain disguised as perfume in this box On July 11, a small glass bottle with a modified nozzle was found on a kitchen worktop. Tests undertaken at the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory established that the bottle contained a 'significant amount of novichok', Scotland Yard said. The novichok container was designed to look like a bottle of Premier Jour by Nina Ricci. File photo Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after she and Mr Rowley fell ill. Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the manner in which the bottle and packaging was adapted made it a 'perfect cover' for smuggling the weapon into the country. He added: 'We have carried out numerous inquiries in relation to the bottle and are now able to release an image of it with the nozzle attached. 'We are also releasing an image of the box that the bottle and nozzle were in. 'We have spoken to Nina Ricci and undertaken further inquiries. Nina Ricci and our inquiries have confirmed that it is not a genuine Nina Ricci perfume bottle, box or nozzle. 'It is in fact a counterfeit box, bottle and nozzle that have been especially adapted. 'I'd like to reassure anyone who has bought Nina Ricci perfume from a legitimate source that they should not be concerned. It is safe. 'We cannot account for the whereabouts of the bottle, nozzle or box between the attack on the Skripals on March 4 and when Charlie Rowley said he found it on Wednesday June 27.' Advertisement

Who are the GRU and how was double agent Sergei Skripal involved with them?

The GRU - an acronym for Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye or Main Intelligence Directorate - was founded in 1918 after Lenin's Bolshevik Revolution.

Lenin insisted on its independence from other secret services and the GRU was seen as a rival by other Soviet secret services, such as the KGB.

According to Yuri Shvets, a former KGB agent, GRU officers were referred to as 'boots' - tough but unsophisticated.

'The GRU took its officers from the trenches,' he said, whereas KGB picked its agents from the USSR's best universities.

The GRU headquarters in Moscow. The agency's operatives were originally seen as rougher and less sophisticated than their KGB counterparts, according to former agents

The GRU would train agents and then send them to represent the Soviet Union abroad as military attaches in foreign embassies, according to historian John Barron.

But once a member of the GRU, it is believed to be exceptionally difficult to leave. And those who do so to joined foreign agencies were punished savagely.

A younger Sergei Skripal. He went on to unmask dozens of secret agents and feed information to MI6

Viktor Suvorov, a GRU officer who defected to Britain in 1978, said new recruits were shown a video of a traitor from the agency being burned alive in a furnace as a warning.

Unlike the KGB, the GRU was not split up when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

It has a special status and answers directly to the chief of the general staff, one of the three people who control Russia's portable nuclear control system.

GRU chiefs are reportedly picked by Putin himself.

The GRU is now considered Russia's largest foreign intelligence service, according to Reuters, dwarfing Moscow's better-known Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which is the successor to the KGB's First Chief Directorate.

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in GRU , was considered by the Kremlin to be one of the most damaging spies of his generation.

He was responsible for unmasking dozens of secret agents threatening Western interests by operating undercover in Europe.

Col Skripal, 66, allegedly received 78,000 in exchange for taking huge risks to pass classified information to MI6.

In 2006, he was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp after being convicted of passing invaluable Russian secrets to the UK.

A senior source in Moscow said at the time: 'This man is a big hero for MI6.'

He was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian labour camp when he was convicted of passing secrets to Britain

After being convicted of 'high treason in the form of espionage' by Moscow's military court, Col Skripal was stripped of his rank, medals and state awards.

He was alleged by Russia's security service, the FSB, to have begun working for the British secret services while serving in the army in the 1990s.

GRU, one of whose divisions has an emblem featuring a bat, was founded after the Russian Revolution

He passed information classified as state secrets and was paid for the work by MI6, the FSB claimed.

Col Skripal pleaded guilty at the trial and co-operated with investigators, reports said at the time. He admitted his activities and gave a full account of his spying, which led to a reduced sentence.

In July 2010, he was pardoned by then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and was one of four spies exchanged for ten Russian agents deported from the US in an historic swap involving red-headed 'femme fatale' Anna Chapman.

After the swap at Vienna airport, Col Skripal was one of two spies who came to Britain and he has kept a low profile for the past eight years.

The former spy was living at an address in Salisbury, Wiltshire, when the suspected poisoning took place in the city centre.
A waterfront Sydney property is tipped to become the first single residential property in Australia to fetch $100 million.

The Point Piper estate known as Fairwater has been in the Fairfax family since 1901 and is the largest block of privately held prime harbourside land left in Sydney.

Christie's International have been appointed by the trustees to sell the property after the death of Lady Mary Fairfax aged 95 last September, Domain reported.

A 1.2hectare property (pictured) in Sydney's harbour is set to become the first Australian home to sell for more than $100million

The home has been in the Fairfax family for more than a century, up until Lady Mary Fairfax (pictured) died at the age of 95 last September

Ken Jacobs of Christie's International confirmed they would sell the 1.12 hectare property, dispelling rumours the significant site would be left to the people of NSW.

'It is remarkable that an estate offering such rare and unrepeatable features still exists in Australia today; this opportunity will not come again,' Mr Jacobs said, according to Domain.

The current Australian record for a single residential property is the neighbouring Elaine, which fetched $71 million when it was sold last year, but Fairwater is considered much more valuable.

'When Fairwater's sister property Elaine came to the market, it set a new benchmark, yet Fairwater is over 4100 square metres larger. They are truly the golden girls of Sydney Harbour,' Mr Jacobs said.

The adjacent property, known as Elaine, was sold for $71 million last year to billionaire Scott Farquhar, who is a founder of software company Atlassian, and is about 60 per cent smaller in size.

Both properties front New South Head Rd and back onto Sydney Harbour, however, Fairwater has better views from its more northern position.

The two-story house is found in the affluent waterside suburb of Point Piper (pictured)

The property last sold for 5350 in early 1901 when Sir James Oswald Fairfax bought the two-storey house.

It has been in the Fairfax family ever since, with Sir Warwick Fairfax inheriting the property.

The New South Wales government stands to make about $6.9 million in stamp duty from a $100 million deal.
A Russian Instagram model has been jailed for 18 months after reportedly offering policemen a threesome to let her off a driving offence and road rage attack on an officer.

Kira Mayer pleaded guilty to the attack after a road rage incident when traffic cops stopped her Mercedes in Moscow.

The 24-year-old Russian grabbed the officer's report then scratched and kicked them as she flew into a rage, even grabbing documents from the officer and trying to drive away from the scene.

Her plea accepting the charge of assaulting a police officer meant 'intimate details' of the case were not aired in court.

Kira Mayer pleaded guilty to attacking traffic cops after she flew into a rage when officers stopped her Mercedes in Moscow

Instagram star reportedly offered sex 'solo or duet' to police in an attempt to avoid the charges

The model is frequently pictured in Dubai, Paris and around Europe and her photographs were shared on social media

Earlier it was reported the social media star offered sex 'solo or duet' in an attempt to avoid charges, according to law enforcement sources cited by Komsomolskaya Pravda.

The policemen 'declined her offer and detained her', it was reported.

Officers stopped Mayer driving in May when they found out she had a previous motoring ban and was driving without a licence.

Mayer was meant to be serving a 15-month driving ban issued last November when she left the scene of an accident.

She tried to 'grab the officer's protocol' - his written report on her alleged offence - and in the process caused him an injury.

Mayer was charged with scratching and kicking officers after being told she could not drive and further

She was pulled over for not having a licence as she was meant to be serving a 15-month driving ban issued last November when she left the scene of an accident

Mayer grabbed the officer's report then scratched and kicked them as she flew into a rage and even tried to drive away from the scene

After being jailed for 18 months Mayer was led away in handcuffs by a policeman and taken to a low security Russian penal colony

Mayer was charged with scratching and kicking officers after being told she could not drive further, according to one account.

At an earlier custody hearing, she hid her face from the media.

A report at the time of her arrest citing law enforcement sources said: 'The traffic policemen informed her that she could not drive her car any longer and it was a trigger for Kira.

'She began to shout, she tried to grab her documents from the road policemen.

'She scratched them, kicked them, swore at them even tried to drive away.

'Of course she failed to do so.'

In a court in Moscow she said,'I completely agree with the charge brought against me. I repent and apologise to the victim'

Police officers reportedly turned down Mayer's offer of a threesome to avoid the charges against her

After the incident Mayer closed her Instagram account which had 148,000 followers for her often provocative pictures and videos

A report by Mash news outlet, with close links to law enforcement, stated the model then 'offered the traffic policemen sex - one by one or together - when she was caught driving without a licence. The policemen refusedand finally detained the woman.'

According to reports in Russia she began to shout, grab her documents from the road officer then 'scratched them, kicked them, swore at them even tried to drive away'

On being accused of physically attacking one of two officers who detained her, she told a Moscow court: 'I completely agree with the charge brought against me.

'I repent and apologise to the victim.'

She admitted: 'When I'm very worried, I get screwed up. But I am trying to control myself.'

Later she was led away in handcuffs by a policeman to begin her 18 month sentence at a low security Russian penal colony.

The police officer she attacked did not give evidence.

Mayer has now closed her Instagram account which had 148,000 followers for her often provocative pictures and videos.

She was a frequent visitor to Dubai and Paris where she was photographed.

Earlier she told her fans: 'When I get bored with my happy life, I will marry and suffer like all normal people.'
The grandfather of one of the novichok spies unmasked by Britain was a commander in Josef Stalin's notorious 'death to spies' SMERSH counter-intelligence, it is claimed today.

Alexander Petrov was named on Wednesday with Ruslan Boshirov as the two agents who poisoned Russian former military agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

There has been speculation that the chemical weapons attack was revenge on Skripal for secretly spying for Britain.

Today's claim suggests that Petrov's grandfather Ivan Starchenko served under Stalin as a commander of SMERSH's 31st shooting brigade on the First Ukrainian Front during the Second World War.

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Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are wanted by British authorities for the Salisbury nerve agent attack in March this year

Petrov's maternal uncle 66 year old Valery Starchenko (pictured), was a paratrooper and linguist

His grandmother Nadezhda Moroz also worked as clerk-typist for the same rifle division and was awarded a medal 'For Military Merit' in November 1943.

The medal was awarded by Major Ivan Ivanovich Starchenko, described as the chief of the Counter-Intelligence Unit of 31st Shooting Division - the man who would become her husband.

SMERSH was set up by Stalin to root out and kill spies.

The claim from investigative reporter Sergey Kanev raises the possibility that Petrov, believed to be aged 39, is from a family of spies engaged in counter-intelligence.

Records show Starchenko was a SMERSH major at the end of the war, later becoming a state security sergeant in Stalin's counter-intelligence apparatus.

He was awarded a succession of top honours including the Red Star Order, 1943, the Patriotic War Order, grade 1, 1944 and the Red Banner Order, 1945.

He had been educated at the notorious NKVD spy school in Moscow, graduating in 1937 during the Stalin terror.

Another military connection is that Petrov's maternal uncle 66 year old Valery Starchenko, Ivan's son, was a paratrooper and linguist, who studied at the famous Ryazan military academy.

Skripal's brother Valery, who died in a mysterious road accident two years ago, was also a paratrooper.

Valery Starchenko, 66, is the uncle of one of the Novichok poisoning suspects Alexander Petrov

CCTV images of Petrov and Boshirov the day before the attack at the train station

Theresa May claimed both Petrov and Boshirov are GRU agents and that their mission to plant novichok at the Skripal family home in Salisbury would have been approved at the highest levels in the Kremlin.

There is also evidence that Petrov made a trip to London from 28 February to 5 March 2017, claimed Fontanka based in St Petersburg.

With Boshirov, he also made previous trips together to Europe, according to flight records.

'From September 2016 to March 2018 they visited Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan and went several times to Paris.'

Boshirov and Petrov are known to have non biometric passports with almost identical numbers, suggesting they were issued two years ago at the same time.

Petrov is believed to have been born in June or July 1979, making him 39.

Boshirov is said to be born on 12 April 1978 making him 40.

He appears to have a job - possibly his cover - as an employee of Microgen, national manufacturer of immune and biological medication.

Microgen reports to the ministry of healthcare and was established in 2003.

It is unclear if such a role would give him any expertise in the dangers of novichok, a nerve agent manufactured in Soviet times as a chemical weapon which was used in the Salisbury attack.

Yulia Chopivskaya, from Ukraine, aged around 30, was the only Facebook friend of Boshirov

Chopivskaya said she met the Russian for about half an hour at a cafe in Prague around five years ago

The secretive Boshirov had only one friend on a Facebook account, it appears, a glamorous Ukrainian woman.

She has spoken of the 'nightmare' caused by the revelation from London that he is a suspected spy who poisoned the Skripals.

Yulia Chopivskaya, from Ukraine, aged around 30, said she met the Russian for about half an hour at a cafe in Prague around five years ago.

He then set up a Facebook account with her as his sole friend.

She denies having seen him since but today has been inundated with demands to know if she is close to the spy.

'This is a nightmare,' she said.

'I haven't stayed in touch with this person and I don't know him.

'I deleted him from my friend's list.

She said: 'I don't know if this is a real last name or not.

'In 2013 or 2014 I met a guy who introduced himself as Ruslan, it was in Prague.

'Then he asked how to find me on Facebook and added me there.

'We chatted for half an hour maximum and said goodbye to each other at that very cafe.

'Since then I haven't seen him.'

His Facebook only has a street scene from Prague.

She did not recognise him from the picture released by police in London, she said.

She claimed: 'I don't know the person in the photograph.'

Boshirov like Petrov has not spoken on the British allegations.

Anonymous social media channel Nezygar also surmised that Britain had a high-ranking mole inside the GRU, the military intelligence identified by Theresa May as sending two agents to Salisbury to launch a chemical weapons attack.

Novichok poisoning suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are shown on CCTV on Fisherton Road, Salisbury at 1:05pm on 04 March 2018

Citing an intelligence source, Nezygar claimed the most likely explanation of the poisoning in Salisbury was a mafia operation or a British provocation to undermine Russia.

'Theresa' May either publicly disclosed information about British intelligence having a high-rank mole within Russian military intelligence who passed confirming information or it is a simple assumption, manipulation, a game of coincidences,' stated the channel.

The visibility of the Russian pair in Britain and the bungled attack 'clearly raises suspicions about their professionalism and qualification', suggesting they are not GRU.

'The look of the 'officers' is more like members of an organised crime community.'

Russia has accused Britain of tinkering with CCTV images of the two alleged spies.

Pictures showed Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov separately walking up steps at Gatwick Airport.

Yet both images are timed at the same moment - 16:22:43.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zhakarova said: 'Either the date and the exact time were overlaid on the image, or the staff of the Russian GRU learned to walk simultaneously - but their images are captured in two different photographs.'

The pictures released by the Metropolitan Police were being mocked on Russian social media.

One said: 'Yes, the corridors (at Gatwick Airport) are different.

'These are corridors at border control.

'But what an amazing synchronization of the GRU's staff.'

'Don't worry it happens - people will swallow such 'evidence',' said a social media comment mocking Britain over the pictures.
She was clearly not best pleased at being woken up early - even if she was on TV.

And nine-year-old Poppy Kirk from Chelmsford, Essex, made clear how she felt while yawning widely as her mother Donna and father Rob were interviewed today.

Her parents, both 37, were talking about their appearance on new Channel 4 programme Spying On My Family, which saw cameras fill their home for a week.

Poppy Kirk from Chelmsford, Essex, yawned widely on ITV's Good Morning Britain today

Each family member - including their other children, Chloe, 17, Ryan, 14, and George, 11 - was assigned a camera crew to follow their every move.

And it appeared Poppy had had quite enough of being filmed by this morning as Mr Kirk covered her mouth while she yawned during the interview at 6.50am.

The GMB Twitter account posted a clip of her big yawns this morning, saying: 'When Mum and Dad make you get up super early to be on the tele... #ThursdayThoughts'

During the making of the show, the relatives could all watch what everyone else was doing via tablet computers which were handed out by the production team.

Poppy's mother Donna (left) and father Rob (right) were interviewed on Good Morning Britain

It appeared Poppy had had enough of being filmed by today as Mr Kirk covered her mouth

Donna and Rob Kirk took part in new Channel 4 programme Spying On My Family with their children Chloe (back left), 17, Ryan (back right), 14, George (left), 11, and Poppy (front), nine

The only room that was out of bounds was the bathroom. However, online and phone activity was up for inspection - every website and every text message.

Mr Kirk, who is a serving police officer, told the Daily Mail last week: 'It gave us a licence to snoop on our kids, which you just don't have in normal life.

'Maybe it was a bit sneaky of us, in hindsight. But I knew I had nothing to hide. With the kids, though, we just didn't know what we might find out.'

He added that one of their biggest worries was discovering 'pictures of half-naked women' on the boys' phones - 'pouting, provocative... it was soft porn, basically'.

But Poppy produced plenty of funny moments for the family, with her parents laughing as they watched her berating the family dog and bouncing on her bed.

Spying On My Family airs on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm
Jeremy Corbyn is facing mounting pressure today to set out he believes Russia is to blame for the Salisbury nerve agent attack after he renewed a call for 'cooperation' with Moscow.

Theresa May called out the Kremlin and Russian spy service the GRU for masterminding the deadly attack yesterday after two Russian agents were charged.

But the Labour leader's response has been condemned as equivocal on Russian culpability for the attack despite the moment-by-moment account released by prosecutors.

And Mr Corbyn has suggested again samples of the Novichok nerve agent should be handed over to Russia despite fears it would tamper with evidence.

Jeremy Corbyn is facing mounting pressure today to set out he believes Russia is to blame for the Salisbury nerve agent attack after he renewed a call for 'cooperation' with Moscow

Actor and former Labour official Tony Robinson was among those to join criticism of Jeremy Corbyn for calling for cooperation with Russia over the Salisbury attack

Actor and former Labour official Tony Robinson said: 'Brilliant! Looks like Jeremys managed to head off the anti-Semitism debacle, at least until after conference... Whoops!

'Hes moved on to advocating cooperation with the Russians on the Novichok they poisoned our citizens with. Doooooh!'

Tory MP Michael Fabricant told MailOnline today: 'When Corbyn accidentally ''condemned'' the British police and security services in the House of Commons yesterday - he meant to say commend - you have to wonder whether it was a Freudian slip revealing his innermost thoughts.'

Mr Corbyn was widely criticised earlier this year when he resisted stating that the Russian authorities were behind the poison attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia.

He also previously played down Moscow's annexation of the Crimea in 2014, suggesting that NATO was to blame for the aggression.

It came as he revealed he had visited the area of Salisbury earlier this year - but critics hit out at him for failing to tell local politicians about the visit.

During yesterday's statement, Mrs May pointedly thanked the SNP and other MPs for their tough stance on Russian involvement - calling on Mr Corbyn to do the same

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson (pictured in the Commons yesterday) also delivered a withering assault on Mr Corbyn's response

The Tory leader of Salisbury Council hit out at Jeremy Corbyn for visiting the area without telling him

Responding to the PM's revelation yesterday that two GRU military intelligence officers had been identified as responsible for the Novichok attack, the veteran left-winger said the Russian government must 'give a full account of how this nerve agent came to be used in the UK'.

Corbyn sparks fresh criticism over mysterious Salisbury visit Jeremy Corbyn today sparked fresh criticism after he reveled he visited Salisbury - but did not tell local politicians. The Labour leader told the Commons that he visited the town in July where former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by the Cold War nerve agent Novichok. Labour sources said he was on a private visit and that is why he did not tell a local politicians. But local politicians hit out at the Labour leader for the snub. John Glen, Tory MP for Salisbury, told MailOnline: 'Jeremy Corbyn can go wherever he likes privately, obviously, but I was surprised he did not take the opportunity to make it known and to perhaps meet some of the people of this community. 'This is in stark contrast to Frank Field who came on Easter Saturday when it was very difficult.' He added: 'I think my constituents will be appalled that he finds it beyond himself to condemn the Russian state given the evidence that has been presented. 'How he cannot understand that the Russian state itself is responsible for what happened is beyond me and it's beyond the understanding of most of the epopel in the country. 'It is a stubborn adherence to a fixed view of Russia which is grounded in a romanticised notion of Russia rather than the reality of the state it is today.' Advertisement

He added: 'We will back any further reasonable and effective actions, whether against Russia as a state or the GRU as an organisation.'

But he asked about action taken to 'secure co-operation from the Russian government' in bringing the suspects to trial.

Moscow has flatly refused to extradite any Russian citizens for years, including the suspect in the Litvinenko murder.

During her statement, Mrs May pointedly thanked the SNP for their tough stance on Russian involvement.

'I only wish that clear condemnation would be possible from the leaders of all parties in this House,' she said.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson also delivered a withering assault on Mr Corbyn's response.

He said: 'I think the whole House will have noted what I'm afraid was the somewhat weaselly language of the leader of the Opposition in failing to condemn what is now, I think, incontrovertible, in the eyes of all right-thinking people, involvement of the Russian state at the highest level in the Salisbury poisonings.'

Labour backbencher Chris Leslie said it was 'important that we do from all corners of this chamber express confidence and faith in the police and security services'.

In a thinly-veiled rebuke to Mr Corbyn and his allies, the MP added: 'Can I urge the PM to ignogr the cranks and ideological extremists whose first instinct seems to be to sow mistrust in our security professionals.'

In the same tense session, the Labour leader told the Commons he visited Salisbury in July.

Labour sources said he was on a private visit and that is why he did not tell a local politicians.

But local politicians hit out at the Labour leader for the snub.

John Glen, Tory MP for Salisbury, told MailOnline: 'Jeremy Corbyn can go wherever he likes privately, obviously, but I was surprised he did not take the opportunity to make it known and to perhaps meet some of the people of this community.

'This is in stark contrast to Frank Field who came on Easter Saturday when it was very difficult.'

He added: 'I think my constituents will be appalled that he finds it beyond himself to condemn the Russian state given the evidence that has been presented.

'How he cannot understand that the Russian state itself is responsible for what happened is beyond me and it's beyond the understanding of most of the epopel in the country.

'It is a stubborn adherence to a fixed view of Russia which is grounded in a romanticised notion of Russia rather than the reality of the state it is today.'

Tory leader of Salisbury Council Matthew Dean said on Twitter: 'Was very surprised to hear Jeremy Corbyn saying in the Common's that he visited Salisbury.

Labour backbencher Chris Leslie (pictured) said it was 'important that we do from all corners of this chamber express confidence and faith in the police and security services'

MPs gathered to hear an update from the PM on the Salisbury nerve agent attack investigation

'Certainly I wasn't aware & sadly didn't have the opportunity to brief him or introduce him to local residents, businesses, members of the emergency services or military.'

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said the Labour leader had been led by the evidence that 'points toward' Russian state culpability for the attack.

He said: 'Jeremy has had a series of security briefings since March, including today.

'He has proceeded on the basis of the evidence and that is the right approach.

'(Since March) that evidence has shifted to direct Russian authorship of the attack.

'That is why Jeremy clearly said we would support reasonable and effective steps the Government might take against the Russian state or the GRU.'

Mr Corbyn's spokesman said action must be 'proportionate' and said Labour backed further crackdown on Russian citizens using London as a financial base.

He said Mr Corbyn wanted pressure on the Kremlin to give up the two suspects  but accepted it was 'unlikely' to be the case.
John McDonnell risked fuelling Labour splits on Trident today by insisting he would not use the nuclear deterrent under any circumstances.

The shadow chancellor made clear there were no circumstances under which he would deploy the weapons - and said Britain should not even have had them during the Cold War.

The intervention came in an interview in which Mr McDonnell - Jeremy Corbyn's closest ally - also heaped praise on Marx's Das Kapital and said he did not like any Tory MPs.

Labour has been wracked by divisions over the nuclear deterrent since Mr Corbyn became leader three years ago.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell (pictured) made clear there were no circumstances under which he would deploy the weapons - and said Britain should not even have had them during the Cold War

Critics point out that the principle of the Trident deterrent (test launch pictured) is completely undermined if hostile states like Russia believe it would not be deployed

The veteran left-winger is a life-long supporter of unilateral disarmament, and is still vice president of CND.

But despite Mr Corbyn vowing that he would never use Trident as PM, Labour's official policy is to support renewal of the weapons system.

Critics point out that the principle of the deterrent is completely undermined if hostile states like Russia believe it would not be deployed.

Asked in the interview with the New Statesman whether he would ever be willing to press the 'nuclear button', Mr McDonnell said: 'No.'

Mr McDonnell named Clement Attlee as his political hero - but said he had blundered by ordering the development of the nuclear bomb.

He said Tony Benn was his favourite Labour MP, but quizzed on who his favourite Conservative politician was he replied: 'None.'

He added: 'I honestly don't like their politics, though I have worked with Justine Greening and Zac Goldsmith against the third runway at Heathrow.'

Mr McDonnell said Marx's tome espousing a communist economy had been the most influential on his views.

'It has to be Das Kapital. Francis Wheen's description of Kapital is brilliant. It is not just a piece of economics, it's a work of literature as well,' he said.
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A furious architect whose 800,000 'dream' home was shortlisted in a competition which highlights Britain's ugliest buildings has hit out at judges and 'called into question the validity of the contest'.

Chris Moore's low-energy eco home in Streatham, south London was shortlisted in the Carbuncle Cup, Building Design Magazine's annual competition, which lists the worst eyesores in the country.

While the competition was won by the Redrock Stockport, a 45 million leisure complex and car park, judges described Mr Moore's lurid orange, three-storey property as an 'alien blot on the streetscape' that looks 'more like an electricity substation than a home'.

And the editor of the magazine, Thomas Lane claimed the house had 'the appearance of a red-faced child'.

Chris Moore's low-energy home is located in a conservation area of leafy Streatham, a southern London suburb

But a bemused Mr Moore, who studied at London's Bartlett School of Architecture, and lives in his 800,000 home with his fiancee and 20-month-old daughter, fired back at the judges.

Speaking to the Evening Standard, Mr Moore said his homes nomination 'called into question' the award's validity.'

He said: 'My house has no impact on anyone other than the few people living on my road,'

Judges described Mr Moore's home as an 'alien blot on the streetscape'

'This is at best a local issue, and shouldn't be compared to the other buildings nominated.'

He insists the prize would be more useful highlighting 'large abuses of public space'.

Mr Moore, a partner at architectural firm, Pace Jefford Moore, told MailOnline including homes designed by individuals and not architectural firms, the competition may put off budding architects from designing properties.

He said: 'Nominating private houses runs the risk of architects being dissuaded from building homes.

'If individuals run the risk of being nominated for something like this, they are likely to be less conservative and less brave about selecting a design.'

He added that he called for the competition to 'rethink' its nomination criteria.

Previous winners of the competition include the 'Walkie Talkie' in the City.

Other nominees this year included Lewisham Gateway, and Haydn Tower at Nine Elms Point in Vauxhall.

Mr Moore spent about 280,000 building the home after paying 160,000 for the land in 2013.

The home has solar panels and over a foot of insulation throughout, while the shutter-like windows help regulate temperature.

Mr Moore's home has small windows to prevent heat loss and prison-like shutters instead of blocked out glass panes to bring a small amount of sunlight in

A floor plan of Mr Moore's home which he spent about 280,000 building after paying 160,000 for the land in 2013

The home has solar panels and over a foot of insulation throughout, while the shutter-like windows help regulate temperature

Building Design Magazine, came up with the idea in 2006 to poke fun at some of the worst new structures in the country.

The name of the unusual competition comes from Prince Charles's notorious 1986 attack on the proposed extension for the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The Prince described the building as a 'monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend'.

Building Design Magazine has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
A father whose meth-addicted son is behind bars after knocking out his mother in a drug-fuelled rage has revealed the devastating impact ice has had on his family.

Murray Kinnane, 57, has spent the past five years trying to help his son Jaxon, 20, overcome drug addiction but nothing has worked.

The Perth-based father-of-three says his two daughters and wife have become prisoners in their own home, forced to lock their bedroom doors in fear of Jaxon.

While Jaxon awaits a potential jail sentence after pleading guilty to the assault, Mr Kinnane has called for the government to work on better drug rehabilitation laws.

Jaxon Kinnane (pictured as a child), 20, is facing a jail sentence after admitting to knocking out his mother. His father has revealed how an addiction to ice turned him from a 'cheeky, popular' boy into a monster

As a result of taking too many 'Benzos' Jaxon (pictured) was placed on life support twice last year after overdosing on the drug

The Perth-based father-of-three says his two daughters and wife (pictured together in better times) have become prisoners in their own home

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Mr Kinnane said his son began taking drugs when he was 14, but there weren't any obvious signs to suggest he was 'using'.

Looking back, however, he believes his only son turned to drugs after falling in with the wrong crowd at a local skate park as an impressionable teenager.

'He started going down to the skate park, and trying not to be a helicopter parent, I said okay. Well, at least he's being social,' Mr Kinnane said.

The father of three has since found out that at the time there were 'cool' people befriending kids and enticing them to take drugs with the intent to get them to sell.

'It starts with someone offering kids cigarettes ... and then what would happen is eventually they might offer them marijuana,' he explained.

He claimed that some of those dealers allegedly laced marijuana joints with ice so that the kids became addicted to the substance from an early age.

Mr Kinnane said he believed many of the kids went on to sell ice to feed their addictions after getting a taste of the powerful drug.

Mr Kinnane believes his only son, Jaxon, (pictured) turned to drugs after he fell in with the wrong crowd at a local skate park

Mr Kinnane, 57, (left) has spent the past five years trying to help his son Jaxon, 20, (right) overcome drug addiction but nothing has worked - and now he's reached his limit

As Jaxon continued to use drugs through his teenage years, the Kinnane family watched their 'popular, cheeky' boy turn into someone they didn't recognise.

It wasn't until a seemingly innocuous conversation at the family home turned ugly last month that Mr Kinnane realised his son needed 'urgent' help.

'We've been trying to get him (Jaxon) into a rehabilitation centre, and then get him to stay there - to get himself sorted out,' Mr Kinnane told Daily Mail Australia.

But when the subject of rehab and future treatments was brought up, Mr Kinnane said Jaxon became physically and verbally aggressive and 'just went off'.

Mr Kinnane believes his son was going through withdrawals, worsened by the fact that his mobile had been confiscated to prevent drug-seeking behaviours.

'He told me I could go and get f***ed - that I was the worst f***ing father in the world,' Mr Kinnane said.

The situation really became violent, however, after Jaxon's mum broke the news that he wouldn't be able to get into rehabilitation as soon as he'd hoped.

Angered by the news, Jaxon lashed out at his parents and began slamming things around the house, breaking a leadlight door before walking outside.

Seeing red, Mr Kinnane told Jaxon to get out of the family home and not come back - at which point the 20-year-old started throwing punches.

Fearful for her husband's safety, Jaxon's mother tried to pepper spray the 20-year-old to stop him, but he lashed out, taking 'an almighty swing' and knocking her out.

Police officers arrived a short time afterwards and arrested Jaxon.

Mr Kinnane said he found out 'cool' people were befriending kids such as Jaxon (pictured) and enticing them to take drugs with the intent to get them to sell

Mr Kinnane and his wife haven't had any contact with their son since the assault.

'The police have probably been to my house anywhere up to 10 to 15 times just because of his (Jaxon's) aggression,' the father of three said.

'We've had him kicked out three times and had a 72-hour VRO (Violence Restraining Order) put on him... but because he's got nowhere to go he comes back.'

Jaxon is facing a jail sentence because of the assault - and although he's not happy his son is in custody, Mr Kinnane believes it's the right place for him for the moment.

He said he's not prepared to have his son back at home until he's been properly rehabilitated, adding: 'My son needs detox'.

He continued to say his son needs a compulsory rehabilitation, but currently there isn't legislation that enforces treatment of people with severe drug addictions.

Mr Kinnane said, growing up, Jaxon (pictured) was always a happy-go-lucky type of kid

Jaxon has presented numerous times at his local hospital for help, only to be released within hours.

Another problem is meth addicts are often prescribed Benzodiazapines - a type of tranquilizer - to calm their mood, but they often end up addicted to those as well.

As a result of taking too many 'Benzos', Jaxon was placed on life support twice last year after overdosing on the drug.

Mr Kinnane said he's hopeful his son will get better, but is fearful that his son has no hope of escaping the brutal cycle of drug addiction with the current system.

'I feel really let down by the system, which kept releasing my son,' he said.

'I understand about people having their rights... but this is a health situation for people who don't have the cognitive ability to make decisions for themselves.'
A body found in Arizona has been identified as a 19-year-old woman who went missing a month ago, and the case is being investigated as a homicide.

Kiera Bergman, 19, originally from San Diego, California, was last seen alive in her shared home in Phoenix on August 4.

A few hours later, she sent a unusual text message to her roommate, stating she was going to meet with a man she had encountered at the furniture store where she worked.

Heartbreaking: The body found in Buckeye near State Route 85, Arizona, earlier this week had been identified as 19-year-old Kiera Bergman

Mystery: Miss Bergman was last seen alive in her home in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 4, and later texted her roommate she was meeting a man she had met in her place of work

Miss Bergman's body was found Monday in Buckeye near State Route 85, Arizona. Authorities didn't immediately say how she may have died.

Phoenix police have taken over the investigation involving the death of Bergman and say no arrests have been made.

Her roommate Destiny Hall-Chand said she had received a text message from Miss Bergman on the day of her disappearance, in which she said she was going out with a man she had recently met at her place of work, a furniture store.

'She was saying that she was going to go out with some guy that she met at the store a couple days ago, which is something that's not like her, I mean, that's not something that she would do,' Ms Hall-Chand told CBS affiliate KPHO-TV in the wake of Miss Bergman's disappearance.

'I don't know. I don't know what to think, I don't know what to believe, I don't know. It's just, I know there's something wrong,' Ms Hall-Chand added.

Lost: The teenager disappeared after an argument with her boyfriend, pictured together, but he is not a suspect in the murder investigation

Miss Bergman had left San Diego in March to move to Phoenix, Arizona, to live with her on-again off-again boyfriend Jon-Christopher Clark

Phoenix police have taken over the investigation involving the death of Miss Bergman, pictured with her boyfriend, and say no arrests have been made

Miss Bergman had left San Diego in March to move to Phoenix, Arizona, to live with her on-again off-again boyfriend Jon-Christopher Clark.

Mr Clark has repeatedly denied having anything to do with her disappearance and police say he's not considered a suspect or person of interest in the case.

On August 17, he was arrested for charges unrelated to Miss Bergman's disappearance, and remains in custody.

He has been charged with 22 counts of aggravated identity theft and two counts of forgery, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

Miss Bergman was seen leaving her job at a furniture store on August 4 'noticeably' upset according to her co-worker.

Heartbreaking: Her mother Kiersten Bragg and the rest of her family have been holding vigils since her disappearance

Mr Clark picked her up from work and took her back to the apartment they shared with Ms Hall-Chand. He said they got into an argument over finances.

He claims he last saw her when she walked out of the house around 1pm.

'When she left there was no immediate concern because we have had arguments in past where either me or her have left for an hour or a couple at a time to go clear our head. I didnt really find it unusual until she wasnt in contact with me,' he added.

She had left her wallet, purse, and car at the apartment.

Both Mr Clark and Ms Hall-Chand had text exchanges with Miss Bergman after she left the house.

They both say it was not unusual for Miss Bergman to need some 'cooling off' following an argument with her boyfriend, but when she did not turn up for work on August 6, they contacted police.

Speaking at a vigil held for her daughter on August 12, her mother Kiersten Bragg said that she's been overwhelmed by the amount of support the community has provided during a stressful time.

A GoFundMe page had been setup by a member of Miss Bergman's family to help fund the search for Bergman, and any donations will now go towards memorial expenses.
A teenager was hiding her younger sisters mobile phone when she slipped and plunged four floors to her death in a prank gone 'horribly wrong'.

Danielle Maragh had climbed through a ceiling sky-light before falling head-first from the roof of her family home just three days after her 17th birthday, on the evening of April 9.

The 'happy go-lucky' student had been revising for her driving theory test in the attic room she shared with her then 14-year-old old sister, Shauna, when she fell shortly before before 9pm.

'Happy-go-lucky' Danielle Maragh, 17, fell from the roof of her four-storey family home in Upper Holloway, north London, after climbing through a sky-light to hide her sister's iPhone

Her father Charles Maragh, 48, told the inquest: 'She was quite happy in life, always doing stuff.

'She never missed a day at school. She was just a normal teenager really.

'That day she was quite excited because she was sending away for a provisional licence.

'She didnt even want to come out with us for lunch because she wanted to stay at home to study her theory.

'I think it was eight or nine oclock, she came in our room, was talking.

'She and a friend had fallen out and I was saying youll get back together; she was saying I dont care.

'About half an hour later I just heard some tumbling. Then my window smashed and I looked out and I saw her on the floor outside in front and I just ran down the stairs.'

Mr Maragh told St Pancras Coroners Court that Danielle and Shaunas room, which was in the fourth floor attic in upper Holloway, north London, had a sky-light window which she would need a ladder to climb on to.

He said he found his daughter unresponsive and he could only detect her breathing by putting his hand in her mouth.

Paramedics were called at 8.58pm but she was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.33pm.

Senior Coroner for Inner North London Mary Hassell, reading Shaunas statement, told the court how the now 15-year-old had left her grey iPhone7 on the pillows of her bed and gone downstairs to do the washing up.

Police Constable Brian Simmons said in a statement that a 'rope search team' found Shaunas grey iPhone when they examined the roof six days after Danielle's death.

The schoolgirl had been revising her driving theory when her then 14-year-old sister left her grey iPhone on her bed before going downstairs. The phone was later found on the roof

Recording the death as a tragic 'accident', Ms Hassell said: 'What I have heard is that, just in the way of teenagers, she and her sister used to play jokes on each other and hide their things, for example their phones.

'And, very significantly, after Danielles death her sisters phone was found on the roof.

'It seems to me that all of the evidence points in the same direction which is that she was just playing a prank on her sister that went horribly wrong.

'Its such an innocent joke that she was trying to play, and it just had the most awful consequences.

'I think it was the work of the moment but she slipped and she fell to the ground below.

'Given her injuries that she had Im sure that she would have lost consciousness immediately and she would have been unaware thereafter.'

Ms Hassell then added: 'When I saw the photograph of Danielles bedroom window my first thought was that she must have intended her death because it seems so unlikely that she could have fallen out of the window by accident.

'However, what Ive heard is that she was a happy teenager.

'She was on good form on the day of her death, she was excited about learning to drive, she had no problems at school, at home or in any other way.

'Ive no hesitation in saying that this was an accident.'

The Coroner expressed her condolences to Danielles 'very close' family at the inquest, which was attended by relatives and close friends.

Deborah Maragh, Danielles auntie who also lived in the house, said in a statement: 'I would describe Danielle as a normal, happy go lucky teenager.

'She was happy and was planning her 18th birthday.

'There seemed to be nothing wrong with her; if she had a problem she couldnt talk to her dad about, she could always come to me.'

The coroner said a post mortem examination found Danielles medical cause of death was 'severe traumatic head injury'.

A pathologists report stated: 'There were signs of devastating trauma that were wholly incompatible with life.

'All findings were consistent with a fall from a significant height, most likely a head first impact.'
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Reckless tourists have been caught on camera dicing with death as they leaned over this 500ft high cliff for a selfie.

The day-trippers were enjoying the magnificent view from the edge of the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs in East Sussex, ignoring the countless warning signs.

They can be seen posing together and in different positions for photos but seem oblivious to the dangers of the world famous chalk cliffs near Eastbourne.

A man is caught on camera dicing with death as he leaned over the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs in East Sussex for a selfie

The tourists were caught on camera dicing with death as they leaned over the 500ft high cliff in East Sussex

The happy holidaygoers were enjoying the magnificent view from the edge of the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs

'There are so many stories of houses at the edge of the cliffs falling off because the cliff has collapsed,' one witness said

The Birling Gap, close to where these pictures were taken, was forced to temporarily close in August after a massive cliff fall

The tourists can be seen posing for photos but seem oblivious to the dangers of the world famous salt cliffs in East Sussex

The Birling Gap, close to where local photographer Peter Cripps, 43, took these pictures last week, was forced to temporarily close in August after a massive cliff fall.

One witness said: 'I could not believe the way they were stretching over the cliffs just to take a picture.

'There are so many stories of houses at the edge of the cliffs falling off because the cliff has collapsed. Just last month the cliffs and the beaches below were closed because of another cliff fall.

'There are signs everywhere telling you not to step too close and it clearly doesn't take much for them to tumble. It is just not worth getting that close for a photograph.'

The cliffs near Eastbourne are known not only for their phenomenal views, but for their danger

The Birling Gap and Seven Sisters website warns visitors to stay away from the cliff edge

Visitors are warned that 'it isn't safe to sit or stand close to the edge of the cliffs as they may be unstable or undercut in places'

Officials say they 'also advise visitors to stay away from the base of the cliffs when walking on the beach in case of cliff falls'

Warnings at the Seven Sisters chalk cliffs in East Sussex, which have been flouted yet again by tourists dicing with death

Just last month the cliffs in East Sussex and the beaches below were closed because of another cliff fall

'It is just not worth getting that close for a photograph,' one witness said after the tourists were seen near the edge

Each year more than 350,000 people visit Birling Gap, which has seen numerous cliff falls in the past

Each year more than 350,000 people visit Birling Gap, which has seen numerous cliff falls in the past. The cliffs are known not only for their phenomenal views, but for their danger.

Last year Hyewon Kim, 23, plunged 200ft to her death after jumping in the air for a photograph on the Seven Sisters cliffs

The Birling Gap and Seven Sisters website warns visitors to stay away from the cliff edge. It reads: 'We advise visitors to act sensibly and stay away from the cliff edge, thinking about their safety and others.

'It isn't safe to sit or stand close to the edge of the cliffs as they may be unstable or undercut in places. We also advise visitors to stay away from the base of the cliffs when walking on the beach in case of cliff falls.'

Birling Gap is also only a short walk away from Beachy Head, where there are said to be around 20 deaths a year. The Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team has responded to more than 5,500 incidents since 2004.

Last year Hyewon Kim, 23, plunged 200ft to her death after jumping in the air for a photograph on the Seven Sisters cliffs.

The South Korean student, who had come to Britain to improve her English, had asked a stranger to take her picture but lost her footing as she landed and toppled over the cliffs.

Photographs found on her mobile phone showed the student happily posing with her back to the cliff-edge in the seconds before her death.
Eduard Zigar's body was found at the hospital in Edgbaston on the Bank Holiday

The body of a doctor who died aged 25 may have laid undiscovered for three days before being found in a storeroom.

Eduard Zigar's remains were discovered at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston, West Midlands, at about 10.25pm on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Lithuanian national had completed three shifts in general surgery after starting at the hospital the week prior to his death an inquest at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court heard yesterday.

The agency doctor aimed to further his career in Birmingham but police were called to reports of a body being found on August 27, Birmingham Live reports.

Mr Zigar's father formally identified the body after the doctor's family had been informed.

A friend of the doctor said colleages at the hospital were 'absolutely stunned and shocked' by the 'really tragic' death.

'It's just so tragic because he had only recently started as a junior doctor and he seemed really happy and chatty,' they said.

Colleagues have expressed their shock at the loss of Mr Zigar, who was known for his happy and chatty personality

The body - discovered at this West Midlands hospital - could have laid undiscovered for three days before being found

'He even had a couple of days booked off coming up. He lived in Edgbaston and seemed happy there, and he had family in France he was in touch with who was looking forward to visiting.'

The friend said that Mr Zigar was hoping to make his way in the NHS and saw working at the hospital as 'a great opportunity'.

A statement from University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust confirmed that an agency locum doctor was found dead at the hospital on Monday August 27.

It said Mr Zigar had began work at the trust the week before and extended 'deepest sympathies' to his family and friends.
San Francisco Airport has warned taxi drivers to stop urinating and defecating outside their cars.

Furious officials sent a letter to drivers last week saying they have had to increase security patrols to prevent the streets outside the airport becoming a 'health hazard'.

It is believed taxi drivers are reluctant to go to the bathroom for fear of losing their place in the highly lucrative airport taxi queue.

One former taxi company owner said he was shocked to receive the email and couldn't believe this was happening. Pictured: San Francisco Airport

Furious officials sent a letter (pictured) to drivers last week saying they have had to increase security patrols to prevent the streets outside the airport becoming a 'health hazard'

The letter from Seth Morgan, a senior transportation planner at SFO, said: 'Airport staff have noticed an increased rate of urination and defecation in the rear of SFO Taxi Lot #3 and nearby stairwells.'

'This creates a highly unsanitary condition and a health hazard for SFO custodians and other staff handling the materials stored in these areas.'

It added: 'Regular patrols through this area are being added both during the day and overnight, including during open lot hours.'

The letter said restrooms are open 24/7 and drivers can leave their cars in designated parking lots while they go.

One former taxi company owner said he was shocked to receive the email and couldn't believe this was happening.

John Lazar, the former owner of Luxor Cab Co., told the San Francisco Examiner: 'I don't think our cab drivers are so degenerate they piss and sh*t on the streets.'

He said it would be easy for the airport to enforce the rules by sending drivers to the back of the line if they are caught out.
The taxpayers faces extra costs to stockpile drugs for a no deal Brexit, the Health Secretary admitted today.

Matt Hancock said the Government was in talks with pharmaceutical companies about footing the bill for services such as refrigeration.

He confirmed ministers had asked companies to build up stocks in case a no deal Brexit stops a supply of drugs flowing into Britain over land.

And Mr Hancock said there were further contingencies to switch supplies of medicine to the NHS to be flown in.

The taxpayers faces extra costs to stockpile drugs for a no deal Brexit, Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured in Downing Street yesterday admitted today

Asked if the plans would mean higher costs, Mr Hancock told the Today programme: 'We won't pay for the drugs themselves, because they will be sold on into the NHS, so we are not going to pay for them twice.

'But we are talking to the pharmaceutical industry about the extra cost that they might have to incur in that eventuality. Of course, I hope it doesn't come to that.'

Fears of a no deal Brexit are rising amid little agreement on Theresa May's Chequers plan for a deal and a rapidly closing window to strike a divorce.

Hopes of getting a deal in place by a crucial summit in October are fading fast.

Mr Hancock insisted today he was 'increasingly confident' that a deal with Brussels would be agreed.

But he added: 'It is important, as a responsible government, to make sure we prepare for all eventualities and therefore we have got to be ready for exiting without a deal.

'Therefore we have proposed that there is stockpiling of medicines by the pharmaceutical companies, not by the NHS.'

He said the response had been 'very good' and 'I am confident that if everybody does what they need to do then we can have an unhindered flow of medicines even in the event of a no-deal Brexit'.

He added that the existing contracts to supply drugs to hospitals need to be fulfilled.

'The task is for the pharmaceutical companies to ensure that enough supplies are available to ensure that can happen,' he said.

Mr Hancock confirmed ministers had asked companies to build up stocks in case a no deal Brexit stops a supply of drugs flowing into Britain over land (file image of a pharmacy)

That could mean 'being prepared if necessary to switch the supply from land to air so that we can fly in, for instance, very short shelf life medicines'.

He added: 'We are talking to the pharmaceutical industry about what extra costs the Government should cover.'

Mr Hancock also sought to address concerns about recruitment as a result of the uncertainty over the post-Brexit immigration status of EU nationals.

'It's very important that we can both train up people at home and also that the brightest and best people from around the world who want to come and work in the NHS, in the social care system and across our economy can do so.

'In the case of doctors and nurses, we have recently actually removed the cap on recruiting globally.

'So you have got to look at this in the global context, not just the European context.'
The Prime Minister was mocked when she showed off her jerky dancing skills last week - but the 'Maybot' craze is winning a legion of fans.

More than 5,000 people have liked a Facebook page inviting the public to learn how to dance just like Theresa May.

The post, put up by a lady who runs a tea shop in Aberdeenshire in Scotland, gives the public handy instructions so they can perfect the moves showcased by the PM.

It states: 'Try dancing like May at home!

'May 1.0 Put your weight on your left food and pivot, slowly swinging your hips and right foot back and forth with your arms bent to in the T-Rex pose.

'Start walking forward in a slow, mechanical fashion out of time to the music and with arms still positioned like a dinosaur, but with torso waving like a tree in a mild breeze.'

The Prime Minister (pictured dancing in South Africa last week) was mocked when she showed off her jerky dancing skills - but the videos of it went viral

And it also gives handy tips on how to perfect the other dance which Mrs May showed off while on her tour of Africa last week.

How can I do the Maybot? Instructions to perfect the PM's dance moves Here are the instructions produced by Yvi's House of Tea on how to do the Maybot Maybot 1: Put your weight on your left food and pivot, slowly swinging your hips and right foot back and forth with your arms bent to in the T-Rex pose. 'Start walking forward in a slow, mechanical fashion out of time to the music and with arms still positioned like a dinosaur, but with torso waving like a tree in a mild breeze.' Maybot 2: Keep both feet planted and swing arms in a jerky motion as if trying to prove to your parents you are sober and can walk in a straight line - but without moving either foot. Return to May 1.0 (left foot planted, bizarre hip/right foot swivel) but with the addition of a creepy smile and gaze into the middle distance. Repeat steps one and two, but intersperse with occasionally giving up, putting your hands on your thighs and laughing maniacally like youve stumbled across a cracking cookbook sale. Advertisement

It states: 'May 2.0 Keep both feet planted and swing arms in a jerky motion as if trying to prove to your parents you are sober and can walk in a straight line - but without moving either foot.

'Return to May 1.0 (left foot planted, bizarre hip/right foot swivel) but with the addition of a creepy smile and gaze into the middle distance.

'Repeat steps one and two, but intersperse with occasionally giving up, putting your hands on your thighs and laughing maniacally like youve stumbled across a cracking cookbook sale.'

The event is being held at Yvi's House Of Tea in Aberdeenshire in November, and so far 5,126 people have liked the Facebook post.

Mrs May was mocked after videos of her emerged awkwardly dancing with children twice while she visited Africa on her three-day Brexit charm offensive last week.

On the first occasion, in South Africa, she joined in a circle of school children dancing - awkwardly twisting her body to the side.

The second time, in Kenya, she copied some moves by a group of scouts who she was visiting - and shimmied her body around in a jerky circle.

Twitter users compared her jerky movements to Peter Crouch's 'robot' goal victory dance.

But the PM - whose favourite song is Dancing Queen by Abba - laughed off the criticisms and said: 'I suspect my dancing this morning might not make it on to Strictly.'

And other viewers of the videos said it was nice to see the PM - who is known for being awkward and stiff in her demeanour - show her lighter, human side.
Police in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, arrested a black teenager after a passerby spotted him in a car with his white grandmother and reported a robbery.

The 18-year-old was handcuffed and ordered into the back of a police car, leaving his grandmother to explain that they had simply been on their way home from church.

The teen, named locally as Akil Carter, has now sought legal representation to look into whether he may have been harassed by police during the incident.

False arrest: The 18-year-old was handcuffed and put in the back of a police car, leaving his grandmother to explain that they had simply been on their way home from church

'After we take a look at whatever basis they have for stopping and harassing this family, we will be able to comment further,' attorney Joy Bertrand told Journal Sentinel.

'Once we take a look at those documents, we will have further comment.'

The incident took place just before midday on Sunday, when an African-American couple flagged down a police officer in Wauwatosa, Milwaukee County.

The couple reportedly told the police officer that 'a black young man was robbing two older white women in a blue Lexus', and pointed out the car.

Dashcam footage shows the 18-year-old being ordered to leave the car with his hands in the air after being stopped by police.

Surprise: The grandmother was shocked to hear that the couple who had flagged down police and reported a 'robbery' had been African-American

An officer can be heard shouting 'On your knees, keep your hands up.'

Officers told local media that the police officers had removed their guns from their holsters due to the violent nature of the reported crime - a robbery.

He is then handcuffed out of shot and placed in the back of the police car, while an officer walks over to talk to the two elderly women in the car.

The teenager's grandmother immediately tells the officers the 18-year-old is her grandson, telling them 'we are on our way home from church to my house.'

The video footage hears the officer saying sorry on behalf of the couple who reported the 'robbery'.

'I apologize for that guy not knowing what he was talking about,' he tells the teen's grandmother.'

'I'm sure he saw two old, white ladies in a car with a black kid and he made some assumptions,' she replies.

The police officer then explains that the unnamed caller 'was black as well.'

The teenager's grandmother then exclaims: 'Oh my god. Then it's even worse.'

Once the truth had been established, the 18-year-old was released, after spending some six minutes in handcuffs.
A woman in her 50s was hospitalised after being mowed down by a moped thug fleeing police.

The driver, 28, was being pursued by a marked vehicle after failing to stop for officers.

He was eventually caught and arrested after ploughing into the woman at 11.45am yesterday in Sydenham, south east London.

A moped driver, 28, was arrested after ploughing into a woman in her 50s following a police chase. Pictured: A man thought to be the driver is detained by police

Another man was put in handcuffs at the scene following the collision in Sydenham, London

Police said the victim's condition is not life-threatening or life-changing.

The moped driver was also injured in the crash and taken to hospital for minor injuries.

He was handcuffed in the middle of the street and arrested on suspicion of failing to stop for police.

Two men, aged 18 and 24, were also arrested on suspicion of obstructing police and are in custody in a south London police station.

In video footage from the scene, two men and a woman are seen being held down by officers in the middle of the busy street.

One policeman tells bystanders that the moped driver crashed into a female pedestrian and tried to drive off.

A policeman stands over the alleged moped driver on Sydenham road after the collision

Two men, aged 18 and 24, were also arrested on suspicion of obstructing police. Pictured: The moped which fled police and crashed into a pedestrian

When asked why the girl is being detained the officer replies: 'Because she's taken a load of money from his pocket'.

The officer seems to suggest she took money from one of the moped rider's pockets but it's not entirely clear.

As the crash happened during a police chase, the Mets Directorate of Professional Standards was informed and has made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for review.
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Ranging from perfectly preserved to in ruins these resorts in Tunisia, that were abandoned after terrorist attacks in 2015, are a clash between 'post-apocalyptic' and forgotten elegance.

Still laid out in all their grandeur, the hotel's white lobbies and dining halls remain laden with chairs, tables and couches that were once used by thousands of guests.

The decline in tourism in Tunisia came after a spate of terror attacks in 2015, where 71 people were killed in multiple incidents.

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Urban explorer Bob Thissen, from The Netherlands, visited the abandoned hotels in Tunisia after the country was declared a no fly zone following terrorist attacks in 2015

Magnificent Moorish-design courtyards remain impressive yet overgrown with no hotel staff to tend to them and no tourists coming to stay at the once popular resorts

Tourism started to decline after a spate of terrorist attacks in 2015. The worst of that year occurred in June, when 38 foreign tourists, including 30 British nationals, were killed in a beach attack on Port El Kantaoui near Sousse

Stunning chandeliers hang from the ceilings and facilities, from a fully-equipped bar to massage tables and spa rooms, remain intact apart from a heavy coating of dust

The worst of that year occurred on June 26, when 38 foreign tourists, including 30 British nationals, were killed in an attack on Port El Kantaoui near Sousse - many of the hotels have stood empty since.

Stunning chandeliers hang from the ceilings and facilities, from a fully-equipped bar to massage tables and spa rooms, remain intact apart from a heavy coating of dust.

Outside, the magnificent Moorish-design courtyards remain impressive yet overgrown in their abandonment, with green pond-like liquid lying in the pools, Jacuzzis and water features.

Urban explorer Bob Thissen, from Heerlen, The Netherlands, visited the sites after the country was declared a no-fly zone, and where some of the hotels closed as early as 2008. A state of emergency was first declared in Tunisia three years ago.

Advice from the UK Government states: 'Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Tunisia', listing eight extremist activities.

Bob said: 'It was crazy to walk alone in such big resorts where thousands of tourists used to spend their holidays. It was so silent.

Guest areas are perfectly preserved but covered in dust while swimming pools have been left empty or to fill with green water

Explorer Bob Thissen said: 'It's crazy that these sized resorts are abandoned. It was a big contrast to see these abandoned decaying hotels against the beautiful blue water beaches'

Bob said many of the hotels are starting to reopen. He said: 'Since this year Western companies like TUI fly again to Tunisia and you can see the tourism industry slowly begins to rise from the death'

A state of emergency was first declared in Tunisia three years ago. Advice from the UK Government states: 'Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Tunisia', listing eight extremist activities

'It's like a lost paradise. The pools have dirty green water, are half filled with sand and vegetation, or just the salt is left inside the saltwater pools.

'The normally perfect swept paths are now full of sand and covered with dead palm leaves.

'The outdoor animation buildings are falling apart, bars are empty, and the playground equipment appears lonely.

'All resorts were completely different, from perfect condition to completely ruined. I liked the post-apocalyptic exteriors with the pools the most.

'It's crazy that these sized resorts are abandoned. Most resorts have multiple outdoor and indoor pools.

'It was a big contrast to see these abandoned decaying hotels against the beautiful blue water beaches.'

The decline in tourism in Tunisia followed a spate of terror attacks in 2015, where 71 people were killed in three incidents.

The worst of that year occurred in June, when 38 foreign tourists, including 30 British nationals, were gunned down on the beach during an attack on Port El Kantaoui.

Tunisians and tourists observe a minute's silence during a remembrance ceremony for the victims of a terror attack on a beach outside the Imperial Marhaba Hotel, in the popular resort of al-Sousse, Tunisia

Eyewitnesses said the gunman, later named as Seifeddine Rezgui (pictured), was seen laughing and joking among the midday bathers and sunseekers, looking like any other tourist

British tourists lay flowers on the beach near Sousse after 38 people were killed and 36 seriously wounded in the shooting

Eyewitnesses said the gunman, later named as Seifeddine Rezgui, was was seen laughing and joking among the midday bathers and sunseekers, looking like any other tourist.

But it was claimed he was carefully selecting the victims he would murder with a Kalashnikov hidden in his parasol.

The British were his prime targets on the crowded Tunisian beachfront at El Kantaoui near Sousse. But Germans, Belgians and Tunisians were also among his 38 victims  with 36 seriously wounded.

'He was laughing and joking around, like a normal guy,' said one witness. 'He was choosing who to shoot. Some people, he was saying to them 'you go away'. He was choosing tourists, British, French.'

After the horrifying attack tour companies evacuated thousands of tourists, while Thompson and First Choice both cancelled all flights to Tunisia which had been booked for for week.

Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said: 'The majority are British. After come the Germans, then the Belgians and then other nationalities.'

Gunman Seifeddine Rezgui can be seen calmly walking on Sousse beach carrying his weapon with witnesses saying British tourists were his prime targets on the crowded Tunisian beachfront

Both Thomas Cook and TUI have relaunched and increased flights and holidays to Tunisia this year (pictured tourists lay flowers in memory of those who died on the Tunisian beach in 2015)

Bob and his group of 'urbexers' documented the locations for their channel 'Exploring the Unbeaten Path'.

He said: 'I think the area around Sousse was affected more by the decline than in Djerba.

'I think Djerba already had a hard time in the tourism industry, many hotels were already abandoned before 2015, but after the terrorist attacks it became even worse.

'I think it's not only abandoned due the attacks but made even worse because of the media and government.

'In Western Europe there have been many terrorist attacks and those countries remain 'safe' for tourists to visit.

'After the two terrorist attacks Tunisia was turned into a no-go zone, many airlines didn't fly to Tunisia anymore until recently and it had a huge impact on the tourism industry.

'You can only imagine how many people must have been fired in these giant resorts.'

Both Thomas Cook and TUI have relaunched and increased flights and holidays to Tunisia this year.

The number of British tourists visiting the country is expected to reach 75,000 - a figure that is one sixth of the numbers prior to the massacres.

Bob said: 'Since this year Western companies like TUI fly again to Tunisia and you can see the tourism industry slowly begins to rise from the death.

'Quite a few hotels we drove by are in renovation, preparing for the returning tourism, which was good to see.'
A leading Conservative Party aide died on his stag do after falling when he got out of a taxi.

Oxford Unversity graduate Ben Davies was just three weeks away from his wedding when he tragically died on the island of Mykonos.

An inquest into his death heard he fell near to his hotel in Greece after 'alighting from a taxi'.

Mr Davies, 32, was deputy chief of staff for the Conservative group sitting in the Welsh Government in Cardiff.

Ben Davies and Emily Russ (both pictured) had just bought a house and were all set for married life when he died on his stag do

The leading Conservative aide (pictured with his fiancee) died after falling out of a taxi on the party island

He was due to marry fiancee Emily Russ and travelled to the party island with six close friends for the week.

The inquest heard Mr Davies suffered a severe head injury in June last year and was rushed to hospital.

After initial treatment on the island he was transferred to hospital in Piraeus on the mainland near Athens.

Heartbroken Miss Russ, 31, flew to his bedside. At the time she posted on Facebook: 'Positivity is the way forward!! The boy is a fighter! Probably one of the main reasons why I love him so much!'

Emily Russ (pictured with her fiance) wrote that he was a 'fighter' on Facebook when she flew out to be by his side

But despite desperate efforts by medics he died of his injuries on July 3. The couple had just purchased their first house together in Cardiff ready for married life.

Mr Davies studied history at the London School of Economics before going on to get an MSc in Russian and European Studies at Oxford.

He worked as an advisor for the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 General Election, helping Duncan Hames get elected as Wiltshires first Liberal MP in 86 years.

But he later volunteered for the Conservatives in London before landing a job with the Tory party in the Welsh Assembly.

After his death, Cardiff Conservative councillor Jayne Cowan said: 'Ben was a great figure on the campaign trail, he was very bright and very articulate.

'He had this fascinating sense of humour, you remembered when youre in his presence even if theres 10 other people there. He was special, its absolutely tragic.'

Friends and colleagues praised Mr Davies' sense of humour after his tragic death while on holiday on the Greek island

Coroner Graeme Hughes recorded a conclusion of accidental death at the inquest in Pontypridd.

Mr Davies attended the boarding school of Felstead in Essex before studying politics at Oxford University.

It was at Oxford he met Dex Torricke-Barton, who described Ben as 'the realest person I ever met.'

Communications executive Dex, a former speechwriter for Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg, was due to be an usher at Ben's wedding but couldn't attend the bash in Greece because of work commitments.

The leading Conservative aide was just three weeks away from marrying his fiancee when he died on the island

He said Mr Davies was looking forward to the wedding as fiancee 'made him truly happy for the first time.'

Dex said: 'Ben was on his bachelor weekend in Greece when he had an accident.

'Doctors in Athens tried to save his life for a week, but his injuries were too severe.

'I was planning to fly to England in 2 weeks for his wedding, where I was going to be one of his groomsmen. Now he's having a funeral.'

Dex said while studying Russian Politics at Oxford Mr Davies would 'smoke like a chimney'.

Dex said: 'He was an awkward fit for Oxford, and sometimes he was sad that he couldn't better connect with people. But he didn't believe in changing himself or pretending to be more conventional to blend in with the crowd.

'Ben was the realest person I ever met. And now he's gone.'

His love of smoking saw him dubbed 'The Noble Lord Cigarette' by peers at university.

Ultan McCabe wrote online after his death: 'I am grateful for our friendship and to have been lucky enough to have enjoyed so, so many laughs with you over the years to the point of being in stitches, under clouds of your cigarette smoke.

'It is sickeningly sad that your life has been cut short.

'Life won't be the same without you and the number of laughs in the future for the many of us grieving for you will certainly be fewer, and of lesser quality.'
The Australian Instagram model found hanged off the back of a billionaire's super yacht had called her family in tears just before she died, it was revealed today.

Sinead McNamara, 20, rang mum Kylie to tell her about an incident with another crew member on board the $190million Mayan Queen IV, which was docked in Argostoli on the Greek island of Kefalonia.

She also spoke to her brother Jake during her last anguished phone call in the early hours of last Friday, the family's lawyer Charalampos Triantafyllopoulos revealed.

It follows reports the model was struggling with a bad breakup, as officers review photographs and messages on her phone to piece together her final hours alive.

Instagram model Sinead McNamara rang her mother in tears before taking her own life, according to the family's Greek lawyer

The 20-year-old rang mum Kylie to tell her about an incident with another crew member on board the $190million Mayan Queen IV

The young Instagram model was found hanged off the back of the Mayan Queen IV (pictured), an AUD$190million superyacht docked at the Greek port Argostoli owned by a billionaire

Prior to that, the family claim Ms McNamara had been happy and enjoying her work as a stewardess on the six-storey yacht, which is owned by Mexican billionaire Alberto Bailleres.

Her mother and sister, Lauren Carr, were on route to Kefalonia from their home in Australia when she died.

They had been due to meet her the following day and are believed to have been informed of the news while in transit.

The family are now demanding answers as to why there was an apparent delay in airlifting her to a hospital in Athens.

A doctor on board the yacht is understood to have tried to resuscitate her before she was taken to a hospital in Argostoli.

She was there for several hours, Mr Triantafyllopoulos told Greek media, until a helicopter could transfer her to a private clinic in Athens.

The family are now demanding answers as to why there was an apparent delay in airlifting Ms McNamara (pictured) to a hospital in Athens

The luxury yacht is owned by Mexican businessman Alberto Bailleres (pictured) who is worth an estimated $9.6billion

The coroner who carried out the autopsy on Ms McNamara told Daily Mail Australia he advised her family against going to visit her body at the morgue, saying it was in 'such a bad state'

In a statement, he said: 'The family expects the Greek authorities to respond to the causes and circumstances of her death and incidents that occurred just prior.

'The deceased had telephoned her mother and brother shortly before the unfortunate incident under investigation.

'She was crying and referred to an incident that took place on the yacht with another crew member.

'The family state that Sinead was not having any problems, she often communicated with them and she was happy. In two days she will return to her family and her friends in Australia.

'The parents believe it crucial to thoroughly investigate both the events and incidents that preceded the death of their 20-year-old daughter died.

'In addition, they are looking for the reasons for the long delay between the time of the unfortunate incident and Sinead's transfer to an Athens hospital.

'She had been unconscious for several hours in a comatose condition and every minute was critical to her life.

'Expressing their trust in the Greek authorities, they hope that the critical issues above will be thoroughly explored and that they will receive appropriate answers for the sudden and unexpected death of their daughter, '

The Instagram influencer was not having any problems and was in high spirits before her suspected suicide, her family's lawyer said. She was found tangled in rope on the back of Mayan Queen IV (pictured)

Ms McNamara's mother and sister were on their way to Greece to holiday with her when crew on-board the Mayan Queen IV made the grim discovery

Greek authorities have seized CCTV footage from the cameras on the yacht but at this stage believe her death to be suicide.

The MailOnline revealed how just 24-hours before she died, Ms McNamara had enjoyed a 'happy' night out dancing and drinking with friends.

She visited the Baroque bar in Argostoli on Wednesday night and drank two vodka-based cocktails - one called Dragon's Breath and another called Mango Mangave.

Later in the evening she was seen dancing on a chair.

Bar manager Makais Chaliodis said: 'I saw the news and recognised her picture.

'She had come to the bar with five of her friends on the Wednesday about 5.30pm.

'She sat on one of the stools by the bar with two male friends and had two cocktails and a club sandwich.

Ms McNamara was reportedly being consoled by a colleague just 15 minutes before her death

Ms McNamara penned a cryptic Instagram post (pictured) just two weeks before her death

'One of her companions also bought a round of Tequilas but I don't know if she had one.

'They all seemed to be in high spirits and were happy. They were having a good time.

'They left at 7.30pm but some of them, including the girl who died, came back at 1am.

'The last time I saw her she had got up on one of the chairs and was dancing.

'She must have only been here for no more than 30 minutes the second time and then she left.'

Back on board the Mayan Queen, she was seen talking to a security guard about 15-minutes before she was found dead.
Corina Diaconu, 35, was driving the 50 miles home after finishing her 12-hour night shift

A mother-of-two killed in car crash may have fallen asleep at wheel after a 12-hour night shift as a hospital nurse, an inquest has heard.

Corina Diaconu, 35, was driving the 50 miles home to Bournemouth, Dorset, after finishing work at Yeovil Hospital in Somerset on Mother's Day morning.

But her car failed to take a bend and veered into an oncoming vehicle at 8.30am on March 11. She was killed almost instantly from multiple injuries.

A police accident investigator believed Miss Diaconu either fell asleep or was distracted by a mobile phone on her lap which she was using as a satnav.

The inquest heard Miss Diaconu had the option to take an hour-long break, but chose instead to take several short breaks during her 12-hour shift.

The crash happened on the A35 at Bloxworth, near Poole, when her Vauxhall Astra collided with a Peugeot Expert people carrier being driven by Richard Maes, who had four adult passengers.

The crash happened on the A35 at Bloxworth, near Poole, when Miss Diaconu's Vauxhall Astra collided with a Peugeot Expert people carrier, which had four passengers

All the people in the Peugeot suffered serious injuries and were freed by firefighters.

Mr Maes, 55, was taken to hospital by air ambulance and his passengers - a man and woman aged in their 20s, a woman in her 40s and a teenager, also went to hospital.

Dorset Police Sergeant Craig Tatton, who investigated the crash, said: 'Nobody knows exactly what happened.

'But our working hypothesis is that she either fell asleep or was distracted by the satnav.'

Dr Christopher Smith, who witnessed the crash, said he became aware of Miss Diaconu's car when it approached him at speed from behind as he travelled east towards Poole, and the car appeared to veer within its lane before the crash.

Her car failed to take a bend and veered into the oncoming vehicle at 8.30am on March 11

He said: 'I went round the bend but the car behind me went straight on and collided head-on with a vehicle coming the other way.'

Dr Smith and his wife, who is also a doctor, stopped at the scene but said the nurse had 'no signs of life'.

Her mobile phone was found in her lap with the satnav still on. The Smiths helped the injured passengers in the people carrier until the emergency services arrived.

Mr Maes told the inquest: 'We were all conscious and aware of what was happening. I realised I was trapped from the waist down.

'It was Mother's Day and this will stay with me forever, for the lady's family and my own.'

Miss Diaconu had finished work at Yeovil Hospital in Somerset on Mother's Day morning

Assistant Dorset Coroner Brendan Allen recorded a verdict that Miss Diaconu died from a road traffic collision.

She leaves behind a two-year-old son in Bournemouth and a 14-year-old daughter who lives in her native Romania.

Today, one neighbour told how Miss Diaconu had complained of feeling tired due to her work before her death.

They said: 'I didn't know her well but we would say hello to each other. Once I asked how she was and she said she was really tired.

'She said she had started working for an agency to make some extra money. We could often heard her son crying, especially in the night, so I'm sure she was tired just being a mum let alone working long shifts.'
An impatient driver in central China was arrested after he was filmed tackling and breaking a traffic light in the middle of a road.

The man felt that he had been waiting too long at the red light in Jinshi city and decided to take matter into his own hands, according to local police.

The 36-year-old man, later identified by his surname Xin, was filmed running up to the traffic light island and smashing the pole violently.

An impatient driver in Jinshi city, central China was arrested after he was filmed wrestling and breaking a traffic light in the middle of the road. He was detained and fined by the police

Local police finally nabbed the suspect on Wednesday following a two-week manhunt

The bizarre incident happened at about 11pm on August 20 in Hunan province, with local police finally nabbing the suspect on Wednesday following a two-week manhunt.

The man had been waiting at the light for about two minutes before getting impatient. Prior to the incident, he told police that he was involved with an argument with a friend and was 'in a bad mood'.

Traffic cameras at the crossroads between Jiuli Avenue and Shuangji Road captured the suspect running up to the temporary traffic light in the middle of the intersection.

The seemingly content driver then struts back to his vehicle and drove away

Traffic cameras at the crossroads between Jiuli Avenue and Shuangji Road captured the suspect violently breaking the temporary traffic light in the middle of the intersection

The man had been waiting at the light for about two minutes before getting impatient

He leaps up and hooks the pole with his right arm, bringing it down with force, causing it to crash to the ground.

The seemingly content driver then struts back to his vehicle out of camera shot and drove away.

Xin was found guilty of vandalising state property and detained for five days. He was also fined, according to a news release by Jinshi Security Bureau.

The police has also warned the public against any irrational behaviour that could jeopardise other people's safety.
The New York Times have published an op-ed authored by a senior official in the Trump administration who claims that they are part of the resistance, but work closely with the US President and support some of his policies.

After the NYT op-ed came out, Washington DC was left dumbfounded and wondering who this mysterious senior official could be and how, if their identity were to be revealed, their job would be jeopardised.

While many have suggested that the author of the anonymous piece could be Secretary of Defense James Mattis, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Melania or Ivanka Trump, most believe it was written by Vice President Mike Pence.

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters with Vice President Mike Pence at his side

New York Times op-ed

The New York Times op-ed written by a current Trump administration senior aide states that President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American leader.

The article continues: Its not just that the special counsel looms large. Or that the country is bitterly divided over Mr. Trumps leadership. Or even that his party might well lose the House to an opposition hellbent on his downfall.

The dilemma - which he does not fully grasp - is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them.

To be clear, ours is not the popular resistance of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous. But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.

President Trump prepares to swing a Marucci bat, with Vice President Mike Pence on his right

The NYT article goes on to claim that there are many who have been appointed by Trump that are attempting to thwart the US President from his position, because of what has been described as his amorality.

It also discussed Trumps mantra that the press is the enemy of the people and his preference to align himself with autocrats and dictators, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility, the article read.

It also mentioned Senator John McCain and referred to him as a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue. Mr. Trump may fear such honorable men, but we should revere them.

Trumps reaction to the NYT op-ed

After the New York Times piece was published, many took to social media to express who they think the author of it is, including Trump who took to Twitter to lash out against the report of quiet resistance by his staff.

Trump tweeted: Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

The US Presidents second tweet read: Im draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Dont worry, we will win! This article corroborates most of what is described in Bob Woodwards upcoming book, Fear: Trump in the White House.

With Chief of Staff John Kellys alleged quote stating that Trump had gone off the rails. Were in Crazytown. I dont even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job Ive ever had, many even believe that Kelly could be the author of the NYT article amid whispers of invoking the 25th Amendment.

Others on social media commented on the use of the word lodestar in The New York Times article, which was used to describe Senator John McCain and how while the phrase is not commonly used, there is one senior official in the Trump administration who does use it frequently: Mike Pence.

Is Mike Pence the author of the NYT op-ed?

Twitter users, including Dan Bloom, Audio Producer for Panoply, said: The @nytimes just published an anonymous op-ed from a "senior administration official." I'd like to posit a guess as to who wrote it. Getting my @ashleyfeinberg on began with a single word that jumped out at me

Bloom went on to explain that lodestar being used to describe McCain rules out the likes of Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino, but as a word that is not commonly used, it has this whiff of sanctimony and a search revealed that Pence had used the word in a speech at the UN in 2017.

The @nytimes just published an anonymous op-ed from a "senior administration official." I'd like to posit a guess as to who wrote it. Getting my @ashleyfeinberg on began with a single word that jumped out at me... https://t.co/ajS2JI8WH2  Dan Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

The word is "LODESTAR." Note that it comes in the same paragraph praising John McCain. That would rule out flame-throwers like Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino and suggest someone with Senate ties. This reveal is not going to take long. pic.twitter.com/NwnUtvFlko  Dan Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

Pences concluding remarks at the September 2017 event were: So let us rededicate ourselves to the mission upon which this body was founded -- the first words of the U.N. Charter, to maintain international peace, must again be our lodestar, our ideal, and our aspiration.

Through reform of our efforts and reform of this institution, through renewed courage to speak and act whenever and wherever the unalienable rights of innocent people, or the peace of the world, is at risk we will create, as our President said, a more safe and peaceful future for all mankind.

Months later, the Vice President used the word again, this time at the Jack Kemp Leadership Award Dinner, referring to Jacks lodestar was his unwavering belief in the fundamental equality and dignity of every person. It inspired everything that he stood for.

Bloom then brings another example to the attention of his followers, when Pence spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in February 2018 during his trip to Tokyo.

But we will not repeat the mistakes of the past. As President Trump has said, Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. And so vigilance and resolve will be our lodestar, he said.

And lo, as I have shown in my previous tweets, peaches and nectarines are absolutely delicious, and Vice President Mike Pence really likes using the word "lodestar" in his writing. In fact, one might call it his...  Dan Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

An hour later, Bloom continued the thread and addressed those who had questioned his theory, especially those who believed that the author of the NYT op-ed may be Pences speechwriter Stephen Ford, to which he said that the earliest use of the word lodestar was found in 2001.

The Times piece begins with a disclaimer that describes the author as: "a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure." Pence is basically the only WH employee that cannot be fired, but

as i read it, the language "job would be jeopardized" is rather broad. Even if Vice President Mike Pence can't be fired, if this were to go public, Pence's influence and effectiveness would certainly be jeopardized.

He added: This is important: I could be totally wrong. This is a speculative, unconfirmed theory (based on words that came out of Vice President Mike Pence's mouth,) but keep your skepticism & critical thinking in tact.

Later, after speaking with a speechwriter, Bloom explained that while it is possible that Stephen Ford had written it, the speechwriter may not have been speaking as him or herself. More likely, written on behalf of or with Pence.

Just too well written for a principal who likely has a hell of a lot more work on their plate than would allow for this to be produced within 24 hours of the Woodward news." That said, he raised a nuanced point that I hadn't previously considered

The fact that Pence has been using the word a ton going back to his radio show suggests its him. If the speechwriter is putting that into his speeches its only because he (or she) has picked up on the fact that Pence loves the word.

...plus the way the op ed is written suggests its by someone with actual influence. A speechwriter to the VP aint that person." Smart analysis from my speechwriter contact who has real insight into this world. #lodestar, Blooms speechwriter contact revealed.

"The fact that Pence has been using the word a ton going back to his radio show suggests its him. If the speechwriter is putting that into his speeches its only because he (or she) has picked up on the fact that Pence loves the word."  Dan Bloom (@danbl00m) September 6, 2018
The Russians spent a fortune on the tiny James Bond-inspired perfume bottle used to carry novichok including developing new technology to ensure it wasn't a suicide mission for their agents, experts revealed today.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, one of Britain's top chemical weapons experts, says the fake sample vial of Nina Ricci Premier Jour could only have been produced by Putin's top scientists in their most sophisticated and top secret lab.

He told MailOnline: 'They needed to ensure that the men carrying out the attack did not kill themselves while doing it. It would be deeply embarrassing if their agents died on foreign soil'.

The two assassins, using the aliases Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, carried the bottle of Novichok into the UK unhindered before spraying it on Sergei Skripal's front door in suburban Salisbury in March.

Experts believe the botched hit came after up to three months of development and testing probably sanctioned at the highest levels of the Russian state.

The lab, branded 'Q-ski' after the research and development division of the British Secret Service in James Bond, made the bottle and 'one-way' applicator nozzle so it was impossible for novichok to leak out in transit.

It was also made of special toughened glass, plastic or ceramic sure not to smash, crack or degrade while carrying one of the world deadliest weapons.

Police have released images of the perfume bottle they say was adapted to help the two Russian suspects carry out their lethal attack

The Met Police released photographs of the elaborate ruse used by the Russian agents including perfect packaging to transport the weapon

Mr de Bretton-Gordon told MailOnline said the 'sophisticated' perfume bottle would have cost thousands to build from scratch and required top scientists to achieve.

He said: 'The technology in the bottle was very sophisticated and no doubt took a great deal of expertise to produce.

'It was probably made out of special toughened glass, ceramics or plastics which would not leak this deadly agent in transit and would allow safe application onto the Skripol door handle for the attackers'.

He added: 'It would have taken very careful development and testing. No doubt they did dummy runs with it through airports to test the concept and possibly tested in labs with real nerve agent.

'They probably did not go through airport security at Moscow, but would need to have taken into account a plane divert where they would have to go through a scanner'.

The weapon was disguised as a 5.5ml sample bottle of the Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume.

The counterfeit bottle was packaged in a glossy custom-designed cardboard box, based almost entirely on authentic branded goods.

The discovery of a lethal chemical weapon disguised as a perfume bottle sealed the case against Russia.

Investigators suggested the nozzle could only be fitted at the point of the attack on the Skripals home.

Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov (left to right) were seen grinning in Salisbury on the day of the attack

The Novichok was smeared on the front door handle of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home using a special applicator

It would have then delivered a tiny amount of the deadly chemical, which had the consistency of a gel, via a long tube to keep it away from the hands of the user.

Scotland Yard do not know what happened to the bottle between the attack on March 4 and its discovery on June 27.

Charlie Rowley, 48, found the package in a charity bin behind a branch of Barnardos in the city centre.

Three days later, as he tried to reassemble it, his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess, 44, made the fatal decision to smear its contents on her wrist.

One source close to the inquiry said: Experts discovered a great deal of time, effort and expense went into making this object and executing this specific task.

When they analysed the contents they found it was 100 per cent strength novichok, not the weakened samples they had recovered previously.

Yesterday, police confirmed that despite extensive searches items contaminated with novichok may remain in Salisbury.

They also cannot be certain that the bottle and applicator is the only one used in the attack on the Skripal home.

Counter terrorism Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the manner in which the bottle and packaging was counterfeited made it a perfect cover.
Vladimir Putin uses a 'sensory room' to stave off depression with 'bubble tubes' and massage chairs in his presidential villa, a Russian magazine has claimed.

The suite, was reportedly installed specifically to relax the Russian President during visits to his residence in Valdai, in the country's Novgorod Oblast region, north west of Moscow

The claims surfaced in the Russian magazine, Sobesednik, famed for its revelations about the Kremlin strongman's personal life.

Vladimir Putin (pictured in August) uses a 'sensory room' to stave off depression with 'bubble tubes' and massage chairs in his presidential villa, a Russian magazine has claimed

Last year it reported on the remarriage of Putin's ex wife Lyudmila. It is also credited with running high profile reports on the president's daughters.

In its latest revelation, the magazine claimed Russia's Federal Protective Service had signed a state contract to build a 'sensory room' at his luxury residence.

The room is said to have been fitted out with 'bubble tubes' and a $3,170 'US MEDICA Quadro' massage chair that features different 'zero gravity' positions to improve relaxation, according to the Meduza website.

The room is said to have been built withing his 2,300-acre residence on Lake Valdai - one of a number of retreats said to be available to the president.

The Russian President is often pictured relaxing in the countryside with macho images showing him swimming, hunting and fishing in various locations around Russia over the years

In 2016, RBC reported that the town outside the residence, Yashcherovo, has become a settlement for Russia's elite having once been home to just 30 people.

It prompted some locals to rename the area 'Kremlin 3', the website reported.

Putin was said to be a frequent visitor to the area and residents said helicopters frequently landed there.

The Russian President is often pictured relaxing in the countryside with macho images showing him swimming, hunting and fishing in various locations around Russia over the years.
A Briton sent to a Nazi concentration camp for taking a German officer's bike has had his remains returned more than 70 years after his death.

When he was just 19-years-old, Frank Le Villio stole a Nazi officers' bike and took it on a joy ride in occupied Jersey.

He was charged with 'military larceny' and sentenced to three months' imprisonment in France just before D-Day in 1944, before being deported to Bergen-Belsen.

Frank Le Villio stole a Nazi officers' bike and took it on a joy ride in occupied Jersey when he was just 19-years-old

Mr Le Villio survived the ordeal but was severely weakened by the horrific conditions he endured in prisons and concentration camps.

He died of tuberculosis aged 21 after returning to the UK to live with his aunt in Nottingham, a year after his release from Bergen-Belsen.

He is understood to be one of only two Brits to survive the infamous Nazi concentration camp but the location of his pauper's grave was only discovered last year.

Following a campaign to find his remains, he has finally been returned to Jersey where a special ceremony attended by more than 100 people was held on Wednesday.

He has finally been returned to Jersey where a special ceremony attended by more than 100 people was held on Wednesday.

His remains will be reburied today at the Surville Cemetery, close to where he grew up in St Hellier.

Mr Le Villio's cousin Stan Hockley said he was 'delighted' to have him home after the service yesterday.

Looking back on his memories of his cousin, Mr Hockley said: 'I remember kicking a ball around with him in the street; happy memories.

'He was a bit of a Jack the lad, running about and doing all these things.

'He was mad on motorbikes, he had his own Matchless motorbike and he adored it.'

Stanley Keiller, who was a young boy during the Nazi's occupation of Jersey, helped track down Mr Le Villio's remains after discovering the story surrounding his burial.

He contacted a local priest and undertaker to join the search and Mr Le Villio's body was found buried in a paupers grave at Wilford Hill Cemetery in 2017.

Mr Keiller added: 'He was a young teenager who was taken away from us in those occupation years, and there's a satisfaction in having found him.

Pictured: The occupation registration card of Frank Le Villio

'He would have lived a short and sad life, but now he could rest in peace.'

Although Mr Le Villio's family in Jersey were aware he was buried in Nottingham, they went more than seven decades without knowing the location of his grave.

Speaking on the incident leading up to his cousin's arrest, Mr Hockley said: 'It was harmless fun, really, but he was caught, arrested by the German Military Police, charged with 'military larceny', and sentenced to three months imprisonment in France.

He was sent to the notorious Fresnes prison near Paris, then on to two further prison camps - Belfort, and finally to Neuengamme, before ending up in Belsen.

Mr Hockley added: 'The emphasis these days is on '"forgive and forget". But those who say that - do they have relatives who were tortured and murdered, just for having an illicit ride on a bike?'

Le Villio's remains will be reburied today at the Surville Cemetery, close to where he grew up in St Hellier
Mason Jet Lee's short 21-month-old life was littered with pain and suffering, from severe anal injuries to a broken leg and a blow to his stomach that would eventually cause his death.

His stepfather, William Andrew O'Sullivan, was last month sentenced to nine years in prison over his involvement in the death of the little boy in June, 2016.

Mason's extensive injuries and illnesses dated back months before his lifeless body was found at the home of his stepfather in Caboolture, north of Brisbane.

Courts have previously heard how Mason had missed doctor's appointments, been sent home from hospital after a lengthy stay and left at home alone with a five-year-old boy while his stepfather went to have sex.

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Mason Jet Lee (pictured) who died at the hands of his step-father suffered a slow and painful death as it is revealed he could have sustained his injuries five days before he died

Mason's stepfather, William Andrew O'Sullivan, was sentenced to nine years in prison over his involvement in the death of the little boy in June of 2016

The Courier-Mail previously reported how a court had heard O'Sullivan had left Mason at home with a five-year-old boy on the night the toddler died.

The court had been told how CCTV footage had captured O'Sullivan leaving the home after 10pm and returning with a friend about 11.30pm.

O'Sullivan had left the home to have sex, the court was told.

On another night, O'Sullivan dragged the little boy to McDonald's at 3am after a night of vomiting instead of the doctors, the court was told.

The publication also previously reported that when Mason was found dead by paramedics, he was scarred and bruised and wearing just a singlet which was stained with vomit and faeces.

He had been dead for hours before a call was made to triple-zero, with paramedics crying in the street when confronted with Mason's horrific injuries, it was previously reported.

O'Sullivan pleaded guilty to four separate charges before the Queensland Supreme Court, including manslaughter and cruelty to a child under 16-years-old.

Chief Justice Catherine Holmes said had Mason Jet Lee (pictured) been treated, he would have likely survived

Mason was the subject of continued and serious mistreatment and neglect during his short life, in which Chief Justice Catherine Holmes described his condition at the time of death as 'wretched and painful.'

'He was not treated with any gentleness or kindness. Worse, you did nothing to get help for him despite what would have been his evident distress,' she said in sentencing O'Sullivan in the Queensland Supreme Court.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mason had multiple injuries at the time of his death, included a broken leg, a broken tailbone and a ruptured small intestine that slowly poisoned him as it leaked faeces into his abdomen.

In addition to the injuries, traces of methamphetamine were found in his blood.

Justice Holmes said O'Sullivan, a self confessed 'crackhead', was likely under the influence of drugs at the time of offending.

A committal hearing heard the toddler suffered a rupture to his small intestine, believed to have been caused by blunt force trauma.

Mason Jet Lee suffered extensive injuries and illnesses in the months leading up to his death

A post-mortem examination revealed Mason Jet Lee (pictured) had multiple injuries at the time of his death

In the months before his death, Mason was treated for multiple injuries and was admitted to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital for three weeks in February 2016, a court was previously told.

That was for treatment of an abscess on Mason's right leg but doctors soon discovered he had a 'chronic' and 'extensive' rash around his genitals, including deep abscesses, the court was told.

Mason would have been unable to eat or drink without vomiting in his final hours and when paramedics attended to him, at least half an hour after death, he was covered in bruises and vomit, the hearing was told.

Justice Holmes took into account the assault O'Sullivan has been subjected to in prison while awaiting sentencing.

He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years, meaning he will be eligible for release in 2022.
German interior minister Horst Seehofer has defended the Chemnitz protesters by calling migration 'the mother of all problems'.

Seehofer, who was instrumental in nearly bringing down his own coalition partner Angela Merkel last month with his criticism of her immigration policy, emphasized that not all the Chemnitz protesters were far-right activists as he defended their actions.

'If I were not a minister, I would have taken to the streets as a citizen - of course not together with radicals,' Seehofer told the Rheinischer Post.

Seehofer also called for a 'pan-European solution to the migrant crisis' adding that he believed 'the migration issue is the mother of all political problems'.

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Horst Seehofer defended the protesters saying that 'if he wasn't a government minister he would have joined them'

Right-wing supporters wave German flags during the demonstration in Chemnitz on Saturday after the death of a German

Thousands of people took part in protests organized by far-right groups in the eastern German town of Chemnitz last week, following the fatal stabbing of a German man, allegedly at the hands of two refugees.

Several people were arrested for performing Nazi salutes. Protestors also reportedly targeted foreigners and chanted 'You're not welcome here.'

Seehofer said that all those found to have performed Nazi salutes and committed other offences would be prosecuted by the state, adding 'we will not turn a blind right eye'.

His defence of the Chemnits protesters once again placed him into the opposite corner as his coalition partner Angela Merkel.

Merkel and Seehofer came to blows earlier this year over the chancellor's failed attempts to agree an EU-wide migration settlement.

Crisis was only averted when Merkel struck a deal in early August with Seehofer's CSU party to automatically return asylum seekers who arrive in Germany after having already applied for asylum in another EU country.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel accepted an invitation from mayor Barbara Ludwig to visit Chemnitz, which has been the flashpoint for racist marches after the killing of German man allegedly by Iraqis and a Syrian

Eleven police vehicles block the road as officers seek to keep the peace during the march by right-wing demonstrators

Riot police face protesters at the end of a demonstration organised by the right-wing populist 'Pro Chemnitz' movement

'I say that the question of migration poses challenges,' she said in an interview with RTL television.

Merkel added that protests in Chemnitz showed both people 'filled with hate aimed at other people' and 'how people stand up to xenophobia and racism.'

'It is a tense situation in which, I believe, everyone needs to take a position,' she added.

Merkel announced on Wednesday she will visit Chemnitz in the coming days after an invitation from the city's mayor.

Merkel said Germany 'saw images in Chemnitz that clearly showed hate and the chasing of innocent people' during the protests.

During a joint news conference in Berlin today alongside Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, she added: 'What we have seen is something which has no place in a constitutional democracy.

'We have video recordings of people hunting down others, of unruly assemblies, and hate in the streets, and that has nothing to do with our constitutional state.'

Hooligans run for left-wing protestors during demonstrations following the killing of a German man in Chemnitz

Police block the right-wing demonstration on Saturday following the killing of a German man in Chemnitz six days ago

The death of Daniel Hillig around two weeks ago in the the Saxon city of around 240,000 people sparked a surge of violent right-wing protests and counter demonstrations from left-wing groups, with far-right demonstrators outnumbering counter-protesters on Saturday by 8,000 to 3,000, police said.

His death sparked a surge of violent right-wing protests and counter demonstrations from left-wing groups, with far-right demonstrators outnumbering counter-protesters on Saturday by 8,000 to 3,000, police said.

Far-right groups and thousands of local citizens took to the streets in the days after the stabbing, with a number of participants attacking people who looked foreign, and making the illegal Nazi salute.

The Chemnitz knife attack is the latest in a series of violent crimes by refugees that have garnered massive media attention across the world and stoked anger at Merkel's decision not to close Germany's borders to more than one million migrants and refugees, who arrived since 2015.

Two suspects, an Iraqi and a Syrian, are in police custody following the killing of Hillig, while a city court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for a third man, another Iraqi.
Former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter will have been whisked off to a safe house as far away as New Zeland, experts have said.

The retired Russian intelligence officer, brought to Britain in a spy swap in 2010, would have thought he was safe after coming to the UK, due to a 'gentleman's agreement' that countries don't go after defectors exchanged in swaps.

But the novichok attack on the 66-year-old - which was yesterday blamed on two agents of Russia's GRU intelligence service - means he and his daughter, who was also attacked, will now have to be closely looked after by Britain and her allies.

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia will have been whisked off to a safe house after the Salisbury novichok attack, experts have said

It was previously reported that the CIA would offer to settle the pair into a new life with new identities in the US, to keep them from any further assassination attempts.

Experts say it is likely they will have been moved to one of Britain's 'Five Eyes' allies; the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Chris Phillips, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told MailOnline: 'We trust those countries to do things the right way. No expense will be spared.'

The pair will have been given a house and monthly allowance, as Mr Skripal was in the UK, but will now be given protection and surveillance following the Salisbury attack, Mr Phillips added.

The father and daughter may be split up to prevent any suspicion of who they are, but changing their appearance may be difficult due to pictures having been published by the world's media.

Mr Skripal may now have to be more careful when talking about his past, after joking with friends in Salisbury that he was a spy.

Mr Skripal had been given a new life in the UK after he was brought to Britain in a spy swap. But agents of his former employer in Russia put the nerve agent on his front door

He would have thought he was safe after being brought to England, and even appeared in social media posts by his family. But that will change after the novichok attack

What are the 'Five Eyes' countries? The 'Five Eyes' intelligence pact formerd when other countries joined the BRUSA agreement between British and US intelligence agencies which came after the end of the Second World War. Canada joined in 1948 and Australia and New Zealand became part of the agreement in 1956. It is understood the countries do not share everything they know, but the agreement means they do have a closer relationship than with other Nato members. The pact was threatened in the aftermath of the Manchester bombings last year, when US agencies leaked pictures of the scene passed to them by the British to the media. President Trump condemned the link and said: "There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.' Advertisement

His former taxi driver Adam Blake said: 'He would look each way, as if joking, and say, 'I'm a Russian spy'. He would say it to all the drivers and nobody ever believed him.

'I would often see him standing around town in doorways too, looking around suspiciously as if he was really trying to portray the spy image.'

Mr Skripal had settled into Salisbury, joining a Railway Social Club, drinking in some of the city's pubs and buying scratch cards at his local newsagent.

He has been regularly visited by his family, who travelled from Russia and even posted pictures of him in his new life on social media.

In a video released a month after the attack, Yulia Skripal said she hoped to return to Russia in the future, but insisted she did not need the help of the country's embassy.

Yesterday's revelations, which go much further to proving Russian involvement in the attack, may force her to change her plans about going back to her homeland.

She will now probably be advised to steer clear of social media or sending emails, due to fears it could give away her location, experts have said.
This is the cruel moment a group of thugs blast a woman in the face with a fire extinguisher during a sick prank.

Two hooded men were filmed spraying the powder at her as she sat on a bench in Peace Park in the town of Sligo, Ireland.

The woman, who is thought to be homeless and to sleep rough in the park, barely flinched as she was tormented by the group.

The victim was completely covered in smoke after a thug in a grey hoodie sprayed a fire extinguisher at her face

The woman is thought to be homeless and known to sleep rough in Peace Park in Sligo, Ireland

The thugs shout 'Gang! Gang! Gang!' at the camera after spraying the extinguisher at her for several seconds.

The mob callously laugh as the victim sits covered in a cloud of freezing dry smoke.

The clip then ends with the sniggering group of boys running away from the scene.

The video has amassed 200,000 views on social media - with users condemning the groups' despicable actions.

One user commented: 'The sad part is she didn't even feel the need to fight back.'

The woman barely flinches as she's soaked in the substance. The video has amassed 200,000 views on social media

Another wrote: 'SO SAD! People in this generation will do anything to get followers. I hope the police get them. This generation is f***** up youknow.

'You never know what that woman was going through in that moment and even now. I can't see nothing funny in that video.'

Some viewers said the fact the woman didn't move when she saw the boys running at her proved the video was staged.
Northern Ireland's assembly members are to have their salaries lashed by almost 14,000 as a 19-month stalemate over powersharing grinds on, the Northern Ireland Secretary announced today.

The paycut for members at Stormont will not be applied to staff, Karen Bradley said, but politicians who are not fulfilling all their duties had to have salaries curbed.

Mrs Bradley also announced further moves to postpone a re-run of elections which are officially due in the absence of a powersharing executive.

The DUP and Sinn Fein have refused to form an executive since January 2017 after a breakdown in relations. An election last spring saw the Republican party close in on victory for the first time ever.

Northern Ireland's assembly members are to have their salaries lashed by almost 14,000 as a 19-month stalemate over powersharing grinds on, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley announced today

Mrs Bradley also announced further moves to postpone a re-run of elections which are officially due in the absence of a powersharing executive.

The breakdown was triggered amid scandal over DUP leader Arlene Foster and has become embroiled in identity issues like the Irish language.

Repeated negotiations convened by the British and Irish governments have failed to break the impasse.

Mrs Bradley told the Commons: 'While Assembly members continue to perform valuable constituency functions, it is clear that during any such interim period they will not be performing the full range of their legislative functions.

'So, in parallel, I will take the steps necessary to reduce Assembly members' salaries in line with the recommendations made by Trevor Reaney.

'The reduction will take effect in two stages, commencing in November - it would not reduce the allowance for staff as I do not think that MLAs' [Members of the Legislative Assembly] staff should suffer because of the politicians' failure to form an Executive.'

Mrs Bradley's predecessor as Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, commissioned former Assembly chief executive Mr Reaney to examine the controversial issue of paying Assembly members.

He recommended the 27.5 per cent cut, a move that would take the standard salary rate of 49,500 down to 35,888 in two stages.

The breakdown was triggered amid scandal over DUP leader Arlene Foster (file image) and has become embroiled in identity issues like the Irish language

Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill has accused the DUP of acting in bad faith during the record-breaking stalemate

Public services have suffered because no ministers are in place to make major decisions.

Controversial issues like provision of abortion cannot be addressed in the absence of an Assembly.

In explaining the need for a 'stepped approach', Mr Reaney said the impact of any salary reduction on MLAs' personal circumstances has been acknowledged.

Mr Reaney addded that research shows Assembly members spend 50 per cent to 60 per cent of their time on constituency work.

The average working week exceeds 50 hours, and sometimes up to 80 hours he added.

Chloe Westley, Campaign Manager at the TaxPayers' Alliance said: 'The Northern Ireland Assembly has failed to form an executive, and as a result residents in Northern Ireland have experienced suboptimal public services because no ministers are able to make major decisions.'
A Catholic priest has been arrested over claims he raped a mentally handicapped victim of human trafficking in Latvia.

The priest, identified as Pavels Zeila, 73, served in the Aglona-Rezekne diocese in eastern Latvia, which is to host Pope Francis during a four-day tour of the three Baltic states later this month.

A second man was also arrested on suspicion of trafficking in the case, which has shocked the Baltic state as it prepares to receive the Pope from September 22.

A Catholic priest has been arrested over claims he raped a mentally handicapped victim of human trafficking in Latvia, police in Riga (pictured) have revealed

'One of the suspects "delivered" the defenceless victim for a fee, the church representative, who was the end buyer, paid the fee and then committed violent sexual crimes against the victim,' said Armands Lubarts, chief of a police task force on human trafficking and pimping.

Zeila's lawyer flatly denied the allegations and the Catholic diocese of Rezekne said Zeila must be presumed innocent.

The allegations are the latest to hit the Catholic Church, which was rocked last month by a devastating US report into child sex abuse accusing more than 300 'predator' priests of abusing more than 1,000 children over seven decades in the state of Pennsylvania.

The pope has sharpened his criticism on the explosive issue - but he remains under pressure to make far-reaching changes.

Zeila faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty of sex abuse, while the other suspect could be sentenced to 12 years if convicted of human trafficking.
A pizza delivery driver wasn't put off turning up for work even during the worse typhoon Japan has seen in 25 years.

The committed worker can be seen struggling against powerful winds of up to 135mph to try and take a Domino's pizza to some hungry people waiting out Typhoon Jebi.

An entertaining clip of his noble efforts was recorded from a nearby building and the incident reportedly occurred on an Osaka city street, reports rt.com.

A dedicated Domino's pizza delivery driver battled against the wind and rain during Typhoon Jebi to get his scooter going and complete his job

The stubborn driver can be seen standing over his white Domino's scooter, battling the wind to try and keep both feet on the ground.

Dressed in a blue suit and white helmet the driver then appears to try and drive headfirst into the brutal gales.

After a few seconds of holding his ground a gust of wind comes towards the delivery driver pushing the scooter over and smashing it to the floor.

Apparently a little confused and at a loss of how to deliver the pizza, the driver looks around before stepping over the fallen scooter and the clip ends.

Although standing in the middle of what seems to be a large road, the driver is alone on the tarmac with only one other car passing him during the short video.

At least 11 people were killed and hundreds more injured as well as homes and infrastructure destroyed during the powerful storm that battered Japan's west coast on Tuesday.

The driver tries to stand his ground before being swept off his feet by the wind and his scooter smashing to the floor

At least 11 people were killed and hundreds more injured as well as homes and infrastructure destroyed during the powerful storm that battered Japan's west coast on Tuesday

Kansai International Airport - one of the country's busiest - was cut off when a 2,500-ton tanker smashed into the terminal's sole access road meaning thousands had to spend the night in the partially flooded facility.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, tweeting on his official account, said the government was working to get the airport back online.

He also said 2.4 million households had lost power in the storm, with service restored to only half by Wednesday morning.

'We continue to make utmost efforts to respond to disaster damage and restore infrastructure,' he added.

The deaths included a man in his 70s who was blown to the ground from his apartment in Osaka.

The wall of the South Noh stage at Nishi Honganji temple damaged by Typhoon Jebi in Kyoto on September 5

Passengers stranded at Kansai International Airport queue outside the airport as they wait for the arrival of a special bus service to transport them out of the area

Police said five others died elsewhere in the prefecture after being hit by flying objects or falling from their apartments.

In nearby Shiga, a 71-year-old man died when a storage building collapsed on him, and a man in his 70s died after falling from a roof in Mie, officials said.

More than 1.2 million people had been advised to leave their homes as Jebi approached the Kansai area - Japan's industrial heartland. Around 16,000 people spent the night in shelters, local media said.

A car is seen stuck on a road damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture today. A powerful 6.6-magnitude quake has rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido

In the tourist magnet of Kyoto - home to ancient temples and shrines - the typhoon brought down part of the ceiling of the main railway station, while in nearby Osaka, the high winds peeled scaffolding from a multi-story building.

At just after 3am this morning a 6.7-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's Hokkaido prefecture.

Power went out plunging cities into darkness, killing at least nine and burying dozens more in landslides.
Ukip's ruling body could this weekend vote to let Tommy Robinson in as a member amid fears the party is being targeted by the far-right.

The National Executive Committee will decide whether to give their approval to a motion calling for the founder of the English Defence League (EDL) to be let in.

If they approve it then members will vote on it at the party conference in Birmingham later this month.

It means that the far-right activist, 35, from Luton, could be let into the party before the end of the year.

Alan Craig, UKIP's Family & Children Spokesman told Kipper Central 'Tommy has become a global phenomenon representing those who have been excluded and silenced by the globalist liberal elite.'

Ukip's NEC is voting on Sunday on a motion calling for Tommy Robinson (pictured leaving Rugby prison in August) to become a member of the party

'He courageously turned his back on all racism and the EDL and now campaigns for free speech and on those issues like rape gangs that the authorities want to ignore.

'He's now a Kipper at heart and we should welcome him.'

A Ukip spokesman said: 'The NEC will discuss motions from branches to be voted on at the party conference, one of which asks the question whether Tommy Robinson should be allowed to join.

'The NEC always decides what motions will be discussed at the party conference. Any party branch is free to submit a motion to the NEC.'

But MailOnline understands that some senior Ukip members are 'spitting feathers' at the move and determined to block his entry.

Ben Walker, a Ukip NEC member, told MailOnline he might leave Ukip if they let Mr Robinson in.

He said: 'I am categorically against it. We have got a set of rules that differentiate us from the other parties - we don't let people in if they have been in what we consider extreme groups.

'I don't see why we should change that.'

He added: 'We should be concentrating on Brexit and getting the best possible deal - that is why we have seen a jump in membership and in the polls - not because we might let BNP and EDL members in.

'I would have to seriously consider my position if we let him in.'

Under Nigel Farage, Ukip rejected overtures by the EDL to work together and EDL members are still banned from joining the party.

But the party has taken a different direction since its new leader Gerard Batten was elected in April this year.

Mr Batten spoke at a free Tommy Robinson rally in London earlier this year to protest at the imprisonment of Mr Robinson,

Ukip leader Gerard Batten (pictured at the party's Stoke campaign headquarters in February last year) spoke at a Free Tommy Robinson rally earlier this year

The ex EDL leader, 35, was sent to jail for 13-months for contempt of court after filming a Facebook Live video outside a grooming trial.

He had confronted suspects being prosecuted in trials involving dozens of Asian men accused of grooming children as young as 11, it can be reported for the first time today.

Mr Robinson broadcast these exchanges to 250,000 people watching him on Facebook Liv.

He was released from prison last month after judges freed him after ruling it was 'unfair' to give him 13 months in prison during a 'muddled' and 'rushed' court case held just five hours after his arrest.

The case sparked international interest and many members of America's 'alt right' called for him to be released from prison.

Ex Donald Trump aide Steve Bannon was his highest profile supporter - throwing his weight behind the bid to free him.

He said that he did not think Mr Robinson is a 'bad guy' and s aid 'he's got to be released from prison'.

Mr Farage has reportedly expressed major concerns in private at the direction Mr Batten is taking the party in.
Gregory Lazarchick, 56, from New Jersey, has been charged with making a false bomb threat for allegedly telling a Disney World greeter in Florida that al-Qaida sent him to 'blow the place up'

A New Jersey tourist has been arrested after investigators say he told greeters at a Disney World resort that al-Qaida sent him to 'blow the place up.'

Orange County Sheriff's deputies arrested 56-year-old Gregory Lazarchick, a widowed father-of-two from Brick, on Tuesday on a charge of making a false bomb threat.

According to an arrest report, Lazarchick made the threat on July 21 at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista as Disney World interns were asking guests about their day.

The affidavit states that one of the greeters told Lazarchick, 'Have a great day,' to which he replied, 'I don't want to have a great day,' reported WFTV.

The resort worker made a light-hearted comment that seeing how they were at Disney, Lazarchick was 'almost obligated' to have a great day.

Lazarchick was staying at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista (pictured) in late July when he allegedly made the threat after a greeter wished him a great day

Lazarchick's sister said he suffered a head injury four years ago. Pictured: Gregory and his late wife Jodi Lazarchick are posing with Mickey and Minnie Mouse years earlier

The man then allegedly made the al-Qaida remark and added, 'You think I'm joking? I'm not.'

The greeter later told deputies the guest seemed serious.

When he was questioned by the authorities, Lazarchick allegedly admitted to saying something about al-Qaida, but he said he didn't remember exactly what he said and insisted that it was in jest. He was remorseful and apologetic.

No bomb-making materials were found.

Lazarchick's sister told investigators he suffered a head injury four years ago that required resuscitation and sometimes utters inappropriate things, including about President Barack Obama. She said his wife passed away last year and his son has autism.

Dailymail.com has uncovered that Lazarchick's wife of 22 years and the mother of their two sons, Jodi, died in November 2016 aged 49, just over a month after he lost his father.




This is the moment 'communist' protesters stormed a council chamber during a debate on anti-Semitism, leading representatives to flee in fear.

Some 'frightened' councillors left in tears and one was dragged from the room by security as Fight Racism Fight Imperialism members shouted 'Free Palestine'.

The demonstrators share their name with the Revolutionary Communist Group newspaper and came to opposed Newcastle City Council's adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism.

The definition - which has been at the centre of a Labour Party row - gives examples of anti-Semitism including: 'Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour.'

The demonstrators claimed that adoption of the definition would 'criminalise solidarity with Palestine'.

After Liberal Democrat opposition deputy leader Nick Cott raised the motion to adopt the definition, protesters in the public gallery above began chanting, unfurled Palestinian flags, and shouted abuse at councillors.

As councillors left the room, protesters broke into the main council chamber and one was dragged away by security as Lord Mayor David Down tried to calm the protesters down.

He can be heard shouting from the balcony: 'What about the Palestinian people here in Newcastle... are they not allowed to criticise Israel?

'Nick Cott you should be ashamed of yourself, absolutely ashamed of yourself.'

It was claimed that one member of the civic centre's security staff was put into a headlock by the demonstrators, some of whom were led away by police.

One protester can be seen flying the Palestinian flag from the balcony while another shouted at Nick Cott

Afterwards, council leader Nick Forbes labelled them 'clowns' who 'don't do anything to further the cause of the Palestinians'.

'We are used to heated debate, but the protest we saw in the gallery tonight, the alleged assault of security staff, the shouting of abuse at councillors, the ranting, and the jumping into the council chamber goes beyond what I think anybody would accept as normal political debate,' he said.

'Many of the councillors tonight felt intimidated, several were in tears during the interval we had and were frightened to come back into the council chamber. That is, in effect, an assault on our democracy.

Councillors are pictured leaving the chamber after 'communist' protesters stormed the Newcastle debate

'We will not put up with that and I really hope the police throw the book at these clowns. They don't do anything to represent people, they don't do anything to further the cause of the Palestinians.

'They are simply out to cause trouble and that is not acceptable in a modern, liberal democracy.'

Oskar Avery (pictured) said he was baffled as to what help the protesters were to any of the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, An Najah or Hebron

Councillor Oskar Avery, who is Jewish, branded the protesters 'extremists' and said they ruined the debate for members of the public.

'There was a lady next to me who had a newborn infant and they screamed at her, they screamed at all of us,' he said. 'They refused to leave the gallery and required the calling of the police. It was a very surreal experience.

'Because of the desire of some extremists to hijack a protest, ordinary members of the public were unable to watch, maybe a dozen or so members of the public had to leave because of this protest, a tiny infant was screamed at, ordinary people were made to feel unsafe.

'The basic process of democracy was disrupted and as a consequence of the disruption of the meeting, I - a Jewish councillor - was literally denied the chance to speak because we overran.

'So I've been silenced, people have been intimidated and I remain utterly baffled as to what supposed difference this has made to anyone in East Jerusalem, An Najah or Hebron - any of the people who these people supposedly care about, how their lives have in any way been remotely affected by the decision of these people to engage in an absolutely ridiculous protest that does far more damage to their cause than the best-designed hasbara ('propaganda') programme the Israeli government can put together.'

Yesterday, the Labour Party's National Executive Committee accepted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition, amid a bitter row over alleged anti-Semitism within the party.

The shouting erupted after a Liberal Democrat suggested the council adopts the definition of anti-Semitism

Introducing his motion to council on Wednesday, Coun Cott said that 'we need to call time on the acceptability of anti-Semitism'.

Before the meeting, a few dozen protesters had gathered outside the civic centre for a rally and also presented a petition to the full council meeting.

One, Luke Meehan, told the chamber that 'the state of Israel is a racist state and saying so is not anti-Semitic', saying that his views were 'not informed by hatred' of Jewish people but by 'solidarity with the people of Palestine'.

'Representatives of the Jewish community in Newcastle are fearful of the future, and our approving this motion -unambiguously, with the intended wording - will be an assurance to them that this Council will not tolerate discrimination,' he said.
A blundering Treasury minister today let slip the dramatic codename of the government's no-deal plan - Operation Yellowhammer.

The striking title was revealed on a document accidentally exposed by Salisbury MP John Glen as he walked into the Cabinet Office.

The paper, spotted by eagle-eyed photographers, is for a meeting to 'consider progress on the government's plans for mitigating the immediate impacts of a no-deal Brexit'.

It says departments should be managing the pressures from a collapse in negotiations by 'reprioritising' existing funding.

The briefing also suggests that officials should be looking at the situation of commercial firms that play a part in their contingency planning.

The Treasury paper (pictured) was spotted by eagle-eyed photographers, and is a briefing for a meeting to 'consider progress on the government's plans for mitigating the immediate impacts of a no-deal Brexit'

Treasury minister John Glen (pictured left) accidentally exposed the document as he left a meeting at the Cabinet Office

The codename quickly triggered speculation about the significance of the word Yellowhammer.

But it is understood the title was generated at random in Whitehall.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said that no departments would have to make budget cuts to pay for the immediate planning for a no deal Brexit because 1.5billion has been set aside for contingency planning.

What does yellowhammer mean and how did civil servants come up with the name? Yellowhammer is the code name for the work for planning a no deal Brexit carried out by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS). It takes its name from a small yellow bird which lives across the UK. They forage for seeds to eat, breed in May and enjoy singing. Male yellowhammers learn their songs from their fathers, and over the course of time regional dialects have developed. In ancient legend the birds were linked to the devil - the intricate patterns on their eggs were said to conceal an evil message. The Yellowhammer operation works across all Whitehall departments to ensure the UK is able to weather the shock of crashing out of the Brussels bloc. The word itself is randomly generated by a computer. The CCS was established in 2011 and works on projects to ensure the UK can handle potentially disruptive change. Projects similar to Yellowhammer have been carried out to prepare for the 2012 Olympics and the Champions League final. Advertisement

He said: 'We have been clear - the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union - that we are making preparations for a no deal scenario.

'We don't expect that to happen, but we are being very clear that we are ready and that is part of that work.'

Quizzed about the document while on a visit to Glasgow's University of Strathclyde's Technology and Innovation Centre, Philip Hammond said longer term departments would have to look at their contingency plans.

The Chancellor told the BBC: 'Departments have the funding for no-deal planning. What we're beginning to discuss is now part of long term contingency planning.'

He added: 'In no deal circumstances we would have to refocus Government priorities so that Government was concentrated on the circumstances that we found ourselves in.

'Let me reiterate again that is not the outcome we are expecting and it's not the outcome we're seeking.'

The document emerged as Health Secretary Matthew Hancock admitted taxpayers face extra costs to stockpile drugs for a no deal Brexit.

Mr Hancock said the Government was in talks with pharmaceutical companies about footing the bill for services such as refrigeration.

He confirmed ministers had asked companies to build up stocks in case a no deal Brexit stops a supply of drugs flowing into Britain over land.

And Mr Hancock said there were further contingencies to switch supplies of medicine to the NHS to be flown in.

Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured in Downing Street yesterday) and the Treasury have been under fire over stark warnings about the consequences of no deal

Asked if the plans would mean higher costs, Mr Hancock told the Today programme: 'We won't pay for the drugs themselves, because they will be sold on into the NHS, so we are not going to pay for them twice.

'But we are talking to the pharmaceutical industry about the extra cost that they might have to incur in that eventuality. Of course, I hope it doesn't come to that.'

Fears of a no deal Brexit are rising amid little agreement on Theresa May's Chequers plan for a deal and a rapidly closing window to strike a divorce.

Hopes of getting a deal in place by a crucial summit in October are fading fast.

Mr Hancock insisted today he was 'increasingly confident' that a deal with Brussels would be agreed.

The taxpayers faces extra costs to stockpile drugs for a no deal Brexit, Health Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured in Downing Street yesterday admitted today

But he added: 'It is important, as a responsible government, to make sure we prepare for all eventualities and therefore we have got to be ready for exiting without a deal.

'Therefore we have proposed that there is stockpiling of medicines by the pharmaceutical companies, not by the NHS.'

He said the response had been 'very good' and 'I am confident that if everybody does what they need to do then we can have an unhindered flow of medicines even in the event of a no-deal Brexit'.

He added that the existing contracts to supply drugs to hospitals need to be fulfilled.

'The task is for the pharmaceutical companies to ensure that enough supplies are available to ensure that can happen,' he said.
President Donald Trump is touting a show of faith from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the loyalty of his aides comes into question in the wake of an anonymous New York Times op-ed that undermines his presidency.

'Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!,' Trump tweeted Thursday morning.

Trump is touting the kind words of a despot as his own West Wing is in a meltdown after an anonymous 'senior official in the Trump administration' wrote a scandalous op-ed in the New York Times outlining a conspiracy within the administration to keep Trump from doing anything detrimental to the country.

President Donald Trump thanks North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for his 'unwavering faith in President Trump'

Trump is feeling the squeeze in the wake of Bob Woodward's book and an anonymous New York Times op-ed

Kim Jong-un meets with South Korea's special envoy Chung Eui-yong in Pyongyang on Wednesday, when he repeated his intention to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula

The president values loyalty and rewards it when he sees it.

Reports indicate the president is feeling the squeeze after being hit with a double whammy: reports of chaos in the West Wing in Bob Woodward's new book and the New York Times essay that describes the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' and says the author is part of an organized 'resistance' whose goal is 'to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting [President] Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.'

Kim's show of faith came during a meeting with South Korean envoys in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

He told them he still trusts Trump despite a breakdown in negotiations between the two countries, according to reports.

'Chairman Kim said that although the dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea is experiencing some difficulties, his trust in President Trump continues, especially at times like this,' according to Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's director of national security and the leader of the envoys.

'Chairman Kim also emphasized he has never spoken ill of Trump to his aides or anyone really. He also said, on the basis of such trust, he hopes to end 70 years of hostile relations with the United States, improve the bilateral relationship and fulfill denuclearization,' he said.

The North Korean leader also reportedly said he wants to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and end hostile relations between North Korea and the United States during Trump's first term in office.

Trump's gratitude comes as White House aides loyalty is being questioned

Kim Jong Un and President Trump signed a vague agreement in their June Singapore summit

A June summit in Singapore saw the the two leaders sign a vague agreement about denuclearization with no details on how it would happen and by what deadline. Negotiations since then have been rocky and settled into a stalemate.

But Kim's show of loyalty will likely win him the most points with Trump as the West Wing undergoes a witch hunt to find the writer of the New York Times piece and seeks out who spoke to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward for his upcoming book 'Fear.'

Trump has already ordered loyal aides to identify the sources of Woodward's book, and this probe could well be extended to encompass the Times article,CNN reported.

Trump has questioned whether the senior White House official behind an anonymous op-ed published Wednesday really exists.

'Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?' Trump tweeted hours after the newspaper published the piece.
Russian authorities have stepped up their campaign to muddy the waters over Scotland Yard's dossier of evidence about the Salisbury novichok attack.

Putin's government had always denied involvement in the chemical weapons attack, insisting it was a 'provocation' by Britain, which had not offered any evidence.

But yesterday the Met Police released CCTV images showing two men flying into Britain, walking towards target Sergei Skripal's house on the day on the attack and swiftly boarding a plane back to Moscow. Theresa May said the men were agents of Russia's GRU intelligence agency.

The Russian embassy in London - which often uses Twitter to try to undermine claims against their country - went into overdrive today in the wake of the police, government and CPS statements.

The Russian Embassy pumped out tweets today in a bid to undermine the British case that they were behind the novichok chemical weapons attack in Salisbury in March

They tweeted a picture of the two suspects after attack was carried out, next to a photo of two British investigators in Hazmat suits during the clean-up operation.

The tweet stated: 'Men "working with the most deadly military grade toxin of high purity". How many differences can you spot?'

They also posted messages comparing the new claims to those of former US secretary of state Colin Powell and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the build up the Iraq War.

The UK government has hit out at Moscow's tactics of sniggering about an attack which has left mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess dead and hospitalised a British police officer and Mrs Sturgess's boyfriend, as well as the Skripals.

Theresa May yesterday said the 'deluge of disinformation simply reinforces their culpability'

In the Commons yesterday, Mrs May said: 'We repeatedly asked Russia to account for what happened in Salisbury in March, and they have replied with obfuscation and lies.

'This has included trying to pass the blame for this attack onto terrorists, onto our international partners, and even onto the future mother-in-law of Yulia Skripal.

'They even claimed that I, myself, invented Novichok.

'Their attempts to hide the truth by pushing out a deluge of disinformation simply reinforces their culpability.

'As we made clear in March, only Russia had the technical means, operational experience and motive to carry out the attack.'

The Russian Foreign Office yesterday tweeted the clip of the PM jerkily dancing in Africa last week sliced with a video of their press chief Maria Zakharova and her rhythmic moves.

It joked: 'Choose your dance style in the international relationship.'

It comes after Russia accused Britain of tampering with pictures of the two men arriving at Gatwick. Police said the men walked down similar corridors in customs at the same time

Last night, Russian authorities accused Britain of tinkering with Gatwick CCTV images of the two alleged Novichok spies.

Two images of the men arriving in Gatwick were both timed at the same moment - 16:22:43 - but appeared to have been taken in the same place.

Putin's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zhakarova said: 'Either the date and the exact time were overlaid on the image, or the staff of the Russian GRU learned to walk simultaneously - but their images are captured in two different photographs.'

British police stated the wanted men had walked through customs together, splitting up to go down two identical corridors at the same time.
A young family has been forced to abandon their home after discovering it was built on toxic soil.

Residents on Fraser Street in Melbourne's north-eastern suburb of Diamond Creek are packing up their belongings and leaving after learning the soil has a high concentration of arsenic.

Now dubbed 'Arsenic Avenue', the street was built near an abandoned gold mine, leaving the poisonous metallic compound in the dust.

One mother, who has been living obliviously in the area for 16 years, is concerned her children are already poisoned.

Residents, including mother-of-three Kim Burdoch (pictured) are fearing for their families safety after high levels of poisonous arsenic was discovered in the suburb's soil

Mother-of-three Kim Burdoch says she was only told about the threat to her health when an insurance company was investigating flood damage in December 2017.

WHAT IS ARSENIC? Arsenic is a metal found in nature and man-made products, like pesticide. Small amounts generally enter the human body through food or inhalation, but exit the body soon after. It is most commonly found naturally in mining sites (such as the one in Diamond Creek) and can be caught in soil. Prolonged inhalation can be detrimental to health. Source: EPA Victoria Advertisement

They discovered the entire area was riddled with high levels of arsenic.

'You don't expect to buy a home and then find out 16 years later that you've been potentially exposed to contaminants that cause cancer,' Ms Murdoch told Nine News.

Locals have been told that if they want to stay, they need to shut their windows and doors, and wash their pets frequently.

'You can't hang washing on the line, just simple things, and you can't leave a window open,' one resident said.

Even letting their kids play outside could put them at risk.

Children are most at risk of getting sick from the poison, which toxicologists say is linked to bladder cancer and skin cancer.

Ms Murdoch's two-year-old son returned a reading of nearly five times the normal amount of arsenic in a blood test.

The poison is found in dust and soil in the neighbourhood (pictured), which down-wind of an abandoned gold mine

The high volume of arsenic was first discovered when an insurance company tested it following flooding last December (pictured)

The Victorian Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has been in contact with residents, with one family saying the governing body tested and confirmed high amounts of arsenic in their backyard's soil.

WHAT IS ARSENIC POISONING? Arsenic poisoning occurs after prolonged exposure to arsenic. It can cause severe health effects, including stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, damage to blood cells and nerves, or even death. Medium amounts of exposure have been linked to some forms of cancer. Advertisement

Law firm Gordon Legal is currently gathering evidence for a class acction against the EPA, claiming they knew about the high levels of arsenic for 18 years, according to the Herald Sun.

'We just don't think it's good enough to expect residents to solve a problem like this by popping down to Bunnings and buying some top soil to cover it up,' Gordon Legal associate Fiona Rothville said.

In a statement, the EPA said they informed the council of the high levels of arsenic 18 years ago, and have not seen any evidence of arsenic poisoning.
Two men were caught red-handed deflating the tyres of a police van while officers were arresting someone nearby.

The duo were caught on camera sabotaging the vehicle after five officers parked up to make an arrest in Grangemouth, Scotland on Sunday.

A passing motorist managed to catch them in the act before sharing the image on social media.

Officers caught up with the men, aged 38 and 52, and charged them with obstructing police.

Two men were caught on camera sabotaging the vehicle by letting its tyres down after five officers parked up in Grangemouth, Scotland on Sunday

Posting the picture to Facebook, the driver wrote: 'Only in Grangemouth. Five policemen across the road arresting someone...while the locals let their tyres down.'

The post attracted dozens of comments from dismayed viewers who branded the cultprits 'idiots and 'scum'.

Maureen Macduff wrote: 'F***** idiots. I hope they get caught.'

Barrie Fitzpatrick added: 'Scum.' Ava White commented: 'No right.'

Stewart Ripmclean said: 'Shocking.' Ryan Hardy wrote: 'Welcome to Scotland.'

Some others claimed that letting the air out of the tyres was 'outstanding' and could 'only happen in Grangemouth'.

Posting the image to Facebook a passing motorist commented it would 'only happen in Grangemouth'

Ryan Coutts wrote: 'Hahaha. I miss Grangemouth.' Andy Reid added: 'Outstanding.'

While Scott Taylor said: 'Makes you proud. Love this town.'

In response to those joking that people should see the 'funny side', Lisa Hachemi wrote: 'You wouldn't be saying that if you needed the police and they couldn't get to you quick enough cause some idiots let the air out their tyres.'

Princesyther agreed, writing: 'And then they have an emergency and complain because the police don't arrive quick enough. What total scumbags these people are.'

A spokesman for Police Scotland said today: 'Police in Forth Valley have charged two men aged 52 and 38, in connection with obstructing the police after tyres were deliberately deflated on a police vehicle in Grangemouth on Sunday 2 September.

'A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.'

Sergeant Jim Dougall from Grangemouth Police Station added: 'The damaging of police vehicles is a senseless act and ultimately means that vital resources are unable to respond to urgent and emergency calls.

'We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour and thank the wider community for their cooperation.'
Long before he fatally shot an Australian yoga instructor, psychiatrists and training officers were concerned about a Minneapolis cop's suitability for duty.

Former officer Mohamed Noor is accused of shooting dead yoga instructor Justine Ruszczyk Damond on July 15, 2017 after she called police to report a sexual assault in the alley behind her home.

Noor arrived on the scene in a squad car and is accused of shooting the 40-year-old woman dead from the passenger seat as she ran towards him for help.

Psychiatrists said the Minneapolis cop seemed 'unable to handle stress' of regular police work and exhibited unwillingness to deal with people, two years before the shooting.

Former officer Mohamed Noor was deemed 'unable to handle stress' in 2015 in a pre-hiring evaluation but was still reported as 'psychiatrically fit' for the police job. Pictured above in court on May 8, 2018 for a hearing in Minneapolis

Noor (right) is accused of shooting dead yoga instructor Justine Ruszczyk Damond, 40, (left) on July 15, 2017 after she called police to report a sexual assault in the alley behind her home

Defense attorneys had filed a motion seeking to dismiss murder and manslaughter charges against Noor.

A response filed Wednesday in Hennepin County reveals the reports of two psychiatrists from a pre-hiring evaluation in early 2015 that say Noor seemed unable to handle the job, according to the Star Tribune.

The report said he was more likely than other police candidates to become impatient with others over minor infractions, have trouble getting along with others, and had a small social support network.

He also 'reported disliking people and being around them'.

But he exhibited no signs of a major mental illness, chemical dependence, or personality disorder and was thus deemed 'psychiatrically fit to work as a cadet police officer for the Minneapolis Police Department'.

A human resources employee even followed up with the psychiatrist two weeks later to seek clarification on the report inconsistencies, but he stood by his conclusion deeming Noor 'psychiatrically fit'.

Former Minneapolis detective-turned-consultant Michael Quinn said that the report should have been a red flag for the police department.

'You've got to have a sense of what's right and what's wrong. You've also got to communicate with people and have some confidence and be able to deal with stress situations,' Quinn said.

Also in the filings, a training officer reported that Noor refused to take calls at times.

On his third-to-last training shift in 2016 he drove around in circles instead of responding to simple calls such as a road hazard or a suspicious vehicle.

In another case an officer said Noor told a 911 caller he'd follow up on a potential burglar report, but neglected to do so and didn't bother checking in on the area.

His pre-evaluation psychiatric reports were filed in Hennepin County on Wednesday and show that he was described as impatient, has trouble getting along with others, and reported 'disliking people and being around them'

Training officers also reported that he skipped out on police calls for minor issues and failed to follow up with a potential burglar call, a memorial to Damond pictured above

On July 15, 2017, the day of the shooting, Noor had gone from his off-duty job working seven hours of security at a Wells Fargo branch to his shift from 4.15pm to 2.15am.

Before he received the sexual assault call, Noor and his partner Officer Matthew Harrity responded to calls in the same area about a woman possibly suffering from dementia. Four minutes after arriving to the scene, the two officers cleared to call to get dinner.

Officer Harrity didn't connect that the call about a woman in distress could be related to the sexual assault call in the same area.

'This lack of investigative curiosity and indifference to the woman or women who were the subject of these calls shows a disregard for humans and public safety,' prosecutors said.

When the two officers responded to Damond's call they drove through the alley with their guns drawn. At the end of the alley Damond allegedly approached the squad car and Noor fired his weapon.

'He made no attempt to identify a threatening situation, let alone de-escalate one,' the motion said.

Noor was fired in March and charged with murder the same day. His lawyers say he acted in self-defense and his union is appealing his dismissal.

Noor's attorney Thomas Plunkett did not comment on Wednesday's filings. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office declined to comment.

A hearing on the motions is set for September 27.
President Trump is embracing claims that there's a so-called 'deep state' within the government that has its own agenda that runs contrary to his as he rages against the anonymous federal official behind a stinging New York Times op-ed.

'The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they dont know what to do,' he charged in a Thursday morning tweet. 'The Economy is booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption. Wow!'

The unknown official, who Trump also suggested was guilty of treason, claims to represent the 'steady state' that's keeping America from collapse.

President Trump and the White House have rebuked the mystery writer as 'gutless' and a 'coward' - a person 'probably whos failing' and working in the Trump administration 'for all the wrong reasons.'

President Trump embraced claims that there's a so-called 'deep state' within the government that has its own agenda that runs contrary to his as he raged against the anonymous federal official behind a stinging New York Times op-ed

Trump seemed to be zeroing in on the Justice Department as the source of the unusual op-ed when he threatened on Thursday to declassify documents associated with the FBI's operation to chase down Russian election meddling.

Republicans say that a warrant to spy on Carter Page - a redacted version of which the court released in an unprecedented disclosure - was based on fraudulent information, including the dossier of dirt that a former British spy compiled against Trump.

Trump has called the investigation that morphed into the special counsel probe a 'rigged witch hunt' and has worked to fire almost everyone involved.

His grievances against Justice have furthered claims among Republicans that there is a 'deep state' within the law enforcement and national security arms of the American government are working to undermine Trump.

'If there is a movement, which this individual claims there is, and I haven't seen it, that is what the deep state is. That is the government employees -- some of them, who have their own agenda and not the agenda of the 60 million people that voted for Donald Trump to be the President of the United States,' ex-Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski told CNN on Thursday.

The person known only to the Times who wrote a Wednesday op-ed claiming that appointees in the Trump administration are working to thwart his 'misguided impulses' reinforced the notion that un-elected bureaucrats are actively trying to derail the president's agenda.

'It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room. We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont,' the op-ed writer said.

The federal official wrote: 'This isnt the work of the so-called deep state. Its the work of the steady state.'

'Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  its over.'

Trump said in Wednesday rant on Twitter that he believes the op-ed rises to the level of treason. He demanded that the Times turn over its source, because the person is a national security threat.

The hunt was on within the administration, as well, for the senior official behind the anonymous New York Times op-ed on that labeled Trump 'amoral,' as outsiders speculated that it could be Mike Pence.

Jarrod Agen, a spokesman for the VP, smacked down the rumors on Thursday morning.

'The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds,' he said. 'The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.'

Top White House aides reportedly cancelled meetings to come up with a list of roughly a dozen people they suspect of writing the incendiary piece, according to The Washington Post.

Officials couldn't say how, exactly, they planned to catch the person, and they did their best to stay focused on the tasks at hand.

The president meanwhile railed on Twitter that he was 'draining the Swamp' but 'the Swamp is fighting back' as reeled over the second wave of claims in two days that he's unstable from people who work for him.

Trump was already under siege from within by current and former officials who told journalist Bob Woodward they were concerned about his ability to comprehend complex matters. The White House cast those sources as disgruntled former employees, and the president accused Woodward of making the quotes up.

By the time the Times op-ed dropped on Wednesday afternoon, the president was seething.

He reacted to the with 'volcanic anger' and was 'absolutely livid' at what he considered an act of treason, sources told the Post.

Earlier in the day, he unleashed a blistering attack on the New York Times and questioned whether the senior White House official behind an anonymous op-ed published Wednesday really exists.

'The New York Times is failing. If I werent here, I believe the New York Times probably wouldnt even exist,' Trump proclaimed at a White House event for law enforcement. 'And some day  let me just tell you  and some day, when Im not President, which hopefully will be in about six and a half years from now, the New York Times and CNN, and all of these phony media outlets, will be out of business, folks. Theyll be out of the business. Because there will be nothing to write, and there will be nothing of interest.'

He continued to rage on Twitter, asking, 'Does the so-called "Senior Administration Official" really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?'

'If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist,' he asserted, 'the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!'

An hour earlier Trump tweeted a single word: 'TREASON?'

A mysterious senior aide to President Donald Trump attacked him anonymously in The New York Times on Wednesday, and the president shoved back in a tirade about the newspaper's veil of secrecy and the aide who betrayed him

As officials launched the fight back, Trump announced on Twitter he was 'draining the Swamp' but 'the Swamp is fighting back'. 'Don't worry, we will win!' he added

Trump unleashed a blistering Twitter and questioned whether the senior White House official behind an anonymous op-ed really exists

The president tweeted a single word to sum up his leanings about the essay

The Times wrote that 'he'  identifying the author as male  is part of a White House resistance movement whose goal is to subvert the president's worst impulses in order to save the country

The op-ed describes the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' in the way he manages the government, and says the author is part of an organized 'resistance' whose goal is 'to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting [President] Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office.'

Lynne Patton, a HUD official and former Trump party planner, claimed on Instagram that the leak will easily be found.

'It's hardly breaking news to anyone with half a brain that "Never Trumpers" have been employed within our walls from the outset,' she wrote. 'And yes, we know who they ALL are, including this author.'

Separately, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the essay was 'pathetic, reckless, and selfish' and challenged the Times to 'issue an apology.'

'This is just another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the President,' she said.

Sanders said the unidentified writer chose 'to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States. He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign.'

The Times described Wednesday's move as 'rare,' leaving open the possibility that its editorial board has masked the names of op-ed writers in the past.

Unlike The Washington Post, the stated policy that guides the Times in its decisions about publishing op-eds does not exclude anonymous essays.

The identity of the mystery scribe, Washington's new 'Deep Throat,' was destined become the stuff of cocktail party chatter and Twitterati sleuths for weeks.

In a tweet the Times accidentally gave away a detail that will help to narrow the mystery write down. The newspaper described the person as a male, saying 'he and others' are working together behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

A Times spokeswoman later told Business Insider that the pronoun was a mistake that shouldn't be read as a tip-off.

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Danielle Ha said in an email. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of "he" was an error.'

'Lodestar,' a word Vice President Mike Pence is fond of using in speeches and on television, appeared in the mysterious op-ed, leading some to conclude he wrote it; but a senior White House official said hi and his office were not under suspicion

Online chatter Wednesday quickly focused on Pence as armchair language analysts focused on one line describing the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

That word  lodestar  is a favorite of the vice president. But a senior White House official told DailyMail.com that suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff.

The official suspects 'lodestar' was purposely included in the op-ed to throw journalists off the scent.

In an online introduction, the Times says the author's 'identity is known to us' and the person's 'job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.'

The essay describes a 'quiet resistance' that by its nature has remained secret but isn't designed to bring Trump down  only to curb his worst impulses.

'Ours is not the popular "resistance" of the left,' the author writes. 'We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.'

'But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.'

The guessing game s afoot, and every male Trump appointee is a suspect

The Times took pains to keep the author's name a secret but its social media staff eliminated half the population with the word 'he'

Highlights: The most searing quotes in Bob Woodward's book WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT TRUMP: JOHN KELLY, CHIEF OF STAFF: 'He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.' JAMES MATTIS, DEFENSE SECRETARY: 'Fifth- or sixth-grader' REX TILLERSON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: 'He's a f***ing moron.' JOHN DOWN, FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'F***ing liar.' JOHN DOWD ON HOW TRANSCRIPT OF A MUELLER INTERVIEW WOULD BE DESCRIBED BY FOREIGN LEADERS: 'I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?' GARY COHN, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: 'A professional liar' ROB PORTER, FORMER STAFF SECRETARY WHO QUIT WHEN BOTH EX-WIVES ACCUSED HIM OF ABUSE: 'A third of my job was trying to react to some of the really dangerous ideas that he had and try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren't such good ideas.' WHAT THEY SAID TO EACH OTHER: STEVE BANNON TO IVANKA TRUMP: 'You're nothing but a f***ing staffer! You walk around this place and act like you're on charge, and you're not. You're on staff!' IVANKA TRUMP TO STEVE BANNON: 'I'm not a staffer! I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter and I'm never going to be a staffer!' JOHN KELLY TO GARY COHN: 'If that was me, I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his a** six different times.' DOWD TO ROBERT MUELLER: 'He just made something up. That's his nature.' WHAT TRUMP SAID ABOUT THEM: BARACK OBAMA: 'Weak d**k' RUDY GIULIANI, PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'Rudy, you're a baby. I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?' WILBUR ROSS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: 'I don't trust you. I don't want you doing any more negotiations. You're past your prime.' H.R McMASTER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: 'Dresses like a beer salesman.' REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: 'Like a little rat. He just scurries around.' AFTER EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT FATAH AL-SISSI ASKED IF HE WAS GOING TO BE AROUND: 'Like a kick in the nuts.' BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN DICTATOR: 'Let's f***ing kill him! Let's go in. Let's kill the f***ing lot of them.' Advertisement

The nameless internal Trump critic bashes the president's 'amorality,' and claims he has no 'first principles that guide his decision making' and no affinity for typical Republican ideals.

And Trump's 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' management style, the writer claims, has brought disaster most of the time  and most Cabinet officials 'are working to insulate their operations from his whims.'

'Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back,' the writer continues.

The West Wing has been buffeted from one incoming missile to the next in recent days; the biggest recent salvo has been Woodward's book 'Fear,' which caught the Trump administration flat-footed when excerpts first emerged Tuesday.

That book, too, reveals at least one episode of a senior Trump adviser going behind his back to prevent him from making a catastrophic mistake.

Former chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, Woodward writes, once tried to prevent a trade disaster when Trump asked for paperwork pulling the U.S. out of a bilateral agreement with South Korea.

He 'stole a letter off Trump's desk,' Woodward writes, specifically to prevent the president from signing it. And Cohn told others he did it 'to protect the country'.

The president has branded Woodward's book a 'fraud' and a work of fiction full of 'made up' anecdotes and potentially sources.
A woman charged with manufacturing the deadly toxin ricin in her Vermont retirement community and testing it on residents was sentenced Thursday.

Betty Miller, 71, has been sentenced to time served and five years of probation and must undergo mental health treatment and must pay a $10,000 fine.

Miller, who has an extensive mental health history, is expected to be released Monday when her lawyer said she will undergo at least nine weeks of intensive outpatient mental health therapy at a Bangor, Maine, hospital, where she had been treated before, followed by aftercare.

Miller was arrested last November after telling investigators she made ricin at her home at the Wake Robin community in Shelburne from castor bean plants because she wanted to injure herself.

Betty Miller, 71, was charged Thursday to five years probation and a $10,000 fine as well as time served for poisoning residents in her community home in November

Betty Miller admitted to testing self-made ricin on residents of the Wake Robin senior living facility in Shelburne, Vermont

A federal complaint said she tested the ricin's effectiveness by putting it in residents' food or drinks. No one became seriously ill.

She pleaded guilty in May to possessing the deadly toxin.

U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss on Thursday rejected a plea agreement that called for three years of supervised release, and instead imposed five years of probation to extend her supervision and a fine, saying it was the best way to protect the public and send a message to Miller that there were many, many costs associated with the offense, including to law enforcement.

Miller told the court Thursday that she learned a lot about herself in prison, including 'to be kind and compassionate' and that 'friendships are valuable.'

Judge Reiss said she was pleased to hear that considering the 'callousness' with which she said Miller had taken other people's lives into her own hands by exposing them to ricin.

If inhaled, ricin causes difficulty breathing and other symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and hallucinating

'That was a very uncaring and dangerous thing to do,' she said. Ricin is so serious 'that it's considered a weapon of mass destruction,' Reiss said.

Miller, who has an extensive mental health history, is alleged to have made the ricin from castor beans, pictured, stock photo

She also said Miller was smart and knew what she was doing, even having to spend a week in the hospital for breathing the deadly agent.

The judge and Miller's lawyer also noted Miller's conduct after the offense, telling a psychologist and later investigators what she had done, and her willingness and desire to get help.

'She's made it very clear that she wishes to resume' serious and lengthy interventions at a facility she was previously at in Maine, Miller's lawyer Paul Volk said.

She also paid about $90,000 to in restitution to the Wake Robbin retirement community, he said.

As part of her conditions of release, she must undergo mental health treatment or return to prison, Reiss said, as well as drug testing and must not have any contact with the victims.
The mesh surgery Mrs Baxter had to treat her pelvic organ prolapse is listed as an underlying cause of her death

A 75-year-old woman who underwent controversial mesh implant surgery is believed to be the first in Scotland to have the procedure listed as an underlying cause of death.

Eileen Baxter passed away on August 27 after being admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) the previous week with internal bleeding, sickness and diarrhoea.

Mrs Baxter, from Loanhead, Midlothian, underwent mesh surgery five years ago to treat pelvic organ prolapse - a condition that can commonly occur after childbirth.

The mum-of-two has multiple organ failure listed as directly leading to her death.

But the sacrocolopexy mesh repair - an implant to fix a pelvic organ prolapse - is listed as an underlying cause of death.

Mrs Baxter's husband, Charles and her son Mark (pictured) now want to take legal action against the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh hospital where she had the procedure

The implants are medical devices used by surgeons to treat pelvic organ prolapse and incontinence in women.

The mesh, usually made from synthetic polypropylene, is used to repair damaged or weakened tissue.

More than 20,000 women in Scotland have had the implants over the past 20 years, but some have suffered painful and debilitating complications.

Eileen's son Mark says he now wants to 'legally pursue' her case after being told by a doctor a week before his mother died that she was responding well to the treatment.

Mark, says he was given the number for the legal department of the RIE by medical staff after he asked for a copy of his mother's death certificate.

Eileen Baxter, pictured with Charles, passed away following internal bleeding, sickness and diarrhoea

The 52-year-old, from Peebles, Scottish Borders, said: 'I've told them I'm going to take things as far as I can.

'They said they were very surprised where the tear in the bowel was. I mentioned my mother's mesh implant to the doctor, but we never got a straight answer.

'I'm really angry that my mother is not still here and I'm really annoyed she went through all of this.

'They didn't bother about her. They didn't seem to care about her.'

In 2013, Eileen got the mesh implant and son Mark says from there it went 'downhill for her health'.

Eileen started to suffer from a 'leaking bladder' and her legs were 'really swollen'.

Mark says his mum was rushed to hospital in August this year and medics in the ambulance said she could have had internal bleeding because her legs were swollen.

But when she got to the royal infirmary doctors had to give her an emergency operation because her bowel had perforated.

Mark added: 'That was the last proper conversation I had with her. That original mesh operation killed my mum.

'They didn't tell her about the implications she would have.

'I still can't believe the heart and soul of the party has now gone. In my head, this is a form of murder.'

Mark, a maintenance painter for a construction company, says his dad has been left completely devastated by the death of wife Eileen - who is also a great-gran.

He said: 'I would like to legally pursue this, but I don't know if we can get legal aid. We're so annoyed and my poor dad Chic (79) is lost.

'He's completely devastated because they were so close. They did everything together.

'I want to people to know about this worldwide and it still shocks me that the week before she died the doctor had said she was responding well to treatment.

Mark says he was given the number for the legal department of the RIE by medical staff

The Scottish Government recommended suspension of mesh implants in their use by the NHS in 2014 while an independent safety review was carried out.

But since then around 400 procedures have been completed.

Kath Sansom, founder of campaign group, Sling The Mesh, which is calling for the mesh procedure to be banned, said Mrs Baxter's death is an example of how dangerous the surgery can be.

She said: ' I think what is so painful it is easier to ignire her and push her to one side.

'It is sad that a woman has gone for a simple operation and ended up with complications from her mesh.

'She had a really painful death and has been ignored until the last minute.'

Mrs Sansom added she believed that there had been 11 deaths as a result of the sacrocolopexy mesh repair.

Sacrocolpopexy mesh repair can be done by conventional surgery or through keyhole surgery.

The procedure aims to support the pelvic organs in their natural position. This is done by attaching a piece of mesh usually from the top, and sometimes from the front or back of the vagina, to a ligament in the pelvis at the base of the spine or to a bone at the bottom of the spine.

Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who has campaigned vigorously on behalf of the Scottish Mesh Survivors group, called on Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to launch an investigation into this specific case to 'ensure no further harm' is done to women across the country.

He said: 'The news a repair to a mesh implant carried out by NHS Scotland was a contributing factor in the death of Eileen Baxter will deeply distress not only her family but the many hundreds of women in Scotland who underwent this procedure.

'Mesh implants should be consigned to the history books and those manufacturers who potentially broke the law should be prosecuted.'

The Scottish Mesh Survivors campaign said in 2014 that 12 women had reported cases to the UK-wide Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Mesh survivor Elaine Holmes, from Newton Mearns, said: 'It's absolutely shocking, what concerns me is the possible sepsis - this woman suffered terribly, has she become anti-biotic resistant?

'Has she been dismissed and ignored? There are so many questions needing asked in this case.'

The Scottish government has been urged to launch an inquiry after the death of Mrs Baxter, the BBC reported.

Raising the case at First Minister's Questions, Labour MSP Neil Findlay said he believed it was the first time mesh had been specifically cited as an underlying cause of death in Scotland.

He said: 'The news that a repair to a mesh implant carried out by NHS Scotland was a contributing factor in the death of Eileen Baxter will deeply distress not only her family but the many hundreds of women in Scotland who underwent this procedure.'

In response, First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon said the government would consider a review if it received information about Mrs Baxter's case.

The first minister also said she planned to discuss mesh implants with Health Secretary Jeane Freeman later.

Ms Sturgeon added: 'The use, other than in exceptional circumstances, remains under suspension in NHS Scotland.

'We've seen the number of operations fall dramatically. In the six months to March this year there were 33 operations carried out. That compares to over 11,000 in a similar period in 2013/14.'

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Our condolences go to the family and friends of Eileen Baxter.

'The Scottish Government does not hold information on individual patients or their treatment, but we will give any information supplied to us on Ms Baxter's case very careful consideration.'

NHS Lothian which is responsible for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh have been approached by MailOnline for comment.
A central Indiana woman whose son died after being found in a hot car had at least five drinks before taking a nap several hours earlier, authorities said Thursday.

Jaxon Stults, two, was pronounced dead Wednesday evening in Daleville.

His mother, 28-year-old Britni Nicole Wihebrink, is being held on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent.

Wihebrink told an investigator she woke up with a hangover, began drinking about 11am Wednesday and had two wine coolers and three or four bourbon drinks - and possibly more drinks - before taking a nap about 1 or 2pm, a probable cause affidavit said.

Jaxon Stults was pronounced dead Wednesday evening in Daleville

When Wihebrink was asked how long her son had been in the car during the 911 call, she explained: 'I have no idea. We took a nap... We woke up and he was in there.'

His mother, 28-year-old Britni Nicole Wihebrink, is being held on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent

A neighbor claimed in their 911 call that they boy had been inside the vehicle for 'hours.'

First responders tried to resuscitate Stults but he was declared dead while an ambulance rushed him to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, according to the Star Press. When they arrived, CPR was being performed on the child.

An autopsy is planned Thursday. Zach Crouch, a Delaware County deputy coroner, says the death was likely heat-related.

The National Weather Service says high temperatures Wednesday in the Daleville area topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) before cooling off later.

'Any child that's locked in a vehicle in 90-degree weather for a certain amount of time, the heat is going to be a factor,' asserted Daleville Town Marshal James King.

When Wihebrink was asked how long her son had been in the car, she explained: 'I have no idea. We took a nap... We woke up and he was in there'

The National Weather Service says high temperatures Wednesday in the Daleville area topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit

Crouch added that there were no signs of trauma or other injuries.

Daleville is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.

Wihebrink is currently being held at the Delaware County jail on Thursday with a bond of $50,000.

On Facebook, she is listed as working at Tractor Supply Co. She also appears to have an older son as well and is pictured with a man believed to be the children's father.
A gang who charged migrants up to 5,000 euros (4,500) to be smuggled across the Mediterranean have been dismantled, the National Crime Agency has said.

The group trafficked migrants across the sea from Egypt to Crete, before beginning journeys across Europe and sometimes into the UK.

Six suspected gang members aged between 23 and 49 were arrested during a series of raids on the Greek island on Monday, the NCA said.

Members of a linked group were arrested in March last year when more than 100 migrants were found being held in caves and abandoned farm buildings, the NCA said

The smuggling gang was jailed for a total of 1,400 years after forcing migrants to live in the filthy caves in Greece before charging 3,500 each to get them into Europe

The network is said to have given little regard to the safety of the migrants and is suspected of being responsible for 60 being rescued off the coast of Crete in an unseaworthy vessel.

The NCA, which leads people-smuggling task force Invigor, said the men face prosecution in Greece for allegedly arranging accommodation and transportation of migrants, while providing them with false travel documents.

Invigor head Chris Hogben said: 'The kind of people-smuggling networks we see operating in the Mediterranean represent a huge risk to the lives of those they transport.

'These criminal gangs treat migrants as a commodity to be profited out of - they don't care about keeping them in horrendous conditions or using completely unsuitable or unseaworthy vessels to move them hundreds of miles across the sea.'

From the caves, the migrants were packed into crowded boats for an 'incredibly dangerous journey' to mainland Europe

The smugglers were finally caught with a boat full of 112 migrants after a joint operation by European agencies, including the UK's National Crime Agency

Members of a linked group were arrested in March last year when more than 100 migrants were found being held in caves and abandoned farm buildings, the NCA said.

The smuggling gang was jailed for a total of 1,400 years after forcing migrants to live in the filthy caves in Greece before charging 3,500 each to get them into Europe.

From the caves, the migrants were packed into crowded boats for an 'incredibly dangerous journey' to mainland Europe.

The smugglers were finally caught with a boat full of 112 migrants after a joint operation by European agencies, including the UK's National Crime Agency.

Speaking at the time, Chris Hogben, head of the taskforce at the NCA said: 'The utter disregard for human life shown by those groups was clearly demonstrated in this case, with migrants forced to live in squalor and then attempt an incredibly dangerous journey by sea.'
Tyler Tessier, who was accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend, has committed suicide in his jail cell on the day his trial was set to begin

The Maryland man who was accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend has committed suicide in his jail cell on the day his trial was set to begin.

Tyler Tessier was found dead around 5.10am on Thursday, hours before opening statements in his trial were scheduled to start.

Sources said Tessier, 32, hung himself inside his jail cell at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Rockville, Maryland.

Tessier had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Laura Wallen, who was 13 weeks pregnant with his child when she was shot in the back of the head.

Authorities said Tessier took Wallen to a rural farm in Damascus, where he shot her before burying her body.

His death comes after two days of jury selection. A jury was expected to be seated at 9.30am on Thursday, according to WTOP.

Montgomery County Police will investigate his death.

Tessier had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Laura Wallen (pictured), who was 13 weeks pregnant with his child when she was shot in the back of the head

Wallen, a local high school teacher, was found dead in a shallow grave on September 13, 2017.

She had been reported missing by her family a week earlier when she failed to turn up on the first day of school.

While Wallen was missing, Tessier had taken part in an emotional press conference with her parents and even held her devastated mother's hands.

'Laura, if you are listening, it doesn't matter what's happened, it doesn't matter what type of trouble, there's nothing we can't fix together,' he told reporters.

'There are so many people, so many people that miss you, so many people who were out, who haven't slept. We haven't eaten. We are just looking or praying that you are safe.'

Shortly before she was killed, Wallen had discovered that Tessier was engaged to another woman while he was in a relationship with her.

While Wallen was missing, Tessier had taken part in an emotional press conference with her parents and even held her devastated mother's hands (pictured)

Shortly before she was killed, Wallen had discovered that Tessier was engaged to another woman while he was in a relationship with her

Wallen's family revealed that Tessier had even asked her father for her hand in marriage - despite the fact that he was already engaged.

On August 28, a week before her death, Wallen sent a text message to the other woman asking if they could meet up to get an explanation.

On the night of her death, Wallen sent a text to her sister saying Tessier was taking her to a farm for 'an adventure'

'It's important that some things are cleared up and I would imagine that if you were in my position, you'd want some answers as well,' the message read.

'By no means is this an attempt at confrontation, just looking for an explanation, woman to woman.'

On September 2, Wallen and Tessier went to a grocery store together near her home. She then went willingly with him to a rural property.

She sent a picture of the farm to her sister in a text message, writing: 'Tyler has me on an adventure in the country. Not sure why but it's for something. Waiting in a field.'

Her body was later discovered in the same field that was in the picture.

Montgomery County prosecutors said Tessier repeatedly changed his story about what happened to Wallen.

First, he claimed they had an argument at her home on September 4 which ended in her 'hysterically crying'.

Tessier later claimed the couple had been kidnapped by African-American men who forced them to drive to a paddock where Wallen was then shot, according to WTOP.

He then told police that Wallen had asked him to help her disappear.

Montgomery County prosecutors said Tessier repeatedly changed his story about what happened to Wallen, even claiming they were kidnapped by African-American men

Tessier, 32, hung himself inside his jail cell at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility (pictured) in Rockville, Maryland

Tessier claimed she told him she was fourth months pregnant with another man's child and was scared she would lose her teaching job.

He told police she had asked him to give her a 'day' to 'sort things out' and tell a man named 'Antoine' that he was the father.

The day after Wallen went missing, her sister received text messages from her phone which claimed Tessier was not the baby's father but that a man named 'Antwan' was.

TIMELINE OF LAURA WALLEN'S DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE August 28, 2017: Laura texted the other woman Tessier was engaged to asking to meet up September 1, 2017: Last sighting by family September 2, 2017: Last sighting of Wallen alive at Safeway buying goods with Tessier She later texts her family saying she is 'on adventure' with him and that he has her 'waiting in a field' September 4, 2017: Wallen's sister receives text messages from her phone saying Tessier is not the baby's father Her sister reports her missing September 5, 2017: Wallen fails to show up for class. Tessier is taken in for questioning September 7, 2017: Employees at apartment complex call police to say they have found her driver's license in dumpster September 11, 2017: Tessier takes part in an emotional press conference with his girlfriend's parents September 13, 2017: Tessier is charged with murder after police find Wallen's body in the field she texted a picture of to her sister September 6, 2018: Tessier is found dead in his jail cell of apparent suicide the day his trial is set to begin Advertisement

'I am like 95 per cent sure Tyler is not the father,' one read. 'I'm probably going to lose my job over this. If he tries to call you, please tell him he's a great guy because I know I really hurt his feelings.'

Police have determined that Tessier wrote those messages to try to shift suspicion from himself onto one of Wallen's ex-boyfriends, Antoine Broadnax, who she hadn't seen for years.

Tessier admitted to police he drove her car and disposed of her license plate and cell phone.

The car was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Columbus. The front registration plate had been removed and it was backed into a space.

Staff at the complex also found her driver's license in a dumpster there. Her cell phone was tossed in alongside it.

Tessier later admitted to getting into a fight with Wallen and claims she struck her head on a wooden post on the porch after charging at him with scissors.

Prosecutors said that Tessier believed Wallen had died and buried her in a shallow grave in a field.

He told investigators that he then became concerned she was not dead and that he had buried her alive, so he shot her once in the back of the head so she wouldn't suffer.

Wallen's autopsy results showed that she suffered one gunshot shot wound to the back of her head.

In addition to murder, Tessier was also charged with obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, and making false statements.

Tessier only received one murder charge due to Maryland law, which states the child must be viable outside of the womb.

Prosecutors had intended to seek life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Montgomery County police suspected Tessier from the start, but had him take part in the family press conference so they could examine his behavior.

'He is a monster and he is a liar and it was absolutely the hardest thing that my wife could do,' Wallen's father said after Tessier was arrested.

'She had to hold his hand with two hands because she was shaking so badly.'

Family members said Wallen was excited about her pregnancy, even hanging a picture of her sonogram on her refrigerator. She was expecting a baby boy.
Private details of the mother of two of Hollywood's most revered actors have been released to the public.

Leonie Hemsworth, mother to Liam and Chris Hemsworth, was one of several people whose medical, personal and legal information was dumped online by the Victorian State Government on Monday.

From Phillip Island in Melbourne's far south-east, Mrs Hemsworth says she is contemplating legal action as Premier Daniel Andrews tries to contain fallout from the fiasco.

Leonie Hemsworth (pictured with sons Chris and Liam) has had her personal information released in what is being dubbed a 'disgusting debacle'

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews authorised the release of more than 80,000 documents

On Monday, more than 80,000 documents containing the private information of several Victorians was released to the public under Mr Andrews' authority, the Herald Sun reported.

Their release was authorised by Mr Andrews in an effort to attack opposition leader Matthew Guy over a botched rezoning of the suburb of Ventnor at Phillip Island, when he was planning minister in 2011.

The feud comes as Victoria heads towards a state election in November.

On Wednesday evening, the release of the information was declared an 'error' and removed from Parliament's website, but not before they had been public for more than 48 hours.

Even still, one psychologist's report was still available online on Thursday evening.

The mother of Hollywood actors Chris (pictured with Miley Cyrus) and Liam Hemsworth refuted claims that she had received an apology from the State Government on Thursday

On Thursday afternoon, Mr Andrews announced they had reached out to Mrs Hemsworth and apologised.

She refuted this, and told the Herald Sun they hadn't.

In public statements, Premier Daniel Andrews said: 'That's inadvertent, that's unfortunate.

While Deputy Premier James Merlino said: 'This is unfortunate and I am sorry... As soon as we became aware, we removed those details from the documents.'

The documents were released in an attack against opposition leader Matthew Guy (pictured)

Mr Andrews (pictured) will contend for re-election as Victoria's Premier this November

During a fiery question time in State Parliament on Thursday, Mr Andrews and Mr Merlino exchanged blows with opposition leader Matthew Guy.

Mr Merlino said Mr Guy was at fault for the leak, saying he 'stole money from the public as a payout when it went wrong.'

Mr Guy hit back, saying the 'disgusting debacle is a snapshot into the Premier's soul'.

Mrs Hemsworth says she is considering legal action, with others suggesting she has a sustainable case.

Law Institute of Victoria president Belinda Wilson said there was a 'serious breach of privacy', while ex-privacy commissioner David Watts said there was potential for a class action suit.
Sir Paul McCartney has shut down the rumour that Yoko Ono was to blame for breaking up The Beatles once and for all.

The 76-year-old, who is releasing a new album Friday, spoke to Howard Stern about the final days of the iconic British band.

Sir Paul told the radio host that he and the other Beatles members had found Ono 'intrusive', but that they 'respected' her and Lennon's relationship.

Shut down: Paul McCartney said it was John Lennon's own decision to leave and that by then they had all reached that stage in their lives when it was time to quit

'There was a meeting where John came in and said, "I'm leaving the group",' he told Stern in a new SiriusXM interview.

'And looking back on it, he'd reached that stage in his life. We all had.

Speaking to the radio host about Ono and Lennon, Sir Paul said that while The Beatles found the Japanese artist intrusive at the time, he can now see how much his late bandmate loved her.

'Even though we thought she was intrusive, because she used to sit in on the recording sessions, and we'd never had anything like that.

'But looking back on it, you think, "The guy was totally in love with her. And you've just got to respect that." So we did. And I do.'

Blamed: For decades, fans all over the world have blamed the Beatles' split on the late John Lennon's partner Yoko Ono, pictured together in 1971

Memories: Sir Paul said that while The Beatles found Yoko Ono intrusive at the time, he can now see how much John Lennon loved her

Iconic group: John Lennon does a thumbs up as he passes his driving test in 1964, with bandmates George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr by his side

The legendary musician is releasing his new album Egypt Station tomorrow and will then kick off his Freshen Up tour in Canada on September 17.

He has been giving several interviews while promoting the new album, opening up about his drink and drugs habits during the Beatles years.

Speaking to Sunday Times' Culture magazine last week, he revealed he one thought he saw God during a psychedelic drugs trip.

'It was huge. A massive wall that I couldn't see the top of, and I was at the bottom.'

'And anybody else would say it's just the drug, the hallucination, but we felt we had seen a higher thing.'

In another recent interview, he opened up about how he used to 'get stoned and wasted' at the height of Beatlemania to cope the downsides of fame.

'I did used to get a little bit more crazy than I do now - I've got eight grandchildren. I haven't got the time,' he told MOJO magazine.

'Grandad can't just be sitting in his armchair with a great big doobie on and a bottle of tequila.'
A firefighter who followed orders to leave eight Grenfell Tower residents on the 14th floor of the building has apologised to their families.

Desmond Murphy, colleague Charles Cornelius and two firefighters from Acton, led occupants of the burning block to the least smoke-filled area of the 14th floor, flat 113.

Speaking at the Grenfell inquiry on Thursday firefighters told of the impossible decision whether to try to get the eight residents down a smoke-filled stairway or follow orders and leave them in a closed flat to await rescue.

The residents included Syrian brothers Mohammad and Omar al-Haj Ali, Zainab Deen and her two-year-old son Jeremiah, and father Denis Murphy.

Nicke Merrion said he and other firefighters had to decide whether to try to get a group of Grenfell residents down smoke-filled stairs or keep in them in a relatively smoke-free room to await another rescue. They had been told to keep residents in their flats

Firefighter Desmond Murphy said he was sorry he couldn't get more people out of the block

Struggling to keep his composure, firefighter Murphy said: 'I would just like to say to the family members of Denis Murphy and the family members of the other seven residents I came into contact with on the 14th floor - I'm very sorry we couldn't get your loved ones out of the building.'

Without any spare oxygen tanks, the firefighters concluded any rescue effort would have resulted in a 'very early death' for the residents, Mr Murphy said.

The firefighters found that several flats were not as badly compromised by smoke as others, so advised the six adults and two children to await rescue in the safest one.

All four men then left because their oxygen supplies were running low, but passed on information of the residents' whereabouts to superiors at the operational hub at around 2.15am.

Mr Murphy painted a picture of desperation, describing how one of the Syrian brothers begged him 'please don't leave us', while Ms Deen said 'don't leave me on my own'.

Mohammad al-Haj Ali, Ms Deen and her son and Mr Murphy all later died in the fire.

Giving evidence at the Grenfell Tower inquiry on Thursday, Mr Merrion said he was unaware that the four residents had died in the fire.

Zainab Deen and her two-year-old son Jeremiah died after staying in the flat awaiting rescue

Mohammad al-Haj Ali (left) and Denis Murphy also died after getting trapped on the 14th floor

Andrew Kinnier QC, counsel to the inquiry, asked Mr Merrion: 'Had you been trained that it was best to leave residents on a floor where it had already been smoke compromised in some flats?'

'No, we've always been told to leave people in their flats,' Mr Merrion replied.

Mr Kinnier continued: 'Is it fair to summarise your evidence in this way - you considered it was safe to leave the occupants of the flats on floor 14 in flat 113?

Mr Merrion said it was, adding that he assumed another crew would later rescue the residents.

Information about the residents' whereabouts was reported to senior officers at the operational hub towards the foot of the tower.

Mr Kinnier asked: 'Did you check as to what had in fact happened to them when you came down?'

'No,' replied Mr Merrion.

Mr Kinnier said: 'Were you made aware later on in the night as to what had happened to the occupants of flat 113?'

'No,' the firefighter replied.

The lawyer said: 'When did you first find out what had happened?'

'I still don't know,' said Mr Merrion.

Firefighters were faced with impossible decision as the tinderbox building was engulfed

He added: 'In hindsight, yes, we could have got everyone out - but again, without any oxygen supply I don't think they would have made it down.'

Mr Cornelius said in a written statement to the inquiry: 'Our decision to leave the eight people in flat 113 was because of the conditions in the stairwell, where there was thick black smoke.

'If any one of them inhaled the smoke, that individual would not last long and pass out.'

The London Fire Brigade has been criticised for the length of time it took to abandon the standard stay-put advice to Grenfell Tower residents on June 14 last year.

The policy was ditched nearly two hours after the fire began, a delay it is feared had a deadly cost.
Illegal migrants seeking to enter Europe use various long and perilous routes that are evolving as authorities attempt to stem the flow of new arrivals.

Here is an overview of how people are reaching the continent.

How do migrants reach Europe?

Most arrive by crossing the Mediterranean, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with 172,000 entering through Greece, Italy and Spain last year.

The number of arrivals is down sharply from the peak in 2015, when 1.02 million entered Europe via the Mediterranean.

Since the start of this year there have been 44,370 arrivals; that is far below the 48,000 who entered Greece over just five days in October 2015.

Maltese paramedics aid migrants on board the Lifeline NGO rescue vessel stranded in the Mediterranean with more than 200 migrants as it finally berthed in Valletta, Malta, on 27 June 2018

What are the routes across the Mediterranean?

Most of the crossings last year were from Libya or Tunisia into Italy, known as the 'Central Mediterranean' route, says the EU's Frontex border agency.

It was used by 118,962 people, mostly Nigerians, Guineans and Ivorians.

But arrivals via this route have plunged 75 per cent since a controversial July 2017 deal between Rome and the Libyan coastguard.

Crossings have also dropped sharply from Turkey to Greece, the 'Eastern Mediterranean' route. After close to 900,000 migrants in 2015, Frontex recorded only 42,000 last year, essentially Afghans, Iraqis and Syrians.

The decline came after a 2016 deal between the EU and Turkey in which Ankara agreed to take back illegal migrants landing on Greek islands in exchange for billions of euros in aid and other incentives.

More recently there has been a sharp increase in the use of a route between Morocco and Spain.

Nearly abandoned until 2000, this 'Western Mediterranean' route saw 23,000 crossings last year, mostly of Algerians, Ivorians and Moroccans.

The number of migrants and refugees using the route to reach Spain stood at 20,992 between January 1 and July 25 according to the International Organization for Migration.

This compared to Italy, where just over 19,500 have arrived up to August 23, and at least 13,120 in Greece, according to UNHCR.

The renewed popularity of the route is straining Spain's law-enforcement response and its social safety networks.

Of the 972 who lost their lives at sea trying to make the crossing to Europe, nearly a third (292) died trying to reach Spain.

Other ways into Europe

The main secondary route into the EU is through the western Balkans into Eastern Europe.

Around 12,000 people entered this way last year, most of them Afghans, Iraqis and Pakistanis - a sharp reduction from the 760,000 in 2015.

But this path joins up with one used by migrants who have already passed through Turkey and Greece, meaning the actual numbers of new arrivals don't always add up.

Routes into Europe are constantly evolving: according to the French embassy in Slovenia, a new one is developing from Greece through Albania, Croatia and Slovenia, with nearly 1,800 crossings between January and May this year.

An 'Arctic route' was briefly in operation 2015 when about 100 migrants crossed a day from Russia into Norway on bicycle.

Getting through Africa

There are also several routes from African countries to departure points on the Mediterranean, some involving a dangerous crossing of the Sahara desert.

A Somali leaving from Mogadishu, for example, could travel via Addis Ababa, Khartoum, Cairo and then Tripoli, ahead of the sea crossing to Europe.

An Ivorian leaving from Abidjan might pass via Ouagadougou, Niamey and Agadez - Niger's renowned 'gateway to the Sahara' - to reach Libya.

The high human toll

The UNHCR says it has registered 16,607 migrants dead or missing at sea since 2014.

To this should be added the toll for the perilous Sahara crossing, which the International Organization for Migration says is probably as high as that for the Mediterranean.

United for Intercultural Action, a Dutch group which records the identities of victims of the crossings, says at least 34,361 migrants have died trying to reach Europe since 1993.

'Thousands of others have never been found,' it says.
Alex Salmond (file) was condemned today for keeping his controversial RT show despite shocking new details about the Salisbury nerve agent attack

Alex Salmond was condemned today for keeping his controversial RT show despite shocking new details about the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

Scotland Secretary David Mundell said the programme had always been 'ill advised' but that the former First Minister was putting himself before Scotland or the UK.

He said Mr Salmond should do the country a 'great service' by dropping the weekly politics show on the Kremlin-funded TV channel.

RT could lose it right to broadcast in the UK amid a raft of complaints to regulator Ofcom about it broadcasting pro-Russian propaganda.

The criticism from Mr Mundell is a new blow for Mr Salmond who is already mired in harassment allegations and controversially crowd funded 100,000 to challenge the Scottish Government in a judicial review.

Mr Salmond denies the allegations against him but has resigned from the SNP until the cases are resolved.

Mr Mundell said: 'I think Alex Salmond's approach to Russian television has been appalling from the start. It was ill-advised.

'It certainly didn't put the interests of Scotland or the United Kingdom to the fore.

'I think it's become increasingly clear that Mr Salmond has one guiding principle in his actions, and that's self.

'I think he would do Scotland, himself and the whole country a great service if he were to end his programme on Russian TV.'

Scotland Secretary David Mundell (pictured in Downing Street on Tuesday) said the programme had always been 'ill advised' but that the former First Minister was putting himself before Scotland or the UK

Asked about Mr Salmond's crowdfunded legal action, Mr Mundell said: 'Every member of the public that I've spoken to about that issue found it extraordinary that he would take that decision to seek funding from others for a matter that related primarily to himself.'

He echoed the recent comments of Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance that Mr Salmond's 100,000 appeal could have a wider chilling effect on women being abused.

He said: 'The problem is that we want people to come forward to challenge figures in authority, figures of power and wealth, and it's not helpful for them to create a backdrop where people think that those people can bring huge resources to bear to make their case, whilst an ordinary person is not able to do the same.'
Melania Trump has joined the list on Thursday of those denying they wrote an anonymous New York Times' op-ed piece as the inflammatory essay becomes an all-hands on deck crisis for the Trump Administration.

'Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our nation's founding principles and a free press is important to our democracy. The press should be fair, unbiased and responsible,' the first lady said in a statement.

'Unidentified sources have become the majority of the voices people hear about in today's news. People with no names are writing our nation's history. Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences. If a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves,' she added.

She concluded: 'To the writer of the oped  you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.'

She joined Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a string of senior figures in flatly denying they wrote the 'resistance' op-ed whose publication drew a furious response from President Donald Trump.

Additionally every Cabinet secretary, along with other senior aides, have denied authorship as Trump has launched a massive mole hunt for the author behind the scandalous piece, which revealed members of his own administration are thwarting him.

Melania Trump denies authorship of New York Times op-ed and condemns anonymous author

The New York Times op-ed drew a furious response from President Trump

Vice President Pence is flatly denying he's the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said 'it's not mine'

Pence's office tweeted a denial

Reports indicate the president is becoming more and more paranoid about who he can trust in the wake of the bombshell essay and a book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Attorney General Jeff Session, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Health and Human Services Services Secretary Alex Azar, Labor Department Secretary Alexander Acosta, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry are all denying authorship of The Times piece.

Also denying authorship are White House Counsel Don McGahn, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, CIA Director Gina Haspel, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday that Trump should use lie-detector tests to root out the author.

'It's not unprecedented for people with security clearances to be asked whether or not they're revealing things against the law under oath and also by lie detector,' Paul said.

'We use the lie-detector test routinely for CIA agents and FBI agents,' he added. 'If you have a security clearance in the White House, I think it would be acceptable to use a lie detector test and ask people whether or not they're taking to the media against the policy of the White House.'

And White House press secretary Sarah Sanders is slamming the who-wrote-it game going on in Washington D.C., advising the media to 'Stop.'

'The media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop. If you want to know who this gutless loser is, call the opinion desk of the failing NYT at 212-556-1234, and ask them. They are the only ones complicit in this deceitful act. We stand united together and fully support our President Donald J. Trump,' she said in a statement posted to her twitter account.

WHO'S DENIED AUTHORSHIP First Lady Melania Trump Vice President Mike Pence Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Defense Secretary James Mattis Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin Attorney General Jeff Session White House Counsel Don McGahn Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Health and Human Services Services Secretary Alex Azar Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke Energy Secretary Rick Perry Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao Labor Department Secretary Alexander Acosta Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue UN Ambassador Nikki Haley U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman CIA Director Gina Haspel Federal Trade Commission Chairman Joe Simons Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai Advertisement

But the flood of denials are just as much for Trump as they are for the public, CNN reports.

The president is reading the statements carefully, which are being printed off and given to him, an official told the news network, adding the denials have one audience above all - Trump himself.

The denials have been fast and definitive given that the president measures the strength of such responses as part of his loyalty tests.

Pence's denial was especially noteworthy after online speculation about who penned the piece narrowed in on the vice president, making him the odds on favorite as being the author.

Jarrod Agen, Pence's deputy chief of staff and communications director, tweeted that the vice president 'puts his name on his op-eds.'

'The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts,' he wrote Thursday morning.

And Pompeo told reporters during a visit to India that it wasn't him either.

'It's not mine,' he said, according to the Associated Press.

'I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave,' Pompeo said.

And Coats put out a statement denying either he or his deputy wrote the piece.

'Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not. From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible,' he said.

'.@stevenmnuchin1 is honored to serve @POTUS & the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for @nytimes to print this anonymous piece. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source. It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary,' tweeted Treasury Department spokesperson Tony Sayegh of Mnuchin.

'Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland - not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times. These types of political attacks are beneath the Secretary and the Department's mission,' press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton said.

'Haha nope,' said a spokesperson for Carson.

A Pentagon spokesperson denied it was Mattis. 'It was not his op-ed,' spokesperson Dana White said.

A Justice Department spokesperson told CNN Sessions was not the author.

Perry tweeted he didn't write the piece.

'I am not the author of the New York Times OpEd, nor do I agree with its characterizations. Hiding behind anonymity and smearing the President of the United States does not make you an 'unsung hero', it makes you a coward, unworthy of serving this Nation,' he wrote.

And the Labor Department said the secretary 'does not play these sophomoric Washington games.'

'The Secretary does not play these sophomoric Washington games. He is definitely not the author,' a Department of Labor spokesperson told CNN.

DeVos's press department tweeted the education secretary doesn't 'play Washington insider games.'

'.@BetsyDeVosED is not a Washington insider and does not play Washington insider games. She has the courage of her convictions and signs her opinions. She is not the author of the anonymous @nytimes op-ed,' they wrote.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats denied he wrote The Times piece

Trump claims a 'deep state' is working against him

Trump is trying to learn the name of the author of the anonymous piece

Who wrote the piece has become Washington's new guessing game and even the president is playing.

Inside the West Wing on Wednesday, senior officials canceled afternoon meetings to start the search process, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Some staff were even calling reporters to ask if they knew who wrote the piece.

And a new report in Axios revealed Trump had fretted about leaks long before the latest revelations from Woodward and The Times' piece.

The president carried the hand-written list of leakers for some time last year.

'He would basically be like, 'We've gotta get rid of them. The snakes are everywhere. But we're getting rid of them,'' a source close to Trump told the publication.

Another source said Trump would examine the back seats of the Roosevelt Room during a meeting and look at the aides gathered there.

'One day, after one of those meetings, he said, 'Everything that just happened is going to leak. I don't know any of those people in the room.' ... He was very paranoid about this,' according to the account.

When it comes to negative stories involving the West Wing, the president looks at how forcefully aides respond them.

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson never denied calling Trump a 'moron' and a former senior White House official told CNN that Trump 'never forgave him for it.'

Tillerson was fired in March.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is denying authorship as is Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson are denying authorship

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is denying she's the author

A Trump friend told the Washington Post the president believes he can only trust his children.

PLACE YOUR BETS ON WHO WROTE THE OP-ED Online bookmakers rushed to cash in on the Washington D.C. frenzy over who the anonymous 'senior official' behind the New York Times's 'resistance' op-ed could be. The runners from www.actionnetwork.com are : Mike Pence 60.0% (-150) Betsy DeVos 33.3% (+200) Mike Pompeo 20.0% (+400) Steven Mnuchin 20.0% (+400) John Kelly 20.0% (+400) Jim Mattis 16.7% (+500) Jeff Sessions 16.7% (+500) Ryan Zinke 14.3% (+600) Sonny Perdue 14.3% (+600) Wilbur Ross 12.5% (+700) Alex Acosta 12.5% (+700) Alex Azar 11.1% (+800) Ben Carson 11.1% (+800) Robert Wilkie 11.1% (+800) Kirstjen Nielsen 9.1% (+1000) Ivanka Trump 7.7% (+1200) Jared Kushner 7.7% (+1200) Stephen Miller 6.3% (+1500) Advertisement

The president reacted to The Times piece with 'volcanic' anger and was 'absolutely livid,' The Post reported.

Trump suspects the author works on national security issues or in the Justice Department.

One senior administration official told Politico the White House is in 'total meltdown' over the op-ed.

And the president is publicly expressing frustration that his own administration is working against him, claiming again he is a victim of 'the deep state.'

'The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don't know what to do,' he wrote on Twitter Thursday morning.

The guessing game has spread to Capitol Hill.

'I guess by process of elimination we'll come down to the butler,' House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joked to reporters.

The New York Times opinion piece describes the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' and says the author is part of an organized 'resistance' whose goal is 'to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting [President] Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office.'

Within hours of its publication, online chatter Wednesday quickly focused on Pence as observers focused on one line describing the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

That word  lodestar  is a favorite of the vice president. But a senior White House official told DailyMail.com that suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff.

The official suspects 'lodestar' was purposely included in the op-ed to throw journalists off the scent.

The term means 'a star that leads or guides' or 'serves as an inspiration, model, or guide.'

And it was trending on Twitter.

Word by word the essay in the Times has been picked apart for clues of who wrote it with guessing ranging from administration figures like Defense Secretary James Mattis or Attorney General Jeff Sessions to more out-of-the-box contenders like first lady Melania Trump to funny memes on social media.

Other than that there are few clues to the person's identity.

The Times called the author a 'senior official in the Trump administration,' which could describe hundreds of people - either aides in the West Wing or top-level staff in a Cabinet department.

One major clue may have been dropped by the Times itself in a tweet, which described the author as a 'he.'

President Trump is said to be on the hunt for the writer

Witch hunt: Social media jokers poked fun at Trump's furious hunt for the anonymous person who wrote the op-ed in the New York Times

A Times spokeswoman later told Business Insider that the pronoun was a mistake that shouldn't be read as a tip-off.

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Danielle Ha said in an email. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error.'

It is hard to tell from the piece what level of access the official had to the president. Although it describes meetings with the president, it steers clear of offering specific information that could point to the level of the writer's security clearance.

The author also fudges their political allegiance, saying they were not part of a 'resistance of the left' and supported some of Trump's policies.

The references to McCain and foreign policy have led to speculation it could be someone who works in the national security arena.

Names mentioned include James Mattis, John Kelly, Jeff Sessions and Dan Coats.

Others made the seemingly implausible suggestion that the writer could have come from within the Trump family - pointing the finger at Ivanka or her husband Jared Kushner, and even Melania, who denied authorship on Thursday

Other random names have been suggested for the piece including first lady Melania Trump, who denied authorship

And Ivanka Trump

Trump himself has called the writer 'gutless' and called on the newspaper to release the identity in the name of national security.

'Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?' Trump tweeted hours after the newspaper published a brutal opinion essay that the newspaper said was written by one of his senior-level appointees.

'If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!'

He has already ordered loyal aides to identify the sources of Woodward's book, and this probe could well be extended to encompass the Times article, CNN reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the author to 'do the right thing and resign.'

In an online introduction, the Times says the author's 'identity is known to us' and the person's 'job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.'

The essay describes a 'quiet resistance' that by its nature has remained secret but isn't designed to bring Trump down  only to curb his worst impulses.

'Ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left,' the author writes. 'We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.'

'But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.'

So rather than risk the invocation of the Constitution's 25th Amendment, the prescribed route for removing a president, he boasts that 'we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  it's over.'
Ford is recalling about 2 million F-150 pickup trucks in North America because the seat belts can spark and cause fires.

The recall, which covers trucks from the 2015 through 2018 model years, comes about one month after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating fires in the pickups, which are the top-selling vehicles in the United States.

Ford said Thursday that it has 23 reports of smoke or fire in U.S. and Canadian trucks, but it's not aware of any injuries. NHTSA began investigating in early August after getting five fire reports, including three reports that trucks were destroyed.

Under pressure from U.S. safety regulators, Ford is recalling about 2 million F-150 pickups in North America because the seat belts can cause fires. A worker inspects a 2015 Ford F-150 truck at the company's Kansas City Assembly Plant in this file photo

According to Ford, seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they tighten before a crash.

That can ignite gases inside a support pillar between the front and rear seats, causing insulation and carpet to catch fire.

The seat belt pretensioners, which prepare seat belts to gradually restrain passengers, were made by ZF-TRW and now-defunct air bag and seat belt maker Takata, which was purchased by Joyson, another auto parts supplier.

The Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab trucks were built between March 12, 2014 and Aug. 23, 2018, according to documents posted Thursday by NHTSA.

Dealers will remove insulation and install heat-resistant tape to repair the trucks. They also will remove remnants of wiring tape and modify interior panels in Regular Cab trucks. Owners will be notified starting Sept. 24.

In one of the complaints filed with the U.S. government, an owner in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told NHTSA that on July 7, a deer ran into the driver's side of a pickup, causing minor damage.

The side air bags inflated, and after five to 10 minutes, a passenger noticed a fire on the bottom of the post between the front and rear doors where the seat belts are located. 'The truck went up in complete flames in a matter of minutes and is a complete loss,' the owner wrote.

People who file complaints are not identified in the NHTSA database.

Ford said in a filing Thursday with U.S. securities regulators that the recall will cost about $140 million and will be counted in third-quarter results.

The company maintained its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance of $1.30 to $1.50.

The problem surfaced in the spring of 2017 as Ford received four reports of post-crash interior fires in the trucks from April through October, according to documents Ford filed with the U.S. safety agency.

Ford began investigating but wasn't able to identify any problems with the seat belt pretensioners from the trucks, and the company couldn't re-create any fires. In November of 2017, Canadian safety regulators contacted Ford about a fire in a 2015 pickup. It received five more reports of fires between January and March of this year, but still couldn't identify the source of the fires, according to the documents.

From April through June, Ford got six more reports of fires in 2015, 2017 and 2018 pickups and found the potential for excessive sparks in the pretensioners. The company also began analyzing exhaust gases from the seat belt mechanisms. Then NHTSA contacted Ford about three fire reports, and the agency and company jointly inspected one of the trucks on June 28.

NHTSA opened its investigation on Aug. 3.

From July through August, Ford did more tests and found that the sparks could ignite the exhaust gases, and Ford approved a recall on Aug. 24, according to the documents.
The heartbroken mother and stepfather of a seven-year-old girl who was killed death by her violent, criminal father in a murder suicide last month have told how her death could have been prevented had it not been for the failure of the court system to protect her.

Kayden Mancuso, seven, was found by her stepfather Brian Sherlock in the living room of her father Jeffrey Manusco's home in Philadelphia on August 6.

Manusco, who has multiple assault convictions and once bit a man's ear off in a bar fight but was still allowed to have unsupervised visits with Kayden, hit her over the head with a weight then suffocated her with a plastic bag before killing himself.

On Thursday, Kayden's mother Kathy and her stepfather Brian Sherlock appeared on ABC's Nightline to share their grief and frustration after trying in vain to stop Manusco from having access to the little girl for months before her death.

Scroll down for video

Brian and Kathy Sherlock spoke on Thursday for the first time since her seven-year-old daughter Kayden was murdered by her father

Jeffrey Manusco, 41, hit Kayden over the head with a weight then suffocated her with a bag at his home in Philadelphia on August 5 or 6. He had mental health problems and was angry that Kayden was moving on happily with her stepfather but was allowed to have unsupervised visits with her

They are now appealing to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf to change the law to protect children in custody battles more and are trying to have the family judge who ruled in Manusco's favor removed from the bench.

Describing her daughter's murder as 'absolutely' preventable, Kathy fumed: 'Every single thing that could've stopped it at some point, it just didn't.'

She and Manusco never married and only started living together when she fell pregnant with Kayden after a fling on the Jersey Shore in 2011. She believed it was the right thing to do for her daughter and she relied on his mother for childcare.

Kayden, seven, told her aunt she was afraid of her father after seeing him assault his own mother

He domestically abused her, once strangling her so severely that she thought she was going to die. Nevertheless, she stayed because she thought it was the right thing for her daughter and she relied on Manusco's mother for childcare.

When Manusco's was arrested for biting off a man's ear in a bar fight, she left and met her husband Brian. They have had two sons together and married recently in a ceremony where Kayden served as a flower girl.

Manusco was outraged by their new happy, family life, and formally sought partial custody of Kayden. Until then, the girl's parents operated within a casual agreement that he would pay child support and get to see his daughter on the weekends.

Kathy fought his legal attempts because he was becoming more unpredictable. After learning that Manusco had even assaulted his own mother in front of Kayden, she sought a restraining order against him.

'I tried everything [but] the police were like, "well he's not hurting you."

'They were all about abuse and neglect. If I couldn't prove that he was abusing me, which ... sure I ... I had records from months before but, "no one's going to listen to you why didnt you do anything then?"' she said she was told.

As part of her court battle, she had to undergo psychiatric evaluation. She was deemed to be healthy but suffering anxiety.

Manusco, on the other hand, was deemed incapable of taking responsibility for his actions and was diagnosed as having a 'major depressive disorder, moderate with anxious disorder'.

He also, the psychiatrist said, identified with 'narcissistic and antisocial personality traits.'

On August 6, the child was found in the living room of her father's apartment (pictured) in Philadelphia. He hadn't shown up the night before, as planned, when he was supposed to drop her back off at her mother's house

Kayden's stepfather Brian Sherlock is seen breaking down outside the apartment after discovering her lifeless body

Teachers and other parents from Kayden's school testified about him threatening them with violence. He was banned from the premises and from making contact with school staff because of his temper.

In spite of all this, Bucks County judge Jeffrey G. Trauger said that Manusco should be able to have unsupervised visits with Kayden because she was not afraid of him. Manusco's sister now admits that she was afraid of him after seeing him hit his own mother.

In his ruling, Judge Trauger wrote: 'Kayden presents as a happy kid with a generally normal relationship with both parents despite the volatile relationship they have with each other.'

After the judge handed down his decision, Manusco would arrive at Brian and Kathy's home with the judge's order in his hand and demand to see the girl.

Kathy now says her biggest regret is not ignoring the judge's decision and going to jail herself in order to keep Kayden away from her father.

Kayden's mother married Sherlock recently and the pair had two sons of their own. She was happy in her new family and was excited about having a puppy and new house, her family says, which angered her biological father

The girl's mother (left) tried repeatedly to stop her from having to spend time with her father but a judge instead had her undergo a psychiatric evaluation and said Kayden was not afraid of him. Manusco's sister Allyson (right) said she 'hates' him for what he did

'There were times where I just said my biggest mistake was I should've just gone into contempt or jail or whatever they do to moms that don't let their kids [go] ... but she was dragged out of my house by the police one time.

'So there was nothing I could really do.

'He [Jeffrey] was standing in front of my house, shaking his court order, saying it's my custody and the police came in and said, "We have to follow the judges orders."'

On August 5, Manusco failed to bring Kayden home on time as he had promised to. Kathy called 911 and said she feared her daughter was in danger but the police refused to go to the house.

'They hung up on me. They said, "We're not going to go to the house. Is there any reason you feel she's in danger?"

Judge Jeffrey Trauger has not responded to repeated requests for comment on why he granted Manusco shared custody despite his violent criminal past

'I said, "There's a million reasons why I feel she's in danger," and he said, "Have a nice night, mam," and hung up on me,' Kathy recalled.

Brian went round to the home the next day and gained entry though an unlocked door. He found Kayden dead in the living room. He was nearby. It is not clear how he killed himself.

Kathy said on Thursday that she did not know how to go on living without her daughter.

'Everyone thinks their kid's the most amazing person on the planet.

'But this little girl was, was different. She was special. Everyone wanted to be her best friend.

'I still don't feel like it's real. I still feel like I'm going to wake up from this awful nightmare and I just ... but I know that I'm not.

'I miss talking to her. I miss holding her hand and I miss kissing her in the morning and good night. I miss her little voice. I miss every single little thing about her. And the fact that I'm never gonna see her again ... I hate it,' she said.

Now, Kathy and Brian are appealing to Pennsylvania's governor to change the laws to better protect children.

In a message to Judge Trauger, Kathy said on Thursday: 'You protected his rights versus hers. Essentially, his right to be a parent was more so important than her right to live.'

Judge Trauger did not respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment at the time of Kayden's death. He also ignored a repeated request on Thursday in response to Kayden's mother and stepfather's interview.

More than 40,000 people have called on him to resign in an online petition since Kayden's death.

The Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania is the authority which can fire judges for misconduct or criminal behavior.

Its representatives did not respond to DailyMail.com's inquiry on Thursday morning about whether or not it was investigating Judge Trauger.

Manusco's family say they will never forgive him for what he did.

His sister Allyson said: 'I hate him. I'll never forgive him. And I wish he'd rot in hell for what he did.

'The action that he carried it out, thinking about his hatred, and that couldn't overcome. He just didn't have the ability to really love. I just don't think that mentally ill people have the ability to love.'
Miss America is returning to Atlantic City, New Jersey for yet another year of competition.

This years event is going to be a bit different from the ones in years past. For one, its being called a scholarship program rather than a pageant.

Additional changes include a new stage, a different host, a revamped sash, no more bikini competition and an increased focus on talent.

Miss America 2019 will get underway in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sunday, September 9 with 51 brand new candidates and a series of changes to the competition

Cara Mund of North Dakota was crowned the winner of the previous Miss America competition

Although candidates have been encouraged to wear whatever makes them feel confident, the gown competition will still be part of Miss America, as it always has been. The theme of the 2019 competition will be red carpet glamour.

This is, of course, open to interpretation, but many are likely to hit the stage wearing long bedazzled gowns and sky high heels.

Another unconfirmed change in this years program will be the likely absence of the previous years winner, Cara Mund. Typically, the title holder gets a ton of screen time as she prepares to pass the torch to a new winner, but given Caras recent allegations of bullying in the organization shes likely to get very little time before the cameras.

Cara was present during the Miss America preliminaries, during which she gave opening remarks and did not reference the controversy.

This only exists because of our volunteers, she said. We wouldnt have any organization if it werent for them.

Want to know what to expect before you tune in to Miss America 2019? Weve got you covered.

Find out when the show is, how you can watch, whos competing and more below.

Miss America preliminary winners

Florida and Wisconsin won big in the first preliminary rounds of the Miss America 2019 competition on Wednesday, according to WTOP.

Taylor Tyson, representing the Sunshine State, won the talent competition with her piano rendition of Mephistos Waltz by Lizst. Tianna Vanderhei of Wisconsin won the interview portion of the competition, sharing her views on the need for more affordable and widely accessible higher education options.

When does Miss America come on?

The Miss America scholarship program will air on TV Sunday, September 9.

What time is Miss America 2019?

Viewers can expect Miss America to kick off around 9pm ET and run until 11pm ET.

Miss America channel

Miss America will be shown on ABC.

Miss America live stream

ABC will be streaming the Miss America pageant on their website. Youll need a cable login to access the stream.

Miss America parade

Before the Miss America scholarship program gets underway, a parade will be held along the boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 8. The theme of the event is Show Us Your Shoes, according to a press release obtained by Press of Atlantic City.

All 51 Miss America candidates will be in the parade. Each will be wearing a customized pair of shoes, hence the parade title.

Dancers, floats and marching bands will be featured.

The fun will kick off at New Jersey Avenue at about 4:45pm ET and conclude at Albany Avenue.

Those who wish to attend the Show Us Your Shoes parade can view it for free. If youd like a seat to watch the parade, you must purchase tickets.

You can get tickets here for about $45.

Who won Miss America 2018?

Cara Mund won the 2018 Miss America competition. Shes from Bismarck, North Dakota.

The 24-year-old was crowned Miss North Dakota in June 2017 and Miss America in September 2017. During the latter competition she showcased her dance skills with a self-choreographed jazz routine.

Cara has been active in raising money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and other charitable causes. Shes raised more than $78,000 for Make-a-Wish.

Outside of the pageant world, Cara attended Brown University, graduating with a business degree. Shes a member of Kappa Delta sorority.

Before deciding to compete for the Miss America title, Cara thought shed attend law school. She got into Notre Dame Law School, but didnt accept the offer.

Shes since developed an interest in potentially representing North Dakota in the United States senate. Cara interned for Republican Senator John Hoeven in Washington, DC.

Cara made waves in the Miss America Organization when she published a letter detailing bullying she suffered within the franchise. She implicated Chairwoman Gretchen Carlson and CEO Regina Hopper.

Gretchen, who vehemently denied Caras allegations, stepped down from her position.

In her letter, Cara wrote: Let me be blunt; I strongly believe that my voice is not heard nor wanted by our current leadership; nor do they have any interest in knowing who I am and how my experiences relate to positioning the organization for the future.

Our chair and CEO have systematically silenced me, reduced me, marginalized me, and essentially erased me in my role as Miss America in subtle and not-so-subtle ways on a daily basis. After a while, the patterns have clearly emerged, and the sheer accumulation of the disrespect, passive-aggressive behavior, belittlement, and outright exclusion has taken a serious toll.

Cara claimed that she was excluded from interviews and meetings and called outside of her name on a regular basis. She said she was ridiculed for her fashion choices and told not to make a fuss within our outside the Miss America organization.

What does the Miss America winner get?

The winner of the Miss America scholarship program will be awarded money to put toward her education. Scholarships totaling $506,000 will be given out.

The winner of Miss America 2019 will get a $50,000 scholarship. The runner-up will get $25,000. Third place will walk away with $20,000 and fourth and fifth will get $15,000 and $10,000 respectively.
A Second World War hero who escaped the Nazis as a prisoner of war has died just two days after walking his granddaughter down the aisle.

Footage shows Polish veteran Bronislaw 'Grom' Karwowski, 94, in military clothing adorned with bravery medals accompanying granddaughter Joanna at her wedding in Bialystok, in the country's north.

Just two days after the emotional ceremony he passed away sparking a flood of tributes to the 'national hero', an insurgent of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising - aimed at liberating the city from German occupation.

Despite fading health, the frail pensioner did not let his ailments stop him from performing his duty for his family. The Armed Forces said he showed the same determination during his time serving his country.

Second World War hero Bronislaw 'Grom' Karwowski (left), who escaped the Nazis as a prisoner of war has died just two days after walking his granddaughter Joanna (right) down the aisle

Footage shows Polish veteran Bronislaw 'Grom' Karwowski, 94, in military clothing adorned with bravery medals accompanying granddaughter Joanna at her wedding in Bialystok, in the country's north

Just two days after the emotional ceremony he passed away sparking a flood of tributes to the 'national hero', an insurgent of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising - aimed at liberating the city from German occupation

Emotional guests could be seen weeping while the bride breathed deeply to compose herself while she was being escorted down the aisle.

The groom bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from crying as the pair walked slowly towards him.

He then thanked the hero for bringing his bride, planting two kisses on his cheeks.

During the war, 'Grom' was captured by the Nazis but managed to escape from the Gestapo's headquarters in Lomza, in north-eastern Poland.

The groom bit his lip in an attempt to stop himself from crying as the pair walked slowly towards him. He then thanked the hero for bringing his bride, planting two kisses on his cheeks

Emotional guests could be seen weeping while the bride breathed deeply to compose herself while she was being escorted down the aisle

During the war, 'Grom' was captured by the Nazis but managed to escape from the Gestapo's headquarters in Lomza, in north-eastern Poland

In 1948, he was arrested again, during the communist period, and was sentenced to ten years behind bars.

For his efforts fighting for his country, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, as well as many other honours.

The National Armed Forces announced his death on social media.

Karwowski was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, as well as many other honours

'We regret to announce that today, on 1st September 2018, on the 79th anniversary of Germany's assault on Poland, the national hero and insurgent of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, Major Bronislaw Karwowski retired to the eternal guard,' officials said.

'He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, the Silver Cross of Merit with Swords, the Cross of the National Armed Deed and many others.'

Netizens lined up to pay tribute to the war hero.

User 'Mateusz Ch' wrote: 'He accomplished his last mission' while 'kamil majewski' added: 'I watched this twice. It's just something magnificent.'

Netizen 'Basia M' added: 'God bless the bride and tribute to the soldier's memory.'
A baby elephant has been spotted wandering around the plains of South Africa with a missing trunk.

Fears for the calf's safety have grown after footage showed the baby animal walking among a herd of elephants in Kruger National Park without its critical body part.

Safari workers said they didn't know exactly how it had lost its iconic appendage but it was likely ripped off by a predator.

A young elephant has been spotted in Kruger National Park, South Africa, without a trunk

It's trunk was probably bitten off by a crocodile or a lion - or damaged in a snare, according to safari workers

Can an elephant survive in the wild without its trunk? The chances of an adult elephant surviving in the wild without its trunk are slim. An adult needs to eat between 200-600 pounds of food a day and drink up to 50 gallons of water a day. Without a trunk it would be near-impossible for the animal to consume that much food or water. The trunk is also important for social interactions. Elephants use their trunks to hug, caress and comfort other elephants. Without the tools to form bonds with fellow elephants, it may be ousted from its herd and vulnerable to predators. Advertisement

They said there had been several cases of crocodiles grabbing baby elephants by their trunks as they sipped water from lakes.

Lions are also known to cling to the trunk when they attack the large animals.

Another explanation was that it could've been caught in a snare.

The body part is a fusion of an elephant's upper lip and nose. Filled with more than 100,000 muscles, this huge appendage is both powerful and dexterous.

The animals use their trunks to pick plants and fruit from trees and eat grass from the ground.

They use the trunk to suck up as much as two gallons of water at a time for either drinking or cleaning itself.

Elephants also use their trunks to defend themselves against predators. Losing it is one of the most potentially life-threatening things that can happen to the animal.

Filled with more than 100,000 muscles, an elephant trunk is both powerful and dexterous

It's essential in the animal's survival. It's used for eating, drinking and even breathing properly

The chances of an adult elephant surviving in the wild without its trunk are slim.

An adult needs to eat between 200-600 pounds of food a day and drink up to 50 gallons of water a day.

Without a trunk it would be near-impossible for the animal to consume that much food or water.

The trunk is also important for social interactions. Elephants use their trunks to hug, caress and comfort other elephants.

Without the tools to form bonds with fellow elephants, it may be ousted from its herd and vulnerable to predators.
A Republican Party leader has rejected calls to resign over a 'racist' meme she claimed a hacker posted from her Facebook account.

Kathy Gibson, the chair of the Orange County Republican Party State Committee, insisted she did not post a meme directed at Andrew Gillum, the First Black Democratic nominee for Governor in Florida.

The meme falsely claimed that Andrew Gillum wanted black people to be 'paid back' because of slavery.

Gibson said it is an election year and she feels the person who she said hacked her page was targeting her.

Kathy Gibson, chair of the Orange County Republican Party State Committee (left),will not resign over a controversial Facebook meme directed at Andrew Gillum, the first black nominee for Governor in Florida (right)

The controversial meme (pictured) was widely denounced as racist and has been deleted

The meme, which has widely been denounced as racist, appeared Monday night and has since been deleted.

Speaking from her home, Gibson told News 6: 'My response is that my Facebook account was attacked, I'm not a racist I never have been.

'You know I have enemies,' Gibson added. 'After I won, there's been one particular person who has tried to paint me as a forever Trumper, as someone who is racist and hateful or whatever.'

In addition to the local, state and national leaders calling for Gibson's resignation, both nominees in the race for Governor in Florida agree that the post was not appropriate.

Asked whether she would step aside, Gibson responded: 'No thank you.'

In a statement Andrew Gillum said that the campaign should focus on important issues affecting people such as health, housing and education.

Gibson (pictured) blamed a hacker for posting the controversial meme and has since changed the passwords to her Facebook account

He said: 'This race should be about the issues. This shouldn't be about the mayor's skin color.

'This race should be about red tide. This race should be about toxic blue-green algae.

Republican nominee for governor Ron DeSantis told Politico: 'Kathy Gibson should resign, and so should anyone else that subscribes to this sort of disgusting thinking.

Republican candidate Ron DeSantis (pictured) joined calls for Gibson's resignation on Tuesday saying there is no room in politics for 'this sort of disgusting thinking'

'This campaign is about issues and creating a better Florida for everyone.

'That's what Floridians care about, and that's what we'll continue to focus on.'

Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill also agreed that Kathy Gibson should resign.

She told News 6: 'It angered me because I don't think that kind of rhetoric and divisiveness is needed in Orlando, Orange County or the nation,' Hill said.

'I think there is no place for that, I think it was degrading to black people

'I don't think that she should have a place leadership with those type of racial tones.

Gibson said she changed her passwords on Facebook after she was hacked and said no one has called her to ask for her resignation.

The post falsely accused Gillum of saying 'his people' will get 'paid back' for slavery if he is elected governor, according to Politico.

The post was written with additional commentary , saying: 'If anyone living in Florida at this time was a slave holder, had family that were slave holders or committed acts against African Americans please let Mayor Gillum know so he can bill you & your Family.'

When Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, won the Democratic primary last week, he became the first African-American to have ever been nominated for governor by a major party in Florida.
President Donald Trump's obsessions with hunting down leakers long predated the release of the bombshell Bob Woodward book and anonymous New York Times op-ed  with the president reportedly toting a list of suspected leakers last year.

The president carried the hand-written list of leakers for some time last year, Axios reported.

'He would basically be like, 'We've gotta get rid of them. The snakes are everywhere. But we're getting rid of them,'' a source close to Trump told the publication.

President Donald Trump carried hand-written list of leakers last year, following a non-stop flow of internal information about his White House

The president in effect conducted his own leak investigation, quizzing aides about whom they believed was trustworthy. He also regularly asks his aides for their views on their colleagues, leading to uncomfortable conversations, according to the report, not to mention back stabbing of rivals.

A source said Trump would examine the back seats of the Roosevelt Room during a meeting and look at the aides gathered there.

'One day, after one of those meetings, he said, "Everything that just happened is going to leak. I don't know any of those people in the room." ... He was very paranoid about this,' according to the account.

A Trump friend told the Washington Post trump believes he can only trust his children.

The president fumed about an anonymous New York Times op-ed during a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media during a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018

The president's longtime obsessions with leaks went into overdrive this week after early reports from journalist Bob Woodward's new book 'Fear' and a scandalous, anonymous op-ed on his administration appearing in the New York Times.

The president is asking loyal aides to discover who leaked private White House conversations to The Washington Post reporter, CNN reported, but it it likely that will be expanded to attempt to uncover what 'senior official in the Trump administration' wrote in The Times about the efforts from within to thwart the president's 'worst inclinations.'

'Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them,' the official wrote in The Times.

President Trump is demanding to know who in his administration is leaking

Journalist Bob Woodward in the lobby of Trump Tower on Jan. 3, 2017

'We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic,' the official added.

Trump wants to know who's talking.

'He wants to know who talked to Woodward,' an administration official told CNN.

He is said to suspect former national security adviser H.R. McMaster and former chief economic adviser Gary Cohn as among those who talked to The Washington Post reporter for his tome 'Fear,' which comes out Tuesday.

Several names are being thrown around as the possible anonymous writer in the New York Times piece.

Online chatter Wednesday quickly focused on Vice President Mike Pence as armchair language analysts focused on one line describing the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

That word  lodestar  is a favorite of the vice president. But a senior White House official told DailyMail.com that suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff.

The official suspects 'lodestar' was purposely included in the op-ed to throw journalists off the scent.

When it comes to negative stories involving the West Wing, the president looks at how forcefully aides respond them.

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson never denied calling Trump a 'moron' and a former senior White House official told CNN that Trump 'never forgave him for it.'

Tillerson was fired in March.

The president also has noticed the silence from several other former administration officials when it comes to making denials about Woodward's book, which has reached the number one spot on Amazon.com.

Trump has personally slammed both Woodward's book and the 'gutless' writer of The Times' opinion piece.

The White House issued a strong response to The Times piece.

'Nearly 62 million people voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016, earning him 306 Electoral College votes  versus 232 for his opponent. None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times. We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed. This is a new low for the so-called 'paper of record,' and it should issue an apology,' White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

'This is just another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the President,' she added.

She also called on the writer to resign.

'The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States. He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign.'

Several observers noted The Times referred to the author as 'he' in a tweet about the piece, prompting many to assume the op-ed was written by a man.

But Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokesperson for the paper, told Business Insider this was a mistake.

Woodward's book 'Fear' comes out September 11

Trump and White House officials have pushed back hard on Bob Woodward's book

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Ha said. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error.'

Trump expressed publicly his pleasure that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis issued forceful denials on quotes attributed to them by Woodward.

'Gen. Mattis has come out very, very strongly...He was insulted by the remarks that were attributed to him,' Trump said. 'John Kelly, same thing. He was insulted by what they said. He couldn't believe what they said.'

Woodward quoted Kelly slamming Trump after he blew a fuse during a meeting.

'He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails,' Kelly said, in Woodward's telling. 'We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.'

Kelly fired back at the claims, saying in a statement: 'The idea that I ever called the President is not true, in fact it's exactly the opposite. ... This is both a pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from his many successes.'

In another episode described in 'Fear,' Trump questioned the utility of U.S. early warning systems in Alaska to identify a nuclear attack from North Korea.

When Trump asked about it, Mattis schooled him: 'We're doing this in order to prevent World War III.'

Mattis later told colleagues Trump had the mental ability of 'a fifth- or sixth-grader,' acording to Woodward's sources.

On Tuesday he denied the account, saying: 'The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence. While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility.'

Sanders said on 'Good Morning America' that Woodward's book is based on the claims of anonymous sources and disgruntled former staffers. 'This is just another repeat of pure fiction,' she said.

Woodward said he stands by his reporting.
A school resource officer woke up a student by activating a Taser.

The boy at Liberty Preparatory School in Smithville, Ohio refused to wake up for his teacher or the principal so they called in Officer Maryssa Boskoski.

To their surprise, the rogue officer pulled out her Taser, removed the cartridge and activated it.

She didn't actually shock the student - but the sparking sound and noise from the other students woke the sleeping boy.

The boy at Liberty Preparatory School in Smithville, Ohio refused to wake up for his teacher or the principal so they called in Officer Maryssa Boskoski (pictured)

No probes were deployed and the teenager wasn't hurt.

Boskoski, who worked part time, has been placed on unpaid leave.

Smithville Police Chief Howard Funk said he was 'disappointed' and will meet with the town's solicitor to determine if any charges should be filed.

The school principal wrote a letter to parents explaining what had happened and reassuring them that student safety was her priority.

Boskoski couldn't be reached for comment.
Marijuana use has become increasingly common among older Americans over the past decade, with rates doubling among adults age 50-64 and rising nearly seven-fold among those age 65 and older, according to a new study.

Among middle-aged adults, 9 percent report using marijuana in the past year  twice the 4.5 percent who reported using in 2006-2007. While only 3 percent of adults age 65 and older say they've used cannabis in the past year, that's seven times the 0.4 percent who reported consuming it in 2006-2007.

More than half (54.5 percent) of adults age 50-64 have used marijuana at some point, and 22.4 percent of adults age 65 and older have consumed the drug during the course of their lives.

Over the past decade, marijuana consumption rates doubled among adults age 50-64 and rose nearly seven-fold among those age 65 and older

The findings were reported in a new study by the NYU School of Medicine and the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research at NY Rory Meyers College of Nursing.

Researchers analyzed responses from 17,608 adults age 50 and older from the 2015-2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to write the study, published Thursday in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

'The Baby Boomer generation grew up during a period of significant cultural change, including a surge in popularity of marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s,' said Dr. Benjamin Han, lead author of the study. 'We're now in a new era of changing attitudes around marijuana, and as stigma declines and access improves, it appears that Baby Boomers--many of whom have prior experience smoking marijuana--are increasingly using it.'

Researchers attributed the shift to several factors, including the growing acceptance of marijuana use in the U.S. for medicinal and recreation uses.

Nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes and 30 states have legalized it for medical use.

Another factor in the increased use among older Americans is that many users had likely been consuming it already and just aged into the bracket being measured by researchers. In addition, many Baby Boomers had first used marijuana as teenagers during the 1960s and 1970s and so were not 'new' users.

'People don't really need to be that alarmed, "Are my parents or grandparents going to start smoking weed?" Because most people have been smoking already,' co-author Joseph Palamar told DailyMail.com 'We don't have a lot of new initiates in the U.S.'

Men in both age groups were more likely to consume marijuana than women, with males accounting for 60 percent of users age 50-64 and 68.8 percent of those age 65 and older.

Palamar said older marijuana smokers should use caution, as modern strains of the drug are significantly stronger than those available in the 1960s and 1970s.

The timing for when people first started using marijuana varied: Nearly all (92.9 percent of) adults aged 50-64 report first using cannabis at age 21 or younger. By comparison 54.7 percent of adults age 65 and older say their initiation with marijuana was at that age.

Men in both age groups are more likely to consume marijuana than women, with males accounting for 60 percent of users age 50-64 and 68.8 percent of those age 65 and older

About 15 percent of marijuana users age 50-64 and 22.9 percent of those age 65 and older say that a doctor recommended cannabis to them for medical purposes.

Researchers did warn about the practice of mixing marijuana consumption with other drugs, including prescription medications like opioids and sedatives.

'Marijuana has been shown to have benefits in treating certain conditions that affect older adults, including neuropathic pain and nausea,' Han said. 'However, certain older adults may be at heightened risk for adverse effects associated with marijuana use, particularly if they have certain underlying chronic diseases or are also engaged in unhealthy substance use.'

Palamar warned older users to be aware of what medications they take  for instance blood pressure medication  that could have an impact on how intensely they experience the drug.

Palamar also cautioned against 'edibles in particular,' noting that it is more difficult to control the dosage when consuming cannabis through food.

'If you ate too much: That's it, you ate too much and there's no stopping the effects,' he said. 'Whereas, if you're smoking it and it gets too much you can stop.'
Boris Johnson was spotted lunching with government chief whip Julian Smith today - as his popularity with Tory activists surges.

The former foreign secretary dined with Mr Smith at Quirinale, a favourite restaurant for the political class in Westminster.

The private discussions raised eyebrows amid speculation that Mr Johnson is preparing a bid to oust Theresa May, after dramatically resigning in protest at her Chequers Brexit plan over the summer.

However, sources close to Mr Smith tried to play down the significance, insisting he met with a 'wide variety of colleagues'.

A poll of party members released today shows that Mr Johnson has extended his advantage over potential rivals since quitting government.

He was backed as next Tory leader by 35 per cent of activists in the latest ConservativeHome poll - up from 29 per cent last month.

Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson (pictured left) was spotted dining with Mr Smith (pictured right) at Quirinale today, a favourite restaurant for the political class in Westminster

Mr Johnson looked a bit sheepish as he emerged from the restaurant and was confronted by waiting photographers (pictured)

Mr Johnson, who quit in protest at the PM's Chequers deal earlier this summer, was the choice of 35 per cent of activists in the ConHome poll

Home Secretary Sajid Javid was his nearest rival in the popularity stakes, with 15 per cent favouring him as the next leader.

But that was down from 19 per cent. Backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg also saw his support for the top job wane to 10 per cent.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who has opted to stay in government despite the Brexiteer backlash against Mrs May's Chequers blueprint, and Foreign Secretary were on just 5 per cent.

Downing Street has been braced for Mr Johnson to mount a bid to oust Mrs May ever since his dramatic resignation in July.

In his latest attack on the PM's Brexit proposals this week, Mr Johnson complained that the UK was 'lying flat on the canvas' in negotiations with Brussels.

He complained that Mrs May had 'not even tried' to play hardball with the EU.

Mr Johnson said Britain faced getting 'two thirds of diddly squat' for its divorce bill.

He said: 'They may puff about 'cherry-picking' the single market. There may be some confected groaning and twanging of leotards when it comes to the discussion on free movement.

Downing Street has been braced for Mr Johnson to mount a bid to oust Mrs May (pictured in the Commons yesterday) ever since his dramatic resignation in July

'But the reality is that in this negotiation the EU has so far taken every important trick.

'The UK has agreed to hand over 40 billion of taxpayers' money for two thirds of diddly squat.

'We will remain in the EU taxi; but this time locked in the boot, with absolutely no say on the destination. We won't have taken back control - we will have lost control.'

The growing mutiny against the premier could come to a head at Tory conference at the end of next month.

Mr Johnson is due to make a speech to up to 2,000 people at a fringe event at the gathering in Birmingham.
A growing backlash is raging against eight Labour MPs who voted to reject the party finally adopting the international definition of anti-Semitism.

The party has been plunged into a bitter civil war over the issue after Jeremy Corbyn spent months refusing to adopt the full code - ignoring the demands of many of his MPs and Jewish leaders.

He finally bowed to pressure and Labour's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) voted to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance code.

But in a fresh row, eight Labour MPs voted on Wednesday to reject the code in a secret ballot.

They were overwhelmingly overruled by 205 who back it, but the mysterious small group were today told to unveil themselves.

John Mann, Labour MP and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on anti-Semitism, told MailOnlne: 'They should reveal themselves.'

Labour MP John Mann (pictured addressing a demonstration protesting at the anti-Semitism crisis in Labour, held outside Parliament in March) said the eight MPs who voted against the definition should reveal themselves

He added: 'They have gone against the National Executive Committee, and I ma not in favour of a secret ballot for things like this.

'We have no idea if these are leading frontbenchers or not. They should have the confidence in their arguments to explain themselves.'

Mr Mann - one of the lading critics of Mr Corbyn's failure to tackle the racism festering among some of his supporters - said the anti-Semitism crisis is far from over.

Jewish couple are packing their bags for Israel over the anti-Semitism crisis A leading Jewish lawyer and his partner have said they are leaving the UK after being bombarded by anti-Semitic abuse and death threats by Jeremy Corbyn supporters. Mark Lewis, an ex Labour supporter who represented victims in the phone-hacking case, and Mandy Blumenthal said they are planning to move to Israel by the end of the year. They accused Mr Corbyn of moving the 'rock anti-Semites have crawled out from' and said they have received a growing wave of hate and threats since he became Labour leader. Mr Lewis said a man has been sent to prison for threatening to kill him simply because he is Jewish. He told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire Show: 'The online abuse might continue, the Israelis might not like me because I am too left, might not like me because they think I am too right, whatever their view. 'But they are not going to dislike me because I am Jewish. And there is only so much you can take  when you are getting threats to kill you. 'When you are getting threats from people that they want you to be ill etc, it's a drip drip effect.' Ms Blumenthal said: 'People are  in the majority of circles that I mix in  actually talking about their options of leaving here because of the anti-Semitism.' Advertisement

His stark warning comes after MPs were told yesterday that there is a link between the surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes and the scandal rocking Labour.

Dave Rich, the head of policy at the Community Security Trust (CST), said incidents soared from a few dozen a month to over 100 in spring 2016 - Just when the crisis erupted in Jeremy Corbyn's party.

And he urged the Labour leader to finally listen to the Jewish community and pass reforms to root out the racism and usher in a 'cultural change'.

It comes as a new Survation poll published in the Jewish Chronicle reveals that four out of ten Jews would consider leaving the UK if Mr Corbyn becomes PM.

The Labour leader last night failed to quell anger over vile abuse wracking Labour despite bowing to demands to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism.

He caused new offence by trying to add a statement detailing protection for people who call Israel racist - a caveat rejected even by loyalists on the party's ruling NEC.

Speaking to the women and equalities select committee today, Mr Rich said: 'Over the last two years we have seen a much closer correlation between events in the Labour Party and our anti-Semitic incidents statistics than any other single factor.'

Detailing anti-Semitism incidents reported to the CST, he said: 'We recorded 129 incidents in June and 129 in July, but we had recorded 135 in May the month prior and 100 incidents in April.

'The big uptick in anti-Semitism incidents we recorded came in April and May. Now around that time came the whole issue about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party really hit the front-pages with the suspensions of Naz Shah and Ken Livingstone.

'So we took that increase to be in response to those incidents that were happening here in the Labour Party.

'It may be the debate around Brexit and increase in hate crime after that debate kept the anti-Semitic incidents sustained at a higher level, and maybe they would have fallen away had it not been for that, but we had already seen an uptick before other hate crime.

Dave Rich, the head of policy at the Community Security Trust (CST) (pictured yesterday in parliament in front of the women and equalities select committee) said incidents soared from a few dozen a month to over 100 in spring 2016 - Just when the crisis erupted in Jeremy Corbyn's party

Laura Marks, chairwoman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, (pictured, far left at the committee in Parliament yesterday) said their has been a 'tide change' in the Jewish community over the past three years and that the unease is 'palpable'

'Over the last two years we have seen a much closer correlation between events in the Labour Party and our anti-Semitic incidents statistics than any other single factor.'

Mr Rich said that while he is not suggesting everyone committing the hate crimes are in the Labour Party, he warned the scandal is feeding a toxic atmosphere.

And he urged Mr Corbyn to listen to the Jewish community and make the reforms needed to root out the abuse.

He said this must be seen as more than mere 'technical' changes, but 'a cultural change as well'.

At least half a dozen Labour MPs are considering following Frank Field and quitting over the scandal.

Last month Mark Lewis, an ex Labour supporter and leading Jewish lawyer,, and his partner Mandy Blumenthal revealed they are leaving Britain for Israel because of the scandal.

They accused Mr Corbyn of moving the 'rock anti-Semites have crawled out from' and said they have received a growing wave of hate and threats since he became Labour leader.
Germaine Greer has argued that rapists should have their jail sentences reduced providing more of them are convicted for the crime.

Speaking in a fiery interview with The Project, Greer argued there could be more rape convictions if courts were to rely less on 'the burden of proof' - proving beyond reasonable doubt that rape defendants are guilty.

Greer then went on to say that the only way courts would accept such a change was if rape sentences were reduced.

'Lots of women are saying we should reduce the burden of proof. If you do that you have to reduce the sentence,' she said.

Germaine Greer said in the interview that she believed rape sentences should be reduced if the 'burden of proof' is reduced

She argued that reducing the burden of proof would lead to more convictions but that sentences would need to be changed

'If you lower the burden of proof you will probably have to lower the tariff and there will be an outcry.'

The controversial feminist has landed herself in hot water in the past over her rape comments.

She previously wrote in an article for The Australian that rape causes less psychological harm than male partners who have disinterested sex.

Greer caused outcry with the comments after saying the emotional and psychical abandonment from a loved one or sexual partner is far more damaging than a sexual attack.

In a chastening exchange with interviewer Hamish Macdonald on Wednesday, Greer was once again grilled on her controversial opinions on non-consensual sex.

'The current view of rape is that non-consentual sex is rape,' she continued, 'Once you actually make that bargain with yourself: "I'm going to have sex I don't really want" all of this is constrained. None of that is free consent.'

Greer has caused outcry in the past over an article in which she wrote that rape causes less harm than male partners who have disinterested sex

Asked whether she accepts that non-consensual sex is a violent act she replied: '"Violent" is a funny word. You can have sex with a woman without waking her up.'

Greer was slammed on social media over the exchange - with Twitter users calling her out for being 'extremely triggering'.

'Well that segment was extremely triggering and brought on a full PTSD flashback of something Id blocked out,' one user said, 'OBVIOUSLY she has never been raped in a non traditional sense. She needs to understand and learn. Talk to survivors.'

Another commented: 'Germaine Greer is a massive oxygen thief - why is The Project wasting time on this bitter & twisted old never-was!!'

And one person said: 'That interview made me so angry. Germaine Greer needs to stop talking on behalf of women for the rest of her life.

'She's a disgrace and certainly has no right to tell women the definition of when they've been raped.'

But some social media commentators defended the embattled feminist saying: 'Germaine was spot on, maybe she should toss her hat in the ring and shake the place up.'
Sergei Skripal's niece has said claims that Russia were behind the novichok attack on the double agent could be a hoax - and said she doubts he is even still alive.

Viktoria Skripal, 45, questioned why it had taken Britain six months to release details of men charged with attempting to assassinate her uncle Sergei and cousin Yulia in Salisbury.

Her remarks, in a newspaper interview, came before she appeared in a choreographed Russian press conference during which she said she did not know the men accused of carrying out the attack and questioned why she was being denied entry to Britain.

She also said she doubts that the former Russian spy is still alive because he has not communicated with the family since the poisoning in March.

Sergei Skripal's niece Viktoria has said claims that Russia were behind the novichok attack on the double agent could be a hoax - and questioned whether he is even still alive. Viktoria Spripal is pictured during a press conference in Russia today

heresa May told the parliament that the CPS was ready to charge two Russian citizens - Alexander Petrov (right) and Ruslan Boshirov (left) - with an attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalised for weeks in critical condition after they were exposed to novichok in the city of Salisbury on March 4. They are now recovering in a secret location for their own protection

Viktoria said she was in touch with Skripal's daughter Yulia, but that the family had not heard from him for more than half a year.

Skripal's 90-year-old mother needed to hear from the former agent, she said.

'She is waiting for his phone call. She needs nothing else. She needs one phone call from her son,' Victoria said, adding that Skripal used to call his mother every two weeks.

She also pleaded with Yulia to send the family a picture of her 67-year old father. 'Show us that he is alive,' Victoria said.

She confirmed direct contacts with Yulia, suggesting she was still in Britain because their phone calls came from a British number.

'Now she uses this number all the time,' said Victoria, though the number could not be called back. She said Yulia told her that she felt fine, was 'recovering' and went jogging in the morning.

Yulia planned to return to Russia once her father gets better, Victoria added.

She added that ahead of the World Cup in Russia two months ago, Yulia had met with a friend from there who brought her buckwheat, a local staple.

'They met but not where she lives, just in London,' Victoria said.

'I think if Sergei Skripal was alive there would be no obstacles to me coming to see him,' she said.

In an earlier interview with a Russian newspaper, she said: 'It was precisely six months since the poisoning on September 4. I have only one question: if the British knew about this so well, why didn't they announce it earlier?'

Viktoria Skripal, 45, questioned why it had taken Britain six months to release details of men charged with attempting to assassinate her uncle Sergei and cousin Yulia in Salisbury

The murder attempt was approved 'at a senior level of the Russian state,' Theresa May (pictured) said on Wednesday

Viktoria called on British authorities to allow her to visit her family in Britain after her visa application was denied.

'Are they thinking I am a terrorist too and that I am going to arrive there with this novichok and try to poison them again? Why are they not letting me in?'

She spoke out after Theresa May told the parliament that the CPS was ready to charge two Russian citizens - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - with an attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

She claimed that the two were GRU (Main Intelligence Directorate) officers and the operation had been 'approved at a senior level of the Russian state.'

Scotland Yard has published their photographs, but in an newspaper interview, Viktoria Skripal tried to claim the images could have been photoshopped, Tass reports.

Describing herself as a 'petty Russian citizen', Skripal questioned why she had not been allowed to enter Britain to visit her family.

The Kremlin on Thursday rejected accusations by British officials that Putin was ultimately responsible for poisoning Sergei Skripal and said Russia is not going to investigate the suspects.

Britain's security minister Ben Wallace called out Putin over the nerve agent attack targeting Skripal and his daughter and also warned that the U.K. would counter Russian 'malign activity' with both public and covert measures.

Wallace told the BBC that Putin and his government 'controls, funds and directs' the military intelligence unit known as the GRU, which Britain believes used the Soviet-developed novichok nerve agent to try to kill ex-Russian spy Skripal.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalised for weeks in critical condition after they were exposed to novichok in the city of Salisbury on March 4. They are now recovering in a secret location for their own protection.

Local woman Dawn Sturgess died and her boyfriend Charlie Rowley was sickened after they came across remnants of the poison in a discarded perfume bottle in June.

The two spies were pictured in Salisbury the day before the attack, when they carried out a reconnaissance trip

Britain on Wednesday announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - names that are likely aliases. The murder attempt was approved 'at a senior level of the Russian state,' Theresa May said on Wednesday.

Moscow strongly denies involvement in the attack, and Russian officials said they didn't recognise the suspects.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called the accusations leveled against Putin and the Russian government 'unacceptable.'

'Neither the Russian leadership nor its representatives have anything to do with the events in Salisbury,' he said.

Peskov also said that Russia 'has no reasons' to investigate the two individuals charged on Wednesday because Britain has not asked for legal assistance in the case.

Britain has said it is not going to seek the men's extradition because Russian law does not allow for the extradition of its nationals to be tried abroad.

Russian officials have been vehemently denying the fresh accusations. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova went on national television claiming that the security camera footage of the two suspects arriving at Gatwick Airport released by the British authorities has been doctored because it shows them at the same time in the same place. A closer look, however, shows that the men were walking in different gate corridors.

Zakharova on Thursday accused Britain of 'concealing the evidence,' and demanded that Britain share the suspects' fingerprints and other data.

The Skripals' poisoning ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled by both Russia and Western nations. But there is limited appetite among Britain's European allies for further sanctions against Moscow.

Britain plans to press its case against Russia at the U.N. Security Council later on Thursday.
Jimmy Fallon has parodied Donald Trump, joking about the President's fury in response to a new bombshell book about his administration,

The comedian donned a bouffant blonde wig and an orange fake tan in order to impersonate Trump during a skit on The Tonight Show.

Fallon, as Trump, slammed the book as 'fake news' saying it is all lies - except for his insults aimed at his lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Addressing his 'fellow TV-watching Americans', Fallon's Trump calls the book by legendary journalist Bob Woodward 'fake news'.

He refuted claims that the President, who is known to insult his adversaries on his Twitter account, called people 'mean names'. He then went on to call Woodward 'Bob Four-Eyed No-Talent Soup-Breath'.

Fallon's President also denied the claim in the book that his former chief-of-staff John Kelly castigated him as 'an idiot'.

The White House chief of staff allegedly said, 'We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.'

To this, Fallon's Trump said: 'Let me be clear: I am not an idiot. And I won Crazy Town by 10 points in the election.'

Highlights: The most searing quotes in Bob Woodward's book WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT TRUMP: JOHN KELLY, CHIEF OF STAFF: 'He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.' JAMES MATTIS, DEFENSE SECRETARY: 'Fifth- or sixth-grader' REX TILLERSON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: 'He's a f***ing moron.' JOHN DOWN, FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'F***ing liar.' JOHN DOWD ON HOW TRANSCRIPT OF A MUELLER INTERVIEW WOULD BE DESCRIBED BY FOREIGN LEADERS: 'I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?' GARY COHN, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: 'A professional liar' ROB PORTER, FORMER STAFF SECRETARY WHO QUIT WHEN BOTH EX-WIVES ACCUSED HIM OF ABUSE: 'A third of my job was trying to react to some of the really dangerous ideas that he had and try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren't such good ideas.' WHAT THEY SAID TO EACH OTHER: STEVE BANNON TO IVANKA TRUMP: 'You're nothing but a f***ing staffer! You walk around this place and act like you're on charge, and you're not. You're on staff!' IVANKA TRUMP TO STEVE BANNON: 'I'm not a staffer! I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter and I'm never going to be a staffer!' JOHN KELLY TO GARY COHN: 'If that was me, I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his a** six different times.' DOWD TO ROBERT MUELLER: 'He just made something up. That's his nature.' WHAT TRUMP SAID ABOUT THEM: BARACK OBAMA: 'Weak d**k' RUDY GIULIANI, PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'Rudy, you're a baby. I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?' WILBUR ROSS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: 'I don't trust you. I don't want you doing any more negotiations. You're past your prime.' H.R McMASTER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: 'Dresses like a beer salesman.' REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: 'Like a little rat. He just scurries around.' AFTER EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT FATAH AL-SISSI ASKED IF HE WAS GOING TO BE AROUND: 'Like a kick in the nuts.' BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN DICTATOR: 'Let's f***ing kill him! Let's go in. Let's kill the f***ing lot of them.' Advertisement

Furious: President Trump has been on the warpath after extracts of Bob Woodward's new book were published, slamming the book as 'fraud'

'He also said I called Rudy Giuliani a terrible lawyer and that he's a baby that needs his diaper changed,' Fallon said. 'That part is true.'

Fallon concluded the skit by admitting that although the book is 'totally biased, full of lies and an absolute disgrace', he had not read it because 'like all books I'm just waiting for the movie.'

In real life, Trump has been on the warpath since extracts from Woodward's book Fear, which is released next week, were published in the Washington Post.

He has slammed the book itself as a 'fraud' and labeled Woodward a 'Dem operative'.

The famed Watergate journalist writes that John Kelly called the president 'an idiot' and James Mattis compared him to a 'fifth grader'.

Trump is also reported in the book to have called Attorney General Jeff Sessions.Jeff Sessions 'mentally retarded' and 'a dumb southerner'.

While White House aides have become increasingly numb to fresh scandals, the latest book has increased tensions in the West Wing, especially given the intimate details shared and the number of people Woodward appeared to have interviewed.

Some White House officials expressed surprise at the number of erstwhile Trump loyalists willing to offer embarrassing stories of the president and his inner circle.

White House aides on Tuesday coordinated with other officials quoted in the book to dispute troublesome passages. But insiders speculated the fallout could be worse than that from 'Fire and Fury,' given Woodward's storied reputation.
Keisha McLeod, 40, who has renewed her appeal for information to catch the killers of her son, is pictured at Scotland Yard

The mother of a 14-year-old boy shot dead in London a year ago has revealed that he had been targeted by gangs to sell drugs as soon as he hit his teens.

Keisha McLeod, 40, who today renewed her appeal for information to catch the killers of her son in East London, said she believed he was sucked into gang culture by small gifts such as sweets and drinks from senior gang members.

Corey Junior Davis was found with a 17-year-old boy with gunshot injuries in Newham on September 4 last year.

The youngster, known as CJ, died in hospital the following day, while the older boy suffered life-changing injuries but survived the attack.

Ms McLeod has been taunted on social media with drill music videos directly mentioning her son's death.

But she branded the people who post them as 'cowards', adding: 'One of the videos said 'I care not that your buried your son, I laughed when I saw you cry'.'

Ms McLeod insisted it would not stop her from speaking out, saying: 'It blows my mind to think that I'm supposed to be scared now when they have taken my child.'

Corey Junior Davis was found with a 17-year-old boy with gunshot injuries last September

She added: 'Every day is a day without my son - it's been a year of getting used to the fact he's not there to look after any more, it's not him who comes first. There is only me.'

Ms McLeod said that in the year before CJ's death she had taken him out of school and was home educating him.

She had applied to move to a different area because she was so afraid for his safety and the change in his behaviour.

She said: 'When I'm looking at him and he's getting into different levels of misbehaving, or seeing certain traits that didn't used to be my son's traits, I'm not going to stay blind to that, I'm going to tackle that head-on.

'I could see my son being put into situations he didn't know how to handle.'

She continued: 'The person that I was raising wasn't the person that was sitting in front of me at certain points, so I'd say 'If there's anytime in life when things aren't going right, it's me you're supposed to speak to'.

Ms McLeod (pictured with her son CJ) said today that 'every day is a day without my son'

'I had a situation where CJ called me because people have taken him to sell drugs - he was supposed to be at a youth club until six o'clock and he didn't call me until almost eight o'clock ad he said 'Mum, these boys have told me I've got to sell drugs until 8pm'.

'He gave me the area and I took it upon myself to drive around that area until I saw my son - I picked him up, I took him to a secluded area, and I said 'If there's ever a time to trust me, it's now - give me what you've got'.

'I took what he had and his hands were shaking. He was a 13-year-old child at this time.'

She added: 'Somebody has taken it upon themselves to manipulate my son's mind to think that this is what he should be doing.'

Ms McLeod thinks CJ could have been drawn into criminal activity by older gang members offering him something as simple as sweets or drinks.

In the wake of the murder, a rival gang glorified the killing in a drill music video featuring youths with their faces covered.

The lyrics said: 'Mum's been shedding tears, somebody tell her I don't give a f*** that her son ain't here.'

When asked if she ever felt afraid about speaking out, she said: 'It blows my mind to think that I'm supposed to be scared now when they've taken my child - that part of me is already gone. so my fear is actually non-existent when it comes to them.'

In the year before CJ's death, his mother had taken him out of school and was home educating him

She added: 'Yes, that song hurts my heart and it hurts me that you can talk about it so easily - but this is why I'm going to keep on speaking out - that calibre of people need to come off the streets so I'll continue to speak out against them, I have no care.'

Police are now hunting for the driver of a metallic grey 2011 Range Rover Sport HSE TDV6 captured on CCTV at 14.53 - just a few minutes before the shooting.

The vehicle was later identified as one stolen from Haverhill Road in Balham, south London, on August 24 2017.

It circled the group in the playground before the gunman left the vehicle, fired at CJ and the 17-year-old, got back inside and fled the area at speed.

Investigators want to trace anyone who might know who was in the vehicle, or may have bought it unwittingly in the weeks after the killing.

What is drill music and is it fuelling crime? 'Drill' music, a hip-hop subgenre, is driving feuding gang wars in Britain, community leaders have warned. Hundreds of videos on YouTube feature UK rappers threatening and provoking people from rival areas in London. To 'drill' means to fight or scrap and the violent lyrics focus on gang life, drugs, guns and killing. In one video viewed nearly three million times, rapper Digga D boasts about having to bleach his knife after using it to attack someone. In another, entitled 'Mummy's Kitchen', rappers Loski and Mayski, who are thought to be Londoners, boast about taking a blade from the family home. In the videos, which are filmed across the city, performers take care to ensure their faces are covered. Advertisement

Ms McLeod said police could not solve the murder on their own and called for anyone with any information at all to come forward.

She said: 'There's always been a barrier of police and the public - even without people dying, it's just how certain situations have gone in the past.

'But one thing I want to put in people's mind when it comes to situations to do with children, is that this is not a normal situation - this is something out of the ordinary, a child in the middle of the day in the park, that's what you've got to think about in this situation.

'That boy could be anybody's son - if you know anything you have to speak up, the fact of it is that this is a child killer on the street.'

She said the emerging genre of drill music - often involving rival gangs taunting in each other in videos posted on YouTube - along with other forms of social media and a 'get rich quick' mentality among gang members had contributed to rising levels of violent crime in London.

She also blamed lack of ambition and neglect by the Government - which has seen resources for youths in poorer areas slashed.

'It also comes down to people closing their eyes to things that are happening on a day-to-day basis,' She said.

She added: 'If you've got information relating to this incident, then why are you sitting on that? This could happen to any member of your family. We're always hearing that another person's been killed, I don't want to hear these stories - I don't want another person to be sitting where I am.'

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams said he did not believe that CJ was specifically targeted by the killer, only that he was closest to the gunman when he fired on the group he was standing with.

Instead, he believes the attack was just part of wider gang conflict.

He said the people who made the drill video about CJ's death formed one strand of the investigation, saying that while some were masked, others were not, saying 'They actually want to be known.'

Mr Whellams urged anyone who may Know anything to contact police or Crimestoppers, saying: 'In order to combat this type of crime we need co-operation - the police can't do this on their own, we need co-operation from the community at large.

'Whatever anyone tells us will be treated sensitively and confidentially and we can protect them from any fear of retribution.'
Australia's top real estate agent says battling renters should move to cities like Adelaide and Perth to make their dollar go further.

Real Estate Institute of Australia president Malcolm Gunning also believes those struggling to pay for housing should look at taking on a second job.

'Do the hard yards. Maybe even, God forbid, get two jobs,' Mr Gunning told the ABC's 7.30 program.

'Now, your viewers will hate that, OK, but many, many people do it - a lot of our migrants work two jobs.'

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Real Estate Institute of Australia president Malcolm Gunning (pictured) said he does not believe the nation is facing a rental affordability crisis

Mr Gunning said cities such as Perth (pictured) should be looked at as an alternative to renting in places like Sydney and Melbourne

Adelaide (pictured) should also be considered, Mr Gunning said, but more jobs needed to be created in the city to make it more of an attractive option

Mr Gunning said he did not believe the nation was facing a rental affordability crisis, despite many Australians devoting more of their income to rent.

'I don't accept there's a rental affordability crisis, not in Australia, because most of the stats are focused on Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne,' Mr Gunning said.

Rents in Sydney and Melbourne were staying at sky-high levels because that was where the population growth was occurring, he said.

Mr Gunning said it was time Adelaide and Perth were looked at as serious alternatives to cities like Sydney and Melbourne.

'What we need to do is create jobs in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and I'm sure many of your viewers, if they can earn the same money, they'd bolt,' he said.

Mr Gunning said renters must also acknowledge the fact the closer they live to a city, the more expensive it will be.

Mr Gunning said while rents were expensive close to a major city's CBD, housing on the fringes were much more affordable (stock image)

Living on the fringe of a major city is a more affordable option for renters, he said.

In Sydney, a studio apartment just five kilometres from the CBD is up for rent with the asking price of $470 a week - about 30 per cent of Australia's average weekly wage.

Mr Gunning said while that type of apartment might not be to everyone's liking, it was the price of convenience.

According to Ellen Witte, a specialist in economic geography at SGS Economics and Planning, rental stress is affecting 45 per cent of low-income households.
The confronting life of a superyacht stewardess has been exposed in the wake of Sinead McNamara's death.

Ms McNamara, a 20-year-old Australian Instagram model, is believed to have taken her own life while working as a crew member on board the $190million Mayan Queen IV, docked at a port in the Greek islands.

In the months leading up to her death, the young model appeared to be living the dream - hopping from island to island while working on a luxury boat for one of the world's richest men - Mexican billionaire Alberto Bailleres.

But behind the glamorous social media posts lies a darker reality where drug use is rampant, secret prostitutes are smuggled on board and sleep-deprived hostesses work around the clock.

Former employees have lifted the lid on another side of the industry, where the only consistency is exhaustion.

Australian hostess Sarah Begbie (pictured, left, right) said she was unprepared for the gruelling work on board the superyacht she worked on

Australian women have revealed that it's common to work on as little as four hours sleep a night, months on end.

Australian hostess Sarah Begbie set sail for a superyachting lifestyle back in 2014, when her boyfriend, who worked on board luxury yacht, said his company was looking for staff.

She couldn't have known the gruelling work she was in for, previously telling Daily Mail Australia she would work absurd hours and sleep in a 'jail cell'.

The longest break she would take in a 16-hour work day was two minutes, expected to slave over customers late into the night.

The report comes after the tragic and untimely death of Australian Instagram model and yacht stewardess Sinead McNamara (pictured) on a superyacht in a Greek port

Sarah Begbie (pictured) said her 'jail cell' living quarters were so small there was only enough floor-space for one person to change clothes at a time

CONFESSIONS OF SUPERYACHT HOSTESS SARAH BEGBIE - Sarah Begbie started working on a superyacht at age 23 - She spent a year and a half living on a 164ft Trinity yacht with her boyfriend - The job took her to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Burma - A private chef cooked five-star food for guests and crew members - But staff worked a gruelling schedule of 16-hour work days - In some shifts the longest break she would take was two minutes long - The couple lived in a tiny cabin she described as a 'jail cell' - After midnight she made desserts and snacks for guests before waking up early to prepare breakfast Advertisement

As a hostess, Ms Begbie's duties involved keeping living quarters pristine, as well as serving up to 16 often demanding guests food and drinks.

'I could have never predicted the type of hard work I was in for,' Ms Begbie said.

'I usually started at 6am, and we would normally do 16-18 hour days - and I mean not sitting down for more than two minutes at a time, literally working the whole time.'

The rooms lived in by crew members were so small there was only enough floor-space for one person to change clothes at a time, she said.

As a hostess, Ms Begbie's (pictured) duties involved keeping living quarters pristine, as well as serving up to 16 often demanding guests food and drinks

'I usually started at 6am, and we would normally do 16-18 hour days,' Ms Begbie (pictured) said

Other hostesses, said they would be serving guests drinks until 3am, then get up only hours later to make them breakfast, reported The Daily Telegraph.

In the few hours they do get to sleep, their living quarters are packed tight.

Staff share cabins that are so small there isn't enough room for two people to stand at once.

In a handbook promoted by recruiters, it encourages potential stewardesses to understand their life needs to 'revolve around the boat, the owners, and the guests', and that anyone taking up the job has to put aside their own aspirations.

Sydney-born Tracey Zarowski also worked on superyachts, travelling through Europe for seven years.

She said while the work gave her the opportunity to see the world, the industry was grim.

Another employee, Dana Brown (pictured), said while the work was tough, she had a good trip

'The expectations are high  I knew one girl who was a little bit overweight and the owner didn't like that so she was fired,' Ms Zarowski said.

Other stewardesses agreed, saying they were instructed to 'turn a blind eye' to sexually inappropriate guests and ignore when prostitutes were brought on board.

Another said while prostitutes were a constant on the ships, rampant drug use was more eye-opening, on one occasion walking in on the billionaire owner with what she said was a needle in his arm.

The hostess said she was forced to work even when sick with bronchitis, and had a Russian guest throw tea in her face when the way she made it was not to his liking.

One worker, Dana Brown from Moonee Beach in New South Wales, said while customers expected everything to be 'beyond perfect', she enjoyed her year on the luxury ship.

'It's easy to glamorise but it's not just you travelling the world taking amazing photos,' she said.

Ms Brown says the worst part of her experience was getting swept up in a lavish lifestyle, earning thousands but also spending it.

Competition for jobs on yachts has increased in recent years, with some blaming Instagram accounts for glorifying what can be a grueling and confronting job.

There is no suggestion from Daily Mail Australia that drug use, inappropriate behaviour, prostitution or worker exploitation occurred on the Mayan Queen IV.
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Sharing smiles in between laughs after a long day of work while relaxing with friends on a storefront porch was an everyday scene in rural communities during the early 20th Century across America. For decades, residents of small towns played a major role in helping to power the United States by providing food and resources like coal that helped to establish the country as one of the most powerful in the world.

There was even once a time when the populations in rural communities collectively outnumbered those in urban areas. But starting in 1900, the population in rural areas declined from 60 per cent to 17 per cent due to the economic and cultural changes in the country with the advancement of technology.

Now, a new exhibit from the Smithsonians Museum on Main Street (MoMS) aims to highlight the changing landscape of rural America by looking at the 20th Century societal change and how Americans living in rural areas responded.

The exhibit, titled Crossroads: Change in Rural America, will specifically exam the changes that affected a handful of rural areas through a selection of photographs, objects, films and audio files, MoMS Project Director Robbie Davis told DailyMail.com.

Gathering after a long day of work, a group of men enjoy some laughs while relaxing on the porch of a general store in rural Gordonton, North Carolina in 1936. A new exhibit from the Smithsonians Museum on Main Street (MoMS) aims to highlight the changing landscape of rural America by looking at the 20th-century societal change and how Americans living in rural areas responded. The above photo is just one of many that depicts the life of those living in rural areas during the early 20th Century and is included in the exhibit

A group of young children are pictured above gathering around a mobile library belonging to the Central Rappahannock Regional Library in the small town of Rappahannock, Virginia in 1940. The new exhibit, titled Crossroads: Change in Rural America, will specifically exam the changes that affected a handful of rural areas through a selection of photographs, objects, film and audio, MoMS Project Director Robbie Davis told DailyMail.com

Museum on Main Street celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2019 and this show kind of sums up a lot of our learnings and a lot of our experiences with rural communities over the past 25 years. And Crossroads, at its core is defined by its subtitle - what has changed in rural America, Davis stated.

And what we do in this exhibition, as we look at how communities have changed, we ask what are some of the factors that are driving that change and how our communities dealing with them? How are they putting out their futures and what, how are they determining what the questions that they're facing are and what the best solutions for them are?

Davis explained that rural America began changing between the late 19th century and early 20th century, just as urban America did as well.

Urban America's population started to grow exponentially during the 20th century. It went from being about half of the American population living in rural areas to now you have more than 80 per cent, Davis said.

There's a quick change in population distribution in a really fairly short period of time. And a lot of lot of factors influenced that like industrialization, migration, people moving in from different places, people finding that the rural economy didn't work for them any longer. Some people stopped farming and moved to industrial jobs, you know, all kinds of different factors went into that.

A group of people are pictured above taking a dip in a swimming hole located in rural Ginger Hole, Missouri in 1902. Davis explained that both rural and urban communities in America began changing between the late 19th century and early 20th century

Workers, including a small child on the far left, are pictured above installing sewer pipes in the small town of Kearney, Nebraska in an undated photo. Davis said: Urban America's population started to grow exponentially during the 20th century. It went from being about half of the American population living in rural areas to now you have more than 80 per cent

Pictured above is a man on top of a huge pile of logs while holding ropes that are connected to two horses below, likely securing the big load before transporting them to a market in the small community of Newaygo County, Michigan in 1887

An older woman is pictured above picking fresh hop and placing them in a basket in this photo. It's unclear where or when the photo was taken, but it is one of the many captivating images showcasing what life was like for residents apart of rural communities decades ago in America

A horse-drawn plow and tractor till are pictured above in 1941 on a field in Shelby County, Iowa - just another example of how people in rural communities have worked to feed the country for decades

Pictured above is a plowed field in an undated photo that is part of the collection in the exhibit. Of the population change, Davis added: There's a quick change in population distribution in a really fairly short period of time. And a lot of lot of factors influenced that like industrialization, migration, people moving in from different places, people finding that the rural economy didn't work for them any longer. Some people stopped farming and moved to industrial jobs, you know, all kinds of different factors went into that

A man is pictured in the above undated image installing power lines near rural Arcadia, Wisconsin as two farm workers look on. Davis added that the exhibit also tries to explain what rural identity is and what even constitutes rural America

Davis added that the exhibit also tries to explain what rural identity is and what even constitutes rural America. In trying to answer that, he conceded that there are a lot of different definitions that exist.

Even the government or different government agencies have different definitions for what that means. People kind of know a rural community when they see it or the way that it appeals to them, Davis said.

There might be something about the size of the town or the landscape around it that speaks to them and they get there and they go, we know this feels rural to me or this feels like that kind of environment,.

The exhibit also discusses the connections between land and rural America, since they are inextricably linked, he stated.

One of the incredible images apart of the exhibit shows a group of young African-American children crowded around whats called a bookmobile  a truck with a variety of books on it.

So a lot of rural communities had bookmobiles and this one in particular that photo is from a small town in central Virginia taken in the 1940s, Davis explained.

Dozens of black and white and color photos included in the exhibit showcase the variety of occupations that people held in rural areas. Pictured above is an undated image showing a cattle round-up on ranch land that is part of the exhibit

Another beautiful image part of the touring exhibition is the photo pictured above showing a glowing sun over a farmstead in a rural area of Utah. Smithsonian officials noted that this exhibit is also important because they 'want to focus on the fact that rural communities continue to evolve' and are not a thing of the past

Besides photos, the exhibit also includes postcards, like the one pictured above showing Main Street looking south in the small town of Canandaigua, New York

The exhibit also includes the above oil on canvas painting from 1939 titled South Texas Panorama by Warren Hunter that's part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The image shows a variety of people doing a number of activities

The people who operated the bookmobile were either librarians or people who worked for a library and they volunteered with these trucks to drive them out to rural communities, from town to town.

Not every town had a physical library, but the bookmobile was one way of providing that service.

Another captivating photo included in the exhibit shows a group of people swimming in a small body of water in the early 1900s.

Thats a photo we use to talk about recreation and showing how people have had a connection to land for a long time, Davis shared.

So not only is rural America a place where the land is used for agriculture use, but Americans have a connection to land in many, many ways.

Dozens of black and white and color photos included in the exhibit showcase the variety of occupations that people held in rural areas since the 20th Century up until today.

One photo in particular shows a man installing a telephone or electrical line near a grassy area during the early 20th Century.

Davis and other Smithsonian officials hope that the traveling exhibit inspires people in rural areas across the country to share their stories. Pictured above is an undated photo showing coal miners heading into a mine in Missouri

Pictured above is an image part of the exhibit that shows Bob "Sully" Sullivan displays his produce at the Olympia Farmers' Market in Olympia, Washington, which is the state's second-largest farmer's market behind Pike Place in Seattle. Rural farmers often sell their crops and other products at farmers' markets in towns large and small

Pictured above is another image part of the exhibit showing California farmer Mai Nguyen while she examines harvesting equipment she uses as a member of a cooperative of small farmers, which shares equipment to lower costs in Petaluma, California. Three copies of the exhibition will be on a simultaneous tour first from September 8 to October 20 in Chester, Illinois, Union, South Carolina and Cedar Key, Florida

The power of electricity coming to rural areas cannot be underestimated. It really revolutionized life and a lot of communities, Davis said.

And we actually have a section of the exhibition where that photo is located, along with a little audio component where you can hear a couple of stories from people talking about just how revolutionary life became in their homes, just overnight from electricity arriving in the 1930s and 40s.

A lot of people in rural communities actually banded together to bring electricity in through electric co-ops and in many places those cooperative industry still kind of operate today.

Davis and other Smithsonian officials hope that the traveling exhibit inspires people in rural areas across the country to share their stories.

In addition, Smithsonian officials noted that this exhibit is also important because they 'want to focus on the fact that rural communities continue to evolve' and are not a thing of the past.

Three copies of the exhibition will be on a simultaneous tour first from September 8 to October 20 in Chester, Illinois, Union, South Carolina and Cedar Key, Florida.
The CBS board is in negotiation talks with CEO Les Moonves for a $100 million exit package, sources claim.

News of the settlement talks comes just over a month after the New Yorker's bombshell report detailing six women's claims of sexual assault and harassment against Moonves.

The longtime CBS chief admitted he 'may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances', but denied he assaulted anyone or ever used his position to harm anyone's career.

While his contract states that Moonves could expect up to $180 million in severance and a production deal, the CBS board is only offering around $100 million almost entirely in stock, sources told CNBC.

The CBS board is in negotiation talks with CEO Les Moonves over a $100 million exit package, sources claim

The board is also negotiating for them to be able to seize back some of the compensation if the sexual misconduct allegations are confirmed. It was not immediately clear if this could mean Moonves receives less than $100 million or anything at all.

CBS COO Joe Ianniello would serve as Moonves' interim replacement.

CBS shares were up 0.7 per cent to $53.33 in morning trading.

The network declined to comment. Representatives of the board and representatives for the investigations into Moonves declined to comment.

Moonves, who joined CBS in 1995 and became CEO in 2006, has been locked in a legal battle over control of the company with National Amusements, its largest shareholder, owned by Shari Redstone and her father Sumner who also control media company Viacom Inc.

Viacom shares fell nearly 1 per cent on Thursday.

Chen and Moonves were married in 2004, after both had been working at CBS for several years. They are pictured above at an event in March with eight-year-old son Charlie

CBS is in settlement talks with Shari Redstone and National Amusements, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Moonves received total compensation of $69.33 million in 2017, making him one of the highest paid U.S. executives.

CBS in August said it had retained two law firms and that the board had also set up a special committee to probe the allegations against Moonves.

According to a filing from CBS in April, if Moonves is terminated for cause, or in the event of resignation without 'good reason,' no incremental payments and benefits would be made to him.

One of the definitions for 'cause' include 'willful and material violation of any Company policy that is generally applicable to all employees or officers of the Company, including, but not limited to, policies concerning insider trading or sexual harassment,' according to the filing.

Moonves said that he regretted making women 'uncomfortable by making advances' after claims emerged from six women spanning different time periods over two decades, from 1985 to 2006. He said that he understood ''no' means 'no'' and had never used his position to harm anyone's career.

'Throughout my time at CBS, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees, and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions across our company,' he said in a statement.

Chen posted a statement on Twitter Friday afternoon after The New Yorker article published allegations from six women accusing the father-of-four of sexual assault and intimidation

'I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely.

'But I always understood and respectedand abided by the principlethat 'no' means 'no,' and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career.

'This is a time when we all are appropriately focused on how we help improve our society, and we at CBS are committed to being part of the solution.'

Among the six women accusing Moonves are Emmy-nominated actress Illeana Douglas, who told The New Yorker that after signing a $300,000 first-look deal with CBS in 1996 she found herself fending off Moonves.

They two spent months working together and Douglas said she came to see him like a 'father,'' until the day he allegedly forced himself on her in his office.

Douglas, who had just split from Marin Scorcese and was working on the network's sitcom Queens, said it all happened in a flash.

'In a millisecond, he's got one arm over me, pinning me,' said Douglas, who described the 'physicality' of the incident as horrendous.

Douglas said she eventually broke free from Moonves, but unable to function on set she found herself out of a job soon after and was replaced in the network's sitcom.

Moonves is the one of the most powerful people to be hit with allegations of sexual misconduct as the #MeToo movement persists. He is pictured above with Charlie Rose, also accused of misconduct, in 2011

She told multiple people and got a lawyer, which resulted in CBS paying her $125,000 for her work on Queens and $250,000 to star in a television miniseries.

'I go from being sexually assaulted, fired for not having sex with Les Moonves, fired by everyone, to 'We are going to pay you in full and we also want you to be on this miniseries',' Douglas said.

'My understanding is, this is what they were going to do in exchange for not suing.'

When asked to comment on the miniseries deal and payment to Douglas, CBS said: 'There were no funds added for settlement purposes. The amount paid was half of what she was owed, which is not what one might do if concerned about a claim such as this.'

Janet Jones said that Moonves forced himself on her at a pitch meeting while producer Christine Peters said that she was delivering a presentation for a position at CBS Studio when the executive out his hand under her skirt, an accusation he 'categorically denies.'

The board's directors responded by saying that the Independent Directors of CBS would investigate the claims and 'take appropriate action.'

Moonves, pictured with Chen at the Oscars in February, confessed to making 'uncomfortable advances' in the past but denied accusations that he assaulted or intimidated any women

Meanwhile, Moonves' wife has said she is standing by her husband.

Julie Chen posted a statement on Twitter in July, defending the father-of-four.

'I have known my husband, Leslie Moonves, since the late '90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years,' Chen wrote.

'Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement.'

The couple began dating in 2004 while his divorce to first wife Nancy Wiesenfeld was still pending - with rumors circling that Chen had been the cause of the break up.

Moonves sped up the divorce process so that he could marry Chen in a beach ceremony just 13 days after the papers were finalized.

The couple welcomed son Charlie in 2009. Moonves also has three children from his previous marriage.
No touching or flirting, don't ask overly personal questions or comment on someone's appearance - and definitely don't try to have sex.

These are the community guidelines for all Uber drivers that have been in place since the ride-sharing giant opened in Australia six years ago.

The guidelines explain what behaviour is expected from both riders and driver-partners when using Uber.

Uber has strict new ground rules that drivers and riders must adhere to under its new community guidelines, which come into effect later this month

These guidelines have been updated for the first time in Australia and New Zealand to allow Uber riders who fall below a minimum average rating to will lose access to the Uber app.

They come into effect on September 19.

'This is a vital step in maintaining an enjoyable experience for both riders and driver-partners on the app, and fostering an environment of mutual respect,' the Uber website states.

'This is important because when driver-partners use Uber they do more than simply drive: they're sharing their own car, their space, their time and a slice of who they are with passengers.'

The new guidelines follow a number of sexual assault allegations against drivers (stock image)

Uber's driver-passenger guidelines are designed to ensure Uber is enjoyable and safe for everyone.

'It's OK to chat with other people in the car. But please don't comment on someone's appearance or ask whether they are single,' the guidelines state.

'And don't touch or flirt with other people in the car. As a reminder, Uber has a no sex rule. That's no sexual conduct between drivers and riders, no matter what.'

Reasons why riders could lose access to Uber include damage drivers or other passengers property, physical or unwanted contact with the driver or fellow riders and use of inappropriate and abusive language or gestures

Overly personal questions, and making comments or gestures that are 'aggressive, sexual, discriminatory, or disrespectful' are also off limits.

Uber driver Muhammad Naveed (pictured) is behind bars after he was found guilty of guilty of raping a woman in her 20s outside a Kings Cross nightclub in 2015

Uber may put a hold on riders' accounts while investigating complaints against them.

'If the issues raised are serious or a repeat offence, or you refuse to cooperate, you may lose access to Uber,' the guidelines state.

'Any behaviour involving violence, sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination, or illegal activity while using Uber can result in the immediate loss of access to your account.'

Last week, an Uber driver was charged after he allegedly raped a teenager in North Bondi after dropping off her two friends.

Police said the girl, 17, was sleeping at the time of the alleged assault.

The driver, 37, is not allowed to operate as a ride-share service driver and was bailed to appear in Liverpool Local Court on October 25.

Uber riders who fall below a minimum average rating will lose access to the Uber app (pictured)

Last year, a jury found Sydney Uber driver Muhammad Naveed, 41, guilty of raping a woman in her 20s outside a Kings Cross nightclub in 2015.

Naveed pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming the sex was consensual.

Facing up to 14 years behind bars, he was sentenced to a minimum of six years and four months and will be eligible for parole in June 2023.

You cannot touch or flirt with other people in the car under Uber's new community guidlelines (pictured)

Uber drivers have welcomed the updated guidelines.
Britain's conclusion that two hitmen from Russia's GRU intelligence agency tried to kill a former spy with novichok has been backed by the US, France, Germany and Canada.

London's Met Police yesterday detailed how two men travelling under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, came to the UK, went to Sergei Skripal's house in Salisbury and quickly flew back to Russia.

Theresa May then outed the pair as GRU agents sent to kill the former double agent in an 'appalling' attack.

Today, she was backed by Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump, who said the attempted assassination was 'almost certainly' approved at a senior level of the Moscow government.

US, France, Germany and Canada have backed Britain's assessment that Russian intelligence services were behind the attempted nerve agent assassinations in Salisbury

Mrs May has spoken to all four of her fellow leaders in recent days to update them about the investigation.

The joint statement came as the war of words with Vladimir Putin's government escalated following the explosive claim of GRU involvement.

Security minister Ben Wallace said Mr Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the action of his intelligence agents.

He said Mr Putin had a strong grip over his state, which 'controls, funds and directs' the GRU.

Mr Wallace told the BBC: 'The GRU is, without doubt, not rogue, it is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, into the Kremlin and the president's office.'

He said the UK would 'use whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities' to 'push back the Russian malign activity'.

But Mr Wallace added: 'We are not the Russians, we don't adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.

'We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way.'

Donald Trump and Angela Merkel are among the allies who have backed Britain's conclusion that Russia's GRU was behind the novichok attack

French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also signed a statement saying the hit was 'almost certainly approved at a senior government level'

The joint statement by leaders of 'the quint' nations came as the UN Security Council - of which Russia is a permanent member - considered the Salisbury revelations.

Mrs May's official spokesman said that the Prime Minister was pleased to receive such a rapid and united response from allies.

'We got a swift response in March and we have done so again and we are thankful for that support,' he said.

The statement of the US, France, Germany and Canada in full The four leaders' joint statement says: 'We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, reiterate our outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent, known as Novichok, in Salisbury on March 4.' 'We welcome the progress made in the investigation into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and take note of the attempted murder charges brought yesterday against two suspects. 'We commend the work of the UK police and all those involved in this investigation. 'We also note the UK's analysis, independently verified by the OPCW, that the exact same chemical nerve agent was used in the poisoning of Dawn Sturgess and Charles Rowley as was used in the poisoning of the Skripals. 'We urge Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW. 'And we encourage those with information about the attack in Salisbury on March 4, as well as the further poisoning in Amesbury, to come forward to the UK authorities. The statement continued: 'We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level. 'We have already taken action together to disrupt the activities of the GRU through the largest ever collective expulsion of undeclared intelligence officers. 'Yesterday's announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies.' Advertisement




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The Senate Judiciary Committee erupted into angry clashes on the final day of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation  with Sen. Cory Booker saying he will face possible expulsion by releasing a document deemed confidential.

'This is about the closest I will probably have to an "I am Spartacus moment," said Booker, referencing the Hollywood classic about a slave rebellion in ancient Rome.

The New Jersey Democrat identified a Kavanaugh document related to racial profiling among the tens of thousands deemed 'committee confidential'  meaning senators can view them but they have not been released to the public in advance of the hearing.

'I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate,' Booker told his colleagues.

'This is about the closest I will probably have to an "I am Spartacus moment," said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who said he will on his own release a 'committee confidential' document about racial profiling

Republican Sen. John Cornyn tangled with Booker, saying he 'knowingly violated the rules.'

'I understand the consequences,' shot back Booker.

'I knowingly violated the rules that were put forth. I'm told the committee confidential rules have no consequences. So, sir, I come from a long line as all of us do as Americans of understanding what that kind of civil disobedience is and I understand the consequences. I am before your process is finished, I am going to release the e-mail about racial profiling,' said Booker, a possible presidential candidate.

'I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate. If Senator Cornyn believes I have violated senate rules, I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that e-mail right now.'

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn read from the standing rules of the Senate and called Booker's actions 'unbecoming'

Booker continued: 'I'm releasing it to expose that,number one, e-mails are being withheld from the public, have nothing to do with national security. Nothing to jeopardize the sanctity of those ideals that I hold dear. Instead, what I'm releasing this document right now to show, sir, is that we have a process here for a person, the highest office in the land, for a lifetime appointment, we're rushing through this before me and my colleagues can even read and digest the information.

Panel chairman Sen. Charles Grassley jumped in and implied Booker was grandstanding. ' Can I ask you how long you are going to say the same thing three or four times?'

Cornyn took a shot at Booker's motives. 'Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate,' he said at one point.

Cornyn, a Texas Republican, blasted Booker's move as 'outrageous.'

Brett Kavanaugh listens to Senators on day three of his confirmation hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Democrats complained that tens of thousands of his Bush era documents are being kept confidential

'This is about the closest I will probably have to an "I am Spartacus" moment,' said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker

'This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed classified by the executive branch because you happen to disagree with the classification decision. That is irresponsible and outrageous. And I hope that the senator will reconsider his decision, because no senator deserves to sit on this committee or serve in theSenate in my view if they decide to be a law unto themselves and willingly flout the rules of the Senate and the determination of confidentiality and classification,' said Cornyn, the number two GOP Senate leader.

'That is irresponsible and conduct unbecoming a senator.'

At another point, Booker taunted Cornyn: 'If what he said was sincere, there actually are Senate rules governing the behavior of senators. If he feels that I, and now my fellow colleagues who are with me, have violated those rules, if he is not a tempest in a tea pot but believes that, then bring the charges.'

'Go through the Senate process to take on somebody that you said is unbecoming to be a senator. Let's go through that process.

'Because I think the public should understand that at a moment that somebody is up for a lifetime appointment, that this issue does the public have a right to know,' he said.

The Senate can only expel a senator with a vote of two-thirds of its members, a hurdle Republicans could not hope to muster in the 51-49 body they control.

'All of us are ready to face that rule on the bogus designation of committee confidential, ' joined in Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut

'If somebody's going to land those charges, I hope that they will follow through,' Booker said, running through a list of fellow Democrats on the committee. 'I hope that they will bring charges against us,' he said. 'And I am ready to accept the full responsibility for what I have done.'

Cornyn read from Senate rules in response: 'Any senator, officer or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees and offices of the senate, shall be liable if a senator to suffer expulsion from the body and if an officer or employee to dismissal from the service of the Senate and to punishment or contempt.'

'Bring it. Bring it. Bring it,' Booker responded. 'Bring the charges. Bring it.'

'All of us are ready to face that rule on the bogus designation of committee confidential, ' joined in Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

'Even the threat raised by one of my colleagues to say is unfortunate, and that is a kind way of putting it,' he said.

Booker has questioned Kavanaugh Wednesday evening about his time as counsel to President George W. Bush. Republicans griped that Booker had referenced a 'committee confidential email.'
Russians living in London could face arrest in a crackdown on 'dirty money', it was claimed today, after Britain pointed the finger at Vladimir Putin over the Salisbury poisonings.

Some 140 'denial of assets' inquiries are underway, according to a Whitehall source, as the government faces calls to hit back at the Kremlin over the attacks on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

Theresa May claimed yesterday that the two men alleged to have carried out the assassination attempt in March were members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

The ongoing inquiries into dirty money include a 'significant' number of Russian citizens, the Evening Standard reported.

Wealthy Russians living in London could face arrest in a crackdown on 'dirty money' after Britain pointed the finger at Vladimir Putin (pictured) over the Salisbury poisonings

The crackdown on 'dirty money' could lead to the arrest of some individuals, security minister Ben Wallace said.

It came as Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat called for a fresh response against Putin, saying: 'We have to hit Putin where it hurts and that is in his wallet'.

Mr Tugendhat, the chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, told talkRADIO: 'This is absolutely threatening not just to us in the direct sense, in the murder of an innocent British woman.

'This is a threat to the world order that has kept the peace the since the end of the Second World War.'

More than 150 Russian intelligence officers were expelled from embassies around the world in a wave of diplomatic reprisals after the Novichok attack in Salisbury.

Then-home secretary Amber Rudd indicated that 'Unexplained Wealth Orders' could be used against Mr Putin's cronies with property in the UK.

Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich faced problems renewing his UK visa and was forced to take up Israeli citizenship amid the diplomatic crackdown.

In January, the US Treasury published a list of Mr Putin's cronies as part of a sanctions law designed to punish Russia for interfering in the US election.

Conservative MP and chair of the foreign affairs committee Tom Tugendhat (pictured) called for a fresh response, saying: 'We have to hit Putin where it hurts and that is in his wallet'

They included Mr Abramovich as well as Arsenal investor Alisher Usmanov, Mr Putin's former judo partner Arkady Rotenberg and energy tycoon Oleg Deripaska.

Security minister Ben Wallace said Mr Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the action of his intelligence agents.

Mr Wallace told the BBC: 'The GRU is, without doubt, not rogue, it is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, into the Kremlin and the president's office.'

In the latest statement from world leaders Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump joined Mrs May in condemning Russia's involvement.

'We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level,' the statement said.

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre the same day and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Officers have formally linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury when Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told media scrambling to figure out the identity of the mystery official behind an anonymous New York Times op-ed to call the publication on Thursday and stop bothering Trump aides.

'The media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop,' she said in a tweet.

The president's spokeswoman, who was not expected to hold a formal briefing for the press again this week, said: If you want to know who this gutless loser is, call the opinion desk of the failing NYT at 212-556-1234, and ask them. They are the only ones complicit in this deceitful act.

'We stand united together and fully support our President Donald J. Trump,' the statement from her Twitter account read.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told media scrambling to figure out the identity of the mystery official behind an anonymous New York Times op-ed to call the publication and stop bothering Trump aides

LEAVE US ALONE! Sanders has not held a formal press briefing in more than two weeks and wasn't expect to do so again on Thursday

Cabinet secretaries and their mouthpieces were inundated with requests on Thursday to comment on the shocking op-ed and pledge that it wasn't written by them.

Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats were among the senior administration officials flatly denying they were the anonymous writer of the essay that outlines a conspiracy within the administration to keep President Donald Trump from derailing the country.

New York Times executives within the news division were said on Thursday not to know who the person is - and there was a debate as to whether their reporters should participate in the pursuit.

Executive Editor Dean Baquet was among the executives who were left out of the loop when the editorial division, which functions as a separate entity, put out the unusual opinion, Vanity Fair reported.

Trump has launched a massive mole hunt for the author of scandalous piece that revealed members of his own administration are attempting to thwart him.

He said in a tweet that the author may be a traitor, as the act could be treason.

The president unloaded on the anonymous official as 'gutless' at a Wednesday event that was supposed to be a celebration of America's sheriffs. He continued to obsess over the issue into the evening and early Thursday morning on Twitter.

Reports indicated that the president has become more and more paranoid about who he can trust in the wake of bombshell books by journalists Bob Woodard and Michael Wolff and former friend and White House official Omarosa Manigault Newman.

Even the president's wife had issued a statement denouncing the op-ed on Thursday afternoon, as speculation swirled that the author could be Melania Trump.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Attorney General Jeff Session are all denying authorship of The Times piece.

A spokesperson for Justice told CNN it wasn't Sessions. His spokeswoman directed DailyMail.com to Sanders' statement telling reporters to call the NYT in response to an inquiry about both Sessions and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general.

Vice President Pence is flatly denying he's the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said 'it's not mine'

Pence's office tweeted a denial

Pence's denial was especially noteworthy after online speculation about who penned the piece narrowed in on the vice president, making him the odds on favorite as being the author.

Jarrod Agen, Pence's deputy chief of staff and communications director, tweeted that the vice president 'puts his name on his op-eds.'

'The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts,' he wrote Thursday morning.

And Pompeo told reporters during a visit to India that it wasn't him either.

'It's not mine,' he said, according to the Associated Press.

'I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave,' Pompeo said.

And Coats put out a statement denying either he or his deputy wrote the piece.

'Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not. From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible,' he said.

'.@stevenmnuchin1 is honored to serve @POTUS & the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for @nytimes to print this anonymous piece. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source. It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary,' tweeted Treasury Department spokesperson Tony Sayegh of Mnuchin.

'Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland - not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times. These types of political attacks are beneath the Secretary and the Department's mission,' press secretary Tyler Q. Houlton said.

'Haha nope,' said a spokesperson for Carson.

A Pentagon spokesperson denied it was Mattis.

'It was not his op-ed,' spokesperson Dana White said.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats denied he wrote The Times piece

Trump claims a 'deep state' is working against him

Who wrote the piece has become Washington's new guessing game and even the president is playing.

But a new report in Axios revealed Trump had fretted about leaks long before the latest revelations from Woodward and The Times' piece.

The president carried the hand-written list of leakers for some time last year.

'He would basically be like, 'We've gotta get rid of them. The snakes are everywhere. But we're getting rid of them,'' a source close to Trump told the publication.

Another source said Trump would examine the back seats of the Roosevelt Room during a meeting and look at the aides gathered there.

'One day, after one of those meetings, he said, 'Everything that just happened is going to leak. I don't know any of those people in the room.' ... He was very paranoid about this,' according to the account.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is denying authorship as is Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson are denying authorship

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen is denying she's the author

A Trump friend told the Washington Post trump believes he can only trust his children.

The president reacted to The Times piece with 'volcanic' anger and was 'absolutely livid,' The Post reported.

Trump suspects the author works on national security issues or in the Justice Department.

And the president is publicly expressing frustration that his own administration is working against him, claiming again he is a victim of 'the deep state.'

'The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don't know what to do,' he wrote on Twitter Thursday morning.

The guessing game has spread to Capitol Hill.

'I guess by process of elimination we'll come down to the butler,' House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joked to reporters.

The New York Times opinion piece describes the president as 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' and says the author is part of an organized 'resistance' whose goal is 'to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting [President] Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office.'

Within hours of its publication, online chatter Wednesday quickly focused on Pence as observers focused on one line describing the late Sen. John McCain as 'a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.'

That word  lodestar  is a favorite of the vice president. But a senior White House official told DailyMail.com that suspicion is not focused on him or anyone in his office following a frank discussion among the VP's senior staff.

The official suspects 'lodestar' was purposely included in the op-ed to throw journalists off the scent.

The term means 'a star that leads or guides' or 'serves as an inspiration, model, or guide.'

And it was trending on Twitter.

Word by word the essay in the Times has been picked apart for clues of who wrote it with guessing ranging from administration figures like Defense Secretary James Mattis or Attorney General Jeff Sessions to more out-of-the-box contenders like first lady Melania Trump to funny memes on social media.

Other than that there are few clues to the person's identity.

The Times called the author a 'senior official in the Trump administration,' which could describe hundreds of people - either aides in the West Wing or top-level staff in a Cabinet department.

One major clue may have been dropped by the Times itself in a tweet, which described the author as a 'he.'

President Trump is said to be on the hunt for the writer

Witch hunt: Social media jokers poked fun at Trump's furious hunt for the anonymous person who wrote the op-ed in the New York Times

A Times spokeswoman later told Business Insider that the pronoun was a mistake that shouldn't be read as a tip-off.

'Senior opinion editors know the identity of the official, as we pointed out in our editor's note,' Danielle Ha said in an email. 'The tweet was drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error.'

It is hard to tell from the piece what level of access the official had to the president. Although it describes meetings with the president, it steers clear of offering specific information that could point to the level of the writer's security clearance.

The author also fudges their political allegiance, saying they were not part of a 'resistance of the left' and supported some of Trump's policies.

The references to McCain and foreign policy have led to speculation it could be someone who works in the national security arena.

Names mentioned include James Mattis, John Kelly, Jeff Sessions and Dan Coats.

Others made the seemingly implausible suggestion that the writer could have come from within the Trump family - pointing the finger at Ivanka or her husband Jared Kushner, and even Melania.

Other random names have been suggested for the piece including first lady Melania Trump

And Ivanka Trump

Trump himself has called the writer 'gutless' and called on the newspaper to release the identity in the name of national security.

'Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?' Trump tweeted hours after the newspaper published a brutal opinion essay that the newspaper said was written by one of his senior-level appointees.

'If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!'

He has already ordered loyal aides to identify the sources of Woodward's book, and this probe could well be extended to encompass the Times article, CNN reported.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the author to 'do the right thing and resign.'

In an online introduction, the Times says the author's 'identity is known to us' and the person's 'job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.'

The essay describes a 'quiet resistance' that by its nature has remained secret but isn't designed to bring Trump down  only to curb his worst impulses.

'Ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left,' the author writes. 'We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.'

'But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.'

So rather than risk the invocation of the Constitution's 25th Amendment, the prescribed route for removing a president, he boasts that 'we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  it's over.'
A married couple from Louisiana have been sentenced to decades in prison after admitting to sexually abusing a young child for nearly four years.

Eric Bourg, 28, and Megan Bourg, 25, have pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated crime against nature perpetrated upon a victim under age 13.

On Wednesday, a judge sentenced the husband to 60 years in state prison without the possibly of parole.

Eric Bourg (left), 28, and Megan Bourg (right), 25, have been sentenced to 60 and 40 years in prison, respectively, for sexually abusing a child for nearly four years

The married couple have pleaded guilty to one count each of aggravated crime against nature perpetrated upon a victim under age 13

His wife received a 40-year sentence in state prison, reported Nola.com.

Under the conditions of the couple's plea agreements, the Bourgs will be required to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

The couple, who live in Ama, have been married for four years and have two daughters together, according to the wife's social media account.

The Bourgs were arrested in October 2017. According to an indictment, the pair were accused of sexually abusing the juvenile victim between January 1, 2014, and October 23, 2017.

Officials have not shared any details about the victim to protect his or her privacy due to the sexual nature of the crime.
An Oregon romance writer has been arrested for allegedly shooting her husband dead at the culinary school where he was lead instructor.

Nancy L. Crampton-Brophy, 68, was arrested on Wednesday at her Beaverton home accused of killing her husband Daniel Brophy, 63, on June 2 at the Oregon Culinary Institute.

Crampton-Brophy - who has published novels entitled 'The Wrong Husband' and 'The Wrong Lover' - was booked into Multnomah County Detention Center accused of murder and unlawful use of a firearm, according to Oregon Live.

Nancy L. Crampton-Brophy, 68, (right) was arrested on Wednesday suspicion of killing her husband Daniel Brophy, 63, (left) who was fatally shot on June 2 at the Oregon Culinary Institute where he was lead instructor

The day after his murder she posted on Facebook announcing his death saying 'please save phone calls for a few days' and 'I'm struggling to make sense of everything right now'

On June 2, 2018 Brophy was found shot in the kitchen area of the school by his horrified students. His wife had penned the book 'The Wrong Husband'

On June 2, 2018 Brophy was found shot in the kitchen area of the school by his horrified students.

He worked at the school since 2006 and was a marine biology and mushroom expert, according to the institute's website.

Crampton-Brophy is an author and she lived together with her husband in Beaverton.

A day after his death she took to Facebook to share an eerie post announcing his death and urging friends to refrain from calling her.

'For my facebook friends and family, I have sad news to relate. My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy was killed yesterday morning. For those of you who are close to me and feel this deserved a phone call, you are right, but I'm struggling to make sense of everything right now,' she wrote.

Crampton-Brophy - who has published novels entitled 'The Wrong Hero' and 'Hell On The Heart' - was booked into Multnomah County Detention Center accused of murder and unlawful use of a firearm

He was found dead at the Oregon Culinary Institute where he was lead instructor by students, pictured left with a friend

Crampton-Brophy pictured right selling her novels which she describes as 'romance suspense' with titles like 'The Wrong Husband' and 'The Wrong Lover'. She was booked into jail on charges of murder and unlawful use of a weapon

Brophy was fatally shot here at the Oregon Culinary Institute where he taught

'While I appreciate all of your loving responses, I am overwhelmed. Please save phone calls for a few days until I can function,' she added.

On her website she writes that she's married to a chef 'whose mantra is: life is a science project'.

'Like all marriages, weve had our ups and downs, more good times than bad,' she adds.

She says her romance suspense stories are about 'pretty men and strong women, about families that dont always work and about the joy of finding love and the difficulty of making it stay'.

She penned 'The Wrong Series' with books entitled 'The Wrong Cop', 'The Wrong Husband', 'The Wrong Seal', 'The Wrong Lover', 'The Wrong Hero'.

She is scheduled for her first court appearance in Multnomah County Thursday afternoon.

It is not immediately clear if Crampton-Brophy has an attorney.
Bill Clinton took a break from the US Open for a date night at the theater with Hillary.

The political power couple were spotted watching off-Broadway play Little Rock at the Sheen Center in Manhattan on Tuesday night.

A standing ovation greeted the Clintons as they arrived for a performance of the critically-praised production, which tells the story of the Little Rock Nine.

The Clintons attended the play on the 61-year-anniversary of the day nine black students were barred from attending Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas.

They were joined by their friend Ernest Green, a member of the Little Rock Nine and the first black student to ever graduate from the school.

Bill and Hillary Clinton were spotted watching Little Rock, an off-Broadway play being performed at the Sheen Center in Manhattan, on Tuesday

They were joined by their friend Ernest Green (pictured center in a blue tie). Green was a member of the Little Rock Nine and the first black student to ever graduate from the school

Green, and other members of the Little Rock Nine, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal from Clinton during his presidency in 1999.

After the performance, the Clintons led a standing ovation of their own for the cast and then greeted them on stage, according to Broadway World.

They later took pictures with the cast and crew, including a selfie that was posted on the play's official Instagram page.

'ICONIC: Former President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Clinton and Ernest Green, member of Little Rock Nine, joined us for tonight's performance!' the caption read.

Actor Charlie Hudson III, who plays Green in the play, also posted pictures.

'The Clintons and Bro Ernest Green came to the show tonight!' he wrote in the caption.

'The President and Bro. Green said I play the sax better than they ever could, lol.'

Green, and other members of the Little Rock Nine, were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal from Clinton during his presidency in 1999

After the performance, the Clintons led a standing ovation of their own for the cast and crew and then greeted them on stage

Actor Charlie Hudson, who plays Green in the production, proudly posed for pictures with the former Secretary of State

The couple may have gone to the play on the recommendation of their daughter Chelsea, who was spotted at a performance on August 15.

Bill, an Arkansas native, also has a long history of his own with the state.

After meeting Hillary at Yale Law School, Clinton began teaching law at the University of Arkansas and ran for a seat in the US House of Representatives.

Hillary had turned down his many marriage proposals, but changed her plans after she failed the District of Columbia Bar Exam but passed the Arkansas exam.

'I chose to follow my heart instead of my head,' she would later write.

He also posed for pictures with Clinton and revealed the former president and Green said he played the saxophone better 'than they ever could'

The couple also took a number of selfies with the overjoyed cast and crew on Tuesday, as well as Green's daughter MacKenzie (pictured far right)

Bill was elected as Governor of Arkansas in 1978, and Hillary - in what was not the last time - became his First Lady.

The Clinton Presidential Center now stands in Little Rock, which made its mark in history books on September 4, 1957.

Segregation in schools was deemed unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court three years prior in the landmark Brown v Board of Education case.

But Arkansas Gov Orval Faubus forbade the nine students from attending Central High School, even using the National Guard to stop them until President Dwight D Eisenhower intervened.

A standing ovation greeted the Clintons as they arrived for a performance of the play, about the famous Little Rock Nine

Before their date night this week, the Clintons were spotted putting on a loved-up display together at the wedding of Zach Lasry and Arianna Lyons.

The Clintons are longtime friends of the groom's father Marc Lasry, a billionaire hedge fund manager.

Lasry is not only one of the Clinton's most generous supporters, but also employed Chelsea Clinton between 2006 and 2009 at his $12billion hedge fund.

The circus-themed wedding, complete with acrobats and taxidermist animals, was held on the grounds of Harvey Weinstein's former Connecticut estate.

The couple may have gone to the play on the recommendation of their daughter Chelsea, who was spotted at a performance on August 15 (pictured)

The political power couple's daughter happily took pictures with the cast as well as producer Harvey Butler (pictured)

Both Bill and Hillary were in a festive mood at the nuptials, and in one photo posted by a guest could be seen sharing a tender moment on the dance floor.

There were also plenty of photos snapped by guests with the political heavyweights, which both Clintons were happy to oblige as evidenced on social media.

And, earlier this week, the former president was spotted watching Roger Federer's shocking loss at the US Open.

Although he was solo for the night, Bill seemed plenty entertained by both the match and fans who kept coming up to shake his hand.

Before their date night this week, the Clintons were spotted putting on a loved-up display together at the wedding of Zach Lasry and Arianna Lyons
A Wisconsin student is suing her college for violating her free speech rights after she was forced to stop handing out religious-themed Valentine's Day Cards.

The conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Milwaukee on behalf of Polly Olsen, a student at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College.

The lawsuit alleges Olsen, 29, was handing out cards in the Green Bay College's student center in February when security workers forced her to stop, saying she might offend people.

The Valentine's Day cards included messages and referenced Bible verses. One valentine said 'You are special! 1 John 4:11' and another said 'Jesus Loves You!'

Polly Olsen (left) claims her First Amendment rights were violated when she was prohibited from handing out religious-themed Valentines Day cards (right)

Olsen said her mother (shown on cellphone) began the tradition of making the cards while homeschooling Olsen and her siblings

The lawsuit challenges the college's policy of restricting public forums to a small section of campus.

Olsen claims she was not being disruptive, was not a threat, and that the suppression was 'based, in part, on the religious content of the cards,' according to the lawsuit.

Olsen argued she has been handing out cards on campus for several years, motivated by showing kindness to strangers.

She was told in the past that the public assembly policy would change.

This year, she decided to file a federal lawsuit against the college and a hearing took place on Tuesday.

Olsen said she is motivated by 'showing kindness to strangers'

Olsen told Action 2 News: 'I've been dealing with this issue for four years and they haven't changed anything.

'So it was time to reach out and have something else happen.

'Because everyone needs freedom, and if we don't have freedom of speech then truth can't prevail, and lies can run rampant,' Olsen added.

Olsen, who comes from Greenbay and is studying to become a paralegal, claimed campus security officials and others there violated her free speech rights by blocking a custom she described as 'caring for others.'

She added: 'And so it's a very important thing for our country to strengthen us, and to really build a unity because if we can't express our opinions then those underlying emotions can build.

'I love my school and I hate to do this, but I love my freedom and my country, and God more.'

She said her now-deceased mother started a family tradition of sharing religious Valentines while home-schooling her and her siblings.

According to the school's incident report obtained by FOX 11, NWTC officials told Olsen she was violating the school's public assembly policy, which sets a designated space for distribution of literature, picketing or displaying protest signs.

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College said its public assembly policy is under review

Olsen said that she not in that area, according to the report.

Olsen said the security coordinator cited the college's Public Assembly Policy that designates a public forum outside the main entrance for 'picketing' or 'displaying of signs' and 'mass distribution of literature' - space she says constitutes less than 0.5% of the campus.

Through its policy, the lawsuit states that the NWTC 'has effectively deemed all remaining indoor and outdoor areas of campus, outside the prescribed Public Assembly Area, as non-public forums off-limits for student speech and expression.'

The college has maintained and enforced a set of policies that restrict expressive activities to a tiny part of campus and requires prior approval 'even within that tiny area,' according to the lawsuit.

Karen Smits, NWTC's vice president of college advancement, said the campus policy on public assembly has been under review since 2017.

Olsen's lawsuit (pictured) states the college's policy restricts free speech to a tiny area on campus and requires a permit from the authorities to exercise First Amendment Rights

Smits said Olsen was invited to participate in the process, but out of respect to student confidentiality, 'we do not comment on student conduct.'

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is committed to the free exchange of ideas and to maintaining a welcoming and safe environment that promotes student success, Smits said.

'Free speech is exercised every day in many different contexts all over the NWTC campus,' she said.
A disgusting Grenfell Tower fraudster has been jailed after lying that he battled for survival and escaped the inferno which killed at least 71 people - so he could rack up a 43,710 hotel bill.

Antonio Gouveia, 33, cried as he was sentenced to three years in prison.

The fraudster claimed to be the flatmate of 80-year-old Hermine Harris who was living in the block of flats on the night of the tragedy which left 72 people dead in June 2017.

Gouveia stayed at the luxury 155 per night Cumberland Hotel, Marble Arch for 289 nights.

The Portuguese cleaner conned the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea by stealing the womans letters from a postal depot.

Antonio Gouveia previously pleaded guilty to having fraudulently obtained money, a laptop and accommodation after the Grenfell tragedy

The divorcee also took a laptop which should have gone to the pensioners daughter as he swindled a total of 53,456.76.

Mrs Harris was with her daughter in the seventh-floor flat on the night of the fire but both escaped.

While being interviewed an officer for the Royal Borough Kensington and Chelsea he said Mrs Harris had a partner and lived with two other males.

He claimed to have been living at Grenfell Tower for four to five months and said he managed to escape the inferno at 4am and slept in a park.

Mrs Harris, who had lived in her flat for 42 years, said in a statement read to the court: The actions of this man really pours salt into the wounds of an already difficult situation.

Its extremely upsetting that the tragedy of Grenfell Tower is being exploited by people for financial gain.'

She said being linked to the fraud reflected badly on her and other survivors of the blaze on June 14 last year.

Father of two Gouveia wiped away tears as Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: The fire at Grenfell tower in June 2017 was a tragedy in which 72 innocent lives were lost, families were ripped apart, and communities devastated.

It was a disaster which shocked the nation. Most people reacted with horror and dismay, and feelings of deep sympathy and profound concern for the survivors, and those others most directly affected.

14 charged, 11 jailed: The full extent of Grenfell Tower fraud claims Hospital worker Koffi Kouakou has become the 11th person jailed after Grenfell. He swindled 24,572 worth of handouts when he was put up in a hotel for three months. He told the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea that he had been living in flat 115 with Zainab Deen, which officers soon discovered was a lie. Bangladeshi Mohammed Syed Rinku claimed he was in a gay relationship with a resident of the 20th floor of the west London block and his boyfriend had died in the blaze. But when he was asked about his affair by the police, it became clear he had researched who had died in the fire. Officers then found heterosexual porn and dating apps on his phone. The 46-year-old was jailed for 18 months for the fraud. Anh Nhu Nguyen pretended his wife and 12-year-old son were killed in the blaze so he could claim charity handouts. He pocketed 11,270 as he was put up in hotels and given clothing, laptops and cash. But police discovered the 53-year-old had 28 convictions for 56 offences spanning more than 30 years, including theft, dishonesty offences, arson and grievous bodily harm. Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam, even tried to apply for a passport by claiming his had been incinerated. He was jailed for 21 months in February. Another fraudster, Anh Nhu Nguyen, met Prince Charles during his time posing as a victim Elaine Douglas and Tommy Brooks falsely claimed they lived in Grenfell Tower to claim more than 120,000. The illegal immigrants spent eight months living in a four-star hotel, with taxpayers footing the 400-a-night bill. They also spent more than 20,000 on meals and clothing on pre-paid credit cards which were given to them by Kensington and Chelsea council. The pair entered Britain illegally from Jamaica 16 years ago on separate flights and were ordered to leave by immigration officials only to vanish  reappearing in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy last year. Douglas, 51, was jailed for a total of three years while Brooks, 52, received a sentence of three years and three months. Joyce Msokeri falsely claimed to have lost her husband in the blaze so that she could claim thousands of pounds. The conwoman travelled 14 miles from her own flat to the tower block and convinced charity workers she had survived the inferno. She feigned trauma to obtain handouts of 19,000 in cash, food, clothing, three mobile phones and free stays at a Hilton hotel. The 47-year-old would have received 203,000 in handouts if she had not been caught. When Msokeri, from Zimbabwe, kept giving them different numbers for her flat in the tower block, her apparent forgetfulness was put down to trauma. She was jailed for four-and-a-half years in April. Mohammad Gamoota is pictured Mohammad Gamoota trawled a list of the dead then told officials his father was Abdeslam Sebbar, who had died after becoming trapped in his flat. The 31-year-old said he had survived only because he was attending midnight prayers at his mosque when the inferno took hold. In reality, he was not related to Mr Sebbar, 77, and did not live in Grenfell Tower, but took the details from a newspaper. Two days later, Gamoota presented himself as a bereaved relative. He was given 500 and booked into a Holiday Inn hotel where he racked up a 374 room service bill. He tried to claim a further 5,000  but a technical issue with his bank account prevented the money being paid in. He was jailed for 18 months. Yonatan Eyob falsely claimed 81,000 in cash and free hotel stays, as well as 11,000 towards a new permanent home. Eyob claimed he had lived alone in a flat that actually contained a family of five who perished in Britain's worst fire for a generation. Neighbours said he didn't and CCTV proved he had never been there. He was later charged with dishonestly making a false representation for accommodation and subsistence between June 2017 and June 2018. The 26-year-old pleaded guilty and was jailed for more than six years. Council worker Jenny McDonagh blew money for victims on holidays and meals out Jenny McDonagh stole pre-paid cash cards while working as manager of the Grenfell Fire fund at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In total she took about 62,000 from pre-paid cash cards meant for several survivors, including Fadumo Ahmed, Sacha Salaabi and Christos Fairbairn, the court heard. The money was spent on online gambling and foreign holidays. She was jailed for five-and-a-half years. Antonio Gouveia, 33, lied about escaping the inferno. The fraudster claimed to be the flatmate of 80-year-old Hermine Harris who was living in the block of flats on the night of the tragedy which left 72 people dead in June 2017. He has been jailed for three years. Abdelkarim Rekaya, 28, took advantage of the governments policy of providing amnesty for illegal immigrants living in the gutted tower block in June last year. He had been in the country since 2009 and by 2010 he had been cautioned by police for trying to steal bicycle. Rekaya first claimed he was living in flat four when the inferno claimed the lives of 72 residents. He later changed his story to say he was homeless and sleeping in the stairwell of the 11th and 12th floor. Shortly after the blaze he was put up in a luxury Chelsea hotel at a cost of 60,000 for just under a year. Judge Robin Jonathan warned him he faced a substantial custodial sentence. Advertisement

Many did what they could to help in a spontaneous outpouring of generosity and compassion.

Your response was different; you decided to use the situation to your personal advantage, to enrich yourself dishonestly by plundering the public funds put aside to assist the genuine victims of that disaster in their hour of need.

Isleworth Crown Court heard the collapse of Gouveias marriage was a backdrop to him finding himself in his mess.

In the week after the fire he spent at the hotel was free of charge and he managed to rack up 9,746.76 in a food and drinks bill.

Fire destroyed the 27-storey block of flats in Ladbroke Grove, killing at least 72 people

Benjamin Holt, prosecuting, said: He attended a support centre on 20th June; less than a week after the fire.

As a result of these lies, Mr Gouveia was given an emergency payment of 260 in cash. He was placed on that night accommodation at the Cumberland Hotel (Marble Arch) from June 20th 2017. In addition, he attended the Portobello Rugby Trust in the week after the fire.

This is a Registered Charity that was handing out laptops, computer tablets and mobile telephones to victims of the fire. Mr Gouveia again made representations that he had been living at Flat 42 of Grenfell Tower. As a result, he was given a Google Chromebook Laptop a penny shy of 250.00.

As fraudulent claims came to light, an audit was carried out. Mr Gouveia was interviewed by a representative from the RBKC on 4th April 2018. He maintained his earlier claims; that he had been living in Flat 42 for 4-5 months with Hermine Harris, her partner and two other males.

He said that he had entered the Tower on the night of the disaster at about 10.23pm and managed to escape at about 4 oclock the following morning. He claimed to have stayed in a park in the immediate aftermath.

The Portuguese fraudster went to a postal depo to learn the identity of Ms Harris to try and lodge another claim of 500 which failed.

He was arrested on 2 August and was taken to Charing Cross police station where he told officers he was having a homosexual affair with a man called Carlton.

The Grenfell tragedy shocked Britain while emergency services did everything they could to get victims out alive after a fridge caught fire

When he arrived in the United Kingdom ten years ago he married an English woman who bore him two children while he worked as a cleaner.

They divorced several years ago and became homeless. He was ashamed of his state of affairs and met his children at Holland Park to disguise he had no home, the court heard.

Gouveia, of no fixed address, admitted two counts of fraud, one relating to claiming money and accommodation from 20 June last year to 5 April this year and one of claiming a laptop on 14 June this year.

He was jailed for a total of three years. There was no order for costs or compensation.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh faced new scrutiny Thursday over a leaked memo where he appeared to question the argument that landmark Roe v. Wade ruling was widely considered 'settled law.'

His comments are contained in a 2003 email chain where he was advising the Bush White House about the conservative nominee Priscilla Owen and providing comments on an op-ed.

The article contained a blanket statement about the abortion rights decision that Kavanaugh, who faced his third day of grilling at a confirmation hearing Thursday, took exception to.

'I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so,' Kavanaugh wrote.

'I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so,' Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wrote

Both abortion rights advocates and opponents place enormous stock in what potential justices say about 'settled law' on the topic, as a barometer of whether they would vote to overturn the the privacy-based ruling that protects a woman's right to an abortion.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, one of two key votes who will determine whether Kavanaugh gets through the Senate, said after the two met privately he told her he believes Roe is 'settled law.'

The memo, marked 'Committee Confidential,' was leaked to the New York Times. Democrats have blasted the administration and the GOP leadership for keeping such documents out of public view.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. asked if Kavanaugh considered Roe v. Wade 'settled law'

The leaked memo contains Kavanaugh's observation that he is 'not sure' all legal scholars consider Roe v. Wade 'settled law'

He stated that the court could 'overrule its precedent'

Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Dianne Feinstein quizzed Kavanaugh on the memo

Feinstein confronted Kavanaugh with his years-old language at the hearing, saying it was viewed 'as you saying you don't think is settled.'

Kavanaugh tried to reassure her.

'The broader point was simply that it was overstating something about legal scholars, Kavanaugh replied, casting it not as a statement of his own views.

'I'm always concerned about accuracy, and I thought it was not an accurate description of all legal scholars,' he said.

Kavanaugh's comment that 'three current justices' would overturn Roe is out of date due to changes on the court.

If an anti-Roe justice replaced the seat of the late Anthony Kennedy, as Kavanaugh would, there might then be five conservative justices who could wipe out the ruling.
Two Thai students have been found dead in a Seattle apartment this week after they touched down in the US just two weeks ago.

Kornkamol Leenavarat, 25, and her friend Thiti-orn Chotchuangsap were discovered dead in their University District apartment on Tuesday morning.

The girls were both post-graduate students at Washington University, where Leenavarat was studying law, according to the Bangkok Post.

It's not clear how the women girls died.

Two Thai students Kornkamol Leenavarat, 25, (above) and her friend Thiti-orn Chotchuangsap were found dead in their University of Washington apartment in Seattle on Tuesday morning

They were discovered by the apartment's building manager on Tuesday at 9.30am as they were conducting a welfare check on the girls after their family raised alarm, Leenavarat pictured center with family days before she was found dead

They were found dead on Tuesday at 9.30am by the building's manager conducting a welfare check, at the request of Leenavarat's concerned family.

Detectives say at least one was stabbed but deputy immigration police commissioner Itthipon Itthisarnronnachai says the bodies of both girls bore multiple stab wounds, according to The Nation.

A local medical examiner has not officially released their identities or cause of death. The girls were identified by friends and family and the Thailand Foreign Ministry.

Some news reports speculate that their death may be a murder-suicide as the apartment was locked from the inside.

Leenavarat's family said they had been out of touch with her for several days.

When they didn't hear from her by Sunday, they asked a relative to go to Seattle to find her but they were unable to trace her.

University administration officers said she had been absent from class for many days.

Seattle detectives said there are no suspects at large.

Leenavarat was the youngest child and only daughter in her family.

Her father Pawawin Leenavarat was the former deputy mayor of Thanyaburi municipality in Pathum Thani Province in Thailand.

She's also the niece of the current mayor of that municipality.

The women were found inside the locked apartment bearing stab wounds at the above apartment complex on the University of Washington's campus

There is little information on Chotchuangsap. Leenavarat, pictured left and right with her brother, was studying a master's degree in law. Both were post-grad students at the university. Leevnavarat left Thailand for Seattle on August 21. Chotchuangsap left Thailand on August 27

Her family say her ultimate goal was to become a judge one day.

She has a bachelor's degree from Thammasat University and attained a master's degree from Thammasat University then a master's in law from a school in Boston, Massachusetts.

There is little information on her friend Chotchuangsap who is from Samut Sakhon. Online she's listed as a director of Pornsiri Power Limitess Partnership, a company that deals with food products based in her hometown.

Leenavarat left Thailand for Seattle on August 21, after returning there to spend time with her family for Mother's Day. Chotchuangsap left Thailand on August 27.

Leenavarat's brother mourned her loss on Facebook saying 'our little sister who was always lively, friendly, and brave' with pictures of their family sending her off at Savarnabhumi Airport.

The family is making preparations to bring her body back to Thailand.
A jewellery shop owner turned detective to track down the two men who stole a 750 gold bracelet from his stall after police failed to investigate the crime nearly a month after it was reported.

John Easom, 41, who owns Gold Bank jewellers in the intu Victoria Centre, in Nottingham, said two thieves made off with a 750 gold bracelet during a distraction burglary on August 8.

The thieves were captured on CCTV but despite many calls to Nottinghamshire Police, officers never visited the scene of the crime or wanted to examine the very clear video footage.

Mr Easom was told on Tuesday, September 4 - nearly a month after the incident - that an officer had finally been assigned to the case but is on leave until Friday.

John Easom pictured at Gold Bank in Victoria Centre Market, Nottingham City Centre. Two thieves stole a gold bracelet from his stall in a distraction burglary

The gold chain that was stolen from the Gold Bank in the intu Victoria Centre Market which is worth 750

John Easom turned detective and tracked down the villains after police failed to act following a raid by posting the CCTV on social media

But the shop owner had already carried out his own investigation turning to social media to upload the CCTV video showing the two culprits in action.

The video received more than 28,000 views and the names of both suspected thieves were handed to him.

He said: 'I left the incident in the police's hands and by August 31 when nothing had happened I posted it on Facebook. It was a 750 loss and we don't want that and the incident shook up my staff.

John Easom, pictured at his jewellery stall, said police never came to collect CCTV of the incident

'It makes you nervous dealing with certain customers.

'The police have not handled the investigation at all. They have never come to collect CCTV despite us having full evidence and they have never come out to see us and still have not been out yet.

'They said 'if we do not have any leads we don't investigate it' and the reason they don't have any leads is they have not been here to collect anything.

'I am very happy to work with the police and to help with inquiries but this time it seems to be a one way street and we have fallen through the net.

'I don't want people to think they can rob us and there are no consequences.

'If I can help the police I will do hence why I have phoned them up with the names (of the suspected thieves) and they still have not done anything.

'The video was also posted so no one else suffers a loss if they come into their shops.'

Mr Easom said the incident happened on August 8 at 12.41pm.

John Easom has now been given the names of the two individuals in the CCTV images and the police have now visited Mr Easom about the incident

A man appears to look at the jewellery on display and asks to see a 750 gold chain.

As he examines the chain, another man confronts him, grabs the chain from his hand and runs away.

The incident is caught on the stall's CCTV cameras.

Chief Inspector Donna Lawton for Nottinghamshire Police said: 'We take shop theft seriously but we grade our response to incidents based on threat, risk and harm.

'On this occasion it appears that whilst our initial grading was correct, we should have acted more quickly when we were informed of further evidence available.

One of John Easom's assistants standing in the shop in Nottingham. The owner has now phoned police with the names he has received after a social media appeal

'We are looking into why it wasn't upgraded.

'A member of the city centre neighbourhood policing team has visited Mr Easom on Wednesday September 5 to apologise in person on behalf of the force for our response to date and we are currently making efforts to locate the suspects.

'We will keep Mr Easom up to date with our enquiries.

'A gold chain was stolen during the theft at Gold Bank Jewellers, Victoria Market, intu Victoria Centre, at around 12.50pm on 8 August.

'A man asked to look at the chain before a second man snatched it from his hands and ran off.

'Officers want to speak to both men in connection with the incident.'

Anyone with information is urged to contact us on 101, quoting incident number 393 of 8 August 2018.
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The Duchess of Sussex brought out her glamorous side in a dress by Jason Wu as she attended a gala concert tonight.

Meghan, 37, accompanied her husband, Prince Harry, to 100 Days to Peace, a musical evening in aid of mental health charities organised by the Royal Armouries, the nations collection of arms, armour and firearms, to mark the century of the end of the First World War.

The couple arrived at Central Hall Westminster by car - ten minutes late because of the large crowd - and were greeted by Lord Dannatt, former head of the British army, who is also a trustee of the Royal Armouries and a friend of the prince.

The duchess wore a sheath dress by Jason Wu, a favourite designer, incorporating soft pleats and ruffles. She paired it with a pair of 640 vertiginous sling back heels by Aquazzura, with crystal detail on the rear. Harry was in a sombre navy suit.

He was personally responsible for Harrys first tour of Afghanistan when he was in the military and he and his wife, Lady Dannatt, attended his and Meghans wedding.

Prince Harry holds the door open for the Duchess of Sussex as they leave Central Hall Westminster after tonight's concert

The royal couple hold hands as they exit the central London venue this evening following the charity concert

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex hold hands as they arrive at Central Hall Westminster for Thursday evening's charity concert

Meghan brings out her glamorous side in a blue dress by Jason Wu paired with deeper blue heels for the London concert

Harry and Meghan are greeted by former Army head Lord Dannatt (left) while Meghan carried a black clutch purse (right)

Duchess's styling trick to make her appear more voluptuous She's blessed with an enviably slim figure, but the Duchess of Sussex has found a clever way to instantly look more voluptuous. The stylish gown featured soft pleats and ruffles down the front, instantly adding more shape to Meghan's slim figure. Celebrity stylist Lucas Armitage told Femail: 'Her figure is quite athletic, straight up and down. So pleats add curves and shape for a more feminine silhouette.' It's a trick Meghan has used on several previous occasions, most recently wearing a Club Monaco dress with a pleated skirt for the wedding of Harry's pal Charlie van Straubenzee last month. Advertisement

The peer, accompanied by his wife tonight, spoke warmly with the royal couple before they entered the Great Hall for the show.

The concert is an evening of music and reflection in aid of three charities all working to support military veterans facing mental health challenges.

The charities are Help for Heroes, Combat Stress and Heads Together  The Royal Foundation's campaign and mental health initiative.

The first half included two performances by Lesley Garrett; 'He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven'  a poem by WB Yeats published in 1899, and the opening lines from For the Fallen, written by Laurence Binyon in 1914 and adapted by Sir Karl for 100 Days to Peace.

It also brought together Samuel Bordoli's The Great Silence, written in memory of choristers killed in the First World War, with the charity Remembered, featuring their 2018 Armistice installation 'There But Not There'.

For the second half, Sir Karl Jenkins conducted his internationally acclaimed The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, performed by the Royal Choral Society and the Philharmonia Orchestra.

Originally commissioned by the Royal Armouries to mark the turn of the millennium to create a legacy of peace and hope for the future, it is the only performance of The Armed Man in England in 2018 to be conducted by Sir Karl himself.

Harry and Meghan speak to fellow guests during the interval at Central Hall Westminster during Thursday night's concert

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex smile broadly as they meet guests during the half-time interval of Thursday's concert

Harry and Meghan stand for the national anthem ahead of the concert marking the centenary of the end of World War I

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stand for the national anthem along with the crowd at the Central Hall Westminster tonight

The Duchess of Sussex arrives for the evening concert wearing the elegant blue dress and slingback high heels

Harry and Meghan walk up the stairs to the Great Hall with Lord Dannatt and his wife at Thursday evening's concert

Harry and Meghan climb the stairs at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, London, for the concert on Thursday

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex enter the building alongside former head of the army Lord Dannatt for tonight's concert

Lord Dannatt speaks to Harry and Meghan as the royal couple arrive for tonight's charity concert in central London

Harry gestures to shake his host's hand as he is joined by his wife Meghan for the concert at Central Hall Westminster today

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive at Central Hall near Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament this evening

Meghan arrives wearing the chic blue dress by Jason Wu for the charity concert in aid of military charities on Thursday

The Duchess of Sussex brought out her glamorous side in a dress by Jason Wu as she attended the gala concert tonight

The music was performed against a backdrop of Hefin Owens film of The Armed Man.

During the intermission, Their Royal Highnesses met some of the evening's performers at a reception in the Presidents Room, as well as representatives from the three charities, and the Royal Armouries' Trustees and sponsors.

At a reception during the interval an animated looking Meghan and Harry met with soprano Lesley Garrett and conductor Sir Karl Jenkins.

Lesley said: We said yes before we knew the Duke and Duchess were going to be here as we both believe mental health is such an important issue.

My husband is a doctor and he has been talking about the importance of looking after our mental health as much as our physical health for some time. Its all about wellness.

The two Princes, the way they have spearheaded the issue of mental health through their Heads Together campaign, has been inspirational. 

Harry and Meghan looked cheerful and held each other's hands as they arrived at the charity concert in London this evening

Harry and Meghan smile as they arrive at tonight's concert in central London which is in aid of British military charities

Harry and Meghan arrive at the evening's concert in the centenary year of the Armistice and the end of World War I

The duchess wore a sheath dress by Jason Wu, a favourite designer, with vertiginous sling back heels with crystal detail

Meghan arrives in the car for the 100 Days of Peace concert which she is attending with Prince Harry on Thursday evening

Meghan arrives wearing the Jason Wu dress at the concert with Prince Harry in the 100th year since the end of World War I

The royal couple walk from the car to the central London theatre for the Thursday evening gala concert

Lord Dannatt speaks to Harry and Meghan as the royal couple arrive at the Thursday evening concert in central London

Harry and Meghan in the entrance hall of the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster for the charity concert this evening

Harry and Meghan are greeted as they arrive at the Methodist Central Hall near Westminster Abbey for the evening concert

Harry and Meghan arrive at the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster for Thursday evening's charity gala concert
An Oregon woman is suing her former landlords for $151,000 after she was bitten by a raccoon that was apparently attracted to the piles of trash in the area.

Heidi Schultz, 41, claims the Wimbledon Square apartments in Southeast Portland routinely had overflowing trash receptacles.

'It was a target-rich environment for a raccoon looking for a snack,' Schultz explained to Oregon Live.

Heidi Schultz, 41, claims that the Wimbledon Square apartments in Southeast Portland routinely had overflowing trash receptacles

Last August, the woman was attacked near a garbage area while she was walking her two chihuahuas.

Last August, the woman was attacked in a garbage area while she was walking her two Chihuahuas

'I saw something fuzzy under one of the cars,' Schultz added. 'I thought it was a cat. The next thing I know, this thing is launching itself at me and wrapped around my leg.

'This guy comes running over and hits it with a duffel bag, and the thing goes scuttering off.'

Blood gushed from the woman's leg as she and the man sought help from her neighbor, who drove her to the Providence Portland Medical Center.

Doctors had to inject Schultz's more than 60 times as a preventative measure against rabies.

Schultz, a legal secretary at an estate-planning firm, said: 'It was probably the worst pain I ever felt in my life.'

Doctors had to inject Schultz's more than 60 times as a preventative measure against rabies

Schultz, a legal secretary at an estate-planning firm, said: 'It was probably the worst pain I ever felt in my life'

According to the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, it has been more than 50 years since a critter tested positive for rabies in the state.

But the woman stated that that still didn't stop the doctors from taking the precautionary steps.

Schultz filed her lawsuit to help ease the cost of her $26,000 medical bills.

Schultz filed her lawsuit to help ease the cost of her $26,000 medical bills, asking for a total of $151,000

The apartment complex 'knowingly put Portlanders at risk and they do it for their own gain,' claimed Jason Kafoury, an attorney whose firm is representing Schultz.

Schultz claims to have complained about the 72-building apartment in the duration of the time she was there. Along with problems with the trash, the woman also had issues a malfunctioning kitchen light and a broken toilet.

Two weeks before she was attacked, Schultz shared that a fire broke out at the complex because of a pile up of garbage
Shoppers had already faced frustration this week after Tesco doubled the price of a single banana to 25p at some stores.

The supermarket chain blamed high rents in inner city areas for the 10-15p increase, with it previously charging by weight rather than per fruit.

But it has now emerged that Tesco, plus Sainsbury's and Waitrose, charge inner-city shoppers up to five times the price for fruit and veg compared to out-of-town stores.

MailOnline visited the retailers in Liverpool, Plymouth, London and Guildford to find shoppers in city centre stores can expect to pay more in general for most items.

SAINSBURY'S

The overall cost of a basket of 12 items showed you pay an extra 92p at a Sainsbury's Local store in Liverpool city centre compared to a bigger store on the Wirral.

And the same Braeburn apple costs a staggering five times more in the local city store at 35p as opposed to 7p at the outlet nine miles outside of the centre.

HOW A BASKET AT SAINSBURY'S LOCAL IS 92p PRICIER THAN OUT-OF-TOWN SAINSBURY'S LOCAL (Liverpool city centre) SAINSBURY'S SUPERMARKET (Wirral) Loose banana - 25p

Apple - 35p

3x Large onion - 90p

2x Avocado - 1.90

Aubergine - 80p

Single lemon - 40p

Single orange - 35p

Pain au chocolat - 75p Loose banana - 11p

Apple - 7p

3x Large onion - 85p

2x Avocado - 1.80

Aubergine - 70p

Single lemon - 30p

Single orange - 35p

Pain au chocolat - 70p

Avocados in smaller Sainsbury's Local stores come in packs of two and cost 1.90 while outside the city centre the same 'Ripe and Ready' product costs 10p less.

A pack of New York Plain Bagels costs 30p more in a Sainsbury's Local store in the city - and the total cost was 7.68 outside the city as opposed to 8.60 outside.

The receipt on the left from a city centre Sainsbury's came to 92p more than the Wirral store

The receipt from Sainsbury's Local in Liverpool city centre where bananas cost 14p more

The cost of loose Braeburn apple was five times as much in cost in the city centre Sainsbury's

WAITROSE

At Waitrose, a similar basket of seven items costs 1.33 more at a store in Wimbledon, South West London, compared to a bigger store in Guildford, Surrey.

Fairtrade bananas topped the chart costing 35p in Waitrose's smaller store which is more than double the 15p shoppers pay for the same fruit from a supermarket.

HOW A BASKET AT WAITROSE COSTS 1.33 MORE AT A LOCAL STORE LITTLE WAITROSE (Wimbledon, South West London) WAITROSE SUPERMARKET (Guildford, Surrey) Loose banana - 35p

Apple - 65p

Onion - 1.29

Avocados - 1.90

Single lemon - 41p

Single orange - 62p

Pain au chocolat - 95p Loose banana - 15p

Apple - 29p

Onions - 67p

Avocados - 1.80

Single lemon - 39p

Single orange - 59p

Pain au chocolat - 95p

People looking to buy fresh vegetables individually do not have much choice at Little Waitrose and pay more even when forced to buy in bulk.

And a packet of four onions from a smaller store costs almost twice as much as four loose onions available at a larger supermarket.

The receipts from the normal Waitrose in Guildford (left), and a local in Wimbledon (right)

A Waitrose spokesman told MailOnline: 'Small shops cost more to run, for example higher rent and increased rates for longer opening hours.

'Because of this some products cost a few percent more, an honest reflection of higher running costs. We also offer promotions in our convenience shops, including meal deals.'

TESCO

As for Tesco, it now charges by fruit rather than weight, with customers previously paying 76p per kilogram at Tesco Metro stores  equating to 10-15p per banana.

The change in pricing took effect at Tesco's 176 Metro stores last week. It has been selling bananas for 25p each at its 1,700 Express outlets for some time.

TESCO EXPRESS BASKET COSTS 70p MORE COMPARED TO A SUPERMARKET Tesco Express (city centre) Tesco Extra Loose banana - 25p

Apple - 45p

Large onion - 25p

Avocado - 1.05

Carrot - 39p (only did packs) Loose banana - 14p

Apple - 37p

Large onion - 11p

Avocado - 1.00

Carrot - 7p

The Metro stores are smaller than its traditional supermarkets  which it calls Superstores  and the Express outlets are smaller still.

MailOnline found the chain also charges 37p for an apple from its larger Tesco Extra store ten miles outside Plymouth, while charging 45p in a city centre store.

A Tesco spokesperson blamed the price hikes on 'more expensive' leases in city centres

Tesco also fixed the price of other every day foods like onions and avocados - costing substantially more in their smaller stores.

A single onion in its city centre store cost 25p while it was 11p ten miles away  less than half the price.

The same basket in two Tesco stores had a price difference of seven pence for the same items

A spokesman for Tesco said: 'Due to the higher costs involved in operating our Express and Metro stores, there is a small premium on a number of products.

'Our convenience stores are in prime, central locations where leases are more expensive in comparison to out-of-town Extras and Superstores.'

He said it had no plans to roll out the price change to larger sites. The chain has almost 3,500 shops across Britain of which around 2,700 are convenience stores.

Sainsbury's and Waitrose have been contacted for comment about the findings.

Recent figures showed the price of some supermarket fruit and vegetables has gone up due to effects of the heatwave, combined with the cold spring.

The UK had its driest first half of summer since 1961 and farmers warned that the prolonged arid conditions had damaged crops.

The average supermarket price of broccoli is up 25.8 per cent per kilo year on year to 1.54, according to figures in The Grocer from analysts Brandview.
Senator Bernie Sanders took another swing at billionaire Jeff Bezos on Thursday when he introduced a bill that would crackdown on big companies such as Amazon if they fail to pay their employees a living wage.

The former Democratic presidential candidate partnered with prominent House progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to introduce the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act.

The act proposes a tax on large corporations, such as Amazon, Walmart, and American Airlines, which would force them to pay the same in taxes that their low-wage employees receive in federal benefits to make ends meet.

Senator Bernie Sanders took another swing at billionaire Jeff Bezos on Thursday when he introduced a bill that would crackdown on big companies such as Amazon if they fail to pay their employees a living wage

'The Stop Bezos Act gives large employers a choice: pay workers a living wage or pay for the public assistance programs low wage workers are forced to rely upon,' the legislation reads.

The idea is to crack down on 'corporate welfare' - where the government is left to pick up the slack for poor paying, big businesses.

Sanders argues it could save taxpayers $150 billion a year on the government assistance programs such as food stamps, Medicaid and public housing, Fox reports.

'We do not believe that taxpayers should have to expend huge sums of money subsidizing profitable corporations owned by some of the wealthiest people in this country. That's what a rigged economy is about,' he said.

But he made it personal with the not so subtle dig by naming the bill acronym after Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.

During a speech over the weekend, Sanders attacked Bezos for growing his own wealth at the expense of the poorest,

Sanders made the bill personal with the not so subtle dig by naming the bill acronym after Amazon boss Jeff Bezos

'We have one person whose wealth is increasing by $250 million every single day, while he pays thousands of his workers' wages that are so low that they are forced to go on food stamps, Medicaid, and subsidized housing,' Sanders said.

He argued that Amazon's average pay, at $28,446, is 9 percent less than the industry standard and well below a livable wage. He pointed to reports, by the New Food Economy, showing that up to a third of Amazon's employees in Arizona receive food stamps, and a tenth of employees in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In a rare move, Amazon hit back in a blog post, slamming Sanders' comments as 'inaccurate and misleading' and arguing that it pays a fair wage and that the employees on food stamps were either part-time or only worked for them for a short time.

Sanders has been vocal about his attack on large corporations and in July, he launched a petition to demand Amazon boss Jeff Bezos implement better working conditions and pay.

In August, the senator set up a website for employees to anonymously share their experiences.




Two Russian assassins who fled home after the Salisbury novichok attack have gone to ground, authorities believe, as neighbours at a Moscow property linked to the GRU deny ever seeing them.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were yesterday charged as the men behind the chemical attack that left four people critically ill and one person dead.

Britain made clear that the names of the suspected GRU military intelligence agents are likely to be aliases yet Russian media sources pointed to the two men - one aged 39, the other 40 - who seem to fit the identities.

Both were issued passports at the same time and have travelled together to various European destinations, with Petrov making a trip last year to London.

Two Russian assassins who fled home after the Salisbury novichok attack have gone to ground, authorities believe, as neighbours at a Moscow property linked to the GRU deny ever seeing them

Alexander Petrov (left image) and Ruslan Boshirov (right image) are wanted by British authorities after the chemical attack in March this year

Attention today focused on an Alexander Yuryevich Petrov whose grandfather and grandmother both worked for Stalin's notorious counterintelligence SMERCH killing machine - which had the motto 'death to spies'.

He is listed as being registered at block 37 on Marshala Tukhachevskogo Street - named after a top Stalin military commander, Mikhail Tukhachevsky who was shot during Stalin purges in 1938 but later rehabilitated.

But this high security edifice is not all it seems to be. The original Soviet-era low rise block number 37 was razed 11 years ago and replaced with a vast 20-storey new development.

There was no sign of Petrov in the flat listed for him - which can also be linked to his grandparents and probably his mother Tamara, born in 1950.

A woman in the apartment 'couldn't remember' who she bought it from but insisted Petrov did not live here now.

Attention today focused on an Alexander Yuryevich Petrov whose grandfather and grandmother both worked for Stalin's notorious counterintelligence SMERCH killing machine - which had the motto 'death to spies'

Yet the concierge insisted that it is not only the British media who had been seeking Petrov here.

The woman, aged 68, who refused to give her name, said: 'There was a court bailiff physically coming here to find a person called Alexander Petrov who seemed to have a debt.

'They assumed he lived here. But he is not on the current list of people who live in the block.

'I saw his face on TV and recognise the picture you are showing me as the person linked to this poisoning story. I don't think I have ever seen him.'

He is listed as being registered at block 37 on Marshala Tukhachevskogo Street - named after a top Stalin military commander, Mikhail Tukhachevsky who was shot during Stalin purges in 1938 but later rehabilitated

She suggested he may have lived in the old smaller block, built by Khrushchev and demolished 11 years ago.

If so there was no way of knowing where he lives now, she said.

'We still get post for that block. But we don't know how to find people who lived there.'

Petrov - and not Boshirov as previously reported - supposedly works for Microgen, a national manufacturer of immune and biological medication with close ties to the Russian government.

To make matters more confusing on official databases he is a 'spy' with three different dates of birth in 1979 - 13 June, 13 July and 31 July.

Meanwhile a man called Ruslan Boshirov is listed as living in a 25 storey block on Bolshaya Naberezhnaya.

There was no sign of Petrov in the flat listed for him - which can also be linked to his grandparents and probably his mother Tamara, born in 1950. A woman in the apartment 'couldn't remember' who she bought it from but insisted Petrov did not live here now

Yet residents insist that he does not reside here, although as one said: 'Even if he did, we would not tell the foreign media.'

They even put up a sign one one door of the block reading: 'Dear journalists! The information that Boshirov lives in this house is false. Please do not disturb the residents.'

One said: 'Only an old woman is living at that apartment.

'We give her money that she uses to pay the [building] cleaner. We have never seen a man there.'

Nadezhda, an irate woman who works for the management company at Boshirov's block of flats, said: 'We have been besieged by media.

'Journalists have been all over us all for the second day in a row. There are three blocks of flats at this address.

They even put up a sign one one door of the block reading: 'Dear journalists! The information that Boshirov lives in this house is false. Please do not distrurb the residents.'

'We put announcements asking the media to stop pursuing him at the wrong address.

'I have lists of every person who has registration in these blocks, and Boshirov is not on the list. I am going to get our district policeman to stop these questions.'

The British authorities suspect the names are aliases.

But journalist Sergey Kanev - who pointed to this Petrov's family links to counterintelligence - believes these are real names. He found records of Petrov's motoring offences and his debts.

He said on Facebook: 'Legends that are created by the intelligence services are done in a different way. Here we have real individuals, documents, addresses, cars.

'Most likely the (person) who contracted the attempt on the Skripals was strongly hoping that everything would go well' - and that the suspects would not be identified by the British.
Burt Reynolds has died at the age of 82 from a heart attack.

The actor went into cardiac arrest and died at Jupiter Medical in Florida on Thursday morning, surrounded by his family, manager Erik Kritzer told the Hollywood Reporter.

Reynolds was best known for his roles in 1972's Deliverance, 1977's Smokey and the Bandit, and 1997's Boogie Nights - the last of which earned him an Oscar nomination.

He was also filming Quentin Tarantino's new movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood alongside Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio at the time of his death. The film is expected to hit theaters in 2019.

His ex girlfriend, and the 'one that got away' Sally Field, 71, has paid tribute to the Hollywood legend.

Scroll down for video

Burt Reynolds (pictured in April 2018 at the Palm Beach International Film Festival) has died at the age of 82 from a heart attack

'There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away,' she told US Magazine. 'They stay alive, even forty years later.

'My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy.'

Tributes have also been pouring in from other costars, celebrities and fans including Goldie Hawn, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Elihaj Wood.

Reynolds had been battling health issues for some time.

In 2013, he was hospitalized and placed in intensive care for flu-like symptoms and dehydration.

Two years earlier, the actor underwent heart surgery after his doctor found his arteries were closed during a routine physical.

Reynolds was best known for his roles in 1972's Deliverance, 1977's Smokey and the Bandit (pictured) and 1997's Boogie Nights - the last of which earned him an Oscar nomination.

The actor, pictured on Smokey and the Bandit with the 'one that got away' as ex-girlfriend Sally Field, suffered a cardiac arrest Thursday morning

His first big movie breakout role was as Lewis Medlock in box office hit Deliverance (pictured) in 1972

Reynolds, known for his manly swagger, and was something of a 1970s sex symbol after rising to prominence on TV shows Gunsmoke and Dan August (pictured in an ad for his luxury mail catalog business)

'My doctor said I needed to undergo bypass surgery immediately,' he told People at the time. 'I went home and shaved then had the operation the next day.'

His manager told CNN after the op that Reynolds 'has a great motor with brand new pipes.'

In September 2009, Reynolds checked into rehab for an addiction to prescription drugs.

Reynolds, known for his manly swagger, and was something of a 1970s sex symbol after rising to prominence on TV shows Gunsmoke and Dan August.

With his trademark mustache, rugged looks and macho aura, he was a leading male sex symbol of the 1970s. He appeared naked - reclining on a bearskin rug with his arm strategically positioned for the sake of modesty - in a centerfold in the women's magazine Cosmopolitan in 1972.

His first big movie breakout role was as Lewis Medlock in box office hit Deliverance in 1972.

Burt Reynolds and his son Quinton at the Taurus World Stunt Awards 2004 held at Paramount Studios

Reynolds' personal life sometimes overshadowed his movies, with marriages that ended in divorce. He is pictured with second wife Loni Anderson in 1987

He was also married to Judy Carne, his first wife, for three years in the 1960s

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field attend the off-Broadway play 'Buried Child'' in New York in 1978. He described Field, then his girlfriend, as the love of his life

He followed it up with one success after another, in box office hits The Longest Yard Smokey and the Bandit, Hooper, The Cannonball Run and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

At the peak of his career, Reynolds was one of the most bankable actors in the film industry, until a career downturn in the mid-1980s, when he returned to TV in sitcom Evening Shade.

He rebounded in 1997 with a nomination for a best supporting actor Academy Award for 'Boogie Nights' and won an Emmy Award for his role in the 1990-1994 TV series 'Evening Shade.

Last year, he received critical acclaim for his performance in the indie movie 'The Last Movie Star.'

Reynolds' personal life sometimes overshadowed his movies, with marriages that ended in divorce to actresses Loni Anderson and Judy Carne and romances with the likes of Dinah Shore.

He has one adult son, Quinton Anderson Reynolds, from his second marriage.

The star described the love of his life as ex-girlfriend Sally Field, whom he dated on-off for five years in the '70s and '80s after she starred across him in Smokey and the Bandit.

Reynolds cited director John Boorman's Oscar-nominated 1972 'Deliverance' (pictured) as his best film

He worked in Hollywood fordecaes: The star seen in a 1950s head shot, left, and in the 1970s in Smokey and the Bandit, right

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field in Smokey and the Bandit III. Many of his films were set in the South. He often played a lovable rascal who outwits local authorities as in director Hal Needham's crowd-pleasing action comedy

In this March 15, 1978 file photo, Reynolds polished his newly unveiled star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles

Burt Reynolds appeared in Striptease in 1996 - just a year before his Oscar nominated movie Boogie Nights

Reynolds rebounded from a career slump in 1997 with a nomination for a best supporting actor Academy Award for 'Boogie Nights' (pictured)

Reynolds also generated attention for financial woes and his struggles with prescription pain medication.

Reynolds cited director John Boorman's Oscar-nominated 1972 'Deliverance' as his best film and said he regretted that the hoopla from his Cosmopolitan appearance detracted from the movie that made him a star. He played tough-guy Lewis Medlock - opposite Jon Voight, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox - in the chilling tale of a canoe trip gone bad in rural Georgia.

Many of his films were set in the South. He often played a lovable rascal who outwits local authorities as in director Hal Needham's 1977 crowd-pleasing action comedy 'Smokey and the Bandit,' co-starring Field and Jackie Gleason, and its two sequels.

Another of his better roles was that of former a pro quarterback who lands in prison and assembles a team of convicts to play the warden's squad of brutal prison guards in 1974's rollicking 'The Longest Yard,' directed by Robert Aldrich. He appeared in a supporting role 2005's remake with Adam Sandler.

Reynolds also directed several movies in which he starred, including 'Gator' (1976), 'The End' (1978), 'Sharky's Machine' (1981) and 'Stick' (1985).

While some of his performances were critically praised, others were ridiculed, particularly in the bloated action comedy 'Cannonball Run II,' a sequel to his financial success 'The Cannonball Run' (1981). He also starred in the notorious 1975 musical flop 'At Long Last Love,' a film so atrocious that director Peter Bogdanovich publicly apologized for making it.

Reynolds was pictured relaxing at his home in Miami, Florida, in 1996

Recent health issues appear to have taken their toll and he appeared frail in recent months

Reynolds was walking with a cane when he was pictured with director Jesse Moss with a replica of the 1977 Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit on March 12, 2018

Burt Reynolds, center, leaves the Palm Beach International Film Festival's Student Showcase of Films Awards Show at Lynn University on Saturday, April 6, 2018 in Boca Raton, Florida

The wisecracking 1970s movie heartthrob underwent heart bypass surgery in 2010. Pictured here with Ariel Winter filming a scene on the set of 'Dog Years' in Nashville, Tennessee on June 8, 2016

Reynolds turned down notable roles including Han Solo in 'Star Wars,' which went to Harrison Ford; the title role in a James Bond film; and the astronaut in 'Terms of Endearment' that Jack Nicholson turned into an Oscar-winning performance.

Reynolds said in 2012 that he regretted some of his film choices. 'I took the part that was the most fun - 'Oh, this will be fun.' I didn't take the part that would be the most challenging,' told television interviewer Piers Morgan in 2012.

Asked to come up with his own epitaph, Reynolds said, 'He lived a hell of a life, and did his best - his very best - not to hurt anybody.'

Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. was born on Feb. 11, 1936, and grew up in Florida. He was a fine athlete and played football at Florida State University in the 1950s before his professional football hopes were dashed by injuries suffered in a car crash.

He began acting after enrolling in a junior college. He moved to New York and landed minor stage and TV roles before making his film debut in 1961. Reynolds often was cast in Westerns, including the popular 'Gunsmoke' television series in the 1960s.

In 1972, the same year 'Deliverance' was released, he showed versatility by also starring in Woody Allen's comedy 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask.'
A letter stolen from Donald Trump's Oval Office desk by his top economic adviser to stop him from ending a trade deal with South Korea is published in full in Bob Woodward's bombshell book on the president.

Woodward also obtained a copy of the astonishing note that President Trump wrote in the margins of a speech he was poised to deliver: 'TRADE IS BAD.'

The president never uttered the words, but Woodward says the phrase is the 'truest expression' of Trump's 'protectionism, isolationism and fervent American nationalism.'

Bob Woodward obtained a copy of the astonishing note that President Trump wrote in the margins of a speech he was poised to deliver: 'TRADE IS BAD'

Trump planned to make the assertion during a speech that Woodward says he was working on en route to the United States from the G20 summit in 2017.

It's not clear from the book why he never did, unlike the formal notification to South Korea that Trump was unilaterally ending its trade deal, which Cohn and ex-staff secretary Rob Porter are said to have kept away from the president.

The unsigned letter to South Korea and the note Trump made about trade, in what appears to be his handwriting, are included in Woodward's book in an astonishing breach of White House security.

Woodward uses the documents to bolster the narrative that aides were engaged in an elaborate campaign that is outlined in the book to sometimes shield information from Trump  and at other times keep the president from doing things his aides thought would be disastrous.

Cohn has been silent since Bob Woodward named him in an except of his new book as someone who tried to thwart the president from within. The White House ignored a request for comment on Thursday on the newest revelations.

Woodward's book, which officially hits shelves on Tuesday, Sept. 11, includes a draft copy of a memo withdrawing the United States from its trade agreement with South Korea that the president never signed.

That's because Cohn 'stole it' off the president's desk, Woodward writes.

Cohn is said to have boasted to a colleague, 'I stole it off his desk....I wouldn't let him see it. He's never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.'

Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn is described in Woodward's book as swiping a letter from Trump's desk that would start a pullout of a trade deal

Trump told a news outlet this week just after the release of the except that no one removed anything from his desk.

'Thats false,' Trump said of the document removal excerpt. 'Its just made up.' He told The Daily Caller flatly: 'There was nobody taking anything from me.'

A copy of the book obtained by DailyMail.com includes a scan of the letter, however. And the White House did not immediately slap it down as a faked document.

The documents stated that the current trade deal was 'not in the overall best interest of the United States economy.'

The letter provides notice of the president's desire to 'terminate the agreement' in 180 days, the required amount of notice. He committed in the letter to negotiating a new trade deal with the close, security ally of the United States.

It contained lines for salutations by Trump and trade representative Robert Lighthizer but was left unsigned.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders did not respond to a request for comment via email on the document that was dated Sept. 5, 2017.

The date of the letter indicates that it was drafted just before Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met for bilateral talks at the United Nations. At the summit the president also called North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un 'Little Rocket Man,' escalating tension between South Korea and its autocratic neighbor.

Porter told an associate, according to Woodward's book, that there were multiple iterations of the letter, because Trump kept coming back to the topic.

'I'm tired of these arguments!' Trump said in one meeting. 'I don't want to hear about it anymore. We're getting out of KORUS.'

Trump made his distaste for the trade deal with Korea, a key U.S. ally, in a White House meeting.

Trump ordered son-in-law Jared Kushner to draft the order. The book describes a scene where Kushner took dictation. Porter heard about what Kushner was up to, and later told him: 'Send me the draft. If we're going to do this, we cannot do it on the back of a napkin. We have to write it up in a way that isn't going to embarrass us."

They prepared a draft, but it was described as part of a 'subterfuge' tactic. After a formal meeting on the topic, and following a debate, Trump asked for changes.

'Well, let's keep working on the letter," Trump said. 'l want to see the next draft.'

Cohn and Porter didn't produce a follow-up. The issue disappeared for a while.

Woodward included an image of the draft letter in his book

Porter and Cohn are depicted as ignoring Trump's orders to submit additional drafts, with the president's former economic adviser roping in Pentagon head James Mattis.

'We're teetering on the edge,' Cohn told Mattis. 'We may need some backup this time.'

Mattis, for his part, told Trump: 'Kim Jong Un poses the most immediate threat to our national security. We need South Korea as an ally. It may not seem like trade is related to all this, but it's central.'

Trump ultimately saw things his aides' way and did not shred the trade agreement.

Woodward calls it part of a widespread 'administrative coup d'etat,' with Cohen recalling, 'A third of my job was trying to react to some of the really dangerous ideas that he had and try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren't such good ideas.'

Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs boss, is also quoted in the book stating privately: 'It's not what we did for the country. lt's what we saved him from doing.'

Porter, who stepped down amid allegations of spousal abuse that he denied, is cast as part of the effort to head off catastrophes in the making.

Once compared by Trump the likes of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, the book claims that Porter lost respect for the president after he castigated his first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, as a 'rat' in his presence.

Porter, whose pedigree includes Harvard Law and being a Rhodes Scholar, described efforts to manage Trump by working the tempo beyond swiping of documents.

'But slow-walking things or not taking things up to him, or telling him-right away, not just as an excuse but this needs to be vetted, or we need to do more process on this, or we don't have legal counsel clearance-that happened 10 times more frequently than taking papers from his desk. It felt like we were walking along the edge of the cliff perpetually,' he said.

In another passage, Cohn tells Porter that he doesn't know how much longer he could remain at the White House, 'because things are just crazy here. They're so chaotic. He's never going to change.

'It's pointless to prepare a meaningful, substantive briefing for the president that's organized, where you have a bunch of slides. Because you know he's never going to listen. We're never going to get through it,' Cohn says, underlying claims that come up elsewhere in the book that Trump has the mental capacity of a fifth or sixth grader.

Cohn had not commented on anecdotes of quotes that included him in the book as of Thursday afternoon, unlike other current and former Trump administration officials, suggesting the letter and the story about him snatching it off Trump's desk were authentic.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders did not respond to a request for comment about the letter

The globalist whose worldview clashed with the president's left the White House earlier this year. Despite his run-ins with Trump, the president maintained that they had a good relationship until the end. He even suggested that Cohn could return one day in a higher-level position such as Cabinet secretary or chief of staff.

All of that was in question this week as Woodward's book went drip, drip, drip. Trump raged on Twitter, and in remarks, about the journalist and the disgruntled current and former employees who provided him with the juicy material.

Trump's spokeswoman had said that the Woodward book, which included damaging characterizations of the White House as 'crazytown' and the president as 'unhinged,' couldn't possibly be true when asked it about it at the White House on Wednesday.

'I don't think you can have the type of success that we've had in this White House under this president if that book was an accurate reflection of what is taking place,' she told reporters after blasting the book on two morning shows.

Sanders denied that current aides to Donald Trump believe he is an imbecile, as the president is portrayed in excerpts from the book that emerged as the White House was focused on another fight  the one to get Brett Kavanaugh on the high court.

She said a series of matching accounts across bombshell books that have humiliated the White House are works of 'fiction' from anonymous sources with axes to grind against the president.

Sarah Sanders said in a new rebuttal of Bob Woodward book on Wednesday that a damaging characterization of the White House as 'crazytown' and the president as 'unhinged' can't possibly be true

Sanders avoided calling Woodward himself a liar, avoiding a trap laid by the president in an interview when he suggested the respected journalist 'made up' anecdotes in his book that is based on hundreds of hours of recorded interviews.

The president in a Wednesday tweet encouraged Congress to take a fresh look at libel laws as he desperately searched for ways to retaliate.

Sanders wouldn't take the bait, telling a reporter who asked if the book was met the current standards, 'I think we have to see the rest of the book.

'We've seen a few excerpts that have been pretty widely pushed back on by some of the most-respected people in our country,' Sanders said. 'We'll see what happens.'

Sanders on 'GMA' said the book is based on the claims of anonymous sources and disgruntled former staffers. 'This is just another repeat of pure fiction.'

'I don't think there are that many current staffers that are painting that picture,' she asserted to assembled journalists later.

She told reporters after the interview that Woodward's sources were sharing the same rehearsed stories they'd shared with other authors writing shock-and-awe books about the sitting president.

'Certainly, just because they keep getting told doesn't make them more true,' she said of the pattern of degrading comments. 'I think that's a ridiculous accusation.'

She said the fact that the 'same people keep writing the same type of books' about Trump proves nothing.

Trump slammed Woodward's book as a 'fraud' and labeled him a 'Dem operative' after the famed Watergate journalist wrote that John Kelly called the president 'an idiot' and James Mattis compared him to a 'fifth grader'.

The president said in a tweet on Tuesday night: 'The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited by General (Secretary of Defense) James Mattis and General (Chief of Staff) John Kelly. Their quotes were made up frauds, a con on the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing?'

Mattis and Kelly both dismissed claims they had questioned Trump's intellect.

Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday to accuse famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward of fabricating quotes and information in his new book, Fear: Trump in the White House

Trump (left) dismissed as 'made up frauds' quotes from James Mattis and John Kelly which were deeply critical of Trump. Woodward is pictured on the right

Woodward asaid that Kelly castigated Trump as 'an idiot,' saying, 'It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails.'

The White House chief of staff allegedly said, 'We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.'

Kelly denied making the claims in a statement put out by the White House.

'The idea that I ever called the President is not true, in fact it's exactly the opposite,' he said. 'This is both a pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from his many successes.'

In another episode, Trump is said to have questioned the utility of U.S. early warning systems in Alaska to identify a nuclear attack from North Korea.

Mattis is said to have schooled him. 'We're doing this in order to prevent World War III,' he reportedly said.

The Pentagon chief is said to have told colleagues after the incident that Trump had the mental ability of 'a fifth- or sixth-grader.'

On Tuesday he denied the account, saying in a statement of his own: 'The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence.

'While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility.'

A Pentagon spokesman, Col. Rob Manning, said Mattis was never interviewed by Woodward.

'Mr. Woodward never discussed or verified the alleged quotes included in his book with Secretary Mattis' or anyone within the Defense Department, Manning said.

Previous accounts during Trump's first year had former secretary of state Rex Tillerson calling Trump a 'moron,' and Tillerson did not explicitly deny it. This would mean three of Trump's most senior advisors have ridiculed his mental capacity.

Woodward also reported that after Syria's Bashar Assad launched a chemical weapons attack on civilians in April 2017, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted the Syrian leader taken out, saying: 'Kill him! Let's go in.'

Mattis assured Trump he would get right on it but then told a senior aide they'd do nothing of the kind, Woodward wrote. National security advisers instead developed options for the airstrike that Trump ultimately ordered.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley denied Tuesday that Trump had ever planned to assassinate Assad. She told reporters at U.N. headquarters that she had been privy to conversations about the Syrian chemical weapons attacks, 'and I have not once ever heard the president talk about assassinating Assad.'

She said people should take what is written in books about the president with 'a grain of salt.'

Defense Secretary Mattis (left, at the Pentagon on August 28) and Kelly, White House chief of staff, (right, in the White House on August 27) both questioned quotes attributed to them

Trump also tweeted official statements from Kelly and Mattis as part of a barrage of posts on Tuesday evening

Highlights: The most searing quotes in Bob Woodward's book WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT TRUMP: JOHN KELLY, CHIEF OF STAFF: 'He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had.' JAMES MATTIS, DEFENSE SECRETARY: 'Fifth- or sixth-grader' REX TILLERSON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: 'He's a f***ing moron.' JOHN DOWN, FORMER PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'F***ing liar.' JOHN DOWD ON HOW TRANSCRIPT OF A MUELLER INTERVIEW WOULD BE DESCRIBED BY FOREIGN LEADERS: 'I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?' GARY COHN, FORMER CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: 'A professional liar' ROB PORTER, FORMER STAFF SECRETARY WHO QUIT WHEN BOTH EX-WIVES ACCUSED HIM OF ABUSE: 'A third of my job was trying to react to some of the really dangerous ideas that he had and try to give him reasons to believe that maybe they weren't such good ideas.' WHAT THEY SAID TO EACH OTHER: STEVE BANNON TO IVANKA TRUMP: 'You're nothing but a f***ing staffer! You walk around this place and act like you're on charge, and you're not. You're on staff!' IVANKA TRUMP TO STEVE BANNON: 'I'm not a staffer! I'll never be a staffer. I'm the first daughter and I'm never going to be a staffer!' JOHN KELLY TO GARY COHN: 'If that was me, I would have taken that resignation letter and shoved it up his a** six different times.' DOWD TO ROBERT MUELLER: 'He just made something up. That's his nature.' WHAT TRUMP SAID ABOUT THEM: BARACK OBAMA: 'Weak d**k' RUDY GIULIANI, PERSONAL ATTORNEY: 'Rudy, you're a baby. I've never seen a worse defense of me in my life. They took your diaper off right there. You're like a little baby that needed to be changed. When are you going to be a man?' WILBUR ROSS, COMMERCE SECRETARY: 'I don't trust you. I don't want you doing any more negotiations. You're past your prime.' H.R McMASTER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: 'Dresses like a beer salesman.' REINCE PRIEBUS, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF: 'Like a little rat. He just scurries around.' AFTER EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT FATAH AL-SISSI ASKED IF HE WAS GOING TO BE AROUND: 'Like a kick in the nuts.' BASHAR AL-ASSAD, SYRIAN DICTATOR: 'Let's f***ing kill him! Let's go in. Let's kill the f***ing lot of them.' Advertisement

Trump was once a fan of Bob Woodward - but now the president says he might be a liar

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed the work of the famed journalist as 'nothing more than fabricated stories'

Trump suggested to the Daily Caller that 'disgruntled employees' may have made the embarrassing claims in the book or that they could have been falsified Woodward in their entirety.

Extracts from veteran Watergate reporter Bob Woodard's new book set off explosions across the political world

'It could just be made up by the author,' Trump said of the journalist he once defended on Twitter against slights levied against him by the Obama administration.

The damaging statement about the widely respected journalist had former President George W. Bush's White House Press Secretary Ari Fleisher shaking his head.

'I've been on the receiving end of a Bob Woodward book. There were quotes in it I didn't like. But never once - never - did I think Woodward made it up,' Fleisher said. 'Anonymous sources have looser lips and may take liberties. But Woodward always plays is straight. Someone told it to him.'

Trump's press secretary piled on with a statement that said: 'This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad.'

In the response to Woodward's book, Sanders argued that 'sometimes' Trump's approach to the office is 'unconventional' but it 'always gets results.'

'Democrats and their allies in the media understand the President's policies are working and with success like this, no one can beat him in 2020  not even close.'

Former director of the U.S. National Economic Council Gary Cohn snatched a letter off Trump's desk to keep him from precipitously moving to pull out of a trade deal. Cohn is seen on the right next to Jared Kushner on March 8

The book follows the January release of author Michael Wolff's 'Fire and Fury,' which led to a rift between Trump and Bannon, his former chief strategist, who spoke with Wolff in terms that were highly critical of the president and his family. Wolff's book attracted attention with its vivid anecdotes but suffered from numerous factual inaccuracies.

Woodward's work also comes weeks after former White House aide and 'Apprentice' contestant Omarosa Manigault Newman published an expose on her time in the West Wing, including audio recordings of her firing by Kelly and a follow-up conversation with the president in which he claimed to have been unaware of Kelly's decision.

While White House aides have become increasingly numb to fresh scandals, the latest book still increased tensions in the West Wing, especially given the intimate details shared and the number of people Woodward appeared to have interviewed.

Some White House officials expressed surprise at the number of erstwhile Trump loyalists willing to offer embarrassing stories of the president and his inner circle.

White House aides on Tuesday coordinated with other officials quoted in the book to dispute troublesome passages. But insiders speculated the fallout could be worse than that from 'Fire and Fury,' given Woodward's storied reputation.

Woodward's book was already ranked the top-selling book on Amazon on this week.
Lawyers for Sayfullo Saipov, the man accused of killing eight people by driving a truck into a New York City bike path in October, have asked a federal judge to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, saying President Donald Trumps statements on Twitter have made a fair legal process impossible

The man accused of killing eight people by driving a truck into a New York City bike path last fall is seeking to avoid the death penalty because of incendiary tweets by Donald Trump.

Lawyers for Sayfullo Saipov on Thursday asked a federal judge to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, arguing the president's statements on Twitter have made a fair legal process impossible.

In a motion filed in Manhattan federal court, Saipov's lawyers said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who must decide whether to pursue the death penalty, cannot be objective because Trump has pressured him to make decisions based on 'nakedly political considerations' and has called for Saipov to be executed.

The lawyers pointed to a Monday tweet in which the president criticized the 'Jeff Sessions Justice Department' for indicting two Republican congressmen 'just ahead' of the upcoming congressional elections.

They also cited two tweets following Saipov's arrest calling for him to face the death penalty.

The defense argued that Attorney General Jeff Sessions (left), who would decide whether to pursue the death penalty, cannot be objective because of pressure from Trump (right)

Days after the 30-year-old Uzbek national was arrested for the attack on Manhattan's West Side, Trump called for him to be executed in two separate tweets (shown above)

Together, they said, Trump's tweets make it impossible for Sessions to 'exercise independent discretion' on the matter.

They asked that if the judge declines to bar the death penalty altogether, an independent prosecutor be appointed to make the decision in place of Sessions.

A spokesman for US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, whose office is prosecuting Saipov, declined to comment. The US Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saipov, a 30-year-old Uzbek national, was arrested in October immediately after police said he plowed a truck down a bike lane on Manhattan's West Side.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the deadliest assault on New York City since September 11, 2001.

He was charged in an indictment with eight counts of murder and other crimes including attempted murder and providing material support to Islamic State. He has pleaded not guilty.

Following the attack, Saipov told investigators he was inspired by watching Islamic State videos and began planning the attack a year earlier, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors the day after the attack.

Saipov made a public statement at a pre-trial hearing in June, speaking of a 'war' led by Islamic State to establish sharia, or Islamic law, on earth, and dismissing the court's judgment as 'not important'.
The top Brussels official at the centre of an EU sleaze probe last night insisted he won't resign.

Martin Selmayr has faced calls to quit after a watchdog suggested laws were broken in order to fast-track him for promotion.

He was given the role of secretary-general of the EU Commission  the most senior civil service post in Brussels  in a way that 'stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law'.

But the official, Jean-Claude Juncker's right-hand man in Brussels, was last night accused of 'planetary-scale arrogance' when he brazenly denied the fiasco was 'embarrassing'.

Martin Selmayr (pictured) has faced calls to quit after a watchdog suggested laws were broken in order to fast-track him for promotion

The German, nicknamed 'The Monster' by Mr Juncker for his ruthlessness, insisted that 'no laws' were broken when he was effectively promoted twice in ten minutes. Speaking to the Mail outside his smart apartment in central Brussels, he said: 'Resign? I think resignations are for other people.' Asked if it was embarrassing for him and Mr Juncker, who was found partly at fault in the investigation, he added: 'I don't think it is very embarrassing at all.

'I think the European Union is in a strong position. We have a very good system for selecting senior officials.' The 47-year-old lawyer added: 'The European Union is on the basis of law and we'll continue to be on the basis of law.

'I'm a very qualified lawyer, that's why I feel very confident. The European Commission has broken no laws.'

His comments come after Emily O'Reilly, the independent European Ombudsman, recommended a new process for appointing the secretary-general post after ruling officials were guilty of acts of 'maladministration'.

She also ruled that the Commission  the arm of the EU which oversees Brexit and of which Mr Juncker is president  had damaged public trust in Brussels and that its response to the allegations had been 'defensive' and 'evasive'.

The Commission showed either 'a lack of self-awareness' or 'a wilful refusal to admit to them', she said. Critics yesterday renewed calls for Mr Selmayr to step down so the process can be re-run fairly.

Jean-Claude Juncker's (centre, with Selmar, right) right-hand man in Brussels was accused of 'planetary-scale arrogance' when he brazenly denied the fiasco was 'embarrassing'

Tory MEP David Campbell Bannerman said: 'Mr Selmayr's comments are planetary-scale arrogance. This represents the rotten core of the EU.'

Fellow Tory MEP Daniel Hannan added: 'No one takes the blame. No one resigns.

'It's precisely that kind of arrogance that people were voting against [when they voted for Brexit].'

Mrs O'Reilly's report ruled that Mr Juncker allowed lines to blur between administrative independence and his political closeness to Mr Selmayr, previously his chief of staff.

The report ruled that an urgency to fill the post was 'created artificially' after the previous incumbent announced his retirement.

At the same meeting Mr Selmayr was first promoted to deputy secretary-general and then into the top job within about ten minutes.

The report added: 'And all of this in a context where the proposed appointment of a new secretary-general was not on the meeting agenda and no background papers had been circulated.'

It meant Mr Selmayr was effectively parachuted into the EU's most senior civil service post.

The Commission says some findings may be down to 'misunderstandings'. Mr Selmayr is no stranger to controversy.

He is alleged to have leaked details of a key Brexit dinner at Downing Street between Theresa May and Mr Juncker last year - a claim he denies. Diplomats say he is also known for wanting to punish Britain for leaving the EU.




A flight to Hawaii quickly took an uncomfortable turn for 187 passengers who were told they would have to pee in plastic bags and bottles.

One passenger on the American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Kona filmed her conversation with a flight attendant who told her the toilets were overflowing.

'What do you mean I have to pee in a bag?' the woman, who would not reveal her name, can be heard asking in the video - which was filmed on Friday.

Scroll down for video

One passenger on the American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Hawaii filmed the moment a flight attendant said she had to pee in a bag because the toilets were overflowing

American Airlines said all bathrooms were working when the plane took off but problems began after someone flushed a diaper down one of the toilets

'They're overflowing,' the attendant responds. 'This one has like this much left,' she adds, gesturing with her fingers. 'I know, it's horrible. And guys are going in bottles.'

The woman can then be heard asking the attendant how such a thing could happen on the six-hour flight.

'We overflowed,' the attendant says again. 'Whoever was on the ground, they overflowed.

'So when people started using the bathroom, it was so full anyways that it just shut up. And the water - everything goes in the same tank.'

'That's outrageous,' the passenger replies. 'I'm in pain, I think I'm gonna have a UTI and it's not sanitary right now for me to use the bags.'

'There's a little space,' the attendant replies. 'Why is it not sanitary to go in a bag? I know it's gross, but...'

The attendant said that women were be giving bags and guys were 'going' in water bottles

The passenger claimed that only one restroom in the front of the plane had been open and that it began to overflow

The woman said attendants made an announcement during the flight that there was an issue with the bathrooms.

'You could see the passengers looking at each other in disbelief,' she told KPNX.

'And they also locked two of the lavatories, as far as I can remember, so there was no access to those whatsoever.'

The woman claimed that only one restroom at the front of the plane was open, and it was overflowing.

'There was one lady who, unfortunately, she had a toddler that needed to use the restroom, and the same thing. She was told she had to use a bag,' she said.

'She opened the door to the toilet, and the grimace on her face...you could tell she was going to get sick to her stomach because of the sight and the smell.'

American Airlines said all bathrooms were working when the plane took off but problems began after someone flushed a diaper down one of the toilets.

The airline said in a statement that all lavatories 'must be working properly prior to departure'.

The flight attendant told her that someone 'on the ground' must have overflowed the toilet

She said that the problem only became exacerbated after more people began using it

There was ultimately only a 'little space' left, so attendants tried to have passengers use bags or bottles instead

'If an American flight is in the air, and all lavatories become inoperative, the flight will divert to the nearest suitable airport in order for maintenance to rectify the situation,' it continued.

'Due to the location of the aircraft, the flight continued to its intended destination.'

The airline said the issue was fixed in Kona and the plane returned to Phoenix as scheduled.

'We are very sorry for the trouble this caused the 187 passengers on flight 663,' it added.

'Our customer relations team will be reaching out to all of the passengers on this flight to extend our apologies.'

The woman who filmed the video was offered $240 in vouchers and 17,500 miles.

But the passenger refused, saying it wasn't enough to compensate for the horrific experience.

'I grew up in a communist country,' she said. 'And I've never experienced anything like this.'
A father was told to kiss his little boy goodbye as doctors believed he had ten minutes to live after developing sepsis.

John Drummond, and his wife, Sarah, were told that their son Ted, who was 18-months-old at the time, had developed the disease after being struck down with e-coli during a family holiday.

The family were told that Ted, who was battling leukaemia at the time, was unlikely to be strong enough to fight off the life threatening combinations.

The little boy began to deteriorate rapidly and a team of doctors and nurses began to put needles into his legs, his arms and his neck.

John Drummond, and his wife, Sarah, were told that their son Ted, who was 18-months-old at the time, had developed the disease after being struck down with e-coli during a family holiday

John, from Basildon in Essex, recalled: 'It was two o'clock in the morning and the doctor told us: "You've got to leave the room, we're going to put him into a medically induced coma. Kiss him on the head, he's got 10 minutes left".'

After making it through the night Ted defied the odds and pulled through, however spent two years in and out of hospital battling leukaemia.

Ted was eventually given the all-clear after spending more than 600 days in isolation as well as four blocks of intensive chemotherapy.

Ted Drummond, now ten, (pictured) was given ten minutes to live after e-coli developed into sepsis. The young boy, who was also battling leukaemia, tells his story through beads

The family were told that Ted, who was battling leukaemia at the time, was unlikely to be strong enough to fight off the life threatening combinations

His family have since set up Beads of Courage which will be funded by Children with Cancer from next year.

The programme gives children beads specifically coloured for the different stages of treatment, including tablets they have been given and different procedures.

Ted, now 10, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), when he was six-months-old, after several trips to the doctor's.

Prior to his diagnosis his parents were told that he may have an ear infection, or a bug, virus, growing pains or even that he was simply attention seeking.

However seeking a second opinion they were told two to three months later that he had ALL, after they noticed his development regressing.

ALL has around a 50 per cent morality rant in infants.

The family were holidaying in Cumbria when Ted was hit by e-coli, which worsened his condition.

Two days after he began to develop symptoms, including a rash, his mother and father took him to the hospital where they were told he had e-coli.

The little boy began to deteriorate rapidly and a team of doctors and nurses began to put needles into his legs, his arms and his neck

Ted was later taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital in London where he managed to pull through the night.

After being given the all clear from ALL, he continued to have treatments throughout his childhood, before being downgraded to annual check-ups.

Ted said that he can't remember any of his treatment, which included 500 needles and 67 transfusions, and just because he had cancer it won't stop him being a normal kid.

His father John said that the beads are how Ted explains the story of his childhood oncology, through the colours of the beds.

For every blood transfusion you get a red bead, and for every white bead Ted has undergone chemotherapy.

The youngster has 600 beads for every time he has been in isolation as well as hundreds of black beads, for every needle he has ever had stuck in him.

The programme is seen as 'positive reinforcement' that gives children hope and support, and as well as looking pretty serve a worthwhile purpose.

Dhivya O'Connor, Chief Executive Officer at Children with Cancer UK, said: 'We are delighted to partner with Beads of Courage UK on their Oncology Programme.

'The Beads help children take ownership of their cancer journey and make sense of the experience they are going through in a very visible and tangible way.

The partnership will ensure that the beads will be available to 4,500 young cancer patients being treated in 110 units across the UK, in a bid to provide hope and happiness.
Republican Senator Rand Paul is urging President Donald Trump to use lie detector tests to root out the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed.

'If you have a security clearance in the White House I think it would be acceptable to use a lie detector test and ask people whether they are talking to the media against the policy of the White House,' he said Thursday on Capitol Hill.

'I think it's not unprecedented for people with security clearances to be asked to whether or not they were revealing things against the law under oath and also by lie detector. We use a lie detector test routinely for CIA agents and FBI agents,' he noted.

Republican Senator Rand Paul is urging President Donald Trump to use lie detector tests to root out the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed

Paul was the senator who urged Trump to revoke John Brennan's security clearance

He also said it could be a danger to the country if the author was releasing classified information.

'This could be very dangerous if the person who is talking to the media is actually revealing national security secrets. So, yes, I think we need to get to the bottom of it,' the senator said.

Paul was the senator who urged Trump to remove former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance, which the president did.

The essay in the Times has caused an uproar in the Trump White House and led to a furious response from the president, who wants to know who wrote it.

Melania Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and every Cabinet member has denied being the author of the piece that outlines a conspiracy by White House staff to keep Trump from causing harm to the country and revealed discussions about invoking the 25th amendment to remove him from office.

Trump himself has called the writer 'gutless' and called on the newspaper to release the identity in the name of national security.

'Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?' Trump tweeted hours after the newspaper published a brutal opinion essay that the newspaper said was written by one of his senior-level appointees.

President Trump wants to learn the identity of the author

The op-ed piece in the New York Times revealed a 'quiet resistance' in the Trump administration

'If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!'

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the author to 'do the right thing and resign.'

In an online introduction, the Times says the author's 'identity is known to us' and the person's 'job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.'

The essay describes a 'quiet resistance' that by its nature has remained secret but isn't designed to bring Trump down  only to curb his worst impulses.

'Ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left,' the author writes. 'We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.'

'But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.'

So rather than risk the invocation of the Constitution's 25th Amendment, the prescribed route for removing a president, he boasts that 'we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  it's over.'
Nadine Dorries (above) believes Theresa May, if she doesn't choose to resign, must be replaced and quickly

Just over two years ago, I was delighted when the Tories elected their second woman prime minister.

Fast forward to today and for similar reasons I feel equally regretful to say that I believe Theresa May, if she doesn't choose to resign, must be replaced and quickly.

The writing was on the wall when, entirely unnecessarily, she committed one of the biggest blunders in modern British political history.

What was quickly called the 'dementia tax'  a controversial plan to shake up the way elderly care is funded  wasn't just a shock to millions of voters, but appalled nearly every Tory minister, too.

Mrs May thought she was just dropping another policy into the party's 2017 election manifesto, but she was actually dropping a political bomb on to her party's parliamentary majority and the careers and lifetime ambitions of many Tory candidates.

She didn't even ask her own health and local government ministers if they thought it was a good idea. It wasn't, of course. It was a titanically awful idea.

It blew up in Mrs May's face, has prolonged Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party because he wasn't crushed at the election, and ended the Tories' control both of Parliament and the Brexit process.

To her credit, Mrs May took personal responsibility for the fiasco and told a post-election gathering of my fellow Conservative MPs that she'd caused the mess and she would dig the Government out of it.

I was content to give her the benefit of the doubt at that time, but no longer. I've changed my mind because, while Mrs May overhauled her Downing Street inner circle, she hasn't changed her ways. In fact, she has just gone and repeated the mistake of the dementia tax debacle.

Grassroots favourite: Boris, with chief whip Julian Smith, after their lunch yesterday

Theresa May's Chequers plan for Brexit was put together secretly, without the knowledge or input of her key ministers

Her Chequers plan for Brexit was put together secretly, without the knowledge or input of her key ministers. And it's deja vu all over again.

Leavers and Remainers throughout the country oppose what emerged from her Downing Street bunker. Brussels isn't happy either  rejecting the plan last week. She has lost support in the polls. She's lost experienced ministers after they resigned in despair; she has lost MPs, both Leave and Remain supporters, and the nation has lost vital time in the negotiating window.

The PM seems completely blind to the consequences of playing the team game of politics in such a presidential way.

She announced that she'd be taking personal charge of the final stages of the Brexit process. Given the explosive nature of what she generates in her Downing Street bunker, I fear Brussels will bounce her into another big mistake in the final stages of negotiations.

I wish I hadn't reached this conclusion about her, and I don't for a moment pretend that Mrs May doesn't have major qualities. I admire her doggedness, as most of the nation does. It stems from the ethos of public service she learned from her father, a clergyman. And she has done many good things in No.10.

Her response to the poisoning scandal in Salisbury was a lesson in statesmanship, for example. An Iron Lady moment.

Overall, however, in a country that is as complex as ours, during times that are so challenging and given Brexit negotiations that matter so much, it's vital we have a Government of all the talents and not just one. She really does exhibit a worrying disdain for the ideas of too many others.

Mrs May's 'dementia tax' has prolonged Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party

While I was not a great fan of George Osborne, his Northern Powerhouse project was truly of one-nation potential, but she's downgraded it.

She has rejected, or shown no interest in, the many good ideas that Vote Leave campaigners deployed to help win the referendum  such as cutting VAT on fuel.

And she hardly uses Twitter, which is odd given that David Cameron exploited it so well, and he was the master communicator.

If we are to prevent a disastrous Jeremy Corbyn premiership, we have no time to lose. Voters won't believe us if we wait until the eve of the next election to make promises of change and trot out the tired line that we have lessons to learn.

We need a PM who will trust their Chancellor to deliver tax reform; a PM who'll back a housing minister to end the crisis in affordable homes.

What we need is a premier who isn't afraid of bold change, because if Tories don't deliver change, the nation will turn to Jeremy Corbyn or some other populist figure to find it.

Mrs May hardly uses Twitter, which is odd given that David Cameron (pictured) exploited it so well, and he was the master communicator

My own choice for leader is Boris Johnson. Yes, many MPs nurturing their own political ambitions don't want him, because like Churchill, he will run and run. But he was the man who delivered Brexit. (Sorry, Nigel Farage, it really wasn't you).

And it matters to Boris that the promises made in that campaign  especially on NHS spending and immigration control  are met as quickly and fully as possible.

His loud critics who say they'll leave the party if he succeeds Mrs May remind me of celebrities who insist they'll leave the country if a general election result isn't to their liking. Most end up staying.

Boris would need to put big figures from all wings of the party in top jobs, and preferably put Sajid Javid into No.11  he is a man with vision and unparalleled fiscal ability. Boris won the Labour city of London twice, and delivered. During his time at City Hall, knife crime did not explode. Infrastructure projects such as Crossrail and the Olympics did not veer off course. Millions rallied to his call to back Brexit.

I've walked down many streets with politicians but Boris is the only one who has rock star status, and the only time I've been mobbed was with him.

He's the man to seize the opportunities of Brexit and not drown in its short-term complexities.

I know he wants to give practical help for people who can't afford a home and lack any job security  and put those policies at the heart of Government.

Tory MPs and other seemingly implacable opponents of the former foreign secretary need to dwell on that. We have almost run out of time. We have weeks to save the country  and Brexit.

Theresa May has to go, and MPs have to put personal ambition aside, do the right thing and put Boris to the membership to vote.

Yesterday, he extended his lead as the preferred next party leader among Tory members, according to a poll for the website ConservativeHome.

If we don't act, the winner will be Corbyn and the extremist groups that, throughout his political lifetime, he has befriended. No Tory should allow themselves to be an accomplice to that for the sake of their own personal ambition.
Prosecutors in Florida have decided not to file any criminal charges against a mother who was seen in a viral Facebook video shoving her three-year-old son's head into the toilet.

The Leesburg Police Department said in a press release on Wednesday that the agency had launched an investigation into Kaitlyn Wolf on Saturday, after receiving complaints about a video posted on Facebook showing the mother-of-two holding her youngest son upside down and dunking his head into the toilet as her 10-year-old son recorded the punishment.

In the course of the investigation, police learned that the Department of Children and Families had looked into this incident last Thursday and determined that it did not rise to the level of child abuse.

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Screenshots from a cellphone video shows Kaitlyn Wolf dunking her three-year-old son's head into the toilet in their Florida home. Prosecutors have opted not to pursue charges

The mom says she has been getting death threats on Facebook over this video

Police proceeded with their own independent criminal investigation and forwarded the Facebook video to the State Attorney's Office with a request of a warrant for Wolfs arrest.

The prosecutors office asked for additional information, so the police department worked tirelessly through the weekend gathering more evidence, before making another request for the arrest warrant on Tuesday.

A child forensic interviewer spoke to Wolfs two sons in the presence of a police sergeant, a prosecutor and a DCF official, and it was determined, according to the statement from the law enforcement agency, that there was 'threatened harm of mental injury' to the two boys due to their mother's disciplinary measures.

However, the forensic interview failed to show there was physical abuse or neglect, leading the State Attorney's Office to decide not pursue criminal charges.

'While we respect the decision from the State Attorney and the Forensic Team, this incident calls for continued intervention for the welfare of the children involved,' according to the press release. 'We asked the Department of Children and Families to assure the children remain safe and have a safety plan.'

Wolf (pictured with her young son) says the boy was laughing and was never in any danger

The statement concluded by thanking all the concerned citizens for raising the alarm about the disturbing Facebook video.

Wolf previously talked to a local news outlet, lamenting that she has been bombarded with death threats and insisting that the video recording did not tell the whole story.

It was a joke between the three of us,' Wolf told the station WFTV, referring to herself and her two sons. My sons and I horseplay rough. We stuck his head in the toilet and flushed it, and my older son was recording it.'

The mom-of-two explained that her three-year-old blurted out a profanity, so she initially decided to punish him by washing out his mouth with soap and water.

But then she watched a film that included a scene depicting a child's head being shoved into a toilet.

Wolf said she grabbed the toddler, held him above the toilet and dipped his head into the water, while her older son filmed it on video.

The recording shows the mom holding the crying boy by his arms and dunking his head into the porcelain bowl.

Afterwards, Wolf said she sent the video to a friend, bragging in jest about her novel way to discipline her children.

Wolf (left and right) says people have been bombarding her with threats, to the point that police have posted officers outside her home for protection

But the friend forwarded the video to the ex-girlfriend of Wolf's current boyfriend, who promptly shared it on social media.

Most Facebook users who watched the clip failed to find the humor in the toddler's watery punishment and contacted the Leesburg Police Department, urging it to intervene.

Wolf said that since the video has gone viral, she has been getting death threats online, with strangers writing to her that she should be shot and buried alive.

She said the harassment has gone so far that police posted officers outside her house for her protection.

According to the mother, who works as a medical assistant, her young son was never in any real danger.

His head was never under the water, his face never got wet,' she insisted. 'Its scary to think I might lose my children over this - over a joke that we played.

She continued: 'It was just a game. I didn't inflict harm on him... he was laughing during the video.

In an interview with WKMG, Wolf claimed that what the video does not show is that when she pulled the three-year old out of the toilet, he said,' Let's do it again.'

Wolf has since deleted her Facebook account.
This is the shocking moment Brazil's right wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is stabbed while campaigning for next month's election.

The controversial far right-wing candidate, who is leading the polls, was attacked while being carried shoulder high in the midst of a crowd in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, south east Brazil.

The horrifying moment was caught on several cameras as the assailant struck Bolsonaro in the stomach.

The politician is seen collapsing and clutching his stomach in agony and is then rushed to hospital.

Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is taken on the shoulders of a supporter moments before being stabbed during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil

Jair Bolsonaro reacts after being stabbed during the rally. Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed that his attacker had been arrested

Bolsonaro is reported to have underwent laparoscopic surgery after being stabbed at a campaign rally according to his advisers

This photo released by the Military Police, shows the knife supposedly used by Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, suspected of stabbing Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate

Jair Bolsonaro is being carried by the crowd while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, south east Brazil

He can suddenly be seen grasping his stomach and wincing in pain and the crowd carries him on

The crowd react and carry the wounded politician to safety. He is currently undergoing critical surgery

A group of people try to detain Adelio Bispo de Oliveira (pictured centre), who allegedly stabbed the right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro

Although his son Flavio said in a Twitter message the wound was superficial, it now appears to be far more serious as his father was rushed into surgery.

At the time of the confusion, Bolsonaro was being carried on his shoulders by a supporter of his campaign, doing hand-to-hand with voters.

As he acknowledged to his supporters, one person approached him and allegedly stabbed him.

Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro campaigns in the district of Ceilandia in Brasilia, yesterday

According to reports, Bolsonaro would normally be wearing a bullet proof vest provided by the federal police for his safety. However, on this occasion he was without the protection.

Bolsonaro was taken to the Santa Casa de Misericordia de Juiz de Fora.

The hospital reported that he was admitted to the emergency room at about 3:40 pm with 'a sharps injury in the abdomen.'

Initially his son Flavio Bolsonaro said the injury had been superficial, however, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was 'worse than we thought.'

Flavio said the puncture had hit parts of his father's liver, lung and intestines and he lost a lot of blood.

He arrived at the hospital 'almost dead,' Flavio wrote. 'His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray.'

Around 5:50 pm local time, TV Globo reported that the politician had suffered an injury to the intestinal loop. Surgeons confirmed it had already sewn up.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed that his attacker had been arrested.

Santiago said the attacker was identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira.

He said the suspect was beaten badly by Bolsonaro supporters after the attack.

Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is a polarizing figure and has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements towards women and black people

The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said.

Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told the Associated Press that the assailant appeared to be mentally disturbed.

'Our agents there said the attacker said he was `on a mission from God,'' Boudens reported.

'Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person. He didn't expect to be arrested so quickly; agents reacted in seconds.'

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a more free hand to shoot and kill while on duty.

Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro (pictured left) gestures at the crowd during a campaign rally in the district of Ceilandia in Brasilia, on September 5, 2018

While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarizing figure.

He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements towards women and black people

He speaks nostalgically about the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

His vice presidential running mate is a retired general.

Earlier this week, Bolsonaro said during a campaign event that he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers' Party, which made da Silva its candidate.

The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Bolsonaro to explain that comment.

In a sign of how polarized Brazilian politics has become, people took to Twitter Thursday night to either to decry the stabbing and ask for prayers for Bolsonaro or to say that the candidate had brought it upon himself and even may have staged it.

The top five trending topics in Brazil were related to the stabbing, and someone even created an account for the knife, whose tweets had been retweeted thousands of times just hours after the attack.

The attack Brazilian right-wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, pictured at a campaign rally, comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric related to campaigns

Other presidential candidates quickly denounced the stabbing.

'Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate,' tweeted Gerado Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Bolsonaro.

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva's place on the Workers' Party ticket, called the attack 'absurd and regrettable.'

The attack comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric, and sometimes violence, related to campaigns and candidates.

In March, while da Silva was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment, gunshots hit buses in his caravan.

No one was hurt, and da Silva, who is in jail on a corruption conviction, was not in the vehicles that were hit.

Also in March, Marielle Franco, a black councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, was shot to death along with her driver after attending an event on empowering black women.

It wasn't immediately clear how the attack on Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much up in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail.

In many ways, the incident feeds Bolsonaro's narrative that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to steady it.

'It's likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate, that they had no other way to stop him,' said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro's state university.
The Hollywood agent who actor Terry Crews said had sexually assaulting him during an event is officially leaving the agency after settling a lawsuit brought by the actor.

'Terry Crews, Adam Venit and WME have settled the lawsuit Mr. Crews filed last year. It will be dismissed,' read a statement from the agency to The Hollywood Reporter.

Venit was identified as the man who had aggressively grabbed the actor's penis and testicles during a William Morris Endeavor meeting, he was subsequently put on leave in November by the agency.

Deadline reports that Venit has told associates he is retiring and is handing over his impressive roster of clients including Adam Sandler, Sylvester Stallone, Shawn Levy, Dustin Hoffman, Eddie Murphy, Michael B. Jordan, Vince Vaughn, M. Night Shyamalan and Marc Forster, to associates.

'Venit, upon his first meeting Crews, viciously grabbed Crews' penis and testicles so hard that it caused Crews immediate pain in a blatant and unprovoked sexual assault,' alleged the complaint filed by Crews' in December.

Terry Crews accused Adam Venit of aggressively grabbing his penis and testicles during an event in Hollywood in 2016. Crews came forward with his allegations against the agent as the #MeToo movement was in its infancy. On Thursday WME announced the agency and Venit settled with Cruz and Venit is now officially out at the agency

The Brooklyn 99 star was represented by the agency until he fired them in November. The actor was not one of Venit's clients.

In January, WME submitted their response to Crews' lawsuit writing: 'The facts are these: The day after the alleged incident, Mr. Crews mentioned it to no one at WME other than his agent, who nevertheless immediately raised it with Mr. Venit.'

During an internal investigation into Crews' claims against Venit, WME had said they found that the behavior was a pattern for the agent, and that this was not an isolated incident.

Venit was suspended without pay for a month and was demoted from his position as head of WMEs Motion Picture Group.

Crews first came forward in October as the #MeToo movement was in its infant stages following the burgeoning list of women who were alleging sexual misconduct and assault against Harvey Weinstein.

'This whole thing with Harvey Weinstein is giving me PTSD. Why? Because this kind of thing happened to ME,' Crews tweeted on October 10.

'My wife and I were at a Hollywood function last year and a high-level Hollywood executive came over to me and groped my privates.'

Crews filed a police report on Nov. 8 and the Los Angeles Police Department opened an investigation into the incident. In March, the Los Angeles city attorney stated that the 'matter was referred to our office and was subsequently declined due to the lapse in statute of limitations for misdemeanor cases.'

Venit's clients at WME included Adam Sandler, Diane Keaton, Eddie Murphy, Kevin James, Rob Lowe, Shawn Levy, Steve Martin, Sylvester Stallone and Vince Vaughn, as well as Brett Ratner and Dustin Hoffman, who are facing sexual misconduct allegations of their own.

Prosecutors declined to file felony charges against Venit because he 'did not make contact with the victim's skin when he grabbed the victim's genitals and there is no restraint involved.'

Crews also reported the assault just outside the one-year statute of limitations, filing paperwork in which he detailed the February 2016 incident with the LAPD back in November.
Bristol Palin allegedly slammed her ex Dakota Meyer and suggested he was not deserving of his Medal of Honor in texts posted by the marine.

In the exchange Palin writes that Meyer is a 'coward' and a 'b****' before suggesting he was not deserving of his Medal of Honor.

'He's no hero. He didn't do that s***. He's a b****,' wrote Palin according to Meyer, who said the exchange was with a man that his ex-wife had never event met in person.

The final text from the person Meyer identifies as Palin reads: 'I can't believe I'm having his baby.'

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The way they were: Bristol Palin and her ex Dakota Meyer attacked one another in a series of Instagram posts on Thursday (pair above in 2016)

Harsh words: Meyer shared texts he claimed were sent by Palin to a man she had not met in which she questions his receiving the Medal of Honor (above)

Biblical battle: The first blow was dealt by Palin, who said she had just received baby photos from her old house that Meyer had been holding 'hostage'

Meyer posted the texts after Palin compared him to biblical giant Goliath and accused him of holding family photos hostage.

'After nearly a month, and thousands of dollars on attorney fees, I was finally able to get my pictures back from my old house/ex-husband,' wrote Palin.

'If you're facing a Goliath in your life, don't back down.'

Palin then added the hashtag '#worthit.'

Meyer, who served in the Marines for four years, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama in 2011.

He was given the top award after repeatedly charging into a kill zone during a 2009 ambush in Kunar Province, Afghanistan in search of four of his missing comrades.

He was able to rescue 36 troops and kill eight Taliban attackers despite being shot in the arms. He was not able to save his four fellow Marines, but went back and carried their bodies out.

Meyer met Palin while filming an episode of Palin's outdoor-based show Amazing America last May, and he and Bristol announced their engagement the following March.

He popped the question while the two were in Las Vegas at a Rascal Flatts concert and the second time around the two revealed they were engaged before many knew they were event back together.

The couple, who have two children, then announced they were splitting back in February.

United front: 'He's no hero. He didn't do that s***. He's a b****,' wrote Palin according to Meyer (pair above with Palin's son Tripp)

Palin, 27, revealed that she and Dakota Meyer were finally divorced in August, five months after DailyMail.com first broke the news that Meyer had filed papers to terminate their marriage in Travis County District Court.

'Are you dating,' asked a fan, to which Palin replied: 'freshly divorced & single forever lezzbereal (I am not ready to date).'

The oldest of Sarah Palin's three daughters later said that she does not see herself walking down the aisle again at this time, while noting that the number one question people ask her is whether or not she is married.

That frank and candid question-and-answer session took place while Palin was busy filming the new season of Teen Mom.

Producers announced in July that Palin had joined the case of the popular reality series, and that she will earn a reported $250,000 for her first season on the program.

Palin will be appearing on the show with her three children, but not Meyer.
Surveillance footage of the moment a teenage girl who returned home after being suddenly freed by a man who held her captive for nine months has been revealed for the first time.

Abigail Hernandez was taken captive by Nathaniel Kibby in October 2013 as she walked home from school in Conway, New Hampshire.

She was held against her will in a trailer on his property 30 miles away for nine months, during which time Kibby, now 39, sexually assaulted her and forced her to wear a dog collar.

In July 2014, he suddenly decided to let her go because he had 'terrorized' her enough. He drove her out in to a rural road then let her go free.

Speaking for the first time about the horror she endured in five years, Abigail told ABC's 20/20 of the moment Kibby suddenly let her go.

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Abigail Hernandez is pictured walking back into her family home in Conway, New Hampshire, after nine months in captivity. She was suddenly freed by her abductor in July 2014 after enduring months of sexual assault and abuse

'There were no cars coming either way and he said 'get out'. So I got out and then he yelled "wait, give me my hat back! Give me my hat back!"

'So I took it off, threw it in the car, slammed the door and he drove off. Just like that. That was it,' she said.

At the time, she was 15. Now 19, she recalls looking up and 'laughing' afterwards.

'Just being so happy like, "Oh my God. This actually happened. I'm a free person. I never thought it would happen to me but I'm free." And I just walked home,' she said.

The family had surveillance cameras on their front doorstep. They caught the moment Abigail walked through the door after while her mother was inside.

'I remember when I came up to my doorstep, I could hear my mum talking on the phone. I could hear her voice. I opened the door and said, "Mom?" and she said, "Abby?" And then she ran out,' she recalled.

Abigail Hernandez (left) said it was a 'beautiful moment' reuniting with her mother Zenyah (right) when she walked through the front door

The girl's mother, Zenyah, said she 'shuddered' when she was first saw her.

't was almost like, it was a shock. Like, I had a shudder. I couldn't believe what I was seeing,' she said.

Abigail said she remembered registering the change in her mother's appearance and realizing that her vanishing had taken such a severe toll on her.

'That was such a beautiful moment. I remember just the look on her face.

Nathaniel Kibby, 39, is serving between 45 and 90 years imprisonment for kidnapping the teen

'She looked different she really did. I could see months of stress in her face and it kinda killed me a little bit but I was so relieved to see her,' she said.

Kibby is serving between 45 and 90 years in prison on sexual assault and kidnapping charges.

Earlier in the interview, which will air in full on Friday, she revealed that Kibby would not tell her his name and instead instructed her to all him 'master'.

The young woman also explained how he started using the dog collar on her.

'He said, "You know, I'm thinking of finding something a little more humane for you to keep you quiet."

'He said, "I'm thinking of a shock collar. You know, that like dogs wear."

'I remember he put it on me. And he told me, "Okay, try and scream."

'I just slowly started to raise my voice. And then, it shocked me. So, he's like, "Okay, now you know what it feels like,"' she said.

It took her Abigail a week after returning home before she revealed to her family and law enforcement agencies who he was because she was so afraid of him.

In July 2014, Hernandez bravely faced her kidnapper in court and thanked him for letting her go (they are pictured during the court hearing above)

Kibby held the girl hostage in a storage container on his property in rural New Hampshire (picture) for nine months without suspicion

She knew his name because she had seen it written on a cook book inside the home.

Kibby was arrested at his home which was 30 miles north of where he took Abigail.

Abigail went missing in October 2013 days before her 15th birthday. It sparked a large manhunt which lasted nine months

In the nine months she spent in his captivity, she was only ever allowed to write one letter to her family under his instruction.

After his arrest, she bravely confronted him in court and thanked him for letting her go.

'I want you to know that I appreciate my freedom because of you and I enjoy my life because of you.

'I just want to thank you for giving me my freedom back,' she said.

Kibby was sentenced to a minimum of 45 years behind bars and was charged with a litany of crimes including kidnapping and sexual assault.

Neighbors testified at his sentencing hearings that he was a gun-obsessed loner who was convinced there would be a zombie apocalypse.

They said they half expected him to unravel and do something violent but that kidnapping a child was one of the last things they predicted he would do.
Three teenage boys are in hospital with one fighting for his life after being shocked by live wires at a train station.

The three 17-year-old Queensland boys somehow gained access to a restricted area at Pimpama station before coming into contact with an electrified railway line and being shocked with 25,000 volts.

It's believed the boys were on an overpass near the train line when they gained entry into the staff-only area where they slipped and fell onto the live wires.

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Three teenage boys are in hospital with one fighting for his life after they allegedly gained access to a restricted area before being shocked by live wires at a train station

Two of the boys received an electric shock while the third boy, who also suffered burns, was able to raise the alarm.

Police and emergency services, including a critical care paramedic, were called to the scene at 8.40pm on Thursday to assess the boys.

The Queensland Ambulance Service transported the three teenagers to hospital with one fighting for his life.

Two of the boys were transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, one in a critical condition and the other in a serious condition.

Both have burns to at least 60 per cent of their bodies.

The third boy was transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition.

The three 17-year-old Queensland boys somehow gained access to a restricted area at Pimpama station before coming into contact with an electric railway line and being shocked with 25,000 volts

A Queensland Ambulance Services spokesman told the Gold Coast Bulletin that all three patients were conscious and speaking when emergency crews arrived and on the way to the hospital.

Meanwhile Queensland Police spokesman Leigh McGuiness told 9 News that officers were investigating the incident.

'We are currently investigating how they got to be here in the first place and why they were here,' he said at the scene.

The rail line between Helensvale and Beenleigh was suspended in both directions as emergency crews worked at the scene but has since been reopened.
Bogota, Sep 6 (EFE).- The Colombian army's commander visited the Central Military Hospital in Bogota on Thursday to check on the three soldiers who were set free by the ELN rebels after spending 29 days in captivity.

Gen. Ricardo Gomez Nieto spoke with the men and asked about their health, the army said in a statement.

The soldiers - Orlando Yair Vega Diaz, Juan Pablo Rojas and Eduardo Caro Banol - are in stable condition and undergoing medical tests to rule out any problems, army spokesmen said.

Gomez Nieto was accompanied by the hospital's director, Gen. Clara Galvis, as well as the medical team and other high-ranking officers.

If the tests and check-ups are completed on Thursday, doctors will issue a medical report by the end of the day, Galvis said.

The three soldiers were abducted Aug. 8 in Arauca province, bordering Venezuela. They were on leave, unarmed and in civilian dress when the National Liberation Army (ELN) grabbed them, the army said.

The ELN high command has pledged to release six other captives: police officers Wilber Renteria, Luis Carlos Torres Montoya and Yemilson Leandro Gomez Correa; soldier Jesus Alberto Ramirez Silva; and two civilians whose names were not revealed.

That group fell into rebel hands Aug. 3 while traveling on the Ariquia River in the western province of Choco.

The new president who took office last month, Ivan Duque, has made the continuation of a year-old peace process with the ELN contingent on the willingness of the rebels to abandon hostage-taking and release a score of people they are holding.
A 20-year-old woman has died in hospital after being run down in a horror hit-and-run.

The pedestrian was crossing a road in Waterloo, in Sydney's inner-west, at about 2.15pm on Thursday when she was hit by a white hatchback, believed to be a Kia Rio.

The driver did not stop following the collision.

A 20-year-old woman has died in hospital after being run down in a horror hit-and-run

The woman was treated at the scene before being taken to St Vincent's Hospital, where she died.

Police are looking for dashcam vision which could assist the investigation.

Anyone who saw the incident on Lachlan Street is urged to call police.
Immigration enforcement agents have swarmed the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the Mexican man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

A team of ICE agents and local law enforcement spent two hours at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn on Thursday morning as they looked around the property and spoke to workers.

The owners of the dairy farm are cooperating with federal authorities who had asked to visit the business following Cristhian Bahena Rivera's arrest in Tibbetts' death.

Yarrabee Farms confirmed in a statement that investigators met with employees and owners, but it said it could provide no additional details due to an ongoing investigation.

A team of ICE agents and local law enforcement spent two hours at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday morning as they looked around the property and spoke to workers

The Department of Homeland Security and ICE were leading the investigation at the farm, according to Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt.

Mortvedt said that means the activity was focused on federal law and not the homicide case, which his agency is leading.

The search comes just one day after it emerged that Rivera, 24, had been employed at the farm for years under a false name: John Budd.

Rivera was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last month in the stabbing death of Tibbetts who vanished while out for a run in Brooklyn on July 18.

Investigators say Rivera, a 24-year-old native of Mexico who came to the US during his teenage years, was in the country illegally and is subject to deportation proceedings.

The farm has said that at least a couple of its roughly dozen employees left the area following Rivera's arrest, which sent fear through the immigrant community.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, worked at the farm for four years under a fake name: John Budd. The owners of the dairy farm are cooperating with federal authorities who had asked to visit the business following his arrest in Tibbetts' death

Police say Rivera followed and confronted Tibbetts while she was out for a run on July 18 in Brooklyn, Iowa and later stabbed her to death

The dairy, which has about 800 cows and is owned by a prominent family with Republican Party ties, says it received dozens of angry phone calls and some death threats.

Rivera worked there for roughly four years and lived in one of its trailers for free. The farm has said that about half of its workers live in provided housing.

Farm managers have said Rivera presented an out-of-state identification and a Social Security number when he was hired in 2014, and that they were unaware of his true identity until his August 21 arrest.

The company did not use the government's voluntary E-Verify system to check his identity and eligibility to work, although it's unclear whether that would have made a difference.

Farm manager Dane Lang, did apologize earlier this month for a mistake in falsely claiming to have used E-Verify in an initial statement on the day of Rivera's arrest, hours after he allegedly led police to Tibbetts' body in a nearby cornfield.

Lori Chesser, an immigration employment lawyer advising the farm, said that companies cannot discriminate against workers based on how they look or how their names sound.

The farm followed legal requirements to examine the documents and determined 'that they appeared genuine on their face and related to the person presenting them,' Chesser said.

Farm manager Dane Lang said Rivera presented an out-of-state identification and a Social Security number when he was hired in 2014, and that they were unaware of his true identity until his August 21 arrest

The dairy, which has about 800 cows and is owned by a prominent family with Republican Party ties, says it received dozens of angry phone calls and some death threats

'Questioning a name or other characteristic would violate the anti-discrimination provisions of the law.'

During his four years at the farm near Brooklyn, Iowa, Rivera 'was called and responded to the name he used in the hiring process,' Chesser said. He lived in a trailer owned by the farm as a benefit of his employment, as do about half of its 10 workers.

Employers typically do not face legal consequences for hiring a worker under false documents as long as they were not involved in obtaining them and had no other obvious reason to suspect they are fraudulent, said Bob Teig, a retired federal prosecutor in Iowa.

'Absent unusual circumstances, it would be difficult to show they knew any more than what they were told,' Teig said, adding that it would be 'pretty racist' to assume a John Budd could not be Hispanic.

Rivera has been jailed on $5 million bond while awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge, which carries a sentence of life in prison.

It comes as Tibbetts' father, Rob Tibbetts, urged the public not to bring his daughter's death into the divisive racial debate over immigration.

'The person who is accused of taking Mollie's life is no more a reflection of the Hispanic community as white supremacists are of all white people,' he wrote in an opinion piece for the Des Moines Register.
Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer, an Australian academic currently working in the UK, took to Twitter on Friday to complain after she was called Miss instead of Doctor on a Qantas flight

A British academic who slammed Qantas after a flight attendant mistakenly called her Miss instead of Doctor has hit back at trolls who have mocked her for having 'first world problems.'

Dr Siobhan O'Dwyer, who has a PhD in Philosophy and is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter medical school, said the incident would never have happened if she was a man.

In the original post Dr O'Dwyer said 'Hey @Qantas my name is Dr O'Dwyer. My ticket says Dr O'Dwyer.

'Do not look at my ticket, look at me, look back at my ticket decide it's a typo and call me Miss O'Dwyer.

'I did not spend 8 years at university of be called Miss.'

The posts went viral last week and Dr O'Dwyer said the public response from her string of tweets had been 'pretty hateful', with some tweeting offensive gifs and others accusing the Dr O'Dwyer of having an 'ego'.

Some even said the issue was typical of 'first world problems' and insinuated that in the wider context of things it was not that important.

Dr O'Dwyer said to her followers: 'The vitriol in my feed at the moment is staggering,'

She defended her post, saying it was not about ego, but rather 'highlighting one of a thousand instances of sexism that women encounter every day'.

After the original complaint to Qantas a number of people showed their support for the Dr.

Dr Saunders said: 'Wow, responses to this are a nasty blend of anti-intellectualism and sexism. :('

Another user Lisa Lindley, highlighted the heavy administrative burden of a simple name change to Dr.

But, Dr O'Dwyer was also targeted by trolls for speaking up.

Dr O'Dwyer is also targeted by some trolls for her post.

In one a man posts a gif of the Scottish character from hit Hollywood film Austin Powers saying 'Boohoo'.

After Dr O'Dwyer is defended by a fellow poster he then accuses her of having '1st world problems'.

Another person, critical of her post, says she should 'tone down on the ego, ok?'

Dr O'Dwyer responded to the comments she has received online and said: 'Copping so much flack for this tweet. This was not about my ego.

'It was about highlighting one of a thousand instances of sexism that woman encounter every day.

'It's not about the title, it's about the fact that this wouldn't have happened if I was a man.'

Her original post received nearly 8000 likes and sparked debate about whether Dr O'Dwyer - who works as a lecturer on Ageing and Family Care in the UK - or the flight attendant was in the wrong.

Following waves of both criticism and support online, Dr O'Dwyer said she wished the tweet didn't go viral after receiving a 'staggering' amount of hate.

She refused requests for comment from media on the basis it could 'provide further opportunities for attack'.

'I did not spend 8 years at university to be called Miss,' Dr O'Dwyer (left) reasoned. In July, she shared a boarding pass labelled Mr, claiming she had been mistaken as a man because of her title

Social media users were divided over whether Dr O'Dwyer's apparent snub on the flight was a sign of disrespect or a simple mistake.

Fellow academic Dr Mel Thomson tweeted her support, writing: 'You have all of the solidarity on this issue.'

Fellow academic Dr Mel Thomson tweeted her support, but was slammed for calling flight attendants 'trolley dolly'

'I'm first gen to finish high school (let alone get several degrees) in my family  I'll be damned if some trolley dolly gets to decide what honorific I get called, FFS.'

Many people took offence with Dr Thomson's use of the term 'trolley dolly', saying it was disrespectful to women and the profession.

'Please don't refer to us as trolley dollies. We may not have completed a PhD however we are required by law 2 maintain quals (sic) that enable us to evacuate an aircraft in 90 secs, keep u alive in-flight, prevent hijacking, put out fires etc,' an airline steward using the Twitter handle Belleo tweeted.

'I have always used the correct honorific. And I have always been especially careful to ensure I used it when I saw it on a woman's boarding pass as I was proud to be able to support the woman and her achievements in a male-centric world,' she continued.

'You've just gone and sh*t on that with your condescending comment about us.'

Dr O'Dwyer (pictured) hit back at the 'vitriol' in her Twitter feed after she slammed airline Qantas for misrepresenting her as 'Miss' instead of 'Doctor'

Tim Almond said he had two friends with doctorates who refused to use their correct title outside of professional conferences.

'You're asking for trouble on an aircraft. A passenger gets stuck and they'll ask you for help,' he tweeted.

Qantas said they stood by the professionalism of their cabin crew.

'We are extremely proud of our cabin crew who respectfully serve our customers day in and day out and play a vital safety role,' a Qantas spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

'Please don't refer to us as trolley dollies' an airline steward using the Twitter handle Belleo tweeted

Twitter users were divided over Dr O'Dwyer's reasoning, with some accusing her of making a big deal out of nothing and others agreeing it was a case of sexism.

'Your tweet is exactly about ego. How many male doctors write tweets to Qantas complaining they get called Mr & not Dr ? If they did, they would cop exactly same the responses as you,' one man wrote.

'Why dont the trolls understand that its about equality?,' argued another.

Dr O'Dwyer took to social media to say she had been 'copping so much flak' for the post
President Donald Trump used crude language to describe gender reassignment surgery while considering the status of transgender troops, according to Bob Woodward's new book.

Trump made the comment early in his term, shortly before he stunned his genderals by announcing a plan to end an Obama-era policy that would have allowed transgender troops to join the military.

He made the comment to former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon, according to Woodward's new bombshell, titled: 'Fear.' Bannon was sympathetic to conservative complaints that the government would be forced to pay for costly gender reassignment surgery, according to the account.

'What the f***? They're coming in here, they're getting clipped,' Trump told Bannon, in what Woodward described as a crude reference to the procedure. Trump was of the view that surgery would cost $250,000.

'What the f***? They're coming in here, they're getting clipped,' Trump reportedly said, in a crude reference to gender reassignment surgery, according to Bob Woodward's new book

"Not going to happen," the president said, according to a copy of the book obtained by DailyMail.com.

The military went through a complex multi-agency process to develop options on the issue  but Trump promptly short-circuited it. They ranged from keeping the status quo to an outright ban on transgender service.

Trump ended up weighing in about an hour before a planned meeting with Bannon, chief of staff Reince Priebus, and lawyer on the topic to weigh the options.

The president reportedly made the comment to former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who complained the government should not have to bear the costs

Trump's order short-circuited normal channels, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis followed by ordering a review

He ended up firing off a series of tweets: 'After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow...Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you."

The move caught his secretary of Defense James Mattis off guard. Mattis would ultimately undermine the directive through delay and study.

'What'd you think of my tweet?" the president asked Priebus after the fact.

'I think it would've been better if we had a decision memo, looped Mattis in,' Priebus told him, according to Woodward. The author noted that during the campaign, Trump expressed support for LGBT issues. He also invoked the term on the campaign trail.

Bannon later called Mattis to try to enlist support.

'These guys are coming over to get full surgery," Bannon reportedly said. 'We're supposed to pay for that?'

The policy lead to a formal memorandum, which itself was followed by lawsuits and court injunctions.
Passengers traveling on two separate American Airlines planes were quarantined in Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon after becoming sick with flu-like symptoms, airport officials said.

A dozen travelers on Flight 755 and Flight 717 complained of feeling ill after departing from their planes at Philadelphia International Airport.

The passengers are believed to have been returning from Saudi Arabia after completing Hajj - the pilgrimage to Mecca which all Muslims are expected to make at least once in their lifetimes.

As a precaution, all passengers and crews from both flights were held for medical review, according to an airport spokeswoman. A total of 250 people were evaluated, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was notified.

CDC officials said people who are healthy are being released. They also said neither plane was quarantined because passengers reported feeling sick after disembarking.

A dozen people on two separate American Airlines planes were quarantined in Philadelphia after falling ill

Flight 755 originated in Paris and landed in Philadelphia in the afternoon. Flight 717 originated in Munich, Germany and landed in Philadelphia around the same time. NBC Philadelphia reports that numerous travelers were returning from pilgrimages in Mecca, Saudi Arabia before boarding in Paris and Munich.

Customs and Border Protection officials said most of the passengers on the Philadelphia-bound flights have been released. Several are still being evaluated by the CDC of local doctors.

Health officials said after the scare in New York on Wednesday, they are taking 'an abundance of caution' in Philadelphia.

There has been reports of a flu outbreak in Mecca, where more than one million religious observers have traveled to for Hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage . It's unclear how many may have become ill during their travels.

On Wednesday, an Emirates fight from Dubai to John F Kennedy Airport in Queens was quarantined after 19 people became ill with what was described as flu-like symptoms.

One passenger on the Emirates flight in New York on Wednesday was seen being transported on a stretcher by paramedics to an ambulance

A passenger shared photos of passengers (left and right) getting their temperatures taken as they got off the plane in New York on Wednesday

Many of the healthy passengers described hearing fellow travelers violently coughing during the flight. Ten people - seven crew members and three passengers - were hospitalized, while nine others refused medical treatment.

In a series of tweets on Wednesday, City Hall spokesman Eric Phillips said early reports indicated that passengers had been become sick with the flu.

'All of the passengers are off and have been evaluated. 19 sick. 10 to hospital and 9 refused medical attention,' he posted. 'Health officials are processing tests now to determine the cause. Symptoms still pointing to the flu.'

The double-decker Emirates flight, which rapper Vanilla Ice was on, originated in Dubai. According to reports, several of the passengers had traveled to Mecca for the religious pilgrimage.
Police have revealed that the gunman who carried out a deadly shooting spree at a Cincinnati bank had a long rap sheet peppered with low-level offenses in several cities across the US, while his shocked neighbors describe him as reclusive and bitter.

Omar Enrique Santa Perez was identified by police as the man who opened fire at Fifth Third Bank in downtown Cincinnati at around 9.10am Thursday, killing three and injuring two others before being gunned down by responding officers.

Relatives say the 29-year-old had been living in Cincinnati since at least 2015, and was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Cincinnati.com described how the alleged gunman's aunt Yudy Martinez Perez 'broke down crying on the kitchen floor of her Forest Park home Thursday afternoon when she learned that her nephew was the shooter who took three lives at the Fifth Third Center'.

'I do not know why. I do not know why,' Martinez, who speaks only limited English, said of the attack.

Police, too, have been struggling to pinpoint the mysterious gunman's motive.

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Omar Enrique Santa Perez has been identified by police as the man who opened fire at Fifth Third Bank in downtown Cincinnati Thursday morning, killing three and injuring two others before being gunned down by responding officers. Police revealed that Perez had a long rap sheet peppered with low-level offenses in several cities across the US

Santa Perez opened fire on the lobby and loading dock at Fifth Third Bank in downtown Cincinnati around 9.10am, according to police. Bullet holes are seen in the lobby's glass door

Martinez described her sister's son as 'very quiet', adding that he had held various jobs and was currently working in the Ohio city, but the family did not know where.

At one point Santa Perez had been living in her basement.

Police have said there are records of Santa Perez having lived all over the country, including in South Carolina, Florida and Ohio. He most recently lived in the North Bend suburb of Cincinnati.

Social media indicates he may have attended Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, but the school has not confirmed his enrollment.

Cincinatti.com reports that Santa Perez has a criminal record consisting of mainly low-level offenses such as entering or refusing to leave the premises in Greenville, South Carolina; marijuana possession in Palm Beach, Florida; traffic offenses in Lake Worth, Florida; traffic offenses in Deerfield Beach, Florida; and disorderly conduct in Coconut Creek, Florida.

He also received a citation for driving with an expired license plate in Cincinnati in 2015.

Several residents of the North Bend apartment complex Santa Perez was said to have been living in described the 29-year-old as 'reclusive and bitter', expressing shock at the shooting

Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac, center, said the gun Santa Perez used to carry out the attack was purchased legally at a press conference Thursday morning

A woman is comforted by authorities stationed outside the University of Cincinnati Medical Center's Emergency room following a shooting in downtown Cincinnati that left four dead

Police searched the North Bend apartment complex where Santa Perez had reportedly been living.

Another resident of the complex, Karen Rose, was shocked to hear that one of her neighbors was responsible for the deadly shooting spree.

'It's disturbing to think someone like that lived here,' Rose told Cincinnati.com behind the three-story brick building. 'He obviously wasn't who I thought he was. Something went wrong in his head.'

Other residents described Santa Perez, who moved in six months ago, as an 'increasingly bitter and reclusive man', according to the news site.

Neighbor Steve Conner said he often saw Perez 'walking down the street, looking pissed off at everybody'.

Another resident Christina Fischer said: '[Perez] kind of would hide when you'd come up the stairs. He didn't want anybody near him.'

Fischer claimed that a woman had been living with the 29-year-old up until a few weeks ago.

Several residents noted that Perez's green Subaru had broken down months ago, and that he'd occasionally make a three-mile trek on foot into the nearby city of Addyston, where there's a bus stop into Cincinnati.

All of the residents Cincinnati.com talking to agreed that the spree was highly unexpected.

'I can't believe he would go do something like that, or anybody would do something like that,' Fischer said.

Yellow evidence markers are seen dotting the floor of the bank headquarters lobby

Police in Cincinnati are on the scene of an active shooter situation with four fatalities, including the gunman, and two injured victims at Fifth Third Bank

Police Chief Eliot Isaac has said officials will study footage from the officers' body cameras and security from the 30-story building that headquarters Fifth Third Bancorp.

Police say the suspect had never worked at Fifth Third and don't have any information linking him to other businesses in the building.

The 9mm semi-automatic pistol Perez used to carry out the attack before being shot dead by responding officers 'appears to have been legally purchased, Isaac said.

Officials said the outcome of the attack could have been even more tragic if it were not for the actions of responding police officers, given that Perez was armed with multiple magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition.

WLWT revealed that Perez was wearing a business suit when he somehow made his way into the bank's loading dock, after visiting several nearby stores, including the Potbelly Sandwich Shop housed in the same building as the bank.

Isaac said Perez never worked at Fifth Third Bank and had no other obvious tie to the office building.

According to the chief, investigators so far have found no indication that it was an act of terror, but Isaac raised the possibility that Perez had mental health problems.

An area is cordoned off with police tape near Cincinnati's busy Fountain Square Thursday morning

Two people were taken in critical condition to UC Medical Center Thursday morning

The incident began unfolding at 9.10am when a 911 call came in reporting shots fired at the bank.

Isaac said Perez entered the loading dock at the building and opened fire, then proceeded to the lobby of Fifth Third Bank, where four police officers confronted him three minutes later and shot him multiple times, killing him.

Just before 1pm, police executed a search warrant at an apartment building in Northbend, Ohio, believed to be connected to the bank shooter.

A neighbor told the station WLWT the person in question had moved into the building just a day or two ago.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was 'actively shooting innocent victims' and that it was a 'horrific' scene.

He noted the building on the city's Fountain Square houses popular ice cream, sandwich and pastry shops.

He said it 'could have been much, much worse' if not for the immediate police response to end the threat.

'This is not normal, and it shouldn't be viewed as normal,' the mayor told reporters, adding that the United States is the only industrialized nation with frequent active shooting incidents. 'We as a country have to deal with it,' Cranley added.

Pedestrians are allowed to exit police cordons as emergency personnel and police work the scene of shooting near Fountain Square

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley speaks to the media late Thursday morning

Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters told WHIO that the gunman had enough ammunition on him to kill 30-40 people, but police who responded to the scene within three minutes of getting the first 911 call were able to neutralize him by shooting him through the glass window of the lobby.

A witness told the paper he saw a woman walking into Fifth Third Bank with her headphones on and getting shot by the gunman.

Other bystanders later reported seeing a woman being carried out of the building drenched in blood and laid down on a slab of concrete by police officers.

City Councilman Chris Seelbach revealed in a tweet that the female survivor of the attack is from Louisville, Kentucky, and that she sustained a dozen gunshot wounds all over her body.

This photo obtained on September 6, 2018 courtesy of Jeremy Monahan via Twitter shows a view from a window overlooking the scene of the shooting criss-crossed with police tape

Emergency personnel and police respond to the shooting near Fountain Square Thursday

Governor John Kasich, a Republican, also addressed the shooting in a tweet this morning

Erick Kearney, president of the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky African American Chamber of Commerce, shared a grisly photo on Twitter showing first responders wheeling a bloodied, nearly naked man on a gurney towards an ambulance.

The photo suggests that man suffered a gunshot wound to the head. At least two ambulances were seen leaving the scene.

Both injured victims were taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, reported WLWT. The male survivor's condition has been upgraded from serious to fair.

No police officers were injured in Thursday's deadly incident. Federal agents were on the scene.

Streets around the building at the city's Fountain Square were closed as were sidewalks.

Police completed their search of the crime scene at around 11am, reported Fox 19.

Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, tweeted that he and his staff are following the situation out of Cincinnati.

'If you're downtown, please follow first responder instructions for the safety of everyone involved. Jane and I hope for a peaceful resolution soon,' the tweet read.

Governor John Kasich, a Republican, also addressed the shooting in a tweet this morning, describing the incident as a 'senseless act of gun violence on the streets of Cincinnati.'
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has hit back at the former Australian Border Force Commissioner after he lodged a submission to a senate inquiry about Dutton's actions in office

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has hit back at the former Australian Border Force Commissioner after he lodged a submission to a senate inquiry into Dutton's actions in office.

Former commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg claimed the ministers chief-of-staff, Craig Maclachlan, contacted him in June 2015 to secure a visa for an Italian au pair.

However Mr Dutton has claimed the alleged conversation between his staffer and Mr Quaedvlieg could never have happened because Mr Maclachlan did not work for him until October 2015.

'Mr Quaedvlieg is bitter about the loss of his job, but the fabrication of evidence to a Senate committee takes his behaviour to a disturbing level,' he told The Australian.

'As a matter of public record, Mr Quaedvlieg remains under criminal investigation by ACLEI and another person related to this matter is subject to charges.'

Mr Dutton alleged the enormous 'error in judgement' of Mr Quaedvlieg was the result of 'the pressure and personal toll of these investigations'.

He said as a result he has personally contacted ABF Commissioner Mr Michael Outram and asked him to offer any support available to Mr Quaedvlieg.

Mr Quaedvlieg was quick to respond to Mr Dutton's scathing rebuke and said he is certain his own recollection of events was correct.

'I am however adamant that they occurred. I completely reject his assertion that I have fabricated evidence. I stand very firmly by the description of the events as I have recollected and outlined in my submission,' he told The Australian.

Mr Dutton claimed the submission by Mr Quaedvlieg was 'entirely false and indeed fabricated'.

Mr Quaedvlieg claims that during the 2015 exchange Mr Maclachlan said he was calling 'on behalf of the Minister' wanting to confirm whether the au pair had been detained on arrival at Brisbane Airport, reports the ABC.

Former Australian Border Force Commissioner has lodged a submission to a senate inquiry claiming that Peter Dutton's office contacted him for an Italian au pair (pictured in 2016)

It is understood the au pair, Michela Marchisio (pictured) was detained for planning to work on a tourist visa

Mr Quaedvlieg claims that Chief of Staff said he was calling 'on behalf of the Minister'

He says he then established she had been detained because she was intending to work on a tourist visa.

When he conveyed this information back to Mr Maclachlan it is alleged he asked 'what needed to happen for the Minister to overrule' the decision?

It is understood the au pair, Michela Marchisio, was planning to work for Queensland Police Officer Russell Keag and his wife, Nicole.

The au pair was planning to work for Queensland Police Officer Russell Keag and his wife, Nicole (pictured)

Mr Keag was a former colleague of Mr Dutton's when he worked as a police officer in Queensland.

Mr Dutton has strenuously denied he has spoken to the Keags about the au pair.

He has also previously said that someone in the Border Force has routinely leaks information regarding au pair and his office.

'There's a disaffected former senior Australian Border Force official who leaks this information out,' Mr Dutton told Sydney radio 2GB.

This comes after Mr Dutton was also accused of using his discretionary powers to overturn the deportation of a French au pair and grant a new visa.

'I looked at it and thought it was a bit rough, theres no criminal history, shes agreed that she wouldnt work. I thought it was an application of common sense,' he told 2GB radio.

Emails now allegedly show that Mr Dutton intervened after being contacted by the AFL, 9 News reported, the French au pair had previously worked for Callum Maclachlan, a relative of AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan.
The hospital trust at the centre of a maternity scandal buried a damning report warning that mothers and babies were at risk, the Mail can reveal today.

The document was presented to bosses at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust by a top medical college last October but they refused to publish it or tell watchdogs.

Instead, they sent a team of managers to the London HQ of report authors, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, to persuade them to write up a glowing update.

Only when this second document was produced nine months later in July, did the trust publish the first 53-page damning report on its website.

Rhiannon Davies with her daughter Kate who died six hours after being born in 2009

Even then, it was tucked away behind the 11-page progress report which suggested all was well.

Yesterday the Care Quality Commission announced it had taken urgent enforcement action against the entire trust following an inspection last week.

The watchdog takes this action if it is very worried about the safety at a trust and it is an order for managers to make immediate improvements.

A major investigation is currently underway at the trust into a cluster of deaths spanning two decades. At least 60 incidents have been referred to officials although this number is continuing to rise as more families are coming forward.

Amy Butler (pictured with baby Bradley), 25, said a consultant used forceps to yank her son during her delivery in August 2016

The original critical report exposed a catalogue of failings, including how the death rates of babies delivered at the trust was higher than at similar-sized hospitals.

It also warned of dangerous shortages of midwives, a reluctance to investigate mistakes and a 'constant fear of being blamed when things went wrong'.

A team from the Royal College had carried out a three-day inspection. They also examined managers' inquiries into three cases, two baby deaths and the severe injury of another infant.

In the nine months between their critical report and the trust finally publishing the results, two babies and one mother died within the maternity department.

Families have accused the trust of a cover-up and questioned how they managed to persuade a top medical college to whitewash its own report.

Rhiannon Davies' daughter Kate died at the maternity department in 2009, six hours after her birth.

She said: 'I am no longer shocked by their behaviour, but I am sickened and ground down by their deceit because it compounds the pain of Kate's loss.'

Cathy Smith, who was the trust's head of midwifery at the time, was criticised in a damning review into Kate's death.

Peter Walsh, chief executive of the charity Action against Medical Accidents, said: 'It is very disappointing if the trust kept the worrying initial report by the Royal College from regulators and commissioners for as long as they appear to have done.'

Ministers have been promising to make the NHS more open ever since the high-profile inquiry into the Mid Staffordshire hospitals disaster in 2013, when hundreds of patients died from neglect.

WHAT THE FIRST CRITICAL REPORT SAID The number of babies dying during pregnancy, labour or shortly after the birth was ten per cent higher compared with similar-sized hospitals. For one measure  babies dying within 28 days of the birth  the death rate was 46 per cent higher. There was a constant fear of being blamed when things went wrong. The report highlighted dangerous shortages of midwives and doctors. The maternity department needed to fill the posts of ten midwives, three consultants, six junior doctors and 16 maternity support workers. There were on average five midwives off sick daily. There were not enough resources to safely staff the maternity unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford and five midwife-led units. Cliques were identified among midwives and there was a rift between those who worked at the main maternity unit in Telford and smaller midwife-led units. Managers were routinely having to deal with 'crises' brought about by staffing shortages. They were constantly firefighting. The culture was defensive and not focused on the learning process. The midwives had overwhelming feelings of worry, being under constant scrutiny and being terrified of things going wrong at work. The trust hadn't appointed a designated 'whistleblowing champion' contrary to national guidelines. The department also relied on overseas doctors who had not been trained up to the necessary standard. Advertisement

Julie Bailey, who helped expose the scandal after her mother died, now runs the Patient Advocacy Service. She said: 'This is clear evidence this hospital board is more interested in putting a positive spin on its failings instead of learning from its mistakes.'

The review by the watchdog NHS Improvement into Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals maternity services was ordered in April 2017.

It was initially examining 23 cases from 2002 to 2017 but up to 40 other cases have emerged.

Since the Mail reported this figure last week, another 13 families have come forward.

The RCOG has confirmed that it was the first time it had been asked to provide a progress report after inspecting a trust.

Deirdre Fowler, director of nursing, midwifery and quality at the trust, said the first report was only 'finalised' in January even though it is was signed off last October.

'By then, we had already addressed many of the issues identified,' she added.

'These changes and others were reflected in the full RCOG report, which gave a more up-to-date and accurate picture.'
Air hand dryers should be banned from hospital toilets because they blow bacteria around the room, scientists say.

Using paper towels significantly reduces the risk of germs being spread between sick patients, warn University of Leeds researchers.

They found high levels of dangerous bacteria that cause blood poisoning, pneumonia and gastroenteritis when dryers were used.

Air hand dryers should be banned from hospital toilets because they blow bacteria around the room, researchers from the University of Leeds say (stock image)

Writing in the Journal of Hospital Infection, they called for the dryers  which can leave up to five times as much bacteria on the floor as paper towels  to be taken out of hospitals.

Study leader Professor Mark Wilcox, an expert in medical microbiology at Leeds, said: 'The problem starts because some people do not wash their hands properly.

'When people use a jet-air dryer, the microbes get blown off and spread around the toilet room. In effect, the dryer creates an aerosol that contaminates the toilet room, including the dryer itself and potentially the sinks, floor and other surfaces, depending on the dryer design and where it is sited.

'If people touch those surfaces, they risk becoming contaminated by bacteria or viruses.

'Jet-air dryers often rely on no-touch technology to initiate hand drying. However, paper towels absorb the water and microbes left on the hands and if they are disposed of properly, there is less potential for cross-contamination.'

Using paper towels significantly reduces the risk of germs being spread between sick patients, warn researchers. Dryers can leave up to five times as much bacteria on the floor as paper towels (stock image)

The Department of Health already restricts air dryers in toilets in hospital wards and other clinical areas  but this is because of noise rather than safety. So they are still allowed in hospital public areas, putting patients and visitors at risk.

The research team looked at two toilets in each of three hospitals in the UK, France and Italy.

Each of the toilets had paper towel dispensers and air dryers, but only one of these was in use on any given day.

The Department of Health already restricts air dryers in toilets in hospital wards and other clinical areas  but this is because of noise rather than safety (stock image)

On each day, over 12 weeks, levels of bacterial contamination in the toilets were measured, allowing comparisons to be made between the effects of paper towels and air dryers.

The scientists found five times more bacteria on the floor when air dryers were in use compared to paper towels, and significantly more in the air, dust and surfaces of the room.

The bugs included E. coli, which causes gastroenteritis and pneumonia; staphylococcus aureus, which is responsible for wound infections and blood poisoning; and enterococci, which cause difficult-to-treat infections, particularly in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Professor Wilcox said: 'We found multiple examples of greater bacterial contamination on surfaces, including by faecal and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, when jet-air dryers rather than paper towels were in use. Choice of hand-drying method affects how likely microbes can spread, and so possibly the risk of infection.'

The study was funded by the European Tissue Symposium, a trade organisation representing companies that manufacture paper towels.

However, the researchers insisted the findings were independently conceived, designed, conducted and interpreted, and peer-reviewed by experts.

A 2016 University of Westminster study found one extra-powerful modern hand dryer model was capable of circulating viruses up to 9ft across a bathroom  and spread 60 times more bugs than an old-fashioned warm-air model.
An Arizona rancher has set up surveillance cameras on his property to film the number of immigrants, drug mules and human smugglers who he claims regularly use his property as a gateway to the United States.

John Chilton, 79, managed to capture hours of footage of illegal immigrants crossing over the US-Mexico border onto his 50,000-acre property in Arivaca.

In a 25-minute video obtained by the Daily Caller, Chilton's cameras show a steady stream of people, including some dressed in camouflage and brandishing guns, trespassing on his ranch.

Arizona rancher John Chilton, 79, managed to capture hours of footage of illegal immigrants crossing over the US-Mexico border onto his 50,000-acre property in Arivaca

The rancher said most of the surveillance videos were filmed this year, but some date back to 2016.

Chilton, who is a fifth-generation Arizona cattleman, is an outspoken Arizona backer of President Donald Trump's efforts to secure the US-Mexico border.

He said he has long pushed the government to have more than a barbed-wire fence along the border.

Chilton said he set up the surveillance cameras to prove his point about the dangers of trespassers crossing over onto his property.

Some of the people captured trespassing on the property were carrying large backpacks and supplies, while others carried guns and guided horses.

Chilton's cameras show a steady stream of people, including some dressed in camouflage and brandishing guns, trespassing on his ranch

The rancher, who is an outspoken backer of President Donald Trump's efforts to secure the US-Mexico border, said most of the surveillance videos were filmed this year

The remote area is known for drug and migrant smuggling.

A US Border Patrol agent was wounded on Chilton's property back in June when he was shot while canvassing the area.

Chilton said at the time the agent was struck in the leg and the hand, but several bullets also struck his protective vest.

'Without it, he probably would not be with us today,' Chilton told the Associated Press.

The rancher said his property is separated from Mexico by a four-strand wire fence.

'We have drug runners coming through our ranch and this has become a very dangerous situation,' Chilton said.

Some of the people captured trespassing on the property were carrying large backpacks and supplies, while others carried guns and guided horses
A first-time mother has spoken of her 'inconsolable' agony after her baby boy was decapitated in a botched birth.

Laura Gallazzi, 34, was rushed into hospital after her waters broke at 25 weeks of being pregnant- but had no way of knowing that her the doctor trying to deliver her new born baby Steven would accidentally decapitate him.

When she arrived at hospital The British Red Cross worker was told she had suffered a prolapsed umbilical cord and she was 'petrified', but was soon expecting a C-section.

Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 43, attempted to carry out the delivery naturally at Dundee's Ninewells hospital and urged the patient to push whilst herself applying traction to the baby's legs.

Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 43, attempted to carry out the delivery naturally at Dundee's Ninewells hospital and urged the patient to push whilst herself applying traction to the baby's legs

A memory bear in a case along with some clothes and another bear with a label saying grandson, all paying tribute to young Steven

Steven's father, Steve McCusker, with a tattoo tribute to his young son Steven who sadly passed away

It caused the infant's legs, arms and torso to become detached, leaving the head still in his mother's womb.

Two other doctors subsequently carried out a C-section on the woman to remove the infant's head.

The baby's head was 're-attached' to his body so his mother could hold him before she said goodbye.

It is believed the child was already dead before he was decapitated during the bungled 15 minute delivery.

Recalling her nightmare when she first learnt Steven had died, Laura Gallazzi told The Sun: 'Dr Laxman sat to the edge of my bed.

'She told me Steven hadn't made it.

'I told her, 'Don't worry, these things happen.' I thought it was because I was only 25 weeks.

'I didn't know something untoward had happened. I even held her hand. I told her I forgave her.'

Laura and her husband Steve McCusker had spent a year trying to get pregnant and could not wait to be new parents.

She added: 'My son was dead and then they told me he had been decapitated. I was screaming, My poor baby.

A block emblazoned with blue lettering with Steven's name, foot and hand prints and the date he died

'Why didn't they give me the C-section in the first place? Instead of having to carry it out to retrieve my son's head?

'If I didn't have tubes and needles in me, attaching me to a machine, I don't know what I would've done.

'I was inconsolable. I thought they were going to just bring in a body.

'I didnt want to be left with that memory.'

Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 43, was found culpable of medical failures after a tribunal revealed she should have given the 30-year old patient an emergency Caesarean section as the premature infant was in a breech position at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester, consultant Laxman - who qualified in Chennai, India - denied wrongdoing.

The service said there was no impairment of Dr Laxman's fitness to practise and cleared her to return to work at another hospital.

The tribunal cleared Dr Laxman of misconduct and said her fitness to practise was not impaired.

Laura said she did not forgive Dr Laxman and the incident has left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The tribunal ruled the decision to proceed with a natural birth was 'negligent and fell below the standards ordinarily to be expected' but did not amount to serious misconduct.

The panel's written decision said: 'The failing which the tribunal has found proved was not sustained, persistent or repeated, but rather a single error of judgement made in very difficult circumstances.

'The tribunal was satisfied that throughout the attempted delivery of baby B, Dr Vilvanathan Laxman believed that she was acting in both patient A's and baby B's best interests, and that she genuinely believed that proceeding with a vaginal delivery was the optimum course to take in the circumstances which existed at the time.'

Dr Vaishnavy Laxman, 43, attempted to carry out the delivery naturally at Dundee's Ninewells hospital

Dr Laxman said she believed the baby would have died had a Caesarean section been carried out.

But at a finding of facts hearing, panel chairman Tim Bradbury said: 'It was Dr Laxman's decision in this regard that was to dictate her subsequent actions and the course of events which ultimately led to Baby B being decapitated.

'The Tribunal was in no doubt that throughout her involvement in the attempted delivery of Baby B, she was endeavouring to achieve the best outcome for Patient A and Baby B.

'However the central issue in this case is whether Dr Laxman's decision to attempt a vaginal delivery of Baby B rather than an immediate caesarean section under general anaesthetic was clinically indicated or whether the only proper course in the circumstances would have been to proceed to an immediate Caesarean section.

'Dr Laxman had not sufficiently addressed in her mind the risk to Baby B by proceeding with a vaginal delivery - namely the risk of head entrapment and the delay this complication would inevitably cause.

'Further, the Tribunal found that she embarked upon a vaginal delivery without a proper basis for concluding that a delivery was imminent or that there were any characteristics present that might be regarded as favourable to a vaginal delivery.

'The Tribunal did not accept that in these circumstances a caesarean section was the appropriate mode of delivery for foetal wellbeing. The Tribunal did not accept that the circumstances were such that Dr Laxman should have assumed that a caesarean section would have no prospect of success.

'The Tribunal determined that at this time Dr Laxman's priority was a live delivery and there was also a reasonable prospect that Baby B could have survived following an immediate caesarean section under general anaesthetic.

'The decision to proceed with vaginal delivery represented a failure in her clinical decision-making on the evidence available to her at the time.'
Russia is conducting a worrying and alarming build-up of military power in regions across the world, it was revealed last night.

As defence sources warned that manoeuvres by Moscow should be regarded as a threat to western democracy, it has been increasing its submarine activity off British shores in a bid to gather intelligence.

And in recent weeks it has sent numerous warships and supply ships through the English Channel en route to the eastern Mediterranean. It is feared they are amassing ahead of an air assault on the rebel-held area of Idlib in Syria, which could risk the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians.

Russia is conducting a worrying and alarming build-up of military power in regions across the world, it was revealed last night

Despite the focus often put on Russias cyber-warfare capabilities, next week it will conduct its largest military exercises in 37 years, involving almost 300,000 troops, in a huge demonstration of force that is causing alarm in Whitehall.

Moscow has boasted that the war games  which serve as a reminder to other nations that Russia maintains a huge conventional military arsenal  will involve 1,000 planes, helicopters and drones, up to 80 combat and logistics ships and 36,000 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles.

The exercises, called Vostok-2018, will be held in central and eastern Russia and will also include participants from the Mongolian and Chinese militaries.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the drills were justified given the aggressive and unfriendly attitudes towards his country, while Russias Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said they will include massive mock air strikes and tests of defences against cruise missiles.

Despite the focus often put on Russias cyber-warfare capabilities, next week it will conduct its largest military exercises in 37 years, involving almost 300,000 troops, in a huge demonstration of force that is causing alarm in Whitehall

A defence source said last night: We are seeing an alarming amount of military power being brought to bear around the globe by Russia.

We consider it a worrying build-up of conventional forces and arms. It can clearly be regarded as a threat to Western democracy. A miscalculation could very easily lead to an escalation.

While Nato has beefed up defences in Eastern Europe, the Russians have been accused of undermining international efforts for an Afghan-led peace process by inviting the Taliban to Moscow for peace talks. And they have also been accused of indirectly arming the Taliban  something they have repeatedly denied.

Moscow has boasted that the war games  which serve as a reminder to other nations that Russia maintains a huge conventional military arsenal  will involve 1,000 planes, helicopters and drones

Last week, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson warned of the disruptive influence that the Russians were having on the peace process in Afghanistan. Asked if there was evidence of Moscow meddling, he replied: Yes. Were seeing a much greater interest from Russia in Afghanistan and Afghan affairs.

I would describe it as them wanting the Nato mission to fail. They do not want there to be seen to be the success of both the Afghan government and Nato. What it is very much designed to do is be a disruptor to other western nations which are trying to build stability in Afghanistan.

The scale of the upcoming Vostok-2018 war games is equivalent to the forces deployed in one of the big Second World War battles. The exercises have been compared to Soviet manoeuvres in 1981, called Zapad-81, which involved a pretend attack on Nato.

It will also include up to 80 combat and logistics ships and 36,000 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said: In some ways they will repeat aspects of Zapad-81, but in other ways the scale will be bigger.

President Vladimir Putin has made military modernisation, including new nuclear missiles, a priority.

The giant drill is an important show of strength by Putin, as a demonstration that  despite Western sanctions, including ones targeting his defence sector  his country remains defiant.
Facebook is spending $1 billion (770m) on it first custom-built data centre in Asia, which will be powered entirely by renewable energy.

The 1.8 million sq ft (170,000 sq m) facility, which will be located in Singapore, has been designed to minimise the use of water, energy and land.

Mark Zuckerberg's company says it is currently working to develop new solar power resources in Singapore to provide power to the 11 storey building.

Operations at the data centre are expected to begin in 2022, although construction work is anticipated to continue as Facebook expands its capacity.

It will be Facebook's 15th data centre worldwide.

Last week, Facebook confirmed plans to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 75 per cent and power its global operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2020.

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Facebook is spending $1 billion (770m) on it first custom-built data centre in Asia, which will be powered entirely by renewable energy. The 1.8 million sq ft (170,000 sq m) facility, located in Singapore, has been designed to minimise the use of water, energy and land

FACEBOOK'S NEW DATA CENTRE Facebook is spending $1 billion (770m) on it first custom-built data centre in Asia, based in Singapore. It will feature: Solar energy providing 100 per cent of its power

Facebook's new StatePoint Liquid Cooling system

A facade made of a perforated lightweight material that allows airflow throughout the building

Connection to the country's high speed fibre optic broadband Advertisement

The Singapore data centre will be the first to incorporate Facebook's new StatePoint Liquid Cooling system, which is designed to minimise water and power consumption.

According to the social network's tests, it can reduce the amount of peak water used by 20 per cent in tropical climates like Singapores, where temperatures rarely drop below 25C (77F).

The building's facade is made of a perforated lightweight material that allows airflow throughout the building.

Facebook says it selected the city-state to play host to its new facility for a number of reasons, including its robust infrastructure and access to high speed fibre optic broadband.

'Over the last decade weve seen our platform grow with unprecedented scale, from 150M people in 2009 to a family of products that now serve billions of people worldwide,' said Jay Parikh, vice president of engineering at Facebook, in a written statement.

'Our data centers play a foundational role in ensuring our infrastructure is reliable, efficient, and can scale to meet the future needs of our community.

'Today, were excited to announce our fifteenth data center in Singapore, our first that is engineered by Facebook in Asia.'

Operations at the data centre are expected to begin in 2022, although construction work is anticipated to continue as Facebook expands its capacity

The Singapore data centre will be the first to incorporate Facebook's new StatePoint Liquid Cooling system, which minimises water and power consumption

Mark Zuckerberg's firm says it is currently working to develop new solar power resources in Singapore to provide power to the 11 storey building

Google has also built two data centres in the city-state, and announced this month it was starting work on a third, bringing their total investment to 660 million ($850m).

Despite its popularity in Asia, Facebook has also faced criticism, particularly in Myanmar where it was used as a platform for the army and Buddhist hardliners to spread hate speech against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

The new site is expected to begin operations at 30 megawatts, with capacity expanding in a 'phased approach' towards a peak of 150 megawatts, a spokesman said.

'Singapore is one of the most vibrant and modern technology hubs in Asia. However, it presents a new set of efficiency challenges due to its high temperatures and humidity,' added Mr Parikh.

'To address these and other unique operational requirements, including building in a dense, urban environment, we came up with a new design and way to build this facility.

'We're very excited about expanding our data center footprint into Asia, and it becoming part of our highly advanced infrastructure that helps bring Facebook apps and services to you every day.'
A leading British astrophysicist has won a 2.3 million ($3 million) science prize  but says she will be donating her 'shocking' winnings to boost diversity in her field.

The prize fund will be used to establish research studentships for people from under-represented groups in physics.

It was donated by Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who was awarded the lucrative Breakthrough Prize for her work on highly dense stars, known as pulsars.

The 75-year-old said she does not need the financial reward, and hoped it will be used to support female and ethnic minority physicists.

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Astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell has been awarded the 2.3 million Breakthrough Prize ($3 million) for her work on highly dense stars called pulsars. She says the money will be used to establish research studentships for people from under-represented groups

BREAKTHROUGH PRIZES The Breakthrough Prizes recognise the contributions of the world's top scientists. The Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Pony Ma, Yuri and Julia Milner, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and Anne Wojcicki. Each prize is 2.23 million ($3 million) and awarded in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics and Mathematics. In addition, up to three New Horizons in Physics and up to three New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes are given out to early-career researchers each year. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates choose the winners. Advertisement

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, she said: 'I think diversity is very important and I hope this might increase the diversity a bit.

'One of the under-represented groups in physics is women, so that is one that interests me.

'But groups with various ethnicities could well be included, it would be wonderful if we could find a refugee or two.'

Dame Jocelyn was overlooked for the Nobel Prize  with senior male colleagues involved in the work on pulsars awarded the honour in 1974.

She said the money will go to London's Institute of Physics to launch research studentships that address workforce diversity imbalances in her field.

According to the Women in Science and Engineering (Wise) campaign, women make up just 13 per cent of the science, technology and engineering and medical research (STEM) workforce.

Race For Opportunity, a group committed to improving the employment opportunities, says less than one in five undergraduate students taking STEM subjects is from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Dame Jocelyn said her background had pushed her to work harder at university.

Her work included the discovery of pulsars, a form of rotating neutron star that emits pulses of electromagnetic radiation as it spins in space.

'In the late 60s, early 70s, when all this was happening, science was very male dominated and, in Britain, white male dominated,' she said.

As a research student in 1974 Dame Jocelyn was overlooked for the Nobel Prize, which was instead awarded to senior male colleagues involved in the work on pulsars - highly dense, rotating stars that form from the dying embers of other stars

'I came in as a female and came into Cambridge from the north and west of the UK  I had never been that far south before.

'I was really scared, I thought they had made a mistake admitting me, reckoned they were going to throw me out in due course.

'But I decided to work my very hardest so that when they threw me out I wouldn't have a guilty conscience and I was being incredibly thorough.'

Asked if she felt she should have been awarded the Nobel, she said 'they don't often give the Nobel Prize to students' and 'it's perceived as a senior man's prize'.

Pulsars (artist's impression) are essentially rotating, highly magnatised neutron stars. These stars are made of matter much more densely packed than normal and which give the entire star a density comparable to an atomic nucleus

The Breakthrough Prizes recognise the contributions of the world's top scientists.

The awards were founded by Israeli-Russian entrepreneur and former physicist Yuri Milner in July 2012.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Chinese business magnate Pony Ma, facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki all joined the scheme the following year.

Each prize is 2.23 million ($3 million) and awarded in the fields of Life Sciences, Mathematics, and Fundamental Physics  which Dame Jocelyn won.

Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates choose the latest winners.
The passenger boat arrives at the bottom of Veidileysufjordur, a short inlet with a long name, to drop off backpackers for a multi-day trek.

A weather-beaten group that's completed the trip waits to board, eager to get back to a part of Iceland where they can reconnect with the world via Wi-Fi.

By boat, that will take about a half-hour. No roads lead to the Nordic country's northernmost peninsula, a rugged glacial horn that reaches for the Arctic Circle.

Making a phone call requires walking up a mountain for a cell signal so weak, clouds seem capable of blocking it.

But internet service soon could be reaching the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, one of the last digital-free frontiers in what might be the world's most-wired nation.

Pictured, hikers take an early morning trek on the southern part of the Hornstrandir peninsula, in Iceland. Residents and outdoor enthusiasts in northwestern Iceland are communicating their desire to keep internet access out of the country's Hornstrandir peninsula

The possibility has most hikers, park rangers and summer residents worried that email, news and social media will destroy a way of life that depends on the absence of all three.

'We see a growing appreciation for the lack of online connection,' Environment Agency of Iceland ranger Vesteinn Runarsson, who patrols the peninsula's southern end on his own.

'Looking to the future, we want to keep Hornstrandir special in that way.'

The area has long resisted cell towers, but commercial initiatives could take the decision out of Icelanders' hands and push Hornstrandir across the digital divide.

Companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX are racing to deliver high-speed internet service to every inch of the world by putting thousands of small satellites into low Earth orbit.

Their success would have global implications, bringing the benefits and downsides of internet communication to places that are off the grid because of poverty or war, or where internet access is reserved for the wealthy.

That's also true for sparsely populated communities and far-flung destinations in Canada, Russia, Alaska and elsewhere in the vast Arctic region, where broadband service generally is prohibitively expensive.

Internet service soon could be reaching the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, one of the last digital-free frontiers in the nation. This has most hikers, park rangers and residents worried that email, news and social media will destroy a way of life that depends on the absence

Yet in Iceland, the prospect of constant connectivity has called up an old debate on whether Hornstrandir's wilderness should stay unwired.

Despite or because of its remoteness, Iceland ranks first on a U.N. index comparing nations by information technology use, with roughly 98 percent of the population using the internet.

Among adults, 93 percent report having Facebook accounts and two-thirds are Snapchat users, according to pollster MMR.

Many people who live in northwestern Iceland or visit as outdoor enthusiasts want Hornstrandir's 570 square kilometers (220 square miles), which accounts for 0.6 percent of Iceland's land mass, to be declared a 'digital-free zone.'

The idea hasn't coalesced into a petition or formal campaign, so what it would require or prohibit hasn't been fleshed out.

The last full-time resident of the rugged area moved away in 1952 - it never was an easy place to farm - but many descendants have turned family farmsteads into summer getaways.

The area has long resisted cell towers, but commercial initiatives could take the decision out of Icelanders' hands and push Hornstrandir across the digital divide

Despite or because of its remoteness, Iceland ranks first on a U.N. index comparing nations by information technology use, with roughly 98 percent of the population using the internet. But,the country's Hornstrandir peninsula has remained digital-free

Alexander Gudmundsson, who vacations in the home where his great-grandmother grew up, doesn't have to look far down the family tree to see the effect of digital devices: his teenage daughter refused to come to Hornstrandir this summer because it would mean not having online access.

'But once the kids are here, all they do is play outside,' Gudmundsson said.

Northwest Iceland's representative in parliament is less sentimental about the value of isolation.

Since her election last year, Halla Signy Kristjansdottir has urged the Ministry of Transport to fund cell towers for the safety of sailors and travelers whose mobile devices currently are useless in and near Hornstrandir.

WHAT IS ELON MUSK'S PLAN FOR A SPACEX INTERNET? SpaceX wants to launch satellite internet in 2019, with hopes to carry out the initial tests this year. Each satellite in SpaceX's planned group will weigh about 850 lbs (386 kg). They will orbit at altitudes ranging from 715 miles (1,150 km) to 790 miles (1,275 km). From this height each satellite will be able to cover an area on the ground about around 1,300 miles (2,120 km) wide. The satellites will orbit at altitudes ranging from 715 miles (1,150 km) to 790 miles (1,275 km). From this height each satellite will be able to cover an area on the ground spanning about around 1,300 miles (2,120 km). Pictured is SpaceX's satellite internet proposal to the FCC The project, which Musk previously said would cost at least $10 billion (8.03 billion), was first announced in January 2015. The plan hit a roadblock in September 2017 when US regulators expressed worries it will interfere with competing systems. But in February 2018, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed the approval of an application by SpaceX to provide the broadband services using satellites in the United States and worldwide. Advertisement

'I don't see anything romantic about lying on the ground with a broken thigh bone and no cellphone signal,' Kristjansdottir said in an interview.

In a written response to the lawmaker, Minister of Transport Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson noted that huts along the hiking trails are equipped with radiophones for emergencies.

He defended the absence of digital connectivity in Hornstrandir as a factor in 'advancing visitor's experience.'

Police and rescue workers have suggested creating an illustrated map that marks the mountain summits with the strongest signals.

The Environment Agency of Iceland estimates that 3,000 people trek through Hornstrandir every summer, moving from one fjord to the next. Some are rewarded with sightings of the arctic fox, Iceland's only native land mammal.

The few structures - abandoned farm houses and a decommissioned U.S. Air Force radar station - were abandoned decades ago.

If commercial initiatives are successful, it would have global implications, bringing the benefits and downsides of internet communication to places that are off the grid because of poverty or war, or where internet access is reserved for the wealthy

When The Associated Press visited in August, the travelers interviewed there unanimously favored making the reserve a digital-free zone, though their notions of what that meant varied.

'If phones worked here, I am sure many people would go as far as carrying battery packs to charge their devices,' said Mikko Ronkkonen, a hiker from Finland who had just completed an eight-day trip.

When Runarsson, who works as a police officer during the winter, wanted to ask the ferry captain about the next arrival, he took a short cairn-marked trail to the higher ground known locally as Telephone Mountain.

He walked in circles, as if searching for something on the ground. 'One bar. Two bars,' he murmured with his eyes fixed on his phone.

The bars quickly disappeared as the mountain shrugged off the faint signal.

'Maybe the clouds are interfering,' Runarsson said without a hint of frustration. 'No phone calls today, I guess.'
Google has been forced to share private information from users of its Gmail email service with the FBI to help the government agency with an investigation into malware, according to reports from affected users.

The federal agency is purportedly looking into people who have access to software tools that allow them to hack or remotely infiltrate another person's computer.

This software can allow people to secretly record users' activity on-screen and gain sensitive information from victims.

Dozens of Gmail users have come forward to share details of an email received from the Californian search company informing them of an ongoing investigation into software they had purchased online.

Google has not revealed what information has been shared with the FBI.

It is also not yet known exactly how many people have been caught up in the inquiry, however, more than 8,600 people are believed to have purchased the tool online.

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Google has been forced into sending private information from users of its Gmail service to the FBI. Dozens of users have come forward to share details of an email they received from the search company informing them of an investigation (stock image)

WHAT IS REMOTE ACCESS SOFTWARE? Remote access software can be installed on a machine, server or network to let a user connect to and control it from anywhere in the world. Legitimate uses include logging in to your work PC or network from home or accessing your media files so you can listen to music on your computer from your smartphone. However, it can also be used to secretly spy on, record, or gain sensitive information from unwitting victims. Advertisement

Colton Grubbs, based in Kentucky, pleaded guilty to distributing the software tool  known as LuminosityLink  back in July.

The $40 (30) tool was used by thousands of customers to gain unauthorised access to tens of thousands of computers across 78 countries worldwide, according to security experts.

Users on Reddit, Twitter, and HackForums  a site popular with both cybercriminals and cybersecurity enthusiasts  have since reported receiving the email.

According to its recipients, the email reads: 'Google received and responded to legal process issue by Federal Bureau of Investigation (Eastern District of Kentucky) compelling the release of information related to your Google account.'

The email includes a legal case number that refers to court proceedings that are still under seal in the US, but several of those who came forward say they purchased the tool.

'It looks to me like the court initially ordered Google not to disclose the existence of the info demand, so Google was legally prohibited from notifying the user,' cybercrime lawyer Marcia Hoffman told Motherboard.

'Then the nondisclosure order was lifted, so Google notified the user. There's nothing unusual about that per se.

'It's common when law enforcement is seeking info during an ongoing investigation and doesn't want to tip off the target(s).'

While the email investigation appears to be an attempt to unmask everyone who purchased LuminosityLink, it is not necessarily illegal to own this type of remote access software (RAS).

According to its recipients, the email (pictured above) reads: 'Google received and responded to legal process issue by Federal Bureau of Investigation (Eastern District of Kentucky) compelling the release of information related to your Google account'

While the email investigation appears to be an attempt to unmask all of the people who purchased LuminosityLink (website pictured), it is not necessarily illegal to this type of remote access software

RAS can be installed on a machine, server, or network to allow a user connect with the hardware and control some of its functions from anywhere in the world.

Legitimate uses include logging into your work PC or network from home, or accessing media files so you can listen to music stored on your computer from a smartphone or tablet.

However, software with this functionality can also be used to secretly spy on, record, or gain sensitive information from unwitting victims.

'If one is just buying a tool that enables this kind of capability to remotely access a computer, you might be a good guy or you might be a bad guy,' internet law specialist Gabriel Ramsey told Motherboard.

'I can imagine a scenario where that kind of request reachesfor good or badaccounts of both type of purchasers.'
Scientists have discovered the world's most mature cheese  which made in Croatia by Neolithic farmers more than 7,000 years ago.

During excavations of ancient pottery, researchers found residues of a feta-like cheese on the remains of rhyton drinking horns and sieves dating back to 5300 BC.

Access to fresh milk and cheese has been linked to the spread of agriculture across Europe, starting around 9,000 years ago.

But evidence for cheese production in the Mediterranean has, until now, dated back only as far the beginning of the Bronze Age, around 5,000 years ago.

The latest discovery pushes back previous estimates of when cheese production started among early human settlements by more than 2,000 years.

Researchers believe milk and cheese production in Europe's early farmers reduced infant mortality and helped stimulate demographic shifts that propelled farming communities to expand to northern latitudes.

Scientists have discovered the world's most mature cheese  which was being made in Croatia more than 7,000 years ago. Pictured are examples of pottery types from the Dalmatian Neolithic

WHEN DID PEOPLE START MAKING CHEESE? During excavations of ancient pottery, researchers found residues of a feta-like cheese on the remains of rhyton drinking horns and sieves dating back to 5300BC. Access to milk and cheese has been linked to the spread of agriculture across Europe around 9,000 years ago. The two villages, Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj, were occupied between 6000 and 4800BCE and have several types of pottery across that period. The residents of these villages appear to have used specific pottery types for the production of different foods, with cheese residue being most common on rhyta and sieves. According to the latest findings, cheese was established in the Mediterranean 7,200 years ago. Fermented dairy products were easier for Neolithic humans to store and were relatively low in lactose content. It would have been an important source of nutrition for all ages in early farming populations. The authors thus suggest that cheese production and associated ceramic technology were key factors aiding the expansion of early farmers into northern and central Europe. Advertisement

Researchers led by Sarah McClure from Pennsylvania State University analysed stable carbon isotopes of fatty acids preserved on potsherds (pieces of ceramic material) from two Neolithic villages on the Dalmatian coast east of the Adriatic Sea.

The two villages, Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj, were occupied between 6000BCE and 4800BCE and have several types of pottery across that period, according to the research published in Plos One.

Scientists found evidence of milk, along with meat and fish, being consumed throughout this period and evidence of cheese starting around 5200BC.

'The evidence we have comes from fatty acids that remain as residues on pottery, so we don't know how the cheese would have tasted. It was likely a firm soft cheese, something like a farmer's cheese or feta,' Dr McClure told MailOnline.

'Since these were farming people who grew wheat, I imagine they would have eaten it as is, possibly with unleavened bread, stews, roasts, porridge, and fruits.

'I think it did catch on pretty quickly since it is a great food that can be stored for a while and is quite nutritious,' she said.

The residents of these villages appear to have used specific types of pottery for the production of different foods, with cheese residue being most common on rhyta and sieves.

According to the latest findings, cheese was established in the Mediterranean 7,200 years ago.

Fermented dairy products were easier for Neolithic humans to store and were relatively low in lactose content.

Diary would have been a crucial source of nutrition for all ages in early farming populations.

Scientists believe cheese production and associated ceramic technology were key factors in helping the expansion of early farmers into northern and central Europe.

Pictured is the archaeological site of Pokrovnik during excavation with the modern village, Dalmatia, Croatia. During excavations of ancient pottery, researchers found residues of a feta-like cheese on the remains of rhyton drinking horns and sieves dating back to 5300BC

Researchers led by Sarah McClure from Pennsylvania State University analysed stable carbon isotopes of fatty acids preserved on potsherds (pieces of ceramic material). Access to milk and cheese has been linked to the spread of agriculture across Europe around 9,000 years ago (pictured)

This research is the first evidence of cheese production through identified stages of dairy fermentation in functionally specific vessels in the Mediterranean region more than 7,000 years ago.

The oldest cheese outside Europe was found just last month in a 3,200 year-old Egyptian tomb.

The cheese was buried alongside Ptahmes  Mayor of the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis  whose resting place was rediscovered in 2010 after it was lost under the desert sand for millennia.

The two villages, Pokrovnik and Danilo Bitinj, were occupied between 6000 and 4800BCE and have several types of pottery across that age range, according to the research

One jar contained a solidified whitish mass, as well as parts of a canvas fabric that is believed to have once covered the top of the jar in a bid to preserve its contents.

The peptides detected during the analysis of the jar revealed the sample was a dairy product made from cow milk and sheep or goat milk.

'The characteristics of the canvas fabric, which indicate it was suitable for containing a solid rather than a liquid, and the absence of other specific markers, support the conclusion that the dairy product was a solid cheese,' said the researchers, who were led by Catania University, in Italy.

Other peptides in the food sample suggest it was contaminated with Brucella melitensis  a bacterium that causes brucellosis.

This potentially deadly disease spreads from animals to people, typically from eating unpasteurised dairy products.
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Scuba diving archaeologists are scouring the seabed where a gas pipeline is being built off Israel's coast in a bid to preserve ancient relics.

The area lies near a 5,000-year-old port which once was a key trade hub for the Mediterranean's ancient civilisations.

Scientists say the vestiges of marine traders throughout the ages - from the Phoenicians to the Romans - lie hidden beneath the seabed at the port of Dor.

They have already found earthenware jugs, anchors and the remains of wrecked ships, setting new guidelines for similar future projects.

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Underwater robots are scouring the seabed where a gas pipeline is being built off Israel's coast in a bid to preserve ancient relics. Pictured is an archaeologist handling a jug found in the region as part of excavations

ANCIENT DOR Dor is a modern settlement and ancient port in northwest Israel. Ruins at the coastal site date back as far as the Bronze Age. The city is mentioned in Egyptian texts of the 11th century. Dor was a strategic site on a historic road known as Via Maris that ran along the Palestine coast. It changed hands multiple times over centuries, owned at different times by the Assyrians, Persians, Romans and Phoenicians. Advertisement

The pipeline from the deep-sea Leviathan gas field that is due to begin production late next year comes ashore near Dor Beach in northern Israel, a popular holiday spot.

To minimise damage to hidden relics, the Israel Antiquities Authority has been working over the past year with the Leviathan field's operator, Texas-based Noble Energy.

A team spent weeks scuba diving in the warm crystal clear water off the beach, dispersing silt to uncover ancient artefacts. A remote-operated robot was used for searches in deeper water.

'There has been unprecedented cooperation to protect the antiquities and the cultural assets,' Yaakov Sharvit, director of the Marine Archaeology Unit of the Israel Antiquities Authority, told Reuters.

Sharvit said Noble financed most of the archaeological surveys and a large research ship to help extract ancient objects along the pipeline's route.

The pipeline is being buried 50 to 65 feet (15-20 meters) below the seabed to minimise any impact on the surroundings.

Relics are seen on the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea close to the site of a 5000-year-old port near Dor Beach in northern Israel. Scientists say the vestiges of marine traders throughout the ages - from the Phoenicians to the Romans - lie hidden beneath the seabed at the port of Dor

Researchers have already found earthenware jugs, anchors and the remains of wrecked ships, setting new guidelines for similar future projects

The pipeline from the deep-sea Leviathan gas field that is due to begin production late next year comes ashore near Dor Beach in northern Israel, a popular holiday spot (file photo)

Leviathan was discovered in 2010 about 75 miles (120 km) off Israel's coast. Its development will be the largest energy project in Israel's history.

'What is unique here in Israel is the ancient place that we're operating,' said Binyamin Zomer, vice president for regional affairs for Noble Energy.

The pipeline from the deep-sea Leviathan gas field that is due to begin production late next year comes ashore near Dor Beach in northern Israel

'We work very closely with the Antiquities Authority here in Israel to make sure that should we discover such finds, we first of all avoid causing harm to those areas and secondly, to make sure that they are aware of the resources and potential finds that they have.'

His company says the project will not harm the environment and will replace less healthy fossil fuels.

But some local environmentalists and residents oppose the plan, which along with the pipeline includes a towering production platform to be built just six miles (10 km) from shore.

Local resident and marine archaeologist Kurt Raveh, who has been excavating at Dor for decades and founded its diving club, thinks the survey being done is insufficient. He worries the area is at risk from potential pipeline leaks.

'We have so many treasures and old shipwrecks and things like that, we should get them out of the water before we can't enter the water anymore,' he said.
Apple is set to include a charging cable with a USB-C connector in the box with its next range of iPhones, according to leaks ahead of the launch next week.

The move will enable fast charging of the smartphones, but will mean some iPhone owners will be unable to connect their handsets to existing accessories and PCs.

Until now, Apple has always shipped charging cables with the USB-A connector to plug into the mains charger, a computer, in-car infotainment system, and more.

The latest update will swap this connector for a USB-C, which is quickly becoming the industry-standard connection.

However, the change is likely to throw up some compatibility issues with users, as those who buy the latest iPhone hardware will not be able to use the new cable with the mains charger that shipped with their old handset  as these used USB-A.

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Apple is set to include a charging cable with a USB-C connector in the box with its next-generation range of iPhones, according to leaks ahead of next week's launch. This image shows a USB C connector (left) next to Apple's Lightning (right)

Apple already sells a Lightning port to USB-C charging cable.

The company first announced the cable, which allows iPhone and iPad owners to plug-in their device to any USB-C port  including an external battery pack or computer, back in March 2016.

However, the charging cable shipped with every iOS device has continued to include a USB-A connector.

But that is set to change with the launch of the latest Apple smartphones next week, according to sources speaking with Japanese news source Macotakara.

According to Macotakara, Apple has informed partners in its 'Made For iPhone' (MFi) program they will be able to sell licenced USB-C to Lightning cables in the future.

Until now, only Apple was able to sell licenced versions of the cable.

The inclusion of the USB-C to Lightning connector in the MFI scheme hints that the cables are set to become much more prevalent in the future, fuelling rumours these cables will become the standard for future iPhone launches.

Third-party versions of the USB-C to Lightning cables should start hitting the market in mid-2019, according to the latest report from Macotakara.

Manufacturers hoping to create licenced cables will need to use meet the latest requirements from Apple, which stipulate the cable must be carry 18W of power to fast-charging iPhones  this is not the case with current-generation USB-A cables.

The move will enable fast charging of the smartphones, but will mean some iPhone owners will be unable to connect their handsets to existing accessories and PCs. This leaked image claims to show the iPhone XS (top) and XS Max (bottom). The devices have 6.1 and 6.5inch OLED screens, respectively

If the latest leak is accurate, the change to the bundled charging cable shipped with the new iPhone will eradicate these inconsistencies across Apple's line of products. This image shows the various types of connector available

Until now, those who wanted to take advantage of the fast-charging capabilities of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X had to buy a USB-C cable from Apple separately.

Not everyone is happy with the move, with initial rumours sparking a flurry of people angrily criticising Apple for changing its charging cables again.

Apple introduced the Lightning port  a flat, reversible connector to charge and sync its iPhone and iPad devices  in September 2012.

This replaced the existing 30-pin connector that had been used to sync and charge all previous iPhone and iPad devices.

As a result, existing accessories and docks were no longer compatible.

Faced with the prospect of more incompatibility issues, Twitter users have voiced their complaints about the purported change ahead of the Apple launch event next week.

Twitter user Han said: 'So it seems like Apple is putting USB C on their phones... On the other side.

'All new USB C power adapters then to make you throw away all your old USB adapters?'

Until now, those who wanted to take advantage of the fast-charging capabilities of the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and iPhone X had to buy a USB-C cable from Apple separately

Faced with the prospect of more incompatibility issues, Twitter users have voiced their complaints about the purported change ahead of the Apple launch event next week

One example of the sort of problems customers could face was outlined by Twitter user Vittorio, who found he could not connect his iPhone to a charging port on a flight he was taking.

Spotted Yinge added: '@AppleSupport idea for the iPhone XS: USB type C connector, ditch the Lightning. Come on @Apple, lets put the U back into USB!'

One example of the sort of problems customers could face was outlined by Twitter user Vittorio, who found he could not connect his iPhone to a charging port on a flight he was taking.

He added: 'Well, I am kind of screwed. Brought only the high speed charger for the iPhone but the stupid cable is USB-C, which means that it wont go in the USB power plug in my airplane seat.

'Cautionary tale on better standards - the best standard is the one you can use.'

The rumoured move to USB-C for the charging cable comes as Apple eradicated all USB-A ports from its MacBook Pro and 12-inch MacBook notebook lines.

The latest designs of both notebooks exclusively use USB-C to charge and sync data.

Following the launch of the redesigned 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro, those who wanted to connect their iPhone to the notebook was forced to buy a separate cable from the Apple Store for 19 ($19).

If the latest leak is accurate, the change to the bundled charging cable shipped with the new iPhone will eradicate these inconsistencies across Apple's product line.
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After years of hunting archaeologists have found sunken ruins that could be where the First Council of Nicaea was held  making it one of the most important places in Christian history.

The First Council of Nicaea was a meeting held in 325 AD in the ancient town of Nicaea, now known as Iznik, in Turkey, which was then part of the Roman Empire.

It was arranged by Constantine I, the first emperor to convert to Christianity, and it was here they agreed the nature of the relationship between God and Jesus.

The council brought bishops from across the world to the shores of Lake Ascanius to agree the particulars of their faith  including when Easter should be held.

Archaeologist Mustafa Sahin from Uludag University has spent years scouring the shores of the modern-day lake, called Lake Iznik, searching for historical treasures from that time.

But it was only when the government of Bursa Province commissioned some aerial photos of the lake that he spotted a church submerged in its waters.

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After years of hunting archaeologists have found sunken ruins that could be where the First Council of Nicaea was held  making it one of the most important places in Christian history

WHAT WAS THE FIRST COUNCIL OF NICAEA? The First Council of Nicaea was a meeting in 325 AD in the ancient town of Nicaea, now known as Iznik, in Turkey, which was then part of the Roman Empire. It was called by Constantine I, the first emperor to convert to Christianity. The council brought bishops from across the world to the shores of Lake Ascanius to agree the particulars of their faith. The meeting was held to decide whether Jesus had been 'begotten' by God from his own being, and therefore had no beginning, or was created out of nothing, and therefore had a beginning. The council decided overwhelmingly in favour of the former. As well as agreeing the nature of the relationship between God and Jesus, the First Council of Nicaea set a date for Easter. Constantine believed that setting a shared date for Easter would be good for the unity of the Church as a whole. It was also where the Nicene Creed was created, which is still used in Catholic Mass. It is an often-repeated statement of belief that ends with the words 'We believe in the Holy Spirit'. Advertisement

'The photography team in Bursa City Hall have been capturing the aerial photos of the Lake since 2013, but hadn't thought of contacting any expert,' said Dr Sahin.

'So when they started capturing aerial pictures of the lake again, team member Saffet Yilmaz contacted me and asked if the remains of the structure might have meant something.

'When I first saw the images of the lake, I was quite surprised to see a church structure that clearly.

'I'd been doing field surveys in Iznik since 2006 and hadn't yet discovered a magnificent structure like that,' he said.

Dr Sahin believes the church marks the place where Saint Neophytos was martyred back in 303AD.

Saint Neophytos, who led the life of a hermit, is widely believed to be one of the most significant figures of the Church of Cyprus.

Dr Sahin believes the church was built in the honour of Saint Neophytos.

He also believes it marks the site of the former Senate Palace where the first First Council of Nicaea took place almost 1,700 years ago.

The meeting was held to decide whether Jesus had been 'begotten' by God from his own being  and therefore had no beginning  or was created out of nothing, and therefore had a beginning.

The council, as encouraged by Constantine I, overwhelmingly decided in favour of the former  thereby creating one of the defining characteristics of Christianity.

As well as agreeing the nature of the relationship between God and Jesus, the First Council of Nicaea set the date for Easter.

Constantine believed that setting a shared date for Easter would be good for the unity of the Church as a whole.

It was also where the Nicene Creed was created, which is still used in Catholic Mass. It is an often-repeated statement of belief that ends with the words 'We believe in the Holy Spirit.'

There is even evidence of an earlier temple at the site dedicated to Apollo, a Greek and Roman god sometimes associated with Jesus in the early Christian period.

The church was destroyed by an earthquake in 740 AD and sank beneath the lake.

The First Council of Nicaea was a meeting in 325 AD in the ancient town of Nicaea, now known as Iznik, in Turkey, which was then part of the Roman Empire. Pictured is the site archaeologists are currently exploring

It was only when the government of Bursa Province commissioned some aerial photographs of the lake that archaeologist Mustafa Sahin spotted a church submerged in its waters (circled in red)

Dr Sahin believes the church marks the place where Saint Neophytos was martyred in 303AD, with the church constructed in his honour

The First Council of Nicaea set a date for Easter, and created the Nicene Creed, which is still used in Catholic Mass (artist's impression)

The church itself was destroyed by an earthquake in 740 AD and later sank beneath the lake. Pictured is the plan of the church

'The ruins remain two to three metres deep in the lake and 50 metres from the shore,' said Dr Sahin.

'The hardest part of the underwater excavation is that visibility sometimes drops under 10cm because of intense algae and plankton activity.

'Another special difficulty is slime being spreading throughout the water from the top of the lake's base during the excavation,' he added.

Scouring for ancient remains on a shallow surface underwater means waves hit archaeologists during their work, making the process much harder.

To get around this problem, the team is taking soil from the site to the shore, and is sifting through it there.

Now Dr Sahin wants the site to become Turkey's first underwater museum.

Having the remains on a shallow surface also means waves hit archaeologists during their work which also makes it harder

The meeting was held in the ancient town of Nicaea, now known as Iznik, in Turkey

To get around this problem, the team is taking soil from the site to the shore, and is sifting through it there

Now Dr Sahin wants the site to become Turkey's first underwater museum. The museum would include a 20-metre (66ft) tower to allow the ruins to be seen from the shore

The museum would include a 20-metre (66ft) tower to allow the ruins to be seen from the shore, a walkway over the lake itself, and a submerged glass room at the nave where visitors can pray, Dr Sahin says.

There would also be a diving club, allowing visitors to see the structure up close.

Construction could begin as early as this year, ready to open in 2019.

'There is actually no need to wait for the end of excavation to built a museum,' said Dr Sahin.

'With our excavation methodology, the visitors aren't a distraction for the work in progress.'

This photo shows a pilgrimage token found at the site depicting Christ Pantocrator. The First Council of Nicaea was held to decide whether Jesus had been 'begotten' by God from his own being, and therefore had no beginning, or was created out of nothing, and therefore had a beginning

This picture shows shows a lamp predating the church itself, suggesting a pre-Christian history at the site. Dr Sahin believes the church marks the place where Saint Neophytos was martyred in 303AD
Coo-ey, breakfast, shouts Dzeneta from the verandah of her farmhouse. I open the creaky gate of the picket fence and make my way back from the beach, stuffing a shell into my trouser pocket.

Here on the Baltic shore of Cape Kolka sandcastles have replaced Soviet machine gun towers and the shriek of children playing in the dunes drowns ghostly echoes of the past.

The white sand stretches north to the Estonian border and south to the frontier with Lithuania, a 300-mile swathe of perfect white seaboard.

Last port of call: Latvias lively capital is the final stop on a trip along the Baltic Highway

We are driving a section of the 'Baltic Highway', the road that follows Latvia's beautiful coastline. The Cape marks the stormy latitude at which the Baltic Sea collides with the Gulf of Riga.

Trees ripped from the ground during a winter hurricane in 2005 are scattered like spillikins across the sandscape, semi-buried symbols of turbulent times.

Latvia is the largest of the three Baltic nations and has been independent since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. For centuries Swedes fought Germans before the Soviets and the Nazis marched in and claimed it for most of the 20th century.

By contrast, here in Courland a small community of Finnish settlers has lived quietly since the Dark Ages, eking out a peaceful existence.

Dzeneta is one of the 200-strong surviving members of the local tribe, known as Livs and also the owner of Usi farm, where we are staying . 'The tanks have been and gone, but we have stayed. We pray the Russians leave us alone,' she says. She points to places of interest on a map I have just smeared with butter.

'Come back in the winter and you can cross-country ski the length of Latvia, along the beach!' Outside the rich and colourful port of Ventspils we stop at a restored Cold War spy station used for eavesdropping on the West. 'I dare you to ask whether it is now being used to spy on the Russians,' I say to my friend, Ana. Neither of us dares.

We cut inland for the medieval town of Kuldiga and dine at the Goldingen Room on the ancient square opposite the town hall.

Somewhat incongruously, we eat haute Mediterranean cuisine in a moody setting. I risk a glass of wine from the excellent list then drive into the forest to find Maras Manor, the lovingly restored home of our wonderful guide, Ilga, and her German husband. With its impeccable hospitality and acres of creaking wood, it is one of the finest chambres d'hotes I have ever stayed in.

The next day we head to the naval port of Karosta, adjoining the town of Liepaja, near the border with Lithuania. Off-limits in Soviet times, it housed the Atlantic submarine fleet and there's a gruesome military jail where for 17 (15) you can spend the night. 'But I wouldn't if I were you,' says our guide, a former prison guard. 'You won't like it.'

Beyond the barbed wire is a domed Russian Orthodox Cathedral and in town we walk through a lively market to get to the House of Craftsmen, where the largest amber in the world resides. Here, women toil on looms and weave baskets.

North up the Baltic highway is Jurmala, where many of Russia's super-rich own holiday homes. From our penthouse room at the groovy Semarah Lielupe spa hotel, we see that they are not so much homes as mini palaces. 'Jurmala is Cannes and Martha's vineyard all in one,' coos Ana. She's looking down at the shopping street. I steer her to the gorgeously wide beach, then the hotel spa for a steam bath.

Our last stop is Riga, where we check into the four-star Semarah Hotel Metropole, the grand old lady of the capital. Well run and reasonably priced, it is handily placed between the station and Riga Old Town.

Majestic: The golden domes of the St Nicholas Orthodox Sea Cathedral in Liepaja

Romans, the hotels obliging gofer, organises a trip around the fabulous art nouveau quarter and provides us with a highly-cultivated guide. Juris Berze was Michael Portillo's local architectural expert for his TV series Great Continental Railway Journeys.

Our last night is at the opulent Grand Palace Hotel. In the marbled cocktail bar, the air is distinctly smoky.

I ask the waiter. 'If our guests want to smoke, they smoke.' Russians like to smoke. And there's nothing wrong with the smell of a Montecristo A. No trip to Riga would be complete without testing some of its great restaurants.

Biblioteka N1 is where chef Maris Jansons  the Heston Blumenthal of Latvia  has created a contemporary Baltic temple to gastronomy, in a library.

With its open kitchen and modern cooking, 3 Chefs in the Old Town, is the buzziest spot to be seen.

Rocket Bean Roastery, in an old sock factory, is where Michelin-starred chef Arturs Taskans combines beetroot with chocolate and cooks up a storm in one of Riga's newest ventures.

Let's just say, I've developed a taste for Latvia.
Ryanair is set to scrap plans to reduce its fleet in Ireland that put 300 jobs under threat after striking pilots unanimously voted to accept an agreement with the airline.

Europe's largest low-cost carrier suffered its worst ever strikes this summer, but reached agreement on issues including transfers and promotions with the Irish union two weeks ago and said it was hopeful it could secure deals in other markets soon.

In a statement after the Forsa/IALPA union published the ballot result on Wednesday, Ryanair welcomed the vote and said it would ask its board to reverse a plan to reduce its Dublin fleet by six aircraft.

Ryanair is set to scrap plans to reduce its fleet in Ireland that put 300 jobs under threat

The board will meet to discuss the development in the coming days, it said.

In July, the Irish-based airline, headed by Michael O'Leary, said it had issued 90-day notices to 100 pilots and more than 200 cabin crew under plans to slash its Dublin-based fleet from 30 to around 24 for the winter season and move more aircraft to Poland.

The airline said it was beginning consultations on redundancy adding that if job losses were necessary, they will be determined by 'assessment of flight performance, productivity, attendances, and base transfer requests'.

At the time, Ryanair said the reductions were driven by the rapid growth of its Polish charter airline, Ryanair Sun, coupled with a downturn in forward bookings and airfares in Ireland, which it partly blamed on the strikes.

In July, the Irish-based airline, headed by Michael O'Leary, pictured, said it had issued 90-day notices to 100 pilots and more than 200 cabin crew under plans to slash its Dublin-based fleet from 30 to around 24

After publishing details for the first time of the agreement it described as a 'first step' towards providing fairness for pilots, the union said the flexibility on base transfers and promotions would end the 'sole control' exercised previously by management over pilots' careers.

Captain Joe May, a spokesman for IALPA, said in a statement: 'While our members fully respect Ryanair's operational model, they no longer accept the company's highly problematic employment model.

'After decades of declining terms and conditions, pilots in Ryanair have now firmly found a unified voice.'
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London's Leicester Square is taking another step to shedding its tacky tourist-trap image thanks to the opening of another swanky hotel.

And of course, since this is the capital's cinema district, it houses a couple of Odeons.

The Square is already home to plush W and Radisson hotels. They will be joined in 2020 by the 300million five-star The Londoner.

An artist's impression of how the new The Londoner hotel will look when it opens to guests in Leicester Square in 2020

The five-star hotel will be set across 15 floors and will have 350 rooms, including 15 suites, as well as five concept restaurants and a rooftop bar

The new property, which is being described as a 'pioneering, purpose-built destination', is being developed by Edwardian Hotels London.

It will have 350 rooms, including 15 suites, across 15 floors as well as five concept restaurants and lounges and a rooftop bar.

As well as two Odeon Luxe cinemas, The Londoner will also have a state-of-the-art ballroom for up to 1,000 guests as well as a subterranean spa.

Iype Abraham, the commercial development director at Edwardian Hotels London, said: 'The Londoner exemplifies Edwardian Hotels Londons bold philosophy.

An artist's impression showing the entrance to the hotel. The hotel will boast two new Odeon cinemas, naturally

The new property, which is being described as a 'pioneering, purpose-built destination', is being developed by Edwardian Hotels London

'Building a complex and ambitious project in an iconic area is a demonstration of our commitment to London and our ability to deliver high-quality, sustainable, integrated hotels designed for the future.

'We are privileged to play a pivotal role in the regeneration of Leicester Square and contribute to the evolving skyline of London.'

To deliver The Londoner, Edwardian Hotels London has teamed up with project engineers Arup, project developers McGee, an interior design team from Yabu Pushelberg and project architects Woods Bagot.

Leicester Square, in the heart of London's West End. Many regard the area as one of the city's most efficient tourist traps

Rob Steul, creative director at Edwardian Hotels London and lead designer of The Londoner, added: 'It has always been the vision of our chairman to develop a lifestyle hotel destination in a prime central London location.

'And I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to bring this aspirational vision to life, from conceptualising the original design through to overseeing the development and delivery of the hotel.

'The Londoner celebrates and captures the drama of its vibrant West End neighbourhood and I am confident that its striking contemporary design, sophisticated social spaces and its collection of distinctive restaurants and lounges will set it apart.'
Here's food for thought - Britain imports more pizza from the Netherlands than it does from Italy.

The surprising statistic has been revealed in a new study of data from HM Revenue & Customs, which showed only five per cent of the 223million worth of pizza imported in the first half of 2018 came from its homeland.

Also, according to the study, Britain imports more chocolate from Poland than it does from Belgium, the country most often associated with the product.

Britain imports more pizza from the Netherlands than it does from Italy, new figures have shown

The research was carried out by Glotechrepairs.co.uk. It discovered that the UK's total food and drink imports in the first six months of 2018 cost 23,543,173,333.

Most of the overseas pizza that is supplied to Britain actually comes from Germany, France, and Spain, who together feed 56 per cent of the UK's imported pizza cravings. Just five per cent comes from Italy.

In the study of 191 countries, it was found that although Italy supplies 94 per cent of Britain's imported pasta and is its second largest exporter of tomatoes and mozzarella, it only provides Brits with 11 million worth of pizza.

In addition, the UK also imported 5 billion worth of meat, 1.5 billion worth of wine, and 1.1 billion in fish in the first half of 2018.

And the figures also show just how much the UK relies on other countries' goods.

Even for items generally considered to be domestic, it was found that imports brought huge quantities of consumables to UK shores.

Over 143 million worth of cheddar cheese was imported from outside of the UK and Ireland is its biggest supplier, sending 196,074,494 worth.

Ireland also sends Britain a lot of beer, together with Mexico, which contributes 97 million to Britain's alcohol economy.

Britain also imports more chocolate from Poland than it does from Belgium

The UK also gets more avocados from Israel than anything else and Antarctica's only significant exports to Britain are herbs and spices.

Brtain also imports 597 million of chocolate from 57 countries and 408 million worth of other cocoa products from 60 countries.

Mark Reeves, of Glotechrepairs.co.uk, said: 'What we discovered by looking into the data behind our imports is that a huge amount of what we eat in the UK comes from outside of the country.

'There were some astounding figures  like the 5.4 billion worth of fruit and veg we import in half a year  but we also stumbled upon some interesting facts such as Antarctica's contribution of 7,911 worth of herbs and spices.'
They celebrated her birthday on Tuesday while on vacation in Italy.

And Beyonce and Jay-Z didn't look like they were going to stop the party anytime soon as they hopped on a boat, sipped drinks, and ate delicious food on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old artist and 48-year-old rapper spent their day soaking up rays while cruising along the Sardinian coast.

Italian vacation: Beyonce and Jay-Z didn't look like they were going to stop the party anytime soon as they hopped on a boat, sipped drinks, and ate delicious food on Wednesday

Beyonce donned an airy, off-the-shoulders frock featuring a frond pattern, which matched her Mediterranean whereabouts.

Keeping conscious of her sunny environment, she donned a large wicker hat and shaded her eyes with gold-framed For Art's Sake 'Alice Green' sunglasses with green lenses.

Her long blonde tresses shimmered as they fell over shoulders and across her torso, and she painted her lips a majestic pink.

Lifestyles: The 37-year-old artist and 48-year-old rapper spent their day soaking up rays while cruising along the Sardinian coast

Mediterranean fashion: Beyonce donned an airy, off-the-shoulders frock featuring a frond pattern, which matched her Mediterranean whereabouts

Mindful: Keeping conscious of her sunny environment, she donned a large wicker hat and shaded her eyes with gold-framed For Art's Sake 'Alice Green' sunglasses with green lenses

Stylish: Her long blonde tresses shimmered as they fell over shoulders and across her torso

Jay-Z sported a flower-covered Hawaiian shirt, and black track pants that seemed ideal for the couple's relaxed, end-of-summer adventure.

He sported snappy white sneakers and tied a navy bandanna around his forehead.

The Story of O.J. rapper kept his eyes shaded with dark sunglasses and wore a straightforward watch on one wrist.

The simple things: She painted her lips a majestic pink

Floral: Jay-Z sported a flower-covered Hawaiian shirt, and black track pants that seemed ideal for the couple's relaxed, end-of-summer adventure

On the water: The Story of O.J. rapper kept his eyes shaded with dark sunglasses and wore a straightforward watch on one wrist

The couple celebrated Beyonce's birthday on Tuesday by heading to exclusive restaurant La Casitta on Maddalena island along with a few friends.

They are currently on a break from their joint On the Run II Tour.

The concert series started off in Europe in June with a concert in Cardiff, Wales, and then headed to the United States in late July.

They most recently played in Miami on August 31, and are set to return to the road on September 11 with a show in Arlington, Texas.

Keeping it going: The couple celebrated Beyonce's birthday on Tuesday by heading to exclusive restaurant La Casitta on Maddalena island along with a few friends

Relaxing: They are currently on a break from their joint On the Run II Tour

Beyonce and Jay-Z started dating in 2002, after they collaborated on the track 03 Bonnie & Clyde.

Back in April, they celebrated their 10th anniversary, and followed that up by renewing their vows in June.

The couple have three children together: Blue Ivy, Rumer and Sir.

Cruising: The concert series started off in Europe in June with a concert in Cardiff, Wales, and then headed to the United States in lat July

Returning: They most recently played in Miami on August 31, and are set to return to the road on September 11 with a show in Arlington, Texas
Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel and his ex-girlfriend Ashley Jacobs reunited for a dinner over the Labor Day weekend in their native South Carolina.

While Ravenel, 56, and Jacobs, 33, announced their split last month, the two 'looked like they were having a great time' when they were seen at the Charleston restaurant Halls Chophouse during the holiday weekend, an insider told People.

'If they are still split, you never would have known, but at the same time they weren't showing any PDA or anything,' the insider told the magazine. 'They looked friendly, like friends having a good time out together.'

The latest: Former Southern Charm star Thomas Ravenel, 56, and his ex-girlfriend Ashley Jacobs, 33, reunited for a dinner over the Labor Day weekend in their native South Carolina

The public rendezvous came just weeks after Ravenel, a one-time treasurer for the state of South Carolina, and Jacobs, a nurse, called it quits in their yearlong relationship, which has remained a hot topic amid a slew of social media revelations.

Jacobs said in an Instagram Live August 15 that she was 'trying to handle' the split 'privately,' making clear she remained fond of Ravenel.

'I love Thomas and I'll always love Thomas; I'll always care about him,' Jacobs said. 'I'm still trying to work it out, not work out getting back together, but I'm still trying to figure it out ... I think everyone's been through breakups before but it's hard - it's not easy.'

In a series of tweets he posted August 25, Ravenel was cryptic in intimating that he'd been cheated on.

Southern Belle: Jacobs posed on a dock at Shem Creek Boat Landing in her native South Carolina over the weekend

Unclear: It remains to be seen whether or not the dinner between the two was a platonic one, or if they're looking to rekindle their romance

'Today, my personal life just took a huge upward turn. I finally have more than enough information to move forward without any doubt or hesitation and I'll never look back.'

Ravenel cited a lyric from the 1987 Chicago song, If She Would Have Been Faithful, spurring further speculation about the cause of his split with Jacobs.

'After 30 years I finally understand the lyrics from that wonderful Chicago tune: If she would have been faithful, if she could have been true, then I would have been cheated, I would have never known real love.'

Days later, Jacobs told People that she 'never cheated on Thomas' but told him she 'wanted to see other people' at the end of their relationship.

'When he saw that I was out with friends, he got angry and made assumptions that I was dating other guys,' she said. 'And when he confronted me about it, I blocked him because it wasn't worth my energy. It's toxic and unhealthy. So he went on a tweet storm.'

Ravenel subsequently returns to Twitter to say he had 'no information that Ashley Jacobs ever cheated on' him.

'In fact as far as I know she has always been true and faithful especially during the really dark times,' he said. 'She didn't deserve my insinuations to the contrary.'

Ravenel, who has two children with his ex Kathryn Dennis, 27 - daughter Kensington, four, and son St. Julien, two - has also been in the news amid sex assault allegations made by his children's former nanny Dawn Ledwell (who appeared Bravo reality show as Nanny Dawn), while a real estate agent named Ashley Perkins claimed Ravenel sexually assaulted her mother Debbie Holloway Perkins after meeting via Tinder in October 2015.

Authorities in South Carolina continue to probe the allegations, which Ravenel has denied through his attorney.
Shes looking ahead to a new presenting role on the other side of the world when she replaces troubled Ant McPartlin on Im A celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!

But Holly Willoughby was preparing for an altogether different journey as she climbed onto a motorcycle taxi in London on Wednesday afternoon.

The This Morning host, 37, was in high spirits as she pulled on her crash helmet before preparing for a trip across town.

Here she comes: Holly Willoughby beamed as she prepared for a motorcycle taxi ride in London on Wednesday afternoon

Holly was appropriately dressed in a black leather jacket while greeting her bike rider before they pulled away.

The presenter revealed she would be taking her children Harry, nine, Belle, seven, and Chester, three, out of school to join her in Australia when filming for the new series of I'm A Celeb starts in November.

The show traditionally runs for three weeks - meaning that her kids could be missing up to a month of school.

Upbeat: The This Morning host, 37, was in high spirits ahead of her trip across town

Safety first: Holly pulled on her crash helmet as her motorcycle chauffeur looked on

Steady on: The British star climbed onto the back seat ahead of her journey

Holly will be helping out Ant's best friend Declan Donnelly while the embattled star takes some time out of the limelight following his drink driving conviction.

Confirming she would be taking her children out of school, she told This Morning viewers: 'The kids are coming with me so I had to talk to the schools then mum and dad are coming for a bit too.'

'So when I sorted the logistics I then thought, "Theres going to be spiders there!'

Let's go: The presenter climbed aboard as they prepared to set off on Wednesday afternoon

The squeamish star then went on to describe the things she wasn't looking forward to about being in the jungle.

She declared: 'Three things I'm not looking forward to - the eating something challenge. It's going to be horrible!

'The smells, Im not good with smells! And when they come out with the stuff... What have I done?'

Exciting: Holly is looking ahead to a new presenting role on the other side of the world when she replaces troubled Ant McPartlin on Im A celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!
Australia's top actors are paid millions of dollars to star in Hollywood blockbusters.

But the likes of Chris and Liam Hemsworth, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie and Hugh Jackman are also making extra cash with sponsored Instagram posts.

While Instagram ads promoting protein powder and teeth whiteners may be popular among reality stars, these A-listers are endorsing high-end brands on their accounts.

Social data website InfluencerFee, which calculates Instagram users' approximate worth by analysing their level of interaction and the amount of followers they have, estimates that top celebrities could be making tens of thousands of dollars per post.

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They get paid HOW much? Social data website InfluencerFee has estimated what Australia's top stars - including Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman - are paid for their sponsored Instagram posts. Pictured: Chris Hemsworth on September 5, 2018 in London

It's important to remember, however, that all of the prices estimated by InfluencerFee are based solely on statistics and have not been confirmed by the stars themselves.

Chris Hemsworth, who boasts 21 million followers, appears to top the list of Australian actors using their Instagram accounts for a secondary income.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old shared a selfie with actor Chadwick Boseman while wearing a Hugo Boss suit which he declared was in 'paid partnership' with the brand.

InfluencerFee estimates that Chris could charge $46,473 USD ($64,569 AUD) per post on his page based on his social media statistics.

However, the website does not factor in exclusive and lucrative deals that could be negotiated away from Instagram, include magazine and TV endorsements.

It's also possible that a major star like Chris isn't paid per post, but may have agreed to share several photos as part of a wider campaign that includes social media.

Leading man: With 21 million Instagram followers, this 'paid partnership' Chris Hemsworth posted alongside actor Chadwick Boseman could have come with a hefty price tag

Big money: Social data website InfluencerFee, which calculates Instagram users' approximate worth by analysing their level of interaction and the amount of followers they have, estimates that Chris could charge $46,473 USD ($64,569 AUD) per post based on his statistics

With 10.8 million followers, Liam Hemsworth does not appear to have an Instagram account as profitable as his big brother.

The Hunger Games actor, 28, has recently been sharing 'paid partnership' posts with Acciona - a company providing 'sustainable solutions for infrastructure and renewable energy projects'.

InfluencerFee estimates that he could charge $24,031 USD ($33,387 AUD) for each upload, but again this fee has not been confirmed.

Promoting the brand, Liam wrote in one post: 'I've always had a strong connection to the environment, which is why I am working alongside @acciona to help protect the future of the planet.'

Still impressive! With 10.8 million followers, Liam Hemsworth does not appear to have an Instagram account as profitable as his big brother

Not bad work: InfluencerFee estimates that Liam could charge $24,031 USD ($33,387 AUD) for each recent upload promoting sustainable brand Acciona - but this fee hasn't been confirmed

Margot Robbie, 28, has also followed suit by using her Instagram page to promote eco-friendly products and brands with her paid advertisements.

It is estimated that she could pocket $32,758 USD ($45,516 AUD) for a single post thanks to her loyal and interactive 14.8 million followers.

The Wolf Of Wall Street actress recently shared an image of herself alongside her younger brother Cameron Robbie which she stated was an '#ad' for Nissan.

Captioning the post, she wrote: 'We only have one [world] and I want to keep on enjoying what it has to offer.but we need to protect it, live more sustainably and cleaner.

'Remember, it's the power of the many not the few that will make a difference. Thats just one of the reasons I went electric @nissaneurope #electrifytheworld #zeroemission #ad.'

Making a difference... and making a buck! Margot Robbie, 28, has also followed suit by using her page to promote eco-friendly products and brands with her paid advertisements

'We only have one world': The Wolf Of Wall Street actress recently shared an image of herself alongside her younger brother Cameron Robbie which she stated was an '#ad' for Nissan

Profitable: It is estimated that Margot could pocket $32,758 USD ($45,516 AUD) for a single Instagram post thanks to her loyal and interactive 14.8 million followers

Hugh Jackman is another home-grown Australian actor that is believed to be taking home a sizable paycheck from his sponsored social media posts.

Last month, the 49-year-old uploaded a picture as part of a 'paid partnership' with airline Qantas that featured him standing next to their logo at Singapore Airport.

It is estimated that his account comes with a price tag of $44,339 USD ($61,746 AUD) per post for this kind of content based on the statistics from his 20.1 million fans.

Top talent: Australian A-listers Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman (pictured earlier this month) have also been monetising their social media profiles with sponsored content

Flying in style: Last month, the 49-year-old uploaded a picture as part of a 'paid partnership' with airline Qantas that featured him standing next to their logo at Singapore Airport

Too easy! It is estimated that Hugh's account comes with a price tag of $44,339 USD ($61,746 AUD) per post for this kind of content based on the statistics from his 20.1 million fans

Despite a career spanning 30 years, Nicole Kidman, 51, surprisingly comes with one of the lowest estimated price tags of the Australian A-listers on Instagram.

It is estimated that any promotional posts she may share - including a recent one for skincare brand Neutrogena - are worth approximately just $4,245 USD ($5,898 AUD).

However, this has nothing to do with Nicole's star power in Hollywood.

The Moulin Rouge! star simply has a relatively small social media presence, amassing only 1.8 million followers in the nine months she has been on Instagram.

We're not Kidding: Despite a career spanning 30 years, Nicole Kidman, 51, surprisingly comes with one of the lowest estimated price tags of the Australian A-listers on Instagram
LeeAnne Locken lost an eyelash while being interrogated about her engagement by D'Andra Simmons on Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Dallas.

The 51-year-old reality star was asked by D'Andra, 49, why she wasn't married yet during a question-and-answer period as part of a 'queen pageant' between them.

LeeAnne and her fiance Rich Emberlin have been together for nine years and engaged for more than a year.

Eyelash off: LeeAnne Locken lost an eyelash while being grilled by D'Andra Simmons over her extended engagement on Wednesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Dallas

'At the moment, why I haven't pushed to move forward with a wedding date is that it's been very difficult with him being blinded,' LeeAnne explained.

'Here's the thing, he's not in a happy place. It affects him and we are together. So I'm just being patient,' she added.

She then took responsibility for their extended engagement.

'It's me. That's the reason we're not married. It's me. It's not him,' LeeAnne said.

Queen pageant: D'Andra as part of a 'queen pageant' asked LeeAnne why she wasn't married

Took responsibility: LeeAnne took responsibility for her extended engagement to Rich Emberlin

The judge: Brandi Redmond was helping judge the 'queen pageant' between LeeAnne and D'Andra

'I've been single for 50 years. I've never been married before. Rich has been married three times. I have no doubt in my mind that this is my soulmate but I also don't want to put him in a position where it's going to make him want to divorce me and leave me.  He's divorced three people so he's obviously accepted that divorce is an option,' she further explained.

LeeAnne then admitted that she was afraid that she would sabotage their relationship.

'That inability to believe that I deserve and am worthy is the reason I don't push Rich to get married,' she admitted.

The host: Kameron Westcott was hosting the women at her vacation home in Colorado

The honest admission caused her friends to back off.

'Whenever you decide your date, and whenever you decide that it's right for you guys, you let us know,' said Cary Deuber.

'I feel like we all will celebrate and we're just so excited,' chimed in Kameron Westcott.

Calming down: LeeAnne recently took up meditation to deal with her temper

D'Andra, 49, was skeptical of LeeAnne's response.

'Rich has been married before and my fear is that Rich gave her a ring to shut her up because I don't think that Rich wants to be married,' she said during a confessional.

She made it clear to LeeAnne that she wanted answers.

'I want to know what the f*** is going on. You're not telling me something. You need to get it together, b****. Right now. Because you've been together for nine years. He loves you, you love him. If that's not it, then you need to tell us what it is. I want to know what it is because I'm confused. I don't know what the f*** is going on anymore,' D'Andra told her.

So confused: D'Andra confronted LeeAnne about her engagement and wanted to know more

LeeAnne fought back tears but lost a false eyelash as Cary came over to help her.

D'Andra later won the 'queen pageant' after clinching a coffee pod in her buttocks as part of the talent contest.

The episode opened with Brandi Redmond and host Kameron Westcott making up after a misunderstanding during a drunken argument.

Word choice: Brandi and Kameron made up on the way to a snowmobile adventure after a miscommunication

Good times: The women enjoyed snowmobile rides together

Kameron organized a snowmobile riding adventure for them in Beaver Creek, Colorado.

She followed that up with a group meal where Brandi came up with a new drink by mixing tequila and Fireball together.,

Brandi organized the 'queen pageant' after staying up and witnessing LeeAnne and D'Andra argue over queen status among the group.

Group meal: The ladies got together for a group meal after their snowmobile riding

New drink: Brandi decided to mix tequila and Fireball together

Kameron admitted that she felt honored when Brandi asked her to be a judge.

LeeAnne showed her beauty pageant skills as she expertly handled questions from the judges.

When asked how she likes to use her hands, she responded for prayer and to reach out to help others.

Pageant experience: LeeAnne went into the queen competition with experience

Good answer: The reality star impressed the judges with her answers and sweet smile

Good hands: Brandi laughed as LeeAnne talked about how she uses her hands

'She's nailing it,' Brandi said.

RHOD returns next week on Bravo.

The show premiered in April 2016 as part of the lucrative Housewives franchise.

Talent portion: D'Andra stepped up for the talent portion of the competition

Clinched it: She won by clinching a coffee pod between her buttocks

Nice try: LeeAnne tried singing as her talent contribution
Amal Clooney will be relieved that she is no longer representing the Greek government in its bid to win back the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum, since evidence now indicates they may not be Greek after all  but Roman.

Eminent art historian Nigel Konstam has published a booklet arguing that many of the works 'spirited away' by the 7th Earl of Elgin in the 1800s are in fact Roman reproductions of the Greek originals that had been eroded by acid rain caused by chimney effluent.

His explosive theory is based on the recent discovery of a chimney near the Parthenon used by the great 5th century sculptor Phidias to cast his giant bronzes.

Amal Clooney (pictured) will be relieved that she is no longer representing the Greek government in its bid to win back the Elgin Marbles from the British Museum

Konstam's speculation has reached the ears of the current Earl of Elgin, 94, and sent shock waves through the British Museum.

'My case is strong because the evidence to support my view is so simple and compelling and obvious, even to the layman, who can see the differences for himself,' says Konstam, a sculptor and bronze caster educated at Camberwell School of Art and the Royal College of Art.

He argues that the Roman statues were carved differently and look much cleaner than the Greek ones, which were etched with fragile iron and bronze tools, causing bruising and microcracks which allowed the smoke to penetrate deeper.

The British Museum's senior curator Ian Jenkins has shown interest in the theory.

'This is an interesting set of, at least to me, new ideas,' he wrote in a letter to the sculptor.

Eminent art historian Nigel Konstam has published a booklet arguing many of the works 'spirited away' by the 7th Earl of Elgin in the 1800s are Roman reproductions of the Greek originals

Konstam's speculation has reached the ears of the current Earl of Elgin, 94, and sent shock waves through the British Museum. Pictured, the Elgin Marbles at the museum

'I have never heard before the connection between Roman replacements of the west pediment sculptures of the Parthenon and smoke. Not since the days of Richard Payne Knight, and his falling out with Lord Elgin, has anybody been so radical as to suggest that the entire west pediment is a Roman replacement.'

Lord Bruce, the son and heir to the current Earl of Elgin, tells me from the family's 300-year-old home in Fife that he is not convinced.

'I can't believe there was that much pollution caused by the chimney,' he says. 'His theory is at least not as ridiculous as one currently doing the rounds that the Parthenon was a burial ground for young maidens.'

Vanity Fair star ditches bonnet for casual chic

Rising star Olivia Cooke plays the glamorous social climber Becky Sharp in ITV's acclaimed adaptation of William Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair.

Off screen, the 24-year-old cuts a rather different figure.

Arriving in her hometown, Olivia attempted to go incognito as she swapped her character's 19th-century attire for jeans, Converse trainers and an oversized navy jacket

Arriving at the railway station in her hometown, Manchester, Olivia attempted to go incognito as she swapped her character's 19th-century attire for jeans, Converse trainers and an oversized navy jacket on top of an Eighties Newport T-shirt carrying the words: 'Alive with pleasure'.

Distancing herself even further from her alter-ego, Olivia, the daughter of a police officer father and a saleswoman mother, also sported a pair of white wireless earphones.

'I don't want to be known as a sex symbol,' she has said.

'I just want to be known as a good actor. There's so much importance put on that these days. I'm a very normal person.'

Rising star Olivia Cooke plays the glamorous social climber Becky Sharp in ITV's acclaimed adaptation of William Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair

Myleene Klass is nurturing a musical dynasty.

The Classic FM presenter yesterday introduced the 'first public performance' of her daughters Ava, 11, and Hero, seven, at a star-studded Royal Albert Hall event for arts education.

The talented duo performed Mango Walk and C.P. E. Bach's Solfeggietto to an audience including the Prince of Wales.

Klass says they have her full support whether they want to be 'pilots, musicians or marine biologists, even musical marine biologists'.

Big bags on, Elton's boys are off to school

After enjoying a yachting holiday with David and Victoria Beckham's family on the French Riviera, Sir Elton John's sons Zachary, seven, and Elijah, five, are back to reality.

Sir Elton, 71, who has two sons by a surrogate mother with his husband David Furnish, 55, posted this picture of them returning to school this week, gushing in the caption: 'Can't believe how time is passing.

'They are growing up so fast in the nicest possible way. I love them more and more each day.'

Sir Elton posted this picture of his sons returning to school this week, gushing in the caption: 'Can't believe how time is passing'

The Affair star Dominic West, who, with his wife, Catherine Fitzgerald, is re-opening her family's Glin Castle in Ireland, says Dame Anna Wintour will be one of his first guests.

He explains the Vogue editor has said she'd 'love to come'. West admits: 'It's a bit daunting. We are really excited and terrified.'

But, he adds: 'Once you get people here, they always have a good time. They can go to the village, to the pub, to the seaweed baths in Ballybunion.'

David and Kate enjoy a cosy dinner

David Walliams enjoyed a cosy dinner with Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale this week to celebrate his 47th birthday, which took place last month.

The bearded comedian, who has a five-year-old son with his model ex-wife, Lara Stone, looked happy at the London restaurant as he wrapped his arm around the Pearl Harbor actress, 45.

The pair sparked rumours of a romance in 2016 when they dined at Scott's in Mayfair. But Kate swiftly slapped these down, quipping sarcastically that if she ever saw him naked, she would immediately tattoo her face 'for clarity'.

David Walliams enjoyed a cosy dinner with Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale this week

Bankrupt Boris parties all night with first wife

Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, who is divorcing his second wife, Lilly, after declaring bankruptcy last year, put his troubles behind him this week to party with his first wife, Barbara.

They were celebrating their son Elias's 19th birthday at a restaurant in New York, where they stayed until late.

It marks the end of an exciting summer for Elias, who modelled for Dolce & Gabbana in Milan.

Wimbledon champion Boris Becker (right) and his first wife Barbara (left) celebrated their son Elias's 19th birthday at a restaurant in New York

Broadcaster Penny Smith, 59, says she'll do anything for money  or did in her younger days.

Currently a talkradio weekend breakfast show presenter, she says: 'I'd never say any of my jobs were awful. I enjoyed all of them  even washing up in a kitchen, because I love washing up. I've done turkey plucking and worked in a petrol station and a paper-shredding factory. None of them was hideous.'

Camilla's holiday read: A royal love triangle...

A new book about the Queen's grandmother has won an unlikely fan  the Duchess of Cornwall.

The Quest For Queen Mary, by James Pope-Hennessy, has been Camilla's title of choice for holiday reading this summer.

The book, edited by royal historian Hugo Vickers, is based on the previously unseen notes of Queen Mary's original biographer and reveals that her true love was not her husband George V, but the distinguished statesman the 7th Earl of Hopetoun.

'She loved him in such a way that she had no love left after that,' it claims.
Alex Reid emerged in Essex on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after confirming his fiancee Nikki Manashe has suffered a devastating miscarriage.

The former cage fighter looked downcast as he relied on a pair of crutches, understood to be the result of a recent hip operation, while venturing into a local shop.

No doubt with Nikki in mind, Alex, 43, purchased a box of chocolates before tucking them under his arm and making his way outside.

Stepping out: Alex Reid emerged in Essex on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after confirming his fiancee Nikki Manashe has suffered a devastating miscarriage

He had taken to social media on Tuesday night to share the sad news of their loss, hoping to raise awareness about the 'emotional rollercoaster' IVF can be.

Alex, who has been engaged to Nikki since 2014, also urged people to be more sensitive towards those who are struggling to start a family, and for parents to appreciate every moment with their children.

Taking to his Instagram account, Alex posted a moving quote about loss alongside a lengthy, thought-provoking caption.

Step by step: The former cage fighter looked downcast as he relied on a pair of crutches, understood to be the result of a recent hip operation, while venturing into a local shop

Thoughtful: No doubt with Nikki in mind, Alex, 43, purchased a box of chocolates before tucking them under his arm and making his way outside

He wrote: 'We are absolutely devastated and I wasnt going to go public with this but I am to raise awareness.

'Next time you post a picture of your pregnant bump or your gorgeous baby think of those less fortunate. Today we lost baby number 3.

'We have been trying for a baby for several years through the help of Ivf.

'My first baby ( yes I call every loss a baby) my ectopic baby nearly killed my fiancee and she was operated on which was life or death and lost her 'fallopian tube.

Sad loss: Alex has revealed his fiancee Nikki suffered a devastating third miscarriage amid the couple's 'emotional rollercoaster' IVF journey

Heartbreaking: Taking to his Instagram account, Alex posted a moving quote about loss alongside a lengthy caption

'After that loss we went on the IVF train, It has been the hardest emotional rollercoaster for us.'

Alex went on to discuss the difficulties of IVF including the cost and the lack of support.

He continued: 'She struggles very much from someone who struggles with not being perfect, the ideal woman, someone who has issues with not being in control, everything goes out the window with IVF from gaining weight, body shape changes and for what?

'A baby at the end of the dark tunnel? If your lucky after spending ? Do the NHS help? Yes if you have the right postcode and only for one cycle!

'So if you cant afford treatment or you miscarry you cant be Parents? Why do we pay taxes?'

Emotional: Alex shared a number of moving quotes as he mourned the loss of his child

Speaking out: The 43-year-old star, who has been engaged to Nikki since 2014, also urged people to be more sensitive with regards to those who are struggling to start a family

He urged his followers to think again before they ask a couple why they aren't married yet or why they don't have children yet.

Alex shared: 'So the next time you ask someone why are you guys not married you have been engaged for years or you guys should hurry along and get baby making maybe think before you speak.

'Maybe that couple is spending a wedding fund on fertility treatment and maybe that couple have been trying for 4 years for a family.

'Dont take your babies for granted, cherish every single day from their first word to their first day at school because trust me when I say this.

'Many people would swap shoes with you to have the beautiful gift of raising a child the right way.'

He wrote: 'Many people would swap shoes with you to have the beautiful gift of raising a child the right way'

He also posted another heartbreaking message on Twitter, saying that some women like Nikki yearn to be a mother, while 'others have that title and have no idea how to be a supporting, kind and loving mum'.

Alex was inundated with kind messages of support from fans, expressing how sorry they were for his loss.

He also responded with sensitivity to people who disagreed with his comment about not posting pregnancy or pictures of their babies on social media.

Replying to a tweet from a woman who said she shouldn't feel bad about showing off her children, Alex wrote: 'Thats never my intention! As painful as it is for us, I also smile at the happiness in others, especially the joy of their little ones, Proud parents should celebrate!'

Speaking out: He also responded with sensitivity to people who disagreed with his comment about not posting pregnancy or pictures of their babies on social media

Quality time: Alex took to social media to share a sweet snap of himself with Nikki, penning, 'Looking after this one today'

Alex and Nikki have kept quiet about their fertility issues in recent years, after revealing in 2016 they had been giving the go-ahead to try for a baby.

At the time, Nikki had suffered a miscarriage and multiple cancer scares preventing them from extending their family.

Nikki, a laser-liposuction therapist, suffered an ectopic pregnancy back in 2013 and had also found a lump in her breast.

She told The Sun Online: 'It's been one scare then another. I was terrified, I hate hospitals and postponed the operation until 3 days after Alex's cage fight. The lump had doubled in size it was 3cms. Thank God it was benign.'

Private battle: Alex and Nikki have kept quiet about their fertility issues in recent years, after revealing in 2016 they had been giving the go-ahead to try for a baby

Nikki's desire for motherhood was then thwarted once again when she was examined for ovarian cancer as well - which could have threatened her ability to bear children at all.

She continued: 'When my stomach suddenly bloated I was worried it was IBS or Crones disease but also knew these are symptoms of ovarian cancer. I was terrified.'

Alex is already a father to daughter Dolly, six, with ex-partner Chantelle Houghton.

He got engaged to the Celebrity Big Brother winner in 2012, with Dolly born later that year.

A few weeks after Dolly's birth, Chantelle then took to Twitter to announce the ending of the relationship after Alex was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage at the couple's home.

Health scares: Nikki, a laser-liposuction therapist, revealed she suffered an ectopic pregnancy back in 2013 and had also found a lump in her breast

Alex was also married to glamour model Katie Price in a Vegas wedding in 2010, but separated in January of the following year.

At the time of their engagement four years ago, Alex took to Twitter to reflect on the fact that Nikki is the woman of his dreams.

The former Hollyoaks star wrote on Twitter: 'Sitting on sofa with future Mrs Reid reminiscing all the pain misery and cheap c**p that's happened in my life, looking forward to a new start!'

'I've made some silly choices & take full responsibility for my own sadness & joy, but now have really good people around me who truly care.'

Since finding true love, Alex has been leading a more low-key lifestyle and his social media page is littered with sweet tributes to his stunning partner.
David Henrie revealed Wednesday that he and his beauty queen wife, Maria Cahill Henrie, are expecting a girl with a clip of their gender reveal ceremony via social media on Wednesday.

The Disney star, 29, stood alongside Maria, 27, in a room filled with friends, as he took a pin to a large black balloon which exploded with pink confetti, spurring on cheers and hugs from friends.

The actor, who's been seen on Wizards of Waverly Place and How I Met Your Mother, captioned the shot: 'ITS A GIRL ITS A GIRL ITS A GIRL. Im a Poppa!!!!!!!'

Joyous: David Henrie, 29, revealed Wednesday that he and his beauty queen wife, Maria Cahill Henrie, 27, are expecting a girl with a clip of their gender reveal ceremony via social media on Wednesday

Henrie said he was 'so overwhelmed with joy' over the news, he 'had to share' it with his 2.3 million Instagram followers.

'Im already singing I Loved Her First,' he said, referring to the 2006 Heartland ballad, before musing on assuming the identity of a protective poppa.

'That reminds me. Wheres my shotgun? I dont have a shotgun. Someone get me a shotgun!' he joked.

He added, 'I cant wait to sit her down on a couch and tell her a 9 season story of How I Met Your Mother.'

In a pinch: The Disney star took a pin to a large black balloon in the reveal

It's a girl: The balloon exploded with pink confetti, spurring on cheers and hugs from friends

Happy: The TV actor glowed as he posed with his spouse of more than a year

Sugar and spice: The duo was overjoyed looking at the pile of confetti on the floor

The actor and the one-time Miss Delaware tied the knot in April 2017 at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Southern California in front of a crowd that included his one-time co-star, Selena Gomez.

In a clip on Instagram Stories, the entertainer mused on the changes in his life since tying the knot with Maria.

'After getting married my life started to take on a meaning and importance thats indescribable,' he captioned a shot of the pair together. 'Id never felt before and made my such a better person.'

Young couple: The actor and the one-time Miss Delaware tied the knot in April 2017 at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Southern California

Fun life: David expressed his optimism over the future via social media

Mug shot: The poppa-to-be has a nice mug in tow to deal with the sleepless nights when the baby comes

'I can not wait to see what being a poppa brings. I can not wait!!!'

He told People last year of his relationship: 'You always hear you should marry your best friend, and I actually get to do it. You dont meet girls like her every day.'

Cahill said she appreciates her spouse's sense of humor.

'One of my favorite things about him is how funny he is and how we just get each other. Being married is going to be just that much better,' she said.
The Bachelor's Brittney Weldon made reference to her recent trip to Japan as she entered the mansion as an intruder during Wednesday's dramatic episode.

However, as she greeted Nick 'The Honey Badger' Cummins with 'hello' in Japanese, she did not mention her controversial tourist activities while abroad.

Before filming the Network Ten show earlier this year, Brittney, 25, boasted about exploring the forbidden areas of Japan's 'suicide forest' on Facebook, and shared a smiling selfie taken while she was at the site.

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'The day before two bodies were discovered...': The Bachelor's Brittney Weldon shares smiley selfie in Japan's 'suicide forest' during a trip abroad before filming the Network Ten show

Aokigahara is a forest on the northwestern flank of Japan's Mount Fuji which has become internationally known as 'the Suicide Forest'.

This is due to the the amount of people who have taken their lives in the location.

It was previously reported by IBT that authorities remove approximately 100 bodies a year from the location.

While exploring the tragic site back in November 2017, the housing officer from the Gold Coast controversially shared a picture of herself smiling among the trees.

Brittney documented her trip in November last year on Facebook

The 25-year-old boasted about exploring the forbidden area where hundreds have ended their lives

Brittney referenced her recent trip to Japan as she intruded onto the show during Wednesday's dramatic episode

'Ahh suicide forest was so scary,' she wrote in the picture caption, alongside a series of horrified looking emoji faces.

Discussing her day out with friends, she commented: 'So freaky! We went into the forbidden area and followed all these different strings.. it was also coming into dusk.'

'Thank god I didn't find anything though, the day before 2 bodies were discovered.'

Brittney arrived alongside Jamie-Lee (left) and Deanne (right)

Before anybody enters the forest, it is believed there is a sign that reads: 'Your life is a precious gift from your parents. Please think about your parents, siblings and children. Do not keep it to yourself, talk about your troubles.'

Last year American YouTube star Logan Paul copped global backlash when he shared a video of himself exploring the site to his millions of subscribers.

In the controversial Vlog, Logan filmed a body he had discovered.

He quickly removed the clip and apologised amid the outcry.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Network Ten and Brittney for comment.

If you are contemplating suicide or having suicidal thoughts, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.
Whitney Port's husband Tim Rosenman and their 13-month-old son Sonny Sanford will make occasional appearances in MTV's 2019 reboot The Hills: New Beginnings.

'My family is so sacred to me,' the 33-year-old new mother stressed to Us Weekly on Wednesday.

'So my husband, I think will be on it here and there. He's not going to be a main person on it, same with Sonny. I don't need him to be plastered all over the TV, but obviously being a mom is a big part of who I am. It's right now one of the biggest parts of who I am.'

'Here and there': Whitney Port's husband Tim Rosenman and their 13-month-old son Sonny Sanford will make occasional appearances in MTV's 2019 reboot The Hills: New Beginnings

The 33-year-old new mother said to Us Weekly on Wednesday: 'I don't need [Sonny] to be plastered all over the TV, but obviously being a mom is a big part of who I am. It's right now one of the biggest parts of who I am'

The LA-born socialite continued: 'So I feel like it wouldn't really make sense to not show that angle. But we haven't started filming yet, so I don't know exactly how much both of them are gonna be in it or on it.'

Whitney admitted she had 'a lot more to protect' than when she 'was 25 years old' and because of that she's 'more nervous than excited.'

'The Hills and The City were such great launching pads for everything that I've wanted to do in life. It was a crazy experience, and I didn't always love filming,' Port explained.

'But I feel like being able to share who I was helped me create this community that I have now that I love so much...With big risks comes big rewards.'

'I didn't always love filming': The LA-born socialite admitted she had 'a lot more to protect' than when she 'was 25 years old' and because of that she's 'more nervous than excited'

Whitney explained: 'But I feel like being able to share who I was helped me create this community that I have now that I love so much...With big risks comes big rewards'

'I would love for them to!' Port is still 'hoping' for cameos from her former castmates Lauren Conrad (4-L, who's 'too busy') and Kristin Cavallari (R, who's contractually obligated to E!)

The USC grad continued: 'They were the main people on the show! I thought it would be so fun for everybody to get together and reunite and all catch up. So yeah, I was definitely bummed'

NYFW: While in Manhattan, Whitney glammed up for the L'Agence SS/19 presentation as well as the launch for Camila Coelho's Lancome limited edition L'Absolu Rouge collection

The USC grad is still 'hoping' for cameos from her former castmates Lauren Conrad (who's 'too busy') and Kristin Cavallari (who's contractually obligated to E!).

'I would love for them to,' the Bloom2Bloom co-founder gushed.

'I mean, they were the main people on the show! I thought it would be so fun for everybody to get together and reunite and all catch up. So yeah, I was definitely bummed, but I totally understand the various reasons why they wouldn't or couldn't.'

While in Manhattan, Whitney glammed up for the L'Agence SS/19 presentation as well as the launch for Camila Coelho's Lancome limited edition L'Absolu Rouge collection.

Action! MTV's cameras have already started rolling on Stephanie Pratt (M) and Audrina Patridge (R), who reunited in Beverly Hills to shoot scenes for the reimagining

Miss us? Other confirmed castmembers include Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Jason Wahler, Justin 'Bobby' Brescia, Frankie Delgado, and Kyle Massey

Yay or nay? According to THR, Brody Jenner and his new bride Kaitlynn Carter were still 'in talks' to join the retro reality show as of August 21 (pictured August 20)

MTV's cameras have already started rolling on Stephanie Pratt and Audrina Patridge, who reunited in Beverly Hills to shoot scenes for the reimagining.

Other confirmed castmembers include Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Jason Wahler, Justin 'Bobby' Brescia, Frankie Delgado, and Kyle Massey.

According to THR, Brody Jenner and his new bride Kaitlynn Carter were still 'in talks' to join the retro reality show as of August 21.

It's been eight years since the sun-kissed gang were last in the spotlight for the Laguna Beach spin-off (2006-2010), which was criticized for fabricating storylines.
Sofia Richie's trip to Australia was the subject of controversy even before she arrived, after it emerged her publicists tried to block all questions about her boyfriend Scott Disick, the Kardashian family and even her father Lionel.

And on Wednesday, the 20-year-old American model flew into Melbourne Airport looking a little downcast ahead of her promotional tour for Windsor Smith shoes.

Flashing her toned abs in a cropped sweater and ripped jeans, Sofia kept a relatively low profile as she strolled through the arrivals terminal.

Missing Scott Disick already? American model Sofia Richie, 20, looked a little downcast after arriving in Australia on Wednesday. Pictured at Melbourne Airport

She completed her look white sneakers and a designer over-the-shoulder bag.

Sofia concealed her gaze behind dark sunglasses, styled her brunette hair into a slick bun, and appeared to go makeup-free for her flight.

The younger sister of socialite Nicole Richie appeared a little distracted after her long journey, checking her phone often as she walked.

Under the radar: Flashing her toned abs in a cropped sweater and ripped jeans, Sofia kept a relatively low profile as she strolled through the arrivals terminal

Checking for WiFi? The younger sister of socialite Nicole Richie appeared a little distracted after her long journey, looking intently at her phone as she walked

It was reported earlier this week that Sofia requested not to be asked any questions about her relationship with Scott Disick, the Kardashian family or her father Lionel during her media interviews in Australia.

The Daily Telegraph claimed that an email from Sofia's representatives laid out a list of topics that she did not wish to discuss with journalists.

The email reportedly asked for no 'questions relating to her dad Lionel Richie - the presenters can obviously mention that she is the daughter of Lionel Richie, but she does not want to discuss it.'

Demands: It was reported earlier this week that Sofia requested not to be asked any questions about her relationship with Scott Disick, the Kardashian family or her father Lionel during her media interviews in Australia. Pictured: Sofia and Scott

Bizarre: The Daily Telegraph claimed that an email from Sofia's representatives laid out a list of topics that she did not wish to discuss with journalists - including her father Lionel Richie

Sofia has been in a relationship with Scott Disick - who is 15 years her senior - since May 2017, when she was just 19.

He shares three children - Mason, eight, Penelope, six, and Reign, three - with his ex-girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian.

Last year, it emerged that Lionel was 'scared to death' of his daughter's relationship with Scott, who has previously been described as a 'sex addict'.

He told US Weekly: 'I'm scared to death, are you kidding me? Have I been in shock?! I'm the dad, come on.'
He's the openly gay comedian who has been receiving rave reviews for his hosting role on Channel Seven's Take Me Out.

But Joel Creasey hasn't always had an easy ride in showbusiness.

Back in 2014, he filmed the documentary Gaycrashers to shed light on his experiences of homophobia in a regional Australian town.

And in a new interview with Who's Binge List podcast this week, the 28-year-old shared further details of the uncomfortable experience.

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'We had people yelling at us 24/7': In a new interview with Who's Binge List podcast, Joel Creasey (left) revealed his harrowing experiences in the 'homophobia capital of Australia'. Pictured: Joel with his boyfriend Jack Stratton-Smith (right)

Joel claimed he was 'run out of' Colac, Victoria, before deciding to return several years later with fellow gay comedian Rhys Nicholson to film a series for the ABC.

'We spent a week in Colac to see if it really is "the homophobia capital of Australia", with a very small film crew  and, look, the [then] mayor [Lyn Russell] was doing a great job, she's really progressive - but we had people yelling stuff out of car windows, and our small camera crew could not grab it,' Joel said of his televised visit.

'We had people yelling at us 24/7, and so Colac is a very homophobic place. Sure, I haven't been there in three years, but I dont know how much can change in that time.'

Gaycrashers: Joel (left) claimed he was 'run out of' Colac, Victoria, before deciding to return several years later with fellow gay comedian Rhys Nicholson (right) to film a series for the ABC

In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald in 2014, Joel spoke about his first-hand experience of homophobia in Colac, dating back to his initial visit for a comedy show three years previously.

'After the gig, one guy made a homophobic remark to me and it kind of became a bigger deal than it was, because standing near him was a reporter from the Colac Herald and she ran an article in the paper about how I was abused,' Joel said.

'A local anti-discrimination group invited me back to host an anti-homophobia event for gay youths, and there were these 17-year-old guys in there taunting the other young men at the event.

'I sort of stood up to them and they were waiting outside to chase me to my car as I left. It's just my being gay that some people find confronting, but at the end of the day that's far more their problem than mine.'

'It's just my being gay that some people find confronting': Joel previously explained his experiences with homophobia in Colac in a 2014 interview with The Sydney Morning Herald

Though numerous residents featured in Gaycrashers appeared to be accepting of Joel and Rhys, the blond comedian said he hasn't returned to the town since filming.

The former I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! star also alleged that since the documentary went to air, he had received messages from several residents claiming that homophobia is still prevalent in Colac.

However, current mayor Joe McCracken disputed Joel's claims in a statement to Daily Mail Australia, saying: 'While I respect Joel's right to have an opinion, I respectfully disagree with the stance he has taken.

'Our Colac Otway community is rich in diversity; we have people in our community with different sexual orientations, religious beliefs, backgrounds, experiences, ethnic and cultural heritage, language groups, occupations and opinions. We have a thriving community which acknowledge diversity isnt just skin deep.

'Joel, like anyone else, is always welcome in our community where he can enjoy our beautiful landscape, appreciate our fine produce, or sample our hospitality.

'Being gay in regional Australia can have its challenges. The world is changing, and with this we have seen changes in attitudes and perceptions.'

He added: 'This change was evidenced in Colac Otway which, as a part of the Corangamite electorate, was placed in the top-11 regions in Australia to vote yes with seventy-two per cent of residents in the electorate voting to legalise gay marriage. This is a reflection of the sentiment and attitudes the Colac Otway community have toward the LGBTI community.

'We acknowledge that Colac Otway, like many towns and cities across our country, isn't perfect however we're always striving towards a fair and reasonable community where equality can be achieved. '
Roxy Jacenko joked about cocaine use during her appearance on ABC's Hard Chat on Wednesday night.

The 38-year-old laughed awkwardly when comedian Tom Gleeson referenced drugs during their 'roast' segment.

The interview also alluded to Roxy's extra-marital affair with millionaire Nabil Gazal and her apparent lack of celebrity status despite her success in public relations.

'It's not really my bag - pardon the pun!' Roxy Jacenko joked about cocaine use during her Hard Chat interview with Tom Gleeson on Wednesday night

During his quick-fire questioning, Tom asked: 'Didn't you spend $30,000 on a kids birthday party?'

When Roxy acknowledged this was true, the funnyman replied: 'Did you just hire a bouncy castle and then spend the other $25K on, you know... things to amuse the adults. If you know what I mean?'

Roxy appeared both amused and shocked by the cheeky question, which was referencing drug use and not intended to be taken seriously.

Cheeky! After Roxy admitted she spent $30,000 on a children's birthday party, Tom joked, 'Did you just hire a bouncy castle and then spend the other $25K on, you know... things to amuse the adults. If you know what I mean?'

Just having a laugh: Roxy appeared both amused and shocked by the cheeky question, which was referencing drug use and not intended to be taken seriously

She quickly responded: 'No! That's not really my bag, I mean... pardon the pun.'

Tom then inhaled air through his nose in an exaggerated manner to mimic someone that may have taken cocaine, which prompted Roxy to say: 'Stop sniffing!'

The comedian responded dryly: 'It was a big weekend.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Roxy Jacenko for comment.

Tough time: Tom grilled Roxy on everything from her affair with Nabil Gazal to her apparent lack of celebrity status despite her success in PR. Pictured shaking hands after the interview

The amusing comments provided some light relief from the tougher questions Roxy faced throughout the interview.

When asked about her fling with Nabil while her husband Oliver Curtis was in jail for insider trading in April 2017, the Sweaty Betty PR founder offered a very quick-witted response.

Tom asked: 'Now, your husband went to jail for insider trading, do you have any stock market tips?'

Roxy then replied: 'No - I don't buy shares.'

'Now, your husband went to jail for insider trading - do you have any stock market tips?' Tom didn't hold back when asking Roxy about her husband Oliver Curtis (left) and their marriage

Tom then referenced Daily Mail Australia's exclusive pictures of Roxy kissing Nabil at his apartment eight weeks before Oliver was due for release from prison last year.

'When he was in jail, you were photographed kissing your ex, was that outside of trading?' Tom then asked.

Roxy replied: 'Yeah, that was definitely outside of trading!'
Their show Model Squad bowed on E! this Tuesday.

And supermodels Olivia Culpo and Shanina Shaik proved their professional credentials a hundredfold at its premiere party that night.

Olivia, 26, showed off her cleavage in a busty and tight white dress as she posed up a storm at Primo's, a bar in Manhattan.

Duo: Olivia Culpo (right) and Shanina Shaik proved their professional credentials a hundredfold at its premiere party for their show Model Squad on Tuesday in New York

Her hair was cropped to shoulder length and teased into a bob, and she accentuated her features with a touch of makeup.

The Rhode Island-born reality star's nails were painted white to match her lacy full-sleeved dress, which was hemmed at the knee.

Aiming a smoldering smile at the camera, Olivia, who has previously dated Priyanka Chopra's current fiance Nick Jonas, balanced on silver stilettos.

Gorgeous: Olivia, 26, showed off her cleavage in a busty and tight white dress as she posed up a storm at Primo's, a bar in Manhattan

Smashing: Shanina wore the same animal print wrap skirt she had donned earlier that day when she swung by the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show castings

Shanina wore the same animal print wrap skirt she had donned earlier that day when she swung by the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show castings.

The Australian modeling sensation had her hair in waves and added a splash of glitz to her evening ensemble with a pair of hoop earrings.

Shanina's black lace top allowed for a view of the black undergarment she had selected for her jaunt out to the TriBeCa nightspot.

Trio: She slid her feet into a black pair of open-toed stilettos and got a bit of rest by sitting down next to her Model Squad co-stars Nadine Leopold (center) and Devon Windsor (right)

When you got it, flaunt it: Nadine was clad in a gleaming black jumpsuit with a neckline that fell far enough to flash her cleavage and reveal a bit of her midriff

She slid her feet into a black pair of open-toed stilettos and got a bit of rest by sitting down next to her Model Squad co-stars Nadine Leopold and Devon Windsor.

Devon and Nadine stood up for one snapshot in which they flanked yet another member of the Model Squad, the blue-clad Caroline Lowe.

Nadine was clad in a gleaming black jumpsuit with a neckline that fell far enough to flash her cleavage and reveal a bit of her midriff.

Meanwhile: Devon's split scarlet dress had full sleeves and a plunging V-neck, and she clashed it elegantly against silvery ankle-strap heels

Bombshell: The St. Louis-born 24-year-old's swanky floor-length gown matched her lipstick, and she wore her platinum blonde hair down

Meanwhile, Devon's split scarlet dress had full sleeves and a plunging V-neck, and she clashed it elegantly against silvery ankle-strap heels.

The St. Louis-born 24-year-old's swanky floor-length gown matched her lipstick, and she wore her platinum blonde hair down.

Ping Hue went for flapper chic in a fringed white dress hemmed at mid-thigh, beaming as she stood for the cameras in an off-the-shoulder dress.

What a party: Devon and Nadine stood up for one snapshot in which they flanked yet another member of the Model Squad, the blue-clad Caroline Lowe (center)

Throwback style: Ping Hue went for flapper chic in a fringed white dress hemmed at mid-thigh, beaming as she stood for the cameras in an off-the-shoulder dress

Quintet: The Nighthawks actress, who is another cast member of Model Squad, radiated glamour as she mingled with some of the premiere guests

The Nighthawks actress, who is another cast member of Model Squad, radiated glamour as she mingled with some of the premiere guests.

Daniela Braga, a 26-year-old model from the Brazilian capital Sao Paulo, was a knockout in a sleeveless LBD that hugged her trim figure.

In one dazzling group shot to remember, Daniela, Ping, Ashley Moore, Nadine, Shanina, Olivia, Devon and Caroline stood in front of a poster of their show.

Stunning: Daniela Braga, a 26-year-old model from the Brazilian capital Sao Paulo, was a knockout in a sleeveless LBD that hugged her trim figure
She rose to fame on the runway becoming one off the world's top model's and now has a blossoming acting career.

But Suki Waterhouse was back to her roots on Wednesday night as she appeared at American Eagle's Ne(x)t Level New York Fashion Week event.

The 26-yer-old model flaunted her toned stomach in a long sleeve black American Eagle crop top as she sauntered in front of the cameras with various other style stars, including Nina Agdal, also 26.

Stunning: Suki Waterhouse was back to her roots on Wednesday night as she appeared at American Eagle's Ne(x)t Level New York Fashion Week event

Suki paired the midriff baring shirt with baggy blue jeans, also from American Eagle, which were cut off a couple inches above the ankle.

She juxtaposed the punk-ish skater look with mismatched heels that provided a touch of glamour to the ensemble.

A purse with a chain strap swept across her body and her long blonde locks were blown straight, falling freely across her chest.

Painting her lips a soft pink, the model seamlessly blended the edges of street couture with usual pretentious associated with the semi annual style week.

She took the time to snap a photo with creative entrepreneur Luka Sabbat, 20, as well as fellow model Ruby Aldridge, 27.

Gorgeous: The 26-yer-old model flaunted her toned stomach in a long sleeve black American Eagle crop top

Juxtaposition: Suki paired the midriff baring shirt with baggy blue jeans, also from American Eagle, which were cut off a couple inches above the ankle

Mix and match: She juxtaposed the punk-ish skater look with mismatched heels that provided a touch of glamour to the ensemble

Otherside of the lens: She took the time to snap a photo with creative entrepreneur Luka Sabbat, 20

Smiles: Suki took a photos with fellow model Ruby Aldridge, 27

Nina may be from Denmark, but she had her all-American look down to a T in an an all-denim ensemble from American Eagle.

The model showed her slender stems in skintight jeans, and hint of her flat stomach was visible beneath a matching top.

Her long blonde locks cascaded down one side of her face and across her chest, and she added some contrast with chic stilettos.

She painted her lips a glittering pink and she made sure to flash her pearly whites for the flashbulbs.

She shared a photo of the night to her Instagram, and captioned it, 'First night of #NYFW  Time for cup of noodles, US Open and some zzz.'

All-American look: Model Nina Agdal, 26, may be from Denmark, but she had her all-American look down to a T in an an all-denim ensemble from American Eagle

A slice of life: Her long blonde locks cascaded down one side of her face and across her chest, and she added some contrast with chic stilettos

Making moves: She painted her lips a glittering pink and she made sure to flash her pearly whites for the flashbulbs
She's the famously private model who swapped her high-flying career to focus on raising a family.

But mother-of-two Gemma Ward, 30, looked positively runway ready this Wednesday when she posed in nothing but a skimpy bikini during a sun-soaked Thai getaway.

Taking to Instagram, the ethereal blonde flaunted her lithe physique in the tropical-print two-piece, captioning the snap: 'Looks like Im going for a swim...'.

'Looks like Im going for a swim...'. Mother-of-two Gemma Ward, 30, looked positively runwa ready this Wednesday when she posed in nothing but a skimpy bikini during a sun-soaked Thai getaway

The statuesque stunner confidently arched her back, and placed one arm behind her head for the racy photo.

Fans immediately flooded the post with compliments, with one cooing: 'Two kids and still insanely beautiful!'

'Oh my gosh after 2 kids?? Wow!' another enthused.

Kicking back in paradise! She later took to her Instagram Stories to share a glimpse of herself lying next to the pool, alongside the caption: 'Swim & sun'

On set? While it's unclear as to the purpose of Gemma's Thai sojourn, the stunner hinted that she may be working on location for a photo shoot

She later took to her Instagram Stories to share a glimpse of herself lying next to the pool, alongside the caption: 'Swim & sun'.

While it's unclear as to the purpose of Gemma's Thai sojourn, the stunner hinted that she may be working on location for a photo shoot.

'Work done for the day,' she wrote next to a candid selfie taken in front of a rice field.

Glamorous in green! Gemma also shared several photos of herself dressed to the nines as she visited a rice field, prompting fans to wonder whether she had starred in an editorial photo shoot on Wednesday

Jet-setting stunner! Gemma has been updating fans on her tropical travels this week, sharing candid snaps of her mingling with locals

Gemma made her debut at Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week at the tender age of 15, and has often shunned celebrity in favour of a more family-oriented life.

Her 2003 debut saw her become an instant success after she hit the runway, ans she swiftly became the youngest model to appear on the cover of American Vogue

Gemma officially retired from modelling in 2008, but made a quick return in 2014 to walk the runway for Prada at Milan Fashion Week.

She once again added to her brood in January 2017 with the birth of son Jet Ocean.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has confirmed it has received complaints about bullying on Wednesday night's episode of The Bachelor.

In the episode, Tenille Favios fled the cocktail party in tears and threatened to quit the show after relentless taunts from 'mean girl' Romy Poulier, 30.

After the show was broadcast, some fans claimed on social media that they had made formal complaints against Network Ten for airing the troubling scenes.

EXCLUSIVE: Communications watchdog ACMA confirmed to Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that it received complaints about 'bullying' on The Bachelor on Wednesday night's episode, after Tenille stormed out in tears. Pictured: Tenille Favios

On Thursday, the ACMA formally acknowledged that it had received complaints, exclusively telling Daily Mail Australia: 'The ACMA received a handful of complaints about The Bachelor overnight. Under the co-regulatory system, the ACMA will refer complainants to the broadcaster in the first instance.

'If the complainant does not receive a response from the broadcaster within 60 days, or is not satisfied with the response, they may refer their complaint to the ACMA.'

The ACMA is an independent watchdog tasked with regulating broadcasting, radiocommunications, telecommunications and online content in Australia.

Upsetting: In the episode, Tenille Favios (left) fled the cocktail party in tears and threatened to quit the show after relentless taunts from 'mean girl' Romy Poulier

On Wednesday night's Bachelor episode, Tenille, 25, tearfully fled the cocktail party and said, 'I have copped nothing but s**t from those girls,' in reference to 'villains' Romy, Alisha Aitken-Radburn and Cat Henesy.

She then unzipped her dress and ripped off her microphone during her dramatic exit.

Her departure soon became a trending topic on Twitter, with many fans directing their anger towards Network Ten and the show's producers Warner Bros. Australia.

Outrage: After the show was broadcast, some fans claimed on social media that they had made formal complaints against Network Ten for airing the troubling scenes. Pictured: Tenille leaving the set

'I'm actually so disgusted at @TheBachelorAU this evening. The manipulative and emotional bullying from contestants and producers alike should call for a serious investigation as to how it is allowed and is so heavily used this season,' one viewer tweeted.

'Disgusting': Tenille's departure soon became a trending topic on Twitter, with many fans directing their anger towards Network Ten and the show's producers Warner Bros. Australia

Backlash: Meanwhile, a handful of viewers claimed they had filed formal complaints to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Pictured (left to right): Romy Poulier, Cat Henesy and Alisha Aitken-Radburn, who fans have accused of 'bullying' behaviour

'What happened with Tenille tonight crossed every line out there,' read a similar tweet, as other viewers agreed that bullying is never justified.

Many fans claimed they found the episode particularly hard to watch as it triggered memories of bullying from their younger years.

So far this season, 'villains' Romy, Alisha and Cat have been described on social media as 'school bullies' and 'mean girls'.

'Mean girls': Many fans claimed they found the episode particularly hard to watch as it triggered memories of bullying from their younger years

'Anyone else concerned?' Several viewers claimed that Channel Ten and Warner Bros. were 'sending the wrong message' by airing the confronting bullying scenes

'Gross of @ChannelTen to be keeping them in,' wrote one social media user in reference to Romy, Cat and Alisha.

'I genuinely have had enough of Romy. She is abhorrent and her behaviour is absolutely disgraceful. Get her off this show,' another tweeted.

Some viewers suggested the Bachelor producers should be held responsible for Romy's behaviour on the show.

'She needs to be held accountable': Many fans called for 'bully' Romy (pictured) to be immediately dismissed from the show

'Anyone else concerned that this absolute bully is not being reprimanded at all?' a viewer asked.

'If Romy is a paid actor, then the producers are paying her to bully and should be held accountable. If she's there and being a c**t by her own volition, then she needs to be held accountable.'

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel Ten for comment in relation to this story.

'The producers should be held accountable': One viewer referenced rumours that Romy is a 'paid actress' planted by the producers to stir up drama in the mansion
They might be renovating the notorious Gatwick Hotel in Melbourne to make some money and change their lives.

But on The Block on Wednesday, the contestants worked hard to transform rooms for a good cause.

The Blockheads took a break from The Block to makeover rooms at a Ronald McDonald House in Melbourne, with Hans and Courtney winning $5,000 for their incredible room makeover.

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'They've hit the brief': The Block's Courtney and Hans (pictured) win $5,000 in the Ronald McDonald House challenge... as the dramatic room transformations are revealed

However it was stiff competition for the couple, with all the rooms looking incredible at the reveals.

The couple were tasked with making over a room for a father and his teenage son, where they created a functional and clean space, complete with navy styling.

They filled the space with two beds, a couch, a PlayStation and even an AFL ball.

They're fans! Guest judges and former contestants Ronnie and Georgia (L) said they were 'impressed' with the room, saying it had 'masculine' vibes

Stylish: Hans and Courtney were tasked with making over a room for a father and his teenage son, where they created a functional and clean space (pictured), complete with navy styling

Guest judges and former contestants Ronnie and Georgia said they were 'impressed' with the room, saying it had 'masculine' vibes.

'They've hit the brief,' Georgia said.

'This is awesome, this is so cool,' Hans said after it was revealed they had won.

Chuffed: 'This is awesome, this is so cool,' Hans said after it was revealed they had won

Sweet! Jess and Norm meanwhile created a space for a seven year-old girl and her mother, making the room light and airy with white paint, complete with grey and pink decor (pictured)

Jess and Norm meanwhile created a space for a seven year-old girl and her mother, making the room light and airy with white paint, complete with grey and pink decor.

On the walls, the pair put fun mirror designs and even put in a desk filled with girly knick-knacks.

Hayden and Sara designed a room for parents with a baby who is in hospital, so created a modern and luxe space, complete with a breakfast table by the window.

Luxe! Hayden and Sara designed a room for parents with a baby who is in hospital, so created a modern and luxe space, complete with a breakfast table by the window (pictured)

Relaxing: Bianca and Carla impressed with their room design, which had to suit a mother and grandmother during the week, with the husband visiting on weekends (pictured is the room)

Bianca and Carla impressed with their room design, which had to suit a mother and grandmother during the week, with the husband visiting on weekends.

They finished the space with mustard styling and a fake green plant.

Ronnie and Georgia completed a room for a mother with a six-month-old baby, with the pair filling in for Spence and Kerrie who skipped the challenge to catch up on work at their apartment.

The pair placed a plush bed in the room with a white cot right next to it, for the mother's convenience.

They also put an armchair in the room and luxe throws.
Celebs flooded en masse to Restoration Hardware on Broadway this Wednesday.

And Nicky Hilton was a radiant sensation at the star-studded bash, posing up a storm for the cameras in a white and grey polka-dot dress.

Nicky, 34, wore her wavy blonde hair down and carried a sleek black clutch with a white rose pattern embroidered onto the side.

Smashing: Nicky Hilton was a radiant sensation at a star-studded Restoration Hardware bash in New York, posing up a storm for the cameras in a white and grey polka-dot dress

She stood for the cameras with models Ophelie Guillermand and Nina Agdal, the latter of whom famously used to date Leonardo DiCaprio.

Nina cut a stunning figure in an asymmetric maroon dress with a white stripe running along its serrated hemline and up its sides.

Martha Stewart slid into a finely pleated white skirt that fell almost to the ankle, lending herself some extra stature on black wedges.

Trio: She stood for the cameras with models Ophelie Guillermand (center) and Nina Agdal (right), the latter of whom famously used to date Leonardo DiCaprio

Hand at the waist: Nina cut a stunning figure in an asymmetric maroon dress with a white stripe running along its serrated hemline and up its sides

Aglow: Martha Stewart slid into a finely pleated white skirt that fell almost to the ankle, lending herself some extra stature on black wedges

She threw a flowing black top with lace half-sleeves over the whole affair, adding an extra touch of Manhattan elegance with pearl earrings.

Lindsay Ellingson, 33, buttoned herself into a see-through black blouse that she tucked into her charcoal high-waisted shorts.

Shoving her hands into her pockets, she slung a black purse over her right shoulder and balanced on a pair of cream-colored shoes.

Chic to the last: She threw a flowing black top with lace half-sleeves over the whole affair, adding an extra touch of Manhattan elegance with pearl earrings

Snappy: Lindsay Ellingson, 33, buttoned herself into a see-through black blouse that she tucked into her charcoal high-waisted shorts

Fabulous: Elizabeth Chambers was chic to the hilt in a figure-hugging white dress hemmed at the knee, shooting a smoldering stare at the camera

Elizabeth Chambers was chic to the hilt in a figure-hugging white dress hemmed at the knee, shooting a smoldering stare at the camera.

Meanwhile, Portia De Rossi donned a pleated black dress cut off at the ankle, teetering on black ankle-strap heels and holding a matching clutch.

Sara Foster and Erin Foster, both of whom are the scions of music mogul and fiance of Katharine McPhee David Foster, posed side by side.

Mackinley Hill, Taylor Hill, Restoration Hardware CEO Gary G. Friedman, Bella Hunter and Daphne Groeneveld ,made for an eye-catching group shot.

Meanwhile: Portia De Rossi donned a pleated black dress cut off at the ankle, teetering on black ankle-strap heels and holding a matching clutch

Sister act: Sara Foster (left) and Erin Foster (right), both of whom are the scions of music mogul and fiance of Katharine McPhee David Foster, posed side by side
She made headlines last month when she was carried out of Kylie Jenner's 21st birthday face down on a stretcher.

And on Wednesday, Australian Instagram model Tammy Hembrow turned heads as she attended a New York Fashion Week event in a daring outfit.

The 24-year-old blonde went braless in a see-through white crop top and a risque thigh-split silk skirt.

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Peek-a-boob! Tammy Hembrow turns heads as she goes braless in a see-through crop top teamed with a daring thigh-split skirt at New York Fashion Week

Tammy - who boasts more than 8.7 million Instagram followers - teamed the look with clear perspex heels and wore her long locks out and over her shoulders.

Her makeup featured dewy foundation, lashings of mascara and a nude lip.

She took to Instagram on the day to share a photograph of her outfit, captioning it: 'Baby blues', referring to the colour of her skirt.

All dolled up: Tammy applied dewy foundation, lashings of mascara and a nude lip for makeup

Keeping her fans up-to-date! She took to Instagram on the day to share a photograph of her outfit, captioning it: 'Baby blues,' referring to the colour of her skirt

Tammy was attending an E!, Elle and IMG event for Fashion Week.

Her activewear brand Saski Collection - named after her daughter Saskia - is being showcased on the runway.

The buxom blonde made headlines last month after attending Kylie Jenner's birthday party.

The Gold Coast local became unwell at the Delilah nightclub on Santa Monica Boulevard.

Oh dear: Tammy made headlines last month when she was carried out of Kylie Jenner's 21st birthday face down on a stretcher

Paramedics were called and she was pictured being carried out of the venue face down on a stretcher shortly before midnight.

She was transported to a nearby hospital but seemingly recovered quickly, as she was posting photos to Instagram of herself shopping on Rodeo Drive the next day.

Tammy later blamed the incident on tiredness, jet-lag and her recent split with the father of her two children, fashion designer Reece Hawkins.
They fell in love on The Bachelor Australia last year.

And Matty J, 31, and Laura Bryne, 32, are still going strong after they were spotted looking loved-up at Vogue Fashion Night Out in Sydney on Thursday.

Laura stole the limelight in a pink and red mid-length By Johnny dress.

Still going strong! Former Bachelor Matty J and girlfriend Laura Byrne look loved-up as they attend Vogue Fashion Night Out

She finished her effortlessly chic look with a denim jacket, a pair of strappy black stilettos and a shimmer box clutch.

Matty kept it casual wearing a grey Tommy Hilfiger hoodie, tailored grey trousers and some white lace-up shoes.

Looking sharp! Matty kept it casual wearing a grey Tommy Hilfiger hoodie, tailored grey trousers and some white lace-up shoes

Chic: Also in attendance was model Jessica Gomes, 33, who looked stylish in a tailored grey blazer and Vogue slogan T-shirt paired black leggings and black ankle boots

Also in attendance was model Jessica Gomes, 33, who looked stylish in a tailored grey blazer and Vogue slogan T-shirt paired black leggings and black ankle boots.

Fashion blogger Nadia Fairfax looked glamourous wearing a white A-shirt and high-waisted blue palazzo pants paired with some retro tinted sunglasses.

Love Child actress Sophia Forrest was right on brand wearing a Vogue slogan T-shirt tucked into a pair of ripped denim cut-off jeans which she paired with some brown ankle boots and a beige trench.

Retro: Fashion blogger Nadia Fairfax looked glamourous wearing a white t-shirt and high-waisted blue palazzo pants paired with some retro tinted sunglasses

Stylish: Love Child actress Sophia Forrest was right on brand wearing a Vogue slogan t-shirt tucked into a pair of ripped denim cut-off jeans which she paired with some brown ankle boots and a beige trench

Meanwhile, the cosy red carpet appearance from Matty and Laura comes after whispers the former Bachelor star may be dropping down on one knee.

The smitten pair sparked speculation after the ToniMay jewellery designer shared a celebratory couple shot on Instagram last week.

Eager fans were sent into a frenzy as the ski bunnies posed in a proposal-esque shot which saw Matty lifting his lady-love into the air as the pair kissed.

Rumour mill: Meanwhile, the cosy red carpet appearance from Matty and Laura comes after whispers the former Bachelor star may be dropping down on one knee

'Put a ring on it already,' one enthusiastic commenter wrote.

Meanwhile, another keen fan admitted:' Is it bad that every post I'm secretly hoping he proposed...gorgeous photos have a lovely time!'

One enthusiastic fan urged the reality TV lovebirds to get married and start a family pronto, gushing: 'PLEASE GET MARRIED AND HAVE BABIES!'

Another fan called upon Matty J to pop the question, sharing: 'Put a ring on it!'

Laura seemingly couldn't contain her smitten state in the amorous photograph's caption, penning: 'Always sweeping me off my feet.'
Actress Jessica Marais, 33, skipped the TV Week Logie Awards to address 'urgent' issues at a private mental health facility in Sydney.

And when Grant Denyer, 40, spoke passionately about his own personal struggles during his Gold Logie acceptance speech, the Wrong Girl star praised the winner.

Speaking to TV Week Up Close on Thursday, Grant shared: 'She said it helped and moved her. It meant the world to me.'

'She said it helped and moved her': Grant Denyer (ABOVE) has bonded with actress Jessica Marais over their mental health struggles after she praised him for speaking about his past during his Logies acceptance speech in July

The 40-year-old presenter alluded to his stint in a Thai health facility in 2013 as he admitted he had been 'very unwell' and 'in a hole' before Family Feud came along - and credited the recently-axed Channel 10 show with 'saving him.

'I didn't really want to single her (Jessica) out that night and add any unnecessary pressure in what is surely already a difficult situation for her... But the words I chose were for anyone in that type of situation,' he added.

However, Jessica took to social media to thank Grant for his words, writing: 'Your speech moved me to tears. And gives me strength. Courage in the quiet battle. Congrats, mate.'

'Your speech moved me to tears': Jessica took to social media to thank Grant for his words

The actress, 33, skipped the TV Week Logie Awards in July to address 'urgent' issues at a private mental health facility in Sydney

Grant told the publication he reached out to Jessica after the ceremony in July and has been talking to the star over the past two months.

Grant went to Thai health clinic for chronic exhaustion in 2013 and Cheryl, who had been dealing with PTSD and anxiety issues resulting from Grant's condition, accompanied him.

Referring to the tough time, he said: 'Family Feud is important, it came along for me in my life at a time where I really wasn't quite sure if I would ever work again or if I wanted to.'

Struggling to hold in the tears, he continued hesitantly: 'I wasn't very well. I was pretty sad and a bit lost and I was in a bit of a hole.

'I was pretty sad and a bit lost and I was in a bit of a hole': A tearful Grant alluded to his stint in a Thai health facility in 2013 as he admitted he had been 'very unwell' before Family Feud

Jessica won Most Popular Actress at the 60th TV WEEK Logie Awards in July, but pulled out of the awards ceremony at the last minute.

Jessica is a mother of one, sharing six-year-old daughter Scout with ex James Stewart, 42, who appears on soap Home and Away.

She recently credited boyfriend Jake Holly for giving her 'hope' and support during her four-week stay in the mental health facility.
He previously revealed 'sweet date nights' are one of the ways they keep their romance alive.

And Jeff Goldblum, 65, and wife Emilie Livingston, 35, enjoyed a seriously glamorous date as they cosied up at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, held inside London's Tate Modern, on Wednesday evening.

The long-time couple - who married in 2014 - looked head over heels as they complemented their styles for the fashion-centric bash.

Besotted: Jeff Goldblum, 65, and wife Emilie Livingston, 35, enjoyed a seriously glamorous date as they cosied up at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, held inside London's Tate Modern, on Wednesday evening

Jeff put on a dapper, though nonetheless eccentric, display in a shimmering bronze blazer, which he offset with a clashing stone-coloured shirt and a tie.

He teamed the bold pairing with black suit trousers and eye-catching brogues that were emblazoned with a zebra motif.

The Jurassic Park star entertained the audience earlier in the evening when he accepted the Haig Club Icon award, admitting he actually thought he had scooped the awards' coveted Fashion Icon gong.

Pulling out the stops: The long-time couple - who married in 2014 - looked head over heels as they complemented their styles for the fashion-centric bash

Third time's a charm: Emilie is Jeff's third wife, following his previous relationships with Patricia Gaul and Thelma and Louise star Geena Davis

Poking fun at the whiskey brand, who are partnered with famous sportsman David Beckham, Jeff joked: 'What even is Haig?'

Meanwhile, retired Olympic gymnast Emilie pulled out the stops for last night's bash in a vibrant slip dress that was adorned with artsy Vogue magazine covers and boasted a chic lace lining around the decolletage and hem.

Emilie is Jeff's third wife, following his previous relationships with Patricia Gaul and Thelma and Louise star Geena Davis.

Bold look: Retired Olympic gymnast Emilie pulled out the stops for last night's bash in a vibrant slip dress that was adorned with artsy Vogue magazine covers

Go big or go home! Jeff put on a dapper, though nonetheless eccentric, display in a shimmering bronze blazer, which he offset with a clashing stone-coloured shirt and a tie

Whoops! The Jurassic Park star entertained the audience earlier in the evening when he accepted the Haig Club Icon award, admitting he actually thought he had scooped the awards' coveted Fashion Icon gong

The couple are also the proud parents of sons Charlie Ocean, three, and one-year-old River Joe, with Jeff revealing on Lorraine earlier this year that having children in his 60s was 'right on schedule' for him, because he is just as healthy now as he was before.

Speaking in May, the Independence Day actor said he feels 'fit as a fiddle' and said of their two boys: 'They're just spectacular.'

Despite the challenge of having to raise two young boys, the loved-up couple also still find time for romance.

He previously told Us Weekly: 'It's challenging. But we're very focused. We do OK. We have nice people who help us and they allow us to go on a sweet date night here and there.'

Slice of the action: The star was hilariously photobombed by boxer David Haye as he laughed with photographers inside the ceremony
She recently rang in her sixth wedding anniversary with her husband after meeting on the set of Nowhere Boy in 2009.

And Sam Taylor-Johnson, 51, and her husband Aaron, 28, looked like giddy newlyweds as they held hands at the Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday evening.

The filmmaker nailed casual chic as she strolled along the terminal in a bold biker jacket, tied in with a pair of animal print leggings.

Loved-up: Sam Taylor-Johnson, 51, and her husband Aaron, 28, looked like giddy newlyweds as they held hands at the Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday evening

Opting for a hint of comfort, the Gypsy producer donned a pair of stylish sandals, and carried her possessions in a tan brown handbag.

The blonde beauty displayed her youthful-looking complexion in minimal make-up and accessorised with a suede trilby hat.

Meanwhile, Kick-Ass actor Aaron exhibited his trendy fashion sense in a velvet patterned jumper by Givenchy, baggy trousers and a pair of box-fresh trainers.

All in the details: The filmmaker nailed casual chic as she strolled along the terminal in a bold biker jacket, tied in with a pair of animal print leggings

The screen star looked effortlessly cool as he was decked out in a pair of orange-tinted Aviator glasses, and toted a designer luggage bag by Gucci.

The screen star first met wife Sam in 2009 as she was the director of the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, in which he starred.

He, at the time, was 19, and she over twice his age at 42, but they proved love knows no age restriction as they got engaged that year and married in 2012 at Babington House in Somerset.

Off she goes: Opting for a hint of comfort, the Gypsy producer donned a pair of stylish sandals, and carried her possessions in a tan brown handbag

The lovebirds raise their two young children, seven-year-old Wylda Rae and five-year-old Romy, together at their glamorous home.

Sam is also mother to 20-year-old Angelica and 12-year-old Jessie from her first marriage to Jay Jopling.

The mother-of-four was married to the art dealer in 1997 but they decided to go their separate ways for good in 2008.

Kooky: Meanwhile, Kick-Ass actor Aaron exhibited his trendy fashion sense in a velvet patterned jumper by Givenchy, baggy trousers and a pair of orange-tinted Aviator sunglasses

Long-term couple: The screen star first met wife Sam in 2009 as she was the director of the John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, in which he starred

Sam moved on her heartache with Aaron and the filmmaker defiantly defended her choice to marry a man 23 years her junior in June 2017.

'If I gave a second thought to other people, I would be the unhappiest person, probably still in a miserable marriage,' she told The Hollywood Reporter.

'People like to talk about it. I'm like, "Yeah, but it works better than my last marriage". It's lasted longer than a lot of my friends' marriages.'
KIIS FM's Kyle Sandilands slipped in the radio ratings last month, and has taken time off to deal with ongoing health issues the past two weeks.

And as some believe bad news comes in threes - the Kyle And Jackie 'O' show has now been served with a parking fine.

On Thursday, the media personality, 47, was pictured returning to his $380k Bentley as a Sydney city ranger inspected the luxury vehicle.

It's all fine! KIIS FM shock jock Kyle Sandilands barely flinches while receiving a parking ticket in Sydney after revealing he earns $45,000 a day

Costly spot to park! A parking ranger appeared to place a fine on the $380k Bentley as it was parked in a 'no stopping' zone

The black car was parked in a 'no stopping' zone, as the parking inspector tapped away on his handheld tablet.

Kyle appeared to be spending time in Darlinghurt with a friend, when he returned to see an inspector issuing him with a fine.

The star was dressed in his signature all-black ensemble, with a T-shirt covered in an unzipped Polo bomber jacket.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Kyle Sandilands' management for comment.

Bad news comes in threes? KIIS FM's Kyle Sandilands slipped in the radio ratings last month, and has taken time off to deal with ongoing health issues the past two weeks

Did he see the sign? Kyle appeared to park his luxury vehicle in the clearly marked no-parking zone in Sydney

Signature style: The star was dressed in an all-black ensemble, with a T-shirt covered in an unzipped Polo bomber jacket

The radio host, who has taken multiple sick days off air for the past two weeks due to suffering side effects of a new blood pressure medication, was seen puffing on an unhealthy cigarette as he walked the streets.

Kyle covered his face at times with a pair of dark shades and a cap as he fiddled with his car keys.

It's likely the fine will be small change for Kyle, who previously boasted about his multi-million dollar radio salary.

Hoping to lay low? Kyle covered his face at times with a pair of dark shades and a cap as he fiddled with his car keys

He can afford it! It's likely the fine will be small change for Kyle, who previously boasted about his multi-million dollar radio salary

Stroll: Kyle appeared to be spending time in Darlinghurt with a friend, when he returned to see an inspector issuing him with a fine

'I do earn $45,000 a day so I'm happy to pay': While on Brisbane's Hit105 last month he offered to pay host Matty Acton for a $220 parking fine he incurred when filling in for Kyle in the past

While on Brisbane's Hit105 last month he offered to pay host Matty Acton for a $220 parking fine he incurred when filling in for Kyle in the past.

'Do you want me to spot you that money? I do earn $45,000 a day so I'm happy to pay,' Kyle boasted to Matty. 'I'll pay it for you. It's the least I can do.'

Meanwhile, Kyle's Bentley has become infamous from one of his regularly told stories about his current girlfriend Imogen Anthony.

Kyle claims Imogen once jumped on Kyle's car bonnet during a heated argument as he attempted to leave the house.

Kyle and Imogen have been dating since 2012.

Juicy: Meanwhile, Kyle's Bentley has become infamous from one of his regularly told stories about his current girlfriend Imogen Anthony
She's no stranger to flaunting her ample assets in plunging necklines.

And Mel Greig, 35, offered a generous glimpse of her cleavage in a stunning low-cut frock during the opening night of Jersey Boys in Sydney on Thursday night.

Bridging the line between playful and elegant, the former radio presenter sported a Hollywood-glam inspired ensemble for the red carpet.

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Busting out! Mel Greig flaunts her ample assets in a flirty frock as she attends Jersey Boys opening night in Sydney... after losing 17kg

Mel opted for a diaphanous emerald wrap dress that featured subtle flecks of shimmer and ruffles at the center, parting to show off her trim pins.

The shapely silhouette enhanced Mel's waist as she teamed up the number with a quirky crisp white blazer in a sleeveless cape style.

For the ultimate tropical touch, the flaxen-haired stunner held a large envelope clutch in a bright orange hue and completed the look with a pair of nude pumps.

Exuding elegance: Mel opted for a diaphanous emerald wrap dress that featured subtle flecks of shimmer and ruffles at the center, parting to show off her trim pins

Keeping the accessories to a minimum, Mel wore delicate statement earrings with golden string detailing.

Her blonde locks were styled in old Hollywood waves as her glamorous makeup look took the center stage.

Enhancing her flawless complexion, Mel's visage consisted of dark eye shadow, coral blush and glossy nude lips.

Fresh-faced beauty: Enhancing her flawless complexion, Mel's visage consisted of dark eye shadow, coral blush and glossy nude lips

And the bombshell told Who magazine last month that at 87kg, she was the heaviest she's ever been and was desperate to drop down to 70kg.

After piling on 10kg in a year, Mel has shed 17kg as she vowed to ditch carbs and booze in an effort to transform her body.

'I've gained over 10kg in a year... I've never been so unhappy about my body,' she told the publication.

Mel, who suffers from endometriosis, blamed 'poor food choices', 'irregular sleep patterns' and a non-existent social life for her weight gain.
They play former high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Maria Hill and Nick Fury in the upcoming film Spider-Man: Far From Home.

And Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson transformed into their law enforcement alter-egos as they stepped out on the film's London set on Tuesday.

The talented actors donned all black outfits to film the tense scenes before chatting with the production team.

Comeback: Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson transformed into Maria Hill and Nick Fury as they stepped out on the Spider-Man: Far From Home set on Tuesday

Tense: How I Met Your Mother star Cobie, 36, looked striking in a high-necked military-style jacket with leather panels paired with black skinny trousers and leather boots

How I Met Your Mother star Cobie, 36, looked striking in a high-necked military-style jacket with leather panels paired with black skinny trousers and leather boots.

A gun was holstered to her right leg.

Her auburn tresses were pulled back into a sleek bun while her pretty features were enhanced with a light dusting of make-up.

Samuel, 69, was every inch the mystery man as he wore the character's signature eye-patch while engaged in an intense discussion with Cobie.

Marvel Universe: The talented actors donned all black outfits to film the tense scenes before chatting with the production team

Return: The actors were every inch the impressive force as filming got underway

Chat: Cobie's auburn tresses were pulled back into a sleek bun as she spoke with Samuel's character

Chat; She looked focused as she filmed scenes with Jon Favreau

Tense: Samuel, 69, was every inch the mystery man as he wore the character's signature eye-patch while engaged in an intense discussion with Cobie

He looked dapper in a black rollneck sweater paired with baggy trousers and a studded jacket.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the sequel to the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, released in 2017.

Both Tom Holland and Marissa Tomei are slated to reprise their respective roles as Peter Parker and Aunt May. Jacob Batalon is expected to return as Ned Leeds while Zendaya is believed to be reprising her role as Michelle MJ Jones too.

Michael Keaton will also reportedly play Vulture.

Icon: He looked dapper in a black rollneck sweater paired with baggy trousers and a studded jacket

Chat: The acting duo chatted between scenes as they enjoyed their reunion

Fearsome: The star looked focused as he got into character

Discussion: The actors were deep in thought as they joined Jon on set

Crew; Spider-Man: Far From Home is the sequel to the film Spider-Man: Homecoming, released in 2017

Jake Gyllenhaal will be appearing as the villainous Mysterio while J.B. Smoove is also slated to appear, though details of his specific role arent yet known publicly.

Numan Acar is also expected to appear as a character named Dimitri.

The film is being directed by Jon Watts and was written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Its being produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal.

Marvel Studios and Columbia Pictures are the production companies behind the upcoming movie, which will be distributed by Sony Pictures.

Focus: The duo were involved in a serious scene in the capital

Crew: Jon Favreau, who has starred in, directed and produced multiple films in the franchise, chatted on the phone

According to producer Kevin Feige, the premise of the film revolves around Peter Parker and his friends going to Europe on summer vacation, though few other details about the film have been revealed to the public so far.

Speaking to Den of Geek, Feige also divulged: We've chosen a villain and I think the story line is fairly impacted by the locations we go to. We love the notion of taking Spider-Man to places around the world that we haven't seen him in before. And we have a villain who I think will play into that nicely.

The film is scheduled to be released on July 5, 2019 in the United States.

Centre of attention: The actor took a phone call during one alfresco scene
She's expecting the arrival of her first child any day now.

And Josie Gibson celebrated her impending arrival as she hosted a fun-filled baby shower at Piccolino Heddon Street in London on Wednesday.

The heavily-pregnant Big Brother star, 33, was joined by a group of reality TV pals as she flaunted her blossoming bump in a pastel blue maxi dress.

It's almost time: Josie Gibson celebrated her impending arrival as she hosted a fun-filled baby shower at Piccolino Heddon Street in London on Wednesday

The short-sleeved wrap-dress hugged her curves, and its stretchy material allowed the blonde to showcase her best moves on the dance floor.

Josie kept things practical for the celebrations, opting to wear a pair of flat blue sandals.

She styled her platinum tresses into glamorous curls, and enhanced her natural beauty with a heavy dusting of make-up.

The glowing television personality proudly wore a pretty badge emblazoned with the words: 'Mother To Be' and happily posed for snaps with her celebrity friends.

Famous friends: The heavily-pregnant Big Brother star, 33, was joined by a group of reality TV pals, including Lydia Bright, 28, as she flaunted her bump in a pastel blue maxi dress

Fun times: The short-sleeved wrap-dress hugged her curves, and its stretchy material allowed the blonde to showcase her best moves on the dance floor

Cute: Lydia shared a snap on Instagram of herself with her mother, Debbie Douglas, with their hands placed on Josie's baby bump

Fun times: Lydia also shared videos on her Instagram story of Josie energetically dancing around the venue with friends

Josie was joined at the London restaurant by former TOWIE star Lydia Bright, 28, and her mum Debbie Douglas, 57, as well as Celebs Go Dating matchmaker Nadia Essex, 35.

Lydia looked chic in a floral wrap dress from her own clothing brand Bella Sorella, which featured pretty ruffle detailing and a tie around her slim waist.

The blonde beauty posted a snap on Instagram of herself with her mother, Debbie, with their hands places on Josie's baby bump.

She wrote: 'Celebrating our girls @josiegibson85 baby shower. can't believe two of my jump girls @voguewilliams & Josie have our are becoming mummies. #HappilyEverAfter.' (sic)

Lydia also shared videos on her Instagram story of Josie energetically dancing around the venue with friends, which she captioned: 'Baby shower gone wild.'

Happy: Impressionist Francine Lewis, 42 - who was a Britain's Got Talent finalist in 2013 - attended the lively baby shower, clad in a nude, bodycon, bandeau dress

Oh hi there: The comedienne shared videos on her Instagram Story, revealing that Celebs Go Dating star Nadia Essex was also at the baby shower

Impressionist Francine Lewis, 42 - who was a Britain's Got Talent finalist in 2013 - attended the lively baby shower, clad in a nude, bodycon, bandeau dress.

The comedienne shared videos on her Instagram Story, revealing that Celebs Go Dating star Nadia Essex was also at the baby shower.

Josie's baby shower was sponsored by Fake Bake, with money raised for ELHAP, an Essex-based charity which provides adventure play opportunities to disabled and disadvantaged children.

In June, Josie found out the gender of her unborn baby live on Loose Women.

The shocked reality star discovered she is having a boy with her property developer boyfriend, Terry.

Josie had convinced herself she was having a girl and said she's excited to meet her little one after suffering a heartbreaking miscarriage just months before.

She said: 'I was sure it was a girl because I've got a really small bump. I'm so looking forward to it I just feel so blessed.

Party time: Josie got involved with all of the dancing competitions at her baby shower

Sweet treats: Josie had an impressive animal print cake to celebrate the occasion

Sweet: Josie's baby shower was sponsored by Fake Bake, with money raised for ELHAP, a charity which provides adventure play opportunities to disabled and disadvantaged children

'I've done all the old wives tales, I've been urinating in baking soda, all the wives tales have all come out that it's a girl, but I do believe it's a boy. I want to call him Diggory or Jack.'

Josie's man wants to keep out of the limelight, so he wasn't on the show, but she said he will be thrilled with the news.

She said: 'I think he [boyfriend] really wants a boy, being a bloke, I've kissed a few frogs. I've known him since I was about 14, he's just... you can't ever get bored with him.'

'That's been the most difficult thing... is finding one we can actually trust, I didn't look at him like that at first.'

Josie spoke about her miscarriage, explaining she was cautious to announce her second pregnancy too early on, revealing the news just last month.

She said: 'I didn't tell anyone until I was gone five months. The last time we went mental and told everyone.'
Their whirlwind romance has recently seen them fly the nest and move into their own plush London pad.

And Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham admitted they've been living on takeaways to cope with their hectic moving schedule as the couple playfully recreated Lady and the Tramp's famous spaghetti scene.

The besotted couple, who have been inseparable since falling head over heels on this year's Love Island, laughed incessantly as they put their own spin on the iconic Disney moment by sharing chow mein instead of the usual pasta dish.

'We can't find our plates!': Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham admitted they've been living on takeaways to cope with their hectic moving schedule as the couple playfully recreated Lady and the Tramp's famous spaghetti scene

When the pair weren't gorging on Chinese food, Jack, 26, cheekily fed Dani, 22, a slice of pizza as they celebrated their favourite takeaways as part of a new campaign with Just Eat to launch voting for the British Takeaway Awards which celebrates and recognises the best in the UK takeaway industry.

'We love a good takeaway and having just moved in together, were relying on our local restaurants more than usual while we unpack boxes and find our plates!' Dani quipped as the pair playfully posed for the snaps.

The couple's love of takeaways is no secret, however, as they were spotted grabbing an Indian dinner to-go as part of Dani's 22nd birthday celebrations last month.

Bit of both: When the pair weren't gorging on Chinese food, Jack, 26, cheekily fed Dani, 22, some pizza as they celebrated their favourite takeaways

Changing it up: The besotted couple laughed incessantly as they put their own spin on the iconic Disney moment by sharing chow mein instead of the usual pasta dish

Their inspiration! The original scene as featured in 1955 Disney classic Lady and the Tramp

Recently discussing life outside the villa with her 'soulmate' Jack, Dani gushed to MailOnline that she's never had such a strong connection before.

Quizzed whether she'd found The One, the bubbly star enthused: 'Yes definitely! I havent loved anyone like this before. And when you know you know.

'He is my best friend and my boyfriend all in one and I am so so glad I met him.

Licking those lips! Jack looked eager to get stuck into their Chinese takeaway, which Dani admitted was her food of choice

Foodies: The couple's love of takeaways is no secret, however, as they were spotted grabbing an Indian dinner to-go as part of Dani's 22nd birthday celebrations last month

Hungry pair! Dani enthused: 'We love a good takeaway and having just moved in, were relying on our local restaurants more than usual while we unpack boxes and find our plates!'

'He brings out the best in me and I cant wait for our future together. I love him more and more every day. I have turned into a proper cringe bag since I have met him!'

The pair wasted no time moving in together after leaving Mallorca, and things have been going from strength-to-strength since deciding to rent a new flat.

Dani enthused: 'Its fun! We really knew thats what we wanted to do, and I honestly think its the best decision we made.

Smitten: Recently discussing life outside the villa with her 'soulmate' Jack, Dani gushed to MailOnline that she's never had such a strong connection before

'I thought moving out would be tough, but clearly my mum has taught me a lot about living with a man, hah!'

Despite things being easier because they spent 24/7 together on Love Island this summer, Dani did admit that Jack has some annoying habits.

'He is so messy!', she scoffed. 'He leaves things everywhere and he knows I like a clean tidy house.

'Especially with wrappers I always find them in the most random places. I have told him though when I wash up he can dry up because it is equal!

'But I will definitely be doing the cleaning because he is very half-hearted when it comes to that.'
They're the Bachelor villains, whose names having become synonymous with 'bullying' - thanks to their mean girl antics on the show.

And Cat Henesey-Smith, Romy Poulier and Alisha Aitken-Radburn have blamed Channel Ten producers for their vicious behaviour, claiming they were 'told' to behave that way.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on Thursday, the controversial trio said they were edited to look like 'villains' and subsequently they have received death threats.

'They haven't shown our whole personalities': Bachelor 'mean girls' Cat (centre), Romy (left) and Alisha (right) blame Channel Ten producers for editing them to 'look bad' and reveal they have received DEATH THREATS... after shock exits

'They have not shown our whole personalities. There is 169 hours of filming for one episode. I understand some of the things I said may have offended people and I apologise, but half the time I am taking the piss,' said Cat, 24.

Political advisor Alisha, 25, added: 'We've been getting death threats, telling us to slit our wrists, calling us whores, sluts and moles.'

Aspiring fashion designer Cat said behind-the-scenes, she felt pressured to perform on the show.

Pressured: Aspiring fashion designer Cat said behind-the-scenes, she felt pressured to perform on the show. 'It is very manipulative. You are told to do things, and if you don't, you might go home,' she said

'It is very manipulative. You are told to do things, and if you don't, you might go home,' she said.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Ten for comment.

It comes after The Bachelor's trio of 'mean girls' all sensationally left the show on Thursday night, in one of the most explosive episodes in the franchise's history.

Nick 'The Honey Badger' Cummins took a tearful Cat aside and booted her off the program after learning of her 'bullying' behaviour.

In a subsequent elimination ceremony, her pal Alisha was also sent packing, but their co-conspirator Romy was surprisingly offered a rose.

However, in a jaw-dropping scene, the blonde bombshell refused to accept the rose, instead choosing to quit the series for good.

'It's time to leave!' Nick Cummins spectacularly BOOTED a tearful Cat (pictured) off The Bachelor on Thursday night, after he confronted her about her 'bullying' behaviour

See ya! Alisha Aitken-Radburn (left) was rejected by Nick at the rose ceremony, while Romy Poulier (right) chose to quit the show on her own accord

Thursday night's drama all began with Cat's shock booting - the first time in Bachelor Australia history that a contestant has been kicked off the show for their bad behaviour.

Nick confronted the Bali-based jewellery designer after he got wind that co-star Tenille Favois had been reduced to tears by her the previous evening.

Confrontation: Nick confronted Bali-based jewellery designer Cat, who denied claims of 'bullying'

'It seems that there's a bit of commotion that's been happening lately... I'm just wondering why, now, there's so many times your name keeps popping up,' Nick sternly asked Cat.

The brunette then started to cry, and said: 'I hope you don't believe that. Like, yeah, I'm competitive and you see that side of me and you see my confidence when I come in, but, like, I'm definitely not a mean person.'

'I have a heart of gold!' she then insisted.

Cat-ch ya later! A tearful Cat was escorted out to her car by an unimpressed Nick

However, Nick didn't agree, telling Cat: 'I think it's time to leave.'

The aspiring fashionista was then humiliating escorted out of the mansion, as she gave an unbecoming voice-over.

'I've sacrificed a lot to be here. I could be working on my business. I could be dating guys who actually want to go out with me to a dinner date. I know that I have qualities that a guy would like, so...whatever - it's his loss,' she moaned.

Shock! Cat's best friends Alisha (centre) and Romy (left) were stunned by Cat's shock booting, but it wasn't long before the two of them also left the show

Cat's embarrassing elimination caused her gal pals Romy and Alisha to react in disbelief, with Alisha spluttering: 'I am livid. I was feeling pretty confident, going into this rose ceremony, but now Cat's left the mansion, I don't really know what to feel!'

Romy added: I literally am f**king mortified that Cat left tonight. She is the life of the mansion. She deserves it more than any of these losers... I'm really f**king pissed off'.

In the subsequent elimination ceremony, political advisor Alisha was snubbed by Nick, failing to receive a rose.

However, fellow 'mean girl' Romy was offered the final rose of the evening, but in a shocking scene, she decided to reject the flower.

'Romy, will you accept this rose?' Nick asked.

'I'm not sure.,' she replied. 'I don't reckon I can, hey?'
Hollyoaks actress Bronagh Waugh announced that she 'celebrated her love' with long-term love Richard Peacock over the weekend in Somerset.

The 35-year-old actress, who played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap, previously revealed she wouldn't get legally tie the knot until same sex marriage was legal in Northern Ireland.

Sticking to her word, The Fall star instead toasted to her relationship in Somerset surrounded by family and friends while clad in a floral billowing bardot style gown.

The TV star gave fans a glimpse of her special day which saw her and her English other half grinning from ear-to-ear as they held hands walking through a field.

In another shot, Bronagh looked ecstatic while she posed on a vibrant bold coloured sofa holding onto her decadent floral bouquet and her jaw-dropping train lay infront of her.

Looking the picture of happiness, she worked her trademark flame-coloured locks into a chic chignon and sported a glowing make-up look.

Sharing the snaps, she captioned them: 'So THIS happened... #CelebrationOfLOVE #LoveOfMyLife #NotLegalYet #EqualMarriage (sic)'.

Vow: The 35-year-old actress, who played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap, previously revealed she wouldn't get legally tie the knot until same sex marriage was legal in Northern Ireland

Congrats: Delighted with her announcement, a number of Bronagh's former Hollyoaks co-stars shared their well wishes to the happy couple

Delighted with her announcement, a number of Bronagh's former Hollyoaks co-stars shared their well wishes to the happy couple.

Anna Passey, who played Sienna Blake, wrote: 'Congrats guys!!@bronaghwaugh you looked INSANELY BEAUT;.

'STUNNING Bronagh, you look incrEdible. Wishing you both a life time of happiness. So full of joy for you,' wrote Anna Shaffer, who played Ruby Button.

'Love': While her Unforgotten co-star Sanjeev Bhaskar commented: 'Sending masses of love and the best congratulations XX'

Soap star: She played Cheryl Brady in the Channel 4 soap from 2008 to 2012

Fellow Northern Irish actor Emmett J Scanlan, who played Brendan Brady, wrote 'gorgeous' on her big day, and Gemma Merna, who played Carmel McQueen. shared her 'congratulations' to the couple.

While her Unforgotten co-star Sanjeev Bhaskar commented: 'Sending masses of love and the best congratulations XX'.

The Coleraine actress has been involved in campaigning for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, which is the only part of the UK where it is not legal.

Frank: The Coleraine actress has been involved in campaigning for the introduction of same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, which is the only part of the UK where it is not legal

Last year, Bronagh, whose Canadian mother is gay and in a same-sex marriage, told the Belfast Telegraph she wouldn't walk down the aisle with her partner Richard until same-sex couples were able to.

She said: 'Im standing in support and solidarity with my mum. Im getting married in Somerset and were having a big party but well not do the legal bit until my mum can, until everyone in Northern Ireland can.

'Were in the middle of a s**t* storm right now in our country. I have gay parents and campaign so fervently for equality.'
The Geldofs are one of the closest families in showbusiness.

And Sir Bob Geldof was enjoying a low-key night out with his daughters Tiger Lily and Pixie in London's Westfield on Thursday, surprising onlookers as they made an appearance at Vue cinema.

The Boomtown Rats star, 66, and his daughters Pixie, 27, and Tiger Lily, 22, were spotted leaving the cinema after attending the House With A Clock In Its Walls film premiere.

Family outing: Sir Bob Geldof was enjoying a low-key night out with his daughters Tiger Lily and Pixie in London's Westfield on Thursday, surprising onlookers as they made an appearance at Vue cinema

Bob cut a low-key figure as he made the most of his low-key night out with his loved ones.

Tiger Lily, whose full name is Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, was rocking a casual printed shift dress teamed with snakeskin print heels.

Her older half-sister Pixie was stylish as ever in a bold red jacket for her family cinema outing.

Cinema trip: Bob cut a low-key figure as he made the most of his low-key night out with his loved ones

Eye-catching: Her older half-sister Pixie was stylish as ever in a bold red jacket for her family cinema outing

Bob was left devastated when his daughter Peaches tragically passed away from a heroin overdose in April 2014, aged just 25, leaving behind two young sons.

Peaches' death has tragic echoes of history repeating itself since her mother Paula Yates passed away in 2000, aged 41, from an accidental heroin overdose at her London home.

When she died, Paula was in the house with her then four-year-old daughter Tiger Lily, whose father was late INXS rocker Michael Hutchence.

Stylish: Tiger Lily, whose full name is Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, was rocking a casual printed shift dress teamed with snakeskin print heels

Natural beauty: The 22-year-old went make-up free on her outing and wore her dark hair pulled back in a bun

Her death occurred on Peaches' sister and her daughter, Pixie's 10th birthday.

Tiger Lily's late father had been found dead in a Sydney hotel room three years earlier, so Paula's ex-husband Bob took her in and raised her as his own.

The Irish rocker has previously said he tried to be open with his children about the deaths of Hutchence and Yates.

He said he was determined that Tiger Lily would remember her parents, explaining, 'I have the records, photos, videos and all that stuff for her.'

Family tragedy: Tiger Lily, the daughter of Bob's ex-wife Paula Yates, was taken in by the rocker following her mother's tragic death. She was just four at the time
She's no stranger to flaunting her gym-honed physique.

And Home and Away's Ada Nicodemou, 41, looked more youthful than ever in a polka-dot frock at the Jersey Boys opening night in Sydney on Thursday.

Cascading with ruffles and architectural curves, the figure-hugging dress featured a fluttering sleeve on Ava's right shoulder.

Spotted! Home and Away's Ada Nicodemou, 41, shows off her youthful complexion and trim pins in a polka-dot frock as she leads stars at Jersey Boys opening night

Adorned with a black and white spotted print all over, the structured silhouette cinched at the brunette beauty's waist and ended with a quirky frill hem.

Ada teamed up the statement piece with a pair of black stilettos and kept the accessories to a minimum - opting for silver hoops, an embellished watch and dainty rings.

Her mahogany locks were swept to one side of her face as she sported a flawless complexion with neutral-inspired makeup.

Also making an appearance was Kerri-Anne Kennerley, 64, and radio personality Ash Pollard, 32.

That's different! Cascading with ruffles and architectural curves, the figure-hugging dress featured a fluttering sleeve on Ava's right shoulder

Belle of the ball! Adorned with a black and white spotted print all over, the structured silhouette cinched at the brunette beauty's waist and ended with a quirky frill hem

Simply beautiful: Ada's mahogany locks were swept to one side of her face as she sported a flawless complexion with neutral-inspired makeup

Kerri-Anne flaunted her age-defying figure in a bright yellow quilted dress with golden chain detailing, complete with a black leather jacket and peep-toe lace heels.

The blonde bombshell wore fresh-faced makeup including glossy lips, defined eyebrows and rosy cheeks as she styled her flaxen tresses in a tamed blowout.

Meanwhile, Ash opted for a fierce power suit consisting of slim black pants, a crisp white button-up shirt and a cream satin blazer on top.

Familiar faces! Also making an appearance was Kerri-Anne Kennerley (pictured here), 64, and Australian radio personality Ash Pollard, 32

Wow! Kerri-Anne flaunted her age-defying figure in a bright yellow quilted dress with golden chain detailing, complete with a black leather jacket and peep-toe lace heels

Boss lady! Ash opted for a fierce power suit consisting of slim black pants, a crisp white button-up shirt and a cream satin blazer on top

Iconic curls: Ash's locks were styled in ringlets around her face as she accessorised the look with statement fuchsia-tinged hoops

Her iconic golden curls were styled in ringlets around her face as she accessorised the look with statement fuchsia-tinged hoops and nude pumps.

Among the familiar faces was Real Housewives' star Krissy Marsh, 47, who took the red carpet by storm in a crimson blazer and matching pants.

Wearing a large black tie and a collared shirt with exaggerated sleeve detailing, Krissy carried the theme to her pout, opting for bright red lipstick.

Making a statement! Real Housewives' star Krissy Marsh, 47, who took the red carpet by storm in a crimson blazer and matching pants

Bold: Wearing a large black tie and a collared shirt with exaggerated sleeve detailing, Krissy carried the theme to her pout, opting for bright red lipstick

And Mel Greig was also spotted attending the premiere in a stunning emerald frock, beige heels and a white cape blazer.

The 35-year-old put on a busty display in the plunging attire and accessorised with an envelope clutch in a bright orange hue.

And the lavish event was held at Sydney's Capitol Theatre, where Jersey Boys will open its Australian tour this month.
She recently got engaged to her boyfriend of six years, Josh Kushner.

But Karlie Kloss proved she's still an independent woman, stepping out solo on Thursday around her home town of New York.

The 26-year-old put on a leggy display while getting all heads turning as she strolled the streets.

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It's Karlie's world! Karlie Kloss put on a leggy display in chic frock while turning the NYC streets into her own personal catwalk on Wednesday

Karlie showcased her enviable model physique in a navy blue dress that was cinched in at the waist.

The former Victoria Secret Angel's frock featured a slit on one side that drew attention to her incredibly long and lean legs.

She added to her already 6ft2in statuesque height with simple black strappy heels and a small gold clutch.

Gorgeous: Karlie showcased her enviable model physique in a navy blue dress that was cinched in at the waist

Karlie's blonde locks were styled into voluminous loose waves and effortlessly styled to one side.

Her makeup was luminous and complete with rosy contoured cheeks and a striking red lip.

The coding enthusiast's appearance comes after she got engaged to Josh Kushner, the bother of President Trump's son-in-law and political adviser Jared Kushner, earlier in the summer.

She said yes! The coding enthusiast's appearance comes after she got engaged to Josh Kushner, the bother of President Trump's son-in-law and political adviser Jared Kushner, earlier in the summer

And according to reports from Life & Style magazine, the pair have already started planning the big day that will happen sometime in the first half of 2019.

'She wants things t be romantic and easy,' revealed a source close to Karlie.

'They want their wedding to be an underrated affair. They're planning to get married next Spring or Summer on his family farm in New Jersey. They don't want it to be stuffy at all.'

Plans are underway: 'They want their wedding to be an underrated affair. They're planning to get married next Spring or Summer on his family farm in New Jersey. They don't want it to be stuffy at all'

Will friend Taylor Swift be a bridesmaid? Other reports from Page Six have also revealed that she will have two dresses - one for the ceremony and one for the reception, will carry white roses and orchards and about 12 people in the bridal party, having already asked her sisters and some friends

Other reports from Page Six have also revealed that she will have two dresses - one for the ceremony and one for the reception, will carry white roses and orchards and about 12 people in the bridal party, having already asked her sisters and some friends.

The publication also revealed that the Vogue model converted to Judaism in 'early June' for Josh - with his father very heavily dedicated to the faith.

'The Kushner's are deeply observant. Charlie Kushner has an afternoon prayer service in his office every day,' they wrote.

Karlie and Josh first started dating back in 2012.
She met boyfriend Josh Denzel during her romantic summer in the Love Island villa.

But Kaz Crossley's Majorca experience was a lot different when the beauty returned to the Spanish island to party with fans at BH Mallorca on Wednesday afternoon.

The make-up artist, 23, was pictured pouring shots down fans' throats as she joined fellow reality stars Chloe Crowhurst and Survival of the Fittest's Georgie Clarke at the raucous hotel venue.

Sizzling! Kaz Crossley's Majorca experience was a lot different when the beauty returned to the Spanish island, where Love Island was filmed, to party with fans at BH Mallorca on Wednesday afternoon

The beauty sizzled in a sexy mesh co-ord, which comprised sheer trousers that featured risque cut-out detailing at the hips.

Making the most of the raunchy style, Kaz showed off her perky posterior in the sheer garment as she worked her angles and posed up a storm for the cameras.

The design also boasted a tiny crop top that flashed Kaz's black swimwear as she spent the day drinking with friends and posing for selfies with fans in the sun-soaked location.

Raucous! The make-up artist, 23, was pictured pouring shots down fans' throats as she partied up a storm

Girls' day out: Kaz was joined by Love Island 2017 star Chloe Crowhurst at the raucous hotel venue

Adding to the glamour, Kaz's ombre blonde tresses were styled into loose waves and showed off her make-up artist prowess with a dramatic smokey eyeshadow and matte nude lipstick.

Kaz has been inundated with work opportunities after rising to fame on hit ITV2 series Love Island over the summer.

The beauty started the show on shaky ground after Josh chose to couple up with her - leaving his former partner Georgia Steel high and dry.

Setting pulses racing! The beauty sizzled in a sexy mesh co-ord, which comprised sheer trousers that featured risque cut-out detailing at the hips

Show-stopper! Making the most of the raunchy style, Kaz showed off her perky posterior in the sheer garment as she worked her angles for the camera and posed up a storm for the cameras

Sight for sore eyes! Kaz's outfit also boasted a tiny crop top that flashed her black swimwear as she spent the day drinking with friends and posing for selfies with fans

But eventually viewers warmed to the pairing - who finished third in the final earlier this month and exited the villa as official boyfriend and girlfriend.

Coming out to see the reaction on social media, Josh said during an appearance on BBC Breakfast: 'A bit of criticism is an understatement, I think I was public enemy number one.'

Kaz added: 'I wasn't prepared, right now there's a lot of love though, it is a bad thing that you did essentially, but at the time people could see you have a real connection, and it all worked out in the end.

'When we meet fans on the street they're like ''are you and Josh still together''. They ask "are you in love with him? And is it real?" Luckily it was all real emotions, and stuff you're going to ask "is it fake?"'

In demand! Kaz has been inundated with work opportunities after rising to fame on hit ITV2 series Love Island over the summer

All the girls! Survival of the Fittest's Georgie Clarke [L] also partied with Kaz, sporting a racy pink two-piece for their wild afternoon
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the working session. (Source: VNA)



At a working session with provincial leaders on September 5th as part of his trip to Kon Tum, PM Phuc said the province should develop clean agriculture, multi-functional high technology, energy and processing industries, border gate economy and tourism.

He suggested that Kon Tum should give priority to developing important and suitable sectors, and mobilising resources for sustainable growth, especially in the fields of transport and irrigation.

More attention must be paid to improving educational quality, handling land-related issues, raising intellectual standards of local people, and attracting more investors, especially big and potential ones, he said.

The PM lauded achievements Kon Tum has recorded in socio-economic development, ethnic affairs and foreign relations, especially in consolidating the friendship and traditional cooperation with the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia.

Talking about Ngoc Linh ginseng which is dubbed as the national treasure planted in Kon Tum, PM Phuc said through projects, the province has reaped initial successes in developing the rare medical herb with high economic values.

The government leader, however, pointed out that the province has failed to fully tap its potential and per capita income has remained low.

Besides, some of its products like coffee and other farm produce have yet to build their own brand names, while there remained limitations regarding business development, the provincial competitiveness index (PCI) and the quality of human resources, he said.

At the working session, Kon Tum authorities proposed the Government hand over special-use forests to the province to carry out projects on growing Ngoc Linh ginseng and other medical herbs, with a pilot area of 8,807ha in the Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve.

In this regard, PM Phuc asked Kon Tum to review the outcomes of implemented projects and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to report the results to the PM for further consideration.

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum is home to 28 ethnic groups, of whom 53 percent are ethnic minorities./.
She's been showcasing her dazzling wardrobe on the red carpet for the film industry's hottest releases during the 75th annual Venice Film Festival.

And Tilda Swinton, 57, oozed sophistication once again as she left the Italian city with her long-term partner Sandro Kopp, 40, on Thursday morning.

The Doctor Strange actress displayed her kooky fashion sense as she slipped into a bright yellow maxi dress, embellished with a quirky bow detail against her midsection.

Jetting off home: Tilda Swinton, 57, oozed sophistication as she left Venice following the glitzy Film Festival with her long-term partner Sandro Kopp, 40, on Thursday morning

Maintaining her style savvy ways, the screen star strolled along the region in a pair of tan brown heels, which added to her 5'9" frame.

The mother-of-two kept things stylish in the accessory department as she sported a woven straw baker boy hat, and protected her eyes from the sun in square-framed sunglasses.

Tilda exhibited her youthful-looking complexion as she enhanced her beauty with minimal make-up.

Commanding attention: The Doctor Strange actress displayed her kooky fashion sense as she slipped into a bright yellow maxi dress, embellished with a quirky bow detail against her midsection

Meanwhile, German painter Sandro, who has been in a relationship with the actress since 2004, went casual in a diamond-patterned T-shirt and black bottoms.

Tilda visited Venice for the premiere of her horror film Suspiria, which is in competition for the Grand Jury Prize at the prestigious festival.

According to the Amazon studios, the film is about 'a darkness [that] swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist.

Show-stopper: The screen star has been showcasing her dazzling wardrobe on the red carpet for the film industry's hottest releases during the 75th annual festival (pictured on Wednesday)

The remake of Dario Argento's supernatural 1977 movie also stars Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, Lutz Ebersdorf and Chloe Grace Moretz.

On September 8, the final day of the festival, Del Toro's jury will be tasked with handing out a series of prestigious awards.

The awards include the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion  Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Award for Best Screenplay, the Special Jury Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.
Hollyoaks actress Anna Shaffer has claimed she was sexually assaulted while on the Tube to London's Knightsbridge station on Thursday morning.

The 26-year-old star admitted she was left 'shaken' after the alleged incident, in which she claims a man tried to lower his hand into her underwear before being called out by a fellow female passenger.

After turning to Transport for London staff for help, Anna told fans on Twitter that she has now reported the assault to the police.

Devastating: Hollyoaks actress Anna Shaffer has claimed she was sexually assaulted while on the Tube to London's Knightsbridge station on Thursday morning

She wrote: 'thank you to the @TfL staff at Knightsbridge who just helped me report a sexual assault to the police after a man touched me and tried to put his hand in my knickers on a crowded tube carriage.

'Was shaken + nervous to report but they calmed me + guided me with care + kindness (sic).'

The Harry Potter actress also thanked a mystery woman who 'screamed' at the guy while she stood there 'frozen'.

Chilling: The 26-year-old star admitted she was left 'shaken' after the alleged incident, in which she claims a man tried to lower his hand into her underwear

'Thank you TFL staff': After turning to Transport for London staff for help, Anna told fans on Twitter that she has now reported the assault to the police

She continued: "also to the brilliant + brave woman who saw it happened and screamed at him while I was frozen.

'Hard to believe that these things are still happening so often on public transport but comforting to know there is stellar support on hand when it does (sic).'

A series of tweets on the official Transport for London (TfL) Twitter account read: '1/2 Hi Anna. I'm really sorry that you had to experience that on the Tube. I hope that you're now okay, & that they can catch the man who did this...

Shaken: The Harry Potter actress also thanked a mystery woman who 'screamed' at the guy while she stood there 'frozen'

'2/2 I'm pleased that the staff member at Knightsbridge was so caring and kind in helping you report this. I'll pass this feedback on to the area manager for the station now. (sic)'

Anna - who is known for playing Ruby Button in Hollyoaks, and Romilda Vane in the Harry Potter film franchise - was inundated with support from her former co-stars.

Jorgie Porter, who plays Theresa McQueen in the Channel 5 soap, wrote: "Hope u ok Anna (sic)'.

Andy Moss, best known for his portrayal of Rhys Ashworth, tweeted: 'Thats gross !!! Sendin you big love shaffs x (sic)'
She's been a Hillsong Church recruit over the past couple of years.

And Kourtney Kardashian made some time to head to the Pentecostal megachurch with a friend on Wednesday night in Hollywood.

The 39-year-old reality star dressed down for the occasion while still flaunting her ample cleavage.

Mama's night out! Kourtney Kardashian flaunted her ample cleavage while attending Hillsong Megachurch with a friend on Wednesday evening

Kourtney stunned in a low-cut fitted back top.

She teamed the look with comfortable navy pants and a pair of netted heels.

The beauty's dark locks were left out sleek and straight and she sported a luminous yet simplistic complexion.

Stylish: Kourtney stunned in a fitted back top that saw her breasts pop out

Always well dressed: The beauty's dark locks were left out sleek and straight and she sported a luminous yet simplistic complexion

Kourtney's pal sported a similar ensemble, dressed in a black top, blazer and pair of jeans.

The eldest Kardashian's appearance comes after she split from her boyfriend Younes Bendjima, 25, a few weeks ago.

However, the pair were spotted together earlier in the week in a parked car. TMZ reported that he ex had called the paparazzi on them in a bid to make the most of his '15 minutes of fame'.

Seeking solace? The eldest Kardashian's appearance comes after she split from her boyfriend Younes Bendjima, 25, a few weeks ago

Stylish friends: Kourtney's pal sported a similar ensemble, dressed in a black top, blazer and pair of jeans

Kourtney denied this on Wednesday, calling the story 'fake news'.

The two were spotted side by side in her black Range Rover SUV on Monday evening as they headed to Bui sushi restaurant in Malibu.

The former couple - who had a romantic vacation in Italy earlier this summer - shocked fans when they reportedly split in early August.

This marked the first time they have been seen together since they parted ways.

The final straw: Possibly seeking closure, the pair were spotted together earlier in the week in a parked car, to which TMZ reported that he ex had called the paparazzi on them in a bid to make the most of his '15 minutes of fame' (pictured in February)

Closure: A source later told TMZ that they were not dating again; he simply wanted to talk out the split

No paps were called: Kourtney denied this on Wednesday, calling the story 'fake news'

A source later told TMZ that they were not dating again; he simply wanted to talk out the split.

The pair did not dine inside Bui restaurant but rather only picked up take out food, further confirming that they did not want to be noticed.

Younes was in the driver's seat while she rode in the passenger's seat. Both appeared to be in somber moods.

After he picked up their Japanese food, they drove along the Pacific Coast Highway where they found a parking spot.

They stayed in the car for several hours as they watched the sun set over the ocean.
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She's one of the jurors on this year's Venice Film Festival panel.

And Naomi Watts made sure all eyes would be on her as she attended the premiere of The Nightingale during the 75th annual festival at Sala Grande on Thursday.

Clad in a glittering black gown adorned with sequins and boasting a silver collar, the 49-year-old actress was a vision of beauty ahead of viewing watching the Australian gothic period thriller film, which is being screened in the main competition section.

Glamorous: She's one of the jurors on this year's Venice Film Festival panel. And Naomi Watts made sure all eyes would be on her as she attended the premiere of The Nightingale during the 75th annual festival at Sala Grande on Thursday

Naomi looked phenomenal as she hit the red carpet for the daytime screening, dressed to the nines in a floor length black sequin-adorned gown that clung to her incredible figure before flaring out slightly into a full train.

The garment also featured a silver sparking collar, whilst a jade green boxy clutch injected a further splash of colour into the glamorous ensemble.

Naomi finished off the look by styling her glossy golden locks in loose waves, with her bob cut framing her flawless features and tucked behind one ear to show off a pair of dazzling diamond studs.

Stunning: Clad in a glittering black gown adorned with sequins and boasting a silver collar, the 49-year-old actress was a vision of beauty ahead of viewing watching the Australian gothic period thriller film

Turning heads: Naomi looked phenomenal as she hit the red carpet for the daytime screening, dressed to the nines in a floor length black sequin-adorned gown that clung to her incredible figure before flaring out slightly into a full train

Sassy in sequins: The garment also featured a silver sparking collar, whilst a jade green boxy clutch injected a further splash of colour into the glamorous ensemble

The Nightingale stars Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin and Damon Herriman, and follows the tale of a a young convict seeking revenge for a terrible act of violence committed against her family back in 1825 in the British penal colony of Van Diemen's Land (now the Australian state of Tasmania).

The Australian film is competing to impress this year's Film Festival jury panel, the president of which is director, Guillermo Del Toro. The jury consists of Christoph Waltz, Taika Waititi, Malgorzata Szumowska, Trine Dyrholm, Nicole Garcia, Sylvia Chang and Paolo Genovese.

Naomi was also appointed a juror on the panel, which consists of five women and four men in an effort to readdress the imbalance that has occurred in previous years.

Jurors: The Nightingale is competing to impress this year's Film Festival jury panel. Naomi is a member of the panel and is pictured with fellow jurors (L-R) Paolo Genovese, Malgorzata Szumowska, Nicole Garcia, Trine Dyrholm and Taika Waititi

Blonde bombshell! Naomi finished off the look by styling her glossy golden locks in loose waves, with her bob cut framing her flawless features and tucked behind one ear to show off a pair of dazzling diamond studs

Responsible: On September 8 Del Toro's jury will be tasked with handing out the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion  Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Award for Best Screenplay, the Special Jury Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress

Naomi said she hopes the experience will be 'life altering', gushing: 'To sit in a disciplined way and spend the next 10 days watching two to three films a day is extraordinary and I have just never had that opportunity.

'And to be amongst this group of people on this panel and with Guillermo leading it, I think it's going to be a really unique and really new experience.'

On September 8, the final day of the festival, Del Toro's jury will be tasked with handing out the Golden Lion for Best Film, the Silver Lion  Grand Jury Prize, Silver Lion for Best Director, Coppa Volpi for Best Actor, Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, Award for Best Screenplay, the Special Jury Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Young Actor or Actress.

Dressed to impress: Aisling Franciosi stars in The Nightgale, and looked sensational at the premiere as she stepped out in a billowing lace gown with a ruffled hemline and featuring a plunging neckline with a velvet bodice

Three's company: Aisling posed alongside The Nightingale director Jennifer Kent - the only female director in the 2018 competition - and Baykali Ganambarr, who stars in the film and looked dapper in a burgundy suit

Lovely in lace: Aisling's billowing lace gown looked similar to the one worn by Valentina (R) who also looked exquisite

Meanwhile, the Venice Film Festival has come under fire for selecting only one female director in the 2018 competition - The Nightingale, directed by Jennifer Kent, known for her work on The Babadook.

Speaking during the first day of the festival, president Guillermo spoke about the lack of gender diversity represented in the selection.

He said: 'I think that the goal has to be clear, and has to remain 50/50 by 2020. Its a real problem we have in the culture in general.'

Suited and booted: Sam Claflin looked dapper on the red carpet as he stepped out in a fitted navy suit for the screening

Snap happy: Sam was pictured happily stopping to snap selfies with fans lining the red carpet at the premiere

He's the one that they want: The actor was in hot demand at the premiere, with fans clamouring over one another to see him

However, The Shape Of Water filmmaker also insisted the issue couldnt be solved simply by meeting a quota.

'Its not a matter of establishing a quota. Its extremely important to call it out, and to question it and to name it, and to make it known,' he continued. 'I think that is necessary, because for many decades, if not centuries, it has not been called.

'Its not a controversy, its a real problem, and it needs to be solved, in every one of our pertinent departments, with strength and resolve.'
She never puts a foot wrong when it comes to her style.

And Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo pulled another sartorially savvy look out of the bag as she arrived at the ITV Studios in London on Thursday morning.

The TV personality, 23, looked sensational as she got ready to promote her new book, Always Smiling: The World According to Toff, after telling MailOnline she is taking a step back from reality TV to focus on her presenting career.

Floral fancy! Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo pulled another sartorially savvy look out of the bag as she arrived at the ITV Studios in London on Thursday morning

Proving she isn't ready to bid her summer wardrobe goodbye just yet, Georgia rocked a flirty floral mini dress for her TV stint.

The chic number comprised a flattering off-the-shoulder, sweetheart neckline as well as a tiered skirt that gave the frock some added pizazz.

The Made in Chelsea star's dress also featured a vibrant floral design across the neckline, with the beauty complementing the pattern's blush hue with a pink satchel bag and heels.

Fashionista: The TV personality, 23, looked sensational as she got ready to promote her new book, Always Smiling: The World According to Toff

Short and sweet: Proving she isn't ready to bid her summer wardrobe goodbye just yet, Georgia rocked a flirty floral mini dress for her TV stint

The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! champion framed her face by pulling her front tendrils of hair into elegant twists.

The This Morning presenter looked in high spirits as she sashayed into the ITV studios - shortly after telling MailOnline that she will pause her reality TV career to make TV presenting her focus.

She confessed: 'I have stepped away from other things just to test the waters for now and see if I can get better at presenting and stuff.

'I do want to work more on projects to do with my skin. I felt that someone in my position who has that condition can help others. I had so much positive feedback from it.'

But Georgia wouldn't rule out a return to the show that found her fame, adding: 'I may have stepped away for now, but, as I say, it's to do other things and test things out.

Gorgeous: The chic number comprised a flattering off-the-shoulder, sweetheart neckline as well as a tiered skirt that gave the frock some added pizazz

'I think Stanley [Johnson] should keep being on it. He could go for tea with Ollie [Locke].'

As well as her presenting career, Toff is also gearing up for the release of her new book Always Smiling: The World According to Toff, which she is quick to insist isn't an autobiography.

She enthused: 'Its a mini-Bible about being positive and confident. Its not an autobiography. I am only 23.'

Explaining her decision to put pen to paper, she continued: 'I wanted to do this myself as I can actually write. And its been one of my dreams to write a book.

Big plans: The This Morning presenter has told MailOnline that she will pause her reality TV career to make TV presenting her focus

'It has taken a long time though, to actually do. I basically have kept a diary over the past five years.

'Its been really cathartic doing this. Its been an experience going through the last five years again. Its great to have the beauty of hindsight.'

Insisting the book doesn't involve her 'giving readers therapy', she divulged: 'Its just about accepting certain things in your life. Its also not been an egotistical exercise, I have written about other people too.'

Always Smiling: The World According to Toff by Georgia Toffolo is published by Quercus in Hardback on 6th September, 16.99.
Jennifer Garner is in New York City this week to promote her new action film Peppermint.

And on Wednesday evening the 46-year-old actress stopped by Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show where she called her new movie 'bada** and cool.'

The West Virginia native also discussed her kids and a recent crazy vacation but she stayed away from talking about Ben Affleck, who she helped get to rehab in Malibu only two weeks ago.

In the hot seat: Jennifer Garner is in New York City this week to promote her new action film Peppermint. And on Wednesday evening the 46-year-old actress stopped by Jimmy Fallon's The Tonight Show

No ex talk: The West Virginia native also discussed her kids and a recent crazy vacation but she stayed away from talking about Ben Affleck, who she helped get to rehab in Malibu only two weeks ago

Affleck has since been seen back at his LA home, possibly for a talk with girlfriend Shauna Sexton.

But it seems he went right back to The Canyons rehab center in Malibu shortly after.

When Fallon asked Jennifer to describe her new action film, which comes out this weekend, she said went into the plot.

Toug h times: Ben, who is now in rehab, was seen in LA on August 16

'Peppermint is about a mom who watches her family blank blank in front of her,' began the star.

She clearly did not want to say the word 'murder.'

'It's very dramatic. So she goes and tries to go through the justice department, the court system, and it's corrupt. Everyone is paid off. And what do moms do?' she asks.

The audience begins to roar as she looks out at them.

Drama: When Fallon asked Jennifer to describe her new action film, which comes out this weekend, she said went into the plot

It's clear what she's about to say: when things go bad, mom's take charge.

Jennifer then follows through with: 'They take care of it themselves.'

The comment seems to be a nod to how she helped Ben get into rehab. When he was falling back into a booze haze, she picked him up and took him to rehab.

In some ways, she seems to be a real life Peppermint, it was hinted.

Tough dame: 'It's very dramatic. So she goes and tries to go through the justice department, the court system, and it's corrupt. Everyone is paid off. And what do moms do?' she asks. The audience begins to roar as she looks out at them

Jennifer then said, 'The thing that I love about a good action movie is that the drama starts the action.

'The stakes have to be so high that you don't have a choice but to pick up a weapon and start shooting.'

The audience again likes this.

Garner then said her movie is 'bada** and cool,' adding she is 'excited' for it to come out.

Too real: It's clear what she's about to say: when things go bad, mom's take charge. Jennifer then follows through with: 'They take care of it themselves.' The comment seems to be a nod to how she helped Ben get into rehab. When he was falling back into a booze haze, she picked him up and took him to rehab

Jennifer then revealed a story about her and her eldest daughter Violet, 12, were in Sweden over the summer and went kayaking.

They were supposed to be out 10 minutes but then an hour passed.

'And not only that, all of the sudden, there were huge bridges going over us, there were like big boats, and [the river] went from very small to quite wide. And then Violet said, "Mom, theres a stop light in the water." And through that stop light, its a loch to the ocean,' she said.

Pure sunshine: The actress was also seen leaving her NYC hotel on Thursday

'Suddenly, we saw this blond human, with the sun behind him like a halo, and he was coming to our rescue. He showed up and he led us back. And his name was Mattias! Ill never forget Mattias. He saved us. He did.'

She also thanked Fallon's wife Nancy Juvonen for giving her a ring.

Then she talking HBO's Camping, saying she loved working with Juliette Lewis.

'It's about some couples who go camping and it just doesn't go well,' said Jennifer.

'I hope people like it, it's so so much fun.'

As far as returning to the small screen she said, 'I always knew I would go back to TV, to go back to a comedy and ensemble it was great.'
She is currently planning her wedding with fiance Joshua Ginnelly.

But Alexandra Burke cut a solo figure as she headed to BBC Studios in London on Thursday.

The multi-talented star, 30, looked stylish in a skintight white top which was neatly tucked into a pair of skinny blue jeans.

Loving life: Alexandra Burke, 30, cut a solo figure as she headed to BBC Studios in London on Thursday

Alexandra looked in great spirits in the clingy white number and trendy denims.

The star added to the look with a super cool black leather jacket and toted her essentials in a chic black handbag.

Opting for maximum comfort, the songstress strolled along in a pair of Gucci trainers.

Alexandra sported a simple slick of make-up which complemented her raven tresses.

Trendy: The multi-talented star looked stylish in a skintight white top which was neatly tucked into a pair of skinny blue jeans

Fabulous: Alexandra looked in great spirits in the clingy white number and trendy denims

The star confessed she 'hasn't even started' planning her wedding to fiance Joshua, seven months after announcing their engagement.

Appearing on This Morning recently, the star admitted she hasn't got past setting up a mood board for the big day, as both she and Joshua had been working non-stop.

Alexandra confessed that half a year after Joshua popped the question in Paris, she is yet to start planning her wedding.

She said: 'Pinterest has formed yes, got the mood board going I started that, we recently had our engagement party a couple of weeks ago.

Looking good: The star added to the look with a super cool black leather jacket and toted her essentials in a chic black handbag

'He's on tour for a year, so the main thing is to enjoy being engaged, calling him my fiance, I want to travel with him more, and then focus on the wedding.'

Alexandra also reflected on the moment Joshua popped the question as they drove around Paris, confessing he had to wake her up in the car as she was exhausted from the Strictly Come Dancing final just days earlier.

She added: 'We were driving around Paris and I was so knackered, but then he woke me up with the ring. It's just magical being engaged it's so amazing.'

Taking it slow: The star confessed she 'hasn't even started' planning her wedding to fiance Joshua Ginnelly, seven months after announcing their engagement




Sophia Forrest sparked speculation she was dating Russell Crowe last week, with the pair seen taking in an NRL match together in Sydney.

And the 23-year-old Love Child actress, who is the daughter of billionaire mining magnate Andrew Forrest, failed to shut down the rumours when she was spotted at Vogue Fashion's Night Out in Sydney on Thursday.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the blonde beauty was 'visibly rattled' when asked about her relationship with the Oscar-winning actor, 54, before she 'rushed back to friends and a publicist'.

According to The Daily Telegraph, Love Child actress Sophia Forrest (centre) has failed to shut down speculation that she's dating Russell Crowe (right). The pair are pictured with a friend last week

Last Friday, Sophia was spotted with Russell as they watched the Rabbitohs thrash the Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium.

But the pair have known each other for a long time, with Sophia sharing a snap with Russell to her Instagram page back in March 2017.

The two both smiled as they sat back on board a boat that was sailing Sydney Harbour.

Old friends! Sophia shared a snap with Russell to her Instagram page back in March 2017

Three months later, Russell vehemently denied he and Sophia were an item, after Woman's Day published quotes from a source saying he was 'smitten' with the starlet.

Russell raged on Twitter: 'Dear @WomansDayAus can you not stuff your s**t filled pages with deliberate lies about relationships I've never been in? Thanks in advance.'

Sophia is an up-and-coming actress whose father, Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest, is the sixth richest person in Australia, with a reported net worth of $6.84 billion.

On the way up! Perth-raised Sophia is an up-and-coming actress (pictured at Vogue Fashion's Night Out on Thursday)

Andrew is the founder and former CEO of Fortescue Metals - the fourth largest iron ore producer in the world.

Sophia is one of the billionaire's three children whom he shares with wife Nicola.

Raised in Perth, Sophia has since relocated to Sydney and is soon set to star in Rachel Griffiths' directorial debut, Ride Like A Girl.
The incredibly popular podcast series Serial will return for season 3 later this month.

The first two seasons had a significant cultural impactand in the case of Adnan Syed, the subject of season 1, a legal one as well.

Together, the first two seasons, which followed individual stories over 12 and 11 episodes respectively, have been downloaded over 340 million times.

Here is all you need to know about the third season of Serial including its release date, what it is about and how to listen to it.

The first season of Serial focused on the 1999 Baltimore murder of Hae Min Lee and investigated the conviction of Min Lees boyfriend Adnan Syed, pictured

When is Serial season 3 podcast released?

Serial season 3 will be released on Thursday, September 20 with the first two episodes available on the day. There will be ten episodes in total.

Is there a season 3 trailer?

The trailer for season 3 was released on September 5. It is an eight-minute clip from the podcast in which host Sarah Koenig outlines this seasons topic: the US criminal justice system, as seen in action in and out of the Cleveland courthouses.

This season, were tackling the whole criminal justice system. Hear the trailer and subscribe today to get the first episode the moment it drops. https://t.co/TscuRSdBuO pic.twitter.com/YdyDeggnaK  Serial (@serial) September 5, 2018

What is Serial?

Serial is an investigative journalism podcast that is hosted by Sarah Koenig. The series is developed by This American Life and is broken down into weekly episodes that explore a nonfiction story.

What will season 3 be about?

The third season of the Peabody Award-winning podcast focuses on the Cleveland, Ohio judicial system.

Serial host Sarah Koenig spent over a year tracking cases as minor as marijuana possession and more serious felonies as they made their way through the Cleveland courts.

In the trailer she recounts how in her investigation she witnessed a litany of things that shouldnt be allowed including extra charges loaded onto a case, pressure to plead, shoddy police work and more.

This season, we tell you extraordinary stories of ordinary cases. One courthouse, told week by week. Youll see what we saw, from the inside.  Serial (@serial) September 5, 2018

Koenig explains how season 1 sparked peoples interest in the state of the US criminal justice system.

She goes on to say how its not feasible to study a criminal justice system through one case: Ordinary cases are where we need to look.

This season of Serial we do just that. We take a look at the entire criminal justice system. A year inside the criminal courts in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ive had this urgent feeling of wanting to kind of hold open the courthouse door, and wave people inside. Because things are happening  shocking things, fascinating things  in plain sight, Koenig told Cleveland Magazine.

Why Cleveland?

Koenig explains that Cleveland was chosen because they let us record, everywhere. Courtrooms, back hallways, judges chambers, prosecutors office. And then we followed those cases outside the building into neighbourhoods, peoples houses and into prison.

We spent a year inside the criminal courts in Cleveland. They gave us extraordinary access, letting us record everywherecourtrooms, back hallways, judges chambers, prosecutors offices.  Serial (@serial) September 5, 2018

How to listen and download the new season?

As with the previous seasons, listeners can stream the podcast on Serials website.

Episodes can also be downloaded on smartphones: via the Podcasts app on iPhones, and Google Podcasts, RadioPublic or Stitcher on Android phones.

Who is Emmanuel Dzotsi?

Emmanuel Dzotsi is a former This American Life fellow, a reporter and associate producer on the third season of the podcast. The Ohio State University Poli Sci graduate also worked for Chicago Public Media.

Along with host Sarah Koenig, Dzotsi spent a year winding through the Cleveland justice system, tracking the progress of criminal cases ranging from the small to the serious.

What happened in Serial seasons 1 and 2?

The first season of Serial focused on the 1999 Baltimore murder of Hae Min Lee and investigated the conviction of Min Lees boyfriend Adnan Syed.

Our first season was about a murder case in Baltimore. Since then, people have asked us: What does that case tell us about the criminal justice system?  Serial (@serial) September 5, 2018

The shows investigation led to a judge overturning Syeds original conviction in 2016 and granting him a retrial.

The second season of Serial was released in 2015 and explored the story of Bowe Bergdahl, the US soldier who was captured by the Taliban in 2009 and released in a prisoner-exchange in 2014.

Bergdahl was charged with desertion in 2015 and a few months later, after the release of Serial, Bergdahls case was ordered to a general court-martial. He pleaded guilty to desertion in October 2017.
Alexander Skarsgard has addressed those romance rumors with Charlize Theron.

The 41-year-old was purposely vague as he neither confirmed nor denied the story to WSJ Magazine.

'It doesnt affect me. People can think whatever they want,' he said, admitting he had heard the rumors despite not being on social media.

New couple? Alexander Skarsgard has addressed recent romance rumors with Charlize Theron

'Its impossible to live in a vacuum  you hear, "Oh, I heard youre dating so-and-so". Sometimes youre like, "Yeah, I did". Sometimes its, "Never met the person but give her my number",' he joked.

The hunky Swede also revealed he wasn't quite ready to be tied down yet.

'I really enjoy the adventure of traveling, meeting new people and working a lot,' he added. 'Hopefully one day Ill settle down.'

The pair first dated six years ago; but recently rekindled their romance while working on a film together, according to Life & Style.

Back on? The pair first dated six years ago; but recently rekindled their romance while working on a film together

Sidestepped: The 41-year-old was purposely vague as he neither confirmed nor denied the story to WSJ Magazine

The duo are reportedly trying to keep things 'private' but have reportedly been 'flirting on set' of their new film, political comedy Flarsky.

'They're keeping it as private as they can, but it's hard to hide,' an insider revealed. 'They are both thrilled that this romance is back on.'

The power couple were first rumored to be dating back in 2012, but their short romance ended after 'just a few dates' with each going their separate ways.

'The first time they laid eyes on each other all those years ago, there was an attraction,' the source said.

'They've stayed in touch since the first go-round,' the insider noted before adding that Skarsgard has met her adopted kids, Jackson, six, and August, two.

Not bothered: 'It doesnt affect me. People can think whatever they want,' he said

Big news: The actor admitting he had heard the rumors despite not being on social media

She has stayed single since her 2015 break up with Sean Penn, 57, while Skarsgard and ex Alexa Chung, 34, split last summer.

'Charlize is a woman who knows what she wants and just goes for it,' the insider said. 'She did it with Alexander back then, and now she's done it again.'

Skarsgard and Theron are known to avoid the Hollywood scene and feel a bit like 'outsiders' in the industry.

Rumors: 'Its impossible to live in a vacuum  you hear, "Oh, I heard youre dating so-and-so". Sometimes youre like, "Yeah, I did". Sometimes its, "Never met the person but give her my number",' he joked

'They're both straight shooters,' the source said. 'Charlize cusses and has a wicked sense of humor, which he loves. 'Alexander is a serious guy, a deep thinker, and she loves that. He's well-read, loves the classics and is a movie buff just like her.'

As they take their time diving into their newfound relationship, Charlize is always making sure she makes the right moves.

'Charlize is usually very skittish about becoming serious with anyone, but she is also an intense, take-no-prisoners woman,' the insider revealed. 'Needless to say, she takes everything she does seriously.'
At the signing ceremony (Photo: baocongthuong.com.vn)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has allowed the EVN to receive a non-refundable aid package worth over 755,000 USD from the USTDA to implement the project, which is expected to give an overall assessment of current issues with Vietnams power system, including its stability and operational status.

Under the Government-approved national renewable energy development strategy through 2030 with a vision to 2050, Vietnam will utilise about 6,000MW of solar energy by 2025 and 12,000MW by 2030.

According to EVN Chairman Duong Quang Thanh, Vietnam should fully prepare the technical standards for its power system, as well as relevant regulations and operational procedures to make the most efficient use of new energy resources.

The US experience in energy storage will be valuable for Vietnam as well as for future cooperation between the two countries energy industries, he said.

More specifically, the USTDAs technical assistance will help Vietnams power system address difficulties in the development of renewable energy in times ahead, he added.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink said the planning and preparation of the project is important in creating the foundations for sustainable and high-quality energy.

The agreement aims to support the EVN in conducting feasible research for the development of energy storage, thus helping improve the stability of the power network and address the energy supply-demand imbalance in the northern and southern regions of Vietnam, he said.

The USTDA and the US Embassy pledged to cooperate with Vietnam to meet the countrys increasing demand for energy, including the development of modern power transmission technology, diversification of energy resources, and improvement of energy infrastructure, he added.

In the past, through the US Embassy and the USTDA, the EVN has received technical support from their research to build an information technology development roadmap for the National Power Transmission Corporation signed in 2013 and the Central Power Corporation in 2016.

The two sides have also developed smart electricity networks and improved the efficiency of power plants and liquefied natural gas (LNG) usage technology./.
Mila Kunis was spotted out Wednesday as her husband made headlines with his comments about the MeToo movement.

Cameras captured the 35-year-old pacing outside of The London Hotel in West Hollywood with her phone in hand.

While the star visited the swanky hotel, her husband Ashton Kutcher was at a technology conference in San Francisco, where he divulged the pointed advice that Mila gave him about how to handle #MeToo.

Spotted: Mila Kunis was seen at a West Hollywood hotel Wednesday while Ashton Kutcher was in San Francisco where he divulged the pointed advice she gave him about how to handle the #MeToo movement

'Shut up and listen:' That was Kunis' advice to her husband of three years about what men should be doing in the wake of #MeToo

While speaking on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt, the Jobs actor was asked about #MeToo.

He paused thoughtfully before answering and appeared to weigh his words.

The 40-year-old then revealed that the best advice he received so far was from his wife of three years who told him men should 'shut up and listen.'

'You know, the best advice that I got relative to this entire thing came from my wife, and she said, "Men have had hundreds of years to solve this problem and to talk about this and figure it out and it's probably the best thing, at this point, for me to just shut up and listen for a little bit,"' he divulged at the conference.

A few hours away in Los Angeles, the Bad Moms star was seen dressed casually while intently looking down at something on her phone.

Hump Day: The 35-year-old looked down intently at her phone outside of The London Hotel on Wednesday

Pay attention: The actress didn't even break her concentration while walking out of the lobby doors

The actress kept her head down while keeping a laser focus on her iPhone and shielding part of her face with unkempt raven hair.

She walked outside of a luxury hotel in a pair of riveted lace-less black leather Oxford shoes.

Dressed in a simple pair of slim cut blue jeans and a loose white button up blouse, the Eastern European beauty looked a bit bewildered as she peered out of glass lobby window.

The That 70s Show headliner appeared to be solo after staying inside the hotel for nearly four hours.

While Mila headed out of the West Hollywood staple, Ashton continued to wax poetic on the #MeToo movement.

Take action: 'Hire more women, get busy making sure that there's equal pay for women within organizations, make sure that the companies that we invest in are thinking about this problem on day one,' Kutcher said at Tech Crunch

He went on to admit that he feels his thoughts on the movement are hollow if he fails to 'do' anything about it.

The actor explained that he is ready for action: 'So hire more women, get busy making sure that there's equal pay for women within organizations, make sure that the companies that we invest in are thinking about this problem on day one, and continue to tell stories about the extraordinary women in history and in the world and going forward. I think  that's my baseline of what needs to be done.'

Kunis, who famously voiced Meg on Family Guy, has yet to chime in her opinion on husband Ashton's comments.

She met the former husband of Demi Moore in the late nineties while still a teenager on the set of the sitcom That 70s Show. The pair reconnected in 2012 and married a few years later.

Mila just wrapped up a promotional tour for her new comedy opposite Kate McKinnon, The Spy Who Dumped Me.
She's the longest standing Victoria's Secret Angel who's known for her strict health and fitness regime.

And Adriana Lima looked better than ever when she stepped out in New York on Thursday morning.

There for an appearance on Fox 5 New York, the 37-year-old came in red hot and turned the streets into her own personal catwalk.

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Dazzling! Adriana Lima came in smoking red hot when she strutted of New York City during Fashion Week on Thursday

Adriana was dazzling in a embroidered puffy blouse with a deep v-neck.

She paired the top with matching colored high-waisted trousers that drew attention to her long legs.

The Vogue model added to her 5'10" modelesque height with red strappy heels and accessorised with a designer purse also of the same color.

Stylish: She paired the embroidered top with matching colored high-waisted trousers that drew attention to her long legs

Legs eleven! The Vogue model added to her 5'10" modelesque height with red strappy heels and accessorised with a designer purse also of the same color

Adriana's dark locks popped out and were styled sleek and onto one side.

Her makeup was extremely luminous with a soft smokey eye and bold red lip.

The Brazilian native's red look was quite a drastic change from Adriana's first New York Fashion Week ensemble as seen on Wednesday night.

Glamour queen! Her makeup was extremely luminous with a soft smokey eye and bold red lip

Can pull off any look! The mom-of-two attended Tom Ford's show on Park Ave in a white mini skirt and clean cut jacket

The mom-of-two attended Tom Ford's show on Park Ave in a white mini skirt and clean cut jacket.

She put on a leggy display in simple pumps and styled her hair in a half-up-half-don do.

Amid NYFW, the beauty is also getting ready to walk in the upcoming 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

Walking in the show every consecutive year since 1999 and being contracted as an Angel in 2000, she's the longest standing face of the lingerie brand.
Kim Kardashian loves to clear up rumours about herself.

And the 37-year-old star was at it again on Thursday as she chatted with her friend Steph Shep about what is true and what is not true for a KimKardashianWest.com post.

When her pal passed this headline by her - Kim Kardashin West isn't opposed to running for office - the siren said, 'Honestly, I don't even want to go there. I feel like it is the hardest job in the world, I don't know much about politics.'

Getting into politics? Kim Kardashian said she doesn't want to talk about running for office; seen here with President Donald Trump in May

She loves to make changes: Seen her this week with Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in the White House

Kim has already been to the White House twice since Donald Trump - a fellow reality TV vet - became President.

She was there to argue for the early release of criminals.

The next headline was 'Kanya West has explosive fights with Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian can't control him.'

Kim said, 'No one is trying to control anybody, no one is fighting. All of this stuff is ridiculous. They always want this Kris Jenner, Kanya beef.'

Interview by Steph Shep: When her pal passed this headline by her - Kim Kardashin West isn't opposed to running for office - the siren said, 'Honestly, I don't even want to go there. I feel like it is the hardest job in the world, I don't know much about politics'

Steph added, 'Everytime I see them, there are hugs and she is so much over love for each other!'

Another headline was, 'Kim Kardashian Debuts new blue hair for latest Yeezy Photo Shoot.'

The star said, 'What is so crazy, my hair was not blue. It was long and wavy. hair. I was wearing a greyish blue outfit. The flash off of it looks like a navy blue hair. It looks cool. Kris said don't tell anybody, let's roll with it, let everything think it's a blue hairstyle.'

Too long of terms: Kim has already been to the White House twice since Donald Trump - a fellow reality TV vet - became President. She was there to argue for the early release of criminals

And when asked about this headline - Kim Kardahsian begs Tristan Thompson to unblock her on Instagram - she said, 'I went on the Ellen Show. She asked "How is Khloe and Tristian." I said it was messed up, isn't it?

'When one family member is in the headlines, they ask every family member. Trust me, I'm not trying to talk about you. I was blocked and then I saw him, Khloe was having a family barbecue. I asked, what's up, are you going to unblock me? It was funny. He said fine, pulls it up. Then it's all the people he blocked; he blocked Malique and Kanesha. I can't believe you blocked everyone here. That is so crazy, we're all sitting together. And he just blocked us all.'

Steph asked, 'Did he unblock everyone?'

Working hard: The wife of Kanye West was seen working out on Thursday

Kim said, 'Yes, he unblocked everyone. I wasn't begging.'

The next headline is, Cazzie David calls out KKW after she posts about excessive plastic use.

The mother of three had an answer: 'You know what, I saw this. I guess she DMd me. She said, You should stop using plastic water bottles in your home. And then somehow that was calling me out. She screen grabbed and called me then posted it. If I am posting something, and I am socially aware about something, you better believe I was making a change before asking someone else to make a change.'

Kim then said she had 'no idea' who Cassie is.

Cazzie in the daughter of Larry David who used to date Pete Davidson, who is now with Ariana Grande.

Then she was asked about this: People think Kim Kardashian was dressed inappropriately at Pusha T's wedding.

The KUWTK star said, 'Really, I never heard that. I actually had a long dress on, then Kenya went back and grabbed that gold one with that Judith Lieber phone. It was like a Pusha T phone, from back in the day. I wanted to wear that to represent her. Everyone was wearing short dresses.

'he best part of that, when I bought that dress a year ago, two years ago, it didn't even zip on me. I bought it, It was a one of a kind, runway. I tried it on to wear it for a Christmas Eve party. It zipped up and flattened me so much. It was baggy on me. I'm going to get it tailored and I will wear it again so I can be properly photographed to get enough shine.
When Sir Christopher Meyer served as ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, his wife Lady Meyer caused controversy after embarking on a makeover of the residence costing around 1 million.

However, this is a mere bagatelle compared to the cash the Foreign Office is about to lavish on what is described as Washington's Downton Abbey.

I can disclose it is to spend a staggering 55 million refurbishing the embassy compound and the ambassador's incomparable residence, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

There will be a further bill for finding what is described as 'appropriate alternative accommodation' for the current ambassador, Sir Kim Darroch.

The Foreign Office is to spend a staggering 55 million refurbishing the embassy compound and the ambassador's incomparable residence. Pictured, current ambassador Sir Kim Darroch and his wife

The information is revealed in a letter written last week to Tory MP Tom Tugendhat  who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee  by Sir Simon McDonald, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, who notes that those temporary relocation costs are 'commercially sensitive'.

In a previous letter, earlier last month, Sir Simon explained to Tugendhat that 'essential health and safety works' were needed on several of the embassy buildings, whose pipes had rusted and urgently required replacing.

Arguably worst afflicted is the ambassador's residence, often considered one of Lutyens's finest creations for its flawless blend of country-house style with American colonial architecture.

'There have been several floods in the residence,' writes Sir Simon, adding that the ambassador will have to 'vacate the residence for a period of at least 12 months, given the disruptive nature of the infrastructure work, which includes asbestos removal'.

The ambassador's residence at the British embassy (pictured) is described as Washington's Downton Abbey

The ambassador's residence is often considered one of Lutyens's finest creations for its flawless blend of country-house style with American colonial architecture

There is some consolation for Sir Kim: McDonald insists that 'the project budget' allows for 'hiring of external facilities to enable business and hospitality to continue'.

The Foreign Office raised 420 million in January by selling its embassy in Bangkok to fund modernisation projects across its global estate. For nearly 90 years, the Washington residence has been at the heart of the special relationship, playing host to prime ministers, presidents, royalty and even The Beatles.

During Peter Jay's legendary ambassadorship, he marked a notch on the embassy bedpost by fathering a son by his children's nanny.

When Sir Christopher Meyer served as ambassador to Washington from 1997 to 2003, his wife Lady Meyer caused controversy after embarking on a makeover costing around 1 million. Pictured, the residence's sitting room

Besotted Kylie shows off her 'man of the year'

Pop pixie Kylie Minogue stole the show at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards by making her debut public appearance with her new boyfriend, Paul Solomons  the magazine's creative director.

The couple met through mutual friends in February following her painful split from actor Joshua Sasse, 30, and confirmed their relationship in May.

Pop pixie Kylie Minogue stole the show at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards by making her debut public appearance with her new boyfriend, Paul Solomons

Gliding up the red carpet outside the Tate Modern on Wednesday, Kylie, 50, who dazzled in a gold Stella McCartney gown, could barely keep her eyes  or hands  off the strapping Welshman, 43.

'I've found my man. Of the year  and some,' she joked, later perching on his lap inside the party, top.

Gliding up the red carpet outside the Tate Modern on Wednesday, Kylie, 50, could barely keep her eyes  or hands  off the strapping Welshman, 43

Strictly? Blair can't be bovvered

Former PM Tony Blair says he gets asked to appear in Strictly Come Dancing every year and even the Christmas special.

And every year he spurns the request, leaving the disappointed producers kicking their heels. 'I don't think anything I have done TV-wise can really top the Comic Relief sketch [in 2007] I appeared on with Catherine Tate,' he says.

'Everywhere in the world I get asked about that  and I mean everywhere  followed by the 'Am I bovvered?' line, so I truly think I can't top that.'

Goldie's girl looks swell in a bikini

Pregnant Hollywood star Kate Hudson refuses to skimp on style.

Posting a selfie online just weeks ahead of her due date, the 39-year-old daughter of Goldie Hawn proudly shows off her baby bump in an orange bikini and patterned kimono.

Pregnant Kate Hudson proudly shows off her baby bump in an orange bikini and patterned kimono

The actress, who has two sons by two different men  Black Crowes rocker Chris Robinson and Muse's Matt Bellamy  is expecting her first girl with musician Danny Fujikawa.

Mamma Mia! Brosnan's model son is all grown up

Former Bond star Pierce Brosnan played the role of proud father yesterday when he shared a picture of his 17-year-old model son, Paris, online.

The Mamma Mia! actor, 65, wished the 6 ft 1 in teen, pictured below as a toddler with his dad, luck ahead of his catwalk shows at New York fashion week.

Pierce recently advised Paris, whose mother is the Irish/American star's second wife Keely Shaye Smith: 'Work hard, love life, be lucky, courage always, and don't forget to have lots of laughs .'

Former Bond star Pierce Brosnan played the role of proud father yesterday when he shared a picture of his 17-year-old model son, Paris, online

The Mamma Mia! actor, 65, wished the 6 ft 1 in teen (pictured above as a toddler with his dad) luck ahead of his catwalk shows at New York fashion week

Mum-of-two Mariella Frostrup says her generation never grew up and is set on an Ab Fab old age.

The 55-year-old broadcaster says: 'Having partied like it was 1999 at a slew of celebrations for friends reaching their half-century, I'm starting to wonder if it's adults, not kids, who can't be trusted.

'Whether it's drinking too much, messy love lives, or being financially feckless . . . the Patsy and Edina-styled embarrassments of Absolutely Fabulous appear to have become the status quo.'
She had just flown into New York City for Fashion Week after a brief vacation to Bali, Indonesia.

And by Wednesday, Shay Mitchell appeared well rested from traveling as she turned heads in her stunning two-piece dress.

The actress worked up an appetite as she headed to Benvenuto Cafe, walking through the streets of New York in a pair of heels with laces that tied around her ankles.

Chic in the Big Apple: Mitchell appeared well rested from the traveling as she turned heads in her stunning two-piece dress; seen here on Wednesday

When in New York: The actress worked up an appetite as she headed to Benvenuto Cafe, walking through the streets in a pair of heels with laces that tied around her ankles

She accessorized the simple yet stunning look with a pair of earrings, which was just enough not to distract the attention from the dress.

The former Pretty Little Liars star is expected to stay for the remainder of the week to help celebrate fashion from some of the biggest designers in the world.

On Instagram, Mitchell has already been teasing her fans with other looks she has planned while out in the Big Apple.

She's glowing: The former Pretty Little Liars star is expected to stay for the remainder of the week to help celebrate fashion from some of the biggest designers in the world

'Me seeing a BEST PIZZA IN NYC sign in a window and wondering ...mmm really? Favorite pizza spots below please!' the 31-year-old captioned her most recent Instagram snap.

She's seen sporting a black blazer that correlated well with her shirt while her high-waisted jeans would have given her enough comfort to roam the streets of New York for a pizza restaurant.

The outfit was finalized with a pair of black heels that matched her bag, gold earrings and black sunglasses.

More to come: On Instagram, Mitchell has already been teasing her fans with other looks she has planned while out in the Big Apple

Days before her arrival in New York, the Canadian star gathered a group of friends for a trip to Bali where the group enjoyed their stay at Mulia Resort & Villas.

Expressing her gratitude for the fun-filled vacation she had with her closest pals, the Dreamland star explained how the trip was much-needed following an intense schedule of work.

'Sometimes its nice to actually take your own advice to breathe, relax and enjoy the moment (or in this case, a vacation),' the beauty wrote.

'It was a nice break to not worry about cameras and filming and be able to focus on beautiful moments with great friends. Thank you Bali, you were exactly what we needed and thank you for hosting us.'

Fashionista: The movie star is seen sporting a black blazer that correlated well with her shirt while her high waist jeans would have given her enough comfort to roam the streets of New York for a pizza restaurant
She's set to the tie the knot with the love of her life, Alex Bowen, in just a few weeks after they met on Love Island in 2016.

And Olivia Buckland ensured she packed in plenty of socialising before the big day as she attended the Daily Mirror & RSPCA Animal Hero Awards at London's Grosvenor House Hotel.

The 24-year-old reality star ensured she stood out on the red carpet in a lilac asymmetric dress with a plunging neckline and racy thigh-split on Thursday evening.

Turning heads: Olivia Buckland looked stylish in a lilac dress with a racy thigh-split as she attended the Animal Hero Awards 2018... just weeks before her wedding to Alex Bowen

Letting the statement dress do all the talking, the Instagram sensation boosted her height with some pale blue platform sandals.

Styling her ombre-hued tresses in a sleek middle-parting, she framed her features with a dramatic sweep of mascara and nude lipstick.

Olivia wasn't joined by her fiance Alex Bowen at the bash, who she will marry in a few weeks time.

Earlier this week, Olivia exclusively revealed to MailOnline that she has invited Love Island host, Caroline Flack, and narrator, Iain Stirling, to their nuptials.

Killer footwear: Letting the statement dress do all the talking, the Instagram sensation, 24, boosted her height with some pale blue platform sandals

Glam: Styling her ombre-hued tresses in a sleek middle-parting, she framed her features with a dramatic sweep of mascara and nude lipstick

Double trouble: Olivia also posed with this year's Love Island star, Laura Anderson

She said: 'Iain is coming to the day, and Caroline is invited to the evening - hopefully they come!

'I know Iain is definitely coming to the day. So that will be good fun, he's a laugh.'

Talking about her upcoming big day, Olivia revealed that she had planned for her and Alex's adorable French bulldog, Reggie, to be a ring bearer, but had changed their minds as he's 'very slobbery'.

She joked: 'We were going to try and have him as ring bearer, but he's very slobbery, and I don't know if it's going to work too well.

Cute couple: She's set to the tie the knot to the love of her life, Alex Bowen, in just a few weeks after they met on Love Island in 2016 (pictured together earlier this week)

'We did have a go, we tried to train him, he was actually really good, but it's a bit of a risk on the day, I don't want to chase my dog at the time I'm meant to be getting married! We might try, but it's still an unknown.'

And after the chaos of organising a huge wedding, Olivia revealed she's got a relaxing honeymoon in store.

She said: 'For honeymoon, we're going to Sri Lanka and Maldives. I can't wait. Sri Lanka is more for Alex, as he can't sit still, Maldives is for me, so I cna just chill and not do anything.'
She's had her fair share of controversies through the year.

And Luann de Lesseps insisted there was no bad blood within her family during Wednesday night's episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

The 53-year-old reality television star said that 'everything is great' with her two children despite the pair suing the Real Housewives of New York personality earlier this year for lack of establishing a trust in their names.

Honest: Luann de Lesseps insisted there was no bad blood within her family during Wednesday night's episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

The former countess sat down with the Bravo patriarch to reveal that 'everything is great with the kids' even through the difficult year.

'There was a big hiccup about me wanting to get a house upstate and not being in the Hamptons,' she said. 'So, I decided to keep the Hamptons home and I'm getting a house upstate in any case.'

She also admitted to having a 'fantastic' time with her adult children Noel and Victoria during the long Labor Day weekend.

Talk about it: The 53-year-old reality television star said that 'everything is great' with her two children despite the pair suing the Real Housewives of New York personality earlier this year for lack of establishing a trust in their names

Trouble: Luanne was slapped with a lawsuit by her children and ex-husband Alexandre in early July after she failed to create a trust for the kids after her 2009 divorce; seen in January 2015 with Chris Young

'So, it all worked. It all worked out, and the kids are great,' she said.

Luanne was slapped with a lawsuit by her children and ex-husband Alexandre in early July after she failed to create a trust for the kids after her 2009 divorce.

The controversy ensued after Luanne splashed out more than $3million for a Sag Harbor home, which the family was worried she would resell for profit and to purchase another home in upstate New York.

'So, it all worked. It all worked out, and the kids are great,' she said

'This action arises from Defendant's breach of a Stipulation of Settlement and related Judgment of Divorce by her failure to create a trust for the benefit of her children, her conversion of the trust's corpus and her present threat to abscond with money derived from the potential sale of the trust corpus and use it to purchase, for herself alone, a luxury home in upstate New York,' the documents stated.

Luanne's difficult year has been marred with multiple rehab stints after being arrested on Christmas Eve in Palm Beach, Florida for attacking a police officer while under the influence of alcohol.

She accepted a plea deal in late May and a series of charges were dropped from her records.
BTS is bringing their talents to the Americas Got Talent stage.

The wildly popular South Korean pop group will take a break from their Love Yourself Tour to perform during an upcoming episode of the Fox competition series. They intend to debut a new song called Idol during the show.

The band released a version of the song Idol on Thursday. The song featured a verse that previously wasnt there and a Nicki Minaj feature.

The America's Got Talent judges will decide which five of 11 remaining contestants will be going to the finals in season 14 on Wednesday, September 12

A clip of the announcement surpassed Taylor Swift's record for most-viewed video on YouTube, collecting more than 45,000 views in less than one day.

BTS began their Love Yourself tour on August 25. Theyre currently doing a four-night run at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California that will end on Friday.

When the boys of BTS take to the stage on Americas Got Talent, only five semifinalists will remain. The first round of the semifinals will take place on Tuesday, September 11 with 11 competitors vying to get to the next stage.

The winner of this season of Americas Got Talent will be announced on September 19.

Whos left on Americas Got Talent?

There are 11 acts advancing to the semifinals on Americas Got Talent. Those acts are: Daniel Emmet, Aaron Crow, Brian King Joseph, Glennis Grace, Noah Guthrie, Da Republik, Christina Wells, Vicki Barbalok, We Three, Angel City Chorale and Courtney Hadwin.

Americas Got Talent semifinals

The semifinal rounds on Americas Got Talent will begin on Tuesday, September 11. Of the 11 acts competing, only five will make it through to the second round.

During the second semifinal round, taking place on Wednesday, September 12, BTS will perform.

Americas Got Talent finalists

On Wednesday, the Americas Got Talent judges determined that Shin Lim, Michael Ketterer, Zurcaroh, Samual J Comroe and Duo Transcend secured their spot in the finals. Five more spots remain.

The finals will begin with a show on September 18 followed by the official results announcement on September 19. Both those shows will begin at 8pm ET.

Americas Got Talent voting

Voting for Americas Got Talent is currently closed. It will open again on September 11.

You can cast your votes online.

BTS concert schedule

BTS began its Love Yourself Tour on August 25 with a show at the Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea. Theyre currently playing a four-night run at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

That run ends September 9.

From Los Angles, BTS will head to Oakland, California; Fort Worth, Texas; Hamilton, Canada; Newark, New Jersey; and Chicago, Illinois.

Their tour will hit even more states and countries as it goes on. The final show will be in Japan in February 2019.

BTS world tour 2018 tickets

Tickets to BTSs world tour are sold out for the most part. The first show with tickets still available is a November show in Japan.

Find ticket information here.
Winnie Harlow once again justified her lofty position as one of the worlds most sought after models as she strode the runway at a New York Fashion Week event on Thursday afternoon.

The Canadian star sported a thigh-skimming sheer dress that left little to the imagination as she walked the catwalk on behalf of Australian brand Nana Judy.

Fully exposing her lingerie, the outfit guaranteed maximum attention from guests at New York Citys Gallery II at Spring Studios.

Here she comes: Winnie Harlow once again justified her lofty position as one of the worlds most sought after models as she strode the runway at a New York Fashion Week event on Thursday afternoon

A cropped silver jacket gave the look a distinctive flourish, while black leather ankle boots rounded things off.

Keeping things simple, Winnie opted to style her hair with a conventional centre parting that served to frame her naturally pretty face.

The star found fame on America's Next Top Model in 2014, where she was kicked out in the second week of finals, before returning to a comeback series where she finished 6th.

Revealing: The Canadian star sported a thigh-skimming sheer dress that left little to the imagination as she walked the catwalk on behalf of Australian brand Nany Judy

Since then she has soared to fame in the industry and fronted campaigns for Desigual, Diesel and Swarovski atop a host of magazine covers.

Winnie - who has Vitiligo - discussed the changes in the modelling industry in an interview with ELLE Magazine.

She explained: 'There is a big shift happening in the fashion industry in terms of beauty standards, and I feel Im part of that shift.

Centre stage: Fully exposing her lingerie, the outfit guaranteed maximum attention from guests at New York Citys Gallery II at Spring Studios

'I remember on Americas Next Top Model, Tyra Banks asked me if a photographer told me to cover my skin for a shoot, would I do it? I said no. I dont care who it is, or who thinks I should. Im going to stay true to myself.'

She also lashed out at being branded 'a sufferer' of pigment disease Vitiligo.

Taking to Instagra, she wrote: "I'm not a 'Vitiligo Sufferer" I'm not a 'Vitiligo model.' I am Winnie. I am a model. And I happen to have Vitiligo. Stop putting these titles on me or anyone else.'
He's had a very busy filming schedule for his new film Jungleland in Taunton, Massachusetts.

And Charlie Hunnam was getting ready to film some particularly intense sequence on Thursday, as he had paper in his nose and wore a bandage on his wrist.

The actor, 38, was getting into character as he began shooting new scenes, donning a downcast expression as he prepared for the days filming.

Getting into character: Charlie Hunnam wore paper in his nose and a bandage on his hand as he got ready to film intense scenes on the set of Jungleland on Thursday

Dressed in a blue bowling shirt which he had tucked into navy joggers, and paired with grey trainers, Charlie embodied his character Stanley.

He wore his blonde locks in a tousled style, and had a grisly beard that gave him a ruggedly handsome look.

Charlie could be seen filming in a damaged car with his co-star Jack O'Connell, 28, and it seemed like they had been in a car crash which would explain's the character's injuries.

In the zone: The actor was getting into character as he began shooting new scenes, donning a downcast expression as he prepared for the days filming

What happened? Charlie filmed in a damaged car with his co-star Jack O'Connell, 28, and it seemed like they had been in a car crash which would explain's the character's injuries

Charlie was also spotted shooting the independent film on Wednesday, where he donned the same outfit.

The actor looked shabby as his character, but took the time to wave to fans who had gathered to watch before he enjoyed a break from filming.

Co-star Jack was spotted heading to a new location as he walked across set carrying a black and blue nylon tracksuit jacket.

On set: Charlie was also spotted shooting the independent film on Wednesday, where he donned the same outfit

Hot out here: Co-star Jack was spotted heading to a new location as he walked across set carrying a black and blue nylon tracksuit jacket

He wore a beige T-shirt and had the shiny jacket in his hand, and completed his active look with a pair of black tracksuit bottoms.

Jessica Barden, 26, -who play's the pair's unlikely companion Sky- was also on set, and was seen sporting pink sweatpants, which she pulled above her cab.

Her aquamarine top had a rhinestone cross on one sleeve and she donned white sneakers.

Exciting role: In the film, Hunnam plays the brother of a bareknuckle boxer (O'Connell) who gambles on his sibling's bouts and ends up in debt

In the film, Hunnam plays the brother of a bareknuckle boxer (O'Connell) who gambles on his sibling's bouts and ends up in debt.

The two brothers set off on a cross-country trip searching for one final fight that they hope will save them from financial ruin.

Jungleland is being directed by Henry Winkler's son Max Winkler, 35, and does not yet have a release date.
Aiming at recoating 100 schools across the country to welcome the new school year, this activity is a part of the AkzoNobel accompanies you to school project which has been implemented since 2017.



So far, it has re-decorated 30 schools with more than 60,000 liters of innovative exterior and interior paints in Dulux and Maxilite portfolio, thus creating colorful and fresh learning spaces for students at schools with visible degradation, lack of funds for classroom renovation and other learning space improvement.



In addition, hundreds of employees from AkzoNobel Vietnam have spent working days to participate directly in the school painting activity during the last two years.

AkzoNobel Paints Vietnam staffs enjoyed painting activity. (Photo: Hong Tham)





Our school is in a remote area with several degraded schools but lack of funds to renovate. We highly appreciate AkzoNobel Vietnams praiseful contribution to our school that helps students learn in a more spacious and inspiring space in the new school year 2018 - 2019, said Ms. Vu Thi Hoai, Headmaster of An Duc elementary school, nothern Thai Binh province.



AkzoNobels contribution to Vietnams education development is demonstrated not only through facility renovation or school repainting, but also in an aim towards nurturing young talents.



Since 2009, scholarships for excellent students of Ho Chi Minh city University of Architecture has become an annual activity. This year, AkzoNobel continues to accompany Vietnam architectural students with 11 scholarship packages including 10 packages for excellent students and 1 package for an outstanding project. From 2018 onwards, talented students of Hanoi University of Architecture and Da Nang University of Architecture are project beneficiaries.



Ms. Pamela Phua, AkzoNobel Paints Vietnam General Director shared: Supporting education and nurturing the growth of the next generation are among our key focuses on contributing to the local communities where AkzoNobel is doing businesses. We hope that our tireless committed contribution into Vietnam education will help to motivate the spirit of and facilitate Vietnamese young students to achieve greater academic performance.



Apart from education, AkzoNobel has implemented many practical programs for the community such as sponsoring Dulux Weathershield paint for repainting and drawing 3D frescos in Canh Duong fishing village (Quang Binh province) after the Doksuri Typhoon last October.



The Netherlands-headquartered company also provided more than 8,000 liters of paint for Ly Son island (Quang Ngai province) to paint frescoes and repaint some houses to protect from impacts of extreme weather. Recently, it has sponsored more than 3,000 liters of exterior paint for the Green volunteer summer campaign 2018 which beautified 60 alleys and three apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh city./.
She's stranger to being on camera.

But Amber Heard was just an audience member Wednesday night in Woodland Hills, California where she caught a showing of BlacKkKlansman with a handsome male pal.

The Aquaman starlet, 32, wowed in white separates tailored into airy silhouettes during her evening out with the mystery man.

Just friends? Amber Heard looked lovely in white while out to the movies with a male pal Wednesday

Amber flashed a hint of stomach between her sleeveless blouse and midi-skirt.

Keeping comfortable, she added pointy patent leather loafers and just a hint of sparkle with a gold bracelet.

The ex wife of Johnny Depp slicked her hair backwards, appearing to be fresh from the shower. Her makeup look was subtle.

Simple: The ex wife of Johnny Depp slicked her hair backwards and kept a subtle makeup look

Vroom: After the movie the duo rolled off in Amber's cherry red vintage Mustang

Besides her, her gentleman friend looked sharp in a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Black pants and monk shoes rounded out his outfit.

After the movie the duo rolled off in Amber's cherry red vintage Mustang.

Last week Amber was spotted at the cinema with another mystery man.

Ex: Amber Heard endured a relationship with Johnny Depp from around 2012 to 2017 when their divorce was finalized

She's previously been linked to art dealer Vito Schnabel and venture capitalist Elon Musk, in addition to ex husband Depp.

Her outing comes as a lengthy battle to release her film London Fields has come to a close, according to Deadline.

Filmmakers filed $10 million breach-of-contract suit against the star only for Heard to countersue.

Both parties appear to have come to an agreement, filing dismissal paperwork via Santa Monica courts Tuesday.


She's known for her androgynous fashion sense.

And Noomi Rapace once again had all eyes on her as she attended the Eytys Flagship Store launch dinner at Neptune at The Principal in London on Thursday.

Proving that wearing all-black doesn't have to be boring, the 38-year-old Swedish actress stood out from the crowd.

Stylish: Noomi Rapace once again had all eyes on her as she attended the Eytys Flagship Store launch dinner at Neptune at The Principal in London on Thursday

Sheathing her slight frame, the BAFTA-nominated actress donned an oversized leatherette vinyl coat that she shrugged over a black jumper.

The pink-haired stunner teamed the garment with a pair of leather trousers, whilst she donned a pair of chunky patent boots.

Noomi finished off the look with a pair of dazzling diamond drop earrings.

Turning heads: Proving that wearing all-black doesn't have to be boring, the 38-year-old Swedish actress stood out from the crowd

Noomi, who speaks fluent Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian and English, in addition to her native Swedish is best known for playing Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish-produced film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The mother-of-one went on to appear alongside Will Smith in the Netflix movie, Bright, which became one of the site's most streamed programs ever, despite receiving largely negative reviews from critics.

However, the actress claims her hardest role of all time came in Netflix movie What Happened To Monday? released in August last year.

Chic: Sheathing her slight frame, the BAFTA-nominated actress donned an oversized leatherette vinyl coat that she shrugged over a black jumper

Sticking the boot in: The pink-haired stunner teamed the garment with a pair of leather trousers, whilst she donned a pair of chunky patent boots

She portrays a staggering seven characters in the dystopian flick that is set in 2073 and follows a dark era where families can have just one child due to overpopulation.

Noomi appears as seven identical sisters - each of whom are named after a day of the week - who live a cat-and-mouse existence, pretending to be a single person to elude the Child Allocation Bureau, but their lives are turned upside down when sister Monday goes missing.

Speaking about the challenging role, the Swedish actress recently told Heat Vision: 'This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done. It was different versions of me, just more extreme. It was very intense. I've never worked so hard.'

Dapper: Peaky Blinders star Finn Cole looked suave in a brown suede bomber jacket
New evidence proves it has become "completely untenable" for Peter Dutton to avoid the High Court over his personal stake in two child care centres, federal Labor says.

Opposition frontbencher Jim Chalmers claims a letter, which has come to light in recent days, casts more doubt on the home affairs minister's eligibility to remain in parliament.

"It's become completely untenable for Scott Morrison not to refer Peter Dutton to the High Court," Mr Chalmers told Sky News on Thursday.

The letter shows one of the Brisbane child care centre held by Mr Dutton in trust had a funding agreement with the Commonwealth to allow the hiring of a special needs teacher.

Late last month, a Labor attempt in parliament to force Mr Dutton to the High Court was lost by just one vote.

The opposition believes it has the lower house numbers to try again when parliament returns next week.

"Scott Morrison should exercise some leadership and refer it to the High Court. There are so many unanswered questions about Peter Dutton's eligibility to sit," Mr Chalmers said.

"When the parliament is on a knife-edge, as it is, that calls into question all kinds of decisions this Morrison cabinet will make."

The constitution bans from parliament anyone with a direct or indirect financial interest in Commonwealth assets.
A former Gold Coast Commonwealth Games executive has been appointed Queensland's electoral commissioner after his predecessor was forced to resign following a scandal.

Pat Vidgen has been acting in the role since May, and Attorney General Yvette D'Ath told Queensland Parliament on Thursday he would now continue as the official state electoral commissioner.

Former Commissioner Walter van der Merwe resigned from the senior public service role in February, with the Crime and Corruption Commission later proving allegations he was drunk and using drugs at work, bullied staff and was caught in a sexual act with a temporary employee.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall is "disappointed" in the Public Service Association's decision to take industrial action over the outsourcing of some prison beds.

The state Liberal government is on a collision course with the PSA after the state budget on Tuesday revealed privatisation plans, including the outsourcing of the Adelaide Remand Centre.

"The PSA should recognise that ... we are actually transferring 270 beds to the private sector for management, but building an additional 310 beds for the PSA members to manage," Mr Marshall said on Thursday.
FEDERAL PARLIAMENT: WHAT'S HAPPENING NEXT WEEK

* First question time for Scott Morrison as prime minister.

* Greens to seek Labor and crossbench support for a motion of no confidence in Peter Dutton over au pair saga.

* Senate to receive a report of an inquiry into the Dutton au pair issue on Tuesday.

* Government wants backing for new laws to crack down on union misconduct.

* NSW Nationals MP Kevin Hogan to sit on crossbench but remain in the Nationals party room.

* Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman to give his first speech on Monday.

* Speaker Tony Smith expected to announce issuing of writ for Wentworth by-election to replace retiring Liberal and former PM Malcolm Turnbull.

* Labor MP Emma Husar returns to parliament after an internal inquiry into her treatment of staff.

* Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi has threatened to name colleagues involved in bullying during the party's recent leadership struggle.

* The Greens' Larissa Waters resumes her seat in the Senate after resigning last year due to her dual citizenship. She is filling the vacancy left by Andrew Bartlett, who is running for the lower house seat of Brisbane.

* Senate program includes draft laws dealing with changes to private health insurance.

* Labor caucus and coalition joint party rooms meet on Tuesday.
The au pair saga engulfing Peter Dutton has galvanised a Queensland town's fight to save a Tamil family from deportation.

Supporters who want the family freed from immigration detention and returned to their home in outback Biloela have erected a large billboard close to the home affairs minister's electorate office in Brisbane.

Simone Cameron helped raise cash to pay for the billboard, which features a large photo of Tamil couple Nades and Priya and their Australian-born daughters, aged three and one.

She says that if Mr Dutton was able to intervene to free foreign au pairs from immigration detention, he must act to help free the family and get them back home.

"He has steadfastly refused to acknowledge the overwhelming campaign that's been done by the residents of Biloela ... whereas this au pair affair, we see some people do catch minister Dutton's attention," Ms Cameron has told AAP.

"He hasn't done himself any favours with this favours-for-mates thing. It's making us all wonder why."

Nades and Priya came to Australia separately by boat in 2012 and 2013 in the wake of Sri Lanka's civil war and settled in Biloela on a temporary bridging visa, which ran out in March.

Since then the couple and their young girls have been held in immigration detention in Melbourne after Border Force officials removed them from their home during a dawn raid.

They are awaiting the outcome of a court appeal, but even if they win the father and the youngest child could still be deported.

Since the couple was detained, the Biloela community has fought to get them home, saying they are valued and productive members of the town. Residents fear for the family's fate if they are forced to return to Sri Lanka.

Ms Cameron said the billboard was about finally getting Mr Dutton's attention, and trying to get him to exert influence in the case, something he failed to do when he was the immigration minister.

"We are taking our campaign to his electorate this Saturday. We'll be talking to voters ... We are starting to feel desperate for our friends."

A Senate inquiry is examining whether Mr Dutton misused his ministerial discretion to grant two European au pairs visas in 2015, despite the reservations of border authorities. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Penrith star Josh Mansour has hailed Warriors counterpart David Fusitu'a as arguably the toughest match-up of his career ahead of their NRL elimination final on Saturday.

Just two weeks after conceding three tries to Fusitu'a in their round 24 clash in Auckland, Mansour is again preparing to face the league's leading tryscorer.

He has scored seven tries in his past four games alone.

And across a career that has taken him to the heights of State of Origin and international level, Mansour ranks Fusitu'a amongst the best wingers he has ever faced.

"He'd be up there, definitely," Mansour tells AAP.

"His form right now proves that. He's finished at the top of the tryscoring list, he's shown what he can do. He's just a top-quality athlete."

A Dally M winger of the year in 2016, Mansour insists stopping this year's likely recipient of the award can't be a one-man job.

"He's got great players inside him that have been doing a lot of hard work for him in getting in those positions," Mansour says.

"In saying that, I can't turn my back to him. I've got to be aware of where he is all the time."

Panthers fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak had always predicted big things for Fusitu'a.

The New Zealand internationals met as Junior Kiwis over five years ago, when the clubs battled at the same ground for the former National Youth Competition title.

Four Panthers players remain from the triumphant side, including Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Isaah Yeo and Mansour's centre partner in Waqa Blake.

In contrast, only Solomone Kata will take the field from that clash while Mason Lino is on this week's extended bench.

A total of 18 players from both sides have gone on to achieve NRL honours.

"Fusitu'a was the same back then as he is now," Watene-Zelezniak recalls.

"He was just this big, massive thing and really solid. We knew we had a job to do on him back then and it's the same now. You've got to bring your best with him or he'll just run over you."

MANSOUR v FUSITU'A IN 2018

Games: 13 - 22

Tries: 8 - 22

Line breaks: 6 - 18

Tackle busts: 42 - 34

Average runs: 15.7 - 10.7

Average metres (m): 137 - 99
Stephanie Gilmore is in the box seat to claim a record-equalling seventh world surfing title this year but she knows her experience will count for nothing as the sport enters new waters on Friday.

California's Surf Ranch - an artificial wave designed by 11-times world champion Kelly Slater - will make its tour debut this week in a groundbreaking moment for the sport.

Surfers will complete runs like a Winter Olympic half-pipe competitor, meaning the usual priority rules, jockeying for position, lay days and general unpredictability of the ocean doesn't apply.

Gilmore enters with a slender lead over Lakey Peterson with three of the 10 stops remaining, knowing she could easily be run down in the Californian desert.

"It's nerve-wracking to know when you're surfing to the exact minute," Gilmore told AAP.

"It's a new experience for everyone but there's a world title on the line, so there will be drama for sure.

"We'll see what happens ... maybe this event will shake things up, produce a brand new winner, it's so different."

Gilmore expects pint-sized teenager Caroline Marks to exploit the smaller barrels, while she also rates Carissa Moore's exploits on the artificial wave.

Brazilians Felipe Toledo and Gabriel Medina are one and two in the men's rankings, ahead of Sunshine Coast's Julian Wilson.

The Australian will have his work cut out in California to keep up with the South Americans, according to Gilmore.

"Felipe ... it's built for him and Gabriel's flow will be bananas," Gilmore said.

HOW A WINNER IS CROWNED

* Each surfer gets four waves across two runs (two lefts, two rights) with surfing order determined by overall series ranking.

* After the second run, surfers take their best right and left scores and are re-seeded in reverse order for a third run.

* After the third run the top eight men and top four women with the highest combined totals progress to the final.

* Each surfer gets another three runs in the final, with the highest-scoring left and right combination earning the crown.
A look at the Paris agreement, as the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Energy Minister Angus Taylor assure voters Australia will meet its targets.

* WHAT IS THE PARIS AGREEMENT?

It's a global pact agreed to in Paris in 2015 to limit warming of the planet to "well below" two degrees Celsius compared with the Industrial Revolution. It also allows aims for an even more ambitious goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

* WHO IS INVOLVED?

There are 197 nations in the agreement and 180 have ratified it. Syria and Nicaragua were the last to sign up, in late 2017.

* WHERE DOES AUSTRALIA FIT IN?

Australia ratified the agreement in November 2016, setting a local target of reducing emissions by 26 to 28 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030.

The government's National Energy Guarantee proposed to legislate emissions reduction targets, but this aspect of the policy is likely to be dumped in favour of an energy plan focused on reliability.

* IS THE US STILL PART OF THE AGREEMENT?

US President Donald Trump informed the UN last year America would withdraw from the agreement, but was open to re-entering on improved financial terms. The lengthy withdrawal process means it will be 2020 before the US is officially out of the deal.

* WHAT'S NEXT?

Australia signed a declaration at the Pacific Islands Forum this month saying climate change presented "the single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and well-being of Pacific people" and underscored the need for "immediate urgent action".

The climate arm of the UN is this week holding a conference in Thailand, where countries are working to implement and develop guidelines for the agreement.

A crucial conference is set for this December in Poland, with the aim of finalising and enacting the guidelines. The guidelines include how emission reduction targets can be accounted for, greater transparency and climate finance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) holds talks with President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held talks with his counterpart of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, agreeing to promote the bilateral ties with greater and more substantial measures.

Sassou Nguesso attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Sept. 3-4.

Xi said the bilateral relationship is at its best in history, adding that China regards the Republic of the Congo as an all-weather friend and is willing to consolidate and deepen political mutual trust, expand high-level and all-level exchanges, boost experience sharing in governance, and strengthen communication on policies, concepts and strategies.

China will firmly grasp the right direction of the Sino-Congolese relationship and continue mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and further substantiate the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries, said Xi.

Xi called for enhanced coordination and collaboration on key global issues and make the global governance system and the international order more just and equitable.

China will unswervingly enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and welcomes the Republic of the Congo to join the Belt and Road construction, said Xi.

Sassou Nguesso said his country fully supports the Beijing Declaration and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan adopted at the summit.

The Republic of the Congo is grateful for China's long-term support and highly appreciates the Belt and Road Initiative and the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity as well as the eight initiatives proposed by President Xi, said Sassou Nguesso.

He said the country will align its development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative to accelerate the growth.

The Congolese-Chinese friendship is unbreakable, said Sassou Nguesso, adding that his country will not be disturbed by those noises on Africa-China relations, and will be committed to enhancing the Republic of the Congo-China and Africa-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnerships.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.

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[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
The bushfire season in southern Australia is this year expected to commence earlier than usual and be more active than normal due to warmer and drier than average climate conditions.

The Southern Australia Seasonal Bushfire Outlook released on Thursday, which covers most of the country excluding the Northern Territory, showed risk is particularly high in NSW, where there has already been 100 blazes this year.

NSW Rural Fire Service communications director Anthony Clark told reporters the risk was higher than usual for a large and heavily populated part of the state from the Queensland border down to the Victorian border, potentially threatening "literally millions of people".
Two hearing aid retailers face a joint penalty of $2.5 million after they admitted to misleading pensioners in a series of newspaper ads.

The consumer watchdog has commenced Federal Court proceedings alleging that 85 print ads from Oticon Australia and Sonic Innovations published last year placed a false deadline on applications for subsidised hearing aids under a federal government program.

The ads, which appeared under the under the AudioClinic and HearingLife brands, also claimed devices would connect to devices such as TVs and mobile phones without acknowledging additional accessories were required at extra cost.

The ads promised users would "no longer miss any conversations", without taking into account the nature of a person's hearing impairment or individual circumstances.

"Hearing aid advertisements have a powerful effect on purchasing decisions," ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said.

"The ads must be accurate and truthful, especially given that many of the people buying hearing aids may be vulnerable due to their age."

The ACCC said Oticon and Sonic, who sold more than 10,000 of the Oticon Ria2 and Sonic Cheer20 hearing aids, admitted to false and misleading representations, and will refund customers.

The ACCC said the Federal Court will decide whether to approve a proposed $2.5 million penalty related to contravention of Australian Consumer Law.

Oticon and Sonic - owned and operated by the Danish-based William Demant - operate more than 200 hearing clinics across Australia under brands including AudioClinic, HearingLife, Western Hearing Services, and Adelaide Digital Hearing Solutions.
A Melbourne blogger has admitted defacing a memorial to slain comedian Eurydice Dixon by painting obscene graffiti beside it in a bid to enrage feminists.

Ms Dixon, 22, was raped and murdered as she walked home through a Carlton North park after performing a comedy gig on June 13.

Flowers soon piled up on the Princes Park field where Ms Dixon's body was found. The makeshift memorial was visited by thousands and widely covered by media.

In the lead-up to a large public vigil at the memorial site, anti-feminist blogger Andrew Nolch hatched a plan to cause as much outrage as he could.

Nolch, 29, who hosts a Scientology podcast, bought paint supplies and headed to Princes Park late at night to paint a 25m penis at the site.

Firefighters and council workers could not remove the graffiti so the vandalised turf was removed and replaced at a cost of nearly $20,000.

Nolch faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to criminal damage.

A 19-year-old man is charged with Ms Dixon's rape and murder.
Two social media stars dubbed the "Kardashians of China" are the face of a new Australian wine industry campaign aimed at young Chinese wine drinkers.

Online influencers the Chufei Churan twins are being brought to Australia by industry body Wine Australia for a tour of wineries and tourist spots that will be live-streamed to their million-plus followers on Chinese digital platform Taobao.

Chufei (Yuni) and Churan (Joyce), aged 30, will be in Sydney on Friday, September 7, for a day of food and wine tasting, including a breakfast overlooking the harbour and a cooking class at Sydney Fish Markets.

They will wrap up their tour with a visit to South Australian vineyards on Saturday.

Wine Australia has paid $34,000 for the twins' two-day whirlwind tour as part of agreement with Chinese multinational Alibaba Group - owner of Taobao - to help boost Aussie wine sales via Tmall.com, China's largest business-to-consumer retail platform.

Wine Australia general manager of marketing Stuart Barclay said the emerging middle class market in China was developing a sophisticated palate and an online presence was vital.

"Everything in China is purchasable online now," Mr Barclay told AAP.

"You don't need to leave the online environment, they use their mobile to do everything."

Recent data indicated online consumers are split half and half along gender lines, Mr Barclay said, indicating a shift from the traditional Chinese target markets of male red wine drinkers and gift purchases.

"We can see with certain styles of white wine, like chardonnay, riesling, sauvignon blanc, prosecco, there is an increasing demand from women in the 18 to 35 age bracket," he said.

The marketing campaign comes as Tmall hosts its annual 9.9 promotion: a festival showcasing more than 100,000 international wine and spirit brands to 576 million Chinese consumers.

The Chufei Churan twins also toured Australia in 2017 and shared that trip with their fans.

"Everything is such good quality like the wine, food and even the water- it is so clean," they told AAP in an emailed correspondence.

The pair say their followers trust their advice because they only promote things they "really love."

"Most of our fans are women so we share lots of recommendations together," they said.

The Wine Australia marketing campaign is funded by a $50 million federal government Export and Regional Wine Support package.

FACTBOX

* China is Australia's largest wine export market earning $1.12 billion in 2017/18.

* Australian wines attract a premium price in China, with a cost per litre higher than traditional wine-growing nations such as France.

* The Chufei Churan twins are from Guangzhou, China

* They started blogging in May 2016 when they were working as models for TaoBao.

* They have previously worked with major brands including HP, Estee Lauder, Toyota, Brown Brothers and Levi's.
Australia is uniquely placed to help manage the competition for power in the Asia-Pacific, new Defence Minister Christopher Pyne says.

The minister says the region is playing host to the "defining great power competition" of the current generation.

He says China's economy and influence is growing rapidly, yet the United States remains Australia's closest friend and ally.

"The Australian government is firmly committed to maintaining a constructive, positive relationship with China founded on our broad mutual interests and on mutual respect for our mutual benefit," he told the LandForces conference in Adelaide on Wednesday.

"Our long friendship with both nations and our close economic and people-to-people links place us in a unique position to help manage this vital relationship."

Mr Pyne said other issues he intended to focus on as defence minister were growing Australia's military relations with Japan, India and other south Pacific nations and enhancing the nation's military capability and maintaining its technological edge.

"Our military-to-military relations are of fundamental importance," the minister said.

"We're already particularly close to Japan and Indonesia. Indeed, I will visit Indonesia next month and I will host the two-plus-two minister's meeting with Japan in Sydney in October.

"I want to bring us closer to India.

"We're natural friends, partners and allies with a similar system of government and we have significant people-to-people links.

"And in the South Pacific, I see a natural role for Australia and for our defence force to work with and support our friends and allies."

Mr Pyne said he also intended to continue what he had started as defence industry minister, delivering the platforms needed to take Australia's defence force to the next level.

"We will soon be one of the most advanced defence forces of any size in the world," he said.

"We are the 12th largest economy in the world and we are the 12th largest defence spender in the world.

"We've got to keep our eye on the ball to keep delivering what our troops need."
Three Melbourne men have been charged in the latest police crackdown on "Middle Eastern organised crime" groups.

Detectives say property raids across the city on Thursday aimed to disrupt the group, traditionally involved in violent crimes including shootings, drug trafficking and extortion.

"Their behaviour is often targeted at other entities or rival groups, however has the potential to incur enormous harm on the community and put the public at risk," Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Anthony Gasparini said.

A Mernda man, 28, was remanded in custody, charged with firearm offences and possession of amphetamines and cannabis.

An Altona North man, 35, was also charged with firearm offences and is due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The men were allegedly subject to firearm prohibition orders, preventing them possessing guns.

A Lalor man, 27, will face court in January charged with possessing cannabis.
A 36-year-old American has been charged with importing cocaine after he ran from authorities and was chased through Perth Airport.

Border Force officers examined the man's baggage on Tuesday after he arrived from Brazil, via Dubai, and conducted presumptive tests on liquids inside five plastic bottles marked as toiletry products.

Allegedly, soon after a positive result for cocaine was returned, he fled the examination area, ran through the airport arrivals hall and hid in bushes near the taxi rank.

Members of the public pointed out to officers where he had run.

It will be alleged the bottles contained 3kg of liquid but the exact weight of the cocaine is yet to be determined.

The man has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court on October 12.
A woman in her 20s has been killed in a head-on car crash in NSW's midwest.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the collision at Ilford at around 4pm on Thursday. The crash involved the woman's Suzuki and a Holden Ute.

Police say the woman died at the scene while the male driver and female passenger of the ute were both airlifted to Sydney's Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.

Crash investigation unit officers are investigate the circumstances of the crash.
A Senate committee is set to release its report on a Greens push to scrap the Lord's Prayer from federal parliament on Friday.

Retired Greens senator Lee Rhiannon was behind the move, arguing the prayer at the start of Senate sitting sessions should be replaced with an "inclusive" statement.

She believes the prayer should be substituted with the words: "Senators, let us, in silence, pray or reflect upon our responsibilities to all people of Australia, and to future generations."

The inquiry received more than 400 submissions, including four from Liberal and Labor senators opposed to changing the prayer.

Queensland LNP senator James McGrath urged the committee to reject the proposal.

"I see no reason to abandon this tradition," his submission said.

In June, Ms Rhiannon said the statement should be inclusive of all beliefs and faiths in a secular country such as Australia.
A man has allegedly set fire to a Melbourne home following an argument with two residents, before charging at police with a chainsaw.

Officers arrested the 29-year-old at the home in Caulfield on Thursday night, and allege he set fire to the Heatherbrae Ave home after an argument with a man and woman who lived there.

Police found him in the backyard allegedly attempting to assemble two firearms, and when challenged he threatened them with the chainsaw.

No one was injured in the incident, and the man is expected to be interviewed on Friday morning.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Xi said the friendship between China and Tunisia will remain unchanged no matter how the situation changes, and that the China-Tunisia relationship has maintained healthy and stable development.

China will, as always, support Tunisia in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and conforming to the trend of the times, and support Tunisia's efforts in maintaining stability and promoting economic and social development, Xi said.

Xi also urged the two sides to increase interaction and strengthen exchanges of experience in governance.

China is willing to work together with Tunisia to promote major projects and deepen cooperation in fields such as aerospace and tourism, adding that the two sides should join hands on major international and regional issues to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Xi said.

Chahed said the eight major initiatives proposed at the summit would elevate Africa-China relations to a new level.

Tunisia applauds the concept of a China-Africa community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi, and hopes to learn from China's success, strengthen cooperation in fields such as the economy and trade as well as tourism, and welcomes Chinese companies to invest in Tunisia, Chahed said.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
US President Donald Trump has called for the unmasking of an anonymous senior official who wrote an op-ed in the New York Times saying staff are against him

A furious Donald Trump called Wednesday for the unmasking of an anonymous senior official who wrote in the New York Times that top members of his administration were undermining the president to curb his "misguided impulses."

Trump asked if the unsigned op-ed could be considered treasonous, assailed the newspaper for the "gutless" piece and questioned whether the senior official it was attributed to actually existed.

"TREASON?" Trump posted in response to the article entitled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," which claimed the president's own staff see him as a danger to the nation.

"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?" Trump tweeted.

"If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

In the article, the official stressed they were committed to the Republican agenda, and did not side with opposition Democrats.

The op-ed in the New York Times by an anonymous senior official said many top staff in the Trump administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of the president's agenda and his worst inclinations

But, the official wrote, "we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."

"Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the official wrote.

"I would know. I am one of them."

The piece was published a day after excerpts from a bombshell book that also claimed that White House staff were constantly battling to rein in the president's worst impulses.

The Times acknowledged the "rare step" of publishing an anonymous editorial but said the official's job would be jeopardized if they were identified, and that the paper knew who had written the piece.

"We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers," the paper said.

- 'The president's amorality' -

The official's piece described a "two-track" presidency in which Trump says one thing and his staff consciously does another, for example with regard to what he called the president's "preference for autocrats and dictators."

Staff actively worked to insulate themselves from Trump's "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective" leadership style, the writer said.

White House staff are actively working to insulate themselves from Trump's "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective" leadership style, says a New York Times' op-ed by an anonymous senior official

"The root of the problem is the president's amorality," the official said. "That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

Trump lashed out at the author and at the "dishonest" Times.

"They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them," Trump said. "So if the failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial, can you believe it, anonymous -- meaning gutless -- a gutless editorial -- we're doing a great job."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders branded the piece "pathetic, reckless, and selfish" and condemned the Times for publishing it.

"Nearly 62 million people voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016," said Sanders. "None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times."

The unsigned piece appeared to reinforce the claims made in the new book by investigative journalist Bob Woodward, which describes a virtual cabal of like-minded White House and cabinet officials scheming to prevent Trump from taking decisions damaging to the US economy and national security.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has branded the New York Times op-ed "pathetic, reckless and selfish"

The writer of the Times op-ed suggests that dissent and resistance inside Trump's White House are even deeper than Woodward described.

The official said that early on in the administration, some officials quietly discussed invoking the 25th amendment of the US Constitution, which allows the removal of a president judged unable to perform his duties.

"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until -- one way or another -- it's over."
Musician Lalo Schifrin, pictured in 2016, is among five 'iconic' stars set to receive an honorary Oscar

Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin, best known for his "Mission: Impossible" theme song, is to receive an honorary Oscar along with actress Cicely Tyson and publicist Marvin Levy, the Academy said Wednesday.

Also to be honored during the 10th annual Governors Awards on November 18 in Hollywood will be producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who are married and who will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Award, named after the legendary studio executive, the Academy said.

"Choosing the honorees for its awards each year is the happiest of all the Board of Governors' work," John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, said in a statement.

"And this year, its selection of five iconic artists was made with universal acclaim by the Academy's 54 spirited governors," he added.

Levy, the first publicist ever to receive an honorary Oscar, has long worked with Steven Spielberg and spearheaded the advertising campaigns for such films as "Kramer vs. Kramer," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Schindler's List."

Tyson, 93, who began her career as a model before turning to acting, was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in the 1972 film "Sounder." Her other film credits include "Fried Green Tomatoes," and "The Help."

Schifrin, 86, who has written scores for more than 100 films, including "Bullit" and "Dirty Harry," is perhaps most famous for the theme he wrote for the television series "Mission: Impossible" which has also been a hallmark of the films that followed.

Kennedy, in charge of the latest "Star Wars" movies at Disney, is the first woman to receive the Thalberg, which was last handed out by the Academy in 2009 to Francis Ford Coppola.

She and her husband have produced a number of movies together including "The Sixth Sense," and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

The honorary Oscars are handed out every year "to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy."

The Governors Awards were created as a separate event in 2009 to allow more space for the honorees to accept their statuettes and to declutter the main show's packed schedule.
Hstory maker: Naomi Osaka on her way to victory against Lesia Tsurenko

Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka made history at the US Open on Wednesday when they became the first Japanese man and woman to reach the semi-finals at the same Grand Slam.

Nishikori reached the last four of the men's singles with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic -- the man who beat him in the 2014 final.

Earlier, Osaka defeated Ukraine's Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the women's singles.

Nishikori will be playing in his third US Open semi-final after similar runs in 2014 and 2016.

The 29-year-old has also reached the quarter-finals of the three other Slams including Wimbledon this year, the first Japanese man to do so in 23 years.

"It's great to see," said Nishikori who missed the 2017 US Open due to injury.

"Naomi's doing well, because she has won a Masters (Indian Wells). I think she can win a title now

"It's a big chance for her."

The 20-year-old Osaka is the first Japanese woman to make the last-four of any Slam since Kimiko Date at Wimbledon in 1996 -- a year before she was born.

Osaka had reached the Australian Open last-16 in January in her previous best run at the majors.

History maker: Kei Nishikori celebrates victory over Marin Cilic

She had also captured the prestigious Indian Wells title in March and defeated Serena Williams in Miami.

"The quarters was sort of my mental goal, every time I played a Grand Slam," said Osaka.

"And after I went into the quarters, I kind of want to keep going, so I feel like I have to be focused again and keep trying really hard."

Before Nishikori, only Shuzo Matsuoka had made the last-eight in men's singles in a major at Wimbledon in 1995.

Date also made the women's last-eight the same year in Wimbledon and the semi-finals the following year.

Date was also a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 1995.

Until Osaka's run this year, the best New York performance by a Japanese woman was 2004 when Shinobu Asagoe reached the quarter-finals.

"Well, it definitely means a lot for me, and I always thought if I were to win a Grand Slam, the first one I'd want to win is the US Open, because I have grown up here," said Osaka who was born in Japan but has lived most of her life in the United States.

"Then my grandparents can come and watch. I think it would be really cool."

Next up for Nishikori is a clash against either two-time champion and former world number one Novak Djokovic or John Millman, the Australian who stunned Roger Federer in the fourth round.

Osaka faces either US 14th seed Madison Keys, the runner-up in 2017 or Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro.
Although it spared no generation, the 2008 financial meltdown was more calamitous for young adults because there was no way to recoup the debt they took on for education, cars and credit cards

Marco Saavedra had just graduated from college in 2011 three years after the global financial crisis erupted and just as the Occupy Wall Street movement was picking up steam.

Like many in his generation, Saavedra faced slim pickings for jobs after college, a fate that has left millennials with a wealth gap that economists fear they won't ever recover.

It has also left them more skeptical about government, worried about the future and more activist.

Saavedra, 28, who is undocumented, joined the Occupy chapter in Ohio, and now works at his family's restaurant in the Bronx in New York City, where he is active in immigrant rights campaigns.

Laura Banks, 31, never had any interest in demonstrating, but also has bad memories from her early 20s of going to job fairs where there were almost no jobs. Friends lost jobs and her father, an attorney, had trouble finding clients.

"We felt very cornered. We feel like we're behind," said Banks, who now works as a project manager for Express Scripts in St. Louis.

She married last year but has doubts about having kids, in part due to fear of another financial crash.

- 'Lost generation'? -

The scarcity of jobs during the Great Recession has resulted in lengthy post-collegiate sojourns for millenials in their parents' homes and lingering doubts about the future

Saavedra and Banks are part of the millennial generation, which includes people born between 1980 and 1996, now the biggest cohort in the United States, a status that makes marketers salivate.

But the group also is burdened by high student debt loads, that with the scarcity of jobs during the Great Recession has resulted in lengthy post-collegiate sojourns in their parents' homes and lingering doubts about the future.

The group is at risk of becoming a "lost generation," the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warned in a report in May that tracked how the cohort's wealth accumulation lagged historical norms for people in their 20s and 30s.

Although it spared no generation, the 2008 financial meltdown was more calamitous for young adults because there was no way to recoup the debt they took on for education, cars and credit cards.

"Because none of these types of debt finance assets that have appreciated rapidly during the last few years -- such as stocks and real estate -- they received no leveraged wealth boost like that enjoyed by the older cohorts," the report said.

Crushing student debt was among the rallying cries of Occupy Wall Street, a movement led largely by young adults who blamed the crisis on corporate greed and a rigged system that benefited the "one percent" at the expense of everyone else.

The group gained its greatest visibility during the almost-two month occupation of Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan before police evicted activists and removed tents in November 2011.

Although much more low profile today, Occupy Wall Street still has a presence on Twitter, where it touts progressive environmental policies, criticizes gentrification and lambasts President Donald Trump over immigration and other issues.

- Iffy on capitalism? -

But the movement and the crisis have had long lasting impacts on the millennials' outlook.

An April 2016 poll released by Harvard University Kennedy School's Institute of Politics showed that just 41 percent of 18 to 29-year olds supported capitalism, higher than the 33 percent that supported socialism, but a low enough number to turn heads.

John Della Volpe, director of polling at the Kennedy School, said millennials remember how the crisis harmed their parents and others who played by the rules.

Della Volpe senses broad support among young adults for "compassionate capitalism" to address glaring problems including gross inequality and a compromised campaign finance systems.

"I think they have a different definition of the American dream, which is less around economics and more around flexibility and happiness," he said.

Major political parties have largely failed to ignite millennial interest, with two exceptions, Barack Obama's successful 2008 campaign and the 2016 campaign of Bernie Sanders, the white-haired Socialist who gave Hillary Clinton an unexpectedly tough battle for the Democratic nomination.

Support for Trump is somewhat lower among millennials compared to the broader US population, but some of the same trends hold, Della Volpe said. For example, Trump polls best among white millennials without a college degree, mirroring the broader US trend.

Democratic socialists scored an unexpected victory in New York in late June, when 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Sanders supporter, unseated 10-term Democratic Rep. Joseph Crowley, in the Bronx in New York City.

Ocasio-Cortez told The Daily Show's Trevor Noah that she favored greater taxes on the wealthy and livable wages for workers as part of a "moral and ethical economy."

"Us as millennials, we came of age during a time when 9/11 happened in middle school, the financial crisis happened in college," she said. "We have never really known or grown up in a time of economic prosperity."

Saavedra helped organize an event for Ocasio-Cortez at his parent's restaurant in the South Bronx, La Morada, which is not far from her congressional district.

The restaurant is staffed with undocumented workers and proclaims its solidarity with its immigrant-rich neighborhood with a "Resiste" ("Resist!") sign on the exterior.

The family was able to rent the space in 2009 due to vacancies amid the crisis -- one positive from that period, Saavedra said.

While he may never be able to vote, he plans to remain politically active.

"If there's anything that my organizing has taught me it's that there's a lot of other ways to petition and to march and to rally that make political change, even if it's not in a tangible vote."

- Fears for the future -

Banks, meanwhile, has low expectations for government, especially after the 2016 presidential campaign between Trump and Clinton, which she called "the most toxic, hateful thing I've ever seen."

And she took away lessons from the crisis on personal finance. She was shocked when she and her husband received approval for a mortgage of four times the amount they wanted, but they rejected the sum.

"When the housing market crashed, what I saw was a lot of Americans living beyond their means and a lot of banks acting irresponsibly," Banks said.

"I'm really scared to have kids," she added. "I'm afraid the market will collapse again in the next couple of years."
A Yemeni child recites a prayer on September 4, 2018, next to the graves of boys killed when their bus was hit by a Saudi-led coalition air strike on the Dahyan market the previous month

Little Ali begged his father to let him and his brothers go on a class trip in northern Yemen this summer. None of them would come home alive.

Weeks after the August 9 bombing of a school bus in the Yemeni province of Saada, the boys' father is still in shock after having to bury his three young children.

"They waved to me from the bus, and I said 'go with God'," said Zaid Tayyeb at his home in Dahyan in Saada province, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Huthis bordering Saudi Arabia.

Tayyeb had refused to send them on the Muslim youth camp trip earlier in the summer, fearing for their safety in Yemen's deadly conflict between the Huthi rebels and a government backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

But following his children's pleas, he relented and allowed them to board the bus after another group of students returned safely after taking the same route.

"When I woke up that morning, they were all dressed in their new clothes. So I asked them what was going on, acting like I had no idea where they were going," Tayyeb told AFP.

"They laughed and reminded me that the faithful never lie. That I had promised to let them go on the (Koranic studies) class trip after they got top marks.

"They hugged me tight, got on the bus and waved to me as it pulled away. I turned and walked maybe 100 or 150 metres when the bus was hit."

A Yemeni boy on September 4, 2018 stands in the wreckage of the bus which was hit by a Saudi-led coalition air strike

Tayyeb turned and ran back towards the bus.

"There was smoke and debris everywhere. I grabbed the first body I could reach. It was face down on the ground," he said.

"It was my son. Ahmed," who was 10 years old.

On the wall of the family's living room hang pictures of each child: Ahmed, his little brother Ali, 9, and 13-year-old Youssef.

Each photograph is accompanied by the date of their death -- "Martyred on 9/8/2018 in the massacre of children in Dahyan".

Tayyeb's only surviving son, five-year-old Mohammed, stands under his big brothers' pictures, wearing rebel military garb tailored to his tiny frame.

He was too young to take the class trip.

- 'Collateral damage' -

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 40 children were killed and 56 wounded in the air strike which was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Huthis.

Coalition commanders have admitted a small number of mistakes and said the strike had "caused collateral damage", but there has been no public disciplinary action or changes to the rules of engagement.

The graves of children killed in an air strike which hit their bus last month, pictured on September 4, 2018

The rebels accuse the coalition of knowingly targeting children. The coalition says there was a legitimate target -- but a mistake in timing.

The incident sparked a wave of international anger and the United Nations Security Council has called for a "credible and transparent" investigation.

Following the Dahyan attack, UN officials accused the coalition of being behind twin air strikes on August 23 which killed at least 26 children south of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida.

The coalition said on Thursday that its investigation into those strikes had found "there might have been collateral damage and civilian casualties."

Both parties in the Yemen conflict stand accused of failing to protect civilians. The Saudi-led coalition last year landed on a UN blacklist for the killing and maiming of children.

A child wounded in the air strike on a Yemeni bus awaits treatment at a hospital on August 9, 2018

The Huthis are accused of using human shields and recruiting child soldiers.

The UN children's agency (UNICEF) has long highlighted the plight of minors in Yemen, where the organisation says 2,200 children have been killed in the conflict.

Since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015, some 10,000 people have been killed in the war which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

For Tayyeb, the loss of his three children leaves a wound that will never heal.

"They were intelligent, polite, wise beyond their years. And now they're in heaven."
Kim Jong Un will host South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a summit in Pyongyang in September

The leaders of the two Koreas will hold a summit in Pyongyang in September, Seoul said Thursday, as Kim Jong Un renewed his commitment to the denuclearisation of the flashpoint peninsula.

The announcement of the September 18-20 summit -- the third between the North's leader Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in this year -- comes as US efforts to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal have stalled.

The two leaders will meet in the North Korean capital to discuss "practical measures to denuclearise" the peninsula, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong told reporters.

Chung on Wednesday flew to Pyongyang where he handed over a personal letter from Moon to Kim, as Seoul seeks to kick-start the diplomacy that led to the landmark June summit between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader.

The two pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula at the Singapore meeting but no details were agreed, and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

However, in his meeting with Chung, Kim renewed his commitment to that goal, North Korean state media said Thursday.

The two Koreas "should further their efforts to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

"It is our fixed stand... to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat."

Moon, who brokered the historic summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore, said he had "high hopes" for his next meeting with the North's leader to achieve a similar feat.

"I have come to hope that it will kick-start dialogue between the US and North Korea for the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," Moon said during meeting with his aides.

- 'Sense of frustration' -

The pledge comes after Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress on disarmament, last month cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang after the North reportedly sent a belligerent letter to the US leader.

A top South Korean envoy handed a personal letter from President Moon to Kim Jong Un

Stephen Biegun, newly-appointed US envoy for the North, said last month Kim had promised "final, fully verified denuclearisation" at the Singapore summit.

But Pyongyang has slammed the Washington for its "gangster-like" demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament.

Kim emphasised that his "trust in Trump remains unchanged" despite the difficulties, Chung said, and expressed his intention to work closely with the US to achieve denuclearisation "in the first official term of President Trump."

But the North Korean leader also expressed a "sense of frustration" with the international community for not appreciating what he called Pyongyang's "very significant and meaningful" steps, Chung said.

Kim noted the North had dismantled its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, where nuclear tests "have been made impossible for good", according to the South Korean envoy.

"Chairman Kim asked us to convey the message to the US that the US (should) help create situations where he would feel his decision to denuclearise was a right move", Chung said.

- 'Litmus test' -

The upcoming summit between Kim and Moon may help break the months-long deadlock after the Singapore summit, said Lim Eul-chul, professor at Kyungnam University's Graduate School of North Korean Studies.

Inter-Korean summits

"There is a still big gap between what the North considers sufficient goodwill gestures, like destroying its missile test stand or a nuclear test site, and what the US wants, including on-site verification by experts," he said.

Narrowing the gap and rebuilding trust between Kim and Trump is key in the dialogue -- if any -- ahead, he said.

North Korea has demanded that Washington agree to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, and accused it of failing to reciprocate "goodwill measures".

But American officials and conservatives in the South are concerned such a declaration would weaken the US-South Korea alliance and deprive the 28,000 US forces stationed on the peninsula of their deployment rationale.

Kim dismissed such worries, Chung said, and told the South Korean delegation that a formal end of the Korean War would not be linked to the withdrawal of the US troops.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said Kim sees the US agreeing to a formal end to the war as a "litmus test" to determine whether Washington is sincere in moving forward.

"But the US... does not seem to be ready to accept the North's demand", he told AFP.
Advertisement

This is the bizarre reptile cafe where customers can sip on coffee while getting up close and personal with snakes, iguanas and scorpions.

The cafe is a first for Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and comes hot on the heels of popular cat cafes in the city.

The owner, Chea Raty, launched the business to revamp the skin-crawling reputation of lizards and snakes and convince haters that they are simply misunderstood.

A customer takes a selfie with a ball python at the reptile cafe that has just opened in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh

The cafe is a first for Cambodian capital Phnom Penh and comes hot on the heels of popular cat cafes in the city

As well as snakes, customers can also get up close and personal with other animals including iguanas, lizards and scorpions

Chea Raty, the owner of the cafe, launched his business to revamp the skin-crawling reputation of lizards and snakes

Customer are free to enter the cafe and buy a coffee. They can then request which type of reptile they would like to sit with

While stroking the scaly neck wattle of an iguana, the 32-year-old told AFP: 'They will love them like I do.'

The walls of his cafe are lined with lit-up glass tanks containing snakes of various lengths and colours, while a bright macaw screeches in the corner.

Some visitors look hesitantly at the cages, others are bolder in their embrace of the creatures.

There's no entry fee, so visitors can order a coffee and request a sit-down with a serpentine friend from one of the tanks.

A customer sips on a cool drink while a ball python wraps around his left arm and he holds an iguana in his right hand

A female customer holds a ball python up for the camera, left, before she gives the reptile a gentle pat as she enjoys her coffee

The walls of the cafe are lined with lit-up glass tanks containing snakes of various lengths and colours as well as other creatures

An ice tea for a young customer instantly becomes a cool object for a yellow-and-cream-coloured ball python to twist its body around.

A woman giggles as an albino python creeps from her shoulder and wraps behind her head.

Nearby, a bearded dragon iguana perches on a table while a man gently pets it.

Customer Y Navim was wary at first of a corn snake, an orange-coloured serpent that kills its prey through constriction. But it was soon resting on her palm as she sipped her coffee.

'This cafe is quite unique,' the 22-year-old said. 'I've never seen some of these reptiles before. They are beautiful and scary.'

To critics who say the animals should be left alone in the wild, Mr Raty says his human-bred creatures 'cannot survive there'

Women, Mr Raty says, are providing an unexpected boost. 'They put the pythons around their neck, take selfies, and they are happy'

One customer at the reptile cafe puckers up to give a green iguana a kiss. Business is still slow-going at the cafe due to the common fears of snakes and lizards

To critics who say the animals should be left alone in the wild, Mr Raty says his human-bred creatures 'cannot survive there'. All of his cafe creatures are imported from Thailand.

Business is still slow-going due to the common fears of snakes and lizards.

But women, Mr Raty says, are providing an unexpected boost.

He says: 'They put the pythons around their neck, take selfies, and they are happy.'
Nauru's President Baron Waqa (R) lashed out at Beijing's 'arrogant' presence in the region during a fractious annual Pacific summit

Nauru's president has demanded China apologise for a top diplomat's "crazy" behaviour at the Pacific Islands Forum and lashed out at Beijing's "arrogant" presence in the region.

"They're not our friends. They just need us for their own purposes," President Baron Waqa told reporters.

"Sorry, but I have to be strong on this because no one is to come and dictate things to us," said Waqa, whose country backs self-ruling and democratic Taiwan over arch-rival China in their battle for diplomatic recognition.

This year's annual Pacific summit, which wraps up in Nauru on Thursday, has been one of the most contentious in the event's 49-year history.

The usual discussions about climate change have been overshadowed by the host's row with China and its treatment of asylum-seekers held on the island under a deal with Australia.

The diplomatic spat pits Nauru -- with a population of 11,000 and an area of just 21 square kilometres (eight square miles) -- against the Asian superpower.

It erupted on Tuesday when the head of China's delegation Du Qiwen attempted to address a meeting but Waqa refused to let him speak until island leaders had finished.

The Chinese delegation then stormed out, with Du reportedly striding around the room to emphasise his displeasure before leaving.

"Would he behave like that in front of his own president? I doubt it," Waqa said at a press conference late Wednesday.

"He disrespected the Pacific, the forum island leaders and other ministers who have come to join us in our territory. Are you kidding? Look at him, he's a nobody.

"He's not even a minister and he's demanding to be recognised and to speak before the prime minister of Tuvalu. Is he crazy?"

- 'No apology' -

Waqa had already angered Beijing before the summit began in a row over visas.

The exchange with Du highlighted sensitivities over Beijing's rising influence in the Pacific, where China provided an estimated US$1.78 billion in aid to island nations between 2006-16.

"We're seeing a lot of big countries coming in and sometimes buying their way through the Pacific, some are extremely aggressive, even to the point that they tread all over us," Waqa said.

"From this forum, all leaders (now) know how arrogant some of these people are."

He said such behaviour merited an apology from Beijing.

"We won't just seek an apology, we'll even take it up to the UN," he said. "Not only that, I will mention it at the UN and every international meeting."

China rejected his calls for an apology, instead calling on Nauru to reflect on its actions.

"I want to sternly warn Nauru, and whomever is behind this farce: the 'one China' principle is an unstoppable historical trend," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing.

"It should stop this unreasonable fuss and stop humiliating itself."

China does not belong to the PIF but is one of 18 countries that attends the leaders' summit as a "dialogue partner" for discussions with member nations.

Beijing and Taipei have vied for diplomatic influence in the Pacific for decades, with both sides offering aid and support to small island states in return for recognition.

Taiwan paid for much of the infrastructure used at the Nauru PIF and there could be similar tensions at next year's event in Tuvalu, which also recognises Taipei.

China sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island views itself as a sovereign nation and is a self-ruling democracy.

Meanwhile Australia and New Zealand have boosted their foreign aid programmes in the Pacific to counter Chinese influence in a region they regard as their backyard.
Tom Ford took a chill pill -- opening the spring/summer 2019 season by sending down runway models in matte make-up, headscarves and smokey eyes

New York Fashion Week opened with a bang with a masterclass from Tom Ford, A-list models oozing subdued sophistication in neutral palettes with Tom Hanks and break-out rom-com star Henry Golding front row.

The US city kicks off a month-long fashion merry-go-round in which editors, celebrities and influencers descend first on the Big Apple before jetting off to fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris.

Everyone from the biggest names in the industry to fresh-out-of-college hopefuls will pack a frenetic schedule from Thursday to September 12 as the Big Apple wilts under a late summer heatwave.

Ford took a chill pill -- opening the spring/summer 2019 season by sending down the runway models Kaia Gerber, Gigi Hadid, Joan Smalls in matte make-up, headscarves and smokey eyes.

For men, the trademark Tom Ford suit was fashioned into candy colors and metallics, paired with block shades and a traditional mac.

For women, think feminine pencil skirts, little black dresses and feathered evening gowns worn with snakeskin-style jackets, with only minimal snatches of animal print after last season's feline riot.

Hemlines fell below the knee with delicate lace detailing, and there was double-breasted black pant suit for evening that wouldn't look out of place on Meghan Markle, the newly minted Duchess of Sussex.

Puerto Rican model Joan Smalls walks the runway at the New York Fashion Week

Guests of honor were Oscar-winner Hanks with wife Rita Wilson, rap star Cardi B, Vogue high priestess Anna Wintour and Golding, the hero of "Crazy Rich Asians" and ideal personification of the Tom Ford man.

It's no longer news to say that the traditional runway show is in flux, but September's edition of the bi-annual style fest serves up a smattering of treats after several seasons in the wilderness.

Kate Spade will show on Friday, the first since the label's founder ended her life in June, with a tribute to Spade expected.

Barbadian superstar Rihanna steals an honor customarily enjoyed by Marc Jacobs, by closing out the week with a Savage x Fenty bash to baptize her brand-new lingerie line.

- European transplants -

Then there are the New York anniversaries: Ralph Lauren is marking half a century of collections in Central Park with a fashion show and gala dinner that is strictly A-list only.

The location is the Bethesda Terrace fountain -- a popular movie scene stealer -- and the event an homage to the city where the 78-year-old designer was born, grew up and built his fashion empire.

US model Gigi Hadid walks the runway at the New York Fashion Week

Jetting across the Atlantic are French label Longchamp celebrating 70 years with its first full-scale New York Fashion Week show and Germany's Escada making its New York debut for its 40th anniversary.

Rodarte and Proenza Schouler are back from Paris. Vivienne Westwood is hopping across the pond for buyer appointments only.

Marchesa, the red-carpet label co-founded by the estranged British wife of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, is also back -- by appointment only -- after cancelling their show last season.

Others are sitting New York out. Ex-Spice Girl Victoria Beckham is celebrating the 10th anniversary of her brand in London.

Tommy Hilfiger held his show in Shanghai on Tuesday, the latest pit-stop on what has been a global tour since declining to show in the Big Apple since September 2016.

Alexander Wang, the king of cool, has switched to a June-December schedule and plenty of others make little secret of their a thirst for something new in a city that constantly glorifies innovation.

"What we know traditionally as fashion week -- and I love a runway show -- is changing," designer Zac Posen told CNBC this week.

"It's a very saturated field, so you have to find interesting creative ways of cutting through the market."

His answer? Unveil his collection in a photo shoot starring up-and-coming actress Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan and Uma Thurman.
The train carrying 41 containers, 20 of which are filled with Belarusian milk powder, leaves the Kolyadichi railway station in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 4, 2018. The first container train loaded with dairy products on Tuesday left Belarus for China, local media reported. (Xinhua)

MINSK, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The first container train loaded with dairy products on Tuesday left Belarus for China, local media reported.

The train consists of 41 40-foot containers, 20 of which are filled with Belarusian milk powder. The other containers are filled with Belarusian exports. The train will travel from the Belarusian railway station of Kolyadichi to the Tuanjiecun station in Chongqing, China.

Aleksei Bogdanov, head of the Central Office for Foreign Economic Activities of the Belarusian Agriculture and Food Ministry, told reporters that it is not the first shipment of Belarusian dairy products to China but it is the first shipment being delivered by a container train.

The shipment was organized by the Belintertrans Transport-Logistics Center enterprise (BTLC) of the Belarusian Railways and ZAO Meat &Dairy Company.

The train will take 10 days to reach its destination. Getting the freight from Belarus to China by sea would take 40 days, experts said.

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[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen has extended his 33-year rule by another five years

Strongman Hun Sen was formally installed as Cambodia's prime minister for a new term on Thursday, after securing all 125 seats in an uncontested vote that was derided internationally.

The 66-year-old will preside over a new era of one-party rule in the Southeast Asian nation after the election in July -- criticised by Western democracies as unfair -- handed his ruling Cambodian People's Party all 125 seats.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the only credible opposition, was dissolved in the run-up to the vote with government dissenters and activists arrested.

Parliament reconvened on Thursday for the formality of voting Hun Sen back in as prime minister, extending his 33-year rule over the country by another five years.

All 125 lawmakers voted by raising their hands to endorse members of Hun Sen's new government, which includes ministers from the previous term.

"Today is an important historical day of the Kingdom of Cambodia," Hun Sen told the parliament.

The US government has said the election was neither free nor fair and it "failed to represent the will of the Cambodian people".

But Hun Sen on Thursday insisted that the poll was "free, just, fair and transparent".

During his new term, he pledged to improve public services, the economy, and boost salaries for garment workers and civil servants, and accused opponents of "trying to veer Cambodia off the path of democracy and rule of law".

A former Khmer Rouge commander, Hun Sen has been seen by some as a stabilising force that helped bring roads and mega-malls to a country ravaged by decades of brutal civil war.

But analysts say there has been a rollback of democratic freedoms as civil society, campaign groups and the press were squeezed in the run-up to this year's ballot.

Most notably, CNRP co-founder Kem Sokha was arrested under treason charges in September, and remains detained despite multiple requests for bail.

On Thursday, CNRP rejected the new government and called July's national poll a "fake election".

"The one-party parliament does not reflect the real will of the Cambodian people," it said in a statement.
The graves of some of the 40 children who were killed when a Saudi-led air strike hit their bus in a rebel-held area of northern Yemen on August 9

The Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government acknowledged Thursday there may have been "collateral damage" from August 23 strikes that the UN says killed 26 children south of the port of Hodeida.

The coalition has drawn heavy UN criticism for the high civilian death toll from its more than three-year-old bombing campaign in Yemen.

Coalition commanders have admitted a small number of mistakes but have accused the rebels of routinely using civilians as human shields.

Despite repeated calls from the United Nations and human rights group, there has been no public disciplinary action or changes to the coalition's rules of engagement.

In the August 23 strikes, coalition warplanes killed 26 children and four women in Al-Durayhimi, UN humanitarian operations chief Mark Lowcock said the following day.

The coalition said on Thursday that its joint forces command had now completed an after-action review of the strikes.

"According to the results of the comprehensive review... there might have been collateral damage and civilian casualties," coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"All documents relating to this incident have been handed over to the Joint Incidents Assessment Team pending assessment and announcement of results," he added, without elaborating on what they might be.

Human rights groups have charged that the coalition's internal investigations are "laughable" and fail to hold to account commanders responsible for possible war crimes.

A spate of coalition strikes that killed civilians, many of them children, last month has triggered pressure for action, even from the Gulf Arab states' main Western arms suppliers.

The coalition expressed regret on Saturday after its inquiry into an August 9 strike that killed 51 people, including 40 children, in the rebel-held north found that "mistakes" had been made.

The United States said it was "an important first step toward full transparency and accountability".

Spain's new Socialist government said it had cancelled a deal signed by the previous conservative administration in 2015 to sell 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia.

UN investigators said on Tuesday that all sides in Yemen's conflict may have committed war crimes, highlighting deadly air strikes, rampant sexual violence and the recruitment of young children as soldiers.

The rebels, who still control the capital Sanaa and much of the north as well as the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, accuse the coalition of knowingly targeting children.
The landmark Supreme Court of India verdict ends a colonial-era ban on gay sex

India's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a colonial-era ban on gay sex at the centre of years of legal battles.

"The law had become a weapon for harassment for the LGBT community," Chief Justice Dipak Misra said as he announced the landmark verdict.

Section 377 of the Indian penal code, enacted by British rulers in 1861, banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature".

Activists had been fighting the ban since the 1990s, suffering several court reverses before Thursday's verdict which sparked celebrations among lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender groups across the vast South Asian nation.

Members of the LGBT community hugged each other and cried as news of the verdict spread.

"I am speechless! It's taken a long time to come but finally I can say I am free and I have equal rights as others," said Rama Vij, a college student who wore a rainbow scarf.

Gay sex has long been taboo in conservative India -- particularly in rural areas where homophobia is widespread.

The Delhi High Court decriminalised gay sex in 2009, but the Supreme Court reinstated legal sanctions in 2014 after a successful appeal by religious groups.

According to official data, 2,187 cases under Section 377 were registered in 2016 under the category of "unnatural offences".

Seven people were convicted and 16 acquitted.
Prosecutor called for former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak to face 20 years in prison as he stands trial over charges of corruption

Prosecutors on Thursday demanded 20 years in prison for former South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, the most recent of the country's ex-leaders to be embroiled in a criminal inquiry.

The 76-year-old former CEO turned president -- who served from 2008 to 2013 -- faces multiple charges including bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement and tax evasion.

Prosecutors in the Seoul court also called for him to pay a total of 26.1 billion won ($23 million) in fines and forfeits.

The case against Lee means all four former South Korean presidents who are still alive have been charged or convicted for criminal offences.

"The accused undermined the tenets of the constitution by taking advantage of his authority as president for his own private gains", prosecutors said in a statement read at the court.

"Consequently, he became the country's fourth president to be arrested for criminal offences, leaving indelible marks on the constitutional history."

Lee has been accused of accepting a total of some 11 billion won ($10.2 million) in bribes between late 2007 when he was elected president and 2012, according to prosecutors' documents.

The case against Lee also includes claims that the Samsung Group bought a presidential pardon in 2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted of tax evasion.

Both Samsung and Lee have denied the allegations.

The money that prosecutors claim Lee took includes 1.7 billion won in secret funds siphoned off from the country's spy agency and some 3.5 billion won received in return for favours, from people including business figures, a politician and a Buddhist monk.

Separately, prosecutors claim Lee embezzled 35 billion won over 12 years between 1994 and 2006 from DAS, an auto parts company which prosecutors claim Lee owns in his relatives' names.

Lee has dismissed what prosecutors say are "incriminating" documents and testimony from his relatives and aides as "fabrications".

The verdict and sentence will be handed down on October 5.

South Korean presidents have a tendency to end up in prison after their time in power -- usually once their political rivals have moved into the presidential Blue House.

In August an appeals court extended the sentence for Lee's successor Park Geun-hye to 25 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power.

Park was ousted last year over a nationwide corruption scandal that prompted massive street protests.

Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, former army generals who served as president through the 1980s to early 1990s, served jail terms for corruption and treason after leaving office.

But both Chun and Roh received presidential pardons after serving about two years.

Another former leader, Roh Moo-hyun, committed suicide in July after becoming embroiled in a corruption probe.
Washington and New Delhi are eager to deepen ties as a way of countering China, whose economic and military might grows stronger by the day

Top Indian and US officials on Thursday touted deepening ties that will see greater cooperation between the two countries' militaries -- and will likely result in India buying more American arms.

The US has gone to great lengths to forge a closer bond with India as Washington seeks partners to push back against China's economic and military rise across the region.

As an example, Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for the US and India to hold major military drills next year.

The drills would be a first of sorts -- the two countries' forces have not previously trained simultaneously in the air, on the land and at sea.

"We have decided to carry out for the first time a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019," Sitharaman said.

Joining Sitharaman for the talks was Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

After the summit, Pompeo said it had been "pretty special, historic, a level of relationship that the two countries had not previously had."

Aside from agreeing to joint drills, the two countries also signed a "Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement."

Known as COMCASA, this deal will allow the two countries to exchange sensitive military information quickly and securely.

Despite the friendly tone of the summit, there are plenty of issues India and the US do not see eye-to-eye on.

In 2016, Washington designated India as a "major defence partner", making it easier for the two countries to do arms deals.

India however is finalising a deal with Moscow to buy new systems including its S-400 long-range, surface-to-air missiles.

None of the four officials who spoke to reporters after the summit -- but did not take questions -- mentioned whether the S-400 issue had come up.

Under current US rules, third countries could face sanctions if they transact with Russian defence or intelligence sectors.

If the S-400 deal is finalised, India has signalled it will ask Washington for a special waiver from sanctions, though a US official last week said there is no guarantee it would do so.

The US wants to wean India off Russian systems and onto American hardware. It already has sold US Apache attack helicopters and other gear, and is negotiating to sell armed drones to India.

- Belt and road -

In an apparent reference to China and its Belt and Road initiative -- which floods developing countries with cash for infrastructure projects that sometimes cannot be repaid -- Pompeo said the US and India wish to pursue "fundamental rights and liberties and prevent external economic coercion."

The talks were first meant to be held in April and then in June but both were postponed, triggering speculation of a rift.

After the talks were over, a reporter asked Pompeo if he was involved in a scandal gripping Washington, after the New York Times reported an anonymous editorial penned by a Trump official that depicts the White House in a state of dangerous chaos.

Pompeo denied he had anything to do with the letter.

In May, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and said other countries, including India, must stop buying oil from Tehran before November 4 or face US sanctions.

India however is highly reliant on Iranian crude imports.

India has a $25 billion trade surplus with the United States, and to reduce that the Trump administration is reportedly pressing India to take more US imports.

A draft agreement put forward by Washington last month committed India to accepting more imports of US in the areas of civilian aircraft and natural gas, taking Indian officials by surprise, the Hindu daily reported on Thursday.

"We will consider waivers where appropriate but ... our expectation (is) that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country or sanctions will be imposed," Pompeo said.

Mattis and Pompeo were due to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Thursday.

India and the US also vowed closer cooperation in counterterrorism operations.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has criticised an Islamic court for caning two women for having lesbian sex

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday denounced the caning of two women convicted of having lesbian sex in violation of strict Islamic laws, after the punishment sparked a storm of criticism.

The pair were caned in front of more than 100 spectators in an Islamic court Monday, with one of the women breaking down in tears, after they admitted breaching rules that forbid homosexual relations.

The punishment in conservative northern Terengganu state marked the first time women have been caned for same-sex relations in Muslim-majority Malaysia, according to campaigners, and heightened fears about a worsening climate for the country's homosexuals.

Mahathir added his voice to growing criticism, saying he had discussed the issue with his cabinet and they felt the caning "does not reflect justice and tolerance in Islam".

"This gives a bad image of Islam and we believe that if there are similar cases like this we need to consider giving lighter punishments," he said.

"It is crucial we show Islam is not a cruel religion... that humiliates people."

Mahathir said as it was a first offence for the women, they should have been given advice rather than being caned.

The women, aged 22 and 32, were arrested in April by Islamic enforcement officers after they were found in a car in a public square.

The pair, whose identities have not been revealed, pleaded guilty last month to breaking Islamic laws and were sentenced to six strokes of the cane and a fine of 3,300 ringgit ($800).

Multi-ethnic Malaysia operates a dual-track legal system, with Islamic courts handling religious and family matters for Muslim citizens, who make up over 60 percent of the country's population.

Islamic laws are overseen by individual states in Malaysia. Terengganu state is governed by the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which is not part of the ruling coalition at the national level.

The caning came against a backdrop of what activists say is growing intolerance towards the country's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The Islamic affairs minister has spoken out against homosexuals, while a transgender woman was brutally attacked in the southern state of Negeri Sembilan.
Indian LGBT activists have hailed the Supreme Court verdict as a major victory

India's Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a ban on gay sex sparking emotional and joyous celebrations among activists after a decades-long campaign against a colonial-era law used to clamp down on homosexual rights.

Members of India's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community vowed to use the historic ruling to push for greater rights including same-sex marriage in the South Asian nation of 1.25 billion people.

"The law had become a weapon for harassment for the LGBT community," said chief justice Dipak Misra as he quashed the cornerstone of Section 377, a law introduced by British rulers in 1861.

"History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries," added the ruling.

Gay activists have hailed the verdict as a major boost in the deeply conservative country

India is now one of more than 120 countries to have effectively decriminalised homosexuality. The ruling puts pressure on other South Asian nations which still take a hard line on gay rights.

Indian religious groups have fiercely opposed any liberalisation of sexual morality.

While LGBT groups shed tears and celebrated, the conservative government made no immediate comment on the ruling. The government had opposed action against Section 377 but finally said it would give in to the "wisdom" of the top court.

"It was a law that propagated homophobia," said Keshav Suri, one of the petitioners against Section 377, who organised a Bollywood-style dance show and champagne party at his family's luxury Delhi hotel to celebrate the court victory.

Many Indian gay professionals have moved to Canada and Europe where they are more accepted, added the businessman who married his partner in Paris this year.

- Tears and chocolate -

Members of the LGBT community hugged each other and cried outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi as news of the verdict spread.

In Chennai, gay activists handed out chocolate. "I am speechless! It's taken a long time to come but finally I can say I am free and I have equal rights as others," said Rama Vij, a college student in Kolkata who gathered with others to watch on television.

Activists had been fighting the ban since the 1990s

Activists had been fighting the ban since the 1990s, suffering several court reversals before Thursday's verdict.

The Delhi High Court decriminalised gay sex in 2009, but the Supreme Court reinstated the ban in 2014 after an appeal by religious leaders.

According to official data, seven people were convicted on charges of "unnatural offences" and 16 acquitted in 2016.

The United Nations hailed the ruling as "a day when respect and dignity was finally restored in India for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people."

Michel Sidibe, executive director of UN AIDS, added: "I applaud the brave activists, civil society organizations and community groups that have fought long and hard for this injustice to be reversed."

The Supreme Court verdict sparked celebrations among activists and members of India's LGBT community

Despite the pressure on the LGBT community, India has quietly made some strides in sexual rights in recent years.

A transgender judge, Joyita Mondal Mahi, presides over courts in West Bengal state, Indian passports now state whether a holder is "male", "female" or "other", and the city of Raigarh, with 139,000 people, has a transgender mayor.

Many activists like Suri say that gay marriage and equal inheritance rights for gay couples will be the ultimate equality prize. But government lawyers warned the Supreme Court judges against changing other parts of the law.

"This is the first step of the history of a lot of other countries that first decriminalised gay sex, allowed civil unions and then marriage," said Suri.

"It is a long battle to equal rights but I am sure we will get there eventually."

Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil, a campaigner and only openly gay member of an Indian royal family, said the ruling had "paved way for a larger social change in the society.

"For the first time since independence the gay community in the country is experiencing freedom in the real sense," Gohil told AFP.

"Now the bigger task is to bring about acceptance in society. We need a lot of advocacy to spread awareness on the issue that gay people have equal rights like any other individual in India."

New Delhi choreographer Mandeep Raikhy, who has used the performances of his dance troupe to highlight the experience of gays, was more cautious.

"I don't want to sound pessimistic but I don't think we will see gay marriage in my lifetime," he said.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace pact in July

Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations.

Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation's two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara.

"Ethiopia's Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony," Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday.

Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to "build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties", according to Eritrea's information ministry.

Also on Wednesday, an Ethiopian cargo ship arrived in Eritrea's Massawa port to transport zinc to China, marking the formal reopening of Eritrean ports to Ethiopian trade.

The two countries have also marked the formal reopening of Eritrean ports to Ethiopian trade

Eritrea was once a province of its larger southern neighbour and comprised its entire coastline.

After a bloody, decades-long independence struggle, Eritrea voted in 1993 to separate, rendering Ethiopia landlocked.

The two countries then went to war from 1998 to 2000 after a border dispute turned violent.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it and held on to disputed territory meant to be under Eritrean control.

Map of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would hand back the disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme where the first shots of the border war were fired.

During his visit this week, Abiy also inspected the road leading from Assab, the other major Eritrean port, to the Ethiopian border, his chief of staff Fitsum Arega tweeted.

However it remains unclear when the heavily militarised Ethiopia-Eritrea border will formally open or when Ethiopian forces will withdraw from the disputed areas.
China has criticised the UK after saying its warship "entered the territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands without permission"

China lashed out at Britain on Thursday for sending a warship close to disputed islands in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built military installations despite competing claims from other nations.

The US and its allies have in recent times sent planes and warships to the area for "freedom of navigation" operations intended as a signal to Beijing of their right -- claimed under international law -- to pass through the contested waters.

China's foreign ministry said HMS Albion, an amphibious assault ship, entered the area on August 31, sailing close to the Paracel Island chain, known as Xisha in Chinese.

The vessel "entered the territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands without the permission of the Chinese government," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

"The Chinese Navy verified and identified the warship according to law and warned it to leave."

The foreign ministry has lodged a protest "expressing strong dissatisfaction", the statement continued.

"China strongly urges Britain to stop such provocations immediately so as not to damage the overall situation of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability."

However, London insisted the warship was operating according to international law.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: "HMS Albion exercised the right to freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms."

He added the UK had a "strong relationship with China".

Beijing has deployed a range of military hardware including anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles and electronic jammers across the South China Sea, where it has built islets and other maritime features into hardened military facilities, according to US officials.

In May, China landed heavy bombers on Woody Island in the Paracels, a show of military might intended to boost its territorial claims in the area.

Woody Island is home to China's largest base in the island chain, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Beijing claims most of the resource-rich sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Israeli armoured vehicles stage a military exercise in the annexed Golan Heights near the armistice line with Syria on August 7, 2018

US ambassador to Israel David Friedman expects the annexed Golan Heights to remain under Israeli control "forever", according to an excerpt released Thursday of an interview he gave to an Israeli newspaper.

Israel seized most of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

"I cannot honestly imagine a situation in which the Golan Heights is not part of Israel forever," Friedman told Israel Hayom, which is set to publish the full interview on Friday.

"I cannot imagine a situation in which the Golan Heights is returned to Syria," he added.

"Giving up the high area of the Golan Heights may put Israel at great security disadvantage, and it is unnecessary to say that I cannot think of anyone more unworthy of receiving such a prize than Assad," he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Friedman even mentioned the possibility of the US officially recognising the Golan as Israeli territory.

During a visit to Israel in August, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said there were no discussions on such recognition.

Israel and Syria, the scene of a deadly conflict that has raged since 2011, are still technically at war.

In the past, successive Israeli governments have held peace talks with Syrian officials, either directly or indirectly, predicated on the return of all or part of the Golan regardless of the 1981 law that unilaterally annexed it.
Art by Wu Jian'an [Photo provided to China Daily]

Over the last two years, Wu Jian'an, a Beijing artist and teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, has been leading his students to travel extensively around Guizhou, a province of China famous for its ethnic diversity.

During these trips, the students were exposed to the rich cultural traditions passed down through the generations, especially those of the Miao ethnic group.

Their works inspired by these fruitful trips will be displayed at two upcoming exhibitions in Beijing, both titledWhere Worlds Weave. The first show will open at the Today Art Museum on Sept 8, while the other will take place at Prince Kung's Palace Museum on Sept 23.

The works being shown introduce the rich variety of Miao culture  their music, embroidery, cuisine and sacrificial ceremonies  to urban audiences, while the artists' contemporary interpretation of these traditions also give them a second life.

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[ Editor: Xueying ]
Police have detained scores of people over charges of inciting the demonstrations, sparking fears among activists

Bangladesh police on Thursday arrested a top road safety campaigner weeks after the country was rocked by massive student protests demanding greater efforts to halt deaths caused by speeding.

Dhaka police said Mozammel Hoque Chiwdhury, secretary general of the Passenger Welfare Association, was detained after being accused of extorting 200,000 taka ($2,500).

Dadan Fakir, head of police for the Mirpur neighbourhood of Dhaka where the case was filed this week, said the arrest bore no link to the protests, in which tens of thousands of students gridlocked Dhaka for nine days.

The protests, a major challenge to the authority of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saw vehicles vandalised and pro-government groups attack demonstrators, photographers and even the US ambassador's car.

About 12,000 people die each year in accidents on Bangladesh's notorious roads, according to the monitoring group led by Hoque, a vocal campaigner for many years.

Last week, his group said 259 people were killed and 960 people were injured in more than 200 road accidents during the Eid al Adha holidays in late August.

After the protests, the government approved a new transport law allowing harsher punishments for offenders. Dhaka police say they are already cracking down on dangerous motorists and taking unsafe vehicles off the road.

Police have, however, also detained scores of young protesters, a top photographer and an actress over charges of inciting the demonstrations, sparking fears among activists.

Shamsuddin Chowdhury, an executive member of the Passenger Welfare Association, told The Daily Star newspaper that the charges against Hoque were "false".

"This arrest was made to gag his voice. Police are just making charges up," he said.
Director Errol Morris arrives at the Venice Film Festival for a screening of his film 'American Dharma'

If Errol Morris thought he was about to get an easy ride from what Steve Bannon calls the "Hollywood liberal elite" with his new film "America Dharma", he had another thing coming.

Journalists after journalist at the Venice film festival pummelled the king of the confessional documentary for giving Donald Trump's former strategist and alt-right hero a platform.

Usually post-screening press conferences at film festivals are love-ins, with the auteur gently cradled by reporters and critics after bringing their baby into the world.

But in Venice Morris got a kicking, with reporters queueing up to accuse him of falling into the far-right's trap.

When the reviews fell Thursday the verdict -- with a few notable exceptions -- was damning.

Variety lacerated Morris for letting Bannon get away with "playing the role of alt-right Teddy bear... It's hard to escape the feeling that Errol Morris got played," wrote its critic Owen Gleiberman.

"If you walked into 'American Dharma' knowing nothing about Donald Trump's former adviser you'd probably find him to be a fascinating, compelling, and at times even charming figure. If that sounds like a swipe against the movie, it is."

- 'Brazen lies' unchallenged -

Following a storm of protest, Bannon was dropped as guest speaker at the annual New Yorker festival

Morris -- who has previously put the often reviled architects of the Vietnam and Iraq wars, Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld, under the microscope in the Oscar-winning "The Fog of War" and "The Unknown Known" -- never "stands up to Bannon's most brazen lies", Gleiberman argued.

The sentiment was shared by the Italian and Spanish press.

Eric Kohn, chief critic of IndieWire, said the film's ambiguity made it the "most disturbing movie of the year... It's never clear who has the upper hand.

"Bannon acolytes may not be persuaded to abandon their leader, and everyone else is left wondering if the bad guys have already won," he said.

That the film was shown on the same day as Paul Greengrass' highly emotional "22 July", the story of far right terrorist Anders Breivik's massacre of 77 people in Norway in 2011, gave an added piquancy to the debate.

Furthermore, Bannon arrived in Venice at the centre of a storm of protest over his inclusion as a speaker at the New Yorker festival.

When the magazine's editor bowed to pressure and dropped him, Bannon damned it as "a defining moment" from his Venice hotel room.

"David Remnick showed he was gutless when confronted by the howling online mob," he said.

Morris, too, came out fighting against the "hostile questioning" of his film.

- 'Ostrich mentality' -

He declared that an "ostrich mentality" to the rise of the nativist far right was a "very big mistake".

It was his duty as a journalist to investigate whether a man who comes over as a bookish film buff in the film, is a real danger or just a liberal bogeyman with a "talent for clickbait".

"Does he really believe in this ideology, or is he just a snake oil salesman, an opportunist, who uses these ideas?" said the filmmaker, a self-confessed New York liberal.

"We learn that there is a deep strain of self-deception in him," Morris insisted, telling AFP that he found many of Bannon's ideas "pernicious".

In the film Bannon even warms to being compared to Lucifer, finishing a quote from Milton's poem "Paradise Lost", "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

Morris, 70, said "Bannon wants to destroy the UN, the EU and the euro and to turn it back into a world of warring nation states. It is insane. But given his record in the US, if I were in Europe I'd be worried.

"Do we have no awareness of history in America?" Morris quipped. "Probably we don't."

Asked if he was worried the film might help to normalise some of Bannon's extreme views, the veteran director admitted that "I am still struggling with that... But my answer was not to remain silent. It is nonsense that we should just not talk about it."

But Gleiberman does not buy that. For him "'American Dharma' isn't investigative filmmaking. It's a toothless bromance."

As for Bannon, he likes the film, Morris told AFP. "It is probably not my best review."
Construction crews work on a nine-metre (30 foot) high wall Israel is building along the Lebanse border in the hope of thwarting any attempt by its enemy Hezbollah to infiltrate and attack

High in the hills above the Mediterranean, Israeli troops worked while soldiers from a country still technically at war with them peered down from only metres above.

The odd spectacle played out this week as Israel continued work on a new concrete wall along its northern border with Lebanon. A few Lebanese soldiers watched from a tower just on the other side.

Israel has spent years building barriers to keep out Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as African migrants crossing from Egypt.

Earlier this year, new construction began along the Lebanese border, where Israel is building a wall equipped with cameras in the hope of thwarting any attempt by its enemy Hezbollah to infiltrate and attack.

It follows up on earlier construction in 2012 of a wall around the Israeli town of Metula next to the Lebanese border.

Israel says all portions of the wall will be on its side of the so-called blue line -- the UN-established ceasefire line put in place after its withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

But Lebanon says some sections will cut into its territory and earlier this year pledged a diplomatic push to prevent construction.

Lebanon's plans to explore for oil and gas offshore in waters eyed by both sides have added to the controversy.

Israeli military officials told journalists during a tour of the work near the Mediterranean coast on Wednesday that the wall, replacing a fence, was being built for defensive purposes.

UN peacekeepers patrol alongside a new wall Israel is building along the Lebanese border that Lebanon says cuts into its territory in places

Israel fought a war with Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah in 2006. The border area has remained relatively quiet since.

"This obstacle basically relates to the intentions, the spoken intentions, the threats made public by Hezbollah since 2011, to infiltrate into Israel and to attack Israeli communities south of the blue line," said Major Tomer Gilad.

"We're taking these threats seriously."

- Nine metres high -

Israel has so far built 11 kilometres (seven miles) of the wall and a budget is in place for two more.

The military hopes to eventually extend it some 130 kilometres, stretching the length of the frontier.

If financed in full, work is expected to take two years, said project manager Brigadier General Eran Ofir.

Military officials declined to comment on whether it includes underground components to detect and stop tunnel digging, as are being constructed along the border with the Gaza Strip.

The total cost is expected to be 1.7 billion shekels ($472 million, 406 million euros).

A section of the new wall Israel is building along the Lebanese border lies high in the hills overlooking the Mediterranean coast

It is designed to be some nine metres (30 feet) high including steel mesh on top -- similar to the wall that cuts off the West Bank from Israel.

It is made of long concrete blocks, with tubes for technological components protruding.

Israel's military stresses it is closely coordinating the work with the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL.

Representatives of the Israeli and Lebanese armies meet roughly once a month, with UNIFIL mediating, to coordinate not only work on the wall but other issues that could lead to misunderstandings or clashes.

Israel and Lebanon have been involved in a series of conflicts over the years and the two remain technically at war.

But the reason for the wall has less to do with the Lebaese army than Hezbollah, an Israeli military official said.

- 'Not just what you'll see' -

Tensions run deep between Israel and the Iranian-backed group.

Hezbollah has been preoccupied with other issues in recent years, having sent several thousand of its fighters to back Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war.

It has lost many hundreds of fighters, including senior commanders, since it deployed in Syria, where the war is now winding down.

But from Israel's point of view, it has gained as well by learning new tactics while fighting alongside Iranian and Russian troops, who are also backing Assad.

The Israeli army is stepping up its defences along the Lebanese border in the belief that its foe Hezbollah will emerge more battle-hardened from its costly involvement in the civil war in Syria

Israel's military believes Hezbollah has between 100,000 and 120,000 short-range missiles and rockets, as well as several hundred longer-range missiles.

But the potential for shootings and infiltrations, as well as the need for surveillance, is the reason for the wall, it says.

"It's not just what you'll see, the cement wall," the senior Israeli military official said, adding there were components he could not talk about that make "what we can see from this much, much better."
India's LGBT community has celebrated the end of the notorious Section 377 of the penal code, which until Thursday banned same-sex acts

It was like a scene from a Bollywood blockbuster as staff at one of New Delhi's most luxurious hotels performed an elaborate dance routine in the lobby to celebrate a historic Supreme Court ruling on gay rights.

The Lalit hotel's Keshav Suri, one of the court's petitioners, entered the lobby to rousing applause, gave his husband a peck on the cheek and declared: "It is time to celebrate. It is time to come out of the closet."

Suri's dancers wore rainbow makeup and bright Indian outfits to mark the end of the notorious Section 377 of the penal code, which until Thursday banned same-sex acts as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature".

Cakes and champagne rounded out the hotel party while Suri said Thursday's judgement was just the beginning of the battle for LGBT recognition.

"A lot more needs to be done about inheritance, marriage, insurance... but slowly we are getting there," Suri added.

Outside the Supreme Court and in other cities across India there were tearful celebrations as activists and supporters hugged each other after hearing the judgement, which said India's LGBT community was "owed an apology" for its treatment.

One college student skipped class to be outside the Supreme Court and come out to her family through a bevy of media cameras present for the occasion.

Whilst security personnel stopped the crowd from entering the court building with banners and flags, they could not dampen the enthusiasm of the gathering.

- Out of the bedroom -

The Delhi High Court decriminalised gay sex in 2009, but the Supreme Court reinstated the ban in 2014 after an appeal by religious leaders

Activists and well-wishers outside jumped for joy while waving gay pride flags and placards reading "Love Wins" and "LGBT rights are human rights".

Smiles and laughter gave way to tears as many came to terms with the end of a decades-long struggle.

Similar gatherings were held across India, with LGBT community members handing out chocolates in the southern city of Chennai, while gay activists rejoiced on Twitter.

"Well done Supreme Court. You have finally got the government out of our bedroom," wrote media entrepreneur Ramesh Srivats.

India's film fraternity too gave rave reviews to the Supreme Court.

"Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!" said filmmaker Karan Johar on Twitter minutes after the judgement.

"Accepting diversity has to be the core value of every Indian and frankly is the only way India will survive and thrive," added famous author Chetan Bhagat.

While India's law only legalises sexual acts between adults, gay activists have hailed the verdict as a major boost in the deeply conservative country where religious groups have fiercely opposed any liberalisation of sexual morality.

And anti-gay groups insisted that Indian society will never fully accept the LGBTQ community. "The judgement will change nothing on the ground. You can't change the mindsets of the people with the hammer of law," said Pandit Ajay Gautam of the fringe Hum Hindu group.
Supporters of the Yemeni rebels demonstrate in their stronghold Saada on September 5, 2018 against an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition which killed 51 people, 40 of them children

Yemen's Huthi rebels said Thursday they will not join peace talks in Geneva until their conditions are met, accusing the United Nations of failing to keep its promises.

Hameed Assem, a member of the rebel delegation scheduled to attend the talks on Thursday, said it was "ready" to travel but would not do so as the UN had not met three conditions they had previously agreed.

The conditions include the transport of wounded rebels to Oman, the repatriation of rebels who have already received treatment there and a guarantee that the Huthi delegation would be allowed to return to the rebel-held capital Sanaa after the talks.

The planned UN-sponsored talks in Geneva will be the first public meetings involving government and rebels delegations since 2016, when 108 days of negotiations in Kuwait failed to reach agreement on power-sharing.

While representatives of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi arrived in Geneva on Wednesday, the rebels have remained in Sanaa.

On Wednesday, the Huthis said that they were stranded in Sanaa because the Saudi-led coalition, which controls Yemen's airspace, had not given their UN plane permission to fly.

The coalition intervened in 2015 when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into exile as the rebels closed in on his last refuge.

There are low expectations of any breakthrough in ending the conflict, which has killed nearly 10,000 people since 2015.

Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani has ruled out any face-to-face meetings with the rebels.

The war has triggered what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with millions driven to the brink of famine.
Syrians at a camp for displaced people in Idlib province on September 5, 2018

Hundreds of Syrian civilians fled Idlib province on Thursday as the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey readied for last-ditch talks on the fate of the last rebel bastion.

Government forces and their allies have been massing around Idlib, where aid groups fear what could be the last major battle of Syria's seven-year civil war may also prove its deadliest.

Western powers have warned against a bloodbath but Damascus and Moscow are adamant that an offensive is needed to root out the jihadists who dominate the province.

Sporadic bombardment has targeted armed groups on Idlib's fringes in recent days, and on Thursday families began streaming out of their battered hometowns to seek safety elsewhere.

Trucks piled high with mattresses, metal pipes, plastic tanks and wicker mats could be seen heading towards camps near Syria's northern border with Turkey.

"We left because of the shelling, the crazy indiscriminate shelling," said Abu Naser, who fled on the back of one such truck.

"We don't know where to head now. So many people fled -- what are we supposed to do, sit under the shelling and airplanes?

Another group of hundreds of families fled the province's southeast for other rebel-held areas, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said "around 180 families, or some 1,000 people" had escaped those areas since Wednesday night, heading to rebel territory further east.

Idlib: risk of a humanitarian crisis

They were fleeing Syrian artillery and Russian bombardment on villages that lie close to government-held areas and would therefore be most vulnerable to the early phase of an assault.

Artillery fire also killed one civilian and wounded six more, added the Britain-based war monitor.

- 'Pull back from the brink' -

The number displaced so far is tiny compared with the 800,000 that the United Nations fears may be thrown onto the roads, more than a quarter of the rebel zone's population.

Warning of the risks of a regime assault on Idlib, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the rebel-held enclave as a "ticking time bomb, both in humanitarian and security terms".

Save the Children said more violence would have "devastating consequences" for Syria's young.

"During seven years of war, these children have seen and experienced things that no child ever should," said its chief Helle Thorning-Schmidt, calling on the warring parties in Idlib to "pull back from the brink".

The UN, world powers, and aid groups hope a summit on Friday between the presidents of Russia, Iran, and Turkey -- the three main powerbrokers in Syria -- can avert an assault.

The trio will meet in Tehran as part of the ongoing Astana process aimed at ending the conflict, which has killed 350,000 people and driven more than 11 million from their homes since it erupted in 2011.

Russia says its priority is to eradicate jihadist groups from Idlib, with the foreign ministry pledging on Thursday that it would continue to "kill terrorists" across Syria.

The three main power brokers in Syria, (LtoR) Iran's Hassan Rouhani, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin, seen here in Ankara on April 4, 2018, are to hold talks in Tehran on Friday on the fate of the last rebel bastion Idlib

"We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists... whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria," said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Turkey, meanwhile, already hosts three million Syrian refugees and wants to avert an assault that would push more towards the border.

Ankara is under pressure from Russia to exert its influence on rebels in Idlib, but the province is dominated by the more powerful and jihadist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance.

"We can work together to render those (radical groups) ineffective. The solution is not to bomb or attack all over Idlib, without any distinction," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

- Rescue centre hit -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before heading to Iran that an offensive could trigger "a serious massacre", while his US counterpart, Donald Trump, said the outcome of the Tehran summit would be crucial.

"Because the world is watching. That cannot be a slaughter. If it's a slaughter, the world is going to be very, very angry. And the United States is going to be very angry, too," he said on Wednesday.

Russia has hinted the Idlib offensive could be conducted in several phases, giving negotiations a chance to continue in parallel.

Syrian rebel fighters of the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front rest in the northern countryside of Idlib province on September 5, 2018, as a threatened government offensive looms

The next few days could see the launch of an assault restricted to peripheral areas, focusing on the strategic north-south M5 highway and flushing out rebels responsible for drone attacks on Russia's Hmeimim air base.

On Thursday, rescue workers said their headquarters in a southern part of Idlib province was forced to close after being damaged in air strikes.

Mossab al-Qadur, the head of the centre in Al-Tamana, told AFP he was inside the building when it was struck by dozens of shells and rockets.

"When the shells stopped, we quickly got out. About 15 minutes later, a Sukhoi 24 (Russian jet) targeted the centre, which put it out of service," said Qadur.
Huthi supporters demonstrate in the Yemeni rebels' stronghold Saada on September 5, 2018 against an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition which left 51 people dead

Uncertainty hung Thursday over long-awaited talks in Geneva between Yemen's warring parties, as the rebel delegation refused to attend until its demands are met.

UN mediator Martin Griffiths, who said Wednesday the meeting offered a "flickering signal of hope" of an end to the years-long conflict, had to postpone their scheduled start.

Yemen's Huthi rebels said they would not join the talks until the UN meets conditions that include transporting their wounded to Oman for treatment and a guarantee that delegation members will be allowed to return to rebel-held Sanaa from Geneva.

The rebels accused the UN of failing to keep promises in this regard.

The talks are meant to be the first since 2016 when 108 days of negotiations between the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and rebels failed to broker a deal.

But with government representatives already in the Swiss capital since Wednesday, the rebels remained stranded in Sanaa amid claims the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi was preventing them from leaving.

According to the Huthis' Al-Masirah TV, the UN had been unable to "secure authorisation" from the coalition for a plane to transport the rebel delegation, along with wounded insurgents, out of Yemen.

UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has had to delay long-awaited talks between the government and rebels

While the Huthis control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, the coalition controls the country's airspace.

Asked about the Huthi charges, Griffiths said Wednesday: "We are working on that."

On Thursday, an AFP journalist saw the envoy entering the Geneva hotel hosting the Yemen government delegation.

Griffiths had told journalists he would begin informal consultations" with the government team, led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, while the rebels make their way to Switzerland.

But when the two parties eventually meet, there would be no "formal negotiations," the envoy stressed, merely exploratory talks on how to get the parties back to the table.

A Yemeni pro-government fighter near Hodeida fires a heavy machine gun in an image grab taken from AFPTV on June 15, 2018

The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged both sides to "take a first step towards ending a conflict that has brought severe pain and humanitarian suffering to the Yemeni people".

Griffiths was hopeful that the talks, expected to last a few days, "will begin to send a flickering signal of hope" to the people of Yemen.

"There is a chance for some tangible progress," he insisted.

The government and rebels, however, have said they expect no breakthrough.

The foreign minister told AFP this week that the chance of face-to-face sitdowns between the two delegations was slim to none.

- 'Collateral damage' -

All previous attempts to resolve the Yemen war have failed.

Key actors in the Yemen conflict

Griffiths is the UN's third Yemen envoy since 2014, when the Huthis overran the capital Sanaa and drove Hadi's government into exile.

The following year, Saudi Arabia and its allies formed a powerful regional military coalition to back Hadi's government in its fight against the Huthis.

The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and pushed the Arab world's most impoverished country to the brink of famine.

On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition acknowledged there may have been "collateral damage" from August 23 strikes the UN said killed 26 children south of the port of Hodeida.

A day earlier, Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels, with shrapnel wounding 26 people including two children, the coalition said.

On Thursday, 16 humanitarian NGOs urged French President Emmanuel Macron to explicitly condemn any attack that causes civilian deaths in Yemen.
Taiwan on Friday joined nearly 30 mostly Western countries to legalise same-sex marriage but in many other parts of the world homosexuality is illegal and sometimes subject to the death penalty.

Here is an overview.

- Taiwan, first in Asia -

While much of Asia is tolerant of homosexuality, Taiwan became the first in the region to allow gay marriage via a bill passed by lawmakers Friday.

Vietnam decriminalised gay marriage celebrations in 2015 but stopped short of full legal recognition for same-sex unions.

The Philippines' top court in June started hearing arguments for the legalisation of gay marriage, although its chances appear slim in the devoutly Roman Catholic country.

Australia and New Zealand are the only places in the wider Asia-Pacific region to have passed gay marriage laws.

Homosexuality is outlawed in the region's Muslim countries, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Brunei sparked a worldwide backlash in April when it introduced laws that include death by stoning for gay sex. A month later it said the laws would not be enforced.

In China, where homosexuality was classified as a mental illness until 2001, discrimination remains widespread.

- Europe, gay marriage pioneers -

The Netherlands in 2001 became the first country in the world to allow gay couples to marry.

Fourteen European countries followed: Belgium, Britain -- although not Northern Ireland -- Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.

Austria allowed gay marriage from 2019 and the Czech Republic government backs draft legislation that would legalise same-sex marriage.

Some countries allow only gay civil partnerships, which come with fewer rights, including Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Switzerland.

In Russia homosexuality was considered a crime up to 1993 and a mental illness until 1999. Now legal, a 2013 law however punishes the promotion of homosexuality among minors.

In Romania a referendum aimed at restricting the definition of marriage to exclude same-sex couples failed in October 2018 because of a low turnout.

- A handful in the Americas -

Canada authorised same-sex marriage and adoptions in 2005, and 10 years later the United States legalised gay marriage nationwide.

Mexico's federal capital was the pioneer in Latin America, authorising gay civil unions in 2007 and marriages in 2009. Nearly half of its 32 states have followed.

Same-sex marriages are also legal in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay.

Chile legalised gay civil unions in 2015.

Costa Rica's Supreme Court in August 2018 ruled that a ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional and gave parliament 18 months to amend the laws.

Cuba decided in December 2018 to leave out of its new constitution changes that would have paved the way for legal same-sex marriage.

- Africa: marriage in one country -

South Africa is the sole nation on the African continent to allow gay marriage, which it legalised in 2006.

Around 30 African countries ban homosexuality, with Mauritania, Somalia and Sudan having the death penalty for same-sex relations.

Gay sex is decriminalised in only a handful of countries: Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique and the Seychelles.

Kenya in February 2019 postponed a much-anticipated ruling on whether to scrap laws which criminalise homosexuality while Botswana started hearing a similar application in March.

- Middle East: repressed -

Several countries in the conservative region still have the death penalty for homosexuality, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel leads the way in terms of gay rights, recognising same-sex marriages that are performed elsewhere although not allowing such unions in the country itself. Gay couples can adopt children.

Lebanon is also more tolerant than other Arab countries.
The verdicts for 10 South Sudanese soldiers are announced at the military court in Juba, South Sudan. They were found guilty for their role in a hotel attack in which five foreign aid workers were gang-raped and a journalist was killed.

A South Sudan military court on Thursday found 10 soldiers guilty for their role in an attack on a Juba hotel in which five foreign aid workers were gang-raped, and a journalist was killed.

"The military court has found out that the accused... are guilty for their direct responsibilities in committing these crimes," said Judge Knight Baryano Almas, detailing charges of rape, murder, looting and destruction.

One suspect was acquitted while another, a military commander accused of overseeing the horrific attack, died in prison last October in what the army said was a "natural death".

After 31 trial sessions, two soldiers were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of local journalist John Gatluak, as well as rape and other crimes.

The others received sentences ranging from seven to 14 years for charges including rape, sexual harassment and looting.

- Gang-rape and mock executions -

Violence erupted in South Sudan's capital when a peace deal between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar collapsed in July 2016.

During the clashes, government forces rampaged through the Terrain hotel compound housing some 50 employees of foreign organisations.

In his evidence at the start of the trial, the hotel's British owner, Mike Woodward, said that "50 to 100 armed soldiers" broke into the compound.

Woodward listed "the gang rape of at least five international women", the murder of a South Sudanese journalist, the shooting of a US aid worker and "the beating and torture of almost every person in the entire building", including mock executions, among the crimes allegedly committed at his hotel.

During the attack the aid workers made multiple appeals for help to nearby UN peacekeepers, which went unanswered.

A special UN investigation found that a lack of leadership in the UN mission -- which has 13,000 uniformed personnel in South Sudan -- culminated in a "chaotic and ineffective response" during the July fighting.

The court on Thursday ruled that South Sudan's government must pay compensation of $4,000 (3,440 euros) to each rape victim, and more than $2 million to Woodward for damage to his property.

Gatluak's family will be compensated with 51 head of cattle.

- 'Step towards ending impunity' -

The hotel's British owner, Mike Woodward, said that "50 to 100 armed soldiers" broke into the compound

"The leadership of the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army) would like to issue an apology to the victims," army spokesman Colonel Santo Domic told journalists after the ruling.

He said the long trial and delayed verdict was because "most of the victims had left South Sudan immediately after the conflict -- getting them took long."

Last year a victim from Italy returned to testify, while six others who were raped or sexually harassed gave testimony via video link, Domic said.

Woodward welcomed the verdict.

"I am very happy that the criminals have gone to prison, I think that is a good thing. I am happy that the family of the victim who was murdered... got compensated," he told AFP.

Defence lawyer Peter Malual said he would appeal the verdict, claiming that under South Sudanese law it was illegal to send a soldier to jail for murder when the victim's family had received compensation.

Both government troops and rebel forces have been accused of atrocities -- including widespread, brutal rape -- in South Sudan's civil war which began in 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The Terrain trial was a rare example of justice in the conflict, which some observers attribute to the unusual presence of foreign victims.

"After much foot dragging, today's convictions and sentences represent a first step towards ending chronic impunity in South Sudan," said regional Amnesty International chief Seif Magango.

In a statement the US embassy in Juba urged the government to hold accountable those responsible for numerous other violent attacks that have killed tens of thousands and "rampant sexual violence".

"At least 107 aid workers and 13 journalists have been killed trying to help the South Sudanese people or cover the conflict in South Sudan since it started in December 2013," the statement read.
A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber lands at the Russian Hmeimim military base in Latakia province, in the northwest of Syria, on December 16, 2015

Russia will continue to kill "terrorists" in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria to bring back peace, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

"We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists...whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria. Peace must return to Syria," said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in comments reported by Russian agencies.

"This is a question of our security," she added.

Idlib, Syria's last major rebel stronghold, is held by a complex array of anti-regime fighters, many of whom have been blacklisted as "terrorists" by world powers.

Sporadic bombardment has targeted armed groups on Idlib's fringes in recent days, with fresh Syrian artillery and Russian air bombardment of the southeast of the province on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The attacks have prompted terrified residents to flee before a fully-fledged assault is launched, the monitor said.

The Russian military has confirmed airstrikes have been carried out on the area with warplanes targeting the "terrorist" Al-Nusra Front.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory said at least nine civilians, including five children from the same family, were killed in Russian raids Tuesday, while 10 more people were wounded.
It is common for companies to organize various informal events where workers can come with their partners. One of those...
Korean Stars Song Hye Kyo & Park Bo Gum To Film K-Drama 'Boyfriend' In Cuba

Song Hye Kyo and Park Bo Gum will be traveling to Cuba soon to film their upcoming Korean TV drama Boyfriend. The production of the tvN series is originally set for Granada, Spain. However, reports indicate that there will be changes in the location shoot of Boyfriend.

The cast and crew of the TV series are most likely to head in the Caribbean island although the Cuba filming is not 100 percent certain at the moment. Soompi quoted a source from the drama production as saying that they are still working on necessary requirements to film overseas.

"We are planning on going to Cuba to film, although we still have much to be worked out locally... There are still matters that are up in the air regarding filming there, including the fact that we don't yet have permission to film in certain places. We are taking many things in consideration at this moment in time, but it is true that it's very likely we'll be going to Cuba," the insider said.

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Once things have been arranged, Song, Park, and the rest of the cast will be flying to Cuba by the end of the month or early October. Another cast member that has been confirmed to join the show is Block B member P.O. as the younger brother of Park Bo Gum's character.

The upcoming tvN drama has started filming in Seoul last week. Song Hey Kyo was spotted shooting some scenes at Dongguk University while Park was seen onboard a bus.

Boyfriend tells the love story between two individuals who seem to have nothing in common. Cha Soo Hyun (Song Hye Kyo) is a daughter of a politician and ex-wife of a chaebol while Kim Jin Hyuk (Park Bo Gum) is a regular guy who finds happiness even in small things in his ordinary life. The two meet by chance and will develop a romantic relationship but their new found love will create chaos in both of their lives.

Boyfriend is one of the most anticipated TV series this year as it is the TV drama comeback for both Song and Park. Song Hye Kyo took a hiatus from acting after the success of Descendants Of The Sun in 2016 and getting married to her leading man Song Joong Ki the following year. Park Bo Gum, on the other hand, had his last TV drama Love in the Moonlight in 2016. He recently appeared as a part-time employee in the second season of variety show Hyori's Homestay.

Boyfriend is set to premiere in November on a Wednesday-Thursday timeslot. It will be helmed by Don't Dare to Dream (Jealousy Incarnate) director Park Shin Woo.

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Some 700,000 people from the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown

The International Criminal Court said Thursday it had jurisdiction to probe the forced exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar as a possible crime against humanity.

The ICC's "pre-trial chamber... decided by majority the court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportations of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh," the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement.

The Myanmar government on Thursday declined to comment on the announcement when contacted by AFP.

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown.

The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes.

In an unprecedented move in April, the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges at the world's only permanent war crimes court to rule whether she can investigate the deportations as a crime against humanity.

It is a legally complicated request, as Myanmar is not a signatory and member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC.

Bangladesh,however, is a signatory and Bensouda argued that should give her office jurisdiction to investigate the plight of the Rohingya.

She likened deportation to "a cross-border shooting", arguing the crime "is not completed until the bullet (fired in one state) strikes and kills the victim (standing in another state)".
The two small Horn of Africa nations have been at loggerheads for decades over the disputed border region of Doumeira

Djibouti on Thursday hailed a new era in its relations with rival Eritrea, whose foreign minister paid a surprise visit to the country as part of a regional bid to soothe tensions between the neighbours.

The two small Horn of Africa nations have been at loggerheads for decades over the disputed border region of Doumeira, and clashes erupted in 2008. Qatar brokered a peace deal in 2010 but relations have remained strained.

Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said his Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh was visiting to "open a new era in relations between our two countries. Now it is the time for peace".

Echoing the sentiment, Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem welcomed the fact that the countries "have agreed to normalise relations and iron out their differences."

Saleh was accompanied by his Somalian counterpart Ahmed Isse Awad and Ethiopia's Workneh Gebeyehu who travelled to Djibouti to "advance dialogue" between the two nations, Ethiopian state media reported.

Their visit came a day after the presidents of Somalia and Eritrea and Workneh met in Asmara.

It is the latest rapprochement in the region after Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace pact in July ending two decades of cold war after a two-year border war that broke out in 1998.

"I think it is cooling off, peace and stability that will lead to regional integration," said Youssouf.

- 'Region heading towards peace -

"Today the message that we have for the Djiboutian people, the Eritrean people and all in the region, is that the Horn of Africa is heading towards peace."

Djibouti government spokesman Naguib Ali Taher told AFP bilateral relations have been "interrupted" but that both maintain embassies in each other's countries.

Tensions between the two countries rose last year after mediator Qatar pulled its peacekeepers out of the disputed zone of Doumeira.

This came after both Djibouti and Eritrea sided with Saudi Arabia in the row between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours.

Djibouti then accused Eritrea of briefly moving troops into Doumeira, a piece of land jutting into the Red Sea that the two countries had previously squabbled over in 1996 and 1999.

In April 1996 they almost went to war after a Djibouti official accused Asmara of shelling the town of Ras Doumeira.

In 1999 Eritrea accused Djibouti of siding with Asmara's arch-foe Ethiopia while Djibouti alleged its neighbour was supporting Djiboutian rebels and had designs on the Ras Doumeira region, which Eritrea denied.

The clashes in 2008 came after Djibouti accused Eritrean forces of digging trenches on both sides of the border, moving several hundred metres (yards) into Djiboutian territory -- which Asmara denied.

Eritrea withdrew in 2010 after Doha stepped in to mediate and sealed a deal in which further dialogue would lead to the demarcation of the border -- however this was never done.

Djibouti asked both the African Union and the United Nations to help mediate the dispute after Qatar's withdrawal.

The warming of ties in the Horn of Africa has seen Ethiopia and Eritrea re-open air links, embassies and trade routes.

Eritrea and Somalia meanwhile established diplomatic ties in July after more than ten years of tensions over accusations Asmara backed Islamic militia.
Fall armyworms attacking a maize plant in Kenya earlier this year. On farms across Africa, a seemingly innocuous brown and beige caterpillar is waging a silent war, devastating rural incomes and posing a major threat to the continent's food supply

Unpredictable weather patterns and the spread of crop-destroying fall armyworm caterpillars could lead to "no food at all" for communities across Africa, experts have warned.

The caterpillars, which were discovered in Africa in 2016 and are believed to have come from South America, have now been identified in 44 countries, up from 28 last year.

The director-general of development at Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), Dennis Rangi, blamed globalisation for the spread of the pest.

But it could have a potentially devastating effect combined with unpredictable weather patterns, he said on the sidelines of an agricultural conference in Kigali.

"Rainfall is not very reliable anymore so when you get a combination of a little drought and the fall armyworm you are going to be talking about no food at all," he told AFP on Wednesday.

"The fall armyworm does not feed on maize alone. It will be able to jump to other crops, which means it will devour any other green thing that is out in the field."

Some 300 million people across Africa could be at risk from the effects, he estimated.

CABI was researching the extent of the damage done so far but Rangi said more needed to be done as some farmers turned to makeshift remedies such as soap and detergents.

"We are beginning to see that desperation. We really need to move even faster. It's pretty scary," he added.

Rangi earlier told delegates at the Africa Green Revolution Forum that the continent's success in agriculture hinged to a large extent on how it dealt with the pest.

"Forcefully removing this invasive species cannot be overlooked if we desire this agricultural transformation we are talking about," he said.

- 'Big challenge' -

CABI research from 2017 found the caterpillar could cut yields by up to 60 percent, costing 10 of Africa's major maize-producing economies $2.2 billion to $5.5 billion (1.9 billion to 4.7 billion euros) a year in lost harvests.

But Rangi said that was likely to be a conservative estimate.

Fall armyworm, which was first spotted in Nigeria and Togo and damaged crops from South Africa to Ghana, eat staple crops such as maize, wheat, millet and rice.

They also attack cotton, soybean, potato and tobacco fields.

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) has previously warned that the innocuous-looking but hugely destructive caterpillars pose "a huge threat to food security".

The FAO's representative to the African Union, Chimimba David Phiri, said it was too late to get rid of the pest, as it had developed some resistance to pesticides.

Instead, African countries needed to learn to live with it.

Applying pesticides would not work, he said, suggesting farmers should scan their crops and crush eggs.

"We can manage it but we can't get rid of it. Governments and communities need to understand that," he said.

May-Guri Saethre, from the Nigeria-based International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said experts did not yet know how fall armyworm affected countries across Africa.

"All these things we haven't really sorted out yet, its because it's so new," said Saethre, deputy head of research for development at the IITA.

"We know how it behaves in Latin America but we don't know how it is behaving in Africa. That is a big challenge," she added.

Fall armyworm is believed to have been brought to Africa on commercial flights from South America or in plants imported from the region.

Saethre said it could have been prevented by proper customs and border control checks.
An Iraqi protestor waves Molotov cocktails during a protest outside the regional government headquarters in the southern city of Basra on September 5, 2018

Thousands of people protested on Thursday outside local government offices in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, partly damaged by fire in demonstrations that have seen seven people killed this week.

The protest came after the authorities in Basra cancelled a curfew previously announced by their counterparts in Baghdad, only minutes before it had been due to take effect.

Security forces deployed en masse in the area and encircled the protesters, an AFP correspondent at the scene said, but there was no sign of fresh clashes.

Some police and soldiers even laid candles for the demonstrators killed in recent days.

Smoke and flames could be seen rising from the massive government complex, but it was not clear if it was the result of fresh attacks with Molotov cocktails or the remnants of earlier blazes.

The city was largely calm after days of unrest sparked by anger over poor public services and pollution in Basra's water supply, which has put 30,000 people in hospital.

Firefighters were busy all morning trying to extinguish blazes.

They trained their hoses on flames still burning at the provincial headquarters, which protesters have targeted with incendiary devices.

The regional government complex, surrounded by concrete walls, is seen by protesters as a symbol of a corrupt leadership that has failed to deliver basic services in the region.

Oil-rich Basra -- the only province in Iraq with access to the sea -- has been the epicentre of protests over official neglect that have rocked Iraq since early July.

"The people protest and the government doesn't care, treats them as vandals," said Ali Saad, a 25-year-old at the rally.

"Nobody (here) is a vandal: the people are fed up, so yes they throw stones and burn tyres because nobody cares," he told AFP near the building littered with debris.

Ahmed Kazem, who was also at the protest, urged leaders to respond to the demands of the demonstrators "so that the situation doesn't degenerate".

The 42-year-old said their demands included "public services, water, electricity and jobs".

At least 22 people have been killed in the demonstrations since they erupted in Basra on July 8.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has scrambled to defuse the anger and authorities have pledged a multi-billion dollar emergency plan to revive infrastructure and services in southern Iraq.

But Iraqis remain deeply sceptical as the country remains in a state of political limbo after elections in May.

Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose political bloc won the largest number of seats, on Thursday called for a special parliamentary session to address protesters' concerns.

Politicians must present "radical and immediate" solutions at the meeting or step down if they fail to do so, he said.
Mitiga airport pictured on September 4, 2018, before it reopened on Thursday as a ceasefire held following deadly clashes in the Libyan capital Tripoli

The only working airport in Tripoli reopened Thursday, after being forced to close by deadly clashes in the Libyan capital last week, the transport ministry said.

The announcement comes two days after the United Nations mission in Libya announced a ceasefire agreement between rival militias.

In addition to ending the fighting in which at least 63 people have been killed, the deal paved the way for Mitiga airport in the east of the city to reopen.

"Flights will resume gradually," Milad Maatoug, Libya's transport minister, said in a statement.

Several rockets landed near the airport last week, forcing authorities to suspend operations on Friday and divert flights to Misrata some 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the east.

Libya's civil aviation authority said it had started to coordinate "a gradual resumption of flights" with airlines.

A former military airport, Mitiga was opened to civil air traffic after the destruction of Tripoli's international airport in the south of the city during clashes in 2014.

Since then only Libyan airlines have operated in the country, running internal flights and regular connections to a handful of countries including Tunisia and Turkey.

Libyan airlines are banned from European Union airspace for "security reasons".
Vice President Mike Pence is among the top US officials who have denied being behind an explosive op-ed targeting Donald Trump

Donald Trump on Thursday called on the New York Times to reveal the name of the "coward" who wrote an explosive, anonymous article that has plunged his presidency into its worst crisis yet.

The White House has been convulsed by a fevered hunt for the senior official who declared, in an unsigned article for The New York Times published Wednesday, that "unsung heroes" were quietly working within the administration to frustrate the president's "worst inclinations."

"Nobody knows who the hell he is, or she," Trump told supporters at a rally in Billings, Montana, adding: "Unidentified deep state operatives who defy voters to push their secret agendas are truly a threat to democracy itself."

Invoking national security concerns, Trump said the paper should publish the official's name, before encouraging reporters to investigate the matter. "That would be a good scoop!" he said.

On the internet and in Washington, a guessing game has raged over who the author might be, prompting nearly every cabinet-ranked member of the government to deny it was them.

Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats were among those who issued denials.

First Lady Melania Trump, seen here with US President Donald Trump, decried the publication of an anonymous article attacking her husband

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed," Pence's spokesman Jarrod Agen wrote on Twitter.

"Our office is above such amateur acts."

The manifesto followed the release of excerpts from a bombshell book by Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, who portrayed Trump's White House as an out-of-control "crazytown."

Trump responded with a furious volley of tweets that asked if the author had committed treason while First Lady Melania Trump condemned the decision to publish.

"To the writer of the op-ed -- you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions," she said.

- Firestorm -

The Woodward book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," reported that senior aides lifted documents from the Oval Office desk to keep the president from acting on his impulses, reinforcing the assertions in the Times article.

The firestorm caught up with Mattis and Pompeo in New Delhi, where the Secretary of State denounced the Times' decision to publish as "sad" and "disturbing."

"I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave," he said.

News of the op-ed caught up with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo -- who branded it "sad" and "disturbing" during a visit to New Delhi

Both men denied involvement, while Coats, who as intelligence chief has at times been publicly at odds with Trump, said in a statement speculation that he or his deputy had written the op-ed were "patently false."

When asked if she wrote it, UN envoy Nikki Haley responded with a curt "no" on her way to a Security Council meeting.

James Dao, who runs the Times op-ed page, told CNN he received the article several days ago through an intermediary, but had spoken directly with its author.

- Eye-opening -

In one eye-opening passage, the writer says cabinet members initially considered invoking the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for the president's removal if he is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

They decided against the move, fearing a constitutional crisis, but Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren took to the airwaves on Thursday to revive the idea.

"If senior administration officials think the president of the United States is not able to do his job, then they should invoke the 25th Amendment," Warren told CNN.

Trump meanwhile has called for the article's author to be unmasked.

"Are the investigative 'journalists' of the New York Times going to investigate themselves - who is the anonymous letter writer?," he tweeted ahead of a rally in Montana.

The Times acknowledged the "rare step" of publishing an anonymous editorial but said the official's job would be jeopardized if they were identified.

The piece described a "two-track" presidency in which Trump says one thing and his staff consciously does another, citing the president's alleged preference "for autocrats and dictators."

"The root of the problem is the president's amorality," the official said, denouncing Trump's "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective" leadership style.
Relatives of Hisham Al-Sayed (R) and Avera Mengistu (L), two Israelis believed to be held captive in Gaza, pose next to a poster of the two men in Jerusalem on September 6, 2018

The families of two Israelis believed to be held captive in Gaza by its Hamas rulers demanded Thursday that the Islamist movement return their loved ones.

Ethiopian-born Avera Mengistu was filmed by an Israeli security camera climbing the frontier fence with the Gaza Strip in September 2014.

Human Rights Watch said it was told by an Israeli official that Hisham al-Sayed, a Muslim Bedouin, was picked up by monitoring equipment as he crossed the border into Gaza in April 2015.

Both are said to be mentally unstable.

"Hisham's problem is he is sick psychologically," his father Shaaban al-Sayed told a press conference on Thursday.

"We want to send a message to the Palestinian people in Gaza to speak to Hamas, put pressure on Hamas," to free him, he said in Arabic.

Ilan Mengistu appealed to Hamas' Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar to "act like a human being, to consider my brother Avera's mental condition, to consider the family's suffering, and to release Avera and Hisham today."

He said that his brother was being held as a bargaining chip to try and win the release of Hamas prisoners held by Israel.

"A man with special needs is being held hostage," Mengistu said in Hebrew. "How cruel."

Israel does not allow its citizens to enter Gaza, partly over fears that they may be used as leverage to demand concessions.

Two Israeli soldiers, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, are believed to have been killed in the 2014 war in Gaza and their remains held by Hamas.

The movement has suggested it is willing to trade the bodies in a deal similar to the 2011 swap that saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit freed in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

Around 6,500 Palestinians are currently in Israeli jails, according to the Palestinian Prisoners' Club.
CBS is reported to be negotiating a multi-million-dollar exit for CEO Leslie Moonves, who faces accusations of sexual misconduct

The board of US television giant CBS is negotiating a multi-million-dollar exit for CEO Leslie Moonves, accused of sexual misconduct by at least six women, US media reported Thursday.

Moonves, who orchestrated CBS's revival into a ratings winner, is one of the most powerful American men implicated in the #MeToo era that ignited nearly a year ago with the career implosion of Harvey Weinstein.

Six women who had professional dealings with Moonves told The New Yorker in an article published on July 27 that he sexually harassed them between the 1980s and late 2000s.

The settlement talks would see Moonves replaced by COO Joseph Ianniello on an interim basis and offered a roughly $100 million exit package made up almost entirely of CBS stock, CNBC reported.

The board wants to be able to take back some of the compensation if the harassment allegations against Moonves are confirmed, CNBC said. CBS shares were up decisively on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Times also reported that talks are ongoing on a severance package for Moonves and a settlement which could also resolve a legal dispute for control of CBS that would favor controlling shareholder Shari Redstone.

The US television giant has been the focus of an ongoing legal battle between the Redstone family and the board, chaired by Moonves.

Shari Redstone is a major shareholder of both CBS and Viacom, and has been seeking to merge the two companies. Moonves opposed the deal.

CBS did not immediately respond to an AFP request to comment.

The corporation appointed outside lawyers to investigate The New Yorker claims but 68-year-old Moonves has remained in his post.

He joined CBS in 1995 from Warner Bros. Television, where his team developed hit shows such as "Friends" and "ER."

He was promoted to president and CEO of CBS Television in 1998, and became chairman in 2003. A one-time actor, his wife is the host of "Big Brother" on CBS.
(L-R) Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte hold a joint press conference September 6, 2018

France and the three Benelux countries on Thursday launched a plan to offer EU funds to African countries in return for help stemming the flow of migrants to Europe.

With the issue of immigration fuelling populist movements across Europe, the EU is under pressure to come up with ways to stop the arrival of illegal migrants, many of whom risk their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean in rickety boats.

French President Emmanuel Macron and the prime ministers of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands said they had agreed on "concrete" proposals to put forward at a meeting of EU leaders in Salzburg, Austria, later this month.

Dutch PM Mark Rutte said that "agreements like those concluded with Turkey" were needed to build on a hard-fought but vague deal on migration thrashed out at an EU summit in June.

The EU struck a deal with Turkey in 2016 in a effort to stem the flow of migrants, under which Ankara agreed to take back illegal migrants landing on Greek islands in exchange for incentives including financial aid.

Over the last year the bloc has been stepping up its efforts to support African countries with aid and investment in a bid to reduce the incentives for people to leave their home countries to seek a better life in Europe.

"The European Union must deploy a form of Marshall Plan for Africa, with a concrete operational ambition with African partners", said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

The four leaders also urged more help for European countries of first arrival, Italy and Spain, to deal with the arrivals, but all maintain that these countries must have responsibility for arrivals -- a major point of contention with Italy.

The hardline anti-migrant government in Rome has demanded the EU rotate the ports where migrants rescued in the Mediterranean disembark, arguing that Italy was shouldering an unfair burden.

Italy has been turning away ships with migrants rescued at sea in a campaign to force other EU countries to take them, and last month it threatened to block the EU budget over the issue.

Macron said the countries of arrival "have a responsibility and they cannot get rid of it, but there must be financial solidarity".

"We have made progress today and together we will bring concrete solutions to the Salzburg summit," he added.
Donald Trump's chief of staff John Kelly considers the president "unhinged," according to Bob Woodward's "Fear," a 448-page account of an out-of-control White House

Donald Trump's White House has been convulsed by a bombshell New York Times opinion piece, penned by an unnamed senior administration official and published just a day after excerpts of a damning book on the presidency by Pulitzer-winning journalist Bob Woodward.

Here are some of the most incendiary passages from both:

- 'We're in Crazytown' -

Trump's chief of staff, the retired general John Kelly, considers the president "unhinged," according to Woodward's "Fear," a 448-page account of an out-of-control White House set to hit bookshelves next week.

"He's an idiot. It's pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in Crazytown. I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had," Kelly was quoted as telling a small group of confidants.

Kelly has denied calling the president an idiot.

- 'Kill him' -

After a chemical weapons attack blamed on the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad in April 2017, Trump allegedly urged Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to kill the Russian-backed president and his entourage.

"Let's fucking kill him! Let's go in. Let's kill the fucking lot of them," Woodward quoted Trump as telling his military chief. According to Woodward, Mattis later told staff, "We're not going to do any of that." The US went on to launch a cruise missile strike against a regime air base.

- 'Fifth-grader' -

The Pentagon chief allegedly fumed that Trump had the mental capacity of "a fifth- or sixth-grader" after he had to face a presidential rant about the cost of keeping troops in South Korea to contain the nuclear threat from Pyongyang. "We're doing this to prevent World War III," Mattis was quoted as telling the president.

- 'Goddam dumbbell' -

John Dowd, the former White House legal counsel, allegedly told Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, that he did not want the president to testify because he would embarrass himself and the country.

"I'm not going to sit there and let him look like an idiot. And you publish that transcript, because everything leaks in Washington, and the guys overseas are going to say, 'I told you he was an idiot. I told you he was a goddamn dumbbell. What are we dealing with this idiot for?'" the book quotes Dowd -- who later resigned -- as saying.

- 'Dumb Southerner'-

Woodward describes Trump regularly insulting key members of his team, branding Attorney General Jeff Sessions -- who angered him by recusing himself from oversight of the Mueller probe -- as "mentally retarded. He's this dumb Southerner... He couldn't even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama."

Trump is quoted as likening former chief of staff Reince Priebus to "a little rat," and telling his 80-year-old secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross, "I don't trust you... You're past your prime."

- 'I can stop this' -

Gary Cohn, Trump's former top economic adviser who subsequently quit, by Woodward's account stole a letter off the president's desk to avoid him canceling a trade agreement with strategic ally South Korea. Cohn was reported to have told a colleague Trump did not notice it was gone.

Consulted later by a colleague worried Trump was poised to sign a decree pulling the United States out of the NAFTA trade pact with Mexico and Canada, Cohen replied: "I can stop this."

"I'll just take the paper off his desk."

- 'Resistance' in the White House -

Reinforcing Woodward's account, a "senior official" in the administration penned an unsigned opinion piece for The New York Times, describing himself as part of a secret inside "Resistance" to Trump.

"We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."

"That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

- 'Amoral,' 'anti-trade,' 'anti-democratic' -

"The root of the problem is the president's amorality," wrote the official.

"President Trump's impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic," the column said. It asserted that Trump "shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations."

- 'Until -- one way or another -- it's over' -

"The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility."

"There were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until -- one way or another -- it's over."
Economists gathered at a mid-term workshop held in Hanoi, on September 5, to review the implementation of the master plan on economic restructuring for the 2016-2020 period and discuss measures to promote the process. The event was co-organised by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and the Australian-funded Australia Supports Economic Reform in Vietnam (Aus4Reform) programme.

At the seminar, CIEM Director, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, said that Vietnams economic restructuring during the first half of the 2016-2020 period has achieved positive results, reflected in the relatively high economic growth combined with an improvement in the quality of growth and macroeconomic stability, thanks to the effective support from Aus4Reform.

Labour productivity has improved, while the industry and construction sectors continue to be the mainstay of high economic growth, with the contribution of mining to economic growth witnessing a significant reduction compared to the previous statistics.

However, Dr. Cung also pointed to a number of limitations during the economic restructuring, with resource allocation having not changed much towards the direction of improving efficiency. Large resource flows, such as agriculture to service and industry, rural to urban areas, the State to private sector, and formal to informal areas, are moving slowly, while these shifts are important factors for growth.

In addition, for the first time there is a sign that the growth was lower than that of the previous quarter, raising the question of whether Vietnam's economic growth is on a downward trend or not, Cung added.

If there is no difference in thinking, institutional reform, resource distribution and improving the efficiency of using State resources, the requirement for maintaining high and sustainable growth is a big challenge," stated the head of the economic think tank.

To create a high and sustainable growth engine, the CIEM director suggested continuing to implement the existing solutions but in a stronger and broader manner. It is necessary to develop and perfect production indicators, especially the financial market and land use rights, while allocating State resources in accordance with the market regulations and promoting the development of private enterprises.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, Director of the Central Institute of Economic Management, speaks at the event. (Photo: NDO/Trung Hung)

Instead of trying to restructure the projects and enterprises that have suffered losses, resources should be invested in comprehensive restructuring, focusing on supporting effective enterprises and those with potential for development and effective corporate governance.

Most importantly, Dr. Cung stressed that there should be measures for research in preparation for the 2021-2030 period, as Vietnam has to complete the transition to a modern market and digital economy by that period, while taking advantage of the fourth Industrial Revolutions opportunities. According to him, only an improved market could create new momentum for growth and development.

Dr. Can Van Luc, an economic expert in banking and finance, recommended forming an independent body to evaluate the reality and effectiveness of the economic restructuring process.

In is important to clarify four factors to compare Vietnams economic growth with the worlds, that are the business environment, business capacity, innovation and logistics costs, so as to clarify the distance of the Vietnamese economy against that of the world.

At the workshop, experts also analysed in detail the challenges to public finance reform, such as challenges to State budget collection reform, policy reform for increased budget revenues in the short and medium-term, State budget expenditure, overspending and public debt, public investment issues and State budget transparency at the local level.
New York prosecutors are subpoenaing each Catholic diocese in the state as part of investigations into clerical abuse after at least 1,000 victims were recently identified in neighboring Pennsylvania.

All eight Catholic dioceses have either been or are in the process of being subpoenaed by New York's state attorney general, confirmed Dennis Poust, spokesman for the New York State Catholic Conference.

There are an estimated seven million Catholics across New York, which is the fourth most populous state in the country.

Prosecutors are investigating whether and how Catholic dioceses and other church entities potentially covered up allegations of sexual abuse of children.

All eight Catholic dioceses in New York are being subpoenaed by prosecutors. Pictured is St Patrick's Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York

New York has also set up a clerical abuse hotline and online complaints form, and on Thursday urged victims, witnesses and anyone else with any information on abusive clergy to come forward.

All allegations will be reviewed, and victims' and witnesses' identities will be protected, officials said.

Acting New York state Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood (pictured in May) is leading the investigation

The announcement comes just over three weeks after a grand jury revealed that more than 300 priests abused at least 1,000 children across seven decades in Pennsylvania and that the Catholic Church engaged in a systematic cover-up.

'The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover ups,' said New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood.

'Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well - and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve,' she added, urging 'all victims and anyone else with information to contact our hotline.'

Underwood wants New York to tighten the law, allowing victims to file civil suits until the age 50 and to seek criminal charges until the age of 28.

Currently, victims can only file civil cases or seek criminal charges for most types of child sexual abuse until the age of 23.

There is no time limit on bringing criminal charges for the most serious child sex crimes in New York, but only if those crimes occurred in 2001 or later.

The Pennsylvania report was the most comprehensive to date in the United States since The Boston Globe exposed church abuse in 2002 in Massachusetts.

It increased calls to tighten laws across US states, giving victims more time to come forward to seek redress, and for bishops to be held accountable.
US First Lady Melania Trump, pictured with President Donald Trump at the White House on August 27, 2018, is defending her husband against accusations in an anonymous op-ed that he is "amoral" reckless

First Lady Melania Trump on Thursday accused the author of an anonymous attack on her husband in the op-ed pages of The New York Times of "sabotaging" the country.

The article's author, who is known to the newspaper but described only as a senior administration official, portrayed President Donald Trump as "amoral" and reckless, and said a "quiet resistance" had formed among top aides to thwart his most misguided actions.

"People with no names are writing our nation's history," the first lady said in a statement. "Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences."

She added that anyone bold enough to make such accusations should "stand by their words" rather than hiding behind anonymity.

"To the writer of the op-ed -- you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions," she said.
The conflict between Yemen's Huthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition has left nearly 10,000 people dead

Scheduled Yemen peace talks hung in the balance Friday, with the Huthi rebels listing preconditions for coming to Geneva while the government warned it would decide within hours whether to fly home.

The rebel delegation, still in Yemen's capital Sanaa, insisted the UN meets three demands before it travels to Switzerland.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths, who earlier said the planned meeting offered a "flickering signal of hope" for an end to the years-long conflict, had to postpone the start of the talks and was left scrambling to save them.

"He continues to make efforts to overcome obstacles to allow the consultations to go forward," his office said in a statement, adding that Griffiths remained "hopeful" the rebels would come.

The Geneva talks are meant to be the first since 2016, when 108 days of negotiations between the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and rebels failed to yield a deal.

The Huthis control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, while a Saudi-led coalition which backs Hadi's government controls the country's airspace.

Led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, a Yemen government delegation arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday.

Key actors in the Yemen conflict

But on what was meant to be the opening day of talks, the rebels issued an ultimatum from Sanaa, saying they would not join until the UN meets three conditions that it had already agreed to.

They want the transportation of wounded rebels to Oman for medical care, the repatriation of rebels who have already received treatment there, and a guarantee that the Huthi delegation will be allowed to return to Sanaa after the Geneva talks.

The rebels said late Thursday that the coalition was "still refusing to give permission to a Omani plane" to land at Sanaa and take the delegation to Geneva.

The rebels also need to "ensure the safety of the delegation" and require a guarantee that they would be allowed to return "smoothly" to Sanaa airport, according to a statement posted on the SABA news agency website.

- Rebels 'don't want peace' -

The government delegation said Thursday it would wait only 24 hours, until midday (1000 GMT) on Friday, then leave Geneva.

Yamani later denied that the government had issued such an ultimatum but told journalists in Geneva "the government delegation will take a decision within a few hours whether to continue in Geneva or to withdraw".

Yemen delegation member Hamza Alkamali said the talks had been scheduled for two months and that the rebels clearly "don't want peace".

Clearance for a flight carrying rebel delegates and wounded was "issued three days ago," he insisted.

A Yemeni pro-government fighter near Hodeida fires a heavy machine gun in an image grab taken from AFPTV on June 15, 2018

Griffiths, was "mindful of the challenges associated with bringing the parties together to Geneva, bearing in mind that they haven't met for two years," his office said in a statement.

On Thursday, an AFP journalist saw the envoy entering the Geneva hotel hosting the Yemen government delegation.

Griffiths had told journalists he would begin informal consultations with the government team while the rebels make their way to Switzerland.

If and when the two parties do eventually meet, he said, there would be no "formal negotiations", merely exploratory talks on how best to get everyone around a negotiating table.

The UN Security Council this week urged both sides to "take a first step towards ending a conflict that has brought severe pain and humanitarian suffering to the Yemeni people".

- 'Collateral damage' -

All previous attempts to resolve the Yemen war have failed.

Griffiths is the UN's third Yemen envoy since 2014, when Huthis overran the capital and drove Hadi's government into exile.

The following year, Saudi Arabia and its allies formed a powerful regional military coalition to back Hadi.

The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and pushed the Arab world's most impoverished country to the brink of famine.

On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition acknowledged there may have been "collateral damage" from August 23 strikes the UN said killed 26 children south of the port of Hodeida.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels, with shrapnel wounding 26 people including two children, the coalition said.

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Donald Trump's presidency has been rocked by a series of damning revelations, including a scathing opinion piece by an unnamed senior administration official who described a "quiet resistance" effort to counter Trump's worst impulses

The publication of a searing New York Times op-ed by an unnamed Trump administration senior official describing the president as amoral and making "reckless decisions" has thrown the White House into unprecedented turmoil.

The explosive revelation of insider "resistance" paints a White House in which aides are aiming to thwart an unmoored Donald Trump and his "worst inclinations" in order to protect America's democratic institutions.

But is the damning op-ed the harbinger of a coup or constitutional crisis? Unlikely, say experts.

Here are three key questions about the anonymous essay:

- Is there historic precedent? -

Senior officials have pushed back against their commander in chief since George Washington's day. What makes this different is the extent to which the anonymous official says aides are working to frustrate Trump's agenda, and the very public platform through which the message was delivered.

"There are no precedents to this in US history," James Thurber, a government professor and presidential studies expert at American University, told AFP.

There have been at least some parallels, including an incident in 2013, in which a self-identified official used an anonymous Twitter handle to lambast aides to president Barack Obama.

But that person, later caught in a sting operation and fired, was a mid-level National Security Council expert, far from the "senior official" that the Times says penned the essay.

"The only modern precedent is Deep Throat during Watergate," offered political scientist Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, referring to the famed Nixon administration source of Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward who kept his identity secret for 31 years.

Mark Felt, former associate director of the FBI, was ultimately identified by his family as Woodward's source.

- Is a constitutional crisis brewing? -

Obama's former secretary of state John Kerry said the opinion piece was further confirmation that Trump's presidency has run "off the rails," telling CNN that "this is a genuine constitutional crisis."

The essay's author wrote that there were "whispers" within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows cabinet members as a group to notify Congress should they believe the president can no longer carry out his duties.

Just a day before the anonymous piece, damning excerpts from Woodward's new book on the Trump presidency had lent traction to the notion that a severe crisis was gripping 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Pulitzer-winning journalist described aides working behind the scenes to contain the president, going as far as snatching a trade agreement cancellation letter off Trump's desk, and ignoring the president when he urged the Pentagon to kill Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Still, experts have hesitated to go there.

"This is a continuing political and leadership crisis," Thurber said. "It is not yet a constitutional crisis."

Sabato agreed. "We don't even know who the author of the op-ed is, and that is essential to properly evaluate it."

- How will this impact Trump's presidency? -

The essay is unlikely to precipitate Trump's impeachment, but no one sees it as a good sign. While the essay and Woodward's book caused a White House meltdown -- with Trump asking if the unsigned op-ed could be "treason" and demanding the author's unmasking -- the president's closest aides circled the wagons.

More than a dozen top administration officials denied being the essay's author.

"This will have little impact on Trump, but will continue to undermine trust in his presidency here in the US and in the world," said Thurber, who believes the 25th Amendment will not be used on Trump.

Sabato pointed to the cumbersome nature of that process, which requires a notification to Congress explaining why the cabinet sees the president as unfit to serve, and a two-thirds vote by both chambers, to oust the president and replace him with the vice president.

John Hudak, an expert at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, called the process "more difficult than impeachment."
Palestinians carry tires to be burned during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel

President Donald Trump on Thursday admitted that bringing peace to the Middle East may be harder than he had thought, in comments to Jewish leaders marking the holiday of Rosh Hashanah.

Trump, who said in May 2017 that forging peace between Israel and the Palestinians would perhaps be "not as difficult as people have thought over the years," said Thursday he might have been wrong.

"All my life I've heard that's the hardest deal to make, and I'm starting to believe that maybe it is," he said in a conference call with Jewish faith leaders and the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, to mark the Jewish new year.

"But I will say that if it can be delivered, we will deliver it," he said, insisting that his team of regional envoys -- led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner -- "have made progress, believe it or not."

Trump stirred controversy in the region when he announced he was moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, whose eastern half the Palestinians claim as their own capital.

More than 60 Palestinians were killed by Israeli gunfire during protests in the Gaza Strip the day of the inauguration of the new embassy on May 14, a ceremony attended by Kushner and his wife Ivanka, the president's daughter.

The Trump administration has also cut funds to the United Nation's Palestinian refugee agency and pulled out of the world body's human rights council, accusing it of anti-Israel bias. The US government has also ended some $200 million in payments by USAID to the Palestinians.

Trump said during Thursday's conference call that the aid would be suspended as long as the Palestinians -- who boycotted his administration after the embassy announcement -- did not come to the table.

"The United States was paying them tremendous amounts of money. And I'd say, you'll get money, but we're not paying you until we make a deal. If we don't make a deal, we're not paying. And that's going to have a little impact," he said.

Some analysts have warned however that the recent funding cuts could further inflame regional tensions.
A Syrian youth rides in the back of a truck fleeing government forces' bombardment on the town of al-Tamana in the rebel-held Idlib province

On the eve of a summit between Russia, Iran and Turkey on Syria's military plan to retake rebel-held Idlib, eight European countries, including five on the UN Security Council, issued an appeal Thursday for civilian protection.

Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden said in a joint statement they were "deeply concerned" about military action in northwest Syria "with potentially catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians."

The presidents of Syria's military allies, Russia and Iran, along with Turkey, which supports some rebel groups, will meet in Tehran on Friday for talks expected to decide the fate of Idlib, Syria's last major rebel bastion.

The eight nations urged Russia, Iran and Turkey to uphold the ceasefire and de-escalation arrangements that had been agreed in Idlib, "including protecting civilians as a matter of priority."

"A full-scale military offensive in Idlib would put at risk the lives of more than three million civilians, including one million children, living in the region," said the joint statement.

They warned of possible mass displacement and recalled that any use of chemical weapons would be "totally unacceptable."

Russia, Turkey and Iran are the guarantors of the Astana process, a track of negotiations that has eclipsed the older Geneva process and is a de facto help for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in re-asserting his authority on the country.

Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog said the European council members were sending a "strong message" to the guarantors of the Astana process ahead of the Tehran summit.

The Security Council is due to hold an emergency meeting on Friday on the crisis in Idlib.

The United States has urged Syria and its military backers to halt plans for an all-out attack on Idlib.

More than 350,000 people have died in Syria's seven-year war, but UN diplomats fear the assault on Idlib could trigger one of the worst bloodbaths of the conflict.
A smartphone displaying a New York Times opinion piece titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" is held up in front of the New York Times building

The New York Times's decision to publish an anonymous column from a White House insider has set off not only a political firestorm and infuriated President Donald Trump, but spurred debate over media ethics.

Since the nearly 1,000 word article went live on the website of America's most prestigious newspaper on Wednesday afternoon, it has provoked more than 11,000 comments on the Times's site and generated tens of thousands of tweets.

Headlined "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," the author was identified only as a "senior administration official" and while an anonymous column is not unprecedented, it is extremely rare.

As the Times tells it, an intermediary approached op-ed editor Jim Dao a week ago saying that someone in the administration wanted to write the piece.

Dao agreed to take a look. When the piece landed, he told the Times's own The Daily podcast that he was impressed with the clarity of the writing and its emotional impact.

He did some background checking, verified that the writer was who they purported to be and the paper published, to the immediate fury of Trump.

"The newsroom grants anonymity to sources on stories when they feel that those people are in danger, physical danger, of losing their livelihood. Our rules aren't all that different in opinion," Dao told The Daily.

"We don't do these very often. I think this is maybe the fourth time we've done it in the last three years," he said. "We decided that the piece was important enough and strong enough to justify granting anonymity."

Nor, Dao said, was it a decision taken lightly.

"I was absolutely nervous about it for any number of reasons, one being the safety and security of the writer... One being the inevitable criticisms the Times op-ed page and the Times as an institution would face."

- 'Quagmire of weirdness' -

US President Donald Trump was infuriated by The New York Times's decision to publish an anonymous column from a White House insider

But debate rages on both sides of America's polarized political spectrum over whether the Times did the right thing.

Conservatives were adamant that they were wrong -- leaping on yet another reason to chastise an outlet that Trump has accused of peddling "fake news."

Sean Hannity, star presenter on Fox News -- Trump's favorite cable network -- denounced the op-ed as "irresponsible" and "dangerously" published.

"The problem is we have no way of verifying this," complained Derek Hunter on conservative website The Daily Caller. "Frankly the word of the New York Times is not worth taking."

The Washington Post, the Times's great rival, was sniffy. Its media columnist Margaret Sullivan, called the publication "a quagmire of weirdness: fraught with issues of journalistic ethics and possibly even legal concerns."

What would happen, Sullivan wondered, if one of the Times's own reporters discovered the identity of the author?

Writing in The New Yorker, Masha Gessen said the piece "added little to the public's understanding of the administration," and that by publishing it anonymously, the newspaper "forfeits the job of holding power to account."

But David Greenberg, professor of history, journalism and media studies at Rutgers University, told AFP that the editorial had made an "amazing contribution" to public knowledge of the inner workings of the White House.

Coming on the heels of a new book by the journalist Bob Woodward, which paints an apocalyptic image of the Trump administration, makes it "very timely" and "helps focus the public conversation" on the appropriate role of government officials, Greenberg said.

Neither, he said, was the content groundbreaking, seeing parallels in the Republican administrations of both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.

"It was well known that Reagan's top aides often sought to kind of mitigate his worst instincts in that they tried to make sure it wasn't as ideological a presidency in practice as Reagan often talked about in his rhetoric," he said.
The US Treasury said that four individuals and five companies added to its financial blacklist were important to helping President Bashar al-Assad's regime obtain much-needed crude oil and fuels despite sanctions on Syria

The US Treasury announced sanctions Thursday targeting a network of business groups that supplies fuels to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, along with one that handles regime trade with the Islamic State group.

The Treasury said the four individuals and five companies added to its financial blacklist were important to helping Assad's regime obtain much-needed crude oil and fuels despite sanctions on Syria.

It named Muhammad al-Qatirji and his Qatirji Company as a key broker of fuel trade between the Assad regime and the Islamic State group, despite the two sides fighting each other on the battlefield.

Qatirji provides oil products to the jihadist group but also ships weapons and food for the regime, according to the Treasury.

In a 2016 deal, it said, Qatirji was named the "exclusive agent" for providing suppliers to IS areas, according to the Treasury.

Also identified for sanctions was a Lebanon-United Arab Emirates network for fuel shipments to Syria involving Lebanon-based Abar Petroleum and company "advisor" Adnan al-Ali, and Lebanon-based Nasco Polymers and its owner Fadi Nasser.

Another group placed on the blacklist is UAE-based Hesco Engineering, which the Treasury said facilitates payments that originate in Syria.

The sanctions seek to freeze any property owned by those named in US jurisdictions and to block their access to the global financial system.

"Today's action shows that the United States will continue to take concrete and forceful action to cut off material support to the Assad regime and its supporters," the State Department said in a statement on the sanctions.

"The United States will continue to use all available mechanisms to isolate the Assad regime, a government which has systematically arrested, tortured, and murdered tens of thousands of Syrian civilians."
This handout photo obtained on September 6, 2018 courtesy of Jeremy Monahan via Twitter shows police responding to a shooting at a bank in Cincinnati, Ohio

A gunman opened fire in a bank building in the US city of Cincinnati on Thursday, killing three people and sending terrified bystanders diving for cover, before police shot and killed him.

Gun shots rang out just after 9:00 am (1300 GMT) at the high-rise headquarters of Fifth Third Bank, a regional financial institution in Ohio's third-largest city.

Five people were shot, some multiple times, and one victim died at the scene while two others succumbed to their injuries in hospital.

Police identified the gunman, felled in a shootout with officers, as 29-year-old Omar Perez. He was not immediately determined to have any connection to the bank, according to detectives.

"There may be a possibility that there's some mental health issues involved here," Cincinnati police chief Eliot Isaac told a news conference, cautioning that the investigation was in its early stages.

Police believe Perez was armed with some 200 rounds of ammunition and a legally-bought 9mm semi-automatic handgun when he entered the lobby of the 30-story building, Isaac said.

Several officers arrived within minutes of the first emergency calls and four of them shot the suspect, killing him at the scene.

The building the gunman targeted was said to have strict security, and it wasn't clear how he was able to get in.

"Per Fifth Third Bank, the shooter was not an employee of Fifth Third," police spokeswoman Tiffaney Hardy told AFP via email.

- 'Grotesque violence' -

The quickly-responding police were credited with preventing widescale carnage.

"This is clearly an act of grotesque violence to innocent people and it should frighten all of us," said Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley.

"It has happened too much around this country and we, as a country, have to figure out how to end it."

Witnesses told local media they heard as many as 20 gunshots.

One unnamed construction worker told WLWT television that he saw two victims being brought out in the aftermath, including one woman in a blood-soaked shirt.

"I just (saw) people running out of the building," the witness said.

"There are guys with suits laying on the ground, hiding behind big flower pots," he said.

- 'A senseless act' -

Bank employees sheltered in situ for an hour or more as officers swept the building and cordoned off several downtown city blocks.

"There was a senseless act of gun violence on the streets of Cincinnati this morning," Ohio Governor John Kasich said on Twitter.

"I commend the law enforcement, fire and (emergency medical) personnel who swiftly responded to the scene and share my deepest sympathies with the innocent victims of this violent attack."

It was the latest in more than 200 mass shootings in the US this year alone, with previous incidents often leading to mostly fruitless calls for gun control reforms.

In June, a gunman killed five and injured two at The Capital Gazette newspaper offices in Annapolis, Maryland.

"It is all too clear that we have to do more in Ohio to address the gun violence affecting communities across the state," said a statement from the Ohio chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense.
Migrants wait at a naval base in Tripoli after being rescued in the Mediterranean in June, 2018.

The United States has blocked a request for the UN Security Council to allow a Libyan navy vessel's return home to combat migrant smuggling, documents obtained by AFP on Thursday showed.

The El Hani frigate was taking on water when it was sent to Malta in 2013 to undergo extensive repairs under a contract with Maltese-based Cassar Ship Repair. Ammunition aboard the frigate was stored during the work.

Malta told a UN sanctions committee Libya's UN-backed government now wanted the repaired warship returned along with its ammunition as part of Tripoli's effort to combat migrant smuggling.

The Libyan government is allowed to import weapons and military hardware with the approval of the UN sanctions committee overseeing the arms embargo imposed on Libya in 2011.

Malta proposed last month that the committee agree to the request, given that the ship was once again seaworthy and planned for use as a patrol boat in Libyan waters, "in view of migration and smuggling issues."

The US put a hold on the request on August 28 "pending further review," according to a document seen by AFP.

The US mission to the United States declined to comment on its decision to block the request. A US official said that "we cannot share details of closed-door negotiations."

Sweden, which chairs the Libya sanctions committee, said the request was still being reviewed.

In June the Security Council slapped sanctions on six individuals accused of migrant trafficking in Libya after a video showing African migrants being sold as slaves sparked global outrage last year.

Libya descended into chaos after the 2011 overthrow and killing of Moamer Kadhafi, with two rival governments scrambling for control of the oil-producing country.

Smugglers operating with impunity in Libya have loaded hundreds of thousands of migrants on boats to reach Europe by sea since 2014, and thousands have died during the voyages.
US Vice President Mike Pence has urged Paraguay to rethink a decision to move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv

US Vice President Mike Pence has urged Paraguay to rethink a decision to move its embassy in Israel from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv, the White House said on Thursday.

Paraguay's new President Mario Abdo Benitez infuriated the Israeli government on Wednesday by announcing that the embassy -- which only opened for business in Jerusalem in May -- would return to Tel Aviv, where most diplomatic missions are based.

But the announcement also caused consternation within the US government, which relocated its own embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in May and has been hoping that other countries would follow its example.

In a readout of a call on Wednesday between the two men, the White House said Pence had "strongly encouraged" Abdo Benitez to stick to "Paraguay's previous commitment to move the embassy as a sign of the historic relationship the country has maintained with both Israel and the United States."

"President Abdo Benitez underscored Paraguay's lasting partnership with Israel and the leaders agreed to work towards achieving a comprehensive and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," it added.

There were no details in the statement about how Abdo Benitez had responded to Pence's specific request of rethinking the embassy move.

Pence's boss Donald Trump broke with decades of US policy by moving the American embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, but Guatemala has so far been the only other country to follow suit apart from Paraguay.

The surprise announcement from Abdo Benitez -- who only came to power in mid-August -- prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay's capital Asuncion.

While the Israeli government is largely based in Jerusalem and regards the city as the "undisputed and undivided capital" of the Jewish state, diplomatic missions are still almost entirely based in Tel Aviv.

Most foreign governments have indicated that they will only recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital as part of a comprehensive solution to the conflict with the Palestinians who also want the city they call Al-Quds to be the capital of their promised future state.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that it is time to invoke a constitutional amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office if top officials believe he can no longer fulfill his duties.

The prominent Democrat's comments follow a stunning newspaper op-ed by an anonymous senior administration official expressing grave concerns about Trump's morals and behavior.

The New York Times article described an insider resistance movement that prevents him making 'reckless' decisions.

'If senior administration officials think the president of the United States is not able to do his job, then they should invoke the 25th Amendment,' Warren told CNN.

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Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for Constitutional measures to remove President Donald Trump from the Oval Office following the publication of an op-ed by an anonymous senior administration official expressing grave concerns about his behavior

The Trump administration was dealt a series of brutal blows this week when famed journalist Bob Woodward published a book painting the White House as a 'crazy town' and The New York Times twisted the knife with an op-ed by a senior Trump official

Section 4 of the 25th Amendment of the Constitution allows the vice president and cabinet officials to write to Congress if they believe the president cannot do his job.

In that event, the vice president would assume presidential duties - permanently if Congress agrees in a subsequent vote that the president cannot discharge his duties.

The amendment, ratified in 1967, allows for a temporary transfer of power if the president is incapacitated by something like surgery, as in 2002 when George W. Bush underwent a colonoscopy.

The far more consequential Section 4 has never been used, however, and experts say the process is particularly fraught.

The op-ed was published on the same day as explosive excerpts of veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book which described how officials would remove important documents from Trump's desk to stop him signing off on bad policy.

Warren, a potential 2020 presidential candidate, expressed alarm that senior officials were offering anonymous but searing critiques of a troubling presidency but not taking constitutional action.

'What kind of a crisis do we have if senior officials believe that the president can't do his job and then refuse to follow the rules that have been laid down in the Constitution?' Warren said.

'They can't have it both ways.'

Trump addressed impeachment concerns during a 'Make America Great Again' rally in Billings, Montana, on Thursday night, telling his supporters the blame is on them if he gets ousted

Meanwhile during a 'Make America Great Again' rally in Billings, Montana, on Thursday night, Trump told his supporters the blame is on them if he gets impeached and claims it could lead to the US one day becoming a third world country.

Trump raised the specter of impeachment if Democrats win control of Congress during his rally in Billings, Montana on Thursday night.

He warned that a Democratic-controlled Congress would pursue impeachment despite the strong economy and set a precedent that would hurt future presidents.

'Let's say a Democrat gets elected and let's say we have a Republican House. We will impeach that Democrat, right?' Trump said.

'You're going to have a country that's going to turn into a third-world country because if the opposite party becomes president, every time before it even starts, before you even found out whether or not he or she is going to do a great job, they'll say: 'We want to impeach him!''

'If it does happen, it's your fault because you didn't go out to vote.'

Trump continued on the topic of impeachment, saying: 'How do you impeach somebody that's doing a great job, that hasn't done anything wrong?

'Our economy is good. How do you do it? How do you do it? How do you do it?'

He warned his supporters: 'You are not just voting for a candidate, you are voting for which party controls Congress. Very important thing. Very important thing.'

Trump's senior aides have all scrambled to disown the op-ed that appeared in the Times on Wednesday that slammed the President's leadership style as impetuous, petty and ineffective

Practically Trump's entire cabinet including these famous faces  and the first lady  have all declared they're not responsible for the mysterious op-ed

Also at the rally Trump blasted the author of the Times op-ed, calling it an act of treason.

'The Times should never have done that because really what they've done is virtually, you know, it's treason. You could call it a lot of things,' the president said during an interview with Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth in one corner of the Rimrock Auto Arena, with a live audience of more than 10,000 people.

In his speech he blasted the 'anonymous gutless coward' behind the essay, verbally hiccuping on the word 'anonymous' and twice mangling the pronunciation.

'Nobody knows who the hell he is, or she,' he finally declared.

The Times should never have done that because really what they've done is virtually, you know, it's treason.

Trump repeated a challenge he had already issued to the Times on Twitter, demanding the paper's nameless author's head on a platter.

'For the sake of our national security, The New York Times should publish his name at once. I think their reporters should go and investigate who it is. That would actually be a good scoop. That would be a good scoop!' he said.

'At some point this whole thing is going to be exposed,' Trump predicted, as he warned about 'unelected deep-state operatives' who have tried to take his government into their own hands in a soft coup.

'And it's really bad and it's really dangerous,' he said. 'And it's really sad for the media.'

The president had suggested a half-hour earlier that he would put muscle behind efforts to identify the official who broke ranks to claim in the Times that a 'resistance' of aides is trying to subvert the president's worst instincts for the good of the country.

DailyMail.com asked him on the tarmac in Billings how he planned to uncover the disloyal official's identity.

'We're going to try!' he yelled, over the noise of an idling Air Force One.

Woodward's book features current and former aides calling the president an 'idiot' and a 'liar' and depicting him as prone to rash policy decisions that aides worked furiously to derail or stall. He is pictured above leaving Trump Tower in January 2017

Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday to accuse famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward of fabricating quotes and information in his new book, Fear: Trump in the White House

Trump needed the rally to publicly shake his Etch-a-Sketch following a week of revelations that hit his team like a series of kidney punches.

First came excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward's forthcoming book 'Fear,' which paints the president as an ill-prepared and crude leader whose lack of impulse control drove senior aides to protect him from himself.

In one vignette, Woodward describes then-chief economic adviser Gary Cohn literally swiping a draft memo from the Resolute Desk to derail Trump's goal of ending a crucial Korean trade agreement.

Scuttling the longstanding deal would have introduced uncertainty into Washington's relationship with Seoul and could have jeopardized America's use of South Korean real estate for an ambitious missile-detection program.

Internal fallout from the Cohn affair inside the West Wing had barely softened from panic to mere shock when The New York Times twisted the knife.

The publication of Wednesday's unsigned op-ed, which the Times claims was penned by a 'senior' administration official, struck a variation on the same theme.

Its central claim is that a winking, nudging cabal of aides considers its primary mission to save the republic from Trump's ham-fisted ways.

'Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations,' according to the still-unidentified writer.
Activists protest against Donald Trump's administration's separation of illegal immigrant children from their parents

The US government has moved to lift limits on how long it can detain illegal immigrant children, a move that could see hundreds of children kept separated from their parents or relatives for months.

The Department of Homeland Security filed a proposal in the Federal Register Thursday indicating that it would end its adherence to the Flores Settlement, a 1997 agreement with a federal court to not detain children separated from their parents for more than 20 days.

That could give the government the ability to continue holding indefinitely more than 400 children who were separated from their parents after crossing the Mexican border illegally.

Additionally, it could continue in the future to indefinitely separate families taken into custody after crossing into the United States without legal immigration papers.

The Flores Settlement was agreed to prevent the mistreatment of minors held by the government in detention facilities.

The Trump administration, which has been stepping up the fight against illegal immigration, says it has to separate them while their parents face criminal charges of illegally entering the country.

Some in the government say the separation policy aims to deter the thousands of people who seek to cross the border illegally each month.

But for many of those children currently in detention, their parents have already been deported back to their home countries.

Rights groups decried the proposed change.

"These proposed regulations would only inflict further harm on children who have likely already endured significant persecution, trauma, and extreme distress. The Flores Agreement must be allowed to stand to protect vulnerable families," said Ashley Houghton of Amnesty International USA.
GUCHENG, China (AP) - They were the first photos Marip Lu had ever taken of her son, and it broke her heart to think they might be the last.

The little boy was standing in their living room in rural China with his tiny chest puffed out, brown eyes beaming as he watched cartoons on TV. She wanted to remember him this way - smiling, playful, innocent.

Just three years old, he had no idea his mother was facing a heart-wrenching choice that would change their lives: stay with him and the family holding her hostage, or leave him behind and be free.

In this March 21, 2018, photo, Marip Lu sits in her family's shelter in a refugee camp in northern Kachin State, Myanmar. Marip Lu, 24, claims she was kidnapped by traffickers and suffered six years of captivity, rape and abuse deep in China. As the demand for "brides" in China rises, The Associated Press has pieced together the tragic ordeal of one woman who escaped, but had to leave her son behind. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan)

Six years earlier, Marip Lu had been drugged, kidnapped and trafficked to this place far from her native Myanmar. She had been beaten and abused, forced to "marry" a mentally disabled man, and repeatedly raped, she said.

Now the people organizing her rescue had warned it was too dangerous to take her son. But how could she go without him?

"What if he never has someone to call 'mama'?" Marip Lu kept asking herself, as the clock ticked down to her escape. "What will they do to him if I'm no longer there?"

___

As a girl growing up in northern Myanmar, Marip Lu had spent most of her youth in school, in church, and farming her family's rice fields. But in June 2011, fighting erupted between the army and rebels from an ethnic minority called the Kachin. Marip Lu's family, who are Kachin, fled to the home of relatives in Laiza, on the Chinese frontier.

The move brought new dangers - from human traffickers who are increasingly luring teenage girls with the false promise of jobs. Once inside China, the girls are kidnapped, then sold to men looking for "brides" for between US$5,000 and US$10,000, according to the Kachin women's association, Myu Shayi.

Nobody knows how many have been trafficked, because most are never heard from again or too ashamed to report the crime. However, the U.S. State Department said in its latest report that numbers from Myanmar are rising, and Myu Shayi says the average number of known victims from rebel-held Kachin state - a tiny sliver of Myanmar - has jumped from about 35 annually to 50 last year. Myanmar's government has reported over 1,100 cases in the country since 2010.

Human Rights Watch's Heather Barr, who interviewed 37 victims this year, said those figures "are only the tip of the iceberg."

The phenomenon is a direct consequence of China's one-child policy, which grossly skewed the nation's gender balance for decades before the government ended the practice two years ago. Chinese men, though, still outnumber women by more than 30 million, fueling a huge demand for foreign brides that has sucked in countless girls from neighboring Vietnam, Laos and North Korea.

Although Chinese authorities have broken up trafficking rings, rights advocates say anti-trafficking enforcement is weak, and the practice continues.

The Associated Press pieced together Marip Lu's story through interviews with her, several family members and the women's group that orchestrated her rescue. Some details were corroborated by 195 photographs on her cell phone. In an effort to ensure Marip Lu's safety, AP is not using her full name.

The AP also traveled to the village of Gucheng, in Henan province, to interview the couple Marip Lu accuses of buying her - Li Qinggong and his wife, Xu Ying. Both denied all allegations of abuse, but neither was able to explain how Marip Lu had ended up in their faraway village, or how she allegedly met and "married" their mentally disabled son, Li Mingming. When the AP visited their home, Li Mingming was only able to mumble incoherently; his foot was chained to a bed, a practice sometimes employed by families in rural China to keep mentally disabled relatives from wandering away.

Still, Li Qinggong insisted that "we did not abduct her or buy her. ... It's not true."

Xu claimed they treated Marip Lu like a daughter, and tearfully accused her of neglecting her son and abandoning them. But she acknowledged knowing Marip Lu wanted to leave and said without explanation that "in some families, they run away after several months - some don't even last a single month."

At one point, the couple got into a screaming match as they discussed whether to talk to AP. Li Qinggong hurled his phone at his wife. "You're asking for trouble," he told her. "Why don't you go die?"

"These are all family affairs," Li Qinggong later said, explaining his reticence. "It's sad to talk about family affairs, and we don't bring it up."

___

When Marip Lu heard about a job at a barbecue restaurant in Yingjiang, a half-hour's drive away from Laiza, she had every reason to believe it was real. The offer came from a woman who had lived next to her family for years and attended their church.

After Marip Lu told her parents the news, her mother, Tangbau Hkawn, begged her not to go.

"You're too young," she said. "You've never traveled out of Myanmar. You've never been anywhere alone."

"Don't worry mama," replied Marip Lu, who was just 17 at the time.

When she entered China surreptitiously in September 2011, there were no border guards, no checkpoints. They walked across a shallow creek in broad daylight.

In Yingjiang, after eating a bowl of noodles for breakfast at a local restaurant, Marip Lu began to feel dizzy.

Soon, her vision blurred. Then everything went black.

When Marip Lu regained consciousness, she was slumped on the back of a red motorcycle racing down a highway, a chubby Chinese man holding onto her with one hand.

Rubbing her eyes, she saw rivers and flower parks flashing by. Then things she'd only seen in movies: twinkling skyscrapers with vast crowds walking between them like ants.

When she reached for the phone in her purse, she noticed it was missing along with her Myanmar identification card and the handful of Myanmar kyat - worth only a few U.S. dollars - that she'd brought.

Suddenly, she understood. She'd been tricked, then drugged. And now, she was being trafficked.

Marip Lu began to scream, but she was too weak to resist.

She was handed over to an older man who pulled her aboard a public bus. The night turned into day, then night again, and she was forced into a car that drove into a small village with no paved roads. The car stopped in front of a bland, two-story home made of cement, where a middle-aged couple greeted her excitedly with huge smiles as if she were a long-lost relative.

Li Qinggong, who had dark hair and bushy eyebrows, spoke rapidly and loudly. His wife, who had high cheekbones and a wide face, sat with him, alongside a thickset younger man in his 30s - their son.

The woman offered sunflower seeds, and later, dinner. But Marip Lu was nauseous and frightened. The last thing she wanted to do was eat. She could even not communicate with her captors, who only spoke Chinese.

"Please, dear God," she prayed, closing her eyes. "Please don't let anything bad happen to me."

___

In the darkness on the bed that first night, Marip Lu felt like a caged animal.

The couple, through hand gestures, had made it clear she was to sleep in the same room as Li Mingming. He had ripped off her clothes, and when she had tried to run they had pushed her back inside and slammed the door shut.

Li Mingming began heaving his naked body against hers, she said, grunting as she recoiled in disgust.

But then, unexpectedly, he stopped. For some reason, he had not raped her, and in the days that followed, she began to understand why: he was mentally disabled in some way.

Sometimes he would mumble or talk to himself, or scream unexpectedly. Sometimes he would stare blankly at the television, his eyes just inches away.

For months, Marip Lu said, her captors never left her alone. The windows upstairs were blocked by dirty white bars. Whenever the couple left, they locked the iron front door - from the outside.

One winter's night, four weeks into her captivity, Marip Lu said, the couple burst into her bedroom, dragged her into the kitchen and tore off her clothes.

As she lay curled in a ball on the hard marble floor, they kicked and slapped and cursed her. Li Qinggong then poured buckets of ice water over her shivering body.

When the mother sat down, Marip Lu crawled forward and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Please don't do this!" she begged in Kachin - a language only she understood. "Oh God! What did I do wrong?"

The next night, the couple barged in again as she slept, according to Marip Lu. This time, they forced her into their bedroom. As Xu sat in a chair barking instructions, Li Qinggong pushed Marip Lu onto the bed and raped her repeatedly, she said. The couple later insisted she had never been raped.

When Marip Lu retreated, shaking with fear, she found her "husband" hiding in their room under a blanket like a child. It was the same thing he did when his parents fought.

As the weeks turned into months, then years, she began following a grim routine. During the day, they made her wash clothes, clean the house and cook - and beat her if she did not. At night, the couple would often drag their "daughter" into their room - or their son's - and rape her as she cried, she said.

They called her Baobei - "baby."

One day, Marip Lu looked into the mirror at several bright red imprints on her cheeks where she had been slapped. It was hard to recognize the girl looking back.

She wanted more than anything to escape, but there was nowhere to run. The sheer vastness of China, combined with the fact that she could not speak Chinese, had created the perfect prison. And even if she could get out, she had no money and no way to contact home.

The hardest part was the loneliness.

Marip Lu wanted to tell someone what was happening, but there was nobody to talk to. The first time she tried to wave down a neighbor, she said, Xu yanked her away by the wrist and cursed them both. Even those who entered their house tried to avoid making eye contact.

The neighbors may not have suspected anything was wrong. Foreign brides are not uncommon in rural China, and many women come voluntarily. Marriages are also sometimes seen as transactional events in a country where the traditional practice of paying dowries still exists.

Two years after her arrival, Marip Lu seemed to fall ill. She began throwing up each morning, and for the first time, Xu took her to a clinic.

She was five weeks pregnant.

Xu was overjoyed. But Marip Lu felt numb. The new life inside her belly was the product of the hell in which she existed.

The rape and the beatings came to a halt. Then, on Sept. 23, 2013, Marip Lu gave birth to a healthy boy. She called him Erzi, which means son.

The first time she looked into his eyes, she was overwhelmed by something she had not felt in a long time: love.

She melted when she saw his pouting lips smile involuntarily as he slept. Even his cries were soothing.

Although Marip Lu insists Li Qinggong is the father, she said the couple referred to the boy as their "grandson," proudly telling everyone in their village he belonged to their son and their "daughter-in-law." In conversations with the AP, Li Qinggong never replied to the question of whether he was the father.

When the beatings and the rape resumed months later, Marip Lu felt different. The baby was a profound source of comfort; she no longer felt alone.

The day her son turned one, Xu took her and the boy to a photo studio for a souvenir of the moment. The glossy image they received was embossed with a tiny smiley face and a digital slogan written in English: "Happy Day."

___

Marip Lu had all but given up on ever returning home when she spotted something strange in the trash: an old, beat-up cell phone.

It was missing a SIM card. But she knew how to get one: by skimming cash from the money the couple gave her to buy food.

It took several weeks. When she inserted the card, she was shocked. It worked.

Immediately, she tried to dial friends or family in Myanmar. But nothing went through.

She began calling numbers at random in Yunnan, a province that borders Myanmar. The idea was simple: try to reach anyone who spoke Kachin.

For weeks she dialed in secret, again and again, number after number. Until one day a woman answered in Kachin - a language she had not spoken or heard in years.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Marip Lu said she was working in China and had lost contact with her family back home.

"I'm desperate to speak to them," she said. "Can you help?"

Miraculously, the woman lived in Yingjiang, the same place Marip Lu had been kidnapped from four years before. Even more stunning: one of the woman's relatives was planning to make her first trip to Myanmar - to Laiza for a wedding.

Marip Lu passed on her brother-in-law's address, and when the woman crossed the border she knocked on his door.

Numbers were exchanged. And several days later, Marip Lu made a call she thought she'd never be able to make again.

"Marip Lu?" her mother asked.

"Yes, mama. Yes," she said, and wept into the phone.

___

In Laiza, Myu Shayi, the women's association affiliated with the rebel administration, immediately took up the case.

"I want you to be patient," a case worker named Ja Ring told Marip Lu by phone. "We will get you out as soon we can."

For months, the two stayed in touch, agreeing that only Marip Lu would call. Then Xu discovered the phone.

"Who are you calling? You have no friends here," she screamed, her face red with anger as she snatched it away. "You should not be talking to anyone. Your family is here."

The loss turned out to be a blessing. With money she got to celebrate her son's second birthday in 2015, and more skimmed cash, Marip Lu secretly purchased a low-cost, Chinese-built smartphone.

Another woman from Myu Shayi told her to install the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat. The woman, Hkawn Shawng, then asked her to send a message by clicking on an icon that looked like a balloon.

When Marip Lu pressed "send," a digital map appeared on Hkawn Shawng's phone with a red flag on it. For the first time, it indicated precisely where she was - a house about 2,700 kilometers from Laiza.

Following protocol, Hkawn Shawng wrote a letter to Chinese authorities requesting a rescue.

Then they waited, for months.

Marip Lu was outside her home with her son when a pair of police cars suddenly pulled up months later, red and blue lights flashing. One of the officers turned and asked: "Are you Marip Lu? Is that your name?"

"Yes, yes, yes," she said, barely able to contain herself.

When the officers said they were taking her down to the police station, Li Qinggong tried to intervene.

"We take good care of her in this house. She's happy," he said, smiling meekly. "Just look around, do you see any problem here?"

Marip Lu, frozen, dared not say a word. But when the police took her away, she told them everything.

"Someone sold me to this Chinese family," she said. "I'm terrified of these people."

The officers recorded her testimony solemnly. Then they took her photograph.

"Do you want to go home?" one asked.

"Of course," Marip Lu pleaded. "Very much."

But hours later, inexplicably, they called the Chinese family to come pick her up. They said they would come back to get her when they received orders from their bosses after the Chinese New Year holiday.

"Don't be afraid," one of them said. And "don't be in a hurry ... Don't you know there is war in Myanmar? Aren't you worried about that?"

The next day, Marip Lu called Hkawn Shawng in tears.

"Why didn't they send me home?" she said, her voice trembling. "When are you going to rescue me? Am I going to die here?"

"You must stay strong," Hkawn Shawng replied. "Keep praying to God ... we will get you out."

A few weeks later, Hkawn Shawng received a letter from the police. It claimed Marip Lu had told them she did not want to return.

It was unclear what had happened, but Hkawn Shawng speculated police had either been bought off, or didn't care. Police in Gucheng declined to speak to AP about the case when contacted by phone.

There was a Plan B. Myu Shayi had surreptitious networks of its own in China that rescue trafficked girls. Hkawn Shawng would send a driver, but Marip Lu would have to get as far away from her house as she could first, to ensure their vehicle was not traced or followed.

"And my son?" Marip Lu asked.

Hkawn Shawng said she could only be rescued alone. The boy was a Chinese citizen, and spiriting him out of the country would be interpreted by Chinese authorities as one thing only: kidnapping.

By now, the couple was so confident Marip Lu would not - or could not - leave, they let her drive their three-wheeled vehicle to the market alone. And when they discovered her new white phone, they shrugged, and let her keep it.

___

On Wednesday, May 3, 2017, Marip Lu walked her son home from school at 11 a.m., holding his hand just as she always did.

Once there, she packed a small pink bag with two changes of clothes, a little bit of money, and several laminated photos of her son.

He stood beside her, pulling at her leg.

"Mama! Mama!" he said. "I'm hungry."

Marip Lu told him to go to the kitchen and wait for lunch, but the boy said he did not want to go alone.

"Go on," she said. "Be a good boy. Mama needs to finish washing the clothes."

As the boy walked away, he turned back several times, his sad eyes pleading for her to follow. But as soon as he was out of sight, Marip Lu ran down to the garage, where she cranked up the family's motorcycle.

Xu was in another room at the time, with her elderly mother.

Marip Lu's eyes welled with tears.

She dared not say bye to her son, or hug him one last time. She knew that if she did, she would never be able to leave.

Half an hour later, she reached a nearby town. She abandoned the motorcycle in an alley, and messaged her GPS location to a driver sent by Myu Shayi who was supposed to pick her up.

Hours later, she saw a van with a man standing outside it in a white shirt.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!"

Marip Lu began to run.

"Quick! Get in!"

Once inside, Marip Lu took the SIM card out of her phone, rolled down the window and threw it into the wind.

Over the next several days, Marip Lu took 45 photos out the window as they traveled toward the Myanmar border: of bridges and skyscrapers and a Ferris wheel along the endless highways.

Eventually, the van cut through fields of tall sugarcane, then suddenly turned onto a dirt road.

It was Myanmar. Marip Lu was home.

___

When her family saw her for the first time, there were tears, hugs, and disbelief. It was as if their daughter had returned from the dead.

But they knew the innocent girl who left Myanmar six years earlier would never came back.

"She talks at night when she sleeps now," her mother, Tangbau Hkawn, says forlornly. "Sometimes she screams. Sometimes she shouts things like 'don't touch me!'"

When the Associated Press interviewed Marip Lu in a rebel-controlled part of northern Myanmar's Kachin state, a year after her escape, she could not hide her hatred for the family she said held her for so long.

"I want them to know what it feels like," she says through gritted teeth. "They destroyed my life."

In June, though, Marip Lu was overcome by the desire to contact her son. To do so, she had to muster the courage to call Li Qinggong.

At first, nobody answered, but then a familiar voice called back.

Li Qinggong refused to let her speak to the boy, she said, and asked if she had told the AP what happened in their home. Later, she sent several photos of herself because "I wanted (my son) to know he has a mother somewhere."

It's unclear if the boy ever saw the photos. Neither Li Qinggong nor Xu answered repeated calls to their mobile phones from AP. However, the boy seemed otherwise fine when the AP saw him on its visit, despite Marip Lu's fears.

More than anything else, Marip Lu says she wants to get her son back.

But Hkawn Shawng, the woman who helped engineer her rescue, says that is all but impossible. Her organization has spearheaded the return of more than 200 women to Myanmar since 2011.

All those with children were forced to leave them behind.

___

Pitman and Htusan reported from Laiza, Myanmar. AP photographer Han Guan Ng in Gucheng and reporter Yanan Wang and researcher Shanshan Wang in Beijing contributed to this report.

In this July 12, 2018, photo, Li Mingming, whose foot is chained to a bed, a practice sometimes employed by families in rural China to keep mentally disabled relatives from wandering away, watches television in this home in Gucheng village in central China's Henan province. The AP spoke to the family Marip Lu, a young woman from Myanmar, accused of abusing her. The father, Li Qinggong, and the mother, Xu Ying, both denied Marip Lu had been abused or raped, and insisted she had not been purchased. But neither was able to explain how she'd ended up in their faraway village, or how she allegedly met and "married" their mentally disabled son, Li Mingming, seen in this photo. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

In this July 11, 2018, photo, Xu Ying, left, stands with her neighbor at their home in Gucheng village in central China's Henan province. The AP spoke to the family Marip Lu, a young woman from Myanmar, accused of abusing her. The father, Li Qinggong, and mother, Xu Ying, (pictured) both denied Marip Lu had been abused or raped, and insisted she had not been purchased. But neither was able to explain how she'd ended up in their faraway village, or how she allegedly met and "married" their mentally disabled son, Li Mingming. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

In this July 12, 2018, photo, Li Qinggong stands outside the entrance to this home in Gucheng village in central China's Henan province. The AP spoke to the family Marip Lu, a young woman from Myanmar, accused of abusing her. The father, Li Qinggong, and mother, Xu Ying, both denied Marip Lu had been abused or raped, and insisted she had not been purchased. But neither was able to explain how she'd ended up in their faraway village, or how she allegedly met and "married" their mentally disabled son, Li Mingming. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

In this March 21, 2018, photo, Chinese security officers stand at a border gate between Kachin rebel-controlled Laiza in Myanmar's north and China's western Yunnan, which are divided by a narrow creek. People from both countries cross the border gate for trading purposes. It is common for Myanmar nationals to cross the creek illegally to seek jobs in China. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan)

In this May 3, 2017, smartphone photo taken at an undisclosed location in central China, the partially silhouetted face of a driver is shown shortly after rescuing Myanmar national Marip Lu, who claims she was kidnapped by traffickers and suffered six years of captivity, rape and abuse deep in China. As the demand for "brides" in China rises, The Associated Press has pieced together the tragic ordeal of one woman who escaped, but had to leave her son behind. (Marip Lu via AP)

In this March 21, 2018, photo, Marip Lu sits in her family's shelter in a refugee camp in northern Kachin State, Myanmar. Marip Lu, 24, claims she was kidnapped by traffickers and suffered six years of captivity, rape and abuse deep in China. As the demand for "brides" in China rises, The Associated Press has pieced together the tragic ordeal of one woman who escaped, but had to leave her son behind. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A senior administration official who claims to be working with others to thwart President Donald Trump's "worst inclinations" and parts of his agenda says Cabinet members whispered early on about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove him from office.

As the unidentified official wrote in a New York Times opinion piece, that's a "complex process for removing the president."

Removing a president between elections is meant to be tough. Here's how the 25th Amendment to the Constitution works:

This image shows a copy of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." A senior administration official referenced the amendment on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, in an unsigned opinion piece published in The New York Times which described President Donald Trump's "amorality" and "impetuous" leadership style. (National Archives via AP)

It came into effect in 1967 as a way to clarify the Constitution's lines of succession after a crisis like President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. It wasn't intended to replace unpopular or incompetent presidents but to set a clear process of continuity if a president is disabled, temporarily or permanently, or otherwise unable to fulfill duties.

Its use has been noncontroversial, guiding Gerald Ford from the vice presidency to the presidency when Richard Nixon stepped down and Ford's successor as vice president, for example.

It enabled a vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to sideline a president temporarily. For that to stick and a vice president to finish out a president's term, it would require a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress.

A massive loss of confidence in the president from Trump's aides and fellow Republicans in Congress would be required.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A South African man flew to Oregon to face multiple sex-abuse charges that were lodged against him a quarter-century ago, the FBI said Wednesday.

The FBI, which ran a social-media campaign in South Africa to bring attention to the case, said it arranged for Clackamas County sheriff's deputies to meet the plane carrying Barrett Preston Busschau. The 43-year-old had agreed to return to the United States to face the charges.

Busschau was 18 when he was charged in 1993 with sexually molesting five girls between the ages of 10 and 15. He fled before trial.

Prosecutor Lewis Burkhart said there has been no plea agreement with Busschau. In a brief telephone interview, Burkhart acknowledged there could be challenges in prosecuting a case after 25 years.

"The passage of time creates issues with people's memory, things like that," said Burkhart, deputy district attorney for Clackamas County, near Portland. Busschau also faces charges in nearby Washington County.

The FBI months ago began targeting South African media using Facebook to display wanted posters that showed an age-adjusted image of the suspect and offering a reward of up to $10,000.

"For a quarter of a century, Barrett Busschau managed to hide half-a-world away," Renn Cannon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon, said in a statement. "Thanks to an FBI case agent's persistence, the prosecutors and partnerships stretching from Oregon to South Africa, Mr. Busschau will finally have to face these serious allegations and his accusers in court."

Busschau's U.S. attorney, Jason Short, was in a meeting and not immediately available for comment, an assistant said. Short has asked prosecutors to present names of witnesses, their recorded statements, statements the defendant made to authorities and objects the state intends to present as evidence, according to a court document.

Busschau is a South African citizen who came to the United States as a child and obtained legal permanent resident status in 1989, the FBI said.

He was released on his own recognizance after being charged. When he failed to appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest without opportunity for bail on Oct. 4, 1993.

Burkhart intends to seek justice for the victims after all these years.

"Just because someone runs doesn't mean they get away with it," Burkhart said.

___

Follow Andrew Selsky on Twitter at https://twitter.com/andrewselsky
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Iran's foreign minister sharply criticized President Donald Trump Wednesday for abusing the U.S. presidency of the Security Council this month by holding a meeting on Iran's international activities during the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. in late September.

Mohammad Javad Zarif was responding in a tweet to U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley's announcement Tuesday that Trump will chair a meeting to address "violations of international law and general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region."

She accused Iran of supporting terrorism and destabilizing activities in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.

Zarif tweeted that Trump "plans to abuse presidency of SC to divert a session - item devoted to Palestine for 70 yrs - to blame Iran for horrors US & clients have unleashed across M.E. (Middle East)."

He also accused Trump of violating a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution, number 2231, that endorsed the Iran nuclear deal. The president withdrew the United States from the nuclear accord between Iran and six major powers in May.

Zarif said "@realDonaldTrump is violating it & bullying others to do same."

Under Security Council rules, Iran can speak at the Sept. 26 meeting that Trump will chair, but Zarif and Iran's U.N. Mission did not indicate whether it would participate. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is scheduled to attend the General Assembly's ministerial session, along with Zarif.

The mission said in a press release that despite the fact that Iran is in compliance with all its nuclear obligations under the 2015 deal according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, "the U.S. not only unilaterally and unlawfully withdrew from the accord, but also now openly invites all U.N. member states to either violate or ignore resolution 2231 or face punishment."

The mission called Israel's occupation of Palestine "the main cause of all conflicts in the Middle East" and accused the U.S., Israel's most important supporter, of rendering the Security Council "ineffective in discharging its duty to end the illegal occupation."

Iran called the Sept. 26 council meeting "a further attempt by the U.S. to divert attention away from Israeli brutalities and to remove the issue from the council agenda; however, such actions are doomed to fail."

Answering U.S. criticism of "the so-called destabilizing role of Iran in the region," the Iranian mission called the United States "a menace to Middle Eastern security with its destabilizing, unilateralist policies and military interventions based on false claims."

It pointed to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, its presence in Afghanistan, "the illegal occupation" of nearly one-third of Syria, and its part in the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite rebels in Yemen, which has been accused of killing civilians.

The mission noted that Iran was in "the forefront" of defeating the Islamic State extremist group which it claimed was created and supported by the U.S. and its regional allies.
NEW YORK (AP) - It was an extraordinary decision at a tense time for editors at The New York Times: a senior official at the Trump administration wanted to tell the world that some who work for the president try to blunt his worst instincts, but wanted the cover of anonymity to avoid being fired.

The Times agreed and posted the column titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" on Wednesday, provoking fury from the man who frequently revs up supporters by railing against "fake news" and the "failing New York Times." Trump called the move gutless and demanded the Times reveal the author's identity "for national security purposes."

The internet was abuzz with speculation on who wrote the column, which veered in tone between a hostage note and a reassurance to Americans that, as the writer put it, "there are adults in the room."

President Donald Trump responds to a reporters question during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The decision was in the purview of James Bennet, editorial page editor, and James Dao, op-ed editor, with publisher A.G. Sulzberger weighing in, a Times spokeswoman said. The newspaper's executive editor, Dean Baquet, was not involved because the news pages are his responsibility, and the column appeared in the Times' opinion section.

That led to a Times reporter, Jodi Kantor, tweeting that "Times reporters must now try to unearth the identity of an author that our colleagues in Opinion have sworn to protect with anonymity?"

Dao told a Times reporter that the piece was submitted last week through an intermediary, and anonymity wasn't granted until editors were confident in the writer's identity. While that's rare for the opinion pages, it's not unprecedented, and Dao said the material in the essay was important enough to publish.

"We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers," the newspaper said.

In June, the Times published a piece from an asylum seeker who was in a Trump administration family detention center, not identifying her because of gang-related threats she received. In 2014, a woman from Pakistan was not identified for writing an editorial page blog item to protect her from the Taliban.

But in Wednesday's case, the person was from the highest reaches of the U.S. government.

"It's extraordinary," said Frank Sesno, director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. "I have never seen anything like this. I can only imagine the conversations at the New York Times about publishing such a thing. If there's any question about the role that journalism plays in a democracy, this puts it to bed."

Sesno said the Times' credibility is on the line "if this person turns out to be a window-washer somewhere.

"But there's no way a responsible news organization would do that," said Sesno, a former CNN Washington bureau chief. "I have to believe that the top people at the Times were part of this decision, because it was so unusual and so explosive."

The author wrote that "there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis." That speaks to the writer either being in the White House or having access to people who are there regularly.

Kyle Pope, editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, said the decision was akin to the newspaper's news pages protecting a source with anonymity.

"What's different here is the scale of it," he said. "I do think it's a powerful statement. I wonder how the editorial side is keeping (the source's identity) from the news side."

He said it's a situation in which the rules have to be made on the fly.

"If I was in this decision-making process, I would take the risk," Pope said. "It's a risk worth taking because the message is so powerful."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the administration was "disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless and selfish op-ed." She called it another example of the liberal media's effort to discredit Trump.

The newspaper's spokeswoman, Eileen Murphy, said the Times was incredibly proud to have published the piece, "which adds significant value to the public's understanding of what is going on in the Trump administration from someone who is in a position to know." The newspaper had no response to Trump's tweet that the identity be revealed for national security reasons.

The article was a coup for the Times in its endless fight for supremacy with The Washington Post, coming a day after the Post published excerpts from an upcoming book on the Trump administration by Post legend Bob Woodward.

Some of what was written in the Times column, in fact, echoes material from Woodward's book. The book said Defense Secretary James Mattis has purposely not acted on a presidential directive to assassinate Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, and that former Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn once removed a document from the president's desk that would have ended a trade deal with South Korea.

The Times column said that those working for Trump made sure sanctions were placed on Russia for poisoning a Russian spy in Britain, despite the president's reluctance to do so.

"We fully recognize what is happening," the anonymous author said. "And we are trying to do what's right even when Donald Trump won't."

President Donald Trump responds to a reporters question during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Donald Trump responds to a reporters question during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Donald Trump listens to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Brazil's federal police filed a report Wednesday seeking to have corruption charges brought against unpopular President Michel Temer, which could lead to his suspension from office.

The report said an investigation had obtained evidence that Temer pocketed about $300,000 in bribes from construction giant Odebrecht, which is at the heart of a regional corruption scandal.

Temer has survived two previous attempts to charge him. He has already denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Brazil's President Michel Temer arrives to attend Soldier's Day ceremonies at the Army's headquarters in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. The Brazilian Army celebrates throughout Brazil the Day of the Soldier, honoring the soldiers killed in combat. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil's top court said it received the report, which will be sent to Attorney General Raquel Dodge, who will decide whether Temer should be charged for the third time since taking office in 2016.

Dodge was appointed by Temer. The two previous charges were made by one of her adversaries, former Attorney General Rodrigo Janot.

If Dodge chooses to proceed, two-thirds of the Chamber of Deputies would have to vote to suspend Temer and put him on trial. The body twice rejected previous charges against him.

Temer's term ends Dec. 31, filling the term of Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached for alleged mishandling of federal finances.

The popularity rating for Temer has been in the single digits since last year and he decided against seeking a new term in October's national elections.

On Tuesday, Brazilian prosecutors asked a judge to approve charges against conservative presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin. They accuse the former governor of Sao Paulo state of receiving illegal campaign contributions from Odebrecht amounting to $2.5 million in his 2014 election.

Alckmin, who has struggled in the polls, denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers called the accusation "noise from a prosecutor" before the presidential election.

Investigators at Sao Paulo state prosecutors' office said Alckmin's political rights should be suspended, but that would be unlikely to happen before the elections.

The same prosecutors' office is also seeking charges against another likely presidential candidate, Fernando Haddad of the Workers' Party.

Haddad is expected to take over as the party's presidential candidate for jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was barred from running by Brazil's top electoral court Saturday.

Da Silva has held a strong lead in opinion polls despite his corruption and money laundering conviction. He denies any wrongdoing.

Haddad, who is currently the Workers' party vice presidential candidate, said during a campaign event in Sao Paulo that the party will appeal electoral court's decision to Brazil's Supreme Court. The party has only until Tuesday to replace da Silva as its presidential candidate.

___

Associated Press journalist Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
HOUSTON (AP) - The family of a man who was killed last month in a shooting at a Houston-area food warehouse has filed a lawsuit asking for $25 million in damages from his employer.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in state civil court in Houston by the family of Francisco Reyes.

He was an overnight manager at a food warehouse run by Ben E. Keith Co. in the Houston suburb of Missouri City, Texas.

Police say Reyes was fatally shot Aug. 20 by Kristine Peralez, a co-worker. Another worker was wounded. Peralez died after a confrontation with police.

In the lawsuit, Reyes' family alleges the company knew the warehouse could be the target of workplace violence but didn't provide adequate security.

An attorney for the company didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.
The visit is an important milestone, helping to consolidate political trust, strengthen strategic cohesion, and enhancing the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation while affirming the consistent policy of Vietnam in regarding Russia as the top prioritised partner in its foreign policy. The visit is also expected to create a new impetus to foster the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia to develop in a deep, substantive and effective manner.

The Vietnamese people are happy to share achievements in all aspects that Russia has accomplished in the past years. Russia's socio-political situation is quite stable, with high consensus among the people. In addition, Russia successfully held a presidential election on March 18 under which veteran and highly-respected leader Vladimir Putin won an overwhelming victory with nearly 77% of the vote and established the government for a new tenure.

However, Russia is currently facing many difficulties due to the Western policies of siege and embargo against the country. In this context, thanks to the implementation of radical reform measures, the Russian economy continues to recover and maintain its momentum of growth with a GDP growth rate of 1.5% in 2017 and an estimated nearly 2% in 2018. The Russian Government has set a strategy for socio-economic development until 2025 with the goal of developing Russia to be among the top five economies in the world.

Regarding foreign policy, Russia has insisted on multilateral and equal diplomacy while appreciating the central role of the United Nations and supporting the multipolar world in addition to asserting its position as a powerful nation with an important role in addressing complicated regional and world issues.

Russia also continues to promote a "Look East" policy and pay attention to developing relations with Vietnam while attaching importance to Vietnam in its cooperation strategy in the Asia-Pacific region and considering Vietnam as its leading partner in Southeast Asia.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to Russia takes place ahead of big events of the two countries, including the 25th anniversary of a treaty on the basic principles for bilateral friendship in 2019 and the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Russia in 2020. We are pleased to see that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia has been constantly consolidated and strengthened.

The Vietnamese people always remember and appreciate the enthusiastic support of the people of the former Soviet Union, including the Russian people for the revolutionary cause and the national construction of Vietnam.

The traditional and trusted friendship is marked by regular high-level visits and exchanges between the two countries. The relations between Parties, States, Governments, Parliaments, and peoples are strengthened in a deep and substantive manner, contributing to boosting the bilateral relationship.

In addition, economic and trade cooperation between Vietnam and Russia has grown positively, particularly after the free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union took effect in October 2016. Two-way trade revenue reached US$3.55 billion in 2017, an annual increase of more than 30%. Russia ranks 22nd out of 117 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 116 projects and a total registered capital of US$990 million. Vietnam also has 23 investment projects in Russia with a total investment capital of nearly US$3 billion.

Cooperation in the field of education and training has also expanded with an increasing number of Vietnamese students provided with scholarships to study in Russia and the number has reached 1,000 students per year. The two countries also see growth in culture, humanities, and tourism cooperation, with the number of Russian tourists to Vietnam increasing by an average of 30% per year to reach 574,000 in 2017.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's official visit to Russia aims to continue implementing the independent, self-reliant, peaceful, cooperative and multilateral foreign policy of Vietnam and affirms Vietnam's active integration into the world to create an international environment conducive to the cause of national construction, protection and development.

The General Secretary's visit is a political event of landmark importance in the relations between Vietnam and Russia, contributing to boosting the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries in the new situation. The visit will also contribute to the effective implementation of a number of cooperation contents and drive stronger progress in economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Russia.

May General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's official visit to Russia be a success, creating a new impetus for promoting the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia and creating positive changes in all fields of cooperation, especially economics, trade and investment in order to contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the world.
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - Both directions of a major highway connecting California and Oregon were closed and evacuations were ordered Wednesday when a fast-moving wildfire swept through a wilderness area.

The blaze in Shasta County was reported during the afternoon and within hours had charred nearly 8 square miles (about 21 square kilometers) of brush and timber in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest about 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

The fire was human-caused, fire officials said. However, they didn't indicate whether it was arson or an accident.

A fire rages as motorists travel on Interstate 5 near Lake Shasta, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (Jerri Tubbs via AP)

The fire shut down miles of Interstate 5 and there was no immediate word on when it would reopen. The blaze also delayed Amtrak's Coast Starlight service between Sacramento and Oregon.

Footage posted by KRCR-TV of Redding showed roaring flames and plumes of dark smoke as some trucks and cars were left abandoned on the side of Interstate 5.

Several trucks were burned and would have to be removed before the road could reopen.

In a video, a passenger in a vehicle on the freeway screams: "Oh my God, I want to go!" as trees catch fire and flames race up a hillside next to the road.

The key interstate was closed from 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Redding to an area just south of Mount Shasta. The Delta Fire was not immediately burning near large towns but was threatening a number of structures in an area of campgrounds, recreational residences and cabins, forest spokeswoman Kerry Greene said.

It comes just weeks after a devastating fire destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and killed eight people in the same area. That blaze, the Carr Fire, was declared contained just last week.

Meanwhile, a forest fire in California's eastern Sierra Nevada continued to grow and impacts on travel were increasing, officials said.

State Route 108 was closed from the Alpine-Mono county line to U.S. 395, which was already shut down in the mountainous region about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Sacramento, the California Department of Transportation said.

The U.S. 395 closure extended from the town of Bridgeport to just south of the community of Walker, Caltrans said.

The Boot Fire began Tuesday in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Evacuation orders remained in place for the Bootleg, Chris Flat and Sonora Bridge campgrounds. Unspecified structures were threatened in the Burchum Flats area east of Walker Canyon.
NEW YORK (AP) - In a year in which establishment Democrats have found themselves stalked, and sometimes beaten, by more liberal challengers, New York's Julia Salazar seems well-positioned to become the next insurgent to knock off an incumbent. She's a 27-year-old, tattoo-wearing socialist, running for state Senate against a 67-year-old, male Democrat in a district that has been ground zero for Brooklyn's hipster invasion.

Before she gets a chance to remake state politics, Salazar has run into questions about how she's remade her own identity.

Just a few years ago, Salazar was a Republican who led an anti-abortion group at Columbia University. As a student, she appeared on conservative commentator Glenn Beck's online show to complain about professors spreading anti-Israel propaganda.

In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, photo, Democratic New York state Senate candidate Julia Salazar speaks during a rally in McCarren Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In a year in which establishment Democrats have found themselves stalked, and sometimes beaten, by more liberal challengers, New York's Salazar seems well-positioned to become the next insurgent to knock off an incumbent. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Her quick transformation from a conservative student activist to a Democratic Socialist who now favors abortion access for all women is remarkable enough.

But Salazar has also faced criticism over how she described her background in early interviews. In some of them, Salazar said she was a striving immigrant, born in her father's native Colombia, when she was actually born into a middle-class family in Jupiter, Florida. Her mother is from New Jersey.

She now says she "inadvertently misrepresented" her experience as the daughter of an immigrant.

"I never intended to misrepresent myself," she said. She said some of the confusion about her background was due to "having a relatively complex family history and childhood experience it's hard to digest into a sound bite."

As for her transformation from conservative Republican to socialist, she said it reflects a thoughtful evolution.

"I'm proud that I had the courage as an adult to change my mind," she told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "Since then, I've been very consistent as a leftist, as a progressive, now as a democratic socialist. I recognize why people might be skeptical about someone who has changed their mind. But the context is really important. In my case it's been a consistent trajectory."

Salazar now says she supports efforts to keep her community affordable for working families, and to ensure that they can access quality health care, transportation and educational options.

Her opponent in next week's Democratic primary, 16-year incumbent Martin Dilan, dismissed her explanations as the words of someone willing to say anything to get elected.

"I know my constituents," said Dilan, who served 10 years on the city council before being elected to the Senate in 2002. "Someone who was a Republican last year, a conservative, pro-life, anti-abortion - now wants to be more progressive than I am? I don't think so."

Salazar's candidacy and background began getting media attention after another democratic socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, upset U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley in the state's congressional primary.

Salazar's father was a naturalized America citizen born in Colombia. He was a cargo pilot who spent much of his time working in South America, and Salazar remembers trips to his homeland as a girl. Her parents divorced when she was 7. Salazar and her brother were baptized Catholic but raised in a largely secular home. When she turned 18, Salazar registered as a Republican, reflecting a conservative upbringing.

Her father died shortly before Salazar moved to New York for college. She became active in campus political organizations, joining a campus anti-abortion organization and a pro-Israel group. Salazar said she soon became interested in Judaism, recalling her father's comments that his family had centuries-old Jewish roots in Spain. She said she converted in 2013.

Her religious awakening, she said, happened as she moved left politically. She said a trip to Israel, along with experiences at Columbia, prompted her to reconsider viewpoints she'd had since childhood.

In recent weeks, numerous articles have questioned Salazar's decision to represent herself as an immigrant, including in some video clips in which she says she moved to the U.S. as a young child.

Several high-profile supporters are sticking with the candidate, including Ocasio-Cortez, attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout and former "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon, who is challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary.

Dilan, meanwhile, has the endorsement of Mayor Bill de Blasio and an influential health care workers union.

The election has been playing out in the neighborhoods of Bushwick and Williamsburg, which were both largely poor and packed with immigrants when Dilan began representing them as a councilman, but have seen an influx of young, college educated, mostly white newcomers.

Hipster restaurants, art galleries and luxury condominiums have edged out corner bodegas and tenements. Both candidates have said they want to help longtime residents hang on in the district, despite the flood of gentrification.

Like the district's residents, Dilan and Salazar are a study in contrasts.

He was born in the district. She arrived a few years ago. He greets constituents as old friends while she describes herself as "naturally shy and soft-spoken and introverted." Thanking supporters at a rally last month, Salazar struggled to make herself heard over rush-hour traffic.

An influx of young newcomers in her district carried Ocasio-Cortez to victory in June, and that group could play a deciding factor in the Dilan-Salazar race.

"She's our age. She understands what it's like to be a young person in 2018," Salazar supporter Jesse Eisenberg, 25, told another 20-something voter during a recent round of door-to-door canvassing.

Dilan is betting constituents will reward his roots in the community.

"He's not a Johnny-come-lately," said Virginia Torres, a resident of a moderate-income housing development in Williamsburg that hosted a recent Dilan campaign visit. "When you need him, he's there."

In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, photo, Democratic New York state Senate candidate Julia Salazar, and Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon go over campaign materials before a joint rally in McCarren Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, photo, Democratic New York state Senate candidate Julia Salazar, right, talks to a supporter before a rally in McCarren Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In a year in which establishment Democrats have found themselves stalked, and sometimes beaten, by more liberal challengers, New York's Salazar seems well-positioned to become the next insurgent to knock off an incumbent. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, photo, Democratic candidate for governor Cynthia Nixon, right, listens as Democratic New York state Senate candidate Julia Salazar speaks during a joint rally in McCarren Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, photo, Democratic New York state Senate candidate Julia Salazar, right, talks to a supporter after a rally in McCarren Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York. In a year in which establishment Democrats have found themselves stalked, and sometimes beaten, by more liberal challengers, New York's Salazar seems well-positioned to become the next insurgent to knock off an incumbent. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

In this Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2018, photo, Democratic New York state Senate candidate Julia Salazar smiles as she speaks to supporters after a rally in McCarren Park in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Salazar is a young, tattoo-wearing socialist, running for state Senate against an older, male Democrat in a district that has been ground zero for Brooklyn's hipster invasion. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
TOKYO (AP) - A major Japanese airport flooded by a typhoon is expected to partially reopen Friday after officials promised round-the-clock work to repair damage and make the travel hub ready for passengers.

Domestic flights at Kansai International Airport were expected to resume Friday and international flights later. The indefinite closure of the western airport that is a gateway to Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe had raised concerns about the impact on Japan's economy and tourism.

Kansai Airports CEO Yoshiyuki Yamaya emphasized at a news conference Thursday the reopening would be partial. He said work would be done through the night.

Kansai International Airport is partially flooded by Typhoon Jebi in Osaka, western Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. The powerful typhoon slammed into western Japan on Tuesday, inundating the region's main international airport and blowing a tanker into a bridge, disrupting land and air travel and leaving thousands stranded. (Hiroko Harima/Kyodo News via AP)

One of the airport's two runways and part of a terminal building were flooded and the bridge connecting the airport to the mainland was damaged when Typhoon Jebi swept through on Tuesday.

The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years caused 11 deaths and damage in and around Osaka.

The Kansai airport served 28 million passengers last year. It handles exports of computer chips, electronics parts and other cargo while importing into Japan mostly medical goods.

Kansai International Airport is partially flooded by Typhoon Jebi in Osaka, western Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. The powerful typhoon slammed into western Japan on Tuesday, inundating the region's main international airport and blowing a tanker into a bridge, disrupting land and air travel and leaving thousands stranded. (Hiroko Harima/Kyodo News via AP)

A deer stands near a fallen tree at Kasugataisha shrine in Nara, western Japan Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. One of Japan's busiest airports remained closed indefinitely after the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in at least 25 years flooded a runway and other facilities while damaging other infrastructure as it swept across part of Japan's main island. (naranofuku via AP)

Cranes fall down damaged at a seaside area following a powerful typhoon, in Nishinomiya, western Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Typhoon Jebi swept across part of Japan's main island. (Hiroko Harima/Kyodo News via AP)

A wall of Minami Noh Butai of Nishi Honganji temple, a world heritage site, is damaged by a powerful typhoon in Kyoto, western Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Typhoon Jebi peeled roofs off buildings, toppled power poles and damaged businesses as it crossed Japan's main island Tuesday. (Kyodo News via AP)

A damaged 2,591-ton tanker is towed by a tugboat from a bridge connecting Kansai International Airport in Osaka, western Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, a day after the tanker slammed into the side of the bridge by a powerful typhoon. About 3,000 passengers stranded by Typhoon Jebi overnight at the offshore Japanese airport begun returning by boat and by bus Wednesday morning over the partially damaged bridge to the mainland. (Hiroko Harima/Kyodo News via AP)
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Incumbent Tom Carper won Thursday's Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Delaware, easily fending off a challenge from a political newcomer who had hoped to become the latest liberal candidate to score an upset against a powerful legislator.

Carper's victory set up a November race against Rob Arlett, President Donald Trump's former campaign chair in this heavily Democratic state. Arlett defeated former PayPal executive Gene Truono in the Republican primary.

"This is not the finish line," Carper told a crowd of about 60 supporters, including Democratic Gov. John Carney, in declaring victory. "This was a good solid win."

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and his wife Martha walk into Bluewinkle's Diamond Club at Frawley Stadium, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Wilmington, Del., to a cheering crowd of supporters as he gives a victory speech after defeating progressive political newcomer Kerri Evelyn Harris in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. (Suchat Pederson/The News Journal via AP)

Carper, 71, won by nearly 30 percent over Kerry Evelyn Harris, who was part of a wave of young activists emboldened by the 2016 presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Eying a fourth term in the Senate, Carper touted his experience and his ability to work with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Congress, despite being a vocal Trump critic. He served five terms in the U.S. House and two terms as governor before being elected to the Senate in 2000.

"I'm happy with how things are going here in the state," said Jim Williams, 39, who works in the financial services industry and voted for Carper. "I think he represents us well, and I didn't see a need for change."

Carper had a huge advantage over Harris in fundraising, having raised more than $1.3 million this year, compared to a little more than $120,000 reported by Harris as of mid-August. He outspent her by a similar margin.

Harris, a black, gay Air Force veteran, ran on a platform including government-paid health care for all, a $15 an hour minimum wage and abolition of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. She tried to paint Carper as an out-of-touch, career politician beholden to corporations and their political action committees.

She had hoped to follow the success of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who beat a 10-term incumbent in a New York congressional primary in June, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who won Florida's Democratic gubernatorial primary, and Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, who beat an incumbent in a Massachusetts primary this week.

"We're going to just keep pushing against the machine," Harris said. "Our voices are louder than ever, and we are not going to sit silent whenever we see any injustices."

Carper congratulated Harris for running a good race and inspiring young people to get energized and involved.

"We need to reunite as a party," he said. "We need to keep in mind that we are not one another's enemies."

Carper beat his 2012 general election opponent by 37 points, suggesting a difficult race for Arlett, the 51-year-old owner of a real estate business in southern Delaware. Arlett has served on the Sussex County council since 2015.

During the Senate campaign, Arlett touted his support of Trump's "America First" agenda and his socially conservative positions, including opposition to abortion and gay marriage. He reminded GOP voters that Truono is openly gay and in a same-sex marriage.

"I'm married to a woman and he is not," Arlett replied when asked by a newspaper reporter just days before the election to describe the biggest contrast between him and Truono.

Arlett also tried to paint Truono, who changed his political registration from unaffiliated to Republican a year ago before announcing his Senate bid, as a "party crasher."

Arlett has said he would work in Washington to remove burdensome regulations on businesses, improve border security and fight for free and fair trade.

He also has called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the defunding of so-called "sanctuary cities."

Republican voters also chose businessman Scott Walker as their nominee for Delaware's lone U.S. House seat. He will challenge first-term Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Tom Carper and his wife Martha walk into Bluewinkle's Diamond Club at Frawley Stadium, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Wilmington, Del., to a cheering crowd of supporters as he gives a victory speech after defeating progressive political newcomer Kerri Evelyn Harris in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary. (Suchat Pederson/The News Journal via AP)

FILE - In this May 15, 2018, file photo, Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., asks a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as she testifies to the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerri Evelyn Harris, whose resume includes loading giant Air Force cargo planes, frying chicken at a convenience store chain and working as an auto body mechanic, is seeking in the Thursday, Sept. 6, Democratic primary to unseat three-term incumbent Carper, one of the most successful politicians in Delaware history. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's sort of a coordinated dance, but the performers are an organized group of protesters and a dozen or so uniformed Capitol Police officers. And the stage is this week's Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

One by one, the protesters, many wearing T-shirts that say "I am what's at stake," interrupt the proceedings by shouting slogans like "You're making a mockery of democracy!" or "Senators: Do your jobs and stop this hearing!" The police then warn that he or she will be arrested for any further disruptions. Minutes later, the person shouts again and is hustled out a side door.

Then another person repeats the process.

A protester disrupts the proceedings as President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the second day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Eventually, the back two rows of the hearing room, which are reserved for the public, are empty, and another 20 or so visitors are escorted in from a line outside. They wait for their turn to shout and be arrested.

Overall, 70 people were arrested Tuesday and charged with disorderly conduct on the first day of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. The second day of hearings on Wednesday was marked by the same sort of shout-and-arrest pattern.

The Capitol Police can't close the room to the public and can't keep out people who look like they might disrupt the hearing. So there's no choice but to let everybody in and wait for them to misbehave before removing them.

The protesters are part of a nationwide campaign to disrupt the confirmation process. A broad coalition of activist groups, including abortion rights groups, gun control organizations and labor unions, has converged on Washington. The demonstrators fear that Kavanaugh's confirmation would shift the Supreme Court's balance for years on issues like abortion rights, LGBT freedoms and gun control.

"My goal is for this nomination to not go through," said Alison Dreith, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri, who was arrested Tuesday. "The stakes have never been higher."

It may be a quixotic goal. Republicans have the votes to confirm Kavanaugh and are expected to do so. The protesters are adding their voices to the outnumbered committee Democrats, who tried to delay the hearings, arguing that important documents about Kavanaugh have been withheld.

Dreith acknowledged that the numbers are on Kavanaugh's side but said she and other protesters are hoping to bolster Democrats on the committee and possibly sway one or two Republicans. They are also conducting phone call campaigns in each senator's home state.

At the very least, the protests managed to annoy one prominent Republican on the committee. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, after being interrupted by a woman in the crowd, snapped: "I think we should have this loudmouth removed. We shouldn't have to put up with this kind of stuff."

President Donald Trump even weighed in on the interruptions. In an Oval Office interview Tuesday with The Daily Caller, he called the protests "embarrassing for the country" and wondered why the disruptions were allowed to continue.

"In the old days, we used to throw them out. Today, I guess they just keep screaming," Trump said.

Dreith said she and the other arrestees were hustled down to the building's basement while wearing plastic zip-tie handcuffs and kept in a garage-like holding area. After about five hours, they were charged and released after waiving their right to a trial and paying a $35 fee.

A second group chose a different form of protest Tuesday. Nine women were arrested in the nearby Dirksen Senate Office Building for staging a protest dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale," a novel and TV series that depicts a dystopian future where women are controlled by the government and forcibly used for breeding purposes. All protests are against the law in the Capitol and its related buildings, and the demonstrators were charged under a D.C. statute for "crowding, obstructing, or incommoding."

Lacy MacAuley, a longtime Washington-based activist and one of the people arrested, said she joined the costumed protest "to remind everyone that it can happen here. It's not just fiction. Our rights could slip through our fingers unless we act now to defend them."

A protester is removed from the hearing room as another, right, joins in protest of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, for the second day of the confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Demonstrators protesting against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, wear costumes from the show "The Handmaid's Tale," during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A protester is removed from the hearing room as President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, for the second day of his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A protester attempts to disrupt President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, for the second day of his confirmation to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A protester disrupts the proceedings as President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the second day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A protester disrupts the proceedings as President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the second day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A protester disrupts the proceedings as President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the second day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A protester against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is removed from his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A U.S. Capitol Police Officer stands near as protesters of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wear costumes from the show "The Handmaid's Tale," during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, listens as a protester yells during his confirmation hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington, to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
CHICAGO (AP) - The next mayor of Chicago will take over a city that is deeply divided by race and class, a decadeslong problem that critics say only grew more pronounced during Mayor Rahm Emanuel's two terms in office.

The question for voters now that Emanuel isn't seeking re-election: Who, if anyone, can repair it?

A dozen candidates were running to lead the nation's third-largest city even before Emanuel's surprise announcement Tuesday. By Wednesday the list of people said to be weighing bids seemed to be multiplying by the minute.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announces Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, he will not seek a third term in office at a press conference on the 5th floor at City Hall in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Among the most high-profile names being discussed were former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, longtime Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and Bill Daley, who succeeded Emanuel as Obama's White House chief of staff and is the brother of longtime Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. None of them were commenting publicly.

Those running - or contemplating it - as well as activists and community leaders said the next mayor must be focused on uniting Chicago, which has long been one of the nation's most segregated cities. That includes investing more in poor, predominantly minority neighborhoods on the city's West and South Sides where unemployment and violence rates are dramatically higher than other areas.

"For me what's most important is someone that has the character and personality to run all of Chicago, not just some of Chicago," said the Rev. Corey Brooks, pastor at New Beginnings Church of Chicago on the South Side, who also said he "might be considering" his own bid.

He acknowledged much of the city's division predates Emanuel, but said it had become "more apparent" under his leadership, as construction cranes hang over downtown and North Side developments while other areas are hollowing out.

Both Brooks and the Rev. Marshall Hatch, a prominent minister on the city's West Side and a critic of Emanuel, said it isn't critical that the next mayor be African-American or Hispanic. What matters most, Hatch said, is that it's someone who's "going to be fair to poor people."

The city's population is almost evenly divided, with one-third African-American, one-third Hispanic and one-third white. It's one of the nation's wealthiest cities, yet about one-fifth of residents live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

When Emanuel took office, the city's leaders quietly lamented that his predecessor, Daley, had left him a city in desperate financial straits. While Emanuel's efforts have improved the city's financial situation there is a feeling, particularly among the African-American community, that much of it occurred at their expense.

Emanuel led the effort to close 50 Chicago Public Schools in 2013, saying the closings were necessary because too many buildings were half-empty and the financially troubled district couldn't afford to keep them open. The buildings were overwhelmingly located in low-income neighborhoods with predominantly African-American students.

"(The closings) told us all we needed to know about what Rahm felt about our communities: Get out of town," Hatch said.

Hatch said other policies, including a host of fines imposed by the city and red light cameras installed to catch people running red lights and ticket them, also disproportionately hurt the city's poor.

"I get a red light ticket or a boot on my car ... I have a bad day," he said. "But if I'm a single mom with a minimum wage job who drops her kids off in three different places and I come outside and my car is booted, it is a family emergency."

Emanuel's announcement came the same week as jury selection begins in the trial of a white Chicago police officer, who's charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting black teen Laquan McDonald 16 times. Dashcam video of the 2014 shooting wasn't made public and Van Dyke not charged until after Emanuel won his 2015 election for a second term, prompting many to accuse City Hall of suppressing it to help the mayor.

Emanuel defended his record during a Wednesday radio interview, noting he helped bring a Whole Foods grocery store to the Englewood neighborhood and Obama's presidential center to Jackson Park, both located on Chicago's South Side.

He also said he doesn't think any of the candidates who've so far announced has the necessary skill set, and that more people will jump in before the November candidate filing deadline. The election is in February, with an April runoff if needed.

"My view is ... the list is not done," Emanuel said.

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BOSTON (AP) - When Ayanna Pressley topped a 10-term congressman in a Massachusetts district once represented by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, she became the latest face of a burgeoning movement of the grassroots left. "This is a fight for the soul of our party and the future of our democracy," Pressley said. That movement is reshaping a Democratic Party still searching for leaders and identity in the era of Donald Trump.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Grassroots activists on the left have a mixed record in Democratic primaries this election year, but the self-described progressive movement has scored enough victories to suggest its popularity is based on more than just protesting the Trump White House. The movement is also remolding the Democratic Party into a younger, more diverse and decidedly liberal party.

In this Sept. 5, 2018, photo, Ayanna Pressley, who won the 7th Congressional District Democratic primary Tuesday, speaks at a Massachusetts Democratic Party unity event in Boston. When Pressley topped a 10-term congressman in a Massachusetts district once represented by John Fitzgerald Kennedy, she became the latest face of a burgeoning movement of the grassroots left. That movement is reshaping a Democratic Party still searching for leaders and identity in the era of Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

Ayanna Pressley and New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, two women of color, both defeated Democratic incumbent congressmen in their primaries. The progressive movement has helped nominate three black Democrats for governor's seats, including a clear upset in Florida, where Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum knocked off establishment favorite Gwen Graham. Graham's establishment credentials could not have been stronger. Her father, Bob, is a Florida icon who served as governor and U.S. senator.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Associated Press reporters are on the ground around the country, covering political issues, people and races from places they live. The Ground Game series highlights that reporting, looking at politics from the ground up. Each week, in stories and a new podcast, AP reporters examine the political trends that will drive the national conversation tomorrow.

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Georgia's Stacey Abrams, meanwhile, trounced a primary opponent recruited and backed by much of her state's Democratic old guard. Abrams would become the first black woman elected governor in any U.S. state.

Scores of other down-ballot candidates are running for local, state and federal offices with backing from grassroots groups like Indivisible, MoveOn.org, the Working Families Party and the offshoot of Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, Our Revolution.

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WHY IT MATTERS

The diversifying, more liberal slate will be measured by the outcome in the November vote.

Republicans - and some Democrats - argue that the party is going too far to the left for American voters, particularly outside of the cities and close-in suburbs where Democrats' base of white liberals and non-white voters is concentrated.

Progressive nominees like Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez are running in Democratic strongholds, so their wins in November are all but guaranteed. But Republicans will use the rise of the left - and its support for policies like single-payer health care and scrapping U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - to tar all Democratic candidates.

The counter argument from Democrats and activists on the left is two-fold: 1) Many issues that more liberal candidates support - some gun regulation, expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage - actually have widespread public support, even among independents and some Republicans; and 2) the more openly liberal candidates from outside the old-guard establishment can bring in new voters who don't regularly cast midterm ballots.

Beyond November, the new generation of Democrats will have a say in how the party governs. Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez won't determine whether Democrats pick up the 23 new House seats they need for a majority, but they'll help shape the arguments within the Democratic caucus.

They and their fellow freshmen will have a say in whether a new Democratic majority returns Nancy Pelosi to the speaker's chair. They'll have leverage - much like the arch-conservative Freedom Caucus does with the House GOP leadership - over every debate, from health care to the potential impeachment of Trump.

So, for example, while there might not be enough support for a real push toward single-payer health care, the movement could draw the party toward supporting a public health insurance option to compete alongside for-profit companies selling policies in Affordable Care Act exchanges. And, even if an immediate $15 minimum wage is too heavy a lift, perhaps the left-flank forces a compromise of graduated raises over time.

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WHAT TO WATCH

Before primary season concludes, there are a few more key matchups to measure the left's influence. In Delaware, military veteran and activist Kerri Evelyn Harris is aiming Thursday to knock off moderate Democratic Sen. Tom Carper. She's a big underdog, but even a competitive finish will serve notice anew that incumbents must at least contend with the left base. Similar dynamics exist in New York, where actress Cynthia Nixon is trying to topple Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a Sept. 13 primary.

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DON'T MISS

Some of the most intent observers of party's evolution are the gaggle of aspiring presidential candidates. Certainly, some of those figures have helped drive the shift - Sanders and his 2016 campaign, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her outspoken economic populism.

But Sanders, Warren and rest also are careful to watch the base and not get caught flat-footed as it evolves. That's one reason potential candidates like Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden have made sure that their endorsement and campaign finance activity this midterm cycle has spanned the spectrum of the party's down-ballot candidates: If the so-called progressive movement becomes the center of the party, no one who wants to be the Democratic presidential nominee wants to be boxed out.

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Barrow reported from Atlanta.

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NEW DELHI (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis held long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional partners.

The talks were scheduled to last just a few hours and focus on strategic and security topics. They came amid a series of divisive issues, including Washington's demands that India stop buying Iranian oil and a Russian air-defense system and news reports that President Donald Trump privately mimicked the accent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

But with trade and strategic ties growing quickly between the U.S. and India, both countries have been eager to downplay potential diplomatic troubles.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hand with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before a meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis are holding long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional allies. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

"Freedom means that at times nations don't agree with each other," Mattis told reporters on his way to India, when asked about the country's plans to buy a sophisticated Russian air-defense system. "That doesn't mean we can't be partners. That doesn't mean we don't respect the sovereignty of those nations."

The India-U.S. "2+2" talks - called that because they include the top diplomatic and defense officials of both countries - have been postponed twice, the last time when Pompeo was dispatched in July for talks in North Korea.

Pompeo and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met separately Thursday before joining top defense officials for talks.

"India attaches the highest priority to its strategic partnership with the United States. We see that the United States is our partner of choice," Swaraj said in her opening remarks.

Pompeo said the U.S. values its relationship with India, and noted "we fully support India's rise."

Mattis and Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sithataman also met separately before joining the other two leaders.

Sitharaman in her opening remarks said that defense cooperation has become one of the most significant dimensions of the countries' relationship.

"We have acquired various advanced defense platforms from the U.S. We are thus partners in building defense capability in the broadest sense of the term," she said.

She also said the two countries were putting in place a framework for closer cooperation between their militaries and defense establishments. She invited U.S. companies to become active partners in India's efforts to promote its local defense industry.

"Today our partnership has become one of the most consequential in the region and in the world," Mattis said.

The U.S. and India, he said, already have the foundation in their commitment to "a safe, secure prosperous and free Indo-Pacific region where sovereignty of all nations is respected, international norms are upheld, disputes are resolved peacefully and nations freely transit international waters and airspace."

He recalled Modi's words that nations should be free from impossible debt burdens caused by others.

There are sticking points, however, including the purchase by India of Iranian oil and the Russian S-400 ground-to-air missile system, which could trigger U.S. sanctions on India.

Pompeo told reporters in on Thursday that talks were ongoing on whether to grant waivers for India from U.S. sanctions on Iran - India's second-largest oil supplier - and Russia.

"Our effort here is not to penalize great strategic partners like India," he said.

Pompeo also said India had committed to purchasing more energy products and aircraft from the U.S. to reduce the trade deficit.

Pompeo and Mattis later met Modi, and the top U.S. diplomat conveyed Trump's support for "India's role as a leading global power and regional security provider," the State Department said.

C. Raja Mohan, one of India's top foreign policy analysts and the director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, noted that U.S.-India ties have strengthened immensely over the past couple of decades, and Trump has ramped up diplomatic pressure on India's main rivals, Pakistan and China, earning him plenty of goodwill.

Raja Mohan downplayed reports in the U.S. and Indian media that Trump has mimicked Modi's accent in meetings with his top officials.

Modi, he notes, is long past the days when, as the top official in the Indian state of Gujarat, he was denied a U.S. visa because of accusations he did not do enough to quell 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots.

"This government is pragmatic," Mohan said. Modi "has seen a lot worse than people mocking his accent."

Pompeo met Wednesday in Islamabad with Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan. Khan said later he was optimistic he could reset the relationship with Washington after the U.S. cut aid payments over Islamabad's alleged failure to combat the country's militants.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, is greeted by Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj upon arrival at the airport in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hand with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before a meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis are holding long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional allies. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, speaks with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before a meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis are holding long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional allies. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, left, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stand together before a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Pompeo and Mattis are holding long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional allies. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis shakes hand with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj before a meeting in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Mattis and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are holding long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional allies. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A Catholic school in Louisiana and the Archdiocese of New Orleans have moved a lawsuit regarding the school's policy forbidding hair extensions to federal court.

The New Orleans Advocate reports attorneys for the Christ the King Parish School and archdiocese say federal court is the proper venue for a case alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit by the families of two black students at the school say the policy is discriminatory because it blocked the girls from attending class. The school says it has since rescinded the policy. It's unclear if the girls have returned to the school.

FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 24, 2018, file photo, Faith Fennidy walks to a news conference outside the offices of attorney James Williams, in Metairie, La. A Catholic school official says a suburban New Orleans school has rescinded its policy forbidding hair extensions. But it remains unclear whether Fennidy, a sixth-grader who left the school in tears a week earlier after running afoul of the rule, will return to Christ the King school. (Matthew Hinton/The Advocate via AP, File)

The newspaper says this is a common legal move and that the families could request the case return to state court.

A hearing is set for Sept. 18.

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Information from: The New Orleans Advocate, http://www.neworleansadvocate.com
BEIRUT (AP) - When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet Friday in Tehran, all eyes will be on their diplomacy reaching a last-minute deal to avert a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold.

The three leaders, whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions, have an interest in working together to contain a potentially catastrophic offensive by President Bashar Assad's forces to recapture the province, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground when it comes to Syria.

The province and surrounding area is home to about 3 million people - nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria - but also an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

FILE- In this April 4, 2018, file photo, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, left, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan join hands after a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey. When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Tehran on Friday, Sept. 7, all eyes will be on their diplomacy averting a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions have an interest in working together, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

For Russia and Iran, both allies of the Syrian government, retaking Idlib is crucial to complete what they see as a military victory in Syria's civil war after Syrian troops recaptured nearly all other major towns and cities, largely defeating the rebellion against Assad.

A bloody offensive that creates a massive wave of death and displacement, however, runs counter to their narrative that the situation in Syria is normalizing, and could hurt Russia's longer-term efforts to encourage the return of refugees and get Western countries to invest in Syria's postwar reconstruction.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which supports Syria's rebels, stands to lose the most from an assault on Idlib.

Turkey already hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees and has sealed its borders to newcomers. It has also created zones of control in northern Syria and has several hundred troops deployed at 12 observation posts in Idlib. A government assault creates a nightmare scenario of potentially hundreds of thousands of people, including militants, fleeing toward its border and destabilizing towns and cities in northern Syria under its control.

"I don't think that there is a total solution for Syria on the table, but certainly it is a defining moment," said Sam Heller, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. He said if Damascus retook Idlib, it would mark its near-total victory over the opposition, but it will likely also bring humanitarian suffering and carnage on a scale not yet seen in the seven-year war.

A lot of expectations hang on the Iran summit bringing together Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N.'s Syria envoy, made a personal appeal to Erdogan and Putin to find a "soft solution to this crisis."

"We look to Russia, Turkey, Iran to come with hope to the civilians in Idlib," he said. "There are indeed many more babies than there are terrorists in Idlib. There are a million children."

Friday's meeting in Tehran marks the third time the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran have met over Syria in less than a year. In the absence of an engaged United States, they have taken it upon themselves to manage Syria's messy civil war, and their previous meetings in Sochi and Ankara established so-called de-escalation zones in several areas, including Idlib, that temporarily reduced violence. All these agreements were later violated as Syrian troops, backed by Russia and Iran, moved to retake those areas after pounding them into submission with airstrikes.

Tens of thousands of civilians, along with capitulating rebels and militants from Homs, Aleppo, Ghouta, Daraa and other areas were packed in green buses and taken to Idlib, where the war's last showdown is about to unfold. Only this time, there is nowhere left to go, and remaining fighters are more likely to fight until the end.

Speaking to Russian news agencies Wednesday in Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov repeated Russian statements that Idlib is turning into a breeding ground for terrorists and needs to be dealt with accordingly.

He added, however, that Russia "is acting cautiously, selectively and is trying to minimize possible risks for civilians." He added that the Russian and U.S. militaries, as well as diplomats, are still in touch on the situation in Idlib.

"I think the military situation will become clearer after the leaders of the three countries hold talks on Friday," he said.

The meeting takes place against the backdrop of much saber-rattling.

Assad has built up forces around Idlib, vowing to retake the province. Turkey, which backs the rebels in Idlib, is warning against such a move, saying it will be disastrous. Moscow, meanwhile, has moved 10 warships and two submarines off the coast of Syria in a huge show of force.

At the core of Idlib's predicament is the thousands of jihadists entrenched in the province along with the civilians. The al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee, formerly known as the Nusra Front, remains the dominant force there, and any deal would most likely entail intensified Turkish efforts to oust the militants. Russia is reportedly talking to the group through mediators about dissolving itself.

Instead of a full-scale assault, Russia, Turkey and Iran could agree to a piecemeal approach that would see government forces taking off bites of the province, including cities like Jisr al-Shughour, close to Assad's coastal heartland in Latakia province, and Maaret al-Numan and Khan Sheikhoun, which lie on the M5, a key highway that runs through Syria's major cities.

According to an analysis by the International Crisis Group, one compromise plan could entail ending recurrent rebel drone attacks on Russia's Hmeimeem air base in Latakia by withdrawing the de-escalation zone's protection from specific problem areas, and reopening key highways in return for suspending a government offensive in Idlib to enable Turkey to find a solution to the province's jihadist challenge.

Another approach could be to get Turkey to agree to a government return to parts of Idlib while guaranteeing Turkish interests in northwestern Syria, at least in the short term.

For Turkey, however, the loss of Idlib would represent a humiliating failure that threatens to completely defeat Ankara's interests in Syria.

Can Acun, foreign policy researcher at the Ankara-based Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, or SETA, said Turkey will try to push at the summit for any operation in Idlib to be limited, "one that targets only terror and radical groups."

He said Turkey could propose that the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces and other moderate groups in Syria be used "to weaken" the radical groups in Idlib.

Russia, which has seen its ties with Turkey grow amid Ankara's ongoing row with Washington, may be willing to compromise to protect the budding relationship.

Volkan Bozkir, head of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee and a senior official of Turkey's ruling party, said he was hopeful a political solution would emerge at the meeting.

"They (Turkey, Russia and Iran) are all smart nations," Bozkir said. "I am hopeful that a formula can be reached with diplomatic ways, with smart policies and not through the use of guns."

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Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed.

FILE- In this April 4, 2018, file photo, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, left, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lock hands during a group photo in Ankara, Turkey. When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Tehran Friday, Sept. 7, all eyes will be on their diplomacy averting a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions have an interest in working together, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground. (Tolga Bozoglu/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this May 17, 2018, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Tehran on Friday, Sept. 7, all eyes will be on their diplomacy averting a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions have an interest in working together, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2017, file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the troops at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Tehran Friday, Sept. 7, all eyes will be on their diplomacy averting a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions have an interest in working together, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground. (Mikhail Klimentyev/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - This file photo provided Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Civil Defense workers and Syrian citizens gathering after an airstrike hit a market in Maaret al-Numan in southern Idlib, Syria. When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Tehran on Friday, Sept. 7, all eyes will be on their diplomacy averting a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions have an interest in working together, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP, File)
At the beginning of the article, the author affirmed that Vietnam is becoming a prominent and influencing factor on both a regional and even global scale. Vietnams role and status are becoming increasingly affirmed in both economic and political terms. The rate of economic growth is stable at 6-7%, which is demonstrated through the successful activities of Vietnam at international organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and many other organisations.

According to Grigory Trofimchuk, in order to develop the Russia-Vietnam relationship, in the future, new efforts and responsibility will be required, especially in the context that Vietnam, with the common consent of the other Asian countries, has been nominated for a position as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2020-2021. In addition, 2019 will mark the 25th anniversary of a treaty on the basic principles for bilateral friendship (June 16, 1994 - 2019) which will require the two countries to be more responsible for fostering and developing the relationship.

In the article, the author emphasised that Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is not only an excellent theorist of the Communist Party of Vietnam, but he has also done a great deal for the country. He was re-elected as the General Secretary at the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2016. He is also the one who outlined the path of further development for the country in foreign and socio-economic policies, while taking into account all the changes in the modern world. It is important to acknowledge these achievements of Vietnam, with the important role of the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Vietnam is pursuing a clear foreign policy with a consistent approach to diversifying its international relations.

The author noted that Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a trustworthy comrade of Russia, and when talking about his country he can be called Comrade Vietnam. In recent years, Russia and Vietnam have achieved many new milestones but both countries are also facing new challenges, which will require more efforts to overcome, eliminate all threats and risks at this very moment, as well as successfully take advantage of opportunities. In his conclusion, Grigory Trofimchuk emphasised that the Russian experts hope that after Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trongs official visit to Russia, Moscow and Hanoi would enter a new period of development at a higher level.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Insurgents killed 19 security personnel in separate assaults in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, a day after twin bombings in Kabul killed 21 people, including two local TV reporters.

Another 89 people were wounded in Wednesday's bombings, in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital. The attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has carried out a wave of bombings against minority Shiites in recent years. The Taliban denied responsibility.

Later Wednesday, suspected Taliban insurgents overran a security outpost in the northern Badghis province and then ambushed reinforcements, killing a total of 10 soldiers, according to Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the governor.

An injured boy is held up outside a hospital following a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Twin bombings at a wrestling training center in a Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded others, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

In what is being described as an insider attack, a local police official in the northern Takhar province turned his weapon on his colleagues early Thursday, killing all eight. Abdul Khali Aseir, the provincial police spokesman, says the gunman escaped.

Two journalists from Afghanistan's TOLO TV were among those killed in the Kabul bombings. Samim Faramarz and Ramiz Ahmadi were "fearless" reporters who represented what is best in the country, the station said in a posting on Twitter.

"They challenged and pushed boundaries to deliver news to millions daily. . .We are devastated," it said.

The U.N. envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, condemned the "callous attack" in Kabul and expressed "deep concern over the heavy price paid by Afghan media, with the killing of journalists in Afghanistan being among the highest in the world."

In April, nine journalists who rushed to the scene of an explosion in Kabul were killed by a second suicide bomber. A 10th journalist was killed the same day, shot in eastern Khost province.

Both the Taliban and IS carry out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan targeting security forces and government officials, but IS also regularly targets Shiites, who it views as apostates.

In the same neighborhood where the twin bombings took place, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 35 high school graduates last month as they sat for their university entrance exams. The dead were all teenagers.

Mohammad Jawad Ghawari, a member of Afghanistan's council of Shiite clerics, said there have been 15 attacks against Shiites in Kabul and nine more elsewhere in the country in just the last two years. They have been targeted in mosques, cultural centers and educational institutions.

He called on international human rights organizations and the Afghan government to do more to protect Shiites in Afghanistan.

The council has warned all Shiites living in Kabul to be vigilant.

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Associated Press writer Kathy Gannon in Islamabad, Pakistan contributed to this report.

An injured man is brought in to a hospital following a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Twin bombings at a wrestling training center in a Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday killed at least 20, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An injured man is brought in to a hospital following a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Twin bombings at a wrestling training center in a Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday killed at least 20 people, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An injured man receives treatment at a hospital following a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Twin bombings at a wrestling training center in a Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday killed at least 20 people, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An injured man is brought in to a hospital following a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Twin bombings at a wrestling training center in a Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded others, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

An injured man is brought in to a hospital following a deadly attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Twin bombings at a wrestling training center in a Shiite neighborhood of Afghanistan's capital on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded others, Afghan officials said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration may be about to slap tariffs of up to 25 percent on an additional $200 billion in Chinese goods, escalating a confrontation between the world's two biggest economies and likely squeezing U.S. companies that import everything from handbags to bicycle tires.

The administration could decide to begin taxing the imports - equal to nearly 40 percent of all the goods China sold the United States last year - after a public comment period ends Thursday.

The administration has already imposed tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese products, and Beijing has punched back with tariffs on $50 billion in American goods. These U.S. goods include soybeans and beef - a direct shot at supporters of President Donald Trump in the U.S. farm belt. China plans to tax an additional $60 billion in U.S. products if the Trump administration expands its hit list by $200 billion.

FILE- In this July 18, 2012, file photo, wheat harvest is in full swing near Patterson, Wash. The trade war with China is making life difficult for many farmers across Washington state. Washington State stands to lose $480 million in agricultural exports to China because of retaliatory tariffs, according to the state Department of Agriculture. (Paul T. Erickson/The Tri-City Herald via AP, File)

Trump initiated the trade war to punish Beijing for what it says are China's predatory tactics to try to supplant U.S. technological supremacy. Those tactics, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has alleged, include stealing trade secrets through computer hacking and forcing U.S. companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

In the early rounds of the hostilities, the administration targeted Chinese industrial imports to try to spare American consumers from higher import costs. But if Trump adds the $200 billion in Chinese products to the target list, American consumers would likely feel the pinch directly. And China has vowed to hit $60 billion in U.S. products in retaliation.

Many American companies that rely on targeted Chinese imports are bracing for the next round of tariffs to hit, with some wondering whether they can absorb the higher costs or instead will need to pass them along to their customers - or find alternatives suppliers outside China.

"An escalation of the tariff war could start to sever or disrupt supply chains, bringing about diminished production efficiency, higher costs and lost competitiveness - ultimately leading to a lower potential growth rate for both countries," analysts at S&P Global Ratings wrote Wednesday.

They say a full-blown trade war by 2021 could shrink America's annual economic output by an average of one-third of a percentage point and China's by two-tenths of a percentage point from 2019 through 2021. The trade war could inflict further damage if it rattles financial markets, thereby hurting business confidence and potentially discouraging investment.

Sherill Mosee, founder of MinkeeBlue, a Philadelphia company that makes travel and work bags, said that her 4-year-old business will probably have to suspend operations if the tariffs hit and the administration starts taxing imported Chinese luggage and handbags.

MinkeeBlue relies on inexpensive imports to be able to sell for less than $200 an all-purpose bag for working women that holds shoes and a lunch bag. Mosee said she won't be able to either absorb higher import costs or pass them on to her customers. Finding a supplier outside China likely would take months, she said.

"I'm scared; I am overwhelmed," Mosee said. "I'm just beginning to grow my business. I finally feel good about the direction of the business, and now this is happening."

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D'Innocenzio reported from New York. AP Economics Writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow Paul Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP
MOSCOW (AP) - GRU isn't as well-known a baleful acronym as KGB or FSB. But Russia's military intelligence service is attracting increasing attention as allegations mount of devious and deadly operations on and off the field of battle.

The latest charge came Wednesday, when Britain identified two suspects in this year's nerve-agent poisonings as GRU agents .

An overview of the GRU:

FILE - In this Saturday, July 14, 2018 file photo, a man walks past the building of the Russian military intelligence service in Moscow, Russia. Russia's military intelligence service GRU is attracting increasing attention as allegations mount of devious and deadly operations on and off the field of battle. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

THE AGENCY

Formally named the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the agency is almost universally referred to by its former acronym GRU.

It is the most shadowy of Russia's secret services. When its previous director Igor Sergun died in 2016, the Kremlin announcement was so terse that it gave neither the date, cause or place of death.

The agency has an apparently broad mandate. According to the Defense Ministry website, it is tasked not only with "ensuring conditions conducive to the successful implementation of the Russian Federation's defense and security policy" but with providing officials intelligence " that they need to make decisions in the political, economic, defense, scientific, technical and environmental areas."

ALLEGATIONS

Britain claims that two GRU agents carried out this spring's attack with the nerve agent Novichok on Sergei Skripal, a former GRU officer who became a British double agent, and his daughter. Both survived the poisoning in the city of Salisbury, but three months later two area residents were sickened by the same nerve agent, one of them fatally - it is believed they found the discarded bottle that had carried the Skripals' poison.

This week's claim came less than two months after the U.S. indicted 12 alleged GRU agents for hacking into the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Party and releasing tens of thousands of private communications, part of a sweeping conspiracy by the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election.

Also this year, the investigative group Bellingcat reported that a GRU officer was in charge of operations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists were fighting Ukrainian forces, in July 2014 when a Malaysian passenger airliner was shot down, killing all 298 people aboard. International investigators say the plane was shot down by a mobile missile launcher brought in from Russia. The GRU officer named by Bellingcat reportedly was responsible for weapons transfers.

Russia's RBC news service reported this year that the GRU oversees Russian mercenaries in Syria, fighting there as a so-called shadow army.

Russian authorities generally deny allegations against the GRU and refuse to discuss its activities. They said they didn't recognize the suspects Britain named Wednesday in the Salisbury poisoning.

OTHER AGENCIES

The GRU is one arm of Russia's extensive security and intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence. The SVR and FSB were spun off from the KGB after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin ran the FSB before ascending to the presidency.

And as president, Putin names the top brass in the GRU. Of all the agencies, the FSB looms largest in Russians' minds because it hunts domestic threats. The GRU, created under Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin, has a more ruthless reputation, but focuses its energies on foreign threats.

The agencies' operations appear to both compete and cooperate.

Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent Moscow-based military analyst, told The Associated Press that if "the SVR runs into military intelligence, they have to share it with the GRU; that means they try not to run into military intelligence and tell their agents not to report anything military even if they know it. The other way around, military or GRU assets are asked never to report anything political."

But in the case of the alleged U.S. election-related hacking, he said, "I believe that was an inter-service operation, because it's not military but they gained some kind of hacking access and then they shared it with the FSB and the SVR."

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Kate de Pury contributed.

FILE - This Tuesday, July 31, 2018 file photo shows the entrance of the building of the Russian military intelligence service, also known as GRU. GRU isn't as well-known a baleful acronym as KGB or FSB. But Russia's military intelligence service is attracting increasing attention as allegations mount of devious and deadly operations on and off the field of battle. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

This still taken from CCTV and issued by the Metropolitan Police in London on Wednesday Sept. 5, 2018, shows Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov on Fisherton Road, Salisbury, England on March 4, 2018. British prosecutors have charged two Russian men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. They are charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok. (Metropolitan Police via AP)

This combination photo made available by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday Sept. 5, 2018, shows Alexander Petrov, left, and Ruslan Boshirov. British prosecutors have charged two Russian men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. They are charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok. (Metropolitan Police via AP)

FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, listens to the Defense Minister as he arrives to attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, Russia. The GRU is one arm of Russia's extensive security and intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - This Tuesday, May 14, 2013 file photo shows the main building of the Russian Federal Security Services, FSB, reflected in a shop's glass door on Lubyanka Square in Moscow, Russia. The GRU is one arm of Russia's extensive security and intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev, File)

FILE - This Tuesday, June 29, 2010 file photo shows the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, known by its Russian acronym SVR, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia. The GRU is one arm of Russia's extensive security and intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File )

FILE - This Tuesday, July 31, 2018 file photo, shows the building of the Russian military intelligence service, located at 22 Kirova Street, Khimki, which was named in an indictment announced by a U.S. federal grand jury as part of a probe into alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia. Russia's military intelligence service GRU is attracting increasing attention as allegations mount of devious and deadly operations on and off the field of battle. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

In this photo taken on Monday, July 16, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at the joint press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. The GRU is one arm of Russia's extensive security and intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
SYDNEY (AP) - Australian prosecutors said on Thursday they will appeal for a tougher sentence for the most senior Roman Catholic cleric convicted of covering up child sex abuse.

A magistrate last month ordered former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson to be detained at his sister's house in New South Wales state for at least six months of a one-year sentence before he is eligible for parole. The 67-year-old cleric was convicted in May of failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a pedophile priest in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney during the 1970s.

The Director of Public Prosecutions' office said in a statement that prosecutors were appealing the "inadequacy" of the sentence in the New South Wales District Court. Wilson had faced a possible sentence of up to two years in prison.

FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2018, former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson leaves Newcastle Local Court, in Newcastle, Australia, after a post-sentence decision. Australian prosecutors are appealing for a tougher sentence for Wilson convicted of covering up child sex abuse. Wilson was to be detained at his sister's house for at least six months of a one-year sentence before he is eligible for parole. (Darren Pateman/AAP Image via AP, File)

Wilson will appeal his conviction in the District Court in a hearing in November, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Wilson denied the accusations and had refused to resign pending an appeal. But Pope Francis accepted Wilson's resignation in July after pressure mounted, including from Australia's prime minister, for him to be fired.

Wilson had failed four times to have courts throw out the charge since he was first indicted in 2015.

He temporarily stepped down as Adelaide archbishop after he was convicted in May. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia state, which will bring in laws in October obliging priests to report evidence of abuse heard during a confession. The Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania state are planning similar laws.

Wilson was once Australia's highest-ranking bishop as president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
MADRID (AP) - The Latest on Europe's migrant crisis (all times local):

6 p.m.

Leaders of France, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands have met to coordinate their policies on migration and Brexit negotiations, among other European issues.

In this Aug. 30, 2018 photo a migrant woman stands in front of an orient supermarket in Flen, some 100 km west of Stockholm, Sweden. The town has welcomed so many asylum seekers in recent years that they now make up about a fourth of the population. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in a news conference following Thursday's meeting in Luxembourg, said the EU's main point-of-entry countries for migrants, like Spain, Italy and Greece, have a "responsibility and cannot avoid it."

Macron criticized Italy and its anti-European government for refusing to receive people rescued at sea in recent months, insisting that "the closest port is the one that must be used."

He said European solidarity is needed to provide financial aid to point-of-entry countries and help send back those who do not qualify for asylum to their countries of origin.

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11:05 a.m.

Germany's interior minister says the issue of migration is "the mother of all political problems in this country."

Horst Seehofer, who also heads the Bavarian equivalent of Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party, told daily Rheinische Post in an interview published Thursday that voters are linking their concerns to the issue of migration.

Seehofer has taken a tougher line on migrants than Merkel, at times sparring with her publicly, as his Christian Social Union party faces steep losses in next month's Bavarian state election.

Germany has taken in more than 1 million people seeking shelter from war and persecution since 2015.

Seehofer told the newspaper that he understood the outburst of public anger seen in the eastern city of Chemnitz in recent days following a fatal stabbing blamed on migrants.

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10:45 a.m.

Spanish authorities say rescuers have found five dead migrants and 53 survivors in a boat partially sunk in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Maritime Rescue Service said Thursday that a surveillance plane found the dinghy in a stretch of the Mediterranean known as the Alboran Sea on Wednesday. The bodies and survivors were taken to Almeria.

The service said that 181 northern African migrants - mostly adult men - were rescued Thursday morning from five boats attempting the shortest route into Europe.

On Wednesday, a total of 501 people were pulled from 12 boats, with three migrants found crossing the Alboran Sea in a jet ski.

A recent spike in migrant arrivals has put a strain on public services and added pressure to the Spanish government.
NEW YORK (AP) - Ever since he stepped into his role as CEO a year ago, Dara Khosrowshahi has had to deal with wave after wave of major scandals and bad press, much of which he inherited from his predecessor, Travis Kalanick.

About two weeks after Khosrowshahi started his job, London's transport regulator decided to revoke Uber's license to operate, jeopardizing the regional business with 3.5 million passengers. A court eventually gave Uber a license, although much shorter than normal.

Later that year Uber was forced to come clean about covering up a major computer attack that stole personal information about more than 57 million customers and drivers. In February, Uber agreed to pay $245 million to Google's self-driving car spinoff to end a legal brawl that aired out allegations that Uber stole technology.

Perhaps the biggest problem came in March when an Uber self-driving test vehicle ran down and killed a pedestrian in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, Arizona. Later it was disclosed that the human backup driver in the Uber SUV was streaming the television show "The Voice" on her phone and looking downward just before the crash.

Under Khosrowshahi, Uber has been trying to shore up its reputation. It has made safety a top priority and on Wednesday, it revealed a suite of safety features for both drivers and passengers. Uber is also teaming up with Toyota to build self-driving cars for its ride-hailing service and will receive a $500 million investment from the Japanese automaker.

Khosrowshahi sat down with The Associated Press to talk about his first year as CEO and how he plans to steer the company. Answers have been edited for space and clarity.

Q: Aside from improving safety features, where do you see the company headed?

A: Uber was a ride-hailing service, but really we want to think about Uber as a broad transportation platform which includes ride-hailing, Uber Eats, e-bikes, scooters - and eventually we're going to integrate with mass transit. So if you work in a city and if you want to get from point A to point B, we want you to think about Uber. We ultimately want to be your one-stop shop for transportation.

Q: You've at Uber a year, and from the moment you walked through the door there have been problems. When do you feel like you've reached the point where you've stopped repairing the damage of your predecessor and are really making your mark on the company?

A: My predecessor made mistakes. I'm going to make mistakes as well. The fact is that I've inherited an incredible company with incredible talent. My predecessor and his team built a company that's a verb. So no one's perfect and there's a lot that we've undertaken to fix. We have rebuilt the culture of the company, we have reprioritized safety as a number one priority for the company...I can tell you that a year in, I'm thrilled to be here and I've got a ton of work to do.

Q: What's the timeline for taking the company public, and do you think you can do it without being profitable?

A: We're looking at the second half of next year toward the end of the year. There are very few companies of our size that have the kind of growth rate or exciting new businesses like Uber Eats within the portfolio, and we're showing progress toward profitability. We have to show a path to profitability.

Q: What about the driverless car program? Is Toyota going to run it, and what are the plans for Toyota's $500 million investment?

A: We have an incredibly talented in-house team of engineers who are building hardware, software and operations to make self-driving cars a reality in a safe manner. An advantage we have now is we're building self-driving technology while we have a live network in place, and ultimately we think there's going to be a hybrid of self-driving technology and human-driven technology. We wanted to bring Toyota in as a valuable partner. Toyota is bringing in special cars that are going to be electric and that are built for ride sharing in urban destinations. Their expertise in self-driving and car manufacturing and our expertise with advanced technologies and our network will be an unbeatable combination.

Q: Do you think that Toyota will help in terms of rebuilding the trust in Uber's self-driving program after what happened in Phoenix?

A: I think Toyota's investment in us and their partnership with us speaks volumes about our efforts and their efforts. We have a lot to learn from Toyota in terms of manufacturing, technology, brand and safety. We're here to learn, and the partnership is off to a great start.
BERLIN (AP) - A German lawmaker has accused representatives of Romania's governing party of engaging in "a campaign of defamation" against the country's German minority.

Bernd Fabritius, who was born in Romania, said in a statement late Wednesday that the smears had recently reached "a new peak," citing a Facebook post by Romania's former finance minister, Darius Valcov, which showed the country's ethnic German president, Klaus Iohannis, with a Hitler-style moustache.

Fabritius, who was appointed by the German government to represent the interests of German minorities in eastern Europe, said he has written directly to Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, urging her to distance herself from the "collective insults" by her government or Social Democratic party.

FILE - In this March 28, 2017 file photo Bernd Fabritius, head of the German association of expellees, speaks at a reception in Berlin. Fabritius criticized representatives of Romania's governing party for engaging in "a campaign of defamation" against the southeastern European country's German minority. (Gregor Fischer/dpa via AP)

Romania's labor minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, recently made a similar anti-German jibe about Iohannis after he criticized riot police for using tear gas during an anti-corruption protest last month where 450 were injured.

"As a German, you have to have to be brave to talk about gassing," she said in an apparent reference to the use of gas in Nazi death camps.

During a meeting with German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas last month, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu distanced himself from his colleagues' remarks, saying Romania appreciated "the loyalty demonstrated by the German minority.... and I firmly disavow any statement that harms that image."

There are some 27,000 ethnic Germans living in Romania according to the last census in 2011, down from about 250,000 in 1989 when communism ended.

Many are descendants of 18th-century German immigrants and are often referred to as Danube Swabians.

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Alison Mutler in Bucharest, Romania, contributed to this report.
ROSH HANIKRA, Israel (AP) - Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory.

The Israeli military insists the entire barrier is being constructed in Israeli territory, and the U.N. peacekeeping force in the area agrees. But Hezbollah has never fully accepted the border, and a senior Israeli military official stressed the need for the wall, saying that while Israeli intelligence closely monitors the militant group, "we are prepared for the possibility that they will surprise us."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity under military guidelines during a military-led tour of the border region provided for reporters.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo, a bulldozer works near a wall at the Israel Lebanon border near Rosh Haniqra, northern Israel, Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Israel's military conducted a large-scale combined arms drill in northern Israel this week simulating a future conflict with Hezbollah, with which it fought a monthlong war in 2006. Israelis fear there could be a renewal of hostilities as the civil war winds down in neighboring Syria, where the Iran-backed militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces for the last seven years.

Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and Israel, is believed to have an even larger and more sophisticated arsenal of rockets than in 2006, when it fought Israel's vaunted military to a stalemate in southern Lebanon. That war began with a deadly cross-border raid in which Hezbollah killed eight Israeli soldiers and abducted two others, whose remains were returned to Israel in a prisoner exchange two years later.

Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir, the commander in charge of Israel's border wall projects, said around seven miles of the 80-mile (130-kilometer) barrier has been built. The $450 million project is slated for completion in two years. Most of the barrier is a concrete wall topped by steel mesh, sensors and surveillance cameras. Steel fencing replaces the concrete wall in especially rugged areas.

Earthmovers and other large machinery rumbled alongside a completed section of the 30-foot (9-meter) high concrete wall earlier this week near the Mediterranean coast. Lebanese soldiers looked over the barrier from a guard post on the opposite side of the Blue Line, which was demarcated by the U.N. after Israeli forces withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000 following an 18-year military occupation. The two countries technically remain at war.

Last month, the Lebanese army complained to UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force, saying Israeli bulldozers working on the barrier were encroaching on the Lebanese side. A Lebanese security official at the time said that following the Lebanese request, the Israeli bulldozers stopped their work and pulled back 50 meters (160 feet).

The U.N. Security Council warned last month that violations of the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel could lead to fresh conflict, and Lebanon's top security body earlier this year described the planned border wall as an "aggression" against its sovereignty.

"This wall, if it is built, will be considered an aggression against Lebanon," it said in a statement. "The Higher Defense Council has given instructions to confront this aggression to prevent Israel from building this so-called wall barrier on Lebanese territory," it added.

Maj. Tomer Gilad, Israel's liaison officer with UNIFIL, said there are monthly meetings with the Lebanese military and U.N. officials to coordinate the barrier's construction.

"Even for the past year before we started this construction, we've coordinated this activity with UNIFIL, and through UNIFIL with the Lebanese Armed Forces. We've alerted them of our intention to do so, to construct this defensive mechanism," Gilad told reporters.

Thus far, construction has proceeded "very calmly with the participation on all sides to maintain the stability," Gilad said. "We expect UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Force to maintain stability over here throughout this construction, because this construction is a stabilizing measure."

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said that since construction began in February 2018, everything has been built south of the Blue Line and away from sensitive areas.

Israel says the barrier's purpose is to defend Israeli communities from Hezbollah, pointing to sporadic cross-border attacks on Israeli troops and civilians in recent years. The volatile border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since the 2006 war, with few major cross-border attacks or incidents.

Israel warplanes, however, regularly violate Lebanese airspace, including to carry out airstrikes in neighboring Syria.

In 2010, an Israeli army officer was killed and another was seriously wounded when Israeli troops came under fire by Lebanese army forces while trimming trees on the Israeli side of the border. Three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed in Israeli retaliatory shelling. In 2013, an Israeli soldier was killed by a Lebanese army sniper while driving along the border, and in 2015 Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military convoy, killing two soldiers and wounding seven.

The Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the army has noticed a troubling rise in "very close cooperation between Lebanese Army Forces and Hezbollah" near the Israeli frontier in the past year. He says the military expects even more Hezbollah fighters to arrive in the area after the Syrian war ends.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo, a bulldozer works near a wall at the Israel Lebanon border near Rosh Haniqra, northern Israel, Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo, An Israeli soldier stands near a wall at the Israel Lebanon border near Rosh Haniqra, northern Israel, Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on an anonymous New York Times opinion piece claiming there's a "resistance" working within President Donald Trump's administration (all times local):

10 p.m.

President Donald Trump says The New York Times' decision to publish an op-ed from an anonymous Trump administration official has "backfired" and he has "picked up a lot of support" as a result.

President Donald Trump leaves the Oval Office to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Washington. Trump is heading to Montana for a rally. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump is again urging the Times to publish the name of the author "for the sake of our national security" and asking the newspaper's reporters to investigate the identity of the writer.

The anonymous New York Times opinion piece published Wednesday claimed there's a "resistance" working within President Donald Trump's administration to thwart his most dangerous impulses.

Trump says during a rally in Billings, Montana, that "unelected deep state operatives" are a "threat to democracy itself." But he adds that he is "really sad for the mainstream media."

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9:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump is faulting The New York Times for publishing an anonymous op-ed from a senior administration official.

He claimed erroneously in an interview with Fox News on Thursday that "what they've done is virtually, you know, it's treason, you could call it a lot of things."

Trump says it was unfair for the person to pen the editorial because there's no way to discredit it.

He's suggesting it "may not be a Republican, it may not be a conservative, it may be a deep state person who has been there for a long time."

Trump says his administration is a "well-oiled machine."

The president spoke in an interview in front of supporters ahead of a rally in Billings, Montana.

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8:25 p.m.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder says an anonymous New York Times opinion piece criticizing President Donald Trump is "alarming" but "consistent with what we have seen in previous books, in previous stories about the dysfunction of this administration."

Holder made the comments in Las Vegas Thursday while appearing with a Nevada gubernatorial candidate.

The Democrat says the focus should not be on which Trump administration official wrote the piece, but on its content.

Holder says it's "also disturbing to think that you could have people who are not elected making decisions about the way in which this country is governed."

He says Democrats need to win elections in 2018 to serve as a check on the president and Republicans need to put "country before party."

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7:45 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says if President Donald Trump's Cabinet thinks he is unfit for office, they should remove him.

The Massachusetts Democrat made the comments in a fundraising email Thursday.

Warren points to an anonymous senior official who wrote a New York Times opinion piece claiming to be part of a "resistance" working "from within" to thwart Trump's most dangerous impulses.

Warren says if senior officials believe the president is unfit, "they should stop hiding behind anonymous op-eds and leaking information to Bob Woodward" and "do what the Constitution demands they do: invoke the 25th Amendment and remove this president from office."

The 25th Amendment allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

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2:40 p.m.

A congressional ally of President Donald Trump says he thinks Congress could investigate which senior administration official wrote an anonymous New York Times opinion piece criticizing the president.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., says he thinks the issue is "serious from a national security standpoint." He is the chairman of a House subcommittee that oversees the president's executive office and a founder of conservative Freedom Caucus.

Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he disagrees with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said earlier in the day that he doesn't know what role Congress would have in investigating the opinion piece. The anonymous author claims to be part of a "resistance" to Trump.

Meadows said that "we are looking at what is proper" to investigate but said he hasn't yet taken "concrete steps."

Many members of Trump Cabinet have denied writing the column.

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1:10 p.m.

Melania Trump says the anonymous author of a critical opinion piece about President Donald Trump is "sabotaging" the country through "cowardly actions."

The first lady says in a statement Thursday that "if a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves."

She directly addresses the unidentified senior administration official who is said to have written the piece published by The New York Times: "To the writer of the oped - you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions."

The anonymous author wrote that Trump administration officials are actively working to prevent Trump from carrying out his worst instincts.

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12:30 p.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan says whoever wrote an anonymous New York Times opinion column claiming officials in President Donald Trump's administration are preventing Trump from carrying out his worst instincts is "living in dishonesty" and shouldn't work for him.

Ryan said Thursday he understands Trump's tweeting and "unconventional tactics" bother people. But the Wisconsin Republican says Trump is producing "good results."

The Times' opinion piece is attributed to a senior administration official, who writes that some officials are acting as "adults in the room" and frustrating Trump from following through on his "worst inclinations."

Trump has called the editorial gutless and a disgrace and says the Times should turn the writer over to the government.

The Times says publishing the essay anonymously was "the only way to deliver an important perspective" to its readers.

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9:45 a.m.

Add the director of national intelligence to the list of Trump administration officials who say they didn't write the anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times that said an internal "resistance" was working to thwart some of President Donald Trump's efforts.

Dan Coats says speculation that either he or his top deputy wrote the op-ed is "patently false. We did not."

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7:05 a.m.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pahm-PAY'-oh) has denied writing an anonymous New York Times opinion piece that said an internal "resistance" was working to thwart some of President Donald Trump's efforts.

Pompeo spoke to reporters after a Thursday meeting in New Delhi with top Indian officials and said, "It's not mine."

He says "It shouldn't surprise anyone" that the New York Times chose to print "such a piece." He says if the piece actually was written by a top U.S. official "they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actor's word for anything."

Pompeo accuses the media of trying to undermine the Trump administration and says he finds it "incredibly disturbing."

The Times says publishing the essay anonymously is "the only way to deliver an important perspective" to its readers.

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12:25 a.m.

An opinion piece in The New York Times by an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of a "resistance" working "from within" to thwart President Donald Trump's "worst inclinations" has set off a wild guessing game on the author's identity.

In an extraordinary move, Trump tweeted Wednesday that if "the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

White House officials didn't immediately respond to a request to elaborate on Trump's call for the writer to be turned over to the government.

Two people familiar with the matter say Trump has demanded that aides identify the leaker. The two were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The WEF ASEAN, scheduled to be held in Hanoi from September 11-13, is one of the major multilateral external relations activities to be held in Vietnam in 2018, with the participation of the many high-ranking leaders from the ASEAN member countries and other countries in the region, in addition to major international organisations and nearly 1,000 representatives from leading global corporations, and hundreds of international correspondents. The successful organisation of this event has been identified as a foreign policy focus of Vietnam in 2018, contributing to the concretisation of the Party and State guidelines in order to improve the quality and efficiency of multilateral foreign affairs, as well as make practical contributions to the ASEAN Community building process, and further enhance Vietnam's position in the region and in the international arena.

Vietnam is a reliable and preferred partner of WEF in the region

Since Vietnam and the WEF began their cooperation in 1989, the WEF has been an important forum that has contributed to the socio-economic development and international integration of Vietnam. Vietnam always attaches great importance to cooperating with the WEF and has actively participated in and made outstanding contributions and initiatives to the prestigious global forum. In 2010, as the ASEAN Chair, Vietnam successfully hosted the World Economic Forum on East Asia (predecessor of the ASEAN WEF). In 2016, at the initiative of Vietnam, the first WEF on the Mekong region was held in Hanoi to connect and promote the Mekong region with the world's largest corporations. Vietnam is also actively participating in WEF initiatives and activities in such areas as agriculture, trade, infrastructure, and information technology, among others, to access and cooperate with the leading global enterprises to expand the market and attract investment.

To date, Vietnam is the first and only country in Southeast Asia that the WEF has signed a cooperation agreement under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). This is a very important cooperation content, in which WEF supports and advises Vietnam to improve its capacity to participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The WEF considers the successful implementation of the cooperation agreement with Vietnam as a model for the WEF to expand the capability of its application to other countries in the region.

The WEF ASEAN Summit is an international focus in 2018

This years ASEAN WEF is taking place as the world is witnessing rapid and complicated developments, along with the fourth industrial revolution that is intensively impacting the global economy. The theme of the forum ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship in the fourth industrial revolution proposed by Vietnam, is relevant to the ASEAN theme of self-reliant and innovative ASEAN, as it show the solidarity, dynamism and self-reliance of ASEAN countries in taking advantage of and overcoming challenges from Industry 4.0. Major contents of the event include the building of infrastructure systems and smart cities, the development of high technology agriculture amidst Industry 4.0 and creating jobs in the context of abundant workforces in ASEAN.

The WEF ASEAN is a prestigious forum for leaders and business communities both inside and outside the region to recognise and evaluate the stature and impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to countries in the region, especially its impact on businesses and people. Meanwhile, the forum will provide an opportunity to share ideas, vision, directions and appropriate policies to stimulate the potential, creativity and dynamism of enterprises and people to enhance their self-capacity and maintain the dynamic development of ASEAN countries, thereby contributing to the building of a people-centred ASEAN community.

It is no coincidence that the ASEAN WEF Conference in 2018 has attracted the participation of many senior leaders and numerous international corporations, as well as the participation of the Founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF. That not only reflects the theme and contents of the ASEAN WEF but also affirms Vietnam's important role and position in ASEAN, the region and the world, especially after the country successfully organised the APEC Year 2017.

The WEF ASEAN 2018 conference will contribute to expanding the relationship between Vietnam and other countries in the region in a deeper and more stable and effective manner. During the meeting, official visits to Vietnam by senior leaders from regional countries will be held in order to deepen the bilateral relationship as well as strengthen cooperation in regional and international issues.

With the attendance of nearly 1,000 international business leaders, the WEF ASEAN 2018 is a good opportunity to strongly promote the dynamic image of the country and people of Vietnam, and to convey to the international business community the message of the Party and State's determination and policies on further promoting the comprehensive renewal of the country, the restructuring of the economy and renovation of the growth model, as well as policies and efforts to build a constructive government of integrity and drastic action and improve the business environment, encourage start-ups, and stimulate innovation and creativity.

In the framework of the event, many activities will be held to attract the participation of local businesses and other promotion activities in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Quang Ninh. With these activities, the WEF ASEAN is expected to bring many practical and specific benefits for ministries, sectors, localities and businesses and create opportunities for connecting and promoting cooperation with leading global corporations to attract investment in association with the transfer of high technology, expansion of export market, and tourism development of Vietnam in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The WEF ASEAN is also a good opportunity to promote exchanges, approach new ideas, and grasp the development trend of the world and the region to implement strategies and plans for socio-economic development of the country as well as the development of Vietnamese enterprises.

In addition, the WEF ASEAN is also a festival of ASEAN countries. With the coordination effort of Vietnam, the event is dedicated to promoting ASEAN countries with rich contents and vivid forms, expressing the message of the multicultural ASEAN community that shares the same vision and the same identity. This is unique and unprecedented point in comparison with previous WEF conferences.

Up to now, the preparation for the event has been basically completed, meeting the objectives and requirements. International friends and partners have appreciated the thoughtful and thorough preparation of the host country, as well as its coordination with the WEF. With the attention of senior leaders, and the direct instruction of the Prime Minister, and the synchronous participation of ministries, sectors and businesses, the WEF ASEAN 2018 will be a success, contributing to national socio-economic development, consolidating and furthering the countrys position, and fostering the solidarity, cooperation, development and prosperity of the ASEAN Community.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island is signing a reciprocal driver's license agreement with Taiwan.

The Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles says a signing is planned for Thursday.

This is the first time the agency has signed this type of agreement.

Many other states have similar agreements with Taiwan. Among them, South Carolina, West Virginia and Pennsylvania signed reciprocity agreements in 2015, followed by Massachusetts in 2016 and Virginia and Kentucky last year.

Administrator Walter Craddock will host officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston for a ceremony.

Under the agreement, Taiwanese immigrants living in Rhode Island can transfer their national driver's licenses to Rhode Island without having to pass written or road tests. Rhode Islanders can transfer their licenses to Taiwan without taking a test there.
CAIRO (AP) - The Arab League has welcomed Paraguay's decision to relocate its embassy from the contested city of Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv.

Saeed Abu Ali, assistant to the league's secretary-general for Palestinian affairs. told reporters Thursday the move serves as a model for other countries in the face of Israeli plans and U.S. pressure. He also said it will also positively reflect on Arab-Paraguayan relations.

Abu Ali hailed Paraguay's move as being on the "right track" and in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.

Paraguay had moved its embassy to Jerusalem in May after Guatemala and the U.S., infuriating Palestinians who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

Paraguay reversed its decision Wednesday prompting Israel to shutter its embassy in Paraguay and warn that ties between the countries would be "strained."
DOVER, Del. (AP) - The Latest on Delaware's primary election (all times local):

9:25 p.m.

Scott Walker, a business owner and landlord who ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Democrat two years ago, has won the Republican primary for Delaware's lone U.S. House seat.

FILE - In this May 15, 2018, file photo, Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del., asks a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen as she testifies to the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kerri Evelyn Harris, whose resume includes loading giant Air Force cargo planes, frying chicken at a convenience store chain and working as an auto body mechanic, is seeking in the Thursday, Sept. 6, Democratic primary to unseat three-term incumbent Carper, one of the most successful politicians in Delaware history. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The 67-year-old Walker defeated actor and retired railroad industry worker Lee Murphy on Thursday and will face incumbent Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester in November.

Blunt Rochester easily won a six-way Democratic primary for Congress in 2016. Walker finished fifth in that race with less than 5 percent of the vote.

Walker's political fortunes changed after he switched parties. During the campaign, Walker stressed the need to improve the nation's defense, economy and health care system. He also noted that he recently became very religious, and that he has God on his side to help conquer every problem.

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9 p.m.

Rob Arlett, a county councilman who served as Donald Trump's state campaign chair in 2016, has won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Delaware.

The 51-year-old Arlett defeated former PayPal executive Gene Truono in Thursday's primary.

Arlett, who owns a real estate business, has served on the Sussex County council since 2015.

During the Senate campaign, Arlett touted his support of Trump's "America First" agenda and his socially conservative positions, including opposition to abortion and gay marriage. He reminded GOP voters that Truono is openly gay and in a same-sex marriage.

Arlett also called for repeal of the Affordable Care Act and defunding of so-called "sanctuary cities."

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8:58 p.m.

Incumbent Tom Carper has won the Democratic U.S. Senate primary in Delaware as he eyes a fourth term in the Senate.

The 71-year-old lawmaker defeated 38-year-old political newcomer Kerry Evelyn Harris in Thursday's primary contest.

With the win, Carper keeps his unbeaten streak intact, having never lost an election since his first campaign in 1976.

Harris is among a wave of young activists emboldened by the 2016 presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont who have been trying to move the Democratic Party farther left. Her platform included government-paid health care for all, a $15 hourly minimum wage and abolishing the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Carper will face the winner of the Republican Senate primary between Gene Truono and Rob Arlett in November.

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8 p.m.

Polls have closed in Delaware's primary election, and Democratic U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester is looking ahead to the November general election.

Rochester is finishing up her first term in Delaware's lone U.S. House seat, having won a six-way Democratic primary two years ago.

Rochester was not on the ballot Thursday because no other Democrat challenged her.

Scott Walker, a business owner and who finished fifth in the 2016 Democratic primary won by Blunt Rochester, switched parties and ran as a Republican, vying with actor and retired railroad industry worker Lee Murphy for the GOP nomination.

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7:30 p.m.

The candidates in Delaware's Democratic primary for U.S. Senate have continued campaigning until the last minute.

Incumbent Sen. Tom Carper and challenger Kerri Evelyn Harris actually crossed paths Thursday evening as they looked for support at a middle school in Wilmington.

Harris said she feels confident and has been encouraged by support she received traveling around the state. She predicted that "change is going to be the theme of the day."

Carper said, "I love campaigning." He said what's different this year is the number of out-of-state activists who have come to Delaware as part of Harris' campaign.

Polls close at 8 p.m.

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3:10 p.m.

Delaware's election commissioner says turnout in the state's primary election is looking lower than usual by midday.

A battle between Delaware's senior senator and an upstart challenger riding an antiestablishment wave within the Democratic Party highlights the state's primary elections Thursday.

Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove says there were more absentee ballots than usual, so she'd expect higher than usual turnout. But she says numbers from the polls by midday were on the "low side" for a primary.

By noon, Manlove says New Castle County was reporting 18,039 voters, and by 1 p.m., Sussex County reported 8,784 voters and Kent County reported 5,914 voters.

Polls are open until 8 p.m.

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12 p.m.

Delaware's senior senator and his challenger riding an antiestablishment wave in the Democratic Party have both cast their own ballots in the primary election.

Kerri Evelyn Harris's campaign said she voted Thursday morning with her family. The 38-year-old political newcomer and community activist is trying to stage what would be one of the most shocking upsets in modern Delaware political history.

Sen. Tom Carper's campaign said he voted with his wife before heading to Washington. Carper plans to return to Delaware to campaign later Thursday. The 71-year-old lawmaker has never lost a race in his more than four decades in politics.

Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove says she's expecting higher than usual turnout since more absentee ballots were cast than usual. Polls are open until 8 p.m.

Other statewide primaries to be decided Thursday include Republican contests for U.S. Senate and U.S. House, and Democratic primaries for attorney general and state auditor.

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9 a.m.

In a primary election battle in Delaware, voters are choosing between the state's senior senator and an upstart challenger riding an antiestablishment wave within the Democratic Party.

Seventy-one-year-old Sen. Tom Carper has never lost a race in his more than four decades in politics. His Democratic primary challenger is 38-year-old political newcomer and community activist Kerri Evelyn Harris, who is trying to stage what would be one of the most shocking upsets in modern Delaware political history.

Election Commissioner Elaine Manlove says she's not seeing any unusual problems at the polls Thursday morning. No turnout information is available yet. Polls are open until 8 p.m.

Other statewide primaries to be decided Thursday include Republican contests for U.S. Senate and U.S. House, and Democratic primaries for attorney general and state auditor.

Seventeen legislative primaries also will be decided on the local level. Only Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective primaries.

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12:20 a.m.

A battle between Delaware's senior senator and an upstart challenger riding an antiestablishment wave within the Democratic Party highlights the state's primary elections Thursday.

Seventy-one-year-old Sen. Tom Carper has never lost a race during his more than four decades in politics. His Democratic primary challenger is 38-year-old political newcomer and community activist Kerri Evelyn Harris, who is trying to stage what would be one of the most shocking upsets in modern Delaware political history.

Other statewide primaries to be decided Thursday include Republican contests for U.S. Senate and U.S. House, and Democratic primaries for attorney general and state auditor.

Seventeen legislative primaries also will be decided on the local level. Only Democrats and Republicans can vote in their respective primaries.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee's largest health insurer will stop covering OxyContin prescriptions as part of several measures to combat opioid addiction.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will encourage doctors to recommend two alternative opioid pain relievers, Xtampza (ex-TAMP'-zah) and Morphabond, which are designed to be more difficult to abuse. The insurer will cease paying for OxyContin on Jan. 1, vice president for pharmacy Natalie Tate told The Tennessean .

The suggested alternatives are more expensive than OxyContin, but customers will not have to fork over more money for the copay. Tate said BlueCross will absorb the additional cost.

"We are not telling our physicians you cannot prescribe this. We are not telling our members you cannot receive this," Tate said. "We are just drawing a line that we will not continue to pay for this and we have alternatives we have now put into place."

BlueCross covers around 70 percent of insured Tennesseans. It's not the first to drop OxyContin, but it's among a select few that includes Cigna and Florida Blue. Cancer and hospice patients with approved prescriptions will be exempt from this coverage change.

OxyContin is oxycodone manufactured by Purdue Pharma, a company accused of intentionally fueling the opioid epidemic. State and local governments across the country have filed lawsuits against Purdue Pharma, asserting that the manufacturer pressured doctors to over-prescribe the drug.

The lawsuits and health concerns have decreased demand for OxyContin, which, coupled with increased confidence in abuse-deterrent drugs, led to BlueCross of Tennessee's "progressive decision," Tate said.

The opioid overdose epidemic claimed more than 1,200 lives in Tennessee last year. At its core is OxyContin, which can be ground into a powder to destroy its delayed-release quality, therefore unlocking its full potency and making it ripe for abuse. But Xtampza and Morphabond are designed to be less potent when crushed, making the medications hard to abuse or resell.

Like OxyContin, Xtampza is oxycodone, manufactured by Collegium Pharmaceutical. Morphabond is morphine sulfate manufactured by Daiichi Sankyo Inc.

The beginning of next year will bring additional changes to BlueCross of Tennessee's opioid prescription coverage.

The insurer will only cover the first seven days of a new opioid prescription on an initial pharmacy visit. Customers will have to return to the pharmacy after a week to receive the rest of the prescription. It will also lower the threshold for the prescription strength it's willing to cover by around 40 percent.

But the company predicts that the change that will most affect customers is a new requirement regarding opioid prescriptions that last more than 30 days. It will automatically freeze coverage after 30 days, requiring patients to undergo an authorization process before resuming coverage.

BlueCross of Tennessee Chief Medical Officer Allison Willis said she anticipates blowback by patients who feel inconvenienced or scrutinized.

"Really, what this is meant to do is ask a question - Is this necessary? - and I think that hasn't been asked for a lot of people," Willis said. "I do think some people will respond with 'how dare you even ask?'"

Not everyone will be affected by the changes. Employee groups with "self-funded" insurance will be allowed to opt out of the coverage changes. The new prescription-strength limit will not apply to Medicare customers, as the federal government decides the threshold. And the change will not apply to Tennesseans who are insured by an out-of-state chapter.

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Information from: The Tennessean, http://www.tennessean.com
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):

2:05 p.m.

Brett Kavanaugh is answering Democrats who fear he would not restrain President Donald Trump from the bench, saying the president cannot overrule the courts.

After more than an hour of delay over procedural questions, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, waits to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the third day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Supreme Court nominee says during his Senate confirmation hearing that he has not been afraid to invalidate executive branch actions in his 12 years as an appeals court judge.

He adds that he has made clear that a court order "that requires a president to do something or prohibits a president from doing something ... is the final word in our system."

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says his questions to Kavanaugh on the topic stem from the judge's embrace of robust presidential power and the fact that he has been nominated by Trump.

Durbin says Trump has "shown disrespect for the rule of law over and over again."

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1:04 p.m.

Senate Democrats are appealing to Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to read a 2003 email in which Brett Kavanaugh says not all legal scholars refer to the abortion case Roe v. Wade as settled law.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal says he believes that Kavanaugh was talking about himself when he referred to legal scholars. He says, "the signs and signals are plain."

Kavanaugh said Thursday he was not talking about his views but what legal scholars might say.

Blumenthal did not single out Collins and Murkowski by name, but mentioned pro-choice Republicans who are uncommitted on Kavanaugh.

Democrats need at least two GOP defections to have any chance of defeating the nomination.

Collins vowed to oppose any Supreme Court nominee who would overturn Roe v. Wade. She said Kavanaugh told her the ruling was "settled law" when they met in

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12:40 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying that he once suggested the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights is not settled law.

Kavanaugh is explaining a 2003 email in which he wrote the following: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."

Kavanaugh said Thursday that he was not discussing his views, but rather "what legal scholars might say." He said he offered the comments on a draft op-ed in support of Republican judicial nominees because, "I'm always concerned with accuracy."

Kavanaugh has repeatedly described the abortion ruling as important Supreme Court precedent difficult to overturn.

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12:25 p.m.

Democratic senators contend that a 2003 email from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh casts doubt on whether he considers Roe v. Wade settled law.

In the email obtained by The Associated Press, Kavanaugh says not all legal scholars call the abortion case settled law since the Supreme Court can "always overrule its precedent."

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington says the emails "confirms our worst fears" about Kavanaugh. She notes that Kavanaugh said in the email that there were three justices at the time who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Murray asserts that if Kavanaugh is confirmed to the court, "Roe v Wade will be overturned."

Kavanaugh on Wednesday called the abortion case an "important precedent" that has "been reaffirmed many times."

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12:12 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is clarifying that he can't recall any "inappropriate conversations" with a Washington law firm about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California asked Kavanaugh late Wednesday if he had spoken about the Russia investigation with anyone at the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, who has represented Trump.

Kavanaugh told Harris he couldn't think of any such conversations. He added that he would need to see a list of the firm's lawyers.

Asked the question again Thursday by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Kavanaugh said, "I don't recall any inappropriate conversations about the investigation."

Harris promised to follow up with Kavanaugh on the topic. Senators are now questioning Kavanaugh for the second day.

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11:25 a.m.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are urging senators to reject the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court.

Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, the group's chairman, says Kavanaugh would weaken protections under the Voting Rights Act. He cited his ruling in a South Carolina case upholding the state's new voter ID law.

Kavanaugh's defenders say his ruling resolved the case, as the Justice Department under President Barack Obama chose not to appeal.

House members don't get to vote on Kavanaugh, but Richmond plans to testify about Kavanaugh as an outside witness on Friday, the final day of confirmation hearings.

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10:47 a.m.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey says he's going to make public an email from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, even if it puts him at risk of being expelled from the Senate.

Booker says he will violate a committee rule and release an email from Kavanaugh on the subject of racial profiling. The Judiciary Committee is now holding that email on a confidential basis.

Calling it an act of civil disobedience, Booker says he wants to expose that some of the emails being held back "have nothing to do with national security."

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas called Booker's action "irresponsible and conduct unbecoming a senator."

He read a rule contemplating expulsion of senators for violating Senate confidentiality rules. Several Democrats said in response, "bring it on."

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9:55 a.m.

The Associated Press has obtained an email in which Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh disputes that the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion access is settled law.

Kavanaugh's 2003 comments came while reviewing an op-ed in support of two judicial nominees at the George W. Bush White House.

Here's what Kavanaugh wrote: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."

Kavanaugh was referring to justices at that time - meaning in 2003. The email was sent to a Republican Senate aide. The document is partially black out.

Kavanaugh has taken a different tone during his confirmation hearings, stressing how difficult it is to overturn a precedent such as Roe.

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12:30 a.m.

Senators are getting into their final round of questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and so far the appeals court judge appears to have avoided any major missteps in his confirmation hearings.

Kavanaugh also doesn't seem to have changed many minds on the GOP-run Senate Judiciary Committee. President Donald Trump says he's pleased with his nominee's performance.

Kavanaugh underwent a 12-hour session of questioning that ended late Wednesday. The judge left unanswered questions over how he would handle investigations of the executive branch and whether he would step aside if cases involving Trump under special counsel Robert Mueller's probe end up at the court.

Democrats have been pressing Kavanaugh for his views on abortion rights, gun control and other issues. Protesters have repeatedly interrupted the proceedings

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, next to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., questions President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, on the second day of his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on wildfires burning in California (all times local):

11:15 a.m.

A forest fire raging in Sierra Nevada has grown to more than 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) after shutting down a major highway along the eastern spine of California and forcing the evacuation of a military base.

The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of Interstate 5 as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The fire was only 3 percent contained Thursday morning after a day of fire behavior described as extreme and erratic.

The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, campgrounds and other areas were evacuated Wednesday. Ranchers were told to prepare to move livestock out of the area.

The fire has closed stretches of U.S. 395, State Route 108 and the Pacific Crest Trail.

The fire in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is one of several burning in California.

Several hundred miles to the northwest, a fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest grew after raging across vital Interstate 5. It forced truckers and motorists to abandon vehicles and flee Wednesday afternoon.

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10:55 a.m.

California's insurance commissioner says victims of the state's two largest wildfires this year have filed more than 10,000 claims so far totaling $845 million.

Commissioner David Jones said Thursday that the two Northern California fires destroyed or damaged a combined 8,800 homes and 329 businesses.

The fires also damaged 800 vehicles and caused other property damage.

A spark from a flat tire started a fire near Redding that killed eight people. The Mendocino Complex Fire destroyed property in three counties.

Jones previously said insurers received 45,000 claims totaling more than $11.8 billion for damage from wildfires in 2017.

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8:20 a.m.

The only interstate highway connecting Oregon to California is still closed as a fire burns on both sides of it in California.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jason Morton says officials from different agencies will meet Thursday to determine if they can reopen the highway, which is a key route for commercial trucks.

About 45 miles (72 kilometers) of Interstate 5 were closed in both directions north of the city of Redding and south of Mount Shasta in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

The highway runs from the U.S.-Mexico border through California, Oregon and Washington state to the U.S-Canada border.

Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster of the California Highway Patrol told the Los Angeles Times about 17 big rigs were abandoned on the stretch of closed highway and at least four caught fire.

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7:10 a.m.

Fire officials say a wildfire roaring through timber and brush on both sides of a Northern California highway tripled in size overnight, prompting mandatory evacuations.

The U.S. Forest Service said Thursday the blaze burning along Interstate 5 near Redding had grown to 23 square miles (60 square kilometers). It was 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) on Wednesday.

Officials did not immediately say how many people the evacuation order affected. The fire is in a rural area with scattered homes.

Officials said the blaze was human-caused but they didn't indicate whether it was arson or accident.

Truckers abandoned their vehicles as flames roared up hillsides. Officials say about 17 big-rigs were abandoned and at least four caught fire.

A wildfire nearby that was only contained last week left neighborhoods in ruins and killed eight people.

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12:00 a.m.

Abandoned trucks are scattered along a section of a major California freeway, which closed after a wildfire exploded near Redding.

The fire erupted Wednesday and has roared through timber and brush on both sides of Interstate 5 near the Oregon state line.

Fire officials say the blaze was human-caused, shut down about 45 miles (72 kilometers) of the freeway and there's no word when it will reopen.

California Highway Patrol Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster tells the Los Angeles Times that truckers abandoned 17 big-rigs as flame raged next to the freeway, and at least four rigs caught fire.

Evacuations were ordered for scattered homes and cabins in and around the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

But while the fire was moving rapidly, fire officials say it doesn't immediately threaten any large towns.

Fire trucks pass the Delta Fire burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of Interstate 5 as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The wildfire closed both directions of Interstate 5 leaving trucks parked on the shoulder for more than two miles waiting to pass through. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter sprays the smoldering remains of a vehicle on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A scorched logging truck rests on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A scorched logging truck rests on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A fire rages as motorists travel on Interstate 5 near Lake Shasta, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (Jerri Tubbs via AP)

Cal Fire's Melody Brown helps reload tanker 88 with retardant Monday evening, Sept. 3, 2018, during her first season at the Grass Valley Air Attack Base. Thirty thousand gallons of retardant was administered to 4 air tankers Monday for the North Fire. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP)
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - New York-based real estate investor Edward Minskoff who graduated from Michigan State University is giving $30 million the school to support its campus business pavilion.

The university says Thursday it's the largest single gift received from an individual in the East Lansing school's history.

The money will go toward the completion of the Business Pavilion at the Eli Broad College of Business and will help create learning and career development spaces for business students.

Minskoff says in a statement Michigan State "is an important university and important to my past." He says he's privileged to give back as part of the Empower Extraordinary campaign.

The $62 million pavilion is adjacent, and connected, to the current business college facilities and it's scheduled to open for students in the fall of 2019.
BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) - Immigration enforcement agents and state criminal investigators on Thursday visited the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the county sheriff's office spent two hours at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa, on Thursday morning. They appeared to be looking around the property and talking to workers.

Yarrabee Farms said that it is cooperating with federal authorities who had asked to visit the farm. The company confirmed in a statement that investigators met with employees and owners for two hours, but it said it could provide no additional details due to an ongoing investigation.

This photo shows the Yarrabee Farms, a cattle operation in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies were at the farm, which employed the suspect charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)

Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt that his agency's officers were on the scene assisting investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, who took the lead. Mortvedt said that means the activity was focused on federal law and not the homicide case, which his agency is leading. An ICE spokesman declined comment.

The visit came one day after The Associated Press reported that the suspect in Tibbetts' death, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, worked at the farm for years under a false identity, John Budd.

Rivera was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last month in the stabbing death of Tibbetts, 20, who vanished while out for a run in Brooklyn on July 18. Investigators say Rivera, a 24-year-old native of Mexico who came to the U.S. during his teenage years, was in the U.S. illegally and is subject to deportation proceedings.

The farm has said that at least a couple of its roughly dozen employees left the area following Rivera's arrest, which sent fear through the immigrant community. The dairy, which has about 800 cows and is owned by a prominent family with Republican Party ties, says it received dozens of angry phone calls and some death threats.

Rivera, 24, worked there for roughly four years and lived in one of its trailers for free. The farm has said that about half of its workers live in provided housing.

Farm managers have said Rivera presented an out-of-state identification and a Social Security number when he was hired in 2014, and that they were unaware of his true identity until his Aug. 21 arrest. The company did not use the government's voluntary E-Verify system to check his identity and eligibility to work, although it's unclear whether that would have made a difference.

A deputy with the Poweshiek County sheriff's office stands on the property of Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies were at the farm, which employed the suspect charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2018, file photo, poster for missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs in the window of a local business in Brooklyn, Iowa. Tibbetts was reported missing from her hometown in the eastern Iowa city of Brooklyn in July 2018. Her body was found Aug. 21, 2018 and Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a Mexican national was charged in her killing. Rivera was known for years by another name on the dairy farm where he worked: John Budd. The name under which worked for the last four years was confirmed by three people with knowledge of his employment history, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2018, file photo, Cristhian Bahena Rivera is escorted into the Poweshiek County Courthouse for his initial court appearance in Montezuma, Iowa. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared July 18 from Brooklyn, Iowa. The Mexican national was known by another name on the dairy farm where he worked for the last four years: John Budd. It was confirmed by three people with knowledge of his employment history, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Prosecutors in Poland say they have indicted a former government employee with spying for Russia from 2014 to 2016.

The man, identified only as Marek W. in line with Poland's privacy law, was arrested in March when he was employed at the Economy Ministry.

The National Prosecutor's Office said Thursday he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on charges of passing information to the Russian military intelligence GRU.

Polish media said he was informing Moscow on Poland's steps aimed at cutting dependence on Russian gas imports and on countering the Nord Stream 2, a pipeline that is to bring Russian gas directly to Germany. Poland argues it would make Europe more dependent on Russian deliveries.

It was not clear when the trial would open in Warsaw.
In the letters, the Vietnamese leaders affirmed that the victory of the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) at the recent 6th NA general election reflected the great trust of the Cambodian country, nation and people given to the CPP.

They firmly believed that Cambodia will continue maintaining peace, independence, neutralism, stability and prosperous development, with peoples increasingly improved living conditions.

The leaders of Vietnam expressed their belief that the fine neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia will be further consolidated and developed for the benefits of the two countries people as well as for peace, stability, cooperation and development in Southeast Asia and the world at large.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent a similar letter to Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn.


ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - The Latest on the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America pageant (all times local):

9 p.m.

Contestants from Virginia and Louisiana have won titles in the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition.

Contestants wave to the audience during introductions at the second night of preliminary competition at the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Miss Virginia Emili McPhail won the onstage interview portion.

Miss Louisiana Holli' Conway won the talent portion for a vocal performance.

The third and final night of preliminary competition is Friday.

The next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night in a nationally broadcast finale from Atlantic City.

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5 p.m.

Signs criticizing the chairwoman of the Miss America Organization have surfaced around Atlantic City, where the competition is to have its second night of preliminaries Thursday.

Intended to parody her book "Be Fierce," the signs brand Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox News host, as "So Fake," adding the words "private bully, public liar."

Several signs were hung from street lights and at least one was glued to a utility box.

They reference claims by the outgoing Miss America, Cara Mund. Mund said Carlson and pageant CEO Regina Hopper bullied and silenced her during her yearlong reign.

Carlson said she had no comment.

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11:45 a.m.

Signs criticizing the chairwoman of the Miss America Organization have surfaced around Atlantic City, where the competition is to have its second night of preliminaries Thursday.

Intended to parody her book "Be Fierce," the signs brand Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox News host, as "So Fake," adding the words "private bully, public liar."

Several signs were hung from street lights and at least one was glued to a utility box.

They reference claims by the outgoing Miss America, Cara Mund. Mund said Carlson and pageant CEO Regina Hopper bullied and silenced her during her yearlong reign.

There was no immediate response from Carlson.

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12:15 a.m.

The second night of preliminary competition in the swimsuit-less Miss America competition will be held Thursday night in Atlantic City.

Contestants from Florida and Wisconsin picked up wins Wednesday in the first night of preliminary competition.

Miss Florida Taylor Tyson won the talent competition for a classical piano performance.

Miss Wisconsin Tianna Vanderhei won the onstage interview competition.

This is the first year the Miss America competition does not include a swimsuit competition.

That decision has generated controversy between those who see it as a long-overdue modernization, and those who lament the loss of an essential element of the competition for 98 years.

The third and final night of preliminaries will be held Friday.

The next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night in Atlantic City.

Danamarie McNicholl, Miss Washington, introduces herself during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Alexandra Coppa, Miss Rhode Island, introduces herself during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Mikhayla Hughes-Shaw, Miss Iowa, introduces herself during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Contestants walk the stage during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Miss Missouri Katelyn Lewis sings onstage during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Miss Georgia Annie Jorgensen dances onstage during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev, left, conducts an onstage interview with Miss Florida Taylor Tyson during the second night of preliminary competition in the Miss America competition in Atlantic City N.J. on Thursday Sept. 6, 2018. The pageant has replaced swimsuit competition this year with an onstage interview. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A man accused of being an assassin for a cartel was extradited from Mexico to New Mexico in connection with a 2008 slaying in which a burned body was left on a desert mesa in the state, authorities said.

Jaime Veleta Jr., 35, was recently brought to the U.S. for his role in the death of Danny Baca, who was shot 22 times with a semi-automatic assault rifle and whose burnt body was left on Pajarito Mesa south of Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

Baca, 53, worked for the Juarez cartel smuggling marijuana and cocaine from the Mexico border city of Juarez to El Paso, Texas, in hidden compartments in a Ford Mustang, officials say.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Deputy Daniel Degraff walks Jaime Veleta Jr. to an awaiting car to be booked into Metropolitan Detention Center on murder charges in the death of Danny Baca in 2008, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018 in Albuquerque, N.M. Veleta faces charges of murder, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, tampering and conspiracy. (Jim Thompson/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)

He is suspected of keeping some marijuana for himself and selling it for around $7,000, angering cartel leaders.

With Baca's killing, the Juarez cartel sought to send a message about drug rip-offs, police say.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said he was "confident this dangerous fugitive will be brought to justice for the Baca family."

Veleta faces charges of murder, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, tampering and conspiracy. Court records do not say whether he has an attorney.

Three people suspected of being accomplices in the Baca killing also have been arrested.

Among them was Veleta's cousin, Mario Talavera, 35, a U.S. citizen who was tracked down by U.S. marshals and arrested by police in in the Mexican state of Chihuahua in 2015 and deported to New Mexico to face kidnapping and murder charges, according to the Albuquerque Journal .

Talavera pleaded guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder and kidnapping involving Baca.

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This story corrects a previous version to say Pajarito Mesa is south of Albuquerque.
WASHINGTON (AP) - One after another, President Donald Trump's top lieutenants stepped forward Thursday to declare, "Not me."

They lined up to deny writing an incendiary New York Times opinion piece that was purportedly submitted by a member of an administration "resistance" movement straining to thwart Trump's most dangerous impulses.

By email, by tweet and on camera, the denials paraded in from Cabinet-level officials - and even Vice President Mike Pence - apparently crafted for an audience of one, seated in the Oval Office. Senior officials in key national security and economic policy roles charged the article's writer with cowardice, disloyalty and acting against America's interests in harsh terms that mimicked the president's own words.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, right, follows President Donald Trump to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump was incensed about the column, calling around to confidants to vent about the author, solicit guesses as to his or her identity and fume that a "deep state" within the administration was conspiring against him. He ordered aides to unmask the writer, and issued an extraordinary demand that the newspaper reveal the author to the government.

In an interview Thursday with Fox News, Trump said it was unfair for the person to pen the editorial anonymously because there's no way to discredit it.

He suggested it "may not be a Republican, it may not be a conservative, it may be a deep state person who has been there for a long time."

As striking as the essay was the long list of officials who plausibly could have been its author. Many have privately shared some of the article's same concerns about Trump with colleagues, friends and reporters.

With such a wide circle of potential suspicion, Trump's men and women felt they had no choice but to speak out. The denials and condemnations came in from far and wide: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis denied authorship on a visit to India; Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke chimed in from American Samoa. In Washington, the claims of "not me" echoed from Vice President Pence's office, from Energy Secretary Rick Perry, from Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman from Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, and other Cabinet members.

The author professed to be a member of that same inner circle. So could the denials be trusted? There was no surefire way to know, and that only deepened the president's frustrations.

On Twitter, Trump charged "The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don't know what to do."

White House officials did not respond to requests to elaborate on Trump's call for the writer to be turned over to the government or on the unsupported national security grounds of his demand. Some who agreed with the writer's points suggested the president's reaction actually confirmed the author's concerns.

Rudy Giuliani, the president's attorney, suggested that it "would be appropriate" for Trump to ask for a formal investigation into the identity of the op-ed author.

"Let's assume it's a person with a security clearance. If they feel writing this is appropriate, maybe they feel it would be appropriate to disclose national security secrets, too. That person should be found out and stopped," Giuliani said.

As the initial scramble to unmask the writer proved fruitless, attention turned to the questions the article raised, which have been whispered in Washington for more than a year: Is Trump truly in charge, and could a divided executive branch pose a danger to the country?

Former CIA Director John Brennan, a fierce Trump critic, called the op-ed "active insubordination ... born out of loyalty to the country."

"This is not sustainable to have an executive branch where individuals are not following the orders of the chief executive," Brennan told NBC's "Today" show. "I don't know how Donald Trump is going to react to this. A wounded lion is a very dangerous animal, and I think Donald Trump is wounded."

The anonymous author, claiming to be part of the resistance "working diligently from within" the administration, said, "Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room," the author continued. "We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what's right even when Donald Trump won't."

First lady Melania Trump issued a statement backing her husband. She praised the free press as "important to our democracy" but assailed the writer, saying, "You are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions."

The Beltway guessing game seeped into the White House, as current and former staffers traded calls and texts trying to figure out who could have written the piece, some turning to reporters and asking them for clues.

In a rare step, Pence's communications director Jarrod Agen tweeted early Thursday that "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts."

With many prominent administration members delivering on-the-record denials, the focus could now fall on other senior aides to do the same, with questions raised about those who stay silent.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tried to head off reporters' inquiries of Trump officials, tweeting that the questions should be aimed at the Times, which she said was "complicit in this deceitful act."

The anonymous author wrote that where Trump has had successes, they have come "despite - not because of - the president's leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective."

Down Pennsylvania Avenue, House Speaker Paul Ryan said he did not know of any role Congress would have to investigate, though Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, a Trump ally, said the legislative body could take part.

"Nothing in this town stays secret forever, and so ultimately I do think we will find out who is the author," he said.

The writer said Trump aides are aware of the president's faults and "many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them."

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Lemire reported from New York. AP writers Catherine Lucey, Mary Clare Jalonick, Darlene Superville and Ken Thomas contributed reporting.

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Follow Miller on Twitter at http://twitter.com/@zekejmiller and Lemire at http://twitter.com/@JonLemire

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis. speaks during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Washington. Ryan says whoever wrote an anonymous New York Times opinion column claiming officials in President Donald Trump's administration are preventing Trump from carrying out his worst instincts is "living in dishonesty" and shouldn't work for him. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
A small plane heading for a taxiway instead of the runway at a Pennsylvania airport came within 200 feet of striking another plane on the ground.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the incident occurred on August 10 at Philadelphia International Airport.

The NTSB issued a preliminary report on Thursday that revealed the pilot of a Gulfstream charter flight operated by Pegasus Elite Aviation pulled up about one-tenth of a mile from the end of the taxiway, where four airline regional jets were waiting.

A plane (file image) operated by Pegasus Elite Aviation was heading for a taxiway instead of the runway when it came within 200 feet of striking another plane on the ground at the Philadelphia International Airport

Lights identifying the runway and the approach path to the runway were out of service at the time of the 8.50pm incident, according to the NTSB.

There were four passengers and three crew members on the Pegasus jet.

Pegasus did not immediately respond to email and phone messages for comment.

The preliminary report did not include a probable cause or findings from the ongoing investigation.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported the incident to the NTSB the following day.

Officials from the NTSB said audio on the cockpit voice recorder of the Pegasus plane had already been recorded over, but the flight data recorder was removed from the plane for analysis.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board said the lights identifying the runway and the approach path to the runway were out of service at the time of the 8.50pm incident on August 10. Pictured is the Philadelphia International Airport

No injuries were reported.

The incident is eerily similar to one last year in San Francisco, in which an Air Canada jet mistakenly aimed to land on a crowded taxiway and flew just over the tops of four airliners waiting to take off.

The NTSB is scheduled to hold a hearing on that case on September 25.
NEW YORK (AP) - Designer Narciso Rodriguez is good at a lot of things - some would say masterful, especially when it comes to making striking, unfussy clothes that women feel great in.

One thing he's not so good at? Getting through an acceptance speech without choking up.

He couldn't do it in June, when actress Claire Danes lovingly presented him with his lifetime achievement award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. And he couldn't do it this week, when honored again by the Couture Council of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Both times, the minute he started thanking friends and family, he was toast.

Fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez appears at a luncheon honoring him with the 2018 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018 in New York. (AP Photo/Jocelyn Noveck)

It's been quite a year for the soft-spoken Rodriguez, 57, the son of Cuban immigrants whom he largely credits for his success. But for years now, really, he's been one of America's most admired designers, a man who evokes the kind of grateful loyalty from his high-profile clients that most designers can only dream of.

Some of those clients, like Danes, who's been wearing his clothes since she attended the Oscars at 16, describe Rodriguez as family. She has said the common thread in a Narciso garment is that "I always feel most myself when I wear them."

That's exactly what Rodriguez says he's aiming for: that a woman feels like herself, not the personification of a designer's fantasy. "I try not to let my designer ego get in the way because it's about making THEM look beautiful," he said in an interview Wednesday, moments before receiving his Couture Council award. "It's not about the press that I'm going to garner or anything else. And I think that's why so many women have trusted me."

AP: You've had quite a year with these various honors.

Rodriguez: I never placed a good deal of importance on awards. But it's so wonderful when your peers, in this case the Couture Council, recognize your work and your career and take a moment to say, 'Wow, you've been doing this for a good amount of time, and you've been consistent.' The respect that I've been feeling from peers and the press, it's just such an amazing feeling. And wow, longevity in fashion is rare.

AP: Does all this recognition make you wonder if it's downhill from here?

Rodriguez (laughing): I'm not there yet, I'm just grateful that I've been able to do it for this long, and do it on my own terms. And sometimes that hasn't been easy, I've had ups and downs. But I'm still here.

AP: How do you explain the close relationships you've forged with some of your celebrity clients?

Rodriguez: Well, I have never had a financial relationship with a celebrity. Never. The relationships I have cultivated have grown organically, and honestly. I met Claire when she was a very young girl. A teenager. And we just welcomed her second child into the world and I choke up (NOTE: he does choke up here) because she's like a daughter to me, someone I love so much. The same thing with Jessica Seinfeld, and Julianna Margulies, and so many women that are incredible inspirations to me, but they're also family.

AP: Your designs are famous for simplicity, clarity and beautiful, uncomplicated lines. Was it hard to get traction on that style?

Rodriguez: Absolutely. I remember when I first started out, I would hear things from the sales associates, who would tell me that a woman might not necessarily be convinced to go to the rack and pick up a garment, but once she tries it on and sees how it feels, (she's) a customer for life. But it took a while.

AP: There are so many pressures these days on designers to create an image, and to be famous themselves. How do you cope with that?

Rodriguez: It's hard sometimes to put your fingers in your ears and drown out the noise, because fashion is seductive. And you can be fooled by the glamour and lose sight of the fact that it's about the craft - for me, it's about beauty, it's about creativity. It can be overwhelming, more so even today where it isn't really about the craft, it's about self-promotion, and about Instagram. I'm incredibly private; I've had to expose a lot of myself because of my work, but it's not something I enjoy.

AP: So you're not a selfie person?

Rodriguez: It's tough today, when everyone wants to be famous first. It's just so confusing. I do what I have to. But I grew up in a time where, I'm sure you remember, if somebody walked in on you and you were staring at yourself in a mirror and taking a photo of yourself, you'd be mortified! You wouldn't want anyone to see that side of you. And that's the side that so many people want to expose today. It's fascinating.

AP: You're not showing at this Fashion Week. Why?

Rodriguez: I changed my life. My twins Callum and Ivy (with husband Thomas Tolan) are 15 months old. We took the summer off for the first time in 20 years, and I was so happy. I'll show in December instead. Nothing will replace this summer with my children at the beach. It's just given me a whole new perspective on life and work and what's really important.

AP: I guess it's time for you to go get that award.

Rodriguez: Yes, I hope I don't get out there and just bawl.
BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) - The Latest on law enforcement activity taking place at the Iowa dairy farm that employed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts (all times local)

11:20 a.m.

Immigration enforcement agents have visited the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

This photo shows the Yarrabee Farms, a cattle operation in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies were at the farm, which employed the suspect charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the county sheriff's office spent two hours at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday morning.

Yarrabee Farms said in a statement that federal authorities had asked to visit the farm Thursday. The company says agents met with employees and owners. The company says it's cooperating with investigators. It says it can't provide additional details because the investigation is ongoing.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said that his agency's officers were on the scene assisting investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, who took the lead.

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10:25 a.m.

Federal, state and local agents are at the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

Agents from the Poweshiek County sheriff's office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and federal agencies were seen Thursday morning at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa. They appeared to be looking around the property and talking to workers.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the agents were investigating the cattle farm's employment practices, the slaying of the University of Iowa student, or both.

Authorities had no immediate response to inquiries.

The activity comes one day after The Associated Press reported that the suspect in Tibbetts' death, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, worked at the farm using the name John Budd.

A deputy with the Poweshiek County sheriff's office stands on the property of Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Investigators from local, state and federal agencies were at the farm, which employed the suspect charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. (AP Photo/Ryan J. Foley)

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2018, file photo, poster for missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs in the window of a local business in Brooklyn, Iowa. Tibbetts was reported missing from her hometown in the eastern Iowa city of Brooklyn in July 2018. Her body was found Aug. 21, 2018 and Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a Mexican national was charged in her killing. Rivera was known for years by another name on the dairy farm where he worked: John Budd. The name under which worked for the last four years was confirmed by three people with knowledge of his employment history, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2018, file photo, Cristhian Bahena Rivera is escorted into the Poweshiek County Courthouse for his initial court appearance in Montezuma, Iowa. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared July 18 from Brooklyn, Iowa. The Mexican national was known by another name on the dairy farm where he worked for the last four years: John Budd. It was confirmed by three people with knowledge of his employment history, who spoke on condition of anonymity. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)
CINCINNATI (AP) - The Latest on a fatal shooting at downtown Cincinnati bank (all times local):

2 p.m.

A woman who works in a Cincinnati building where a gunman opened fire says her co-worker was on an elevator when the doors opened and she nearly stepped on a man's body.

A woman is comforted by authorities stationed outside the University of Cincinnati Medical Center's Emergency room following a shooting in downtown Cincinnati that left at least four dead, including the gunman, and several injured, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in Cincinnati. (Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)

Jessica Hanson says her co-worker was in shock and that's when people in her office found what had happened Thursday morning.

Police say four people, including the gunman, died in the shooting that started in a loading dock and spilled into the lobby at the Fifth Third Bank headquarters.

Hanson says she was working on one of the lower floors when she heard gunshots.

She then saw people running into the square outside the building and ducking for cover as officers started shooting into the bank.

Authorities were conducting a search at an apartment about 15 miles from the scene.

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1:40 p.m.

Authorities are searching an apartment about 15 miles from the scene of a downtown Cincinnati shooting that left four dead, including the gunman.

Police didn't release any other details as they established a large presence in North Bend, a village west of Cincinnati.

The bank company whose headquarters building was the shooting scene says in a statement it is working with police to ensure safety.

Cincinnati-based regional banker Fifth Third Bancorp offers thoughts and prayers for "everyone caught up in this terrible event."

The company didn't offer any details. Police haven't released the name of the gunman, who was dead at the scene.

The 30-story building also houses other businesses, including a bakery and ice cream shop.

Fifth Third operates some 1,200 banking centers in 10 states.

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1:05 p.m.

Witnesses describe a chaotic scene when gunfire left four dead in downtown Cincinnati.

Servatii Bakery manager Jaenetta Cook says she hurried to lock the door after the first two shots were fired Thursday morning. She says she was relieved to survive, "to see my kids, to see another day."

It happened at a 30-story building, home to regional banker Fifth Third Bancorp and other businesses, including popular ice cream, pastry and sandwich shops.

Michael Richardson, who works in the bank building, told The Cincinnati Enquirer he started running when he saw the gunman shooting.

It's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers. Two victims remained hospitalized.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was "actively shooting innocent victims" and that it was a "horrific" scene.

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11:20 a.m.

Police say four people are dead, including the gunman, in a downtown Cincinnati bank shooting.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said the shooter opened fire early Thursday morning at the loading dock of the Fifth Third Bank building. Isaac said the gunman then entered the bank's lobby where he exchanged gunfire with police. It's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers.

One of the victims also died at the scene.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was "actively shooting innocent victims" and that it was a "horrific" scene.

He noted the building on the city's Fountain Square houses popular ice cream, sandwich and pastry shops.

He says it "could have been much, much worse" if not for the immediate police response to end the threat.

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11:05 a.m.

Police say four people are dead, including the gunman, in a downtown Cincinnati bank shooting.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said the shooter opened fire early Thursday morning at the loading dock of the Fifth Third Bank building.

Isaac said the gunman then entered the bank's lobby where he exchanged gunfire with the shooter. It's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers.

One of the victims died at the scene.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was "actively shooting innocent victims" and that it was a "horrific" scene.

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10:30 a.m.

Police say they've responded to an active shooter situation at the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Cincinnati and there are multiple injuries.

The police department tweeted it as an "active shooter/officer involved shooting incident." The situation appeared to be under control shortly before 10 a.m. EDT Thursday.

Police say multiple people have been transported to an area hospital but there is no word on their conditions. It wasn't immediately clear if the shooter was one of them.

At least two ambulances were seen leaving the scene.

People in and around the building reported hearing a series of gunshots.

A spokeswoman for Fifth Third Bancorp says the company will comment later.

A news conference was planned for Thursday morning.

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10 a.m.

Police say they've responded to an active shooter situation at the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Cincinnati and there are multiple injuries.

The police department in a Tweet described it as an "active shooter/officer involved shooting incident." The situation appeared to be under control shortly before 10 a.m. EDT Thursday but police said they are still investigating.

An officer at the scene says there are at least two, and possibly more, people who've been shot. It wasn't clear immediately if the shooter was one of them.

At least two ambulances were seen leaving the scene.

Streets around the building at the city's Fountain Square were closed as were sidewalks.

People in and around the building reported hearing a series of gunshots.

Federal agents were on the scene.

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9:45 a.m.

Police say they've responded to an active shooter situation at the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Cincinnati.

The police department in a Tweet described it as an "active shooter/officer involved shooting incident."

An officer at the scene says there are at least two, and possibly more, people who've been shot. It wasn't clear immediately if the shooter was one of them.

Streets around the building at the city's Fountain Square were closed Thursday morning, as were sidewalks.
Tens of thousands of employees at more than 18,000 U.S. hotels will soon carry panic buttons to help protect them from harassment and assault in an era of heightened awareness around the #MeToo movement.

More than a dozen big hotel chains - including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, IHG and Wyndham - said Thursday that they will provide personal safety devices by 2020 to all employees who deal one-on-one with guests. The companies will also train staff to identify and report harassment and publish anti-sexual harassment policies in multiple languages.

The devices will vary by hotel. In a new, Wi-Fi enabled hotel, for example, companies may give out devices that automatically send the employee's location to security officers. In an older or smaller hotel, they might distribute devices that emit a loud shriek.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, poses for a photo in Seattle. Accettola is wearing a device that lets her push a button and summon help if she is in a threatening situation while working. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The American Hotel and Lodging Association, which is backing the effort, says around three-fourths of its 25,000 member hotels are participating right now. It is working with harassment and human trafficking organizations to develop training and testing devices to help hotels figure out what works best.

This isn't the first time hotels are giving panic buttons to staff. New York has required them since 2012, after a hotel maid there accused French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her in his suite. Chicago and Seattle began requiring them more recently.

But increasing public discussion about harassment and the #MeToo movement has given the effort a new sense of urgency. Red Roof Inn, Best Western, AccorHotels, Four Seasons and Caesar's are other participants in the rare display of unity from a fiercely competitive industry.

"The cultural conversations have changed, and we have gotten smarter," said Erika Alexander, Marriott's chief lodging officer for the Americas. Marriott plans to make the devices standard at all of its nearly 5,000 hotels in North America by 2020. Eventually it hopes to expand the devices globally.

Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Seattle's Pioneer Square, has a safety fob clipped to the front of her uniform at all times. If she presses a button, hotel managers and security are immediately notified of her location. Accettola said the system gives her an added feeling of security, especially when she works late.

"At any moment, help is there if you should need it," she said.

It's unclear how often the devices will be used, but harassment of hotel staff is an ongoing issue. In a 2016 survey of 500 housekeepers in Chicago, 49 percent said guests had flashed them, exposed themselves or opened the door naked.

The rollout of the devices will be messy. Hotel companies only manage some of their properties; others are managed by franchisees. Some companies may require franchisees to add the devices; others may not. Properties vary widely, from sprawling 2,500-room resorts to 65-room, cookie-cutter hotels by the highway.

Some hotels have already begun the process. Hyatt mandated electronic safety devices last fall and has already distributed them to 4,500 employees at 120 hotels in the Americas, Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian said. Hyatt has also strongly recommended the devices for franchisees, and expects to expand the program globally, Hoplamazian said.

He said the cost of the devices is easily absorbed by the company. Shrieking alarms - the kind most widely used at Hyatt right now - cost around $25 each. A React mobile device, like the one Accettola wears, retails for $70, but big hotel chains will likely be able to get bulk discounts.

Hoplamazian said there haven't been many reported usages. In one instance, a guest was acting strangely so a housekeeper summoned help. It turned out there was no threat, but Hoplamazian is glad the system worked.

"While the frequency may not by high, the importance of it is really, really high," he said.

Wyndham CEO Geoff Ballotti said his company expects to distribute safety devices by the end of next year to 5,000 employees in the 450 U.S. hotels it owns and manages. Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said "tens of thousands" of staff at 4,500 hotels will get the devices by 2020.

Nassetta said the rollout will take time because training staff members how to respond to the devices is as important as the devices themselves.

"We don't want to create the appearance of safety without the reality behind it," he said.

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This story has been corrected to read that the announcement was made Thursday, not Tuesday.

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, poses for a photo while holding a device that lets her push a button and summon help if she is in a threatening situation while working in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, poses for a photo in Seattle. Accettola is wearing a device that lets her push a button and summon help if she is in a threatening situation while working. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, demonstrates how she smoothes the sheets on a bed at the hotel in Seattle. Accettola is wearing a device that lets her push a button and summon help if she is in a threatening situation while working. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo Rani Accettola, a housekeeper at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood, poses for a photo while holding a device that lets her push a button and summon help if she is in a threatening situation while working in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood is shown in Seattle. Housekeeping workers at the hotel use devices that let them push a button and summon help if they are in a threatening situation while working. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, photo guests stand at the front desk at the Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood in Seattle. Housekeeping workers at the hotel use devices that let them push a button and summon help if they are in a threatening situation while working. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - Riot police have broken up a pro-marijuana demonstration in Colombia's capital city, as the South American country takes a harder stance on drugs.

Dozens of people showed up at Bogota's planetarium Thursday with posters and small amounts of marijuana to stage a "smoke-a-thon" to defend recreational use of the plant.

But the crowd was dispersed by police in riot gear minutes after protesters began to light up their marijuana cigarettes. At least half a dozen people were arrested as clashes broke out.

Police detain a man who was blocking traffic during a protest against a decree by Colombia's President Ivan Duque that would allow police to confiscate any amount of drugs from people in the street in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. In 2012, Colombia's Constitutional Court approved a government bill to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Colombia's constitution enables marijuana users to possess small doses meant for personal consumption. But new President Ivan Duque is tightening drug laws and recently issued a decree that enables police to confiscate any drug consumed in public.

Youth smoke marijuana to protest a decree by Colombia's President Ivan Duque that would allow police to confiscate any amount of drugs from people in the street in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. In 2012, Colombia's Constitutional Court approved a government bill to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A protester carries carries a flag featuring a cannabis leaf during a student march against a decree by Colombia's President Ivan Duque that would allow police to confiscate any amount of drugs from people in the street in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. In 2012, Colombia's Constitutional Court approved a government bill to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Youth smoke marijuana to protest a decree by Colombia's President Ivan Duque that would allow police to confiscate any amount of drugs from people in the street in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. In 2012, Colombia's Constitutional Court approved a government bill to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Students carry a banner with the Spanish message: "Yes to personal dosis" during a protest against a decree by Colombia's President Ivan Duque that would allow police to confiscate any amount of drugs from people in the street in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. In 2012, Colombia's Constitutional Court approved a government bill to decriminalize the possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
SHASTA-TRINITY NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. (AP) - California is taking a financial wallop from unrelenting wildfires that have drained its firefighting budget and prompted nearly $1 billion in property claims even before the start of the dangerous fall fire season, officials said Thursday.

The disclosures came as a roaring blaze in a rural area near the Oregon state line closed 45 miles (72 kilometers) of heavily traveled Interstate 5, the main highway from Mexico to Canada.

Fierce orange flames forced panicked truckers to abandon big-rigs and brought screams from motorists as they watched the advancing fire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

A scorched VW Beetle rests in a clearing after the Delta Fire burned through the Lamoine community in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A decision was expected Friday on when to reopen the highway.

The wildfire flared just weeks after a blaze in the Redding area killed eight people and burned about 1,100 homes.

California's insurance commissioner said Thursday that victims of that fire and one in the Mendocino area - the two largest blazes in the state so far this year - have filed more than 10,000 claims so far totaling $845 million.

The two wildfires destroyed or damaged a combined 8,800 homes and 329 businesses.

"The worst may be yet to come," Commissioner David Jones warned at a San Francisco news conference, noting that California wildfires are typically more destructive after Sept. 1.

Last year, for example, wildfires that killed more than 40 people and destroyed thousands of buildings in counties north of San Francisco didn't spark until October.

Also on Thursday, the director of the state's firefighting agency said in a letter to lawmakers that the agency only had about $11 million remaining in its annual budget and anticipates needing another $234 million to add firefighters and helicopters, and to cover other costs of fires expected later this year.

The department had spent $432 million through the end of August, said Ken Pimlott of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Legislature budgets for firefighting costs based on historical averages. Cal Fire has requested extra money in seven of the past 10 years but never this early, according to the Department of Finance.

In far Northern California, officials said they had no plans to re-open Interstate 5 on Thursday and would reevaluate early Friday - a decision that slowed or stalled truckers who rely heavily on the highway to transport goods along the West Coast.

They were advised to take an alternate route adding 100 miles (160 kilometers) that could take at least six hours.

"If you don't need to make the trip, I wouldn't do it," Caltrans spokeswoman Denise Yergenson said.

Truck driver Amit Sekhri said he saw flames and slowing vehicles along the freeway on Wednesday but his big-rig was too large to turn around and he decided against parking and fleeing on foot.

He kept driving, with fire lapping at both sides of the highway and burning ash falling all around him. He felt the heat in his cab, despite the air conditioning.

"It was picking up so fast. It was behind me, in front of me, left, right. It was all fire. I was surrounded by fire," he said, still shaken by the experience.

When he finally saw daylight, he knew he had made it to safety.

"It's one of the scariest things I've ever seen and been through," he said.

The fire began Wednesday and nearly tripled in size overnight, officials said. By Thursday night it had grown to 34 square miles (89 square kilometers) and had damaged three buildings, although there was no confirmation of any homes being destroyed. It prompted mandatory evacuations and was moving rapidly but remained far from any large towns.

David Steinberg and his partner Kim Mears were returning from a day hike when they came upon the wildfire and watched in awe.

Steinberg says they were mesmerized by the fire, but eventually realized the danger it presented.

"There's a moment when you're saying, 'This is really exciting.' Then you realize, 'Oh this could be really dangerous,'" he said.

Elsewhere in the state, a fire burning in the Sierra Nevada had grown to more than 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) after shutting down stretches of U.S. 395, State Route 108 and the Pacific Crest Trail along the eastern spine of California.

The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, campgrounds and other areas were evacuated Wednesday. Ranchers were told to prepare to move livestock out of the area in Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.

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Elias reported from San Francisco. AP writers Jonathan J. Cooper in Sacramento, Alina Hartounian in Phoenix, and Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this report.

A fire vehicle drives along Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A home leveled by the Delta Fire rests in a clearing in Pollard Flat area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A home leveled by the Delta Fire rests in a clearing in Pollard Flat area of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones speaks during a news conference about the costs of recent wildfires Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in San Francisco. Jones released the first data on the total insurance claims reported for residential and commercial losses following the Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires. Commissioner Jones also released updated data for the 2017 California wildfires and 2018 mudslides. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones holds up a copy of a report during a news conference about the costs of recent wildfires Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in San Francisco. Jones released the first data on the total insurance claims reported for residential and commercial losses following the Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires. Commissioner Jones also released updated data for the 2017 California wildfires and 2018 mudslides. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones speaks during a news conference about the costs of recent wildfires Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in San Francisco. Jones released the first data on the total insurance claims reported for residential and commercial losses following the Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires. Commissioner Jones also released updated data for the 2017 California wildfires and 2018 mudslides. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones speaks during a news conference about the costs of recent wildfires Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in San Francisco. Jones released the first data on the total insurance claims reported for residential and commercial losses following the Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires. Commissioner Jones also released updated data for the 2017 California wildfires and 2018 mudslides. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

A scorched truck rests on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Capt. Mark Loveless examines a truck scorched by the Delta Fire burning along Interstate 5 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Bruce Palmer, left, and Justice Geib prepare to tow a truck scorched by the Delta Fire on Interstate 5 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A crane lifts a truck scorched by the Delta Fire on Interstate 5 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

California Capt. Mark Loveless examines a scorched license plate on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Bruce Palmer prepares to tow a truck scorched by the Delta Fire on Interstate 5 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The highway remains closed to traffic in both directions as crews battle the blaze. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

FILE - In this Oct. 13, 2017 file photo, a row of chimneys stand in a neighborhood devastated by a wildfire near Santa Rosa, Calif. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is releasing Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, the first data on the total insurance claims reported for residential and commercial losses following the Carr and Mendocino Complex wildfires. Commissioner Jones will also release updated data for the 2017 California wildfires and 2018 mudslides. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Fire officials say the wildfire roaring through timber and brush in Northern California tripled in size overnight, prompting mandatory evacuations. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Vietnamese people have always remembered the valuable support of Russia in the past as well as at present, he said.

Trong spoke highly of the comprehensive achievements that Russia has gained over the past, as well as its important position in the global arena.

Meanwhile, President Putin affirmed that Russia has always held Vietnam in high regards as a leading partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

He said he believed that the ongoing official visit to Russia by Party leader Trong will create an important milestone and new driving force for the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.

The two leaders expressed their pleasure at the comprehensive development in the bilateral relations over the past time. The sound traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia has stood the test of time and been nurtured by several generations of leaders and peoples. Such valuable property should be maintained and promoted, they said.

Amid the friendly atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding, the two sides focused discussion on major measures to create new momentum for bilateral cooperation in all fields.

They agreed to exert maximum efforts to develop the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership in a deeper and more effective manner.

The two leaders together decided to maintain high-level delegation exchanges, political consultations, and strategic dialogues across all channels  including the Party, Government, parliament, agencies, ministries, departments, and localities.

They agreed to reinforce political trust as a foundation to boost and expand all-around collaboration.

Vietnam and Russia will jointly organise the Russian Year in Vietnam and vice versa on the occasions of the 25th anniversary of the treaty on the basic principles for bilateral friendship in 2019, and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties in 2020.

The two leaders said they are pleased with the rapid growth of bilateral ties in economy and trade, particularly after the free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasia Economic Union took effect. They agreed to step up measures to capitalise on the pact.

They noted that improvements should be made to the work of the Vietnam-Russia intergovernmental committee on economy-trade and science-technology cooperation in monitoring and implementing bilateral agreements and in seeking new joint projects related to energy, transport infrastructure, information, and telecommunications.

Talking about cooperation in energy, oil, and gas, a strategic sector for bilateral ties for years to come, the leaders agreed to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese and Russian firms to effectively carry out their existing projects. They said there will be more new projects with the participation of national oil and gas companies from both sides.

They agreed to facilitate the operation of prioritised investment projects in the two nations.

The leaders of the two countries said they will both work on the issuance of encouragement policies and the simplification of procedures and criteria helping their products  particularly agro-forestry-fishery goods  find easier access to each others market. They considered it a good way to lift up bilateral trade turnover.

They stated the two countries will continue their close and effective collaboration in defence-security, manifesting their mutual trust and in line with their comprehensive strategic partnership.

The leaders reached an agreement to implement a project on building a centre for science and nuclear technology in Vietnam, considering it a key cooperation project concerning the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

They agreed to enhance joint engagement in education-training, culture, and tourism as well as to boost cooperation between Vietnamese and Russian localities.

Trong and Putin exchanged their opinions regarding international and regional matters of common interests. They both supported the necessity of tackling conflict by peaceful measures without the use of, or threat to use, force and with respect to international law, particularly the UN Charter.

Party General Secretary Trong stated that Vietnam backs Russias increasing role in ensuring security, peace, stability, and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, Southeast Asia, and in the world.

The leaders lauded contributions of Vietnamese expatriates in Russia as an important bridge for bilateral relations.

The Vietnamese Party leader thanked the assistance of Russian leaders and public authorities towards the community. He expected further support will come to facilitate the life and work of Vietnamese expatriates in Russia in contribution to traditional ties shared between Vietnamese and Russians.

He took the occasion to invite the Russian President to visit Vietnam in 2019. Putin accepted the invitation with delight.
BALTIMORE (AP) - Maryland authorities announced charges Thursday against an Arizona-based drugmaker that they say engaged in a nationwide scheme "characterized by extraordinary misconduct" to boost profits amid the coast-to-coast opioid epidemic.

The office of Attorney General Brian Frosh filed charges against Insys Therapeutics alleging multiple violations of the state's consumer protection law. The pharmaceutical company makes a highly addictive opioid spray used to manage uncontrollable pain for adult cancer patients, but Frosh says Insys joined with local health care providers in a "calculated scheme" to target non-cancer patients, including those seeking relief from knee or back pain.

More than 90 percent of the spray-based Subsys prescriptions written or filed in Maryland were actually for people who never should have been taking the potent medication made with the synthetic opioid fentanyl, according to the state's attorney general.

"The allegations against Insys describe a calculated scheme employing doctors, pharmacists, and sales reps to increase profits and market share at the expense of the health and well-being of vulnerable patients," Frosh said in a statement.

Other U.S. states have sued Insys, some reaching settlements. When asked about the latest charges of deceptive practices, a spokesman for the pharmaceutical company said the drugmaker "generally refrains from commenting about legal proceedings" as a matter of policy.

In Maryland, a mid-Atlantic state with one of the country's most punishing opioid overdose mortality rates, Frosh's consumer protection division asserts that Insys provided tens of thousands of dollars to prescribers as inducements to prescribe Subsys to their patients.

Court documents allege that a sham "speaker program" was frequently made up of social events for company employees, pharmacists and others. Events were routinely held at venues "such as strip clubs, restaurants with scantily-clad waitresses and private hotel rooms," according to the statement of charges.

"Insys would provide large quantities of alcohol and sales managers and representatives would also pay for lavish perks, such as expensive bottles of wine," the charges say, adding elsewhere: "Insys has engaged in a nationwide unfair and deceptive scheme characterized by extraordinary misconduct."

The attorney general's office also alleges that in Maryland and other places across the country, Insys representatives had "inappropriate sexual or other intimate relationships" with prescribers while encouraging them to write Subsys prescriptions. One doctor residing in Maryland even received Subsys for her own personal consumption, they say.

Ultimately, Frosh says the Arizona company derived roughly $20 million from more than 3,000 Subsys prescriptions in Maryland.

Earlier this year, Maryland announced it had notched a record-high number of drug deaths in 2017. The grim milestone was fueled by an alarming increase of fentanyl-related fatalities.

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Follow McFadden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmcfadd
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - President Jimmy Morales on Thursday defended his decision to wind down a U.N. commission investigating graft in Guatemala, responding to domestic and international critics who called it a blow against efforts to strengthen rule of law and hold the corrupt accountable.

In an address in Guatemala City, Morales argued that the exit of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala next year will not jeopardize further investigations of corruption.

He added that his decision not to renew the mandate of the commission, known as CICIG for its initials in Spanish, doesn't obstruct justice but rather aims "to locate the constitution of the republic as our highest law."

Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales reads a statement at the National Palace of Culture in Guatemala City, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Morales said on Thursday that the end of the mandate of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala will not jeopardize investigations into corruption in the country. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Morales announced last week that he was not giving the commission another two-year term in the country, giving CICIG until the end of its current mandate in September 2019 to transfer its duties and expertise to Guatemalan institutions.

"Guatemala will respect the current mandate of CICIG, and we will be willing to promote the eminently technical methodology" to continue investigations, Morales said Thursday.

But with the president facing allegations of receiving more than $1 million in undeclared financing during his 2015 campaign - he denies wrongdoing - critics see his explanation as a cover for self-preservation.

"I think it's a ridiculous assertion. I don't see how any of us can take this at face value," Christine Wade, a political scientist at Washington College in Maryland, said of Morales' claim that the commission's exit would not affect investigations. "It would seem that the entire purpose of not renewing CICIG is to undermine the fight against impunity and corruption in Guatemala, and to save his own skin in the process."

Wade said there's no reason to think "that this is somehow going to reaffirm the state's fight against corruption and immunity - there is no fight within the state against corruption and impunity. There's a reason CICIG's there to begin with."

Also Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Morales and "reiterated the United States' support for Guatemalan sovereignty," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"They discussed the importance of continuing our cooperation in the fight against corruption and impunity and the Guatemalan government's efforts working with" CICIG, Nauert added in a statement. "The Secretary expressed continued support of the United States for a reformed CICIG and committed to continue working with Guatemala on implementing the reforms in the coming year."

Earlier this week Morales also barred CICIG chief Ivan Velasquez, who had traveled to Washington, from returning to the country. He continues as head of the commission, working from outside the country.

On Wednesday the Constitutional Court agreed to hear four appeals seeking to reverse that ban. It has defied Morales in the past: Last year when, the president declared Velasquez persona non grata and sought to have him expelled, the court overturned the order.

Morales also said Thursday that he was "not obligated to obey illegal rulings," a declaration that constitutional lawyer Alejandro Balsells called a clear allusion to previous checks by the court on the president's actions.

Foreign Minister Sandra Jovel accused CICIG of having become a "parallel structure," that is, operating outside of Guatemalan law, and also criticized U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"You are at the service of member states. It is unacceptable and contrary to U.N. purposes to purport to establish a super-national entity that dictates to governments how to exercise their duties. ... Doing so infringes on the sovereignty of states," Jovel said.

Graft investigations brought by CICIG and Guatemalan prosecutors have touched the highest levels of government and the business sector, including former President Otto Perez Molina and his then-vice president, who remain jailed.

A request to lift Morales' immunity from prosecution, which comes with office, is currently in congress for consideration. That petition was presented by CICIG and prosecutors to the Supreme Court, which ruled it should go to lawmakers for a final decision.

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Associated Press writer Peter Orsi contributed to this report from Mexico City.
NEW YORK (AP) - The Justice Department is investigating potential employee fraud at Wells Fargo & Co.'s wholesale banking unit, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed people familiar with the probe, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that investigators are trying to determine whether management at the bank pressured employees to improperly alter customer information without consent.

The investigation stems from revelations that employees in the wholesale banking unit, which caters to corporate customers, added Social Security numbers, dates of birth and other customer information to documents in a bid to beat a regulatory deadline, the newspaper said.

The matter initially involved Well's business banking group, which focuses on companies with annual sales of $5 million to $20 million, but further reviews by the bank discovered that the problems were more widespread, according to the Journal's report.

Wells Fargo declined Thursday to comment on the investigation or to go into details about what happened in its wholesale banking unit. But Wells spokesman Alan Elias said the matter involved a new process and a new required document that the bank's employees had to complete "to help ensure we know our customers."

"We've recognized that in certain circumstances additional training and new procedures were needed and have now been applied," Elias said, adding that the matter "has not negatively impacted our customers."

The Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has been plagued by scandals in recent years, including employees opening millions of fake accounts for customers without their authorization and the bundling of auto insurance policies on to auto loans when customers did not need them.

Last month, the lender agreed to pay a $2.1 billion fine to settle allegations it misrepresented the types of mortgages it sold to investors during the housing bubble that ultimately led to the 2008 financial crisis.

Wells Fargo shares slid 1.7 percent to $57.93 Thursday. The stock is down 4.5 percent this year.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The Latest on state investigations into alleged clergy sex abuse in the Catholic Church (all times local):

3:15 p.m.

The Roman Catholic Church in New Jersey says it will cooperate with a new investigation of sex abuse in the church's dioceses.

FILE - In this May 15, 2018, file photo, acting New York state Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood speaks in Albany, N.Y. Underwood has subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state as part of her office's investigation into the church's handling of sex abuse allegations. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

New Jersey Catholic Conference executive director Patrick Brannigan says the group welcomes the investigation and will "cooperate fully."

The conference represents the state's bishops.

New Jersey on Thursday said it would be launching its own investigation of sex abuse by clergy. It followed word that New York had issued subpoenas in a similar investigation there.

The investigations come after a grand jury in Pennsylvania found widespread abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests.

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2:55 p.m.

New Jersey is joining New York in announcing it will conduct an investigation of sex abuse by clergy in the state's Roman Catholic dioceses.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Thursday that he is establishing a task force to be headed by a former county prosecutor.

The group is authorized to present evidence to a state grand jury and will have the power of subpoenas to compel testimony and the production of documents.

The announcement comes three weeks after a grand jury investigation found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania.

Earlier Thursday, New York's attorney general subpoenaed the state's eight Catholic dioceses as part of a probe in sex abuse allegations.

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1:24 p.m.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state as part of an investigation into the handling of sex abuse allegations.

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press the subpoenas went out Thursday.

The subpoenas seek documents relating to abuse allegations, payments to victims or findings from internal church investigations.

Underwood's office is pursuing a civil investigation into the church's response to abuse reports and has also reached out to local prosecutors authorized to convene grand juries or pursue criminal investigations.

Church officials say they will cooperate.

The announcement comes three weeks after a grand jury investigation found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania

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1 p.m.

New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state as part of her office's investigation into the church's handling of sex abuse allegations.

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press the subpoenas went out Thursday.

The subpoenas seek documents relating to sexual abuse allegations, financial payments to possible victims or the findings from internal church investigations.

Underwood's office is pursuing a civil investigation into how church leaders responded to reports of abuse.

Messages left with diocesan officials were not immediately returned.

The announcement comes three weeks after a grand jury investigation found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - Hundreds of Turkish Cypriots took to the streets of ethnically divided Nicosia on Thursday to protest huge hikes in the prices of electricity, fuel and other goods sparked by the sharp devaluation of the Turkish lira.

Holding banners and chanting slogans decrying the hardship besetting blue-collar Turkish Cypriots, protesters ended a march organized by a coalition of trade unions near the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north's parliament to voice their disgruntlement.

Turkish Cypriots use the lira as their official currency and its devaluation at around 40 percent against the dollar has hit them hard by severely diminishing their purchasing power. For example, electricity prices have shot up 50 percent since February while the price of imported goods has almost doubled.

Turkish Cypriot protesters decrying economic hardship brought on by Turkey's currency woes, march through the northern part of ethnically split Cyprus' capital Nicosia on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Some hundreds of Turkish Cypriots marched near the parliament of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island to demonstrate their disgruntlement over the steep price hikes in fuel, electricity and other goods.(AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Protester Kemal Gucveren told The Associated Press that the crisis is Turkey's doing and no fault of Turkish Cypriots who should be left to decide their future for themselves.

Turkish Cypriots declared independence nearly a decade after the island was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the breakaway north, and has propped up its economy to the tune of 500 million euros annually to cover a budget shortfall.

Turkey also keeps more than 35,000 troops in the north. Although Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, only the internationally recognized south enjoys membership benefits.

Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce President Turgay Deniz said Turkish Cypriots have no choice but to depend on Turkey and to use its currency since Ankara bankrolls all major infrastructure projects and acts as a conduit for trade and commerce with the rest of the world.

"Everyone was in shock because no one expected the devaluation of the Turkish Lira to be at this level," Deniz told The Associated Press in an interview. "Everyone expected a quick recovery and now they're waiting to see how low it will go."

Turkish Cypriot protesters decrying economic hardship brought on by Turkey's currency woes, march through the northern part of ethnically split Cyprus' capital Nicosia on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Some hundreds of Turkish Cypriots marched near the parliament of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island to demonstrate their disgruntlement over the steep price hikes in fuel, electricity and other goods.(AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

Turkish Cypriot protesters decrying economic hardship brought on by Turkey's currency woes, march through the northern part of ethnically split Cyprus' capital Nicosia on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Some hundreds of Turkish Cypriots marched near the parliament of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of the island to demonstrate their disgruntlement over the steep price hikes in fuel, electricity and other goods. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the Senate hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):

10 p.m.

President Donald Trump says Senate Democrats are making "fools" of themselves when they "scream and shout" at Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh gestures while speaking on the third day of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington, to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Trump says at a rally Thursday night in Billings, Montana, that Democrats are "losing by doing it."

He says the "anger and the meanness" on the other side is "sick."

The Senate Judiciary Committee has been holding confirmation hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination. Democrats on the committee strongly oppose him. Several, including some who are viewed as potential challengers to Trump in 2020, tried to block the proceedings in a bitter dispute over Kavanaugh records withheld by the White House.

Says Trump, "It's embarrassing to watch these people make fools of themselves as they scream and shout at this great gentleman."

He adds that Kavanaugh deserves "overwhelming bipartisan support."

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8 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is declining to say whether he thinks the 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide was correctly decided.

His refusal to take a position is in line with his stance that it would be wrong to comment on recent or pending cases.

The opinion in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, whom Kavanaugh would replace on the court.

Kennedy authored the court's four major gay-rights decisions, as well as one from June in which the court ruled in favor of a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple.

Kavanaugh paraphrased from Kennedy's opinion in the baker's case. He said Kennedy wrote that "the days of discrimination against gay and lesbian Americans are over."

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6:25 p.m.

New emails released from Brett Kavanaugh's time in the George W. Bush White House suggest the Supreme Court nominee was deeply involved in Bush judicial nominations.

According to the emails, Kavanaugh pushed Justice Department officials John Yoo and Jay Bybee for seats on a federal appeals court based in San Francisco in November 2001. The recommendations came well before Yoo and Bybee authored Bush-era memos on the detention and interrogation of terror suspects.

Kavanaugh expressed regret when Yoo withdrew in 2002 in favor a CIA post saying, "He was my magic bullet." Yoo didn't get the CIA job. Bybee was confirmed to the 9th circuit in 2003.

The previously confidential email exchanges were released by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker during Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing.

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5:20 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says he hasn't talked about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation with White House officials. Nor has he discussed it, he says, with anyone at the law firm of Mark Kasowitz, who has represented President Donald Trump.

Kavanaugh acknowledged that "if you're walking around in America," the probe into Russian election interference is going to come up. But he said, "I've had no inappropriate discussions with anyone."

Kavanaugh said he knows Mueller, a former FBI director, but hasn't talked to him for a long time. He specifically said he hasn't discussed Mueller's investigation with White House counsel Don McGahn, beyond preparing for the confirmation hearings.

Democrats say they fear Kavanaugh would protect Trump if a dispute over the Russia probe reached the high court.

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4:30 p.m.

Filling the front row for the final day of questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are about a dozen girls he has coached over the years in basketball at his daughters' Catholic school.

The girls filed into the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room in the late afternoon. Kavanaugh called the girls "awesome" and introduced them by their first names and grades. Some of the girls took seats next to White House counsel Don McGahn. Kavanaugh's two school-age daughters were part of the group.

Kavanaugh has spoken of the importance of coaching to mentor young people. He has also talked about how being a judge is like being an umpire.

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3:08 p.m.

Newly obtained emails show that Brett Kavanaugh told friends to keep what transpired on a weekend sailing trip in 2001 confidential.

The Supreme Court nominee was an unmarried White House lawyer when he joined several friends for a weekend of sailing on Chesapeake Bay just before the Sept. 11 attacks.

In the emails obtained by The Associated Press, Kavanaugh jokingly apologized for "growing aggressive after blowing still another game of dice (don't recall)."

He also told his friends to "be very, very vigilant" about confidentiality "on all issues and all fronts, including with spouses."

Kavanaugh has said he had his first date with his future wife, Ashley, on Sept. 10, 2001.

The outing appears to be an annual trip Kavanaugh has described making with friends from Yale Law School.

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2:05 p.m.

Brett Kavanaugh is answering Democrats who fear he would not restrain President Donald Trump from the bench, saying the president cannot overrule the courts.

The Supreme Court nominee says during his Senate confirmation hearing that he has not been afraid to invalidate executive branch actions in his 12 years as an appeals court judge.

He adds that he has made clear that a court order "that requires a president to do something or prohibits a president from doing something ... is the final word in our system."

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois says his questions to Kavanaugh on the topic stem from the judge's embrace of robust presidential power and the fact that he has been nominated by Trump.

Durbin says Trump has "shown disrespect for the rule of law over and over again."

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1:04 p.m.

Senate Democrats are appealing to Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to read a 2003 email in which Brett Kavanaugh says not all legal scholars refer to the abortion case Roe v. Wade as settled law.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal says he believes that Kavanaugh was talking about himself when he referred to legal scholars. He says, "the signs and signals are plain."

Kavanaugh said Thursday he was not talking about his views but what legal scholars might say.

Blumenthal did not single out Collins and Murkowski by name, but mentioned pro-choice Republicans who are uncommitted on Kavanaugh.

Democrats need at least two GOP defections to have any chance of defeating the nomination.

Collins vowed to oppose any Supreme Court nominee who would overturn Roe v. Wade. She said Kavanaugh told her the ruling was "settled law" when they met in

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12:40 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying that he once suggested the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights is not settled law.

Kavanaugh is explaining a 2003 email in which he wrote the following: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."

Kavanaugh said Thursday that he was not discussing his views, but rather "what legal scholars might say." He said he offered the comments on a draft op-ed in support of Republican judicial nominees because, "I'm always concerned with accuracy."

Kavanaugh has repeatedly described the abortion ruling as important Supreme Court precedent difficult to overturn.

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12:25 p.m.

Democratic senators contend that a 2003 email from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh casts doubt on whether he considers Roe v. Wade settled law.

In the email obtained by The Associated Press, Kavanaugh says not all legal scholars call the abortion case settled law since the Supreme Court can "always overrule its precedent."

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington says the emails "confirms our worst fears" about Kavanaugh. She notes that Kavanaugh said in the email that there were three justices at the time who would overturn Roe v. Wade.

Murray asserts that if Kavanaugh is confirmed to the court, "Roe v Wade will be overturned."

Kavanaugh on Wednesday called the abortion case an "important precedent" that has "been reaffirmed many times."

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12:12 p.m.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is clarifying that he can't recall any "inappropriate conversations" with a Washington law firm about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Sen. Kamala Harris of California asked Kavanaugh late Wednesday if he had spoken about the Russia investigation with anyone at the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, who has represented Trump.

Kavanaugh told Harris he couldn't think of any such conversations. He added that he would need to see a list of the firm's lawyers.

Asked the question again Thursday by Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, Kavanaugh said, "I don't recall any inappropriate conversations about the investigation."

Harris promised to follow up with Kavanaugh on the topic. Senators are now questioning Kavanaugh for the second day.

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11:25 a.m.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are urging senators to reject the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to serve on the Supreme Court.

Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, the group's chairman, says Kavanaugh would weaken protections under the Voting Rights Act. He cited his ruling in a South Carolina case upholding the state's new voter ID law.

Kavanaugh's defenders say his ruling resolved the case, as the Justice Department under President Barack Obama chose not to appeal.

House members don't get to vote on Kavanaugh, but Richmond plans to testify about Kavanaugh as an outside witness on Friday, the final day of confirmation hearings.

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10:47 a.m.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey says he's going to make public an email from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, even if it puts him at risk of being expelled from the Senate.

Booker says he will violate a committee rule and release an email from Kavanaugh on the subject of racial profiling. The Judiciary Committee is now holding that email on a confidential basis.

Calling it an act of civil disobedience, Booker says he wants to expose that some of the emails being held back "have nothing to do with national security."

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas called Booker's action "irresponsible and conduct unbecoming a senator."

He read a rule contemplating expulsion of senators for violating Senate confidentiality rules. Several Democrats said in response, "bring it on."

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9:55 a.m.

The Associated Press has obtained an email in which Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh disputes that the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion access is settled law.

Kavanaugh's 2003 comments came while reviewing an op-ed in support of two judicial nominees at the George W. Bush White House.

Here's what Kavanaugh wrote: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."

Kavanaugh was referring to justices at that time - meaning in 2003. The email was sent to a Republican Senate aide. The document is partially black out.

Kavanaugh has taken a different tone during his confirmation hearings, stressing how difficult it is to overturn a precedent such as Roe.

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12:30 a.m.

Senators are getting into their final round of questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and so far the appeals court judge appears to have avoided any major missteps in his confirmation hearings.

Kavanaugh also doesn't seem to have changed many minds on the GOP-run Senate Judiciary Committee. President Donald Trump says he's pleased with his nominee's performance.

Kavanaugh underwent a 12-hour session of questioning that ended late Wednesday. The judge left unanswered questions over how he would handle investigations of the executive branch and whether he would step aside if cases involving Trump under special counsel Robert Mueller's probe end up at the court.

Democrats have been pressing Kavanaugh for his views on abortion rights, gun control and other issues. Protesters have repeatedly interrupted the proceedings

After more than an hour of delay over procedural questions, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, waits to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for the third day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh shares a laugh with members of his former basketball team during a break in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, for the third day of his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is questioning whether one of his senior officials committed treason by going public about an effort within the administration to thwart his agenda and contain his "eccentric behavior." The answer is no.

TRUMP: "TREASON?" - tweet Wednesday.

THE FACTS: The official who wrote anonymously in The New York Times about the "quiet resistance" against Trump is surely disloyal to the president but not a traitor in the legal sense.

This photo shows an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times in New York, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. President Donald Trump lashed out against the anonymous senior official who wrote it, claiming to be part of a "resistance" working "from within" to thwart the commander-in-chief's most dangerous impulses. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Says the Constitution: ""Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

Note the "only." Treason is extremely narrowly defined, both in the founding document and in federal law.

QUIZ: Which of these acts - real or theoretical - are treasonous?

-a U.S. official taking payoffs from China to advance its interests.

-the Cold War case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed for giving atomic secrets to Russia.

-the FBI official known as Deep Throat who undermined Richard Nixon's presidency with his Watergate revelations.

-government contractor Edward Snowden's leak of classified documents.

-protesters burning the flag and a public figure in effigy outside the White House.

ANSWER: None.

Treason occurs when a U.S. citizen, or a non-citizen on U.S. territory, wages war against the country or provides material support - not just sympathy - to a declared enemy of the United States.

The Rosenbergs were convicted of espionage, not treason, because the U.S. and Russia were not officially at war. No one has been convicted of treason since the aftermath of World War II, few have been through history and no one has been executed for that crime, says Carlton F.W. Larson, a University of California law professor who has a book coming on treason.

In 2006, the Bush administration brought a treason indictment against Adam Gadahn, an American who authorities say became an operative and spokesman for al-Qaida abroad. The Obama administration said he was killed in a 2015 counterterrorism operation in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region.

Treason is addressed in the Constitution as part of an effort by the framers to prevent the government from using it as a reason to suppress political speech, said J. Richard Broughton, associate dean at University of Detroit Mercy and a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association.

The wording was derived from England's treason statutes, but narrowed to exclude cases involving alleged disloyalty to the king . Congress has little if any power to change the definition and the executive branch can only bring charges in extremely limited cases.

Trump's opponents have used "treason" loosely as the special counsel investigates contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia, and it is thrown around widely in the public discourse by all sides.

Trump has been accused of it, for being cozy with Russia, Hillary Clinton for being sloppy with her emails as secretary of state and the late Sen. John McCain for various episodes of not getting with the program.

Trump is using the word loosely now.

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Lots of Trump administration officials were quick on Thursday to scratch their names off the list of potential authors of an unsigned New York Times opinion piece by a member of the so-called resistance working to thwart "reckless decisions" by President Donald Trump.

Among the officials who have spoken out:

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts." - tweet from Jarrod Agen, communications director for Vice President Mike Pence.

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington. ots of Trump administration officials were quick on Thursday, Sept. 6, to scratch their names off the list of potential authors of an unsigned New York Times opinion piece by a member of the so-called resistance working to thwart "reckless decisions" by Trump. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

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"@stevenmnuchin1 is honored to serve @POTUS & the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for @nytimes to print this anonymous piece. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source. It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary." - tweet from Tony Sayegh, spokesman for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

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"It's not mine." - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking at a news conference in India.

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"No." - U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, responding to a shouted question on whether she was the anonymous author.

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"Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not. From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible." - statement by Dan Coats, director of national intelligence.

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"I did not write and am thoroughly appalled by this op-ed. I couldn't be prouder of our work at Commerce and of @POTUS." - tweet by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

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"I am not the author of the New York Times OpEd, nor do I agree with its characterizations. Hiding behind anonymity and smearing the President of the United States does not make you an 'unsung hero', it makes you a coward, unworthy of serving this Nation." - tweet by Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

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"It was not his op-ed." - Thomas Crosson, spokesman for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

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"Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland - not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times. These types of political attacks are beneath the Secretary and the Department's mission." - Tyler Houlton, press secretary for Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

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"It was not him." - Caitlin Oakley, spokeswoman for Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.

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"He didn't write it. ... Acting Administrator Wheeler supports President Trump 100% and is honored to serve in his cabinet, he also believes whoever wrote the op-ed should resign." - John Konkus, spokesman for Andrew Wheeler, the acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

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"Secretary DeVos is not a Washington insider and does not play Washington insider games. She has the courage of her convictions and signs her opinions. She is not the author." - Liz Hill, spokeswoman for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

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"Neither Secretary Wilkie nor anyone else at VA wrote the op-ed." - Curt Cashour, spokesman for Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie.

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"The Secretary didn't write the op-ed." - Raffi Williams, spokesman for Housing Secretary Ben Carson.

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"No to all of your questions." - Michawn Rich, spokeswoman for Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, when asked whether Perdue had any role in the column or knew who wrote it.

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When asked if the op-ed writer was Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a Justice Department spokesman referred The Associated Press to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders' Thursday statement in which she calls the writer an "anonymous coward" and "gutless loser" and says the people who work for the president "stand united together and fully support" him.

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"No." - White House counsel Don McGahn, when asked outside the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh if he wrote the op-ed.

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"For those who have inquired, this is to confirm that Secretary Chao is not the author of the op-ed." - Department of Transportation communications office on Secretary Elaine Chao.

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"Amb Huntsman: Come to find, when you're serving as the U.S. envoy in Moscow, you're an easy target on all sides. Anything sent out by me would have carried my name. An early political lesson I learned: never send an anonymous op-ed." - tweet from Andrea Kalan, spokeswoman at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, quoting U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman.

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"I am not author of the anonymous @nytimes op-ed. @realDonaldTrump has a clear governing vision for the country and his record of results is remarkable. I am proud to serve as a member of President Trump's @Cabinet to advocate on behalf of America's 30 million small businesses." - tweet from Linda McMahon, administrator of the Small Business Administration.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Jair Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate whose heated rhetoric has electrified some voters and angered others in a deeply polarized Brazil, was stabbed at a campaign event Thursday and suffered serious abdominal injuries.

Police said the suspected attacker was in custody.

Dr. Luiz Henrique Borsato, who performed emergency surgery, said Thursday night that the right-wing candidate was in serious but stable condition and would remain in intensive care for at least seven days. The first round of Brazil's presidential election is Oct. 7.

Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro grimaces right after being stabbed in the stomach during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed during the campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening. (AP Photo/Raysa Leite)

The doctor said the two-hour procedure stopped serious internal bleeding and repaired most of the damage from the knifing. The candidate will need further surgery within months for a part of his intestines that was temporarily fixed with a colostomy, the surgeon said.

"We can't say when he will be able to leave hospital," Borsato said. "But in the first hours after the surgery his recovery has been very satisfactory."

Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, who has promised to crack down on crime in Latin America's largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach while campaigning in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro.

At the moment of the attack, Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter, looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand.

After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car and hitting a man who was apparently the suspect.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that 40-year-old Adelio Bispo de Oliveira had been arrested in connection with the incident.

De Oliveira was beaten badly by Bolsonaro supporters after the attack. The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said.

Luis Boudens, president of the National Federation of Federal Police, told AP that the assailant appeared to be mentally disturbed.

"Our agents there said the attacker said he was 'on a mission from God,'" Boudens reported. "Their impression is that they were not dealing with a mentally stable person. He didn't expect to be arrested so quickly; agents reacted in seconds."

Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter that the injury was superficial and his father was fine. However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was "worse than we thought."

He arrived at the hospital "almost dead," Flavio wrote. "His condition now seems stabilized. Please pray."

A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil.

"This episode is sad," President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. "We won't have a rule of law if we have intolerance."

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment by cracking down on corruption in politics and reducing crime, in part by giving police a freer hand to shoot and kill while on duty.

While Bolsonaro has a strong following, he is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.

He speaks nostalgically about the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

Earlier this week, Bolsonaro said during a campaign event that he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers' Party, which made da Silva its candidate. The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Bolsonaro to explain that comment.

His vice presidential running mate, Hamilton Mourao, is a retired general who blamed leftists for the knife attack.

Underling Brazil's divisions, people took to Twitter to either to decry the stabbing and ask for prayers for Bolsonaro or to say the candidate had brought it upon himself and even may have staged it.

The top five trending topics in Brazil were related to the stabbing.

Other presidential candidates quickly denounced the stabbing and many of them decided to suspend their campaign events Friday.

"Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate," tweeted Geraldo Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Bolsonaro.

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva's place on the Workers' Party ticket, called the attack "absurd and regrettable."

The attack comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric, and sometimes violence, related to campaigns and candidates.

In March, while da Silva was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment, gunshots hit buses in his caravan. No one was hurt, and da Silva, who is in jail on a corruption conviction, was not in the vehicles that were hit.

Also in March, Marielle Franco, a left-leaning black councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, was shot to death along with her driver after attending an event on empowering black women.

It wasn't immediately clear how the attack on Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much up in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail. In many ways, the incident feeds Bolsonaro's narrative that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to steady it.

"It's likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate, that they had no other way to stop him," said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro's state university.

A handful of Bolsonaro supporters held a vigil in Sao Paulo on Thursday night, and briefly exchanged insults with leftists. 'They made Bolsonaro a martyr,' said Jonatan Valente, a student. 'I think the left shot itself in the foot because with this attack they will end up electing Bolsonaro.'"

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Associated Press reporters Marcelo Silva de Sousa in Rio de Janeiro and Sarah DiLorenzo and Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.

In this photo released by the Military Police, Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, suspected of stabbing Jair Bolsonaro, a leading Brazilian presidential candidate, sits after being detained in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Officials and Bolsonaro's son said the far-right candidate was in stable condition, though the son also said Bolsonaro suffered severe blood loss and arrived to the hospital "almost dead." (Military Police via AP)

People light candles in support of presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, of the National Social Liberal Party, who was stabbed earlier in the day during a campaign event, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Officials and his son said Jair Bolsonaro was in stable condition, though the son also said the far-right candidate suffered severe blood loss and arrived to the hospital "almost dead." (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro is taken on the shoulders of a supporter moments before being stabbed during a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. Bolsonaro's son said the injury is not life-threatening. (Antonio Scorza/Agencia O Globo via AP)

National Social Liberal Party presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro greets supporters as he gets a shoulder ride from a member of his security detail, in Brasilia's Ceilandia neighborhood, Brazil, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Brazilians go to the polls on October 7 to cast their vote for a new president. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration is warning the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives of possible sanctions on key officials if upcoming elections are not free and fair and the country does not reverse democratic backsliding.

The State Department said Thursday the Sept. 23 presidential election, the release of political prisoners and an end to executive interference in the courts and parliament are "of critical importance" to Maldives' future. Absent a return to a democratic path, the U.S. will consider sanctions on Maldivians who undermine democracy, rule of law and the electoral process, it said.

Maldives, known for its luxury resorts, became a multiparty democracy in 2008 after decades of autocratic rule. However, the country has lost much of its gains since current President Yameen Abdul Gayoom was elected in 2013.
* The 10 elected members of the Security Council, informally known as the E10, on September 5 called for restraint in the Idlib governorate of Syria and for the protection of civilians.

* Turkey and Germany will work intensely to strengthen bilateral ties and prevent the escalation of conflicts in Syria's Idlib region, foreign ministers of the two countries stressed Wednesday (September 5) in Ankara.

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet and discuss the situation in Syria's Idlib, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Wednesday.

* Four Russian jets of the Hmeymim airbase in Syria bombed positions of Nusra Front in Idlib province on September 4, the Russian Defense Ministry said September 5 .

* US President Donald Trump on September 5 threatened to shut down the federal government, contradicting a stance he took days earlier. The remarks came ahead of Trump's meeting with congressional leaders over the legislative agenda for the next few months, including extending funding for the federal government past a Sept. 30 deadline.

* US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Pakistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi on September 5 agreed to make an atmosphere to reset strained bilateral relations between the two countries, the Pakistani top diplomat said.

* Israel said it will close its embassy in Asuncion and repatriate its ambassador after Paraguay canceled the relocation of its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.

* UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, on September 5 announced that warring parties in Yemen are scheduled to participate a new round of peace talks in Geneva to end the four-year conflict engulfing the country.

* Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on September 5 that Israel will act harshly against attempts by other Middle Eastern countries to obtain precision weapons.

* US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on September 5 called for the political solution to the Afghan issue and the two sides agreed that "present conditions in Afghanistan were conducive to intensifying efforts for a political settlement," according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad.

* The White House said on September 5 that US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May on September 4 discussed national security issues.

* Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit welcomed on September 5 efforts exerted by UN envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame to reach a cease-fire between warring groups in Tripoli.

* The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) signed a loan agreement of US$600 million with China Development Bank (CDB) in the Chinese capital Beijing, the NBE announced in a statement on September 5.

* Ten insurgents, including a Taliban judge and a doctor working for the insurgent group, have been killed following an airstrike in southern Afghan province of Kandahar, a local official said Thursday.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Mormon church lawyers said this week it's unlikely they will reach a settlement with a woman who accuses the faith of covering for a former missionary leader who she says raped her in the 1980s.

Attorneys for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requested a trial date for March 2020 in a court filing that came days after McKenna Denson went to the man's church in Arizona and told his congregation there was a "sexual predator" among them.

The attorneys said chances of resolving the case are "poor." Denson's attorney, Craig Vernon, confirmed that's what the church attorneys told him during a recent status conference.

FILE - In this April 5, 2018, file photo, McKenna Denson speaks with reporters during a news conference in Salt Lake City. Denson, a woman who sued a former Mormon missionary leader claiming that he raped her in the 1980s, went to his congregation in Arizona and said church leaders are covering for a "sexual predator." (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

"So, yes, I agree that settlement is looking unlikely," Vernon said.

Denson accuses Joseph L. Bishop of raping her in 1984 in Provo, Utah, where he oversaw hundreds of young people as president of the Missionary Training Center.

A judge recently dismissed part of Denson's lawsuit against the church because the statute of limitations had passed, but allowed a fraud claim to stand because the alleged cover-up was discovered recently.

All the claims were dismissed against Bishop, 85, who denied the accusations but acknowledged in a police interview that he asked the woman to expose herself when she was 21, according to police documents.

Denson, 55, of Pueblo, Colorado, was ushered away from the podium at Bishop's Mormon church in Chandler, Arizona, on Sunday shortly after she began talking during a monthly segment in Mormon services when church members are invited to share their testimony, shows a video posted online.

"In order to keep the church safe we need to hold sexual predators accountable, whether they are pedophiles or whether they are rapists like Joseph Bishop," said Denson, before being removed.

Mike Norton, an ex-Mormon who went with Denson and filmed the incident, said Bishop was in the back of church as Denson spoke. She didn't talk directly to him, but did speak with one of his sons, he said.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An organization that fights against rape, incest or fetal abnormality exceptions in abortion-related legislation said Thursday it plans to challenge Iowa's fetal heartbeat bill in federal court with the hope of getting it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michigan-based Save The 1 sought to intervene in the lawsuit alleging the law is unconstitutional because it discriminates against fetuses created by rape or incest and those with medical anomalies by allowing them to be aborted.

The law would prohibit most abortions in the state once a fetal heartbeat is detected. That's around six weeks of pregnancy.

Judge Michael Huppert said in an order filed Wednesday that the group's claims go far beyond the legal issues and facts in the initial lawsuit filed by the Iowa affiliates American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood, which sought to strike down the entire law as unconstitutional. He also said allowing Save The 1 to intervene would delay the case.

Save The 1 hoped to challenge the exceptions in the bill that would allow abortion in some cases of rape or incest and in cases of fetal abnormalities.

An attorney for Save The 1 said she will file a lawsuit in federal court challenging the law's exception for rape, incest and fetal anomaly as unlawful under the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantees in an effort to get that portion of the law removed.

If successful, that would leave Iowa with one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, banning abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected with no exceptions, which is one goal of the group, said founder and lawyer Rebecca Kiessling.

The law was scheduled to go into effect July 1, but it was put on hold by the courts pending the outcome of the lawsuit.

Even if Save The 1 succeeded in federal court at removing the exceptions clause, the law may still be struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The court previously recognized a woman's right to an abortion when it struck down an effort by a state medicine board to ban telemedicine abortions and, in June, when it struck down a law creating a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion.

ACLU of Iowa Legal Director Rita Bettis Austen said the group opposed the Save The 1 effort to enter the case "because the Iowa Constitution protects the right of all women in Iowa to access safe and legal abortion."

"With this motion out of the way, we are now looking forward to the next stages in our case to get the six-week ban on abortion in Iowa struck down for good," Bettis said.

The attorneys representing the state from the Chicago-based Thomas More Society declined to comment on the judge's decision.

Kiessling acknowledges the Iowa law is likely to be overturned by the courts. She said her ultimate goal is to establish a U.S. Supreme Court precedent that aborting fetuses created by rape, incest or those with medical abnormalities is unlawful under the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee because it discriminates against a specific class of people.

Such a declaration could lead to the next hope of anti-abortion groups: to establish personhood status for fetuses either at conception or at detection of a heartbeat, enabling them to argue that all abortion is unconstitutional killing of a person.

In Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that established a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy until a fetus is viable, the court noted that exclusions in laws banning abortions undermine arguments that a fetus is a person that should be protected by the 14th Amendment's guarantee of the right to life.

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Follow David Pitt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davepitt
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on a Statehouse corruption probe in South Carolina (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

A South Carolina prosecutor is asking a judge to release a State Grand Jury report on political corruption, saying it has information of great public interest.

In a court filing Thursday, Solicitor David Pascoe wrote the grand jury finished its two-year term in June and the main suspects in the Statehouse corruption probe have been indicted.

Four Republican lawmakers have pleaded guilty, although none served prison time. Two more are awaiting trial. Most of the charges were for using their offices for personal gain or converting campaign money to their own use.

Pascoe says releasing the report is the best way to fight public corruption. He also the report suggests specific actions the Legislature can make.

State law typically keeps grand jury actions and reports secret.

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3:25 a.m.

The former chairman of a powerful South Carolina legislative committee is accused of lying to a grand jury investigating Statehouse corruption.

Court records show Republican Jim Harrison was indicted last month on perjury charges. The indictment says Harrison told jurors he only worked on other politicians' campaigns for consultant Richard Quinn. But it says he also sponsored and voted on legislation that favored Quinn clients.

The grand jury previously charged the 67-year-old with criminal conspiracy and misconduct. Prosecutors say Harrison failed to reveal in financial disclosure statements that he was paid $900,000 by working for Quinn.

Harrison goes to trial Oct. 22 on the conspiracy and misconduct charges. Harrison's attorney Reggie Lloyd says the new indictment is a ploy to make Harrison plead guilty.
GARY, Ind. (AP) - Police says a 22-year-old Indiana woman is facing neglect charges in the shooting death of her 2-year-old daughter .

Gary police said Thursday that Dashana Mattica Fowler faces one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death. Police say she also faces three counts of neglect of a dependent related to three other children that were present at the time of the shooting Tuesday evening.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the dead girl as Jayla Miller. She died after being airlifted to a hospital in Chicago, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the northwest.

This photo provided by the Gary Police Department shows Dashana Mattica Fowler, of Gary, Ind., who faces neglect charges in the shooting death of her 2-year-old daughter on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018. (Gary Police Department via AP)

Fowler was booked into the Lake County Jail. Online court records show no attorney for her.

Fowler's boyfriend also was questioned after the shooting. He has not been charged.
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on wildfires burning in California (all times local):

8:50 p.m.

A Northern California wildfire that shut down an enormous stretch of a major highway continues to surge into wilderness areas.

The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of Interstate 5 as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The Delta Fire that erupted Wednesday has now burned more than 34 square miles (89 square kilometers) of timber and brush and prompted evacuation orders for rural homes in and around Shasta-Trinity National Forest below the Oregon state line.

The blaze had tripled in size overnight.

The fire shut down 45 miles (72 kilometers) of Interstate 5, the main highway between Mexico and Canada, and several trucks abandoned on the road burned. Authorities say the road will be closed until at least Friday morning. An alternative route is said to be jammed.

The fire was human-caused but authorities haven't said whether it was an accident or arson.

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4:15 p.m.

Authorities say 45 miles (72 kilometers) of a major north-south trucking corridor in Northern California will remain closed until at least Friday morning.

The California Highway Patrol said Thursday the closure of Interstate 5 in Shasta County has significantly snarled traffic. The agency warns motorists and truckers to avoid the region if possible.

CHP officer Jason Morton said the only alternate route around the closure is taking motorists up to eight hours to navigate. Morton said the 140-mile detour on Highway 299 to Route 89 has been bumper-to-bumper the entire route.

He said the winding, mountain roads funnel to one lane each way at many points, and traffic often slows to 1 mph.

Morton said officials will reassess the safety of reopening Interstate 5 on Friday morning.

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1:30 p.m.

The California agency that fights wildfires says it's about to exceed its budget and needs $234 million more.

Cal Fire director Ken Pimlott says in a letter to lawmakers Thursday that the agency spent $432 million through the end of August and had only about $11 million left.

Fire season generally picks up in fall, when winds and high temperatures can combine with dried-our forest and grasslands to create dangerous conditions.

Pimlott says Cal Fire would use some of the money to add firefighters and helicopters.

The Legislature budgets for firefighting based on the historical average costs. Cal Fire has requested extra money in seven of the past 10 years, but never this early.

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11:15 a.m.

A forest fire raging in Sierra Nevada has grown to more than 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) after shutting down a major highway along the eastern spine of California and forcing the evacuation of a military base.

The fire was only 3 percent contained Thursday morning after a day of fire behavior described as extreme and erratic.

The Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, campgrounds and other areas were evacuated Wednesday. Ranchers were told to prepare to move livestock out of the area.

The fire has closed stretches of U.S. 395, State Route 108 and the Pacific Crest Trail.

The fire in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is one of several burning in California.

Several hundred miles to the northwest, a fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest grew after raging across vital Interstate 5. It forced truckers and motorists to abandon vehicles and flee Wednesday afternoon.

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10:55 a.m.

California's insurance commissioner says victims of the state's two largest wildfires this year have filed more than 10,000 claims so far totaling $845 million.

Commissioner David Jones said Thursday that the two Northern California fires destroyed or damaged a combined 8,800 homes and 329 businesses.

The fires also damaged 800 vehicles and caused other property damage.

A spark from a flat tire started a fire near Redding that killed eight people. The Mendocino Complex Fire destroyed property in three counties.

Jones previously said insurers received 45,000 claims totaling more than $11.8 billion for damage from wildfires in 2017.

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8:20 a.m.

The only interstate highway connecting Oregon to California is still closed as a fire burns on both sides of it in California.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jason Morton says officials from different agencies will meet Thursday to determine if they can reopen the highway, which is a key route for commercial trucks.

About 45 miles (72 kilometers) of Interstate 5 were closed in both directions north of the city of Redding and south of Mount Shasta in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

The highway runs from the U.S.-Mexico border through California, Oregon and Washington state to the U.S-Canada border.

Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster of the California Highway Patrol told the Los Angeles Times about 17 big rigs were abandoned on the stretch of closed highway and at least four caught fire.

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7:10 a.m.

Fire officials say a wildfire roaring through timber and brush on both sides of a Northern California highway tripled in size overnight, prompting mandatory evacuations.

The U.S. Forest Service said Thursday the blaze burning along Interstate 5 near Redding had grown to 23 square miles (60 square kilometers). It was 8 square miles (21 square kilometers) on Wednesday.

Officials did not immediately say how many people the evacuation order affected. The fire is in a rural area with scattered homes.

Officials said the blaze was human-caused but they didn't indicate whether it was arson or accident.

Truckers abandoned their vehicles as flames roared up hillsides. Officials say about 17 big-rigs were abandoned and at least four caught fire.

A wildfire nearby that was only contained last week left neighborhoods in ruins and killed eight people.

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12:00 a.m.

Abandoned trucks are scattered along a section of a major California freeway, which closed after a wildfire exploded near Redding.

The fire erupted Wednesday and has roared through timber and brush on both sides of Interstate 5 near the Oregon state line.

Fire officials say the blaze was human-caused, shut down about 45 miles (72 kilometers) of the freeway and there's no word when it will reopen.

California Highway Patrol Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster tells the Los Angeles Times that truckers abandoned 17 big-rigs as flame raged next to the freeway, and at least four rigs caught fire.

Evacuations were ordered for scattered homes and cabins in and around the Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

But while the fire was moving rapidly, fire officials say it doesn't immediately threaten any large towns.

Fire trucks pass the Delta Fire burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of Interstate 5 as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The wildfire closed both directions of Interstate 5 leaving trucks parked on the shoulder for more than two miles waiting to pass through. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A firefighter sprays the smoldering remains of a vehicle on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A scorched logging truck rests on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A scorched logging truck rests on Interstate 5 as the Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Calif., near Shasta Lake on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Parked trucks lined more than two miles of the highway as both directions remained closed to traffic. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A fire rages as motorists travel on Interstate 5 near Lake Shasta, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (Jerri Tubbs via AP)

Cal Fire's Melody Brown helps reload tanker 88 with retardant Monday evening, Sept. 3, 2018, during her first season at the Grass Valley Air Attack Base. Thirty thousand gallons of retardant was administered to 4 air tankers Monday for the North Fire. (Elias Funez/The Union via AP)
PHOENIX (AP) - A group formed in the wake of outrage over the separation of immigrant families at the Mexico border criticized an investigation by the state of Arizona into reports that some of those children were sexually abused at shelters.

The group Uncage and Reunite Families, composed of elected officials, community activists and religious leaders called on Gov. Doug Ducey to launch an independent investigation after the one conducted by the state health services department only found issues with personnel records and delayed background checks.

A Ducey spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the call for another investigation.

The groups say the state investigation didn't address abuse.

"This entire situation has exposed a lack of regulatory oversight," Arizona state Sen. Martin Quezada, a Democrat, said. "This should be everyone's No. 1 priority because it is such a core value of ours."

Shelters that house immigrant children have come under scrutiny since the administration of President Donald Trump introduced a "zero tolerance" policy that resulted in more than 2,900 children being separated from their families.

The separations during the spring and early summer ended after Trump called for them to stop amid widespread outrage. A federal judge in San Diego required the government to reunite the families by July 26, but over 300 parents are still separated from their children.

Arizona has seen numerous allegations of sexual abuse at its many shelters for immigrant children, including one made by the government of El Salvador, which said it received reports of three children, 12 to 17, who were sexually abused at unnamed shelters in Arizona.

Such shelters are operated by Southwest Key and other nonprofit organizations, not the state itself.

Jeff Eller, a Southwest Key spokesman, said Thursday the organization fully supports an expanded oversight of its operations and looks forward to working with the state.

In August, authorities arrested a 32-year-old man on allegations that he had molested a 14-year-old girl at a Southwest Key facility.

The girl's roommate reported witnessing the man, Fernando Magaz Negrete, kissing and fondling her roommate in their room on June 27.

The next day, the facility was visited by first lady Melania Trump, who met with people directly affected by her husband's hard-line immigration policies.

Magaz Negrete has pleaded not guilty to charges of child molestation, sexual abuse and aggravated assault.

In a separate incident, a former youth care worker at a Southwest Key facility in Mesa was accused recently of sexually abusing eight teenage boys between August 2016 and July 2017.

Authorities say Levian Pacheco performed sex acts on two boys and touched six others. Court documents state that Pacheco is HIV-positive and that some of the teens opted to be tested for the virus.

Southwest Key immediately suspended Pacheco and he wasn't working there when family separations began in large numbers this year.

Pacheco has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations. His federal public defender has said in court documents that the government's claims include an "extraordinarily broad range of dates and lack of specificity."

Eller has said of prior allegations against former workers that Southwest Key takes every incident seriously "and there is a never-ending process to improve care and standards."

Ducey previously directed health officials to inspect the 13 Southwest Key facilities in the state "to ensure the state is doing everything within the state's authority to ensure the safety and care of children in these facilities," spokesman Daniel Ruiz said in a statement.

The investigation found one facility had eight personnel records with delayed fingerprint clearance, which is part of the background check process.

Investigators also spotted bedrooms that didn't include enough square footage for each individual or didn't have privacy curtains.

Southwest Key agreed to enhanced inspections and disclosure protocols.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration is now pledging the U.S. will remain in Syria until the "enduring defeat" of the Islamic State group, a move that could signal open-ended American involvement in the war-torn country.

The announcement "means we're not in a hurry to pull out," the U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, told journalists in Washington Thursday, although he added that didn't necessarily mean a long-term American military presence in the country.

President Donald Trump has previously expressed a desire to get the U.S. out of Syria. There are roughly 2,000 U.S. troops deployed there, according to the Pentagon.

FILE - This file photo provided Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017 by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Civil Defense workers and Syrian citizens gathering after an airstrike hit a market in Maaret al-Numan in southern Idlib, Syria. When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet in Tehran on Friday, Sept. 7, all eyes will be on their diplomacy averting a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold. The three leaders whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions have an interest in working together, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground. (Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets via AP, File)

"We're no longer pulling out by the end of the year, we're going to stay in until we have an enduring defeat of (the Islamic State group)," Jeffrey said. The other pillar of U.S. policy was the complete withdrawal of all Iranian-commanded forces from Syrian territory, said the veteran diplomat, who was appointed last month.

Jeffrey's comments come as the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by Russia, prepares to retake the last pocket of territory of held by anti-government rebels, amid fears that could cause a bloodbath. An estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants, are said to be hiding among 3 million civilians.

Jeffrey repeated a sharp warning to Russia, saying any offensive in the northwestern province of Idlib is "objectionable" and would be seen as a "reckless escalation." Jeffrey said a U.S. response to a Russian assault would involve "all of our tools," but did not elaborate further.

The U.S. and the United Nations have repeatedly warned that a Russian assault on the enclave would cause carnage the scale of which has not been seen in Syria's seven-year war. The leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey are set to meet in Tehran on Friday, widely seen as a last chance to avert bloodshed.

In an effort to increase pressure on Assad, the U.S. Treasury Department announced Thursday it was imposing sanctions on four individuals and five companies that have facilitated weapons or fuel transfers, or provided other financial or material support, to his government. They include Muhammad al-Qatirji and his Syria-based company Qatirji Company, said to facilitate fuel trade between the Assad government and IS, and companies based in Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates that procure fuel for the government.

"The United States will continue to target those who facilitate transactions with the murderous Assad regime and support ISIS," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars and as president he made a number of statements saying it was time for American troops to "get out" of Syria.

The United States first launched airstrikes in Syria in 2014 at Islamic State group targets in the country's north, beginning a military intervention in the country that would steadily balloon over the next four years. In April Trump instructed military leaders to begin planning for a withdrawal from Syria.

Jeffrey said he was confident Trump now supported a more open-ended Syria policy. Jeffrey defined an "enduring defeat" of IS in Syria as creating the conditions where local communities can secure and govern themselves.

Trump administration officials have estimated that IS has been more than 90 percent defeated for months. A pocket of IS fighters remains in Syria and IS cells continue to carry out insurgent attacks inside neighboring Iraq.
NEW YORK (AP) - President Donald Trump's tweets were cited Thursday by lawyers for a man charged with fatally mowing down eight people on a New York City bike path as reason to disqualify the death penalty as a trial possibility.

The lawyers wrote in a court submission that Trump's tweeted demands for death and his "politicizing" of the Justice Department should eliminate the option as punishment if Sayfullo Saipov is convicted at a trial scheduled for October 2019.

"A decision not to seek death would expose the decision-maker to a blaze of public scorn and ridicule as well as the possible loss of employment. That taint on the charging process cannot be tolerated," they said.

Prosecutors had said that they would know by September whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions had authorized the death penalty if conviction is secured against the 30-year-old Paterson, New Jersey, resident. A prosecutor's spokesman, Nicholas Biase, declined comment.

Saipov was arrested at the scene of the Oct. 31 truck attack near the World Trade Center that left eight people dead and many more injured. He has been incarcerated since.

In papers in Manhattan federal court, the lawyers said a Monday tweet by Trump shows that he believes Sessions' charging decisions "should be governed by nakedly political considerations."

In the tweet, a reaction to recent federal charges against two Republican congressmen, Trump said: "Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressman were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff......"

The lawyers also noted that Trump had repeatedly demanded, including in a tweet sent the day after the attack, that Saipov be killed by the government.

In a Nov. 1 tweet, Trump said: "NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room. He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!"

The following day, Trump tweeted: "...There is also something appropriate about keeping him in the home of the horrible crime he committed. Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY!"

The lawyers also said Trump had used a tweet to describe Saipov as a "degenerate animal."

They argued that Trump's tweets had made it impossible for Sessions to "fairly and independently decide whether to seek the death penalty against Mr. Saipov," who has pleaded not guilty.

The lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick to rule out death as an option. Otherwise, they said, he should appoint an independent prosecutor to determine whether death should be sought.

The attorneys said it defies reality to believe Sessions could truly independently decide whether Saipov should face the death penalty, "knowing that a decision not to seek death would inevitably trigger a 'tweetstorm' of ridicule and scorn from the President and might well lead to the loss of his job."
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Actor Terry Crews and agent Adam Venit have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which Crews alleged Venit groped him at a Hollywood party.

Venit's agency William Morris Endeavor, also named as a defendant, confirmed the deal Thursday in a statement saying the lawsuit would be dismissed.

Crews filed the civil lawsuit Jan. 30, saying that Venit grabbed and squeezed his crotch at a 2016 party. Crews was among the most prominent men to come forward as a victim in the MeToo movement.

FILE - In this April 10, 2018 file photo, actor Terry Crews appears on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Crews and agent Adam Venit have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which Crews alleged Venit groped him at a Hollywood party. Venit's agency William Morris Endeavor, also named as a defendant, confirmed the deal Thursday in a statement saying the lawsuit would be dismissed. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Venit denied the allegations in court documents, saying his actions toward Crews were not sexual and caused no harm.

Prosecutors declined to file criminal charges in the case.

Crews' representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Eight European countries are urging Syrian allies Russia and Iran to uphold the cease-fire in Syria's last major rebel-held province of Idlib and avoid putting at risk the lives of 2 million adults and 1 million children.

In a statement Thursday on the eve of a meeting in Tehran of the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey, which supports Syria's opposition, the eight nations warned that a full-scale military offensive in Idlib would have "potentially catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians."

The statement from Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom also urges Syria "to exercise restraint."

The eight nations say that "only a U.N.-led political process can bring a solution to the conflict that respects the freedom and the dignity of all Syrian people."
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) holds talks with President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held talks with his counterpart of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, agreeing to promote the bilateral ties with greater and more substantial measures.

Sassou Nguesso attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Sept. 3-4.

Xi said the bilateral relationship is at its best in history, adding that China regards the Republic of the Congo as an all-weather friend and is willing to consolidate and deepen political mutual trust, expand high-level and all-level exchanges, boost experience sharing in governance, and strengthen communication on policies, concepts and strategies.

China will firmly grasp the right direction of the Sino-Congolese relationship and continue mutual support on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and further substantiate the comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership between the two countries, said Xi.

Xi called for enhanced coordination and collaboration on key global issues and make the global governance system and the international order more just and equitable.

China will unswervingly enhance mutually beneficial cooperation and welcomes the Republic of the Congo to join the Belt and Road construction, said Xi.

Sassou Nguesso said his country fully supports the Beijing Declaration and the FOCAC Beijing Action Plan adopted at the summit.

The Republic of the Congo is grateful for China's long-term support and highly appreciates the Belt and Road Initiative and the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity as well as the eight initiatives proposed by President Xi, said Sassou Nguesso.

He said the country will align its development strategy with the Belt and Road Initiative to accelerate the growth.

The Congolese-Chinese friendship is unbreakable, said Sassou Nguesso, adding that his country will not be disturbed by those noises on Africa-China relations, and will be committed to enhancing the Republic of the Congo-China and Africa-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnerships.

After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.
HONOLULU (AP) - Board members of a foundation a 92-year-old heiress established for Native Hawaiians are calling for a judge to protect her $215 million trust.

The money should go toward helping Native Hawaiians, they said at a news conference Thursday in front of Honolulu's Iolani Palace. They are asking a judge to appoint a guardian for the elderly heiress, whose riches come from being the great-granddaughter of James Campbell, an Irish businessman who made his fortune as a sugar plantation owner and one of Hawaii's largest landowners.

Many Native Hawaiians consider Abigail Kawananakoa to be the last Hawaiian princess because she's a descendent of the family that ruled the islands before the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom.

FILE - This March 15, 2018 file image from pool video shows 91-year-old Hawaiian heiress Abigail Kawananakoa, left, and her wife, Veronica Gail Worth, in a Honolulu courtroom. Board members of a foundation a 92-year-old heiress established for Native Hawaiians are calling for a judge to protect her $215 million trust. Many Native Hawaiians consider Abigail Kawananakoa to be the last Hawaiian princess because of her lineage. Her wealth is embroiled in a legal fight and a key court hearing is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (Hawaii News Now via AP, Pool, File)

A key court hearing in a legal fight over the trust is scheduled for Monday.

Her longtime lawyer, Jim Wright, argued a stroke last year left her impaired, allowing him to assume the role of trustee. Kawananakoa says she's fine.

As trustee, Wright appointed three prominent Native Hawaiian leaders to serve as board members for the $100 million foundation Kawananakoa created in 2001. The foundation has a right to participate in the court battle because it is a beneficiary of her trust.

Kawananakoa "has reached a point in her life where she needs us to stand up and fight for her and her legacy," said foundation board member Jan Dill. Kawananakoa intended that the foundation serve the Hawaiian community in arts, language, culture and education, he said.

Dill and the other board members accuse Kawananakoa's wife, Veronica Gail Worth, and her attorneys, of exploiting her.

"For me, this is a clear case of elder abuse," said board member Lilikala Kameeleihiwa, urging that the judge appoint a guardian for Kawananakoa. "At the rate they're going spending money, we'll see if there's anything left for the Hawaiian people in this trust," she said.

The judge needs to follow the estate plan she created for herself, the board members said. "She had everything set up for Jim Wright to step in and do the right thing and I think he has," Kameeleihiwa said.

Worth referred questions to a publicist, who put The Associated Press in contact with Michael Lilly, an attorney representing Kawananakoa. Lilly said he is bound by a stipulated court order not to discuss the case publicly. The foundation board members should also be bound by the order, he said, adding that he will respond to their comments in court on Monday.

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This version of the story corrects that attorney Michael Lilly is representing Abigail Kawananakoa and not Veronica Gail Worth.

Jan Dill, a board member of a foundation a 92-year-old Hawaiian heiress established for Native Hawaiians, reads a statement to the media as other board members and supporters look on in Honolulu on Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. The foundation's board members want Abigail Kawananakoa's wealth to be used to help Native Hawaiians. Kawananakoa is embroiled in a legal fight for control over her $215 million trust. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)
NEW YORK (AP) - The coup of publishing a column by an anonymous Trump administration official bashing the boss could backfire on The New York Times if the author is unmasked and turns out to be a little-known person, or if the newspaper's own reporters solve the puzzle.

Within hours of the essay appearing on the paper's website, the mystery of the writer's identity began to rival the Watergate-era hunt for "Deep Throat" in Washington, and a parade of Trump team members issued statements Thursday saying, in effect, "it's not me."

The Times' only clue was calling the author a "senior administration official." James Dao, the newspaper's op-ed editor, said in the Times' daily podcast that while an intermediary brought him together with the author, he conducted a background check and spoke to the person to the point that he was "totally confident" in the identity.

This photo shows an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times in New York, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018. President Donald Trump lashed out against the anonymous senior official who wrote it, claiming to be part of a "resistance" working "from within" to thwart the commander-in-chief's most dangerous impulses. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

How large the pool of "senior administration officials" is in Washington is a matter of interpretation.

It's a term used loosely around the White House. Press offices often release statements or offer background briefings and ask that the information be attributed to a senior administration official.

The Partnership for Public Services tracks approximately 700 senior positions in government, ones that require Senate confirmation. Paul Light, a New York University professor and expert on the federal bureaucracy, said about 50 people could have legitimately written the column - probably someone in a political position appointed by President Donald Trump.

He suspects the author is in either a Cabinet-level or deputy secretary position who frequently visits the White House or someone who works in the maze of offices in the West Wing. Most of the Cabinet has denied authorship.

Martha Joynt Kumar, director of the White House Transition Project, meanwhile, puts the number of true senior administration officials at around 100, defining them as high up in the government and having regular interaction with the White House or the president himself.

Jennifer Palmieri, former communications director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, tweeted that, based on her experience with the Times and sourcing, "this person could easily be someone most of us have never heard of and more junior than you'd expect."

That would be a problem for the Times, partly through no fault of its own, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, communications professor and director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The column attracted so much attention - as much for its existence as for what it actually said - that it raised the expectation that the author is someone powerful, she said.

If the person is not among the 20 top people in the administration, "the Times just gets creamed," said Tom Bettag, a veteran news producer and now a University of Maryland journalism instructor. "And I think it gets held against them in the biggest possible way. I have enough respect for the Times to believe that they wouldn't hold themselves up to that."

It would look like the Times was trying to stir the pot if it were not a high-level person, said Chuck Todd, host of NBC's "Meet the Press."

Ruth Marcus, deputy editorial page editor of The Washington Post, told Todd on MSNBC that if the author had come to the Post it would provoke a serious discussion, because the newspaper has not in the past run anonymous op-ed columns. She said no one approached the Post to hawk the column.

"When you give someone anonymity on this, you are putting your credibility on the line," Marcus said.

News organizations have different standards for using information from unnamed sources. Frequently, they try to give some indication of why the person would be in a position to know something - the senior administration official, for example - and why anonymity was granted. In this case, the newspaper considered that the person's job would clearly be at risk and that the person could even be physically threatened, Dao said.

He did not see much difference in the use of anonymity in news and opinion pages.

The Times has long been a target of Trump's vitriol. He criticized the newspaper for printing the column and said the Times should reveal its source for reasons of national security. In an interview Thursday with Fox News, Trump said, "What they've done is virtually, you know, it's treason, you could call it a lot of things."

Dao said, "There's nothing in the piece that strikes me as being relevant to or undermining the national security."

The newspaper maintains a strict policy of separation between its news and opinion side, and the decision to publish the column without identifying the author was made by Dao and his boss, Editorial Page Editor James Bennet, in consultation with Publisher A.G. Sulzberger. The paper's executive editor, Dean Baquet, is responsible for the news side and was not part of the decision.

Few people at the paper know the writer's identity, Dao said, and he could not see any circumstances under which it would be divulged.

The Times' own news story about the column said the author's identity is "known to the Times' editorial page department but not to the reporters who cover the White House."

Trump, in a tweet Thursday evening, posed the question: "Are the investigative 'journalists' of the New York Times going to investigate themselves - who is the anonymous letter writer?"

Indeed, like hundreds of other reporters in Washington, the Times' news staff is trying to find out the writer's name. If the Times learns the identity, it could raise serious questions about the newspaper's ability to protect a confidential source among people who don't know - or don't believe - that one part of the newspaper will keep important information away from another.

"You could write a novel about this," said Jamieson, author of the upcoming "Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President." ''If they engage in successful journalism, at some level they discredit themselves."

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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Aug. 24, 2018 file photo, Vice President Mike Pence gestures while speaking to the Republican National Lawyers Association in Washington. President Donald Trump is lashing out against the anonymous senior official who wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times. Washington is consumed by a wild guessing game as to the identity of the writer, and swift denials of involvement in the op-ed came Thursday from top administration officials, including from Vice President Mike Pence's office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, and other Cabinet members. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) - Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez on Thursday urged Israel to reconsider the closing of its embassy in Asuncion, calling it an "exaggerated" response to the South American country's decision to move its embassy back to Tel Aviv.

The diplomatic dispute began in May when outgoing President Horacio Cartes authorized moving the Paraguayan Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as the United States and Guatemala had already done. The move pleased Israel and Washington but infuriated the Palestinians and their supporters.

Abdo Benitez, who won Paraguay's election in April but had yet to take office when Cartes announced the move in one of his final acts as president, had said he would review the decision. On Wednesday, he said he would reverse it and move the embassy back to Tel Aviv, a decision applauded by Palestinian leaders.

FILE - In this May 21, 2018 file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks with Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes during their meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem. Paraguay's government says it's moving its embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem and back to Tel Aviv, less than four months after opening the new mission, Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Castiglioni announced Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, Pool, File)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately ordered the closure of the Israeli Embassy in Asuncion.

"I regret Israel's decision. The reaction of closing the embassy was a little exaggerated and we urge authorities to reconsider it," Abdo Benitez said at a news conference in Itapua, 273 miles (440 kilometers) south of Asuncion.

He said Paraguay would "stick to international law and the United Nations' resolution that still considers it a territory in conflict" between Israel and the Palestinians.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Abdo Benitez on Wednesday and "strongly encouraged" the Paraguayan leader to follow through with its previous commitment to move the embassy to Jerusalem, according to a White House statement.

Cartes' decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem had been criticized within Paraguay.

The Palestinians want Jerusalem's eastern sector as the capital of their hoped-for state, while Israel sees the entire city as its eternal, undivided capital. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war along with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, territories the Palestinians want for their future state.

Most countries have maintained their embassies in Tel Aviv so as to not prejudge the outcome of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A liberal Kansas activist is challenging Secretary of State Kris Kobach's right to appear as the Republican nominee for governor on the November ballot, alleging that perhaps hundreds of legally cast ballots were not counted in his close primary race with Gov. Jeff Colyer.

Davis Hammet, of Topeka, filed an objection Thursday to Kobach's nomination with the secretary of state's office. His filing, a little more than a page long, asks to have ballots "illegally rejected" by county election officials unsealed and counted.

"There are hundreds of votes that they didn't count that legally should have been counted," Hammet said after filing the objection. "All they have to do is decertify the election and go open those ballots, so that we can find out what the real election results were."

FILE - In this Aug. 3, 2018 file photo, Kansas Secretary of State and candidate for the Republican nomination for Kansas Governor Kris Kobach addresses supporters during a campaign stop in Pittsburg, Kan. A liberal activist is challenging Kobach's right to appear as the Republican nominee for governor on the November ballot. Davis Hammet filed an objection Thursday, Sept. 6, to Kobach's nomination. Hammet contends that potentially hundreds of legal ballots were not counted in the state's August primary. His objection will force a three-member state board that includes Kobach or one of his deputies to consider the allegations. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Kobach defeated Colyer in the August primary by 343 votes , a minuscule margin with more than 317,000 ballots counted. Hammet's filing will force a three-member, all-GOP state board - Kobach, Colyer's lieutenant governor and the attorney general, or their deputies - to consider the allegations.

He faces Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly, of Topeka, and independent candidate Greg Orman, a Kansas City-area businessman, in what is expected to be a close and contentious general election race.

As for Hammet's objection, Kobach spokeswoman Danedri Herbert said in an email: "Kris Kobach is focused on providing a quality education for Kansas students and bringing back jobs for hard-working Kansans."

The Kansas secretary of state is nationally known for advocating tough immigration and voter identification policies and served as vice chairman of President Donald Trump's now-disbanded commission on election fraud.

He faces a potential investigation of his handling of voter registrations by a citizen-called grand jury in Douglas County , a liberal bastion that is home to the University of Kansas. He's also been enmeshed in multiple lawsuits over a state law requiring new voters to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship that was struck down by a federal judge earlier this year.

Hammet said he's filing his objection as a citizen under a law that allows a registered voter to object to a candidate's listing on the ballot. He is the founder and president of Loud Light, a left-leaning group that registers young voters that has criticized Kobach and other Republicans.

He is raising issues that some Colyer supporters did during the first days after primary. Those issues include whether local election workers denied unaffiliated voters their right under state law to affiliate with the GOP at the polls and vote in the primary and whether election officials were overly strict in rejecting some provisional ballots.

But Hammet's objection does not contain specific examples of problems, only broad statements that state laws were violated.

Colyer conceded defeat a week after the election, after county officials had reviewed most late mail-in and provisional ballots. He then immediately endorsed Kobach.

"Gov. Colyer has been vocal in his support of Secretary Kobach as the Republican candidate for governor, and that has not changed," Colyer spokesman Daniel Seitz said.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna .
Novak Djokovic avoided suffering the same fate as Roger Federer as he overcame the never-say-die John Millman to reach the semi-finals.

Two nights after Millmans tenacity and quality ball-striking caused Federer to wilt in the New York humidity, Djokovic battled to a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory.

Although the scoreline looks straightforward, the match lasted two hours and 49 minutes, with the first set taking an hour and the second 59 minutes.

The Djoker Prevails!@DjokerNole gets past Millman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a semifinal encounter against Kei Nishikori...#USOpen pic.twitter.com/NE59ZndaE6  US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2018

Djokovic, who next faces Kei Nishikori in a rematch of the 2014 semi-final, which he lost, said: I was very tested. Almost three hours, its midnight now. Credit to John for putting up a great battle, hes truly a great fighter. Hes had an amazing tournament.

First quarter-finals, he won against Roger. To come out after that kind of win and fight for three hours, he deserves a round of applause definitely.

I was struggling, he was struggling, we were all sweating, changing clothes. Just trying to hang in there, find a way to win a match. It happened a couple of times that you survive on the court then thrive with a win.

Conditions were not as hot or humid as they had been on Monday or Tuesday but still uncomfortable and Djokovic again looked in distress and asked the doctor for a nasal spray.

Djokovic sat shirtless as Millman changed his entire outfit (AP/Frank Franklin II)

That came during an unusual stoppage after four games of the second set when Millman requested to go off court to change his whole kit  organisers clarified later that the break was permitted because the Australian was sweating so much it was making the court dangerous.

Djokovic, grateful for a bit of a breather, sat grinning in his chair with his shirt off, much to the crowds amusement.

The Wimbledon champion was not doing much grinning on court, though, as he struggled to extricate himself from the dogfight.

It all began well enough as Millman made a similarly nervous start to the one he had against Federer, when he described himself as a deer in headlights.

Djokovic had points for 5-1 but Millman dug in during a long game, and that seemed to settle the Australian, watched from the front row by Rupert Murdoch.

Millman earlier battled past Roger Federer (AP/Adam Hunger)

He could not find a way back into that set but he made Djokovic work very hard for it, and the Serbians frustration levels increased during the second set as chances came and went.

Djokovic was 1/13 on break points when Millman double-faulted on a 14th opportunity at 4-4, volleying the ball away with his foot in annoyance at giving his opponent what he had been unable to take for himself.

When Djokovic broke early in the third set, it looked like the end was nigh, but again he could not put Millman away and, knocked out of rhythm by successive time violations, the second of which resulted in him losing a first serve, he was broken back.

But Djokovic composed himself to break again for 5-4 and this time made no mistake, moving through to the semi-finals for the 11th straight time he has competed here.
More than 11 million households will save a combined 1 billion a year under plans to cap rip-off gas and electricity tariffs at 1,136, the energy watchdog has announced.

Ofgem said each typical customer would save around 75 a year on average, with those on the most expensive default standard variable tariffs saving more than 120 a year when the cap comes into effect.

It has proposed to set the cap for the typical dual fuel customer paying by direct debit at 1,136 a year, forcing suppliers to cut prices to that level or below.

(PA Graphics)

The regulator, which was given legal powers by the Government in July to introduce the cap, hopes to have the measures in place by the end of the year.

Dermot Nolan, chief executive of Ofgem, said: Once the price cap is in place, all households in Great Britain covered by the cap will be protected from being overcharged for their energy.

Consumers can have confidence that falls in energy costs will be passed on to them and if costs increase, Ofgem will ensure that any rise will be due to genuine increases in energy costs rather than supplier profiteering.

Ofgem said it will update on the level of the cap in April and October every year to reflect wholesale energy prices and costs of supplying, which it said would ensure households on standard variable tariffs will always pay a fair price for their energy.

Greg Clark, the Business and Energy Secretary, said: We have always been clear and determined that the injustice found by the CMA that loyal customers were being exploited must end.

This Government is delivering on its promise to end that injustice and protect households across the country from unjustified price rises.

He added the details of the cap outlined by Ofgem give households confidence that when energy costs fall their bills will too.

PRESS RELEASE: Ofgem proposes price cap to give 11 million customers a fairer deal for their energy: https://t.co/RYHswHhD15 #EnergyPriceCap pic.twitter.com/M1YMKTdHSH  Ofgem (@ofgem) September 6, 2018

Ofgem has already capped bills through its safeguard tariff for 4 million pre-payment meter households, which was extended in February to 1 million more vulnerable consumers on poor-value default deals who already received the Governments Warm Home Discount.

Stephen Murray, energy expert at MoneySuperMarket, said households would be better off switching to save money than relying on the cap to give them a fair deal.

He said: Dont get lulled into a false sense of security by the political soundbites  the easiest way to bring down your bills is to go online and switch now to a competitive fixed-rate tariff.

Industry group Energy UK said the cap will pose a significant challenge to many suppliers.

Chief executive Lawrence Slade said: There are over 70 suppliers in the energy market who will now be assessing how this impacts their individual business.

It is crucial that the cap ensures we have an investible energy sector where efficient and financially robust companies can trade, and innovation and engagement can continue to flourish and deliver benefits for consumers.

Justin Bowden, national officer of the GMB union  which represents energy workers, said: The only way to protect consumers from being ripped off in a monopoly situation is if the Government itself takes on the functions of energy regulation including the role of energy price control  making it accountable to Parliament, subject to scrutiny and with powers to limit profits and, where necessary, to finance and run power stations.

That would be the foundation of an energy policy that took the real decisions needed to protect consumers, keep the lights on and ensure the decarbonisation of the sector, whilst guaranteeing the resources needed to generate jobs and to pay for the vital infrastructure crucial to maintain our power networks.
Plumes of smoke have been billowing from a large blaze at a business in Glasgow since the early hours.

The alarm was raised about the well-developed fire in a single-storey building in Nitshill Road at around 2.30am on Thursday.

Six appliances were called to the scene, including three aerial units.

Motorists have been warned to expect traffic delays (@munchkinstein)

Glasgow City Council said the fire was taking place at the Nitshill Enterprise Centre.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said there have been no casualties but crews are still tackling the flames.

St Bernards Primary School and Woodacre Nursery will be closed on Thursday due to the incident.

St Bernards Pri RC School closed to pupils today because of nearby fire at Nitshill Enterprise Centre. This is a precautionary measure. Staff should report to Gowanbank Pri. Residents advised to keep windows closed.  Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) September 6, 2018

The local authority also urged nearby residents to keep their windows shut.

A stretch between Cleeves Road and Seamill Street has been closed to all traffic and motorists have been urged to expect delays during rush hour.

#3 Nitshill Road, Glasgow - On-going fire, service 3 is unable to service Silverburn Bus Stance until further notice. Will operate Glasgow Road, Hurlet Road, Barrhead Road onto Peat Road roundabout. #delays #fire #emergency  McGill's Buses (@Buses_McGills) September 6, 2018

Peat Road is also shut to all southbound vehicles between Barrhead Road and Nitshill Road.

Some public transport has also been affected.
From social media faux pas to graffiti daubed on the side of a car in ketchup, students have found imaginative ways to get themselves hauled before university bosses.

Data obtained from UK institutions shows a wide range of incidents, from the playful to the strictly prohibited.

Thousands of misdemeanours were reported within halls of residence themselves, according to figures provided to the Press Association.

Loud music was a regular area of concern (David Jensen/PA)

This included playing loud music at Liverpool Hope, while an entrepreneurial undergraduate at Keele was investigated for sub-letting their own student accommodation  a practice commonly outlawed by institutions.

Unauthorised guests were frequently the cause of misconduct hearings at universities across the country  particularly the guests at Bath Spa who urinated outside the halls themselves.

Another student at Buckinghamshire received a suspended notice to quit university halls for smuggling their prohibited visitor onto campus  a pet rabbit.

At East Anglia university, another guest burnt some toast, activated a fire alarm and caused an evacuation. To make matters worse, the host was then uncooperative with security.

Obvious breaches of fire safety cropped up again and again across the country.

Smoking cannabis was among the offences (Danny Lawson/PA)

This included fines for using fairy lights and chip pans, to those who tried to smoke cannabis, shisha and cigarettes undetected.

Several deployed innovative tactics to try and to dodge the smoke alarm  including one student who covered it with a sock, resulting in a 50 fine at the University of Glasgow.

Eleven London School of Economics (LSE) students who engaged in that staple of halls life  running up and down knocking on doors  were handed formal warnings.

And access to practice rooms at the Guildhall School of Music was partially removed for students who had very, very overdue library items.

Elsewhere, stiff penalties were meted out to those who relieved themselves in places they ought not to, although no disciplinary action was eventually taken against someone accused of urinating on a structure in a hall car park at the LSE.

Two De Montford undergraduates were each made to donate 50 to the Royal British Legion and write a letter of apology after damaging commemorative wreaths on campus, while students at a number of institutions were fined for damaging and/or climbing a Christmas tree.

One student was disciplined for misuse of a blue badge (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Elsewhere on campus, one student at Brunel was fined 80 for the misuse of a blue badge, while at Abertay someone was cautioned for damaging an art installation while intoxicated.

Being away from the campus did not deter some misbehaving students.

One De Montford student had to write a letter of apology after they left an inappropriate and offensive gift in accommodation at the end of their clinical placement, while another was ordered to write a letter of apology at Hull for making an inappropriate joke.

And a spike in disciplinary offences at Ravensbourne University was fuelled by misconduct on an overseas visit  resulting in 10 students receiving a formal warning.

The womens futsal team at Brighton University were involved in some inappropriate social media posts  forcing them to forfeit their next fixture and pay a fine.

Vehicles were central to several disciplinary matters on campus  from the non-payment of a taxi at Chichester, to reckless driving at Hertfordshire and Hull. At De Montford, a student was handed an informal warning for riding a segway on university property, refusing to identify himself or show an ID card.

And at Twickenham St Marys  where a student was previously ordered to buy a replacement sandwich after eating the vice-chancellors  a mischievous duo took someone elses car, parked it on the university rugby pitch, and wrote something on the side of the vehicle in ketchup before letting down a tyre.
Rescuers are searching for survivors and trying to restore power after a powerful earthquake hit the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

At least seven people are known to have died after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck at 3.08am.

Video cameras showed cities going dark as the quake disabled power systems, leaving nearly three million households on the island without electricity.

The islands only nuclear power plant, which was offline, switched to a back-up generator to keep its spent fuel cool, and nuclear regulators said there was no sign of abnormal radiation.

Police search for missing people at the site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido (Kyodo News via AP)

Japans Meteorological Agency said the quakes epicentre was 24 miles deep but it still wreaked havoc across much of the relatively sparsely inhabited island.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that seven people had been confirmed dead.

Rescuers were using shovels to sift through the tons of soil, rocks and timber in hopes of finding survivors in the town of Atsuma, where steep mountainsides collapsed, crushing homes and farm buildings.

Disaster officials in Hokkaido said about 30 people were unaccounted for.

Houses were destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan (Kyodo News via AP)

Airports and many roads on the island were closed and trains were halted due to power outages.

Japan is used to dealing with disasters but the last few months have brought a string of calamities.

The quake came shortly after a typhoon that triggered heavy flooding in western Japan, leaving the main airport near Osaka and Kobe closed after a tanker rammed a bridge connecting the facility to the mainland.

The summer also brought devastating floods from torrential rains in Hiroshima and deadly hot temperatures across the country.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that up to 25,000 troops and other personnel would be dispatched to Hokkaido to help with rescue operations.

People line up outside a supermarket to buy supplies after an earthquake, in Biei town, Hokkaido (Mika Takeda via AP)

In the prefectural capital of Sapporo, a city of 1.9 million, the quake ruptured roads and damaged houses. A mudslide left several cars half buried.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters that the extensive power outage was caused by an emergency shutdown of the main thermal power plant at Tomato Atsuma that supplies half of Hokkaidos electricity.

The hope had been to get power back up within hours and some electricity was gradually being restored. However, damage to generators at the Tomato Atsuma plant meant that the restoration of power could take more than a week, Mr Seko said.

He said utilities were starting up several other thermal and hydroelectric plants but even with those stopgap supplies thousands would still be without power for some time.

In the meantime, authorities sent power-generator vehicles to hospitals and other locations.

Reacting quickly to the disaster, troops deployed water tanker trucks in Sapporo, where residents were collecting bottles to tide them over until electricity and tap water supplies come back online. The city hall announced it had set up charging stations to help residents charge their mobile phones.
The war of words with Russia following the Novichok attack has escalated, with a senior minister saying Vladimir Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the action of his spies.

The two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning  Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  have been identified by the UK as members of the GRU, Russias military intelligence service.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said Mr Putin had a strong grip over his state which controls, funds and directs the GRU.

Alexander Petrov (left) and Ruslan Boshirov have been identified (Met Police/PA)

British and Russian officials will come face-to-face as the UN Security Council discusses the attack in New York.

Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs it was carried out by two GRU agents and sanctioned at a senior level in the Russian state.

Mr Wallace went further, telling BBC Radio 4s Today that Mr Putin bore responsibility for the actions of his administration.

Ultimately he does insofar as he is President of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence  thats the GRU  via his minister of defence, Mr Wallace said.

The GRU is, without doubt, not rogue, it is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, into the Kremlin and the presidents office.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said Vladimir Putin bore ultimate responsibility for Russias actions (John Stillwell/PA)

The PM told MPs on Wednesday the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to counter the threat posed by the GRU.

Mr Wallace said the UK would use whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities to push back the Russian malign activity.

Asked whether there would be retaliation for Russias activities, particularly in cyber space, Mr Wallace said: We do all the time, but we retaliate in our way.

We are not the Russians, we dont adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.

We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way.

The UK has called for a #UNSC meeting tomorrow, Thursday, to update the Council on the Salisbury investigation. pic.twitter.com/exK4kEX0uD  UK at the UN  (@UKUN_NewYork) September 5, 2018

As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will be represented at Thursdays meeting  and called on by Britain to update members on progress in the Salisbury investigation  alongside UK allies such as the US and France.

Mrs May has been in contact with US President Donald Trump and other leaders as she attempts to build an international alliance in support of her stance.

The developments came amid claims that President Trump was reluctant to expel 60 Russian diplomats following the Salisbury poisonings in March.

An anonymous article in the New York Times, attributed to a senior official in the Trump administration, claimed that the President complained for weeks about senior staff members letting him get boxed into further confrontation with Russia  But his national security team knew better  such actions had to be taken, to hold Moscow accountable.

Washington was gripped by speculation over the author of the column, which painted a damning portrait of the Presidents amorality and his impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective leadership style, and claimed that many members of his own administration were secretly working to rein him in.

President Trump himself suggested in a series of angry tweets that the anonymous official may have committed treason, or may even be fictitious.

Australia on Thursday said it was in lock step with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account over the heinous attack, although it is not currently a council member.

Prime Minister Theresa May updates MPs over the incident (Mark Duffy/UK Parliament /PA)

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March.

The alleged perpetrators were identified in a dramatic joint police and Crown Prosecution Service press conference.

Detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripals Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on March 4.

#Salisbury: UK publishes suspects' names and photos, but shows no willingness to engage with Russia in order to establish the truth. Our offers of cooperation remain on the table. https://t.co/9pASx5T5O6 pic.twitter.com/9MPGBud34w  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) September 5, 2018

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre the same day and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu also confirmed officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury four months later.

In the second incident, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent used in Salisbury.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.

Mr Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mrs Mays accusations are unacceptable and that no-one in the Russian leadership has anything to do with the poisoning, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the UK and USA of a witch hunt against Russia.

.@OPCW envoy Shulgin: I remember another story of a high-ranking UK official making accusations about CW and citing intelligence information as a proof. pic.twitter.com/MzHl6tvEiK  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) September 6, 2018

The Russian Embassy in the UK used its Twitter account to post a series of messages aimed at undermining the credibility of the UK investigation  including comparisons to the intelligence evidence used to build the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump continued his attacks Wednesday on an explosive book about his administration.

Trump said the book, written by U.S. veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward, "means nothing" and called it "a work of fiction" during a photo op with visiting Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at the White House.

Woodward's book -- "Fear: Trump in the White House" -- is to be released next week.

According to excerpts obtained by media outlets, Trump's aides describe him as a "liar" and an "idiot" who is running a "crazytown."

"Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost," Trump tweeted earlier in the day.

He also tweeted out written statements of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, both of whom denied uttering quoted criticisms of the president in the book.

In a statement to The Washington Post, Woodward said, "I stand by my reporting."

The book was based on hundreds of hours of conversations with direct players, according to the author.

Woodward has been a reporter at the The Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor there.

He is most famous for breaking the story of the Watergate scandal, which promoted the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has been urged to intervene in the administration of Wonga to ensure that poor people are not ripped off further.

MP Frank Field has written to Justin Welby, asking him to put together a consortium of good people to buy the collapsed payday lenders loan book.

In a letter to the cleric, the Work and Pensions Committee chair said: The Wonga loan book will be sold and, if past record is any guide for the future, they will be sold at knockdown rates. Within these loan books will be some I assume devoted exclusively to their exploitation of the poor.

Wonga collapsed last week (PA)

Is there a possibility please of you asking the Church Commissioners quickly to assemble a consortium of good people with money who will attempt to buy those poor peoples loan books at a knockdown price?

This, Mr Field said, would prevent money lenders and bailiffs terrorising the poor and would be an example of the jubilee in setting slaves free of their debts.

THREAD - Wonga's loan books are likely to be sold and, if the past record is any guide to the future, those loans will probably be sold at knockdown rates. Within these loan books are likely to be some devoted exclusively to the exploitation of the poor.  Frank Field (@frankfieldteam) September 6, 2018

According to the Book of Leviticus, a jubilee year occurs every 50th year, during which slaves and prisoners are freed and debts forgiven.

Existing borrowers are thought to total around 220,000 and administrator Grant Thornton is running Wongas circa 400 million loan book while it looks for a buyer.

The MP said that a sale through his proposed method could also mark the beginnings of a peoples bank.

He told the Press Association: Wonga targeted people who are beyond the abyss.

This is an ambulance rescue operation, but longer term we need to look at offering long-term credit, through a peoples bank, for those who are in urgent need.

The independent MP has also asked Grant Thornton to consider his proposal.

In response, Grant Thornton said it is more than willing to review any interest that may materialise.

Wonga collapsed last week after being hit by a surge in people making compensation claims over historical loans.

Grant Thornton said on Friday that it was conducting an orderly wind down of the business.

In 2013 the Archbishop was forced to admit the Church of Englands investment fund had invested indirectly in Wonga.

Although the sum was small  about 75,000 out of investments totalling 5.5 billion  he described it as embarrassing.

It shouldnt happen, its very embarrassing, but these things do happen and we have to find out why and make sure it doesnt happen again, Archbishop Welby said at the time.
The US Open semi-finals have pitted world number one Rafael Nadal against Juan Martin del Potro, while Novak Djokovic faces Kei Nishikori.

Here, Press Association down gives the lowdown on the final four.

Kei Nishikori beat Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals (Jason DeCrow/AP)

Head to head

What. A. Match.



He had to work for it, but @RafaelNadal is into the #Wimbledon semi-finals



with Novak Djokovic up next pic.twitter.com/vdtWSuI3Hi  Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2018

Nadal 11-5 Del Potro

Djokovic 14-2 Nishikori

Playing styles

The Novak Djokovic serve is a fearsome weapon (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

Nadal: The Spaniard has won 17 grand slams with an aggressive, behind-the-baseline style built on heavy topspin groundstrokes, rapid footwork and total court coverage.

Del Potro: A brutally physical style of play almost cost the Argentinian his career, but he returned from four wrist operations with a new backhand and a more rounded game.

Nishikori: The Japanese player is famous for his mental strength and hits compact and powerful strokes on both forehand and backhand, which allow him to play closer to the baseline.

Djokovic: A big serve, incredible movement and a phenomenal backhand have brought the Serbian former world number one 13 career grand slams so far.

US Open records

A look at the US Open semi-finalists record at Flushing Meadows (PA Graphics)



Nadal:

US Opens played: 13

Best: Winner (2010, 2013, 2017)

Del Potro:

US Opens played: 9

Best: Winner (2009)

Nishikori:

US Opens played: 8

Best: Runner-up (2014)

Djokovic:

US Opens played: 12

Best: Winner (2011, 2015)

Time spent on court this tournament

What. A. Match! @RafaelNadal fended off an enthusiastic D. Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5) to book his spot in the semifinals. #USOpenhttps://t.co/8ZKV9d8Q9e pic.twitter.com/4McrWGP0Pf  US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2018

Nadal: 15hrs 54mins

Del Potro: 12hrs 15 mins

Nishikori: 12hrs 42mins

Djokovic: 12 hrs 44mins

Aces

Juan Martin del Potro leads the ace count (Andres Kudacki/AP)

Nadal: 17

Del Potro: 66

Nishikori: 23

Djokovic: 23

Sets dropped

The Djoker Prevails!@DjokerNole gets past Millman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a semifinal encounter against Kei Nishikori...#USOpen pic.twitter.com/NE59ZndaE6  US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2018

Nadal: Four

Del Potro: One

Nishikori: Three

Djokovic: Two
Stormont Assembly members pay will be reduced by more than 13,000 as they are not performing all their functions, Secretary of State Karen Bradley said.

Northern Irelands devolved legislature in Belfast has not sat since early last year in a row over identity issues like the Irish language, which has prevented the appointment of ministers.

Repeated negotiations convened by the British and Irish governments have failed to persuade former coalition partners the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Fein to reconcile their differences.

The gates at Stormont remain closed (Niall Carson/PA)

Mrs Bradley told Parliament: While Assembly members continue to perform valuable constituency functions, it is clear that during any such interim period they will not be performing the full range of their legislative functions.

So, in parallel, I will take the steps necessary to reduce Assembly members salaries in line with the recommendations made by Trevor Reaney.

The reduction will take effect in two stages, commencing in November  it would not reduce the allowance for staff as I do not think that MLAs [Members of the Legislative Assembly] staff should suffer because of the politicians failure to form an Executive.

Mrs Bradleys predecessor as Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, commissioned former Assembly chief executive Mr Reaney to examine the controversial issue of paying Assembly members.

He recommended the 27.5% cut, a move that would take the standard salary rate of 49,500 down to 35,888 in two stages.

Public services have suffered because no ministers are in place to make major decisions.

Controversial issues like provision of abortion cannot be addressed in the absence of an Assembly.

In explaining the need for a stepped approach, Mr Reaney said the impact of any salary reduction on MLAs personal circumstances has been acknowledged.

Mr Reaney addded that research shows Assembly members spend 50% to 60% of their time on constituency work.

The average working week exceeds 50 hours, and sometimes up to 80 hours he added.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has denied writing an anonymous New York Times opinion piece which claimed an internal resistance is working to thwart some of President Donald Trumps efforts.

Mr Pompeo said of the article: Its not mine.

Speaking after a meeting in New Delhi with Indian officials, Mr Pompeo added that it shouldnt surprise anyone that the New York Times chose to print such a piece.

The US president has raged against the `gutless editorial (AP)

He said that if the piece actually was written by a top US official, they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actors word for anything.

Mr Pompeo has accused the media of trying to undermine the Trump administration, and says he finds it incredibly disturbing.

The New York Times said publishing the essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to its readers.

The piece, written by an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of a resistance working from within to thwart Mr Trumps worst inclinations, has set off a guessing game over the authors identity.

Mr Trump tweeted that if the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the coward who wrote the piece to do the right thing and resign.

Two insiders have said that Mr Trump has demanded that presidential aides should identify the leaker.

The author of the article wrote: Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room.

We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont.

The text of the article was pulled apart for clues:

 The writer is identified as an administration official; does that mean a person who works outside the White House?

 It contains references to Russia and the late Senator John McCain  do they suggest someone working in national security?

 Does the writing style sound like someone who worked at a think tank?

 In a tweet, the Times used the pronoun he to refer to the writer; does that rule out all women?

The newspaper later said the tweet referring to he had been drafted by someone who is not aware of the authors identity, including the gender, so the use of he was an error.

Hotly debated on Twitter was the authors use of the word lodestar, which pops up frequently in speeches by US vice president Mike Pence. Others argued that the word lodestar could have been included deliberately to lay a false trail.

Mr Trump, appearing at an unrelated event at the White House, lashed out at the Times for publishing the article.

He said of the newspaper: They dont like Donald Trump and I dont like them.

The op-ed pages of the newspaper are managed separately from its news department.

In a blistering statement, Ms Sanders accused the author of choosing to deceive the president by remaining in the administration and putting himself or herself ahead of the will of the American people. The coward should do the right thing and resign.

The White House press secretary also called on the Times to issue an apology for publishing the piece, calling it a pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed.
Brussels has insisted there are positive elements to the Chequers Brexit plan following claims the EUs chief negotiator said Theresa Mays proposals were dead.

The European Commission said Michel Barnier had been clear in setting out the EUs views on Chequers and the need for further talks on the areas that still create problems.

The EUs chief negotiator and Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab were meeting in Brussels on Thursday just a day after the Cabinet minister was told that Mr Barnier had declared the plan to be dead in the water during a meeting with MPs.

Dominic Raab held more talks with Michel Barnier (Peter Nicholls/PA)

Mr Raab was told of Mr Barniers withering assessment of the Chequers blueprint as the minister faced a grilling over the Governments EU withdrawal strategy.

The EU negotiator held talks with the Brexit select committee on Monday to discuss progress in the negotiations, making it crystal clear the Chequers plan was unacceptable, according to Labours Stephen Kinnock.

During exchanges in another Commons committee with Mr Raab, Mr Kinnock insisted Brussels had spiked the plans.

Mr Kinnock said: I can tell you absolutely, unequivocally, without a shadow of a doubt that Chequers is dead in the water.

The Labour MP said Frenchman Mr Barnier told the MPs les propositions sont mortes  the proposals are dead.

Asked about the comments, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas urged people to wait for the official transcript of Mondays behind-closed-doors meeting between Mr Barnier and the Commons Brexit Committee.

Michel Barnier was very clear expressing the commission position on Chequers from the very first moment, he said.

I dont think that people present in the room and beyond the room have any doubt on what we said on Chequers  we identified where there were positive elements and we discussed also the possibility for further discussions to address issues that still create problems.

He added that the private meeting provided the perfect recipe for everybody coming out of there and saying what one or the other understood Michel saying.

He added: Lets wait for the transcript and then lets check the sort of things that are reported of what Michel Barnier said against what he actually really said.

Looking forward to meeting @DominicRaab again tomorrow, continuing our work on the #Brexit Withdrawal Agreement & on finding common ground between #EUCO March guidelines and Chequers w/ a view to creating a new, ambitious partnership, as I said on Monday to @CommonsEUexit  Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) September 5, 2018

Mr Barnier said Thursdays meeting with Mr Raab would see the pair continue work to find common ground between the European Councils guidelines and the Chequers plan with a view to creating a new, ambitious partnership.

Meanwhile, further details emerged about the Governments contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit  codenamed Operation Yellowhammer.

An official document photographed in Westminster appeared to show the Treasurys position on Yellowhammer and indicated that Whitehalls Civil Contingencies Secretariat was co-ordinating action.

The Treasury document suggested that ministries should focus on internal reprioritisation to fund no-deal costs, although Government sources stressed that money set aside for Brexit pressures was available.

In a further indication of no-deal preparations, Health Secretary Matt Hancock insisted that the supply of medicines would be unhindered but drugs with a short shelf life may have to be flown into the UK to avoid delays.
Former Brexit secretary David Davis is to appear on a platform along with Nigel Farage for the Leave Means Leave campaign, it has been announced.

Mr Davis, who walked out of Theresa Mays Cabinet in protest at her Chequers plan in July, said he was taking part in the rally in Bolton to ensure Brexit is delivered and democracy upheld.

Also taking part in the event on September 22, the eve of Labours annual conference, is the partys Leave-backing MP Kate Hoey, who rebelled to back the Prime Minister in a crunch Brexit vote in Westminster in July.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis in the Houses of Parliament (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Join @Nigel_Farage and other guest speakers in Bolton on 22 September for the Stop Brexit Betrayal rally. Tickets: https://t.co/rfR7ARxgPb  Britain Means Business (@BritMnsBusn) August 31, 2018

The Bolton rally is the first of a series of high-profile Leave Means Leave events as the battle hots up over the Brexit deal, including what the group said would be a major rally at the Conservative conference in Birmingham on September 30.

Mrs May hopes to secure agreement on her package  which would keep the UK in a free trade area for goods with the EU with a common rulebook of standards and regulations  at a European Council summit in October.

But Brexit-backing Tories including Mr Davis want her to ditch the blueprint drawn up at her country residence in favour of a looser Canada-style free trade agreement or a move to World Trade Organisation rules.

Mr Davis said: I am joining the Leave Means Leave rally in Bolton as a matter of principle  to ensure Brexit is delivered and democracy upheld.

I look forward to sharing a platform with other politicians from across the political spectrum to support this cause.

He added: The Governments Chequers proposal doesnt meet the requirements of the referendum. We may be out of Europe but we would still be run by Europe.

We must pursue a Canada-style deal which the EU has already made clear they are agreeable to.

If this is not possible, Britain can still thrive with a World Trade Deal under WTO rules.

Leave Means Leave is planning further rallies in Torquay, Bournemouth, Gateshead and Harrogate during October.
The Scottish Secretary has urged politicians to rally round the Prime Ministers Chequers plan for Brexit, denying it is a dead duck.

Under questioning from MSPs, David Mundell declined to rule out supporting a no-deal Brexit but said he would not promote it.

He said Theresa Mays Chequers deal, which EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is reported to have said is dead and has deepened Conservative splits, is still live and still on the table.

At Holyroods Finance and Constitution Committee, Mr Mundell was responding to questioning by MSP Willie Coffey, who asked: Mr Mundell, are you seriously asking us to believe that the Chequers proposal isnt a dead duck  you cant get it past your own party.

The MSP repeatedly urged Mr Mundell to unequivocally rule out supporting a no-deal Brexit, which the Scottish Secretary did not answer directly.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell said he supports the Chequers deal (Andrew Cowen/Scottish Parliament/PA)

Mr Mundell said he would back the Chequers plan against a no-deal Brexit and urged Labour, the SNP and the Greens to follow suit.

He also declined to guarantee the UK Government will not impose frameworks on devolved matters following Brexit.

Mr Mundell said he and the UK Government want to reach agreement with the devolved administrations on the frameworks, which cover areas including agriculture and fishing.

The Scottish Parliament refused to grant consent for the UK Withdrawal Bill in a row over post-Brexit powers, with the Scottish Government accusing Westminster of a power grab.

Committee convener Bruce Crawford asked Mr Mundell three times to guarantee the UK Government will not impose frameworks on Scotland after Brexit, saying the UK Government pushed ahead with the withdrawal Bill without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Secretary replied: No common framework has been imposed on Scotland.

Committee convener Bruce Crawford pushed for a guarantee on post-Brexit frameworks for devolved powers (Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament/PA)

He said the Bill enabled existing arrangements to be frozen while new agreements are negotiated.

He added: It is still absolutely my position, the UK Government position, that we want to reach those frameworks by agreement.

Mr Crawford questioned: If no agreement is reached, will a common framework be imposed?

Mr Mundell replied: We dont want to be in a position where we dont have agreement, we want to be in a position where we reach agreement.

Mr Crawford said he had not been able to secure the guarantee he had been seeking.
A powerful earthquake on Japans northernmost main island of Hokkaido has killed nine people and injured hundreds more after dozens of landslides crushed houses.

Officials said at least 366 people were injured, five of them seriously, with another 30 unaccounted for after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolted residents from their beds at around 3am (7pm Wednesday BST).

Nearly three million households were left without power by the quake  the latest in an exhausting run of natural disasters for Japan.

Police search for missing people at the site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido (Kyodo News via AP)

The tremor paralysed normal business on the island, as blackouts cut off water to homes, immobilised trains and airports, caused hundreds of flight cancellations and shut down phone systems.

In the town of Atsuma, where entire hillsides collapsed, rescuers used diggers and shovels to search for survivors under tonnes of earth that tumbled down steep mountainsides, burying houses and farm buildings below.

Twenty-eight people remained unaccounted for in the town, Atsuma mayor Shoichiro Miyasaka told public broadcaster NHK.

The landslides ripped through some homes and buried others. Some residents described awakening to find their next-door neighbors gone.

The entire thing just collapsed, said one witness. Its unbelievable.

Houses were destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan (Kyodo News via AP)

The islands only nuclear power plant, which was offline for routine safety checks, temporarily switched to a back-up generator to keep its spent fuel cool.

Nuclear regulators said there was no sign of abnormal radiation  a concern after a massive quake and tsunami in March 2011 that hit north-east Japan and destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.

Japans Meteorological Agency said the quakes epicentre was 24 miles deep, but it still wreaked havoc across much of the sparsely inhabited island.

Many roads were closed and some were impassable. Broadcaster NHK showed workers rushing to clean up shattered glass and reinstall ceiling panels that had fallen in the regions biggest airport at Chitose.

People line up outside a supermarket to buy supplies after an earthquake, in Biei town, Hokkaido (Mika Takeda via AP)

Japan is used to dealing with disasters, but the last few months have brought a string of calamities.

The quake came on the heels of a typhoon that lifted heavy trucks off their wheels and triggered major flooding in western Japan, leaving the main airport near Osaka and Kobe closed after a tanker rammed a bridge connecting the facility to the mainland.

The summer also brought devastating floods and landslides from torrential rains in Hiroshima, as well as deadly hot temperatures across the country.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe said that up to 25,000 troops and other personnel would be dispatched to Hokkaido to help with rescue operations.
A former Stormont minister appeared emotional as he claimed he was just one boy against multiple attempts to smear him.

Jonathan Bell claimed the DUP fitted him up, the Executive Office briefed against him and a journalist advised the DUP how to discredit him.

I fear I have been the victim of a massive smear campaign, he said.

Former DUP minister Jonathan Bell arrives at the RHI inquiry at Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Bell made the claims while giving evidence to a public inquiry in Belfast into how costs for a green energy scheme spiralled.

He was minister at the Enterprise Department which oversaw the publicly funded Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

Mr Bell was suspended by the DUP in December 2016 after giving an interview to BBC journalist Stephen Nolan about the RHI scheme.

He has made explosive claims that DUP special advisers were reluctant to introduce cost control tariffs to the scheme.

Appearing at the RHI inquiry on Thursday, Mr Bell claimed the DUP has fitted him up.

Text messages between Mr Bells special adviser Timothy Cairns and DUP leader Arlene Foster as well as another special adviser Timothy Johnston reveal that he (Mr Cairns) would fit his story to whatever the party narrative was to be, Mr Bell claimed.

Mr Bell also told the inquiry of attempts to smear him.

He has claimed that an Executive Office official described him as a monster who had to be put to sleep and that a journalist gave the DUP advice on how to discredit him.

Mr Bell said that advice from the journalist included attacking his Christian faith.

I have to say to you, I am just one boy, I cant operate against the Executive Office, he told the inquiry.

Mr Bell also claimed that the DUP offered a newspaper an exclusive story about him being a bully, if they used the headline Bully boy Bell.

I fear I have been the victim of a massive smear campaign, and I fear this is part of the smear campaign, he said.
Sinn Fein MPs who choose not to take their seat in Westminster should face similar pay sanctions to Stormont Assembly members, the DUP said.

The call came after Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley announced she would be cutting MLA pay by more than 13,000 in light of the continued stand-off between the governing parties and their failure to form an executive.

Ms Bradley justified the pay cut by telling MPs that the MLAs were not performing the full range of their legislative functions.

Gregory Campbell suggested Sinn Fein MPs should face a pay cut (Niall Carson/PA)

DUP MPs asked the Northern Ireland Secretary whether the same logic could be applied to Sinn Fein MPs who refuse to take their seats in the House of Commons.

Sinn Fein MPs refuse to take their seats as they do not recognise the UK Parliaments right to legislate for any part of Ireland.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry), speaking in the Commons, said: Does she not apply the same logic then to abstentionist Members of Parliament?

They claim hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers money for not performing their full legislative function.

Fellow DUP MP Jim Shannon (Strangford) added: If youre going to hit the pockets of the Northern Ireland Assembly members, which is right to do, would the Secretary of State agree that the same principles for Northern Ireland Assembly members should now apply to those who refuse to do their work in this House?

Ms Bradley responded by saying that the matter of pay and allowance was a matter for this House and therefore not one that it would be appropriate for me to comment on.

Earlier in the question session, shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Tony Lloyd said he cautiously welcomed the proposals to cut MLA pay but urged his opposite number to do more to break the logjam.

Responding to Ms Bradleys statement, Mr Lloyd told the Commons: This is a small step, and in general terms, guardedly, well look to support her where thats appropriate but shes got to do more to break this logjam.

Mr Lloyd earlier told MPs: There are many, many decisions now that are held in logjam because of the democratic crisis in Northern Ireland  critical issues.

He listed issues including the existence of the policing board, nurses pay and equal marriage.

It isnt acceptable that weve had a process of governance by judicial review, it is not acceptable that people cannot go to an elected member of the assembly or of this parliament but have to go through the courts to seek justice.

But part of the test of what the Secretary of State sets forward has got to be is this moving forward the kind of issues that Ive already mentioned, will it see resolution of those?
A flight from Dubai having landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on Wednesday has been quarantined after passengers reported to be sick, local media reported.

The flight, Emirates Flight 203, landed at the airport at around 9:10 a.m. (1310 GMT).

Local media said as many as 100 passengers on the plane had symptoms of coughing and vomiting. Some of them even had high fevers.

Emirates Airlines released a statement shortly after the incident, saying it "can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety &care of our customers is our first priority."

Eric Phillips, a spokesman for Mayor Bill de Blasio, said on Twitter that 10 sick people had been taken off the plane, and they were heading to Jamaica Hospital.

Philips added that health officials are taking others off one by one and checking for symptoms. About 40 passengers had been cleared and were going to customs.
The Welsh Conservative Party have elected Paul Davies as their new leader in the Assembly.

The AM for Preseli Pembrokeshire previously served as chief whip and was interim leader after the resignation of his predecessor Andrew RT Davies.

Mr Davies beat opponent Suzy Davies by 68.1% of the vote to 31.9%, and promised in his victory speech to topple Labour at the next assembly election in 2021.

Paul Davies promised to provide a `radical alternative for the Welsh public (Adam Hale PA)

Thanks to everyone for your support. I'm delighted that I won the vote of members. Turnout was 52%. Breakdown was 68% / 32%. Thanks to @suzydaviesam for a positive campaign. pic.twitter.com/TDjgByl85P  Paul Davies MS/AS (@PaulDaviesPembs) September 6, 2018

Prime Minister Theresa May offered her congratulations to Mr Davies after the result, saying he would hold a failing Welsh Labour government to account.

The result of the leadership vote cast by members was announced at Ffos Las racecourse in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, on Thursday.

Mr Davies, who becomes the leader of the opposition in the Senedd, said his party had a duty to offer the Welsh public a progressive, innovative and radical alternative to more of the same.

Mr Davies previously suggested a debate to cut taxation in Wales, and said he wanted a country where tax system encourages work, protects the low paid and allows people to keep their hard-earned money.

He refused to say whether Wales would be stronger outside the EU after Brexit, but admitted voting for Remain during the referendum campaign.

Mr Davies said politicians had to respect the wishes of the people and promised to work with Theresa May and the UK government.

Congratulations to @PaulDaviesPembs who has today been elected Leader of @WelshConserv in the Welsh Assembly. There has never been a more vital time for us to hold the failing Labour-run Welsh Government to account. I know hell do a fantastic job speaking up for the Welsh people  Theresa May (@theresa_may) September 6, 2018

He also promised to continue holding the Welsh Government to account with the delayed investigation into the sacking of Labour AM Carl Sargeant, who was found dead days after losing his cabinet job in November last year, saying he thought the Sargeant family had been treated appallingly.

Theresa May said in a statement: I warmly congratulate Paul Davies on his election as leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh Assembly, and look forward to working with him and the rest of our team as they hold Labours failing Welsh Government to account.

There has never been a more vital time to do this, and I know that Paul will do a fantastic job speaking up for the Welsh people.

Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales, said: Id like to extend my congratulations to Paul Davies, the new leader of Conservative Group in the Assembly and my commiserations to Suzy Davies who fought a great campaign across Wales. Suzy will continue to play a key part in the Assembly group and the Welsh party.

Many congratulations to @PaulDaviesPembs elected as new leader of @WelshConserv leader in the Assembly - great campaign fought by @suzydaviesam. We will continue to hold Labour to account in Wales and deliver for #Wales pic.twitter.com/Q3kQxYtc9Y  Alun Cairns (@AlunCairns) September 6, 2018

I have worked with Paul over many years and I am excited by the enthusiasm, ideas and close collaboration that he will bring to the role.

I look forward to working with Paul to hold the failing Welsh Labour Government to account after two decades of control, but more importantly in ensuring that the Conservatives in Cardiff Bay and Westminster can continue to deliver for the whole of Wales.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has accused the Government of failing to ensure proper safeguarding on a school network app.

It emerged earlier this year that a pornographic image had been uploaded to the Yammer app in April, with the app later taken down in June after a separate incident.

At First Ministers Questions at Holyrood, Mr Leonard called for an investigation and said the app is back online despite no proper safeguarding product being procured for it by the Government.

Yammer is used in Scottish schools (PA)

He said: The Deputy First Minister was told about pornographic material on this app in April and the app remained online until June.

The SNP government still has not put in place proper safeguarding for a social networking app used in Scotland's schools. #FMQs pic.twitter.com/8qQsMc6ZtH  Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) September 6, 2018

The Government is only now looking for a safeguarding product for Yammer, with the specification expected to be issued tomorrow at the earliest.

So not only did the Government relaunch this app without proper safeguarding, it relaunched it without knowing what proper safeguarding looks like.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pointed out the app is only back online for teachers and not for pupils.

There is an investigation and a review already under way being carried out by Education Scotland, she said.

Yammer is offline to pupils, pupils cannot currently access it and will not be able to access it until we are satisfied that those issues are resolved.
The British Government has put its own survival and its relationship with the DUP ahead of its obligations to the peace process, Sinn Fein claimed.

The pro-Brexit Democratic Unionists MPs are propping up Prime Minister Theresa Mays minority Government in key votes.

Newry and Armagh Sinn Fein Assembly member Conor Murphy said the prospect of a court ordering a fresh Stormont election had caused Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley to rule out the step for a limited period.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley gives an update to MPs in the House of Commons (PA)

Mr Murphy said: There is no doubt that the prospect, we think, of a court-ordered election has caused the British Government to consider their relationship and arrangement with the DUP in Westminster as opposed to their obligations to the Good Friday Agreement, and yet again they have acted in the interests of their own survival.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely ended decades of violence and heralded the devolved institutions.

One requirement on the Northern Ireland Secretary has been to call an election if powersharing collapsed.

Mrs Bradley said it had not been an easy decision to set aside that obligation for a limited and prescribed period, effectively ruling out another poll for now.

She said: I have thought about this long and hard. I have considered all the options and it feels to me like an election is not going to resolve the situation and my priority is how do we get devolved government and an election is not going to deliver that.

We had an election, we have properly elected MLAs [Members of the Legislative Assembly], the people have already said who they want to represent them and form a Government, now we need to get on and form that Government.

I think calling an election at the moment would be an absolute waste of money and a complete distraction and the people of Northern Ireland simply dont want it.

.@DUPleader comments following the NI Secretary of States statement in the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/VmsKZV0psW  DUP (@duponline) September 6, 2018

DUP leader Arlene Foster said Sinn Fein were the roadblock to forming a ministerial Executive at Stormont and expressed her frustration.

She said: Ultimately, Northern Ireland needs a ministerial decision-making mechanism which respects democracy.

We have been and will continue to press the Government to get a mechanism in place which can ensure decisions about front line services are no longer left in abeyance.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he was concerned.

I have noted the announcement this morning by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, of proposed temporary amendments to the legislative framework for the calling of an Assembly election, in the continuing absence of the Northern Ireland Executive.

I am deeply concerned at the continuing impasse in Northern Ireland and I spoke with the Secretary of State last night to again convey that concern, which she shares.

Todays announcement further underlines the seriousness of the absence of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, and the urgent requirement for all with responsibilities to do everything in their power to get them operating again.

The strong and consistent calls from across all sections of the community in Northern Ireland for the devolved institutions to operate must be heeded.
A disgraced police inspector who admitted making or distributing more than 300 indecent images of children has been sacked.

Lee Bartram, of West Midlands Police, was thrown out of the force at a fast-track gross misconduct hearing held at its headquarters on Thursday.

Chief Constable David Thompson told the special case hearing Bartrams actions had brought a huge amount of discredit and disapproval on the force, and had risked undermining broader public confidence in policing.

Bartram, 44, of Bustleholme Lane, West Bromwich, pleaded guilty to five counts of making indecent images of a child and two counts of distributing similar images, at a court hearing last month.

The material included a film of a six-year-old boy, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

The charges, spanning a period between August 2013 and the same month of this year, relate to a total of 328 images, including some found on an iPad and an iPhone.

At the force misconduct hearing Bartram, who chose not to attend, was represented by his Police Federation representative.

The inspector had a high profile role in policing Birmingham city centre, attending events like Birmingham Pride, and the St Patricks Day Parade in March this year.

After finding a case against Bartram for gross misconduct proven, Mr Thompson gave his findings in a hearing lasting only 10 minutes.

He said: In this particular case, Inspector Bartram held a very senior and high profile position in the force, and would have been seen as a well-regarded officer.

The shock caused is therefore high. The disappointment, horror, and disgust is even higher.

The public rely on the police to carry out their role with diligence.

The most vulnerable in society should always feel they can rely on the police.

His actions are a serious breach of that trust and confidence.

They carry a far higher risk of undermining broader confidence in policing.

Describing Bartrams crimes as totally incompatible with the police, Mr Thompson said: He is dismissed without notice, having brought a huge amount of discredit and disapproval on the force.

The force has voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in connection with Bartrams offending.

Following the hearing, West Midlands police and crime commissioner David Jamieson signalled he would be looking at removing a portion of Bartrams police pension  that segment made up of the contributions made by the force  once criminal proceedings have concluded.

A spokesman for the commissioners office said: We are looking at this very closely.

We now have to wait for all the criminal justice procedures to conclude.
A policeman has been discharged from hospital after being stabbed in the chest during an attempted carjacking caught on CCTV.

West Midlands Police said the West Mercia officer, who was off-duty at the time of Wednesdays attack in Great Barr, Birmingham, is now recovering at his home.

The force has released CCTV of the incident captured by a camera at a nearby shop at around 1.30pm.

Still image taken from CCTV of an attack on an off-duty police officer in Birmingham (West Midlands Police/PA)

The victim was approached by a masked offender who demanded the keys to his car before lashing out with a knife.

The 25-year-old officer was taken to hospital and treated for his injuries, which are not said to be serious.

Detective Inspector Chris Fox, from force CID, said: I am appealing for anyone with information on what happened to come forward and speak to us.

The offender made off from the scene in a dark blue Ford Fiesta. He was wearing dark clothing but, as can be seen in the video, the hood appears to be of a shiny material. Do you recognise it?

If you know anything, no matter how insignificant it may seem, please get in touch as it could be vital to our investigation.

Anyone with information is urged to contact West Midlands Police on 101, via Live Chat on the force website between 8am and 9pm, or anonymously via the Crimestoppers hotline.
A failure to reach agreement with the European Union on policing and security matters post-Brexit would be suboptimal, a member of Theresa Mays Government has conceded.

Scottish Secretary David Mundell insisted ministers are optimistic a deal can be done on the issue before the UK formally quits the EU.

But he said contingency planning will be carried out to set out what is envisaged would happen if there were not to be these existing arrangements.

He was questioned on the issue the day after the UK obtained a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) for the extradition of two men alleged to have been behind the Novichok attack in Salisbury in March.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent, with UK authorities having now identified two members of the GRU  Russias military intelligence service  as being responsible.

Scottish Secretary david Mundell (Andrew Cowan/PA)

They were named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, although detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and those are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

MSPs on the Scottish Parliaments Justice Committee questioned Mr Mundell on what would happen if the UK could no longer participate in the EAW scheme after Brexit.

The Tory MP told them: There will be contingency planning and most likely what is called a technical notice which will set out what is envisaged would happen if there were not to be these existing arrangements.

He said the UK is seeking to reach agreement in relation to the arrest warrants, and added: We dont believe that there isnt any reason why that isnt achievable.

Can you help us with our investigation into the #Salisbury attack?



If you know these men or saw them in the UK between Friday 2 March and Sunday 4 March, contact police in confidence.



 0800 789 321

 Salisbury2018@met.police.uk pic.twitter.com/VeekJtrcrJ  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) September 6, 2018

About 10,000 individuals wanted by European member states were returned to them by the UK last year, Mr Mundell said, adding that continuing the scheme had huge benefits for other countries across Europe.

He continued: The initial feedback is a positive one, that the EU states see the benefit in this area, particularly in security matters, in policing and justice issues, of having ongoing co-operation. Therefore there is a positive environment in which to have that negotiation.

Mr Mundell also made clear the UK Government is in the process of producing a series of technical notices, which set out what would happen in the eventualities essentially of no-deal, saying such matters would be included.

He told the committee: Im not going to suggest that not reaching an agreement in relation to this would be anything other than suboptimal. It would be.

But Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said that seems a rather significant understatement.
Four Grenfell Tower residents were accidentally left to die in an upper-floor flat after a calamitous mix-up during the rescue effort, an inquiry has heard.

Eight tenants from the 14th floor had been told by firefighters to hunker down in flat 113 and await rescue  but only four were taken out.

It emerged at the Grenfell Tower inquiry on Thursday that the team tasked with saving them were under the impression only a family of three were in the flat.

Grenfell Tower (David Mirzoeff/PA)

But, in an extraordinary divergence of accounts, rescuer Peter Herrera had his story called into question by survivor Omar al-Haj Ali, whose brother Mohammad died that night.

The Lambeth firefighter was accused of being mistaken  and challenged about how he could have missed four people in the flat if he had looked properly.

Mr Herrera insisted he did not make this up, but closed his evidence saying he was very, very, very sorry if anyone thought he had failed them.

He told the hearing at Holborn Bars he had arrived at flat 113 to find the electricity out and the family of three  Oluwaseun Talabi, his partner and their young daughter.

The family were reluctant to leave, but he pulled them out and sent them down the stairs with his colleagues.

He then noticed a silhouette in the flat, according to his written statement, which transpired to be Omar al-Haj Ali.

Omar had been with Mohammad and their 14th-floor neighbours Denis Murphy, Zainab Deen and her young son Jeremiah.

The firefighter asked the man if anyone else was left in the flat and was allegedly told: No, Im the last one.

Omar was quickly rushed down the stairwell with Mr Talabi and his family.

The firefighter claimed he only realised the mistake later in the night, when he saw Omar on the phone to his trapped brother outside the tower.

His statement said: He then went on to say, I am still on the phone to him, he is on his knees praying. He also said, I was mistaken.

I remember saying to (crew manager Benjamin McAlonen), oh f***.

There seemed to be some confusion as I recall Syrian man being very clear earlier that no-one else was in the flat. I said to him dont worry, I will sort it out.

But his version of both conversations was hotly contested by Mr al-Haj Ali.

The survivor, who was present at the hearing along with Mr Talabi, claimed he never said the flat was empty, nor did he later admit being mistaken.

Counsel to the inquiry Andrew Kinnier QC said: Mr al-Haj Ali wants me to suggest to you that the account of that conversation is mistaken  would your response be effectively the one you have already provided?

It must have been a mistake on one of our parts, yes, Mr Herrera said.

Mr Kinnier continued: Mr al-Haj Ali would want to say that you didnt come into the lounge  what would you say to that?

He replied: I was there and I know what I did  I spoke to the gentleman, he was there, I was there. I didnt make this up, I was with him.

The firefighter said he did not search the remaining rooms as he assumed there was no-one there.

Several of the remaining residents were found dead within flat 113, the inquiry was told.

Mr Herrera was asked by Mr Kinnier why he did not notice them, if they were in there, if you looked properly.

He replied: Thats the thing, I didnt see them, they werent there.

Especially if Im being told he was the last person, there was no need to look, from my point of view that flat was empty.

Mr Talabi could be seen shaking his head at the answer.

Earlier, the firefighter who made the initial decision to move the 14th-floor residents into one flat also apologised.

Desmond Murphy, a firefighter from Kensington, assessed it was too dangerous to take the group down the smoke-logged stairwell and found flat 113 to have safe air.

He, colleague Charles Cornelius and two firefighters from Acton including Nicke Merrion were forced to leave for the lower floors as they ran low on oxygen.

They told their superiors at the operational hub that eight people, six adults and two children required rescue in flat 113, the inquiry was told.

Working hard to maintain composure, Mr Murphy told Thursdays hearing: I would just like to say to the family members of Denis Murphy and the family members of the other seven residents I came into contact with on the 14th floor  Im very sorry we couldnt get your loved ones out of the building.

Mohammad al-Haj Ali, Ms Deen and her son and Denis Murphy all died in the fire.
Four people are dead, including the gunman, after a shooting incident at a bank in the US city of Cincinnati.

Police chief Eliot Isaac said the shooter opened fire at the loading dock of the Fifth Third Bank building.

He said the gunman then entered the banks lobby where he exchanged gunfire with police. It is unclear if the gunman shot himself or was killed by officers.

The gunman was `shooting innocent victims, the mayor said (AP)

One of the victims died at the scene.

Cincinnati mayor John Cranley said the gunman was actively shooting innocent victims and that it was a horrific scene.
The UK Government is investing 80 million in the development of technology that could help in search and rescue missions, hostage situations and aid firefighters in saving more lives.

The cash will be used to fund quantum imaging technology research at institutions across the country, including Strathclyde and Glasgow universities, over a five-year period, the Chancellor said.

Philip Hammond said it would allow the UK to remain at the forefront of this exciting technological revolution.

Quantum imaging technology could be used to provide high-quality X-ray images, helping emergency services get a more accurate live image before embarking on rescue attempts.

Today I visited @UniStrathclyde in Glasgow to announce 80m to help industry develop quantum technology.



Thanks to Sir Jim Mcdonald for showing me around. https://t.co/D6MJpNSJAM pic.twitter.com/QhvA3gGGcR  Philip Hammond (@PhilipHammondUK) September 6, 2018

It could also be used to see through snow storms, around corners and map hidden underground hazards.

Speaking during a visit to the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Mr Hammond said: The UK is a world leader in quantum technologies, but others are investing hard to catch up with us.

The 80 million in new funding that I have announced today will ensure that we remain at the forefront of this exciting technological revolution.

Technological leadership boosts our economy and our productivity, meaning higher growth and higher wages.

Mr Hammond toured the universitys Technology and Innovation Centre (Andrew Milligan/PA)

Chief executive of UK Research and Innovation Sir Mark Walport said: This new funding for the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme will provide reassurance to the research base and the industries in the field that the UK is serious about being a world leader in the field and is investing long-term.

Subject to approvals, the funding will give certainty to leading researchers and students, and help attract more investment and jobs to the local area.

The Chancellor also announced at least 25 million will be made available to develop next generation (5G) mobile technology in specific sectors of the economy, with firms able to bid for funding.
Leaders of the UKs allies have backed Theresa Mays claim that the suspects in the Salisbury nerve agent attack are Russian spies.

US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement with Mrs May agreeing with the British assessment that the operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level in Moscow.

The two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning  Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  have been identified by the UK as members of the GRU, Russias military intelligence service.

In the joint statement, the leaders said: We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level. 

They added that the announcement about the suspects further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies.

Mrs May has spoken to all four of her fellow leaders in recent days to update them about the investigation.

The leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom make a joint statement on the Salisbury attack: https://t.co/SCtW7uQa0n  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) September 6, 2018

Her comments came as the war of words with Vladimir Putins government escalated following the explosive claim of GRU involvement.

Security minister Ben Wallace said Mr Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the action of his intelligence agents.

He said Mr Putin had a strong grip over his state, which controls, funds and directs the GRU.

Mr Wallace told the BBC: The GRU is, without doubt, not rogue, it is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, into the Kremlin and the presidents office.

Security minister Ben Wallace said Vladimir Putin bore ultimate responsibility for Russias actions (John Stillwell/PA)

He said the UK would use whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities to push back the Russian malign activity.

But Mr Wallace added: We are not the Russians, we dont adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.

We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way.

The joint statement by leaders of the quint nations came as the UN Security Council  of which Russia is a permanent member  considered the Salisbury revelations.

Mrs Mays official spokesman said that the Prime Minister was pleased to receive such a rapid and united response from allies.

We got a swift response in March and we have done so again and we are thankful for that support, he said.

Prime Minister Theresa May updates MPs over the incident (Mark Duffy/UK Parliament/PA)

Mr Trumps endorsement of the message followed claims that he was reluctant to expel 60 Russian diplomats in the aftermath of the Salisbury attack.

An anonymous article in the New York Times, attributed to a senior official in the Trump administration, claimed that the president complained for weeks about senior staff members letting him get boxed into further confrontation with Russia  But his national security team knew better  such actions had to be taken, to hold Moscow accountable.

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in March.

Detectives believe it is likely the two suspects, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripals Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on March 4.

#Salisbury: UK publishes suspects' names and photos, but shows no willingness to engage with Russia in order to establish the truth. Our offers of cooperation remain on the table. https://t.co/9pASx5T5O6 pic.twitter.com/9MPGBud34w  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) September 5, 2018

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre the same day and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Officers have formally linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury when Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.

Mr Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mrs Mays accusations are unacceptable and that no-one in the Russian leadership has anything to do with the poisoning, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the UK and US of a witch hunt against Russia.

.@OPCW envoy Shulgin: I remember another story of a high-ranking UK official making accusations about CW and citing intelligence information as a proof. pic.twitter.com/MzHl6tvEiK  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) September 6, 2018

Men "working with the most deadly military grade toxin of high purity. How many differences can you spot? pic.twitter.com/OLFZWBJLsC  Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) September 6, 2018

The Russian embassy in the UK used its Twitter account to post a series of messages aimed at undermining the credibility of the UK investigation  including comparisons to the intelligence evidence used to build the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
President Xi Jinping accompanies Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso at a welcoming ceremony held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. FENG YONGBIN / CHINA DAILY

Republic of Congo an all-weather friend, president tells counterpart

President Xi Jinping hailed the Republic of Congo as an all-weather friend on Wednesday as he called for greater efforts by the two sides to deepen mutual political trust and strengthen bilateral communication on issues of policy, vision and strategy.

Xi's remark came as he met in Beijing with Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who is on a state visit to China.

Sassou Nguesso also attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which ended on Tuesday.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of cooperative agreements covering the joint building of the Belt and Road, and bilateral cooperation in areas of economics, technology and taxation.

Noting that bilateral ties are at a historic high, Xi said China stands ready to expand exchanges at various levels, including high-level visits, and intensify exchanges on governance experience.

The two sides should also continue to enrich their bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, he said.

China and the Republic of Congo should also step up coordination on major global issues and make the global governance system and international order more equitable and reasonable, Xi said.

China will unswervingly move forward with bilateral win-win cooperation and welcomes the Republic of Congo to actively participate in the building of the Belt and Road to enable more fruitful outcomes from bilateral exchanges and cooperation in different areas, Xi added.

Sassou Nguesso said the presence of so many African leaders at the summit is indicative of the great importance attached by African countries to China-Africa ties.

He expressed his appreciation of the eight major initiatives proposed by Xi at the summit.

He said that the Republic of Congo is ready to align its development strategies with the Belt and Road Initiative to accelerate development of both sides.

The bilateral friendship is unbreakable, and the country will stay committed to furthering the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two sides and between China and Africa, he said.

Sassou Nguesso, one of the longest-serving political leaders in Africa, has witnessed the friendship between China and the Republic of Congo over the past half century.

He has paid more than a dozen visits to China since the two sides forged diplomatic ties in 1964, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The Foreign Office should be turned into a Brexit super ministry with oversight and control over a number of other Government departments, ministers have been told.

Bob Seely, who sits on the Commons foreign affairs committee, told MPs that the move would allow for better integration between departments and give greater coherence in the approach to foreign affairs.

The Tory MP suggested that the Department for International Trade (DIT), Department for International Development (DFID), defence, the Cabinet Office and even the Prime Ministers office should all fall under the souped-up departments remit.

MPs debated the future of `global Britain in a post Brexit world (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Seely made the comments in the Commons as MPs debated the future of global Britain in a post Brexit world.

He said: Global Britain is a great phrase but we really need to fill it out, there are some questions I have about it.

What are we prioritising, every time our foreign affairs committee says what are you prioritising, its everything.

The FCO doesnt have unlimited resources, global Britain is more than just opening half a dozen extra posts in Papua New Guinea, it has to amount to something.

He added: I am quite a fan of the argument to suggest that the FCO should be a super ministry and having an oversight, a stronger role leading DIT (Department for International Trade) and DFID (Department for International Development) and defence and the Cabinet Office and the Prime Ministers office.

There are so many bits of Government which are now involved in foreign affairs, we want coherence and above all I think the critical thing that we need to learn is how we integrate government better.

Mr Seely also alerted MPs to the dangers posed by a resurgent Russia and urged ministers to adopt a number of new measures to combat Russian aggression.

He called for a small, permanent multi-agency group whose role would be to understand and expose foreign subversive activities, both here and abroad, that threaten the UKs interests.

He added: Second, we need to introduce a list of PR agencies, reputation management firms and others who work as agents for Russian influence in the UK.

If you want to work for Putin or his cronies, directly or via their proxies, you need to be open about it.

Tom Tugendhat, foreign affairs committee chairman, later warned that the devil of war in Europe could return without co-operation after Brexit.

Mr Tugendhat gave a coded warning that those seeking the hardest possible Brexit and isolation through rejecting common rules and co-operation were leading the UK back towards centuries of war before the EU.

Many people today do not believe in the devil, he said.

They do not believe in the evil of war coming back to Europe.

They do not believe in the dangers of the undermining of the international system because they believe, in many ways, that the rules are in some way optional. The truth is they are simply not.

Just because you do not believe in the devil does not mean he doesnt exist and does not mean he cannot return.

Middle East minister Alistair Burt, responding to the debate for the Government, said: Whilst we worry about what we might lose, let us recognise and cherish the world that we have and defend it and its values robustly, even though it sometimes calls upon compromise.

Not mistaking evolution for fragility nor allowing the undermining of rules of seemingly benign objection.

He added: To echo a great phrase of Robert Kennedy: global Britain will continue to see the world as it is, and question why, but never lose sight of a world as it might be and ask why not.
Brexit presents one of the biggest challenges since Irish independence, the countrys premier has said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told Fine Gael ministers, TDs and party members that his position remains firm that a backstop will be in place as part of the withdrawal treaty.

In his opening speech at the parliamentary partys two-day Think In, Mr Varadkar said he will bring home the best possible deal from the Brexit negotiations.

Leo Varadkar said `we will stand our ground on Brexit (Brian Lawless/PA)

The event, held in Co Galway, will see the partys faithful discuss a range of issues, including the upcoming budget, housing and Brexit.

As we all know, Brexit presents one of the greatest challenges since independence, he said.

Were working tirelessly to get the best possible deal for this country. We are preparing our businesses and our agriculture sector, as well as ensuring the transport sector is ready for whatever happens.

I want to reiterate that it is our desire that there will be the closest possible relationship between the EU and the UK after Brexit.

If that does not prove possible, the backstop will be in place as part of the withdrawal treaty to ensure no hard border on the island and this will apply unless and until a better solution is found.

You can be sure that the Tanaiste (Simon Coveney), (European Affairs) Minister (Helen) McEntee and I will be deeply engaged and vigilant on all aspects of Brexit in the weeks ahead.

We will bring home the best deal possible and we will stand our ground.

The Think In event comes ahead of Fine Gaels 85th birthday this weekend, which Mr Varadkar said was an opportunity to reflect on the countrys progress.

Speaking to the media, the Taoiseach said that a lot of work will be done over the coming months.

The @FineGael Think In is just getting underway in Galway. Good opportunity to discuss our priorities for the upcoming Dail term. Its going to be a busy one. pic.twitter.com/tnUk6DHtaI  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) September 6, 2018

He added: Theres the budget, theres continuing negotiations on Brexit, ensuring we continue to improve living standards, and also focusing on issues of grave concern to the party and the public, including healthcare and housing.

I look forward to having a robust and interesting couple of days in Galway.

Mr Varadkar also said that while he does not expect there will be a general election, it would be prudent to be ready for one.

He added that his party is not contemplating approaching other parties about a confidence and supply agreement after Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin turned down his request to hold talks on extending their current arrangement.

Im not contemplating that, what we have asked is for Fianna Fail to come to the table and talk about renewing the agreement, he added.

I want to take away the uncertainty about when the next election is going to be held.
A tax cut for millions of Britains self-employed people has been scrapped by the Treasury.

The scrapping of Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) was due to take effect in April this year but Chancellor Philip Hammond delayed it by 12 months and has now cancelled the proposal altogether.

The move would have given around three million workers an extra 130 a year.

The move would have given around three million workers an extra 130 a year (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell accused the Government of betraying the self-employed, saying: This is yet another betrayal of the self-employed. These people are the engine of the economy and have been let down again, while giant corporations have seen their tax bills slashed.

Few will ever trust Philip Hammond or the Tories again.

Although more than three million were set to benefit from the tax cut, there were fears the move would hit 300,000 self-employed workers who earn under 6,000 a year.

They would have been moved to Class 3 National Insurance Contributions  raising their weekly payments from 2.95 to 14.65.

Treasury minister Robert Jenrick, in a written ministerial statement, said: We delayed the implementation of this policy in November to consider concerns relating to the impact on self-employed individuals with low profits.

We have since engaged with interested parties to explore the issue, and further options for addressing any unintended consequences.

A significant number of self-employed individuals on the lowest profits would have seen the voluntary payment they make to maintain access to the State Pension rise substantially.

Having listened to those likely to be affected by this change we have concluded that it would not be right to proceed during this parliament, given the negative impacts it could have on some of the lowest earning in our society.

Mr Jenrick said the Government remained committed to simplifying the tax system for the self-employed and will keep the issue under review.

John OConnell, chief executive of the TaxPayers Alliance, said the Government was letting down the self-employed.

He said: Millions of self-employed people in Britain who were promised lower and simpler taxes next year will be extremely disappointed by this announcement.

High taxes on the self-employed discourages entrepreneurship and risk-taking. If the Government wants to make contributions more equivalent between the employed and self-employed, then they should instead give those on salaries a tax cut.

Royal London policy director Sir Steve Webb, a former Liberal Democrat minister, said: It is ludicrous to retain two separate rates of national insurance on the self-employed.

It is especially hard to see how retaining a Class 2 system that raises just 2.95 per week per person can be justified. This is purely about raising taxes to pay for spending commitments in as low-key a manner as possible.
Scotlands mental health minister is to meet with the family of a man who took his own life after contacting health services eight times in the week before he died.

Luke Henderson was found dead on December 29 last year at his home in Motherwell where he lived with his partner and two children.

Labour MSP Monica Lennon spoke about Mr Henderson at First Ministers Questions, saying lessons must be learned from the catalogue of failures that led to his preventable death.

The Government was urged to review suicide prevention procedures following the death (PA)

She said: A few days after celebrating Christmas with his partner Karen and their two young children, my constituent Luke Henderson completed suicide.

Thank you for helping to raise awareness Hannah. Im pleased @NicolaSturgeon has agreed to the Minister for Mental Health meeting Karen. Its so important families are listened to. #suicideprevention #FMQs https://t.co/EVduK8XXJQ  Monica Lennon MSP (@MonicaLennon7) September 6, 2018

As reported in the Sunday Post, Luke pleaded with health services for help eight times in the six days directly before he died, but was either turned away or referred elsewhere.

Nothing will bring Luke back, but his family desperately want to know that lessons have been learned from the catalogue of failures that led to his preventable death.

Will the First Minister please ask the minister for mental health to meet with Karen McKeown and take urgent action to review suicide prevention procedures in NHS Lanarkshire?

Nicola Sturgeon said minister Clare Haughey will be happy to meet Mr Hendersons family, and this will be set up as quickly as possible.

The First Minister said: If there are lessons to be learned from this, or any case involving any health board, it is essential that that is done.

She added the Government published its updated suicide prevention plan in the summer with a target for reductions and said each person who takes their own life is one too many.

Iain Mackenzie, acting general manager for mental health services at NHS Lanarkshire, said: We are aware of this tragic matter and undertook a review in line with Health Improvement Scotland guidelines, which aims to identify any learning points.

Members of our patient affairs team have also subsequently met with Ms McKeown with a view to further investigate the issues raised by her, and the team is also liaising with the other services involved.

The investigation is still ongoing and once it is complete we will share the findings with Ms McKeown.
A devastated man whose mothers death has been linked to a mesh implant has called for the products to be completely banned.

Eileen Baxter, 75, died in August after being admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Multiple organ failure was said to have led to her death, with sacrocolopexy mesh repair  an implant to fix a pelvic organ prolapse  noted as an underlying cause.

Her son Mark, 52, said if his mother had known the potential implications she would never have had the implant, which he said destroyed her quality of life and robbed her of her dignity.

He said: Prior to the implant she was the life and soul of the party, she was a great dancer and she loved going shopping.

After the implant she was not able to do the simple things in life, she could never do what she once was able to do. It hurt my mum so much, but she put on a brave face.

It was hard to see my mum like that and she was in a lot of pain.

The Scottish Government has said it will consider whether a review or inquiry should be held in the wake of Mrs Baxters death.

Mr Baxter welcomed the news but also called for a complete ban on the implants.

He said: I want to see it totally banned. I dont want to see any other woman going through what my mum went through, or any other family going through it.

It is hard to read that they are still carrying out this procedure.

My mum has been a massive loss, not just to me and my family but outside the family circle. She was my best pal and my best friend.

He said he was devastated at what happened to his mother, and added: That mesh took my mothers dignity completely away.

Mrs Baxter, from Loanhead in Midlothian, leaves her husband Chic, two children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Scottish Labour said it is believed to be the first time a mesh implant has been officially listed as a cause of death in Scotland.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: The news that a repair to a mesh implant carried out by NHS Scotland was a contributing factor in the death of Eileen Baxter will deeply distress not only her family but the many hundreds of women in Scotland who underwent this procedure.

In light of Mrs Baxters death, it is crucial that the Cabinet Secretary for Health investigates this specific case fully to ensure no further harm is done to women in any part of the country.

This news leaves absolutely no doubt that the minister must also now immediately ban mesh implants from NHS Scotland.

Many women who have undergone this procedure say they have experienced infections, bleeding and even paralysis.

Mesh implants should be consigned to the history books and those manufacturers who potentially broke the law should be prosecuted.

Dr Tracey Gillies, medical director at NHS Lothian, said: We are unable to discuss individual care without consent. If patients or relatives have concerns surrounding care or treatment, we would urge them to get in touch with us and contact our patient experience team.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: Our condolences go to the family and friends of Eileen Baxter.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on individual patients or their treatment, but we will give any information supplied to us on Ms Baxters case very careful consideration.
The number of homicides in London so far this year has reached 100, with nearly three in five being fatal stabbings and one third of the victims aged 16 to 24.

Amid heightened concern about rising levels of violent crime, the grim tally in the capital includes 59 stabbings, 10 shootings and one case involving a knife and gun.

The remainder were down to a variety of causes including suspected arson, assault, head injuries and compression to the neck.

The death of a woman in her late forties following an arson attack on a townhouse in Woolwich, south London, on September 6 took the toll to 100 after the Metropolitan Police said they had launched a murder investigation.

The highest proportion of the victims  34  were in the age range 16 to 24 years, Press Association analysis shows, while 15 were aged 25 to 34 and 17 aged 35 to 44.

(PA Graphics)

Four children aged 15 and under died, while 14 of the victims were believed to be aged 45 to 54, seven aged 55 to 64 and nine were 65 or over.

There has been renewed focus on the number of homicides in the capital this year, amid rising levels of violent crime in the UK.

With the lowest number of Metropolitan Police officers since 2001, there has also been a worsening of the violence on the capitals streets.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt, who has dealt with violent crime for around a decade, said in June that weapons such as zombie knives, hunting knives and machetes were being used more often.

Killings were more likely to be carried out by feral gangs of attackers rather than one assailant, and officers were being forced to effectively practise trauma medicine on stabbing victims due to the levels of injury.

(PA Graphics)

Steve OConnell, chairman of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, said: We have reached an awful total of 100 homicides this year. The overwhelming use of knives in these killings presents a severe challenge to the police and our community.

We must take a long hard look at the causes of violence in all its forms.

The latest toll means it will be the fourth year in a row that at least 100 homicides have been recorded in London.

A total of 131 homicides were recorded in the capital in 2017, according to the latest Home Office figures. This includes the 13 people killed in the Westminster and London Bridge terror attacks.

Some 111 homicides were recorded in 2016 and 122 in 2015.

Before this the number of police-recorded homicides in London had been falling, from 164 in 2007 to 91 in 2014.

The use of knives is presenting a severe challenge to police (Katie Collins/PA)

Nationally in terms of youth homicides, 17% of victims in England and Wales in 2016/17 were aged 16-24 (104 out of 613), based on the latest figures from the Home Office Homicide Index.

The equivalent proportion in 2015/16 was 15%, and in 2014/15 it was 17%.

This compares with 34% of victims in London so far in 2018.

Senior figures have blamed the drugs trade as one factor fuelling the violence, with Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Justice Secretary David Gauke hitting out at middle-class cocaine users.

Cressida Dick has condemned middle-class cocaine users (Victoria Jones/PA)

In July Ms Dick said: There is this challenge that there are groups of middle-class people who will sit round happily thinking about global warming and fair trade and environmental protection and all sorts of things, organic food, but think theres no harm in taking a bit of cocaine. Well there is. There is misery throughout the supply chain.

Police bosses have focused on cracking so-called county lines networks, where urban drug dealers force or manipulate children or other vulnerable people to courier banned substances to customers outside the city.

Between April and early September the Mets Violent Crime Taskforce also seized 1,500 knives, more than 180 guns, 600 other weapons and made 4,000 violent crime arrests.

And the commissioner has highlighted the role of social media in quickly escalating disputes between young people.

Some of this has been linked to the drill music scene, where rappers use songs littered with references to violence to taunt rival groups.

The homicide victims so far this year include Siddique Kamara, 23, who performed as Incognito, and Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton, 17, who were both members of the Moscow17 drill group.

Moscow 17 rapper Rhyhiem Ainsworth Barton was shot dead near his home in south London.

There was also Jordan Douherty, 15, who used the name Young Valenti; Kelvin Odunuyi, 19, known as DipDat, and Latwaan Griffiths, who called himself Splash Addict.

Another potential cause highlighted by youth charity workers is social deprivation.

Patrick Green, head of the Ben Kinsella Trust, said violent gang postcode wars are most likely to spring up in the poorest areas, while Beth Murray from Catch 22 said it is hard for young people to find purpose after cuts to youth services.
Irelands housing minister has threatened a number of local authorities over their failure to deal with the massive housing crisis in the country.

Eoghan Murphy said he has written to two or three local authorities warning them he would remove their powers if they did not implement housing policies.

Mr Murphy said he understood there is a lot of frustration and hurt caused by the housing crisis.

Eoghan Murphy said he understood there is a lot of frustration and hurt caused by the housing crisis (Niall Carson/PA)

He said that while the Government is committed to fixing the problem, some local authorities are taking too much time.

Speaking at the Fine Gael Think In event in Co Galway, he said: I think its right for people to say enough is enough in certain areas when we see the number families that are in emergency accommodation today and tonight and its unacceptable.

Thats why I wrote to certain local authorities yesterday to tell them that there are changes they need to make immediately and if they dont I will have recourse for emergency powers within my department to step in and take control of some of those functions so that I can be sure working with the best people possible that we can get those families out of emergency accommodation and get them into homes.

His comments come as proposals to establish a Land Development Agency were unveiled at the Parliamentary Party meeting in Salthill.

It will be funded by 1.25 billion which the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said would allow the Government to build social and affordable homes.

While Mr Murphy refused to reveal the authorities he has contacted, he added that two or three have not put in place housing crisis solutions.

For those authorities who are not implementing policies I will be dealing with them directly  there are powers available to me under the Housing Act to be able to do that, he added.

He said that local authorities have emergency powers at their disposal to put these arrangements in place and that a number are being too slow to act on these.

The buck does stop with me, he said.

If they dont do this I have recourse to appoint a person or bring a function back into the department to make sure it is happening in that area.

The minister referred to the Governments five-year housing plan adding that there is no quick fix solution to the growing housing crisis.

Government figures show there are 9,891 homeless people living in Ireland, a rise of 19 from June.

The Housing Minister has faced mounting pressure and criticism after a homeless woman and her seven children were forced to sleep at a Garda station last month.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe stepped in during the media briefing to support his party colleague saying that Mr Murphy was committed to deal with the issues.

He said: While others in other oppositions parties are attacking Eoghan personally, what we are all seeing from Eoghan is his personal determination to deal with one of the most difficult issues we have in our society and our economy.

I can think of no one more committed to deal with these or has a better grasp of what we need to do.

Mr Murphy accused some authorities of using excuses which were unacceptable and threatened that if they did implement their emergency powers, he would be forced to step in.

He continued: When I look at emergency accommodation, not enough progress has been made and its unacceptable we continue to see an increase in the number of families and individuals in emergency accommodation and its unacceptable that two or three local authorities are not putting in place solutions that I have given them the resources for, the policies for and the money for.

Now its time for them to do that and I have been quite clear about that.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived for a charity performance to raise money for veterans and mark the centenary of the final days of the First World War.

Harry and Meghan were greeted by former Army chief Lord Dannatt at Central Hall in Westminster, London, on Thursday night for the concert titled 100 Days To Peace.

Soprano Lesley Garrett was to perform a WB Yeats poem, and Sir Karl Jenkins was set to conduct The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, an anti-war piece performed by choir and orchestra.

Meeting the general who led the Army between 2006 and 2009, Meghan wore a dark blue dress by Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu.

Meghan was wearing a dress by Jason Wu (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Harry was in a sombre navy suit.

The peer, accompanied by his wife Lady Philippa, spoke warmly with the royal couple before they entered the Great Hall for the show.

After standing for the national anthem, they took their seats.

In the intermission, they were to meet with performers and charity leaders.

The show, presented by the Royal Armouries museum, will raise money for three charities supporting veterans with mental health issues  Help for Heroes, Combat Stress and Heads Together.
Labour MEP Catherine Stihler has become the latest Labour member to publicly call for a peoples vote.

While the Labour Party does not support holding a referendum on the terms of the UKs final Brexit deal, Ms Stihler said she absolutely, uneqivocally supported such a ballot.

Labour politicians, including MPs Ian Murray, Chuka Umunna and Stella Creasy, have already declared their support for the campaign.

Labour politicians, including MPs Ian Murray, Chuka Umunna and Stella Creasy, have already declared their support for the campaign (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Ms Stihler said: What could be more democratic than putting something as important as this to a vote.

She made the call during a special debate at Holyrood, held in memory of former Labour MP and Edinburgh University politics professor John P Mackintosh.

The Scottish MEP said by quitting the European Union, the UK was going to leave our most improtant trading partner, when so many peoples jobs rely on that trade.

With Britain due to formally leave the EU at the end of March 2019, she said people still dont know what the Government wants.

Ms Stihler continued: I cant believe we are in this situation, and I dont believe many Leave voters also want to be in this situation, thats why I really now advocate a peoples vote.

I absolutely, unequivocally think we need to have a vote on what the deal is, absolutely.

However, she made clear she did not support a second Scottish independence referendum, saying: Were not talking about apples and pears here, were talking about two different things.

Ms Stihler continued: We need to look at what is happening, our government is about to take us to a cliff edge, take us into a situation that is (in) nobodys interest. The poorest people in this country are about to be the hardest hit by this decision, the well-off people in our country can walk away and not be touched by this or damaged by this.

This is unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable.

Prime Minister Theresa May has already rejected calls for a vote on the terms of the final Brexit deal, arguing this would be a gross betrayal of our democracy.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched a charity performance for veterans with the former Army chief ultimately responsible for Harry in Afghanistan.

The duke and Meghan sat with Lord Dannatt at Central Hall in Westminster, London, on Thursday night for the concert titled 100 Days To Peace, which was to mark the final stretch of the First World War.

The general led the Army between 2006 and 2009, during which Harry started his first of two tours in Afghanistan in 2007.

Soprano Lesley Garrett performed a WB Yeats poem, and Sir Karl Jenkins was to conduct The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, an anti-war piece performed by choir and orchestra.

Garrett praised Harry for highlighting mental health issues and supporting veterans.

We did sign up before we knew Prince Harry and Meghan would be here, she added.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at the event hand in hand (Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph)

Its so important to support these amazing charities.

Lord Dannatt, accompanied by his wife, spoke warmly with the royal couple before they entered the Great Hall for the show.

During the intermission the peer led Meghan, in a dark blue dress by Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu, and Harry, in a sombre navy suit, to meet performers and charity leaders.

The show, presented by the Royal Armouries Museum, raised money for three charities supporting veterans with mental health issues  Help for Heroes, Combat Stress and Heads Together.
Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang met with President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone and his wife the First Lady, Mrs. Fatima Bio on 1st September 2018, where he welcomed him and his delegation on behalf of the Shanghai Government. He said China and Sierra Leone have been friends and have come through a lot of difficulties.

President Bios state visit and his attendance at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the successful meeting with President Xi Jinping will help usher in a new diplomatic era for Sierra Leone and China, further promoting the full-fledged development of the two countries strategic partnership.

As Chinas biggest economic center, Shanghai is accelerating the process of building itself into an international economic, finance, trade, shipping, and technology and innovation center.

Despite the long distance, Shanghai and Sierra Leone have been strengthening the bi-lateral cooperation in recent years. The city is willing to implement the consensus reached by top leaders from both countries, increase the friendly exchanges, and deepen the cooperation with Sierra Leone, Li added.

President Bio said Sierra Leone has always held the one China policy during its 47-year diplomatic relationship with China. The friendship between Sierra Leone and China has come through a lot of difficulties.

As a modern metropolis, Shanghai has an organized urban management system, innovations, and mature social and economic development, from which Sierra Leone can learn a lot.

Sierra Leone hopes to strengthen the cooperation in trade, education, and agriculture with Shanghai, Bio added.

Wu Peng, Chinas ambassador to Sierra Leone; Zhuge Yujie, secretary-general of the CPC Shanghai Committee; and Xu Kunlin, vice mayor of Shanghai, also attended the meeting.
Twentieth Century Fox has removed a scene from new film The Predator after learning an actor involved is a registered sex offender.

A spokesman for Fox on Thursday said Steven Wilder Striegels single scene in the film was promptly cut after the studio learned of his background.

It comes just hours before its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Fox said it did not know of his history because of legal imitations on running background checks on actors.

Our studio was not aware of Mr Striegels background when he was hired, said the spokesman.

Several weeks ago, when the studio learned the details, his one scene in the film was removed within 24 hours.

Fox was alerted by actress Olivia Munn, who stars in the film and played opposite Striegel in his one scene (Francis Specker/PA)

Shane Black, director of the fourth instalment in the sci-fi action franchise, has long been a friend of Striegels and has frequently cast him in his films.

Black said in a statement: Having read this mornings news reports, it has sadly become clear to me that I was misled by a friend I really wanted to believe was telling me the truth when he described the circumstances of his conviction.

I believe strongly in giving people second chances  but sometimes you discover that chance is not as warranted as you may have hoped.

After learning more about the affidavit, transcripts and additional details surrounding Steve Striegels sentence, I am deeply disappointed in myself.

I apologise to all of those, past and present, Ive let down by having Steve around them without giving them a voice in the decision.

The Los Angeles Times first reported the re-editing of The Predator to remove Striegel.

It said Fox was alerted to Striegels background by actress Olivia Munn, who stars in the film and played opposite Striegel in his one scene.

Striegel plead guilty in 2010 for attempting to entice a 14-year-old female into a sexual relationship via the internet and served six months in jail.

The former Melrose Place actor has previously appeared in Blacks 2013 film Iron Man 3 and his 2016 comedy The Nice Guys.

Black told The Los Angeles Times: I personally chose to help a friend. I can understand others might disapprove, as his conviction was on a sensitive charge and not to be taken lightly.
In a speech in Washington, Jeremy Fleming (pictured) called on the international community to reject the Kremlin's 'brazen determination to undermine the international rules-based order'

The head of GCHQ has said the agency will use the 'full range of tools' against the Kremlin after two Russian intelligence officers were accused of carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

In a speech in Washington, Jeremy Fleming called on the international community to reject Moscow's 'brazen determination to undermine the international rules-based order'.

On Wednesday, two Russian nationals, said to be members of Russia's military intelligence service the GRU, were identified as suspects by police investigating the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal in March.

Mr Fleming said the intelligence community had supported police in a 'painstaking' and 'highly complex' investigation into what happened.

He said: 'We have ascertained exactly who was responsible and the methods they used.

'As you would expect, teams from across GCHQ have worked tirelessly with partners at home and abroad to ensure that our world-class intelligence has informed that investigation.

'Yesterday two GRU operatives were named and arrest warrants issued. The threat from Russia is real. It's active.

'And it will be countered by a strong international partnership of allies. Able to deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus. And ready to reject the Kremlin's brazen determination to undermine the international rules-based order.'

It is the latest rebuke aimed at Moscow by a British spy chief since the Salisbury attack.

In May, Andrew Parker, the Director General of MI5, described the Russian Government as 'chief protagonist' among 'hostile actors'.

Alexander Petrov (left image) and Ruslan Boshirov (right image) are wanted by British authorities after the chemical attack in March this year

In other remarks, Mr Fleming, the Director of GCHQ, said encryption 'enables us all to live safer online lives'.

But he warned: 'Its ubiquity brings anonymity to terrorists, paedophiles and cybercrime gangs who law enforcement and intelligence agencies are trying to stop. And it's getting worse.'

It goes without saying that there has to be close co-operation with technology companies, he said.

'We are confident solutions exist,' Mr Fleming continued. 'And where they do, proportionality, as in everything else we do, is key.

'They should be limited in scope and scalability, supported by modern legislation and with strong oversight to maintain public confidence.'

He also said the signals intelligence partnership between the UK and America was 'one of the jewels in the crown of the 'Special Relationship'.

Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in the poisoning.

Mr Fleming said GCHQ (pictured) would use the 'full range of tools' against Russia's spy agency after two intelligence officers were accused of carrying out the Salisbury attack

Yesterday Russia claimed the UK had been 'mendacious' and was trying to unleash 'disgusting anti-Russian hysteria' during talks at the United Nations.

Diplomat Vasily Nebenzya told the UN security council: 'I'm not going to go through the list of this whole unfounded and mendacious cocktail of facts.

'London needs this story for just one purpose - to unleash a disgusting anti-Russian hysteria and to involve other countries in this hysteria.'

Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in March.

Detectives believe it is likely the two suspects, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Officers have formally linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury when Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.
ASUNCION, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Paraguay will move its embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv, reversing a May decision by former President Horacio Cartes to move the diplomatic site to Jerusalem, the South American country's foreign minister told reporters on Wednesday.

"Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East," Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Castiglioni said.

Cartes had traveled to Israel to inaugurate the new embassy in May. His successor Mario Abdo, also a member of the conservative Colorado party, took office last month. (Reporting by Daniela Desantis Writing by Luc Cohen)
JERUSALEM, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is also the foreign minister, ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay on Wednesday hours after the Latin American nation said it had decided to return its embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

The United States and Guatemala also moved their embassies to Jerusalem in May and Netanyahu has attempted to persuade other countries to follow their lead.

"Israel views with great severity the unusual decision by Paraguay that will strain the ties between the countries," a brief statement from the Prime Minister's office said.

Former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes travelled to Israel to inaugurate the new embassy in May. He was replaced by Mario Abdo, also a member of the conservative Colorado party, last month. (Writing by Ori Lewis, Editing by William Maclean)
By Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - India imported about 523,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Iran in August, down 32 percent on a month earlier, preliminary tanker arrival data showed, as the United States steps up pressure on buyers to halt Iranian energy imports from November.

Some of the shipments were loaded in July and arrived in August, the data obtained by Reuters from trade sources showed.

The August 2018 imports were still 56 percent higher than the same month last year, the data showed, as state refiners were attracted by discounts offered by Iran this year.

Annual import plans by Indian state refiners for 2018/2019 were finalised before President Donald Trump's decision in May to withdraw from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran and to reimpose sanctions.

A senior Indian government official said India, Iran's top oil client after China, would not completely halt Iranian imports and would finalise its strategy on crude purchases after a meeting U.S. officials on Thursday.

In April-August, the first five months of the 2018/2019 fiscal year, India's oil imports from Iran rose 43 percent to 646,200 bpd compared to the same period a year earlier, the data showed.

State-run Indian Oil Corp, the country's top refiner, imported about 4 million barrels in August, equivalent to about 134,000 bpd, or half the amount it imported in July.

State refiners have faced delays in securing permission to use Iranian tankers and insurance, as federal policy requires them to favour Indian shippers and insurers, industry experts said. Western and Indian shippers are winding down their exposure to Iran before sanctions take effect.

Bharat Petroleum Corp's received about 131,000 bpd Iranian oil in August, a third less than July, the data showed.

Reliance Industries Ltd, operator of the world's biggest refining complex, and Hindustan Petroleum Corp NS> did not buy oil from Iran in August. Monthly imports by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals' and Nayara Energy, part owned by Russian oil giant Rosneft, were little changed at about 120,000 bpd and 138,000 bpd, respectively, the data showed.

In January-August 2018, India's oil imports from Iran were up 21 percent at 600,400 bpd compared with the same period a year ago, the data showed.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma Editing by Edmund Blair)
BUENOS AIRES, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Argentina is negotiating a credit line for between $5 billion and $10 billion with the United States, local media outlet Infobae reported on Wednesday.

A spokesman for Argentina's Treasury Ministry had no immediate comment.

The Infobae report, which Reuters could not immediately confirm, came as Argentine government officials in Washington continued talks with the IMF for a second day in hopes of speeding up a $50 billion standby loan to shore up credibility in Argentina's ability to pay its debt.

The peso currency stopped its slide against the U.S. dollar as markets waited for clarity on whether it would disburse the funds early. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Tom Brown)
OTTAWA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Canadian government might appeal a court ruling that overturned federal approval of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

Trudeau told reporters in Edmonton that Ottawa was looking at its legislative and other options after the Federal Court of Appeal last month said the government had failed to adequately consider aboriginal concerns.

The ruling dealt a blow to Trudeau's efforts to balance environmental and economic issues and underscored industry concerns about the obstacles facing major infrastructure projects in Canada.

"We're looking at various options, including legislation, including appeals. ... We are looking at what an appeal would look like, what it would mean," Trudeau told a televised news conference in Edmonton, Alberta. He did not give details.

The pipeline takes oil from Alberta to the Pacific province of British Columbia. Alberta premier Rachel Notley - whom Trudeau was due to meet with later on Wednesday - wants Ottawa to immediately appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Trudeau's government agreed in May to buy the pipeline from Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd for C$4.5 billion ($3.4 billion), betting it would win in the Federal Court of Appeal.

($1 = 1.3186 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Leslie Adler)
Earlier the chief minister demanded that the TNA boycott the Presidential Task force for Northern development



Tamil nationalism defined itself along the line of a distinctive nation, a Tamil homeland and right to selfdetermination



The country should not let a repetition of its violent past, irrespective all good intentions of political correctness

Last week, protesters in Mullaitivu demanded the termination of a Mahaweli project, that was officially intended to facilitate the economic development in the war ravaged region.

Their main demand as explained in a petition handed over to the government agent was: considering the benefits, dis-benefits, challenges and the complication of the Mahaweli project in the North, we are compelled to request you to immediately stop the Mahaweli project in Mullaitivu district and proposed plans in the Northern province.

The protesters alleged the Mahaweli L zone, an offshoot of Sri Lankas largest development project, of Sinhala colonization of the area, and the Archaeological Department of manipulating the history and violating Tamils cultural heritage.

It has always been a rather tricky task to weed out fiction from facts in Tamil political grievances. Though any community may harbour a good deal of imaginary grievances, Tamils have a unique problem: Tamil political psyche is rooted in Tamil exceptionalism, identified as unique cultural, linguistic, historical legacy and in part the perceived superiority of Dravidian civilization. Rather than being absorbed into a larger amalgam of identities, which may often operate under one dominant state identity, Tamil political leadership on both sides of the Palk Straits preferred to play alone. India through its quasi federal constitution and assortment of other measures, managed to appease Tamil exceptionalism to some extent, but Sri Lanka could not, partly because, the very existence of Tamil Nadu with 90 million Tamils next door, both generated anxiety in the Sinhalese political circles to share power, and also emboldened Tamil leadership not to compromise. This status quo gradually weakened as Tamils gradually lost, first, pre-eminence, then the parity in economic and professional life in the country, and finally were herded to a sliver of land off Mullativu lagoon as cannon fodders by a nihilistic terrorist group that the traditional Tamil elites nurtured and identified as the sole representatives of the community.

Few communities, if ever has said no to development, especially when its members are living lives of depravity. When Tamil politicians and instigated local folks demand that the government shut the shop, and leave the North, one should view those demands in association with their historical record. The role of Tamil political class in the countrys economic development from the early days of independence is negligible- though individual Tamil members contributed immensely to professional and economic life, and rose to its height. That is a poor show viewed in the context of political elites of other communities, say, Muslims or Tamils of Indian origin.

Tamil political leadership has always sacrificed economic interests of the country, and their own community to advance political interests born out from primordial impulses of Tamil exceptionalism.

In Sri Lanka, Tamil nationalism defined itself along the line of a distinctive nation, a Tamil homeland and right to self-determination. That gamble proved to be a disaster. However, Tamil political class seems to be keep repeating the old mistake.

Earlier the chief minister C.V. Vigneswaran demanded that the Tamil National Alliance boycott the Presidential Task force for Northern development, because as he feels a political solution is far more important than economic development. TNA snubbed him. However, for quite sometime, Mr Vigneswaran has ganged up with Tamil nationalist parties such as Gajendra Kumar Ponnambalams Tamil National Peoples Front and founded Tamil Peoples Council, which he may use to contest the provincial council election in the likely case of rejection of nomination by the TNA.

"Tamil political psyche is rooted in Tamil exceptionalism, identified as unique cultural, linguistic, historical legacy and in part the perceived superiority of Dravidian civilization."

As the TNA has taken a moderate posture in its dealing with the central government, Mr. Vigneswaran and his buddies are trying to fill the vacuum in the political discourse of the radical Tamil nationalism. In the recent history of Tamil politics, it was this intense electoral competition that drew all Tamil parties to the fringes, and inspired the Vadukkodai resolution. There is no guarantee that the history would not be repeated.

In Sri Lanka, Tamil nationalism defined itself along the line of a distinctive nation, a Tamil homeland and right to selfdetermination.



Tamils do, of course, have special grievances. However, being rather unique political grievances, they are by products of a protracted war and they are primarily economic.



This is also a catch 22 situation. Keep away from the North, and let Mr Vigneswaran and the Northern Provincial Council to run the show



The majority of Jaffna youth who listen to rabid nationalist orations of their leaders, will go home, eat a rottie and sleep

Tamils do, of course, have special grievances. However, being rather unique political grievances, they are by products of a protracted war and they are primarily economic. The North and the East lag way behind the rest of the country in all economic indicators. Those disparities need to be addressed, along with a decent degree of power sharing to the provinces.

However, even the most well intentioned efforts to address economic grievances could also cause a sense of psychological, and physical displacement. When primordial instincts of Tamil exceptionalism come to play, it complicates this entire exercise.

The recent Tamil protests over Sinhala colonization has a lot to do with those primordial impulses.Tamil exceptionalism is tribal and territorial. How far the government is willing to go to appease these concerns is also a delicate matter. In the normal context, a Sinhalese fisherman putting up a fishing hut in the Mullaitivu beach should not be any different from a Tamil man buying land in Wellawatta.

This is also a catch 22 situation. Keep away from the North, and let Mr Vigneswaran and the Northern Provincial Council to run the show, you are more likely to end up with useless and self- pontificating resolutions; As M.S.M Ayub pointed out last week, NPC has passed 415 odd such resolutions. Those resolutions may not ease the plight of Tamil, but, they could in the long run radicalize Tamils. In addition, a poorer North where the governments presence is limited, is more likely to relapse into suicide terrorism than where the government plays an active role, though some circles of Tamils may like it to stay away.

On the other hand, the government involvement itself generates opposition and can be exploited to rally the youth and the affected communities to fringe nationalism. That could again lead to the repetition of the gory history.

At the end, security of the rest of the country should prevail over other concerns. What is permissible in Mullaitivu or Jaffna should be subject to that equation. That requires the government to strike a delicate balance of accommodation and force. Genuine grievances need to be addressed, and exploitation of fictitious ones needs to be watched. Individuals and front runners of fringe nationalism should be monitored. Work of Intelligence apparatus should not be curtailed. The government should not let another generation to be taken up by surprise by another militancy.

Perhaps, nothing untoward will happen. The majority of Jaffna youth who listen to rabid nationalist orations of their leaders, will go home, eat a rottie and sleep . So did their previous generations in the 60, and 70s. However, a few were so inspired by those talks that they decided to blow up an army convoy in July 1983. Sri Lanka went through three decades of mayhem for that simple security lapse of not keeping an eye on its trouble makers ( no different than an earlier blunder that materialized into a full blown insurgency in 1971)

The country should not let a repetition of its violent past. Irrespective all good intentions of political correctness by the government,any symptoms of potential runaway chaos should be nipped in the bud.
Why NGO projects and Janakaraliya etc failed to engage this Dominant Sinhala Buddhist Narrative?

It was an interesting experience to sit in the audience at the Western Province National Institute for Drama & Art, watching two playlets on Reconciliation performed by school children on Friday 24 August (2018) afternoon.

It was a funded project named You(th) Create undertaken by the Colombo Centred NGO, the Chrysalis Sri Lanka supported by other State and non-State agencies and organisations like ONUR and Janakaraliya mobile theatre group.

It involved 42 Sinhala and Tamil children selected from seven schools in the districts of Kilinochchi and Anuradhapura.

The two playlets performed by these Sinhala and Tamil children were praiseworthy no doubt. In the discussion after the plays, the experience of these children and their teachers were spoken of as replicable examples for promoting Reconciliation.

If I may round off their experiences, during the first few days together, the Sinhala and Tamil children did not interact with each other nor did the Sinhala and Tamil teachers who came with the children.

They had some undefined suspicion that couldnt be explained. With Janakaraliya mobile theatre group creating an atmosphere and logistical arrangements that made them live and work together, barriers started coming down.It was the inability to speak the language of the other that kept them with minimum communication.

Yet, with time, they became best of friends as one Sinhala child told the audience. They wished they could continue with their new found associations. Teachers agreed to say they wish they could visit others in those families, visit them in their villages, making it a larger community of Sinhala and Tamil people.

The discussion helped spark some hope for the future. It seemed like the end of the dark tunnel. But, have we not travelled this path many times before, without any positive results?

Sixteen years ago in February 2002 when the Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) was signed, the first two years at least gave us as much hope or more in creating a society of peaceful co-existence.

Whole Sinhala villages travelled as busloads to Jaffna to worship Nagadeepa. Busloads went to Trincomalee and enjoyed bathing in the hot springs. They met Tamil people and made friends too. There were also Tamil youths in Vanni who never dreamt of coming to Colombo or Kandy but did come and left with new acquaintances and new experience.

On the funded and organised side, Colombo based NGOs had projects that took children and teachers to Jaffna on exchange programmes to experience and learn cultural diversity.

Youth from Vanni were brought down South for similar exchanges.

In a workshop for provincial Sinhala journalists held in Colombo early 2003, I was told that a Sinhala youth in Galle had received letters from a Tamil girl in the Vanni, after an exchange programme.

Her letters written in Tamil made this Sinhala youth seek help from his Muslim friend in the neighbourhood. We wondered how the girl had replies in Sinhala read for her. Perhaps the youth from Galle had his Muslim friend write replies in Tamil.

That workshop discussed everything from Conflict Management and Federalism to the history of the National Question.

Such workshops for numerous social groups, journalists, L.G. and Provincial council members and for district-level public officers would have burnt out many millions of US dollars during the 25 plus years of the armed conflict.

But with all those efforts, ethnic polarisation could not even be managed. The media, in general, could not be sanitized to play an independent, socially responsible role.

The war escalated and continued to be fought to a brutal end in May 2009. Thereafter anti-Muslim campaigns and conflicts erupted violently.

As Parakrama Niriella told the audience, continuous degradation of the Sri Lankan society was everyones experience.

Ethno-religious polarisation, the 1958 attack on Tamil people, the 1968 January protests led by the SLFP with LSSP and CP against the Special Provision bill for Reasonable use of Tamil resulting in the death of novice Buddhist monk Dambarawe Rathanasara, setting fire to the famous Jaffna library prior to DDC elections in June 1981 and Black July of 1983 backed by UNP hooliganism were all disturbing and devastating experiences.

They left democratic mainstream Tamil politics helpless and frustrated and gave way for armed Tamil politics that brutalised society on either side of the barricades.

Yet again, the conclusion of the war has left us discussing transitional justice, reconciliation and co-existence for over nine years, still counting.

Looking back, my school life and my neighbourhood gave me more diversity than what Niriella had in his primary school in Divulapitiya.

In Dehiwala we lived in a neighbourhood that had not only Christian and Hindu Tamils, but two or three Tamil Buddhist families too. There were Sinhala Buddhists and Catholics and many Burgher families, whose first language was English.

In school too, we had all that diversity and few Bohra kids too. We cut school together to go for matinee film shows. Ate buns and had tea together. Played after school, bathed in the Bambalapitiya sea and fought each other still living as one single bunch of children.

As Niriella pointed out, we had no notion, we were different from each other. Our parents, our teachers and our neighbourhood did not make us feel different.We had no gaps to bridge in understanding the other to make friends, as two of the leading Janakaraliya artistes Sumudu and Jonathan explained with their experiences.Almost 15 years ago when Sumudu and others joined Janakaraliya they had difficulty, a reluctance in breaking fences to understand Tamil youth like Loha, and Tamil youth had an undefined suspicion in getting to know Sumudu and others.

We never had those issues. The differences in language, religion and culture were diversity we enjoyed. Tamil friends picked up Sinhala quite fast. Burger children went about with their limping Sinhala.

So did we, in Tamil and English. We too joined them at St. Marys church for midnight mass on the Christmas day.We sat with bamboo strips, coloured paper and gum to make the largest and the longest snake kite in the area that was our common property. So was it, when Vesak approached.

It was always a team effort that had Vesak lanterns up and proud in front of our house. We walked all the way to Bambalapitiya to watch the Vel-chariot leave the Hindu Kovil with a long and colourful procession of Hindu devotees.

Walking back, we pooled bus fares saved, bought one long sugar cane and shared it equally. Our surroundings, our experience was to that extent diverse, rich, benefitting and fun too.

Meanwhile, there were other things around us taking a different shape we were not aware of.

Greenlands College where I was admitted to the Lower Kindergarten suddenly became Isipathana Maha Vidyalaya in 1957. Greenlands Road turned Isipathana Mawatha.

"They have an immense ability to continually work towards sustaining the Dominant Sinhala Buddhist Narrative, Community work ignoring them, cannot refashion that dominant social psyche, all of them together keep fattening."



Havelock Park where we played, fought and then made friends again, turned into Henry Pedris Park. But Dickmans Road along Milagiriya St. Pauls Church, never became St. Pauls Road. Nor did Fife Road become E.R.S.R Kumaraswamy Road, in the name of the last Commissioner of Assize who resided there.

All such Sinhala Buddhist deviations and deformities our parents and neighbours had much to criticise, went without our notice and concern.

That breakaway from morals and ethics, from values and decency, turned diversity into divisions in society.

That degradation left later generations, that of Sumudu and Loha, Arosha and Leela to learn anew about the other, to accept the other as equal.

They learnt it the hard way over time, creating an inclusive subculture with new morals, ethics and values they nurture and live with, within Janakaraliya and not found outside it.

The irony is, 15 years later, they had to go about teaching that same lesson to 42 children from the next generation. That for me says, while NGOs carried our awareness work over decades, while Janakaraliya created a new process of dialogue travelling to all distant places with their Sinhala and Tamil mobile ensemble, using theatre in its applied form, winning a large applauding audience for their efforts, they have not been able to take their inclusive subculture into mainstream Sinhala society.

To quote Ven. Dr Galkande Dhammananda Thera, who was the guest speaker at this event, the majority in this society do not know there are other human beings amongst them.

Others who have to be accepted with their differences. This continues unabated as Niriella very aptly surmised, with education, media and political leaderships patronising and developing the Dominant Sinhala Buddhist Narrative.

Heavily funded NGO projects during the past three decades and Janakaraliya, with their travelling ensemble, have failed to engage with this Dominant Sinhala Buddhist Narrative.

They thus leave these 42 children to get back to the same degrading society. In school, they would be taught the same lesson about Dutugemunu that Niriella said they were taught in class by their Somawathie teacher.

So will it be for those teachers who would have to get back to their old classrooms to teach the same old textbooks and live that same life in this demeaning society?

This brings up a major question on education, media and Southern politics that decides policy.

Can social psyche be defined and fashioned ignoring their grip on society?

Together, they have an immense ability to continually work towards sustaining the Dominant Sinhala Buddhist Narrative, Community work ignoring them, cannot refashion that dominant social psyche, all of them together keep fattening.

It is thus about a change of approach in lobbying and demanding a change in government policy to rewrite school textbooks.

About demanding media to be socially responsible. Changes that can provide space for reconciliation to have its meaning proper.
By Nishel Fernando

The Petroleum Resources Development Ministry is preparing to call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) this week, to issue new licences for lubricant imports, paving the way for new players to enter into the industry, under the third round of liberalisation of Sri Lankas lubricant industry, based on a 2016 budget proposal.



Petroleum Resources Development Ministry Secretary Upali Marasinghe told Mirror Business that the Cabinet approval to call for EOIs has been granted two to three weeks back.



We are going to advertise on newspapers very soon, somewhere within this week, he noted.

Marasinghe earlier said that the ministry might issue five to six new import licences. However, he noted that the number of new import licences to be issued would depend on the soundness of the proposals.



The issuance of the number of new import licences would depend on the project proposal we get. We are going to select the most qualified people, he added.

Several number of new players eyeing Sri Lankas lubricant market, including Germanys largest lubricant manufacturer Liqui Moly, which is planning to set up a distribution network with its local distributor Semini Motors, to sell its high-standard, high-quality and environmentally friendly lubricant products in Sri Lanka.



The Petroleum Resources Development Ministry had decided to move ahead with the third round of liberalisation following a study, which found evidence backing the liberalisation of Sri Lankas lubricant market to allow new players, despite the objections from certain players in the market, who were earlier successful in averting attempts to further liberalise the industry.



Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC Chairperson Rochna Kaul expects that the competition within the lubricants industry would further increase with the anticipated issuance of licences to new entrants.

However, she expressed concerns over the lack of an effective mechanism to control illegal operators in Sri Lankas lubricant industry.



Meanwhile, the shadow regulator of the lubricant industry, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka, recently held a public consultation on the draft regulatory tools related to the quality and price of lubricants recently; the outcome of the public consultation is expected to be published in December this year.



Moreover, an advisory on national standards for petroleum, which includes lubricant products and fuel, is also set to come out on October 22 this year.



Sri Lanka has 13 market players and 22 authorized lubricant brands, while around 70 percent of the lubricant market is served by 10 licence holders. The large market players such as Chevron Lubricants, which had a 45 percent market share as of 2016, had opposed further liberalisation, citing that Sri Lankas lubricant market is mature and competitive.
UAE's Emirates issues apology after passengers reported ill on flight from Dubai to New York

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) international carrier Emirates Airlines issued an apology to its passengers for the inconvenience as dozens of passengers fell sick on flight EK203 from Dubai to New York on Wednesday.

According to the Dubai government-controlled carrier, the cause of the illness remained unclear yet. It said that "the safety and care of customers are our first priority."

The UAE daily The National quoted passenger Erin Sykes saying "the ill passengers were coughing and were sick to their stomachs."

"Emirates can confirm that all passengers have disembarked from flight EK203 and were screened by local health authorities prior to disembarkation. Three passengers and seven crew members were transferred to the hospital for further medical care and evaluation," Emirates tweeted.

The carrier added that "all other passengers were allowed to leave. Our crew and on-ground staff extended full cooperation with the authorities. The aircraft is now handed back to Emirates."

The airline said further that "due to the delay with EK203, the return flight EK204 from New York JFK Airport to Dubai will be delayed by approximate 3 hours. Passengers with connecting flights in Dubai who are impacted by the delay will be assisted with rebookings by our local ground staff."

The flight duration from the Gulf Arab emirate of Dubai to New York is approximately 14 hours.
The delegation

Englishman Army John Smith was in a hunting expedition in 1819 in the verdant forest of the Deccan plateau in Maharashtra, India. He was tracking a tiger when he made a sudden discovery- Ajanta rock-cut temples covered under foliage in the district called Aurangabad ofMaharashtra State in India.

It appeared that there was just one cave hewn into the huge rock, but it turned out to be 29 caves cut into the boulder finally. Upon discovery, according to historians, Smith entered the cave where he stumbled upon flaming a grass torch to find paintings and the Buddha statues faded by tome. Accidental discovery finally opened the door to enter Indias glorious history of Buddhism. Born in Lumbini of the present day Nepal as Prince Siddhartha, the Buddha attained enlightenment in India. His main religious and spiritual work concentrated particularly in northern and central India, particularly covering the states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. Enough and more archaeological evidence have been found to confirm the Buddhas activities in this terrain.

The marvelous rock-cut temples or caves speak volumes about the ancient Buddhist heritage of India related to the Buddhas activities. Found on the walls of these vaulted and colonnaded rock-cut chambers are ancient paintings, sculptures and murals depicting Buddhist literature with a particular emphasis on the Jataka tales.These rockcut chambers had been abandoned for more than 1000 years.

In 1983, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to historians, these caves were abandoned in the fifth century AD. What is hewn from the solid rock are a line of caves that serve as Chaitya Grihas and Vihares. Historians believe that the Buddhist monks had used them during their months of retreat.

The walls of the rock temples are adorned with the images of the Buddha, the princes and princesses, of animals, palaces, silks, and jewellery with richness in art.

The Indian government has now embarked on an ambitious mission to showcase its Buddhist heritage to the world both for spiritual purposes and tourism promotion targeting well over 500 million Buddhists living in countries such as Sri Lanka, Japan, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and so on.

It conducted its sixth edition of the International Buddhist Conclave between August 23 and 26 covering New Delhi, Aurangabad, Bodhgaya and Varanasi. India invited delegates from 30 different countries in the world for this mega event that displayed Indian hospitality in its greatest form. Aircraft with delegates on board were given symbolic water salute. They disembarked from their aircraft to the petal strewn aerobridge that is to promote tourism to the Buddhist sites spread across India. In this exercise, India projects itself as the land of enlightenment and sees Buddhism as the greatest gift of that country to the Buddhist world. Indian President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the conclave and gave a speech outlining how Buddhism asserted its peaceful expansion across the sub-continent through the ancient Silk Road. In his view, it is the early basis of globalization. Today five Indian states are involved in the development of Buddhist circuit: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.

Ajanta Caves are well featured along the circuit. In fact, it is established that ancient artists who worked on Sigiriya paintings in Sri Lanka and Mogoa Grottoes in Dunhuang, China have drawn on from Ajanta paintings.

In India, there are more than 1500 such cave temples. Amazingly, around 900 of them are Buddhist. Our travel guide Ram Pitambare who is a history scholar, said these paintings in Ajanta bear resemblance to Greek art, a phenomena of Greko-Indian culture that spread from the 4th century BC in India through the expeditions of Alexander the Great.

India leaves no stone unturned in its pursuit of attracting tourists to these Buddhist sites including Bodhgaya, Nalanda and Kushinagar and so on. To make it even more attractive to tourists, the airports in the areas with Buddhist sites are echoed with the music and even Pali stanzas are played at the airports in places like Aurangabad and Gaya, considered the gateways to heritage sites.

Higher Education Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and State Minister of Tourism Promotion Ranjith Aluvihare attended the event representing Sri Lanka. Minister Aluvihare said he was inspired by the event, and would organize a similar conclave in Sri Lanka next year.

Sri Lanka has great potential to do it, he said.

Sri Lankan culture and Indian culture have a lot of similarities: Ram Pitambare

Ram Pitambare, a history scholar turned travel guide, spoke to Daily Mirror about Ajanta caves and Buddhist heritage in Maharashtra. He has obtained two MA degrees in history.

Excerpts:

Q How do you describe the Buddhist heritage in Maharashtra in India?

As far as the entire Indian subcontinent is concerned, there are 1700 rock cave temples in India. Out of them, including the ancient caravan route, we have 1241 in Maharashtra. Actually, 80 percent of them are Buddhist, 16 percent Hindu and the remaining four percent Jain. The major or pivotal role was played by Buddhism in the life of Maharashtra. From second century BC till eighth century AD, mostly under the dynasties such as Satavahanas dynasty, Vakataka, Chalukyas, Kalachuri, Rasthzakuta Dynasties, they have managed hewing out all these rock temples or monolithic temples along the ancient caravan route. For example, from the capital of Satavahan rulers to the ancient seaport near Nalasopora, Mumbai, we can see some of these cave temples in Paithan, Aurangabad. Ahead of that, we find them in, Daulatabad, Ellora, and Blazon Lens. Also, in Daulatabad, we have a group of rock temples in Nasik. In Junnar, we have got Asias largest rock temples in four groups.

In Ellora, if anybody takes a right turn and travels on the caravan route towards Ujjani, they will find a whole lot of cave temples like Ajanta. If the entire evolution of rock cut architecture of temples is to be studied, Maharashtra offered the best example.

Q This is a unique form of architecture associated with Buddhism. What is the reason for it to be associated with Buddhism in main from a historians point of view?

That is a very unique thing they have done. Compared with the structural buildings, the rock temples have ten times more life. If you construct a building, it may last 500 years to the maximum. But, the rock temples have lasted for more than 3000 years. Scholars say they may last another 200 years. There is no need to carry materials from other places. When you hew out the rock, you can scoop out building materials that can be recycled for building statues. Ecologically, these rock temples are warm in the winter and cold in the summer. So, they offer a comfortable stay for monks.

Q Though the Buddhas activities and movements were concentrated mostly in the territory presently coming under India, it is no longer the major religion of India. What is the reason you see?

The emergence of Vajrayana and sub pantheons of it such as Tantrayana and Sabrayana is one reason. When monks got involved more and more into the material world and physical pleasure, the dissipation of growth of Buddhism started. In addition to that, at the end of the ninth century, Islam arrived in this part of the world. They tried to massacre the monks. People who got scared ran out of this area to the Himalayan states. Buddhism went up for Bhutan and entered China in the fifth century.





Q Now, we see the resurgence of Buddhism in the state. What is the reason for it?

It is due to B.R. Ambedkar. He was born in India, took his education in England and became the Law Minister of India. He was the one who made the revival of Buddhism. Dr. Ambedkar was a Hindu by birth. Being an untouchable, he was thrashed a lot. He asked people to accept Buddhism which never gives shelter to the caste system. The caste system is all that discrimination giving you a humiliating life. You should rather be Buddhist, educate yourself and unite yourself. Dr. Ambedkars thought is considered as a neo-Buddhism. This neo- Buddhism is nicely explained by the state government of Maharashtra. Buddha and Dhamma, the book written by V.R. Ambedkar is there. Because of Buddhism, the down-trodden got attracted to education. They went to the next position taking the best education because of Dr. Ambedkar.

After the demise or Mahaparinibbana of the Buddha, the main patronage of Buddhism lapsed. Rather, the strong Hindu revivalists like Sankaracharya played a different trick. They knew that they could not defeat the revival of Buddhism by force or by intellectual power. They tried to overpower Buddhism by describing the Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Vishnu. The International Mahabodhi Society is fighting against the Hindu fundamentalists to get back the original Buddha sites for Buddhism, like the Mahapada Temple of Bodhgaya. The Hindus worship it as Vishnupada Temple. Likewise, hundreds of cave temples were taken over by the Hindus and converted to Hindu Shiva or Vishnu temples.





Q What is the kind of patronage given by the state government of Maharashtra to promote Buddhism?

Besides the efforts of Dr. Ambedkar, there are other stalwarts. Even madiaeval kings curbed the practice of the caste system. Otherwise, Brahmans were saying that Sudras and women had no right to education. If you are born into a poor family or the lower caste, you have no right to rise above that level. That was why, as a king, the Sahumastra took a lot of effort in educating those poor communities. Even his wife worked shoulder to shoulder with him. She gave that nectar to women.

rahmanic literature taught that your husband was your god. I have my personal experience in my childhood. I was barely four years old. In stalwarts houses, there were special glasses and cups, sometimes the empty shells of coconut, to give water to low caste people. Copper or brass utensils were not given to them. They were treated as untouchables. Untouchables were supposed to fasten the broom behind and drum on their tummy. They have to beat the drum when walking along the streets, to inform that they were travelling and that the sanctity of the higher caste groups should not be disturbed.





Q When you talk about Ajanta rock-cut temples, the paintings and artistic works bear resemblance to those in Sigiriya in Sri Lanka and the Mogao caves in Dunhuang, China. How do you describe that historical connection?

Right from Asokas period in the third century BC, Asoka established official relations with Han Dynasty of China. Celebrated Chinese monks visited India. They went with texts written on palm leaf manuscripts. Before Christ, it was Theravada in those parts. Through China, it went into other parts of the Far East.It was the post Nirvana period of the Buddha. From here to the Shiyang valley of South China, certainly, taking inspirations from Ajanta, the Chinese people converted them into cave temples in Dunhuang. They have copied the thousand Buddha paintings there, taking a lesson from Ajanta.

Asokas son and daughter were personally sent to Sri Lanka. Along with them, stalwarts were sent for the spread of Buddhism in the south of India. Arahat Mahinda and Sangamitta were sent to Sri Lanka. . People from Sri Lanka were coming on pilgrimages. Amaravati is the place where Satvahana architecture got flourished.

Sri Lankan culture and Indian culture have a lot of similarities. People of Sri Lanka, be they Sinhalese or Tamil, are similar to those in southern Indian states. That cultural affiliation made our way easy for the cultural assimilation. That is my opinion.
Janabalaya Colombata organised by the Joint Opposition sent thoughts of the Government, which were to silence voices of dissent, into oblivion when the opposition and their supporters poured into Colombo on Wednesday resembling a high tide.

Riding on the back of a successful campaign at the last LG Polls, the opposition forces- spearheaded by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa- once again showed that they can gather the numbers needed to stand up and be counted.



The key player again in another promising move by the opposition was the former president. Rajapaksa was quick to state during his speech that the countrys President and Premier could visit the north and critisise him because he gave them this right.

Rajapaksa has a sharp mind and the skill of wit and this comment simply lifts the opposition forces battling the Government on to a higher pedestal.

This Sathyakgraha or peaceful protest rally was just what the opposition needed to steal the limelight from the Government, which till yesterday was in the news for carrying out development work in the country.



But the truth is that this regime could do nothing as tens of thousand of supports backing the Joint Opposition poured into Colombos central most location, Fort, and demanded that the Government should step down.

When considering the fact that the courts turned down requests by three police stations to obtain restraining orders to control the protesters, it suggests that the Government tried to sabotage efforts by the public to gather in large numbers, but failed.

Mahinda Rajapaksa has a warrior mentality and we all know that. It is because of this nature that he was able to lead the fight against terrorism and see a successful end to the Tiger rebels. There were claims that a bus carrying protesters from Hali-ela for the rally was attacked. But Rajapaksa saw that the campaign led by him didnt face major hiccups.



A close scrutiny of the crowds also reveals that some of them were brought there on the promise of being looked after. We saw some protesters knocked out after taking a tad too much liquor and some under the influence of alcohol trying to scale utility posts. There were also sing-songs and an angampora (the ancient art of fighting practised by Sinhalese ancestral families) demonstration; items which dont showcase the frustration within the people, but certainly dents the seriousness of this protest march.

Rajapaksa affirmed that this was the first step in a move to send home this Government. He went on to add that the citizenry represented by the poor man to the businessman was hurt by the actions of the Government.

Following Sri Lanka Podujana Peramunas landslide win at the LG Polls, this is Rajapaksas second show of strength in the field of politics after he was defeated at the Presidential Elections in 2015.



Before his defeat and after he won the war against separatist Tiger rebels there marked a period of Government-sponsored violence during which most who opposed the Rajapkasa clan were physically abused, killed or forced out of the country. If peace was experienced after 2009, the happiness that prevailed as a result was damped because the Mahinda-Rajapaksa Government gave little value to democracy. But this Rajapaksa seems to have forgotten the past and said during his speech on Wednesday that democracy was disappearing under the present Yahapalana regime.

Whats sad about a sizeable section of the countrys citizenry is that they have short memories and are held spellbound by this man sporting a mustache.
TOKYO REUTERS, Sept 5 2018- Japan began on Wednesday to clean up after a powerful typhoon killed 11 people, injured hundreds and stranded thousands at a flooded airport, though when the airport in an industrial and tourist hub might reopen was not clear.



Typhoon Jebi, or swallow in Korean, was briefly a super typhoon and was the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years. It came after months of heavy rain, landslides, floods and record-breaking heat that killed hundreds of people this summer.



About 3,000 tourists were stuck overnight at Kansai Airport in western Japan, an important hub for companies exporting semiconductors built on reclaimed land on a bay near Osaka and connected to the mainland by a bridge that was damaged when a tanker slammed into it during the storm.



But by afternoon many people had been rescued by bus or ferried by ship from the airport, where puddles still stood on the main runway after it was inundated on Tuesday.



Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday afternoon about 470 people were injured. It was uncertain when the airport would reopen and some roads and train lines in the affected areas were still closed, he said.
Demonstration organized to maintain the momentum created by Feb. 10 LG polls

Court cases against many leaders of the former regime question their moral right to point the finger at the Government

Not even the strongest supporter of the Joint opposition (JO) or the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) would have expected their protest march on Wednesday to bring down the Government, in spite of the Mahinda Rajapaksa loyalists having succeeded in creating the public opinion that present Government was extremely weak.

Leaders of the SLPP and the JO said that they were coming to Colombo not to return (Enne yanna novei), meaning that they would capture power at the end of their protest march.

But they returned empty-handed. They said that they would bring one million people to Colombo for their protest. However, the converging point of their four processions  the Lake House Roundabout in Colombo Fort- did not see any stampede, though it is too small a place to accommodate one-twentieth of the total population of the country, expected by the leaders of the protest.

In fact, the credit for the public opinion on the weakness of the Government should not go to the Rajapaksa loyalists alone.

It was this very Government that authored this reputation, by way of showing weakness in every sphere of Governance, especially in handling their adversaries.

Within weeks, after assuming office, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by President Maithripala Sirisena visibly started to demonstrate its weakness, when the SLFP members joined anti-Government public meetings. Both, SLFP General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake and the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera, said that disciplinary action would be taken against those SLFP members who participated at those meetings.

But the threat only made them a laughing stock. The weakness was also manifested by way of Governments failure or inability or unwillingness to put what they called the thieves of the former regime behind bars, despite it having become the theme during the last Presidential and Parliamentary elections.

And the Weak Government label was further asserted with the Governments failure to lay claim for any visible economic progress in the country.

When the President commissioned the Moragahakanda Reservoir this year, claiming that it was the largest project under the Mahaweli Scheme, it was too late and the marketing of such projects among the people by the Government had also been another case in point for its weakness.

Yet, the protesters did not have even a faintest dream of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe or one of them being forced to flee to another country or at least to resign their posts due to the Janabalaya Kolambata march on Wednesday- as what happened to Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines in 1986, Pahlavi Shah of Iran in 1979 and several leaders in the Middle East during the so-called Arab Spring in 2011.

"Muslims who supported Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2005 and 2010 Presidential polls voted en-masse to the then Oppositions common candidate Maithripala Sirisena following a three-year-long anti-Muslim campaign "





Long before the agitation the demonstrators very well knew that they would just have to go home after the demonstration.

The demonstration was organized to maintain the momentum that had been created by the results of the February 10 Local Government elections, where the SLPP swept the electorate by capturing more than 230 Local Councils out of the 340 councils for which elections were held.

The leaders of the JO and the SLPP knew that they need at least two or three more shows of strength before the next national level election - Parliamentary or Presidential - in order to keep the momentum high.

It is because they expect the provincial council elections to become an opportunity in this regard; those elections have been at the top of their priority list.

Though they would not accept it publicly, the leaders of the Janabalaya Kolambata campaign knew that the demonstration was a flop compared to their past agitations including the Rise with Mahinda rallies in 2015 and 2016 and the Pada Yathra from Peradeniya to Colombo in July 2016.

Nevertheless, the Government seemed to have prepared for a bigger show, with Police requesting three courts to issue Restraining Orders to curtail movements of the demonstrations in Colombo. However, their requests were denied by the courts. They informed the courts that the demonstrators were planning to lay siege at the official residences of the President and the Prime Minister.

Though the demonstration failed to cripple the State and private sector institutions, as some of the JO leaders threatened to, the fear they instilled in the public sector employees and the school children through their big fuss about the agitation had resulted in the low attendance of employees and students.

The slogans the demonstrators shouted and displayed on the placards they were carrying did not seem to be crowd pullers. Except for the allegations on the Central Bank bond scandal, almost all other allegations they levelled against the Government during the demonstration had a boomeranging effect on themselves.

For instance, they accused the Government of selling national assets such as land to foreigners, while they too were being accused of the same.

While the demonstrators charged that the Government had given land in Hambantota to Chinese Rajapaksa regime is being accused of selling outright a huge land plot in the Galle Face to a foreign Hotel Company and the Port City to a Chinese company, among others.

"It was the frustration over the failure of the current regime to keep its promises on economic development and action against corruption that pushed the masses back towards Rajapaksas."





One could also justify their branding of the leaders of the Governments thieves, as many leaders of the United National Party (UNP) had openly defended the culprits of multi-billion rupee bond scam after attempting to cover up that national crime. Yet, court cases against many leaders of the former regime including the members of the Rajapaksa family, question their moral right to point the finger at the incumbent Government leaders.

Interestingly, the posters put up by the JO/SLPP leaders during the run-up to the Janabalaya Kolambata rally accused the Government of disturbing the communal harmony, while the main reason for the fall of the Rajapaksa administration in 2015 had been the dissociation of Muslims from Rajapaksas.

One cannot deny that it was due to the Governments inaction against the lawbreakers that the riots against Muslims spread in the Kandy District in last March.

Nonetheless, Muslims who supported Mahinda Rajapaksa at the 2005 and 2010 Presidential polls voted en-masse to the then Oppositions common candidate Maithripala Sirisena following a three-year-long anti-Muslim campaign during Rajapaksa regime by certain groups, that Muslims believed had the blessings of the Rajapaksas.

However, now the political trend has turned towards the Rajapaksas, as indicated by the February Local Government elections. But that does not mean that they had won over the people by assuring them of economic progress or an administration free of corruption and waste.

It was the frustration over the failure of the current regime to keep its promises on economic development and action against corruption that pushed the masses back towards Rajapaksas.

And Rajapaksas too do not have any tangible plans for economic development or a corruption-free system of governance or communal harmony.

Yes, the pendulum seems to continue to swing for an unknown number of decades to come.
Hilton Colombo is celebrating 31 years in the island on the 11th of September 2018. As part of the celebration, a special One for One offer will be available from the 11th to the 20th of this month at two of the popular restaurants; Graze Kitchen and Curry Leaf.

The multifaceted Graze Kitchen will be offering this special deal during lunch and dinner whilst diners can enjoy the offer at the Sri Lankan and seafood restaurant Curry Leaf, during dinner.

Graze Kitchen lunch (excluding Endless High Tea on Saturday) and dinner rates are Rs3388nett and Rs 3888nett and the dinner buffet at Curry Leaf is priced at Rs 3583nett. Prior bookings are required by calling the F&B Reservations Desk on 2492492.

Log into www.hitoncolombo1.com.fb/HiltonColombo for F&B news.
The schools choir plans to hold I Will Follow, I Will Lead from September 7-9 at the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority auditorium

Pictures show S. Thomas Preparatory School Choir at a training session

Choral activity in Sri Lanka has risen to an unprecedented level during the past number of years, following a growing interest in the field with the student community in Sri Lanka being largely responsible for the recognition that choirs and choral events gain.

Displaying a vast array of talents, innovative dynamics, creative arrangements and exploring boundaries of traditional and contemporary music, school choirs have thrilled and amazed audiences for countless years in the past.

The S. Thomas Preparatory School Choir is one such choir, home to many talented and energetic youngsters from the ages of 11 to 16 years as it provides a platform for these students to express their creativity through music and arts. The 35+ number of Choristers each dabble in various genres of music from Gospel to Rock to Pop as they are trained to be versatile not only in their music, but in their approach to music as a practice for life and its challenges.

"The S. Thomas Preparatory School Choir is one such choir, home to many talented and energetic youngsters from the ages of 11 to 16 years"



This year, S. Thomas Preparatory School celebrates 80 years in existence and thus have a year filled with various activities and events to commemorate this momentous occasion. As a part of the years celebrations, the Choir will be organizing I Will Follow, I Will Lead, a 3-day concert to be held from September 7-9 at the Auditorium of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Kollupitiya.

As this concert marks an extremely important celebration in the schools calendar, the authorities have been working tirelessly to ensure the outcome is as or even greater than any other professional concert out there by bringing in Christopher Prins on Drums, Melissa Pereira on Keyboard, Shalintha Rodrigo on Bass, Julius Mitchell as guest Beatboxer, Professor Sujeewa Ranasinghe as guest Esraj Player and the dynamic duo Ayushka Nugaliyadda and Mihara Jayalath as our Choreographers! The choir not only will be performing songs from the western pop charts, but has the honour of performing songs from local artistes such as Alien Accent, Sanuka Wickramasinghe, KATCHA, RidmaWeerawardena and Dilan Jayakody, with special tracks created by Ranil Goonawardene and Sachiththa Fernando!



The choir will be led by Berklee College of Music alumnus Sanchitha Wickremesooriya who has been working with the boys for around 2 1/2 years to date, inspiring the kids to reach international standards by exposing them to a series of workshops conducted in partnership with The Sooriya Village with people such as fellow Prepite Kavichandran Alexander, The First Sri Lankan to Record and Produce Multiple Grammy Award winning albums, and many others.

In Addition, the Prep choir will not only be sharing the stage with a different guests choirs each night such as Ladies College (Sep 7th), Bishops College (Sep 8th) &Visakha Vidyalaya (Sep 9th), but will also be performing together with choristers from the S. Thomas College family of schools namely S. Thomas College Mount Lavinia, S. Thomas College Bandarawela and S. Thomas College Gurutalawa, with a special appearance by The Old Boys Choir of STPS!

We also have the pleasure of amazing sponsors coming on board including DSI SuperSports and AVI as our Platinum Sponsors, Mobitel, Seylan Bank & Ideal Motors as our Gold Sponsors, The 89th Cavalry - STPS Old Boys Batch of 1989 as our Silver Sponsor, Asia Pacific Investments, Sri Lanka Insurance and Trelleborg as our Bronze Sponsors, Yes FM as our Media Sponsor and Decibel.lk as our Social Media Sponsor!
State Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, Harsha de Silva said today a participant at the 'janabalaya' protest was admitted to the National Hospital by a Suwasariya ambulance today.

In a Facebook post, he said multiple stories were circulating on the 1990 Suwasariya ambulances transporting X and Y number of people.

The fact is that we transported only one person to the hospital. I am posting these details as a clarification from our command and control centre for those interested, he said.

According to the details received by the command and control centre, an alcoholic having upper and lower extremity swelling with bleeding had been picked up by an ambulance from the pavement near the Nelum Pokuna Theatre and admitted to hospital.
Mr. Sudeera Senaratne, the Director of Investigations of the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka addressing the gathering

Senaratne, the Director of Investigations of the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka reminded the gathering of how just last year the Government declared the 1st of September as National Insurance Day thanks to the collaboration of the IASL and the IRCSL. Mr. Senaratne theorized this to be due to the value brought to the economy by the Insurance industry. He also advised the gathered Insurance advisors to think long-term rather than short-term. Raising and building awareness is highly significant to the long-term development plan of Sri Lankas Insurance industry.

Mr. Lokuarachchi, President of the IASL, emphasized on the primary duty of members of the Insurance industry, which is to provide protection for all lives and assets. The current increase in life expectancy shows us that people are becoming more health conscious. A number of companies have recognized new opportunities in the current status of customer requirements and have accordingly introduced solutions to meet these needs. Today we have an opportunity to reach out to the general public and raise awareness about our trade. This is our chance to strengthen the vocation of Insurance.

What is now becoming the traditional oath of the industry was sworn at the conclusion of every event and group by group the Insurance advisors in their colorful t-shirts representing their respective companies scattered across the towns to fulfill their mission.

The President of the Insurance Association of Sri Lanka, Mr. Deepthi Lokuarachchi delivering his speech

The insurance advisors swear the traditional oath of the industry

The swearing of the traditional oath by the insurance advisors
It is no longer news that a JO heavyweight from the Kalutara District created quite a sensation in political circles in recent times, when he boldly claimed that it was he who was the most qualified candidate next to the former strongman to run from his party for Number One, Number two or the Main Opposition Chair in the country.



This JO stalwart recently summoned a meeting of the partys district organization to discuss their plans for participating in the proposed mega anti-Government protest.



The party activist who compered the proceedings from the very outset had made several acid remarks about the former strongmans military sibling. However, the Kalutara stalwart had appeared giving the tacit nod to these remarks.



As the compere continued his attack on the military sibling, the audience had become restive. And a leading party activist in the district had told the JO stalwart amidst noisy protests: We are not going to vote the way that suits you at the coming poll. We are going to vote either for our big boss or the person he nominates! And all others had hailed his announcement in one voice.



However, the Kalutara stalwart had tried to adduce reasons for his claim, but the participants shouted him down, they say.
Bob Woodward: The award-winning journalist who busted the Watergate scandal that forced Richard Nixon to resign in August 1974, in his new book gives bombshell details on the Trump presidency. Reuters



In two weeks, world leaders will gather in New York for the annual sessions of the United Nations General Assembly. They need to put away diplomatic niceties and pluck up courage to right the wrongs of United States President Donald Trump  a man, who is being described by his own staff as a moron, a joker and a dangerous man to run a country, if we were to go by the books written by journalists and ex-White House employees.

On Tuesday, the US woke up to a controversy over revelations the Washington Posts award-winning journalist, Bob Woodward, has made in his soon-to-be-released book, Fear: Trump in the White House. Woodward, who busted the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974, is not known for fake news or sensationalism. Those who know the veteran journalist and those who have read the book All the Presidents Men, which he co-authored with the other Watergate hero Carl Bernstein, are assured of his adherence to the highest journalistic ethics. They believe he had recorded his interviews and taken down notes, checked and double-checked what he had collected from sources, before publishing his damning account of the president. Besides, he knows what libel is all about. Also the publishers would not have gone ahead with the book unless they got clearance from their expert lawyers.

The upcoming books shocking revelations are probably material for a possible impeachment of the President. For, no US President has been seen by his own staff as a danger to the country. In the book, Woodward presents accounts of how White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, Staff Secretary Rob Porter and other senior staff surreptitiously kept certain documents away from an impulsive president, for they felt if he had signed them, the consequences would have been disastrous to the US. The book describes the officials strategy as no less than an administrative coup detat. One such document was to authorise the withdrawal of the US from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

In another shocker, the book reveals that Trumps personal attorney John Dowd staged a mock interview to gauge how the president would fare if Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating a possible Russian role in the election of Trump, was to hold a real interview.

The mock interview did not go well and the president, annoyed by the intensity of the questioning, departed, shouting a goddamn hoax. The lawyer feared that if Mueller was to grill the President, Trump would look like an idiot and embarrass the nation on the world stage.

The book also claims that Trump ordered the assassination of Bashar al-Assad in a move that some senior administration officials call a poor understanding of world affairs.

Lets kill the [expletive] lot of them, the president reportedly said and ordered Defence Secretary James Mattis to go ahead with the move. Mattis ignored the request, probably he knew, as he is quoted as saying in the book, that Trumps foreign policy understanding was that of a fifth- or sixth-grader.

Another short-sighted foreign policy action the book records was an instance when he asked for a plan to launch a pre-emptive strike on nuclear-powered North Korea during the height of his feud with Kim Jong-un.

The book projects Trump as a person who is mentally not fit to hold the office of the president. The contents give a picture of Trump behaving without decorum or dignity, not befitting a president. About, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump is reported to have told a White House staffer, This guy is mentally retarded. Hes this dumb Southerner. He couldnt even be a one-person country lawyer down in Alabama. Of late, Sessions has also been publicly vilified by Trump, for his decision to recuse himself from the Muller investigations. Probably, the most caustic of comments were the ones attributed to the White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly. The book quotes Kelly as saying, Were in Crazytown. I dont even know why any of us is here. This is the worst job Ive ever had. It is reported that Kelly calls Trump an idiot  and it is pointless to try to convince him of anything.

Now, Woodward is not the only one to expose how dangerous it is to keep a man like Trump in the White House. And he will not be the last either. Earlier this year, American author and journalist Michael Wolf came out with a book titled Fire and Fury explaining the behind-the-scenes queer happenings in the Trump White House. On Wednesday, the New York Times published an op-ed written by a senior White House official who wished to remain anonymous. This article corroborates much of what Wolf and Woodward say.

That Trump has not so far announced that he will file a case against Woodward for libel shows that the US president has no firm ground to stand on.

All what he could do about the bombshell revelations in the book is to take to Twitter and claim that the book contains fabricated stories by former disgruntled employees.

The already discredited Woodward book, so many lies and phony sources, tweeted Trump, whose popularity has plunged to an all-time low.

Now there is a message for the American citizens and the world in what Wolf, Woodward and others reveal. It raises a serious question about Trumps suitability to hold the office of the President and also about the United States global leadership. Probably, the books descriptions of Trump may still not provide the stuff for impeachment. Yet, the American people need to seriously ponder the question whether Trump is suitable for the presidency or for reelection.

At global level, his actions have largely brought chaos to the world. Wasnt his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate deal a horrendous global crime? His decisions to shift the US embassy to Jerusalem and to stop the US aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that has been looking after the needs of five million Palestinian refugees for the past six decades, have killed the Middle East peace process.

He has dealt more blows to the world peace by pulling the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and starting trade wars with China, Europe, Mexico and Canada. His meetings with world leaders such as Russias Vladimir Putin and North Koreas Kim Jong-un have proved to be a more liability than an advantage to the US.

His predecessor Barack Obama put the US on the right track and to a great extent restored the United States global leadership position after George W. Bushs war-and-profit-driven presidency for eight years. The world began to respect the United States during the Obama presidency.

But today, Trump has made the governance a laughing stock and the White House a dangerous place.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) top leader Kim Jong-un has renewed his commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday.

Kim made the remark during his meeting with a delegation from the Republic of Korea that visited Pyongyang on Wednesday for the inter-Korean summit preparations.
The White House dismissed Tuesday the veracity of a forthcoming book that paints a sobering picture of US President Donald Trumps senior aides and their frantic struggle to mitigate extreme policy decisions.



Fear: Trump in the White House - based on interviews, meeting notes, personal diaries and government documents - was written by veteran Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward, who reported on the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation former US president Richard Nixon.

As media outlets and Twitter users began circulating excerpts, the White House issued a statement denying its validity.



This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the president look bad, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.



In a tweet, Trump said quotes from Secretary of Defence James Mattis, Chief of Staff John Kelly and other were made up frauds, a con on the public.



He suggested Woodward was working for the Democrats, adding Notice timing? American voters head to the polls in November for mid-term elections that could see Trumps Republican party lose control of Congress.



According to Woodward, Trumps unpredictability and lack of understanding of global politics has left staffers distressed, prompted a nervous breakdown in the White House and led Kelly to consider the president unhinged.

DPA, 05th

SEPTEMBER, 2018

Revelations raise disturbing questions about Trump

REUTERS, 05th SEPTEMBER, 2018- U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to have Syrian President Bashar al-Assad assassinated last year but his defence secretary ignored the request, according to a new book that depicts top Trump aides sometimes disregarding presidential orders to limit what they saw as damaging and dangerous behaviour.



Excerpts from the book, Fear: Trump in the White House, written by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, were published by the Washington Post on Tuesday. The book, which is scheduled for release on Sept. 11, is the latest to detail tensions within the White House under Trumps 20-month-old presidency.



Its just another bad book, Trump told the Daily Caller.



The Republican president said in a Twitter post that quotes in the book attributed to Defense Secretary James Mattis, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and others were made up frauds, a con on the public.
A pregnant lady doctor was killed and her husband and 5-year-old child were injured when a fire broke out at a house at Vihara Mawatha in Bellanvila, Boralesgamuwa this afternoon, Police said.

The injured were admitted to the Colombo South Teaching Hospital.

Video by D Ruwandi

Pix by H.M Dharmapala and Dilanka Gomas
Guo Ce, the economic and commercial counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Kenya, hands over scholarships to the top three winners of the fifth AVIC Tech Challenge in Kenya. [Liu Hongjie/China Daily]

Editor's note: At the summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which concluded on Tuesday, President Xi Jinping announced eight action plans for Sino-African cooperation, pledged $60 billion for Africa's development, and cancelled the debts of the least developed African countries. These moves should be seen for what they areendeavors to boost mutual benefitnot as examples of" neocolonialism" or "waste of money". Three experts share their views on the issue. Excerpts follow:

Help African nations help themselves

The FOCAC summit in Beijing has charted the course for deeper Sino-African cooperation, among which the eight action plans Xi announced would lead to closer collaboration in various fields including trade, infrastructure construction, financing and people-to-people exchanges.

Thanks to several decades of exchanges with Africa, China has identified one of the major obstacles to African countries' developmentover-reliance on outside helpwhich not only puts their national dignity at stake, but also results in unsustainable development.

So China will now focus more on helping African countries develop independently, by transitioning from being "receivers" to "creators". In this regard, the action plans to promote industrialization and capacity building will especially help African countries to work out solid but feasible economic development frameworks, and develop on their own.

Since setting on the path of major country diplomacy, China has created a number of new diplomatic concepts including building a community with a shared future for mankind.

What the Western countries do not realize, however, is that the virtues and effect of Chinese philosophy would be exemplified once a China-Africa community with a shared future becomes a reality, leading to win-win results for both sides.

For decades, China has been "crossing the river by feeling the stones" in Africa and doesn't want to follow in the footsteps of Western countries. The debt problems some African countries face today are a product of various factors, including the changing economic landscape, domestic economic ills and historical issues.

China's loans to African countries account for only a small percentage of Africa's total debt, and therefore cannot be the root cause of the problem. Chinese investors have put money in only those projects that have passed rigorous feasibility tests from both sides. So where does the question of Chinese loans creating a debt trap for African countries arise?

And for Chinese people opposed to the idea of China providing massive capital support for Africa at the cost of "ignoring domestic issues", they should understand the financing will also benefit China. And as a major country, China should promote fairer global governance within its capacity.

Moreover, the Chinese government has never ignored Chinese people's needs. For instance, last year the government spending on education reached 3 trillion yuan ($439 billion), and the figure is sure to increase in the future. The central government has spent 106 billion yuan ($15.5 billion) this year alone to alleviate poverty. And the aim of these measures is to increase people's welfare and sense of gain.

Li Weijian, a senior research fellow at the Center for West Asian and African Studies and Institute for Foreign Policy Studies, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies

An apt example of South-South synergy

By connecting the Belt and Road Initiative with African countries' national development strategies, the FOCAC summit has laid the path to deeper Sino-African cooperation, and helped shift the focus of cooperation from quantitative to qualitative development. The priority, of course, would be to boost the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, in order to realize win-win results.

It is noteworthy that the eight action plans Xi has announced are aimed at mobilizing many sectors of society, including enterprises, people and financial organizations, to deepen Sino-African cooperation, which is a break from the solely government approach of the past.

Among the action plans, trade still tops the agenda, as it has become even more important for China to expand its trade with Africa at a time when it is embroiled in a searing trade conflict with the US. Last year, the Sino-African trade volume reached $170 billion thanks to a double-digit growth, and the two sides have set an ambitious target to increase it to $400 billion in 2020.

Among the action plans, cooperation on environmental protection, security and healthcare will get due importance while economic cooperation will continue to be the bedrock of collaboration.

The summit has also played a pioneering role in shaping and guiding Africa's cooperation and exchanges with the rest of the world in the face of protectionist and anti-globalization trends. As a matter of fact, countries including Japan, India and Turkey have followed the example of China and Africa and established a mechanism similar to FOCAC.

But in their rush to make the action plans successful, Chinese enterprises in Africa should not forget to respect local customs, abide by laws and fulfill their social responsibilities.

Yao Guimei, the director of the Research Center on South African Studies, Institute of West-Asian and African Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Cooperation also benefits China

That Beijing has decided to open a Sino-African trade expo in China, and facilitate African countries' participation in the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November may create the conditions for the building of Sino-African free trade zones in the future. And the expos will certainly boost trade and economic development of both Africa and China.

The action plans show China's cooperation with African countries transcends bilateral spheres and covers the whole continent. And by helping Africa to establish a continent-wide infrastructure network, China will promote the integrated development of African countries.

Moreover, China will also set up a Chinese institute of African studies to promote studies into African cultures and traditions, which will enhance Chinese people's understanding of African people and lead to more cultural exchanges.

Qiao Xinsheng, a professor at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law
Students of the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD) are having a panel discussion on a class, July, 2018. (File photo)

Another batch of students will begin their study in the Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development (ISSCAD) at Peking University (PKU) on Sept. 21. They come from different countries but share a same goal: to learn from Chinas development experience and explore a sustainable development path that suits their own countries.

After the enrollment of the third batch of students, the institute are expected to increase its student sources to nearly 50 countries.

The institute was formally established in April 2016 by Chinas Ministry of Commerce, PKU and the PKU National School of Development.

It was attended by 48 students from 27 developing countries for masters and doctors programs in September 2016. This June, the second batch of postgraduate students have finished study at the institute and returned to their home countries.

In the past two years, the Institute has yielded outstanding achievements and provided the world with a new path to drive development by education.

We had a lot of sleepless nights for study, and now the experience at ISSCAD seems so precious, said a student at the graduation ceremony of the institutes first batch of postgraduates on July 6, 2017.

At the graduation ceremony, Awan Andrew Guol Riak, Minister in the Office of the President of South Sudan read a thank-you letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on behalf of all the graduates.

Xi also encouraged them to be leaders of reform and development in their own countries and a practitioner of global South-South Cooperation in a reply on October 11, 2017.

Talking about the gains in China, the South Sudanese Minister said he was impressed most by the concept of green development proposed by President Xi that says lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.

"We can feel the Chinese governments determination to curb environmental pollution. South Sudan is rich in oil and gas and such resources are untapped treasures. I hope to learn from China and integrate economic development and ecological protection," said the Minister.

In addition to the most cutting-edge courses, the institute also organized trips for the students to metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. They visited Zhejiang and Henan provinces to learn Chinas efforts in poverty alleviation.

The research route echoes the development of China's reform and opening up, from the development of traditional manufacturing, to high-tech industries and internet companies, enabling the students to have a clear picture of each process of China's modernization.

Derrick Sibeso Wina from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of Zambia delivered a speech as a student representative at this year's commencement, saying that "the Chinese government and its people have done their part for us, but it will come to nothing if we dont apply what we learnt here to our national construction and the development of human beings.

Many of us wish to stay a little longer, said Wina, but only by going back can we construct our countries as beautiful as China.

"We have summarized the development experience of China and other developing countries into theories that can be referred by other developing countries to formulate policies based on their actual conditions," said Justin Yifu Lin, Dean of ISSCAD and Honorary Dean of the National School of Development at PKU.

The major feature of the ISSCAD is to formulate educational plans based on the conditions of developing countries and the level of development of each country so as to jointly improve the efficiency and capacity of development, Lin introduced.
By Virginia Harrison

1 September 2018

(BBC News)  Suicide attempts and horrifying acts of self-harm are drawing fresh attention to the suffering of refugee children on Nauru, in what is being described as a mental health crisis.

The tiny island nation, site of Australias controversial offshore processing centre, has long been plagued with allegations of human rights abuses.

But a series of damning media reports recently has also highlighted a rapidly deteriorating situation for young people.

We are starting to see suicidal behaviour in children as young as eight and 10 years old, says Louise Newman, professor of psychiatry at the University of Melbourne who works with families and children on the island.

Its absolutely a crisis.Australia intercepts all asylum seekers and refugees who try to reach its shores by boat. It insists they will never be able to resettle in Australia, so over the years has sent many to privately run processing centres it funds on Nauru and in Papua New Guinea. Groups working with families on Nauru paint a brutal picture of life for children on the island. Many have lived most of their life in detention, with no idea of what their future will be. The trauma they have endured, coupled with poor  and often dangerous conditions  contribute to a sense of hopelessness. [more]
By Oliver Sachgau

5 September 2018

(Bloomberg News)  Europes largest engineering company is urging its employees in eastern Germany to take a stand against xenophobia and public breach of law after days of violent clashes in the state of Saxony that industry groups fear may scare off investors.Siemens AG managers wrote to the firms 4,300 employees in Saxony asking them to speak out against right-wing extremism. The initiative follows clashes between far-right groups and opposing camps in the city of Chemnitz, which started after two people were arrested as suspects in the killing of a 35-year-old German man on Aug. 26. The protests turned violent after local media reported that the two suspects are of immigrant origin.It is time for civil society in the state to take a public stand promoting tolerance and humanity, and against xenophobia and discrimination, the managers said in the letter obtained by Bloomberg News.Siemens Chief Executive Officer Joe Kaeser already called for tolerance on Sunday. Kaeser has spoken extensively on the topic, saying in July he fears there will be cars burning in the streets if the issues that leave some Germans feeling marginalized are not tackled by policy makers.The events in Chemnitz are unacceptable to German industry, Eric Schweitzer, head of the DIHK chambers of industry and commerce, told Handelsblatt newspaper last week. Xenophobia, nationalism and vigilante justice damage the image of Germany as a location for doing business.
It should be the people of China and Africa to judge the performance of China-Africa cooperation, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his keynote speech delivered on Monday afternoon at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

No one could deny the remarkable achievements made in China-Africa cooperation, not with their assumption or imagination, Xi stressed when concluding the realistic and historic logic of China-Africa friendly cooperation under the background of building a community with a shared future for mankind in mind.

The reason why China is welcomed in Africa is that China has been treating Africa with all sincerity, a US media outlet acknowledged after witnessing Chinas efforts in Africa not long ago.

Chinas promise to help Africa achieve industrialization has been put into action , the US media said.

However, the China-Africa relations are often misinterpreted by some Westerners with bias, who claim China as neocolonialists and is exploiting Africas natural resources. Failing to see the historical facts of China-Africa friendly cooperation, they wittingly ignore the development and changes of Africa.

In contrast to the rebuke from some western countries with sense of superiority and their empty promises, China has always been treating Africa as equals with win-win cooperation as the goal.

China regards Africa as its good friend, good partner and good brother when the latter is seen as a hopeless continent by some western media.

Also, Chinese people always respect Africa, love Africa and support Africa, while some western countries attach unaffordable preconditions to their aid to Africa.

China follows a five-no approach in its relations with Africa: no interference in African countries pursuit of development paths that fit their national conditions; no interference in African countries internal affairs; no imposition of its will on African countries; no attachment of political strings to assistance to Africa; and no seeking of selfish political gains in investment and financing cooperation with Africa, Xi noted in his speech.

This five-no approach not only reflects Chinas sincerity towards its relationship with Africa, but also represents Chinas sincere hope..

The sincere attitude can be shown by the fact that nearly 90 percent of employees in Chinese enterprises in Africa are hired from local communities, according to a report published by consulting firm McKinsey & Company last year. The report investigated over 1,000 Chinese enterprises in eight African countries including Ethiopia.

Unlike our colonial and neo-colonial experience, Chinese have taught us that a candle does not lose its brightness by lighting other candles, but it makes the world brighter, the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard commented.

He (China) is doing to us what we expected those who previously colonized us to do. If they have ears to hear, let them hear, said former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe after Xi delivered his speech at the FOCAC Johannesburg summit held in December 2015.

Today, we should all reflect on Xis remarks that no one could undermine the great unity between the Chinese people and the African people, or hold back the Chinese people or the African people as we march toward rejuvenation.

In addition, no one could deny the remarkable achievements made in China-Africa cooperation, not with their assumption or imagination, or stand in the way or obstruct international efforts to support Africas development, Xi underlined.
By Dan Elliott

31 August 2018

DENVER (AP)  The Trump administration is rolling back some U.S. regulations on climate-changing methane pollution, calling them expensive and burdensome, but Colorado says its rules are working  and they have industry support.Energy companies have found and repaired about 73,000 methane leaks since 2015 under a state-required oil field inspection program, according to the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division. The number of leaks fell by 52 percent, from more than 36,000 in 2015 to about 17,250 in 2017, according a state report released last week.Neither the government nor industry groups could say how much methane has been kept out of the atmosphere when the leaks were fixed, citing the complexity of factors involved.But state officials said the sharp decline in the number of leaks shows Colorado is succeeding.Were just really encouraged by what were seeing with this program and with the industry as a whole, said Mark McMillan, a manager in the state air pollution agency.Methane is the primary component of natural gas. It is also a greenhouse gas, contributing to global warming by trapping heat in the Earths atmosphere.Colorado, the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the nation, started requiring energy companies to regularly inspect oil field equipment for leaks in 2014. The program is designed to reduce releases of methane and volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which are also components of natural gas.Under the right conditions  which are often present in Denver and Colorados Front Range urban corridor  VOCs turn into ground-level ozone. Ozone, the main component of smog, can aggravate asthma and contribute to early deaths from respiratory disease.Environmental and industry groups agreed Colorados program is working, with some reservations.Its good to see that the number of leaks is lower than it was back when the program started. But its not time to celebrate yet, said David McCabe, a senior scientist with the Clean Air Task Force, an environmental group.Colorados oil and gas industry is still releasing a lot of methane and VOCs, he said. [more]
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Photo: Xinhua

Aligning MDBs with Sustainable Development

The future of China and the rest of the world depends on its transition to a socially and environmentally sound economy. Realizing this transition will require political will, continued technological innovation, international cooperation, and a rapid scaling of business and economic innovation focused on realizing the Sustainable Development Goals, and meeting commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate. The Chinese and other governments have over recent years made ambitious commitments across these areas. In particular, mobilizing finance at scale is a pre-requisite to success, and yet todays global financial and capital markets are not yet fit-for-purpose. Given their size, history, mandate, and overarching influence, multilateral development banks (MDBs) play a crucial role in the necessary transitioning of the global economy. Recently, MDBs have been encouraged by the United Nations to examine and enhance their role to increase their contribution within sustainable development. This issue has been addressed in a comprehensive report published by the International Institute of Green Finance of the Central University of Finance and Economics.

In climate financing alone, in 2016 all MDBs together provided over $27bn, of which 77% were labelled as mitigation and 23% as adaptation. In the 2013-2015 period MDB climate finance amounted to over one third of developed countries climate financing support to developing countries, working to fulfil the 2020 promise of $100bn under the United Nations agreement. Based on their commitments, MDBs will provide 40% of global developed to developing country climate flows by 2020. While the cumulative numbers are large, it is critical to view these as a proportion of total MDB financing, as well as consider the greenness of MDBs non-climate and non-green portfolio. It is further important to consider the overall greenness of MDBs portfolios. Comparing MDBs current portfolios with a 2-degree warming scenario, the World Resources Institute concludes that 17% of financing is aligned with a 2-degree pathway, 57% is conditional, 22% is controversial, and 3% are misaligned. This provides an indication that MDBs need to change business-as-usual to be aligned with green policy objectives.

The implications for China

China is both a member and recipient of MDB support and is influenced by MDBs activities both in China and abroad. As such, the dynamic trends that are changing the role of MDBs in green finance are also influencing China. For example, as MDBs are increasing their focus on green finance China is receiving more such investment. Furthermore, with the rapid growth of green bonds in China, its market is now amongst the worlds largest. MDBs are increasingly following this trend with the New Development Bank issuing several green bonds in China, with indications of interest of similar issuances by other MDBs. Additionally, given the commercial bank led financial system in China, greening lending portfolios is of critical importance, and MDBs are providing assistance in this process. For example, the International Finance Cooperation of the World Bank Group has been assisting numerous Chinese banks over the last decade, such as Industrial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and MaAnShan Bank.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) are cases of particular interest as China was the initiator of the prior and co-founder of the latter. Chinas involvement in these institutions show that China is both supportive of MDBs as development financiers, as well as of including green ambitious in their mandates. For example, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Banks core values include green alongside clean and lean, while the New Development Bank currently has the largest proportion of green financing of any MDB at above 60%. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) requires vast amounts of green finance which both the AIIB and the NDB will contribute to. While loans under the BRI are targeted at local actors, Beijing remains a driver of the initiative and it is therefore encouraging to see numerous policy documents promoting the greening of the BRI. As MDBs are increasing their ambitious for green finance, such as by setting higher goals of climate finance by 2020, BRI countries will be a key recipient of MDB loans in the decades ahead.

Using MDB characteristics to overcome green finance challenges

In the global economy, capital naturally flows to where return is the highest. Simply put, the unmet need for green financing is therefore a sign of a lower return on investment from a combination of actual and/or perceived lower revenues and higher costs  as based on numerous factors inside such calculations. A number of challenges for scaling up green finance exists in terms of the institutional environment, project owners, investors, as well as in financial markets. MDBs possess a number of unique characteristics that make them the best candidate for addressing some of these challenges. Concretely, MDBs can use their policy-goal oriented nature that provides a long-term view, concessional terms, and counter-cyclical engagement, in combination with their technical expertise and ability to mobilize private capital.

Furthermore, MDBs are recommended to prioritize private capital mobilization and carry out greater cooperation where operations and mandate overlaps. As MDBs across the board are scaling up green financing, an effective and efficient approach to this effort is critical. Our analysis finds that MDBs can benefit from greater coordination of their approaches, methodologies, and practice, while maintaining their individual unique features required by their local environment. Through the above recommendations, MDBs can work towards realizing their potential and expectation to providing a critical piece in the puzzle for meeting the green financing need in China and abroad.

The author is the Director of International Cooperation & Research Fellow at the International Institute of Green Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics.
European banking supervision  towards a common culture

Statement by Sabine Lautenschlager, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Board of the ECB, at The Eurofi Financial Forum 2018, Vienna, 6 September 2018

Since 2014, we have made huge steps towards establishing a truly European system of banking supervision and embracing a common supervisory culture.

Does this mean nothing more needs to be done? Not quite. For a fully-fledged common culture you need to have three things:

First, you need a truly unified legal basis. You simply cannot build a comprehensive common supervisory culture if you have to apply a different set of rules in each of the 19 countries. Just think how we need to treat fit and proper assessments differently from one country to the next.

Second, you need harmonised administrative practices. And here, we have made good progress in the last four years  wherever the legislator granted us scope. We established practices for all the major areas of supervision, such as the SREP, the treatment of NPLs, stress tests, the ICAAP, the ILAAP, and so on.

Third, you need time and cooperation. After all, staff from 19 countries and 26 authorities have to be persuaded to leave their cultural comfort zone and align how they think, assess and act.

I measure how far we have come by the frequency with which banks ask about changes in supervisory actions.

In other words: how often do banks complain about changes in the way they are being supervised? They complain a great deal, I can tell you.

And we keep pushing forward. Let me give you just a few examples:

We strive to increase the number of cross-border on-site missions, with even more on-site supervisors working on banks outside their home country. The success of this initiative will largely depend on the number of on-site supervisors the national authorities are willing to send.

We have established a rotation scheme for members of our Joint Supervisory Teams. This too will help to spread a common culture. At the same time, it helps to avoid supervisory capture.

We foster exchange between supervisors from across the euro area. We bring them together in many different working groups to devise training manuals and supervisory guidance.

But the ECB cannot create a common supervisory culture by itself. The national authorities can and should contribute, too. I understand, of course, that it is difficult to let go of traditions that have been honed over decades. Culture is a sticky thing.

But national authorities should embrace the European idea. And they should seize the opportunity to contribute to a new, common supervisory culture. They should let more of their staff come to the ECB, for a while at least. Let them work in a European environment and carry this culture back to their home countries.

And the idea of a European supervisory culture should be reflected in how we deal with banks. For example, national reporting requirements should be dropped; instead, we should aim for a single European reporting framework.

To sum up: a common supervisory culture is emerging, but it still needs to be nurtured and nudged.

Thank you for your attention.
A UN official made positive comments on China-Africa cooperation on combating HIV/AIDS during an interview with Peoples Daily, after attending a China-Africa meeting on AIDS control in Beijing on Sept. 4.

Michel Sidibe, Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), also expressed his expectations on China-Africa cooperation in health sector.

The Executive Director pointed out that China has attached great importance to the fight against AIDS and its practice and efforts are obvious to all.

The overall HIV/AIDS infection rate in China is less than 0.1 percent, far below the international average of 0.8 percent, said Sidibe.

China has set a good example for other countries in prevention interventions among the high-risk population, noted Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

As a key area under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, China-Africa cooperation on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment has achieved fruitful results.

China has always actively supported African countries in combating AIDS, sending medical teams and donating medicines, medical equipment and materials to more than 40 African countries over the years.

Im very grateful to China, said the First Lady of Malawi Gertrude Mutharika when speaking of Chinas years of support to African countries in multiple sectors including health.

Malawi has been inspired by Chinas public health system and hopes to learn more experience from China, she added.

China has established one of the most advanced HIV/AIDS testing networks in the world, and its innovative tools and methods for HIV testing have set a model for the globe. The number of HIV test-takers in China accounted for about one third of the world's total in 2016.

Africa and China have fruitful cooperation in combating AIDS, and China has played a key role in reducing the incidence of HIV/AIDS and introducing related advanced technologies to Africa, said Ghana's First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

She extended her appreciation to China for all the support and assistance and expressed willingness to further cooperate with China.

Health care has been included in the eight major initiatives in close collaboration with African countries at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which elevates the bilateral health cooperation onto a new height.

China has played a leading role in helping Africa establish centers for disease prevention and control and laid foundation for sound cooperation among African countries and other countries, regions and organizations, said Tedros.

Meanwhile, China's investment in Africa will also promote the development of the local pharmaceutical industry, he added.

China plays a pivotal role in achieving the goal to end the epidemics of AIDS raised by UN in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said the WHO Director-General.


By The Hill , Sep. 5, 2018





South Korean officials said Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has agreed to conditionally cooperate with the U.S. in nuclear negotiations.





Kim reportedly said he's open to "stronger" denuclearization efforts if the U.S. reciprocates with an acknowledgement of the steps he has already taken to de-escalate weapons testing, South Korean officials told Bloomberg.

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Xi calls on China, Africa to build a closer community with shared future in the new era

Journalists are reporting at the High-level Dialogue Between Chinese and African Leaders and Business Representatives as well as the Sixth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, Sept. 3, 2018. (Photo by Wang Yunsong from Peoples Daily)

Together, China and Africa have embarked on a distinctive path of win-win cooperation, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in his speech at the opening ceremony of 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation on Monday.

He reviewed the history of China-Africa friendship in the speech, and suggested to build an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

When pursuing collaboration with Africa, China values sincerity, friendship and equality; pursues common interests and puts friendship first; takes a people-oriented approach in pursuing practical cooperation with efficiency; and takes an open and inclusive approach, according to Xi.

What Xi said indicated Chinas firm determination to support Africa to realize long-term stability, security, development and invigoration as the latters close friend, partner and brother forever.

The health and productivity of the bonds between Africa and China are self-evident. Let there be no misinterpretation on that score. said Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who is also rotating chair of the African Union (AU), in his speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summit.

Africa is not a zero-sum game and our growing ties with China do not come at anyone's expense, he remarked, adding that indeed, the gains were enjoyed by everyone who did business on the African continent.

To build an even closer China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era, Xi pledged that China would launch eight major initiatives in close collaboration with African countries in the next three years and beyond.

Journalists reporting the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and volunteers at the summits media center give thumbs up to Beijing as well as the hospitable service provided by volunteers in front of an interactive screen, Sept. 3, 2018. (Photo by He Yong from Peoples Daily)

The eight major initiatives, according to him, cover industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health care, people-to-people exchange, and peace and security.

Under the cooperation framework, China has decided to open a China-Africa economic and trade expo in China, jointly formulate a China-Africa infrastructure cooperation plan with the AU, and undertake 50 projects for green development and ecological and environmental protection in Africa.

In addition, ten Luban Workshops will be set up in Africa to provide vocational training for young Africans.

Monica Juma, Principal Secretary in Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Xis proposal of the eight major initiatives came at the right time, since both African countries and China were facing common development tasks and depended on each other, and to enhance cooperation would be mutually beneficial.

Juma was impressed by Xis remarks in his speech that Africas development was sustainable, and capacity building should be strengthened. The eight major initiatives conformed to the demands of Africas development and a deepened China-Africa cooperation, she added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who attended the summit as special guest, noted that China and Africa witnessed enhanced ties, strengthened political mutual trust, deepened cooperation and exchanges, as well as expanded cooperation on development.

It would help Africa achieve the goals of Africas Agenda 2063, which was in line with the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he added, expressing his recognition on the cooperation.

Such cooperation could benefit not only Chinese and African people, but also the global citizens at large, he said.

The summit was convened at a time when the global situation was going through threatening changes with rising unilateralism, AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said in his speech, explaining that such situation would bring severe impacts on global peace and security, and impede the formation of a more justified international order.

He believes that the summit will create two major opportunities for Africa and China. On one hand, it reiterates the importance of multilateralism, and on the other hand, it also lays a solid foundation to the building of a modern system for global governance.
Wu Haitao (front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks at a Security Council open debate on the situation in Nicaragua at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 5, 2018. China reiterated on Wednesday its stance that all countries' sovereignty should be respected at a United Nations Security Council open debate on the situation in Nicaragua. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China reiterated on Wednesday its stance that all countries' sovereignty should be respected at a United Nations Security Council open debate on the situation in Nicaragua.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said China has consistently called for the respect for countries' sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity as well as adherence to the non-interference in internal affairs principle.

Wu also said in his brief remarks that China holds the view that the situation in Nicaragua does not constitute a threat to international peace and security and the Security Council should not get involved.

At the debate marked by evident divide, the United States led the accusation against Nicaragua of declining "into a failed, corrupt, and dictatorial state," while some others rejected the discussion on the matter.

Mostly notably, Russia questioned if the council's mandate includes exerting pressure on a sovereign state to "negotiate certain changes thereby conceding to anti-government forces."

The agenda of the debate was put forward by the United States upon assuming presidency of the Security Council for September.

Nicaragua has been in turmoil since anti-government protests erupted on April 18. The government's countermeasures and ensuing violence have resulted in some 300 deaths and 2,000 injury casualties, according to a report released last week by the UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Elif Shafak wants an intervention to Turkey

Kandil's party vote in election periods which calls for HDP, Elif Shafak wrote that the West should intervene in Turkey.

Winning fame in Europe by the famous author Elif Shafak hostility to Turkey, She wants to intervene to Turkey.

Shafak, who showed his lowness to strike his country at every opportunity, also used arrogant expressions in the article he received for The Guardian in the United Kingdom.

"INTERFERE TO TURKEY"

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the country sustained hostility unflattering Elif Shafak, exceeding the limit this time he wrote that the West should not intervene in Turkey.

"Even when disconnected from the West to Turkey, should be to help the people of the resistance," an article written under the title Elif Shafak, said it was wrong of anti-Western sentiments in Turkey.


Italians complain about Merkel's refugee policy

Matteo Salvini, Italy's far right-wing politician, asserted that Merkel's refugee policy harmed Italy.

The Italians were most influenced by the 'open door' policy of the German chancellor Merkel for refugees. The Italians, who pointed out that many refugees flocked to their countries, are already complaining.

"MERKEL OVERLOOKED DISCREPANCY"

Extreme right-wing politician Matteo Salvini and journalist Khalid Chaouki, who took part in an Italian television show, were in a statement about refugees and Merkel. Salvini; He stated that Merkel took refugees to the country but that they were difficult to adapt socially.

Salvini, who had previously interviewed DW, says "Merkel's decision to include hundreds of thousands of refugees in Germany ignores social disagreement." he said.

Italians complain about Merkel's refugee policy - VIDEO





"IS EUROPE STUPID?"

"Europe is as stupid as we are," he said, adding that thousands of refugees from Europe have been brought to the ports of Italy. "Europe has sent us all of the refugees, the Syrians have been placed in 3 stars hotels, but the locals have been sleeping in the car.


Treasury and Finance Ministers doping plan on exporting

New plan outlines huge savings to be made on importation.

Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak who made a statement regarding most recent economic picture said: We are well aware of the steps we need to take to ensure that we have the strong economy we want.

Albayrak made a speech at a meeting of Turkish Exporters' Assembly (TIM). The minister stated that it is important to produce the intermediate products in Turkey. Our ministry is ready to give support to the domestic production, he said.

We know very well the steps we need to take. We will see the change over the next 5 years. No one should have any doubts that we will have the strong economy we desire. We expressed our willingness to fight inflation with effective fiscal policies. We have launched a stronger fiscal policy process than ever before. Turkey has a very determined authority in power. We will stick to the savings process in the public very efficiently. A much better public balance sheet is waiting for us this year. Minister stated.
In early 2019, UVX will be succeeded by a new, 4th generation synchrotron, Sirius. Starting with six beamlines in the first year of operation, 6 more in the second and 6 others in the third, this will open new perspectives of research in many fields including materials science, nanotechnology, biotechnology and environmental science.

Yves Petroff directed the ESRF during the inaugural years from 1993-2001, managing the growth of the facility and an increase in the number of ESRF beamlines from 15 in 1994 to 40 in 1998. His experience as ESRF Director General at the critical outset of the institute draws parallels with his new mission at LNLS.

The ESRF was the worlds first third generation synchrotron and it was a very exciting experience back then to see it exceed all specifications and produce remarkable science. With Sirius, its the same: the fact that we can build a 4th generation machine in Brazil, with state-of-the-art developments, and open it to the many excellent scientists in Latin America is something no one would have believed several years ago, but it is due to the high quality of the staff, says Petroff.

On leaving the ESRF in 2001, Yves Petroff took up an advisory role at the Brazilian Synchrotron LNLS, in Campinas, Sao Paolo. He held the office of Scientific Director there from 2009 to 2013 and remained close to the facility in the ensuing years. I know the LNLS very well and Im happy here because I enjoy challenges. The biggest of those today is to ensure that we produce exciting science with the new machine. Sirius is a miracle for Brazil and it will have taken just over 4 years between ground-breaking and the first beam. The building is almost finished, and the booster and ring are under installation. We expect the first electrons in the booster in November and the commissioning of the storage ring in 2019. The commissioning of the beamlines will start with 50 mA and reach 350 mA after the installation of the superconducting cavities. User operation is planned for July 2020.

Yves Petroff is one of the worlds leading experts on synchrotron radiation. His long career has been motivated by a no-nonsense approach to producing excellent science and to promoting the development and recognition of synchrotron radiation research. His work has often taken him from one side of the Atlantic to the other, proving the universality of the language of science.

Yves Petroff graduated with a doctorate in physics from the Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris, then worked at the University of California, Berkeley in the 70s. In 1975, he returned to France to work in one of the worlds first synchrotrons, ACO, in Orsay. He was deputy Director of LURE (Laboratoire pour lutilisation du rayonnement electromagnetique) from 1977-1980, and then Director of LURE from 1980 to 1990. He was nominated as ESRF Director General in 1993, leading the facility until 2001. During his office at the ESRF, he set up the guest-house system to accommodate users on site, as well as developing strong in-house research and post-doc programmes that ensured the recruitment of top quality researchers from the best European laboratories. From the ESRF, he went to the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, before crossing the Atlantic again to work at the French Ministry of Research, in charge of large scientific facilities. From 2005-2008, he was a member of the European Scientific Forum for Research Infrastructure (ESFRI).

In addition to his research and management activities, Yves Petroff was president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) from 2002 to 2005.

Yves Petroff is knight of the Legion of Honour and is decorated by the Order of Academic Palms. He also received the Robin prize from the French Physical Society and the Bequerel prize from the Academy of Sciences.
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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The world largest social media platform Facebook is losing a large number of young users as about one in four of them had removed the app from their smartphones in the past one year, a new Pew Research Center survey said Wednesday.

The survey found that a whopping 44 percent of users aged 18-29 have removed Facebook's app from their phones in the past 12 months, and about 42 percent have taken a break from checking the platform for several weeks or more.

The findings coincided with Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg's appearance before a U.S. Congress hearing on Wednesday on how Facebook addresses political content on the platform.

Facebook has been under heavy scrutiny for the way it was handling privacy issues and misinformation activities over the past months since a scandal erupted earlier this year following revelations that a former British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had illegally accessed data of more than 87 million Facebook users without their knowledge.

The Pew surveyed more than 3,400 U.S. Facebook users in May and June, and found that more than 54 percent of users aged 18 and older have adjusted their privacy settings.

The number of young people who deleted their Facebook app is about four times higher than that of users who are 65 years and older, with about 12 percent senior users quitting the app in the past 12 months, said the Pew study.

Older users were less frequently adjusting their privacy settings with only a third of them doing so, in comparison with the 64 percent of younger users more willing to do the readjusting.

An estimated 9 percent of Facebook users have downloaded the personal data about them after Facebook updated its privacy settings to make it easier for its users to download the data collected by the social media site, according to the Pew study.

Among the users who have downloaded their private data from the Facebook platform, nearly half of them, or 47 percent, have dropped the app from the cell phone, while the majority 79 percent chose a higher level of security options in their privacy settings in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the survey said.
DPIRD research officers Martin Harries (left) and Mark Seymour check a crop of canola as part of a project to assess the performance and profitability of sowing retained seed.

Research has confirmed there are no harmful yield or quality effects from sowing multiple generations of retained seed of open pollinated triazine tolerant (OP TT) canola, the AusCanola 2018 conference in Perth was told today.

More than 70 per cent of canola plantings in WA are sown to popular OP TT varieties, particularly ATR Bonito, which perform well in low to medium rainfall environments.

However, with few replacement varieties on the horizon, canola growers have become concerned about the use of seed that has been retained for many years or whether it would be more prudent to switch to more expensive hybrid TT seed.

Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research officer Mark Seymour said the research evaluated the performance of multiple generations of OP TT seed.

The research was undertaken with co-investment from the Grains Research and Development Corporation.

Mr Seymour said field trials at Wittenoom Hills and two sites at Grass Patch sown in 2016 and 2017 to retained OP TT seed, showed very little difference in seed yields or quality performance.

The result showed that generation 2-4 ATR Bonito seed yielded the same as a commercially purchased new, or generation one, seed, he said.

There was also no compromise in plant establishment, flowering time, date of maturity or oil content.

Mr Seymour said the results showed there was little financial loss from sowing retained OP TT canola varieties.

The gross margins of the Generation 4 seed at Grass Patch in 2017 and the generation 3 seed at Wittenoom Hills in 2016 were actually higher than new commercial seeds, he said.

The generation 3 seed sown at Wittenoom Hills in 2016 produced the highest gross margin of $612 per hectare, significantly larger than the other generations, which achieved margins of $511-522/ha.

Further research compared generations of hybrid TT canola with each other and commercial seed lots of OP TT canola.

Mr Seymour said field trials of three generations of hybrid TT at Grass Patch, Ballidu, Merredin, Dalwallinu and Wittenoom Hills suggested that while there were some production risks, there was little difference in yield and quality results.

We observed earlier flowering and flowers with male sterility in generation 2 and 3 hybrid TT plants, but there was little variation in mean site yields of 1.3t/ha, he said.

While the second and third generations of hybrid TT canola did not perform as well, the average yield loss was three per cent  much lower than previously thought.

As a consequence of the relatively small differences in yield and oil content, the research found no financial incentive to sow hybrid generation 1 seed instead of retained hybrid seed, with generation 2 averaging $10/ha higher returns than generation 1.

At lower rainfall sites, where yield levels were below 1.5t/ha, the research showed OP TT canola produced equal or higher seed yields and gross margins than all the first generation hybrid seed treatments.

This resulted in an average gross margin of $515/ha for the OP TT canola, compared with $419/ha for first generation hybrid TT seed.

Mr Seymour said growers could be confident to continue to sow OP TT varieties, whether it was newly purchased seed or retained OP TT seed.

In the majority of experiments, growing an OP variety and sowing at a target of 40 plants per square metre, produced higher yields and returns than any of the hybrid treatments, he said.

Growers are reminded to check the seed germination every year to ensure its performance.

There are more details on this research in the departments newly released Canola agronomy research in Western Australia Bulletin, available at agric.wa.gov.au
A TOTAL of 14 Synergy Consulting customers headed to Kununurra recently to see first-hand the Ord River irrigation scheme and what it has to offer.

The agronomy tour was a chance for Synergy Consulting clients to have a look at something different and was on the back of previous tours to Victoria and South Australia.

Synergy Consultings David Pfeiffer said the trip was a lot of fun for the participants.

It was a different environment, Mr Pfeiffer said.

Different challenges always provide the opportunity to listen and learn and when it comes to agriculture many principles remain the same.

On the six-day trip the group had a look at sandalwood production, Pacific Seed Farms seed bulking, watermelon and pumpkin production at Ceres Farms, chia production at Bothkamp Farms, the first crop of cotton to be harvested this season, a tour through Ordco to learn about the merchandise supply side of the Ord Valley and a look at the aquaculture sector with barramundi fishing.

It was good to visit somewhere different to the traditional broadacre agriculture that all the participants partake in back home, Mr Pfeiffer said.

Listening and learning how other people deal with issues is always beneficial.

Not only this, but meeting and spending time with other Synergy clients from within the Wheatbelt creates new contacts and networking opportunities.

Mr Pfeiffer said another trip was planned for 2019.

The story Farm tour takes in Ord River operations first appeared on Farm Online.
STUDENTS from Albanys Great Southern Grammar (GSG) have helped unveil InterGrains newest Noodle wheat at a unique variety launch on the States south coast.

Kinsei has been selected as the name of InterGrains new Australian Noodle Wheat (ANW), which will be commercially available for growers from 2019.

InterGrain chief executive officer Tress Walmsley said the plant breeding company had been working closely with GSG students over the past few months to name the wheat, which will be grown for the Japanese and Korean udon noodle market.

She said GSG boarder Harrison Dolan, Nyabing, suggested the name which meant balance in Japanese.

We thought that was really appropriate because its all about balancing improvements for the grower  which is about yield and agronomics  and then also balancing the quality requirements that the Japanese and the Korean customers want, Ms Walmsley said.

Students from GSG joined the InterGrain team, growers and industry stakeholders at the variety launch at Albanys Garrison Restaurant on Friday, where they sampled udon noodles made from Kinsei and learnt about the breeding processes and agronomic package behind the wheat, formerly known as IGW8048.

Ms Walmsley said Kinsei had been 11 years in the making and would be a potential replacement for Yitpi and Calingiri.

She said Kinsei was a high yielding, late maturing ANW suited to early sowing from late April to early May.

For a long time growers have been planting Calingiri and one of the reasons why is because it can be planted early, Ms Walmsley said.

We think Kinsei is a similar, if not slightly longer maturity type than Calingiri, which will allow growers that early planting opportunity which we havent had in a new noodle variety for quite some time.

According to InterGrains product profile, the new variety performed well in National Variety Trials (NVT), out-yielding Yitpi by an average of eight per cent over a five-year period.

Kinseis profile boasted good physical grain characteristics and demonstrated a general udon quality improvement compared to Zen and Ninja.

Ms Walmsley said trials conducted by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development had also shown positive results, as well as demonstrations carried out by grower group Stirlings to Coast Farmers.

She said the variety had a good disease package, and was best suited to the higher rainfall region of the Great Southern, where previous noodle varieties were not well suited.

Its got good stripe rust and leaf rust resistance and what we call useful levels of stem rust and yellow leaf spot resistance, Ms Walmsley said.

Its got a similar sprouting tolerance to Calingiri.
Grain Producers Australia chairman Andrew Weidemann said the new agreement was good news for WA growers.

WESTERN Australian grain growers will be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the just-inked Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) free trade agreement (FTA).

The Australian grains sector hopes the deal will open up new opportunities, particularly in the area of feed wheat.

In spite of being Indonesias largest supplier of milling wheat and exporting up to 25 per cent of our total annual wheat exports to our northern neighbour, Australia currently does not supply any of Indonesias 2-3 million tonnes a year of feed wheat imports.

Grain Producers Australia chairman Andrew Weidemann said 500,000t of Australian feed grain, made up of wheat, barley and sorghum, could now be imported into Indonesia duty-free following the deal.

This would equate to around $150 million in value for the Australian industry, based on a price of $300/t should exporters be able to supply the whole quota.

It will be especially good news for WA growers who lack the domestic feed wheat market available to the counterparts on the east coast.

Mr Weidemann said opening up the Indonesian feed market would mean WA growers could happily plant high-yielding feed wheat varieties rather than rely solely on milling lines.

High rainfall parts of Western Australia would be well-suited to growing feed wheat but there hasnt been the market for it, but this deal might change it, Mr Weidemann said.

He said Indonesia could source feed wheat from the Black Sea region, which was a cheaper producer than Australia.

However, Mr Weidemann said the FTA, combined with Australias natural freight advantage, meant Australian wheat would be able to compete with other origins.

He said the FTA could put a further 15-25pc onto the total annual value of Australia wheat exports to Indonesia.

But it is not just wheat growers expected to benefit.

We also expect there to be some upside for barley and pulse growers, Mr Weidemann said.

Indonesia is not a large pulse consumer in the manner of the sub-continental nations but it is growing and with this deal Australian growers will have preferred access over key competitors.

The Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre (AEGIC) was delighted with the news, saying Indonesia, which is already Australias biggest wheat customer, is growing rapidly.

AEGIC chief economist Ross Kingwell said the IA-CEPA was an important milestone in the relationship between the Australian grains industry and Indonesia.

This new agreement will provide a blueprint for future growth and collaboration between Australia and Indonesia and will result in significant benefits for both countries, Mr Kingwell said.

Indonesia already buys almost one quarter of all Australian wheat exports and is expected to experience huge growth in the coming decades.

Mr Kingwell said the scope for growth in Indonesia was huge, saying that by 2030 it will be the worlds fifth largest economy.

Indonesians will become more wealthy and will be increasingly urban.

Along with this, their diets will evolve to incorporate more wheat products and less rice.

It is important for Australia to use this partnership to position Australia to continue to be an affordable and reliable supplier of wheat that meets the needs of our Indonesian friends.

Grain industry lobby group GrainGrowers also congratulated the Federal government for the progression of the deal.

Indonesia is a country of boundless opportunity for the Australian grains industry, said chief executive officer David McKeon.

A country with 263 million people, Indonesia is forecast to grow to 295 million by 2030, Mr McKeon said.

Indonesia is already Australias largest wheat market, valued at roughly $1.3 billion with trade volumes around 4.2mt per year, and wheat is already Australias single largest export to Indonesia.

Mr McKeon said that currently Australias grain trade to Indonesia was almost exclusively wheat for milling purposes, however, IA-CEPA would directly allow more diversity and growth in Australias grain trade with Indonesia in the future.

He said GrainGrowers had been lobbying hard to ensure the grain industry was an important part of the deal.

We are thrilled with the outcome and the benefits this new trade agreement will provide to Australian grain growers and the broader industry, Mr McKeon said.

IA-CEPA will provide a platform for further growth in milling wheat trade and will allow for improved diversity in grains trade between the two countries.

Mr McKeon said he expected the duty-free quota to enable Australian feed grain to go into Indonesian industries such as poultry, livestock and aquaculture.

He gave a heads-up there was further, grain specific trade work to take place between the two nations.

GrainGrowers is equally pleased that Indonesia and Australia will start to work on a grains-specific economic cooperation initiative, dubbed the Indonesia-Australia Strategic Grains Partnership, he said.

The partnership will provide the required technical, economic, and social programs to allow the grains and related industries in both countries to flourish.

GrainGrowers trade and economics manager Luke Mathews acknowledged the efforts by the government in pursuing a high quality agreement with Indonesia, and looked forward to the official signing of the agreement and subsequent ratification by both countries, as soon as possible.

Mr Mathews said IA-CEPA would cement the existing relationship between Australian and Indonesian milling wheat industries while allowing new trade, investment and relationships to flourish between Australias grain industry and Indonesias food manufacturing, stockfeed and livestock sectors.
A former real estate broker was sentenced to six months in prison Thursday for trying to bribe a Middle Eastern official to finance the sale of a high-rise building complex in Vietnam.

Joo Hyun Bahn, also known as Dennis Bahn, 39, of Tenafly, New Jersey, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan.

He also agreed Thursday to disgorge $225,000 to the SEC to settle civil FCPA violations.

Bahn pleaded guilty in January this year in the criminal case to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and one count of violating the FCPA.

He was acting as a broker for Colliers International Group, Inc., intending to help a South Korean construction company sell the Landmark 72 building complex in Hanoi to Qatars sovereign wealth fund.

The purported bribes were supposed to be $2.5 million. Landmark 72 was valued at $800 million. Bahn would have made $5 million for brokering the deal.

The SEC said Bahn circumvented Colliers internal accounting controls, fabricated documents, created fictitious email messages, and lied to Colliers executives.

Bahn also falsely represented that a buyer had committed to acquire the building, causing Colliers to improperly record commission revenue that it wouldnt receive, the SEC said.

The SEC settled Thursday with Bahn by an internal administrative order (pdf) and didnt go to court.

The DOJ charged Bahn and his father, Ban Ki Sang, 69, and Malcolm Harris in December 2016.

Ban Ki Sang was a senior executive at the company that developed Landmark 72, Keangnam Enterprises. Bans brother is former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Harris, 53, was sentenced to 42 months in prison in October 2017. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Harris took $500,000 from Ban and Bahn by posing in text messages and emails as an agent of a Qatari official.

Landmark 72 opened in 2012. It includes two 50-story office buildings and one 72-floor tower, the tallest building in Vietnam. There are apartments, offices, and hotels in the complex.

The chairman of Keangnam, Sung Woan-jong, committed suicide in April 2015 after being investigated in South Korea for alleged corruption. He reportedly left a list of politicians in Korea he claimed to have bribed.

A wire service report said Bahn told Judge Edgardo Ramos that his bad judgment led to other bad judgments.

Judge Ramos said he believed that Bahn deserved a lenient sentence because he acted in part to try to help his father overcome financial difficulties, the report said.

____

Harry Cassin is the managing editor of the FCPA Blog.
The Securities and Exchange Commission awarded $39 million to one whistleblower Thursday and $15 million to another in the same case for information that helped the agency bring an important enforcement action.

The $39 million award is the second-biggest payout under the SEC whistleblower program.

The SECs biggest whistleblower award was $50 million, shared by two former Merrill Lynch employees in March this year. A third former Merrill Lynch employee was awarded $33 million in the same case, according to a lawyer for the three whistleblowers.

In Thursdays redacted award order, the SEC said the two whistleblowers also helped during the agencys investigation.

The whistleblowers submitted claims for more money based on a related enforcement action at another federal agency. The SEC denied those claims.

The SEC also denied an award to a third claimant.

By law, the SEC protects the confidentiality of whistleblowers and doesnt disclose information that might reveal who they are.

The SEC has now awarded more than $320 million to 57 individuals since its first award in 2012.

Awards are paid out of penalties the SEC collects from securities law violators.

Whistleblowers can be eligible for an award when they voluntarily provide the SEC with original, timely, and credible information that leads to a successful enforcement action.

Awards can range from 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected when sanctions are more than $1 million.

Jane Norberg, chief of the SECs Office of the Whistleblower, said Thursday, These substantial awards send a strong message about the SECs commitment to whistleblowers and the value they bring to the agencys mission.

___

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
The UK Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a lower courts ruling and restored the attorney-client privilege to protect internal investigations from discovery by the Serious Fraud Office.

In a case involving London-listed Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), the appellate court said those who retain counsel to investigate the circumstances of an alleged offense shouldnt be denied the benefit of litigation privilege.

The ruling reversed a High Court decision in May 2017 that interview notes created during an internal investigation werent protected by the legal professional privilege.

The SFOs criminal investigation into ENRC started in April 2013. It was triggered by whistleblower complaints about the mining companys operations in Kazakhstan and Africa.

ENRC claimed the privilege against the SFOs requests for employee interview notes and other documents produced during an earlier internal investigation conducted by outside counsel.

The case went to the High Court in 2017 after the SFO decided to fight what it saw as spurious privilege claims that led to protracted discovery negotiations with target companies.

But the legal community criticized the High Courts ruling and ENRC appealed.

The appellate court Wednesday agreed with the company.

___

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.
Fear: Trump in the White House, the upcoming book about US President Donald Trump by Bob Woodward, one of reporters who broke the Watergate story, has made headlines for pulling back the curtain on a White House that appears to be having a straight-up meltdown.

The revelations in the book immediately sent the Internet into overdrive, and one line in particular has taken social media by storm.

According to US media reports, John Kelly, Trumps chief of staff, is quoted in the book as saying: Hes an idiot. Its pointless to try to convince him of anything. Hes gone off the rails. Were in crazytown, Kelly reportedly said in a meeting.

That led to a slew of crazytown tweets, including these:

Ed Hall, a political cartoonist, depicted a White House turned madhouse.

Nick Bryant, BBCs New York correspondent, complained that a CNN graphic about Woodwards book didnt have enough room for crazytown.

As well as this:

And this:

And this:

Things are not all fun and games, at least for officials in Washington, DC. As CNNs chief national security correspondent pointed out, Trumps aides are so worried about the US presidents behavior that theyre literally stealing papers off his desk to protect the country.

In the prologue to Woodwards book, obtained by The Atlantic, Gary Cohn, the former White House economic advisor, swiped a letter from the presidents desk terminating the free trade agreement with South Korea. Cohn considered it a danger to national security.

I stole it off his desk, Cohn reportedly said. I wouldnt let him see it. Hes never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.

One day after excerpts from Woodwards forthcoming book revealed details about the distrust within Trumps inner circle and the chaos that consumes the White House, The New York Times published an op-ed from an anonymous senior official, who admitted that many of the senior officials are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda. The act of sabotage is being described by some as a soft coup.

What is clear from crazytown is that the White House is at war with itself, at least if Woodwards book and The Times op-ed are to be believed, creating what the anonymous op-ed author describes as a two-track presidency, with the government running on one track and the US president running on the other.

That certainly seems to fit the definition of crazytown.
Cancer Support Groups are meeting for people with cancer and those touched by the disease. They can have many benefits. Even though a lot of people receive support from friends and family, the number one reason they join a support group is to be with others with similar cancer experiences. Some research shows that joining a support group improves both quality of life and survival.

There are many support groups in the UK however, here in Fethiye, there isnt the same support network for sufferers and their family, those grieving for loved ones, and friends and carers.

HOPE (Helping Overcome Painful Emotions)

There are many support groups in the UK however, here in Fethiye, there isnt the same support network for sufferers and their family, those grieving for loved ones, and friends and carers.

HOPE is a new group set up in Fethiye to provide that network.

The group is open to people who are being treated for cancer (or any critical illness) and those who have completed treatment. Equally important members are family and carers (some who have lost loved ones) who can find it helpful to share thoughts and feelings with others. HOPE is also open to those who may be lucky enough to have never been affected by cancer or any other critical illness, but want to help others.

Macmillan supports more than 900 independent cancer support groups and organisations across the UK so it seemed logical to use their tried and tested guidelines to set up HOPE.

The first thing was to agree the aims of the group and set up a declaration of good practice.

The aim of the HOPE Support Group is:

To offer emotional and practical support to cancer sufferers and their families and friends. We will do this by understanding their needs and building a support network of people who understand, care and are prepared to listen and, help, provide grief counselling and practical solutions

Declaration of good practice

We share clear aims and objectives.

We run our activities according to our members needs, in a clear and accountable manner.

We welcome everyone equally, and we take steps to be open and accessible.

We support our helpers and volunteers.

We make sure that everyone understands and respects confidentiality.

We listen to each other and respond with sensitivity.

We provide accurate, practical information, but do not give advice or make recommendations.

We ensure that any complementary therapy we offer is carried out professionally.

We support each other through our losses, allowing time and space to talk about fears and grief.

We work in cooperation with professionals.

The first meeting took place in March and from there, the group has taken shape and is becoming established.

There are around 20 core members supporting the development of the group and cancer sufferers who contact them.

The group meets once a month and a number of professional speakers have attended. The Lokman Hekim Esnaf Hospital have also hosted meetings and given presentations.

Yasam Icin Yars (Race For Life Turkey) and HOPE

Yasam Icin Yars (Race For Life Turkey) takes place every year in Fethiye to raise money for cancer research and treatment. It seems only natural that HOPE should come under the Yasam Icin Yars umbrella, which is hosted by FETAV. The two groups now work in partnership, supporting each other in fundraising activities for this very worthy cause.

Further information

For more information and/or to receive or offer help and support, please apply to join the HOPE Facebook Group and come along to one of our meetings. Alternatively you can email HOPE on hopefethiye@gmail.com
Birmingham, Ala.-based Alabama Futures Fund closed a $25m early-stage venture capital fund.

AFF will focus on companies that are headquartered in, or willing to relocate to, the State of Alabama working across a broad range of industries that exhibit the potential for high growth.

LPs in AFF include several prominent institutional and individual Alabama investors, including:

 Protective Life Insurance Company,

 HOAR Construction, LLC,

 Raymond J. Harbert,

 G. Ruffner Page, Jr.,

 Charles Barkley, and

 Benny M. LaRussa, Jr.

The investments will be managed by Redhawk Advisory  a registered Investment Advisor with offices in Birmingham  through its principles, Matt Hottle and Mickey Millsap. Portfolio companies will also benefit from the experience of the members of the AFF Advisory Board, who include:

 David M. Gray,

 Shannon P. Spotswood,

 Stanley L. Graves,

 Deontee D. Gordon and

 Owen Samuels.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Sytorus Ltd, a Dublin, Ireland-based data protection company, raised 1.7M in funding.

The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital Early & Growth Stage Funds made the investment, which is in addition to simultaneous funding from Enterprise Ireland and private investors.

The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and open a new office in Frankfurt.

Established by Dr. John Ghent (CEO), Mike Morrissey (COO) and Hugh Jones (CPO) in 2013, Sytorus provides PrivacyEngine, a dynamic GDPR and Data Protection SAAS product to corporate clients. The platform, designed by Data Protection practitioners, aims to take away the complexity of compliance, and transform it into a clear set of actionable results which are evidence based. It features risk assessments, mandatory logs, documentation management, online training and real-time support from experts.

The company, with over 50 staff in Dublin, Stockholm and London, today has over 300 hundred fee paying corporate clients worldwide.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Hem, a Stockholm, Sweden-based furniture brand, raised $5m in funding.

Verdane Capital joined as new investor in Hem. Following the investment, Verdane partner Staffan Morndal will join the board of directors.

The company intends to use the funds for building inventory, expanding the US and European teams, and reaching new audiences.

Hem has had an explosive emergence on the modern design market, and has grown a cult following, with the US as the single biggest market. The online-first approach has lately evolved into physical installations, exhibitions and pop-ups, most recently in NYC and L.A.

Founded in 2014 by founder Petrus Palmer, and also led by COO Isac Epstein, and Chairman Mattias Miksche, Hem is a furniture brand that manufactures and sells a portfolio of pieces ranging from tables, sofas and carpets to lighting and accessories, to private consumers, designers, architects and businesses.

The company, which employs a direct-to-customer model to conceive and manufacture design and to make it available to an international audience, offers over 400 products in 34 nations, with the largest markets being the US, followed by Great Britain, Germany and France.

Hem works with the most relevant designers including Max Lamb, Luca Nichetto, Pauline Deltour, GamFratesi and Philippe Malouin.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Launchmetrics, a NYC and Paris-based provider of a marketing platform and analytics solution for the Fashion, Luxury and Cosmetics (FLC) industries, raised $50M in funding.

The round was led by Bpifrance, with participation from Seventure, Cipio Partners and Famille C (Famille Courtin-Clarins).

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its business across Asia, the Middle East and Europe, further invest in the development of its data technologies, and expand the team (with over 150 new hires slated in the next two years in marketing, sales, software development and data).

Led by Michael Jais, CEO, Launchmetrics is a marketing platform and analytics solution for Fashion, Luxury and Cosmetics professionals to identify the most influential voices in the industry, activate those voices and measure the results of their marketing and communication campaigns.

Founded in NYC with operating headquarters in Paris, and offices in London, Milan, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Madrid, and Girona (Spain) and support in five languages, the company works with over 1,000 brands as well as partners like IMG, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the British Fashion Council, Pitti Immagine, and Google, to accelerate their business and build lasting exposure.

Launchmetrics has grown from $25m to $100m in revenue over the next 4 years, leveraging an organic growth and a strategic M&A program. It serves the top seventy fashion and luxury brands worldwide including Dior, Fendi, NET-A-PORTER, Topshop, etc.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Factual, a Los Angeles, CA-based location data company, raised $42m in funding.

Backers included Upfront Ventures and Felicis Ventures, among others.

The company will use the new funds to accelerate international expansion, particularly in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, its fastest-growing market, to grow existing markets, deepen partnerships with brands, publishers and business analysts, and extend its data products into new channels, through connected TV and out-of-home partnerships. Factual will establish its APAC headquarters in Singapore, and has hired former Grapeshot (Oracle) executive Chris Pattinson to lead it.

The raise brings total funding to $104m.

Led by CEO and Founder Gil Elbaz, Factual is a location data company for brands and technology companies to understand and grow their businesses. It enables engineering teams, marketers and data analysts to build their digital products, deliver impactful marketing and transform their businesses with accurate and comprehensive data on places and people worldwide.

The company has provided location data in campaigns for more than 6,000 brands around the world, including 48 of the top 50 national advertisers per AdAge. Customers include Amazon, Apple, BMW, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Screenful, a Helsinki, Finland-based SaaS company, raised 305k in seed funding.

The round was led by Finnish venture capital firm Gorilla Capital and the Arctic15 Funding Program consisting of a syndicated deal from 14 angel investors from FiBAN and the Nordic Angel Program.

The company, which has raised 750k in total funding, intends to use the capital to continue to expand operations.

Founded in 2013 and led by Sami Linnanvuo, CEO, Screenful develops visual dashboards and automated reports to facilitate the efficient delivery of digital products and services, with a particular focus on production metrics such as lead cycle times or team progress updates that are automatically analyzed based on the data from team collaboration tools such as Atlassian Jira and Trello.

The company has hundreds of customers worldwide, of which, about half are US companies, and range from startups to stock listed companies.

It is located in both Finland and Armenia.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Yoco, a Johannesburg, South Africa-based Point of Sale payments provider, raised US$16M in Series B funding.

The round, which brought total investment to US$23m, was led by Partech, with participation from Orange Digital Ventures, FMO (The Dutch Development Bank) and existing investors Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, managed by Quona Capital, and Velocity Capital. In conjunction with the funding, Cyril Collon, General Partner at Partech and Co-lead of the Partech Africa Fund, will join Yocos Board.

The company intends to use the funds to grow its network of small business merchants, invest in product development, operational scalability and hire fintech talent.

Founded by Katlego Maphai (CEO), Carl Wazen (Chief Business Officer), Bradley Wattrus (CFO) and Lungisa Matshoba (CTO), Yoco builds tools and services to allow small businesses to accept card payments and manage their day to day activities. Since launching its first product in late 2015, a card reader that connects with a merchants smartphone or tablet, the company has grown its base to over 27,000 South African small businesses.

Yoco has been adding services to its payments solution, which now includes point of sale software, business intelligence, accounting integrations, and working capital financing.

FinSMEs

06/09/2018
Tsinghua excels at the art of balancing tradition and history with innovation and creativity. Tsinghua is helping to chart the course of the ever-expanding China and Africa space. Today China and Africa not only have good friendship but forged enduring strategic partnerships. President Xi Jinping has launched the visionary Belt and Road Initiative, an extraordinary project with the potential to connect China and Africa in this new era of globalization.

China-Africa relations dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when a series of expeditions reached East Africa.

The formal political relations were forged during the early years of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in (1949), which intersected with the first wave of African independences.

The contemporary relations between China and Africa were reinforced by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, launched in 2000. FOCAC just concluded its leaders summit here in Beijing.

The China-Africa ties have expanded beyond the trade and investment in extractive industries to engagement in telecommunications, infrastructures, manufacturing, finance, media, agriculture as well as peace and security issues.

Africa is a vast continent with a population size similar to China. Africa is a rich continent with lots of poor people. China was a poor developing country only four decades ago. Africa is endowed with abundant natural resources including 65% of arable agricultural land capable of feeding the entire world population of 9 billion by 2050. Africa may be one of the oldest continent but has the youngest population in the world. The median age of Africas population is only 19.5 years. By 2055, Africas youth (aged 15-24) is projected to be over 500 million. According to the African Development bank, 12 million young people entered the labour market in 2015 and only 3.1 million jobs were created. This is one of Africas major challenge. With visionary leadership, the right level of investment in its youth and learning from successful experiences of China and others, the demographic dividend could be Africas salvation.

Lets take my own country, Ethiopia, as an example. Both China and Ethiopia take pride in their cultural heritages, strong histories of civilizations, fast economic growth, and optimism for the future their next generation could inherit. China and Ethiopias win-win relationship is an example to global partners. In 2011 construction of the Addis Ababa  Djibouti railway begun and it became operational on January 1st, 2018. Through this joint endeavour China and Ethiopia cemented their commitment to the Belt and Road Initiative.

There is also a growing tradition of aspiring African leaders pursuing tertiary education in China. Ethiopia is now the fastest growing economy in Africa and dubbed as the China of Africa.

Higher learning institutions have the responsibility to equip their students with the skill-sets and competencies necessary to navigate the ever-changing global arena. Herein lies the importance of training students and leaders. Culturally sensitive and forward-looking leadership training is a crucial ingredient to achieving peaceful and sustainable development.

The world we live in is under extreme stress. While humanity has made tremendous progress since the advent of the 1st industrial revolution of the 18th century, we are faced with unprecedented challenges. The current world population is around 7.2 billion, a 9-fold increase since 1750. This has huge implications for economic development, social inclusion and the environment.

We also live in an era of environmental crisis, which are largely man-made. We are faced with climate change, fresh water stress, changes in ocean chemistry and loss of biodiversity. In short, we are testing the limits of our Planetary Boundaries.

The rule based international order is on the verge of breaking down. Multilateralism is under attack. Trade wars are looming. Extreme nationalism, xenophobia, hatred, etc. are on the rise. Conflict and wars are devastating many parts of our world. Forced migration and modern day slavery are centre stage in the battle for dignity. Violent extremism is taking its toll in many societies.

Of course, all is not gloom and doom. The glass is half-full. We have lifted millions of people out of poverty. Chinas remarkable achievement in this regard is exemplary. China was growing on average at around 10% per year. Since Chinas opening up in 1978, the economy has doubled every 7 years (rule 70 = 70/g=years of doubling). China has lifted millions out of poverty; the provision of basic services including health, education, and infrastructural services  roads, rails, ports, air transport, etc. has been extended to many parts of the country. China may have been the workshop of the world for some years. It is now moving to higher value added products and services. This is backed up by Research & Development. China now graduates more PhDs than any other country in the world. Of course, Chinas spectacular growth, never seen in history before, is not without its challenges. Environmental issues loom colossal. Closing the equity gap between the rural/ urban remains.

According to Business Insider, China is on a mission to become the next green superpower. The country is the largest investor in renewable energy, sinking $126.6 billion into the industry in 2017, a 30% increase from the year prior.

China's shift away from coal and other fossil fuels has accelerated in the last decade. This is a clear testament to Chinas leadership role in many aspects of Sustainable Development.

In November 2012, President Xi Jinping stated that By taking a scientific approach to development, we have focused on transforming our economic growth model.  We have seen positive results in many areas, including steady economic growth, adjustment of the economic structure, reform to a deeper level, and improvement of the peoples well-being. He further stated, The conflicts between the environment, natural resources and economic growth are becoming more serious. (Xi Jinping, The Governance of China, 2014, pp123)

In January 2014, President Xi Jinping stated We should make safeguarding social stability our basic task, promote social fairness and justice as core values, and ensure a happy life for the people as our fundamental target. We should enforce the law strictly, administer justice impartially (pp 163)

This is far-sightedness. This is leadership by example.

South Asia and Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, is were extreme poverty and hunger are concentrated. Without tackling the development challenges in these vast regions, it will be a pipe dream to assume that the rest of the world will move to sustainable development and peace.

Strategic partnerships involving governments, the private sector and civil societies are fundamental. Partnerships must be built in creative ways. South-South and North-South-South cooperation is the way to go.

In this regard, Chinese and African Strategic Partnerships must be encouraged for the benefit of both parties. The partnership must be multi-faceted including cooperation in capacity building. I commend Tsinghua for taking the lead in establishing China-African Leadership Development Institute (CALDI) to help build leadership and management capacities both at individual and institutional levels in Africa and promote cultural understandings between these two great civilizations.

According to African Economic Outlook 2017, despite a decade of progress, 54% of the population in 46 African countries are still living in poverty. It is essential to double efforts to empower Africans with the necessary skills to promote development from the bottom up, driven by domestic innovation and investment.

We must support African countries to deal with the challenges of low human development and social exclusion. This is consistent with the African Unions policy of industrialisation as the main strategy to promote inclusive economic transformation.

One of Africas major challenges is youth employment. Creating productive employment for Africas rapidly growing young population is an immense challenge, but also the key to future prosperity. Africa must address bottlenecks to employment growth, while helping young people obtain the skills needed to succeed in a competitive job market.

In spite of the many challenges, Africa has changed dramatically since the creation of the Organization of African Unity.

Over the past decade, six of the world's ten fastest-growing countries were African. In eight of the past ten years, Africa has grown faster than East Asia, including Japan.

These are not my words  they are from The Economists special report on The Hopeful Continent  Africa Rising, in March 2013.

The picture is hopeful, but as The Economist cautioned  the big question is whether Africa can sustain the rise.

It is clear that we need to invest in human capital development, to transform Africas youth bulge into an opportunity for all. This is why Tsinghuas decision to establish CALDI and collaborate with UNESCO, the African Union Commission and others is visionary and timely.

In this new age of limits and austerity, we need to invest much more in the boundless opportunities and energy that lies in human creativity and ingenuity.

This is why it is so important for Governments to resist cutting back on education.

There is no more powerful way to develop the innovation potential of all members of society than through education.

Not just any education  I mean, quality education, accessible to all, led by trained teachers, imparting relevant knowledge, diverse content and skills. Training and developing leaders at all levels is a critical ingredient for success.

The facts speak for themselves.

171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills. This is an equivalent to a 12 percent cut in world poverty.

Education is a driver of growth that brings sustainability to development. The leadership gaps are serious limiting factors for many societies, particularly in Africa.

We must pull together, in the same direction  Governments, donors, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector.

Experience shows the importance of private-public partnerships for success.

The time is just right to rethink leadership, beyond heroism and charisma, to bring it into everyday life and to recognize that we all need to lead, and at the same time to follow, because the world we need is one that will be built together.

Effective leadership is as important in business as in guiding states, the direction of wars, and the development of communities in various spheres of life.

It is absolutely clear that the world needs more leaders and managers at different levels. Universities like Tsinghua can contribute enormously by training our future global citizens with the right mix of skills. This is the vision for CALDI to help Africa move along the sustainable development path and benefit from the rich experiences of Chinas development. Lets join hands to make it happen.

The author is a distinguished Visiting Professor & co-President of China-Africa Leadership Institute (CALDI) at Tsinghua University.
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Scenery of Guilin

The 2018 China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition is scheduled to be held from October 26th to 28th in Guilin, south Chinas Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, expecting a booming growth on regional tourism industry and further cooperation.

Themed on Working Together to Build a China-ASEAN Tourism and Innovation Community, the 2018 Expo is expected to receive over 800 enterprises and 300 buyers from more than 50 countries, and the number of visitors is estimated to reach 160,000, data estimates showed at a press conference on Wednesday in Beijing.

Laos will act as this years guest country to host a series of Expo activities, including bilateral communication between China and Laos tourism authorities and enterprises, with the aim of promoting mutual trust on tourism cooperation.

ASEAN countries demonstrate a commercial vitality thanks to in-depth China-ASEAN cooperation since the 2000s. Also, ASEAN plays a significant role in Chinas Marine Silk Road Strategy.

Guilin, as the host city, has successfully held the China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition since 2015, indicating the prosperity of the local tourist industry and its emerging influence in the larger region. In 2017, Guilin received over 447,900 visitors from ASEAN countries, accounting for 24% of the total number of tourists, foreseeing a considerable growth over other regions.

Guilins stunning natural landscapes and integrated cultural elements are the name card of the city. It is Guilins responsibility to reflect a beautiful China on the world stage, Luo Jianzhang, the director of Guilins development and reform commission, told Peoples Daily.

Moreover, the Guilin government has also joined hands with global hospitality service platform Airbnb to develop localized lodging models and services for visitors from all over the world.

In addition, 31 overseas cities with cultural and economic ties with Guangxi will be prioritized in the negotiations at the exhibition to maximize intercity cooperation opportunities, the press conference revealed.
Yang Yu, secretary of the CPC Yangbi County Committe, address the ceremony. (Xue Dan/People's Daily Online)

It's now the golden month of September, which for many people across China means one thing - walnut harvesting. On the morning of Sept. 1, people from Yangbi county gathered together in ceremonial dresses in Renhe square, to celebrate the opening of the 2018 Yangbi Walnut Festival of Dali.

Guests and leaders including Ren Zhizhong, director of the forestry department of Yunnan province, Wang Weibin, director of the Academy of Forestry Science of Yunnan province, and Yuan Lijuan, deputy secretary of Dali prefecture. Yang Yu, secretary of the CPC Yangbi County Committe, delivered a speech while Ren Zhizhong declared the festival open.

According to Yu, the walnut planting area in Yangbi county has now reached 1.07 million mu in size, with a production volume of nearly 50,000 tons and an overall value of about 1 billion yuan. More than 70 percent of the people in Yangbi have risen above the poverty line thanks to the walnut industry, which has become the largest green health industry in the area with the most extensive coverage.

Yang said by adhering to the development idea of 1234, Yangbis economy has become sustainable by way of filling shortcomings, improving weaknesses, promoting poverty reduction, and building a prosperous living society.

Performance at the ceremony. (Xue Dan/People's Daily Online)

We will work on the building of an influential walnut production and sales base, to turn the walnut industry into a pillar industry for the county and people. We will spare no efforts turning the Yangbi walnut into a famous brand on a provincial, national and global level. We will make Yangbi a healthy living destination, accelerating the process of rural revitalization strategy, and boost poverty reduction efforts, thus bringing Yangbi people a happier life together," Yang Yu concluded.

Yangbi is located in the middle of Dali Prefecture, Yunnan province. It enjoys a perfect growing environment for walnuts, positioned on the western border of Cang Mountain with a moderate climate, strong soil water retention ability, and abundant sunshine.

Walnuts in Yangbi are famous for their large fruit, thin shell, white kernel, and sweet taste. Yangbi was awarded the title town of the Chinese walnut by the Development Research Center of the State Council, among many other awards, and the county has successfully registered the geographical indication trademark of Yangbi Walnut.

In 2018, Yangbi Walnut Festival will last for a month. During the festival, a series of activities will take place, such as local product exhibitions and tastings, the financing and media platform launching ceremony, a listing ceremony for the Walnut Product Quality Test Center of Yunnan Provincial, a walnut appreciation ceremony and picking ceremony.
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Ford is recalling nearly 2 million F-150 pickups in North America due to a fire risk, with 1.6 million of the trucks located in the United States.

The issue stems from the vehicles seatbelt pretensioner system, which uses a small explosive charge to cinch the belts in the event of a collision.

The safety action affects 2015-2018 model year Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab F-150s built at the companys Dearborn, Mich., and Kansas City, Mo., plants through Aug. 23, 2018.

Ford said some of its devices were found to generate excessive sparks that can ignite gases released into the roofs B-pillar, which could cause insulation and carpet to combust.

209,000 JEEPS AND DODGES RECALLED FOR BAD BRAKES

The recall follows a probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into five reports of fires in the United States, three of which resulted in the destruction of the vehicles. Ford said that it knows of 17 incidents of smoke or fire in the U.S. and six in Canada, none of which resulted in injuries or accidents.

According to USA Today, the cost of the recall is estimated at $140 million. Ford has not advised owners against using their trucks or seatbelts as they await their notices to schedule repairs.

MORE NEWS FROM FOX NEWS AUTOS
The woman who was behind the wheel of a Tesla that crashed into a fire truck at high speeds in South Jordan is suing Tesla and a service provider, saying the Autopilot feature failed to work as advertised.

According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Heather P. Lommatzsch is suing Tesla Inc., Tesla Motors Utah Inc, and Service King Paint & Body over the crash, which occurred in May of this year.

The lawsuit alleges negligence and breach of warranty on the part of Tesla and negligence on the part of Service King, stating that the vehicle's Autopilot mode failed to stop the vehicle before it crashed into the back of a Unified Fire Authority fire truck at a high rate of speed.

The fire truck was stopped in traffic on Bangerter Highway when the crash occurred.

The lawsuit states the Autopilot did not engage in time to prevent the crash and further claims that Lommatzsch "attempted to brake but the brakes did not engage."

The lawsuit states Service King replaced a sensor on the vehicle sometime in the year leading up to the crash.

The woman suffered injuries in the crash, the lawsuit states, and she is seeking damages in the amount of at least $300,000 to cover both economic and non-economic damages.

The lawsuit claims the woman was led to believe the vehicle would stop automatically if an obstacle appeared in the roadway while the Autopilot mode was engaged.

Shortly after the crash, South Jordan Police stated that data released by Tesla technicians indicated the driver had repeatedly engaged, canceled and then re-engaged the vehicle's Autosteer and Traffic Aware Cruise Control functions. The report also stated the woman had taken her hands off the car's steering wheel more than a dozen times, which Tesla claims drivers are advised not to do while using the Autopilot system.

Each time she put her hands back on the wheel, she took them back off the wheel after a few seconds, Teslas report, as released by South Jordan Police Department, said. About 1 minute and 22 seconds before the crash, she re-enabled Autosteer and Cruise Control, and then, within two seconds, took her hands off the steering wheel again. She did not touch the steering wheel for the next 80 seconds until the crash happened; this is consistent with her admission that she was looking at her phone at the time.

A report from the crash indicates the Tesla hit the fire truck at about 60 mph and that the driver braked "fractions of a second" prior to the crash.

Tesla released the following statement to Fox 13:

When using Autopilot, drivers are continuously reminded of their responsibility to keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of the vehicle at all times. Tesla has always been clear that Autopilot doesnt make the car impervious to all accidents.

This article originally appeared on Fox13now.com
Asia Argento's lawyer is disputing allegations that the actress sexually abused Jimmy Bennett, and instead, claims he "attacked" her.

In a lengthy statement released on Wednesday, Argento's new attorney, Mark Jay Heller, addressed the New York Times report released last month, writing: "In Asias circumstance, although it was alleged in the August 20, 2018 New York Times article that she had initiated a sexual attack on Bennett, Asia at no time initiated a sexual encounter with Bennett."

Heller went on to say Argento's denial statement in which she claimed she "never had any sexual relationship with Bennett" is "completely accurate."

"Her relationship with Bennett was never sexual, but rather the relationship was a long distance friendship over many years," he added.

After the 42-year-old actress released her denial, TMZ published a photo and text messages that appeared to contradict Argento's claim that nothing sexual happened between Bennett and her.

In an interview with People Magazine, Heller said Argento has been very pleased to be clarifying the misinterpretation of her denial statement, in which she stated there was no relationship.

In both his interview with People and his public statement, Heller referred to the text messages, which were previously reported by TMZ to be "between Argento and one of her friends." In the texts, a person the outlet claimed was Argento admitted to having sex with a minor. It was unclear how TMZ obtained the photo and alleged conversation.

"As revealed in the text messages published by TMZ, Asia stated, 'The horny kid jumped me... I had sex with him it felt weird.' She went on to relate that she became 'frozen' when he was on top of her and he told her that she had been his sexual fantasy since he was 12 years old," Heller said in his statement.

He continued, "Asia chose at the time not to prosecute Bennett for sexually attacking her."

A rep for Bennett did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

Heller also went on to say that Argento was halting payments to Bennett, which Heller said were set up by Argento's late boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain.

"When Bennett learned of the romantic relationship between Asia and Anthony Bourdain and believing that Anthony Bourdain was wealthy and had an outstanding reputation to protect and that they were both vulnerable to embarrassment because they were recognized as early and prominent supporters of the #metoo movement, Bennett chose to intrude on that relationship and demanded a financial payment from Bourdain in consideration for not embarrassing Asia and indirectly Bourdain by virtue of Bourdains relationship with Asia," Heller stated, adding that Bourdain entered a $380,000 agreement with Bennett in order to "protect Asias and his reputation."

However, Heller added, "Now that Mr. Bourdain has passed away and is not able to comment on his desire to avoid potential scandal which resulted in his facilitating payment to Bennett, Asia will not permit any portion of the balance of the $380,000 payment to be paid to Bennett who has already received $250,000 from Anthony Bourdain."

In the New York Times report last month, Argento was accused by child star Bennett of setting up a sexual encounter with him in California in 2013 when he was 17 and she was 37. The legal age of consent in California is 18.

On August 19, the newspaper reported, citing court documents, that Argento paid roughly $380,000 to Bennett after he confronted her regarding the alleged sexual encounter that took place in 2013 in a California hotel room.

In the documents, Bennett sought to sue Argento for the alleged encounter at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif. At that time, Bennett allegedly showed him notes she had previously written to him and gave him alcohol. She then reportedly kissed him, pushed him back on the bed, performed oral sex on him and then the two had intercourse.

Bennett, now 22, previously broke his silence in a statement obtained by Deadline, saying: "I did not initially speak out about my story because I chose to handle it in private with the person who wronged me.

"My trauma resurfaced as she came out as a victim herself. I have not made a public statement in the past days and hours because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative."

Fox News' Tyler McCarthy contributed to this report.
(Photo provided by Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka)

The Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka has helped to evacuate a total of 1,044 Chinese tourists as of Thursday morning, after typhoon Jebi slammed into western Japan.

The tourists, including 117 from Hong Kong, five from Macao and 32 from Taiwan, have been safely evacuated from Kansai International Airport in western Japan.

About 3,000 tourists, including more than 750 Chinese tourists, were stranded by Jebi, the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years, after the Kansai Airport announced its decision to close from 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Some of those stranded were rescued by buses and ferries directly from the airport, while a large number remained stuck there due to capacity limits.

After the incident, the Chinese Consulate immediately launched its own contingency plan, and sent the first working group to the area on Wednesday morning, to learn more about the situation and negotiate rescue plans with the Japanese side, according to the Consulate-General in Osaka.

The rescue work for Chinese tourists started from 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday thanks to the proactive coordination of Chinese teams.

It was beyond expectation that the Chinese Consulate would dispatch vehicles to join in the evacuation, a Chinese tourist told Guancha.cn, adding that they are proud to have a Chinese passport, and without their homeland's help, stranded Chinese tourists may have had to wait as long as five days to be rescued.

All consulate staff in Osaka went to help on the front line, leaving only one diplomatic attache in the consulate to take phone calls, Beijing Time reported.
Bella Thorne declared on Wednesday she no longer wants to be part of the #MeToo movement after Asia Argento claimed then-17-year-old Jimmy Bennett "sexually assaulted her"  a sharp twist from the allegations he made against her last month.

"I'm disgusted. No longer want to be apart of the #metoo moment," Thorne, 20, tweeted. "Jimmy was a young kid. This is gross."

The former Disney actress added that, "If this is what the me too movement is going to be about now I'm not here for it. ... Victim shaming. Just awful."

Thorne joined the anti-sexual harassment and assault movement in January when she said she was "sexually abused and physically growing up from the day I can remember till I was 14."

"Over and over I waited for it to stop and finally it did," Thorne said in the Instagram post. "But some of us arent as lucky to get out alive. Please today stand up for every soul Mistreated. #timesup."

Thorne on Wednesday linked out to a Deadline report in which Argento, 42, disputed Bennett's claims that he sexually assaulted her when he was 17 years old in 2013. He alleged the two had a sexual encounter in a hotel room in California, where the legal age of consent is 18.

Bennett, TMZ reported on Wednesday, plans to file a sexual assault report with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department following a statement from Argento's lawyer that said Bennett attacked her, and that she intends to start the #MeToo movement's "Phase Two."

His lawyer told the news outlet "the attack on my client's character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client."

Argento  one of the first prominent women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault  denied the allegations initially, and said that her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain paid Bennett, now 22, because the two considered him "dangerous" after he asked for financial help.

Following Argento's denial, a photo of her and Bennett laying in bed seemingly naked together appeared online  and soon after that a series of text messages in which Argento allegedly admitted to a sexual encounter with a minor were handed over to investigators.
A&E is producing a docu-series about the impeachment proceedings of former President Bill Clinton  and Monica Lewinsky is providing a tell-all interview about the events that forever changed her life, Fox News learned Wednesday.

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the second U.S. president to ever be impeached, the network is premiering the six-part series The Impeachment of Bill Clinton on Sunday, Nov. 18.

A&E confirmed that Lewinsky, 45, provided an in-depth reflection about the shocking events.

A real-life political thriller, The Impeachment of Bill Clinton is the most in-depth and intimate account of how one of the biggest scandals in our nations history unfolded, forever changing the landscape of American politics, explained Elaine Frontain Bryant, A&E's executive vice president and head of programming.

The docu-series is being produced by Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning producer Alex Gibneys Jigsaw Productions and directed by Emmy Award-winning Blair Foster.

Alex, Blair and the rest of our incredible creative team masterfully take viewers through the events that divided the nation, while exploring the deeper conversations that resulted from them about sexism, harassment and public shaming that the country still wrestles with today, Frontain Bryant also said.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lewinsky spoke frankly about being in love with Clinton, now 72, how they arranged to meet with the help of Clintons personal secretary, Betty Currie, how she was betrayed by pal Linda Tripp, who secretly recorded their conversations, as well as the tryst involving the infamous blue Gap dress.

The publication added the former White House intern detailed how she went out to dinner that night with friends and no one commented that she had stuff all over her dress.

I thought I knew a lot about President Clinton's impeachment because I lived through it, Foster, the director, said in a release sent to Fox News. However, when I began this project, I quickly realized much of what I thought I knew was incomplete, or worse, inaccurate.

My goal for this series was to do a deep dive into the facts and speak to as many people as possible who were involved. The deeper I got the clearer it became that this series is as much about the present day as it is about the 1990s. To borrow a phrase from Barbara Tuchman, this series serves as a distant mirror on our current political situation and is far [timelier] than I ever anticipated.

Blair [Foster] has done magnificent work with this mini-series, said Gibney. She takes a story we thought we all knew and shows it to us in an entirely new light. Through the testimony of an extraordinary number of key participants, Blair illuminates the origins of today's political chicanery and tribalism, the media madness of scandal and the way that individuals  with all their messy, contradictory and deeply human motivations  are sacrificed at the altar of power and ambition.

The documentary also features more than 60 interviews with key players and observers who were involved in the ongoing political drama, including those who worked closely with Clinton.

Foster told The Hollywood Reporter the Clintons themselves are not involved with the series.

We would have loved to interview them, said Foster. Theyre certainly aware of the project.

Foster added Tripp also turned her down multiple times.

Lewinsky stirred headlines Monday when she walked off the stage during an interview in Israel after an interviewer asked her a question about former President Bill Clinton.

Lewinsky was sitting for the question-and-answer session after speaking about the pros and cons of the Internet at a conference organized by the Israel Television News Company, when the interviewer asked her if she was still waiting for a personal apology from Clinton, Haaretz reported.

Recently in an interview with NBC News, former President Clinton was rather irate when he was asked if he ever apologized to you personally, news anchor Yonit Levi said. Do you still expect that apology, the personal apology?

Lewinsky replied, Im so sorry, Im not going to be able to do this, before storming off stage.

Lewinsky became a household name after her affair with Clinton in the 1990s when she was working as a White House intern in her early 20s. Often ridiculed, she became an anti-bullying advocate and activist.

Lewinsky said that walking offstage sent the message that it is more important than ever for women to stand up for themselves and not allow others to control their narrative.

The NBC interview that Levi referenced took place back in June. Clinton was asked by Craig Melvin if he ever personally apologized to Lewinsky.

I've never talked to her. But I did say, publicly, on more than one occasion, that I was sorry, Clinton said during the interview. He also took issue with Melvin's line of questioning, saying: Someone should ask you these questions, because of the way you formulate the question.

Fox News Paulina Dedaj and Nicole Darrah contributed to this report.
Comedians, actors, directors and others in the entertainment industry paid tribute to Burt Reynolds Thursday after learning the Hollywood icon reportedly died from cardiac arrest at the age of 82.

The Academy Award-nominated actor was known for roles including "Smokey and the Bandit," "The Longest Yard" and "Boogie Nights." But his career in Hollywood stretched far beyond just those titles. Over his lifetime, Reynolds appeared in nearly 200 films.

Fans of the star noted watching a variety of these films over the years.

BURT REYNOLDS, LEGENDARY ACTOR OF 'SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT' FAME, DEAD AT 82

Comedian Dane Cook said he was raised on Reynolds' movies, pointing out a particular few that were special to his childhood.

"Sad to hear Burt Reynolds has died. Man.. I grew up watching Cannonball Run.. Smokey and the Bandit... Stroker Ace and so many others," he said, adding that he had "swagger and charm," particularly in his role as Jack Horner in the 1997 classic "Boogie Nights."

"Sons of Anarchy" actress Kristen Renton called Reynolds a "legend" and said she was "beyond sad" to hear about his death.

Director Edgar Wright praised Reynolds' work, commenting that he deserved more credit for his roles  as both an actor and director.

"R.I.P. Burt Reynolds, underrated as a dramatic actor (Deliverance), underrated as a director (Sharkey's Machine), but also a rare movie star that seemed to be just having an absolute ball onscreen," the "Baby Driver" filmmaker wrote. "Nobody broke frame with a bigger gleam in his eye. 'Just watch ol' Bandit run.'"

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, former governor of California, said Reynolds was one of his heroes  and it wasn't just because of his acting.

"He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me. He also had a great sense of humor - check out his Tonight Show clips. My thoughts are with his family," Schwarzenegger tweeted.

Actor-comedian Ricky Gervais said Reynolds always appeared to be "warm and friendly."

"RIP Burt Reynolds. Seems his whole career was tongue in cheek," he tweeted.

'The Office' alum Angela Kinsey said Reynolds played a special part in her childhood home.

"Sending my love to Burt Reynolds family. May he rest in peace. He was one of my Dads favorites. He brought a lot of joy into our lives," she wrote on Twitter.

Patton Oswalt shared a memory of the actor with his fans.

"Burt Reynolds & Clint Eastwood were fired from GUNSMOKE & RAWHIDE at the same time. Burt was told he couldn't act and Clint his neck was too skinny. In the parking lot, Burt said to Clint, "I dunno what you're gonna do, but I'm gonna take acting lessons." #RIPBurtReynolds," Oswalt tweeted.

"The Vampire Diaries" star Paul Wesley credited Reynolds with helping kickstart his career.

"Burt Reynolds was one of the kindest and most generous people I have ever worked with. He took me under his wing when I was first starting out as an actor and offered friendship, advice and guidance," he commented. "Ill never forget how much that meant to me."

Country music darling Dolly Parton posted a throwback picture of herself and Reynolds.

"Oh how sad I am today along with Burt's millions of fans around the world as we mourn one of our favorite leading men," she wrote in an online statement. "I know we will always remember his funny laugh, that mischievous sparkle in his eyes, and his quirky sense of humor. You will always be my favorite sheriff, rest in peace my little buddy."

Sally Field also mourned the loss of Reynolds, whom she dated for several years after meeting him on the set of the 1977 film Smokey and the Bandit."

"There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even forty years later. My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy," she shared.
The first night of preliminaries in the revamped, swimsuit-less Miss America competition was held Wednesday, with contestants in Atlantic City, N.J., saying the 98-year tradition was "behind us."

"It's sad that it's gone, but I understand the reasons it's gone," Miss Wisconsin, Tianna Vanderhei, said after winning the evening's onstage interview competition for her comments on how higher education should be made more affordable and more widely accessible.

In years past, one talent and one swimsuit winner were named in each of the three preliminary nights of the Miss America pagaent, which started in 1921.

But with no swimsuit competition this year, the onstage interview portion is taking its place.

"People are going to get to see what Miss America is all about with these changes."  Taylor Tyson, Miss Florida

"People are going to get to see what Miss America is all about with these changes," Miss Florida, Taylor Tyson, added. She won the talent competition for a piano rendition of "Mephisto's Waltz" by Lizst.

This year's preliminaries began amid a revolt by some state-level pageant officials, who were unhappy with how the decision to end the swimsuit competition came about. They are demanding that top leadership, including Miss America chairwoman Gretchen Carlson, a former winner, step down.

Carlson had said she wanted Miss America's image to be refashioned into one that's modernized and empowered.

Were no longer judging women when they come out in their chosen attire, their evening wear, whatever they choose to do, Carlson said in a television interview in June. Its going to be what comes out of their mouth that were interested in, when they talk about their social impact initiatives.

Scholarships totaling nearly $506,000 will be awarded this year, including $50,000 for the new Miss America; $25,000 for the first runner-up; $20,000 for the second runner-up; $15,000 for the third runner-up, and $10,000 for the fourth runner up.

The preliminaries will continue Thursday and Friday.

The next Miss America will be crowned Sunday night in Atlantic City.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
It's always nice to see friendly exes.

Sarah Silverman appeared on her ex-boyfriend Jimmy Kimmel's show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," last night, and the two playfully talked about their past relationship, with Silverman joking she still wasn't over Kimmel.

When asked what her dating status was, Silverman said, "I'm waiting for this tryst with you to be over! Okay, Molly's cute, she's bright, she's funny, she's blonde, whatever."

See the Hilarious Gift Kate Beckinsale Gave Sarah Silverman to Help Her Get Over Michael Sheen Breakup

Kimmel cracked up and admitted the news that he has been married for five years to his wife, Molly McNearney, with whom he has two children, 4-year-old Jane, and almost one-year-old Billy.

"Yeah, you've got the kids, you've got the marriage, I mean, all right, work it through. You think she's going to wipe your ass when you're old?" Silverman continued. She also joked about Kimmel's powerful monologues advocating for healthcare and gun control.

"It's not fair! She gets new, woke Jimmy. I had Man Show Jimmy," Silverman said, referring to his previous series on Comedy Central.

Sarah Silverman and Michael Sheen Split

The hilarious duo also got real about Silverman's most recent ex, actor Michael Sheen, who she had broken up with last year over the holidays.

"I was with Michael [Sheen]. We broke up over Christmas," the 47-year-old explained. "He moved back to the UK, and his life is there, and as you know my life is really not there."

Sheen shares an 18-year-old daughter, Lily, with actress Kate Beckinsale and moved back to the U.K. from Los Angeles shortly after she was accepted into college. Post-break up, Beckinsale hilariously sent a gift to help Silverman get over their mutual ex in the form of blue-and-white M&M's, personalized with a picture of Silverman kissing Sheen on the cheek.

Sarah Silverman Opens Up to Ex Jimmy Kimmel About Her Long-Distance Relationship with Michael Sheen

The "I Love America" star also revealed that she and Sheen still share a connection.

"But I love him to pieces. If he's in town and we're both single, we will make love. He dated someone for a beat, during that time when he was in town, we just hung out and we were bros. We were just bros. I'm good at separating that. I can't even imagine you as a sexual being anymore," she told Kimmel.

Through the jokes, the two have always been supportive of one another.
Citizens in Scotland have complained about advertisements used by the Scottish Gin Society to promote their beloved alcohol.

The complaints from the Aberdeen Alcohol and Drug Partnership accuse the society of violating the U.Ks Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which bans brands from using ads to encourage unhealthy drinking, link alcohol to sexual performance or promote false claims, like saying alcohol is healthier than a banana  a post the gin society put on Facebook.

GIN DRINKERS SPEND MORE MONEY DRUNKENLY ONLINE SHOPPING, STUDY REVEALS

Among the posts found problematic is an image of a gin and tonic with, Healthy eating and exercise make you look better naked. So does gin. Your choice, written next to it.

Another says A banana has 150 calories, a G&T has 110 calories, case closed.

LIQUOR COMPANY SLAMMED FOR RELEASING 'NOVICHOK' VODKA NAMED AFTER DEADLY NERVE AGENT

In addition to the healthy posts, the society also made advertisements the public felt encourage excessive drinking, like "Shut up liver, you're fine! Gin?" and "I only drink gin on two occasions: When I'm thirsty and when I'm not thirsty."

The gin group argued that the Facebook posts were not advertisements, and therefore did not fall under the ad code laws, CNBC reports.

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The group removed the Facebook ads and issued a statement online saying they are a not-for-profit organization and do not feel their social media posts fall under ASA remit.

Importantly, we see this as a warning to other social or community Facebook pages, who, following this ruling, may also be at risk of negative rulings by the ASA.

"We exist to promote and support the thriving Scottish Gin industry and the public who love it. While we have a light-hearted and fun personality, we do not think gin has magical or medical qualities, nor would we ever condone irresponsible or unhealthy consumption. It was never our intention to upset or offend anyone. We thank our followers for their continued support, the statement read.
Burberry has announced the company will stop using real animal fur in its designs and will no longer destroy unsold products.

With London Fashion Week just days away, Burberry reps confirmed that the brand will not send any real fur down its catwalks, with additional plans to phase out existing fur merchandise.

"Our responsibility goals cover the entire footprint of our operations and extend to the communities around us," said chief executive Marco Gobbetti said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. "Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible."

The storied British fashion house bids formal farewell to rabbit, fox, mink, Asiatic raccoon and angora, the furs of choice in recent years.

STEFANO GABBANA SLAMMED FOR CALLING INSTAGRAM STAR CHIARA FERRAGNI 'CHEAP' ON HER WEDDING DAY

This decision is a sign of the times, as today's shoppers are seeing fur for what it is: the skin of animals, said PETA director of international programs, Mimi Bekhechi, in a statement obtained by Fox News.

Notably, Burberry joins the ranks of Armani, Versace, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Vivienne Westwood, and Stella McCartney in banning fur from thier designs.

The few fashion houses refusing to modernize and listen to the overwhelming public opinion against fur are now sticking out like a sore thumb for all the wrong reasons, Bekhechi mused. If they want to stay relevant in a changing industry, they have no choice but to stop using fur stolen from animals for their coats, collars, and cuffs, she added.

In other news, the iconic British retailer will also no longer be disposing of unwanted and unsold stock by destroying it, after the practice sparked a firestorm of fury both inside and outside of the fashion industry.

In late July, the company was slammed for destroying around $37 million worth of goods over the last year, information that surfaced during the Burberrys annual meeting in late July, The London Times reported then.

Stockholders reportedly questioned the staggering number  which equates to approximately 20,000 of the brands iconic trench coats  asking why the products werent offered to the companys private investors.

A Burberry spokesperson told Fox News at the time that the brand has careful processes in place to minimize the amount of excess stock produced, but when disposal is necessary, they do so in a responsible manner.

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Burberry, which disposed of around $118 million worth of goods over the last five years, allegedly did so in order to maintain the brand value by keeping the designer label from being worn by the wrong people after showing up on the grey markets for a discounted price, industry insiders told the Times.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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The dumbest guessing game consuming Washington Thursday involved trying to figure out who penned the anonymous op-ed ripping President Trump in the New York Times, with the online headline I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.

Dumb speculation, but irresistible. Heres my bet:

I imagine the author of the resistance piece, which slams President Trump for being impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective, to be an Obama holdover who is lining up credentials for re-emerging into the job market.

LIZ PEEK: AT KAVANAUGH HEARING, DEMOCRATIC ANGER BOILS OVER

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has purposefully slow-walked the process of confirming nominees to staff the Trump administration, with his unprecedented demands for debate time even on the most inconsequential hires. As a result, a number of folks who were hired by President Obama are still in senior positions across the federal governments many agencies.

It is also said that towards the end of 2016, numerous political jobs were reclassified so that the Obama-appointed incumbents could remain in place. So there are plenty of possible authors of the Times op-ed.

Common sense suggests that no Cabinet member or other Trump hire would write this unforgivably damning piece. What would be the point? No one working in the White House will benefit from undermining the president, or from suggesting that he should be replaced.

Only the people hoping to replace President Trump will gain from charges that he is erratic and not to be trusted.

Let us also consider the most reasonable motivation for penning an article that suggests that the president deserves no credit for the many accomplishments achieved since January 2017  the detangling of suffocating regulations, reforming of the tax code, confirmation of scores of judges, and so on.

The driving force here is the approach of the midterm elections, and the important role President Trump may play. He has vowed to campaign vigorously for candidates who back his agenda; we have seen that his involvement is almost uniquely helpful.

The president has backed any number of Republicans running in primaries across the country; as CNN noted in early August, his candidates had won 14 of 14 times.

In the past few weeks, President Trump enjoyed more victories, most notably carrying U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, running to become the Republican candidate for governor of Florida, across the finish line.

These contests have focused on the booming economy, and attributing the growth of the country and the improved jobs market to the Trump agenda.

Republican candidates have talked up the White Houses efforts to rework trade deals to level the playing field for U.S. companies, cut taxes and red tape and reverse some of the more harmful policies of the Obama administration, such as its guidance on how schools should handle sexual assault cases.

Those candidates pledging to partner with the White House on these issues have done well.

Democrats understand what a force of nature Trump is on the campaign trail  they saw his effectiveness in 2016 and they have seen it at the standing-room-only boisterous rallies he has held this year. They need to dull his attacks and his impact.

Many were doubtless banking on Fear: Trump in the White House, the book coming out Tuesday from Bob Woodward, to do just that. Reports say the book contains numerous quotes from senior White House officials, obtained from anonymous sources who describe the president as ignorant, willful and dangerous.

But the White House has mounted a vigorous defense. In every case, the supposed authors of those salacious remarks have denied the words were ever spoken, which has taken some of the sting out of the charges.

To bolster the narrative, The New York Times op-ed doubles down on similar accusations of recklessness. What could be more helpful to Democrats than sowing doubts in voters minds just as President Trump hits the campaign trail?

What could be more helpful in offsetting the likely build-up of good news about the economy as we approach Election Day? Democrats have attempted to dismiss the nations declining unemployment, rising consumer optimism, buoyant spending and increasing business investment, but voters know better.

In time for the election, voters will likely see third-quarter growth of better than 4 percent at an annualized rate, which many on the left said was impossible. The Atlanta Federal Reserve is now predicting that the third quarter will expand at an annualized rate of 4.7 percent.

That may prove optimistic, but chances are good that the growth rate will top the second quarters 4.2 percent gains and vindicate the policies adopted by President Trump. That is a bitter pill for Democrats and one they are struggling to swallow.

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Hence, the character assassination thats on full display. Thats what Democrats have  no economic agenda, but rather a quiver packed with ways to belittle and vilify President Trump, even as the countrys fortunes continue to improve.

Democrats may take the House, but given how their ugly behavior during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and their and despicable attacks on the president might rile Trump supporters, I wouldnt bet on it.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM LIZ PEEK
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The craziness at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Judge Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court nomination got even crazier Thursday, when Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., dramatically announced before the TV cameras that he was releasing what he said was a confidential email from Kavanaugh in violation of Senate rules.

Booker said he knowingly violated Senate rules in an act of civil disobedience when he released what he described as a confidential email that Kavanaugh sent when he served in the White House as a lawyer for President George W. Bush. The New Jersey senator said he was prepared to face punishment by the Senate for his rule-breaking.

You could picture Booker using video of the moment in a campaign commercial if he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and writing about himself in a new edition of Profiles in Courage.

And then committee Republicans burst Bookers bubble, saying the previously confidential email Booker released had been cleared for public release Thursday morning and was no longer confidential.

Oops.

All of this drama this morning apparently was for nothing and its unfortunate, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters.

The committee had obtained the email as part of some 141,000 pages of documents dealing with the nominee that were designated as committee confidential  meaning they could be read by senators but not made public. But the confidential restriction was then lifted on the one email, which involved a discussion by Kavanaugh of racial profiling.

Bookers protest action, which turned out to be for nothing, was not appropriate.

The senator was not elected to pretend to engage in civil disobedience that really isnt civil disobedience  in an effort to appeal to the Democrats growing progressive wing  without taking any real risks at all.

And Booker was not elected to play the role of one of the many protesters who, during Kavanaughs hearing and previously, have taken well-publicized protest actions to "resist" the Trump administration in every way possible, including violating the law.

The senator was elected to be a responsible legislator who would play by the rules in service to his constituents and our nation.

Other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee  Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota  said they supported Bookers release of the email when they thought it was still confidential.

Even though the rule-breaking by Booker turned out not to be rule-breaking in the end, it set a bad precedent. Senators need to follow the rules of the chamber. Thats because in order for the Senate to operate smoothly in service of the American people it has to operate by rules  and members have to be able to trust each other to abide by those rules.

When senators feel they can ignore rules whenever they wish and fight their opponents with any means necessary the Senate can descend into chaos and paralysis, making it unable to function as what it used to be called  the worlds greatest deliberative body.

No one expects Republicans and Democrats to agree on everything in the Senate or in the House. But the two parties can oppose each other vigorously and with determination while operating under agreed-on rules  much as boxers try to knock each other out while still adhering to clear rules limiting the actions they can take in the ring.

Unfortunately, too many Senate Democrats have decided that they must wage a no-holds-barred fight to deny President Trump the right to appoint anyone to the Supreme Court.

In the absence of new revelations showing he is unqualified, I am reluctantly supporting Kavanaughs nomination. And I advise my fellow Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee and in the full Senate to support him as well and vote to confirm him.

If Democrats are seen as part of the left-leaning resistance movement fighting everything President Trump does  rather than as members of the loyal opposition  it can only hurt them in the Nov. 6 midterm elections.

Throughout this weeks confirmation hearing, Judiciary Committee Democrats have acted more like radical college student protesters trying to silence a speaker they dislike than lawmakers carefully considering whether to support a nominee to the nations highest court.

The Kavanaugh confirmation hearing has been a raucous occasion featuring open hostility towards the nominee and questions about his honesty and integrity.

Kavanaugh, with his family behind him, was met repeatedly with shouts from protesters  dozens of whom were arrested for disrupting the proceedings  and objections from Democrats. It took Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, over an hour to read his opening statement in totality.

What has remained clear throughout the hearing is that, by conventional standards, Kavanaugh is qualified to become a Supreme Court Justice. Some Democrats, particularly in swing states, would surely agree.

In states Trump won in the 2016 presidential elections  where Democratic senators will need substantial and broad support to be re-elected in November  opposing Kavanaughs nomination does not make political sense. Democratic senators in this category include Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Heitkamp, who has said she will refrain from further comment until after the hearings, said in August that Kavanaugh seems to be a fairly standard conservative judge, and obviously highly qualified. Shes right.

At age 53, Kavanaughs experience speaks for itself. He served the past 12 years on the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., one of the most important courts after the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh was also a clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy, the very justice he was nominated to replace, and worked in key positions in the George W. Bush administration.

However, having been involved in President Clintons impeachment in 1998, I am obviously troubled by Kavanaughs zeal in wanting to ask President Clinton personal questions dealing with his sex life leading up to the presidents impeachment by the House and acquittal in the Senate.

I have always thought a presidents personal conduct was out of bounds, including for President Trump. While reasonable people may disagree, I do not think President Trumps personal conduct or effort to cover it up is a basis for impeachment.

This is not to make light of marital infidelity  real or merely alleged. It is to say the Constitution does not require the president to be a faithful spouse.

The judicial process needs to be non-political, and there have been two major problems with this process in recent years.

First, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland should have been confirmed to the Supreme Court when he was nominated by President Obama. Republicans waited an outrageous nine months, which was wrong, and only served to manipulate the judicial confirmation process for political purposes.

Additionally, the nomination and confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch by President Trump was inherently undemocratic and went against both the spirit and the actual practice of the Senate in exercising advice and consent.

To be sure, Gorsuch was also immensely qualified for the Supreme Court, but the process of confirming him only reaffirmed the politicization of the courts. The judicial process simply cannot be politicized.

Qualified judges should be appointed, irrespective of ideology, and without political considerations.

In the past, even when different political parties held the presidency and the Senate, judicial confirmations were far less politicized.

Take for instance, Justice Kennedy, who Kavanaugh was nominated to replace. Kennedy was appointed by Ronald Reagan with a Democratic-controlled Senate, and was confirmed by a vote of 97-0.

Even the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Courts first African-American justice  while not simple in its time  ended in a 69-11 vote.

The judicial confirmation process in the past two years has been almost unrecognizable.

Throughout the Trump presidency, Republicans have out-thought and out-worked the Democrats in the entire process, specifically with the confirmation of conservative Federalist Society judges at all levels.

I know Leonard Leo, the head of the Federalist Society. He is a smart, thoughtful and careful guy who has unfortunately done his job all too well. In the past two months alone, President Trump has won Senate confirmation for five federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals. Four of them were members of the Federalist Society.

As a centrist, I believe it is paramount that decisions involving the courts are based on precedent. We need checks and balances that are wholly independent of the legislative process.

The whole process of selecting and confirming federal judges has become far too political. The Constitution created the judicial branch to be fair and nonpolitical, focused on justice rather than partisanship. Democrats and Republicans should approach the judicial confirmation process in the same way  working together to do whats right for our country rather than whats politically expedient.
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Last week, I was intrigued by all the fanfare attendant upon the national farewell to the late Sen. John McCain. I have written in this space that McCain and I were friends who spoke many times, but generally only about the issues upon which we agreed -- abortion, immigration and torture.

On those issues, he often stood at odds with most of his Republican colleagues in the Senate. They are opposed to abortion in name only (they will not lift a finger to stop or slow it), prefer judging the moral worth of individuals on the basis of where they were born, and think that torture is wrong unless the victim is a bad guy or a foreigner or has information the government wants.

Moral relativism is the coin of their realm.

On those issues, McCain stood steadfast, no matter the political or personal consequences. For that steadfastness, and with respect to those issues, his behavior was heroic. A hero does not lack fear. He or she proceeds into its face nevertheless, heedless of the consequences to self.

For reasons he has never adequately explained, President Donald Trump rejected McCain's heroism and mocked McCain's time of torment in a North Vietnamese prison. That mockery was brought to full measure at McCain's funeral by the senator's daughter, my friend and former Fox News colleague Meghan McCain. She told the members of the Washington establishment who had gathered, sans the president, at her father's funeral at the Washington National Cathedral -- why the federal government founded a cathedral is another question for another time -- that her father manifested greatness and that Trump manifests cheapness.

Then the two men who each in his own way personally stopped McCain's efforts to become president -- George W. Bush in the Republican primaries in 2000 and Barack Obama in the general election in 2008 -- delivered similar accolades of McCain, complete with veiled rebukes of Trump.

On its face, the audience in that government-founded church, establishment to the core, was adoring McCain's memory and mourning his loss. But the establishment is filled with hypocrites.

This is the same establishment that gave us the unguarded borders and airways of 9/11 and blamed its failures on foreigners. It gave us the useless, fruitless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the human and monumental destruction they wrought.

It gave us the secret torture of foreign captives and their indefinite incarceration without trial. It gave us warrantless spying on innocent Americans -- at first in secret and then openly and under color of law -- in direct defiance of the Fourth Amendment. It gave us the 2008 financial crisis, which it cured by borrowing billions of dollars and giving the money to those who had caused it. And -- as if all that were not enough -- it gave us a $13.5 trillion collective increase in government debt during the Bush and Obama years and the secret but repetitive use of drones to assassinate foreigners and Americans overseas.

Has any of this enhanced your life, liberty or property?

As much as I appreciated the kind words about my late friend and the polite reception those words received, it made me think about how dangerous to life, liberty and property the government has become, how unfaithful to the Constitution have been those in whose hands we have reposed it for safekeeping and how unashamed of their misdeeds are those who have caused all this.

Nearly all of the present assaults to liberty can be laid at the feet of the Republicans and Democrats who were sitting in that government-founded church in the nation's capital and listening to the praise of John McCain.

But that establishment crowd also gave us another event it would rather forget and for which it will never accept blame or claim credit -- the election of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States. He ran as the anti-establishment candidate, and he ran against the collective mindset of those proud of themselves in that "national" church. He condemned the wars they caused. He mocked their borrowing and spending. He attacked the secretive mindset of their intelligence and law enforcement communities. And the voters rewarded him.

Yet he, too, uses drones and missiles to kill and does so in foreign lands without any declarations of war. He, too, has borrowed money and spent it at nearly a wartime rate. And he, too, has continued the spying on innocent Americans. In those respects, he has become what he condemned -- the government establishment proud of itself sitting in a government-founded church.

Add to this, he has mocked the rule of law, praised those charged with and convicted of violating it, tormented those charged with enforcing it, distorted tales about his personal behavior, and wreaked havoc on innocent farmers by making the sale of their goods too expensive for foreign consumers.

His presence was in that church as powerfully as if he had physically been there.

The bitterness about Trump was silently expressed by those who brought him to power and now cooperate with his behavior or pretend that they don't. The mindset of the establishment continues to be that the government can right any wrong, regulate any behavior, borrow and spend any amount of money, and build a church in utter defiance of the First Amendment, the Constitution -- which is supposed to limit the government, not unleash it -- be damned.

So, who caused more harm to the republic, McCain and his admirers or Trump and his enablers? Republicans or Democrats? Is there a difference?

Ultimately, we are responsible for the folks we have elected and the things they have done, whether secretive, hypocritical or in our faces. Ultimately, we have the government we deserve. Will we change this before it is too late?
Huawei Officials and the delegation of Sierra Leone in China.

The President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, visited Huaweis Executive Briefing Center and held talks with Li Jie, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Huawei. During the negotiations, Bio expressed his hopes to strengthen cooperation with Huawei and help the country's digital transformation.

President Bio explained that Huaweis contribution to boosting information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in Sierra Leone had laid a solid foundation, providing a fast track for Sierra Leone's long-term development in all sectors, especially agriculture, education and health. Sierra Leone will further strengthen its cooperation with Huawei to promote a comprehensive digital transformation of the country based on the promotion of the ICT infrastructure.

Li Jie said that Sierra Leone maintains a good momentum for growth with huge potential, and the ICT industry in Sierra Leone has developed quickly in recent years. Rooted in Sierra Leone for more than a decade, Huawei has been committed to the construction of ICT infrastructure in the country, contributing to boosting connectivity and digitalization.

President Bio said that the national backbone network project carried out by Huawei has dramatically improved ICT infrastructure in Sierra Leone and laid a solid base for Sierra Leones digital transformation. He expects Huawei to further participate in promoting the social economic development of Sierra Leone with its ICT capability.

Huawei and Sierra Leone sign an agreement.

Li said Huawei would continue to offer advice and suggestions to ICT development planning in Sierra Leone with its global expertise and local experience under the guidance of Sierra Leone's national development strategy. He added that Huawei is committed to bringing the digital world to more individuals, families, and organizations in Sierra Leone, by developing more digital services tailored to local needs, to fully unleash the transformative power of ICT in improving peoples lives and increasing efficiency.

After the talks, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Sierra Leone and Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding on establishing a strategic partnership in the ICT field, which aims to explore the best ways of ICT development and its role in enhancing social economic development.

Since the company entered Sierra Leone in 2004, Huawei has been working with local operators to provide secure, stable and high-quality communication networks for Sierra Leoneans, while contributing to the country's digital transformation. Huawei currently serves more than 60 percent of the countrys population with its products and services. Huawei also actively fulfills its corporate social responsibility to eliminate the digital divide through training programs. It also adheres to its consistent philosophy of focusing on basic research and open cooperation by engaging with universities in the country to consolidate ICT personnel bases for national development.

Huawei is a leading global provider of ICT and smart devices. With integrated solutions across four key domains  telecom networks, IT, smart devices, and cloud services  they are committed to bringing digital services to every person, home and organization for a fully connected and intelligent world.
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In 1954, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., was embroiled in a dispute with the Army. During a televised Senate hearing McCarthy falsely accused an Army lawyer involved in the case of having ties to a communist organization.

In a pivotal rejoinder, lawyer Joseph Welch, representing the Army, told McCarthy: "Until this moment, senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness.  Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?"

Welch died in 1960, but if he were around today he could level the same question at Senate Democrats who have spent two days relentlessly attacking Judge Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing for the positon of associate justice on the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh is a brilliant jurist and a man of the highest integrity  but Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee and protesters who kept interrupting Kavanaughs confirmation hearing for a second day Wednesday are engaging in nonstop character assassination of this highly qualified member of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Democrats know they lack the votes to stop the full Senate from confirming Kavanaugh, who was nominated by President Trump to join the nations highest court. Those on the Judiciary Committee had their minds made up to vote against Kavanaugh before his four-day confirmation hearing even began Tuesday.

Instead of making serious inquiries to decide how to cast their votes on Kavanaughs nomination, Democratic committee members are using the judges confirmation hearing to grandstand before a national TV audience. They want to satisfy their most radical supporters by throwing non-stop insults at Kavanaugh, as if he an accused criminal in a show trial where the verdict was determined in advance.

Democratic Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kamala Harris of California apparently have another reason to attack Kavanaugh. They sent out political fundraising appeals almost immediately after their attacks on the judge at the hearing. Both senators are considering running for president in 2020.

The lefts hysteria was also reflected in the repulsive attacks on social media against Zina Bash, a former White House staffer and Kavanaugh clerk who was sitting behind Kavanaugh at the hearing. Bash, whose grandparents were Holocaust survivors, was falsely and maliciously accused of being a Nazi and making a white power symbol simply because of the way she had her arms crossed and the position of her fingers.

But despite two days of pummeling by partisan Democrats, Kavanaugh showed Wednesday he was not going to be their punching bag. He more than held his own in responding to hostile questions and long-winded attacks from Democratic senators.

At the hearing Wednesday, members of the Judiciary Committee finally got down to discussions about the law, even as screaming protestors once again disrupted the proceedings all day. One after another, they were pulled out of the hearing room by Capitol Police.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. R-Ky., chastised the Democratic senators on the committee, saying that their behavior confirmed two things: that their minds are already made up and that theyll try anything to stop the nomination. He castigated them for treating Kavanaugh rudely and for insulting the patriotism of this devoted public servant and highly esteemed judge.

Joseph Welch couldnt have said it any better.

The second day of Kavanaughs confirmation hearing covered numerous issues. These included the claim made by some senators that Kavanaugh had misled the Judiciary Committee in 2006 when he said he had no involvement in the legal memos prepared by Justice Department lawyers about the enhanced interrogation methods and detention policies used with captured terrorists.

In answer to a question by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., about this, Kavanaugh insisted that he had answered truthfully and that he was not read into that program. His previous answer was 100 percent accurate and was still accurate today. Thus, Kavanaugh knocked out one of the false talking points being used against him.

Leahy then tried unsuccessfully to connect Kavanaugh to a 2003 incident when some Republican Judiciary Committee staffers accessed the computer files of Democratic staffers. At the time, such access was possible because the two parties shared a single computer system that lacked a security firewall.

But once again, Kavanaugh denied any knowledge or participation in this, saying that he never knew about the problem and that if he had suspected something untoward, he would have immediately notified White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales.

Leahy demonstrated how obsessed Democrats are with President Trump when he asked whether Kavanaugh thought President Trump has an absolute right to pardon himself or to pardon somebody in exchange for a promise from that person that they wouldnt testify against him. Kavanaugh said he had not analyzed this issue and could not answer such a hypothetical question. That was a perfectly appropriate answer.

In an exchange with Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Kavanaugh laid to rest Democratic claims that he would be a surrogate for Trump on the Supreme Court. Hatch asked Kavanaugh if he would allow the presidents personal views on a case or personal interests to impact his decisions. Kavanaugh answered that he is an independent judge who for 12 years has been deciding cases based on the law and the precedent.

In fact, Kavanaugh pointed out that he had written the 2012 opinion that overturned the terrorism conviction of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former driver and bodyguard for Al Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. This was despite the fact that Kavanaugh had worked in the George W. Bush White House and this was a signature prosecution of the administration.

Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., not surprisingly focused on the issue that is the driving force of liberals today: abortion and the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

Feinstein asked Kavanaugh whether he agrees that a womans right to control her reproductive life impacts her ability to participate fully in the economic and social life of the nation.

Kavanaugh gave the same answer as previous nominees, that the Roe decision is entitled to respect under principles of stare decisis  meaning that the issues is settled law.

Explaining the Supreme Court decision itself, Kavanaugh said that a woman has a constitutional right to obtain an abortion before viability, subject to reasonable regulation by the state, up to the point where that regulation constitutes an undue burden on the womans right to obtain an abortion.

Feinstein also tried to address another controversial area by asking Kavanaugh whether a president has to respond to a subpoena from a court of law. That was a clear reference to the possibility that President Trump could be subpoenaed to testify in the Russia probe being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Kavanaugh refused to answer that hypothetical question, although he did say that he thought the Supreme Courts decision in U.S. v. Nixon was one of the four greatest moments in Supreme Court history. In that decision, a unanimous Supreme Court ordered President Richard Nixon to respond to a subpoena by turning over White House tapes and other documents in the Watergate scandal.

There were numerous other questions about a wide variety of legal issues, from the Chevron doctrine (a rule applying to the interpretation of regulations) to religious liberty and the separation of powers.

Kavanaugh provided informative answers that made it clear he is an experienced jurist with detailed knowledge of the law and numerous important court decisions.

Heres the bottom line: Judge Brett Kavanaugh has the potential to be a great Supreme Court justice. He will judge cases based on evidence and the law, not preconceived political positions. But because he was nominated by President Trump  a Republican president many Senate Democrats despise  they would be opposed to anyone Trump nominated.

If I had the chance to speak directly to Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee I would slightly paraphrase Joseph Welch and say to them: Let us not assassinate this judge further, senators. You have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?
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The spectacle in the Senate would have made no sense seen from the world we lived in just a few decades ago.

On the first day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Tuesday, 70 people were arrested for disrupting the proceedings. There were more than 40 interruptions by Democratic senators during the first hour of the hearing. Protesters continued to disrupt the confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has served 37 years in the Senate (as well as six years in the U.S. House and 16 years in the Iowa state House) calmly handled the disruptions.

Grassley is a remarkable man who goes home and works on his farm every weekend. He also visits all 99 Iowa counties every year. Grassley is very comfortable with his role, and I expect he found the Democrats amusing and irritating  but not intimidating.

This hostility at the confirmation hearing is a remarkable contrast to the world of 27 years ago, when now-Justice Clarence Thomas was being considered. The Thomas hearings were among the most personal and painful of modern Senate hearings.

Thomas personal integrity was challenged in a series of very emotional sessions. He ultimately rose to the occasion, and in a brilliant, powerful, compelling speech compared what was happening to him to a high-tech lynching.

As an African American, Thomas said he understood the viciousness being used against him. His personal testimony turned the tide and convinced the Senate to approve him. He went on to become one of the two conservative pillars of the Supreme Court, along with late Justice Antonin Scalia.

The amazing difference between 1991 and 2018 is that despite the viciousness, 11 Democrats voted to confirm Thomas to the Supreme Court. He won confirmation by 52-48. Imagine how unlikely it is that Kavanaugh could get 11 Democrats to vote for his confirmation.

In 1991, there was a sense that politics was operating within a broadly bipartisan universe. President George H.W. Bush was giving up his pledge not to increase taxes to get a budget deal with the Democrats. There was a general sense that everyone was operating within a center-left system.

In 2018, bipartisanship has separated, and we are now operating in two competing alternative universes. There is virtually no common ground.

Once you understand that this is a time in which people arent playing by the same rules, things become more understandable and the hypocrisy becomes more obvious.

The Democrats causing chaos in the Judiciary Committee have already indicated they were going to oppose Kavanaughs nomination. In fact, some Democrats indicated they would vote no before President Trump even sent a name up. The reason was simple. In their left-wing universe, anyone acceptable to Trump would be, by definition, unacceptable to them and their allies.

So we had the spectacle of senators complaining that they didnt have enough time to read all of the material about the nominee  after already saying they would vote against his confirmation.

The ridiculousness of the Democrats demand for more material (and simultaneous cries that the process must be slowed) were thoroughly highlighted by both The Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily.

Investors Business Daily pointed out that it's been 64 days since President Trump nominated Kavanaugh. The average time between nomination and the start of confirmation hearings for the past 10 Supreme Court justices: 41.6 days.

As to the complaint that senators did not have enough material to review, the Wall Street Journal asserted in an editorial that the Senators are ignoring the 307 opinions he has written, and the 17,000 pages of material he provided in response to the committees questionnaire  the most extensive ever demanded of a nominee. The Senators have already received more than half a million pages about his time as a lawyer and judge  more documents than were provided for the past five Supreme Court nominees combined.

So as you watch this political theater being choreographed and performed by the left, just remember that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed for her seat on the Supreme Court by a 96-3 vote. Justice Stephen Breyer was approved 87-9. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed 68-31. And Justice Elena Kagan was approved 63-37.

The real test on confirming Kavanaugh will come when the Democratic senators representing states that candidate Donald Trump won in 2016 have to cast their votes.

It is clear that the voters of their states will prefer a yes vote, while their left-wing donor base and activists will hate a yes vote.

These are the Democrats who are caught between two alternative universes. The next few weeks will be fascinating as we get to watch them maneuver.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday admitted to incorrectly submitting 23,000 voter registrations to the Secretary of State's office due to technicians' error, according to a new report.

The state agency told The Sacramento Bee that the problems occurred within the state's Motor Voter program, which allows those 18 years of age or older to register to vote by "completing a driver license, identification (ID) card or change of address transaction."

MORE THAN A MILLION ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SCORED CALIFORNIA DRIVER'S LICENSES, STATE DMV ANNOUNCES

The issue apparently came down to the fault of technicians as they were "toggling between multiple screens" and "improperly merged" registration information for California residents.

"We are committed to getting this right and are working closely with the Secretary of State Alex Padillas office to correct the errors that occurred," the agency's director said in a statement Wednesday.

Of the 23,000 residents whose registrations were sent, a reported 1,600 of them didn't submit a voter registration affidavit.

Other registrations affected "voter preferences such as, vote-by-mail options, language and political party selections," according to a letter the DMV sent Padilla.

The DMV reportedly said none of the applicants were illegal immigrants.

An assemblyman from Fresno referred to the error as a "cover-up," and called for the agency to be audited.

"Waiting in long lines is one thing, but walking in registered one way and walking out registered another way is something else entirely," Jim Patterson said.

NAMES OF NON-US CITIZENS INCREASINGLY FOUND ON VOTER ROLLS

The state's Motor Voter program, which began in April, sparked concerns earlier this year as concerned voters felt it could be an easy way for non-citizens to vote.

"You're setting the state up for a disaster," Catherine Engelbrecht, founder of True the Vote, said. "They dont seem to have a process in place to verify that people are who they say they are."

State officials disputed such claims, saying that safeguards would be in place to prevent non-citizens from voting.

Fox News' Elizabeth Llorente contributed to this report.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing boiled over into a series of tense exchanges late in the evening Wednesday, as high-profile Democrats lined up to hammer the appellate judge with thinly veiled accusations that he was hiding ties to President Trump's inner circle and harbored sympathies for racist policies.

In an especially combative moment late in the day, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., pointedly asked Kavanaugh whether he ever had discussed Special Counsel Robert Mueller or his Russia probe with anyone at Kasowitz Benson Torres, the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, a former personal attorney to President Trump.

"Be sure about your answer," Harris warned. "I'm asking you a very direct question. Yes or no?"

"I'm not sure I know everyone who works at that law firm," Kavanaugh said. "I'm not remembering, but I'm happy to be refreshed."

"How can you not remember whether or not you had a conversation about Robert Mueller or his investigation with anyone at that law firm?" Harris asked, visibly exasperated. "This investigation has only been going on for so long, sir, so please answer the question."

"I'm just trying to think -- do I know anyone who works at that firm?" Kavanaugh eventually replied. "I'd like to know the person you're thinking of."

"I think you're thinking of someone and you don't want to tell us," Harris shot back, sending the room into a few seconds of near-total silence.

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee then interjected briefly to defend Kavanaugh, saying that "this town is full of law firms" and that they "are constantly metastasizing, they break off, they form new firms -- they're like rabbits. There's no possible way we can expect this witness to know who populates an entire firm."

According to the firm's website, Kasowitz employs more than 250 attorneys, not including dozens of staff members.

A barrage of protesters erupted in a chant of "Answer the question" before being led out by police as Lee spoke. In all, 73 people were arrested and charged for unlawful demonstrations within Senate buildings on Wednesday, including 66 people who were removed from the hearing room during the day, according to Capitol Police officials.

In another dramatic exchange, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., implied Kavanaugh had been open to racial profiling tactics, citing an email exchange between Kavanaugh and a colleague. However, Booker did not provide Kavanaugh a copy of the emails to review while questioning him about it, prompting another objection from Lee, who charged that it was inappropriate to "cross-examine" Kavanaugh about documents that he "can't see."

Booker countered that when Democrats received the emails, which he said were titled "racial profiling," they were marked "committee confidential," indicating that they contained sensitive information.

"The system is rigged," Booker said, arguing that the documents should not have been marked confidential, because they did not contain personal or national security information. "The process is unfair, unnecessary, unjust, and unprecedented on this committee."

Lee ultimately agreed that the emails should be released, but that Kavanaugh should still be able to review them: "There's no reason why this shouldn't be something we can't discuss in public -- I don't know why it was marked 'committee confidential,'" he said.

The emails, released later Thursday, showed Kavanaugh advocating for race-neutral security screening policies at airports in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, although he said that during an "interim" period before such policies could be implemented, administration lawyers would need to "grapple" with the possibility considering race during screening in the interests of national security.

Also Wednesday evening, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono pressed Kavanaugh at length about whether he was aware of inappropriate behavior by former 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski when he clerked for Kozinski from 1991 to 1992. Kozinski abruptly retired last year after several woman who had worked as law clerks or colleagues accused him of sexual misconduct that included touching, inappropriate sexual comments and forced viewings of pornography in his chambers.

Hirono, who repeatedly has asked other judicial nominees whether they ever sexually harassed anyone, noted that Kavanaugh and Kozinski had kept in touch after his clerkship, with Kozinski recommending Kavanaugh during his 2006 confirmation hearings for his current job on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"You saw nothing, you heard nothing, and you obviously said nothing," Hirono said, even as Kavanaugh denied being aware of any misconduct by Kozinski and said he would have reported it if he had known.

"I'm sorry about the circumstances, but we'll get through it."  Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

For the most part, the lengthy hearing focused on Kavanaugh's writings and, in particular, key opinions he authored while serving on the nation's most prestigious appellate court.

At one point, Kavanaugh was asked by Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy about the constitutionality of individual federal judges issuing nationwide injunctions against presidential action -- a phenomenon that has attracted scrutiny after district court judges unilaterally brought temporary halts to President Trump's travel ban and other initiatives. Kavanaugh demurred, saying he could not discuss potential pending issues before the Supreme Court.

After Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse decried what he said was the improper mixing of partisan politics with legal discussion during the hearing, he reiterated his arguments from Tuesday that Congress often delegates excessive authority to mostly unaccountable executive branch agencies.

WATCH: SASSE UNLOADS ON CONGRESS DURING CONFIRMATION HEARING

In response, Kavanaugh specifically touched on the Obama-era Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), saying that even if the agency was a good policy idea, its creation was an improper "departure from historical practice" because it employed a single director, rather than a committee, who could only be removed by the president for cause.

Kavanaugh wrote an opinion for a three-judge panel striking down the CFPB's structure as unconstitutional in 2016, but was later reversed in part by a 7-3 vote in an unusual en banc review by other justices on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The en banc review found the CFPB's structure to be constitutional, but agreed with Kavanaugh that one of the agency's major interpretive decisions had improperly violated due process requirements.

"A single person can make these enormous decisions?" Kavanaugh told Sasse on Wednesday, referring to the director of the CFPB. "From my perspective ... that was an issue of concern."

The confirmation hearing has been chaotic at times, with Democrats trying to delay the proceedings as they complain they haven't received enough records from Kavanaugh's past work.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell found a way to allow Wednesdays confirmation hearing to continue into the night, after a brief floor clash with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Schumer had objected to McConnells request for the committee to continue meeting after 2 p.m., despite plans to go late. But McConnell, using a parliamentary maneuver, adjourned the Senate for the day -- because committees can meet as long as they like when the Senate is not in session.

KAVANAUGH VOWS TO 'KEEP AN OPEN MIND IN EVERY CASE'

California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees ranking member and the first Democrat to question the nominee, began her questioning of Kavanaugh by referencing the outbursts from protesters: I'm sorry about the circumstances, but we'll get through it, she said.

Feinstein asked the nominee about his past case argument that Washington D.C.s assault weapons ban was unconstitutional. He said he was following the precedent of the Supreme Court, but acknowledged that gun violence posed significant policy concerns.

In his 2011 dissent in a follow-up to the landmark D.C. v. Heller case, Kavanaugh wrote that based on Supreme Court precedent, gun restrictions should be assessed principally by reviewing "text, history, and tradition," rather than a balancing analysis that mainly considers dangers to the public and the government's interest in regulation.

Kavanaugh wrote that there is "no meaningful or persuasive constitutional distinction" between semiautomatic rifles and semiautomatic handguns, rejecting the city's attempt to apply regulations to rifles, other than automatics, that could not constitutionally apply to handguns.

Feinstein also pressed Kavanaugh over the Roe v. Wade court decision regarding abortion. Well, as a general proposition, I understand the importance of the precedent set forth in Roe v. Wade, he said.

Later in the day, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., dismissed Kavanaugh's statements on Roe, saying that describing the case as important "existing Supreme Court precedent" was akin to callously introducing a woman as "my current wife," drawing a slight grin from Kavanaugh.

The nominee then stressed that "precedent on precedent" has since supported abortion rights, noting that the 1992 Supreme Court case Planned Parenthood v. Casey explicitly upheld Roe. But when pointedly asked by Blumenthal to vow to never overturn Roe, Kavanaugh reiterated that it would be inappropriate for nominees to the Supreme Court to discuss hypothetical cases during their confirmation hearings -- a view echoed by each sitting Supreme Court justice.

It was a recurring theme for Kavanaugh on the day, as he emphasized that he would remain an impartial jurist despite his personal views, both before and after the confirmation hearings. To argue that he can be trusted to be fair to all litigants, Kavanaugh cited his decision in the 2012 case Hamdan v. United States, in which he overturned the conviction of Osama bin Laden's personal driver, Salim Hamdan. The conviction, Kavanaugh said, violated the Constitution's Ex Post Facto provision by punishing a defendant under a system of military tribunals enacted after his alleged crimes.

You'll never have a nominee who's ruled for a more unpopular defendant," Kavanaugh told senators Wednesday, saying that while Hamdan was a widely reviled Guantanamo Bay detainee, he was still entitled to some constitutional protections.

Feinstein also asked Kavanaugh about past comments regarding investigations involving a president, a key issue amid the Russia probe that has implicated numerous Trump associates. Kavanaugh said hes never taken a position on the constitutionality of whether a president should be investigated while in office.

In response to later questions from Sasse, Kavanaugh emphasized that "no one's above the law," saying that while any criminal prosecution of a sitting president may face "timing" issues, there is no absolute constitutional prohibition against eventually pursuing such a prosecution.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., pressed Kavanaugh about what he knew about the Bush administrations warrantless surveillance program. Leahy also asked Kavanaugh if a president has a right to pardon himself, a power President Trump has said he believes he has.

The question of self-pardons is something I have never analyzed, Kavanaugh replied.

Outbursts from protesters have been a recurring feature since the hearings began. Moments after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley opened the hearing Wednesday, shouting could be heard from the back of the room: Sham president, sham justice! Ironically, at one point, protesters shouted as Kavanaugh discussed how he tried to be respectful in court. "Ive tried to be a very collegial judge, Ive tried to be civil," he said.

Kavanaugh served for more than a decade on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and, before that, for five years as a lawyer in the White House Counsel's office in the George W. Bush administration. He also worked for independent counsel Ken Starr for three years during the probe that led to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton.

Kavanaugh's elevation from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court would mark a generational rightward shift on the Supreme Court, raising the stakes beyond those of last year's nomination of Neil Gorsuch.

The judge's nomination, though, will ultimately succeed or fail depending on a handful of swing-vote senators, including vulnerable red-state Democrats and moderate pro-choice Republicans who have all said that they would withhold judgment on the nominee.

Republicans command a narrow 51-49 Senate majority. Party leaders have said they hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed by a floor vote by early October, when the next Supreme Court term begins.

Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Judson Berger and Bill Mears contributed to this report.
A dozen Republican members of Congress on Thursday called on President Trump to declassify key documents related to the FBI's probe of Russian actions during the 2016 presidential election, including an application for a renewed surveillance warrant against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., also demanded the release of 12 FBI reports on interviews with Justice Department official Bruce Ohr. Zeldin said he was "confident" that the reports, known as 302s, "contain critically important information that should have been provided to the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA] court, but wasn't."

In a third part of the request, Zeldin asked Trump to declassify documents given to the so-called "Gang of Eight" -- bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate, as well as both intelligence committees -- which he said had "exculpatory evidence regarding Carter Page and others."

The request came one day after Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., asked the Justice Department and its inspector general to review Ohr's contacts with former British spy Christopher Steele, the author of an unverified dossier that made several claims about Trump's financial and personal ties to Russia.

In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, Meadows wrote that Ohr had testified to having "multiple" contacts with the FBI and Steele after the ex-spy was fired as a confidential source by the bureau. In addition to his contacts with Steele, Ohr has come under scrutiny over wife Nellie's role with Fusion GPS, the firm that commissioned the dossier.

"The dossier was the key to all this and the FBI knew everything before they went to the court to get a warrant to spy on a fellow American citizen and then to spy on the Trump campaign." Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told reporters. "They knew who paid for the document. They didn't tell the court that. They knew of the Ohrs' involvement, both Bruce and Nellie, in producing that document. They didn't tell the court that."

Jordan added that Ohr and Steele continued to meet after former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed as a special counsel to oversee the investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 elections in May 2017.

"No one has seen those 302s," he said. "No one has seen those. We want those made available as well."

Jordan, a member of the House Oversight Committee, said he hoped to see Nellie Ohr and Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson called to testify.

House Republican lawmakers are also considering whether to recall former senior FBI leadership, including former deputy director Andrew McCabe and ex-director James Comey, in an effort to determine who authorized the communications between Ohr and Steele following Steele's dismissal.

Fox News' Catherine Herridge contributed to this report.
The U.S. Capitol Police on Wednesday arrested and charged three people with unlawful demonstration activities during Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearing, bringing the total number to 73 since the beginning of his hearings.

Authorities arrested 70 on Tuesday at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The majority of those arrested were removed from the Committee room inside the Hart Senate Office Building.

Sixty-six people were charged with disorderly conduct, and six were charged with "crowding, obstructing or incommoding, a statement obtained by Fox News, read.

One person was charged with resisting arrest.

The back two rows of the hearing room are reserved for the public. The Capitol Police can't close the room to the public.

Many of the protesters are part of a nationwide campaign to disrupt the confirmation process. They say they fear that Kavanaugh's confirmation would shift the Supreme Court's balance for years.

Senator Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., the judiciary panel's top Democrat, echoed the sentiment of the protesters.

I think its really important that peopleas well as the judge, the nomineeunderstand how strongly we feel and why we feel that way, Feinstein said, according to The Journal. Behind the noise is really a very sincere belief that its so important to keep in this countrywhich is multiethnic, multireligious, multieconomica court that really serves the people and serves this great democracy.

In the week-long hearings, Kavanaugh's nomination is to succeed retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The New York Times is divided after publishing an unprecedented, anonymous opinion piece by a senior Trump administration official that sent reporters scrambling to expose the author while the editorial board is desperately protecting the same person  but would the Gray Ladys reporters name the anonymous author if given the chance?

The Op-Ed, headlined I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, claimed Trump administration staffers are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

The papers news and opinion departments work separately, and Executive Editor Dean Baquet reportedly didnt even know about the anonymous column prior to it being published. The Times reported that the unnamed official is "known to the Times editorial page department but not to the reporters who cover the White House.

As a result, all of Washington is furiously attempting to figure out the identity of the columns author. Vanity Fairs Joe Pompeo wrote that Times reporters now find themselves in the rather unorthodox and surely awkward position, while The Wall Street Journals Michael Bender wrote that even White House officials have encouraged reporters to uncover the author.

New York Times public editor-turned-Washington Post columnist Margaret Sullivan wrote that things could get odd if a Times reporter breaks the story of who penned the Op-Ed.

They ought to  after all, they do have the best potential tipsters on this story, and, handily, right in their own building, Sullivan wrote. I dont believe for a minute that it would be held back or spiked. It would run -- and again, heads would explode.

Sullivan joked that she hopes her current paper breaks the story, as opposed to the Times, for the sake of the New York Times, of course.

Fox News reached out to two of the Times most prominent White House reporters, Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman, to inquire if they would reveal the name of the author if they figure it out. Baker declined comment, while Haberman did not immediately respond. The Times media relations department did not respond to multiple requests for comment on whether or not the paper's reporters would be allowed to reveal the author. Baquet did not respond to a direct email.

Im obviously very concerned about preserving the anonymity of the writer but I understand reporters are doing their job, James Bennet, the Times' editorial page editor, told Vanity Fair.

DePauw University professor and media analyst Jeffrey McCall told Fox News that its extremely unusual for any newspaper to let an anonymous source post an Op-Ed or even letter to the editor.

That's because news organizations normally feel people who want to speak out should have to take ownership of their viewpoints. Further, it protects the news organizations from possible claims that the comments are concocted, McCall said. The Times steered from this established practice and the rationale is not all that clear.

McCall said the characterization of Trumps White House being in chaos could well be true, but readers need additional information about the source to put the claims in context, and labeling the Op-Ed author as a "senior official" is not all that helpful.

"This matter, in my opinion, should have been handed over to the news side of the paper, so that reporters, not opinion editors, could have fully vetted the source, challenged the source's assertions and provided more overall dimension, McCall said. "Then reporters could have decided if the source deserved anonymity.

Times Op-Ed Editor Jim Dao spoke about the controversial column on the Times podcast The Daily. He said that an intermediary contacted him and explained that an administration official expressed interest in penning the piece. Dao worked to try and confirm that this person was real and was eventually 100 percent confident, and has been in direct communication with the anonymous author.

Based on those conversations, came away totally confident that this was truly the official in the Trump administration that they claimed they were, Dao said before explaining that the piece was important enough to grant anonymity in his eyes.

Dao said he is concerned about the safety and security of the writer and has taken considerable steps to keep the authors identity close to the vest  but that wont stop the nations top reporters from trying to nail down the author.

"It is one thing for reporters to protect sources' names, but another for the editorial division to protect people. Now, as a result of this anonymous Op-Ed posting, we see the entire journalistic establishment running around trying to figure out who the author really is, McCall said.

Fox News Judson Berger contributed to this report.
In yet another bizarre turn of events at Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Republicans have revealed that documents Democratic Sen. Cory Booker published Thursday morning in supposed defiance of Senate rules had already been cleared for release.

All of this drama this morning apparently was for nothing and its unfortunate, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters after a chaotic start to the third day of Kavanaughs hearing.

Earlier Thursday, Booker dramatically said he would knowingly violate Senate rules to release emails marked "committee confidential" that showed Kavanaugh discussing racial profiling as a White House lawyer in 2002. Booker referred to his actions as an act of civil disobedience and said he was prepared to face punishment.

I am going to release the e-mail about racial profiling and I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate, said Booker, a possible 2020 Democratic candidate for president.

At another point, Booker said, This is about the closest I'll probably ever have in my life to an, I am Spartacus moment.

But it turns out, Booker didnt actually break any rules with that release. The Republicans on the Judiciary Committee said they worked with the George W. Bush library and the Justice Department overnight to clear the emails. The restrictions were waived early Thursday morning.

We cleared the documents last night shortly after Senator Bookers staff asked us to, said Bill Burck, a lawyer for Bush involved in the release of documents. We were surprised to learn about Senator Bookers histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly."

"Apparently, some just wanted to break the rules and make a scene, but didnt check their email," a spokesman for committee Republicans said in a statement. The committee posted the same documents.

"Clearly, he is running for president," GOP Sen. John Thune later told Fox News, speaking of Booker.

A spokeswoman for Booker said the lawmaker and Senate Democrats were able to shame the committee into agreeing to make last nights documents publicly available. But she did not address when Booker first learned the materials had been cleared.

Cory said this morning that he was releasing committee confidential documents, and thats exactly what hes done, Booker spokeswoman Kristin Lynch said.

Later Thursday, speaking to Fox News, Booker still insisted he violated the rules of the Senate.

I released the documents last night by reading from them in violation of the Senate rules, he said.

Further, he posted even more emails via Twitter later Thursday afternoon which may have been designated "confidential."

The emails related to Kavanaugh's comments on racial profiling appeared to be cleared in part because of the involvement of Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee.

Ive said it before and Ill say it again: I will happily work with any of my colleagues from across the aisle to go through the necessary steps and processes to try and get specific classified documents released to the public, Lee tweeted.

Booker released 12 pages of emails  which had been marked committee confidential  online for the public to read. The emails included internal post-9/11 discussions surrounding issues of racial profiling.

In a 2002 email, Kavanaugh, who was working as a lawyer in the Bush White House, said he generally favored race-neutral security measures, but said they need to grapple with the interim question of what to do before a truly effective and comprehensive race-neutral system is developed and implemented.

Kavanaugh wrote that the interim question is of critical importance to the security of the airlines and American people in the next 6 months or so, especially given Al Qaedas track record of timing between terrorist incidents.

The episode began a day earlier when Booker first implied Kavanaugh had been open to racial profiling tactics, citing the email exchange between Kavanaugh and a colleague.

However, Booker at the time did not provide Kavanaugh a copy of the emails to review while questioning him about it, prompting an objection from Lee, who charged that it was inappropriate to cross-examine Kavanaugh about documents that he cant see.

The emails had been marked "committee confidential." But Booker said Thursday he would release them anyway, saying the document is a great illustration of the absurdity of the process because theres nothing in it thats national security-related.

Top Republicans mocked and denounced Booker for the move.

Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to, Cornyn told Booker, before he was informed there was no violation.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, dinged Booker for repeating his point.

Can I ask you how long youre going to say the same thing three or four times? Grassley asked.

Im saying Im knowingly violating the rules, Booker replied. Senator Cornyn has called me out for it.

How many times are you going to tell us that? Grassley replied.

Cornyn, at one point, read the Senate rule that said senators who disclose confidential business could suffer expulsion from the body.

Booker replied, Bring it.

A number of Democrats, including Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, threw their support behind Bookers move.

I completely agree with you. I concur with what you are doingSo if there is going to be some retribution against the senator from New Jersey, count me in, Durbin said.

We support what Sen. Booker is doing here, Klobuchar said.

Meanwhile, outbursts from protesters continued to interrupt the proceedings, as they have all week.

Confirmation hearings are supposed to be an opportunity for the American people to hear from the nominee," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said. "Unfortunately, it seems that some on the political left have decided to try to turn this hearing into a circus.

It came as Kavanaugh entered the final stretch of questioning in his confirmation hearing Thursday with Democrats springing a series of cryptic questions  in an apparent attempt to box the nominee into an embarrassing admission or at least throw him off what has been a relatively steady performance.

Under questioning, Kavanaugh denied that he once suggested the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling on abortion rights is not settled law. Kavanaugh has repeatedly described the abortion ruling as important Supreme Court precedent difficult to overturn.

Kavanaugh was asked about a 2003 email which was disclosed Thursday, where he wrote: "I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."

Kavanaugh said he was not discussing his views, but rather "what legal scholars might say."

Other lines of questioning from Democrats have been more mysterious, suggesting an effort to lay a trap.

In an especially combative moment late Wednesday, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., asked Kavanaugh whether he ever had discussed Special Counsel Robert Mueller or his Russia probe with anyone at Kasowitz Benson Torres, the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, a former personal attorney to President Trump.

I dont recall any conversations of that kind with anyone at that law firm I havent had any inappropriate conversations about that investigation with anyone, Kavanaugh said Thursday, when given the chance to elaborate on Harris' question from a day earlier.

He added, Ive never given anyone any hints, forecasts, previews, winks, nothing about my view as a judge or how I would rule as a judge on that or anything related to that.

For the most part, the hearings have focused on Kavanaughs writings and, in particular, key opinions he authored while serving on the nations most prestigious appellate court.

The confirmation hearing has been chaotic at times, with Democrats trying to delay the proceedings as they complain they havent received enough records from Kavanaughs past work.

Kavanaugh served for more than a decade on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and, before that, for five years as a lawyer in the White House Counsels office in the George W. Bush administration. He also worked for independent counsel Ken Starr for three years during the probe that led to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton.

Kavanaughs elevation from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court would mark a generational rightward shift on the Supreme Court, raising the stakes beyond those of last years nomination of Neil Gorsuch.

The judges nomination, though, will ultimately succeed or fail depending on a handful of swing-vote senators, including vulnerable red-state Democrats and moderate pro-choice Republicans who have all said that they would withhold judgment on the nominee.

Republicans command a narrow 51-49 Senate majority. Party leaders have said they hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed by a floor vote by early October, when the next Supreme Court term begins.

Fox News Bill Mears, Griff Jenkins, Shannon Bream, Jason Donner, Gregg Re and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Although the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has now drawn to a close, the summit's end marks a new beginning for the next level of China-Africa cooperation. Many positive messages have been conveyed throughout the summit, such as multilateralism, win-win cooperation and a community of shared future for mankind. Watch this video to see the impressions of the foreign journalists who were in Beijing to cover the event, along with their expectations of whats next for the China-Africa partnership.
Sen. Cory Booker told Brett Kavanaugh during Thursday's hearing he was willing to "knowingly violate" the rules of the Senate Judiciary Committee  and risk his position  in order to make the public aware of an email from the Supreme Court nominee on the issue of racial profiling.

Booker, D-N.J., again claimed the committee was "rushing" the hearings before everyone was able to thoroughly read and digest thousands of Kavanaugh-related documents provided to members, especially the batch of 42,000 released Monday night, the day before the hearings kicked off.

"I'm saying I'm knowingly violating the rules ... I'm releasing committee confidential documents," Booker told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley during Thursday's hearing.

KAVANAUGH PROTESTERS FLOOD GRASSLEY'S OFFICE AHEAD OF HEARING: 'WE'VE GOT SOME THINGS TO TALK ABOUT'

John Cornyn, R-Texas, slammed Booker's announcement and said a potential 2020 presidential run "is no excuse" for violating Senate rules or confidentiality of documents the committee is privy to.

"This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed 'classified' by the executive branch because you happen to disagree with the classification decision. That is irresponsible and outrageous and I hope the senator will reconsider his decision," said Cornyn, adding the conduct was "unbecoming" of a senator.

It was later discovered, after Booker released 12 pages of emails, which included internal post-9/11 discussions surrounding issues of racial profiling, online Thursday morning that no rules were actually broken. The Republicans on the Judiciary Committee said they worked with the George W. Bush library and the Justice Department overnight to clear the emails, and restrictions were waived early Thursday.

Still, Booker claimed they were marked "committee confidential" in a tweet which included a link to the documents.

BOOKER RELEASES SECRET KAVANAUGH EMAILS IN DEFIANCE OF SENATE RULES, DRAWING GOP CONDEMNATION

The tweet received nearly 10,000 retweets within an hour, and prompted responses from several U.S. senators.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., thanked Booker for releasing the documents and providing transparency to the American people.

"@SenBooker and Sen.@MazieHirono are doing the right thing by releasing Brett #Kavanaughs committee confidential documents. They shouldnt be expelled from the Senate for their actions, they should be applauded. Americans deserve to know," he tweeted.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., echoed Markey's remarks and, again, followed in the footsteps of her Democratic colleagues by calling for the hearings to be delayed.

"The released #Kavanaugh docs are proof of how critical it is that we know this nominees record. Americans deserve transparency. @SenateGOP must stop hiding documents from the American people, release them & suspend this sham hearing until Americans know what this nominee believes," she added.

Cornyn tweeted his previous exchange with Booker, where he blasts him for saying he would violate the rules of the Senate. Minutes later, he commented on Booker's release of what he claimed were "confidential" Kavanaugh emails.

"Turns out it is already cleared for public viewing," he wrote.

Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., also showed support for Booker.

"I stand with my colleague @CoryBooker. The American people have a right to see Kavanaugh's full record," tweeted Harris, who has repeatedly called on the committee to postpone Kavanaugh's hearing.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., claimed the released documents reveal Kavanaugh is a "dangerous nominee" and he's "dangerous for women."

"We cannot, we must not, stay silent," she said.

Despite protesters' interruptions and criticism from Democrats, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said he was impressed with Kavanaugh's calm demeanor.

"Judge Kavanaughs work and record speaks for itself. He is a highly qualified #SCOTUS nominee, and Im impressed with his record and how hes handled his @senjudiciary hearings so far," Isakson tweeted.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, reminded Booker  and all senators  officials should always follow protocol.

"This exercise today is a reminder that these documents could have been made public if members had simply asked the committee. It wouldnt have allowed for a 'Spartacus' moment but it would have followed with the protocol @ChuckGrassley offered for weeks," he said in a tweet, before it was revealed they were actually previously cleared.

Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
As some Democratic Party mainstays across the country fall to insurgent left-wing candidates, attention turns Thursday to Delaware, where a veteran senator faces a primary challenge from another political neophyte.



Kerri Evelyn Harris, a former mechanic who also worked as a loadmaster at an Air Force base, has been backed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her push to defeat Sen. Tom Carper -- who has held the seat since 2001. According to McClatchy, Harris keeps a photo of herself with Ocasio-Cortez taped to a wall inside her campaign headquarters.

Ocasio-Cortez has sparked hopes of a larger left-wing wave through the Democratic Party after she beat Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in June. Another left-wing challenger, Ayanna Pressley, a Boston city councilor, on Tuesday unseated 10-term Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., in a primary race. Pressley had also been backed by Ocasio-Cortez.

AYANNA PRESSLEY UPSETS MICHAEL CAPUANO IN MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE PRIMARY



And in Florida, Bernie Sanders acolyte Andrew Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, picked up a surprise win in Florida's Democratic gubernatorial primary. The rapid-fire wins have encouraged left-wing activists hoping to reshape the Democratic Party in the image of Sanders, the Vermont senator and 2016 Democratic presidential primary candidate.

"I see myself a part of the movement for the people," Harris told The Associated Press. "It's moved beyond Bernie. There's people in all parties who are ready for this."

But Carper, who had a significant fundraising advantage - $1.3 million to Harris $120,000 as of August - has responded by touting his bipartisan credentials.



"Across the country, we have a number of folks that are on the progressive wing of the party, really the far-left flank of our party. Some of them have little tolerance for centrists," he said.

Carper has received the backing of former Vice President Joe Biden -- himself a former Delaware senator -- as well as the AFL-CIO. But Harris, 38, has labeled Carper as a corporatist, and cited his support for the Keystone XL pipeline as a negative.

"His entire career, if you look at it, has been centered around making sure corporations thrive, and almost a Republican idea of there will be a trickle-down effect. We know that trickle down doesn't work," she said.

Harris views, meanwhile, include key platforms of the hard Democratic left, including abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the legalization of marijuana, a $15 minimum wage and government paid health care for all. According to McClatchy, Harris has received help from the Working Families Party, for financial support for digital ads and direct mail.

While the winner of the primary is likely to be the favorite in November, Carper has suggested a hard left challenge in Delaware is unlikely to be as well received as in Ocasio-Cortezs New York.

"Delaware's not New York City," Carper said, according to The Associated Press. "And in most of these races around the country where you've got the progressive, far-left candidates running against more moderate Democrats, for the most part the more moderate Democrats are winning those races."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Georgia Democrat running for Congress says he plans to continue his campaign despite being jailed for six months because of a drunk driving conviction.

Steven Lamar Foster, 61, was convicted last month by a Dalton jury for driving under the influence on the evening of Sept. 23, 2017.

A police report from that day stated that Foster, a former physician, was stopped because he was driving his silver Mercedes with the headlights off after dark.

According to police, Foster reportedly told the officer he had not been drunk since 1981 and would give him a breath test if he wanted to. The officer reportedly then asked why Foster might need to take a breath test.

POLL: VOTERS SAY CORRUPTION MOST IMPORTANT 2018 TOPIC

Foster eventually told the officer he drank two or three beers about three hours earlier but the report said that he swayed and stumbled during a field sobriety test. A breathalyzer test also showed his blood alcohol content was .103. Under Georgia law, .08 is the legal limit for adults.

Foster was sentenced on August 14 to six months in the Catoosa County jail. The election is just two months away.

He told The Associated Press in a jailhouse phone call that hes still ordering yard signs and sending out surrogates to meetings.

Im not withdrawing, he said.

PRO-TRUMP CANDIDATE GEOFF DIEHL TRIUMPHS IN MASSACHUSETTS PRIMARY, TO TAKE ON ELIZABETH WARREN IN NOVEMBER

Foster is looking to unseat Rep. Tom Graves in northwest Georgias 14th District. Despite his conviction, Foster is facing an uphill battle against Graves, who has run unopposed in his last two elections and won his last contested race with 3 percent of the vote.

Foster is scheduled to return to court Tuesday. He's asking to be freed on bond while he appeals his conviction. If his request is denied, hell be running his campaign from jail.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The House Ethics Committee on Thursday kicked off a formal investigation into two Republican congressmen who were charged last month in separate federal indictments.

The House established two investigative subcommittees to look into the conduct of Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Chris Collins, R-N.Y. The creation of such panels is the equivalent of a congressional indictment and is seen as a signal that the House views the lawmakers' conduct as potentially problematic and worthy of inquiry.

Hunter and his wife, Margaret, stand accused of spending more than $250,000 in campaign funds on lavish personal expenses including trips, theater tickets, tequila shots and groceries. They allegedly attempted to conceal the spending by passing it off in federal records as a legitimate use of donations to "wounded warriors" and other charities or money from other fundraising events.

The couple pleaded not guilty during an appearance in federal court in San Diego earlier this week. No date was set for the trial, but it could begin in late November or later.

Collins  along with his son, Cameron, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of his sons fiancee  were indicted on insider trading charges in connection with an Australian pharmaceutical company.

Prosecutors allege that Collins passed along secrets to his son, Cameron, in June 2017. They say the son traded on the inside information and passed it to Zarsky. They added that Zarsky traded on it and tipped off at least three others.

Among the charges, the defendants are accused of multiple counts of securities fraud, along with one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count each of making false statements.

All three pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court in early August.

At the time of their indictments, both Hunter and Collins faced re-election challenges. Hunter has not exited his race, while Collins suspended his run days after his indictment. Both seats appear likely to remain in GOP hands, but the charges have raised Democratic hopes.

President Trump faced bipartisan criticism after tweeting Monday that the Justice Department's indictments against Hunter and Collins had put the GOP in jeopardy in the midterm elections.

"It was over and above what he's done before," Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., told reporters. "To say the Justice Department ought to punish his enemies and protect his friends goes beyond what any president in my memory has ever said, and that we can't normalize that."

Trump's tweet also drew a scolding on Monday by Sen. Ben Sasse, a Nebraska Republican who sits on the Judiciary Committee.

"The United States is not some banana republic with a two-tiered system of justice  one for the majority party and one for the minority party," Sasse said in a statement.

Fox News Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.


U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, grilled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday over a 1990s article he wrote, questioning whether Native Hawaiians should be treated as indigenous people.

Hirono, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will rule on Kavanaugh's nomination to the nation's highest court by President Trump, also posed questions to the nominee regarding sexual harassment, resulting in more tense moments.

Kavanaugh, who faced a second day of chaotic questioning on Capitol Hill, was asked by Hirono whether he has ever been accused of sexual misconduct or entered a settlement agreement with anyone over such allegations.

The high court nominee answered no to both questions, but Hirono continued her questioning over the issue, drawing attention to Kavanaughs relationship with Alex Kozinski, a former judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who was forced to retire in the wake of accusations of sexual impropriety with multiple law clerks.

I started asking these questions about sexual harassment because it's so hard to hold lifetime appointees to the federal bench accountable and because I did not want the #MeToo movement to be swept under the rug, the senator said.

Hirono pressed Kavanaugh on whether he was aware of the egregious and pervasive accusations of sexual misconduct against Kozinski, as he was a clerk for the judge in the 1990s and was introduced by him to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2006 when then-President George W. Bush nominated Kavanaugh to the federal bench, according to Honolulu Civil Beat.

Kavanaugh replied by saying he wasnt aware of the allegations at the time and that he had no reason not to believe the women who made the allegations against the former judge. He added that if he had heard of any allegations about another judge, he would have reported them to the appropriate authorities.

But Hirono, 70, who has served in the Senate since January 2013, seem dissatisfied with Kavanaughs answers.

You saw nothing, you heard nothing and you obviously said nothing, she said, suggesting the allegations against Kozinski were an open secret.

Kavanaugh said he agreed with the senator that there needs to be a change in the culture so that people coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct receive the supprt they deserve.

I agree with you, Senator, Kavanaugh said. There needs to be better reporting mechanisms.

But concerns about sexual harassment were just a short episode in Hirono's 30-minute questioning. The senator was primarily focused on an op-ed article that Kavanaugh wrote in 1999 for the Wall Street Journal.

In that article, Kavanaugh debated whether the U.S. government should treat Native Hawaiians as indigenous people because they had come from Polynesia. The article was about a 1996 Supreme Court case, Rice v. Cayetano, in which the high court ultimately ruled that the state could not let only Native Hawaiians vote in elections for the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Hirono slammed Kavanaugh over the article, with her staffers holding a map showing that Hawaii has always been part of Polynesia.

In the piece you wrote, the Native Hawaiian community was not indigenous because, as you say, after all, they came from Polynesia. It might interest you to know that Hawaii is part of Polynesia so it's not that they came from Polynesia, they were a part of Polynesia, the senator said.

You also implied that Native Hawaiians couldn't qualify as an Indian tribe and therefore were not entitled to constitutional protections given to indigenous Americans, she added. It is hard to believe you spent any time researching the history of Native Hawaiians.

Hirono went on to ask Kavanaugh whether he believes the legitimacy of programs aimed at helping Native Hawaiians should be more scrutinized given his views on the issue.

As I sit here today as a judge, I would listen to arguments 16 years ago ... but if I were a judge, I would listen to the arguments to your question, Congress has substantial power with respect to programs like this. I appreciate what you've said about Native Hawaiians, Kavanaugh said.

I think Congress has substantial power of course in this area that you're discussing and I would want to hear more about how Rice applies. I would want to hear the arguments on both sides. I would keep an open mind and appreciate your perspective on this question, he added.

The senator finished the line of questioning, saying I think you have a problem here and drew attention to Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a potential swing vote in the confirmation of the high court nominee.

Your view is that Hawaiians don't deserve protections as indigenous people under the constitution and your argument raises a serious question on how you would vote on the constitutionality of programs benefiting Alaska natives, Hirono said. I think that my colleagues from Alaska should be deeply troubled by your views.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Protesters took over Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's office as the committee entered its third day of Supreme Court hearings to  once again  call on lawmakers to deny the confirmation of nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Roughly two dozen people crowded inside Grassley's Washington, D.C., office in the Hart Senate Office Building early Thursday. The demonstrators, made up mostly of various women's rights groups, clapped and chanted as they demanded Grassley's ear.

Chuck Grassley, come out, weve got some things to talk about," the protesters repeated.

KAVANAUGH QUESTIONING ENTERS FINAL STRETCH, AS DEMS SEEM TO LAY TRAPS

Capitol Police are aware of the protesters and are "standing by" to remove them if necessary, Fox News confirmed Thursday morning.

Womens choices, womens rights," the group  including members from NARAL Pro-Choice America, Women's March, Center for Popular Democracy, among others  also shouted.

The protesters said they wouldn't leave Grassley's office until he agreed to delay the hearings.

Shut Brett Kavanaugh down," some commented.

Michael Zona, communications director for Grassley, told Fox News he offered to speak with demonstrators Thursday morning but they declined.

Kavanaugh's opening remarks were delayed 77 minutes Tuesday after Democrats banded together to call for a delay as they reviewed the last-minute release of 42,000 documents. They also complained about a lack of documents related to Kavanaughs service in the Bush White House.

SEN. SASSE, AT KAVANGUH HEARING, TEARS INTO CONGRESS OVER 'POLITICIZED CIRCUS'

We cannot possibly move forward," Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., said Tuesday.

Harris and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., moved to adjourn and postpone the hearings until they were able to review all of the newly-submitted materials  a request that received wild praise from protesters in the audience.

But Grassley swiftly denied their demand.

Can I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle how long you want to go on with this because Im not going to entertain any of the motions youre making, were not in executive session and I think we ought to level with the American people -- do you want this to go on all day? he asked.

Fox News' Adam Shaw and Jason Donner contributed to this report.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh stressed he has not had inappropriate conversations with anyone  including those at a law firm founded by one of President Trumps former personal attorneys  about the ongoing Russia investigation.

Kavanaugh, who was appointed by Trump to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court earlier this year, got into a particularly combative discussion with Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., late Wednesday night before the end of the second day of his confirmation hearing. Harris asked Kavanaugh whether he had discussed the Russia probe, spearheaded by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, with anyone at the New York law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres.

The firm was founded by Marc Kasowitz, one of Trumps former personal attorneys.

Kavanaugh told Harris, seen as a potential 2020 presidential contender, he could not specifically recall anyone who works at the firm and said, Id like to know the person youre thinking of.

I think youre thinking of someone and you dont want to tell us, Harris retorted.

TRUMP'S SUPREME COURT PICK NEEDS SENATE APPROVAL: A LOOK AT THE CONFIRMATION PROCESS

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah brought up the exchange Thursday, asking Kavanaugh to again respond to the questions.

I dont recall any conversations of that kind with anyone at that law firm. I didnt know anyone who might work at that law firm, but I dont recall any conversations of that kind, Kavanaugh said.

I havent had any inappropriate conversations about that investigation with anyone. Ive never given anyone any hints, forecasts, previews, winks, nothing about my view as a judge or how I would rule as a judge on that or anything related to that, Kavanaugh added.

KAVANAUGH CALLS SEX MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST FORMER JUDGE A 'GUT PUNCH,' POINT TO BROADER ISSUE

Republicans command a narrow 51-49 Senate majority. Party leaders have said they hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed by a floor vote by early October, when the next Supreme Court term begins.

Fox News Alex Pappas and Gregg Re contributed to this report.
First lady Melania Trump on Thursday slammed the senior official who anonymously penned an anti-Trump op-ed in The New York Times -- with Mrs. Trump accusing the author of sabotaging the country.



To the writer of the oped  you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions," she said in a statement.



The anonymous op-ed, published Wednesday, describes a secret inside plot to protect the country from President Trumps misguided impulses" and described early whispers of a possible Cabinet coup to boot Trump out of office via the 25th Amendment.

"This isnt the work of the so-called deep state," the author claimed. "Its the work of the steady state."



Whie the author acknowledged the bright spots in the administrations agenda, including deregulation and historic tax reform, the piece said that those victories came despite Trumps leadership style -- described as impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.



The piece led to fierce speculation about who was behind the bombshell, with multiple Trump officials coming out to distance themselves from it. Melania Trumps reaction represented the latest salvo in an aggressive pushback from the White House.

TRUMP LIEUTENANTS DENY PENNING OP-ED AS HUNT FOR AUTHOR INTENSIFIES, PRESIDENT SLAMS 'DEEP STATE'



In her statement, the first lady also took aim at The Times.



"Freedom of speech is an important pillar of our nations founding principles and a free press is important to our democracy. The press should be fair, unbiased and responsible, she said.



Unidentified sources have become the majority of the voices people hear about in todays news. People with no names are writing our nations history. Words are important, and accusations can lead to severe consequences, she said. If a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words and people have the right to be able to defend themselves.



Hours earlier, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders accused the anonymous coward of recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country.

Fox News Judson Berger and Kelly Chernenkoff contributed to this report.
In the aftermath of the crippling New York Times op-ed penned by an anonymous senior White House official, a bevy of top administration officials have rushed to deny any involvement.

The op-ed, published Wednesday, described a secret inside effort to protect the country from President Trumps misguided impulses and alleged there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th amendment to have the president removed from office.

The controversial piece immediately set off a brouhaha from Trump and other White House officials. The president called on The New York Times to turn the gutless official over to the government at once.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said 'this coward should do the right thing and resign.

But as Trump questioned whether the op-ed was authored by a phony source and others combed through the piece for clues as to who the writer could be, multiple high-level White House officials have publicly denied being the author.

Here's a list of White House officials who have denied any involvement in the piece so far.

Vice President Mike Pence: The use of the word lodestar in the piece set off early speculation that Pence, who has an affinity for that term, could be behind the article.

But Jarrod Agen, his communications director, tweeted that Pence always puts his byline on opinion pieces.

"The [New York Times] should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts," he added.

Pence, too, called for the author to resign.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: Speaking to reporters following a meeting in India, Pompeo said the op-ed is not mine. He also criticized The New York Times for publishing it, saying it should not have well chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actors word for anything.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin: Treasury Department spokesman Tony Sayegh Jr., said, It is laughable to think this could come from Mnuchin.

Mnuchin is honored to serve [the president and] the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for [The New York Times] to print this anonymous piece, he said in a tweet. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source.

Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis: A spokesman for Mattis said the Pentagon chief did not author the op-ed.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue: A spokesperson for Perdue confirmed to Fox News that he did not write the op-ed.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross: I did not write and am thoroughly appalled by this op-ed, Ross said in a tweet. I couldnt be prouder of our work at Commerce and of [the president]."

Energy Secretary Rick Perry: On Twitter, Perry said he neither authored the op-ed nor did he agree with its characterizations.

Hiding behind anonymity and smearing the President of the United States does not make you an unsung hero, it makes you a coward, unworthy of serving this Nation, he said.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: A spokesperson for DeVos said the Education Department chief is not a Washington insider and does not play Washington insider games.

She has the courage of her convictions and signs her opinions, the spokesperson said. She is not the author of the anonymous  op-ed.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen: A spokesperson for Nielsen said she is focused on leading the men [and] women of DHS and protecting the homeland  not writing anonymous [and] false opinion pieces for The New York Times.

These types of political attacks are beneath the Secretary [and] the Departments mission, Tyler Houlton said in a statement.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats: In a statement, Coats categorically denied the op-ed was written by either him or his principal deputy.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson: A spokesperson for Carson told The Guardian the op-ed was not authored by the Cabinet official.

Department of Health and Human Services Alex Azar: A spokesperson for Azar told The Guardian Azar did not write the op-ed.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney: A spokeswoman for Mulvaney told Bloomberg he did not write the op-ed.

Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley: Haley told reporters she did not write the op-ed.

Fox News' Judson Berger, Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Former President Barack Obama is set to return to the campaign trail this weekend, stumping for a slew of U.S. House hopefuls in California -- including philanthropist Gil Cisneros, who has been accused of sexual misconduct.

Since leaving the White House in January 2017, Obama has made only occasional appearances in behalf of candidates, usually opting instead to issue endorsements.

In addition to Cisneros in the 39th District, Obama is scheduled to campaign for Josh Harder in the 10th, T.J. Cox in the 21st, Katie Hill in the 25th, Katie Porter in the 45th, Harley Rouda in the 48th and Mike Levin in the 49th, Roll Call reported.

The seven Democratic congressional hopefuls are running in districts currently occupied by Republicans, though the state voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Former first lady Michelle Obama, meanwhile, will be pushing for voter registration this month as the 2018 midterm elections approach.

Yet Obamas backing of Cisneros, whos running against Republican Young Kim, raises concerns in the light of the #MeToo era. The former president initially snubbed Cisneros and didnt endorse him, for reasons that remain unclear, though likely are related to the allegations against the candidate.

Democratic activist and documentary filmmaker Melissa Fazli, who ran an unsuccessful primary ampaign for a state Assembly seat in California, accused Cisneros of propositioning to her during the California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in February.

Fazli accused Cisneros of seeming intoxicated during a conversation in an elevator about donations to her campaign, then asking her, Should we go back to your room?

Fazli claims she spoke with Cisneros over the phone again regarding the donations. Cisneros allegedly asked her, What are you going to do for me? in a suggestive manner.

Either he wants me to be his spy or he wants me to have sex with him. After the encounter at the elevator in San Diego, I thought he wanted to have sex with me in exchange for a $4,400 donation, Fazli said in a story posted on social media.

I know there will be skeptics and people who will publicly flog me for coming forward, but I thought it was necessary to let people know what kind of man is Gil Cisneros, an unethical creepy man who is using inappropriate and bullying tactics to intimate others in order win a seat in Congress, she added.

Citing the accusations agaisnt Cisneros, a Republican group has released an ad that asserts the candidate's times up.

Gil Cisneros thinks the rules dont apply to him, said Courtney Alexander, communications director of the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC that works to get Republicans elected to the House. Gil Cisneros has been accused of sexually harassing a fellow California Democrat, inviting himself to her hotel room and demanding sex in exchange for campaign funds. California voters deserve better than Gil Cisneros.

Multiple Democrats, though all of them opposed Cisneros in the Democratic primary, have also urged the party to investigate the claims. Two independent candidates also expressed solidarity with Fazli.

A womens rights group, UltraViolet Action, issued a statement calling the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to withdraw support for Cisneros.

Sexual harassment is an epidemic that runs rampant across our political system, no matter which side of the aisle, said Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of the group. If the DCCC truly wants to claim to promote candidates who are champions for women, it must have a zero tolerance policy for sexists in its ranks, and immediately withdraw its support of Cisneros and remove him from the partys Red to Blue program.

"[The DCCC] must have a zero tolerance policy for sexists in its ranks, and immediately withdraw its support of Cisneros and remove him from the partys Red to Blue program."  Shaunna Thomas, co-founder of UltraViolet Action

The Cisneros campaign, meanwhile, accused the woman of spreading false allegations against the candidate.

Fazli falsely claims she and Cisneros had an inappropriate encounter in an elevator around the 11pm hour at the San Diego Bayfront Hotel. She alleges Cisneros was intoxicated and propositioned her, the statement from the campaign reads.

The interaction between Cisneros and Fazli was witnessed by Thomas Rivera. Rivera confirms Cisneross account that he was neither intoxicated nor did he proposition Fazli, the statement added, though without acknowledging that Rivera is a campaign staffer for Cisneros.

"The interaction between Cisneros and Fazli was witnessed by Thomas Rivera. Rivera confirms Cisneross account that he was neither intoxicated nor did he proposition Fazli."  Gil Cisneros' Campaign

Fazli asked Cisneros for a campaign donation to which he declined. In addition, multiple individuals interacted with Cisneros as he was headed to, and throughout the SEIU United Healthcare Workers event, all who report Cisneros being lucid and sober, the statement added.

The campaign also said that multiple eyewitnesses can confirm that Cisneros wasnt intoxicated and his whereabouts were different from what the accuser alleged.

Fox News questions on Obama's scheduled appearance with Cisneros went unanswered, though a representative indicated that the allegations arent credible, pointing to Cisneros' rebuttal.
During his Supreme Court confirmation hearing, Brett Kavanaugh has called Roe v. Wade an important precedent that has been reaffirmed many times. However, in newly released emails from the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh once questioned whether the landmark Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion in the U.S. should be considered settled law.

I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so, Kavanaugh said in a 2003 email.

When asked by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D.-Calif., the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to clarify his thoughts on Roe, Kavanaugh said he was referring in the email to what legal scholars might say.

I think my comment in the email was that might be overstating the position of legal scholars and so it wasnt a technically accurate description in the letter of what legal scholars thought, Kavanaugh said, adding, The broader point was simply that I think it was overstating something about legal scholars, and Im always concerned with accuracy, and I thought that was not quite [an] accurate description of all legal scholars because it referred to all.

Kavanaugh then reiterated that he believes Roe v. Wade to be an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times.

Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat who is not on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Kavanaugh has been pretending he wouldnt overturn Roe v. Wade by hiding behind the idea that its settled law and precedent.

Thats what hes been saying in his hearings so far, and hes hoping that fools women across the country into thinking their rights and freedoms are safe, Murray said Thursday.

HILLARY CLINTON TROLLS BRETT KAVANAUGH AS HEARINGS LAUNCH: HE WILL 'HELP GUT OR OVERTURN ROE V. WADE'

Many senators questioned Kavanaugh about his opinions on abortion during his confirmation hearing. He said he understood the importance of the issue.

One of the important things to keep in mind about Roe v. Wade is that it has been reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years, as you know, and most prominently, most importantly, reaffirmed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, Kavanaugh said.

The nomination of Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court set off warning bells from womens rights groups and liberals  including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton  who warned he could move to overturn Roe v. Wade.

But even if Kavanaugh is appointed to the bench, the court probably wouldnt have an impact on Roe anytime soon, Carol Sanger, a Columbia Law School professor, previously told Fox News.

The court cant decide to change a case until it has a case before it, Sanger pointed out. And the court chooses its own docket so it gets to pick what cases it hears. We dont know whether they think there is a good case coming up to rule on Roe. They might not want to do that right away.

If such a case did come up, and the court decided to overturn Roe, abortion wouldnt necessarily become automatically illegal in the U.S. Instead, it would leave the issue up to the states.

KAVANAUGH SAYS HE'S NEVER HAD 'INAPPROPRIATE CONVERSATIONS' WITH ANYONE REGARDING RUSSIA PROBE

Only four states have so-called trigger laws in place that would make abortion almost automatically illegal if Roe v. Wade is overturned. But other states already have laws on the books, pre-dating Roe, which legalizes abortion.

Kavanaughs involvement in a case of an undocumented teenager who sought to be released from custody to have an abortion has come under scrutiny during the hearing. While the court eventually allowed her to have the procedure, Kavanaugh disapproved. He argued if the government helped the 17-year-old get the procedure, then it ignores its permissible interest in favoring fetal life, protecting the best interests of a minor and refraining from facilitating abortion.

Republicans command a narrow 51-49 Senate majority. Party leaders have said they hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed by a floor vote by early October, when the next Supreme Court term begins.
New York Democratic socialist candidate Julia Salazar reportedly was arrested in 2011 on suspicion of fraudulently trying to access the bank account of the wife of former New York Mets player Keith Hernandez -- though she was not charged.



Salazar hit the national headlines after her claims to be a Colombian immigrant brought up in a working-class household were challenged by members of her own family and news reports. Salazar has stood by her story as she seeks a seat in the New York state Senate, blaming any contradictions on misunderstandings or errors by campaign staffers.



But Tablet, which first poked holes in her bio, reported Thursday on a 2011 incident where she was arrested on suspicion of attempting to access the bank account of Hernandezs wife Kai. Recordings obtained by Tablet show a woman claiming to be Hernandez repeatedly attempting to access her UBS account by saying she was having trouble getting into it. The caller appears to have been unsuccessful.



Hernandezs financial adviser then called Kai Hernandez, who alerted the police and named Salazar as the perpetrator, testifying that Salazar had house-sat for her on a number of occasions -- giving her access to financial information.

DEM SOCIALIST CANDIDATE JULIA SALAZAR'S MOTHER AND BROTHER EXPOSE MORE INCONSISTENCIES IN HER BIO



Charles Weinblatt, the detective assigned to the case, arrested her in March 2011 after interviewing her. While he said he had probable cause, he said Salazar was not charged as a voice ID is not enough for the state attorneys office.



There may have been sufficient evidence to arrest her, but the state attorneys office felt that there was not a likelihood of conviction based on a voice ID, I would assume, so the charges were not filed, he told Tablet.



However, Salazar then filed a defamation suit against Hernandez, claiming she had impersonated Salazar in speaking to her own bank and hurt her professional and emotional well-being. That complaint was dismissed, but Salazar amended it and claimed that Kai Hernandez told the police that Salazar was having an affair with her husband.



Tablet reports that the suit dragged on for years, until it was settled in March 2017 when Hernandez -- who had been fighting cancer -- could not afford to keep fighting. Her insurance reportedly handled a payout to Salazar.



Hernandezs lawyer told Tablet if Kai hadnt gotten ill, we could have tried this case and won this case, I truly believe that, but there comes the cost of her health, and her situation was such that if theyre [the insurance] gonna pay her money, let them pay her money. She added, I truly believe [Salazar] is the voice on that call.



But in a statement to The Daily Mail, Salazars lawyer Adam Hecht said: Kai Hernandezs bizarre and fraudulent attempts to defame and victimize Julia were recognized as baseless by the authorities, who declined to file charges, and this matter was resolved with a monetary settlement in Julias favor.



The Democratic primary is Sept. 13.
A liberal millionaire now running for Congress in Pennsylvania -- and railing against the influence of money in politics -- has a history of making large donations to former President Barack Obama's campaign and other efforts.

Scott Wallace, grandson of a former vice president of Franklin Roosevelt -- whos running as a Democrat in Pennsylvania's 1st Congressional District against Republican incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick -- gave more than $100,000 to Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and Presidential Inaugural Committee and also asked top administration official John Podesta to appoint him as U.S. Ambassador in South Africa.

Wallace has made criticism of money in politics a campaign issue, saying money corrupts politics and slamming President Trump for giving access to wealthy donors.

In July 2008, both Wallace and his wife Christy donated $30,800 and $28,500 respectively to the Obama Victory Fund, the former president's political action commmittee, Federal Election Commission records show.

Also in 2008, Wallace gave Obamas Presidential Inaugural Committee $50,000  the maximum permitted contribution, which provided Wallace with tickets to Obama's January 2009 swearing-in ceremony, parade and inaugural balls.

As he was donating to various Obama funds, Wallace also began his efforts to become the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, his so-called second country, where he lived for several years while overseeing the Wallace Global Funds projects in the country, by directly pushing a top Obama official to consider him for the role.

TOP DEM CANDIDATE GAVE MILLIONS TO GROUPS ADVOCATING FOR TAXING FAMILIES TO THE HILT FOR IRRESPONSIBLE BREEDING

"It has become my second country, and I would be deeply honored to be considered to represent President Obama as ambassador there."  Scott Wallace

I know you must have a million things on your plate, but as I mentioned to you, Elizabeth and Smith Bagley were encouraging me to reach out to you sooner rather than later about a possible appointment in an Obama administration, Wallace wrote to Podesta on Nov 3, 2008, according to an email released by WikiLeaks.

I am passionate about helping South Africa achieve its full promise, and see its upcoming elections and the next couple of years as critical to the health of its democracy. It has become my second country, and I would be deeply honored to be considered to represent President Obama as ambassador there, he continued, openly offering his diplomatic services.

I imagine that my service under Republicans in the Senate, as well as subsequent decades of working with Democratic Judiciary Committee leadership, should be of some help with Senate confirmation, he added.

"I took the liberty of listing you as a reference in the application forms at change.gov, but then wondered if perhaps those need to be names outside the formal transition process."  Scott Wallace

The liberal millionaire returned to the issue a few weeks later, sending another email to Podesta, who spearheaded Obamas transition team, saying he listed Podesta as a reference in an application to work in the administration.

John, I meant to ask you this at the Democracy Alliance conference, but had to duck out just before the end of your session  I took the liberty of listing you as a reference in the application forms at change.gov, but then wondered if perhaps those need to be names outside the formal transition process, he wrote.

John, let me also offer my assistance to the personnel team in a range of areas. From my 13 years as a grantmaker, and about 20 years in the field of criminal justice policy and research, my job is generally to identify and invest in the highest quality leaders of the most effective organizations, Wallace wrote in a follow up email.

"Money corrupts politics and it corrupts it absolutely."  Scott Wallace

TOP DEM HOUSE HOPEFUL FUNDED GITMO DETAINEES LEGAL HELP JUST AFTER 9/11

That history appears to contradict Wallaces more recent statements about his views on the influence of money in politics.

Money corrupts politics and it corrupts it absolutely, Wallace said earlier this year at the Bucks County (Pa.) Democratic Forum.

He also criticized President Trump for giving access to wealthy donors.

But when his buddies in Congress, like Paul Ryan and Brian Fitzpatrick, finally OKd his massive tax cuts for corporations and billionaires, what did Trump do? Jetted to his Florida country club and bragged to a roomful of people who paid $200,000 to get in the door, that they all just got a lot richer. Oooh, thats rich, Wallace said in a March news release.

Even in 2011, Wallace decried contributions from wealthy elites and suggested the U.S. political system was being ruined by such donors.

Sacrifice is expected, improving your own lifestyle is not. This is not to say that American politics today is not awash in big money. Our political parties and politicians are massively dependent on contributions from corporations and wealthy elites, he wrote in an op-ed for South Africa's Cape Times.

The Wallace campaign told Fox News that Wallace would have been honored to join the Obama administration and accused Fitzpatricks campaign of taking money special interests.

"Scott is proud to have supported Obama throughout the years and like many people would have been honored to join his administration."  Zoe Wilson-Meyer, communications director for Wallaces campaign

Scott is proud to have supported Obama throughout the years and like many people would have been honored to join his administration, said Zoe Wilson-Meyer, communications director for Wallaces campaign.

If you want to talk about a corrupting influence of money, lets talk about how Brian Fitzpatrick took hundreds of thousands of dollars from oil and gas special interests and then voted to give them billions in tax breaks or how he has accepted thousands of dollars from corrupt Trump cronies and criminals like Elliott Broidy and Adam Kidan, she added.

Fox News reported In June that the Fitzpatrick campaign received an unsolicited $5,400 donation from Kidan, which was shortly re-donated to two local charities, with the Bucks County Opportunity Council and Bucks County Down Syndrome Interest Group receiving $2,700 each.
Top administration officials publicly denied penning the explosive New York Times op-ed from an anonymous senior official that described a secret inside effort to protect the country from President Trumps misguided impulses, as the White House fumed over the column and demanded the author be exposed and resign.

The president, on a Twitter tear denouncing the yet-to-be-named official and the decision to publish the piece, on Thursday pointed the finger at the Deep State and Fake News Media, suggesting this is a distraction from the economic gains under his administration.

The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they dont know what to do. The Economy is booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption. Wow! Trump tweeted, after giving his critics more fodder by tweeting a thank-you to North Koreas Kim Jong Un for proclaiming unwavering faith in President Trump.

The author of the Times op-ed acknowledged the bright spots in the administrations agenda overshadowed by negative press coverage, including deregulation and historic tax reform. But the piece said these successes have come despite  not because of  the presidents leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.

Speculation over the writer was widespread. The use at one point of the word lodestar prompted speculation that Vice President Pence, who has an affinity for that term, was behind it.

But his communications director, Jarrod Agen, tweeted: The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.

Pence himself later said the author "ought to resign."

A spokesman for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also said the Pentagon chief did not write the op-ed.

The details in the article, which revealed discussions regarding Russia sanctions and more, suggested someone with knowledge of the inner workings of foreign policy.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, though, also denied involvement.

Pompeo spoke to reporters after a Thursday meeting in New Delhi with top Indian officials and said, "It's not mine."

He said, "It shouldn't surprise anyone" that the New York Times chose to print "such a piece," and if it was written by a top U.S. official, "they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actor's word for anything."

The Times said publishing the essay anonymously was "the only way to deliver an important perspective" to its readers. It comes as Watergate legend Bob Woodwards forthcoming book details even more accounts of administration infighting.

The profusion of senior officials in any administration means the op-ed author may not be a household name, and could be well below the level of Cabinet secretary or Trump confidant.

No matter who it is, Trump and other top officials made clear they want a name.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, This coward should do the right thing and resign.

Trump called on the Times to out the author.

"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!" the president tweeted.

The New York Times article had numerous explosive lines, roiling an already tense administration as the special counsel Russia probe churns along in the run-up to a midterm election that will determine whether Republicans lose their grip on power in Congress.

The writer alleged that "there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment" to remove Trump from office because of the president's "instability ... But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

The New York Times defended the piece.

"We are incredibly proud to have published this piece, which adds significant value to the public's understanding of what is going on in the Trump administration from someone who is in a position to know," a Times spokesperson said in response to the White House statements.

Fox News Blake Burman, Lucas Tomlinson and Amy Lieu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
When Mustafa Sahin first saw photographs of the submerged ancient church under the waves of Turkey's Lake Iznik, he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

The head of archaeology at Bursa Uludag University had been searching the shores of the lake for several years, but it wasn't until local government surveyors showed him some aerial photographs in 2014 that he realized the lake itself covered the ancient ruins he was looking for.

"When I first saw the images of the lake, I was quite surprised to see a church structure that clearly," Sahin told Live Science in an email. "I was doing field surveys in Iznik [since 2006], and I hadn't discovered such a magnificent structure like that."

The ruined ancient church lies beneath about 10 feet (3 meters) of water, about 160 feet (50 m) from the shore of Lake Iznik, near the western tip of Turkey and about a 2-hour drive from the capital of Istanbul. [See Photos of the Submerged Basilica in Turkey]

Archaeologists think that the Roman-style church, known as a basilica, was built on the shore of the lake around A.D. 390, when Iznik was known as Nicea and Istanbul was Constantinople  the eastern center of the Roman Empire. The archaeologists now think this church may hide another treasure beneath it: a pagan temple.

In A.D. 740, an earthquake destroyed the church, which later sank beneath the lake's surface, leaving the ruins submerged and forgotten until they were rediscovered, more than 1,600 years later.

Before any of these riches are lost to history, Sahin and local government leader Alinur Aktas have called for the site to be established as Turkey's first underwater archaeological museum.

Underwater archaeology

Sahin and staff from Izniks Archaeology Museum have carried out underwater excavations of the submerged basilica since 2015. The hot climate of the region means that the lake is filled with algae, which can reduce the visibility during the excavation dives to a few inches, Sahin said. The archaeologists use special vacuum equipment to carry soil from the underwater excavations to the shore, where it can be sifted for artifacts.

Sahin said that the most important finds included several human graves beneath the basilica's main transverse wall, known as the bema wall, referring to a raised platform used by the clergy.

Several coins found in those graves date from the reigns of the Roman emperors Valens (who ruled from A.D. 364 to 378) and Valentinian II (who ruled from A.D. 375 to 392), which showed the basilica was built after A.D. 390, Sahin said. [Photos: Gladiators of the Roman Empire]

Sahin believes that the basilica was dedicated to St. Neophytos, who was put to death in Nicea by the Romans in A.D. 303, during the reign of the emperor Diocletian.

Ten years later, in A.D. 313, the emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan, establishing religious tolerance for Christianity throughout the Roman Empire; Neophytos became celebrated as an early Christian martyr.

The city of Nicea itself became famous throughout the Christian world in A.D. 325, when Constantine convened the first council of church leaders thereto determine the core beliefs of the religion, which he promoted throughout the pagan Roman Empire.

Temple mystery

But the mystery of the submerged ruins in Lake Iznik may be even older than Christianity.

Sahin said that the basilica may have been built on top of a pagan temple to Apollo, a Greek and Roman sun god sometimes associated with Jesus in the early Christian period.Roman records related that the emperor Commodus, who ruled the Roman empire from A.D. 180 to 192, built a temple to Apollo at Nicea outside the city fortifications.

Some early coins and fragments of an ancient lamp discovered at the church site hint at an even earlier structure, Sahin said. "Could this temple have been underneath the basilica remains?"

If the plans for the underwater museum are approved, construction could begin this year and it would open to visitors in 2019, Sahin said.

The museum buildings would include a 60-foot-high (20 m) tower, to enable the ruins to be seen from the shore, and a walkway out over the lake, above the submerged site itself.

The museum complex would also include a diving club, so tourists could explore the sunken ruins, and an underwater glass-walled room in the nave of the submerged basilica where visitors to the ancient church could pray, Sahin said.

Original article on Live Science.
If you know your way around a chemistry lab, you could help humanity set up shop on Mars  and make some serious cash in the process.

NASA is challenging people throughout the United States to come up with a new and efficient way to convert carbon dioxide into glucose, a simple sugar. CO2 dominates the thin atmosphere of Mars, and energy-rich glucose is a great fuel for microbe-milking "bioreactors" that could manufacture a variety of items for future settlers of the Red Planet, NASA officials said.

"Enabling sustained human life on another planet will require a great deal of resources, and we cannot possibly bring everything we will need. We have to get creative, said Monsi Roman, program manager of NASA's Centennial Challenges program, which is running the new $1 million "CO2 Conversion Challenge." [8 Cool Mars Destinations Humans Could Explore]

"If we can transform an existing and plentiful resource like carbon dioxide into a variety of useful products, the space  and terrestrial  applications are endless," Roman said in a NASA statement.

The new competition consists of two phases. During Phase 1, applicants submit a detailed description of their CO2-to-glucose conversion system. Interested parties must register by Jan. 24, 2019 and submit their proposals by Feb. 28, 2019.

In April, NASA will announce the selection of up to five finalists from this initial crop, each of whom will receive $50,000.

Phase 2 will involve the construction and demonstration of a conversion system. Winning this round is worth $750,000, bringing the competition's total purse to $1 million (assuming five finalists are indeed selected from Phase 1).

You don't have to win, or even participate in, Phase 1 to compete in Phase 2. The challenge is open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States; foreign nationals can compete if they're part of a U.S.-based team. To register or learn more, go to the CO2 Conversion Challenge website.

The Centennial Challenges program, which is run by NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, aims to encourage the development of exploration tech by engaging talented and innovative people beyond the traditional aerospace community.

Originally published on Space.com.
Scientists are analyzing the perfectly preserved remains of a prehistoric horse in a bid to clone the now-extinct animal.

Recently discovered in permafrost in the Siberian region of Yakutia, the skin, hair, hooves and tail of the carcass are all preserved. The remains are estimated to be 30,000 to 40,000 years old.

Experts believe that the foal was about 2 months old when it died.

Semyon Grigoryev, head of the Mammoth Museum in the regional capital of Yakutsk, was surprised to see the perfect state of the find. He noted it's the best-preserved ancient foal found to date. The Siberian Times reports that the foal is an extinct species of horse known as Lena horse, or Equus lenensis.

CAN THE LONG-EXTINCT WOOLLY MAMMOTH BE CLONED?

Russian and South Korean scientists are now working to extract cells from the foal that could potentially be used to clone the animal, according to The Siberian Times. If an embryo is successfully cloned, a modern horse could be used as a surrogate, experts say.

The foal was discovered in the Batagaika crater, a huge 328-foot deep depression in the East Siberian taiga. The giant crater is known locally as the doorway to the underworld.

Other remarkable finds have been made in Siberia. In 2013, a 40,000-year-old wooly mammoth carcass was unearthed on remote Maly Lyakhovsky Island in Northern Siberia. The well-preserved remains, combined with advances in genetic research, fueled discussion about whether the extinct creature could be cloned.

FROZEN WOOLLY MAMMOTH FOUND IN SIBERIA COULD BE NEW SPECIES, RESEARCHERS SAY

While the possibility of woolly mammoth de-extinction has generated plenty of headlines in recent years, critics have argued that scientific resources would be better allocated to protect existing species.

Earlier this year, a fossilized pygmy wooly mammoth was also uncovered on Siberias Kotelny Island, which experts say may be a new species.

In 2015, the well-preserved remains of long-extinct cave lion cubs were also found in Siberia. The discovery marked the first time that humans had set eyes on the species in more than 10,000 years.

EXTREMELY RARE WOOLLY MAMMOTH BONE FOUND ON BEACH

In 2012, a nearly complete skeleton of a woolly mammoth was unearthed in France, much to the delight of archaeologists.

Fox News Chris Ciaccia, Walt Bonner and The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Twitter announced Thursday that it permanently suspended Alex Jones and his show InfoWars from their platform, as well as Periscope.

The announcement came via tweet from Twitter Safety, who said the decision was made based on new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy, in addition to the accounts past violations.

It wasn't immediately clear which tweets and videos Twitter was referring to.

Jones, who has spread conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, has previously been banned from sites like Facebook and YouTube for violations of their terms of service.

Facebook said it had removed four pages related to InfoWars for violating hate speech and bullying policies.

Jones claims he is being politically targeted.

RUBIO CLASHES IN HALL WITH INFOWARS ALEX JONES, WARNS HIM: 'ILL TAKE CARE OF YOU MYSELF'

In follow-up tweets, Twitter said they wanted to be open about this action due to public interest.

As we continue to increase transparency around our rules and enforcement actions, we wanted to be open about this action given the broad interest in this case. We do not typically comment on enforcement actions we take against individual accounts, for their privacy, Twitter said. We will continue to evaluate reports we receive regarding other accounts potentially associated with @realalexjones or @infowars and will take action if content that violates our rules is reported or if other accounts are utilized in an attempt to circumvent their ban.

Word of Jones fate on the social media platform came a day after he clashed with Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio after interrupting an interview.

During Wednesdays dust-up between Rubio and Jones, the lawmaker was recorded discussing with reporters his worries that China and other governments could demand social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter crackdown on dissidents.

The conversation came prior to a Senate Intellgence Committe hearing.

When Jones approached, he accused Democrats of doing what you say China does and said tech companies and Democrats are purging and shadow banning conservatives.

The remarks led to an impassioned exchange of words between the pair, before Rubio ultimately went into the hearing.

Fox News Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
Fears of a Terminator-style robot war could prevent society benefiting from artificial intelligence, an expert has warned.

Prof Jim Al-Khalili says AI could lead to a bigger revolution than the internet, if the public learns about the science rather than the science fiction.



In the Terminator films, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, an artificial intelligence system called Skynet seeks to wipe out humans.

AI could add $15.1 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

But Prof Al-Khalili, the new president of the British Science Association, warned: Theres a real danger of a public backlash against AI, potentially similar to the one we had with genetically modified food.

"If the public become disengaged our leaders will see it as less of a priority."

Regulations will need to be in place and they may come too late.

"At the very least this will result in the technology not being used to its potential in the public sector, possibly leading to an increase in inequality in society."

AI is already used in virtual assistants such as Siri and Alexa.

And it contributes to the almost psychic awareness of Google and Amazon, said the professor.

He wants it included in future school curriculums, adding: "AI is going to transform our lives even more than the internet.

"Lets make sure were ready for it."

His comments echo a speech from Samsung's mobile chief last week, who said his firm was spending billions of dollars on AI, and hoped to convince you there's nothing to fear.

"For nearly a decade, weve been leading the global research and development race to unleash the power of AIfor consumers," said HS Kim, CEO of Samsung Electronics, speaking at the IFA 2018 tech show in Berlin.

"Last year alone we invested $14billion in research and development.

"We also committed $22billion of investment over the next three years to advance AI"

Samsung  and other AI players, like Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft  face a problem that people are terrified of AI.

The late Professor Stephen Hawking once said: "I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that improves and replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that outperforms humans."

And Tesla, PayPal and SpaceX founder Elon Musk warned that AI poses a "fundamental risk to the existence of civilisation".

Samsung's HS Kim admitted this is a concern: "We need to empower people to feel like they have control over the future we are working to create.

"Our goal is to open their minds to the potential of AI without fear it may take over their lives.

"Well do this through intelligent experiences that put people first. That are fun and safe, that learn and adapt to meet peoples changing needs."

This story originally appeared in The Sun.
Specialist U.K. police officers with an astonishing ability to recognize people helped identity the two Russian men accused of poisoning former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, reports say.

The so-called super-recognizers were involved in the massive police investigation into the poisoning, according to the New York Times. Sky News reported recently that two detectives from Scotland Yards super recognizers squad were spearheading the search for the suspects.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were charged Wednesday with the nerve-agent poisoning of Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March 2018. Skripal was a double agent who betrayed Russia by spying for the West.

POLICE OFFICERS TEST NEW RESTRAINT TECHNOLOGY

British prosecutors said the two men were being charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok.

Noviochok causes involuntary contraction of all skeletal muscles, which then leads to respiratory and cardiac arrest.

Sky News reports that the super-recognizers were part of a team that trawled through 5,000 hours of surveillance camera footage, matching images of suspects filmed in Salisbury with images of airline passengers at U.K. airports before and after the poisoning.

The super-recognizer squad was set up in the wake of the 2011 riots in London, according to Sky News. As police worked through vast amounts of CCTV footage, it became clear that some officers had an genetically superior ability to recognize suspects in different locations.

WELSH POLICE FORCE IS FIRST IN UK TO USE VIRTUAL REALITY TO TRAIN ITS OFFICERS

The U.K.s Metropolitan Police declined to comment on the super-recognizers reported involvement in the poisoning case when contacted by Fox News. We're not discussing the work of super recognizers in connection with this case for operational reasons, explained a police spokeswoman, via email.

Super-recognizers have already attracted attention for their impressive skills. Squad members reportedly identified the suspected killer of schoolgirl Alice Gross and also helped German police following the New Years Eve sex attacks in Cologne.

The Guardian reports that super-recognizers have been deployed at concerts in the U.K., ensuring that known thieves do not gain entry. They have also monitored the Notting Hill Carnival in London, identifying people banned from the event, which is one of the worlds largest street festivals.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
Two American Airlines planes landed in Philadelphia International Airport carrying multiple passengers experiencing flu-like symptoms.

One of the international flights was coming from Paris and the other flew in from Munich. Twelve passengers were reported to have been sick on the planes  however all passengers, totaling about 250 plus crew, were removed for medical review, Philadelphia International Airport confirmed in a statement to Fox News.

'SICKNESS BUG' GETS JET2 PASSENGERS 'VIOLENTLY ILL' ON FLIGHT FROM SPAIN TO ENGLAND

As a precaution, all passengers on the two flights  totaling about 250 plus crew  were held for a medical review and the CDC was notified. CDC, the Philadelphia Health Department and the Philadelphia Fire Department personnel performed medical evaluations and assessments. The passengers -- except for the 12 affected -- are in the process of being released. Airport operations were not impacted during this time, the statement read.

According to the CDC, none of the passengers reportedly had fevers and none were severely ill.

UNBEARABLE SMELLING PASSENGER THAT CAUSED PLANES EMERGENCY LANDING DIES FROM TISSUE NECROSIS

12 passengers from the two flights reported sore throat and cough; none were identified with fever. None of the passengers are severely ill, and they will be released and informed of test results in 24 hours. Passengers from the two flights who were not ill continued with their travel plans. We will have more information as test results are confirmed, the CDC said in a statement to Fox News.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Earlier this week, ten passengers reportedly exhibited flu-like symptoms on an Emirates flight that landed in New York from Dubai. The passengers were taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Additional reporting by Fox News Talia Kirkland.
A Ph.D. recipient who slammed Qantas Airways on social media for referring to her as Miss, instead of Doctor, is receiving major backlash on Twitter  a response she calls evidence of everyday sexism.

Dr. Siobhan ODwyer holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy, a title she said was overlooked intentionally by a flight attendant.

UNITED AIRLINES TO KEEP TOMATO JUICE ON IN-FLIGHT MENU AFTER TWITTER BACKLASH

Her response gathered nearly 9,000 likes and 4,500 comments, sparking a barrage of hateful tweets calling Dr. ODwyer egotistical and self-important.

Dr. ODwyer called the response a version of sexism that she often encounters.

BRITISH AIRWAYS PASSENGER BLASTS 'DISGRACEFUL' AIRLINE OVER NUTRI-GRAIN BREAKFAST BAR

Several agreed with ODwyer that this would not have happened if she was a man sharing their own experiences.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

The flight attendant was not named, and it was not reported if Dr. ODwyer spoke to the airline about the incident before sharing the tweet.

Dr. ODwyer refused Fox News' request for comment.
Tourists planning an impromptu picnic on the packed streets of the iconic Italian city of Florence can now be hit with fines of up to $580.

The city's mayor, Dario Nardella, introduced the measure after soaring tourism numbers, reportedly fueled by low-cost flights and Airbnb rentals, have left the narrow streets difficult to navigate for residents, who find tourists picnicking on precious pavement.

SEE IT: TOURISTS SKINNY-DIPPING IN HISTORIC ITALIAN FOUNTAIN SPARK OUTRAGE

The new rule is not aimed at tourism in general but at uneducated visitors who camp in the streets with their lunch, Nardella told The Times of London on Wednesday.

Nardella introduced the rule after a shopkeeper was beaten by Spanish tourists when he tried to stop them from picnicking at the entrance to his store.

Right now residents cannot get into their houses because of the tourists eating on their doorsteps," the mayor said.

STARBUCKS DEBUTS IN ITALY WITH PREMIUM BREWS, NOVELTY BAR

The restrictions apply during peak lunch and dinner times: 12 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m., and will remain in place for up to four months. In posters promoting the new rules, officials say it's forbidden to "eat any kind of food just stopping and staying on sidewalks, on doorsteps on shops and houses and on roadways."

You can walk while eating, but you cannot stop, a city spokesman told The Times.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

This is not the first time that the Italian city has taken action against visitors. Last year, Nardella told city workers to hose down popular tourist sites, such as the city's cathedrals, to discourage tourists from sitting and snacking, The Local reported at the time.

Other Italian cities have also cracked down on tourists misbehaving. Venice is warning tourists not to feed pigeons and to walk on the right while crossing canal bridges, according to The Times.
A former contractor who worked for NASA accessed nude photos of seven women off their computers, then threatened to post the photos on the Internet if the women refused to supply him with more explicit photos, according to a report.

Richard Gregory Bauer, 28, of Los Angeles, was arrested Wednesday and charged in a 14-count indictment with stalking, unauthorized access to a protected computer, and aggravated identity theft, the Orange County Register reported.

If convicted on all charges, Bauer could get 64 years in federal prison, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California.

Bauer contacted the women using aliases such as Steve Smith, John Smith, and Garret, the report said. In some of the communications, he would explain what he wanted to see in the new photos that he demanded.

(Y)ou do this and your nude photos stay private, he told one woman, according to the indictment, the Register reported.

In one instance, Bauer wrote to a woman and included a topless photo of her, authorities said, according to the Register.

Bauer was a contractor at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert, according to the U.S. Attorneys Los Angeles office, the Register reported.
Florence, the first major storm of this year's Atlantic hurricane season, was upgraded to a Category 4 storm Wednesday as forecasters warned it could cause "life-threatening" surf and rip current conditions in Bermuda later this week.

According to the National Hurricane Center, Florence's maximum sustained winds are estimated to be 130 miles per hour. The storm is centered about 1,295 miles east-southeast of Bermuda and is moving northwest at 13 mph.

Forecasters have said they expect Florence to weaken somewhat over the next couple of days, but the storm is predicted to remain a powerful hurricane through early next week.

The National Hurricane Center said that the swells generated by Florence would begin to affect Bermuda on Friday. There are no watches or warnings currently in effect for the U.S.

While Florence gathered pace in the Atlantic, the remains of Tropical Depression Gordon spread bands of heavy rain across parts of the South as it swirled over Mississippi.

Rain spun around the storm's center in the Jackson, Mississippi, area Wednesday afternoon. And bands swept up from the Gulf, dropping more rain on northwest Florida  where 10.48 inches already had fallen at Florida's Pensacola International Airport by Wednesday morning  through the center of Alabama and into Tennessee.

New Orleans, which had braced for severe flooding, was unscathed. And residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which expected a serious hit, were largely spared. A dozen casinos that shut down were allowed to reopen at noon Wednesday. Boaters and fishermen returned to marinas after having fled inland a day before.

Gordon never reached hurricane strength by the time it came ashore Tuesday night just west of the Mississippi-Alabama line. Its maximum sustained winds reached 70 mph. It knocked out power to at least 27,000 utility customers in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. By Wednesday afternoon the numbers were down to about 5,800 in Alabama, 3,000 in Mississippi and a little more than 2,000 in Florida.

What's left of Gordon is forecast to head northeast into Arkansas, which was forecast to get heavy rain from the system by Wednesday night. By Saturday, what's left of the storm was forecast to hook to the north, then northeast on a path toward the Great Lakes. National Weather Service offices in Missouri and Oklahoma said Gordon's remnants could add to the rain caused by a frontal boundary already causing heavy rains in parts of the Midwest. Flash flood watches stretched from the Florida panhandle, through parts of southwest Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Illinois.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Officials in Indiana have leveled charges against two adults accused of abusing children in their care.

The allegations against Timothy, 59, and Diane Combs, 55, came to light after a child made a recording of an instance of alleged abuse, which was ultimately shown to someone who called authorities, Fox 19 reported, citing officials.

When members of the Dearborn County Sheriffs Office responded in regards to the call, they discovered videos, photos and eight children  among which were the couples four foster children, three kids they were watching and one adopted disabled teen, WLWT reported.

WISCONSIN PARENTS ARRESTED AFTER TEEN SON DIES DURING RELIGIOUS FAST, POLICE SAY

The Combs were reportedly arrested on Friday.

"One of the foster children  gave some detailed descriptions on what she had witnessed, which was Diane Combs smacking one of the minors, who was a 6-year-old, in the face, kicking them in the face, kicking them in the leg," prosecuting attorney Lynn Deddens said, according to WLWT. "They also observed her husband Tim, smack another one of the kids across the face and grab the hair of another child."

The pair has fostered over 38 children throughout the past few years, Deddens said.

MOTHER ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH MURDER OF FLORIDA BOY JORDAN BELLIVEAU

The children were allegedly beaten and one was reprimanded by being forced to hold a soiled diaper in their mouth, WLWT reported.

"He was 6 years old. He was noted in the affidavit saying, When she's mean, we pee our pants at night; she let us do squats and we have diapers in our mouth -- pee diapers," Deddens said.

Both adults were hit with several charges, including aggravated battery and domestic battery, among others, Fox 19 reported.
A Michigan couple was sentenced Wednesday up to 40 years in prison, after being found guilty of beating their 3-year-old daughter to death while trying to potty-train her.

Erika Finley, 29, was sentenced to 15 to 40 years and 27-year-old Khairy Simon was sentenced to 12 to 40 years in the death of Kimora Simon.

Simon told a Genesee County judge in June that the 3-year-old girl died after her mother, Finley, hit her repeatedly with her fist and an extension cord, while trying to potty-train the child.

He said that he attempted to stop Finley, but that she was much bigger than him, and at the time, she felt like she had to get her point across.

Authorities say that the toddler was killed in 2015, but Finley continued to collect her welfare benefits after.

Finley earlier pleaded no contest to charges including second-degree murder, while Simon pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Officials have reportedly opted against filing charges against a Florida mother who was recorded on video repeatedly dunking her young sons head into a toilet and flushing.

The decision regarding the video of Kaitlyn Wolf came from the state attorney's office, WFTV reported.

The recording of Wolf giving her 3-year-old son a swirly began as a result of him saying a word he wasnt supposed to, she told Fox 35.

I was going to put soap in his mouth, but then he chased me around the house for 10 minutes," Wolf said. "By the time I caught him, I was like, 'Oh were just going to stick his head in the toilet,' like as a joke.

The Leesburg Police Department learned of a video depicting Wolf holding her 3-year-old child upside down and purposefully dunk the childs head into a toilet and quickly began investigating what they called a disturbing act in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

VIDEO OF FLORIDA MOM DUNKING 3-YEAR-OLDS HEAD IN TOILET PROMPTS POLICE INVESTIGATION

Amid their investigation, they said they discovered that the Department of Children and Families had already looked into the matter and found that it did not rise to the level of child abuse.

They ultimately sent the video to the State Attorneys Office in hopes of obtaining a warrant for the womans arrest, only to be told that they needed to gather additional information, police said.

The police department said they convened with the state attorney on Tuesday, once again seeking to obtain an arrest warrant.

A Child Forensic Interviewer interviewed the children. The Leesburg Police Department Detective Sergeant, a State Attorney and the Department of Children and Families investigator were present and witnessed the forensic interview, police said. The overall assessment documented by the Forensics Team listed positive findings of threatened harm of mental injury due to bizarre punishment.

$400G IN GOFUNDME CASH FOR HOMELESS VET IS GONE, LAWYER CLAIMS

However, it did not establish either physical abuse or neglect stemming from poor supervision, police said.

While we respect the decision from the State Attorney and the Forensic Team, this incident calls for continued intervention for the welfare of the children involved, police said.

Wolf reportedly claimed that the video was taken out of context and that her son was laughing and knew he wasnt being hurt.

If my son would have continued filming after, he was saying do it again, do it again. He was just asking us to do it again when I was in the shower. He knows he wasnt being hurt. We were just playing with him, Wolf told Fox 35.

Fox News Kathleen Joyce contributed to this report.
Nearly 200 protesters chanted outside a Chicago courthouse Wednesday as jury selection began in the first-degree murder trial of a white police officer accused of killing a black teenager.

Prospective jurors were given questionnaires to fill out. Though the documents were sealed, they likely were asked how closely they followed media coverage of the 2014 shooting and whether they had seen the dashcam video showing Officer Jason Van Dyke firing 16 shots at 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was holding a knife but apparently walking away from officers.

Van Dyke showed up to court about an hour before the scheduled start of a protest. He was wearing a bulletproof vest and surrounded by supporters including Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham.

A mix-up over seats kept members of McDonalds family out of the courtroom, which was packed with potential jurors and journalists. While McDonalds mother, Tina Hunter, made it inside, several others were shut out.

Outside, about a half dozen cops were stationed on the roof of the parking ramp across the street from the courthouse. Helicopters circled overhead while protesters banged drums and gave speeches.

Frank Chapman of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression told the Chicago Sun-Times that the crowd was there to demand justice for the slain teen.

The only way hes going to get justice is if Jason Van Dyke is convicted of the first-degree murder that he committed, Chapman said.

The case against Van Dyke has polarized much of Chicago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who announced this week he would not seek a third term, came under intense scrutiny for trying to block the release of the dashcam footage. He and his team of city attorneys released it only after a judge in 2015 ordered them to do so.

Van Dyke's attorney, Daniel Herbert, has claimed there's no way his client could get a fair trial, and he pointed the finger at Emanuel. When the mayor of the city in which the pool of jurors that we would draw from has taken such an adamant stance, it makes it extremely difficult for us to get a juror in here that is not predisposed to a finding of guilty.

Herbert added, We think that at the end of the day were going to present some very compelling evidence to demonstrate that its impossible for my client to get a fair trial in this case.

The grainy video showed McDonald walking down a Chicago street with a knife in his hand. As he walked across the street with his back turned away from officers, Van Dyke jumped out of his car, pulled his 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun and started shooting.

It took him 15 seconds to fire 16 shots, some of whom hit McDonald after he already was on the ground.

In the days that followed, many activists and community leaders accused the mayor and police department of trying to cover up the incident. The ill-will and mistrust between the community and the cops only grew after the dashcam video was released.

The police union claimed McDonald was holding a knife and approaching officers when he was gunned down. However, the graphic video showed McDonald veering away from officers.

The botched handling of the shooting also led to a scathing 2017 Justice Department report that claimed Chicago police routinely used excessive force, violated civil rights and demonstrated racial bias against blacks.

The investigation into the Chicago PD was one of the largest in the nation. The report also slammed the city and authorities for insufficient training and a failure to hold power-hungry officers accountable.

Former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told Fox News at the time that the Justice Department never interviewed him for its report. He suggested it was because "my narrative doesn't fit what they want to say. ... The politics is the strongest pull."

Eventually, Emanuel fired McCarthy.

2017: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FINDS EXCESSIVE FORCE USED BY CHICAGO POLICE

Also in 2017, three police officers were indicted on charges of conspiring to cover up the fatal shooting.

The indictment claimed the veteran cops tried conceal the true facts of the events surrounding the killing of Laquan McDonald.

Special prosecutor Patricia Holmes said in a statement that the indictment makes clear that these defendants did more than merely obey an unofficial code of silence. She claimed the officers lied about what took place to prevent independent criminal investigators from uncovering the truth.

The officers have pleaded not guilty. A bench trial has been scheduled for later this year.

Fox News' Mike Arroyo contributed to this report.
An Egyptian psychologist has suggested setting up psychological advice kiosks at Cairo metro stations, as a measure to combat the rising number of suicide attempts in the subway system.

On Wednesday, a teenage girl threw herself in front of an oncoming underground train in Cairo's Ezbet El-Nakhl station, the latest in a series of suicide incidents on the subway system in recent months. The young women survived but suffered several injuries, according to a metro spokesman.

Psychologist Ibrahim Magdy recommended on Wednesday that authorities set up a "venting kiosk" in a major metro station where specialists can provide psychological counselling to help dissuade people from committing suicide.

Speaking to Al-Nahar satellite TV channel, he said that the proposed service, which he expected would draw ridicule, could help vulnerable people among the four million daily commuters "find someone to listen to [them] and someone to talk to."

Magdy said the service could also be an office for handling citizens' complaints and grievances, especially those from government bodies or officials.

This is not the first time the idea of special metro booths has surfaced.

Last year, Islamic authority Al-Azhar opened a fatwa kiosk in the Cairo metro to offer religious advice to commuters, in what it said was an effort to counter extremism. The move received a flurry of criticism from secularists at the time who argued the subway was not the appropriate place for religious discourse.

The booth in Shohadaa subway station, one of Cairo's busiest underground stations, closed around two months later after the contract with an Islamic religious authority running it ended.

At least seven people attempted to commit suicide in the Cairo metro over the past four months, five of whom died.

Earlier this week, a 41-year-old man jumped in front of a moving subway train at the downtown Cairo station of Gamal Abdel-Nasser. The man survived but had one of his legs amputated.

Metro spokesman Ahmed Abdeh Hady has said the metro system incurs substantial losses after each suicide incident, apparently due to delays in the service, and that the network has mounted surveillance at platforms across all stations.

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President Donald Trump said terrorism, Syria and Yemen were among the topics of discussion during a White House meeting Wednesday with the emir of Kuwait.

Trump said Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah was a "very special friend" of his, while the 89-year-old Kuwaiti ruler said he was "very happy" to meet Trump for the third time in nearly a year.

The president said the U.S. and Kuwait practice "large-scale" trade and investment, and work together against terrorism. He declared Kuwait a "great partner" in that effort.

The emir said before the meeting that he and Trump would also discuss trade and investment, and cooperation on the military, energy and education.
One person is dead after a small plane crashed near an airport south of Las Vegas Wednesday, authorities said.

The single engine aircraft went down near Interstate 15 close to Jean Airport, about 30 miles south of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

The Clark County Fire Department responded to the crash, which occurred around 9:20 p.m. local time, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. First responders confirmed one fatality.

"I saw a big fire bomb and explosion," witness Dave Platzer told FOX5 Las Vegas. "I saw the fire and policeman going over there searching for survivors. It just looked like a small airplane crash."

It wasn't immediately clear where the plane had taken off from or where it was going.

Northbound lanes of Interstate 15 were closed as part of the crash response, but were expected to reopen shortly, police told the station.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
At least three people were killed and two others were injured Thursday after a gunman opened fire at a bank's headquarters in downtown Cincinnati, officials said.

The gunman opened fire at the loading dock and lobby area of the Fifth Third Center in the city's Fountain Square around 9:10 a.m., Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said in a news conference.

The gunman, who has not been identified, was killed after he exchanged gunfire with three to four police officers. One person died at the scene.

One person wounded was said to be in serious condition while the other is in critical.

"[The gunman] was actively shooting at innocent victims, it appears, and our officers were able to kill him and stop the threat," Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said.

Cranley noted the building, which is the corporate headquarters of the Fifth Third Bank, also houses popular ice cream, sandwich and pastry shops. He added that the shooting "could have been much, much worse" if not for the immediate police response to end the threat.

Isaac said there is no additional threat in the area and praised officers for their quick response. No officers were injured in the incident.

'ACTIVE SHOOTER' VIDEO GAME PROMPTS OUTRAGE IN WAKE OF MASS SHOOTINGS

Authorities were called to the scene in Fountain Square for an "active shooter" situation. Videos and photos taken from witnesses showed multiple patrol cars at the scene. One photo showed a bloodied man being taken away on a stretcher.

A manager at Fifth Third Bank told FOX19 the shooting left employees a bit rattled.

"We did hear a gun shooting from the 29th floor. We could quickly see there was a large police presence and could see them blocking Fountain Square. We knew immediately something was wrong. We're a bit rattled," the manager said.

A witness told the news station that he thought there was a movie being filmed until he saw a women with a gunshot wound being taken away.

Another man who witnessed the shooting said: We heard two popsand then we saw people running so we just started running around the corner and we kind of just stood there.

Michael Richardson, who works inside the building, said he saw the gunman inside the building lobby.

I looked behind me and saw the guy  he shot and then he shot again. After that, I started running. I went around to the north side of the building and sat down, he told the Cincinnati Enquirer, adding that he witnessed a police officer dragging a woman out of the lobby.

FBI Cincinnati previously said agents responded to the scene and are assisting police with the situation.

Fifth Third Bank issued a statement on the deadly shooting, saying its "thoughts and prayers are with everyone caught up in this terrible event."

"Earlier today, an active shooter entered our headquarters building in downtown Cincinnati. The situation is contained and the shooter is no longer a threat. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone caught up in this terrible event," the company said.

"We continue to work with law enforcement as we ensure the safety of our employees and customers. We are grateful for the support and concerns from our neighbors throughout Cincinnati and the country," the statement continued.

TORONTO SHOOTING RAMPAGE LEAVES 2 DEAD, 13 HURT; GUNMAN DEAD AFTER FIRING INTO RESTAURANTS

Ohio Gov. John Kasich called the shooting senseless and commended officials swift response.

There was a senseless act of gun violence on the streets of Cincinnati this morning. Ive spoken with the Mayor and informed him the state will provide any necessary resources to the local police, Kasich said. I commend the law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel who swiftly responded to the scene and share my deepest sympathies with the innocent victims of this violent attack.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Immigration enforcement agents and state criminal investigators on Thursday visited the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the county sheriff's office spent two hours at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa, on Thursday morning. They appeared to be looking around the property and talking to workers.

Yarrabee Farms said that it is cooperating with federal authorities who had asked to visit the farm. The company confirmed in a statement that investigators met with employees and owners for two hours, but it said it could provide no additional details due to an ongoing investigation.

Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt that his agency's officers were on the scene assisting investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, who took the lead. Mortvedt said that means the activity was focused on federal law and not the homicide case, which his agency is leading. An ICE spokesman declined comment.

The visit came one day after The Associated Press reported that the suspect in Tibbetts' death, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, worked at the farm for years under a false identity, John Budd.

Rivera was arrested and charged with first-degree murder last month in the stabbing death of Tibbetts, 20, who vanished while out for a run in Brooklyn on July 18. Investigators say Rivera, a 24-year-old native of Mexico who came to the U.S. during his teenage years, was in the U.S. illegally and is subject to deportation proceedings.

The farm has said that at least a couple of its roughly dozen employees left the area following Rivera's arrest, which sent fear through the immigrant community. The dairy, which has about 800 cows and is owned by a prominent family with Republican Party ties, says it received dozens of angry phone calls and some death threats.

Rivera, 24, worked there for roughly four years and lived in one of its trailers for free. The farm has said that about half of its workers live in provided housing.

Farm managers have said Rivera presented an out-of-state identification and a Social Security number when he was hired in 2014, and that they were unaware of his true identity until his Aug. 21 arrest. The company did not use the government's voluntary E-Verify system to check his identity and eligibility to work, although it's unclear whether that would have made a difference.
New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has subpoenaed all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state as part of an investigation into the handling of sexual abuse allegations, a law enforcement source told The Associated Press on Thursday

The subpoenas seek documents relating to abuse allegations, payments to victims and findings from internal church investigations. Underwood's office is pursuing a civil investigation into the church's response to abuse reports, and has also reached out to local prosecutors authorized to convene grand juries or pursue criminal investigations.

FORMER VATICAN DIPLOMAT CALLS FOR POPE FRANCIS TO RESIGN, CLAIMS HE IGNORED SEX ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

The subpoenas were issued to the Archdiocese of New York in New York City, as well as dioceses in Albany, Brooklyn, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Ogdensburg and Rockville Centre.

"The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover-ups in the dioceses," Underwood said in a statement. "Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well -- and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve."

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said he would create a task force to probe sexual abuse by clergy members in dioceses in the state, NBC 4 New York reported.

Church officials said they would cooperate.

The announcement comes three weeks after a grand jury investigation found evidence there has been rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by some 300 priests in Pennsylvania. The report said bishops and other top church officials tried to contain the public outcry and liability by covering up the crimes, which Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro claimed "went all the way to the Vatican." Following the report, Pope Francis faced calls to step down.

POPE FRANCIS FACING CALLS TO RESIGN; SEXUAL ABUSE SCANDAL EXPOSES RIFTS IN THE VATICAN

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano wrote an 11-page paper claiming Francis was complicit in a nearly two-decade cover-up of sexual misconduct allegations against ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Pope Francis must be the first to set a good example for cardinals and bishops who covered up McCarricks abuses and resign along with all of them, he wrote.



Fox News' Elizabeth Llorente and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man accused of being an assassin for a cartel was extradited from Mexico to New Mexico in connection with a 2008 slaying in which a burned body was left on a desert mesa in the state, authorities said.

Jaime Veleta Jr., 35, was recently brought to the U.S. for his role in the death of Danny Baca, who was shot 22 times with a semi-automatic assault rifle and whose burnt body was left on Pajarito Mesa south of Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

Baca, 53, worked for the Juarez cartel smuggling marijuana and cocaine from the Mexico border city of Juarez to El Paso, Texas, in hidden compartments in a Ford Mustang, officials say.

He is suspected of keeping some marijuana for himself and selling it for around $7,000, angering cartel leaders.

With Baca's killing, the Juarez cartel sought to send a message about drug rip-offs, police say.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said he was "confident this dangerous fugitive will be brought to justice for the Baca family."

Veleta faces charges of murder, kidnapping, aggravated burglary, tampering and conspiracy. Court records do not say whether he has an attorney.

Three people suspected of being accomplices in the Baca killing also have been arrested.

Among them was Veleta's cousin, Mario Talavera, 35, a U.S. citizen who was tracked down by U.S. marshals and arrested by police in in the Mexican state of Chihuahua in 2015 and deported to New Mexico to face kidnapping and murder charges, according to the Albuquerque Journal .

Talavera pleaded guilty in 2016 to second-degree murder and kidnapping involving Baca.

___

This story corrects a previous version to say Pajarito Mesa is south of Albuquerque.
The body of a 19-year-old woman who had been missing for a month was found this week in the desert outside Phoenix, authorities said Wednesday.

Kiera Lanae Bergmans body was discovered Monday afternoon near State Route 85 in Buckeye, the Phoenix Police Department said. Bergman, who was last seen leaving her apartment Aug. 4, was found about 45 minutes west of her home, Phoenixs KPHO-TV reported.

"Right now, we're just waiting for them to release the body, Bergmans father, Chris Bragg, told the Arizona Republic. They are waiting for some specialist to come in. Once they release her, we will pick her up and bring her home."

Police told the paper that this is an active homicide investigation and didnt say whether any suspects had been identified. Police did not release details on how Bergman died or how long her body was in the desert.

An autopsy was to be performed by the medical examiner, police said.

Family and friends of Bergman wrote condolences on social media. One read: My sunshine is gone."

The day Bergman went missing, she had sent a text message to her roommate and best friend, Destiny Hall-Chand, saying she was meeting up with some guy she met at a store, KPHO reported.

Hall-Chand told the station the text seemed strange and out of character for Bergman.

The woman, who was originally from San Diego, had moved to Phoenix in March to be with her boyfriend, Jon Clark. During a vigil Aug. 11, family members told the Arizona Republic that Bergman had later broken up with her boyfriend and moved in with Hall-Chand.

Clark, 23, was arrested during the police investigation on unrelated charges, FOX10 Phoenix reported. A search warrant on the car he shared with Bergman turned up evidence of identity theft and forgery, according to reports.

Clark remained in jail on $25,000 bond, KPHO reported.

The investigation into Bergmans death is ongoing, Phoenix police said.

Authorities asked that anyone with information regarding the case call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

Fox News' Travis Fedschun contributed to this report.
An Illinois judge slapped a $2,000 fine on Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke for violating a gag order and giving interviews to the media right before jury selection was set to begin in his first-degree murder trial.

Special prosecutor Joseph McMahon had asked that Van Dykes $150,000 cash bond be revoked or increased as punishment for the interviews conducted to show a softer, gentler side of the white police officer accused of brutally gunning down black teenager Laquan McDonald.

Van Dyke gave a 40-minute interview to the Chicago Tribune on Aug. 28. During the meeting, he purportedly expressed his fear of going to prison. Van Dyke did an on-camera interview with a local Fox affiliate the following day.

CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER BELIEVES LAQUAN MCDONALD MURDER CHARGE IS POLITICAL: 'I'M NOT A RACIST'

Jury selection began Wednesday in the Van Dyke trial. He is accused of unloading 16 bullets into the 17-year-old.

The case has polarized the city, fueled animosity toward the police, led to an investigation that accused three other officers of covering up the incident and permanently cast a shadow on outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuels legacy.

Grainy dash cam video shows McDonald walking down a Chicago street with a knife in his hand. As he walks across the street with his back turned away from officers, Van Dyke jumps out of his car, pulls his 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun and starts shooting. It takes him 15 seconds to fire 16 shots, some of whom hit McDonald after he already was on the ground.

TRIAL OF JASON VAN DYKE, CHICAGO OFFICER ACCUSED OF MURDERING LAQUAN MCDONALD, BEGINS WITH JURY SELECTION

The police union claimed McDonald was holding a knife and approaching officers when he was gunned down. The graphic video refutes the narrative and shows McDonald veering away from officers.

The botched handling of the shooting also led to a scathing 2017 Justice Department report that claimed Chicago police routinely used excessive force, violated civil rights and demonstrated racial bias against blacks.
What's left of Gordon will continue enhance rainfall across the Mississippi River Valley and Midwest over the next several days. Flood watches and warnings are in effect.



Hurricane Florence is moving northwestward, and will be something to watch over the next week or so.

We are still days out from being able to pin down where the storm will go, but Bermuda will need to monitor Florence Tuesday-Wednesday of next week.

It is way too early to rule out U.S. impacts late next week, as Florence could easily recurve back out to sea or have more direct impacts along the East Coast.

In the Pacific, Hawaii is watching Hurricane Norman and Olivia. Olivia may have more direct impacts next week.

Meanwhile, hot temperatures and humidity will hang around for another day across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.

A cold front will bring showers and much cooler weather to these regions tonight into Friday.


An inmate inside a Florida prison offered a fellow inmate, a neo-Nazi, $9,000 to murder a family of five who were involved in his sexual battery case involving a 9-year-old girl, authorities say.

Pasco County Sheriffs Office said it received a tip from the Land O Lakes Detention Center on August 22 from a neo-Nazi inmate who said Billy Warren Pierce, Jr. approached him asking him to commit mass murder.

The inmate told officials that Pierce, 44, believed he was capable of the killings because he was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, FOX 4 Now reported.

Pierce, who is awaiting trial for a 2017 charge of sexual assault of the 9-year-old, told the would-be murderer that he knew his victim and her family well and provided him with their address and description, police say. He also told the inmate where the family worked and hung out, how to enter their house and what cars they drove, authorities said.

He also told the inmate that family members never locked their garage door and that there was a dog door at the house he could crawl through, deputies said.

He could break the gas line and enter it into a window so the gas leaks into the house, the arrest affidavit said.

Last week, deputies said they captured audio recordings of Pierce soliciting the other inmate to commit the murders and even signing a contract.

When Pierce was arrested for solicitation to commit murder, he reportedly told deputies: But I havent paid him any money yet.
A high-level delegation from Boeing International meets with leaders of the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University to explore opportunities for joint cooperation.

A high-level delegation from Boeing International met with the leaders of the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams University to explore opportunities for joint cooperation in the fields of innovation, creativity, research projects and entrepreneurship, as well as developing scientific and applied skills of university students.

The delegation of Boeing International visited the Faculty of Engineering at Ain Shams and met with Dr. Ayman Ashour, Dean of the University, Dr. Omar El Hosseiny Vice-Dean for Community and Environmental Affairs and Dr. Magued Ghoneimah, Director of the Innovation Center, as well as the heads of the various departments at the university, during which he reviewed the training, innovation, research and environmental service activities carried out by the university in general, in line with Boeing's expertise.

Boeing's global delegation included Roula Droubi, Regional Head of Government, Industry and Social Relations in the Middle East and North Africa, Juan Carlos Campbell, Boeing Middle East Research and Technology Director, and Abigail Dunberg, International Relations Officer.

During the meeting, Dr. Ayman Ashour, Dean of Ain Shams University, emphasized the Universitys vision for 2030, which includes the merger initiative launched by the Faculty of Engineering last May under the patronage of the Prime Minister, with the aim of linking higher education and scientific research with the engineering industry.

During the meeting, Dr. Omar El Hosseiny also presented the themes of the FUSION initiative to be carried out by the Faculty of Engineering, in order to link education and scientific research in the industry. The initiative is in line with the State's plan to improve the quality of university education, its positive impact on the advancement of national industries and ability to foster generations invested in furthering innovation and development.

Dr. Ayman Ashour pointed out that the visit of Boeing delegation as one of the world's leading aviation and aerospace companies to the Faculty of Engineering confirms the leadership and prestige of the faculty across engineering fields.

Roula Droubi, Regional Head of Corporate, Industrial and Social Relations in the Middle East and North Africa, presented Boeing's key business activities and interests in the Middle East and its plans to support innovation and equip students for the job market, entrepreneurship and research in all areas of technology.

During the visit, the Boeing delegation expressed its admiration for the various activities of the university, which proved its ability to produce generations that meet the requirements of the aviation industry inside and outside Egypt. They also praised the role of the university in supporting the innovations of young people.

At the end of the meeting, Dr. Ayman Ashour presented the Boeing International delegation with the university shield in recognition for their efforts and their visit to the Ain Shams University.





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A Catholic school in Louisiana and the Archdiocese of New Orleans have moved a lawsuit regarding the school's policy forbidding hair extensions to federal court.

The New Orleans Advocate reports attorneys for the Christ the King Parish School and archdiocese say federal court is the proper venue for a case alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit by the families of two black students at the school say the policy is discriminatory because it blocked the girls from attending class. The school says it has since rescinded the policy. It's unclear if the girls have returned to the school.

The newspaper says this is a common legal move and that the families could request the case return to state court.

A hearing is set for Sept. 18.

___

Information from: The New Orleans Advocate, http://www.neworleansadvocate.com
A Hawaii man was found dead in a river nearly two weeks after he allegedly committed sexual assault against children he had been babysitting, authorities said Tuesday.



Jesse Puaa, 43, was asked to watch the children by their father on Aug. 18, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. The children later told their father they were sexually assaulted, the report said.

Puaa was the subject of an Aug. 22 alert by CrimeStoppers, a nonprofit partnership between city police and community leaders, the paper reported. He was wanted on suspicion of first-degree assault and two counts of third-degree sexual assault, the alert said.

Police told the paper that Puaas body was found floating in a river in Laie, about 33 miles north of Honolulu, last Friday.

An autopsy was being conducted to determine Puaas cause of death, authorities said.

Click here for more from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
The two-year-old girl who was shot in an Indiana home on Tuesday died after she was stabilized in critical condition, reports said.

The toddler was rushed to a hospital in Gary, Ind., about 30 miles southeast of Chicago. She died after being transferred to Comer Childrens Hospital at the University of Chicago, ABC 7 Chicago reported.

The girl was identified as Jayla Miller. Her mother, 22, and her mothers boyfriend, 39, were reportedly questioned by police. The boyfriend is reportedly being held.

"We are not too sure. It is either self-inflicted. It's accidental or it is an intentional shooting," authorities said, according to the report.

The shooting occurred at around 6:51 p.m. local time, police said.

Neighbor Marethia Burnett told NBC Chicago that she's seen too many shootings in the area.

Its just sad. Its just really sad," she said. "I just feel for the family. The mother of this baby."

Fox News' Amy Lieu contributed to this report
An Israeli teen visiting Yosemite National Park fell to his death Wednesday while trying to take a selfie, a report said.

Tomer Frankfurter, 18, a resident of Jerusalem, had been on a two-month trip to the United States when he died, according to Israeli news reports. He apparently died after plunging more than 800 feet after he slipped off a cliff, The San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Frankfurters mother confirmed her sons death with Israelis Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Times of Israel reported.

The ministry said Wednesday that the teens body was being brought back to Israel for burial.

Yosemite National Park is no stranger to rock climbing-related deaths.

In June, two climbers died while scaling Yosemites iconic El Capitan rock formation while simu-climbing, a technique where climbers move simultaneously while tied to the same rope.

Another hiker died in May while climbing the picturesque Half Dome peak above Yosemite Valley.
The Millenium Tower, the tallest residential building in San Francisco, has been sinking and tilting. Now it has a large crack in a window on its 36th floor, according to reports.

The crack, discovered last Saturday, is just the latest problem for the skyscraper, which has sunk about 18 inches and tilted more than a foot since its 2009 completion, the Bay Area's FOX 2 KTVU reported.

Aaron Peskin, who represents District 3 on the city's Board of Supervisors, said he asked the city's Building Inspection Department to consider closing the sidewalks below the cracked window, as a safety precaution, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"If a window failed entirely it would rain shards of glass hundreds of feet below down onto one of the busiest, most congested parts of the city," Peskin told the paper.

"If a window failed entirely it would rain shards of glass hundreds of feet below down onto one of the busiest, most congested parts of the city."  Aaron Peskin, member of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors

When you have a window at the 36th floor that cracks in the middle of the night that is a big wake-up call," Peskin told NBC Bay Area. He has held hearings into why the tower has been sinking "so dramatically," the report said.

City officials blocked off part of the sidewalk as a precaution, but said it doesnt appear the cracked window is a safety issue to those on the ground, the station reported.

Residents have filed multiple lawsuits against the developer of the 58-story building, known as the "Leaning Tower of San Francisco," according to the report.

Homeowners Association attorney Tom Miller told FOX 2 that their engineer said the crack is a "one-off issue" right now.

"So, one crack, no big deal. But, if more start showing up, potential major deal. So, if we see a pattern, then it becomes a systemic problem we then have to address it on all units," Miller said.
The Latest on law enforcement activity taking place at the Iowa dairy farm that employed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts (all times local)

11:20 a.m.

Immigration enforcement agents have visited the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, and the county sheriff's office spent two hours at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa on Thursday morning.

Yarrabee Farms said in a statement that federal authorities had asked to visit the farm Thursday. The company says agents met with employees and owners. The company says it's cooperating with investigators. It says it can't provide additional details because the investigation is ongoing.

Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spokesman Mitch Mortvedt said that his agency's officers were on the scene assisting investigators from the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, who took the lead.

___

10:25 a.m.

Federal, state and local agents are at the Iowa dairy farm that employed and housed the man charged with killing college student Mollie Tibbetts.

Agents from the Poweshiek County sheriff's office, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and federal agencies were seen Thursday morning at Yarrabee Farms in Brooklyn, Iowa. They appeared to be looking around the property and talking to workers.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the agents were investigating the cattle farm's employment practices, the slaying of the University of Iowa student, or both.

Authorities had no immediate response to inquiries.

The activity comes one day after The Associated Press reported that the suspect in Tibbetts' death, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, worked at the farm using the name John Budd.
A man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend was found dead in his Maryland jail cell on Thursday, the day his trial's opening statements were scheduled to begin.

Tyler Tessier, 33, apparently hanged himself early Thursday at Montgomery County Correctional Facility, jail officials said in a statement.

Tessier showered to prepare for court before returning to his cell, where an officer found him, the statement said. Tessier had been in protective custody.

Tessier pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the shooting death of Laura Wallen, a school teacher whose body was found in a shallow grave after she went missing last September. His trial in a Montgomery County courtroom was scheduled to start Thursday.

Tessier's attorney, Allen Wolf, has said his client has "made mistakes in his personal life" but "cared deeply" about Wallen and never would have harmed her.

A medical examiner determined Wallen's fetus was around 14 weeks old when she died.

Court documents said Tessier was engaged to another woman at the time of Wallen's killing. Wallen's family reported her missing after she didn't show up for the first day of school.

Authorities said Tessier gave conflicting statements to detectives in the days after her disappearance. Before his arrest, he joined Wallen's parents at a news conference where they announced a $25,000 reward for information on her whereabouts.

Tessier held the parents' hands, and cried through a brief statement. A police official said Tessler's participation in the news conference, done with the parents' approval, had been part of a police plan to see how he would react and what he would say.

Wallen's father later called Tessier a "monster" and a liar.

Police have said Tessier was Wallen's longtime on-again, off-again boyfriend, the Washington Post reported. Detectives became increasingly suspicious of Tessier after learning he was engaged to another woman, according to the newspaper.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said Tessier's relationships and his double life were on the verge of collapsing at the time of the killing.

"We were robbed this morning of the opportunity to know the true nature and details of this crime which would have been set out" at trial, McCarthy said at a news conference Thursday.

Wallen's mother, Gwen, called Tessier a "diabolical human" and said she had been dreading the start of the trial.

"As awful as today is, I feel at peace," she said Thursday.

WTOP-FM reported that McCarthy said Tessier left behind notes indicating that he had been contemplating suicide. He wouldn't elaborate, citing the ongoing death investigation.

___

Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com
A Massachusetts man faces murder charges after he fatally stabbed his cousins wife and her three children, then lied to police that the four were killed by MS-13 gang members, officials said.

DNA evidence eventually linked him to the murders, investigators said.

Mathew Locke appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder, the Boston Herald reported. The 32-year-old man is accused of killing Sara Bermudez and her three children  Madison, 8; James, 6; and Michael, 2  in the familys West Brookfield home on Feb. 28. Bermudezs husband, Moses, who is the father of the children, was in California at the time of the slaying.

Im glad we have some sense of closure, Bermudez told reporters outside the court. I never thought anything like this could happen to my family. I wish things were different.

A relative called police on March 1 to report the 38-year-old woman and three children were dead in the home. Officers arrived at the scene and found them bleeding from stab wounds. The room also reeked of smoke and the walls had burnt marks, the Boston Herald reported.

In the weeks following their deaths, Locke denied being in Bermudezs home and voluntarily provided investigators with a DNA sample. He also told police his cousin implied that MS-13 gang members were responsible for the murders.

Police discovered several statements that Locke made were false. Investigators found that Lockes car was spotted near the home the day the four were killed. The vicious gang was also not involved their deaths, police said.

Locke was arrested in March on charges of misleading police.

Investigators received confirmation on March 23 that Lockes DNA matched those found on a disrobed portion of one of the dead childrens bodies.

The motive of the slayings has not been released.

Locke is being held without bail.
A man wanted for murder in Mexico reportedly was taken into custody on Wednesday in South Carolina after being in the U.S. illegally.

Jorge Cruz-Antonio, 31, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals with the Operation Intercept Task Force in North Charleston, The Post and Courier reported.

Cruz-Antonio was reportedly wanted for murder and grand theft auto in Mexicali, Baja California.

Authorities said that a hit on a Honda vehicle with a Virginia license plate associated with the suspect led them to an apartment complex. U.S. Marshals, along with other agencies, approached Cruz-Antonio, but he fled on foot. He was caught a short time later.

Online Charleston County jail records indicate Cruz-Antonio is being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for illegal entry into the U.S.
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti said that preparations were underway to deal with floods, in coordination with governors.



The flood operations room is under the prime minister, and there is a 24/7 follow-up via an early warning system. It has been established in anticipation of rainfall, and water courses are being closely monitored.



In statements to MENA on Thursday, Abdel Atti said his ministry seeks to reduce the risks of floods, adding that he inspected a number of the water catchments in Behira governorate in given the potential floods in rain season.



Behira Governor Hisham Amna stressed that those who throw waste in the Nile River would be punished, noting that 150 violations were reported during one day.



Abdel Atti and Amna held a meeting to probe the efficiency of the current system, including raising awareness among citizens to avoid polluting the Nile.





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An Ohio school resource officer was placed on unpaid leave after activating a Taser to wake a sleeping student.

The Smithville Police Department said Officer Maryssa Boskoski, 32, was called to a classroom at the Liberty Preparatory School in Smithville on Aug. 30 to help wake a sleeping student. A teacher and the interim principal failed to stir the male student, who is a junior at the school.

Chief Howard Funk said Boskoski removed the cartridge from the Taser and arced it. Authorities said the sparking sound and noise from other students woke the napping student.

OHIO OFFICER FORCED TO SHOOT K9 PARTNER DURING ATTACK

Jenna Parnell, the school's interim principal, said she was stunned by the incident. She said Boskoski did not give a warning before activating the Taser.

"I was a little surprised by it. Our interest is in the safety of our students so hearing that go off was a little alarming," Parnell told FOX 4 Now.

No probes were deployed and the teen was not injured.

OHIO POLICE CHIEF FATALLY OVERDOSED ON DRUGS TAKEN FROM EVIDENCE ROOM, INVESTIGATORS SAY

Funk said he will meet with the Smithville solicitor to determine if any charges should be filed against the officer. He said Boskoski violated the use of the Taser policy and the incident could jeopardize her job.

"It's unfortunate and I'm disappointed that this took place. It's something I would not have expected from any of our officers," Funk said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The criminal history of the Parkland school shooting suspects biological mother could be a key factor in whether he is sentenced to death for the massacre that left 17 people dead, a report stated.

Brenda Woodard, 62, who played no role in Nikolas Cruzs upbringing after giving him up for adoption after he was born, was identified by the Miami Herald as his birth mother.

The media outlet reported Woodard had been arrested 28 times and struggled with addiction. She was arrested when she was pregnant with Cruz after purchasing crack cocaine.

The Herald reported her past will almost certainly be brought up before a jury considering whether he should live or die. Woodard declined to speak to the Herald regarding the article.

Cruzs half-sister, Danielle Woodard, 31, is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence on charges including the second-degree attempted murder of a police officer, the Herald reported. She was charged twice for bringing weapons to school and was previously arrested 17 times. She is scheduled for release in 2020.

Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein confirmed the identity of Cruzs birth mother and half-sister to Fox News.

Out of respect for the families we do not want to comment at this time. This is an awful case and there is more awfulness yet to come, Finkelstein told Fox News. It is why we believe it is in the best interest of the families and the community to end this case immediately with a guilty plea to 34 consecutive life sentences and avoid the additional pain and hurt that will come if we take the two decade march toward the death penalty. Lock him up forever. Throw away the key and never speak his name."

PARKLAND SUSPECT NIKOLAS CRUZ TOLD POLICE A VOICE ORDERED HIM TO BURN, KILL, DESTROY

Criminal law experts said it was possible the Broward Public Defenders Office would probe Cruzs genetic makeup and his birth mother may be called to testify during the sentencing phase.

Of course, this would be of interest to me, Bennett Brummer, a retired public defender, said. The question would be how would I use it."

David S. Weinstein, a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice told the Associated Press: "It is not necessarily her past, but how her past contributed to his genetic makeup.

"Her use of drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him, and how her genetic makeup was passed on to him."

The American Bar Association guidelines for defense lawyers in death penalty cases say they should closely examine all the defendant's past family, going back at least three generations.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the chairman of a state commission investigating the shooting separate from the prosecution, said Wednesday that all of Cruz's background is relevant.

"If information has come to light about his biological mother and there is some relevance there, of course we will take a look at it," Gualtieri said. "We are looking heavily at his background and his whole life."

The suspects younger brother, Zachary, who was also adopted by Lynda Cruz, declined to speak to the Miami Herald regarding the story. He and his brother Nikolas share the same biological mother, Finkelstein confirmed to Fox News. His caretaker, Mike Donovan, CEO of Nexus Services, told Fox News that Zachary is proof positive that genetics do not dictate one path in life.

NIKOLAS CRUZS BROTHER SENTENCED TO TIME SERVED, PROBATION IN SCHOOL TRESPASSING ARREST

Donovan offered to provide Zachary housing and a job in Virginia as part of a probation agreement a Broward County judge agreed to when Zachary was arrested for trespassing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting in March. He was also arrested in April for violating his probation and driving without a valid license. In June, Zachary launched an anti-bullying initiative We Isolate No One.

The Miami Herald contacted Zach for comment regarding this story. Zach decided to not participate in the interview about the matter. We assume the Heralds reporting is correct, but we arent able to independently confirm her identity, Donovan told Fox News.

Any information about Nikolas Cruz is probably helpful in the community quest for information and understanding. That being said, Zachary is proof positive that genetics do not dictate one path in life. In fact, Zachary is an inspiration to anyone who has suffered much and overcome challenges, he continued.

I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to have your personal life play out in the national media. However, Zachary Cruz is an incredibly strong, resilient young man and he has a strong family support system in Virginia now to see him through it. Zach is obviously processing this information as it is being shared with the public, and this would be difficult for anyone especially a teenager. However, he does have a strong family support system in Virginia to see him through it, the statement continued.

Cruz, 19, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at the school. His lawyers said he will plead guilty if spared the death penalty, but prosecutors have refused that offer. If the case goes to the death penalty phase, all 12 jurors must agree on capital punishment or Cruz will get an automatic life prison sentence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Staffing shortages at the lead agency used to mount rapid aerial attacks on California's deadly wildfires mean that air tankers used to fight the flames have been grounded.

Cal Fire officials say that pilot ranks have been thinned recently due to a combination of retirements, private companies poaching talent, and the need to rest after extended fire seasons, causing the agency to rework how they stage crews to attack fires from air.

We are doing our best to consider the mission of the department in this as well as the needs of our pilots, Cal Fire Chief of Flight Operations Dennis Brown told The Sacramento Bee.

After fighting the largest recorded blaze in state history last month, a new explosive fire erupted on Wednesday. The Delta Fire has closed dozens of miles of Interstate 5 near the Oregon state line, causing trucks to abandon their vehicles as the blaze roared up hillsides.

A nearby fire in the Redding area, the Carr Fire burned some 1,100 homes and killed eight people last month before only being fully contained last week.

Cal Fires air operation is contracted to a private company, DynCorp, which maintains the fleet of air tankers and provides pilots for them.

Currently, pilots are on a six day on, one day off schedule, which worked well when pilots used to have long winter breaks to recharge, according to FOX40. But now, breaks are limited as fire season stretches throughout the year, with physical stress and burnout are a concern.

We are definitely not out of any season, its now a year round operation, Cal Fire Deputy Director Mike Mohler told FOX40.

ABANDONED TRUCKS LITTER CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY AS WILDFIRE RAGES

During an emergency, Cal Fire can call on private companies and federal aircraft for assistance, but that still leaves the agencys planes grounded.

Records obtained by the Bee showed that an average of four of the states 23 tankers were grounded last month because of no pilot availability.

Officials said that on average half of the tanker pilot trainee classes do not finish. Mohler told FOX40 that the job typically requires pilots with a very specific skill set.

CARR FIRE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA NOW FULLY CONTAINED, FIRE OFFICIALS SAY

Mohler stressed to FOX40 that Cal Fire has the support of U.S Forestrys air tankers to compensate for grounded aircraft, and that private air tankers will be booked for exclusive Cal Fire use.

They are ours, we move them across the state on a daily basis depending on where the responses are, he told FOX40 Please understand that there hasnt been an impact to our aerial operation. The aircraft regardless if it`s helicopter or fixed wing, we`ll be over that fire when you call 911 just like it was before.

Besides working to grow the fleet of pilots, Cal Fire is phasing in new equipment to better prepare the agency to fight future blazes. The agency will soon begin passing in new Blackhawk helicopters to replace aging Vietnam-era Huey helicopters, and is getting retrofitted C-130s. There are also plans to update the schedule for air crews taking into account the longer firefighting season.

To stay competitive and also as a matter of safety, we cant work these people year-round at these rates, Brown told the Sacramento Bee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis held long-delayed talks Thursday with top Indian officials, looking to shore up the alliance with one of Washington's top regional partners.

The so-called "2+2" talks were scheduled to last just a few hours and focus on strategic and security topics. They came amid a series of divisive issues, including Washington's demands that India stop buying Iranian oil and a Russian air-defense system and news reports that President Donald Trump has privately mimicked the accent of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

But with trade and strategic ties growing quickly between the U.S. and India, both countries have been keen to downplay potential diplomatic troubles.

"Freedom means that at times nations don't agree with each other," Mattis told reporters on his way to India, when asked about India's plans to buy a sophisticated Russian air-defense system. "That doesn't mean we can't be partners. That doesn't mean we don't respect the sovereignty of those nations."

The India-U.S. "2+2" talks  called that because they include the top diplomatic and defense officials of both countries  have been postponed twice, the last time when Pompeo was dispatched in July for talks in North Korea.

Pompeo and India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met separately Thursday before joining top defense officials for talks.

"India attaches the highest priority to its strategic partnership with the United States. We see that the United States is our partner of choice," Swaraj said in her opening remarks.

Pompeo said the U.S. values its relationship with India, and noted "we fully support India's rise."

Mattis and Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sithataman also met separately before joining the other two leaders for talks.

Sitharaman in her opening remarks said that defense cooperation established itself as one of the most significant dimensions of the countries' relationship.

"We have acquired various advanced defense platforms from the U.S. We are thus partners in building defense capability in the broadest sense of the term," she said.

She also said the two countries were putting in place a framework for closer cooperation between their militaries and defense establishments. She invited U.S. companies to become active partners in India's efforts to promote local defense industry.

"Today our partnership has become one of the most consequential in the region and in the world," Mattis said.

The U.S. and India, he said, already have the foundation in their commitment to "a safe, secure prosperous and free Indo-Pacific region where sovereignty of all nations is respected, international norms are upheld, disputes are resolved peacefully and nations freely transit international waters and airspace."

He recalled Modi's words that nations should be free from impossible debt burdens caused by others.

There are sticking points, however, including the purchase of the Russian S-400 ground-to-air missile system, which could trigger U.S. sanctions on India.

But C. Raja Mohan, one of India's top foreign policy analysts and the director of the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, noted that U.S.-India ties have strengthened immensely over the past couple decades, and Trump has ramped up diplomatic pressure on India's main rivals, Pakistan and China, earning him plenty of goodwill.

He presumes both countries want a way to get past the question of the Russian missile system.

"India doesn't want to wreck the relationship for the S-400," he said. He also downplayed reports in the U.S. and Indian media that Trump has mimicked Modi's accent in meetings with his top officials.

Modi, he notes, is long past the days when, as the top official in the Indian state of Gujarat, he was denied a U.S. visa because of accusations he did not do enough to quell 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots.

"This government is pragmatic," Mohan said. Modi "has seen a lot worse than people mocking his accent."

Pompeo met Wednesday in Islamabad with Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan. Khan said later he was optimistic he could reset the relationship with Washington after the U.S. cut aid payments over Islamabad's alleged failure to combat the country's militants.
Nearly eight years ago, Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's brash, f-bomb dropping former chief of staff swept to power in Chicago promising to cut down on crime and corruption and be the much-needed adult in the room to run Americas third-largest city.

Fast forward to Tuesday, Mayor Emanuel, in a surprise announcement, said he would not be seeking a third term, leaving behind a legacy of record homicide levels, soaring crime rates and a deep racial divide that has polarized the Windy City.

For the last seven and a half years Ive given my all every day and left everything on the field, Emanuel said at a press conference this week. This commitment has required significant sacrifice all around.

CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL ANNOUNCES HE WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION

But the numbers tell a different story.

Since Emanuel took office in mid-May 2011, there have been more than 19,000 shootings in Chicago. In that time, there have been 4,000 murders. According to the Chicago Police Department, the average number of murders per year during Emanuels administration is 541. The average number of murders per year prior to Emanuel taking office was 463.

Emanuels surprise announcement comes as he faces harsh criticism over his handling of race relations and his response to violent crime. Hes been accused of favoring Chicagos wealthier north and east sides while ignoring the crime-ridden, poverty-plagued areas south and west of the city.

RAHM EMANUEL UNDER INCREASING FIRE FOR LINKING CHICAGO VIOLENCE AND MORALS IN MINORITY NEIGHBORHOODS

His promise of cleaning up the streets when he took office in 2011 has fallen short of expectations.

Chicago is still known as the murder capital of America, Dick Simpson, professor and director of undergraduate studies at University of Illinois at Chicago, told Fox News. (Emanuel) has tried hard to deal with the problem but has not been successful.

The mayors decision to step away from the political spotlight comes as the murder trial of a white police officer accused of shooting a black teenager gets underway.

Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke is accused of killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Grainy dash camera video shows McDonald writhing around on the ground after being shot 16 times.

Emanuels team of city attorneys fought against the release of the video for more than a year until a judge in 2015 ordered it to be made public. Many activists and community leaders accused Emanuel of trying to cover-up the incident, putting the already fragile relationship between the mayor and community into disrepair.

When it was finally released, the video sparked outrage and led to widespread protests as well as calls to gut the Chicago Police Department.

Emanuels administration was also on the receiving end of a scathing 2017 Department of Justice report that found Chicago police routinely used excessive force, violated civil rights and had racial bias against blacks.

The investigation, one of the largest in the nation, was prompted by the Van Dyke dash-cam video.

The report slammed the city and police for insufficient training and a failure to hold power-hungry officers accountable.

Jamie Dominguez, a professor of political science at Northwestern University, said: [The] collection of these issues has greatly soured his relationship with a core constituency fundamental to his electoral success: the black community.

In 2017, Black Lives Matter as well as a handful of other groups sued the city after Emanuel backed off a pledge to allow a federal judge to oversee reforms.

"Chicago has proven time and time again that it is incapable of ending its own regime of terror, brutality and discriminatory policing," the lawsuit said. "Absent federal court supervision, nothing will improve."

Emanuel has also faced backlash for seeming to look the other way when it comes to crime in some parts of the city.

The majority of Chicago shootings take place in the citys south and west sides - areas not only marked by deteriorating neighborhoods but that also lack quick, efficient emergency care.

Last year, the number of murders in Chicago was up 47 percent versus 2010.

Even though Chicagos homicide rate is high compared to other major cities, as of Sept. 3, it has seen a 19 percent decrease from the year before. The city clocked 462 murders during the first nine months of 2017. In 2018, the number fell to 375.

While authorities have attributed the decrease to improvements in technology as well as a coordinated effort to rebuild relationships in the community, not everyone is convinced.

PICTURE OF SNOOZING CHICAGO COP GOES VIRAL AFTER VIOLENT WEEKEND

We cant survive another year of mayhem, Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., recently told Fox News. The stress and strain of it is so great. Everyone seems to be on different pages and there are constant crosses and difficult situations to bear.

Widespread crime has also taken a toll on Chicagos children. Each month this calendar year, at least one minor has been shot and killed in Chicago.

According to data compiled by The Chicago Tribune, since September 2011 at least 174 people under the age of 17 have been killed while 1,665 kids have been shot.

Prior to dropping out of the race, Emanuels political opponents took him to task for blaming a lack of morals in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods for an uptick in violent crime.

Emanuel urged locals to be a neighbor and speak up to help law enforcement pursue killers, gang members and drug dealers.

After one particularly violent weekend in early August when nearly 80 people were shot, Emanuel deflected questions about police staffing and strategy. Instead, he ignited a firestorm when he said there needs to be a politically incorrect conversation about character and values.

Critics called him out for what they dubbed tone-deaf comments, in which Emanuel seemed to be blaming the victims.

Shari Runner, former president and CEO of the Chicago Urban League, deemed the remarks insensitive. "I cannot see the victims of racist policies and bigoted practices shamed by anyone who says they need to do better or be better in their circumstance. I wont accept it, Runner said

Prior to Emanuels decision to duck out of the mayoral race, a dozen or so candidates had lined up to challenge him. After his announcement, political watchers expect that number to rise significantly.
A dismembered body found at a Georgia landfill last month belonged to a missing West Virginia woman with distinctive chest tattoos that her mother recognized when authorities released an image of them, police said.

Authorities announced Wednesday that the remains discovered on Aug. 13 at Bartow County Landfill were of 20-year-old Courtney Nicole Dubois, FOX5 Atlanta reported. A sanitation worker found the dismembered body while emptying a trash compactor.

"This is an important step in the investigative process and allows law enforcement to focus specifically on Courtney Dubois from this point and going forward," Sheriff Clark Millsap said in a news release.

Dubois was reported missing in West Virginia by Fairmount Police Department in August, around the time the remains were located. Officials released an image last month of the tattoos on the person's chest, which were described as two Easter lilies and a sacred heart.

"It's a very distinctive tattoo," said Millsap. "I doubt if there's many like this anywhere."

BODY FOUND IN LANDFILL WAS CUT INTO MULTIPLE PIECES, SHERIFF SAYS

Dubois mother saw the image and told police the tattoos were the same as the ones her missing daughter had, WDTV reported. Investigators used dental records to make a positive identification.

"I've been doing this for almost 35 years and I've never seen anything like this before," Millsap said. "She was cut into pieces and they packed all the pieces into individual bags and placed them in one dumpster."

Its unclear why Dubois was killed, but authorities have narrowed down the day she was placed in the dumpster. The facility does not have surveillance cameras, according to FOX5.

Police have not identified a possible suspect in Dubois death.
A Maryland man who authorities believe killed his pregnant girlfriend after becoming ensnared in a love triangle was found hanging in his jail cell Thursday morning just hours before his murder trial was set to begin.

Officials told Fox 5 DC that Tyler Tessier, who was charged with shooting Howard County teacher Laura Wallen in the back of the head in September 2017, was found dead at a detention facility in Clarksburg. They said around 4:55 a.m., after Tessier ate breakfast, they discovered him hanging from a bed sheet in his cell, and life-saving measures were unsuccessful.

Jury selection for the trial had been ongoing since Tuesday and prosecutors reportedly were hoping to get Tessier convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Police found Wallens body buried in a shallow grave in Damascus on Sept. 13, 2017. Autopsy reports showed that Wallen  a teacher  died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

The remains were discovered more than a week after Wallen was first reported missing, when she didnt show up for the first day of school. She was four months pregnant with Tessiers baby.

Prosecutors believe Tessier gunned down Wallen because he was seeing another woman  whom he was engaged to  at the time of her death, Fox 5 DC previously reported.

The station also said Wallen had reached out to the woman to set up a face-to-face meeting, where she was possibly going to reveal that she was pregnant with Tessiers child.

A week before Wallen disappeared, she texted the other woman and told her that it was important that some things are cleared up and that she was just looking for an explanation  woman to woman, WTOP reported, citing court documents filed by prosecutors.

He was not honest with either woman, Montgomery County State Attorney John McCarthy said last year.

Bizarrely, days before Wallens body was found, Tessier also stood hand-in-hand with Wallens parents at a news conference, pleading for her to come home.

There is nothing we cant fix together  myself and your family we are just looking or praying that you are safe, Tessier said at the time.

Tessier was arrested in connection to the murder the day Wallens body was found. Her father, Mark, referred to him as a monster and a liar, and said the family had suspicions that hed committed the crime.
The Trump administration is now pledging the U.S. will remain in Syria until the "enduring defeat" of the Islamic State group, a move that could signal open-ended American involvement in the war-torn country.

The announcement "means we're not in a hurry to pull out," the U.S. special representative for Syria, James Jeffrey, told journalists in Washington Thursday, although he added that didn't necessarily mean a long-term American military presence in the country.

President Donald Trump has previously expressed a desire to get the U.S. out of Syria. There are roughly 2,000 U.S. troops deployed there, according to the Pentagon.

"We're no longer pulling out by the end of the year, we're going to stay in until we have an enduring defeat of (the Islamic State group)," Jeffrey said. The other pillar of U.S. policy was the complete withdrawal of all Iranian-commanded forces from Syrian territory, said the veteran diplomat, who was appointed last month.

Jeffrey's comments come as the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by Russia, prepares to retake the last pocket of territory of held by anti-government rebels, amid fears that could cause a bloodbath. An estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants, are said to be hiding among 3 million civilians.

Jeffrey repeated a sharp warning to Russia, saying any offensive in the northwestern province of Idlib is "objectionable" and would be seen as a "reckless escalation." Jeffrey said a U.S. response to a Russian assault would involve "all of our tools," but did not elaborate further.

The U.S. and the United Nations have repeatedly warned that a Russian assault on the enclave would cause carnage the scale of which has not been seen in Syria's seven-year war. The leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey are set to meet in Tehran on Friday, widely seen as a last chance to avert bloodshed.

In an effort to increase pressure on Assad, the U.S. Treasury Department announced Thursday it was imposing sanctions on four individuals and five companies that have facilitated weapons or fuel transfers, or provided other financial or material support, to his government. They include Muhammad al-Qatirji and his Syria-based company Qatirji Company, said to facilitate fuel trade between the Assad government and IS, and companies based in Syria, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates that procure fuel for the government.

"The United States will continue to target those who facilitate transactions with the murderous Assad regime and support ISIS," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars and as president he made a number of statements saying it was time for American troops to "get out" of Syria.

The United States first launched airstrikes in Syria in 2014 at Islamic State group targets in the country's north, beginning a military intervention in the country that would steadily balloon over the next four years. In April Trump instructed military leaders to begin planning for a withdrawal from Syria.

Jeffrey said he was confident Trump now supported a more open-ended Syria policy. Jeffrey defined an "enduring defeat" of IS in Syria as creating the conditions where local communities can secure and govern themselves.

Trump administration officials have estimated that IS has been more than 90 percent defeated for months. A pocket of IS fighters remains in Syria and IS cells continue to carry out insurgent attacks inside neighboring Iraq.
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Brazil's federal police filed a report Wednesday seeking to have corruption charges brought against unpopular President Michel Temer, which could lead to his suspension from office.

The report said an investigation had obtained evidence that Temer pocketed about $300,000 in bribes from construction giant Odebrecht, which is at the heart of a regional corruption scandal.

Temer has survived two previous attempts to charge him. He has already denied any wrongdoing in the case.

Brazil's top court said it received the report, which will be sent to Attorney General Raquel Dodge, who will decide whether Temer should be charged for the third time since taking office in 2016.

Dodge was appointed by Temer. The two previous charges were made by one of her adversaries, former Attorney General Rodrigo Janot.

If Dodge chooses to proceed, two-thirds of the Chamber of Deputies would have to vote to suspend Temer and put him on trial. The body twice rejected previous charges against him.

Temer's term ends Dec. 31, filling the term of Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached for alleged mishandling of federal finances.

The popularity rating for Temer has been in the single digits since last year and he decided against seeking a new term in October's national elections.

On Tuesday, Brazilian prosecutors asked a judge to approve charges against conservative presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin. They accuse the former governor of Sao Paulo state of receiving illegal campaign contributions from Odebrecht amounting to $2.5 million in his 2014 election.

Alckmin, who has struggled in the polls, denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers called the accusation "noise from a prosecutor" before the presidential election.

Investigators at Sao Paulo state prosecutors' office said Alckmin's political rights should be suspended, but that would be unlikely to happen before the elections.

The same prosecutors' office is also seeking charges against another likely presidential candidate, Fernando Haddad of the Workers' Party.

Haddad is expected to take over as the party's presidential candidate for jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was barred from running by Brazil's top electoral court Saturday.

Da Silva has held a strong lead in opinion polls despite his corruption and money laundering conviction. He denies any wrongdoing.

Haddad, who is currently the Workers' party vice presidential candidate, said during a campaign event in Sao Paulo that the party will appeal electoral court's decision to Brazil's Supreme Court. The party has only until Tuesday to replace da Silva as its presidential candidate.

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Associated Press journalist Victor Caivano in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
Iraqi authorities declared a city-wide curfew from 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) to quell protests in Basra, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry said at a news conference on Thursday.

Seven protesters have died in Iraq's second biggest city in recent days as protesters, angry over electricity outages, water contamination, a lack of jobs and proper government services, clashed violently with security forces.

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The 10 elected members of the U.N. Security Council called Wednesday for stepped up efforts to find a peaceful solution in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, where a major government offensive is expected.

The council members, who serve two-year terms, expressed deep concern that a full-scale military operation in Idlib will lead to "a humanitarian catastrophe."

In a joint statement, they urged all parties to exercise restraint, make the protection of civilians a priority, and ensure that medical and educational facilities are protected.

The 10 elected members issued their own statement because the five permanent veto-wielding council members are deeply divided with Russia and China backing President Bashar Assad's government and the U.S., Britain and France backing the opposition.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the current council president, announced that a formal Security Council meeting will be held Friday morning on the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Idlib.

It will be followed later Friday by an informal council meeting to hear from members of the Syrian opposition on Idlib's dire humanitarian situation and possible consequences of a military escalation. The 15 council members are not required to attend informal meetings.

The Security Council is scheduled to be briefed Thursday afternoon on the latest developments related to chemical weapons in Syria.

The U.S., Britain and France have vowed to take action as they have in the past against any further chemical attacks by the Assad regime.

Haley told a news conference Tuesday that if the Syrian government wants "to continue to go the route of taking over Syria, they can do that, but they cannot do it with chemical weapons."

On Wednesday, however, she reversed course saying: "The regime and its backers must stop their military campaign in all its forms to allow the U.N.-led political process to have a chance to succeed."

"The Trump Administration and the international community have made it clear that there is no military solution to the Syrian conflict," Haley said. President Bashar Assad's "brutal regime  backed by Russia and Iran  cannot continue to attack and terrorize Syria's citizens. With millions of civilians at risk, an offensive against Idlib would be a reckless escalation."
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The Latest on an upcoming inter-Korean summit (all times local):

11:10 a.m.

South Korea says North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told him that dismantling work at his main rocket launch site meant the "complete suspension" of all future long-range ballistic missile tests.

Senior South Korean official Chung Eui-yong told reporters Thursday that Kim made the comments while reaffirming his commitment to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during their meeting in Pyongyang this week.

Since entering talks this year, North Korea has taken several steps such as dismantling parts of its main rocket launch site and closing its nuclear testing site. But U.S. officials say North Korea must take more serious disarmament measures.

Chung cites Kim as saying dismantling at the Tongchang-ri rocket site mean no future long-range missile tests would take place because it's his only long-range rocket testing site.

He says Kim also told him no more nuclear test would be possible in the Punggye-ri nuclear testing site because it has been completely dismantled.

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11 a.m.

Seoul says the leaders of the two Koreas will meet Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang to discuss how to achieve the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

Senior presidential official Chung Eui-yong told reporters Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un also reaffirmed his "firm resolve" to realize denuclearization when he met him in Pyongyang on Wednesday.

Chung's trip came amid deadlocked diplomacy over North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea has taken several steps such as dismantling its nuclear testing site this year, but the U.S. wants it to take more serious disarmament measures.

Chung says Kim's summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in will focus on what specific steps must be taken to realize the denuclearization.

He says the Koreas will hold talks next week to prepare for the summit.

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10:20 a.m.

North Korean media have released a declaration from leader Kim Jong Un that reaffirms his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula amid a growing standoff with the United States.

The statement Thursday from the Korean Central News Agency followed a high-level South Korean delegation's visit to Pyongyang to meet with Kim and to set up a summit later this month between him and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Kim was paraphrased as saying that it was "his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat."
Tales of unbearable torture and deaths of anti-government protesters at the hands of the Nicaraguan security forces and paramilitaries were heard at the United Nations Security Council.

The meeting early Wednesday was called by U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley, in spite of protests from several countries  including usual foes Russia, China and Bolivia who claimed it was not part of the councils business. She brought the dire human rights situation in Nicaragua up for discussion at the Security Council.

Haley warned that just like Venezuelas humanitarian and economic crisis, the situation in Nicaragua is at a precipice and told council members that Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro were very much alike.

Daniel Ortega has adopted the tactics of the dictators he once claimed to oppose. We shouldnt be surprised. Daniel Ortega and Nicolas Maduro are cut from the same corrupt cloth, she said. They are both students of the same failed ideology. And they are both dictators who live in fear of their own people.

Haley said that some 25,000 Nicaraguans have fled to neighboring countries in what she described as, the beginnings of an exodus. Haley said the U.S. stood in solidarity with the Nicaraguan people, warning that the surge in asylum seekers will be overwhelming to neighboring states.

The Security Council should not  it cannot  be a passive observer as Nicaragua continues to decline into a failed, corrupt, and dictatorial state. Because we know where this path leads. The Syrian exodus has produced millions of refugees, sowing instability throughout the Middle East and Europe. The Venezuelan exodus has become the largest displacement of people in the history of Latin America.

Haley described how the Ortega regime had targeted the Catholic Church.

In classic authoritarian fashion, Ortega is attempting to destroy the most respected institution that is rightfully standing up for the Nicaraguan people: the Catholic Church, she said. Clerics have been attacked. Catholic charities have been looted. Churches have been desecrated. 

Haley continued to warn that now he is clinging to power in an equally authoritarian fashion: by killing, detaining, and brutalizing anyone who dares to oppose him. According to the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights, over 448 people have been killed. Over 2,000 have been injured.

The council heard a briefing from Felix Maradiaga, a Nicaraguan human rights activist whose description of the kinds of torture described by Ambassador Haley showed what he said was the brutality of the Ortega regime.

Nicaragua has become a huge prison which seems to be without any controls, however everyday we see a climate of terror and indiscriminate persecution, he said, a mere trace of a tweet or an anti-government message will mean arbitrary detention and serious torture. Genitals have been cut off, people have been anally penetrated - men and women alike using pistols and rifles.

Maradiaga said he himself had been a target of assassination and had witnessed many murders and abuses since the uprisings began earlier this year. He said Nicaragua was a time bomb, and appealed for Security Council intervention.

Yet several members, including Russias UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, complained that Nicaragua had no place on the councils agenda. He condemned what he said was the subversive policies of Washington, in regards to the Central American country. He gave a list of what he said was the U.S.s involvement in other Latin American countries, such as the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba in the 1960s.

Also there to protest his countrys innocence was Nicaraguas Foreign Minister Denis Moncada who said that Nicaragua was not a threat to international peace and security and claimed his country was outside of the councils purview.

Venezuelas deputy UN Ambassador, Henry Suarez, also condemned the U.S. for holding the meeting. He then recalled a litany of what he said were the many threats made against his country by the Trump administration, leading him to ask, Who is the aggressor? Nicaragua, Venezuela?

Next Monday, Ambassador Haley, who is the Security Council president for the month of September, will hold an informal meeting of the Security Council on Venezuela. Speakers at the meeting are expected to include members from Venezuelan opposition groups.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula amid a growing standoff with the United States, his state-controlled media reported Thursday after a South Korean delegation met him to set up an inter-Korean summit.

The statement from the Korean Central News Agency wasn't new information  Kim has repeatedly declared similar intentions before  but allows hopes to rise that diplomacy can get back on track after the recriminations that followed Kim's meeting in June with U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore. The impasse between North Korea and the United States, with neither side seemingly willing to make any substantive move, has generated widespread skepticism over Trump's claims that Kim is intent on dismantling his nuclear weapons program.

The South Korean envoys who met Kim on Wednesday finalized the dates for a summit later this month between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the driving force behind the current diplomacy. Moon is seen as eager to keep the nuclear talks alive in part so that he can advance his ambitious engagement with the North, which would need U.S. backing to succeed. The date of the talks, which will come on the eve of a gathering of world leaders at the U.N. at the end of September, was to be released later Thursday.

Kim was paraphrased in the statement by his propaganda specialists as saying that it was "his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat."

KCNA said Kim and the South Korean envoys reached a "satisfactory agreement" over his planned summit with Moon.

Moon, who discussed his plans with President Donald Trump by telephone on Tuesday, said his envoys had a crucial task that could determine the prospects for lasting peace.

While pushing ahead with summits and inter-Korean engagement, Seoul is trying to persuade Washington and Pyongyang to proceed with peace and denuclearization processes at the same time so they can overcome a growing dispute over the sequencing of the diplomacy.

Seoul also wants a trilateral summit among the countries, or a four-nation meeting that also includes Beijing, to declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War. The U.N. General Assembly in late September would be an ideal date for Seoul, but many analysts see that possibility as low, considering the complications of the process and how far apart the parties currently are.

U.S. officials have insisted that a peace declaration, which many see as a precursor to the North eventually calling for the removal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula, cannot come before North Korea takes more concrete action toward abandoning its nuclear weapons. Such steps may include providing an account of the components of its nuclear program, allowing outside inspections and giving up a certain number of its nuclear weapons during the early stages of the negotiations.

While an end-of-war declaration wouldn't imply a legally binding peace treaty, experts say it could create political momentum that would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions toward a peace regime, diplomatic recognition, economic benefits and security concessions.

North Korea has accused the United States of making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands for denuclearization and holding back on the end-of-war declaration. North Korea's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday published a lengthy statement on its website saying that an end-of-war declaration would be a necessary trust-building step between the wartime foes that would "manifest the political will to establish the lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."

South Korean officials said an end-of-war declaration would be among the issues discussed in the meetings between the South Korean envoys and North Korean officials.

"Our government believes that an end-of-war declaration is very much needed while we enter a process toward stabilizing peace in the Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization," said Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, in a news conference on Tuesday.

"We will continue to put in efforts so that an end-of-war declaration can be reached by the end of the year. We are always maintaining close communication with the United States."

After their June summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement about a nuclear-free peninsula without describing when and how it would occur. Post-summit nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang were rocky and quickly settled into a stalemate.

While the United States maintains that efforts to improve relations between the Koreas should move in tandem with efforts to denuclearize North Korea, Moon has recently said inter-Korean engagement could take the lead.

"If needed, we should pull forward the negotiations for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with the development in relations between the South and North," Chung said.

Any progress could depend on whether Moon's envoys were able to coax a stronger verbal commitment from North Korea on denuclearization to help put the nuclear talks between the United States and Pyongyang back on track.

Trump called off a planned visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, citing insufficient progress in denuclearization. The resumption of U.S.-North Korea talks sometime before the next inter-Korean summit, which will likely take place in mid-September, could give Moon more to work with when he arrives in Pyongyang.

The two past inter-Korean summits in April and May removed war fears and initiated a global diplomatic push that culminated with the meeting between Kim and Trump in June. But Moon faces tougher challenges heading into his third meeting with Kim with the stalemate in nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington raising fundamental questions about Kim's supposed willingness to abandon his nuclear weapons.

The Korean War ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula technically still at war. Moon has made an end-of-war declaration an important premise of his peace agenda with North Korea.

___

AP writer Foster Klug contributed to this report.
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They were the first photos Marip Lu had ever taken of her son, and it broke her heart to think they might be the last.

The little boy was standing in their living room in rural China with his tiny chest puffed out, brown eyes beaming as he watched cartoons on TV. She wanted to remember him this way  smiling, playful, innocent.

Just three years old, he had no idea his mother was facing a heart-wrenching choice that would change their lives: stay with him and the family holding her hostage, or leave him behind and be free.

Six years earlier, Marip Lu had been drugged, kidnapped and trafficked to this place far from her native Myanmar. She had been beaten and abused, forced to "marry" a mentally disabled man, and repeatedly raped, she said.

Now the people organizing her rescue had warned it was too dangerous to take her son. But how could she go without him?

"What if he never has someone to call 'mama'?" Marip Lu kept asking herself, as the clock ticked down to her escape. "What will they do to him if I'm no longer there?"

___

As a girl growing up in northern Myanmar, Marip Lu had spent most of her youth in school, in church, and farming her family's rice fields. But in June 2011, fighting erupted between the army and rebels from an ethnic minority called the Kachin. Marip Lu's family, who are Kachin, fled to the home of relatives in Laiza, on the Chinese frontier.

The move brought new dangers  from human traffickers who are increasingly luring teenage girls with the false promise of jobs. Once inside China, the girls are kidnapped, then sold to men looking for "brides" for between US$5,000 and US$10,000, according to the Kachin women's association, Myu Shayi.

Nobody knows how many have been trafficked, because most are never heard from again or too ashamed to report the crime. However, the U.S. State Department said in its latest report that numbers from Myanmar are rising, and Myu Shayi says the average number of known victims from rebel-held Kachin state  a tiny sliver of Myanmar  has jumped from about 35 annually to 50 last year. Myanmar's government has reported over 1,100 cases in the country since 2010.

Human Rights Watch's Heather Barr, who interviewed 37 victims this year, said those figures "are only the tip of the iceberg."

The phenomenon is a direct consequence of China's one-child policy, which grossly skewed the nation's gender balance for decades before the government ended the practice two years ago. Chinese men, though, still outnumber women by more than 30 million, fueling a huge demand for foreign brides that has sucked in countless girls from neighboring Vietnam, Laos and North Korea.

Although Chinese authorities have broken up trafficking rings, rights advocates say anti-trafficking enforcement is weak, and the practice continues.

The Associated Press pieced together Marip Lu's story through interviews with her, several family members and the women's group that orchestrated her rescue. Some details were corroborated by 195 photographs on her cell phone. In an effort to ensure Marip Lu's safety, AP is not using her full name.

The AP also traveled to the village of Gucheng, in Henan province, to interview the couple Marip Lu accuse of buying her  Li Qinggong and his wife, Xu Ying. Both denied all allegations of abuse, but neither was unable to explain how Marip Lu had ended up in their faraway village, or how she allegedly met and "married" their mentally disabled son, Li Mingming. When the AP visited their home, Li Mingming was only able to mumble incoherently; his foot was chained to a bed, a practice sometimes employed by families in rural China to keep mentally disabled relatives from wandering away.

Still, Li Qinggong insisted that "we did not abduct her or buy her ... It's not true."

Xu claimed they treated Marip Lu like a daughter, and tearfully accused her of neglecting her son and abandoning them. But she acknowledged knowing Marip Lu wanted to leave and said without explanation that "in some families, they run away after several months  some don't even last a single month."

At one point, the couple got into a screaming match as they discussed whether to talk to AP. Li Qinggong hurled his phone at his wife. "You're asking for trouble," he told her. "Why don't you go die?"

"These are all family affairs," Li Qinggong later said, explaining his reticence. "It's sad to talk about family affairs, and we don't bring it up."

___

When Marip Lu heard about a job at a barbecue restaurant in Yingjiang, a half-hour's drive away from Laiza, she had every reason to believe it was real. The offer came from a woman who had lived next to her family for years and attended their church.

After Marip Lu told her parents the news, her mother, Tangbau Hkawn, begged her not to go.

"You're too young," she said. "You've never traveled out of Myanmar. You've never been anywhere alone."

"Don't worry mama," replied Marip Lu, who was just 17 at the time.

When she entered China surreptitiously in September 2011, there were no border guards, no checkpoints. They walked across a shallow creek in broad daylight.

In Yingjiang, after eating a bowl of noodles for breakfast at a local restaurant, Marip Lu began to feel dizzy.

Soon, her vision blurred. Then everything went black.

When Marip Lu regained consciousness, she was slumped on the back of a red motorcycle racing down a highway, a chubby Chinese man holding onto her with one hand.

Rubbing her eyes, she saw rivers and flower parks flashing by. Then things she'd only seen in movies: twinkling skyscrapers with vast crowds walking between them like ants.

When she reached for the phone in her purse, she noticed it was missing along with her Myanmar identification card and the handful of Myanmar kyat  worth only a few U.S. dollars  that she'd brought.

Suddenly, she understood. She'd been tricked, then drugged. And now, she was being trafficked.

Marip Lu began to scream, but she was too weak to resist.

She was handed over to an older man who pulled her aboard a public bus. The night turned into day, then night again, and she was forced into a car that drove into a small village with no paved roads. The car stopped in front of a bland, two-story home made of cement, where a middle-aged couple greeted her excitedly with huge smiles as if she were a long-lost relative.

Li Qinggong, who had dark hair and bushy eyebrows, spoke rapidly and loudly. His wife, who had high cheekbones and a wide face, sat with him, alongside a thickset younger man in his 30s  their son.

The woman offered sunflower seeds, and later, dinner. But Marip Lu was nauseous and frightened. The last thing she wanted to do was eat. She could even not communicate with her captors, who only spoke Chinese.

"Please, dear God," she prayed, closing her eyes. "Please don't let anything bad happen to me."

___

In the darkness on the bed that first night, Marip Lu felt like a caged animal.

The couple, through hand gestures, had made it clear she was to sleep in the same room as Li Mingming. He had ripped off her clothes, and when she had tried to run they had pushed her back inside and slammed the door shut.

Li Mingming began heaving his naked body against hers, she said, grunting as she recoiled in disgust.

But then, unexpectedly, he stopped. For some reason, he had not raped her, and in the days that followed, she began to understand why: he was mentally disabled in some way.

Sometimes he would mumble or talk to himself, or scream unexpectedly. Sometimes he would stare blankly at the television, his eyes just inches away.

For months, Marip Lu said, her captors never left her alone. The windows upstairs were blocked by dirty white bars. Whenever the couple left, they locked the iron front door  from the outside.

One winter's night, four weeks into her captivity, Marip Lu said, the couple burst into her bedroom, dragged her into the kitchen and tore off her clothes.

As she lay curled in a ball on the hard marble floor, they kicked and slapped and cursed her. Li Qinggong then poured buckets of ice water over her shivering body.

When the mother sat down, Marip Lu crawled forward and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"Please don't do this!" she begged in Kachin  a language only she understood. "Oh God! What did I do wrong?"

The next night, the couple barged in again as she slept, according to Marip Lu. This time, they forced her into their bedroom. As Xu sat in a chair barking instructions, Li Qinggong pushed Marip Lu onto the bed and raped her repeatedly, she said. The couple later insisted she had never been raped.

When Marip Lu retreated, shaking with fear, she found her "husband" hiding in their room under a blanket like a child. It was the same thing he did when his parents fought.

As the weeks turned into months, then years, she began following a grim routine. During the day, they made her wash clothes, clean the house and cook  and beat her if she did not. At night, the couple would often drag their "daughter" into their room  or their son's  and rape her as she cried, she said.

They called her Baobei  "baby."

One day, Marip Lu looked into the mirror at several bright red imprints on her cheeks where she had been slapped. It was hard to recognize the girl looking back.

She wanted more than anything to escape, but there was nowhere to run. The sheer vastness of China, combined with the fact that she could not speak Chinese, had created the perfect prison. And even if she could get out, she had no money and no way to contact home.

The hardest part was the loneliness.

Marip Lu wanted to tell someone what was happening, but there was nobody to talk to. The first time she tried to wave down a neighbor, she said, Xu yanked her away by the wrist and cursed them both. Even those who entered their house tried to avoid making eye contact.

The neighbors may not have suspected anything was wrong. Foreign brides are not uncommon in rural China, and many women come voluntarily. Marriages are also sometimes seen as transactional events in a country where the traditional practice of paying dowries still exists.

Two years after her arrival, Marip Lu seemed to fall ill. She began throwing up each morning, and for the first time, Xu took her to a clinic.

She was five weeks pregnant.

Xu was overjoyed. But Marip Lu felt numb. The new life inside her belly was the product of the hell in which she existed.

The rape and the beatings came to a halt. Then, on Sept. 23, 2013, Marip Lu gave birth to a healthy boy. She called him Erzi, which means son.

The first time she looked into his eyes, she was overwhelmed by something she had not felt in a long time: love.

She melted when she saw his pouting lips smile involuntarily as he slept. Even his cries were soothing.

Although Marip Lu insists Li Qinggong is the father, she said the couple referred to the boy as their "grandson," proudly telling everyone in their village he belonged to their son and their "daughter-in-law." In conversations with the AP, Li Qinggong never replied to the question of whether he was the father.

When the beatings and the rape resumed months later, Marip Lu felt different. The baby was a profound source of comfort; she no longer felt alone.

The day her son turned one, Xu took her and the boy to a photo studio for a souvenir of the moment. The glossy image they received was embossed with a tiny smiley face and a digital slogan written in English: "Happy Day."

___

Marip Lu had all but given up on ever returning home when she spotted something strange in the trash: an old, beat-up cell phone.

It was missing a SIM card. But she knew how to get one: by skimming cash from the money the couple gave her to buy food.

It took several weeks. When she inserted the card, she was shocked. It worked.

Immediately, she tried to dial friends or family in Myanmar. But nothing went through.

She began calling numbers at random in Yunnan, a province that borders Myanmar. The idea was simple: try to reach anyone who spoke Kachin.

For weeks she dialed in secret, again and again, number after number. Until one day a woman answered in Kachin  a language she had not spoken or heard in years.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Marip Lu said she was working in China and had lost contact with her family back home.

"I'm desperate to speak to them," she said. "Can you help?"

Miraculously, the woman lived in Yingjiang, the same place Marip Lu had been kidnapped from four years before. Even more stunning: one of the woman's relatives was planning to make her first trip to Myanmar  to Laiza for a wedding.

Marip Lu passed on her brother-in-law's address, and when the woman crossed the border she knocked on his door.

Numbers were exchanged. And several days later, Marip Lu made a call she thought she'd never be able to make again.

"Marip Lu?" her mother asked.

"Yes, mama. Yes," she said, and wept into the phone.

___

In Laiza, Myu Shayi, the women's association affiliated with the rebel administration, immediately took up the case.

"I want you to be patient," a case worker named Ja Ring told Marip Lu by phone. "We will get you out as soon we can."

For months, the two stayed in touch, agreeing that only Marip Lu would call. Then Xu discovered the phone.

"Who are you calling? You have no friends here," she screamed, her face red with anger as she snatched it away. "You should not be talking to anyone. Your family is here."

The loss turned out to be a blessing. With money she got to celebrate her son's second birthday in 2015, and more skimmed cash, Marip Lu secretly purchased a low-cost, Chinese-built smartphone.

Another woman from Myu Shayi told her to install the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat. The woman, Hkawn Shawng, then asked her to send a message by clicking on an icon that looked like a balloon.

When Marip Lu pressed "send," a digital map appeared on Hkawn Shawng's phone with a red flag on it. For the first time, it indicated precisely where she was  a house about 2,700 kilometers from Laiza.

Following protocol, Hkawn Shawng wrote a letter to Chinese authorities requesting a rescue.

Then they waited, for months.

Marip Lu was outside her home with her son when a pair of police cars suddenly pulled up months later, red and blue lights flashing. One of the officers turned and asked: "Are you Marip Lu? Is that your name?"

"Yes, yes, yes," she said, barely able to contain herself.

When the officers said they were taking her down to the police station, Li Qinggong tried to intervene.

"We take good care of her in this house. She's happy," he said, smiling meekly. "Just look around, do you see any problem here?"

Marip Lu, frozen, dared not say a word. But when the police took her away, she told them everything.

"Someone sold me to this Chinese family," she said. "I'm terrified of these people."

The officers recorded her testimony solemnly. Then they took her photograph.

"Do you want to go home?" one asked.

"Of course," Marip Lu pleaded. "Very much."

But hours later, inexplicably, they called the Chinese family to come pick her up. They said they would come back to get her when they received orders from their bosses after the Chinese New Year holiday.

"Don't be afraid," one of them said. And "don't be in a hurry ... Don't you know there is war in Myanmar? Aren't you worried about that?"

The next day, Marip Lu called Hkawn Shawng in tears.

"Why didn't they send me home?" she said, her voice trembling. "When are you going to rescue me? Am I going to die here?"

"You must stay strong," Hkawn Shawng replied. "Keep praying to God ... we will get you out."

A few weeks later, Hkawn Shawng received a letter from the police. It claimed Marip Lu had told them she did not want to return.

It was unclear what had happened, but Hkawn Shawng speculated police had either been bought off, or didn't care. Police in Gucheng declined to speak to AP about the case when contacted by phone.

There was a Plan B. Myu Shayi had surreptitious networks of its own in China that rescue trafficked girls. Hkawn Shawng would send a driver, but Marip Lu would have to get as far away from her house as she could first, to ensure their vehicle was not traced or followed.

"And my son?" Marip Lu asked.

Hkawn Shawng said she could only be rescued alone. The boy was a Chinese citizen, and spiriting him out of the country would be interpreted by Chinese authorities as one thing only: kidnapping.

By now, the couple was so confident Marip Lu would not  or could not  leave, they let her drive their three-wheeled vehicle to the market alone. And when they discovered her new white phone, they shrugged, and let her keep it.

___

On Wednesday, May 3, 2017, Marip Lu walked her son home from school at 11 a.m., holding his hand just as she always did.

Once there, she packed a small pink bag with two changes of clothes, a little bit of money, and several laminated photos of her son.

He stood beside her, pulling at her leg.

"Mama! Mama!" he said. "I'm hungry."

Marip Lu told him to go to the kitchen and wait for lunch, but the boy said he did not want to go alone.

"Go on," she said. "Be a good boy. Mama needs to finish washing the clothes."

As the boy walked away, he turned back several times, his sad eyes pleading for her to follow. But as soon as he was out of sight, Marip Lu ran down to the garage, where she cranked up the family's motorcycle.

Xu was in another room at the time, with her elderly mother.

Marip Lu's eyes welled with tears.

She dared not say bye to her son, or hug him one last time. She knew that if she did, she would never be able to leave.

Half an hour later, she reached a nearby town. She abandoned the motorcycle in an alley, and messaged her GPS location to a driver sent by Myu Shayi who was supposed to pick her up.

Hours later, she saw a van with a man standing outside it in a white shirt.

"Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!"

Marip Lu began to run.

"Quick! Get in!"

Once inside, Marip Lu took the SIM card out of her phone, rolled down the window and threw it into the wind.

Over the next several days, Marip Lu took 45 photos out the window as they traveled toward the Myanmar border: of bridges and skyscrapers and a Ferris wheel along the endless highways.

Eventually, the van cut through fields of tall sugarcane, then suddenly turned onto a dirt road.

It was Myanmar. Marip Lu was home.

___

When her family saw her for the first time, there were tears, hugs, and disbelief. It was as if their daughter had returned from the dead.

But they knew the innocent girl who left Myanmar six years earlier would never came back.

"She talks at night when she sleeps now," her mother, Tangbau Hkawn, says forlornly. "Sometimes she screams. Sometimes she shouts things like 'don't touch me!'"

When the Associated Press interviewed Marip Lu in a rebel-controlled part of northern Myanmar's Kachin state, a year after her escape, she could not hide her hatred for the family she said held her for so long.

"I want them to know what it feels like," she says through gritted teeth. "They destroyed my life."

In June, though, Marip Lu was overcome by the desire to contact her son. To do so, she had to muster the courage to call Li Qinggong.

At first, nobody answered, but then a familiar voice called back.

Li Qinggong refused to let her speak to the boy, she said, and asked if she had told the AP what happened in their home. Later, she sent several photos of herself because "I wanted (my son) to know he has a mother somewhere."

It's unclear if the boy ever saw them. Neither Li Qinggong nor Xu answered repeated calls to their mobile phones from AP.

More than anything else, Marip Lu says she wants to get her son back.

But Hkawn Shawng, the woman who helped engineer her rescue, says that is all but impossible. Her organization has spearheaded the return more than 200 women to Myanmar since 2011.

All those with children were forced to leave them behind.

___

Pitman and Htusan reported from Laiza, Myanmar. AP photographer Han Guan Ng in Gucheng and reporter Yanan Wang and researcher Shanshan Wang in Beijing contributed to this report.
Argentine authorities raided a Catholic-run school for youths with hearing disabilities Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged sexual abuse of vulnerable children that has shocked Pope Francis's homeland.

A police official in Buenos Aires province said officers seized documents from the archives of the Antonio Provolo Institute in the city of La Plata dating back more than 30 years. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case, agreed to give details of the operation only on condition of anonymity.

The raid was ordered by a local prosecutor investigating "possible crimes against sexual integrity," the official said. The documents cover the 1987-2018 period.

Provolo Institute officials could not be reached despite repeated attempts for comment.

The clerical abuse scandal has also marred other Provolo institutes.

At one of its schools in northwestern Mendoza province, at least 20 children say they were abused by priest Nicola Corradi, priest Horacio Corbacho and three other men, who were arrested in 2016. Dozens of students of the institute in Italy say they were similarly abused for decades, some allegedly by Corradi.

The Vatican knew about Corradi since at least 2009, when the Italian Provolo students went public with tales of abuse and named names. The Vatican ordered an investigation and sanctioned four accused priests, but Corradi apparently never was sanctioned for his alleged crimes in Italy.

The Verona diocese apologized to the Italian students in 2012. After the students again named Corradi as an abuser living in Pope Francis' native Argentina in a 2014 letter to the pontiff and the Verona bishop, the Vatican still took no action. In 2016, a Vatican official said Francis wanted to assure the victims that the church was taking measures to protect children and prevent sexual abuse.

Unlike the Verona case, the statute of limitations has not expired for the alleged crimes in Mendoza, which could lead to prison sentences of up to 50 years for a conviction.
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Cambodia's one-party legislature on Thursday confirmed Prime Minister Hun Sen for another five-year term, cementing his status as one of the world's longest-serving leaders.

The National Assembly approved the appointment with all 125 members voting in favor without any debate. Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won a July 29 general election by a landslide, but critics consider the polls unfree and unfair because the only credible opposition grouping, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved by court order last year in an action seen as politically motivated.

The 66-year-old Hun Sen has been in power for 33 years, combining guile and strong-arming to dominate his country's politics. He declared before the election that he intended to serve two more terms at the helm.

A crackdown on critics and opponents was launched after the 2013 general election and local elections last year showed a softening of support for Hun Sen's ruling party. The founding leader of the now-defunct Cambodia National Rescue Party is in self-imposed exile and his successor in prison awaiting trial on what is widely seen as a trumped-up charge of treason.

In a speech at the assembly's opening session on Wednesday, King Norodom Sihamoni conveyed his warmest congratulations to the new lawmakers and urged them to fulfill their duties under the law and to work for the benefit of the entire country. However, in a sign of continuing international rejection of the election process, no representatives from the U.S., British and Australian embassies attended the event. Many other diplomats also appeared to be absent.

The United States in December imposed visa restrictions on top Cambodian officials because of the anti-democratic actions taken in the lead-up to the vote , and said it was disappointed by the "flawed elections."

Hun Sen has aligned his country firmly with China in recent years, both politically and economically, allowing him to largely ignore criticism from the West, upon whom he used to depend for development assistance.

Hun Sen was a member of the radical communist Khmer Rouge during its successful five-year war to topple a pro-American government, then defected to Vietnam during Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot's 1975-79 genocidal regime that left nearly 2 million Cambodians dead.

He became prime minister in 1985 in a Vietnamese-backed single-party communist government and led Cambodia through a civil war against the Khmer Rouge, which eased off with the 1991 Paris Peace Accords that also installed a democratic political framework.
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Police in the German state of Saxony said Thursday they have identified six far-right protesters who gave the stiff-armed Hitler salute or committed other violations at an anti-migrant protest last week.

Police said they were able to match images of the suspects to individuals already identified from previous protests.

The suspects, whose names weren't released, are being investigated under German laws prohibiting displays of the salute, the swastika and other Nazi symbols.

The protest was sparked by the stabbing death of a German man early Aug. 26. An Iraqi and a Syrian have been arrested on manslaughter charges, and a second Iraqi man is being sought.

The slaying has become a rallying point for far-right groups. Government officials condemned the killing and the violence that followed, but some in Chancellor Angela Merkel's party have voiced understanding for the protesters who took part in the anti-migrant march.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said in an interview published Thursday that the issue of migration is "the mother of all political problems in this country."

Seehofer, who also heads the Bavarian sister party to Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats, told the daily Rheinische Post that voters were linking their concerns to the issue of migration.

Seehofer has taken a tougher line on migrants than Merkel, at times sparring with her publicly, as his Christian Social Union party faces steep losses in next month's Bavarian state election.

Germany has taken in more than a million people seeking shelter from war and persecution since 2015.

Seehofer's comments were condemned by the leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party, which is also part of Merkel's governing coalition.

"For us, the mother of all solutions is the solidary of all people in our country," Andrea Nahles told reporters in Berlin.

Meanwhile, a group that assists victims of far-right violence, warned against downplaying the threat of racist violence in Germany.

The group's chairman, Robert Kusche, said that since the incident in Chemnitz "organized racists and neo-Nazis across Germany are feeling emboldened."

Its branch in the eastern state of Saxony, where Chemnitz is located, has recorded 24 cases of bodily harm and 11 cases of threats directed against migrants, journalists and counter-protesters in the city since Aug. 26.

In one instance, masked attackers injured the owner of the Jewish restaurant Shalom in Chemnitz, shouting "Jewish pig, get out of Germany," the group said, adding that it feared a planned protest by the far-right party Pro Chemnitz on Friday could lead to more violence.
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When a lowly Roman Catholic father rebels against the church hierarchy, publicly castigating a prominent cardinal's handling of child sex-abuse cases, is that an act of backstabbing against the institution he serves or a brave solo effort to help save it?

That is the debate provoked by the actions of a priest in France, with his remarkable step of petitioning the cardinal to resign. Judging from the sheaf of letters and cards that Rev. Pierre Vignon is clutching in his soft, plump hands, his uprising has divided churchgoers.

To hate-mailers, the previously anonymous 64-year-old propelled into the spotlight by his online petition launched two weeks ago is an attention-grabbing egomaniac who is courting disaster by taking on the influential archbishop of the southeastern city of Lyon.

But mostly, Vignon says, those writing to him are supportive. They include people who have themselves been abused by predator priests. He plucks one such "thank you" card from the pile and reads out loud.

"Because of you I want to go back to church," its author wrote. "When I do, I will think of the victims."

Vignon clearly relishes being at the center of the storm, with reporters now beating a path to the Vercors plateau in southeastern France where the portly priest ministers.

The Vercors' mountain villages and choppy terrain were centers of French resistance against Nazi occupation in World War II. Vignon says he had family members in the resistance and that the region's freedom-fighting history helped inspire his own decision to break ranks and call publicly for the resignation of Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon since 2002. Vignon faults the cardinal's handling of a notorious alleged pedophile priest suspected of abusing Lyon boy scouts in the 1980s.

"I have always been unmanageable," Vignon says proudly. "There comes a moment when one has to say 'No! No more, that's enough!' That's what I said: 'Enough.'"

On this day, Vignon is particularly buoyant because his petition on change.org has just garnered its 100,000th signature, a milestone that heaps more pressure on church leaders to choose sides. After clambering out of his hoarse-sounding Fiat Panda, Vignon whipped out his mobile phone to show how a friend texted him blow-by-blow updates: 99,980 signatures, 99,990, 99,995, and, finally, four minutes later, 100,000.

"Champagne!!" messaged another friend.

With a glint in his eye, Vignon couldn't help but gloat.

"I don't know if Cardinal Barbarin will forgive me this joke, but he has such colossal energy, which I don't have, that he is often nicknamed 'The 100,000-volt cardinal.' Now, unfortunately, he's going to become the 100,000-vote cardinal,'" Vignon said.

Barbarin and other church officials are due in court in January to answer victims' charges that they were aware of the Lyon priest's alleged history of abuse and didn't alert authorities. Barbarin has denied any attempt to cover up the case and has been supported as "brave" by Pope Francis.

Francis, too, is facing resignation calls over accusations by a former Vatican ambassador that he covered up for American ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Further evidence that Rome's mounting cover-up scandal is going global: Several weeks ago, an Australian bishop was convicted and sentenced to a year of home detention for failing to report a pedophile to police. And a Chilean cardinal was summoned to give testimony in a sex-abuse cover-up investigation.

Vignon says he's had no indication that Barbarin even read his open letter. In it, the priest of 38 years argued that "we are at one of those crucial hours in history where great acts are required" and asked Barbarin: "You yourself acknowledged management mistakes. Why would you remain in place indefinitely having made them?"

The petition hasn't prompted Barbarin to resign, but it has exposed fissures in the French church. Those who have spoken in support of Barbarin include Vignon's own boss, Valence bishop Pierre-Yves Michel. Michel and another French bishop wrote in church newspaper La Croix that Barbarin shouldn't resign and described attacks against him as an "ideological settling of scores."

"I have violated the unwritten law that one shouldn't make waves," Vignon says. "Because of that I've received quite a bit of criticism from some colleagues and somewhat traditional and conservative churchgoers."

But he says dealing with abuse and its aftermath must be the church's priority.

"We can't say 'God loves you' when there are such somber sordid stories that make one feel sick and uncomfortable. No. No. At this point, the abscess must be punctured, treated and healed," he says.

Vignon's supporters include a group of alleged victims of Rev. Bernard Preynat, the Lyon priest under criminal investigation on preliminary charges of sexual assaults on minors. Preynat, now in his 70s, confessed wrongdoings in letters to victims' parents and meetings with his superiors, including Barbarin. His last known abuses were in 1991.

Francois Devaux, president of the "La Parole Liberee" (Lift the Burden of Silence) group, says Vignon took a risk in going public because he would have looked "a bit stupid" had his petition garnered few signatures.

"For the first time, a cleric is asking himself the question: 'What about me? What is my stance in this?'" he said. "It is a courageous act. And that shows up the passive complicity, the passive responsibility of others."

He believes the success of Vignon's petition could be a turning point in French church attitudes to abuse. After the petition surged past 100,000 signatures, Devaux got an unsolicited call that same evening from a "very, very worried" bishop asking "what can we do?" Devaux wouldn't name the bishop.

"The church, or some people in the church, high up, are starting to realize how serious the situation is," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.
In a landmark ruling, Indias top court has struck down a colonial-era law that prohibits homosexual acts.

The vote among the five-judge bench was unanimous, Reuters reported.

Any consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adults - homosexuals, heterosexuals or lesbians - cannot be said to be unconstitutional, Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said Thursday as he read the judgment, according to the news agency.

Five citizens had challenged the law, saying they were living in fear of being harassed and prosecuted by police. The court issued its ruling Thursday.

The existing law had made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison. It was reinstated in 2013 after four years of decriminalization, Reuters reported.

Gay rights activists welcomed the ruling.

Thanks to all that fought for this, braving the worst sort of prejudice. This is a good day for human rights, Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director for Human Rights Watch, wrote on Twitter.

In 2009, a New Delhi High Court declared unconstitutional Section 377 of the law, which said same-sex intercourse was against the order of nature. But the Supreme Court overturned that ruling, saying it should be up to Parliament to amend or repeal the law.

But the government left it to the court to decide the validity of the law dealing with consensual sexual acts between two adults.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
United Nations-mediated peace talks on Yemen appeared to be in jeopardy on Thursday with no sign in Geneva of the delegation from the Houthi movement on the first day.

Martin Griffiths, the U.N. Special Envoy for Yemen, said in a statement that he had discussed confidence-building measures with Yemen's foreign minister Khaled al-Yamani. He later returned to the same Geneva hotel ahead of a key government meeting with Arab ambassadors.

But with the Houthi delegation yet to arrive, Griffiths called for the Iranian-allied group to attend the talks, aimed at relaunching peace negotiations after nearly three years.

Griffiths conceded there were "challenges" in bringing the parties together in the Swiss city, but still wanted to see the delegation from the Houthi-held capital of Sanaa arrive.

The world body wants the Yemeni government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Muslim Arab states, and the Houthi movement to work towards a deal to end the war, remove foreign forces from Yemeni territory, and establish a national unity government.

Griffiths thanked the government for its "positive engagement" and acknowledged the coalition's efforts to help convene the consultations.

An inclusive political solution was required to end the conflict in Yemen, where people live in dire humanitarian, economic and security conditions, he said.

The Houthi movement's al-Masirah TV reported on Wednesday that the coalition had prevented the Houthi delegation from flying from Sanaa to Geneva. The Houthis have accused the U.N. of not keeping a promise to transport wounded on the flight.

On Thursday, a source from Sanaa airport said there was no plane there yet for the Houthi delegation.

Hamza al-Kamali, Yemeni deputy minister for youth, told reporters in Geneva on Thursday that the flight clearance had been given three days ago. The government delegation would announce its decision on whether to stay in the next 24 hours, he said: "Tomorrow at noon you will hear something from us officially."

The government supported efforts to achieve peace through implementing U.N. Security Council resolution 2216, he said, referring to the 2015 call by world powers for a ceasefire and withdrawal of forces.

"But Houthis prove that they dont want peace, they dont believe in peace. We have this scheduled meeting since two months ago, we scheduled to make it on 6th of September, today we are alone here.

Saudi Arabia's air defence forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis in the southern city of Najran, wounding 26 people with shrapnel, Saudi civil defence said on Wednesday.

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They have been accused of assassinating Russia's enemies on foreign soil and helping shoot down passenger jets filled with families.

Now the GRU, Vladimir Putin's not-so-secret military intelligence agency, has been roundly blamed for the nerve agent attack on former comrade Sergey Skripal in Salisbury.

Russian agents Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were seen smiling on CCTV hours before the alleged hit on Sergei Skripal, himself an ex-GRU operative, and his daughter Yulia in March.

It is rumored the bureau, which recruits only the most patriotic young soldiers from poor backgrounds, has nuclear suitcase bombs stashed around the US and helped bring down MH17.

Not only are they trained to gather top secret information on its rivals, its agents have been accused of creating "death squads" to assassinate its enemies on foreign soil.

Here, we delve deeper into its murkiest operations, psychotic recruitment process and assassination attempts of the GRU.

The GRU, officially known as the Main Intelligence Directorate, is the arm of the Russian Defense Ministry tasked with gathering what some experts refer to as "battlefield intelligence".

It has long existed and worked alongside the KGB, which operated as the Soviet Union's main security agency until its breakup in 1991.

This story originally appeared on The Sun. Read more content from The Sun here.
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When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet Friday in Tehran, all eyes will be on their diplomacy reaching a last-minute deal to avert a bloodbath in Idlib, Syria's crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold.

The three leaders, whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions, have an interest in working together to contain a potentially catastrophic offensive by President Bashar Assad's forces to recapture the province, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground when it comes to Syria.

The province and surrounding area is home to about 3 million people  nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria  but also an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al-Qaida-linked militants.

For Russia and Iran, both allies of the Syrian government, retaking Idlib is crucial to complete what they see as a military victory in Syria's civil war after they recaptured nearly all other major towns and cities, largely defeating the rebellion against Assad.

A bloody offensive that creates a massive wave of death and displacement, however, runs counter to their narrative that the situation in Syria is normalizing, and could hurt Russia's longer-term efforts to encourage the return of refugees and get Western countries to invest in Syria's postwar reconstruction.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which supports Syria's rebels, stands to lose the most from an assault on Idlib.

Turkey already hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees and has sealed its borders to newcomers. It has also created zones of control in northern Syria and has several hundred troops deployed at 12 observation posts in Idlib. A government assault creates a nightmare scenario of potentially hundreds of thousands of people, including militants, fleeing toward its border and destabilizing towns and cities in northern Syria under its control.

"I don't think that there is a total solution for Syria on the table, but certainly it is a defining moment," said Sam Heller, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. He said if Damascus retook Idlib, it would mark its near-total victory over the opposition, but it will likely also bring humanitarian suffering and carnage on a scale not yet seen in the seven-year war.

A lot of expectations hang on the Iran summit bringing together Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Staffan de Mistura, the U.N.'s Syria envoy, made a personal appeal to Erdogan and Putin to find a "soft solution to this crisis."

"We look to Russia, Turkey, Iran to come with hope to the civilians in Idlib," he said. "There are indeed many more babies than there are terrorists in Idlib. There are a million children."

Friday's meeting in Tehran marks the third time the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran have met over Syria in less than a year. In the absence of an engaged United States, they have taken it upon themselves to manage Syria's messy civil war, and their previous meetings in Sochi and Ankara established so-called de-escalation zones in several areas, including Idlib, that temporarily reduced violence. All these agreements were later violated as Syrian troops, backed by Russia and Iran, moved to retake those areas after pounding them into submission with airstrikes.

Capitulating rebels and militants from Homs, Aleppo, Ghouta and Daraa were packed in green buses and taken to Idlib, where the war's last showdown is about to unfold. Only this time, there is nowhere left to go, and remaining fighters are more likely to fight until the end.

Speaking to Russian news agencies Wednesday in Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov repeated Russian statements that Idlib is turning into a breeding ground for terrorists and needs to be dealt with accordingly.

He added, however, that Russia "is acting cautiously, selectively and is trying to minimize possible risks for civilians." He added that the Russian and U.S. militaries, as well as diplomats, are still in touch on the situation in Idlib.

"I think the military situation will become clearer after the leaders of the three countries hold talks on Friday," he said.

The meeting takes place against the backdrop of much saber-rattling.

Assad has built up forces around Idlib, vowing to retake the province. Turkey, which backs the rebels in Idlib, is warning against such a move, saying it will be disastrous. Moscow, meanwhile, has moved 10 warships and two submarines off the coast of Syria in a huge show of force.

At the core of Idlib's predicament is the thousands of jihadists entrenched in the province along with the civilians. The al-Qaida-linked Levant Liberation Committee remains the dominant force there, and any deal would most likely entail intensified Turkish efforts to oust the militants. Russia is reportedly talking to the group through mediators about dissolving itself.

Instead of a full-scale assault, Russia, Turkey and Iran could agree to a piecemeal approach that would see government forces taking off bites of the province, including cities like Jisr al-Shughour, close to Assad's coastal heartland in Latakia province, and Maaret al-Numan and Khan Sheikhoun, which lie on the M5, a key highway that runs through Syria's major cities.

According to an analysis by the International Crisis Group, one compromise plan could entail ending recurrent rebel drone attacks on Russia's Hmeimeem air base in Latakia by withdrawing the de-escalation zone's protection from specific problem areas, and reopening key highways in return for suspending a government offensive in Idlib to enable Turkey to find a solution to the province's jihadist challenge.

Another approach could be to get Turkey to agree to a government return to parts of Idlib while guaranteeing Turkish interests in northwestern Syria, at least in the short term.

For Turkey, however, the loss of Idlib would represent a humiliating failure that threatens to completely defeat Ankara's interests in Syria.

Can Acun, foreign policy researcher at the Ankara-based Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research, or SETA, said Turkey will try to push at the summit for any operation in Idlib to be limited, "one that targets only terror and radical groups."

He said Turkey could propose that the Turkish-backed Syrian opposition forces and other moderate groups in Syria be used "to weaken" the radical groups in Idlib.

Russia, which has seen its ties with Turkey grow amid Ankara's ongoing row with Washington, may be willing to compromise to protect the budding relationship.

Volkan Bozkir, head of the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee and a senior official of Turkey's ruling party, said he was hopeful a political solution would emerge at the meeting.

"They (Turkey, Russia and Iran) are all smart nations," Bozkir said. "I am hopeful that a formula can be reached with diplomatic ways, with smart policies and not through the use of guns."

___

Associated Press writers Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow, Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed.
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Israel is building a massive wall along its northern border, saying the barrier is needed to protect civilians from Hezbollah attacks, but the project has raised tensions with Lebanon, which fears the fence will encroach on its territory.

The Israeli military insists the entire barrier is being constructed in Israeli territory, and the U.N. peacekeeping force in the area agrees. But Hezbollah has never fully accepted the border, and a senior Israeli military official stressed the need for the wall, saying that while Israeli intelligence closely monitors the militant group, "we are prepared for the possibility that they will surprise us."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity under military guidelines during a military-led tour of the border region provided for reporters.

Israel's military conducted a large-scale combined arms drill in northern Israel this week simulating a future conflict with Hezbollah, with which it fought a monthlong war in 2006. Israelis fear there could be a renewal of hostilities as the civil war winds down in neighboring Syria, where the Iran-backed militant group has been fighting alongside President Bashar Assad's forces for the last seven years.

Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. and Israel, is believed to have an even larger and more sophisticated arsenal of rockets than in 2006, when it fought Israel's vaunted military to a stalemate in southern Lebanon. That war began with a deadly cross-border raid in which Hezbollah killed eight Israeli soldiers and abducted two others, whose remains were returned to Israel in a prisoner exchange two years later.

Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir, the commander in charge of Israel's border wall projects, said around seven miles of the 80-mile (130-kilometer) barrier has been built. The $450 million project is slated for completion in two years. Most of the barrier is a concrete wall topped by steel mesh, sensors and surveillance cameras. Steel fencing replaces the concrete wall in especially rugged areas.

Earthmovers and other large machinery rumbled alongside a completed section of the 30-foot (9-meter) high concrete wall earlier this week near the Mediterranean coast. Lebanese soldiers looked over the barrier from a guard post on the opposite side of the Blue Line, which was demarcated by the U.N. after Israeli forces withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000 following an 18-year military occupation. The two countries technically remain at war.

Last month, the Lebanese army complained to UNIFIL, the U.N. peacekeeping force, saying Israeli bulldozers working on the barrier were encroaching on the Lebanese side. A Lebanese security official at the time said that following the Lebanese request, the Israeli bulldozers stopped their work and pulled back 50 meters (160 feet).

The U.N. Security Council warned last month that violations of the cease-fire agreement between Lebanon and Israel could lead to fresh conflict, and Lebanon's top security body earlier this year described the planned border wall as an "aggression" against its sovereignty.

"This wall, if it is built, will be considered an aggression against Lebanon," it said in a statement. "The Higher Defense Council has given instructions to confront this aggression to prevent Israel from building this so-called wall barrier on Lebanese territory," it added.

Maj. Tomer Gilad, Israel's liaison officer with UNIFIL, said there are monthly meetings with the Lebanese military and U.N. officials to coordinate the barrier's construction.

"Even for the past year before we started this construction, we've coordinated this activity with UNIFIL, and through UNIFIL with the Lebanese Armed Forces. We've alerted them of our intention to do so, to construct this defensive mechanism," Gilad told reporters.

Thus far, construction has proceeded "very calmly with the participation on all sides to maintain the stability," Gilad said. "We expect UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Force to maintain stability over here throughout this construction, because this construction is a stabilizing measure."

UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said that since construction began in February 2018, everything has been built south of the Blue Line and away from sensitive areas.

Israel says the barrier's purpose is to defend Israeli communities from Hezbollah, pointing to sporadic cross-border attacks on Israeli troops and civilians in recent years. The volatile border between the two countries has been relatively quiet since the 2006 war, with few major cross-border attacks or incidents.

Israel warplanes, however, regularly violate Lebanese airspace, including to carry out airstrikes in neighboring Syria.

In 2010, an Israeli army officer was killed and another was seriously wounded when Israeli troops came under fire by Lebanese army forces while trimming trees on the Israeli side of the border. Three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed in Israeli retaliatory shelling. In 2013, an Israeli soldier was killed by a Lebanese army sniper while driving along the border, and in 2015 Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli military convoy, killing two soldiers and wounding seven.

The Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the army has noticed a troubling rise in "very close cooperation between Lebanese Army Forces and Hezbollah" near the Israeli frontier in the past year. He says the military expects even more Hezbollah fighters to arrive in the area after the Syrian war ends.
Jair Bolsonaro, a Brazilian politician and presidential candidate, was stabbed on Thursday, police told The Associated Press.

The incident occurred while the candidate was at an event in Juiz de Fora, Globo.com reported.

A video of the moment captured and posted on social media showed Bolsonaro as he was hoisted in the air above a crowd before he was struck in the stomach. He could be seen clutching his lower right side after apparently getting stuck.

BRAZIL PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL: LET POLICE KILL CRIMINALS

A suspect behind the incident was taken into custody, police spokesman Flavio Santiago told The Associated Press, and confirmed that Bolsonaro had been stabbed.

The suspect is Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, Globo reported, citing the Military Police of Minas Gerais.

A second suspect believed to have been connected to the incident was also arrested, according to a Brazilian media report, citing police official Carlos Capistrano.

The candidate was transported to a hospital and was listed as being in good condition, Santiago said.

Globo reported that Bolsonaro was having surgery. In a statement obtained by The Associated Press, the hospital said Bolsonaro was in surgery but did not elaborate.

In a translated tweet from the candidates son, Flavio Bolsonaro said his father was okay and described the wound as superficial.

A follow-up tweet from the son indicated that the wound was "more serious" than initially thought but his father's condition appeared to be "stabilized."

BRAZILIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE CONSIDERS SKIPPING DEBATES

Juiz de Fora is located approximately 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro.

Bolsonaro is second in the polls to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal the decision.

Bolsonaro, who has been a congressman since 1991, is running as an outsider whose platform includes cracking down on crime in Latin America's largest nation. The Brazilian presidential election is set to begin in October with voting to take place toward the end of the month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Kremlin has slammed accusations made by the United Kingdom that the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy and his daughter earlier this year had been approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, said the accusations made earlier this week by British Prime Minister Theresa May were unacceptable and no one in the Russian leadership had anything to do with the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulkia in the English city of Salisbury in early March.

Skripal and his daughter were hospitalized for weeks in critical condition after they were exposed to what the U.K. government said was the Soviet-developed nerve agent called Novichok. They are now recovering in a secret location for their own protection.

2 RUSSIANS CHARGED OVER NOVICHOK POISONING OF EX-SPY, USED FAKE PERFUME BOTTLE, UK OFFICIALS SAY

In the nearby town of Amesbury, local woman Dawn Sturgess died and her boyfriend Charlie Rowley was sickened after the couple came across remnants of the poison in June.

British officials said Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov used a fake perfume bottle to take the nerve agent into the country and spray it on the door handle of Skripals Salisbury home. The two men  who likely used aliases to enter the U.K. days before the attack  have been charged with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of a nerve agent.

Peskov said Russia has no reasons to investigate Petrov and Boshirov because Britain has not asked for legal assistance on the case.

British Prosecutor Sue Hemming said the U.K. is not asking Moscow to extradite the men because Russian law forbids extradition of the countrys citizens.

We have, however, obtained a European Arrest Warrant which means that if either mean travels to a country where an EAW is valid, they will be arrested and face extradition on these charges for which there is no statute of limitations, Hemming said in a statement.

Britain plans to press its case against Russia at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

EX-RUSSIAN SPY SERGEI SKRIPAL'S POISONING: WHAT TO KNOW

The Skripals' poisoning ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled by both Russia and Western nations. But there is limited appetite among Britain's European allies for further sanctions against Moscow.

Britain's security minister Ben Wallace said Putin and his government "controls, funds and directs" the military intelligence unit known as the GRU.

He told the BBC that Britain would "push back the Russian malign activity" with "whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities."

He said Britain would "challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way."

Fox News Travis Fedschun and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Latest on Europe's migrant crisis (all times local):

6 p.m.

Leaders of France, Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands have met to coordinate their policies on migration and Brexit negotiations, among other European issues.

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in a news conference following Thursday's meeting in Luxembourg, said the EU's main point-of-entry countries for migrants, like Spain, Italy and Greece, have a "responsibility and cannot avoid it."

Macron criticized Italy and its anti-European government for refusing to receive people rescued at sea in recent months, insisting that "the closest port is the one that must be used."

He said European solidarity is needed to provide financial aid to point-of-entry countries and help send back those who do not qualify for asylum to their countries of origin.

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11:05 a.m.

Germany's interior minister says the issue of migration is "the mother of all political problems in this country."

Horst Seehofer, who also heads the Bavarian equivalent of Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party, told daily Rheinische Post in an interview published Thursday that voters are linking their concerns to the issue of migration.

Seehofer has taken a tougher line on migrants than Merkel, at times sparring with her publicly, as his Christian Social Union party faces steep losses in next month's Bavarian state election.

Germany has taken in more than 1 million people seeking shelter from war and persecution since 2015.

Seehofer told the newspaper that he understood the outburst of public anger seen in the eastern city of Chemnitz in recent days following a fatal stabbing blamed on migrants.

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10:45 a.m.

Spanish authorities say rescuers have found five dead migrants and 53 survivors in a boat partially sunk in waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Maritime Rescue Service said Thursday that a surveillance plane found the dinghy in a stretch of the Mediterranean known as the Alboran Sea on Wednesday. The bodies and survivors were taken to Almeria.

The service said that 181 northern African migrants  mostly adult men  were rescued Thursday morning from five boats attempting the shortest route into Europe.

On Wednesday, a total of 501 people were pulled from 12 boats, with three migrants found crossing the Alboran Sea in a jet ski.

A recent spike in migrant arrivals has put a strain on public services and added pressure to the Spanish government.
Family members of 11 young men suspected in the reported gang-rape, forcible tattooing and torture of a 17-year-old Moroccan girl allegedly held captive for two months noisily defended the men Thursday outside the courtroom where a judge held his first hearing in the case that has gripped Morocco.

The girl, identified only as Khadija and dressed in black, with black gloves covering her hand tattoos, sat quietly before being summoned before the judge at the closed-door hearing.

Khadija's case has sparked a public outcry in the North African kingdom where violence against women is widespread but largely ignored. More than 116,600 people have signed a petition urging action to end a culture that turns a blind eye to such violence.

Twelve suspects were initially detained after Khadija was freed in mid-August, and three more were reportedly on the run. However, only 11 appeared before the investigating judge.

The young men face charges ranging from failure to report a crime to abduction, rape, abuse and human trafficking.

The teen has said in a video interview with Chouf TV that two men kidnapped her at knife-point when she was visiting her aunt during the May-June holy month of Ramadan, before selling her to other men in exchange for money or drugs. She claimed her captors gave her drugs that knocked her out for days at a time.

About 20 family members of the suspects raised pictures of King Mohammed VI outside the courtroom, saying he should intervene. The family members harassed and chased away Khadija's main lawyer, Brahime Hashane, at the close of the hearing, denouncing him as a liar for defending a "criminal."

"My brother, who is not yet 18, is innocent," said one young woman. "How is she there inside, looking fine and well, while our brothers are pale and sick?" The woman, who refused to give her name, collapsed in grief.

Reflecting the stigma associated with sexual abuse in this Muslim nation, the girl's parents initially refused to report her case to authorities. Khadija's mother told the AP in an interview a week ago in the humble family home in the village of Oulad Ayad that Khadija took the initiative to take her case to police.

Youssef Chehbi, a lawyer representing Khadija, said she is "determined to pursue her case and holds firm to her version of events."

A second hearing was ordered for Oct. 10.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart will meet later this month to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, his state-controlled media reported Thursday.

Kim also expressed faith in President Trump efforts to settle a nuclear impasse, despite recent bumps in the diplomacy., the report said.

Chung Eui-yong, a special envoy from South Korea, told reporters that Kim stressed that "he has never talked negative about President Trump to his staff or anyone else," South Korea's Yonhap News reported.

Chung reportedly said North Korea expressed hope to improve the "North-U.S. relationship within Trump's first term."

The statement comes after a South Korean envoy met with Kim to set up the inter-Korean summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

KCNA said Kim and the South Korean delegation reached a satisfactory agreement over the planned inter-Korean summit.

Kim was paraphrased as saying it was his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat."

The dates of the summit were expected to be released sometime Thursday.

Kims commitment to a nuclear-free Korean peninsula comes amid an impasse with the United States and growing skepticism of his intent to dismantle his nuclear weapons program.

His statement raises hopes that talks can get back on track following his meeting with President Trump in Singapore.

To overcome increasing dispute between Pyongyang and the U.S., Seoul is trying to persuade both countries to proceed with the denuclearization process simultaneously.

In addition, the South is aiming for a four-nation summit that would include China, to declare a formal end to the Korean War. Many see the peace declaration as a precursor to the North calling for the removal of all U.S. troops in the Korean Peninsula.

U.S. officials have insisted that the North must first takes steps to abandon its nuclear weapons before any peace declaration. Steps include allowing outside inspections, giving up some nuclear weapons during the early stages of negotiations and providing an account of components of its nuclear program.

Experts believe an end-of-war declaration could make it easier for North Korea to move toward discussions of a peaceful regime, diplomatic recognition and security concessions.

The North has routinely accused the United State of holding back the end-of-war declaration and making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands for denuclearization.

On Tuesday, North Koreas Foreign Ministry issued a lengthy statement where it said an end-of-war declaration would be a necessary trust-building step that would "manifest the political will to establish the lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."

The declaration would be among several issues discussed, South Korean officials said, between North Korean officials and South Korean envoys.

Nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington have settled into a stalemate since the summit meeting between Kim and Trump.

Citing a lack of progress in denuclearization, Trump called of a planned visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month.

Moon recently said the inter-Korean summit could warm relations between the Unites States, which maintains that efforts to improve relations should coincide with efforts to denuclearize the North.

"If needed, we should pull forward the negotiations for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula with the development in relations between the South and North," Chung said.

Two past summits between the two Koreas in April and May removed fears of war between the two nations.

The frosty relationship between the United States and North Korea could present a tougher challenge for Moons third meeting with Kim, with his commitment to abandon his nuclear weapons in doubt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez on Thursday urged Israel to reconsider the closing of its embassy in Asuncion, calling it an "exaggerated" response to the South American country's decision to move its embassy back to Tel Aviv.

The diplomatic dispute began in May when outgoing President Horacio Cartes authorized moving the Paraguayan Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as the United States and Guatemala had already done. The move pleased Israel and Washington but infuriated the Palestinians and their supporters.

Abdo Benitez, who won Paraguay's election in April but had yet to take office when Cartes announced the move in one of his final acts as president, had said he would review the decision. On Wednesday, he said he would reverse it and move the embassy back to Tel Aviv, a decision applauded by Palestinian leaders.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately ordered the closure of the Israeli Embassy in Asuncion.

"I regret Israel's decision. The reaction of closing the embassy was a little exaggerated and we urge authorities to reconsider it," Abdo Benitez said at a news conference in Itapua, 273 miles (440 kilometers) south of Asuncion.

He said Paraguay would "stick to international law and the United Nations' resolution that still considers it a territory in conflict" between Israel and the Palestinians.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence spoke with Abdo Benitez on Wednesday and "strongly encouraged" the Paraguayan leader to follow through with its previous commitment to move the embassy to Jerusalem, according to a White House statement.

Cartes' decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem had been criticized within Paraguay.

The Palestinians want Jerusalem's eastern sector as the capital of their hoped-for state, while Israel sees the entire city as its eternal, undivided capital. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war along with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, territories the Palestinians want for their future state.

Most countries have maintained their embassies in Tel Aviv so as to not prejudge the outcome of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday that there was a danger of a "humanitarian deflagration" in Idlib, Syria's last major rebel stronghold, as the Syrian regime is believed to be preparing a military offensive in the province.

"The regime of Bashar al-Assad wants to take Idlib militarily, and we're warning everyone involved of the risks of humanitarian deflagration that could result," Le Drian said during a working visit to Athens.

He described the enclave, which is held by a complex array of anti-regime fighters, many of whom have been blacklisted as "terrorists" by world power, as a "ticking time bomb, both in humanitarian and security terms."

As well as civilians and refugees, a number of "armed groups, terrorist groups" are concentrated in Idlib, he said.

Asked about the hypothesis that the Syrian regime could use chemical weapons in any offensive against Idlib, Le Drian stressed France's determination "not to accept any derogation from chemical non-proliferation".

"There are red lines. They were crossed a first time, and the French response was right on the nail. If they're crossed again, then the response will be the same," the French foreign minister said following talks with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias.

In April, the United States, France and Britain launched airstrikes on Syrian targets in response to a chemical weapons attack in the town of Douma that left scores dead.

Fearing an imminent assault by regime forces, hundreds of civilians began fleeing Idlib province on Thursday, a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Rassan Rouhani are scheduled to meet for a tripartite summit seeking an end to the Syrian conflict.

Russia said Thursday it would continue to kill "terrorists" in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria to bring back peace.

"We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists... whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria. Peace must return to Syria," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in comments reported by Russian agencies.

"This is a question of our security," she added.

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A Philippine senator who has taken refuge in the Senate to avoid an arrest order by President Rodrigo Duterte asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to declare the order illegal and called on the military to defy it.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Duterte's fiercest critic in Congress, told the high court in a petition that Duterte's proclamation voiding his 2011 amnesty for links to failed coup attempts and ordering his arrest was baseless.

"Their basis for this proclamation is a big lie," Trillanes told reporters in the Senate building, where he has remained since Duterte's order was made public Tuesday. "It's bogus, they only wanted to pin me down for being a critic of Mr. Duterte."

Known for his temper and outbursts against critics, Duterte has openly expressed anger against Trillanes, who has accused him of large-scale corruption and involvement in illegal drugs. Duterte has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The standoff has unfolded while Duterte is on a visit to Israel and Jordan. He is scheduled to fly home on Sunday.

The Department of Justice said Duterte voided Trillanes's amnesty because the senator did not file a formal amnesty application and admit guilt for his role in past coup attempts.

Trillanes, however, has presented TV and newspaper reports, along with defense department documents, showing he applied for the amnesty and acknowledged his role in three military uprisings between 2003 and 2007.

Trillanes, 47, a former navy officer, was jailed for more than seven years for involvement in the army uprisings, including a 2003 mutiny against then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when he and other young officers rigged part of a road in the Makati financial district with bombs and took over an upscale residential building.

He and the other mutineers then demanded an end to government corruption and other irregularities. They surrendered after negotiations.

After being amnestied under Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, Trillanes successfully petitioned two Philippine courts to dismiss rebellion and coup cases against him, allowing him to later run for public office.

Duterte also ordered the Department of Justice and the military to restart administrative and criminal complaints against Trillanes. The order has sparked legal questions, with experts asking whether Duterte can invalidate an amnesty declared by a previous president and approved by Congress.

In his Supreme Court petition, Trillanes said Duterte's arrest order violated the constitution, which only empowers the judiciary to issue arrest warrants.

Despite legal questions, the Department of Defense said it has deployed officers to the Senate to take custody of Trillanes and have him face a military court of inquiry into his role in the past uprisings. A military detention cell was also being readied for him.

Trillanes called on military officials to defy Duterte's order, which he said was illegal. He cited abuses and wrongdoings by the military when then dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Marcos was overthrown in a 1986 army-backed "people power" revolt.

"They know the lessons in history, they know what happened during martial law, they know a legal and illegal order," Trillanes said in a news conference.

Since Duterte took office in 2016, another opposition senator has been jailed on illegal drugs charges, a critical Supreme Court chief justice has been ousted by fellow judges, and foreign critics, including an Australian nun, have been barred from entering the Philippines or threatened with deportation.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley echoed recent White House statements and again warned Syria and its allies Russia and Iran that the U.S. will act again if chemical weapons are used against Syrian civilians. Haley was addressing a United Nations Security Council meeting on chemical weapons use in Syria Thursday afternoon.

Haley made the Trump administrations intentions clear telling the Security Council that: We have a message for the Assad regime, and anyone contemplating using chemical weapons in Syria  we want to take this opportunity to remind (President Bashar al-Assad) and his Russian and Iranian partners: You dont want to bet against the United States responding again.

The U.S. and its allies responded twice before against the Assad regime for its use of chemical weapons, once in 2017 and earlier this year.

Haley called on Russia to stop the Assad regimes current offensive plans in Idlib in Syrias northwest province. Its estimated that up to three million civilians are at risk, many of them having fled previous fighting in the last rebel stronghold.

Todays Security Council session is devoted to chemical weapons  but make no mistake, an Assad regime offensive on Idlib would be a reckless escalation even if chemical weapons were not used. It is up to Russia to keep this from happening, she said.

Haley said that according to U.S. estimates Assad had used chemical weapons on its own people some 50 times, leading to 1,500 hundred deaths including women and children in Syrias seven-year war. Fifteen-hundred murders covered up by the Russian regime. And 1,500 reasons to disbelieve the claims that others are responsible for these atrocities.

Earlier in the meeting, Russian U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia complained about what he called the anti-Damascus stance, adopted by the Western countries on the council.

Nebenzia said, Damascus does not have chemical weapons and nor does it have plans to use it. He then echoed a recent Russian talking point that claimed that Syrian rebels were planning a chemical attack with the intent of blaming it on the Syrian regime to provoke a military response from Western countries.

Great Britains Ambassador Karen Pierce joined with Haley and other members of the council in calling for the Russians to ensure chemical weapons are not used against the civilian population: Either Russia calls for restraint or Russia will be deemed complicit in their use when these weapons are used.

Pierce responded to the Russian ambassadors earlier use of an Agatha Christie novel to prove his point.

Turning to the risk of the use of chemical weapons over Idlib, and taking account of what the Russian representative said: Agatha Christie is a fiction writer. What's fact  is that the Syrian authorities have been found to have used chemical weapons against their own people.

Pierce continued, So what we hear from the Russian ambassador is an inversion of the facts; an inversion of the concern for protection of civilians that this Council has mandated; an inversion of what the rules-based international order of multilateralism is all about; and fundamentally, an inversion of what governments are supposed to do, which is their first duty  is to protect their people and to keep their people safe.

Syrias U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari, while not a member of the Security Council, spoke at length claiming, among other things, that his country had not used chemical weapons, and echoed Russian talking points bizarrely accusing the U.S., Great Britain and France of being involved in prohibitive acts in Syria, by supporting terrorist groups in his war-torn nation.

On Friday, the Security Council meets again on Syria. This time, members will discuss the humanitarian and political situations in Syria with a special focus on Idlib.

The Trump administration also Thursday played down talk of an imminent pullout of American forces from Syria, while simultaneously demanding a complete withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syrian territory.

U.S. special representative for Syria James Jeffrey, speaking to reporters Thursday about U.S. policy toward the war-torn nation, is pledging the U.S. will remain in Syria until the enduring defeat of the Islamic State group.

There are roughly 2,000 U.S. troops deployed there.

Trump previously has expressed a desire to get the U.S. out of Syria.

Continually during the Trump administration, Americas foreign policy is trying to roll back the U.S. role as a global policeman.

Fox News Frank Miles and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hundreds of people returned to the streets of Iraq's southern oil city Basra for a fourth day of violent protests on Thursday, where residents, angry over the neglect of their city's collapsing infrastructure, set fire to political offices.

Seven demonstrators have been killed in clashes with security forces and dozens injured since a new wave of protests began on Monday. Tens of security forces members have also been injured, some by a hand grenade, local health and security officials said.

Protesters on Thursday targeted several provincial government buildings, setting them on fire, and blocked main roads in the city centre.

They also attacked the offices of the state-run Iraqiya TV and set fire to the headquarters of the ruling Dawa Party, the Supreme Islamic Council and the Badr Organization, whose leaders are all vying to form Iraq's ruling coalition.

Protesters also set fire to the offices of a powerful Shia militia, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and those of the Hikma Movement about 100 km (60 miles) north of Basra, and stormed the house of the acting head of the provincial council.

The provincial government headquarters was engulfed in flames, local police and military sources said. However, no protesters were near the building when the fire broke out in the afternoon, they said.

Security forces, including members of the rapid response team, were expected to be patrolling in high numbers on Thursday. By nightfall, however, they were few and far between in the city centre and were not interfering heavily in protesters' activities.

Officials announced a city-wide curfew would be in place after 3 p.m., but cancelled it as it was due to come into force.

An Iraqi security official in Basra said they were struggling to cope with the demonstrations. "We are still waiting for orders from the state's highest authorities," he said.

The port of Umm Qasr, the country's main seaport and its principle lifeline for grain and other commodity imports, closed on Thursday. Port employees said all operations had ceased after protesters began blocking the entrance, which lies about 60 km from Basra, on Wednesday night. Trucks and staff were unable to get in or out of the complex.

Oil exports, handled at offshore terminals, remained untouched by the unrest. Oil exports from Basra account for more than 95 percent of Iraqi state revenues.

RAGE

Southern Iraq, heartland of the Shia majority, first erupted in unrest in July as protesters expressed rage over collapsing infrastructure, power cuts and corruption.

Residents in Basra, a city of more than 2 million people, say the water supply has become contaminated with salt, making them vulnerable and desperate in the hot summer months.

A Health Ministry spokesman told a news conference in Baghdad that 6,280 people had been recently hospitalised with diarrhoea due to the oversalinated water.

Public anger has grown at a time when politicians are struggling to form a government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in May. Residents of the south complain of decades of neglect in the region that produces the bulk of Iraq's oil wealth.

Leading political figures, embroiled in government formation negotiations in Baghdad, have scrambled to respond to the crisis, condemning rivals for inaction.

Moqtada al-Sadr, a populist Shia cleric whose electoral bloc came first in May's election, called for an emergency televised session of parliament to discuss "radical" solutions to the crisis in Basra, a city "without water, electricity or dignity".

Iraq's second biggest city, Basra is a stronghold of Sadr who has recast himself as an anti-corruption campaigner and has allied himself with incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

The prime minister responded that he would be ready to attend a meeting of parliament with the ministers and officials concerned to try to find a resolution.

Abadi has ordered the Interior Ministry to conduct an investigation into the protests and to instruct security forces not to use live ammunition.

Parliament convened for the first time on Monday, but failed to elect a speaker as mandated, delaying its next meeting to Sept. 15.

The Basra head of Iraq's Commission for Human Rights, Mahdi al-Tamimi, called for an investigation into the deaths of protesters, saying most had been shot.

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Everyone under the age of 18 will need a consent from a parent or guardian to receive the shot.
US President Donald Trump pledged Thursday to complete a deal on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula together with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, signaling that negotiations remain alive after weeks of an apparent deadlock.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!" Trump exclaimed on Twitter.

The tweet came hours after Kim renewed his own commitment to the goal of denuclearization in talks with a special envoy from Seoul ahead of a summit planned in Pyongyang for September 18-20 with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

"The north and the south should further their efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," KCNA cited Kim as saying.

South Korean national security advisor Chung Eui-yong, who met with Kim, said the North Korean leader also emphasised that his "trust in Trump remains unchanged," the comment which led to the US president's tweet.

Chung added that Kim expressed his intention to work closely with the United States to achieve denuclearization "in the first official term of President Trump," which ends in January 2021.

The enthusiastic comments came 12 days after Trump summarily canceled a trip to Pyongyang by his top diplomat, Mike Pompeo, that aimed at getting the discussions on North Korea's nuclear talks back on track three months after Trump's landmark summit with Kim in Singapore.

In a statement on August 24, Trump said he was scotching Pompeo's trip "because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

He also slammed China as not helping with the effort to convince Pyongyang to halt its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.

"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 said at the time.

Thursday's statements by the two leaders appeared to paper over differences the two sides have over what the current talks should focus on.

Pyongyang apparently wants to first achieve an official end to the seven-decade state of war with South Korea, while Washington wants to start immediately on the long process of denuclearization.

Stephen Biegun, newly-appointed US envoy for the North, said last month Kim had promised "final, fully verified denuclearization" at the Singapore summit.

But Pyongyang has slammed Washington for its "gangster-like" demands for complete nuclear disarmament.

The State Department announced Thursday that Biegun would travel to South Korea, China and Japan next week for talks on North Korea.

In New Delhi Thursday, Secretary of State Pompeo, the former US intelligence chief who heads the US negotiating effort, struck a sober note, saying there is still much work to do.

North Korea "is the only country that has commitments under UN Security Council resolutions," he told reporters.

"It is the case that there is still an enormous amount of work to do. We haven't had any nuclear tests, we haven't had any missile tests, which we consider a great thing."

"But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make the strategic shift which we talked about, for a brighter future for the people of North Korea, continues," Pompeo added.

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Eritrea and Djibouti have agreed to normalise ties following a regional meeting, ministers said on Thursday, a decade after a border spat led to brief military clashes.

"After a long period of separation, Eritrea and Djibouti have agreed to restore ties," Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu said on his Facebook page.

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The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) said in a statement on Wednesday that it had signed a $600 million loan agreement with China Development Bank to finance working capital for its customers.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Chinese bank in Beijing at the presence of Hesham Okasha, chairman of the National Bank of Egypt, the bank said in a statement.

"The loan comes as a continuation of confidence of international institutions in the Egyptian economy, which witnessed extensive economic reforms over the past years that led to greater stability" said Okasha.

The statement added that Okasha "stressed about the strong ties and fruitful partnership between National Bank of Egypt and Development Bank of China, which dates back to 2012 in the framework of financing infrastructure projects in Egypt as well as small and medium enterprises that led to positive returns for both institutions in particular and the two countries in general"

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Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation.
One of the many challenges facing corrections officials and policymakers across the country is how best to prepare prison inmates for successful reentry to society. The scope of this issue varies among states, but the numbers in our state of Pennsylvania are not atypical: About 90 percent of those who are incarcerated - some 20,000 people per year -- are eventually released back into their communities.We believe that a cornerstone of the effort to reduce recidivism rests upon ensuring that, upon their release, inmates have the tools they need to succeed as self-sufficient and independent citizens: a high school or equivalent diploma, job training, and access to housing, medical care and employment. To that list, we would add achieving financial capability.We have found that inmates too often do not have fundamental knowledge, skills or experience to face the complex financial realities of life. Upon reentry into society, too often they repeat poor financial decisions that helped put them on the path to incarceration. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections did not have the expertise or resources to provide up-to-date, real-world financial training to inmates scheduled to return to their communities. The Department of Banking and Securities, however, has trained staff working with audiences that include community groups, senior citizens, members of the military and veterans, and schools, helping them learn about such topics as creating budgets, managing personal credit, and protecting themselves from identity theft and financial scams.In 2016, Corrections staff began discussing this challenge in an interagency work group called the Pennsylvania State Agency Financial Exchange (or PA $AFE), which had been formed the previous year by more than 20 state agencies engaged in some form of financial education and consumer outreach. Previously, these agencies had not formally shared information with each other about services they were offering consumers. PA $AFE helps ensure that state agencies work in a coordinated fashion. Under the umbrella of this work group, our departments' staffs began discussing how we could use our complementary strengths to help provide reentrants with financial capability. We developed an interagency collaboration in 2017.As we entered this collaboration, we understood the importance for Banking and Securities staff of addressing a new, non-traditional audience and tailoring content to incarcerated individuals. We brought Corrections' stakeholders to the discussion table in developing a curriculum and pedagogy, representing the spectrum of intake/entry, incarceration, transition to release, community corrections and parole. As a result, we developed a new approach for Banking and Securities staff that focused on the unique needs of inmates facing reentry.As government agencies, we have limited resources for this kind of pilot project, so we worked to ensure that this new program was scalable and sustainable. Also, understanding that one financial-capability presentation would most likely not change a lifetime of habits, we worked to create a holistic and tiered approach. A Banking and Securities staff member provides education in a classroom or large-meeting setting, while some programs are provided through webinars.The stories we have heard and feedback received from inmates and Corrections staff have been positive. Though the program is still in its infant stages, we are encouraged by the responses and have developed four outcome measurements to employ going forward: We will see if there is a difference in recidivism rates between two groups of inmates -- those who received the financial education and those who have similar characteristics but did not receive the financial education. We will track whether reentrants who received financial tools are more successfully employed and not on public benefits, compared to the similarly situated group that did not receive financial tools. We will see how many released individuals have been motivated to take action as a result of the education, such as opening an account with a bank or credit union or starting a business. And we'll check on satisfaction with the programming among both the inmates and staff.We believe that there is a need for this kind of financial education within the penal system, and that this pilot program can be scaled to meet the needs of states, counties and municipalities across the country. We also believe this program is evidence that government can innovate and collaborate for the benefit of all citizens. After all, thousands of men and women are returning to their communities each year after being incarcerated, and we want to them to become independent and successful.
Hours after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla., companies that market their services to schools began to speak up. Governor, take pride that a Vermont-based company is helping schools identify the violence before it happens, one company wrote on Twitter to Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont.The chief executive of another company appeared on the news to boast of a home run: Its algorithms, he said, had helped prevent two student suicides.To an anguished question that often follows school shootings  Why didnt anyone spot the warning signs?  these companies have answered with a business model: 24/7 monitoring of student activity on social media.Often without advance warning to students and parents, the companies flag posts like those of Auseel Yousefi, who was expelled in 2013 from his high school in Huntsville, Ala., for Twitter posts made on the last day of his junior year. A kid has a right to be who they want outside of school, he said later.
As students across the country start a new school year, some will be learning about mental health for the first time.In two states, New York and Virginia, public schools are now required to incorporate mental health into their curriculum. New York's law, which took effect July 1, applies to elementary, middle and high schools. In Virginia, the state is developing standards for integrating mental health education into ninth and 10th grade -- the age when half of mental illnesses start cropping up.These laws come at a time when teen suicide rates have doubled among girls and risen 30 percent among boys in recent years. At the same time, the stigma surrounding mental health is lessening -- though still prevalent -- in part because of the opioid epidemic, which has more people talking openly about addiction and mental health.The New York law leaves it up to schools to craft what the curriculum looks like."What were not doing is teaching Psychology 101. Its a public health approach to teach kids more about when they or someone close to them is experiencing a mental health crisis," says John Richter, director of public policy at the Mental Health Association in New York state, which is helping educators create lessons that are scientifically accurate and trauma-informed. The bill allocated funds for the creation of the School Mental Health Resource and Training Center that Richter's organization will run.It took several years of unsuccessful lobbying attempts by mental health advocates before the bill was passed and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2016. Richter says most of the opposition came from teachers unions, who worried about the additional burden they felt would be placed on them. Richter stresses that that shouldn't be the case."Were just updating the way we teach health," he says. "I dont want teachers to think of it like drawing up a whole new curriculum. You can incorporate wellness in almost every subject."For instance, Richter saysmight be used in English classes to teach about stigma, or biology class could be a place where students learn about how synapses in the brain can cause mental illness.Richter says theyre telling school administrators and teachers, "'You dont have to have this built and perfect overnight. We know itll go out in phases. Get your lesson plans in place, and well be there to help you along the way.'"The students won't be the only ones learning about mental health. Teachers are getting extra training, too. According to the, Buffalo school districts are "expanding trauma-informed care training to help teachers in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades understand how trauma affects people."Meanwhile, Niagara Falls schools are hiring more psychologists and social workers, and another nearby school district is starting a peer mentorship program to help students with mental health as well as substance abuse.Virginia already had a requirement in place for general mental health education from seventh to 10th grade, but this new law requires the state's department of education to consult with experts -- like the National Alliance on Mental Illness -- to develop a more stringent set of standards using the latest research and best practices. The department of education hasnt given a timetable for when the new curriculum will be released, but its expected to take three years at the latest.Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds, the Democrat who introduced the bill, says it was largely a bipartisan effort. There was concern, however, from some Republican lawmakers over how much overhauling the standards might cost. So far, those concerns appear to be overblown."Frankly," he says, "we havent heard a word from the department of health or education that this will have any sort of extra costs."
A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a Texas law that requires fetal and embryonic tissue from most failed pregnancies be buried or cremated, striking a blow to anti-abortion activists and delivering another defeat to the Texas Attorney General's Office, which defended the law in court.It is the third Texas law restricting abortion to be overturned by the courts in recent years, but the state's lawyers are expected to quickly appeal Wednesday's decision by U.S. District Judge David Ezra. That would send the case to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, considered one of the most conservative federal appellate courts in the nation.Texas lawmakers approved the fetal burial law in 2017, testing out a new anti-abortion strategy focusing on the fetus. The law would require hospitals and abortion clinics to arrange for fetal and embryonic remains to be buried or cremated, regardless of the woman's wishes or religious beliefs. The law does not apply to at-home abortions but does apply to the remains from miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies.Opponents argue the forced interment is another example of government officials enacting laws to shame women and create more hurdles for those who want abortions.Ezra ruled that the law created "substantial obstacles" for women, doctors and abortion clinics while offering "absolutely no health benefit in return."The judge offered a glimmer of hope to the supporters of the fetal burial law, saying the state has a legitimate interest in protecting the dignity of life. However, in issuing a permanent injunction on the law, Ezra concluded that its speedy implementation and the lack of resources to facilitate the burials and cremations created on undue burden on women."What we do know is that these laws get introduced and passed under the sham of protecting women, when in reality it's a political agenda," said Andrea Ferrigno, a vice president of Whole Woman's Health, one of the plaintiffs in the case.Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling disappointing and vowed to appeal the case."I remain confident the courts will ultimately uphold the Texas law, which honors the dignity of the unborn and prevents fetal remains from being treated as medical waste," Paxton said in a statement. "My office will continue to fight to uphold the law, which requires the dignified treatment of fetal remains, rather than allow health care facilities to dispose of the remains in sewers or landfills."The overturning of the fetal burial law comes on the heels of a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a pair of Texas regulations that forced the closure of several abortion clinics in Texas. Anti-abortion advocates are hopeful the pending appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the high court will solidify a conservative Supreme Court that could undercut abortion rights.
How Much Does Money Matter?

Why the Lag?

The progressive Democrats who have won nominations this year for governor have a lot in common. They are highly critical of President Trump and his immigration policies; they generally favor legalizing marijuana; and they want to expand health care, in some cases with single-payer plans.They are also having a hard time raising money.In a year where spending records are being broken in races for governor all over the country, progressiveDemocraticnominees in Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Maryland are being badly outraised by their GOP opponents. At the same time, they are facing millions of dollars' worth of attack ads sponsored by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and other outside groups.The left's anti-Trump fervor at the federal level is not fully extending itself into state races. While progressive congressional candidates are being generously supported by super PACs and individual donors eager to overturn Republican majorities in Congress, gubernatorial hopefuls aren't seeing the same type of support."A lot of resistance-attention is focused at the Washington level," says Catherine Vaughan, CEO of Flippable, an independent group supporting Democratic candidates for state legislatures. "We have been trying to get people focused on states. We are trying to show people that it's even more important that we elect more progressive governors and legislators in the states."Last year, Democrat Jon Ossoff broke all fundraising records for a U.S. House race, collecting $30 million for his unsuccessful campaign in Georgia against Republican Karen Handel in the first congressional special election of the cycle. By contrast, Stacey Abrams -- the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in Georgia who has attracted national attention as a hero of the left, even appearing on the cover of-- had raised just $6 million by the end of June. That's not bad, but it's a fraction of the $33 million that had already been spent on the race to that point.In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has raised more than $3 million -- 10 times the amount collected by David Garcia, a college professor who won the Democratic nomination to oppose him last week. The Republican Governors Association has already spent more than $9 million on the race, with nearly all of those dollars devoted to attacking Garcia.Ben Jealous, the Democratic nominee in Maryland, reported last week having just $386,000 cash on hand, compared with $9.4 million in the bank for GOP Gov. Larry Hogan, who has already spent freely on the race. Jealous, a former NAACP president, has been pummeled by more than $2 million worth of attack ads by the RGA."It's not just the difference between the candidates," says Mileah Kromer, who directs a politics center at Goucher College in Baltimore. "In Jealous' case, I think everybody's sort of waiting to see if there's a significant investment from the Bernie Sanders crowd or the DGA [Democratic Governors Association] because the RGA has hammered him so hard over the summer."In Florida, the RGA has committed $10 million and may spend double that amount in support of Congressman Ron DeSantis, who won the GOP nomination for governor last week. By comparison, the Democratic Governors Association is pledging $1 million so far.Money isn't everything. Progressives rarely mention their new standard-bearer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, without noting that she won her New York congressional primary in June despite being outspent by incumbent Joseph Crowley by a 10-to-1 margin.Similarly, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum won the Florida Democratic nomination for governor last month despite being heavily outspent by his three leading rivals. And Abrams, Jealous and Gillum have all emphasized their interest in devoting resources to grassroots turnout efforts, as opposed to free-spending advertising campaigns.In Georgia, Republicans have attacked Abrams for carrying some $200,000 worth of personal debt, but many of her supporters say they can relate."I've appreciated coverage of Stacey Abrams and her debt and the difficulty for people without wealth in running," Vaughan says. "Those stories are even more relevant at the state legislative level. You have a lot of candidates who are not career politicians, who may not have a Rolodex of donors and may not be independently wealthy."But as Kromer, the political scientist, puts it: "Money does not buy votes, but it sure makes it easier to get them."Not every Democrat running for governor is strapped for cash.In California, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running on a policy platform well to the left of the agenda pursued by term-limited Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, has raised more than $30 million on his way to almost-certain victory in November.Congressman Jared Polis, the Democratic nominee for governor of Colorado, is a multimillionaire thanks to sales of internet retail companies. Polis spent more than $11 million ahead of the June primary and has kept his checkbook open for the fall campaign."The Polis personal money is a huge factor," says Dick Wadhams, a Republican consultant and former Colorado GOP chair. "It propelled him to the nomination and is now a big advantage in the general election."Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker outraised the entire Democratic field ahead of last month's primary, but once Tony Evers, the state superintendent of public instruction, emerged as the party's nominee, Democratic donors started coming off the sidelines."Evers raised $1 million in his first 9 days" after winning the primary, says Jared Leopold, communications director for the Democratic Governors Association. "That is huge." Similarly, Gillum raised $2 million in the 48 hours after winning Florida's Democratic primary.Walker himself talks in his stump speech about the threat of outside Democratic groups, including billionaires George Soros and Tom Steyer and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee that supports state-level candidates and is headed by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Steyer, who spent more than $1 million in support of Gillum's primary bid, has said he'll spend at least $5 million in Florida in the fall.Along with Flippable, several other new groups have sprung up this cycle to support Democratic candidates at the state level. All told, however, progressive Democrats are still being outgunned by their Republican opponents and outside groups. As of June, the RGA reported raising $113 million, compared with $67 million for the DGA.Historically, Republicans have usually done better at raising money than Democrats. But there are several factors making it especially hard for Democrats to keep up this year.For one, progressives have turned spurning corporate cash into a virtue -- even, in some cases, into a litmus test.For another, business-minded Democratic donors are unlikely to line up eagerly behind candidates who promise spending programs like single-payer health care that would be funded by sizable tax increases.And while small-scale donors are ready to offer support to progressive candidates through a few clicks, they have largely kept their attention focused on congressional races. Democratic candidates for governor often talk about their disdain for Trump, but they can't cast votes directly against his agenda in the way that U.S. representatives and senators can."If you're upset at Trump, it's easy to say we need to elect members of Congress and senators to hold Trump accountable," says Steve Geller, a Broward County commissioner and a former Democratic leader in the Florida Senate. "It's not as easy for state offices."Democrats have the chance to erode some of the GOP's dominance of state offices this year, with Republicans defending 26 governorships to the Democrats' nine. Democratic candidates who know they will be outspent insist they will have enough resources to be competitive.But so far, at least, Democratic donors have been unable or unwilling to match the GOP's fundraising efforts for top state offices."In some ways, Democrats have always been more obsessed with national politics," says Lee Drutman, a senior fellow at New America, a Washington think tank, "and Republicans more disciplined about winning state elections."
Tallahassee mayor and Democratic nominee for governor Andrew Gillum announced former primary rival Chris King of Orlando will be his running mate Thursday morning, in a choice that is likely to continue to appeal strongly to progressives who lifted Gillum to victory a week and a half ago.In a Facebook Live broadcast announcing his choice with their wives R. Jai and Kristen, Gillum called King a "partner" who he said would help him govern the state."This is not a political marriage -- this is not a marriage of convenience," King added. "This is a family."King's presence on the ballot is likely to appeal to progressive voters. He ran hard to the left on several platforms, like Gillum, on several progressive planks such as a $15 minimum wage, restoring voting rights for most felons (now a ballot question in the general election) and legalizing recreational marijuana. He also campaigned on expanding affordable housing, the focus of his investment firm Elevation Financial Group, which he founded in 2006.King is also a 39-year-old father of three -- in fact, just nine months older than Gillum.But in a rarity for Democrats, King, who studied religion at Harvard, also showcased his evangelical faith on the trail and counted it as one of the driving factors in his long-shot bid for governor. The entrepreneur's Orlando base also gives Gillum a geographic toehold in the middle of the crucial I-4 corridor that is dear to the Democratic party.Gillum's choice for lieutenant governor was closely held until Thursday morning, though King's name was floated along with those of several elected officials, including Rep. Amy Mercado, state Sen. Lauren Book and former gubernatorial rival and former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham.Graham and King were among three of Gillum's primary rivals who joined him in Orlando last week for a unity rally, and King lauded Gillum's persistence on the trail."Andrew never, ever gives up," he told attendees.King, who placed fourth in the primary, had demurred as late as July that he was not interested in being No. 2: "You know, that's not really something that I feel led to do."But the two candidates were close on the trail despite the crowded primary, and Politico Florida, which first reported that King would be Gillum's pick, also reported the two men discussed a potential joint ticket during the primary when both seemed behind in the race.A campaign website at GillumKing.com went live more than half an hour before the announcement, with a picture of the two men embracing at a Democratic debate. The page included a button directing to Gillum's campaign website and a message casting the ticket as "a movement for Florida's future."In a Facebook video Gillum posted to his campaign page Tuesday, he said he was looking for "a partner who shares my philosophical beliefs, who brings their own set of experiences to the table as we try to reshape this state into one again that works for all of us, and frankly somebody who I believe could be governor of the state of Florida.""I will work hard not to disappoint you, but at the end of the day I hope you will trust my judgment," he added. "Our judgment has gotten us this far. I think it will take us a great deal further."
Description

GIS 06 September, 2018: The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Institutional Reforms, Mr Maneesh Gobin, met with a delegation from the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on 04 September 2018 in Port-Louis, to discuss PCAs ongoing support of the development of Mauritius as a venue for international arbitration. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Institutional Reforms, Mr Maneesh Gobin, met with a delegation from the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on 04 September 2018 in Port-Louis, to discuss PCAs ongoing support of the development of Mauritius as a venue for international arbitration.

During the meeting, the Attorney General was informed that, in connection with the existing cooperation between Mauritius and the PCA, the Board of the Mauritius International Arbitration Centre (MIAC) had appointed Ms. Ambast and Ms. Kimani as the MIAC Co-Registrars. The Co-Registrars will lead the MIAC Secretariat as from 04 September 2018.

It is recalled that Mauritius is a PCA Contracting Party since 1970 and concluded the Mauritius-PCA Host Country Agreement in 2009, establishing the first PCA office outside The Hague. The MIAC is an independent arbitration centre, bringing the highest level of dispute resolution services to the international community, with a particular focus on disputes in and with relation to Africa.

The PCA delegation included Mr. Brooks Daly, PCA Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Tulio Di Giacomo Toledo, PCA Legal Counsel and PCA Representative in Mauritius, Ms. Ashwita Ambast, Ms. Susan Kimani, both PCA Legal Counsel, and Mr. Avinash Poorooye, PCA Assistant Legal Counsel. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Rajeshsharma Ramloll SC, Deputy Solicitor-General, and Mr. Yvan Jean-Louis, Principal State Counsel.

The PCA is an intergovernmental organisation established by treaty in 1899 and is seated in The Hague .
Following the giant merger that saw the public-sector-serving software companies Superion, TriTech Software Systems and Aptean come together and become one entity, that entity has now chosen its new name: CentralSquare.A central square is a place where citizens interact with their government, whether it be at city hall, a police or fire station, or a hospital, reads a press release from the new company. To square reflects taking communities to the next level, and the four corners of a square refer to the four brands that are coming together to form CentralSquare Technologies.The merger involves four brands because Zuercher Technologies is a subsidiary of TriTech that has been operating under its own brand name since it was acquired in 2015.The new company will, according to the press release, occupy the No. 1 market position  a metric involving customer count, revenue and citizens covered  in public safety software and the No. 2 position in public administration software.Theres no disputing the new company is huge , as gov tech companies go. It has more than 7,500 public-sector customers spanning small, medium and large agencies across the U.S. and Canada. According to the statement, those government clients serve three of every four people living in the two countries.Its software offerings are spread wide, from health care and law enforcement to the kinds of back-end administrative tools state and local governments use to manage their workflows.The companys CEO will be Simon Angove, who served as CEO of Superion prior to the merger. According to the statement, it will soon begin conducting webinars and roadshows to let customers know more about how it intends to work on its products.
Syracuse, N.Y., Debuts Performance Management Program Dashboard

Santa Clara County, Calif., Launches Free Health Data Portal

Report: State CIOs See Future for Government AI

This Weeks Gov Tech Jobs

Google has created a new search engine designed to help users find open data.Launched this week, the functionality is the latest addition to Googles specialized search engine set, which has long included commonly used searches like images and news. With this new search engine, it is now much easier for would-be developers and others to look for files and databases that have been released to the public.Google detailed the new feature in a blog that accompanied the launch. Natasha Noy, a research scientist with Google AI, discussed the potential for the new platform as well as plans for its future, noting in the blog that the idea here is to enable easier access to data, thereby facilitating the work of scientists, data journalists, data geeks, or anyone elseIn this new release, you can find references to most datasets in environmental and social sciences, as well as data from other disciplines including government data and data provided by news organizations, such as ProPublica , Noy wrote. As more data repositories use the schema.org standard to describe their datasets, the variety and coverage of datasets that users will find in Dataset Search, will continue to grow.Dataset Search can be used in multiple languages, with developers noting there are plans to add more languages soon.Syracuse, N.Y., has launched a new accountability and performance dashboard aimed at creating alignment and helping the local government work toward its goals.Syracuse announced its new dashboard, dubbed the Performance Management Program, in a blog post this week.This is a program that allows the entire organization to create alignment and work together to achieve shared goals, the city wrote. We call these goals objectives and key results, and the Performance Management Program utilizes an agile approach to monitor our progress towards them.The Performance Management Program announcement also noted that each week during a department head meeting, officials would review one of the four objectives that have been set out by the citys elected leadership, working to gauge progress, identify key next steps and just generally work together in order to drive progress toward shared municipal goals. The plan calls for updating the dashboards that make up the Performance Management Program on a weekly basis.The new performance dashboard platform is simple and easy to read, with progress of goals color-coded based on how close the city has come to completing them.The blog post announcing the program was written by CIO Adria Finch, who heads the i-team that helped to build and launch the platform. Interested parties can visit the dashboard here The county of Santa Clara, Calif., has launched an open data portal with a focus on health.The platform, which is the work of the County of Santa Clara Health Department, gives its users an online tool they can use to access health data at a near-granular level, broken down by city and neighborhood. All told, this new portal features more than 100 health topics, ranging from diabetes to opioids to vegetable consumption to even seatbelt use. It also presents its users with local metrics and demographics, allowing them to access info based on criteria as specific as income levels.The portal, of course, is designed with searchable data that can be downloaded, and in a press release announcing its launch, county officials noted that the idea was to give all residents  including nonprofits, internal government agencies, engaged citizens, researchers, students, and media professionals  a helpful tool for work that supports the health and wellbeing of the county community.This new portal also features more than 10 story maps, which make the information within easier to digest via the use of story maps that combine narrative text with graphics in order to illustrate certain health issues and how the county government is addressing them.Good data is required to make informed public health decisions, and the Open Data Portal helps all of us understand factors that contribute to our health, said Public Health Department Director and County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. By making our countys health data accessible to anyone with an Internet connection, we put power in the hands of our community and many partners to help us improve health.Interested parties can access the portal here State governments are looking to the future, and what they see there is an increasingly prevalent use of artificial intelligence.In fact, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recently released a new report detailing definitions for AI as well as the general attitudes toward its use among state governments. Dubbed, the report lays out examples of how some states are already using AI, as well as information about how it can be developed and implemented moving forward.This week, there is a trio of new openings in the gov tech space.Michigans Department of Technology Management and Budgets Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives is looking for a new departmental specialist to work in its research and evaluation division. More info can be found here San Franciscos Mayors Office of Housing and Community Development is seeking a lead for its data-driven program management. More information can be found here Open Data DC is seeking a geospatial developer. More information can be found here
Egypt's Investment Minister Sahar Nasr said that the total investments of free trade zones managed by the General Authority for Investment & Free Zones (GAFI) hit $ 26 billion at the end of July.

Nasr affirmed that the combined capital reached $ 11.3 billion, in addition to 2.1 billion dollars of foreign direct investments, noting that the projects created about 192,000 jobs.

The minister added that commodity exports reached $4.9 billion, while service exports stood at $4 billion.

The general trade zones of Suez, Ismailia and Alexandria were renovated, highlighting that more zones are being upgraded as the government is keen on directing investments into areas in need of economic growth, particularly Sinai and Upper Egypt.

Nasr added that Investor Service centers are being set up in Qena, Minya and Luxor in Upper Egypt, as well as Fayoum, Ismailia, Sharm el Sheikh, El Wadi El Gadid (New Valley) and Hurghada.

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(TNS)  As drones gain popularity among hobbyists and commercial operators, the Spokane Valley parks department is grappling with how to balance their use with public safety and privacy.The parks department proposed banning drones and model aircraft from parks as part of an overall update to its regulations, which was discussed at an Aug. 21 City Council meeting.Weve experienced quite an increase in the act of drones in our parks. Weve had some near misses, said Mike Stone, Spokane Valley parks and recreation director. We get people out there that are racing their drones 4 and 5 feet above the ground and here comes a young person on a bicycle, and the potential for a conflict is extremely challenging.Stone said residents also voiced concerns about drones hovering over playgrounds and splashpads.(Drones) have their place, he said. But Im not sure they have their place in our parks.The proposal to ban drones from city parks is drawing concern from operators who say the proposed ordinance could supersede regulations put forth by the Federal Aviation Administration.FAA regulations state people can fly registered drones within a maximum altitude of 400 feet above ground if they maintain visibility of the aircraft and refrain from flying over people, stadiums or within a 5-mile radius of an airport unless they receive permission from the airport.Robert Rees, owner of Spokane-based Rees Aerials LLC. who specializes in airborne media production, said Spokane Valleys regulations could place a burden on commercial drone operators.I find it extremely troubling that a government entity would immediately rush to such extremes without considering the full impact it would have on people that utilize these machines, he said.Monty Lomazzi, chapter organizer for Spokane FPV, a drone-racing group, said the organization hopes the city will consider alternatives, such as allowing drones in a specific park or with a special permit.I understand if the city, as a general rule, allows drones in parks through official events or going through an event-hosting program to rent out the park, he said. Thats what we do with the schools. Theyve been perfectly OK with that. If (the city) allows that, cool, Im game.Lomazzi said group members spend about 80 to 100 hours building their drones, which they fly in first-person view  or from the perspective of the drone  by wearing goggles to view live streaming footage from a camera attached to the aircraft.Theres a lot of technical knowledge that goes into building these, he said. Theres a big difference between someone who has bought a toy that flies and someone who is flying an aircraft. So, were pretty responsible about flying them.Lomazzi said the Spokane FPV group hosted an event at Valley Mission Park two years ago and continues to hold events throughout the Inland Northwest.Weve been hosting events every summer and every month in Spokane and Coeur dAlene, and Ive had zero safety problems, he said. There hasnt been one injury of any sort.The city of Spokane updated its park regulations in May, allowing drones and other hobbyist aircraft but only under the condition they arent operated in a manner that is dangerous to persons or property. Spokane Valley City Councilman Arne Woodard said hes open to hearing concerns from drone operators before voting on the park regulations.Ill listen and make judgments based on rationale and obvious liability, he said. I think if theres a club that has a particular concern, they ought to come testify at a council meeting.Woodard said the city is attempting to address potential liability issues and reduce damage to park facilities, but there may be an option available for drone users similar to the radio-controlled-car-racing facility at Sullivan Park.Maybe we can find a place that could work with drones. We still want people to have fun in the parks, but we want everyone to be safe, he said. If you have something going on thats a benefit to the citizens, lets see if we can work with you on it.Stone, the parks and recreation director, said the proposed rules and regulations are to ensure parks are properly managed and safe for residents.I think we did a good job back in 2003 to jump-start some rules and regulations, but we obviously didnt cover everything, he said. As time goes on, technology has changed and we are challenged on a daily basis in the parks department to understand what people are wanting to do, trying to do and shouldnt be doing.Spokane Valley Councilwoman Brandi Peetz said shes also open to hearing citizen concerns about new park regulations.I hope that we can come together and form something thats suitable for everybody, she said. Its tough because drones are new, and people dont have a whole lot of information on them. As long as were having open conversations, for me, thats the main goal here.Spokane Valley Mayor Rod Higgins said the council will take all concerns and comments into consideration.We need to be educated as well, so we arent prohibiting something that shouldnt be prohibited, he said. On the other hand, its going to apply to everybody, and you are going to have those who know how to operate the drones and those who dont. You have to be able to protect the public. A flying object is a flying object.City officials will vote on the proposed park regulations at an Oct. 9 council meeting.2018 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Michael Andretti says he hopes Fernando Alonso makes the switch to Indycar for 2019.

Disenchanted Spaniard Alonso is quitting F1 at the end of the year, but it is not known how he will divide his time between Le Mans, Indycar and other racing projects next year.

On Wednesday, he tested an Andretti Indycar at the Barber road circuit in Alabama.

"Alonso will decide his future after the test," McLaren team boss Zak Brown had declared at Monza.

Former F1 driver Andretti is hoping Wednesday's test inspires Alonso to sign up for 2019.

"We are prepared to have a team of five cars," the American is quoted by Spain's Diario Sport.

"I would love to work with him again. We'll see what happens.

"I think he has not made his decision yet, but I hope he enjoys his time in the car," Andretti, who ran Alonso in a McLaren entry at the 2017 Indy 500, added.

(GMM)
The US Department of Energys (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory announced the availability of a new manufacturing technology that simplifies the manufacture of nanomaterials in high volumes. Known as Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP), the technology offers significant benefits over traditional methods used to manufacture the particle-based substances that are critical to producing a wide range of industrial materials.





Argonnes new manufacturing technology, shown here, can simplify the manufacture of nanomaterials in high volumes. Benefits include faster production rates and reduced material waste than standard wet chemistry processes. Source: ANL.

Flame spray synthesis is a versatile process that allows for commodity-scale production of a very broad range of nanomaterials that includes silica, metallic, oxide and alloy powders or particulate films. Argonne Principal Investigator Joe Libera

Compared to the wet chemistry processes typically used for synthesizing these materials today, Argonnes FSP process can deliver cost savings due to faster production rates and reduced material waste.

Argonnes Combustion Synthesis Facility incorporates a suite of advanced diagnostics that supports the optimization of complex material targets such as aluminum-doped lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide. These enhanced material characterization capabilities enable greater manufacturing precision.

Although FSP technology is already employed by industry as the cheapest and best way to make carbon black, fumed silica and pigmentary titanium powders, it is not yet widely used for producing more complex materials due to the difficulty in perfecting their characteristics. Joe Libera

The Combustion Synthesis Research Facility is located at Argonnes Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF) outside Chicago, Illinois. Researchers at the MERF can apply Argonnes highly instrumented FSP process to produce samples at pre-pilot-scale one-day rates up to 500 grams of a single chemistry or up to 50 grams each of up to four different chemistries or process conditions. The facility has a novel clean-in-place fixture that permits daily cleaning of the combustion tube, which permits switching chemistries daily without cross-contamination.

Going forward, Libera will continue to expand the Argonne Combustion Synthesis Research Facility, adding a Planer Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) laser diagnostic system, that uses a tunable laser light sheet to develop a better understanding of the flame chemistries involved.

Building on Argonnes strengths in discovery science, researchers will build multi-physics simulations of the FSP process that the PLIF diagnostic tool can then validate. Libera also plans to add the capability to test the deposition of flame-made materials directly onto application substrates.

Development of Argonnes Flame Spray Pyrolysis process and Combustion Synthesis Research Facility is funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office, and Argonnes Laboratory-Directed Research and Development funding program through Argonnes Manufacturing Science and Engineering Program.
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that New York will utilize the $127.7 million received from the 2016 Volkswagen settlement to significantly increase the number of electric vehicles and other clean vehicles in the state.

Covered vehicles include new buses, trucks, locomotives, ferries, tug boats, and cargo handling equipment, as well as the availability of electric vehicle charging equipment statewide.

At the Governors direction, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in concert with the New York State Energy and Research Development Authority, New York Power Authority, state Department of Transportation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and others, developed Clean Transportation NYNew Yorks plan to strategically invest settlement resources for maximum benefit.

The funds were secured through the Attorney Generals settlement with Volkswagen in close collaboration with DEC. The states strategically leveraged investment of settlement funds is anticipated to result in at least $300 million of clean vehicles and infrastructure on New Yorks roadways.

In October 2016, a federal judge approved a national settlement plan to address Volkswagens installation and use of devices in approximately 580,000 Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche vehicles that circumvented federal emissions standards for NO x .

With the support of the Attorney General's Office, New York received $127.7 million as part of this legal settlement. The state plans to use more than 60% of the funding to accelerate the adoption of electrified transportation by reducing the cost of electric buses and trucks, particularly transit buses, and providing funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

In addition, New York will replace or re-power older, high-polluting diesel-powered trucks, school buses, and equipment with cleaner vehicles and equipment. The state will prioritize replacement of older, dirty vehicles and equipment with emission-free electric versions and will fund replacement with other new, much lower-emitting technologies that would provide substantially greater emission reductions for the funding available.

Additional Clean Transportation NY investments will fund electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support and encourage the growth of all-electric ground support equipment at airports and light-duty, on-road all-electric vehicles throughout the state.

The mitigation plan will also bolster the states Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) program, which requires vehicle manufacturers to research, develop, and market electric vehicles that will have zero tailpipe emissions.

After finalizing the plan, DEC will work with state authorities and others to implement it. That implementation process will prioritize electrification in most investment categories. For example, DEC will work with a New York authority with a decided emphasis on replacing old diesel-powered school buses with new, all-electric school buses. This solicitation will recognize the promise of cooperative and community ownership models, without excluding other public and private proposals. Implementation processes will also prioritize investments in EJ areas and other areas disproportionately burdened by diesel emissions.

During the process of developing the plan to utilize VW settlement funds, DEC solicited comments and suggestions from both private and public partners. In addition to working with state agencies and authorities, these outreach efforts included six public events throughout the state to seek comments. More than 150 people attended the public events. DEC also held more than 60 meetings, presentations, or conference calls with stakeholder groups. These stakeholders included environmental groups, transportation groups, medium- and heavy-duty vehicle manufacturers, energy suppliers, and EJ (environmental justice) organizations.
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is launching the Advanced Combustion Catalyst and Aftertreatment Technologies II (AC2AT-II) consortium focusing on engine emissions solutions and innovative catalyst technologies. The AC2AT-II kickoff meeting will be 15 Nov. at SwRIs headquarters in San Antonio and is open to interested automotive industry manufacturers.

SwRI launched the AC2AT consortium in 2014 with members representing engine manufacturers and affiliated businesses in the automotive industry. (Earlier post.) The research conducted within this program improves the understanding of catalysts and emission control systems by modeling those systems and characterizing the chemistry of emissions from advanced combustion regimes.

The completion of the first four-year consortium AC2AT PAC meeting is scheduled for 14 November at SwRI in San Antonio, TX.

The program developed models to predict deposit formation, growth and composition for urea-based selective catalytic reduction aftertreatment systems, characterized the complex emissions emitted from advanced combustion regimes, as well as evaluated how the physical and chemical properties of lube oil derived ash affect aftertreatment component performance.

In the first phase, AC2AT made considerable advances in understanding how complex emissions control systems affect todays high-performance, high-efficiency gasoline and diesel engines. We will build on research initiated during the first phase to further our understanding of the effects these complex emissions properties have on aftertreatment systems. Scott Eakle, a principal engineer in SwRIs Diesel Engine and Emissions Research and Development Department

Consortium members work collaboratively to evaluate advanced combustion engine emissions and novel catalyst technologies. Sharing costs through the consortium gives companies access to more research than would be feasible if funded individually. AC2AT-II participants will decide which research projects to investigate. Members will receive royalty-free licensing for all intellectual property produced through the consortium. Annual membership will be $95,000 per year for the four-year consortium.

SwRI manages a number of automotive consortia including the High-Efficiency, Dilute Gasoline Engine (HEDGE) program that works to improve gasoline engine technology; the Clean High Efficiency Diesel Engine VII (CHEDE-VII) consortium, the industrys longest-running diesel engine research program; the Particle Sensor Performance and Durability (PSPD) consortium to evaluate heavy-duty engine exhaust sensors; and the Energy Storage System Evaluation and Safety (EssEs-II) consortium, which provides data on performance, abuse, cycle life, calendar life, and consistency of manufacturing for sets of battery cells.
A former Green River resident and longtime mayor of the city died Thursday at his home in Laramie.

Richard Waggener was born in Green River Jan. 24, 1930, and would become a key member of the community before leaving the city in 1988. Waggener was elected to the Green River City Council in 1969 and served as Green Rivers mayor form 1971 to 1983. During his time as mayor, Waggener was active in both the National League of Cities and the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. He serves as president of WAM from 1977 to 1979. After his term as mayor ended, he was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1984 and served one term with the Wyoming Legislature. He would later leave Green River and move to Cheyenne to become WAMs assistant director in 1988, a job he would hold until 1997.

He also served on several municipal and volunteer boards, including the Green River Planning and Zoning Commission, Sweetwater County Economic Development Association, United Way of Sweetwater County and the Sweetwater County Republican Party. He served seven appointments under two Wyoming governors, including the Wyoming Private Industry Council, the Telecommunications Advisory Committee and the Council for Vocational Education.

Funeral services take place Friday in Laramie.
Richard W. Waggener peacefully passed away surrounded by family Aug. 30, 2018, in Laramie, after a brief illness.

He was born in Green River Jan. 24, 1930, to Fleetwood and Harline (Hutton) Waggener in his grandparents' home and was delivered by his "Uncle Doc" John Gilligan. The family later relocated to Cheyenne, when his father was transferred there by the Union Pacific Railroad.

Waggener graduated from Cheyenne High School in 1948. He was active in ROTC during high school and college and served as a radio technician in the Wyoming Air National Guard's 187th Fighter Squadron from 1948 to 1950.

After graduating from the University of Wyoming in 1952 with a degree in chemical engineering, Waggener returned to Green River where he had a long, distinguished career as senior engineer and project supervisor at the FMC trona mine. He was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1954, and was assigned to the Ballistic Research Laboratory at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

After his honorable discharge in 1956, he resumed work at FMC and that same year met Eleanor Manning. They married on March 29, 1958, in Green River and had four children. He took early retirement in 1985, but remained with FMC as a technical assistant to the plant manager until 1988.

While in Green River, he served on many boards, including United Way of Sweetwater County, Sweetwater County Economic Development Association, Rocky Mountain Federal Savings and Loan Association and the Sweetwater County Republican Party.

Waggener's political service started in 1965 when he was appointed to the Green River Planning and Zoning Commission. He was elected to the Green River City Council in 1969 and was mayor from 1971 to 1983. He was active with the National League of Cities and the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, including serving as WAM president from 1977 to 1979. Between 1974 and 1986, he served seven state appointments by two Wyoming governors, among them the Health Coordinating Council, Job Training Coordinating Council, Telecommunications Advisory Committee, Council for Vocational Education, and Wyoming Private Industry Council. In 1984, he was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives and served one term.

He and Eleanor relocated to Cheyenne in 1988 when he accepted the assistant director's job with WAM.

He held that position until 1997 when he retired, but remained as a consultant for one year before accepting a position with George K. Baum & Co. as a fund representative for the Wyoming Government Investment Fund (WGIF).

In 2000, he and Eleanor settled in Laramie, where he continued to work part-time with WGIF. In 2005, he was appointed interim city manager for the city of Laramie. In 2012, at age 82, he retired from WGIF. He was active in the Laramie community, including serving on the Interfaith-Good Samaritan board, Wyoming Technology Business Center Advisory Committee, and Albany County Public Library's Friends of the Library.

He was an energetic member of the Episcopal Church and served as a lay minister at St. John's in Green River, St. Mark's in Cheyenne, and St. Matthew's Cathedral in Laramie.

He enjoyed helping others-friends and strangers alike-and also liked woodworking, hiking, camping, rockhounding, bird and big game hunting, photography and cheering on the Wyoming Cowboys.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Ronald Waggener, M.D. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, and children Larz, Robert (Leslie), Linda, and John (Diana Marie).

A celebration of life and memorial service is 2 p.m., Friday, Sept. 7, at St. Matthew's in Laramie. A graveside service will occur at a later date in Green River.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the St. Matthew's Cathedral Memorial Fund, 104 S. 4th St., Laramie, WY 82070.
When President Donald Trump was elected to office nearly two years ago, he was the answer to one Green River resident's prayers.

"We needed a President who would shake the country up and get us on our feet," Barbara Kerns said. "(I) prayed for him to win because he's good with business and we need the businesses to come back."

His election inspired Kerns to create a special wedding sampler cross stitch project she recently completed and sent to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. A wedding sampler is a type of cross stitch featuring the names of the people married, decorated with designs of hearts, flowers and other imagery.

Kerns said she's done the samplers before, but only for family members as they take a tremendous amount of time to complete.

Kerns said her wedding sampler for President Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania, took more than 100 hours to finish.

Kerns said she picked up the art in 1986 while working as a sheriff's deputy in Louisiana. She said women in the area she worked at did cross stitching all the time.

She learned the art of making wedding samplers from them. She said she has to start at the center of her sampler and work her way up and down, constantly keeping the number of stitches in mind as she works. One misstep could cost hours of work.

Kerns said she hopes to receive a thank-you note from the Trumps when they receive the sampler.

Kerns also has hope for the slight chance the President will invite her and her husband to Washington, D.C.

Regardless, Kern's project is a gift of thanks and support to a man who she believes can make America great again.
Egypt and ITFC sign agreement worth $1 billion for the supply of good to Egypt

Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, and Egypt's Minister of Supply and Internal Trade Ali Al-Moselhi, approved on Thursday an executive agreement signed between Executive Chairman of Islamic International Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) Hani Sinbel, and Deputy Chairman of Commodity Supply Authority Ahmed Youssef.

The agreement, worth $1 billion, is to support the supply of goods to Egypt according to an official statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Investment.

The agreement is part of a agreement worth $3 billion, signed between the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and ITFC organization, to support the provision of basic commodities for citizens, the statement said.

ITFC financing was part of a new cooperation strategy between Egypt and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) lasting until 2021, the Egyptian Investment Ministry added.

This agreement is a sign of strength of the ongoing partnership relations between Egypt, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and ITFC.

ITFC has five agreements with the Egyptian government, represented by Egypt's Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation, totaling $9.2 billion.

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Mahira Khan, Ahad Raza named Pakistan Pavilion's official Ambassadors at Expo 2020 Dubai

Mahira said, I feel so proud to be the official Pavilion Ambassador. Its been such a pleasure going around the Pavilion from the landscapes to the rich history and the diversity you see, you will be amazed at what all Pakistan has to offer. It really is a Hidden Treasure.
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Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see Disclose and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.

Seeing the colorful light show put on by nature is something many globetrotters have on their bucket list. And recently more and more of them have chosen the remarkable out-of-this-world country of Iceland so as to combine Northern Lights seeking with exploring the destinations incredible nature. In this piece, find out more about when to go to Iceland to see the aurora and some advice on how to make the most of your Iceland Northern Lights tours. For first-time Aurora Borealis hunters, this post by campervan rental company Cozy Campers is worth checking out. Aside from crucial information for chasing the northern lights in Iceland for the first time, it also compiles important tips from photographers, travel guides, and bloggers based on their firsthand experience.

Seeing the dancing colors of the Aurora Borealis is surely an experience of a lifetime. As a rule, the Northern Lights are seen in polar countries in the Northern Hemisphere, and Iceland is among the best places on the planet to see them. Here you can find answers to often asked questions and some useful tips for your Iceland trip.

What time of the year is best for Northern Lights in Iceland?

Although actually Aurora Borealis is something that happens almost all the time, the lights are visible only when the weather is suitable. The conditions including the clarity of the sky, lack of a huge layer of clouds, as well as the state of the geomagnetic field all influence aurora activity. This means that its not guaranteed that youll for sure get to see the lights even if you come in the month when they are usually visible. Luckily though, there are pretty precise forecasts which daily predict the possibility of the lights appearance.

Whats for the best months to go on such an Iceland trip, generally, they are mid-autumn and mid-spring, from the second half of October to the first half of March. The winter months are also a great time when the probability of seeing the lights is quite high. Plus, the colder months of the year have shorter hours of daylight; and the darker it is outside, the better the lights are seen.

Wont I freeze in Iceland if I go not in the summertime?

As a matter of fact, Iceland might not be as cold as you might think it is. Because the country is set located close to the Gulf Stream, the average temperature in Reykjavik in December is approximately 28 F.

Undoubtedly, the farther north you plan to travel to Iceland, the colder itll be. Plus, no one canceled wind. So even those who arent intimidated by the cold should in any case put in their luggage clothes and shoes to keep themselves warm. And if you plan to book activities such as a Northern Lights cruise, most likely special equipment and clothing will be handed out to you for the time of the trip.

What are the best ways to catch Northern Lights in Iceland?

Basically, it all goes down to several options, including the most popular ones among tourists: pre-arranged land tours or cruises. Usually, both are done in the evening time, sometimes even closer to night time. Land tours have buses or cars which pick you up in Reykjavik and take you to the best spots for observing the aurora. You make stops and spend some time enjoying this natural artwork, then, after several hours, you are driven back to the city.

As for the cruises, this is also a great way to see the Northern Lights. A boat takes you away from the city and you observe the lights right onboard. In most cases, such boats are equipped for seeing the lights both from the open-air decks and the inner ones.

Where is it better to stay in Iceland?

The majority of the fair-priced accommodation options are located in Reykjavik or in proximity to it. There are many quality hotels for any budget or even apartments for rent in Icelands capital. So even if you aim to spend most of your vacation time on day trips, it makes sense to book your stay in Reykjavik.

Of course, if youre planning longer trips, theres nothing to worry about as Iceland is not a desolate country and you can surely find something suitable in the region you plan to go to on your adventurous Icelandic tours to Europe.

Is there anything else I can add to my Iceland agenda?

Yes, you surely can and should! Thousands of people come to Iceland each year for its stunning nature and therefore not setting out beyond the limits of the capital city, Reykjavik, would be sort of a crime.

For starters, put Vatnajokull National Park to your travel plans as this is among the best places to immerse yourself in Icelands natural wonders no matter which time of the year you come. The Glacier Lagoon is another option to make your trip a highlight, and there you can enjoy the beauty of ice and the nearby waterfalls.

Another must-do is unwinding in the Blue Lagoon. This sky-blue thermal spring located under the sky is not only gorgeous but is also good for your health.

To conclude, if you want to witness unusual nature that might give you a feeling like youre on another planet, Iceland is the destination for you. With both the Northern Lights and numerous other options for exploration, this will surely be one vacation not to forget!
The OECD stated yesterday that the allowance system undermines the labour market position of women, thus also affecting the integration of immigrant children.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has urged Finland to re-evaluate its child home care allowance system in order to promote the labour market integration of immigrant mothers.

Finland, it pointed out, has over the past quarter of a century witnessed one of the fastest growth rates in the migrant population in the entire OECD. Meanwhile, the gap between the labour market outcomes of the native and foreign-born populations has widened and low-skills employment opportunities have decreased, making labour market integration increasingly challenging.

Women, in particular, are struggling to integrate; many are locked into inactivity and face incentives to stay at home, it said in a press release.

Women eligible for the home child care allowance may find that staying at home is as financially advantageous as engaging in training or paid employment. The OECD recommends that the incentives engendered by these policies be re-examined.

The results of its assessment of the Finnish integration policy were unveiled in Helsinki on Wednesday by Mari Kiviniemi, a deputy secretary general at the OECD, and Jari Lindstrom (BR), the Minister of Employment.

Policy needs to be to do more to support the early integration of immigrant women, stressed Kiviniemi.

The OECD highlighted that if women fail to learn the Finnish language and integrate into the Finnish society, it may also have a negative impact on the language skills and learning outcomes of their children and, at worst, lead to social exclusion.

Schools, it added, should devise ways to supplement the digital means of communicating with parents to foster interaction with immigrant households.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Source: Uusi Suomi
TWO years on from the release of their debut album, Orkney folk favourites Fara have come a long way.

Having previously won BBC Radio 2s Young Folk Award, the success of 2016s Cross the Line saw the all-female quartet nominated for the prestigious Horizon Award the following year.

Now with the impending release of their second album, they are returning to Nettlebed village club on Monday night (September 3).

The concert, which starts at 8pm, is the opening night of the bands 18-date UK tour, which runs through to the end of October.

It is also first in the 2018-19 season of weekly gigs at the High Street venue organised by Nettlebed Folk Song Club.

Club organiser Mike Sanderson said: Fara will be presenting a special show to coincide with the release of their second album, Times from Times Fall  featuring songs and instrumental tracks to celebrate the community which inspired them to become musicians. An album rooted in the spirit of the Orkney Isles and its people, it combines the unique Orkney fiddle tradition with contemporary and original songs and tunes.

The album, which is released on Friday, October 19, is currently available to pre-order, but the band will be showcasing a number of the tracks from it live on stage on Monday night.

Kristan Harvey, Jeana Leslie and Catriona Prices dynamic fiddles together with Jennifer Austins piano produce a fiery sound rooted strongly in their upbringing surrounded by the music and traditions of Orkney.

Having been friends for most of their lives, the girls schooldays saw each of them learning to play a range of instruments.

As teenagers, the three East Mainlanders of the band  Jeana, Catriona and Jennifer  played in fiddle group Hadhirgaan at Kirkwall Grammar School, while Kristan, a West Mainlander, was a member of Jenny Keldies group Shoramere at Stromness Academy.

All four went on to study on the UK mainland and hold degrees from the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Strathclyde University.

But on returning to the Orkney Isles, they reunited to form Fara in 2014, having made a number of guest appearances as The Chairettes  an occasional part of big band and Orkney folk music institution The Chair.

At one gig the foursome played a couple of sets on their own, leading Bob Gibbon, the accordionist with The Chair and director of the Orkney Folk Festival, to suggest they form a new band.

One inspired name change later, and Fara was born.

With vibrant arrangements full of rich harmonies, energetic fiddle playing and driving piano, the past four years have seen the band establish themselves as an exciting and unforgettable live experience.

In the studio, the four contrasting personalities and individual voices in Fara make for a colourful melting pot of ideas, with each of the members bringing a different musical palette to the table.

While the strong fiddle tradition that they grew up with is the glue that binds them together, the band combine musical experiences and friendship to produce an exciting and individual sound based around their blend of self-penned and traditional Orkney tunes, plus songs with lead vocals from Jeana backed by lush four-part harmonies.

Fiddle player Catriona said: We were asked to form in 2014 for the Orkney Folk Festival and we have never looked back. That gave us such a great excuse to get the band going, which was something wed been chatting about for a while.

Wed all known each other since we were children but coming back together as adults, having gone away and each done different things musically, has given the band a unique sound  everybody started out in the same way, but now all bring different musical aspects to the table.

Were all such brilliant friends and we absolutely love touring  were especially looking forward to this tour as well be getting to showcase material from the new album, which we hope the Nettlebed village club audience will enjoy! We look forward to seeing you there.

Tickets for Mondays show are priced 15 in advance and 16 on the door. For more information and to book, call 01628 636620 or visit www.nettlebedfolkclub.co.uk

The Nettlebed season continues on Monday, September 10, with the visit of the Michael McGoldrick Trio featuring McGoldrick on pipes and flute with Dezi Donnelly on fiddle and Ed Boyd on guitar.

Mike Sanderson said: Mike and Dezi have been playing together in the Manchester area since they were nine years old and present their new album Dog in the Fog with Ed, who is widely regarded as the finest guitarist on the European folk circuit.

Tickets for the concert are 16 in advance and 17 on the door.

The last day of September will see the start of the autumn season of Folk at Norden Farm.

Dan Walsh and Alistair Anderson visit the arts centre in Altwood Road, Maidenhead, on Sunday, September 30, at 7.30pm.

Billed as two of the most dynamic musicians on the folk scene, the pair will be striking sparks off each other with a selection of songs, Northumbrian rants, jazzy ballads and old-time reels.

Tickets are 16.50 and can be booked by calling 01628 788997 or visiting www.nordenfarm.org
Transport Minister Hisham Arafat asserted that the Regional Ring Road will save EGP 800 million annually for the state budget as would reduce the amount of fuel used in transferring cargo.



In an interview with MENA Board Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Ali Hassan, Arafat explained that the project will be soon be inaugurated, adding that it will connect all the main highways in Egypt, and help to ease traffic congestion in Cairo.



He further underscored that his ministry will implement 50 percent of National Roads Project, which ought be finalized in two years.



Given the developments witnessed by the Suez Canal over the past years, an upgrading all the ports in Egypt will ensue affirmed the minister.



He went on to mention that there are negotiations with a Japanese firm to implement the fourth line of the Underground Metro, noting that this particular line will connect 6th October with Fustat.



The ministry continues to carry out comprehensive infrastructure development of the railways, installing mechanized signaling systems and upgrading the rails.

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The United Nations Refugee Agency in Egypt (UNHCR) and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday 4 September to renew their cooperation.

The United Nations Refugee Agency in Egypt (UNHCR) and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (BA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday to renew their cooperation.

Following the signing ceremony, the UNHCR Representative to Egypt and to the League of Arab States Mr. Karim Atassi, and Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Dr. Mustafa El-Fiqi, inaugurated a photo exhibition for the UNHCR under the title Then and Now  Refugee Voices in Egypt which highlights the work of the UNHCR in Egypt, the generosity of the Egyptian government, and the hospitality of Egyptian society toward refugees and asylum-seekers over the past six decades.

The exhibition will be open to the public until 9 September at the BA Conference Centre B1 Open Area. The photo exhibition was first held on International Day of Refugees in Cairo in early July, and it is scheduled to tour to other governorates.

The event was attended by representatives from government, the diplomatic community, donor countries, United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations, Egyptian civil society, media, and the private sector.

The BA offers precious opportunities to refugees and asylum-seekers. Projects and activities in which refugees participate allow them to develop their skills and talents, alongside their Egyptian peers, said Atassi. Refugees and asylum-seekers face numerous challenges in their daily lives and UNHCR works to support them and empower them, he added.

Egypt prides itself on being home to millions of refugees, with Jesus Christ, the first refugee in Egypt in recorded history. Refugees live among Egyptians and not in refugee camps, as they are an integral part of our society, pointed El-Fiqi.

Over the past four years, the BA and the Office of the UNHCR have worked together in Egypt to involve refugees and asylum seekers with Egyptians in various cultural, educational, technical and social activities to emphasise knowledge exchange and community cohesion.

The activities carried out included holding "Refugees Got Talent" programme, with various musical performances from Syria, Sudan and South Sudan as part of the 2017 World Refugee Day and "Heya (She) Campaign" with the participation of Syrian refugees who shared their stories of success on International Women's Day.

Lately, some 100 young refugees of different nationalities have participated in the BA's "Sawa" project, which focuses on encouraging community and volunteering initiatives.

As of 31 July 2018, Egypt hosts more than 233,000 refugees and asylum seekers from 58 countries as registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in which 40,000 reside in Alexandria and the northern governorates.

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In the non-fiction short, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival this week, Israeli and Palestinian actors read out stories and poetry, including a piece by journalist Amira Hass published in Haaretz called: I Was Just Following Orders: What Will You Tell Your Children?

Its a very strong text, Gitai told Reuters in an interview.

This is a piece that she wrote to the Israelis, wanting them to be aware of what is happening a very few kilometers from their border where there are 2 million people kind of caged in Gaza.

Gitai denied that the film drew any comparison to Nazi Germany, where people who committed crimes against humanity often justified their actions as only following orders.



Amira Hass doesnt make the comparison, youre making it, its in your mind, maybe it was in her mind, Gitai said.

Im for talking precisely. When we go beyond precision I dont think we help our argument.

For more than a decade Gaza has been controlled by the Islamist group Hamas and subjected to a blockade that has caused deep economic hardship among its people. Israel says it has to enforce the blockade to defend itself against Hamas, which has called for its destruction.

DIVIDED CITY



Gitai also brought a feature film to Venice, A Tramway in Jerusalem, which takes a lighthearted look at very diverse characters traveling together through the divided city.

Its a metaphor for what can be the relationship in a city as divided, as conflicted as Jerusalem when things get back to normality, he said.

As the movies screened, the leader of Britains opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, was facing accusations of tolerating anti-Semitism, something he denies. Last month Corbyn apologized for hosting a 2010 event at which another speaker reportedly compared Israeli policy towards the Palestinians to the Nazis policies towards the Jews.

I think that making this kind of comparison... helps right-wing tendencies within Israel, Gitai said. So its better to be ... precise and not make generalities.

Gitai will tackle the roots of anti-Semitism in his next film, set in the 16th century, which he said might feature one or more of the actresses he has directed before: Natalie Portman, Juliette Binoche or Lea Seydoux.

Some of them are in it  Ill let you guess, he teased.

Gitais films were screened out-of-competition at the Venice Film Festival, which ends on Saturday.

This story was edited by Ahram Online.

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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The impact of global warming on shallow marine life approximately 56 million years ago is the subject of a significant, new paper by researchers at Syracuse University.

Linda Ivany, professor of Earth sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), is the lead author of an article in Science Advances(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018). Her team's research is the first to address the effects of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM)--a relatively brief period of global climate change, spanning 200,000 years--on marine invertebrates, including snails, clams and other mollusks.

Marine invertebrates are animals without a backbone or an internal skeleton, occupying shallow seas and reefs. Invertebrates presently account for more than 98 percent of all animal life.

"The response of ecosystems [to the PETM] has been well documented for marine plankton, terrestrial plants and land vertebrates, but, until now, almost nothing has been published on marine shelf faunas," Ivany says. "This is because the stratigraphic record, showing where marine invertebrates are preserved on the continental margins, is full of gaps because of erosion. The chances of preserving a short-duration event, such as the PETM, are small.

Ivany figured that if her team could not "see" the effects of climate change in the geologic record, they could do the next best thing--look for them in sediment straddling the PETM. Turning their attention to the rich, well-preserved shell beds of the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain, the team sought out evidence of ancient bivalves, gastropods and scaphopods.

What they found was surprising. "The long-term effects of the PETM on these shallow-water communities actually was unremarkable," says Ivany, taking into account biodiversity loss, taxonomic turnover and ecological restructuring. "Any potential selection pressure imparted by global warming must have been weak, taxon-specific, short-lived and ultimately inconsequential to overall molluscan evolutionary history."

Co-author Warren Allmon says scientists have long presumed the PETM on the Coastal Plain to be a tome of major biological change. "Our study shows the importance of testing ideas we think we're sure of. Some organisms changed a lot across the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary, but most did not," explains Allmon, who doubles as the director of the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, New York, and the Hunter R. Rawlings III Professor of Paleontology at Cornell University.

There were exceptions, of course. Witness the abundance of marine life below the sediment surface, instead of on it. A large number of invertebrates also engaged in microbial symbiosis--interactions enabling them to profit from chemicals in the sediment, released by the decomposition of organic matter. "These characteristics are what one might expect from low-oxygen conditions typical of a super-greenhouse world," Ivany adds.

Potentially good news, from an evolutionary and ecological perspective, as these mollusks must have figured out how to stay out of hot water. Ivany thinks they "got lucky." In truth, their adaption to the prevailing warm conditions at the time, coupled with the slow release of carbon dioxide relative to the timescale of ocean mixing (i.e., distributions of heat, salt and chemicals), likely mollified the impact of global warming.

"When the dust settled and the climate had cooled back down, our faunas had not changed all that much," she says.

Nevertheless, the PETM is one of the best ancient analogs of modern climate change. The geologic record shows that, during a roughly 5,000-year span, some kind of terrestrial source--sedimentary, or volcanic, or both--pumped thousands of billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. This raised global marine temperatures by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit, triggering severe extinctions in the deep sea, as well as wholesale ecological reorganization on land.

The PETM likely was a perfect storm of global warming, acidification and oxygen stress. "Several things happen when you put large amounts of carbon in the atmosphere--the Earth gets warmer, and some of the carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, raising the acidity level near the surface," Ivany continues. "The warmer the water, the less oxygen it holds. All of these changes have consequences for marine life. We are seeing these same things today, along with their increasing effects on ecosystems.

Which begs the question: What implications do these results hold for the present and future response of shallow marine biota to ongoing global change? Ivany chooses her words carefully, explaining that the carbon dioxide release during the PETM occurred over thousands of years. Compare that to putting the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from only a few hundred years of human activity."

Whatever happened during the PETM was a "best-case scenario" for marine invertebrates, Ivany explains. "With everything happening so much faster now, it is more likely organisms will go extinct," she adds. "When the environment changes, you must move, evolve or die. If it changes faster than you can move or evolve, you're toast."

Source: Press Release
A preliminary report has revealed that the 700-piece ancient Egyptian collection at the National Museum of Brazil was destroyed in the fire that engulfed the 200-year-old building earlier this week, a senior Egyptian antiquities ministry official has said.

A massive fire swept through the museum, a former imperial palace, in Rio de Janeiro Sunday, destroying its collection of more than 20 million artifacts.

"The fire spread to all the sections of the museum and destroyed all its content and destroyed the hall of Pharaonic artefacts, which contained 700 pieces," said Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities on Thursday. He cited Egypt's foreign ministry, which is following up on the matter with Egyptian consular and embassy officials in Brazil.

The Egyptian artifacts included collectibles of Brazilian Emperor Pedro I, founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil, which he purchased in the 19th century from antiquities merchants. It also featured five mummies, one of which was kept in a sarcophagus and gifted by Egyptian Khedive Ismail to Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II during his visit to Egypt in the 19th century.

The Egyptian Consulate in Brazil is in communication with the head of the museum's Egyptology department to identify the exact extent of the damage caused to the Egyptian pieces, Waziri said.

Waziri earlier described the fire as "a great loss for humanity and world heritage."

The oldest scientific institution in the country, the museum housed one of the largest anthropology and natural history and paleontology collections in the Americas. It was also home to the oldest human fossil found in Brazil, the 12,000-year-old fossil Luzia, and dinosaur bones.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but Brazilian Minister of Culture Sergio Sa Leitao was quoted in Brazilian media as saying the blaze was likely caused by an electrical short-circuit or small paper-based hot air balloon landing on the roof.

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Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has returned to Cairo on Thursday after concluding a three-nation tour to Bahrain, China and Uzbekistan.

El-Sisi discussed with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ways to strengthen and develop bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields when he met with him on Wednesday.

El-Sisis visit to Uzbekistans capital of Tashkent is the first official visit of its kind by an Egyptian president to the central Asian nation.

During the visit, the two leaders attended the signing ceremony of several cooperation agreements between both countries on enhancing relations in the field of investments, agriculture, justice, and culture.

El-Sisi arrived in Tashkent from China, where he had been attending the China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Forum in Beijing.

El-Sisi witnessed the signing of a number of contracts with Chinese companies to implement development projects in Egypt, with total investment of $18.3 billion.

The contracts signed include the construction of the world's biggest power plants in El-Hamrawein region on Egypt's Red Sea coast, which will be powered by clean coal technology, and with a production capacity of 6000 megawatts, according to Egypt's presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady.

El-Sisi and President Xi Jinping had also held a meeting to discuss ways of boosting bilateral ties across various fields and issues of mutual interest.

The Egyptian president started his international tour with a visit to the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain on 30 August.

El-Sisi met there with King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and top Bahraini government officials and discussed mutual ties and regional issues of mutual interest.





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LONDONOn the day that iconic British brand Burberry announces its going fur-free, a global campaign has been launched ahead of Fashion Week in New York, London, Paris and Milan urging fashion house Prada to adopt a fur-free policy. The campaign headed by animal charity Humane Society International, its American affiliate the Humane Society of the United States, international coalition the Fur-Free Alliance, and with help from Care2, will see compassionate citizens targeting Pradas phone lines, email and social media urging the design house to drop fur because it is cruel, out-dated and has no place in a modern society.

Prada, which has a number of stores and outlets in the UK across London, Manchester and Glasgow, is a major fur user and its current range includes items made of fox and mink fur. Fur products include a fox fur jacket for 4,550, a mink fur jacket for 7,880, and a full-length fox fur coat for 10,700.

Pradas use of fur is increasingly out of mode; in the last year alone major fashion-houses Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, DKNY, Donna Karan and Jimmy Choo have gone fur-free. Many other global designers such as Hugo Boss, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger, Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood have long-standing fur bans.

HSI/UK Executive Director Claire Bass said Brands like Prada that continue to sell animal fur are becoming increasingly isolated as top designers drop fur cruelty from their collections, knowing that the vast majority of consumers find it obscene and obsolete. Prada has a clear choice to make as to whether it wants to be an apologist for the vile fur trade or to move with the times and strike a pose for compassionate fashion. We hope it makes the ethical choice to go fur-free, joining more than 900 brands that have joined the Fur Free Retailer programme globally. Its never been clearer that furs days are numbered, and with our #FurFreeBritain campaign were urging the government to blaze a trail as the worlds first fur-free country.

HSIs #FurFreeBritain campaign calls on the government to make the UK a fur-free zone by extending existing cat, dog and seal fur bans to cover all fur-bearing species. Although fur farming was outlawed in the UK on moral grounds in 2000, and EU regulations ban fur from domestic cats, dogs and from commercial seal hunts, Britain still imports and sells fur from a range of other species such as fox, rabbit, mink, coyote, raccoon dog and chinchilla. According to the most recent trade statistics from HMRC, in the last year*, the UK imported almost 75 million of animal fur (74,154,873). A UK fur sales ban would follow on from fur import or sale bans in India, Sao Paolo in Brazil, and San Francisco, West Hollywood and Berkley in the United States. Los Angeles is currently also considering an animal fur sales ban.

The #FurFreeBritain campaign has received significant political support, including a landmark Westminster Hall debate in June at which MPs of all political parties spoke passionately in favour of banning fur imports from the United Kingdom. A recent parliamentary report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee also called on the government to launch a public consultation on banning fur sales in the UK.

Public and celebrity backing for #FurFreeBritain is also growing. A 2018 YouGov poll commissioned by HSI/UK shows that more than two-thirds of the British public support a UK fur import ban, and earlier this year 31 of Britains biggest stars, including Dame Judi Dench and Sir Andy Murray, wrote to UK Prime Minister Theresa May in support of a #FurFreeBritain. The full letter can be seen here.

Pradas UK Headquarters can be contacted about their use of fur on +44 (0) 20 7399 2030, via email through our petition and Care2 or on social media: Twitter https://twitter.com/PRADA, Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PRADA and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/prada

HSI President and Acting President of the Humane Society of the United States Kitty Block writes about our Prada campaign on her blog here.

*April 2017March 2018 inclusive

Fur facts:

More than 130 million animals suffer each year in the global fur trade, the majority reared in terrible conditions on fur farms. This number does not include rabbits, whose numbers (in the hundreds of millions) are not reported by the fur trade.

Around the world in countries such as the U.S., France, Poland and China, wild species are kept in small, barren battery cages for their entire lives before being killed by gassing or electrocution.

Wild animals such as coyotes fair no betterthey can languish in agony in cruel traps for hours or even days before dying from dehydration, starvation or attacks by predators, or being shot or crushed to death when the trapper returns.

There is no legal requirement in the UK to use the specific word fur on items containing real fur. EU regulations require items defined as textile products that contain animal fur to carry the confusing wording contains non-textile parts of animal origin however this does not clearly tell consumers that it means real animal fur, and in practice this wording is rarely adhered to at all, as evidenced in our report Mislabelled and misleading. Products sold online are exempt from the above confusing wording requirement, and footwear or non-garment accessories such as handbags and keychains are also excluded.

The Fur Free Retailer programme (furfreeretailer.com) is managed by the Fur Free Alliance. It provides support and information to designers and retailers adopting fur-free policies, and it provides consumers a list of fur-free shopping options.

Media Contact: Wendy Higgins, whiggins@hsi.org, +44 (0)7989 972 423
Kobalts AWAL Inks Little Simz And Her Label AGE 101

Kobalt's recording arm AWAL has announced a global partnership deal with the hot UK hip hop artist Little Simz and her label, AGE 101. The company previously worked together for her 2015 debut album, A Curious Tale of Trials+Persons.

The AWAL and AGE 101 partnership includes global marketing, synch, global physical and digital distribution and label support.

At age 24 Little Simz, whose third solo LP is due to be released soon, has released two albums, three mixtapes and eight EPs (six solo and two collaborative projects  one with producer, Jakwob, and one with her collective, SPACE AGE) through her own label, AGE 101.

Her collaborations include Alt-J, Gorillaz, Kehlani, Stormzy, Kano, Khalid, Syd (The Internet), Bibi Bourelly, Chip, Mahalia, Jack Garratt and MNEK amongst others. She's also known for her live performances, aggressive touring and establishing her own festival WELCOME TO WONDERLAND: THE EXPERIENCE in London.

Paul Hitchman, President of AWAL, said of the deal, Simbi is a truly independent artist in every sense, with a strong creative and business vision. Having worked so successfully with Simbi and her management team on the first Little Simz record, the whole AWAL team is very excited to be back working together on her new record. Creatively this record is a big step forward, which opens up huge opportunity globally for such an innovative and influential artist, and we look forward to another successful partnership.

Little Simz added, The AWAL team truly understands my creative vision and where I want to take my music. I couldnt be more excited to have their support as I continue to grow and expand my career as an independent artist on a global scale.

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The Animal Control Commission was updated on the operations at the municipal animal shelter on Wednesday.

Pittsfield ACO: Conditions at Animal Shelter Have Improved



The outdoor kennels had been maintained and improved during the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter's time at the municipally-owned building. Since the organization was kicked off the property and it took what it considered its property, the shelter's outdoor area no longer can have dogs in it. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Animal Control Officer Joseph Chague is confident that the conditions at the municipal animal shelter have been improved.

The city has recently been accused of neglecting the shelter and endangering the animals being housed there. The city had just recently taken over the shelter's management from the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter.

The city took the shelter over in May to temporarily house stray dogs and cats picked up by the animal control officer. But recently Ward 2 City Councilor Kevin Morandi visited the shelter and was appalled by the condition.

"What we witnessed was deplorable," Morandi, a member of the Animal Control Commission said during the group's Wednesday meeting.

Chague said the Downing Industrial Parkway property was in poor condition when the city took over and have since been improved.

"The shelter was left to the city is severe disrepair," Chague said.

Chague said all of the kennel doors were removed by the prior occupants, the ventilation system was removed, there was damaged ceiling tiles and writing, and there was a screen needing replacement. He said the previous occupants removed the fencing for the dog runs so the city can no longer put dogs outside.

The city's Maintenance Department has now fixed many of the issues at the shelter, he said, and the mowing of the lawn has now been added into the regular schedule.

"All the issues, as far as I'm concerned, have been addressed," he said.

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the state Department of Agricultural Resources have inspected the building -- the latter being done on Tuesday. That report isn't available yet but Chague is hoping for a clean bill of health.

But Chague does expect to find some other minor maintenance issues here and there.

Morandi questioned whether or not the animals can go outside at all because the kennels on the rear of the property are in disrepair. Chague said the dogs are being walked but cannot be put into the outside kennels.

"We would have had outside kennels if they hadn't illegally removed the fencing," Chague said, adding that he remembers the fencing being installed by the city some 30 years ago.

The accusation of illegality would likely be contested by the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter, which invested a significant amount of money on repairing, replacing, and renovating the building during its tenure there.

The city has also bolstered the animal control staff and gathered volunteers to help take care of the animals.

"We now have a volunteer pool that we are using, helping us out on weekends, holidays, and days off," Chague said, adding that there is still room for more volunteers to apply.

The city has been faced with criticism over the management of the shelter since the fallout with the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini. Chague said so far the city has taken in 42 dogs and two cats and of those 34 had been returned, seven passed to the Berkshire Humane Society after the required seven-day hold expired, and another one will be turned over to the Humane Society on Wednesday.

"The average length of time is one day or less than a day," he said.

There was also concern from some who hadn't seen the animal control officer on site all day last month and that the dogs weren't getting proper care.

Chague said he was there in the morning of the day in question and that dogs are checked on multiple times throughout the day. It was up to other members of the Police Department to fill in on off-days. The city has hired a part-time animal control officer who will be on duty during the evening hours to further manage the sheltering operation.

The city had been taken to task on social media following a day in August during which the Friends of Eleanor Sonsini Animal Shelter were on site to remove some property that had been left behind. It was then Morandi, as well as City Councilor Christopher Connell, saw the conditions firsthand and have been vocal about the administration's handling of the issue.
'Operation Finale': Crime & Punishment

Director Chris Weitz's "Operation Finale," a tension-filled historical drama about the Israeli Mossad's 1960 capture of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires, reminded me of a turning point.

In my house when I was little, you didn't hear the actual word Holocaust. More often, the tragedy that had annihilated half of my family was referred to, in hushed tones, in terms of Hitler: before Hitler, during Hitler and after Hitler. Before was good, a seeming Heaven on Earth that maybe only we children would one day again realize. It was the unspoken hope.

But word that Eichmann, the architect of the Final Solution, had been captured, seemed to change things, to embolden those who had either survived the death camps or had successfully hidden for the entirety of the onslaught. Now they spoke of it  not as victims, but as survivors.

Suddenly, conversations contained more about the Future than the Before. The term survivor meant, "They didn't get me, and now we got him." But it wasn't as much about revenge as it was about vindication, a right to life and liberty, and that justice, albeit symbolic and slow, prevailed.

Oscar Isaac's portrayal of Peter Malkin, a top operative in charge of capturing Eichmann and bringing him to trial in Israel, embodies these emotions, the full weight and fate of the civilized world resting on his troubled shoulders. Flashbacks recount his personal losses, including scenes identifying the insane horror and ghoulishness of the Holocaust as an official policy of a major government.

While director Weitz carefully curbs the macabre and graphic truths so as not to overshadow the sociopolitical knowledge engendered, the mind boggles, as it must. Most shocking and frightening are the all-too-familiar expressions and buzzwords employed in the one-on-one conversations Malkin has with the Nazi SS officer during his turn in the guarding rotation, the flight to Israel delayed due to a diplomatic glitch.

Whether it's a simple matter of history repeating itself or the dynamic of readily available similarities and metaphors offering us insight into our own current debacle, the hairs on the back of our necks stand up when Eichmann scoffs at the notion of truth ("Whose truth?" he rants) and calls Jews animals. Sound familiar?

Ben Kingsley flourishes his usual brilliance as the caged monster, the beast as both self-pitying victim and unappreciated justifier of his misdeeds. The great feat here is that while his studiously constructed Eichmann never gains our sympathy, he is imbued with just enough slivers of humanity to illustrate how such despots, borrowing a trick from the Devil, feign compassion in order to corrupt gullible folks desperate for easy answers. Hmm. As subplot, Isaac's pensive Peter Malkin is a treatise in heroism, duty, honor, restraint and what it means to be a mensch.

There is hardly a paragraph of the film's dialogue that doesn't have as part of its elucidative sinew the attempt to understand the perennial war between good and evil and to applaud those who fight on the side of virtue. But the fascinating artistic achievement, aside of course from hoping to posit lessons from one of humankind's darkest chapters, is that, even though we know what happens, Weitz and his capable cast keep us on tenterhooks throughout the adventure.

Worried that some snafu might arise, we regularly remind ourselves of how this saga ended.

In addition to being an important adjunct to the events that have caused all sane human beings to declare that such an unthinkable horror must "Never Again" occur, on a less essential plane the actual catch, hold and export of Eichmann is quite an escapade. Aside from the fictional insertion of Melanie Laurent's Dr. Hanna Elian as Malkin's love interest/mission colleague, its accuracy is assured by several sources. As such, this is barebones derring-do, espionage, and covert bravado the old-fashioned way. There's no 007 magic here only brains and bravery.

But make no mistake about the role that revenge plays here, a primal passion integral to our being no matter how much we declare our desire to eschew it from our vocabulary of sentiments.

By every sense of justice we've accumulated since rising from the primordial mud, the convicting and sentencing of an aberrant pariah such as Adolf Eichmann is incumbent on any society proclaiming itself to be civil. Thus, inherent in the cerebral righting of venality, herein is contained the unapologetic, visceral rush of seeing the evildoer caught, vanquished, punished.

In the calm, post-cataclysmic moments leading up to the postscripts that tell what happened to whom, an eerie feeling insinuates itself. Albeit imperative politically and juridically that Israel settled this horrendous page in one of history's most despicable chapters, we know that wholesale genocide still blotches the globe, replete with mini-Hitlers and their complicit Eichmanns. We can only hope that the wisdom gained from narratives like "Operation Finale" may one day lead to a finale of this deviancy that contests our species' right to call itself human.

"Operation Finale," rated PG-13, is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release directed by Chris Weitz and stars Oscar Isaac, Ben Kingsley and Melanie Laurent. Running time: 122 minutes
I have spent many years and a considerable amount of time reading, assessing and making sense of the memoirs of the former Free Officers who led the 1952 Revolution in Egypt.

Some of these were an easy and pleasant read, while others were more sophisticated, though still reliable, and others still could easily be dismissed as untrustworthy.

Many of them were intriguing. They were rich, subtle and often vivid, but it was quite difficult to use them for historical purposes.

Among the latter category of memoirs is a towering book by former RCC (Revolutionary Command Council) member Khaled Mohieddin entitled Now I Speak.

When it was published, many of the other Free Officers were angry at it what it contained, as Mohieddin had told stories in it that stemmed from former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser whose truth he had not checked with other members of the RCC.

Former culture minister Tharwat Okasha, a former Free Officer, was particularly unhappy. I greatly benefited from such discussions.

My problem was a different one, however. I wanted to write a narrative telling as accurately as possible what happened in the week or ten days that led up to the 23 July Revolution.

Mohieddins account was the most detailed, covering 100 pages, but there was a snag in that it was difficult or even impossible to use.

He used two chronologies, the first starting on 17 July and giving precise dates, such as 21 July, and the second counting off the days and describing the events that happened on the first day, the second day, and so on.

Both chronologies said the third day in the build-up was a Friday, making it Friday 19 July. However, in fact this was not the case, as the last Friday before the revolution was 18 July. Many difficulties derived from this error, some of them crucial.

I asked for a meeting with Mohieddin and obtained one with the help of my friend Ali Durgham. I was struck by Mohieddins smile and his gentle manners.

I explained my problem. He asked me not to ask him questions about the days of the week leading up to the revolution. He remembered nothing, he said.

It was a week of considerable tension. There were many things to do. He had run everywhere, and there had been very little time even for sleeping.

Even later in September 1952 he had been unable to tell people what had happened in that week, he said, apart from certain key moments, crucial decisions and important meetings.

I pointed out that the chronology in his book had been quite detailed. He answered that he had not written those pages himself and that he did not have a reliable memory.

This was a plausible answer, as I discovered during the captivating discussion we had on many topics related to my research.

The books style and its way of talking had little relation to Mohieddin in person. He had a knack for quick and accurate description, and he was not afraid to use undiplomatic and blunt terminology.

He was very matter of fact, in fact, and was quite strong at assessing the balance of power in any relationship. There were no precautions, no psychological depth, and no ratiocination. He was telling the simple truth, as he saw it.

Anyone who has read his memoirs and knew Mohieddin personally will understand my point. The two voices were quite different. Somebody else must have written much of the book, to say the least.

A comparison of what he had to say about Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan Al-Banna in person and what the book says is funny, for example. Mohieddin was much harsher about Al-Banna in person.

I recalled this encounter when I came across Mahmoud Al-Mamlukes book The Presidents Cave: Hosni Mubaraks Last Confessions.

This was first published in 2014, but I did not have the time then to take a serious look at it. I have still to finish it, but I found the first 85 pages of the book very interesting.

One of its charms is that the reader seems to hear the former president speaking when reading the book, not the self-constrained official tone, but the military mans cheekiness.

In the book, Mubarak fiercely defends his legacy. On many counts, he is convincing, though on others what he says is more debatable. In the pages of the book I read he focused on foreign policy and what he said there should be seriously examined.

Foreign policy was one of Mubaraks strong points. He had considerable experience in it, and many foreign diplomats I have met were impressed by his flair, his ability to use simple words to describe complex issues, and his accounts of his own approach and recipes.

I know that many people in Egypt think the country was once a leader of the region and that it declined due to Mubaraks incompetence, but this is unfair.

Nasser and former president Anwar Al-Sadat were towering figures and larger-than-life characters, and during their rule Egypt punched above its weight. Theirs were glorious, but exhausting regimes.

Mubarak was risk-averse and a cold-blooded realist, and Egypt needed such a person at the time.

The 85 pages of the book I read had their own dose of sensational revelations. However, I do not want to dwell on these, as the country does not need any new polemics now.

Instead, I will focus on themes that could be useful for any leader and that are suggested, rather than plainly stated, by Mubarak.

First, Egypt should be trusted, but not taken for granted. This requires a delicate balancing act. Second, foreign policy is a key issue that deserves constant attention, especially in Egypts case, since it is both a powerful country and a weak one.

It is powerful in that it is a nation-state that has considerable soft power and a long memory. It also has a very strong army. Its location is strategic and its population numerous.

However, Egypt is also a poor country, underdeveloped, racing against time to face different challenges, and with chronic financial needs. It needs to exert its influence while avoiding wasting time and resources. It needs to fiercely defend its interests while avoiding costly and irreparable divorces.

Some of Mubaraks insights are fascinating. For instance, he tells us that there is something called African solidarity, and if you act in improper ways with another African country all the others will take notice and be wary of you, to say the least.

The price can be very high, as you will soon discover. These improper ways are numerous and include violating international law, trying to exploit ethnic tensions, or using military means without the utmost necessity.

Of course, none of this means that such methods should be ruled out. But their cost can be terribly high.

Another interesting point in the book is how to deal with Egypts financial weakness. Avoid begging, says the former president. Egypt has reliable friends in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

They know what is happening in Egypt, and they will know if you need their help. This can even be provided without prior notice. This does not mean that Egypt should not ask for aid, Mubarak says.

It does not mean being arrogant. It means being polite and knowing that as the leader of Egypt you have definite weight in the region.



I had the impression that he wanted to tell us not to ask for the help of those who might humiliate or marginalise Egypt. But I may be prone to illusions.

* The writer is a professor of international relations at the College de France and a visiting professor at Cairo University.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 September 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Insights from a leader



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iciHaiti - Washington : Being an entrepreneur and professional in the Diaspora





On Sunday, September 2nd, the Embassy of Haiti, Washington D.C. hosted a "Leadership and Empowerment Brunch" organized by Haitian Businesses, a networking platform for entrepreneurs and professionals to connect and support each other.



The guests, who were treated to a brunch catered by The Omelette Chefs Catering, were welcomed to the Embassy with a guided tour provided by Ambassador Paul Altidor. Thereafter, Sandra Florvella, CEO & Founder of Haitian Businesses, introduced Samuel Dameus of Faces of Haiti who discussed the theme "How we can sell a better image of Haiti" with the participants.



Following Mr. Dameus's enlightening presentation, Ambassador Altidor presented young Haitian American author Nivea Smothers with a Certificate of Excellence for the publication of her book "N is for Nivea".



The event concluded with a panel discussion featuring: Aurelie Mathieu, Asst. Attorney General at the Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia; Vania Andre, Editor in Chief of The Haitian Times; Alexandra Jean-Baptiste, Author & Humanitarian. The panelists discussed the theme Being an entrepreneur and professional in the Diaspora" and provided the public with advice on how to realize their professional aspirations.



IH/ iciHaiti






















iciHaiti - DR : The tracking continues, 337 Haitians expelled in Haiti





Following intelligence operations and of collection of denunciations of the Dominican population, aimed at locating Haitians in an irregular situation, the Directorate General of Migration (DGM) said that several migration control operations were carried out Tuesday, in different communities provinces of Santiago, La Vega, Valverde and Samana, in addition to the municipality of Santo Domingo East.



The control teams were composed of inspectors, agents of the Directorate General of Migration (DGM) with the support of the military, the National Police, members of the security personnel of tourism of the special body (CESTUR) in coordination with the Public Ministry of the Provinces concerned



620 Haitians were checked during the day and after verification, 337 compatriots in an irregular migration situation were transferred to the border posts of Dajabon and Jimani to be registered and deported to Haiti.



See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25408-icihaiti-dr-405-haitians-deported-to-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25342-icihaiti-dr-1-haitian-controlled-on-2-is-deported-to-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25298-icihaiti-dr-157-compatriots-deported-to-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25105-haiti-dr-more-80-of-haitians-controlled-in-santiago-illegal.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25298-icihaiti-dr-157-compatriots-deported-to-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-25004-icihaiti-social-our-compatriots-stalked-relentlessly-in-dr.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24740-haiti-dr-vast-operations-of-migration-control-at-the-border-700-haitians-deported-in-24h.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-24671-icihaiti-dr-more-than-240-haitians-controlled-143-deportees.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-24510-icihaiti-dr-more-than-500-haitians-controlled-281-deportees.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-24443-icihaiti-dr-dominicans-denounce-haitians-161-deportations.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24224-haiti-dr-hundreds-of-haitians-arrested-in-santiago-and-deported.html



SL/ iciHaiti


















Dorothy Lee Burse, 94, former executive director of Citizens Multi-Service Center, died on Sept. 3.

Burse was a longtime community activist and advocate for Indianapolis, especially the King Park and Crosstown neighborhoods.

Burses public service career began when she became parent-teacher liaison at IPS School #56. In 1969, she organized a youth center in the Crosstown neighborhood. She later became director of the Crosstown Youth Center in 1970. She was appointed executive director of Citizens Multi-Service Center in 1972, and she organized and became director of Citizens Neighborhood Coalition in 1976. She worked in both roles for more than 20 years, often working late into the evening, early in the morning or on weekends to meet the demands of both jobs.

Burse developed partnerships with not only local government, but also state and federal government as well as major lending institutions. Although Citizens Neighborhood Coalition was never funded for staff, she led the completion of new, multi-million dollar construction projects such as Broadway Heights Affordable Living Community and Fall Creek Proper Housing Development with a dedicated volunteer base. She also spearheaded other projects including purchasing and renovating low-income apartments, development and operation of CHOICE Learning Center and the operation of the Community Activity Center. While she officially retired in 1994, she didnt stop working for the community. She also served as a receptionist at Methodist Hospital.

For her dedication, Burse received several awards including the Mayors Community Service Award; the U.S. Conference on Leadership Award; Community Centers of Indianapolis Inc.s Service Award; the Indiana Christian Leadership Conference Drum Major Award; King-Kennedy Park Dedications, and she was named Sagamore of the Wabash by then-Gov. Evan Bayh. She also is listed in the National Council of Negro Womens Outstanding Black Women in the State of Indiana.

Burse was born Dorothy Lee Grimes on Sept. 5, 1923 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Her parents James and Katie Bailey Grimes moved the family to Indianapolis shortly after her birth.

Burse attended Indianapolis Public Schools, Porter Business College and IUPUIs School of Continuing Studies. She also received additional training in community leadership development.

Burse gave her life to God at an early age and was a member of 25th Street Baptist Church for more than 50 years, where she served as master of ceremonies, sang in the young adult choir and served on the community housing committee.

She married James W. Sam Burse in 1940. The couple had five children.

In addition to her passion for helping others, Burse also enjoyed several hobbies including roller-skating, sewing and upholstery, and traveling  especially to casinos.

Burse leaves to cherish her memory her daughters Rose Squires, Pearl (Leo) Robinson; grandsons Damon Spight (Karen), Kevin D. Browne and Eddie Robinson; granddaughters Angel Burse, Patricia Browne and Michelle Squires (Terrell) Wiggins; nieces Diane (Chris) Hull and Denise Oakley; special long-time friends Hazel Stewart and Lula Journey, and a host of cousins, church families, relatives, friends, and adopted children.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, two sons James Edward and Paul Lawrence; one daughter Dorothy Louise; sister Katie Louise; brother James Grimes, Jr.; one grandson, Otha Squires Jr., and son-in-law Otha Squires Sr.

Dorothy Lee Burse
In recent years, it has become commonplace to refer to donors of color as new and emerging. It suggests that a shift has occurred, or is occurring, in the philanthropy landscape, as if people not previously seen are suddenly appearing.

August was Black Philanthropy Month, a 7-year-old movement to recognize and celebrate centuries of generosity. Its a key moment to explain why its time to refocus our thinking and remember that people of color have been giving for centuries; its just that many nonprofits have ignored this group for too long.

Americas anticipated transition to a majority-minority country over the next three decades means that such neglect cannot continue.

Something else is also at play that makes use of the label new and emerging harmful, because the term threatens all genuine efforts to engage and connect with a rapidly changing society. The label obscures the very thing it purports to recognize.

The label may rightly apply to any person of color whose recent giving gets media attention in a world dominated by familiar names like Gates, Buffett and Zuckerberg. In this context, the term is not a problem. An individual may, indeed, have splashed onto the philanthropic scene, seemingly out of the shadows. That persons wealth and position may suggest the potential for more giving down the road; so, in fact, a new donor may have emerged.

The problem comes when entire racial and ethnic groups are categorized as new and emerging, a designation that seems increasingly common.

Long tradition of giving

First, the label denies history. People of color have deeply rooted traditions of giving that are centuries old.

For instance, African-American philanthropy spans the period from slavery to the present, but originated in precolonial West Africa. This history includes many informal ways of giving and sharing as a matter of daily living, as well as formal volunteering, donating, advocating, and other activities, especially through the Black church.

The contributions also consist of generous monetary gifts by people like Thomy LaFon (1810-1893), Colonel John McKee (1821-1902), Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919), Annie Malone (1869-1957), Kenneth and Kathryn Chenault and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few major donors over the past 200 years. So, to label African-Americans as a new and emerging donor group is simply wrong historically.

Second, the term perpetuates a limited definition of and harmful misconceptions about what philanthropy is and who counts as a philanthropist.

A definition of philanthropy focused only on wealth creates an excessive preoccupation with the social and economic elite and the number of zeros attached to their announced gifts. Such a view also reinforces prevailing myths that people of color are primarily recipients of philanthropy but not agents of it, especially within the context of the very real racial-wealth gap.

Third, the term misses the robust landscape of philanthropy among people of color today.

In African-American philanthropy, the Black church is still the communitys primary institution teaching and practicing philanthropic values every day. A large portion of Black giving is directed to the church, which then distributes it to causes locally and around the world.

Informal and communal ways of giving still occur among families, friends, and neighbors, as well as through organizations such as fraternities, sororities, and womens clubs. African-Americans with high net worth are using family foundations, donor-advised funds, and community-foundation funds to advance philanthropic agendas locally and nationally.

Shift of Perspective

It is time to right our vision and our language. When we label donors of color new and emerging, we violate a cardinal principle in philanthropy and fundraising: donor-centrism. We demonstrate that we are not approaching donors of color from their perspective  a donor perspective  but from our own organizational perspectives and a sense of what the donors can do for us. We view them with preconceived and ill-fitting glasses that obscure the truth of their generosity, the historical depths of their practices and their own uniqueness as individuals connected to cultural giving traditions.

Such spectacles frame a utilitarian view of donors of color in which they become a new frontier of untapped markets and low-hanging fruit  other unfortunate but common language in our field  that our fundraising apparatus must tap and pluck. We pride ourselves on making a Columbus-like discovery of what was known among the so-called discovered for generations.

Donors of color may, indeed, be new and emerging in any given organization. But that says more about the organization than the donors. It says the organization has little history of meaningfully and consistently engaging these donors on their own terms  a difficult admission to make, but a step in the right direction.

The nonprofit worlds adoption of one size fits all approaches to philanthropy and fundraising has tended to overlook the specific motivations, interests, and needs of donors of color. The unfortunate result is misalignment in our identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies, which fail to effectively engage this important group.

Until nonprofits recognize and correct this major discrepancy, we will continue to inappropriately engage them on our philanthropic terms, not theirs.

Tyrone McKinley Freeman is assistant professor of philanthropic studies, director of undergraduate programs, and affiliated with the Mays Family Institute on Diverse Philanthropy at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Reprinted with the permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy, philanthropy.com.
Tunisia is deliberating the question of equality in gender in inheritance. What it decides could impact the Arab world as a whole

The recently released report by the Individual Freedoms and Equality Committee (COLIBE) in Tunisia adopted a comprehensive perspective on questions of rights and freedoms.

Nevertheless, womens issues occupied a significant portion of the report and constituted the heart of the second section of the report, which focusses on equality, discussing questions related to gender, marriage, conjugal duties and relations with children.



With regards to inheritance, the report urged the exercise of constructive, rational thought based on two sets of factors.

One is socio-economic and includes, for example, increasing rates of female education and female employment that have been instrumental in changing the distribution and nature of gender roles in light of the growing financial responsibilities that women shoulder in the household.

Another factor in this set is the transformation from the extended to the nuclear family which, according to the report, has contributed to reducing familial pressures on women and increasing their prospects for independence.



The second set of factors relates to Islamic jurisprudence. The report states that gender equality is an intrinsic value in Islam.

It observes that the distribution of inheritance is contingent on a number of criteria such as the closeness of the kin relationship between prospective heirs and the deceased and the financial responsibilities borne by male heirs, rather than on just gender.

As a result, there are cases in which female heirs have inherited as much as if not more than male heirs.

Another factor cited in the jurisprudential category is that Companions of the Prophet exercised independent judgement on many questions, even on matters covered by an existing scriptural text.

For example, the Caliph Omar Ibn Al-Khattab determined that a wife was entitled to an extra share of the legacy of her husband if she had contributed to the accumulation of that legacy. It is called Haqq Al-Kidd wal-Saaya, (Right of Toil and Endeavour).



Some of the arguments cited in the report require further proof. For example, it has yet to be established that there is a necessary causative link between the shift to the nuclear family and fewer social pressures on women.

It could just as well be argued that the pressures come from the social environment regardless of the form of the family structure.

In all events, the report offers three alternatives on the question of female inheritance. One is equality between men and women under law, irrespective of the relationship of the female heir to the deceased (wife, sister, daughter, etc).

The second is to adopt a dual system whereby full gender equality in inheritance is the rule and male entitlement to twice the female entitlement is the exception.

The third alternative is to give women the choice as to whether or not they would prefer full equality in inheritance. If they choose equality, they would be backed by the law.

But what would happen in the case of women who were afraid to or unable for some reason to declare their choice? In answer to this question, the report merely suggested that lawmakers could make the choice: either to take a womans silence as preference for equality, or the reverse.



As we assess how the report handled the inheritance question, we can say that it took pains to consider as many cases as possible, which is good in and of itself, but this raised a number of problems which it failed to address adequately.

A womans silence on the question of equality in inheritance is a case in point. How can a woman be assured of fair treatment in inheritance if her silence, out of fear, is interpreted as consent?

Then there is the problem of choosing between the three alternatives mentioned in the report: gender equality in inheritance, applying Islamic law, and the middle course of leaving the question open to the choice of the persons concerned.

The drafters of the report came out in favour of the first alternative, but the Tunisian president has indicated that he prefers the second and turned the question over to parliament.

Now, if parliament sides with the president on this issue, what contribution will the report have made to womens rights as long as the trustee has the right to bequeath to his female kin however much he pleases?



In a previous article, I held that the inclusion of alternatives in the report was a sign of the drafters flexibility and respect for divergent views.

However, the problem is that although the position of those who are inclined to treat their male and female heirs equally in their last wills and testimonies will be supported by the law, if passed, those who are determined to apply Sharia law will ignore the new law and those who are opposed to female inheritance entirely will ignore both the new law and Sharia. So, whats new?

Tunisian society is contending with a complex range of political, economic and security crises. The rivalry between the proponents and opponents of the report, which is playing out in demonstrations on the street, is fraught with danger, especially as social media  that can so easily mobilise people onto the streets  cannot easily separate them.

Perhaps it was President Essebsis sensitivity to the complexities of the domestic situation that led him to opt for the middle of the road position.

That grey area certainly did not please his supporters after he, himself, had raised their expectations a year ago when he proposed gender equality in inheritance, only to backtrack later and plump for leaving the matter open to the choice of those concerned, his supporters forced to back him anyway against his political adversaries.



In practical terms, nothing has changed in the matter of equality in inheritance in Tunisia. However, the COLIBE report has thrown a stone not just into Tunisian but also into Arab waters, begging a debate that is likely to persist for some time.

* The writer is professor of political science at Cairo University.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 6 September 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Gender equality in practice

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Demand for titanium dioxide in Europe is well catered at the moment, after significant volumes of imports helped users to increase their stock levels, market sources have told Industrial Minerals.

According to data from...
A UK MP has launched a lone protest at the Nigerian embassy in London, demanding for Leah Sharibus released.

The young lady who has now sent 200 days in Boko Haram captivity following her abduction in February this year alongside her schoolmates of Government Science college, Dapchi.

Sharibu, a recently stirred public empathy after an audio recording was released by the insurgents, in which she was heard begging President Muhammadu Buhari to rescue her.

Sharibu was left behind by her captors because she refused to denounce her faith, while the other girls were returned by the terrorist group.

Therefore, Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake is staging a sit-in outside the Nigerian High Commission in central London to put pressure on the Nigerian government, he says.

Speaking with CNN, Brake says There cannot be a clearer example of someone whose human rights are being ignored than that of Leah who is being detained just because she has maintained her Christian faith.
Reno Omokri, former aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan has said every Nigerian now owes N105,000.00, following the total debt owed by the country.

According to Omokri, when GEJ handed power over to president Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2015, Nigeria owed 9 trillion (6 trillion was borrowed in 16 years) meaning every Nigerian owed 45000 at that time.

Reno Omokri says after three(3) years of president Buhari being in power, Nigeria now owes 21 trillion, meaning that each citizen now owes 105,000 as oppose to what they owed, when the former president handed over to the president.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, Omokri, he wrote that with recent loan signed by Buhari in China, Nigerias debt profile is now at N20 trillion.

When GEJ handed power to @Mbuhari on May 29, 2015, Nigeria owed 9 trillion (6 trillion was borrowed in 16 years) meaning every Nigerian owed 45000. But after 3 years of Buhari in power, Nigeria now owes 21 trillion, meaning that each citizen now owes 105,000 #RenosDarts  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) September 5, 2018

Omokri, also stated that 13 trillion of that was taken by the Buhari govt, accusing the present administration of doing nothing substantial with the loan, as 11 million Nigerians lost their jobs in the last 3 years.
Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has said the All Progressives Congress(APC) has no business presenting a gubernatorial candidate for the state. According to Wike, the APC has nothing to campaign upon other than to rig the process.

In a statement by the governor on Wednesday, he said the APC has no belief in credible elections. He alleged that the ruling party plans to use security agencies to their advantage.

1) Aside the plot to rig, the APC has no platform to campaign upon in Rivers State.

For the APC to even think of bringing up anybody against me in this state to challenge whether, I have done something or not, then you know that something is fundamentally wrong.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018

3) The APC does not believe in credible polls, rigging and fraud is in the DNA of the party. All their meetings, all their gatherings at the Federal Level, whether by hook or crook, they must have Rivers State.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018

He also accused the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi of not attracting any development to the state, using his position.

5) I wondered why the current Minister of Transportation has failed the people of Rivers State by refusing to attract a single project to the state. When I was a minister and he was in APC, I brought development to the state.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018

He also went on to list some of his achievements under his 3-year rule as governor, noting that more were underway.

8) As Governor of Rivers State, I have transformed the state. My third year anniversary celebration underscored the fundamentals of good governance with leaders across Political, traditional and social divides commissioning key projects.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018

9) In October, my administration will commence another leg of project commissioning. President Muhammadu Buhari would be invited to commission projects, even though he is unlikely to honour the invitation for political reasons.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018

Wike stated also that the President, Muhammadu Buhari doesnt respect the rule of law and that his government is full of impunity, making reference to Buharis statement on rule of law and national interest.

13) You heard the President say National Interest supercedes rule of law. I am not against the EFCC fighting corruption, if at all they are fighting corruption.

My concern is we must do it according to the law.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018

The governor also mentioned that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) cant be respected because the agency doesnt obey the rule of law.

15) The Federal Government is now saying that the money that comes to states will be monitored.

The EFCC can only be taken seriously if it operates within the rule of law by successfully appealing the 2007 judgment between the commission and the State Government.  Gov N E Wike Information. (@GovWike) September 5, 2018
Festus Keyamo(SAN) has said that over a hundred groups of supporters fell over themselves to purchase the All Progressives Congress(APC) nomination form for president Muhammadu Buhari.

Keyamo, who is the Director-general of the presidents re-election bid said this over Twitter on Thursday.

The human rights lawyer explained that a group, he identified only as NCAN beat other groups to purchase the N45,000,000 expression of interest and nomination forms for the president. As he congratulated them for achieving the goal, many other groups couldnt.

He wrote:
Senate president Bukola Saraki, is currently in the Coal city state to meet Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) stakeholders and intimate them on his plans to grow Nigeria.

The Senate president speaking via Twitter, explained that he would be meeting the Governor of Enugu, State Party Executives and national delegates to intimate them on the upcoming PDP Convention.

Saraki, who is also a presidential aspirant under the PDP and a national leader of the party hopes to clinch the partys ticket in order to represent the party in next years presidential election.

He wrote :

I just arrived in Enugu  the Coal City State. Here, I will be meeting with the Governor, State Party Executives and national delegates to the upcoming PDP Convention to intimate them on my plans to #GrowNigeria.

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The building ministers agreed to:

collaborate with the insurance industry to identify information and data to enable accurate risk quantification by insurer;

share information across national jurisdictions to facilitate risk management across the construction industry;

work with the construction industry to establish non-regulatory measures to help provide assurance to insurers; and

devise a permanent ACP labelling system through Standards Australia.

The forum also cited the need to provide building surveyors and certifiers access to professional indemnity insurance cover and tasked the building ministers senior officers group (SOG) to consult with the Building Regulators Forum (BRF) to work with insurers and other industry stakeholders to develop an Australia-wide framework.

The BMF will reconvene in December.

Roger Irvine, Gallagher head of construction for Australia and Asia, acknowledged the need to tackle the cladding issue, but wants actions to be taken soon.

"While we are seeing many insurers taking a flexible approach to underwriting of the cladding risk, it is very difficult to get any sort of cladding cover for building surveyors and certifiers in this market," Irvine said. This is a solid initiative for the BMF, but December seems to be a long way away for them to reconvene. The issues are happening right now, with the insurance market not being particularly supportive for the little guys."
IFA Congress 320x215

The International Fiscal Association (IFA) is set to hold its annual conference in Seoul, South Korea, on September 2-8 2018. The congress will focus on seeking anti-avoidance measures, particularly the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) and withholding taxes in the era of BEPS.

As part of this focus, the congress will look at collective investment vehicles and the digital economy, Clayson told ITR before embarking on the 5,500-mile trip from London to South Koreas capital city.

Ten specialist seminars will follow over technical issues, as well as cultural and social events, he added. After Thursday the stamina will have run out and well go hunting for a plane home.

The annual IFA conference has become a notable event in the diaries of tax professionals worldwide, offering a platform to exchange views on policy reform and the comparative study of different tax models.

I would say the key strength of IFA is its neutrality. We zealously guard our neutrality, not least because we treasure the engagement of governments and supranational organisations, Clayson said with pride. It gives IFA a unique position as a platform for businesses, advisers, governments and academics.

The hottest topic around today is digital tax, and this has not escaped the attention of the IFA, which will be discussing how to determine the value of a digital activity by the use of data, the number of clicks or advertising.

Taxing the tech giants

Some of the worlds biggest technology companies have come under fire for allegedly not paying their fair share of tax, driving governments to find a fix.

The EU may become a major proponent of digital tax, but the different EU countries are divided over the proposal. Some EU member states have become keen enthusiasts for digital taxation, whereas other countries are much more resistant, Clayson said.

Its going to be interesting to see how this evolves. Will the European Commission take a step back from its proposal for a directive and substitute a less-binding recommendation? No doubt the EC will try to encourage member states to find an agreement, he continued. This runs a little uneasily alongside the OECDs efforts to reach a consensus on taxing digital profits by 2020 or sooner if possible.

In this hugely contested area, there are radical differences between the countries who regard themselves as revenue winners and the countries who see themselves as revenue losers, Clayson said, pointing out that the US is in danger of being alienated in the process despite the US tech giants being the ones that will be hardest hit from the changes.

If a certain European country goes after the revenue or profits of an American tech company, this would deplete US tax revenue. It would be regarded as a grab, and that might not be healthy, he said.

However, he accepts that unilateral action may be inevitable.

The instinct is to favour harmonious global solutions. If one can arrive at an international consensus through the OECDs inclusive framework that would be a fine thing. But, as we all know, a growing number of countries have taken unilateral measures.

You have to respect the democratic process and their sovereign right to take such action. Its down to the economists to figure out the effect on business and who exactly picks up the bill for such measures. For example, we might see the cost of a digital services tax passed onto the consumer in the host state. This would mean higher prices for your own nationals if you take unilateral action. Then you have the impact on compliance for business.

A digital company based in a certain jurisdiction serving a worldwide market could face a much greater compliance burden if it is deemed to have a digital presence in more than 190 countries. Its an enormous challenge to come up with a sensible proposal, Clayson said.

Ones instinct is to see unilateral, uncoordinated measures as awkward ways to address these issues. At the same time, you can understand why a country might see it as their best economic interest to pursue unilateral action, he added.

However, the dust is unlikely to settle for some time as national governments attempt to change their tax rules to compete for investment and revenue from digital businesses. Its going to keep going for a while. The OECD originally said they were aiming for a digital consensus by 2020 but may choose to accelerate because of the signs that the EU might reach a proposal sooner.

While the OECD may be motivated establish some agreement by 2020 and not be left behind while the EU presses ahead with its plans, Clayson believes that there is clearly going to be greater international appetite for a profits-based tax than for turnover taxation.

This might be developed through the extension of the concept of a presence or permanent establishment, he added.

The business world is going to find it easier to acclimatise to a reallocation of taxing rights between the resident state and the state of the PE, including a digital PE, he continued. By contrast, the turnover tax is much more controversial. It was first put forward as a transitional measure, but there is always the worry that interim measures can go on and on.

The new era of tax norms

The rollout of BEPS to the inclusive framework has increased the tendency towards standardisation, while the common reporting standard (CRS) and automatic information exchange have expanded tax transparency.

Were seeing the ever-continuing rise of what we might call tax morality, the idea of a fair share for example. People with a legal mind-set might be a bit irritated with this vague notion, but equally if you are a democrat you believe in the rule of law and the importance of the democratic process, Clayson said.

So if politicians influenced by the media and the public decide to extend taxing rights in a certain way, you have to respect that, he continued. Even if the proposals on the table, like the turnover tax, tend to go against the grain of traditional tax thinking.

There is also a crossover into the world of corporate social responsibility. The last thing the CEO of a major company wants is to see himself on the front-page of a newspaper for tax avoidance however fair or unfair the allegations might be, Clayson noted.

This concern trickles down to the tax functions of corporations and the ways that professional advisers conduct themselves.

The norms take a soft form in some areas and a very sharp form in others. And this applies in international law: the rollout of treaty amendments via the multilateral instrument is a good example of a new legal norm, Clayson said.

If you look at the Seoul congress , the subject of withholding tax sounds like a standard topic thats been around forever  except this is in the context of BEPS and anti-abuse concepts like GAAR, phenomena such as funds as a measure of investment and the digital economy. We have notions of equalisation taxes and attempts to expand taxation on a source country basis.

The world of tax may be entering a new era, and the result may mean ever-higher standards and compliance demands for taxpayers and more work for advisers. But, whatever the pace of change, IFA looks set to keep up at every turn.

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Mexican Pyramid

The Financial Technology Institutions Law (FinTech Law) was published on March 9 2018. This law recognises the existence of cryptocurrencies and allows financial technology institutions to operate in cryptocurrencies that are recognised by Mexicos central bank. The legal recognition of cryptocurrencies as a new asset class brings with it the need to determine their tax treatment.

Cryptocurrencies tax treatment depends greatly on their characterisation for tax purposes. The Mexican tax system lacks guidance on characterising cryptocurrencies, leaving taxpayers to reach their own conclusions. Mexico is not alone here; whether a cryptocurrency is property or a currency has been debated in several jurisdictions, with the US favouring the former definition and Switzerland the latter.

Cryptocurrencies as property

If cryptocurrencies are treated as property for tax purposes, taxpayers should generally take the same approach as with any other property transaction. For Mexican income tax purposes, taxpayers are not be required to include value fluctuations in taxable income, and are only taxed upon a realisation event (e.g. a sale or exchange). Upon such an event, taxpayers should calculate the gain derived in the transaction as taxable income by comparing the fair market value at the time of disposal with the cryptocurrencys tax basis. This means that, unlike traditional currencies, payment for goods and services using cryptocurrencies should be treated as a barter transaction. As such, taxpayers are considered to have disposed of the cryptocurrency and sold the goods simultaneously, creating a taxable gain. Likewise, conversions from one cryptocurrency into another should be treated as a taxable event in the absence of any rules allowing tax-free like-kind exchanges.

Several practical issues remain unresolved under the property construct. For example, there is uncertainty as to the methodology for taxpayers to compute their tax basis in the cryptocurrency in the event of multiple acquisitions (i.e. first-in, first-out, last-in. last-out, specified identification or weighted average), which may result in tax planning opportunities considering the volatility of cryptocurrencies. From a valuation perspective, it is also uncertain which value should be considered when computing gains on a disposition, as cryptocurrencies market prices may fluctuate intraday and market prices may differ between exchanges.

From a VAT perspective, the property construct entails that any transaction in Mexico is subject to 16% VAT. In the absence of any specific rules, it may be hard to establish whether a cryptocurrency transaction takes place in a Mexican territory. Since cryptocurrencies are more akin to an intangible asset for VAT purposes, any cryptocurrency transaction should be treated as materialising in Mexico if it takes place between Mexican residents. Therefore, taxpayers may be faced with the draconian (perhaps impossible) task of determining whether a transaction triggers VAT, as it is generally hard to establish the residency of a counterparty to a transaction conducted on a cryptocurrency exchange.

Cryptocurrencies as currencies

Conversely, treating cryptocurrencies as currencies would result in different tax consequences. As a starting point, cryptocurrency holders would need to mark-to-market their investment and consider foreign currency gains or losses on any value fluctuations between the MXN and the specific cryptocurrency. This would be challenging for taxpayers, as they would be required to recognise value fluctuations on a highly volatile asset. However, cryptocurrency transactions would not trigger taxable gains for the cryptocurrency holder. From a VAT perspective, treating cryptocurrencies as currencies would be favourable, as cryptocurrency transactions would benefit from exemption under VAT law. While the currency construct has surprising income tax consequences, the VAT regime would be preferable for taxpayers using cryptocurrencies as a payment method for everyday transactions.

In our view, the currency construct is hard to sustain from a legal perspective, as cryptocurrencies generally lack legal tender status in most jurisdictions, rendering them more akin to property for tax purposes. While there are stronger legal grounds to classify cryptocurrencies as property, this classification defeats the purpose of cryptocurrencies as decentralised currencies, as the income tax and VAT consequences of everyday transactions may curtail the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method. A solution could be to grant a statutory exemption from income tax and VAT on transactions falling within a specified threshold  this has been proposed in the US for transactions under $600. This would both promote the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method and avoid costly compliance expenses for taxpayers. It would also be a better use of the tax administrations time and resources given the complexities of auditing cryptocurrency transactions.

Hard forks

Another major unresolved tax issue for cryptocurrencies involves hard forks, defined by David Farmer in the July 27 edition of The Coinbase Blog as a change to the software of the digital currency that creates two separate versions of the blockchain with a shared history. A hard fork entails the original holder retaining their interest in the original cryptocurrency while having the right to use the forked cryptocurrency, with each being traded separately and having its own value. Perhaps the best-publicised hard fork was that involving bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH), which took place on August 1 2017.

A hard fork raises several unique tax issues because it is unclear, according to the American Bar Association, whether a cryptocurrency holder who becomes entitled to use a forked cryptocurrency must recognise the fork in taxable income. One could argue that despite a cryptocurrency and a forked cryptocurrency sharing a pre-fork transaction history, they have different intrinsic qualities that account for their different market values. If they have material differences and their own market values, it is hard to maintain that the fork is not an accession to wealth for the holder, who can now use the forked cryptocurrency as a payment method.

Assuming the fork is taxable, several complexities arise as to the timing and amount of the inclusion. For example, after a hard fork takes place, the forked cryptocurrency faces a process of market price discovery, during which the market will determine its value. In the absence of any rules, taxpayers may be left with the difficult task of determining the amount of income inclusion. This is because the fair market value of the forked cryptocurrency will be determined gradually, and it is uncertain when the holder takes constructive receipt of the forked cryptocurrency.

Another aspect to consider is that the fork does not give rise to taxable income, as the market value of the original cryptocurrency already prices in the possibility of a fork. To sustain this position, one would have to argue that the fair market value of the original cryptocurrency was decreased by the value of the forked cryptocurrency. This may be hard to probe given market volatility and the fact that the forked currency will undergo market price discovery of its own. Under this construct, and assuming cryptocurrencies are property for tax purposes, a practical issue may arise as to how to divide the tax basis between both cryptocurrencies because this will be relevant when computing taxable gains on subsequent dispositions.

The complexities and intricacies described above highlight how tax legislation has been surpassed by cryptocurrency development. The need for tax regulation is evident, but in the absence of any specific guidance regarding cryptocurrencies, taxpayers should be aware that cryptocurrency transactions may create taxable events.





Omar Zuniga

Eduardo Brandt



Omar Zuniga (omar.zuniga@creel.mx) and Eduardo Brandt (eduardo.brandt@creel.mx)

Creel Garcia-Cuellar Aiza y Enriquez

Tel: +52 (55) 4748 0665 and +52 (55) 4748 0623

Website: www.creel.mx

The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws.  2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ.

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Space tax 320x215

This years congress looked at withholding taxes, the digital economy and the impact of the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR). As the congress attendees fly back from South Korea, IFA can turn its attention towards September 2019, when the 73rd congress will be coming to London, and the plans are already in motion.

The technical programme has been shaped partly by [Londons] role as a global financial centre, IFA President Murray Clayson told International Tax Review. So, there will be some focus on interest deductibility and how it has been reformed as part of BEPS Action 4 and the other central topic will be investment funds.

Though the future of the UK as a financial hub is the main area that the conference will address, the menu of seminars includes how taxing rights will work in space. It sounds a bit crazy, but a lot of preparatory work has already been done on this, Clayson said.

This may sound like a highly speculative area. However, this is the era of Elon Musk and his companys efforts to make space travel commercially viable. Such initiatives as Space X are taxable by traditional means on Earth, but one day this might not be the case.

Its possible to imagine a future situation where a company manages its intra-group transactions in space and its difficult to see how a national government would justify taxing such an exchange. Tax advisers have suggested that the prospects of such transactions could be a new VAT loophole.

This may seem like a distant prospect today, but the problem of taxing rights in space is a similar dilemma to taxing the high-tech economy. Any business model that moves away from the conventional idea of a presence will naturally raise difficulties for tax policy.

There are critical questions to answer, such as who owns, and thus which country can tax, the mineral resources. How would a terrestrial jurisdiction tax commercial activity outside Earth? Do satellites constitute a permanent establishment? How do indirect taxes apply? Clayson mused.

A lot of the precedents are set by material from one or two of the space treaties, but also the international law of the sea, he added.

All of this suggests that the pace of change in tax appears to be increasing rather than decreasing, and it is worth asking whether IFA can keep up. Clayson told ITR that the association is coming into its own precisely because the tax world is undergoing fundamental changes.

If you look at the origins of international tax in the 1920s and 30s, the early construction of tax treaties, the focus was on taxing profits and there was an acceptance that double taxation was bad for the health of the economy, Clayson said. Now, fast-forward to this century and were five years into the BEPS project, which is the most astonishing reformation of the international tax architecture.

Since IFA was launched in 1938, the association has grown from its European foundation to a string of different branches that now works across Europe, America and the Asia-Pacific region. The association is keen to expand in Africa, and the 2022 congress will be in Cape Town, South Africa.

This is at the same time as the OECD has pushed out BEPS and the global transparency agenda is drawing in more and more countries, Clayson said. It is an extraordinary evolution in a very short period of time.

Yet the most extraordinary changes may still be in the future. If tax avoidance goes extra-terrestrial, the anti-avoidance agenda will follow and space tax may prove to be the next front for tax advisers and their clients.

The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws.  2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ.

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Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen speaks to the board about the new and different things Iowa State has begun to implement to make the school function better and more economically during the Board of Regents meeting Feb. 22.
Mohamad Hafez, architecture graduate from Iowa State University, speaks about how he uses his art to recreate a time or memory through a suitcase. Through his art he hopes to humanize the refugee's plight. This lecture took place in the Memorial Union on Sept. 5.
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Read our full Opinion Policies here. Updated on 10/7/2020
It has been almost a year since Apple confirmed it was acquiring the music recognition service Shazam, and the process appears to be nearing its conclusion.

While the initial process was completed, with both parties agreeing to the acquisition, the regulatory bodies needed to step in and decide whether or not this move was okay. As such, both the European Commission and EU Antitrust regulators stepped in to investigate the planned acquisition. That was in February and April, respectively. Now, months later, it sounds like Apple is going to get what it has been after.

Those investigations were meant to determine whether or not the acquisition would give Apple a plethora of information related to its competitors. If that was determined to be the case, and if the EU ruled this would result in a reduction of streaming music options for customers in that region, then the acquisition would probably be denied.

Today, the European Commission has officially announced this week that Apple has been granted permission to acquire Shazam:

Data is key in the digital economy. We must therefore carefully review transactions which lead to the acquisition of important sets of data, including potentially commercially sensitive ones, to ensure they do not restrict competition. After thoroughly analysing Shazams user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market.

The announcement confirms that the commission ruled that Apple and Shazam offer complementary services, and do not directly compete. As a result, Apples acquisition of the platform would not significantly reduce competition and options for customers. Apples biggest direct competitor in Europe is Spotify, and Shazam is one of many services that is actually integrated into that streaming platform.

When Apple announced the acquisition of Shazam last year, it said that there are exciting plans for the future, but would not go into any detail about what that means. There is no word on what Apple plans on doing with Shazam once the acquisition is finalized, nor what it means for the services integration in other apps and platforms.

Our Take

It isnt a shock that the EU regulators have approved of Apples acquisition, even if it did take quite a bit of time to finish the process. What will hopefully be exciting is what happens next, once Apple starts rolling out those plans for Shazam  as long as the services helpfulness doesnt get reduced in a meaningful way.

[via EU Commission
Narragansett object to library project The Narragansett Indian Tribe is considering legal action against the library board of trustees if excavation is performed for the proposed expansion at 26 North Road. We are being pushed...

Housing authority hires new director With the appointment of a new executive director, residents at the 47 federally subsidized apartments on Pemberton Avenue are hoping for peace and quiet following 32 months of instability in...
Rising water means a risk of flood-related injuries, especially for those who put themselves into the water.

Doctors are warning there's a lot of hidden dangers when it comes to flood water.

Mercy Medical Center tell us they've seen a number of drownings, near-drownings, and infections all from flood waters.

Contaminated floodwater can have sewage along with human and animal waste that can make people sick.

The biggest danger doctors say is drowning.

If kids are playing in fast-moving currents they can potentially get swept away.

Dr. Karl Anderson with Mercy Medical says there are also storm drains that children may not be able to see.

"Kids can get stuck into storm drains, they can get pulled under water, even if they're not sucked into the storm drain they can become trapped against the storm drain and not be able to get themselves free to get to the surface," says Dr. Anderson.

Photos posted on Facebook four days ago show children in Benton County playing in flood water.

The weather might not be ideal, but these kids were making the best of it at Hoefle Dulin! Please note that we did have... Posted by Benton County Conservation on Monday, September 3, 2018

Although it may seem like a fun idea, Dr. Anderson tells us it is just not safe.

"Flood water by nature has raw sewage in it, its untreated water so there's a big risk of infection, you know primarily would be GI symptoms, vomiting and diarrhea," says Dr. Anderson.

Doctors say other things to look out is open wounds that could become infected.

Be cautious of sharp options like broken bottles or cans you can't see in the water, they can cause injuries especially if you're barefoot.

After strong storms, there is also a chance there could be hidden power lines that aren't visible.

Doctors say their biggest advice is to stay away from standing water after flooding.

If you are in contact with flooded water, practice good hygiene, wash your hands, and make sure you get into dry clothes.
Dr. Ross Halperin, radiation oncologist and regional medical director with the BC Cancer Agency in Kelowna, talks about the importance of PET/CT scanners. The BC Cancer Foundation recently completed a $5-million campaign to bring the diagnostic machine to the Kelowna cancer centre in 2020.
EUGENE, Ore. -- A wood product company in Eugene is taking action after it was fined $64,000 for mishandling hazardous waste.

Bill Dunbar, a spokesperson with the United States Environmental Protection Agency told KEZI 9 News an inspection in 2014 revealed J.H. Baxter & Company had hazardous chemicals -- used to protect wood products -- outside the containment area, which could have contaminated the groundwater and soil.

Dunbar said the company is working with their organization and the DEQ to clean up the area and are putting prevention measures in place so it doesn't happen again.

He said luckily, they discovered the hazards early, and neighbors nearby dont need to be concerned.

The violations that we noted and that are being resolved with this action don't pose a risk to neighbors, Dunbar said. We seemed to have caught this very early so there was not a significant amount of migration at all from the controlled areas where they're allowed to store this hazardous waste."

KEZI spoke to Charles Purkrebitz, who lives near the facility. He said he uses a water pump that gets water from underground, and he's still concerned for his safety.

"I'd like to be safe because even though you don't use the water on vegetables and stuff like that, you could get it on you," Purkrebitz said. "Take out the hose ... gets on you ... so Id like to feel more secure."

KEZI spoke with other neighbors who said they are not worried about potential hazards from that 2014 inspection as long as the company continues to do their part to resolve the situation.

Staff with J.H. Baxter & Company sent a statement in response to the 2014 inspection. They said they are working with the EPA and Oregon DEQ and have reached an agreement to resolve the issue. They also noted they have no plans of closing the facility as they continue to work with the two agencies.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Oregon State University scientists may have the answer to why Mount St. Helens is out of line with other major Volcanoes on the Cascade Range.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reports university geophysicist Adam Schultz and his team think a giant subsurface rock formation diverted magma, causing Mount St. Helens to form west of the Cascadia Arc.

The team of researchers layered together different imaging studies of the volcano to give a clearer picture of what's below the surface. Their work is being published this week in the peer-reviewed journal "Nature Geoscience."

The team's research indicates the Spirit Lake batholith served as a plug in the Earth's crust, diverting the magma.
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - The FBI says a South African man has arrived in Oregon to face multiple sex-abuse charges, filed a quarter-century ago.

The FBI says it arranged for sheriff's deputies to meet the plane carrying Barrett Preston Busschau to Oregon on Wednesday. He had agreed to return to the United States to face the charges.

Now aged 43, Busschau was 18 when he was charged in 1993 for the alleged molestation of five girls between the ages of 10 and 15. He fled before trial.

The FBI months ago began targeting South African media with wanted posters that showed an age-adjusted image of the suspect and offering a reward of up to $10,000.

Busschau's U.S. attorney was in a meeting and not immediately available for comment.
EUGENE, Ore. -- Survivors and first responders involved in past mass shootings spoke at the University of Oregon on Wednesday, talking about ways to better serve survivors of these tragedies.

They were there for the third annual "Leave No Victim Behind" seminar, part of the National Victim Support conference.

About 200 national experts also talked about ways to help people in need after mass shootings and lessons learned.

They talked about how to help survivors and what they learned from the recent shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida.

KEZI spoke with Julie Workman, who survived the Sutherland Springs Church shooting in Texas last year, where 26 people died and 20 others were hurt.

"I think that you know, we have lots of people from all over, but I think there are more people that need to hear and need to learn from and where to go," she said.

Her son Kris said what happens after horrific events like shootings are so important.

"Down in Texas, we were treated so well and coming here and sharing our perspective on how we were treated and what happened moving forward and you know how we were helped by our various resources and government agencies, that's what we are here to highlight," he said.

The conference will run again on Thursday and Friday.
BOULDER, Colorado  A Rochester man accused of the online harassment of female students at the University of Colorado is pleading guilty.

Eric Ronald Bolduan, 43, entered guilty pleas Thursday in Colorado Federal Court to three counts of stalking and three counts of sending threats through interstate communications. Prosecutors say Bolduan would take public images of his victims, combine them with pornographic images of woman who resembled them, and post the combined images to various pornographic websites, often including the victims name, school, and contact information.

Investigators also say Bolduan sent emails to his victims where he claimed the online harassment would continue unless the women left school or committed suicide. He was also accused of sending other emails where he described stalking his victims and planning to torture, rape, and kill them.

Court documents say Bolduan told law enforcement he starting the online activity as a way to draw attention to the problem of revenge porn but quickly began to harass women out of frustration and anger about his own impotence.

Bolduan is due to be sentenced on November 29. Besides the four victims in Colorado, he is suspected of doing the same thing to more than 50 woman across the country.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  Rochester Public Schools has reached an agreement on student discipline policies with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

The Board of Education approved the agreement, which the school district calls a continuation of the districts ongoing efforts to ensure that student discipline policies and procedures are applied fairly and equitably for all students, on Tuesday

Superintendent Michael Munoz says reaching this deal was complicated by Rochester Public Schools existing resolution agreement with the United States Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights addressing issues related to student discipline disparities. In the wake of this new agreement, Munoz emphasizes that no state or federal agency has made a finding that Rochester Public Schools has engaged in any form of discrimination with respect to its student discipline policies and procedures

Munoz also says a review of preliminary data from the 2017-2018 school years shows positive trends on students not being unnecessarily removed from the classroom, including:

- Ninety two percent of the school districts 19,641 students were not removed from the classroom due to a disciplinary issue during the 2017-2018 school year.

- The total number of incidents in which a student was referred to an administrator due to a behavioral issue dropped from 12,361 during the 2016-2017 school year 4,336 during the 2017-2018 school year.

- The number of students who were referred to administration dropped from 2,807 during the 2016-2017 school year to 1,562 during the 2017-2018 school year.

- Of the 1,562 students who were referred to administration during the 2017-2018 school year, 888 students were referred to administration only one time during the entire school year.

- A small group of consisting of 196 of the 19,641 students enrolled in the school districts schools accounted for nearly 50 percent of the 4,336 referrals from the 2017-2018 school year. An even smaller group of 20 students accounted for approximately 10 percent of the 4,336 referrals.

Munoz says despite those successes, Rochester Public Schools acknowledges there is still work to be done.
Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was not yet ready to come to an agreement over trade disputes with China but he said talks would continue.

The worlds two largest economies have slapped tariffs on $50 billion of each others goods in a tit-for-tat trade war, and Trump is considering imposing tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports.

Weve done very well in negotiations with China but were not prepared to make the deal that theyd like to make, Trump told reporters at the White House without elaborating on the details.

Well continue to talk to China. I have great respect for (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping), Trump said. But right now we just cant make that deal.

Washington has demanded Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for U.S. companies, cut industrial subsidies and slash a $375 billion trade gap.

China has accused the Trump administration of applying hardline tactics and has called for more talks.

Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio
(Kitco News) - Holdings of gold by global exchange-traded funds and similar products fell by 40 tonnes during August, the World Gold Council reported Thursday.

Holdings now stand at 2,353 tonnes after three straight months of declines. The drop was also coupled with softer gold prices and assets under management fell by 3%. For the year to date, ETF holdings are now down by 18.5 tonnes.

Most ETFs trade like a stock but track the price of the commodity, with metal put into storage to back the shares. They give investors exposure to the gold price without incurring certain expenses such as assaying and storage.

Funds listed in China saw net gains as investors hedged trade risks and currency weakness, the WGC said in its report. Flows in Europe were mostly flat. Global outflows were led by North American funds  driven by a combination of momentum  as the U.S. dollar gold price fell by more than 2% for the month  and a risk-on appetite by U.S. investors in the face of an expanding economy.

Gold ETFs based in North America posted outflows of 44 tonnes. Those in Europe grew by four tonnes, while Asian ETFs added two tonnes. Other regions posted a reduction of two tonnes.

Funds in South Africa and Turkey suffered losses as the rand and lira depreciated sharply, the WGC said. In Turkey, anecdotal evidence suggests that investors have been using gold as a source of liquidity, and we believe South African investors may have acted similarly.
BUENOS AIRES, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Road access to MMG Ltd's Las Bambas copper mine in Peru, which had been blocked by protesters last week, has been restored and company logistics are operating normally, the company said late on Wednesday.

Members of the indigenous community Nueva Fuerabamba had occupied a section of the road where it passes through their farmland to demand compensation from the company for use of it, a community lawyer said last week. In response, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra's government declared a state of emergency along the length of the road, which suspended civil liberties such as the right to protest.

MMG said in an email that road access was restored over the weekend.

Las Bambas, located at more than 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) in an Andean region scattered with farming villages, has been the target of several protests in recent years. Four men were killed in clashes between protesters and authorities in 2015 and 2016, and protesters blocking roads in 2016 forced the company to suspend its copper shipments and nearly halted its operations.

(Reporting By Mitra Taj Editing by Frances Kerry)

Messaging: mitra.taj.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Hyonhee Shin, Susan Heavey

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Koreas Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for denuclearization, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trumps first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would get it done together.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss practical measures toward denuclearization, Moons national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said a day after meeting Kim.

The summit could provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearization between North Korea and the United States, after Trump canceled a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month citing lack of progress.

Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was unchanged and that he wanted denuclearization and an end to hostile relations with the United States before Trumps first term in office ends in early 2021, Chung said.

He particularly emphasized that he has never said anything negative about President Trump, Chung said.

Trump welcomed Kims remarks in a trademark Tweet.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together! Trump wrote.

In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear program if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.

U.S. officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearization or other key terms such as verifiable and irreversible, and has insisted the United States must first agree to simultaneous steps to reduce economic pressure.

Pompeo, visiting New Delhi, declined to discuss the next steps but said there was a long road ahead in the denuclearization process.

Pompeo visited Pyongyang in July, after which North Korea accused him of making unilateral and gangster-like demands for denuclearization while showing little interest in ending the war.

It is the case that there is still an enormous amount of work to do, Pompeo told a news conference on Thursday.

Asked about U.S. intelligence that North Korea was still advancing its weapons programs, Pompeo noted that Pyongyang had ceased its nuclear tests and test-firing missiles, which we consider a good thing.

But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make this strategic shift that weve talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues, Pompeo said.

Moons national security adviser Chung said Kim had stressed the need for the United States to reciprocate North Koreas initial moves, which have included dismantling a nuclear test site and a missile engine facility.

The U.S. embassy in Seoul said it had no information to share on the matter.

FRUSTRATION

North Koreas official KCNA news agency said Kim told the Souths envoys that his fixed stand was to turn the Korean peninsula into a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat.

Chung said Kim showed frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearize, and asked us to convey his message to the United States.

He said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith, Chung said. He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures toward denuclearization if action is taken in response to the Norths preemptive steps.

U.S. officials have previously said they have already made concessions, such as halting joint military exercises with South Korea.

During his meeting with Kim, Chung delivered a message from Trump and will relay comments from Kim to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moons spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters.

Trump spoke to Moon on the evening before Chungs trip and asked Moon to act as chief negotiator between Washington and Pyongyang, the spokesman said.

WHAT HAPPENS FIRST?

Kim and Trump held a landmark summit in Singapore in June, in which they agreed to work toward complete denuclearization. But negotiations have made little progress, while signs North Korea has maintained work on its weapons have emerged.

Under discussion is whether denuclearization or declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning U.S.-led U.N. forces, including South Korea, are technically still at war with the North.

The United States shouldnt delay any further an end-of-war declaration, which the U.S. president promised at the Singapore summit, the Norths official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial.

U.S. officials have said such a declaration could weaken North Koreas incentive for denuclearization, and create uncertainty about the purpose of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the three-year war.

Looks like Kim is trying to wash away worries that talks could stall or fail, knowing well that Washington is losing patience, said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

Kim also made it clear that he needs some kind of proof Trump has abandoned the U.S.s hostile policy before moving toward denuclearization. Kim is trying to prove his sincerity.

Additional reporting by Cynthia Kim Joyce Lee in SEOUL John Walcott and Susan Heavey in WASHINGTON and Phil Stewart in NEW DELHI; Writing by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Chris Cushing and Nick Macfie
By Zhang Guijie, Yang Shuangquan

BEIRUT, Sept. 5 (ChinaMil) -- The 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon jointly organized the "Peacekeeping Operations Discussion and Traditional Culture Exchange" activities with African friendly armies in United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) such as Ghana, Tanzania and Sierra Leone on the afternoon of September 3, local time.

The theme "Carrying out win-win cooperation, going forward together" was adopted for the activities. The leaders of Chinese peacekeeping force, chief of UNIFIL Staff Welfare Unit, commanders of peacekeeping forces of Tanzania and Ghana, and staff officers of Sierra Leone participated in the activity.

The commanders of peacekeeping forces of China, Tanzania and Ghana introduced their respective tasks and conducted in-depth discussions and friendly exchanges in various topics such as security situation in the mission area, peacekeeping operations and security defense. The mission execution documentary film of the 17th Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon was shown to the participants.

The Chinese side also introduced the current situation and development trends of the "Belt and Road" Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the African friendly forces. Thereafter, they watched the video of the keynote speech delivered by President Xi at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to help African friendly forces better understand China.

After the seminar, the Chinese and African peacekeeping troops hosted a Literary Evening including traditional literary performances such as martial arts, instrumental music, singing and dancing, which are full of the charm of traditional Chinese and African culture.

According to the commander of Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon, in order to further strengthen coordination and cooperation with foreign friendly forces and better accomplish peacekeeping missions, the Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon has also carried out exchange activities with various peacekeeping forces from France, Italy, South Korea, Ireland and Cambodia in various areas such as mine clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), traditional cultures, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance. In all the Chinese peacekeeping force has established friendly cooperative relationship with their friendly armies in UNIFIL.

The commander of the Chinese peacekeeping force to Lebanon introduces the "Belt and Road" Initiative to the guests. (Photo by Yang Shuangquan)




By Kang Seung-woo







As Southeast Asian countries are currently emerging as the darlings for Koreans' vacation destinations, they are keen on promoting their sightseeing spots.







However, Maria Apo, director of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Korea, stresses that her country is ahead of its neighbors thanks to a number of specialties appealing to Korean travelers.







Maria Apo, director of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Korea, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Aug. 29. / Courtesy of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Korea





"Our first main advantage is that the Philippines is, among Southeast Asia countries, very close to Korea. We are only four hours away," the director said in an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul.







"Therefore, it can be a weekend holiday getaway. Koreans can go to the Philippines on Friday and then be back on Sunday and some can even be back on Monday early morning and go to work."







She also said the second advantage is the country has 7,641 islands, recognized worldwide.







"Many of them are world-renowned, meaning they are like Palawan and Boracay that have been cited by prestigious travel magazines of the world and given recognition of best islands in the world," Apo said, adding magazines include Travel + Leisure magazine, Conde Nast, Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor.







"Even here, three of our islands _ Palawan, Boracay and Cebu _ garnered the top spot of a publication as best islands in the world."







Tourists take a boat on the Puerto Princesa underground river. / Courtesy of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Korea





The low value of the local currency is also encouraging Koreans to travel to the Philippines, according to Apo.







"The No. 3 (advantage) is value for money, I think in terms of Koreans, when the Korean won goes a long way if spent in the Philippines. About 100,000 Koreans are living in the Philippines and we ask them why do you like the Philippines? They say we have value for money," she said.







To Koreans, Cebu and Boracay are the Philippines' household tourist destinations. But Apo said her country has a myriad of sightseeing spots to wow Korean tourists including Palawan and Bohol Island.







"Palawan is not known to many Koreans although it is a top attraction. One of its primary attractions is the Puerto Princesa underground river, which is eight kilometers long inside a mountain," she said, adding that people can travel the underground river by boat.







She also said the archipelagic province is home to Tubbataha Reef, famous for diving, and El Nido and Coron that have nice areas for snorkeling and a lot of marine activities.







Apo also boasted of Bohol Island that she described as a "geological wonder."







"Carmen, one area in Bohol, has 1,760 hills equivalent to the height of a seven-story building. During summer, we call them chocolate hills because they look like Hershey's Kisses, while during the rainy season they are called green hills. Can you imagine an area with 1,760 hills?" she said, adding there are no other places in the Philippines with that geological feature.







The tarsier is one of the oldest living primates in the world. / Courtesy of the Philippine Department of Tourism-Korea





She also said the tarsier is something not to miss when you visit Bohol. It is the world's smallest primate and an endangered species found only in the Philippines and Indonesia.







"It is one of the oldest living primates in the world. A lot of tourists go to a conservation sanctuary for tarsiers, where they can see them in the trees. It is part of a tour on Bohol," Apo said.







"When you don't see chocolate hills and a tarsier, then you are not on Bohol _ even if you are physically on Bohol."







Late last month, a Korean man was killed in Cebu and another Korean tourist came under gun attack in Manila in July _ even though his wound was not life-threatening.







Such recent crimes are raising concerns over security among Koreans who plan to travel to the Philippines.







Apo said her government is trying to take preventive measures as part of efforts to ease growing concerns.







"Our president, Rodrigo Duterte, came here last June and had a meeting with President Moon Jae-in and part of their agenda was to ensure there will be protection for Korean tourists and citizens living in the Philippines," she said.







"So hopefully, these are isolated cases and we have trained some of our policemen to understand tourists, and are doing seminars for them. Hopefully there is really a big campaign we need to do to assure tourists and policemen are also doing their job to see perpetrators get punished."







She added that the Philippine government plans to start Korean language training in the customs at the airport, which will help Korean tourists be better understood by personnel in the government and in the airport.







Land of K-pop, K-drama







Last year, 448,702 Filipinos visited Korea _ with the Philippines becoming the sixth-largest source of foreign visitors after China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand.







Apo said Korea is emerging as a really attractive travel destination thanks to hallyu, the Korean wave of pop culture sweeping Asia.







"Korea is the land of K-dram and K-pop _ especially for the younger generation _ and they come to see the areas they see on TV, the K-dramas and maybe restaurants," she said.







"I think Korea is also a unique place to visit because it is a blend of East and West. East is an Oriental part such as palaces that are very nice attractions to Filipinos and at the same time, the western culture is K-pop. It feels very western and modern.







"So, it is a blend of those things."







Other than K-pop, Apo said shopping is also encouraging Philippine people to fly to Korea.







"What they shop for here _ especially women _ is cosmetics. We have Korean brands in the Philippines, but here they offer like gift sets," the director said.







She added if Filipinos buy some cosmetic products here, Korean vendors give a bundle of extras _ a sharp contrast to the Philippines' straightforward pricing for a particular item.







"I think that is very creative," she said.







Last year, 1.6 million Koreans visited the Philippines, up 9 percent from a year earlier. Taking a closer look at the number of arrivals, it has steadily increased from 2011 to 2017.







On the back of the winning vibe, its tourism department is set to continue the upward trend.







"We will find a way to introduce more new products. Those who have been to the Philippines are like 1.6 million, so we would like them to come back in the coming years because if they have been to just one or two places, they have not seen the entire Philippines," she said.







"So we will introduce other destinations, other forms of activities and more Filipino culture that they can also understand us and also our food."










By Oh Young-jin



A South Korean delegation met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their one-day visit to Pyongyang Wednesday. The photos released by Cheong Wa Dae after their return late on the day showed the meeting proceeded amicably. In many of them, the North Korean leader was captured with a big smile on his face. Speculation is that the southern team has gained what they went for regarding the third summit between President Moon Jae-in and Kim and perhaps a breakthrough to the Pyongyang-Washington impasse over the first's nuclear disarmament. The presidential office will give a briefing about the special envoy's trip this morning.





President Moon Jae-in's special envoy and National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, left, whispers to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un politely receives President Moon Jae-in's letter from Moon's special envoy Chung Eui-yong.

The South Korean delegation holds a meeting with the North's Kim.




By Ko Dong-hwan







South and North Korea agreed to hold their next inter-Korean summit on Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang.







President Moon Jae-in's National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has renewed his commitment to making the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons in his recent meeting with a South Korean delegation that visited Pyongyang.







Chung and Director of the National Intelligence Service Suh Hoon came back after a 12-hour stay in Pyongyang late Wednesday.







They had a meeting with Kim and delivered President Moon's letter to him. Moon and Kim held two meetings already with the seminal April meeting that led to the summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore two months later.







Now the U.S.-North Korean effort to make a deal over Pyongyang's denuclearization has hit an impasse with Moon stepping in to try and play honest broker.






South Korean presidential envoy Chung Eui-yong gives a briefing Thursday about his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Wednesday. Yonhap



By Ko Dong-hwan



South and North Korea have agreed to hold their next inter-Korean summit on Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang.



President Moon Jae-in's National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong made the announcement Thursday after a South Korean delegation met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Wednesday.



He said Kim had renewed his commitment to making the Korean Peninsula nuclear weapons-free at the meeting.



Chung, Director of the National Intelligence Service Suh Hoon and three other members of the delegation returned late Wednesday after a 12-hour stay in Pyongyang. They delivered a letter from President Moon to Kim. The North also hosted a dinner reception for the delegation.



Moon and Kim have held two meetings, with the seminal April meeting leading to the historic summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore two months later.



The North's state-run media said Thursday that Kim renewed his commitment to making the Korean Peninsula nuclear weapons-free at his meeting with the South Korean delegation.



Kim also discussed "candidly" issues related to improving relations between the two Koreas and ensuring lasting peace and stability on the peninsula, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Thursday.





The two Koreas agreed, according to Chung, to hold the third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sept. 18-20. Yonhap



"Noting that it is our fixed stand and his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean Peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat, he said that the North and the South should further their efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the KCNA said.



"He also talked with the delegation candidly over many issues arising in accelerating the development of North-South relations and preserving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."



The KCNA said Kim and the South Korean officials exchanged views on the schedule for what will be the third summit between Kim and Moon.



The two Koreas earlier agreed to hold the third summit in Pyongyang in September but did not finalize a date, following meetings in April and May.





South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un exchange greetings over the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjeom in their first summit in April 2018. Korea Times file
President Moon Jae-in's special envoy and National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, left, whispers to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae



By Oh Young-jin



If one photo is worth a thousand words, this should easily qualify.



Presidential envoy Chung Eui-yong is captured whispering to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is leaning toward him. Kim has a big smile on his face.



This marks the closest the two Koreans could get so far.





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un politely receives President Moon Jae-in's letter from Moon's special envoy Chung Eui-yong.



Reflecting the amicable mood of the meeting, Chung, the top security advisor to President Moon Jae-in, talked during a post-visit summit briefing of Kim's frustrations about the lack of trust by the United States in the North's commitment to denuclearization.



"North Korean leader Kim is frustrated for the lack of corresponding moves by the United States to the North's preemptive steps," Chung said. The North's moves include the destruction of a nuclear test site.





The South Korean delegation holds a meeting with the North's Kim.



Then, Chung quoted Kim as dismissing U.S. concerns that the declaration of war on the Korean Peninsula will lead to the weakening of the Seoul-Washington alliance.



He also reported that in Kim's remarks he has never spoken ill of Trump.





The South Korean delegation poses with the North's Kim after their meeting.
The security advisory group of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) speaks highly of the defense facilities of the Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment in Wau.

By Chen Xiaolin and Zhang Xiaokun

SOUTH SUDAN, Sept. 6 (ChinaMil) -- The 11-member security advisory group of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) led by the deputy commander of UNMISS Sector West visited the barracks of the 8th Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment to South Sudan (Wau) on Tuesday, local time.

The security advisory group of UNMISS consists of staff members from the US, UK, Canada, Bangladesh, Ghana, Nepal, Cambodia, Nigeria, Guatemala, as well as representatives of troop-contributing countries (TCCs). The group visited the defense facilities of the Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment in order to promote their excellent practices in the UNMISS.

Under the guidance of Han Chao, the operations staff officer of the Chinese peacekeeping engineer detachment, the security advisory group of UNMISS visited the Chinese peacekeeping troops' defense facilities such as underground bunker, combat sand table, fortification, watchtower, electronic fence, block wall, and infantry fighting vehicles on the same morning. Han also explained in details how Chinese peacekeepers deal with emergencies.

The Chinese peacekeeping engineers also conducted an on-site defense demonstration targeting "hypothetical situations" at the request of the security advisory group and won high praise from the group.

After the visit, the director of the Strategic Planning Division of UNMISS headquarters said: "The Chinese fortifications have surprised us. We really admire that! This visit has benefited me a lot and I very much look forward to studying in China."
Agriculture Minister Lee Gae-ho, center, inspects Incheon International Airport's border quarantine measures, Saturday, in the wake of the nation's detection of the African swine fever virus gene. / Yonhap



By Kim Hyun-bin



The deadly African swine fever has been discovered in Korea, putting the quarantine authorities on alert.



According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Sunday, a virus gene of the disease was found in two processed pork products that were brought in and voluntarily reported by two travelers who visited Shenyang, China, earlier this month.



The highly contagious pig disease was first reported Aug. 3 in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang.



Quarantine officials conducted a polymerase chain reaction test which detected the virus gene. They are currently checking whether the virus gene is alive. The final test results are expected to be released Monday.



"The travelers brought in banned products including one Korean sausage and one pack of dumplings and voluntarily reported to quarantine officials at the airport," the agriculture ministry said, adding the products were disposed.



"The products have been heated up, so there is little possibility the virus could be contagious."



Since April, the quarantine agency has been keeping close tabs on the African swine fever virus, closely monitoring banned animal products coming into the country at airports and harbors.



The African swine fever virus is the causative agent of African swine fever. The virus causes a haemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in pigs.



The virus can be spread by eating the product or through direct contact with secretions from the infected pig, and indirectly spread through feedboxes and other products that had contact with the infected animal.



Pigs infected with the virus tend to have a fever of up to 42 degrees Celsius and lose their appetites. Dermohemia, blue spots and miscarriage are some of the symptoms of infection. The incubation period ranges from four to 21 days.



The virus does not affect people, but once pigs are infected the fatality rate is 100 percent as there is no vaccine or treatment for infected animals.



"Banned products brought into the country could contain the African swine fever virus, so people who are scheduled to arrive from China are advised not to bring in agriculture goods," the ministry said. "If they accidently bring products they should voluntarily report the items to avoid getting fined."



Agriculture Minister Lee Gae-ho visited Incheon International Airport over the weekend to review if the airport was taking proper quarantine measures against the disease.



"The Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency needs to enhance screening of agricultural products of travelers, and better manage leftover food from airlines and vessels," Lee said. "We urge travelers to refrain from traveling to disease-infected areas and bringing back banned products. Travelers should abide by government safety regulations."



The quarantine agency plans to strengthen screening measures by conducting exhaustive X-ray searches of passengers' baggage and deploying quarantine detection dogs on inbound flights from China.


A battleship from Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force lands at Donghae Harbor in Gangwon Province flanking the east coast of South Korea in July 2009 for search and rescue drills known as SAREX. The exercise was joined by Japan, South Korea and the United States. Korea Times file





The Rising Sun Flag flies as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, reviews members of Japan Self-Defense Forces during the Self-Defense Forces Day at Asaka Base, north of Tokyo, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. Korea Times file




By Yi Whan-woo







The latest visit of Ecuador's Industries and Productivity Minister Eva Garcia Fabre to Korea is fueling optimism for economic cooperation, according to diplomatic sources.







The minister's Aug. 5 to 12 visit took place as President Moon Jae-in seeks to shift away from a chaebol-driven economy and foster small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups for innovative growth.







In this regard, Korea can learn from Ecuador considering SMEs account for 95 percent of all Ecuadorian firms. Garcia Fabre signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Korea's SMEs and Startups Vice Minister Choi Su-gyu accordingly.







For Ecuador, the visit offered the Ecuadorian delegation a glimpse into South Korea's successful economic development, which, according to Garcia Fabre, Ecuador wants to emulate.







The minister, who travelled here at the invitation of the Korea Foundation, a public diplomacy institution under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had a meeting on a Casa para todos (house for all) project with relevant Korean officials.







The project aims to provide houses for low-income people in Ecuador. The meeting involved officials from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), an international development agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.







"KOICA showed an openness to collaborate on this project and showed its readiness to initiate conversations in that sense," the embassy said in a statement.







The two countries also share the goal of bolstering innovative technologies to cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.







During the MOU signing ceremony, Eva Garcia expressed hope that the agreement will boost bilateral cooperation in the advanced technologies, infrastructure and renewable energy fields.







"We aim to develop new technologies and create value-added products to target bigger markets," she said. "Our development goal is creating quality products through innovation."







She held a separate meeting on the Ecuadorian government's initiative of running electric buses on the Galapagos Islands. According to the embassy, executives from Hyundai Motor Group attended the meeting and showed "interest in collaborating with the Ecuadorian government."







Ecuador and Korea established diplomatic relations in 1962. They have had five rounds of talks on Strategic Economic Cooperation Agreement aimed at boosting cooperation and technical support between the two nations.






By Jung Hae-myoung







So far 382 Yemeni refugees on Jeju Island, including six minors, have been interviewed on their request for asylum, immigration officials said Wednesday.







According to the Korea Immigration Service (KIS), 481 Yemenis have applied for asylum, with 79.4 percent processed between June 25 and Sept 4. This is slower than planned.







The Justice Ministry last month assigned seven officials to deal with the refugees, with four interpreters to speed up the process.







Those interviewed will be "admitted" or gain "permission to stay" or "rejected" after the verification process.






By Park Si-soo







Seoul International School (SIS) is under police investigation over allegations its chairman and headmaster Kim Hyung-shik embezzled 20 billion won ($17.8 million) in school money, local media reported on Wednesday.







The school has not commented.







According to broadcaster JTBC, Kim siphoned off the money between 2001 and 2017 and wired 13 billion won to SIS founder Edward B. Adams as paycheck and severance money. Kim pocketed the rest, JTBC reported.







Kim reportedly remitted the money in a bid to take over the school's managerial rights from the American founder. Korean law bans Korean nationals from having an international school.







The founder moved to the U.S. state of Arizona in 2001 and Kim has since managed school affairs in the capacity of "deputy chief."







Gyeonggi Office of Education detected the suspicious deal and asked police to investigate.







SIS opened in 1973 as an elementary school on the campus of Konkuk University in Seoul, offering an American curriculum in an English-only setting. It moved to the present site  Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province  in May 1985.


By Lee Kyung-min



The prosecution sought 20 years in prison for former President Lee Myung-bak, Thursday, on a wide range of corruption charges.



It also requested the Seoul Central District Court to fine him 15 billion won ($13.3 million) and 11.1 billion won in forfeiture of illicit financial gains.



The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office earlier indicted the 77-year-old on 16 charges including bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement, breach of trust, tax evasion and violations of the election and presidential records laws.



The ruling will be made Oct. 5.



"We need to restore democracy and the rule of law through the stern punishment of Lee who committed unconstitutional acts. He abused the power the public delegated to him by seeking illicit personal gains," the lead prosecutor in the case said.



"Stern punishment is inevitable for the unprecedented corruption involving Lee who has become the fourth former president to stand criminal trial for serving his personal interest while in office."



Prosecutors said Lee became president by deceiving the public about who really owned DAS, a car parts manufacturing company, adding his deception and failure to disclose the truth continued long after his presidency.



"Even after taking office, he was involved in a wide range of corrupt activities. His complete denial to this day devastates me as a citizen of this country," the lead prosecutor said.



The prosecution said Lee virtually controlled DAS, though he claimed his brother owned the company, and embezzled 34.9 billion won from the company to operate a slush fund. They also said he allegedly evaded 3.1 billion won in DAS corporate taxes through accounting fraud and used 430 million won in DAS funds to pay for his election campaign expenses between 1991 and 2000.



Prosecutors said Lee abused the power of the presidential office to discuss plans to hand over DAS shares to his son Lee Si-hyung, which they see as clear evidence of him being the de facto owner of the company.



They said the allegation was backed by over 3,400 documents confiscated in January from the basement of Yeongpo Building in southern Seoul, where the former president's office was located.



The documents show Lee also lent 12.3 billion won _ interest-free _ from DAS and affiliates' funds to a company owned by his son, which could constitute embezzlement and breach of trust.



He is suspected of receiving around 700 million won from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) via his closest aides. Lee also allegedly received 2.26 billion won from former Woori Financial Group CEO Lee Pal-sung in return for helping him get the top post at the bank. At the time, the government was the financial group's largest shareholder.



Prosecutors suspect Samsung Group paid $5.85 million in lawsuit expenses on behalf of Lee to U.S. law firm Akin Gump, in return for a presidential pardon for group Chairman Lee Kun-hee in 2009.



Lee allegedly received 500 million won from Daebo Group, in return for helping it gain construction contracts, as well as 400 million won in bribes from a former lawmaker in return for helping her in the 2008 general election.



Taking 100 million won or more in bribes is punishable by a minimum prison term of 10 years. The Supreme Court sentencing guidelines stipulate a minimum 11-year sentence for those who receive 500 million won or more.



His predecessor, President Park Geun-hye who was also indicted on corruption charges, had her sentence increased by one year to 25 years last month.


By Park Ji-won







Rep. Kim Sung-tae, floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), is drawing criticism over a National Assembly speech he made Wednesday criticizing the Moon Jae-in administration's income-led growth policy.







While raising the offensive against the government's poor economic performance, Kim proposed a "birth-led" growth policy as an alternative.







He proposed the creation of a state subsidy of 20 million won ($1,780) per baby born, and giving 100 million won in sum to the parents until the child becomes an adult.







Citing the birthrate has fallen below 400,000 a year, Kim insisted resolving the low-birth rate problem is a priority in revitalizing the economy.







Women's rights groups argued Kim's "birth-led" growth is gender discrimination, and blames women for the low birthrate.







The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and opposition parties went all-out to criticize Kim's remarks saying he is considering women as a tool to boost the nation's economic growth.







"The LKP's way of thinking is infertile. Only giving incentives, without considering the fundamental reasons for the low birthrate, doesn't resolve the problem. We should not simply urge women to have children, but to reduce the reasons to avoid having children and create a society where parents and children can live happily," DPK policy chief Kim Tae-nyeon said.







Chung Choon-saeng, a senior DPK member, also criticized Kim Sung-tae by releasing an internal statement saying "the notion of giving-birth-driven growth is based on nationalism which the LKP criticized to date, and fascism to consider giving birth as a tool for growth."







The progressive Justice Party floor leader Youn So-ha also criticized Kim, saying "it is an absurd idea to link giving birth to a tool for growth and should be criticized for making the idea seem legitimate."







Youn added, "This way of thinking and term should be abolished."







Rep. Kim Su-min, floor spokeswoman for the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP), released a comment Wednesday saying "the LKP proposed short-term measures by spending a large amount of taxes, not a fundamental solution."







Former National Assembly speaker Chung Se-kyun also criticized the LKP's floor leader for using crude language.







Kim Sung-tae responded in a Facebook post saying "it is not appropriate for a former Assembly speaker to criticize the main opposition party's floor leader who was critical of the ruling party."


Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, charged with 16 counts of corruption, heads to Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu after getting off a security transportation vehicle on Thursday. Yonhap



Prosecutors requested a Seoul court Thursday sentence former President Lee Myung-bak to 20 years in prison for corruption and other charges.



The demand was delivered to the three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court in Lee's trial that began in early May. Prosecutors also called for a 15 billion-won (US$13.4 million) fine and a forfeiture of 11.1 billion won for the disgraced ex-leader.



The court will announce its verdict early next month.



Lee, president from 2008-2013, was indicted in April on 16 counts of corruption ranging from bribery, abuse of power and embezzlement to other irregularities. He has been under presentencing detention since his arrest in late March.





Lee makes a toast at a business roundtable with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Korea Business Council in Washington, Tuesday, June 16, 2009.



The 76-year-old is the fourth former president to face a criminal trial after ex-Presidents Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo and Park Geun-hye. Park is serving a 25-year jail term for corruption, pending a top court decision.



The former Seoul mayor is accused of taking about 11.1 billion won in bribes from the state intelligence agency and a former head of a state-run banking firm.



Part of the bribes also includes $5.85 million in lawsuit expenses Samsung Electronics Co. allegedly paid on behalf of an auto parts company Lee is suspected of owning.



Lee's charges center on long-held suspicions, which dogged him throughout most of his political career, that he is the real owner of DAS and used his presidential powers to benefit the company as well as himself and his family.





Lee shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, Monday, Jan. 25, 2009. Korea Times file




Japan's "Rising Sun" flag flutters on top of a Japanese Navy vessel docked at a port in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, in this 2016 file photo. The ship visited the Korean port to participate in a multinational naval exercise. / Yonhap
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, poses with President Moon Jae-in's five special envoys and Kim Yong-chol, right, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, at the party's head office in Pyongyang, Wednesday. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae



By Lee Min-hyung





National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton

National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong had a telephone conversation with his U.S. counterpart John Bolton, Thursda, delivering a message from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



This came a day after a five-member South Korean delegation  led by Chung  visited Pyongyang Wednesday to discuss the agenda for the upcoming inter-Korean summit and confirm its timeframe.



The delegation met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to Cheong Wa Dae. The presidential office also said the regime's young leader reaffirmed his strong willingness to realize his pledge for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.



During the phone call, Chung also delivered Kim's determination to cooperate with the U.S. to realize a peace drive.



"The North Korean leader wanted conditions to be created for him to feel as if his decision on denuclearization was in the right direction," Chung quoted Kim as saying, adding that the North Korean leader called for Chung to deliver his strong determination for peace to Washington.



"North Korea hopes to end the seven-decade-long hostility between Washington and Pyongyang by improving bilateral relations and realizing denuclearization of the peninsula," Kim was quoted as saying.



Chung said Kim underlined that his trust in U.S. President Donald Trump remains unchanged.



"The Washington-Pyongyang negotiations have suffered recent setbacks, but the North will continue to trust Trump at this critical juncture," Kim was quoted as saying.



The remarks reflect the ongoing political tug-of-war between both sides after they failed to narrow their differences in denuclearization talks.



Kim went on underlining that he has never made any negative remarks to his advisers about the U.S. president, according to Chung.



In June, Washington and Pyongyang held their first-ever summit in Singapore where both sides agreed to cooperate toward the mutual goal of complete denuclearization of the peninsula.



At that time, the outlook for the plan looked rosy, but bilateral relations began to face a bumpy road after both sides failed to come to terms with a specific timeline.



For this reason, there has been a sense of concern that the unpredictable leader of North Korea may retreat from his peace posture.



But Chung said Kim remained firm in his determination for denuclearization.



Chung also said Kim expressed his frustration with the continuous doubts from international society over the credibility of the regime's pledge for peace.



"Kim has reiterated his determination to continue building close partnerships with the South as well as the U.S. for the complete denuclearization of the peninsula," Chung said.




By Huang Dapeng

BEIJING, Sep. 6 (ChinaMil) -- Adolescent students are the future of the motherland. Their physical fitness plays a crucial role in the country's economic development and social progress, and also determines the future combat capability of the military. As a result, it is urgent to improve the overall physical fitness of Chinese students.

Some surveys show a continuous decline in the physical fitness of Chinese students in several aspects over the past two decades which has undermined the quality of the military recruits.

According to this year's conscription physical examination in a Chinese city, the proportion of candidates who were eliminated due to unqualified physical conditions is as high as 52.98 percent. Poor eyesight and obesity rank at the top two among the health risk factors.

It is reported that the failure rate of applicants for the conscription physical examination remains constantly high in recent years.

After going through the physical examination reports of conscription in many Chinese cities in recent years, we found out that more than half of the applicants couldn't fulfill their dreams to join the military because they failed to meet the recruitment standards due to their poor physical examination result.

Battlefield is an extremely hostile environment where the weak body will not be able to survive.

According to some data, the poor physical conditions of the soldiers affected the maintenance of the US military combat capabilities during the Second World War (WWII). As a result, it hindered their full potential to combat on the battlefield. This is because most of the American youths of the right age joining the army during WWII went through the Great Depression, and lack of food and clothes led to malnutrition and poor physical fitness of the teenagers of growing age.

Moreover, during the War in Afghanistan, overweight German soldiers were frustrated by their repeated failure to pursue and attack Taliban militants in Afghan mountains, because they were left far behind by the Taliban militants who were flexible and familiar with the terrain.

Therefore, what the future battlefield needs is not the obese or weak youngest, but the strong soldiers both physically and mentally fit!

At present, many countries are facing the embarrassing situation that they cannot complete the recruitment task due to the poor physical fitness of adolescents. In order to recruit enough soldiers, the US military has relaxed the standards of conscription and even drug addicts have been given the opportunity to join the military. In recent years, nearly one-third of the recruits by the Russian military have been sent home due to poor physical condition before they finished the intended military service time.

Therefore, we need to pay close attention to the adolescents physical fitness.

China has the largest population in the world which can satisfy the needs of national recruitment presently. However, the physical fitness of the nationals, especially that of Chinese students, will pressurize Chinese development and progress in the long run.

The reasons for the continuous decline of certain physical conditions of students, such as poor eyesight and obesity are varied. On the one hand, as a result of the people's rising living standards, nutritional imbalance and over-use in electronic products such as mobile phones and iPad contribute to obesity and poor eyesight. On the other hand, students are burdened with heavy homework and lack of time to take exercise, along with the score-first concept in schools and families, which also contributes to the above health risks.

The greatest wealth and strength of China lies in its youth! The physical health of Chinese students is not only concerned with their personal growth, but also with family happiness and the future of the nation. To improve the physical fitness of Chinese students should be a major concern of the family, the school, the society and the whole nation.
Chung Eui-yong, head of Seoul's five-member special delegation, answers questions at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, regarding the envoys' meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un the day before in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang. Yonhap



Seoul delivers US messages to Kim



By Kim Yoo-chul



President Moon Jae-in will visit Pyongyang from Sept. 18 to 20 for a third summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his chief special envoy said Thursday.



"During the three-day meeting, the leaders of the two Koreas will discuss ways to improve inter-Korean relations and achieve denuclearization, including the North's possible handing over a list of its nuclear weapons," National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong told reporters at Cheong Wa Dae.



The announcement came a day after a delegation of five special envoys, led by Chung, returned from Pyongyang, where they met the North Korean leader and delivered a letter from Moon letter. The envoys also delivered messages from the United States, Chung said.



Seoul hopes the third summit between Moon and Kim will provide a breakthrough in the stalled talks between Washington and Pyongyang over the slow progress of nuclear disarmament.



The two Koreas will hold working-level talks at the border village of Panmunjeom to prepare for the summit, Cheong Wa Dae said.



During the media briefing, Chung said the envoys met with Kim in hopes of breaking the impasse over dismantling the North's nuclear weapons programs. The delegation also attended a banquet.



"North Korea has demanded the U.S. apply simultaneous actions as a prerequisite in advancing talks for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," Chung told reporters.



"Kim reaffirmed his commitment for complete nuclear disarmament of the peninsula. But he told us his country would apply more specific and concrete measures to move ahead with denuclearization if the principle of simultaneous action in achieving peace is kept as agreed to."






By Kim Hyun-bin



Hundreds of merchants at a major fish market in Seoul Thursday clashed with the market operator that attempted to forcibly relocate the merchants' shops from an old building to a new one.



Some 400 merchants formed a human blockade at the entrance of the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market beginning in the early morning to face 300 subcontractors and representatives from the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperation (NFFC), the operator and proprietor of the market.



For cautionary measures, 480 policemen were also deployed to the scene.



The skirmish lasted about an hour to a little past 10 a.m. as the NFFC representatives left the scene due to a strong protest from the merchants and concerns over possible injuries. This marked the third time the NFFC side had to turn back empty-handed, following previous attempts in April and July.



"We are the owners of the market," the merchants chanted. "We cannot let the NFFC modernize the fish market as they please."



After a new, more modernized building was opened next door in March 2016, 330 merchants moved to the new facility but another 200 have refused to do so, claiming the rent in the new building is much higher than before and the new facility is unfit to operate fish stores effectively as it is too cramped.



However, the NFFC says the merchants are illegally occupying the old building as they have signed to relocate to the new building.



In April 2009, the merchants were briefed on the relocation plan and 80.3 percent of them agreed to it.



"They agreed on the relocation and the size of each shop at the new building. The unreasonable claims from the merchants about the size and their attempts to nullify the agreement are illegal," the NFFC said.



The NFFC also won a local court order to enforce the relocation of the remaining stores.



Last month, the Supreme Court also made a verdict in favor of NFFC's modernization project which aims to demolish the 48-year-old building and renovate the area. The project began after concerns over potential accidents due to deterioration of the structure. The NFFC began a government funded plan to demolish the establishment in 2004.


Yoon Kyung-ja, owner of Gungjung Jokbal, breaks out into tears at a press briefing outside the Seoul Central District Court, after the judge gave her husband a two-and-a-half year jail sentence, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Lee Suh-yoon



By Lee Suh-yoon



The assault happened on the morning of June 7. The owner of a small jokbal pig feet restaurant in Seochon in central Seoul, named Gungjung Jokbal, chased after his landlord with a 1.5-kilogram hammer, causing him injuries that require 12 weeks of treatment  mainly to the arms  in the resulting scuffle.



The prosecution demanded Kim, the restaurant owner, be given a seven-year jail term for "attempted murder." And on Thursday, the Seoul Central District Court delivered its verdict on a case that has become symbolic of the brewing tension between tenants and landlords here.



In consideration of the jury's opinion, which recognized the use of violence was wrong but that Kim did not commit attempted murder, the judge sentenced Kim to two and a half years in jail.



The controversy first started in December 2015, when the new owner of the building, Lee, demanded Kim pay monthly rent of 12 million won ($10,700)  over four times the previous level and well above the average rent in the area  or vacate the shop.



The current law only guarantees commercial building tenants the right to demand a "fair" contract renewal within the first five years of moving in. Kim, who opened the restaurant in 2009, was left with no choice but to pack up and start over elsewhere.



Kim resisted for months, nearly having four of his fingers torn off in a conflict with subcontracted workers sent by Lee. After he was finally evicted on June 4, he exchanged a barrage of insults with the landlord over the phone and went searching for him with a hammer.



Lee owns 14 buildings worth over 30 billion won in market value.





Kim swings a hammer at his landlord, Lee, at a street in Gangnam district, Seoul, in this CCTV footage from June 7, 2018. / Yonhap



The defendant's side called the ruling "unacceptable."



"A person (Kim) who hates violence was pushed to the edge to commit a violent act, while the person (Lee) who bullied and ignored him for over seven months can simply walk away with no penalty," Yoon Kyung-ja, Kim's wife, told reporters outside the courthouse. "My husband and I had no choice but to resist because there was no other way for us to sustain our livelihood."



The verdict also drew criticism from other small business owners, who say they need a minimum 10 years of state protection from landlords in renewing their rental contracts.



"It usually takes around four to five years for a restaurant to settle down in a neighborhood and draw regular customers," Samie Kim, head of the group Mamsangmo (People's Solidarity for Doing Business without Constraint or Being Evicted), told The Korea Times. "In fact, almost 80 percent of small businesses who call us for advice are struggling with renewing their contracts on reasonable terms after five years."



The rent price of small shops in Seoul has been on the rise, increasing by 12.6 percent over the last two years up to around 52,000 won per square meter in 2017, according to industry estimates.



"A shop of the second floor of that same building rents out for 3 million won a month, so how can a first-floor space charge the same?" Lee lashed out at the defendant's lawyers during the court hearing on Wednesday, when they asked him why he raised the rent so high.





Members of Mamsangmo, a civic group that advocates commercial tenants' rights, blocks the court baliff and security guards from enforcing an eviction of Gungjung Jokbal at Seochon, central Seoul, on January 15, 2018. / Yonhap
Photos on display to mark 20th anniversary of capital relocation



By Kwak Yeon-soo





A photo of Baiterek Tower showcased at the "Exhibit Dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the Capital Relocation of the Republic of Kazakhstan" Courtesy of Korea Foundation

A photo exhibition in Seoul showcases the lives and landscape of the world's youngest capital city Astana, Kazakhstan, two decades after the relocation of its capital from Almaty, an initiative taken by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.



The "Exhibit Dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the Capital Relocation of the Republic of Kazakhstan" opened Monday at Korea Foundation (KF) Gallery in Seoul and will run until Sept. 1. It was organized by the nonprofit group Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in collaboration with the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul and KF.



The exhibit is divided into two thematic sections: "Astana, the Pearl of the Great Steppe" and "Undiscovered Kazakhstan."



The first half of the exhibit features 36 photos of various buildings in Astana, including Baiterek Tower which symbolizes the tree of life, and the Palace of Peace and Accord designed by the famous British architect Norman Forster. The photos of the city, which embodies both modern and traditional elements, personify the ideas and hopes of its citizens.



The capital of Kazakhstan was relocated from Almaty, the country's largest city, to Astana in June 1998. Due to its cold winter weather, the capital is known as one of the coldest capital cities in the world. Astana, which means "capital city" in Kazakh, is home to over 1 million urban dwellers.





A photo of the Palace of Peace and Accord at the "Exhibit Dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the Capital Relocation of the Republic of Kazakhstan" Courtesy of Korea Foundation
By Jaushieh Joseph Wu





The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, set bold goals to shift the world onto a sustainable, resilient path.



Participants also pledged the formation of a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development including all countries, all stakeholders and all people, so that no one would be left behind.



Despite such a pledge, Taiwan's 23 million people have been left out of this global effort. This violates the principle of universality upon which the U.N. was founded and deprives Taiwan as well as the international community of opportunities to work together for the common good.



Taiwan, though not being allowed to participate in the U.N.'s meetings, activities and mechanisms, has never shirked its duties as a responsible stakeholder.



In line with the agenda's recommendation, Taiwan released its first Voluntary National Review last year, detailing our whole-of-government approach to implementing the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).



The concrete results we have achieved include alleviating poverty, zero hunger, reducing the percentage of low-income households to under 2 percent, cutting the maternal mortality rate to just 11.6 per 100,000 people and under-five child mortality rate to just 2.4 per 1,000, and improving our literacy rate to 98.7 percent. All of these are well above U.N. SDG standards.



Taiwan also provides development assistance to other countries. Through the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF), Taiwan's official development assistance organization, we have launched various programs in the Pacific, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.



These programs aim to help countries in these regions to achieve clean energy, food security, food safety, sustainable agriculture, better education, health and well-being for all age groups, and disaster reduction and adaptation.



TaiwanICDF also works with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to assist countries in Central Asia and Central and Eastern Europe to develop market economies and a green economy.



While Taiwan's valuable contributions have been widely acclaimed around the globe, the U.N. continues to ignore what Taiwan can offer. Taiwan's tourists, experts and professionals are denied entry into U.N. premises simply because the U.N. does not accept the Republic of China (Taiwan)'s passport, which is recognized by almost every country in the world.



The U.N. has refused to accredit Taiwan's journalists covering its meetings and activities, yet the work of such people is in the interests of the people of Taiwan and the world.



We are extremely disappointed that the U.N. continues to misuse 1971's General Assembly Resolution 2758 (XXVI) to justify Taiwan's exclusion and isolation. As we have pointed out before, this resolution neither addresses the issue of the representation of Taiwan and its people in the U.N. system, nor defines the relationship between Taiwan and China.



The so-called one-China principle has been challenged by many U.N. member states. It is wrong for the U.N., an organization created to serve all of humankind, to unilaterally define Taiwan's status.



Article 1 of the U.N. Charter proclaims that the purposes of the organization are to "achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights."



At this critical juncture when humankind is facing multiple challenges, global cooperation that includes all countries, all stakeholders, and all people is ever more important.



By excluding a willing and able partner like Taiwan, the U.N. not only violates the fundamental human rights of Taiwan's 23 million people but also greatly harms human welfare. To ensure the U.N. remains relevant to all people, the organization should stand up to external pressures and open its doors to Taiwan.





Jaushieh Joseph Wu is the minister of foreign affairs in the Republic of China (Taiwan).


The central government and Seoul City appear to be toying with the idea of allowing the development of green-belt areas in the capital and its vicinity.



Their intentions are obvious enough _ curbing soaring housing prices in Seoul by lifting bans on the development of some green zones that have already been devalued through gradual erosion. Some property market watchers even say the central and metropolitan governments may jointly create another mini-bedroom town on the suburbs of the capital.



The rocketing home prices, coming on top of the widening income gap and prolonged economic slump, could force ordinary people to withdraw their support for the Moon Jae-in administration. It is a small surprise then the government and City Hall, both occupied by the progressive ruling Democratic Party of Korea, are doing all they can to stabilize housing prices, including the additional ravaging of green zones.



The real problem is the proposed development of the green belt is unlikely to tame the rocketing home prices. Since the government introduced the system about four decades ago to restrict random urban development, it has removed the ban on areas 345 times larger than Yeouido, the so-called Manhattan of Seoul, but failed to curb home prices. Instead, each lifting of the ban forced up the costs of nearby land amid expectations of development.



All this shows why the additional removal of bans or the creation of another new satellite town cannot be the solution to cool speculative fervor.



The surge in home prices is due in a large part to widespread distrust of the government's policies. The incumbent administration, too, has flip-flopped on its policy direction. Whatever the officials say, people are anxious to buy homes before prices rise further. The size of idle funds has also topped 1,000 trillion won ($892 billion), looking for profitable investment targets. An additional supply of green-belt space is sure to push up land prices even higher, deepening the frustration of the working poor.



The government ought to restart its real estate policy from the ground up. And the first step should be to restore public trust.








North Korean leader sets denuclearization timeframe



President Moon Jae-in's delegation to Pyongyang returned Wednesday after a fruitful meeting with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un. Presidential envoy Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser, gave a press conference the following day to unveil the outcome of his visit to Pyongyang.



Before the delegation left for the North, it was unsure whether Kim would receive Moon's envoys. Kim did not meet with U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo during his latest visit to Pyongyang in July. But judging from the photos and videos released to the media, Moon's delegation's meeting with Kim seemed to have gone smoothly. In one of the photos, Chung was seen whispering something to a smiling Kim, showing the rapport established between them.



The envoy's trip was useful in that it served as a timely occasion to reaffirm Kim's commitment to abandoning his nuclear and missile development amid stalled denuclearization talks. U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled a planned trip by Pompeo last month due to the deadlock in negotiations. Concerns have been mounting in recent weeks that bilateral relations may return to the way they were before the June 12 Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.



Against such a backdrop, it is particularly noteworthy that Kim mentioned a timeframe for denuclearization. "Kim expressed his position that he is seeking to realize denuclearization within Trump's first term while ending the 70 years of hostilities and improving U.S.-North Korea relations," Chung said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae Thursday morning. Trump's term ends in January 2021. Chung also conveyed to the media Kim's "strong determination" to carry out more active measures for denuclearization and his commitment to working together with the U.S.



According to Chung, Kim also urged the international community to recognize previous steps it has taken for denuclearization, such as the dismantlement of the nuclear test site in Punggye-ri.



The delegation also finalized the date of the third Moon-Kim summit in Pyongyang from Sept. 18 to 20. High-level talks to discuss more details on the summit arrangements will begin next week at the border village of Panmunjeom.



Cheong Wa Dae is expected to convey the results of the envoy's trip to the U.S. and pursue a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War within this year as stated in the Pangmunjeom Declaration, the outcome of the first Moon-Kim summit in April. For the next inter-Korean summit to be a success, Pyongyang should expedite specific measures for denuclearization.




By Donald Kirk





WASHINGTON  Here in the swamp of the American capital, you appreciate how easy it is to forget about Korea when North Korea isn't firing missiles and testing warheads or, conversely, when no one's talking about another summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un.



That's not to say no one is raising the possibility, but it's not in the news. Nor, for that matter, is there much news about President Moon Jae-in's interaction with North Korea. Assuming Moon does go to Pyongyang for his third summit with Kim, you've also got to believe he'll be impressing on his host the need for another summit with Trump in the interest of getting around a few, shall we say, "misunderstandings." The primary misunderstanding is there's no definition of "complete denuclearization," as called for in the brief statement so ostentatiously signed by Trump and Kim in Singapore on June 12.



Actually, while you see very little in the media about what's happening in Korea, you hear that some of Trump's top aides would prefer their boss not meet Kim again. That's because there's no telling what Trump will do.



Everybody was caught completely by surprise by Trump's decision, with no prior consultation with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, to cancel joint U.S.-South Korean exercises that were to have been held last month. Trump may have talked over that idea during his 28 minutes alone with Kim when nobody else but their interpreters were in the room, but he did not mention it in the open session right afterward at which he sat down with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton facing Kim and his top aides seated opposite them.



Now the concern is what Trump might do or say if he meets Kim again. Might he, with no prior discussion with Pompeo, Bolton or anyone else, simply tell Kim, right, we know, the Korean War is over so let's sign that "peace declaration" you've been asking about. That would be fine by Moon, who also wants a peace declaration formally ending the Korean War, but most Americans inside the policy-making process are not enthusiastic about the idea. They see North Korea going from there with demands for a peace treaty, withdrawal of American troops and destruction of the elaborate structure set up by the Korean Armistice Agreement of July 1953.



Probably the most frustrating worry, for many at top levels of government, is Trump's unpredictability, his volatility, his short attention span and his reluctance, some would say refusal, to do background reading and sit through briefings, as needed to be sure of what he's doing. Bob Woodward, the famous investigative journalist who, together with Washington Post colleague Carl Bernstein, broke the Watergate scandal that led to the downfall of Richard Nixon's presidency, has come out with a book revealing not only Trump's ignorance but very possibly his stupidity.



Woodward describes Mattis, after briefing Trump on defenses against North Korean missiles, as having been "particularly exasperated and alarmed, telling close associates that the president acted like  and had the understanding of  a fifth- or sixth-grader." White House Chief of Staff, John Kelly is quoted saying, "He's an idiot, it's pointless to try to convince him of anything, he's gone off the rails."



If Trump is not really all that stupid, he's way out of his depth on North Korea. He caught military commanders completely by surprise, for instance, when he said the "war games" conducted by U.S. and South Korean troops were "provocative." Who put those incendiary words in his mouth? Kim Jong-un, perhaps, in their one-on-one session.



Trump may not know it, but his judgment on the value and role of U.S. forces in Korea is at odds with the outlook of his bedrock voters, many of whom have served in the armed forces or come from families with military backgrounds. How can Trump claim to be making American "great again" when he shows such disrespect for what American forces have been doing in Korea since the Korean War?



It's not likely that Trump has studied the history of the American role in rescuing South Korea from North Korean and Chinese forces in the Korean War. In his second summit with Kim, he could decide to withdraw American forces from South Korea as an economic measure, saying they were hardly worth the expense while the U.S. suffers from an enormous trade deficit with the South.



In fact, Trump lacks the intellect, the vision and the understanding needed to make important decisions affecting U.S. forces overseas. That's why those close to him think the risks of a second Trump-Kim summit outweigh the gains. Kim is not going to say, "Mr. President, thank you so much, now we will start dismantling our nuclear program." Trump may not want to admit it, but that's not going to happen.





Donald Kirk (www.donaldkirk.com) based in Seoul and Washington, has been covering the ups and downs of the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula since the 1970s.


Professor Maja Pantic of Imperial College London, one of the leaders of the Samsung AI Center in Cambridge, explains Samsung Electronics' AI vision during a meeting with Korean reporters in London, Monday. / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



By Jun Ji-hye



LONDON  Samsung Electronics will put artificial intelligence (AI) features in all its devices by 2020, and the services will be totally personalized, according to a leader of the firm's AI center in the United Kingdom.



Professor Maja Pantic of Imperial College London, one of the leaders of the Samsung AI Center in Cambridge, added that the AI being developed by Samsung will always be around users while offering helpful and safe services.



"By 2020, all Samsung devices will be AI-enabled, creating entirely new experiences and values," she said during a meeting with Korean reporters who visited London, Monday.



Samsung Electronics opened the Cambridge center May 22. Its research focuses on developing advanced emotional recognition technologies powered by AI.



The center is led by Prof. Pantic as well as Andrew Blake, who was director of the Microsoft Research Lab in Cambridge.



Samsung runs a total of five AI centers worldwide including those in Toronto and Moscow.



The company said it chose Cambridge as one of its bases for AI research as the city has a long history of mathematics and natural sciences. Great schools and talented people gather there as well, the firm noted, adding the city has recently emerged as a new base for other global IT companies such as Amazon and Apple.



Prof. Pantic, whose area of expertise is machine analysis of human emotions, said Samsung's AI services will become totally "user-centric."



"User-centric means connect a multitude of devices to be more helpful to the user," she said, noting that the devices will conduct common tasks as well as being personalized for the user.



The devices will be "always learning" to improve their performance and be "always there" to support the user. They will also be "always helpful" to minimize the user's intervention and "always safe" to guarantee the user's privacy, she said.



In accordance with those strategies, Samsung Electronics is currently developing elementary technologies in diverse areas including voice and visual recognition, robotics, machine learning and data analytics.



Especially, the Cambridge center is aiming for a "human-centric AI," Prof. Pantic said, noting that its research areas include the development of human-like communication technology, which enables AI to comprehensively understand things just like a human.



She added her center is also studying how to apply AI technology to healthcare. For example, when elderly people use Samsung's devices, the AI features would be able to detect signs of depression and let family members know so they can intervene.


David Farrier, host of "Dark Tourist" on Netflix, eats at a restaurant in Tohoku, Fukushima Prefecture, in Japan in a scene from the show.



By Julian Ryall





The recent Netflix series " Dark Tourist " is a grimy window into areas scarred by tragedy, providing a perspective as rare as it is compelling  but a controversial Japan-set entry in the series may have gone too far.



The country's Reconstruction Agency is set to hold talks with the Fukushima prefectural government about a unified response to the second episode in the series, which looked at a tour for foreign visitors to some of the areas worst affected by the 2011 tsunami, earthquake and nuclear-plant disaster.



The episode raised hackles in Tokyo and Fukushima after David Farrier, the New Zealand journalist who hosts the series, was filmed eating at a restaurant in the town of Namie  a former nuclear ghost town which reopened its doors to visitors in April 2017  and stating that he expected the food to be contaminated with radiation.



Farrier was also filmed aboard a tour bus nervously watching as the numbers on a Geiger counter continued to rise beyond levels members of the party had been told were considered safe.



At one point in the programme, which was released on July 20, a woman holding a Geiger counter says radiation levels "are higher than around Chernobyl".





David Farrier walks along the road in Tohoku, the region most severely affected by the tsunami in 2011 that caused Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster.



Farrier also slips away from the group without permission, and enters an abandoned game arcade within the no-go zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.



The prefectural government and the Reconstruction Agency, which was set up after the disaster to oversee the nuclear clean-up and rebuilding efforts in the region, are reported to be unhappy that Farrier entered a clearly marked no-go zone and the programme's suggestion that food in northeast Japan was not safe to eat.



Authorities are also unhappy the programme failed to specify that the high levels of radiation initially reported in the area have fallen significantly, and only a relatively small area is still officially listed as "difficult to return to" for local residents.



"We are examining the content of the video," a prefecture official told the Jiji news agency.



The Fukushima government declined to provide further comment on "Dark Tourist" or the action that it might take.



A spokesman for the Reconstruction Agency in Tokyo told the South China Morning Post a response would be prepared after consultations with the prefectural authorities.





Rigorous testing shows no radioactive threat from Fukushima's produce, officials and experts say, but local producers say they still face crippling suspicion from consumers. AFP


Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon meets with visiting Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) General Xu Qiliang in Dushanbe on September 5. (Photo by Li Xiaowei)



Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) General Xu Qiliang holds official talks with Defense Minister of Tajikistan General Sherali Mirzo on September 5. (Photo by Li Xiaowei)

DUSHANBE, Sep. 6 (ChinaMil) - Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon met with visiting Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) General Xu Qiliang in Dushanbe, the capital city of Tajikistan, on September 5 local time.

General Xu first conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's sincere regards and wishes to Rahmon. President Rahmon expressed his gratitude in turn and asked Xu to convey his best regards and wishes to President Xi.

Rahmon said China is the greatest neighbor to Tajikistan. China has been giving its firm support and assistance to Tajikistan and the two countries have been enhancing cooperation in various fields and deepening their relationship of comprehensive strategic partnership since Tajikistan's independence. Tajikistan is highly concerned about the changes of the situation in Afghanistan and the regional security, and is willing to work closely with China on regional affairs, strengthen military security cooperation under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and deepen cooperation in the field of defense and security.

Xu said the Chinese and the Tajikistani peoples have been friends for generations. Owing to the efforts of the two heads of states, the two countries have fostered mutual trust in politics and achieved a lot in the initial stage of the "Belt and Road" cooperation. Their close cooperation under the multilateral frameworks of the United Nations (UN) , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), etc. has effectively safeguarded the common interests of both countries.

Xu expressed that recent years have seen deepened military exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and fruitful results in defense and security cooperation in multilateral fields such as the SCO. China is willing to work with the Tajikistan side to implement important consensus reached by the two heads of states, deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries, and further enhance mutual strategic trust and military relationship, in order to play an essential role in promoting the China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic partnership and maintaining regional peace and stability.

Xu Qiliang also held official talks with Defense Minister of Tajikistan General Sherali Mirzo that morning. Chinese ambassador to Tajikistan Yue Bin and others attended the meeting.



Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon meets with visiting Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) Xu Qiliang in Dushanbe on September 5. (Photo by Li Xiaowei)



Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission (CMC) General Xu Qiliang holds official talks with Defense Minister of Tajikistan General Sherali Mirzo on September 5. (Photo by Li Xiaowei)






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President Donald Trump is asserting that quotes and stories in a new book about his presidency "were made up frauds, a con on the public." Excerpts from the new book about the Trump presidency, authored by the journalist credited with helping to drive President Richard Nixon from power, describes the current administration as suffering an "administrative coup d'etat" and a "nervous breakdown" during its first 19 months.



The cover of the book, "Fear," from publisher Simon & Schuster, by author Bob Woodward, about the White House under President Donald Trump

"Fear: Trump in the White House," a 448-page work by Bob Woodward set to be released Sept. 11, describes aides stealing papers off the president's desk and taking other actions to circumvent the intentions of the commander in chief. It paints Trump as dangerously ignorant of world affairs and his White House as dysfunctional and devastatingly beset by internal feuds. Although there have been previous revelations by journalists and former White House staffers of upheaval in the White House West Wing since last January's inauguration, Woodward's account paints a more disturbing portrait of this administration. Trump, in a Tuesday evening tweet, also questioned whether Woodward is an operative of the opposition Democratic Party. Excerpts are contained in stories Tuesday from CNN and The Washington Post. The book quotes White House Chief of Staff John Kelly describing the president as "unhinged." Kelly also is quoted saying in a staff meeting that because the president is an "idiot," it is "pointless to try to convince him of anything. He's gone off the rails. We're in crazytown." The retired Marine Corps general, whose reported frustrations with his current post and boss have previously made the news, is quoted then saying: "I don't even know why any of us are here. This is the worst job I've ever had." Kelly, in a statement hours after the media reports about the book, pushed back. "The idea I ever called the president an idiot is not true," said the White House chief of staff, reiterating that he has "an incredibly candid and strong relationship. He always knows where I stand, and he and I both know this story is total BS." Kelly statement emphasizes he is committed to Trump's presidency, his agenda and the country. "This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administration's many successes," Kelly said.



Former Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward speaks during an event sponsored by The Washington Post to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Watergate at the Watergate office building in Washington on June 11, 2012. /AP

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is quoted in the book saying Trump comprehends material at the level of "a fifth- or sixth-grader." "The contemptuous words about the president attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence. While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility," Mattis responded in a statement released Tuesday evening by the Pentagon. The statement from the defense secretary further said that "while responsible policymaking in the real world is inherently messy, it is also essential that we challenge every assumption to find the best option." However, Mattis added, "the idea that I would show contempt for the elected Commander-in-Chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someone's rich imagination." The book claims that after the Syrian president ordered chemical weapons to be used against civilians in April of last year, Trump called Mattis and said he wanted to assassinate Bashar al-Assad. Mattis is quoted as telling an aide after hanging up the phone that "We're not going to do any of that. We're going to be much more measured." "I have not once ever heard the president talking about assassinating Assad," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley responded when asked at a UN news conference about that assertion in the book. The president's former lead personal attorney, John Dowd, is quoted in graphic language referring to Trump as a "liar" who will end up wearing an "orange jump suit" if he gives testimony to special counsel Robert Muller, who is looking into ties between the 2016 Trump election campaign and Russia. Two officials who since left the White House, the president's top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and Staff Secretary Rob Porter, are said to have swiped documents from the president's desk to prevent him from signing them "to protect the country." Woodward repeatedly requested an interview with Trump for the book but did not succeed. According to a tape of a call Woodward made to Trump last month, and released by The Washington Post, Trump accused the journalist of writing a "very inaccurate book" that would not reflect that no predecessor has "ever done a better job than I'm doing as president." The book also includes excerpts of discussions between the president's lawyer and Mueller. The special counsel is quoted saying "I need the president's testimony," to determine Trump's intent in firing James Comey as director of the FBI. "I want to see if there was corrupt intent," Mueller is quoted as stating. The president recently escalated his feud with his own attorney general, Jeff Sessions, who has recused himself from oversight of the Mueller investigation, a move that angered Trump. "This guy is mentally retarded," Trump is quoted in the book, saying of Sessions. "He's this dumb Southerner," Trump tells Porter, mocking Sessions by feigning a Southern U.S. accent. In another tweet late Tuesday against the book, Trump denied making those statements. "I said NEITHER, never used those terms on anyone, including Jeff, and being a southerner is a GREAT thing," Trump said. "He made this up to divide!" The president's penchant for making provocative statements on social media is examined in Woodward's book, which notes national security leaders feared and warned Trump that "Twitter could get us into a war." Woodward characterizes the president as prioritizing national security in terms of trade deficits and the expense of keeping U.S. troops overseas. Questioned why the United States has to pay for the large troop presence in South Korea, for example, Mattis reportedly told the president: "We're doing this in order to prevent World War III." The book, by the former Washington Post reporter who shared a 1973 Pulitzer Prize for stories on the Watergate scandal, contains contemporary echoes of Nixon White House paranoia and anger, with Trump reacting to the ongoing Russia inquiry by saying, "everybody's trying to get me."
Reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who successfully pushed President Donald Trump to grant a pardon for a drug offender earlier this year, returned to the White House on Wednesday for a meeting with senior aides as part of the administration's efforts on criminal justice reform.

Kardashian, who may have felt right at home with the drama-infused atmosphere in the West Wing as it grapples with the fallout from Bob Woodward's new book, participated in a listening session on clemency and prison reform with several staffers, including the president's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

"The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review," according to Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary.

Among the others in attendance were CNN commentator Van Jones, Shon Hopwood, a lawyer who served time in prison for bank robbery and Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, who has been instrumental in steering Trump's Supreme Court picks, including Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearings have begun on Capitol Hill.

But the headliner was Kardashian, who last visited the White House three months ago to press for a pardon for 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson. At the time, the reality star, dressed in black, posed for an instantly iconic -- and seemingly somber -- photo with Trump in the Oval Office, though there were no plans for her to meet with the president on Wednesday.
Trump administration officials and Canadian negotiators are resuming talks to try to keep Canada in a North American trade bloc with the United States and Mexico.

"We are looking forward to constructive conversations today," Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters as she entered a meeting with U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer.
National security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who led the five-member delegation, told reporters here on Thursday morning that Kim "reaffirmed his willingness to keep his denuclearization pledge."

Kim unexpectedly met with five senior South Korean officials in Pyongyang on Wednesday despite having been off the radar for two weeks.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday invited President Moon Jae-in for another summit in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20.

The trip seems to have gone better than expected. On arrival Chung handed a smiling Kim a letter from President Moon Jae-in detailing cross-border economic cooperation plans and urged North Korea to speed up denuclearization, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

The officials arrived in Pyongyang at 9 a.m. and were driven to the Koryo Hotel, where they were greeted by Kim's right-hand man Kim Yong-chol and Ri Son-gwon, the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. They then met with the North Korean leader to discuss the agenda of the upcoming inter-Korean summit and other matters.

The delegates briefed Moon on their trip as soon as they returned to Seoul on Wednesday night.

They presented South Korea's blueprint for economic cooperation, including reconnecting severed cross-border railways and roads, and urged Kim to take steps toward denuclearization.

Chung told reporters before his trip that a draft statement about the opening of an inter-Korean liaison office in the shuttered Kaesong Industrial Complex had already been agreed.
Cheong Wa Dae on Thursday morning broke heavy secrecy surrounding the flying visit of five South Korean officials to Pyongyang on Wednesday.

The presidential office said the two sides agreed to hold a fresh summit in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20, where they will discuss how to implement the declaration from their April 27 summit and concrete steps to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

No South Korean reporters had been allowed to accompany the officials, who traveled to North Korea as special envoys of President Moon Jae-in, sparking rumors of closed-door dealings.

Presidential officials here said they themselves had no news about the meeting's progress until the delegation returned.
LAHAINA  The week Hurricane Lane hit West Maui has been emblazoned in our memories, along with all of its stops and starts, prepping and planning, leading up to the early morning hours of Friday, Aug. 24, where it literally rained fire on our community.

Our firefighters, police officers and residents reacted and responded by training and instinct to protect each other.

With the scorching, fast-moving flames on an erratic course spreading along the mauka hillsides, it was a nightmare no one expected or could have predicted.

It was a miracle that Lahaina survived.

In the aftermath, however, the cost was dearer than calculated. There was the tragic loss of priceless family keepsakes and the peaceful sleep of Hawaiians settled on Kuleana Lands in Kauaula Valley, where over a dozen homes were lost.

On Wednesday night, Aug. 29, the County of Maui called a meeting at Lahainaluna High School for a post-event evaluation of the emergency situation and the response of the various governmental agencies.

With the pall of the burn wafting throughout the cafeteria, tempers flared and tears flowed with the recall of that devastating morning.

The first responders were hailed as heroes; there was no fault or doubt cast in that direction.

The criticism was pointed at the various government officials; with specific disapproval voiced about their response  or lack thereof  and there were many legitimate questions.

Maria Linz Bacalso was vocal: Where have you been? The emergency happened five days ago. Youre emergency management  why are we managing the emergency when thats your job?

Keeamoku Kapu had questions about the broken hydrant in the Makila Subdivision.

Kapu also objected to the treatment of the families residing on Kuleana Lands in the valley.

This whole damn government system gotta really frickin wake up and start sitting down not just with the public sector, not just with the private sector, the West Side cultural leader demanded.

What about us? What about the kuleanas? What about the host culture that been living here more than anybody else than has been living in this place? We are of this place. We are not from Lahaina; we are of Lahaina.

Kapu offered constructive remarks to improve the situation as well, including establishing a brush abatement program and organizing a meeting with the Kauaula Valley residents to open the channels of communication.

Criticism was most keen about the mismanagement of the Civic Center emergency shelter.

Why did you shut down the shelter at the Civic Center when there were families who lost their homes that night? You kicked them out in the rain with nowhere to go, Linz asked.

Dont worry, Linz said, matter-of-fact, we took care of it.

You failed us, she advised.

Commercial boat operator David Jung watched the spread of the fire from his boat in the roadstead.

We were watching the winds come in at 70-mile-an-hour gusts, and we saw the fire go. It was moving so fast, we called the shore, and we started telling people, Evacuate right now  that fire is moving 40-miles-an-hour,  Jung recalled.

My hats off to our Fire Department. I dont know how you guys did that.

Jung, however, expressed concern about the emergency warning system.

My last question is for Civil Defense. There was nothing on the Internet; there were no sirens. Why did the Civil Defense sirens not sound? We were running around through town with cinders burning our hair, banging on doors trying to wake people up at 2 in the morning. Why did our Civil Defense siren system fail us? It did not work.

So we gotta do some planning  some serious, serious hurricane planning. Global warming is here, Jung warned.

Maui Electric Co. was queried about protocol. If the winds exceed a certain amount, is MECO required to shut down? Those wires were whipping up there, Kapu observed.

It was shocking to learn that the teachers were recruited to clean their classrooms of the soot, ash and chemical residues.

One parent exclaimed, Not one agency showed up to help those teachers to clean our schools.

What about our children or the teachers? Who said good job to the teachers and the 200 volunteers that showed up at this school to clean it? What about the 71 boarders?

Tamara Paltin is worried about the residents of the Kelawea Mauka III neighborhood.

I just wanted to get it on record for Kelawea Mauka III Subdivision that we need another exit out of there, especially during school time. It would be really helpful if that could start to be worked on, because it may be a long process to get another exit If a fire started, a lot of residents would be trapped.

Kaanapali resident Robin Ritchie was evacuated from her neighborhood that fateful morning.

She had a pointed question to MECO: What about trees under power lines or entangled in power lines?

A Launiupoko resident had similar questions.

Can trees on lines cause a fire? Can arching cause a fire? Can all our lines be put underground in West Maui, because we have drought conditions; we have the crazy Kauaula Wind; we have Launiupoko winds. We have no more sugar cane as a buffer, the irrigation, the farming. We just have dry land now. I would like to see all the power lines on West Maui put underground.

Lahaina lifer Kaipo Kekona had a simple but seemingly challenging request. They have been trying desperately to find containers, he said, for the families to store the mountains of donations they are receiving.

James Simpliciano was passionate in his plea for help.

I farm on the most driest hillside in Lahaina. We need help to really take control of that dirt coming down. I ask please, if we can get some cover crop seeds and have some water troughs, get those seeds started and continue to keep those seeds growing just to hold that dirt, he said.

I dont make a living just to be rich, Simpliciano added. I make a living to leave something behind. This is for the future. My grandfather came here for the sugar cane and worked under plantation. I want to make a difference and change that. We need to really think now. Create a food hub.

Luckily we have a community that loves us. Lucky we have farms.

Support agriculture and support ways to become self-sustainable. I believe we are the Kingdom of Lahaina, and we exist as aloha aina, he said.
Support county funding for Maui Fire Department

Fortunate and grateful. Thats what most of us in West Maui ought to be feeling after the recent hurricane and fires. For sure, there were over 2,000 acres burned, over 20 structures damaged or destroyed and many people and families displaced. But we came EVER-SO-CLOSE to a truly massive catastrophe with unthinkable loss of life and massive property destruction. We really could have witnessed the burning down of Lahaina.

There were no lives lost and only one serious injury. Astounding. This is all because of the devoted, steadfast and tireless work of the entire Maui Fire Department, Maui Police Department, National Guard and various federal, state and county agencies that participated. Key decisions in the allocation of resources were made rapidly to protect lives and structures, and to prevent spread to crucial residential areas or incendiary sites like gas stations. Many Maui firefighters say this was the most challenging situation in their whole careers.

The reason many of us are alive today and in our own homes is because of the truly heroic work of these civic workers. And, I can tell you reliably that the next person responsible for actually saving your life will probably be a fireman, a paramedic, a lifeguard or a policeman  not a doctor like myself.

Recently, the County Council adopted the budget for Fiscal Year 2019 that in many areas cut the funds requested for Maui Fire Department equipment, manpower and training. The requested items and amounts are absolutely necessary for the effective protection of our island and in no way extraordinary or superfluous. We should expect to periodically have large fires that start in brushy areas because of the elimination of irrigated agriculture.

The County Councils final adopted budget has not yet been posted on the county website. However, here is a link to the mayors approved budget for 2019; the Fire Department and Public Safety section starts on page 235: www.mauicounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/111954/00000_Combined-Program-Budget.

So, thank a firefighter today, but also please contact your favorite County Councilmember and express your concern and interest in funding the Fire Departments work. It may just save your life, thereby allowing you to remain fortunate and grateful.

NORMAN ESTIN, M.D., Medical Director, Doctors On Call Urgent Care Centers



Police and firefighters did an outstanding job

To the Police and Fire Department, thank you for doing such an outstanding job during the Lahaina fires. They worked very hard together to make sure we were kept safe. They stood day and night, two officers at each traffic light, for two long days  not an easy job. Thank you for your services; they are greatly appreciated.

GARY KELNHOFER, Lahaina



Vet candidates for public office

Im dismayed and frankly puzzled at the ease to which the Lahaina News editorial letters admit frequent misleading rantings of a disgraced man running for political office (State House District 10), who was locked up in Maui County jail for three-plus months in 2016 for an indictment charging him with five counts of first-degree sexual assault, three counts of third-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a minor.

The prosecuting attorney expressed the serious charges to Judge Cahill to warrant bail be set at $650,000 for Chayne Marten. He was placed in lockup pending trial (see The Maui News, Oct. 14 and Oct. 15, 2016, etc.).

He submits letters referencing the popular common politician mantra of promises to work for the good of the Hawaiian people, as well as the go-to, well-worn playbook of Biblical phrases and his strong faith in God.

From personal knowledge of his behavior, as a citizen who deeply cares about the representatives working for the good people of Maui, I urge all voters and editors to educate themselves and vet the candidates you choose to work for the better good of all of us.

While I fully expect a false, misleading rebuttal from Marten, I stand by my remarks strongly and hope readers will investigate his past, do their homework for the upcoming election and never allow men or women of questionable character and lack of moral integrity to hold public office now or ever. Enough already!!

MOT NAGIRROC



Emergency alerts should go out as text messages

I am a resident of Lahaina and work in urgent care. My heart goes out to all those displaced or have experienced personal loss from the fires. My question is whether our emergency alert system can be modified to send texts to residents for these types of emergencies, like the flash flood warnings.

I live in a condo complex, and we did not want to pull the fire alarm for obvious reasons, but knocking on doors was rather time-consuming in the face of emergency evacuation. My thanks to all emergency service personal who responded to the fires and kept us all safe.

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST



Cochran misrepresenting county records

During this campaign season, citizens deserve the truth be told by the candidates who seek our vote and trust. To a greater degree, elected officials have an absolute duty to be transparent and accurate in their representations of government records.

Fabrication and misrepresentation of government records may be grounds for violations of the Hawaii Penal Code, which constitute harm to social interests that the law seeks to protect.

That being said, Elle Cochrans history of non-disclosures and half-truths is once again making headlines in Elles Council Connection in the Lahaina News on Aug. 15, 2018. As an elected official, Cochran misrepresents government records by raising a longstanding issue involving the County Administrations shifting of tens of millions of dollars of private developers subdivision infrastructure financial obligations onto the backs of Maui County taxpayers. They have done so with private developers through thousands of unaccounted-for agreements executed by Public Works and county attorneys.

In her column, Cochran states: By signing a deferral agreement contract with the County, families could hold off on these improvements and instead contribute their fair share when the County was scheduled to perform improvements along the properties frontage The problem is it was intended for families and ended up becoming a loophole for developers to circumvent costly infrastructure for larger projects while banking on the fact the County may never coming knocking on their door.

The facts: since 2011, Cochran has been the chair of the infrastructure panel for the County Council. Through the efforts of a West Maui resident, along with the legislative efforts of former Councilmember Jo Anne Johnson Winer, the council did come knocking on the developers doors.

In 2010, through an ordinance presented by Johnson Winer, which was adopted by the council and approved by county attorneys, the unaccounted-for developer agreements became collectible by law when the county performs a roadway Capital Improvement Project (CIP) along the frontage of the developments that are bound by these developer deferral agreements.

In 2012, Cochran began the process of assessment and collection, which is her duty under the Maui County Charter. For undisclosed reasons, Cochran terminated the collection process. Her fragmented column in the Lahaina News fails to explain why.

At the same time, legislation known as the Fairness Bill (PC-17) was created by the same West Maui resident after he became an executive assistant to the County Council. The bill created a process and formula for assessment and collection of the developer agreements.

It was that individual, not Cochran, who brought forth an experienced infrastructure management firm to implement an established nationwide model of assessment and collection of the developer debts owed. For reasons unknown, as the chair of infrastructure, Cochran refused to support or present the Fairness Bill  despite the fact her own executive assistant worked diligently with the private citizen to create the bill.

Here is where the deceptions and misrepresentation of government records by Cochran begin. She asks, Have any County improvements happened that should have triggered collection? Why is Cochran raising a question that county Department of Finance records, produced by her own staff, have already answered?

Cochran knows very well that CIPs have been performed islandwide for many decades that, by law, should have triggered the collection of these private developer agreements to pay back the taxpayers.

Cochran also fails to mention in her column that due to citizens frustration with her unwillingness to address the debts owned by private developers, it was newly elected Councilmember Kelly King who brought this issue to the council floor. For over six years, Cochran shut the door on the citizens request for her to honor her duty to adopt a process of assessment and collection of developer debts owed.

In 2017, it was Councilmember Donald Guzman, not Cochran, who stepped forward with a resolution requesting an audit of the developer agreements by the County Auditor. Guzmans resolution has been accepted by the auditor, and the audit will now occur in 2019.

It is a fact, which public records and the audit will reveal, that for over 40 years, county government attorneys have been writing these agreements with private developers knowing that they end up giving private developers tens of millions of dollars of free infrastructure improvements at the publics expense. Before the private citizens discovery, the developer agreements were not worth the paper they are written on. They are now.

For some unknown reason, Cochran fails to acknowledge and give credit to the citizen who has taken a huge personal risk by exposing these misdealings between public officials and private developers.

But it gets worse  despite admitting the ordinance ended up becoming a loophole for developers to circumvent costly infrastructure improvements, Cochran recently voted to use hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds to hire a high-powered Honolulu law firm to defend the Arakawa Administrations exploitation of the ordinance on an oceanfront subdivision in West Maui.

Unbelievably, the very same citizen who has blown the whistle and stood up against good ole boys in the Arakawa Administration is being victimized by the longstanding legal policy of the administration to defend politically appointed director decisions at all cost. It was this very development  where the citizens investigation began  that led to the discovery of the thousands of unaccounted-for developer agreements.

As the lawsuit exposes, with the aid of then-Public Works Deputy Director Milton Arakawa, the very same developer also walked away from its oceanfront Special Management Area Permit environmental mitigation obligations. Despite the fact this citizen also played a significant role in holding the Olowalu developers accountable when they tried to escape millions of dollars of SMA Major Permit mitigations, Cochran has voted to use our hard-earned tax dollars to defend the Arakawa Administrations decision to refuse to hold the developer and conspiring public officials accountable.

So, what role did Cochrans relationship with Mayor Arakawa and his politically appointed directors play in the termination of the assessment and collection of the unaccounted developer agreements in 2011-12? So far, Freedom of Information Requests have gone unanswered.

In conclusion, the Lahaina News column written by Cochran paints a disjointed and deceptive picture of her political record on holding developers accountable and protecting the public interest and environment.

As the record shows, Cochran was politically aligned with Mayor Arakawa when she first ran for office. As the record shows, she still is.

ERIC POULSEN, Lahaina
KAANAPALI  Dukes Beach House is looking for a young artist to design the 2018 keiki holiday T-shirt.

The winning artist will have his or her design featured on a special Dukes Beach House keiki holiday T-shirt and receive a $100 restaurant voucher. The school of the winning participant will also receive a $500 cash prize.

Honorable mentions will each receive a $25 promotional voucher for Dukes Beach House and will be invited to attend a pupu party and an awards ceremony at the restaurant.

Now through Oct. 12, 2018, contestants may enter the contest by mailing their designs along with a completed entry form to Dukes Beach House, 130 Kai Malina Parkway, Lahaina, HI 96761. Entries may be submitted as hard copies or as digital files on discs.

There is nothing better than seeing the fun and creative artwork of our keiki, said Dukes Beach House General Manager Nick Ware.

We are so excited continue the tradition of incorporating the community in our holiday celebration at Dukes.

Dukes Beach House management will judge all submissions and select the winner as well as five honorable mentions.

The winning design and honorable mentions will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 5, 2018 at www.dukesmaui.com and on Dukes Beach Houses Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DukesBeachHouse.

For contest rules and the entry form, visit www.dukesmaui.com/t-shirt-contest.
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In April 2018, Mayor Eric Garcetti and the City Council declared an emergency shelter crisis in Los Angeles. The mayor signed an executive directive to implement his "A Bridge Home" initiative, with a goal of creating 1,500 new shelter beds for the homeless residents most in need. The plan allocates $20 million from the city budget, split evenly among the 15 council districts, "to construct emergency bridge housing city-wide."

"The urgency of the homelessness crisis demands that we take every possible step to help people pack up tents and move indoors as quickly as possible," the mayor said at the time.

As city leaders navigate the selection of sites while also addressing community concerns, you may be wondering if there are any shelters being planned or built where you live or work.

That's why LAist is keeping track of where these bridge housing shelters are being proposed, studied and built -- though in many cases that's taking much longer than first expected. Explore our map below to learn more. Sites that have been proposed and are under review are in orange and open shelters are in blue (if you're having trouble viewing the map in this article, you can see it here).

This is a developing project. Check back for updates.
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Every fall for the past 25 years, Los Angeles County borrows two super scoopers -- those giant yellow and red firefighting planes -- from Canada.



Each plane can get in the air in five minutes and carry 1,600 gallons of water. The county spends $8 million for two of them and their crews to stay here from September through November. But as the fire season gets longer, many officials now believe that restricted time frame just doesn't work and there's new pressure to find a year-round solution.

The biggest fire in California's history was sparked in July this year, before the super scoopers came. And the second biggest -- last year's Thomas fire -- burned in December, after we typically give them back. So does the county have more permanent plans?

"The simple answer is no," said County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, explaining that we just can't afford it, "because it's so expensive to maintain these (planes)."

Its that time of year: The super scoopers and the air-crane are in from Quebec! These incredible planes help our Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters combat intense fires during especially dry and windy conditions. @LACoFDPIO @QuebecLA pic.twitter.com/M8w8L1RwOf  Supervisor Kathryn Barger (@kathrynbarger) September 5, 2018

Barger estimates the annual maintenance alone is $4 million per aircraft. Then add pilots, crew, plus the cost to actually buy one, and it's beyond the county budget.

But Barger wants the state to pick up the slack. She says there have been conversations about how the state could fund it, but they're still in the beginning stages.

News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
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By Ryan Fonseca and Lori Galarreta

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is facing new scrutiny this week after announcing it mishandled roughly 23,000 voter registrations, in some cases adding voters to the wrong party.

Human error is to blame, according to The Sacramento Bee, which reported that DMV workers mixed up registration information while toggling between multiple screens. The erroneous data was then sent to Secretary of State Alex Padilla's office. Padilla released a statement this week, saying he was "extremely disappointed and deeply frustrated" by the mishap.

"The DMV has assured us that they have taken necessary actions to prevent this from occurring again," he said. "We are taking immediate steps to address this DMV error. We have notified and offered guidance to county election officials and we will ensure that impacted Californians are promptly notified and provided information to verify their voter registration status."

Padilla also reminded California voters that they can check their registration status at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

So, just how big of a problem is this in the scheme of things?

Not enough to disenfranchise state voters, according to Paul Mitchell, vice president of Political Data Inc., which provides election data and information to political campaigns.

"Nobody had their right to vote taken away," Mitchell told KPCC's Take Two. "Nobody was misregistered in a way that meant that they couldn't vote in an election or that it would impact their ability to vote in this coming November election."

Automatic voter registration has recorded 1.4 million new, updated and confirmed registrations through the DMV since April, so the mishandled registrations account for less than 2 percent of that. California has more than 19 million registered voters in total.

Mitchell also pointed out that people make enough mistakes on their own when registering to vote, including checking the wrong party box.

"We actually have a huge issue in California where there are a half-million voters who are registered with the American Independent Party and 97 percent of them think that they're registered independent," he said. "That is an error by an individual filling out usually a paper form...that kind of error has been reduced in this DMV process."

The debacle caught the attention of Rep. Jim Patterson, who represents Fresno in the state Legislature. The Republican congressman recently introduced a motion to audit the agency amid excruciating wait times at DMV field offices. The audit request fell one vote short in the state Senate.

"I'm not surprised," Patterson said in a tweet. "It's one thing to wait in long lines, but quite another to walk in to the DMV registered one party and walk out registered in another. The (DMV) cannot be trusted to police itself."

Patterson also took the opportunity to share an online petition calling for a new audit.

News happens every day. Here at LAist, our goal is to cover the stories that matter to you and the community you live in. Now that we're part of KPCC, those stories (including this one you're on right now!) are made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism isn't cheap, but with your support we can keep delivering it. Donate now.
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This Monday, if you wade into the ocean near Santa Monica or Venice, you may feel something odd lapping around your ankles. Not seaweed or jellyfish. More likely it's soggy bread.

Say what? Did the sewage pipes overflow? Is this a new form of fish bait? In fact, what you'd be seeing is sin. Not the sin of wasting bread (more on that later) but an ancient tradition, known as tashlich, that some Jews practice on Rosh Hashanah, the New Year: discarding their symbolic sins -- which might include lying, repeating juicy gossip or not giving enough to charity -- into moving water.

For most urban Jews, this means throwing breadcrumbs into a nearby river or stream. But in Southern California, the ocean's available, and hey, it's more fun to be on the beach. So along the coast, you'll see groups of adults and children, barefoot but dressed in the same clothes they wore to synagogue, loping over the sand holding a plastic bag full of bread.

Congregants of Mishkon Tephilo, a synagogue in Venice, California, perform the Tashlich Rosh Hashanah ritual in 2017 (photo courtesy of Mishkon Tephilo)

Each community stakes out a different part of the beach, but the ritual is the same -- a few words from the rabbi, maybe a blessing, and then the throwing of the bread.

There is one drawback being at the beach. Backwash. Waves have a funny habit of returning to land so after a while, when there's a whole bunch of people casting away their sins, you feel pieces of warm, waterlogged bread slapping your legs. It's kind of like wading into a soup of dinner rolls. Then there's the existential humor of seeing your sins come back. Didn't I just discard you? Humanity couldn't have dreamed up a more on-the-nose visual metaphor about repeating our mistakes.

Freshly baked and unbaked challah is seen in a kitchen on March 15, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Adam Berry/Getty Images)

The synagogue I go to, Mishkon Tephilo in Venice (you can see the ocean from its top step, a perk of attendance), in an attempt to be eco-friendly, has asked its members to throw pieces of seaweed instead of bread. Soggy bread, even if it's organic wholegrain, isn't good for the birds or wildlife although the ecstatic reaction of the seagulls suggests they have no problem with the practice.

Over the years, I've found my sin quotient has roughly been the size of one crust of white bread, torn into many pieces. Last year, I tried tossing small pieces of seaweed but it didn't have the same heft in my hand. The seaweed seemed too lightweight for 12 whole months of coveting my friend's new shoes and not phoning my mother enough, let alone gluttony and impatience. I'd need an entire pile of the squelchy stuff for that.

A seagull swoops in to eat a piece of bread from the extended hand of a visitor on a pier at the Baltic Sea on October 14, 2010 on Ruegen Island at Binz, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

I still have some time to decide what to do. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown this Sunday, September 9th. So if you do go down to the beach on Monday and spot people with their pants rolled up, squinting and sweating in the sun with fistfuls of bread (or seaweed), you can give them a knowing smile, say "L'shana tova" (that's Hebrew for Happy New Year) and look for the screaming gulls dive-bombing each other to get to their glutinous, gluttonous once-a-year treat.

You made it! Congrats, you read the entire story, you gorgeous human. This story was made possible by generous people like you. Independent, local journalism costs $$$$$. And now that LAist is part of KPCC, we rely on that support. So if you aren't already, be one of us! Help us help you live your best life in Southern California. Donate now.
As part of their curriculum, the students at the San Diego French-American School in La Jolla learn multiple languages, and they come through the doors speaking languages heard all over the world. But when the school year started Aug. 30, another new language was introduced: digital.

Over the summer, the school built an Innovation Lab within a modular steel container to teach robotics and coding to the kindergarten through eighth-grade students  complete with movable tables, rolling glass doors, computers, green screens, 3-D printers and more to allow them to work in multiple settings. Furnishings and equipment went in the early weeks of school.

We want the students to dictate how they learn, not the teachers saying this is how you are going to learn,  explained Francois Tregouet, the STEAM coordinator and third-grade teacher who came up with (and will teach) the class. And when students are comfortable, that is the best time to learn. As for coding and programming, they are part of many jobs today and will continue to be so. Creativity and cooperation are the skills students must have to work these jobs. The future will have a lot of robots, so we want our students to be ready to manage robots and work in a different way.

Francois Tregouet in the still-in-development lab, along with some different age-appropriate robots the students use to learn coding. (Ashley Mackin-Solomon)

Having started the program last year  but soon realizing he was limited by the space in his classroom  Tregouet pulled from other age-appropriate robotics curriculum to develop the course for all grade levels.

The robotics and coding course will also be offered as a club after school.

Getting the Innovation Lab together was an exercise in collaboration. School facility manager Matt Baranowski said the process wouldnt be possible without the support of parents.

We got prices and knew what our options were in March, but the board wouldnt pull the trigger until they had raised the funds to do this, he explained.

We knew we wanted to do this fast, but we only had a one-month window in which there werent going to be any kids here for school or camp, and that was the month of August.

To get everything in line and ready to go in just five short months, timing was everything. It started with the schools annual fundraising gala at the end of March, at which the parents  auction paddles in hand  raised the $400,000 needed to build and stock the Innovation Lab.

We were sitting there eating dinner the night of the gala and one big donor (who wished to be kept anonymous) stepped up. He said he wanted to give $150,000 to this lab because he believed in the project. Then another person stood up and gave $50,000. Then there were a few $10,000 and $5,000 donations. People stood up at every level to raise that money. It was truly a collaborative effort and it was amazing, Baranowski said.

The down payment was made at the end of April and contractor S3DA Designs got to work soon after.

S3DA consultant Saeed Shams said: We had our architect do everything so we could move really quickly. We work in a way that we gather all the information we can so were ready on Day One  we have our designs, we have all questions answered, and we put it all together at once.

Because the San Diego French-American School is a privately funded school on San Diego Unified School District property, at 6550 Soledad Mountain Road, the project had to adhere to the District of State Architect (DSA) process, which Baranowski called a tough process on a good day, and had to be modified to meet the Districts terms.

The building itself was constructed off-site and brought in by crane in two pieces and re-assembled onsite, and the finishing touches were added in late August. Students explored the Lab the first week of September.

 San Diego French-American School serves 365 students, Pre-K to eighth grade. Pre-K tuition starts at $11,580. Middle school tuition is $18,200. sdfrenchschool.org
Our Readers Write / Opinion / Letters to the Editor:

Letters to the Editor from the Sept. 6, 2018 issue of La Jolla Light as La Jollans speak out on local issues:



Pinnipeds help make La Jolla extra special

 With pleasure, I respond to Florence Lamberts letter in the Aug. 30 La Jolla Light issue about the marine mammals belonging along La Jollas coast. She has a very special heart for animals. I agree with her sentiments and applaud every word she so eloquently states. Being a member of The Friends of the Seals for many years, Ive expressed many times, my concern over the callous remarks by some La Jollans in their relentless pursuit to malign these mammals who sun their blubber on the small beach in The Cove and those wishing to protect them. We are all earthlings who share this most wonderful planet  our home. Respect and cherish the Earth.

Isabella Miram

 Thank you for publishing the beautiful letter from Florence Lambert regarding the seals at the Childrens Pool . I believe her thoughts are shared by many La Jolla residents who regard the seals as a gift of nature to be appreciated and protected (not removed).

Anne Holst



A solution to the seals, sea lions controversy

The great French observer of America, Alexis de Tocqueville, often warned of the undoing of our great nation because of a tyranny of the majority. However, what we often find today is that the real danger in America comes from a tyranny of the tiny minority. Time and again we see a small minority of loud, ardent opinionates exercising a negative asymmetrical influence on our daily lives. Nowhere is this more readily apparent than regarding the seals and sea lions at La Jolla Childrens Pool and La Jolla Cove.

On most days, it has become almost impossible for any La Jolla resident with just a modicum of normal olfactory sense to venture anywhere near these two locations. The stench is not just overwhelming, but it has effectively placed The Cove and the Childrens Pool off limits to all, save those visiting tourists willing to hold their noses. Lest we forget, the seals are not a gift from nature, they are gift from SeaWorld who found it more economical to dump their excess seals in La Jolla and let us deal with the ramifications.

However, what if a solution could be found that protects the seals, returns the Childrens Pool to its rightful owners (La Jollas 3- and 4-year olds), and eliminates the massive stench at both The Cove and Childrens Pool. And what if we took a poll outside of Vons and found that this solution was supported by the majority of residents and businesses? Would we be able to implement it?

This is hard to say. Why? Because, as seen in so many other walks of our social existence, a screaming minority of emotional individuals would use their skills to convince the politicians that they represent more citizens than they actually do. They would further argue that the stench is a small price to pay and really doesnt matter. (To which one must rhetorically ask: Are you going to believe them or your own nose?)

Its also likely that the reasonable, common sense, thoughtful majority would remain, as they often do, quiet in the face of a loud radical minority advancing a taking that would have been incomprehensible to benefactress Ellen Browning Scripps.

Anyway, here is the common sense solution that certainly would be implemented if we lived in a more rational, non-emotionally charged world:

1. Move some (or all) of the seals to a remote corner of Blacks Beach and feed them there for a period of two weeks. The rest will follow. Give the seals all the luxuries our fine City can afford at their new location.

2. Make the La Jolla Cove and the Childrens Pool a leash-free dog beach for 1 year.

The positive results would be almost immediate.

A. The overwhelming stench and miasma would begin to recede. People would once again be able to stroll past The Cove and not retch after a wonderful meal at their favorite Prospect Street restaurant. Residents would once again be able to enjoy one of the most beautiful parks in Southern California.

B. Our happy canine friends would harmlessly ensure that the seals would not come back, and in turn, the seals would thrive in their new habitat. Our pooches would have a wonderful year prancing in the surf.

C. The ocean would begin its healing process, slowly removing the documented and extremely dangerous toxic excrement from the beach and ocean floor, once again making our wonderful ocean usable without condition.

D. We would be protected from a rapidly increasing likelihood that some child or adult will die as victim of a shark attack (referencing a CBS report Shark spotted eating a sea lion off La Jolla on Aug 9).

In summary, the blatant theft of the Childrens Pool from the toddlers of La Jolla is an unquestionable wrong, but the gross deleterious consequences from these bad decisions are equally unjust and need to be corrected as soon as possible.

Jim Tica



La Jolla breakaway from City has merits

Recent letter-writers have suggested that La Jolla should break away from San Diego to become its own city, as Del Mar and other towns have done. Certainly, they would offer us advice.

This is not a new idea. A breakaway has been tried three times before. One attempt fell through with the mention of higher taxes on the villagers. The taxes on this town are possibly the highest in the City, and certainly, The Village can manage without a raise. The City would be reluctant to comply and has many ways to stop the effort.

However, the La Jolla community has leaders capable of seeing this through. The Village would be filled with pride to have its own mayor.

Patricia W.



Light reporters tone needs toning down

Im writing to communicate my sincere disappointment after reading Corey Levitans article in the Aug. 30 issue on the contentious building project dubbed the New Bird Rock Gateway. I found it to be biased and even demeaning to the Bird Rock community representatives and DPR members (referring to Mike Costello as having puppy dog eyes, as one example, has no place in a serious article about a serious subject matter). While the reporter may not be familiar with all of the citizen concerns on this project, that isnt an excuse to dismiss them with a flippant attitude. Nor should they be dismissed because these concerns may not transgress into areas that qualify as formal violations on the part of the architect.

Among the many concerns that have been raised about this project, the most important relates to the safety of our children. Most of the middle school and high school students in Bird Rock use the bike path at the corner of La Jolla Hermosa and Camino De La Costa for transit. This corner is already so congested with parking issues that the road has become a blind-turn, single-lane passageway. By adding another set of local residents and retail employees who consume the parking in this area, the project in question will further exacerbate traffic problems, putting our childrens safety and lives at risk.

While we may not have legal grounds to stop the project from going forward, this doesnt mean that we are off base in our concerns. And, we shouldnt be portrayed in a public article as being ignorant, because nothing could be further from the truth. Responsible citizens are aware that there is a difference between what is legal and what is right, and it remains important to fight for the latter.

I hope that, in the future, Mr. Levitan will be more thoughtful and respectful in his articles, as significant local topics require genuine and unbiased reporting. The article on the Bird Rock Gateway project was neither.

Ben Cravatt



Vistors fall leads wifes note of thanks

On Aug. 21, my husband fell in the street in La Jolla Village. He broke his hip in the fall. All the emergency services workers who attended to him  fire department, ambulance people  were excellent, caring and thorough. I was waiting for him at a nearby cafe, unaware of his fall. A very kind lady came looking for me and drove me all the way to the Scripps Memorial Hospital where my husband was taken.

Everyone has been so very caring during this ordeal. The hospital people have been extraordinary. We are visiting from Australia and staying with our son and his family who moved to live here. We would like to thank everyone concerned, especially the lady and her beautiful daughters, for their kindness, care and concern. Thank you, everyone!

Bernadette Ronchi



Whats on YOUR mind?

Letters published in La Jolla Light express views from readers in regard to community issues. To share your thoughts in this public forum, e-mail them with your name and city of residence to editor@lajollalight.com or mail them to La Jolla Light Editor, 565 Pearl St., Suite 300, La Jolla, CA 92037. Letters reflect the writers opinions and not necessarily those of the newspaper staff or publisher.
Many typhoons have hit the country over the last 25 years, but Jebi wrought new levels of devastation, inundating the busy gateway to Osaka and major travel hub.

Typhoon Jebi forced Japan's Kansai International Airport to close down on Tuesday causing chaos for travelers in Japan.

All flights in and out of Kansai were canceled on Tuesday and Wednesday and put on hold on Thursday. Some 50 flights to Korea a day take off from the airport.

Some 15,000 passengers were scheduled to fly from Kansai to Korea. Most changed their flight plans, but some ended up being evacuated from the airport.

Instead, carriers are sending passengers to airports in neighboring Nagoya and Fukuoka and deploying bigger planes.

Korean Air is sending larger aircraft to accommodate hundreds more passengers stranded there. Asiana also dispatched larger planes to Nagoya to boost passenger space. Jeju Air deployed three more airplanes to nearby Nagoya.

It is unclear when flights will resume at Kansai. Most of the water that inundated the landing strips has been drained, but they remain unsuitable for use.
Nearly 100 years after his birth, the late J.D. Salinger is returning to the place he hated most: the spotlight.

Little, Brown, Salingers publisher, announced it would kick off a yearlong celebration of the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye, who was born Jan. 1, 1919.

The celebration will start with the publication of new editions of Salingers four books this November. Along with his famous novel, Salinger published the short story collection Nine Stories, the book containing a novella and one story, Franny and Zooey, and the two-novella book, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction during his lifetime.

There were rumors of unpublished works that might see publication after his death in 2010, but so far, none have come to light.

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Newly-designed editions of J.D. Salingers books. (Little, Brown / AP)

The four Salinger books will be reissued in newly designed trade paperback format as well as in a box set of hardcovers.

The announcement of the centennial celebration coincided with the publication of an essay by Joyce Maynard, an author and Salingers former lover, in the New York Times.

In 1972, Maynard published an widely read essay in the New York Times Magazine billed as an 18-year old looks back on life. Salinger, who was 53, wrote her a letter in response.

I had received a letter from J.D. Salinger in which he offered his admiration, friendship, mentorship and spiritual guidance, she says now. And, in subsequent letters and phone calls, urged me to leave college, come live with him (have babies, collaborate on plays we would perform together in Londons West End) and be (I truly believed this) his partner forever. She did leave Yale and moved in with Salinger in New Hampshire, an affair that he ended after seven months.

Joyce Maynard at home in Mill Valley, Calif., in 1998, when she published her memoir At Home in the World. (Paul Sakuma / Associated Press)

Maynard wrote about her relationship with Salinger in the 1998 memoir At Home in the World. Maynards memoir was met with scathing critiques upon its publication, but she writes that she thinks it might be received differently today, seen through the lens of the #MeToo movement.

We have come a long way ... from 1998, she writes. I am 64 now. In the decades since I published my story about those days and their enduring effect on my life, I have received many letters from readers. Some are from women with chillingly similar stories to share, of powerful older men who, when these women were very young, captured their exceedingly naive trust, as well as their hearts, and altered the course of their lives. She adds that there were other young women who said they had received letters like she did from Salinger, an absolutely captivating letter, magical even  composed in a voice they recognized as that of Holden Caulfield.

Little, Browns intention is to introduce that voice to a new generation of readers. J.D. Salinger had a unique ability to connect with readers through a characters voice  readers have often said, upon encountering his fiction for the first time, that they felt as if it had been written just for them, Reagan Arthur, the publisher of Little, Brown, said in a news release. We hope these reissued editions will help a new generation of readers discover the immense pleasures of reading his work.

Salingers son, Matt, praised the celebration and also made reference to his fathers dislike of attention.

My father hated birthdays, holidays and pretty much any planned or culturally mandated celebrations, and hed certainly hate this centennial  but he loved writing and he loved his readers, and I hope his readers will be glad for an excuse to remember him in this way, the younger Salinger said.
Hotel employees who work alone or in isolated locations, making them vulnerable to harassment and sexual assault, will be equipped with so-called panic buttons  electronic devices to call for help  the worlds largest hotel companies announced Thursday.

The top executives of Marriott, Hyatt, IHG, Wyndham and Hilton hotels, alongside the head of the nations largest hospitality trade group, said they would give the buttons to workers at thousands of hotels throughout the United States by 2020.

The devices will be required, along with anti-harassment training and policies for tens of thousands of workers, said Katherine Lugar, chief executive of the American Hotel and Lodging Assn., who called the agreement among rival companies unprecedented.

This is an ongoing challenge, said Lugar, who spoke at a Washington D.C. news conference attended by the industry executives. No industry is immune from dealing with issues of sexual harassment.

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Hotel housekeepers have been complaining through union leaders that they have no protection against harassment or assault when they are in hotel rooms with guests or other workers. That has prompted unions representing hotel workers in Southern California to mount initiative campaigns to require panic buttons.

Panic buttons are already required at hotels in Seattle, Washington, D.C., Chicago and New York.

Organizers for hotel employees in Los Angeles who learned of the initiative later said the announcement comes as a surprise because they say hotel industry groups have until recently been working to kill local measures in California to require panic buttons for hotel workers.

They need to join forces with us and stop spending money to stop local initiatives, said Lorena Lopez, director of Unite Here, Local 11, the Los Angeles area chapter of a national union that represents hotel and food service workers, among others.

The call for improved safety for hotel workers was praised by Tina Tchen, co-founder of the Times Up Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal support for victims of sexual harassment and assault in the workplace.

This is the first industry that I have seen come together across competitors, said Tchen, who attended the news conference and advised the hotel industry leaders on their initiative.

The calls for panic buttons at hotels have been especially prominent in Southern California.

In Long Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes, hospitality workers have collected enough signatures to put measures on ballots that would require hotels in those cities to provide panic buttons to their employees.

Voters will decide on the measure in Long Beach on Nov. 6. Voters in Rancho Palos Verdes will have to wait until Nov. 5, 2019, to vote on a similar measure.

The Long Beach City Council is considering adopting its own measure  to take effect regardless of whether the ballot measure is approved by voters  that would require hotels in the city to provide panic buttons for hotel staff.

A 2016 survey by Unite Here found that 58% of about 500 Chicago hotel workers who were questioned said they had been sexually harassed by a guest. Nearly half of the total said guests had exposed themselves, flashed them or answered the door naked.

The problem gained attention last year when Sandra Pezqueda, a former worker at the ritzy Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, filed a lawsuit claiming she was fired after complaining that her supervisor had made sexual advances.

Pezqueda was among several women named Persons of the Year by Time magazine last year for launching the #MeToo movement.

She has since settled the lawsuit against the outside staffing agency that employed the supervisors she blames for the advances. Terranea was released from the lawsuit before it was settled.

In January, state Assembly members Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) and Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) introduced a bill that would require hotels in California to provide panic buttons for employees who work in empty rooms. The bill was shelved last month.

At the news conference, Lugar was asked if the industry was trying to set its own terms for how to address the problem ahead of union efforts.

This is an evolution of our position to take care of our people, she responded.

But hotel industry experts say the growing public outrage spurred by the #metoo movement and allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace have forced the hotel industry to act.

Its become a bigger and bigger issue and its getting a lot of publicity, said Bruce Baltin, a managing director at CBRE Hotels. I think they are trying to get out in front of it.

The initiative announced Thursday originated in a study conducted by a task force of industry experts convened in 2017 by the American Hotel & Lodgings Assn., according to Lugar.

The participating hotel chains will distribute panic buttons suitable for their properties, which range from urban high-rises to suburban motels to rural roadside inns. Options include loud noise-emitting devices and those equipped with GPS tracking at the push of a button.

Other hotel companies that were also a part of the industry effort  including AccorHotels, Best Western Hotels & Resorts, the Radisson Hotel Group, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, Loews Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and G6 Hospitality  released statements Thursday saying they either plan to equip staff with panic buttons or have already begun to distribute the devices to workers.

The executives for Marriott and Hilton said the training and devices will be required not only in hotels owned and managed by the large hospitality companies but also in franchise hotels that are independently owned.

Its no small change at Hilton to effect a change, said Chris Nassetta, chief executive of Hilton. But we need to meet it head on.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.

UPDATES:

3:45 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Katherine Lugar, chief executive of the American Hotel and Lodging Assn., Lorena Lopez, director of United Here, Local 11 and Chris Nassetta, chief executive of Hilton and industry consultant Bruce Baltin.

12:15 p.m.: This article was updated with more details about the hotels anti-sexual harassment and assault initiative.

1:45 p.m.: This article was updated to include comments from president and chief executives of several hotel companies as well as labor leaders.

This article was published at 11:55 a.m.
On the coast of Miami, the high-rise home of late architect Zaha Hadid has traded hands for $5.75 million  just over half of its original $10-million price tag.

The sleek space, which combines two units and a studio, sits on the southeast corner of the W South Beach, a luxury oceanfront hotel.

Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, and her dramatic design style is on full display here. Neo-futuristic living spaces filled with curvaceous lines and metallic surfaces are met with walls of glass offering ocean views.

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Black-trimmed windows and a wall of steel interrupt the otherwise whitewashed floor plan. In 2,541 square feet, there are three bedrooms, four bathrooms and a wraparound balcony.

Records show Hadid bought the main apartment for $2.79 million in 2010 and picked up the adjacent studio for $1.38 million five years later.

Angelica Garcia and Ivan Chorney of ONE Sothebys International Realty held the listing. David Pulley of Douglas Elliman represented the buyer.

According to the listing agency, Hadid lived in the residence while designing the One Thousand Museum, a 62-story Miami condominium wrapped in a curvy exoskeleton.

In addition to the One Thousand Museum, her major works include the aquatic center for the 2012 London Olympics, the Riverside Museum in Glasgow and the Broad Art Museum in Michigan. She died two years ago of a heart attack at age 65.

jack.flemming@latimes.com | Twitter: @jflem94
On a recent Monday evening, a group of actors filed into director Stan Zimmermans airy Hollywood home, greeting each other with hugs and kisses before launching into an hours-long rehearsal. Like most days for the past month, they were preparing for an intimate theater staging of the classic play, The Diary of Anne Frank.

Opening Thursday at the 50-seat Dorie Theatre, the production is the stage adaptation of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Its the oft-told story of a Jewish teenager who chronicled her life between the ages of 13 and 15 after being forced into hiding to escape persecution from Nazis. The original play, which premiered in 1955, was adapted from the diary and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett.

Zimmermans production is based on the 1997 adaptation by Wendy Kesselman, which incorporated newly discovered writing in the diary. But his version of the play has a twist  the cast is predominantly Latinx.

Because of the cost-prohibitive nature of independent theater, Zimmerman hosts rehearsals in his living room, rolling up his rug and using his couch as a makeshift costume closet. His dark wood floors are lined with blue tape to give the actors an approximation of the space theyll have onstage and marks out the claustrophobic space Anne Frank and her family shared with the Van Daans, the pseudonymous name for another Jewish family in hiding.

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A few minutes after arriving, the actors began rehearsing a tense scene in which Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan have a fierce argument about whether to sell an expensive fur coat. Then they break, some actors practicing their lines or discussing stage notes in both English and Spanish, their voices quickly filling the room. Despite the serious nature of the play, one actor said rehearsals were always lively.

Of course [they are], said Aris Alvarado, an understudy for the plays Mr. Dussell.

A rehearsal for The Diary of Anne Frank: Raquenel Portillo (Mrs. Van Daan), from left, Robert Raicch (Mr. Van Daan), Tasha Dixon (Edith Frank), Emiliano Torres (Otto Frank), Heather Olt (Miep), Teddi Shaffer (Margot Frank), Aris Alvarado (Mr. Dussell) and Genesis Ochoa (Anne). (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Zimmerman, a comedy writer whose credits include the original Roseanne and Gilmore Girls, never imagined hed be directing work that confronts the devastating realities of the Holocaust. But feeling dejected after the 2016 presidential election, the director found a way to use his art to make a statement after reading a CNN story that connected past atrocities with present-day realities for many immigrants in the U.S.

Immediately, I went to pull the Diary of Anne Frank, Zimmerman says. All of a sudden a light bulb went off. What if I cast everyone in the attic with Latinx actors  that could be really interesting.

The CNN article examines the real-life story of a Jewish woman in L.A. who signed an apartment lease as a cover for an immigrant mother and her two high school-aged daughters after their father was deported by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The woman, who is unnamed in the story, is involved with an underground interfaith network that gives shelter to hundreds of people across Southern California called LA Voice.

Armed with an idea, Zimmerman says the pieces fell into place quickly. Securing the rights to the play, a process that can take up to three weeks, took only a day. A former acting student, Anne Kathryn Parma, offered to help produce the play after hearing about the idea.

And there were other fortuitous signs that the production was meant to be: like a donated fur coat from a Holocaust survivor and rehearsals coinciding with anniversaries in the Frank story.

Ive never seen such outpouring as far as the theater community, Zimmerman says.

But as word began to spread about the play, intense backlash soon followed.

Annes father tried to get their family to America, but because of strict immigration laws they were not allowed here. Stan Zimmerman, director of The Diary of Anne Frank

Zimmerman says that original artwork for the play, which prominently features an ICE officer, may have contributed to false reports by conservative outlets that the director planned to change Nazis into ICE agents. Even though the play is a word-for-word production of Kesselmans script, the director has been overwhelmed with disparaging and racist messages.

Ive been called a Nazi, Ive been called a Holocaust denier, Zimmerman says. This just brings a new perspective to it  when you hear words in the script like deported or wall, it does have extra meaning.

And in doing more research on the Frank family, Zimmerman found another startling connection. Annes father tried to get their family to America, but because of strict immigration laws they were not allowed here, he says. To think, she could still be alive today if we had let their family in.

Stan Zimmerman directs a scene for the upcoming play The Diary of Anne Frank, during a rehearsal at his home in Hollywood. At right is Caitlin Rucker, stage manager and technical designer. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

As a Jewish creative, Zimmerman is sensitive to reservations about the production. He received an email from a Jewish friend opposed to the idea of casting Latinx actors. But after explaining his concept, the friend changed his mind.

The connection Im making is that there were safe houses in Amsterdam and theres safe houses here, Zimmerman says. Im not saying the immigrant situation is the same as the Holocaust, that would be insane.

Teddi Shaffer plays Margot Frank and is both Jewish and Mexican. The actor had questions when she saw the casting call looking for Hispanic actors. You dont want to get in a project or something that you dont believe in and that you think could be offensive or offend you, Shaffer says. Once I understood Stans vision, I was super excited about it and knew it was going to create a great positive dialogue.

On a weekend visit to a Holocaust museum, the cast spoke with a survivor and made deeper connections with their roles. Genesis Ochoa, the 15-year-old actor who plays Anne, found another connection while looking through a gallery of family photos at the museum.

One picture I saw of a brother and a sister said they were perished and lost without a trace at the [concentration] camp, Ochoa said. It really stuck out to me because kids are getting lost in the system now.

The unique production isnt just getting resistance though, others have found it necessary in polarized political times. A lot of people [are] giving us the big thumbs up, the way to go, that this needs to be told, actor Emiliano Torres says.

Rev. Zach Hoover, executive director of LA Voice, was surprised and honored to get a call about the stage production inspired by the organizations safe house network. He called Zimmerman and the casts work courageous.

Art, including music and theater and street art  has a really important role to play in stories and images and metaphors that help us get in touch with our shared humanity, Hoover says. The point of art is to say that there [are] some parallels here and theres some discomfort we need to experience.

Like a scene in the play where Anne slips on a pair of red heels, Zimmerman hopes audiences can step into someone elses shoes and use the play to take in a fresh perspective. The director and cast are especially looking forward to post-show discussions.

The people that throw out derogatory comments, the people that are up in arms about this, hopefully they do come see the show, Torres says. Then we can have a constructive, healthy conversation and we can listen to each other.

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The Diary of Anne Frank

When: Thursday-Sept. 23

Where: Dorie Theatre (6476 Santa Monica Blvd., LA)

Tickets: $25 online, $30 at the door

Info: www.brownpapertickets.com

makeda.easter@latimes.com

@makedaeaster
Over the course of his filmmaking career, Alfonso Cuaron has explored everything from outer space (Gravity) to a dystopian future (Children of Men) to a world populated by wizards and fantastical creatures (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban).

With his newest film, the 56-year-old director is somewhere thats closer to home but no less rich in mystery or magic: his own past.

Set in Mexico City in the early 1970s and inspired by his childhood memories, Cuarons upcoming drama Roma follows a year in the life of a middle-class family and its nanny, Cleo, chronicling the dramas, small and large, that at times fray their relationships and the love that binds them together.

Shot in black and white, with a cast mixing professional actors and non-actors and a scope at once intimate and epic, Roma received rapturous reviews in its initial outings at the Venice and Telluride film festivals for its blend of naturalism and poetry, and its sensitive handling of difficult issues of class and race. Even as the film is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, many are already predicting it could bring Netflix, which will release it theatrically and via streaming in December, its first best picture nomination.

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On a drizzly Sunday afternoon, in between screenings at the Telluride Film Festival, Cuaron and the films two lead actresses  Yalitza Aparicio, who plays Cleo, and Marina de Tavira, who plays the family matriarch  sat in a house on a side street in the scenic Colorado town, clearly still processing the early acclaim the movie has received.

This film only works because of the two of them, Cuaron said, beaming at the women who form the emotional core of Roma.

Roma writer and director Alfonso Cuaron with actresses Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira. (Pamela Gentile / Telluride Film Festival)

FULL COVERAGE: Toronto Film Festival 2018 

For 24-year-old Aparicio  who hails from a town in Oaxaca, has never acted before and speaks no English  traveling with the film to Venice and now Telluride has been a particularly dizzying experience. This has been incredible, she said, speaking through a translator. Its so beautiful to be able to go to all these places. I wasnt expecting this result. Many people told me, Sometimes you film something and in the end it never even comes out. 

For 10 years, Cuaron had mulled the idea of a film about his childhood in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City that would center on his beloved nanny, Libo, who was like a second mother to him. But, even as he tackled ever more ambitious Hollywood films, becoming the first Mexican to win the director Oscar for 2013s Gravity, he found the prospect of mining his memories on screen daunting.

I think that I didnt have the emotional tools to do the film, said Cuaron, who had not made a film in Mexico since 2001s Y Tu Mama Tambien. I guess that I had to age a little bit more to have a different understanding of my own life, you know? It was a matter of coming to terms with the conflict between my present and the past. Because in the process there was a constant tension: Im trying to portray those memories but through the prism of my understanding of today.

Two and a half years ago, finally feeling ready to tackle the project, Cuaron pitched the idea for Roma to Participant Media, which agreed to partner with him on the films production.

I felt that the story Alfonso was telling was something that actually resonated with me even though I grew up in Eugene, Ore., said Participant Chief Executive David Linde, who is an executive producer on Roma. It felt very personal but also very timely at the moment. At Participant, we really believe in inspirational storytelling, and to me the story of this woman and the family around her was about as inspirational as anything I had heard in a long time.

As Cuaron worked on the script, he conducted extensive interviews with Libo to better understand what she had gone through all those years ago. Then he set about trying to find the right women to bring the films two central roles to life.

It was a long, long, long process, Cuaron said. We met with thousands of women. Actors and non-actors  it didnt matter. But they had to look just the same as the characters in real life and also have the same qualities.

Cuaron was already familiar with De Tavira from her work in Mexican films and TV series. But to find someone to play Cleo, who is from a rural indigenous background, the films casting team traveled far outside Mexico City to towns and villages in the southern state of Oaxaca. There, in the community of Tlaxiaco, they found Aparicio, who received a bachelors degree in preschool education and had never before considered acting.

My sister forced me to get into the casting because she wanted to know what it was all about, said Aparicio. She said, Go and tell me about it.  At first, her parents resisted the idea of her traveling to the capital city of Oaxaca for the initial casting session. They thought it could be some kind of human trafficking, she said.

Eventually, Aparicios mother agreed to accompany her to Oaxaca and then to Mexico City, where she met with Cuaron. She had no real idea who he was  an advantage, she says, that helped ease her nerves. From the very beginning, he talked as if we had met a long time ago, Aparicio said. Other girls knew already he was a master director, but I had read very little about it. So I took it easier, I think, because of that.

With the cast in place, Cuaron made the unorthodox decision to keep the script to himself and shoot the film chronologically, telling the actors only what they needed to know to get through each days scenes with a mix of scripted dialogue and improvisation.

Every day we got to the set, we didnt know what was going to happen. That was really challenging. Marina de Tavira

I think that was a great gift that he gave us, De Tavira said. Because we had to discover their life as we discover it in our own lives. Every day we got to the set, we didnt know what was going to happen. That was really challenging, but it gave the scenes something that feels like the spirit of life.

Cuaron and his production team painstakingly re-created his childhood home down to the smallest detail, recovering 70% of the original furniture from various family members.

The first time my mother and Libo visited the set, they were in shock, said the director. The two watched as Cuaron and his cast filmed an emotional scene in which the mother informs her four children that their father, a doctor who has become increasingly absent from the family, wont be home for Christmas.

After a few takes, I went to check on them and Libo was crying and crying, said Cuaron, who showed his mother an early cut of the film before she passed away earlier this year. I went to hug her and said, Is this making you feel uncomfortable? She said, No, Im just crying because of the poor kids, how much they must have suffered. 

One of several highly anticipated movies Netflix is releasing this fall  including the Coen brothers western anthology film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Paul Greengrass Norway-terror-attack drama 22 July  Roma will be closely watched by many in the industry for how robust a theatrical push the streaming service decides to give it. According to a recent story in the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is mulling a possible exclusive theatrical run for the film, which would mark a major break in precedent for the company. A Netflix representative declined to comment on the report.

A scene from Roma. (Telluride Film Festival)

While Netflix has made significant inroads with filmmakers and film festival programmers in the past couple of years, some remain wary of its day-and-date release model  in which a film is available in theaters and streaming at the same time  as evidenced by its standoff with the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, fearing it poses an existential threat to traditional film distribution.

For his part, Cuaron says Netflix has been nothing but supportive since it came on board to distribute the film.

Yes, the whole idea is trying to get not only a theatrical release but the best theaters possible, he said. The ideal theaters would be with HDR Dolby projections and with Atmos sound because thats the ultimate experience to watch the film. But by the same token, if people choose to see it somewhere else, what can I do?

You have to think also of the longevity of your films, he continued. The theatrical release is obviously the ultimate way to see your film, but also you want to have a very clear and present life in whichever form its going to live for the rest of its days. When is the last time you saw a Bresson film on the big screen? Thats the reality that we live. Of course, Im a big defender of the big screen. The film was made for the big screen. But Im also a big defender of options.

Perhaps the most gratifying thing about the early response to Roma, Cuaron said, is that  in an era of rising anti-immigrant sentiment and pervasive fears of the other  this story about the life of a Mexican domestic worker and the family around her seems to be resonating with people from all kinds of backgrounds.

You just trust that if you feel strongly about something, people are going to relate to it, he said. We have cultural differences, and, yes, Mexican audiences are probably going to see even more detail in the film in terms of the cultural idiosyncrasies and the political dynamics. But thematically, we are all the same. I mean, people are people.

josh.rottenberg@latimes.com

Twitter: @joshrottenberg
The worlds top-selling female artist didnt become so until her 80s, but the lifetime that brought Yayoi Kusama to that rarefied air  a struggle fraught with sexism, racism, and personal turmoil  is why the new documentary about her, Kusama  Infinity, is so fascinating and inspiring.

Whether youre one of the lucky few to have secured tickets to her sold-out Infinity Mirrors exhibition currently at the Broad or a fan relegated to the suggestive pull of photographs depicting her often-dotted, hypnotic paintings and installations, filmmaker Heather Lenz has offered up a sturdy biographical once-over meant to secure her place in modern art history, a stature now globally recognized but that once nearly eluded her.

A child of conflict  both home-based and imposed by war, and who would later lead naked anti-Vietnam protests in America  Kusama grew up in provincial Matsumoto, Japan, with a yearning to paint that was actively discouraged by her traditionally minded mother. A combination of psychologically damaging family discord and hallucinatory feelings of being swallowed up by flowers and nature led Kusama to a minimalist, abstract but entrancingly expansive painting style she referred to as self-obliteration. (As a young artist, she wrote a solicitous mash note to Georgia OKeeffe, sensing a kindred spirit about natures enveloping qualities.)

Hoping to take New York by storm in the 1950s, she instead met institutional exclusion compounded by the fact that she was female (women didnt get solo shows) and Japanese. Her meticulous, large-sized work, whether on canvas or via immersive spaces, would earn the occasional plaudit from a well-known peer. But Lenz posits that artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Andy Warhol took her ideas for soft sculpture and repetitive wallpaper. In any case, the recognition (and prices) she wasnt getting sparked a battle with depression shes fought ever since.

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As her oft-questioning work tweaked Pop Art fanaticism to encompass self-publicity and commentary, from being photographed posing with her work to scheduling disruptive happenings (usually full of nudity) in public places, Kusamas notoriety entered a decline. She moved back to Japan in the early 1970s, which for a fiercely independent artist who had originally left her homeland for misunderstanding her in the first place, was the kind of retreat that only exacerbated her mental health issues. And yet she continued to work every day, even after voluntarily taking up residence in a psychiatric hospital.

Her resurgence, thanks to dedicated art experts and curators who saw an opportunity for attention-grabbing retrospectives, makes her current success all the more stirring. It does give Lenzs movie the feeling of a positive companion piece to an exhibit rather than a fully probing work. Other voices do most of the storytelling, with Kusama herself still a somewhat mysterious magenta-wigged figure who occasionally speaks for herself (or reads a poem) when not shown hunched over her mesmerizingly arrayed surfaces.

Some details  including a strange companionship with surrealist painter Joseph Cornell, who fetishized her  leave questions more than insight. Mostly, Lenz is committed to showing as much of Kusamas considerable output as possible, often lovingly panned over with an admiring camera. Think an exhibition program at 24 frames a second.

But Kusama  Infinity is also a genuinely felt portrait of the artist as a dedicated survivor, ever in service to her vision of the world and fighting for her place in it. And while Kusama-mania currently seems as endless as one of her colorful, pattern-rich artscapes, the artist herself soldiers on, one dot at a time.

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Kusama  Infinity

In English and Japanese with English subtitles

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 17 minutes

Playing: Landmark Nuart, West L.A.
North Korea trade with China officially through a small number of customs offices along the border, but illicit trade is common through many porous points.

China and North Korea share a 1,400-km border along the Apnok and Duman rivers but only three rail bridges and 12 pedestrian bridges with customs offices plus three harbors.

The main trade hub is Dandong in China's Liaoning Province, which accounts for more than 70 percent of trade because it has rail and pedestrian bridges as well as a harbor. Another road bridge being built between Dandong and Sinuiju in North Korea is expected to be completed soon.

Another customs post in Hunchun, Jilin Province, serves as the gateway to North Korea's Rajin-Sonbong special economic zone where China, North Korea and Russia meet. The bridge connecting the North Korean city of Musan with Nanping in China is a major conduit to export the North Korean iron ore.

Official trade between China and North Korea in the first seven months of this year stood at US$1.3 billion, down 56.2 percent from the same period of 2017, according to China's General Administration of Customs.
The Electronic Baby Rattle. The Musical Sculpting Instrument. The Electronic Celeste. The Heavenly Harpist. Bandito the Bongo Artist. Ashtray with Tinkling Sounds.

If the future had followed the path Raymond Scott imagined in the mid-60s, the late composer, inventor and cartoon-music guy would be listed among Americas visionary musical inventors. Yet his odd creations doubled as melody-generating instruments that brought electronic music into everyday life, and Scotts work foreshadowed todays reliance on studio-driven productions. Its no surprise, then, that hes been regularly sampled by those in the hip-hop community.

Scott, prone to grand claims, told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1947 that he split the musical atom. Go ahead, call me crazy, a dreamer, nuts. But I have made a great contribution to musical America. Scott devotees will celebrate his fantastical vision with the first ScottWorks: The Raymond Scott Festival, a daylong symposium Saturday at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. Among the speakers and presenters are Grammy-winning producer Hal Willner, who oversaw the production of the Scott compilation Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights, and Herb Deutsch, co-inventor with Robert Moog of the pioneering Moog synthesizer.

Though a brilliant thinker, Scott wasnt much of a doer. He was so secretive  and that also translates as paranoid that people would steal his great ideas  that he didnt publicize, says Brian Kehew, electronic music historian, co-founder of the Moog Cookbook and co-author of Recording the Beatles, which explores the bands studio work.

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Generally, nothing was finished  just raw ideas being churned out, Kehew adds. Some of them are sensible and some of them are totally crazy.

Kehew describes attempts to understand Scotts voluminous work as looking through a peephole at his life, and different people have different views. Some people are experts at the acoustic band music, some people are studying the electronics, and his personality, his life, his family.

Before relocating to Los Angeles in the early 70s to take a job at Motown Records, Scott spent his life on the East Coast, starting in 1930s New York as a big band leader writing tightly composed, frantic ditties for mid-sized jazz outfits. Many of those works, including Powerhouse, War Dance for Wooden Indians, Twilight in Turkey and The Toy Trumpet, were used to score classic Bugs Bunny and Road Runner cartoons for Warner Bros.

Scotts desire for perfection  and lack of enthusiasm for the imprecision of human players  led him to try to eliminate musicians from his process altogether.

He founded his own electronics company, Manhattan Research Inc., in the late 40s with the goal of harnessing synthetic tones in service of radio commercials  adding space-age bleeps and blurps across the 50s to spots for cough-syrup makers and lighting companies.

Scotts pitch for the company shot for the moon: Manhattan Research, Inc. ... More than a THINK factory  a DREAM center where the excitement of tomorrow is made available today.

Images of Scott posing in his research facility show him in a room filled with electronics, dotted with knobs, switches and inputs. Scott spent much of the next three decades refining instruments including the Clavivox and the Electronium, which he claimed was the first self-composing musical instrument.

Tones from those experiments, compiled on a set of collections called Manhattan Research, Inc. have been sampled on songs by essential hip-hop producers including J Dilla, Flying Lotus, El-P, Madlib, Pete Rock and Danny Brown.

In one Electronium proposal from the late 1960s stored among his papers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Scott describes the instruments method of operation as ... faster, slower, a new rhythm design, a hold, a pause, a second theme, variation, an extension, elongation, diminution, counterpoint  Whatever the composer requests, the Electronium accepts and acts out his directions.

In papers of the time he wrote of a future with personalized ringtones, doorbells with programmable melodies and so-called Fascination machines that, when plugged into a living room outlet, played improvised ambient music. Scott pitched vending machine companies on a Pavlovian idea involving melody and nicotine: The customer deposits change for a pack of cigarettes  above the customary clatter of the machine, a cute bit of electronic music takes place  intriguing to the customer  serves as an advertising sound for the cigarette manufacturer.

He seldom sold these concepts. He didnt promote. He didnt even finish his projects when he was on to the next one, Kehew says. So no one really knew what he was up to, including the family and including many of the so-called experts out here.

Unlike his friend and peer Moog, who would develop a successful business model for his synthesizer, Scott was really on the periphery, but always there, Kehew says. He predates a lot of people in his involvement and, certainly, his enthusiasm for electronic music.

In 1972, Motown founder Berry Gordy, who had relocated his label to Hollywood from Detroit, bought Scotts Electronium after seeing it in person at Manhattan Research. Scott soon headed west.

It was such a complicated piece of equipment, part of the agreement was he would come out for six weeks. But six weeks eventually turned into four years, says Scotts son, film and TV editor Stan Warnow, who handles his estate and is overseeing ScottWorks. [Motown] hired him as their director of electronic music and research. They had the machine at the MoWest studios and it was sort of seen as a kind of idea generator.

The allure, explains Kehew: He could generate a sound that didnt have to mirror the past world of pianos and cellos  sounds that no ones ever heard before, sounds that are completely unique. Maybe they evolve over 30 seconds or have a wide range of pitch not possible on normal instruments.

Its not known whether the Electroniums melodies generated any Motown hits in the 70s, but the inventor spent the rest of his life in the L.A. area. After Scott died, composer and Devo co-founder Mark Mothersbaugh rescued the Electronium from Scotts garage. Its currently being housed in one of Mothersbaughs storage facilities.

Although Scott never achieved the success or attention of peers Moog and Don Buchla, the music he created has echoed across the decades.

Not that he ever seemed satisfied. I hate the present electronic music. Its too mechanical, Scott told Electronic TV Week magazine in 1970.

         

ScottWorks: The Raymond Scott Festival

When: 10 a.m.  7 p.m. Saturday, with concert for a separate fee to follow at 8

Where: The Colony Theatre, 555 N. Third St., Burbank

Tickets: $30-$85

Info: www.raymondscott.net

For tips, records, snapshots and stories on Los Angeles music culture, follow Randall Roberts on Twitter and Instagram: @liledit. Email: randall.roberts@latimes.com.
Paul Feig, creator of the TV series Freaks and Geeks and director of the films Bridesmaids and Spy and the 2016 Ghostbusters remake, has a reputation around Hollywood. He wears a suit and tie pretty much everywhere, all the time. Whether its in a meeting, shooting on set or scouting some far-flung location, he inevitably arrives impeccably turned out. Sometimes hell be clad in a double-breasted, peak-lapel, pinstripe suit; other times, hes wearing a three-piece, single-breasted number. Almost always, the ensemble will involve a bold pairing of pattern and color (he has a particular penchant for purple), and hell finish off the look with a boutonniere on his lapel and a flourish of silk in his breast pocket.

With Feigs latest film, Lionsgates stylish suburban whodunit A Simple Favor starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, the directors off-screen style finds its way on-screen. It serves as the inspirational starting point for the look of Livelys character, Emily Nelson, in the film, which hits theaters Sept. 14. Emily is a take-no-prisoners New York fashion publicist who picks her kid up from school in over-the-top, three-piece menswear-inspired Ralph Lauren suits and Christian Louboutin boots and sips martinis with Kendricks character, Stephanie, after nonchalantly stripping off a breakaway collar and cuffs.

The film marks the start of a ramped-up style profile for the 55-year-old director, whose past dabbling in the sartorial space has included penning a guest column for Esquire, a photo shoot for GQ and a limited-edition suit-and-accessories collaboration with J. Crew that came out in November of last year. He has several fashion projects lined up.

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Ive been working toward this, Feig said. Ive been telling [my agents at] CAA for years that I wanted to start a clothing line, that I wanted to do something in that world, and God bless them, they were like, We get it, but you know, youre not really a famous movie star. And I get that.

Feig shared this as he sat on a couch in the VIP mens fitting room of Ralph Laurens Rodeo Drive boutique in Beverly Hills in mid-August. The married filmmaker had landed back in L.A. the day before from a vacation in Peru and was set to leave the next morning to begin the press tour for A Simple Favor. Ralph Lauren had offered to outfit him in a couple of suits for the occasion. With the help of the stores staff (all of whom he seemed to know by name) and tailor Mario Gonzales, who appeared as if by magic from his own Beverly Hills atelier, alterations were quickly marked on two Purple Label suits, which Gonzales spirited away to be finished.

Having his wardrobe inspire the costumes of the silver screen, as it does in A Simple Favor, brings things full circle for Feig. I grew up in Michigan right outside of Detroit, and both my parents were older so they liked older things, he said. And my mom liked these old movies like Singin in the Rain, His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby, and I fell in love with the way Cary Grant and all those guys dressed.

At the age of 8 and already enamored with classic movie-star style, Feig found himself further motivated by the words of his comedy hero. I read a biography of Groucho Marx, he explained. And [in it,] he says something about never trusting men who didnt dress well. He said that that prompted him to do a deep dive into the world of style, reading Esquire and GQ magazines and the how-to style books they published. That in turn prompted him to ask his mom to buy him something special.

I was an only child and I kind of had this Little Lord Fauntleroy thing going on, he said, and I remember that my mom and I went to the fancy mall  the Somerset Mall on the other side of town  and thats where I found the suit. It was a gray, three-piece Pierre Cardin suit in a very elaborate windowpane [pattern]. It reminded me of Johnny Carson a little bit, who was also somebody Id really admired as a kid. I just fell in love with the idea of a three-piece suit. I remember thinking thats how a really successful adult dresses. That was my first good suit.

The sartorial seeds may have been planted at the tender age of 8, but Feig said they didnt really come to fashionable fruition for another several decades. After stints at stand-up comedy and acting (his on-screen credits include the TV series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and the movie Ski Patrol), he created the short-lived (but critically acclaimed) high school-set series Freaks and Geeks, which aired on NBC from 1999 to 2000.

Feig says one of the reasons he wears a suit is that hes not unlike the captain of a ship. And if I get on the ship and the captain is wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, I get off the ship, he says. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

When I first started directing with Freaks and Geeks, I was still wearing jeans and T-shirts because I was kind of reconnecting with a high school vibe, he said. But after that I thought, Maybe Ill wear a suit [when I direct], because Id been wearing nice suits and ties in my personal life and then I had started wearing suits to meetings. I thought, Why not carry that over?

Sitting in the directors chair dressed to the nines feels natural to him, he said, partly because it reminds him of directors of Old Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford and Howard Hawks, among them. (They were frequently photographed on set in full suit-and-tie ensembles.) Its also because of the role Feig plays on set. Im the captain of the ship, he said, And if I get on the ship and the captain is wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, I get off the ship.

The next major milestone in Feigs style evolution came in 2011 during a post-Bridesmaids stint living in London and working on a project with production company Working Title whose co-chairman Eric Fellner surprised him with a gift.

He knew I loved suits and wanted to get me a bespoke suit as a gift, which Id been wanting forever but couldnt afford, Feig said. He sent me to Anderson & Sheppard on Savile Row, which I hadnt even known about until then, and they took all my measurements for a three-piece suit. I just fell in love with [Anderson & Sheppard] because its the classic British style, which is my favorite style.

He estimated that today a half-dozen of the tailors bespoke suits are among the 60 hanging in his closet. Along with Anderson & Sheppard, Feig said hes a fan of Tom Ford, Thom Sweeney and Ralph Lauren, the last of which holds a special place in his heart. When I had no name whatsoever, [Ralph Lauren] would loan me suits for premieres, he said. I love the Ralph style because its very classic American.

Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, costume designer for A Simple Favor, said Feigs long-standing relationship with the label ended up being key to creating the Emily Nelson wardrobe in the film. The womens suits were from around 2010 to 2011, Kalfus said, and they were loaned to us from the Ralph Lauren archives. That was possible because of Pauls  and Blakes  relationship with them. Kalfus added that the idea to use Feigs suited-and-accessorized look as the inspirational starting point for the character came from the actress herself.

Blake Livelys menswear-inspired Ralph Lauren suits in A Simple Favor were inspired by the suit-wearing ways of the movies director Paul Feig, the films costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus says. (Peter Iovino / Lionsgate)

Blakes character Emily Nelson is this PR maven  a really, really stylish and powerful New York woman, Kalfus explained. At first, part of me didnt want to cover up this beautiful girl with these beautiful legs, but I started brainstorming with Blake and she said that [her character] should dress like Paul. I think it was, Exactly like Paul  full-on mens suiting! After she said that, we both got really giddy because, of course, it was the perfect idea.

Kalfus said the over-the-top, slouchy, pinstriped three-piece suits with wide-legged trousers, the pocket squares, the watch chains and a skull-head walking stick (plucked from Feigs personal collection of walking sticks) telegraph that shes this incredibly devious woman [living] in the [Connecticut] suburbs. Shes completely out of place and doesnt give a hoot. She could[nt] care less about fitting in, and [the suits] just seemed like an extremely powerful and very iconic way to go about [showing] that.

Feig said the idea just worked. I had to make sure I could justify it for the movie, he said, and I could because Emily is in the fashion industry, and shes always kind of in charge  the captain of the ship  because shes in charge of a very powerful man, [her fashion-designer boss] Dennis Nylon.  And she wears the pants in her [own] family too.  I loved [the suiting idea] because it had this power quality to it but also a tough femininity. And also because this kind of creature needed to exist in Stephanies world. She needed to be like an alien that came into this world of parents and Lululemon yoga pants.

Director Paul Feig holds a purple and yellow pocket square from his upcoming collaboration with Anderson & Sheppard. It bears the words Tell me your secret, a reference to Feigs film A Simple Favor, which hits theaters Sept. 14. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A Simple Favor hits theaters just as a handful of Feigs other efforts at fashion cross-pollination are coming to fruition. First out of the gate will be a line of silk pocket squares with his suit maker Anderson & Sheppard. Feig explained that each one is emblazoned with a message thats designed to be read from across a crowded bar. One design includes a martini glass and a question mark, an analog emoji way of asking, Do you want a drink? The one he unfurled from his pocket on the day we met was yellow and purple and bears the words Tell me your secret, a phrase that pays homage to his new movie. Feig said he expects the pocket squares to hit retail toward the end of this year or in early 2019.

Additional collaborations in the works include a collection of pajamas and dressing gowns with London-based Budd shirt makers as well as a shoe design with another British brand, George Cleverley.

And then theres a project hes super-excited about. Like his clothing and accessories collaborations, it has a direct connection to the classic Hollywood films of the 1930s. In this particular instance, though, the inspiration comes in the form of the free-flowing libations that fueled the Thin Man movies.

Im something of a martini fanatic, Feig said by way of explanation. I think it came from that [cinematic] world because Ive always loved the look of martinis. The glass is so classic.

As if to underscore his adoration for the martini, the director paused for a second and then flashed a pair of cuff links from his J. Crew collaboration that put a tiny green olive at his left wrist and a yellow lemon at the right. Then he said, So Im very seriously considering coming out with my own brand of gin.

adam.tschorn@latimes.com

For more musings on all things fashion and style, follow me at @ARTschorn
In what became one of the nations biggest Legionnaires disease outbreaks, 22 people fell sick with the dangerous lung infection last fall in Orange County, including one who died.

Local health officials said the outbreak seemed connected to Disneyland, as 19 of the 22 people who were infected had visited the park. But they never pinpointed a cause of the infections.

The California Occupational Safety and Health Administration in March cited the park and fined it more than $33,000 for failing to properly clean cooling equipment linked to the outbreak and for other related violations. Cal-OSHA didnt announce the fine. The Times requested and recently obtained the citation.

Cal-OSHA looked into the Legionnaires cases because three Disneyland employees were sickened in the outbreak, two of them requiring hospitalization. The agency investigates only hazards that endanger workers, so its findings do not address how 19 non-employees were infected.

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The employer did not follow the manufacturers cooling tower start-up maintenance and water treatment procedure to control outbreaks of Legionnaires disease, Cal-OSHA said in the citation. As a result, two employees suffered serious illness requiring hospitalization of more than 24 hours.

Disneyland officials said the source of the outbreak could have been elsewhere in Anaheim and have appealed the citation. They will make their case at a hearing before a three-member appeals panel in October.

We strongly object to Cal OSHAs allegation that our cooling towers caused any illness, since the source of the outbreak has never been scientifically determined, Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said in a statement.

In August 2017, people who had visited Disneyland or spent time in Anaheim began to report feeling ill. They were diagnosed with Legionnaires disease, a lung infection caused by breathing in water droplets containing bacteria known as Legionella.

Disneylands cooling towers have been free of Legionella since November, and there is currently no risk to the public, Orange County health officials said.

The Times first reported on the outbreak in November. At the time, Disney said it had learned about increased Legionnaires disease cases in Anaheim from county health officials on Oct. 27.

We conducted a review and learned that two cooling towers had elevated levels of Legionella bacteria, Dr. Pamela Hymel, chief medical officer for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, said in a statement at the time. These towers were treated with chemicals that destroy the bacteria and are currently shut down.

Approximately 6,000 people are diagnosed with Legionnaires disease nationwide each year, and about 1 in 10 die from it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The illness does not spread from person to person, so people who become sick each have to inhale the contaminated droplets.

Most Legionnaires outbreaks are linked to cooling towers, part of an air conditioning system that releases mist. Without proper cleaning, cooling towers can create the perfect environment for Legionella to grow. They require regular disinfecting to ensure they are not developing Legionella, experts say.

Tests last year showed high levels of the bacteria in two of Disneylands cooling towers around the time of the outbreak, so Orange County health officials ordered them shut down and disinfected.

But health officials never formally identified the cooling towers as the source, and Disneyland officials have said that the test results dont definitively prove that the towers were to blame.

Brown said there are several cooling towers nearby that are outside the park and were never tested. She pointed out that three people who fell sick had not visited the park, including the one person who died.

The Cal-OSHA investigation found that Disneyland had not adequately cleaned the towers, which caused high levels of bacteria to grow.

One of the towers had been drained of water when it was taken offline at the beginning of 2017, but bacteria thrived in stagnant water still in the pipes, Cal-OSHA investigators said in a written report.

According to a Cal-OSHA document, Disneyland was not effectively performing weekly bacteria inspections at that time, so water containing Legionella was sent back into both cooling towers when they were brought online in August 2017.

The employer failed to ensure equipment in service [was] kept clean, in sanitary condition, inspected and maintained as recommended by the manufacturer, as not to give rise to employee harmful exposure to Legionella pneumophila and other airborne bacteria, the Cal-OSHA citation said.

The three workers who contracted Legionnaires disease  a cook, an operating engineer and a laborer  came within 50 to 200 feet of the cooling towers, a Cal-OSHA document said.

Disneyland typically tests its cooling towers quarterly, according to theme park records that were obtained through a public records request from the Orange County public health department.

But the cooling towers werent tested for Legionella last year while they were offline, the document shows. The first tests in 2017 came in late September, when the lab reports showed high levels of the bacteria.

Oladele Ogunseitan, chair of UC Irvines Department of Public Health, said stagnant water, such as what remained in the cooling tower pipes last year, is especially good at cultivating bacteria.

Thats the culprit right there, he said.

The bulk of the fines levied against Disneyland were for not cleaning the towers properly. The agency also fined Disneyland for not reporting all of the employee illnesses to Cal-OSHA.

We have continually cooperated with Cal-OSHAs various investigations, and fully complied with its reporting requirements with respect to our employees, Brown said in the statement.

Ogunseitan said it seems unlikely there was a second source of Legionella outside Disneyland that contributed to the outbreak. If there had been, officials would have noticed another cluster of cases, he said. That the three cases happened around the same time suggests the infected people probably traveled close to the park.

That makes the most sense  they must have breathed in the droplets from the cooling towers, he said. You cant say there are other sources when they all happened at the same time.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla
A fast-moving fire that started Wednesday afternoon north of Redding forced drivers to abandon their vehicles on Interstate 5 and authorities to evacuate several small mountain communities.

The Delta fire was reported about 12:51 p.m. north of Lakehead, a community of about 500 people near the Vollmers exit on I-5.

The fire quickly grew to at least 5,000 acres by late Wednesday, with no containment. About 600 firefighters and support personnel are working the fire, which is burning through timber and thick brush with no recent fire history on both sides of the freeway.

The Delta fire is about 10 miles from the Hirz fire, a 46,142-acre fire burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The Hirz fire is 75% contained.

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I-5 is closed from 10 miles north of Redding at Fawndale Road to about four miles south of the city of Mount Shasta at Mott Road. The fire is burning north and northwest along the interstate on both sides of the freeway.

(Paul Duginski / Los Angeles Times)

About 17 semitrailer trucks were abandoned on I-5, and at least four of them were on fire, said Lt. Cmdr. Kyle Foster of the California Highway Patrols Mount Shasta office. The fire fully engulfed one truck, but U.S. Forest Service workers were able to help the driver to safety, Foster said. Other truck drivers were helped by firefighters, law enforcement and their fellow drivers, he said. The fire also damaged guardrails, culverts and other portions of the freeway.

When the fire started, law enforcement officers were diverting hundreds of cars and trucks to La Moine Road to turn around, but the fire started advancing rapidly toward that once-safe location, Foster said. Officers had to send cars and trucks through a 12-foot gap in the center median designed for emergency vehicles. Remarkably, they were able to get all vehicles turned around and away from the fire, he said.

The positive side of this, Northern California has been very stricken by fires recently, and while its catastrophic and heartbreaking, most of the citizens and agencies are well versed in these types of situations, Foster said. The community acts very appropriately when we ask them to leave.

The fires quick growth was fueled partly by warm weather  its about 91 degrees where the fire is burning. The area is also dry with low humidity. Additionally, firefighters faced 8 mph winds with gusts in the teens.

The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. (Noah Berger / Associated Press)

Rob Elvington, evening meteorologist with KRCR News Channel 7, tweeted that the fire had caused a pyrocumulus cloud, or fire cloud. When this happens, fire officials become concerned that a wildfire will create its own weather, including dry lightning.

Fire officials have brought in large air tankers to battle the blaze, ordering them not to be diverted to other fires.

Whereas the Hirz fire is large but mostly within forestland, the Delta fire is threatening structures, including vacation cottages and gas stations.

This is the priority fire, said Kerry Greene, a public information officer on the Delta fire.

Michele Riley, who works at Manfredis Food and Gas Depot in Dunsmuir, which is just north of the blaze, said fire has sadly become routine in Northern California.

The community has been smoky, and at times, ash rained down as a result of the Carr fire, a 229,651-acre fire that was 100% contained last week, and the Hirz fire.

Riley said firefighters have been streaming in and out of the store while drivers remain somewhat stranded, unable to use I-5 until the fire is under control.

Riley and her co-workers were preparing in case the fire grew closer to them.

Everybody is getting ready to evacuate if we have to, she said.

Times staff writer Alene Tchekmedyian contributed to this report.

Heres a view of the #DeltaFire sent to me by a CHP lieutenant with the Mount Shasta office. This was taken near the Caltrans Gibson Road maintenance station. pic.twitter.com/fXKFV5Nf1t  Jaclyn Cosgrove (@jaclyncosgrove) September 6, 2018

jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com

Twitter: @jaclyncosgrove

UPDATES:

10:25 p.m.: This article was updated with new fire figures.

6:45 p.m.: This article was updated to include the latest acreage, comments from California Highway Patrol and local perspective.

This article was originally published at 4:20 p.m.
Seventeen workers showed symptoms of food poisoning Wednesday hours after a luncheon at ManTech International in El Segundo, authorities said.

Fire officials took eight of the employees to a hospital with nausea, vomiting and general fatigue, said Capt. Dan Engler with the El Segundo Fire Department. Nine others did not require hospitalization.

The workers started showing symptoms about 3:45 p.m., nearly four hours after the lunch. Its unclear where the food came from or whether the event was catered.

The companys office sits at 2101 E. Maple Ave.

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alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek
Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that a federal court ruling that curbs when cities can arrest homeless people for sleeping on the street will have little effect on Los Angeles, which has not been enforcing such rules at night.

L.A. officials agreed more than a decade ago to stop enforcing a nighttime ban on sleeping on streets and sidewalks until the city had built a minimum amount of homeless housing. The deal, known as the Jones settlement, ended a legal battle with skid row residents and their advocates.

This year, Garcetti and his aides said the city had met the legal requirements to resume enforcement of the ban. The mayor said there were no immediate plans to do so, but his statement nonetheless troubled advocates for the homeless who argued that the city would lose in court if it started enforcing the contested code.

This week, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.

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It found that such criminal charges are unconstitutional if no housing or shelter is available.

That ruling overturned a district court decision in favor of the city of Boise, Idaho, where homeless people had challenged city ordinances barring them from staying overnight on public property.

After their lawsuit was filed, Boise altered its rules and stopped issuing citations whenever shelters lacked available beds for the night. But the 9th Circuit noted that people could be denied access to the shelters because they arrived too late or had stayed too many days, and some shelters had religious programming.

The federal court decision affects not only Boise but cities across California and other Western states. What will it mean for Los Angeles?

Not much, Garcetti told reporters Wednesday.

As Garcetti and other officials unveiled a new shelter downtown, his staff stressed there were no current plans to crack down on nighttime sleeping around such sites, despite his June declaration that the city had met the legal requirements to do so.

Instead, mayoral staffers said Los Angeles would enforce another law that limits how much personal property can be stored on public sidewalks, parkways and alleys.

Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Atty. Mike Feuer, said city lawyers are still reviewing the Boise ruling and will advise the council soon on its ramifications. Homeless advocates said that even though L.A. has not been enforcing a nighttime ban on sidewalk sleeping, the ruling nonetheless had important implications both in the city and beyond.

The federal court said it agreed with the reasoning behind an earlier ruling in the Jones case, which had been vacated when the L.A. settlement was reached. Mark Rosenbaum, one of the attorneys who argued the Jones case, said the Boise ruling meant that the city could not simply go back to arresting people after building the target number of units of homeless housing.

It sends a message: Dont think that if you set up emergency shelters for 1,000 people that you somehow get to arrest the other 24,000, said attorney Carol Sobel, another one of the attorneys who represented skid row residents in the Jones case. Sobel added that reaffirming the arguments behind Jones cements a key precedent for other cities.

The Boise ruling did, however, leave the door open for cities to restrict where or when people could bed down in public. Even where shelter is unavailable, an ordinance prohibiting sitting, lying, or sleeping outside at particular times or in particular locations might well be constitutionally permissible, the court found.

As homelessness has grown and spread, some L.A. residents argue that the city needs to step up enforcement of municipal rules to prevent filth and chaos on sidewalks.

Mark Ryavec, president of the Venice Stakeholders Assn., argued that the federal court decision did not stop L.A. from enforcing the nighttime ban on sidewalk sleeping if there was a credible offer of a shelter bed. His group has urged the city to establish standards for making such offers and use the disputed law in targeted areas near homes or where crime has been a problem.

If you dont use some law to move them, these encampments are right next to homes and they are very disruptive, Ryavec said.

Attorney Ernest Franceschi Jr. argued that if they have a place to go and they choose not to go, the city is well within its rights to enforce the ordinance. Franceschi represents a group that is suing L.A. over the proliferation of homeless encampments, arguing that its failure to enforce city rules has created a dangerous nuisance.

Rosenbaum countered that L.A. was far from satisfying a common sense test before making arrests for nighttime sleeping.

Does the individual have a realistic opportunity to find housing, to find a place to sleep at night? The answer in Los Angeles is no, no, no, Rosenbaum said.

City Councilman Mike Bonin, whose coastal district includes parts of Venice where homeless encampments have spread, said the decision leaves other cities with the stark choice that L.A. has already been facing.

Its either provide the housing and shelter, or allow people to sleep on public property, Bonin said.

Sobel said sleeping restrictions have been a major issue in many cities in Orange County. Sim Harper, who splits his time between Anaheim and Orange after becoming homeless a few years ago, said that wherever homeless people sit or lie down, they force us to move, else they give us these things called citations that basically tell us, You are not wanted anywhere. 

Harper, 42, said its worse for his friends who are pet owners. Hardly any shelter takes animals, so we have no options but to sleep with them on the streets.

Anaheim city spokeswoman Lauren Gold declined to answer questions but said in a written statement that the citys approach to homelessness already follows the guidance from the Jones case, now reaffirmed in the Boise ruling.

Enforcement, when and where needed, focuses on specific violations of our laws and not the condition of homelessness, Gold said.

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty said Wednesday that the federal ruling could affect rules in dozens of municipalities, including Redondo Beach, Sacramento and Long Beach.

But in Redondo Beach, city prosecutor Joy Abaquin said, the ruling would not change anything, despite a local law barring unlawful camping in parks, right of ways, beaches or other public areas.

The reason: The Redondo Beach city attorney already hasnt been prosecuting such cases because there are no shelters in the South Bay city, Abaquin said.

And Long Beach Deputy City Atty. Sarah Green said her city has enough shelter beds to accommodate its homeless residents, allowing it to enforce laws targeting unlawful camping. Green said the city only uses those rules if a homeless person turns down offers for services.

We havent had an issue where there hasnt been a bed available for someone who wanted one, she said.

Santa Clarita, in turn, passed new rules this summer that bar individuals from sitting or sleeping on sidewalks. But the city will not enforce those rules until a new shelter opens next year, so the ruling wont have any material impact, said Santa Clarita City Councilman Cameron Smyth.

In Orange County, attorney and homeless advocate Brooke Weitzman said, the ruling should send a message to cities. You cannot criminalize the homeless for eating, sleeping or sitting outside simply because they have no other shelter, said Weitzman, who heads the Elder Law and Disability Rights Center in Santa Ana.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlpertReyes

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @dakotacdsmith

anh.do@latimes.com

Twitter: @newsterrier
A man died after being shot in the parking lot of a CVS Pharmacy in Westminster late Wednesday, police said.

Westminster police received a call at 9:40 p.m. about a physical altercation in front of the store at 15421 Brookhurst St. While officers were responding, they received calls reporting gunshots in the parking lot, Cpl. Alan Aoki told reporters at the scene.

Officers found a man with gunshot wounds in the parking lot, Aoki said.

The man, who has not been identified, was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange. He died of his injuries several hours later, Aoki said.

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A white Honda Accord with dealer plates, which police think belonged to the man who had been shot, remained in the parking lot as authorities investigated.

Detectives are reviewing security video and interviewing witnesses in an effort to identify the shooter and determine the circumstances that led to the attack. A suspect description was not immediately available.

The shooting marked the second suspicious death reported in the city this week. A mans body was discovered early Wednesday inside a burned car in an industrial complex. Authorities also are investigating that incident as a homicide.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @Hannahnfry
Southwestern College officials ordered the evacuation of its campuses Thursday after college police were told of a credible threat of violence made by a student.

We are working with our college police to investigate a credible threat that we received from a student. In an abundance of caution while we investigate, the college is canceling all classes and evacuating all campuses, Southwestern College Superintendent/President Kindred Murillo said in a statement.

A safety alert posted on the colleges website said: All classes are canceled for the remainder of the day and all campuses and departments will close. Please proceed orderly and safely off campus.

The threat was overheard in a class Wednesday night by another student, who relayed that information to authorities early Thursday, college spokeswoman Lillian Leopold said. She didnt elaborate on the nature of the threat other than to say it was a threat of violence.

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About 20,000 students attend Southwestern College. The colleges main campus is in Chula Vista; it also has facilities in National City, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and Coronado.

Campus police close the gate onto campus at Southwestern College and Otay Lakes roads. (Photo by: Alejandro Tamayo www.t /)

Leopold said the father of the Southwestern student contacted Chula Vista and Southwestern police Thursday to tell them what his daughter had overheard in class. Leopold said it was decided in a senior staff meeting that the campuses should be evacuated in an abundance of caution.

Because we didnt want to take any chances, we decided to evacuate the college and the surrounding campuses, she said.

The spokeswoman said the evacuation went smoothly and by 10:30 a.m. was pretty complete.

We had extra buses from [San Diego Metropolitan Transit System] come to help students get off campus and we had our employees and students who had driven here get off campus, she said. It was a safe and orderly evacuation.

Leopold said the investigation into the threat was continuing and that Southwestern police were working with several other agencies to follow up on leads.

Some students took to social media as they waited in long lines after receiving the evacuation message on their cellphones.

Sydney Dawn Stanley, a 22-year-old journalism major at Southwestern, posted several videos on Twitter showing her behind the wheel of her car. She said it took her about 45 minutes to leave campus.

The parking lot that Im in is barely moving, she said in a video posted at 9:27 a.m., about 15 minutes after the safety alert was issued. There is no one directing traffic. People are panicked and just trying to get out.

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com

Kucher writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that prosecuting homeless people for sleeping on public property when they have no access to shelter amounts to cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th Amendment of the Constitution. The decision, which will protect the homeless across the entire Western United States, affirms a principle that should be obvious: that theres no point  and no moral justification  for telling people they cant sleep on a sidewalk if they have nowhere else to go.

The decision stems from a Boise, Idaho, court case in which six homeless people challenged the citys enforcement of ordinances that prohibit sleeping or camping on public property at night. But the city of Los Angeles has been grappling with the issue for more than a decade. A panel of the same appeals court decided in 2006 in the case of Jones vs. the City of Los Angeles that the city could not enforce an ordinance against homeless people sleeping in public places as long as there were not enough available shelter beds. That decision led the city to enter into what is known as the Jones settlement, which prevents the police from rousting homeless people overnight until the city provides 1,250 new units of permanent supportive housing for homeless people.

In the Boise decision, Judge Marsha S. Berzon gets to the heart of the issue by quoting from the original Jones decision: As Jones reasoned, [w]hether sitting, lying, and sleeping are defined as acts or conditions, they are universal and unavoidable consequences of being human. Therefore, she concludes, as long as there is no option of sleeping indoors, the government cannot criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors, on public property, on the false premise they had a choice in the matter.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

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In fact, even if there are enough shelter beds, the government cannot necessarily force people into them, Berzon wrote. For instance, homeless people cannot be compelled to sleep at a shelter that requires attendance at religious programs.

Tuesdays much-needed decision will put local governments across the Western U.S. (where the 9th Circuit has jurisdiction) on notice that they cannot use arrests and prosecutions to solve their homelessness problems. The key to getting homeless people off the streets is to provide housing  short-term and permanent  as well as treatment and services for those in need of them.

Here in L.A., the decision serves as a reminder that creating 1,250 units of permanent supportive housing  as promised under the Jones settlement  will not be enough. By the last homeless count for the city of L.A., there were more than 31,000 homeless people, nearly 23,000 of them unsheltered.

Providing adequate shelter and housing for homeless people is not just a matter of benevolence or noblesse oblige; it is necessary. The city of L.A. is already scrambling to construct bridge shelters and permanent housing. This decision is just a reminder how urgent that need is.

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A San Bernardino jury sentenced Kevin Cooper to death three decades ago after convicting him of murdering two adults and two children and severely wounding a third child. But the jury didnt know that the investigation into those murders was, to say the least, problematic.

Subsequent inquiries and analyses persuasively show that investigators may have planted a blood sample from Cooper on a T-shirt found near the crime scene; that they failed to test  and then lost  a pair of bloody overalls worn by another man on the day of the murders; that the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence from Coopers lawyer; and that the only eyewitness  the wounded child  initially told a hospital social worker that the attackers were three or four white men. (Cooper is black.) The victims suffered multiple slash and stab wounds from a number of weapons, more than one could reasonably expect a single perpetrator to inflict. Nevertheless, the child testified at trial that the attacker was a single man.

Cooper, though, has had an inordinate amount of trouble getting the courts to give him a fair hearing. In one appeal, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Coopers plea for a new hearing despite a scathing, 100-page dissent by Judge William Fletcher that dissects how the police and courts not only failed to give Cooper a fair trial, but also apparently conspired to convict him. Kevin Cooper has now been on death row for nearly half his life, Fletcher wrote. In my opinion, he is probably innocent of the crimes for which the state of California is about to execute him.

Cooper has asked Gov. Jerry Brown to order new, more sophisticated DNA tests on the shirt and other items, tests that he believes will prove once and for all that someone else committed the murders. He also wants the governor to conduct an innocence hearing to weigh those test results and, ultimately, to pardon him. Brown has asked the San Bernardino County district attorneys office, which opposes reopening the case, for a response by Oct. 11 to Coopers allegations before deciding whether to conduct the review.

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Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

But time is running out on Browns term, and chances are increasing that it could end before the review process does. If so, the next governor and his legal staff would probably have to start over, assuming they chose to address Coopers requests at all. That would unjustly delay yet again the search for the truth, and the possible freeing of an innocent man.

Brown should heed Coopers request and line up a special master for the review and ensure that the issues are resolved with all deliberate speed. Justice demands it.

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Photo exhibition of Shanghai held in Sri Lanka

By:Zheng Qian | From:english.eastday.com | 2018-09-06 09:02

A photo exhibition of Shanghais achievements in Chinas 40 years of reform and opening up kicked off on September 3 in Colombo Public Library in Sri Lanka.

The nearly 100 photos showcase what Shanghai has achieved in various aspects overthe past 40 years, including economic development, culture and education, urban construction, environmental protection and living standards.



The three-day event is organized by the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office and undertaken by Shanghai Orient Webcasting Co., Ltd and the ShanghaiPeoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Apart from the representatives from the organizing units, many local visitors have also been attracted by the glamorous show.

The speed of development is amazing. I have been to China but have had no chance to go to Shanghai. This photo exhibition makes me know more about Shanghai and I have made my decision to see it personally, said Saman Perera, a man who was absorbed in a group of photos depicting Pudong from the 1980s to 2018.



I have been to Shanghai twice, once was in 1982 and the other time was two years ago. Shanghai has changed a lot in these years. This really makes me shocked. Seeing these beautiful pictures, I really want to go back again, said Amaradasa Gunawardana, the president of the Sri Lankan-China Association.



This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of a friendly relationship between Shanghai and Colombo. Over the years, the two cities have maintained close exchanges and cooperation, and the results have been remarkable.










As the new acting chief of the Environmental Protection Agency, Andrew Wheeler, pushes ahead with the Trump administrations plan to weaken fuel economy standards to levels that give even the auto industry pause, Americans should consider the ramifications of the rollback.

Most of us are aware that auto emissions contribute significantly to the pool of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Scientific studies show that nearly one-fifth of the atmospheric carbon dioxide gas generated in the United States each year comes from the combustion of fossil fuels by cars and trucks. Many citizens also know that the product of this combustion process is primarily carbon dioxide, a colorless gas that traps heat within the atmosphere, contributing to the ongoing warming of Earth.

Much less common, however, is an understanding that the emissions spewing from our tailpipes are also acidifying the worlds oceans. Since the first coal-burning fires of the Industrial Age, about 30% of the atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by humans has been absorbed by our surging seas.

Oceanic absorption of carbon dioxide varies somewhat with latitude. The colder the water, the more readily carbon dioxide will dissolve in it. The Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, absorbs about 10% more carbon dioxide than other seas.

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While the Trump administration works to freeze car pollution rules, Americans need to weigh the full costs of such a move.

When carbon dioxide combines with seawater, it undergoes a series of chemical reactions that increase the acidity of the water. The same chemical reactions also reduce the availability of calcite and aragonite, two carbonate minerals that are needed for the shell-building process.

Marine life is reacting to the acidification of our oceans, and not in a good way. In some coastal regions, oysters, clams and snails are struggling to produce and maintain their shells. The tiny offspring of these animals are particularly vulnerable.

Coral reef ecosystems are also at risk. Half of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef has died since 2016 in a catastrophic bleaching event exacerbated by acidification.

Marine biologists and chemists have established that ocean acidification influences not only the ability of marine organisms to make and maintain a shell, but their capacity to grow, reproduce and navigate.

Researchers at the University of Tasmania, led by Dr. So Kawaguchi, found that the tiny eggs of krill are less likely to hatch when exposed to ocean acidification. The shrimp-like crustaceans provide sustenance for the majority of fish, seals, penguins and baleen whales that dominate Antarctic food webs.

A scientist at the University of Oregon, Dr. Julie Schram, determined that some species of Antarctic amphipods  small, insect-like crustaceans  die after prolonged exposure to ocean acidification, perhaps because they have trouble shedding their exoskeletons.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

And a team of scientists at the Australian Research Council Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, led by Dr. Philip Munday, observed that in acidifying conditions, juvenile clownfish lose the ability to relocate their natal reef, a process required for their reproduction.

Even sharks are affected. Dr. Danielle Dixson at the Georgia Institute of Technology discovered that sharks are less likely to smell their food when exposed to elevated acidification.

Ocean acidification could cause a substantial loss of biodiversity within some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Complex marine ecosystems, including the seafloor communities surrounding Antarctica and tropical coral reefs, provide habitat and nutrients for a rich array of bacteria, invertebrates and fish. As ocean acidification begins to eliminate the most vulnerable species, their loss risks disrupting these interdependent communities. Not to mention that some of these ecosystems may provide cures to a variety of human diseases.

While the Trump administration works to freeze car pollution rules, Americans need to weigh the full costs of such a move. We have collectively made the connection between fossil fuels and the atmosphere. We need to understand what fossil fuels are doing to our oceans before its too late.

Dr. James B. McClintock is an endowed professor of polar and marine biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the author of Lost Antarctica.

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To the editor: What has most disturbed me about Judge Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court confirmation hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee was his response to a question by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) regarding his views on assault rifles (which are essentially weapons of war).

He delicately dodged her question but did state that so many people owned them, which made them in common use. Feinstein asked, Youre saying the numbers determine common use?

Later, Kavanaugh stated that at his daughters school, security had been increased. Its assault rifles that have been instrumental in the murder of many of our children.

At one time, this country had slaves, but we moved beyond that. At one time, this country did not allow women to vote, but we moved beyond that. Now we have a weapon that has been instrumental in the slaughter many of our children, and those in power are looking away.

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I am appalled and deeply saddened.

Mary Mills Presby, Beverly Hills

..

To the editor: Kavanaugh has shown his hand. He says he respects precedents and he emphasized that the Planned Parenthood vs. Casey decision on abortion was precedent-setting.

Casey didnt overturn Roe vs. Wade, but it introduced the concept of burden. The Supreme Court determined that certain things are undue burdens on a womans right to choose.

However, one persons view of an undue burden is another persons justifiable burden. This is all Kavanaugh would need to gut Roe and make it virtually impossible for women to exercise their fundamental right to control their bodies and their lives.

Barbara Jackson, Cerritos

..

To the editor: Democratic senators are trying their best to get Kavanaugh to weigh in and answer questions on presidential powers, investigations and indictments.

The Democratic senators have accepted the fact that Kavanaugh will be confirmed. If they can get him to respond to their questions regarding the president, Kavanaugh might have to recuse himself if a case comes before the Supreme Court.

Nicely played.

Andrew Ko, San Marino

..

To the editor: The hypocrisy of President Trumps and Kavanaughs supporters is off the charts.

Consider this comment from a reader: Our duly elected president (hate him or not) has the legal authority to select Supreme Court justices. Then, it is up to the Senate to either approve or reject his nominee. There is no threat to democracy here.

No, the threat to democracy came when the Senate refused to even hold hearings on President Obamas nominee after Justice Antonin Scalia died in early 2016, let alone vote to approve or reject him.

Steve Mehlman, Beaumont

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Newsoms budget proposes $3 million for Alzheimers research, brain task force By Melody Gutierrez Amyloid plaques, shown here in human brains, are a hallmark of Alzheimers disease. (UCLA School of Medicine) Gov. Gavin Newsom will call for the creation of a brain health task force and dedicate $3 million annually from the states general fund to Alzheimers disease research in the budget proposal he will release Thursday, a source close to the administration said. The money for Alzheimers research would target the new grants at understanding why the disease is more prevalent in women and people of color. Former California first lady and Alzheimers activist Maria Shriver pushed for the funding to be included in the state budget. Shriver said in a statement Wednesday that the funding would make California the first state to make understanding our brains a priority. The states former first lady, whose late father Sargent Shriver was diagnosed with Alzheimers, founded the Womens Alzheimers Movement, an advocacy group raising awareness about womens increased risk for developing the disease. In 2011, she wrote a comprehensive assessment on the disease, to which Newsom  then mayor of San Francisco  contributed a portion called What one city is doing. This is personal to me, just like it is to millions of California families, Shriver said. Alzheimers is one of the largest medical, social and economic crises in our state, and of our time. I am so proud that, once again, California is leading the way. Wiping out Alzheimers is going to require bold thinking, and there is no doubt in my mind that California is home to bold thinkers who can make this happen. Facebook

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Gov. Gavin Newsom orders reinvention of troubled California DMV By Patrick McGreevy A line of people stretches around the South L.A. location of a California Department of Motor Vehicles Office on Aug. 7. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered an overhaul of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which has been plagued by hours-long wait times at field offices, computer crashes and voter registration errors involving tens of thousands of customers. Just a few days after taking office, Newsom appointed a top advisor to a new DMV Reinvention Strike Team to revamp the beleaguered agency over the next six months. By any metric, California DMV has been chronically mismanaged and failed in its fundamental mission to the state customers it serves and the state workers it employs, Newsom said in a statement, adding Its time for a reinvention. The governor appointed state Government Operations Agency Secretary Marybel Batjer to lead the strike team with a goal of modernizing the agency and enacting changes that improve customer satisfaction, employee performance and transparency. Newsom also ordered an accelerated review of initial findings of an ongoing audit ordered last year by Gov. Jerry Brown. The action was welcomed by lawmakers who have been critical of the DMV, including Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield). The egregious management failures of the DMV have been self-evident, which is why I have been calling for new leadership and a comprehensive independent audit of this troubled state agency over and over again as the problems grew significantly worse, Fong said. Last summer, Californians seeking new driver licenses complained of wait times of four to six hours at DMV offices, which the agency blamed partly on snafus caused by a rush of people trying to get Real IDs, a new identification card design required for airline passengers starting in late 2020. Delays were also blamed on computer crashes at DMV offices as the agency struggled to update its aging automation systems. The DMV also admitted that there were an estimated 23,000 errors as people either were unknowingly registered to vote or mistakes were made in their registration status as part of the states new motor voter program. The agency registered to vote as many as 1,500 people with legal U.S. residency but no citizenship. Last month, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto retired from the agency. Legislators were angered earlier this week when the DMV said it needed an additional $40 million to prevent the return of long lines at its field offices. In addition, the agency has been under fire for issuing driver licenses in the last year that do not comply with the federal Real ID standards requiring two forms of identification by applicants. Facebook

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California police unions are preparing to battle new transparency law in the courtroom By Maya Lau Just as a landmark police transparency law is going into effect, some California police agencies are shredding internal affairs documents and law enforcement unions are rushing to block the information from being released. The new law, which begins to unwind Californias strictest-in-the-nation protections over the secrecy of law enforcement records, opens to the public internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. But the lawsuits and records destruction, which began even before the law took effect Jan. 1, could tie up the release of information for months or years, and in some instances, prevent it from ever being disclosed. The fact that police unions are challenging this law is on some level not surprising, said Peter Bibring, director of police practices at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, one of the principal supporters of the new law. They have a long history of fighting tooth and nail against transparency. Read More Facebook

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Secretary of State Alex Padilla begins second term with challenge to ensure every Californian is counted By Jazmine Ulloa Secretary of State Alex Padilla takes the oath of office as his family stands by his side on Monday in Sacramento. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Secretary of State Alex Padilla was sworn in for a second term on Monday, saying he would continue the battle to protect the right to vote at a time when voter suppression efforts, online disinformation campaigns and interference from foreign adversaries have polarized the public and threatened to undermine trust in U.S. elections. I am doubling down on our fight here in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C., to defend our democracy, he said. Working on the front lines with so many of you, I know that our collective resolve has never been stronger. But the loudest applause came when Padilla promised to fight back against the Trump administrations changes to the U.S. census, saying he will ensure every Californian gets counted. Padilla, a former state senator and Los Angeles City Council member from the San Fernando Valley, led the cause for a new motor voter registration law in 2015, and a new system for online business registrations. But the programs have had experienced problems: More than 23,000 Californians were registered to vote incorrectly by the state DMV, the agency reported last year. On Monday, Padilla said he would continue to push back against false claims of voter fraud in California and pointed to the states voter turnout as proof that his office was involving more people in the democratic process, a promise he made when he was first sworn in four years ago. More than 12.7 million voters cast ballots in the Nov. 6 midterm election, representing roughly 65% of the states registered voters, the highest number of any midterm election since 1982, according to state certified results. I made that promise based on a shared belief that we are a stronger democracy and a better California when we hear all voices from all corners of California, and when those voices are not just heard but counted, Padilla said. Facebook

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Ricardo Lara, Californias first statewide officeholder to come out as gay, sworn in as insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara on the floor of the state Senate in 2016. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Ricardo Lara took the oath of office as California insurance commissioner on Monday, pledging action to boost healthcare coverage and combat climate change. Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens, is the first elected statewide officeholder in California who has come out as gay. He began his speech in downtown Sacramento by thanking LGBTQ leaders who came before him and celebrated the occasion. Today, because of you, weve shattered the pink ceiling, Lara said. In his inaugural speech, Lara announced the creation of an executive position in his office to address climate change. There is no other industry that has the necessary expertise to ensure that California is prepared to mitigate and reduce risk to our communities and our environment, Lara said. Our planet cant wait. Im ready, and I hope you are too. Lara served as a state legislator and in 2017 introduced a bill to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state. He promised to work with new Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand coverage across California. Lara was sworn in by retired U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who declared unconstitutional Californias Proposition 8 gay marriage ban. State Sen. President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) was on hand for the ceremony along with multiple other state lawmakers. Facebook

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New California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis says she will help expand access to universities in the state New Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, center, is shown in June talking with attendees at the Power to the Polls rally in Sacramento. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) More Californians should be given access to public universities, Eleni Kounalakis said as she took the oath of office Monday to become the states first woman elected lieutenant governor. Kounalakis was given the oath of office by Gov. Gavin Newsom, her predecessor in the job, who pledged they would work together. As lieutenant governor, Kounalakis serves on the University of California Board of Regents and the California State University Board of Trustees, she noted in a speech at her swearing-in ceremony at the main Sacramento Library. In that role, she said, she will be committed to expanding access to affordable public higher education here in our state. Its wise, its smart and it is the best way to address our rapidly changing digital economy. Kounalakis is former president of a development company founded by her father, Angelo Tsakopoulos, and served during the Obama administration as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary. In November, she won her first run for statewide office. Also attending the ceremony were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Facebook

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California meets Dutch Newsom, who steals the show at his fathers inauguration By Taryn Luna Gov. Gavin Newsom gives his inaugural address while holding his youngest son, Dutch. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) In the California political world, all eyes were on Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday until his 2-year-old son stole the show. Dutch, the youngest of four children in the Newsom brood, climbed onstage in the middle of his fathers inaugural address in a tent outside the Capitol on Monday. The unplanned moment saw the 51-year-old governors big day interrupted by the toddler, bringing levity to the ceremony. Newsom was recounting Gov. Jerry Browns last inaugural speech and reference to the Sermon on the Mount, a biblical story about two men who built separate homes on sand and rock, when Dutch approached his father, a pacifier in his mouth and blanket in hand. Now more than ever we Californians know how much a house matters and children matter, Newsom said, improvising as he scooped the boy into his arms. The governor kissed Dutch on the cheek and held him for several minutes as he continued with the speech. This is exactly how it was scripted, Newsom joked. Newsom eventually put his child down and Dutch walked to the edge of the stage before retreating behind the podium to hide from his mother, First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The crowd roared. Siebel Newsom was able to briefly divert her son only for him to return to the stage minutes later. She grabbed him again and this time, the crying toddler did not reemerge. When fires strikes, when kids cry and the earth shakes, well be there for each other, Newsom said. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who said the moment humanized Newsom, threw cold water on any theories that Dutchs cameo was planned. No, I know it was not, Garcetti said with a laugh after Newsoms speech concluded. I could see that look of absolute abject terror [on Newsoms face]. Weve all been there. Kids always think its about themselves and theyve proved it. California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) agreed. I worked in early childhood education for 20 years and theres no way you can ever get a child to do anything when you want them to do it, Rendon said. Facebook

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Fiona Ma takes oath as Californias new treasurer By Liam Dillon State Treasurer Fiona Ma. Fiona Ma took the oath of office in Sacramento on Monday as the states 34th treasurer, promising to boost Californias economy. Ma previously served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in the state Assembly and on the California Board of Equalization. I want to thank everyone for entrusting me with this important job. I understand my role here as your state treasurer is to build that financial wall around California so that we will remain the fifth-largest economy, Ma said in brief remarks. That is my promise to you. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye administered the oath to Ma. Following the ceremony, Ma held an ice cream social for guests. On Wednesday, she will host a public event in San Francisco to celebrate her swearing-in. State Treasurer Fiona Ma takes the oath of office. (Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

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Expectations are high for newly sworn-in state schools chief Tony Thurmond Tony Thurmond shakes hands with retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gordon Baranco after taking the oath of office. (Melody Gutierrez / Los Angeles Times) Tony Thurmond took the oath of office as Californias state superintendent of public schools on Monday, promising a labor-friendly agenda before the teachers, students and Democratic officials who filled an auditorium at McClatchy High School in Sacramento to watch him being sworn in. We cant close the achievement gap without a great teacher at the head of every class, Thurmond said Monday to applause. We have to make sure we provide quality compensation and support to our teachers and our classified staff and all the educators who support our kids. Thurmond, a Bay Area Democrat who served in the state Assembly, won a hotly contested and expensive race with the help of labor leaders against charter school executive Marshall Tuck. The race took several days to sort out after Tuck held an initial lead in early returns on election night before falling behind thereafter. Thurmond was sworn in Monday by retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gordon Baranco. He was joined on stage by labor rights leader Dolores Huerta and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount). Thurmonds former colleagues in the state Assembly took turns praising him and promising to be an ally in improving schools. Many said they expected Thurmond would be a strong leader focused on improving student outcomes. We know we are going to work hard to give you the money you need and the budget you need to fully fund education and our schools so we can put our money where our mouth is and make sure our children have everything they need, Assemblywoman Connie Leyva (D-Chino Hills) said. As state superintendent, Thurmond will oversee the education of 6.2 million students at 10,000 schools. Thurmond was a member of the West Contra Costa County School Board and a Richmond city councilman before he was elected to the state Assembly. Tony is the right man at the right time to fight the federal, Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos anti-child, anti-education, anti-civil and -human rights agenda, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said. Tony is going to do that for us. Facebook

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State Controller Betty Yee takes oath of office with call for more affordable housing and healthcare State Controller Betty Yee California Controller Betty Yee took the oath of office Monday for a second term, saying she still has work to do addressing problems that include a lack of affordability in housing, healthcare and higher education. A San Francisco native, Yee is the chief financial officer of California  the fifth-largest economy in the world  having first won election to the post in 2014 before winning reelection in November. No region is spared from the widening inequality and increased poverty that plague our state, fueled by the lack of affordable, stable housing, the cost of healthcare and transportation, limited educational opportunities, student loan debt, displacement caused by disasters and more, she said. Yee was administered the oath of office by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento before an overflow crowd that included state Senate leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. As a public official it is about governance that delivers results and stays accountable while upholding the underlying value of dignity for all, Yee said. Facebook

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California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra begins new term promising to fight Trump policies California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Monday took the oath of office for a new term, saying he would continue his role as a leading challenger to Trump administration actions that he believes are counter to the states interests. Becerra, a former 12-term congressman, has become a national opposition figure to Trump, having sued the federal government 45 times since he was appointed as the states first Latino attorney general in 2017. Weve been a little busy stopping the dysfunction and insanity in Washington, D.C., from infecting California, Becerra told an audience during a swearing-in ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento. Whether its the criminals on our streets or the conman in the boardrooms or highest office of the land, Becerra said, the California Department of Justice, well, weve got your back. Becerra won his first statewide election as the states top cop in November, two years after he filled the post vacated when predecessor Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate. He has peppered the Trump administration with lawsuits challenging federal policies on healthcare, the U.S. census, the environment and immigration. Our state builds dreams, not walls, he said in a direct criticism of Trumps proposal to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Just last week, Becerra led a coalition of 17 Democratic attorneys general in announcing an appeal of a federal judge in Texas that ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. The ACA has been the law for nearly a decade and is the backbone of our healthcare system, Becerra said last week. This case impacts nearly every American  workers covered by employers, families, women, children, young adults and seniors  so we will lead the ACAs defense as long and far as it takes. Facebook

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California Democratic Party Vice Chairman Daraka Larimore-Hall announces bid to lead group By Christine Mai-Duc Daraka Larimore-Hall. (Dominic Parisi / Courtesy of Daraka Larimore-Hall) Daraka Larimore-Hall, a top official at the California Democratic Party, said Monday hes running to replace former chairman Eric Bauman, who resigned abruptly in November after being confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct. Larimore-Hall, a longtime state party activist and former chairman of the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara County, was one of the party leaders who urged Bauman to resign following the allegations. In an email to supporters announcing his bid, he urged both structural and cultural change at every level of our Party. He also repeated his call for a top-to-bottom investigation of the allegations, the party and its culture. In a Times investigation, 10 party activists and staff members said Bauman made crude sexual comments and engaged in unwanted touching and physical intimidation in professional settings. In order to be where we need to be for 2020, we have to confront the culture of abuse and fear that allowed someone to behave in such a vile way for so long, Larimore-Hall said in an interview. We cant brush it aside or think that our activists or our candidates or our donors are going to forget about this overnight. Larimore-Hall said his first priority would be to fully investigate the allegations and restore rank-and-file confidence in the partys leadership. The second would be to refocus the party on political priorities as the 2020 presidential election nears. The Bauman episode, Larimore-Hall said, threatens to derail the Democrats plans to help defeat President Trump and keep the seven congressional seats gained in the midterm elections. Its definitely a crisis, Larimore-Hall said. But the component parts  the energy, the enthusiasm, the volunteers, the infrastructure  its still there. We just need to direct it toward something. Larimore-Hall was elected vice chairman of the state party in February following Baumans razor-thin victory over Bay Area activist Kimberly Ellis. Ellis has announced another bid for the chairmanship and former state Senate leader Kevin de Leon is also mulling a run. The vote will take place at the partys May convention in San Francisco. Facebook

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Newsom will vow to seize this moment, and swipe at Trump in Monday inaugural address By Melanie Mason Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and his family attend an Inauguration Family Event at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento on Jan. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Building on the theme of California exceptionalism that defined his campaign, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will depict the state as a guardian of progressive values and a counterweight to President Trump in his inaugural address Monday, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks. What we do today is even more consequential, because of whats happening in our country, read the excerpts obtained by The Times. Peoples lives, freedom, security, the water we drink, the air we breathe  they all hang in the balance. The country is watching us. The world is waiting on us. The future depends on us. And we will seize this moment. The speech casts Californias political stakes in a decidedly national scope, promising an agenda that will unify and be an example to the rest of the country. It contrasts the governing goals of Newsom, a Democrat, with that of Trump, the incoming governors perennial foil. We will offer an alternative to the corruption and incompetence in the White House, the excerpts say. Our government will be progressive, principled, and always on the side of the people. Newsom campaigned on an ambitious and wide-ranging platform, promising sweeping solutions on housing, healthcare, education and other issues that rank among Californians top concerns. In the weeks after his election, he struck a more muted tone, taking pains to emphasize his fiscal caution and need for patience in achieving those goals. The inaugural excerpts indicate a return to lofty pledges. While Newsom will vow to prepare for uncertain times ahead by building budgetary reserves and paying down debt, the prepared remarks quickly turn to a vow to be bold. Newsom has already floated several proposals for his first budget that carry significant price tags, including a nearly $2-billion plan to boost early childhood development for low-income families and a dramatic expansion of paid family leave from six weeks to six months. When asked for a preview of his inauguration speech during a news conference Sunday evening, Newsom predicted pundits would criticize his address as short on specifics. Well, of course, Im at an inaugural, Newsom said. But Ill be very detailed in the budget, a few days later. And then we will architect, in much more nuance and detail, in state of the state. I really see this as three opportunities  to communicate over the next few weeks our agenda, our vision for the state. Times staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report. Read More Facebook

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Newsom-hosted benefit concert raises nearly $5 million for wildfire victims By Taryn Luna Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom speaks at a concert to benefit wildfire victims at the Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento on Jan. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) On the eve of the gubernatorial inauguration, Californias political class rubbed elbows in Sacramento for a benefit concert hosted by Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and headlined by the rapper Pitbull. Newsom told the crowd gathered at the Golden 1 Center on Sunday evening that the fundraiser brought in nearly $5 million for the California Wildfire Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that supports the families of fallen firefighters and communities affected by wildfires. You know, a lot of folks feel anxious about not just politics, but government, Newsom said on stage before introducing the rapper and activist Common. But those firefighters, they are the antidote to the fear and cynicism; they are the manifestation of why government matters and why you should care. Top sponsors, including Salesforce, Kaiser Permanente and other interest groups, paid up to $1 million each to support the cause and curry favor with the new administration. Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, said organizers sold more than 7,000 tickets. Several state lawmakers attended the concert alongside Capitol staff, lobbyists and business types, who mingled on the floor of the arena and offstage in private VIP areas. The rock band X Ambassadors and a duo called the Cold Weather Sons from the town of Paradise, which was destroyed by fire in November, were among several performers who entertained the crowd during the four-hour event. The California Rises concert is the final in a series of festivities held Sunday to celebrate the inauguration of Californias 40th governor. Earlier in the day, Newsom attended a private brunch at Sacramentos Crocker Art Museum and his inaugural committee hosted a free party for families at the California State Railroad Museum at the Old Sacramento Waterfront. Newsoms inauguration is set to begin at 11 a.m. Monday on the steps of the Capitol. Facebook

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Inauguration fever hits Sacramento as Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom prepares to take office By Phil Willon Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom holds his son, Dutch, as he and his family attend an inaugural event at the at the state Railroad Museum Sunday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Incoming Gov. Gavin Newsom doesnt officially take the oath of office until Monday, but the parties celebrating his inauguration were in full swing all day Sunday. Newsom and his family were mobbed by well-wishers at the California State Railroad Museum at the Old Sacramento Waterfront in the afternoon, where his inaugural committee hosted a free party for families. He just has charisma. Hes able to really connect with people, said Rosielyn Pulmano, an attorney from Elk Grove who came to see Newsom with her husband, two sons and her niece. I think he cares about working Californians and a lot of their issues. Newsom arrived with his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and their four young children, and the governor-elect spent a good deal of his time wading through crowds, taking selfies with supporters and signing autographs as music boomed in the background. As the family toured the inside of the museums locomotives and the bevy of exhibits, Newsoms two-year-old son, Dutch, was wide-eyed, impressed by all the train cars and seemingly a little overwhelmed by the crowd. Newsom said that for his son, all that was missing from the museum was Thomas the Train, popular fictional locomotive in childrens books and cartoons . If theres one thing I can contribute to Sacramento maybe its getting a Thomas the Train exhibit for the two years olds, Newsom joked when talking with reporters afterward. Newsom said he wanted to include such an event in his inaugural festivities to highlight families and children, whose wellbeing will be among the top priorities of his administration. Youll see that not only as a preamble to the inaugural and the budget that well be submitting next week, but I think itll be a big part of the administration, Newsom said. The museum event followed a private, high-dollar brunch at Sacramentos Crocker Art Museum. A steady rain failed to dissuade as many as 200 guests who sipped wine and dined on chicken and salmon while waiting for a photo with Californias new first couple. Seen at the event were representatives of some of the states most powerful political interests, among them organized labor, healthcare companies and tribal gaming interests. A few other high-profile guests attended, too, including Larry Baer, CEO of the San Francisco Giants, and Erika Jayne, a singer and cast member of the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Im excited to see someone like Gavin  young, vibrant  taking over the state and leading us into the future, Jayne said after attending the brunch with her husband, attorney Tom Girardi. Hes got a lot of great plans. Attendees said the event, which was closed to reporters and held under a tent in the museums outdoor atrium, did not include prepared remarks by Newsom. Among those seen leaving the event were representatives of AT&T, the California Medical Assn., Uber, Kaiser Permanente and the State Building and Construction Trades Council. A fundraising invitation obtained by The Times offered bundled tickets to all of the inauguration events, including those on Sunday and the Monday ceremony, ranging in price from $25,000 to $200,000. The money will be collected by a committee specifically organized to pay for Newsoms inaugural weekend. Sundays festivities are scheduled to end with a benefit concert headlined by Pitbull at the Golden 1 Center, home of the NBAs Sacramento Kings, to raise money for the victims of Californias recent deadly wildfires. Among the attendees at @GavinNewsoms pre-inaugural leadership brunch: Real Housewife of

Bev Hills @erikajayne. Im excited to see someone like Gavinyoung, vibranttaking over the state and leading us into the future. Hes got a lot of great plans. pic.twitter.com/561NHiy2XQ  Melanie Mason (@melmason) January 6, 2019 Facebook

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As Newsom inaugural events begin, he unveils more state budget promises on education and paid family leave Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, seen here last April, will propose new state budget efforts on paid family leave and education subsidies. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Californias incoming governor, who must send his first state budget plan to the Legislature this week, has already signaled a significant new focus on programs to help families and children from infancy to college. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom campaigned on a platform that included a number of child-focused efforts specifically aimed at helping lower-income families. The price tag for the initial efforts is expected to approach $2 billion  a cost paid out of an unrestricted tax revenue windfall that could be one of the largest in state history. Newsom may also seek help for families through new subsidies paid by California employers. The governor-elect is expected to propose a dramatic expansion of paid parental leave  from six weeks to six months  according to an internal document provided by a source close to the Newsom transition team, first reported on Sunday by the New York Times. The document doesnt offer a full explanation for how the program will be funded, saying instead that the budget will set a goal of ensuring that all newborns and newly adopted babies can be cared for by a parent or a close family member for the first six months. Employers across the state are currently assessed a payroll tax that helps offer a subsidy to parents who temporarily leave their job to care for a newborn. Newsoms plan, according to the document, would pay for some of the new costs by shrinking the mandated cash reserve of the state fund that administers the program, allowing more of the money to be paid in benefits. The increase in paid leave would not all happen at once but instead be phased in over a multi-year period. A task force to help implement the expanded care plan is also envisioned, according to the document. It would determine whether two parents could split the six months of paid leave and whether an extended family member could be enlisted to help care for the child of a single parent over the six-month period. The incoming administrations focus on young children will also include $1.8 billion in new spending on early childhood education programs, with a particular focus on training childcare workers and pushing for more California schools to offer full-day kindergarten. Those costs, according to an overview memo obtained by the Los Angeles Times, are considered to be a one-time expense while leaving the long-term costs of the effort to be determined later. More community college students would get free tuition under a third initiative expected in the new governors budget plan. Newsom will propose spending $40 million to offer a second year of tuition-free college to California students, according to an outline provided by a transition official, first reported by Politico. Students are already eligible for a single year of paid tuition under a plan agreed to by Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers in 2017. The incoming governor embraced the idea of free community college during the 2018 campaign as part of a broader focus on additional investments in higher education. Education is an economic development strategy, Newsom said at a higher education forum last spring. We need to significantly increase the investment from the general fund of this state on higher education. Theres no greater higher return on investment. Whether the proposal would be targeted to students based on a familys financial need is unclear. Many low-income students are already eligible for fee waivers at community colleges. The new governor must submit his full state budget plan to lawmakers no later than Thursday. Facebook

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Gavin Newsom and his family decide Sacramento is the place to be The Old Governors Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will move his family into the mansion. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and his family will give up the Marin County life and move to the Victorian-style governors mansion in Sacramento after he takes the oath of office Monday. Newsom and his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, had debated whether or when to relocate to the state capital since his election in November. The couple have four young children and expressed reservations about moving in the middle of a school year. To best serve the people of California while also maximizing family time together, the Newsoms have therefore decided to move to Sacramento, said Newsoms spokesman, Nathan Click. On Monday, they will move into the Governors Mansion  along with their four children, their two family dogs, and their family bunny rabbit  and reside there for the immediate future. The Newsoms currently live in Marin County. Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Ann Gust Brown, moved into the grand house in 2015 after it underwent $4.1 million in renovations to update electrical and plumbing systems, as well as to remove lead-based paint and install a fire sprinkler system and other security features. The mansion was built in 1877 and has been home to 14 governors, but before Brown it had not housed a California governor for nearly half a century. The state bought the mansion from a wealthy Sacramento hardware merchant, Albert Gallatin, in 1903 for $32,500. It was one of the few California homes at that time to have indoor plumbing. Facebook

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Newsom announces top labor, business liaisons as he prepares to take office Julie Su will be secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency for Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom on Friday named two advisors on issues related to the California economy, each recognized for their expertise on business and labor. The incoming governor will appoint Julie Su as secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and Lenny Mendonca as chief economic and business advisor and director of the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development. Su, 49, has served as state labor commissioner under Gov. Jerry Brown since 2011 and has led an office tasked with the enforcement of Californias labor laws. She won a MacArthur Foundation genius grant in 2001 and previously worked as a civil rights attorney representing low-wage workers. In her new position, Su will be tasked with coordinating the work of several workforce departments in state government, including those that administer unemployment benefits and oversee the relationship between agriculture workers and employers. Mendonca, 57, has been a longtime advocate for rethinking government operations as co-chairman of the nonprofit organization California Forward. Previously, he was partner at McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm. While he will be a key advisor to Newsom on the states economy, Mendonca will also lead the office often referred to as Go-Biz, designated as a high-level way to encourage job growth and economic development. In his new role, Mendonca will help ensure that California is rolling out the welcome mat to current and future California businesses and growing a sustainable economy for every Californian, said a statement from the Newsom transition team. Newsom will take the oath of office as governor Monday. He has previously selected key advisors on the state budget, legislative affairs and the executive branchs wide array of agencies and departments. Facebook

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Joshua Groban, aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, sworn in to California Supreme Court By Taryn Luna California Supreme Court Justice Joshua Groban gives remarks after he is sworn into the court by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday. (Taryn Luna) California Supreme Court Justice Joshua Groban, a lawyer and longtime aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, was sworn into the states highest court Thursday in Sacramento. The ceremony marked Browns fourth appointment to the state Supreme Court and gave the seven-member bench a Democratic majority. We live in a highly chaotic, ever-changing and ever-confusing world, Groban said in prepared remarks at the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building. But Im happy to report that Im joining an institution whose fundamental purpose, at core, is to provide stability and consistency amidst this chaotic place we live. I look forward to doing that with a sense of reflection, respect, fidelity to the law and compassion. None of Browns appointees, Groban included, have judicial experience. Groban served as legal counsel to Browns 2010 gubernatorial campaign and joined the administration as a senior advisor to the governor, overseeing the appointments of some 600 judges over the last eight years. Prior to working with Brown, Groban, 45, practiced law for more than a decade. In perhaps his final public appearance before his successor, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, takes office next week, Brown pushed back on notions that he stacked the court. I dont want this to be known as a Brown court, the governor said before administering the judicial oath of office. First of all, the so-called Brown appointments do not agree with themselves and nor should they. They are individuals. They will differ. Its not anybodys court. The governor called the court a high calling and said Groban possesses the values for the job. Probably, next to my wife, Ive talked to no person as much as Ive talked to Josh Groban, Brown said. I think youve talked to him more, Californias First Lady Anne Gust Brown interjected. I cant tell you what the hell hes going to do, Brown later quipped. I warned him, dont screw up, at least not at first. Facebook

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California campaign watchdog agency seeks law barring use of campaign funds to fight harassment claims Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). ( (Steve Yeater / Associated Press)) Elected officials accused of harassment or discrimination would be barred from using political contributions to cover their legal defense costs under legislation proposed by Californias campaign watchdog agency. The state Fair Political Practices Commission has agreed to pursue a law change to clear up confusion after an attorney for one former state lawmaker argued political funds could be used in such legal defenses. Commission Chairwoman Alice Germond said putting a prohibition into the law would provide some much needed clarity. As chair, I would like to show the public their lawmakers are held to a standard that is above reproach, Germond said in a statement. People dont give money to campaigns for lawmakers to use it to defend their own bad behavior, so lawmakers shouldnt be able to use it in that manner. The issue came up a year ago when an attorney for former Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) sought a formal opinion from the FPPC after the Senate launched an investigation that later concluded Mendoza likely engaged in a pattern of harassment against female aides. Mendoza resigned in February under threat of expulsion by the Senate. In a Jan. 10, 2018, letter, Cassandra Ferrannini, an attorney for Mendoza, wrote to the FPPC that she believed Mendoza should be allowed to establish a legal defense fund able to defray his legal expenses in defending himself against the allegations. The use of campaign funds for attorneys fees under these circumstances would fall squarely within the scope of legislative matters, since it involves the alleged conduct of a legislator with regard to legislative staff that he supervised, Ferrannini wrote. The commission staff originally issued an advice letter that said Mendoza may use campaign and legal defense funds to defend himself from claims of sexual harassment that arose directly out of his activities or status as a candidate or elected officer. But the panel later rescinded the letter after some members questioned using campaign funds to fight sexual harassment claims. That left uncertainty about what was allowed, which Germond said could be cleared up by a new law. The FPPC is still looking for a legislator to carry the bill, a spokesman said. Facebook

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Californias landmark police transparency law takes effect after court denies police union effort to block it California Supreme Court building (Eric Risberg / Associated Press) A new state law allowing the public disclosure of internal police shooting investigations has gone into effect after the California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a bid by a police union to block it. The law opens to the public for the first time internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Employees Benefit Assn. challenged the law last month, asking state Supreme Court justices to decide that the law only apply to incidents that occur in 2019 or later. The court rejected that request Wednesday, allowing members of the public to seek all applicable records held by police departments. Union president Grant Ward said in a statement that his organization was disappointed with the decision and is now seeking other legal options. We feel this is a statewide issue and should be considered accordingly, Ward said. Last month, the city of Inglewood authorized the destruction of more than 100 police shooting investigations and other records in advance of Jan. 1, when the disclosure law was scheduled to take effect. California law requires police departments to keep such records for five years, and Inglewood City Council voted to destroy records older than that. Mayor James T. Butts has said the decision had nothing to do with the new law. In Los Angeles, Police Chief Michel Moore has said that complying with the new disclosure rules could take hundreds of thousands of hours of work. State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the author of the transparency law, has said she has no immediate plans to propose changes to it. Facebook

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Few complaints of racial profiling are sustained by police agencies in California, state panel finds CHP Officer J. Nelson stands outside the office of Gov. Jerry Brown as activists in 2015 support requiring the tracking of police stops. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Law enforcement agencies in California sustain few citizen complaints of racial or identity profiling, according to a report Wednesday by a state panel set up to help reduce bias in policing. The states Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board recommended in its annual report that law enforcement agencies improve training and adopt clear guidelines for tracking and reporting data on who is stopped by officers. The panel said that 453 law enforcement agencies in the state received 9,459 civilian complaints in 2017, including 865 complaints alleging racial or identity profiling. Of the racial and identity complaints that reached a disposition that year, 1.5% were sustained, 14.6% resulted in officers being exonerated and 83.9% of complaints were not sustained or were determined to be unfounded, the report said. A clearer picture of the issue is expected from a 2015 law that requires police agencies to report demographic data on all detentions and searches. The first reports by the eight largest agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, are due to be submitted in April. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, whose office oversees the board, said tracking of all detentions and searches will be helpful to understand the scope of the issue. The Boards recommendations will help make our law enforcement agencies more transparent and promote critical steps to enhance, and in some cases, repair the public trust, Becerra said in a statement Wednesday. Facebook

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California housing crisis podcast: What Minneapolis decision to end single-family zoning might mean for California A view of downtown Minneapolis in 2014 (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images) Theres a national movement brewing to roll back zoning rules in cities that only allow one house on a plot of land. The epicenter of that movement is Minneapolis, which passed a plan last month to eliminate single-family zoning citywide and let landowners build duplexes and triplexes on residential property. On this episode of Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast, we talk about the reasons why Minneapolis leaders took this action, including their desire to combat a history of racial exclusion and spur more housing density to fight climate change. We also debate how Minneapolis decision might affect housing politics in California. Our guest is Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender, who helped shepherd the new zoning rules to passage and a former San Francisco city planner. The episode also crowns 2018s Avocado of the Year  the most ridiculous story exemplifying Californias housing woes  and includes our predictions for the most under-the-radar important themes in housing politics in 2019. Gimme Shelter, a biweekly podcast that looks at why its so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times Sacramento bureau, and Matt Levin, data and housing reporter for CALmatters. You can subscribe to Gimme Shelter on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play and Overcast. Facebook

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How young immigrant Dreamers made flipping control of the House a personal quest By Jazmine Ulloa Gabriela Cruz, who was brought to the U.S. illegally when she was 1, couldnt vote, but in the final hours before the Nov. 6 election, she was making one last run to get people to the polls. The sun was setting in Modesto when she found Ronald Silva, 41, smoking a cigarette on a tattered old couch behind a group home. He politely tried to wave her off until she reminded him he had a right that she as an immigrant without citizenship didnt have. It could really make a change for us, said Cruz, 29. Read More Facebook

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Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will propose almost $2 billion for early childhood programs (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Seeking to frame his new administration as one with a firm focus on closing the gap between children from affluent and poor families, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will propose spending some $1.8 billion on an array of programs designed to boost Californias enrollment in early education and child-care programs. Newsoms plan, which he hinted at in a Fresno event last month, will be a key element in the state budget proposal he will submit to the Legislature shortly after taking office Monday, a source close to the governor-elects transition team said. The spending would boost programs designed to ensure children enter kindergarten prepared to learn, closing what some researchers have called the readiness gap that exists based on a familys income. It would also phase in an expansion of prekindergarten and offer money to help school districts that dont have facilities for full-day kindergarten. The fact that hes making significant investments with his opening budget is really exciting, Ted Lempert, president of the Bay Area-based nonprofit Children Now, said Tuesday. Whats exciting is the comprehensiveness of it, because its saying were going to focus on prenatal through age 5. A broad overview document reviewed by The Times on Tuesday shows that most of the outlay under the plan  $1.5 billion  would be a one-time expense in the budget year that begins July 1. Those dollars would be a single infusion of cash, an approach favored by Gov. Jerry Brown in recent years. Most of the money would be spent on efforts to expand child-care services and kindergarten classes. By law, a governor must submit a full budget to the Legislature no later than Jan. 10. Lawmakers will spend the winter and spring reviewing the proposal and must send a final budget plan to Newsom by June 15. Though legislative Democrats have pushed for additional early childhood funding in recent years  a key demand of the Legislative Womens Caucus  those actions have typically come late in the budget-writing season in Sacramento. Quite frankly, to start out with a January proposal that includes that investment in Californias children reflects a new day, state Sen. Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said. The governor-elect will propose a $750-million boost to kindergarten funding, aimed at expanding facilities to allow full-day programs. A number of school districts offer only partial-day programs, leaving many low-income families to skip enrolling their children because kindergarten classes end in the middle of the workday. Because the money would not count toward meeting Californias three-decades-old education spending guarantee under Proposition 98, which sets a minimum annual funding level for K-12 schools and community colleges, it will not reduce planned spending on other education services. Close behind in total cost is a budget proposal by Newsom to help train child-care workers and expand local facilities already subsidized by the state, as well as those serving parents who attend state colleges and universities. Together, those efforts could cost $747 million, according to the budget overview document. An expansion of prekindergarten programs would be phased in over three years at a cost of $125 million in the first year. The multiyear rollout would, according to the budget overview, ensure the system can plan for the increase in capacity. Lempert said the Newsom proposal is notable for trying to avoid the kinds of battles that in recent years pitted prekindergarten and expanded child care against each other for additional taxpayer dollars. The reality is we need to expand both simultaneously, he said. Another $200 million of the proposal would be earmarked for programs that provide home visits to expectant parents from limited-income families and programs that provide healthcare screenings for young children. Some of the money would come from the states Medi-Cal program, and other money from federal matching dollars. Funding for the home visits program was provided in the budget Brown signed last summer; the Newsom effort would build on that. Emphasizing a policy area with broad appeal in his first state budget could reflect Newsoms political sensibility about the challenges ahead. Democratic lawmakers and interest groups will be especially eager to see how Newsom addresses the demand for an overhaul of healthcare coverage in California  especially after a 2017 effort to create a single-payer, universal system fizzled. The path forward on healthcare is complex and costly, making early childhood education a more achievable goal in the governor-elects early tenure. Newsom is likely to face considerable demands for other additional spending. In November, the Legislatures independent analysts projected that continued strength in tax revenues could produce a cash reserve of some $29 billion over the next 18 months. Almost $15 billion of that could be in unrestricted reserves, the kind that can be spent on any number of government programs. Kim Belshe, executive director of the child advocacy organization First 5 LA and a former state health and human services secretary, said the initial Newsom budget proposal suggests the next governor will focus on a comprehensive approach to improving outcomes for children from low-income families. School-ready kids deserve quality early learning, strong and well-supported families, and access to early screening services, Belshe said. Newsom understands the whole child, multifaceted needs of our kids and is clearly ready to lead. Mitchell, the chair of the Senate budget committee, said shes eager to see the details of the governor-elects proposal to determine whether it might signal the beginning of an even broader expansion of early education efforts. Similar efforts have been hindered by a lack of money and ongoing debate over which services to help children 5 and younger need state funding the most. Universal preschool, in particular, has been debated for more than a decade. California voters rejected a ballot measure to fund a full prekindergarten system in 2006. Its clear theres a new movement afoot trying to engage on investment for universal preschool, Mitchell said. How we invest, and how we prioritize that investment, is going to be a great conversation for the coming months. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: A final conversation with Gov. Jerry Brown No Californian has served longer as governor, signed more laws, granted clemency to more felons or waged more high-profile campaigns than Gov. Jerry Brown. Brown will leave behind a unique legacy when he packs his last belongings for the trip from the governors mansion in Sacramento to his Northern California ranch. His final two terms in office could be his most consequential. The governor reviewed some of the more notable moments from the past eight years in a far-reaching interview with The Times on Dec. 22. This weeks podcast episode includes extended portions of that conversation. Facebook

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A sagging economy could doom a 2020 ballot measure to raise commercial property taxes, Gov. Jerry Brown says Gov. Jerry Brown, at his Colusa County home on Saturday, said a ballot measure to raise commercial property taxes could struggle in 2020. (Randall Benton/For The Times) An effort to remove commercial property in California from the tax limits imposed by the landmark Proposition 13 could be felled by an economic slowdown, Gov. Jerry Brown said. In a Saturday interview with The Times at his Northern California ranch, Brown said liberal activist groups that have successfully placed the proposal on the November 2020 statewide ballot shouldnt read too much into early poll numbers showing support for the plan. That isnt as easy as you think, Brown said. Because youre going to be in a downturn of the business cycle. And youre talking many kinds of business. And the cost of doing business in California is already high. The ballot measure would allow counties to more frequently assess the market value of commercial property in California than allowed under Proposition 13, a 1978 ballot initiative that amended the state constitution to place strict limits on assessing property values and taxation for both homeowners and businesses. An analysis of the new measure, which qualified in October for the 2020 ballot, estimates it could bring in some $10.5 billion a year in new tax revenue. The business community will fight it, Brown said. And the minimum wage, the family leave, the environmental rules  business[es] have left California, thats going to be the big argument. And I think thats something you really have to think a lot about. The governor, who leaves office early next month due to term limits, declined to either endorse or oppose the ballot measure. He said Californias economic health in two years time could be a key factor in how voters weigh the proposal. Well be in a recession by then, Brown said. So its anybodys guess. Facebook

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Inglewood to destroy more than 100 police shooting records that could otherwise become public under new California law By Jack Dolan Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) The city of Inglewood has authorized the shredding of more than 100 police shooting and other internal investigation records weeks before a new state law could allow the public to access them for the first time. The decision, made at a City Council meeting earlier this month, has troubled civil liberties advocates who were behind the state legislation, Senate Bill 1421, which takes effect Jan. 1. The law opens to the public internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The legislature passed SB 1421 because communities demanded an end to the secrecy cloaking police misconduct and use of force, Marcus Benigno, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said in a statement. Inglewood PDs decision to purge records undermines police accountability and transparency against the will of Californians. California law says police departments must retain records of officer shootings and internal misconduct investigations for five years. The city of Inglewood, however, had kept records longer than that, including case files of police shootings dating to 1991. State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the author of SB 1421, intended for her bill to allow public access to all qualifying records held by a department, no matter the date of the incident. Inglewood City Council approved the destruction of records that have been in the police departments possession  more than 100 cases  longer than required by law. The city staff report and council resolution describing the action makes no mention of the new police transparency law. Instead it says the affected records are obsolete, occupy valuable space, and are of no further use to the police department. It added the traditional method of destroying such records is to shred them. It is unclear whether the records have since been destroyed. A spokesman for the Inglewood Police Department along with Inglewoods city manager, attorney, clerk, four council members and Mayor James T. Butts, a former Santa Monica police chief, did not respond to requests for comment. Inglewoods City Hall is closed the last two weeks of December. The Inglewood Police Department has a reputation for secrecy and using excessive force. In 2008, the departments officers fatally shot four men in as many months, three of whom turned out to be unarmed. The U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe and found significant flaws in the way the department oversaw use-of-force cases and investigated complaints against officers. Civil rights advocates still question why Inglewood police opened fire on a couple found sleeping in a car in 2016, killing them both. California police have a long history of shredding records to avoid scrutiny of their actions. In the 1970s, the LAPD famously destroyed more than four tons of personnel records after defense attorneys began requesting them as part of criminal cases against their clients. The move resulted in the dismissal of more than a hundred criminal complaints. In response, the Legislature demanded that records be preserved but then took other measures, supported by police unions, to ensure the public had very little access to them, making California the most secretive state in the nation when it comes to police misconduct. Skinners legislation begins to unwind those laws, which have been on the books since 1978. No video or audio of the Dec. 11 council action is available on the citys website and neither are meeting minutes or any record of the decision. A city spokeswoman, Courtney Torres, confirmed that the council had voted in favor of the police records purge, and said all the relevant reasons for the decision were included in the city staff report. The Jan. 1 implementation for SB 1421 has prompted other police officials to act. A police union in San Bernardino is asking the state Supreme Court to determine that Skinners bill only applies to incidents that occur in 2019 or later. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore sent a letter to Skinner earlier this month warning that complying with the law in regard to older records in the departments possession could take hundreds of thousands of work hours. Facebook

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Federal officials question California DMVs process for issuing Real IDs (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has notified the California Department of Motor Vehicles that its process for providing residents with federally recognized identification cards is not adequate. DMV spokesman Armando Botello said Friday that 2.3 million residents who received Real IDs under the current process will have to submit additional documentation when their cards are renewed in five years but will be able to use them in the meantime. The DMV is developing a way for residents to submit more documentation online or via email to comply with the stricter federal requirement, he said. But some state legislators are upset about delays in notifying them of the problem and say Homeland Security could eventually require additional documentation provided by current holders. The DMV has known for a month that millions of Real IDs theyve been dolling out are potentially invalid, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) said. The DMVs only hope is that the Department of Homeland Security takes pity on California and gives the DMV more time to fix this mess. Real IDs are a new kind of driver license and identification card that federal law will require legal residents to present when boarding domestic flights or visiting military bases and other federal facilities starting Oct. 1, 2020. The DMV has only been requiring one form of documentation, including a current lease or utility bill, to verify the residence of a card applicant. But the federal government said in a Nov. 21 letter to the agency that two such documents are needed. On Friday, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto released a letter defending the current process but said her agency will start requiring a second document to prove residency in April. In order to minimize confusion among our customers, the CADMV will work to inform individuals who have been issued a Real ID under the current process that their card will be accepted for official federal purposes, even if their renewal occurs after the October 1, 2020, final enforcement date for Real ID, Shiomoto wrote to the federal agency. Legislative officials worry there is still a possibility that those issued Real IDs in the past might be required to present a second document to have their cards designated as compliant. The more complex process for obtaining Real IDs has led to hours-long waits for customers at DMV field offices this year, although wait times have been reduced recently by an increase in staffing. Shiomoto last month announced that she is retiring amid problems with the motor voter registration system and after the governor ordered an audit of her agency in response to the long wait times. On Friday, Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron of Escondido blasted the DMV for waiting a month to tell legislators of the problem. This is unacceptable and flies in the face of security for our citizens, which is what Real ID was created for in the first place, she said in a statement. Facebook

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Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom taps Keely Bosler to be his finance director Keely Bosler, the director of the California Department of Finance, will continue in that role under Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. (California Department of Finance) Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom on Friday appointed Keely Martin Bosler as director of the California Department of Finance, continuing the role she has served under Gov. Jerry Brown since August. Bosler will become Newsoms chief fiscal advisor, and will play a pivotal role in shaping Newsoms spending plan for the state that will lay the foundation for his top policy priorities. Newsom must roll out his first budget plan within days of taking office on Jan. 7. Californias brighter future depends on a strong, stable fiscal foundation, Newsom said in a statement released Friday afternoon. Keely is an accomplished public servant of sound fiscal judgment. She understands that state budgets are more than numbers on a page  they are value statements affecting the fate and future of millions of families reaching for the California Dream. We are fortunate to have her on our team. Prior to being appointed finance director, Bosler served as Browns cabinet secretary for two years and, before that, as the chief deputy director for budget in the Finance Department for three years. Earlier this year, Brown picked Bosler to lead an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles, which had come under fire for long wait times at DMV field offices and numerous computer problems, including errors in the new motor voter program that registered Californians to vote. As we have discussed, long wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles do not reflect the high standards of service that Californians expect from their state government, Bosler wrote in a letter in September to DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. The audit is still ongoing, but Shiomoto has since announced she will retire at the end of the year. Facebook

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Californias legislative analyst, after decades of nonpartisan research for lawmakers, calls it a career Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, who has led the state research unit since 2008, will retire on Dec. 31. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Only five people have led the independent research office of the California Legislature since its creation in 1941. And each of them has had a pretty simple mantra to live by in reviewing public policy proposals and government programs: Call it like you see it. The job of any analyst, to me, is you maintain that nonpartisanship, Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said. Taylor, 65, will retire from the post at the end of December after a four-decade career with the research team that began, as he likes to tell it, just after the passage of the landmark property tax rollback, Proposition 13, in 1978. He became the leader of the office, with the title of legislative analyst, in October 2008. Two months later, state government found itself in arguably the worst fiscal crisis in its history  a projected shortfall that ultimately grew to $42 billion by the following winter. There were forces beyond our control, Taylor said of that time. But dont underestimate the policy changes that were made afterward. Those changes, most notably a boost in taxes paid by high-income earners and a robust state budget cash reserve fund, have helped lead to successive years of fully funded government services. The state is projected to have some $24 billion in reserves by the end of the current fiscal year. Taylor announced his intention earlier to step down this year. Leaders from both houses of the Legislature select the analyst, who leads a staff of almost five dozen researchers. The office provides in-depth reports on pending legislation, as well as on broader policy topics like education and healthcare, and produces an independent analysis for every proposed ballot measure. A succession of lawmakers and governors alike have praised or panned the work of the Legislative Analysts Office based on their own political worldview. Taylor said his staff is mindful that they work for legislators, but try to ignore the rhetoric that follows the release of a major report. People are going to do what theyre going to do with our information, he said. They dont always like it, but they appreciate that we give them our best advice. Taylor oversaw a transformation in the way the Legislative Analysts Office distributes its information, embracing the release of research reports through social media instead of relying on traditional printed copies and journalist roundtable events. But he said the work of the researchers has remained largely unchanged through the decades. Having an independent take on things, I think, is good for the Legislature, he said. No replacement for Taylor has been announced, which means a short transition for his eventual successor before Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom sends his first budget proposal to lawmakers in early January. Taylor, who lives in the Sacramento suburbs, said he will honor the tradition of his predecessors in stepping away from public policy debates in order to give the new analyst space to lead the team as he or she sees fit. He said he hopes to travel in the coming years and spend time with his children who have moved to the East Coast. Forty years in state government, Taylor said in why he was stepping aside now. Isnt that enough? Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown sues to save California sentencing laws By Don Thompson, Associated Press (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown sued Thursday to protect one of his signature actions in office, a voter-approved measure that allows most prison inmates to seek earlier release and participate in rehabilitation programs. His administration filed a lawsuit challenging a pending 2020 initiative that seeks to toughen criminal penalties as part of an effort to roll back reforms adopted by voters within the last decade. Browns lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court contends the measure lacked enough valid signatures to overturn a previously approved constitutional amendment. County officials and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla certified the signatures in July but said they were submitted too late to qualify for last months election. The lawsuit names Padilla and the ballot measures official proponent, Nina Salarno Besselman, president of the advocacy group Crime Victims United. Padilla said the measure exceeded the required roughly 366,000 valid signatures, equal to 5% of votes cast for governor in 2014. Browns lawsuit says he used the wrong threshold. It says changing the state Constitution requires 8%, or more than 585,400 signatures. That makes the pending initiative more than 150,000 signatures short, the lawsuit says. Hes wrong, said Jeff Flint, a spokesman for the campaign backing the measure. He predicted a judge will be reluctant to reject a measure that already has qualified for the ballot. The secretary of state told us how many signatures are required, and thats how many we collected, Flint said. Padillas office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The measure would reverse reforms adopted by voters through Proposition 47 in 2014 and Proposition 57 in 2016. Proposition 57 allows most inmates to seek earlier paroles, and Proposition 47 reduced some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The combination has helped keep Californias inmate population below a population cap set by federal judges. Corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters said the measure gives corrections and parole officials broad discretion to protect our communities and fashion a rational system of rehabilitation and punishment. This new initiative unlawfully seeks to supplant the departments constitutional authority to implement these critical reforms to our criminal justice system. The pending initiative would shorten the list of crimes that qualify for earlier parole and change some theft crimes from misdemeanors back to felonies. It would also increase the number of crimes for which DNA is collected, a list that was limited when some crimes went from felonies to misdemeanors. Those supporting the tougher penalties say easing criminal penalties has increased the number of dangerous criminals on the streets, but those backing the changes say they have helped reduce mass incarceration and rehabilitate convicted criminals. Facebook

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California Supreme Court orders records unsealed in pardon of ex-state Sen. Roderick Wright Former state Sen. Roderick Wright (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times) The California Supreme Court has granted a request to unseal court records involving Gov. Jerry Browns decision last month to pardon former state Sen. Roderick Wright for felony convictions involving lying about living in his legislative district, officials said Thursday. The court order was in response to a request by the nonpartisan First Amendment Coalition, which argued that the public has a right to know what information went into the governors decision to grant clemency to Wright. This is an important victory for public access to court files involving the exercise of executive clemency, said coalition spokesman Glen A. Smith. We are gratified the court has recognized that these decisions should be subject to the same public access rules that apply to other judicial records under California law. The court gave Browns office until Jan. 2 to redact confidential material before giving the court documents that can be released to the public. The court files submitted by the governors office include letters of support for a pardon and an internal review of Wrights case. The court denied a motion to unseal the records of all clemency cases but left open consideration of requests on other individual cases. Browns office is currently evaluating the courts decision, said spokesman Brian Ferguson. The governor argued against unsealing records in a recent court filing that said confidentiality is consistent with historical practice and is supported by state law. In pardoning Wright on Nov. 22, the governor wrote: He has shown that since his release from custody, he has lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law abiding citizen. Facebook

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California political watchdog agency fines BART, urges prosecution over using public funds for campaign A Bay Area Rapid Transit train leaves the station in Oakland in this 2013 file photo. (Ben Margot / AP) Californias state political watchdog agency on Thursday imposed a $7,500 fine against the Bay Area Rapid Transit District and called for a possible criminal or civil prosecution over allegations the district used public resources to campaign for a 2016 bond measure. The state Fair Political Practices Commission levied an administrative fine against BART for its failure to disclose spending on YouTube videos, social media posts and text messages to promote Measure RR, which authorized $3.5 billion in general obligation bonds. Though the panel lacks authority to seek criminal charges over the misuse of public funds, it also urged county district attorneys in the BART service area and the state attorney general to pursue possible criminal or civil charges over the spending of taxpayer dollars for campaign purposes, Commission Chairwoman Alice Germond said. It is the concept of misusing public funds that I think we all here are very disturbed about, and we want to send a warning and not create a precedent that is a minor, little slap on the wrist, Germond said, adding that the referral to criminal prosecutors would further send a message that this is wrong. Commissioner Brian Hatch also called for the state Legislature to consider granting the FPPC power to go after public agencies that spend taxpayer money on campaigns. Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) called on the agency to increase the fine to the maximum level of $33,375. The proposed $7,500 fine represents a slap on the wrist for a very serious violation of the law and the publics trust, Glazer said in a letter to the panel. In supporting the fine recommended by the staff, Germond said BART has agreed to pay the penalty. Somebody did something wrong and they have admitted it, she said. A staff report said there were factors in favor of a fine below the maximum. Although the Commission considers BARTs violations to be serious, the absence of any evidence of an intention to conceal, deceive, or mislead; the voluntary filing of the delinquent campaign statement; and the absence of a prior record are mitigating, the report said. Facebook

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California police union seeks state Supreme Court review of new law disclosing internal investigation records Los Angeles Police Department officers. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A police union is asking the California Supreme Court to block the release of internal officer investigations before a new state law takes effect next year. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Employees Benefit Assn. filed a petition Tuesday asking justices to rule that only investigations of incidents that occur after Jan. 1 would be available under the law  and not those the department has on file from years prior. The litigation comes after this years passage of Senate Bill 1421, which opens to the public for the first time internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, and the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department has told the union it intends to make available in response to public records requests all the information it has. The union is very concerned about any plans to retroactively apply Senate Bill 1421, Grant Ward, the unions president, said in a statement. We believe retroactive application violates our members rights and we hope the California Supreme Court will consider the serious issues raised by our legal challenge. The bills author, Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), does not agree with the unions interpretation. She has said her legislation should apply to all the records in a police departments possession because the law simply declared that affected records were no longer confidential. If the record exists, its disclosable, Skinner said. A decision on what records will be available under the law is key to how far-reaching it will be. If the court restricts access to incidents that occurred prior to 2019, those cases will not be subject to public scrutiny. The police union in San Bernardino County is not the only one raising concerns about the law. Earlier this month, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore sent a letter to Skinner expressing concern that his agency would be overwhelmed if the law required the department to disclose older incidents. Even if the law only applied to the previous five years, Moore wrote, it could take nearly 300,000 hours of work to comply with its provisions. The LAPD operates with a guiding principle of Reverence for the Law; as such, we will diligently comply with SB 1421, Moore wrote. We maintain, however, that a retroactive implementation of SB 1421 will be exceptionally burdensome and would require significant reallocation of front-line investigative personnel. Skinner said if complying with the law becomes untenable for law enforcement agencies that maintain records for a long time, she would consider modifications. But she said agencies did not raise this concern during discussion over the bill. SB 1421 went through multiple committee hearings, multiple floor debates, extensive opportunity for all parties to weigh in on concerns with its structure, she said. That was not an issue that was raised by law enforcement at the time. Facebook

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Gov. Brown warns of backlash for Republicans in 2020 if Obamacare repeal is upheld Gov. Jerry Brown at the National Press Club in April. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown warned Republicans on Tuesday that repeal of the Affordable Care Act would devastate the partys political chances in the 2020 election. Brown, speaking at a Sacramento Press Club event moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton and Brown family historian Miriam Pawel, said a federal judges ruling last week to strike down the 2010 law  if upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court  will build such a backlash that the Democrats will not only take over the Senate, theyll win the presidency and will win with the kind of momentum, particularly on the issue of healthcare, that [the law] will be replaced probably with something even better. The governor, who leaves office in less than three weeks, said he did not believe the ruling by a Texas judge would ultimately prevail. I think the decision will probably be overturned, Brown said. Few states have embraced the law championed by former President Obama more than California, both through its healthcare exchange, Covered California, and by expanding access to government-funded services under Medi-Cal. Some 12 million Californians now receive healthcare through Medi-Cal, and Brown said a final ruling affecting the federal dollars that subsidize that care would be a serious blow. California would not be able to afford it without the subsidy, the governor said. Facebook

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Bars in Los Angeles, San Francisco could stay open until 4 a.m. under new bill A bar in Sherman Oaks (acuna-hansen) For the third year in a row, a California lawmaker is trying to keep bars open until 4 a.m. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation that would allow Los Angeles, San Francisco and seven other cities to extend the sales of alcohol in bars, clubs and restaurants by an additional two hours. Nightlife brings people together, fosters creativity and innovation, supports small businesses, and creates middle-class jobs, Wiener said in a statement. Its time to embrace our nighttime economy and give our cities the tools they need to foster the best nightlife possible. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill by Wiener, writing: I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem. Should this years measure, Senate Bill 58, advance through the Legislature, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom would decide whether to sign it into law. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has endorsed SB 58, saying the city should have more flexibility than it does now. Every community has its own needs, and cities should be able to make informed decisions about what nightlife hours make sense for residents, visitors, and neighborhoods, Garcetti said in a statement. The bill would create a five-year pilot program where Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Coachella, Cathedral City and Palm Springs could decide to allow restaurants and bars within their cities to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. with the approval of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Facebook

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Bars in Los Angeles and San Francisco could stay open until 4 a.m. under new bill A bar in Sherman Oaks. (Acuna-Hansen) For the third year in a row, a California lawmaker is trying to keep bars open until 4 a.m. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation that would allow Los Angeles, San Francisco and seven other cities to extend the sales of alcohol in bars, clubs and restaurants by an additional two hours. Nightlife brings people together, fosters creativity and innovation, supports small businesses and creates middle-class jobs, Wiener said in a statement. Its time to embrace our nighttime economy and give our cities the tools they need to foster the best nightlife possible. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill by Wiener, writing: I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem. Should this years measure, Senate Bill 58, advance through the Legislature, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom would decide whether to sign it into law. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has endorsed SB 58, saying the city should have more flexibility than it does now. Every community has its own needs, and cities should be able to make informed decisions about what nightlife hours make sense for residents, visitors and neighborhoods, Garcetti said in a statement. The bill would create a five-year pilot program where Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Coachella, Cathedral City and Palm Springs could decide to allow restaurants and bars within their cities to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. with the approval of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Facebook

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Californias DMV director announces retirement amid problems with motor voter program (Kent Nishamura/Los Angeles Times) The director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles will retire at years end with a number of questions unanswered about the implementation of a major voter registration system and long wait times experienced by customers for much of the past summer. Jean Shiomoto will not continue in her current role as Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom takes office, and announced to staff several weeks ago her intent to retire at the end of the year after 38 years in state service, spokesman Armando Botello said in an email to The Times on Friday. Newsoms transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who might lead the department in 2019. Shiomoto was appointed DMV director by Gov. Jerry Brown in the fall of 2013, having served in prior leadership roles with the department. DMV officials have been sharply criticized by lawmakers in recent months for delays in serving customers at its field offices across the state. Last week, DMV officials revealed errors in registering California voters for the November election  mistakes that followed a series of problems in the rollout of the states new motor voter registration system. Secretary of State Alex Padilla last week said he had lost confidence in Shiomotos leadership as a result of the voting registration problems. Facebook

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New law could break the stalemate over housing on the site of a near-vacant Cupertino mall By Liam Dillon For more than a decade, developers have tried to build new housing on the site of an all-but-empty mall in Cupertino, a city in the heart of Silicon Valley and home to Apple headquarters. A well-organized group of neighbors, upset about traffic, building heights and the potential loss of the communitys suburban lifestyle, turned away every plan. Now, for the first time, the stalemate might be broken  thanks to a decision made in the state Capitol. In an effort to address Californias housing affordability problem, legislators passed a law last year that requires cities and counties to approve housing projects if they comply with local zoning rules and other standards, forcing some resistant communities to agree to new homebuilding. In September, the city of Cupertino, citing the state law, approved developer Sand Hill Property Co.s proposal to build an office park and more than 2,400 homes where the Vallco Shopping Mall sits. Read More Facebook

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Local government was a last bastion for struggling California Republicans. Not anymore By Mark Z. Barabak Theres no shortage of watery metaphors to describe the disaster that befell California Republicans this midterm election. A blue wave. A Democratic tsunami. But the most apt may be a flood, with the casualties steadily rising as the vote count climbed in the days and weeks following Nov. 6. Eventually half the GOP congressional delegation was washed away, along with the entire slate of statewide Republican candidates. In Sacramento, Democrats claimed 29 of 40 state Senate seats and seized three-quarters of the 80-member Assembly  the largest number since 1883, when Chester A. Arthur was serving in the White House. Read More Facebook

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For the Republicans left in Californias Legislature, fewer lawmakers will have to do more work By John Myers From January to late summer every year, the California Legislature is a perpetual motion machine. And in the new year, the people most likely to struggle in keeping up will be Republicans, vastly outnumbered but still responsible for representing millions of the states residents. There are 22 standing committees in the state Senate, plus at least a dozen more subcommittees or special committees. And after Novembers election, only 11 Republican senators will be left to divvy up the work. To the victors go the spoils. To the vanquished go the extra assignments. Read More Facebook

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Californias DMV failed to finish registering 329 new voters before November election (Los Angeles Times) Officials at the California Department of Motor Vehicles said Friday that the agency failed to send information for 329 new voters to state elections officers in time for the November election, the latest revelation in a string of mishaps regarding voter registration. Secretary of State Alex Padilla responded with a blistering letter, calling on Gov. Jerry Brown or Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to replace Jean Shiomoto, the DMV director. The Director of DMV has lost my confidence and trust, Padilla wrote. In all, the agency revealed that 589 mailed voter registration records that should have been processed under election deadlines werent sent to Californias secretary of state until late November, including forms from 260 drivers who had intended to update their address on existing voter registration records. The DMV had been instructed to not send registration forms that came in after Oct. 22, but the voters in question had forms that were postmarked before the deadline. In some cases, when the postmark wasnt legible, the agency said, documents inside indicated the voter had intended to finish their registration in time for the Nov. 6 election. The DMV recognizes the pause in transmittals was an error and affected the timing of the registration of the 589 individuals referenced above relative to the November election, Shiomoto wrote in a letter to Padilla on Friday. The pause was due to a misunderstanding on the part of the department, for which we take responsibility. Those who were trying to update their address for voter registration would not have been blocked from casting ballots. But officials said its unclear whether any of the 329 new voters were able to participate in the election. Shiomoto said in her letter that DMV will work with elections officials. The errors were not related to previous DMV mistakes about registering voters, problems associated with the rollout of the states new motor voter law. In those cases, multiple registration forms were sent to local elections offices for some voters, some people were assigned the wrong political party preference and others who are noncitizens were incorrectly placed on the list of registered voters. DMV officials have yet to respond to questions posed by The Times over the last several weeks about who knew of those mistakes and when. Facebook

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Newsom appoints a labor advocate and a former staffer as his chief deputy Cabinet secretaries By Taryn Luna A labor advocate and a San Francisco political operative have accepted positions in Gov.-elect Gavin Newsoms new administration. Angie Wei, a Capitol insider with deep ties to organized labor in California, will serve as a chief deputy Cabinet secretary with a focus on policy development. As a legislative director and chief of staff at the California Labor Federation, Wei has represented more than 1,200 unions and 2.1 million workers in Capitol fights over a host of policy issues, including drug-pricing transparency and paid family leave. The governor-elect also tapped Jason Elliott, a policy advisor to Newsom during his time as mayor of San Francisco and a chief of staff to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, as another chief deputy Cabinet secretary overseeing executive branch operations. Elliott and Wei will serve under Ana Matosantos, Newsoms previously
Brett Kavanaugh, a lawyer for the George W. Bush White House, offered some advice 20 years ago to a judicial aspirant seeking Senate confirmation: Dont talk about your policy positions, show respect for Supreme Court precedent and reveal no ideological agenda.

Its a recipe that well served Kavanaugh, now President Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court, as he wrapped up his Senate confirmation appearance Thursday.

After two days of often confrontational questioning, Kavanaugh remained calm and revealed very little new information about his views on abortion or presidential power. He made no major flubs and steered clear of the contentious political atmosphere around Trump  all while trying to project a friendly, basketball-dad persona.

With Republicans in control of the Senate, Kavanaugh now appears on track to be confirmed by the end of the month. Youre gonna get confirmed, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told him. Youre gonna make it.

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Democrats landed a few blows in their bid to block or slow the appointment of Kavanaugh, who many expect to provide the fifth solid conservative vote on the Supreme Court to restrict abortion rights, environmental regulations and affirmative action.

On Thursday, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee succeeded in forcing Republicans to release nearly 100 additional pages of documents about Kavanaughs work in the Bush White House. In one, he questioned whether Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, was settled law. In another he criticized a minority-contracting program as a naked racial set-aside.

Among the newly released documents was his 2002 game plan for surviving confirmation battles.

But none of the disclosures seemed to raise significant concerns among the remaining undeclared senators whose votes hell need for confirmation.

As is common for modern-day Supreme Court nominees, Kavanaugh  a longtime GOP lawyer who was on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for the last 12 years  spent most of his time avoiding direct questions about what he would do on the court.

Democrats repeatedly tried and failed to get Kavanaugh to discuss his views on several issues, notably presidential power  or more specifically, Trump.

They are concerned whether a Justice Kavanaugh would rule for Trump if the president were to fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III or take other action to impede the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trumps own possible misconduct.

In the past, Kavanaugh often lauded Justice Antonin Scalias lone dissent in a 1988 case in which he argued that the independent counsel investigations of Reagan administration officials were unconstitutional because they infringed on the presidents power to control all officials who exercise executive power. In Morrison vs. Olson, Scalia said the Constitution gives that power exclusively to the president.

Just last year, Kavanaugh cited Scalias dissent as the basis for an opinion for the D.C. Circuit Court that declared unconstitutional the structure of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau because the presidentially appointed director was protected from being fired by the president, except for good cause.

Democrats wanted to know whether Kavanaugh would view Muellers appointment as unconstitutional because he cannot be fired except for good cause.

Faced with those questions, Kavanaugh discounted the Morrison decision as old and outdated. It was a one-off case about a one-off statute that no longer exists, he said. The Independent Counsel Act was not renewed by Congress in 1999, and Mueller was appointed under regulations adopted by the Justice Department.

But Democratic senators said the same principles of executive power still apply. Would it violate the Constitution or the law, asked Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), for the president to fire the special counsel?

Kavanaugh avoided the question. Youre talking about a statute not in effect since 1999, he said.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) quoted a 1998 memo in which Kavanaugh, then a young lawyer working for independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr, slammed the smear campaign approved by President Clinton to undercut that investigation.

Have your views of presidential smearing changed? Whitehouse asked, noting that Trump has repeatedly slammed Mueller and his rigged witch hunt. Kavanaugh refused to comment. I dont think I should talk about current events, he said.

What about Trumps campaign comment that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburgs mind was shot and she should retire, asked Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Im not going to get within three ZIP Codes of a political controversy, Kavanaugh said. As judges, he added, we stay out of politics. We dont comment about comments by politicians.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) pressed Kavanaugh  as she had on Wednesday  about on whether hed had any conversations about the Mueller investigation with anyone at a law firm founded by one of the presidents lawyers. Kavanaugh avoided answering the question several times on Wednesday, but offered a more definitive no on Thursday. Harris said she had reliable information that such a discussion took place, but offered no evidence.

The day began with a bitter clash among senators over whether emails and documents related to the candidates views on race, affirmative action and abortion were improperly withheld from public view.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and other Democrats said the emails in question should never have been restricted since they had nothing to do with personal information or national security. Bookers office released several of the documents, which had been marked committee confidential, meaning they were not to be shared publicly.

Republicans immediately accused Booker of violating Senate rules. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas called Bookers conduct unbecoming, and said the violation could result in punishment or even removal from the Senate.

Bring it, Booker responded, knowing Cornyns threat was an empty one. Expelling a senator requires a two-thirds vote, which Republicans cant achieve without considerable Democratic support.

The theatrics in the normally staid Senate ended up being moot. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) had approved the public release of the 98 pages of emails earlier Thursday, a point that he didnt reveal publicly until hours later.

Even so, the documents may not have come to light without Democrats pressuring GOP lawmakers to release them. Thousands of pages of emails from Kavanaughs time in the White House have been limited from public view by claims of confidentiality.

In one 2001 email, Kavanaugh, then working in the Bush administration, referred to some Transportation Department regulations to assist minorities as a naked racial set-aside.

In another email, from 2003, Kavanaugh questioned whether legal scholars would agree the landmark abortion ruling in Roe vs. Wade was considered settled law. He noted that several conservative justices were prepared to overturn it if they had a majority.

Altogether, Republicans say they have released more than 295,000 pages of executive branch documents about Kavanaugh. But many of the emails released Thursday were mundane, including out-of-office replies, scheduling notes and duplicate messages sent to dozens of people.

Though it did not appear that the controversy over the documents would be enough to prevent Kavanaughs confirmation in the GOP-controlled Senate, the Democrats attacks on the process may chip away at a Supreme Court appointment that Republicans were hoping would provide tailwinds heading into the midterm election.

The fight over documents related to Kavanaughs record has been raging for weeks. Democrats say that they need more time to review the documents and that the public has the right to review the nominees full record.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) complained that Trump was still withholding 102,000 pages of Kavanaughs White House counsel office records. She called Republicans frequent designation of documents as committee confidential a crock.

Republicans say they have released more documents about Kavanaugh than have been released for any previous Supreme Court nominee. Democrats are using the issue to delay his confirmation or score political points, they say.

Further underscoring the politics of the documents debate Thursday, Grassleys office said Democratic staff members were notified early that morning that the documents were going to be made public. Apparently, some just wanted to break the rules and make a scene, but didnt check their email, his spokesman said. Sen. Grassley had already answered their last-minute requests.

GOP attorney William Burck, who has been vetting Bush White House documents, said his office had already told Booker that the documents in question would be released.

We cleared the documents last night shortly after Sen. Bookers staff asked us to, Burck said in a statement. We were surprised to learn about Sen. Bookers histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly.

The latest from Washington 

jennifer.haberkorn@latimes.com

david.savage@latimes.com

sarah.wire@latimes.com

UPDATES:

5:10 p.m.: This article was updated with more comments from Kavanaugh and others.

12:25 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Sen. Charles E. Grassleys office and GOP attorney Bill Burck.

This article was originally published at 8:45 a.m.
President Trump lashed out at an unknown gutless advisor and at the New York Times after the publication Wednesday of an opinion piece from the anonymous aide alleging that officials throughout the administration are working to thwart the presidents ill-informed, impulsive and erratic instincts and amorality.

According to the author, members of Trumps Cabinet were concerned enough about his instability that early on they discussed invoking the 25th Amendment to start off a complex process to remove him from office.

Trumps angry tirade over the piece, and his later suggestion that the author is treasonous, came amid increasing frustrations for the president, who has been fuming publicly about a forthcoming book, Fear, by journalist Bob Woodward. Using hundreds of recorded interviews, including of anonymous administration officials, Woodward paints a detailed portrait of Trumps White House as a dysfunctional Crazytown, a pejorative he attributes to Chief of Staff John F. Kelly.

The latest attack on his fitness for office offered twin targets to Trump, a man who is prone to telling supporters he is a victim of a conspiracy between a deep state and media enemies of the people to destroy his presidency. Yet the published indictment from an official within his administration was an all but unprecedented act against an incumbent president.

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In an essay titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration, the author wrote of the president: The dilemma  which he does not fully grasp  is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous, it continued. But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.

The writer said that the early talk of invoking the 25th Amendment had been abandoned because no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis.

The New York Times posted a special editors note explaining why it took the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. It said the editorial page editors know the authors identity but withheld it to protect the authors job and to deliver an important perspective to our readers.

Trump did not see it that way.

Can you believe it? Anonymous, Trump said at the White House, with sheriffs from around the country gathered behind him. Meaning gutless. A gutless editorial.

Later he sent out a one-word tweet in capital letters: TREASON?

Just after receiving an award from the group of sheriffs, Trump, prompted by a reporters question, launched into defiant remarks that veered between exaggerated boasts of unmatched economic success and angry denunciations of the failing New York Times and the unnamed official.

Nobody has ever done, in less than a two-year period, what weve done, Trump said. So when you tell me about some anonymous source within the administration, probably whos failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons.

Someday, when Im not president, which hopefully will be in about six and a half years from now, the New York Times and CNN and all of these phony media outlets will be out of business, folks, he said, to applause from some sheriffs.

Theyll be out of the business, because there will be nothing to write and there will be nothing of interest, Trump continued.

He then asserted that the media has a different agenda than him, saying, Its about disaster in crime for our country.

So they dont like Donald Trump and I dont like them, because theyre very dishonest people, he added, to more scattered applause and laughter from the sheriffs.

Minutes after delivering the broadside, Trump posted a video of his impromptu comments for his 54.2 million Twitter followers under the headline The Failing New York Times!

A bit later he tweeted, If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders put out an additional statement, denouncing the papers decision to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed and calling it a new low for the so-called paper of record.

The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected president of the United States, she said. Assuming the person is male, Sanders added, He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign.

The forceful response came at the end of a two-day stretch in which Trump repeatedly denounced Woodwards book, pointing to rebuttals from Kelly and Cabinet members including Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who are depicted as denigrating Trump as an idiot with the policy understanding of a child. Rather than let publicity over the book die quietly, Trump, as he often does, sought to confront it.

CNN reported that Trump ordered a real witch hunt throughout the administration to identify the aides who cooperated with Woodward. Early speculation, however, focuses on former aides as primary sources, including fired national security advisor H.R. McMaster, former chief economic advisor Gary Cohn, who left in March, and former staff secretary Rob Porter, who resigned in February amid allegations of spousal abuse.

The book is a work of fiction, Trump said, countering journalists and public officials in both parties who came to Woodwards defense. If you look back at Woodwards past, he had the same problem with other presidents. He likes to get publicity. He sells some books.

Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington 

noah.bierman@latimes.com | Twitter: @noahbierman
Tens of thousands of Californians have been registered to vote incorrectly by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, including some who were assigned the wrong political party preference, officials said Wednesday.

Officials insist the errors were limited to 23,000 of the 1.4 million voter registration files sent to elections offices between late April, when Californias new automated motor voter system went into effect, and early August. Californians who were affected will soon receive notifications in the mail instructing them to check their voter registration status.



For the record: A previous version of this story reported that officials said no noncitizens were mistakenly registered to vote. State officials said no people in the country illegally  who are eligible to get a special drivers license in California  were mistakenly registered to vote.

Jean Shiomoto, the states DMV director, and Amy Tong, director of the California Department of Technology, described the problem as an administrative processing error in a letter to Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Californias chief elections officer.

We are committed to getting this right and are working closely with the Secretary of States office to correct the errors that occurred, Shiomoto said in a written statement. Tong declined to comment beyond the letter.

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The errors, which were discovered more than a month ago, happened when DMV employees did not clear their computer screens between customer appointments. That caused some voter information from the previous appointment, such as language preference or a request to vote by mail, to be inadvertently merged into the file of the next customer, Shiomoto and Tong wrote. The incorrect registration form was then sent to state elections officials, who used it to update Californias voter registration database.

Theres shorter waits at Californias DMVs, but agency says theres still work to do 

A small number of the mistakes  officials estimated around 1,600  involved people who did not intend to register to vote. State officials said no people in the country illegally  who are eligible to get a special drivers license in California  were mistakenly registered to vote. An unknown number of errors included voters whose political party preferences were changed without their consent. Officials did not provide additional details about the errors they uncovered during a monthlong investigation.

State officials said they found the errors by comparing DMV records, which had the correct information, with what was sent to elections officials. Californians also undoubtedly saw mistakes in their mailbox: Anyone who registers to vote is sent a card with their registration information.

Officials said Wednesday that a fix has been put in place to prevent additional mistakes.

The mistakes came less than four months after other problems surfaced with the rollout of Californias motor voter system, mandated by state law to register any U.S. citizen to vote who applies for or renews a license at the DMV. That error  potentially thousands of cases in which multiple registration documents were generated for a single voter  was caught before the June primary. The timing of the new error, officials said, should not cause problems for any Californian who changes registration information before the November election. County elections officers across the state were also briefed Wednesday.

Padilla, who said he was extremely disappointed and deeply frustrated with the mistakes, said he remains confident in the ambitious new voter registration program.

I hope this doesnt detract from the otherwise overwhelming success that motor voter has been, he said.

The mistake also comes at an inauspicious time for Californias motor vehicles agency, which is the focus of widespread criticism for long lines that formed at many of its field offices over the summer. Officials have scrambled to bring in several hundred additional workers to shorten the waits, the agency announced Wednesday ahead of the announcement about the voter registration mistakes.

In the letter sent to affected DMV customers, Shiomoto said she sincerely apologizes for this inconvenience and urged voters to check their registration status online.

john.myers@latimes.com

Twitter: @johnmyers

UPDATES:

7:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information that clarifies how many new registrations were created by the DMV error.

This article was originally published at 4:50 p.m.
Surrounded by TV news cameras, Republican John Cox chatted with weary Californians stuck in long lines at a Sacramento DMV office and joyfully blasted Democratic leaders for turning the agency into a model of inefficiency.

The appearance was primed to be a much-needed publicity coup for the gubernatorial candidate  until he compared the wait times to the Holocaust.

You know, I met a Holocaust survivor in Long Beach, Cox said to a man waiting inside. He survived concentration camps, and he said this was worse. Hes 90 years old and he had to wait four hours down in Long Beach. Can you imagine that?

The statement is the latest in a string of gaffes and eyebrow-raising comments the candidate has made over the past year. Cox blamed his blunders on the fact that hes not a silver-throated politician, part of his effort to cast himself as a successful businessman and Capitol outsider.

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Coxs comments have emerged as an issue in his campaign against Democrat Gavin Newsom, who is ahead in most polls in this left-leaning state. They also come at a time when the concept of  and consequence for  a political gaffe is changing. President Trump, who had endorsed Cox, made numerous statements on the campaign trail that pundits thought would end his political career, but had little effect.

While he pitches himself as a relative newcomer to politics, Cox has run for office before, including two unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, and a quixotic bid for president in 2008.

In just the past year, Cox was heckled during a gubernatorial debate in January after saying the nation should welcome legal immigrants who can pick the fruits and vegetables on California farmlands. He has also boasted about owning three homes and said homeless people who are addicted to drugs should be incarcerated in hospitals.

Newsom has largely avoided similar missteps in the race, but has faced criticism about his own past, including an extramarital affair.

Still, his campaign has already seized upon some statements Cox made more than a decade ago, including comments on abortion and gay rights, to portray him as out of touch with Californians. Cox has said he opposed abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. And in a 2007 presidential debate, he warned that the push for LGBTQ rights might open the floodgates to polygamy and bestiality and all kinds of other things.

Cox still opposes abortion but says, regardless of his personal beliefs, he would abide by the law. He has since renounced his statement on LGBTQ rights saying that, as with many in the country, his views have changed.

Like many Californians, my views have evolved over the last decade. I concluded that [opposing same-sex marriage] was inconsistent with my support for individual liberty, limited government and the right to privacy, Cox said in a statement released earlier this year.

The Newsom campaign condemned Coxs past statements.

The vile and hateful views that emanate from Coxs mouth  his comparing being gay to bestiality, his support for criminalizing abortion even in cases of rape, and his denials of climate science  have no place in California politics, Newsom campaign spokesman Nathan Click said.

But such statements might not generate the political fallout they once did, Sacramento State political scientist Kim Nalder said. President Trumps almost daily incendiary tweets and comments have become so commonplace that many Americans may be growing numb to political blunders, she said.

I think we as a country have become a little more immune to political gaffes in the Trump era because its just a daily occurrence, Nalder said. We hear outrageous things that would have been disqualifying for anyone else in our political history.

See full coverage of the California 2018 midterms 

Newsom is no stranger to controversy or blunders. While mayor of San Francisco, Newsom publicly acknowledged having an affair in 2005 with his then-appointments secretary and the wife of a top aide, and also said he was seeking help for a drinking problem.

Shortly after he was elected to that office, Newsom and then-wife Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom were profiled by Harpers Bazaar as The New Kennedys. For the article, they were photographed stretched out across a rug inside the Pacific Heights home of Ann and Gordon Getty, heirs to the Getty oil fortune.

The Democrat was also ridiculed on Comedy Centrals The Colbert Report when he was pitching his 2013 book, Citizenville, which called for the better use of technology by governor. On the show, Newsom slipped into Silicon Valley speak, and host Stephen Colbert called him out on it.

Big is getting small, and small is getting big  technology has the ability to level the playing field, Newsom said.

What the ... does any of that mean? Colbert asked, triggering laughter from the audience.

How gaffes affect a campaign depends on whether they confirm the doubts and fears voters have about a candidate or political party, Nadler said. For example, Latinos could be wary of the GOP on issues such as immigration, she added.

During Californias 2010 governors race, Democrat Jerry Brown compared Republican challenger Meg Whitman to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, a comment he later said was taken out of context.

Cox said the same thing about his comments comparing the DMV to the Holocaust, calling it an innocent mistake that was blown out of proportion by media outlets thirsty for headlines and clicks.

He said he flubbed recounting what the 90-year-old Holocaust survivor told him, that the DMV reminded him of the long lines seen in pre-World War II Germany and Latvia.

His story stuck with me not only because of the gravity of speaking with a Holocaust survivor, but because my mother was Jewish and this subject always compelled the utmost respect and attention in our home, Cox said in a statement. While recounting the conversation with the gentleman in the DMV while I was in Sacramento, I attempted to convey his frustration and, in paraphrasing his comments, I misspoke. I certainly apologize to that gentleman, and to anyone that may have been offended. Im not as polished as some others in the public eye.

But the damage was done. Capital Public Radio recorded Coxs comments on tape.

Cox also had some explaining to do after the first major gubernatorial debate in January, hosted at USC, when asked how he would respond to the Trump administrations immigration policies if elected governor. Cox said the country has border security problems and that he supported Trumps proposal to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, but added that the nation has benefited greatly from immigrants who come to the country legally.

We also need to welcome people who can contribute to the American dream, who can pick the fruits and vegetables that have made California number one in agriculture, Cox said as he appeared to get flustered by sounds of disapproval from the audience. Wait a minute. They also start the businesses of the future that employ all of our people. Youve got to let me finish, people. We need to have people who come to this country who contribute.

Weeks later Cox also heard groans from the audience during his closing statement at a debate hosted by Univision at UCLA. Cox talked about his mother earning a degree in Spanish from Berkeley and teaching in Chile.

She spoke Spanish like a native. I visited with Latino doctors all my childhood. I love the Latino people, Cox said. But I love the law and I love California. I love California, and I want to change this state. We have to transform this state to make it affordable, to make it work for all of us.

Cox also has been quick to notice when hes uttered something he knows will cause a stir.

During an interview hosted by Mark Baldassare, president of the Public Policy Institute of California in San Francisco, Cox blamed the states Democratic leadership for Californias lack of affordable housing and the growing homelessness crisis, two of the main issues of the 2018 campaign. But he ended the interview with a comment that called attention to the vast difference between his wealthy lifestyle and that of Californians desperate for a decent place to live.

I love this state, I have three homes here, Cox said, quickly realizing how that sounded. I can hear my PR guy having a heart attack, but I want people to know Ive made an investment here. I love it. Ive been successful. Ive been lucky. Im not going to apologize for it.

Bill Whalen, a fellow at Stanfords Hoover Institution who was a speechwriter for former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, said Coxs gaffes might have been more politically costly if voters considered him to be a credible threat to Newsom in November.

But Cox has nowhere near enough money to wage a full-force television ad campaign, essential in a state as large as California, and recent polls show he lags far behind Newsom, he said.

Gaffes are troublesome if people are paying attention. If a gaffe happens during a presidential debate when 30 million people are watching, thats a problem, Whalen said. How many people are watching the California governors race now? Not many.

Times staff writer Mini Racker contributed to this report.

Meet John Cox and Gavin Newsom, the candidates for California governor 

Coverage of California politics 

phil.willon@latimes.com

Twitter: @philwillon

Updates on California politics
Look to Laguna Beach to be the place once again where art and nature intersect.

The Laguna Art Museum is hosting its sixth-annual Art & Nature festival Nov. 1 to 4.



For the record: An earlier photo caption for this article incorrectly credited Laura Siapin. The photo is, in fact, courtesy of Eric Stoner.

The highlight of this multidisciplinary gathering will be sculptor Elizabeth Turks Shoreline Project  a commissioned, site-specific performance on Nov. 3 involving 1,000 volunteers holding LED-illuminated umbrellas at sunset on Main Beach.

Marinta Skupin, the museums curator of education, said its significant that this years Art & Nature outdoor artist hails from Orange County.

Since 2018 is Laguna Art Museums centenary and we are celebrating the history of the museum and of Laguna Beach as an art community, we thought it appropriate to select an artist from this community for the centennial-year Art & Nature commission, she said.

Other Art & Nature events will include a keynote lecture by Jane Munro of the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge; a film screening; a panel discussion; and a free family festival exploring art and the natural world.

To kick things off, local galleries will present nature-inspired exhibitions during the First Thursdays Art Walk on Nov. 1.

The theme of Art & Nature speaks particularly to the identity of Laguna Beach, which for over a hundred years has been a center for art, the appreciation of nature and environmental awareness, Malcolm Warner, executive director of Laguna Art Museum, said in a statement. In 1929, when the Laguna Beach Art Assn. built an art gallery to show and sell their work, they chose a commanding location on the coastline close to the natural wonders they loved to paint. The present museum occupies the same site. There could be no more appropriate venue in which to explore the art-nature connection.

Warner helped conceive Art & Nature in 2013, and since then, the festival has commissioned and helped present a number of prominent outdoor artworks and installations.

Its a very healthy and exciting thing for the Laguna Art Museum to get outside of its own walls, Warner said before last years Art & Nature festival.

Other artists who have created large-scale outdoor works during this festival include Lita Albuquerque, Laddie John Dill, Pablo Vargas Lugo and Philip K. Smith.

In 2014, Art & Nature won an Art Star Award for outstanding arts collaboration from the Laguna Beach Arts Alliance in recognition of the museums outreach with community organizations.

Turk, a 2010 MacArthur genius grant winner and recipient that same year of the prestigious Annalee & Barnett Newman Foundation award, was born in Pasadena and raised in Orange County. She is known for her eerie, mysterious marble sculptures that resemble spines, skeletons and organic structures. In October 2014 to January 2015, she had a solo exhibition at Laguna Art Museum called Sentient Forms. The exhibit complemented the museums second annual Art & Nature presentation.

Her Shoreline Project is an evolution of the artists Seashell X-ray Mandala series, which was also featured in her solo Laguna show. The 1,000 performers will converge on the shoreline in both spontaneous and choreographed movements.

Lara Wilson-Townsend is the choreographer for the rehearsed segments. Dancers from Chapman University, Laguna Beach High School and the Ryman Foundation are scheduled to participate. Viewers are expected to watch from the surrounding cliffs, buildings and the Main Beach boardwalk.

It [will be] a moment that will allow individuals to exchange self-consciousness for happy community involvement, Turk said. It is a memorial to the many shells gathered and taken home from our beaches. It is a time to think of the commonalities between humans and nature, bringing awareness to our shoreline. And, afterwards, it will live on as a shared memory between strangers and neighbors.

Turks seashell x-ray mandala designs will decorate each umbrella canopy, said Laura Siapin, Turks project manager.

So when they light up at night, they will almost look like jellyfish or twinkling stars or sea creatures from far away, she said, creating a surrealistic impact.

These sculpted umbrellas will be carried by community participants along Lagunas Main Beach at sunset, Turk said. Viewed from the cliffs and filmed from above, the performance of 1,000 glowing shells moving together will be magical.

It will be like the Seashell X-ray Mandalas on steroids, Siapin said.

On Nov. 2, Munro will deliver the Art & Nature keynote lecture, Charles Darwin: Art, Nature and Beauty. Munros research interests and publications have focused on British and French art from the 18th to 20th centuries.

A recipient of Frances Chevalier des arts et lettres honor, she is keeper of paintings, drawings and prints at the Fitzwilliam Museum in England. Shes also director of studies in the history of art at Christs College, Cambridge.

On Nov. 4 at 2 p.m., the museum will host an Art & Nature Family Festival, which will include interactive art, nature and science activities; environmental information booths and face painting. Admission will be free.

For more information, or to volunteer to participate in Turks outdoor performance, call (949) 494-8971 or visit lagunaartmuseum.org.

Richard Chang is a TimesOC contributor.
Rachel Buffett, who is accused of being an accessory after the fact for her former fiance, convicted double murderer Daniel Wozniak, went on trial Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court.

Buffett, who was arrested in 2012, is charged with three felony counts of accessory after the fact or knowledge of a crime.

The families of Wozniaks victims, Sam Herr, 26, and Juri Julie Kibuishi, 23, sat in Judge Sheila Hansons courtroom to hear opening statements from Matt Murphy, senior deputy district attorney, and David Medina, Buffetts defense attorney.

Murphy described Wozniak as a diabolical genius, telling jurors to what lengths the community theater actor from Costa Mesa went when he needed money for rent and his upcoming wedding and honeymoon with Buffett.

Murphy alleged that Buffett lied, dodged questions and changed her story during interviews with detectives who told her they believed Wozniak was involved in the two killings.

But Medina painted Buffett as a victim who fell prey to Wozniaks lies. He called Buffett a star witness who offered boatloads of incriminating evidence against Wozniak.

Ask yourself, was she trying to get away with murder? Or assisting Costa Mesa police in convicting him? Medina said.

During Murphys hours-long statement, he recounted Wozniaks plan in detail. For jurors to hold Buffett accountable, Murphy said, they need to understand details on murder to understand [her] role and put these puzzle pieces together.

In May 2010, Murphy said, Wozniak plotted to kill Herr, his neighbor at the Camden Martinique apartment complex in Costa Mesa. He wanted to steal $62,000 that Herr had saved from serving in the Army in Afghanistan.

Wozniaks Google searches showed pressure was starting to build as his wedding date with Buffett drew nearer, Murphy said.

His searches in May included best all-inclusive sandals, beach and theater destinations, how to fake thumbprints, how loud shotgun and how to hide a body, the prosecutor said.

After shooting Herr at a Los Alamitos theater, Wozniak used Herrs phone to lure Kibuishi to Herrs apartment, where Wozniak shot her twice in the head, Murphy told jurors.

Murphy showed transcripts of text messages in which Wozniak pretended to be Herr in order to lure Kibuishi.

Wozniak asked Kibuishi if they could go on a walk, just the two of them, Murphy said.

Please no sex. I need to talk to someone. Im really not doing well, Wozniak texted Kibuishi.

She responded: Lol ew Sam we are like bro and sis. No sex.

After performing in a play, Wozniak dismembered Herrs body so he could hide it at El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach. He staged the scene of Kibuishis slaying to appear as though Herr had raped her and fled, Murphy said.

Wozniak was arrested at his bachelor party days after the killings after ATM withdrawals from Herrs bank account led police to him. Police said Wozniak confessed to both slayings after he called Buffett from jail.

In a recording of the call played for jurors at his trial, Wozniak learned police would soon discover a bag of evidence, including the murder weapon.

He was convicted in December 2015 of two counts of murder and was later sentenced to death.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
Home  Just In  From the Kathmandu Press: Thursday, September 6, 2018

Major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Thursday have give priority to a host of issues from political, sociocultural and economic affairs. They have reported that a meeting between transport officials of Nepal and China on finalising the protocol to transport treaty is heading towards a conclusion. Likewise, a Supreme Court verdict on negligence of doctor in a years-old case has also been highlighted as the new criminal code has stricter provisions for doctors involved in such cases. Meanwhile, the time allowed by the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee to file complaints against Chief Justice nominee Om Prakash Mishra has expired, and the newspapers have reported about the complaints received.

The nomination of Naveen Kumar Ghimire for the Chief of Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority has also been prioritised.

Few other issues from various sectors have been featured on the front pages of major newspapers today.

Important

China agrees to let Nepal use all ports

China is positive about letting Nepal use all of its ports so as to access other countries, report Gorkhapatra, Karobar, Abhiyan and The Himalayan Times.

During a two-day meeting held between officials of the two countries in Kathmandu, China expressed its readiness to meet Nepals demand, the newspapers report, adding the meeting, however, is yet to make any formal decision.

The bilateral meeting is scheduled to conclude today.

Four complaints against Mishra

In the allocated time of 10 days, the Parliamentary Hearing Special Committee received four complaints against Chief Justice nominee Om Prakash Mishra, according to Gorkhapatra, Rajdhani and Nepal Samacharpatra.

Three of the complaints are about verdicts he made earlier whereas one questions why he did not have the migration certificate of proficiency certificate level, Rajdhani reports in its lead story.

Meanwhile, Nepal Samacharpatra says the Committee will now begin an investigation into the complaints.

Supreme Court calls for caution in use of new law

Annapurna Post, Nagarik, Abhiyan and Republica have reported that the Supreme Court has called the government and stakeholders to adopt maximum caution in the use of criminal cases in the cases related to negligence of medical doctors.

Issuing the final verdict on a nine-year-old case, a division bench of justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Sapana Pradhan Malla has stated that if medical negligence is accepted as a criminal liability, the remedy would be through restorative justice rather than promoting conflict between the two parties, according to the reports.

Ignored

Nepal map on the national emblem is erroneous

Annapurna Post claims in its top story for the day that the national emblem the government and its agencies contains an erroneous map of the country. The wrong map has a shorter width on the northwestern part.

The Department of Survey has been urging the government to correct the emblem, the it has not been heeded.

Significant decline in the number of students in TU

Naya Patrika reports in its lead story that the number of students in Tribhuvan University, the oldest and biggest university of the country, has decreased by around 250,000 in past four years.

Whereas 604,437 students were enrolled three years ago, the number of students this year is just 367,427, according to the report.

Govt closes school tiffin programme

A government programme to provide free tiffin to students of selected schools in a bid to encourage them to attend classes regularly has been closed, Kantipur reports.

The UNs food security agency, World Food Programme, was sponsoring the project that came into existence in 2001.

Meanwhile, some experts have objected to the decision, claiming the government tried to ignore its responsibility towards the education sector. The government, however, has claimed the programme is not necessary now as other various programmes do the same thing.

Kathmandu to boast smart parking facilities

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City is preparing to construct smart parking facilities in three places of city in a bid to solve traffic congestion caused by haphazard parking, according to Nepal Samacharpatra lead story.

The local government has called for an expression of interest from the interested contractors to build the facility in Dharmapath, the report says, adding similar facilities will be constructed in Darbarmarga and New Road.

NOC raises fuel prices

According to a snippet in The Himalayan Times, Nepal Oil Corporation has increased prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas. From Thursday, petrol, diesel and kerosene will cost Rs 112, Rs 98 and Rs 98 respectively.

Likewise, a cylinder of LP gas will cost Rs 1,400.

Interesting

Taxi is costlier than aeroplane

Kantipur reports in its lead story that per kilometre fare of taxi in Kathmandu Valley is more than the fare of an aeroplane.

Lawmaker Bharat Kumar Shah during a meeting of the House of Representatives raised his concern over the high taxi fare, claiming people are being cheated by the cabbies.

Shah also presented statistics to support his claim.
Jenn Diaz was never much of a reptile person. But despite that, the Huntington Beach resident and her family have become regulars at the Reptile Zoo over the seven years theyve lived nearby.

Admittedly, Im not what you would call a snake person, but [the owner] Jays passion for reptiles is contagious, she said. [Her 11-year-old son] William now wants a ball python.

Located in Fountain Valley, the Reptile Zoo, which recently celebrated its ninth anniversary, is part of the Prehistoric Inc. company founded by Jay Brewer that also includes the reptile retail store Prehistoric Pets and Jurassic Parties, which offers hands-on educational experiences at birthday parties.

Along with its anniversary, the Reptile Zoo recently celebrated a massive renovation that began in November 2017 and cost about $120,000. The expansion added 3,000 square feet.

But along with an extensive permitting process and a city-mandated 25-day closure of the zoo, the renovation wasnt without challenges.

We went through a lot, but its so worth it now, said Laura Brewer, chief operations officer and Jays daughter. Its nice to know that it worked itself out perfectly.

The improvements included a 1-ton python exhibit housing 10 giant pythons in a cage larger than most New York apartments, according to Laura.

The new Casa de Tortuga exhibit is home to several 200-plus-pound rescued sulcata tortoises, which can be hand-fed veggies by guests. Theres also a new Life Cycle Learning Zone, where guests can see baby pythons and their mothers. And then theres the turtle pond with a tropical living wall. Guests can feed the turtles special worms available at the zoo.

The renovation added a wing that included about 50 new enclosures. However, Laura said, the goal of the expansion was not to greatly increase the number of species on display but rather to provide larger and more natural environments to the existing reptiles.

Because of its zoo status, the Reptile Zoo is approved to exhibit some reptiles that are illegal to sell, including alligators and snapping turtles. And though the mission wasnt to add species, guests can expect to see a few additional animals that have been approved for exhibit by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Those include the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the canebrake timber rattlesnake and the Gaboon viper.

Its really about making it a better place, Laura said of the renovation.

Though her family enjoyed the Reptile Zoo before the expansion, the renovated facility gives them the chance to see more species, Diaz said.

It also allows for larger tanks for all of the animals, she said. They also have a new breeding/baby room where you can see the snake eggs incubating.

For Jay, the renovation was really a 23-year process, because he first dreamed of it all those years ago when he changed his companys name from Pet Country to Prehistoric Pets and moved to the current location.

Its just a completion of a lifelong dream, you can say, Jay said.

Jessica Peralta is a TimesOC contributor.
It is widely believed that Councilman Scott Peotter has been retained by Mayor Marshall Duffy Duffield to assist with Duffields boat manufacturing business (Newport activist seeks state investigation of whether councilman works for mayors business, Sept. 4).

The refusal of Duffield and Peotter to answer the simple question: Does Peotter work for Duffield? is very troubling. Duffield refuses to voluntarily answer the question, and Peotter calls it a rumor.

This is not some political gotcha issue. Residents have a right to know if Peotters vote can be influenced by compensation Duffield pays or doesnt pay to Peotter or affect a vote over resource allocation between Duffields and Peotters districts.

Duffield is required to recuse himself on most harbor issues. However, Peotter votes on these issues, some of which may financially benefit Duffield. Is this allowable under conflict-of-interest laws? Should Peotter also be recusing himself because Duffield could be a source of income to Peotter? What about the City Councils duty to police itself and the city attorneys independent duty to assure that council is acting lawfully?

Duffield and Peotter should be asked directly, under oath if necessary, so city business can be conducted in the open without fear of conflicts of interest. And then, depending on the answers, council members should conduct themselves in a lawful, transparent way without even the appearance of a conflict.

Mike Henn

Newport Beach

The letter writer is a former Newport Beach mayor.

Just answer the question

At the West Newport Beach Assn. forum, Mayor Marshall Mayor Duffield flat out refused to answer the question about whether Councilman Scott Peotter works for him. Its time for Duffield and Peotter to answer the question.

On Aug. 14, the council approved contracts to provide maintenance services in the harbor. Duffield declared he had a source of income conflict of interest on this matter. If Peotter is indeed working for Duffield, shouldnt he also have recused himself?

Tricia Nichols

Corona del Mar

Consult grandparents before redesigning Lions Park

My granddaughters and I appreciate the shade of larger trees, shade sails or the fortunate flow of winds to cool our parks. The need for shade is very important for our health and enjoyment of playing at the park.

In my opinion, Smallwood Park was ruined by the redesign. There is no shaded seating area close enough to supervise young children. The slides get so hot they cant be used. When trees are removed, shade covers must be installed. I implore the city to do this at Smallwood Park.

Mayor Sandy Genis inquired a few months ago how Lions Park might be redesigned like Smallwood? I give that question a resounding no.

Lions Park must retain the airplane, the large trees and benches that ring the playground, and open the bathrooms. We must resist plans to make the park match the modern architecture of the library. Please consult parents and grandparents on any redesign of Lions Park. (As should have been done on the redesign of Smallwood Park.)

Margaret Mooney

Costa Mesa

Its time to rescind gas tax increase

Gov. Jerry Brown and other legislators in Sacramento were furious when they found out the initiative will be on the ballot and plan on spending millions in propaganda ads to try to keep the gas tax increase in place.

What exactly is Sacramentos reason to inflict this tax on its constituents? If they can keep the gas tax in place, then Sacramento could proceed with a major water tax, a major cell phone tax and, the biggest threat of all, reversing Proposition 13!

I have had enough of the liberal socialists running our state. We need honest new leadership and open, transparent accountability in Sacramento that is willing to work hard to rebuild California with good old Ronald Reagan-style common sense.

Russ Niewiarowski

Newport Beach

How to get published: Email us at dailypilot@latimes.com. All correspondence must include full name, hometown and phone number (for verification purposes). The Pilot reserves the right to edit all submissions for clarity and length.
Most members of Temple Sinai of Glendale remember the late Rabbi Carole Meyers for her historic presence in their lives  serving from 1986 to 2001, she was the first female rabbi to lead a congregation throughout Greater Los Angeles.

Beyond that distinction, those who knew the La Canada Flintridge wife and mother of two recall her warmth and authenticity as a spiritual counselor as well as her constant search for the presence of God in everything around her.

Meyers sermons  faithfully inscribed each week on yellow legal pads and kept to a strictly enforced eight-page limit  dealt honestly with matters of life and death, of living with and through loss and making sense of the human experience. It was an approach that won hearts and helped the Reform temple grow its membership by half during her tenure.

Ralph Zarefsky, who came to the Glendale synagogue one month after Meyers arrival, partly out of curiosity to see a female rabbi, recalled the captivating power of her sermons.

She was a very compelling speaker, he recalled. She had a very lyrical voice, a very smooth speaking style and an encompassing demeanor. She just made you want to be engaged.

Zarefsky and Meyers were mutually attracted. The couple were wed in late December 1990.

Although she left Temple Sinai in 2001 to devote more time to her two young sons, regroup and seek out a new direction, Meyers personal and spiritual ties to the congregation remained strong all the way up to her swift death from cancer in 2007 at age 50.

The community was shocked by her passing, unable to understand how someone so vivid and alive could suddenly be gone. For a time it seemed the wealth of sermons shed delivered since her ordination in 1983, after graduating from Hebrew Union College in New York, would disappear with her.

Zarefsky, today a retired federal magistrate judge, could not let that happen. A year after his wifes death he began sifting through her legal pads, stored in four bankers boxes, with the thought of compiling them in a book.

It was quite a process, he recalled of the side project. I read them all and just picked out the ones that seemed the best.

After years of reading and sorting, and with the help of others willing to transcribe the handwritten sermons into a digital format, Zarefsky had completed his labor of love.

The result, Leaning on God: The Sermons of Rabbi Carole L. Meyers, was published by Steel Cut Press in June. The 278-page book comprises 40 sermons categorized into sections: Loss, Evil and Faith; the World Around Us; Our Emotional Lives; Change and Ritual; and God.

I wanted to leave a memorial for our sons, Zarefsky, since remarried, said of 25-year-old Joe and Gus, 21. [But] I also felt she had something to say to the larger community. For people whove never heard her speak, I think it will open something up.

For those who knew and loved Rabbi Carole, the new book offers a cherished window of remembrance.

La Crescenta resident Pilar Apodaca Oppenheimer began attending Temple Sinai, where her husbands family worshiped, in 1988 and converted to Judaism about a decade later. She said Meyers influence and teachings played a large role in her decision.

She definitely, in her sermons, moved me and many others to a place of feeling connected to the bigger whole of humanity, and to live in a manner that respected that connection, Oppenheimer said. When she spoke you felt elevated to a different realm.

Oppenheimer looks forward to revisiting the sermons from Leaning on God with her two sons and their having the opportunity to do the same with their children.

Rabbi Susan Goldberg of Los Angeles Wilshire Boulevard Temple credits Meyers for her own decision to enter rabbinical school at a pivotal time in her life.

Meeting her kind of brought it all together in a way I hadnt expected, she recalled. It was really meaningful to learn with her and from her because she lived the teachings.

Goldberg said she is grateful to now have a collection of her mentors words.

Theres a special poignancy for those of us who knew her but also for people who didnt know her to receive the teachings, she said of Zarefskys book. Its great what hes done.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
She read in the morning paper that the decision was coming, so the 24-year-old masters student skipped classes Thursday and came to the Supreme Court building flanked by two friends. As they heard the courts landmark ruling that overturned Indias colonial-era ban on same-sex intercourse, the young women hugged and one cried.

Were not criminals anymore, she said.

But as dozens of activists celebrated on the lawns outside the court, the young woman wearing a short haircut and gold-rimmed spectacles remained in a corner with her friends, shooing news photographers away. She lives at home and is not ready to come out to her parents.

Hers was a private celebration, yet one joined by millions of Indians both closeted and outspoken who cheered a historic victory for civil rights in the worlds largest democracy.

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A five-judge panel voted unanimously to overturn Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, ending a two-decade legal battle against one of the most hidebound relics of Indias colonial past. The law criminalized intercourse against the order of nature, which was taken to mean same-sex relations even between consenting adults, and imposed a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

Prosecutions under the law were rare, but many gay and transgender Indians said the law was sometimes used as a tool of intimidation and extortion.

In a 500-page ruling that invoked ideals of equality, morality, individual choice and even the very nature of love, the judges delivered a thundering denunciation of the 157-year-old statute introduced by British rulers at the peak of priggish Victorian-era values  and upheld by the same Indian Supreme Court just five years ago.

Gay rights activists watched in Mumbai as news channels broadcast from outside the Supreme Court, where a verdict on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was to be delivered. (Rafiq Maqbool / Associated Press)

Section 377 is irrational, arbitrary and incomprehensible, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said, adding that Indias LGBTQ community possesses the same equality as other citizens.

Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud wrote: What makes life meaningful is love. The right that makes us human is the right to love. To criminalize the expression of that right is profoundly cruel and inhumane.

The ruling signaled how far India has come in a short time to become more accepting of its gay and transgender citizens but only decriminalized sexual acts. India still does not permit same-sex couples to marry, adopt or inherit property.

This fight doesnt end here, said Keshav Suri, a 33-year-old hotelier who was one of several citizens who filed suit challenging the law. Suri burst out of the courthouse after the verdict was read and exclaimed to his French husband, whom he wed in Paris last year: Marry me again!

Even with other fights ahead, he said, this was a victory to relish.

Im illegal no more, he said. Im in the shadows no more. Im in the darkness no more.

The sweeping verdict appeared to surprise even the laws most ardent opponents, some of whom had wondered whether the judges would strike it down on narrow privacy grounds without affirming the broader rights of LGBTQ Indians.

This is not a narrow, do-what-you-want-in-your-bedroom type of decision, said Menaka Guruswamy, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. This is so much wider than that, and the fact that many of the justices linked this to the idea of freedom and consent, that it was unanimous, that all of them looked to India as a constitutional democracy  its huge.

Britain decriminalized homosexuality in 1967  poet Oscar Wilde and mathematician Alan Turing were among those prosecuted under anti-gay laws  but similar statutes remain in place in dozens of former British colonies, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

Activists hoped Indias ruling could spur changes elsewhere. The South Asia director for Human Rights Watch, Meenakshi Ganguly, called it a momentous step that will resonate around the world.

By striking down criminalization of same sex relations under #Section377 India's #SupremeCourt has taken a momentous step that will resonate around the world. Over 70 countries, including many in the Commonwealth, that still have such discriminatory laws should also repeal. @hrw  meenakshi ganguly (@mg2411) September 6, 2018

Activists had battled to overturn Section 377 in the courts since the 1990s, when the Naz Foundation, an organization working with HIV patients and to promote sexual health, filed one of the first legal challenges calling for homosexuality to be decriminalized.

In 2009, a court in Delhi overturned the law, ruling that it violated freedoms enshrined in the Indian Constitution.

But after appeals by religious and other groups, the Supreme Court reinstated Section 377 in a controversial 2013 decision, arguing that the legislature should decide the laws fate.

In February 2016, the high court said it would reexamine that ruling, reflecting growing acceptance of LGBTQ Indians.

Top officials from the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party government also signaled support for decriminalizing homosexuality, which some said had marred Indias standing in the international community.

From The Times: Meet the activists who helped fight Indias ban on gay sex 

This year, the Indian government said it would leave the matter to the Supreme Court. But in a nod to its hard-line Hindu supporters  some of whom regard homosexuality as unnatural  the government said it reserved the right to comment on issues that could come before the court later, including gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples.

Guruswamy, the lawyer, said the wide-ranging nature of the verdict raised hopes that it could be used to further expand LGBTQ rights.

The fact that is located so heavily in the larger question of non-discrimination makes me very optimistic about the future, she said.

Anand Grover, a lawyer representing the Naz Foundation, said the ruling showed that the future is for everybody.

The majoritarian thinking cannot decide morality, Grover said. Their right to equality, non-discrimination, privacy, dignity is as available as to everybody else. We have to build an inclusive society.

Yashwinder Singh, a 38-year-old LGBT activist and one of the petitioners in the case, jostled his way out of the courtroom even before the justices had finished reading excerpts of their statements, to share the news with those who could not get in to witness history.

In the narrow corridor outside, Singh was greeted with relieved hugs. A young man held up a poster that read: Love is Gender Less.

Pulling a rainbow-colored scarf from his bag, Singh said: This is a huge relief but our work will actually start now. It will help us counter the stigma associated with homosexuality in society now that the law supports us. Its the first step.

Special correspondent Masih reported from New Delhi and Times staff writer Bengali from Mumbai, India.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Shashank Bengali is South Asia correspondent for The Times. Follow him on Twitter at @SBengali

UPDATES:

10:20 a.m: This article was updated with additional reaction to the courts ruling.

8:30 a.m.: This article was updated with additional interviews.

6 a.m.: This article was updated with comments from a plaintiff and additional background.

This article was originally published at 1 a.m.
Jair Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed Thursday during a campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening.

Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, whose platform includes cracking down on crime in Latin Americas largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach. The candidate was seen flinching after the attack before going out of view.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago said Bolsonaro had been stabbed and that his attacker was arrested.

Santiago said Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, and was in good condition.

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Bolsonaros son, Flavio Bolsonaro posted on Twitter that his father is doing fine.

The wound was superficial and he is OK, wrote Flavio, who also asked for prayers for the family.

A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest.

Bolsonaro, a former Army captain, is second in the polls to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider seeking to upend the establishment.

While he has a strong following, Bolsonaro is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.

He also speaks nostalgically about the countrys 1964-85 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

Other candidates quickly denounced the attack.

Politics is done by dialogue and convincing, never with hate, tweeted Gerado Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Bolsonaro.

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take Lulas place on the Workers Party ticket, called the attack absurd and regrettable.
Iraqi protesters stormed and set fire to a provincial government building in the southern city of Basra despite a curfew imposed by authorities Thursday to try to quell demonstrations against poor public services and unemployment that have turned violent.

Three protesters were shot dead by security forces, according to a medical and a security official. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

Iraqs popular Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada Sadr called for an urgent parliamentary session to discuss the situation in Basra province, Iraqs second largest and home to about 70% of the OPEC members vast oil reserves.

Twelve civilians have been killed since the start of the month in confrontations between demonstrators and police, according to Iraqs Independent High Commission for Human Rights, which said 93 civilians and 18 security forces were injured.

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The protests showed no sign of abating Thursday evening as hundreds of young men took to the streets, shouting, Peaceful, peaceful. Several government buildings have been attacked in the last few days of protests that have spread throughout the city.

In a televised speech, Sadr said that the parliament session should be held no later than Sunday and that the prime minister and other officials should attend the session or resign.

The populist clerics supporters won the most seats in national elections this year, but Iraqs feuding factions have yet to form a new government. The snowballing protests cast a further shadow on those efforts.

A provincial official with state-run Iraqi Ports Co. said authorities closed the vital Umm Qasr port on the Persian Gulf since late Wednesday, fearing sabotage. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information, wouldnt say when operations will resume.

Brig. Gen. Saad Maan, an Interior Ministry spokesman, announced a curfew in Basra starting at 3 p.m. Thursday, citing intelligence reports of possible attacks on government offices. The government has said the protesters demands are legitimate, while blaming the violence on saboteurs. The curfew announcement was ignored.

Residents of Basra and other cities in Iraqs southern Shiite heartland have been protesting since July over endemic corruption, soaring joblessness and poor public services. Clashes erupted earlier this week, leaving several civilians and police dead. Prime Minister Haider Abadi has ordered an investigation into the violence.
Britains security minister said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for the nerve agent attack targeting a former spy in England, also warning that the U.K. would counter Russian malign activity with both overt and covert measures.

Ben Wallace said Putin, along with his government, controls, funds and directs the military intelligence unit known as the GRU, which Britain believes used Novichok to try to kill ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalized for weeks in critical condition after they were exposed to the Soviet-developed nerve agent in the city of Salisbury on March 4. They are recovering in a secret location for their own protection.

In the nearby town of Amesbury, local woman Dawn Sturgess died and her boyfriend Charlie Rowley was sickened after they came across remnants of the poison in June.

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Britain on Wednesday announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  names that are likely aliases. Prime Minister Theresa May said the murder attempt had been approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Moscow strongly denies involvement in the attack, and Russian officials said they didnt recognize the suspects.

Britain plans to press its case against Russia at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday.

The Skripals poisoning ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled by both Russia and Western nations. But there is limited appetite among Britains European allies for further sanctions against Moscow.

Wallace told the BBC that Britain would push back the Russian malign activity with whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities.

He said Britain would challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way.
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This post was written by my fabulous intern, Shannon Marie, whos starting up her junior year in college right now. I hope to have her back next summer.

New York, New York. Home of non-stop excitement, creativity, and the office locations of some of the most high-profile companies in the world. And with high-profile companies come competitive and desirable student internships. But one of the biggest deterrents for potential interns in the city that never sleeps is financial woes. Many college kids worry if the experience of a few months of career insight in New York is worth the seemingly eminent bankruptcy. But, this student intern is here to tell you otherwise. Heres a list of 5 key tips and tricks to keep yourself financially afloat for a summer (or longer) in New York City as an intern.

1. Start with Money in Hand

It is definitely possible to thrive in New York without a salary job, but that being said you should definitely still have some savings to start, my suggestion being at least $2000-$3,000. Chances are wherever you are sub-letting (if staying with relatives for free then disregard this) will require first months rent and a hefty security deposit to match upfront, and on top of that it unless you are receiving a large stipend it will usually take at least two weeks to a month before you start receiving any form of financial compensation from your employers. If you dont have at least $2000-$3000 to spend, and are not staying anywhere for free, Id suggest reconsidering your time here.

Tip: Dont have much in savings? Use FastWeb.com as a resource to find summer scholarships to help fund your stay. Membership is free and opportunities for extra financial support for students are endless.

2. When it comes to living, think function over form

Living in a spacious one bedroom apartment in Manhattan with big windows and a great view may be the dream, but as an intern most likely pulling in minimum wage its not going to happen. Sub-leasing is your friend, as you will definitely be renting a small room in an apartment or townhouse rather than an entire place. Doing this in Manhattan is attainable in Upper West side neighborhoods like Harlem and Washington Heights, but be prepared to have very cramped quarters, frequently with doubled-up rooms. If you feel it is necessary for both your privacy and sanity to have your own room, Id suggest looking into Queens or Brooklyn for your summer setup, the neighboring boroughs still fully give you the New York City experience, but without the astronomical Manhattan prices.

For an affordable sublease in a neighboring borough youre probably going to have to sacrifice a more convenient commute. Sure, maybe a room under $900 in Williamsburg or Long Island City may pop up once in a blue moon, but realistically for a Manhattan internship and a room for $850 or less per month look into staying in central Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, Flatbush, and Crown Heights, or Astoria in Queens, these locations are going to have the most affordable room deals with a functional commute to the city. I currently sub-lease a small bedroom with both a window and a decent sized closet (the two can be rarities) along with three other individuals in Central Bed-Stuy that is near direct subway lines to both my internship and my second job, with groceries and laundry only a short walk away. Is it my ideal long-term living place? No! But for my budget it suits all of my basic needs and thats what matters.

Tip: For sub-leasing in New York, use Craigslist, it is going to be your best resource for finding the best affordable options quickly and efficiently. Make sure to sort ads by newest, and if you see something that works in terms of both price and commute, capitalize on it immediately, chances are it could be off the market within the next 24 hours.

3. Get a side job

The full-time paid internship is a rarity for most university students, youre more likely to find yourself with a two-three-day part-time commitment, sometimes unpaid. So, a second, or even third job is necessary for making ends meet. Whether it is in retail, food & hospitality, or another office position, if you can score an additional $13-15 per hour setup three-four days a week you will be much better off, and maybe even make enough money to buy luxuries like clothes and dessert every once and a while. Waiting tables /bartender experience is a big plus coming into the city as well, as those will be the types of job where you will be pulling in the highest wages and the most tips.

Tip: Working in a cafe or restaurant can mean free, or at least half-price food, which can cut back on the need to purchase groceries so often. I work in a cafe with a full kitchen at the moment, and as a result havent needed to buy my own food in weeks.

4. Save, dont spend, no matter how tempting it may be

One of the most challenging things about moving to New York is how tempting, and how easy it is to spend a large amount of money in a short amount of time. Delicious and desirable items are literally on every corner. But, it is important to save as much as possible if you are interested in ending your time as intern with some extra money, or at the very least breaking even from where you started.

In addition to the temptation of spending money another challenge is the fact that basic utilities, like laundry and transit, can add up as well. Free laundry is essentially nonexistent, and if not spending smartly the MTA can suck you dry of your funds. The easiest way to navigate cost in New York would be setting a weekly budget cap. For example, I try to only spend a maximum of $150 per week, though easier said than done. There will be some weeks where I have to refill my MTA card, buy groceries, and pay rent all around the same time and my $150 budget cap flies out the window. But besides those hectic weeks where it seems like my entire life is being billed all at once, Ive found a $150 per week budget cap is very manageable.

Tip: Fill your MTA card by time, not by ride, as shelling out $120 upfront for a month of transportation may seem painful, but the unlimited rides that come with it can save you up to $80-$100 in pay-per ride per month.

5. Remember to Have (affordable) Fun

Its hard to feel like youre having fun sometimes when youre working full-time up to 7 days a week and constantly feeling the need to check your bank balance, but it is definitely possible. For one, friendship is free, and the number of new friends and important career connections youll make in New York City is worth all the financial woes. City parks are also free, and New York has quite a few of them. After what seems like an eternity shuffling from building to building for work, a nice picnic at Central Park, or even a trip to the beach on a day off is a great way to relax and recharge. Lastly, even though this list advises budgeting to the max, if youve been working hard and spending smart for a while, why not get that ice cream cone, or that cool shirt in the department store youve been wanting? You deserved it.

Tip: Befriend a full-time New Yorker for residency discounts at museums like the Met and the Museum of Modern Art, a day at the museum is a lovely way to spend time off, especially if the entry price is cut down to $5. Also, always remember to ask if a student discount is an option wherever you go, youd be surprised at how many places offer them.

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Dhaka, September 6

Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation Barshaman Pun has said that bilateral cooperation in energy between Nepal and Bangladesh will benefit both the countries.

Addressing a programme organised in Dhaka, Minister Pun said the an agreement regarding energy trade has been signed between the two countries and this has begun a new chapter in bilateral cooperation.

The minster urged Bangladeshi investors and energy entrepreneurs to invest in Nepals energy and hydropower sectors, saying that political stability has now been established in Nepal.

He said, We are ready to construct the projects in any model and ready to create environment for the same.
Breaking News McCombs Wins Mayors Race; E-SPLOST Passes Easily

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Marshall's football team got its most complete effort of the 2021 season, taking care of the football and limiting big plays in a 38-0 win over FIU on Saturday afternoon at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Home  Just In  Nepal delegates post-quake reconstruction works to local governments

Kathmandu, September 6

The National Reconstruction Authority of Nepal government has delegated the post-earthquake reconstruction works to local governments.

A meeting of the Authoritys Steering Committee held at Singhadarbar on Thursday made the decision to let municipalities and rural municipalities carry out reconstruction works.

The meeting also decided that district level authorities will monitor the reconstruction works.

The Authoritys Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyewali informs that the Authority will distribute reconstruction grants on the basis of recommendations made by the local governments.

He adds that all quake survivors listed for the grant, except those living in urban areas and traditional and integrated settlements, will receive the final tranche of grant by the end of this fiscal year.
China Economy Sneezed Will the World Catch Cold?

The markets are getting downright ugly. If things dont turn up soon we could be at the point at which the Everything Bubble begins to burst.

While US stocks have performed relatively well recently, globally things are looking worse and worse.

Germanys DAX never reclaimed its former high established back in January. Instead its been carving out a massive Head and Shoulders pattern. Germany is the fourth largest economy in the world and heavily reliant on exports for growth. This chart pattern doesnt bode well for global trade or growth.

South Korea is another export-focused economy that serves as a bell weather for global growth. This is particularly true given its connection to Asia (China accounts for 25% of SKs exports, while ASEAN countries account for another 14%).

South Koreas stock market, the KOSPI, has lost its bull market trendline (blue line). It is now struggling to reclaim former support (red line). This again suggests global growth and trade have slowed dramatically.

And finally theres China: the second largest economy in the world, and the primary driver for economic growth in the post-2008 business cycle. Here again, weve lost the bull market trendline (blue line). And China has since been rejected at former support (red line) multiple times.

Just one of these charts would be a warning to investors but all three together suggest that global growth has completely crashed. All around the world, the peak was in January 2018 and since that time most markets have been in MAJOR downtrends if not outright bear markets.

On that note, we are putting together an Executive Summary outlining all of these issues as well as whats coming down the pike when the Everything Bubble bursts.

It will be available exclusively to our clients. If youd like to have a copy delivered to your inbox when its completed, you can join the wait-list here.

Do NOT delay there are fewer than 67 slots remaining.

https://phoenixcapitalmarketing.com/TEB.html

Graham Summers

Phoenix Capital Research

http://www.phoenixcapitalmarketing.com

Graham also writes Private Wealth Advisory, a monthly investment advisory focusing on the most lucrative investment opportunities the financial markets have to offer. Graham understands the big picture from both a macro-economic and capital in/outflow perspective. He translates his understanding into finding trends and unde74rvalued investment opportunities months before the markets catch on: the Private Wealth Advisory portfolio has outperformed the S&P 500 three of the last five years, including a 7% return in 2008 vs. a 37% loss for the S&P 500.

Previously, Graham worked as a Senior Financial Analyst covering global markets for several investment firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. Hes lived and performed research in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

 2018 Copyright Graham Summers - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Graham Summers Archive

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




Even though western Montana emerged from the 2018 wildfire season relatively unscathed, smoky summers and record-breaking fires will be the norm in a future driven by climate change, a pair of University of Montana fire ecologists emphasized Wednesday.

As Montanans enjoyed the clear, blue skies of early fall, UMs Cathy Whitlock and Philip Higuera joined Dave Dittloff, National Wildlife Federation Conservation Partnerships director, in a conversation about the perceptions and realities of wildfire in the West.

As paleo-ecologists, Whitlock and Higuera study past wildfires to better understand fire behavior. But what they see is that wildfires today are very different because of the Earths changing climate.

By Laura Lundquist
There will be delays, but whether folks like it or not, the project will move forward. MDT is set to start construction next year.

The Montana Department of Transportation is working to stop deaths and accidents on one dangerous intersection in Helena. MDT hosted a public meeting tonight to explain how a roundabout could fix issues on York Road.

"This project is a safety project. Its not designed to increase the capacity of the intersection. Our 100 percent, number one concern is reducing serious and fatal crashes at this location," said Michael Grover, Traffic Engineer with the Montana Department of Transportation.

By Bliss Zechman, News Reporter

http://www.kulr8.com/story/39034626/mdt-says-york-road-roundabout-in-helena-could-save-lives
Last spring, a billboard appeared in the Bitterroot Valley. It featured six pissed-off-looking locals and a demand aimed at Ravalli Countys five-member commission: "Respect public lands." The same photo and message were duplicated on yard signs distributed throughout the county by a group of citizens calling themselves Our Land, Our Legacy. Four months later, the commission asked Attorney General Tim Fox to investigate the campaigns funding sources.

Alex Sakariassen

https://missoulanews.com/coverstory/public-lands-are-montana-s-latest-wedge-issue-what-s/article_0c218b80-b149-11e8-bb78-7fc9a0e62d29.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
At some point in the coming months, a diesel locomotive will pull the last freight train out of Kalispell.

The train will travel past the CHS Kalispell grain elevator and the Northwest Drywall warehouse, and rumble behind the Kalispell Center Mall before crossing U.S. Highway 93. It will then slowly roll past the old railroad depot on its way toward Woodland Park, where it will turn north on its way out of town forever.

By Justin Franz
Kathmandu, September 6

Paila Technology has won the Creative Business Cup (CBC) organised by Antarprerana Pvt Ltd., a startup promotion company.

The event was held in Kathmandu on Wednesday.

The competition saw a total of 15 companies who were competing for an opportunity to participate in the Global Creative Business Cup 2018 being held in Denmark in November.

Creative Business Cup (CBC) is a global year-round initiative that empowers entrepreneurs in the creative industries. It empowers entrepreneurs in the creative industries, connects them to investors and global markets and strengthens their innovative capabilities towards the benefit of industry and society.

These startups were evaluated on the basis of a fixed framework provided by CBC Foundation and also on the basis of the pitches presented by the participants during the event.

The evaluation committee consisted of Ambica Shrestha, Prateek Pradhan, Anupama Khunjeli and Williem Grimminick.

The event received an overwhelming response from investors, mentors, entrepreneurs, organisations and participants. It was observed by around 200 visitors including established entrepreneurs, journalists, students and others.

The winner of CBC Nepal has now got an opportunity to pitch their business ideas in November in Copenhagen, Denmark competing alongside other national winners from over a hundred countries for a chance to win 7000 Euros and other special facilities.
Home  Just In  Will remind New Delhi of past promises, Dahal says before leaving for India

Kathmandu, September 6

Chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said he will remind the Indian leadership of past promises it has made with Nepal during his India visit beginning today.

Before flying to New Delhi this afternoon, Dahal told media at the Tribhuvan International Airport that he would target creating an environment for implementation of agreements made between two countries over different occasions.

During his brief stay in India, Dahal will hold a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi among other leaders.

I do not have any political agenda. I will raise the issues of development, Dahal said, It includes the promises made by the Indian Prime Minister in his address to Parliament here, and commitments made for post-reconstruction works.

Dahal said he would also discuss agreements made between the two Prime Ministers during recent visits to each other.
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Congress returned to work this week with their main focus to get the government funded before the end of September.

Concern is growing that Congress could pass a continuing resolution (CR) in this midterm election year instead of fully funding the government in fiscal 2019.

Congress has only 10 legislative days left to do their business before the current fiscal year ends on September 30.

Even though both the House and Senate have moved a number of their defense spending bills faster than they have in decades, they have not gotten over the finish line.

[SEND A MESSAGE TO CONGRESS: Please let your members of Congress know you support their efforts to stay on pace and get this important legislation passed before the end of September. Click here and act now.]

Given Congress has not successfully passed all of its annual spending bills before the end of the fiscal year since the 1990s, Washington insiders and Congressional Quarterly's John Donnelly, speculate there is a 50/50 chance for a CR to begin FY2019.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee, made a statement that took aim at his colleagues in the House. If the House works with us as expeditiously as we were working, or close to it, we will fund most of the government, he said. "If they don't, then we will reach an impasse.

Time on the calendar and competing priorities, such as getting the President's selection for the Supreme Court nominee confirmed, appear to be an even bigger barrier for the Congress in getting their job done this year.

Of major concern to MOAA is the passage of the all-important defense spending legislation that funds the authorizations and policy provisions, to include the 2.6 percent pay raise for the troops, in the FY2019 NDAA signed into law last month by the President.

Both the House and Senate have passed their versions of the defense spending bill and are now moving to complete its final approval before going to the President.

[RELATED READING:Senate approves Defense Spending Bill, But Will It Get Derailed]

Defense leaders have been very vocal over the past several years - our services have suffered in terms of readiness, training, and troop support because of successive continuing resolutions passed by Congress instead of full defense spending bills. It is time to appropriate the funds to match the bi-partisan, bicameral defense authorizations signed into law.
Education

Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.

Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.

Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:

International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.

EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.

Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale  an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s  will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets  June Homecoming: Participant  $18 per person; Sustainer  $25 per person; Benefactor  $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler  Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:

SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available  for information call 610-275-1960

Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)

SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.

Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.  4 p.m.  computers are available during those hours.

Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.

Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.

Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.

The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:

Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at

other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.

CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.

The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:

Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.

Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.

For Kids & Families

The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.

Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.

Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.

The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.

Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.

Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.

Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.

Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.

Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!

Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.

Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.

Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.

Community Events at the Ambler Y:

-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.

Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.

Health

Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.

The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.

Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.

Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.

Spring Aquatic Programs  UDHS Pool:

-Summer is just around the corner  Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.

 Shallow Water Aerobics  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.

 Adult Swim Instructions  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR

-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.

-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday  Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.

-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.

-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.

Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.

SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.

Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.

Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:

FITNESS CLASSES

Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.

Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30  9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.

Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30  7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.

New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30  4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.

Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.

Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.

Librarytalk

Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744

www.upperdublinlibrary.org

APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:

Storytimes: Please register in the library.

o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.

o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.

o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.

o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.

APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:

North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee

APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:

NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.

One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register  contact info above.

Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.

o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.

Meetings:

Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.

Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.

Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.

For children and teens at Blue Bell:

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.

* May 14  Despicable Me

* June 11  Alpha and Omega

* Special Events

* April  watch for date of spring/Easter events

* April 14 at 4:30 p.m.  Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.

* April 14 at 7 p.m.  Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.

* April 16 at 1 p.m.  Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.

* April 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?

* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.

* April 30 through May 3  Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.

* May  sign up for Science in the Summer

* June  sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children

* June  sign up for Summer Reading, all ages

For adults at Blue Bell:

* Daytime Book Discussion Group  fourth Tuesday, Jan  April at 1:30 p.m.

* April 26  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Night-time Book Discussion Group  third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

o April 19  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges

o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?

*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs

* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.

* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.

* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.

* Giant Book Sale, April 29  May 3

o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!

o Held during library hours.

o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.

o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.

* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series

o May 11 at 1 p.m.  Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society

* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.

* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.

* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.

* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.

*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.

* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours

* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours

* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!

Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* For adults:

* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.

* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net

* Special Events:

* April 14 at 1:30 p.m.  Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.

* April 19 at 7 p.m.  Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.

* April 21 at 7 p.m.  Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.

*May 2 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

*May 10  Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*May 12 at 1:30p.m.  Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

*May 17  Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*June 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

Meetings and Lectures

The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.

The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.

The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.

LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.

Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)

-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.

The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.

For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.

Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.

Special Events

The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.

The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.

Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.

Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.

The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.

The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.

Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.

The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.

The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.

The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.

Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.

13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.

Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.

The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.

JPRN  Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them  Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.

Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.

Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.

Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.

Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.

Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp  Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:

-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.

Music and Theater

The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.

Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.

Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.

The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org

Religious News

The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.

Reunions

St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.

Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.

Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.

Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net

Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net

The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.

Support

New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.

PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.

The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.

Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.

Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group  every other Wednesday, 7  8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support  second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner  Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers  Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.

CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7  8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
September 06, 2018 Syria - Mattis Lacks State Department's Intelligence ... On Al-Qaeda's Chemical Capabilities The U.S. Secretary of Defense seems to lack the intelligence the Un and the U.S. Department of State obviously have. U.S.'s Mattis says 'zero intelligence' that rebels in Syria's Idlib have chemical weapons capability New Delhi (Reuters) - There was zero intelligence of chemical weapons capabilities possessed by groups opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the province of Idlib, U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said, adding that the facts did not back Russian assertions.

...

We have zero intelligence that shows the opposition has any chemical capability, Mattis told reporters traveling with him to the Indian capital of New Delhi.

...

We have made very clear that by putting out innuendo that somehow any chemical weapon use coming up in the future could be ascribed to the opposition, well, we want to see the data, Mattis said. We cannot see anything that indicates the opposition has that capability. On October 18 2017 the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for Syria:

bigger It says in the third paragraph (pic): Terrorist and other violent extremist groups including ISIS and al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (dominated by al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusrah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization), operate in Syria. In July 2017, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham consolidated power in Idlib province after it clashed with other armed actors. [...] Tactics of ISIS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and other violent extremist groups include the use of suicide bombers, kidnapping, small and heavy arms, improvised explosive devices, and chemical weapons. ... The UN also knows of and is similar concerned about Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's chemical weapon capabilities. During a press conference on August 30 the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, explicitly discussed these: So, the issue of avoiding the potential use of chemical weapons is indeed crucial and would be totally unacceptable. We all are aware that both the government and al-Nusra have the capability to produce weaponised chlorine, thats the one people are talking about, not sarin. Hence an increased concern by all of us, and everyone else, and alert. There is no doubt that HTS and other such groups have chemical capabilities. They do. Why is Mattis lying about it? Posted by b on September 6, 2018 at 10:25 UTC | Permalink Comments
Mosque will enhance South Bay

If you live across from the mosque in San Martin used by the Islamic community of South Bay, then you are very well aware that it is a barn turned into a prayer and meeting place, and is not a mosque.

And if you havent seen 400 families there at one time, its because it is a small area, with insufficient parking, and so when there is a need for 400 families to meet, we rent halls at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center to meet those needs and celebrate our events. So thank you for pointing out the very reason that there is a need for a proper place of worship and gathering without compromising the serenity of your neighborhood.

As far as what the residents of San Martin care aboutwater, land use, encroachment and paving over of this rural communityall of these concerns have been addressed. Many of our members are San Martin residents who are concerned with the same issues, and thus the expenditure of thousands of dollars to make sure none of these concerns will be negatively impacted.

We will be more than happy to go over all your concerns to ease your anxiety.

The Cordoba Center will be an enhancement to the South Bay community, more importantly to San Martin with its beautiful architecture and the orchards surrounding it.

I would suggest you see plans for the Cordoba Center and read the results of the draft Environmental Impact Report with an open mind and heart to welcome this project.

Nuzi Alavi

Morgan Hill

Wishful thinking by HSR

The California High-Speed Rail Authority wants to sell the new downtown alignment as a solution that can work for Morgan Hill. However, HSR presumes a lot when making this claim, including:

1. HSR can reach an agreement with Union Pacific to share its right-of-way (at present there is no agreement);

2. Electrification will bring more commuter trains to South County (CalTrain and VTA, the entities responsible for commuter trains, have not committed to doing so);

3. Grade-level crossings are feasible given the amount of east/west traffic that must pass over the tracks (HSR has not studied the traffic and safety impacts to drivers, pedestrians and emergency services).

These are just a few of the known issues.

It is unclear how this alignment is anything more than wishful thinking by HSR and any less bad for Morgan Hill.

Ryan Treffers

Morgan Hill
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Fishing isn't just for dads. Report finds young female anglers on the rise.

Recent research proves the stereotype that fishing is a dad sport is no longer accurate. Building on earlier research that found the number of people who fish has been steadily declining, a new study conducted by researchers at Michigan Technological University and funded by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, evaluates the shifting demographics within the angling community and determine how the changing composition may impact fishery management decisions.

Among the major findings, is that female fishers make up a growing proportion of anglers in the Great Lakes region, as younger generations of women are more likely to fish than their mothers and grandmothers. The increasing number of female anglers in the younger angling community, however, is not sufficient to reverse the overall decline in anglers.

Each year, approximately 1.8 million recreational anglers fish the Great Lakes. Millions more fish inland lakes and streams across the Upper Great Lakes region. Anglers play a critical role in the regions fisheries, their related ecosystems and fisheries management's practices and policies.

Richelle Winkler, associate professor of sociology and demography and the principal investigator for the study, with doctoral student Erin Burkett, examined changes to the angling population by looking at the recent trends in anglers through various demographic lenses, such as gender, age, time period and birth cohort. The researchers looked broadly at the total population of all anglers in the upper Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin), as well as a subset of those anglers who specifically fish salmon and trout in the Great Lakes.

Coming of Age

A key finding was that while the stereotype that most of the people who fish are older (born before 1965) is true, the stereotype that fishing is a mans sport, does not hold true in younger generations.

On the contrary, the research found that in the younger angler community (those born after 1980), males are less likely to fish than their predecessors, and females are more likely to fish than prior generations. The only exception is that in states that offer a spousal fishing license, older generation females (born in the late 1950s and 1960s) also show high participation rates, in correspondence with a male spouse.

Men born after 1980 are less likely to fish than those born in previous generations. Credit: Great Lakes States Angler Demographics Report

This means that as the current angling community ages and is increasingly replaced by newer generations, the number of male anglers is projected to decline and the number of female anglers is projected to remain stable or increase over the next fifteen years. It is important to note, however, that the increase in female anglers will not be sufficient to supplant the overall decline in anglers.

If these patterns of change in composition of the Great Lakes angling community continue, they could have significant implications for agency funding, habitat programs and development and implementation of fisheries management strategies, Winkler says.

Previous research by Winkler projected more dramatic declines in the population of hunters in Wisconsin and Michigan. Winkler emphasized the importance of conducting population projections for these two groups saying, Because hunters and anglers together provide the majority of state fish and wildlife funding programs and represent the most active stakeholder groups, the combined impact of hunter and angler decline and cohort replacement could be substantial for state fish and wildlife agencies.

Shifting Tactics

As the angler population becomes increasingly female, managers and policy-makers will have to consider how to engage female anglers more actively as constituents and decision-makers, Winkler says. Recruitment, retention and reactivation programs (known as R3), might focus on retaining the relatively large number of young women who are now fishing through their adulthood; for example, through a targeted marketing program or by facilitating opportunities for women to continue to participate as they take on careers and become mothers.

Young women are more likely to fish than older generations of women. Credit: Great Lakes States Angler Demographics Report

"Women tend to put their own recreational interests on the back burner when family and work demands increase, so it will be important to find ways to help women manage that burden if they are to continue to fish through their life," added Winkler. She says additional efforts should focus on methods for engaging more diverse stakeholders in fishers, "beyond the anglers, as the number of future anglers is likely to decline.

In looking at salmon and trout anglers of the Upper Great Lakes, the study did not investigate differences in gender composition within this subset of the angling community. It did conclude there were analogous generational trends to the broader community in two of the three Great Lakes studied. Older generations of salmon and trout anglers were significantly more likely to participate than newer generations in both Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. In Lake Superior, however, there was no clear distinction between generations.

Looking towards the future, the salmon and trout angler populations are projected to decline in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, while Lake Superior populations are expected to remain stable. This trend could be indicative of the quality of the fishery, which has declined in recent years due to decreasing alewife populations, or it may be more related to the past condition of the fishery when Lake Huron and Lake Michigan provided abundant salmon fishing opportunities at the time when the Baby Boom generation came of age and started fishing. This opportunity might have come at just the right time to create a stronger cohort effect in these lakes than what we see in Lake Superior, which didnt experience the same proliferation of Pacific salmon.

Implications for Fisheries Management

Great Lakes Fishery Commission chair Jim McKane reiterated the importance of this research and applauded Winklers approach to evaluating the implications these findings may have for fishery management in the future.

The Great Lakes region supports a $7 billion fishery," McKane says. "To manage this important resource in a proper and comprehensive way, fishery managers need to know their audience and appreciate who their stakeholders are. Research, such as this study, is critical to informing the development and implementation of policies and strategies that are meant to maximize the value of the fishery and peoples ability to use it.

More information about this project, including reports and maps for each state and lake, as well as access to all demographic data collected as part of this study, can be found on the report website.

This article is a joint release between the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Michigan Tech. Jill Wingfield is communications and policy program manager at the Commission.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, the University offers more than 125 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
For more than 25 years, World War II veteran Walter Hushak has been more than happy to share his memories and knowledge about the war to anyone interested in listening.

The 95-year-old Southington resident has become a well-known veteran in the community through decades of informational talks at local schools and as a coordinator of the Wings of Freedom Tours annual stop at the Waterbury-Oxford Airport, scheduled for this weekend.

After 25 years as coordinator, Hushak has stepped down from the position for this years event, but plans to continue to volunteer.

When he hasnt helped coordinate the event, Hushak has had speaking appearances at Southington schools. He shares stories from the war, including information about planes, other equipment and training.

Sometimes Hushak would bring along a rescue mirror he carried on missions. It would be a helpful tool if he ever had to eject from a plane under attack and needed to signal his location in water for a rescue.

For decades, Hushak has also marched in local Memorial Day parades and was one of three parade marshals in the 17th annual Connecticut Veterans Parade in downtown Hartford.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps after the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

I wanted to fly, Hushak told the Record-Journal in 2011. Before I enlisted I would build airplane models and wished I could one day fly. I wasnt ever scared flying.

For this years Wings of Freedom Tours annual stop, Hushak helped transition military veteran and Cheshire resident Jim Ketcher into the position.

Hushak will continue to volunteer at the event as one of the handful of World War II veterans still sharing their stories but is stepping back from the helm.

Ketcher served for four years during the Vietnam War, and later earned his pilots license and had a long career in the aerospace industry before retiring. He said hes been serving on the Army Air Force Roundtable of Connecticut, which is where he met Hushak.

When Hushak reached out to the roundtable for help with the aircraft tour, Ketcher volunteered. He had been to the Wings of Freedom tour in the past and got to ride on one of the bombers, but was never part of the organizing side of the event.

Ive always been interested in these kinds of airplanes and World War II in general, so I volunteered to get involved in it, Ketcher said. (Hushak) has shown me the ropes.

Ketcher said the Wings of Freedom tour is something good for young people to see.

These aircrafts are pieces of living history. These were the aircraft that were flown from the guys that stopped Nazism and Imperial Japan, he said.

Along with the B-24 Liberator  the plane Hushak flew  a P-51 Mustang, B-25 Mitchell, and B-17 Flying Fortress will be at the airport this Friday through Sunday.

Visitors can take a short flight or a walk-through tour of the planes for a fee thats used to keep them in working condition.

The tour has been traveling the country for almost 30 years, providing a living history that allows visitors from 110 cities every year to see their heritage and history firsthand. It is sponsored by the Collings Foundation, which owns the aircraft.

bwright@record-journal.com

203-317-2316

Twitter: @baileyfaywright
Carroll County Independent County Delegation Chair calls out commissioners for alleged mishandling of finances

by Melissa Seamans OSSIPEE  Dismissed by two county commissioners as nothing more than "grandstanding" and an attempt to gain votes, Carroll County Delegation Chairman Mark McConkey (R-Freedom) nevertheless voiced his concerns Aug. 22 about the financial condition of the county.



McConkey spoke at the county commissioners' weekly meeting (available for viewing at



"I am concerned that the financial sins of the commissioners prior to 2015 have not been corrected, and we are sliding back to a lax state of accounting," said McConkey, adding that financial policies are not being followed, deposits are delayed, and bank statements are not being reconciled for months at a time.



"There is an ongoing problem (with workplace bullying and sexual harassment) on our campus, and this issue continues to erode our workplace stability. I stand here because I can no longer sit quiet. You need to right your ship and prevent the Carroll County taxpayers from being placed in financial peril because your egos are bruised," said McConkey.



"Become part of the solution, or get the hell out of the way," McConkey added.



He was followed by Carroll County Attorney Michaela Andruzzi, who told commissioners, "I need real time access to my department budget. I am a department head, and I am trying to manage the salaries of my people and to fill openings that I have in my office.



"In the last four months, I have requested (from the county business office) real-time access to my salary line items 22 times, and still do not have it. This is public information," Andruzzi said.



Under the New Hampshire Right to Know law, anyone requesting public information may do so verbally, and the recipient of the request, in this case the commissioners, has five business days to either provide the information or respond in writing with reasons why the information cannot be provided or when it will be. As of press time, it is unclear whether Andruzzi's request was acknowledged.



Andruzzi, along with Registrar of Deeds Lisa Scott, has also asked that that her annual salary be corrected because they have not been paid properly. Every two years the county delegation sets the annual salary for county attorney, register of deeds, commissioners, sheriff and treasurer. Andruzzi and Scott have been claiming they are owed about $4,000 combined, a claim county administration has denied and one that Hounsell dismissed, saying the underpayment was only 18 cents.



In an interview Sept. 3, Chairman Amanda Bevard said the actual amount the seven elected officials were underpaid is nearly $9,000. And, this retired math teacher planned to bring the math and the solution to the Sept. 5 commissioner's meeting. The results of that were not available as of press time.



The commissioners did not respond to either McConkey or Andruzzi while the two were still sitting in the audience, but did make a few accusations later in their meeting. Commissioner Mark Hounsell dismissed McConkey's comments, noting the September Primary (which he referred to as "silly season") is a few weeks away, and that McConkey is just trying to gain votes. Commissioner David Babson said it was just political grandstanding, and if the county delegation had funded their budget request for additional office staff, none of the issues would be occurring.



Both Hounsell and Babson are seeking re-election this year with Hounsell opposed in the Sept. 11 Primary by Terry McCarthy (R-Conway) and Babson unopposed.



Supplemental appropriation



The county delegation is made up of the 15 state representatives from Carroll County. Their next meeting is Sept. 17, and starts with a public hearing to consider adding to the 2018 county budget set back in March. The commissioners asked for the budget additions including $10,400 for an administrative assistant, $80,000 to fund the cost of the 9-month negotiated nursing home union contract, as well as money for funding the sheriff's office/dispatch center union contract and $10,000 for a feasibility study to explore assisted living for elderly Carroll County residents.



Additionally, the delegation will consider a request from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to give back nearly $200,000 to help fund the Region 7 Integrated Delivery Network. From the North Country Health Consortium website, the IDN is "a statewide initiative focused on bringing together physical healthcare, mental health, and substance use disorder treatment. As part of the project, 40 partners in Coos, Carroll, and Northern Grafton Counties have joined together to make it easier for people to connect with helpful resources in the community and get the care they need with the goals of making people healthier, saving money and more effectively caring for those with multiple healthcare needs."



The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions. The hearing starts at 9 a.m. in the county administration building in Ossipee. Following the hearing, the delegation will take up other matters including approving an update to the 2015 performance audit of the county business office and whether or not to enter into a multi-year county complex energy improvement contract.



The lawsuit



While the delegation and the commissioners remain at odds including battling it out through slurry of emails and in the editorial pages of local newspapers, there is another issue looming. Ed Comeau (R-Brookfield), as reported previously, has filed a lawsuit in Carroll County Superior Court alleging that the commissioners broke two laws  one that requires the 2017 annual report to be published by June and the other that required the 2017 audit to be done by March 31.



When Chairman Amanda Bevard tried to suggest that the commissioners may have broken the law by not having the reports done on time, Hounsell stormed out of the Aug. 22 meeting. Hounsell also called Comeau's suit "unconstitutional" and "extremely inappropriate."



Bevard maintains that if the board of commissioners or their staff have done something wrong, they should own up to it and fix it. OSSIPEE  Dismissed by two county commissioners as nothing more than "grandstanding" and an attempt to gain votes, Carroll County Delegation Chairman Mark McConkey (R-Freedom) nevertheless voiced his concerns Aug. 22 about the financial condition of the county.McConkey spoke at the county commissioners' weekly meeting (available for viewing at www.governmentoversite.com ), pointing out that the delegation's concerns about mistakes in elected officials' pay, quarterly budget vs. actual reports taking months to produce, department heads not having real-time access to their budgets, and sexual harassment and bullying policies not being updated with input from the county attorney. He said the commissioners have also refused to give him an update about the status of the 2017 financial audit, work that was supposed to begin back in March. And while McConkey noted these are all important concerns and the delegation deserves a response, it is the two-month lack of response from the county administration that is the most troublesome."I am concerned that the financial sins of the commissioners prior to 2015 have not been corrected, and we are sliding back to a lax state of accounting," said McConkey, adding that financial policies are not being followed, deposits are delayed, and bank statements are not being reconciled for months at a time."There is an ongoing problem (with workplace bullying and sexual harassment) on our campus, and this issue continues to erode our workplace stability. I stand here because I can no longer sit quiet. You need to right your ship and prevent the Carroll County taxpayers from being placed in financial peril because your egos are bruised," said McConkey."Become part of the solution, or get the hell out of the way," McConkey added.He was followed by Carroll County Attorney Michaela Andruzzi, who told commissioners, "I need real time access to my department budget. I am a department head, and I am trying to manage the salaries of my people and to fill openings that I have in my office."In the last four months, I have requested (from the county business office) real-time access to my salary line items 22 times, and still do not have it. This is public information," Andruzzi said.Under the New Hampshire Right to Know law, anyone requesting public information may do so verbally, and the recipient of the request, in this case the commissioners, has five business days to either provide the information or respond in writing with reasons why the information cannot be provided or when it will be. As of press time, it is unclear whether Andruzzi's request was acknowledged.Andruzzi, along with Registrar of Deeds Lisa Scott, has also asked that that her annual salary be corrected because they have not been paid properly. Every two years the county delegation sets the annual salary for county attorney, register of deeds, commissioners, sheriff and treasurer. Andruzzi and Scott have been claiming they are owed about $4,000 combined, a claim county administration has denied and one that Hounsell dismissed, saying the underpayment was only 18 cents.In an interview Sept. 3, Chairman Amanda Bevard said the actual amount the seven elected officials were underpaid is nearly $9,000. And, this retired math teacher planned to bring the math and the solution to the Sept. 5 commissioner's meeting. The results of that were not available as of press time.The commissioners did not respond to either McConkey or Andruzzi while the two were still sitting in the audience, but did make a few accusations later in their meeting. Commissioner Mark Hounsell dismissed McConkey's comments, noting the September Primary (which he referred to as "silly season") is a few weeks away, and that McConkey is just trying to gain votes. Commissioner David Babson said it was just political grandstanding, and if the county delegation had funded their budget request for additional office staff, none of the issues would be occurring.Both Hounsell and Babson are seeking re-election this year with Hounsell opposed in the Sept. 11 Primary by Terry McCarthy (R-Conway) and Babson unopposed.Supplemental appropriationThe county delegation is made up of the 15 state representatives from Carroll County. Their next meeting is Sept. 17, and starts with a public hearing to consider adding to the 2018 county budget set back in March. The commissioners asked for the budget additions including $10,400 for an administrative assistant, $80,000 to fund the cost of the 9-month negotiated nursing home union contract, as well as money for funding the sheriff's office/dispatch center union contract and $10,000 for a feasibility study to explore assisted living for elderly Carroll County residents.Additionally, the delegation will consider a request from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to give back nearly $200,000 to help fund the Region 7 Integrated Delivery Network. From the North Country Health Consortium website, the IDN is "a statewide initiative focused on bringing together physical healthcare, mental health, and substance use disorder treatment. As part of the project, 40 partners in Coos, Carroll, and Northern Grafton Counties have joined together to make it easier for people to connect with helpful resources in the community and get the care they need with the goals of making people healthier, saving money and more effectively caring for those with multiple healthcare needs."The public is encouraged to attend and ask questions. The hearing starts at 9 a.m. in the county administration building in Ossipee. Following the hearing, the delegation will take up other matters including approving an update to the 2015 performance audit of the county business office and whether or not to enter into a multi-year county complex energy improvement contract.The lawsuitWhile the delegation and the commissioners remain at odds including battling it out through slurry of emails and in the editorial pages of local newspapers, there is another issue looming. Ed Comeau (R-Brookfield), as reported previously, has filed a lawsuit in Carroll County Superior Court alleging that the commissioners broke two laws  one that requires the 2017 annual report to be published by June and the other that required the 2017 audit to be done by March 31.When Chairman Amanda Bevard tried to suggest that the commissioners may have broken the law by not having the reports done on time, Hounsell stormed out of the Aug. 22 meeting. Hounsell also called Comeau's suit "unconstitutional" and "extremely inappropriate."Bevard maintains that if the board of commissioners or their staff have done something wrong, they should own up to it and fix it.

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Meredith News Inter-Lakes, Center Harbor joint meeting scheduled for Nov. 15

by Erin Plummer MEREDITH  A cooperative meeting between the Inter-Lakes School Board and the Center Harbor Board of Selectmen has been scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15.



At the previous meeting, Superintendent Mary Moriarty told the board that she had heard from one of the boards of selectmen asking for a joint discussion, especially related to apportionment. Board Chair Richard Hanson said it was the Center Harbor board, on which he also sits as a member, who wanted to have the discussion.



Moriarty said at that meeting that she would draft a document on what the meeting might look like.



Moriarty presented the draft to the board during Tuesday's meeting.



"This time together will be filled with opportunities to listen, share, collaborate, and engage in dialogue about the Inter-Lakes School District," read the draft.



The meeting was proposed for Nov. 15 from 5:30-8:30 p.m., a date Hanson noted was after the November election.



"There's no downside, it's only upside with communication with our particular towns," said board member Mark Billings.



Billings said he got a call from a Center Harbor selectmen the previous day and had a "casual conversation."



The meeting will be a posted meeting of both the school board and the Center Harbor selectmen.



Anyone in the district is welcome to come to the meeting and speak. Board member Susan Palmer-Ansorg asked if students would be allowed to speak as well and Moriarty said they were.



Moriarty said she was thinking of having this at the Middle/High School Library, offering food, and giving some time for people to get to know each other before the meeting.



"We have a lot of work to do in actually how to set it up," Hanson said. "We're looking to see if the board has consensus to go forward with this."



The board agreed by consensus to hold this meeting on Nov. 15. MEREDITH  A cooperative meeting between the Inter-Lakes School Board and the Center Harbor Board of Selectmen has been scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 15.At the previous meeting, Superintendent Mary Moriarty told the board that she had heard from one of the boards of selectmen asking for a joint discussion, especially related to apportionment. Board Chair Richard Hanson said it was the Center Harbor board, on which he also sits as a member, who wanted to have the discussion.Moriarty said at that meeting that she would draft a document on what the meeting might look like.Moriarty presented the draft to the board during Tuesday's meeting."This time together will be filled with opportunities to listen, share, collaborate, and engage in dialogue about the Inter-Lakes School District," read the draft.The meeting was proposed for Nov. 15 from 5:30-8:30 p.m., a date Hanson noted was after the November election."There's no downside, it's only upside with communication with our particular towns," said board member Mark Billings.Billings said he got a call from a Center Harbor selectmen the previous day and had a "casual conversation."The meeting will be a posted meeting of both the school board and the Center Harbor selectmen.Anyone in the district is welcome to come to the meeting and speak. Board member Susan Palmer-Ansorg asked if students would be allowed to speak as well and Moriarty said they were.Moriarty said she was thinking of having this at the Middle/High School Library, offering food, and giving some time for people to get to know each other before the meeting."We have a lot of work to do in actually how to set it up," Hanson said. "We're looking to see if the board has consensus to go forward with this."The board agreed by consensus to hold this meeting on Nov. 15.

Meredith News Meredith to look at increasing parking fines Strong first half sends Panther girls past Huskies Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com
Plymouth Record Enterprise Massive pre-dawn fire leaves several homeless in Bristol

by Donna Rhodes write the author

Flames tore through a multi-family residence located at 50 Beech St. in the early morning hours on Monday, then spread to another apartment building next door, promoting a four-alarm fire. (Photo by Donna Rhodes) (click for larger version) BRISTOL  Several residents in Bristol were forced to flee their homes early Monday morning when fire broke out in a building at 50 Beech St. The fire, believed, initially at least, to have started in the back of the multi-family residence, had flames shooting high into the pre-dawn sky when fire fighters arrived shortly before 5 a.m. and quickly spread to a neighboring apartment complex at 40 Beech St.



A resident in that building said that as they were grabbing their pets to evacuate, the windows began to explode from the intense heat of the fire.



"I got two of my three cats then had to get out. All I have now is them and my car," she said as she watched fire fighters battling the blaze.



In just a short time the first alarm call for mutual aid expanded to a second, then a third and finally to a fourth alarm, bringing in fire fighters and equipment from all over central New Hampshire, including Concord.



As neighbors watched in shock, embers were falling to the ground, prompting a few nearby homeowners to pull out their own hoses to wet down their roofs.



"This is an old house. I'm not taking any chances," said one man as he sprayed his roof where numerous burning chucks of debris had landed.



With a push from a light breeze, those embers also made their way down to South Main Street where the owner of Bristol Diner kept a close watch on his property as well.



Bristol Fire Chief Ben LaRoche reported that there were no civilian injuries and fortunately only one minor incident among the fire fighters. One resident with a medical condition had to be assisted out of the building and left his beloved dog behind but fire fighters were able to enter the apartment and rescues the grateful pup. Sadly, a few other pets in were lost in the two buildings however.



The homes were both multi-family dwellings, thought to have as many as eight apartments between the two of them, with approximately 20-25 people currently in residence. Among the many other concerns for fire fighters that morning was the number of dwellings in close proximity to the two that were involved and they fought to prevent the flames from extending to any other neighboring residences. One woman who lives across the street from the fires said the heat from the flames could be felt inside her daughter's bedroom, causing them some concern for a short while.



Central Square and South Main Street were closed for about four hours so tanker trucks could draw water from the Newfound River then pump it up to the scene. As a result, traffic had to be rerouted through town and some school buses were unable to reach stops for students who live in the Beech Street neighborhood.



The fire was brought under control in approximately two hours but flames continued to shoot from pockets of the buildings well beyond that and crews remained on scene for several more hours to finish extinguishing the massive fire.



When the scene quieted down later in the day, one woman said she was a visitor at 40 Beech St. and was still stunned by the morning's tragedy. She said she had awakened somewhere around 4:45 a.m. that morning to use the bathroom when she noticed a strange light outside the window.



"I looked out and saw this small glow that all of a sudden just blew into a huge ball of fire. I've never seen anything like that in my life and I just started yelling for everyone to get up and get out because the building was on fire," she said. "I never heard any smoke alarms going off at all."



Friends of the residents at 50 Beech St. said they heard similar stories from the people in that building where the fires first started.



"They told me someone happened to get up and when they looked out, they saw flames in the back of the building and started getting everyone out," one reported.



Of the two residences, 50 Beech St. received the heaviest damage, and was a complete loss. Next door a back extension to that building was completely destroyed but some held out the hope that the front quarters may be somewhat salvageable, despite heavy smoke and water damage. The State Fire Marshal's Office was called in to help conduct an investigation and the Red Cross met with the displaced residents to lend assistance for food, temporary shelter, clothing and any other immediate needs.



Looking up the hill from the corner of Beech and South Main Streets, one local resident commented, "Boy that was a real catastrophe up there, but it could have been so much worse. Thank God for mutual aid. They all did a great job!"



Among the fire departments that rushed to assist Bristol fire fighters were Alexandria, Andover and East Andover, Ashland, Belmont, Bridgewater, Campton-Thornton, Center Harbor, Concord, Danbury, Franklin, Gilford, Gilmanton, Grafton, Hebron, Hill, Holderness, Laconia, Meredith, New Hampton, Plymouth, Rumney, Sanbornton, Waterville Valley and Wentworth.



Editor's note: The names of those we spoke with who were displaced by Monday morning's fire have been withheld from publication out of respect for their privacy, and for the trauma they have endured. BRISTOL  Several residents in Bristol were forced to flee their homes early Monday morning when fire broke out in a building at 50 Beech St. The fire, believed, initially at least, to have started in the back of the multi-family residence, had flames shooting high into the pre-dawn sky when fire fighters arrived shortly before 5 a.m. and quickly spread to a neighboring apartment complex at 40 Beech St.A resident in that building said that as they were grabbing their pets to evacuate, the windows began to explode from the intense heat of the fire."I got two of my three cats then had to get out. All I have now is them and my car," she said as she watched fire fighters battling the blaze.In just a short time the first alarm call for mutual aid expanded to a second, then a third and finally to a fourth alarm, bringing in fire fighters and equipment from all over central New Hampshire, including Concord.As neighbors watched in shock, embers were falling to the ground, prompting a few nearby homeowners to pull out their own hoses to wet down their roofs."This is an old house. I'm not taking any chances," said one man as he sprayed his roof where numerous burning chucks of debris had landed.With a push from a light breeze, those embers also made their way down to South Main Street where the owner of Bristol Diner kept a close watch on his property as well.Bristol Fire Chief Ben LaRoche reported that there were no civilian injuries and fortunately only one minor incident among the fire fighters. One resident with a medical condition had to be assisted out of the building and left his beloved dog behind but fire fighters were able to enter the apartment and rescues the grateful pup. Sadly, a few other pets in were lost in the two buildings however.The homes were both multi-family dwellings, thought to have as many as eight apartments between the two of them, with approximately 20-25 people currently in residence. Among the many other concerns for fire fighters that morning was the number of dwellings in close proximity to the two that were involved and they fought to prevent the flames from extending to any other neighboring residences. One woman who lives across the street from the fires said the heat from the flames could be felt inside her daughter's bedroom, causing them some concern for a short while.Central Square and South Main Street were closed for about four hours so tanker trucks could draw water from the Newfound River then pump it up to the scene. As a result, traffic had to be rerouted through town and some school buses were unable to reach stops for students who live in the Beech Street neighborhood.The fire was brought under control in approximately two hours but flames continued to shoot from pockets of the buildings well beyond that and crews remained on scene for several more hours to finish extinguishing the massive fire.When the scene quieted down later in the day, one woman said she was a visitor at 40 Beech St. and was still stunned by the morning's tragedy. She said she had awakened somewhere around 4:45 a.m. that morning to use the bathroom when she noticed a strange light outside the window."I looked out and saw this small glow that all of a sudden just blew into a huge ball of fire. I've never seen anything like that in my life and I just started yelling for everyone to get up and get out because the building was on fire," she said. "I never heard any smoke alarms going off at all."Friends of the residents at 50 Beech St. said they heard similar stories from the people in that building where the fires first started."They told me someone happened to get up and when they looked out, they saw flames in the back of the building and started getting everyone out," one reported.Of the two residences, 50 Beech St. received the heaviest damage, and was a complete loss. Next door a back extension to that building was completely destroyed but some held out the hope that the front quarters may be somewhat salvageable, despite heavy smoke and water damage. The State Fire Marshal's Office was called in to help conduct an investigation and the Red Cross met with the displaced residents to lend assistance for food, temporary shelter, clothing and any other immediate needs.Looking up the hill from the corner of Beech and South Main Streets, one local resident commented, "Boy that was a real catastrophe up there, but it could have been so much worse. Thank God for mutual aid. They all did a great job!"Among the fire departments that rushed to assist Bristol fire fighters were Alexandria, Andover and East Andover, Ashland, Belmont, Bridgewater, Campton-Thornton, Center Harbor, Concord, Danbury, Franklin, Gilford, Gilmanton, Grafton, Hebron, Hill, Holderness, Laconia, Meredith, New Hampton, Plymouth, Rumney, Sanbornton, Waterville Valley and Wentworth.Editor's note: The names of those we spoke with who were displaced by Monday morning's fire have been withheld from publication out of respect for their privacy, and for the trauma they have endured.

Plymouth Record Enterprise Bobcats get back on track with win in Gilford Plans for Keep the Heat On fundraiser underway Recent Donna Rhodes Fundraiser celebrates former Alexandria residents love for animals

2021-Oct-29 Fundraiser planned to benefit local animal lovers family

2021-Oct-13 New business helps clients enjoy the outdoors at their own pace

2021-Oct-13 Bristol Falls Park marred by vandalism

2021-Oct-07 Ashland library celebrates 150th anniversary

2021-Oct-07 Reinartz steps down after 22 years as Tiltons Town Clerk

2021-Oct-07 More... Thanks for visiting SalmonPress.com
By ANI

NEW DELHI: Airtel Payment Bank, India's first payments bank, has announced that its customers can now make card-less cash withdrawals at over 100,000 ATMs across India.

Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Empays, a global provider of cloud based payment solutions, under which it will enable Airtel Payments Bank's savings account holders to withdraw cash using just their mobile phone through the card-less cash technology of Empays, called IMT (Instant Money Transfer).

The technology can be used for self-withdrawal or for sending money to an intended recipient for ATM cash withdrawal.

"We believe in digital India. We are making this a reality by providing innovative digital solutions that enhance banking," said MD and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Payments Bank, Anubrata Biswas.

"Our tie-up with Empays is an important step that enables our customers to realize digital, phone based cash withdrawals at over 100,000 ATMs, through either USSD or the MyAirtel App," added Biswas.

Over 100,000 ATMs belonging to some of the largest banks in the country such as State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Punjab National Bank are linked to the IMT system for card-less cash withdrawals. The network is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India as a payment system and is the only one of its kind in the country.

"We are delighted that Airtel Payment Bank has enabled the IMT capability for its customers. IMT is the largest cardless cash ATM network in the world. We believe IMT will provide an additional convenience to Airtel Payment Bank's consumers," said Ravi Rajagopalan, founder & CEO Empays Payment Systems.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Fortis family feud on Monday saw serious allegations leveled against Malvinder Singh by brother Shivinder Singh, both former promoters of the healthcare firm, at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Shivinders petition alleges that Malvinder forged his wifes signature, carried out illegal financial transactions which led the company into an unsustainable debt trap.

Malvinder has been named along with former chairman of Religare Enterprises Ltd Sunil Godhwani of putting the company in a debt trap and acting prejudicially to the interest of its creditors and shareholders.

In the petition, Malvinder is alleged to have forged the signatures of Shivinders wife Aditi Singh in the documents of RHC Holdings Pvt Ltd, which along with Oscar Investments Ltd jointly owned financial services firm Religare Enterprises Ltd and hospital chain Fortis Healthcare Ltd.

Aditi Singh merely held the post of managing director on paper and had no role to play in the day to day workings of the company...has always been a homemaker who played no part in the functioning of RHC Holdings, Shivinder alleged, adding that there were also instances of Aditi being shown as present for a board meeting when she was in fact abroad.

A resolution of the board of the company dated September 25, 2014, demonstrates the presence of petitioner No 3 in the board meeting, while in fact she was out of the country from September 24, 2014, till September 28, 2014...  the petition said.

Shivinder further said that Malvinder and Godhwani used their respective positions to perpetrate or cause others to perpetrate illegal financial transactions and various acts of mismanagement by and through RHC, leading to massive losses to RHC and its subsidiaries, and a depletion of the wealth.

Likely to come up on Thursday, the petition seeks restitution of the undue gains made by themselves (Malvinder and Godhwani) which led to losses being suffered by the petitioners and RHC Holdings. It also asked the NCLT to declare that Malvinder and Godhwani caused grave prejudice to the interest of the company.

Shivinder has also petitioned NCLT to direct Malvinder and Godhwani to restitute and restore the wealth of RHC Holdings which got eroded due to their unlawful actions and disclose their assets, bank accounts and net worth.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Stressing on the collaboration between Indian Space Research Organisation and industry, ISRO chairman K Sivan said that around Rs 9,000 crore of the Rs 10,400 crore sanctioned by central government will be for private industry to build satellite launch vehicles.

The amount was recently sanctioned by the Centre to build 30 PSLV and 10 GSLV Mk -III for various ISRO launches. He was speaking during the inaugural of the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space Expo (BSX) - 2018, being held at Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre from September 6-8. It is being organised by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) along with ISRO and Antrix.

He said that outsourcing the development of launch vehicle to Indian industries was essential to fulfill the launch orders with ISRO. "We have plans to launch 56 satellites in the next three years. This will provide an opportunity for companies to supply various components as it will be near impossible for ISRO to manufacture them," he said, adding that few industries were already collaborating with the space agency.

With Gaganyaan expected to occupy the next four years of ISROs time, it is essential for industry to take care of launch services. "PSLV will be developed by the industry by next year. By the next edition of BSX, we expect industry to build Small Satellite Launch Vehicle and satellites," he said.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, former CII chairman said that collaboration between ISRO and private industry was essential, as it will help in developing technologies for civilian use in space. Aman Choudhari, vice chairman of CII Karnataka said that space technologies eco-system was worth 383 billion dollars in 2017, by recording a growth of 7.4 per cent over the previous year.

French space agency to help with Gaganyaan

The French Space Agency (CNES) will share the available technologies on human space flight with India's Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Speaking at Bengaluru Space Expo, Jean-Yvess Le Gall, president of CNES said that France would collaborate with the Indian agency so that ISRO could benefit from previous French efforts.

Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of @CNES talks about space technology and French space agencys partnership with @ISRO during the inaugural of the 3-day Bengaluru Space Expo. pic.twitter.com/xWwctqXJpn  Pushkar_TNIE (@pushkarv) September 6, 2018

"We are ready to provide assistance on life support systems and other essential technologies,-" he said. An MoU to this effect is expected to be signed between the two agencies later during the day.

Calling Gaganyaan as a new chapter in Indian history, he said that France was also ready to assist in launches and other essential technologies
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A 32-year-old man allegedly attacked his former colleague with a knife since he believed that the latter was behind his loss of job in a company.

Police said J Asif and S Muthukumar were both working for a software company in Qatar and recently Muthukumar was relieved from the job and returned to Chennai. Learning that Asif had come to Chennai on leave, Muthukumar visited his house and tried to attack him with a knife.

Asif managed to escape and the neighbours nabbed Muthukumar, said a police officer. Police said Muthukumar had told them that he was angry with Asif who, he believed, was responsible for the company to terminate his service. The Egmore police have registered a case of attempt to murder and are probing further.
B Anbuselvan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Sholinganallur Assembly constituency witnessed the highest population influx in Tamil Nadu in the last seven years. According to official draft electoral list released on September 1, the number of voters has risen to 6.07 lakh now as against 3.4 lakh in the 2011 Assembly elections. This is despite removal of about 17,000 voters from the 2016 voter list.

This means that 2.67 lakh voters resettled in the constituency, which is the fastest and highest migration in the state.

According to the 2011 census, the state has 75 per cent of population as its voters. If one goes by this data, the population of Sholinganallur reached about 7.5 lakh, making it one of the most densely populated places in Tamil Nadu.

The constituency covers areas under Perungudi and Sholingnallur Corporation zones and seven village panchayats in the St. Thomas Mount block. The surge in population is mainly attributed to migration of slum-dwellers from core areas of Chennai city to Ezhil Nagar (Kannagi Nagar), Semmanjeri and Perumbakkam areas, and rampant increase in new buildings along the Rajiv Gandhi Road (OMR).

More than 25 per cent of voters reside in Kannagi Nagar, Ezhil Nagar, Semmanjeri and Perumbakkam slum board tenements, revealed the voter list.

In early 2000, the state government proposed a large-scale housing projects for slum-dwellers on the outskirts city in Okkiyam Thuraipakkam and Semmanjeri along the Rajiv Gandhi Road, mainly due to better ground water and road connectivity.

Though Kannagi Nagar, which was once touted as one of biggest slum resettlement areas in South Asia, miserably failed on account of loss of livelihood of tenements, the government has continued its decision to shift the people to the multi-storeyed slum clearance apartments.

The large-scale migration has led to reduction in the number of voters in Chennai district by nearly three lakh since 2016. However, revenue officials deployed in voters enumeration works said, Newly migrated population has been distributed across Pallikaranai, Madipakkam, Kovilampakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Jalladampettai and Vengaivasal villages.

The rise in number of voters cannot be fully attributed to slum resettlements. Availability of ground water may also have led to new buildings, said a senior official.

2.67 lakh

Voters have resettled in the Sholinganallur constituency, which is the fastest and highest migration in the State. If calculated based on 2011 census, its population has reached about 7.5 lakh,

making it one of the most densely populated places in Tamil Nadu

Figuring it out
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: More than 14,000 employees of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) went on a strike on Wednesday. The strike is likely to continue till their demands are met and is expected to be joined by thousands of more employees, thus crippling various municipal services in the city.

The strike has been announced by none other than the GHMC employees wing of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) party, the TRS Karmika Vibhagham(TRSKV) GHMC Employees Union(GHEU).

The main demand of GHEU is regularisation of jobs of about 27,000 people working for the GHMC on outsourcing basis and also regularisation of jobs of about 1,500 members employed on Non-Muster Rolls(NMR).

GHEU president, Udhaari Gopaal said, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao promised earlier when he had come to GHMC office, that the jobs of all NMR employees will be regularised but no action has been taken on it yet, he said.

He added, Ever since the new state has been formed, the outsourcing employees working with GHMC have been demanding for heir jobs to be regularised but the government has not paid heed to their demands.

Protest: Open air check-ups for OGH patients today

Hyderabad:On Thursday, doctors, nurses, para-medical staff at Osmania General Hospital would provide Out-Patient services in open air from 9 am to 12 pm, as a form of protest demanding safe premises for them to work. While the doctors and medical staff have been expressing their anxiety about weakened in-patient block and other portions of the hospital, series of incidents in August where patches of lime mortar crashed to ground heightened their anxieties.

GVK 108 staff to protest in front of Pragathi Bhavan

Hyderabad:Telangana State 108 Employees Union president P Ashok said that more than 1,000 employees, including those who were sacked by GVK-EMRI 108s administration for staging protest, would reach Pragathi Bhavan in Begumpet, on Thursday to request their jobs to be reinstated and to cut down work timings at the emergency service from 12-hours to eight-hours.
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that 20 major bridges across the state including seven major bridges in capital Kolkata have expired their lifespan and might be dangerous.

Speaking to media after a meeting with Public Works Department, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) and Kolkata Police officials at state secretariat Nabanna on Thursday, she said: "Twenty bridges of the state including seven major bridges in Kolkata including Belgachia, Ultadanga, Santragachi, Chingrighata and Bijon Setu has expired their life span. They will be repaired soon and a detailed report has been sought on the works needed to be done."

On the other hand, forensic experts examining the collapsed Majerhat Bridge in south Kolkata that claimed three lives and injured 25 people found on Thursday that cracks had developed in the bridge ten months prior to the collapse which were covered up with thick tar layer.

They have also stated that the tar layering over the bridge might have increased the cracks and may be the reason behind the collapse. The dead body Metro rail worker Goutam Mondal of Murshidabad was recovered from under the debris of the bridge on Thursday, taking the total death toll to three.

The West Bengal Chief Minister also halted Metro rail works adjacent to Majerhat bridge till an investigation committee headed by Chief Secretary Malay Kumar De submits its report within a week's time. "Preliminary investigation done by the investigation committee has found that vibrations due to the Metro works had weakened Majerhat Bridge. Metro works would be halted till they submit the report. Those found responsible for the incident will be punished," she said.

However, Eastern Railways Sealdah divisional railway manager (DRM) Prabhas Dansana said: "Foundation of the Metro work was made a year ago so it is unlikely that it will have any effect on Majerhat bridge."

The West Bengal Chief Minister also rebuked PWD secretary Arnab Ray demanding to know why repairs on Majerhat Bridge were not undertaken despite calling tenders six times over the past two years. To this, Ray stated that Finance department had not cleared the files. To this, Banerjee again rebuked Ray asking him why he did not take up the matter with the Finance secretary, sources revealed.

She also blamed 20-wheel trailers for destroying the bridges of the city. "I told Kolkata Police to prevent 20-wheel trailers from entering the city. They destroy old and new bridges. Kolkata Port Trust has to make alternative arrangements using railways and waterways to transport heavy cargo. We will also check the bridge conditions of other parts of the city where Metro works are being undertaken," she added.

On the other hand, PWD engineers told the Chief Minister that it would take three months to repair the bridge and 1.5-2 years to rebuild the bridge using modern technology.

Meanwhile, state BJP president Dilip Ghosh attacked the state government forensic report stating how tar layering covered up the cracks in Majerhat bridge. "The state government was dillydallying on offering the contract for repairing the bridge. When the Chief Minister went to Behala on August 15, patchworks were done over the cracks of the bridge to cover them up. Some two feet thick tar layers were put up on the bridge," he said.

He also refuted Mamata Banejree's claims that Metro rail works were to be blamed for the collapse. "No expert has said that the collapse occurred due to Metro works. She has to deal with what has happened and cannot get away with putting the blame on others. Immediately other bridges should be surveyed and repaired. Army should be called in to make a temporary bridge over collapsed Majerhat Bridge," he added.

Meanwhile, the case of causing death by negligence (Section 304A IPC) against 'unknown responsible persons' which was registered by Alipore police station on Wednesday was transferred to the detective department of Kolkata Police. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by joint commissioner of police (crime) Praveen Kumar Tripathi was formed to investigate the case.
Abhijit Mulye By

Express News Service

MUMBAI: Maharashtra government would be hosting global disaster management conference in collaboration with IIT-B, TIFR, DMICS Hyderabad and others, state minister for relief and rehabilitation Chandrakant Patil has said.

"Future we want - Bridging the Gap between the Promises and Action" would be the theme for the conference to be organized at the Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai from January 29 to February 1, 2019, the minister said adding that, "to give impetus to the research and discussion with respect to Disaster Management," is the aim of the meet where over 1,500 overseas participants are expected.

The first meeting of the Steering Committee constituted for the Conference was held at Mantralaya on Thursday after which Patil interacted with the media. "This is the fourth of this kind of conference. All the previous three conferences were organized in Andhra Pradesh, where delegated from 56 countries had participated. This is the first time when the conference is being held in Mumbai and an increased participation from domestic as well as the international experts is expected," the minister said.

The Risk Management in Disaster, Agriculture, Health, Education and sustainable development in disaster management are the topics that would be discussed at the conference. Maharashtra government has an excellent track record of disaster management and the conference would be the window for presenting it on the global platform, the minister said.
By ANI

WASHINGTON: The producers of 'London Fields' announced that after reaching a settlement with actor Amber Heard, they have paved the way for the film to release, which has long been delayed.

Most importantly, money wasn't issued to Heard as a part of this settlement that took place on Wednesday.

In November 2016, the producers accused Heard of 'Aquaman' fame, of disrupting the film premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, reported the Variety.

The film, which is based on a dystopian novel authored by Martin Amis novel, is now scheduled to release on October 26. Heard stars alongside Jim Sturgess and Billy Bob Thornton in the flick.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: 'Three cheers for the Supreme Court,' screamed Bollywood as the apex court on Thursday decriminalised homosexuality.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Rohinton Fali Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra, issued the verdict on a bunch of petitions filed to scrap the law. "Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible," observed the bench unanimously while delivering the verdict.

Terming it as a "historical judgment", celebs took to social media to express their support and happiness.

Director Hansal Mehta, who made "Aligarh", a true-life inspired film about in Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras, who faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a "new beginning".

"A new beginning. The law is gone. The Supreme Court has done what parliament failed to do. Now it's time for attitudes to change. Let's rejoice but let us also reflect. This is a new beginning. #Sec377verdict," he tweeted.

Giving the verdict a 'huge' thumbs up, ace filmmaker Karan Johar said, "Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"

Here's what the others posted:

Swara Bhasker: Congratulations to all the activists and petitioners on #SupremeCourt judgement scrapping #Section377 Your perseverance just made #India a freer place for everyone ! #LoveIsLove #Pride #377Verdict #377Scrapped Three cheers for the #SupremeCourt

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja This is the India I want to live in. Not one filled with hate, bigotry,sexism homophobia and intolerance. THIS is the India I love.

Farhan Akhtar said the verdict was "about time".

"Bye bye 377. Thank you #SupremeCourt #abouttime #nomorediscrimination #loveislove @MardOfficial," he tweeted.

Arjun Kapoor: Sanity prevails for once we can believe we have some sensible decision makers and lawmaker s available to this generation. #Section377 gone with the wind.

Sanity prevails for once we can believe we have some sensible decision makers and lawmaker s available to this generation. #Section377 gone with the wind.  Arjun Kapoor (@arjunk26) September 6, 2018

Taapsee Pannu: My India of 2018!!!! Truly heartening ! Let's embrace one n all and their choices

Ayushmann Khurrana: RIP #Section377 The new sunshine of this day is that of a progressive India. Love all!

RIP #Section377

The new sunshine of this day is that of a progressive India. Love all!  Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) September 6, 2018

Actor Nimrat Kaur wrote on Twitter, "RIP #Section377. Happy birthday 2018 !! Equal love. Equal lives.Proud Indian today."

Actor Kalki Koechlin wrote, "So happy today, thank goodness for the rainbow (and all the lawyers that helped put it there!)," she wrote.

Known as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the 157-year-old law criminalised certain sexual acts, terming them as 'unnatural offences', punishable by a 10-year jail term.

(with PTI inputs)
Shilajit Mitra By

BNS

There's quite some reason to single out Siddhanth Kapoor as the most unlikely star kid in Bollywood. His goofy career choices belie the comic legacy of his father Shakti Kapoor or the mainstream appeal of his sister Shraddha. In Anurag Kashyap's 2014 thriller, Ugly, Siddhanth played a scheming iPhone smuggler who fakes the kidnapping of his niece; in Apoorva Lakhia's Haseena Parkar (2017), he stepped up as a grunting and brawling Dawood Ibrahim. In JP Dutta's upcoming war film, Paltan, we will glimpse yet another side to Siddhanth.

"I am the youngest star in Paltan. I play a havildar who works for the intelligence. It's a very honourable role for me to play. I have lived with real soldiers for two months... I've hung out with them and had food with them. I got to know how difficult it is for soldiers to defend and protect our country. They do it very selflessly. We all need to respect that, and I dont think we do, the 34-year-old actor tells Express.

Paltan boasts an ensemble cast, including Jackie Shroff, Arjun Rampal, Sonu Sood, Harshvardhan Rane, Luv Sinha, Esha Gupta, and Sonal Chauhan. Was there ever a fear of obscurity? "This is not that kind of a film. Everyone is just playing a character. Even if an actor says two lines in the film, I'm sure it will leave an impact in a film like this. Theres no hero in this film, and at once, everyone is a hero," he says.

On his surprising choice of roles, Siddhanth says, "I like to do things that someone else will not. I like playing roles that are edgy, and out of the box. I like characters that are emotional, comical, and crazy, and often, all at the same time. Thats probably why all my roles have been very different so far."

Recalling his experience of working with JP Dutta (Border, Refugee, LOC Kargil), Siddhanth adds, "I have worked with many directors and all of them have a different approach with actors. With JP sir, it was like a student-teacher relationship. It was very formal and respectful. I've loved his Ghulami (1985) and Hathyar (1989) besides all his war films. He has a vision that is meticulously planned. He sees the film in his head. He doesn't take any spare shots; he knows exactly what he wants."

Based on the 1967 Nathu La and Cho La clashes between India and China, Paltan attempts to unearth some new realities about war. "He (JP Dutta) knows every aspect of war. He takes you behind the scenes to show the consequence of war, and how governments and armies interact. He shows you all sides of war in the film," Siddhanth promises.

Five years since his acting debut in Shootout at Wadala, comparisons with Shraddha have shadowed Siddhanth's career. "Why would anyone compare a brother to his sister? A brother will always be happy if his sister is scaling new heights and reaching the top. Shraddha and I are very close siblings. I just laugh whenever I read such comparisons.

She means a lot more to me than just a fellow actor," he says.

But this doesnt mean he doesnt go to his family for help and advice. Of course, I take their advice. Every script of mine is read by my father before I sign the film. He is always supportive of me. So is my sister.
Avinash Ramachandran By

Express News Service

Guns, gangsters, drugs and jazz music are highlights of the intriguing trailer of Vanjagar Ulagam (VU), which exudes the vibe of a Tamil film with Western influences. Manoj Beedha, director and producer of the film, agrees: "Martin Scorsese films have a lot of jazz music. I think it makes films cooler, and VU has a lot of such elements. It is a layered film.

The trailer's rich visuals turned out to be the calling card for the film, and the first-time filmmaker reveals that it was cinematography and sound design that interested him about cinema in the first place. A product of the New York Film Academy, Manoj credits the institute for teaching him scripting. His love for cinematography made him choose his Mexican-origin classmate, Rodrigo Del Rio Herrera, as his cinematographer.

It will add a fresh perspective to the film. The way he looks at things is quite different from cinematographers here," says Manoj. Rodrigo, unfortunately, could only shoot half of the film due to visa issues, and Saravanan Ramasamy, Nirav Shah's assistant, stepped in to finish the shoot. The cinematography made this film a considerably expensive affair, but Manoj feels that the quality of the film is important and producing it himself allowed him the freedom to focus on filmmaking.

"When some ideas are too bold, people are not too welcoming. They try to cut corners and dont want to spend too much on technical aspects," says Manoj who has mainly roped in friends and acquaintances to work on this film. Another classmate of his, V Vinayak, is the brains behind the story, and the film stars his friends, Cibi and Vishagan. "I didn't want to write my own film. Vinayak and I worked on the screenplay together. I had a unique idea and Im confident the execution will be received well."

Another major highlight is music by Vikram Vedha-fame Sam CS. "Only after almost 50 per cent of the shooting was done did Sam come on board. From jazz to carnatic dubstep, Manoj believes Sam's attempt at different genres has elevated the film, especially with its background score and re-recording.

Guru Somasundaram's presence has also done a great deal for the film. Despite being in famous gangster films like Aaranya Kaandam and Jigarthandaa, Guru hadn't played a gangster yet - not till this film. "I didn't have him in mind while writing the role. But I felt that it would be an interesting challenge to cast a good actor who is not physically intimidating for such a role, he says. Pudhupettai is a big inspiration actually. I know all the dialogues of the film by heart." Guru's improvisations, he says, have largely aided this film.

The director calls the film a thriller that revolves around actor Chandini Tamilarasan's character. Though a self-admitted masala film fan, Manoj's debut project is rather offbeat. He explains, "I am a huge fan of Mani Ratnam and Selvaraghavan. They strike a chord between both offbeat and commercial cinema. I feel whatever engages you is commercial and in that sense, VU is a thoroughly commercial film."

Making offbeat film allows filmmakers some liberty to be politically incorrect.

Manoj agrees: "Smaller films allow you room to experiment and the risk is a lot lesser. My next film has a bigger budget and the constraints will be a lot more." Its probably why Manoj will be working on two versions for his next film: A no-holds-barred version for Netflix and a family-friendly version for the theatres.

He isn't pleased about the censor boards recommendations for cuts despite giving VU an adult certificate. "I know people who do drugs, I know people who have extra-marital affairs. Cuss words were edited out. How long are we going to pretend these things dont happen? If you give me 'A', then you should allow me the freedom to retain my scenes at least," says Manoj.

VU had to reschedule its release date in the last minute due to the sudden release of Nayantara's Imaikkaa Nodigal. The big-ticket release reduced the number of available theatres. This was a huge setback and now, Ive been forced to spend more money for the publicity," says Manoj who believes that the system is partial to bigger and influential names.

"I will talk to Vishal about it and see what can be done. There needs to be a protocol in place. All I'm asking for is an even playing ground for films like this," says this director, a former assistant to Peraanmai director SP Jananathan. With Vanjagar Ulagam finally gearing up for release this Friday, ask him if the producer in him is satisfied with the director and Manoj admits, "As a producer, I don't like the director so much. As a director, I have used the producer to make a mark in the industry. I'll be able to repay this debt to my next producer."
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Giving a clarion call for generating employment, better support price for farm produce, debt waiver for agricultural workers and universal social security, among other demands, thousands of workers, farmers and agricultural labourers marched from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street, forming a sea of red in the national capital on Wednesday.

The traffic in Central Delhi was thrown out of gear as workers and farmers from across the country, holding red flags and banners and wearing red caps, raised slogans against the policies of the BJP-led Central government as they marched.

The farmers and workers had gathered in Delhi to take part in the Mazdoor Kishan Sangharsh Rally, organised jointly by the Left-affiliated Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All-India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU).

Farm leaders and trade unions vowed to intensify their protests across the country as they claimed the government has been ignoring their demands. On the agenda is a trade union conclave to announce a two-day strike in September-end, Youth March to Parliament on November 3 and a long march in Delhi  on the lines of the long march in Mumbai  on November 28-30.

The government has not fulfilled any promises made to the farmers during the Nashik long march. They (Centre) will not listen to our demands and we have to intensify the countrywide agitation in the weeks to come, said CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

A poster, with a tribute to slain journalist Gauri Lankesh, was also put and books written by Left ideologues worldwide were being sold at the protest site.

Brahm Pal, a farmer from Rohtak in Haryana, said, We do cotton farming. I have three sons. They do not have any job, so they help me out in the farms. But every year, a large part of our crop gets destroyed due to the cotton worm. We made many requests to the state government but nobody listens, he said.

Bharti, a mid-day meal worker in a Telangana school, said the rules for the scheme had been changed by the government and its costing them their livelihood.

The government is not paying us for the work that we are doing. For each egg that we are supposed to provide in the meal, the government gives just `6, but that is not the actual price of egg. Nobody in my neighbourhood will vote for Modi.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Opposition Congress Thursday demanded suspension of top Maharashtra police officials for briefing the media on the arrests of five Left wing activists in August in connection with the January 1 Bhima Koregaon violence.

ALSO READ: Bombay High Court raps Maharashtra Police for divulging info on sensitive cases

The demand was made hours after the Supreme Court rapped the police officials concerned for addresing the media following the arrests.

Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of Congress alleged that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is into "contempt" of court over the police briefing to media, as he heads Home portfolio.

Vikhe Patil sought apology of Fadnvais over the "contempt".

Maharashtra Additional Director General (ADG) of Police Parambir Singh and Pune Police Commissioner K Venkatesham had last week addressed the media separately in the run up to hearing of the matter before the apex court.

ALSO READ: Bhima-Koregaon violence: Rights activists to remain under house arrest till September 12, says SC

In a media briefing in Mumbai on August 31, Singh defended the Pune police's nationwide crackdown and arrest of the activists on August 28.

Venkatesham had told reporters that police are in possession of "digital" evidence about a "larger conspiracy" to mobilise cadres for "action" against security forces.

Vikhe Patil also questionned the authority of the police officials in addressing reporters on the sensitive matter.

"The ADG and the Pune commissioner of police should be immediately suspended after the supreme court's objection.

The chief minister should apologise for the contempt of court and misleading people of the state," the Congress leader demanded.

The Pune Police had arrested Left-wing activists Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bhardwaj and Gautam Navlakha after conducting nationwide raids.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into a conclave -- Elgar Parishad -- held in Pune on December 31 last year, which had allegedly triggered caste clashes at Bhima Koregaon in the district the next day.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged the police officials had read out "press releases" under "pressure" from the government.

"People are afraid of the police system. We insist the police to discharge their duties within the framework of law. Governments come and go. They (police) should not act under the pressure," he told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, the apex court extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: According to the affidavit, the accused were also involved in the process of creating large-scale violence and destruction of property resulting in chaos, as per the agenda of CPI (Maoist), which has been banned since 2009.

They (the accused) arranged public meetings under the banner of Elgaar Parishad. It appears clearly that Elgaar is a corrupted version of Yalgaar which means the attack... they were found to be playing a very vital role in the criminal offences, the affidavit stated.

Describing dissent as the safety valve of democracy, the Supreme Court had on August 29 directed that the five activists be kept under house arrest till September 6, the next date of hearing.

The court had also questioned the activists arrests nine months after the violence between Dalits and upper castes at Bhima Koregaon.

The Maharashtra government said the state was committed to protecting the fundamental rights of every citizen and that a mere dissenting view, difference in ideology or vehement objections to political thinking cannot only not be prohibited, but should be welcomed in any democratic country.

The SC had issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the police seeking a factual report on a petition filed by five people, including historian Romila Thapar and economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, seeking the release of the five arrested activists.

The Maharashtra police said the material found from computers, laptops, pen drives and memory cards of the accused clearly implicated them not only as active members of the banned CPI(ML) but also brought to light a design to commit criminal offences, which had the potential of destabilising society.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Countering allegations of any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal signed between India and France, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar Thursday said what is being alleged does not match with facts at all.

He was responding to queries by reporters on the sidelines of an international seminar - 8th Heli Power India - held at the Subruto Park in New Delhi, on allegations levelled by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on the government in connection with the Rs 58,000 crore deal for 36 Rafale jets.

The Congress has raised several questions on the deal, including over the cost escalation for the fighters.

The government has rejected the charges, but did not disclose the price details, saying a 2008 India-France agreement bars it from doing so.

Gandhi had claimed that the price of the Rafale fighters "magically" rose from Rs 540 crore a piece finalised by the UPA government to Rs 1,600 crore per jet under the NDA dispensation.

"This, who are claiming such numbers, I think they are misinformed and probably not aware of the facts that are known to us in the Indian Air Force," Nambiar said.

"As we are the ones who were very much part of the negotiations with the French government. And we have the facts with us," he said.

"And, I don't think what is being alleged matches up with facts at all," Nambiar said.

Asked about the price of a Rafale jet, alleged to be much higher than the previous negotiated price, he said, the total cost of acquisition consists of two elements - one, the price itself that dictates the total cost and second is the payment term.

"I can tell you that the Rafale that we have gone for is substantially lower than the price that was on the table in 2008," he said.

On a question on allegation of offset contract being awarded to certain private players, he said, "The facts on record, indicate that there is no truth in those allegations.

" India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for 36 Rafale fighters.

The delivery is scheduled to begin from September 2019.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.
By IANS

PATNA: Trains were forcibly halted, railway tracks, national and state highways blocked in Bihar as upper caste communities on Thursday tried to impose a shutdown called to protest against the SC/ST Act, police said.

Hundreds of people from the upper caste communities took to streets across the state early in the day to protest against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and rail traffic in Patna, Gaya, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Madhubni, Bhojpur, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura ,Nawada and Bhagalour districts. Traffic remained disrupted for hours.

#Bihar: Protesters set fire to tyres in Mokama (pic 1) and block road (pic 3) in Badh during #BharatBandh protests. pic.twitter.com/RRUbZlMxRs  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

They also raised slogans against the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded reservation for the poor among the upper castes in jobs and educational institutions.

The protest was called by over two dozen groups including the Sawarn Sena and the Bhumihar-Brahmin Ekta Manch on the social media.

Security has been tightened in the state with additional forces deployed at sensitive places.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with the violence in Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

ALSO READ | Activists were planning violence to destabilise society: Police

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.

"You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we don't want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong," the bench told ASG Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Maharashtra government.

The bench also asked petitioner Romila Thapar and others to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case.

Meanwhile, Mehta told the bench that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing investigation. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 12.

The Maharashtra government had yesterday told the apex court that the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI(Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views.

The state police had filed the affidavit in response to a plea of historian Romila Thapar and four others, challenging the arrest of the five activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, and claimed that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

While prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from Delhi.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year, which had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village in Pune district of Maharashtra.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday advised against use of "complex technical terms" in Hindi, saying the language instead should be spread through day-to-day conversation.

Chairing the 31st meeting of Central Hindi Committee, Modi said that educational institutions can help in leading this campaign.

"He (Modi) stressed that the Hindi language should be spread through day-to-day conversations and complex technical terms should be avoided or used negligibly for official purposes," a statement from Prime Minister's Office quoted him as saying.

"Prime Minister assured all the members that we can connect with the whole world with the help of all the Indian languages including Hindi," read the statement.

He said that Indians are proud of Tamil, one of the world's oldest, and that "all languages of the country can enrich Hindi".

The Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat, and other members of the committee participated in the meeting.
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Forget about ruling BJP espousing the cause of cow. Its now the turn of opposition Congress to turn into Gau Rakshak (cow savior) in Assembly poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.

With Assembly polls just two and half months away in the central Indian state, the MP Congress chief Kamal Nath has promised to build a cowshed in every village panchayat of the state, if the party was voted to power.

The former union minister and nine-time sitting Lok Sabha member from Chhindwara constituency of MP made the announcement at a public meeting in Ganjbasoda town of Vidisha district recently and later tweeted, Well build a cowshed in every village panchayat, its not merely an announcement, but a fervent pledge.

The State Congress media in-charge Shobha Oza confirmed to TNIE the development on Wednesday and added that Congress would stick to its pledge of building cowshed in each village panchayat once it comes to power in the state. Our aim is to save the cows as well as generate productive employment in villages for jobless youths, she added.

The Congress has been proactively raising the issue of cows. Recently, former Lok Sabha member and legislator from Rewa district Sunderlal Tiwari had raised the matter of carcasses of six stray cows buried in the Rewa Municipal Corporation (RMC) premises close to a Ram temple.

The protest by Congress workers had led to the exhuming of the carcasses from the RMC premises on August 12.

Oza continued, Our veteran legislator Ariq Aqeel had moved a private member Bill in the Vidhan Sabha, demanding proper burial/funeral of cows to be funded by government as the cows are most revered animal. However, the legislators of the same BJP had ensured that bill was rejected by 55-130 votes.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India and the US Thursday held the first edition of the two-plus-two talks, aimed at further strengthening bilateral defence and security collaboration as well as boosting their global strategic partnership, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held talks with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

In her opening remarks, Swaraj said she was confident the outcome of the talks will help unleash the untapped potential of the relationship between the two nations and further elevate the level of engagement.

This meeting is a reflection of tremendous focus that we've made in developing our ties over past few years. It's a strong recognition of immense potential of our bilateral partnership for benefit of our people,region&beyond: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during '2+2' talks pic.twitter.com/jvAGHsLGH8  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018



She said there has been significant progress in all key areas of cooperation between the two countries.

In his remarks, Pompeo said both sides should continue to ensure freedom of the seas and work towards peaceful resolutions of territorial and maritime disputes, seen as an oblique reference to China's expansionist behaviour in the South China Sea.

He also stressed on promoting market-based economics and good governance.

Diplomatic sources said both sides will try to finalise certain defence agreements, which will enable their militaries as well as their private sectors to work more closely together, both on defense acquisitions and collaborations.

The US has been trying to enhance military ties with India, which is seen as an effort to counter-balance China's growing military assertiveness in the region.

#WATCH United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's opening remarks during '2+2' talks with India in Delhi pic.twitter.com/ZuljhxUefm  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the dialogue was a reflection of the shared commitment of the two countries to provide a positive, forward-looking vision to their strategic partnership and rowing convergence on important issues.

Sources said the US attaches great importance to India's engagement in the Indo-Pacific region and the issue figures prominently in the talks.

A raft of other important issues like US sanctions on the import of Iranian crude oil and India's plan to buy a batch of S-400 air defence missile systems from Russia are being discussed, official sources said.

In May, the US withdrew from the landmark Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed the sanctions that had been suspended in return for curbs on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier after Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

The US' sanctions on the import of Iranian petroleum products will be effective from November 4.

Referring to the S-400 missile deal, the sources said it was for the US to decide on what steps it may take if India goes ahead with the procurement, notwithstanding the US' sanctions against Moscow relating to defence supplies.

Earlier in the day, Swaraj and Sitharaman held separate meetings with Pompeo and Mattis respectively.

Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were discussed during the meetings.

MEA Spokesperson Kumar called the meeting between Swaraj and Pompeo a "productive" engagement.

He said the two sides took stock of "impressive strides" in the bilateral relationship and discussed steps to take the relationship to an "even higher trajectory".

Pompeo and Mattis arrived here Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-US two-plus-two talks which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year.
Ramananda Sengupta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Joseph Francis Dunford arrived in New Delhi for the 2+2 Dialogue after a brief halt in Pakistan on Wednesday evening, and was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the airport.

US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis arrived separately and was received at the airport by his counterpart, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and other senior officials.

Pompeo and Mattis will meet with Swaraj and Sitharaman on Thursday for the first-ever 2+2 Dialogue between the strategic partners.

In Islamabad, Pompeo and Dunford met Pakistans newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. The visit came days after the US announced cutting $300 million military aid to Pakistan.

In a statement earlier, Pompeo had acknowledged that bilateral ties had soured during the earlier government in Pakistan, and that he hoped that they could now turn the page and begin to make progress. However, he noted that there are real expectations. We need Pakistan to seriously engage to help us get to the reconciliation we need in Afghanistan.

Pompeo also clarified that in India, while issues like the effect of US sanctions on Indias purchase of the S400 Triumpf air missile defence system from Russia and oil from Iran might be discussed, they would not be stumbling blocks in the talks.

They are (missile system purchase from Russia and oil from Iran) part of the conversation. They are part of the relationship. They will certainly come up, but I dont think they will be the primary focus of what it is we are trying to accomplish here, he said.

There are half-a-dozen things on the agenda that we are really intent on making progress on. Those decisions are important, they are important to the relationship for sure, but I dont see us resolving those or have intention to resolve those during this set of meetings of the strategic dialogue, he said.

They are really about things that are big and strategic and will go on for 20, 40, 50 years. Those are the kinds of topics that secretary Mattis and I are hoping to address  not that those are not important, but they are not part of the structural relationship between the two countries.

Seperately, Dunford said, India is one of our premier security partners and an important and influential global leader. Our nations are united by shared values and a commitment to freedom. The 2+2 presents an historic opportunity to develop our growing partnership and to explore ways of enhancing our security cooperation.
By Online Desk

In a historic judgment, Supreme Court of India's five-judge Constitution bench on Thursday had unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex.

The verdict invoked a varied reaction from the public sphere. Here are some of them:

The Indian National Congress

The Congress Thursday hailed as "momentous" the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising consensual gay sex and termed it as an important step forward towards a liberal and tolerant society.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the age-old colonial law was an anachronism in today's modern times and the verdict restores the fundamental rights and negates discrimination based on sexual orientation.

We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society. #Section377 pic.twitter.com/Fh65vOn7h9  Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2018

The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh

Right-wing organisation RSS has put out a statement saying that it does not believe homosexuality is a criminal offence but it's not natural. The statement says that the Indian society did not accept such relations and this issue (homosexuality) needs a social and psychological solution.

Shashi Tharoor:

The parliamentarian from Thiruvananthapuram constituency, Shashi Tharoor tweeted that the decision vindicates his stand on Section 377 and on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity and constitutional freedoms. He goes on to say that the verdict shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed him in the Lok Sabha.

So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018

LGBTQ community people with a rainbow flag celebrate the Supreme Court

verdict which decriminalises consensual gay sex in Bengaluru. (Photo | PTI)

Sri Sri Ravishankar

The spiritual guru has tweeted that "Letting go of obsolete laws, keeping up with a scientific temper and honouring peoples choices has strengthened our democracy".

Letting go of obsolete laws, keeping up with a scientific temper and honouring peoples choices has strengthened our democracy. #Section377  Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (@SriSri) September 6, 2018

The United Nations

In a statement, the United Nations welcomed the Supreme Court judgment and said it was the first step towards ensuring full fundamental rights to LGBTI persons.

"The UN in India sincerely hopes that the court's ruling will be the first step towards guaranteeing the full range of fundamental rights to LGBTI persons. We also hope that the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBTI persons in all areas of social, economic, cultural and political activity, thereby ensuring a truly inclusive society," the statement said.

Filmmaker Karan Johar:

Giving the verdict a 'huge' thumbs up, ace filmmaker Karan Johar said, "Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"

On a related note, Menaka Guruswamy, the Supreme Court lawyer and BR Ambedkar Scholar and lecturer of Columbia law school had tweeted before the verdict:

"With the Constitution in our hearts, we go to our Court, to seek to remove a colonial stain on our collective national conscience. Section 377 your time has come. See you in Court on Tuesday."

The verdict:

Calling the Section 377 irrational and arbitrary, CJI Dipak Misra had said that the LGBTQ community enjoys same rights as other citizens under the Constitution.

The apex court also said that the judgment will be considered in all pending prosecutions.

READ FULL REPORT | Section 377 verdict: Supreme Court legalises homosexuality

"Denial of self-expression is like death. Social morality cannot violate the rights of even one single individual. Sexual orientation is natural and people have no control on it," Misra added.

He also said that Any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to a violation of fundamental rights.

The apex court, however, said other aspects of Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children shall remain in force.
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: In yet another incident of mob violence in Jharkhand, one person was killed while two others were seriously injured after being thrashed by the people at Tisibar village of Palamu late in the evening on Wednesday. Police said that the villagers attacked the three strangers as soon as they were spotted in the village suspecting them as robbers.

Later, during investigations, it was found that the victims had come to the village to meet a girl for married in the village. The two survivors have been admitted to Sadar Hospital and are said to be stable now.

"Those who attacked the three persons have been identified and efforts are being made to arrest them as soon as possible. As of now, our primary focus is on the treatment of the victims and an investigation in this regard has been initiated," said Palamu SP Indrajeet Mahtha. The person who died has been identified as Bablu Mushar, while Vikas and Guddu Mushar were left injured by the mob, he added.

All the victims were immediately rushed to Bishrampur Hospital from where they were referred to Sadar Hospital in Daltonganj where Bablu Mushar died during the treatment.

Mahtha further added that those people had come from Aurangabad in Bihar to meet a girl for marriage at Tisibar village but the villagers of Murma Khurd thrashed them badly suspecting them as thieves.

"As soon as the information reached to us, a police team was rushed to the spot which tried to rescue those people but the villagers were not ready to hand them over to police and got out of control following which the police had to fire four rounds of bullets in the air to disperse the crowd," said the SP. Notably, a robbery had taken place in a house at Murma Khurd village on Tuesday night during which the robbers had made lthal attacks on women and children present there which had terrorized the villagers at lot, said the SP.

The incident allegedly took place after a rumour was spread among the villagers that those three people were behind the robbery.

"We are lodging two FIRs in the matter - one for murdering a person by the crowd while another will be lodged for creating hurdles before government servants in carrying out his duty," said the SP. A recommendation for carrying out speedy trial in the case will also be made as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court, he added.

One of the injured persons, Guddu Mashar said that the crowd wanted to kill them at any cost which also attacked on the Police team after they reached there to rescue them. He said that they had gone to the village to see the daughter of Lallu Mushar for marriage but were attacked suspecting them as robbers.

Meanwhile, adequate deployment of police force has been done in the village to avoid any untoward incident and Palamu SP has been keeping a close eye by camping in the village itself.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken Amol Kale, the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case, in its custody in connection with its probe in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder case, an official said Thursday.

The CBI suspects that Kale is also the mastermind of Dabholkar's killing, he said.

Kale was arrested in May this year by the Karnataka Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with Lankesh's killing.

He will be produced before a court in Maharashtra's Pune district Thursday, he said.

Dabholkar was killed in Pune on August 20, 2013, while Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence at Bengaluru in Karnataka on September 5, 2017.

The official claimed that during Kale's interrogation, his alleged role in Dabholkar's killing also came to light.

Kale and Sachin Andure, the alleged main shooter in Dabholkar's killing, had met in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district and also stayed there in a lodge, he said.

During his stay in Aurangabad, Kale gave a pistol to Andure and it was passed to the latter's brother-in-law Shubham Surale, the official said.

The pistol was found last month at Surale's friend Rohit Rege's residence in Aurangabad during raids by the CBI and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

The seized pistol was sent to a forensic science lab for analysis and the ballistic report is yet to be known, he said.

The CBI wants to interrogate Kale to find out about his alleged role in the Dabholkar case and in this connection, the probe agency Wednesday took his custody from a prison in Bengaluru, he said.

During the course of the investigation, the CBI is likely to confront Sharad Kalaskar, the other alleged shooter in the Dabholkar case, with Kale, and two others arrested in Lankesh's murder case -- Amit Digvekar and Rajesh Bangera, another official said.

The agency had claimed earlier that Digvekar and Bangera were also involved in the Dabholkar murder conspiracy.

It had arrested the duo in the Dabholkar case last week.

Kalaskar was arrested last month by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with an alleged conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state.

The ATS had claimed that during interrogation, Kalaskar revealed that he and Sachin Andure were involved in the Dabholkar murder, following which it tipped off the CBI which then arrested Andure.

The CBI took Kalaskar's custody from the ATS on Monday.
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Once Mary Lincoln became a public figure, many men sought to label her, define her and defame her. We have seen Mary painted as unstable, mean-spirited and crazy. But, was that really who Mary Lincoln was? Join in this panel discussion with three female historians as we hold an empathetic, evidence-based discussion about Mary Lincoln. Go beyond the stereotypes to learn more about this remarkable woman. Panelists are Callie Hawkins, Director of Programming at President Lincoln's Cottage; Stacy McDermott, author of Mary Lincoln: Southern Girl, Northern Woman, and Erika Holst, Illinois State Museum History Curator. Hosted by the Illinois 217-782-6044
Express News Service By

NEW DELHI: With the Congress trying to build a narrative around alleged corruption in the Rafale deal, the government on Wednesday rejected the Opposition demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the purchase of the fighter jets, with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitely saying its not an option just to satisfy the ego of an ill-informed gentleman (meaning Congress president Rahul Gandhi).

Jaitelys remarks came after Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval made a detailed presentation at a Cabinet meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Rafale deal. The presentation came in the backdrop of BJPs strategy to arm party leaders with adequate information to counter the Congress campaign on the issue.

Jaitley, who refused to reveal the details of the presentation, launched a scathing attack on the Congress saying the party had proved that ignorance is contagious in a dynastic party.

One individuals innocence and lack of knowledge have led to the whole party becoming ignorant. I gave out statistics and posed questions to them. Its very unfortunate for the president of a national party to launch into a debate while giving figures from `500 crore to `1,600 crore (cost of each jet), he added, reiterating that the NDA government had been able to get the jets cheaper.

At a meeting called by party chief Amit Shah on Tuesday, the BJP had decided to counter the Congress campaign on Rafale. The meeting was attended by Jaitely, Ravi Shankar Prasad and other senior leaders. With top officials briefing ministers on the Rafale deal, the BJP will be better equipped to counter the Congress campaign, said a party source.
By ENS & Agencies

NEW DELHI: A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC that banned consensual unnatural sex between adults.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and comprising Rohinton Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra pronounced their verdict in a 493-page judgment.

READ HERE: Meet the young lawyers who fought for decriminalising Section 377

CJI Misra began by invoking the great German philosopher Goethe, "I am what I am, so take me as I am."

Calling Section 377 irrational and arbitrary, the CJI stressed that the LGBTQ community enjoys the same rights as other citizens under the Constitution.

Click below to read the full judgment:

The apex court said that the judgment will be considered in all pending prosecutions.

#WATCH Celebrations at Delhi's The Lalit hotel after Supreme Court legalises homosexuality. Keshav Suri, the executive director of Lalit Group of hotels is a prominent LGBT activist. pic.twitter.com/yCa04FexFE  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

"Denial of self-expression is like death. Social morality cannot violate the rights of even one single individual. Sexual orientation is natural and people have no control on it," Justice Misra stated.

He also said that any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to a violation of fundamental rights.

The court, however, said other aspects of Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children shall remain in force.

Justice Nariman in his concurring judgement said homosexuality was not a mental disorder or a disease.

"Persons who are homosexual have a fundamental right to live with dignity," Nariman said.

Celebrations in Chennai after Supreme Court legalises homosexuality. pic.twitter.com/b9Zye3F361  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Centre must give wide publicity of this verdict to put to end the social stigma associated with homosexuality, he added.

Saying that individual liberty is the soul of the constitution, Justice DY Chandrachud observed, "Section 377 is a colonial legacy and it continued in the law book even after independence."

'History owes an apology to the members of this community'

Justice Indu Malhotra in her judgement said, Sexual orientation is innate to a human being. It is an important attribute of ones personality and identity. Homosexuality and bisexuality are natural variants of human sexuality. LGBT persons have little or no choice over their sexual orientation. LGBT persons, like other heterosexual persons, are entitled to their privacy, and the right to lead a dignified existence, without fear of persecution. They are entitled to complete autonomy over the most intimate decisions relating to their personal life, including the choice of their partners. Such choices must be protected under Article 21. The right to life and liberty would encompass the right to sexual autonomy, and freedom of expression. The right to life and liberty would encompass the right to sexual autonomy, and freedom of expression."

"History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution. This was on account of the ignorance of the majority to recognise that homosexuality is a completely natural condition, part of a range of human sexuality. The misapplication of this provision denied them the Fundamental Right to equality guaranteed by Article 14. It infringed the Fundamental Right to non-discrimination under Article 15, and the Fundamental Right to live a life of dignity and privacy guaranteed by Article 21. The LGBT persons deserve to live a life unshackled from the shadow of being 'unapprehended felons'" she stressed in her conclusion.

The apex court also said that the above verdict is just the first step in decriminalising the Section 377.

We have finally got justice. We are finally 'azaad in azaad Hind': Ashok Row Kavi, LGBT rights activist and founder of Humsafar Trust on Supreme Court legalises homosexuality pic.twitter.com/F2dBq5SLti  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and earlier said whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional.

The issue was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001.

The Delhi High Court had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal".

This high court judgement was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals, including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held separate meetings Thursday with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis respectively.

Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were to be discussed during the meetings.

Both Pompeo and Mattis arrived here Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-US two-plus-two talks which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year.

In a special gesture, Swaraj received Secretary Pompeo at the airport here yesterday while Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attaches to their visit here.

The officials said the focus of the two-plus-two talks will be to deepen the global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran.
By PTI

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) has issued a notice to BJP MLA Ram Kadam for telling youngsters he would "kidnap" a girl they like, and sought his response within eight days.

The MLA, who apologised for his controversial remarks Thursday, had made the comments at a 'dahi handi' event in his suburban Ghatkopar assembly constituency Monday night.

The state women's commission took suo moto (on its own) cognisance of the legislator's remarks based on various reports and issued a notice to him Wednesday.

"We have issued a notice to Kadam and asked him to present his side within a period of eight days," MSCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said.

Meanwhile, Kadam apologised for his remarks which "hurt the sentiments of women".

"By doctoring my statements, my political rivals created an atmosphere which has hurt the sentiments of our mothers and sisters.

I have already expressed regret over my comments and (I am) once again tendering an apology to all my mothers and sisters," Kadam tweeted in Marathi.

He had expressed regret Wednesday over his remarks, which triggered an outrage, and issued a video message on social media, saying, "I have very high regard for women.

Without giving any explanation about the video clip (of his controversial remarks), I express my regret.

"Claiming that his comments were distorted, Kadam said, "A (conveniently) edited video clip of my Ghatkopar event is being widely circulated but I am not going to make any comments about it.

"The Shiv Sena, which is an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, and the opposition parties in Maharashtra Wednesday raised their pitch for action against Kadam and likened him to demon king Ravan.

The Opposition warned that it would not allow transaction of business during the winter session of the state legislature if no action is taken against the MLA.

BJP state spokesperson Madhav Bhandari, however, had played down Kadam's remark, saying as the MLA has expressed regret, the matter is over.
Ramananda Sengupta By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The India-US strategic partnership got a significant shot in the arm with the conclusion of the first 2+2 dialogue which concluded in New Delhi Thursday, particularly with the signing of the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will facilitate access to advanced and encrypted American defense systems and enable India to optimally utilize its existing US-origin platforms. The two sides also pledged to work together on regional and global issues, including in bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral formats.

Addressing the media jointly after the meeting, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis stressed on the fact that common defence and security concerns were the main drivers of the relationship, although ramping up trade and commerce, particularly in the field of energy, as well as people to people connections were also part of the discussions. "Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership," said Swaraj in her statement.

Terrorism was also a major part of the discussions. "The Ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," said the joint statement released after the meeting. "On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist attacks.

The Ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qa'ida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said. None of the four, however, made any mention about the impact of US sanctions on India's decision to buy the S400 Triumf air defence missile system from Russia and oil and gas imports from Iran. Privately, however, an official admitted that "detailed, animated but courteous discussions" had taken place on these subjects, but were inconclusive and the talks would continue. And while no one mentioned China, a lot was said about ensuring a free and rules based order in the Indo-Pacific region, where Beijing has been aggressively staking claims, particularly in the South China Sea. Again, privately, officials said China had been a key area of discussion.

"We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing," said Swaraj. And in a veiled reference to the China's Belt and Road Initiative, the joint statement said: "Noting the importance of infrastructure and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region, both sides emphasized the need to work collectively with other partner countries to support transparent, responsible, and sustainable debt financing practices in infrastructure development."

"Celebrating over 70 years of diplomatic cooperation, the Ministers reaffirmed their view that India and the United States, as sovereign democracies founded on the values of freedom, justice, and commitment to the rule of law, must continue to lead global efforts to promote peace, prosperity, and security," said the joint statement released after the meeting.
By Express News Service

PATNA: The Income Tax department on Thursday raided the house of Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modis cousin Rekha Modi and others in three towns in connection with the Rs 1,900-crore Srijan scam.

Rekha, a social activist, was identified as one of the beneficiaries of the government funds allegedly embezzled by Bhagalpur-based NGO, Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti, between 2007 and 2017. I-T officials conducted searches at her flat on SP Verma Road in Patna for four hours.

Sources said she was also questioned regarding her transactions with SMVSS and her close relations with the NGOs late founder-secretary Manorama Devi. The RJD and the Congress accused Sushil Modi of protecting himself and others who had a role in the scam. After I exposed the matter, the IT raid on Sushil Modis sisters house is being conducted to protect him, tweeted RJDs Tejashwi Yadav. Modi tweeted: Rekha Modi is my distant cousin.

I dont have any business or financial connection with her. She is involved in many criminal & civil cases. In one of such cases, she had dragged my name also. I have not met her in last 10 yrs.
By Express News Service

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC that banned consensual unnatural sex between adults.

Here are some of the petitioners:

Gautam Yadav: He is a Delhi-based programme officer with the NGO Humsafar Trust. Aged 27, his petition talks about how he faced bullying in school, which forced him to drop out at 15. He also details how he was a victim to threats of extortion based on his sexual orientation, and continues to face ridicule from his relatives for not being married, despite being in a committed relationship.

Ritu Dalmia: She is a Delhi-based chef who identifies as lesbian and is the owner of the restaurant chain, Diva. She filed the petition after the Supreme Court reversed the Delhi High Courts judgment on Section 377, reinstating the law that criminalised consensual same-sex relations between adults.

Keshav Suri: He is an executive director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality group, which owns The Lalit hotel. He filed a petition earlier this year. Suri said the shooting in Pulse in Orlando (a nightclub in Florida where a June 2016 shooting left 49 people dead, many of whom were gay) was his personal and professional awakening.

Urvi: She is a research intern at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay and belongs to Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. Urvi, who uses a different name in the petition, is a transgender woman and has struggled with poverty since childhood.

Arif Jafar: He is founder of the NGO Bharosa Trust in Lucknow. He was arrested under Section 377 in July 2001 and was in jail for 47 days. During the imprisonment, he says he was abused, tortured and humiliated. His case still drags on.

Akkai Padmashali: He is a transgender rights activist and filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Section 377 in 2016 along with two other transgender women, saying their right to privacy was being curbed under the law. Padmashali has been at the forefront of documenting and protesting the impact of the law on transgender people.

Countries where same-sex relations are legal

Australia, Netherland, USA, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Portugal, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil, England, Scotland, Luxemberg , Finland, Ireland, Greenland, Columbia, Germany and Malta.
Balbir Punj By

Unlike his several earlier secret visits to Europe, Congress President Rahul Gandhis recent visits to the United Kingdom and Germany were widely reported as they were part of the Gandhi clans NRI outreach programme. At the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London last month, Rahul said, The RSS is trying to change the nature of India. There is no other organisation in India that wants to capture Indias institutions ... What we are dealing with is a completely new idea. Its an old idea being reborn. It is similar to the idea that exists in the Arab world of the Muslim Brotherhood. The idea is that one ideology should run through every institution and one idea should crush all other ideas.

Earlier too, speaking at Bucerius Summer School in Hamburg, he had likened the RSS to the Muslim Brotherhood. He alleged that minorities are excluded from the development process and are being alienated. This has created a space for insurgency in the country. When the US attacked Iraq in 2003, it introduced a law that did not allow one particular tribe from getting government jobs, Rahul said. It seemed like a very innocuous decision at the time  Few months after the invasion, the network that was excluded from jobs in Iraq, the Tikriti tribal network linked up with the cell phone network in Iraq and with the network of artillery shells left in the villages. And you got an insurgency that fought the United States and caused massive casualties to the Americans.

And it didnt end there. That insurgency slowly entered empty spaces. It entered the empty space in Iraq. It entered the empty space in Syria. And then it connected with the global internet to form the horrific idea called ISIS. How do the bizarre theories floated by Rahul on foreign soil measure against facts? It was the Congress-led UPA government in 2013 that had hosted then Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, a key leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Seven agreements related to information technology and cyber security were signed on the occasion.

Morsi was overthrown soon after, and is now in jail. Is it not that all well-meaning Indians want India to change, and change for the better? An India sans corruption, crony capitalism and nepotism. The RSS may be obsessed with its ideology (nothing wrong in that), but is it not a fact that the Congress, during five decades of being in power in independent India, refused to see beyond the Nehru/Gandhi clan? Every second institution built with public funds is named after one family. Comparing the Muslim Brotherhood to the RSS and BJP is atrocious.

While Muslim Brotherhood is declared a terrorist organisation (by some countries), the RSS has a history of over 90 years of service to India. Its volunteers have always engaged in relief and rehabilitation work during natural calamities. The RSS declared creed is Hindutva, representing its timeless inclusive ethos and catholic outlook. It is against bigotry, is progressive in its attitude and believes in social justice. Despite the Left-inspired malicious campaign spanning over more than half a century, RSS is a force to reckon with in India and abroad. No doubt, a large number of Indian Muslims are alienated from the mainstream.

But this is true of the US and several Christian majority countries in Europe as well. Even in Islamic countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, large sections of Muslims are at war with followers of other religions and also among themselves. Education can do little to stop Islamist radicalisation. Look at some infamous terrorists. Osama bin Laden was a chemical engineer. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has a PhD in Islamic studies. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who played a crucial in the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US, was a physician. So was Camp Chapman suicide bomber Humam Khalil al-Balaw.

Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad had a degree in management. According to Rahul, ISIS came into being in 2004 because a particular group was denied jobs. But it has been said to have started in 1999 in Jordan while Iraq was still under Saddam Husseins Sunni regime. Its parent outfit was named Jamaat al-Tawhid wal- Jihad or the Organisation of Monotheism and Jihad, which was founded by a Jordanian, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Before the US forces invaded Iraq, Zarqawi travelled to several places in Iraq seeking support. He formed al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2004 and was killed in 2006 by US forces. His successor Abu Ayyub Al-Masri renamed the group as Islamic State of Iraq. Masri was killed in 2010 and was replaced by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Later, Islamic State of Iraq joined rebel forces and renamed itself ISIS. Thus the Islamic State was formed. Not because a tribe was denied jobs. It has been a continuous process, inspired by Islamic theology. Many Muslim-converts from Christianity in Europe have become terrorists. What, then, has terrorism to do with development? Can there be anybody else more accommodating than our Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi? He bent backwards to accommodate Muslims in united India, but failed to stop the Partition.

Rahul may have won applause for such speeches from professional Modi-haters and elements inimical to the liberal and catholic tradition of India. It was a desperate, alienated politician talking to foreigners. The Congress President has surely hurt Indian interests in his vilification campaign against political foes at home.

Balbir Punj

Former Rajya Sabha member and Delhi-based commentator on social and political issues

Email: punjbalbir@gmail.com
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad High Court on Wednesday directed the Anantapur Police to register a case against Paritala Sriram, the son of Minister Paritala Sunita, and conduct a probe into the alleged attack of YSRC worker and petitioner B Lakkenagari Narayana.

Justice A Rajasheker Reddy pulled up the police for not registering an FIR and beginning investigation despite Narayana filing a complaint on February 13.

On February 7, Paritala Sriram and other TDP workers attacked Narayana and took him to Ramagiri Police Station where his signature was obtained on a blank paper. Narayana lodged a complaint with the police and when no action was taken, the complainant moved the High Court for relief.
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Hours after Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao dissolved the state Assembly to go for early polls, his AP counterpart and TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu went into a huddle with senior party leaders from both AP and Telangana and discussed the strategy to be adopted to fight elections in the neighbouring State.

TDP leaders who participated in the meet felt that KCR had taken the decision only after consulting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to sources, the TDP leaders felt that the whole episode  dissolving the Assembly, subsequent nod by the Governor and the confidence of KCR that elections will be held in November  revealed the fact that the Telangana Rashrata Samithi (TRS) is moving closer to the BJP.

Despite not coming to any conclusion over political alliances in Telangana, it is learnt that a majority of the leaders who participated in the meet favoured an alliance with the Congress in Telangana, going by the prevailing political scenario.

Taking exception over KCR terming the TDP as Andhra party and attacking Naidu immediately after dissolving the House, the TDP leaders felt that KCR was dancing to the tune of Modi. They pointed that KCR did not declare candidates for the constituencies represented by BJP leaders.

At this juncture, Naidu was learnt to have maintained that he never acted against the interests of Telangana. Earlier in the day, MLAs and MLCs were seen engaged in discussion in the lobbies of the House over KCR dissolving the House.Sources said that the TDP chief will hold a meeting with TTDP leaders in Hyderabad in a day or two and will give clarity over poll alliances after eliciting their opinions.

Kondru joins TDP

Former minister and Congress party leader Kondru Murali joined TDP in the presence of Naidu at the latters residence on Thursday. Murali had successfully contested against TDP politburo member K Pratibha Bharati in the Rajam constituency of Srikakulam district in 2009. It is learnt that Bharati was initially opposed to Kondrus entry into the party, but the CM convinced her. She also attended the event. Sources said that energy minister K Kala Venkata Rao was instrumental behind Kondru joining the party.
By Express News Service

MYSURU: A three-year-old kid had to face the wrath of an anganwadi worker who allegedly burnt a portion of his leg for urinating on the premises on Tuesday.

When the incident came to light on Wednesday, the enraged parents of the victim, who were joined by fellow villagers, staged a flash protest outside the anganwadi centre near Srirampura outer-ring road junction forcing the police to detain the accused worker who was later taken to the station for enquiry.

The kid had urinated in the anganwadi, thus enraging worker Neelamma. Infuriated, she allegedly heated a knife on the gas stove on the same premises, before placing it on the left leg of the kid between knee and heel. Even as the kid shouted in pain, Neelamma had been holding the hot knife, alleged the villagers who were demanding the authorities concerned to initiate action against the accused.

The officials attached to the department led by Deputy Director K Radha and Child Development Planning officer Shivalingappa who rushed to the spot, collected the statements of both the kid and the parents.

The Deputy Director ordered her suspension, besides promising to initiate a departmental enquiry and also lodge a complaint at police station.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Several individuals and organisations on Wednesday demanded that the state government ban the right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha to which some of the alleged killers of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh are said to be linked to. They also held a rally to mark the first death anniversary of Gauri, who was killed on September 5, 2017 in front of her house.

ALSO READ | Gauri Lankesh death anniversary: Dangerous time for people speaking truth in India, says Amnesty

Activist Swami Agnivesh, speaking to protesters before the march, blamed organisations promoting Hindutva ideology, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for Gauris death. Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi and Gauri were all better Hindus. The RSS is imposing a majoritarian Hinduism, but Hindutva is against the spirit of Hinduism. The Hindutva that seeks to define who is a Hindu is behind Gauris death, he said.

Journalist Gauri Lankeshs sister Kavitha Lankesh, actor Prakash Raj, JNU student leaders Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya Kumar, and Swami Agnivesh staging a protest during an event organised to mark Gauris first death anniversary; Theatre personality Girish Karnad at the event with a Me Too Urban Naxal placard | Pandarinath B

Agnivesh said the forces which had killed Gauri were also the forces that killed Mahatma Gandhi. He said lakhs of Gauris had taken birth post her death. Members of the Gauri Memorial Trust, Gauri Lankesh Balaga and other organisations marched from Anand Rao Circle to Raj Bhavan. At Raj Bhavan, they submitted a memorandum at Governor Vajubhai Valas office demanding that the government declare Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti as organisations promoting terror and to ban them.

They also demanded that both the state and central governments investigate the finances and political patronage of the organisations and to take steps to contain hate propaganda in all forms. The memorandum states that post Gauris death, members of right-wing organisations had openly threatened liberal intellectuals and activists that they would meet the same fate. To our dismay, it came to light later that many such social media hooligans were being followed by the Prime Minister of the country, states the memorandum.

Satish Arvind, a member of Gauri Lankesh Balaga, said, Were not personally accusing Modi, but the ideological power behind him that is threatening the country. Protests have been held across the state, and some people like KS Bhagwan who were on Sanatan Sansthas hit-list are also part of it.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Right to Speak Convention  marking the first death anniversary of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh  saw the relaunch of her weekly tabloid Gauri Lankesh Patrike as Nyaya Patha, with a special issue story titled Gauri Maruhuttu (Gauri Rebirth) released at the event.

Pens with Gauris picture and her signature printed on it, were released. Writer Chandrashekhar Patil said he would start writing his weekly column again for Nyaya Patha.

He rendered a poem that reiterated the importance of questioning.

The pen is our weapon. This is not ink here, but our blood, our lifeline in it, he said.

"Whenever rights are taken away from individuals, we should deal with it with the pen and by extension, writing," he said.

ALSO READ | Journalist Gauri Lankesh murder: From no major leads to 14 arrests, its taken a year

The atmosphere was charged with sloganeering by Gauris supporters, who shouted, Naanu Gauri, naavella Gauri, Gauri Lankesh amar rahe, etc.

In a Q&A session with Teesta Setalvad, Gauris sister Kavitha Lankesh, said on stage, We knew from the beginning that it was right-wing organisations which killed her but now the probe has revealed that organisations like Hindu Jagruthi Samithi were involved. Also, members of Sri Rama Sene used to visit there, she said without going into more specifics.

About the arrests of activists, she said, if all intellectuals are branded Naxals, the youth will have nobody to look up to.

Theatre personality Girish Karnad, wearing a placard that read Me Too Urban Naxal, said, With all these nonsensical allegations against activists and their arrests, the police has proved that they will do what they want. So, here I am declaring that I am an urban Naxal too.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The flood relief works being carried out in the state has been hit badly after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan left for the US without giving charge of the state to another minister, said Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala. Though Industries Minister E P Jayarajan was given charge to chair the Cabinet meeting in the absence of Chief Minister, he was not given any charge to look after the day-to-day affairs related to the governance which has crippled the smooth functioning of relief works, he said.

At a meet-the-press in Thiruvananthapuram, he said former chief ministers like C Achutha Menon, E K Nayanar, K Karunakaran, and Oommen Chandy have set a precedence while they had to abstain from the state due to various reasons. The governance would not have been affected had the Chief Minister given the full charge of the administration to a minister, he said.

The `10,000 aid announced for the flood victims should be released urgently and the government should publish the details of the beneficiaries in its website in order to bring a transparency in the fund distribution.

He also demanded the formation of a Kerala Flood Victims Compensation (Finalisation) Tribunal to ensure handling of calamity relief in a transparent and non-political manner.Instead of announcing moratorium for the loans, the state government should be ready to waive off the loans of people in the flood-affected areas, he said.

The compulsory donation enforced on the government employees would make a section of employees life miserable especially class four staff. Instead, the government should have given them a chance to contribute voluntarily based on their living standards, he said.

The proposed visit of Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran to foreign countries such as Singapore, China, and Japan and slated visit of minster A K Balan to Australia could have been avoided considering the grave situation in the state as it would cause another financial burden to the coffer, at a time when the government is advocating for austerity measures in the light of flood, he said.

The decision to cancel the school and college festivals along with the film festivals was unfortunate. The government can hold these events without spending much for the celebrations especially when the school festival is part of the academic studies to some extent. On the rumours about the candidature of actor Mohanlal in BJP ticket in the coming Lok Sabha elections, he said, I dont think Mohanlal would act foolishly in his career.

He also flayed the decision to engage KPMG, a leading international professional service company, as project consultant partner in the massive exercise to rebuild the state ravaged by recent floods. Instead, the state government should have floated a global tender, he said.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The flood impact was severe in Ernakulam, according to the data released by the district administration.As many as 2,220 houses were fully damaged in the deluge, while 13,001 houses were partially damaged. The roads, besides several schools and government offices were also hit the worst.

A statement issued by the District Information Office said 1,804 km of roads in the district were damaged in the flood. As many as 286 government offices were damaged and 69 schools were affected.The data revealed 591 angavandis were inundated and around 136 were fully-damaged. Around 70 bridges and 25 primary health centres suffered damage. As many as 82 offices of local self-governing bodies were inundated, while 60 buildings owned by various panchayats were also damaged.

ALSO READ | Over 550 tonnes of waste collected in Ernakulam district in 2 days

At Kunnathunad, nearly half-km long road stretch was completely washed away. Block panchayat offices at Angamaly, Kothamangalam, Paravoor, Parakadavu, Alangad, Muvattupuzha and Vazhakulam were hit, with several documents and files in the offices getting drenched, said the statement.

Schools at Vadakekkara, Choornikkara, Ezhikkara, Puthenkurish, Chendamangalam, Puthenvelikara, Parakkadavu, Nedumbassery, Kunnukara, Chengamanad also incurred heavy damage, it said.
VV Balakrishna By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is all set to launch the election campaign on September 7 from Husnabad in Siddipet district. The Chief Minister would continue his district tours from there and cover 100 Assembly constituencies in the next 50 days. But, why has Rao suddenly announced the district tours? September 7 falls in the auspicious month of Sravanam and it is a Friday which considered to be auspicious for starting any new venture.

Dwadasi too happens to fall on the same date. The month of Bhadrapada will commence on September 10, which is inauspicious for taking up new projects. That is the reason why Rao has decided to hold his first public meeting in the 50-day series on September 7.Sources said that after the likely dissolution of the Assembly on September 6, Rao will commence his district tours on the following day.

Rao chose Sravana Sukravaram, the most auspicious day, to kick-start electioneering. Rao who leads a dharmic lifestyle, has chosen Husnabad again to hold the first election meeting. He always launched election campaigns after performing pujas at Venkateswara Swamy temple at Konayapalli village near Husnabad. In 2014 elections too, he launched electioneering after performing special pujas at the Konayapalli temple. This time too Rao will visit Konayapally first on his way to Husnabad.

According to the grapevine, Rao fixed the muhurtam for the State Cabinet meeting at 6.45 am on September 6 and for meeting the Governor at 9.33 am. He is believed to have chosen this day as its Ekadasi falls on this day. Rao is also believes in numerology. His lucky number is 6. It may be recalled that the Chief Minister is expected to take the key decision of dissolving the Assembly at the Cabinet meeting in the 51st month of his rule, which adds to six!
V V Balakrishna By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Stage is all set for the dissolution of the Telangana State Legislative Assembly on Thursday as the state Cabinet is expected to meet at 1 pm and pass a resolution to this affect after which Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will be meeting Governor ESL Narasimhan at 1.30 p.m.

Thereafter, Rao is expected to make an announcement on the dissolution of Assembly at a press conference at 2 p.m.

Before the D-Day, there was hectic activity at Pragathi Bhavan on Wednesday and it was eventually a busy day for Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Chief Secretary SK Joshi, State Legislature secretary V Narasimha Charyulu held discussions with the Chief Minister.

Apart from the Assembly dissolution, the Chief Minister also discussed the agenda items of the Cabinet.

The Chief Minister understood to have discussed the announcement of interim relief (IR) to government employees.

Chandrasekhar Rao also called up some MLAs and discussed the political developments. Later, Rao informed all the Cabinet Ministers to be available in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Also Read | Even Andhra Pradesh wants K Chandrasekhar Rao: KT Rama Rao

Once, the Cabinet dissolved the Assembly, the Chief Minister will meet Governor ESL Narasimhan and submit the resolution copy of the Cabinet to him Thursday.

Indications are that the Chief Minister will announce 15 to 20 names of TRS candidates at Husnabads public meeting on Friday.

As a prelude to this, the Chief Minister, despite his busy schedule, gave an appointment to Choppadandi leaders today.

Read | TDP will play key role in govt formation in Telangana: L Ramana

The Choppadandi leaders lodged a complaint against Choppadandi MLA B Shoba and requested the Chief Minister not to give TRS ticket to her in next elections.

Meanwhile, with the hectic political developments fuelled by Chandrasekhar Rao, the Opposition Congress to plunge into election mode. PCC chief announced several freebies to voters in the next elections.

AICC leader Sonia Gandhi is likely to tour in the state on September 14. Much political heat generated in all other parties too on Wednesday.

Earlier dissolutions:

The State Legislative Assembly dissolved twice in the past in combined AP.

On November 22, 1984, the then Chief Minister NT Rama Raos Cabinet dissolved the Assembly. Then Governor Shankar Dayal Sharma approved the Cabinet resolution for dissolving the Assembly. Elections were held in March 1985

On November 14, 2003, the then Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidus Cabinet dissolved the Assembly. Governor then was C Rangarajan. Elections were held in April/May, 2004

Procedure following Cabinet decision:

Once, the State Cabinet adopted a resolution dissolving the Assembly, the same will be conveyed to Governor.

Chief Minister will hand over the Cabinet resolution to the Governor.

The Governor will dissolve the Assembly.

Later, the Legislature secretary and Chief Secretary will release bulletins and publish the same in Gazette.

The Governor will convey the State Cabinets decision to Union Home Ministry.

The Ministry will communicate the developments in the State to Election Commission of India (ECI) for taking further action.

The ECI will decide when to conduct the elections. Under the Article 324 of the Constitution, it is the discretionary power of the ECI whether to conduct elections to dissolved Assembly within six months or not.

Status of Cabinet:
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: In the most unsparing attack on Congress President Rahul Gandhi ever, Telangana care-taker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao today described Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the ''biggest buffoon'' in the country and said that Congress is the number one enemy of Telangana.

''Right from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi, all have been the enemies of Telangana. They still are the No 1 enemy of the state. Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in the country. The entire country saw him hugging the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then winking,'' said Rao as he went all guns blazing at the grand old party.



Hours after dissolving the Telangana State Legislative Assembly, which was approved by Governor ESL Narasimhan -- paving the way for early elections, Chandrasekhar Rao, who was clearly in the election mode, tore into the Congress party saying that Congress was scared to go to polls.

''Like fools, they (Congress) bark and make all sorts of mindless, meaningless allegations about various development works taken up by our government. They cannot even prove one single allegation, can they? It is utter idiocy on their part,'' he said even as he attacked Rahul Gandhi saying he had inherited the legacy of the Congress. ''The more Rahul Gandhi visits Telangana, the more number of seats TRS will win,'' said Rao, who was in his elements today.



Listing out his government's achievements, Rao said that while Congress was in power, there were communal clashes, curfews, terrorist attacks, gambling dens flourished, factionalism and gangster culture existed and land grabbing was the order of the day. But now, Rao said, under the four and a half years of TRS rule, people all these problems have been wiped out and people are living peacefully with no communal trouble.

''The crime rate has come down and the state has been peaceful and I want to it continue that way.''



Recalling the Congress rule, Rao said that for 35 long years, people of the state suffered without electricity. ''If they were capable, why could not they provide electricity to the people ? We provide 24 hours uninterrupted power supply and no other state in the country does it,'' he said.



''As elections are nearing, these people (Congress) are resorting to more nonsense by making all sorts of wild allegations which is without any basis. For 50 years under the Congress rule in the centre, all minor and major irrigation projects in the country were ignored by that party which is nothing but criminal negligence. All their allegations against our government are most undesirable and unwanted,'' Rao said.



Stressing that the TRS had made immense sacrifices for the state, Chandrasekhar Rao said that instead of resorting to cheap politics, the Congress should go to the people. ''Iam welcoming everyone, lets go to the people who will decide which party has done what,''he said.


By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Telangana state legislative assembly has been dissolved paving way for early elections. On Thursday, the Telangana cabinet adopted the resolution to dissolve the state legislative Assembly. Thereafter Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao reached Governor ESL Narasimhan's residence and gave representation to dissolve the State Assembly and the same was accepted by the Governor. Rao is now the caretaker Chief Minister.

Rao will kickstart his election campaign from Husnabad tomorrow where he will address his first public meeting after dissolving the assembly.

The cabinet meeting that started at Pragathi Bhavan, the CM's official residence, at around 1 pm, is learnt to have discussed the proposal for 20 minutes and the resolution was adopted. Rao is expected to make a formal announcement at a press conference at Telangana Bhavan shortly.

In a press communique from Raj Bhavan, principal secretary to Governor, Harpreet Singh, informed that the Chief Minister along with his colleques in the Council of Ministers called on the Governor and presented the resolution of the Council of Ministers recommending the dissolution of the First Legislative Assembly of Telangana State. The Governor while accepting the recommendation of the CM and Council of Ministers requested K Chandrasekhar Rao and his council of ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government, said the communique adding that the CM has agreed to this request.

Here goes the notification on dissolution of Telangana Assembly pic.twitter.com/ScBzFfX0TW  GS Vasu (@gsvasu_TNIE) September 6, 2018

Following this, Chief secretary SK Joshi has issued a notification informing the dissolution of State Legislative Assembly with immediate effect, and the Governor authorising K Chandrasekhar Rao and his colleaques in the Council of Ministers to continue in Office as a caretaker government of Telangana. The notification is to be published in the Telangana State Gazette.

The stage was being set up for this decision in the last few days. Speculations were rife in the run up to TRS party's Pragathi Nivedana Sabha on the outskirts of Hyderabad on September 2. Though Rao did

not announce any decision on dissolving the assembly, a suspense over the decision continued to exist.

On Wednesday, Chief Secretary SK Joshi and State Legislature Secretary V Narasimha Charyulu had held discussions with the Chief Minister. Apart from the Assembly dissolution, the Chief Minister also

discussed the agenda items to be presented before the Cabinet.

There are also indications that the TRS supremo might announce the names of 15-20 TRS candidates for ensuing polls at the massive public meeting at Husnabad on Friday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Governor ESL Narasimhan had held a meeting with Chief Secretary SK Joshi and other officials and discussed the Constitutional procedure to be initiated in case the Council of Ministers recommends dissolution of the House. According to sources, the Governor had enquired whether any legislative business was pending with the Assembly and the officials informed him that nothing was pending. The same day, Chief Secretary had held a meeting with State Legislature secretary V Narasimha Charyulu is learnt to have discussed issues relating to the dissolution of the Assembly and others.

State governments chief advisor Rajiv Sharma and Chief Ministers principal secretary S Narsing Rao were also present at the meeting. Rajiv Sharma recently met Chief Election Commissioner in Delhi with

regard to early polls.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Rice, electricity, cooking gas and insurance will be free for people of weaker sections if the Congress is voted to power in the state. These and supply of six LPG cylinders to families below poverty line (BPL) per year figure among a host of promises the major opposition party made on Wednesday, a day before the likely dissolution of the state Assembly.

Plunging into full election mode, Pradesh Congress Committee president N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Congress would give Rs 2 lakh more for Indiramma hosing scheme beneficiaries to construct another house.Speaking to reporters at Gandhi Bhavan, he said, The next Assembly elections in the state will not be between the TRS and Congress but between the TRS and the entire people of Telangana. People are ready to chase away KCRs family from the state. In addition to a state-level election manifesto, the Congress would also release Assembly constituency-wise manifestos, he said.

Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao could not prove his allegation of large-scale corruption in the implementation of Indiramma housing scheme by the Congresss governments of the past. If the Congress returns to power, we will pay all pending bills to Indiramma housing scheme beneficiaries.

Those, who constructed Indiramma houses, will be given an extra aid of Rs 2 lakh for constructing another room. At the same time, we will continue the 2BHK housing scheme of the TRS government. The Congress government would also provide Rs 5 lakh in cash to those willing to construct houses in their own lands, the TPCC president said.
By Associated Press

DAMASCUS: Israeli jets flying high over Lebanon struck at targets inside Syria on Tuesday, Syrian state media reported, in a rare daytime raid that killed at least one person.

Syria's SANA state news agency said the country's air defenses shot down five missiles, adding that one person was killed and 12 others were wounded.

It reported strikes on the Wadi Ayoun area in the western Hama province and on the town of Baniyas in the coastal Tartous province.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the jets targeted military installations belonging to Iran, a key ally of the Syrian government.

Lebanese residents in areas north of the capital, Beirut, reported hearing jets overhead before sunset.

Israel is believed to be behind a string of strikes targeting government and allied military installations in Syria, in order to disrupt weapons transfers between its archenemies Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Israeli government rarely acknowledges the attacks, and such strikes usually take place late at night.

The Syrian government accused Israel of striking a weapons research facility in Masyaf, near Wadi Ayoun, in July. The attack killed a top military scientist.

An Israeli military official said Tuesday that Israel has struck over 200 Iranian targets in Syria over the past 18 months.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military guidelines, said the targets were connected to Iran's elite Al-Quds force and include air force components, support infrastructure, and weapons storage and manufacturing facilities.

The official said Tuesday's alleged airstrikes were not included in the tally. He would not confirm Israel was behind those strikes, and did not comment on them.

Elsewhere in Syria, at least eight people were killed in airstrikes in the northern Idlib province, where Syria's rebels are holed up in their last major bastion.

Those strikes were likely carried out by the Syrian government or its allies, which are preparing for a major offensive.

The Syrian Civil Defence, volunteer first responders also known as the White Helmets, said five children were killed in strikes on the town of Jisr al-Shughour and another three civilians were killed in strikes on the village of Mahambal.

The Observatory said 13 people were killed. The Observatory blamed the strikes on Russia, which intervened in Syria's civil war in 2015 to support President Bashar Assad.

Government forces are amassing at the border with Idlib province, while Russia revealed last week it had positioned more than a dozen ships off the Syrian coast, raising fears of a wide-scale offensive that could mark the last major battle in the seven-year civil war.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Tuesday the Security Council will discuss the situation in Idlib on Friday morning. The US is currently the president of the council, the UN's top decision-making body.

The UN's special envoy to Syria, Staffan De Mistura, urged Russia and Turkey to reach a "soft solution" to avert an expected government offensive on the province.

Syria's government is determined to retake Idlib, which it says is being held hostage by terrorists. Russia and Iran, which also back the government, have adopted a similar position.

Turkey, which has financed and organized rebels in Idlib and keeps 12 military posts in the province, has been less clear about where it stands.

De Mistura, in a Geneva press conference, appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to prevent a showdown in Idlib, saying "we need more time."

The leaders of Russia, Turkey, and Iran are slated to meet in Iran on Friday to discuss Syria. De Mistura said he heard from media reports that a campaign for Idlib could begin as early as the following Monday.

It was not clear which reports he was referring to. The envoy restated his offer to travel to Idlib to oversee humanitarian corridors so that civilians can shelter in safety if an offensive moves forward.

There are 2.9 million people presently in Idlib, according to UN estimates, including 1.4 million who have been displaced from their homes by fighting.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have sheltered in the province, away from the government, to escape military conscription or arrest.

De Mistura said he was "determined" to hold talks with high-level envoys from Turkey, Iran and Russia on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

He also planned to meet with envoys from Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States on September 14 to brief them on his efforts to launch a political process and help set up a committee that could revise Syria's constitution.

Separately, the White House warned that the US and its allies would "respond swiftly and appropriately" against the Syrian government if it uses chemical weapons in its assault.

The US has twice struck Syrian military installations in response to alleged poison gas attacks.

The Syrian government denies ever using chemical weapons.

President Donald Trump on Monday sent a tweet warning the Syrian government and its allies against a "reckless attack" on Idlib, drawing fire from Moscow.

Russia says militants in Idlib target its own facilities in Syria and pose a terrorist threat.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated Russia's position on Tuesday, calling Idlib a "hornets' nest of terrorists."
By Reuters

SEOUL/WASHINGTON: North Koreas Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for denuclearisation, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trumps first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would get it done together.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss practical measures towards denuclearisation, Moons national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said a day after meeting Kim.

The summit could provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearisation between North Korea and the United States, after Trump cancelled a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month citing lack of progress.

Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was unchanged and that he wanted denuclearisation and an end to hostile relations with the United States before Trumps first term in office ends in early 2021, Chung said.

He particularly emphasised that he has never said anything negative about President Trump, Chung said.

Trump welcomed Kims remarks in a trademark Tweet.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together! Trump wrote.

In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear programme if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.

U.S. officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearisation or other key terms such as verifiable and irreversible, and has insisted the United States must first agree to simultaneous steps to reduce economic pressure.

Pompeo, visiting New Delhi, declined to discuss the next steps but said there was a long road ahead in the denuclearisation process.

Pompeo visited Pyongyang in July, after which North Korea accused him of making unilateral and gangster-like demands for denuclearisation while showing little interest in ending the war.

It is the case that there is still an enormous amount of work to do, Pompeo told a news conference on Thursday.

Asked about U.S. intelligence that North Korea was still advancing its weapons programmes, Pompeo noted that Pyongyang had ceased its nuclear tests and test-firing missiles, which we consider a good thing.

But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make this strategic shift that weve talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues, Pompeo said.

Moons national security adviser Chung said Kim had stressed the need for the United States to reciprocate North Koreas initial moves, which have included dismantling a nuclear test site and a missile engine facility.

The U.S. embassy in Seoul said it had no information to share on the matter.

FRUSTRATION

North Koreas official KCNA news agency said Kim told the Souths envoys that his fixed stand was to turn the Korean peninsula into a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat.

Chung said Kim showed frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearise, and asked us to convey his message to the United States.

He said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith, Chung said. He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures toward denuclearisation if action is taken in response to the Norths preemptive steps.

U.S. officials have previously said they have already made concessions, such as halting joint military exercises with South Korea.

During his meeting with Kim, Chung delivered a message from Trump and will relay comments from Kim to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moons spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters.

Trump spoke to Moon on the evening before Chungs trip and asked Moon to act as chief negotiator between Washington and Pyongyang, the spokesman said.
By PTI

PRAGUE: President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in the Prague, Czech Republic on Thursday on the final leg of his three-nation European tour during which he will hold talks with his counterpart Milos Zeman, Prime Minister Andrej Babis and President of the Chamber of Deputies.

ALSO READ | President Ram Nath Kovind invites Bulgaria to become India's key partner in defence sector

He is the fifth Indian President to visit the central European country, and the first since President Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1996, the President's Secretariat said.

Kovind earlier visited the Czech Republic in his capacity as a Member of Parliament.

President Kovind arrived here from Bulgaria where he met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and invited companies from the Balkan nation to manufacture in India as part of the ambitious 'Make in India' programme.

During his stay in Prague, President Kovind will meet with President Zeman, Prime Minister Babis and President of House of Deputies Radek Vondracek.

He will also attend a business forum meet.

Over 60 Indian companies are travelling for the event and an equal number of Czech companies will take part in business-to-business interactions there, according to Indian officials.

President Kovind will have interactions with Indologists at the Charles University in Prague, which had a Sanskrit chair way back in 1850, they said.

He will also visit the ELI Beamlines -- International Laser Research Centre -- which aspires to install and run the world's most intense laser system.

The Czech Republic, a member of the European Union, is technologically advanced and strategically located in Central Europe.

The trade between India and the Czech Republic is USD 1.07 billion annually.

It is a fast growing economic storehouse in Central Europe. Many Czech companies have made investments in India in different sectors.
Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
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(Newser)  Roy Moore has made good on his threat to sue Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime over his appearance on Who Is America. The former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court and failed US Senate candidate is seeking $95 million, Variety reports, saying he was tricked into appearing on the show. "This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender  has severely harmed Judge Moore's reputation," the suit says. On the episode featuring Moore, Cohen pretended to be an Israeli anti-terrorism expert named Erran Morad, per the Washington Post. The topic of discussion: "prevention of pedophilia, presumably an uncomfortable subject for Moore," whose Senate campaign was dogged by allegations of past inappropriate behavior with teenage girls.

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During the segment, Cohen waves a purported sex-offender detection wand over Moore that beeps repeatedly. In a July statement, Moore said that he had agreed to be on the show under the pretense that he would be receiving an award "for my strong support of Israel," AL.com reported at that time. He also threatened to sue Cohen and Showtime should the segment air, which it ultimately did. "I am involved in several court cases presently to defend my honor and character against vicious false political attacks by liberals like Cohen," Moore said. Moore did sign a release to be on the show, but, per the suit, his consent was obtained fraudulently. Showtime tells Variety that it hasn't been served and does not comment on pending litigation. (Read more Roy Moore stories.)
(Newser)  "TREASON?" tweeted President Trump after the New York Times published an op-ed from an anonymous administration official who described his leadership style as "impetuous" and "adversarial" and spoke of a "resistance" inside a deeply unstable administration. In a follow-up tweet, the president told the newspaper to reveal the author's identity, if it wasn't a "phony source," the Guardian reports. "If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once," Trump said, adding: "I'm draining the Swamp, and the Swamp is trying to fight back. Dont worry, we will win!" More:

"I don't like them." Speaking at a meeting of sheriffs from around the country Wednesday afternoon, Trump described both the source and the Times as "failing," CBS reports. "When you tell me about some anonymous source within the administration, probably who is failing and probably here for all the wrong reasonsand the New York Times is failingif I weren't here, I believe the New York Times probably wouldn't even exist," he said. They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them," he said of the Times.

Speaking at a meeting of sheriffs from around the country Wednesday afternoon, Trump described both the source and the Times as "failing," CBS reports. "When you tell me about some anonymous source within the administration, probably who is failing and probably here for all the wrong reasonsand the New York Times is failingif I weren't here, I believe the New York Times probably wouldn't even exist," he said. They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them," he said of the Times. People "stunned" within the Times. The Times' newsroom is separate from its opinion department, and sources tell Vanity Fair that people within the paper were "totally stunned" to read the "cry for help" from inside the administration. "Its a parlor game. Everybody's trying to figure out who it is, including the Washington bureau," one senior journalist says. "It feels like a crazy moment."

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Sanders wants an apology . White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told the Times it should apologize for the " pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed." She also said the source is a "coward" who should resign. "He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people," she said.

. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told the Times it should apologize for the " pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed." She also said the source is a "coward" who should resign. "He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people," she said. "Volcanic" anger . In the White House, the hunt for the op-ed's author is on, insiders tell the Washington Post. The sources say Trump reacted with "volcanic" anger to the op-ed and said he suspects the official either works in the Justice Department or on national security issues. Aides are analyzing language patterns in an effort to find the author, insiders say. They say aides have been texting each other the phrase: "The sleeper cells have awoken."

. In the White House, the hunt for the op-ed's author is on, insiders tell the Washington Post. The sources say Trump reacted with "volcanic" anger to the op-ed and said he suspects the official either works in the Justice Department or on national security issues. Aides are analyzing language patterns in an effort to find the author, insiders say. They say aides have been texting each other the phrase: "The sleeper cells have awoken." The guessing game . The AP looks at the "guessing game" people are playing to determine the author. Among the clues: The word "lodestar," frequently used in Mike Pence's speeches; could the author be someone close to him, or was it used to throw people off? The Times says the author was described as a "he" by somebody unaware of the author's identity, meaning it isn't necessarily a man.

. The AP looks at the "guessing game" people are playing to determine the author. Among the clues: The word "lodestar," frequently used in Mike Pence's speeches; could the author be someone close to him, or was it used to throw people off? The Times says the author was described as a "he" by somebody unaware of the author's identity, meaning it isn't necessarily a man. Defending anonymity. The Times is defending the controversial and "exceedingly rare" decision to grant anonymity to the author of the op-ed. "It was clear early on that the writer wanted anonymity, but we didnt grant anything until we read it and we were confident that they were who they said they were," says op-ed editor James Dao. He says the author set out a "very principled position that deserved an airing."

The Times is defending the controversial and "exceedingly rare" decision to grant anonymity to the author of the op-ed. "It was clear early on that the writer wanted anonymity, but we didnt grant anything until we read it and we were confident that they were who they said they were," says op-ed editor James Dao. He says the author set out a "very principled position that deserved an airing." Is Trump in his element? With the op-ed, the Robert Mueller investigation, and Bob Woodward's new book, Trump may seem embattled, but his critics should remember that he has "skirted calamity" many times in his career before and gone on to brag about surviving the crisis, writes Michael Kruse at Politico. He says Trump ally Roger Stone told him the "fearless" president makes even Richard Nixon look like a "cream puff." "Nixon was smarter," he quotes Stone as saying, "but Trump is tougher."

(Read more President Trump stories.)
(Newser)  Caitlan Coleman, the American woman held hostage in Afghanistan for 5 years, says her own husband made the ordeal much worse. In court papers obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, the 32-year-old Coleman says Joshua Boyle, her 34-year-old Canadian husband, became mentally and physically abusive, confining her to a shower stall for weeks at a time and once hitting her hard enough to break her cheekbone. Coleman, who gave birth to the couple's three children in captivity and is pregnant with their fourth, says she only agreed to go backpacking with Boyle in Central Asia after he promised they wouldn't go to Afghanistan. She was five months pregnant when they were kidnapped by Taliban-linked militants after taking a taxi from a Kabul guesthouse in October 2012.

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Boyle gives a radically different account of their time in captivity in the court papers, which were filed as part of a custody battle in Canada, the Guardian reports. He admits hitting Coleman once, after she allegedly tried to overdose on medication, but he says he became the children's main caregiver after Coleman neglected them. He says he went without food so Coleman and the children could have more, whittled toys from wood, sewed clothes and blankets, and even caught mice for them to have as pets. The judge granted temporary custody to Coleman, who's now in Pennsylvania with the children, and banned Boyle from contacting them. "To say that the circumstances of this case are tragic in the extreme would be an understatement," the judge said. (The family was freed in a dramatic raid last year.)
(Newser)  The two men blended in with crowds in Salisbury, which was hosting its weekly Saturday market, then slipped away within a couple of hours. They returned the next day and, in broad daylight, allegedly sprayed the door handle of the home of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal with Novichok nerve agent held in a fake Nina Ricci "Premier Jour" perfume bottle, per Bloomberg. Before the bottle was found in a charity bin in June, leading to a woman's death, UK authorities allege it was carried on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow to London's Gatwick Airport, then through train stations and a budget hotel, by Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirovlikely aliases for agents of Russia's military foreign intelligence service.

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Bloomberg notes investigators took more than 1,400 witness statements and surveyed 11,000 hours of CCTV footage before arriving at their conclusion. Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday the operation was "almost certainly" approved by the Russian state, which responded to the UK's repeated questions with "obfuscation and lies." Though Russia's constitution doesn't allow for extradition, Europe-wide arrest warrants have been issued and the matter is to be raised at a Thursday meeting of the UN Security Council. As for the east London hotel the men reportedly stayed at for two nights in March, CNN reports it was "deemed safe" following tests performed in May and that no one who stayed there in the interim reported becoming sick. (Read more Novichok stories.)
(Newser)  Calling sexual orientation "one of the many natural phenomena," the chief justice of India's Supreme Court made a big announcement Thursday about one of the nation's colonial-era laws. The Guardian reports India's highest court has struck down a 160-year-old law banning consensual gay sex, with another justice noting that "history owes an apology to members of the [gay] community for the delay in ensuring their rights" by keeping Section 377 on the books. The ruling follows nearly 25 years of waffling by India's judicial system on the issue, including the striking down of the law in 2009, followed by an overturning of that decision four years later by the Supreme Court. They found the law's incredibly infrequent use meant it wasn't violating citizens' constitutional rights; a separate 2017 privacy ruling caused the justices to reconsider the decision.

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LGBT advocates say not many have been prosecuted under the lawwhich the New York Times characterizes as "one of the world's oldest bans on consensual gay sex"but that gays and lesbians face constant discrimination and can even be discouraged from seeking treatment for HIV because of it. The ruling is also a rebuke of British colonial rule in the 1860s, when the law was spurred by Victorian-era mores. The co-author of a homophobia report tells CNN 30 of nearly 50 former British colonies still have the colonial-era anti-LGBT laws on the books; Al Jazeera notes nearby Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh still consider homosexuality illegal. "We have thrown out the British once again," one activist says, per the Guardian. (Read more India stories.)
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(Newser)  A Missouri woman was sentenced Thursday to 7.5 years in jail in Australia, where she'd traveled with various cocaine-stuffed items, including a pair of high heels. Denise Woodrum, 51, pleaded guilty in January to the illegal import stemming from her arrival at Sydney Airport last August with 756 grams of cocaine, but she told authorities shed been tricked by an online suitor, per the BBC. Noting she'd traveled to South America in the month prior, a judge determined she was a willing participant. Per the Sydney Morning Herald, Woodrum suggested some knowledge of the scheme as her shoes were being screened. "How much did they find in the shoes? Sorry, just talking to myself," she reportedly said. (Don't run in traffic in heels.)
(Newser)  A North Korean government spy was charged Thursday in connection with cyberattacks including the 2014 Sony hacking scandal, the AP reports. It was the first time the US has brought computer hacking charges against a Pyongyang operative, the Washington Post reports. Park Jin Hyok, accused of hacking on behalf of North Koreas military intelligence agency, is also allegedly linked to the Lazarus Group, which has been implicated in other cyberattacks including the WannaCry computer virus. He is believed to be in North Korea currently. Also Thursday, the Treasury Department is expected to announce sanctions on North Koreans linked to the attacks.

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The 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack paralyzed computers by encrypting files, then demanding money to un-encrypt them. The 2014 Sony attack, among other things, resulted in the release of sensitive internal documents including emails; one executive ultimately lost her job as a result. Sony also canceled its planned release of The Interview, a film about two Americans trying to assassinate Kim Jong Un, as a result of the attack, ABC News reports. Per the New York Times, the US has been attempting to indict the alleged hacker for some time, but since much of the evidence against him is classified, it could not be included in a criminal indictment. (Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  Jocelyn Bell Burnell was a PhD student at Cambridge University some five decades ago when she made an astronomical discovery while reviewing data from a radio telescope: faint, repeating pulses of radio waves. These signals came to be known as pulsars, a type of neutron star described by Scientific American as "a city-sized collapsed core of a massive sun that is made of degenerate matter and throws off lighthouse-like beams of radio waves." The discovery was a leap forward: It pointed to the existence of black holes, provided evidence for gravitational waves, and much more. It also yielded a 1974 Nobel Prizebut not for Bell Burnell. Instead, the prize went to Antony Hewish, Bell Burnell's PhD supervisor, the Guardian reports.

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Bell Burnell's exclusion from the Nobel Prize has been cited as proof of sexism in astronomy. But, since then, Bell Burnell has won plenty of other accolades. "I feel I've done very well out of not getting a Nobel Prize," she tells the Guardian. "If you get the Nobel Prize you have this fantastic week and nobody gives you anything else. If you don't get the Nobel Prize, you get everything that moves. That's much more fun." And in November, Bell Burnell will receive another honor: the Breakthrough Prize, a $3 million award funded by Silicon Valley types, such as Mark Zuckerberg. She "thoroughly deserves this recognition," says Yuri Milner, who founded the Breakthrough Prize, per SA, adding that she "revealed one of the most interesting objects in the universe." Bell Burnell says she'll give the prize money to the Institute of Physics to fund graduate scholarships for groups that are underrepresented in physics, per the AP. (Read more astronomy stories.)
(Newser)  "This is about the closest I'll probably ever have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment." That line from Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey showed just how dramatic the Brett Kavanaugh hearings became Thursday morning as he and fellow Democrats continued to complain about withheld or off-limits documents. Booker drew big headlines with an early statement that, in the name of transparency, he was going to release Kavanaugh documents deemed "committee classified." That set off a debate on whether he could theoretically be expelled from the Senate for doing soa debate that "fizzled" later when it emerged that the documents he made public actually had been authorized for release, notes NPR. The details:



The beef, explained: Booker thinks Republicans are keeping way too many documents off limits in the hearing, especially ones that have nothing to do with national security. He called the vetting process by a lawyer for George W. Bush (Kavanaugh used to work in the Bush White House) a "bit of a sham" and vowed to circumvent it, per the AP

Booker thinks Republicans are keeping way too many documents off limits in the hearing, especially ones that have nothing to do with national security. He called the vetting process by a lawyer for George W. Bush (Kavanaugh used to work in the Bush White House) a "bit of a sham" and vowed to circumvent it, per the AP The documents: Booker and fellow Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono each posted documents online (here and here) Thursday morning. Turns out, those posted documents weren't classified after allthey had been authorized for release about 4am Eastern, reports the Washington Post. However, it's possible that Booker did, in fact, violate Senate rules Wednesday night when he talked about those "committee confidential" emails.

Booker and fellow Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono each posted documents online (here and here) Thursday morning. Turns out, those posted documents weren't classified after allthey had been authorized for release about 4am Eastern, reports the Washington Post. However, it's possible that Booker did, in fact, violate Senate rules Wednesday night when he talked about those "committee confidential" emails. Expulsion? On Thursday, Booker vowed to "knowingly violate" Senate rules in posting the documents. As tweeted by White House press official Rah Shah (before the status of the documents was clear), Senate rules state that any senator who divulges "the secret or confidential business of the Senate" can be expelled. Still, only 15 senators have been expelled in history, and none since the Civil War, notes Heavy.com. It requires a two-thirds majority vote, meaning 15 Democrats would have to vote against Booker.

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Grandstanding? After Booker said he was willing to accept the consequences, even expulsion, he got into an exchange with GOP Sen. John Cornyn and essentially dared him to bring expulsion charges. Watch the back forth via the Austin American-Statesman. Cornyn shot back: "Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of the confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to, a reference to Booker's expected run in 2020. He called Booker's move to ignore the confidential status of the documents "outrageous."

After Booker said he was willing to accept the consequences, even expulsion, he got into an exchange with GOP Sen. John Cornyn and essentially dared him to bring expulsion charges. Watch the back forth via the Austin American-Statesman. Cornyn shot back: "Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of the confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to, a reference to Booker's expected run in 2020. He called Booker's move to ignore the confidential status of the documents "outrageous." In support: Other Democrats backed Booker, either at the hearing or online. "I stand with my colleague @CoryBooker," tweeted Sen. Kamala Harris. "The American people have a right to see Kavanaugh's full record." From Chuck Schumer: "I stand w/ Judiciary Committee Democrats who are well within their rights to release these very important documents that a former Kavanaugh deputy designed as 'committee confidential.'"

Other Democrats backed Booker, either at the hearing or online. "I stand with my colleague @CoryBooker," tweeted Sen. Kamala Harris. "The American people have a right to see Kavanaugh's full record." From Chuck Schumer: "I stand w/ Judiciary Committee Democrats who are well within their rights to release these very important documents that a former Kavanaugh deputy designed as 'committee confidential.'" From the right: The website Twitchy was rounding up tweets roasting Booker, especially for his Spartacus comparison and for the praise he collected for posting not-so-classified documents. "At the end of the day, Cory is more concerned with resisting and making a spectacle of himself than he is anything else," declares the site.

(Read more Cory Booker stories.)
(Newser)  Burt Reynolds, the iconic mustachioed star who received an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe for his role in Boogie Nights, has died at 82. Reynolds, who also starred in such hits as Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, and The Cannonball Run, died at a Florida medical center Thursday morning, his manager confirms to the Hollywood Reporter. Reynolds, who was raised in Florida, was also a TV star and won an Emmy for Evening Shade in 1991; he was also the first non-comedian to guest host for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. Each year from 1978 through 1982, he was the top-grossing star in Hollywood, the longest stretch of anyone since Bing Crosby in the 1940s. (Read more Burt Reynolds stories.)
(Newser)  Billionaire Richard DeVos, co-founder of direct-selling giant Amway, owner of the Orlando Magic, and father-in-law of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, died Thursday. He was 92. Family spokesman Nick Wasmiller says DeVos died at his western Michigan home due to complications from an infection, the AP reports. DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, not far from Ada, the community about 140 miles west of Detroit where he later lived and died. In 1949, he and friend Jay Van Andel took $49 and invested the modest amount into manufacturer and vitamin direct-seller Nutrilite. They became independent vitamin distributors and later used the company's person-to-person selling approach when starting Amway in Ada with an all-purpose household cleaning product.

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They coined the name Amway as an abbreviation of "American Way." Over five decades, Amway became a multibillion-dollar international corporation. Van Andel died in 2004. "Rich and my father built this company from the ground up, and in many ways Rich was the heart and soul of Amway," said Steve Van Andel, Amway's chair. "His vision and spirit inspired our employees and independent business owners for more than 50 years." Former President George W. Bush called DeVos "one of the great entrepreneursand great Americansof our time." DeVos, who served as Amway's president until 1993, also was involved in the NBA, buying the Magic from a group headed by Orlando real estate developer William duPont III in 1991 for $70 million.

(Read more obituary stories.)
New Delhi:

Petrol and diesel prices in India rose to a new high on Thursday as Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) increased the fuel price rates across metro cities. Petrol price was hiked by 20 paise a litre and diesel by 21 paise. In Delhi, a litre of petrol now comes for Rs 79.51 as against Rs 79.15 per litre on Tuesday. Diesel also touched a new high of 71.55, up from Rs 71.15.

In Mumbai, Petrol is sold at Rs 86.91 while diesel is retailing at a price of Rs 75.96/litre on Thursday, according to price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. The revised rates are made effective from 6 am on September 6, 2018.

Petrol & Diesel prices in #Delhi are Rs.79.51 per litre & Rs.71.55 per litre, respectively. Petrol & Diesel prices in #Mumbai are Rs.86.91 per litre & Rs.75.96 per litre, respectively. pic.twitter.com/1Y8fKbM60D  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

However, on Wednesday, fuel prices remained constant in four metros across India. OMCs kept the petrol, diesel prices unchanged on September 5 after increasing the rates consecutively for the last nine days.

Read | Jet Airways to start Bhopal-Delhi daily flights from October 28

In Delhi, the fuel is cheapest among all metros and most state capitals in comparison to other cities due to lower sales tax or VAT. While Mumbai and Telangana levy the highest VAT (Value Added Tax) of 39.12 per cent and 26 per cent on petrol and diesel respectively, Delhi charges a VAT of 27 per cent on petrol and 17.24 per cent on diesel.

The fuel prices have been on the rise since August 16 following a record deep in rupee against the US dollar. The government, however, expressed the hope that the rally in global rates is temporary and will go downwards soon.

Apart from the devaluation of the Indian rupee, the rice in fuel prices is largely attributed to the recent rise in crude oil cost and the high excise duty levied on transportation fuel in India.

Read | After Apple, Amazon becomes worlds second $1 trillion company

State-owned oil firms had in mid-June last year dumped the 15-year practice of revising rates on 1st and 16th of every month in favour of daily price revisions. Since then, the fuel prices have been revised with effect from 6 am on a daily basis.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Mumbai:

Kiara Advani is feeling "butterflies" in her stomach with the thought of working with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljeet Dosanjh in her next Good News, but at the same time the actor has already started prep work to match upto these seasoned actors.

Kiara will team up with the three actors in Karan Johar's production Good News which will be directed by Raj Mehta and will reportedly be about surrogacy.

Also Read | This is what will happen when you drink coconut water for a week!

She says it is surreal that she will work with Akshay, who launched her in Bollywood with Fugly and Kareena, who she considers a "diva".

"There are butterflies in my stomach when I think of working with them. Akshay sir launched me and now to work with him in a film is surreal. I look upto Kareena, I think she is a total diva and one of the most iconic stars of today. I would learn so much by working with them and Diljeet," Kiara told PTI.

"I play a Punjabi character and then we have these three inherently Punjabi people. I have started prep work so I can match upto them. All of them are so spontaneous artistes and it's a mad comedy. There will be a lot of improvisation which is going to happen on set so as an actor it is going to be an amazing ride," she adds.

Also Read | Gaganyaan: India, France to work jointly on human space mission

Kiara was speaking on the sidelines of an event to promote the first edition of Skechers Performance Walkathon. The actor rose to fame earlier this year when she featured in Karan Johar's short in Lust Stories for Netflix.

Kiara, who appealed to people to walk to stay fit at the event, said she's currently in the best phase, both personal and professional.

"I am in a very happy place, I'm enjoying life. But I want to work really hard and make all these people who have put faith in me really proud. Not just in hindi cinema in terms of producers, directors and fans, but also Telugu industry where my film became a huge hit.

Also Read | 2+2 dialogue: Swaraj, Sitharaman hold talks with US counterparts

"It's so encouraging, humbling. You feel really responsible to live up to these expectations. I am hoping I work my hardest and leave no stone unturned," she added.

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the worlds biggest health scheme - Ayushman Bharat - from Ranchi on September 23, Chief Minister Raghubar Das said Thursday.

Making the announcement in a statement, Das expressed pride that the worlds biggest health scheme will be launched from Ranchi. Das is currently on a tour in China.

Also Read | Rainbow rises over India as SC legalises consensual gay sex

Modi will also lay foundation stones for new medical colleges in Koderma and Chaibasa and construction of Tertiary Care Cancer Centre in Ranchi, the statement said.

Rebuilding of the Birsa Munda jail and converting it into Birsa Munda Museum and distribution of golden records (e-cards) among the beneficiaries are included in the Prime Ministers programmes.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the in-house arrest of five right activists till September 12 for their alleged connection to Bhima Koregaon violence. Those arrested were - Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson. "Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court extended the house arrest of five arrested activists till September 12,' according to reports.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Maharashtra government, which has been under the scanner for its crackdown on Left-wing activists, told the Supreme Court that the activists were not arrested for their dissenting views but due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI (Maoist) party.

Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court extended the house arrest of five arrested activists till September 12. pic.twitter.com/T6HbOXvGCx  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

The affidavit came on the heels of the apex court's August 29 verdict, which directed the Maharashtra police to keep the detained activists under house arrest till September 6, saying Dissent is the safety valve of democracy and if you dont allow these safety valves, it will burst.

Read | Bhima Koregaon Violence: Mumbai High Court raps Maharashtra Police for holding PC on 'subjudice case'

The counter affidavit, filed by the Maharashtra police on a plea of historian Romila Thapar and others challenging the arrest of these activists in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence case, alleged that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

The state police further added that there was sufficient evidence to dispel the claim that they were arrested for their dissenting views.

On August 28, Maharashtra Police in a coordinated raid across India arrested five prominent Left-wing activists for suspected Maoist links, sparking a chorus of outraged protests from human rights defenders.

While prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Ferreira from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha was arrested from Delhi.

Read | Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao arrested for allegedly plotting PM Modis assassination

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year, which had later triggered violence at Maharashtra's Bhima-Koregaon village during the 200th birth anniversary celebration of a British-era war.

The violence is also believed to be a chilling plot of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assassination on the lines of former PM Rajiv Gandhi.

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New Delhi:

As the Supreme Court of India decriminalised the law against homosexuality on Thursday, euphoria struck the petitioners in the case who stood by those who identify as gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual in India. Amid the furore of a unanimous verdict that welcomed emotional moment and landmark judgment, the statements of all the five Supreme Court Judges have sent out chills and garnered many applauds across the country.

Also Read | Gay Sex: Why is the land that has 'Manusmriti' and 'Kama Sutra' celebrating it today?

Justice Indu Malhotra said, History owes the community an apology. Many raised their support to this bold statement by showing appreciation to the Supreme Court Verdict.

Justice Dipak Misra, the 45th Chief Justice of India, who also gave a verdict in favour of the LGBT community says, LGBT Community has same rights as of any ordinary citizen. Respect for each others rights, and others are supreme humanity. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible.

Justice R F Nariman stands tall denying homosexuality as a mental disorder, says, Homosexuality not a mental disorder, Mental Healthcare Act has been discussed and even Parliament has recognised that homosexuality is not a mental disorder"

The fourth judge on the panel, Justice A M Khanwilkar said, Social morality cannot violate the rights of even one single.

Also Read | Supreme Court strikes down Section 377; gay sex no more a crime in India

Justice D Y Chandrachud, like the other judges, passed a verdict in favour of the petitioners. His statement read, Human sexuality cannot be reduced to a binary formulation and decriminalising Section 377 is but a first step.

The verdict passed by the Supreme Court phased out Section 377 of the Indian Penal Court. The 157-year-old British law that criminalised sex against the order of nature was made punishable by up to 10 years of imprisonment. Hopefully the landmark judgment of September 6, 2018 would end all discriminations and taboos against the LGBT community.

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New Delhi:

Gaganyaan, ISROs first manned mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day  August 15, 2018, now has a working group. India and France made the announcement at the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space Expo on Thursday.

India plans to send three humans to space before 2022. With this, India would be the fourth country in the world after Russia, US and China to launch a manned space flight.

Also Read | Two-Plus-Two Dialogue: Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharaman hold talks with US counterparts

Indias ISRO and CNES, the French space agency, will be working together in space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, French space agency President Jean-Yves Le Gall said while announcing the mission.

CNES is especially proud to be working on this endeavour alongside ISRO to share the experience it has acquired from the first French human spaceflights to Thomas Pesquets Proxima mission, and to hone our own expertise by learning from ISROs innovative developments in the field of crew transport, Gall said.

Read More | Mysterious Planet Nine exists at the edge of our solar system: NASA

It is envisioned that infrastructure such as CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future Indian astronauts, as well as exchange of specialist personnel, Gall said.

ISRO plans to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts.

French-Indian space cooperation spans in areas of climate monitoring, with a fleet of joint satellites devoted to research and operational applications, innovation, through a joint technical group tasked with inventing the launch vehicles of the future. The two also have plans to work on Mars, Venus and asteroids, Gall added.

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday kick-started the much awaited '2+2' talks with United States Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis and the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

During the unprecedented '2+2' talks, both the world leaders agreed to work together towards entry of India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Besides, India and United States also signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which will open up the way for sales of more sensitive U.S. military equipment to India.

WATCH Live : India and United States joint briefing after '2+2 Dialogue' in Delhi. https://t.co/91mE2V2Dz4 https://t.co/zBAr3HcUFl  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Addressing the '2+2' dialogues meet in Delhi Swaraj said, "I am confident that our discussions and decisions that we'll take today will help unleash the untapped potential of our relationship and further elevate the level of our partnership".

Read | Putin ultimately to blame for spy poisoning: UK

"We welcome the United States' recent designation of terrorists as a part of Lashkar-e-Taiba. These listing are based on terrorism that is flourishing in Pakistan, which has equally affected India, the US and the world," the External Affairs Minister asserted.

To hail the leadership qualities of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US president Donald Trump, Sitharaman said, "The commencement of first ever ministry of 2+2 between India and US is a concrete manifestation of the work vision of our leaders PM Modi and US President Donald Trump to take India-US relationship to even higher trajectory".

"This meeting is a reflection of tremendous focus that we've made in developing our ties over past few years. It's a strong recognition of the immense potential of our bilateral partnership for benefit of our people, region and beyond," the defence minister added.

Read | Pakistan focussed to undermine Indias territorial integrity through terrorism: India at UN

Referring to the healthy relationship between India and US, Pompeo, on the other hand, said, "Our two nations are united by shared values of democracy, respect for individual rights and a shared commitment to freedom. Given those values, India and the United States have a natural starting point".

"We should continue to ensure freedom of the seas, skies, uphold the peaceful resolutions of the maritime disputes, promote market-based economics and good governance and prevent external economic coercion," the US Secretary said.

WATCH Live : India and United States joint briefing after '2+2 Dialogue' in Delhi. https://t.co/91mE2V2Dz4 https://t.co/zBAr3HcUFl  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Sources said the focus of the two-plus-two talks was to deepen the global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran.

Read | Essential medicines to be made affordable, accessible to all in South Asian Countries soon

Meanwhile, ahead of the inaugural '2+2' dialogue between India and US, Swaraj and Sitharaman also held bilateral talks with Pompeo and Mattis respectively. According to sources, several key bilateral issues were discussed during the meetings.

On Wednesday, both Pompeo and Mattis arrived in Delhi for the inaugural Indo-US '2+2' talks, which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington in 2017.

In a special gesture, Swaraj on Wednesday received Secretary Pompeo at the airport, while Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attaches to their visit to India.

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New Delhi:

President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev on Thursday unveiled a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which was conceived and erected by eminent Bulgarian sculptor Ivan Rusev, at Sofias famous South Park.

Kovind lauded Bulgaria for giving Mahatma Gandhi a home in Bulgaria on their National Unification Day and said it was a meaningful tribute to a man who sacrifice his entire life to the service of humanity. Kovind also presented a copy of Gandhis book Hind Swaraj to his counterpart Radev.

Also Read | 2+2 Dialogue: India, US ink critical defence pact; discuss cross-border terror, H1B

Grateful to the people of Bulgaria for giving Mahatma Gandhi an eternal home in Bulgaria on their National Unification Day. This is a meaningful tribute to a man who dedicated his entire life to the service of humanity, Kovind said.

Earlier in the day, the President wished Bulgaria on the occasion of Unification Day.

Also Read | Gaganyaan: India, France to work jointly on human space mission

September 6 commemorates the unification of Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria in 1885.

I am glad to be in Sofia to share this cherished moment, Kovind said.

(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi:

What is the entire nation celebrating today? The passing of a law which was not at all prevalent in India before the invasion of Britishers? After 71 years of Independence, is the nation still celebrating yet another freedom from a British law or fighting the bigotry fed to the Indian minds by the British?

Also Read | Supreme Court strikes down Section 377; gay sex no more a crime in India

The law against Homosexuality was introduced in India, 80 years before it was declared independent by the crowned British empire in a purported attempt of its civilising mission. This law was imposed, along with anti-sodomy law, in British colonies of England. However, years later, when the United Kingdom Parliament legalised their own taboo of homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967 and Scotland in 1980, it took more than a century for India to abolish a law which was not its own primarily.

Around the 19th century, as historical reports suggest, homosexuality was frowned upon in England, and hence many people came to India to enjoy the liberal atmosphere with regard to different kinds of sexual conduct. When the words started spreading, Lord Macaulay, who drafted the Indian Penal Code in 1860, included Section 377 which introduced the concept of sexual offenses against the order of nature.

Law against homosexuality was purely a Western concept which came with British colonial baggage and managed to float in the Indian society to date.

While India remained a proud torch bearer against homosexuality, the penalty imposed by Section 377 would go up to 10 years in jail. However, if we go back to the most popular Hindu law book of medieval and ancient India, Manusmriti, the contradictions take a glaring spin. According to the ancient law book, if a man has shed his semen in non-human females, in a man, in a menstruating woman, in something other than a vagina, or in water, he should carry out the painful heating vow. Thus, this idiosyncratic vow was meant not only for homosexuals but also for errant heterosexuals. The penalty would further soften if the homosexual belongs to an upper caste.

Also Read | Section 377: Supreme Court reserves verdict on gay sex law

Kama Sutra, a classic written in the first millennium by Sage Vatsyayana, bears yet another hallmark of the liberal Hindu heritage. In the classic, the author devotes a whole chapter on homosexual sex, saying it is to be engaged in and enjoyed for its own sake as one of the arts. Besides suggesting a detailed description of oral sex between men, Kama Sutra also categorises men who desire other men as third nature and refers to long-term espousals between men.

Over the years, even after the British authorities stopped ruling the several colonies established by them, the laws continue to shadow these places. With India decriminalising homosexuality, a string of hopes canvases a historical movement towards another freedom. Hopefully the landmark judgment of September 6, 2018 would end all discriminations and taboos against the LGBT community.

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New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalises gay sex in the much-awaited verdict on a batch of pleas challenging a 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which criminalised consensual gay sex.

"The five-judge Supreme Court bench, by unanimous decision, decriminalises Section 377," according to reports.

While delivering the verdict CJI Dipak Misra said, "LGBT Community has same rights as of any ordinary citizen. Respect for each others rights and others are supreme humanity. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible".

On July 17, the apex court reserved its verdict after hearing various stakeholders, including gay rights activists for four days.

Apart from Dipak Misra, the bench also consists of Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra. It heard the writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri, business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs.

Here are the Highlights:

# 5: 58 pm: Soon there will be gay bars here where homosexuals can go. HIV will spread: Subramanian Swamy.

It is the American game. Soon there will be gay bars here where homosexuals can go. HIV will spread. So, after looking at the consequences I hope the next Govt will move a 7 judge bench to set aside this 5 judge bench order: Subramanian Swamy,BJP MP on #Section377 pic.twitter.com/htFxVXUlXz  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 1: 30 pm: We have won the legal fight, but in society we still have to gain victory: LGBT activist Ankit Gupta.

Todays SC decision is truly historic. It says that the rights which are granted by the Constitution of India are enjoyed by LGBT community as well. It is a day to celebrate. We have won the legal fight, but in society we still have to gain victory: Ankit Gupta, LGBT activist pic.twitter.com/ZmH1lwjiLn  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 1: 15 pm: United Nations welcomes SCs ruling, says discrimination on gender an egregious violation of human rights.

Welcome todays landmark ruling by SC. Sexual orientation and gender expression form integral part of individuals identity the world over and violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an egregious violation of human rights, ANI quoted UN as saying.

# 12: 50 pm: Shashi Tharoor welcomes SC verdict to decriminalise gay sex.

I'm pleased to welcome SC decision to decriminalise consensual acts of adults in private. In this country we've allowed govt to interfere in private lives of ppl to discriminate against ppl on basis of sexual orientation,but SC stood up for equal treatment of citizens: S Tharoor pic.twitter.com/daX8KAPTTn  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 12: 30 pm: Delhi hotel celebrates Supreme Court verdict

Delhi: Celebrations at The Lalit hotel after Supreme Court legalises homosexuality. Keshav Suri, the executive director of Lalit Group of hotels is a prominent LGBT activist. pic.twitter.com/uncvvgtSfv  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 12: 16 pm: We have finally got justice. We are finally 'azaad in azaad Hind', says Ashok Row Kavi, LGBT rights activist and founder of Humsafar Trust.

# 12: 05 pm: People across India celebrate after Supreme Court in a unanimous decision decriminalises

Celebrations in Chennai after Supreme Court in a unanimous decision decriminalises #Section377 and legalises homosexuality pic.twitter.com/AqKiGlnO4N  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 12: 01 pm: LGBT Community has same rights as of any ordinary citizen, says Supreme Court.

#Section377 in Supreme Court: LGBT Community has same rights as of any ordinary citizen. Respect for each others rights, and others are supreme humanity. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible, observes CJI Dipak Misra. https://t.co/05ADSuh5cv  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 11:50 am: Five-judge Supreme Court bench by unanimous decision decriminalises Section 377

Five-judge Supreme Court bench by unanimous decision decriminalises #Section377 pic.twitter.com/IQSJYDk94X  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

# 11:41 am: Sustenance of identity is the pyramid of life, observes Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

# 11:39 am: CJI Dipak Misra observes, "No one can escape from their individualism. Society is now better for individualism. In the present case, our deliberations will be on various spectrums."

Read | Section 377: Supreme Court reserves verdict on gay sex law

The Centre, which initially sought time for filing its response to the petitions, later put the onus of deciding the fate of Section 377 on the SC. The apex court, on the other hand, made it clear that it may not strike down the law completely since it relates to consensual acts between two adults. However, the court had assured that it would go to extinct to scrutinise the legal validity of Section 377 of the IPC in all its aspects.

In 2009, the Delhi High Court decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal". This high court judgement was later overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

In May, the apex court had commenced hearing on the fresh writ petitions challenging re-criminalisation of consensual gay sex between two adults, rejecting the Centre's plea seeking postponement of the proceedings by four weeks.

Read | Section 377: Attorney General Venugopal denies to appear in Supreme Court hearing

The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

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New Delhi:

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Shesh Paul Vaid has been removed from his post days after the release of family members of terrorists which led to "serious differences" between the state government and the police chief.

Vaid, who took charge as Jammu and Kashmir DGP in 2016, was removed late Thursday and replaced by Dilbagh Singh, Director General of Prison.

ALSO READ: England vs India, 5th Test Preview: Battle of pride for Virat Kohli and team

The removal of Vaid came few days after he was divested of several administration powers following the release of terrorists' family members. Vaid had protested the decision.

Last week, terrorists abducted kin of Jammu and Kashmir cops and demanded the release of their family members arrested after the killings of four policemen. The state police had relented under pressure and quietly released around a dozen family members of terrorists, including father of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riaz Naikoo.

ALSO READ: PM Modi to launch India's first Global Mobility Summit MOVE today

According to reports, the decision led to "serious differences" between the Governor's office and Vaid, which eventually resulted in the latter's sacking.

On Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir intelligence chief Abdul Gani Mir was also removed from his post. He was replaced by B Srinivas.

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New Delhi:

Amid anticipations of early polls in Telangana, Governor ESL Narasimhan on Thursday approved the dissolution of state legislative assembly, as recommended by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao following a Cabinet meeting of his Council of Ministers earlier in the day.

In an emergency Cabinet meeting called at around 6:45 am in Hyderabad this morning, CM KCR spoke to all his colleagues and thereafter submitted a one-liner resolution of his cabinet dissolving the assembly to Governor Narasimhan. KCR has also sought fresh elections in Telangana six months ahead of schedule.

"Governor ESL Narasimhan approves assembly dissolution as recommended by CM KC Rao," the news agency ANI reported. However, KCR will now continue to serve as a caretaker Telangana CM until the new government is formed.

Read | TRS chief KCR may try to bag Telangana first and then make a play for national politics

Governor ESL Narasimhan approves assembly dissolution as recommended by CM KC Rao. Governor has asked Rao to continue as caretaker Telangana CM till the new government is formed. pic.twitter.com/dflBjTx1U8  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Post his meeting with Narasimhan, KCR proceed to the Telangana martyrs memorial opposite the Assembly and paid his respects.

Later in the day, Rao will reach the TRS office in Telangana, where he is scheduled to address a press conference on the same.

Meanwhile, on the reports of the Telangana Assembly being dissolved, the Election Commission said, "We have got no formal notification in this regard. As and when we get an official notification, we will deliberate on it for the future course of action.

Read | Hyderabad Twin Blast Verdict: Aneeq Sayeed, Ismail Chaudhary convicted; two set free

On Sunday, addressing a huge crowd at Pragathi Nivedana Sabha, the largest ever public meeting in Indian history, in Ranga Reddy district, KCR had stressed on the need for strengthening regional parties.



Interacting to the sea of humanity, the chief minister said, "Some media channels are saying KCR will dissolve the government. All TRS members have given me an opportunity to take a decision on the future of Telangana. Ministers told me to take any decision on dissolving the government. I will tell you when I take a decision".

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New Delhi:

In a historic move, India and the US on Thursday held their first 2+2 dialogue and signed the long-negotiated defence pact under which critical and encrypted defence technologies will be provided to the Indian military by the US. The two sides also discussed several key bilateral issues and decided to set up hotlines between them.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held talks with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis. During the talks, the two countries discussed key issues, including cross-border terrorism, Indias NSG bid and the contentious H1B visa issue.

Read Opinion | 2+2 talks: Hope of good beginning in India-US trade ties

Swaraj, addressing a joint press conference, expressed satisfaction over the agenda of the inaugural dialogue. While Pompeo termed the Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) a milestone in the relationship, Sitharaman said the pact will strengthen Indias defence capability and preparedness.

The COMCASA will facilitate India to obtain critical defence technologies from the US, and access critical communication network to ensure interoperability among the US and the Indian armed forces. It will also allow the installation of high-security US communication equipment on defence platforms being sourced from the US.

The 2+2 dialogue reflected the two countries desire to enhance the bilateral strategic communication on cross-cutting defence and security issues, Swaraj said.

The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects Indias robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest, she said.

Also Read | TRS chief KCR may try to bag Telangana first and then make a play for national politics

Terming the rapidly growing trade and investment ties as an important element of bilateral relationship, Swaraj said this growth is giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement which supports development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth.

I sought Secretary Pompeos support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship, Swaraj said.

The external affairs minister also noted that there was a growing convergence of views, including the Indo-Pacific, during the discussion among the four ministers.

Read More | Modi government on GDP high must take care of pitfalls ahead of polls

We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing, the minister said, adding India welcomed the US interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region as they complement our own efforts, Swaraj said.

Also stressing that counterterrorism cooperation between India and the US has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose, Swaraj said they have agreed to deepen ties in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force.

We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the US. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the US alike. On the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognized the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack, Swaraj said.

India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, she added.

The two countries also discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan Government-controlled reconciliation process, that brings together all ethnic groups and political formation in that country, Swaraj added.

(With inputs from PTI)

She said, The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects Indias robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting , we also agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest.

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New Delhi:

What has been a taboo, stigma and a siege of the worst kind for centuries just because of a personal sexual choice in case of some has finally been broken today. A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra struck down the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. For over a century-and-half this piece of law treated gay sex among consenting adults of same sex as an offence punishable under the law. The sentence for this could go up to as long as 10 years in jail. And, thus, the members of the LGBT, or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, community, who always lived under the dreaded shadows of this oppressive law, came out into the open for the first time to hail and welcome the top court order by breaking into never-before-seen jubilation.

Read | Gay Sex: Why is the land that has 'Manusmriti' and 'Kama Sutra' celebrating it today?

At the core of the issue before the court has been the right to love as per ones choice or sexual preference and discretion. The society and, thus, the law too thought it to be too queer to be allowed and tolerated. Gay sex has always been taken as a threat to morality and established order of human conduct and behavior though it did not harm anyone, nor did its practitioners intend to challenge the general heterosexuality by intruding into others lives. Yet, the society and governments in the past were not ready to make an exception for homosexual sex through consensus among two grown up individuals. More than the law, the homosexuals faced the contempt and derision of the society with the result of their being pushed to the margins where even a violent outrage against them was a real possibility.

It was under these highly discriminatory and often trying circumstances that a movement for gay rights started building up both in the country as also elsewhere or mainly in the West. Violence and intimidation besides general castigation forced a few among the gays to take to activism for their rights. Court battles began both in the West as also within the country. An NGO, Naz Foundation, working for the rights of HIV-AIDS patients and on sexual health issues, filed a petition in 2001 in the Delhi High Court against Section 377 IPC. Eight years later, or in 2009, the Delhi High Court called the Section 377 which has been in force for as far back as 1861 to be in violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution. Soon religious groups went in appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Courts decision.

Read More | SC Verdict on Gay Sex: Celebs celebrate death of Section 377, say proud moment for India

The Delhi High Court judgment was reversed by the apex court in 2013. The Supreme Court ruled that amending or repealing Section 377 should be a matter left to Parliament and it was beyond the realm of the judiciary. However, in February 2016, a three-judge bench headed by the then Chief Justice TS Thakur said that all the curative pleas of the Naz Foundation and a few gay rights activists would be reviewed afresh by a five-member constitutional bench. The next year, the Supreme Court gave a partial relief to the LGBT community by holding that their right to privacy was a fundamental right. About sexual orientation, the court said, it is an essential component of identity; and the rights of LGBT population are "real rights founded on sound constitutional doctrine".

In July this year a constitution bench of the Supreme Court took up a review of its 2013 decision and hearing of petitions challenging Section 377 began once again. During the hearings, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra made indications that over 150-year-old ban on gay sex may well be scraped. "We intend to rule, subject to arguments, that two consenting adults even if engaged in 'unnatural sex' will not be liable for prosecution for any offence," Justice Misra had observed. And in keeping with this refrain the controversial penal section was dumped once and for all on Thursday, September 6.

Read More | 2+2 talks: Hope of good beginning in India-US trade ties

The petition that was allowed was filed by five eminent persons who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields. One of the judges on the bench remarked that the unjustified penal section remained on the statute book because of the lethargy of law though this could well be the lethargy of the legislature besides that of the courts which are supposed to test the spirit of laws to keep them in tune with the constitution. One argument that kept the controversial section going for an unusually long time has been that homosexuality was against the order of nature. The court observed about this by posing the question as to who could decide about the order of nature. And in this case obviously others were deciding for the gays. But now with the courts order it is going to be a past story.

Hopefully, the courts judgment will show the way for the mainstreaming of the LGBT community and the discrimination against them will end as per the spirit and intent of the landmark judgment. More so since the judgment came after a long and hard-fought battle by thus far much maligned LGBT people.
London:

Scientists of the Cassini Mission have discovered a unique hexagonal vortex on Saturns north polea towering atmospheric structure of whirling fluids that spans hundreds of kilometres in height.

The Cassini missionwhich crashed into the Saturn last year to end its two-decade long journeyspotted the feature emerging at the ringed planets northern pole as it nears summertime.

This warm vortex sits hundreds of kilometres above the clouds, in a layer of atmosphere known as the stratosphere, and reveals an unexpected surprise.

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The edges of this newly-found vortex appear to be hexagonal, precisely matching a famous and bizarre hexagonal cloud pattern we see deeper down in Saturns atmosphere, said Leigh Fletcher of the University of Leicester in the UK.

Either a hexagon has spawned spontaneously and identically at two different altitudes, one lower in the clouds and one high in the stratosphere, or the hexagon is in fact a towering structure spanning a vertical range of several hundred kilometres, he said.

Saturns cloud levels host the majority of the planets weather, including the pre-existing north polar hexagon.

This feature was discovered by NASAs Voyager spacecraft in the 1980s and has been studied for decades; it is a long-lasting wave potentially tied to Saturns rotation, a type of phenomenon also seen on Earth in structures such as the Polar Jet Stream.

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Its properties were revealed in detail by Cassini, which observed it in multiple wavelengths using instruments including its Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS).

However, at the start of the mission this instrument could not peer further up in the northern stratosphere, which had temperatures around minus 158 degrees Celsiussome 20 degrees too cold for reliable CIRS infrared observationsleaving these higher-altitude regions relatively unexplored for many years.

One Saturnian year spans roughly 30 Earth years, so the winters are long, said Sandrine Guerlet from Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique, France.

Saturn only began to emerge from the depths of northern winter in 2009, and gradually warmed up as the northern hemisphere approached summertime, said Guerlet.

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A strange process at play within Saturns atmosphere sped up this warming: as air sank at the north pole, the upper hexagon warmed increasingly quickly, and the transport of air downwards made the abundance of several minor species more concentrated.

As the polar vortex became more and more visible, we noticed it had hexagonal edges, and realised that we were seeing the pre-existing hexagon at much higher altitudes than previously thought, said Guerlet.

The presence of a hexagon way up in Saturns northern stratosphere, hundreds of kilometres above the clouds, suggests that there is much more to learn about the dynamics at play in the gas giants atmosphere.

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New Delhi:

Four people, including one Czech and three foreigners, were killed on Wednesday when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed over a factory in Czech Republics Plzen, about 100 kilometres away from southwest Prague, officials said.

The four-seater Robinson R44-Raven helicopter plunged in an industrial zone in a suburb of the town of Plzen, killing all four onboard, said the sources.

Also Read | Powerful quake causes landslides in northern Japan, 76 injured, 19 missing

No one on ground was reported injured since the copter crashed on the roof of an empty factory hall, they said.

According to reports, the victims identities were yet to be identify, adding foreign victims were likely be Thai nationals. However, no one from the Thai Embassy in the Prague were immediately reachable, it said.

Among the victims, there are three foreigners, two men and a woman, local police spokeswoman Dana Ladmanova told reporter.

(With PTI inputs)

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sport and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa yesterday received Bahraini sailor Jafar Ahmed Yusef Mohammed, from Demistan village, who rescued a Bahraini family from drowning in the sea.

Shaikh Nasser praised the young seamans courage and sacrifice to save the Bahraini family, conveying to him the greetings of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

He described him as the pride of the nation, lauding his bravery and heroic action which, he said, will remain carved in the nations memory for ever.

The Bahraini seaman expressed thanks and respect to HM the King, praising the initiative of HH Shaikh Nasser in meeting him and describing his influential words as an incentive for Bahraini youth to do more for Bahrain and its people.
An appeal lodged against the acquittal of three opposition members accused of conspiring with Qatar has been adjourned until September 26 for review.

Shaikh Ali Salman, the former secretary general of the now dissolved Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, and two former Al Wefaq MPs  Hassan Ali Sultan and Ali Al Aswad  were accused of spying for a foreign country.

They were cleared by the High Criminal Court but Attorney General Osama Al Oufi lodged the appeal citing there was adequate proof to upturn their clearance. Shaikh Ali Salman appeared in court yesterday before the appeal was adjourned.

Shaikh Salman has been accused of receiving money in exchange for revealing state and military secrets, including information about GCC forces in Bahrain. The case is connected to phone conversations dating back to 2011 between Qatari officials and senior members of Al Wefaq.

Mr Al Oufi argued earlier that the cleric knew he was breaking the law by having contact with the Qatari government. Recordings of conversations between the defendants and Qatari officials have already been played in court as evidence.

However, defence lawyer Jalila Al Sayed, at a previous hearing at the High Criminal Court, had sought Ali Salmans acquittal, claiming there was no evidence to show he had conspired with Qatar.

The cleric is due to complete a four-year jail sentence in December for inciting others to break the law and sectarianism.
The High Appeals Court has set September 25, 2018, as the date for announcing its verdict in the case of a Bahraini man convicted of beating his girlfriend to death in his Hamad Town house.

The 31-year-old Bahraini was sentenced to life in prison by the High Criminal Court in March last year after he was convicted of murdering Iman Al Hayki.

The High Appeals Court upheld the verdict in November, but Bahrains Cassation Court sent the case back for a new trial.

The 25-year-old woman was allegedly assaulted using a cleaver and a screwdriver before she was strangled to death on May 27, 2016.
Bahraini womens strides in focus Ms Al Ansari sheds light on Bahrains strides in promoting womens rights

Bahraini womens strides in focus Ms Al Ansari sheds light on Bahrains strides in promoting womens rights

Supreme Council for Women (SCW) Secretary-General Hala Al Ansari held an interactive session with leading members of the European Union and the EU Parliaments yesterday.

Ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of organisations advocating gender equality also attended the session in Brussels, Belgium.

The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) and Bahrains Embassy in Belgium co-organised the interactive session themed Bahrain Women and 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

Ms Al Ansari shed light on Bahrains strides in promoting womens rights and supporting their social role, in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The development of womens status is an integral part of the modernisation trend which marked society in Bahrain since early 1900s, she said.
Mexico City : More than 300 sea turtles from an endangered species were found dead on a beach in southern Mexico, trapped in a banned type of fishing net, environmental authorities said. In Mexicos second mass turtle death in as many weeks, the Pacific Ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) were found floating just off the beach of Puerto Escondido in the state of Oaxaca, their shells forming a bleak mini-island.

They had drowned at sea about eight days earlier, trapped in banned 120-meter fishing nets and six-inch nylon fishing line, said Mexicos prosecution unit for environmental crimes. On August 17, authorities said they had found 122 sea turtles dead on a beach in the neighboring state of Chiapas, mostly from the same species.
Niamey : More than 400 people from across West Africa have been rescued from the desert in northern Niger in two days, the International Organization for Migration said, in the latest recovery of migrants from the frontier region near Algeria.

Search and rescue teams found the migrants in two groups at the desert border town of Assamaka, IOM said, without specifying whether they had been pushed back across the border from Algeria -- following previous claims by rights groups that migrants were dumped in the remote region. Niger is a transit country for thousands of migrants heading to Libya and Algeria, key hubs for migrants trying to reach Europe.
Dhaka : Motorcyclists without helmets have been barred from buying fuel in Dhaka, in an attempt to quell tensions after major protests for better road safety in the Bangladeshi capital last month. Tusedays announcement by Dhaka police came after tens of thousands of teenage protesters and students gridlocked Dhaka for nine days in late July and early August, in a major challenge to the authority of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government.

The (owners of) petrol pumps have already been told not to sell fuel to any motor bikers without helmets, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia. He said bikers carrying more than one other person -- a common sight -- would also face punishment, and the one pillion passenger which is permitted must also wear a helmet. Like elsewhere in Asia, the highly congested, polluted and chaotic city of almost 20 million people has seen an explosion in two-wheeled traffic in recent years.

Although Bangladeshi roads are among the deadliest in the region -- around 12,000 people perish in accidents every year, according to a private monitoring group, or more than 30 per day -- many bikers wear no helmet. The protests, which saw vehicles vandalised and thugs loyal to the government attack demonstrators, photographers and even the US ambassadors car, began after a speeding bus killed two teenagers.
Manama : Kanoo Logistics, a business division of Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo (YBA Kanoo) Group has opened a brand new, state-of-the-art logistics facility near the King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam, Saudi Arabia with a 100,000 square meters yard including a 10,000 square meters warehouse. The multipurpose facility contains 500 square meters of elevated staging area and 5000 square meters of parking space.

We at YBA Kanoo and through Kanoo Logistics are always looking for solutions that will benefit our customers and will help their businesses grow, therefore we chose the area near King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam to build the new warehouse since it is an ideal location to store both imported and exported goods. Fawzi Ahmed Kanoo, YBA Kanoos Acting CEO said.

Kanoo Logistics network includes both dedicated and multipurpose warehouses in KSA (Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh), UAE (Jebel Ali, DAFZA and Al Quoz), Oman (Muscat), and Bahrain, which have a combined capacity exceeding 40,000 square meters of storage space.

It also holds open yard storage facilities in Saudi Arabia, comprising over 325,000 square meters. The network provides storage for a variety of products including the petrochemicals and automotive industries, as well as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and has a specialized hazardous chemicals facility in Dammam. These warehouses and yards are in close proximity to ports in each of these locations.
The current crisis between Ankara and Washington over the fate of the imprisoned American pastor Andrew Brunson is the culmination of a long-simmering dispute over the fundamental nature of the relationship between the United States and Turkey. Both sides want the relationship to continue but have irreconcilable expectations about whose terms it should continue on.

Washington, after years of frustration, is seeking to enforce some ground rules for the alliance by showing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he will pay a price for arresting innocent Americans, buying Russian weapons and ignoring the United States sanctions against Iran.

Ankara is seeking to challenge the asymmetric balance of power within the alliance, insisting that Washington can no longer dictate Turkeys economic relations with its neighbors, ignore its strategic concerns over Kurdish fighters in Syria or expose the Turkish governments corruption and human rights abuses. Both the United States and Turkey assume they are indispensable to the other and ultimately expect to prevail. What happens next will be a test of how much the world  and each countrys place in it  has really changed in recent years.

From its origins at the beginning of the Cold War, the relationship between the United States, a global superpower, and Turkey, a developing country seeking support against the Soviet Union, was never one of equals. Yet Turkeys alliance with Washington was never as unequal as many in Ankara now think it was. American efforts to prevent or punish Turkeys intervention in Cyprus, for example, generated considerable anger.

But Turkey still intervened and the alliance endured. Today, with the Soviet Union gone and anti-Americanism on the rise in Turkey, similar strategic differences have become more difficult to manage. Not surprisingly, both sides see themselves as the aggrieved ally. After the White House imposed tariffs on Turkey to secure Brunsons release, the Turkish foreign minister declared that these threats and provocation would only hurt the NATO alliance.

The White House subsequently stated that a real NATO ally wouldnt have arrested Brunson in the first place. The outcome of this impasse will have little to do with who has the better case. By refusing to back down and release Brunson, Erdogan proved willing to court economic catastrophe to assert his vision of Turkish independence.

This willingness reflects not only nationalist bravado but also an assumption about the rapid advent of a more multipolar world. Erdogan is betting on finding a place in a new, post-American global order. He seems to be gambling that Washington has proved more effective in alienating its allies than he has and that the American-led global order collapses before the Turkish economy does.

After calling for increased cooperation among countries targeted by President Donald Trumps tariffs and renewed Iran sanctions, Ankara has been quick to trumpet the positive responses from Western and non-Western capitals alike. Rhetorically, at least, European leaders have been sympathetic.

President Emmanuel Macron of France recently promised to boost trade ties with Turkey,and Germanys foreign minister declared that Europe must formulate a response to Trumps economic measures, perhaps by developing its own alternative to the Swift system. Not surprisingly, Russia quickly took Ankaras side, restating its desire to conduct future transactions in national currencies.

More concretely, Ankara secured a $3.6 billion loan package from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, as well as a pledge from the government of Qatar to invest $15 billion in Turkey over the coming years. But there are limits to these alternative sources of support, not to mention new conditions and consequences that come with them. If, for example, the scale of Turkeys crisis becomes too great to patch up with money from China and Qatar, Washington could prevent international financial institutions from stepping in to help.

Indeed, a bill before the Senate would make this mandatory. European leaders, who appear more concerned about the spillover from a destabilizing Turkish crisis, could offer a bailout instead. But they have issues of their own with Erdogan, as do many of their voters.

To manage the fallout from jailing Brunson, Erdogan has already been forced to release, among others, a jailed German journalist and two Greek soldiers. Courting Russia entails even greater sacrifices. With Moscows support, President Bashar Assad of Syria is preparing to retake the last pieces of Syrian territory held by Turkish-backed rebels, sending a wave of refugees and foreign fighters toward Turkey.

Ankara alone has little leverage with which to prevent or mitigate this dangerous development. Even if Brunson is eventually released, the United States and Turkey will continue to confront each other over the terms of their relationship, Ankara will almost certainly discover the high cost of pursuing a more independent or antagonistic policy toward Washington.

And Washington will discover the high cost that Ankara is willing to bear. The risk is that when this happens, the White House will resort to drastic and destabilizing steps to put further pressure on Turkey, then seek to strong-arm allies into playing along. In doing so, Washington, will further alienate the partners it needs to apply effective pressure over the long term.

A consistent and measured approach that keeps the world on Washingtons side is more likely to sustain the global conditions in which Ankara eventually recognizes the benefits of a more cooperative relationship with the United States.
As the Trump administration ratchets up pressure on Iran by increasing sanctions and planning, in John Boltons ominous words, other things, it may be hard to imagine that diplomacy between Tehran and Washington is still possible. It is. Moreover, it is necessary. The Middle East cannot afford yet another calamitous war, but that is the unfortunate likelihood if the two countries dont get off their current path.

The annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly later this month provides a unique and appropriate opportunity for a meeting between President Trump and President Hassan Rouhani of Iran. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who has cordial relations with both leaders, can and should act as interlocutor.

Mr. Trump said in July that he was certainly willing to meet the Iranians without preconditions. The Rouhani government brushed off the prospect at first, but there are signals that it is possible: Mahmoud Vaezi, Mr. Rouhanis chief of staff, recently claimed that at last years General Assembly, officials from the Trump administration repeatedly requested a meeting with Mr. Rouhani. By sharing this information, Mr. Vaezi triggered a debate in Iranian media over whether such a meeting is desirable. In August, Mr. Rouhani said, If there is sincerity, Iran has always welcomed dialogue.

Last years General Assembly was hardly a pleasant affair between the United States and Iran. The two presidents used the annual gathering to vilify each other, with Mr. Trump describing Iran as a rogue regime and calling the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran an embarrassment and Mr. Rouhani responding by calling the American president a rogue newcomer to international politics. Since then, relations between Iran and the United States have deteriorated further. In May, Mr. Trump announced Washingtons withdrawal from the nuclear deal. The White House has reimposed sanctions on Iran in the hopes, it claims, of getting a better deal as well as a significant change in the behavior of the Iranian government. An even tougher round of sanctions will probably go into effect in November.

These are all the topics that could and should be on the table at a summit between Mr. Trump and Mr. Rouhani.

There are other forces at work pushing for Iranian-American diplomacy. While the Trump administration may believe that it can replicate the international coalition against Iran that existed ahead of the 2015 nuclear deal, the truth is that the international community is now largely on Irans side after the United States unilateral decision to abrogate the deal, which was blessed by the United Nations Security Council.

For sure, there are powerful voices in both countries opposed to such a meeting. A good number of members of the Trump administration would see such a summit as an impediment to their true agenda: regime change in Iran. Likewise, the hard-line factions in Iran would view a meeting with Mr. Trump as a sign of Mr. Rouhanis weakness. Irans supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has called any dialogue with the bullying United States useless.

Ayatollah Khameneis position may not be immutable, however. Given the enormous pressure Iran feels under increasing sanctions, he is apt to give a green light to this idea if he is assured that Mr. Trump is genuinely interested in exploring alternative options with Iran.

A meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Rouhani will probably not lead to a drastic breakthrough in relations. But the two countries dont need to solve all of their disputes to reduce dangerous tensions. Even a mutual agreement to suspend verbal attacks would be enough to build confidence and create a foundation for more diplomacy, such as meetings between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Whats more, a meeting may make Mr. Trump feel that much like with North Korea, he has succeeded in influencing Irans unruly behavior. And the international community will certainly applaud the efforts of both leaders for undertaking such an effort in line with the spirit of the United Nations Charter.

For all of these reasons, Mr. Trump and Mr. Rouhani should listen to reason and take the opportunity this month to sit down for a face-to-face conversation. It would be the truly bold thing to do.

(Nader Entessar is an emeritus professor of political science at the University of South Alabama)
Seven people are dead after a powerful earthquake rocked Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido early this morning. At least 200 are injured and about 30 more are missing.

Officials with the Meteorological Agency say the quake measured the strongest possible level on Japan's seismic intensity scale.

The quake was a magnitude 6.7 on the Richter scale. It hit shortly after 3 AM on the western part of the island, leaving everyone in the dark.

There have been dozens of aftershocks since then. Evacuation orders have been issued in some areas.

Near the epicenter, landslides wiped out homes in Atsuma. All of the missing are from this town.

Helicopter crews are carrying out rescue operations. But rescue workers are frantically searching for people buried in the rubble.

A resident told NHK the tremors were at a scale he had never experienced before.

Some residents have been lifted to safety from their homes.

The extent of the damage is still being assessed but throughout the prefecture, buildings are tilted and roads are cracked and buckled.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the government has set p an emergency task force that is putting a priority on search and rescue. He says 25-thousand Self-Defense Force personnel will be sent.

Evacuation shelters are being set up in many towns and cities. - NHK
Crown Prince Naruhito said Wednesday he hopes to build the image of the next emperor by respecting the way his father engages in duties, as he is set to ascend the throne in May.

"I will seriously think about what I can do (as emperor) at all times, while praying for the happiness of people in Japan and around the world," the 58-year-old crown prince said at a press conference for his trip to France from Friday.

The crown prince said Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko always have in mind promoting international friendship and goodwill when they engage in overseas trips and various events.

"I would like to engage in fostering friendship by paying respect to the feelings of the emperor and empress," he said.

The crown prince will make the nine-day trip to commemorate 160 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The trip could be his last official trip abroad as crown prince, as he is to ascend the Chrysanthemum throne the day after his 84-year-old father abdicates on April 30. - Kyodo
More than seven years have passed since the tragic Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, and in that time life has returned to normal for much of the country.

However, the effects of radiation exposure are not always immediate, and the government has now officially recognized the first instance of a Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) employee dying as a result of exposure connected with the 2011 disaster.

On August 31, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued a statement finding that the death of a male TEPCO employee in his 50s stemmed from his work measuring radiation levels in and around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which was heavily damaged on March 11, 2011 and experienced multiple meltdowns. The worker was involved in on-site measurements immediately following the disaster, and in total worked for TEPCO from 1980 to 2015, being stationed at various nuclear plants but most frequently at Fukushima Daiichi, which went into operation in 1971.

In February of 2016, the worker developed lung cancer, which the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has ruled was caused by exposure to radiation following the earthquake and tsunami. He has since succumbed to the disease, although in keeping with the wishes of his surviving family, the ministry has not revealed his exact date of death.

In addition to the deceased worker, four other TEPCO employees, all still surviving, have developed leukemia or thyroid cancer that the government recognizes as being caused by exposure during their work at Fukushima Daiichi. - soranews24.com
Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says Godswill Akpabio, former minority leader of the...

Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says Godswill Akpabio, former minority leader of the senate, is still under investigation.





Akpabio, who left office as governor of Akwa Ibom state in 2015, had been grilled on several occasions by the EFCC over allegations of fraud.





Leo Ekpenyong, a lawyer and activist, had petitioned the anti-graft agency, accusing Akpabio of devising a means of enriching himself at the expense of the state while in office.





When Akpabio joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) in August, he said the EFCC investigated and found nothing on him.





He also dismissed the reports that he moved to the APC because of the fear of being witch-hunted by the commission.





Some people are saying I moved to APC because a gun was pointed on my head. A young man wrote a petition against me and the petition was filled with lies I have never been charged to court The EFCC did not find anything on me, he had said at a rally in the Ikot Ekpene area of the state.





But speaking speaking during a parley with editors in Lagos on Wednesday, Magu said the former governor is still being investigated over the accusations against him.





He added that the fact that a politician jumps from one party to another will not stop EFCC investigation; we dont stop investigation until it is concluded.





Responding to alleged interference by the ruling party, the anti-graft czar said: I am not the type youll ask to stop any investigation.




Yusuph Olaniyonu, special adviser to Senate President Bukola Saraki on media, has wondered what the business of the All Progressives Congr...

Yusuph Olaniyonu, special adviser to Senate President Bukola Saraki on media, has wondered what the business of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is with his principals aspiration to be president.





On Wednesday, Yekini Nabena, APCs acting spokesman, described the presidential aspiration of Saraki as a joke.





But in a statement, Olaniyonu said the senate president would not be distracted by the antics of an upstart who lives in Abuja.





The senate president will not be distracted by the antics of an upstart who lives in Abuja but waits to sign press statements composed for him from Lagos. When his masters show their face, we will debate all the issues they have raised and the ones they may wish to even concoct, the statement read.





One should ask, what is APCs business with an aspirant of another party? The truth is APC is scared stiff of the possibility of a Saraki candidacy. Fortunately, they have no role in deciding that.





Meanwhile, Mr. Yekinni Nabena should know by now that many people in the media believe he is a robot and has no face. Here is an opportunity for him to come out of his hiding and come on a national television to debate all the issues he has raised with one of the aides of the senate president.




The police authorities have dismissed the three policemen who raided elder statesman, Cheif Edwin Clarks Asokoro, Abuja residence on Tuesday.The Force spokesman, Jimoh Moshood in a statement explained that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has approved the dismissal of Insprs. Godwin Musa, Sada Abubakar and Yabo Paul from the service for the unauthorised, illegal and unprofessional misconduct in the search of the residence of Chief Edwin Clark in Asokoro, Abuja.He added that ASP David Dominic who led the operation had been queried and was being investigated for discreditable conduct, negligence of duty and act unbecoming of a police officer.Moshood hinted that the ASP too may be dismissed.But Chief Clarks lawyer, Dr. Kayode Ajulo is insisting on a thorough investigation of the incident, stressing that the policemen could not have carried out the search of his clients house without authorisation.He warned that the policemen should not be made the scapegoat in the saga, noting that only a thorough probe would satisfy his client.
As today marks the 200th day that Leah Sharibu was abducted by Boko Haram from her school in Dapchi, Yobe State, a UK member of Parliament, Thomas Brake has called for her release.Brake made the call as he participated in the 200-hour #Freeleah campaign held in front of the Nigerian High Commission in London.Brake wrote on his Twitter handle @Thomasbrake: Outside the Nigerian High Commission launching the #freeleah campaign. Leah, who is still held captive by Boko Haram, because she refused to recant her Christian faith, has been held for 198 days.The protest was organised by a Christian UK charity, CSW to mark the 200th day of Sharibus captivity.CSW on its Twitter handle, @CSW_UK shared a photo of Sharibu and wrote; Today marks 200 days since Nigerian schoolgirl #LeahSharibu was abducted by Boko Haram. Were standing outside the Nigerian Embassy for 200 hours to pressure the Nigerian government to negotiate Leahs release, as they did for the rest of her classmates. #FreeLeah #DapchiGirls.
Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says President Muhammadu Buhari is hiding under the cloak of national interest to justify his disobedien...

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says President Muhammadu Buhari is hiding under the cloak of national interest to justify his disobedience of court orders.





While speaking at the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA in Abuja, Buhari had said the rule of law is subject to national interest.





The president had said: Rule of Law must be subject to the supremacy of the nations security and national interest. Our apex court has had cause to adopt a position on this issue in this regard and it is now a matter of judicial recognition that; where national security and public interest are threatened or there is a likelihood of their being threatened, the individual rights of those allegedly responsible must take second place, in favour of the greater good of society.





Buharis comment drew criticisms from various Nigerians, including Falana and Mike Ozekhome, a constitutional lawyer, who said national interest is used by tyrannical governments to push their dubious agenda.





Most of the presidents critics saw the his comment as justification for the continued detention of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, Shiite leader, Sambo Dasuki, former national security adviser and others, despite court rulings ordering their release.





Speaking during a Channels TV programme on Thursday, Falana said though the constitution gives room for breaching human rights, there are established grounds for this to happen.





He added that one of those grounds, being national security, is not at the disposition of the president but should be determined by the court.





Falana said: When you talk of national security, you are talking of the security of the nation; of the entirety of our people, and the constitution is clear on that. All the human rights enshrined in chapter four of the constitution, including the right to life, can be breached. But the conditions to breach them are outlined in the same constitution.





For instance, the law allows you to kill in self defence. In the case of liberty, for El Zakzaky and his wife, the defense of the government initially they are detaining them for state security, and the court said, where are the facts? The court later ordered that him and his wife be released and you cannot keep detaining them based on that.





The attempt to hide under the purview of national security to justify disobedience of court orders is a problem.





The senior advocate of Nigeria added that disobedience to court orders is an indirect way of inviting anarchy and chaos.





The constitution provides that all persons and authorities in Nigeria must comply with the decisions and judgement of competent courts so when a government says, I am not going to obey court orders, such a government is inviting anarchy and chaos, he said.




It was a flurry of activities, yesterday, at national secretariat of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as aspirants running for various elective positions on the platform of the party made last minute moves to beat todays deadline for the submission of their Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms.Accompanied by supporters, family members and some chieftains of the party, they waved to the crowd and reiterated their commitment to make life better for their people.Former Minister of Special Duties, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, who submitted his nomination forms, used the opportunity to clear the air on insinuations making the rounds that the party might be forced to settle for the North-West in its search for a presidential candidate.Represented by Director of Media, Kabiru Turaki Campaign Organisation, Sola Atere, the presidential hopeful ruled out any chance of backing out of the race, saying delegates would determine who get the partys ticket.Other Presidential aspirants who submitted their nomination forms yesterday, were Senators Rabiu Kwankwaso and Datti Baba-Ahmed.Also speaking shortly after submitting nomination forms for Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, Senior Special Assistant (Special Duties), Abraham Kwanghngu, said his boss was ready to go into the governorship contest confidently.He berated those not comfortable with the governors decision to return to PDP, adding that Benue people are solidly behind Ortoms bid to continue in office beyond 2019.He said: Our constitution as a party does not even have room for automatic ticket but the governor has the first right of refusal but we are ready to go into contest with any other person that wants to go in.
A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, said if President Muhammadu Buhari was indeed uncompromising on corruption as claime...

A former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, said if President Muhammadu Buhari was indeed uncompromising on corruption as claimed by the presidency, he would not have tolerated the reinstatement of sacked Chairman of Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina.

The Waziri of Adamawa said Buhari wont have allowed the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun accused of forgery to remain in his cabinet.





Recall that the former Vice President was reported to have described Buhari as uncompromising and power drunk.





But, Buharis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina responded that the President was uncompromising when it comes to corruption.





However, a statement by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe said he was amused by the response of the presidency.





Stressing that rule of law was a constitutional provision, Abubakar wondered if what the presidency said was correct, Then why did the Presidency do nothing as the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, went to court to secure a kangaroo court order to stop the Senate of the National Assembly from investigating who recalled, reinstated and double promoted Abdulrasheed Maina?





The statement reads, If President Buhari is uncompromising in cleaning the rot Nigeria was consigned into pre-2015 then how come the latest Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International reveals that Nigeria is more corrupt today than she was in 2015, having moved 12 steps backwards in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index, moving from 136 in 2014 under the PDP to 148 today?





Again, we ask how uncompromising a President can be when he allows a minister accused of forgery to remain at her job?





It appears that the President is surrounded by people who have become his echo chamber and are telling him what he wants to hear, otherwise no one in his right mind would call an administration that increased the price of petrol while at the same time paying more subsidy on the product than the previous government which it accused of subsidy scam, uncompromising against corruption.





It is only common sense that if the price of petrol increased by 68% from 87 per litre to 145, then the cost of fuel subsidy should also reduce, especially as the price of crude oil also reduced. However, by some strange mathematics, the Buhari administration pays a whopping 1.4 trillion on subsidy per annum according to the minister of state for petroleum. This amount is almost twice what the Jonathan administration paid and yet President Buhari accused that administration of scamming the nation.





Where is the transparency in that? No wonder the minister of state for petroleum resources revealed in a leaked memo that $25 billion worth of contracts were awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation under the watch of the supervising minister of petroleum, President Muhammadu Buhari.





More than a year after the probe panel which probed the fantastically corrupt Ikoyi apartment billions affair, nobody knows who owned the money and how $43 million in cash was housed in a government-linked flat. So much for an uncompromising attitude to corruption!





On the issue of being power-drunk, the statement opined that President Buhari was his own witness against himself, saying: It goes without saying that a President who publicly boasted that the rule of law can be suppressed against certain individuals is not only power drunk, but dictatorial.




Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, yesterday, said he was not fighting the Federal Government but only committed to the fight against injustice in his constant criticism of President Mohammadu Buharis administration.Wike, who spoke in Port Harcourt, said it was a misconception that the All Progressives Congress, APC, sees his professed discomfort with dismal performance of the ruling APC as a fight against FG.Thats part of the misconception. I dont stand up against the Federal Government. I stand up against injustice and marginalisation. If this government is not in place tomorrow and another comes and perpetrates injustice, I will stand up against it. It has nothing to do with the current Federal Government, Wike said.On the recent alleged Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, investigation of Rivers State finances, the governor said: I am not interested whether the EFCC backs off or not, a body that does not respect the rule of law, full of impunity. That is what the FG is all about, impunity. You hear the President say national interest supercedes rule of law. I am not against the EFCC fighting corruption, if at all they are fighting corruption.My concern is that we must do it according to the law. The law says we have a federation comprising FG, states and LGAs. We go to the monthly Federal Allocation when money comes to the federation and all tiers take their share. The Federal Government is now saying that the money that comes to states will be monitored. EFCC, he noted, can only be taken seriously if it operates within the rule of law by successfully appealing the 2007 judgment between the commission and the Rivers State Government.I was not here in 2007. Rivers State Government went to court against the EFCC to say the commission has no constitutional power to interrogate the finances, the expenses of the state government.The matter was adequately addressed and judgment given against EFCC. Since 2007, EFCC has been struggling to appeal that judgment and has not succeeded up till now.Nobody will appear before the EFCC until they follow rule of law. This country must not allow personal interest of individuals. That is a coup against the interest of Nigeria. No wonder the EFCC will go to Benue State and seal the account of the state government, go to Akwa Ibom to seal the account of the state Government.
The Imo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress has adopted an indirect mode of primaries.

The Imo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress has adopted an indirect mode of primaries.The method was adopted at the ongoing state executive meeting of the party in Owerri, the state capital.The motion for the adoption was moved by the party Chairman in Nwangele Local Government Area, Jude Mbamara and seconded by the lawmaker representing Ngor Okpala LGA, Obinna Egu.More details shortly
Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, says politicians defecting from one party to anot...

Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, says politicians defecting from one party to another would not be shielded from prosecution by the anti-graft agency.





Speaking during a parley with editors in Lagos on Wednesday, Magu said there was no hiding place for such politicians in the fight against corruption by EFCC.





Responding to alleged interference by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Magu said that he had never received any instruction to stop any investigation.





The fact that a politician jumps from one party to another will not stop EFCC investigation; we dont stop investigation until it is concluded.





It is only the courts that have the powers to decide on whether to exonerate or convict any indicted politician.





I am not the type youll ask to stop any investigation, Magu said.





The EFCC chairman said it had become fashionable for anyone being investigated for corruption by the Commission to scream political persecution.





With the general elections fast approaching, the resistance has assumed even frightening dimension with political motives imputed to most of our activities, he said.





According to Magu, the media owes Nigeria a duty not to allow the corrupt to deploy their ill-gotten riches to corner the machinery of government.





The EFCC chief, therefore, urged the media not to lend their platforms to helping the cause of the corrupt that were shedding crocodile tears.





We must all do what is right for our country, which is ensuring that those who steal our common patrimony are brought to justice, Magu said.





According to him, the EFCC had so far revealed only about 10 per cent of the monumental corruption perpetrated in the past and urged all security agencies to prioritize anti-graft fight.





You have not seen anything yet, we have not even touched 10 per cent of corruption perpetrated in the past, he said.





The EFCC boss said banks needed to strengthen internal control and urged the Central Bank to re-appraise regulatory and ethical conduct of banks in order to win the fight against corruption.





According to him, EFCC has signed memorandums of understanding with the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius in its efforts to recover looted assets.




Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative, IPDI, Thursday, said the people of Niger-Delta region and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark, would not accept intimidation and blackmail by the Federal Government and its security agents to support the second-term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari.Spokesperson of the group, Ezekiel Daniel, in a statement, asserted: We wish to state unequivocally that the invasion of the Abuja residence of Niger Delta leader, Senator Edwin Clark by a police team to cow him and people of Niger Delta with false information to support President Muhammadu Buhari second term bid is inimical, criminal, barbaric and poorly crafted.The invasion of Pa Clarks residence is politically motivated. We foresee a plot to arrest and embarrass Pa Clark to frighten him to support Buhari re-election, such is an act of witch-hunt, intimidation and defamatory.As a people, we cannot fold our hands and watch our father, Pa Clark being humiliated by some errand boys. We make bold to state that President Buhari and Inspector General of Police, IGP should stop forcing people to support Buharis re-election bidWhat happened is also an attempt to send the elder statesman to early grave, and we will hold Buhari and IGP responsible if any bad thing happens to our father, Pa Clark. It is our appeal that Buhari and his errand boys should stop blackmailing Pa Clark.He is not involved in any stockpiling of ammunition except the current government is suffering from dementia we will not accept such embarrassment of the national leader of South-South anymore. It is disgusting that rumour has turned intelligence for Nigeria security men.They framed up stories alleging that Clark is stockpiling weapon in his Abuja house to supply Niger Delta agitators and presented a facade when the lie was busted. If we may ask, how many weapons were recovered from Pa Clark residence by the invading police?Our esteemed Pa Clark is now 91 years old, a man of refined reputation cannot get involved in any gun dealing, he has never been accused of such mischief even when he was young, and now that he hardly sees and walk, there is no way he will be involved in it.It is a false accusation and mere blackmail. The barbaric invasion of Pa Clarks residence is an act of lawlessness. It was meant to embarrass Pa Clark and the Niger Delta region. We are disappointed. It is true that Nigeria is now a banana republic; it is practicing a graveyard democracy.Rule of law has been thrown to the wind and dictatorship is now the order of the day, this is sad and appalling. We wish to state categorically that Niger Delta and Ijaw nation will not accept any further embarrassment on Pa Clark by Nigerias government as we will continue to resist any attempt to cow Ijaw nation to support Buhari reelection bid, the group said.
The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has said that Nigeria is more divided under the present administration led by President M...

The Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has said that Nigeria is more divided under the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari who, according to him, cannot give what he (Buhari) does not have.

Saraki made this known while addressing the Governor of Ebonyi state, Chief David Umahi and stakeholders of the state during his consultations for next years presidential election, which took place at the Dr. Sam Egwu lodge in Abakaliki.





He said that Nigeria was presently at crossroads, stressing that he will address the growing impunity in Nigeria if giving the chance to become the PDP presidential flag bearer in the forthcoming 2019 general election.





The Senate President stated that Nigeria has never been so divided like it is now and lamented that the unity the nations founding fathers propagated was at the verge of collapse, while the country is drifting into anarchy.





As you endorse your governor, you will also endorse me as your presidential candidate. It is a trying time for our nation. The country is more divided than it used to be.





We know about the insecurity situation. We must ask our self how did we get here and who can bring us out? You cannot give what you dont have. We must create enabling environment for leadership capacity.





There is a high level of un-inclusiveness in the country. We must choose leaders that have capacity to move the country forward. What you are seeing in Ebonyi is not by chance, it is because your governor has capacity, that is why you are witnessing development. How then can you choose a man with capacity in your state without choosing also a leader with capacity at the national level?





We fight poverty, we will fight corruption too and not to do a selective corruption fight. We will develop solid minerals in Ebonyi State. We will bring private investors into the country and turn around youth involvement in governance by bringing youths to governance, he said.





In a remark, the governor, Chief David Umahi, who was presented with the governorship nomination form purchased by the members of the State Executive Council described Senator Saraki as a refined Nigerian and defender of democracy as well as friend of Ebonyi State.





Umahi reiterated his earlier promise to return power to Abakaliki bloc in 2023 after his second term, adding that his administration remains focused on the developmental agenda.





We will handover a state that is most beautiful, best economy and richest in the country, he assured.





The Governor commended Saraki for standing firm over the various crisis he faced, and urged that the National Assembly must work together to unite the country and turn its fortunes for the best.





He called on the Senate President to look into cost of projects in the country to stop profligacy in the execution of projects in the country.




The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says six governors in the All Progressives Congress (APC) will join its fold soon.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says six governors in the All Progressives Congress (APC) will join its fold soon.





Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP spokesman, said also heading to the party are 27 members of the national assembly in the ruling party.





Ologbondiyan, who did not disclose the names of the governors and lawmakers, said the move is an aftermath of discussions the party has had with them.





The party has already concluded discussions with six APC governors and 27 APC members in the National Assembly, who have also drawn their consultations and secured the mandates of their constituents to move to the PDP ahead of the 2019 general election, he said in a statement.





The PDP verifies that discussions on control of party structures in the affected states and senatorial zones have also reached advanced stage and would be completed in a couple of weeks after which the governors and lawmakers will announce their defection to the PDP.





Ologbondiyan said the lawmakers would move to the party once the national assembly reconvenes.





He added that all grey areas of the agreement, including issues of waivers and accommodation for participation in primaries, are being smoothened out by the partys contact and integration committee.





The PDP also commends the spirit of tolerance, dialogue, accommodation and oneness of purpose that pervade the alliance among members, he said.





The party expresses its readiness to take back control of power at the center, as well as in our traditional states of Plateau, Niger, Adamawa, Kano, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Jigawa, Zamfara, Imo, Edo as well as southwest states of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Lagos states.





The PDP therefore charges all members and supporters to remain steadfast and wary of the gimmicks of the deflated APC, which has resorted to sponsoring spurious publications filled with deceptions, fabrications and lies against our party.




Transparency International (TI) says Nigeria needs a federal legislation outlawing security votes.

Transparency International (TI) says Nigeria needs a federal legislation outlawing security votes.





Christina Hildrew, TI Africa programme manager of defence and security unit, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja at a two-day stakeholders conference.





The conference was organised by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in partnership with TI and support from European Union.





Security votes are funds that are disbursed to cover unforeseen security needs in the country. They are usually at the discretion of public officials, without being subject to independent audit.





In May, TI released a report revealing that $670m is spent annually on security votes in Nigeria.





This sum is more than the 2017 budget of the Nigerian army.





Hildrew described security votes as corruption-prone security funding mechanisms.





She called for measures to put in place for effective oversight structures to monitor confidential security spending, including procurements.





Security votes are opaque corruption-prone security funding mechanisms widely used across Nigerias three tiers of government, Hildrew said.





Investigation shows that estimates of 670 million dollars annually, transacted mostly in cash, were security vote spending and it is not subjected to legislative oversight or independent audit because of its substantively secretive nature.





Yet this veil of secrecy protects the many officials who misspent security votes, and they channel them into political activities or embezzle them outright.





There is a wide issue in the defence sector which is defence `exceptionalism, that is, the public allows defence sector to be unaccountable for what they spend because of national security issues.





However, the defence sector should not be unaccountable to the citizens it is meant to protect.





Hildrew, therefore, called for additional legislative oversight of the defence sector, adding that we think it is important that parliamentary audit committees and civil societies have a say on how security spending is decided..





Hildrew also canvassed the establishment of security trust fund at state level to support the phasing out of security votes.




Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, says officials of the state government will appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (E...

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, says officials of the state government will appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) only if the anti-graft agency follows the rule of law.





The EFCC had invited and quizzed Peter Amangbo, managing director of Zenith Bank, over alleged N117 billion transaction by the state government in the past three years.





The anti-graft agency is also seeking to quiz four officials of the state who were central to the withdrawals.





Speaking at the state government house in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Wike said the EFCC is full of impunity.





I am not interested whether EFCC backs off or not. I am not against the EFCC fighting corruption, if at all they are fighting corruption. My concern is we must do it according to the law, he said.





The law says that we have a federation comprising the federal government, the states and the LGAs. We go to the monthly federal allocation when money comes to the federation and all tiers take their share. The federal government is now saying that the money that comes to states will be monitored.





I was not here in 2007. Rivers state government went to court against the EFCC to say the commission has no constitutional power to interrogate the finances, the expenses of the state government. And the matter was adequately addressed and judgment was given against EFCC.





Since 2007, EFCC has been struggling to appeal the judgment. EFCC has not succeeded up till now. What they are doing now is when they feel a government is not pro-Buhari, lets do this.





He wondered why the EFCC was allowed to freeze the accounts of Benue and Akwa Ibom state governments, insisting that the agency is being used as a tool by the federal government to fight opposition.





Nobody will appear before the EFCC until they follow the rule of law. This country must not allow personal interest of individuals. That is a coup against the interest of Nigeria, he said.





WHY IS EFCC PROBING RIVERS GOVERNMENT?





An EFCC detective had narrated how the alleged withdrawals were made by officials of the state government.





The bulk of the money was collected by one official over the counter with as many as 45 to 50 cheques issued in one day, he had said.





The records retrieved showed that on June 8, 2015, about N450 million was cashed over the counter through 45 cheques with each cheque worth N10 million, he said.




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Goma-Camps Boosts Tissue Production Capacity with New Tissue Machine from Voith At a working width of 2.8 meters and a production speed of 2,000 meters per minute, TM 7 produces toilet paper and paper towels from 100 percent virgin pulp. Photo courtesy of Voith. Sept. 6, 2018 - Goma-Camps' subsidiary Goma-Camps Consumer in March of this year successfully started up a new tissue machine at its Ejea de los Caballeros mill in Spain. The centerpiece of the new production line is a Voith-supplied XcelLine tissue machine, TM 7. From stock on wire, to paper on reel it took only 30 minutes, and the TM 7 speed-up is over achieving the planned start up curve. This was a great team performance, said Jose Ignacio Gonzalez Sarasua, Mill Manager of Goma-Camps Consumer. At a working width of 2.8 meters and a production speed of 2,000 meters per minute, TM 7 produces toilet paper and paper towels from 100 percent virgin pulp. At full operating speed, which is expected by the end of 2018, TM 7's production capacity will be 34,000 metric tons per year. Voith delivered the entire process line package: from BlueLine stock preparation and the double dilution approach flow system, the TM 7 XcelLine tissue machine, auxiliary equipment and system accessories all the way to the full automation, electrification and engineering. In addition, extensive services and replacement parts were included in the delivery, such as the entire clothing package, which is ideally coordinated with the requirements of shoe press technology. The entire new plant will be serviced 100 percent by Voith in an integrated maintenance and service concept. Jordi Goma-Camps, President of Goma-Camps Group S.L., explained, With the integration in the Ejea site, the new TM 7 is a strategic step to strengthen our presence in the Iberian Peninsula and to deliver superior tissue quality with focus on sustainability. With the new tissue machine in Ejea, the Goma-Camps Group increases its annual tissue manufacturing capacity to 90,000 tons. About Goma-Camps Goma-Camps ( www.gomacamps.com ) is a family business group founded more than 260 years ago and present on the international market. The Goma-Camps Group's mission is to manufacture, process and trade tissue paper and other similar products that provide value added for their customers, shareholders, Goma-Camps employees, and their social environment. Voith Paper is a Group Division of Voith and a leading partner and pioneer in the paper industry. To learn more, please visit www.voithpaper.com . SOURCES: Voith GmbH and Goma-Camps
For Fall 2018, body horror seems to be trending. Last week, Kim Kardashian, Chrissy Teigen, and Queer Eye's Tan France made a splash when they posted pictures of themselves with accessories seemingly inserted into their skin, like Calabasas biohackers. It was a stunt organized by Kardashian friend and publicist Simon Huck, promo for a new theatrical exhibition called A. Human, which opened last night on Mercer Street in SoHo (it's now open to the public until September 30th, for an admission fee of $40).

Huck is selling A. Human as a "futuristic fashion brand." The exhibition, where realistic prosthetics like fish gill-like collars and exaggerated pointy shoulders are displayed on real life models, is a version of something like Sleep No More, a living experience that plays on the idea of shopping in the future  a world where, theoretically, people would slice and dice themselves to get the look (the plastic surgery jokes write themselves).

Celebrities like Katie Holmes, Olivia Culpo, and the Queer Eye guys drank tequila cocktails while taking in detachable spinal cords and nautilus shell-shaped high heels implanted in ankles. Theatrical director Michael Count placed models inside glass boxes filled with dirt, so that only their heads were visible. There was a "pump room" that featured a beating heart. Edgar Allen Poe could never!

A beating heart in the "Pump Room"

Nicola Formichetti's "The Pinnacle"

Venerable makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench was a major contributor, and even wore her own set of modified teeth to the event. "I actually used to be a dental nurse many years ago, and there is something quite creepy about teeth in general," she said. "They're associated with death and associated with dreams, and so they're already symbolic."

Ffrench and A. Human collaborator Nicola Formichetti are known for work that flirts with body modification. Formichetti, a fan of sci-fi and artists like HR Giger, created a piece for A. Human called "The Pinnacle" that recalls Born This Way-like horned shoulders. "I was thinking about the future and what would it be like in 50 years or 100 years," he said. "We might not even have clothes."

Simon Huck, Isamaya Ffrench, Nicola Formichetti

Formichetti is fascinated by the idea of artificially shaping the body, beyond something like plastic surgery. "Myself, I don't like using implants," he said. "I love going to the gym and building strong muscles through working out and things like that. But I feel like I'm always interested in what's possible." Has anyone alerted David Cronenberg?

Photos courtesy of BFA/A. Human
You may already be familiar with the premise of Jon M. Chu's hit rom-com, Crazy Rich Asians. A New York-raised, Asian American woman, Rachel (Constance Wu), visits her extraordinarily rich boyfriend Nick Young's (Henry Golding) family in Singapore, her potential mother-in-law Eleanor (Michelle Yeoh) hates her, girls try to sabotage her, and Rachel and Nick must decide if love matters more than money and tradition  you get the drift. What's significant is that it is the first mainstream Hollywood movie in 25 years to feature an entirely Asian cast. It's rightfully garnered heaps of praise for this rare and overdue embrace of representation, but the film still focuses on a niche group within the Asian demographic  wealthy and East Asian.

In the trailer, we're treated to the gilded world of the Young family: European-style mansions, servants, luxury goods, suits, gowns, and manicured socialites with American and British accents. The images of wealth and privilege make Crazy Rich Asians extra complex. On the one hand, the film signifies that Hollywood has finally decided that Asian-centered stories are worth telling. But while it showcases wealthy Asian culture to the fullest extent, giving exposure to communities that while privileged are still marginalized by race, lower income Asians are left completely out of the dialogue. Given that Crazy Rich Asians is a trailblazer of its time, it's important to consider the intersectionality  or lack thereof  in the film.

Crazy Rich Asians is set mostly in Singapore, which was colonized by both Japan and Britain before becoming an independent republic in 1965. Countries like the People's Republic of China, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and India's economies all developed later in comparison to countries like the U.S. and England. Yet despite later explosive economic growth, the wealth gap in both East Asian and South East Asian communities is staggering. With some of the nation's poor living on less than $1.90 a day, it's clear that the family in Crazy Rich Asians does not represent the majority.

Naturally, this did not sit well with some viewers leading up to the film's release. While Asian-Americans are finally being represented in the media alongside their white counterparts  the specificity of representation is interesting. Crazy Rich Asians still relies heavily on the model minority myth  that Asian Americans are all well educated, relatively wealthy, and don't threaten the status quo.

In the trailer, for example, a Donald Trump look-alike stares at our movie couple at the on-plane bar. That scene is to illustrate Rachel's glimpse into her boyfriend's world, one that may be in close proximity to wealthy white people. Originating in the 1960's during the Black Power Movement, Japanese and Chinese Americans were deemed the "model minority." By comparing them to other people of color, Caucasian Americans could toss out any accusations of racism, essentially saying "If Asian people can make it, then why can't you?" to those who called out America's racist past and present.

When it comes to immigration, privilege also accounts for who is and isn't allowed in to the country. One of the popular methods of moving to the U.S. is via a H-1B visa, which allows highly skilled workers to stay up to six years (more if they have a green card application pending.) Since higher education itself can be expensive internationally, Asians who were privileged in their respective countries tend to have a better chance of immigrating to America. Juxtaposed against how it's nearly impossible for certain other nation's peoples, like Mexico and Syria, the privilege is undeniable. Under the Trump administration alone, more than 2,000 children have been removed from their families at the United States border under the "zero tolerance" policy on illegal immigration by Jeff Sessions.

All this cultural baggage only intensifies the Crazy Rich Asians storyline. In the film, Rachel is privileged as a professor of economics who lives in New York, one of America's most expensive cities. But internationally, she's less well-off compared to her boyfriend and his family. The film heavily focuses on the Singaporean family and their extravagant lifestyle, while the majority of non-Singaporeans in the mansion scenes are either servants or the help.

While the film breaks many barriers, it also perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Asians that hurt low income Asians as well as other people of color. Rachel is still a highly educated professional who may in the future further increase her capital, even if she feels shocked by her boyfriend's wealth. If Jon M. Chu and Kevin Kwan really wanted to push the envelope, they could have written Rachel as a working-class person, an image of Asian Americans that is rarely seen (her mother is portrayed as lower middle class in the film, but Rachel's education level suggest she's already surpassed the class level she was born into).

Still, not every single movie centering people of color needs to be a politically-progressive, groundbreaking masterpiece that perfectly encompasses every single struggle we face. Artists of color shouldn't be expected to make perfect, politically conscious art when the same expectation is not upheld for all white artists. What we should note is where PoC art goes in the future and make an effort to give equal representation to all people of color, not just the rich.

Privately I am thrilled that Crazy Rich Asians exists, but on a grander scale, the satisfaction is short lived. I hope that the next all-Asian film we get properly reflects the complexity of Asian-identity  wealth, poverty, privilege, disadvantage, immigrants, children of immigrants...the whole pot.

Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Picture
"I love the confidence that comes with wearing a bathing suit," says Emily Ratajkowski. The 27-year-old model-actress-entrepreneur is chatting about her swimwear brand, Inamorata Swim, which she launched last year. The entirely self-designed line includes one-pieces and bikinis in vibrant colors and polka dot prints sold direct-to-consumer online. These days, Ratajkowski's personal life is just as full as her list of professional obligations: She recently married longtime friend and film producer Sebastian Bear-McClard in a surprise, low-key ceremony after just a few months of dating.

The newlywed is seated across from me with legs crossed, emanating supreme yet unintimidating confidence. She's unapologetic about the pastiche of a career she is stitching together for herself  a collage of creative pursuits that includes modeling, acting and designing  even if she does intimate that she has not always been immune to insecurity. "I've always been really interested in many things," she says. But, "Even as a kid, I was always a little worried that I would spread myself too thin and never be the type of person who would find my passion and do this one thing and do it really well. I was envious of people who did that," she admits. She muses on how she thinks the world has changed as far as accepting and celebrating people who are multifaceted. "Before, being a model was a contradiction to being an actress or being a musician  you couldn't have a clothing line or be a designer," Ratajkowski says. "I don't think that's how creativity works... That's never how it worked for me, I was always someone who was writing, painting, doing whatever..."

Coat & Dress: Valentino

As a child growing up in San Diego to a writer mother and painter father, Ratajkowski's first foray into  to steal a turn of phrase from Twyla Tharp  "the creative habit," was taking theater classes: Her parents figured acting could turn into a means to save up for college. Acting led to modeling, and the modeling took off first: She landed a contract with Ford Models. There was a stint studying art at UCLA for a year until she decided to take some time off to focus on working. The catalytic moment in her career came when she was cast in Robin Thicke's buzzy  and controversial  2013 "Blurred Lines" music video. "Bizarre" is the word she chooses to describe the whole "meteoric rise" thing that resulted from that casting. She elaborates how at the time, she was thinking, "I will [model] for a couple of years, make some money and see how I feel about going back to school. To have something that I was just viewing so much as a 9-5 job turn into something I really was not expecting was super surprising."

In the wake of renewed cultural discussions about sexual consent over the last few years, Thicke's song has been re-appraised and criticized for the message it seems to promote. But whatever ire was directed at the song or at Thicke, the video served as a world-stage introduction to a woman who revels in her body and finds empowerment in her sexuality. Big modeling jobs followed, and Ratajkowski graced the covers of publications like GQ, CR Fashion Book, Marie Claire and more, along with runway castings in shows for Miu Miu, Marc Jacobs, Bottega Veneta and other luxury brands. But for as many people who encounter Ratajkowski on these covers or catwalks, there are perhaps many multiples more who discover the model and her particular brand of sensuality on Instagram.

"Even as a kid, I was always a little worried I would spread myself too thin."

@emrata, as she is known on the social media platform where she is followed by 19 million people, is more than conversant in how to wield the tool of the 'Gram. "I think of my Instagram as a magazine," she says, adding, when asked about what sort of magazine it would be, "It's a sexy feminist magazine." When asked if she feels her Instagram account espouses the full narrative of @emrata-hood, she gives the answer that should be obvious to all: "Of course not. I mean, does anybody's?" She continues, "I am not going to shout from the rooftops that I am smart on a visual platform."

While critics have argued that her sensual posts do not fit into the feminist paradigm (Piers Morgan once went as far as calling her a "global bimbo" in response to a shoot for LOVE magazine's annual advent calendar that featured the model covered in spaghetti), Ratajkowski stands behind the notion that they are, in fact, an act of feminist empowerment. "I think that the whole idea that because the body I was given might play into some patriarchal idea, I should be ashamed of it or be covering it up is ridiculous. I find empowerment in celebrating and sharing my sexuality. I think my body is beautiful and a lot of different bodies are beautiful," she insists. She does, however, balk at using the word "activism" to describe her actions. "Activism is a really strange word. Is social media activism? I shy away from that word because I don't really know what it means. I think of myself as a feminist, and the issues I am most passionate about are social issues." Ratajkowski does share that she was active in the Black Lives Matter movement in LA, "attending rallies, showing up, keeping the dialogue open, bringing attention to those issues," and she has also shared photos on Instagram of herself participating in the Women's March and protesting Trump's travel ban at LAX.

"You were living in a bathing suit. I love the confidence that came with that."

Pivotal though Instagram may be to Ratajkowski's career, it is far from her only stage. While she may feel some ambivalence about being described as an "activist," one descriptor that's a fixture in her multi-hyphenate melange is "actress." The very same sultry role she played in Thicke's video led directly to a movie role alongside Ben Affleck in David Fincher's 2014 thriller Gone Girl. Director Fincher told GQ that for the role of Andie, Ratajkowski's character in the film, he "wanted... someone who could be incredibly divisive among men and women in the audience," to which Affleck is said to have replied, "Yeah, like the girl in the 'Blurred Lines' video." The rest, they say, is history. Next came parts in 2015's Entourage movie, this past April's I Feel Pretty starring Amy Schumer, a number of indies sprinkled in the mix and now the soon-to-be-released Welcome Home, in which she stars alongside Aaron Paul. In the film, she and Paul play a couple that goes on holiday to the Italian countryside and stays in an "Airbnb-type situation," she says. Things spiral into a thriller as the couple finds itself victim to the homeowner's nefarious machinations.

When I ask Ratajkowski which industry has challenged her the most, she blurts out the four-letter word, sans hesitation: "film!" She continues, "There are a lot of older white men at the top who still don't understand that just because you've seen a woman's body, you can also take her seriously." She goes on to note that the film industry also "has not found a way to marry the traditional timeline of making a movie with social media," lamenting a squandered opportunity for synergy between the film industry and the marketing platform that is Instagram.

As for her experience with the fashion industry as a designer who, until recently, handled all aspects of her business, from designing to sourcing to marketing, by herself, she says the business is what you might think it is: "It is all about the surface level." Be that as it may, her interest in design and fashion can be traced much deeper, back to at least the third grade, when she recalls drawing wedding dresses for her teacher and "literally having, like, 27 options for her." So why design swimwear as opposed to any other kind of apparel? The answer harkens again to her roots: "I grew up in San Diego, and in the summer that is what you wore. You weren't even at the beach, but you were living in a bathing suit. I love the confidence that came with that... It fit with my ethos of how I want women to think of their bodies."

"I feel like I am controlling my narrative," says Ratajkowski. "Being able to have the agency to do the swimsuit thing is so empowering to me, and I'm hoping to be able to take that same entrepreneurial attitude to fashion, to film making and beyond and to utilize the tools that I feel lucky to have." It seems Emily Ratajkowski's one true calling is to be a plethora of things  to be a master of many trades in a world that claims she can only possibly be a jack; to live out, in the word of Walt Whitman, her "multitudes." There's no denying that in insisting on fanning the many fires of her creativity at once, Emily Ratajkowski is radical.
It's late summer, 2002, and there's a shimmer of body glitter in the air. Jennifer Lopez is about to release her iconic third album, This Is Me Then. It's dedicated to her current boyfriend, Ben Affleck. She's one of the biggest celebrities on the planet, and her millions of fans are spritzing themselves with Glow by JLo. The brand new scent is selling so fast that department stores can't keep up with demand.

Times may have changed, but JLo is forever. 15 years later, everything about Glow  still a popular choice in the fragrance aisle  remains instantly recognizable. The sensually-shaped bottle, rumored to be modeled on its namesake's nude body (pulling a Kim Kardashian before the reality star was even 25). The dangling rhinestone charm. And, of course, the smell: a sweet, soapy musk meant to recall the feeling of just stepping out of the shower. Glow's massive success inspired the likes of Beyonce and Britney Spears to release rival perfumes, but JLo did it first. She has released 24 fragrances to date, with revenue in the billions. When she received her VMA Video Vanguard award, someone should have mentioned the actress and singer's most overlooked career highlight: transforming the celebrity fragrance market.

It's hard to believe now, when an Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift fragrance seems like the most obvious marketing choice in the world, but back in the early 2000s a pop star perfume (okay, eau de toilette if we're being technical) wasn't a sure bet. Famous actresses and singers had been appearing in beauty campaigns for decades  Audrey Hepburn was the first to align herself with a perfume, when she became the face of Givenchy's L'Interdit in 1957  but celebrity-branded products tended to be more miss than hit. Until JLo came along, Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds, released in 1991, was considered a rare exception. Not even Uninhibited, Cher's legendary late 80s scent, had managed to stay on the market.

The pivot to perfume was really something of a risk, but JLo and her team put everything they had behind it, even throwing a lavish 200-guest launch party at Trump Tower in Manhattan with the building's owner in attendance. A late-night fireworks display over the river spelled out the word GLOW. The investment paid off: despite early media predictions of its failure, within six months Glow had broken numerous perfume sales records. By 2004, JLo clothing (picture a lot of velour tracksuits) and fragrance products were raking in $325 million annually, and the celebrity fragrance boom had well and truly begun. Over the next decade, everybody from Sarah Jessica Parker to One Direction released a signature scent. The charm bracelet that adorned T.Swift's Wonderstruck bottle in 2011? Think of it as an updated version of the Glow by JLo pendant.

The huge success of Glow and (not to mention its popular spin offs, Glow After Dark and Miami Glow) can be attributed to numerous factors, foremost JLo's surging international fame. Lopez was her own marketing campaign: an ethereally airbrushed image of her standing completely naked in the shower advertised the fragrance on billboards, bus stops, and magazine pages throughout the early 2000s. Her music was everywhere, too: particularly the single "Jenny From The Block," complete with a self-referential video about growing up in the Bronx and becoming one half of Hollywood's then-favorite power couple, Bennifer.

Related | JLo Left Us Winded at the VMAs

But people also just liked the smell. Soft and feminine, with notes of citrus, rose, and white florals, it appealed directly to its intended market: 15-25 year-old girls. The scent was concocted by veteran perfumer Louise Turner, who would later formulate Love by Chloe, Margiela's Lazy Sunday Morning, and Carolina Herrera's Good Girl. Somewhat unusually, the entire creative process did receive significant input from Lopez herself. In a 2003 interview with Inc magazine, the singer recalled having "a very clear concept and direction" for the perfume notes. "It was all about being fresh, sexy, and clean," she explained.

The celebrity fragrance train has slowed down since 2003. But even if many of JLo's early fans have moved on to Le Labo, her impact on the cosmetics world is undeniable. Glow proved a pop star can move an unknown product just by putting her personal brand behind it, and laid the foundations for the more social-media friendly celebrity beauty and fashion lines that are popular today: from Kylie's lip kits and Kim's KKW range to Jessica Alba's Honest Company and Drew Barrymore's Flower. Yep, even Rihanna might have JLo partly to thank for the success of Fenty. Always moving with the times, Lopez herself recently launched a new prestige makeup collection with Polish brand Inglot.

Ah, 2002. It sure does feel far away now. Ben Affleck has just checked into rehab, and Donald Trump probably isn't anyone's first choice for a fun perfume launch party guest. But Glow is still on the shelves: a time capsule testament to its creator's entrepreneurial skill and star power. Not bad for a girl from the Bronx.

Photo via Getty




Eveningwear Remixed Tom Ford presented his spring 2019 collection at the Park Avenue Armory  his venue of choice since returning to New York show circuit last year. With remixed tuxedo-style ensembles, gowns made of draped fringe, and body-skimming skirts with handkerchief hemlines, Ford's rich black, white, silver, and taupe collection is an ode to suave evening dressing. The designer's signatures including leopard print and crocodile took on new forms as stylized corsets and bustiers.



Head Scarves and Heels Topped with blush pink, black, and beige headscarves and finished with Mary Jane pumps in champagne, baby blue, and mauve, Ford's sumptuous opening looks toggle between a joy ride in a convertible and a cocktail party.



Smooth Soundtrack Lady Gaga's cover of the 1978 disco hit "I Want Your Love" by Nile Rodgers & Chic played during the show. The pop star originally recorded the song for a music video directed by Nick Knight in which Tom Ford unveiled his spring 2016 collection. The upbeat track was bookended by David Bowie's posthumous single "I Can't Give Everything Away" and "Two Men In Love" by The Irrepressibles.



Front Row Sightings There's never a dearth of celebrities front row at a Tom Ford show. Stars from Cardi B, Paris Jackson, and Crazy Rich Asians actor Henry Golding, to Adriana Lima, Rita Wilson and her husband Tom Hanks attended alongside fashion industry fixtures.



Show Stopper Gigi Hadid closed the show in a sensual black, v-neck evening gown. With the flick of a wrist, the 23-year-old made the dress's billowy cape ripple majestically at the edge of the runway.

Images via Getty
On Monday Patently Apple posted a report titled "A Five Country Intelligence Group Reveals Groundwork on Gaining Access to Evidence Safeguarded by Encryption." The intelligence group covers all aspects of security with encryption being just one segment. The report noted that "The groundwork is being prepared by an intelligence alliance known as Five Eyes comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, to crack down on technology companies that won't comply with court orders to give up data on local and international criminal and terrorist networks on demand. Today we're learning that Apple's "Privacy" page has been updated to include a new segment titled "Law Enforcement Support Program." The timing of the new page in light of the 5 Eyes meeting announcement is very interesting and likely not a coincidence.

Law Enforcement Support Program

Apple's new segment for Law Enforcement Support Program states: "We believe that law enforcement agencies play a critical role in keeping our society safe and we've always maintained that if we have information we will make it available when presented with valid legal process. In recognizing the ongoing digital evidence needs of law enforcement agencies, we have a team of dedicated professionals within our legal department who manage and respond to all legal requests received from law enforcement agencies globally. Our team also responds to emergency requests globally on a 24/7 basis.

We publish legal process guidelines for government and law enforcement agencies globally and we publish transparency reports twice a year detailing the types of requests we receive and how we respond. In addition, we regularly provide training to law enforcement officers on the types of data available from Apple and how to obtain it consistent with our legal process guidelines.

By the end of 2018 we will begin the launch of an online portal for authenticated law enforcement officers globally to submit lawful requests for data, track requests, and obtain responsive data from Apple.

We are building a team of professionals dedicated to training law enforcement officers globally, which will significantly increase our ability to reach smaller police forces and agencies. This will include the development of an online training module for officers. This will assist Apple in training a larger number of law enforcement agencies and officers globally, and ensure that our company's information and guidance can be updated to reflect the rapidly changing data landscape.

Apple is committed to protecting the security and privacy of our users. The above developments and the work we do to assist investigations uphold this fundamental commitment."

Below are full Apple documents covering compliance for both government and law enforcement agencies within and outside of the U.S.A.

Government & Law Enforcement within the United States

1. Law Enforcement Guidelines Within the U.S.a. by Jack Purcher on Scribd

Government & Law Enforcement outside the United States

2 - Outside of the u.s Guidelines - Apple's Law Enforcement Guidelines by Jack Purcher on Scribd

The discovery of the updated Apple Page was reported on by MacRumors earlier today.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Earlier today Patently Apple posted a report titled "While Windows Continues to Lead in Business on the Desktop, it's Apple's iOS that dominates in the Handheld Category." To extend their lead with businesses, Apple and T-Mobile have teamed up to extend its financing plan to new T-Mobile business customers just as Apple is preparing to launch new iDevices next week.

According to T-Mobile, the program allows enterprise customers activating 25 or more lines to lease iPhones and iPads. Customers will be able to lease Apple mobile devices over a 24-month period with no upfront costs.

Mike Katz, Executive Vice President of T-Mobile for Business: "Part of our job is to make wireless simpler for business customers  from service pricing to customer care to device pricing. When businesses told us they wanted more flexible financing and upgrade options for iPhones and iPads, of course we listened. We're pleased to bring this unique and compelling offer that combines our service with financing from Apple for our business customers in the US."

Apple offers businesses a modern way to work, with powerful, secure devices that work together seamlessly as you go throughout your day. Today's employees demand the best tools to do their best work and virtually all Fortune 500 companies use iOS.

By leasing instead of owning, businesses are freed from device lifecycle management, carrying the entire device ownership cost and technology obsolescence risk. Instead, they pay only for their usage of the device then easily move to the latest technology. In addition, while purchasing devices outright or through an equipment installment plan (EIP) is a capital expenditure, leasing devices over 24 months through Apple can move the cost to an operating expense and help to maximize cash flow. Through the program, business customers can get an iPhone 8 for just $18 per month.

Funded through DLL Group, Apple financing offers flexible and innovative leasing options for most current iPhone and iPad models as well as future devices on America's fastest LTE network.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
As allegations continue to surface against Sakyong Mipham and the leadership of Shambhala International, it is worth looking a bit more into the structures of a Tibetan Buddhist organization where widespread physical and sexual abuse was recently exposed.

Rigpa (Tibetan for wisdom or knowledge) is a large Tibetan Buddhist organization founded in 1979 by Sogyal Lakhar. It has grown to be one of the largest single organizations dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism in the world with groups and centers in 41 countries around the world. Last year, Lakhar was deemed a disgrace by the Dalai Lama after a letter signed by 8 students detailed decades of abuse at his hands. Since then, a number of writings have come out, principally at the blogs What Now? and How did it Happen?, established explicitly to deal with questions stemming from the allegations and fallout in Rigpa; as well as at the Buddhism Controversy Blog, which features articles discussing a wide range of contemporary Buddhist groups.

The journalist Mary Finnigan has written perceptively of Sogyal, author Matthew Remski has likewise turned his attention to Sogyal and surrounding issues of clerical abuse.

Documentaries

Additionally, two documentaries, both in Dutch with English subtitles, explore the dynamics of power, Buddhist teachings, and personality of Sogyal Lakhar.

The more recent of the two is from the Dutch series Brandpunt (Focal Point) and was broadcast in June 2017:

All rights belong to Brandpunt TV and KRO-NCRV. The page for the programme, which included the written response from Rigpa is here: https://brandpunt.kro-ncrv.nl/brandpu

And the older of the two is titled In the Name of Enlightenment  Sex Scandal in Religion:

The two serve as a good reminder to be careful when entering into any religious group. And to listen when members and ex-members speak out.

Do you find benefit in this writing?

Please support independent coverage of Buddhism and join a community of patrons here.
Last week, the story of a nine-year-old boy named Jamel Myles emerged across international media platforms. Jamel was an elementary school student in Colorado who took his own life after being bullied by his peers for being gay. Upon hearing Jamels tragic story, the nation was shocked. No person, especially a child, should be made to feel ashamed of who they are. No one should be forced to feel that their life is not worth living, especially someone as young as Jamel.

Just a few days later, another tragic story of suicide broke in the national media, this time it was Andrew Stoecklein, the lead pastor of Inland Hills Church in Chino, California. Looking from the outside, Pastor Stoecklein was leading a successful career as an evangelical megachurch pastor who was married and had four beautiful children. Yet in his own mind, Andrew was deeply suffering from depression for years but rarely talked about it in his sermons at his church. Pastor Stoecklein depression became so severe that on August 25th, he attempted suicide and after being on life support for a few days, Andrews life was cut short.

These two tragic stories struck me to my core because both of these victims of suicide suffered at the two intersections of my life: I am a gay man and a Christian pastor. I also have struggled with generalized anxiety disorder and depression for most of my life, and in many periods, have struggled with thoughts of suicide. As I read these stories, I could relate deeply to the pain that both of these individuals felt: my entire life has been marked with exclusion and bullying because of my feminine personality traits and my perceived sexual orientation, and I have struggled in a number of religious environments with extreme dissonance between what I truly believed and who I truly was, and the overwhelming pressure of my religious community to suppress and conform to their standards of what was right and good.

The exclusion and bullying Ive experienced related to both of these aspects of my identity have contributed to the severity of my depression and suicidality. And clearly, my experience is not unique. Around the world, we are facing a mental health crisis with amplified levels of depression and suicide, and yet our society at large and our communities of faith are clearly not equipped to address this crisis in a way that saves lives. We have failed to fully comprehend that depression and other related illnesses are in fact, illnesses, and must be treated by health professionals.

While the details of Pastor Andrew Stoeckleins story have rightfully remained private, it is likely that he experienced the conflict that so many people face when their faith doesnt address or offer any consolation to their mental health struggle. Many faith communities teach that depression, anxiety, and fear are purely spiritual matters that must be addressed through spiritual practice or spiritual counseling. In many faith communities, there is still deep stigma around taking medications to help with mental health. When I first was prescribed my antidepressants as a student in Bible college, I felt tremendous shame and often heard from fellow peers that the right way to deal with my struggle was to take my burden to God, and trust that he would heal me.

But after years of praying and seeking spiritual guidance, my mental health wasnt getting better. My panic attacks were increasing and so was the inner anguish I experienced. If only I would have been in a community that understood that what I was experiencing was at least partially a result of a chemical imbalance in my brain that could only be corrected with medications, I may have received treatment years earlier and shortened the intense suffering I endured throughout my teenage years.

But in order for that to have happened, my faith leaders would have needed to have been humble enough to admit that they didnt have answers to my struggles or that the answers they did have were insufficient. It would have required my faith community to understand that mental health illnesses effect a large portion of the population and that there is no shame in experiencing neuro-divergence in whatever way that manifested in an individual. It would have required a reframing of our understanding of the human person to be more than just a body and soul, but also a physical mind that needs physical treatment when it is suffering.

But most faith communities and faith leaders arent willing to acknowledge this truth, and because of that, thousands of peoples suffering is amplified because they feel that their faith is somehow inadequate because they arent experiencing healing, and they feel fearful about pursuing non-spiritual options for treatment because they believe that their suffering is only a spiritual struggle.

In the story of Jamel, we see highlighted the tragic results of exclusion and bullying of LGBT+ people that is still all too prevalent in our world today. In my new book True Inclusion, I devote a chapter to exploring the results of exclusion on the human psyche. Looking at both psychological research on exclusion, as well as the classic Christian theology of human identity, I come to the following conclusion:

From the Christian perspective, to exclude another person from relationship, and especially relationship to God, is perhaps the most blasphemous and destructive sin we could commit. To isolate another human being is to cut them off from the relationships that are so fundamental to what it means to be a human, and degrades the very essence of their humanity.

When a person is excluded or marginalized from their classroom, peer group, family, or church, all of the evidence suggests that we are degrading their very sense of personhood and cutting them off from what Brene Brown calls the irreducible need of all people to belong. And the research shows that the perspective theorized in Christian theology is true: LGBT+ people who grow up in non-inclusive religious families, for instance, are five times more likely to attempt suicide than those who grow up in inclusive families. The mental illness that develops as a result of the trauma of exclusion is well documented and costs thousands of precious LGBT+ lives every year.

When my sexual orientation was revealed to my mentors in my Bible college, I was told that there was something fundamentally wrong with me and that I needed to seek Gods healing or else leave my community because my sinful lifestyle would not be tolerated. I was pressured into meeting with a professor who practiced a lite form of conversion therapy on me for a year, praying that God would heal and liberate me from the impulses of my gay desires. As I endured this treatment for an entire year, my internal dissonance drove me to the floor in the utility closet in my dormitory many nights begging God to take this identity away from me or else take my life away- for nothing could be worse than living as an openly gay man and being excluded from my community of faith and my calling to be a pastor.

The threat of exclusion and the anguish I felt when I wasnt being healed of my sexuality landed me in the emergency room twice during my senior year of Bible college with severe panic attacks. Suicidal thoughts plagued my mind daily and every aspect of my social, spiritual, and physical life suffered. And on top of all of this suffering, I was too ashamed to pursue psychiatric help or to get on medication because again, I believed and was told that my anxiety and depression were an illness of spirit, not mental illness as a result of the trauma being inflicted on me by my faith community.

As my suffering was amplified to a crippling level, I finally was driven to seek out mental health professionals who identified what I was going through as an illness, who affirmed my sexual orientation as natural and good, and who offered me the therapy and medication I so desperately needed. And it was the assistance I received from psychotherapists and psychiatrists that eventually allowed me to live a healthier life, free from crippling depression and anxiety.

Nearly a decade later, I still struggle occasionally with mental illness, but I am living a much better life than I ever could have imagined back in Bible college. And it was only when I realized both the profound impact of exclusive teaching and practices in the church, and the reality and treatability of mental illness that I found this wholeness of life. I am a truly blessed person, because many people never gain access to the resources and truth that I was fortunate to find. And the gut wrenching end of many of those experiences are when we hear the stories of young Jamel and Pastor Stoecklein who suffered the loss of their lives because of exclusion and mental illness.

No one should have to suffer like these people. No one should be shamed because of who they are. No one should be made to feel inferior for seeking out mental health professionals to assist them with their mental illness. No one.

It is time for a serious change in our communities of faith and in our society. It is time that we all agree that depression and anxiety are, in fact, mental illnesses that must be addressed medically. It is time that we all acknowledge that any teaching that excludes or marginalizes based on a persons intrinsic identity directly impacts the mental health of the person at whom it is targeted, and therefore should be understood as abusive and rejected as false teaching. It is time that Pastors admit that we are not trained to deal with the mental health struggles of our communities, and for churches to begin partnering with mental health professionals to meet the needs of their congregations.

If we dont make these changes and quickly, there will be more loss and more suffering. But if we do, we will see a transformation of the health of our communities at both an individual and corporate level as more people find the help that they need and are embraced for the uniqueness of their identity- our communities will flourish and suffering will be reduced. The faith community has all too often fallen behind the wave of social change, but in this area, it is imperative that we catch up and begin leading the way. If we begin to address mental health and reject exclusion in these ways, there will be measurably less suffering, less bullying, and less exclusion in arenas of our communitys life. With a simple change in posture and teaching, we can usher in a new era of understanding that literally saves and improves lives- and isnt that what our faith is all about anyways?

Not one more life has to be lost to suicide. Not one more person has to continue suffering at the hands of their faith community. Not one more child needs to feel ashamed of who God made them to be. Not one more. And the change begins with us.

If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, or any other form of mental health, please reach out to The Suicide Prevention Lifeline at where there are people standing by to help you get the assistance you need.

My new book True Inclusion: Creating Communities of Radical Embrace will be released from Chalice Press on September 11, 2018. You can pre-order your copy here.
IRAN: Women Activists Arrested for Trying to Raise Awareness of Women's Rights in Marriage and Divorce

09/06/18

Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran

Women's rights activists Hoda Amid and Najmeh Vahedi were arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization in Tehran on September 1, 2018 and taken to an unknown location, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned.



Najmeh Vahedi (L) and Hoda Amid

Their arrest took place at their homes three days before they were scheduled to host a workshop about Iran's marriage laws, a source close to the case said in an interview with CHRI.

Hoda Amid is also an attorney and Najmeh Vahedi a sociologist.

"Amid and Vahedi did not have any mutual activities other than this educational workshop which was organized with a legal permit, so there was no excuse to detain them," the source added on condition of anonymity. "Gatherings like this have been held before and continue to be held."

According to the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, women do not have rights equal to men regarding the right to initiate divorce, and they can only initiate divorce under certain circumstances such as the husband's mental incapacity or drug addiction.

However, activists have held training classes for women to teach them how they can expand their rights with legally binding prenuptial contracts.

"Dear Najmeh, you are paying the price for carrying a difficult humanitarian burden," an Iranian named "Negar" wrote on Twitter on September 1. "Otherwise, you have not disturbed peace and security in the country or broken the law. Your only goal was to help women start their married life with awareness and equality."

Amid is the sixth lawyer arrested in Iran in recent weeks coinciding with growing discontent in the country as a result of worsening economic conditions and political repression.

Meanwhile, a Twitter account under the name "Baraabari" (Equality), called on women lawmakers to respond to Amid and Vahedi's arrest. "Why isn't the women's faction in Parliament defending women who have been detained for advocating their rights," it said. "They have not done anything illegal. They were working to defend women's security and prevent violence against them."
Outspoken MPs Demand Referendum To Counter Iran's Super-Challenges

09/06/18

Source: Radio Farda

Two reformist members of the Iranian Parliament have called for putting major domestic and foreign policy issues to a public vote. In their speeches on September 4, Parvaneh Salahshouri and Gholamreza Heidari called for a referendum to solve problems regarding foreign policy, state TV, the Guardian Council's intervention in elections, and the Assembly of Experts' supervision of the supreme leader's behavior.



Read detailed coverage by Ghanoon daily

Salahsouri called on "military institutions to return to their garrisons" and demanded support for the underprivileged, putting an end to the house arrest of opposition leaders, releasing political prisoners from jail, and a declaration of amnesty for Iranians living abroad so that they can return home. She also called on the government to put an end to state TV's monopoly by allowing the private sector to operate networks.



These are the major issues that have caused political deadlock, and all of them are linked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in one way or another. Iran's most significant foreign policy issue has remained unsolved as the leader has publicly forbidden negotiations with the United States about Tehran's nuclear program, missile program, or its intervention in the affairs of regional states.



Meanwhile, state TV, which is under Khamenei's supervision, has lost the nation's confidence in the government's information dissemination because of its biased and unilateral news coverage.



At the same time, critics inside and outside the government have been criticizing the Guardian Council's vetting of election candidates and the Assembly of Experts' failure in supervising Khamenei's behavior and the organizations linked to his office.



The two MPs strongly criticized the performance of the institutions operating under Khamenei's supervision.



Salahshouri also lambasted President Hassan Rouhani for saying Iran was not experiencing a crisis. "Everyone knows that we are dealing with super-challenges," she said.



Salahshouri added, "There is no trace of democracy left in Iran as a result of shutting up the critics, and corruption and unfair trials prevented the formation of the Islamic utopia we were hoping to restore."



she also criticized the IRGC for its lion's share of "power, wealth, and military force," adding that state TV, the Guardian Council, and the Assembly of Experts have harmed the nature of Iran's political system as a republic.



Salahshouri called on Khamenei to save the country by calling for a referendum to solve these problems.



Previous calls to change the constitutional law were frowned on by hard-liners close to Khamenei, even when they were made by Rouhani, who was accused of supporting a secular democracy after demanding a change in the constitution by holding a referendum.



Some 40 hard-line MPs called for disciplinary measures against Salahshouri and Heidari. Salahshouri tweeted that some conservative MPs have used "radical language" to caution her.



Heidari in his speech criticized Iran's "costly" nuclear and missile programs and said the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979 led to international sanctions and eight years of war with Iraq.



In a related development, the surfacing of a 2006 interview published by the Assembly of Experts shed light on Khamenei's strong opposition to the assembly's inspection of organizations and institutions under his supervision.



In the interview, Ayatollah Ali Jannati, the current head of the assembly, who is also the Guardian Council's secretary, quoted Khamenei as having said that the assembly's supervision of the armed forces is "out of the question."



Meanwhile, according to Jannati, while a majority of assembly members wanted to inspect the organizations under his supervision, Khamenei opposed their views and they failed to seek his approval even after several meetings.
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has asked the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr. K.K Sarpong to explain circumstances that led to the country losing $9.83 million in oil revenue, as a result of under-pricing of oil products by the Corporation.



The Minister is demanding that the GNPC answers for why it sold crude oil from the TEN fields at a rate lower than the lowest on the market.



In a July 2018 letter sighted by citinewsroom.com, Ken Ofori-Atta said they allowed the off-takers to choose the lowest possible price for the product when it could have insisted on the highest possible price within the pricing window.



The state would have gained a total of $34.12 million more, the Finance Ministry observed.



Read excerpts of the Ministrys letter below:



The ministry has observed with great concern that the achieved price for the Ghana Groups crude oil has fallen short of expectation, in comparison with Brent oil prices, sourced from Bloomberg.



For the TEN field, GNPC gives the off-taker the option to choose whichever 5-day moving average of prices to use for determining the value of the cargo. This price is determined within 30 days before the Bill of Lading (B/L) date. GNPCs letters regarding TEN lifting states the price determination, thus, Any 5 consecutive quotations within a period commencing 30 quotations prior to Bill of Lading.



This has given the off-taker, the latitude to choose lower prices of value TEN crude oil. Our analysis reveals that, in 5 out of 6 cases, TEN crude oils was priced lower than the lowest possible Brent crude oil price based on different 5-days moving average within the 30-days window before the B/L date. All lifting except the 5th, were affected by this low pricing phenomenon. The potential loss, based on the low case scenario, is approximately US$9.83 million.



If GNPC had insisted on the highest possible price within the pricing window, the state would have gained a total of US$34.12 million more, as shown in Table 1. High case price scenarios yielded price variances between US$0.76/bbl and US$8.80/bbl. A total of US$8.76 million was lost to the state on the 3rd TEN transaction, for example, the letter addressed to the GNPC boss in July stated.



While urging the GNPC to treat the matter with urgency, the Finance Minister tasked GNPC to take steps to amend the contract with off-takers for lifting of the TEN crude oil, to take advantage of the high prices and also take steps to ensure that the SGN and all other fields do not suffer consistent revenue losses due to the GNPCs favoured pricing options.



GNPC controversially buys $7.5m property



The GNPC was recently in the news for a similar controversywhere its Chief Executive, Dr. K.K. Sarpong was accused of ordering an urgent transfer of $7.5 million to a company he once worked for in 2017



The amount was for a six-block residential apartment purchased from Global Haulage Company Limited, where K.K. Sarpong was previously the CEO.



Analysts said Dr. Sarpong put himself in a conflict of interest position, but he and the Corporation denied any wrongdoing in the transaction.







Source: citinewsroom.com









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The Bank of Ghana has issued a directive to all banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions (SDI) to voluntarily shut down their operations in the wake of the crisis facing the banking sector.



Financial institution willing to comply with the directive must have sufficient liquid assets to meet fees, costs and expenses of the liquidation process.



This directive is in line with Section 139 of Act 920 of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act 2016.



In a statement released on Wednesday, September 5, the BoG stated that the directive is part of measures to ensure that there is an orderly exit of a bank or SDI seeking to voluntarily wind up its operations/activities.



According to BoG, the move will also ensure that the winding up of the operations of these institutions does not affect the stability of the banking sector.



In order for an institution to wind up, that institution must meet the legal requirements.



Per the dictates of Section 139 of Act 930, a bank or SDI shall not wind up voluntarily unless the Bank of Ghana has certified in writing that the bank or SDI would be capable on its voluntary winding up, of meeting the obligations it has in respect of the depositors and creditors as the obligation accrue.



During the process of liquidation, the institution in question is expected to appoint an official liquidator, and subsequently inform management of the BoG about the appointment.



This directive of voluntary winding up comes on the back of the collapse of some seven banks since 2017.



The process is expected not to exceed a period of 12 months, the central bank said.



In 2017, the Bank of Ghana ordered the GCB Bank to take over management of UT Bank and Capital Bank.



The decision was as a result of the two banks inability to meet some capital requirements.



On August 1, 2018, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison announced the consolidation of some five banks: Beige Bank, Sovereign Bank, Construction Bank, The Royal Bank and UniBank.



The BoG established the Consolidated Bank Ghana to house these five distressed banks.



The directive by the Bank of Ghana to allow financial institutions to voluntarily wind up, also forms part of its measures to cleanse the banking sector to ensure the effective running of the sector.













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Samsung's head of mobile has said it is "time to deliver" foldable smartphones, fuelling speculation the company is about to reveal a bendable device.



In an interview with CNBC, DJ Koh said Samsung's consumer research suggested there was demand for a foldable phone.



Several phone-makers are rumoured to be developing devices with flexible screens that can be folded in half, without a hinge or seam in the middle.



However, Samsung told the BBC it did not currently have "anything to share".



DJ Koh told CNBC that the development process for foldable phones was "complicated" but added that the company had "nearly concluded" it.



However, he said, a foldable phone would need a clear purpose before the company released one.



"Even unfolded, what kind of benefit does that give compared to the tablet?" he said.



"If the unfolded experience is the same as the tablet, why would [people] buy it?



"Every device, every feature, every innovation should have a meaningful message to our end-customer."



Samsung faces fierce competition from Chinese phone-maker Huawei. In July, Huawei became the second-biggest smartphone seller in the world, overtaking Apple.







Source: BBC









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Ghana will supply Burkina Faso with 100 megawatts of electricity daily after the completion of the 225 kilo volt (kv) Bolgatanga-Ouaguadougou interconnection project.



Even though the project has not been completed fully, Ghana has managed to export around 50 to 65 megawatts of power to Burkina-Faso through its existing 161 KV network.



Whenever the interconnecting project is fully completed, Ghana should be able to supply 100 megawatts of power or more to Burkina-Faso.

Mr Abdul Samed Ibrahim, principal Electrical Engineer at the Ghana Grid Company limited (GRIDCO), made this known when the World Bank Country Director Mr Henry Kerali visited the Aboadze Thermal Plant.



The World Bank Country Director and his team are in the Western Region for a three day visit, during which they would inspect some World Bank funded projects.

The 225kV Bolgatanga Ouagadougou Project, which is part of the West African Power Pool Project (WAPP), expected to create a power grid system across West Africa.



The project is being funded by World Bank, French Development Agency, European Investment Bank, Burkina Fasos National Electricity Company (SONABEL) and GRIDCo with an amount of $111 million.



The World Bank has also built a 330 kilovolt (KV) sub-station at the Aboadze Thermal Plant in the Western Region to help carry bulk electricity power at a much higher voltage from the enclave to the main load centres in Accra.



The initiative by the World Bank has helped in the reduction of loses in electricity supply, since the previous161 kV lines from Aboadze were old and carried power in smaller capacity from the enclave to Takoradi through Cape Coast, Winneba and then to Accra.



With the higher voltage substation in place, electricity power is carried in bulk straight to the country's capital from the Aboadze Thermal Plant.



This is to help meet the increasing demand for electricity power in the country.

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has therefore tied its existing 161 kV sub-station to the much higher 330kv voltage substation to carry the bulk power to the country's capital and the main tie-in point at Tema.



Abdul Samed Ibrahim revealed that Ghana was able to meet the purchase demand by Burkina Faso because currently electricity supply in the country far exceeded the demand.



"Currently we have more generation capacity than we actually need in the country so we can continue to supply Burkina-Faso so long as we have enough capacity in the country", he added.



He disclosed that because there were expertise in Ghana more power generating companies preferred to site their plants in Ghana because they would get people to manage and operate them.



"We have lots of generating capacities coming to Ghana so what we need is the interconnecting lines which we are currently building to be able to supply power to Burkina-Faso for a long time", he stressed.



The World Bank Country Director, Mr Kerali described Ghana's ability to export electricity to Burkina-Faso as a great achievement.



"We are here to look at some of the physical infrastructure put in place to allow the transmission of power from Ghana to Burkina-Faso"



He noted that the project was implemented within the framework of the West African Power Pool mandate to develop a unified regional electricity market.

Source: GNA









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A crippling fuel shortage has hit Kenya following the introduction of a 16% sales tax on all petroleum products, reports the BBCs Bonney Tunya.



The shortage, which has resulted in long queues at petrol stations, is a result of a protest against the price rise by the fuel distributors.



Kenyas energy regulator has revoked the license of the Kenya Independent Petroleum Distributors Association for allegedly leading the fuel boycott, equating their action to economic sabotage.



Parliament approved the tax in 2013 but its implementation has been repeatedly postponed.



The high court on Tuesday refused to suspend the new tax despite the public outcry.



President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to approve a measure to suspend the tax once he returns back in the country from his trip to China.

Source: bbc









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Ghana is to receive the second allocation of compact funds from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the amount of $190 million after the Ghanaian government met all the required conditions to access the funds.



Today, MCC submitted a letter acknowledging Ghanas achievement of this milestone to the President, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



Upon Entry-Into-Force of the Ghana Power Compact on September 6, 2016, MCC granted access to the first allocation of compact funds in the amount of $308.2 million.



MCCs investment in the Ghana Power Compact totals $498.2 U.S. Dollars.



A delegation led by Professor Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu, Board Chair of MiDA, and Christopher Lamora, Charge dAffairs and Ag. U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, presented the Letter to the Vice President, H.E. Mahamudu Bawumia, who received it on behalf of the President.



Today marks a significant milestone in the implementation of the Power Compact Program. With these funds, MiDA together with its implementing entities will be able to carry out the planned investment and reform activities aimed at strengthening our countrys power distribution sector, remarked the MiDA Board Chair.



Meeting this important milestone is a testament to the commitment of the Ghanaian government to reform its power sector in an effort to bring critical services to its people, MCC acting CEO Brock Bierman said.



But much work remains. With only 3 years remaining in the MCC Ghana Power Compact, we must continue to work together until the concession is complete and the path is paved to inject private-sector investment and expertise to transform the viability of the Ghanaian power sector.







The Vice President acknowledged the notification and thanked the U.S. Government and the MCC for their partnership through the Ghana Power Compact; a manifestation of the strong cooperation that Ghana has with the US.



Today is a great day and we are entitled to celebrate our achievement he said.



However we have a significant number of project activities to be carried out in order to meet all milestones. I therefore urge all stakeholders to continue to collaborate and maintain the alacrity they have demonstrated so far.



He reiterated Governments commitment to ensuring that the Compact delivers its goal to reduce poverty through economic growth, by transforming the power distribution sector.





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has released a documentary on the increasing numbers of child trafficking in Ghana.



The feature project, christened "Chanied by Begging" is a collaboration between Anas and OAfrica, a child support organisation.



The documentary exposes the phenomenon of how child begging is more than just children asking for money on the streets but how children are trafficked by adults and used for business purposes.



In Chained by Begging, Anas Aremeyaw Anas demonstrates that the recent increase in child beggars can in some cases be linked to cross-border child trafficking.



According to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and section 87 (1-2) of the Childrens Act, 1998 (Act 560), child begging is child abuse and also prohibited by law.



It is considered as separation from family and exploitative child labour.



A statement released by OAfrica on the documentary said child begging is one of the worst forms of child labour which keeps children out of school.



It also separates children from their families while exposing them to hazardous living conditions and dangers such as rape, ill health and motor

accidents, it added.



"In seeking a holistic approach to dealing with this complex trans-border situation, we will need to involve Immigration, Social Welfare, the various Ministries and Embassies and the public,. The public are urged to report all children on the street and to stop giving to child beggars. We call for police and law enforcement agencies to arrest the traffickers," it added.



"Giving child beggars money does not help the children because the money goes to their masters and does not serve the wellbeing of these vulnerable and innocent children. In fact, it only makes the industry bigger with more street hildren and more attractive and lucrative for traffickers. If we want to STOP child begging in Ghana then we have to STOP giving money to the children on the street. This will help prevent additional children being recruited as child beggars.



With funding support from the European Union, OAfrica in collaboration with Tiger Eye PI and The Livingstone Foundation calls on us all to help stop child begging.



Below is a copy of the full statement released by OAfrica



In Chained by Begging : Anas exposes an international child trafficking ring With the release of Chained by Begging, Anas Aremeyaw Anas has demonstrated that the recent increase in child beggars can in some cases be linked to cross-border child trafficking.





According to the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and section 87 (1-2) of the Childrens Act, 1998 (Act 560) child begging is child abuse and also prohibited by law in Ghana, as is trafficking, separation from family and exploitative child labour.



Child begging is one of the worst forms of child labour which keeps children out of school.



It also separates children from their families while exposing them to hazardous living conditions and dangers such as rape, ill health and motor

accidents.



In seeking a holistic approach to dealing with this complex trans-border situation we will need to involve Immigration, Social Welfare, the various Ministries and Embassies and the public. The public are urged to report all children on the street and to stop giving to child beggars. We call for police and law enforcement agencies to arrest the traffickers.



Giving child beggars money does not help the children because the money goes to their masters and does not serve the wellbeing of these vulnerable and innocent children. In fact, it only makes the industry bigger with more street children and more attractive and lucrative for traffickers. If we want to STOP child begging in Ghana then we have to STOP giving money to the children on the street.





This will help prevent additional children being recruited as child beggars.



With funding support from the European Union, OAfrica in collaboration with Tiger Eye PI and The Livingstone Foundation calls on us all to help stop child begging.



We are urging the public to be committed to the #KidsOutFuture 3Rs:



 React: to children begging on the street. It is a worrying situation to see innocent children on the streets begging. It is an abuse of the child so please do not ignore it.



 Record: by taking a photo or make a note of the location at which you saw the child begging taking place.



 Report: to the nearest policeman or police station the incidence. You can follow up on your reported cases to ensure has been attended to.



Whom do I report child beggars to? DOVVSU, AMA, TRAFFIC POLICE or DSW







Source: Graphic.com









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Julius Gbede, 23, alias Bible, said to be a notorious criminal, and on police wanted list since 2015, has been nabbed at his hideout at Agblazuime, a village on the Ghana-Togo border, near Aflao.



Gbede, a native of Aflao, was picked up alongside two others  Kofi Kunya, alias Sponsor, aged 25 and a native of Kpoglo, in the Ketu-South Municipality, and Edem Sodzi, alias Stone, 21, a Togolese resident in Lome.



Three unlicensed locally made pistols, a pump action gun, four AA live cartridges, assorted pharmaceutical drugs, quantities of assorted soft and hard beverages and electronic gadgets were seized from them.



Mr. Fredrick Lumor, Superintendent of Police in charge of the Aflao District Police Command, who led the operation, told the GNA that in 2015, Gbede, who was involved in a robbery at Adzablikope near Aflao, escaped.



He said one of his three accomplices in that robbery, who was arrested at the scene, was jailed 28 years, while Gbede lingered out there for a while before being arrested.



Mr. Lumor said Gbede, who was also put before court however jumped bail, and was suspected to have engaged in series of robberies alongside one Edzordzi George Dabla, an ex-convict, now on the run.



He said at about 1930 hours on Monday, August 27, this year, some passers-by spotted Gbede and some others in an isolated house in a grove at Agblazuime and laid ambush to monitor their movement.



Mr Lumor said during the ambush, the passers-by spotted Edzordzi Dabla arriving there on a motorbike to drop his pillion rider and then left.



He said at about 2200 hours, the group hinted the police and a team moved in, leading to their arrests, while they were preparing a meal.



Mr Lumor said during a search of their rooms, the weapons, assorted pharmaceuticals, beverages, a flat screen TV set, which a complainant had since identified as his, a strong TV decoder and a Wi-Fi converter were discovered.



He said during interrogation, Gbede admitted that he and Kunya and one Akakpo Torvor, now on the run, had been involved in a number of robberies in the area.

Mr Lumor said those criminal acts included attacks on a mobile money agent on June 4, this year, in the vicinity of the Diamond Cement Company Limited (DCGL) at Aflao, where the gang took away GHC 6,000.



He said Gbede also bickered with Kunya, about whose shot hit the victim they attacked. The victim, however, survived.



Mr. Lumor said Gbede again admitted that he and Edzordzi Dabla, now on the run, on June 29, this year and on August 6, this year, robbed the shop of a trader, near the Aflao police station, taking away unspecified amount of money and other valuables.



He said Gbede and Edzordzi Dabla, on the same day of August 6, this year, robbed a shop at Makavo Junction and took GHC800, but in the process left a locally made pistol with one AA live cartridge stuck in its muzzle, which is now with the police.



He said the suspect, Gbede, confessed he and the same Edzordzi Dabla broke into a pharmaceutical shop and an agro-chemical shop at Dzodze, but denied stealing anything, even though the police found the said drugs with them.



Mr Lumor said Gbede, also admitted his involvement in a robbery at a house at Denu, taking away GHC20,000.



He said there were indications that based on a recce by Sodzi, the gang would have set off to rob a well-patronized shop in Lome after the meal when they were arrested.



The Aflao District Police Commander appealed to residents to provide information on criminals and suspicious persons to help put the police ahead of the criminals.

Source: GNA









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Vehicle drivers and constituents of Dome-Kwabenya have hit the streets in protest against their Member of Parliament and Deputy Majority Leader, Adwoa Safo.



The protesters, clad in red and wielding placards with bold inscriptions as Fix Our Roads, Our Health Is Important, 2020 oooooh, Our Road Need To Be Good among others; are complaining bitterly about the poor nature of their roads and calling on Hon. Adwoa Safo to do the needful by attending to their needs.



They have blocked the roads, disallowing cars to move to and fro within the constituency amidst chanting and a procession of motor riders parading the roads to show their disgust over the seeming delay in constructing better roads for commuters.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has admitted having sleepless nights partly due to the many reforms he is leading in the sector.



The reforms span the governments free SHS programme, double track system, developing new curriculum for basic schools as well as the introduction of teacher licensure examination.



Dr. Opoku Prempeh, speaking at the Jolly Phonics Conference in Accra Tuesday, told his audience that the enthusiasm in pursuit of the successful implementation of these reforms is depriving him of his beauty sleep.



Also known as "Napo," the Minister said President Nana Akufo-Addo invariably had a question for him regarding the policies being introduced in education anytime they met.



The last time we met he said What are you doing for teachers? NAPO if we dont do something for teachers we wont make headway o.' The next time he said this language thing what is it about? The other time it was this curriculum when are you going to finish?



The man trusted by the President to head that Ministry however, said despite the challenges, he is happy to lead the reforms in the sector and expressed the determination to see to the successful implementation.



We have to do free SHS and now double track and we have to do tertiary education and opening it up for more people [students] especially the poor and vulnerable. Four big issues, it keeps me sleepless and Im always awake, he revealed.

Source: jfm/ghana









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The Young Democratic Forces (YDF), a pressure group within the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has urged delegates not to endorse the incumbent General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia.



Mr Deniz SaCut Amenga-Etego, YDF Convener, said following the defeat of the NDC at the 2016 polls, the YDF believes that the National Chairman, General Secretary, National Organiser and National Youth Organiser of the Party, must all bow out of office and allow a new and clean slate for a fresh start towards election 2020.



In this regard, we are happy to note that all the above mentioned National Executive Officers have decided not to seek re-election except Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Mr Amenga-Etego stated at a press conference on the impending National Delegate Congress of the NDC.



Left with no choice, we have decided to champion the house cleaning of the NDC. Our particular aim is to first and foremost campaign for the removal and replacement of Johnson Asiedu Nketia as General Secretary of the NDC.



He said the Party lost power in 2016 partly because We had a complacent leadership who thought they didnt need the skills, energies and talents of the many party activists  because they didnt really understand the talents and skills needed to win an election in the 21st century.



The leadership refused to delegate functions because they had become complacent and didnt want to spread Party resources for effective organisation, he added.



He noted that many of the young and talented junior Party Officers were not assigned any particular duties during the 2016 general elections.



No wonder after the 2016 elections, under General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who also acted as campaign Chairman, the NDC Party could not come out with official collated results to compare with those of the EC and the NPP, whose officers announced their results ahead of the Electoral Commission because of an efficient system and structure put in place they were thinking with the times, the Convenor said.



He called on delegates to consider the present and future interests of the NDC Party first by voting out Mr Asiedu Nketia to pave way for teamwork, party unity, cooperation, greater probity and accountability, over and above all, victory for the NDC come 2002.

Source: GNA









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Members of the Professor Joshua Alabi campaign team have called on national executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put measures in place against the use of songs that will subtly promote any of the presidential nominee aspirants.





Addressing journalists in Accra on Thursday, the campaign team said functions of the NDC should be strictly party messages and songs.



The largest opposition party is gearing up for its presidential primary on December 7, 2018.



Already, over 10 aspirants have submitted their letters of intent to contest the primary.



Among the aspirants is two-time flagbearer John Dramani Mahama, who won his first shot at the presidency in 2012, beating current president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



But four years later, he lost in a surprise first round election to Mr Akufo-Addo.



Unsurprisingly, campaign songs of the NDC have had as their central theme Mr Mahama and the late Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.



Mr Mahama (R), together with wife Lordina and late Amissah-Arthur (L), dancing to one of the campaign songs in 2016

Therefore, the demand of the Joshua Alabi camp is believed to be aimed at Mr Mahama, who has already had the support of some Members of Parliament (MPs).



Alabi pins hope in grassroots as MPs raise funds for Mahama

We from the Alabi camp believe that our support base, the grassroots and others, feel that we need a new message, said spokesperson Victor Kojogah Adawudu.



We need a new leader.



Mr Adawudu called for a level-playing field during campaign for the December internal polls.



As leaders of the party at various levels, when there [are] party functions and programmes, they should not be used to give some aspirants undue advantage over others by underlying campaign messages and songs of particular aspirants to be used at such functions.

Source: 3news.com









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Family history and the dream of a six year old girl to be a soldier in the military was Marti L. Mace's driving force to her enlistment in United States Army. "I wanted to follow in my dad, and grandfather's footsteps, but there wasn't a Marine recruiter in our town, so the Army is where I landed!" said Mace.

Mace was born in February of 1961 in Ulysses, Kansas. She attended Johnson High School in Johnson, Kansas and received her GED in 1978. She immediately entered the military.

Her grandfather, Marion Willis served in WWI in the Army. Dad, Lewis Mace, served in WWII, in the Marines.

Mace joined up immediately upon graduation, and dad, Lewis Mace signed for her as she was 17 years of age upon graduation. She was the youngest of four children and the only one to follow in dad's footsteps.

She headed to basic training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. She would remain there for her Advanced Individual Training. Mace would complete her training, and receive the Telecommunications Center Operator Specialist 72E(25W) award in 1979, just before her first duty assignment.

Mace would find herself back in the plains, stationed at with the 95th Division, Drill Sergeant Unit, at Guymon, Oklahoma. "I was strict and hard on them, I wanted them to succeed." Mace admitted.

Her first assignment was with the 95th Division, Drill Sergeant Unit, Guymon, 25 June 1979-27 Dec. 1982 as 76Y Supply Sgt./Armorer as well as Drill Instructor.

Mace would transfer 28 Dec. 1982 to Ft. Benning, GA on Kelly Hill and was a Unit Armorer, then to COMSEC (Communication Security) Custodian for Blue Team, in Headquarters 197 IN BDE then continued on to Camp Pendleton 24th S & S Co, Giessen, Hessen, West Germany, then to Frankfurt Rhein Mein, Germany until June 1986. In July, 1986, she went into the 214th Medical BN on Patomic COARNG. From there, Mace went into the 91B/C Medical, as a LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse), re-classed to 95B Military Policeman and went to 220th Military Police Co. in Golden, CO, and was deployed to the Persian Gulf War to Hafar-AI-Baten, MP, MPI, MCI, PMO Sgt & Linguist, Saudi Arabia 1990-29 Sep. 1991 on Saudi/Iraq border. Mace lived in tent city around the 402nd EPW (Enemy Prisoner of War) Camp. She remained on Active Duty through the COARNG worked with Federal Police Fitzsimmonis Army Medical Center, Aurora, CO thru the next year. Then transferred into WYARNG Cheyenne, Wyoming in MILPO, then AGR Finance Sup and re-classed a Chaplain Assistant 56M(71 L) Cp Williams, UT 1992, then on to STARC, Helena, MT, then BNCOC was at Ft. Riley, KS, ANCOC was at the Marine Corps Depot, Parris Island, and Outside of Ft. Jackson, SC. Then mobilized to Ft. Riley, K.S. with 11D BRO (1st Infantry Division, Big Red One) taking on financial for all BRO in Ft. Knox, KY, Ft Leonard Wood, MO, Ft. Sill, OK and Ft Riley, KS. Additionally she served as Honour Team for WYARNG, CA, NCOIC of US Army & US Air Force, UPAR (Unit Public Affairs Rep), Information Management Officer as well as Wildland Firefighter, EMT Medic and Master Fitness Trainer and Instructor.

Mace was awarded: Meritorious Service Medal (1 OLC), Army Commendation Medal (30LC), Joint Service Achievement Medal , Army Achievement Medal (20LC), Good Conduct Medal (5TH AWD), Army Components Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal (3 Bronze Service Stars), Southwest Asia Service Medal (3I8SS), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal , Armed Forces Reserve Medal (Bronze Hour Glass & M Device), Non Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon (3), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon(6), Reserve Component Overseas Tng Ribbon (2), Kuwait Liberation Medal (KSA (Kuwait, Kuwait Liberation Medal l (GOK(Saudi Arabia ARCOTR (2ND AWO), AFRM W/30 YR dvc (Gold), Paratrooper Badge, Expert Rifleman Badge, Army Lapel Button. State of OK: DI Bdg. State of Co. and more.

Upon retiring after 38 years, 10 months and 18 days, Mace would make her home in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In her years of service, she get married, and have five children. Four of her five children would go on to follow in her footsteps and join the military. Mace's oldest daughter, Heather is a minister; Heike Mace joined the Army; Brittny Mace entered the Navy, Schaltz Mace would first join the Air Force, and then join the Army. Youngest child, Dahmahnic Mace joined the Navy.

Mace self taught herself to play the bagpipes as a means of relaxation, and while there is family history for bagpipes she is the first in five generations to play.

Mace was selected to play in France at the 75th Commemoration of Raid of August 19, 1942 with other bagpipers. She was the only American selected.

She traveled to France and participated at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Courtesy Marti Mace Mace above right, with expert shooter Emily Mardis, who has taken lessons from Mace.

Mace can be found often at the Veteran's Hospital, and plays at final service for the fallen military. She also plays for nursing homes and assisted living facilities that house veterans.

Every year Mace also does hunting guide work, as well as teaches young people survival, hunting skills, and life skills in the wild.

She travels to Oklahoma to work with youth, and to Montana as well.

Mace has lived the dream of being active duty and belonging to the military. She shares her love for the military with everyone she comes in contact with. She advocates this life style to up coming high school graduates, stating, "Your mom and dad are going to always take care of things for you, this way you can for yourself."

Thank you for serving.
I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE SOMEBODYS WATCHING ME

It was back to business as usual for Halloween lovers in the area. Spooky costumes abound, the streets were filled Sunday evening for trickor treating. See more photos on page...

Alleged site of animal cruelty condemned

MANISTIQUE  A local residence will be demolished following the area building inspectors investigation condemning the property. Manistique City Council members voted to approve a resolution of support to condemn...
One of the two modules Orion will deliver in 2024 mission is ESPRIT, which stands for European System Providing Refueling Infrastructure and Telecommunications. As the name implies, ESA is the likely provider, though a formal agreement with NASA has not been announced.

ESPRIT, according to Hambleton, includes a science airlock, fuel storage, refueling capabilities for the power and propulsion module, additional communications equipment, and external payload stowage. The science airlock seems to be separate from an airlock that would be used to receive Moon and Mars samples set to be shipped back to Earth aboard Orion.

The second Gateway piece Orion will deliver is a U.S.-built utilization module that will provide extra space and consumables for visiting astronauts, as well as "external robotic interfaces"  presumably, a modified version of the beloved Canadarm.

Blasting Orion and both modules into space all at once will require SLS with its new Exploration Upper Stage. (Up to three initial SLS flights will use an interim upper stage.) Since the new upper stage is taller and has different interfaces, it will require use of a second, yet-to-be-built mobile launcher authorized by Congress earlier this year.

Getting all this ready in six years will be very, very difficult. Somewhere amid these lunar activities, NASA plans to launch the Europa Clipper as early as 2023  meaning there could be two SLS flights in one year.

The budget is tight, too: The White House proposed $504 million for the Gateway in 2019, and $2.7 billion over the next 5 years. That seems like a sizable amount of money until you consider it has to cover two or three new human spaceflight modules. (ESPRIT could be provided as some sort of bartering arrangement with ESA.)

As currently envisioned, the 2024 Orion mission would last 30 days from launch to splashdown, with half of that time spent at the Gateway.

Tight timelines
According to information released by the South Windsor (CT) Police Department, four peoplea sheriff's deputy and two nurseswere alternating performing chest compressions while another man forced air into Sergeant Matthew Mainieri's body. Image courtesy of South Windsor (CT) Police Department / Facebook.

According to information released by the South Windsor (CT) Police Department, four peoplea sheriff's deputy and two nurseswere alternating performing chest compressions while another man forced air into Sergeant Matthew Mainieri's body.

Mainieria 20-year veteran of the departmenthad attempted to break up a fight at a bar in Murrels Inlet, South Carolina on Sunday.

Bystanders called 911 before attempting to keep Mainieri from succumbing to his injuries, according to the report filed by the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office corporal who was the first to respond to the scene.

South Carolina deputies have charged 21-year-old Kelton Jess Todd with assault, according to the Hartford Currant. Further charges are pending as the investigation remains ongoing.

Mainieri is survived by his mother, sister, girlfriend, and countless friends.
Officers with the Dayton (OH) Police Department were dispatched to Samaritan Behavioral Health CrisisCare to investigate a situation in which a man was allegedly in mental health crisis. The hospital workers said to 911 that they believed the man might be coming down from a methamphetamine high.

According to the Dayton Daily News, the 911 caller said, "We cant even interview him. He's so agitated so we need the police to come and possibly take him to Grandview Hospital."

Officers arrived to find 38-year-old Cory Fraley in distress, saying "I'm ready to die" before lunging for an officer's sidearm.

An officer deployed a TASER to stop Fraley, but the man recovered and lunged at officers a second time.

Officers then shot and wounded Fraley, who is now hospitalized. Charges are being sought against Fraley for aggravated robbery and felonious assault on a police officer for lunging for firearms.
Seth Kazzwho owns and operates the Little Mack Citgo in St. Clair Shores, MIposted a picture on Facebook of Officer Todd Bing talking with Delores Marotta, whose husband had recently passed away, and who had only three dollars for available for gasoline. Image courtesy of Seth Kazz / Facebook.

A Michigan police officer is being lauded for an act of kindness he offered to an elderly woman at a gas station.

Seth Kazzwho owns and operates the Little Mack Citgo in St. Clair Shores, MIposted a picture on Facebook of Officer Todd Bing talking with Delores Marotta, whose husband had recently passed away, and who had only three dollars available for gasoline.

When Officer Bing learned about this dilemma, he went to Kazz and gave him a $20 bill to help the woman fill her gas tank. Bing then went back outside and resumed the refueling.

Kazz wrote on Facebook, "An elderly woman came into my station today and gave me $3 in change to put on her gas pump. A police officer was standing behind her and happened to hear the amount and saw she was using a cane, struggling to walk back to her car. He went outside and told her to sit in the car as he would pump the gas for her. After a few minutes of getting to know one another he realized she was really struggling and didn't have any gas or money left."

The post has now had more than 4,400 "likes" and more than 20,000 "shares."

Kazz told POLICE Magazine, "My goal behind this post is to let people know that police officers risk their lives on a day-to-day basis for one purposethat's to keep us safe. Officers nowadays are being labeled as the bad guys but are far from it. Look what a simple act of kindness did for this lady. Imagine if we all stuck together and did more good than bad. This world would be a better place."

Kazz wrote on Facebook, "Nowadays there's so much negativity towards police officers. No one respects them. We hear all the complaints and 'bad' stories. I'm not saying every officer is perfect, I'm sure some are at fault at times. We all make mistakes, but we should all respect, appreciate, and thank them for what they do."

Kazz concluded in his Facebook post, "Leaving your family every day to try and make sure everyone's else's is safe can be tough. Think about itwho do you call when you're in danger? Who's running in harms way as you're running away?"

One member of the community commented, "Thank you sir! Thanks for your service as well."

Another citizen commented, "We applaud you sir! Blue Lives matter!"
A jury in Washington State wasted no time in declaring that a man took the phrase "bible beater" to an unacceptable level. The jury deliberated for just three minutes before coming back with a guilty verdict against 24-year-old Daniel Powell.

According to the Lewiston Tribune, Powell was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in jail for third-degree assault and resisting arrest in Asotin County Superior Court.

Court documents showed that Clarkston Police Officer Darin Boyd was attempting to arrest Powell on outstanding warrants out of Clarkston and Spokane.

During the arrest, Powell was recorded on body cameras striking the officer with the holy book and refusing to comply with orders to stop.
Many public safety officials still rely on LMR networks for mission critical voice features.(Photo: Franklin Rau)

Law enforcement agencies nationwide are looking at adopting the FirstNet first responder cellular voice and data network for mission critical communication. Does that mean the end of land mobile radio as a primary emergency communications tool?

The Lake County (FL) Sheriffs Office is an example of an agency that is planning to adopt first responder cellular communications, but it is not ready to do away with its land mobile radio (LMR) system. Lake County SO has already begun field trials with FirstNet. Officials there say theyre excited about the prospect of being able to share data and video reliably and securely across the emergency community.

But Lake Countys Sgt. Jason Matthews doesnt see LMR going away. It will take some time before we are sold on the idea of replacing a deputy sheriffs tried-and-true land mobile radio completely in favor of a ruggedized broadband device, he says.

Matthews is not alone. Despite eagerness in law enforcement to put FirstNet through its paces, LMR likely will remain the primary mode of voice communications for the foreseeable future. In fact, analysts with Research and Markets see demand for LMR expanding from $14.6 billion in 2017 to $25.7 billion in 2025.

Why is LMR still front and center, with broadband LTE just around the corner? A number of factors help to explain it. Some have to do with the nature of police operations, while others reflect realities around such issues as cost and infrastructure. Lets look at them in turns. With current comms capabilities, police and other emergency users say they are reluctant to set land mobile radio systems aside. (Photo: Franklin Rau)

Operational Issues

Many who follow public safety technology will argue that LMR is simply more naturally suited to the ways cops operate.

At a fundamental level, cellular technologies are optimized for communications between a single unit and the system. LMR on the other hand is fundamentally much like broadcast. It is wide area to a group and between everybody on the channel, says Neil Horden, chief consultant with Federal Engineering, a public safety communications consultancy.

Thats a crucial distinction for first responders. Public safety operates in group mode. Fire officers responding to a single event want to work as a group. All the police on a beat during normal operations want to talk to and hear each other, even when they are not involved in the call, because it provides them with situational awareness, Horden says.

Police operations also require uninterruptible comms, and while FirstNet is being touted as being a mission critical-grade network, experts say that for voice, LMR will always be inherently more robust.

LTE networks rely on cell towers, and if a cell site is out of service, it is out of service, period, says consultant Andrew Seybold, who serves on the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) communications advisory committee. If I cant reach the FirstNet network, my phone is just a paperweight.

LMR on the other hand is designed with fallback modes, Seybold says. If there is a failure in an LMR network there is a gradual degradation, multiple steps that allow continued communications all the way down to unit-to-unit level communication, which is always available.

This has real-world consequences. Last summer when we had two major hurricanes, Harvey and Irma, it knocked down a whole lot of [cellular] infrastructure. But the first responders were able to communicate because they had their LMR networks, says Anatoly Delm, director of devices and infrastructure at Motorola.

LMR also offers users the ability to form their own small groups, a critical capability for police in certain operational scenarios. Police would use that in a stakeout-type situation, or a close-quarters situation. They use specific frequencies when they need to talk unit-to-unit in relatively close distances, without having to worry about maybe being in an area with bad network coverage, Horden says. LMR offers users the ability to form their own small groups, a critical capability for police in certain operational scenarios. (Photo: Getty Images)

Various efforts are under way to develop similar capabilities in the LTE world, but until these come to fruition, police and other emergency users say they will be reluctant to set LMR aside.

FirstNet officials likewise say there is good reason to expect LMR to be around for some time to come. The radios may have 10 times the power of a smart phone, so they can punch their signal through walls, in parking structures and basements, says Bill Schrier, a senior advisor to FirstNet. In a wild area or a remote area where there arent any cell towers, LMR is going to be better able to reach into those areas.

In addition to these operational concerns, a number of infrastructure-related issues also factor in to ensure the longevity of LMR.

LMR networks tend to have more power than smart phones and provide better signal in remote areas. (Photo: Getty Images)

Questions of Control

Who owns the communications network? Who controls it? Who makes decisions about investments in the network? LMR and LTE offer two different sets of answers.

Most LMR radios are controlled closer to the agency. The agency can determine how much coverage and capacity is needed, and it controls that end product, whereas with broadband you basically get the carriers best effort, says former battalion chief John Lenihan, retired from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and now chair of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council Interoperability Committee.

Most LMR operators will understand the nuance here. With land mobile, if you have bad power, you build sites with battery backup. If you have connectivity issues, you build your own microwave network. Now you are turning all that over to FirstNet, Horden says.

Giving up control will rub many cops the wrong way, Horden adds. Public safety in general is risk averse. The nature of the job means it is better to use something that does 80% of what you need but it always works, rather than something that maybe could do 95% but you dont know if it will always work.

Lenihan worries, too, about the vast infrastructure requirements around LTE. LMR can cover a wide area from a single base, while the number of cellular sites required to cover that same footprint is huge. So you have infrastructure costs, land acquisition, site development, the utilities to run them, the people to maintain them, he says. Its a huge difference.

Concerns about the scale of a FirstNet deployment often are weighed against the existing LMR expense, with few in police administration eager to walk away from a longstanding investment. LMR is typically purchased as a capital expense on a 12- to 25-year cycle, and they expect that system to deliver value for that lifetime of that cycle, Horden says.

Some also wonder whether any LTE network could match the performance of LMR. When you have a vast array of routers and switches, you can have quite a bit of latency between the time you push the button and the time the voice reaches the ear, even if its someone just a couple of blocks away, Lenihan says. LTE developers are working to address such concerns, but LMR has already honed that capability over many years.

Looking Ahead

Given the wide-ranging concerns, both in terms of operation and infrastructure, its clear LMR is not going away any time soon. In fact, FirstNet officials recognize this as well.

Public safety entities will continue to rely on their LMR networks for mission critical voice features  that are needed in an emergency response setting. In the near term, public safety entities will need to maintain and/or upgrade their LMR networks, as appropriate, according to FirstNet documents.

FirstNet officials report mission-critical voice is in the works but say they cant predict when such functionality will arrive because standards are still in development.

Sgt. Matthews says his department likely wont shift away from LMR until those standards are in place and an operational-grade voice capability in LTE has been demonstrated. We are looking forward to the coverage and the capacity that FirstNet will offer, but we are still watching to see how that network will be dealing with voice communications, he says.

Until then, experts say police will need to make the case loud and often for LMRs continued importance. Some see this as a critical moment in police telecommunications, a time when funding priorities could easily be knocked off track by the promise of first responder LTE.

The people who make noise about LTE replacing LMR are not from public safety. They are engineers and lab rats. They have never used anything but a cell phone, so why wouldnt everyone just use a cell phone? Seybold says. Thats a problem. These LMR systems have to stay in operation. Police cant afford for the mayors and the governors to believe all the hype about LTE replacing everything. Thats just dangerous.

Annapolis-based writer Adam Stone covers emerging technology, IT management, and business topics, with particular emphasis on government, public safety, and military technologies.
We no longer want to pay for Hungary, Poland, says French foreign minister

France does not want to finance a populist Europe, countries that do not respect fundamental principles, the countrys foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has indicated. The politician said Hungary and Poland are such member states, Euractiv Polands media partner Gazeta Wyborcza reported.

France and Germany intend to work out a common position on migration before the EU summit in Salzburg planned for 20 September, 71-year old Le Drian said in Paris on Wednesday (29 August) during the annual conference of French ambassadors.

We cannot leave this topic to populists, delusion traders

, he said, referring to the situation in Italy, where the government of the populist Five Star Movement and the fascist League gave the EU countries time by the end of next week to reach agreement on accepting refugees arriving in Italy.But the most important words have been addressed to countries that use EU funds profusely but do not comply with EU rules.

Each member state has the right to choose such leaders as they wish. But our vision of the Union as a basic circle of alliances and values does not fit with governments that do not respect fundamental principles and do not feel bound in any way by community solidarity," the French minister said.

Related article

Commission takes further steps against Hungary over asylum rules 19/07/2018 1:02pm

He added that these countries basically have a utilitarian approach to the Union and choose only what is in their interest, and above all, when it comes to transfers of money."Hungarys populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban run a hate campaign against migrants and Hungarian-born billionaire financier George Soros to win his third term in power this April. He had a fence erected on the countrys southern border to stop the inflow of refugees. It gained heavy criticism from various organisations over its asylum policy and the European Commission has even taken it to court over the treatment of asylum seekers. Poland is not taking in any refugees either.

We are not ready to continue paying for this Europe, this must be said clearly.

Euractiv said . The Commission, presenting its proposals for the division of money at the end of May, cut the amount Poland would receive from the cohesion funds by 23%. The cuts would also concern funds for subsidies for farmers and rural development.Member state politicians usually do not comment on the situation in Poland or Hungary in such a severe way. However, this does not apply to French politicians.Poland was criticised by Emmanuel Macron, who was fighting for the presidency at that time, not only for violating the rule of law but also for sending cheap labour to France. After his election victory, he said that Europe is not a supermarket and that Poland and Hungary have committed a double betrayal on Europe".Le Drian also referred to a lack of solidarity, namely the dispute over the admission of refugees from the EU distribution board in mind.In September 2015, the government of Ewa Kopacz committed to taking in 7,000 Syrians who fled to Europe before the civil war. The successor government of Beata Szydo declared that it would not respect this agreement and, like Hungary, would not accept any refugees. Opposition to the reception of refugees has become one of the main slogans of the current PiS government. The case is currently with the EUs top court ECJ.Already in May, under pressure from Paris, the Commission proposed a regulation thatIt includes threats to the independence of the judiciary or non-enforcement of court decisions. The decision of the Commission regarding the suspension of funds, for example for Poland, could be blocked only by a qualified majority.Theoretically, Poland could defend itself against such solutions by simply vetoing the new budget, whose adoption requires unanimity.We now have many warnings that we will not agree on the budget because ...", but I am relaxed," budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger commented on this scenario this week. He pointed out that blocking the budget would mean a lack of stability regarding future infrastructure investments in countries heavily using the EU budget themselves.

In my view, the project is in mortal danger

, he told an event organized by Germanys Federal Association of Non-Statutory Welfare Services in Brussels on Tuesday evening, Politico.eu reported

Some within Europe want to weaken it or even destroy it  Poland, Hungary, Romania, the government of Italy," he said.





Previous threats and harsh remarks (e.g. by Italian, German, French, Austrian and Scandinavian senior government officials) were less ominous, as they all urged the EU to suspend the payment of funds in the 2014-2020 fiscal cycle which is practically impossible. Now we have decision makers making serious statement who have a major impact on the EU budget and its rules beyond 2020. This is another level of criticism Hungary should take very seriously.

He added the EU is also at risk from autocrats using trade wars and aggression, mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the clever Chinese."
Convenient and affordable heart health screenings are coming to Beaumont Hospital, Taylor. The same screenings have been available at the Dearborn location for some time.

The southeast Michigan-based hospital network announced that its 7 for $70 heart tests are now being offered at its Taylor location at 10000 Telegraph Road.

Beaumonts 7 for $70 heart screening program is a great way to find out if you or someone you love (is) at risk for heart disease, said Lisa Bain, director of diagnostics at Beaumont Hospital, Taylor.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about one million Americans survive heart attacks each year. If youve experienced a cardiac event or heart-related condition, cardiac rehabilitation may help reduce your risk of future heart problems.

The heart disease screening involves seven tests designed to identify risk factors and give clinicians a comprehensive view of individuals heart and vascular health. Tests include blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) measurement, peripheral artery disease screening and an abdominal aortic aneurysm ultrasound.

Once completed, the results are reviewed by board-certified Beaumont doctors, who recommend next steps via a follow-up letter. Individuals are encouraged to share the letter with their primary care physician, with whom theyll collaboratively develop a heart health plan.

A comprehensive heart health test like 7 for $70 can help identify risk factors, so you can be proactive about your overall health, Bain said. Educating yourself about heart health can help avoid risks and inspire a healthier lifestyle.

To find out more about the program, visit www.beaumont.org/heart.
TORONTO, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. ("CellCube" or the "Company") (CSE: CUBE) (CSE: CUBE.CN) (OTCQB: CECBF) (Frankfurt: 01X) is pleased to announce the signing of a sales partnership agreement with Bettenergy Company Ltd. ("Bettenergy") for the development in Thailand of microgrid and solar plus storage applications.

Bettenergy, with headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, is a leading solution provider for renewable powered energy projects ranging from rural community microgrids to power distributed energy resource projects for the private sector. The company develops and markets projects throughout Thailand that help mitigate renewable intermittency from standalone photovoltaics deployment. Bettenergy provides solutions for overcoming power supply problems from public grids in rural and commercial and industrial segments.

"We are very proud and honoured to be authorized by CellCube as their sole sales partner in Thailand. CellCube is the leading supplier of vanadium redox flow energy storage systems with the most proven and advanced technology with over 130 installations globally. We are confident, that with support from CellCube, we will rapidly grow our business and be a trusted solution of choice for the Thailand energy Industry," said Supaporn Saengtrakulcharoen, Director of Bettenergy.

"We are delighted to start working hand-in-hand with Bettenergy in their development of sustainable renewable energy projects," states Stefan Schauss, President of CellCube. "CellCube energy storage flow technology provides the dominant solution for long-duration storage allowing 4 to 16 hours of stored energy and will substantially help to build additional resiliency in local power grids. CellCube's products match the long-lasting product life time of renewable generation assets and can provide up to a 30 year supply of stored energy without any degradation in storage capacity."

Terms

CellCube has signed an exclusivity agreement to collaborate will Bettenenergy in Thailand. Bettenergy will directly buy the CellCube energy storage system at a set supply price per project. The contract is for 12 months and can be extended based on performance.

About CellCube

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. (CellCube) is a Canadian public company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (symbol CUBE), the OTCBB (symbol CECBF), and the Frankfurt Exchange (Symbol 01X) focused on the fast-growing energy storage industry which is driven by the large increase in demand for renewable energy.

CellCube supplies vertically integrated energy storage systems to the power industry and recently acquired the assets of Gildemeister Energy Storage GmbH, now Enerox GmbH, the developer and manufacturer of CellCube energy storage systems. It has also acquired EnerCube Switchgear Systems (formerly Jet Power and Controls Ltd.) and Power Haz Energy Mobile Solutions Inc. (formerly HillCroft Consulting Ltd.) and has invested in an online renewable energy financing platform, Braggawatt Energy Inc.

CellCube develops, manufactures, and markets energy storage systems on the basis of vanadium redox flow technology and has over 130 project installations and a 10 year operational track record. Its highly integrated energy storage system solutions feature 99% residual energy capacity after 11,000 cycles with the focus on larger scale containerized modules. Basic building blocks consist of a 250kW unit family with 4, 6 and 8 hours variation in energy capacity.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements are discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at www.sedar.com. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact:

Glenda Kelly

Investor Communication

Telephone: +1-800-882-3213

Email: info@cellcubeenergystorage.com





www.cellcubeenergystorage.com

SOURCE CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc.
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Huazhu Group Limited ("Huazhu" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: HTHT). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Huazhu and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On August 29, 2018, media outlets reported that Shanghai police had been alerted to a possible client data breach at Huazhu, stating that nearly 500 million pieces of customer-related information, including registration information, personal data, and booking records, had emerged in an online post.

On this news, Huazhu's American depositary receipt price fell $1.09, or 3.13%, to close at $33.74 on August 30, 2018.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

rswilloughby@pomlaw.com

888-476-6529 ext. 9980

Related Links

http://www.pomerantzlaw.com



SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
ATLANTA, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION.

THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A POSSIBLE OFFER UNDER RULE 2.4 OF THE CITY CODE ON TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS (THE "CITY CODE" OR THE "CODE"). THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE AN OFFER UNDER RULE 2.7 OF THE CITY CODE (A "FIRM OFFER") AND THERE CAN BE NO CERTAINTY THAT A FIRM OFFER WILL BE MADE, EVEN IF THE PRE-CONDITION (AS DEFINED BELOW) IS SATISFIED.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014 ("MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THE INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR THE PURPOSES OF MAR.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. ("CatchMark" or the "Company") announces that it has made an approach to the Board of Phaunos (the "Phaunos Board") regarding a possible offer by CatchMark for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Phaunos (the "Possible Offer").

Key terms of the Possible Offer

The Possible Offer values each ordinary share in the capital of Phaunos (a "Phaunos Share") at US$0.57 (the "Possible Offer Value") to be paid in new shares of common stock of CatchMark (the "New CatchMark Common Shares"). As of 5 September 2018 (being the latest practicable date prior to the date of this announcement (the "Announcement"), the Possible Offer Value implied an exchange ratio of 0.046 of a New CatchMark Common Share for each Phaunos Share (the "Securities Exchange Ratio").

The announcement of any Firm Offer is subject to the section headed "Pre-condition and reservations" set out below. There can be no certainty that a Firm Offer will be made, even if the Pre-condition (as defined below) is satisfied.

Strategic rationale for the Possible Offer

The Board of CatchMark (the "CatchMark Board") believes that a Firm Offer, if made, would provide Phaunos Shareholders with an attractive premium to the closing Phaunos Share price of $0.50 as at 5 September 2018, together with meaningful participation in future potential value creation over time in an enlarged CatchMark group.

If consummated, a Firm Offer would, at current stock prices, be accretive to CatchMark's cash available for distribution ("CAD"), improve credit metrics by deleveraging the Company, and result in a company with an $850 million equity value and a $1.3 billion enterprise value.

In addition to these benefits, the CatchMark Board believes that there would be an opportunity to extract cost synergies from eliminating the overlap in costs between CatchMark and Phaunos.

Pre-condition and reservations

The announcement of any Firm Offer is subject to (i) Phaunos' interest in the Matariki Forestry Group (the "Matariki Interest") not having been disposed of or transferred (including, without limitation, pursuant to the acquisition notice served by Rayonier Canterbury LLC ("Rayonier") on Phaunos (as announced by Phaunos on 28 August 2018)) or mortgaged or charged, nor having had any security interest created over it, nor otherwise ceasing to be available to Phaunos; and (ii) the legal proceedings initiated by Rayonier in respect of the Matariki Interest announced by Phaunos on 28 August 2018, and any other legal proceedings associated or connected therewith (whether in existence as at the date of this Announcement or that may be initiated hereafter), having been settled, withdrawn or otherwise resolved to CatchMark's satisfaction (the "Pre-condition").

CatchMark reserves the right to waive the Pre-condition. However, there can be no certainty that a Firm Offer will ultimately be made, even if the Pre-condition is satisfied.

Pursuant to Rule 2.5 of the Code, CatchMark reserves the right to introduce other forms of consideration and/or to vary the form of the consideration to be paid pursuant to any Firm Offer, if made, referred to in this Announcement.

CatchMark reserves the right to reduce or set aside the Possible Offer Value and/or at any time to make a Firm Offer on less favourable terms in the following circumstances:

a) with the recommendation or consent of the Phaunos Board; b) if a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer for Phaunos pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the City Code (other than the firm offer made by Stafford Capital Partners Limited); c) following the announcement by Phaunos of a "whitewash" transaction pursuant to the City Code; or d) Phaunos announces, declares, pays or makes a dividend or any other distribution to its shareholders (in which case the consideration payable under any Firm Offer will be adjusted by the amount of the dividend or distribution).

The Securities Exchange Ratio referred to in this Announcement is the exchange ratio of New CatchMark Common Shares to Phaunos Shares as at 5 September 2018, based on the Possible Offer Value of $0.57 per Phaunos Share, and is provided for information purposes only. The actual Securities Exchange Ratio is dependent on the price of CatchMark's shares of common stock at the time of announcement of any Firm Offer, if made.

In accordance with Rule 2.6(d) of the City Code, CatchMark is required (except with the consent of the Panel), by not later than 5.00 p.m. (UK time) on 22 September 2018, either to announce a firm intention to make an offer in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the City Code or to announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the City Code applies.

If CatchMark announces that it does not intend to make an offer for Phaunos, CatchMark and any person(s) acting in concert with it will, except with the consent of the Panel, be bound by the restrictions contained in Rule 2.8 of the City Code for six months from the date of such announcement.

A further announcement will be made in due course.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of CatchMark is Jerry Barag, Chief Executive Officer.

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available at www.catchmark.com by not later than 12 noon (UK time) on 7 September 2018. The content of the website referred to in this Announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this Announcement.

This Announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute, represent or form part of any offer, invitation or solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities whether pursuant to this Announcement or otherwise.

The distribution of this Announcement in jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom may be restricted by law or regulation and therefore any person who comes into possession of this Announcement should inform themselves about, and comply with, such restrictions. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws or regulations of any such relevant jurisdiction.

Sources and Bases

Unless otherwise stated in this Announcement:

a) CAD accretion:

The value attributed to CatchMark's 2017 CAD is $22,938,000, as disclosed by CatchMark in its Company Overview Presentation Update August 10, 2018. The value attributed to Phaunos's 2017 CAD is $18,933,000 per the Phaunos Timber Fund Limited Annual Report & Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, which is comprised of Phaunos Consolidated CAD of $2,700,000, Matariki Forestry Group CAD of $15,678,000, and Aurora Forestal Limited CAD of $555,000. The analysis assumes that 100 per cent. of Phaunos shareholders accept the Possible Offer and that 22,890,030 New CatchMark Common Shares are issued. The analysis excludes the impact of transaction fees incurred by CatchMark in relation to the Possible Offer.

b) Improved credit metrics:

The value attributed to CatchMark's debt and cash balance is $468.6 million and $21.3 million respectively, as of 31 July 2018, as disclosed by CatchMark in its Form 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. CatchMark's equity market capitalisation is assumed to increase by $284,065,272, calculated by multiplying the Possible Offer Value by the Phaunos Shares outstanding.

About CatchMark

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CTT) is a self-administered and self-managed, publicly-traded timberland REIT that strives to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for all stakeholders through disciplined acquisitions, sustainable harvests, and well-timed real estate sales. Headquartered in Atlanta and focused exclusively on timberland ownership and management, CatchMark began operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 1.6 million acres of timberlands located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. For more information, visit www.catchmark.com.

Rule 2.9 Information

In accordance with Rule 2.9 of the Code, CatchMark confirms that, as at the date of this Announcement, it has issued share capital consisting of 49,116,093 shares of common stock of $0.01 par value each. There are no shares of common stock held in treasury. The shares of common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) of the shares of common stock is US14912Y2028.

Dealing disclosure requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified.

An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3 of the City Code.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 of the City Code).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

Cautionary notes regarding forward-looking statements

This Announcement, oral statements made regarding the Possible Offer, and other information published by CatchMark contain statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of the management of CatchMark about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement include, among others, statements relating to the potential exposure of Phaunos to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions.

Although CatchMark believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, CatchMark can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in the light of such factors. All forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary notes contained or referred to in this section, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Neither CatchMark nor any of its associates or directors, officers or advisers, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this Announcement will actually occur.

Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations, CatchMark is under no obligation, and CatchMark expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No statement in this Announcement is intended as a profit forecast or profit estimate.

Important Notice

Daiwa Corporate Advisory Limited ("DC Advisory"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as joint financial adviser exclusively for CatchMark and no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than CatchMark for providing the protections afforded to clients of DC Advisory, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement. Neither DC Advisory nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract or in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of DC Advisory in connection with this Announcement, any statement contained therein or otherwise.

DCS Advisory LLC ("DCS Advisory"), which is a broker-dealer that is registered in the United States of America with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is acting as joint financial adviser exclusively for CatchMark and no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than CatchMark with respect to any services afforded to clients of DCS Advisory, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement. Neither DCS Advisory nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract or in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of DCS Advisory in connection with this Announcement, any statement contained therein or otherwise.

Related Links

http://www.catchmark.com



SOURCE CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc.
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
Moscow court puts controversially detained activist under house arrest

 RIA Novosti, Igor Zarembo

12:59 06/09/2018

MOSCOW, September 6 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court has granted an appeal filed by the New Greatness (Novoe Velichie) movements activist Anna Pavlikova, releasing her from detention and putting under house arrest, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The defendant is to stay under house arrest until September 13.

Earlier, the Presidium of the court ruled to reconsider the appeal.

On August 17, the Dorogomilovsky District Court of Moscow granted a motion by investigators to release Pavlikova and another activist Maria Dubovik from jail. The defendants were placed under house arrest.

On August 16, the Supreme Court ordered the Moscow City Courts Presidium to review an appeal against controversial detention of Pavlikova. Earlier, the court received complaints from the cabinet of Russias Human Rights Commissioner and the defendants lawyer.

Nine activists of the movement were arrested in March. Investigators stated that the defendants followed far-right ideas and that their leader claimed that he planned to establish a new order in Russia.

The New Greatness case became a subject of public controversy because the defense has information that the movement itself was organized by a law enforcement officer.

Chairman of the Presidential Council for Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov visited Pavlikova in a detention center and noted that she only recently turned 18 and has several chronic illnesses.
Russian Supreme Court recalculates sentence of convicted ex- police officer

 RIA Novosti, Vladimir Fedorenko

14:59 06/09/2018

MOSCOW, September 6 (RAPSI)  The Supreme Court of Russia has recalculated prison sentence of a former officer of the Interior Ministrys anti-corruption department Sergey Astafurov, and ex-head of the Promresource state company Vladimir Spiridonov in a criminal case over provocation of a bribe, the press-service of the court has told RAPSI.

The court ruled to recalculate the sentences by acknowledging 1 day spent in a pre-trial detention center as 1.5 days in prison. The defendants will stay in prison for over 2 more years.

The courts decision is based on some recent amendments to the Russian legislation on pre-trial detention envisaging certain changes in the rules governing the set-off of the time spent in detention with respect to the calculation of prison terms.

In February, the Moscow City Court sentenced Astafurov charged with provocation of a bribe and abuse of office to 4.5 years in a penal colony and prohibited him from holding law enforcement office for 2 years. Spiridonov was sentenced to 4.5 years as well. The details of the criminal case are classified, and the hearings were held behind closed doors.

Investigators believe that actions of Astafurov and Spiridonov resulted in unlawful launch of a criminal case against head of the Chelyabinsk Tube-Rolling Plant Andrey Komarov and his lawyer Alexander Shibanov.

Komarov and Shibanov were arrested after they allegedly tried to bribe the law enforcement officer, who became aware of violations during transfer of nearly 2 billion rubles ($34.4 million) from the state budget by one of the Plants subsidiaries.
Presidential amendments to pension reform bill reach Russias State Duma

 RIA Novosti

17:56 06/09/2018

MOSCOW, September 6 (RAPSI)  President Vladimir Putin on Thursday submitted amendments to a pension reform bill to the lower house of Russian parliament, the Federation Councils vice speaker Andrey Turchak told journalists.

The amended bill is to be considered by the State Duma in the second reading.

The President issued a set of suggestions on the pension system change on August 29. Putin proposed to lower the womens retirement age to 60 years. Morever, he made several proposals aimed to strengthen guarantees for persons nearing retirement age, in particular to protect them from discrimination and dismissal without a valid reason.

On July 19, the State Duma passed the pension system bill in the first reading. Initially, the document, which was suggested in mid-June by the government, provided a gradual increase in the retirement age of up to 65 years for men and up to 63 years for women.
Investigators seek detention of freelance labor leader charged with of $60k embezzlement

 RIA Novosti, Alexey Filipov

16:55 06/09/2018

MOSCOW, September 6 (RAPSI)  Investigators have petitioned for detention of the Freelance Labor Unions leader Vladimir Soloshenko charged with embezzling 4 million rubles ($60,000) belonging to the organization, according to a statement released on the Investigative Committees Twitter account.

Investigators claim that between May 2016 and July 2017 the defendant acting as a founder and chairman of the freelance labor union embezzled the organizations funds worth at least 4 million rubles.

Searches were conducted as part of the case in the unions office and premises of Soloshenko and his alleged accomplices.

According to the press office of the Federal Security Services Directorate for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, Soloshenko,48, is also a founder of OneShopWorld company registered in Great Britain.
Of the 23 million visas processed by VFS in 2017 calendar year, one fifth were in India, making it the companys biggest market.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The rising number of Indians travelling overseas is making India a sweet spot for VFS Global, the worlds biggest visa processing firm.

The Dubai-headquartered company, which started its journey from Mumbai, seventeen years ago, holds a 49 per cent share in global visa processing industry.

India, its biggest market is clocking a double-digit growth.

India has seen an exponential growth in outbound travel, not only in the tourism sector but also in migration, people going out to work, do business. Student traffic has gone up steeply.

"The infrastructure that these embassies had in India could not have absorbed this kind of growth. Moreover, their presence was only limited to metro cities, Zubin Karkaria, chief executive officer of VFS Global told Business Standard.

The outbound travel from India is growing at a rate of eight-ten per cent a year.

Karkaria had conceptualised the idea of a visa processing firm in 2001 when he was working for Kuoni a global travel firm.

He recalls that on many occasions he had to postpone the tour plans of his clients due to delays in grant of visa.

In Mumbai, people used to queue for US visa the night before. It was felt that the embassy or the visa officer should focus more on decision making and not on the administrative part of checking the form and ensuring that documents are in order.

"If suppose you have ten minutes to decide on every visa and of this, you spend most of the time on seeing the documents your decision making time is squeezed, said Karkaria, arguing that there was a need to bring efficiency in visa processing while ensuring convenience for the applicants in terms of reach and timings.

The US Embassy in India happened to be the companys first client.

VFS Global now works for 45 countries in India, catering to the rising overseas travel needs of Indians.

Of the 23 million visas processed by VFS in 2017 calendar year, one fifth were in India, making it the companys biggest market.

This means the firm processes more than 13,000 visas every day for Indians travelling overseas.

India is not just the biggest volume market for VFS, it is also a large base for the company.

Of the 9,000 plus employees that it has in 137 countries, about 2,500 happen to be in India.

India is my backbone. All the key functions that support our business are in India, including technology, information services, physical services, etc. India is a base for research and technology for us, Karkaria.

VFS Global claims to own a 49 per cent share in global visa processing market.

We process about 23 million visas a year globally while my next competitor would be at four million. Globally, there are seventy odd players in the sector, he said.

Karkaria says nobody around him believed in the idea back in 2001.

People used to say embassies will never allow this process to be outsourced. It was good that nobody believed in the idea then and we were the only one to start investing in it for initial seven-eight years, he adds.

Today, VFS is focussing on taking its service to tier III and IV Indian cities where people have to travel to metro cities to secure a visa.

We try to increase capacity at a rate higher to the growth in travel. We have never been in a capacity crunch as we have always invested ahead of time, said Karkaria.

He says it is not a simple task to deal with sensitive information of millions of applicants every year and the company had to innovate to ensure data protection and privacy while remaining competitive in its services.

Globally, we invest $25 million every year in technology alone. In some visa processing tenders you make money and in some you dont.

"But at VFS Global, visa processing is our bread and butter and we continue to expand.
Last year, Jet Airways and Air France-KLM signed an enhanced cooperation agreement' for the development of their operations between Europe and India

Jet Airways is going to deepen its commercial partnership with Air France-KLM on the India-Europe routes.

The airlines have aligned with corporate contracts and have started a discussion to have a common policy for travel agents.

Locally, we have aligned with the corporate contract policy. From beginning of this month, the local corporate contracts have been aligned with Jet Airways, said Jean-Noel Rault, general manager (Indian subcontinent) of Air France-KLM.

Alignment with corporate contracts means the airlines will offer similar offers, incentives, and discounts to its corporate clients.

The two firms have also started in-principle discussion on a common trade policy, which would give them permission to align with their incentives and agreements with travel agents.

The alignment of corporate policy has been a quick move in a partnership. If you do a comparison, the Air France-KLM-Delta transatlantic joint venture (JV) is at least 10 years old.

"So, it is not like that you do it in 10 months to develop a tie-up like revenue sharing. We are moving relatively fast with Jet Airways, compared to other partnership, said KLM chief executive officer Pieter Elbers.

Deep commercial integration between airlines is becoming increasingly popular around the world.

According to a study by aviation consultancy firm CAPA, 35 per cent of all global long-haul traffic could be part of an immunised JV by 2021.

With transatlantic markets largely mature, this substantial growth is likely to come from increased tie-ups between developed and developing markets.

Last year, Jet and Air France-KLM signed an enhanced cooperation agreement for the development of their operations between Europe and India.

The deal is modelled on the principle of metal neutrality where revenue or profit is shared on a predetermined basis on select routes and it does not matter which airline flies a passenger.

Elbers said the agreement had allowed KLM to increase its footprint in the Indian market.

From the experience that we had in the US, China, and Brazil, we see that the best proposition was given to customers when we had a strong local partner.

"With that vision, we started engaging with Jet. Then they moved their European gateway to Amsterdam followed by the enhance revenue cooperation agreement.

"It brought a lot of connection, like we got a lot of feedback from the secondary Indian cities, Elbers said.

Currently, the three airlines in total have 65 flights operating in India, Amsterdam, and Paris.

Jet operates 21 flights to KLMs hub at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam in addition to the 11 flights of KLM from India.

At Paris, there are 21 flights from Air France and another 12 flights from Jet.

Elbers said there had been a double-digit growth in passenger numbers on each other's network.

At Amsterdam, on a daily basis, we have 350 passengers coming from the network of Jet Airways. It is a meaningful number.

"Due to this, we have found that the Indian travellers on the European routes are starting to discover us again.

"Our position as Air France-KLM was not the strongest in the Indian market. With this enhanced deal, it has improved significantly, he said.

The two airlines have also tied up in terms of cargo revenue sharing. We are translating the agreements into action, he said.

Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters
The NITI Aayog, in a concept note floated a few months back, had suggested three models of procurement but the Centre, at least for the time being, has decided to rely on existing PSS schemes along with giving states the option of choosing Bhawantar Bhugtan for oilseeds.

IMAGE: A farmer transports vegetables in Amritsar. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Centre seems to have zeroed in on two ways to ensure that most farmers get the benefit of its increased Minimum Support Price for the 2018-19 season.

In the first, sources said that the existing Price Support Scheme could be continued for coarse grains and pulses, while for oilseeds, state governments will be free to opt for either the PSS or the Madhya Pradesh's Bhawantar Bhugtan Yojana.

Under the price support scheme, state governments, in conjunction with central agencies like Nafed, procure crops other than wheat and rice in the event of a fall in prices while the expenditure is borne by the Center.

Last year, officials said around Rs 290 billion worth of pulses and oilseeds were procured by the central government under PSS, which was a new record.

In addition to the PSS and Bhawantar, officials said pilots could also be conducted for allowing private players to participate in the procurement of oilseeds and pulses. Based on the response, it could be expanded.

"Other than wheat and rice from farmers, whatever be the mechanism to procure crops would have to be within the existing available options. We cannot attempt something which will be difficult to sustain in the long run," a senior government official said.

He said that several options are being considered and a final decision on the mechanism would be spelt out before the kharif harvest of 2018 starts hitting the market in full force.

The financial implications of both the proposals are being worked out but sources said they may not be substantially more than the current financial obligation that the government faces in procuring oilseeds and pulses.

The NITI Aayog, in a concept note floated a few months back, had suggested three models of procurement.

The first is the Market Assurance Scheme, under which the Center gives operational freedom to states to intervene in the markets in the event of a fall in prices below the MSP, while sharing a portion of the loss.

The second is the price deficiency payment -- modelled on the lines of Madhya Pradesh's Bhawantar model -- and the third is employing private players to procure on behalf of the government for a concession.

The three models were thoroughly discussed and deliberated in various forums and also with the state governments.

However, it seems that the Centre, at least for the time being, has decided to rely on existing PSS schemes along with giving states the option of choosing Bhawantar Bhugtan for oilseeds.

The Madhya Pradesh government, along with some others, have already started registering farmers in the two schemes for kharif 2018.
Apart from the growing adoption of the internet in the country, brands are drawn to the agility of the medium, its targeted and data driven approach and the increasing cost of offline channels for sales and distribution.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

The digital landscape is changing.

It is not just smartphone brands launching cheap phones online, or e-commerce channels using private labels to add heft to their online portfolios.

Increasingly, large traditional players known for their wide distribution networks and offline customer engagements are taking to digital platforms to launch new products and online-only labels.

Recently Nestle India launched a variant of the popular Maggi brand, exclusively on Flipkart; Samsung launched a global refrigerator brand on Amazon and its exclusive offline stores; Harman International has launched an online store for audio brand JBL and both Hindustan Unilever India and Marico have recently launched digital-only male grooming labels.

Hyundai India uses digital platforms for launching model upgrades, as do several other automobile brands.

Apart from the growing adoption of the internet in the country, brands are drawn to the agility of the medium, its targeted and data driven approach and the increasing cost of offline channels for sales and distribution.

Launching exclusively through digital platforms helps companies get a grip on customer sentiment faster, say experts.

For Nestle India, going digital helped understand, very quickly, how customers would react to the product.

The aim was to test the markets willingness to adopt a new flavour without the customer having to step out of the comfort of her home, the company said.

It sold one lakh single-unit packets in three days.

Nishit Garg, senior director, Flipkart said, Nestle and Flipkart's association to launch (the product) exclusively cements the transition of FMCGs physical goods into the digital space.

Consumer goods major Marico that launched a digital exclusive brand Studio X under the Set Wet male grooming portfolio in May this year says that it may look at 5-6 launches (of digital brands) a year, as internet penetration steadily grows.

HUL has decided to resurrect the popular male grooming brand, Brylcreem, as an online only label.

Digital is simple, easy, scalable, cost effective and modern and carries a lot of information to the consumers, said Puneet Anand, senior general manager (marketing) and group head at Hyundai Motor India.

The company has recently launched an upgraded version of Creta online and earlier, the Grand i10.

The early adopters of digital were smartphone and electronics brands.

It was seen as a low-risk, low-cost option for new launches.

While the cost of online launches and marketing has risen sharply, the medium is now an integral part of brand strategy.

K V Sridhar, founder and chief creative officer, Hyper Collective said, It makes a lot of sense to first launch in the digital platforms, create the brand and thus reduce the cost of failure, before moving to the physical market.

"Those who want to succeed have no other option but to focus on digital.

For brands, the radius is no longer physical.

They can find an audience anywhere in the country and in that sense the struggle that many faced when taking regional products to a wide national audience is not as intense, explained Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults.

Going online first helps global brands break into the Indian market, said an Amazon spokesperson.

Especially for television and smartphone brands. Over the years, the average billing size for televisions sold online has gone up 50 per cent, while for appliances and smartphones it has increased by up to 20 per cent in the last one year, according to industry reports.

Samsung launched its global flagship refrigerator brand, Family Hub, priced at Rs 280,000 through Amazon and its own offline stores.

Chinese smartphone company One Plus says that online sales account for a larger share of the Rs 30,000-plus smartphone segment today.

Offline stores bring in four per cent of total sales in terms of volumes for this category, while online accounts for seven per cent of the total sales.

According to a spokesperson for HMD Global that relaunched the Nokia brand in India in 2017, So far we have launched three smartphones online. We received a good response from Amazon for Nokia 6 with over one million registrations. Nokia 6.1 Plus also had a great sale both on Flipkart and on Nokia.com.

"The phones went out of stock within minutes.

Harman International, launched an online store for JBL audio products last month.

Sumit Chauhan, vice-president, Lifestyle Audio, Harman India said that their online store is meant to reassure consumers about the authenticity of the brand and professional after-sales support.

Harman and JBL products are also sold across other e-commerce platforms.

The company says that online channels bring in nearly half the total sales revenue for JBL brands.
'Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way the BJP now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind,' says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Anilchandra Shah walk alongside the late former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's funeral procession in New Delhi, August 17, 2018. Photograph: ANI

Prime ministers always seem wonderful when the term 'former' is added before their title. Even Indira Gandhi, who caused so much harm to India, some of it permanent, has been held up as an exemplar by persons who were harmed by her.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away on August 16, isn't an exception to this general rule. But unlike many others he was a genuinely good man. You felt safe with him.

Compared to the present leadership of the BJP he was a softie, a man who had a better sense of India than the current lot does. He never spoke of the Hindus as if they were a persecuted minority whose cause had to be promoted by persecuting the real minorities.

Raj dharma to him meant something else altogether.

Nor was he Machiavellian or cynical in the way his friend P V Narasimha Rao was, or lacking in courage like him.

There was no bribing of MPs when he was prime minister. And, when he felt it was necessary, he went ahead with Pokhran II, unlike Rao, who allowed himself to be bullied by the US.

We don't know what he would have done had the demolition of the Babri Masjid happened when he was in office. But given his resolve when faced with crises, it seems fair to suggest that he would have done his utmost to prevent it. He may have failed to prevent the demolition but at least he would have tried.

Unlike Rajiv Gandhi, he was not a newcomer to politics when he became prime minister. So when he was faced with internal opposition -- and there was plenty of it -- unlike Rajiv he was able to keep the flock together. Certainly, no one deserted him the way V P Singh deserted Rajiv to launch a full frontal assault on him.

Like Manmohan Singh, he also believed in speaking very little, even to his colleagues and officers. But there the similarity stops because he had a better sense of right and wrong. Certainly, self-interest did not occlude everything else. Nor did he feel beholden to anyone in the way Dr Singh did.

That caused some friction between him and the RSS, but he was able to manage it without lowering the dignity of the office.

Unlike Narendra Modi, he was not a particularly hard worker. The idea of working 15 to 17 hours a day appeared ridiculous to him. This left him with more time to reflect on what really mattered rather than relentlessly pursue targets.

His was not a municipal mind.

Certainly, he didn't see everything from the single prism of elections. Winning was important, of course, as it should be. But not at any cost, as it has now become.

When he was in office many in his party despised him for his avuncular approach. One minister always referred to him as 'woh budda (that old man).' In this respect he was like Rao, who, too, was spoken of with derision by some of his ministers.

Unlike Rao, however, he didn't feel the need to become president of his party. He left that job to others. Such inner confidence is rare in politics.

(Mr Modi, too, has left the party to Amit Shah, but Mr Shah is not a rival in any sense of the word).

Few prime ministers have faced the kind of political vicissitudes as Vajpayee faced.

The first time that he became prime minister in 1996, he was voted out in Parliament in just 13 days. He lasted a bit longer the second time, but was voted out again -- this time by a single vote.

No one who watched that no-confidence motion, which was brought because the AIADMK had moved out of the ruling alliance, can forget the stunned silence that followed when the result of the vote was declared.

It was Vajpayee's tragedy that he was voted out a third time, this time not by politicians in Parliament, but the people in the general election of 2004.

It was an absurd result, as absurd as the defeat by one vote in 1999. It still baffles the mind.

Vajpayee withdrew from active politics voluntarily. Then he fell ill. His rival took over and could not win the general election of 2009. Nor could he outwit the challenger who appeared in 2013.

Vajpayee was responsible for creating the challenger when he made him chief minister of Gujarat in 2001.

Under that challenger, who has gone on to become prime minister, the party that Vajpayee created and nurtured so lovingly has been transformed completely.

Vajpayee would not have approved either of the way it now functions or of the thoughts that it entertains in its mind.
'If the Modi government is successful in extraditing a high-profile fugitive such as Vijay Mallya or Nirav Modi before the 2019 election, the government will be able to link demonetisation to this and turn it into a positive.'

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi delivers the Independence Day address at the Red Fort, August 15, 2018. Photograph: Press Information Bureau

The source of political funding remains a shady and opaque element in Indian politics.

Demonetisation was an attack on black money, yet huge amounts of cash is spent in elections.

The Karnataka assembly election in May was the most expensive in India.

Costs of Democracy, edited by Devesh Kapur, director, Asia Programs, Johns Hopkins University, and Milan Vaishnav, director, South Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, is a scholarly investigation into how money flows into Indian democracy.

"Given the Modi government's uneven economic record, demonetisation allowed them to change the narrative. It is no longer about growth, jobs, and investment. It is about launching the most ambitious attack on black money since Indian Independence," Milan Vaishnav tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in an e-mail interview.

Prime Minister Modi's demonetisation policy was aimed at cracking down on black money, which is the main source of election funding.

Yet in UP more cash was seized than the previous election and the Karnataka election in May was the most expensive in India in terms of money spent by political parties -- were there more losses than gains from demonetisation?

In my view, demonetisation has not made a serious dent on illicit campaign cash.

As you rightly point out, cash seizures in the 2017 UP election (which took place just months after demonetisation) increased three-fold. The same was largely true of the other four states that went to the polls.

In speaking with politicians in India for the book, they privately suggested that demonetisation could have a small short-term impact, but that parties and politicians are pretty ingenious when it comes to laundering funds.

Senior officials with the Election Commission of India have said as much. Money power -- and the use of illicit cash -- remains a principal concern for them.

The Reserve Bank revealed that 99% of the currency that was declared void has returned.

The government's main contention was that demonetisation would wipe out unaccounted wealth which has not happened.

What was the point of this mammoth exercise then?

That is a very good question! I think the Modi government genuinely thought that a large proportion of outstanding currency would not come back into the system, which would allow the Reserve Bank of India to wipe those liabilities off their books and deliver a windfall to the government.

The government, in turn, would issue a cash transfer to all households in India.

In private conversations, senior economic officials have told me that they simply did not foresee the extent to which public sector bank managers would collude with those seeking to turn black money white.

In my view, the Modi government was just flabbergasted as most analysts that nearly all the money came back.

Were the reasons for demonetisation more political than economic? In your opinion, what were the political compulsions?

I do think there was a secondary motivation, which was political.

Demonetisation and the broader assault on 'black money' has given the Modi government a very powerful narrative with which they can go to the polls in 2019.

It is very hard for any political party to argue with steps taken against black money; it was Modi's 'either you're with us or against us' moment.

Furthermore, given the Modi government's uneven economic record, demonetisation allowed them to change the narrative. It is no longer about growth, jobs, and investment.

It is about launching the most ambitious attack on black money since Indian Independence.

Has this risk backfired?

Frankly, as far as 2019 concerned, I think the net effect will be minimal.

Modi will get credit in some quarters for taking a bold gamble to squeeze the fat cats who amassed ill-gotten wealth.

Others will mock him for unnecessarily damaging India's growth recovery and harming ordinary Indians for no reason.

On average, I think these effects will probably cancel each other out.

If the Modi government is successful in extraditing a high-profile fugitive such as Vijay Mallya or Nirav Modi before the 2019 election, the government will be able to link demonetisation to this and turn it into a positive.

Have demonetisation and GST dented Modi's popularity?

Again, I think any negative effect is probably on the margins.

The government is working overtime (through the GST Council) to iron out the most severe kinks in the GST system.

It won't necessarily operate as a well-oiled machine by Spring 2019, but I think the worst will certainly be in the past.

Indeed, the most recent GDP numbers suggest that the economy is in fact recovering from the twin shocks of demonetisation and GST.

I think where these two actions do damage is when it comes to Modi's perceived competence. Remember that was supposed to be the calling card of this administration.

Whatever you might say about Modi and colleagues, they were supposed to be more competent that the UPA-2 regime.

Modi was the 'CEO CM-turned-PM'. I still think the electorate is willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the implementation of demonetisation and GST do not help in this regard.

Part II: Why Politics is out of reach for the Aam Aadmi
'Societal acceptance is the surround-sound of the socio-economic political compass that we live in. This is the first step.'

IMAGE: LGBT activists celebrate the Supreme Court verdict striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

'History owes an apology to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender community for denying them their right and compelling them to live a life of fear,' Justice Indu Malhotra said as the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 -- a colonial relic that criminalised gay sex between two consenting adults.

As the archaic law was struck down, a community rejoiced and tears of happiness and relief could be seen across the nation.

Among them was senior journalist Sunil Mehra, one of the petitioners who challenged Section 377, enacted in 1860.

The Supreme Court verdict "re-establishes human values and restores humanity," Mehra tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf in a telephone interview.

Your first reaction?

This verdict was a long time coming; it is long overdue; the judgment establishes human values. It restores humanity and compassion.

In society, how can you discriminate against people because they love differently?

Do you think that with the verdict, Indian society will see a greater acceptance of the LGBT community?

It is a gradual process. Societal acceptance is the surround-sound of the socio-economic political compass that we live in. This is the first step.

You have to nurture and create an environment where people transcend these things and look beyond because there are more important issues like hunger, poverty, starvation, caste, brutality and this will happen as compassion leads in the society.

It also depends on the ruling polity.

Nothing happens overnight. Everything is a process.

This judgment is a process in the right direction and we hope it takes its natural course now.

The tag of being a 'criminal' must have been too much to bear.

It is passe, outdated and silly.

We were hanging on to a colonial law which was outlawed by the very people who drafted it.

The law flies in the face of triumph, flies in the face of psychology, flies in the face of any tenet that you hold up for empirical study.

It was long coming and also in a sense you were repudiating your own societal fabric.

India is a great country. India was never, ever homophobic to the best of my knowledge.

Our mythology is replete with it and there was never any castigation.

Hinduism, per se, has never castigated homosexuality.

WATCH: Celebrations in Bengaluru after the Supreme Court legalised homosexuality.

But we see Hindus saying homosexuality was never part of Hindu society.

In a society we will always have mavericks and mad people. We always have people whose minds have been colonised. They don't think before they speak and they think they are right, so that is all right. That is the nature of the beast.

It hurts and there has been lot of collateral damage.

A lot of people like Navtej Johar (one of the co-petitioners in the case and Mehra's long-term partner) and me were protected by class, education, money and privilege, but that was not the case for a child growing in Sawai Madhopur, Madurai and other places. He is suffering.

We need to create a society where people can realise they are full of selves, without fear, without dread, a society where violence can't be imposed upon.

Was this review petition your last hope for seeking justice?

This is just a blip on the landscape.

One should never give into despair; sometimes you give into despair politically, sometimes socially -- the whole thing is a confrontational approach never works.

There is always room for dialogue and for reason.

Can you share your emotional journey in this case?

Emotions apart, we had to put names and faces on a petition like this one. It was sheer absurdity.

The illogic and manifest injustice of it in the times we live in. It flies in the face of any rules on humanity.

It is a huge (judgment) for the nation.

We have had individuals making statements like 'Homosexuality can be cured by yoga'.

Like I told you, there will always be mavericks in a society. It is like saying honour killing is the way to correct societal wrong. These are the fringe who will always prevail till better reason prevails.

Did your lawyers present anything in court stating that ancient Shastras permitted homosexuality?

I am not a theological expert, but to the best of my knowledge and from the little I know and what I have lived, there is no tenet in the Hindu faith that castigates homosexuality.

In fact, our mythology is replete with people who are like that. Indian society is very tolerant always.

This is Western culture which was superimposed on us, essentially a live and let live society.

We were pretty much regretting who you were rather than who you became or were made to become.

The Constitution says we must have a scientific temper. Nevertheless it took the highest court in the land to intervene in such a case.

Section 377 is not an exception. Don't you see so much else is happening as we speak, as there is communal hatred, gau-rakshaks. You think this is divorced from that?

It is sole ill-informed hatred.

It is sole illogic and absurdity.

It is all cynical manipulation that informs such moves.

This is all policing of morality and society.

The harassment, the stigma that the LGBT community has endured for so long, do you think it will come to a halt now?

Obviously, you made people very miserable. You made a society which was giving, a compassionate society into a heteronomic one, so people were under pressure.

People were killing themselves and marrying under pressure. How unfair was that?

What will change for you from tomorrow?

For me, nothing changes from tomorrow.

I have lived my life. I hope it makes a change for someone else.

This is for youngsters who are out there who are in pain.

We were insulated and we have been fine.

In terms of society, as people learn to see the absurdity of the issue. That is important.

Karan Johar, the film-maker, wrote in his memoir that he could not say he was gay as he feared arrest.

People were blackmailed and sodomised by the police.

People would be picked up in cars. Extortionists would assail them.

This would happen whenever you put anything undercover, maleficent happenings.
IMAGE: Congress supporters stage a protest against the BJP-led government at a fuel station over the fuel price hike in Mumbai. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Congress will organise a nationwide shutdown on September 10 over rising fuel prices, party leaders announced today and asked other opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government.

The common man was bearing the brunt of the escalating prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said.

"The Congress party has decided that we will be giving a call for Bharat Bandh on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive VAT in the state," he told reporters.

Surjewala said the Congress will also demand petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the GST so that the "common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief".

The Congress has also urged opposition parties to join the protest, he said.

"We also call upon other societal groups, NGOs... to join this people's movement," he said.
Parts of Section 377, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex, are "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary", the apex court said in its historic ruling.

IMAGE: People react after the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising consensual gay sex, outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi. Photograph: Kamal Kishore/PTI Photo

Consensual gay sex is not a crime, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, striking down a British era law that it said violates the right to equality and triggering celebrations among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer activists who welcomed it as a harbinger of a more inclusive India.

Parts of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex, are "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary", the apex court said in its historic ruling that made India the 26th country in the world where homosexuality is legal.

"History owes an apology to members of the community for the delay in ensuring their rights," for denying them their rights and compelling them to live a life of fear, said Justice Indu Malhotra, who was part of the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that delivered the judgement, capping a 17-year legal struggle.

In its 493-page judgment, the bench said aspects of Section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.

"Any kind of sexual activity with animals shall remain a penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC," it said.

Delivering four separate but concurring judgements, the top court set aside its 2013 verdict which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

Some of the countries where gay sex has been legalised Argentina (2010) Greenland (2015) South Africa (2006) Australia (2017) Iceland (2010) Spain (2005) Belgium (2003) Ireland (2015) United States (2015) Brazil (2013) Luxembourg (2014) Sweden (2009) Canada (2005)

The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, struck down part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code as being violative of the right to equality and the right to live with dignity.

Dealing with a clutch of petitions, it held that Section 377 was used as a weapon to harass members of the LGBTQ community, resulting in discrimination.

Across the country, gay people gathered in front of their television sets, waited anxiously for the verdict to be announced.

Tears flowed and people hugged each other spontaneously, when the judgment flashed across their television and mobile phone screens.

Many cut cakes and unfurled rainbow flags, a symbol of gay pride, to welcome the verdict, which also said society cannot dictate a sexual relationship between consenting adults.

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who has often spoken out on the issue of gay rights, said the judgment was a "huge thumbs up" for humanity.

"Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!" he wrote on Twitter.

The judgment came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur as well as 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 -- enacted 158 years ago -- illegal and unconstitutional.

CJI Misra, who wrote the judgement for himself and Justice Khanwilkar, said the denial of self expression was akin to inviting death.

The bench said courts must protect the dignity of an individual as right to live with dignity is recognised as fundamental right.

It termed sexual orientation a "biological phenomenon" and held any discrimination on this ground was violative of fundamental rights.

Describing the verdict as landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment, said it was a start.

"We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

The Congress also put out a Twitter post welcoming the judgement.

"We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society," it said, adding intersex and asexuality to LGBTQ.

On the other end of the political spectrum, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said in a statement that while it doesn't see homosexuality as a crime, such relationships were not "compatible with nature" and so it does not support them.

The United Nations in India welcomed the verdict, saying sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual's identity the world over. Violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an "egregious" violation of human rights, it said.

Justice Chandrachud, while reading out the operative portion of his verdict, said members of the LGBTQ community were targeted and exploited due to Section 377. They have constitutional rights like that of any other citizen, he said.

Observing that the Constitution nurtured dissent as a "safety valve" of society, he said "we cannot change the history but can pave a way for better future".

The apex court noted that India is a signatory of international treaties on rights of LGBTQ and it was obligatory to adhere to them.

The issue was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi high court in 2001.

In 2009, the Delhi high court decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender.

This was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed.

Section 377 had made "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" punishable by imprisonment for life.
The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with the violence in Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials more responsible on matters pending before the court.

You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we dont want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong, the bench told Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Maharashtra government.

The bench also asked petitioner Romila Thapar and others to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case.

Meanwhile, Mehta told the bench that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing investigation.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 12.

The Maharashtra government had on Wednesday told the apex court that the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned Maoists and not because of their dissenting views.

The state police had filed the affidavit in response to a plea of historian Romila Thapar and four others, challenging the arrest of the five activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, and claimed that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

While prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from Delhi.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year, which had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village in Pune district of Maharashtra.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet for the third time during the inter-Korean summit from September 18 to September 20 in Pyongyang.

As per Yonhap News Agency, Moons special envoy Chung Eui-yong, who returned from Pyongyang late Wednesday, confirmed the South Korean presidents visit to North Korea.

First, the South and the North agreed to hold a South-North Korean summit in Pyongyang between September 18 to September 20, and to hold high-level negotiations early next week to prepare for the summit, Chung said.

A five-member delegation to Pyongyang was headed by Chung and also included the director of the National Intelligence Service, Suh Hoon, and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung. The trip to North Korea was largely aimed at setting the date for the third Moon-Kim summit.

This will be the third summit between the two Korean leaders. The two, first met in the border village of Panmunjom on April 27, then again on May 26.

Chung said that the forthcoming summit would review the implementation of the inter-Korean summit agreement signed between the two countries during the first meeting in Panmunjom.

The countries agreed to review the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration and discuss the future direction of its implementation, and to discuss practical ways to establish lasting peace and ensure joint prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, especially denuclearise the Korean Peninsula, he said.

Chung further informed that the North Korean leader has reaffirmed his commitment on denuclearisation and to work closely with the United States on the same.

This will be Moons first visit to North Korea as a head of the state, although, during the April meeting, the South Korean President had briefly crossed over to the other side of the inter-Korean border with Kim.
Protesters stopped trains and blocked highways in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and shopkeepers downed shutters in some other northern states during a Bharat bandh on Thursday against the recent amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

IMAGE: Protesters stop a train during their Bharat bandh, called to press for reservation, in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo

Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.

There were scattered incidents of violence in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Two Bihar politicians, Janata Dal-United leader Shyam Rajak and Madhepura MP Rajesh Ranjan, faced angry mobs while travelling.

Protesters pelted stones at Rajak's car, he told reporters later.

Bandh supporters stormed Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminus and disrupted the movement of trains for about 30 minutes, officials said. They also disrupted train services in Rajgir.

Some organisation had called the one-day bandh to protest against the amendment last month to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The amendment bill passed by Parliament had overturned the Supreme Court order which barred arrests without a preliminary inquiry.

Commercial establishments remained closed in many parts of Bihar, particularly in capital Patna. But banks and government offices functioned normally.

Protesters gathered before the Bihar BJP headquarters in Patna, raising slogans over the "betrayal by the party. Some of them also headed towards the office of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally.

The shutdown had a strong impact in Muzaffarpur, where bandh supporters blocked traffic in the town and on the national highway.

They also burnt tyres at many places and clashed with policemen who tried to stop them.

IMAGE: Protesters burn tyres on the railway tracks to stop trains during bandh in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo

Cases of arson were also reported from Biharsharif town. Traffic was disrupted in Begusarai.

Six policemen were hurt in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia's district when they confronted people blocking traffic.

Protesters briefly stopped a train in Kanpur and the Varanasi highway was blocked for three hours at Gorakhpur, officials said.

In Etah, protesters gheraod the house of Jalesar MLA Sanjiv Diwakar who had to call in the police.

But officials said apart from such scattered incidents of violence, the state remained by and large peaceful.

The bandh call evoked a strong response in Rajasthan where many shops and businesses, schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Thursday.

Shops were shut in Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and other districts in the state.

The police detained at least three leaders of the Samta Andolan Samiti, which is against caste-based reservation, as a precautionary measure.

In Madhya Pradesh, there were scattered incidents of stone-pelting. Police lobbed teargas shells at Aron in Guna district to disperse protesters.

"In Rewa, Satna and Chhatarpur districts, thousands of protesters took to the streets. In Shadora area of Ashok Nagar district, some protesters squatted on the railway tracks, while in Rewa they tried to stop a train," a police official said.

People set tyres on fire at some places in Rewa and Satna districts.

In rural Ujjain, members of the Dalit community and the upper castes came face to face, the official said.

Some people tried to storm into Rewa district police control room, but the attempt was thwarted.

Most private schools and petrol pumps remained closed in Madhya Pradesh. Markets and business establishments in parts of the state were also shut.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of the upper castes and Other Backward Classes participated in the bandh in the state.

He claimed the bandh was effective in almost the entire state, particularly in the major towns of Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagar and Ujjain.

IMAGE: Protesters shout slogans outside a BJP office in Patna. Photograph: PTI Photo

In Chhindwara, the Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, markets remained shut.

"Local residents wore black clothes in protest and business establishments remained shut," Vyapari Sangh president Mahesh Chandak said.

In Punjab and Haryana, there was little response to the bandh with people keeping their businesses open in most areas, reports said. But in Punjab's Phagwara, shops and commercial establishments remained shut.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to the people, saying, "Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace. I pray that we all progress and no one should try to disrupt the peace in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, People have their feelings. In a democracy everyone has the right to express themselves."

"The law is to protect the downtrodden. The government will ensure that it will not be misused," Adityanath told reporters in Gonda.

Earlier this year, the apex court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the SC/ST Act.

But the decision had triggered nationwide protests by Scheduled Caste organisations, forcing the Centre to bring an amendment to the Act to overrule the SC order.
Two path-breaking past verdicts, holding right to privacy as a fundamental right and granting 'third gender' status to transgenders, have been heavily relied upon by the Supreme Court in its judgment decriminalising consensual gay sex in private.

IMAGE: LGBTQ community members celebrate the Supreme Court verdict which decriminalises consensual gay sex, in Mumbai. Photograph: Shirish Shete/PTI Photo

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra unanimously struck down partially the British-era penal law that criminalised the consensual sexual acts.

Four concurring verdicts, penned by the CJI, Justices R F Nariman, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, extensively relied upon a 2017 nine-judge bench verdict in the K S Puttaswamy case that accorded privacy rights the status of a fundamental right.

The judges also took note of another apex court judgment in the National Legal Services Authority case holding that the right to gender identity and sexual orientation were available to transgenders "just like men and women".

CJI Misra, in the lead judgment, said "after the nine-Judge bench decision in Puttaswamy, the challenge to the vires (validity) of Section 377 IPC has been stronger than ever."

He then went on to say that the privacy judgment held that "sexual orientation is also a facet of a person's privacy and that the right to privacy is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India".

The CJI used the privacy judgment in demolishing the 2013 verdict of the apex court that had re-criminalised the consensual sexual acts between two adults on the ground that the rights of "miniscule" minority was being infringed.

"After the privacy judgment..., the right to privacy has been raised to the pedestal of a fundamental right. The reasoning in Suresh Koushal (verdict), that only a minuscule fraction of the total population comprises of LGBT community, and that the existence of Section 377 IPC abridges the fundamental rights of a very minuscule percentage of the total populace, is found to be a discordant note.

"The said reasoning in Suresh Koushal, in our opinion, is fallacious, for the framers of our Constitution could have never intended that the fundamental rights shall be extended for the benefit of the majority only and that the Courts ought to interfere only when the fundamental rights of a large percentage of the total populace is affected...".

The court said the right to privacy has the facet of life and personal liberty protected under Article 21.

"In view of the authorities, we have no hesitation to say that Section 377 IPC, in its present form, abridges both human dignity as well as the fundamental right to privacy and choice of the citizenry, howsoever small," the CJI held.

The apex court gave equal weightage to the NALSA judgement that had considered he right to gender identity and sexual orientation.

The NALSA verdict had said that just "like men and women, transgenders could enjoy all the fundamental rights that other citizens of India could enjoy.

"In National Legal Services Authority case ..., this Court noted that gender identity is an important aspect of personal identity and is inherent to a person. It was held that transgender persons have the right to express their self-identified gender by way of speech, mannerism, behaviour, presentation and clothing," Justice Indu Malhotra said.

Justice R F Nariman quoted the privacy judgement and said "a nine-Judge Bench of this Court unanimously declared that there is a fundamental right of privacy which enured in favour of all persons, the concomitant of which was that the right to make choices that were fundamental to a person's way of living could not be interfered with by the State without compelling necessity and/or harm caused to other individuals."

Justice Chandrachud, who had written the lead verdict in the privacy matter, also quoted his own judgement while decriminalising the consensual gay sex.

"Given our judgment in Puttaswamy, in particular, the right of every citizen of India to live with dignity and the right to privacy including the right to make intimate choices regarding the manner in which such individual wishes to live being protected by Articles 14, 19 and 21, it is clear that Section 377, insofar as it applies to same-sex consenting adults, demeans them by having them prosecuted, instead of understanding their sexual orientation and attempting to correct the centuries of stigma associated with such persons," Justice Chandrachud said.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Zimbabwe

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Zimbabwe, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b91098e26.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

In 2017, the human rights situation in Zimbabwe remained serious. The human rights monitoring group Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP) recorded 1,852 human rights violations, 20% fewer than in 2016. This continues a long-term trend of slow improvement since the extensive government-sponsored political violence in 2008. Incidents included politically motivated intimidation, discrimination, harassment and assault, violent policing, arbitrary arrests and torture. Following a military intervention, Emmerson Mnangagwa was sworn in as president on 24 November, marking the end of Robert Mugabe's 37 years in power.

Politically motivated intimidation occurred throughout 2017. The National Constitutional Assembly alleged that ZANU-PF members assaulted its candidate and agent in a by-election in Bikita West in January. In October, ZANU-PF supporters reportedly assaulted supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change  Tsvangirai (MDC-T) mobilising voter registration in Chitungwiza. Factional disputes within ZANU-PF resulted in intra-party intimidation and violence. There were incidents of violence along ethnic lines in the MDC-T also, as rivals clashed over alliance building with other parties.

The authorities continued to use the distribution of food aid for political ends, including after the inauguration of President Mnangagwa. In May, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission deployed teams to Gutu, Zaka and Bikita West to investigate alleged cases.

The authorities imposed more stringent conditions on opposition demonstrators than on supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party. Several planned opposition demonstrations were banned, and at least two opposition political meetings were interrupted by Zimbabwe Republic Police.

The state continued to limit freedom of expression. The authorities responded to perceived criticism of former President Mugabe by arresting two journalists and several activists and charging them with insulting the office of the president.

The ongoing economic crisis left citizens without access to cash as banks struggled to honour deposits. Anecdotal evidence indicated that children in low income areas were increasingly vulnerable to sexual exploitation because of the economic situation. Child rights groups reported that girls aged between 12 and 17 had been engaging in prostitution along major highways and in some poor neighbourhoods of Harare. Despite a ban in 2015, child marriage remained common. In June alone, 40 cases were reported in Mbire District. Gender-based violence was also a common problem. There is near gender parity of schooling until secondary level where there are 5 boys for every 4 girls. Pregnancy and/or early marriage account for 18% of total female drop-outs and financial pressure accounts for a further 46%. In response, the UK supported Camfed's Zimbabwe Girls' Secondary Education project which provided 40,374 girls with bursaries and complementary support.

Periodically, small-scale urban street traders had their wares confiscated and destroyed by the local authorities with the assistance of government security forces. Many local authorities failed to provide basic services, including safe drinking water and sanitation. There were multiple reported incidents of road traffic accidents caused by aggressive use by the police of metal spikes to stop vehicles in order to extort money. However, police roadblocks largely disappeared following the military intervention in November.

LGBT people faced discrimination, family disownment, displacement from lodgings, unfair labour practices, arrest and harassment by police, blackmail and bullying on social media. A court sentenced one LGBT person to 18 months in jail for "inappropriate conduct".

The state continued to fail to enforce property rights effectively, and court orders were frequently ignored. The farms owned by the Connolly and Rankin families remained occupied in violation of court orders. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission is investigating allegations of human rights violations by government officials during the eviction of villagers from a farm seized by former First Lady, Grace Mugabe.

Elections will take place on 30 July 2018. Opposition groups and civil society organisations have campaigned for a broad set of electoral reforms including reform of the Electoral Act. The new government indicated its intention to do this before the elections. Thanks to a UK funded court case, 300,000 citizens previously denied the right to register to vote  because their residency status described them as "aliens"  won the right to do so in an extended voter registration exercise.

Civil society organisations raised concerns about the militarisation of state institutions. Conflict between the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Zimbabwe Republican Police and artisan miners resulted in assaults, injuries and the deaths of ten miners.

During the military intervention which led to former President Mugabe's resignation, the ZNA arrested, detained and reportedly tortured government officials and politicians. ZNA personnel were responsible for 36% of the violations recorded by ZPP in December.

During 2017, the Embassy met activists, democracy campaigners, parliamentarians and political leaders from across the political spectrum to encourage engagement, dialogue and a more open society, respecting the rights of all the people of Zimbabwe.

The UK supported a 30 million multi donor programme through DFID and the FCO Magna Carta Fund to improve access to justice, to promote media freedom, to support girls' education and to improve the electoral environment ahead of the 2018 elections, including through public education and access to biometric voter registration. The UK welcomed the president's openness to international observation of the elections.

In 2018, the UK will continue to call on the Government of Zimbabwe to uphold the rule of law and human rights, and to encourage all Zimbabweans to exercise their democratic rights, including through free, fair and credible elections, under the protection of the 2013 Constitution and international human rights law.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Yemen

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Yemen, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b91099b6.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation worsened in Yemen in 2017. The conflict undermined the rule of law, leaving few mechanisms to protect human rights. The main issues were women's rights including girls' education, the recruitment of child soldiers, arbitrary detention, and attacks on freedom of religion or belief and on freedom of speech and association. The de facto Houthi authorities in northern Yemen, the Government of Yemen and a number of non-state militias across the country allegedly committed a wide range of human rights violations and abuses. The UN reported that 13,520 civilians had been killed or injured since April 2015, and that over two million people had been displaced.

The right to freedom of religion or belief was denied in several areas. Members of the Baha'i faith faced persecution, including arrest and imprisonment. The UN Human Rights Council resolution on Yemen in September called for the immediate release of all Baha'i detainees. There were credible reports alleging that the de facto Houthi authorities in northern Yemen had tortured Baha'i detainees. In the liberated areas of southern Yemen, there were reports that three teenagers in Aden accused of atheism had been murdered. The UK lobbied for the release of Baha'i detainees and raised the importance of freedom of religion or belief both publicly and in our engagement with parties to the conflict.

UN and NGO reports highlighted the continued recruitment of child soldiers by all parties in Yemen. Economic deprivation and the breakdown of the education system rendered young males especially vulnerable. There were anecdotal reports of families sending their children to fight in order to generate much-needed income. The UNICEF Resident Representative said that the organisation had verified 2,369 cases of child recruitment between March 2015 and January 2018 in Yemen.

Yemen was last among the countries cited in the 2017 World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report. The breakdown of the rule of law meant that there was limited recourse for victims of gender-based violence or abuse. A 2017 UN report highlighted child marriage as a particular concern, estimating that 52% of women marry before the age of 18, and 14% before the age of 15. The report said that the desperate need of many families for income had exacerbated the problem. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF), we supported UN Women to increase Yemeni women's capacity to influence political and conflict actors and their inclusion in the peace process, political dialogue and local peacebuilding initiatives.

Arbitrary disappearances and the use of torture were common across Yemen. In northern Yemen, there were regular credible reports of kidnapping being used as a political tool. In December, the Houthis reportedly imprisoned hundreds of General People's Congress members without proper judicial process. In the liberated areas, there were credible reports from the Associated Press and from Human Rights Watch of the use of secret prisons. There is no reliable process for inquiry into detainees held at these facilities.

Freedom of speech was curtailed across the country. There were reports that the Houthis arrested dozens of journalists in Sana'a. There were also reports of beatings and killings. Yahya Al Jubeiha, a journalist, was sentenced to death in April in Sana'a. Human rights defenders were also under threat. The Houthis arbitrarily detained prominent activist Hisham Al Omeisy in Sana'a for five months with no access to a lawyer or to his family. The UK spoke out publicly about the need to respect journalists and freedom of expression.

The death penalty is used in Yemen. In August, there was a credible report of a public execution in Sana'a for an alleged violent crime. Consensual sexual relations between people of the same gender remain illegal in Yemen and are subject under the law to the death penalty in some cases.

As part of our commitment to improving the overall human rights situation in Yemen, the UK negotiated and agreed the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution which was adopted in September. The resolution mandated the creation of a panel of experts to conduct an independent investigation into the human rights situation in Yemen.

In 2018, the UK will continue to lead international efforts to end the conflict and restore the legitimate Government of Yemen. A stable political settlement is the only way to provide the conditions necessary to improve the human rights situation. While the conflict continues, we will continue to urge all parties to protect civilians and respect international human rights and humanitarian law. The UK will work with the UN OHCHR to increase the capacity of Yemeni bodies to investigate and to prevent human rights violations and abuses.

DFID provided 112 million in aid to Yemen for 2016/17, including programmes supporting internally displaced persons, education and the protection of civilians. The UK provided 205 million in aid to Yemen for 2017/18, making us the second-largest donor to the UN Humanitarian Appeal for Yemen and the third-largest humanitarian door to Yemen overall. In 2018, we will continue to use the CSSF to support additional activity to increase the role of women in local governance and peacebuilding.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Uzbekistan

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Uzbekistan, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b91099f10d.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

There were positive developments in Uzbekistan in 2017, which have the potential to improve significantly the wider human rights environment in the country.

In 2017, Uzbekistan re-engaged with international human rights bodies. In May, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein became the first ever UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Uzbekistan. Subsequently, there was a visit by Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The authorities followed up these visits, engaging with the UN on prison reform, freedom of religion or belief, torture, media freedom, civil society, gender equality and labour reforms. The leading international human rights NGO, Human Rights Watch, was also invited back to the country, and was received at a senior level. Following these very welcome high-level and high-profile exchanges, there now needs to be consistent implementation of tangible reform.

During 2017, the government began to reform the criminal justice system, focusing on protecting the rights of individuals. Since this series of reforms was announced, a conviction for religious extremism was successfully appealed and a judge was dismissed for not following due process. We welcomed progress on prison reform, particularly releases of a number of high-profile prisoners whose detentions had been politically motivated, including Rustam Usmanov, Muhammad Bekjanov, Erkin Musayev, A'zam Farmonov, Sali Abdurakhmanov, A'zam Turgunov, Mamatkhanov Ganikhon and Muhammadali Karabaev. There also appeared to be a reduction in the practice of arbitrarily extending prison sentences during the year. However, challenges remain. We have concerns over the legal process followed and treatment in custody of journalists arrested in the autumn and accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional system. Widespread allegations continued to be made of torture in custody, so we welcomed the law introducing CCTV into holding cells, and the presidential decree making evidence obtained through torture or harassment inadmissible in court.

Freedom of religion or belief remains a sensitive issue. Uzbekistan permits the practice of officially registered religions. However, registering new religious groups or groups in new locations remains a challenging and opaque process, in effect criminalising those who practise their religion outside state-sanctioned structures. President Mirziyoev has called for greater tolerance, support and rehabilitation of individuals formerly charged with radicalisation and of their families. In August, the government stated that it had removed from a 'black-list' the names of approximately 16,000 individuals, many previously accused of religious extremism.

State authorities continued to harass some human rights defenders (HRDs), but have also begun to meet HRDs directly to discuss their concerns, for example on labour issues connected to the cotton harvest. The highly restrictive Ministry of Justice Order 177 on procedures regulating NGO activity remained in force. The authorities permitted small-scale demonstrations. They also initially allowed an unauthorised demonstration of at least 200 people in Tashkent, protesting against police inaction over the death of a student, to go ahead. However, the organisers were later sentenced, in a closed hearing without legal representation, to administrative detention of 10 and 15 days. Demonstrations on the anniversary of the events in Andijan in 2005 took place unchallenged.

In 2017, Uzbekistan continued to work on the Decent Work Country Programme for 2014-2016[51]. We followed the work of the ILO and World Bank in this area. Higher prices for cotton and higher wages for the pickers led to better conditions in the cotton harvest. We received credible reports of schools, universities and hospitals in several regions being required to provide workers for the harvest, although there were fewer such reports after President Mirziyoev referred to the issue in his speech to the UN General Assembly in September. Human rights activists and embassies conducting independent monitoring of the harvests found the authorities less obstructive than in previous years.

On gender equality and women's rights, the Uzbek government has taken measures to address the issue of suicides among young women and the high incidence of domestic violence. The Women's Committee has drafted a National Action Plan to fulfil the obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women for Uzbekistan's 2018 Universal Periodic Review. Primary and secondary education are compulsory and free of charge for both boys and girls. According to UNICEF the literacy rate is 99.98% for women and 99.99% for men. Government policy is to support gender parity in education.

Consensual sexual activity between people of the same gender remains illegal and LGBT people in the country continue to face discrimination and homophobia.

President Mirziyoev promised significant reforms to the political system. He publicly held government officials to account and introduced elections for local government leaders. However, freedom of association was still restricted, in effect preventing the formation of credible, independent opposition parties.

There was growing freedom of expression. President Mirziyoev has pushed the media to become more critical and analytical, but traditional media has been slow to modernise, and self-censorship is rife. By contrast, online and social media provided an increasingly popular means to speak out. Media stations were encouraged to use content from international news agencies, but progress on the accreditation of foreign journalists was slow. We continued to hear from a variety of sources about the harassment of families of Uzbek journalists working overseas.

During 2017, the British Embassy expanded its programme supporting progress on human rights and good governance. We funded projects on promoting the rule of law, prison reform, press freedom, media plurality and women's rights (including education reform, empowerment and preventing domestic violence), and we actively monitored developments in the area of labour reform, including the cotton harvest.

In 2018, we will continue to prioritise support for Uzbekistan's reform programme, media development and plurality. We will also continue to address adult involuntary labour, and will support the empowerment of women.

[51] http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/program/dwcp/download/uzbekistan.pdf
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - The State of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - The State of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109a3a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Many human rights issues in 2017 stemmed from the Israeli Government's violation of international human rights and humanitarian law in the context of Israel's military occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza (Occupied Palestinian Territories, or OPTs). There were also continued human rights abuses by the Palestinian Authority and by the Hamas administration in Gaza. After a decline in violence in early 2017, there were spikes in hostilities during the second half of the year. This was more noticeable following heightened security measures in July at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and after the US recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Incitement has continued to play a negative role, particularly on social media. There were persistent reports of the excessive use of force by the Israeli security forces.

The Hamas authorities in Gaza continued to commit serious human rights abuses. For example, 19 death sentences were issued and six executions carried out. There were also reports that Hamas and other Gaza-based militants were rearming and rebuilding attack tunnels. Approximately 30 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel in 2017.

Israel continued its systematic policy of settlement expansion, with the advancement of over 10,000 housing units in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), some of which are located east of the separation barrier. On 6 February, the then Minister for the Middle East, Tobias Ellwood, issued a statement condemning the passing in the Knesset of the expropriation law, which provided for retroactive legalisation of outposts built on private Palestinian land. In March, the Israeli government approved the establishment of a new settlement deep in the West Bank, the first such decision for over 25 years, which the then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, publicly condemned.

The number of acts of violence and vandalism against Palestinians by extremist settlers in the West Bank rose again in early 2017. This was despite increased law enforcement measures by the Israeli authorities.

Israeli demolitions of Palestinian houses and other structures continued in 2017. 403 structures were demolished (including 97 donor-funded structures), leading to the displacement of 653 people, including 360 children. The Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, spoke in the House of Commons on 6 December about the negative effect of demolitions on Palestinian communities. The UK supports Palestinians whose homes face demolition or who face eviction in Area C of the West Bank through funding to legal aid.

We continued to seek improvements in the overall treatment of Palestinians in detention, with a particularly focus on minors (there were approximately 358 minors detained at the end of 2017). Reports of ill-treatment of minors in detention included the use of painful restraints and non-notification of legal rights. Ministers and officials have made repeated representations on this issue and will continue to do so. The Israeli authorities continued to decline offers of expert-to-expert advice from the Metropolitan Police. The UK funded a number of human rights projects on this issue, including providing legal aid to minors and capacity building to local lawyers. Overall, the number of Palestinians held in administrative detention by the Israel authorities decreased, with 437 at the end of the year.

In the OPTs, there was a narrowing of the space for civil society to operate, and increasing restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly resulting from the Palestinian Authority's adoption of a restrictive Cybercrime Law. LGBT rights remained restricted. Same-sex sexual activity is largely taboo in Palestinian society, though legal in the West Bank. Conversely, it is illegal in Gaza, where it carries a 10 year prison sentence.

Palestinian women are among the most educated in the region, but women's labour market participation rates are among the lowest in the world  fewer than 20% of women participate in the labour force.

Israel retained a strong civil society. There was, however, a steady increase in pressure against certain NGOs, particularly those critical of Israel's conduct in its occupation of the Palestinian Territories. This included critical rhetoric and restriction of their activities.

In 2017, Israel's Arab minority constituted about 20% of the population. Some 100,000 Arab Bedouin citizens live in unrecognised villages with limited access to government services and basic infrastructure. Many also face the threat of house demolitions.

In 2018, we will continue to work towards improving human rights by supporting renewed peace negotiations leading to a two-state solution with a safe and secure Israel existing alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. We will continue to raise concerns with the Israeli government on instances constituting a breach of international human rights and humanitarian law in the context of Israel's occupation of the OPTs, including demolitions, settlement construction, and the treatment of children in military detention. We will continue to oppose human rights abuses by the Palestinian Authority and by the Hamas administration in Gaza.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Syria

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Syria, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109a64.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

There was no improvement in the dire human rights situation in Syria. The continuing conflict gravely hindered efforts to protect human rights and there were numerous allegations of the most egregious human rights violations and abuses. The Syrian regime was by far the primary perpetrator of human rights violations, but Daesh and some armed groups also committed many human rights abuses.

There were also allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law. Many civilian areas, including some in areas supposedly subject to de-escalation agreements, were subjected to disproportionate and indiscriminate aerial bombing and artillery bombardment, mainly by pro-regime forces, resulting in heavy casualties. The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) found that pro-regime forces' intentional targeting of medical facilities amounted to war crimes. One in three schools have now been destroyed. Almost 30%[50] of girls are out of school. The lack of protection of civilians was a major factor in new displacement; between 113,000 and 442,000 people were newly displaced per month in 2017. According to a UN needs analysis, 97% of communities reported one or more protection issues, ranging from lack of civil documentation (reported in 83% of communities) and keeping children out of school in order to work (82%) through to sexual violence (27%) and kidnapping/abduction (24%).

NGOs and the UN also expressed concern about heavy civilian casualties during the campaign by the Global Coalition and Syrian Democratic Forces to liberate Raqqa from Daesh control. The Coalition takes seriously all reports of civilian casualties and investigates all claims. We have not seen any evidence that the RAF caused civilian casualties in Syria in 2017 but the UK and Coalition continue to take seriously and investigate all reports of civilian casualties.

The regime used sieges, and blocked humanitarian aid and medical evacuations to force opposition fighters to surrender. By the end of 2017, nearly 3 million people were living in besieged and hard-to-reach areas. This included almost 400,000 besieged by the regime in Eastern Ghouta, where the UN reported that almost 12% of children under five were suffering from acute malnutrition. The regime denied, or only approved with conditions, 73% of UN inter-agency aid convoy requests in 2017. The UK lobbied in support of UN Security Council resolution 2393 to ensure the continuance of cross-border humanitarian aid deliveries to almost 3 million people. The UK continued to disburse the 2.46 billion which we have pledged in humanitarian aid in response to the Syria crisis. We are at the forefront of the humanitarian response to the Syria crisis, providing life-saving support to millions of Syrians, supporting refugees to remain in countries in the region, and enabling their host communities to accommodate them. Since 2012, across Syria and the region, UK support has delivered over 27 million food rations, 12 million medical consultations, 10 million relief packages, and 10 million vaccines. We also co-hosted the Brussels conference in April to support Syria and the region.

The COI reported that local truces, which ended some sieges, led to the regime forcibly displacing thousands of civilians, and either detaining or conscripting others.

There were several reports of chemical weapons attacks by the regime and by Daesh. The Joint Investigative Mechanism of the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons concluded that an attack in Khan Sheikhoun in April, which killed around 80 people and injured hundreds, was carried out by the Syrian regime using sarin  the fourth chemical weapons attack it has ascribed to the regime. The EU added more regime-linked names to its sanctions listings in 2017 for their role in the use of chemical weapons. In February and April, the UK co-drafted and co-sponsored draft UN Security Council resolutions condemning the use of chemical weapons, but Russia (twice) and China (once) vetoed their adoption.

There were continued reports of widespread and systematic use of arbitrary detention, torture and execution of detainees, predominantly by the regime, which is estimated to have detained tens of thousands, but also by Daesh and some armed groups. NGOs reported that Kurdish forces have also arbitrarily detained and tortured people.

A number of organisations reported that sexual violence, especially against women and girls, but also against men and boys, was widespread, particularly by pro-regime forces during house searches, at checkpoints, and in detention facilities. Daesh and some armed groups also reportedly used sexual violence. The UK has allocated 29 million since 2013/14 to the UNFPA in Syria, including for projects to help reduce and mitigate gender-based violence. We have also provided over 9 million in direct support to gender-related projects in Syria. These projects will document and raise awareness of sexual violence, and provide support to its victims.

Much of the territory held by Daesh in Syria was retaken during this period. However, where it retained control, Daesh continued to detain people arbitrarily, carry out summary executions, impose severe corporal punishments against those perceived to transgress its rules, conscript civilians forcibly, and use civilians as human shields. Daesh also held captive enslaved Yazidis.

A UN protection needs analysis reports that 83% of assessed communities cited lack/loss of civil documentation as an issue. Respondents mentioned consequences of restrictions of movement, inability to register life events, housing/land/property-related transactions and access to humanitarian assistance as main consequences of not having official/government-issued civil documentation.

The UK continued to support accountability for human rights abuses and violations. We led action in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) on Syria, including the thrice-yearly resolutions on the human rights situation in Syria, and co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Third Committee resolution. The UK contributed 200,000 towards the start-up costs of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria since March 2011. This is in addition to our continuing funding for the collection of evidence.

In 2016/2017, the UK supported over 350,000 children (50% girls) to access formal education inside Syria and over 80,000 (50% girls) to access non-formal education. In addition, in 2017 we published the Education and Gender report which analysed the barriers which women, girls, men and boys face in accessing school and jobs in education. This has informed how we approach inclusion through our education programme, including under the joint CSSF/DFID/EU funded Syria Education Programme (2018-2021).

In 2018, the UK will continue to highlight the appalling human rights situation and to press for accountability through the UN Security Council and HRC, and to support organisations working on accountability and assisting victims. We will also continue to support UN mediation to negotiate a long-term political settlement to end the conflict.

[50] http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2017/dataexplorer/#economy=SYR
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Sudan

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Sudan, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109a8a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

There was little overall improvement in the human rights situation in Sudan during 2017. While the government demonstrated an increased willingness to engage with the international community on human rights issues, the state continued to restrict freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, and to carry out the arbitrary detention of political and human rights activists. Although the impact of conflict on civilians continued to diminish, government and government-affiliated forces continued to violate and abuse human rights with impunity in conflict-affected areas. Sudan's 2.7 million internally displaced persons remained particularly vulnerable to violations of their rights. 18%[49] of girls are not in primary school and around 42% of girls over 15 are illiterate.

The international community continued to focus on the humanitarian situation, with 4.8 million people in need of assistance. The implementation of government directives improved humanitarian access, and we continued to encourage the government to ensure full access for humanitarian actors, as well as for the UN/African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

Following a marked decrease in the seizure of newspapers by the security services in the first half of the year (confiscation of three print-runs), more than 30 print-runs were confiscated in the second half of 2017, the majority in December. Sudan continues to be ranked 174th out of 180 countries cited in the World Press Freedom Index. We worked with the international community to identify the implications of the draft media law on the plurality of media ownership and on Sudan's vibrant media scene, as well as on freedom of expression on the internet.

Arbitrary arrests and the summoning of political activists and journalists continued throughout the year, with multiple reports of torture and ill-treatment by the Sudanese authorities of these detainees. We continued to urge Sudan to implement its Universal Periodic Review and National Dialogue recommendations regarding reform of the National Security Act, to ensure that the national intelligence and security services conform to international human rights standards. We urged full accountability for all human rights violations.

While there is freedom to worship, broader restrictions on religious freedom in Sudan continued. Arbitrary rules on acceptable clothing and restrictions in Khartoum State on opening days for Christian schools remained a concern. The Archbishop of Canterbury's visit to Sudan in July was a focal point in efforts to encourage the government to ensure that citizens enjoyed the right to freedom of religion or belief.

We continued to work with the Government of Sudan to tackle forced labour and people trafficking. Throughout the year, there were a number of reports of sexual and gender-based violence by state and non-state actors on the borders and in conflict areas, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported the forced deportation of 66 Eritrean trafficking victims. We will continue to provide support to victims of trafficking, including through supporting safe houses and judicial procedures relating to trafficking cases.

The UK government engaged extensively on human rights with the Government of Sudan and with human rights activists throughout 2017. We continued to press for progress on a range of issues, including the peace process, freedom of association and expression, freedom of religion or belief, and gender equality. We expressed concern about the proposed new laws on freedom of the media and NGOs. Our staff attended several trials of human rights defenders, and we raised individual cases, in public and in private. We worked constructively with the Government of Sudan to make progress in a number of these cases.

Our project work promoted human rights in a number of respects, including on rule of law in conflict areas, promoting women's and marginalised groups' voices in the peace and other processes and parliamentary strengthening and capacity building for political parties. We worked with international partners to secure a mandate renewal for the Independent Expert on Sudan, Aristide Nononsi, at the UN Human Rights Council in September, and urged the Government of Sudan to address the recommendations in his report, as well as encouraging Sudan's future engagement with the UN system and international community on human rights issues. We are working with partners to strengthen the legal framework at national and state level for the prevention of female genital mutilation and cutting, although progress at the national level has been delayed.

In 2018, we will continue to push for systemic change to improve the human rights situation in Sudan. This will focus on freedom of expression and association and greater political inclusion, particularly the freedom for political parties to organise ahead of the elections scheduled for 2020. We will maintain pressure on the Government of Sudan to recognise the constitutional rights granted to all Sudanese citizens, to reform its intelligence and security service, to maintain progress on conflict resolution, and to improve humanitarian access. We will support Sudan in its accession to international human rights treaties, particularly the Convention against Torture.

[49] https://www.education-inequalities.org/countries/sudan#?dimension=sex&group=|Female&year=latest
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Somalia

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Somalia, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109aca.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in Somalia remained challenging in 2017, with continuing violations of the right to life including extrajudicial killing; gender-based violence; the exclusion of women and members of minorities from political, economic and social processes; and restrictions on journalists and media freedom. Overall, human rights protections and domestic mechanisms in the country remained extremely weak. The UN OHCHR documented violations and abuses, including arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and extrajudicial killing by a range of state and non-state actors. In 2017, severe drought caused the displacement of over 900,000 people, restricting many people's access to adequate food, housing and security, and exacerbating gender-based violence.

The UK played a major part in international efforts to strengthen security, stability and the rule of law, which are required to underpin stronger human rights protections. There remained a lack of accountability among the Somali National Army, national intelligence agencies and forces of the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM), perpetuating a culture of impunity. Much of our engagement with the AMISOM mission, so vital to Somalia's security and wider stability, concentrated on human rights protection, while our wider work in Somalia was considered carefully to avoid contributing to any human rights violations. In May, the London Somalia Conference set out a range of commitments by the Federal Government of Somalia and the international community in support of stability and security in the country. This included respect for and the protection of human rights. The UK continued to train Somali security forces in international human rights standards. In response to reports by UN bodies and following UK training, the Somali National Army took important steps to prevent the recruitment of children into Somalia's security forces. In December, the UN Secretary-General reported a sharp increase in the recruitment of children by the proscribed terrorist organisation, al-Shabaab. Al-Shabaab was responsible for the attack in Mogadishu on 14 October which killed at least 512 people  Africa's most deadly terror attack to date.

Somalia retains the use of the death penalty. We continued to call on the Federal Government of Somalia to introduce a moratorium on its use.

Despite tentative progress, Somalia was one of the worst places in the world to be a woman in 2017. Two decades of civil war have left a legacy of extreme levels of violence against women and girls. Prevailing social norms legitimise female genital mutilation and cutting, which is nearly universal, including in Somaliland. Women and minority groups continued to be excluded from economic, social and political networks  a problem exacerbated by the Somali clan system. Somalia has one of the world's highest proportions of primary-age children out of school, with 51%[44] of girls not in school. The female illiteracy rate is 76%. A tiny minority of teachers are women. DFID's girls' education challenge supports 53,000 marginalised girls through improved access to education, better quality teaching and life skills training.

Child, early and forced marriage continued to occur, but some evidence suggests that it may be declining. Up to 80% of those internally displaced by conflict and drought were women and children, exacerbating their vulnerability. Early action to respond to drought, led by the UK, helped to avert famine and saved many lives. While the parliamentary elections of 2016 had seen progress in the representation of women (an increase from 14% to 24%, albeit missing the ambitious 30% target), in Somaliland there is only one female parliamentarian and no women at all in the upper house. Throughout 2017, the UK worked with female parliamentarians, political leaders, civil society activists and Federal Government institutions to strengthen the voices of women and to promote awareness of gender equality in policy making and public decision making. The UK also led work with AMISOM, the Federal Government and Federal Member States to deliver tailored gender training in the security sector to improve protection for vulnerable women and girls. The political environment in much of Somalia remained restrictive, particularly for women and members of minority groups  acutely so in areas under al-Shabaab control.

In Somaliland, presidential elections held in November led to the peaceful transfer of power. UK-funded election monitors judged them to be largely free and fair. A UK-supported voter registration process encouraged broad participation. However, for most of 2017 journalists across Somalia  including in Somaliland  continued to face significant restrictions, arbitrary detention and, in some areas, the possibility of assassination. The use of criminal law and the intelligence agencies to prosecute journalists using broadly defined national security concerns further curtailed freedoms and encouraged self-censorship. Female journalists continued to experience additional social stigma, illustrating the intersections of the forms of severe discrimination which women and girls face in Somalia.

In 2018, the UK will support Somalia in implementing the vision set out in the New Partnership for Somalia and endorsed at the London Conference in May 2017. Supporting security forces to provide protection and security for citizens across Somalia, while developing the rule of law and effective accountability for perpetrators of violations and abuse, will remain a top priority. The UK will work with the newly formed Human Rights Commission, parliament and other Somali institutions to strengthen human rights awareness and compliance, not least with regard to strengthening the promotions of gender equality and media freedom.

[44] https://www.education-inequalities.org/countries/somalia#?dimension=sex&group=|Female&year=latest
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Russia

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Russia, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109b0a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in Russia deteriorated further in 2017, notably with regard to discrimination against and persecution of LGBT people, the right to freedom of religion or belief, and the right to freedom of expression.

The environment for LGBT people in the North Caucasus is extremely hostile. In April, reports emerged that up to 100 homosexual men had been detained and tortured by state authorities in Chechnya, and that at least three had been killed. The UK was one of the first countries to express concern. On 28 April, the then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, co-signed a letter to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urging an investigation into the reports. The Russian Human Rights Ombudswoman, Tatiana Moskalkova, agreed to investigate, but the process stalled amid further reports of persecution throughout 2017. The Minister for Europe and the Americas, Sir Alan Duncan, raised our concerns with Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov on 8 December, and the then Foreign Secretary pressed Foreign Minister Lavrov in Moscow on 22 December. UK officials continue to monitor the situation and to work closely with NGOs which are supporting victims.

In April, the Russian Supreme Court declared Jehovah's Witnesses to be an "extremist organisation", in effect criminalising the worship of 175,000 Russians. The organisation was formally banned on 17 August. The Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, condemned the decision, and called on the Russian government to uphold its international commitments to religious freedom. The British Embassy in Moscow attended court hearings.

Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly remained heavily restricted across Russia. On 26 March, hundreds of citizens, including journalists, were detained following peaceful protests. On 12 June, peaceful protesters were again arrested in large numbers. The then Foreign Secretary on 13 June called for their release.

The 'Foreign Agents' and 'Undesirable Organisations' laws continued to constrict space for civil society; in 2017, four foreign donors were designated 'Undesirable Organisations'. While the number of 'Foreign Agent' NGOs dropped in 2017, this is partly because many NGOs have either stopped accepting foreign funding or have changed their focus; 47 have ceased operations entirely. There are now around 500 human rights organisations in Russia, compared with 800 in 2014. On 25 November, President Putin extended the 'Foreign Agents' legislation to media outlets. Independent media continue to face threats, harassment and intimidation.

On 7 February, President Putin approved a bill decriminalising domestic violence. This made battery within families an administrative offence, equivalent to minor assault. Repeated offences or abuse resulting in "serious" medical harm are still considered as criminal. On 8 February, the then Minister for Human Rights, Baroness Anelay of St Johns, condemned the decision. The Prime Minister, Theresa May, called the decision a "retrograde step", adding that the move "sends out absolutely the wrong message on what is a global problem".

In addition to the human rights abuses within Russia, the Russian Government continues to sanction and commit human rights violations beyond its borders, including in the illegally annexed Crimea and by its support to separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Russian authorities operating in the peninsula continued to target ethnic minority groups, particularly Crimean Tatars, with many exiled or imprisoned, and with regular raids on homes and mosques. The authorities failed to implement the International Court of Justice's April provisional measures requiring Russia to refrain from discrimination against the Tatars. Those opposed to the illegal annexation also faced arrest and detention under fabricated charges of extremism. The release of Tatar leaders Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov in October was positive, but many Ukrainian political prisoners remained in detention, including some transferred outside Crimea to prisons in Russia. In December, we supported a resolution at the UN General Assembly calling again for Russia to uphold its obligations under international law in Crimea, and to allow access for international human rights monitors.

In eastern Ukraine, the UN estimated that by December the Russian-backed conflict had cost over 10,000 lives and had displaced internally almost one million people. Russia continued to violate its commitments under the 2015 Minsk Agreements by supplying weapons and personnel to separatist forces. Summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence and restrictions on freedom of speech were carried out with impunity by Russian-backed separatists. It remained extremely challenging for humanitarian organisations to gain access. There were widespread concerns that damage caused by the conflict to infrastructure could cause a major environmental disaster.

Increased Russian pressure in the breakaway regions of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, led to a deterioration in the human rights situation there, including intimidation of members of civil society organisations. Freedom of movement was curtailed further, with the closure of the Meore Otobaia and Nabakevi crossing points on the Abkhazia Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) in March. Access to land remains a challenge for farmers along the South Ossetia ABL. Education in the native language was further restricted in South Ossetia, while new identity document requirements in Abkhazia infringe civic rights. In June, we supported the Georgian UN Human Rights Council resolution requesting access for the UN OHCHR and the UN General Assembly resolution on internally displaced persons.

The UK will continue to support human rights in Russia in 2018. Together with our international partners, we will attend trials, speak out on human rights, support civil society and human rights defenders specifically, promote the importance of girls' education and press Russia to adhere to its international commitments.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Republic of Maldives

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Republic of Maldives, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109b2a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in Maldives continued to deteriorate throughout 2017, with the ongoing erosion of political and civic freedoms and an increase in the intimidation of human rights defenders and journalists.

There was an increase in violent threats and intimidation against human rights defenders and NGOs, in particular against those advocating for freedom of religion or belief. Human rights activist and blogger, Yameen Rasheed, was murdered in April, after receiving numerous online threats. The UK, EU and the UN OHCHR made statements condemning the murder and calling on the Government of Maldives to take action to defend the right of all people to express their views freely. In November, the police launched an investigation into another prominent human rights defender, Shahindha Ismail, after accusations that she was advocating for freedom of religion.

State authorities put independent media and civil society under sustained pressure. In the first actions taken under the 2016 Defamation and Freedom of Speech Act, an independent television station, Raajje TV, was repeatedly fined for allegedly defaming the president by broadcasting live coverage of speeches made at opposition rallies. Among other cases, the police summoned several Maldivian bloggers resident overseas and threatened them with trials in absentia if they failed to return to Maldives.

There was further evidence of a lack of judicial independence with cases brought against the opposition. In March, a vote of no-confidence in the Speaker of the Majlis was marked by irregularities and manipulation of due process. In July, the authorities shut down the Majlis and removed several opposition MPs attempting to vote on a further impeachment motion against the Speaker. The authorities subsequently stripped twelve parliamentarians of their seats. By-elections for those seats have yet to be held, in contravention of the constitution. The opposition subsequently boycotted the Majlis, but major pieces of legislation were nevertheless passed by the Majlis.

The police arrested leading opposition parliamentarians Gasim Ibrahim and Faris Maumoon on numerous charges, in April and July respectively. In August, a court sentenced Gasim Ibrahim to three years' imprisonment for bribery, despite procedural irregularities, while Faris Maumoon remained in prison on remand, awaiting trial. Other opposition parliamentarians also faced harassment, arrest and detention. The police raided opposition party offices. In May, the Supreme Court gave itself the authority to restrict parliament's powers to dismiss ministers, judges and other members of independent institutions, with all votes of no-confidence and impeachment proceedings subject to Supreme Court review.

Concerns over the politicisation of independent public bodies continued. In September, the Department of Judicial Administration suspended 56 lawyers for signing a letter to the Supreme Court calling for judicial reform. Some of the suspensions were subsequently lifted. In November, President Abdulla Yameen sacked the chair of the National Integrity Commission (NIC), which oversees law enforcement bodies, after he threatened to take action against the police for obstructing the NIC's investigations. In December, the Government of Maldives banned locally elected representatives from meeting representatives of international organisations and diplomats without central government permission.

In a positive development, significant efforts by the Government of Maldives to tackle modern slavery led the US State Department to remove Maldives from its Trafficking in Persons watch list. Traffickers were convicted under the Maldives' anti-trafficking law for the first time since Maldivian ratification (in September 2016) of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children.

The Government of Maldives has continued to state its intention to reintroduce the death penalty after a moratorium of more than 60 years, and it was reported that work on an execution facility has been completed. The then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, wrote to President Yameen in August to raise concerns and to encourage a continued moratorium. The UK opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle, and will continue to urge the Maldivian government to reverse its decision to reintroduce the death penalty.

The UK continued to fund civil society projects focusing on gender equality, human rights, and building civil society's election monitoring capacity. In February, the then Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Alok Sharma, met Maldivian Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, and reiterated the UK's concerns over a range of governance and human rights concerns in Maldives. In March, the UK expressed concern and called for transparent parliamentary procedures following the vote of no-confidence in the Speaker of the Majlis.

The Government of Maldives has announced a 'no child left behind' policy, and that the country is the first nation in the region to provide 12 years of compulsory education and 14 years of free schooling for all students. In 2017 the UNFPA's Thematic Analysis on Youth in the Maldives noted that there is gender parity in enrolment and completion of primary and secondary education. At tertiary level fewer than one percent of women who achieved an educational certificate go on to attain a bachelor's degree or above, and only 32% of women are in formal employment, compared with 68% of men.

In June, 35 countries signed a UK-sponsored Joint Statement on Maldives [41]at the UN HRC. The Statement drew attention to the increasing curtailment of freedom of expression and the growing intimidation and violence towards human rights defenders, including by those promoting violent extremism. It also stressed the importance of allowing legitimate political opposition and ensuring judicial independence. In October, the European Parliament adopted a resolution which criticised violations of human rights and actions contrary to democracy and the rule of law in Maldives.

In 2018, the UK government will continue to support human rights defenders, and will work with our international partners to press the Government of Maldives to restore democratic freedoms including free and fair presidential elections scheduled for 2018. The UK will continue through public and private messaging to make clear to the Government of Maldives our concerns over the erosion of democracy and human rights.

[41] UNHRC Joint Statement, 35 Session: Item 2 on June 7th 2017: To ensure independence of the Judiciary.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - People's Republic of Bangladesh

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - People's Republic of Bangladesh, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109b4a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in Bangladesh saw no substantive improvement in 2017. Credible reports of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and torture by government agencies continued, as did government pressure on opposition parties, civil society and the media.

No progress was made towards the abolition of the death penalty. More positively, there was no recurrence of large-scale terror attacks, while a successful visit by Pope Francis highlighted the country's religious diversity.

The UK Government praised the Bangladeshi government and people for having accepted and assisted over 688,000 Rohingya refugees who fled from Burma from August 2017 onwards. The UK also welcomed repeated government assurances that any returns of Rohingya refugees would be voluntary, safe, well-informed and dignified. The UK took an international lead in supporting the refugees and in mobilising international attention to the situation in Rakhine State.

Media and reports from civil society indicate an increase in the number of enforced disappearances, probably involving security forces. Human Rights Watch reported over 80 cases of secret detentions and enforced disappearances in 2017 with at least 17 people still missing. Many incidents from previous years also remain unresolved.

Law enforcement agencies are alleged to have carried out extrajudicial killings, which they sought to explain away as "cross-fire" deaths. Odikhar, a local human rights organisation, reported 154 such incidents in 2017. There has been no significant reduction in the incidence of torture and ill-treatment in custody. We repeatedly raised concerns about these issues with the Government of Bangladesh.

There has been no progress towards the abolition of the death penalty. 253 death sentences were reportedly issued in 2017, and six were carried out. We repeated our position that we oppose the death penalty in all circumstances, and have called for a moratorium on its use in Bangladesh.

Opposition political parties continued to raise allegations of politically motivated court cases against their members, including senior leaders, and of the government restricting their ability to campaign publicly. The resignation under pressure of the Chief Justice, Surendra Kumar Sinha, in November following a Supreme Court ruling against the government in a constitutional case, raised questions about the independence of the judiciary. There was no significant progress in eradicating corruption from the justice system. We supported programmes to improve access to justice, including for women and girls.

Bangladesh ranked 146th out of 180 countries cited in the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, a drop of two places compared with 2016. According to figures from Ain o Salish Kendra, a local human rights organisation, 54 journalists were charged in 2017 under Section 57 of the Information and Communication Telecommunications Act 2006, which criminalises the posting online of inflammatory or derogatory information against the state or individuals. The government is proposing legislation to replace Section 57, but human rights organisations have expressed serious concerns about the most recent draft. We are funding work to support journalists, including advising them on their rights and safety.

Pope Francis' visit in December highlighted Bangladesh's religious diversity. There was no repetition of the terrorist attacks of 2015-16 against religious minorities, atheist bloggers or LGBT rights activists. However, local level discrimination and occasional violence against Hindu, Buddhist and Ahmadiyya communities continued.

Homosexuality remained illegal in Bangladesh, and there was little public discussion of LGBT people's right not to suffer discrimination. LGBT people generally kept a low profile, for their own safety.

Bangladesh took steps to address problems relating to modern slavery, but progress was slow. Our work in this area focuses primarily on combating child labour, irregular migration and human trafficking and child marriage.

We worked with international partners to help improve labour rights in the ready-made garment sector, and to ease freedom of association for workers in line with ILO conventions. Bangladesh has endorsed the Prime Minister's Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking and we will continue to work together to eradicate Modern Slavery in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has continued the progress which saw it become the top-ranked country for gender equality in South Asia in the 2017 Global Gender Gap Index. DFID-funded programmes assisted this by supporting the health, education and economic empowerment of women and girls and their access to security and justice services. Bangladesh has achieved gender parity for educational access in both primary and secondary education but factors like early marriage mean that girls have a greater drop-out rate at secondary education. Only 52% of girls complete their education and female illiteracy rates remain high at 41%.[27]

Despite improvements, child marriage remained widespread. The country still has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world with over half of women currently between the age of 20-24 having married before their 18th birthday; and almost one in five having married before their 15th birthday. The Child Marriage Restraint Act 2017 included welcome provisions on strengthening prevention and on prosecution of offenders. However, it also included a controversial clause allowing marriage under 18 under special circumstances  with parental consent and court permission. With other partners, we are helping the government to develop a set of rules to help implement the law to minimise the use of the special provision and prevent abuse.

Bangladesh also saw high levels of violence against women and girls. Over 80% of married Bangladeshi women report suffering abuse  physical, sexual, emotional or financial  from an intimate partner at least once during their marriage. Conditions in the Rohingya refugee camps raised particular risks of violence against women, many of whom had already suffered appalling violence in Rakhine State. Working with UN and other agencies, the UK ensured that the humanitarian response included help and support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.

In 2018, we will continue to engage closely with Bangladesh on the Rohingya issue; support progress towards gender equality, including on girls' education where a focus will be to promote equity in access, retention and learning outcomes for the most marginalised girls; combat modern slavery; press the authorities on enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions; support freedom of expression and other democratic freedoms and stress the long-term importance to Bangladesh's development of free, fair, inclusive and peaceful elections.

[26] http://www.nihr.org.bh/EN/Administrator/MediaHandler/GenericHandler/documents/Statements/27Dec2017.pdf

[27] http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=edulit_ds
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Pakistan

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Pakistan, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109b6a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The main human rights issues in Pakistan in 2017 were restrictions on freedom of expression, intolerance towards and discrimination against religious and other minorities, violations of the rights of women and children, the prevalence of modern slavery, and the use of the death penalty. Pakistan strengthened laws aimed at protecting the rights of members of religious minorities, female voters and vulnerable children, and at the provincial level took steps to tackle child labour. These were positive developments, but it is vital that Pakistan moves to ensure full and effective implementation of such laws and policies.

Freedom of expression and the ability of civil society to operate came under increased pressure in 2017. In January, five bloggers went missing after criticising state institutions and religious groups. Reports of further abductions and of the intimidation of journalists, activists and political party workers followed. In May, the government introduced new restrictions on online freedoms and the media's ability to operate. In December, a number of international NGOs had their applications to renew their registrations denied without explanation, and were told to cease operations by the Government of Pakistan.

Discrimination and violence against members of religious minorities increased, especially against Ahmadiyya and Christians, but also against Hindus, Sikhs and Shia Muslims. Misuse and abuse of the blasphemy laws were frequent. For example, in April a student was murdered following an accusation of committing blasphemy. The Supreme Court later found the claim to be false. The National Assembly called for reform of the blasphemy laws, but the legislation was not changed. In June, a Shia Muslim was sentenced to death after allegedly making blasphemous remarks on social media, the first time that the death penalty has been imposed for blasphemy on the internet. In October, hate speech in the National Assembly against Ahmadiyya was condemned by political leaders, but restrictions on their ability to vote and worship remained. There were recurrent reports of forced conversions and forced marriages of Hindu and Christian women. On the other hand, parliament in February passed the Hindu Marriage Act, strengthening the rights of members of Pakistan's second largest minority and particularly of Hindu women.

There was an increased number of major terrorist attacks against civilians and faith targets in Pakistan. Although the majority of terrorist attacks targeted the security forces, other notable incidents included attacks against Sufi shrines in Sindh and Balochistan, Shia areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and a Methodist church in Balochistan. The downward trajectory of terrorist attacks since 2014 continued, with a total of a little under 400 terrorist incidents leading to around 1,000 deaths in 2017.

Discrimination and violence against women and girls remained widespread. Pakistan ranked 143rd out of 144 countries cited in the World Economic Forum 2017 Gender Gap Index, with 33% of women over 15 having experienced physical violence, female literacy at just 49% and low levels of women's political representation. Education is enshrined as a right in the Constitution of Pakistan but girls make up just 38% of children in government-run schools and 40% of those enrolled at private schools. Despite stronger laws to protect women from violence, including from 'honour killings', enforcement remained weak. In October, the Elections Act 2017 was passed, which will support greater participation of women in general elections due to take place in 2018.

Modern slavery, including bonded and child labour, continued to be a major problem. The Global Slavery Index estimated that Pakistan has the third highest number of modern slaves in the world. A high profile case illustrated the problem: the media reported that a ten-year old domestic servant was regularly beaten by her employer, the wife of a judge. The UK welcomed legislative and policy reforms undertaken by the Government of Punjab with support from UNICEF and DFID to combat child labour, including child labour surveys to generate evidence of exploitation, better access to child protection services, improved case management systems, and greater birth registration to support minimum age employment laws.

Pakistan retained the death penalty for 27 separate offences. Fewer executions took place in 2017 than in the previous two years: the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan estimates that 44 prisoners were executed, compared with 87 in 2016 and 333 in 2015. However, particular concerns remained over prisoners with mental and physical illnesses on death row. In March, parliament approved the continued use of military courts to try terrorism suspects. These courts lack transparency and are not subject to independent scrutiny, making it difficult to assess their compliance with international obligations. There were ongoing reports of the detention of prisoners without trial and of extrajudicial killings by the security forces.

LGBT people continued to face violence and discrimination. In a positive move, a new category of 'third gender' was introduced for transgender persons applying for ID cards.

Education is enshrined as a right in the Constitution of Pakistan but only 51% girls are enrolled in school according to the Government of Pakistan. Girls' enrolment has increased from 36% to 39% from 2014 to 2016 and the number of girls out of school has fallen by more than 1.6 million since 2012. The Government of Pakistan has committed to spending 4% of GDP on education by 2020. It currently spends about 3%.

Since 2011, over 15 million children in primary and secondary school  including 6.9 million girls  have benefited from DFID support to education reforms. The UK government is investing in better-trained teachers, improved textbooks, better data and assessment, and improved infrastructure with an increasing focus on the most marginalised communities. DFID's education programme in Pakistan exceeded 175 million in 2017/18. Through DFID, the UK helped nearly 1 million Pakistani children attend school including specific programmes to enable more girls to receive a quality education.

The Government of Pakistan continued to support human rights institutions, including the National Commissions for Human Rights and for the Status of Women, which contributed positively to monitoring the human rights situation in Pakistan. In September, parliament passed legislation establishing a National Commission on the Rights of the Child.

The UK continued to urge the Government of Pakistan to improve the human rights situation for all its citizens. British ministers raised concerns about human rights, including the rights of women and of people belonging to minorities, modern slavery and the death penalty, during visits to Pakistan in 2017. At the UN Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan in November, we pressed Pakistan to take action on the protection of people belonging to minorities, human trafficking and the death penalty. We supported projects to promote tolerance and religious freedom, and to improve capacity in provincial human rights ministries. Through DFID, the UK helped nearly one million Pakistani children attend school, including through specific programmes to enable more girls to receive a quality education.

In 2018, we will support projects to improve citizens' awareness of their constitutional rights and to promote acceptance and tolerance of cultural diversity. Our Conflict, Stability and Security Fund will continue to help to strengthen democracy and human rights institutions, and to improve the capacity of the justice system to be more accountable to citizens. We welcome the continuing efforts by the government, including by the Attorney General, to monitor implementation of international treaty commitments. We will continue to encourage Pakistan to take the necessary steps towards meeting in full its international obligations on human and labour rights, in line with the EU review of Pakistan's performance against 27 UN and ILO conventions within the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus framework.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Libya

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Libya, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109b8a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

There were widespread violations and abuses of human rights in 2017 in Libya. This was a consequence of political divisions and the absence of functioning state institutions, which gave rise to a culture of impunity. The proliferation of unaccountable armed groups exacerbated the situation. This bleak picture was compounded by the ongoing humanitarian crisis, with over 400,000 people internally displaced and with serious disruptions in the provision of public services. A critical human rights issue was the abuse of migrants in detention, including credible reports of people being sold into slavery.

At the UN Human Rights Council in March, the UK co-sponsored a resolution on increasing accountability for human rights violations and abuses in Libya. The resolution called on the UN OHCHR to conduct investigations, and for relevant special procedures mandate holders to visit.

As highlighted in October by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, [38] Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, armed groups continued to murder civilians and combatants or to hold them hostage. They arbitrarily detained thousands of people, and often subjected them to torture and other mistreatment. One of the worst incidents was the killing of over 100 soldiers after an extremist group attacked Brak al-Shati airbase on 18 May. There were also multiple reports of summary executions around Benghazi. In August, ambassadors to Libya of the UN Security Council P5 (UK, US, France, Russia and China) welcomed[39] the International Criminal Court's issue of a warrant for the arrest of Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, a commander in the Libyan National Army, for suspected war crimes. In November, an armed group kidnapped and murdered Mohamed Eshtewi, the Mayor of Misrata.

Thousands of migrants continued to enter Libya with ease, facilitated by traffickers who were members of Libyan militias or colluding with them. Following reports of migrants being forced into slavery, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt, raised our concerns with the Libyan Deputy Prime Minister, Ahmed Omar Maiteeq, on 1 December. The Libyan government has undertaken to conduct an investigation into this issue. The matter was raised in Parliament in a debate on 18 December in Westminster Hall, in which Alistair Burt set out the UK position. The British Ambassador to Libya has further underlined our concerns about these reports in discussions with the Libyan government. We will continue to monitor the situation closely. The UK is funding projects, bilaterally and via the EU, to provide critical humanitarian assistance and protection, facilitate voluntary returns, protect female migrants from abuse, and address the root causes of migration.

The UK provided humanitarian support to people displaced by the conflict, including supplies and technical support to medical centres, and support to migrants held in detention. We continued to encourage the Government of National Accord to prioritise respect for universal human rights and do more to protect the most vulnerable such as migrants and members of minority groups. During his visit to Libya in August, the then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, emphasised the importance of offering humanitarian support to migrants.

Libya's long-term stability will be closely linked to the extent to which women are able to participate in public life and are both included in and represented by their government. Women and LGBT people continued to face discrimination. The Libyan authorities, and many traditional elements in Libyan society, view women's rights as a secondary priority. Although quotas for women have helped ensure a growing role for women in the political process, the increasing numbers have not translated proportionately into influence, in part because of cultural obstacles. Violence against women is underreported, but several high-profile incidents of rape provoked strong public reactions. Libya continues to be a focus country in the UK's National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. The UK government is funding a 2.75 million programme to support women's participation in peace-making and rebuilding Libya through capacity-building training for over 20 Libyan civil society organisations. The UK is working with the Ministry of Education on areas such as national curriculum reform and teacher training.

Insecurity and the predominance of illiberal currents had a chilling effect on freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion or belief. For example, Salafist and Jihadist armed groups destroyed Sufi shrines across the country. Libya's national minorities continued to suffer persecution and political exclusion on religious and ethnic grounds. Human rights defenders, journalists and civil society organisations also regularly faced intimidation and violence from armed groups as well as unlawful detention.

The UK sought to raise international awareness of unlawful restrictions of the Libyan people's fundamental freedoms, including in our joint Human Rights Day Statement[40] on 10 December with other embassies to Libya. Through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund, we funded programmes in Libya to support peace mediation and local level stability, women's rights, civil society and freedom of speech.

In 2018, the UK will continue to support UN-led efforts towards a sustainable political settlement under the framework of the Libyan Political Agreement, and to advocate for an improvement in the human rights situation in Libya. A stable, unified, inclusive government is the best way to improve the security conditions, the economic fortunes and human rights situation for millions of Libyans. It will also improve our ability to bring an end to the impunity of armed groups and ungoverned spaces which are inextricably linked to the gravely concerning human rights situation, including people trafficking as part of modern slavery.

[38] https://unsmil.unmissions.org/statement-un-high-commissioner-human-rights-zeid-ra'ad-al-hussein-end-visit-libya

[39] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-on-the-recent-violence-around-brak-al-shatti-airbase

[40] https://www.facebook.com/ukinlibya/posts/1719470281459914
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Iraq

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Iraq, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109ba6.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The principal human rights concerns in Iraq in 2017 were Daesh atrocities, the use of the death penalty, violations of the right to freedom of expression and of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and gender-based violence. Daesh was defeated territorially, but the Iraqi government must now stabilise liberated areas to the benefit of all Iraqis, ensuring that previous perceptions of inequality do not persist, and that violence does not resurface.

In 2017, the NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International continued to report allegations of Daesh atrocities, including abductions, sexual violence, torture, the use of human shields, and executions, particularly in Mosul. As more areas were liberated from Daesh, an increasing number of mass graves were discovered. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also reported allegations of sectarian atrocities and human rights abuses and violations committed by elements of the Iraqi Security Forces, Popular Mobilisation Forces, Federal Police, and Kurdish Peshmerga. Those allegations included torture, forced disappearances, and the destruction of houses and of civilian property. The UK lobbied the Iraqi government to prioritise civilian protection, uphold the rule of law, and ensure that all forces acted in accordance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law. We welcomed the Iraqi government's commitment to conduct full and transparent investigations into all alleged abuses and violations, and called on them to make the results public.

Although official figures on use of the death penalty are not made public, Amnesty International reported that Iraq executed 21 people in January, 42 in September and 38 in December. Those executions were for terrorism offences or for alleged roles in mass killings. The number of people on death row was not clear, and the information was not released by the government. We continued to condemn and lobby against the death penalty, urging greater transparency and due process in line with international standards.

Violations of the right to freedom of expression remained a concern, particularly in the Kurdistan Region. We received reports of detained journalists and temporary closures of think-tanks and NGOs, with those perceived as critical of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) banned from covering government and official events. These reports worsened at the time of the Kurdistan Region's 25 September referendum on independence. The authorities prohibited broadcaster Nalia Radio and Television from reporting on several official events, and a lawsuit was filed against its owner for initiating a campaign against the timing of the referendum. In December, protests erupted in the Sulaimaniya and Halabja provinces of the Kurdistan Region, during which 46 cases of assaults and death threats against journalists and media outlet closures were recorded. The UK lobbied bilaterally and jointly with the rest of the international community to raise concerns over violations of freedom of expression, including delivering a demarche to the KRG.

Ensuring and protecting women's rights remained central to our work in 2017. In the Kurdistan Region, the KRG undertook several awareness campaigns, including on child marriage. However, the KRG's Directorate for Combating Violence against Women reported that gender-based violence in the Kurdistan Region remained high, in particular honour killings, burns and early marriages. The UK will continue to urge the Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Governments to implement the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security effectively. We will also press for an increased and meaningful role for women in reconciliation processes and elections. The Iraqi National Education Strategy 2011-2020 recognises the importance of tackling gender disparity in education. The British Council, alongside the EU, is delivering a primary and secondary education programme in Iraq, reaching over 26,000 schools across all provinces. This project delivers national campaigns which encourage girls in rural areas to enrol in education, with a further focus on retention. The UK will continue to support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to enable more girls to receive a quality education.

Freedom of religion or belief is protected in the Iraqi Constitution and the Government of Iraq has made commitments to protect the rights of all Iraqis. Throughout 2017, we discussed the challenges to freedom of religion or belief with religious leaders in Iraq and in the UK. We continued to encourage them to speak out to condemn sectarian violence. We worked to build consensus around the importance of freedom of religion or belief in Iraq, and of its promotion and protection. For example, we continued to fund a project to promote legal and social protection for freedom of religion or belief in secondary schools, with the aim of strengthening the capacity of educators to create a culture of respect for this right among young people. In November, the Prime Minister, Theresa May, and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, agreed on the important role which all Iraq's communities, including minorities, should play in the country's future.

In 2018, the UK will strive to ensure that Daesh is held accountable for its appalling human rights abuses. We are working with the Iraqi government and the UN to establish an Investigative Team, as mandated by UNSCR 2379, to gather and record evidence of Daesh's crimes. We will also express our concern about the use of the death penalty and advocate increased transparency around trials; and we will share our position with Iraqi ministers on the need for progress with regard to freedom of expression, gender-based violence, and freedom of religion or belief.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Iran

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Iran, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109bca.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The Iranian state continued to violate human rights during 2017. The UK government's main concerns continued to be over frequent use of the death penalty, the right of women to fully participate in society, detentions of dual-nationals (covered in more detail in the consular section of this report) and violations of the right to freedom of expression and of the right to freedom of religion or belief. However, there were also some positive developments. The presidential election in May passed without major incident (although all women who registered as candidates were disqualified by the Guardian Council), and, towards the end of the year, a new anti-narcotics law was passed, which could have a major impact in reducing the frequency of application and use of the death penalty in relation to drug offences.

Not all executions in Iran are made public, so it is difficult to provide an exact figure for them, but NGOs' estimates suggest that there were between 450 and 500 executions in Iran in 2017. This is slightly lower than the figure for 2016, but still means that Iran ranks as one of the most prolific users of the death penalty in the world. This figure includes 24 public executions, a practice which usually involves death by hanging in a public square, and three executions of juvenile offenders, who were under 18 at the time of their arrests. Execution of juvenile offenders violates both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which Iran has ratified.

It was estimated that at least 180 of the executions in 2017 were for drug-related crimes. In October 2017, the Iranian parliament ratified a new anti-narcotics law which does not provide for the use of capital punishment for the majority of drugs offences. This law could potentially reduce the number of people sentenced to death in Iran. It will apply retrospectively, which means it could affect as many as 5,000 prisoners on death row. The death penalty will still apply to the production and distribution of over 50kg of opium, 2kg of heroin and 3kg of methamphetamine, as well as for armed smugglers, ringleaders and financiers.

This positive news was tempered by the Iranian authorities' response to the protests in Iran at the end of 2017, and in particular by reports of deaths in custody, including from torture, of those detained for participating. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, issued a statement in January 2018 stressing that peaceful protests must not be criminalised and highlighted reports that more than 20 people, including an eleven-year-old boy, had died and hundreds had been arrested during the protests.

There were also wider issues with freedom of expression in Iran. The Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, the late Asma Jahangir, reported that, as of June, there were at least twelve journalists as well as fourteen bloggers and social media activists in detention. Dissent was not widely tolerated and the government exerted some form of control over the majority of newspapers, TV and radio stations. Restrictions were also in place on the use of the internet. During the protests, and just before the Presidential elections in April, the authorities clamped down on the use of social media and, in some places, restricted all access to the internet.

The Iranian authorities continued to violate the right to freedom of religion or belief and discriminate against ethnic minorities. Many members of religious minorities faced restrictions and discrimination for peacefully manifesting their beliefs. Members of the Baha'i faith were once again subject to persecution. In the spring, following the murder of Farhang Amiri, his murderers received reduced sentences because their victim was a Baha'i. The authorities continued to pursue economic persecution of Baha'is, for example through shop closures, and by the denial of mainstream education to followers of the Baha'i faith.

In many areas across Iran women do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as men and continue to face discrimination. This ranges from mandatory wearing of the hijab, unequal rights in marriage, divorce and child custody to being unable to attend sporting events. At the end of 2017 there were protests against compulsory wearing of the hijab resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of several women.

Despite constitutional recognition, Christians were also increasingly harassed in Iran. In June, recent converts to Christianity, Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, Mohammad Reza Omidi, Mohammad Ali Mosayebzadeh, and Zaman Fadaii, were sentenced to ten years in prison. The charges against them included hosting house churches, unlawful gathering, propaganda against the regime, and violating national security by promoting Christianity. There were also several reports of Catholic property being confiscated during 2017, in particular buildings belonging to the Latin Catholic Church.

Primary school enrolment rates in Iran exceed 99% for both boys and girls. However, around 20% of adult women are illiterate, compared with around 10% of men[37].

In 2018, we will continue to hold Iran to account for its human rights record. We will support human rights resolutions on Iran at the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council, as we did in 2017 as co-sponsors, and will continue to support the position of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran. We will also work with EU partners on the EU/Iran human rights dialogue and aim to establish our own regular bilateral dialogue with Iran on human rights issues.

[37] http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2017/dataexplorer/#economy=IRN
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109c33.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

2017 saw limited progress in the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. There were particular concerns around inter-communal tensions and the slow delivery of key human rights and reconciliation commitments, including delays in introducing new human rights compliant counter-terrorism legislation and in the Office of Missing Persons becoming operational.

There were a number of allegations that the security forces continued to resort to torture, including in reports published by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, and by the HRC Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Fionnuala Ni Aolain. Work continued on a draft Counter Terrorism Act, intended to replace the much criticised Prevention of Terrorism Act, but the government failed to advance the new legislation through parliament.

Civil society and journalists continued to report concerns about surveillance and harassment in the north and east of the country, albeit at a lower level than in previous years. Military involvement in civilian life in the north reduced, and the military released approximately 550 acres of private land.

Communal tensions increased, with incidents of violence and intimidation against Muslims and Evangelical Christians. The Government of Sri Lanka established inter-religious committees to address the issue, and committed to hold to account those responsible for inciting violence.

The International Organization for Migration assessed that human trafficking remained common within the large numbers of Sri Lankans migrating for employment, with men, women and children being trafficked for labour and commercial sexual exploitation. The Government of Sri Lanka established new anti-trafficking units in order to help address the issue and endorsed the Call to Action to end Modern Slavery which was announced by the Prime Minister, Theresa May, at the UN General Assembly in September.

In January, the Cabinet rejected a move, spearheaded by civil society, to decriminalise homosexuality following opposition by some members of the government and by some conservative religious groups. Although there have been no recent prosecutions for homosexual acts, members of the LGBT community face harassment and discrimination in society. Supported by UK funding, the 13th Colombo Pride Week was held successfully in June.

There was progress on legislative reforms and improving institutional and policy frameworks designed to prevent discrimination against women. This included the finalisation of the National Human Rights Action Plan (2017-21) and the introduction of a quota for female candidates in local elections. There are continued concerns around issues affecting gender equality, including discriminatory laws and policies, access to justice, marginalisation of war-affected women, and violence against women. Civil society continued to call for the reform of the Muslim Marriages and Divorce Act, which does not stipulate a minimum age of marriage for women of the Muslim community. 3.6% of Sri Lanka girls are not in primary school compared to 1.8% of boys[48].

In January, the then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, met former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. They discussed constitutional reform, HRC resolution 30/1, the repeal and replacement of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and accountability and reconciliation issues. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, visited Sri Lanka in October. He emphasised the UK's support for reconciliation and accountability, and urged greater progress towards delivering the commitments made to the HRC.

In March, the OHCHR published its assessment of Sri Lanka's progress in the implementation of HRC resolution 30/1. While acknowledging positive steps taken, the report described progress towards establishing transitional justice mechanisms as "worryingly slow" and noted reluctance by the government to address difficult issues. The UK welcomed the Government of Sri Lanka's co-sponsorship of a new HRC resolution 34/1, rolling resolution 30/1 commitments over for another two years. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-recurrence, Pablo de Greiff, visited Sri Lanka in October. His report concluded that the Government of Sri Lanka was making slower progress than hoped on transitional justice issues, and questioned its commitment to a comprehensive transitional justice programme.

Sri Lanka had its Universal Periodic Review at the HRC in November. The UK recommended that Sri Lanka should design and implement strategies to tackle sexual violence; mandate companies to ensure supply chain transparency as part of efforts to combat human trafficking; and take steps to implement the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), following its ratification earlier in November. The Government of Sri Lanka made a voluntary commitment to designate the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka as the national preventive and monitoring mechanism to fulfil OPCAT obligations.

The UK is providing 6.6 million from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (2016-19) for projects in Sri Lanka, including support for police reform, demining, inter-faith dialogue and mediation, and support for the UN's Peacebuilding Priority Plan.

In 2018, the UK will continue to encourage progress on human rights issues, including modern slavery, gender inequality including girls' education, and reform of discriminatory laws. The UK will also continue to press for the release of private land occupied by the military or the payment of suitable compensation to landowners.

[48] http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2017/dataexplorer/#economy=LKA
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109c4a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in DRC continued to deteriorate in 2017. The UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) recorded 6,495 abuses and violations in 2017, a 25% increase from 2016, which had itself seen a substantial increase from 2015. With President Kabila delaying elections until December 2018, there were a large number of reported human rights violations related to arbitrary arrests and imprisonments, extrajudicial executions by state agents, and attacks on freedom of speech and expression. State officials were identified as the main perpetrators, committing nearly two thirds of all human rights violations and abuses. The deterioration of the human rights situation in DRC has resulted from the increasingly unstable political crisis and violence in the Kasai provinces and eastern DRC.

The UK's work in DRC focused on protecting the political space, peacebuilding and preventing sexual and gender-based violence. Instances of human rights violations relating to the restriction of democratic space, including freedom of assembly and expression, significantly increased in 2017, with a reported 1,375 violations. Nearly half of these occurred from October to December, correlating with an increase in political protests in the latter part of the year. There were a number of restrictions on freedom of expression, including the violent suppression of protests and political rallies, and service providers being ordered to shut down internet services. There were also a significant number of arbitrary arrests and imprisonments. The UK Government lobbied the DRC government to open up the political space, including by releasing political prisoners and by respecting the right to peaceful assembly, and publicly condemned government forces' use of excessive violence.

2017 saw the emergence of a significant crisis in the three Kasai provinces with reports of disappearances, mass killings and torture. The UN found nearly 90 mass graves in the Kasais. The majority of the violations and abuses were carried out by government forces (FARDC) and pro-government groups. The UNJHRO reported that soldiers of the FARDC killed over 750 people. Local militia, including followers of the Kamwina Nsapu movement, also committed a number of human rights abuses. In February, footage emerged which seemed to show government forces shooting unarmed civilians. In March, two members of the UN Group of Experts investigating the situation in the Kasais were abducted and subsequently murdered: it is unclear who was responsible. The UK supported a resolution at the June session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) calling for the creation of an international investigation into the allegations of human rights violations and abuses in the Kasai region. The appointed investigative team will provide an oral update at the HRC's session in March 2018, followed by a comprehensive report to the HRC's June 2018 session.

UNJHRO documented an increase of adult victims of conflict-related sexual violence in 2017, with at least 533 victims. The vast majority were victims of sexual violence perpetrated by combatants of armed groups and by armed militiamen. In 2017, the UK continued to support a more effective legal response to sexual violence in conflict in DRC. One significant success was the conviction in the Kavumu trial in December, when a group of militiamen received life sentences for sexual abuses against over 40 children in South Kivu. The UK is also working with international partners to complete a joint evaluation of the impact of sexual violence programming in DRC. This is designed to inform more effective interventions by both the DRC government and the international community in the future.

In 2017, armed groups in eastern DRC were responsible for human rights abuses such as mass killings, sexual violence and torture. The UK focused on long-term stability and peacebuilding in eastern DRC through our contributions to MONUSCO (UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DRC), the work of DFID, and programmes supported by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Through the CSSF, we supported respected Non-governmental Organisations Avocats Sans Frontieres and Search for Common Ground to educate human rights defenders and promote conflict resolution. In May, the UK supported EU sanctions against nine individuals responsible for human rights violations and abuses and for obstructing the political process.

The female illiteracy rate in DRC is 29%[35]. DFID funded programmes on girls' education to improve access and quality of education for more than one million children, including reducing school-based violence.

In 2018, the UK will continue to focus on protecting the political space during the electoral period. We will monitor events closely and will raise any concerns over arrests, detentions and disappearances of opposition and civil society figures with the DRC government. The UK will also continue its work on the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative and deliver a second phase of the girls' education programme to support 75,000 girls. We will continue to encourage the DRC government, as an elected member of the HRC, to take active steps to improve respect for human rights. This includes encouraging active cooperation with the HRC investigation into the human rights violations and abuses in the Kasais.

[35] https://www.education-inequalities.org/indicators/literacy_1524#?sort=sex%3AFemale&dimension=sex&group=all&age_ group=literacy_1524&countries=all
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Colombia

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Colombia, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109c93.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

A year after the Colombian government's peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia registered its lowest murder rate for 42 years. However, key human rights concerns remained, such as inadequate protection of human rights defenders (HRDs), gender-based violence, the human rights consequences of illegal economies (drugs and illegal mining), and modern slavery. Causes included a lack of state presence in some rural areas, delays to peace agreement implementation, and the destabilising influence of organised crime.

In areas where the FARC were formerly present, especially near the Pacific coast, illegal armed groups have fought for control of coca cultivation, drug trafficking, illegal mining and other illicit activities. As a result, there was an increase in conflict between the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group and other unidentified armed groups, often with reported links to former paramilitaries. In 2017, the UN reported 61 major displacement incidents, affecting more than 12,000 people, a 22% increase compared with 2016.

There were more than 15,000 cases of sexual violence reported to the National Victims' Unit during Colombia's armed conflict with the FARC[32]. However, it is reasonable to assume that many more cases went unrecorded, because of lack of access to justice in remote or insecure parts of the country. According to the commission[33] responsible for verifying compliance with the Constitutional Court's ruling on sexual violence, the impunity rate in sexual violence cases is 92%. Identifying the individual perpetrator has been the biggest challenge for the justice system, including for post-conflict Transitional Justice Mechanisms, which aim to encourage perpetrators to admit to crimes and offer reparation for victims. Sexual violence against minors also persisted.

Under the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI), we continued support for the documentation of cases of sexual violence, fostering access to justice, contributing to the participation of women and promoting initiatives to end stigma, including with the Colombian media. Our projects helped train 40 women to be spokespersons and another 200 journalists in preventing stigmatisation when reporting sexual violence cases. We also trained 550 women and men, including ex-combatants, indigenous people and afro-Colombians, about stigma, how to gain access to justice, awareness of gender-based violence and women's rights. In addition, our partners used the International Protocol to document hundreds of sexual violence cases. We also worked with Schools to reach out to girls in vulnerable contexts and provide training in how to report cases of sexual violence.

Although access to education has improved in recent years, girls face a high risk of sexual violence. In 2017 UNICEF reported that seven in ten victims of sexual violence in Colombia were girls. In rural areas sexual violence is attributed to higher levels of criminality, and lack of basic infrastructure such as safe public transport. Girls in these areas are also more likely to drop out of school early because of the limited access to contraception and sex education.

Killings and threats against HRDs increased significantly during the year. The UN OHCHR confirmed in their annual report[34] issued on 3 March 2018, the murder of 121 HRDs in 2017, compared with 61 in 2016. The rate of HRD murders increased in the second half of the year and between July and September one HRD was murdered every 60 hours. The impunity rate for these crimes is 87%, and only 6% result in prison sentences (all of them against the immediate perpetrators, not the intellectual authors of those crimes). While there is little evidence of systematic targeting of HRDs, those threatened or killed share common characteristics: leaders who challenge the presence of organised crime or illegal mining; land restitution claimants; leaders of victims' groups; and those with a potential role in upcoming elections.

In 2017, the UK funded two projects to promote the protection of HRDs and community leaders in 15 regions of Colombia. This included providing HRDs with self-protection strategies, rights awareness, capacity building and advocacy strategies. The UK undertook significant advocacy activity, both bilaterally and alongside international partners, including the EU and UN. We also monitored the situation of vulnerable HRDs and raised specific cases with the relevant Colombian authorities. We have worked very closely with the Office of the Attorney General to strengthen existing coordination mechanisms with the Colombian police, and have provided technical assistance to improve their follow-up mechanisms when investigating emblematic cases. On balance, we judge that the Colombian state is taking the problem of violence against HRDs seriously, and is making genuine attempts to tackle it.

In some regions of the country, particularly on the Pacific Coast, illegal mining has severely affected the water and food supply and has increased the presence of illegal armed groups. We continue to support the Colombian government's implementation of its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. The UK encouraged companies to improve communication strategies with communities, reduce the negative impacts of their activities, and help mobilise local communities to stop illegal mining. The British Embassy also launched a business and peace strategy which gives companies advice on how they can actively contribute to building peace and protecting human rights.

In 2018, we will introduce modern slavery and girls' education as additional priorities for our human rights programme, which will include regional collaboration with the British Embassies in Venezuela and Brazil.

[32] According to the national centre for historical memory's report La Guerra inscrita en el cuerpo

[33] A civil society follow-up discussion ,'Mesa de Seguimiento', to ruling Auto 092 of the Constitutional Court.

[34] http://www.hchr.org.co/media/com_acymailing/upload/a_hrc_37_3_add_3_en.pdf
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - China

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - China, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109cb3.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

In 2017, there was increased evidence of civil and political rights being infringed in China, and of space for civil society being tightened further. While China focused on its record of improving economic and social rights and promoting the right to development, new legislation was introduced which further reduced freedom of speech and assembly. The continuing detention and trials of human rights lawyers and activists, and apparent lack of due process and judicial transparency, remained key issues.

Two important court cases suggested a greater recognition of homosexuality in Chinese law. In Henan, a medical institution was ordered to issue a public apology and compensate a man who was forcibly 'treated' with conversion therapy; and the first official case of male on male rape was heard. On the other hand, there were moves by the authorities to extend the ban on depicting homosexuality on television to the online media.

In 2017, there were more cases of human rights defenders, activists and lawyers facing punishment or ill-treatment. Lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared in August, and his whereabouts remained unknown. At least five of the over 200 individuals detained in the summer of 2015 remained in custody. Wang Quanzhang continued to be held in pre-trial detention without access to his lawyer. There were credible reports that Li Chunfu and Xie Yanyi had been tortured. Li Heping received a three-year suspended sentence in April and Jiang Tianyong was given a two-year sentence in November. Both were convicted of inciting state subversion and had their confessions broadcast.

The authorities tightened their control of expression, association and assembly. The Foreign NGO Law limited the scope of activities for international and domestic NGOs, with only 305 NGOs managing to register by the end of the year. There were credible reports of the police disrupting a range of civil society activities and events. The Cyber Security Law (which came into effect on 1 June) and the National Intelligence Law (28 June) restricted freedom of expression by increasing the scope for censorship and surveillance. State authorities deleted hundreds of social media accounts. The respected international NGO, Freedom House, reported that China had the worst record in the world for internet freedom.

Human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo died in custody in July, having been detained since 2008. His widow, Liu Xia, continued to face extrajudicial restrictions. Blogger Wu Gan was convicted of state subversion and in December was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, having been held in detention for over two years.

The right to freedom of religion or belief continued to come under pressure in China. There were continued reports of the detention, harassment and persecution of religious groups  including Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Falun Gong practitioners  and of the destruction of religious buildings. There were reports that Pastor Yang Hua was refused medical treatment while in detention.

The human rights situation in Tibet did not improve. Reports of severe restrictions and self-immolations continued. The pre-trial detention of Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk continued. 2017 marked 22 years since the disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima  the Dalai Lama's choice as Panchen Lama.

In Xinjiang, the authorities introduced intrusive security and surveillance measures and cultural restrictions targeted at the Uyghur Muslim population. Thousands of Uyghurs were held in re-education camps after returning from abroad.

China continued to use the death penalty and the number of people executed remained a 'state secret'. There were Chinese media reports of large show trials, followed by multiple executions. Amnesty International reported that China continued to execute more people annually than the rest of the world did put together.

The UK continued to monitor human rights in China, maintaining contact with human rights defenders and their families in China and the UK. We regularly raised our human rights concerns (including those mentioned in this report) with China through a wide variety of channels, including at the 24th round of the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in June. Ministers raised specific human rights concerns and cases in bilateral meetings and at public events, and issued statements. The UK was vocal in the UN and other multilateral fora and issued joint and unilateral statements. We attempted to observe trials and sentencing hearings in China, though we were consistently denied access.

On girls' education, the focus in China has been on women and girls' empowerment through the British Council's 'Inspiring Women China' programme working with schools, volunteers, and local communities to help raise the aspirations of younger generations, particularly girls. The UK's 'Be Yourself campaign' continues to raise awareness about gender equality; through credible voices, women's successes are celebrated, publicising individual experiences to provide inspiration for women all over China.

In 2018, we expect to see more pressure on Chinese citizens' rights with the introduction of a revised Constitution and new National Supervision Law. The authorities are likely to target activists and human rights defenders under recently introduced national security laws. We expect new regulations on religious affairs to limit further the right to freedom of religion or belief. The UK will continue to support projects in China in priority areas, including the abolition of the death penalty, criminal justice reform, strengthening civil society and rights of people belonging to minorities. We will raise human rights concerns regularly in public and in private. Where possible, we will work with the grain to promote change.

This reporting period marked 20 years since the handover of Hong Kong to China. We continue to defend the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration strongly in public statements and in meetings with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. Over 2017, our assessment has been that the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework is generally functioning well, but that important areas of the framework continue to come under increased pressure. This included: the denial of entry to Hong Kong of a UK national and human rights activist, Benedict Rogers; the number of high profile judicial cases related to the political system; reports of mainland security officials operating within the Special Administrative Region; and continuing concerns about the exercise of some of the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. It remains the UK Government's view that, for Hong Kong's future success, it is essential that Hong Kong enjoys, and is seen to enjoy, the full measure of its high degree of autonomy, rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and rights and freedoms as set out in the Joint Declaration and enshrined in the Basic Law, in keeping with the commitment to 'One Country, Two Systems.'

A detailed analysis on Hong Kong is published separately in the Government's Six Monthly Reports to Parliament[31].

[31] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/six-monthly-report-on-hong-kong-july-to-december-2017
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Central African Republic

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Central African Republic, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109cd4.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) deteriorated further in 2017. Armed groups control large areas of the country, and the humanitarian situation worsened dramatically with a 50% increase in forced displacement. State and non-state actors continued to inflict a range of human rights violations and abuses, including mass killings, abductions, conflict-related sexual violence, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Around 63%[29] of girls are not in primary school.

Attacks on humanitarian workers, including attacks on health facilities and religious sites, made CAR "one of the most dangerous and difficult countries for humanitarian work", according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and hampered efforts to provide vital community services. The UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in CAR, Marie-Therese Keita Bocoum,warned that the country was experiencing an "unsustainable" situation amid the "spread of armed groups and increasing human rights violations".

Clashes continued between armed groups, including ex-Seleka (Muslim) rebel factions, anti-balaka (Christian) and self-defence groups. There was a significant increase in reports of abuse, particularly of ethnic or religious minority communities. In his August report to the UN Security Council, former Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O'Brien, stated that "the early warning signs for genocide" were present in CAR. He gave an example of 2,000 Muslims trapped in a Catholic Church compound where they had fled after their homes had been burned down by mostly Christian militiamen.

The resurgence in violence since September 2016 triggered an increase in conflict-related sexual violence. According to a UN report, women, girls and boys continued to suffer rape, sexual slavery and sexual assault[30]. The UN Peacekeeping Mission in CAR (MINUSCA) documented 91 such cases between January and May. The majority of these cases were perpetrated by ex-Seleka or anti-balaka armed groups.

In June, the government signed a peace accord with 13 armed groups. The 'San Egidio' peace agreement called for an immediate end to hostilities and the recognition of legitimate authorities. However, the day after the ceasefire was agreed, renewed fighting occurred in the town of Bria, with reports suggesting that 100 civilians had been killed. The African Union subsequently agreed a new roadmap for Peace and National Reconciliation which aims to promote dialogue between the CAR government and the armed groups.

The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in CAR cited the fight against the impunity of perpetrators of serious human rights violations and abuses as essential to solving the country's crisis. The UN launched its Human Rights Mapping Report in May. The Report identified and documented human rights violations and abuses from 2003 to 2015, including extrajudicial executions, torture and inhuman treatment, rapes, burning of entire villages, recruitment of thousands of children by armed groups, and attacks on humanitarian actors and peacekeepers. The Report concluded that serious violations and abuses of human rights had been committed by state and non-state actors, some of which could amount to crimes under international law, including war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.

The lack of a functioning judicial system meant that little action was taken to address these human rights violations and abuses and to bring the perpetrators to justice. Progress was made towards establishing a Special Criminal Court (SCC), with a mandate to end impunity for crimes under international law. A Special Criminal Court Prosecutor is now in place, as are a number of international and national magistrates. However, insecurity in CAR has limited progress, in terms both of SCC personnel being able to exercise their functions and of victim and witness protection.

In 2017, MINUSCA continued to deal with allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) made against peacekeepers. The UK has called on countries contributing troops to UN peacekeeping missions to investigate all allegations thoroughly and to ensure that those found guilty are brought to justice. The UN has taken steps to address the problem: MINUSCA has carried out training and awareness-raising activities on child protection for peacekeepers, armed groups, civil society, the CAR gendarmerie and the national police, in collaboration with UNICEF. More than 600 troops were repatriated in 2017 in an effort to implement the UN Secretary-General's zero tolerance policy.

In 2018, the UK will continue its support for UN and EU efforts to improve the political and security situation in CAR and to provide humanitarian assistance. The EU Training Mission, which is delivering security sector reform, has completed training of two battalions of CAR armed forces and will train another by summer 2018. As part of its ongoing work, the Mission will help develop the CAR armed forces' educational system, including training on International Humanitarian Law, gender, religious and ethnic minorities' issues, and SEA.

[29] http://data.uis.unesco.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=edulit_ds

[30] From the Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central Africa Republic, 28 July 2017 (see A/HRC/36/64, para 63)
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Burma

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Burma, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109d1a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The human rights situation in Burma deteriorated sharply in 2017, with the crisis in Rakhine State dominating the second half of the year. The UK continued to have serious concerns about human rights, including ethnic cleansing, restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and a lack of accountability for human rights violations and abuses. Clashes between the military and ethnic armed organisations continued in Kachin and Shan States. The authorities continued to restrict humanitarian access, and there were continued reports of human rights violations and abuses by state actors, including torture, sexual violence, and the use of civilians as human shields. There have been some positive steps: Burma ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in October and introduced minor reforms to laws regulating speech and assembly.

The situation in Rakhine State was the UK's human rights priority in Burma in 2017. In the first two months of the year, military operations continued in northern Rakhine following violence in October 2016. At the peak of military operations in January, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that 22,000 Rohingya crossed the border into Bangladesh in one week.

Partly in response to the situation in Rakhine State, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in March adopted a resolution, which the UK co-sponsored, extending the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Burma for a further year. In light of serious concerns about human rights violations by military and security forces, and abuses by non-state actors, the HRC established an independent international Fact Finding Mission.

Burma disassociated itself from the resolution. In December, the Burmese government denied UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee access to the country and withdrew all cooperation for the duration of her tenure. Burma also denied access to the Fact Finding Mission.

In late August, an attack by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on police posts triggered a massively disproportionate response by the Burmese military. This was against a historical backdrop of persecution and restrictions on citizenship and movement for the Rohingya within Burma. The ensuing violence against the Rohingya, committed by the military and by ethnic Rakhine, caused more than 688,000 to flee from Burma to Bangladesh. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid

Ra'ad Al Hussein, called this "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." The UK was the first country to respond with humanitarian support in Bangladesh, pledging 59 million to support the latest influx of refugees.

In December, the HRC held a Special Session on the situation of the human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. The UK co-sponsored a resolution condemning the "alleged systematic and gross violations of human rights and abuses" committed in Burma, in particular in Rakhine State, and called on the Government of Burma to cooperate fully with the Fact Finding Mission.

Human rights violations by state actors in Rakhine included murder, sexual violence, and systematic burning of Rohingya homes. A Medecins Sans Frontieres report in mid-December estimated that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed during the first month of violence. There were consistent reports of widespread and systematic use of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls, including mass rape. The UK worked in Bangladesh to improve outreach and identification relating to gender-based violence, case management and support, and to ensure that reported incidents of gender-based violence were referred to appropriate medical care. For example, the UK funded the UNFPA to support counselling and psychological support, and supported the International Organization for Migration to operate five mobile medical teams and five health posts.

In January 2017, U Ko Ni, a prominent rights and democracy activist, constitutional lawyer, and legal advisor for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, was assassinated. The trial of the three suspects arrested for his murder has lasted over a year. The authorities' failure to apprehend the main suspect, a former military officer, raises questions about the state's determination to safeguard human rights defenders and prevent impunity. The British Embassy followed events closely and will continue to do so in 2018.

In February, the government signed the Paris Principles on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups. This committed Burma to the protection of children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces and groups.

In June, the military released 67 child soldiers. However, in August, the military prosecuted a former child solider who spoke publicly about his experiences. In March, the ILO discussed the labour rights situation in Burma. The Labour Ministry asked for cooperation in eliminating child labour, and met experts and employers to discuss establishing a new minimum wage.

Journalists and civil society continued to raise concerns about restrictions to freedom of expression in Burma. Activists and journalists, including those who have criticised the NLD government or the military, were arrested, imprisoned and fined under section 66(d) of the 2013 Telecommunications Act, which provides for up to three years in prison for "extorting, coercing, restraining wrongfully, defaming, disturbing, causing undue influence or threatening any person using a telecommunications network." Free Expression Myanmar released a report, which stated that there had been at least 95 criminal complaints made under the Act, most of them related to defamation online since the current government took office. In August, parliament amended the Act to permit judges to release people on bail, and reduce the maximum prison sentence to two years for a range of offences under section 66. Those who oppose the law say that the amendments did little to reduce the restrictions on free expression.

In December, two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were charged under the Official Secrets Acts after being accused of accepting "important secret papers" from two police officers. This, along with other arrests, created a climate of fear and uncertainty among journalists within Burma. The UK raised concerns with the Burmese authorities about the arrests and their effect on freedom of the media. In 2017, the UK regularly pressed the Burmese authorities to grant unrestricted access to northern Rakhine State for media and international observers. Within Burma, widespread prejudicial attitudes towards the Rohingya restricted free and independent coverage of the humanitarian crisis and of human rights violations.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, as of December, 46 political prisoners are serving sentences in prison, with 190 awaiting trial: 52 in prison and 138 on bail. Addressing this issue will require systemic reform of the police and judiciary, as well as of the legal framework underpinning such arrests and charges.

The peace process made little progress in the second half of 2017. The third national peace conference due to be held in December was postponed.

Fighting between the Burmese military and ethnic armed groups intensified in Kachin and Shan States, and, in early November, fighting also broke out in southern Chin State. Tens of thousands of civilians were internally displaced.

We welcome the progress in achieving gender parity with regard to access to basic education. However, there are significant underlying problems which limit the improvements in education for women and girls, particularly in rural areas. DFID's education programmes in Burma work to ensure equal access to a quality education for both boys and girls. In Burma DFID has allocated 37.5 million through the UK Partnership for Education.

Looking ahead to 2018, the UK stands ready to help the Government of Burma in implementing the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The UK also welcomes the establishment of an international advisory board. Any returns of refugees to Burma must be safe, voluntary and dignified and have independent monitoring by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Humanitarian support to refugees in Bangladesh, through DFID, totalled 59 million in 2017. In 2018, we will continue funding important projects on freedom of expression and preventing sexual violence, while expanding our work to help tackle hate speech and other underlying drivers of inter-communal tensions.
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Bahrain

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Bahrain, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109d3a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

There continued to be a mixed picture on human rights in Bahrain in 2017.

The UK Government reiterated the need for the state to protect and defend universal human rights. Where we had concerns, we consistently raised them with the Government of Bahrain at the highest levels, both in private and public.

The UK Government raised some cases of concern directly with the Government of Bahrain, including the two-year prison sentence handed down to Nabeel Rajab for allegedly disseminating false news, and the ongoing legal action against him.

We also raised our concerns over the suspension of the newspaper Al Wasat. We continue to encourage Bahrain to ensure that freedom of expression and freedom of speech are fully protected for all its citizens.

Deprivation of nationality, where this renders an individual stateless, remains a matter of great concern to the UK.

In 2017, Bahraini courts ordered the removal of Bahraini nationality from a number of individuals, the majority of whom were convicted of acts of terrorism. Bahrain is not a signatory to the 1954 and 1961 UN Conventions on Statelessness, and is not bound by their provisions.

We also remain concerned about the continued handing down of death sentences by Bahraini courts. In January, three people, convicted of killing two police officers in 2014, were executed  the first executions to be carried out since 2010. The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty and it is our long-standing policy to oppose capital sentences in all circumstances. We have reiterated this to the Government of Bahrain at the highest levels and they are fully aware of our position. The then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, made representations to the Bahraini authorities about these cases and released a public statement on 15 January[25].

In 2017, the Government of Bahrain introduced constitutional and legislative amendments which allowed for the reintroduction of military courts to hold trials of civilians for specific security-related crimes. The Bahraini National Institute of Human Rights (NIHR) has monitored these trials, and the Government of Bahrain has stated publicly[26] that due process was observed in these cases, as required by the Bahraini Constitution.

The Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, co-chaired the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group in Manama in October, which focused on a number of areas, including the provision of UK expertise in support of Bahraini-led reform initiatives. This included UK capacity-building support to the Bahraini Council of Representatives, to strengthen its procedures and develop its role in ensuring accountability and transparency.

The UK also continued to support the development of human rights monitoring bodies in the country, which work to safeguard human rights, provide independent oversight of security personnel, monitor standards of detention, and investigate allegations of mistreatment. The NIHR, for instance, has taken steps to ensure that all Bahrainis can report alleged human rights violations and abuses, including through a new widely-advertised hotline. We welcome this development and encourage continued work in this area.

Bahrain underwent its third Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in 2017. The UK made a number of recommendations, which were accepted by the Government of Bahrain, which included continuing to make progress on its reform agenda, and implementing a national strategy to tackle the trafficking of women and girls and to ratify the 2014 ILO Protocol to the Forced Labour Convention. The UK will continue to work with Bahrain on these initiatives.

There was progress on certain human rights issues in 2017. The Bahraini parliament adopted new family law legislation designed to benefit women and children from all communities in Bahrain. It also passed new legislation on alternative sentencing, and has already started to implement provisions under this new legal framework.

Bahrain also took proactive action to tackle modern slavery, including by endorsing the 'Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking', issued by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.

Furthermore, Bahrain took positive steps in introducing a new Flexi-Permit employment system and new employment contracts which bring additional transparency to expatriate employment. This forms part of Bahrain's commitment to ensure a safe and equal workplace for all.

We also welcome Bahrain's commitment in 2017 to the We Protect Global Alliance to end child sexual exploitation online.

The UK will continue to support Bahraini-led reform in 2018 by providing a range of technical expertise aimed at promoting the rule of law and further developing human rights monitoring bodies. We believe that working with Bahrain offers the best opportunity to see the positive changes which the Government of Bahrain has committed to implementing.

[25] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/executions-in-bahrain
Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Afghanistan

Publisher United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office Publication Date 16 July 2018 Cite as United Kingdom: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights and Democracy Report 2017 - Afghanistan, 16 July 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b9109d5a.html [accessed 4 November 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The greatest challenge in Afghanistan in 2017 was the continuing conflict.

President Ghani and the Afghan government stated their commitment to improving the human rights situation, but progress remained slow against the difficult security backdrop. The most serious problems were inadequate protection of women's rights, the use of torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, and weak rule of law.

According to a report[18] by the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA), 10,453 civilians were killed or injured as a result of the conflict in 2017. Although 6% fewer than in the same period in 2016, this remained a very serious casualty rate. Anti-government groups, predominantly the Taliban and Daesh, were responsible for the majority of the casualties. The UK continued to support the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, including by advising the Afghan Air Force and security ministries. We also supported efforts by the Afghan government and High Peace Council towards a peace process, including encouraging the development of a coherent and coordinated strategy.

In November, a UNAMA report[19] documented an increase in attacks against places of worship, religious leaders and worshippers. In 2016-17, there were twice as many casualties as a result of such attacks than during the period 2009-15. The then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, issued a statement condemning a Daesh attack on a Shia cultural centre in Kabul on 28 December.

Despite overall progress on women's rights since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, women and girls remained subject to violence and discrimination, and lacked access to basic services.

Female illiteracy rates run high at 71%[20]. However, there was strong commitment to making progress from President Ghani, the First Lady, Rula Ghani, and Chief Executive Officer, Abdullah Abdullah. In 2017, the UK focused on enhancing girls' education through DFID's Girls EducationChallenge[21], which has helped over 300,000 girls attend primary school; on supporting victims of gender-based violence; and on promoting women's economic empowerment. We encouraged the Afghan government to implement its National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and to improve women's participation in efforts towards peace. Afghanistan remains a focus country in the UK's National Action Plan on WPS.

In a report from UNAMA in April [22], entitled 'Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees in Afghan custody', 39% of detainees interviewed gave credible accounts of having been tortured or ill-treated. Most cases allegedly took place in the custody of the National

Directorate of Security or of the Afghan National Police. The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Afghanistan expressed serious concern, but acknowledged "the genuine commitment and the efforts of the government to deal with this issue".

The Afghan government announced a series of welcome measures, including lifting Afghanistan's reservation to the Convention Against Torture, signing its Optional Protocol, and establishing a National Preventative Mechanism.

Following a large terrorist attack in Kabul on 31 May, President Ghani ordered the execution of eleven Haqqani and Taliban prisoners. Together with the EU, the UK government expressed strong opposition to the use of the death penalty, and the executions did not take place. However, on 29 November, the Afghan state executed five men within minutes of their conviction for involvement in kidnapping. The UK joined the EU in protesting about these executions to the Afghan Foreign Ministry.

The UK welcomed the announcement by the Afghan Independent Election Commission that parliamentary and district elections would take place in 2018. We urged the Afghan government and election management bodies to expend all efforts to deliver credible, transparent and inclusive elections.

The Global Slavery Index[23] estimated that 367,000 people were living in modern slavery in Afghanistan. The most common forms included labour exploitation, sexual exploitation and forced marriage, with young people and migrants at particular risk. The Afghan government made some efforts to tackle the problem. Through the National Crime Agency, the UK supported Afghanistan's capacity to identify and tackle trends in modern slavery. UK funding also supported internally displaced people and would-be migrants.

Afghanistan was ranked 169th of 176 countries cited in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index[24]. President Ghani remained committed to tackling corruption.

The UK played an important role in establishing Afghanistan's Anti-Corruption Justice Centre (ACJC), which was launched in October 2016, to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate serious corruption cases. Since then the ACJC has heard around 85 cases and recovered $9m. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific, Mark Field, discussed continued UK support for anti-corruption efforts with the Afghan Attorney General, Farid Hamidi, in Kabul in October.

In 2018, we will continue to support the Afghan government's efforts to improve the human rights situation, including in our priority areas of women's rights and girls' education, detention conditions, access to justice and protecting human rights defenders. We will do so bilaterally and with international partners. We look forward to working with Afghanistan as it takes its seat on the UN Human Rights Council from 1 January 2018. We will encourage the

Afghan government to lead by example and fully implement its own human rights commitments.

[18] https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/afghanistan_protection_of_civilians_annual_report_2017_final_6_march.pdf

[19] https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/unama_report_on_attacks_against_places_of_worship_7nov2017_0.pdf

[20] https://www.education-inequalities.org/indicators/literacy_1524#?sort=sex%3AFemale&dimension=sex&group=all&age_ group=literacy_1524&countries=all

[21] https://www.gov.uk/guidance/girls-education-challenge

[22] https://unama.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/24_april_2017_-_torture_of_detainees_in_afghanistan_persists_-_un_report_english.pdf

[23] https://www.globalslaveryindex.org/findings/

[24] https://www.transparency.org/country/AFG
Australia will on Thursday release July trade data, highlighting a light day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

The trade balance is expected to show a surplus of A$1.450 billion, down from A$1.873 billion in June. Imports were worth A$34.57billion in June and exports were at A$36.44 billion.

South Korea will provide July numbers for current account; in June, the current account surplus was $7.38 billion.

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Swiss drug major Novartis (NVS) announced Thursday that it has agreed to sell selected portions of its Sandoz US portfolio, specifically the Sandoz US dermatology and generic US oral solids portfolio, to Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc., for $0.9 billion of cash plus $0.1 billion of potential earn- outs. Novartis will focus Sandoz division in US on higher growth areas.

Novartis said the sale supports the Sandoz strategy of focusing on complex generics, value-added medicines and biosimilars to achieve sustainable and profitable growth in the US over the long-term.

The Sandoz US portfolios to be sold to Aurobindo include approximately 300 products, as well as additional development projects. The sale includes the Sandoz US generic and branded dermatology businesses as well as its dermatology development center. As part of the transaction, Aurobindo will acquire the manufacturing facilities in Wilson, North Carolina, as well as Hicksville and Melville, New York. The business had net sales of $0.6 billion in H1, 2018.

As part of the agreement, approximately 750 employees in Hicksville, Melville, Wilson and Princeton, New Jersey, as well as the field representatives for the PharmaDerm branded dermatology business, are expected to transfer to Aurobindo upon closing.

Following the transaction, the Sandoz US portfolio will continue to be substantial, and will include biosimilars, value-added medicines and complex generics such as injectables, espiratory and ophthalmics. Sandoz will continue to focus its clinical development, business development and investment efforts on these areas.

The transaction is expected to close in the course of 2019 following the completion of customary closing conditions.

Richard Francis, CEO Sandoz and Member of the Novartis Executive Committee, said, "Sharpening our portfolio focus in the US allows us to devote more time and resources toward our strategy of bringing complex generics, value-added medicines and biosimilars to patients in the US, creating higher value and opening up access to important medicines where alternatives are truly needed."

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The Australian dollar dropped against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Wednesday, after a data showed that Australia's trade surplus decreased in July.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the trade surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted A$1.55 billion in July from A$1.94 billion in June. Nonetheless, this was above the expected level of A$1.45 billion.

Data showed that exports dropped 1 percent from the previous month, while imports remained broadly unchanged in July.

Asian stock were mixed amid continuing worries over global trade tensions and emerging market woes.

News that U.S. President Donald Trump intends to impose tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese imports as soon as a public comment period ends on Thursday also weighed on investor sentiment.

Meanwhile, Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the U.S. and Canada are making "good progress" on the revision of the North American trade pact but talks will continue to resolve remaining issues.

The aussie declined to 0.7166 against the greenback, from a high of 0.7211 hit at 10:45 pm ET. The aussie is likely to challenge support around the 0.70 level.

The aussie reversed from an early high of 80.28 against the yen, edging down to 79.80. If the aussie falls further, it may find support around the 78.00 level.

Having advanced to 0.9494 against the loonie at 10:45 pm ET, the aussie reversed direction and weakened to 0.9450. On the downside, 0.93 is possibly seen as the next support level for the aussie.

The aussie fell to a 2-1/2-year low of 1.6221 against the euro and held steady thereafter. The aussie is poised to find support around the 1.65 level.

The aussie dropped to a 3-day low of 1.0883 against the kiwi early in the session and held steady thereafter. At yesterday's close, the pair was worth 1.0908.

Looking ahead, at 8:15 am ET, U.S. ADP private payrolls for August are due.

In the New York session, Canada building permits for July, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended September 1, factory orders for July and ISM non-manufacturing composite index for August are set for release.

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Australia will on Friday release July figures for home loans, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity.

In June, the number of home loans were down 1.1 percent on month, while the value of loans fell 1.0 percent and investment lending sank 2.7 percent.

Australia also will see August results for the Performance of Construction Index from AiG; in July, the index score was 52.0.

Japan will see July data for household spending, labor cash earnings and its leading and coincident indexes.

Household spending is expected to fall 0.8 percent on year after losing 1.2 percent in June. Labor cash earnings are tipped to rise 2.4 percent on year, slowing from 3.6 percent in the previous month.

The leading index is expected to see a score of 103.5, down from 104.7 a month earlier. The coincident is pegged at 115.7, down from 116.4.

Malaysia will provide July numbers for industrial and manufacturing production; in June, they were up an annual 1.1 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

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After a choppy day of trading, the majority of the European ended the day in negative territory. Investor sentiment has been hard hit by concerns over global trade this week.

Traders were encouraged by reports that the U.S. and Canada have made some progress in talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement.

However, it is widely expected that the U.S. will implement new tariffs on imports worth $200 billion from China. Meanwhile, China has reportedly warned that it will be forced to retaliate if the United States implements any new tariff measures after the end of a public comment period.

The German regained impetus and this dynamic is set to carry over into next year, the Ifo Institute said Thursday.

According to Autumn Forecast, the largest euro area economy is likely to expand 1.9 percent each this year and next, before a gradual slowdown in 2020.

Earlier, the think tank had projected 1.8 percent expansion for both 2018 and 2019. Nonetheless, Ifo said there will be no return to the high growth rate of 2017.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index weakened by 0.59 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone blue chip stocks decreased 0.59 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, lost 0.78 percent.

The DAX of Germany dropped 0.71 percent and the CAC of France fell 0.31 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.87 percent and the SMI of Switzerland finished lower by 0.57 percent.

In Frankfurt, Evotec AG fell 2.26 percent after signing a third long-term strategic drug discovery and development agreement with Celgene Corp.

In Paris, food services and facilities management group Sodexo S.A. lost 1.50 percent after it unveiled a strategic plan to boost growth.

Defense company Safran soared 6.37 percent after reporting better-than-expected half-year results and raising full-year forecasts.

In London, Shire dropped 1.41 percent after it announced the acquisition of sanaplasma AG, a source plasma collection company headquartered in Switzerland.

Mining giant BHP Billiton declined 4.55 percent after going ex-dividend.

Engineering firm Weir Group sank 8.62 percent after warning of pricing pressure and considerable softening in demand.

British utility Centrica jumped 4.99 percent after the energy watchdog set an energy price cap for "typical usage" in an attempt to help consumers struggling with the increasing costs.

Novartis fell 0.98 percent in Zurich after it agreed to sell selected portions of its Sandoz US portfolio to Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc.

Enel advanced 2.05 percent in Milan after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock rating to buy.

Germany's factory orders dropped unexpectedly on foreign demand in July amid trade disputes with the United States. Data from Destatis, released Thursday, showed that new orders in manufacturing fell 0.9 percent in July from June, confounding expectations for an increase of 1.8 percent.

Germany's construction activity returned to growth midway through the third quarter after having stalled in July, survey results from IHS Markit showed Thursday. The headline construction Purchasing Managers' Index ticked up to 51.5 in August from 50.0 'no-change' mark in July.

Private sector employment in the U.S. rose by less than expected in the month of August, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Thursday. ADP said private sector employment climbed by 163,000 jobs in August after jumping by a revised 217,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected an increase of about 190,000 jobs compared to the spike of 219,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

A day ahead of the release the more closely watched monthly employment report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 1st.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 203,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 213,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 214,000.

Reflecting upward revisions to both output and hours worked, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing the pace of growth in labor productivity was unrevised in the second quarter.

The report said labor productivity increased by 2.9 percent in the second quarter, unrevised from the preliminary estimate but still reflecting a significant acceleration from the 0.3 percent uptick in the first quarter. Economists had expected productivity growth to be upwardly revised to 3.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the decrease in unit labor costs in the second quarter was revised to 1.0 percent from 0.9 percent. The drop in unit labor costs was expected to be unrevised.

A report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Thursday showed a much bigger than expected acceleration in the pace of growth in U.S. service sector activity in the month of August.

The ISM said its non-manufacturing index jumped to 58.5 in August from 55.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the service sector. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 56.8.

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods pulled back by more than expected in the month of July, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday. The Commerce Department said factory orders fell by 0.8 percent in July after climbed by a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in June.

Economists had expected factory orders to drop by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
The Swiss stock market got off to a weak start Thursday, but quickly recovered and climbed into positive territory. However, early gains eroded late in the afternoon and the market ended the day in the red.

Continued worry over global trade drove the European lower Thursday. While traders were encouraged by reports that the U.S. and Canada have made some progress in talks to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, they were also concerned over the trade tensions between the U.S. and China.

The Swiss Market Index decreased by 0.57 percent Thursday and finished at 8,818.72. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.49 percent and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.54 percent.

The weak performance of the pharma heavyweights pressured the overall market Thursday. Novartis fell 1 percent after it agreed to sell selected portions of its Sandoz US portfolio to Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc.

Roche also dropped 1 percent after the U.S. FDA informed the company that it has extended the review period for Tecentriq by three months.

Meanwhile, shares of Nestle gained 0.1 percent.

Sika was among the weakest performing stocks of the session, sinking 1.9 percent.

Credit Suisse declined 1.1 percent and UBS surrendered 0.9 percent. Julius Baer also finished lower by 0.9 percent.

Richemont fell 0.8 percent, while rival Swatch rose 0.2 percent.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
Army's air force launches drone strikes on Abha airport in Asir [06/September/2018]



ASIR, Sep. 6 (SABA)  The Yemeni armys drones on Thursday waged an air attack on Asir border province, a military official told Yemen Press Agency.



A drone of Qasif-1 type carried out the attack on Abha regional airport, the official said.



The flights to and from Abha regional airport was stopped after the drones attacks.



This is the third time that the air force has launched an attack on Abha airport.













Amal/Ahmed Al-Mutawakel



saba saba
By SA Commercial Prop News

Gaming and hospitality group, Sun International plans to exit its investment in Nigeria amid shareholder dispute.



JSE-listed Sun International, on Monday said it plans to exit its investment in Nigeria amid shareholder dispute.

The Gaming and hospitality group expects an investigation into a shareholder dispute at its Nigerian operation to be completed shortly, paving the way for the casino and hotel operator to finally exit that market.



Sun International, which reported a 46 percent decline in half-year earnings hurt by subdued growth and one-off costs, bought a 49 percent stake in the Tourist Company of Nigeria (TCN) in 2006, becoming the largest single shareholder.



However, that deal has been disputed by some of the Ibru family, a fellow shareholder in TNC, which prompted various parties including Sun International and Nigerias Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to appoint consultants Deloitte to investigate.



Sun International then said in 2016 it planned to exit Nigeria, where some other South African countries - including telecoms operator MTN - have faced problems doing business.



Deloitte is expected to complete its investigation of the shareholder dispute shortly. Once the Deloitte investigation has been completed, it will pave the way for Sun International to exit its investment in Nigeria, Sun International said.



The company also said the board of the TCN, which owns and operates the 5-star Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos, had been reconstituted, with Nigerias SEC appointing two directors.



The property is sought after given its location so there are potential buyers but Nigeria has been volatile for a while. It starts becoming difficult for investors to have confidence, said Sun International Chief Executive Officer Anthony Leeming.



Sun International, which also has operations in Latin America, reported diluted adjusted headline earnings per share of 105 cents for the six months to June 30, down from 198 cents in the same period last year, hit by one-off items and a subdued trading environment in South Africa and Chile.



Consumers in South Africa, which contributes 69 percent to group income, are gambling less as high levels of indebtedness and a recent increase in VAT pressure disposable incomes.



We have some positive performances such as Times Square (a casino in Pretoria) with some other not performing well, It is going to a be a mixed bag but overall very sluggish growth for the rest of the year, said Leeming



One-off costs included 12 million rand ($813,000) of restructuring costs related to the closure of the Sun Nao casino in Colombia.



In March, Sun International announced the closure of loss-making operations, including the Sun Nao and the Fish River Sun casino in South Africa, as well as its International VIP Businesses in both South Africa and Panama.



At 0956 GMT, Sun Internationals shares were up 7 percent at 57.45 rand per share. ($1 = 14.7606 rand) (Reporting by Patricia Aruo; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)
By SA Commercial Prop News

South African property sector has started to experience tougher conditions especially weaker economic growth and uncertainty on land reform.



The South African property sector has started to experience tougher conditions especially weaker economic growth and uncertainty on land reform.

South Africa has officially entered a technical recession, after Stats SA announced on Tuesday that the country's real gross domestic product had decreased by 0.7% in the second quarter of the year.

The listed property sector had its worst run in 21 years, with the FTSE/JSE SA listed property index (Sapy) losing more than 20% so far in 2018.

It continues to face myriad challenges, including weak economic growth and uncertainty about land reform, which have deterred institutional investors.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on 1 August that the ANC planned to change the Constitution to allow land to be expropriated without compensation.

There is no doubt that there is great concern about land reform amongst ordinary South Africans and Investors, and especially property owners.

The historical background of land ownership in South Africa needs to be addressed, but it is critical to ensure that the imbalance is dealt with while the economic stability of the country continues to be reinforced. This is the view expressed by the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) which represents commercial and industrial property owners.

There are no signs the FTSE/JSE SA listed property index, which includes the 20 best- rated property stocks, will recover markedly in 2018, but some analysts believe the upcoming improved financial results season may help to increase interest in the sector.

"Dont write the sector off just yet. With yields where they are at the moment, it is an incredibly attractive entry into listed property, so possibly interest will start to reignite after all the June results are in," said Metope Investment Managers fund manager Kelly Ward.

The sector was trading at a yield of about 8.67% at the end of July, according to Catalyst Fund Managers. This was above numerous government bonds.

Delta Property Fund was trading at a yield of 16.2% and Texton Property Fund at 18.6%, suggesting these funds may be undervalued and set for share price growth.

A Catalyst report showed the Sapy and the All Property Index (Alpi) recorded a negative total return of 0.5% and 1.35% respectively in July.

The Sapy comprises the top 20 liquid property firms by market capitalisation. The Alpi contains all property firms listed on the bourse, which have a combined value of about R690bn. Retail investors account for about R30bn, or 4.35%, of Alpi, Evan Robins of Old Mutual Investment Group said.

During the first seven months of the year, the Sapy fell 21.76%, its worst run since 1997, when the index delivered a negative total return of 16.19%.

In 2008 the index also delivered a negative return, of 4.47%, Ward said.

Equities delivered a negative return of 1.95% so far this year, while cash and bonds returned 4.2% and 6.53% respectively.

The Sapy has now recorded six months of negative growth in 2018, with only April being an exception when it returned 7.68%. The Sapy and Alpi had a difficult start to the year, when investors began to decrease or exit their positions in the Resilient group of companies on January 11. This sell-off persisted during the first quarter and their share prices have not recovered. Critics said Resilient, Fortress, Nepi Rockcastle and Greenbay Properties were all overvalued.

They suggested that directors had participated in trades that inflated share prices.

Other property counters have also come under pressure.

"Local property fundamentals remain under pressure. Investor sentiment has been further impacted by expropriation without compensation, the sharp sell-off, although concentrated in a handful of counters which in aggregate had a meaningful weighting in the Sapy, and concerns around governance in the sector," Craig Smith, head of research at Anchor Stockbrokers, said.
NDA ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday extended support to fasting Patidar leader Hardik Patel, with party chief Uddhav Thackeray advising him "not to risk your life on insensitive governments".

Patel has been on an indefinite fast since August 25 to demand loan waiver for farmers and reservation for Patels in government jobs and educational institutions. He is also demanding the release of close associate Alpesh Kathiriya jailed on sedition charge.



Thackerey, in his message, extended support to Patel and advised him to give up his fast, at least for now. There was no point in "risking your precious life fighting against insensitive governments at the Centre and the state", the Sena leader said.



Thackeray also advised Hardik to prepare for a long-drawn battle for the farmers' cause.





Hardik's supporters have announced to intensify their agitation as the state government had not begun direct talks with the fasting leader, who was visited by disgruntled BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha and former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday.



"Hardik will again stop consuming water if the state government does approach him by tomorrow (Thursday) over our demands," Manoj Panara, Convenor of the Patidar Ananmat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), told reporters.



"From Thursday, the state's farmers will call up all 182 legislators, 26 Lok Sabha members and Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat and seek their views on farm debt waiver," Panara said.



He added that the phone calls would be followed by visits to the residences and offices of these elected representatives on Friday to seek their views in writing.



"The ball is in the government's court. The state government will be responsible if anything goes wrong. However, we appeal to farmers and Patel youths to maintain peace and not go for confrontation with police," Panara added.



Meanwhile, Visnagar town in north Gujarat, from where the Patel agitation started in 2015, observed a bandh in support of the fasting leader. Some of his supporters got their head tonsured in protest against the state government's alleged apathy.



Women too came out in the streets in several rural areas of the state and beat vessels with rolling pins to protest.
Hitting back at Congress President Rahul Gandhi over his allegations concerning the Rafale deal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday rejected the charge that the Narendra Modi government had used its influence to benefit a private player.

Calling Gandhi "an ill-informed gentleman", he said it was unfortunate that the entire party was following him in ignorance.



Jaitley, who was responding to questions after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, said that the deal done by the Narendra Modi government with France was nine per cent cheaper than that negotiated by the UPA in terms of the basic cost of the fighter jet and 20 per cent cheaper for its weaponised version.



Apparently rebutting Gandhi's charge that the Prime Minister had benefited "a friend" in the deal to purchase fighter jets, Jaitley said the government has no role to play in the choice by the private manufacturer of an offsets partner.





"There is no scope of role of any private party in the entire transaction. All the 36 aircraft will reach India in flying condition and nothing will be added here. There is no scope for a private party but you keep alleging."



Attacking Gandhi, who has spearheaded the Congress attack on the Rafale deal, Jaitley said he was making baseless allegations.



"The Congress has proved that in dynastic politics, ignorance is contagious. If a person is ill-informed and does not have sufficient information, then the entire party lacks information. Let the problem remain within the Congress," he said.



"To satisfy the ego of an ill-informed gentleman, there are no options," he added.



He accused the Congress of doing little to boost indigenous production of advanced weaponary and said that the NDA government had helped the process by liberalising FDI norms in defence first to 26 per cent and then raising it to 49 per cent.



Jaitley said there can be more than 49 per cent FDI in special cases.



He said the Congress was willing to purchase fighter jets from foreign private players but was not willing to encourage Indian private players in defence manufacturing.



"This is backward thinking and we disagree with them on this," he said.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi signed two agreements with Australias Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marise Payne in Nauru.

Samoa signed an agreement to join Australias Pacific Labour Scheme. Solomon Islands and Vanuatu also signed this agreement with Australia yesterday.

Workers from Samoa, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu will now join those from Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu to undertake non-seasonal work in rural and regional Australia.

The Pacific Labour Scheme commenced on 1 July 2018 and provides Pacific island workers with opportunities to gain valuable skills and income, and assists businesses in rural and regional Australia.

The workers also contribute to Australias economy by filling roles Australian businesses have proven they cannot fill with local workers.

Samoa and Vanuatu also signed another agreement with Australia yesterday to participate in Australias Pacific Medicines Testing Programme.

The Programme which aims to assure the safety of medicines in the region, provides participating countries with the opportunity to have up to five medicines tested per year, at no cost, in Australias world-class testing facilities at the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Three of the tests provided are for commonly used antibiotics and medicines to treat non-communicable diseases.

The remaining two tests are for responsive testing where a potential problem has been identified with a medicine by a participating country.

Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu are currently participating in the programme, which Australia aims to make available to countries across the Pacific.

Tuilaepa said the Government and people of Samoa want to express their gratitude to the Government of Australia for opening these opportunities.

Thank you to your Government of Australia, we are very thankful to be accessing your medical care services and also opening up your employment scheme.

Tuilaepa also acknowledged other benefits that Australia provided for the Pacific, like the Australian Pacific Technical Coalition (APTC).

Ms. Payne said the signing reflected close relations Australia has with their Pacific neighbours.

We have seen over 25,000 workers from the Pacific travel to Australia for work, and the (Seasonal Worker Programme) scheme will continue to be ascended over time to other Pacific Island countries.

We think the scheme is a win win for Australia and for the Pacific.

The scheme allows Pacific workers to come and work in Australia for up to three years.

Ms Payne said since the recruitment of workers from the Pacific in 2012, $144 million in net income gains were injected back into the region.

Ms Payne also said the Pacific Medicines Testing Program, which commenced in August 2017, is part of Australias commitment to strengthen its engagement for a more resilient, safe, secure and prosperous Pacific.
The Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority (S.F.E.S.A.) has improved its ability to conduct fire investigations.

Assistant Commissioner, Aufai Petaia Tausani completed a twelve-week Fire Investigator course with the Melbourne Fire Brigade (M.F.B.) Fire Investigation Analysis team in Melbourne Australia, giving the Island nation a new professional capacity in this important area of Fire and Emergency Services work.

Assistant Commissioner Aufais training costs were covered by the European Union (EU) funded Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (B.S.R.P.) Project as part of its overall work to implement the Samoa Fire Reduction Strategy launched in 2017.

While congratulating Assistant Commissioner Aufai, Christoph Wagner, the Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation for the Pacific said, The European Union is proud to support Samoas first ever fire investigator. This is a commendable achievement for S.F.E.S.A., and it marks the beginning of a new learning endeavour for Samoa Fire Fighters. By increasing the capacity of local officers, we can ensure a safer Samoa for everyone, and that is ultimately the goal.

The Samoa Fire Reduction Strategy, created by the S.F.E.S.A. in collaboration with the B.S.R.P. Project, aims to reduce household fires in Samoa, whilst also increasing awareness around fire safety.

One of the main ways in which the Fire Strategy does this is through strengthening fire investigation capability within the Samoa Fire and Emergency Authority. Having the capacity to investigate how fires start gives the Authority correct information on how to create awareness to prevent further fire risks.

The three-month training course with the M.F.B. has been such an amazing and immersive experience, Aufai said.

I had the opportunity to visit more than twenty fire scenes and learnt from the forensic team about what factors to look out in fire scenes that indicate how a fire starts. Returning to Samoa as a certified fire investigator gives me the opportunity to transfer what I learnt to our local officers.

By equipping our staff with the right knowledge, tools and skills we will be able to provide Samoa with efficient fire and emergency service.

Assistant Commissioner Aufai is the first official fire investigator for Samoa. Upon his return, S.F.E.S.A. is planning to facilitate fire investigator training with eight fire officers to strengthen S.F.E.S.A. capability in fire reduction.

The trainings will be facilitated in partnership with MFB, who have partnered with S.F.E.S.A. for over twenty years.

The partnership was formalised by the Pacific Island Emergency Management Alliance (P.I.E.M.A.) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in 2016. Like all twinning arrangements facilitated under P.I.E.M.A., this is an opportunity for Samoan emergency services to gain knowledge and skills from their overseas-based partners.

The B.S.R.P. Project has been operating in the Pacific region for five years, working directly with fifteen Pacific Island Countries, with the aim to strengthen national disaster management. In Samoa, the B.S.R.P. Project works with the National Disaster Management Office to not only improve policies around fire safety, but also support the implementation of those policies. Disaster management can only be effective when operational systems reflect the policy that bring them together, and we will continue to support the implementation of the Fire Reduction Strategy as it will have an overall impact on Samoa fire safety B.S.R.P. Project Manager Taito Nakalevu said.

Background:

The ACP-EU Building Safety and Resilience in the Pacific (B.S.R.P.) is a 19.37million project, funded by the EU and implemented by the Pacific Community (SPC). The objective of the project is to reduce the vulnerability, as well as the social, economic and environmental costs of disasters caused by natural hazards, thereby achieving regional and national sustainable development and poverty alleviation in ACP Pacific Island States.
TOKYO (AP)  A powerful earthquake shook Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido early Thursday, causing landslides that crushed homes, knocking out power across the island, and forcing a nuclear power plant to use a backup generator.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido at 3:08 a.m. Thursday at the depth of 40 kilometers (24 miles), Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The epicenter was east of the city of Tomakomai but the shaking also affected Hokkaido's prefectural capital of Sapporo, with a population of 1.9 million.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said a man was found without vital signs in Tomakomai, and several people were reported missing in the nearby town of Atsuma, where there was a massive landslide. At least 20 other people were injured in nearby towns.

National broadcaster NHK aired footage of the moment the quake struck Muroran, with its camera violently shaking and all city lights going out a moment later. In Sapporo, a mudslide on a road left several cars half buried.

Power was knocked out for Hokkaido's 2.9 million households. Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters that the extensive power outage was caused by an emergency shutdown of the main thermal power plant that supply half of the electricity to all of Hokkaido.

Utility officials are starting up hydroelectric plants to help restart the main thermal plant, Seko said, adding that he to get power back "within a few hours." In the meantime, authorities have sent power-generator vehicles to hospitals so they can accept emergency patients when needed, he said.

In the town of Atsuma, a massive landslide on a mountain crushed houses below. Reconstruction Minister Jiro Akama told reporters that five people were believed to be buried underneath of the landslide in the town's Yoshino district, where 40 people were being stranded, according to NHK television. Some of them have been airlifted to safer grounds, NHK said.

At least 76 people were injured and 19 others were missing, NHK said, citing its own tally.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that the authorities have received hundreds of calls about people missing and buildings collapsing. Officials are doing their utmost for the search and rescue while they assess the extent of damage, he said.

The central government set up a crisis management taskforce at the prime minister's office.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a taskforce meeting that 4,000 self-defense troops are being deployed on Hokkaido to join search and rescue operations. The government will send 20,000 more to the affected sites, he said.

Three reactors at the Tomari nuclear plant were offline for routine safety checks, but they are running on backup generators that kicked in after losing external power because of the island-wide blackouts, Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said. Spent fuel in storage pools was safely cooled on backup power that can last for a week, the agency said.

The powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 that hit northerneast Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Jair Bolsonaro, a leading presidential candidate in Brazil, was stabbed on Thursday during a campaign event, though officials and his son said the injury is not life-threatening.

Numerous videos on social media showed Bolsonaro, whose platform includes cracking down on crime in Latin America's largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach. The candidate was seen flinching after the attack before going out of view.

Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press that Bolsonaro had been stabbed and that his attacker was arrested.

Santiago said Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles (200 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro, and was in good condition.

Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro posted on Twitter that his father is doing fine.

The wound "was superficial and he is OK," wrote Flavio, who also asked for prayers for the family.

A statement from federal police said the candidate had body guards. In the videos, Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest.

Bolsonaro, a former Army captain, is second in the polls to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment.

While he has a strong following, Bolsonaro is also a deeply polarizing figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.

He also speaks nostalgically about the country's 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

Other candidates quickly denounced the attack.

"Politics is done by dialogue and convincing, never with hate," tweeted Gerado Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Bolsonaro.

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silva's place on the Workers' Party's ticket, called the attack "absurd and regrettable."
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Bar Association, BC Branch (CBABC) announces Margaret A. Mereigh as its new President for the 2018-19 term. Margaret has been a CBABC member for 27 years, during which she has held numerous volunteer roles including, provincially, as Vice President, Secretary Treasurer, elected member of its governing Provincial Council, Government Relations Committee member and on the Advisory Committee to the Judicial Council of BC. Nationally, she has volunteered as Chair of the National Standing Committee on Legislation and Law Reform, and as a member of the National Criminal Justice Section Committee, the National Sections Council, the National Resolutions, Constitution and By Laws Committee, the Membership Committee and the Supreme Court of Canada Liaison Committee.



Margaret is senior appellate Crown Counsel with the BC Prosecution Service and prosecutes criminal appeals in the BC Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada. Highlights of her 27 year career as Crown Counsel, include working as trial counsel in R. v. Gladue (a just approach to sentencing aboriginal offenders) and the Air India trial (a prosecution of an act of aviation terrorism).



Margaret is dedicated to CBA values, including equality and diversity. Half of the Canadian population are women, she said, yet despite women attaining higher levels of education and working in the same roles as their male counterparts, women do not hold positions of leadership in any great number. The gender divide continues.

During her early work as Crown Counsel in smaller BC communities, Margaret met many Indigenous men, women and youth from neighbouring reserves. Their stories emerged as an experience of poverty, limited education, little employment opportunity, addiction, physical and sexual violence built on a history of discrimination.

I am passionate about CBABCs role in advancing the calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, through acknowledgement and education of the Indigenous experience, recognition of Indigenous legal systems and embracing reconciliation. As a West Indian from the island of Trinidad, a former colony of Spain, France and then Great Britain, I have developed some understanding of the colonial experience, said Margaret.

Margaret graduated with a B.A. and a LL.B. from the University of British Columbia and a LL.M. from the University of London, The London School of Economics and Political Science. She has served on the boards of Community Legal Assistance and the UBC Law Students Legal Advice Program.

As a past president of the Canadian Mental Health Association (Vancouver/Burnaby and Vancouver/Fraser Branches), Margaret is a strong supporter of mental health. In addition to the challenges of learning about and managing a mental illness with health care professionals, persons with a mental illness face other challenges, including stigma, unemployment, and finding safe and stable housing and supportive social networks.

The Canadian Bar Association is the professional organization representing more than 38,000 lawyers, judges and law students across Canada with over 7,000 members in British Columbia.

Contact:

Kent Hurl

Member Communications Officer

604.646.7868

media@cbabc.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d26bce99-b366-43d8-881c-1dc4e68d664f
Since 2007, San Diego Gas & Electric reports it has invested about $1 billion of ratepayer dollars into fire safety.

And its going to spend about $3 million more as the current fire season reaches its most deadly months, as dry conditions raise the chances of wildfire ignition.

The investor-owned utility announced Wednesday a host of new safety measures to help make sure ratepayers in its service territory across San Diego County and a portion of Orange County are better prepared for wildfire emergencies.

With only 3 inches of rain in the last year, its dry out there so its important we continue to look for ways to mitigate the threat of wildfires, said Caroline Winn, SDG&E chief operating officer.

Advertisement

The enhancements this year include:

Making the Erickson Aircrane available all year

The largest water-dropping helitanker in the country, the Erickson Aircrane holds 2,650 gallons of water or fire suppressant  about five times what one fire engine can carry. Normally, SDG&E contracts to have the Gillespie Field-based aircrane on alert from August through November but the utility said that will be extended all year for dispatch by Cal Fire.

SDG&E has contracted for the Erickson Aircrane to be available all year for dispatch. (Photo by Rob Nikolewski)

Cal Fire and County Fire Authority Chief Tony Mecham said the aircrane holds eight times as much water as the countys other firefighting helicopters. So far this year, the aircrane has made 217 drops compared to 102 drops in all of 2017.

Every day, we have 2, 3, 4-acre fires somewhere in this country and were putting these fires out, Mecham said. Were being so much more pro-active in putting these fires out before they become big fires.

New electric equipment to minimize customer outages

When an area gets its power shut off in high-fire threat areas, SDG&E engineers will now use better technology to sectionalize electric circuits that can reduce the number of customers affected in a shutoff by as much as 73 percent.

Nine Community Resource Centers unveiled

After holding six community town halls earlier this year with residents living in fire-prone areas, SDG&E has established Community Resource Centers in nine locations where customers can go when circuits in their area have been shut off due to fire risk.

Working in partnership with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program developed by the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department after the devastating 2003 Cedar Fire, the Community Resource Centers will provide water, snacks and places to charge cellphones. The centers will be open when a power shutoff extends for more than 24 hours. Hours will vary, depending on each shutoff event.

The Community Resource Centers are in Warner Springs, Julian, Descanso, Mountain Empire, Lake Morena, Campo, Dulzura, Potrero and Jacumba.

SDG&E officials said enhancements came to about $3 million, although the utility would not disclose the estimated cost of making the aircrane available year-round, saying those figures were proprietary.

SDG&E has also launched a wildfire safety web page that includes 24/7 weather information and live views of areas under threat of fire. The link is www.sdge.com/wildfire-safety.

San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob has been a critic of SDG&E, saying the utility has been too quick to shut off power in the backcountry.

Promises made in a press release are nice, but if SDG&E was serious it would abandon the dangerous shutoff plan, Jacob said in an email. Residents pounded the utility with complaints when their power was cut, leaving them and public safety personnel vulnerable during a disaster. While I welcome any measures that further bolster fire protection in our backcountry, the fact remains that SDG&E should be doing far more to keep the region out of harms way.

SDG&E boasts of operating the nations largest utility-owned weather network in fire-prone areas. It includes a network of mountain-top cameras spread over the utilitys service territory. This year, it has added seven more weather stations that compile readings for wind, humidity and temperature to its network, bringing the total to 177.

The additional weather stations are important because it helps us understand the weather and the different microclimates we have all over San Diego, said Brian DAgostino, director of fire science and climate adaptation at SDG&E. If we really understand what the weather is doing in each individual neighborhood, we can start to minimize the impact that the weather could have on some of our customers.

The measures come as wildfires throughout California grow in frequency and size.

The Mendocino Complex Fire earlier this summer in Northern California was pronounced the largest wildfire in state history.

Five of the 20 most destructive fires recorded in California occurred in 2017, including the Wine Country fires and the Thomas Fire that led to the death of a San Diego firefighter.

And the Lilac Fire that ripped through North County broke out in December of last year, well outside the normal range of what is called fire season.

Were having fires year-round, Mecham said. Even in January and February  It never slows down anymore.

The current fire season is off to a potentially deadly start. San Diego just experienced the hottest August on record and the area has experienced the second driest rainfall season on record, dating back to 1850.

Last year, the lack of moisture in fuel  everything from trees, underbrush and dry grass  set records last year and this year, Mecham said, the fuel moisture level is about 10 percent lower.

San Diego area fire officials have responded to 382 fires so far this year, compared to 212 at the same time last year.

I look at these hillsides and the best analogy I can give you is, those hillsides are covered in gasoline, Mecham said. And if we get an ignition and we get a little bit of wind, we are going to have a major fire in San Diego.

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rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski
Expressive activity such as a June 30 peaceful protest that drew hundreds of people to Cannon Park could be handled differently under changes proposed for Carlsbads special events ordinance.

City officials have agreed to redraft their ordinance to shorten or eliminate the 90-day notice required for such events.

Other possible changes discussed recently by the City Council included an increase in the number of participants that triggers the need for a permit and a more streamlined process for obtaining the permit.

The citys special events ordinance led to confusion and fear among participants in the Families Belong Together rally. Similar demonstrations were staged in San Diego and across the United States that weekend to protest the presidents tough stance on immigration, which included separating children from their immigrant parents.

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Carlsbad officials posted signs in Cannon Park before the rally that warned participants they could be fined or jailed for failing to get a city permit, which requires the advance notice for any gathering of 50 people or more.

The city had threatened to charge me personally over $15,000 as well as put me in jail for six months, said Robin Mastro, one of the events organizers.

Some people decided not to participate because of the signs, she said. Those who stayed were split into small groups, which made it difficult for many of them to hear the public speakers and musicians.

Others at the City Councils Aug. 28 meeting commended the police and firefighters for being accommodating and gracious at the June 30 rally.

Still, residents said, the city needs to change its ordinance to be more responsive to current events and to the rapid spread of news on social media.

We are in a different world now, and we have to recognize that, said Carlsbad resident Linda Nelson. We need to be able to spontaneously demonstrate our love of our government, or our dislike of our government, either way.

The American Civil Liberties Union, in an Aug. 1 letter to the Carlsbad city attorney, states that several parts of the citys ordinance are unconstitutional because it restricts free speech, the right to gather in a public place and other expressive activity.

City officials said after the event that it was the first of its kind in Carlsbad, that it may have been handled awkwardly, and that no one would be fined or jailed.

Carlsbads public facilities host about 50 special events a year, from 5K runs to festivals, weddings and birthday parties. Permit requirements such as the 90-day notice help the city to coordinate those events with the services they need, such as traffic control and police protection, and the costs attached to them.

Some City Council members emphasized the need to balance freedom of expression with public safety.

This was a peaceful event  but we cant look into the future, said Councilman Keith Blackburn, a retired Carlsbad police officer. We dont want police to be caught off guard.

Councilwoman Cori Schumacher said the city needs to be cautious about the continuing erosion of civil rights.

In these divisive times we are looking for spaces to come together, Schumacher said, and she urged residents to advocate for a policy that comes from love and community.

No time frame was specified for when the rewritten ordinance will be presented to the council for approval.

The city attorneys office is working on a redraft of the citys entire municipal code, but the council asked for the special events ordinance to be a priority.

phil.diehl@sduniontribune.com

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
CARLSBAD

Youth Enrichment Services meetings start Sept. 20

The Carlsbad Youth Enrichment Services (YES) aims to help create a positive environment and safety net for young people in Carlsbad and the surrounding community by collaborating with other youth-oriented agencies and organizations. YES meetings are from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. every third Thursday at the Carlsbad Multi-Generational Center Community Room, 3209 Pine Ave. The next meeting is Sept. 20. Meetings are open to all. Contact Rosemary Eshelman at reshelman@carlsbadusd.net.

Casey Doose has been selected as the new assistant principal for Carmel Del Mar School and Sage Canyon School in the Del Mar Union School District. (Courtesy photo)

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DEL MAR

New assistant principal named for two schools

Casey Doose has been selected as the new assistant principal for Carmel Del Mar School and Sage Canyon School in the Del Mar Union School District. She comes from the Oceanside Unified School District, where she spent 18 years as a coordinator of curriculum and instruction, project specialist and classroom teacher.

ENCINITAS

SDG&E awards $7,500 to nature curriculum

The San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy has been awarded $7,500 from San Diego Gas & Electric to support its climate-science curriculum, Microclimates on a Macro Scale, which is part of the conservancys Watershed Explorers Program. Students will be introduced to this climate-science program this fall at one of the local charter schools with which SDRVC has a long-term relationship. The Watershed Explorers Program is a partnership with the SDRVC, San Dieguito River Park, San Diego Archaeological Center, and Volcan Mountain Foundation. This outdoor-education program focuses on different aspects of the watershed. Students visit different areas in the San Dieguito River Park, see wildlife, learn about diverse habitats, and about the importance of the watersheds cultural and natural resources.

ESCONDIDO

Lighthouse Award recipients named

The Escondido Union School District recently named the recipients of its Lighthouse Awards. Each year, the district honors full-time permanent employees who have completed their assignments in an exemplary manner, consistently go beyond their assignments to help the district meet its mission, and who exemplify the districts values and beliefs through their actions. This years honorees are: Ali Aardappel and P.J. Baldwin, Escondido High School; Ariel Alatorre and Kristi Burch, Del Lago Academy; Courtney Coffin, Orange Glen High School; Michael Killen, district maintenance/operations; Becky McKinney, San Pasqual High School; and Bryan Meyer and Tara Monzet, District Service Center.

FALLBROOK

English classes offered via Palomar College

Palomar College is offering free ongoing English classes from 8:30 to 11:20 a.m. Monday through Thursday at St. Johns Episcopal Church, 434 Iowa St. Enroll at any time; classes continue through Dec. 13. Free day care is available for preschool-age children. Call (760) 803-8559.

NORTH COUNTY

Local students graduate from college

Summer graduates from Baylor University, Waco, Texas: Evan Nils Taliana of Carlsbad, bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, minor in mathematics; Alexandra Angelique Simitzi of Encinitas, bachelor of business administration, Baylor Business Fellows, finance; Leila Katariina Rohde of Fallbrook, bachelor of business administration, marketing, summa cum laude; and Brandon Hamilton Elms of Oceanside, masters of business administration, business administration; masters of health administration, health care administration.

Free workshops for educators offered monthly at the Fleet

Educators can attend free workshops about astronomy and space science as part of the Fleet Science Centers Teachers Eating Pizza series of workshops. The monthly 5 to 8 p.m. workshops are recommended for K-8 teachers. Registration is free, but a refundable deposit is required. Pizza is included as well as time for museum exploration and a planetarium show. The Fleet is at 1875 El Prado in Balboa Park. For a list of all planned topics and to register for one or more workshops, visit bit.ly/2Niia0H.

MiraCosta Colleges Horticulture Department has launched a Sustainable Agriculture degree and certificate program that can be completed in as little as a year. (Courtesy photo)

OCEANSIDE

Sustainable agriculture at MiraCosta College

MiraCosta Colleges Horticulture Department has launched a Sustainable Agriculture degree and certificate program that can be completed in as little as a year. The program comes as North Countys agritourism industry grows more popular and attracts people interested in visiting working farms, ranches and wineries to buy fresh produce or enjoy a farm-to-table meal. Also starting this year is a Viticulture and Enology certificate and degree program, and a Pest Control Adviser program. The classes complement previous programs in Sustainable Landscape and Turf Management, Nursery/Horticulture Crop Management, Landscape Architecture, and Irrigation Technology.

Amy Bu, a student at Westview High School, recently completed the 60th annual University of Florida Student Science Training Program. (Courtesy photo)

POWAY

Student completes UF science program

Amy Bu, a student at Westview High School, recently completed the 60th annual University of Florida Student Science Training Program. The seven-week residential research participation program is for academically talented, upper-level high school students pursuing careers in a STEM field. Students work 30 hours each week with a faculty mentor. The program includes an interdisciplinary lecture series and interaction with scientists, engineers and scholars, a three-credit hour Honors Seminar, leadership development, field trips and more. Amy was the only student selected from San Diego County and worked in the College of Engineering on a project titled Fabricating Electropermanent Magnetic Microrobotics With Independent Velocity Control. She wrote papers, presented two science talks, and completed a research paper based on work done in the lab. Visit cpet.ufl.edu.

RAMONA

RHS hosts visits from trade schools, colleges

Ramona High Schools College and Career Center will host several visits from universities and trade schools this fall. The list will be updated on the schools website, rhs.ramonausd.net, and on the RHS Counseling Facebook page. Dates are: Wednesday, Grand Canyon University; Sept. 24, Azusa Pacific University; and Sept. 25, Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. All visits are during lunch in room I-64. Email Guidance Information Specialist Victoria MacKenzie at vmackenzie@ramonausd.net or call (760) 787-4057.

VISTA

College/career series kicks off this morning

The Family and Community Engagement Network opens a College and Career Parent series from 9 to 11 a.m. starting today and continuing every Thursday in September in the FACE Center, 836 Olive Ave., Room 203. There will be English and Spanish presentations. Todays topic: What is WAVEpact? What are the four college systems in California? Sept. 13: Career Technical Planning overview. Sept. 20: CTE in VUSD. Sept. 27: How to pay for college. All welcome. Contact your schools family liaison or email FamilyEngagement@vistausd.org.

Parent master class at Alamosa Elementary

Parents, do you play an instrument? Come and play for the students, answer their questions, and demonstrate different instruments that may not be available in the classroom. Email carasotelo@vistausd.org.

Please send items to laura.groch@sduniontribune.com at least 10 days before events.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com


National City has upgraded equipment at City Hall that is used to broadcast public meetings.

Crews installed two new cameras inside the council chambers, bringing the total to three. The cameras now provide shots of the dais, the podium for public speakers and the tables where city staff sit.

The two 65-inch TV monitors that were in the council chambers and lobby, where crowds sometimes overflow, were replaced with new 75-inch monitors. Two additional TV monitors were installed in the council chambers, one on either side of the room.

Swagit Productions, a company that specializes in hands-free video streaming and broadcasting, installed the video equipment and will remotely control the cameras during meetings that are broadcast on the citys website.

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Audio Associates revamped the citys audio equipment, including microphones.

Other upgrades include a new voting system. There also are plans for digital name plates to be placed on the dais.

Ron Williams, the citys IT manager, said the equipment that was replaced was outdated. He pointed to the control panel for microphones, which is no longer manufactured.

He said the upgrades are intended to provide a more pleasant viewing experience inside the council chambers and online.

The hope is to give them a better shot of whats going on, he said, a better view of whats going on in the council chambers.

The upgrades were approved by the City Council in May and cost about $175,000. Most of the work was completed just in time before the council returned from a month-long recess on Tuesday.

In the coming weeks, crews plan to fix minor audio and voting system glitches that arose at the meeting on Tuesday.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Over the past decade, the delayed completion of the San Ysidro School Districts $23.7 million solar panel project was a constant source of frustration and tension.

Now, the project that once was the subject of a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the district is complete. Solar panels are installed at seven schools and the districts office.

But now the project once again is at the center of yet another breach-of-contract lawsuit.

This time around contractor BAP Power Corp., which does business as Cenergy Power, has sued the school district and the solar company in charge of the project. Cenergy claims it is owed about $963,000 for work completed between January 2017 and March 2018.

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Under a $4.4 million contract, solar company Manzana Energy was supposed to periodically pay Cenergy when the project reached milestones. According to the lawsuit, Cenergy performed under all milestones and was paid almost $3.4 million, but the Carlsbad-based company is still owed the rest of the money.

Cenergy invoiced Manzana and unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with the solar company, according to the lawsuit. In April, Cenergy sent the school district what is called a stop payment notice to request that the district freeze final payments to Manzana.

Superintendent Gina Potter confirmed the district received the notice and said the district plans to withhold the remaining balance it owes Manzana  $570,310  until the dispute is resolved.

Meanwhile, Manzana CEO Art Castanares confirmed his company owes Cenergy a final payment.

He claims Cenergy failed to provide proper documentation to show that its subcontractors were paid after Manzana paid Cenergys invoices over the course of the project. He said he reached out to subcontractors, who said they were owed money from Cenergy.

Why would I make payments if I know that the other payments I made didnt go where they were supposed to go? he said.

Castanares said he withheld the last payment so neither Manzana nor the district ends up being responsible for paying subcontractors the money they are owed.

Were just protecting ourselves by holding the last bit of payment I have until they fix it, Castanares said.

He said Manzana more than once requested the documentation, which he said is required under the contract, and called for mediation before Cenergy filed the lawsuit.

In addition to the money Cenergy is owed, the company seeks to recover attorney fees and charge Manzana penalty fees. The lawsuit was filed on May 3 in Orange County.

According to the lawsuit, the contract was signed in Orange County  a claim Castanares disputes. He said Manzanas lawyers will request that the case be heard in San Diego County.

Potter, meanwhile, said the district plans to request a court order to prevent actions against the district while the matter is resolved.

The District believes this is a contract dispute between Cenergy and Manzana and intends to seek a stay of the action against the District while the parties resolve their differences, she said in a statement.

Now that the long-delayed solar project is installed, the district is working with Manzana and San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to get the system online and under the control of the district.

The solar panels are installed on parking canopies at six schools. Sunset Elementary and the districts office have ground-mounted solar panels.

The installation occurred over the first few months of this year, with the entire 2.2 megawatt system up and running by late April or early May, Castanares said.

He said the solar project is expected to slash the districts utility bill by 80 percent, or about $850,000, a year.

The history of the solar project dates back to 2008, when the district and Manzana signed a contract.

The troubles began in 2011 after then-Superintendent Manuel Paul cancelled the contract, citing non-performance. The move led to a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the district.

In 2014, Manzana Energy won a $12 million jury verdict, which was set aside a year later when the district and solar energy company agreed to amend and reboot the contract.

Initially, the company was to install the panels at no cost, then sell power to the district for $18 million over 25 years. Under the revised contract, the district agreed to pay for the panels, using bond funds from Proposition C, approved by voters in 1997.

Castanares has said the project stalled in part because the district decided to first modernize two campuses, although the district said the project would be completed in early 2017, with the exception of Smythe and La Mirada elementary schools.

Later, Castanares estimated the project would be completed by fall 2017.

As of Febuary 2017, Manzana Energy had been paid $16 million, even though not a single solar panel had been installed.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Hooves will thunder across the Hotel del Coronados private beach as guests watch horse-mounted players compete in Polo Americas third annual Beach Polo Cup. Tournament play begins Friday and concludes Sunday, with four teams of world-class players from Argentina, Mexico, Switzerland and the U.S., competing in mid-to-late-afternoon chukkas. If polo isnt enough, there will be a fashion show each day, designer boutiques, sand sculpture contest, hat contest, the Porsche Million Dollar Road Rally (around San Diego) and other activities. A VIP tent will be transformed into a giant cocktail lounge where elegantly dressed women and men will wine and dine on an array of culinary delights.

Beach Polo Cup: Gates open: 4:30 p.m. Friday; 11:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. Polo tickets: $100-$125 Silver Seating; $250 Gold Seating; $2,500 Gold Table (seating for 10); $2,000 Millionaires Row Box (seating for 10 with 20 complimentary drink tickets. (760) 668-6093. poloamerica.com/beach-polo-at-hotel-del-coronado

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carolina.gusman@sduniontribune.com
September 6, 1922 The San Diego Union

The San Diego Union-Tribune will mark its 150th anniversary in 2018 by presenting a significant front page from the archives each day throughout the year.

Wednesday, September 6, 1922

In 1922 Lt. James H. Jimmy Doolittle touched down at Rockwell Field on North Island to complete the first transcontinental flight across the U.S. within a single 24-hour period.

Here are the first few paragraphs of the story:

DOOLITTLE SETS RECORD IN OCEAN TO OCEAN FLIGHT

SAN DIEGO FLIER MAKES TRIP FROM JACKSONVILLE IN 21 HOURS, 19 MINUTES

Widely Known Aviator Lands at Rockwell Field in Splendid Condition, After Successful Transcontinental Air Journey; Encounters Heavy Rainstorm Over New Orleans; Average Speed 101 Miles an Hour.

By Howard E. Morin

SMASHING all existing flight records from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts, Lieut. James H. Doolittle of the United States army air service landed at Rockwell field at 5:34 oclock yesterday, exactly 21 hours and 19 minutes after he had taken off from Jacksonville, Fla. His average speed was 101 miles an hour. His powerful reconstructed DeHaviland, equipped with a 400-horsepower Liberty engine, never missed a single stroke during the sensational night and day dash across eight states.

Probably the most astounding feature to veteran military airmen of the 2165-mile flight was the superb condition of Lieut. Doolittle. Spectators expected to find the flier covered with spattered oil and dead tired. Instead, when Doolittle taxied his plane up to the dead line after making a superb landing, he was hardly travel-stained, and as he pulled off his leather cap he smiled from ear to ear. In response to congratulations extended by Maj. Shepler W. FitzGerald, commander of Rockwell field, he said, Thank you, sir.

How do you feel, Jimmie? shouted a brother aviator.

Not bad, said Doolittle, with a cheerful grin.

Did you have any trouble?

Not a bit of any kind.

Arent you hungry?

Well, I could eat a little, replied Doolittle amid shouts of laughter.

TELLS STORY OF TRIP

Lieut. Doolittle, after receiving the congratulations of a group of friends, was whisked away to the home of Lieut. John McCulloch, post adjutant. Here, while taking a warm bath, he gave to a representative of The Union, the story of his remarkable flight across the continent.

The army flier said that he left Pablo beach near Jacksonville at 10:30 oclock Monday night. He climbed to 2000 feet and then swung westward over the Florida swamps. He had been aloft barely to hours when he encountered a heavy rainstorm.

It was pitch black, said Lieut. Doolittle, but I had no trouble picking out landmarks by the frequent flashes of lightning.

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.
When Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti hopped a plane to Iowa earlier this year, taxpayers back home helped foot the bill by covering the mayors security costs.

Garcetti, who is burnishing his national profile ahead of a possible presidential run, is usually accompanied by Los Angeles Police Department officers, both in L.A. and when he travels. The city has typically paid for the officers flights, hotels, rental cars and other expenses, as well as their salaries.

But now, Garcettis political action committee, the Democratic Midterm Victory Fund, will reimburse the city for security expenses for Garcettis Iowa journey, as well as five other trips made by the mayor in the last year and half, a Garcetti advisor said Wednesday.

Mayoral security expenses on future trips related to the committee will also be covered, advisor Yusef Robb said.

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The Democratic Midterm Victory Fund benefits from the mayors participation and travel  he is our key voice and fundraiser, Robb said. After a conversation with the mayor, the fund contacted LAPD and asked that it bill the fund for travel costs related to mayoral security during trips associated with the funds activities moving forward.

Robb said that committee wont pick up the salary costs of officers on those trips. That will continue to be paid for by taxpayers.

He did not provide a final reimbursement tally for those six trips, saying he was waiting for the accounting.

Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School, called Garcettis move a preemptive strike to assure taxpayers that they arent paying for his presidential ambitions.

Hes trying to say, Dont worry about it, this is [covered by] private money, Levinson said.

The committees announcement came hours before Garcetti left for a three-day trip to Ohio to rally Democrats and meet with local politicians. Later this month, hell head to South Carolina and to Minnesota in October.

The Times is suing the city over its refusal to say how much is being spent on Garcettis security when he travels. The LAPD has refused to disclose these costs, arguing it could potentially undermine his security.

Explaining the committees decision to pay for mayoral security expenses, Robb said that the LAPD makes independent decisions on assigning officers for mayoral security and there has not been a clear mechanism for reimbursements.

Garcetti launched the political action committee late last year to raise money for Democratic congressional candidates and state parties across the country ahead of the November midterm elections.

Committee funds also are being used to pay for the mayors travels and helped cover his hotel costs when he traveled to New York in March. During that trip, he met a committee donor, criticized leadership in Washington during an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers and accepted an award from Columbia University.

Robb said the committee will reimburse the city for mayoral security travel costs for six trips  to South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Arizona, as well as Iowa  since June 2017.

That time period covers political trips Garcetti took before he launched the Democratic Midterm Victory Fund late last year.

The New York trip wasnt included on the six trips to be reimbursed, raising questions about which future trips the committee will cover. Robb said the meeting with the donor in New York was an hour over the course of a three-day trip. He said the committee will pay for travel when its connected to the fund.

More than 70% of the Democratic Midterm Victory Funds contributions have come from California donors, including individuals or companies with ties to City Hall.

Because it is a federal committee, the fund doesnt have to comply with city campaign fundraising rules, including L.A.s prohibition on political contributions from lobbying firms.

Jay Handal, co-chairman of Neighborhood Council Budget Advocates, a citizens oversight committee, questioned whether the political action committee should be used to fund mayoral security because its focus is on raising money for candidates and state parties.

If I contributed, Id be angry, Handal said.

The mayor isnt the first politician to seek to cover his travel costs.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel paid back his city nearly $22,000 after questions were raised about his travel and security expenses, including why Chicago police officers accompanied Emanuel to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., the Chicago Tribune reported.

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @dakotacdsmith

UPDATES:

5 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details and comments from Jessica Levinson and Jay Handal.

This article was originally published at 7:55 p.m. on Sept. 5.
Singapore, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- [Singapore, 6 September 2018] Researchers from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand recently conducted the largest ever clinical study on BRANDS Essence of Chicken (BEC). In this study, BEC was compared against a placebo protein drink. The study, published in Nutrients*, a peer-reviewed open access journal of human nutrition, concluded that consumption of BEC improves working memory among healthy adults. Furthermore, healthy people with higher levels of everyday stress experience greater benefit in memory improvement.

BRANDS Essence of Chicken Improves Working Memory in Healthy Adults

BEC consumption was shown to improve working memory in healthy adults, particularly in challenging memory tasks. Figure 1 shows that study participants consuming BEC improved by 8.5% from their baseline scores, with benefits seen within the first week of daily consumption.

Working memory is the ability to remember new information while using it in some way and it is crucial to everyday function. For example, for students answering a multiple choice question, working memory is used to remember the question and all options while deciding on the correct answer. For executives, working memory is used during meetings to remember facts and figures presented for decision-making.

Refer to Figure 1.



Hence, consumption of BEC can help healthy adults hold and process information better in their daily life with an enhanced working memory performance.

Participants with Higher Stress Levels See Greater Memory Benefit with BRANDS Essence of Chicken Consumption

Researchers also found that in participants with higher stress levels, BEC consumption improved memory performance even in simple memory tasks, in addition to the challenging tasks. Thus, people who have higher levels of stress may experience greater benefits from BEC consumption.

Figure 2(a) shows that moderately stressed participants consuming BEC improved memory by 10% from their baseline scores in the simple memory task. Figure 2(b) shows an even larger improvement of 20% among severely stressed participants.





These study findings support that BEC consumption can improve working memory in healthy adults and particularly when there is a higher level of daily life stress, concluded the researchers from Chulalongkorn University who conducted the study.

To date, this is the largest clinical study ever done to measure the effectiveness of BEC on cognitive function improvement. In this study, participants consumed 2 bottles of BEC per day. Three earlier BEC studies have used 1 bottle per day dosage and have similarly shown improved working memory as well.# As cognition comprises many different functions, e.g. memory, planning, creativity, the sponsors of this study intend to continue to explore the potential beneficial enhancement effects of BEC.



---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funding: Study funding was provided by Cerebos Pacific Limited trading as BRANDS Suntory Asia.

Acknowledgments: Essence of Chicken (EC) used in this study was a commercially available preparation (BRANDS Essence of Chicken). Both EC and placebo products were provided by Cerebos Pacific Limited trading as BRANDS Suntory Asia. External consultants were consulted in study design and analysis of study data.

Conflicts of Interest: Study funding was provided by Cerebos Pacific Limited trading as BRANDS Suntory Asia. The study sponsor provided input on study design by providing the background information of EC, dose and duration of EC treatment to be studied and outcome domains to be assessed. The study sponsor provided statistician support to run analyses under the direction of SN and contributed to the manuscript writing in the background review of previous EC studies, EC composition and discussion of previous EC study findings.

* Suttiwan, Panrapee, Pongsak Yuktanandana, and Sakkaphat Ngamake. Effectiveness of Essence of Chicken on Cognitive Function Improvement: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial. Nutrients 10, no. 7 (June 29, 2018). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10070845. This is the largest clinical study conducted on the effectiveness of EC to date, with 235 participants. Of the 235 healthy adults from the Asian population who completed the study, there were 117 participants in the EC Group and 118 participants in the placebo group. In this study, participants drank 2 bottles of EC per day.

# Three earlier EC studies have used 1 bottle per day dosage and have similarly shown improved working memory as well:

Azhar, M. Z., J. O. Zubaidah, and K. O. N. Norjan. Effect of Taking Chicken Essence on Cognitive Functioning of Normal Stressed Human Volunteers. Malays. J. Med. Health Sci 4 (2008): 5768. Zain, Azhar Md, and Syedmohsin Syedsahiljamalulail. Effect of Taking Chicken Essence on Stress and Cognition of Human Volunteers. Malaysian Journal of Nutrition 9, no. 1 (March 2003): 1929. Benton, D., and H. A. Young. The Effect of Chicken Essence on Cognition and Mood: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Current Topics in Nutraceuticals Research 13, no. 2 (2015): 61-70







About BRANDS Suntory Asia

http://www.brandsworld.com/

The BRANDS Suntory Group is a leading health supplements enterprise in Asia, and a division of Suntory Beverage and Food Asia Pte Ltd. Marketed under BRANDS and trusted by consumers for over 180 years, it has helped build a foundation of health for generations under its flagship brand BRANDS Essence of Chicken. With products sold in 19 countries, its key markets are Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. BRANDS prides itself for its spirit of innovation while staying true to its roots and purpose.

About Suntory Beverage & Food Asia

www.sbfapac.com

Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte Ltd (SBFA) is the Asia Pacific headquarters of Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd (SBF). Headquartered in Singapore, SBFA manages the regional business through 2 divisions  Beverage Division and Health Supplement Division (BRANDS Suntory Asia), with many brands in leading positions in their respective national markets. We aim to continue creating products that are healthy, natural and valuable, bringing happiness and wellness into our consumers' lives.

For more information/media enquiries, please contact:

Diana Tan

Corporate Affairs

Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte Ltd

DID : +65 6212 0287

Email : Diana.Tan@suntory.com

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Los Angeles County officials launched a program Wednesday to help locate people with autism, Alzheimers disease or dementia who may wander off and go missing.

The program, called L.A. Found, will make use of bracelets that can be tracked through radio frequency by sheriffs deputies. It will also create a new office, housed within the department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services, to coordinate a countywide response when somebody goes missing.

If you get lost, we will help find you, county Supervisor Janice Hahn, who championed the initiative, said at a news conference.

A family member or caretaker of an individual who has autism, Alzheimers, dementia or some other cognitive impairment can apply for a bracelet through L.A. Found. Once approved, they can purchase a bracelet at a cost of $325 from the nonprofit organization Project Lifesaver, which works with municipalities to apply the location technology.

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The bracelet transmits an inaudible electronic tone to a receiver that can pick up the signal within a mile on the ground, or within two to five miles from a helicopter, and lead searchers to within inches of the device.

This technology literally enables lost loved ones to communicate their location to us, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said at the news conference.

According to the Alzheimers Assn., 60% of people with dementia will wander off at some point. About half of all children with autism will do so, according to pediatrics research. Traffic and the potential for drowning pose grave risks.

The Glendale Police Department began using the technology in 2015 and has had 100% success in finding 15 individuals who disappeared so far, said Glendale police Sgt. Traci Fox.

One was a young, deaf man with autism who was found in a wash in Burbank, standing knee-deep in ice-cold water.

We would never have found him otherwise, Fox said in an interview, noting that the helicopter the department deployed picked up the tracking signal almost immediately after taking off.

Fox and others emphasized that technology is only one part of the equation, with training of law enforcement officers and better coordination among government agencies equally important.

The L.A. Found initiative grew out of the disappearance of Nancy Paulikas, a computer engineer from Manhattan Beach who went missing after a visit to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in October 2016 and has still not been found.

Hahn, elected in November 2016, went to visit Paulikas husband, Kirk Moody.

I began to understand what he and Nancys parents had been going through, she said in an interview Wednesday. They were every day calling the coroner. They every day were going to a new nursing home handing out flyers. They were calling hospitals. Manhattan Beach Police Department was [the] only law enforcement entity that was trying to help them. I thought we could do better as a county.

Hahn created the Bringing our loved ones home task force, which came up with a series of recommendations, including using the trackable bracelets, which were approved by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year.

The only thing that keeps me hopeful about the ability of this program is that Nancys husband says if she had been wearing a bracelet, she would be home by now, Hahn said.

nina.agrawal@latimes.com

Twitter: @AgrawalNina
Wouldnt it be nice to lodge a detailed complaint about an annoying public problem with just the click of a button?

That thought was surely running through Chris McCanns mind last year when he drew upon his skills as a former U.S. Air Force test pilot and a custom software engineer to design a device enabling residents to complain about excessive aircraft noise with the click of a finger.

McCann, who lives in La Jolla Shores Heights, found the noise increased when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revamped flight patterns and rules in its NextGen modernization program to streamline and cut costs in the fall of 2016.

Complainants had to go to an aviation website, consult the FAA mapping program, collect data, identify the flight by time and location and complete a form. It was too hard and took too much time to file a report, says McCann.

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Chris McCann holds one of his remote control clickers that reports aircraft information to the San Diego airport authority when a noisy jet flies over his La Jolla home. He developed the software as a community service. (Courtesy photo)

So he developed a website  airnoise.io  and a hand-held clicker that links to the flight data of air traffic at San Diego International Airport. It now includes 24 other U.S. airports. When the airnoise button is pushed, it searches for commercial aircraft nearby, gathers the complaint information and files it with the local airport authority. There is a one-time $24 button purchase cost and a $5 monthly fee for service but, for no cost, residents can use the website to lodge up to 15 complaints a month, send a complaint by text message, and soon, by app.

In mid-August, the San Diego airport announced an app of its own, which it is now rolling out with a series of workshops to help people download it on their mobile devices. This gets us the information we need (to analyze complaints), said airport spokeswoman Rebecca Bloomfield. She called the noise reporting app (only available on the airport website) an upgrade to its operations monitoring system. Complaints are passed on to its Airport Noise Advisory Committee which meets bimonthly.

I was trying to solve a problem  both for the citizens and the airport authority, explains McCann, who designed the service as a convenience, not a profit-making venture. Using the button is very therapeutic. Its stress-relieving. People get solace just knowing that they can file a complaint and get on with their lives.

Beatriz Prado is one of them. The Aug. 25 Wall Street Journal noted that the La Jolla industrial designer had filed 12,694 official complaints with her button in the prior 16 months. An L.A. website designer had filed 11,683 and a Massachusetts man had clicked 14,008 times.

Most users are not chronic complainers, McCann says. They simply want to enjoy their homes and these (flight pattern) changes were destroying that. He uses his own clicker two or three times a week, sometimes when a low and late-flying Hawaiian Airlines flight rumbles overhead. It can actually cause our windows to rattle, he says. He also clicks it to report some East Coast-bound red-eye flights like one that flew over recently at 12:45 a.m. It woke me up.

McCann faults the FAA for passing the buck by ceding complaint handling responsibility to local groups such as the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. He sits on two citizens commissions  the Citizens Advisory Committee and the Technical Advisory Committee  both set up by the airport authority to try to mitigate the noise problem. Its unfair of the FAA to foist these problems on the backs of local groups, he says.

Hundreds of people have contacted him since the Wall Street Journal took notice, McCann says. Close to 400 have since signed up for service, including about 80 who ordered clickers. Plus, he has received requests to add a dozen other airports and currently is expanding his complaint software reach to England and several Canadian cities. For McCann, it remains a hobby, but its also providing a service people find valuable.

Prado, who goodnaturedly calls herself a squeaky wheel, notes 120,000 aircraft noise complaints filed in San Diego last year. She compiles research studies showing that the FAAs re-routing has had adversarial health effects on residents of Queens, N.Y., and has impacted air quality at LAX.

She is now contemplating selling her home of 22 years. Were stuck with 130 departures a day and no relief...Everybodys being affected and its just not right, she says. The simple answer is for the FAA to revert back to early 2016 routing and rules. For us to try to tweak the current boondoggle is like tweaking a nightmare.

This covered plot for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., awaited Monday for his burial at the U.S. Naval Academy cemetery. Years ago his friend, Adm. Chuck Larson, whose memorial stone is on the right, reserved grave sites for himself and McCain and their wives. Larson died in 2014. (Susan Walsh / AP)

Behind the headlines: The U.S. Naval Academy cemetery is the final resting place for former CIA Director Stansfield Turner, Ambassador William J. Crowe Jr., Adm. Arleigh Burke, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II and 11 Medal of Honor recipients, including Adm. James Stockdale. Now Sen. John McCain is there, next to his buddy, former Naval Academy Supt. Charles Larson.

When she was the CEO of Girl Scouts of San Diego and Imperial counties, Jo Dee Jacob started Operation Thin Mint to send Girl Scout cookies to deployed troops. (K.C. Alfred / UT San Diego/Zuma Press)

Retired Navy Capt. Jo Dee Jacob and her staff earned a footnote to history in this burial saga. In 1997, the San Diegan was deputy superintendent of operations and chief of staff for Adm. Charles R. Larson at the academy. One day he gave her an order that Jacob says for three days of my life was the most important item on my plate.

He had instructed her to find four burial plots together for him, his wife Sally, and for John and Cindy McCain. Many spaces in the then nearly 130-year-old cemetery were already reserved for future burials so finding four adjacent sites posed a dilemma. Using a map the size of her desk, Jacob and her staff began the time-consuming task of tracking down and contacting reservation holders and their families. Some were willing to swap for another space and others had since been buried elsewhere, freeing up an unused plot.

It reminded me a a Rubiks cube. You move this piece here and that one there, recalls Jacob, who retired as CEO of Girl Scouts San Diego in 2016. Four adjacent plots overlooking the Severn River were eventually secured, and the rest of the story is recent history.

diane.bell@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1518

Twitter: @dianebellSD

Facebook: dianebell.news
A former financial adviser at a Chase Bank branch in Imperial Beach was sentenced to three years, eight months in state prison Wednesday for stealing about $300,000 from four elderly customers over several years.

Leona Parsons, 49, was arrested June 1 at her home in Chula Vista, and charged later with 12 counts including theft from an elder, forgery and identity theft, according to information provided by prosecutors and a sheriffs detective who attended the sentencing Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court.

Parsons pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to six counts.

Before sentencing Parsons at the hearing Wednesday, Judge Polly Shamoon listened to victims and their relatives read statements about how the thefts had affected their lives.

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One of the victims, Leroy Edwards, 94, said he had known Parsons for the better part of a decade, and had even gone to a car dealership with her and loaned her money for a down payment on a vehicle. She never paid him back, Edwards said.

Edwards told the judge he thought Parsons was his friend, and he had trusted her completely. He said he couldnt believe it when his adult children uncovered the theft during their review of his finances last year.

Over a period of about eight years, Parsons stole some $60,000 from him, according to information provided Wednesday by the District Attorneys Office.

It was very difficult to understand that my personal banker, Leona Parsons, would steal from me after all I had done for her, Edwards said during the hearing.

Parsons attorney brought with her to the sentencing hearing a money order for $5,000, which Parsons handed over to start repaying Chase Bank. According to prosecutors, the bank already reimbursed the victims for the approximately $300,000 Parsons stole from them.

Parsons wore a sober expression during most of the victims testimony Wednesday, but appeared to giggle softly at one point when one victim suggested Parsons should spend her time in prison reading books on California law.

After the victims spoke, Parsons apologized to them, her voice cracking with emotion as she spoke.

Parsons attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jenerra Crenshaw, told the judge that Parsons had been under immense financial pressure to provide for her family as the sole breadwinner, and her desperation had led her to make mistakes that hurt her clients and their families.

The attorney asked the judge to sentence Parsons, who had no prior criminal history and had not committed violent crimes, to probation instead of prison.

Shamoon denied the request, saying Parsons punishment should reflect the egregiousness of her crimes against the vulnerable, elderly people who loved and trusted her.

The grift spanned eight years, and Parsons stole more than 80 times from numerous victims, making it one of the worst cases of theft from vulnerable people the court had ever seen, Shamoon said.

Further, Parsons had not shown true remorse, Shamoon said. Instead of being available for her probation interview, Parsons had been at Disneyland, spending stolen money.

To steal some $300,000 and then tender a $5,000 check to make the victims whole was too little, too late, Shamoon said.

According to Deputy District Attorney Scott Pirrello, who prosecuted the case, Parsons had stolen most of the money by filling out deposit slips for her clients in amounts much greater than they had asked her to withdraw. Parsons then gave the clients the amount of cash they had requested, and kept the extra money for herself.

Parsons also forged withdrawal slips, Pirrello said.

Pirrello and sheriffs Detective Michael Proffitt said there might be more victims of Parsons who had not yet come forward. They called for anyone who had done business with her to take a look at their financial records and, if anything looked unusual, to call the Sheriffs Department at (858) 285-6111.
San Diegos young, unauthorized immigrants returned Wednesday to where they rallied one year ago when the Trump administration ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to say they are not backing down in their fight to stay in the U.S.

At least 70 people rallied at the county administration building, a smaller crowd than the hundreds who converged last year to condemn the administrations decision to end the program. Those present this year carried the emblems of movements that have grown in the pushback on the Trump administrations immigration policies since Sept. 5, 2017.

Hosted by San Diego Border Dreamers, a collective of DACA recipients that began organizing to convince Congress to help them in the aftermath of the DACA rescission, the demonstration featured Abolish ICE posters among its butterfly-themed signs.

Ali Torabi, member of San Diego Border Dreamers and a DACA recipient from Iran, said it was important to him to gather on the anniversary in order to reclaim the date as a positive moment rather than a negative one.

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Theyre going to regret this day because it marks in history the moment we came together, he told a cheering crowd.

A group of 12 cyclists, known as the dream riders, finished a roughly 1,700 mile bike ride between Seattle and San Diego during the rally.

Jung Woo Kim, a DACA recipient from Los Angeles who was born in Korea, led the ride as a campaign for Citizenship for all.

The call for equality and protection for all people, not just DACA recipients, was his groups answer to what they saw as politicians using them as bargaining chips during legislative negotiations, he said.

Mi Jin Park, a Korean DACA recipient who finished the ride with Kim, said she was tired of hiding all of her life because of her immigration status.

I am here to fight for all human beings who have been victims of U.S. domination, said Park, who just graduated from Harvard.

President Donald Trump promised during his campaign to end the DACA program. In his first months in office, he seemed to soften his position.

After Labor Day weekend in 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had long said that the Obama administrations creation of the program had gone beyond the powers of the executive branch, explained to the nation early in the morning on September 5 that the program would end in March.

The DACA program allowed immigrants who came to the U.S. as children to apply for renewable, two-year permits that protected them from deportation and allow them to work. Under the Trump administrations plan, those permits would begin to expire in March, though some ended up expiring earlier because of a tighter deadline set for final renewal applications.

The Trump administration called on Congress to act before March if legislators wanted to protect DACA recipients. As Congress waffled over the details of a potential compromise, the White House pushed to get the presidents long-promised border wall in exchange for a way for so-called dreamers to stay in the U.S.

Though the government shut down early in 2018 over the issue, Congress has not passed a solution for DACA recipients.

Immigrants who have already received DACA permits are still allowed to renew them because of a series of court orders from cases filed in the aftermath of Sessions announcement. The government is not accepting applications from immigrants who were not previously enrolled in the program.

More than 800,000 immigrants who came to the U.S. as children have participated in the program, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes the programs permits.

Advocacy organizations have estimated that about 40,000 DACA-eligible immigrants live in San Diego County.

At Wednesdays rally, immigration attorney and DACA recipient Dulce Garcia emphasized that politicians have not acted.

Because we sued the president, today were able to renew our DACA status, she said. We deserve permanent protection, and we dont want any of our parents or neighbors to be hurt by us.

She expects the lawsuit that she is a part of to go to the Supreme Court as early as this year, she said.

Immigration Videos On Now New developments in family separation case 9:53 On Now A San Diego woman volunteered as a medic in Texas helping migrant families 2:35 On Now Immigration policy protests in Carlsbad nearly cancelled after permit issue 1:38 On Now When children are separated from their parents at the border, here is where they go next On Now Prospects of a deal for 'Dreamers' may hinge on separating Trump from hard-liners on his staff On Now What is DACA? On Now Border wall prototype contractors selected On Now Video: Ukrainian boxer wins asylum in U.S. On Now 30 apprehended after Border Patrol agents discover tunnel On Now Video: Kurdish diaspora prepare to vote on independence

Follow me on Facebook for live updates about immigration news

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on Twitter
Twitter is permanently banning right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars show for abusive behavior.

Twitter Inc. said Thursday that Jones wont be allowed to create new accounts on Twitter or take over any existing ones. The company said Jones posted a video Wednesday that violated the companys policy against abusive behavior.

The video in question showed Jones shouting at and berating CNN journalist Oliver Darcy for some 10 minutes between two congressional hearings focused on social media. Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey testified at both hearings, but he did not appear to witness the confrontation.

Jones had about 900,000 followers on Twitter. The Infowars account had about 430,000.

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Twitter previously suspended Jones for a week, but had resisted muzzling him further. Other tech companies have limited Jones by suspending him for longer periods, as Facebook did, and by taking down his pages and radio stations.

Jones heckled Darcy in a public hallway where reporters were waiting to enter the House committee room. He criticized the journalists reporting and appearance, referencing his skinny jeans and repeatedly saying, just look at this guys eyes and look at that smile.

At one point, he said Darcy was smiling like a possum that crawled out of the rear end of a dead cow. Thats what you look like. You look like a possum that got caught doing some really nasty stuff  in my view. Youre a public figure too.

Darcy has aggressively questioned social media companies about the forbearance they showed Jones, asking why they have allowed him to remain on their platforms as long as they have.

Jones is currently active on Facebook; his suspension there recently expired.

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details of Alex Jones confrontation with Oliver Darcy.

This article was originally published at 2 p.m.
Surveillance video shows kidnapping victim Abby Hernandez returning to her New Hampshire home in 2014 after being held for nine months and kept in a storage container.

Hernandez is speaking out more than four years after she was unexpectedly freed by captor Nathaniel Kibby, who is serving 45 to 90 years in prison.

I remember when I came up to my doorstep I could hear my mom talking on the phone, she told ABCs 20/20" in an interview that airs Friday night at 10 p.m. I could hear her voice. I opened the door and I said, Mom?

Mother Zenya Hernandez said she couldnt believe what I was seeing when Abby walked into their home on July 20, 2014. Abby had been just 14 years old when she was abducted nine months earlier.

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Video shows the teen walking up to the home before the emotional reunion. She described how Kibby let her go.

There were no cars coming either way, Abby told ABC News. He said get out, so I got out, and then he yelled, wait, give me my hat back, give me my hat back. I took the hat off, I threw it in the car, slammed the door and he drove off.

Abby was tortured and sexually assaulted by Kibby when she was his prisoner, and did not believe she would ever get away from him.

I remember looking up and laughing and being so happy like, oh my god, this actually happened. Im a free person, she told ABC News. I never thought it would happen to me, but Im free. And I just walked home.

While her daughter was missing, Zenya Hernandez said she did not follow her normal routine, including how often she checked her mail. When she did check, she received a letter from Abby.

I cant believe it and Im happy beyond belief. And, Im also confused by some of the language, Zenya Hernandez told ABC News. She said, Dear Mom, I miss you and love you more than you can imagine. Im sorry I did this. Ive seen the newspaper and TV reports, and to answer your questions, yes Im alive. ... I miss you Mom, but I wont tell you where I am.

Zenya Hernandez said the letter was her, but its not her.
So much for being the happiest place on Earth.

A disgruntled New Jersey man told a Disney World hotel greeter on July 21 that he planned to blow up the park. When the employee wished a good day to the man, identified as Gregory Lazarchick, he snapped back, I dont want to have a great day, reported Orlando TV station WFTV9.

Lazarchick, 56, then coldly said to the greeter, Al Qaeda sent me here to blow the place up, according to Spectrum News13. After the employee realized the guest wasnt joking, authorities arrived at the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa for an interview.

No explosives were discovered in Lazarchicks hotel room, said cops. The suspect claimed he didt fully remember making the statements, but appeared to regret saying them, The Orlando Sentinel reported.

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An intern overhearing the conversation claimed the suspects threat sounded deadly serious.

Lazarchick wasnt arrested until Aug. 15  for false report of a bombing  long after his vacation ended. He was extradited back to Florida on Sept. 4.

His sister, who was not identified, blamed Lazarchicks current mental state on a head injury he suffered in 2014. From that time, he has not been right since, the sibling told TV station WFTV9. She also asserted that his wife died in 2017.

More than 50,000 people visit Disney World daily, according to the latest figures. In 2016, the Magic Kingdom park welcomed 20.4 million guests. The Orlando attraction remains the most visited theme park in the world.
Forget about Mars little green men. Instead, fear Floridas little green algae!

A drug suspect learned that lesson the hard way after jumping into a Caloosahatchee River canal while attempting to elude cops, reported ABC News.

On Sept. 1, Abraham Duarte leaped into the water near Cape Coral as police gave chase.

Get out of the water! one cop can be heard shouting in dramatic body-cam video as Duarte, 22, is overwhelmed by algae.

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The panicked suspect then screamed, Im going to die! as he struggled to swim back to the shore.

Hold on, were going to throw you a line! responded an officer. Youre standing on the bottom right now. I can see.

Several cops then were able to extricate Duarte  covered from head to toe in algae  from the soupy water. Officers then extensively hosed him off, including the inside of his mouth, before placing him in a waiting patrol car ready to haul him away for booking.

Duarte was overcome with algae in the water after he swallowed some and quickly began swimming back to the original officer that stopped him, noted Cape Coral police in a statement.

The reason for the suspects sudden flight became apparent after officers allegedly discovered seven vials of THC oil in his vehicle, ABC News reported.

Cops charged Duarte with possession of a controlled substance and resisting arrest without violence before he was released from Lee County Jail on $17,500 bond on Sunday.

His next court date is Oct. 3.
A Florida mother of three boys is accused of monstrously attacking her 12-year-old son in May after he claimed to have not finished his homework.

Sharleen Hidalgo of Miami was arrested and charged with child abuse on Tuesday after she allegedly grabbed her son by the neck and began assaulting him.

A police report indicated Hidalgo, 33, allegedly berated and threatened the victim, grabbed him by the neck, threw him to the ground and repeatedly slapped, punched and kicked him.

Even more disturbing is surveillance video purportedly showing the abusive meltdown that was shot inside the home. Hidalgos husband turned that evidence over to police.

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The husband also reported abuse claims to Department of Children and Family investigators along with two additional videos depicting the defendant beating and cursing at the victim and his 5-year-old brother on separate occasions, a detective wrote in an arrest report.

The victim, now 13, never reported the abuse, said cops, who added his 14-year-old brother had also witnessed the incident.

But the belligerent beat-downs werent reserved solely for her kids. Hidalgos husband, who was not identified, admitted she beat and scratched and hit him in the face with a video game controller on July 21. She eventually confessed to cops that the accusation was true after kids corroborated his story.

The three boys have been extricated from the home and are living with relatives.

Sharleen Hidalgo is being held at a Miami area correctional center on $4,000 bail.
English Latvian

Correction: Previously published interim consolidated financial statements of VIA SMS group AS for the first 6 months of 2018 includes cash and balances of VIA Payments UAB clients at Lithuanian Central Bank in amount of EUR 3 123 900. As a result of correction clients funds are represented as "Off balance sheet items". The correction affects consolidated statement of financial position, cash flow statement and notes. VIA SMS group AS repeatedly publishes interim financial report for the first 6 months of 2018.

During the period from 1 January 2018 to 30 June 2018, VIA SMS group AS operations were successful; the Group has closed the reporting period with a net turnover of EUR 10 493 305 and corresponding 9.7% increase in comparison with the same period in 2017. The largest net turnover growth is reached in Sweden. During the first six months of 2018 the Group has reached EBITDA of 2 251 091 EUR, ensuring the net profit of 1 251 708 EUR.

During the reporting period, significant growth was reached by the subsidiary operating in Sweden. Due to the optimization of the product portfolio based on the deep analysis of customer needs, the Swedish subsidiary experienced 28% growth in the net portfolio if compared to the last 12 months. Subsidiary in Poland, on the other hand, has experienced a slight decrease in the net turnover. Newly established subsidiary in Romania has shown stable operations and is currently focusing on strengthening its positions in the Romanian consumer lending market. Latvian subsidiary has also experienced growth following new product launch, as well as growing demand for payment card with credit line SAVA.card.

VIA SMS group AS

VIA SMS group is an alternative financial services provider operating across Europe. The company has been operating under several brands - VIA SMS, SAVA.card, VIAKREDIT, VIA CONTO, VIALET - and is offering consumer loans with a maturity term up to 24 months.

During the first six months of 2018, the Group has mainly focused on strengthening its positions in existing markets where it is providing consumer lending services - Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Czechia, Spain, and Romania. The Group also intensively developed peer to peer lending platform VIAINVEST by promoting it in the public environment and attracting new investors.

The Group has also started an intensive development phase for the digital banking product VIALET that has acquired the Lithuanian electronic money institution license in 2017. It is planned to launch VIALET publicly in the second half of 2018.
A U.S.-born mother and her 3-year-old son were critically injured when they were attacked by a female giraffe at a wildlife reserve in South Africa on Monday.

The incident took place after the giraffe had recently given birth to a calf at the Blyde Wildlife Estate outside Hoedspruit.

Dr. Sam Williams was returning from a trail run when he found his wife and son being attacked by the giraffe about 150 yards from their family home, lawyer Marina Botha said. Williams managed to chase the giraffe away.

Dr. Katy Williams, who is from the U.S. and is also a British citizen, and son Finn were treated at the scene and were later airlifted to a Johannesburg hospital.

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Finn underwent surgery early Tuesday to release pressure on his brain, and his mother had surgery on Wednesday, Sam Williams said through their lawyer. Both mother and son are in critical but stable condition.

Dr. Sam Williams has conveyed his gratitude to all emergency personnel, ER24, the medical team of Busamed Modderfontein Hospital, the management team and residents of Blyde Wildlife Estate as well as the community of Hoedspruit for their assistance and support in this difficult time for him and his family, Botha said in a statement.

The Blyde Wildlife Estate manager said the calfs birth might have had an influence on the giraffes behavior.

The attack took place at the Blyde Wildlife Estate outside Hoedspruit. (YouTube)

We are all in shock about this very sad incident and we ensure the family that they are in our prayers, Riaan Cilliers said.

Husband and wife are both scientists in animal-related fields, according to Botha. The lawyer said that Sam Williams regards the incident as an unfortunate act of nature, where the giraffe saw his wife and son as a threat to her young one.

The family has asked the public and media to kindly respect their privacy during this very difficult time that they are going through, the lawyer said.
The Justice Department has charged a North Korea computer programmer in connection with the 2014 attack on Sony Pictures and other cyber-related incidents in recent years.

In a criminal complaint filed June 8 and made public for the first time Thursday, the Department of Justice alleged Park Jin Hyok was part of a wide-ranging multi-year conspiracy led by the North Korean government and carried out multiple cyber attacks, including the Sony hack, through a front organization.

The United States government has long attributed the high-profile Hollywood attack to North Korea, but Thursdays announcement marks the first time prosecutors have brought criminal charges in connection with the major data breach.

The hack, conducted by a group identifying itself as Guardians of Peace, exposed a trove of Sonys internal emails, among them embarrassing exchanges between producers and top studio executives. They spawned international headlines and a slew of articles detailing the inner-workings of Sony.

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The scandal culminated in the departure of top executive Amy Pascal, who cracked racist jokes about former President Barack Obama in one of the released emails.

Hackers also wiped data from thousands of computers as well as stole and released films not yet available to the public. The attack additionally forced the Hollywood studio to delay the release and eventually pull Seth Rogens The Interview, a satirical flick depicting the assassination of Kim Jong Un.

The Treasury Department also announced Thursday that it is sanctioning Park for having engaged in significant activities undermining cyber security through the use of computer networks or systems against targets outside North Korea. It also revealed sanctions for Chosun Expo Joint Venture  also known as Korea Expo Joint Venture or KEJV  calling the entity for which Parked worked a front for the North Korean Government.

Authorities also linked Park to a string of other high-profile hacks, including a hack into the Bank of Bangladesh  which resulted in the theft of $101 million  and the Wannacry ransomware, which caused shutdowns of networks worldwide in 2017.

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said the scale and scope of the cyber-crimes alleged by the complaint is staggering and offensive to all who respect the rule of law and the cyber norms respected by responsible nations.

He continued: The North Korean government, through a state-sponsored group; robbed a central bank and citizens of other nations; retaliated against free speech in order to chill it half a world away; and created disruptive malware that indiscriminately affected victims in more than 150 other countries, causing hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars worth of damage.

The Treasury Department said Park and his co-conspirators operated out of North Korea, China and elsewhere to perpetrate these malicious activities.

Park was specifically charged with computer fraud abuse and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

We will not allow North Korea to undermine global cybersecurity to advance its interests and generate illicit revenues in violation of our sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The United States is committed to holding the regime accountable for its cyber-attacks and other crimes and destabilizing activities.

Hours before the charges were announced, President Trump gushed over the North Korea leader on Twitter.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump, he wrote Thursday morning. Thank you to chairman Kim. We will get it done together.
Nearly 500 malnourished pot-bellied pigs will be put to death if homes cant be found for them in less than two weeks, warned an animal rescue group.

But that could be a daunting task since the cost to treat the Kentucky farm sickly porkers and place them in suitable homes will be astronomical, lamented the nonprofit Pig Advocates League.

We have never seen a hoarding case of this magnitude, Josh Carpenter Costner, director of South Carolinas Cotton Branch Farm Animal Sanctuary, told the Cincinnati TV station WLWT.

Of the 458 pigs in crisis, at least 10 are pregnant.

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Lori Tristan, the Falmouth, Ky., farm owner, blamed out-of-control breeding for the quick reproduction of the pigs. She claimed to have taken a few of the critters in three years ago before the brood ballooned, she told The Associated Press.

When the state learned of the inhumane and squalid conditions, it took custody of the hundreds of barnyard beasts.

A deadline of Sept. 14 has been placed on finding the pigs new digs before theyll be exterminated, but the Pigs Advocates League said Monday that deadline should be extended, provided it can show legitimate progress is being made in assisting the pigs recuperate.

But the group is painfully aware of the enormity of the challenge at hand.

Sadly, it is not going to end well for the majority, the group said.

Miniature pigs breed at an early age  12 weeks for females and eight weeks for males. Most of the seized animals weigh between 50 and 200 pounds.
A Maryland woman, who adopted a pit bull two weeks ago, was fatally mauled by the same dog on Monday.

Robin Conways husband arrived at their Columbia, Md., home and noticed the animal standing over her body, according to Howard County police.

He tied the pet to a fence post before calling 911. She was pronounced dead at the scene after cops and paramedics arrived.

Conways sister, Susan LeClair explained to TV station ABC7 that Robin loved animals and was excited about the recently adopted pit bull.

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She was a caring person above all, said LeClair. She cared about animals; she cared about her family; she cared about people.

Even after the attack on its owner, responding cops saw the dog still behaving menacingly, aggressively lunging while on its leash and barking. Once the officers were able to calm it down, it was later euthanized, said Howard County Police Department spokesperson Sherry Llewellyn.

No cause of death has been confirmed yet for Conway, 64, although the state medical examiner plans to perform an autopsy.

Cops claimed there had been no previous calls to animal control from Conways address. A necropsy is expected to be performed to determine if the pit bull suffered from rabies or another medical issue.

As part of its statement, the Howard County Police Department stated the dog was adopted outside of Maryland.

One of Conways neighbors was stunned by the somber news.

Its scary that a dog would attack like that, said Don Browning. But you have to keep that in mind, especially if you get the dog out of the shelter because you dont know what the upbringing was like.
A Maryland man who was arrested last September for allegedly killing his pregnant girlfriend was found dead in his jail cell Thursday  just ahead of the start of his murder trial, according to law enforcement officials.

Tyler Tessier, 33, was accused of shooting Laura Wallen, 31, in the back of her head in Damascus, Maryland.

He was found hanging in his jail cell with a bedsheet around his neck, hours before his murder trial was set to begin.

He awoke at 4 a.m. Thursday to prepare for court, Robert Green, director of the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation said, The Washington Post reported.

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He was seen alive in his room at 4:36 a.m., but at 4:55 a.m. was found hanging in his cell, the department said.

A series of notes were discovered along with his body.

Medical staff tried to resuscitate Tessier but he could not be revived.

Wallen was about four months pregnant with Tessiers child when he allegedly killed her, Wallens sister told detectives last September.

It is a tough day for our family to not have this trial happen, Wallens father, Mark Wallen, told reporters Thursday afternoon.

We can move on and we can hopefully remember our daughter as the wonderful woman that she was, he said.

We will not, unfortunately, know our grandson, he added.

Tessier sat with Wallens family and spoke at a news conference after the social studies teacher didnt show up to the first day of school on Sept. 5, 2017.

He even held Wallens mothers hand as her loved ones sought the publics help in locating her.

Laura, if youre listening, it doesnt matter whats happened, he said. Theres nothing we cant fix together, he added.

Her body was eventually found in a shallow grave in Damascus.

Court filings show that Tessier was engaged to another woman and that neither she nor Wallen knew about the other.
The wife of a prominent chef has been arrested for her husbands murder three months after he was fatally shot at the culinary school where he taught.

Daniel Brophy, the lead chef instructor at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland, suffered the fatal wound on the morning of June 2. Nancy Crampton-Brophy was taken into custody on Wednesday following a lengthy investigation, according to the Portland Police Department.

Crampton-Brophy had written that she had sad news to announce in a Facebook post the day after the shooting.

My husband and best friend, Chef Dan Brophy was killed yesterday morning, she wrote. For those of you who are close to me and feel this deserved a phone call, you are right, but Im struggling to make sense of everything right now.

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Brophy was known as the resident encyclopedia of knowledge at the school, according to his online biography.

He will be remembered for his offbeat sense of humor and creative approach to teaching, his bio reads.

OCI graduate Rebeka Kleiner told KGW8 after his death that everything Brophy taught them will stay with us forever.

He made such an impact on so many people including myself  culinary school is hard, she told the station.

He had a heart of gold and everyone here knows that, friend and colleague Brian Wilke told KGW8. He was a really, really special human beingthats why were all here.

Crampton-Brophy was arrested at her Washington County home, and was expected to be arraigned in Multnomah County Court on Thursday. Anyone with information on the shooting should contact Detective Darren Posey at (503) 823-0403 or Darren.Posey@portlandoregon.gov.
Blamed for the death of a Florida baby and intense wind and rain that pummeled parts of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, Tropical Depression Gordon weakened Wednesday but still spread bands of heavy rains across a swath of the South as it swirled over central Mississippi.

It promised more of the same on a forecast track expected to take it northeast into Arkansas, which was forecast to get heavy rain from the system by Wednesday night. By Saturday, whats left of the storm was forecast to hook to the north, then northeast on a path toward the Great Lakes. National Weather Service offices in Missouri and Oklahoma said Gordons remnants could add to the rain caused by a frontal boundary already causing heavy rains in parts of the Midwest. Flash flood watches stretched from the Florida panhandle, through parts of southwest Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa and Illinois.

Gordon never reached hurricane strength by the time it came ashore Tuesday night just west of the Mississippi-Alabama line. Its maximum sustained winds reached 70 mph. It knocked out power to at least 27,000 utility customers in Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. By Wednesday afternoon the numbers were down to about 5,800 in Alabama, 3,000 in Mississippi and a little more than 2,000 in Florida.

Pictures on social media showed damaged roofs and debris-strewn beaches and roads. However, no major damage or serious injuries were reported, other than the one fatality  a baby in a mobile home, struck by a large tree limb in Pensacola late Tuesday.

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Neighbors told the newspaper the victim was about 10 months old.

Michael Barradas told The Pensacola News Journal he heard the loud crack and ran out of his mobile home and yelled, Is everyone OK? He says the mother said, No my babys in there.

Barradas said he ran back in his home to get a flashlight, but by the time he got to the neighbors home the baby had stopped crying.

The Escambia County Sheriffs office posted on its Facebook page that responding deputies discovered the child had been killed. Officials havent released the childs identity.

Rain spun around the storms center in the Jackson, Mississippi, area Wednesday afternoon. And bands swept up from the Gulf, dropping more rain on northwest Florida  where 10.48 inches (26.6 centimeters) had already fallen at Floridas Pensacola International Airport by Wednesday morning  through the center of Alabama and into Tennessee.

New Orleans, which had braced for severe flooding, was unscathed. And residents along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which expected a serious hit, were largely spared. A dozen casinos that shut down were allowed to reopen at noon Wednesday. Boaters and fishermen returned to marinas after having fled inland a day before.

We are happy to report that hotels, casinos, attractions and restaurants have resumed business as usual, Milton Segarra, CEO of the tourism organization Visit Mississippi Gulf Coast, said in a Wednesday news release.

It was fine, just like a thunderstorm, said Pascagoula resident Trey Casey, who had been given the day off from work in anticipation of more serious damage.

This is the price you pay to look at this beautiful water and enjoy the coast, Pascagoula resident Richard Whitlock said as he raked leaves and branches from his yard overlooking the Gulf.

Driftwood and other debris made for hazardous driving early Wednesday on the causeway to Dauphin Island, Alabama, which was partly flooded by seawater overnight. Siding was peeled off some houses, but Mayor Jeff Collier said for the most part, we did OK.

Dominic Carlucci drove back to his home on the barrier island in his Hummer, and found no damage, just a sagging wooden fence. It wasnt nearly as bad as when Nate, the last hurricane to strike the U.S., came ashore last October in nearby Biloxi, Mississippi. Were good, he said.

A storm surge covered barrier islands as the storm blew through, and some inland roadways were flooded by the rain.

I just hope I dont have to throw out everything in my refrigerator when I get home, said Jerome Richardson, spending the morning at a Mobile Waffle House after losing power the night before at his home.

With Gordon diminishing, there were new tropical weather concerns: Hurricane Florence has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, on a path toward Bermuda, and lining up behind it, another potential storm was likely to form not far off the coast of Africa.

Its the peak of hurricane season, Hurricane Center Director Ken Graham said. Now is the time to get your plans all set.
A gunman opened fire at a bank in downtown Cincinnati Thursday morning, killing three people and injuring several more before he was also fatally shot.

Police Chief Eliot Issac said the shooter unleashed a torrent of bullets in the loading dock of the Fifth Third Bank building in the citys Fountain Square around 9 a.m. He then proceeded into the lobby of the office tower, where he died in a confrontation with police. No officers were injured in the gunfire exchange, Issac added.

Its not clear whether the suspect, who has not been identified, was killed by the responding officers or if he took his own life. A weapon was recovered on the scene.

Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was actively shooting innocent victims and lamented how commonplace gun violence has become in America during a press conference following the violent attack.

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Horrific, grotesque and unacceptable, he said. I think theres something sick at work here, and we as a country have got to deal with it.

A woman is comforted by authorities stationed outside the University of Cincinnati Medical Centers Emergency room following a shooting in downtown Cincinnati that left at least four dead, including the gunman, and several injured, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018 (Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / AP)

A witness told the Cincinnati Enquirer he heard as many as 15 gunshots during the morning incident. Leonard Cain said he was headed into the bank when someone alerted him to the shooting. He tried to do the same for another woman also about to enter the bank, but he was too late.

She walked in the door and he shot her, Cain said.

Police located several people injured along Walnut Street and the surrounding area, including one inside Graeters Ice Cream shop not far from where the shooting occurred. One person was also found dead on the scene.

A total of three men and one woman were transported to University of Cincinnati Medical Center, all of them suffering gunshot wounds. Hospital officials said two people died upon arrival while another is still in critical condition. A fourth victim was brought to the facility in serious condition and has since been upgraded to fair condition.

Our physicians and staff are focused on caring for the patients and their families, the medical center said in a statement. We prepare for situations like these and hope they never happen. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and all involved.

Fifth Third, which operates 1,200 banking centers across several states, in a statement offered its thoughts and prayers for everyone caught up in this terrible event. The bank added that it was cooperating with law enforcement and is grateful for the support and concerns from our neighbors throughout Cincinnati and the country.

Cincinnati Police confirmed they were investigating an active shooter/officer involved incident at the 30-story building on Walnut Street, which houses the bank and several other companies, around 9:30 a.m. The scene was secured within the hour, but Fountain Square and the surrounding area remain closed to traffic.

Lockdowns however, have since been lifted.

Police investigate the scene after a shooting at the Fifth Third Bank building on Fountain Square, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in downtown Cincinnati. (Albert Cesare/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP) (Albert Cesare / AP)

Police later Thursday descended on the suspects apartment in North Bend, located some 15 miles west of Cincinnati. They did not immediately explain the search and Eliot said authorities are in the very early stage of investigation.

Federal and state agents were also on the scene as investigators swept the building.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich tweeted he was in contact with officials over what he described as a Senseless act of gun violence.

I commend law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel who swiftly responded to the scene and share my deepest sympathies with the victims, he wrote.

Isaac also praised officers, who arrived at the site of the shooting within seconds, for their quick response. And Cranley said things could have been much, much worse without it.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials are also on the scene to assist in the investigation. Officials have not yet revealed a motive in the attack.
A motorcyclist was seriously injured Wednesday night when the driver of a sedan turned out of a parking lot and into his path in the Grantville neighborhood, police said.

The crash happened about 7:40 p.m. on Mission Gorge Road, just north of Twain Avenue, when a 68-year-old man driving a 2008 Volvo S40 attempted to turn left onto Mission Gorge Road from the El Pollo Loco parking lot, San Diego police Officer Robert Heims said.

The turn took the Volvo into the path of a northbound 2016 Kawasaki and its 25-year-old rider, according to the officer.

The Volvo and the motorcycle collided, Heims said in a statement. The (motorcyclist) had a fractured (wrist), femur and several other injuries.

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Medics took the rider to a hospital with injuries that were not expected to be life-threatening, Heims said. The Volvos driver was uninjured.

Twitter: @Alex_Riggins

(619) 293-1710

alex.riggins@sduniontribune.com
A week after making a public appeal for help, San Diego police said Thursday that they had made an arrest in the shooting of a woman who was killed when she confronted another driver in the Skyline community.

Sylvianita Widman, 27, of San Diego was fatally shot Aug. 25 shortly after she got out of her car to talk to another driver stopped at the intersection of South Meadowbrook Drive and Skyline Drive, police homicide Lt. Matt Dobbs said.

Widman had been driving north on South Meadowbrook with a companion around 5:30 p.m. when they stopped behind another vehicle at a red light.

Widman got out of the car and approached the other car. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot and seeing Widman stumble away. She collapsed in a nearby parking lot.

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The second vehicle, a black two-door Mercedes Benz, drove away.

Emergency crews responded and lifesaving measures were started, but Widman could not be revived. She died at a local hospital about an hour later.

Investigators had identified Robert Haywood Reed, a 38-year-old man from San Diego, as a suspect and presented the case to the District Attorneys Office, Dobbs said.

A statement issued by Crime Stoppers last week said Reed was considered armed and dangerous. The agency offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to Reeds arrest.

A warrant was issued for Reed and he turned himself in to authorities Thursday, Dobbs said.

He has been booked into jail on suspicion of murder and is expected to be arraigned Friday.

Dobbs would reveal little about the investigation, including whether the victim and the suspect knew each other before the shooting.

Twitter: @karenkucher

(619) 293-1350

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GridGain  Systems , provider of enterprise-grade in-memory computing solutions based on Apache Ignite, today announced 25 webinars, conferences and meetups where GridGain experts will be speaking during September and October of 2018. Topics include sharing insights and strategies for how businesses of all sizes can meet the real-time performance and massive scalability requirements of data-intensive applications being developed for digital transformation and omnichannel customer experience initiatives.



To succeed at digital transformation, organizations must solve the real-time speed and massive scalability challenges of their applications, said Terry Erisman, Vice President of Marketing at GridGain. Whether its at our In-Memory Community Summit North America or a more intimate industry meet-up, our experts are committed to helping companies understand which in-memory computing solution works best for their particular use cases and how to optimize their deployments. I strongly recommend that anyone interested in in-memory computing attend one of these excellent events.

During September and October, GridGain will host or participate in the following conferences, webinars and meetups:

In Memory Computing Summit

In-Memory Computing Summit North America 2018  October 2-3, 2018  GridGain Systems will host the only industry-wide event in North America focused on the full range of in-memory computing-related technologies and solutions. Attendees will learn about the role of in-memory computing in the digital transformation of enterprises. Held in Silicon Valley, the conference is attended by technical decision makers, business decision makers, architects, CTOs, developers and more who make or influence purchasing decisions about in-memory computing, Big Data, Fast Data, IoT, and HPC solutions.

Conferences & Webinars

Meetups

About GridGain Systems

GridGain Systems is revolutionizing real-time data access and processing by offering an in-memory computing platform built on Apache Ignite. GridGain solutions are used by global enterprises in financial, software, e-commerce, retail, online business services, healthcare, telecom and other major sectors, with a client list that includes ING, Sberbank, Finastra, IHS Markit, Workday, and Huawei. GridGain delivers unprecedented speed and massive scalability to both legacy and greenfield applications. Deployed on a distributed cluster of commodity servers, GridGain software can reside between the application and data layers (RDBMS, NoSQL and Apache Hadoop), requiring no rip-and-replace of the existing databases, or it can be deployed as an in-memory transactional SQL database. GridGain is the most comprehensive in-memory computing platform for high-volume ACID transactions, real-time analytics, web-scale applications, continuous learning and HTAP. For more information, visit gridgain.com.

CONTACT:

Terry Erisman

GridGain Systems

terisman@gridgain.com

(650) 241-2281

GridGain is a trademark or registered trademark of GridGain Systems, Inc. Apache, Apache Hadoop, Hadoop, Apache Ignite, Ignite, Apache Kafka, Kafka, Apache Spark, and Spark, are trademarks of The Apache Software Foundation. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
Southwestern College ordered the evacuation of all its campuses early Thursday, warning of a credible threat of violence made by a student, but college police later determined there was no threat and said classes will resume Friday.

The person of interest in todays evacuation and college closing has been contacted by Southwestern College police, college officials said in a statement Thursday afternoon. College police, in collaboration with San Diego Sheriffs (Department) and Chula Vista police, have determined there is no threat.

People who left vehicles or belongings at the campus during the evacuation were told they could retrieve them.

The all-clear announcement came about five hours after college officials canceled all classes and ordered the evacuation of the main Chula Vista campus, its other campuses in National City, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro and the Crown Cove Aquatic Center in Coronado. About 20,000 people attend Southwestern College.

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College leaders issued a safety alert after they learned some kind of a threat was made by a student and overheard in class Wednesday night by another student, said college spokeswoman Lillian Leopold. The students father relayed that information to the college and Chula Vista police early Thursday.

Leopold didnt elaborate on the nature of the threat other than to say it was a threat of violence.

We thank all students and employees for remaining calm during the evacuation, the college said in its statement.

Campus police close the gate onto campus at Southwestern College and Otay Lakes roads. (Photo by: Alejandro Tamayo www.t /)

The evacuation went fairly smoothly and by 10:30 a.m. was pretty complete, Leopold said.

We had extra buses come to help students get off campus and we had our employees and students who had driven here get off campus, she said. It was a safe and orderly evacuation.

Some students took to social media as they waited in long lines after receiving the evacuation message on their cellphones.

Sydney Dawn Stanley, a 22-year-old journalism major at Southwestern, posted several videos on Twitter showing her behind the wheel of her car. She said it took her about 45 minutes to leave campus.

The parking lot that Im in is barely moving, she said in a video posted at 9:27 a.m., about 15 minutes after the safety alert was issued. There is no one directing traffic. People are panicked and just trying to get out Barely anyone is moving.

She said some students sprinted from class after learning of the evacuation, while others didnt seem to be taking it seriously.

I do think we should have some sort of drill next week or in the coming months at school, Stanley said. It did seem like a lot of people were unaware of what to do.

Another Twitter user, Aeijm Eiiknrst Amor, said if there is another evacuation at the college, she would ditch her car and walk away. Just what everyone needs during an evac is being stuck in gridlock at the place theyre evacuating & no clue as to what is actually going on, she tweeted.

Twitter: @karenkucher

(619) 293-1350

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com

UPDATES:

2:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from Southwestern College.

11:35 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

10:20 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 9:50 a.m.
California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra filed a lawsuit Tuesday night against the Trump administration, alleging that the federal government violated the Clean Water Act by allowing, in recent years, millions of gallons of raw sewage, heavy metals and other contamination to routinely spill from Tijuana into San Diego.

Toxic water pollution from Mexico shuttered San Diego beaches located near the Tijuana River Valley on more than 500 days in the last three years, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit  which specifically targets the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC  paints a picture of a negligent and dismissive federal agency, failing to follow through on its responsibility to address cross-border issues with Mexico.

While the federal government has invested in other border issues, they havent invested in these water-quality issues, said Dave Gibson, executive officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which filed the lawsuit jointly with the state Attorney General.

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California taxpayers shouldnt expect that their money go to fix this when its the responsibility of the federal government, he added.

IBWC and the U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment for this story, citing the litigation.

In the past, agency officials have said they have little authority over the congressional funding needed to improve the situation.

The states lawsuit follows a similar legal strategy launched by elected officials in South Bay San Diego after a spill last year sent hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage flowing down the Tijuana River into the Pacific Ocean, fouling beaches as far north as Coronado.

Following failed talks with IBWC, Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego filed a lawsuit against the federal agency in March alleging sweeping violations of Clean Water Act.

The San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation also filed a similar lawsuit in July.

The county and city of San Diego signaled a willingness to join the legal strategy, but neither party has followed through yet.

Plaintiffs argued that because IBWC controls a flood-control channel that redirects the Tijuana River on its way to the Pacific Ocean, as well as water-capture basins in five canyons along the border, the agency is responsible for the pollution that often escapes those systems.

The canyon collectors and pumps on the Tijuana River are intended to divert polluted flows to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant west of San Ysidro.

Weve learned that small spills when theyre really toxic can have a huge impact on public health, and if IBWC were doing their job it wouldnt happen, said Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina Theyre not even trying. All they do it make excuses. Its embarrassing how little they care about environmental or public health or following the law.

Lawyers for the defense have said that the government isnt legally responsible for the renegade flows that escape their collection systems, pointing out that the situation would be significantly worse without its efforts.

Before the federal government spent roughly $344 million to create its diversion and treatment system in the 1990s, millions of gallons of sewage would flow daily down the Tijuana River into San Diego County.

Following an unexpected tour of the Tijuana River Valley in August, federal court judge Jeffrey T. Miller ruled that the case could move forward despite a motion by the defense to dismiss the lawsuit.

Federal court judge Jeffery T. Miller (4th from left), along with a contingent of lawyers, governments officials, and business representatives, tour the Goat Canyon collector in the Tijuana River Valley, which has been plagued with sewage and other water pollution. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)

The states lawsuit takes a narrower approach than that of the local cities. It focuses specifically on the maintenance and operation of the collector basins, which are designed to funnel water that spills through the canyons to the wastewater treatment plant during dry weather.

The lawsuit alleges that IBWC has failed to keep the diversion pumps free of debris, leading to a clogged system that allows the basins to overflow into the surrounding areas.

The complaint also says the agency has failed to document and report spills on a number of occasions in recent years.

As foul-smelling, often black, polluted water has bypassed the collection systems, it has impacted border patrol agents working in the area, as well as residents and farmers in the Tijuana River Valley.

Union officials with the National Border Patrol Council have said they have also considered filing a lawsuit against the federal government to force more action on the issue.

Were trying not to go down that road, but we dont want our people to be getting chemical burns or getting sick or dying early because they wont clean it up, said Christopher Harris, a border agent in San Diego for 20 years and the secretary for the local border patrol union.

On Tuesday, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce hosted officials with Comision Estatal de Servicios Publicos de Tijuana, or CESPT, a state agency that operates the citys sewer and water delivery system.

Regional director German Lizola told a group of elected officials and business leaders that Tijuana was having a hard time keeping up with its population growth.

We continue to knock on many doors. We are doing everything possible to work on these issues, he said through a translator.

The problem that we have to face is a lack of resources for infrastructure in Mexico, he added. We are two different countries and that deal with different issues.

Officials have said that Tijuana and other border towns have some of the best wastewater infrastructure in Mexico, in large part, due to past U.S. grants and other federal programs that facilitate low-interest loans.

Some of Tijuanas valleys are filled with trash and waste, which often ends up in the Tijuana and Alamar Rivers. In the hillsides of Colonia Bugambilias trash is dumped into valley and then the waste ends up in the Alamar river. (Alejandro Tamayo / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday defended his broad view of gun rights and skepticism of federal regulatory agencies, but left uncertain his position on abortion and refused to detail his views on executive power, including whether a president can be ordered to answer questions in a criminal investigation.

Facing senators during a second day of his confirmation hearing that began in the morning and stretched well into the night, President Trumps Supreme Court nominee proved adept at giving lengthy answers without fully revealing his views on matters of controversy.

Youre learning to filibuster, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) told him when he steered around her question on whether the president is shielded from being investigated or questioned while in office.

As the evening wore on, none of the exchanges seemed to have changed the vote count in favor of Kavanaughs narrow confirmation. At only one point during the hearing  faced with questions about his knowledge of emails allegedly stolen from Democratic senators during the George W. Bush administration  did the otherwise well-prepared nominee appear flustered.

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On presidential power, in particular, Kavanaugh seemed to come armed with a well-honed set of responses to questions about his previous writings.

In law review articles in 1998 and 2009, Kavanaugh said the president should be excused from some of the burdens of ordinary citizenship while serving in office and should not be subject to investigations or questioning. The Constitution seems to dictate that Congress, not a special prosecutor, should investigate a president for lawbreaking, he wrote.

But when pressed repeatedly by Democrats on Wednesday, Kavanaugh contended that he has never taken a position on whether the Constitution allows for indicting or investigating a sitting president for criminal wrongdoing. He did say a president could be tried and convicted after leaving office, whether at the end of a term or because of impeachment.

I dont think anyone thinks of immunity for a president, he said.

The issue has taken on new significance because Trump is caught up in special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and could be called to answer questions from a grand jury.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), joining other Republicans in trying to help the nominee articulate his views, asked Kavanaugh whether you have any trouble ruling against a president who appointed you.

Youre correct. No one is above the law in our constitutional system, Kavanaugh said. The executive branch is subject to the law, subject to the court system.

Kavanaugh passed up a chance to show his independence from Trump when Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) asked him whether he thought it was appropriate for the president to attack Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions for his prosecutors indictments of two GOP congressmen  Reps. Chris Collins of New York and Duncan Hunter of Alpine  ahead of the November election. Trump said it might endanger their reelection, ignoring the serious criminal charges against the men. Kavanaugh declined to offer his opinion. He also rebuffed a request from one Democratic senator that he recuse himself from any future cases involving the Mueller investigation of Trump and his campaign.

When Feinstein asked, Can a sitting a president be required to respond to a subpoena? Kavanaugh would not answer. Thats a hypothetical question, he said. I cant give you an answer to a hypothetical question.

Kavanaugh did endorse as correct the Supreme Courts 1974 ruling in United States vs. Nixon, which required President Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes. It was one of the greatest moments in American judicial history, he said.

But he refused to give a similar endorsement for the 1973 ruling in Roe vs. Wade, which established a womans right to abortion. Feinstein tried to get him to say whether the ruling was correct; Kavanaugh said only that it was entitled to respect as a precedent.

Most legal experts predict that Kavanaugh, if confirmed, will provide the fifth conservative vote on the court to at least restrict abortion rights, if not overturn Roe. During his campaign, Trump promised to appoint only judges who would vote to overturn the abortion ruling.

But Kavanaugh seemed eager to raise some doubts about those predictions.

I understand the significance on the issue, he said Wednesday. I dont live in a bubble. I live in the real world.

Kavanaugh noted several times that the 1973 abortion decision had been repeatedly affirmed, and that a 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood vs. Casey, which affirmed much of Roe, in effect created a precedent on precedent.

And he made an analogy to the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquists decision not to overturn the so-called Miranda rights disclosure requirement for criminal suspects. Rehnquist had long opposed the Miranda ruling, but then decided it was too late to overturn it, he noted. Its also true, however, that Rehnquist found ways to narrow the rulings impact.

Kavanaughs remarks about Roe may have been largely directed at two female Republican senators, who support abortion rights and whose votes will be key to his confirmation. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have not announced how they will vote.

But Kavanaugh gave no assurances about how he might vote, and nothing he said committed him to any particular outcome. In the past, some Supreme Court nominees have spoken about the importance of respecting precedents, and then once on the court voted to overturn them.

Feinstein, for one, seem unsatisfied. We cant accept vague promises from Brett Kavanaugh when womens reproductive freedom is at stake, she said on Twitter.

Live chat: Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in the Senate 

Last fall, Kavanaugh was involved in a dispute over whether a migrant teenager in Texas could be released from immigration custody to obtain an abortion. A federal judge cleared the way, but Kavanaugh wrote a 2-1 decision siding with Trump administration lawyers and blocking the abortion for up to 10 more days. The full appeals court intervened and overturned his ruling.

In dissent, Kavanaugh faulted his more liberal colleagues for wrongly creating a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in U.S. government detention to obtain abortion on demand.

He defended that ruling Wednesday, stressing that the girl was 17 and not yet an adult. If she had been an adult, she would have had a right to obtain an abortion immediately, he told Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.).

Durbin rejected the distinction, noting that the teenager had appeared before a state judge in Texas who decided she was sufficiently mature to make the decision on her own.

On guns, Kavanaugh stuck fast to his support of a broad 2nd Amendment right to possess many types of weapons, including a semiautomatic rifle with a large magazine of ammunition.

He dissented alone in 2011 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a D.C. ordinance that prohibited semiautomatic assault weapons.

Three years before, the Supreme Court in District of Columbia vs. Heller struck down a law prohibiting possession of a handgun at home and established a 2nd Amendment individual right for gun ownership.

Feinstein asked why Kavanaugh believed semiautomatic weapons could not be banned, when appellate judges across the country had upheld such restrictions.

I had to follow precedent, Kavanaugh replied. He said the late Justice Antonin Scalia said the 2nd Amendment did not protect weapons that are dangerous and unusual, and semiautomatic rifles are not unusual, he said. They are widely possessed by millions of gun owners, he said.

Kavanaugh did not back off, even when Feinstein spoke about the wave of mass shootings at schools using assault weapons. He stuck to the same position later when pressed by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.

On the question of presidential power, Kavanaugh said that no one is above the law, a standard response by nominees.

But he declined to answer questions about whether Trump could pardon himself or pardon someone in exchange for an agreement not to testify against him, saying those were hypothetical questions that he couldnt answer without potentially prejudging issues that might come before the courts.

The one issue that seemed to throw the nominee came from Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who confronted him with what the senator said was evidence that a Republican staff member during George W. Bushs administration had supplied Kavanaugh  who was then helping to confirm judges  with information that had been stolen from Democratic files. Leahy said the information detailed what the senator planned to ask nominees during confirmation hearings.

Leahy, whose emails were stolen, quizzed Kavanaugh on whether he knowingly used the stolen documents, noting that Kavanaugh was included in an email chain discussing the information. Kavanaugh said he did not recall. I dont really have a specific recollection of any of this, he told lawmakers.

Leahy said later Wednesday that Grassley agreed to release documents related to the materials he said were stolen, which are now confined only to lawmakers on the committee.

Grassleys office didnt make the same pledge. Spokesman Taylor Foy said Grassley would do his best to accommodate this last-minute request, adding that waiving the classification would require input from the White House and former President Bush.

Some of the most robust exchanges came near the end from Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who has developed a reputation for her tough questioning of Trump nominees during confirmation hearings.

Harris referred back to Kavanaughs remark about a precedent on precedent concerning Roe vs. Wade, and asked if it were not true that any five justices could overturn a precedent if they wanted.

Theres a reason why the Supreme Court doesnt do that, Kavanaugh responded. There are times when the justices do, he said, but its rare.

She also pressed Kavanaugh on whether he had any conversations about the Mueller investigation with anyone at a law firm founded by one of the presidents lawyers. Kavanaugh avoided answering the question several times, finally saying he remembered no such conversation. A Democratic aide said that Harris staff was continuing to investigate the matter.

Kavanaugh was pressed repeatedly to explain his relationship with Judge Alex Kozinski, the former chief judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals who retired last December after he was accused of sexually harassing female law clerks.

In 1991, Kavanaugh moved to Pasadena to work for one year as a law clerk for Kozinski. And he continued to consult with Kozinski over the years.

Kavanaugh said he had never heard of Kozinski harassing laws clerks or engaging in improper behavior until it was revealed last year in news stories. It was a gut punch for me, he said.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said she was skeptical of his response. It was an open secret, and it went on for 30 years, she said.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) had a combative exchange with Kavanaugh while trying to pin the nominee down about his views on affirmative action. Booker asked if Kavanaugh believed that having a diverse student body is a compelling government interest that would justify considering race in admissions. Kavanaugh would not comment on his views, instead focusing on the Supreme Courts precedent on affirmative action.

I know what the law is now, Booker said. Im worried about what the law is going to be when you get on the court.



david.savage@latimes.com

jennifer.haberkorn@latimes.com

sarah.wire@latimes.com

UPDATES:

7:05 p.m.: This article was updated after Harris spoke.

5:30 p.m.: This article was updated with Bookers comments and other new details.

4:55 p.m.: This article was updated with more details from the hearing.

3:30 p.m.: This article was updated with more comments from Feinstein, Kavanaugh and others.

9:50 a.m.: This article was updated with details about Miranda, presidential power and Leahys questions.

8:15 a.m.: This article was updated with Kavanaughs comments about gun rights.

This article was originally published at 8 a.m.
The Trump administration on Thursday moved to abandon a longstanding court settlement that limits how long immigrant children can be kept locked up, proposing new regulations that would allow the government to detain families until their immigration cases are decided.

Homeland Security officials said that ending the so-called Flores agreement of 1997 will speed up the handling of asylum requests while also deterring people from illegally crossing the Mexican border.

The move angered immigrant rights advocates and is all but certain to trigger a court battle.

It is sickening to see the United States government looking for ways to jail more children for longer, said Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLUs Immigrants Rights Project. And its yet another example of the Trump administrations hostility toward immigrants resulting in a policy incompatible with the most basic human values.

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The Flores agreement requires the government to keep children in the least restrictive setting possible and to release them generally after 20 days in detention. For decades, because of those restrictions, many parents and children caught trying to slip into the country have been released into the U.S. while their asylum requests wind their way through the courts  a practice President Donald Trump has decried as catch-and-release.

Such cases can drag on for years, and some immigrants stop showing up to court when it becomes clear their asylum requests are going to be denied.

The newly proposed rules would allow the government to hold families in detention until their cases are completed.

Homeland Security did not say how long it expects families to be kept locked up. But immigration officials say asylum cases involving detained families move much more quickly, taking months instead of years to resolve, in part because there are none of the delays that result when immigrants set free in the U.S. fail to show up for a hearing.

Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the departments ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country, said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. This rule addresses one of the primary pull factors for illegal immigration and allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress.

Earlier this summer, a federal judge in California rejected a request by the administration to modify Flores to allow for longer family detention. Administration officials say they have the authority to terminate the agreement, but that is likely to be tested in court.

Theyre essentially trying to accomplish through regulation what the court has not permitted, said Peter Schey, an attorney representing immigrant children under the settlement and president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.

Schey said he will oppose any effort to end Flores unless the government proposes acceptable regulations for the safe and humane treatment of youngsters.

Refugee children should not be made to suffer inhumane treatment and prolonged and unnecessary detention just to satisfy President Trumps zero-tolerance approach to refugees seeking safety in the United States from the violence and lawlessness spreading throughout Central America, Schey said.

The Flores agreement became an issue last spring when the Trump administration adopted a policy of prosecuting anyone caught crossing illegally. More than 2,900 children were separated from their parents, prompting international outrage.

Trump eventually backed down and stopped the separation of families. A federal judge ordered parents and children reunited; the government has said it has done so in as many cases as it could. But hundreds of parents were deported without their children, while others had criminal records or were not parents as they claimed to be, officials said.

Because under Flores children cannot be kept in criminal custody with their parents or held for an extended period in immigration detention, the administration has limited options when dealing with families.

The government operates three family detention centers that can hold a total of about 3,000 people, and they are at or near capacity. Homeland Security and the Pentagon have been working to line up as many as 12,000 beds for family members at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Another request for up to 20,000 beds for youngsters who arrive without parents is also pending.

The ACLUs Jadwat accused the administration of trying to expand the trauma it is inflicting on these children in order to deter other people from coming to the country.

Rachel Prandini, staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said the erosion of Flores protections would subject children to worsening conditions.

The Trump administrations decision to exacerbate the suffering of kids, by imposing the cruel policy of family separation earlier this summer and now with this rule change to vastly expand detention of children, is horrifying, she said.

The regulations will be published in the Federal Register and will be subject to a 60-day public comment period starting Friday.


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English Finnish

Panostaja Oyj Interim Report September 6, 2018, 10:00 a.m.





May 1, 2018-July 31, 2018 (3 months)

As a result of corporate acquisitions during the previous financial period, Grano's net sales for the review period increased by 39% from the corresponding period last year. EBIT increased to MEUR 1.8 from MEUR 1.4 in the reference period.

Panostaja acquired a majority shareholding in Oscar Software, a company providing SMEs with ERP systems and financial management services.

Panostaja paid off all of the parent companys interest-bearing liabilities in the amount of MEUR 22.3 and made an agreement on a new MEUR 15.0 corporate acquisition limit.

Net sales increased in five of the nine segments. Overall, the Groups net sales for the review period increased by 52% to MEUR 52.3 (MEUR 34.5).

EBIT improved in four of nine segments, and the entire Groups EBIT weakened slightly from the reference period, standing at MEUR 1.4 (MEUR 1.6).

Earnings per share (undiluted) were 0.0 cents (1.6 cents)





November 1, 2017-July 31, 2018 (9 months)

Net sales increased in four of the nine business segments. Overall, the Groups net sales for the review period increased by 37% to MEUR 143.1 (MEUR 104.3).

EBIT improved in four of the nine segments, and the EBIT of the entire Group increased from MEUR 2.1 to MEUR 5.1.

Panostaja divested itself of KotiSun and recorded a profit of MEUR 32.9 before taxes for the sale.

Panostaja secured a majority shareholding in Carrot Palvelut Oy.

Earnings per share (undiluted) were 51.3 cents (-3.3 cents).





CEO Juha Sarsama: Parent company achieves a debt-free balance, ensuring investment capacity

During the review period, Panostaja paid off all of the parent companys interest-bearing liabilities in the amount of MEUR 22.3 and made an agreement on a new MEUR 15.0 corporate acquisition limit to replace the previous limit. We optimized our capital structure, which will enable Panostaja to operate with a debt-free parent company balance, under normal circumstances. The corporate acquisition limit increases the flexibility of our financial structure and secures our readiness to make investments even between divestments. In our opinion, the debt-free parent company balance ensures that we can optimally seize identified investment opportunities and create value creation over the long term in accordance with our strategy. This payoff of the parent companys debts will also significantly reduce Panostajas risk. The risk reduction is mirrored by Panostajas equity return requirement. As part of the capital structure reform, we have also updated Panostajas long-term financial goals.

Immediately at the start of the financial period, Panostaja obtained a majority shareholding in Oscar Software, a company specializing in ERP system development and the provision of various business services. Our shared journey with Oscar Software is off to a good start, and we see the companys growth prospects as very interesting in the growing markets for ERP systems and financial management services.

The combined net sales of the Panostaja segments increased by more than 50% during the review period. The strong growth stems from new segments and the effect of the corporate acquisitions made by Grano during the previous financial period. Despite the increase in total net sales, the development of net sales was weaker than expected in many segments over the course of the financial period. Granos net sales during the period were weighed down by the continuously uneven demand for print products. Carrots low net sales resulted from the margin of the companys industrial business in the Uusimaa region, which was lower than estimated, and the discontinuation of operations. For Selog, too, the third quarter was weak in terms of net sales due to customers requiring less installation work than was anticipated and the changes in the companys key personnel hindering the ability to reach the set goals. We will also be continuing our measures to reverse the development of the net sales of CoreHW and Helakeskus.

The failure of the net sales development to meet our expectations was also mirrored by our EBIT, which dropped to MEUR 1.4 in the review period from MEUR 1.6 in the reference period. Granos net sales were encumbered by the installation operations of large prints and illuminated advertisements as the significantly increased volumes and large concurrent projects led to losses. Carrots net sales were hampered by the discontinuation of the poorly developing industrial operations in Uusimaa and the costs of the corporate acquisition that took place in the spring.

The corporate acquisitions market remained active in the period under review. As a result of the interest we have garnered thanks to our recent new investments and our own active examinations, our project flow has become even more diverse and a wide range of new investment targets are available for investigation. The competition for good investments has remained stiff, and the sellers often expect high payouts. However, the markets continue to provide opportunities for both new select acquisitions and divestments, and we will continue to actively explore new corporate acquisition opportunities.





Key Figures

MEUR Q3 Q3 9 months 9 months 12 months 5/18-

7/18 5/17

7/17 11/17-

7/18 11/16-

7/17 11/16-

10/17 Net sales, MEUR 52.3 34.5 143.1 104.3 150.7 EBIT, MEUR 1.4 1.6 5.1 2.1 2.9 Profit before taxes, MEUR 0.8 1.3 3.5 1.0 1.2 Profit/loss for the financial period, MEUR 0.5 1.8 28.7 1.5 6.9 Earnings per share, undiluted (EUR) 0.00 0.02 0.51 -0.03 0.03 Equity per share (EUR) 1.06 0.53 1.06 0.53 0.59 Operating cash flow (MEUR) 3.7 1.9 3.9 7.9 15.6





Division of the net sales by segment

MEUR Q3 Q3 9 months 9 months 12 months



Net sales 5/18-

7/18 5/17

7/17 11/17-

7/18 11/16-

7/17 11/16-

10/17 Grano 32.1 23.1 100.9 71.8 105.3 KL-Varaosat 3.7 3.5 10.6 9.9 13.5 Selog 2.5 2.9 6.8 8.0 10.8 Helakeskus 1.9 2.2 6.0 6.7 8.9 Megaklinikka 1.3 1.6 4.0 4.6 6.0 Heatmasters 1.3 1.3 3.5 3.5 5.3 CoreHW 0.7 2.5 1.0 Carrot 6.7 6.7 Oscar Software 2.1 2.1 Others 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 -0.1 Eliminations -0.1 0.0 -0.1 -0.1 Group in total 52.3 34.5 143.1 104.3 150.7





Division of EBIT by segment

MEUR Q3 Q3 9 months 9 months 12 months



EBIT 5/18-

7/18 5/17

7/17 11/17-

7/18 11/16-

7/17 11/16-

10/17 Grano 1.8 1.4 5.8 4.4 6.3 KL-Varaosat 0.4 0.3 0.9 0.7 1.0 Selog 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.8 Helakeskus 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5 Megaklinikka 0.1 0.0 -0.1 -1.5 -1.6 Heatmasters 0.2 0.0 0.1 -0.3 -0.2 CoreHW -0.1 -0.6 0.0 Carrot -0.2 -0.2 Oscar Software 0.0 0.0 Others -1.0 -0.7 -1.3 -2.3 -4.0 Group in total 1.4 1.6 5.1 2.1 2.9





Panostaja Groups business operations for the current review period are reported in ten segments: Grano, Selog, Helakeskus, KL-Varaosat, Heatmasters, Megaklinikka, CoreHW, Carrot, Oscar Software and Others (parent company and associated companies).

In the review period, two associated companies, Ecosir Group Oy and Spectra Yhtiot Oy, issued reports to the parent company. The result of the reported associated companies has developed well and its impact on profit/loss in the review period was MEUR 0.3 (MEUR 0.2), which is presented on a separate row under the EBIT in the consolidated income statement. During the period under review, Panostaja sold its shareholding in Juuri Partners Oy, which is a capital investment company making minority investments.





Outlook for the 2018 Financial Period



The corporate acquisitions market remained generally active in the period under review, and the availability of new opportunities has been good. The need to exploit ownership arrangements and growth opportunities in SMEs will continue, and as our own activity complements the supply of possible acquisitions from outside, there are plenty of possibilities for corporate acquisitions on the market. Panostaja aims to implement its growth strategy by means of controlled acquisitions in current investments, and new potential investments are also being actively studied. Divestment possibilities will also continue to be assessed actively as part of the ownership strategies of the investment targets.

The demand situation for different investments is thought to develop in the short term as follows:

The demand for Selog, Helakeskus, CoreHW, KL-Varaosat and Carrot will remain good. The demand for the new segment, Oscar Software, will remain good.

The demand for Grano and Heatmasters will remain satisfactory

Demand for Megaklinikka will remain weak





Panostaja Oyj

Board of Directors





For further information, contact CEO Juha Sarsama: tel. +358 (0)40 774 2099

Panostaja Oyj

Juha Sarsama

CEO

Attachment
Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/05/2018 -- The Iraq - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses report includes all Publisher research data and analysis on this country. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.



Executive summary

Fourth mobile license to be auctioned in Iraq



Plans to auction a fourth mobile license in Iraq have again been ignited with the Iraqi cabinet announcing in mid 2018 that a committee has been appointed to manage the tender process along with assistance from an auditing firm. While efforts in the past to auction the fourth license were not successful; it is hoped that this time around the licensing process will be completed and further competition in the mobile market will be created.



Overall the political unrest in Iraq has battered the telecommunications sector and created a very challenging environment for the telecoms operators in recent years. In 2018 however there are signs of stability with the installation of thousands of new fibre-optic cables; restoration of some of the damaged mobile networks underway and growth in mobile broadband subscribers evident.



There is high international interest in the Iraqi market with its potential to recover economically pinned on its large oil and natural gas reserves. Iraq offers much potential for telecoms infrastructure development with many under-served areas requiring better coverage and/or reconstruction. There will also be opportunities in developing both 3G and 4G deployment, with early signs that mobile data revenues are already increasing on the back of existing 3G networks.



Key developments:

The three mobile network operators which hold national licences are Zain Iraq, Asiacell and Korek Telecom.

The parts of Iraq seized by rebel forces reportedly have very little mobile infrastructure left intact, with residents relying on satellite technology for communications.

The most popular mobile plans are pre-paid.

Operators have faced serious security concerns for both personnel, equipment and infrastructure due to the civil unrest.

Mobile broadband services took a recent step forward with a recent growth in mobile broadband subscriptions.



Spanning over 32 pages "Iraq - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report covers Executive summary, Key statistics, Telecommunications market, Regulatory environment, Fixed network operator in Iraq, Telecommunications infrastructure, Smart infrastructure, Broadband access market, Other fixed broadband services, Digital media, Mobile communications. This report Covered Companies - Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company (ITPC), Newroz Telecom, Asiacell, Zain Iraq, Korek Telecom, Regional Telecom, Communication and Media Commission (CMC), ScopeSky Communications.



Please visit this link for more details: https://www.marketresearchreports.com/paul-budde-communication-pty-ltd/iraq-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses



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THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES



VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Block One Capital Inc. (TSXV: BLOK, OTCQB: BKPPF, Frankfurt: ES3) (the "Company" or "Block One Capital"), an investment company focused on high growth opportunities in the blockchain sector, is pleased to announce that its Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Pratheev Sreetharan (PhD Harvard University), and Director of Research, Dr. Sivakumar Arumugam (PhD Columbia University), have published a revealing analysis of the bitcoin mining sector utilizing publicly available global hash rate information.

Their research paper highlights the following realities of Bitcoin mining (The research paper can be found on Block One Capitals website at www.blockonecap.com):

1) As more and more new Bitcoin miners come on line, the rapid rise in global hash rate rates is leading to a rapid fall in the number of expected Bitcoins to mined by mining hardware.



2) Profitability of mining machines is falling quickly over time.



3) At an exchange rate of $10,000 per Bitcoin, a miner operating with an average cost structure will be unable to achieve profitably within a few months.



4) Mining hardware is most profitable in its first days of operations.



5) Delays in the deployment of mining equipment has a huge impact on revenue generation.



6) Investing in new mining equipment currently will likely not produce very good future returns.

Dr. Sivakumar Arumugam concluded, The striking divergence between the global hash rate and Bitcoin prices suggests that mining is becoming increasingly unprofitable.

The review of publicly available data reveals that the global hash rate has been increasing at a steady exponential rate in recent months. As adjustments to the hash rate may take several more months to work themselves out, Dr. Arumugam added that Purchasing new equipment now is unlikely to give a positive rate of return.

I am grateful to have had the guidance of a strong research team in our decision-making process over the last couple of months, said Sothi Thillairajah, CEO of Block One Capital. The conclusions of the study support our early decision to exit the Bitcoin mining business.

About Block One Capital Inc.

Block One Capital. is an investment company focused on early stage and high growth opportunities in the blockchain sector. Block One Capital is a listed investment issuer on the TSX Venture Exchange: BLOK. Block One Capital seeks to invest in early stage blockchain technologies at attractive valuations. Block One Capital seeks to access attractive pre-token issuance blockchain equity investments for its investors. Block One Capital seeks to acquire a significant minority stake when possible. Utilizing our accomplished management, director, and advisory team, Block One Capital seeks to provide investors with a diversified basket of blockchain exposure.

For more information on Block One Capital, please visit the Company's website at www.blockonecap.com .

"Sothi Thillairajah"

Chief Executive Officer

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Companys expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to Block One Capital's investment focus, the Company's expectations and estimates regarding the profitability of Bitcoin mining, including expected global hashrate and Bitcoin prices, and the Company's plans to exit the Bitcoin mining business. Although Block One Capital believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include general economic, market or business conditions, including the general acceptability of blockchain, risks associated with regulatory changes and the retail sector generally, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks and receipt of necessary TSX Venture Exchange approvals. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Block One Capital Inc.
Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/05/2018 -- The Macedonia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses report includes all Publisher research data and analysis on this country. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.



Executive summary

Macedonia's telecom regulator promotes mobile market competition with MVNOs



The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Macedonia) has been a European Union (EU) candidate country since 2005. As part of the EU pre-accession process, the country has built closer economic ties with the Union which accounts for 60% of Macedonia's exports and about half of its imports. Closer regulatory and administrative ties with European Commission (EC) institutions have done much to develop the telecom sector and prepare the market for the competitive environment encouraged in the EU. Accession to the EU, stalled due to opposition from Greece, could proceed if both countries accept a mid-2018 proposal to rename the country as the Republic of Severna (Northern) Macedonia.



As part of EU integration legislation has implemented the principles of the EU's regulatory framework for communications, established an independent regulator and set out several provisions to provide for a competitive telecom market, including wholesale access to the incumbent's fixed-line network. Although the fixed telephony market has been liberalised, the incumbent MakTel continues to dominate the sector. Broadband services are widely available, with effective competition between DSL and cable platforms complemented by wireless broadband and a developing fibre sector. The number of DSL subscribers has continued to fall in recent years as customers are migrated to fibre networks.



Macedonia's mobile market is served by only two mobile network operators, MakTel and One.VIP, the latter being formed by the merger of the local business units of Telekom Slovenije and Telekom Austria. One.VIP in May 2016 was also merged with its sister company Blizoo, and so has been able to provide a full suite of converged services. Mobile data services are becoming increasingly important following investments in LTE network rollouts and in upgrades to LTE-A technology.



Key developments:

Macedonia and Bulgaria sign deal to end mobile roaming tariffs;

Regulator develops market conditions to promote more MVNOs;

Makedonski Telekom completes PSTN migration to an all-IP network;

MakTel signs managed services agreement with its vendor partner Ericsson;

Lycamobile Macedonia gains 3.4% mobile market share;

Report update includes the regulator's market data updates to Q4 2017, telcos' operating and financial data to Q2 2018, recent market developments.



Spanning over 51 pages "Macedonia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report covers Executive summary, Key statistics, Country overview, Telecommunications market, Regulatory environment, Fixed network operators, Telecommunications infrastructure, Broadband market, Digital economy, Mobile market. This report Covered Companies - Makedonski Telekom, ONE, VIP Operator, One.VIP, Blizoo (formerly CableTel), Telekom Slovenije.



Please visit this link for more details: https://www.marketresearchreports.com/paul-budde-communication-pty-ltd/macedonia-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/05/2018 -- The Oman - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses report includes all Publisherresearch data and analysis on this country. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.



Executive summary

Oman is demonstrating progress in both mobile and fixed telecoms



Oman has established a progressive mobile sector which has substantial coverage of both 3G and 4G LTE networks. While significant 5G developments are not expected until at least 2020; there have been trials already conducted.



Mobile broadband subscriptions are still in a growth stage and the two major mobile operators, Omantel and Ooredoo Oman are competitive, partly in response to the rise of MVNOs.



A third mobile network operator (MNO) license was up for tender throughout 2017 and four operators had expressed an interest in bidding for the license. However, in October 2017, the government announced the tender process had been cancelled. It was reported the license would be awarded to a local consortium instead.



There has also been a recent and renewed push towards improving fixed broadband infrastructure for Oman  especially fibre-based networks. The fibre-optic service provider, Asawr, was partially acquired in early 2018 and this will allow for fresh investment in its high-speed network.



As part of it National Broadband Strategy, Oman Broadband Company (OBC) hopes to have all homes and businesses connected to its national broadband infrastructure by 2040.



Oman is well positioned to be a technology hub in the Middle East as it is well located between Asia, Africa and Europe and has access to several submarine cable systems. For these reasons, Equinix, one of the largest data centre operators in the world selected to partner with Omantel in mid-2018 and jointly build a new data centre in Oman.



Key developments:

The mobile sector in Oman has become more and more competitive in recent years, due to both the market becoming saturated as well as the rise of MVNOs.

There was a third mobile network operator (MNO) license up for tender in Oman in 2017, which was subsequently cancelled.

VoIP subscriptions are on the rise in Oman.



Spanning over 41 pages "Oman - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report covers Executive summary, Key statistics, Telecommunications market, Regulatory environment, Competition issues, Fixed network operators in Oman, Telecommunications infrastructure, Smart infrastructure, Broadband access market, Digital economy, Digital media, Mobile communications. This report Covered Companies - Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel); Oman Mobile; Ooredoo Oman; Oman Broadband Company (OBC); FRiENDi, Majan Telecom (Renna); Integrated Telecommunications Oman (TeO); Awasr-Oman.



Please visit this link for more details: https://www.marketresearchreports.com/paul-budde-communication-pty-ltd/oman-telecoms-mobile-and-broadband-statistics-and-analyses



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/06/2018 -- This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in the Philippines telecommunications market. The report analyses the Telecoms Infrastructure, mobile, fixed broadband, and Digital Economy sectors.



Subjects include:

- Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;

- Regional market comparisons

- Telecoms Maturity Index

- Industry and regulatory issues;

- Infrastructure;

- Major players, revenues, subscribers, ARPU;

- Mobile voice and data markets;

- Broadband (FTTH, DSL);

- Mobile, broadband and mobile broadband forecasts to 2023.



Executive Summary

The Philippines prepares for the transition from 4G to 5G



Telecommunications investment in the Philippines will continue to see increasing emphasis on supporting high speed broadband access. The bulk of the fixed services are in urban areas. In contrast, the fixed line market in the Philippines remains underdeveloped and fixed line penetration continues to show stagnant growth. A major reason for this is due to the dominance of the mobile segment and the rapid expansion of the mobile broadband segment.



Despite competition from new carriers and mobile operators, PLDT has continued to be the Philippines' dominant fixed-line provider. However, in recent years, Globe Telecom in particular has been pushing hard to overhaul the incumbent and now is the leading mobile provider in term of overall subscribers.



In 2018 the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) published its guidelines to accommodate the entry of a third major telecoms operator in the local market.



In recent few years, the major operators have also been forced to cope with the pressures of slowing growth in traditional areas. In particular, there has been good progress in the rollout of optical fibre infrastructure. PDLT announced plans to accelerate a network modernisation plan that will see it switching to fibre over the following two years.



Fixed broadband penetration in the Philippines remains relatively low mainly due to a limited number of fixed lines and the dominance of the mobile platform, which has in turn driven the mobile broadband market.



Despite declining prices in both fixed and mobile broadband, this type of service is still not affordable for the majority of the population. Operators have been pushing hard with competitive low entry-level packages, but the market continues to struggle.

However, the market has grown very strongly over the past five years from a small base. Over the next five years to 2023 strong growth is expected to continue from this very small base as both major fixed broadband operators, PLDT and Globe Telecom continue with their rollouts.



There has been a major push by market leader PLDT to offer fibre-based services; Globe has been trying to match the PLDT push where it can. PDLT is also deploying hybrid technology, such as G.fast, under a wider three-year program.



PDLT's ongoing nationwide fibre-optic rollout program, has already set up a number of so-called 'PLDT Smart City' areas. In 2018 a consortium of Filipino-Chinese developers were scheduled to begin work on an extensive smart city project that will give rise to a mixed-use development off the coast of Manila.



A feature of the Philippines mobile market has been the near duopoly with Smart together with Globe Telecom maintaining a tight hold on the industry. The two leading providers continue to battle to win subscribers and introduce new services, and both lost subscribers during 2017 as the market went through consolidation.



Mobile ARPU levels have been on a downward trend for a long time in the Philippines as competition in the mobile industry has intensified. The operators continue to engage in aggressive price competition in an effort to grab market share.



The Philippines has seen a very rapid increase in mobile broadband penetration over the past five years driven by a rising level of wireless broadband users. Strong growth is predicted over the next five years to 2023, however at a slower and declining rate as the market further matures.



The Philippines is already preparing for the move from 4G to 5G. PLDT Inc. has set up what it is calling a '5G technolab' into the research and development of the next generation platform and Globe Telecom announced its intention to launch 5G services in the Philippines by the middle of 2019.



Key Developments

- Telecommunications investment will continue to support high speed broadband access.

- The fixed line market in the Philippines remains underdeveloped.

- Globe Telecom is now challenging PLDT in both the fixed and wireless markets.

- Fixed broadband penetration remains relatively low but is growing strongly from a small base.

- DICT has published its draft terms of reference for the selection of a New Major Player (NMP).

- An extensive smart city project off the coast of Manila is scheduled to begin.

- The Philippines has seen a rapid recent increase in mobile broadband penetration.

- Mobile subscriber growth is expected to be relatively low over the next five years to 2023.

- The Philippines is already preparing for the move from 4G to 5G



Spanning over 64 pages "Philippines - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report covers Key statistics, Telecommunications market, Regulatory environment, Fixed network operators, Telecommunications infrastructure, Broadband market, Digital media, Mobile communications. This report Covered Companies - PLDT, Smart Communications, Globe Telecom, Liberty Telecom, Bayantel, Bell Telecom (BellTel), Digitel, Eastern Telecom (ETPI), Innove (Globe), PT&T, ABS-CBN Corp, Broadband Philippines, Vega Telecom, Extelcom.



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Lewes, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/06/2018 -- The Solomon Islands - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses report includes all Publisher research data and analysis on this country. Covering trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, infrastructure and regulation.



Executive Summary

Internet services to improve for the Solomon Islands



The Solomon Islands relies upon 3G mobile and satellite services as it primary means of both communication and Internet access. In recent years, the country has stabilised both politically and economically  and this, along with improvements to mobile infrastructure  has led to a sharp rise in mobile penetration.



Recent 3G mobile network expansions and upgrades by the two major operators, Our Telekom (operating as Breeze) and Bmobile-Vodafone, are improving mobile services and in turn driving uptake, including an increase in mobile broadband subscriptions. While the first 4G LTE services were launched in late 2017 in the capital Honiara; it is still 3G, and in many cases 2G, which is the main source of mobile telephony.



Improvements to Internet services are expected with the 2018 build-out of a new submarine cable known as the Coral Sea Cable System which will link PNG to the Solomon Islands, with a connecting cable to the Australian (Sydney) landing station. It will provide increased Internet capacity and reliability as well reduce Internet costs for consumers'. The Solomon Islands will also benefit from a domestic cable which will be extended to key major islands.



Various international organisations such as The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have taken a special interest in seeing communication services improved in both the Solomon Islands and Pacific region in general. The Australian government is assisting by providing the majority of funding for the new submarine cable system, with contributions and support also coming from both governments from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.



Key developments:

Internet penetration has only reached around 20% and the majority of citizens are accessing the internet via 3G mobile services.

The first 4G LTE network was launched in November 2017 by Our Telekom.

Bmobile-Vodafone has been improving its backhaul cellular network in order to offer 3G data services in more parts of the Solomon Islands.

The first interconnection adjudication was required by the Telecommunications Commission of the Solomon Islands in 2017.

The government of the Solomon Islands has acknowledged that improving the ICT sector needs to be a priority and has addressed this in its current National Development Strategy.



Spanning over 24 pages "Solomon Islands - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses" report covers Executive Summary, Key statistics, Country overview, Telecommunications market, Regulatory environment, Fixed network operator in Solomon Islands, Telecommunications infrastructure, Fixed-line broadband market, Digital economy/digita media, Mobile communications, Mobile content and applications, Mobile handsets. This report Covered Companies - Our Telekom (Breeze); Bmobile-Vodafone; Kacific Broadband Satellite, O3b, Solomon Island Submarine Cable Company.



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City of Industry, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/06/2018 -- This study researches the market size of Seismic Survey Equipment in United States, European Union and China, presents the Seismic Survey Equipment production, consumption, value, product price, market share and growth rate by companies, type and application, history breakdown data from 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2025.



For top companies in United States, European Union and China, this report investigates and analyzes the production, value, price, market share and growth rate for the top manufacturers, key data from 2013 to 2018.



Hardware for seismic survey includes various detectors such as hydrophones, geophones, and various seismic sources such as Vibroseis, air gun, and dynamite to generate the seismic waves. The seismic sources generate the seismic waves that are sent into the earth's surface and are reflected back toward the surface



In terms of industry, the seismic survey equipment market has been segmented on the basis of oil & gas and others. Others might include mining industry, construction industry, and energy industry which use seismic survey equipment.



In 2018, the market size of Seismic Survey Equipment is xx million US$ and it will reach xx million US in 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% from 2018; while in China, the market size is valued at xx million US$ and will increase to xx million US in 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during forecast period.



In this report, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Seismic Survey Equipment.



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In United States, European Union and China market, the following companies are covered:



CGG



Mitcham Industries



Geospace Technologies Corporation



Wireless Seismic



BGP



China National Petroleum Corporation



Schlumberger



FairfieldNodal



ION Geophysical Corporation



Market Segment by Product Type



Hardware



Software



Services



Market Segment by Application



Oil & gas



Mining



Construction



Energy



Other



Key Regions split in this report:



United States



China



European Union



Rest of World (Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)



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About QYResearch

QYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), expert's resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc.
According to a large new study of twins, genetics explains more than 60% of individual differences in school achievement.

For many years, research has linked educational achievement to life trajectories, such as occupational status, health or happiness.

But if performing well in school predicts better life outcomes, what predicts how well someone will do throughout school?

Around two-thirds of individual differences in school achievement are explained by differences in childrens DNA, said Dr. Margherita Malanchini, a psychology postdoctoral fellow at the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

But less is known about how these factors contribute to an individuals academic success overtime.

Dr. Malanchini and co-authors analyzed test scores from primary through the end of compulsory education of more than 6,000 pairs of twins.

They found educational achievement to be highly stable throughout schooling, meaning that most students who started off well in primary school continued to do well until graduation.

Genetic factors explained about 70% of this stability, while the twins shared environment contributed to about 25%, and their non-shared environment, such as different friends or teachers, contributed to the remaining 5%.

Thats not to say that an individual was simply born smart, the scientists said.

Even after accounting for intelligence, genes still explained about 60% of the continuity of academic achievement.

Academic achievement is driven by a range of cognitive and non-cognitive traits, Dr. Malanchini said.

Previously, studies have linked it to personality, behavioral problems, motivation, health and many other factors that are partly heritable.

However, at times grades did change, such as a drop in grades between primary and secondary school.

Those changes can be explained largely by non-shared environmental factors.

Our findings should provide additional motivation to identify children in need of interventions as early as possible, as the problems are likely to remain throughout the school years, said Dr. Kaili Rimfeld, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at Kings College London.

The study was published in the journal Science of Learning.

_____

Kaili Rimfeld et al. 2018. The stability of educational achievement across school years is largely explained by genetic factors. npj Science of Learning 3, article number: 16; doi: 10.1038/s41539-018-0030-0
A team of scientists at Yale University has experimentally demonstrated one of the key steps in building the architecture for quantum computers  the teleportation of a quantum gate between two logical qubits, on demand.

A quantum computer has the potential to efficiently solve problems that are intractable for classical computers.

However, constructing a large-scale quantum processor is challenging because of the errors and noise that are inherent in real-world quantum systems.

One approach to addressing this challenge is to utilize modularity  a strategy used frequently in nature and engineering to build complex systems robustly.

A quantum modular architecture consists of a collection of modules that function as small quantum processors connected into a larger network, explained team leaders Professor Robert Schoelkopf and Dr. Kevin Chou and their colleagues.

Modules in this architecture have a natural isolation from each other, which reduces unwanted interactions through the larger system.

Yet this isolation also makes performing operations between modules a distinct challenge. Teleported gates are a way to implement inter-module operations.

Using a theoretical protocol developed in the 1990s, Professor Schoelkopf, Dr. Chou and co-authors demonstrated a quantum operation, or gate, without relying on any direct interaction.

Our work is the first time that this protocol has been demonstrated where the classical communication occurs in real-time, allowing us to implement a deterministic operation that performs the desired operation every time, Dr. Chou said.

Quantum calculations are done via delicate bits of data called qubits, which are prone to errors, Professor Schoelkopf added.

In experimental quantum systems, logical qubits are monitored by ancillary qubits in order to detect and correct errors immediately.

Our experiment is also the first demonstration of a two-qubit operation between logical qubits.

It is a milestone toward quantum information processing using error-correctable qubits.

The teams results are published in the journal Nature.

_____

Kevin S. Chou et al. Deterministic teleportation of a quantum gate between two logical qubits. Nature, published online September 5, 2018; doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0470-y
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (MGX or the Company) ( CSE: XMG / OTCQB: MGXMF / FSE: 1MG ) is pleased to report that joint venture partner Power Metals Corp. (TSX.V: PWM) (Power Metals) has intersected 35 meters of high-grade spodumene zones in drill hole PWM-18-123 on the West Joe Dyke, Case Lake Property, 80 km east of Cochrane, northeastern Ontario. Power Metals drilled holes PWM-18-123 and 124 parallel to the West Joe Dyke to test the down dip continuity.



Drill hole PWM-18-123 intersected the West Joe pegmatite dyke from 0 to 35 m which includes the following spodumene-rich pegmatite zones (Figures 1 and 2):

0.5-19 m (18.5 m interval) with 10-15% spodumene

20-20.5 m (0.5 m interval) with 20-30% spodumene

23.28-31.0 m (7.72 m interval) with 20-30% spodumene

32.1-34 m (1.9 m interval) with 10-15% spodumene

Drill hole PWM-18-124 intersected spodumene pegmatite from 1.5 to 18.9 m (17.4 m interval) with up to 10% spodumene. Drill hole PWM-18-124 also intersected spodumene pegmatite from 36.3 to 57.5 m (21.2 m interval) which includes the following spodumene-rich pegmatite zones:

36.7-45.8 m (9.1 interval) with 7% pink, pale green and grey spodumene

45.8-51.5 m (5.7 m interval) with 25 % pale green spodumene in spodumene granite

More drilling will be conducted to determine if the two spodumene pegmatite intersections are two separate dykes or one dyke with a large tonalite xenolith.

West Joe spodumene pegmatite is located 1.6 km southwest of the western edge of the Main Dyke and 3.0 km southwest of the Northeast Dyke (Figure 3). This new zone is a significant step out from the Main Dyke and has opened up huge potential for drilling.

West Joe Dyke has two pegmatite zones which host spodumene mineralization, similar to that in the Main Dyke: (1) inner intermediate zone with very coarse-grained pale green to white spodumene, K-feldspar and quartz and (2) spodumene granite with abundant medium-grained spodumene, K-feldspar, albite and quartz. Spodumene granite is a medium-grained granite with spodumene as the accessory mineral and is unique to the Case Lake Property.

West Joe, Main and Northeast Dykes occur along a SW-NE trend (Figure 3). As the spodumene mineralization is the same in all three dykes and the dykes are along the same trend, the 3.0 km area between West Joe, Main and the Northeast Dykes is a large exploration target for potentially more spodumene pegmatites.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e9e81f4e-af0d-4964-bbe7-9bfe5f45f797

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/81c5dc04-7638-4a8b-8ff6-f5526df20de5

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/411373e0-c27e-47f1-b9fa-4a9030d20ae0

Terms of the Joint-Venture

MGX currently has a paid 20% working interest in five lithium hard rock properties in Ontario controlled by Power Metals as well as any additional properties acquired by Power Metals prior to August 2020. MGX also maintains the right to acquire an additional 15% working interest, for a total of 35%, in each of the hard rock lithium properties by making a one-time payment of $10M prior to August 2020. MGX currently holds an option to acquire 10,000,000 shares of Power Metals at $0.65 ( see press release dated August 2, 2017 ).

Qualified Person

The technical portions of this press release were reviewed by Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals. Mr. Kikauka is a non-independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 Standards.

About MGX Minerals

MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com .

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Des Moines, Iowa, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LCS announced today the company acquired Brandon Wilde, a Life Plan Community formerly referred to as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) located in Evans, Georgia. LCS Real Estate facilitated the transaction and Life Care Services will provide management services; both are LCS companies. Financial details will not be disclosed.

Brandon Wilde was formerly owned and operated by University Health Care System. The community consists of 253 independent living apartments, 39 assisted living units, 25 memory care units, and 65 beds of skilled nursing.

LCS Real Estate has executed on acquisition and development transactions in excess of $800 million since 2016, and currently has an ownership stake in 36 senior housing communities nationwide, including 14 Life Plan Communities.

Brandon Wilde is the recognized market leader in the greater Augusta marketplace in providing exceptional lifestyle services to seniors and their families, says Joel Nelson, president and CEO of LCS. We are delighted to welcome the residents of Brandon Wilde to the LCS family and will strive to enhance the communitys many successes as we begin our role as the communitys owner and operator.

David Laffey, executive vice president and senior managing director of LCS Real Estate adds, University Health Care System worked through a thoughtful, deliberate process to determine the best future for Brandon Wilde. It is clear they had the best interests of residents in mind throughout the process. We are very pleased that LCS Real Estate was selected as the buyer, and we are delighted to add Brandon Wilde to our growing real estate platform.

Roberta McMenamin, vice president and senior director of operations adds, I have worked closely with the Brandon Wilde residents and employees during this transition. Im excited to officially become a part of the Brandon Wilde community and look forward to implementing Life Care Services branded programs and services to further Brandon Wildes excellent reputation and customer service that it knows today.

About LCS

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, and established in 1971, LCS is a leading provider of high-quality senior lifestyle products and services. The LCS Family of Companies focus on development, operations management, marketing and sales management, and strategic planning for Life Plan Communities, also referred to as Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC), and rental independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities nationwide. The company also provides a full-service real estate private equity enterprise, insurance, national purchasing consulting services and in-home care. The companies of LCS serve thousands of seniors across the nation. For more information, visit LCSnet.com.

About LCS Real Estate

LCS Real Estate, An LCS Company, is a full-service real estate private equity enterprise providing a full complement of capital market services to the parent company including investments, debt placement, and asset management of senior living communities. LCS Real Estate actively pursues transactions, connects its investor partners with opportunities, and sources deal flow. For more information visit LCSrealestate.com.
Sellbyville, Delaware, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



Embedded Software Market share is expected to surpass USD 19 billion by 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc. The embedded software market growth is attributed to the increasing adoption of smart devices in the consumer electronics and healthcare sector. The deployment of IoT technologies in smart and connected devices has enabled the end user to establish cross-device connectivity and implement smart features in operating systems.

The use of IoT-enabled OS assists the user to control the home appliances remotely through smartphone/tablets. Further, such technologies help the consumer electronics companies to boost their production and operation processes by around 40%. In addition, efficient power consumption and high cost savings are also anticipated to augment the embedded software market.

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The increase in demand for open-source Linux software and open-source RTOS software is expected to offer lucrative growth to the embedded software market. As per GMI analysis, the worldwide shipment of open-source real-time operating systems has increased by 8.5% in 2017 as compared to 2016. The use of real-time systems enables the user to develop functional firmware in highly compressed timescales. Moreover, it also supports the custom Board Support Package (BSP) as per the users requirement. The primary advantage of open source RTOS is low power consumption that helps MCUs to increase the processing speed by around 20%.

The RTOS segment in embedded software market is projected to register a CAGR of more than 11% due to a surge in the demand for special-purpose hardware using real-time systems such as ThreadX, Windows CE, Fusion RTOS, LynxOS, and VxWorks. The RTOS-enabled software uses a round-robin scheduling process that reduces the hog in the CPU and performs an error-free process in real-time. Such systems offer mission-critical and safety-critical applications to various industry verticals such as military, healthcare, manufacturing, and the automotive sector. Furthermore, such software supports multitasking and inter-task communication that helps the engineer to perform complex applications simultaneously. It also supports all the microcontrollers and microprocessors that include different memory sizes such as 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, and 64-bit systems. In June 2018, Green Hills Software partnered with Paragon software to integrate its Integrity RTOS with Paragons file system link to support various file types into the system.

Browse key industry insights spread across 150 pages with 177 market data tables & 35 figures & charts from this 2018 report Embedded Software Market in detail along with the table of contents:

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/embedded-software-market

The standalone system held a market share of more than 73% in 2017. The growth in this segment is attributed to an increase in the demand for the traditional system by a majority of end users present in the embedded software market. Such systems can function autonomously without any help from the host computer as it encompasses its own OS software, user-created files, and virtual memory space. Further, the system can share the information with other systems on the network even if it is detached from the network. Digital cameras, video games consoles, mp3 players, and temperature measurement systems are some of the major applications of standalone systems.

The real-time system in embedded software market is projected to register the highest growth with a CAGR of more than 12% during the forecast period. The growth in this segment is attributed to error-free task management and the use of preemptive kernel method in the system. The real-time system is classified into two types, soft and hard. The soft RTS offers less accuracy and strictness on time while hard RTS delivers the exact output at the required time.

The manufacturing sector held more than 23% embedded software market share in 2017 due to the evolution of Industry 4.0 manufacturing with seamless IoT connection. A surge in the demand for IoT-enabled OS allows the manufacturers to remotely monitor the products statistics and automate the device-to-analytics data flow. The adoption of RTOS software facilitates the enterprises to monitor the changes in the production on a real-time basis, increasing the operational excellence in the manufacturing sector. In July 2016, Advantech launched 7 WebOP-2070T TFT that supports WVGA operator panel with web access/HMI software. This strategic move helped the company improve the manufacturing efficiency and decrease its labor cost.

The Asia Pacific embedded software market is expected to record a CAGR of more than 10% over the forecast period. In July 2018, Chinese chip manufacturer, Chengdu Haiguang IC Design Co., has started the development of the x86 processors named Dhyana that includes their operating system. This strategic move helped the Chinese manufacturers to reduce their dependence on the operating systems of the U.S. A surge in disposable incomes of developing countries including India, Japan, and South Korea will also augment the embedded software market.

The key players operating in the embedded software market are ENEA, Green Hills Software, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Advantech, Microchip, Mitsubishi, STMicroelectronics, Express Logic, LG CNS, Mentor Graphics, National Instruments, Segger, Texas, Renesas, HCL, Qualcomm, Toshiba, Via, Dexcel, Graphene, and Qualitat systems.

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Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Market Size By Product (Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), IC Physical Design & Verification, Printed Circuit Board (PCB) & Multi-Chip Module (MCM), Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP), Services), By Application (Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Industrial, Medical, Telecommunications), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, GCC, And South Africa), Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 - 2024

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/electronic-design-automation-eda-market





About Global Market Insights

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.
Vast Resources plc / Ticker: VAST / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining

6 September 2018

Vast Resources plc

(Vast or the Company)

Shareholder Q&A Document

Vast Resources plc, the AIM-listed mining company with operating mines in Romania and Zimbabwe, is pleased to advise that it has published a Shareholder Q&A document addressing questions from shareholders, which can be accessed at:

http://www.vastresourcesplc.com/investor-relations/shareholder-qas/.

The questions and answers can also be viewed in the appendix of this announcement. No material new financial or operational information is included in the Q&A document.

**ENDS**

Notes

Vast Resources plc is an AIM listed mining and resource development company focussed on the rapid advancement of high quality brownfield projects and recommencing production at previously producing mines in Romania and Zimbabwe.

Vast Resources currently owns and operates the Manaila Polymetallic Mine in Romania, which was commissioned in 2015, and is focussed on its expansion through the development of a second open pit operation and new metallurgical complex at the Carlibaba Extension Area. The Companys Romanian portfolio also includes interests in two brownfield development projects; the Baita Plai Polymetallic Mine (80% interest), where work is currently underway towards obtaining the relevant permissions to start developing and ultimately commissioning the mine, and the Blueberry Project (29.41% interest), a 7.285km brownfield area of prospectivity in the Golden Quadrilateral of Romania located in the immediate vicinity of the now closed Baia de Aries mine.

The Company also has interests in a number of projects in Southern Africa including a controlling 25 per cent. interest in the producing Pickstone-Peerless Gold Mine and a 23.75% economic interest in the Eureka Gold Mine, both located in Zimbabwe.

APPENDIX:

Can we have a detailed update on the progress on Eureka. I think that it is important that the market understands how this is being de-risked as a project over time i.e. what are the key milestones etc as it heads towards production. Basically, if the market is valuing the share price on a DCF basis, then this information will help the market to start attributing value within the share price. Same of course for Baita Plai when we get the licence.

Multiple work programmes are currently being undertaken at Eureka to restore the mine to production. We continue to dewater the open pit, which prior to Vasts involvement was completely flooded/full. Once completed we will be able to undertake grade control drilling. Alongside an assessment of the mine, we have completed a thorough review of the 1.8Mtpa processing plant and associated infrastructure that is in-situ. This has enabled us to finalise design plans for the mine and processing operation and work has begun to refurbish old equipment, remove any historical equipment no longer required, and place orders for additional equipment required. Initial start-up at Eureka is currently being funded by surplus cash from Pickstone-Peerless and we intend to utilise credit facilities that are currently being established in Zimbabwe to finance the majority of the start-up capital at the project going forward. We hope to be in a position to recommence production at Eureka in H1 2019.

At Baita Plai a number of work programmes have already been successfully completed to ensure we can re-start production at the mine quickly once the Association Licence is granted. All lifts and cables have been upgraded, wagons have been refurbished, underground pumps have been replaced and underground fronts prepared. We have also rebuilt the crusher, insulated the flotation plant and prepared the flotation lines. Prior to mining recommencing, we will also need to reline the flotation cells, reline the mill and install a new conveyor to transport material from the crusher to the mill. We also intend to install a new locomotive both above and below ground and will need to purchase additional mining equipment including pick hammers and new underground loaders.

2) If the Baita Plai Association Licence isn't signed off by ANRM within the 30 days, what recourse do VAST have?

We have legal rights that we can enforce, however we remain confident of a positive outcome.

3) Approximately from the day of the grant of the Baita Plai association licence, when would you expect the first ore to be mined and/or processed? Can you provide detail of what we have been doing during the care and maintenance programme to facilitate a safe, quick turnaround and what VAST will do from licence +1?

As detailed above, we have a number of work programmes to complete prior to recommencing production, but we expect to be able to start mining within three months and processing within 6 months of the Association Licence being granted.

4) How much it costs the Company to release an RNS as an example the warrants RNS today for 70 is ridiculous. Is there action that the company can take to try and stop this?

In line with Vasts regulatory obligations the Company is required to make a number of announcements that must be released to the market without delay. The exercise of warrants / issue of equity is one such announcement; Vast does not have a choice or control over the release of this information.

5) Is Manaila or Pickstone-Peerless profitable? Is any part of the business generating cashflow? Can this be used to develop the new projects instead of issuing shares?

Pickstone-Peerless has been profitable for almost two years and cashflow from the mine has been used to pay-off all start-up costs and support a number of expansion efforts, including the recent sulphide mine upgrades. Currently, the mine is supporting Vasts wider developments in-country by financing some of the acquisition costs associated with the recently acquired Eureka Gold Mine and funding initial start-up at the previously producing mine. This financing structure is in line with Vasts commitment to maintaining an active growth strategy whilst safeguarding investors from significant dilution where possible.

In Romania, Manaila has had its months of profit, breakeven and loss, but as shareholders will be aware our focus is very much on achieving consistent profitability. In line with this, during H1 2018 we completed necessary plant maintenance and repairs and successfully improved waste stripping, grade and performance at the mine. We are now in the process of purchasing new dumpers and excavators that should allow for higher equipment availability, ore and waste movement, and plant throughput so that we can better utilise processing capacity at the Iacobeni metallurgical plant some 32km away. We expect these upgrades will enable us to produce a modest profit until the planned new metallurgical plant is built and in production, which is expected in Q2 2020.

6) Where are the new trucks? Any new pictures of the new plant?

The lead time for new equipment is six months. The money to finance the new equipment was raised at the end of June 2018 so we expect deliveries to commence in early 2019.

7) Website needs updating, there are no reports for 2018 published on there.

Our website is under constant review and update and we thank shareholders for bringing any inaccuracies to our attention so that we can resolve them as quickly as possible. The Quarterly Results page has been updated accordingly and I would also like to draw shareholders attention to the new corporate presentation that has been added to the Research, Media & Presentations page.

8) How will the Marange area be secured as diamonds are already being picked by locals illegally. Its a huge area.

As a part of the Kimberley Process Scheme it is mandatory to fence the mining areas. A part of the project area has already been fenced by the Community Trust and we will continue the process once we have completed the Due Diligence period and start work on site.

9) On what date does the statutory deadline for ANRM to process the Baita Plai association fall?

Based on legal working days from submission on 3 August 2018 and taking into account public holidays and weekends, the Legal Term ends on 18 September 2018.

10) When does Vast anticipate being able to report a net profit?

It is very difficult to give a categorical date for this but taking into account Pickstone-Peerless current operational performance, the upgrades being undertaken at Manaila and the imminent start-up expected at Baita Plai, not considering the potential cash flow from the Red Mercury JV, we are optimistic that 2019 will be more fruitful for the Company.

11) It has been suggested on the LSE bulletin board that in the meantime we are utilising some extra (to our existing fleet) second hand vehicles? Is this so, and if true, why has that information not been made available to all?

The current contractor is bringing some further equipment (second hand) to site. These vehicles are not owned or controlled by Vast therefore we felt it unnecessary to report.

How many of each type and size are we leasing/buying?

6 x 40T dumpers and 3 additional 50T excavators.

What is the name of the company that are providing the vehicles? And do we have any other association to them?

We are buying directly from the manufacturer.

Can you please arrange some coverage e.g. Twitter, when they first go into operation?

We will continue to maximise all social media opportunities where possible.

Do you foresee a winter shutdown at Manaila for extra stripping as per the winter 2017/18?

A potential shutdown is weather dependent; if we have a mild winter then production will continue, but if it is harsh as it was last year and the year before, we may be forced to shut down as the extreme cold effects transport from the mine to the flotation plant and temperatures in the flotation.

From what I can discover, the only current name associated with Blueberry SRL is Ema Gavrila? Is this correct? If not, who was the owner?

Ema Gavrile was the registered owner.

If the above is correct, will she be the suggested nominated director in EMA? Again, if not, who will be the named director and why couldn't this be released as part of the RNS 15th August?

Ema Gavrile will most likely be a Board member of EMA alongside a representative from Vast and independent Non-Executive Directors.

Vast, the parent body of EMA, is obligated to procure finance of $1M by 31st August. Is this coming from Vasts corporate budget or is it being arranged as a loan, and if so, what is being used as collateral?

This has already been arranged and partly invested by third parties. The balance is secured and awaiting release and as per the announcement released on 5 September 2018, an extension to the August deadline has been granted giving Vast until 15 September to finalise the financing.

The $2M funding pre-IPO for 29.41% of EMA, suggests a valuation of approximately $6.8M for the Blueberry project, before any exploration? Is this correct and how was this derived?

The 29.41% refers to the shares that Vast is projected to retain on an IPO and does not refer to the shares to be received by the $2 million third party investors. The $2 million investment is by way of convertible loan which, on the basis of this being sufficient finance pre-IPO, will convert to a 15% share in EMA Resources prior to the IPO funding. The valuation for the loan conversion was based on our internal valuation model  yet to be proven  which was constructed post soil sampling, geophysics, trenching and 25% of drilling completion and with the benefit of the knowledge retained from historic data.

I totally understand the sensitivities regarding the use of cyanide, particularly in that area. Can you provide examples of other gold mines of how flotation and gravity circuits will process the ore without the use of cyanide, or is the intention to produce a concentrate, sell it and that user will then perform the final extraction?

There are many alternatives for the use of cyanide in gold recovery. These include the use of resin, chlorine, thiosulphate and Urea to name a few. It depends if the ore is amenable to the chemical in use, the quantities consumed in the process and the cost of the chemical itself. A great example of cyanide-free gold extraction can be found at https://im-mining.com/2018/08/28/csiros-cyanide-free-gold-showcases-non-toxic-solution/ - this process is not new and has been modified and enhanced to an economical level.

At Blueberry, the area is an historical mine with 40% free gold so primary gold extraction will be carried out through a simple gravity process. The balance of the gold will be recovered via a flotation process, as it is in any other polymetallic mine such as Baita Plai or Manaila and will be a paid credit in the concentrate. Based on this simple processing requirement, we do not believe there is any need to use cyanide.

The presentation on the Vast website is a great addition, however, I can't identify the location of the holes indicated in the RNS, i.e. where ABVBB017 is located. Can the geological maps be improved / clarified to then also show future target drilling?

Due to the current mining legislation and secrecy laws in Romania, we are unable to provide this data.

What, if any function, are Botswana Diamonds performing with us on the 'Heritage Concession'

For the Due Diligence phase Botswana Diamonds will be a consultant to Vast with the option of equity participation.

Can you provide guidance on how much of the due diligence is of a geological nature compared to how much is legal compliance?

All the Due Diligence is geological; the legal requirements have been completed for this phase.

Is there a reason why some of Vasts regulatory news is distributed via GNW and not RNS? If so why, as GNW aren't picked up by all services?

and

Could do with Vast finding out why some RNSs don't appear on sites like LSE such as the JV on Marange! Very important.

The GNW service that Vast has traditionally used for releasing announcements has recently updated its system, which has caused a number of technical difficulties. These issues have been raised with the platform and they are currently looking to resolve them as a matter of urgency. Whilst we await a suitable resolution from GNW we are working with other release providers to ensure announcements are publicised / distributed correctly.

For the sake of clarity, can Vast repatriate cash out of Zimbabwe and have we actually done so?

Although we appreciate there could be timing issues when payments from Zimbabwe are to be made, we confirm, yes, we have permission to repatriate cash from Zimbabwe. On a small scale we have made a payment from Zimbabwe to the UK in order to prove the point.

Because of the Eureka opportunity, a decision was taken [by previous management] in conjunction with our strategic partners that, for now, profits arising in Pickstone-Peerless be used to finance acquisition costs of Eureka via Dallaglio.

We are implementing a dividend policy in Zimbabwe and will report an update as soon as possible.

As we acquire new assets in Zimbabwe we will ensure that we obtain necessary repatriation permissions.

As shareholders, we haven't been made aware of the Mercuria offtake details, so have no way of measuring value, which only leads to speculation. Prices for both copper and gold have been and still are below 2017 levels. Separately, are either, or both the Romanian and Zimbabwean operations currently EBITDA positive or cash flow positive?

All offtake deals are measured against the London Metal Exchange 7-day average prior to each delivery. The main difference between contracts are tolling fees and refining fees. Further information on cash flow expectations are earlier.

Have we moved into the sulphide zones at Pickstone-Peerless? Is the 30,000 tonnes of ore going to the crusher still applicable?

We are not in the sulphides yet but continue to make good progress in this respect, with an increase in production and quality of ore being achieved as we approach the sulphide orebody. The crusher is now processing in excess of 30,000 tonnes per month, a level which is expected to continue into future quarters, as reported in the last quarterly production report.



Is Andrew Prelea still thinking of the consolidation of his holdings into Vast Shares?

This will be determined by shareholders and a general meeting will be called when agreed by the Board.

Is there any news on consolidation of the shares in issue?

Not at this point
The PPA said container volumes rose 9% to 4.31mteu from 3.95m teu in the previous corresponding period, with domestic boxes handled at the ports reaching 1.76m while international volumes hit 2.55m teu.

In terms of overall throughput however volumes were sluggish, with overall volumes rising just 2% to 147.27m metric tons from 144.41m metric tons in the same period last year.

Foreign cargo volumes grew by 1.6% to 87.64m metric tons, while domestic cargo volume rose by 2.5% to 59.63m metric tons.

Acknowledging the slow volumes in the first period of the year, PPA general manager Jay Daniel Santiago remained upbeat that volume will pick-up toward the latter part of the year.

Notwithstanding the decrease in the volume of export cargo by 0.98%, we were still able to post positive deviation in the overall cargo traffic, Santiago said.

Read More: ICTSI takes delivery of three mega boxship cranes at Manila Port

Nonetheless, we are still on target of hitting our forecast of a modest cargo volume hike for 2018 of high single-digit to low double-digit growth, he said.

The silver lining in this situation is that our ports, particularly the Manila Ports, remain clog-free and ready to accept the influx of holiday cargoes, which we expect to arrive in the next couple of weeks, Santiago concluded.
The auction attracted 42 investors, including 40 individual investors and two organisations, said local media. The highest bid value reached $0.56 per share (VND13,000).

Under the initial plan, Vinalines planned to offer 207m shares or 14.8% of the company to strategic investors. The remaining shares were to be sold to employees of the company.

Weeks before, several investors had expressed interest, including SK Holdings, South Koreas third-largest multilateral business conglomerate, but those intentions did not materialise. The State still holds 65% stake, equivalent to 912.9m shares, in Vinalines after the IPO.

It will also boost divestment of capital in its 18 member enterprises. According to Vietnamese media, Vinalines Chairman of the board Le Anh Son said that We will withdraw all our capital from nine businesses that have suffered losses, only keep dominant shares at nine businesses operating efficiently and profitably in our chain operations.

Some companies within the Vinalines conglomerate have continuously recorded losses such as Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint Stock Company, Vietnam Sea Transport and Chartering Joint Stock Company, Cai Lan Port Investment Joint Stock Company, and Vinalines will soon plan to divest all capital. It will also divest from other loss-making businesses, including listed companies.

Vinalines is a major player in shipping, seaport and maritime services with a fleet of 84 vessels totalling 1.8m dwt, but its business activities have continuously recorded losses since 2008. In 2017, the core sector of Vinalines recorded a loss of $26.9m. In the first six months, Vinalines posted $283.8m in total revenue and $3.13m in pre-tax profit.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (NYSE: FSM) (TSX: FVI) is pleased to provide results for its infill drilling program at the Lindero Project in Argentina. The Lindero Project is under construction, and commercial operations are planned to start late in the third quarter of 2019, with an estimated gold production of 137,000 ounces of gold in the first full year of operation (Please refer to the Lindero Project Technical report dated October 31, 2017 ).



Eric Chapman, Vice President of Technical Services, commented: "Infill drilling has been carried out with the express intention of improving the confidence in the estimated tonnes and grade of material planned for mining in year one at Lindero. The mineralized intercepts encountered have met or exceeded our expectations in 44 of the 61 holes drilled when compared to estimated block model gold grades as of September 9, 2017." Mr. Chapman continued, "Of particular interest are the results for drill holes LDH-138, LDH-139, and LDH-164 associated with the mingled diorite porphyry unit in the center of the deposit, in an area which was previously thought to be non-mineralized. The new drilling results are presently being incorporated into an updated internal estimate of Mineral Resources and Reserves with the intention of optimizing the mine plan to capture the benefits of these new results. Such updated technical information will not materially change the existing Mineral Resources estimates."

The infill drilling program, consisting of 61 diamond drill holes totaling 1,952 meters, focused on the areas planned for mining at Lindero in year one with holes ranging from 12 meters to 68 meters in length. The program was designed with three objectives: to improve the estimation of grades in mineralized areas with lower density of drilling; to better define the contact between mineralized and non-mineralized material at the periphery of the deposit and at the boundaries between lithologic units; and to source fresh samples for complementary metallurgical column tests on Mineral Reserves scheduled for year one. A map showing 2018 infill drilling collar location and a longitudinal section showing updated drilling and 2017 block model can be found at the following links, respectively: https://fortunasilver.com/site/assets/files/4406/lindero-infill-drilling-2018-collar-location-map_5sept18.pdf and https://fortunasilver.com/site/assets/files/4407/lindero-section-a-a-25m-width-updated-drilling-and_2.pdf .

Infill drill program highlights include:

LDH-138



1.84 g/t Au over 42 meters from surface LDH-146



2.15 g/t Au over 20 meters from surface LDH-164



1.20 g/t Au over 66 meters from surface LDH-186



2.24 g/t Au over 28 meters from surface LDH-187



2.33 g/t Au over 24 meters from surface



The following table sets out the assay results for the infill drill program:



Drill hole Easting Northing Elevation From

(m) To

(m) Interval (m) Au

(g/t) Cu

(%) Lithology Codes

Holes to investigate grade continuity in mineralized areas



LDH-131 7226099.99 2623223.46 3922.92 0.8 53 52.2 0.46 0.11 PBFD/CPD1 LDH-132 7226051.85 2623225.41 3914.05 1 40 39 0.87 0.09 CPD1 LDH-136 7226206.97 2622983.99 3940.49 24 52 28 0.29 0.13 DDP LDH-138 7226165.65 2622984.51 3931.91 2 44 42 1.84 0.25 DDP LDH-139 7226124.55 2623023.58 3938.25 0.3 52 51.7 0.84 0.17 DDP LDH-141 7226047.11 2622985.12 3908.88 0.4 28 27.6 0.82 0.14 FPD LDH-142 7226165.33 2622866.27 3900.94 0 24 24 0.48 0.14 CPD1 LDH-143 7226082.61 2622908.28 3899.15 0 16 16 0.65 0.15 CPD1 LDH-146 7225965.14 2623224.75 3884.60 0 20 20 2.15 0.19 S1/FPD LDH-147 7226004.47 2623301.49 3879.90 0 20 20 0.46 0.11 S1 LDH-148 7226123.29 2623333.85 3886.19 0 24 24 0.90 0.09 CPD1 LDH-149 7226205.15 2623345.56 3887.53 0 24 24 1.62 0.12 FPD/CPD1 LDH-150 7226326.21 2623338.44 3914.58 0 32 32 0.45 0.10 CPD1 LDH-151 7226402.07 2623265.21 3910.70 0 20 20 0.36 0.15 CPD1 LDH-163 7226275.73 2623372.92 3898.69 1 24 23 1.01 0.14 PBFD LDH-164 7226163.52 2623061.14 3953.17 0 66 66 1.20 0.19 DDP LDH-170 7226326.20 2623297.81 3927.06 0.7 32 31.3 0.35 0.08 CPD1 LDH-171 7226207.03 2623019.15 3953.44 28 64 64 0.88 0.21 DDP/CPD2 LDH-173 7226164.59 2622907.84 3916.12 11.2 24 12.8 1.36 0.26 DDP LDH-174 7226204.85 2622864.55 3902.69 4 12 8 0.18 0.07 FPD LDH-175 7226086.05 2622944.01 3908.68 0 24 24 0.21 0.04 FPD LDH-176 7226006.21 2622991.53 3901.43 0.5 16 15.5 0.41 0.10 FPD LDH-177 7225966.95 2623068.30 3892.02 0 24 24 0.42 0.14 FPD LDH-180 7226005.98 2623226.39 3900.41 0 32 32 1.20 0.08 FPD LDH-181 7225977.42 2623183.11 3900.19 0 20 20 1.72 0.18 FPD/S1 LDH-182 7225969.81 2623137.46 3899.92 0 24 24 1.39 0.28 FPD LDH-183 7226009.20 2623185.12 3911.37 0 40 40 1.14 0.16 FPD LDH-184 7226164.99 2623280.62 3911.07 0 38 38 0.33 0.04 FPD LDH-185 7226205.91 2623387.06 3879.19 0 12 12 1.76 0.11 CPD1 LDH-186 7226169.57 2623336.10 3888.51 0 28 28 2.24 0.13 CPD1 LDH-187 7225968.08 2623266.00 3876.14 0 24 24 2.33 0.20 FPD/S1 including 6 18 12 3.65 0.27 FPD LDH-188 7226058.84 2623325.32 3882.33 0 20 20 1.64 0.20 FPD

Holes to investigate mineralized contacts

LDH-129 7226084.78 2623142.84 3932.60 0 56 56 0.61 0.08 PBFD LDH-130 7226125.40 2623185.44 3926.50 No intervals of significance PMI LDH-133 7226162.53 2623102.03 3934.68 1.1 52 50.9 0.17 0.06 CPD2/DDP LDH-134 7226204.08 2623104.63 3934.82 No intervals of significance CPD2 LDH-135 7226203.64 2623182.71 3919.25 No intervals of significance CPD2 LDH-137 7226206.02 2622947.00 3935.77 No intervals of significance DDP LDH-140 7226085.50 2623025.55 3924.89 No intervals of significance CPD2 LDH-144 7226007.07 2622943.37 3891.29 0 16 16 0.22 0.08 S1 including 6 12 6 0.38 0.09 S1 LDH-145 7225967.00 2623104.67 3895.54 8 20 12 0.42 0.09 CPD2/FPD LDH-152 7226404.54 2623145.93 3903.55 0 12 12 0.28 0.07 CPD1 LDH-153 7226403.40 2623183.62 3906.08 No intervals of significance CPD1 LDH-154 7226403.29 2623224.50 3909.31 No intervals of significance CPD1 LDH-155 7226444.71 2623263.79 3898.17 No intervals of significance FPD LDH-156 7226445.12 2623222.02 3900.21 0 32 32 0.25 0.13 CPD1/FPD including 27 32 5 0.61 0.26 FPD LDH-157 7226445.29 2623182.85 3902.52 No intervals of significance CPD1 LDH-158 7226445.66 2623144.89 3899.28 26 38 12 0.40 0.13 CPD1 LDH-159 7226402.69 2623104.65 3899.57 36 48 12 0.67 0.15 CPD1 LDH-160 7226401.25 2623392.24 3897.96 No intervals of significance CPD1 LDH-161 7226401.20 2623303.54 3907.77 No intervals of significance CPD1 LDH-162 7226403.97 2623343.96 3900.63 No intervals of significance FPD LDH-165 7226205.29 2623064.11 3947.10 28 60 32 0.44 0.14 DDP/CPD2 LDH-166 7226244.43 2623065.41 3940.71 No intervals of significance PMI LDH-167 7226242.66 2623022.38 3941.63 No intervals of significance DDP/CPD2 LDH-168 7226243.74 2622984.73 3940.40 No intervals of significance DDP LDH-169 7226367.30 2623225.69 3922.33 No intervals of significance PMI LDH-172 7226203.58 2622905.93 3921.17 No intervals of significance PMI LDH-178 7225966.14 2623026.94 3889.20 0 12 12 0.31 0.09 S1 LDH-179 7226005.87 2623104.15 3910.91 8 26 18 0.30 0.04 PMI/CPD2 LDH-189 7226013.72 2623344.14 3868.03 7 11 4 0.43 0.06 FPD Units associated with mineralization:

FPD = Fine diorite porphyry

CPD1 = Crowded diorite porphyry 1

PBFD = Bimodal feldspar diorite porphyry

DDP = Mingled diorite porphyry



Units associated with non-mineralization:

CPD2 = Crowded diorite porphyry 2

PMI = Post mineralized intrusive

S1 = Tertiary sedimentary rocks

Notes:

All holes drilled vertically The Lindero Deposit is a gold-rich porphyry with mineralization permeating throughout the deposit, making the calculation of true thickness impossible as no definitive across strike direction exists.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control



Following detailed geological and geotechnical logging, drill core samples are split on-site by diamond sawing. One half of the core is submitted to the ALS Global Laboratory in Mendoza, Argentina for preparation. The remaining half core is retained on-site for verification and reference purposes. Following preparation, the samples are assayed in the ALS Global Laboratory in Lima, Peru for gold by standard fire assay methods; for silver and base metals by ICP and atomic emission spectroscopy methods utilizing four acid digestion; and for cyanide soluble copper by atomic absorption methods. The QA-QC program includes the blind insertion of certified reference standards and assay blanks at a frequency of approximately 1 per 20 normal samples as well as the inclusion of duplicate samples for verification of sampling and assay precision levels.

About the Lindero gold Project

In September 2017, the commencement of construction at Lindero was officially launched (see Fortuna news releases dated September 21, 2017 and December 21, 2017 ). Lindero has been designed as an 18,750 tonnes per day owner operated open pit mine with a pit life of 13 years based on existing mineral reserves. The initial capital cost budget estimate for the construction of Lindero is US$239 million, forecast to increase between 10% and 17% (refer to Fortuna news release dated August 7, 2018,  Fortuna provides construction update and reports initial on-site arrival of mine equipment at its Lindero gold Project in Argentina ); this amount does not include VAT which is expected to be recovered in the first 24 months from the start of mining operations. The technical report of the Lindero Project is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at https://www.fortunasilver.com/site/assets/files/4098/lindero-project-technical-report-effective-date-31-oct-2017.pdf .

Qualified Person

Eric N. Chapman, M.Sc., Vice President of Technical Services, is the Qualified Person for Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Chapman is a Professional Geoscientist of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of British Columbia (Registration Number 36328) and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.

Fortuna is a growth oriented, precious metal producer with its primary assets being the Caylloma silver mine in southern Peru, the San Jose silver-gold mine in Mexico and the Lindero gold Project in Argentina. The Company is selectively pursuing acquisition opportunities throughout the Americas and in select other areas. For more information, please visit its website at www.fortunasilver.com .



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Jorge A. Ganoza

President, CEO and Director

Fortuna Silver Mines Inc.

Trading symbols: NYSE: FSM | TSX: FVI



Investor Relations:

Carlos Baca

T (Peru): +51.1.616.6060, ext. 0





Forward looking Statements

This news release contains forward looking statements which constitute forward looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and forward looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, Forward looking Statements). All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are Forward looking Statements and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the Forward looking Statements. The Forward looking Statements in this news release may include, without limitation, statements about the Companys plans for its mines and mineral properties, the estimated amount of and grade of mineral resources at Lindero, including the construction and development of the Lindero gold Project; the Companys business strategy, plans and outlook; the merit of the Companys mines and mineral properties; mineral resource and reserve estimates; timelines; the future financial or operating performance of the Company; expenditures; approvals and other matters. Often, but not always, these Forward looking Statements can be identified by the use of words such as estimated, potential, open, future, assumed, projected, used, detailed, has been, gain, planned, reflecting, will, containing, remaining, to be, or statements that events, could or should occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations.

Forward looking Statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward looking Statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, whether the Companys activities at the Lindero gold Project, including the construction and development of the project will proceed as planned; the estimated amount of and grade of mineral resources at Lindero, changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; changes in prices for silver and other metals; technological and operational hazards in Fortunas mining and mine development activities; risks inherent in mineral exploration; uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral reserves, mineral resources, and metal recoveries; governmental and other approvals; political unrest or instability in countries where Fortuna is active; labor relations issues; as well as those factors discussed under Risk Factors in the Company's Annual Information Form. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward looking Statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended.

Forward looking Statements contained herein are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to: that the Companys activities at the Lindero gold Project, including the construction and development of the Project will proceed as planned; expectations regarding construction and mine production costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Companys current mineral resource and reserve estimates; that the Companys activities will be in accordance with the Companys public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained; that there will be no significant disruptions affecting construction and operations of the Lindero gold Project and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward looking Statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any Forward looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that Forward looking Statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on Forward looking Statements.
Australian investment firm Allan Gray has halved its stake in NZME since the local media group reported underwhelming earnings last month, spurring a 22 percent slide in the share price.

The Sydney-based fund manager was NZME's biggest shareholder with almost 16 percent when it was spun out of APN News & Media in 2016. Allan Gray sold down to about 12 percent since the demerger, but after series of trades since Aug. 30 has whittled that down to 5.9 percent.

Auckland-based NZME posted a 53 percent slide in first-half profit to $3.7 million, as increased redundancy costs and consultant fees for the on-again/off-again Stuff merger added to weaker radio advertising revenue and greater investment in its digital classified ventures. The media group paid a smaller interim dividend than anticipated, drawing down more heavily on bank debt to do so due to the timing of a tax bill, and said it was reviewing its dividend policy and capital needs.

The result fell short of analyst expectations and First NZ Capital cut its target price to 76 cents from 83 cents, while retaining a 'neutral' rating. The share price dropped as much as 22 percent to 65 cents on the NZX since the announcement. It was recently up 4.6 percent to 68 cents.

The dual-listed stock fell as much as 25 percent to 57.5 Australian cents on the ASX and recently traded at 60.5 Australian cents across the Tasman.

Substantial shareholder notices show Allan Gray sold A$3.15 million of shares at average price of 59.5 Australian cents and A$4.03 million at 61.2 cents. The investment firm wasn't immediately available to comment.

Other investors have used the slump as an opportunity to buy in, with Sydney-based boutique fund manager Renaissance Smaller Companies building a 6.8 percent stake, buying A$2.17 million of shares at 59.5 Australian cents apiece. Similarly, recently appointed director Barbara Chapman bought 50,000 on market on Aug. 29 at an average 65.8 New Zealand cents apiece.

(BusinessDesk)

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Infratil says the $208.5 million takeover offer for Tilt Renewables it's leading is "fair and reasonable" after Tilt's independent directors recommended shareholders reject the deal as being too low.

Infrastructure investment company Infratil owns 51 percent of the Melbourne-based wind and solar developer. Last month it announced it was partnering with power company Mercury NZ, which in May acquired almost 20 percent of Tilt's shares from Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust, to buy out the rest at $2.30 a share. That was 8 percent more than they were trading at prior to the offer and matches what Mercury paid for its stake. The shares last traded at $2.30 on the NZX.

This week Fiona Oliver, chair of Tilt's independent director committee, said the price "does not adequately recognise the value of the current operational assets and the strong pipeline of future projects".

This is a very strong company in the renewables energy space, with excellent prospects. The $2.30 offer is simply too low," Oliver said. "The independent directors believe the minority shareholders should be properly rewarded if Mercury and Infratil are to get total ownership and take the company private. The JVs premium of 8 percent on recent trading does not recognise the strategic value of this company."

Tilt has seven operating wind farms in Australia and New Zealand and a string of development opportunities in both countries. It has just completed the 54MW Salt Creek wind farm in Victoria and is preparing to proceed with the A$600 million, 336MW Dundonnell project in the same state.

Infratil today said it believes the offer is "reasonable and more than fair", arguing it's higher than all of the broker analyst 12-month price targets and 6.8 percent higher than the average broker analyst 12-month price target prior to the announcement of the offer.

The offer is more than the maximum closing price of Tilt Renewables over the 18 months prior to the announcement of the offer, and is a 24 percent premium on the closing price of Tilt "before any indication of potential takeover related activity, recognising the value of Tilt Renewables' pipeline of opportunities including the Dundonnell wind farm", Infratil said.

When Mercury bought the 19.9 percent stake from TECT, it also gained an option for TECT's remaining 6.8 percent stake at the same price of $2.30, and Infratil said that holding will be sold into the offer if its offer is declared fully unconditional. The only substantive condition of the offer - approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board - has been satisfied, and Infratil said the joint venture "expects to receive information shortly that will allow it to confirm its expectation that all outstanding conditions can be waived or declared satisfied."

"There is significantly increased political and regulatory uncertainty in the Australian renewable energy sector at this time, affecting Tilt Renewables' outlook and value and the broader prospects for the renewable energy industry," Infratil said.

Unless the offer is extended, it will close on Oct. 15. Tilt has said it will provide its shareholders with a target company statement including "compelling reasons why you should not accept the JVs offer" by Sept. 17.

Infratil's shares slipped 0.9 percent to $3.42.

(BusinessDesk)

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The government is dangling access to Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones's provincial growth fund in an effort to lure firms interested in setting up offsite manufacturing (OSM) factories to back the KiwiBuild construction programme.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's KiwiBuild unit today issued an invitation to participate (ITP) for offsite manufacturers to support the construction of 100,000 houses over the next decade. Housing Minister Phil Twyford foreshadowed the tender in June, saying he'd been approached by a number of foreign and domestic firms already using offsite manufacturing for rapid construction, and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund has shown an interest in investing in prefabricated housing.

KiwiBuild wants ideas and proposals from potential suppliers and consortia to support the programme, and sees this move as part of a wider government strategy to use its buying power "to increase productivity and drive innovation gains in the building and construction sector". Ultimately, it seeks to cut construction costs, deliver consistent quality, boost capacity and accelerate building times.

The government wants to de-risk the capital-intensive investment in offsite manufacturing and is willing to offer financial support and other assistance if suppliers can meet its goals. That includes facilitating "access to other sources of government financial support such as the Provincial Growth Fund and assistance with the mitigation or removal of barriers and constraints identified by respondents," the document said.

KiwiBuild head Stephen Barclay said offsite manufacturing has been considered a "potential game-changer" for a long time.

"When we look at the proposals, consistent quality will be a high priority, alongside the other inherent benefits that OSM should offer, such as reduced construction costs and speed to market," Barclay said. "If you combine our approach to this procurement process with the governments commitment to share risk and enable delivery, then I think well see this ITP generate some really compelling, innovative, solutions-oriented proposals when it comes to offsite manufacturing, and we welcome that."

Responses are due by Nov. 12, with a shortlist to present to an evaluation panel in the first quarter of next year.

"Following this, there will be a period of negotiation with successful respondents to work through terms of engagement, the duration of which will be determined by the scale and complexity of the proposal," the KiwiBuild document said.

(BusinessDesk)

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Dublin, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "eClinical Solutions Market Size, Share, & Trends Analysis Report By Product (CTMS, eCOA, EDC & CDMS), By Delivery Mode (Web-hosted, Cloud-based), By Development Phase, By End Use, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global eClinical solutions market size is expected to reach USD 12.05 million by 2025, progressing at a CAGR of 13.6% during the forecast period.



Increasing research and development activities by biopharma and pharma companies, rising application of software solutions in clinical trials, and expanding customer base are anticipated to fuel the demand for eClinical solutions.

The eClinical solutions market is estimated to witness phenomenal growth over the forecast period. Technological advancements in the field of clinical trials such as electronic data capture and prevalence of Wi-Fi connectivity are projected to drive the market in coming years. As the demand for tracking and analyzing clinical data increases, the need for effective clinical solutions rises. Unmet needs to manage efficient clinical development process are poised to boost the growth of the market over the forecast period.



Moreover, digital transformation in the field of clinical trials and shifting preference towards data centric approach are providing a tremendous push to the market. Demand for integrated clinical IT solutions is increasing due to massive volume of data generated during clinical development processes. eClinical solutions offer single source of information that helps in optimizing the cost by eliminating redundant data entry and reducing on-site verification and source data verification rate. Rising awareness regarding these benefits is propelling the market.



Adoption of eClinical workflows in trials offer enormous potential in clinical development processes. These solutions can facilitate decision making in each stage of development. It also helps in reducing cost & time between development phase by utilizing seamless designs & identifying failing compounds. In addition, it offers rapid access to data & patient safety information, which is helpful in making quick decisions.



Further Key Findings From the Study Suggest:

CTMS dominated the product segment in 2016 owing to associated benefits such as centralized end-to-end management of clinical trial activities, elimination of reliance on manual processes, real-time status tracking, and maintenance of multiple databases, which cumulatively improve the overall efficiency of clinical trials

On-premise eClinical solutions are most commonly preferred solutions. The preference for these services is mainly due to complete access to information and have full control within the premise

Key market players are engaged in various strategies such as mergers & acquisitions and new product development to gain market penetration

New product development and strategic alliances including partnership agreements, promotional activities, and acquisitions are instrumental in keeping market rivalry high

For instance, in February 2016, Oracle Health Sciences entered into an agreement with Bayer Healthcare to provide its clinical e-monitoring solutions, Oracle Siebel Clinical Trial Management System, to the latter

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1 Report Scope

1.1 Segment Market Scope

1.2 Regional Scope

1.3 Estimates & Forecast Timeline



Chapter 2 Research Methodology

2.1 Model Details

2.2 Information Procurement

2.3 List of Primary Sources

2.4 Purchased database

2.5 Internal database

2.6 Primary interview breakup



Chapter 3 Report Objectives

3.1 Objectives



Chapter 4 Executive Summary

4.1 Market Summary



Chapter 5 Market Definitions



Chapter 6 Industry Outlook

6.1 Business Segment Trend Analysis

6.2 Pricing Analysis

6.2.1 By Product

6.2.1.1 eCOA

6.2.1.2 EDC & CDMS

6.2.1.3 Clinical Analytics Platforms

6.2.1.4 Clinical data integration platforms

6.2.1.5 Safety solutions

6.2.1.6 CTMS

6.2.1.7 RTSM

6.2.1.8 eTMF

6.2.2 BY Delivery mode

6.2.3 by Development phase

6.2.4 by End-use

6.3 Market Variable Analysis

6.3.1 Market Driver Analysis

6.3.1.1 Increasing externalization of clinical trial studies by large pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies

6.3.1.2 Advantages of eClinical solutions

6.3.1.3 Presence of strong range of products in pipeline

6.3.2 Market Restraints Analysis

6.3.2.1 Scarcity of skilled research professionals

6.3.2.2 Lack of recognition

6.4 Business Environment Analysis Tools

6.4.1 eClinical solutions: Market dynamics

6.4.2 eClinical solutions - SWOT analysis, by factor (political & legal, economic and technological)

6.4.3 Penetration & growth prospect mapping by delivery mode, 2016



Chapter 7 Regulatory & Political Forces

7.1 Regulatory Landscape

7.1.1 List of regulations, by country

7.2 Political Landscape, Current & Future Scenario



Chapter 8 Competitive & Vendor Landscape

8.1 Market Participation Categorization

8.1.1 Market leader

8.1.2 Innovators

8.2 Strategic Initiatives & Outcome Analysis

8.2.1 List of key strategies, by company

8.3 List of Key Companies, By Region

8.3.1 North America

8.3.2 Europe

8.3.3 Asia Pacific

8.3.4 Central & South America

8.3.5 MEA

8.4 Company Market Share Analysis

8.4.1 eClinical solutions company market share analysis, 2016

8.5 Vendor Landscape

8.5.1 List of eClinical service providers



Chapter 9 eClinical Solutions Market: Product Analysis

9.1 Product Business Analysis

9.1.1 Electronic clinical outcome assessment (ECOA)

9.1.2 Electronic data capture (EDC) & clinical data management systems (CDMS)

9.1.3 Clinical analytics platform

9.1.4 Clinical data integration platform

9.1.5 Safety solutions

9.1.6 Clinical trial management systems (CTMS)

9.1.7 Randomization and trial supply management (RTSM)

9.1.8 Electronic trial master file (eTMF)



Chapter 10 eClinical Solutions Market: Delivery Mode Analysis

10.1 Delivery Mode Business Analysis

10.1.1 Web-hosted

10.1.2 Licensed Enterprise

10.1.3 Cloud-based



Chapter 11 eClinical Solutions Market: Development Phase Analysis

11.1 Development Phase Business Analysis

11.1.1 Phase I

11.1.2 Phase II

11.1.3 Phase III

11.1.4 Phase IV



Chapter 12 eClinical Solutions Market: End-use Analysis

12.1 End-use Business Analysis

12.1.1 Hospitals

12.1.2 Contract Research Organizations (CROs)

12.1.3 Academic institutes

12.1.4 Pharma & biotech organizations

12.1.5 Medical device manufacturers



Chapter 13 Market Variables, Trends & Scope



Chapter 14 Company Profiles



Oracle

PAREXEL International Corporation

Medidata Solution, Inc.

Bioclinica

DATATRAK International, Inc.

CRF Health

ERT Clinical

eClinicalWorks

IBM Watson Health

OmniComm Systems, Inc.

eClinical Solutions

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bpl592/eclinical?w=12
NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Metrospaces, Inc. (OTC: MSPC) has a record net income for the 2Q quarter of 2018.

Mr. Brito stated: During the 2nd Quarterly earnings period, Etelix USA.com, our majority-owned subsidiary was sold to Puresnax International, a publicly listed company. As payment for the transaction, Puresnax International gave Metrospaces Pay-in-kind securities in the form of 6,136,840 shares of its publicly traded common stock. The publicly traded value of this payment was $14,421,593, as per the last trading day of the economic period ending in June 30, 2018. The Company acquired its stake in Etelix USA.com for the price of $2,040,000, thus the transaction nets the Company a net income, based on a balance net increase, of $12,181,456 for the quarter, adding approximately $0.0021 worth of net assets on a per share basis. As a result, our balance sheet increased from -$1,572,707 to $9,769,964 during this 3-month period. Nonetheless, our investment in Etelix is still in its infancy, and we think we will hold our position for the long-term.

Now that Company has set Etelix on an independent road, it will start focusing hard and strong on finding or creating a new opportunity like Etelix. The industries we are taking a stronger look at are cannabis-related real estate, including companies with assets and/or important revenue. Additionally, the boutique hotel is an industry we are looking at with a lot of interest. These transactions are still being reviewed, but with now management will put a stronger focus on a new acquisition. These deals usually take time since they require not just the right assets and/or business model, but also the right management team that we feel we can work together to create great companies together.

About Etelix.com USA, LLC

Etelix.com USA ( http://www.etelix.com/ ) is a Miami-based, FCC-licensed voice, SMS and data/hosting operator. The companys main products and services are international voice wholesale, data and hosting services as well as residential and commercial triple-play provider. The company was founded in 2007 and has been profitable since inception.

About Metrospaces

Metrospaces www.metrospaces.com is a publicly traded private equity firm that invests in real estate development projects as well as operating companies with strong real estate components. It is operated by an elite group of real estate and investment professionals and entrepreneurs located in New York City, Miami and Buenos Aires. Company shareholders have extensive careers in real estate and business financing worldwide, and have funded projects both in the Americas and across Europe valued in excess of US $550Million.

Metrospaces majority shareholders have partnered with Investors on Elite properties including The London BLVGARI 5 Star Hotel, and is currently involved in negotiations for the development of several Elite luxury properties in South America.

Among Metrospace partners are Architects, Real Estate Developers, Agents and Attorneys of the highest standing, with extensive experience in the global property market.

Metrospaces was originally founded by company President Oscar Brito.

Relevant Links:

http://metrospaces.com/



Safe Harbor Statement:

Statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this news release and Metrospaces Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release.
A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, issued the verdict on a clutch of petitions filed to scrap the British-era law which criminalizes consensual homosexual sex in India. The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on July 17.

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck down part of the section 377 of the IPC, the law that criminalizes homosexual act between consulting adults.

Criminalizing gay sex is irrational and indefensible, observed the CJI while delivering the verdict. The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community has same rights as any other citizen, the CJI added. Respect for each other's rights, and others are supreme humanity, observed the bench unanimously, while saying that right to live with dignity is right.

Known as Section 377 of the IPC, the 157-year-old law criminalised certain sexual acts, terming them as 'unnatural offences', punishable by a 10-year jail term.

The law punished "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal" and thus had bigger implications for same-sex relationships.

The legal battle to scrap the statute has gone on for several years.

The Delhi High Court, in 2009, decriminalised homosexuality. But in 2013, the Supreme Court restored the colonial-era law. Three years later, the top court agreed to hear the Section 377 petition once more.

Petitioners before the Supreme Court argued that the controversial law was not in tandem with a 2017 ruling that guaranteed the right to privacy to people.

During the hearing in July, the government told the apex court that it would leave to the wisdom of the court to decide the constitutional validity of Section 377.

#Section377 in Supreme Court: LGBT Community has same rights as of any ordinary citizen. Respect for each others rights, and others are supreme humanity. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible, observes CJI Dipak Misra. https://t.co/05ADSuh5cv  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Excerpts from Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra's judgment in Section 377 verdict:

"Only Constitutional morality and not social morality can be allowed to permeate rule of law... Sexual orientation is one of the many natural phenomenon. Any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to violation of fundamental rights. After judgement in Puttuswamy case, privacy has been raised to fundamental right."

"The identity of individual is very important. Prejudice and social stigma still affects a certain section of society. Progressive and inclusive realisation must embrace all. Heterogeneous fibre of the society must be maintained. Constitutional morality can't be equated with popular sentiments."

People, on the other hand, are expressing their views and happiness over the historic judgement by the Supreme Court.

Historical judgement by Indian Supreme Court. Homosexuality is not illegal in India anymore. What a day! #Section377Verdict  Eden Hazard FC (@KoshurBlue) September 6, 2018

What a beautiful day to speak about freedom of speech and expression tomorrow! #Section377Verdict  Nazia Erum (@nazia_e) September 6, 2018
Second Quarter Highlights:



Net revenue increased to $16.6 million, from $15.9 million in the prior year.

Gross margin was 30.9%, compared to 31.1%, prior year, excluding one-time costs.

Selling, Marketing and Administration (SM&A) expenses were $2.8 million up slightly from $2.7 million prior year.

EBITDA* rose to $3.3 million, compared to $3.0 million prior year, excluding one-time costs.

The Board of Directors approved the quarterly dividend, $0.02/share, payable October 23, 2018 to shareholders of record as of October 9, 2018. The dividend is classified as an eligible dividend.

First Half Highlights:

Net revenue excluding one-time costs was $27.3 million, down slightly from $27.4 million in the prior year.

The Beer Store (TBS), the companys largest customer, moved from buy/sell to consignment-based system resulting in a one-time gross profit decrease of $2.2 million.

Selling, Marketing and Administration (SM&A) expenses increased slightly, to $4.9 million, vs. $4.8 million prior year.

EBITDA* was $4.3 million, down from $4.7 million in the prior year, ex one-time costs.

KITCHENER, Ontario, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brick Brewing Co. Limited (Brick or the Company) (TSX: BRB), Ontarios largest Canadian-owned brewery, today released financial results for the second quarter ended July 29, 2018. Brick reported EBITDA of $3.3 million on net revenue of $16.6 million.



George Croft, Brick President and Chief Executive Officer commented, We are very pleased with our overall recovery and EBITDA performance in our second quarter. The warm summer weather has been very positive for the beer industry pushing total Ontario beer industry 0.6% higher than the prior year. Our lead brands performed better than the industry norm. The Waterloo family grew 4.7%, Laker family 1.9%, and our summer-themed brands LandShark and Margaritaville have shown a growth of 9.6%. Our Landshark in-case promotion along with the packaging redesign of our Laker brand family have shown positive results and have provided a lift to our quarterly volume.



Early in the quarter we successfully completed the installation of a new can line filler and pasteurizer which not only doubled our canning capacity but also enhanced our packaging capabilities, commented Russell Tabata, Bricks Chief Operating Officer. The ramp up and commissioning of this new equipment has been fantastic. As of the end of July, the new equipment is operating ahead of targeted rates and has delivered additional volume during the critical summer selling season.



Margins showed positive recovery in the second quarter. Despite the negative pressure caused by increased taxes and product mix, margins return to +30% level. Our second quarter also saw our co-pack revenue grow by 19% to $4.2 million compared to prior year. Our co-pack business continues to generate incremental cashflow to support the ongoing development of our business, commented George Croft.

Bricks board of directors has approved the quarterly dividend at $0.02/share. The dividend is payable October 23, 2018 to shareholders of record as of October 9, 2018.

Reconciliation of Net Earnings to Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization, and Share Based Payments (EBITDA)* Quarter ended Fiscal year-to-date ended (in thousands of dollars) July 29, 2018 July 30, 2017 July 29, 2018 July 30, 2017 Net income (loss) $ 1,430 $ 1,120 $ (421 ) $ 1,907 Add (deduct): Income tax expense (recovery) 575 395 (162 ) 701 Depreciation and amortization 1,068 906 2,078 1,723 Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment - - 251 - Share-based payments 120 70 202 113 Finance costs 120 135 197 235 Subtotal 1,883 1,506 2,566 2,772 EBITDA* 3,313 2,626 2,145 4,679

STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Quarters ended July 29, 2018 and July 30, 2017

Quarter ended Fiscal year-to-date ended July 29, 2018 July 30, 2017 July 29, 2018 July 30, 2017 Revenue $ 16,564,080 $ 15,903,344 $ 23,576,067 $ 27,383,814 Cost of sales 11,442,470 11,341,500 18,353,588 19,336,899 Gross profit 5,121,610 4,561,844 5,222,479 8,046,915 Selling, marketing and administration expenses 2,810,473 2,691,116 4,928,410 4,809,423 Other expenses 185,855 221,370 428,442 394,947 Finance costs 120,486 134,238 197,073 234,707 Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment - - 251,405 - Income before tax 2,004,796 1,515,120 (582,851 ) 2,607,838 Income tax expense (recovery) 574,539 395,441 (161,961 ) 701,402 Net income and comprehensive

income (loss) $ 1,430,257 $ 1,119,679 $ (420,890 ) $ 1,906,436 Basic earnings (loss) per share $ 0.04 $ 0.03 $ (0.01 ) $ 0.05 Diluted earnings (loss) per share $ 0.04 $ 0.03 $ (0.01 ) $ 0.05

STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

As at July 29, 2018 and January 31, 2018

July 29, 2018 January 31, 2018 ASSETS Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment $ 29,029,035 $ 27,119,488 Intangible assets 15,325,842 15,381,578 Construction deposits 241,695 323,255 44,596,572 42,824,321 Current assets Cash 2,673,352 - Accounts receivable 6,137,616 6,999,212 Inventories 8,981,740 7,891,364 Prepaid expenses 739,864 613,710 18,532,572 15,504,286 TOTAL ASSETS 63,129,144 58,328,607 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Equity Share capital 40,079,180 39,747,525 Share-based payments reserves 1,073,136 1,026,667 Deficit (4,383,245 ) (2,547,746 ) TOTAL EQUITY 36,769,071 38,226,446 Non-current liabilities Provisions 540,183 538,376 Obligation under finance lease 2,615,818 3,011,893 Long-term debt 7,627,083 6,019,245 Deferred income tax liability 964,503 1,126,464 11,747,587 10,695,978 Current liabilities Bank indebtedness - 787,843 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 12,194,860 6,516,382 Current portion of obligation under finance lease 784,708 769,962 Current portion of long-term debt 1,632,918 1,331,996 14,612,486 9,406,183 TOTAL LIABILITIES 26,360,073 20,102,161 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 63,129,144 $ 58,328,607

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Quarters ended July 29, 2018 and July 30, 2017

Quarter ended Fiscal year-to-date ended July 29, 2018 July 30, 2017 July 29, 2018 July 30, 2017 Operating activities Net income $ 1,430,257 $ 1,119,679 $ (420,890 ) $ 1,906,436 Adjustments for: Income tax expense (recovery) 574,539 395,441 (161,961 ) 701,402 Finance costs 120,486 134,238 197,073 234,707 Depreciation and amortization of property, plant and equipment and intangibles 1,067,788 906,393 2,077,874 1,722,993 Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment - - 251,405 - Share-based payments 119,725 69,856 202,392 112,960 Change in non-cash working capital related to operations 1,817,705 (2,685,301 ) 5,374,646 (5,400,606 ) Less: Interest paid (124,424 ) (102,106 ) (240,853 ) (209,857 ) Cash provided by (used in) operating activities 5,006,076 (161,800 ) 7,279,686 (931,965 ) Investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment (868,060 ) (2,873,520 ) (2,710,939 ) (5,869,415 ) Construction deposit paid (166,353 ) - (1,628,892 ) - Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment - - 280,000 - Purchase of intangible assets (37,220 ) (6,915 ) (41,699 ) (197,065 ) Cash used in investing activities (1,071,633 ) (2,880,435 ) (4,101,530 ) (6,066,480 ) Financing activities Increase (decrease) in bank indebtedness (2,086,280 ) 1,050,335 (787,843 ) 1,050,335 Issuance of long-term debt 2,600,000 3,163,067 2,600,000 5,163,067 Repayment of long-term debt (362,876 ) (181,614 ) (696,755 ) (365,375 ) Repayment of obligation under finance lease (191,568 ) (184,438 ) (381,329 ) (367,133 ) Dividends paid (1,414,609 ) (1,122,538 ) (1,414,609 ) (1,122,538 ) Issuance of shares, net of fees - 538 - 5,711 Shares repurchased and cancelled, including fees - - - (322,629 ) Stock option costs - - (18,510 ) - Proceeds from stock option exercise 194,242 60,274 194,242 125,048 Cash provided by (used in) financing activities (1,261,091 ) 2,785,624 (504,804 ) 4,166,486 Net increase/(decrease) in cash 2,673,352 (256,611 ) 2,673,352 (2,831,959 ) Cash, beginning of the period - 256,611 - 2,831,959 Cash, end of the period $ 2,673,352 $ - $ 2,673,352 $ -



About Brick Brewing



Brick is Ontario's largest Canadian-owned brewery. The Company is a regional brewer of award-winning premium quality and value beers and is officially certified under the Global Food Safety Standard, one of the highest and most internationally recognized standards for safe food production. Founded in 1984, Brick Brewing Co. was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario, and is credited with pioneering the present day craft brewing renaissance in Canada. Brick has complemented its Waterloo premium craft beers with the popular Laker brand. In 2011, Brick purchased the Canadian rights to Seagram Coolers and in 2015, secured the exclusive Canadian rights to both LandShark and Margaritaville. In addition, Brick utilizes its leading edge brewing, blending and packaging capabilities to provide an extensive array of contract manufacturing services in beer, coolers and ciders. Brick trades on the TSX under the symbol BRB. Visit us at www.brickbeer.com.



Forward-Looking Statements



All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute forward-looking statements as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "seek", "plan", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause actual performance and financial results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only at the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation does not undertake to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.



* EBITDA is a non-IFRS earnings measure, therefore it does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards and may not be similar to measures presented by other companies. EBITDA represents earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, loss on disposal of property, plant, and equipment, and share based payments. Management uses this measurement to evaluate the operating results of the Company. This measure is also important to management since it is used by the Companys lenders to evaluate the ongoing cash generating capability of the Company and therefore the amounts those lenders are willing to lend to the Company. Investors find EBITDA to be useful information because it provides a measure of the Companys operating performance.

Contact Information

For further information:

David Birch Chief Financial Officer

(519) 742-2732 Ext. 106

E-mail info@brickbeer.com




US trade policy at a crossroads with Canada, China



Washington, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



President Donald Trump's trade policy faces a key crossroads on Thursday, as officials try to reach a deal with Canada, and he will decide whether to impose a huge wave of new tariffs on China.

With Canada, the largest US trading partner, talks seem to be on track to agree on a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

But there have been no further discussions with China to try to resolve the bitter dispute with Beijing, and Trump could announce the next step that would impose steep duties on half the goods the US imports from the world's second largest economy, as soon as Thursday.

The deadline for public comment on the next wave of punitive taxes on $200 billion of annual imports from China expires Thursday, and Trump reportedly wants to impose the tariffs immediately.

That would take the total goods targeted to $250 billion of the $500 billion imported each year.

Trump has had Beijing in his crosshairs since he took office, and has applied increasing pressure to try to convince the country to change its policies, allow more imports and reduce the $335 billion US trade deficit.

China so far has retaliated dollar-for-dollar with tariffs, but since it imports less than $200 billion a year in US goods, it will run out of room to respond directly.

However, businesses warn there are other ways China can strike back, through regulations and other administrative means.

The last effort at a negotiated solution came in late August with meetings of low-level officials, but nothing came of them.

US businesses have become increasingly concerned about the exchange of tariffs, which are raising prices for manufacturers and hurting US consumers and farmers.

But Trump has been unapologetic, insisting that his tough tactics will work.



- NAFTA 2.0 -



Meanwhile, talks are due to continue for another day with Canada to keep NAFTA 2.0 as a three-party trade deal -- although Trump on Wednesday said he would "surprise" the public with a new name.

Canada Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the sides are making "good progress" towards a deal to revise the North American Free Trade Agreement, but talks will continue to resolve remaining issues.

"The thing about trade negotiations is that nothing is done until everything is done," Freeland told reporters late Wednesday following a meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Officials were tasked with reviewing a series of issues and were due to meet late into the night and report back on Thursday, when the ministers will resume talks.

"We do believe that a deal that is good for Canada, good for the United States and good for Mexico is absolutely possible."

The talks have been hung up over Canada's insistence on retaining a dispute resolution mechanism in Chapter 19, and the US objections over Ottawa's tight controls over the dairy market.
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Prime Minister Tuilaepa Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi has appealed to Pacific Island nations to remain united in the face of shared challenges and aspirations for a better future.

He said this when handing over the chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum to Nauru President Baron Waqa, at the official opening of the 49th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Summit in Nauru.

We must remain united in the face of shared challenges as well as in our shared aspirations for a better future for all of our countries and Pacific peoples."

If we are to deliver on the regional agenda we set over the coming days, our collective action and cooperation in for a beyond the Forum will be essential, and our advocacy robust and confident, he said.

Tuilaepa said the theme of the conference Building a Strong Pacific: Our People, Our Islands, Our Will is both fitting and timely for the occasion.

Building a stronger Pacific is at the heart of the calls for inspired leadership and a long-term commitment to maintaining a strong, collective voice and action on issues vital to our Blue Pacific."

He said Samoa hosted the last Leaders Summit and a key decision taken was to reaffirm the Framework for Pacific Regionalism and promote the Blue Pacific identity as a core driver of the regions collective action.

We are faced with many challenges. These include climate change, sustaining our fisheries and tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, promotion of good governance, improving the lives of those who still live in poverty, reducing non-communicable diseases and of promoting a healthy Pacific, border security, the youth bulge, pollution and waste disposal  the list goes on."

Our Blue Pacific narrative recognises that we cope better when facing these challenges together. The Blue Pacific encourages strong and stable Pacific leadership for a strong Pacific region."

The Blue Pacific sees our shared geography, culture, and resources as great strengths. We must draw on these common riches to build opportunities for the sustainable development of our people and our region, he added.

The Prime Minister said during his tenure as chairman, he took every opportunity to advocate for enhanced strategic engagement among the Pacific Island nations leadership in order to inspire stronger Pacific regionalism.

The collective positioning of our members during crucial meetings with the Republic of Korea, Japan, United Nations Secretary General, and Commonwealth Heads of Government, resulted in wide acceptance of our regional agenda."

Genuine, durable, and transparent partnerships are very important to our region. Partnerships that respect the integrity and sovereignty of our members to decide freely on who their partners are and whose contribution is provided on a non-interventionist basis."

Geopolitical issues of a complex nature are for the powerful to sort out. Small island countries have very genuine focus on the social and economic needs of their small populations who also aspire to share in the enjoyment of the necessities of the modern world.
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) reports a resource update and announces the start of a new phase of drilling as part of its ongoing $5 million exploration program at the Gold Bar Property, located along the prolific Battle Mountain - Eureka Gold Trend in Nevada, USA.



McEwens 2018 exploration goals are to grow known deposits and make new discoveries that will contribute to extending the life of the Gold Bar Mine. From Nov 2017 to Q2 2018 drilling focused on expanding known resources and better delineating the planned open pits. Seventy-nine new drill holes totaling 52,700 ft. (16,000 m) of drilling was completed since the last resource estimate in 2015.

The Gold Bar resource update resulted in an increase of 92,000 ounces of Indicated resources, and an additional 82,000 ounces of Inferred resources, mostly in the Gold Pick and Gold Ridge areas (see Table 1). The increase was attributable in part to the additional drilling and also to economic factors such as higher gold recoveries and lower waste mining costs.

Table 1 - Gold Bar Property Resource Summary Deposit Area Resource Category March 2018

Gold Ounces New August 2018

Gold Ounces** Change Gold Bar Measured + Indicated 629,000 721,000 +92k Inferred 115,000 197,000 +82k Gold Bar South* Indicated 101,000 101,000 Unchanged Inferred 5,000 5,000 Unchanged TOTAL

Measured + Indicated 730,000 822,000 +92k Inferred 120,000 202,000 +82k * A new resource estimate for Gold Bar South was not completed therefore it is unchanged. ** Refer to Table 2 for details of the resource estimate.

During the first half of 2018, multiple exploration methods including geophysical surveys, soil and rock geochemical sampling programs, satellite data acquisition, and 'boots on the ground' geologic mapping contributed data to a new geologic model that revealed high quality drill targets defined by overlapping anomalies. Three exploration and development targets are covered in this release: Cabin Creek, ML, and Gold Bar South.



We are entering a very interesting time for Gold Bar exploration. For the first time we have assembled all the key information that allows us to develop a robust geological understanding and define new high quality drill targets. We are initiating drilling to target additional oxide mineralization to extend the mine life, and to explore for deeper Carlin-type gold discoveries. We believe Gold Bar hosts all the essential attributes that are characteristic to large Carlin-type gold deposits and look forward to this new and exciting phase of exploration, stated Sylvain Guerard, Senior Vice President Exploration.

Cabin Creek

The Cabin Creek area lies along an anticline cut by a large fault zone. It is one of multiple targets along the anticline, which extends for more than 5 miles (8 km) across the Gold Bar Property. Exploration work to date has extended the prospective target area by more than 24 acres (10 hectares). Drilling commenced in mid-August, targeting oxide extensions of the gold mineralization along strike and down dip. A total of 5 holes are currently planned to depths averaging 1,000 feet (305 m).

ML

The ML target area lies approximately 4,000 feet (1.2 km) southeast of the Cabin Creek deposit. ML is a completely new and untested, shallow, oxide gold target area defined by geophysical, geochemical, and geological targeting anomalies. A drilling program of six reverse circulation rotary holes is anticipated to start in early September. It is also considered a good area for deep exploration targeting higher-grade gold mineralization similar to other Carlin-type deposits in Nevada, such as Barrick's Cortez Hills or Gold Rush.

Gold Bar South

The Gold Bar South deposit (formerly known as Afgan) lies approximately 3.5 miles (5.7 km) southeast of Cabin Creek. The area remains open at depth and along strike. The geology of the near-surface mineralization at Gold Bar South suggests the potential for stacked Carlin-type targets in units below the known resource. It will be the target of infill drilling, and deeper exploration drilling. The program, beginning in October, consists of 22 infill holes, 5 oriented core holes and 5 metallurgical core holes for a total of 5,000 ft (1,500 m).

Table 2 - Mineral Resource Statement for the Gold Bar Deposit, SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., August 31, 2018 U.S. Standard Units Metric Units Gold Bar Project

Resources Tonnage

(000s tons) Gold Grade

(oz/t) Contained

Gold (000s oz) Gold Grade

(g/t) Contained

Gold (kg) Measured 3,105 0.034 106 1.17 3,286 Indicated 23,901 0.026 615 0.88 19,141 Measured and

Indicated 27,006 0.027 721 0.92 22,427 Inferred 7,510 0.026 197 0.90 6,126

Table 2 does not include mineral resources at the Gold Bar South deposit.





Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into a Mineral Reserves estimate;





Resources stated as contained within a potentially economically minable open pit; pit optimization parameters are: US$1,350/oz Au, 82% recovery, US$5/oz Au Sales Cost, US$1.85/t waste mining cost for Cabin Creek, US$1.80/t waste mining cost for Gold Pick, US$1.78/t waste mining cost for Gold Ridge, US$9.48/t ore mining and processing cost (OMPC) for Gold Pick, US$9.57/t OMPC for Cabin Creek, and US$10.57/t OMPC for Gold Ridge, 54 degree pit slopes for Gold Pick and Cabin Creek, and a 42 degree pit slope for Gold Ridge;





Resources are reported using a gold cutoff grade of 0.007 oz/t for Gold Pick and Cabin Creek and a cutoff grade of 0.008 oz/t for Gold Ridge;





Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate and may not sum due to rounding.

ABOUT MCEWEN MINING

McEwen has the goal to qualify for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index by creating a profitable gold and silver producer focused in the Americas. McEwens principal assets consist of: the San Jose mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina (49% interest); the Black Fox mine in Timmins, Canada; the El Gallo Fenix project in Mexico; the Gold Bar mine in Nevada, currently under construction; and the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina, advancing towards development.

McEwen has a total of 337 million shares outstanding. Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner, owns 24% of McEwen.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Technical information pertaining to geology and exploration contained in this news release has been prepared by Charles Sulfrian, AIPG, CPG. Mr. Sulfrian is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.

Mineral resources were calculated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum (CIM) Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, May 10, 2014 (CIM, 2014). Accordingly, the Resources have been classified as Measured, Indicated or Inferred. The resource estimate and related geologic modeling were conducted by, or under the supervision of, Tim Carew, M.Sc. P.Geo., and Justin Smith, B.Sc., P.E., SME-RM, both of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., Reno, Nevada. Mr. Carew and Mr. Smith are Qualified Persons and are independent of MUX for the purposes of NI 43-101.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves, and other risks. The Companys dividend policy will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors and is subject to change based on certain factors such as the capital needs of the Company and its future operating results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement.

The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by management of McEwen Mining Inc.
Canada is eyeing a free trade deal with the ASEAN bloc, as US president Donald Trump continues to threaten to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

A deal with the ASEAN bloc, which includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma and Cambodia, would give Canada access to 650 million consumers.

Expanding into the Southeast Asia region will help Canadian-owned businesses access one the worlds fastest-growing markets, Trade Minister Jim Carr said as he headed out to Thailand and Singapore for exploratory talks.

Ottawa is also eying free trade with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, which form the Mercosur bloc, and has suggested a trade deal with China is also in the works, which if successful would make Canada the first Western nation to do reach a free trade deal with Beijing.

Canada and the EU provisionally entered into a free trade pact last September, as NAFTA appeared to falter and the US exited from the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Canada is also trying to revive its trade deal talks with India.

India is one of the worlds fastest-growing economies, displacing France for sixth place among the worlds nations last year, yet trade with Canada remains sluggish. In 2012, the former Conservative government set a goal of increasing two-way trade to $15 billion by 2015. In 2017, it was about $8.4 billion.

For eight years, Canadian and Indian officials have been in talks to work towards a free trade agreement. The Conservative government said in 2011 it hoped to conclude an economic partnership agreement with India in 2013. Five years later, there is still no agreement in place.

Stewart Beck, president and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada told Mata Press Service: With one billion new middle-class consumers, major infrastructure investments, continued economic growth, and unprecedented regional economic integration, Asia is on track to becoming a global powerhouse.

The growing significance of the region  combined with the uncertainty weve been seeing in the global trading system thanks in large part to the Trump administration  underscores the need for Canada to strategically deepen and diversify its partnerships in the region, of which ASEAN is a critical part, said Beck, who was the former Canadian High Commissioner to India.

As a group, ASEAN is the seventh-largest economy in the world and Canadas sixth-largest merchandise trading partner. The region represents more than 640 million people with a combined economy of C$2.6 trillion. So, the economic potential for Canada is clear. Whats not so clear is Canadians willingness to grasp the opportunity.

At the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, our national opinion polling indicates that Canadians are increasingly aware of the importance of trade and investment relationships with Southeast Asia. Our 2018 NOP found that Canadians show strong and growing support for a potential free trade agreement with ASEAN, with 63% showing support compared with less than 40% in 2014. Thats higher than the support for a potential FTA with China, already our second-largest trading partner, at 59%.

Beck said he is encouraged by Minister Carrs overtures to ASEAN.

I think it signals to Asia, and to stakeholders here in Canada, that the government is committed to deeper and wider strategic engagement in a region that is going to be critical to Canadas future economic prosperity.

Meanwhile, the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) has release The Canada Advantage, a report highlighting the benefits for ASEAN businesses through increased economic engagement with Canada.

The Canada Advantage is a collaboration between the CABC, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the National University of Singapore (NUS). The report seeks to address how ASEAN-based companies can benefit from the Canada trade opportunity, and specifically from the implementation of an ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The report builds on the momentum of The ASEAN Advantage, an earlier CABC joint report, which estimated that an ASEAN-Canada FTA can add an additional CAD$11 billion to ASEAN-Canada bilateral trade by 2027, compared to the baseline case.

The Canada Advantage features an analysis of eight priority sectors in which Canada offers strategic advantages to ASEAN firms that may be looking to expand or invest abroad: Automotive, Oil and Gas, Cleantech, ICT, Agri-food, Banking and Finance, Aerospace and Aviation, and Biopharmaceuticals.

The report highlights that Canada offers a business climate with low business costs and more robust investor protections relative to most other G7 economies; this presents attractive opportunities for ASEAN-based firms looking for a gateway to the North American market.

According to the report, Canada has the strongest cost advantage relative to the US among G7 countries. It has ranked 2nd best in the G7/G20 for favourable business environment over 5 years. It also offers high level of investor protection, ranking 2nd in the G7 and 7th out of 127 countries.

The Canada Advantage report goes beyond the two-way economic benefits and examines fascinating stories of how ASEAN businesses from various industries are already engaging with Canada, and how an ASEAN-Canada FTA would meaningfully grow opportunities further.

Wayne Farmer, president of the CABC, said, There has never been a more important time for ASEAN and Canada to seize the moment.

The foundation for the trade relationship is solidASEAN and Canada are two trade-dependent regions with complimentary economies and deep people-to-people ties, he said.

Key ASEAN-Canada trade facts:

 Canada is forecasted to have the highest real GDP growth in the G7 in 2017-2019.

 Canada has the highest level of R&D investment in Higher Education across the G7.

 ASEAN remains a strategic trading partner for Canada  ASEAN is Canadas sixth-largest trading partner.

 ASEAN-Canada trade relations continue to grow: In 2017, ASEAN-Canada trade stood at CAD$23.2 billion, increasing from CAD$21.6 in 2016.

 Canada has diplomatic representation in all ten ASEAN nations, including a dedicated Canadian Ambassador to ASEAN, based in Jakarta.
Submitted by Gastrofork

Special to the Post

The Puri-Puri Ebi is the classic prawn tempura made with panko that is drizzled with tartar sauce, sesame and parsley. The panko breading is crisp and not overdone.

The Ebi Gyoza is filled with one prawn and vegetables. The gyoza had its own individual shrimp. It was inside while still crispy on the outside.

Each ramen bowl features noodles and broth made in house. Kings Seafood Ramens spiciness level can be ordered as non-spicy, mild or spicy. The Kings Seafood Ramen has blue crab, clam, green mussel, cabbage, black tree fungus, onion, red pepper, green pepper, Thai chilis, bean sprouts and red pepper powder on top. The broth was great and that the noodles had a nice snap to them. I was surprised how much seafood came in the dish  especially for the price point.

The Kyouka Tsukemen is served with the noodles, bamboo shoots, half seasoned egg and seaweed on the side. The broth has the shredded pork in it. The soy egg had a good consistency gelled but slightly runny  its not too salty so it isnt overpowering. The seaweed and bamboo shoots give a nice crunch and texture. The noodles are thick. It can be served hot or cold. The noodles have the perfect amount of snap to them.

The broth is hearty, slightly oily from the beef and a good amount of spice. The bits of shredded pork are a nice addition. The broth is not too salty and the flavour is quite good. This is probably my favourite tsukemen bowl in Vancouver.

The portion sizes here at Ramen Koika are perfect  but if youre still hungry, you can always order more.

I would definitely recommend Ramen Koika  theyre a great spot in the city for a delicious bowl of ramen.

Ramen Koika

1479 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC

Gastrofork is a Vancouver based food and travel blog. Gastrofork has been featured in Eat In Eat Out Magazine, is one of the top blogs onurbanspoon and named Top 100 Blogs to Follow in 2013. Read more reviews at gastrofork.ca.
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alexander Swoboda, CEO of FACTON GmbH, addresses understanding Should Costing as a key driver of value management for any enterprise dealing with direct materials procurement, on the JAGGAER InsideSpend webinar and podcast series. This webinar is designed to provide actionable intelligence and insights for Chief Procurement Officers, VPs, and Directors and Managers of procurement locally and globally. The FACTON EPC Suite is the leading Enterprise Product Costing (EPC) solution for the automotive, aerospace, mechanical engineering and electronics industries.



Understanding the costs of materials produced is a complex calculation that requires drawing data from multiple areas of a company, and also necessitates supplier input. Swoboda draws his argument around a typical industry problem: the cost of necessary goods typically rise on an annual basis, and are obtained from a static supplier pool; its only by understanding the actual costs of the goods that a true assessment of fair market price can be calculated, because purchase price is the key driver of profitability. Swoboda provides analysis on identifying cost drivers to strengthen a negotiation position. The key to making these decisions lies in Should Costing.

Should Costing is a process enabling the determination of the cost of a part or product, based on raw materials used, manufacturing costs and overhead production costs. A true assessment of Should Costing involves some level of transparency with suppliers.

Costing analysis starts with gathering data from multiple areas within a company, including product development, purchasing, sales, finance and controlling. To assemble all this and make decisions requires a technology system that provides a single source of truth, with a link between suppliers and customers, says Swoboda.

Swoboda provides guidance on cost reduction potential through benchmark data, requiring identification of all parameters affecting cost, access to current information for target price calculation, and automatic analysis between current and target costs. Getting this data is critical for running various scenarios, and this may be a make or buy decision. Should Costing has matured to the point where it yields a competitive edge, its part of the supply chain and should be linked with product development, he adds.

This webinar provides the tools necessary to determine a path to Should Costing, supported by case examples illustrating the technology capabilities provided by JAGGAER and FACTON GmbH to power the process.



Viewers of the webinar will learn:

The three critical questions you should ask in every direct sourcing scenario How to identify cost reduction potential with Should Costing, price analysis, benchmark data and comparison of variants How FACTON EPC uses product costing through its entire product life cycle

Webinar Link

About JAGGAER: Global Source to Pay Spend Management Solutions

JAGGAER is the worlds largest independent spend management company, with nearly 2000 customers connected to a network of 3.7 million suppliers in 70 countries, served by offices located in North America, Latin America, throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. JAGGAER offers complete SaaS-based Source to Pay eProcurement solutions with advanced Spend Analytics, Sourcing, Supplier Management, Contract Lifecycle Management, Savings Tracking, and intelligent workflow capabilities. JAGGAER has pioneered spend solutions for over two decades and continues to lead the innovation curve by listening to customers and analyzing the market. Our solution suites are trusted by the worlds largest manufacturing, education, health care, retail, consumer package goods, logistics, construction, utilities companies and public service organizations. Additionally, JAGGAER holds 38 patentsmore than any other spend management company. www.JAGGAER.com

About FACTON GmbH

FACTON GmbH is the company behind the FACTON EPC Suite, the turnkey solution for enterprise product costing (EPC). The company was established in 1998 and now has offices in Potsdam, Dresden, Stuttgart, and Detroit (USA). Since 2006, the company has been supported by Hasso Plattner, founder and chairman of SAP SE. www.facton.com

To join the conversation, please visit our blog at https://JAGGAER.com/blog/ or follow us on Twitter @JaggaerPro

MEDIA CONTACT:

JAGGEAR:

news@JAGGAER.com

919-659-2601
US to probe Big Tech on 'stifling' free speech



Washington, Sept 5 (AFP) Sep 05, 2018



President Donald Trump's administration warned Wednesday of a possible legal crackdown on big technology companies over competition or political bias, in a bombshell announcement that came as social media executives were defending their policies before lawmakers.

The Justice Department statement appeared to escalate a war between the administration and Silicon Valley after a series of attacks by Trump claiming tech firms were biased against conservatives.

According to the statement, Attorney General Jeff Sessions will convene a meeting of state attorneys general later this month "to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms."

The suggestions of legal or regulatory action caught many tech industry observers by surprise and came as lawmakers were holding hearings on foreign influence campaigns on social media and "transparency."

Daniel Castro, of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said the intent of the statement was not clear, but that it was worrisome.

"Social media platforms have the right to determine what types of legal speech they will permit on their platforms," Castro told AFP.

"The federal government should not use the threat of law enforcement to limit companies from exercising this right. In particular, law enforcement should not threaten social media companies with unfounded investigations."



- Regulation or censorship? -



Legal analysts have noted the government would have little recourse against any political bias even if proven because of constitutional free speech guarantees.

While antitrust concerns against Google and Facebook are to be expected, Eric Goldman of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University said it would be troublesome to use antitrust law as a guise for regulating speech.

"This (statement) makes me think antitrust is not the real goal, that the real goal is censorship," Goldman said.

"This could be broad action by the government to try to subvert the First Amendment."

Matt Schruers of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a trade group that includes Google and Facebook, said tech firms "compete aggressively with one another as well as those outside of the technology sector" and that "consumers have many choices for information services and news sources online."



- Collegial atmosphere -



The administration statement came at the conclusion of a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing at which Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey and Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg testified.

The hearing offered a largely collegial atmosphere in which the executives and senators spoke of the need for further efforts to thwart foreign influence campaigns on social media.

Dorsey said the messaging service was set up to function as a "public square" but had failed to deal with "abuse, harassment, troll armies, propaganda through bots."

"We aren't proud of how that free and open exchange has been weaponized and used to distract and divide people, and our nation," he told senators.

Sandberg repeated Facebook's acknowledgements about failing to crack down on influence campaigns stemming from Russia that interfered with the 2016 US presidential election.

"We were too slow to spot this and too slow to act," Sandberg told the panel. "That's on us. This interference was completely unacceptable. It violated the values of our company and of the country we love."

Lawmakers welcomed the comments but expressed concern about whether enough was being done.

"If the answer is regulation, let's have an honest dialogue about what that looks like," said Senator Richard Burr, the committee chairman.

Senator Mark Warner told the hearing that social media firms "were caught flat-footed by the brazen attacks on our election" and added: "I'm skeptical that, ultimately, you'll be able to truly address this challenge on your own."

The Senate was followed by a House panel session on "transparency and accountability," where Dorsey rejected claims of political bias.

"Twitter cannot rightly serve as a public square if it's constructed around the personal opinions of its makers," he told the panel. "We believe a key driver of a thriving public square is the fundamental human right of freedom of opinion and expression."

In the House, Dorsey faced harsher comments from some lawmakers including Republican Billy Long of Missouri, who complained that his "personalized" feed was dominated by news from sources he disagreed with.

"They're all pretty much Trump-bashing," Long said of the recommended articles.

But Democrat Paul Tonko of New York expressed dismay "that our Republican colleaues have called this hearing to rile up their base and give credence to unsupported conspiracies."

Trump stepped up his criticism of social media in an interview with the right-wing Daily Caller, saying the companies "were all on Hillary Clinton's side, and if you look at what was going on with Facebook and with Google and all of it."

Outside the Senate hearing, right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones criticized tech firms for curbing his social media efforts.

Jones, whose Infowars site has been praised by Trump, denounced what he called "a plan to deplatform conservatives, just like communist China," adding, "this is dangerous, authoritarianism."
RICHARDSON, Texas, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GoFind Inc., a developer of GPS trackers for pets, humans and vehicles, has announced its crowdfunding campaign is now open on CrowdFunder ( https://www.crowdfunder.com/gofind-inc-com ). The Company is currently developing an advanced Personal Emergency Response device (PERS) that incorporates Artificial Intelligence (AI) to expand the capabilities of these devices. The device is called NudgeR and is presently in the early stages of design.



Our research has shown that, for seniors to gracefully age in place, a PERS device must satisfy three basic needs  physical, mental stimulation and social interaction, said Tony Valentino, GoFind COO. Traditional PERS devices offered by GoFinds competitors, such as Lifeline or Medical Alert, only provide a subset of the physical need and do not address either the mental or the social needs. The system we are developing, on the other hand, addresses all three by combining the rapid advances in IoT devices (Internet of Things), Voice Assistants (Alexa, Google Home, Home Pod-Siri), and AI to form a more comprehensive solution.

There are a number of technical challenges associated with NudgeR development. From a hardware standpoint, the challenges are manageable. GoFind is a company which specializes in GPS location platforms and much of the hardware technology and sensors already used in the Companys pet tracking devices are directly applicable to the NudgeR device. The challenges come with the integration of the Voice system and the AI components of the system. As such, GoFind is in the process of seeking funding for this development.

NudgeR Features

To address the physical need NudgeR provides:

An advanced version of a fall detector combining fall detection with Geolocation, so that responders know more accurately where the person has fallen

Well-being checks to determine if the person has truly fallen or is incapacitated before sending out an emergency call for help, thus reducing false alarms

Geolocation to help warn and track a senior that has a wandering problem. This is coupled with the AI system to determine if leaving the home is part of normal activity or is abnormal behavior requiring an alert

Activity detection to monitor the sedentary behavior of Seniors and prompting them to move around even if only for short distances

For mental needs, NudgeR can:

Issue medication and appointment reminders

Provide prompts at mealtimes to either prepare a meal or order in

Call a service such as Uber or Lyft for the driving impaired

Provide a reward for solving puzzles or answering basic questions (for example, whats the capital of Nebraska?). Completion of these tasks would yield such things as digital coupons or a free downloadable eBook or movie.

NudgeR also ensures interactivity between the Senior and Caregiver (oftentimes a child of the senior) to help address the social need. This makes extensive use of the Voice system.

Alerts are given in the Caregivers voice (not an AI voice)

Wake up calls in the Caregivers voice (Hi Mom, its 9am, time to get up. Take your morning medications and then check with me about your appointments for today.)

Special recorded messages (Hi Mom, Happy Birthday. Ill call you later in the day and then come by around 5 so we can have your birthday dinner.)

This is particularly important today, as many times families are geographically separated and the senior can feel isolated and alone. The goal is for the senior to form a bond with the system as an extension of the family or circle of friends.

Ultimately the NudgeR system is designed to help the senior age gracefully in place and to help reduce the cost and time associated with in-home caregiver visits and to postpone the need for assisted living arrangements.

About GoFind

GoFind Inc. has been in business for over three years and has successfully launched a GPS tracker system for the pet market. This platform was developed utilizing a 3G network supported by AT&T.

When starting GoFind, the founders realized that there were about seven-to-eight vertical markets for low-cost, highly efficient personal GPS tracking systems. One market that presents a significant opportunity is the PERS (also referred to as Medical Alert) market place. This is the personal emergency response system for elderly and otherwise physically or mentally impaired people. NudgeR is the first APERS (Artificial Intelligence Personal Emergency Response System) and is currently under development by GoFind.

GoFinds minimum revenue goal is $100 Million by Year Five. Our fast-forward plan calls for over $250M in the same time frame.

Media Contact:

Jim Lipman for GoFind

925-858-7002

ednjim@earthlink.net

https://www.gofindinc.com/nudger
Twenty-six wounded as Saudi intercepts Yemen rebel missile



Riyadh, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Huthi rebels on Wednesday, with shrapnel leaving 26 people wounded, a Riyadh-led coalition fighting the insurgents said.

Two children were among the wounded from the missile that was intercepted over the southern Saudi city of Najran, said a coalition statement published by the Saudi state media.

The Iran-backed Huthis have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh usually says it intercepts.

The Huthis' Al-Masirah TV said Wednesday's strike was targeted at a Saudi National Guard camp in the border city.

The attack brings the tally to more than 185 rebel missiles launched since 2015, according to the coalition, which that year joined the Yemeni government's fight against Huthi rebels.

In 2014, the Huthis overran the Yemeni capital and seized control of much of northern Yemen as well as a string of ports on the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies intervened in the conflict the following March, aiming to push back the Huthis and restore the internationally recognised government to power.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Huthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

Wednesday's attack comes on the eve of United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva, the first public meetings between the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Huthi rebels since 2016.

But both the government and the rebels have said they expect no breakthrough at the talks, which appear likely to be delayed.

While representatives of the Yemeni government arrived in Geneva Wednesday, the rebels remained stranded in Sanaa, amid claims the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi was preventing them from leaving for the talks.

The war in the impoverished country has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
N. Korea recommits to denuclearisation of Korean peninsula



Seoul, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un renewed his commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in talks with a special envoy from the South, the North's state media said Thursday.

"The north and the south should further their efforts to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," KCNA cited Kim as saying.

"It is our fixed stand and his will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat," it added.

He made the remarks as he received a high-level South Korean delegation in Pyongyang on Wednesday, for discussions aimed at planning a new inter-Korean summit, and breaking the deadlock in denuclearisation talks between the North and the US.

Kim exchanged "wide-ranging opinions" with the delegation over the schedule for the Pyongyang summit due in September and its agenda, and "came to a satisfactory agreement", the report said without naming a specific date.
Press Release Highlights:



Historical records of past testwork, and a 21-year long recent history of gold-silver production at the DeLamar Project, are indicative of the potential for mineralization to be amenable to both heap leaching and conventional milling

Conventional milling at DeLamar from 1977 to 1998 produced mill recoveries averaging 96.2% gold and 79.5% silver with limited recovery variation between oxide, transitional and unoxidized material

Heap leaching potential to be tested further: past column leach testwork was conducted on mineralized material from both DeLamar and Florida Mountain Deposits (including oxide, transitional and unoxidized material), showing recoveries of up to 84% gold and 64% silver

Current metallurgical testwork program is expected to provide key data in support of a Preliminary Economic Assessment to be conducted in H1 2019

VANCOUVER, B.C., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integra Resources Corp. (TSXV:ITR) (OTCQX:IRRZF) (the Company or Integra) is pleased to announce that it has commenced a comprehensive metallurgical sampling and testwork program on the DeLamar Gold and Silver Project (DeLamar, or the Project), located in the historic Owyhee County mining district in southwestern Idaho. The metallurgical sampling and testwork program will be conducted by McClelland Laboratories, Inc. in Reno, Nevada, under the supervision of Jack McPartland, Metallurgist/Vice President Operations at McClelland Laboratories, Inc.

The DeLamar Gold-Silver Project has a long history of mining and processing, producing high-grade and low-grade gold and silver during various periods from the late 1800s and late 1900s. An abundance of metallurgical records recovered on-site clearly demonstrate that the metallurgy of DeLamar is not particularly complex, and that historical gold-silver test recoveries using industry standard leaching techniques were excellent, stated George Salamis, President and CEO of Integra Resources. Our mission with this initial round of testwork is to follow-up on past conventional milling and heap leach testwork, and to qualify the extent to which heap leaching can potentially be used as an economically viable means of gold-silver extraction on the Project. Given the large amount of heap leach testwork conducted on the Project by previous operators, with recoveries of up to 84% gold and 64% silver in laboratory column leach tests, we are confident that the results should demonstrate that heap leaching is a potentially viable option for the project.

The Project hosts an extensive near surface resource that has the potential for bulk mining. In addition, previous mine operators of the DeLamar and Florida Mountain Deposits left behind significant oxidized, transitional and unoxidized gold-silver resources at surface. Metallurgical testwork on this resource will further de-risk the project and provide processing options for the Company as it continues to grow the existing resource and delineate new targets and deposits around the DeLamar area, noted George Salamis, President and CEO.

HISTORY OF GOLD-SILVER MILLING AND METALLURGY AT THE DELAMAR PROJECT1

Recent Historical Gold and Silver Operational Processing and Recoveries

Records from recent historical gold (Au) and silver (Ag) processing at DeLamar, as defined by the mineral processing that took place on site from 1977 until 1998, hosts much of the most relevant metallurgical data available to Integra at this time. Processing was performed by crushing, grinding, and tank leaching with cyanide, followed by precipitation with zinc dust and in-house smelting of the precipitate to produce silver-gold dore. Records show that from 1977 through 1992, the mill processed 11.686 million tonnes of mineralized material with average head grades of 1.17 g Au/tonne and 87.1 g Ag/tonne. During this 15-year period, the DeLamar mill recovered, on average, 96.2% of the contained gold and 79.5% of the contained silver. The historical mill feed during this period included oxidized, partly oxidized, and unoxidized materials.

Historical Column Leach Test Work Designed to Evaluate Potential Heap Leaching Options

In the 1980s, the NERCO Mineral Company (NERCO) conducted numerous column leach tests using mineralized material from the Florida Mountain Deposit (Florida Mountain). The results of this testwork, summarized below in Table 1, demonstrate the potential for heap leach processing of mineralized material at Florida Mountain, and may indicate the amenability of heap leaching on mineralized material from DeLamar as well, based on the similar host-rock types and styles of mineralization for both Deposits. Clarification surrounding the different metallurgical characteristics of Florida Mountain mineralized material versus DeLamar mineralized material is one focus of the current testwork.

Table 1. Compiled NERCO Florida Mountain Column Leach Test Results

(From Statter, 1989, and Hampton, 1988, compiled by Integra, 2017)

Florida Mountain Area Crush Size Calculated Head Grade Duration Metal Extraction Inches Ag g/t Au g/t Days Ag % Au % Sullivan2 -1 8.50 0.58 60 41.9 82.3 Sullivan2 -1/2 7.78 0.62 60 53.8 82.0 Stone Cabin LG -1 7.71 0.31 60 45.2 85.1 Stone Cabin LG -1/2 10.87 0.34 60 43.1 84.5 Stone Cabin HG -1 15.60 1.61 60 39.3 78.1 Stone Cabin HG -1/2 14.40 1.47 60 47.6 84.3 Clark LG -1 4.94 0.24 60 37.5 52.0 Clark LG -1/2 4.35 0.24 60 53.6 83.7 Clark HG -1 14.16 0.86 60 36.4 38.7 Clark HG -1/2 15.29 0.79 60 48.9 59.3 Stone Cabin Dump 1 60.38 3.70 60 39.7* 83.1* Stone Cabin Dump -1 17.62 0.65 60 31.5* 92.2* Stone Cabin Core -1/2 15.98 0.62 60 42.9* 92.6* Stone Cabin Core -1/2 18.17 12.00 60 36.2* 78.0* Tip Top Trench -2 17.35 1.03 56 41.6* 92.2* Tip Top Trench -1 19.75 1.10 56 42.8* 91.5* Tip Top Trench 70% -1/4 21.81 1.03 56 45.0* 95.0*

*denotes an internal DeLamar mine assay factor was applied to silver and gold analyses Sullivan Core refers to drill core from the Sullivan claim in the Florida Mountain Deposit, not the Sullivan Gulch area of the DeLamar Deposit Integra is unaware of the column diameter(s) or the oxidation state(s) of the material tested

Statter (1989) reported a pilot column leach test was performed in 1988 using 14,850 pounds of Stone Cabin run of dump material. The test was likely conducted at the DeLamar mine laboratory. Leaching was conducted for 63 days resulting in 15.8% silver recovery and 72.2% gold recovery.

In 1987, NERCO initiated construction of a small scale, trial cyanide heap leach pad which was in operation for the last quarter of 1987 until the final quarter of 1990. The trial leach pad used low-grade run-of-mine material that was driven onto the pad by haul truck then ripped by bulldozer to provide permeability. The material size was reported to be approximately 70% at >20 centimeters (>8 inch). The trial pad and stacked material became physically unstable and began to slide downhill towards the tailings facility in 1990. In early 1991, the entire heap was removed and placed into the tailings facility. The trial leach pad was shut down due to physical instability, not due to the lower leach results being obtained during the trial. The Company has surmised that that the stacked material may not have reached the optimum duration under leach, and therefore the overall calculated recovery of only 41% gold and 8% silver may be understated by an unknown quantity.

NI 43-101 Technical Report and Estimated Gold  Silver Resources, DeLamar Project, Integra Resources Corp. Effective Date March 8, 2018.

2018 Metallurgical Testwork Program on DeLamar and Florida Mountain

The current metallurgical testwork program will address three main objectives, in support of a planned 2019 PEA:

To establish the milling characteristics of mineralization from the DeLamar and Florida Mountain Deposits; To establish the amenability of different mineralization types from both Deposits to potential heap leaching; and, To provide the Company with information to establish future trade-off parameters of using one or both of the above means of gold-silver extraction on the project.

The program, to be conducted over the next several months at McClelland Laboratories, Inc. in Reno, Nevada, under the super vision of Jack McPartland, Metallurgist/Vice President of Operations at McClelland Laboratories, Inc., will focus on the following:

Ore Variability (Bottle Roll) Composite Testing Column Test Composite Testing Load/Permeability Testing Scoping Mill Testing, including Bond Ball Mill Work Index tests, cyanidation tests, flotation tests and gravity concentration tests

Sample media used in this metallurgical study has been collected from diamond core drill holes completed over the course of the 2018 drill program at DeLamar and Florida Mountain. Results from the metallurgical sampling program are expected in Q4 2018 and Q1 2019.

DeLamar Exploration Ongoing

Currently two drill rigs are in operation at the DeLamar Project, with 60 drill holes completed over 18,500 m. Many drill assays remain outstanding and are expected to be available for reporting upon in the coming weeks and months.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by E. Max Baker PhD. (FAusIMM), Integras Vice President Exploration, of Reno, Nevada, and is a "qualified person"(QP) as defined in National Instrument 43- 101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Integra Resources

Integra Resources Corp. is a development-stage company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in the Americas. The primary focus of the Company is advancement of its DeLamar Project, consisting of the neighbouring DeLamar and Florida Mountain Gold and Silver Deposits in the heart of the historic Owyhee County mining district in south western Idaho. The first exploration program in over 25 years is currently underway on the DeLamar Project with more than 20,000 meters planned for 2018. The management team comprises the former executive team from Integra Gold Corp.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

George Salamis

President, CEO, and Director

CONTACT INFORMATION

Corporate Inquiries: Chris Gordon, chris@integraresources.com

Company website: www.integraresources.com

Office phone: 1 (604) 416-0576

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: statements about the estimation of mineral resources; magnitude or quality of mineral deposits; anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs; future operations; future exploration prospects; the completion and timing of mineral resource estimates; the length of the current market cycle and requirements for an issuer to survive in the current market cycle; future growth potential of Integra; and future development plans.

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of Integra at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Integra to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; actual results of reclamation activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of Integra believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Integra cannot assure its shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, Integra assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Pompeo, Mattis hold talks with Indian counterparts



New Delhi, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



US President Donald Trump's top two envoys met with their Indian counterparts in Delhi on Thursday to deepen a fast-growing partnership but also to tackle thorny issues ranging from an ongoing trade spat to India's purchase of Russian military gear.

Both sides say the unprecedented "2+2" meeting is proof of how far US-India ties have come in recent years, though the officials must tackle several contentious areas where they don't see eye to eye.

"We fully support India's rise as a leading global power," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the start of the summit.

The two countries are eager to deepen ties as a way of countering China, whose economic and military might grows stronger by the day.

In an apparent reference to China and its Belt and Road initiative -- which floods developing countries with cash for infrastructure projects that sometimes cannot be repaid -- Pompeo said the US and India wish to pursue "fundamental rights and liberties and prevent external economic coercion."

Pompeo was joined by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, and their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman.

Swaraj said India attaches the "highest priority" to its strategic partnership with the US, and sees America as a "partner of choice."

In 2016, Washington designated India as a "major defence partner", making it easier for the two countries to do arms deals.

India however is finalising a deal with Moscow to buy new systems including its S-400 long-range, surface-to-air missiles.

Pompeo and Mattis will likely bring the issue up and ask India to distance itself from Russia. Under current US rules, third countries could face sanctions if they transact with Russian defence or intelligence sectors.

If the S-400 deal is finalised, India has signalled it will ask Washington for a special waiver from sanctions, though a US official last week said there is no guarantee it would do so.



- Secure communications -



The talks were also expected to touch on expanding the scope and complexity of joint military exercises.

Additionally, India and the US are close to signing an agreement that would ensure communications between their two militaries are compatible and secure.

India already has bought US Apache attack helicopters and other gear, and is negotiating to buy armed drones.

The talks were first meant to be held in April and then in June but both were postponed, triggering speculation of a rift.

In May, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and said other countries, including India, must stop buying oil from Tehran before November 4 or face US sanctions.

India however is highly reliant on Iranian crude imports.

India has a $25 billion trade surplus with the United States, and to reduce that the Trump administration is reportedly pressing India to take more US imports.

A draft agreement put forward by Washington last month committed India to accepting more imports of US in the areas of civilian aircraft and natural gas, taking Indian officials by surprise, the Hindu daily reported on Thursday.

Pompeo said on Tuesday the issues of Russian arms sales and Iranian oil "will certainly come up, but I don't think they will be the primary focus of what it is we are trying to accomplish here."

"There are half-a-dozen things on the agenda that we are really intent on making progress on... They are really about things that are big and strategic and will go on for 20, 40, 50 years."
China furious at Britain for South China Sea sail-by



Beijing, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



China lashed out at Britain on Thursday for sending a warship close to disputed islands in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built military installations despite competing claims from other nations.

The US and its allies have in recent times sent planes and warships to the area for "freedom of navigation" operations intended as a signal to Beijing of their right -- claimed under international law -- to pass through the contested waters.

China's foreign ministry said the HMS Albion naval ship entered the area on August 31, sailing close to the Paracel Island chain, known as Xisha in Chinese.

The vessel "entered the territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands without the permission of the Chinese government," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

"The Chinese Navy verified and identified the warship according to law and warned it to leave."

The foreign ministry has lodged a protest "expressing strong dissatisfaction", the statement continued.

"China strongly urges Britain to stop such provocations immediately so as not to damage the overall situation of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability."

Beijing has deployed a range of military hardware including anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles and electronic jammers across the South China Sea, where it has built islets and other maritime features into hardened military facilities, according to US officials.

In May, China landed heavy bombers on Woody Island in the Paracels, a show of military might intended to boost its territorial claims in the area.

Woody Island is home to China's largest base in the island chain, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Beijing claims most of the resource-rich sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Two Koreas to hold summit as Kim renews denuclearisation pledge



Seoul, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



The leaders of the two Koreas will hold a summit in Pyongyang in September, Seoul said Thursday, as Kim Jong Un renewed his commitment to the denuclearisation of the flashpoint peninsula.

The announcement of the September 18-20 summit -- the third between the North's leader Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in this year -- comes as US efforts to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal have stalled.

The two leaders will meet in the North Korean capital to discuss "practical measures to denuclearise" the peninsula, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong told reporters.

Chung on Wednesday flew to Pyongyang where he handed over a personal letter from Moon to Kim, as Seoul seeks to kick-start the diplomacy that led to the landmark June summit between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader.

The two pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula at the Singapore meeting but no details were agreed, and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

However, in his meeting with Chung, Kim renewed his commitment to that goal, North Korean state media said Thursday.

The two Koreas "should further their efforts to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

"It is our fixed stand... to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat."

Moon, who brokered the historic summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore, said he had "high hopes" for his next meeting with the North's leader to achieve a similar feat.

"I have come to hope that it will kick-start dialogue between the US and North Korea for the complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," Moon said during meeting with his aides.

- 'Sense of frustration' -



The pledge comes after Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress on disarmament, last month cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang after the North reportedly sent a belligerent letter to the US leader.

Stephen Biegun, newly-appointed US envoy for the North, said last month Kim had promised "final, fully verified denuclearisation" at the Singapore summit.

But Pyongyang has slammed the Washington for its "gangster-like" demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament.

Kim emphasised that his "trust in Trump remains unchanged" despite the difficulties, Chung said, and expressed his intention to work closely with the US to achieve denuclearisation "in the first official term of President Trump."

But the North Korean leader also expressed a "sense of frustration" with the international community for not appreciating what he called Pyongyang's "very significant and meaningful" steps, Chung said.

Kim noted the North had dismantled its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, where nuclear tests "have been made impossible for good", according to the South Korean envoy.

"Chairman Kim asked us to convey the message to the US that the US (should) help create situations where he would feel his decision to denuclearise was a right move", Chung said.



- 'Litmus test' -



The upcoming summit between Kim and Moon may help break the months-long deadlock after the Singapore summit, said Lim Eul-chul, professor at Kyungnam University's Graduate School of North Korean Studies.

"There is a still big gap between what the North considers sufficient goodwill gestures, like destroying its missile test stand or a nuclear test site, and what the US wants, including on-site verification by experts," he said.

Narrowing the gap and rebuilding trust between Kim and Trump is key in the dialogue -- if any -- ahead, he said.

North Korea has demanded that Washington agree to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, and accused it of failing to reciprocate "goodwill measures".

But American officials and conservatives in the South are concerned such a declaration would weaken the US-South Korea alliance and deprive the 28,000 US forces stationed on the peninsula of their deployment rationale.

Kim dismissed such worries, Chung said, and told the South Korean delegation that a formal end of the Korean War would not be linked to the withdrawal of the US troops.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said Kim sees the US agreeing to a formal end to the war as a "litmus test" to determine whether Washington is sincere in moving forward.

"But the US... does not seem to be ready to accept the North's demand", he told AFP.
Pompeo says N. Korea still has 'enormous' work to do



New Delhi, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that North Korea still has "enormous" work to do to meet commitments made to President Donald Trump in June to accomplish denuclearisation.

"There is still an enormous amount of work to do. There have been no nuclear tests or missile tests... but work on making the strategic shift continues," Pompeo said on a visit to New Delhi.

His comments to reporters came after South Korea said that President Moon Jae-in would hold his third summit this year with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on September 18-20 in Pyongyang.

At a landmark summit between Trump and Kim in June in Singapore, the two leaders pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula but no details were agreed.

Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress on disarmament, last month cancelled Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang after the North reportedly sent a belligerent letter to the US leader.

Stephen Biegun, newly-appointed US envoy for the North, said last month Kim had promised "final, fully verified denuclearisation" at the Singapore summit.

But Pyongyang has slammed the Washington for its "gangster-like" demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament.
India, US to hold large military exercises in 2019



New Delhi, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



The US and Indian militaries will carry out large-scale joint exercises off India next year, top officials said Thursday.

The drills would be a first of sorts -- the two countries' forces have not previously trained simultaneously in the air, on the land and at sea.

Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made the announcement at the end of a summit with US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj.

"We have decided to carry out for the first time a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019," Sitharaman said.

The two countries also signed a "Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement", known as COMCASA, that will enable them to exchange sensitive military information quickly and securely.

Mattis and Sitharaman signed the COMCASA agreement at a brief ceremony earlier Friday.

The US only signs COMCASA agreements with trusted allies, and Washington hopes to deepen its military ties with India.

Washington however is concerned about an imminent deal India is making with Russia to buy the S-400 missile system.

None of the officials who spoke after the talks made any reference to where things stand on that issue.

India and the US also vowed closer cooperation in counterterrorism operations.
IS to lose all Syria territory by 2019: French army chief



Paris, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



The Islamic State group will have been driven from all the territory it once controlled as a self-declared "caliphate" before the end of the year, French military chief Francois Lecointre said Thursday.

The jihadists, who conquered vast stretches of Iraq and Syria in 2014, have lost all but a pocket of land in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province between the Euphrates river and Iraqi border, though they remain present in the Syrian desert.

Using an Arabic acronym for IS, Lecointre predicted "the end of the physical caliphate of Daesh before the end of the year, probably late autumn".

France is part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS since 2014 and is now supporting Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they battle to oust the jihadists from their last holdout.

"Once the physical caliphate has fallen... we will pose the question of how to reconfigure Operation Inherent Resolve," Lecointre said of the coalition.

Speaking to reporters, the general pledged to downscale the French troop contingent -- currently more than 1,000-strong -- "as soon as I can".

The Syrian conflict has become increasingly complex since it grew out of anti-government protests in 2011, drawing in other major powers including Russia and Turkey.
US, India announce military drills, tout partnership



New Delhi, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



Top Indian and US officials on Thursday touted deepening ties that will see greater cooperation between the two countries' militaries -- and will likely result in India buying more American arms.

The US has gone to great lengths to forge a closer bond with India as Washington seeks partners to push back against China's economic and military rise across the region.

As an example, Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans for the US and India to hold major military drills next year.

The drills would be a first of sorts -- the two countries' forces have not previously trained simultaneously in the air, on the land and at sea.

"We have decided to carry out for the first time a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019," Sitharaman said.

Joining Sitharaman for the talks was Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

After the summit, Pompeo said it had been "pretty special, historic, a level of relationship that the two countries had not previously had."

Aside from agreeing to joint drills, the two countries also signed a "Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement."

Known as COMCASA, this deal will allow the two countries to exchange sensitive military information quickly and securely.

Despite the friendly tone of the summit, there are plenty of issues India and the US do not see eye-to-eye on.

In 2016, Washington designated India as a "major defence partner", making it easier for the two countries to do arms deals.

India however is finalising a deal with Moscow to buy new systems including its S-400 long-range, surface-to-air missiles.

None of the four officials who spoke to reporters after the summit -- but did not take questions -- mentioned whether the S-400 issue had come up.

Under current US rules, third countries could face sanctions if they transact with Russian defence or intelligence sectors.

If the S-400 deal is finalised, India has signalled it will ask Washington for a special waiver from sanctions, though a US official last week said there is no guarantee it would do so.

The US wants to wean India off Russian systems and onto American hardware. It already has sold US Apache attack helicopters and other gear, and is negotiating to sell armed drones to India.



- Belt and road -



In an apparent reference to China and its Belt and Road initiative -- which floods developing countries with cash for infrastructure projects that sometimes cannot be repaid -- Pompeo said the US and India wish to pursue "fundamental rights and liberties and prevent external economic coercion."

The talks were first meant to be held in April and then in June but both were postponed, triggering speculation of a rift.

After the talks were over, a reporter asked Pompeo if he was involved in a scandal gripping Washington, after the New York Times reported an anonymous editorial penned by a Trump official that depicts the White House in a state of dangerous chaos.

Pompeo denied he had anything to do with the letter.

In May, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and said other countries, including India, must stop buying oil from Tehran before November 4 or face US sanctions.

India however is highly reliant on Iranian crude imports.

India has a $25 billion trade surplus with the United States, and to reduce that the Trump administration is reportedly pressing India to take more US imports.

A draft agreement put forward by Washington last month committed India to accepting more imports of US in the areas of civilian aircraft and natural gas, taking Indian officials by surprise, the Hindu daily reported on Thursday.

"We will consider waivers where appropriate but ... our expectation (is) that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country or sanctions will be imposed," Pompeo said.

Mattis and Pompeo were due to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later on Thursday.

India and the US also vowed closer cooperation in counterterrorism operations.
China furious at Britain for South China Sea sail-by



Beijing, Sept 6 (AFP) Sep 06, 2018



China lashed out at Britain on Thursday for sending a warship close to disputed islands in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built military installations despite competing claims from other nations.

The US and its allies have in recent times sent planes and warships to the area for "freedom of navigation" operations intended as a signal to Beijing of their right -- claimed under international law -- to pass through the contested waters.

China's foreign ministry said HMS Albion, an amphibious assault ship, entered the area on August 31, sailing close to the Paracel Island chain, known as Xisha in Chinese.

The vessel "entered the territorial waters of China's Xisha Islands without the permission of the Chinese government," a foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement to AFP.

"The Chinese Navy verified and identified the warship according to law and warned it to leave."

The foreign ministry has lodged a protest "expressing strong dissatisfaction", the statement continued.

"China strongly urges Britain to stop such provocations immediately so as not to damage the overall situation of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability."

However, London insisted the warship was operating according to international law.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May said: "HMS Albion exercised the right to freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms."

He added the UK had a "strong relationship with China".

Beijing has deployed a range of military hardware including anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles and electronic jammers across the South China Sea, where it has built islets and other maritime features into hardened military facilities, according to US officials.

In May, China landed heavy bombers on Woody Island in the Paracels, a show of military might intended to boost its territorial claims in the area.

Woody Island is home to China's largest base in the island chain, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Beijing claims most of the resource-rich sea, through which $5 trillion in shipping trade passes annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) reports an initial Inferred resource estimate for the Stock East Deposit, and highly encouraging early stage exploration results from targets located on the Stock Property, part of the Black Fox Complex near Timmins, Ontario, Canada.



Highlights include:

The initial Stock East Deposit Inferred resource estimate is 114,000 gold ounces at a grade of 2.54 g/t (combined open pit and underground), which is part of a 2 km long mineralized trend that also hosts the past-producing underground Stock Mine (historical production of 137,000 gold ounces at a grade 5.5 g/t , and no current resource estimate).



(combined open pit and underground), which is part of a 2 km long mineralized trend that also hosts the past-producing underground Stock Mine (historical production of , and no current resource estimate). Stock East drilling intersected 25.16 g/t gold over 2.09 m .



drilling intersected . Stock Mine drilling intersected 22.15 g/t gold over 1.39 m and 7.01 g/t gold over 2.98 m on the depth extension of the mine.

Drilling started in February at Stock East, a target that was unexplored for over 20 years. The encouraging results from that campaign prompted us to extend drilling activities over a 2 km long trend that includes the Stock Mine, Gap and Stock East targets. Positive drill results include narrow higher grade intersections, and also wider and lower grade intersections that may support the potential for open pit mining, stated Sylvain Guerard, Senior Vice-President Exploration.

Stock East

The Stock Property covers a 6.5 km section of the Destor-Porcupine fault. The Stock East Zone is located 700 m east of the former Stock Mine and current mill facilities (see Figure 1). Drilling to date has outlined a thick sequence of gold-bearing altered mafic volcanic rocks believed to represent the eastern strike extension of the former Stock Mine.

An initial drilling program beginning in February 2018 (Phase 1) returned encouraging intersections of gold mineralization, which were previously reported in press releases dated April 30 and July 25, 2018. A follow-up drilling program began in June 2018 (Phase 2) and is still in progress.

Stock East highlights are listed in the table below:

Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) S18-38 Stock East 268.40 274.50 6.10 4.76 1.71 S18-46 Stock East 304.80 340.50 35.70 30.41 1.14 S18-47 Stock East 335.70 348.00 12.30 9.69 5.76 Including 344.45 347.10 2.65 2.09 25.16 Including 345.00 347.10 2.10 1.66 30.02 And 360.00 361.70 1.70 1.34 7.49 S18-56 Stock East 473.10 479.75 6.65 5.43 2.87 S18-59 Stock East 238.00 256.85 18.85 13.85 0.81 And 268.00 274.00 6.00 4.42 1.28

Drilling has outlined an open pit and underground Inferred resource estimate for the Stock East Deposit totaling 114,000 gold ounces at a grade of 2.54 g/t. Stock East has a strike length of approximately 400 m and extends vertically from surface to a depth of at least 350 m and is open in all directions. An infill drill program is ongoing with the objective of upgrading the resource to the Indicated category later in 2018.

Stock Mine and Gap Target

In addition to drilling the Stock East Zone, the current Phase 2 program is also testing two other areas at the Stock Mine and the Gap Zone, which have had very little previous drilling.

Four holes have been drilled underneath the historical mine workings testing for the extension of the Stock Mine mineralization at depths from approximately 320 to 700 m below surface. In addition, 11 holes have been drilled along a 400 m trend east of the Stock Mine, testing continuity in sparsely drilled areas located along the main structure (Gap Zone).

Gold mineralization has been intersected in a variety of lithological settings including altered feldspar porphyry intrusions, altered mafic volcanic rocks and fuschite-altered ultramafic rocks. The zones include wide intervals of lower-grade gold mineralization (grades from 0.8 to 1.25 g/t gold over widths of 18 to 30 m) and narrow intervals of higher-grade gold mineralization (grades of 5 to 22 g/t gold over widths of 1 to 4 m).

The results below support the potential to extend the mineralization down plunge from the Stock Mine, and for shallow mineralization along the 2 km long trend that extends from the hanging wall of the Stock Mine to the Stock East Zone. Follow-up drilling is ongoing.

Stock Mine highlights are listed in the table below:

Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) S18-26 Stock Mine 464.30 497.40 33.10 24.18 0.92 S18-31 Stock Mine 612.00 630.00 18.00 13.89 0.87 And 719.70 723.00 3.30 2.59 5.58 Including 722.00 723.00 1.00 0.79 14.80 And 727.00 730.80 3.80 2.98 7.01 Including 730.00 730.80 0.80 0.63 30.10 And 758.35 766.00 7.65 6.01 2.18 Including 762.00 766.00 4.00 3.14 3.76 S18-35 Stock Mine 333.00 335.00 2.00 1.39 22.15 And 365.00 383.00 18.00 12.54 1.25 And 431.00 435.00 4.00 2.80 2.12 S18-36 Stock Mine 519.00 528.45 9.45 7.5 1.25

Gap Zone highlights are listed in the table below:

Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) S18-27 Gap Zone 85.84 87.45 1.61 1.46 2.52 And 141.00 143.00 2.00 1.84 6.00 Including 142.00 143.00 1.00 0.92 10.85 S18-33B Gap Zone 172.95 176.00 2.05 2.8 1.48 And 190.15 196.05 5.90 5.43 0.93 S18-66 Gap Zone 107.00 118.00 11.00 7.72 0.69 S18-69A Gap Zone 51.00 56.40 5.40 5.11 1.01 S18-70 Gap Zone 125.00 160.10 35.10 25.77 0.78 S18-76 Gap Zone 86.15 88.60 2.45 2.31 2.24 S18-77 Gap Zone 140.00 142.00 2.00 1.51 2.50

Stock East Resource

The Stock East Deposit Inferred resource estimate, effective September 5, 2018, is comprised of two components; an open pit constrained Inferred resource of 40,000 gold ounces, and an underground resource of 73,000 gold ounces. Details are as follows:

Classification Cut-off Grade Gold

(g/t ) Quantity

(000 t) Gold Grade

(g/t) Contained Gold

(oz) Open Pit Inferred 0.25 798 1.58 40,000 Underground Inferred 2.40 591 3.85 73,000 Total 1,389 2.54 114,000

For further details about the Black Fox Complex project, please refer to our NI 43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report for the Black Fox Complex, Canada" dated April 6th 2018 with an effective date of October 31st, 2017 available on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ) under our issuer profile.

Stock East Mineral Resource Estimate Notes:

The Mineral Resource Statement complies with the standards for reporting mineral resources as set out under CIM guidelines;

Resources are presented undiluted and in-situ and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction;

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability; all figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate;

Open Pit constrained resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au; underground resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 2.4 g/t Au.

Drill hole intervals were composited to 1 m lengths within mineralized domains;

After statistical analysis, grade capping was not used for the composite data; however a high grade restricted search was utilised;

A density value of 2.60 t/m 3 was applied to all lithologies. Additional density measurements on the various lithologies and host rocks to be undertaken;

was applied to all lithologies. Additional density measurements on the various lithologies and host rocks to be undertaken; Estimation parameters were determined by variography; all zones were interpolated using Ordinary Kriging (OK);

Block dimensions were 6x6x6 m with sub-celling down to 1 m blocks;

McEwen Mining is not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political or marketing issues that could materially affect the mineral resource estimate.

The resource estimate is the result of detailed logging and assaying of 69 surface drill holes. In addition to the recent drilling and assay results from 20 drillholes completed by McEwen between February and August 2018, data from a further 47 historic drillholes from the 1990s was used. A re-sampling program of the historic holes have shown that the re-assays are comparable with the historical grades. Statistical analysis of the data (including a 2 sample t-test) indicate that the difference between the original grades and re-assays is close to zero. However, most of the re-sampling was completed on the core from the low-grade intersections of the historical holes, as the core from higher-grade historical intersections was mostly unavailable for re-sampling.

Figure 1  Stock Exploration Drilling (Click to download .PDF):

http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20180906_bf/stock_figure_1_sept_6_2018.pdf

Tables  All Drilling (Click to download .XLS):

http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20180906_bf/stock_results_tables_sept_6_2018.xlsx

ABOUT MCEWEN MINING

McEwen has the goal to qualify for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index by creating a profitable gold and silver producer focused in the Americas. McEwens principal assets consist of: the San Jose mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina (49% interest); the Black Fox mine in Timmins, Canada; the El Gallo Fenix project in Mexico; the Gold Bar mine in Nevada, currently under construction; and the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina, advancing towards development.

McEwen has a total of 337 million shares outstanding. Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner, owns 24% of McEwen.

QUALIFIED PERSON



The technical content in this press release including geology, drilling and sampling has been reviewed and approved by Ken Tylee, P.Geo., Exploration Manager for McEwen; the modelling and estimation of the mineralised zone for the resource estimate, with an effective date of August 8th 2018, was performed under the supervision of Yerzhan Uzakbayev (MAIG), who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101. Mr. Uzakbayev is Senior Consultant Geologist for Datamine International Ltd and is considered to be "independent" of McEwen for the purposes of NI 43-101. The resource estimate has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Luke Willis, P.Geo, Director, Resource Modelling for McEwen who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

All intercept widths are true widths unless otherwise specified.

All exploration drill core samples at the Black Fox Complex were submitted as 1/2 core. Analyses reported herein were performed by the independent laboratories: ALS Laboratories, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, Activation Labs, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, and SGS Canada Laboratories, which is ISO9001/IEC17025 certified. Samples from definition and select delineation drilling, and development sampling completed within the Black Fox mine are assayed at McEwen's onsite laboratory. McEwens quality control program includes systematic insertion of blanks, standard reference material and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy.

To determine the lengths of significant mineralized intervals, the following composite criteria was established: a minimum reportable interval length of 3 m was determined by establishing a cut-off grade of 3 g/t Au for underground (0.5 g/t Au for near surface). A consecutive maximum length of 3 m of internal waste, including sub cut-off grade material, is allowed and incorporated into the reported composites. Where an interval of less than 3 m is considered, if the grade x length calculation is greater than 9 (3 for surface), it may be reported. There is no top cutting or capping of assays.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves, and other risks. The Companys dividend policy will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors and is subject to change based on certain factors such as the capital needs of the Company and its future operating results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement.

The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by management of McEwen Mining Inc.

CONTACT INFORMATION:



Mihaela Iancu

Investor Relations

(647)-258-0395 ext 320

info@mcewenmining.com

Website: www.mcewenmining.com



Facebook: facebook.com/mcewenrob



Twitter: twitter.com/mcewenmining



Instagram: instagram.com/mcewenmining

150 King Street West

Suite 2800, P.O. Box 24

Toronto, ON, Canada

M5H 1J9

(866)-441-0690




TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) reports an updated resource estimate for the Froome Deposit and highly encouraging exploration results from its ongoing $15 million exploration program at the Black Fox Complex near Timmins, Ontario, Canada.



Highlights include:

Froome Footwall: Drilling intersected 53.93 g/t gold over 8.29 m including 322.86 g/t gold over 1.34 m , along the footwall structure located approximately 150 m North of the main Froome deposit.



Drilling intersected , along the footwall structure located approximately 150 m North of the main Froome deposit. Froome Resource: Indicated resource estimate increased by 14% to 181,000 gold ounces at a grade of 5.09 g/t.



Indicated resource estimate increased by 14% to Pike River: Shallow high-grade intersection of 35.04 g/t gold over 3.30 m core length (CL) along the same 7 km long structural belt that hosts the Froome deposit and Gibson mineralization.



Shallow high-grade intersection of along the same 7 km long structural belt that hosts the Froome deposit and Gibson mineralization. Grey Fox: Multiple shallow intersections including 13.41 g/t gold over 2.82 m including 27.70 g/t gold over 0.94 m , and 5.79 g/t gold over 1.99 m including 9.71 g/t gold over 0.93 m from a mineralized cross-structure located in the hanging wall of the 147 Zone, which has a current Indicated resource of 264,000 gold ounces at a grade of 7.49 g/t .



Multiple shallow intersections including , and from a mineralized cross-structure located in the hanging wall of the 147 Zone, which has a current Indicated resource of . Black Fox Mine: 35.08 g/t gold over 1.69 m intersected on the depth extension of the mine. An underground exploration drift is under development and additional drilling will begin in mid-September.

Froome Footwall

Surface drilling at Froome during Q3 has been focused on two targets: 1) evaluating the down-plunge extension of the Froome Deposit, and 2) assessing the potential of the mineralized footwall, which returned 53.93 g/t gold over 8.29 m including 322.86 g/t gold over 1.34 m. The current interpretation suggests that this new occurrence extends the complex, braided belt of elevated gold mineralization (running parallel to Froome) by approximately 350 m strike length to the East.

The addition of these new drill intersections within the Froome Footwall could provide an economic enhancement to the proposed underground development planned to commence later in September. Definition drilling to further evaluate the footwall target is ongoing.

Significant Froome Footwall drill intersections include:

Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) 18PR-G276 Froome Main 420.50 422.00 1.50 1.27 4.81 Including 420.50 421.00 0.50 0.42 10.50 And 445.00 455.00 10.00 8.47 2.68 Including 450.00 453.00 3.00 2.54 6.31 18PR-G279 Froome FW 88.60 92.00 3.40 2.86 1.54 And 97.00 101.15 4.15 3.49 3.05 And 113.00 122.90 9.90 8.29 53.93 Including 113.00 114.60 1.60 1.34 322.86 18PR-G280 Froome Main 306.95 315.35 8.40 7.27 2.61 And 347.00 354.00 7.00 6.05 3.24 18PR-G288 Froome FW 81.00 88.00 7.00 5.96 3.32 18PR-G292 Froome FW 150.20 158.00 7.80 7.07 3.05 TW = True width (mathematically calculated based on current interpretation)



Pike River Target



The Pike River Target Area, located between the Froome Deposit to the northwest and Gibson Deposit to the southwest, is underlain by the Gibson-Kelore Fault zone. These mineralized intercepts indicate the high potential for a new discovery within this underexplored segment of the Gibson-Kelore Fault Zone.

Significant Pike River drill intersections include:

Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) 18PR-032 Pike River 70.00 72.00 2.00 * 2.12 And 79.00 82.30 3.30 * 35.04 * True width unknown

Grey Fox - 147 Zone Hanging Wall Target



Previous exploration activities at Grey Fox focused on east dipping oreshoots. A 3,000 m drill program traced a mineralized cross-structure at a different orientation over a strike length of 140 m, and from the surface to a depth of 125 m. These results indicate that the mineralized cross-structure is continuous and traceable, and provides a framework for adding resource ounces at Grey Fox.

Significant Grey Fox drill intersections include:

Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) 18GF-1087 147 HW 30.10 33.48 3.38 2.76 1.14 And 129.90 136.00 6.10 4.96 3.64 Including 133.00 136.00 3.00 2.44 6.75 18GF-1088 147 HW 8.85 11.30 2.45 1.99 5.79 Including 8.85 10.00 1.15 0.93 9.71 18GF-1092 147 HW 7.00 10.00 3.00 2.82 13.41 Including 9.00 10.00 1.00 0.94 27.70

Black Fox Underground

One underground drill rig has been testing the down-plunge extension of the Deep Central Zone (DCZ) (see Figure 1). Drilling intersected multi-phase quartz-carbonated veining, which returned an intercept of 35.08 g/t gold over 1.69 m including 55.10 g/t gold over 1.01 m. This represents the deepest high-grade intercept at the mine, and supports the belief that mineralization extends deeper down plunge. Drilling will resume in mid-September from better positions in the newly constructed drilling bays on the 810 m level.

Significant DCZ drilling highlights include:



Hole Area From (m) To (m) Length (m) TW (m) Gold (g/t) 520-EX346-42 DCZ 426.50 428.00 1.50 1.30 6.87 And 561.00 563.00 2.00 1.69 35.08 Including 561.00 562.20 1.20 1.01 55.10 490-L094-98 DCZ 215.80 217.00 1.20 0.81 161.89 Including 215.80 216.40 0.60 0.40 320.73

Froome Resource Estimate

The tables below summarize the current and previous Froome resource estimates. The differences are primarily attributable to additional drilling. Similar modeling parameters were used in both estimates.

Mineral Resource Statement, Froome Project, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., August 31, 2018

Classification



Cut-off Grade Gold

(g/t) Quantity

(000 t) Grade Gold

(g/t) Contained Gold

(000 oz) Indicated Mineral Resource Underground 3.20 1,104 5.09 181 Total Indicated 3.20 1,104 5.09 181 Inferred Mineral Resource Underground 3.20 17 4.62 2 Total Inferred 3.20 17 4.62 2

Previous Mineral Resource Statement, Froome Project, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc., March 30, 2018 (Obsolete)

Classification



Cut-off Grade Gold

(g/t) Quantity

(000 t) Grade Gold

(g/t) Contained Gold

(000 oz) Indicated Mineral Resource Underground 3.20 941 5.26 159 Total Indicated 3.20 941 5.26 159 Inferred Mineral Resource Underground 3.20 125 4.70 19 Total Inferred 3.20 125 4.70 19





Figure 1  Black Fox Exploration Drilling (Click to download .PDF):

http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20180906_bf/black_fox_figure_1_sept_6_2018.pdf

Tables  All Drilling (Click to download .XLS):

http://mcewenmining.com/files/doc_news/archive/20180906_bf/black_fox_results_table_sept_6_2018.xlsx

ABOUT MCEWEN MINING

McEwen has the goal to qualify for inclusion in the S&P 500 Index by creating a profitable gold and silver producer focused in the Americas. McEwens principal assets consist of: the San Jose mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina (49% interest); the Black Fox mine in Timmins, Canada; the El Gallo Fenix project in Mexico; the Gold Bar mine in Nevada, currently under construction; and the large Los Azules copper project in Argentina, advancing towards development.

McEwen has a total of 337 million shares outstanding. Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner, owns 24% of McEwen.

QUALIFIED PERSON



Technical information pertaining to geology and exploration contained in this news release has been prepared under the supervision of Ken Tylee, P.Geo. Mr. Tylee is a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101.

The current mineral resource estimate was prepared by Dr. Aleksandr Mitrofanov, P Geo, who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). The previous mineral resource estimate was audited by Dr. David Machuca, PEng (PEO 100508889), who is a "qualified person" within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Dr. Mitrofanov and Dr. Machuca are employees of SRK Consulting, (Canada) Ltd and are considered to be "independent" of McEwen for the purposes of NI 43-101.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

All intercept widths are true widths unless otherwise specified.

All exploration drill core samples at the Black Fox Complex were submitted as 1/2 core. Analyses reported herein were performed by the independent laboratories: ALS Laboratories, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, Activation Labs, which is ISO 9001/IEC17025 certified, and SGS Canada Laboratories, which is ISO9001/IEC17025 certified. Samples from definition and select delineation drilling, and development sampling completed within the Black Fox mine are assayed at McEwen's onsite laboratory. McEwens quality control program includes systematic insertion of blanks, standard reference material and duplicates to ensure laboratory accuracy.

To determine the lengths of significant mineralized intervals, the following composite criteria was established: a minimum reportable interval length of 3 m was determined by establishing a cut-off grade of 3g/t gold for underground (1 g/t gold for near surface). A consecutive maximum length of 3 m of internal waste, including sub cut-off grade material, is allowed and incorporated into the reported composites. Where an interval of less than 3 m is considered, if the grade x length calculation is greater than 9 (3 for surface), it may be reported. There is no top cutting or capping of assays.

For further details about the Black Fox Complex project including Tamarack, please see our recent NI 43-101 technical report titled "Technical Report for the Black Fox Complex, Canada" dated April 6th, 2018 with an effective date of October 31st, 2017 available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under our issuer profile.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, including "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements and information expressed, as at the date of this news release, McEwen Mining Inc.'s (the "Company") estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results including, but not limited to, the closing of the Offering and the use of proceeds thereof. Forward-looking statements and information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, risks and contingencies, and there can be no assurance that such statements and information will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and information include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, political, economic, social and security risks associated with foreign operations, the ability of the corporation to receive or receive in a timely manner permits or other approvals required in connection with operations, risks related to fluctuations in mine production rates, risks associated with the construction of mining operations and commencement of production and the projected costs thereof, risks related to litigation, the state of the capital markets, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral resources and reserves, and other risks. The Companys dividend policy will be reviewed periodically by the Board of Directors and is subject to change based on certain factors such as the capital needs of the Company and its future operating results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information included herein, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. See McEwen Mining's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the caption "Risk Factors", for additional information on risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the forward-looking statements and information regarding the Company. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by this cautionary statement.

The NYSE and TSX have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release, which has been prepared by management of McEwen Mining Inc.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Mihaela Iancu

Investor Relations

(647)-258-0395 ext 320

info@mcewenmining.com

Website: www.mcewenmining.com



Facebook: facebook.com/mcewenrob



Twitter: twitter.com/mcewenmining 150 King Street West

Suite 2800, P.O. Box 24

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

M5H 1J9

(866)-441-0690




Immigration How to Solve Europe's Migration Crisis

Few topics have been as divisive in Europe as the question of what to do with the flood of migrants arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean. But a moral solution is possible. DER SPIEGEL spoke with experts to find out what it would be.
A Matter of Survival How to Humanely Solve Europe's Migration Crisis

Few topics have been as divisive in Europe as the question of what to do with the flood of migrants arriving on the shores of the Mediterranean. But a moral solution is possible. DER SPIEGEL spoke with experts about how it can be found.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSX-V: LPS), a global leader in voltage management technology, announces the follow-on purchase of three Harmonizer systems by a multi-family and commercial real estate investment company, totalling C$236,735. This order brings to 6, the number of its 435 multi-family buildings that the customer has outfitted with Legends energy-saving solution.



The customer is an investor in, and active manager of, properties in the U.S. and Canada. Its $7 billion portfolio of multi-family properties, includes over 435 buildings totaling approximately 36,000 units. The customer also has a commercial property portfolio of over 50 buildings containing approximately 5.9 million square feet of floor space. Legend estimates the total potential market for its products in the North American multi-family rental buildings vertical at US$750 million1.

Our technology is a great fit for landlords looking to improve net operating income and drive increased property value across their holdings, said Legends CEO Randy Buchamer. We expect multi-family to become one of our more productive verticals as we continue to demonstrate a strong value proposition and a way for our customers to achieve high sustainability standards. Wed like to thank our customer for their repeat business.

About the Three System Deployment

The three systems purchased by the customer were chosen for apartment buildings located in Ontario; two in Mississauga (229 units consuming 900,000 kWh/year and 337 units consuming 1.2 million kWh/year) and one in Toronto (331 units consuming 1.6 million kwh/year). All three buildings are at various levels of sub-metering installation.

Ontario Offers Harmonizer Landlords Incentives

Ontario multi-family building owners that invest in Harmonizers may apply to increase rents under the Province of Ontario Landlord and Tenant Boards, Rent Increase Guideline Program. The program encourages Landlords investment in capital projects, including those considered as promoting energy conservation such as Legends energy efficiency technology.

For more information about our technology or to request an assessment of how much energy Legend Power can save in your building, please visit us on the web at: http://legendpower.com/products/#Harmonizer .

1 Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau, Rental Housing Finance Survey; Rental apartment properties containing over 50 units at average revenue of C$60k per apartment.

About Legend Power Systems Inc.

Legend Power Systems Inc. ( www.legendpower.com ) is a global leader in voltage management technology. We help buildings use less energy by eliminating overvoltage; an inherent challenge associated with power grids around the world. Legends industry-proven Harmonizer enables dynamic power-management of an entire building. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legends unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts, and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets.

For further information, please contact:

Steve Vanry, CFO

+ 1 604 671 9522

svanry@legendpower.com

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

+ 1 647 503 1054

sean@sophiccapital.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release may contain statements which constitute forward-looking information, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words may, would, could, will, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Companys future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Companys quarterly and annual Managements Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law.
El Aaiun (occupied capital of SADR), Sept 06, 2018 (SPS) - The Moroccan occupation authorities issued Wednesday unfair sentences against two Saharawi activists, the journalists Mohamed Salem Mayara and Mohamed al-Ghali, sentencing from six months to 18 months of suspension.

The two Saharawi journalists were condemned by the so-called Moroccan Court of First Instance in occupied El Aaiun.

The two political prisoners and bloggers Mohammed Salem Mayara and Mohammed Al-Ghali denied all charges against them, complained of ill-treatment, pointing out in this context that they were arrested for their work as bloggers and media activists in the Smara correspondent network News and their position of defense of the right of the Saharawi people to self-determination and independence.

Concerning the sentences to the two Sahrawi journalists, the Spanish jurist Ines Miranda, member of the Spanish General Council of Lawyers, present in numerous proceedings against Sahrawis, told EFE that in the case there are no other evidentiary elements and that the accusation has been limited to the police diligence.

Morocco continues to close access to the territory to international observers, vetoing the entrance to lawyers, parliamentarians, onges of HHRR, keeping with its informational blockade to the OOTT of Western Sahara and placating any voice that claims to the right of the Saharawi to a Free Western Sahara.SPS

125/090/TRA
English05/09/2018

SRPSKA NOT EXCHANGING ITS TERRITORY

BELGRADE, September 5 /SRNA/- Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik has stated that Srpska is not going to exchange its territory with anyone, nor will it be annexed to Serbia, but will, one day, remain independent and continue with state unity with Serbia.



Many do not like it, but once a minimal opportunity is provided and if we get a guarantee that America will remain neutral on this issue, we are independent at the very moment," Dodik told the independent daily newspapers Danas.



Answering the question if it is possible for Republika Srpska to be annexed to Serbia within this territory exchange in the Balkans, Dodik has said that Srpska has its own territory that will not be changed.



To the conclusion that Russia already gives some kind of support to Srpska, Dodik has asked  where did you get it from?



"No, we are taking Russias side. The British messed up here big time and fight against Russian influence," Dodik has said.



Dodik has said that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is arriving in Banjaluka on September 17, is bringing friendship, but will also discuss other issues.



He is coming to jointly promote the consecration of the foundation of the Serb-Russian Orthodox Centre. Of course, we will discuss other issues too, including the embarrassing ban on entry to BiH imposed on writer Zakhar Prilepin, who was supposed to attend Petar Kocics Days event. He is not the only Russian on the black list made in Sarajevo without taking our interests into account," Dodik has said.



Dodik has pointed out that he will call on the Serbs to vote for Republican Partys candidates that are supported by US president Donald Trump, during the US Congressional elections in November.



When it comes to speculations that he was threatened with EU sanctions, Dodik has said that not everyone should be listened to, and that the support of the people, not the world, is the most important to him.



"I believe it is time for the internationals to stop electing our representatives, but to leave decisions to be made by those elected by the people, as it was the case with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic," Dodik has said.



When asked how much US sanctions would limit him in performing tasks and duties of the Serb BiH Presidency member, Dodik answered that lifting sanctions would be symbolically important.



And since I will be a member and the chair of the Presidency, it will be interesting to see me at the UN General Assembly as /former Cuban leader Fidel/ Castro did," Dodik has said, noting that the United States being the most powerful country in the world is not disputable.



He has recalled that he had received an invitation from Donald Trump's HQ to attend presidential inauguration as part of his gratitude for the support to his election as the US president but, when he sent visa request, it appeared that the vain old administration could not allow "one Dodik to get visa."



Dodik has pointed out that a neutral report on Srebrenica is necessary as there are many inaccurate parts in the old one.



"It was about 7,000 missing people that were later interpreted into 7,000 victims in Srebrenica, while more than 2,000 soldiers were buried at the Potocari cemetery. It is a military cemetery and once you tell them so, then Dodik is a bad one" , said the president of Srpska.



Dodik has said that the genocide claim is not substantiated by the truth, thus Srpska needs a neutral report, and will form a team of people from the world with authority, who would deal with writing a new report.



"The only thing I am not against is the truth. One year is a realistic deadline for a true presentation of Srebrenica. The ICTYs decisions are not sacred Indian cows thus they can be changed based on new evidence," Dodik has said.



Asked if a new report on Srebrenica was tendentious before the elections, Dodik has answered that his existence is tendentious for the opposition. /end/vos
If a fifth face were added to Mount Rushmore, which president would you choose?

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Ronald Reagan

John F. Kennedy

Someone in the Civil Rights or Women's Rights movement would be more appropriate. View Results
Madrid, September 6th 2018.- Vodafone and MASMOVIL Group have reached an agreement to share up to 1.9 million Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) connections. The agreement will be implemented progressively over the next four years, increasing the optimization and efficiency of the use of fibre networks in Spain.



For MASMOVIL, the 942,000 Vodafones households covered by this agreement will be commercially available from December 2018. Including these connections, MASMOVIL will reach 5.4 million households, having thus exceeded its objective to reach 5.1 million with its own fiber network this year. At the end of June 2018, MASMOVILs fiber services reached 13 million households.

In turn, Vodafone will be able to progressively add up to a million homes to its owned or shared network footprint. At the end of June 2018, Vodafone was offering fiber services in Spain to 20.9 million households, of which 10.3 million were owned or shared deployments.

"I hope this agreement with Vodafone is the beginning of a fruitful relationship for both of us. Widening our owned fiber footprint allows us to offer excellent services to more customers" said Meinrad Spenger, CEO of MASMOVIL Group.

Antonio Coimbra, CEO of Vodafone Spain, states that "this agreement helps to optimize and rationalize the use of fiber networks in Spain and will allow us to offer our customers ultrafast broadband services in a more efficient way".

About MASMOVIL Group

MASMOVIL Group is the fourth largest converging telecommunications operator in Spain that provides fixed, mobile and broadband Internet services for residential, business and Wholesale, through its main brands: Yoigo, Pepephone, MASMOVIL and Llamaya.

The group relies on a fiber/ADSL network for broadband and 3G and 4G network for mobile telephony. At present, it has more than 13 million fiber households and reaches 18 million homes with ADSL. The companies 4G mobile network covers 98,5% of the Spanish population. The Group had more than 6,5 million customers in Spain by the end of june.

MASMOVIL received the award for the best fixed broadband operator by Grupo ADSL Zone, and the award for best fiber operator by the website, Grupo Informatico, in 2017. Additionally, it is the operator with the fastest fiber network in Spain according to a study by the company, nPerf, and the operator with the fastest 3G+4G aggregated mobile network in Spain, according to a study by the company, Tutela .

For more information:

Fernando Castro +34.656.160.378

fernando.castro@masmovil.com
Altran TechnologieS : Half-year results 2018: Solid opeRating performance delivering 10.1% margin

Press release 06.09.2018





Half-year results 2018

Solid operating performance delivering 10.1% margin

Revenues: 1,373m (+18.5% reported and +5.2% economic growth vs. H1 2017)

Operating margin: 138.5m (+28.8% vs. H1 2017)

10.1% operating margin, +80 bps vs. H1 2017

Adjusted net income at 57.5m, +2.2% vs. H1 2017

Free Cash Flow at -225m mostly impacted by Aricent's transaction and working capital variation, not reflective of full year expectation

External investigation confirms Aricent forgery is an isolated event

Commenting on the Group's H1 2018 results, Altran Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dominique Cerutti declared: "Altran posted a solid operating performance in H1 while completing a key transformative deal. In what was a very busy semester, we recorded growth across our geographies and particularly in Altran US operations which was a key management objective. We announced mid-July an incident within Aricent, and following the external investigation, the forgery is confirmed to be an isolated event. The integration of Aricent is well on track, we have launched a targeted action plan early July to restore Aricent's margin to its previous profile by year end. Our team is fully focused on top line growth, profit expansion and enhanced cash conversion."

Results

(in m) H1 2018 H1 2017 % Revenues 1,372.7 1,158.0 +18.5% Operating margin 138.5 107.5 +28.8% % of Revenues 10.1% 9.3% Other expenses (69.9) (16.0) Thereof amortization of intangibles arising from business combinations (26.4) (2.2) Thereof restructuring costs (14.8) (7.3) Thereof acquisition and integration costs (27.5) (2.6) Operating income 68.6 91.5 -25.0% Net financial expenses (53.8) (14.1) Income tax (5.0) (23.1) Share of net income of associates (0.2) Net income before discontinued operations 9.8 54.1 -81.9% Net income from discontinued operations (0.2) 0.6 Non-controlling interests (0.1) Net income (Group share) 9.5 54.7 -82.6% Adjusted net income (Group share) 57.5 56.2 +2.2%

The performance of the Group reflects the contribution of Aricent starting 20 March 2018. H2 2018 will be the first reporting period including the full contribution of Aricent. All reported figures fully reflect the implementation of IFRS15. Financial statements for H1 2017 have been restated accordingly.

Altran reported robust H1 2018 revenues of 1,372.7m vs 1,158.0m in H1 2017 (up 18.5%), representing organic growth of 5.0% and economic growth of 5.2%.

The Group's operating margin amounted to 138.5m, up 28.8% compared to H1 2017, reflecting the growth of the business and the contribution of Aricent.

Aricent contributed 162 million revenues over the period, starting 20 March 2018, and 27.4 million in operating margin, or 16.9%.

Group net financial expenses came in at 53.8m, compared to 14.1m in H1 2017 when the Company's debt was much lower. H1 2018 is impacted by 23.9m of one-off costs and penalties related to early debt repayments linked to the implementation of the new financing structure for Altran.

Adjusted net income increased by 2.2%, to 57.5m compared with 56.2m in H1 2017. On a reported basis, net income for the period was 9.5m, reflecting the various Aricent acquisition-related items.

Detailed analysis of revenues

France: economic growth +4.3%. Net hiring accelerated in the second quarter and should further benefit from an ambitious recruitment campaign in Q2 and Q3.



Europe: economic growth +5.7%. Economic growth in the region is strongly accelerating compared to H1 2017. In Germany, the Group's priority remains the profit turnaround as revenue growth is now sustained. Iberia and Italy remain on a high growth path and business trends in those geographies are excellent. Belgium & the Netherlands are improving in Q2. The UK posted a solid and strengthening performance, particularly remarkable in the context of Brexit. Scandinavia and Switzerland have returned to growth.



Americas: economic growth +9.7%. The region has achieved double-digit growth in H1 following our successful integration efforts.

Cash and debt

At the end of H1 2018, the Group's Free Cash Flow came in at -225m, vs. -14m at end-June 2017 (H1 2017 normalized for a 35m invoicing shift was -49m). This significant difference is due to cash outflows related to Aricent's acquisition, new cash items induced by Aricent and working capital variation. The H1 2018 Free Cash flow level is not reflective of the Free Cash Flow expected for the full year.

The Group's net debt came in at 1,698m in H1 2018, versus 351m at end-December 2017 This reflects the set up of the new financial structure of the Group including the acquisition-related debt and rights issue. This translates into a c.4.2x leverage ratio end of H1, which is consistent with our deleveraging pattern.

At the end of H1 2018, the Group had available cash of 208m, vs. 373m at end-December 2017, after the 61m dividend payment.

Aricent incident

On 13 July 2018, we announced a pre-acquisition forgery discovered at Aricent. $10m of forged purchase orders were booked at Aricent between Q3 2017 and Q1 2018. This was the act of one individual affecting one client only.

As a consequence, Aricent's margin was reassessed from the previously communicated 18.3% margin (LTM September 2017) to 15.6% (LTM June 2018), taking into account:

the reversal of the profit linked to the $10m of forged purchase orders; and

in the context of this inflated profit, misguided spending decisions and accelerated investments which have not yet materialized in expected growth.

An external investigation was immediately launched after the discovery of the incident; it has confirmed that the forgery was an isolated event.

An action plan was implemented as early as July to restore Aricent's margin profile to previously communicated levels, and we foresee this targeted action plan to bear expected fruits by year end.

We also initiated a complete overhaul of Aricent's internal controls to bring them to the highest standards.

The Company's counsels will advise on the next legal steps and provide the Board of Directors with recommendations.

Outlook

Altran presented during its Capital Market Day on 28 June 2018 its new mid-term strategic plan. The deployment of The High Road, Altran 2022 strategic plan is expected to achieve in 2022:

Revenues: c.4.0 billion at constant perimeter

Operating Margin: c.14.5% of Revenues

Free cash Flow (incl. financing costs): c.9% of Revenues

Leverage ratio: below 1.5x

Earnings per Share: x2 (vs. reported 2017 of 0.68/share)

The Group will deploy its capital in a balanced way between shareholder value creation, reinvestment in the business, and taxes and financial commitments is anticipated. The Group's financial policy will prioritize deleveraging, with the objective to be below 2.5x in 2020.

Additional information

Altran's Board of Directors met on 5 September 2018 to review the H1 2018 financial statements. The Statutory Auditors have performed a limited review of the Group's H1 2018 and H1 2017 financial data.

The Group's Interim financial report is available on the Company website www.altran.com.

Financial calendar

26 October 2018: Q3 2018 revenues

28 February 2019: Full year 2018 results

Glossary

Operating margin is made up of the difference between the Revenues and the net operating expenses

Organic growth is the reported growth restated for the impact of perimeter and change effects

Economic growth is the organic growth restated for the variation in the number of working days

Free Cash Flow: Operating margin + D&A + non-cash P&L - non-recurring items cash impact +/- WCC - Capex - net interest and financial expense paid - tax paid





A conference call for investors will be held on

Thursday 6 September at 9:00 am Paris time (CET)

Telephone numbers: +33172727403 or +442071943759

Confirmation Code: 23940721#

About Altran

Altran ranks as the undisputed global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), following its acquisition of Aricent. The company offers clients an unmatched value proposition to address their transformation and innovation needs. Altran works alongside its clients, from initial concept through industrialization, to invent the products and services of tomorrow. For over 30 years, the company has provided expertise in aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, finance, life sciences, railway and telecommunications. The Aricent acquisition extends this leadership to semiconductors, digital experience and design innovation. Combined, Altran and Aricent generated revenues of 2.9 billion in 2017, with some 45,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

www.altran.com

Contacts

Stephanie Bia

Group Vice-President Investor Relations

Tel: + 33 (0)1 46 41 72 01

stephanie.bia@altran.com

Marine Boulot

Group Vice-President Communications

Tel: + 33 (0)1 46 41 71 73

marine.boulot@altran.com

Follow us on Twitter: @Altran

DISCLAIMER

This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended) based upon current management expectations. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors (including, risks relating to: government legislation affecting our businesses; competition; our ability to manage rapid technological change in the industries in which we compete; litigation risks, labour issues; unanticipated costs from disposals or restructuring) may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. Many of the factors that will determine our future results are beyond our ability to control or predict. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and, therefore, actual results may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which reflect our views only as of the date of this presentation. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



Adjusted for non-cash PPA expenses arising from the Aricent acquisition, acquisition fees, insurance premium, one-offs related to the Group refinancing, integration costs, net of tax impacts.

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: ALTRAN TECHNOLOGIES via Globenewswire


ArcelorMittal S.A. /ArcelorMittal reaches labour agreement with Ilva's trade unions. Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

6 September 2018 - ArcelorMittal (the Company) announces that it has today reached a provisional labour agreement with Ilva's trade unions. The agreement is an important milestone in AM Investco Italy Srl (AM Investco)'s proposed acquisition of Ilva S.p.A (Ilva).

The key terms of the provisional agreement are as follows:

The labour agreement details a solution for every member of Ilva's existing workforce.

ArcelorMittal has committed to initially hire 10,700 workers based on their existing contractual terms of employment.

In addition, between 2023 and 2025 ArcelorMittal has committed to hire any workers who remain under Ilva's extraordinary administration.



The agreement will now be voted on by Ilva's employees before being formally ratified.

Commenting, Geert Van Poelvoorde, CEO of ArcelorMittal Europe Flat Products, said:

"The agreement we have reached with Ilva's unions meets the two major objectives we set out at the start of negotiations: to find an acceptable solution for every employee at Ilva; and to reach an agreement that reflects Ilva's economic reality and provides a sound base for it to have a sustainable future. I would like to thank the Minister of Economic Development for his support and also the union representatives with whom we engaged during these discussions. They are a very important stakeholder and we will work to maintain a positive and constructive dialogue with them in the future."

Aditya Mittal, ArcelorMittal Group President and CFO, and CEO, ArcelorMittal Europe, added:

"I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone who worked with such commitment to reach today's agreement and in particular Minister di Maio. There is now a clear path towards closing the transaction and starting the important work of rehabilitating Ilva. We are keen to get started as soon as possible as Ilva requires urgent investment to address its environmental and operational challenges. Once we formally take ownership of Ilva, our priority will be to ensure operational stability, while also starting to implement our significant, 2.4 billion investment programmes. This comprises both our industrial plan and the environmental plan which has been further strengthened during our discussions with the acceleration of key projects.

"Ilva is an important strategic opportunity for ArcelorMittal. We are confident that under our stewardship it can have a strong future, make an important contribution to the communities in which it operates and once again be recognised as a competitive and leading player in the European steel industry."

Legal completion of the transaction and formal commencement of AM Investco's lease and purchase agreement for Ilva is now expected on 1 November 2018.

ENDS

About ArcelorMittal

ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, we are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks.

Through our core values of sustainability, quality and leadership, we operate responsibly with respect to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and the communities in which we operate.

For us, steel is the fabric of life, as it is at the heart of the modern world from railways to cars and washing machines. We are actively researching and producing steel-based technologies and solutions that make many of the products and components people use in their everyday lives more energy efficient.

We are one of the world's five largest producers of iron ore and metallurgical coal. With a geographically diversified portfolio of iron ore and coal assets, we are strategically positioned to serve our network of steel plants and the external global market. While our steel operations are important customers, our supply to the external market is increasing as we grow.

In 2017, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $68.7 billion and crude steel production of 93.1 million metric tonnes, while own iron ore production reached 57.4 million metric tonnes.

ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS).



For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/
In South America, Brazil is giving tiny neighbor Uruguay (population 3.5 million) 25 retired M41C light tanks. These will replace 17 M24 light tanks Uruguay has had since 1958. The Brazilian military is the largest and most modern in South America but older military equipment still finds uses because there have not been a lot of wars in South America since the 19th century. In fact, the last major war between two South American nations was in the 1930s, between Bolivia and Paraguay. This Great Chaco War was fought over a desert area thought to contain oil deposits but these were never found. The Chaco region is hot, sparsely populated and a popular tourist attraction.

Because of the lack of wars between nations for in South America the military budgets tend to be small and the military, especially the army, is seen as backing for the police. New military equipment is recognized as an unnecessary expense and South American nations have become quite adept at maintaining, often by rebuilding and upgrading, older equipment.

The Uruguayan army has 15,000 personnel and the ancient M24 first entered service in 1944 and were retired by the U.S. Army in 1953 and replaced by the 21 ton M41 which entered service in 1951 and was used by the United States until the late 1960s. Many of the 5,700 built were sold or given to American allies and there are at least six nations still using several hundred of them. Uruguay already has 22 M41s which it has upgraded to include a 90mm gun replacing the 76mm gun all M41s originally had. The 25 Brazilian M41Cs are also upgraded but still have the 76mm gun. Most of the Brazilian M41Cs will be used for spare parts to keep about 40 M41s in service for another decades or so.

The Uruguayan Army has over 400 armored vehicles, most of them wheeled vehicles. While it has fifteen refurbished (by Israel, after capturing them and selling them to Uruguay) Russian T-54 tanks the most frequently used Uruguayan tanks are the M24s and M41s. Because the wheeled armored vehicles are cheaper to maintain and operate they are the most frequently used armored vehicles. Uruguay armored vehicles dont much use besides training. Some Uruguayan troops do have combat experience, but not in Uruguay.

Uruguayan soldiers often serve on peacekeeping missions and the country has not been at war with another nation since War of the Triple Alliance (allied with Brazil and Argentina against neighbor Paraguay) that ended in 1870 with Uruguay losing about 3,000 dead. Paraguay lost much of its territory and over half its population killed. For most of the last 150 years, Uruguay was ruled by elected governments but there was always a strong military, relative to its size, in part because there was one civil wars and major insurrections before elected government became the norm in the 1980s. Nevertheless, the military is more a way to provide jobs than to create a modern military force. That civil service approach tends to work in South America because of the lack of external enemies and the American Monroe Doctrine discouraging nations from outside the Americas from being a threat. The last time there was a war between a South American nation and one from outside the Americas was the 1982 Falklands War when Argentina seized the British Falkland Islands (which Argentina had long claimed) and Britain quickly took them back and that was the end of that. The Americans did not intervene (although they did render some assistance to NATO ally Britain). Uruguay is one of the most prosperous and corruption free nations in South America and, per-capita, the largest contributor of peacekeepers in the world.
Sudan is claiming that it will play a supervisory role in rebuilding war-torn South Sudans national army. The latest revised peace deal between South Sudan and the rebels (SPLM-IO) calls for the formation of a unified national army. That means rebel units and individual rebels must be integrated into the army. Prior to December 2013 when the civil war erupted, several rebel units still on the battlefield were units in the army. South Sudan was once part of Sudan, so Sudanese involvement in rebuilding South Sudans military is a bit ironic. However, that appears to be acceptable to South Sudans warring parties and to the IGAD (East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development) mediators. The peace agreement calls for the creation of a high-level technical integration committee (HLTIC). The committee will establish eligibility requirements for individuals seeking to join the army, police and internal security forces, and prison, fire brigade and wildlife services. Presumably, Sudanese officials would serve on the committee. (Austin Bay)

September 5, 2018: South Sudan expects to revive its oil production and return to peak production of 350,000 BPD (barrels per day) by 2019. Current production is 20,000 BPD, mainly because of disruptions caused by the civil war. By catching up on some delayed maintenance production should reach 80,000 PBD by the end of the year.

September 4, 2018: Some refugee camps outside the capital will have their inhabitants moved back to their home areas as quickly as possible. The urgency is the result of growing violence inside the camps, whose population is mainly women and children, between members of feuding groups.

September 2, 2018: South Sudan and Ethiopia have agreed to create a joint border security force to insure the safety of South Sudanese and Ethiopians living in the border area. There have been several mass kidnapping incidents. In 2016 South Sudanese Murle tribesmen abducted over 100 Ethiopian children. That resulted in tribesmen from Ethiopias Gambella border region carrying out raids into South Sudan. The joint force would also intercept smugglers. Both countries are particularly concerned about illegal weapons. Stopping illegal weapons trafficking would be a primary joint border security force mission.

September 1, 2018: Despite the new peace agreement, it appears a serious ceasefire violation has already occurred in South Sudan. Rebels claim that on August 29 soldiers began attacking rebel positions in the Yei River state. This is the first serious ceasefire violation accusation since July 20 when government forces attacked rebel positions in the south (Yei River state). The rebel accusation is detailed and credible. On August 29 soldiers based in Yei Town and Pakula assaulted rebel positions in the town of Kupera Payam. Prior to attacking Kupera, soldiers in armored vehicles seized an outlying position called Jamara Center. Rebel units withdrew from Kupera to avoid civilian casualties. Since the initial assault, the army has reinforced the units in Kupera. Some reinforcements arrived on August 30. The rebels called on UN peacekeepers and ceasefire monitors to investigate the attack and condemn the ceasefire violations.

August 30, 2018: The rebel leader (Riek Machar) signed a revised peace agreement with the government. The government and mediators assured the rebels that any unresolved issues regarding power sharing will be favorably resolved.

August 29, 2018: Sudan and Egypt announced that in October they will sign over 20 agreements that will help resolve outstanding diplomatic issues. The agreements will also encourage business cooperation, with tourism a common interest. The agreements will also encourage cooperation in energy development (oil and gas), education, agriculture and public health.

August 28, 2018: Sudan continues to maneuver diplomatically with Egypt. The Sudanese Army has agreed to work with Egyptian security forces to fight terrorism and maintain security along the countries shared border. But the GERD (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam) on the Nile River disputes have yet to be resolved. Egypt sees the potential denial of Nile River water as a fundamental threat. On the issue of Nile River water and the GERD, Sudan is literally caught between Egypt and Ethiopia. Sudan sees the GERD as a major hydro-electric power source.

August 22, 2018: In South Sudan soldiers belonging to rebel faction have rejoined the army. Brigadier General Chan Garang announced that he and some 300 officers and troops will rejoin the army. Garang defected in 2017 and joined the rebels (SPLM-IO). He later left the main rebel coalition to join another rebel faction. Garang contends he defected because of atrocities by pro-government forces.

August 18, 2018: Sudan insists that the next series of Two Areas (South Kordofan and Blue Nile states) peace talks be held without any preconditions. Since 2011 two factions of the SPLM-N revels in those states have been waging a guerrilla war against the government. The African Union is sponsoring what it calls comprehensive peace talks to end the war and institute democratic reforms.

August 16, 2018; Sudan and Ethiopia have agreed to pull back soldiers from disputed border regions. They will also create a joint bordering monitoring and protection force. Sudans Gedaref state has been particularly troublesome. Sudanese farmers accuse Ethiopians of illegally occupying land in the area. The two countries are also undertaking a new border demarcation effort.

August 14, 2018: In western South Sudan (Bahr el Ghazal state) refugees now reaching the town of Wau reported that since the end of July there have been sporadic tribal fighting in a remote area of the state. Western. The primary belligerents have been two armed groups in the in the Mboro and Bisellia areas where the town of Nagero was also attacked.

August 13, 2018: In Sudan, the defense ministry announced that Sudan will continue to improve military and economic cooperation with Russia. A Russian oil company is preparing to look for oil in Sudan.

August 9, 2018: In South Sudan, the president (Salva Kiir) officially gave amnesty to the main rebel leader (and former South Sudan vice president) Riek Machar and all rebel groups. The amnesty follows the signing of a new power-sharing agreement between the government and the rebels.

In Sudan senior leaders in the National Congress Party (NCP) unanimously recommended party members amend the NCP constitution so current Sudan president Omar al Bashir can be the party nominee in upcoming presidential elections. The current NCP constitution limits a party presidential candidate to two terms. There is also a move underway in Sudans legislature to abolish a Sudanese constitutional law that limits presidential terms. Abolishing it will let Bashir run for a third term, and more in the future thus becoming president-for-life. Bashir needs that because he is an indicted war criminal and being president of Sudan makes it possible for him to do some traveling outside the country without risking arrest.

August 8, 2018: In western Sudan, three Darfur rebel groups have agreed to extend for three more months a unilateral Cessation of Hostilities for Humanitarian Purposes in the western Sudan region. The rebel groups involved are SLM-MM, SLM-A and JEM. The Sudan Liberation Movement, another major Darfur rebel group, continues to refuse to engage in peace discussions.

August 7, 2018: In South Sudan, several members of opposition parties are criticizing the on-going peace negotiations between the government and its political opponents. Some of the splinter parties are not part of SPLM-IO (the main rebel coalition). The splinter parties say their concerns are being ignored. One key demand the small parties share with many SPLM-IO members is the unpopular recent partition of South Sudans original ten states into 32 states. Several opposition party members are also suspicious of Sudans motives. The peace talks are being held in Sudan and Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir is playing a prominent role in facilitating the negotiations or the 10 versus 32 states issue.

August 6, 2018: The UN-African Union hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur announced that 1,229 former rebel combatants had successfully completed demobilization training exercise. The rebels belonged to rebel organizations that had accepted peace terms that included amnesty and demobilization.
Highlights:



Global 230 patient (8 sites) study confirms Medibios Depression Diagnostic Aide (DX04)

With 70% accuracy, 70% sensitivity and 71% specificity results demonstrate utility in long-term monitoring

Study results support the FDA DeNovo submission

Diagnostic algorithm designed to provide mental health practitioners with an objective technology to aide in assessment of depression

Demonstrated positive predictive value up to 72% and negative predictive value up to 78%

SYDNEY, Australia and MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medibio Limited (MEB or the Company)(ASX: MEB)(OTCQB: MDBIF), a mental health technology company, today announced results from the pivotal clinical study evaluating the accuracy of its clinical prediction algorithm. Results show statistical accuracy of the algorithm to detect a Major Depressive Episode (MDE). This validation is a significant achievement in the companys development of an objective test for aiding in the diagnosis of depression in patient care. The Company is excited by the findings of the clinical study and believes the results and medical needs for our technology support our FDA DeNovo application.

Key benefits of the clinical study results include:

1) Multiple intended scientific publications and support of the FDA DeNovo submission

2) Shows effectiveness as an adjunctive diagnostic aide

3) Accuracy of 70% with 70% sensitivity and 71% specificity

4) Results indicate 20-40% improvement from current diagnostic standard 1,2,3,4

5) Patent-pending algorithm provides sophisticated and accurate measurements; potential for long-term monitoring of mental disorders

6) Study targeted general population in a normal-daily-home environment

Clinical Studys Medical Benefit

The technology is a step forward in the search for objective digital biomarkers of depression and other mental illnesses supported by clinical prediction models, taking into consideration that inter-rater disagreement is common in mental health conditions. Among the most common reasons for discord are: interpretation variances (39%), followed by information variance (30%), criterion variance (27%), and observation variance (4%). 5

Medical benefits of the Medibio algorithm is the improvement of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, and reduction of under-diagnosis, as compared to patients who only received clinical assessments. The results provide further validation of Medibios proposition that psychiatric conditions differentially affect the autonomic nervous system (ANS), resulting in anomalies of cardiac and sleep functions. This proposition is based on over 15 years of research investigating ANS disturbances linked to mental state and their observation via the cardiovascular system during sleep when external influences are absent.

Clinical Study Results

The Depression Diagnostic Aide (DX04) study was a global, pivotal, case-controlled trial designed to evaluate and accurately classify a patient as having a depressive episode or not. The study was conducted in eight sites across the United States and Australia. During the study, subjects were clinically diagnosed for neuropsychiatric disorders and assessed by the algorithm. The primary efficacy endpoint was based on specificity and sensitivity. As a secondary efficacy endpoint, the repeatability of the algorithm was used to establish accuracy in identifying the presence of MDE.

For patients that completed a full-course monitoring of four scans (over two weeks), the sensitivity and specificity to detect and monitor MDE symptoms was 70%-71% - AUC 0.7 vs. single and shorter recordings 60%-63% - AUC 0.6. When covariates such as age and sex were added, the sensitivity and specificity were 70%-69% - AUC 0.8 vs 65%-62% - AUC 0.7, respectively. Using the first of four continuous scans and a prevalence sample size balance of 60%, the positive predictive value is 72% and the negative predictive value is 78%, both with a 95% confidence interval.

Medibios algorithm distinguished accurately between individuals with MDE and non-depressed controls in 70%-71%. The algorithm is designed to provide mental health practitioners with an objective technology to aide in assessment of MDE. These results are superior to known depressive inter-rater agreement values that range from 0.64-0.481,2,3,4.

Along with the clinical study protocol and results, the FDA review of the Companys full application also includes medical claims, intended use, instructions for use, safety, efficacy, usability, and labeling claims. The technology is part of the Medibio platform which aides diagnosis of other mental health disorders.

The following table represents results of the clinical study:





Covariates



Sample Size Observed Value p-value (1-sided) N of

Scans MDE +

Subjects MDE -

Subjects Hypothesis

Test Sensitivity Specificity Sensitivity Specificity 4 None 40 42 Ho: p < .6 .70 .71 .098 .073 3 None 67 66 Ho: p < .6 .69 .64 .066 .25 2 None 83 83 Ho: p < .6 .63 .63 .29 .29 1 None 84 84 Ho: p < .6 .60 .63 .50 .56

Comparison to Prior Studies

Early development phases of this algorithm, including the previously reported MACH-3 pilot study results (August 2017), were used to support this hypothesis with respect to initial clinical study protocol and functionality. Prior studies were based on a low hypothesis rate, had low study subjects, used a limited number of study sites, and were completed in controlled environments.

This current multi-center clinical trial (DX04) is the pivotal study to support FDA filing for the technology. The study enrolled 230 patients at 8 clinical study sites and was designed to evaluate the technologys performance for detecting MDE compared to the subjective interview of a physician. In the study, the algorithm was able to correctly identify the presence of MDE 70% of the time, and was able to correctly identify those patients who did not have MDE 71% of the time.

About Medibio Limited

Medibio (ASX: MEB) (OTCQB: MDBIF) is a mental health technology company that has pioneered the use of objective digital biomarkers to assist in the screening, diagnosing, monitoring and management of depression and other mental health conditions. The company was founded in Australia, with offices located in Melbourne (Vic), Perth (Wa) and U.S. offices in Minneapolis, MN. Medibio is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd and trades on the OTCQB Venture Market. Investors can find additional information on www.otcmarkets.com and www.asx.com.au

Further Information: Website: www.medibio.com.au

Medibio Enquiries:

Josh Purdy

Senior Public Relations Manager

Medibio Limited

josh.purdy@medibio.com.au

T: +1 952 314 1216 Australian Media Enquiries:

Peter Taylor

NWR Communications

peter@nwrcommunications.com.au

T: +61 (0) 412 036 231

Sources:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Coro Mining Corp. (Coro or the Company) (TSX:COP) is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of the Sierra Miranda claims, a package of concessions adjoining the Marimaca 1-23 claim. The acquisition of these claims is a major milestone because the combination of the various Marimaca, Sierra Miranda, La Atomica and Naguayan claims completes the consolidation of the greater Marimaca district. With a comprehensive financing plan recently announced, the Company will have the land package and financial resources in place to undertake a significant exploration program to expand and determine the full resource potential of the Marimaca district.



Commenting on the announcement, Luis Tondo, President and CEO of Coro said: I am pleased to announce that we have now completed the acquisition of the Sierra Miranda claims, and therefore the consolidation of ground that we consider prospective around the original Marimaca claim, to form the greater Marimaca district. This was the first step in our strategy to realise value at Marimaca and with a further financing in place, we will advance that strategy with a US$10 million resource expansion and exploration drill program to fully understand the potential at this exciting new copper district.

Marimaca Project Area

As geological confidence in a greater Marimaca resource has grown, the Company has moved decisively to establish ownership over the prospective claims that surround the Marimaca 1-23 claim.

In June 2018, the Company announced the results of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Marimaca 1-23 claim. This DFS covered only a fraction of the bigger Marimaca area, being a condition for Coro to earn a 51% interest in the property owner, Compania Minera Newco Marimaca (CMNM). It is the Companys intention to exercise its option to acquire a further 24% of CMNM by contributing its Ivan processing plant.

The Company has now consolidated ownership of the wider Marimaca district with the acquisition of the Sierra Miranda claims. Furthermore, the option payments due over the next 12 months to acquire the Naguayan and La Atomica 1-10 claims will be paid with funds from the recent private placement, ensuring control of the district.

Sierra Miranda Claims

The Sierra Miranda Claims cover 379 hectares adjoining the core Marimaca 1-23 claim immediately to the north and south.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/023b825b-960a-4c5a-9bae-25ca512e5f15

The most important areas within the Sierra Miranda package are adjacent to the Marimaca 1-23 and La Atomica 1-10 claims. Surface and underground mapping and sampling has shown that very attractive brochantite rich Marimaca style copper mineralization extends for at least 700 metres from the northern boundary of the Marimaca 1-23 claim.

The total consideration for the Sierra Miranda claims was US$6.0 million and they are subject to a 2% NSR.

Marimaca District Exploration Program

The company will invest US$10 million in the Marimaca District resource expansion and exploration program. The main objective is to reveal the copper oxide resource potential at La Atomica and Atahualpa-Santa Maria properties (part of the Sierra Miranda claims), which can be combined with the existing known Marimaca 1-23 claim and thereby the resources across the whole Marimaca district. The company has initiated an 8,500 metre reverse circulation drill program at La Atomica and drill platforms are being established on the adjacent Atahualpa and Santa Maria, in preparation for the copper oxide resource discovery and expansion drill program. Additional surface exploration work, including detailed outcrop geological mapping as well as geochemical sampling, will be conducted elsewhere on the newly acquired claims to further define exploration drill targets. Details of the full program will be provided, following the completion of the rights offering currently underway and expected to complete at the end of September 2018.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

LUIS TONDO, PRESIDENT & CEO.



Sergio Rivera, Vice President of Exploration, Coro Mining Corp, a geologist with more than 37 years of experience, a member of the Colegio de Geologos de Chile and of the Instituto de Ingenieros de Minas de Chile, and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101 was responsible for the design and execution of the exploration program and he is also responsible for the contents of this news release

Contact Information

For further information please visit www.coromining.com or contact:

Nicholas Bias, VP Corporate Development & Investor Relations

+1 (604) 682 5546 x202 or +44 (0)7771 450 679 | nbias@coromining.com

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements in this press release may be included. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Coro, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the ability of Coro to satisfy the conditions precedent to conversion of the loan and managements discretion to reallocate the use of proceeds as well as those factors disclosed in the Companys documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Coro undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements contained herein whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
SOMERVILLE, Mass., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WaveSense, Inc., making the world a safer place through commercialization of its military-proven ground-penetrating radar (GPR) for autonomous vehicles, today announced it has closed a $3M seed round. Led by Rhapsody Venture Partners , with participation from Vas Ventures, NOMO Ventures, and other leading VC firms, this investment will fund WaveSenses development of a commercial version of its military proven sensor.



Using ground-penetrating radar, WaveSense creates subterranean maps by scanning up to 10 feet below the roadbed to lock on to unique underground features like soil layers, rocks and pipes. As the vehicle drives, the WaveSense sensor scans the road bedding about 126 times per second and compares the scans to its onboard map to determine the exact vehicle position in relation to the vehicles road lane. This mode of navigation has been utilized by the US military and demonstrated to be accurate to within a few centimeters at standard highway speeds, even during night time whiteout snowstorm conditions.

The opportunity and challenges for autonomous vehicles are well documented, said Carsten Boers, Managing Partner of Rhapsody Venture Partners. The focus in our evaluation of WaveSense was to understand where this new sensor fits within the existing sensor stack. Current sensors, from LIDAR, through cameras, to automotive radar, all face a similar challenge: to make sense of the constantly changing environment we drive through. One day you have leaves on top of road markings, the next day youre driving through a snow storm. WaveSense addresses an unsolved problem in a unique way: To place the vehicle securely in all conditions, it looks underneath the road. Doing so is necessary for safe autonomous driving and naturally is also an important safety feature also for assisted driving. Were very excited to help WaveSense bring this military grade technology to the broader market.

We greatly appreciate the support from our new investors as we now move forward aggressively to buildout the WaveSense team and our product commercialization timelines, said Tarik Bolat, WaveSense CEO. This technology has been proven to be highly effective and accurate by our military in the variety of harsh conditions in Afghanistan, and we are working closely with a number of automotive OEMs and industry partners to integrate WaveSense as a key lifesaving technology for the booming self-driving market.

About WaveSense

WaveSense is the first company in the world to offer self-driving vehicle navigation based on ground penetrating radar at commercial scale. Its mission is to enable self-driving vehicles to navigate any road safely, precisely and reliably in all conditions. It is the exclusive worldwide license holder for utilizing ground-penetrating radar for localization of vehicles. WaveSense was founded in 2017 and is based on technology developed for and deployed with the US military. For more information on WaveSense, visit www.wavesense.io and follow us on Twitter at @ wavesense_inc .

About Rhapsody Venture Partners

Rhapsody Venture Partners is an early-stage venture investor in Cambridge, MA that funds applied science and engineering companies. Rhapsodys team works side-by-side with entrepreneurs to develop industry partnerships that accelerate commercialization and growth. Rhapsodys portfolio includes high-impact companies such as Apeel Sciences, LiquiGlide, Manus Bio, Hazel Technologies and Fluid Efficiency. For more: www.RhapsodyVP.com and on Twitter at @rhapsodyvp
New invention to detect drowsy drivers and avoid accidents By Quintus Perera View(s): View(s):

Road accidents occur due to many reasons such as negligent and rash driving, driving under the influence of liquor and drivers falling asleep. Consequent to research, it has been found that 12 per cent of accidents in Sri Lanka are caused due to drowsy and sleepy drivers. These numbers exceed the number of accidents that occur due to drunken drivers.

Around four years ago, a young engineering graduate from the Moratuwa University, Ashok Kumara and Ian Karunaratne, an MBA graduate from the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM), along with a group of friends went on a three -day trip to Nuwara Eliya.

While nearing Nuwara Eliya, Mr. Kumara felt uneasy when he looked out of the vehicle and saw a steep precipice. He thought that if the vehicle topples down the precipice the utter disaster would be chaotic, if by any chance the driver falls asleep.

The idea unnerved him and with his excellent engineering knowledge he was determined to formulate a device to sound an alarm before a driver falls asleep. It led to the birth of the invention Anti-Sleep Driver Alert System (ASDA) which is 90 per cent accurate. The IP protected device could be made available at an affordable price.

To achieve this end, the duo obtained a technological grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) with the aim of marketing the product internationally. To find out the details of the ASDA, Ms. Nishanthi Subramaniam, Scientific Officer, NSF, accompanied the Business Times (BT) team to the company location, SleepAlert.me, GPD Building, No 57, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7.

The product makes drivers alert when they feel sleepy and it uses both eye blinking rate and driving pattern (steering pattern) for detecting drowsiness to sound an early warning.

Ms. Subramaniam said that NSF awarded the grant after carefully going through the usefulness in avoiding fatal road accidents, when drivers fell asleep. She said that before granting the award the NSF expert committees have very carefully gone through the project profile and on their assessment the decision was made to award the grant.

Elaborating on the potential socio economic impact, she indicated the benefit of this product in saving lives and saving millions of rupees of damage in Sri Lanka and in the world. The product with latest technology can compete in the global market and ultimately generate foreign currency to Sri Lanka.

At his second floor office, Mr. Kumara said that ASDA detects the drowsiness level by using both eye blinking rate and driving pattern thereby accuracy is increased.

He indicated that the device has inbuilt GPS (Global Positioning System) to detect speed and acceleration to adapt detection algorithms according to the situation.

This is the only product developed based on the weather adaptive algorithms and uses a combination of light and sound for drowsiness alerting. Further, it has the customised alerts system while existing products have static alert system.

He pointed out that their ASDA is small in size when compared to existing products in the market. It is similar to the size of a mobile phone and is seven times cheaper than the existing ones in the market and gives high level of accuracy. He asserted that the online survey, which the inventors had carried out, revealed three key purchasing determinants (KPD)  effectiveness, convenience and affordability. Based on the survey it is found to be that ASDA is way above the existing products, he commented.

He said that his vision to invent such a device came because the probability of fatal accidents occurring increases when a driver falls asleep and the lives of others in the vehicle also rests on one individual.

He said that they have considered all the available options. Through his invention, he visualized the best way to alert the sleepy driver is the loud alarm system connected to the stereo sound system available inside the vehicle.

If we can adequately alert the driver that would save lives. I needed some assistance and it has ideally come through NSF and to suit the requirements of the NSF I prepared a profile of the project and submitted it to the NSF for consideration. The financial grant so awarded by the NSF is in the range of Rs. 3.5 million, he said.

The NSF is not providing any technical assistance, but most importantly they granted necessary finances to take the project off the ground, he stressed. He pointed out that the whole project involved very hard work.

He said that the alerting device resembles a mobile telephone, but it is not a telephone. He said We use the mobile telephone but feed it into the software that has the feelers and the other technicalities inside the mobile telephone unit.

He said It is a telephone but the idea is if you think about the technical side, the economies of scale, it is difficult to find the exact hardware and if it is so the hardware would be very expensive. We can install commodity hardware if it is freely available and can modify them according to our requirements. Based on that we searched for the available hardware. From that we selected the mobile telephone device as the most common which we can easily modify.

The device has to actually work in the night. The night vision part is also included as a component, he said. It could be operated during the day or night.

The device is fixed in front of the driver across the steering wheel that could directly identify the movement or the blinking eyes of the driver. It first identifies the head, then identifies the eyes and then identifies eye blinking. By using the blinking rate it identifies two things  one is whether the driver is sleeping or not and closing the eyes for more than one second.

The other one is the drowsiness. He said that drowsiness is the condition where one feels sleepy, but not sleeping. When a person is sleepy his blinking rate will be reduced. They then, he said, profile the blinking rate and from that the product identifies whether the driver is sleepy or not. It can detect whether the vehicle is moving or not and if not moving the alarm will not sound.

They applied for the NSF technological grant as individuals and are now in the process of forming a corporate body in the name and style of Sleep Alert.me. The duo maintains a lab with six people working at Wijerama, Nugegoda.
The Cheyenne County Commissioners returned from the Labor Day weekend to approve the 2018-2019 county budget.

The budget was approved with all commissioners present at 1 percent under the 2017-2018 budget at $6,101,288.26. The approved 2017-2018 budget came in at $6,582,000.

BoardChairman Darrell Johnson said the board has reduced the county budget by 1 percent each of the last four years.

The budget includes a mill levy of .40900 compared to the 2017-18 mill levy of .419891. The mill levy will generate $5,977,250 for the county, according to Johnson.

Johnson said the 1 percent reductions are across the board, fairly even reductions for each department. He added there was good cooperation from the elected officials and department managers.

I thought it went well, he said.

In other business, the commissioners reviewed and approved an engineering agreement for inspection services on Cheyenne County Road 46 overlay from County Road 131 to County Road 139. The commissioners also received an update on status of cases pending before the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission.

The board also reviewed proposed changes to the bylaws of the Cheyenne County Visitors Committee. Tourism Director Kevin Howard said the changes keep the tourism board inline with state statutes. Among the clarifications, the board will also include two alternates. Alternates will be board members who can participate in discussions but do not have voting authority. Additionally, the tourism board can only make grants to nonprofit organizations. Also, any changes must be presented to the county commissioners before being finalized.

The board also met as the Board of Equalization to review and approve tax list corrections.
In its move to Sidney, Xpanxion will make its local headquarters at 13th and Illinois, where Cabela's set up its first store.

Xpanxion, in partnership with its parent company UST Global, has formally announced it will be expanding operations into Sidney. The move is part of the company's practice to expand its portfolio of services and the geographic footprint of its existing Rural Sourcing ecosystem by opening a new Rural Delivery and Services Center in Sidney.

A leading global technology services provider, Xpanxion, a UST Global Group company, said through a news release that the Sidney center is intended to serve as a major service delivery center for UST Global's healthcare practice. Services will include healthcare platform-based solutions, operations and supporting digital services.

Xpanxion was founded by Nebraska native Paul Eurek, who built the company on the strengths of Midwest standards. Using those strengths, Xpanxion's business focuses on supplying rural IT talent for some of the world's largest and most prestigious brands.

Following that model, Xpanxion will be leasing up to 65,000 sq. ft. of space in downtown Sidney, at the site of the original Cabela's retail store at 13th and Illinois. The building was remodeled several years ago and is now one of the buildings being offered for lease by current owner, Bass Pro.

In its press release, Xpanxion said it will be providing up to 200 jobs. The jobs will feature professional opportunities focused on both technology and healthcare platform services. In addition, Xpanxion and UST Global will invest in training the local workforce in healthcare operations. That could include partnering with other industries and learning institutions to develop "highly capable local talent that can satisfy the future needs of its healthcare and other technology and digital practices," according to the release.

"Xpanxion's commitment to providing an unmatched level of service by rural and global cross-sourcing extends even further with the opening of the new Rural Delivery and Services Center in Sidney, said S. Ramprasad, President of Xpanxion. "We remain fully dedicated to our vision of being a trusted digital technology solutions and innovation partner to our clients and will work tirelessly to do so by leveraging the best and brightest talent. This new center in Sidney embodies Xpanxion's pledge to continuously invest in the rural community and will be a remarkable addition to our global footprint in the tech industry."

According to the release, Xpanxion was attracted to Sidney by the workforce talent available in the area and by a Bass Pro Shops initiative and incentive to create jobs in the Sidney area. Earlier this year, Bass Pro announced its plans to donate unused office buildings at a highly subsidized cost to qualified employers with the goal of attracting employers and creating significant new jobs in the community. Bass Pro Shops continues to aggressively market its offer as well as showcase the opportunity to its extensive vendor network and business partners. Bass Pro's commitment to Sidney has also included support for local education programs in the community.

"We're very excited to welcome Xpanxion to Sidney and look forward to the significant jobs they will bring to the community," said Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. "We hope other companies follow in the footsteps of Xpanxion's leadership team in recognizing the incredible leasing opportunity and talented workforce available in this community. We remain strongly committed to supporting the people of Sidney moving forward."

Melissa Norgard, the city's economic development director, has worked with the companies involved for some time and is glad to be able to see the fruits of local efforts come about.

"The City of Sidney is excited to welcome Xpanxion to the community," Norgard said. "The new opportunities and jobs they will bring to the residents of Sidney couldn't come at a better time. Working with their team on the expansion to Sidney has been a great experience. We look forward to Xpanxion's presence in the community and helping them grow in the coming months and years."

The move also reaped praise from Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts.

"With this new investment in Sidney, Xpanxion continues to create high quality, high paying jobs in Nebraska, adding to our state's fast-growing reputation as a home for the Silicon Prairie tech industry. Thanks to our world-class workforce, Nebraska is the best place in the world to do business, and a destination that high-profile companies like Xpanxion call home," said Ricketts.

To learn more about Xpanxion, visit Xpanxion.com, or it parent company UST Global, go to http://www.ust-global.com.

For those interested in career opportunities with Xpanxion, the City of Sidney & Cheyenne County Economic Development has posted on its Facebook page that they should send their cover letter and resume to [email protected]
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BELGRAVIA CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INC. (CSE:BLGV) (OTCQB:BLGVF) (Belgravia) a 7.6% stakeholder of Tartisan Nickel Corp. (CSE:TN) (Tartisan), today announced that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), a leading independent proxy advisory firm, has come out in support of Belgravias call for change at Tartisan.



ISS Supports Concerned Shareholders of Tartisan Nickel Corp. and Recommends Change is Warranted to Incumbent Board

ISS is recognized as a leading independent proxy and corporate governance advisory firm whose recommendations are relied upon by many major institutional investment firms, mutual and pension funds and other institutional shareholders throughout North America.

Mr. Mehdi Azodi, President and CEO of Belgravia said, Corporate governance, integrity and responsibility to all shareholders is the cornerstone of the capital markets and a vital part of success for microcap companies. The vote of confidence from ISS is an important step in turning around Tartisan and creating value for all shareholders.

In supporting Belgravias call for change, ISS commented as follows:

The dissident has made a compelling case for change in order to tackle operating, strategic and corporate governance issues faced by the business. Moreover, such dissident majority representation is expected to provide a better governance over Tartisans CEO.

Overall, due to significant concerns regarding the existing boards decisions and oversight, which have resulted in poor governance, underperforming share price, increased expense level and questionable strategy, a majority dissident representation on the board seems an appropriate measure at this time.

Vote for the Belgravia nominees - Harvey McKenzie, Norman Brewster, Sidney Himmel and Grant Sawiak on your GREEN proxy or GREEN VIF.

Shareholders are also encouraged to visit www.aNewTartisan.ca to learn more about how the right people with the right plan can work with management to create long term value for all Tartisan shareholders. A copy of Belgravias information circular is also available on Tartisans SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com .

Vote your GREEN form of proxy today or no later than 5:00 p.m. (Toronto time) on Wednesday September 12, 2018 FOR the Belgravia nominees. Even if you have voted the WHITE proxy, it is not too late. A later dated GREEN proxy submission will replace any previously voted WHITE proxy.

Shareholders with questions about voting their shares or for other questions or assistance, please contact Belgravias strategic shareholder advisor and proxy solicitor D. F. King at 1-800-926-4985 toll free in Canada, or 1-212-771-1133 outside of North America (collect calls accepted) or by email at inquiries@dfking.com .

About Belgravia

Belgravia Capital International Inc. is focused on three core business divisions: Incubator, Investments, and Royalty & Management Services. The three divisions of Belgravia are high risk business ventures and expose shareholders to financial risks. The Incubator division provides capital to support the development of early stage companies in the Biotech/Healthcare, Technology, Resources and Medical sectors. Belgravia Holdings, the Investments division, invests in various private and public companies with a focus on value. Belgravia Royalty & Management Services has a royalty and fee income model. Further, the cash and investment asset base provides capital to support expansion on a selective basis.

For more information, please visit www.belgraviacapital.ca

Additional Information:

Belgravia is relying on the exemption under section 9.2(4) of National Instrument 51-102  Continuous Disclosure Obligations ("NI 51-102") to make this public broadcast solicitation. The following information is provided in accordance with corporate and securities laws applicable to public broadcast solicitations.

This solicitation is being made by Belgravia, and not by or on behalf of the management of Tartisan. Tartisans head office address is Suite 1060, 44 Victoria Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1Y2. Tartisan has announced that it has called an annual general and special meeting of shareholders to be held on September 17, 2018 (the "Meeting"). Belgravia intends to file a dissident information circular (the "Dissident Circular") in connection with the Meeting, or any adjournment or postponement thereof, in due course in compliance with applicable securities and corporate laws.

This press release and any solicitation made by Belgravia in advance of the Meeting is, or will be, as applicable, made by Belgravia and not by or on behalf of the management of Tartisan. All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by Belgravia, provided that, subject to applicable law, Belgravia may seek reimbursement from Tartisan for Belgravias out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees, incurred in connection with a successful reconstitution of Tartisan's board of directors. Any proxies solicited by Belgravia may be solicited by way of public broadcast, including through press releases, speeches or publications and by any other manner permitted under applicable laws, including pursuant to a Dissident Circular sent to shareholders of Tartisan. Solicitations may be made by or on behalf of Belgravia, by mail, telephone, fax, email or other electronic means, and in person by directors, officers and employees of Belgravia or by the proposed nominees. Belgravia has engaged the service of D. F. King and may engage D. F. King as soliciting agent to assist with solicitation on behalf of Belgravia.

It is expected that any proxies solicited by Belgravia in connection with the Meeting may be revoked by instrument in writing by the shareholder giving the proxy or by its duly authorized officer or attorney, or in any other manner permitted by law. Belgravia has filed this press release, which contains the information required by section 9.2(4)(c) of NI 51-102 and Form 51-102F5 Information Circular in respect of the Proposed Nominees under Tartisan's company profile on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com .

For further information contact: Mehdi Azodi 416-779-3268 OR MAZODI@BLGV.CA or D. F. King at 1-800-926-4985.
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 ...
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bunker Hill Mining Corp. (the Company or Bunker Hill) (CSE: BNKR) is pleased to announce that it has filed on SEDAR a National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) Technical Report on its Bunker Hill Property located in Idahos Coeur dAlene Mining District.



The Technical Report includes:

A 10-12 million ton Exploration Target comprised of the Quill/Newgard Zones. For comparison purposes, the historical resource estimate for the entire Bunker Hill Property is 9.1 million tons grading 5.08% Zn, 2.35% Pb and 40 g/t Ag (or 1.17 ounces per ton) (See disclosure below regarding historical resource estimate, in section titled Exploration Target); Results of Independent Sampling showing grades for the Quill/Newgard Zones (Levels 9 & 10) averaging 20% Zn, 14% Pb and 247 g/t Ag (or 7.20 ounces per ton), which exceed average historic grades; and a Plan for a US$7.7 million Exploration Program to upgrade the historic resources to an NI 43-101 Indicated Mineral Resource.

Bruce Reid, CEO of Bunker Hill, stated: This report highlights the significant exploration potential of the Bunker Hill Mine. The Exploration Target covers less than 10% of the overall footprint of the Property, and the independent sampling grades from Levels 9 and 10 illustrate the opportunity to exceed historic mined grades using modern grade control methods.

The Technical Report is titled, Technical Report on the Bunker Hill Zinc-Lead-Silver Property, Coeur DAlene Mining District, Shoshone County, Idaho, USA with an effective date of July 6, 2018, and was prepared by David Burga, P.Geo., Alfred S. Hayden, P.Eng., D. Grant Feasby, P. Eng., Richard H. Sutcliffe, PhD, P.Geo. and Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. FEC, CET of P&E Mining Consultants Inc.

Exploration Target

Exploration data developed by previous property operators, including 1,574 historical drill hole assay intervals and 340 stope muck samples, was utilized by a 3D Leapfrog vein modelling tool to outline an Exploration Target of 10 to 12 million tons grading a combined Pb plus Zn grade of 6% to 8% (excluding silver content). The potential tonnages and grades are conceptual in nature and are based on previous drill results that defined the approximate length, thickness, depth and grade of a portion of the historic resource estimate. There has been insufficient exploration to define a current Mineral Resource Estimate and the Company cautions that it is uncertain that further exploration will result in the delineation of a current Mineral Resource Estimate. The Leapfrog model is a conceptual mineralized envelope and is not intended to be a Mineral Resource Estimate. No grade capping, compositing or geostatistics of any kind have been applied.

The historical resource estimate is based on the most recent semi-annual estimate dated January 1, 1991, prepared by Mr. Bob Meyer, Chief Geologist at the Bunker Hill Mine, during the last months of production at the mine. The 1991 historic resource estimate has not been reduced by approximately 30,000 tons of production occurring between January 1 and 19, 1991. The historic resource includes proven, probable, possible and drill indicated reserves which are not consistent with current CIM definitions for Mineral Reserves. Historic resources were calculated by the following method: Volumes (and subsequent tonnage) were calculated by vertical projection from (as per definitions outlined in Section 6.4 of the technical report) level plans of mined out areas. Grades were calculated by averaging the grades on the stope assay map from which the projections were made. Bunker Hill has reviewed the available data, including drill logs and additional supporting information sources, and believes that the historical resource calculation was conducted in a professional and competent manner. Bunker Hill has not undertaken any data verification of the historical data upon which the historic resource estimate is based. The historical resource estimate is the most recent estimate currently available regarding Bunker Hill. A Qualified Person has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical resource estimate as a current Mineral Resource or Mineral Reserve. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current Mineral Resources or Reserves. There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resource estimate, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. Bunker Hill believes these historical results provide an indication of the potential of the properties and are relevant to ongoing exploration. The section below, titled Planned Exploration Program indicates, in the Technical Report authors opinion, what work is required to upgrade or verify the historical resource estimate to a current Mineral Resource Estimate

The Exploration Target, encompassing the Quill and Newgard Zones (see Figure 1 below), only represents a portion of the area covered by the overall historical resource estimate for the Bunker Hill of 9.1 million tons grading 5.08% Zn, 2.35% Pb and 40 g/t Ag [or 1.17 ounces per ton].

To view Figure 1: Conceptional Wireframe Encompassing the Quill and Newgard Zones, please visit the following link: http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b70ca920-13c9-4ea8-b320-0b547c0911a7

Independent Sampling



A Qualified Person contracted by the author of the Technical Report, P&E Mining Consultants Inc., took 12 grab samples for independent assay analysis, the results of which were tabulated in the following table in the Technical Report:

Table 12.2

P&E Verification Samples Comparison Results P&E Assay Results Bunker Hill Mine Working Value P&E Sample Number Bunker Hill Working Area Pb

% Zn

% Ag

g/t Pb

% Zn

% Ag

g/t E5389510 051-53-71 2.17 2.73 26.8 6.0%* 21.77 E5389511 051-53-72 2.77 1.96 21.8 6.0%* 21.77 E5389512 051-53-73 2.24 1.01 23.2 6.0%* 21.77 E5389513 051-53-73 1.17 2.06 13.5 6.0%* 21.77 E5389514 10-35-21 25 25.2 475 2.92 7.32 60.03 E5389515 10-35-21 11.6 20.7 187 2.92 7.32 60.03 E5389516 10-35-21 8.52 24.5 141 2.92 7.32 60.03 E5389517 9-35-21 4.46 10.7 70.8 1.15 3.78 14.93 E5389518 9-35-21 15.3 15.2 226 1.15 3.78 14.93 E5389519 9-35-21 21.9 24 388 1.15 3.78 14.93 E5389520 Surface Stockpile Sample 4.43 12 50.6 N/A N/A N/A E5389521 Surface Stockpile Sample 5.45 11.5 63.3 N/A N/A N/A * Based on the overall average of the UTZ samples and the process plant results when running UTZ mineralization, the overall grades for the UTZ zone were estimated to run a combined grade of 6.0%.

The 051, 10, and 9 codes in the second column in the table above correspond to Level numbers as per Figure 1. The results for Levels 9 and 10, albeit from a very small sample size, indicate grades much higher than average values from historical stope assay maps derived from production stope (car) sampling upon which the historical resource estimate was based. The results for Level 5 are in line with historic stope assay map values.



Planned Exploration Program

The Technical Report proposes a US$7.7 million exploration program which would utilize controlled directional drilling from surface. This program would drill holes on 100 ft. centres on two fences down plunge over the full length of the Leapfrog wireframe encompassing the Exploration Target estimated 10-12 million tons. It is of the opinion of the Technical Report author that this drill hole spacing would be of sufficient density to calculate an Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate.

Qualified Person

Peter Karelse, PGeo. and Eugene Puritch, P.Eng are the Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this document.

About Bunker Hill Mining Corp.

Bunker Hill Mining Corp. has an option to acquire 100% of the Bunker Hill Mine. The Bunker Hill Mine was the largest producing mine in the Coeur D'Alene zinc, lead and silver mining district in northern Idaho. Historically, the mine produced over 35M tons grading on average 8.76% lead, 3.67% zinc, and 155 g/t (4.52 ounces per ton) silver (Bunker Hill Mines Annual Report 1980). Information about the Company is available on its website, www.bunkerhillmining.com, or in the SEDAR and EDGAR databases.

For additional information contact:

Bruce Reid, Chief Executive Officer

(647) 500-4495

br@bunkerhillmining.com Nicholas Konkin, Marketing & Communications

(416) 567-9087

nk@bunkerhillmining.com



Cautionary Statements



Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as within the meaning of the phrase forward-looking information in the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 51-102  Continuous Disclosure Obligations. The forward looking statements made herein are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations or assumptions with respect to, among other things, the ability of the Company to successfully complete the acquisition of the Bunker Hill Mine Complex on the terms as announced or other satisfactory terms or at all, and fund the initial payments for which the Company does not have funds at this time, the Companys present and future financial condition, the Companys ability to secure financing, and the state of financial markets. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan, and may include statements regarding, among other things, the terms of the Bunker Hill Mine Complex acquisition and funding of the acquisition. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, and the Companys financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: the inability of the Company to successfully acquire the Bunker Hill Mine Complex on the terms as announced or other satisfactory terms or at all, and fund the payments for which the Company does not have funds at this time; the inability of the Company to budget and manage its liquidity in light of the failure to obtain additional financing; the inability of the Company to develop or sustain an active public market for its securities; development of changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for precious metals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Companys forward-looking statements. These and other factors made in public disclosures and filings by the Company should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Cautionary Note to US Investors

NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the CIM) Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on November 14, 2004 (the CIM Standards) as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM.

United States investors are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth in the SECs Industry Guide 7 (SEC Industry Guide 7). Accordingly, the Companys disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms mineral resources, inferred mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and measured mineral resources are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and US investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. Further, inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant reserves as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit amounts. The term contained ounces is not permitted under the rules of SEC Industry Guide 7. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a reserve differs from the definition in SEC Industry Guide 7. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a final or bankable feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. The mine economics presented herein and derived from the PEA are preliminary in nature and may not be realized. The PEA is not a feasibility study. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our latest reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. You can review and obtain copies of these filings at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. U.S. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any defined resource will ever be converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant reserves.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
Not many of us love going to see the dentist, and one company working across unified voice, productivity and even IoT systems is out to make the experience of patients and the dental office staff more productive.

Unified Office, a company that is rolling out network-as-a-service (NaaS) to industries with branch offices including chain restaurants, today launched a product called Total Connect Now Dental Management Suite (TCNDMS). This acronym may be difficult to pronounce, especially after a shot of lidocaine or a whiff of nitrous, but is being warmly received by the dental industry, according to the companys news release.

Unified Offices NaaS uses a high-quality routing protocol (HQRP) which enables real-time services such as voice communications to work over an IP-based broadband network (that was not built for real-time communications) with the same quality as the legacy telephone network and without incurring the high cost of legacy telephone circuits.

Total Connect Now Dental Management Suite integrates with leading Dental Practice Management Software Solutions and Unified Offices voice communications platform, converging customer service, scheduling and worker productivity.

They are demonstrating this hybrid cloud-based virtual communications and analytics service at the Southwest Dental conference Sept. 6th through 8th, 2018 in Dallas (booth 333).

Targeting small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), the TCNDMS solution was developed in concert with Unified Offices dental customers like Fanikos Salib Dental Care.

We are so happy to have found Unified Office, said Dr. Daniel Fanikos, DMD. At Fanikos Salib Dental Care we are obsessively dedicated to delivering the highest quality care to our patients. Similarly, Unified Office listens to our problems and then develops concrete, customized solutions that meet the unique needs of our rapidly growing practice. We are very pleased with the high reliability and high quality of their business communications services in addition to the superior customer support we have received from Unified Office.

The dental industry landscape is undergoing rapid change, the pace of which is largely unprecedented, said Ray Pasquale, Founder & CEO of Unified Office. Dentists live in a highly competitive marketplace. For example, consumers have come to expect a one stop shopping experience where they receive all the services they need from a single dental practice. We also live in a real-time world today where consumers expect immediate attention. Missing an inbound call or putting someone on hold or even worse, putting them through to voicemail can result in missing a new patient opportunity or an appointment from an existing patient, both of which can result in lost revenue opportunities and potential reputational harm.

Unified Office provides a highly reliable, high quality, always available voice communications system with unique integrations into the leading dental practice management software platforms such as Dentrix, Opendental and Eaglesoft.

Dental office staff can now easily forward calls to different locations at different times of the day to keep up with their mobile workforce that frequently moves between multiple offices or even within the same office.

The platform also provides an easy to use centralized administration solution for their communications systems across their offices and can be accessed by the device of their choice no matter whey happen to be.

According to the companys press release, benefits include:

Uniformity of services enables their staff to easily bring their offices with them, wherever they happen to be on any given day.

A hybrid, on premise and cloud-based solution that enables the highest quality VoIP offering available with the most reliable and resilient service platform converting calls into dollars.

Business continuity that eliminates down time by finding and fixing problems in most cases before the customer becomes aware of them.

Automated notifications and scheduling.

Superior customer service, 24X7, provided by Unified Office in the US.

Integration with best-in-class dental practice management software.

Rapid installation of their services without interrupting their business.

Cost savings experienced over other options from eliminating the need for costly legacy T1 lines and/or MPLS circuits.

A single end-to-end managed service solution provided by one vendor means one call gets it all done with one partner should an issue arise.

Unified Office provides an at-a-glance view of customer service responsiveness in real-time, along with on-demand and scheduled reporting, and real-time analytics for any single or multilocation business. All of this can be viewed, configured and accessed remotely via the Unified Office fully integrated TCN Operational Management Suite (TCNOMS) web-enabled portal on any device.

Edited by Ken Briodagh
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aldershot Resources Ltd. d.b.a. Solo Growth Corp. (the Company or Solo Growth) (TSX-V: ALZ) is pleased to share our newly launched retail brand, YSS by Solo (YSS), featuring an iconic symbol that conveys that YSS is the trusted destination for adult-use retail cannabis. In addition, Solo Growth is pleased to provide an operational and corporate update and report on the results of voting following our annual general and special meeting (AGM) of shareholders held yesterday.



Solo Growth intends to leverage our extensive real estate expertise and operational acumen to become a premiere retailer and the trusted destination for adult-use cannabis. We are fully funded for the planned opening of over 60 retail cannabis locations across Alberta by the end of 2020, complemented by a calculated expansion into Ontario in 2019. We have continued to advance our business strategy and are pleased to provide an update on our achievements to date.

Highlights:

Construction is underway on our first three retail stores, expected to open on or about October 17, 2018.





An additional six development permits have been granted to Solo Growth, bringing our total number of development permits received to nine.





New retail branding unveiled, YSS by Solo, along with new corporate branding for Solo Growth.





An updated Solo Growth corporate presentation has been posted to the Companys website at www.aldershotresources.com .





. All resolutions were approved by shareholders at the AGM.

In conjunction with a leading national branding and design firm, we created the YSS brand to help break down stigmas in the cannabis space. The colours, packaging and identity are meant to tap into an existing relationship with type treatment that draws inspiration from directional signage and design usually associated with travel, guiding the consumer to feel at ease in the industry.

The brand is being applied across numerous retail locations in Alberta with Ontario to follow in 2019 and will act as a beacon in the cannabis industry, balancing the freshness of a new brand with the proven retail credentials and trust of the Solo Growth and Solo Liquor brand names.

We are very excited to launch our YSS by Solo retail brand and move forward with our plans to provide an adult-use cannabis retail destination that offers customers the experience, commitment and trust they expect from the Solo team, said Pali Bedi, President and CEO of Solo Growth. With a total of nine development permits now granted, and construction already underway on three stores, we are proud of our teams accomplishments in a short timeframe and look forward to continuing this momentum.

Additional Alberta Development Permits Granted

Solo Growth has secured more than 50 retail locations in over 30 communities across Alberta. The Company has applied for Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis Commission (AGLC) licenses for all secured locations. To date, nine development permits have been granted in eight communities (Calgary, Edmonton, Fairview, Lloydminster, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Vegreville and Vermillion) and construction has commenced on three retail outlets (Lloydminster, Vegreville and Vermillion). The first three retail locations are targeted to open upon implementation of Bill C-45 on or about October 17, 2018, subject to final licensing approvals. The Company will work diligently with AGLC during the build out process to ensure full compliance with all policies and regulations. After the delivery of first inventory, the stores will open for business.

Solo Growth has well established relationships with contractors and trades in Alberta and is expected to be in a position to open two additional stores by year end with building plans underway on the remaining development permitted locations. Building on the 2018 and 2019 capital program and the progress made securing retail locations, the Company believes it is on track to meet its fully funded growth target of 25-30 locations by the end of 2019.

Report of Voting Results at Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders

The meeting of shareholders of the Company was held in Calgary on September 5, 2018, where shareholders approved all resolutions listed in the management information circular dated August 6, 2018, including the election of each of the six nominees proposed as directors. The following nominees were elected as directors of the Company to hold office until the next annual general meeting of the shareholders: Pali Bedi, Richard McHardy, Ron Hozjan, Shahin (Sonny) Mottahed, Michael Stark and James Miller. All other resolutions provided for in the information circular were duly passed. Details regarding the resolutions are set out in the information circular which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Solo Growth Corp.TM

The Company is executing on a new retail-focused cannabis business strategy as Solo Growth Corp.. With its proven operational expertise and unique knowledge of the controlled substance retail market, Solo Growth intends to become a premiere retailer and the trusted destination for adult-use cannabis in Canada. The Companys fully funded plans to open over 60 retail cannabis locations across Alberta over the next three years will be complemented by its expansion into Ontario in 2019.

Investor or Media Contacts:

Pali Bedi

Stephanie Bunch

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Vice President, Finance and Phone: (403) 455-7656 Chief Financial Officer Phone: (403) 455-7656 Aldershot Resources Ltd. Suite 1100, 634  6th Avenue S.W. Calgary, AB T2P 0S4 investor@sologrowth.ca OR Cindy Gray 5 Quarters Investor Relations, Inc. (403) 231-4372 or info@5qir.com

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This news release may include forward-looking statements including opinions, assumptions, estimates, the Companys assessment of future plans and operations, and, more particularly, statements concerning Solo Growths proposed business plan and retail cannabis operations in Canada, including: its ability to secure retail locations in Alberta and Ontario; its ability build, own and operate retail cannabis stores; the receipt of necessary permits and licenses to open stores and the timing thereof; and the change of name of the Company. When used in this document, the words will, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, intent, may, project, should, and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by the Company which include, but are not limited to, the timing of the receipt of the required regulatory and third-party approvals, including the receipt of retail cannabis licenses in Alberta and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange of the Companys change of business, and the future operations the Company. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although the Company believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, permits, licences and regulatory and third party approvals not being obtained in the manner or timing anticipated by the Company, construction delays, changes to cannabis laws, the timing of the legalization of recreational cannabis, the availability of cannabis-retail products from licensed producers, the ability to implement corporate strategies, the state of domestic capital markets, the ability to obtain financing, changes in general market conditions and other factors more fully described from time to time in the reports and filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities. Except as required by applicable laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3962145d-8992-4071-addf-e5d4a0a7d760
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:BGM) ("Barkerville" or the "Corporation") announces today that it has entered into a second amended and restated royalty purchase agreement (the "Royalty Purchase Agreement") with Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd ("Osisko") pursuant to which Osisko will acquire from Barkerville, a 1.75% net smelter return ("NSR") royalty on the Cariboo property (the "Property") for the aggregate purchase price of CAD$20 million in immediately available funds (the "Royalty Transaction").



Of the purchase price payable on closing, CAD$2,000,000 will be kept by Barkerville in a segregated restricted account and will not be available to Barkerville until certain conditions precedent are satisfied (the "Restricted Funds"). Those conditions precedent include the delivery to Osisko of certain waivers and consents required from third parties in connection with the Royalty Transaction (the "Conditions Precedent").

Under the terms of the Royalty Purchase Agreement, the Corporation also has the option to grant Osisko an additional 1% NSR on the Property (the "Option Royalty") for additional cash consideration of CAD$13 million, at any point between the closing date of the Royalty Transaction and December 31, 2018 (the "Royalty Option Period"). In order to grant the Option Royalty and receive the additional consideration, Barkerville must have successfully satisfied the Conditions Precedent to the release of the Restricted Funds.

In the event that (i) the Corporation announces a change of control during the Royalty Option Period, or (ii) Osisko participates in an equity financing of the Corporation during the Royalty Option Period, if the Option Royalty remains unexercised, Osisko will have the right to purchase the Option Royalty.

As part of the Royalty Transaction, Barkerville will grant to Osisko 10,000,000 common share purchase warrants of the Corporation (the "Warrants"). The Warrants will be exchangeable for common shares of the Corporation (the "Common Shares") at an exercise price of CAD$0.75 per Common Share for a period of 36 months following the closing of the Royalty Transaction. All securities issued under the Royalty Transaction will be subject to a hold period expiring four months and one day from the date of closing.

The gross proceeds from Royalty Transaction will be used by the Corporation to fund exploration and studies related to the Property and for general corporate purposes. The Royalty Transaction remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Related Party Disclosure

The Royalty Transaction is considered to be a "related party transaction" for purposes of Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") and Policy 5.9  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Corporation is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements available under MI 61-101. The Corporation is exempt from the formal valuation requirement in section 5.4 of MI 61-101 in reliance on sections 5.5(a) and (b) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the transaction is not more than the 25% of the Corporation's market capitalization, and no securities of the Corporation are listed or quoted for trading on prescribed stock exchanges or stock markets. Additionally, the Corporation is exempt from minority shareholder approval requirement in section 5.6 of MI 61-101 in reliance on section 5.7(b) as the fair market value of the transaction is not more than the 25% of the Corporation's market capitalization. The board of directors of Barkerville approved the Royalty Transaction, with Sean Roosen, John Burzynski and Chris Lodder having declared a conflict of interest in, and abstaining from voting on, the matters being considered.

About Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd.

The Corporation is focused on developing its extensive mineral rights package located in the historical Cariboo Mining District of central British Columbia. Barkerville's Cariboo Gold Project mineral tenures cover 1,950 square kilometres; along a strike length of 67 kilometres which includes several past producing placer and hard rock mines, making it one of the most well-endowed land packages in British Columbia. Since the management change in mid-2015, the Corporation has unlocked the fundamental structural controls of gold mineralization. The Company's Brownfield's exploration team is focused on developing and delineating a mineable resource within the 7 kilometers of principle project area located near the town of Wells, British Columbia. The Company's Greenfield's team is developing quality exploration assets throughout the remaining land package through systematic, scientific, exploration. The operation's team is focused on developing and mining the Bonanza Ledge and BC Vein deposits on Barkerville Mountain. This operation allows the company to generate near term cash flow, train a local work force, keeps the present mining permit active, and de-risk's the project through staged production growth. Processing of material from these deposits is processed at the QR mill. QR is a fully owned, permitted mill and tailings facility, located approximately 110 kilometres away from Wells, and can be accessed by an all-season road. For more information on Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd., please contact:

Chris Lodder

President and Chief Executive Officer

155 University Avenue, Suite 1410

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

clodder@barkervillegold.com

416-775-3671

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the completion of the Royalty Transaction, satisfaction of conditions precedent with respect to the release of the Restricted Funds, the Corporation's ability to exercise the Option Royalty and the use of proceeds. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, although not always, identified by words such as "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "project", "target", "potential", "schedule", "forecast", "budget", "estimate", "intend" or "believe" and similar expressions or their negative connotations, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur. All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Barkerville's control, including risks associated with the ability of Barkerville to satisfy the conditions precedent required to release the Restricted Funds and exercise of the Option Royalty; the timing and ability of the Corporation to obtain final approval of the Royalty Transaction from the TSX Venture Exchange, an exemption being available under MI 61-101 and Policy 5.9 of the TSX Venture Exchange from the minority shareholder approval and valuation; the volatility of metal prices; risks and dangers inherent in exploration, development and mining activities; risks of not achieving construction and development timelines and estimates; uncertainty of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; the ability to obtain and maintain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for mining activities; risks related to environmental regulations or hazards and compliance with complex regulations associated with mining activities; fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for construction development and ultimately mining operations; shortages or cost increases in necessary equipment, supplies and labour; regulatory risks; climate change risks; volatility of global financial conditions; risks related to reliance upon contractors and third parties; challenges to title or surface rights; dependence on key personnel; risks associated with conflicts of interest among the Corporation's directors and officers; the risk of an uninsurable or uninsured loss; litigation risk; taxation, including changes in tax laws and interpretation of tax laws; community and aboriginal support for the Corporation's operations including risks related to strikes and the halting of such operations, from time to time; as well as other factors identified and as described in more detail under the heading "Risk Factors" in Barkerville's most recent management discussion and analysis and the Corporation's other filings with Canadian securities regulators, which may be viewed at www.sedar.com.

The list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect the Corporation's forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do, what benefits or liabilities Barkerville will derive therefrom. The Corporation's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Balmoral Resources Ltd. (Balmoral or the Company) (TSX: BAR; OTCQX: BALMF) announced today that it has staked an additional 697 claim units in the Lumby Lake greenstone belt in Ontario ( Figure 1 ). The newly acquired claims increase Balmorals holdings in the belt by more than 16x, making it the dominant land holder. The staking includes the acquisition of two new properties  Goblin and Ghost. The expanded land position ( Figure 2 and Figure 3 ) covers all or portions of at least 21 mapped and interpreted ultramafic volcanic and intrusive bodies, only one of which has ever been drill tested.



The recent discovery of magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralization on the Gargoyle Property enhances the potential for the extensive suite of ultramafic rocks in the Lumby Lake belt to source additional nickel sulphide discoveries. This in an area with obvious logistical advantages to most of the current nickel sulphide focused exploration efforts globally, said Darin Wagner, President and CEO of Balmoral Resources. We are very excited to be the first mover in this belt following the discoveries and to have secured the vast majority of the prospective ultramafic sequence.

Figure 2 shows the expanded Gargoyle Property land position, the recent nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide discoveries, airborne geophysical anomalies based on available government airborne data, and the known extent of ultramafic rocks in this segment of the Lumby Lake belt. Several of the ultramafic units are spatially associated with airborne EM conductors which have not been drill tested, including a series of strong EM anomalies immediately west of the recent discoveries on the original Gargoyle Property ( see Balmoral NR 18-10, August 27 th , 2018 ).

The Goblin Property (see Figure 3 ), located 11 kilometres west of the Gargoyle Property, covers an ultramafic intrusion in an area which was not covered by the aforementioned government airborne survey. The two properties are separated by a large felsic intrusion and appear to represent similar stratigraphic levels within the Lumby Lake belt. Similarly the Ghost Property to the south covers an untested mafic/ultramafic intrusion.

The Lumby Lake belt is one of the oldest known, and most primitive volcanic sequences in the Superior Province. It is similar in age range to the Kambalda nickel camp in Australia which hosts numerous active and historic nickel sulphide mines. Like the Kambalda camp, the Lumby Lake belt features numerous komatiitic volcanic and intrusive sequences intimately intermixed with sulphide-bearing exhalative sedimentary units, which provide an ideal sulphur source for the formation of nickel sulphide mineralization. As with the Companys Grasset deposit and the nickel sulphide deposits in similar host rocks in the Timmins, Ontario region, these primitive ultramafic sequences have the potential to host both high-grade underground and larger tonnage, open-pit nickel sulphide deposits with associated copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium, gold and silver.

Exploration Plans

Balmoral has contracted Geotech Ltd. of Aurora, Ontario to conduct a detailed airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey of the Gargoyle and Goblin Properties with their latest generation VTEM Plus system. The survey is anticipated to commence in October. Following completion of the survey, and weather permitting, the Company will begin a program of prospecting and detailed mapping targeting the ultramafic units within the sequence this fall. This will be followed by ground based geophysical work during the winter of 2018-2019 in preparation for initial drill testing.

Mr. Darin Wagner (M.Sc.; P.Geo. B.C., Ontario), the President and CEO of the Company, is the non-independent qualified person for the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Mr. Wagner has reviewed and approved of the technical information contained within this.

About Balmoral Resources Ltd.  www.balmoralresources.com

Balmoral is a well-funded, multiple award winning, Canadian-focused exploration company currently focused on the identification, exploration and evaluation of nickel and gold opportunities in the prolific greenstone sequences of Ontario and Quebec. Balmoral controls the largest nickel sulphide deposit in the Abitibi greenstone belt  the Grasset nickel-copper-cobalt PGE system  which remains open for expansion. As well, Balmoral controls over 750 square kilometres of the Detour Gold Trend, adjacent to the multi-million ounce Detour Lake gold deposit. Employing a drill focused exploration style in two of the worlds preeminent mining jurisdictions, Balmoral is following an established formula with a goal of maximizing shareholder value through the discovery and definition of high-grade, Canadian mineral assets.

On behalf of the board of directors of

BALMORAL RESOURCES LTD.

Darin Wagner

President and CEO

For further information contact: John Foulkes, Vice-President, Corporate Development

Tel: +1 (604) 638-5815 / Toll Free: +1 (877) 838-3664

E-mail: jfoulkes@balmoralresources.com

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, duration and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the visual continuity of certain mineralized intervals, the potentially open nature of the mineralized zones on the property and the potential for future discoveries of additional mineralization on the property are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believes, expects, anticipates, intends, estimate, postulate and similar expressions or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include those related to weather, equipment and staff availability; performance of third parties; timing of receipt of assay results from third party analytical facilities; risks related to the exploration stage of the Companys projects; market fluctuations in prices for securities of exploration stage companies and in commodity prices; and uncertainties about the availability of additional financing; risks related to the Companys ability to identify one or more economic deposits on the properties, and variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located on the properties; risks related to the Companys ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities on the properties; and risks related to the Companys ability to produce minerals from the properties successfully or profitably. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. All of the Companys public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical reports filed with respect to the Companys mineral properties.

This news release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Companys properties.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SpeachMe ( www.speach.me ), the leading video knowledge transfer solution for the Global 1000, today announced that it has been recognized as a 2018 Hot Vendor in Learning by Aragon Research1, a leading research and advisory firm.



Each year, Aragon Research identifies Hot Vendors in the corporate learning industry with interesting, cutting-edge products, services, or technologies. This recognition follows an $11 million round of funding and the relocation of SpeachMe headquarters to Los Angeles from Paris, France.

SpeachMe is honored to be selected as a Hot Vendor by Aragon Research, said Najette Fellache, CEO and Founder of SpeachMe. To be recognized as an innovative modern knowledge sharing solution by the premiere analyst firm evaluating the corporate learning market confirms our belief that our format, the Speach, is an efficient way to rapidly share best practices through how-to presentations. By empowering employees to create, distribute and manage formal or informal video-based content, we are partnering with organizations across all verticals to help build a culture of continuous learning inside the enterprise.

SpeachMe is a SaaS knowledge transfer solution that enables employees to quickly and easily create and share engaging How-To presentations that feature video, documents and interactive media. SpeachMe has successfully helped organizations that include Airbus, Medtronic, Coca-Cola, GE and Air Liquide enhance employee onboarding, power knowledge sharing and improve corporate training through brief, multimedia tutorials. With the ability to integrate with Learning Management Systems, Microsoft SharePoint and other enterprise portals, SpeachMe is at the forefront of video learning solutions for organizations across all industries.

About SpeachMe

SpeachMe is a cloud-based knowledge transfer solution built to meet the training needs of life sciences organizations. SpeachMe enables employees to quickly and easily create and share engaging How-To presentations with their colleagues through interactive rich media tutorials that feature video, documents and quizzes. Use a Speach to empower your employees to collaborate, communicate and be more productive.

www.speach.me

Aragon Research does not endorse vendors, or their products or services that are referenced in its research publications, and does not advise users to select those vendors that are rated the highest. Aragon Research publications consist of the opinions of Aragon Research and Advisory Services organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Aragon Research provides its research publications and the information contained in them "AS IS," without warranty of any kind.

1 Aragon Research Hot Vendors in Learning, 2018 by Jim Lundy, September 2018.

Media Contact:

Barry Canty

VP of Marketing

(512) 253-7527

barry.canty@speach.me
Coming Soon Join Columbia Childrens Theatre this October for the musical production of Ragtime! At the dawn of a new century, everything is changingand anything is possible. Set in the volatile melting...

This week at Picnic in the Park Theres nothing better than great music and great companyin the best neighborhood around. Town Theatre will present a second series of concerts by some fantastic performers that have graced not...
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WeedMD Inc. (TSX-V:WMD) (OTC:WDDMF) (FSE:4WE) (WeedMD or the Company) a federally-licensed producer and distributor of cannabis, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a supply agreement with the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation (OCRC), operating as the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS) to supply branded cannabis products to the adult-use market in the Province of Ontario.



Under the agreement, the Company will initially supply its cannabis products for online sales via the OCS and will expand to supply Ontarios private retailers once the province implements an approved framework.

As a leading Ontario licensed producer, were thrilled to announce that adult consumers in our home province will have access to our trusted, medical-grade cannabis strains and products this fall, said Keith Merker, Chief Executive Officer of WeedMD. This counts as a significant milestone for WeedMD as it advances our strategic plan to develop a national distribution network at optimal price points to ensure the Companys medical and adult-use products are available from coast-to-coast.

The agreement with the OCRC is the fifth supply agreement signed by WeedMD. In addition to Ontario, the Company has signed agreements with the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis Commission (AGLC), the British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BC LDB), the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) and Shoppers Drug Mart1. Additionally, WeedMD continues to be engaged in advanced discussions with other provincial liquor boards and emerging private retail operators.

For more information, access our investor presentation here and corporate video here .

1 Pending Health Canada approval

About WeedMD Inc.

WeedMD Inc. is the publicly-traded parent company of WeedMD Rx Inc., a federally-licensed producer and distributor of cannabis and cannabis oil under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). The Company operates two facilities: a 26,000 sq. ft. indoor facility in Aylmer, Ontario and a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility located in Strathroy, Ontario. The Greenhouse currently has 44,000 square feet of licensed space in production and is expected to have a total footprint of more than 500,000 square feet online by year-end 2018. WeedMD has a multi-channeled distribution strategy that includes supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart and provincial distribution agencies, as well as through strategic relationships across the seniors' market in Canada.

Follow WeedMD On:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weedmd/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/5020743/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeedMD

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weedmd/

For further information, please contact:

WeedMD Inc.

Keith Merker, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: 519-765-2440 Ext. 222

Email: investor@weedmd.com

To learn more, visit us at www.weedmd.com

For Media Inquiries:

Marianella delaBarrera

Corporate Communications & Public Affairs

Tel: 416-897-6644

Email: marianella@weedmd.com

Forward Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation which are based upon WeedMD's current internal expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs and views of future events. Forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expect", "likely", "may", "will", "should", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", "proposed", "estimate" and other similar words, including negative and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "would" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy.

The forward-looking information in this news release is based upon the expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and views of future events which management believes to be reasonable in the circumstances. Forward-looking information includes estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, targets, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking information in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to actual production volumes, expectations for future growing capacity and the completion of any capital project or expansions. Forward-looking information necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the cannabis industry in Canada generally; the ability of WeedMD to implement its business strategies; competition; crop failure; and other risks.

Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, WeedMD does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for WeedMD to predict all such factors. When considering this forward-looking information, readers should keep in mind the risk factors and other cautionary statements in WeedMD's Annual Information Form dated December 13, 2017 (the "AIF") and other disclosure documents of WeedMD filed with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . The risk factors and other factors noted in the AIF and other disclosure documents could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking information.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE
COLUMBIA, M.D., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) today announced that Hudson La Force, President and Chief Operating Officer, and Jeremy Rohen, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Development will attend the 2018 Credit Suisse Basic Materials Conference in New York on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 for small group discussions and one-on-one meetings.



The Investor Presentation related to this conference can be accessed at http://investor.grace.com on the day of the conference.

About Grace

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The companys two industry-leading business segmentsCatalysts Technologies and Materials Technologiesprovide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. With approximately 3,900 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 60 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.
Stockholm, September 6th, 2018 - Today ContextVision held a company presentation at Pareto Securities' Health Care Conference in Stockholm, Sweden. CEO Anita Tollstadius gave an update of the company's development and shared the company's future direction.

Please find a PDF-version of the presentation attached. The presentation will also be published on the company's website.

For further information, please contact ContextVision's CEO, Anita Tollstadius, at +46 70 337 30 26 or visit www.contextvision.com.

###

About ContextVision

ContextVision is a medical technology software company that specializes in image analysis and artificial intelligence. ContextVision is the global market leader within image enhancement and is a software partner to leading medical imaging manufacturers all over the world. Its cutting-edge technology helps doctors accurately interpret medical images, a crucial foundation for better diagnosis and treatment.

As an industry pioneer for more than 30 years, ContextVision is significantly investing in R&D to develop new applications of the latest artificial intelligence technologies and expanding into the growing digital pathology market. The release of its first product, supporting the diagnosis of prostate cancer, is planned in the near future.

The company is based in Sweden, with local representation in the U.S., Russia, Japan, China and Korea. ContextVision is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker COV. For more information please visit www.contextvision.com.
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Linkedin - (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia  Fri, September 7, 2018 00:03 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771c2dfb 4 Inforial Free

Universitas Terbuka (Open University, UT), which specializes in long-distance higher education services, has celebrated the 34th anniversary of its effort to provide Indonesians equal access to higher education, especially targeting students who live in the countrys remote areas unreachable by many higher education institutions.

Not only reaching out to Indonesians living in areas inaccessible by higher education institutions through its cyber learning services, UT has also expanded overseas, educating Indonesian migrant workers currently earning a living in 36 countries such as Hong Kong and South Korea, among others.

To mark this special occasion, the university organized a celebratory event on Tuesday at its convention center, inside its headquarters in Pondok Cabe, South Tangerang. It was attended by Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Mohamad Nasir.

By making higher education available to Indonesians everywhere, UT has done its best to boost the gross higher education participation percentage in Indonesia.

The country pales in comparison to its regional neighbors in terms of the higher education participation rate According to data from the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry, Indonesias current gross higher education participation amounted to only 31.5 percent; compared to Singapore and South Korea, where higher education participation rates amounted to 80 and 92 percent, respectively.

According to Nasir, one factor causing Indonesias higher education participation rate to be low was the fact that a lot of Indonesians living in remote areas do not have access to any higher education institutions.

Existing state universities rarely have places to accommodate students coming from faraway places. Currently, the ministry recorded that 2.181 million senior high and vocational school graduates in Indonesia cannot get a slot at state universities, UT rector Ojat Darojat said.

Therefore, we are proud to support the governments mission to boost Indonesias gross higher education participation rate and improving Indonesian human resources quality by providing a long-distance learning curriculum, making higher education open to all, Ojat said in his speech at the ceremony.

During his opening remarks at the anniversary celebration, Nasir accentuated UTs role in closing the higher education gap in the country.

Within 34 years, UTs annual student enrollment capacity has increased from 20,000 when it first started to its current 60,000, he said.

This journey is also chronicled in a book that the university launched to mark its 34th anniversary entitled 34 Years of UT: Being a Cyber University for the Nation. UT has a tradition of marking its anniversaries by launching a new book every year.

Currently, UT is strengthening its partnership with its local and international counterparts -- such as Maryland University, the University of California Los Angeles and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, among others -- to refine its curriculum and learning software.

Responding to the fourth-wave industrial revolution, Ojat said UT had now shifted its focus to instilling higher-order thinking skills -- necessary to survive the digital revolution -- in its students. He added that UT was working with its partners to devise the best curriculum and learning devices to suit this.

With UTs help, I am confident that the government can meet its target of boosting Indonesias gross higher education participation rate to 35 percent by the end of 2018, Nasir said.
Italian actress Asia Argento, who accused Harvey Weinstein of rape and has been accused herself of sexual assaulting a minor, will quit the Italian reality show "X Factor", producers said Wednesday.

A statement said that "by mutual agreement with Asia Argento," Sky Italia and FremantleMedia had decided to end Argento's work as a juror on the show, which is to begin its 12th season in Italy.

Argento, 42, has played a leading role in the #MeToo campaign to end sexual assault against women, but she also reportedly paid $380,000 to actor Jimmy Bennett who alleged she had sex with him in 2013 when he was 17, and thus underage.

Read also: Asia Argento: Courting controversy on and off the screen

Argento denies the allegations and has said she only gave Bennett money to help him out during a difficult period.

Several US media have reported that the actress halted payments to Bennett and is mulling legal action.

The Italian television producers said Argento would appear in early "X Factor" episodes that had already been filmed this year but would not be in a subsequent elimination round so as not to "distract attention".
Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan was among winners of the 2018 Prince Claus Awards announced by The Prince Claus Fund on Thursday.

According to a statement, Eka has been named among this years Prince Claus laureates and will receive 25,000 (US$29,000) for "his profoundly imaginative storytelling, the remarkable beauty of his prose and the universal relevance of his subject matter; and for confronting violent political acts that are absent from official discourse and examining controversial issues in a way that people can really relate to, helping them to reclaim stories of their past and construct a better understanding of their country.

He was also recognized for "projecting the distinctiveness of Indonesian culture and giving status to local stories and myths; for highlighting the power of language and literature in the way we perceive and process information on difficult topics, particularly at a time when language is hijacked by those in authority; and for bringing attention for alternative readings of Indonesian history, stimulating long-overdue awareness and greater understanding of his homeland".

The awards honor outstanding culture and development achievements. Held annually, it recognizes individuals, groups and organizations that have significantly contributed to regions "where resources or opportunities for cultural expression, creative production and preservation of cultural heritage are limited", namely Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Read also: Eka Kurniawan, Eko Nugroho shed light on 'Love Knows No End'

Eka has been named a Prince Claus laureate alongside Ugandan playwright, film and theater-maker Adong Judith, Syrian architect Marwa al-Sabouni, Filipino artist and filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik and Brazilian independent journalism and cultural platform O Menelick 2 Ato.

Other winners of the awards were South African training institute and cultural platform Market Photo Workshop, which was named a Principal Prince Claus laureate; and South African dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo, who was recognized with the Next Generation Award.

For this year, the committee had received 85 nominations after formally inviting 213 cultural experts to nominate candidates for the awards.

The Prince Claus Awards will be given to the laureates in a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam in December, which will be attended by the Dutch royal family. (kes)
Relegated to the basement, silenced by the imam and barred from the front door, some Muslim women have had enough of male domination at the mosque and are setting up their own.

From Copenhagen to Los Angeles, a handful of female mosques now cater to Muslim womenwho want their own place of worship, just as men have had through the ages.

"It is possible to change a narrative that has been patriarchal for centuries," Sherin Khankan, founder of Europe's first women's mosque, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Her first-floor mosque - adjacent to a clothes shop - is invisible from the busy Danish shopping street below. But behind its anonymous, grey door, a quiet revolution is brewing.

For the past two years, women have been leading prayers, delivering sermons and running Copenhagen's Mariam Mosque - though Khankan says she is not challenging the Koran, just rewriting a male-dominated way of worship.

"We can do that by promoting and disseminating new narratives, with a focus on gender equality. It's not a reform. We're going back to the essence of Islam," she said, draping a red floral shawl across her shoulder.

Although men and women are allowed to meet and pray during the week at Mariam Mosque, the mosque's monthly, collective Friday prayers are for women only, said 43-year-old Khankan.

With a tiny prayer room and simple decor of candles, cushions and rugs, the mosque has about 150 worshippers. It was set up by Khankan with the support of Femimam, a group of female Muslim spiritual leaders in Denmark.

Overlooked

Muslim women's groups and researchers say there is a lack of female Islamic leaders and dearth of worship spaces for women, since most mosques are gender-segregated and men dominate the main prayer rooms.

So, after 15 years in the making, Mariam Mosque joined a handful of female-friendly mosques, including two in Los Angeles, another in the German city of Berlin - which welcomes men andwomen to Friday prayers - and a new build slated for the northern English city of Bradford, where there are plans to build Britain's first women-led mosque by 2020.

Women-only mosques have existed for hundreds of years in China, where women have had a long tradition of leading prayers.

Director of Britain's Muslim Women's Council Bana Gora, who is spearheading the Bradford project, said mosques had overlooked women and girls for years.

She said some women have had to pray in basements of mosques, or use back entrances where there are safety concerns such as a lack of lighting or security.

"Where do women congregate to talk about issues in society? You need a dedicated space wherewomen can convene and talk to people who can help them, and we simply do not have those spaces anywhere," she said in a telephone interview.

"It's about women claiming their space in a mosque - there's nothing wrong with that. I can see this catapulting across different faiths as well over time," said Gora.

Isolated

Khankan said the presence of fellow women in a mosque, as well as access to female spiritual leaders, meant women might feel comfortable seeking help for sensitive issues like inter-faith marriage or domestic violence.

And for the 200 or so women in Denmark who wear a face veil, their world has grown smaller after a ban on niqab veils and body-length burqas in public spaces, said Khankan.

Denmark's parliament enacted the ban in May, joining France and some other European Union countries to uphold what some politicians say are secular and democratic values.

The justice ministry said the ban would focus on women forced by their families to wear veils.

"If a woman is isolated and forced to wear a burqa or the niqab, by criminalising it, you will isolate her even more, because she might not be able to go out," said Khankan, who also runs a domestic violence support group, Exit Circle.

"It's important to fight for any women's right to wear the hijab or not, to wear the niqab or not - if it's her own choice and her own free will," she said.

The future

Khankan said she hopes to see a new generation of female Islamic scholars and worship leaders, or 'imam' - a title normally given to men, which Khankan has proudly claimed.

"We are faced with patriarchal structures which we have normalised for decades. As long as they are alive and they are not challenged, we have a problem," said Khankan.

"We have to state that women are the future of Islam. We have to make it possible for women to have the same possibilities as men," she added.

Read also: A tale of two mosques in Palembang

The Koran does not directly address whether women can lead congregational prayer, according to many traditional Islamic scholars.

Some argue the Prophet Mohammad gave permission to women to lead any kind of prayer, while others say that he meant to restrict women to leading prayer at home.

Still, many traditionalists do not believe a man should hear a woman's voice in prayer.

But Giulia Liberatore, who is researching female Islamic scholars at the University of Edinburgh, said seeing women reach positions of power in Islam will have positive effects.

"If women see other women striving for the highest form of scholarship, they will start seeing themselves as someone who can do that as well," she said.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 16:14 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771af696 1 National students,vaccines,South-Kalimantan Free

Some 49 female students at two pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, are being quarantined after being diagnosed as rubella positive, according to the local health agency.

The students have been medically treated as well as quarantined, Banjarbaru Health Agency head Agus Widjaja said on Wednesday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The students are being quarantined at their pesantren. They are not allowed to do certain activities, including meeting their friends.

Agus suspected that students coming from areas hit by a rubella outbreak in South Kalimantan, such as Tanjung subdistrict in Tabalong regency, were responsible for the spread of the disease.

A lot of students live in the vicinity of a river. When they went home, they contracted the [rubella] disease and transmitted the virus at pesantren.

The government has struggled to get all children vaccinated amid concerns from some Muslims who believe that the measles rubella (MR) vaccine is haram.

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has issued a fatwa allowing and even encouraging Muslims to be vaccinated even though it has also declared that the MR vaccine contains haram substances.

The MUI argued that the vaccine could be consumed as there is no alternative and it is badly needed to protect public health.

Some MUI chapters in the region, however, have ignored the fatwa. Some parents are also hesitant to get their children vaccinated.

Banjarbaru Major H. Nadjmi Adhani said the MR vaccine coverage rate in the city would increase if the parents allowed their children to get vaccinated.

It is because the parents hesitate to allow their children to get the MR immunization, he said, adding that there are some schools in Banjarbaru that had yet to allow their students to get the MR immunization.

The government is currently promoting the MR immunization campaign for children aged 9 months to under 15 years old in provinces outside Java Island from August to September this year with a coverage rate target of 95 percent.

The vaccination program is lagging in Banjarbaru, reaching only 36.2 percent coverage after five weeks of implementation. Meanwhile, on a national scale, the program only averaged 40.2 percent as of Thursday afternoon. (sau/ahw)
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Linkedin Fiachra Gibbons (Agence France-Presse) Venice  Thu, September 6, 2018 19:09 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771bbd50 2 World Steve-Bannon,US,Far-Right,film Free

If Errol Morris thought he was about to get an easy ride from what Steve Bannon calls the "Hollywood liberal elite" with his new film "America Dharma", he had another thing coming.

Journalists after journalist at the Venice film festival pummelled the king of the confessional documentary for giving Donald Trump's former strategist and alt-right hero a platform.

Usually post-screening press conferences at film festivals are love-ins, with the auteur gently cradled by reporters and critics after bringing their baby into the world.

But in Venice Morris got a kicking, with reporters queueing up to accuse him of falling into the far-right's trap.

When the reviews fell Thursday the verdict -- with a few notable exceptions -- was damning.

Variety lacerated Morris for letting Bannon get away with "playing the role of alt-right Teddy bear... It's hard to escape the feeling that Errol Morris got played," wrote its critic Owen Gleiberman.

"If you walked into 'American Dharma' knowing nothing about Donald Trump's former adviser you'd probably find him to be a fascinating, compelling, and at times even charming figure. If that sounds like a swipe against the movie, it is."

Morris -- who has previously put the often reviled architects of the Vietnam and Iraq wars, Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld, under the microscope in the Oscar-winning "The Fog of War" and "The Unknown Known" -- never "stands up to Bannon's most brazen lies", Gleiberman argued.

The sentiment was shared by the Italian and Spanish press.

Eric Kohn, chief critic of IndieWire, said the film's ambiguity made it the "most disturbing movie of the year... It's never clear who has the upper hand.

"Bannon acolytes may not be persuaded to abandon their leader, and everyone else is left wondering if the bad guys have already won," he said.

That the film was shown on the same day as Paul Greengrass' highly emotional "22 July", the story of far right terrorist Anders Breivik's massacre of 77 people in Norway in 2011, gave an added piquancy to the debate.

Furthermore, Bannon arrived in Venice at the centre of a storm of protest over his inclusion as a speaker at the New Yorker festival.

When the magazine's editor bowed to pressure and dropped him, Bannon damned it as "a defining moment" from his Venice hotel room.

"David Remnick showed he was gutless when confronted by the howling online mob," he said.

Morris, too, came out fighting against the "hostile questioning" of his film.

He declared that an "ostrich mentality" to the rise of the nativist far right was a "very big mistake".

It was his duty as a journalist to investigate whether a man who comes over as a bookish film buff in the film, is a real danger or just a liberal bogeyman with a "talent for clickbait".

"Does he really believe in this ideology, or is he just a snake oil salesman, an opportunist, who uses these ideas?" said the filmmaker, a self-confessed New York liberal.

"We learn that there is a deep strain of self-deception in him," Morris insisted, telling AFP that he found many of Bannon's ideas "pernicious".

In the film Bannon even warms to being compared to Lucifer, finishing a quote from Milton's poem "Paradise Lost", "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

Morris, 70, said "Bannon wants to destroy the UN, the EU and the euro and to turn it back into a world of warring nation states. It is insane. But given his record in the US, if I were in Europe I'd be worried.

"Do we have no awareness of history in America?" Morris quipped. "Probably we don't."

Asked if he was worried the film might help to normalise some of Bannon's extreme views, the veteran director admitted that "I am still struggling with that... But my answer was not to remain silent. It is nonsense that we should just not talk about it."

But Gleiberman does not buy that. For him "'American Dharma' isn't investigative filmmaking. It's a toothless bromance."

As for Bannon, he likes the film, Morris told AFP. "It is probably not my best review."
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Linkedin Tristan McConnell (Agence France-Presse) Nairobi, Kenya  Thu, September 6, 2018 18:56 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771bb6f6 2 World #Kenya,#China,Kenya,China,businessman,Racism,discrimination Free

Kenya has arrested a Chinese businessman after a video of him making a string of racist remarks was widely shared on social media, the government said Thursday.

The Chinese national, identified as Liu Jiaqi, has been arrested and is being processed for deportation, said Kenya's immigration department.

"His work permit has been cancelled and (he) will be deported on racism grounds," the immigration service said on its Twitter feed.

In the two and a half minute video shared on Twitter and elsewhere, Liu, who appears to be in the midst of a dispute with one of his employees, is recorded issuing a litany of racist slurs.

"Every one, every Kenyan... like a monkey, even (Kenyan President) Uhuru Kenyatta. All of them," he said.

After the employee suggests Liu should "go back to China" if he feels that way, the businessman responds with further abuse.

"I don't belong to here. I don't like here, like monkey people, I don't like talk with them, it smells bad, and poor, and foolish, and black. I don't like them. Why not [like] the white people, like the American?"

He added that he only stays in Kenya because "money is important".

It was not clear from the video exactly what Liu's job was in Kenya.

Some Kenyans on social media have called for Liu to be charged rather than simply deported.

Zhang Gang, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Nairobi, said that according to Liu's employer, the clip was recorded in June "and he has already been punished by his company for his wrongdoing and apologised to his Kenyan colleague".

"The personal talk and personal feeling of this young man does not represent the views of the vast majority of Chinese people," he said, adding Chinese nationals were urged to make "positive contributions to the friendship and cooperation between China and Kenya."

This is not the first time Chinese workers in Kenya have been accused of racism.

Three years ago a small Chinese restaurant in the capital Nairobi was shut down by authorities and the owner charged for operating a "no blacks" policy after 5 pm.

Earlier this year Kenyan workers on a new Chinese-built railway alleged racism and discrimination by Chinese staff and managers.

However, the government dismissed allegations of racism on the $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euro) signature infrastructure project.

Kenyatta was in Beijing this week attending a conference where China promised to invest another $60 billion in Africa.

- Raid on Chinese TV -

Liu's arrest comes a day after Kenyan police raided the African headquarters of China's English-language state broadcaster CGTN (China Global Television Network) in Nairobi.

The raid was part of Nairobi's crackdown on illegal immigrants but several journalists were briefly detained.

The Chinese embassy said in a statement it would express its concern through diplomatic channels, after several incidents in which nationals with legal documents were hauled into police stations for verification.

"The Chinese embassy in Kenya has lodged representations with Kenyan officials and the relevant people have all been released on that day," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing in Beijing.

"Kenya has admitted inadequacies in law enforcement and apologised.

"It has promised to improve the conduct of its lower-level officers to avoid a repeat of this," she added.
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Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6 2018

A new Jakarta gubernatorial regulation that gives religion teachers registered under the Religious Affairs Ministry an additional monthly salary of Rp 1 million (US$67) has been widely lauded by proponents who see it as a step toward narrowing the wage gap between Jakartas educators.

Gubernatorial Regulation No. 84/2018 applies to all teachers with civil servant status registered under the Religious Affairs Ministry who teach at all levels, from kindergarten to senior high school, including schools for the disabled (SLB).

These teachers working in Jakarta are divided into two groups: those employed by the Religious Ministry and those by the Jakarta administration.
Pertamina Hospital director Haris Tri Prasetyo (second right) and Le Minerale marketing manager Febri Hutama (right) talk to a patient about the importance of drinking mineral water at Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta on Wednesday. The Indonesia Physicians Association (IDI) and Le Minerale have donated 2 million bottles of waters to 100 hospitals throughout the country. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)(second right) and Le Minerale marketing manager Febri Hutama (right) talk to a patient about the importance of drinking mineral water at Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta on Wednesday. The Indonesia Physicians Association (IDI) and Le Minerale have donated 2 million bottles of waters to 100 hospitals throughout the country. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
Entering Second Full Year of Legalized Adult Use in Las Vegas, Nevada



LAS VEGAS, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (OTCQB: CLSH) CLS, a diversified cannabis company operating as Cannabis Life Sciences and an integrated cannabis producer and retailer in Nevada through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries, today announced increased sales for the month of August 2018 at its Oasis Cannabis location in Las Vegas, Nevada.

August 2018 sales were up 11.8% over sales in August 2017. This meaningful growth was driven by a 400% increase in wholesale revenues under the City Trees Brand.

Ben Sillitoe, CEO of CLS Nevada, commented, We are extremely pleased with the growth in our City Trees brand and overall sales at Oasis. We are in the midst of layout, signage and marketing improvements which we believe will further improve our visibility, market penetration and sales growth.

Management of CLS plans to keep shareholders and other investors updated frequently on corporate developments.

About Oasis Cannabis (http://oasiscannabis.com)

Oasis Cannabis has operated a cannabis dispensary in the Las Vegas market since dispensaries first opened in Nevada in 2015 and has been recognized as one of the top marijuana retailers in the state. Its location within walking distance to the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown Las Vegas in combination with its delivery service to residents allows it to efficiently serve both locals and tourists in the Las Vegas area. In August 2017, the company commenced wholesale offerings of cannabis in Nevada with the launch of its City Trees brand of cannabis concentrates and cannabis-infused products. An expansion of its cultivation and production facility is currently underway and is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2019.



About CLS Holdings USA, Inc.

CLS Holdings USA, Inc. (CLSH) is a diversified cannabis company that, subject to receipt of certain anticipated regulatory approvals, acts as an integrated cannabis producer and retailer through its Oasis Cannabis subsidiaries in Nevada, and plans to expand to other states.



CLS stands for "Cannabis Life Sciences," in recognition of the Company's patented proprietary method of extracting various cannabinoids from the marijuana plant and converting them into products with a higher level of quality and consistency. The Company's business model includes licensing operations, processing operations, processing facilities, sale of products, brand creation and consulting services.

For additional information, please visit: http://www.clsholdingsinc.com

Twitter: @CLSHusa

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to anticipated future events, future results of operations or future financial performance. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to whether and when certain transactions will be completed, and anticipated license approvals. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "intends," "expects," "plans," "goals," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance and we cannot guaranty that the proposed transactions described in this press release will occur. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be considered together with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. See CLS Holdings USA filing with the SEC for additional details.



Contact Information

Corporate:

Chairman and CEO

Jeff Binder

jeff@clsholdingsinc.com

888-438-9132

Investors:

Hayden IR

CLSH@haydenir.com

917-658-7878
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 10:22 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b3087719e0ae 1 City protest,City-Hall,eviction,East-Jakarta,anies-baswedan Free

Residents of Jl. Cakung Cilincing, East Jakarta, held a rally in front of City Hall in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, claiming they were being evicted from their homes to make way for a water pipe project.

"The residents of Cacing [Cakung Cilincing] refuse to be evicted and [move to] low-cost apartments, said Ahmad, leader of the protest and head of the United Madura Alliance, as quoted by kompas.com.

We hope our demands will be fulfilled, like the governor promised.

The residents claimed they supported Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and former deputy governor Sandiaga Uno in the gubernatorial election in 2016.

During the campaign period, Anies and Sandiaga criticized the eviction policy of incumbent governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama and promised not to tear down illegal settlements and force people out of their homes in favor of city-run projects.

Now, Cakung Cilincing residents are demanding that Anies fulfill his campaign promises, Ahmad said.

"It wasnt easy to make you win, Pak Governor; it was all sweat and tears, day and night on empty stomachs. We prayed and fought for your victory, and alhamdulillah [thank God], you won. Were now demanding our rights  the promise you had given us, Ahmad said.

Ahmad said that on Friday, the residents received a third warning letter to vacate their land within three working days.

East Jakarta Mayor M. Anwar has yet to confirm the status of the land and the eviction plan. (stu)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 15:30 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771aba22 1 City eviction,community-participation,action-plan,Bukit-Duri,kampung-susun Free

Residents of Bukit Duri have expressed disappointment over the Jakarta administration's failure to involve them in a community action plan to develop a kampung susun (elevated village).

The community action plan was led by Jakarta Konsultindo, a company that won a tender worth Rp 438 billion (US$29.1 million) to develop a kampung susun for the Bukit Duri residents, who were evicted for a river restoration project during the administration of former governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama.

Sandyawan Sumardi, an activist at Ciliwung Merdeka, said Jakarta Konsultindo, in designing the kampung susun, focused on making the area beautiful without taking into account the residents wishes.

They dont think we exist, Sandyawan said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said on Thursday he was disappointed with his subordinates for failing to communicate with the residents.

All of them will receive a warning, Anies said as quoted by tempo.co.

Anies said he had held a meeting to evaluate the project, but did not provide details on the outcome of it.

Bukit Duri residents won a class-action lawsuit against the Jakarta administration, which evicted them in early 2016, in a decision from the Central Jakarta District Court that was backed by the Jakarta High Court.

However, the administration has yet to fulfill Anies' campaign promise of building the kampung susun for the residents because of land acquisition problems.

It has also not developed temporary shelters for similar reasons. (cal)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Thu, September 6 2018

President Donald Trumps decision to end the United States funding for the United Nations agency that is taking care of Palestinian refugees is a huge gamble that could trigger not only a major humanitarian catastrophe, but also more violent outbreaks within and outside the Palestinian and Israeli borders. But then this is classic businessman Trump: gambling with other peoples money.

Trump this week announced that he is terminating all assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), calling its operation irredeemably flawed. The US contributed US$370 million in 2017, or about a quarter of the agencys operating costs. Much depends now on how the Palestinians, as well as the rest of the world, will respond.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly endorsed Trumps decision, knowing that his people could be the first targets of possible violent reactions from the Palestinians. We saw this when Trump moved the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to signal that Washington accepts Israels claim of Jerusalem as its capital early this year.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 15:35 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771ac7fc 1 Business textile,exports,Enggartiasto-Lukita,comments Free

Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita has said that the government would support the domestic textile industry by strengthening its overseas markets through the establishment of trade agreements with other countries.

Various efforts have been implemented to open markets for exports through the establishment of various agreements, Enggartiasto said in opening National Textile Dialogue 2018 in Surakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday.

He said the Trade Ministry, in collaboration with Indonesian embassies and consulate generals as well as the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center, would promote local products and commodities.

In the first half of 2018, textile and textile product exports reached US$6.45 billion, a growth of 7.89 percent year-on-year (yoy) over last years $12.53 billion in the same period. The export value reached $12.53 billion, an increase from $11.83 billion in exports recorded in the same period in 2016.

He expressed optimism over the industry's prospects, both in the global market and domestic market.

Textiles are major Indonesian products for export that have always provided growth. It is also good for the market domestically. We can now change the perception that we failed to compete with products from China, India, Vietnam and Bangladesh. The fact is that we have exported to China, the minister said.

He said his ministry needed to further educate the people that the quality of domestic textile products was better than that of imported products. (bbn)
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Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 10:38 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b3087719fe65 1 Business withholding-import-tax-rates,consumer-goods,Sri-Mulyani-Indrawati,announcement Free

The government announced on Wednesday a new finance regulation that would impose a higher tax on 1,147 imported consumer goods that were deemed non-essential or had domestic equivalents.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the regulation aimed to control imports of consumer goods that had little impact on productive business activities.

The new regulation, which is to replace Ministerial Regulation No. 34/2017 next week, imposes an import tax of 10 percent from the previous from 2.5 percent on imported personal care products like shampoo, soap and cosmetics, along with 215 other consumer goods.

The regulation also raises the import tax from 7.5 to 10 percent for 210 goods, including luxury items like supercars. Import tax of 7.5 percent, a hike from the current 2.5 percent, is to be imposed on 719 other imported goods and products, including audio speakers and swimwear.

Meanwhile, the new regulation maintains a tax of 2.5 percent for 57 imported goods deemed essential to supporting domestic industries.

The ministrys customs and excise directorate general recorded a 16.46 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase to $15.77 billion in consumer goods imports for August.

The governments move to curb imports is part of a concerted effort to reduce the swollen current account deficit, which has been deemed one of the major triggers of the negative market sentiment that has contributed to the steep rupiah depreciation. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 11:39 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a2fce 1 Business consumer-confidence,nielsen,survey,Q2 Free

The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) of Indonesia remains stable with 127 percentage points (PP) in the second quarter of 2018, the same as the previous quarter, according to a Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence survey, in collaboration with Nielsen.

With the CCI at 127 percentage points, Indonesian consumers were the most optimistic globally, according to a press release issued by Nielsen on Wednesday.

The survey revealed the 10 most optimistic countries -- Indonesia (127), the Philippines (127), India (124), the United States (123), Vietnam (120), Denmark (118), Malaysia (117), the United Arab Emirates (116), Pakistan (115) and China (113).

The press release showed that the CCI was driven by consumer perception about local job prospects, personal finances and intention/readiness to spend. For Indonesia, those drivers were relatively stable in the second quarter.

The survey found that 71 percent of Indonesian online consumers have a positive perception on future job prospects, which was the same as the previous quarter. About 63 percent of consumers said they intended to spend, a slight increase from 62 percent in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, 82 percent of consumers have a perception of the state of their personal finances, a slight decrease from 85 percent in the previous quarter.

The survey also showed that most Indonesian consumers saved their spare cash.

In the second quarter, more than half (66 percent) of consumers chose to allocate their spare cash for savings, this figure increased from the previous quarter (65 percent), 46 percent chose to use it for holidays/vacations and 31 percent chose to buy high-tech gadgets. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Asuncion, Paraguay  Thu, September 6, 2018 10:20 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b3087719d12c 2 World #Israel,#Paraguay,Israel,Paraguay,embassy,Jerusalem Free

Paraguay said on Wednesday it was moving its embassy in Israel back from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to order the closure of Jewish state's mission in the South American country in retaliation.

Palestinian authorities reacted by deciding to "immediately" open an embassy in Paraguay's capital Asuncion, Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki said, according to the official news agency Wafa.

Paraguay's new President Mario Abdo Benitez, who took office in mid-August, decided to move back the embassy "to contribute to the intensification of regional and international diplomatic efforts that aim to achieve a broad, just and durable peace in the Middle East," his government said.

"Israel views with utmost gravity the extraordinary decision by Paraguay, which will cloud bilateral relations," Netanyahu's office retorted on Twitter.

The original decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv was taken by Abdo Benitez's predecessor Horacio Cartes shortly after President Donald Trump had announced the United States would relocate its own embassy to Jerusalem.

Cartes even joined Netanyahu in the new embassy's opening ceremony in Jerusalem in May.

Abdo Benitez was already president elect at that point and had questioned the decision, complaining that he had not been consulted.

Announcing the move, his government said it considered the return to Tel Aviv "appropriate," but Netanyahu's office replied that the decision had cast a shadow on relations between the two countries.

Paraguay, though, pointed to a long history of positive relations with Israel.

"I don't think this should annoy our Israeli brothers and friends," said Paraguay's Foreign Minister Luis Castiglioni.

"There are more than 85 countries that have kept their embassies in Tel Aviv and we're historic allies of Israel.

"Don't forget that Paraguay's vote was the decisive vote in the creation of Israel."

In line with most of Latin America, Paraguay was one of the 33 countries that voted in favor -- compared to just 13 against and 10 abstentions -- of the 1947 United Nations two-state partition plan for what was until then British Mandate Palestine.

Castiglioni said Paraguay had always been "predictable in its international relations" but that Cartes's move was "a distortion of this tradition and culture of respect for international law" and UN decrees.

Trump broke with decades of US policy by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem on May 14, infuriating Palestinians and intensifying protests on the Gaza border, with 60 killed in clashes with Israeli forces that day.

His move was followed by Guatemala while the Czech Republic decided to reopen its honorary consulate in Jerusalem as President Milos Zeman voiced his wish to also move its embassy from Tel Aviv.
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Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 11:55 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a3bb9 1 Politics #politics,#Jokowi,#SocialMedia,social-media,Jokowi,Prabowo-Subianto,Instagram,Twitter Free

Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno are more popular on Instagram than President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Ma'ruf Amin, but the latter pair are favored overall on social media, a poll conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI) has found.

The survey, conducted from Aug. 12 to 19, polled 1,200 respondents about who they would vote for in the 2019 presidential election.

Prabowo-Sandiaga defeated Jokowi-Maruf on Instagram and Twitter, with 42 percent of Instagram users and 40 percent of Twitter users saying they supported the Gerindra Party-backed pair, compared to the 40.9 percent of Instagram users and 34.3 percent of Twitter users that supported Jokowi-Maruf.

However, Jokowi-Ma'ruf were more popular across all social media platforms, including Facebook. Of the 28.5 percent of respondents who said they used social media, 48.3 percent preferred Jokowi-Ma'ruf, compared to Prabowo-Sandiagas 39.5 percent.

LSI researcher Ardian Sopa attributed the increase in support for Prabowo-Sandiaga to the demographic make-up of social media users.

Social media users are mostly from the upper middle-class and are generally better informed and more likely to be critical of those in positions of power, he said at the release of the survey results on Wednesday.

He said the #2019GantiPresiden (#2019ChangePresident) hashtag had also helped to boost support for Prabowo, although the hashtag has not trended as strongly since July.

Although the poll showed that 71.5 percent of respondents did not have a social media account, Ardian said candidates who ignored the online world did so at their own peril.


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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 10:49 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a08bb 1 National BPJS-Kesehatan,BPJS-Kesehatan-losses,hospital,health-care Free

The management of private hospital Karya Husada in Karawang, West Java, has issued a letter for its doctor specialists and dentists about their late honorariums as a result of unpaid claims from the Health Care and Social Security Agency (BPJS Kesehatan).

A screenshot of the letter dated Sept. 4 was posted by Pundi Ferianto, the hospital director, on his Facebook account on Tuesday. It has been making the rounds on social media.

The Facebook post has been shared by around 7,600 and garnered more than 2,600 comments as of Wednesday night.

Pundi, who signed the letter, stated that the agency had yet to pay its claims for June and July, all of which are due in September.

The total in unpaid claims amounts to Rp 6.6 billion (US$447,271).

The hospital management promised to pay the doctors' honorariums in the third week of September or after the agency fulfills its obligation, as stated in the letter.

BPJS Kesehatan spokesperson M. Iqbal Anas Maruf told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that the agency was aware of the statement made by Pundi and that the Karawang chapter of BPJS Kesehatan had coordinated directly with the hospital.

We acknowledged there was a delay in the claim payment but were committed to paying it, he said, adding that the agency had proposed that the hospital implement a supply chain financing scheme to maintain liquidity.

Read also: BPJS Kesehatan, health for all Indonesians

With the scheme, a bank as the hospitals partner would deal with the invoices.

Since its establishment in 2014, BPJS Kesehatan has been running a yearly deficit, with the latest being Rp 10 trillion last year. The deficit is due to its collected contributions being lower than its health insurance costs. (sau)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 17:48 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771b496e 1 City Bekasi,East-Jakarta,land-certification,Fake,officials,suspects Free

More officials are believed to have been involved in a conspiracy to fake land certificates in East Jakarta and Bekasi, West Java, police said on Thursday.

Jakarta Polices general crime unit deputy director Adj. Sr. Comr. Ade Ary said the crime allegedly involved 19 state officials at the district, village and hamlet levels.

Of the 19 officials, eight are linked to the East Jakarta case while the 11 others are linked to the Bekasi case.

In one of the cases, the suspects had used fake documents to claim ownership of a plot of land on Jl. DI Panjaitan, where the East Jakarta Vehicle Document Registration Center (Samsat) office stands, to sue the Jakarta administration in order to get Rp 340 billion (US$22.8 million) in compensation.

"The deed of sale and purchase and the land certificate are all fake. We want to find out for certain who issued them," Ade said as quoted wartakota.tribunnews.com.

"We suspect there are more people involved," Ade added, noting that the officers had found some fake ID cards belonging to one suspect named Sudarto.

The seven other East Jakarta suspects, Ade said, helped Sudarto with the crime because he promised them a 25 percent share of the compensation they demanded from the city.

In fact, the 29,040-square-meter plot, worth Rp 900 billion, has been listed as a city asset since April 1985.

On Wednesday the police announced that 11 officials in Bekasi had been accused of conspiracy in a Rp 23 billion transaction involving a 7,700-sq.m. plot. (vla)
English French

LAVAL, Quebec, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Altasciences is pleased to welcome Dr. William J. Foster, MD, PhD, FRCSC, to the Altasciences family as Principal Investigator and Consultant on clinical trials. Dr. Foster, originally from the U.S.A., is a practicing retinal physician in Montreal, Canada, a Professor of Bioengineering, and a Member of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering at Temple University in Philadelphia.



Dr. Fosters unique background in medicine, bioengineering and biophysics, along with his broad range of expertise in preclinical and clinical research, are an ideal complement to Altasciences as we grow and further develop new areas of specialization. His insight was instrumental in designing one of our upcoming first-in-human studies on an ocular product, said Ingrid Holmes, General Manager, Montreal Clinical Operations, at Altasciences.

Holding an MD from Duke and PhD from Harvard University, Dr. Foster is a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology, a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine in Clinical Informatics, a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Foster does translational research to improve outcomes for patients with different retinal diseases, ranging from the application of high-tech polymeric compounds to the repair of retinal detachments and delivery of nanoparticle therapeutics to computational modeling of fluid flow in the eye during different diseases and treatments. He is the current Chair of the CME Committee of the Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology, and is a Grant Reviewer for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Sensory Technologies Study Section.

Ive always been passionate about translational and early-stage clinical research. I look forward to working closely with the well-versed team of experts at Altasciences to help our clients in their efforts to enhance vision research that will ultimately lead to new therapies and methods for disease detection, mentioned Dr. Foster.

Dr. Fosters peer-reviewed publications are numerous and he has spoken at many national and international scientific conferences. He is on the editorial board of multiple publications, including PLOS One and Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. Dr. Foster has been an investigator in a number of large, important clinical trials, funded by the NIH and pharmaceutical companies, in the field of diabetic retinopathy and other ocular diseases.

About Altasciences

Altasciences is a mid-size contract research organization that encompasses Algorithme Pharma in Montreal, QC, Vince & Associates Clinical Research in Overland Park, KS, and Algorithme Pharma USA in Fargo, ND, with an overall company focus on supporting early-stage drug development. With over 25 years of industry experience, Altasciences provides clinical services to an international customer base of biopharmaceutical companies. Altasciences full-service solutions offering in this critical stage of drug development includes clinical pharmacology, medical writing, biostatistics, data management and bioanalysis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Julie-Ann Cabana

jcabana@altasciences.com

913 304-4505
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Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 12:34 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a58f8 1 Business Djoko-Siswanto,crude-oil,sales,requirement,government Free

The government has planned to issue a regulation that would require that oil companies sell their crude oil to state energy holding company Pertamina as part of an effort to reduce imports.

Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry director general for oil and gas Djoko Siswanto said the regulation, to be issued next week, would not only target private companies and producers, but also Pertamina as the buyer of crude oil.

"While they [oil companies] have to sell their crude oil to Pertamina under the business-to-business scheme, the latter is also required to buy the commodity at a reasonable price," he said on Wednesday.

Under the new policy, it estimated that Pertamina would buy 225,000 barrels of oil per day.

Djoko revealed that US oil giant Chevron had expressed its willingness to sell its crude oil to Pertamina, but the company was still waiting for a taxation policy on the matter.

The government, however, assured that it would respect the existing sales and purchase contracts between private companies and other companies, such as ExxonMobil, which has a contract to transfer its crude oil produced in Banyu Urip oil field, in East Java, to its own refineries.

"We are exempting from this requirement those with an export permit," Djoko said. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, September 6, 2018 13:28 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a7ccc 1 City Sunter-Lake,PDAM,water-supply,water-pollution Free

With 61 percent of Jakarta's rivers severely polluted, city-owned water company PAM Jaya, in looking for new sources of water for the city, has turned to Sunter Lake in North Jakarta.

We are currently studying the lake to determine whether it could become a source of water as there may be a water spring, PAM Jaya president director Priyatno Bambang Hernowo said on Wednesday, kompas.com reported.

He said a lot of rivers and lakes in Jakarta were potential water sources but could not yet be used because of their water quality.

PAM Jaya, he added, was currently looking for other rivers that had the potential to supply clean water.

I think that it would be quicker if we used the rivers and lakes in Jakarta as new sources of water, he said.

The Jakarta governor's assistant for development and the environment, Yusmada Faisal, said that, over the course of three years, 61 percent of Jakarta's rivers had become severely polluted.

The rate of pollution had increased nearly twofold, Yusmada said, explaining that there were three categories of water pollution: grey water that contains pollutants from sink and bathwater residue; black water from toilet waste; and white water from industries. The sources of the pollution were from areas near the rivers, he said. (ami/stu)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Thu, September 6, 2018 10:50 1155 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a101a 2 World #SaudiArabia,#politics,Saudi-Arabia,saudi-prince,feud Free

Saudi King Salman's brother has played down controversial remarks he made to anti-Saudi protesters in London that sparked furious speculation about possible discord within the royal family.

Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud apparently told a crowd in London to stop chanting slogans against the Saudi royal family over the kingdom's involvement in the three-year conflict in Yemen.

"What does the family have to do with it? Certain individuals are responsible... the king and the crown prince," he said, according to a widely-circulated online video of the incident in London.

The comment was seen by many on social media as rare criticism from a royal family member of the kingdom's leadership as well as its role in the Yemen conflict, dubbed by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

But in a statement, the prince dismissed that interpretation as "inaccurate".

"I have made it clear that the king and the crown prince are responsible for the state and its decisions," the prince said in the statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency late Tuesday.

"This is true for the security and stability of the country and the people. Therefore, it is not possible to interpret what I said in any other way."

In a bid to suggest unity within the royal family, multiple pro-Saudi social media accounts posted images of Prince Ahmed kissing the hand of King Salman.

The internal affairs of the royal family are shrouded in secrecy and a public airing of disagreements is extremely rare.

But Saudi expert James Dorsey said the London incident suggests "a long suspected greater degree of domestic questioning of Saudi Arabia's 3.5-year-old ill-fated war in Yemen than has been publicly evident until now".

The remarks come as powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tightens his grip on power by cracking down on dissent with the imprisonment of prominent clerics, women and human rights activists.

The crown prince, architect of the kingdom's 2015 intervention in Yemen, has also drawn criticism over the conflict that left nearly 10,000 people dead and pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan, North Sumatra  Thu, September 6, 2018 13:21 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a5fdc 1 National #LakeToba,Lake-Toba,accident,students,drown Free

Three female junior high school students reportedly drowned on Wednesday afternoon in Lake Toba, Rianiate village, Samosir regency, North Sumatra.

Rianiate village secretary Boy Naibaho told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday that their bodies have been released to their families.

Boy added that the victims were Esra Kumban Batu and Devi Marbun, both of Rianiate village, and Sri Tetty Simbolon of Hutanamora village.

All were 14-year-old students at 4 Satu Atap Pangururan junior high school in Samosir.

Boy said the victims and fellow students decided to take a swim in Lake Toba after conducting group work after school.

They initially swam in the shallows but moved deeper into the lake. The wo victims, Devi and Sri who were not good swimmers, reportedly called for help after getting into difficulties.

A local resident, Leo Simbolon, heard them shouting and immediately swam out to help them. However, he only managed to save one student named Siska Sinurat.

Local residents combed the shore and found their bodies at around 3:30 p.m. local time. (sau)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia  Thu, September 6, 2018 20:38 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771bedea 2 World #SaudiArabia,#USA,Saudi-Arabia,USA,helicopter,pilot,dies,helicopter-crash Free

A US pilot working with Saudi Arabia's national guard was killed and his student injured when their helicopter crashed in Riyadh Thursday, the Saudi national guard said.

The Saudi national guard named the pilot as Paul Reedy and said he had been flying a Boeing AH-6i, a light attack and reconnaissance helicopter.

The statement did not specify whether Reedy was a military pilot.

Saudi Arabia and the United States, longtime military allies, have boosted ties since the election of US President Donald Trump in 2016 and the appointment of Mohammed bin Salman as heir to the Saudi throne last year.

The US also provides weapons, aerial refuelling to jets, intelligence and targeting information to a Saudi-led military coalition fighting Huthi rebels in Yemen.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Fri, September 7 2018

Chinas Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) marks its fifth anniversary this year. The BRI is clearly taking off after five years despite problems and obstacles along the way.

From an estimated initial price tag of US$900 billion, analysts are now talking about several trillion dollars worth of new investment in infrastructure in the coming years in participating countries.

For such a huge undertaking, there are bound to be problems and challenges. Some countries have been experiencing problems with their BRI projects, such as spiraling debt, loss of sovereignty and the growing presence of Chinese workers. But China is addressing these problems.
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, September 7 2018

President Joko Jokowi Widodo will visit South Korea and Vietnam next week to ink several agreements, and to speak at an economic forum, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will accompany the President to Seoul on Sept. 10 to 11. One of the objectives of the visit is to strengthen economic cooperation, especially amid the current global economic situation, the ministrys spokesman, Arrmanatha Nasir, told a press briefing.

The entourage then heads to Hanoi on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Pnomp Penh, Cambodia  Thu, September 6, 2018 13:21 1154 882ab4bc56dbda08a069b308771a6ed3 2 SE Asia #SoutheastAsia,#cambodia,Cambodia,cafe,reptiles Free

For anyone terrified of an albino python, an orange corn snake or a scaly, bearded iguana, Chea Raty says getting up close and personal at Phnom Penh's first reptile-themed cafe is the only remedy.

Taking off from the cat cafes already popular in the Cambodian capital, Chea Raty launched his business to revamp the skin-crawling reputation of lizards and snakes and convince haters that they are simply misunderstood.

As customers sip on their lattes and hang out with the reptiles, "they will love them like I do," the 32-year-old told AFP while stroking the scaly neck wattle of an iguana.

The walls of his cafe are lined with lit-up glass tanks containing snakes of various lengths and colours, while a bright macaw screeches in the corner.

Some visitors look hesitantly at the cages, others are bolder in their embrace of the creatures.

There's no entry fee, so visitors can order a coffee and request a sit-down with a serpentine friend from one of the tanks.

An ice tea for a young customer instantly becomes a cool object for a yellow-and-cream-coloured ball python to twist its body around.

A woman giggles as an albino python creeps from her shoulder and wraps behind her head.

Nearby, a bearded dragon iguana perches on a table while a man gently pets it.

Customer Y Navim was wary at first of a corn snake, an orange-coloured serpent that kills its prey through constriction. But it was soon resting on her palm as she sipped her coffee.

"This cafe is quite unique," the 22-year-old said. "I've never seen some of these reptiles before. They are beautiful and scary."

To critics who say the animals should be left alone in the wild, Chea Raty says his human-bred creatures "cannot survive there."

All of his cafe creatures are imported from Thailand.

Business is still slow-going due to the common fears of snakes and lizards.

But women, Chea Raty says, are providing an unexpected boost.

"They put the pythons around their neck, take selfies, and they are happy."
Those who are into vacations at the sea must consider visiting Taka Bonerate National Park, Selayar islands, South Sulawesi, as recommended by kompas.com.

The national park features 220,000 hectares of atoll, said to be one of the largest in the world following Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands and Suvadiva in the Maldives.

Included in the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves, Taka Bonerate is the habitat of hundreds of fish and other biota, particularly at several diving sites.

The current popular destination is Tinabo Island, where you can encounter baby sharks the moment you step out of your lodging, said Asri of the Public Relations and Information Data Center at Taka Bonerate National Park on Aug. 30, during the commemoration of National Nature Conservation Day (HKAN) in Bitung, North Sulawesi.

Diving and snorkeling

A vast coral reef has made Taka Bonerate a haven for divers. In 2015, KompasTravel noted that there were 16 diving sites favored by travelers.

According to an update from Asri, the marine park now has 19 dive sites, with Tinabo Island being the most popular due its easy access and safety even for beginner divers.

Cultural tourism

Seven main islands in the national park have been inhabited for generations by the Bajo, Bugis and Selayar (Buton and Flores) tribes.

The tribes have their own attractions, which are heavily influenced by the maritime culture and Islamic teachings. Traditions that travelers may find attractive include the Bajo wedding procession and Safar bath, where locals take a dip together in the sea on the last Wednesday in the Islamic month of Safar.

Asri said the Bajo in Taka Bonerate lived on sand islands, unlike others who live on boats.

Education and research

The rich biodiversity in the national park makes it ideal as a location for education and research, particularly in the field of marine biology. Students and travelers alike can observe the ecosystem, marine creatures and the rather peculiar landscape. Apart from that, researchers and tourists can also participate in coral reef transplantation, tree planting and other educational tourist attractions.

Read also: How climate change threatens Indonesia's marine tourism

Recreational tourism

A number of activities can also be enjoyed by those who cannot swim nor dive. The activities include sunrise and sunset viewing, canoeing, as well as bird and dolphin watching. The latter, however, will require some good luck.

Travelers who want to avoid getting wet can go fishing, play beach volleyball or go on culinary adventures. (mut)
The Tourism Ministry is conducting a sales mission to promote 10 Indonesian destinations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Participating in the 2018 International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City that runs from Sept. 6-8 at Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center, the ministry is bringing 10 sellers from Bali, Yogyakarta, Riau Islands and Papua.

Among the destinations highlighted by the sales mission are Bandung, Bali, Jakarta, Riau Islands, Yogyakarta-Surakarta-Semarang, Wakatobi-Bunaken-Raja Ampat, Medan, Makassar, Lombok and Banyuwangi.

Indonesia seeks to attract more tourists from Vietnam this year; it welcomed 64,000 Vietnamese last year and is expecting to lure up to 74,000 in 2018.

Masruroh, the ministrys official in charge of marketing development for Region I, said in a statement that Indonesia considered Vietnam a promising market with ongoing growth in tourism. This was due to the country's increased economy that was boosting the number of middle-to-high income citizens who could afford vacations abroad.

Read also: West Nusa Tenggaras Mandalika promoted by sales mission to Amsterdam

Last year, there were some 8 million outbound Vietnamese tourists, with the main destinations including Japan, Thailand and China. Indonesia does not yet appear high on that list.

"Based on a survey conducted by the ministry, Vietnamese enjoy luxury and modern travel. They love to shop, spa and [stay at] resorts, which are plentiful in Indonesia. Additionally, its young travelers also look for adventurous or adrenaline-pumping activities," said Masruroh, as quoted by kompas.com.

Aside from the sales mission, the ministry also held a familiarization trip (famtrip) that invited media and tourist industry representatives as endorsers to explore destinations in Indonesia that are suitable for Vietnamese. (kes)
NEWARK, New York, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IEC Electronics Corp. (NYSE AMERICAN:IEC) today announced the appointment of Thomas L. Barbato as Senior Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer effective September 10, 2018. He will report directly to Jeffrey T. Schlarbaum, President and Chief Executive Officer of IEC Electronics.



Mr. Barbato, age 49, has had a successful 23-year career at Xerox Corporation, where he held a variety of high level finance and operational positions, most recently serving as Vice President, Finance - North America Operations Pricing and Contracting. Prior to that he was Vice President, Finance  U.S. Large Enterprise Operations, a $1.8 billion division of Xerox. His experience includes all facets of pricing and contracting, deal review and risk management, acquisitions, accounting and internal controls. While at Xerox he held leadership roles in change management as well as Lean Six Sigma initiatives. Before joining Xerox, Mr. Barbato served as Senior Auditor at Deloitte & Touche in Rochester, New York. He holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from St. John Fisher College.

Jeffrey T. Schlarbaum, President and CEO of IEC Electronics Corp., stated, As IEC continues on our path to growth, it is critical for our company to bring on strong leaders who understand the manufacturing environment in which we work. We are very pleased to bring Tom, with his demonstrated leadership and extensive experience in world class processes, to our business. We believe his background and expertise related to manufacturing operations as well as Lean Six Sigma training make him especially well-suited for our CFO role.

We had an overwhelming response in our search to fill the CFO position and saw many qualified candidates. Tom not only brings broad professional experience from his long career at a blue chip corporation, but is also a solid fit for our culture of excellence. We are excited to welcome Tom to our management team, and we believe hell be a valuable addition as we continue to grow our leadership position in the marketplace.

About IEC Electronics

IEC Electronics is a provider of electronic manufacturing services ("EMS") to advanced technology companies that produce life-saving and mission critical products for the medical, industrial, aerospace and defense sectors. The Company specializes in delivering technical solutions for the custom manufacture of complex full system assemblies by providing on-site analytical testing laboratories, custom design and test engineering services combined with a broad array of manufacturing services encompassing electronics, interconnect solutions, and precision metalworking. As a full service EMS provider, IEC holds all appropriate certifications for the market sectors it supports including ISO 9001:2008, AS9100D, ISO 13485, and Nadcap. IEC Electronics is headquartered in Newark, NY and also has operations in Rochester, NY and Albuquerque, NM. Additional information about IEC can be found on its web site at www.iec-electronics.com .
Unlike other carnivals, the 2018 Malang Flower Carnival to be held in the East Java city on Sept. 16 will focus on the ecological nature of the participants' costumes.

According to news agency Antara, one of the requirements for the costumes is that they feature flower ornaments made of recycled materials.

"Recycled materials can be easily obtained around Malang; they can be sponge- or palm stick-based," said the event's initiator, Agus Sunandar, in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Agus said creativity and innovation were key to sparking public enthusiasm for such a carnival.

"The Malang Flower Carnival will also come up with a carnival-concept wayang [puppet] costume play, which will make it entirely different from other [carnivals]," he added.

Supported by the Malang Tourism and Culture Agency and the Tourism Ministry, the event's eight edition will highlight "Eksotika Bunga Nusantara" (Archipelagic Flower Exoticism) in an effort to brand Malang as the City of Flowers.

The ministry's expert staff member for multicultural events, Esthy Reko Astuti, said the carnival had been included as one of 100 dates this year in the Wonderful Indonesia Calendar of Events.

"The Malang Flower Carnival is also one of eight events included in the 2018 Calendar of Events representing East Java," said Esthy.

Read also: Solo Batik Carnival highlights diversity, creativity

Last year, the carnival was joined by 214 participants and attracted more than 5,000 visitors.

For this year, the carnival expects to welcome more visitors from outside Malang, such as Surabaya, Banyuwangi, Jember, Blitar, Pasuruan, Surabaya, Probolinggo, Bondowoso, Kediri, Nganjuk and Batu.

The participants will be divided into two categories: children and adults -- all will be wearing large costumes as they parade along Jl. Ijen.

One of East Java's prominent events, the Malang Flower Carnival has received numerous awards abroad, including Best Performance at the International Cultural Parade in Moscow in 2014 and Best National Costume at Miss Queen Tourism Ambassador International in Kuala Lumpur in 2016. (kes)
Several Indonesian brands were among the Asia Winners 2018 announced at the annual World Travel Awards (WTA) Asia & Australasia gala ceremony held in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

Among the brands recognized at the event were DoubleTree by Hilton Jakarta-Diponegoro who was named Asia's Leading City Resort, Four Seasons Resort Bali in Jimbaran Bay as Asia's Leading Honeymoon Resort, Bawah Reserve as Asia's Leading Private Island Resort and Waterbom Bali as Asia's Leading Water Park.

The WTA also announced the winners in the Indonesia category, which included Hotel Gran Mahakam as Indonesia's Leading Business Hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Jakarta-Diponegoro as this year's Leading City Hotel and Leading Conference Hotel in Indonesia, Bunaken Oasis Dive Resort and Spa as Indonesia's Leading Dive Resort, Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua Beach Resort as Indonesia's Leading Resort, Frasers Hospitality as Indonesia's Leading Serviced Apartment Brand and Ascott Kuningan Jakarta as Indonesia's Leading Serviced Apartments.

Read also: AirAsia awarded Asia's best low-cost carrier at World Travel Awards

Fairmont Jakarta brought home the title of Indonesia's Leading Hotel, Indonesia's Leading Hotel Residences for its Sky Suites and Indonesia's Leading Hotel Suite for its Presidential Suite.

However, the most coveted awards of the night went to Vietnam and Sydney, which were named Asia's Leading Destination and Australasia's Leading Destination, respectively.

Other notable winners in the aviation sector at the event were Hainan Airlines (Asias Leading Airline Brand), Cathay Pacific (Asias Leading Airline), Singapore Changi Airport (Asias Leading Airport) and Air New Zealand (Australasias Leading Airline). (kes)
Taka Bonerate National Park is well-known and was even listed as a conservation area by the Dutch in the colonial era.

Kompas.com reported that according to a map dated 1901, the area was named Tijger Eilanded or Tiger Islands. Nobody knows exactly how the name originated, but the Dutch was said to have changed the name to Taka Bonerate, which is derived from the local language.

Taka means coral, bone means sand and rate means on top, so it literally means vast coral over the sands, Asri of the Public Relations and Information Data Center of Taka Bonerate National Park told kompas.com on Aug. 31, during the commemoration of National Nature Conservation Day in Bitung, North Sulawesi.

Taka Bonerate, which is a marine reserve, is in the shape of a ring, commonly referred to as an atoll. It plays host to a special seagrass habitat and coral reef ecosystem.

The marine wealth of Taka Bonerate is dedicated to research, knowledge, education and to support cultivation, tourism and recreation.

UNESCO started to pay attention to the national park in 2015, when Taka Bonerate was listed as the core zone for biosphere reserves spanning the Selayar Islands regency. It was named the Taka Bonerate-Kepulauan Selayar biosphere reserve.

Up until today, the national park includes 18 small islands, five coral islets and 30 corals that form a ring or atoll.

Read also: Things to do when visiting Taka Bonerate national park

There are seven inhabited islands in the area, namely Tarupa, little Rajuni, big Rajuni, big Latondu, Jinato, Central Pasitallu and East Pasitallu, which are inhabited by the Bugis and Bajo tribes.

A bridge in Tinabo island, Taka Bonerate National Park, Selayar Islands, South Sulawesi (Kompas.com/Asri/TN Taka Bonerate)

The Bajo tribe in Taka Bonerate is different from the other tribes of South Sulawesi. The Bajo people in Taka live on sand islands, said Asri.

She added that according to local residents, Taka Bonerate had been visited by fishermen from other islands due to its fishery potential since colonial times. (mut)
A 24-year-old man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for an attack on a woman near Sara D. Roosevelt Park last year.

On May 20, 2017, Devin Brown came up behind a 61-year-old woman on Forsyth Street, knocked her to the ground and viciously beat the victim. Prosecutors said he only stopped when a good Samaritan came along. The woman, who lives nearby, was rushed to a local hospital with serious head injuries.

Brown pleaded guilty to second degree attempted murder. According to the New York Post, he expressed remorse during yesterdays sentencing hearing, saying, I just want to apologize profusely for my actions. Prosecutors were asking for a longer sentence than the judge imposed (no less than 15 years) because the attack was so brutal and the victim suffered extensive injuries.

After Brown was indicted last year, District Attorney Cy Vance said, The details of this senseless attack are truly shocking  the defendant is accused of continuing to assault the victim as she lay motionless on the ground The defendant rifled through (the victims) pockets and then proceeded to stomp on her head and kick her.

The Daily News reported last year that Brown allegedly claimed he was provoked by the woman, telling cops, That bh robbed me first! Then he changed his story, according to the News, explaining to investigators that he was, drunk and on Xanax and had smoked marijuana before the incident. Brown allegedly said he did not remember anything, but added,(I) wouldnt put my hands on a female.
Verdict: Crazy Rich Asians provides both laughs and tears, and is a breath of fresh air.

It is hard to find something to say about Crazy Rich Asians that hasnt already been said. Based on Kevin Kwans novel of the same name, it is the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature an all Asian-American cast since 1993s The Joy Luck Club.

It follows Rachel (Constance Wu), an Asian-American economics professor, as her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) invites her to Singapore to attend his best friends wedding and meet his family. What she doesnt know is that they are the wealthiest family in the country - and that Nick is considered the most eligible bachelor of Singapore.

What follows is an extravagant and dazzling look into Singapores elite and one of the best romantic comedies of recent years, whose fashion is on par with The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City. Director John M. Chu manages his large ensemble cast with ease, giving each character its moment to shine - the foremost being Constance Wus comedic yet touching performance as the fish-out-of-water Rachel. As the child of a working-class, immigrant single-mother, she is immediately at odds with Nicks cold and protective mother (the superb Michelle Yeoh) and the scenes they share together are some of the highlights of the film.

Gemma Chan is also a standout as Nicks socialite cousin who has to deal with her husband's inferiority complex and possible affairs. Most of the laughs are delivered by the perfectly cast Awkwafina and Ken Jeong, who play Rachels nouveau-riche best friend Goh Peik Lin and her father.

Of course, under all the flashy decors, parties and banquets, there is something deeper at the heart of Crazy Rich Asians. As the movie opens with Nicks family getting their reservation denied by an upscale hotel (perhaps you should try Chinatown"), I was reminded of going to a high-end store with my Vietnamese mom and not being permitted to try on some clothes (you cant try if youre not going to buy). I saw my little cousin in Goh Peik Lins little sisters - and I recognised the food they ate as the food I ate as a child. Growing up in a half-white, half-Asian household, I identified with Rachels struggle in not knowing where and how to fit in as an Asian-American.

Most of the time, when I see Southeast Asians in films it is to fill in stereotypical roles such as manicurists or doctors. Seeing such a large Asian cast in unapologetically powerful and opulent roles was simply something I had never seen before - and it was both poignant and a breathe of fresh air. It is easy to forget about this lack of representation in film, but when you see these sorts of experiences on screen, it hits you that you've been missing out.

I have to say that before the film came out, I was worried. What if its not good? What if it fails to attract an audience? Would that mean the beginning and the end of Hollywood giving Asian actors and stories a chance? Now in its third week at number 1 at the US box-office, I can rest assured. It follows smash-hit films like Girls Trip, Black Panther, and Get Out to show that audiences crave seeing all kinds of ethnicities and stories on screen. Most of all, it is a genuinely great romantic comedy, which seems to be a rarity these days. A sequel is already on the way, in what will hopefully be one of many more Asian-led Hollywood films.

Crazy Rich Asians comes out in the UK on September 14th.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glance Technologies Inc. (Glance or the Company) (CSE:GET.CN) (OTCQB:GLNNF) (FKT:GJT) today announced details of its participation in three investor conferences in September.



Glance will attend and present at the MoneyShow in Toronto, ON, the Global Chinese Financial Forum in Markham, ON, and the Extraordinary Future conference in Vancouver, BC. All existing and prospective shareholders are invited to attend these events to speak with members of the Glance team and learn more about the Company.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with investors and share our exciting vision of leadership in mobile payments and consumer engagement, said Glance CEO Desmond Griffin.

Conference Details

The MoneyShow, Toronto ON Date: September 14, 9:30 am  7:00 pm; September 15, 9:00 am  5:30 pm Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre Presentations: How Technology Is Rapidly Changing the Financial Services Markets, Panel discussion, September 14, 1:45 pm Glance: The Future of Mobile Payments, Desmond Griffin, CEO, September 14, 3:30 pm More information: MoneyShow Toronto website Global Chinese Financial Forum, Markham ON Date: September 15, 9:00 am  4:00 pm Location: Toronto Marriott Markham Presentation: Simplify Consumer Spending with Glance Pay  A Streamlined Mobile Payment System, Desmond Griffin, CEO, 2:40 pm More information: GCFF Toronto website Extraordinary Future, Vancouver BC Date: September 19 and 20, 10:00 am  5:00 pm Location: Vancouver Convention Centre East Presentation: Glance Technologies, Desmond Griffin, CEO, September 19, 12:40pm More information: Extraordinary Future website

Please visit Glances website at www.glance.tech for updated investor information, including any available audio files from its conference presentations.

About Glance Technologies Inc.

Glance owns and operates Glance Pay, a streamlined payment system that revolutionizes how smartphone users choose where to shop, order goods and services, make payments, access digital receipts, redeem digital deals, earn great rewards & interact with merchants. Glance offers targeted in-app marketing, geo-targeted digital coupons, customer feedback, in-merchant messaging and custom rewards programs. The Glance Pay mobile payment system consists of proprietary technology, which includes user apps available for free downloads in iOS (Apple) and Android formats, merchant manager apps, a large-scale technology hosting environment with sophisticated anti-fraud technology and lightning-fast payment processing. Glance has also recently purchased a blockchain solution and is working on a rewards-based cryptocurrency, the whitepaper for which can be found on the companys website.

For more information about Glance, please go to www.glance.tech .

For more information, contact:

Paola Ashton

VP Business Development

604-839-0337

investors@glancepay.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: may, "believe", thinks, "expect", exploring, expand, could, "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", plan, pursue, "potentially", projected, should, will and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. These forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to, among other things, the discussion of Glances business strategies and its expectations concerning future operations, including its technology roadmap. Although Glance considers these forward-looking statements to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among other things, risks related to expansion. The forward-looking information in this press release is also based on certain estimates, forecasts and projections, as well as expectations, beliefs and assumptions, including, among other things, that Glance will be able to achieve its business objectives and that Glance will be able to develop proprietary software to implement its plans. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this press release, see the section entitled Risk Factors in the most recent Annual Information Form and Prospectus of Glance, which may be accessed through Glance's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Glance cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by Glance is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur.
trying

Speaking ahead of the single's release, the band explain

Placing this message over grooving guitar riffs, infectious percussion and jaunty harmonies frontman Pier Danio Forni sings of "wasting time in disguise", in reference to young music journalists who let the facade of industry pretence hang over their ability to inject themselves into their live shows, and simply, have fun. He explains: "I was singing a melody in my head for a while that reminded me of Michael Jackson and Beyonce's first era, and I always wanted to write music like that for Husky Loops. Me and MEI met and had this idea of writing an anthemic, joyful protest against the music industry."

After signing to 30th Century records, run by Danger Mouse, the trio is set to release their EP Spool on the 19th of October. Check out their new video for the track below.
For the vast majority of people, we dont even have to think about our pronouns. When we go out and someone refers to us by he or she, it doesnt make us uncomfortable, doesnt disrespect our identities and doesnt cause us any dysphoria. We are happy to let people assume our gender because we present in a certain way and were not trans. Indeed the vast majority of the population are cisgender, or 'cis', meaning that the gender you were assigned at birth matches the gender you identify as. For example, I was assigned female at birth and I identify as a woman and use she/her pronouns. I also present in a fairly feminine way and never have to worry about being mistaken for another gender. I write this article knowing that the above facts mean I am in a very privileged position to talk about an issue that doesnt necessarily affect me directly. However, I have worked closely with a number of transgender people throughout my university career, making an effort to educate myself, and have come to realise what exactly the role of an ally is in transgender liberation. If someone is transgender, or 'trans', they identify with a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth. Trans people can often identify as another binary gender, for example where a transgender woman was assigned male at birth, but many do not feel like they fit within the binary confines of man or woman. These people are known as non-binary, and there are a huge number of identities that come under this umbrella; gender is very fluid and non-binary identities can vary hugely. If I decided to cut my hair short and present in a more masculine fashion, I wouldnt feel uncomfortable correcting people who misgendered me as a man as this is one of the privileges afforded to me as a cis woman. However, many trans and non-binary people do not have this privilege. Transphobia is rife in our society, especially in recent years where a small minority of women in the Labour Party have left the party over the move to allow trans women to stand on all-women shortlists. Equally, with almost half of transgender pupils in the UK attempting suicide, its clearly a huge issue. Trans people can come up against incredible hostility for merely existing, something cis people like myself cant even fathom. This is where pronoun badges come in. For cis people, pronouns may seem relatively unimportant.However, for the trans community, when people use the correct pronouns for you it can be hugely affirming. Similarly, when someone uses the wrong pronouns for you, such as those of the gender you were assigned at birth, it can be a horrible experience which makes you feel invalidated, disrespected and dysphoric. This act is often known as misgendering; where someone makes the wrong assumption about your gender identity. Much the same can happen with names; using an individuals 'dead name', that is the one they used before transition, of a trans person is hugely disrespectful, and can be really damaging. Many may not feel able to correct people about pronouns. Indeed, 99% of the time it is a cis person who misgenders a trans person, where there is an obvious power imbalance due to the privilege cis people hold. It is this problem which the Edinburgh University Students Association are trying to combat by introducing pronoun badges during Freshers week, which begins next week. They will be available at receptions of Students Association building as well as being handed out at liberation events. In addition to she/her and he/him, Edinburgh are also including they/them pronouns for non-binary students who prefer it. Wearing pronoun badges means that there is no need to verbally correct someone, making it unlikely for there to be any misgendering in the first place, and as such seems like a sensible solution. So whats the problem? The move has sparked a huge amount of media attention, with people saying theyre unnecessary and put people into boxes. However, a key thing to remember here is that these badges are not mandatory, and members of the student union staff wont be greeting you and forcing you to wear a pronoun badge as soon as you arrive at university. They also arent just another issue of the snowflake generation; as Ive said above, pronoun badges can be incredibly helpful for trans students, and they can help cis people to learn more about pronouns and trans issues. Another issue raised is whether cis people, if they want to, should wear the badges. The answer is yes! This normalises the idea of expressing your pronouns; some companies ask employees to put their pronouns in their email signatures, and many people put them in their Twitter bios too. If you want to be a good trans ally, this is somewhere you can start. As a recent graduate of Edinburgh, Im really happy to see my alma mater do their bit to help trans students on campus. Sadly, the unnecessary media attention towards something relatively minor has meant there has been an influx of transphobia on campus, especially on Facebook posts and towards sabbatical officers. If you dont like the idea of pronoun badges, feel free not to wear one. But please dont stop others from wearing them; they might need them a lot more than you do. Image: Keith Murray
Stepping into a fictional world is every book lovers dream. Sadly, most of our favourite fictional locations are just that, fictional. The UK is, however, full of places which have either inspired or featured in the locations of numerous famous books, places which can truly make all your resident bookworms holiday dreams come true.

1. Whitby

Bram Stokers Dracula

Dracula was inspired by the Yorkshire fishing town of Whitby. Sections of the book take place in Whitby after Draculas plans go awry in his journey from Transylvania to England when his ship is run aground in the town. Bram Stoker's famous horror novelwas inspired by the Yorkshire fishing town of Whitby. Sections of the book take place in Whitby after Draculas plans go awry in his journey from Transylvania to England when his ship is run aground in the town.

If you take a visit to Whitby you can see the Church of St. Mary, which is used as the setting for a graveyard in Dracula, as well as the Abbey that also provides a setting for the book. You can join the Bram Stoker Dracula Experience or, if you visit in October, you may attend the Bram Stoker International Film Festival. If you love Dracula, Whitby is the place to go!

2. Haworth

The Bronte sisters home

Jane Eyre and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. You can visit the Bronte Parsonage Museum, the sisters' former home, and walk Bronte Way, where you can see the landscape that inspired their famous novels for yourself. If you are a massive Bronte fan, a must-see literary spot has to be Haworth, where the Brontes spent much of their lives. Haworth is said to have inspired the settings in both Charlotte Bronte'sand Emily Bronte's. You can visit the Bronte Parsonage Museum, the sisters' former home, and walk Bronte Way, where you can see the landscape that inspired their famous novels for yourself.

3. Ashdown Forest, East Sussex

Winnie The Pooh

visit Ashdown Forest Given that the new Christopher Robin film has just been released, now would be the perfect time to, the real-life setting for the home of Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Hundred Acre Wood in real life is much bigger, it's actually 500 Acre Wood! You can see Roo's sandpit, Owl's Tree, and Poohsticks Bridge.

4. 221B Baker Street

Sherlock Holmes

When the books were published, the house numbers on Baker Street did not go as high as 221. However, in the 1930s, the address was assigned to Abbey House, a bank. After the Museum was built at 237-241 Baker Street, they won a dispute to be formally recognised as 221B Baker Street. The museum features exhibits from different adaptations of the Holmes stories and various Holmes memorabilia.

5. The Forest of Dean

Fangorn Forest, Lord of The Rings

The picturesque Forest of Dean, located in Gloucestershire, was the inspiration for Fangorn Forest, one of the locations in Middle Earth. If the name sounds familiar, this was also the place where the camping scenes in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book took place.

6. Doune Castle

Castle Leoch, Outlander

Doune Castle, near Stirling, doubles as Castle Leoch, the ancestral home of Colum Mackenzie in the show Outlander. Doune Castle was once home to Scottish royalty but is perhaps even more famous now as an Outlander filming location.

7. Fort William, Scotland

The Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter

If you would like to ride the route that the Hogwarts Express takes for yourself, then journey to Fort William in Scotland where you can board the Jacobite Steam train, a stand-in for the Hogwarts Express. You can travel over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, one of the most iconic locations from the films.

8. Edinburgh, Scotland

Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter, and Greyfriar's Bobby

As a UNESCO City of Literature, there isn't one specific literary-inspired place you need to visit here - there are many! The Writer's Museum celebrates three of Scotland's most famous writers, making it a -must-see for literary fans. The Elephant House cafe is where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book and, for Sherlock fans, The Conan Doyle stands across from where you can see the famous statue of Sherlock Holmes.

If you are a fan of Ian Rankin, you can pop into Inspector Rebus' favourite haunt, the Oxford Bar, and you can also visit Greyfriar's Kirkyard, a location in famous novel Greyfriar's Bobby. This is also the location that inspired the Riddell grave for Voldemort's family in Harry Potter.

9. Hill Top House, Cumbria

Beatrix Potters home

The beloved home of Beatrix Potter provided the backdrop for many of her beloved animal characters - many of her famous illustrations were drawn whilst visiting her picturesque house in the Lake District.

10. Oxford, England

The Bone Season
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MONTREAL, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PyroGenesis Canada Inc. (http://pyrogenesis.com) (TSX-V: PYR), a TSX Venture 50 high-tech company, (the "Company", the Corporation or "PyroGenesis") a Company that designs, develops and manufactures plasma waste-to-energy systems and plasma torch systems, is pleased to announce today that it intends to implement a normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") through the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV").



Pursuant to the NCIB, PyroGenesis proposes to purchase, from time to time, over a period of 12 months, up to 5,000,000 (approx. 4.1%) of its common shares issued and outstanding (the "Shares"). As of the date hereof, there are 122,895,342 Shares of PyroGenesis issued and outstanding.

Purchases under the NCIB will commence on acceptance and approval of the TSXV and will expire on the earlier of: (i) one year from such commencement; or (ii) the date on which the Company has purchased the maximum number of Shares to be acquired under the NCIB. All purchases made by the Company will be through Pollitt & Co. Inc. acting on behalf of the Company in accordance with the rules of the TSXV. The actual number of Shares which will be purchased, and the timing of such purchases, will be determined by the Company, and the price which the Company will pay for the Shares will be the market price at the time of the purchase.

The Company's Board of Directors believe that the market price of the Company's Shares does not reflect the underlying value of the Company, specifically its growth opportunities, and that the proposed purchasing of its Shares is in the best interests of the Company and represents an appropriate use of corporate funds. Any purchases made by the Company could also enhance value and liquidity for its ongoing shareholders.

At these price levels, we find the value of our shares to be an attractive investment and, as such, a good use of funds, particularly given our recent press releases which describe, amongst other things that (i) the Company contracted for an order of 10 tons (minimum) of titanium powders, (ii) is now recommended by a leading 3D printer OEM to their customers, (iii) has embraced a tolling strategy for its Drosrite system with joint venture discussions in progress, and (iv) interest by the US Military for two (2) aircraft carrier systems continues. This is all within the background of being nominated Materials Company of the Year at the 3D Printing Industry Awards 2018, and continued strategic commercial discussions with significant players within the Additive Manufacturing industry, said P. Peter Pascali, President and CEO of PyroGenesis. Despite our daily trading volume being respectable, we believe that the share price does not fully reflect this news. We find it inconceivable that PyroGenesis is approximately half the market value than it was at the end of January 2018, particularly given the news released since that time. As such, we feel it is an opportune time to buy PyroGenesis shares.

About PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

PyroGenesis Canada Inc., a TSX Venture 50 high-tech company, is the world leader in the design, development, manufacture and commercialization of advanced plasma processes. We provide engineering and manufacturing expertise, cutting-edge contract research, as well as turnkey process equipment packages to the defense, metallurgical, mining, advanced materials (including 3D printing), oil & gas, and environmental industries. With a team of experienced engineers, scientists and technicians working out of our Montreal office and our 3,800 m2 manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis maintains its competitive advantage by remaining at the forefront of technology development and commercialization. Our core competencies allow PyroGenesis to lead the way in providing innovative plasma torches, plasma waste processes, high-temperature metallurgical processes, and engineering services to the global marketplace. Our operations are ISO 9001:2008 certified and have been since 1997. PyroGenesis is a publicly-traded Canadian Corporation on the TSX Venture Exchange (Ticker Symbol: PYR) and on the OTCQB Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.pyrogenesis.com

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "in the process" and other similar expressions which constitute "forward- looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Corporation's current expectation and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Corporation with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Corporation's ongoing filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com , or at www.otcmarkets.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward- looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange, its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) nor the OTCQB accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE PyroGenesis Canada Inc.

For further information please contact: Rodayna Kafal, VP, Investor Relations and Strategic Business Development, Phone: (514) 937-0002, E-mail: ir@pyrogenesis.com
Southern Pines, NC (28387)

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Tonight

A few clouds. Scattered frost possible. Low 33F. Winds light and variable.


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LOS ANGELES, CA, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Geopulse Exploration, Inc. (OTC PINK: GPLS), DBA Cannco Brands (Geopulse) a blockchain-based logistics, trade finance and promotion ecosystem for the cannabis sector, is pleased to announce the retention of ICO consultants, Applicature, Inc. (www.applicature.com). After a lengthy search, the Company identified Applicature as the ideal consultants, with extensive experience in blockchain projects and cryptocurrency ICOs in relevant fields, including banking, mobile payments, supply chain logistics, and even cannabis tech.



Applicature will be assisting the Company with designing and testing our token economic structure, liquidity and stability models, Whitepaper and ICO investment documents, as well as numerous other aspects for its ICO preparation. Their team will simultaneously be developing both the initial smart contracts, as well as ICO Contribution Cabinet, which a suite of applications, APIs and widgets which will allow participants the world over to invest directly in the ICO using Ethereum, Bitcoin, fiat currency, credit cards, and ACH. Applicature has assisted and/or managed over 25 successful ICOs for their clients, so Cannco is extremely excited to be working with them.

The Technology team has also been working aggressively at designing our MVP (minimum viable product) for the blockchain space, with the hope of deploying an alpha version of our core services soon, for testing by key industry participants.

The Company recommends that interested parties follow our twitter feed @cannco.network for updates on our developing business relationships within the industry. Management has been getting wonderful feedback on our strategy and message and is looking forward to working with respected brands and supply chain partners whove been eager to participate in the development process.

About Geopulse, DBA Cannco Brands

Geopulse (OTC PINK: GPLS) develops a blockchain-powered logistics, financial services and promotion platform for the unbanked, early stage and explosive growth U.S. and Canadian cannabis sector. Management is comprised of tech and finance veterans with strong product management experience. Among its assets (or pending acquisitions) are THCFinder.com, 300,000 user geo-finder app for cannabis dispensaries and MMJ medical offices throughout the US; CannCoin, a native token underlying a distributed ledger logistics and financial services ecosystem for cannabis; revenue generating StonerDays.com, an online D2C lifestyle community with 700,000 followers. Cannco Brands intends to provide the commercial services such as transparent supply chain management, business banking and merchant processing, trade finance, direct-to-consumer engagement solutions.

Safe Harbor Notice

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Geopulse Exploration, Inc. cautions that statements made in this news release constitute forward-looking statements and makes no guarantee of future performance. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and opinions of management at the time statements are made. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. Actual results could differ materially from current projections or implied results. Geopulse Exploration, Inc. undertakes no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this news release.
NEWTON, Mass., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paytronix Systems, Inc., the industrys fastest innovator and most widely adopted customer experience platform , today announced that Chicken Express, a family-owned, franchised group of 250 fried chicken restaurants, has deployed the Paytronix Gift Card system. Chicken Express selected Paytronix for its flexible platform that is integrated with the brands primary POS, NCR Aloha, as well as all other POS systems used by its franchisees.



The previous Chicken Express Gift Card system required franchisees to add a separate terminal alongside the main POS system. It was so difficult to use that many restaurants simply avoided dealing with gift cards altogether, said Ricky Stuart, co-owner of Chicken E Food Service and Chicken Express. I cant guarantee what POS we will be using in five years, so we needed a provider that is flexible to fit our current needs, said Stuart. Paytronix makes it easy to sell gift cards at the POS, which in turn, makes our franchisees eager to join the program.

The initial step in a broader customer experience management strategy, the Chicken Express Gift Card program takes advantage of the Paytronix gift card management tools, which make it easy to create, sell, and manage gift cards. Paytronix ensures an exceptional customer experience at all touch points  in store, mobile and online, third-party retail, discounted bulk sales  to bolster sales throughout the year.

By removing the barriers to further gift card sales, were helping Chicken Express continue on its growth trajectory, said Michelle Tempesta, head of marketing, Paytronix Systems, Inc. The merchant experience coupled with the customer experience are key to keeping users actively producing incremental sales.

About Chicken Express

Chicken Express was established in 1988 by the Stuart Family, (Stuart Group Inc.) The first restaurant opened in 1988 in Benbrook, Texas. The restaurant serves always fresh, Express Tenders, 9 different side items, and of course their famous Chicken E Tea, sold by the cup or the gallon. Chicken Express, Distribution (CEFS), is headquartered in Burleson, Texas and has over 250 locations in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. For more information, visit www.chickene.com

About Paytronix Systems, Inc.

Based in Newton, Massachusetts, Paytronix is a provider of SaaS customer experience management (CXM) solutions for restaurants and convenience store brands . Through its innovative software design and integrations with more than 30 widely used point of sale systems, Paytronix empowers more than 350 brands across 20,000 locations with the flexibility to build unique, revenue-enhancing guest experiences. Customers benefit from big data consumer insights that Paytronix generates through 1-to-1 engagement with more than 248 million loyal guestsvia mobile, social and todays most innovative digital marketing tools. As a result, customers motivate their guests to increase spend and drive revenue. For more information, visit www.paytronix.com .
Fuller, Smith & Turner's finance director James Douglas is moving to Germany

PUB EXIT The finance director of pub chain Fuller, Smith & Turner has stepped down after 11 years.

James Douglas is moving to Germany for his wifes work.

STORE UNVEILED Retailer Amazon has opened its biggest bricks and mortar store yet in Seattle.

The Amazon Go branch, the third of its kind, has no check-outs but bills shoppers automatically online.

RETAIL EXPANSION Spanish retail giant Inditex is making all its brands including Zara available online to every country in the world by 2020.

INDEX DROPOUT Troubled German lender Deutsche Bank is to drop out of an index of the biggest Eurozone firms, Euro Stoxx 50, in an embarrassing blow. It follows a 38 per cent fall in its share price this year.

BITCOIN FUNDRAISER One of Chinas biggest bitcoin firms, Bitmain Technologies, is seeking to raise 780million ahead of a stock market float.

CITIBANK FLOOD Three of the most senior executives at Citibank are leaving. Chief finance officer John Gerspach, Europe chief Jim Cowles and North America boss Bill Mills are all due to go within a year.

COMPETITION BOSS The Financial Conduct Authority has appointed Sheldon Mills as director of competition.

The lawyer, 42, was a senior director at the Competition and Markets Authority.

SHOPPING APP Picture sharing app Instagram is launching a shopping app.

GAMING RECORD Video games firm Frontier Developments is expecting a record year despite profits falling 64 per cent to 2.8million in the year to May 31.

It sold 1m copies of Jurassic World Evolution since June and predicts net record revenues of more than 80million this year.

WASN'T ME Embattled retailer Steinhoffs former boss Markus Jooste has told South African MPs he was unaware of a black hole in company accounts when he left in December.

GOLD DIGGING Miner Randgold Resources restarted production at one of its most important gold mines, Tongon in Ivory Coast, after strikes.

PRINT SELL-OFF Scottish firm John Menzies has sold off its print media division Menzies Distribution to Endless for 74.5million, to concentrate on its aviation arm.
Berkeley chief exec Rob Perrins pocketed 7.8m, including 7.1m in bonuses

Housebuilder Berkeley has warned stamp duty is suffocating the London housing market as it saw a revolt over a 28million payout to its bosses.

Official figures have shown prices in the capital are falling at the fastest pace since the financial crisis, which Berkeley blamed on stamp duty rises introduced in 2014 by then-chancellor George Osborne.

It said: London remains constrained by high transaction costs, restrictive income multiple limits on mortgage borrowing and prevailing economic uncertainty, accentuated by Brexit.

Its warning came as nearly 8 per cent of shareholder votes were cast against a pay report at its annual general meeting.

Berkeleys seven executives were handed 28.3million overall for the year to April 30.

The group has warned of a profits dip next year of around 30 per cent after a 15 per cent surge in the year to April.
The boss of John Lewis has unveiled a multi-million makeover of the department store chain  but her announcement was overshadowed by job cuts.

Managing director Paula Nickolds, 45, has opened an upmarket footwear room with shoes costing up to 695.

She is ploughing 3.5million into its beauty halls as well as setting aside 3million for staff training.

Revamp: John Lewis has opened an upmarket footwear room with shoes costing up to 695 and is ploughing 3.5m into its beauty halls as well as setting aside 3m for staff training

'While others are investing in drones we're investing in our partners, while others are cutting back we're investing in the very thing that is our point of difference,' she said.

But her comments came just 24 hours after John Lewis axed around 270 jobs in its IT, finance and security departments.

Employees have already seen bonuses slashed to the lowest level in more than 60 years, while the group made around 1,440 workers redundant last year.

M&S beefs up top team Marks & Spencer has recruited a top director from Canadas biggest food retailer as bosses Archie Norman and Steve Rowe beef up its management team. Jeremy Pee, senior vice president at Loblaw, will take the new role of chief digital and data officer in December. At Loblaw, Pee was responsible for building and growing online businesses in grocery, beauty, clothing and pharmacy. His appointment is the latest in a string of recruits which has seen M&Ss top team overhauled. The chain hopes to make a third of its sales online.

The group has a unique partnership structure which distributes profits to all employees described as 'partners' through bonuses.

John Lewis is preparing to reveal a major slump in half-year profits next week which are expected to fall to zero.

Maureen Hinton, group retail research director at Globaldata, said: 'The job cuts are obviously uncomfortable for John Lewis, it comes at a time when they're streamlining the business.

But we are in a very tough trading environment, there's a lot of change going on in retail.' Analyst Nick Bubb added: 'For all the talk about investment and increasing market share, the fact is that John Lewis profits are going backwards.

Price-matching the distressed sale promotions at House of Fraser and Debenhams has hit the bottom-line hard.

'The best hope in the medium to long term is that House of Fraser and Debenhams largely disappear so that John Lewis can scoop up most of their business.'
More than 60billion was wiped off the value of American technology titans last night after US lawmakers declared it was the end of the Wild West for social media.

Shares in Twitter, Facebook, Google, Snap, Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon fell as investors fretted about the prospect of tighter regulation.

The sell-off will worry British investors with money tied up in the US tech giants through individual share holdings or funds exposed to the stocks.

Shares in Twitter, Facebook, Google, Snap, Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon fell as investors fretted about the prospect of tighter regulation

The slide in share prices began as Facebook operating chief Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter boss Jack Dorsey were questioned by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in Washington about their efforts to tackle election interference.

During the hearing, senators told the executives that Silicon Valley would be unable to tackle meddling by countries such as Iran and Russia alone, with some saying the only answer was tough new laws.

The committees Republican chairman, Richard Burr, told them: Weve learned about how vulnerable social media is to corruption and misuse.

The very worst examples of this are absolutely chilling and a threat to our democracy. Unfortunately, what I described as a national security vulnerability... remains unaddressed.

'Clearly, this problem is not going away.

Mark Warner, the panels top-ranking Democratic senator, told them: Each of you have come a long way with respect to recognising the threat. The bad news, Im afraid, is that there is a lot of work still to do.

And Im sceptical that ultimately youll be able to truly address this challenge on your own. Congress is going to have to take action here.

The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end.

Other members of the committee warned that user data held by the firms could become a weapon of choice for foreign adversaries.

Responding to the criticism, Sandberg admitted Facebook had been slow to act on interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

But she insisted the firm had since been proactively banning users and removing pages that appeared suspicious.

Meanwhile, Dorsey responded to concerns about misinformation on Twitter and accusations from politicians that the platform censors right-wing views.

He said: Required changes wont be fast or easy. Were committing to the people and this committee to do it openly.

Google had also been invited but declined.

The senate hearing sent Twitter shares down 6.1 per cent and Facebook fell 2.3 per cent.

Netflix dropped 6.2 per cent, Amazon eased 2.2 per cent and Microsoft lost 2.9 per cent.

When the markets closed, more than $80billion  or about 62billion  was wiped off the value of US tech firms.
CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mist , a pioneer in self-learning networks powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), today announced collaboration efforts with Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) that integrate the Mist Learning WLAN with Junipers Contrail SD-WAN solution . By combining the LAN, Wireless LAN and WAN solutions, customers obtain visibility and instant insights into their wired and wireless network performance, as well as monitoring capabilities, all in one place. The joint solution uses advanced artificial intelligence to remediate issues in the wired and wireless network before they impact users, enabling users to experience consistent levels of performance and reliability regardless of how and where they connect.



Enterprise networks today host a large number of Wi-Fi connected users and devices, as well as applications that are deployed in the public, private or multicloud. Users demand the same seamless experience irrespective of how they are connected, or where their applications reside. Additionally, organizations are looking to deploy location-based services to enhance user experience and monetize value-added services. The Juniper and Mist solution combines network intelligence with artificial intelligence and deep-learning insights to deliver a remarkable user experience through automation, and it enables IT organizations to deploy new services that add more value to the network infrastructure. Benefits of the combined Juniper Networks and Mist solution include:

Predictable network access that is reliable and measurable with visibility into the actual user experience

End-to-end insights across the wired and wireless networks (WLAN, LAN and WAN) that enable pre-emptive actions

Automation that saves time and money and eliminates manual errors

Granular policies and experiences that are personalized to users and tied to real-time location

Network infrastructure has become more business critical than ever, yet it has never been harder to operate and manage, said Jeff Aaron, Vice President of Marketing at Mist. We are pleased to work with Juniper to address this challenge by executing on a common vision of automating network operations through AI and leveraging open programmability to bring a DevOps approach to IT.

With the proliferation of connected devices, users and applications across disparate places in the network, Juniper Networks is excited to partner with Mist to simplify the automated network operations across the LAN, wireless LAN and WAN, said Michael Bushong, Vice President of Enterprise and Cloud Marketing at Juniper Networks. Todays announcement with Mist is a testament to Junipers relentless commitment to removing the most complex challenges that enterprises are facing when migrating to secure and automated multicloud environments.

For more information, download the joint solution sheet .

Helpful Links:

About Mist

Mist built the first AI-driven wireless platform with the worlds first virtual IT assistant. The Mist Learning Wireless LAN makes Wi-Fi predictable, reliable and measurable by providing unprecedented visibility into the user experience and by replacing time consuming manual IT tasks with proactive automation. In addition, Mist is the first vendor to bring enterprise-grade Wi-Fi, BLE and IoT together to deliver personalized, location-based wireless services without requiring battery-powered beacons. All operations are managed via Mists modern cloud architecture for maximum scalability, agility and performance.

The Mist team consists of leading experts in wireless, data science and cloud, who are responsible for building the largest and most advanced networks in the world. Founded in 2014, the company is based in Cupertino, CA and funded by top investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Kleiner Perkins. For more information, visit www.mist.com .
The price of bitcoin, ripple, litecoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are falling amid fears an increasing number of lenders and finance bodies are shunning them.

US-based bank Goldman Sachs is reported to have shelved plans to establish a cryptocurrency trading desk at its offices, according to Business Insider.

Bitcoin, which is the world's biggest cryptocurrency, fell nearly 10 per cent earlier this morning and is currently down 4 per cent to $6,419.

Falling: The price of bitcoin is down over 4 per cent this afternoon to around $$6,418.79

In December last year bitcoin was trading at $19,000, but by June this year bitcoin's price had fallen 6.2 per cent to $5,887.

The price of ethereum has plunged nearly 20 per cent in 24 hours and is currently down 1.56 per cent on the day to around $229.08, while litecoin and ripple both shed more than 7 per cent of their value in recent days.

Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at FX firm Oanda, said: 'It's been a rough 24 hours for Bitcoin and its peers, with reports that Goldman Sachs has postponed launching a crypto-currency trading desk due to the uncertain regulatory landscape.'

He added: 'The regulatory environment is going to be key to all of this and the fact that Goldman Sachs remains so concerned is clearly a blow.'

Banks like Goldman Sachs are getting the jitters about cryptocurrencies as government finance bodies around the world are making their stances on the craze increasingly clear.

Fluctuations: The price of bitcoin in the last month has swung wildly and is currently down

Shelved? US-based bank Goldman Sachs is reported to have shelved plans to establish a cryptocurrency trading desk

In July, the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected a second attempt by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, founders of crypto-exchange Gemini, to list shares of what would have been the first-ever bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

Outside of the US, Chinese regulatory authorities have imposed a ban on initial coin offerings, which offer companies the chance to raise funds through cryptocurrency. The ban in September last year triggered a 6 per cent dip in the price of bitcoin.

Since then, China has gone even further in its quest to stamp out the flow of cryptotcurrencies and has banned exchanges, social media accounts, news sites and events covering them.

The UK's Bank of England has also waded into the cryptocurrency debate.

Looking ahead: Warren Buffett has warned bitcoin backers face disaster  and suggested the online currency craze will fail

On its website, the Bank of England warns: 'Cryptocurrencies do pose risks to investors and anyone buying cryptocurrencies should be prepared to lose all their money.'

Legendary investor Warren Buffett has also warned bitcoin backers face disaster  and suggested the online currency craze will fail.

Buffett said: In terms of cryptocurrencies, generally, I can say with almost certainty that they will come to a bad ending. When it happens or how... I dont know.

JPMorgan Chase & Co's chief executive Jamie Dimon called called bitcoin a 'fraud.'

Despite warnings about the risk of losing vast sums of money, the number of Britons who have been tempted by the prospect of hefty returns via cyrptocurrencies has surged over the last few years.

This is despite warnings of a bubble and many not truly understanding how the digital currencies work or how they fluctuate.

Anyone considering taking a punt on cryptocurrencies should do their research and be aware that they may end up losing more than they put in.

Ethereum price: A three-month chart showing how the price of ethereum has fluctuated
Shares in Yorkshire-based firm Sirius Minerals plummeted more than 15 per cent today after the miner revealed the escalating cost of getting its organic fertiliser mine up and running.

The group said the amount it needs to build its mine in the North York Moors has rocketed by between US$400million and US$600million.

Sirius Minerals  held in high esteem for its ascent from London's junior AIM market to the FTSE 250  was the sixth bestselling stock through the Share Centre investment platform in the first half of this year, despite not yet being operational.

This is the site for Sirius' York Potash Mine near Whitby in the North York Moors National Park

In one of Britain's biggest engineering projects, it is developing a 200-square mile underground tunnel between Woodsmith Mine and Lockwood Beck in North Yorkshire in order to unearth a fertiliser called polyhalite.

The additional funding is over and above the US$3billion that Sirius already needs. The total cost estimate for the mine is now US$4.2billion, up from US$3.7billion US dollars in 2016.

It put the mounting costs down to changes in the tunnel's design, including an increase in both the internal diameter and lining thickness.

Map of the area where the mine is being built

Sirius managing director Chris Fraser said: 'The expected increased funding requirement coming from this process reflects an optimisation of the mineral transport system tunnel design and a significantly improved risk allocation for Sirius to support the senior debt financing.

'The project's economics remain extremely compelling and we are confident they support the expected additional funding requirement.'

Work on the mine begun in June this year, with around 2,000 employed to construct it. A further 2,500 jobs will be created once it is fully up-and-running  likely to be around 2021.

Once complete, the polyhalite mine is expected to be one of the largest in the world of its kind.

According to Forrest, shares in the group tend to be volatile, suggesting that shorter-term investors are being attracted in the hope of quick gains.
More than 11 million households across the UK will benefit from an energy cap that will save them an average of 75 a year.

Industry watchdog Ofgem is bringing in a price cap that will limit energy companies to charging no more than 1,136 a year.

This will force them to scrap excess charges for people on poor value default deals and save millions of customers money every year.

More than 11 million households across the UK will benefit from an energy cap that will save them an average of 75 a year. File image

It comes after the Government passed the Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Act in July, which gives Ofgem the power to impose limits on energy bills.

The watchdog says it is looking to have the price cap in place by the end of the year.

It will be changed every April and October to reflect the most recent estimated costs of supplying electricity and gas. This, Ofgem says, will ensure fair pricing for customers.

Dermot Nolan, chief executive of Ofgem, said: 'Ofgem has made full use of the powers Parliament has given us to propose a tough price cap which will give a fairer deal to consumers on poor value default tariffs.

'Once the price cap is in place, all households in Great Britain covered by the cap will be protected from being overcharged for their energy.

Industry watchdog Ofgem is bringing in a price cap that will limit energy companies charging no more than 1,136 a year. File image

'Consumers can have confidence that falls in energy costs will be passed on to them and if costs increase, Ofgem will ensure that any rise will be due to genuine increases in energy costs rather than supplier profiteering.

'Households protected by the cap will be able to save even more money by shopping around for a better deal.

'Meanwhile Ofgem will continue with reforms which aim to deliver a more competitive retail energy market which, combined with protection for those who need it, works for all consumers.'

The cap is being designed as a temporary measure, which will be in place until 2023 at the latest.

The watchdog says it is looking to have the price cap in place by the end of the year. File image

This will allow Ofgem to put in place further reforms to make the energy market more competitive and work better for all consumers, including making switching energy supplier easier, quicker and more reliable.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry told MailOnline:'For the first time, this winter every family and household will be protected from rip-off default tariffs.

'Our cap will protect 11 million households from poor value deals this winter in addition to the five million vulnerable customers already protected by the prepayment meter cap or safeguard tariff.

'I've been absolutely clear with the Big Six - this Government will put the interests of hard-working families and older billpayers at the heart of the energy market. Today is the next step in delivering that promise.'
London, United Kingdom, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Cyprus Ministry of Health and SNOMED International jointly announce the addition of Cyprus as the organizations thirty-fourth Member.



With a developing e-health program across the countrys hospital and health center landscape, Cyprus joins SNOMED International to bring structure and consistency in the sharing of health information for patient care, clinical decision support and research purposes. Within the European region, the promise of cross-border care mobility is believed to be the single most important revolution in healthcare. Preserving the sanctity of patient information through structured data becomes critical to this vision.

SNOMED CT is the worlds most comprehensive and precise health terminology. Founded in 2007 by nine charter nations, SNOMED International is a not-for-profit, member-owned and driven international organization. SNOMED CT is a core element in building a platform for accurate clinical information exchange and data analysis and SNOMED International applauds Cypruss commitment to this vision states SNOMED Internationals CEO, Don Sweete. With the increasing need to support cross-border health, SNOMED CT is positioned as the best available core reference terminology for cross-border, national and regional eHealth deployments in Europe.

In recent years, Cyprus is dynamically entering the eHealth era. Codification is an essential part of this journey as health information should be captured, monitored, analyzed and disseminated among health professionals, health policy makers, and the public. Taking part in the European eHealth Network project to establish cross border health care, of which the dominant terminology used is SNOMED CT, further supports the need for codification. Through this project, Cyprus has seen this as an opportunity to expand our codification horizons. For this reason, we joined SNOMED CT as a member country, in order to be able to promote health information coding, in a unifying way, among different local health software. The aim of which is to better guide our understanding and comparability of existing health information data.

Vasos Scoutellas, Coordinator of the Health Monitoring Unit of the Ministry of Health recognizes the value of membership in SNOMED International for Cyprus. At the Health Monitoring Unit of the Ministry of Health of Cyprus, myself, as the coordinator, and my colleagues, fully endorse the promotion, adoption and deployment of SNOMED CT in the health system of Cyprus. With its use, as a country, we will have a uniform way of documenting health issues. This will help us to have better and comparable statistics within the country.

Cyprus becomes the 21st Member in the European, Middle East and African region to join SNOMED International, setting the expectation for increased interoperability as well as the promise of leveraging learnings amongst its regional and international counterparts. SNOMED CT becomes part of the Cyprus national infrastructure to ensure the exchange of accurate, relevant and timely information across all the information systems to support direct care, self-care and secondary uses of health information.

To learn more about SNOMED International and SNOMED CT, visit www.snomed.org.





About SNOMED International:

SNOMED International is a not-for-profit organization that owns and develops SNOMED CT, the world's most comprehensive healthcare terminology product. We play an essential role in improving the health of humankind by determining standards for a codified language that represents groups of clinical terms. This enables healthcare information to be exchanged globally for the benefit of patients and other stakeholders. We are committed to the rigorous evolution of our products and services, to deliver continuous innovation for the global healthcare community. SNOMED International is the trading name of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation.

Visit the SNOMED International website to learn more.

About the Cyprus Ministry of Health

The mission of the Ministry of Health is the continuous improvement of the health of the population of Cyprus, through the prevention of disease, and the provision to every citizen of high level health care, respecting the rights of every patient to high quality medical care delivered with dignity. Health information technology exists in two public hospitals (out of seven) and in in few health centers. Over the subsequent five years, Cyprus will implement a new health information system across all public hospitals and health centers.

The Health Monitoring Unit of the Ministry of Health is responsible with providing its society with necessary and useful information, as well as high quality knowledge of public health issues. We have developed and maintained national registries on births, deaths, cancer, HIV/AIDS and public hospital discharge summaries. In addition, we are responsible for the implementation of health information codification in Cyprus. In this context, we will promote and support the adoption and deployment of SNOMED CT among all health professionals.

Visit the Ministry of Health of Cyprus, Health Monitoring Unit to learn more.

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MANZINI  A move by a group of aggrieved Siphofaneni community members to deliver their grievances about the Primary Elections was quashed by the police.



The incident took place yesterday near Madlenya Royal Kraal under Siphofaneni Inkhundla. The group of aggrieved community members had planned to march to deliver a petition to Siphofaneni Police Station at 10am.

However, when the first group from Madlenya marched to meet the others, who were waiting for them at Siphofaneni Village, the police allegedly stopped the march.



According to some of the marchers, they allegedly informed the police about the intended march on Tuesday. They said this was after they delivered their complaints to the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) last Wednesday. The police gave us a green light to march to deliver the same complaint to them on Thursday (yesterday). They also asked us to start marching at 10am so that they would control traffic and ensure peace and order, the community members alleged.



They further alleged that when they gathered at the agreed venue near Madlenya Royal Kraal, there were no police but they decided to start marching with the hope that the police would come before they reach the tarred public road.



They said, when they reached the main road, they found uniformed police officers waiting for them. However, we were shocked when they told us to abandon the march or else we would face arrest as it was unlawful, the alleged.



According to the community members, the police allegedly told them that they were supposed to seek permission to march on the public road from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and submit the approval to them.



They said what shocked them most was that when they notified the police about the march on Tuesday, the law enforcers allegedly did not raise the above concerns. Their main grievance was that there were people who were allegedly ferried from other chiefdoms to vote under Madlenya Chiefdom.
MBABANE  With each passing day, the plight of the 82 SANU students, who refused to rewrite an examination paper they passed very well, intensifies.



On Wednesday, the High Court dismissed the Bachelor of Science Nursing Midwifery students application for an order that the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) should unconditionally allow them in BSNM Level Four for purposes of studying.

They had also prayed that the court should review and set aside the universitys decision to expel them from class on August 28, 2018.



The students approached the court after SANU ago allegedly expelled them from class a fortnight following the issuance of a ruling by Judge Nkosinathi Maseko that their results be released and the memo directing them to rewrite the paper in question be set aside.



SANU filed an appeal of Judge Masekos ruling four days after the ruling was issued. The students returned to court after being expelled from class, demanding that they be forthwith allowed to Level Four for purposes of studying.



Now that their application has been dismissed, through their attorney, the students are expected to file another application for an order that pending determination of the appeal filed by SANU, Judge Masekos initial order be executed.



After picking the anomaly in the examination, the university nullified the scores which the students obtained in the Parent Child Health II (NUR 306) course under the Bachelor of Science Nursing Midwifery.

The effect of the nullification of the results, according to the Registrar of the Southern Africa Nazarene University (SANU) Stanley Ngqwane, was that each student was given zero per cent in the affected course. The external examiner, Professor Nonhlanhla Sukati said it was likely that the students had access to the examination paper and the marking guide before they wrote the paper. The students, in their initial application told the court that they were not to blame if the examiner recycled the same questions year after year. They further argued that the same questions had been repeated since 2014.


MATSAPHA  Its up to government to decide whether or not to save the future of pupils in the country.



This is because the teachers decision not to open schools for the third term in protest over a zero per cent pay rise, which they took during their extraordinary meeting, held on August 24, 2018, has been endorsed.

The decision was endorsed by the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) 75/8 Biennial Conference which was held at Esibayeni Lodge yesterday.

The conference started on Sunday and ended yesterday. In fact, as from Tuesday, teachers will be engaged in different activities which will be a build-up to a mass strike action that will involve all the four public sector associations (PSAs) in the country. Besides SNAT, the other PSAs are the National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU, Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU) and the Swaziland National Association of Government Accounting Personnel (SNAGAP). According SNAT Deputy Secretary General (SG) Sikelela Dlamini, who is the teachers unions SG elect, they met as PSAs over the matter.



He said the agreement was that they should use the certificate of unresolved dispute they got from the Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration Commission (CMAC) in January 2018 to engage in a lawful strike. This strike action will take place as soon as we finish the voting process, which will be conducted in a few days time as unions are already sensitising their members on the matter, Dlamini said.

Furthermore, Dlamini said the unions who were affiliated under the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) would join the federations three-day protest action between September 18 and 20, 2018. On their own strategy, the teachers agreed that while waiting for the legal documents to protect them and engaging on the mass strike action over cost of living adjustment (COLA), they would be carrying out activities as a build-up to the main industrial action.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2018 when schools are supposed to open, the teachers agreed to convene branch meetings in all the 15 branches of SNAT across the country. They said during those meetings, they would sensitise members on preparing for balloting for the strike action using the CMAC certificate of unresolved dispute.

Thereafter, on Wednesday, the conference agreed that all teachers were expected to flood the Manzini Magistrates Court where their colleague, Maxwell Zondiyinkhundla Myeni would be appearing to face his seven charges. Myenis charges emanate from his encounter with Manzini Police Station Commander Raphael Maseko during their extraordinary meeting held on August 24, 2018 at SNAT Centre.

However, the teachers kept their plans for the other days close to their chest.

They said their intention was to take government by surprise so that it could not plan ahead of their intended actions.

Meanwhile, Dlamini revealed that as PSAs they decided to use the CMAC certificate of unresolved dispute because it did not expire. However, most importantly, he said using it would leave room for government to convene at the negotiation table for the COLA of 2018/19 financial year.

Meanwhile, the Principal Secretary (PS) in the Ministry Education and Training Dr Sibongile Mtshali said what they knew was that schools would open on Tuesday.
MBABANE  Nosipho Gamedze has said she would have only agreed to undergo a paternity test if the late businessman Victor Gamedze was still alive.



Nosipho, who claims to be the biological daughter of the late businessman, has argued that the procedure now that Victor was dead would have to be that blood samples ought to be taken from the applicants.



Applicants in the matter are Victors wife Lungile and her two daughters, Temalungelo and Tiyandza. They want the court to compel Nosipho to undergo a paternity test.



In her answering papers, Nosipho contended that with Tiyandza and Temalungelo, purportedly being her fathers children, the process (DNA test) might jeopardise her now that Victor was deceased.



Nosipho submitted that she was not sure if Tiyandza and Temalungelo were indeed the deceaseds biological children to be used as the reference point.

The second and first applicants (Tiyandza and Temalungelo) have no right in law to ask the court for orders that I should be exposed to paternity test when they are also purported children of the deceased, who have not proved their own paternity status, argued Nosipho.

She alleged that the duo had not placed any form of proof before the court that established that they were entitled to maintenance or inheritance in the deceaseds estate.

Nosipho alleged that the only thing the two did was to state that they were born during the subsistence of a marriage between Lungile and the late Gamedze.

She told the court that the applicants did not establish any grounds that overturned her rights to maintenance, inheritance, privacy, dignity and bodily integrity.

I take this move as harassment and not as a genuine move to find the truth, emphasised Nosipho.
MBABANE  We are not working is what many patients heard from nurses at the Mbabane Government Hospital.



When the hospital was visited at around 10am on Wednesday, there were long queues of patients awaiting treatment. however, they were told to seek services at the pharmacies as the nurses were not prepared to attend to them.



Asisebenti lamuhla (we are not working today), this reporter was told in one of the consultation rooms. Most of the patients received the same message after paying for the cards at the Out Patient Department.



Upon visit to the OPD, the nurses were found in a meeting in one of the conference rooms, with some of them seated outside the conference room.

The situation was monitored by the Royal Eswatini Police Service under the Intelligence Bureau Department (IB).



The patients negotiated for refunds after they were turned back at the consultation rooms. However, they were not given their money back.

One of the patients said, Batsi thathile thathile (they say there are no refunds as the ticket expire after seven days.



Its high time government recruits nurses from the army so that they can take over. Any civil servant can go on strike but not nurses. I think the primary duty for nurses is to save lives, so who is saving lives if they decide to go on strike, said one of the aggrieved patients who was at the hospital to extract a tooth.

The patient was among those who tried to reason with Comfort Shongwe at the Dental Care Department.



I can only do one favour, that is to prescribe medication to relieve your pain, otherwise I am not going to extract any tooth today. In order for us to attend to patients, there should be an involvement of nurses and ex-rays. This process requires medication, so what can I give you? asked Shongwe before collecting the tickets from the patients.



When Shongwe left with the tickets, the patients were of the view that he would extract their teeth and prescribe the medication. They gathered at the door but when Shongwe returned, he gave them back their cards and advised that they should go to the pharmacies to buy the prescribed medications.



The patients were grateful for what Shongwe did. This man is a problem solver, he doesnt want to see people frustrated. We appreciate the prescription, they said. Some patients were not content when turned back. They claimed that they arrived at the hospital as early as 5am but nobody informed them about the proposed strike.



In some wards, doctors were attending to patients.

Also turned back at the hospital were inmates who were brought to the institution by the officers from His Majestys Correctional Services. Normally, inmates are given preference, however, they were the first to learn that nurses were not ready to attend to them.

They just told us that they are not working today, said the warder who was turned back at the Dental Care Unit.

Notably, the patients who were at the hospital to collect or refill their medication were attended to. These included those who were treated for diabetes among other diseases.
MBABANE  Desperate times call for desperate measures. This best describes governments last ditch effort to stabilise the countrys collapsing public health sector.



The situation in most government hospitals has reached crisis point as patients are being turned back, some left to die and others miss taking their scheduled medication as nurses have downed tools in protest against a litany of grievances.



Yesterday, nurses from His Majestys Correctional Services and Baphalali Swaziland Red Cross Society were roped in to assist patients at the Mbabane Government Hospital.



Each ward, including the maternity ward, had a nurse from the Correctional Services and a number of Baphalali staff.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health Dr Simon Zwane, admitted that they had sought the help from the two institutions.

Zwane explained that this was not the first time they had asked for extra hands when nurses were on strike.



The PS went on to state that they appreciated the help of the two institutions, as their efforts ensured that patients were being taken care of.

They are there to help the professionals like the matrons in the wards. This is not a desirable situation and we do not want the nation to suffer. Uma bonesi bagodle emandla, siyabacela vele laba basisite (When nurses are on strike we normally rope in people to help us), Zwane said.

In the maternity ward, there was one nurse from the Correctional Services and two from Baphalali.



In both the female and male wards, the matrons were found with doctors as the relatives visiting their admitted family members were asked to wait outside.

Some of the relatives were heard complaining that they could not get medication for their relatives, as there were no nurses to give them the prescription to be bought from the pharmacy.



Others were found on the phone calling their relatives in different parts of the country, asking if they could be able to transfer their sick relatives to other health centres if the nurses were working.



It is really bad here. They just turned back my sister and she is in labour. They told her to go to Manzini Nazarene (Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital), Nomphumelelo Matsebula, a relative stated.



When the maternity ward was visited, two women were found there experiencing labour pains.
English French

TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian employers place a high priority on employee productivity, engagement and wellness, but they are also concerned about the escalating costs of group benefits, and in particular the costs of drugs and extended health care. Those are the key findings of a new survey from Aon, a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, which interviewed Canadian group benefit plan sponsors to identify their Top 10 benefits and workforce priorities.



The key takeaway from our survey is that plan sponsors are keenly aware of the need to manage rising benefits costs, but they also put a high priority on ensuring their employees are engaged and healthy, said Greg Durant, Canadian Health & Benefits Chief Actuary, Aon. Those might seem like competing priorities, but our view is that employers can achieve a balance. To do that, they need to take a hard look at the interaction of benefits and workforce priorities, and be willing to think outside the box. Could wellness programs reduce overall extended health costs? Might a more personalized benefits experience help attract and retain engaged employees? There are plenty of creative strategies out there for employers to meet their workforce objectives while satisfying the bottom line.

Top 10 Group Benefits Priorities Top 10 Workforce Priorities 1 Escalating drug costs generally 1 Employee productivity/engagement 2 Escalating specialty drug costs in particular 2 Employee wellness 3 Escalating extended health costs generally 3 Attracting, retaining employees; developing skills for changing business environment 4 Chronic illness, effect on plan costs 4 Workplace mental health 5 Need to personalize employee benefits experience 5 Employee financial wellness 6 Rising payroll costs (e.g. minimum wage, CPP contributions) 6 Family support obligations, effect on productivity and well-being 7 Compliance/governance obligations 7 Chronic illness, effect on productivity 8 Cost-shifting - public to private 8 Multi-generational workforce 9 Administrative hassle of employee benefits 9 Delayed retirement - productivity and performance challenges 10 National Pharmacare discussions 10 Delayed retirement - employees working past normal retirement age

For more information, please visit the survey

About Aon

Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance.
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Twenty countries will send state delegations to the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) in addition to the 1,500 and more companies represented at the annual event, CEO of the organizer TIF-Helexpo Kyriakos Pozrikidis said in Thessaloniki on Tuesday, according to ANA.

At a press conference ahead of the opening on Saturday, organizers said they were expecting more visitors than last year (264,000). The fair will run from September 8 to 16, and is the venue for an annual economic policy speech by the Greek Prime Minister.

The United States, this year's honored country, will be represented by a business delegation headed by US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. A total of 60 American companies will take part, including Facebook, Google, Intel, HP, Oracle, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin and Cisco. (For details on the American delegation and scheduled events: https://usatif2018.gr).

This years state delegations will include for the first time Portugal, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh. China, honored country for 2017, will participate with 30 companies and India, honored country for 2019, will attend with 35 enterprises.

Fair info:

Thessaloniki International Fair, Helexpo premises, September 8-16

Hours of operation: 16:00-22:00 Monday-Friday, 10:00-22:00 Saturday-Sunday

General entrance: 7 euros (reduced to 5 euros after 18:00 on weekdays)

https://tif.helexpo.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
Rumours are circulating that the popular Greek American television host, Maria Menounos will soon have a traditional Greek wedding, including a Greek Orthodox ceremony at her fathers village of Arcadia in the Peloponnese.

This comes after Maria and Keven Undergaro, who have been together for twenty years, had a civil ceremony earlier this year during Foxs New Years Eve live broadcast and surprised fans a little before midnight as they exchanged vows, which was officiated by her co-host Steve Harvey.

Details about the upcoming nuptials were hinted by Maria in an interview with a US radio show, where she was asked if they were going to have a religious wedding, to which she answered, we are planning a wedding in a village in Greece, but everything will be done at the last minute.

Maria then added I believe that the weddings in Greece go through the fathers side. So my mother may be from Kalamata, but Im from Arcadia.

A few days ago, Maria also took to social media to celebrate her cancer-survivor mum, Litsa on her 64th birthday. The close mother and daughter had a very special day, with Maria surprising her mother with brunch complete with mimosas at her Hollywood home, before they took part in a painting party, in which they painted a gorgeous beach from Kalamata, where her mother is from.

On Instagram, Maria shared Happy birthday to my mom! Two years ago she was diagnosed with glioblastoma. We threw her a birthday party and I was terrified it would be her last. Here we are two years later celebrating her again. Dont believe statistics do believe in miracles. God has been with us every step of the way. So grateful for today:)

Read more at greekcitytimes.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report

Photo Source: flickr.com
The trade exchange between the UAE and Ghana amounted to over $1.2 billion by the end of 2017, a media report said, quoting a senior Ministry of Economy official.



"Afro-UAE relations are significantly evolving and we are attaching growing importance to strengthening business ties with the Republic of Ghana," Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade Affairs was quoted as saying in a Wam report.



Al Saleh was delivering his inaugural speech of the UAE - Ghana Investment and Business Forum in Accra yesterday in the presence of a number of government officials and businessmen from the two countries.



Describing the national economy of Ghana as one of the fastest growing in West Africa, Al Saleh pointed to the presence of several Emirati companies investing in the infrastructure, telecommunications, and tourism domains in Ghana in a way that is constructively contributing to the African country's economy and goes in line with the government of Ghana's plans to draw FDIs and cultivate robust partnerships with the private sector.



He highlighted the prestigious stature secured by the UAE in areas of trade and investment in West African, an advantage which, he said, contributes to evolving relations with Ghana in areas of common interest. Al Saleh in this regard pointed as well to the growing role played by the UAE with regards the Belt & Road Initiative.



"The UAE ranks first among Arab countries and 30th globally in terms of FDI inflows," said Al Saleh, noting that net FDI inflows to the country hit $10.4 billion in 2017, accounting for 36 per cent of total FDIs inflows to Arab countries.



"The UAE also comes 21st globally and 1st among Arab countries in terms of FDI outflows, accounting for 42 percent of total investment outflows coming from the Arab region to various parts of the world 2017."



In a related development, Al Saleh met with the Minister for Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka, in the presence of Khalifa Yousif Mohammed Al Zaabi, UAE Ambassador in Accra, to discuss ways of propelling the growing relations between the two countries.



The minister affirmed Ghana's readiness to enhance its business relations with the UAE across all fields, hailing the great economic strides made by the country over the past years.



Al Saleh shared the same interest with the minister, noting that the UAE has many business aspects in common with Ghana, citing in this respect the renewable energy, tourism, trade, technology and water as priority areas where the two sides can push forward investment relations.



Attending the meeting from the Emirati side were Mohamed Nasser Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of Trade Promotion Department at the Ministry of Economy, and Tarik Al Hashemi, Representative of the Foreign Partnerships Department at the Ministry of Energy, along with a number of trade and industry officials from Ghana.



The two-day forum features a series of workshops and meetings between businessmen from both countries.
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN



HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVA LEAP HEALTH CORP. (TSXV: NLH) ("Nova Leap" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has appointed Haywood Securities Inc. (Haywood) and Gravitas Securities Inc. (Gravitas) together as Co-Lead Agents on behalf of a syndicate of agents to be formed (collectively, the Agents) to sell, by way of a private placement on a best efforts basis, up to 7,142,857 common shares of the Company (Common Shares) at a price of $0.35 per Common Share (the Issue Price) for gross proceeds of up to $2,500,000 (the Offering).

The Agents have been granted the option to sell up to an additional 1,071,429 Common Shares at the Issue Price, exercisable in whole or in part at any time up to 48 hours prior to the closing of the Offering.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund the acquisition of the home care business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States as announced on August 20, 2018 and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Company will, upon the closing of the Offering: 1) pay the Agents a cash commission equal to 8.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, except in respect of any subscriptions by purchasers on the Presidents List, which will only have a cash commission equal to 2.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of Common Shares under the Offering; and 2) issue to the Agents compensation options equal to 8.0% of the Common Shares sold to purchasers not listed on the Presidents List and 2.0% of the number of Common Shares sold to purchasers listed on the Presidents List, subject to compliance with all required regulatory approvals. The compensation options shall have an exercise price per compensation option that is equal to the Issue Price and have a term of 24 months from the closing date of the Offering.

The Offering may be completed in multiple closings, with the final closing expected to occur on or before October 12, 2018, subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four month hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Nova Leap

The Home Care Providers industry is one of the fastest growing healthcare industries in Canada and the United States. Home care saves patients billions of dollars every year by treating them in their own homes instead of in hospitals. An aging population, the prevalence of chronic disease, growing physician acceptance of home care, medical advancements and a movement toward cost-efficient treatment options from public and private payers have all fostered industry growth. Nova Leap is focused on a highly fragmented market of small privately-held companies providing patients one on one care in their homes, facilities or hospice. Nova Leap's post-acquisition organic growth strategy is to increase annual revenue per location through a combination of increased employee investment, including training, focused sales and marketing efforts, billing rate increases, expansion of geographical coverage, and improved referral sources.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION:

Certain information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements, such as statements regarding future expansions and cost savings, the Companys expected 2018 revenue run rate and plans regarding future acquisitions and financings. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions, including assumptions concerning the Companys ability to integrate its acquired businesses and maintain previously achieved service hour and revenue levels, that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. Risks that could cause results to differ from those stated in the forward-looking statements in this release include regulatory changes affecting the home care industry, unexpected increases in operating costs and competition from other service providers. All forward-looking statements, including any financial outlook or future-oriented financial information, contained in this press release are made as of the date of this release and included for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com .

For further information:

Christopher Dobbin, CPA, CA, Director, President and CEO Nova Leap Health Corp., T: 902 401 9480 F: 902 482 5177 cdobbin@novaleaphealth.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Kazakhstan can become the main trade and economic partner of the UAE in Central Asia, following the main perspectives and potential of investment and economic cooperation between the countries, said a senior Kazakhstani official.



Ilya Urazakov, head of the Representative Office of the State Investmentand Promotion Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was speaking at the "Kazakh Invest" meeting with representatives of the UAE media.



Urazakov said: Historically, our countries have very warm and strategic relations. But turnover and investment cooperation could be much higher. According to experts from both countries, the potential for economic cooperation can at least triple.



According to data for 2017, commodity turnover between the countries approached the level of $680 million, and the volume of investments in Kazakhstani projects for all this time amounted to about $4 billion, while the total amount of foreign investment in the country over the past 10 years reached $270 billion, which is 63 per cent of all investments in Central Asia, it said.



Kazakhstan today actively invites the business of the Middle East to cooperate in various fields of the economy, it added.



As part of the presentation of Kazakhstan's Investment Strategy for 2018-2022, Urazakov noted that the most promising sectors for cooperation with the Emirates business are agriculture, mining, petrochemicals and tourism projects.



A total of 220 million hectares of agricultural land in the middle of Eurasia, exemption from taxes and full governmental support, is what the Kazakhstan is offering for partners from the UAE today, as part of the investment cooperation programme.



Urazakov continued: Today there is no doubt that cooperation between our countries will be extremely successful. Our countries are interested in each other. The UAE has the latest technology, excellent management and international expertise. Kazakhstan is ready to offer in addition to the richest resource base, conditions for quality processing, full state support and, of course, access to new markets."



This country of Central Asia opens access to a new, actively developing market of 500 million people, and these are the countries of Central Asia, the territory of Western China, Russia and the Caspian states, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
UAE floral brand Forever Rose has opened its prestigious new flagship address on Pont Street in Belgravia, nine years after its inception in the UK capital in 1999.



Forever Rose London will sell its iconic range of long-lasting roses, fresh floral arrangements, single stem roses, and bespoke products including men's and women's' fragrances, handmade Belgian chocolates and fine diamond jewellery.



Derived from the mineral rich volcanic soils of Ecuador, Forever Rose's "long lasting" set themselves apart with their uniquely strong petals which grow up to ten times thicker and five times larger than the regular rose. Without the need for water or sunlight, these outstanding roses retain their striking natural beauty for up to three years when protected in the glass dome.



The company's fresh range of roses are sourced from the Netherlands and shipped weekly, each meeting the grade of "Triple A" quality, known as the best variety available throughout Europe.



Forever Rose London founder, Ebraheem Al Samadi, said the brand was delighted to be making a return to its city of origin and was proud to become a part of the thriving Belgravia community, inspiring customers and partners with the everlasting romance and passion of the Forever Rose London brand.



We were first founded in London in 1999 and following a significant international expansion, we couldnt think of a more perfect neighbourhood than Belgravia to set up our new home in the United Kingdom. In Londons sophisticated market, we hope to attract selective customers who appreciate the very best in luxury floristry," Al Samadi said.



Offering a wide array of exotic colours within its range, Forever Rose blooms come in a spectrum of colours from soft pastel shades to striking jet noir, all harvested from the companys Dutch and Ecuadorian partner farms that meet the highest industry standards of environmental awareness and responsibility.  TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabia will require 8,800 pilots and 11,700 technicians by 2024 to meet the increasing demand generated by the industry, a senior official from the National Aviation Academy said.



Speaking at the Mebaa Conference in Jeddah this week, Captain Bander Khaldi, managing director, National Aviation Academy, attributed the need for a large number of pilots to attrition replacement and fleet growth.

During his presentation, he described the development plans for the academy, with a focus on how it will aim to meet the countrys need.

Saudi Arabias aviation market is witnessing strong growth, with the countrys airports having recorded 8 per cent passenger growth in 2017, to reach 91.8 million, and numbers anticipated to hit 100 million this year, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

Five airlines now serve the domestic market, compared to only two airlines two years ago.



"Intensifying competition has led to lower fares, simulating demand and leading to faster growth, although overcapacity is a potential concern," the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) said in a recent report.

National carrier Saudia, the kingdom's market leader, has been focusing on expanding in the international market, having recorded international passenger growth of 14 per cent in 2017 and 12 per cent in the first six months of 2018.

Saudia is planning to further expand operations as it grows its fleet and moves into a new terminal at Jeddah.



The airline plans to grow its fleet to 200 aircraft by the end of 2020, up from around 150 aircraft at present.

The Mebaa Conference Jeddah took place from September 3-4 at the Jeddah Hilton and brought together the business aviation industry from the region. A total of 148 business aviation professionals attended the conference, hearing presentations and panel discussions on financing, pilot regulations and innovation, and taking part in interactive round tables.
Turkish Airlines is preparing for its biggest move yet as it gears up for the opening of Istanbul's new airport next month.

The flag carrier will be the first to kick off operations at the new facility with its inaugural flight scheduled for October 31, it was announced.

Turkish Airlines will carry out its first flight to the capital city Ankara, where the Turkish Republic was founded, at 2:00 pm, said chairman Ilker Ayci. The first overseas flights will be made to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Azerbaijan.



The new airport will be officially inaugurated on October 29, which also marks the 95th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey. The opening ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Binali Yldrm and many state members.



Turkish Airlines will deploy 800 trucks to transfer all the airlines equipment and facilities from Ataturk Airport to Istanbul New Airport. Coordinated by the General Directorate of State Airports Authority, it will take approximately 45 hours.



One month before the grand opening, on September 28, the second phase training for employees of airlines, ground services, and other relevant companies will take place. As part of the ORAT (Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer) process, 28,200 people will receive field training that covers familiarisation with the airside, terminal, and luggage services, including ramp licenses. If classroom-based training is included, nearly 53,000 people will have been trained.



As of midnight on October 31, Ataturk Airport will be closed for passenger transport and Istanbul New Airport will take over. - TradeArabia News Service
Belmont, NC, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Belmont Abbey College has renewed its commitment to educating top students by enhancing its honors program. The colleges previous honors curriculum has proven successful at forming thoughtful, well-rounded young people through classroom learning and cultural events. The newly-named, expanded, and redesigned Honors College aims to welcome more students each year by focusing on the Great Books of Western Civilization as foundations for growth in knowledge and wisdom.



Students of the Honor College will join a unique community of scholars. You will enjoy four years with other intellectually and morally serious young men and women studying works by some of the greatest thinkers and poets who ever lived. A close community of friends who take time to laugh and have fun, will complement the richness of your study, said Dr. Joseph Wysocki, director of the new Honors College. In this undertaking, students will engage in what is rightly considered the truest form of human friendship: a shared life dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom.



The curriculum of the new Honors College is divided into the Ancient, Christian, and Modern eras. Many of the classes will be conducted in the seminar style, wherein students will converse and engage in textual analysis with their peers, driven by guiding questions that tackle the fundamental ideas of a given days reading. Featured authors include Homer, Aristotle, Aquinas, Shakespeare, Heisenberg, and Ratzinger. Study at the Honors College requires not just a knowledge of a given conclusion, but also the ability to articulate the argument that supports it. Newly enrolled students have the option of majoring in the Great Books, or taking on a traditional major, such as Biology, while also studying the Great Books as a core foundation for the chosen major.



Beyond the classroom, the Honors College creates a community centered upon shared experiences that nurture friendships and engage the intellect. Students can expect to live together in the dormitories, bond with faculty, and learn through playful camaraderie. In addition, the college sponsors cultural opportunities, such as local plays and concerts. In the summer prior to senior year the students travel abroad to either Ireland or Italy, for a study experiencean enjoyable trip designed to further their understanding of the great Western tradition.



Students interested in the Honors College must complete an additional application. Along with the exceptional learning opportunity, those enrolling will be eligible for the colleges most valuable scholarship with an Honors College acceptance. The scholarship covers up to $9,000 of the colleges standard $18,500 tuition. For more information visit www.belmontabbeycollege.edu/honors-college or contact Honors College Director, Dr. Joseph Wysocki at josephwysocki@bac.edu.



About Belmont Abbey College: Founded in 1876, Belmont Abbey College is a private, Catholic, baccalaureate and liberal arts institution. Our mission is to educate students in the liberal arts and sciences so that in all things God may be glorified. Guided by the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Benedictine spirit of prayer and learning, we welcome a diverse body of students and provide them with an education that will enable them to lead lives of integrity, to succeed professionally, to become responsible citizens, and to be a blessing to themselves and to others. Our beautiful and historic campus is conveniently located just 10 miles west of Charlotte, N.C., and is currently home to more than 1500 students. For more information, visit www.belmontabbeycollege.edu.

Attachment
The upcoming 27th anniversary of Turkmenistans independence was celebrated in Ashgabat at the children's music and song festival called Gems of Independence. The contest aimed to identify gifted children to support their talent and raise the younger generation in the spirit of patriotism and love of national traditions and customs. The festival brought together more than one thousand three hundred gifted children from all over the country. 15 young performers and 23 ensembles took part in the finals.

The sincerity and openness of the young talents performance in the final gala concert impressed both adults and children spectators, who cheered the artists with the storm of applause. The winners of the festival were awarded valuable prizes and diplomas on behalf of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

 TURKMENISTAN.RU, 2021
WASHINGTON, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- King & Spalding today announced that Brian Ashin has joined as a partner in the firms Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group in the Washington, D.C., office. Ashin will focus on representing private equity and fundless sponsors, financial institutions and private companies on a variety of financings.



Brian is a first-rate leveraged finance lawyer who has effectively handled complex, high-value transactions, said Todd Holleman, head of the firms Corporate, Finance and Investments practice group. His addition provides more breadth to our finance offering, which has a number of meaningful synergies with other areas of focus for the firm, such as energy, healthcare and real estate.

Ashin has provided counsel on leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and project financings, as well as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, restructurings and reorganizations, that span a variety of industries, including technology, cleantech, hospitality, retail, media and fintech.

Brian has built an impressive corporate practice, and when paired with over 200 K&S lawyers and professional consultants in Washington, D.C., alone, Brians deep expertise enhances our corporate capabilities to help lenders and borrowers address the challenges that arise in negotiating, securing and structuring financing, said Mark Jensen, office managing partner of the firms Washington, D.C., office.

Ashin joins the firm from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University. Ashin has served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law and on a number of alumni and advisory boards. M&A Advisor named him an Emerging Leader in 2017.

What attracted to me to King & Spalding is its brand, platform and talent pool, Ashin said. I look forward to working with my new colleagues who are counseling clients that provide or need capital to do deals in the major financial centers around the world.

About King & Spalding

Celebrating more than 130 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad array of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100, with 1,000 lawyers in 20 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality, and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients. More information is available at www.kslaw.com .
PHOENIX, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via OTC PR WIRE  PetroSun, Inc (OTC PINK: PSUD) The Board of Directors of PetroSun Inc (PetroSun or the Company) announced today that a Stock Purchase Agreement has been executed with M&M Production and Operation, Inc, a private energy company with assets in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico and their wholly-owned midstream asset, Independent Pipeline Corporation (IPC). The Stock Purchase Agreement conveys 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of M&M and IPC to PetroSun.



M&M Production and Operation, Inc asset base includes the following:

61 producing oil and/or gas wells

9,480.85 acres of leasehold consisting of Federal, State of New Mexico, Jicarilla Tribal and Navajo Nation

The leasehold contains 5,880.08 acres of Mancos Shale / Gallup SS rights, which include 10 current producing vertical Gallup SS wells and a dual-completion Dakota / Gallup well

The remaining leasehold contains 51 producing Picture Cliff (PC) / Chacra formation natural gas wells with Fruitland Coal PUDs (Proven Undeveloped).

Three F-250 field trucks, backhoe, three phase separators and parts inventory

M&M will commence a work-over / maintenance program during early 4Q 2018 to enhance existing oil and gas production on the leasehold. The production growth capabilities will be highlighted with the utilization of new horizontal drilling techniques. The Companys leasehold of 5,880.08 acres containing the Mancos Shale / Gallup SS formations lies within an area of the San Juan Basin which according to the current USGS reserve report has a potential of up to 6 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The Mancos Shale / Gallup SS may become one of the top tier shale oil plays within the United States in the near term. The Company is strategically positioned within this play due to a large portion of its leasehold position being in the south oil pay window.

Independent Pipeline Corporation assets include a 4  inch pipeline with a rare 45-foot right-of-way that allows for additional lines to be installed in the future. This strategic 26-mile pipeline runs from Ojo Encino, NM northwest to Lybrook, NM from the east-half of Township 22 North, Range 7 West to Section 11, Township 21 North, Range 6 West. The daily capacity of the pipeline is 12 million cubic feet; running through the heart of the South Mancos Shale / Gallup SS oil window in an area that has proven very difficult for operators to obtain a right-of-way. Therefore, the IPC pipeline and its right-of-way is strategic, as it will allow gas and oil to be moved to market and provide the Company with the option to form business alliances with other Operators to tariff and transport their gas through the IPC pipeline. Furthermore, the IPC pipeline and right-of-way creates an opportunity for the development of the vast Fruitland Coal methane reserves in this area of the San Juan Basin.

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:



This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are disclosed on the OTC Markets.com website.

Contact:

PetroSun, Inc. 480-425-4290
As prepared for delivery.

Video of the Administrator's delivered speech.

I am pleased to welcome you to this second regular session of the UNDP Executive Board.



We are meeting at a critical juncture for the UN, its development system and the future of UNDP. Together with you - as members of the Executive Board and custodians of UNDP  I, together with my team, look forward to our deliberations.



At the outset, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the new members of our UNDP leadership team: Ahunna Eziakonwa, Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa; Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva, Director of the Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean; Ulrika Modeer, Director of the Bureau of External Relations and Advocacy; and Asako Okai, Director of the Crisis Bureau; and Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Please join me in welcoming them all to UNDP. Im very pleased to say we have reached gender parity in my senior management team.

1. The Promise of the UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021



Ten months ago, as we jointly launched the new Strategic Plan, we promised you to embark on a transformation of UNDP into the worlds most forward-looking, most widely networked development organization, one that could deliver 21st century solutions to the complex development challenges countries are tackling  whether eradicating poverty, overcoming economic crises or navigating massive transitions.



The timing is opportune. The U.N. Secretary-General, with support from governments, has embarked on a deep reform of the UN development system (UNDS), transforming its structure, leadership and accountability mechanisms.



An effective UNDS reform needs a strong and aligned UNDP. Through the Strategic Plan, weve unleashed a process of reflecting, rethinking and refocusing the organization, evolving it from a classic development agency mode into a cutting-edge provider of development advice and an organization that is able to instantly help connect countries to the world, knowledge resources and networks of best practice they need for achieving development breakthroughs.

2. Progress is happening, fast and from the grassroots



Ten months on, with your strong support, we have begun to redraw the boundaries of what UNDP can achieve. Building on our unparalleled country presence and capacity  traditionally our greatest asset - we are equipping UNDP to better mobilize, connect and innovate. That change began here through the Executive Board but is now materializing rapidly and progressively at the grassroots, repositioning UNDPs leadership capacity and potential in development.

The UNDP Strategic Plan made 4 critical commitments:

Commitment number 1: Strengthen UNDPs relevance as a trusted partner in a complex and evolving development landscape, strongly committed to its mandate to eradicate poverty

 The 6 signature solutions are already being applied at country level, combining modular solutions for unique country contexts. All of the Country Programme Documents being presented at this Board meeting have taken the solutions on board, adapted to each national context, based on national priorities;

 Our country platforms are taking shape, facilitating new ways of collaborating within and across government and society in pursuit of greater development achievements in the networked age. At least 50 countries where UNDP has a physical presence will have established at least one or more platforms by the end of the Strategic Plan in 2021;

 Another milestone has been the fundamental redesign and reconfiguration of UNDPs expertise into a Global PolicyNetwork (GPN) and a cadre of SDG experts that are better suited to address complex problems quickly. The GPN integrates the structures, capacities and expertise of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support (BPPS) and Crisis Response Unit (CRU), and links it to UNDPs unparalleled reservoir of expertise and people working at national level;

 Already a major supporter of climate action in 140 countries, UNDPs current direct support to implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) will be doubled from 31 to over 60 countries.

 We have completed and will this Friday launch UNDPs third Gender Equality Strategy, committing UNDP to a new and unprecedented level of targets and indicators in performance and implementation. I am personally chairing our Gender Steering Committee which meets twice annually to monitor progress and hold our senior managers accountable.

 We are stepping up our partnerships, including with other UN entities. In July 2018, UNDP and UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding to increase their collaboration on areas such as ending violence against women; strengthening collaboration in crises and fragile states; promoting womens political leadership and working together to promote gender equality in the private sector and in the field of sustainable energy. Similar partnership agreements have been concluded with the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Office of Counterterrorism, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

 We are firmly focused on promoting South-South and Triangular Cooperation, including through our hosting of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation: in 2017, UNDP reported close to 500 such projects and programmes across 127 countries. The 40th anniversary of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action will be a critical opportunity to further this important agenda together with partner countries.

Country platforms

 In Moldova, innovation labs aim to improve public services, help SMEs innovate and create smart cities. UNDP has started to work on the countrys first-ever electric vehicle infrastructure. That system aims to make charging stations profitable and sustainable;

 In Colombia, in the wake of the peace accord and together with the rest of the UN family, UNDP is now working with private funds to scale up investments designed to bring rural areas out of poverty, following more than 50 years of violence; and

 In Indonesia, new ground is being broken to tap the potential of Islamic finance  known as Zakat - for the SDGs. Zakat is currently estimated to be worth US$16 billion.

Commitment number 2: Be more nimble, innovative and enterprising  a thought leader that succeeds in taking and managing risks



The SDGs and the current development context demand new, more agile and more inclusive platforms and modalities. UNDP has initiated a range of innovation-oriented tracks and platforms that will enable it to rapidly offer new services to countries, the UN family, and the international development community. We are embracing the challenge of rethinking development cooperation by combining tried and tested approaches with emerging lessons on innovation and scaling up for concrete results on the ground.

[Introduction of Bangladesh live link]

Innovation Facility Snapshot

 In the Maldives, we are now using drones to map areas at risk of rising seas across 160 islands;

 In Sudan, behavioral design is being used to prevent people from lapsing back into radicalism.

 The Innovation Facility has invested into at least 140 groundbreaking experiments across 85 countries since 2014, supported by the Government of Denmark. Vital lessons and results driving our future-focused strategy are laid out in our latest report, Moonshots and Puddle Jumps  Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals to be launched today.

 UNDPs Country Investment Facility of $20 million was launched in March 2018. UNDP offices were invited to submit compelling proposals for innovation funding. Within 12 weeks, the CIF had received proposals from 58 country offices for 63 projects, and approved and released funding for projects in 49 countries  a new record;

 On 25 September we are launching SDG Impact, a start-up whose aim will be to significantly increase private investment towards SDG achievement. Building on our extensive knowledge and experience, and credibility as a neutral partner to over 170 governments, we will do so by offering private sector investors and partner countries a set of impact intelligence tools and services to help them better target their investments for achieving concrete development outcomes. [see box]

 Through Project Catalyst, we are working with a small team of experts and partners who dedicate 100% of their time to generate insights into the development trends and solutions of tomorrow for which UNDP and partner countries must develop new strategies and responses;

 Over 900 staff now participate on average in our monthly innovation calls, presenting UNDP innovation and partnerships that have proved game changing.

Lions Share

The Lions Share initiative, a wildlife conservation fund, was launched jointly by UNDP and its private sector partners in June, and capitalized by advertisers donating a fee when images of animals are used in advertisements. The work of the Multi Partner Trust Fund Office is instrumental in these efforts.

3. Meanwhile, UNDP continues to innovate its business model and process while delivering a growing portfolio of projects and programmes

Commitment number 3: Enabling UNDP Delivery of the Strategic Plan and the 2030 agenda: a new business model for UNDP.



Over the last year, we have taken significant steps to improve our business model, and while I have spoken about the innovations side, there has also been good progress on the performance side to become more effective, efficient, and results oriented.



First, our commitment to prudent financial management - a hallmark of UNDPs financial stewardship - remains steadfast, made possible by core resources generously provided by Member States.



Important achievements include:



 A major turnaround in our financial situation by closing the 2017 year-end. This was accomplished by implementing a rigorous cost-cutting and savings exercise in 2017 to avert a projected $30-$50 million deficit. We are projecting a similar surplus year for 2018.

 While the new SP and UNDS reform have required significant additional effort from our teams and partners, UNDP continued to maintain and improve on the delivery of its current portfolio increasing from $4.6 billion in 2017 and projected to potentially increase to $4.9 billion in 2018, comprised of over 4,500 projects in 170 countries, supported by 17,000 staff and a wide number of partnerships. It represents not only a significant increase in productivity and delivery but in combination with a number of reforms already deployed, it demonstrates tangible results in terms of enhanced performance, cost savings and efficiency.

 Another critical turnaround with the highest cumulative General Management Support (GMS) earnings since we started tracking this in detail in 2014 (end of July 2018 data). While only one indicator of the financial health of the organization, this shows our project delivery to be accelerating, which means we are providing more support to our partners than ever before, and the confidence of donors in our work;

 13 consecutive years of unqualified audit opinions by the UN Board of Auditors on UNDPs financial statements;

 We have maintained our top standing as one of the worlds most transparent aid organizations, and have steadily increased our ratings since 2014.

 Satisfactory audit opinion by the Office of Audit and Investigations (OAI) on the adequacy and effectiveness of UNDPs governance, risk management and control (GRC) framework;

 And, as I promised to you, we will not be tapping into the $29 million allocated for transition measures for my first year in office.

Second, a significant element of the new business model work was the completion of the review of our Management Servicesbetween April and July through a wide ranging and highly consultative process.

 Implementation of the recommendations is under way including: improving and expanding our use of shared services modalities in delivering operational service; digitalizing UNDP; and strengthening the ability of our country offices to make sure their services are both world-class and appropriately priced.

 We are also working closely with our UNCT partners in the provision of these services. To this end, we have created new software that compares the quality and cost of services across UN entities at the country level. This is the first time an objective comparison of country-level UN services has been possible.

 The roll-out of our new approach to Programme and Project Management (PPM) saw us rewriting the rule book on how to do programmes. By eliminating redundant administrative processes and barriers to creativity and efficiency, resulting in an average saving of 33 days per year for every project staff;

 Over 20 business process are being improved; these encompass a significant number of our day to day transactions and demonstrate our commitment to continual improvement; there is still work ongoing for the full business process streamlining;

 We manage the largest portfolio of procurement services for other UN agencies, manage payroll for 17,000 non-UNDP staff and have a Treasury function effectively managing 3 billion dollars of other agencies assets while operating in 117 currencies.



Third, on our people management, we have initiated an overhaul of our Human Resource approach with a new People Strategy forthcoming, following the appointment of a new Director for Human Resources.

 Our new senior management team is now in place and we have achieved 50-50 parity at the ASG level.

 Our new Gender Parity Strategy aims to achieve full parity at senior levels by 2021 and also at all levels across the organization and achieve equal rights and opportunities for all people working in UNDP irrespective of their gender identity

 Tackling sexual harassment and sexual exploitation and abuse emerged as a key priority. I take this as a very personal responsibility. Following a joint management and staff review, a series of specific measures  from new policies and recourse measures to a 24-hour independent helpline- were implemented.



On funding the Strategic Plan:

 Our core resources were set to increase for the first time since 2013, reaching an estimated $630 million this year ($18 million higher than 2017). However, a number of donors have signaled new uncertainty in recent weeks linked to UNDS reform;

 The core/non-core imbalance needs to be urgently addressed. In 2017 the ratio of regular to other resources widened to 12:88. Just fifteen donor governments provided 73% of UNDPs total funding, and 93% of its regular resources. Predictability and flexibility are important too.

 A first in linking transparency and accountability in UNDP: In July, we linked our Integrated Results and Resources Framework with our portfolio of programs and projects. For the first time, we can now analyze the results to be achieved against current planned budget and pipeline resources across the Strategic Plan 3 outcome areas, 6 signature solutions and 27 outputs, along with our contribution to SDG targets.

4. We are carrying the UNDS reform forward while creating a new UNDP

Contributions

 The Governments of Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Japan and Sweden have all increased their core contributions in 2018. This is proof that these governments value UNDP and our work as a means of achieving our common objectives.

 Thank Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland for their multi-year commitments which helped to improve predictability of funding in 2017. In 2018, we welcomed a two-year pledge from Sweden and a renewal of a three-year commitment with Switzerland. We also look forward to soon signing a three-year agreement with the UK and the Netherlands.

 We also appreciate the support of the 54 partners who continue to prioritize flexible funding through their contributions to regular resources in 2017, and welcome increases from Estonia, Japan, Pakistan, Republic of Korea and Sweden.

Commitment number 4: We will help shape a United Nations development system that responds to our changing world

I look forward to discussing this issue in more detail shortly at the lunch time session.

The UNDS reform is a major turning point for UNDP, presenting the organization with huge challenges as well as significant opportunities.

 Since the adoption of GA Resolution 72/279, UNDP has deployed significant personnel and institutional resources to support the SGs transition team. UNDP now has a full-time team to facilitate the transfer of 129 RCs positions and hundreds of Resident Coordinator Offices (RCO) and DOCO staff positions to their future contractual arrangements, effective 1 January, 2019;

 UNDP will double its contribution through the UNDS cost-sharing mechanism to $12 million per annum and will also provide operational support for a transitional period. The service level agreement under negotiation with the UN Secretariat will establish the future operational support needed from UNDP.

 As a result of the de-linking, UNDP must now implement an accelerated assessment and recruitment process for its topline managers at country level. More than 100 Resident Representatives need to be identified, assessed and appointed. We envisage having completed the assessment and appointment of new UNDP RRs by December 2018.

 We are firmly focused on measuring up to the task of providing the United Nations development system with the support platform and integrator function called for in the GA resolution. This is a natural role for UNDP, echoing our multi-sectoral mandate, extensive network of country offices, and wide-ranging development partnerships but will also require new services and skills. The UN Volunteers Programme (UNV), the UN Capital Fund (UNCDF), the UN Office for South-South Cooperation, and the Multi Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTFO), all hosted by UNDP, provide significant potential for further synergies and offer enormous potential for reinforcing this role.

 While funding the coordination function is important, we strongly appeal to you to ensure that it does not come at the expense of actual implementation of development support on the ground. A well-funded UNDP, with strong programmatic and substantive direction, is also essential to the strategic leadership of the Resident Coordinator.

Conclusion:

Over the past 10 months we have embarked on rapid and focused implementation of the Strategic Plan. In presenting the initial results and milestones I believe we have delivered on our promise of implementing not only a growing portfolio of projects and programmes in 2017/2018, but also a deep and transformational shift in what UNDPs next generation offer to countries, the UN family, and the donor community will be in the years to come.

We accomplished this while cutting our costs and managing a major and challenging UNDS reform transition that is affecting every aspect of UNDPs global operations.

The Strategic Plan set out a vision and a pathway for UNDP during the 2018-21 period. It also created an accountability framework. It is also a governance compact among you as Member States. As we move forward we look to you as Executive Board to ensure that the capacity and resources for UNDP to deliver on its mandate and foundational role for the UN development system are secure.

Click to enlarge
Mr. President, Members of the Executive Board,

It is a pleasure to present to you today UNDPs third gender equality strategy, which covers the period 2018-2021.

As you know, gender equality is an integral aspect of the 2030 development agenda  both as a goal (SDG 5) but also as a vital component of achieving progress across all the other sustainable development goals. In addition to SDG 5  achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls  gender equality is reflected in 36 targets and 54 indicators across the SDGs.

Gender equality and womens empowerment get to the heart of one of the guiding principles of the 2030 Agenda, to leave no one behind. Unless we open opportunities for and secure the rights of women and girls, we will stand no chance of leaving no one behind.

As the integrator for SDG achievement within the UN system, UNDP has a critical role to play in ensuring that gender equality is part of all development efforts. With our broad development mandate and expertise, we are not only well-placed to integrate gender into our work, but we have a responsibility to do so.

For this reason, I am pleased to be here today to present to you the third UNDP Gender Equality Strategy. This strategy is aligned with the 2030 Development Agenda; it accompanies UNDPs strategic plan and it sets a tone for how UNDP will elevate and integrate gender equality across all of our work.

The gender equality strategy lays out some of the evidence of how gender equality accelerates development. For example, leveling the playing field for women farmers  who are denied equal access to seeds, tools, financial credit and other productive resources  would have a dramatic impact on food security. According to FAO, if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 percent, which could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent per year and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent.[1]

In another example, evidence shows that womens participation makes peace agreements more sustainable. According to an analysis of 182 peace agreements, when women participate as witnesses, signatories, mediators and/or negotiators, resulting agreements are 35 per cent more likely to last at least 15 years.[2]

The gender equality strategy reflects the guiding principles of the 2030 development agenda. It first and foremost recognizes gender equality as a human right as well as instrumental to the achievement of sustainable development. It considers women and men as active agents of change and development, not simply beneficiaries and vulnerable groups and it recognizes how working with men and boys is of critical importance to change gender norms and attitudes and achieve gender equality.

The gender equality strategy delineates how we will work across the outcomes of the UNDP Strategic Plan to mainstream gender equality throughout our work. In particular, it outlines four priorities which are called to attention under Signature Solution 6 and address fundamental structural barriers to gender equality. They are:

1. Removing structural barriers to womens economic empowerment, including womens disproportionate burden of unpaid work;

2. Preventing and responding to gender-based violence;

3. Promoting womens participation and leadership in all forms of decision making; and

4. Strengthening gender-responsive strategies in crises (conflicts and disaster) prevention, preparedness and recovery.

As the annex on lessons learned outlines, implementation of the Gender Equality Strategy 2014-2017 yielded many lessons, which we have tried to address in this strategy. These include moving beyond skills training and projects that count women as beneficiaries to addressing structural challenges such as economic policies that redistribute the care responsibilities that prevent women from equally participating in the economy. It emphasizes the importance of tackling structural barriers to gender equality  institutional, legal, societal and attitudinal. It emphasizes the need to bolster the mainstreaming of gender equality in particular areas where there is room for improvement  such as crisis resilience and climate action.

Although a lot has been done to improve UNDPs crises response and recovery work, this is an area that requires attention and for which UNDP will be devoting more attention in the new strategy. In particular, the strategy calls for gender equality and womens participation to be integrated at the earliest stages and for opportunities to be created for women to contribute to and participation in sustainable livelihoods in ways that improve outcomes for them and their families. I am happy to announce that later this year we plan to launch guidance for country offices on how to work better on all aspects of fragility and recovery from a gender lens.

Signature solution 6 elevates the importance of gender equality and womens empowerment, but it also cuts across all signature solutions and development contexts. This reflects the essence of UNDPs new global policy platform, in which the signature solutions are not meant to be implemented in isolation, but to be integrated with one another.

In addition, the gender equality strategy is consistent with the direction we have received from the QCPR and the Common Chapter of the strategic plans of UNDP, UN Women, UNICEF and UNFPA in that it sets us up to improve and intensify our collaborative work with other UN agencies so that we apply each agencys unique strengths toward common aims.

In July, UNDP and UN Women signed a Memorandum of Understanding to demonstrate our strengthened collaboration. As UN Women is UNDPs largest joint partner, making sure that we maximize the potential of our partnership, playing to each agencys strengths and avoiding duplication of efforts, will be a significant factor in how well we progress toward fulfilling the goals of the gender equality strategy, as well as the UNDP Strategic Plan and the 2030 Agenda. The MOU notes key areas of cooperation, which are: legal and policy reforms to advance gender equality; gender-based violence; crises/post-crises response and early recovery; womens political leadership; mobilizing the private sector to advance gender equality; economic empowerment; and energy.

Working more closely with the Private sector and civil society are also highlighted as approaches of the new gender equality strategy. In particular, the strategy commits UNDP to help countries create space and opportunities for womens organizations and networks and this is an area where we see strong opportunities to work together in particular with UNW. The strategy also recognizes that the private sector has an important role to play in creating a decent work environment for women; livelihood opportunities; and in changing behaviors values and norms. Two key initiatives to advance this work include (1) the Private Sector Seal: a certification program for companies to meet global standards  for this initiative we are working in partnership with UNW as part of implementation of the recently signed MOU and (2) the Inclusive and Equitable Local Development Programme, which leverages the partnership of UNCDF, UNW and UNDP to unlock private and public investments in gender sensitive projects at the local level in LDCs.

The strategy also underscores the importance of strong leadership and accountability for gender equality, both in UNDPs development assistance and in our own workplaces.

As leadership stems from the top, Im pleased to note that, following the lead of the UN Secretary-General, the UNDP Administrator will be signing on as an International Gender Champion. Additionally, this strategy calls on senior managers throughout our organization to champion gender equality in speeches and meetings and to ensure gender balance in panels and missions.

We have strengthened the Gender Steering and Implementation Committee, which will now meet twice annually, chaired by the Administrator. The GSIC met in July, when it took decisions related to the implementation of both the Gender Parity Strategy and the Gender Equality Strategy, including to strengthen performance monitoring to hold all managers accountable for advancing gender equality.

The strategy also calls for expanding the UNDP Gender Equality Seal, which incentivizes country offices to integrate gender equality into all aspects of their development work. Launched in 2011, the Gender Equality Seal serves as a certification programme and learning platform to support country offices/units to address gaps, document and share innovation and knowledge and advance organizational change for gender equality. Since 2011, more than 50 country offices have been awarded a bronze, silver or gold certification. Over the period of the Strategic Plan, 2018-2021, UNDP will expand the Gender Equality Seal to ensure that more country offices benefit from capacity-building and organizational change for gender equality.

UNDP is committed to having an inclusive, diverse and harmonious working environment. The gender equality strategy references recent measures to strengthen our policies and support for addressing sexual harassment in the workplace and sexual exploitation and abuse. Some of the measures now in place include a new confidential, 24-hour, multi-lingual helpline; counseling services for victims; a stronger policy on retaliation and we have improved the capacities for investigation. Finally, and importantly, we are conducting extensive outreach to ensure that all managers are aware of their responsibilities to prevent sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation and making sur all staff are aware of the services available to them.

While I have highlighted some of the aspects of the new Gender Equality Strategy, I invite you all to read it in full.

In closing, Id like to reiterate our commitment to gender equality as central to our work and to express my thanks to the members of this Executive Board for so consistently supporting our efforts to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women both in our development work and within the organization itself. Your keen interest in the development of this new Gender Equality Strategy is yet another sign of your deep commitment to this vital area of work.
Mary Nyiriak Maker is a South Sudanese student, currently pursuing a path to university. She was formerly a teacher in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp where she taught high school students English, Biology and Business Studies. The 22-year-old was also a headline speaker at TEDxKakumaCamp, the first-ever TEDx event held in a refugee camp, where she articulated her passion for education in a powerful talk, Why Educating Refugees Matters.

Mary believes strongly in the power of education as a transformative tool for peace-building and rebuilding lives.

"My students come from war-torn countries," she says. "They are so different from each other, but they have one thing in common - the fled their homes in order to stay alive."

Mary highlights the worrying trend of lesser numbers of refugee children making it to higher education - statistics that have been published in a recent report by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Turn the Tide: Refugee Education in Crisis.

"Why is it that only 6 per cent of primary school students make it to high school?" she asks.

After fleeing South Sudans conflict as a child, Mary has found solace and hope in education. She hopes for the same things she found through education, for future generations of children displaced by war and conflict.
Afghans on the streets of Tarakhil Dag, a village on the outskirts of Kabul that is home to people who have returned to Afghanistan after decades living as refugees in Pakistan as well as people displaced from their homes in the north and east of the country by violence and insecurity.  UNHCR/Andrew McConnell

Afghanistan needs the support of the international community now more than ever to help millions of people caught up in its displacement crisis, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in Kabul today. Grandi was in Afghanistan for a two-day visit with the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, to highlight the urgent need for sustainable support for the humanitarian situation, and greater efforts to address the root causes and find solutions.

I am in Afghanistan discussing solutions to refugee and displacement problems. Unfortunately tragic security incidents like those which killed many people in Kabul yesterday are big setbacks to peace and development, and to the reintegration of those returning home. pic.twitter.com/17CWGBua9m  Filippo Grandi (@RefugeesChief) September 6, 2018



The scale of the crisis is huge, both in numbers and duration. Nearly 4.2 million people in Afghanistan are in acute need of humanitarian assistance, including 1.9 million internally displaced, and more than 60,000 refugees who returned home and need help to restart their lives. Outside the country, 2.6 million registered Afghan refugees are hosted by Pakistan and Iran, along with an even larger number of undocumented Afghans and others holding Afghan passports.

Deepening violence and now drought is affecting hundreds of thousands of families across the country," said Lowcock. "Civilian casualties are at an all-time high, with 40,000 civilians having been maimed or killed in the past four years. Despite the challenging and often dangerous environment, brave humanitarians  who have also come under attack too frequently  have proven year after year that they can effectively deliver. He also noted that access can often be severely limited due to security constraints.

A grim milestone approaches in 2019: the 40th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which triggered the large-scale displacement of Afghan people.

"Without a solution to displacement, there will be no lasting peace."

Afghanistan is at a crossroads," said Grandi. "A combination of conflict, natural disasters and inadequate access to basic services and economic opportunities is causing continued waves of internal displacement. The country, now more than ever, needs the support of the international community, as it takes steps to pursue peace and stability, and to link humanitarian action to broader development efforts."

He added: "Without a solution to displacement, there will be no lasting peace."

Afghans need support to rebuild their country (Edith Champagne, producer / Alexandre St-Denis, camera-editor)

In Kabul, Grandi and Lowcock met President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah as well as donors, development and humanitarian partners, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations. They welcomed Afghanistans commitment to a strengthened model for the return and reintegration of refugees and the internally displaced  a model that also involves development actors, fosters innovation and encourages private-sector involvement. They noted that the inclusion of refugee issues as part of a larger dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan was also a positive step. They also discussed preparations for the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, to take place in Switzerland in November this year.

On the outskirts of the capital, Grandi and Lowcock sat down with elders of Tarakhil Dag, a village that is home to nearly 10,000 people. Most are Afghan refugees who returned from Pakistan two years ago, along with internally displaced people forced from their homes due to conflict.

A strong message from the elders of a displaced community in Kabul to @UNReliefChief and me: if there is security and there are schools, clinics and jobs, return is sustainable. Otherwise, returnees have no choice but to become displaced again. pic.twitter.com/RLnMZENcHq  Filippo Grandi (@RefugeesChief) September 6, 2018



When I came back from Pakistan after thirty years, we faced enormous challenges, a village elder said. The Government had promised us plots of lands, but we have not received them until now. UNHCR built shelters and gave us money to buy land and roads are now paved. UNHCR has been with me and my family for all these years in Pakistan and now in Afghanistan. Now UNHCR is building a school which will help our girls and boys to get education and give them a future.

Another village elder, Dinullah, who goes by his first name only, as do most Afghans, said: We left our village in Nangarhar due to the fighting. When we arrived, we had no shelter and our children could not go to school. Dinullah and his family expressed appreciation for the basic services that UNHCR and its partners provide in Tarakhil Dag, such as education for girls and boys, provision of water via solar-powered wells, and shelters for the most vulnerable families. Our women get training to sew clothing that they can sell and make an income. I see my future in Tarakhil Dag; this is where I have settled. I have been able to build a business. In my village there is only insecurity and conflict.

These UNHCR projects are part of our community-based protection measures to support the reintegration of returnees and internally displaced people by helping them find work, and provide help to people with specific needs, particularly women, children and people living with disabilities.

"I see my future in Tarakhil Dag I have been able to build a business. In my village there is only insecurity and conflict."

Despite the difficult conditions, some 12,000 refugees have returned to Afghanistan this year under UNHCRs voluntary repatriation programme, adding to the more than 5.2 million Afghan refugees who have been helped to return home since 2002. Recognizing the daunting challenges Afghanistan faces, Grandi and Lowcock commended the inclusion of displaced people and returnees in national programming and the addressing of land issues for returnees. They also welcomed investment in districts with high numbers of returnees, which will help ensure that reintegration is sustainable over the long-term, and that the root causes of displacement and humanitarian crises are addressed.

Currently, 4.2 million people in Afghanistan are in acute need of humanitarian assistance due to conflict, displacement and natural disasters, including ongoing drought. An additional 8.7 million people are in need of assistance caused by abject poverty, high unemployment and loss of livelihoods due to the effects of climate change.

The High Commissioners visit is part of a three-country tour. He was in Iran earlier this week. He then travelled together with the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator to Afghanistan and Pakistan, seeking increased international support to alleviate suffering in Afghanistan and to support the neighbouring counties hosting and seeking solutions for Afghan refugees.
Empowering young people is built into the foundations of the Sustainable Development Goals, an ambitious global agenda to transform our world by 2030. When empowered and strong, young people can create better quality of life for themselves and their communities, and make their contribution to creating inclusive societies and a peaceful world.

However, many young people from refugee and internally displaced (IDP) backgrounds in Ukraine lack this confidence due to prevailing stereotypes and fears towards minority groups. Lack of communication between IDPs, refugees and local communities also becomes a hindering factor towards social inclusion of youth, access to tools and information. This, combined with low awareness by IDP and refugee youth on their rights and their potential to change the current situation, are the crucial factors impeding them to succeed in their local integration and become builders of a more diverse, inclusive and tolerant society.

On August 28-31, UNHCR Ukraine and the Council of Europe jointly conducted a training seminar on Youth Empowerment Seminar : Building Community Initiatives to enhance the skills set of IDP and refugee youth so that they can be active participants in their local communities across Ukraine, thus contributing to a more cohesive society. The seminar aimed at creating a common platform and linking minority youth with young people from local hosting communities.

The event held in the Kyiv region brought together 46 young participants aged 16-25 from all over Ukraine, and included IDP and refugee youth that spoke 25 different languages, and represented nine nationalities, as well as different religions and cultural backgrounds.

While welcoming participants, UNHCR and Council of Europe officials shared inspiring stories on how youth empowerment can make a big difference for young people and create a better future for them.

The event had an intense programme based on non-formal education methodologies that combined peer-to-peer learning, group discussions, debates and presentations. This enabled the young participants to acquire knowledge on human rights and inclusion, as well as trained them on how to conduct needs analysis and develop community projects aimed at improvement of local integration.

After the seminar, I have so many new ideas regarding my own role in my community, said one of the participants. I realized that no matter what city or country you are from, what colour is your skin, or which social group you belong to, the main thing is how active and inclusive you are in a society.

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New Delhi, Sep 5 (UNI)Recognising the invaluable contribution of teachers in shaping Indias future, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday felicitated 91 teachers for excellence and conferred the prestigious State Teachers Award, 2018 on the occasion of of Teachers Day .

The teachers were felicitated by the CM in a programme organised at Thyagraj Stadium here.



The function was presided over by Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia.



Mr Kejriwal and Mr Sisodia awarded the teachers with shawl, medals, citation and bunch of flowers and a cheque for Rs 25,000 each. They also congratulated them for their distinguished and invaluable services for shaping our future.



Speaking on the occasion Mr Kejriwal said that teachers are the torch bearers and treasure of knowledge as they shape and carve the future of the nation .They sow the seeds of knowledge in the children and grow them as the true and knowledgeable citizens of the country.



Appreciating the role of the teachers, Mr Kejriwal said that the entire Delhi is proud of them as they proved their mettle in transforming the entire system of education under the guidance and leadership of Deputy Chief Minister,

and further implementing the best of best education programmes such as Mission Buniyad, Happiness Curriculum.



The Chief Minister exhorted the teachers to create feelings of patriotism and nationality in the children.

At the same time Mr Sisodia appealed the teachers to encourage the students for nation building and further to create curiosity about the polity of the nation in them.



The 91 teachers who were felicitated included 15 Head of Schools, 26 School Teachers, 12 teachers from RPVV, 8 teachers from miscellaneous category, 01 Assist.

UNI DS SB 2248
New York, NY, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Weyland Tech Inc. (OTCQX: WEYL) ("Weyland " or the "Company"), a provider of mobile business applications, announces that its eWallet business, AtoZPay, has entered into multiple additional agreements with the following companies in Indonesia, to enable users of AtoZPay to pay for goods and services from said companies.



The partnerships include

 Telkomsel  Indonesias largest telecom service provider https://www.telkomsel.com/en

 BRI Bank  one of the oldest banks in Indonesia, with US$62 billion in assets https://bri.co.id/en/home

 Bank Mandiri  one of the largest banks in Indonesia with over US$81 billion in assets https://www.bankmandiri.co.id/en/home

 Grab Taxi  the number one ride sharing and delivery service in Southeast Asia funded by HSBC, Toyota Motor Company, Paul Allen (Co-founder of Microsoft), Oppenheimer, Softbank and multiple other tier-one investors. Grab is currently valued at US$9 billion https://www.grab.com/mm/en/

 Go-Jek  Indonesias largest motorcycle and scooter based taxi service, funded by Google, Tencent, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, KKR and and multiple other tier-one investors. Go-Jek is currently valued at US$5 billion https://www.go-jek.com/

It is notable that both Grab Taxi and Go-Jek are two of fourteen companies that operate in Southeast Asia, considered to be Unicorn valued companies, meaning valuations in excess of US$1 billion supported by investors that have a global presence and are top of their class.

AtoZPay is pursuing an 'open loop' strategy to partner with large companies that may find AtoZPays growing merchant base attractive, leading to a potential strategic stake in AtoZPay or an outright acquisition in the future.

About Weyland Tech Inc.

Weyland Tech is a global provider of mobile business applications. Its CreateApp platform offers a mobile presence to businesses in emerging markets, with partnerships on 3 continents and growing. This DIY mobile application platform, offered in 14 languages with over 35 integrated modules, enables small and medium sized businesses ("SMB's") to create native mobile applications ("apps") for Apple's iOS and Google Android without technical knowledge or background, empowering SMB's to increase sales, reach more customers and promote their products and services in an easy, affordable and efficient manner.

In May 2018, the Company expanded its portfolio to fintech applications with the launch of its AtozPay mobile payments platform. The mobile wallet launched in the worlds 4th most populous country, Indonesia, and is already experiencing rapid growth in transactions taking place on the platform.

Follow Weyland Tech online at:

Weyland Tech Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/weylandtech)

Weyland Tech Twitter Feed (https://twitter.com/weylandtechinc)

Weyland Tech LinkedIn Page (https://linkedin.com/company/weylandtech)

Brent Suen, CEO Public Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/BrentSuenWEYL)

Brent Suen, CEO Public Twitter Feed (https://www.twitter.com/BrentSuenWEYL)

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements" including statements regarding: the continued growth of the e-commerce segment and the ability of the Company to continue its expansion into that segment; the ability of the Company to attract customers and partners and generate revenues; the ability of the Company to successfully execute its business plan; the business strategy, plans, and objectives of the Company; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume any duty to update these forward-looking statements.




Published: September 06, 2018

UT Receives Grant from TD Bank Foundation to Help Students Succeed

The University of Tampa has received a $250,000 grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank America's Most Convenient Bank to develop a co-curricular experience to better support first generation and/or underrepresented students who have significant unmet financial need.



The grant enables eligible students who complete specific program requirements, which are behaviors known to contribute to overall student success, to receive additional financial support each semester over the course of four years, up to $10,000. Special consideration will be given to students from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands who were displaced by Hurricane Maria.



Based on student development research and UTs experience, the identified tasks, events, workshops and activities will help the students, to be known as Crescent Scholars, achieve the following goals:

Engage in academic behaviors which promote student success,

develop a financial readiness plan,

develop a personal career strategy, and

graduate in four years with completed Spartan-Ready curriculum and identified post-graduation career options.

The program will be housed in UTs Academic Success Center and align with its current Success Scholars Program. Lorie Kittendorf, director of Student Transition and Persistence, said she is excited to venture into this partnership with TD Charitable Foundation. We have extensive literature outlining the student behaviors and high impact practices that lead to student success, and its exciting that the support of TD will allow us to package and present these practices as a program that will yield significant financial reward for students who are willing to engage at that level, Kittendorf said.



Mike Nursey, market president of TD Bank, said education and economic development are important pillars to TD Charitable Foundation, so they are proud to partner with UT in support of its student success programming. UT is a great institution, and we truly believe that this program will help underrepresented students achieve their academic and career goals.



A staunch commitment to active involvement in the local community is a vital element of the TD Bank philosophy. TD Bank, Americas Most Convenient Bank and the TD Charitable Foundation provide support to affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and environmental initiatives, many of which focus on improving the welfare of children and families.



In addition to the four outcomes identified above, student success will be tracked and measured using the following metrics:

GPA earned (semester and cumulative),

credit hours completed (semester and cumulative),

engagement points earned (semester and cumulative), and increased engagement of the students in all aspects of the college experience.

UT also expects positive gains in students perceptions of academic challenge, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment, as measured by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).



UT Provost David Stern said he is excited TD Charitable Foundations grant will enable UT to use financial assistance rewards to nudge students to participate in UTs state of the art academic and co-curricular support, leading to elevated achievement and success.



Success in college is a key to future success in life, Stern said. But such success can be difficult for the students this program will serve.



The program is expected to launch with an initial cohort of 50 students during the Spring 2019 semester.



For more information, contact Kittendorf at lkittendorf@ut.edu, or (813) 257-3321.
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MedMira Inc. (MedMira) (TSXV: MIR), announced that the Nova Scotia Securities Commission has revoked the Cease Trade Order, which was issued on August 31, 2018 due to late filing of documents related to the resignation of the Companys auditor, Deloitte LLP. The auditor issued notification of resignation when terms of engagement could not be established with MedMira. There were no reservations in Deloittes reports on any of the Company's audited financial statements and no reportable events between MedMira and the auditor.



In accordance with National Instrument 51-102, the notice of change of auditor, together with the required letter from Deloitte LLP, have been reviewed by the audit committee and the board of directors and have been filed on SEDAR. The Company is now fully current on its regulatory disclosure filings. The Nova Scotia Securities Commission has issued a Revocation Order to the Cease Trade Order.

Trading through the TSX Venture Exchange remains halted pending the completion of the Company's reinstatement review.

About MedMira

MedMira is the developer and owner of Rapid Vertical Flow (RVF) Technologya. The Companys rapid test applications built on RVF Technology provide hospitals, labs, clinics and individuals with instant diagnosis for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C in just three easy steps. The Companys tests are sold under the Reveal, Multiplo and Miriad brands in global markets. MedMiras corporate offices and manufacturing facilities are located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and the Company has a sales and customer service office located in the United States. For more information visit medmira.com . Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which involve risk and uncertainties and reflect the Companys current expectation regarding future events including statements regarding the expected reinstatement of trading in the securities of the Company. Actual events could materially differ from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors including, but not limited to, the exercise of discretion by the TSX Venture Exchange with respect to the trading in the securities of the Company.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

MedMira Contacts: Markus Meile, CFO Andrea Young, Corporate Communications Tel: 902-450-1588 Tel: 902-450-1588 Email: m.meile@ medmira.com Email: ayoung@medmira.com




UT System Board of Regents authorizes $70 million for construction of facilities.

(Sept. 6, 2018) -- UTSA has received a $70 million commitment from The University of Texas System Board of Regents for construction of two new facilities at its Downtown Campus for a National Security Collaboration Center and a proposed School of Data Science.

The funding, approved today by Regents and designated from the Permanent University Fund, significantly advances UTSA President Taylor Eighmys vision of creating new academic and research initiatives that serve as economic catalysts for San Antonio and further position the city and university as global leaders in cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, and information management and technology.

The economic future and well-being of San Antonio is very much tied to big data, data sciences, information management and technology, and cybersecurity. By creating an ecosystem here that brings together the business strengths of our community and the research expertise of UTSA, we will establish San Antonio as the Silicon Valley-equivalent for data science, information management and cybersecurity, said Eighmy.

Establishing a School of Data Science and the National Security Collaboration Center in the heart of San Antonios urban core will attract more critical mass to our community  more businesses, more investors, and more talent, added Eighmy. I am extremely grateful to the Board of Regents for recognizing this tremendous potential for San Antonio and UTSAs key role in bringing this transformation to our region.

According to a study conducted by Frost & Sullivan for the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, two-thirds of global cybersecurity employers said they did not have enough employees to address current threats. By 2022, it is estimated there will be a demand for an additional 1.8 million information security and technology professionals in the United States to keep critical information and intellectual property safe.

The $33 million National Security Collaboration Center will comprise 80,000 square feet of innovation space, laboratories and research facilities and will serve as a hub for government, university and industry partners in the cybersecurity field. It will focus on forensics, visualization and analytics, network security, cyber training/workforce development, big data analytics and privacy, post-quantum cryptography, cyber physical systems and embedded security, security of the cloud, attack and threat modeling and mitigation, machine learning and artificial intelligence, platform and software integrity, and hardware integrity.

Several prominent businesses including Parsons, Raytheon, Booz Allen Hamilton, Noblis and Accenture have expressed their intentions to join the NSCC. UTSA has already established federal partnership agreements with the National Security Agency, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, the U.S. Secret Service, 24th Air Forces Cyber and 25th Air Force. To further strengthen the ecosystem, the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories have all executed partnership agreements with UTSA to work within the NSCC.

I believe the only way we can move at the speed of relevance in the 21st century is to collaborate and innovate more deeply between universities, government, and private companies in order to explore creative solutions. The model UTSA is creating will help the entire community move forward faster together to create economic opportunity and protect national security, said Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, Commander, Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.

When construction is completed, the $57 million School of Data Science building will comprise 138,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and research space. The initiative will place UTSAs 70-plus faculty members in cybersecurity, cloud computing, data and analytics, and artificial intelligence under one roof in the heart of the city, providing government, industry and community partners with access to UTSAs nationally recognized programs and talent.

The proposed School of Data Science will include UTSAs existing departments of Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Statistics & Data Sciences, Information Systems and Cyber Security, and the UTSA Open Cloud Institute. These departments will be co-located in the new facility.

At that time, UTSA will seek approval from both the Board of Regents and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to formally establish the school. UTSA will continue to offer bachelors, masters, doctoral and certificate programs to expand the pipeline of highly trained professionals who protect government and business networks. Enrollment in these programs is expected to grow significantly after the new building is opened.

Serving our members in a rapidly changing digital marketplace requires employees who can outsmart cybercriminals and analyze complex data, USAA Chief Executive Officer Stuart Parker said. The foresight, collaboration and innovation that UTSA is facilitating through these IT and cybersecurity initiatives will generate the skills we need for the future in our home city of San Antonio.

Initial cost for the two facilities is estimated to be $90 million and UTSA intends to move swiftly to identify and pursue additional funding resources for the remainder of the construction. Specific locations for the two buildings on the Downtown Campus and construction schedules are being assessed as part of a larger planning process currently underway to achieve the full potential of the universitys Main and Downtown campuses. That includes maximizing UTSAs downtown location and resources, and collaborating university-wide with business, community and civic leaders to bring a new era of education, job training and job creation to San Antonio.

This is exactly what we need to continue building a sustainable workforce pipeline for big data and information management companies here in San Antonio, said Jenna Saucedo-Herrera, President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. Having a vibrant downtown campus with dedicated entities focused on data science and cyber security supports our targeted growth strategy in IT and cybersecurity to recruit and retain quality employers. This is an incredibly exciting development and will help us immeasurably.

The UTSA Downtown Campus is also home to the UTSA College of Architecture, Construction and Planning, the UTSA College of Public Policy, and several programs in the UTSA College of Education and Human Development.
Study Reveals Big-Game Animals Must Learn to Migrate

University of Wyoming researchers Matthew Kauffman, at right, and Kevin Monteith release a cow moose during a GPS collar migration study near Daniel. Research has found that animals learn to migrate over several generations and pass that knowledge to other members of their herd. (Mark Gocke Photo)

A team of scientists at the University of Wyoming has provided the first empirical evidence that ungulates (hooved mammals) must learn where and when to migrate, and that they maintain their seasonal migrations by passing cultural knowledge across generations.

The results were reported today (Thursday) in Science, one of the worlds top journals.

Biologists have long suspected that, unlike many bird, fish and insect migrations that are driven by genetics, ungulates learn to migrate from their mothers or other animals in the herd. Previous research had hinted that migration was socially learned in ungulates, but a clear test had eluded researchers until now.

The authors of the study made use of a grand experiment that has been occurring across the American West over the last 60 years. After hunting and disease triggered the loss of bighorn sheep across much of their range, a cadre of dedicated wildlife managers, hunters and conservationists pioneered translocation programs to re-establish lost herds. Bighorn sheep from the few populations that persisted continued to migrate; some of these animals were captured and released into landscapes where bighorn sheep occurred previously. The conservation effort has been successful in establishing many new translocated herds.

The pattern was striking, says lead author Brett Jesmer, a doctoral student at UW. Detailed GPS data revealed that fewer than 9 percent of translocated animals migrated, but 65 to 100 percent of animals migrated in herds that had never been lost.

Translocated animals did not migrate because they were unfamiliar with their new habitats, supporting the notion that migration requires extended periods for animals to explore, learn the location of nutritious food and pass that information on to other herd members, including their offspring. When migration and other socially learned behaviors are passed from generation to generation, these behaviors are considered to be part of an animals culture, much like cultural knowledge shared within human societies.

The researchers also were interested in how long it would take for animals to learn to migrate. In recent years, ecologists have learned that ungulates migrate to surf green waves of nutritious food, coordinating their movements to graze on plants sprouting along mountain slopes. Much as surfers coordinate their movements to ride ocean waves, spring migration allows ungulates to catch the wave of young, nutritious plants that sprout at higher and higher elevation through the spring. This gives them more time to graze on the highest-quality food, helping them to survive and reproduce. For some ungulates, green-wave surfing is highly coordinated across vast landscapes, lasting weeks or months.

Jesmer and his colleagues wanted to quantify how long it would take animals to learn how to surf green waves of forage plants in their new habitats, a necessary first step to migration. To answer this question, researchers used GPS collar tracking data from 267 bighorn sheep and 189 moose. Some of the animals had just been released in unfamiliar landscapes, while others had occupied their ranges for decades or even centuries. The researchers found that long-established herds, having acquired information over generations, were better at finding nutritious food than animals translocated to unfamiliar landscapes.

Perhaps most importantly, translocated herds learned to better surf green waves over the course of many decades, and those that surfed better were more likely to migrate. It took nearly 40 years for reintroduced bighorn sheep herds to become 80 percent migratory. Moose generally didnt become migratory until after roughly 90 years living on a new landscape.

Migration corridors depend on maintaining both habitat connectivity and animals' knowledge of the landscape, demonstrated by these migrating bighorn sheep in Park County. (Travis Zaffarano Trailcam Photo)

These results indicate that ungulates accumulate knowledge of their landscapes over time, and cultural transmission of this knowledge is necessary for migrations to arise and persist, Jesmer says.

The study is unique in indicating that habitat quality is best imagined as the physical landscape that animals occupy, in combination with the knowledge they have accumulated about how to use that landscape. That finding has important implications for the conservation of migration corridors, says Matthew Kauffman, one of Jesmer's doctoral advisers and a wildlife researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey's Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UW.

When migration corridors are lost, we also lose all the knowledge animals had about how to make those journeys, which will likely take many decades or even a century to relearn, Kauffman says. This study clearly indicates that the best way to conserve migration corridors is to protect the landscapes that these corridors depend on today, which also will maintain the cultural knowledge that helps sustain abundant herds.

The full list of authors on the paper includes UW researchers Jerod Merkle, Jacob Goheen, Ellen Aikens, Jeffrey Beck, Kevin Monteith and Kauffman; Wyoming Game and Fish Department biologists Alyson Courtemanch and Douglas McWhirter; and Idaho Department of Fish and Game biologists Mark Hurley and Hollie Miyasaki.

This study is part of a growing body of migration discoveries from Wyoming, much of which will be brought together in Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyomings Ungulates, due out this October. The book will be published by Oregon State University Press as a collaboration between the Wyoming Migration Initiative at UW and cartographers at the University of Oregon InfoGraphics Lab. Learn more about the atlas at www.migrationinitiative.org.

This research was financially supported by the Wyoming Governor's Big Game License Coalition, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium, Safari Club International Foundation, Idaho Safari Club, Wild Sheep Foundation, Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, Idaho Transportation Department, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Teton Conservation District, Grand Teton National Park Foundation, Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration funds, the American Society of Mammalogists and the Alces Society.

For more information, email Jesmer at bjesmer@uwyo.edu or Kauffman at mkauffm1@uwyo.edu.
Agribusiness will bloom with EVFTAs tariff cuts, illustration photo

After seven years of negotiations, Vietnam and the EU are currently completing final procedures to sign the bilateral free trade agreement (EVFTA) in October or November. The deal is expected to take effect in 2019.

Once the EVFTA takes effect, the EU will open its doors to Vietnams agri-food immediately, creating scores of opportunities for the Southeast Asian nation  a major exporter of farm produce  to penetrate further into the EU market with its population of over 500 million people. Specifically, the EU will, upon the deals entry into force, eliminate 94 of the total 547 tariff lines on vegetable and fruit products, many of which are Vietnams strengths, including lychees, rambutans, longans, dragon fruit, pineapples, and melons. Currently, the average tariff rates applied to these products are high, at 10-20 per cent.

This EU commitment will give major advantages to Vietnams vegetable and fruit products in the EU market, especially considering that these products have to fiercely compete with those imported from Thailand and China into the EU, said a recently released report by the Vietnam Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Ayuo Takahashi, vice director of a large Japanese firm producing agri-food products in Japans Miyazaki prefecture, recently visited the northern and Central Highlands provinces of Son La, Lao Cai, and Lam Dong to explore opportunities for his company to cultivate vegetables and fruit.

The EU-Japan FTA, which was signed in July 2018 and will take effect in March 2019, will create more opportunities for us to export to the EU. However, because of material shortages in Japan, we have to boost production in Vietnam and then export to the EU, Takahashi said. If the EVFTA takes effect, it will enable us to benefit much more from the EU market when we export our products from Vietnam, where we can source materials more easily.

A group of 20 Japanese investors also visited the Mekong Delta in search of investment opportunities in mangos, rambutans, and shrimp and fish farming. Many of them plan to co-operate with local farms and enterprises to specialise in these products, which will be both locally consumed and exported to Japan and the EU.

According to the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality, the EVFTA will greatly benefit Dutch companies in Vietnam with the commodities of milk and dairy, fruit and vegetables, coffee, cashews, fishery, and livestock (see box), which are to see tariffs eliminated either when the deal comes into force or soon thereafter.

With these commodities, there are huge opportunities for Dutch companies to do business in Vietnam, especially in the agri-processing industry, since most of the key agricultural products will enjoy 0 per cent in taxes after the EVFTA takes effect, said a ministry briefing on potential impacts of the EVFTA on Dutch businesses in Vietnam.

The food processing industry will develop in the areas of coffee, cashews, dairy products, and seafood. Some notable cases of successful Dutch companies specialised in agribusiness include Friesland Campina for milk and dairy products, NedCoffee B.V. for coffee trading and processing, Nedspice Processing Vietnam for manufacturing agricultural products, and Anova Food B.V. for trading seafood, the briefing said.

One chapter in the EVFTA addresses sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), specifically aimed at facilitating trade in plant and animal products. The two sides have agreed to mutually recognise each others SPS methods to reduce the time and barriers for SPS testing between Vietnam and the EU.

These provisions will facilitate access for EU companies producing a large variety of products such as food and drinks, agricultural products, and seafood products in the Vietnamese market. With around 20 per cent of Dutch companies in Vietnam active in the agribusiness and processing industry, the EVFTA will have powerful effects for the Dutch business community, said the briefing.

Since food safety and hygiene has become an increasingly important issue in Vietnam, the EVFTA will create opportunities for Dutch companies to penetrate the market with their high-quality food products, including fruits and vegetables, beverages, and meats. Vietnam will open its market for EU food products. Some of the key products are wines and spirits (to be liberalised after seven years), beef (after three years), and frozen pork (after seven years).

Dutch company De Heus LLC Vietnam is active in Vietnam providing clean and safe pork, while Dutch beer giant Heineken has earned a reputation as one of the largest foreign companies working in Vietnams beverage industry.
Con Cung is working to mitigate the damage caused by the ungrounded allegations Photo: Le Toan

Con Cung still struggles

Despite having cleared its name after being accused of selling goods of unclear origin, the consequences of domestic maternal and baby product distributor Con Cung JSCs ordeal can be felt to this day. The company lost VND1-2 billion ($44,247-88,495) in sales a day, while the damage done to its reputation is difficult to assess.

Nguyen Quoc Minh, chairman of Con Cung JSCs Management Board, told VIR that since the issue occurred, the companys business has been hugely impacted. During the 28 days of inspection, instead of maintaining normal business, it had to work with the Market Surveillance Agency to clarify the origin of its goods.

Since the issue occurred, our sales have been reduced by 20 per cent, Minh added. We lost VND1-2 billion in sales per day, which directly impacted our staffs income because their wages depend on the companys sales, said Luu Anh Tien, general director of Con Cung JSC.

Tien stated that the issue not only cost the company hefty revenue, but also its prestige and honour. The toughest time was when the Ho Chi Minh City Market Surveillance Branch announced finding seven violations at Con Cung. After hearing about the violations, a large number of customers announced that they were boycotting Con Cung.

Even the faith of loyal customers who have been buying our products for their children for four or five years has been shaken, Tien added.

After ending the crisis, earning back customers trust will be a tough mission for Con Cung. Tien said that several days after the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced the report, customers started visiting the stores again, but their numbers have been very low.

Right now, we are focusing on letting customers know that we are a genuine business, Minh told VIR. What we are doing right now is to make people understand that we sell original goods that are backed up by all legal documents  which is completely the opposite of what the news has been saying lately.

The wrong kind of arsenic

Back in 2016, the information that fish sauce contains arsenic made headlines, sending consumers into a frenzy and damaging fish sauce producers.

According to the Vietnam Standards and Consumer Associations (Vinastas) survey on fish sauce products circulating on the local market, which was announced on October 18, 2016, 95.65 per cent of the samples had arsenic content exceeding the regulations. In addition, Vinastas also posted articles warning that 85 per cent of 88 companies fish sauce products did not measure up to the requisite standards.

The representative of 584 Seaproduct JSC, one of the 88 companies, stated that after Vinastas survey, it was constantly bombarded by phone calls from clients and supermarkets requiring an explanation. Some customers even returned its products.

A large number of articles were written on this issue, which were then shared on social networks. The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on October 21 in the same year pointed out that there was a widespread misunderstanding of the regulations on inorganic and organic arsenic in these articles. According to the MIC, only inorganic arsenic damages the health, while organic arsenic does not. Most arsenic found in fish sauce products was organic. Circular No.02/2011/TT-BYT issued by the Ministry of Health on January 13, 2011, only sets a limit on inorganic arsenic content.

Grapefruit and cancer

The victims of incorrect news are not only enterprises and manufacturers but also farmers. Perhaps grapefruit farmers in the Mekong Delta region will never forget the crisis that took place 11 years ago. In July 2007, the UKs BBC and Daily Mail published news saying that eating grapefruit can increase breast cancer risk by a third.

The information was based on the results of a survey on 50,000 women conducted by Southern California University and Hawaii University. According to the survey, women eating more than a quarter of a grapefruit per day were at 30 per cent higher risk of developing breast cancer.

Several local press agencies cited this information, causing a huge misunderstanding among Vietnamese consumers and causing significant damage to grapefruit famers. While many Vietnamese agricultural scientists published evidence proving that domestic grapefruits were completely harmless, Vietnamese consumers still treated the fruit with a strong measure of suspicion.

Within a single month, the price of grapefruit in Mekong Delta provinces dropped from VND8,000-10,000 ($0.35-0.44) to VND1,000 ($0.04) per fruit. Despite this sharply reduced price, consumption was very low, and a large number of farmers had to cut down grapefruit trees.

These examples point to the remarkable influence of the media on the minds of consumers. Unverified or false information, if appearing in the media, can have devastating effects on companies, manufacturers, and consumers.

Boomerang Social Listening Consultant, a company providing services of alarming media crisis in Vietnam, stated that the companys system sends an average of 531 alarming message to the brands using its services. Thus, at every three minutes, a company has to face the crisis risk from receiving alarming messages via phones and emails.

Evidently, bad news spreads far faster than good news, and scoops based on untruth fly the fastest. Even worse, corrections and apologies after the fact go only a little way towards mitigating the damage caused  they draw in far fewer views and hardly any shares. Thus, Con Cung has a long way to go to win back customers trust and recover the VND1-2 billion in missing daily revenue during the 28 days of inspection.

While consumers will readily receive the protection of the Vietnam Competition Authority and Vinastas if they buy low-quality goods, who will protect companies from false news?
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. (CSE: SNA) (OTCQB: SNAVF) ("Star or the Company) is pleased to announce that it will close a non-brokered private placement on Sept 05, 2018, issuing 46,708,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price per Unit of $0.05 for gross proceeds of $2,105,000.



Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company and one warrant. One warrant entitles the holder to purchase one (1) additional common share of the Corporation at seven ($0.07) cents per warrant exercised. The warrants are exercisable during the one (1) year period from the date of issue.

All securities issued in the Offering and any shares issued upon exercise of warrants are subject to a four month statutory hold period from the date of issuance.

The net proceeds of the placement will be used for completing research and development, intensifying sales and implementation activities and corporate overhead. Star has agreed to pay finder's fees in the amount of ten (10%) percent of gross proceeds in Units. The price was reserved with the CSE.

About Star Navigation:



Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. owns the exclusive worldwide license to its proprietary, patented In-flight Safety Monitoring System, STAR-ISMS, the heart of the STAR-A.D.S.  System. Its real-time capability of tracking performance trends and predicting incident-occurrence enhances aviation safety and improves fleet management while reducing costs for the operator.

Stars MMI Division designs and manufactures high performance, mission critical, flight deck flat panel displays for defence and commercial aviation industries worldwide.

Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "may, "would", "could", "will" and similar expressions, as they relate to Star or its management are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Star's current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause Star's actual performance or achievements to vary from those described herein. Should one or more of these factors or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Star does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

Please visit www.star-navigation.com or

Viraf Kapadia, CEO, (416) 252-2889 Ext. 230

viraf.kapadia@star-navigation.com




Investors may no longer receive public land as part of BT infrastructure development projects, Photo: Le Toan

The recent proposal to end build-transfer (BT) infrastructure investments in exchange for public land have brought development under the format to a screeching halt. The Ministry of Finance recently ordered localities to stop using public assets to pay BT investors until a governmental decree on this issue is enacted.

Under the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, payments in terms of land for BT investors are no longer allowed, but many localities have failed to comply. The plan is for projects to go on auction in the future.

Investors hit the brakes

A representative of Ho Chi Minh City Infrastructure Investment JSC (CII), which has projects built under the BT format, told VIR that this halt would not impact current projects, but would surely impact future undertakings.

This step will not affect CIIs projects and business strategy at the moment, since all current projects are being done by way of investing in infrastructure systems and receiving land plots in return, but projects will be taken to auction in the future, said the representative, who wished not to be named. He said that the halt would not discourage investors right now, but all BT activities had been stopped to await new guidelines from the Vietnamese government.

We [investors] are all aware that the reason why the government wants to move from BT to the auction method is to make everything transparent, and this would be the most efficient method for choosing eligible and capable investors for projects, he said.

He added that in the future, when the auction method is applied, auction identifications would have to be very clear and transparent. If the government only cares about the highest price, then they will face many obstacles. The toughest of those would be that the government may not be able to choose the best-qualified investors. This would mean a long-term disadvantage for infrastructure development, he said. Investors right now are waiting and seeing how the new regulation will be applied. Nothing is being done before this issue is clarified.

Meanwhile, a source from construction firm LICOGI 16 said that its major project, a 3,200-metre road and bridge section in District 8 of Ho Chi Minh City, was just about to be started when it was stopped due to the halt. Investors involved in this project are also awaiting more information before taking further steps in this project.

Two other investors, Hai Phat Invest and Van Phu Invest, are also worried, as they possess dozens of hectares of land which was returned as part of BT projects. According to Doan Hoa Thuan, general director of Hai Phat Invest, the company and its partners are reviewing all current projects. Our current intention is to continue projects which have been permitted under the old format. Then we will push mergers and acquisitions methods to expand our land fund, Thuan said.

Experts call for review

According to industry experts, in order to increase transparency in BT project implementation, it is necessary to review the regulations allowing investors to propose and formulate investment projects. Current rules give investors too much influence, they say, increasing the risk of losses for the government.

Former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Hung Vo said that the BT format itself was not a bad way to mobilise investment for infrastructure development. However, the current legal framework on BT projects remains unperfected, leading to obstacles in project management and implementation. Despite the remaining concerns about the BT format, I have to say that this format is still one of the best way for infrastructure development. The problem is how to utilise it in the best manner, Vo said.

Vo said that BT projects should be stopped altogether in developed areas. To increase transparency in investment projects, BT projects should only be allowed in some localities with weak budgets and a lack of infrastructure network.

The main disadvantage of BT projects is the depletion of land resources, Vo said. Thus, it is necessary to develop a mechanism to determine the value of infrastructure works and the value of land paid to investors. Moreover, all public-private partnership (PPP) projects must be fully publicised and put under the supervision of local people, while relevant state agencies must fulfill their obligation to explain issues raised by the people, he added.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, stressed that partnerships with the private sector for infrastructure investments help mobilise large sums of capital. Still, he proposed public and transparent auctions and a restriction on contractor appointments in the case of PPP and BT investments.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said that land sites in prime locations will be auctioned off to collect capital for infrastructure projects, even though investors want those sites in exchange for BT investments. Recently, BT infrastructure projects have been heavily criticised, most notably for a lack of transparency, leading to a high risk of corruption. Local authorities had to give up many land lots, including several hectares in prime locations, for private project developers, causing a lack of land for the city and concerns over wastefulness. Auditors and land management experts are skeptical about the efficiency and transparency of projects carried out under BT contracts, as many BT projects have suffered long delays and major problems.

BT refers to the practice of giving land to developers who pledge to build infrastructure. The project format was introduced to Vietnam in the early 1990s, when localities across the country lacked funds to develop infrastructure.
Cross-border M&A deals cause unsolved tax issues, illustration photo

Cross-border headaches

In recent years, along with the general rise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals in Vietnam, overseas companies have been conducting more high-profile deals among themselves for assets based in the country. And, most of the time, tax confusion and controversies follow these transactions.

The latest example is ConocoPhillips and Perenco, which do not want to pay nearly $180 million in taxes levied on the sale of its assets in Vietnam to Perenco six years ago. ConocoPhillips argued it cannot be taxed because the transaction was conducted between two foreign entities with no taxable presence in Vietnam.

This case harkens back to the controversial Uber and Grab merger in April this year. Singapore-based Grab, the buyer of Ubers Southeast Asian business, said it would not be responsible for taxes owed by Uber to the Ho Chi Minh City government, which reached $2.3 million.

Going back further, supermarket Big C was also ordered to pay $93 million in capital profit assignment tax (CAPT), after Frances Casino Group sold the Vietnam-based supermarket to Thailands Central Group. This is the highest amount of levies that Vietnam has ever collected from an M&A deal.

Previously, German company Metro Group submitted $85.25 million in taxes to Vietnam after the sale of hypermarket Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam to Thailand-based TCC Holdings.

In August 2017, the Ministry of Finance proposed a bill on a new 1-per-cent CAPT, which is calculated according to gross sales proceeds instead of capital gains, as was done previously. This draft bill has since gathered significant buzz in the market, as investors claimed that some cross-border M&A deals were conducted at a loss, making levying CAPT on any M&A deal unreasonable.

Nguyen Van Phung, director of the Department of Tax Administration and Large Enterprises under the General Department of Taxation, told VIR that the sellers are obliged to pay value-added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT), while individuals are subject to personal income tax.

Phung said that with off-shore transactions, it is sometimes difficult to tax the right entity, as foreign buyers and sellers usually conduct their deals via a myriad of subsidiaries or holdings in other countries. For example, in the Big C-Central Group case, Casino Group actually transferred Big C Vietnams shares via its Hong Kong affiliate Cavi Retail.

We have to hold our ground with the deal participants: No matter where the sellers and buyers are incorporated, if their assets, equipment, and network still operate in Vietnam following the transaction  they have to pay taxes. This is a prerequisite for the buyers takeover of the assets, said Phung.

Things to consider

Of course, collecting taxes on cross-border transactions remains a tedious and controversial process, subject to not only Vietnamese laws but also international trade agreements and rules set by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

For instance, many countries have signed treaties to avoid double taxation of M&A transactions, and such a treaty will override any domestic law. Vietnam currently has such agreements with 50 countries around the world. However, tax treaties or offshore holdings are not a magic way out for foreign investors. According to an April report issued to investors by KPMG Vietnam, cross-border M&A tax laws in Vietnam are improving, but interpretations are increasingly skewed in favour of Vietnamese tax authorities. KPMG alerted investors that use of an offshore holding company may provide opportunities for tax mitigation, but companies remain subjected to anti-avoidance rules by the Vietnamese government.

Tax treaties may offer some protection [from CIT or VAT], but anti-avoidance rules apply, with broad interpretation by the local government. Furthermore, tax treaty claims are not reviewed or approved by the local tax authorities until a tax audit is undertaken, which can happen years later, said the KPMG report.

Vinh Nguyen, tax partner at Baker McKenzie (Vietnam), told VIR that off-shore M&A deals, involving indirect share transfers, often face vague tax policies, since there has been no practical implementation guidance following Vietnams tax regulations since 2015. This causes a certain level of uncertainty when it comes to tax impacts of transactions, said Nguyen.

Another issue, according to lawyer Vu Ngoc Dung of Bac Viet Law Firm, is the possibility of foreigners conducting M&A deals in Vietnam to dodge taxes  called a tax inversion deal. Dung said that a profitable company may decide to buy into a loss-making one to reduce its tax payment responsibilities. Some countries, such as the US and the UK, allow this practice, which can make it hard for the Vietnamese government to tax these deals.

Vietnam is still new to M&A activities and complicated tax issues arising from cross-border deals. Thus, I suggest we learn from more developed countries to minimise loopholes in our laws, and we have to collaborate with them and the World Trade Organization, said Dung.

Meanwhile, Vinh Nguyen advised that both parties in an M&A deal need to properly address tax concerns and risks in the transaction documents, especially regarding tax issues of the Vietnamese target companies.
Many Vietnamese banks have already exhausted much of their foreign ownership limit , Photo: Le Toan

(Source: Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Hanoi Stock Exchange)

Hot stocks

The ups and downs of bank stocks tend to be closely monitored by investors and analysts in Vietnam, as these stocks take up 22 per cent of Vietnams listed equity market. Throughout the past quarter, bank stocks have been in a slump due to the corrective streak in the VN-Index.

Recently, however, with the bearish trend easing and the market bouncing back by 10 per cent from its July low, analysts and investors have regained their faith in the so-called Vietnamese king stocks.

For example, independent rating firm Moodys upgraded its ratings for 14 Vietnamese commercial banks on August 14. The Moodys upgrade is based on the assumption that the Vietnamese government will continue its support for banks asset quality and capitalisation. Indeed, as part of Decision No.986/QD-TTg released on August 11, the Vietnamese government has outlined its growth strategy for Vietnamese banks from now until 2025. This includes raising capital for three state-owned lenders and the possibility of listing them overseas.

Such a path is, on the face of it, positive, as outside investors will be less of a minority and therefore able to exert more influence on the direction of the banks. Also, capital raising will be easier to conduct if there is a large body of outside investors, said Long Ngo, associate director of financial institutions at Viet Capital Securities research team.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thanh Lam, investment manager at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, expects net profits of listed banks to expand by 20 per cent in 2018, while returns on equity (ROE) will grow by 14 per cent. The infrastructure is going through strong developments and consumer finance is forecast to boom from 2018 onwards. Many banks have made significant progress in solving sour loans, said Lam.

Who can buy the shares?

The appeal of Vietnams bank stocks is thus very clear to both domestic and foreign investors. At first glance, it seems that foreign investors are at an advantage because they can provide domestic lenders with capital or know-how. However, there are significant challenges for foreign investors.

Firstly, the existing foreign ownership limit (FOL) at commercial banks in Vietnam is only 30 per cent, and the law stipulates that any one foreign entity can only own up to 15 per cent. One prominent example is Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), which is poised for 70 per cent net profit growth in 2018. ACB has reached the 30-per-cent FOL, which means overseas buyers can only gain a stake in this fast-growing bank if another foreign investor agrees to sell.

Similarly, last October, 3.4 million additional shares of Military Bank were made available to foreign investors, as the bank issued new shares from its employee stock ownership plan. Within 15 minutes of trading, all of those shares were devoured by foreigners and the bank quickly reached its FOL again.

Likewise, scores of investment funds and banks from around the world have joined in the initial share sales of VPBank, Techcombank, and HDBank. However, each investor bought less than 5 per cent due to the ownership cap.

The current ownership limit at 30 per cent is quite low for investors, as they want a bigger say at the banks. This is especially true for strategic shareholders, so I would suggest relaxing this cap gradually to 49 and 51 per cent, said economist Nguyen Tri Hieu.

Hieu added that thanks to their larger wallets, foreign investors are more likely to purchase Vietnamese bank stocks in bulk than domestic investors. Foreigners are the ones who can easily invest $50 million or more in a Vietnamese lender, he said.

Moreover, foreign strategic investors can offer valuable lessons on corporate governance and banking know-how to Vietnamese lenders  something domestic investors do not have. That said, Duong Nguyen, financial services and IT advisory leader at EY Vietnam, noted that foreign banks are reluctant to invest in Vietnamese banks due to the lack of Basel II standards. Specifically, she said that Vietnamese banks scored the lowest in the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard. Vietnamese lenders are lagging behind their peers from Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia, who have already fulfilled Basel II.

As a result of these factors, experts believe that although the stocks of Vietnamese banks do have an upbeat future ahead, foreign investors will only come in droves if there is a systemic improvement in terms of FOL, corporate governance, and Basel II application.
The 11.2 per cent IIP climb in the years first eight months has reflected businesses growing confidence, Photo: Le Toan

During his working visit to South Koreas Samsung Display Vietnam (SDV) facility in the northern province of Bac Ninh two weeks ago, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung was told that in the first half of this year, SDVs export turnover hit $3.7 billion and revenue totalled $6.6 billion. Since its establishment in late 2014, the manufacturer, which produces OLED screens for phones, tablets, and watches, has disbursed $6.3 billion out of its total committed $6.5 billion. The remaining $200 million will be disbursed in the third quarter, much earlier than the companys initially scheduled target of 2022.

Samsung Display Vietnam has made a great contribution to the development of Bac Ninh in particular and of Vietnam in general, Minister Dung said.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) last week reported that in the first eight months of this year, thanks to boosted production of the business community including large-scale manufacturers like Samsung and Formosa in Vietnam, the index of industrial production (IIP) climbed to the highest eight-month level since 2011, at a growth of 11.2 per cent on-year. Breaking down this 11.2 per cent rise, the manufacturing and processing sector, which accounts for nearly 80 per cent of Vietnams industrial growth, saw the highest eight-month growth rate at 13.3 per cent, contributing to 10.2 per cent of IIP growth. Meanwhile, production and distribution of electricity grew by 10.4 per cent, far higher than the 8.6 per cent rise in the same period last year.

The 11.2 per cent IIP rise is very significant, reflecting major growth in industrial production, said Mai Tien Dung, Minister and Chairman of the Government Office. Never have we seen such strong growth in IIP as we are doing now. Production of almost all products in the economy has also soared, and the business communitys confidence is growing strongly.

For example, showing the business communitys growing confidence, last week, a joint venture between Wagan, GHN Group, Masters Depot, and Vietnams Tin Thanh Group met with the operator of Dung Quat Oil Refinery in the south-central province of Quang Ngai, in hopes of engaging in the second-phase expansion of the project. As scheduled, the expansion will be completed in 2021, with the refinerys capacity to be increased by 30 per cent, with an output of 8.5 million tonnes of EURO-standard products per year. In the first eight months of this year, the refinery produced over 4.71 million tonnes of oil, with revenue of over VND73.9 trillion ($3.27 billion).

According to the GSO, since the beginning of the year, many industrial products have witnessed very high growth, including petrol and oil (up 50 per cent on-year), steel (up 37.6 per cent, largely owing to Formosa, which helped the central province of Ha Tinhs IIP top the country at 121.4 per cent), mobile phones and their spare parts (up 36.6 per cent, mostly thanks to Samsung), alumina (up 25.2 per cent), and liquified petroleum gas (up 24.9 per cent).

Standard Chartered Bank expects that industrial manufacturing and construction are likely to remain the fastest-growing sectors in Vietnam, and this will help the economy grow at a high rate  7 per cent in 2018, higher than its previous forecast of 6.8 per cent, with all domestic engines firing together.

We are positive on Vietnams growth in the medium term based on strong manufacturing activity, as foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to manufacturing remain strong. We believe that Vietnam will remain one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia in 2018, said Chidu Narayanan, economist for Asia at Standard Chartered Bank.

According to the bank, FDI inflows are set to remain high in 2018, led by manufacturing, which makes up close to 50 per cent of the inflows.

The GSO also said that in the first eight months, FDI disbursement totalled $11.25 billion, up 9.2 per cent on-year.

Besides, Vietnam also saw nearly 87,500 enterprises newly established, registered at $38.87 billion, up 2.4 per cent in the number of enterprises and 6.9 per cent in capital, on-year.

In addition, operational companies increased their capital by $74.3 billion. Thus, the total new capital inserted into the economy in the first eight months of 2018 hit $113.17 billion.
The demand for skilled IT engineers fluent in Japanese will be limitless in the next decade

According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), the country currently has about 920,000 IT engineers and needs about 171,000 more to meet its actual demand. By 2020, Japan is expected to be short of 369,000 IT engineers and the figure could more than double to 789,000 by 2030.

These figures were released at the recent 12th Japan ICT Day which took place concurrently in Hanoi and Danang.

According to METI, only 1.9 per cent of Japanese firms use AI applications. However, the countrys demand for newly-emerging technologies like IoT, robotics or Big Data is on a sharp rise.

Hironobu Kitagawa, chief representative of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) in Hanoi, assumed that the shortage of IT engineers and soaring demand will usher in enormous cooperation opportunities for Japanese and Vietnamese companies in the upcoming time.

It is not only Japanese firms that are thirsty for IT workforce, local firms providing services, solutions, and software for Japan are also in bad need for manpower.

Hoang Nam Tien, chairman of FPT Software, said that about 20,000 Vietnamese engineers are working in Japan in information technology outsourcing (ITO) and business processing outsourcing (BPO).

From now to 2020, FPT Japan is set to employ nearly 1,000 IT personnel to meet its development needs

FPT Software currently has about 1,000 personnel working at five Japan-based offices and 5,000 more in Vietnam to implement projects for Japanese customers.

This year, to meet the growing workload from Japanese customers, FPT Software envisages recruiting about 2,000 personnel to serve the Japanese market alone.

FPT Softwares Project P3.M35 in Japan currently employs a personnel of 400, which is expected to be doubled right this month and continue soaring in the coming months as the project expands.

From now to 2020, FPT Japan is set to employ nearly 1,000 IT personnel to meet its development needs.

Japan is in dire need for IT workforce and the demand for those proficient in the Japanese language will be limitless in the next decade, said Le Tec Nen, director of Project P3.M35.

According to Junko Kawauchi, vice president of Japan Information Technology Services Association (JISA), Vietnam is one of the countries that offer quality IT human resources.

Vietnamese IT engineers only account for a mere 4 per cent of all foreign IT engineers working in Japan currently, 53 per cent of whom are Chinese and 15 per cent are Korean. However, the pace of growth of this proportion is the fastest among Japans foreign partners.

The reason why only a modest percentage of the Vietnamese IT engineers are working in Japan currently is that Vietnamese IT engineers still fall short of Japanese partners requirements. Recent statistics by the National Institute of Information and Communications Strategy show that up to 72 per cent of IT students lack practical experience after graduation, 42 per cent lack teamwork skills, and 80 per cent of programmers need re-training.
Toyota manufactures the hybrid Prius. (File photo: AFP/Toru Yamanaka)

Toyota announced on Wednesday (Sep 5) that it is recalling about 1.03 million hybrid vehicles in Japan, North America, Europe and other regions. The affected models, built between June 2015 and May 2018 include Prius, Prius PHV and C-HR.

Borneo Motors, the authorised distributor for Toyota in Singapore, said it will be reaching out to Prius customers to check their vehicles, and if necessary, conduct repairs at no cost.

For the parallel-imported C-HR HV models, Borneo Motors said it will work with Toyota Motor and the Land Transport Authority to "support" the models.

In a media alert, Borneo Motors explained that the affected vehicles have an engine wire harness which is connected to the hybrid vehicle Power Control unit.

A portion of the wire harness could contact the cover at this connection and wear over time, causing an electrical short circuit, which can generate heat," it said. "If sufficient heat is generated, there is an increased risk of a vehicle fire."

Safety continues to remain our number one priority and we are focused on putting our customers and people first by taking swift and appropriate action, Borneo Motors added.
Innovative start-ups will enjoy financial support from the National Technology Innovation Foundation (NATIF) fund, according to a directive issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.- VNA/VNS

Phuc asked the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to draft a charter on the operation of NATIF to include innovative enterprises as recipients of the fund by the end of the year.

Under the directive, innovative start-ups will enjoy preferential loans and guarantees to incubate new ideas and business models. Star-ups will need to ensure they comply with the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises as well as the criteria set out by the fund.

The directive aims to lure investment in innovative start-ups from domestic and overseas resources.

The Prime Minister approved the project in 2016 with Decision 844/QD-TTg/2016. It focuses on supporting the national innovation start-up ecosystem through 2025 and developing a legal system and a national e-portal for start-ups by 2020.

PM Phuc wanted the MoST to recommend policies to foster an innovative start-up environment and organise annual meetings with investors and start-up enterprises at home and abroad.

The MoST will work in collaboration with the ministries of Planning and Investment, and Finance to identify innovative start-up individuals and enterprises and support the establishment of domestic networks connecting to global networks of "angel investors" in order to increase investment in Vietnamese start-up businesses.

In which, the contents of expenditures suitable for innovative startups will be paid for items including representatives of innovative startup businesses participating in well-known nurseries or working places in the world, the activities of Viet Nams innovative startup representatives in a number of innovative start-ups ecosystems, and activities such as market research, expert hiring, payroll, and commercialisation of new technologies, products and services.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment will coordinate with the MoST to propose plans to fast-track investment registration certificates for foreign investors in Viet Nam that are not yet covered by international treaties that Viet Nam is a signatory to.

The Ministry of Education and Training in collaboration with the MoST and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry will continue to launch start-up training courses at universities. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs will be in charge of simplifying administrative procedures relevant to work licences for foreigners in Viet Nam, according to the directive.

Statistics from the MoST showed that the country has about 600,000 enterprises, including 3,000 innovative start-up enterprises. They are expected to be a driving force for growth, effectively contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

The number of venture capital funds and individual investors in the country has seen high growth. More than 40 venture capital funds have been set up, including IDG Ventures, CyberAgent Ventures, Captial Ventures, Gobi Partners and 500 Startups.

Meanwhile, many Vietnamese businesses have joined investment capital funds such as CMC Innovation Fund, FPT Ventures, Viettel Ventures and The Vietnam Innovative Startups Accelerator (VIISA), which is jointly operated by FPT, Dragon Capital Group, Hanwha Group (South Korea) and BIDV Securities Company.
A truck sits at an angle on a bridge after being blown over by strong winds caused by Typhoon Jebi in Sakade, Japan AFP/JIJI PRESS

Powerful gusts ripped sheeting from rooftops, overturned trucks on bridges and swept a tanker anchored in Osaka Bay into a bridge to Kansai International Airport.

The damage to the bridge left the airport cut off from the mainland and stranded around 3,000 people there, an official told AFP.

The airport was now conducting safety tests on the undamaged section of the bridge, the official said, but it remained unclear when the passengers could leave.

High waves whipped up by the storm also flooded parts of the airport, where all flights were cancelled, and the severe weather caused power outages and travel chaos across much of the country.

Typhoon Jebi made landfall around noon, slamming into the west of the country with winds of up to 216 kilometres per hour.

The fast-moving storm quickly crossed the mainland, and by nightfall was heading out to sea from Ishikawa in central Japan.

News agencies Kyodo and Jiji both reported seven dead. According to public broadcaster NHK, the deaths included a 71-year-old man killed in western Shiga prefecture after being trapped under a warehouse that collapsed in strong wind.

NHK said 164 people had suffered mostly minor injuries.

In Osaka, television footage showed the large tanker smashing into the bridge connecting the city of Izumisano with Kansai airport, with its superstructure battering away part of the bridge.

Local TV also showed footage of a 100-metre (328-feet) tall ferris wheel in Osaka spinning furiously in the strong wind despite being switched off.

"I've never seen such a thing," a 19-year-old boy at the scene told NHK.

Elsewhere, the winds whipped away part of the ceiling from Kyoto station and peeled off multi-storey scaffolding on a building in Osaka.

EVACUATIONS URGED

Up to 2.3 million households suffered blackouts after the storm ripped through the region, Jiji reported, while evacuation advisories were issued at one point for nearly 1.2 million people, with another 16,000 under stronger - though still not mandatory - evacuation orders.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had urged people to evacuate early and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to protect residents, after the weather agency warned of landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes.

"I urge the Japanese people to take action to protect your lives, including preparing and evacuating early," he said.

Arriving on land, Jebi had winds of up to 162 kilometres (100 miles) per hour at its centre, making it a "very strong" typhoon, the weather agency's chief forecaster Ryuta Kurora told AFP.

"This is (the strongest) since 1993."

Local media warned that the wind was strong enough to topple traditional-style wooden houses as well as power poles, and urged people in affected areas to avoid non-essential travel.

Primary and middle schools in the storm's path were closed while regional businesses including Universal Studios Japan in Osaka and factories for several large manufacturers shut down.

Nearly 800 flights were cancelled, including several international flights departing and arriving at Nagoya and Osaka, along with ferries, local train services and some bullet train lines.

Jebi had a similar trajectory to Typhoon Cimaron which made landfall on Aug 23, disrupting transport but causing limited damage and few injuries.

Japan is regularly struck by major storms during the summer and autumn.

The country has been sweating through a record deadly heatwave that followed devastating rain in parts of central and western Japan that killed over 200 people.

The sustained rain caused widespread flooding and landslides in July, devastating entire villages and forcing thousands from their homes.

The flooding and landslides proved so deadly in part because many people did not heed evacuation warnings, which are not mandatory.

Since the disaster, authorities have urged people to take the warnings more seriously and prepare to leave home immediately they are issued.
Britain, the United States and other allies have accused Russia of involvement in an attack using the nerve agent Novichok against a former Russian double agent and his daughter in March 2018 in Salisbury, England. (AFP/Adrian DENNIS)

After thousands of hours of work, they have traced the steps of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov as they arrived in Britain on Mar 2, conducted a reconnaissance mission in Salisbury, carried out their attack on Mar 4 and immediately headed back to Russia.

They believe they have pinned down a timeline of the failed attempt to murder Skripal, a former Russian double agent who came to Britain in a spy swap, in the first use of chemical weapons in Europe since World War II.

It is alleged they sprayed the toxic poison Novichok on the handle of Skripal's front door in the city of Salisbury, southwest England. The Novichok was smuggled into Britain in a fake perfume bottle.

Around 250 counter-terror detectives have spent six months trawling through the evidence, including searching 11,000 hours of security camera footage.

The case against Petrov and Boshirov also involves evidence from Britain's military Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory, and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said the two suspects are members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, who carried out a mission almost certainly approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Petrov and Boshirov are approximately 40 years old, and are Russian nationals who were travelling on Russian passports, according to the police case against them.

Detectives believe their names are likely aliases. They also believe the passports were issued by the Russian government.

They said the pair had previously travelled to Britain under these identities and had legitimate reasons for their visas, though did not say what type of visa they had.

The mugshots released of the pair are from the travel documents they used to enter Britain.

IN-AND-OUT JOB

The pair flew from Moscow to London Gatwick Airport on Mar 2 on Aeroflot flight SU2588, arriving at 3:00pm.

After clearing immigration, they took a train to the London's Victoria station, arriving at around 5:40pm, before going to Waterloo station. They were at Waterloo between 6:00pm and 7:00pm.

Afterwards they made their way to the City Stay Hotel in Bow, east London, for the first of their two-night stay.

Traces of Novichok, below levels which would cause public health concern, were later found in their room.

The following day, Mar 3, they travelled from Waterloo to Salisbury, arriving at around 2:25pm and leaving at 4:10pm on what was a particularly cold weekend, with heavy snow in the cathedral city.

Police believe this was a reconnaissance trip.

They returned to London and went back to Bow.

On Mar 4, they made the same journey, travelling on the London Underground from Bow to Waterloo at approximately 8:05am.

Security camera footage of the pair shows them in the immediate vicinity of the Skripals' house at 11:58am.

Police say this was moments before the Novichok was sprayed on the door handle.

The suspects were pictured at Salisbury train station at 1:50pm and returned to Waterloo.

The Skripals were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury at 4:15pm.

Petrov and Boshirov took the Underground to London Heathrow Airport at around 6:30pm.

A released image shows the suspects going through the passport scanning gates at 7:28pm.

They flew to Moscow on Aeroflot flight SU2585, leaving at 10:30pm.

Police have no evidence to suggest the pair have re-entered Britain since.

Russia has denied having any involvement in the case. Moscow officials have offered a variety of possible theories and counter-narratives.
UK seeks bilateral FTA with Vietnam in light of Brexit, source AFP

Tran Ngoc An, Vietnams Ambassador to the UK, told VIR that the UK will officially leave the EU on March 29, 2019, which has prompted the country to strengthen its trade and investment ties with its partners. Vietnam is viewed by British investors as one of the most attractive destinations for business in the Asia-Pacific region, An said. [Due to Brexit], the UK side has been proactively working with the Vietnamese side on boosting new bilateral co-operation mechanisms, including a potential free trade agreement (FTA).

An FTA refers to a free trade area where commerce in goods and services can be conducted across their common borders, without tariffs or hindrances.

I believe that if the FTA comes, a new wave of UK investments will hit Vietnam, and Vietnam-UK trade turnover will strongly increase, An said.

Economist Oliver Reynolds from Spain-based FocusEconomics, which provides in-depth economic analysis globally, also told VIR that after Brexit, the UK will look to continue to nurture its blossoming relationship with Vietnam, and is almost certain to use the agreement signed between the EU and Vietnam as the basis for a bilateral trade deal, whether or not the EU agreement comes into force before the departure date.

In its current form, the deal would eliminate over 99 per cent of the tariffs between the two countries, and hack away at non-tariff barriers, such as regulations, intellectual property rights, and sustainable development, Reynolds said.

According to the British Business Group Vietnam (BBGV), Vietnam is a great magnet for UK investors. During the fiscal year of 2017-2018, there was rising interest in doing business in Vietnam among UK companies.

The Business Centre received a total of 339 enquiries, from which we commissioned 40 services to arrange meetings for UK companies to meet Vietnamese partners and deliver their services/products in Vietnam, BBGV said in a bulletin released two weeks ago.

Compared to the fiscal year of 2016-2017, the number of enquiries and services commissioned rose by 183 and 235 per cent, respectively. The number of export opportunities to Vietnam increased from 48 to 163. The number of responses to these opportunities from the UK rose from 71 to 615, eight times higher than last year, the bulletin said.

As part of the intensifying relationships, VinaCapital recently took a delegation of Vietnamese companies to the UK to seek partners.

The UKs big companies that I have met with highly value the Vietnamese market, which they said has great potential in growth in the medium and long terms, An stressed. They are particularly interested in investing in the sectors of services, finance, insurance, IT, and high-tech consultancy.

Vietnam-UK bilateral trade expanded to $6.1 billion last year, with Vietnam exporting $5.4 billion and importing $700 million worth of goods, resulting in a huge trade surplus with the UK. In this years first five months, the bilateral trade turnover grew by 40 per cent, according to An.

As of August 20, the UK had 341 valid investment projects registered at $3.57 billion in Vietnam. Currently, many large UK companies, such as BP, BHP Billiton, Vodafone, P&O, Pilkington, Vietnam Gas Conversion System, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, and Standard Chartered, are operating in Vietnam with much success.

Two weeks ago, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field said that the UK is exploring opportunities to raise its engagement with the ASEAN, including Vietnam, when it exits the EU, and is planning to step up partnerships for mutual benefit in areas such as education, innovation, smart cities, and cyber technology.

In Vietnam, we are increasing our work to support sustained and inclusive economic growth. Over the next three years, programmes on low carbon energy, infrastructure development, healthcare reform, and trade will be rolled out, Field said. We are also working closely with the Vietnamese government on economic reform and governance practices, and trying to find better ways to mobilise funding for public investment.




Ground Breaking Product Innovation in HVAC, Update on First Agreement

ODESSA, FL, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Dais Analytic Corporation (OTCQB: DLYT ), a commercial nanotechnology materials business selling its industry-changing nanomaterial technology into the worldwide water, air and energy markets, announced it entered into a second definitive two-part, license agreement with the Haier Group of Qingdao, China for a new product for Haiers HVAC cooling systems.

The new product is anticipated to have a significant revenue impact for Dais, projected to be $73 million or more annually when successfully field tested and fully deployed. Revenues for Dais could begin as early as the last quarter of 2019. The product is an innovative PolyCool condensing unit being incorporated into a commercial Haier cooling line that is planned to be deployed into Haiers Greater China sales and distribution channels.

This novel condensing unit functions using the features set of Daiss disruptive Aqualyte  nanomaterial. Aqualyte is used to efficiently remove heat from the Haier HVACs cooling system resulting in capital and operating cost savings, and lower CO2 emissions.

In July of 2017, Dais first entered into a multi-year, exclusive license agreement with the Haier Group to provide its Aqualyte nanomaterials for use in select refrigeration products. This first agreement has already generated increasing quarterly revenue for Dais and should continue to expand with full rollout expected by mid-2019. Dais projects this first agreement alone for refrigeration products should ultimately generate over $10 million in annual revenues.

Haiers use of Daiss Aqualyte material follows a growing world-wide trend reported byMarket Insight Reports (July 18, 2018) that states global adoption of mature nanotechnology materials continues to grow and is on track to reach $90.5 billion by 2021 from $39.2 billion in 2016 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.2%, from 2016 to 2021. Dais was listed as one of the companies by Market Insight Reports along with BASF, Bayer AG, Dow Chemical, and others.

The PolyCool condensing unit replaces energy consuming, breakable components in todays products, matching Haiers market place needs for vastly improved environmentally friendly HVAC products with higher efficiencies, improved functionality and lifetime, and offering higher end-user value. The functionality offered by this innovative new product addresses the burgeoning China HVAC markets need for products having better efficiencies at lower operating costs addressing Chinas vexing environmental challenges.

There is a real and growing demand world-wide for energy efficient and environmentally friendly technologies which Dais and Aqualyte offer, said Tim Tangredi, Daiss CEO. The Haier Groups vision, and broad array of technical expertise, manufacturing, distribution and supply chain capabilities will surely continue the adoption of Aqualyte -based new product solutions beyond the current the existing refrigeration product and the developing HVAC application. Dais and Haiers continued collaboration demonstrate each is a true leader in the use of advanced materials fulfilling world-wide advanced market needs.





About Haier Group Corporation

Haier Group Corporation is a collective multinational consumer electronics and home appliances company headquartered in Qingdao, China. It designs, develops, manufactures and sells products world-wide including air conditioners, mobile phones, computers, microwave ovens, washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions. According to data released by Euromonitor, in 2014 the Haier brand had the world's largest market share in white goods, with 10.2 per cent retail volume market share. This was the 6th consecutive year in which Haier had been the market share leader for major appliances. In 2012, Haier Group bought the New Zealand appliance manufacturing company Fisher & Paykel, and in January 2016, the Haier Group acquired General Electric's appliance division for $5.4 billion.

About Dais Analytic Corporation

Dais Analytic Corporation (OTCQB: DLYT ) is a nanotechnology business producing a versatile family of membrane materials -- called Aqualyte -- focusing on evolutionary or disruptive air, energy and water applications. The uses include:

NanoClear, a commercialized system treating contaminated industrial waste water providing ultra-pure potable water with higher system efficiencies at equal or better capital and operating costs than other technologies.

ConsERV, a commercially available engineered energy recovery ventilator that uses stale air being exhausted to precondition the temperature and moisture content of the incoming fresh ventilation air, typically saving energy, reducing CO2 emissions, and allowing for equipment downsizing;

PolyCool, an Aqualyte-based next generation evaporative cooling technology that is nearing full commercialization. PolyCool reduces energy usage, maintenance, and operating costs of cooling towers and evaporative condensers for HVAC, industrial processes, and power generation applications. The Aqualyte membrane prevents release of dangerous microbes such as Legionella from evaporative cooling systems, opening new markets that have traditionally been sensitive to liability and maintenance concerns, such as smaller air-cooled HVAC systems. The proven fouling resistance of Aqualyte membranes allow the use of concentrated wastewater in evaporative cooling, making PolyCool a viable method of waste disposal at the same time it provides cooling.

NanoAir, a water-based cooling cycle with no fluorocarbon refrigerants that is in early beta-stage testing which can replace existing vapor compression cooling cycles in most forms of air-conditioning and refrigeration, saving a projected 50% in energy and CO2.

Each use demonstrates the diversity of Dais' core product, Aqualyte, a family of nanostructured polymers and engineered processes focused on minimizing consumption of irreplaceable natural resources and ending the degradation of our environment. To find out more about Dais please visit www.daisanalytic.com .




Vinalines only managed to sell 1.1 per cent of the shares offered at its IPO

The Hanoi Stock Exchange has announced the results of Vinalines' IPO, which attracted 42 investors who registered to buy nearly 5.44 million shares for over VND54 billion ($2.39 million), equal to 0.38 per cent of the corporations charter capital.

Vinalines planned to sell 490 million shares, or 34.8 per cent, at the IPO. The starting price was VND10,000 ($0.44) per share. The highest winning bid was VND13,000 ($0.57).

Vinalines is planning to operate as a joint stock company by late 2018 or early 2019. Its shares will be listed on the UPCoM market within 90 days of September 5.

The poor results of the IPO were forecast by industry insiders after the collapse of a strategic stake sale, blaming the unfavourable timing and unattractive financial indexes, despite interest among international groups, including SM Group and SK Securities.

As shown in the audited financial statements for 2015-2017, Vinalines return on assets (ROA) was 5.5 per cent in 2015, 13.7 per cent in 2016, and 1.9 per cent in 2017, while return on equity (ROE) was 9.5 per cent, 21 per cent, and 2.5 per cent, respectively. The ratios were lower than the industry average.

What is more, the shareholder structure, with the state holding 65 per cent, is believed to be an impediment to convincing investors.

Although Vinalines is a leader in the Vietnamese shipping industry, its annual revenue and profit remain low. In the first half of 2018, the group's profit stood considerably low at only VND73 billion ($3.23 million), compared to the annual target of VND668 billion ($29.56 million).

Vinalines was not the only state-owned corporation that saw poor IPO performance in recent times, many other high-profile groups shared the same fate, such as Vietnam Rubber Group, Power Generation Cooperation 3, and Song Da Corporation.

Vinalines IPO garnering new interest After forecasts had dimmed the outlook for state-owned shipping giant Vinalines' upcoming IPO, the prospects for the hottest state divestment in the shipping industry in ...

Uncertainties around Vinalines IPO Despite high engagement from foreign investors, forecasts for the upcoming IPO of state-run shipping giant Vinalines are not promising, triggering fears of it becoming the ...
Poor investor confidence continued to weigh down stock prices on Thursday morning with rising worries over the longlasting trade tension between China and the US.

The VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange inched down 0.08 per cent to close at 967.63 points despite investors efforts to pick up stocks that had gone down in the previous three straight sessions.

The VN-Index had lost total 3 per cent in the previous three trading days.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange gained 0.56 per cent to end at 111.09 points, temporarily putting an end to its three-session decline of total 2.75 per cent.

Nearly 99.4 million shares were exchanged on the two trading bourses, worth VND1.86 trillion (US$82.7 million).

After three days of falling, bottom-fishing appeared to lift the stock market with the VN-Index gaining as much as 0.25 per cent in the early period of the session.

However, investors confidence turned weaker perhaps on worries that the trade tension between China and the US would continue, thus having a bad impact on the Vietnamese economy and equity market.

Poor confidence dragged banks, insurance companies, energy and construction firms, and rubber and plastic producers down, data on vietstock.vn showed.

The large-cap VN30 Index was positive by rising 0.22 per cent to stand at 943.11 points with 16 of the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation advancing.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.
GCC Assesses Threat Level for Gibraltar as Remaining Substantial

As co-chairs of The Gibraltar Contingency Council (GCC), His Excellency the Governor and the Deputy Chief Minister (deputising for the Chief Minister) met this morning, 5th September, to review security and civil contingency matters.

As a result, the threat level for Gibraltar remains Substantial - an attack remains a strong possibility; but there is, however, no specific intelligence to suggest an increase in the threat to Gibraltar or any forthcoming on-Rock events.

The GCC will continue to closely monitor threat intelligence as it relates to Gibraltar, and Gibraltars Law Enforcement Agencies will continue to take the necessary measures to keep the Public safe by modifying their operational posture in light of forthcoming high-profile Public events.

As ever, the Public is asked to remain vigilant and to report any security and law enforcements concerns to the Royal Gibraltar Police.
National Day 2018 - Airborne Activity

Gibraltar Cultural Services, who are coordinating the National Day events with the Self-Determination Gibraltar Group (SDGG), wish to advise the public on several airborne activities taking place on 10 September.

Aerobatic Displays

This year there will be three aerobatic displays by Richard Goodwin in his highly modified Pitts Special S2S, The Muscle Biplane. The aircrafts extensive modification programme has given this biplane enhanced capabilities, allowing it to perform its unique brand of aerobatics. Richard is an ex-RAF Tornado pilot who now flies for a commercial airline.

Winston Churchill Avenue will be closed for the aircraft to take off and land at 1.30pm, 2.30pm and 3.30pm.

Drones

As part of the National Day Celebrations at Casemates, a Gibraltar based Drone operator, has been contracted to provide photographic support throughout the celebrations.

A suitable launch site on the roof of the building forming the northern part of Casemates has been identified, which is suitable for the drone to provide vertical only launches up to a height of 200ft.

Special Effects

The final moments of the political rally in Casemates will include firecrackers, smoke machines and confetti canons.
SUWANEE, GA, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB: SNWV) and Premier Shockwave, Inc. are pleased to announce that Premier Shockwave, Inc. will exhibit the dermaPACE device at the 35th Annual National Tribal Health Conference at the Oklahoma City Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City, OK, September 17 - 20, 2018. Premier Shockwave has been selected by SANUWAVE Health, Inc. as its exclusive dermaPACE distributor to the Indian Health Service (IHS) and Tribally operated healthcare services market.



The National Tribal Health Conference is the largest American Indian and Alaska Native specific gathering focused on health every year. Premier Shockwave is pleased to be able to introduce this advanced new wound care product, the dermaPACE, to this group. Premier Shockwave hopes to partner with the Indian Health Service community to bring value-based technology to the difficult to heal Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) population, prominent in the Tribally operated healthcare services market.

According to Premier Shockwave CEO, A. Michael Stolarski, Not only is the cost-per-day to operate the dermaPACE about 40% lower than other standard wound treatment therapies, including negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), but the convenience for the patient, physician and clinical staff make a compelling argument for augmenting current protocol to include the dermaPACE system. Mr. Stolarski added, What we do better than anyone else in this space is create vascularity. No other product on the market is better at creating the biological response in the body that promotes angiogenesis, or the development of new blood vessels, than the dermaPACE. 1

The use of the dermaPACE System allows the clinician to more easily, and more cost-effectively, manage wounds. More importantly, the patients quality of life improves significantly.

If you are interested in scheduling a meeting with the team either at the Conference or another time, please contact David Anderson via e-mail at david@premiershockwave.com .

1 Wang C-J, et al. Treatment of diabetic foot ulcers: A comparative study of extracorporeal shockwave therapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Diab Res Clin Pract (2011), doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2011.01.019

About SANUWAVE Health, Inc.

SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB:SNWV) ( www.sanuwave.com ) is a shock wave technology company initially focused on the development and commercialization of patented noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue and vascular structures. SANUWAVEs portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, producing new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, which helps restore the bodys normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE applies its patented PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE, is US FDA cleared for the treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers. The device is also CE Marked throughout Europe and has device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue in Canada, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved OssaTron device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its OssaTron, Evotron and orthoPACE devices in Europe, Asia and Asia/Pacific. In addition, there are license/partnership opportunities for SANUWAVEs shock wave technology for non-medical uses, including energy, water, food and industrial markets.

About Premier Shockwave, Inc. and Premier Shockwave Wound Care, Inc.

Premier Shockwave, Inc. is the leading shockwave company for podiatric and orthopedic applications using OssaTron and dermaPACE devices throughout the United States and currently serves over 30 VA Hospitals and Military Treatment Facilities in the continental United States and Alaska. Premier Shockwave, Inc. will manage the dermaPACE business for Premier Shockwave Wound Care, Inc. For additional information about the company, please go to www.premiershockwave.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Companys product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Companys ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

For additional information about the Company, visit www.sanuwave.com .




Photo: Warner Bros.

Looking back at the films of the Conjuring universe so far  the original Conjuring and its sequel plus two Annabelle movies  is like leafing through a yearbook of supernatural assholes and trying to decide which villain was truly The Worst. Was it the first screen-incarnation of that awful doll, so infamous that Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) had to keep her in a special case within their consecrated closet of horrors? Or was it the demon witch Bathsheba terrorizing the poor Perron family in the James Wan film from 2013 that started it all?

This weekend, The Nun will try to cement the demon Valak as the Conjuring-verses most formidable foe. This will be a three-peat for the most wicked bride of Christ, after appearances in Conjuring 2 and Annabelle: Creation, putting her one credit shy of matching the cameos of the worst doll since Poltergeist. So before you time-travel back to 1952 Romania and witness known ghost-bait Taissa Farmiga having her habit lashed off her body, take a reverse chronological walk down memory lane and decide for yourself who (or what) is the baddest hell-beast of them all.

The Conjuring sequel is, according the internal timeline, the most recent story in the extended universe, taking place in 1977. In it we join the Warrens as they are called to confront a haunting in the London suburb of Enfield  just a few years after investigating the DeFeo family murders at the famed Amityville Horror house. While surveying spirits in Amityville, Lorraine has a vision of Ed being murdered by a demonic nun (yes, that demonic nun) whom theyll soon encounter again in the U.K.

Enter the Hodgson family, whose youngest daughter, Janet, is a real magnet for possession. According to an angry voice she hears in the night, Janet is being persecuted by a dead man named Bill Wilkins insisting that the Hodgsons are squatting in his house. He lived and died there, and now he wants them out. The freaky occurrences around the house, and within Janet, get so severe that the Warrens hear about her case all the way across the pond, and they are called in to see if the Hodgson problem is just a big hoax. But before they fly all the way to London, Lorraine has another vision of the evil nun. The nun appears in Eds study, emerges from a horrible painting of her that Ed made and for some reason hung on his wall, and then screams a name at Lorraine. This will be important later!

So, once the Warrens meet the Hodgsons they obviously realize this haunt is for real, but what theyll have to figure out is that dead Bill Wilkins is just a puppet for the demon Valak  otherwise known as that nasty ghost nun. This piggybacking trick will come up again in the Conjuring-verse, because all these demons are total dicks. Lots more bad stuff happens to Janet and her family, but a final showdown between Lorraine and the nun ends when she screams out the demons name, Valak, which is the tried and true method for sending a creature back to hell. Obviously, this is only a taste of whats to come for Valak in the franchise.

Its hard to top the first film in a franchise, and the original Conjuring still stands alone as the absolute best movie in the extended universe. Set in 1971, the Warrens go to Harrisville, Rhode Island, to help the Perron family, whose house is being ravaged by a spirit thats a real pill. For the one and only time in the whole extended universe, the demon villain is disconnected from the events of the rest of the films. This is a solo mission for Bathsheba, an accused witch who used to live in the Perron house, who before killing herself in 1863, sacrificed her own newborn to the devil and cursed everyone who would dare to live on her land (like the Perrons, for example!). While Bathsheba might have been a real bitch, on the scale of Conjuring villains she was no Annabelle (who we see locked away in the Warrens home earlier on in the movie), and she was certainly no Valak. Points for trying, angry witch, but youre just a day player here.

The first Conjuring spinoff was the creative low point of the franchise, but as this is still a well-appointed ghost story with a nice little studio budget, it packs in some excellent jump scares. (It also stars a working-hard Annabelle Wallis, and fake Eddie Redmayne, Ward Horton.) Annabelle opens with several roommates recounting their horrifying haunting experiences to an unseen listener, who we will eventually know from his voice is demonologist Ed Warren, there to investigate the curious case of a demon doll. The nurses tell Ed that their creepy toy is possessed by a girl named Annabelle Higgins, who lost her parents when she was alive. What well soon find out, though, is that Annabelle Higgins was a crazed cult member who slaughtered her parents and sought to conjure demons through blood sacrifice.

Annabelle breaks into the home of our central family, the Forms, and slits her own throat while holding the doll, causing blood to drip into its eye and creepily absorb into the socket. After the invasion, the Forms of course try to toss the doll in the garbage and purge all those traumatic memories, but naturally, she comes back! Then its the standard fare: doll causes the drapes to blow when theres no wind, the sewing machine and record player to run on their own, mysterious ghost children to run through hallways, etc. But, surprise, that super eerie Annabelle doll is actually a front for a much worse demon (one that looks similar to but is different from the Red Face Demon in Insidious) thats just impersonating her spirit so it can swindle souls from the living. Typical!

The Warrens are connected to the story by a priest who tries to seek their advice about Annabelle, as well as the nurses who come into possession of the doll after the resolution of the Form familys storyline  which does include possession of a new soul for the beast attached to Annabelle to feed on, sparing the Forms from horrors untold. As a closing title card tells us, Annabelle now lives in the artifact room of the Warrens, where she is blessed twice a month by a priest.

Before landing in her holy prison in the Warrens terrifying objects closet, Annabelle had to be made, and for that origin story we go to the much more capable sequel, Creation. It turns out the doll was originally created by a toymaker in 1943, who would eventually lose his daughter, Annabelle, and go into an understandable period of forever mourning with his wife. In their grief, the parents Samuel (Anthony LaPaglia) and Esther Mullins (Miranda Otto) sent up a wild prayer asking whatever could help them to put them in contact with their daughter on the other side. Once again, though, it was an old demon switcheroo job, with a malevolent spirit posing as the departed Annabelle so her parents would invite it to live inside one of Samuels dolls. Surely you know by now which scary doll the evil jumped inside of, and the Mullins family only realized it too late, leading them to lock it in a closet in Annabelles also locked-up bedroom.

Twelve years after the girls death, the Mullins family invites a group of orphan girls to stay with them at their large and empty home. (And they have a nun chaperone, so thats not totally as weird as it sounds.) A whole crop of fresh souls ends up being a bunch of new opportunities for the evil being in the house, which two of the girls accidentally spring from the closet prison when they go snooping around. Kids! Cant live with em, cant live without em disturbing haunted artifacts in your lonely old house! Eventually, the doll demon latches onto one of the girls, Janice (Talitha Bateman), kills the married couple, and raises utter hell around the property. The orphans and the nun make it out alive and the police collect the doll as evidence, but the possessed Janice escapes and makes her way to an orphanage in Santa Monica. Going by the name Annabelle now, Janice is eventually adopted by  the Higgins family! They raise her up but she runs off to join a Satanic cult, and will one day return home to slaughter her parents and attack the Form family in search of the doll vessel the demon exited years before. And thus we circle back to the first Annabelle movie.

The Nun

With The Nun we go all the way back in time to the beginnings of Valak, which is really just a cute short name for Valak the Defiler! The Profane! The Marquee of Snakes! as Lorraine Warren told us in Conjuring 2. Okay its not actually that far back, since its just like ten years before The Conjuring timeline, taking place in 1952. (And really, The Nun doesnt even go as far back as Annabelles origin story  but now were just splitting hairs!) To learn about the creation of that hell nun, we will follow a Catholic priest named Father Burke (Demian Bichir) and his novitiate, Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), as they investigate the alleged suicide of a nun at a Romanian monastery. Its all going to go so wrong and so bad, and even if the Father and Sister live to fight another day, we know from all these sequels that Valak will also have a whole lot of fight left in him/her/it to go terrorizing the Warrens in America and Britain later on.
Burt Reynolds. Photo: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Burt Reynolds, the 1970s leading man and star of Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit, and Boogie Nights, has died. He was 82. The Emmy-winning actor died Thursday morning at Jupiter Medical in Florida, his manager Erik Kritzer told The Hollywood Reporter.

During the 70s, Reynolds was a box-office attraction, starring in movies The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit. He had a steady string of hits in the 80s, including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Dolly Parton, and Best Friends. Reynolds won an Emmy in 1991 for his work on the CBS sitcom Evening Shade. In 1997, Reynolds won acclaim for playing porn director Jack Horner in Boogie Nights. Reynolds won a Golden Globe and garnered an Oscar nomination for the role, but remained unhappy with the movie (he famously fired his agent after he saw the first cut).

Reynolds didnt chase critical acclaim in his prime, and passed on many iconic leading roles, including parts in Pretty Woman, Star Wars, Terms of Endearment, and Die Hard. I didnt open myself to new writers or risky parts because I wasnt interested in challenging myself as an actor, I was interested in having a good time, Reynolds said in his memoir But Enough About Me, published in 2015.

Most recently, Reynolds starred in A24s The Last Movie Star, and was signed on for a supporting role in. Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Reynolds is survived by his son, Quinton.
President Kiefer Sutherland  survives. Photo: ABC

The people have spoken, and they want more president Kiefer Sutherland  by the people, of course, we mean whatever algorithmic analysis told Netflix this would be a good idea. The streaming service has picked up Designated Survivor, which ABC canceled this spring, for a third season. (The show previously aired directly on Netflix outside of the U.S.) In the new ten-episode season, President Kirkman (Sutherland) will face a political reality  campaigning. What does it take to make a leader? What price will he be willing to pay? This season will explore todays world of campaigning, smear tactics, debates, campaign finance and fake news. Neal Baer will take over as a new showrunner, and the new season will start shooting later this year to air in 2019. Good luck explaining to any family members who passively watched this show on network TV how to find it online.
Jim Carrey with one of his puppet friends in Kidding. Photo: Erica Parise/Erica Parise/SHOWTIME

Jeff Pickles, the childrens television show host played by Jim Carrey in the new Showtime series Kidding, is not Fred Rogers, the beloved American icon responsible for Mister Rogers Neighborhood. But the two share a few things in common.

They both bring a calming sense of comfort to children everywhere via their television shows. Both are viewed as beacons of goodness by the general public, including adults who grew up watching them on television. As made clear by a scene in the first episode of Kidding, which airs Sunday night, Jeff Pickles, like Fred Rogers, has testified before Congress, as illustrated by footage that looks remarkably similar to Rogerss famous 1969 appearance before a Senate subcommittee. The difference is that while Jeff provides his testimony, back home, his wife Jill (Judy Greer) and their twin boys are about to get into a car accident that results in the death of one of those sons.

That incident highlights the fundamental difference between Jeff Pickles and Fred Rogers, and the underlying question raised by this uneven series, created by Dave Holstein of Weeds and the Carrey-produced Im Dying Up Here: What happens when the equivalent of Mr. Rogers suffers from profound grief?

What happens is that you get another post-comedy comedy, which means Kidding is melancholy more often than laugh-out-loud funny, and well-acted even if some of its character development is lacking. More than anything else, its a showcase for Carrey, who returns to television in a regular role for the first time since In Living Color, no doubt lured by the prospect of bringing to life yet another off-kilter protagonist. (Jim Carrey playing someone whos a little odd? Never!) To his credit, he keeps Jeff firmly tethered to the ground in an understated performance that conveys childlike gentleness, but at times also comes across as just the tiniest bit unsettling. That seems right, somehow; theres something a little disturbing about a middle-aged man who still cant figure out how to look at the world through entirely seasoned eyes. (Thats another way that Jeff Pickles differs from Fred Rogers: Nobody ever doubted that Mr. Rogers was a grown-up.)

When Kidding begins, its been a year to the day since Jeff and Jills son was killed in that accident, which was caused by a faulty traffic light and a snack-cake truck driver who ran through an intersection. Separated from Jill and still trying to help raise their surviving son Will (Cole Allen), Jeff is fraying at the edges. For starters, hes intent on discussing Phils demise during his show, Mr. Pickles Puppet Time  I want to do a show about death, he announces  an idea that his producer Seb (Frank Langella) thinks is absolutely terrible. Hes also a bit unpredictable. At one point, Jeff shaves part of his head so that theres an empty landing strip right in the middle of his pageboy haircut. You look like Lee Harvey Oswalds creative younger brother, observes Seb, whos worried that his stars psychological collapse will mean the financial collapse of the lucrative ancillary merchandise machine generated by Mr. Pickles.

Seb isnt the only one whos worried. Jeffs head puppet maker, Deirdre (Catherine Keener), is concerned about him  that is, when shes not distracted by her own problems, including a husband (Bernard White) whos unfaithful, and a daughter (Juliet Morris) struggling with her own emotional issues. Keener is a natural at playing the part of a no-nonsense, slightly frazzled mother and colleague, and its clear that this side plot serves a purpose: Its another way for Holstein and the shows writers to demonstrate that Jeff isnt the only person in denial about his family life. Theres also something darkly funny about a woman who devotes her days to making fuzzy puppets to entertain children, but has next to no patience for her own daughter. But at least in the first four episodes, the only ones made available for advance review, Kidding doesnt depict Deirdres family life with anything more than surface sweep, even though the situations shes confronting cry out for more depth.

As is customary in any non-childrens piece of pop culture about a kiddie show, Kidding highlights the depravity that lurks beneath the world of Mr. Pickles. Two guys who share the Snagglehorse costume routinely have sex in it; theres more than one joke about how funky it smells underneath all that blue fuzz. Many of the more mature fans who write letters to Mr. Pickles are women who also send revealing photographs. Why cant you meet a new fuck friend? Seb asks Jeff, while suggesting that perhaps one of those Pickle-loving ladies could take Jeffs mind off of his sorrow. Most of these attempts at perverse humor seem a little too played out and Happytime Murdersish for their own good.

Kidding is much better when it leans away from the crass and embraces a sense of odd whimsy. Michel Gondry, who directed Carrey in the sublimely bizarre Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, helms the first two episodes and hes perfectly suited to a milieu that involves ukulele puppets named Uke-Larry, purple bumblebees, fluffy clouds that hang on strings, and a tone that hopscotches from sweet to slightly subversive. When the house next to his former home, still occupied by Jill and Will, goes on the market, Jeff buys it in a very sly nod to Mr. Rogers: Instead of, Wont you be my neighbor? its, Im going to be your neighbor whether you like it or not. Gondry has fun capturing the close proximity between these not-quite-identical suburban dwellings, particularly in one scene that tracks Jeff spying on Jill while moving up the stairs and down again, mirroring his estranged wifes path through the house that they used to share. The writing also sharpens as the series progresses. When Jeff is introduced to the word neuroplasticity, he delights in the sound of it. Thats a fun word to say, he declares. Neuroplasticity! Makes your mouth into a bouncy house. Even the way Jeff expresses himself is steeped in the imagery of childhood.

Jeff is a true believer in the idea that the world is good. Its unclear whether hes bought too heavily into his fake persona, or if hes just that much of an optimist at his core. But in the fourth episode, the best of the ones Ive seen, Jill makes it clear that his naivete and the fact that shes always played second fiddle to his perceived perfection is what really drove a wedge into their marriage, even before they lost their son. Youre Santa, she tells him. And Im Mrs. Claus. Its a shattering scene, played with all kinds of raw edges by Greer, who brings new dimension to the role of a practical, grounded wife, and Carrey, whos just heartbreaking. That exchange tells me that Kidding has the potential to be great, even if its still finding its footing four episodes into its ten-episode debut season.

Unlike Jeff, the team behind Kidding doesnt want to make a show about death. Not exactly, anyway. But the more it focuses on the messy aftermath of loss, and how that affects Jeff and Jill specifically, the more interested I am in seeing where it bounces next.
The baddest witch around. Photo: Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

This is not a magic trick: Its been 20 years since we all met the boy who lived. In September 1998, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone was released in the U.S., and though but mere muggles, we were welcomed into J.K. Rowlings Wizarding World. Along the way, we came to know not just Harry Potter, but the people around him  friends, foes, goblins  but lets be real: in the discussion of Potter characters since, some get a lot more love than others. I mean, Dumbledore? Yeah, hes wise, mysterious, makes questionable choices regarding the safety of his students, has a relatable sweet tooth, and basically invented beards. We get it, hes a great character. Severus Snape? Possibly one of the most complicated and tragic figures in literature. But here, on this milestone anniversary, its time we make room for someone else. Someone who spent much of her life as the best friend and No. 2 to an unknowable man. Someone who is at once stern and caring, strict and kind. Someone who suffers no fools and breaks rules in the name of Quidditch. Someone who can produce three patronuses at once, people. Its time to celebrate the baddest witch around  tartan loving, top-knot-rocking Minerva McGonagall.

Typically, the best place to start when trying to understand any Harry Potter supporting character is with the name. Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom and strategic warfare  that totally tracks. McGonagall is not only professor of Transfiguration, which, shell have you know, is some of the most complex and dangerous magic out there, she believes in studying hard and achieving greatness, and she really dislikes Gilderoy Lockhart. So yeah, shes wise. As for the warfare bit: It is McGonagall who leads the front in the Battle of Hogwarts; Harry may be the only one who can defeat Voldemort, but it is McGonagall who makes plans and prepares Hogwarts for war while Harrys off conversing with ghosts about tiaras. Team Hogwarts suffers serious losses, but it wouldve been much worse without McGonagall at the helm, putting Slytherin in its place (We duel to kill, she tells head of Slytherin house Slughorn) and summoning Piertotum Locomotor to rouse all the Hogwarts statues. Seriously, read the line [] do your duty to your school and try not to get goosebumps. Its on page 602 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Ill wait.

Theres our Minerva, a pillar of strength, a woman of great intellect, someone who does not mess around. Plus, she wears emerald green even though shes head of Gryffindor because dammit, the witch knows what she looks good in.

But Rowling gives our beloved Transfiguration teacher the last name McGonagall for a reason, and taking her whole character into consideration, it makes a lot of sense. In the McGonagall biography Rowling wrote for the Pottermore site, she explains that McGonagall is named after William McGonagall, widely agreed upon as the worst poet in English history. There was something irresistible to me about his name, she writes, and the idea that such a brilliant woman might be a distant relative of the buffoonish McGonagall. Now, our McGonagall is no one to be laughed at, but the idea of a goddess of war and a buffoon as the meaning behind her two names is so paradoxical; doesnt that perfectly describe the Minerva McGonagall we know?

Shes constantly described as severe-looking and stern. When Harry meets her at Hogwarts, his first thought was that this was not someone to cross, and even Rowlings descriptions of McGonagalls speech patterns evoke a certain strictness: its always she said, crisply or that her voice cracked like a whip. And yes, McGonagall is indeed a tough broad who instills fear (you just know she likes it that way), as evidenced above, but she isnt unfeeling or cold. In that way, shes much the photo negative of Dolores Umbridge who speaks in a cutesy manner and wears a friendly shade of pink, but is actually evil to the core. McGonagall is an example of a woman who is strong-willed, principled, has no patience for idiocracy and is still kind and emotional. Cripes, the lady is repeatedly on the verge of tears throughout the series  when she learns of James and Lilys deaths, when she finds Harry in Moodys office after Cedrics death, and, of course, the most haunting emotional outburst: when she sees Hagrid carrying Harrys lifeless body in Deathly Hallows and is the first to scream out. This sentence will never leave my brain: The scream was more terrible because [Harry] had never expected or dreamed that Professor McGonagall could make such a sound. Somebody hold me.

Of course, the genius of Rowlings writing, like so many other elements of the series, is that these typically opposing characteristics that exist within McGonagall are there, in plain sight, the very first time we meet her. Oh, and if you dont think McGonagall is an important fixture in Harrys life, consider that she is there at the beginning of his story, when he arrives at Number 4 Privet Drive, and the end of his story at the Battle of Hogwarts.

In the very first chapter of the first book, we meet a strange tabby cat with markings around its eyes who soon transforms into Minerva McGonagall she represents the first bit of magic Rowling gives us. And in that one scene, as Dumbledore explains to her and Hagrid why they must leave Harry with his muggle aunt and uncle, McGonagall goes from reprimanding all of the Wizarding World for partying too hard, to crying over James, Lily, and little Harry, to admonishing Hagrid for blubbering too loudly while still comforting him, to opposing Dumbledores plan to give Harry to the Dursleys because it just feels wrong. Its a wonderful representation of the character and a preview of how McGonagall will function throughout the series.

Maybe its because shes with Harry at the beginning of everything that she remains attached to him. Her loyalty to Harry is her most endearing quality (her sharp humor is a close second). Shes never easy on him, but you know she cares deeply. When his name mysteriously comes out of the Goblet of Fire in book four, shes the one who sticks up for him. In Order of the Phoenix, when he wakes from a nightmare about Arthur Weasley being attacked by Voldemort and knows its not just a dream, shes the one who says, I believe you, Potter.

In a series seemingly littered with father figures and male mentors for Harry, its important to remember the strong women in his life. Hermione is a feminist icon, no big deal; Book Ginny is his perfect match; Molly Weasley represents everything Harry imagines a mother should be. But theres something extra-special about what Minerva McGonagall represents. Shes nurturing in a non-maternal way. Shes tough, but never cruel. Shes a fucking legend, and deserves to be celebrated as such. And if she ever read this, she would most definitely say to me, Oh, get a grip on yourself.
The Childhood of a Leader. Photo: IFC Films

The standout premieres of the fall festival circuit tend to fall into two categories. First, there are the favorites, the studio-backed movies by Oscar-nominated or Palmes dOrwinning filmmakers that come into Venice or Telluride or Toronto with high hopes and a lot to lose; in that category this year, you might include Damien Chazelles First Man, Luca Guadagninos Suspiria, and Barry Jenkinss If Beale Street Could Talk, all films that carry the expectation of greatness with them into their first screenings.

Then there are the ones you didnt see coming. A movie in that latter camp this year is probably Vox Lux, by the 30-year-old American Brady Corbet, which has been receiving major buzz out of Venice. Possibly, you were tipped off to the potential of Vox Lux when Corbet cast Natalie Portman as its central character, a pop star experiencing her downfall; possibly, you flagged it when Sia signed on to write the songs. Or possibly, youve been following Corbet since his days in front of the camera, when he showed up in movies like Michael Hanekes English-language remake of his own Funny Games, Sean Durkins brutal and committed Simon Killer, and his partner Mona Fastvolds beguiling The Sleepwalker. You may even have recognized him as the American guy who kept showing up in European films, a role that he served in Ruben Ostlunds Force Majeure, Mia Hansen-Lves Eden, and Olivier Assayass Clouds of Sils Maria  all in the same year.

But even if you were hip to any of this, youd still be forgiven for thinking that this was Corbets first outing as a director. In fact, Corbet has another movie under his belt: The Childhood of a Leader. And it isnt just one of the best debut efforts in recent memory: It ranks among the most striking and accomplished American films of the last few years. Unfortunately, however, it was criminally underseen and underappreciated when it was released back in 2016, and its more than worth revisiting as you wait for Vox Lux to reach American shores.

Co-written with Fastvold, The Childhood of a Leader is set in France during the closing days of World War I. In three parts, or Tantrums, each introduced with a title card, plus a mesmerizing coda, Corbet shows the son of an American diplomat and his polyglot wife growing increasingly unruly and aggressive, rebelling against everyone and everything in his life. Watching The Childhood of a Leader, it isnt hard to understand why the film didnt exactly set the multiplex on fire when it came out: Corbets approach runs contrary to just about every prevailing trend in modern movies.

He favors the long takes employed by European auteurs over the frenetic editing of recent American cinema, his approach ranging from carefully framed dialogues in the vein of Ingmar Bergman and Carl Th. Dreyer to loping tracking shots reminiscent of Max Ophuls, particularly when they take place within the massive French villa he utilizes as his primary location. His framing is geometric and painterly, his actors often center-punched, his colors rich and dark. And his treatment of the material is serious and unadulterated: Much of the dialogue is in French, and theres little explanation of the geopolitical situation or a clear spelling-out of the central conceit, the one hinted at by the title.

This isnt filmmaking in the expository style of many American indies, where each emotional thread is pushed to a clarifying climax, leaving you with a clear picture of exactly what happened, why, and what everybody learned. Instead, its a thrilling trip into the Freudian abyss, a mysterious and allusive piece of work that attempts to address the hell-on-Earth that was the first half of the 20th century, in an elegant and deliberate style that suggests the sure hand of a craftsman, not the learning curve of a debut director.

If you havent seen The Childhood of a Leader yet, spoiler alert. As I mentioned, its structure revolves around three tantrums thrown by the young boy at its center, a character who goes unnamed until the last ten minutes of the film. In the first chapter, he throws rocks at the parishioners of a local church; in the second, he touches the breast of his French teacher, then locks himself in his room; in the third, during a dinner party meant to celebrate the end of the Great War, he strikes his mother in the head with a rock after refusing to say a prayer at the table.

More happens in each of these segments, but ultimately, the events describe a boy  who, with his chin-length, feminine hair, is often mistaken for a girl  engaging in a pair of twinned rebellions with echoes that reach back to Greek myth: an Oedipal undermining of his father, with the associated adoration of his mother; and then a campaign against his mother that ends, like that of Orestes in Aeschylus Agamemnon, with an attack. The sense of Freud comes not just from the time period, but from how these narratives seem to play out in a kind of psychosexual childhood mania.

One of the delights of the film is that the pieces dont fit completely until the end. Early on, we meet a journalist, played by Robert Pattinson, who visits the family in France. While he and the mother, played by Berenice Bejo, seem familiar with each other, it isnt until two-thirds of the way in that we start to more strongly suspect that they might be having an affair, and then it isnt until the coda  subtitled Prescott the bastard, during which Pattinson appears again as a kind of American or Anglo fascist dictator in the vein of Hitler and Mussolini  that it becomes fairly clear that the boy, whose name is Prescott, was the product of this affair. With that information, the boys behavior can be read as a punishment of his cuckolded father and philandering mother; his rage and confusion, which seems deeply tied to his bilingual life, results, presumably, in a rejection of European cosmopolitanism in favor of fascistic nationalism.

In the closing credits, Corbet acknowledges Hannah Arendt, Robert Musil, John Fowles, and Jean-Paul Sartre, all writers who engaged deeply with notions of cosmopolitanism, totalitarianism, and society, as influences, and those references feel earned. (Theres actually a Sartre story called The Childhood of a Leader that has parallels with Corbets story, but its far from a direct adaptation.) The Childhood of a Leader represents a remarkable design, one that tries to contemplate the deeply corrosive instinct that drove the world to the brink of ruin  an instinct that has hardly gone away  and put a face and story to it. It isnt a literal work so much as an allegorical one, a film that tries to visualize the corruptive elements within human culture, including violence, anger, jealousy, sexual impropriety, and mechanization, and point to the effect they can have. In that way, it seems most in the tradition of Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski. Yes, Corbet exists in their stylistic legacies, but more than that, he shares their knack for working with themes that parallel greater societal and historical subjects.

Theres one more thing: the score. The Childhood of a Leaders score, by the legendary pop star turned avant-gardist Scott Walker, is unreal. Its a seething, throbbing nightmare of a thing, one that channels the rhythmic command of Stravinsky and the slicing precision of Webern. Beyond being a stellar piece of orchestral work in its own right, it beautifully contains and supports the spirit of Corbets film, as any good score should do.

While Vox Lux sounds, from the early reviews, like a more accessible and widely pitched movie than The Childhood of a Leader, the latter, which earned Corbet the Best Director prize at Venice 2015 as well as an award for best debut, shouldnt be thought of as a warm-up for the former. Its a fully realized work on its own, and hopefully, the release of Vox Lux will help draw some much-deserved attention.
MOSCOW (AP)  GRU isnt as well-known a baleful acronym as KGB or FSB. But Russias military intelligence service is attracting increasing attention as allegations mount of devious and deadly operations on and off the field of battle.

The latest charge came Wednesday, when Britain identified two suspects in this years nerve-agent poisonings as GRU agents.

An overview of the GRU:

THE AGENCY

Formally named the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, the agency is almost universally referred to by its former acronym GRU.

It is the most shadowy of Russias secret services. When its previous director Igor Sergun died in 2016, the Kremlin announcement was so terse that it gave neither the date, cause or place of death.

The agency has an apparently broad mandate. According to the Defense Ministry website, it is tasked not only with ensuring conditions conducive to the successful implementation of the Russian Federations defense and security policy but with providing officials intelligence  that they need to make decisions in the political, economic, defense, scientific, technical and environmental areas.

ALLEGATIONS

Britain claims that two GRU agents carried out this springs attack with the nerve agent Novichok on Sergei Skripal, a former GRU officer who became a British double agent, and his daughter. Both survived the poisoning in the city of Salisbury, but three months later two area residents were sickened by the same nerve agent, one of them fatally  it is believed they found the discarded bottle that had carried the Skripals poison.

This combination photo made available by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday Sept. 5, 2018, shows Alexander Petrov, left, and Ruslan Boshirov. British prosecutors have charged the two Russian men with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury. They are charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of the nerve agent Novichok. (Metropolitan Police via AP)

This weeks claim came less than two months after the U.S. indicted 12 alleged GRU agents for hacking into the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign and the Democratic Party and releasing tens of thousands of private communications, part of a sweeping conspiracy by the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election.

Also this year, the investigative group Bellingcat reported that a GRU officer was in charge of operations in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists were fighting Ukrainian forces, in July 2014 when a Malaysian passenger airliner was shot down, killing all 298 people aboard. International investigators say the plane was shot down by a mobile missile launcher brought in from Russia. The GRU officer named by Bellingcat reportedly was responsible for weapons transfers.

Russias RBC news service reported this year that the GRU oversees Russian mercenaries in Syria, fighting there as a so-called shadow army.

Russian authorities generally deny allegations against the GRU and refuse to discuss its activities. They said they didnt recognize the suspects Britain named Wednesday in the Salisbury poisoning.

A general view of the The CityStay hotel, where Russian Nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov stayed before they traveled to Salisbury. (Ryan Hooper/PA via AP)

OTHER AGENCIES

The GRU is one arm of Russias extensive security and intelligence apparatus, which also includes the Foreign Intelligence Service, known as the SVR, and the Federal Security Service, or FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence. The SVR and FSB were spun off from the KGB after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin ran the FSB before ascending to the presidency.

And as president, Putin names the top brass in the GRU. Of all the agencies, the FSB looms largest in Russians minds because it hunts domestic threats. The GRU, created under Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin, has a more ruthless reputation, but focuses its energies on foreign threats.

The agencies operations appear to both compete and cooperate.

Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent Moscow-based military analyst, told The Associated Press that if the SVR runs into military intelligence, they have to share it with the GRU; that means they try not to run into military intelligence and tell their agents not to report anything military even if they know it. The other way around, military or GRU assets are asked never to report anything political.

But in the case of the alleged U.S. election-related hacking, he said, I believe that was an inter-service operation, because its not military but they gained some kind of hacking access and then they shared it with the FSB and the SVR.

___

Kate de Pury contributed.
Authorities say a South Carolina woman has been charged with murder after killing her husband by putting eye drops into his water for several days.Police are still searching for a motive. York County deputies said 52-year-old Lana Clayton confessed to investigators after an autopsy uncovered a high amount of tetrahydrozoline in her husband's body.

The chemical is found in over-the-counter eye drops such as Visine, or nasal spray.

Authorities say 64-year-old Stephen Clayton was found dead July 21 in the couple's home in Clover.

Arrest warrants and the statement from deputies didn't give a motive for the alleged poisoning.

Lana Clayton also is charged with malicious tampering with a drug product or food.

Jail records did not indicate if she had a lawyer.
Herndon, VA, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) is proud to announce that its CIT GAP Funds portfolio company, TypeZero Technologies, Inc. was acquired by Dexcom, Inc., the leader in continuous glucose monitoring for people with diabetes. In 2015, CIT GAP Funds led TypeZeros seed round, furthering the development of the startups diabetes management technology that was licensed from the University of Virginia. TypeZero will continue operations out of Virginia as they enhance and accelerate Dexcoms offering with tools to simplify diabetes management.



TypeZero leverages more than 10 years of clinical trials, research and innovation to develop their proprietary inControl Diabetes Management Platform with the goal of improving the lives of people with diabetes, and supporting healthcare providers to make more informed decisions. To address the challenge of effectively managing diabetes in a safe and simple way, TypeZeros inControl platform includes advisory applications for smart insulin pens and smartphone-based systems that automatically regulate insulin delivery to reduce hypoglycemia and improve blood glucose levels.



"Since our seed investment back in 2015, TypeZero has continued to prove themselves as a leader in this field and a valuable innovator in the Commonwealth of Virginia, said Tom Weithman, Managing Director of CIT GAP Funds. TypeZero is offering patients a huge advantage in the management of their diabetes by integrating treatment solutions into the technology they are already using. TypeZeros software platform transforms the patients role in managing his or her blood glucose from hour-to-hour, active decision making and modification, to periodic supervision of a trustworthy, automated, intelligent system. TypeZero has also developed a suite of cloud-based applications and analytical services, which utilize its core algorithms to provide risk analysis, prediction, and clinical recommendations.



The inControl system allows users to spend less time managing their diabetes, and more time living their life. We are excited to join Dexcoms portfolio and expand on our shared mission of empowering people with diabetes through innovation, said Chad Rogers, CEO of TypeZero. CITs early support of TypeZero played an important role in the company reaching this next chapter, and we look forward to sharing this journey with our Virginia network as we continue to grow and reduce significant burdens that many people with diabetes face."



CIT GAP Funds, a family of funds placing equity investments in Virginia-based technology, life science, and cleantech companies, has invested in over 200 high-potential, early-stage companies likely to achieve rapid growth and generate significant economic return. Since its 2005 formation, CIT GAP Funds has infused an additional $600M+ of private placements onto the balance sheets of portfolio companies. Funds have come from over 900 different investment sources, with 80 percent including out-of-state and blue-chip funding sources from across the U.S. For more information, please visit www.cit.org. For more information on TypeZero, please visit www.typezero.com.



About CIT GAP Funds

CIT GAP Funds makes seed-stage equity investments in Virginia-based technology, clean tech and life science companies with a high potential for achieving rapid growth and generating significant economic return for entrepreneurs, co-investors and the Commonwealth of Virginia. CIT GAP Funds investments are overseen by the CIT GAP Funds Investment Advisory Board (IAB). This independent, third-party panel consists of leading regional entrepreneurs, angel and strategic investors, and venture capital firms such as New Enterprise Associates, Grotech Ventures, Valhalla Partners, Harbert Venture Partners HIG Ventures, Edison Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Intersouth Partners, SJF Ventures, Carilion Health Systems, Johnson & Johnson, General Electric, and Alpha Natural Resources. For more information, please visit www.citgapfunds.org.


CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), the mental health watchdog founded by the Church of Scientology and Dr. Thomas Szasz reported that benzodiazepines, commonly called benzos, were a factor in the deaths of Tom Petty, Prince, Heath Ledger, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and other creative artists. In the same article, CCHR, which has for 49 years worked to restore human rights and dignity to the field of mental health, also reported that in the United States more people die from psychiatric drug overdose than heroin overdose, citing the fact that in 2014, 10,574 people died of heroin overdose while 15,778 (nearly 50% more) died from an overdose of psychiatric drugs. Not surprisingly, the biggest killers were sedatives such as benzos, antidepressants, psychostimulants, and antipsychotics.[1]



According to NBC Health News, the number of prescriptions for benzodiazepines such as Xanax and Ativan are skyrocketing and while many doctors are unaware of their debilitating or deadly side effects, numerous experts are starting to compare the abuse of prescription benzos to the beginnings of a new opioid crisis.[2]

This crisis is prompting more people to come forward including filmmaker Holly Hardman who is producing a documentary called As Prescribed about the dangers of benzos. It took Hardman two years to taper off Klonopin, with major disturbing side effects. People are given these medications for normal life experiences and dont realize what can happen, she says.

Additionally, Dr. Anna Lembke, chief of addiction medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, said complications such as dependency and addiction are fueling a hidden benzo epidemic similar to the opioid crisis and experts at the nonprofit Lown Institute of Brookline, Massachusetts are reporting that the withdrawal symptoms from benzos are even worse than opioids.[3]

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports 8,791 overdose deaths involving benzos in 2015, an 800% increase from 1,135 benzo deaths in 1999. Adults filling benzo prescriptions have been on a steady upswing since the late 90s, 13.5 million in 2013.[4]

CCHR has been issuing warnings on the dangers of these psychiatric drugs for decades, said Diane Stein, President of the CCHR chapter in Florida. Now we are seeing the start of a benzo epidemic to match the opioid epidemic.

Anyone wanting more information on the dangers of psychiatric drugs is encouraged to contact CCHR Florida at 727-442-8820 or visit the center located at 109 N. Fort Harrison Avenue in downtown.

About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHRs mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice: Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the free world tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of mental health, he wrote in March 1969. For more information visit, www.cchrflorida.org

Sources:

[1] HeartBreaker: Another Celebrity Lost to Benzo-Opioid MixTom Pettys Death Ruled Accidental Overdose, CCHR International, January 25, 2018 https://www.cchrint.org/2018/01/25/heartbreaker-tompettydeath-accidentaloverdose/

[2] Dangers of rising benzo prescriptions raise alarms of next drug crisis, by Avichai Scher and Ali Galante, NBC News, July 27, 2018 https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/dangers-rising-benzo-prescriptions-raise-alarms-next-drug-crisis-n895361

[3] As dangerous as opioids  Benzo overprescription becoming a crisis, Lown Institute,

http://lowninstitute.org/news/addictive-opioids-benzo-overprescription-becoming-crisis/

[4] Our Other Prescription Drug Problem, The New England Journal of Medicine, Anna Lembke, M.D., Jennifer Papac, M.D., and Keith Humphreys, Ph.D., February 22, 2018, https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1715050
MIAMI, FL, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Amazonas Florestal, Ltd. ( www.azflusa.com ) (OTC: AZFL), a natural resources company dedicated to innovative, sustainable forest management, Industrial CBD Hemp and the certification and sales of carbon credits, today announced that the Company has completed and filed all of its pending financial disclosures. The Annual Report for 2017, Q1 and Q2 for 2018, have been filed and passed stringent reviews, and are now posted and accepted.



Ricardo Cortez, Company Chairman of Amazonas Florestal, Ltd, said, The company had all but shut down operations in the first quarter of this year as a result of the failures with the first Hemp crop last year. That harvest that was to render in the vicinity of $ 30 Million in gross revenues and had to be destroyed under orders of the Colorado Department of Agriculture for reasons that the plants tested had passed the legal limit of 0.3% THC levels. Testing at 0.4% the entire plantation became illegal and had to be destroyed. However, the company is now working with farming consultants and Cannabis Agricultural Specialists and will soon formalize a business plan to plant again in Colorado next year 2019. Mr. Cortez went on to add, The Company is presently evaluating offers and commitments for financing to buy land in Weld or Boulder counties, building greenhouses for plant development to plant a minimum of 32,000 High CBD Hemp Plants in April of 2019.

The Companys financial highlights can be found in the recent filings already posted and can be found on the OTC Markets portal. During the last three periods the Company was able to reduce debt on its balance sheets and paid down many of its substantial monetary obligations. The new business plan calls for an invitation to new investors willing to bank on the experience already achieved last year by company operatives in Colorado that created enough intellectual assets to now ensure its future success. Among the mistakes committed by the previous farm contractor group was the mishandling of the cultivars and failure to separate out the males in a controlled environment. This was done under instructions of the consultants there (303 Farms LLC). This year, the construction of greenhouses for plant development will enable the planting of only female seedlings or clones, instead of seeds, from only proven and certified genetic lines. This experience, proper handling and earlier testing schedules will ensure the success of these new plantations that should come to fruition beginning in September of 2019.

In other company news, Mr. Cortez said, The Company is in the process of restructuring management and is interviewing candidates for the positions of CEO, CFO and COO. We will soon disclose the appointments of these new officers and potentially new board and committee members.

Also, the Company announced that it will continue to develop Balance CBD as its spearhead brand for placing product on the market in preparation for the increased amounts that will become available for market next year and is in negotiations for the purchase of another brand that already moves good amounts of product on the wholesale and retail markets. Each brand will have individual niche markets and will not be in competition with each other.

About Amazonas Florestal Ltd.

Amazonas Florestal Ltd. is a natural resources company dedicated to innovative, sustainable management of large tracts of land in the rainforests of Amazonas, Brazil, that include the certification and sale of carbon credits and the growth, harvesting, research and development of Industrial Hemp and related high CBD products in the U.S. and internationally.

Headquartered in Miami, FL, Amazonas's goal is to become a leader in sustainable forest management and preservation, creating revenue while protecting the biodiversity of the rainforest ecosystem and enhancing the lives of the people who live in it. Through a strategy of selective harvesting, certification and sale of carbon, biomass and biofuel production, and conservation incentives, Amazonas Florestal Ltd. intends to help protect one of the world's greatest natural resources and show how its preservation can be a profitable activity. Visit the Company at: www.azflusa.com

Forward Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements in this release regarding Amazonas Florestal Ltd. are made pursuant to the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.




CHICAGO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navy Pier, one of the most-attended and iconic destinations in the Midwest, has opened its new Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion, a 4,000-square foot facility designed to welcome guests and offer a variety of information as they arrive and navigate the Pier. Located in Polk Bros Park, the Pavilion features a 35-foot, state-of-the-art digital screen, which displays an overview of Navy Pier, Peoples Gas and Chicagos shared history, in addition to sustainability facts and welcome greetings in various languages to honor the more-than-9 million diverse guests who visit the Pier annually.



Designed by Gensler and constructed with energy efficiency in mind, the architecturally unique Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion maximizes the guest experience while minimizing environmental impact. It features an energy-saving green roof, LED lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures, making it 21 percent more efficient than a traditional structure. The facility also consists of conveniently located restrooms and communal seating areas, and matches the aesthetics of Navy Piers other recent renovations, which reflect the iconic destinations bold, contemporary vision for its second century.



The Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion was brought to life thanks to a $5 million gift from Peoples Gas as a means to honor the 100+ year partnership with Navy Pier, one of the companys first commercial customers. The organizations also share proud histories of community service through a range of cultural and civic activities.



Given the longstanding history between the two organizations and our shared values and commitment to environmental sustainability, the synergy between Peoples Gas and the Peoples Pier is undeniable, said Navy Pier President and CEO Marilynn Gardner. We are proud to elevate the partnership to a new level with the official naming and unveiling of the Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion, and work collectively to deliver quality service and hospitality to our guests.



As Chicagos first and longest-serving utility with deep roots in the city, we are pleased to be the company that welcomes our neighbors and millions of guests to Chicagos premier lakefront destination every year, said Peoples Gas President and CEO Charles Matthews. Navy Piers rich programming, year-round activities and future redevelopment plans are well aligned with our commitment to our community through investments in education, arts and culture, neighborhood development, and the environment.



While the Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion is now open to guests, Navy Pier and Peoples Gas will formally celebrate its opening with a special, private dedication ceremony on Thursday, September 20 at 5:30 p.m. The facility is open and staffed year-round and will coincide with Navy Piers standard operational hours.



The Peoples Gas gift is the latest major contribution to Navy Piers redevelopment efforts, following Fifth Third Banks recent investment in the newly renovated Fifth Third Bank Family Pavilion. The Pier has also previously received a legacy gift from the Polk Family and grants from Polk Bros. Foundation for Polk Bros Park and related programs, as well as generous support from Aon, recognized through the naming of the historic Aon Grand Ballroom.



For more information, visit www.navypier.org or download the Navy Pier app on any Android or iOS device.



PHOTOS: Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion | Credit: James Richards IV, distractyourface.com





About Peoples GasPeoples Gas is a subsidiary of WEC Energy Group (NYSE: WEC) and is a regulated natural gas delivery company serving approximately 830,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the city of Chicago. For more information about natural gas safety, energy efficiency and other energy-related topics, visit www.peoplesgasdelivery.com and connect with the company on Twitter and Facebook @peoplesgaschi



About Navy Pier

Located on Lake Michigan, Navy Pier is one of the top-attended nonprofit cultural destinations in the Midwest, stretching more than six city blocks and welcoming more than 9 million guests annually. Originally opened in 1916 as a shipping and recreation facility, this Chicago landmark showcases more than 50 acres of parks, restaurants, attractions, retail shops, sightseeing and dining cruise boats, exposition facilities and more. In 2018, Navy Pier continues to usher in its second century with ongoing pier-wide redevelopment efforts  including the Fifth Third Bank Family Pavilion, Peoples Energy Welcome Pavilion, 220-room hotel and more  in addition to free, year-round arts and cultural programming designed to inspire, educate and connect communities across the city and globe. For more information, visit www.navypier.org or download the free Navy Pier app for Android and iOS device users.

Navy Pier Mission Statement

Navy Pier is the Peoples Pier, Chicagos lakefront treasure, welcoming all and offering dynamic and eclectic experiences through partnerships and programs that inspire discovery and wonder.
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Independent Media Agency Adds Homecare Innovator to its Roster

NEW YORK, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Independent performance media agency Mercury announced today that it has landed new business with the largest assisted living referral service A Place for Mom. This new relationship strengthens the agencys foothold as a partner for emerging brands looking to drive profitable scale through effective and efficient use of TV and video inventory.

Were bringing a level of rigor and sophistication to direct response media that is not going unnoticed, said Nicholas Nocca, CEO of Mercury. A Place for Mom has been a wonderful addition to our growing client roster.

Mercury is responsible for TV planning, buying and attribution for A Place for Mom, an innovator in the home-care space that was acquired by Silver Lake Capital and General Atlantic. This news comes on the heels of Mercury strengthening its leadership team. Mercury recently promoted Bernadette Abasta to Executive Vice President from SVP of Media and hired Horizon Next veteran Dan McGillick as SVP of TV Buying.

Mercury goes above and beyond to activate a strategy based on our data, said Charlie Severn, VP Brand Marketing at A Place for Mom. They are experts in measuring the immediate and long-term effects of TV.

About A Place for Mom

A Place for Mom is proud to be the nation's largest senior living referral information service. The company was established in July 2000 with the goal of delivering best-in-class assistance to families in search of senior care options. Entering its 12th year in the senior care industry, A Place for Mom helps over 350,000 families a year in their search for a long-term senior living solution.

With more than 450 knowledgeable and compassionate Senior Living Advisors located across the United States, A Place for Mom provides seniors and families with in-depth information and one-on-one personal assistance about senior housing in their area. This support empowers families to make informed decisions about senior housing which spans retirement communities and independent living communities, to home care and respite care, assisted living and memory care.. With a nationwide network of more than 18,500 providers of senior living services, A Place for Mom is a time-saving resource that families can trust to help them find the best senior living arrangement for their unique circumstances. The company is paid by participating communities and providers, therefore their personalized service is offered at no charge to families. www.aplaceformom.com

About Mercury

Mercury is an independently owned performance media agency that exploits market inefficiencies to deliver profitable growth across the TV/video landscape. An innovator in direct marketing, Mercury offers DRTV planning and buying, complemented by bespoke applications of consumer data and advanced analytics. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and Philadelphia, Mercury blows through the smoke and mirrors in the ad tech space to identify the best investments for brands that are ready to break out. Through its Better Buying Approach, Mercury creates smarter solutions for emerging and challenger clients. For more information, visit: http://www.mercurymedia.com/, Twitter and LinkedIn.




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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Sep. 06, 2018 | PADUCAH

By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 06, 2018 | 01:44 PM | PADUCAH

A Paducah man has been arrested in connection with the death of his girlfriend and their unborn child.



According to the Paducah Police Department, Epionn J. Lee-McCampbell was arrested Wednesday afternoon on charges of murder and third-degree fetal homicide.



The charges stem from an investigation that began March 1, when police were called to Lee-McCampbell's home on North 24th Street. Officers say they found 19-year-old Ja'Lynn N. Ragsdale in the home and she was unresponsive. She was taken to Baptist Health Paducah, where she later died.



In late August, detectives received a final report from the state medical examiner's office saying Ragsdale died of asphyxiation consistent with suffocation, and that she was pregnant at the time of her death.



Police say Lee-McCampbell has been a suspect throughout the investigation, and had told officers that he and Ragsdale were, "wrestling," when she lost consciousness.



Lee-McCampbell was booked into McCracken County Jail, and is being held on $500,000 bond. The McCracken County Jail website says he is scheduled to appear in court on September 13.
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Man injured after travel app confusion on I-24 results in another accident
By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 06, 2018 | 10:11 AM | CARLISLE COUNTY

A Ballard County man was arrested on methamphetamine and other charges Wednesday night in Carlisle County.

According to the Carlisle County Sheriff's Office, deputies stopped a vehicle for speeding and improper equipment. The driver, Curtis Draper of Kevil, reportedly gave deputies permission to search his vehicle.

During the search, deputies reportedly found methamphetamine and a hydrocodone pill that was not prescribed to Draper nor in the proper container.

Draper was arrested and lodged in the Ballard County Detention Center. He's charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of controlled substance and speeding.
TWO PART SERIES: A GROWING TRAGEDY, METH DEATHS NOW OUTPACE OPIOID DEATHS IN NORTH CAROLINA

PART ONE: "The majority of methamphetamine in the state now comes from Mexico

FROM CAROLINA PUBLIC PRESS: Last month the Wilkes County Sheriffs Office announced a series of drug seizures that netted 30 arrests, including a number in which methamphetamine was a factor, alongside heroin, opioid pain pills, cocaine and marijuana, according to the Wilkes Journal Patriot.

Many headlines about the dangers of drug addiction in recent months have focused on heroin and other opioid drugs, which have been to blame for a staggering death toll. But cases like this one suggest that methamphetamine remains a prevalent problem as well.

Statistics from the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner show that meth is not just another nonopioid illegal controlled substance. Like opioids, methamphetamine is to blame for a growing number of deaths in North Carolina each year.

John Keane, special agent in charge of the Diversion and Environmental Crimes Unit at the State Bureau of Investigation, has an idea as to why methamphetamine use across the state is overshadowed by the opioid epidemic.

If theres any focus that is taken away from meth, it is that we just dont see the deaths associated with it like we do with all opioids, Keane said.

The number of meth-related deaths is far below opioid-related ones in North Carolina, at least for now. But while both sets of numbers are rising at an alarming rate, the number of meth-related deaths are growing much faster.

Short-term numbers

In 2017, 1,974 opioid-related deaths occurred in North Carolina, according to the state medical examiner, an increase from 1,584 deaths the year before, or about 25 percent.

The state medical examiner reports that 160 people died in 2017 as a result of methamphetamine-related overdoses, nearly a 47 percent increase from the year before, when 109 people died because of methamphetamine.

While it may not be likely that deaths related to these drugs will sustain such high rates of growth in North Carolina for a long period, at its current growth rate, meth fatalities would be on track to exceed opioid fatalities in 15 years.

We know that generally epidemics come and go, so we can expect that the opioid crisis will be replaced by another crisis in the future, said Chris Budnick, an adjunct instructor in the social work department at N.C. State University who also works at Healing Transitions, a private, not-for-profit organization in Raleigh.

Historically, we see this happening. If we simply focus on how we deal with the opioid crisis, were not going to be prepared to serve all individuals who are impacted by substance abuse disorder.

Budnick is also the director of Healing Transitions, an addiction recover center in Raleigh. He cautions that there are downsides to all of the attention the opioid epidemic has received in recent years.

Its good theres been a lot of coverage given to the opioid crisis, but therere a few things we need to be cautious about, he said.

Were investing a lot of federal dollars, which is appropriate, in response to the opioid crisis. But we need to make sure that we look to improve the entire system of care for all individuals impacted by substance abuse disorder.

Long-term numbers

More than 12,000 North Carolinians have died as the result of opioid-related overdoses between 1999 and 2016, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The highest numbers of opioid-related deaths between 2010 and 2016 were in Brunswick, Cherokee, Graham, Yancey, Burke, Wilkes and Yadkin counties.

Roughly 516 meth-related deaths occurred between 2008 and August 2018. However, the numbers since 2017 remain provisional. Relatively few of those deaths occurred earlier in the period, with just six in 2009, before reaching a high of 160 in 2017.

The highest levels of meth-related deaths since 2008 have included 54 in Buncombe County, 39 in Mecklenburg County, 27 in Forsyth County, 24 in Rutherford County and 24 in Surry County.

While an increase in the statewide population in recent years could partially explain the rise in deaths from both types of drugs, the population has not grown at such a fast clip.

Perhaps one of the reasons the rise in methamphetamine-related deaths has received less attention is that drug statistics released by the state Department of Health and Human Services typically do not differentiate between meth-related deaths and deaths from other nonopioid drugs.

However, the medical examiners office has the underlying data to show which deaths resulted from meth use and was able to provide a breakdown of these fatalities when requested by Carolina Public Press.

While this State Bureau of Investigation photo shows a methamphetamine laboratory, law enforcement officials have told Carolina Public Press that more of the drug is now being imported from Mexico. File Photo

Fewer meth labs

Even though the number of methamphetamine-related deaths is rising, the number of meth labs that the State Bureau of Investigation has responded to over the past few years has decreased.

The SBI investigated a total of 232 labs across the state in 2017, a significant decrease from 557 in 2014.

Kelly Page, assistant special agent in charge of the SBIs Clandestine Laboratory Response Unit, notes that the majority of methamphetamine in the state now comes from Mexico.

Johnston County ranked among the highest number of clandestine lab cases, with 46 labs in 2014, 40 labs in 2015, and 33 labs in 2016. The numbers for Johnston County dropped in 2017, with only 14 clandestine lab responses.

Treatment

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration classifies methamphetamine as a Schedule II substance, meaning that theres a high likelihood for abuse.

Budnick emphasized the importance of engagement as part of recovery, which can be difficult to maintain, given the daily stresses that the majority of people who suffer from addiction face. Because most people he helps at Healing Transitions come from lower-income backgrounds, thoughts of employment and housing often take precedence over continued recovery engagement.

Theres a fundamental, pervasive thought about addiction  that its based on choice, that an individual has made a decision to use alcohol or other drugs; theyre therefore less deserving of our compassion, second chances and treatment, Budnick said.

Whether its alcohol, methamphetamine or other substances, what we really should be investing in is improving pretreatment/engagement, access to services and post-treatment follow-up.

Healing Transitions has seen an increase in methamphetamine users over the past eight years. In 2010, the center dealt with one woman and four men who needed treatment for methamphetamine addiction. In August, 28 women and 57 men entered the center for meth-related treatment.

Center estimates show that by the end of the year, numbers could reach as high as 42 woman and 85 men, the highest number of both men and women the center has seen over the course of the past 10 years.

Until we get more money, more prevention and treatment, were still going to have this problem, unfortunately, Keane said.

These people are sick who are misusing drugs. They have to have availability to treatment.

Having access to treatment isnt good enough, Keane said, because the treatment needs to be immediate. The longer people have to wait, the more likely they are to continue to misuse drugs, which could ultimately lead to an overdose-related death, he said.

We need to do a better job of balancing the enforcement with the treatment, Keane added.

PART TWO WILL APPEAR IN THIS SPACE TOMORROW
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Sunderland are reportedly considering their legal options after defender Papy Djilobodji came waltzing back from his summer holiday a mere 72 days later than requested.

After the Black Cats relegation to League One, Djilobodji apparently spent the off-season attempting to engineer a transfer but nothing materialised despite interest from Hannover, Dijon and Trabzonspor.

According to the Roker Report, Sunderland then received notification from Djilobodjis representatives that the central defender would be reporting for training on Monday, though that never materialised.

Instead, the Senegalese international  who is said to be on wages of around 33,000-a-week  came traipsing in on Wednesday morning when he reported for training at the Academy of Light.

Amazingly, Djilobodji isnt the only player to go AWOL from Sunderland this summer with club-record signing Didier Ndong also missing since July, having spent the final half of last season on loan at Watford without making a single appearance.

Speaking to The Sun, Sunderland director Charlie Methven explained the current state of play:

The club is considering its legal options. The two cases arent identical in that finally Djilobodji has turned up. There is an internal procedure to determine whether he is fit to play.

Neither of the stay-away players have been paid during their self-imposed periods of exile, though Djilobodji has since been allowed to begin training again, though only with the reserves.

It probably goes without saying that the current Sunderland owners have decreed the 29-year-old will not be allowed to train with the first team or represent the club in a senior capacity ever again.

Its a tale as old as time. Mediocre players playing a complicit part in relegation and then, with no discernible evidence, deeming themselves too good to even consider dossing it in the league below.
CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The mental health watchdog, Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), a mental health watchdog group founded by the Church of Scientology, says the latest Florida shooting by David Katz, on the heels of the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in February, is another example of tragedies that were long in the making. CCHR points to failed psychiatric treatment and programs that may have exacerbated both killers mental decline. CCHR calls into question how many more tragedies and lost lives it will take before governments recognize that in addition to any other actions taken the increasing number of reports of psychiatric drug and treatment histories of those committing such crimes must be taken into account.



Two people were killed and 12 more wounded before suspected gunman David Katz (24), from Baltimore, Maryland, took his own life at an e-sports tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. According to divorce records and a CNN report, it is now known that Katz underwent psychiatric treatment from at least as early as aged 12 and that he was prescribed a number of psychiatric drugs, including antipsychotics and antidepressants. Additionally a 2006 letter from the father's attorney reveals that Katz had seen a succession of psychiatrists.[1]

A media report also divulged that Katzs parents fought over using drugs, including Abilify and Prozac, to treat their son. The father said his son was placed on two antidepressants, which he said at the time pose significant and unknown risks to the children. Another report said Katz had been prescribed the antidepressant Lexapro.[2][3]

An autopsy is being performed on Katz and CCHR says regardless of whether or not drugs are found in his system, his casealong with that of Nikolas Cruzare indicative of the failure of psychiatric treatment, especially where drugs and/or psychological behavior modification may have been involved.

CCHRs comprehensive report, Psychiatric Drugs Create Violence & Suicide: Putting the Community at Risk , shows that since the introduction of antipsychotics in 1955 and the newer Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants, like Prozac, in 1987, both groups of drugs have been linked to violent effects in a significant percentage of those taking them.[4]

Cited in the report is Harvard Medical school psychiatrist Joseph Glenmullen who said, The irritability and impulsivity from antidepressants, for example, can make people suicidal or homicidal. Also cited is Patrick D. Hahn, an affiliate professor of Biology at Loyola University in Maryland who confirms: The link between antidepressants and violence, including suicide and homicide, is well established.[5][6]

CCHR also reported that even once off psychiatric drugs, there are ongoing drug-induced problems including withdrawal effects, especially from benzodiazepines, that can last weeks and sometimes months or years. Benzodiazepine withdrawal includes increased anxiety, perceptual distortions, depersonalization, paranoid thoughts, rage, aggression and irritability to name but a few. Post-withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants also may last several months to years and include disturbed mood, excessive emotional reactions, frequent mood changes and irritability, according to a 2012 article in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.[7][8]

At least 27 international drug regulatory agency warnings have been issued on psychiatric drugs being linked to mania, psychosis violence, homicidal ideation, aggression and hostility.[9]

The FDAs Adverse Event Reporting System has at least 1,530 cases of homicide/homicidal ideation reported to it as linked to psychiatric drugs. The FDA admits that only 1-10 percent of drug side effects are reported to its MedWatch program. Taking a moderate five percent, then, the potential number of reported incidents could be as high as 30,620. A percentage of those could be driven to commit violent crimes.

State and federal governments need to at least investigate the mounting evidence that psychiatric treatment and its failure has had something to do with a large percentage of the acts of senseless violence we are witnessing today, stated Diane Stein, President of the CCHR Florida chapter.

CCHR recommends that individuals concerned with the link between violence and drugs send a copy of its report, Psychiatric Drugs Create Violence & Suicide: Putting the Community at Risk to their legislative representative calling for an investigation.

About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHRs mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice: Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the free world tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of mental health, he wrote in March 1969. For more information visit, www.cchrflorida.org

Sources:

[1] Jose Pagliery, Curt Devine, and Drew Griffin, Jacksonville shooter had history of mental illness and police visits to family home, CNN Investigates, 28 Aug. 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/28/us/jacksonville-madden-shooter-katz-mental-health-invs/index.html

[2] Scott Broom, Madden shooters Maryland background includes family, emotional health troubles, WUSA9, 27 Aug 2018, https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/maryland/madden-shooters-maryland-background-includes-family-emotional-health-troubles/65-588068467

[3] Curt Devine, Jose Pagliery, Drew Griffin, Joe Sterling and Susannah Cullinane, What we know about Jacksonville shooting suspect David Katz, CNN, 28 Aug. 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/27/us/jacksonville-madden-tournament-suspect/index.html

[4] Anatomy of an Epidemic: Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America, Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, Volume 7, No. I, Spring 2005, http://pt.cchr.org/sites/default/files/Anatomy_of_an_Epidemic_Psychiatric_Drugs_Rise_of_Mental_Illness.pdf

[5] FDA Mulls Antidepressant Warnings, Daily Press, 21 Mar. 2004, http://articles.dailypress.com/2004-03-21/news/0403210207_1_dr-joseph-glenmullen-corey-baadsgaard-school-shootings-and-murder-suicides

[6] Patrick D. Hahn, Antidepressants: a deadly treatment?, Baltimore Sun, 11 Apr. 2015, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/bs-ed-antidepressants-violence-20150411-story.html

[7] C. Heather Ashton, DM, FRCP, Benzodiazepines: How They Work and How to Withdraw, Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2002, http://www.benzo.org.uk/manual/bzcha03.htm

[8] Patient Online Report of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor-Induced Persistent Post-withdrawal Anxiety and Mood Disorders, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 19 Jan. 2012, https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/341178

[9] Psychiatric Drugs & ViolenceThe Facts, CCHR International, https://www.cchrint.org/psychiatric-drugs/drug_warnings_on_violence/

Media Contact:

Diane Stein

President, CCHR Florida

727-442-8820

diane@cchrflorida.org

www.cchrflorida.org
By: Paige Cline Sometimes I am asked to reprint a column from the past. Here[Read More]
PARIS and NEW YORK, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just days before Apple hits the kill switch on the wildly popular iPhone 6s, Back Market, the largest marketplace dedicated to refurbished electronics, has launched an awareness campaign rallying the public against planned obsolescence.



The campaign features a stunning Apple-like video that reintroduces the iconic smartphone and the still-impressive features that have allowed it to define a generation of smartphones. The video anchors a micro-site offering the worlds largest selection of certified refurbished iPhone 6s models at prices up to 3X cheaper than new.

At its heart, the campaign reaffirms Back Markets commitment to give consumers an alternative option to new devices, which are introduced at an unsustainably rapid pace for no logical reason. These not only have disastrous environmental consequences but also wreak havoc on consumers budgets - and without introducing very much by way of innovation, to make these revolutionary new models worth these costs.

Veteran Apple watcher Ewan Spence underscores the trend, writing in Forbes ahead of the 2018 launch: The latest leaks around Apples new iPhones show that very little has changed in the twelve months since the launch of the iPhone X.

No says iPhone 6s to its forced retirement.

Custom dictates that the release of the new iPhone model should mark the disappearance of the iPhone 6s from Apples catalog - a mere 3 years after a release with much ado. This well-oiled mechanism has been in place since the very first iPhone and Apple has conditioned its consumers to happily accept this pace of obsolescence.

Faced with the scheduled disappearance of the iPhone 6s, Back Market wants to call attention to the scourge that is planned obsolescence, reminding people that despite Apples psychological warfare against their common sense, the iPhone 6s still retains the qualities that have made it one of the most popular smartphones ever, with over 80 million sold worldwide.

"Apple is releasing a new series of iPhones as it does every year, and just like previous models, they will have an unspoken expiration date built in. This is the crux of the problem and the iPhone 6s is the perfect example: in spite of the revolutionary design that introduced us to the 12-megapixel camera and 3D Touch technology, its disappearance from the Apple store is enough to render it obsolete in the minds of consumers, says Thibaud Hug de Larauze, CEO and co-founder of Back Market.

The iPhone 6s, heavyweight champion of refurbished electronics.

For Back Market, these 80 million phones still have good years ahead of them. In its three years on the market, the iPhone 6s has taken the lead in the marketplace.

Back Market proudly stocks more than 40,000 of them, each expertly refurbished and warrantied by certified professionals, and selling for up to three times cheaper than new and at a fraction of the $1,000+ price tags of the latest models Apple is introducing

Unprecedented electronic waste.

"The goal of this campaign is to convince consumers to stop systematically turning to new models. This fight against what we can accurately call a kind of new device bulimia - where new models are gobbled up and then soon enough purged - is an effective way for us to combat the overproduction of electronics, the overexploitation of natural resources, and the explosion of e-waste. Everyone needs to be made aware of it, explains Vianney Vaute, co-founder of Back Market.

Business Insider confirms this wisdom: The iPhone 6s is an example of how recent iPhones have longer lifespans when it comes to performance  and that we dont need to spend top dollar for the new models.

The number of smartphone users in the US is estimated to grow to more than 230 million users in 2018, which corresponds to 10% of the estimated number of all smartphone users worldwide. With each phone having a lifespan of only 18 months to 2 years, thats a lot of natural resources thrown into the landfill or into peoples drawers. Its no surprise that the US is the second-largest producer of e-waste in the world, putting out 6.3 MT of e-waste in 2016 - a growth percentage of 85% since 2012 - and still increasing its pace.

Certified refurbishing is a proven and reliable way to extend the life of electronics, keeping them out of the landfills. Market research firm Counterpoint Research reported earlier this year that one in ten smartphones bought last year were not new and the sale of refurbished phones is growing at a rate of 13% globally (as compared to virtually flat new phone sales).

About Back Market (www.backmarket.com)

Back Market is the largest marketplace exclusively dedicated to bringing thousands of refurbished electronic devices and appliances from certified professionals to consumers. The company currently operates in 6 (US, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium) countries and recently closed a funding round of $48 million, led by Groupe Arnault, the investment arm of iconic luxury brand LVMH It employs a team of about 100 employees across its 3 offices located in Paris, Bordeaux, and New York.

For more information, contact Micheline Vaute Mike Sottak micheline.vaute@backmarket.com mike@wiredislandpr.com +33 6 99 60 21 32 +1 408-876-4418

A video accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/815f148b-8fa6-43b6-b27a-02b5d042fa97
Tampa Bay, FL, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KnowBe4, the worlds largest provider of security awareness training and simulated phishing, has successfully completed a rigorous third-party audit of its data security procedures and processes under the System and Organization Controls 2 (SOC 2) Type 2 standards. KnowBe4 successfully completed the SOC 2 Type 1 examination in April, and immediately initiated action to achieve a SOC 2 Type 2 status.

The examination that led to compliance with the demanding SOC 2 Type 2 data security standards was administered by the professional IT compliance and audit staff at 360 Advanced, a national HITRUST CSF, Qualified Security Assessor and Certified Public Accountant firm based in St. Petersburg, FL.

We are in the security business, so we must hold ourselves to the very highest standards of privacy and protection of personally identifiable information, and the annual SOC reports by outside third parties attest to the culture of security here at KnowBe4, said Brian Jack, CISSP, chief information security officer and data protection officer for KnowBe4. Having achieved these SOC standards streamlines the path to onboarding a customer because they are aware of the rigorous standards we adhere to manage their data. The designation can actually shorten the sales process as it is a competitive advantage we have since we are the first in our market to meet this criteria.

ABOUT KNOWBE4

KnowBe4, the provider of the worlds largest integrated security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, is used by more than 20,000 organizations worldwide. Founded by data and IT security expert Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4 helps organizations address the human element of security by raising awareness of ransomware, CEO fraud and other social engineering tactics through a new-school approach to security awareness training. Kevin Mitnick, internationally recognized computer security expert and KnowBe4s Chief Hacking Officer, helped design KnowBe4s training based on his well-documented social engineering tactics. Thousands of organizations trust KnowBe4 to mobilize their end-users as the last line of defense.

Number 96 on the 2018 Inc. 500 list, #70 on 2017 Deloittes Technology Fast 500 and #2 in Cybersecurity Ventures Cybersecurity 500. KnowBe4 is headquartered in Tampa Bay, Florida with European offices in England, the Netherlands, Germany and offices in South Africa and Singapore.
English Icelandic

The number of passengers on international flights were 523 thousand in August and decreased by 1% compared to August last year. The capacity measured in available seat kilometres (ASK) increased by 3%. The number of available seats (AS) decreased by 3%. The difference is more capacity to N-America between years resulting in 6% higher average stage length in kilometres between years. The load factor was 86.0% compared to 87.9% in August last year. In August there is similar development as in recent months. Sales to destinations in North-America has not been in line with increased capacity while sales to Europe have been strong. Load factors on Icelandairs routes in Europe were 90.8%, an increase of 5.8 percentage points from last year while load factors to North America were 83.1%, a decrease of 6.7 percentage points from last year. The number of passengers travelling from Iceland and on the tourist market to Iceland increased between years, but passengers on the N-Atlantic market decreased compared to last year.

The number of passengers on domestic and regional flights were just short of 33 thousand, decreasing by 15% compared to August last year. Flights to Belfast, Aberdeen and between Keflavik and Akureyri stopped mid of May, explaining the reduction in the number of passengers. The load factor was 70.8% decreasing by 1.5 ppt from August last year. Sold block hours in charter flights increased by 20% between years. Freight decreased by 6%. The number of available room nights at the Companys Hotels was up by 14% from last year. The room occupancy was 89.9% compared to 88.6% in August 2017.

INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS AUG 18 AUG 17 CHG (%) YTD 18 YTD 17 CHG (%) Number of Passengers 522,925 528,885 -1% 2,818,110 2,826,450 0% Load Factor 86.0% 87.9% -1.9 ppt 81.3% 83.8% -2.6 ppt Available Seat KM (ASK000,000) 1,952.7 1,895.7 3% 10,962.8 10,456.2 5% Revenue Passenger KM (RPK000,000) 1,678.4 1,665.4 1% 8,909.0 8,766.3 2% Stage length (KM) 3,271 3,093 6% 3,189 3,060 4% DOMESTIC AND REGIONAL FLIGHTS AUG 18 AUG 17 CHG (%) YTD 18 YTD 17 CHG (%) Number of Passengers 32,934 38,955 -15% 220,922 236,033 -6% Load Factor 70.8% 72.3% -1.5 ppt 64.9% 67.5% -2.6 ppt Available Seat KM (ASK000,000) 20.3 27.2 -25% 132.2 144.7 -9% CHARTER FLIGHTS AUG 18 AUG 17 CHG (%) YTD 18 YTD 17 CHG (%) Fleet Utilisation 90.9% 100.0% -9.1 ppt 93.1% 97.1% -4.0 ppt Sold Block Hours 2,940 2,442 20% 23,293 17,594 32% CARGO AUG 18 AUG 17 CHG (%) YTD 18 YTD 17 CHG (%) Freight Tonne KM (FTK000) 10,291 11,004 -6% 81,215 76,008 7% HOTELS AUG 18 AUG 17 CHG (%) YTD 18 YTD 17 CHG (%) Available Hotel Room Nights 44,149 38,786 14% 275,128 260,866 5% Sold Hotel Room Nights 39,687 34,368 15% 219,502 212,671 3% Occupancy of Hotel Rooms 89.9% 88.6% 1.3 ppt 79.8% 81.5% -1.7 ppt

For further information please contact:

Bogi Nils Bogason, Interim President and CEO, Icelandair Group tel: + 354 665-8801

Iris Hulda orisdottir, Director Investor Relations, Icelandair Group tel: + 354 840-701

Attachment
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After a nationwide search, Mariners Church announced Eric Geiger as its new senior pastor, effective today. Geiger will succeed Kenton Beshore, who will serve the Orange County-based non-denominational church as pastor emeritus . In this capacity, Beshore will continue to teach and mentor senior pastors. He will remain with Mariners until 2020.



God has led us through a significant journey to find our next visionary senior pastor for Mariners Church, and we couldnt be more excited to have Eric and his wife Kaye join the Mariners family, said Keith Koeller, Mariners Church elder board chairman. Erics high degree of leadership and heart for ministry perfectly aligns with Mariners vision and values and we are most thankful for Gods work in leading us to such a gifted and humble new leader.

Geiger previously served as senior vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources, the worlds largest provider of Christian bibles, bible studies, research, church music, supplies, services and more. He was at LifeWay for seven years. He also served eight years as executive and teaching pastor of Christ Fellowship Miami, a multi-cultural church with seven campuses across the Miami-Dade County. Under his leadership, the church grew from 1,000 to nearly 8,000 people.

Ive fallen in love with Mariners Church and the powerful community Kenton and Laurie have built in Orange County, said Geiger. After seven great years of serving the church with the incredible team at LifeWay, Jesus made it clear He wants me back in the local church full-time. The pull has been fierce and specific to Orange County and Mariners, and Im excited to be the next senior pastor of this great church.

Together, Beshore and Geiger will teach the Joshua series in September. They will share teaching weekends through the remainder of the year. Geiger will work alongside Beshore as he integrates into the Mariners family and will be formally introduced to the church during its Sept. 8 and 9 services. The community also is invited to meet Geiger at the Mariners Family Welcome Home Event on Sept. 9 at 4 p.m.



Geiger earned a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Church Ministry and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He authored several books including How to Ruin Your Life, Unfolded, and Identity and co-authored the bestselling church leadership book, Simple Church.

Geiger resides in Irvine with his wife Kaye and two daughters, Eden and Evie.
Research-intensive universities in Africa? A model of how to build them

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 135% of the global population but less than 1% of global research output.

In 2008, Africa produced 27 000 published papers  the same number as the Netherlands.

There are some areas of improvement. A 2014 World Bank study showed that the quantity and quality of sub-Saharan Africas research had increased substantially in the previous 20 years. It more than doubled its annual research output from 2003 to 2012. And it increased its share of global research during the same period.

But Africas overall research record remains poor. Part of the problem is that the continent contributes less than 1% of the global expenditure on research and development. African governments dont spend a significant percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP) on research.

Another issue is that sub-Saharan Africa depends greatly on international collaboration and visiting academics for its research output. In 2012 southern Africa produced 79% of all its research output through international collaborations. In east Africa the number stood at 70% and in west and central Africa at 45%.

This stands in stark contrast to intra-Africa collaboration which is extremely rare. Collaboration among local researchers ranges from 09% in west and central Africa to 29% in southern Africa.

Limited government funding for universities lies at the root of these challenges. It is here that one of the solutions must be found. Its time for African universities, governments, and development partners to take action by fostering the development of research-active universities on the continent.

The model we have developed at the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA) provides evidence that revitalisation of the African academy in Africa by Africans is possible. CARTA is a consortium of eight African universities and four African research centres.

CARTA has been independently evaluated and recommended as a model that should be more widely used.

Action plan

Three interlinked actions are crucial to revitalise African higher education. The first is the differentiation of the continents higher education system. Some universities must become research-intensive. Their resources must be focused on graduate training and research.

Second, new funding mechanisms must be created for these research-intensive universities. Finally, new accountability systems must be put in place to ensure high standards. There must also be room for new institutions to enter the system.

One particularly compelling reason to differentiate research-intensive universities from those focused on undergraduate teaching is that sub-Saharan Africas population is set to double by 2050. This will create continued demand for higher education. That, in turn, necessitates appropriate training of faculty with advanced degrees.

It is this cohort who will be needed to staff the new universities and maintain high standards across the higher education system. Research-intensive universities are the best place to train such people.

Funding and accountability

New funding mechanisms will be needed to support research-intensive universities.

Firstly, these institutions should commit their own resources to research.

Secondly, African governments must increase their support for research in general. They must also provide targeted funding for research-intensive universities  money that is over and above the currently available operational funds and tuition income. Governments can foster research collaboration through joint basket funding for research to support regional multicountry collaborative research.

Regional and continental bodies, bilateral and multilateral development partners, and philanthropic foundations need to complement these investments. These funders should designate a portion of their investments in Africa to support research-intensive universities.

Citizens, private corporations, and alumni should create Endowed Chairs at research-intensive universities.

Partnerships with non-university research entities should be encouraged and promoted.

The CARTA initiative, working with its northern partners, has drawn on some of these funding sources and created partnerships that have enabled it to bolster the continents research capacity. Some of what its done could be replicated.

Weve enrolled more than 200 PhD fellows since 2010  all of whom were recruited from the staff of the African consortium member institutions. Weve also worked with more than 160 PhD supervisors to revitalise PhD supervision, and worked with more than 570 university staff to make our member institutions more supportive of research.

Our PhD fellows and graduates have produced 579 peer reviewed publications and 36 have won post-doc awards or grants to do post-PhD research and they have raised more than USD$9 million to support their PhD research. CARTA has invested more than USD$1.4 million in infrastructure at member institutions and has developed an interdisciplinary seminar programme to promote high quality graduates.

The funding mechanisms we suggest will empower research-intensive universities on several fronts. Theyll be able to attract leading researchers, create infrastructure, and develop support systems for research.

This is also a way to bring African citizens in the diaspora back to replicate their research programmes on the continent.

The research-intensive universities will provide a base for training younger researchers. This will create a virtuous cycle. Output via research publications will increase. Internationally competitive researchers will remain on or return to the continent. Grants will be generated. All of these factors are critical to ensuring long-term sustainability.

Designated research-intensive universities mustnt be allowed to become complacent. There must also be room for upcoming, high-achieving universities to enter the space. We propose ongoing peer review every three to five years. Accountability and transparency will be key. The review function could be entrusted to a supranational body with wide representation.

Universities that have previously been designated as research-intensive could lose their designation depending on their research track record.

An appropriate base

Theres no doubt that while universities in sub-Saharan Africa have been marginal to global knowledge production, they have started to turn the corner.

But challenges remain. This is particularly true for universities that aspire to become research-intensive. Working with African universities to effectively make this transition could transform sub-Saharan Africas higher education landscape.

This piece is based on an article that appeared in The Lancet. It was co-authored with Laban Peter Ayiro, Philip Cotton, Adam Habib, Peter Mulwa Felix Mbithi, Alfred Mtenje, Barnabas Nawangwe, Eyitope O Ogunbodede, Idowu Olayinka, Frederick Golooba-Mutebi and Alex Ezeh.

Sharon Fonn, Professsor of Public Health; Co-Director Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa; Panel Member, Private Healthcare Market Inquiry, University of the Witwatersrand. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Data443s ClassiDocs Added to Ripple XRP Ledger Ecosystem Trusted Unique Node List



RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LandStar, Inc. (OTCPK: LDSR) (LandStar or the Company), the parent company of Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc. (Data443), a leading data security and privacy company, announced today that Data443 has been added to the default recommended Ripple XRP Ledger ecosystems Unique Node List (UNL). The UNL of only 10 other organizations is a set of suggested validating nodes that a given participant listens to for reliable information about transactions in the XRP Ledger. Nodes that appear on many participants UNLs are considered trustworthy and authenticated by Ripple and are used to validate transactions. By extending coverage for the XRP Ledger Unique Node List, Data443 reinforces its commitment to provide enterprise-ready data security solutions for the growing blockchain market.

Ripple continues to push for decentralization of the XRP Ledger to increase reliability and reduce the risk of a single-point failure, said Jason Remillard, CEO of LandStar, Inc. and founder of Data443. While some blockchain platforms choose validators based only on mining power, XRP Ledger validators are chosen based on performance, reliability, and security. We are proud to be among the industry leaders who are providing such capabilities. Recognition by Ripple as a trusted validator further substantiates our lead in the blockchain security services arena.

According to Gartner, the business value-add of blockchain will grow to just over $176 billion by 2025 and exceed $3.1 trillion by 2030. As Ripple moves to make XRP a preferred digital payment asset, trusted validators such as Data443 will strengthen the platform and make it more secure for enterprise use.

The enterprise market is moving beyond cryptocurrencies with respect to blockchain and this trend will continue to expand over the next decade and beyond, said Remillard. Data443 has always taken a future-focused approach with regard to blockchain. We launched public and validated Validator services for the Ripple ecosystem back in February and augmented that with additional PII detection capabilities in April. As a XRP Ledger trusted validator, we not only strengthen and support the platform but also provide added-value to the enterprises that use it by enabling deeper functionality such as data classification, discovery, and compliance for blockchain.

Authenticated by Ripple, Data443s XRP Ledger UNL joins a small and concerted community which may be viewed here: https://minivalist.cinn.app/validators

//* ClassiDocs Classification: PUBLIC *//

About LandStar, Inc.

LandStar, Inc. (OTCPK: LDSR), through its wholly owned subsidiary Data443 Risk Mitigation, Inc., enables secure data  across local devices, network, cloud, and databases  at rest and in flight. ClassiDocs, the companys award-winning data classification and governance technology, provides GDPR compliance and DSAR management coupled with DLP, CASB, SIEM, and cloud solutions to provide user-enabled, governance-enabled, up-to-date security for every data point, every time. The WordPress-based GDPR Framework enables organizations of all sizes to comply with the GDPR and other privacy frameworks. ClassiDocs for Blockchain provides an active implementation for the Ripple XRP that protects blockchain transactions from inadvertent disclosure and data leaks. For more information, please visit www.data443.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as may, will, could, should, expect, plan, project, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential, pursuant, target, continue, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The statements in this press release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding LandStars plans, objectives, future opportunities for LandStars services, future financial performance and operating results and any other statements regarding LandStars future expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, financial conditions, assumptions or future events or performance that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond LandStars control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the operations of LandStar; results of litigation, settlements and investigations; actions by third parties, including governmental agencies; volatility in customer spending; global economic conditions; ability to hire and retain personnel; loss of, or reduction in business with, key customers; difficulty with growth and in integrating acquisitions; product liability; cybersecurity risk; and, anti-takeover measures in our charter documents.

Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained, from time-to-time, in LandStars filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and postings on the OTC Markets news and information website. LandStar undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.

For Further Information

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/data443Risk

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Contacts

Main Press Contact:

Susan Payne

susan.payne@data443.com

919.526.1070 Ext. 103
A first-ever meeting on Nicaragua by the UN Security Council featured big-power old rivals once again battling it out on familiar issues.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley, the current council president, overcame objections by several countries to even formally hold the public session on Wednesday.

Central America Continents and regions Government and public administration Government bodies and offices Government departments and authorities International relations International relations and national security Latin America Nicaragua Nikki Haley North America Political Figures - US State departments and diplomatic services The Americas United States

The United States, United Kingdom, France and others denounced Nicaragua's government for human rights violations, while Russia, China and Bolivia said the Nicaragua issue should not be part of the Security Council's agenda, because it doesn't, in their opinion, threaten international peace and security, the bedrock of council activities.

Russia said there had been "subversive policies" and interventions in Nicaragua over a long period by the United States.

Without naming Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Haley said the Nicaraguan people "are calling for an end to a dictatorship. They are calling for their own freedom."

She told reporters she felt the meeting, which produced no statement or agreement, was important to hold.

Haley said, "With each passing day Nicaragua travels further down a familiar path. It is a path that Syria has taken. It is a path that Venezuela has taken."

Nicaragua's foreign minister also challenged the United States. Denis Moncada Colindres said "There is consensus in this Security Council that Nicaragua does not represent a threat to international peace and security. Therefore, its inclusion in this meeting is a clear interference in the internal affairs of Nicaragua, and a violation of the Charter of the United Nations and International Law."

Haley got support from the leader of the Organization of American States and a Nicaragua civil society member who said the country was now a "time bomb."

The OAS recently passed a resolution condemning the Nicaraguan government for human rights violations.

Human Rights Watch had urged the Security Council to call for the government of Nicaragua to end a crackdown on protesters and to dismantle armed gangs favoring the government.

Anti-government protests in Nicaragua began this spring with people frustrated over the government's response to a devastating wildfire in an area of protected tropical rain forest. Unrest spread and tensions worsened after a government decision in April to change the country's social security system. The changes increased contributions by workers and employers but reduced pensions for retired workers in the second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

The government subsequently reversed the social security change, but the people continued to march, with authorities moving to stem the protests and violence escalating. At least 10 people were killed in the first few days of unrest.

Demonstrations by citizens, crackdowns by the country's National Police and armed paramilitary groups, and violence have marked the weeks since.

At the meeting Wednesday, Bolivia's UN ambassador said he condemns any type of regime change by outside forces intending to control natural resources.

The Bolivian diplomat criticized the role of the United States in Latin American history, invoking the Iran Contra affair at one point.

Haley hit a rare note of sarcasm for the council table when he concluded, saying, "Thank you for that lovely statement."
UTICA  The sale of the former GE building at 1900 Bleecker Street has gone through.

Bowers Development out of Syracuse has purchased the building along with an adjacent lot for $400,000.

Plans call for demolition of the building and the construction of a new facility, ranging in size from 54,000-square-feet to 100,000-square-feet.

Earlier this year, the city of Utica received a $2 million grant from New York State for the redevelopment of the property. That money will help with asbestos removal and will assist in the construction plans.

Bowers Development hopes to attract industrial, manufacturing and distribution-type tenants.
UTICA  A minivan crashed into the Bosnian Islamic Association of Utica on Court Street on Thursday morning.

The crash near the corner of Court Street and Broadway was first reported at 9:14 a.m., according to the Oneida County 911 Center.

Police say a 51-year-old woman was driving westbound on Court Street with her two grandkids, ages three and four, in the backseat. The children managed to get out of their carseats and got out of the van while it was moving, and the woman stopped the van to go after the kids but didn't put it in park, causing it to crash into the mosque.

Police say the driver sustained a leg injury, but no other injuries were reported.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, and police say that tickets are pending.
It's time to meet the newest members of our Morning Mug Club...brought to you by Holland Farms Bakery and Deli.

The Holy Trinity Church of Utica invites everyone to it's Fall Polish Festival on Sunday, September 9th from Noon to 4 at Holy Trinity in the school gym. (1214 Lincoln Ave. Utica)

There will be a complete dinner with takeouts available featuring Pierogis and Golomkis.

There will also be a festival of baskets and live Polka music.

Everyone is welcome, come join the fun!
ONEONTA -- A gas decompressor could be coming to the Oneonta area.

People who are against the decompressor held a meeting in Oneonta Wednesday to discuss so-called risks.

Otsego Now, which is an industrial development agency, could allow a gas decompressor in Oneonta.

According to The Daily Star, Otsego Now reps say they are working to lure a decompressor company to Oneonta. A decompressor is a station that holds compressed natural gas that will be delivered by gas trucks.

People against it call the trucks "bomb trucks". XNG is a company that they referenced as being a danger to the community.

Craig Stevens, organizer of the meeting, says the trucks are experimental, unregulated, and they have extreme consequences.

The problem with the trucks is, this is not a small container, Stevens said. They're carrying 11 tons of methane, of natural gas, long distance. The trucks are very top heavy, they've already had five of them roll over and crash. Some of them slid down the hills  So, our focus is they're extracting the gas and harming people. They're putting it in trucks and putting these whole communities at risk."

We reached out to the natural gas company XNG who had this to say:

XNG takes the safety of our employees and our communities very seriously. We employ a modern trucking fleet with best-in-class safety and environmental control features. We try to hire the best possible drivers through a rigorous process that includes a road test conducted by a senior employee. Our preventative maintenance program is well above industry standards, and all of our equipment gets a minimum of three independent inspections each day. All of this results in very positive safety rating from the federal government and all other monitoring entities. XNGs operations comply with all federal, state and local guidelines.
English French

MONTREAL, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A TCL.B) announces the appointment of Mr. H. Peter Brues to the Corporations Board of Directors. Mr. Brues has had an impressive career spanning over 20 years in the Americas and Europe, as a senior executive in the packaging industry at Amcor, a US$9.1 billion multinational company which develops and produces packaging for a variety of end markets. He has extensive experience in international manufacturing operations as well as in acquisition strategies, combined with a proven track record in large-scale post-merger integrations. Additionally, Mr. Brues has a solid financial expertise and is recognized for his ability to maximize and drive performance across global network operations.



I am very pleased to welcome Peter Brues to the Board of Directors of Transcontinental Inc., said Ms. Isabelle Marcoux, Chair of the Board of Transcontinental Inc. On the heels of our transformational acquisition of Coveris Americas, I am certain that this seasoned executive will make significant strategic contributions to our Board of Directors thanks to his wealth of expertise in the packaging industry. We will benefit from both his strong operational and commercial leadership and experience in mergers and acquisitions during this exciting time of growth in flexible packaging for our Corporation.

Mr. Brues started his career at KPMG  Peat Marwick Thorne. He then joined Amcor Twinpak in Montreal in 1994 as Corporate Controller before being appointed Director of Finance. Mr. Brues then successively held the positions of Director of Operations for Amcor Flexibles  North America Inc. and Vice President, Strategic Development for Amcor Limited, eventually becoming Vice President of Operations for Amcor Flexibles Europe A/S in Brussels. He then made his mark as President of Amcor Flexibles Americas, and later on as President of Amcor Flexibles Healthcare in Chicago. As President of Amcor Flexibles Europe & Americas in Zurich, from 2010 to 2015, he was responsible for 72 plants in 22 countries.

Mr. Brues is a Chartered Accountant (CA). He holds a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy and a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University. He also completed the Executive Development Program at the University of Western Ontario.

About TC Transcontinental

TC Transcontinental is a leader in flexible packaging in North America, and Canadas largest printer. The Corporation is also a Canadian leader in its specialty media segments. For over 40 years, TC Transcontinental's mission has been to create products and services that allow businesses to attract, reach and retain their target customers.

Respect, teamwork, performance and innovation are strong values held by the Corporation and its employees. TC Transcontinental's commitment to its stakeholders is to pursue its business activities in a responsible manner.

Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A TCL.B), known as TC Transcontinental, has over 9,000 employees, the majority of which are based in Canada, the United States and Latin America. TC Transcontinental had revenues of approximately C$2.0 billion for the fiscal year ended October 29, 2017. The Corporation has completed, on May 1st, 2018, the transformational acquisition of Coveris Americas which generated approximately C$1.26 billion in revenues (US$966 million) for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. For more information, visit TC Transcontinental's website at www.tc.tc.

For information:

Media

Nathalie St-Jean

Senior Advisor, Communications

TC Transcontinental

Telephone: 514-954-3581

nathalie.st-jean@tc.tc

www.tc.tc
DALEVILLE, Ind. (AP)  Authorities say a 2-year-old boy has died after being found unresponsive inside a vehicle parked outside his home during hot weather in central Indiana.

The Star Press reports Jaxon Stults was pronounced dead Wednesday evening in Daleville.

His mother, 28-year-old Britni Nicole Wihebrink, is being held on a preliminary charge of neglect of a dependent. Court records don't list her lawyer. The newspaper says Wihebrink told a 911 dispatcher she took a nap then found her son.

An autopsy is planned Thursday. Zach Crouch, a Delaware County deputy coroner, says the death was likely heat-related.

The National Weather Service says high temperatures Wednesday in the Daleville area topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) before cooling off later.

Daleville is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.
BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fiduciary Trust Company International, a global wealth manager and wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced today that Michael Schiff has joined the firm as a managing director in its Boca Raton office. Mr. Schiff has more than 20 years of experience developing financial solutions and innovative wealth planning and transfer strategies, and delivering them to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. He will work in Fiduciary Trusts New York office until November 1, 2018, when he will relocate to Boca Raton.



Michael is an accomplished wealth management and trust professional who has cultivatedand expanded the scope ofrelationships with individuals, families, and philanthropic institutions in multiple markets, said Gail E. Cohen, chair of Fiduciary Trust Company International of the South. His expertise and relationships will help us deliver our array of comprehensive wealth and trust planning services to clients in South Florida.

Mr. Schiff joins Fiduciary Trust from Glenmede Trust Co. in Princeton, NJ, where he served as a business development director for six years. Earlier in his career, he was a senior relationship manager at PNC Wealth Management in Princeton and a senior vice president and private client advisor with U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management in Philadelphia. Mr. Schiff was also a financial advisor with Prudential Securities in Philadelphia. Prior to entering wealth management, Mr. Schiff was an attorney whose areas of specialty included estate planning, family law, and complex commercial transactions.

Fiduciary Trust has a long history of providing personalized investment advice and tax-efficient estate planning services that help clients grow, protect, and transfer their wealth, said Mr. Schiff. I share Fiduciary Trusts commitment to working closely with clients and their families to wisely and effectively manage their money, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to serve clients in Boca Raton and throughout South Florida.

Mr. Schiff earned his juris doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, and graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a bachelor of arts in history. He holds the TEP (Trust & Estate Planning Practitioner) designation from the Society of Trust & Estate Planning Practitioners.

The addition of Mr. Schiff is part of Fiduciary Trusts ongoing growth in South Florida. In August 2018, the firm announced that Edgardo Gonzalez joined its Coral Gables office as a managing director and senior portfolio manager. Fiduciary Trust also announced in June 2018 that Leticia Hernandez had joined the firm as a trust counsel in the Coral Gables office. In addition, Manuel Cabielles came aboard as a managing director and wealth director in Fiduciary Trusts office in Coral Gables late last year.

About Fiduciary Trust

Fiduciary Trust Company International, a global wealth management firm, has served individuals, families, endowments and foundations since 1931. With over $77 billion in assets under administration and management as of June 30, 2018, the firm specializes in strategic wealth planning, investment management and trust and estate services, as well as tax and custody services. The firm and its subsidiaries maintain offices in New York, NY, Coral Gables, FL, Boca Raton, FL, St. Petersburg, FL, Los Angeles, CA, San Mateo, CA, Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, and Arlington, VA. For more information, please visit fiduciarytrust.com and follow us for latest updates at https://www.linkedin.com/company/fiduciary-trust-company/.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN] is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classesincluding equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The company's more than 650 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in over 30 countries, the California-based company has 70 years of investment experience and over $733 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2018. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.

Copyright  2018. Fiduciary Trust Company International. All rights reserved.

Contacts:
Launch of major campaign urging people to talk about organ donation

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Sep 6th, 2018

The second phase of a major campaign focusing on the role of families in the organ donation process has been launched.

Wrexhams Assembly Member, Lesley Griffiths, has backed the hard-hitting advertisements which show an individuals choice to donate their organs being overridden by family members.

The latest launch coincides with Organ Donation Week (3rd  9th September)  a nationwide campaign which urges people to talk to prevent lifesaving transplants being missed because families did not know their loved ones organ donation decision.

Surveys show around 80% of people in the UK support organ donation, however only 33% of people have told their family that they want to donate. In circumstances where a family does not know their relatives decision, they are far more likely to refuse to allow organ donation to take place.

Data published by NHS Blood and Transplant showed that in 2017-18 there were 22 cases in Wales where families either overrode their relatives decisions to donate organs, or didnt support deemed consent.

With an average of 3.2 organs retrieved per donor in Wales in 2017-18, this could have resulted in as many as 70 additional transplants.

Lesley Griffiths AM is a long-time supporter of the measures and said: After leading the way in introducing this progressive legislation, the Welsh Labour Government is keen to encourage everyone throughout the country to talk with their loved ones about their organ donation wishes.

Although figures show consent rates are improving and public awareness and understanding is increasing, there are still a significant number of people dying whilst waiting for their transplant.

I hope people in Wrexham will have a chat with their relatives to help ensure their feelings surrounding organ donation are known.

In December 2015 Wales became the first country in the UK to move to a soft opt-out system of consent to organ donation. This means people who want to be an organ donor can either register a decision to opt in or do nothing.

For those who choose to do nothing, they are regarded as having agreed to organ donation  this is known as deemed consent.

However, if individuals don not tell their family of their decision to donate, the family may not honour that decision and override the organ donor registration or not support deemed consent.
Proposals revealed to expand primary school with 105 places as Wrexham wins more than fair share of Welsh Government funding

This article is old - Published: Thursday, Sep 6th, 2018

Proposals to increase the capacity at a local primary school to accommodate more than 100 additional pupils are to be debated next week.

Executive board members will be asked to support the launch of a public consultation over the plans for Barkers Lane CP school in Borras.

Currently capacity levels at the school is for 210 pupils. However in next weeks report it is explained that for the current school admission round 2018-19, the councils education department was unable to meet the local demand for the town centre, refusing pupils for whom Barkers Lane CP was their preferred school.

As a result of the increased demand and what Wrexham Council describe as an opportunity to utilised the Welsh Governments 21st Century Schools funding, it has been proposed that a public consultation is launched over increasing the capacity at Barkers Lane to 315, and increase of 105.

Subject to the approval and outcomes of the public consultation, such changes would be introduced in September 2020 for nursery and reception years.

The school would then continue to offer the 45 entry each subsequent year to nursery and reception pupils only. There would be no immediate availability to transfer into any of the higher year groups unless a space became available within the current 30 pupil planned admission number.

It is hoped that these proposals will not only reduce infant class sizes at Barkers Lane CP, but also alleviate the current pressure on a number of town centre English medium schools.

The funding comes from a 36m package announced by the Welsh Government in 2017 that was partially to address infant class sizes, to get them under the 30 pupil figure. Cllr Wynn, Lead Member for People  Education, told us all authorities in Wales were invited to make bids and Wrexham was not only successful, We have had more than a fair share of the cake.

Wrexham Council are being given 1 million of grant funding to create the space, along with over 700,000 of revenue support for staffing costs over a three year period.

If more children go to Barkers Lane, it will take pressure off other schools so that hopefully their classroom sizes will dip below 30 pupils.

Earlier this week Cllr Phil Wynn, lead member for education, gave a rough timeline for the changes, firstly seeking approval for the consultation from the Executive Board, and then conducting it.

We bring that back, and address concerns raised. Then we place the Statutory Notice, and at that point people can make their comments into objections, and then we address those objections, he said.

If it proceeds, we would look to get contractors in this time next year.

I have met with the head, and she is quite excited about this proposal, but first we just need to follow due process.

Council Leader Mark Pritchard offered a big thanks to Cllr Wynn, the education department and the team behind putting the grant together calling the successful award fantastic news.

Speaking of two processes he noted: It needs to go out to consultation, and if we do decide to go for it then the planning process will start.

I want to be clear to split those into two, to make sure people do not think we have prejudged anything. We do not know what will come back from the consultation.

The proposal will be debated by members of the executive board members on Tuesday 11th September at 10am. The meeting will also be webcast live on the Wrexham Council website.
Phoenix, Arizona, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Lannister Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NBDR), parent company of leading Web 3.0 software developer, Lannister Development, has announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Media Shower, Inc. to collaborate on The Equity Token Project, a platform to allow companies to offer equity stakes in their business to investors via blockchain tokens.

The intent of the agreement between Lannister Holdings, Inc. and Media Shower is to develop a platform that provides blockchain technologies for organizations who wish to obtain equity funding for their endeavor. This MOU outlines the partnership that will bring The Equity Token Project from ideation to deployment using the expertise of both parties.

Of the agreement, Joseph Snyder, CEO of Lannister, says, We are very happy to join forces with the incredibly talented people at Media Shower to announce The Equity Token Project. Mr. Hargrave and his team bring a vibrant, clear vision to this project and we are proud to deploy Lannister Development blockchain technologies to help bring this to life!

Equity tokens are the future of corporate fundraising, and as tokenization continues to spread across industries, we believe this platform will be critical for fundraising, security and speed. Were proud to partner with the amazing team at Lannister Development in driving further innovation in the blockchain industry, says John Hargrave, CEO of Media Shower.

The MOU will remain in effect until August 31, 2019.

Token Generation Events (TGEs ICOs STOs), are a means of crowdfunding using blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. There are countless uses for blockchain-based tokens that can broadly be classified into three categories: payment(transaction), security(equity), and utility(coupon). When investors buy into a TGE, they receive blockchain-based smart contract tokens that, in many ways, appear to function the way shares of stock traditionally function.

Tokens can be traded on digital exchanges similar to traditional trading platforms but each transaction is recorded using blockchain technology so that each ownership stake and transaction are immutable, secure and communally validated. Lannister Development is excited to develop the software that The Equity Token Project will be based on, providing startups and companies with access to pre-built blockchain tools, smart contract templates and customizable technologies on a simple, beautiful and easy to use platform.

We believe that there are scaled opportunities to be realized by being first to market with the technical pieces of offering company equity via blockchain tokens. It has been the experience of both companies involved in this agreement that many investors largely view these tokens much like stocks or equity investments. It appears that no matter what the tokens purpose is, most investors hope the tokens will increase in value over time and later be sold at a profit. The Equity Token Project seeks to provide companies with the technological tools for offering equity via tokenization.

About Media Shower, Inc.

Media Shower is a blockchain media company and consulting firm that helps blockchain technology companies succeed. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, they position blockchain projects across the globe for growth through investment, and educate investors on blockchain technology through the independent voice of BitcoinMarketJournal.com .

About Lannister Holdings, Inc.

Lannister Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NBDR), a publicly traded software development and products company, provides cloud solutions and blockchain products to the financial services industry along with Web 3.0 architecture, consulting and development services to startups and enterprise organizations through its tradename Lannister Development. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, its mission is to further the real-world deployment of Web 3.0 technologies to achieve transparency and security for organizational systems and operations worldwide.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release details forward-looking content projected based on present conditions. The reader is forewarned to not place expectation on speculative language. Except as required by law, the Company renounces any intention and accepts no obligation to update forward-looking statements, be it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Furthermore, the Company assumes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

No Borders, Inc.

Lannister Holdings, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of No Borders, Inc.

www.LannisterHoldings.com



www.LannisterDevelopment.com



Morissa Schwartz, CCO
Fernandina Beach, FL, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Photographs

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Fernandina Beach, FL  Sep 6th, 2018  Sea Shepherd has received a generous vessel donation from philanthropist Benoit Vulliet which will enable the marine conservation group to be more effective in their fight to save the most endangered marine mammal in the world, Mexicos critically endangered vaquita porpoise.

The newest anti-poaching vessel in Neptunes Navy, as the organizations fleet is known, is former U.S. Coast Guard Buoy Tender White Holly. The organization also operates three former U.S. Coast Guard Island Class Cutters currently engaged in marine conservation and anti-poaching operations.

White Holly was built at Basalt Ship Building in 1944 and served in World War II in Pearl Harbor delivering ammunition to naval vessels. She was acquired by the Coast Guard in 1946 and served until the seventies protecting the Alaskan coastline. The vessel was later transferred to Mississippi as a Buoy Tender to restore aids to navigation damaged by hurricanes until her retirement from the Coast Guard in 1998.

Benoit Vulliet acquired the White Holly for oceanographic research. Due to a busy schedule and living in Europe, Mr. Vulliet found it difficult to continue managing the vessel, deciding to donate her to Sea Shepherd for a continued life of service, this time to protect marine wildlife and habitat.

I know that this boat will do a good job with Sea Shepherd, said Mr. Vulliet. I am very happy to be now a part of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The vessels first new mission as part of the Sea Shepherd fleet will be joining Operation Milagro V in Mexicos Sea of Cortez. The campaign aims to save the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. Vaquitas are endangered because of gillnet poaching, mostly meant to catch the totoaba fish. Like the vaquita, the totoaba is endemic to the Sea of Cortez and critically endangered. The fish are being heavily targeted for their swim bladders, which are illegally sold for exorbitant amounts of money in Asian black markets. It is said that a totoaba bladder can fetch up to $20,000 USD in China.

Coast Guard Buoy tenders have low freeboard and large working decks, just what our dedicated volunteers crew members need to pull illegal nets efficiently from the sea. The ship is also very fuel efficient, which means we will be able to stay at sea for longer periods while ridding the vaquita refuge of illegal gillnets, said Sea Shepherds founder and CEO Captain Paul Watson. Acoustic monitoring estimates from 2015 showed that less than 30 vaquita were still alive. This data triggered varied reactions from the scientific and conservation community including the notion that trying to save the vaquita porpoise is a lost cause.

Its always been my opinion, that the only causes really worth fighting for are lost causes, said Watson. Its incredible how many times Sea Shepherd has pulled through, and lost causes have turned into victories. As a matter of fact, we believe the vaquita would not still be here if Sea Shepherd had not had the initiative to start removing nets from the vaquita habitat, working with Mexican authorities. He concluded, Sea Shepherds effort of removing gillnets from the vaquita habitat, so far has been the only proven effective method to save the porpoise.

Sea Shepherds M/V White Holly will undertake major refit work in Fernandina Beach, Florida. The crew received a warm visit from Mayor Johnny Miller to welcome the ship to the community, which has been very supportive of Sea Shepherds work and mission. The vessel is scheduled to depart in December for Mexico by way of the Panama Canal.

# # #

Notes to Media:

MEDIA LINKS

Photographs

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Video and Photographs Credit: Franco Garuti /Sea Shepherd

By using any of these images you agree to credit Sea Shepherd in a legible manner.

If broadcasting you agree to credit Sea Shepherd on footage.

ABOUT SEA SHEPHERD CONSERVATION SOCIETY: Established in 1977, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Our mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the worlds oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Visit www.seashepherd.org for more information.

Contacts: Carolina Castro carolina@seashepherd.org 1-407-335-8656

Rebecca Benjamin-Carey jpdmanager@seashepherd.org +1-786-956-0594

Attachments
The United Voice trade union used a walkout by some childcare staff yesterday to promote the lie that the election of a federal Labor government will resolve the issues confronting low-paid workers.

The afternoon stoppage was the fourth in 12 months, involving up to 7,000 childcare workers across the country. The partial strikes are part of United Voices Big Steps campaign, which is trying to channel the widespread anger of workers over poverty-level wages behind impotent appeals to the current Liberal-National Coalition government and support for the big business Labor Party.

Childcare employees, even with tertiary education qualifications, are paid as little as $22 an hour. Amid soaring demand for childcare, they face increasingly onerous conditions, including looking after ever-greater numbers of children. The union campaign has included demands for pay parity with other professionals, such as school teachers.

Media reports indicate that around 30 childcare centres in Sydney were affected by the strike, with similar numbers in other capital cities. The limited participation underscored the reality that the United Voice campaign is not aimed at mobilising workers in an industrial and political fight, but at providing Labor with a platform to posture as an alternative to the Coalition government.

A section of the protest

Around 300 people attended the Sydney stop-work protest, many of them union officials and Labor Party members. In effect, it was a Labor Party election rally. Introducing deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek, a United Voice spokesperson declared: Unlike the Liberal government, the Labor Party is actually listening. So who are you going to vote for? Your votes are what matters. Your votes set the course for the country.

In line with the union campaign, Plibersek depicted the low childcare wages as primarily a result of gender discrimination, because most of the workers are female.

This argument serves to divide male and female workers and direct childcare workers into appeals for wage parity. The truth is wages for all workers are stagnant or declining as a result of decades of regressive enterprise agreements, enforced by Labor and the unions, which have slashed pay and conditions.

Tanya Plibersek

Plibersek claimed that the Coalition government doesnt understand the impact of low wages on workers, while she was on the side of childcare staff. In reality, Plibersek was a central figure in the 20072013 Labor governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, which imposed sweeping cuts to healthcare, education and welfare.

As health minister in 2012, Plibersek personally oversaw a $400 million cut to federal hospital funding, leading to the destruction of over 700 jobs and the closure of 400 hospital beds in Victoria alone.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president Michele ONeil delivered a speech based on the unions bogus Change the rules campaign to channel discontent behind Labor. This government doesnt value you, she declared. Theyre concerned about looking after the big banks, the big businesses. Wages are going backwards. Thats why were fighting to change the rules.

The truth is that the previous Labor government, with the unions full support, introduced the Fair Work industrial relations laws, which the unions now claim to oppose. The legislation bans virtually all industrial action.

ONeil personifies the two-faced union posturing. Her election as ACTU president this year was welcomed by the Australian Industry Group, which noted employers had dealt constructively with Ms ONeil for many years through her work at the textiles union. ONeil collaborated with major transnational corporations in the destruction of thousands of clothing workers jobs.

The rally concluded with union bureaucrats placing postcards addressed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on the steps of Sydneys federal parliamentary offices. This pathetic gesture shows that the unions stance largely stems from the government rebuffing its overtures for backroom discussions.

The conditions facing childcare workers are the product of a privatisation agenda, enforced by successive Labor and Coalition governments, which the unions have done nothing to oppose.

In 1991, the Keating Labor government expanded federal childcare funding to the corporate sector, abolishing its earlier limit on not-for-profit operators. This was part of a broader agenda that saw the Labor government sell off public assets, while overseeing the destruction of thousands of jobs across manufacturing and industry.

In 1994, Labor introduced the Child Care Cash Rebate, providing parents with a rebate for childcare expenses, giving them a financial incentive to turn to profiteering operators.

Keatings program, deepened by subsequent governments, transformed the sector. In 1990, 85 percent of childcare was delivered on a non-profit basis. By 2005, private companies controlled 70 percent. Today, corporate entities dominate the industry, charging exorbitant fees and paying minimum wages.

In 2013, the Gillard government launched the Early Years Quality Fund. Hailed by United Voices predecessor union, it mandated wage rises covering just 30 percent of childcare workers. They mostly received pay increases of just $3 an hour, and some $6 an hour. The Coalition government reversed these limited rises in 2014.

Childcare workers can advance their interests only through a struggle against Labor and the unions. A new Labor government, like its predecessors, would impose the dictates of the corporate and financial elite for deeper cuts to social spending and a stepped-up offensive against the wages and conditions of the working class.

WSWS reporters spoke to workers at the Sydney protest.

Lillian, who has worked in the aged-care sector for 25 years, said: Im here to support early childhood workers, because they deserve equal pay. In aged care, like childcare, federal funding is increasingly going to the private operators, so there are many similarities between the two industries.

We need to be a very multi-skilled workforce. Its a big skill set and its not being recognised. Its not fair. Its hard for us to pay our bills. Im on a low single income, so I need as many hours as I can get just to afford the cost of living. Sometimes you get a lot of work, sometimes you dont get many hours at all, which really impacts on take home income.

Cassandra

Cassandra, a childcare worker, said: Ive come here today to fight for fairer pay for our whole profession. In the 11 years I have worked in the sector, Ive only made it to the $25 an hour mark. I plan this to be my life-long career and at the moment, it is not financially viable for me to stay in the profession.

The cost of living is rapidly rising. Im a renter and it has not got any easier. Ive had to move somewhere cheaper so I can keep working and studying.

Accessing childcare has become a real problem for working class families. The government hasnt capped fees, so private centres keep raising the costs. Its making it harder and harder for parents to get their children care and education.

Gillard didnt do anything until the very end of her prime ministership. She put in some provisions. It wasnt industry wide and it was only for a small amount of childcare workers. As soon as the Liberal government got in again, they took it away.

Neither party has been representing well for the early childhood sector. Labor has been making bigger commitments but we havent got much to show for it. Political promises leading to elections often dont pan out.
Wednesdays testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was a milestone in the transformation of the social media companies into an advanced system of censorship and propaganda.

If one were to judge by Sandbergs public statements before the Senate, the worlds largest social network has dissolved itself into the American state intelligence apparatus, and vice versa.

When we find bad actors, we will block them, Sandberg threatened. When we find content that violates our policies, we will take it downWe are even more determined than our adversaries This is an arms race, and that means we need to be ever more vigilant.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr shakes hands with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg before the hearing

Facebooks goal, Sandberg implied, is to stop bad speech, and to promote good speech. But throughout two and a half hours of testimony, no one saw fit to ask one basic question: How does this drive to suppress bad actors relate to the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects not just good speech, but all speech?

This question was never asked, because what Sandberg, Dorsey, Democratic Party Senator Mark Warner and the assembled congressmen are doing is flagrantly unconstitutional.

Sandberg said that when content is marked as false, by Facebooks fact-checkers, we dramatically decrease the distribution on our site, we warn you if youre about to share it, we warn you if you have shared it, and importantly, we show related articles next to that so people can see alternative facts.

The fundamental view is that bad speech can often be countered by good speech, and if someone says something not true and they say it incorrectly, someone else has the opportunity to say, Actually, you are wrong. This is true, and thats what were working on through our systems.

Sandbergs use of the term alternative facts, no doubt inadvertent, is nonetheless significant. The phrase gained notoriety after a 2017 television interview with Trump administration aide Kellyanne Conway in which Meet the Press host Chuck Todd demanded to know why the White House would utter a provable falsehood. In response, Conway declared the White House was presenting alternative facts.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg

Todd memorably pushed back, Look, alternative facts are not facts. Theyre falsehoods.

Sandbergs alternative facts are also not facts. They are state propaganda. She is describing a machine that detects when its users make a statement that Facebook deems unacceptable and replaces bad speech with good speech and alternative facts.

America, Sandberg said, is the country we love. But this country is under threat from opponents who wish to undermine our democracy. Combating this threat requires the integration of the state and private corporations: everyoneincluding industry, governments and experts from civil society working to stop the spread of bad speech and ideas.

We have more than doubled the number of people working on safety and security and now have over 20,000, Sandberg boasted. We review reports in over 50 languages, 24 hours a day. Better machine learning technology and artificial intelligence have also enabled us to be much more proactive in identifying accounts to be targeted for removal.

She added, By using technology like machine learning, artificial intelligence and computer vision, we can proactively detect more bad actors and take action more quickly.

Sandberg also announced a new plan to make people who operate large pages provide their government-issued identification to Facebook. This will make it much harder for people to grow virally and spread divisive content that way.

Mark Warner

Central to this process is the fight against what she calls fake news. She continued, Stories that Facebooks independent fact-checkers rate as false are shown lower in the News Feed. If pages or domains repeatedly create or share misinformation, we significantly reduce their distribution and remove their advertising rights.

Facebook has become essentially a one-stop-shop for government surveillance. As part of official investigations, government officials sometimes request data about people who use Facebook, she said. We have an easily accessible online portal and processes in place to handle these government requests.

While Sandbergs statements were the crudest and most direct advocacy of US internet censorship to date, it was Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner who explained most directly the motivations for the drive to censor the internet.

Imagine the challenge and damage to the markets if forged communications from the Fed Chairman were leaked online, he said. Or consider the price of a Fortune 500 companys stock if a dishonest short-seller was able to spread false information about the companys CEO, or the effects of its products, rapidly online.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

In other words, the internet must be censored to avoid the dissemination of statements detrimental to the profit margins of major corporations. And most of all, it must be censored to keep workers from organizing any struggle to oppose these companies.

The tech executives visit to Capitol Hill was orchestrated from beginning to end to exclude any serious discussion of the implications of internet censorship and the targeting of left-wing, anti-war and socialist organizations. The morning Senate hearing was a display of jingoistic bipartisan unity, with Republican and Democratic lawmakers and social media executives pledging to do their utmost to combat the supposed menace presented by Russia, Iran and China.

A second hearing, held by the House Commerce Committee, was a factional free-for-all, with Republican lawmakers accusing Twitter of shadow-banning their accounts, and Democrats accusing Republicans of promoting fake news. The fascistic media personality Laura Loomer interrupted the House hearing to protest her ban from Twitter, which one of the committee members attempted to drown out with an auctioneers chant, until Loomer was ejected from the hall.

Alex Jones

The far-right conspiracy theorists Alex Jones and Charles Johnson wandered the hallways of the House and Senate office buildings in between the hearings, attempting to confront Sandberg, Dorsey and Democratic lawmakers, but mostly succeeding only in getting into arguments with passers-by. When one woman confronted Jones about his racist views outside the buildings, the Infowars founder accused her of racism against white people and began chanting, Brown KKK, go away!

The claims by right-wing Republicans that they are being censored by the technology giants, and the antics of Jones and his fascistic allies, are sideshows aimed at distracting attention from the fact that left-wing political opposition is the central target of the censorship by Facebook, Twitter and Google, amid the creation of the framework of a police state.

Wednesdays hearing is a warning: The censorship of the internet is not merely possible; it is happening. Workers and young people must begin mobilizing immediately, on the basis of a socialist perspective, to defend freedom of expression as part of the struggle against the capitalist system that is the root of war and dictatorship.
The August 24 ousting of Malcolm Turnbull was the fourth time in just eight years that an elected Australian prime minister has been removed, through an inner-party coup, from their government.

The most right-wing faction of the Liberal Party, led by Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton and former prime minister Tony Abbott, is determined to shift the governments agenda ever further into anti-immigrant demagogy, economic nationalist trade policies and unquestioned commitment to the US alliance, including Washingtons escalating confrontational measures against China.

The latest political upheaval in Australia broadly parallels the processes that have seen the rise of the pro-Trump alt-right in the US and neo-fascist movements across Europe.

The promotion of extreme right and authoritarian tendencies reflects not the strength, however, but the desperation of every political formation that defends capitalism and the outmoded division of an integrated global economy into competing nation-states.

As international relations and parliamentary forms of rule break down, the ruling elite is terrified of the growing left-wing sentiment among millions of workers and young people around the world. Whether under the Liberal-National Coalition or the Labor Party, the next government will escalate the assault on the working class, the drive toward authoritarian rule and the preparations for war. Australia is heading toward a period of immense economic shocks and the inevitable eruption of explosive class struggles.

This Socialist Equality Party meeting in Sydney will examine the key factors behind the coup against Turnbull and advance the socialist and international perspective that the working class must take up to defend its social and democratic rights, which are under sustained attacks.

The meeting on Sunday, September 30 will be livestreamed via the SEP Australia Facebook page.

Meeting details:

Sunday, September 30, 2:00 p.m.

Bankstown Library, Lansdowne Meeting Rooms 1 & 2

80 Rickard Road, Bankstown

(cnr of Rickard and Chapel Roads)

Tickets: $7/$5 concession

The meeting will be live-streamed in Melbourne:

North Melbourne Town Hall

66 Errol Street

North Melbourne

Tickets $3/$2

And in Brisbane:

Inala Community House

38 Sitella St, Inala

Tickets: $5/$3 concession

For the livestream, go to the SEP Australia Facebook page
The Working Group on Syria, Propaganda and Media (WGSPM) has issued a report into the alleged chemical attack in Douma this year and other alleged chlorine attacks in Syria since 2014.

The 8,300-word report drawn up by Paul McKeigue, Jake Mason, David Miller and Piers Robinson, is a devastating exposure of the propaganda claims made during the US-led, seven-year-long proxy war for regime change in Syria.

McKeigue is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics at the University of Edinburgh. Mason is a doctoral research student, with his Masters thesis examining the strategic communications role of the White Helmets in the Syrian Civil War. Miller is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social & Policy Sciences at the University of Bath. Professor Robinson is an academic at the University of Sheffield.

The WGSPM report was produced in the teeth of a sustained media witch-hunt. For questioning the official narratives promoted by the media and US and British governments in relation to the Skripal poisoning and the role of the White Helmets in Syria, WGSPM were smeared in the London Times as Apologists for Assad.

The report rejects claims that nerve agents were used at Douma in April and concludes that UK Prime Minister Theresa May misled the House of Commons in claiming Syrian and Russian obstruction of a chemical weapons investigation. WGSPM has investigated the use of unverified secondary sources for claims of earlier alleged chlorine attacks, demonstrating that these sources came from groups associated with one side in the conflict.

Claims of the use of chemical weaponry by President Bashar al-Assads government forces have repeatedly been made to justify and provoke US-NATO military interventions. Many of the claims have involved the White Helmets, set up in 2013 as a proxy of the UK and US governments to provide logistical support and propaganda for Western-backed rebels.

Videos have surfaced of White Helmets carrying weapons alongside the Al Nusra Front, the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda, and participating in atrocities against government forces. The White Helmets have provided film of themselves staging rescues in areas bombed by the government and Russian planes. They are also implicated in fabricating attacks to support the US campaign. Footage of the aftermath of an alleged April 7 gas attack in the city of Douma was broadcast worldwide. After the White Helmets filmed themselves shouting gas and hosing down children with water at a hospital, residents and doctors came forward to say there had been no attack.

This fabricated incident was the pretext for a missile launch one week later by US, British and French forces.

The Douma allegations

The Douma incident occupies half of the WGSPM report. The chemical attack allegation focused on the hospital incident and photographs of apartment buildings. In one four-storey building, images revealed 35 victims and a gas cylinder lying over a hole in the roof. There was also an image of an apartment with a hole in the roof and a gas cylinder lying on a bed.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had already discredited claims of the use of a nerve agent at Douma, as no traces were found in environmental samples or in blood taken from the supposed victims. These claims were made by US and French governments to justify further attacks. WGSPM described them as poorly informed.

French Ambassador Francois DeLattre told the UN Security Council that video and photographic evidence of a combined nerve agent and chlorine attack left no doubt as to the perpetrators. Only the Syrian government and its allies had this capability, he claimed. US officials briefed the press that biological samples had tested positive for chlorine and a nerve agent, probably sarin. Their press release referred only to symptoms, not to biological samples.

To justify renewed attacks on Syria, on April 16 May told parliament that Syrian authorities and Russian forces had prevented the OPCW team from visiting Douma. This was not true. The OPCW visit was delayed following a risk assessment conducted by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security. According to the WGSPM, May may also have misled the House in claiming that the US-led missile attack that followed was specifically targeted at three alleged chemical weapons sites, rather than at Syrian military infrastructure.

The WGSPM report notes that if there were concerns about chemical weaponry at the Barzeh research facility, an inspection could have been requested. The previous OPCW inspection, in November 2017, found no scheduled chemicals.

The WGSPM report cites various ramped-up propaganda claims. On April 11, former British army officer Hamish de Bretton-Gordon told the Financial Times, Theres no doubt this was a major chemical weapons attack, which he thought likely to be a mix of chlorine and sarin.

The OPCW found no traces of nerve agent in samples from the site and from the alleged casualties of the attack. The main breakdown product of sarin is stable and long-lasting, so testing delays would not explain its absence. Environmental samples were found to contain chlorinated organic molecules. No quantitative results were given, so it cannot be known whether these were of the concentration expected with a chlorine release.

The victims were found grouped together in the middle of the building, rather than by the window. In industrial accidents involving chlorine, victims have most often tried to escape outside, so this grouping appeared to indicate exposure to nerve agent rather than chlorine. However, given the absence of traces of nerve agent, the WGSPM suggests that the only remaining explanation is that the victims were killed by other means.

The WGSPM said it was impossible to reach conclusions whether a chemical attack had taken place, despite the presence of chlorinated organic compounds. The OPCW had reached no conclusion, saying it needed to continue its work before drawing final conclusions.

The presence of chlorine would not distinguish between a chemical attack and a staged incident. However, witnesses testified that the hospital scene was staged and the balcony where the gas cylinder was found, with its valve over a convenient hole, occupies about one-twentieth of the whole roof area of the buildingalso making a chemical attack less probable than a managed massacre. The balcony is the only part of the roof easily accessible from within the building. Chlorines efficacy as a weapon requires its release in industrial quantities rather than the single containers found at Douma.

Earlier alleged use of chlorine

The second part of the WGSPM report examines OPCW claims that chlorine was used in alleged attacks in Syria from 2014 to date. It highlights the dubious character of the evidence produced to support these claims and some of those providing it.

From 2013, the OPCW guidelines stated that inspectors could only conclude chemical agents were used if they had been able to access sites in person and process samples taken personally in certified laboratories. The WGSPM report concludes that from 2014 on, following an incident at Talmenes, the OPCW breached these guidelines by basing its assessments on secondary sources.

The WGPSM draws attention to the political character and provenance of the third-party witnesses who supplied the samples driving the OPCWs conclusions. These purported non-governmental organizations with access to opposition-held areas include:

A Chemical/Biological/Radiological/Nuclear (CBRN) Task Force set up by de Bretton-Gordon, whom Piers Robinson described to the World Socialist Web Site as never very far from the government line.

The Same Justice/Chemical Violations Documentation Center of Syria (CVDCS), which first appeared in 2015 with an office in Brussels, with the apparent capacity to take samples and move witnesses from Idlib to other interviewing countries, and whose operations WGSPM calls not transparent.

The White Helmets, who would be implicated if these incidents were staged, as images from alleged attacks after 2015 often show them present or filming the victims.

The evidence for some of the highest profile incidents is doubtful. On March 16, 2015, a family of six were killed in Sarmin allegedly by a chlorine barrel bomb. The WGSPM states the alleged munition is implausible, the alleged mode of delivery is improbable, and the images of the child victims in hospital are consistent with drug overdose rather than chlorine exposure as the cause of death.

The UN/OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism, referring to unspecified other sources, decided a Syrian air force helicopter had dropped a chemical weapon.

The membership and transparency of the OPCWs Fact Finding Mission (FFM) have changed over time. Originally intended to have a balanced membership, and subject to approval of the Syrian government, the FFM was later subdivided. One team has contact with the Syrian government, but Team Alpha works completely non-transparently with the opposition and has classified membership: no one knows where it goes or how it operates.

The groups are supposed to employ the same methods, but Team Alpha is clearly working mostly remotely, relying on the Internet and the fabrications provided by the Syrian opposition NGOs. WGSPM doubts that this team operates on the ground at all.

The FFM also uses open-source material as evidence, without explaining how this is retrieved or analysed. The material is collected by the OPCW Information Cell under Lt-Col. Leo Buzzerio, formerly of the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

The FFM concluded with a high degree of confidence that chlorine was used in a 21 April 2014 incident in Talmenes, without detailing how witnesses were identified, how their travel outside Syria was facilitated, or the source of images and documents. The FFM said they had received information from de Bretton-Gordons CBRN.

By comparing three FFM Interim Reports on the alleged chlorine barrel bomb attack in Talmenes, the WGSPM reconstructed the role of CBRN in providing evidence. The WGSPM points to inconsistencies in the video materials, including footage time-coded the day before the alleged incident. This was accepted, even though there was clear evidence of staging at the other alleged location.

De Bretton-Gordon told the press and parliament about his covert role in collecting samples relating to alleged chemical attacks. He dates this to when the press were discussing a covert operation with MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service at its head. As the WGSPM states, the OPCW relied on evidence gathered by a network set up by an agent of the intelligence service of a state committed to one side in the Syrian conflict.

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Murdochs Times witch-hunts academics for questioning UK governments Syria lies

[19 April 2018]
With the aim of muzzling opposition to Indias Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and its noxious Hindutva (Hindu supremacist) ideology, Maharashtra state police raided and conducted warrantless searches of the homes of seven left-wing activists on August 28 in six different cities across the country. The seven are all prominent advocates for the rights of Dalits (the former untouchables) and Adivasi (Indias tribal peoples).

The raids come amid mounting struggles against social inequality, cheap-labor jobs, and environmental devastation, and growing apprehension in government circles that the BJP could suffer a major reversal in the national elections slated for April/May 2019.

The police arrested 5 of the 7 targeted persons under the notorious Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2012 (UAPA), anti-terrorist legislation that in numerous ways trammels the due-process rights of the accused. On an order of Indias Supreme Court, the five are being held under house arrest pending a hearing on the legality of their arrests.

The raids and arrests have provoked a national outcry, which has been joined by the bourgeois opposition, including the Congress Party, and other pillars of the establishment. The former Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court R. M. Lodha has characterized the arrests as an attack on freedom of speech and as an act to undermine the fundamentals of constitutional democracy.

The police have labelled the five Urban Maoistsa term routinely used by officials to criminalize left-wing dissent and justify its violent repression. (For decades, the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and its predecessor organizations have mounted an insurgency in remote jungle areas of India.)

The authorities claim, falsely, that the five organized a Dalit-oriented conference, titled Elgaar Parishad (literally battle-cry conference), that was held in Pune, Maharashtras second largest city, on the last day of December, 2017. They charge the five activists used the conference to incite violence and were the main instigators of a riot that ensued the next day in Bhima Koregaon, a small village about 30 kilometers north-east of Pune.

In fact the riot was provoked by Hindu communalists.

The police also claim to have found a letter in the laptop of one of the arrested that purportedly laid out a plot to kill Prime Minister Modi. This claim has all the hallmarks of planted evidence. Indias police are notorious for fabricating evidence, including, as was conclusively proven, in the frame-up murder convictions of 13 Maruti Suzuki workers.

The arrested include: the US-born Sudha Bharadwaj, a lawyer and a trade-unionist; Gautam Navlakha, a leader of the Peoples Union for Democratic Rights who for decades has been a contributor to the Economic and Political Weekly; Vernon Gonsalves, a labor activist; the writer Arun Ferreira; and the 78-year old poet Varavara Rao. The last named has publicly proclaimed his sympathy with the Maoist peoples war, but there is no credible evidence linking him in any way to the insurgency.

All of them have long been subjected to surveillance and harassment by the police for their activism. Several were previously tortured and/or convicted on trumped-up charges leading to lengthy jail terms.

The police narrative against the five began to unravel almost as soon as it was propounded.

Two prominent Indian jurists, retired Supreme Court Justice P.B. Sawant and Retired Bombay High Court Justice B G Kolse-Patil, held a press conference the day after the arrests at which they denounced them as an attack on freedom of speech and identified themselves as the chief organisers of the Elgaar Parishad event.

Stressed Justice Kolse-Patil: We have openly been saying this from the beginning. We organised Elgaar Parishad with the simple motive of spreading the message of fighting communal forces.

Speaking to the Indian daily the Hindu, Justice Sawant stated: All those who have been arrested and linked to the Elgar Parishad held on December 31, 2017, have nothing to do with it. They were never a part of the Elgaar. They were also not organisers of the Parishad. Justice Kolse Patil and I were mainly instrumental in organising the conference. We had no physical or telephonic contact with any of those arrested.

The theme of the conference, as indicated by Kolse Patil, was the need to oppose the Hindu rightthe BJP and the RSS-led nexus of Hindu communalist organizationsand their drive to transform India into a Hindu nation. Modi and his government are systematically installing Hindutva ideologues at the head of Indias educational and cultural institutions and have encouraged the growth of Hindu communalist vigilante organizations, including by appointing the leader of one such organization, Mahant Yogi Adityanath, as chief minister of the countrys most populous state. Modi has conspicuously turned a blind eye to the spate of lynchings targeting Muslims and Dalits that Hindu communalists have perpetrated in the name of cow protection.

Irked by the anti-Hindutva theme of the Elgaar Parishad, two Hindu-extremist leaders, identified by the police as Manohar Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, rallied a mob of about 1,500 and exhorted them to violently disrupt the January 1, 2018 Dalit-gathering at Bhima Koregaon.

Bhide, it need be noted, has direct ties not just to the BJP, but to Modi himself. At a 2014 election rally, Modi used the honorific Guruji (teacher) when referring to Bhide and said he was an inspiration to him.

When attacked, the Dalits assembled at Bhima Koregaon fought back. In the ensuing melee two people were killed and several others injured.

There is a striking contrast between the polices treatment of the five left-wing activists and the Hindu extremist leaders Bhide and Ekbote. The former face trumped up terrorism charges and the threat of a fast-track trial and lengthy jail terms. Ekbote was released on bail after being briefly detained in March and faces far less severe criminal charges. Bhide has never been arrested.

Even the Pune police concede they are violent reactionaries, describing them as habitual-offenders creating communal discord, and that they were principally responsible for fomenting the violence at Bhima Koregaon.

The December 31/January 1 gathering celebrated the 200th anniversary of a battle at Bhima Koregaon where a small army of about 850 soldiers, comprised mostly of Dalit-Mohars serving the British East India Company, defeated a 28,000 strong army of the Brahmin Peshwa dynasty.

This victory, attributed to the bravery of the Dalit soldiers, by the brutal British colonial forces over an upper-caste king has been politically recast by middle-class activists, associated with the Ambedkarite movement, as a victory of Dalits against the indignities and oppression meted out to them by the upper castes. The anniversary of the battle at Bhima Koregaon has been transformed into a celebration of Dalit-pride and a means of promoting a caste-ist politics that is antithetical to class struggle and the fight for socialism; thus sowing enormous political confusion in the minds of Dalit workers and toilers, who along with poor Muslims, comprise a vastly disproportionate section of Indias most impoverished.

Last weeks arrests are the second time in three months that the police have used anti-terrorism legislation against pro-Dalit activists. On June 6, the police raided and arrested 5 other activists accusing them of similar crimes. Unlike those arrested on August 28 and now confined to house arrest, those arrested in June are still languishing in jail.

In its August 29 order, confining the five to house arrest and ordering a subsequent hearing on a motion to strike down their arrests, the Supreme Court expressed concern that the BJPs authoritarian measures could rebound against the ruling elite as a whole. Dissent, declared the court, is the safety valve of democracy. If you dont allow these safety valves, it will burst.

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[9 September 2017]
Directed by Debra Granik; co-written by Granik and Anne Rosellini, based on the book by Peter Rock

In sharp contrast to the banal products Hollywood offers audiences this time of year, Leave No Trace from director Debra Granik (Winters Bone, 2010) is a worthwhile and recommendable film. Its point of departure is not super-heroes or other tired fantasy franchises but reality, in particular the lives of perhaps the most marginalized people in American society today, the homeless.

In a park outside Portland, Oregon, Will (Ben Foster), an Iraq War veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), lives in a makeshift encampment in the woods with his 13-year-old daughter, Tom (Thomasin McKenzie). The films title is borrowed from the conservation principle that encourages campers to minimize the impact of their presence on nature.

Thomasin McKenzie and Ben Foster in Leave No Trace

Will and Tom grow their own vegetables, collect rainwater and pass the time reading books and playing chess. They have no interactions with other people and deliberately conceal themselves in a large public park.

Fortunately, Granik does not descend into prettifying or idealizing survivalism, or for that matter, poverty. While Will obviously cares for and looks after his daughter, and the pair live in picturesque surroundings, it is clear that this sort of lifestyle is not chosen willingly.

To procure food and supplies, Will and Tom go to the Veteran Affairs (VA) office in Portland for assistance. The only help they receive from the VA takes the form of painkillers, which Will then sells to other homeless veterans. In a homeless encampment in the city, with a tattered American flag in the background, one veteran says to Will something to the effect, These pills dont do anything anyway, but I can get rid of them for you if you want.

These scenes and others ring true, conveying a sense of the misery and desperation experienced by this section of the US population.

Thomasin McKenzie in Leave No Trace

Eventually, Tom and Wills home is accidentally come upon by a jogger who alerts the authorities. Father and daughter are arrested by police and placed in a shelter. Luckily, they are given shelter in a rural part of the state, on a tree farm, on condition that Will accepts the rules of the house and works packaging pine trees.

These sequences are especially effective. Will and Tom are now placed in a prefab home with all the essential amenities, a far cry from their previous rustic settings. He refuses to watch television, and one can feel his boredom and restlessness begin to set inalthough why Will feels alienated is never fully or concretely dramatized.

Tom, on the other hand, adapts to her new surroundings and begins socializing with kids her own age in the local 4H club, a farming organization for rural youth. Graniks camera work is slow and gentle, the dialogue is sparse and the action is generally subdued. All this is fine and welcome up to a point.

The rural community in which Tom and Will find themselves has a church with older members who twirl flags set to music as part of a choreographed dance routine. Is the director treating the scenes of these religious devotees with ironic detachment? This too is never clearly spelled out.

Will eventually informs Tom they have to leave, and the two hit the road, hitchhiking north. At a truck stop, Will asks drivers for a lift and meets a man who is willing to take them, but first asks to speak with Tom alone. If you are in any kind of trouble, now is the time to tell me, he says to her. She says no, and the three go on their way.

Leave No Trace

The same driver explains, almost in passing, that many people in the area have gotten themselves hooked on opiates and notes the devastation it has caused for so many families and communities. The scene provides a rare glimpse of life in America.

Without giving away too much, the remainder of the film sees Tom and Will try once more to return to civilization, with the daughter prepared to give such a life a chance while her father continues to struggle with social interaction.

It seems reasonable to ask: Why is Will running away from the world? Why do human beings in the second decade of the twenty-first century find themselves forced to survive in the woods with no food or shelter?

Graniks approach to these questions feels a little noncommittalthere are suggestions that something is deeply wrong with the lives of these characters. Homelessness, drug addiction, never-ending war, these would all make for good jumping-off points for critical discussion and dramatic art, but Granik prefers to pass over them enigmatically. As a result, despite its good intentions, Leave No Trace feels as though it is lagging behind the times.

In a letter posted by Landmark Theatres, Granik writes, As I worked on Leave No Trace the USA was going through enormous changes. Acrimony among communities that have been pitted against one another in order to advance the interests of our greediest corporations and individuals was steadily dismantling the last vestiges of national discourse about everything crucial to human existence. 

Debra Granik in 2010 (Photo credit: Vegafi)

Working on this film was a powerful antidote to the depressing politics of our time.  On most days making this film felt like hiding out with truly good people, with a little distance from the dark days of a new regime.

In the same letter, she explains further on: But right now, it seems that stories that rely on direct threats of violent bodily harm, annihilation, and high-stakes crimes are what get almost all the attention. Im curious about our appetite for stories that dont rely on violent actions but still have strong resonance.

Granik, like many in her artistic milieu, is no doubt sincerely opposed to Donald Trump and the political and artistic status quo. Unfortunately, at this point, opposition still tends to signify support for the equally reactionary Democratic Party. That the filthiness of both Trump and his opponents represents the extremely advanced decay of American capitalism is not something that many artists yet see, even the most sensitive. Hence the vagueness here of the conceptions at play: conformity versus nonconformity, sustainability versus ecological destruction, and so on.

The times call for precise and daring works that call things by their right name.

Having said all that, Leave No Trace is a genuinely healthy antidote to the current crop of commercial films that desensitize and insult our collective intelligence. A humane and compassionate film, Graniks work deserves a wide audience.

I wonder about this inequality and how its impacting on my countryWinters Bone director Debra Granik speaks to the WSWS

[5 October 2010]

An Ozark noir: Winters Bone

[29 June 2010]
Two hundred years ago, Karl Marx, the founder of scientific socialism and one of the greatest political thinkers in history, was born.

Marxs theoretical and political perspective has shaped the modern era like no other. It has guided social struggles involving millions of workers around the world, including the 1917 Russian Revolution, which demonstrated the possibility of the working class overthrowing capitalism and beginning the socialist reorganisation of world society.

Nick Beams

Amid the deepest breakdown of the capitalist system since the 1930s, classical Marxism is more relevant than ever. The concepts and categories Marx developed are the only means of understanding the economic turmoil, geopolitical conflicts and class struggles that characterise the world today.

The lecture will refute the various claims, promoted on university campuses for decades, that Marxism is outmoded, or merely another prism through which academics can carry out a critique of culture and society. It will make clear that Marxs theoretical breakthroughs were inextricably linked to his political work as a revolutionary determined to arm the emerging working class with a program that advanced its independent interests.

For young people, confronting a future of mass unemployment, poverty, authoritarianism and world war, Marxism remains the only basis upon which a fight can be taken up to build a mass movement of the working class capable of reorganising the world in the interests of human need, not the profit interests of a tiny corporate and financial elite.

The lecturer, Nick Beams, has played a leading role in the world Trotskyist movement for more than four decades. He is an international authority on Marxist political economy and a frequent contributor to the World Socialist Web Site.

Details:

University of New South Wales

Wednesday, October 3, 6pm

UNSW: Law Building 111 32

University of Melbourne

Thursday, October 4, 6:30pm

Kathleen Syme Library and Community Centre

Multipurpose Room 1, 251 Faraday Street, Carlton
On Wednesday afternoon, the New York Times took the unprecedented step of publishing an anonymous opinion piece by a senior official within the Trump administration titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.

In the op-ed, the unnamed official, who by definition is either a cabinet member or a leading aide to Trump, acknowledges a previously unknown level of palace intrigue aimed ultimately at removing Trump from office.

The author notes that many of the senior officials in [Trumps] own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. He or she admits that cabinet members have discussed plotting to remove Trump without initiating the congressional impeachment process.

Given the instability many witnessed, the op-ed reads, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction untilone way or anotherits over.

This last phraseone way or anotheris a green light for Trumps ouster from within the White House itself.

The machinations of high-level government officials, acting with the support of substantial sections of the corporate and military-intelligence apparatus, have nothing to do with the hostility that broad masses of working people harbor against the Trump administration for its wars and its attacks on social programs, immigrants and democratic rights.

The op-ed explicitly states the right-wing character of the ruling class resistance to Trump: To be clear, it explains, ours is not the popular resistance of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.

The senior official references Trumps corporate tax cuts, its policies of corporate deregulation, and its massive military expenditures as examples of the bright spots of the administration.

No reference is made in the op-ed to the administrations forced separation of thousands of immigrant parents from their children, of its support for the Saudi dictatorship and its criminal war in Yemen, or of Trumps appointment of far-right judges to staff the federal courts. Instead, it appeals for a more aggressive foreign policy aimed against Washingtons two chief global competitors, Russia and China, the latter through its North Korean ally.

Take foreign policy, the op-ed states. In public and in private, President Trump shows a preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un, and displays little genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations.

The opinion piece concludes by calling for all Americans to heed the words of the late Senator John McCain, whom the author calls a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue. The commentary adds, Mr. Trump may fear such honorable men, but we should revere them.

The op-ed is the latest in a coordinated series of events in recent days dating from John McCains death on August 25, which was followed by a week-long official mourning period featuring eulogies by war-mongers and corporate hacks from the Democratic and Republican parties.

Before the flags could be raised back to full-mast, the corporate media began publishing revelations from a forthcoming book by Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward detailing how leading Trump officials have been waging a civil war within the White House to control the conduct of the administration.

Among the revelations included in Woodwards book are claims that Defense Secretary James Mattis referred to Trump as a 5th or 6th grader on questions of foreign policy, and that Chief of Staff John Kelly referred to Trump as an idiot. Woodward writes that the former director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, would remove documents from Trumps desk to prevent him from enacting trade restrictions against Mexico, Canada and South Korea.

I stole it off his desk, Cohn apparently told a White House staffer. I wouldnt let him see it. Hes never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.

Trump reportedly also called Attorney General Jeff Sessions mentally retarded and a dumb southerner.

Though these revelations are striking for what they reveal about the depth of the crisis within the ruling elite, this choreographed campaign by powerful sections of the ruling class has a definite, three-fold purpose.

First, it is an effort to strengthen anti-Trump tendencies within his own cabinet and facilitate what powerful sections of the ruling class view as the best outcome of the current crisis: neutralizing Trumps impulsiveness without allowing the divisions to spill into the streets, as former CIA Director John Brennan worried on a recent episode of HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher .

Second, the campaign is a signal to those sections of the corporate elite and the military-intelligence agencies still backing Trump to reassure them that any move against him will produce an even further shift to the right in terms of military spending and corporate tax cuts and deregulation.

Third, it is an attempt to lay the foundation in popular consciousness for an intensified move to either oust Trump from office or force him to cave to their political demands with nauseating references to national unity, patriotism, and putting country first.

Trump responded to the Times op-ed with a one-word tweet: TREASON?

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred to the op-ed author as pathetic, reckless, and selfish, and encouraged that person to resign.

Trump told a gathering of sheriffs yesterday that the op-ed in the failing New York Times is a disgrace and was authored by some anonymous source within the administration, probably who is failing, and probably here for all the wrong reasons.

The Times role in the campaign exposes the newspaper, which is closely allied with the Democratic Party, as nothing more than a megaphone for reactionary forces within the state that support Trumps right-wing social policies but demand a less isolationist geopolitical strategy.

The Times former executive editor, Howell Raines, appeared on MSNBC last night to praise the paper for taking the unprecedented step of publishing an anonymous op-ed. The US is living through a time of crisis, Raines explained, which requires that the paper take new approaches to intervening in the political process.

The working class stands to gain nothing by supporting either right-wing faction of the ruling elite. As the fight within the ruling elite intensifies, opposition is growing among masses of workersincluding teachers in Washington state, UPS workers, steelworkers, autoworkers and Amazon workersto decades of bipartisan attacks on wages, working conditions, benefits and the social rights of the working class as a whole. It is to this emerging force that workers and youth must look for a genuine socialist opposition to Trump and his deep state critics.
On Tuesday, the Teamsters union announced that a vote on the contract covering a quarter million United Parcel Service (UPS) package delivery and warehouse employees in the United States will be counted on October 5, more than two months after the expiration of the current agreement. Ballots are being sent individually to all workers by mail over the next two weeks, and workers will be able to vote electronically at any time before the count.

Since July 10, when the union released its sellout agreement backed by UPS management, it has been engaged in a campaign to wear down rank-and-file opposition to the deal. It has continuously delayed a vote, kept workers completely in the dark and dispatched its officials to local meetings across the country to browbeat workers into voting yes.

Typical were the statements of western packaging division director Andy Marshall, who told a room of 100 workers in San Diego Local 542 on August 12 that the contract was the best they could get, and that while workers may want more, when I was a kid, I wanted a pony. Marshall threatened that workers and their families would lose health coverage if they went on strike, and that the next offer would be worse if they vote no.

Speaking at an August 25 conference call for Teamsters members at which no questions were allowed, chief negotiator Denis Taylor told workers they should stop complaining about the creation of a new lower-paid driving tier in the contract, because there are already many other tiers created in previous sellouts by the Teamsters. It is no different than what we have always done, he declared.

The unions actions reflect the character of the agreement itself, which workers know is the latest in a long string of sellouts. For the highly exploited part-time warehouse workers, who make up some 70 percent of the employees covered under the deal and start out on as little as $10 per hour, the deal maintains poverty-level wages. The Teamsters union is hailing as a victory the raising of wages to $15 by 2022half of what workers earned on the same job four decades ago.

The agreement also creates a hybrid category of workers that can be shifted between the warehouses and delivering packages but are paid up to $6 per hour less than current drivers. This will be used not only to destroy higher-paying driving roles, but to serve as a bridge for extending the working conditions of the warehouses into deliveries.

The union has made no attempt to explain why it is that a victory for workers is being celebrated by UPS shareholders, who have pushed up Wall Street stock prices by more than 11 percent since July 10 in anticipation of increased profits arising from the intensified exploitation of the workers.

The Teamsters is saying nothing about UPS managements plans for a vast cost-cutting and restructuring operation. On September 13, UPS management will hold a public call-in with investors to provide details about the transformation plan first announced late last year, involving enhancing capacity and efficiency through the use of state-of-the art processes, information technology and automation.

Many UPS workers are asking themselves how they can oppose this assault, given that the union is openly siding with the company. As Mike, a driver of 25 years in New York, told the WSWS, Were supposed to have one enemy, and one guy fighting on our side, but there are two groups against us.

The WSWS UPS Workers Newsletter calls for a no vote to reject this rotten sellout. But this alone is insufficient to stop the conspiracy of the Teamsters and UPS management. Contrary to the claims of the Teamsters for a Democratic Union and Teamsters United, which are a faction of the Teamsters apparatus that is calling for a no vote, the Teamsters will not respond to a rejection of the contract by seeking a better deal for workers.

The Teamsters is not unaware that workers want higher wages, better conditions and the abolition of tiers. The issue, however, is that the Teamsters represents not the workers, but UPS management and the wealthy upper-middle class executives who control the union. It would respond to a no vote with a redoubled effort to push through its concessions, either through ballot fraud or by forcing workers to vote again until they get it right.

To oppose this conspiracy, workers require organizations that are independent from both the Teamsters and the company, organizations controlled by the rank and file. For this purpose, the WSWS UPS Workers Newsletter urges UPS workers to elect rank-and-file workplace committees in the hubs and warehouses to conduct a struggle.

These committees would demand and organize rank-and-file oversight over the contract voting process, to ensure the integrity of the vote. They would enforce the demand by workers for oversight and the livestreaming of all negotiations. They would provide a means for workers to respond collectively to workplace harassment by the company, as opposed to the Teamsters use of the grievance procedure to isolate and suppress workers opposition. And they would draw up workers own demands as the basis for a nationwide strike. These should include:

An immediate 30 percent wage increase

Abolition of all tiers. Equal pay for all workers performing the same work.

Allowing all part-time workers to shift to full-time, with a corresponding raise in pay and benefits.

A reduction in the full-time work week for from 40 to 30 hours, with no loss in pay.

Workers control over production and the setting of safe line speeds and delivery quotas.

The union, the company, both political parties and the media all declare that there is no money for such demands. But this is a lie. UPS itself reported more than $7 billion in pre-tax profits last year alone, which, added to the almost $3 billion in dividend payouts to shareholders, is enough to provide every UPS worker around the world with an immediate $23,000 raise.

A successful struggle requires turning out to other sections of workers who confront the same exploitative conditions and have the same interests. There is immense support for such a fight in the working class. Following the wildcat walkouts earlier this year, teachers across the US are returning to school and launching strikes, including in Washington and California. More than 18,000 US Steel workers have been forced by the United Steelworkers union to work without a contract for a week, while the company demands the creation of a new tier of workers making 20 percent less.

Rank-and-file workplace committees should send delegations to workers at Amazon, USPS, steelworkers, autoworkers, teachers and other sections of the working class to explain the significance of the fight at UPS and organize a united struggle. The logic of such a strategy is a general strike.

We urge workers who want more information and assistance with establishing rank-and-file workplace committees to contact us.
Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release publication, distribution or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States.



TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CDN MSOLAR Corp. (CDNM) announces that it has entered into a binding letter agreement (the Letter Agreement) with Blueberries Cannabis Corp., a privately held issuer existing under the laws of the Province of Ontario (Blueberries), which outlines the general terms and conditions pursuant to which CDNM and Blueberries have agreed to complete a transaction (the Transaction) that will result in a reverse take-over of CDNM by the current shareholders of Blueberries. The Letter Agreement was negotiated at arms length and is effective as of September 5, 2018.

Blueberries SAS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blueberries, is seeking to become a large scale producer of naturally grown premium quality cannabis with its primary operations well situated in the Bogota savanna in central Colombia. Lead by a team with deeply specialized and proprietary expertise in agriculture, genetics, extraction, medicine, pharmacology and marketing, Blueberries SAS has received all the licenses required for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and international export of cannabidiol (CBD) based medical cannabis. The License for domestic distribution and export has also been issued by the Health Department, which was the last formal requirement by the Justice Department for the issuance of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) permit which is in process. Blueberries SAS combination of leading scientific expertise, agricultural advantages, and distribution arrangements has positioned the company to become a leading international supplier of naturally grown, processed, and standardized medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products.

With deep local experience, relationships and access to excellent infrastructure, Blueberries SAS is also well positioned to continue the expansion of its operations and commence cultivation of medicinal grade cannabis on its three hectares of approved lands located in the Bogota savanna, with the availability of 30 additional hectares for continued scalability.

Terms of the Transaction and Financing Matters

It is currently anticipated that the proposed Transaction will be effected by way of a three-cornered amalgamation or other similar form of transaction as is acceptable to the parties. There are currently outstanding an aggregate of 7,392,759 common shares in the capital of CDNM (each, a CDNM Common Share) and 100 common shares in the capital of Blueberries (each, a Blueberries Share); however, Blueberries has commitments to issue, prior to the completion of the Offering (as defined herein), an aggregate of 63,000,000 Blueberries Shares in conjunction with its organization and the acquisition of Blueberries SAS.

Pursuant to the proposed Transaction, the holders of the issued and outstanding Blueberries Shares shall receive one CDNM Common Share for each Blueberries Common Share held. As at the date hereof, no CDNM Shares or Blueberries Shares are reserved for issuance under any outstanding convertible securities of either party.

On or immediately prior to the completion of the proposed Transaction, it is anticipated that: (i) CDNM will affect the Name Change (as defined herein); and (ii) the board of directors of CDNM shall be reconstituted to consist of nominees of Blueberries and all existing officers of CDNM shall resign and be replaced by nominees of Blueberries, all as further described below.

Prior to the completion of the Transaction, it is anticipated that Blueberries will complete a non-brokered private placement of approximately 30,000,000 subscription receipts (the Subscription Receipts) at a price of C$0.25 per Subscription Receipt for gross proceeds of approximately C$7,500,000 (the Offering). Each Subscription Receipt shall entitle the holder to receive, upon satisfaction of certain escrow release conditions, and without payment of additional consideration, one unit in the capital of Blueberries (a Unit). Each Unit shall consist of one Blueberries Share and one-half of one Blueberries Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant), which Units shall be exchanged, without further consideration, for one Unit in the capital of the Resulting Issuer (as defined herein), upon the completion of the proposed Transaction. Following the exchange for Units of the Resulting Issuer, each Warrant of the Resulting Issuer (a Resulting Issuer Warrant) shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one common share of the Resulting Issuer (a Resulting Issuer Share) at a price of C$0.40 per Resulting Issuer Share for a period of 24 months.

The net proceeds from the Offering will be used to expand the business of Blueberries, for working capital and for general corporate purposes. Further details regarding the Offering will be included in a subsequent news release once additional details become available.

Upon completion of the Transaction, and assuming the maximum gross proceeds in the Offering are raised, there will be 100,392,759 common shares of the combined entity (the Resulting Issuer) issued and outstanding, of which it is expected that the current shareholders of CDNM will hold approximately 7.4%, purchasers in the Offering will hold approximately 29.8%, and the former shareholders of Blueberries will hold approximately 62.8%.

The obligations of CDNM and Blueberries pursuant to the Letter Agreement shall terminate in certain specified circumstances, including in the event that the proposed Transaction is not completed by February 5, 2019. The proposed Transaction is subject to requisite regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions, including the approval of the directors of each of CDNM and Blueberries of a definitive agreement in respect of the Transaction (the Definitive Agreement), as well as the conditions described below. Upon completion of the Transaction, it is the intention of the parties that the Resulting Issuer will continue to focus on the current business and affairs of Blueberries SAS.

Insiders, Officers and Board of Directors of the Resulting Issuer

It is expected that upon completion of the Transaction, the Resulting Issuer will have the following officers:

Christian Toro, the current Chief Executive Officer of Blueberries SAS, will serve as Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Resulting Issuer.





Chris Reid, the current interim Chief Financial Officer of Blueberries SAS, will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer of the Resulting Issuer.





Camilo Villalba, the current Chief Operating Officer of Blueberries SAS, will serve as Chief Operating Officer of the Resulting Issuer.





Pablo Santos, the current Chief Marketing Officer of Blueberries SAS, will serve as Chief Marketing Officer of the Resulting Issuer.

Set forth below is a description of the backgrounds of all persons who are currently expected to serve as directors and officers of the Resulting Issuer.

Christian Toro, Chief Executive Officer and a Director

Mr. Toro began his professional career at Publicidad Toro in 1978, a leading Colombian marketing and advertising firm, and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 1982. Mr. Toro is also the founder of Manning Selvage & Lee (a public relations firm) and Arena (a media buying company).

Chris Reid, Interim Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Reid has served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Petrodorado, a petroleum company with operations in Colombia, since January 2016 and as the Chairman since May 2016. Mr. Reid also served as the Interim Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Interim President of Petrodorado from February 2012 to January 2016, where he was involved in the turnaround of the company through a divestiture program. Additionally, Mr. Reid has been a director of Potash Ridge Corporation since June 1, 2016. Mr. Reid is a Chartered Professional Accountant whose career includes 12 years of experience in industry and international business. Mr. Reid is currently a director of First Cobalt Corp., Potash Ridge Corp., Integrated Energy Storage Corp. and Petrodorado. Mr. Reid is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta. Mr. Reid holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Saint Francis Xavier University.

Camilo Villalba, Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Villalba, a bilingual finance and foreign trade professional, was a founding partner in 2016 of Optim Holdings, a consulting firm focused on natural resources to assist companies in the development of investment projects along the value chain in oil and gas and mining industries. Mr. Villalba has considerable experience in oil and gas project evaluations, financial planning, budgeting and reporting, in addition to project structuring, promotion and execution of mineral exploration and oil trading operations. Mr. Villalba holds a Bachelor degree in Finance and International Trade from Universidad Sergio Arboleda in Bogota, Colombia (2008), a Master in Business Administration from the London School or Business and Finance (2011), and a specialization in the oil and gas industry from Saint Vincent College (2014).

Pablo Santos, Chief Marketing Officer

Mr. Santos, has extensive sales experience in IT solutions in Colombia and Latin America. Since 2016, Mr. Santos has served as the Director of Business Development at NECSYS S.A.S, a Colombian telecommunications company focused on corporate IP telephony networks and unified communications for both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining NECSYS, Mr. Santos worked as Channel Manager for Huawei and Sales Engineer (Latin America) for NEC Corporation of America. Mr. Santos holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia (1996) and a Masters in Business Administration (Marketing and Finance) from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University (2002).

Andres Vidal, Independent Director

Mr. Vidal has developed several programs related to continuing medical education and the development of technical argumentation, has conducted sales force training, and collaborated in the development of visual aids for medical visits, and key opinion leader (KOL) development plans.

Fabio Capponi, Independent Director

Mr. Capponi has over 14 years of experience and a successful track-record in creating, structuring and selling natural resources companies worth over $5 billion working in Europe and both North and Latin America. Mr. Capponi is the founder of Western Atlas Resources, and was Co-Founder of CB Gold Inc. where he also served as President and CEO from 2009 to 2015 (CB Gold was acquired by Red Eagle Mining in December 2015). Prior to that Mr. Capponi was with Endeavour Financial and has held director and management positions with private companies. Mr. Capponi holds a masters degree in economics and business administration from the LUISS Guido Carli University of Rome, Italy.

Francisco Sole, Independent Director

Mr. Sole is currently a member of the board of directors of Mapfre Seguros Generales de Colombia and has served in various capacities with Grupo Planeta, a Colombian publishing and media company, since 1989 and is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Planeta in Colombia and the Hispano-Colombian Chamber of Commerce. He is an advisor to the General Directorate of Indra and General Director of Empresas; Inversiones Rasma, S.A.S. Begar Andina, S.A.S., Seralia Andina, S.A.S. and Andina Media de Inversiones, S.A.S. Mr. Sole has also been general Director for America of Grupo Planeta, Corporate President for the Andean Area of Grupo Planeta, Vice President of El Tiempo Publishing House and Member of the Board of Directors for CEET TV, El Tiempo Publishing House and Canal 3 Television in Colombia. From 1985-1989, he was General Director and Director of Administration at the oil refining company Lubricantes del Este de Espana (LUDESA) in Spain. He has also been Department Head, Accountant and Section Chief in the department of cost accounting at Novartis, a chemical and pharmaceutical company.

Andres Castaneda, Director and Advisor

Mr. Castaneda is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Blueberries SAS, and has experience in managing blueberry cultivation in the Bogota savanna, as one of the pioneers in the region. Mr. Castaneda formed a solid technical and administrative team that has made Blueberries SAS a success in blueberry cultivation and is expected to provide technical assistance and advice to the company as it transitions to cannabis cultivation. Mr. Castaneda is a Chartered Accountant specializing in international accounting with 12 years of experience leading the finance, logistics and marketing functions for various entities, and has experience in Canada and Bahamas where he has worked day-to-day in finance and accounting roles.

Paola Castaneda, Director and Advisor

Mrs. Castaneda is the Chief Financial Officer and co-founder of Blueberries SAS. Mrs. Castaneda has developed exceptional management and board skills, a strong knowledge of the international oil and gas sector, and financial reporting requirements. Mrs. Castanedas role at Blueberries SAS also includes developing and fostering strategic alliances with clients and suppliers and she will provide technical assistance and advice to the company as it transitions to cannabis cultivation and marketing. Mrs. Castaneda obtained her Bachelors Degree in Finance and a Masters of Banking and Finance from La Universidad de los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, with a focus on international trade and marketing.

Patricio Villalba, Independent Director

Mr. Villalba has over 20 years of years of experience in Latin America in the mining, exploration, logistics, and trading of hydrocarbons, notably in Colombia and Mexico and has developed an extensive network in governmental and private organizations at both the local and international levels. Mr. Villalba has active presence in up-mid and downstream projects with important achievements in the development of integral logistics, achieving economic efficiencies, delivery times and commercialization, specifically in Mexico.

Conditions to Transaction

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions of closing that are customary of a transaction of this nature, including, without limitation:

CDNM shall obtain receipt of requisite shareholder approvals in connection with the following matters: (i) a change of name to Blueberries Cannabis Corp. or such other name as may be requested by Blueberries and acceptable to applicable regulatory authorities (the Name Change); (ii) the election of the directors of the Resulting Issuer to replace the current directors of CDNM immediately following the completion of the proposed Transaction; and (iii) the approval of the Transaction, if required by regulatory authorities.

Completion of the Offering.





CDNM and Blueberries entering into the Definitive Agreement.





Receipt by Blueberries SAS of a cultivation license (THC) and processing and extraction license by the applicable Colombian regulatory authorities in form and substance satisfactory to CDNM and the required approval of any other third parties.





The common shares of the Resulting Issuer having been approved for listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE).

The Definitive Agreement, once completed, will be filed under CDNMs issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Inter-Company Relationships

Officers, directors and principal shareholders of CDNM may own Blueberries Shares and may subscribe for Subscription Receipts in the Offering.

About CDNM

CDNM was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) on March 15, 2013 and is a reporting issuer within the meaning of the Securities Act (Ontario), Securities Act (Alberta), and the Securities Act (British Colombia). The CDNM Shares are listed on the CSE under the ticker symbol CMS, however the CDNM Shares were suspended from trading on the CSE on August 8, 2017. The proposed Transaction is expected to result in a change of business of CDNM from a technology issuer to a life sciences issuer focused on the current business and affairs of Blueberries SAS.

Further Information

All information contained in this news release with respect to CDNM and Blueberries was supplied by the parties respectively for inclusion herein, and each party and its directors and officers have relied on the other party for any information concerning the other party.

For further information regarding the proposed Transaction, please contact:

Thurman So, Chief Financial Officer of CDNM

Tel: 604.999.8253

E-mail: thurman@shaw.ca

Camilo Villalba, Chief Operating Officer of Blueberries SAS

Tel: +57.313.483.0131

Email: camilo.villalba@optimholdings.co

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may or could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the terms and conditions of the proposed Transaction; the terms and conditions of the proposed Offering; receipt of all regulatory licenses required for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution and international export cannabis and cannabis related products; use of proceeds raised in the Offering, the proposed officers and directors of the Resulting Issuer; and the business and operations of the Resulting Issuer after the proposed Transaction. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release.

Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. CDNM and Blueberries assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

The securities to be offered in the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
Iraqi security forces fired tear gas and live ammunition Wednesday as demonstrators took to the streets for a third day in the southern city of Basra, activists said.

One person died and 21 others were wounded by forces using live rounds, health and security officials in Basra said.

Protests and demonstrations Conflicts and wars Continents and regions Iraq Iraq War Middle East Middle East and North Africa Unrest, conflicts and war

At least five people were killed Tuesday in clashes and 68 others injured, including 41 civilians and 27 military personnel, health ministry spokesman Dr. Saif Al-Badr told CNN. One protester died Monday in clashes with Iraqi authorities.

Anger has swelled in Basra, an oil-rich city that's 280 miles south of Baghdad, throughout the hot summer months over a lack of basic services and high unemployment. Other points of frustration among protesters are prolonged power cuts, contaminated water that has sent hundreds to the hospital and sanitation problems.

Protesters on Wednesday focused their dissatisfaction over poor government services on the Basra governorate building. Scores of people assembled there, a video posted to Facebook shows. After being sprayed with tear gas, demonstrators "threw Molotov cocktails at the building," activist Kadhtem Sahlani told CNN.

Security forces also fired live ammunition, Sahlani said.

Video from Tuesday's skirmishes shows protesters throwing tear gas canisters into a government compound and facing off with armored personnel vehicles. Other footage shows the governorate building aflame while heavy gunfire is heard in the background.

"Is this the way they (the government) reward the people of Basra? By attacking them with live ammunition?" protester Fadhil Qusay said, according to Reuters.

Political forces in Baghdad -- which continue to struggle to form a new government following the inconclusive parliamentary election more than four months ago -- have vowed to address Basra's problems. But so far, only promises have reached the city.

The assembled protesters had mostly dispersed by 11 p.m., after Basra officials imposed a citywide curfew, Reuters reported.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Tuesday at his weekly news conference that he had ordered an immediate probe into the first protester death before blaming the unrest on unknown troublemakers.

"I ordered a quick investigation to know what has happened, and who is behind it," Abadi told reporters, before adding, "There are parties that are pouring oil on fire, who are setting people against the security forces to jeopardize Basra security."

The Iraqi premier continued: "Our orders are clear in banning the firing of live ammunition directly on people and, frankly, I not have heard yet that the security forces had opened fire on people ... However, the security forces have to protect themselves."

Meanwhile, Shia firebrand cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr appears to have sided with protesters, saying they "only want to earn their living with dignity."

"We have to unite efforts to save Basra from corruption, sectarianism and militias," Al-Sadr continued. "Basra is our pride and dignity. It's Iraq's beating heart. Stop assaulting Basra and its people. Don't test our patience."
OKOLONA, Miss. (WTVA) - A man originally wanted in Wisconsin was arrested by the Okolona Police Department after they accused him of purse snatching.

Rodney Avant is who police believe snatched a woman's person at the Okolona Deli Mart on Friday.

According to Okolona Assistant Chief Jermandy Jackson, Avant was arrested on Monday in front of a town-home near the city.

While in custody, police then discovered Avant had a warrant in Wisconsin for uttering forgery.

The money that he stole out of it we didnt know the exact amount it was, but he told us how much he stole and then he told us where he ditched it, said Jackson.

Avant now sits behind bars where a bond has not been set.

According to Jackson, Avant will now face larceny charges out of Okolona.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Gubernatorial candidate and Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum has announced his pick for Lt. Governor.

Gillum has named former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris King as his pick for Lt. Governor. He and his wife made the announcement on Thursday.

Chris has brought new and dynamic leadership to this state, and his innovative policy ideas and business acumen will help us move Florida forward, Gillum said. Were going to build an economy that works for everyone, by training workers for good-paying jobs, expanding access to health care and ensuring every Floridian has a fair chance to succeed.

The Gillums and the Kings came together on a Facebook live video to share their vision for the campaign. Despite running against each other on Aug. 28, Chris King says the two managed to form a close relationship over the last 18 months.

Now, the Gillums and the Kings will join forces and campaign on the same values.

In a news release, Gillum described King as a "progressive entrepreneur."

Gillum said that King founded a company that provides affordable housing to seniors and working families in Florida and across the southeastern United States while paying living wages. Those wages, Gillum said, start at $15 an hour and cover employees healthcare costs and pay annual bonuses to every worker.

Additionally, Gillum wrote, Kings "Elevation Scholars" program sends low-income Florida students at Title I high schools to some of Americas top colleges and universities.
COLQUITT, Ga. (WALB) - One south Georgia hospital recently received over $2 million from various donations.

Colquitt Regional Medical Center's CEO, Jim Matney, says he's overwhelmed with the amount of community support they've received.

This is the first year the hospital was eligible to be a part of the Georgia Tax Credit Program, which provides financial support for hospitals in rural communities.

Matney says this will allow them to be more equipped to serve their patients by providing their surgeons with the newest technologies.

"Majority of the funds this year will be designated for the cancer center, and it's also to provide care to patients that can't afford it, too," said Matney.

The funding will also allow them to upgrade and replace equipment, and complete any needed renovations within the hospital like a new education and training center.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A lawsuit in Florida asks 32 counties to provide Spanish-language ballots and other materials to Puerto Ricans who can vote in the state.

The plaintiff's arguments focus on part of the Voting Rights Act aimed at people who were educated in schools where the pre-dominant language was not English.

Wednesday night WTXL spoke with FAMU Student John Horton, who says this is an initiative needed now more than ever so people who don't speak English can still have a political voice.

The first ballots for the November election are supposed to be mailed out by September 22.

The potential class-action lawsuit was filed in August by a coalition of groups.
BURLINGTON, Ontario, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evertz Technologies Limited (TSX: ET) will release its first quarter 2019 financial results on September 11, 2018 at approximately 4:00 p.m. (EDT).



The Company will hold a conference call with financial analysts to discuss the results on September 11, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. (EDT). Media and other interested parties are invited to join the conference call in listenonly mode. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 647-793-2625 or TollFree (North America) 1888-297-0356.

For those unable to listen to the live call, a rebroadcast will also be available until October 11, 2018. The rebroadcast can be accessed at 647436-0148 or TollFree 1888-203-1112.

The pass code for the conference call and rebroadcast is 3157015.

For further information please contact:

Anthony Gridley

Chief Financial Officer

(905) 3357580

ir@evertz.com
VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - On Thursday, the Valdosta City Commission will vote on a change to alcohol distribution laws.

Chris Jones and Jack Martin are planning to open the Georgia Beer Company in downtown Valdosta. They will be opening the citys first brewery.

Theyre a few months from opening and still have a lot of work to do.

Hopefully thats all going to come together in time for a late October, early November grand opening," said Jones. One of the challenges weve faced here in Valdosta is being the first brewery, there wasnt even a license category in the citys ordinances to cover us.

But the two have continued in the process.

They believe they have found the perfect location, near the corner of Hill Avenue and South Briggs Street.

From the minute we saw this building, we knew it was the one. It looked like it was built to be a brewery 100 years ago, said Jones.

For the past four months, the team has been focusing on renovating and preparing the building.

Now, the brewing equipment has arrived.

Were moving it from the warehouse, just up the street and placing it into position here in the brewery, said Jones.

And soon, the Georgia Brewing Company expects to open.

We look forward to providing the locals with something to drink theyve never had before, said Jones.

A move they believe is long overdue.

The average American lives within ten miles of the nearest brewery and thats in the country as a whole, not so much in South Georgia, said Jones.

Not only are they the first brewery in the area, but they will be the first microbrewery, which means they can both brew and sell alcohol.

Microbreweries in Georgia, not just South Georgia, are becoming more popular. Weve seen that across the nation as a trend, said City Spokesperson Ashlyn Becton.

And the city council is excited to bring this new trendy business to the area.

Theyre keeping that historic preservation in the downtown area. Theyre also going to drive a lot of people off of 75 so were going to get tourism, a lot of dollars poured into the downtown economy as well. So, this will be a really good thing for our community, said Becton.

The Georgia Beer Company looks forward to educating those who have never had the type of beer they will be brewing.

On Tuesday, the Georgia Beer Company also gave a presentation before the city council regarding the changes to that law.

Copyright 2018 WALB. All rights reserved.
(WTXL) - Faculty and staff at Florida's K-12 schools will receive training on how to recognize and assist students with emotional or mental health difficulties.

It's thanks to a new $2.2-million dollar grant awarded to USF St. Petersburg's College of Education.

The grant from the Florida Department of Education is part of a larger legislative initiative developed after the school shooting in south Florida earlier this year.

The university will create the statewide "Youth Mental Health Awareness" training program, which will launch this school year.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A major decision about Greek life across the country will impact several fraternities in our area.

The North American Interfraternity Conference or NIC, is banning hard alcohol at chapter facilities and events.

At least 25 fraternity chapters in North Florida and South Georgia belong to the NIC.

Anything more than 15 percent alcohol by volume won't be allowed, unless it's served by a licensed third-party vendor.

The NIC voted on this last week. The conference has 14 chapters at Florida State, 7 at Valdosta State, and 4 at FAMU.

The hard alcohol ban announcement comes 10 months after FSU fraternity pledge Andrew Coffey died of alcohol poisoning.

The 20-year-old drank a whole bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon, which falls into the hard alcohol category.

We spoke to the attorney representing the Coffey family. He said the ban is long overdue.

"If you knew the parents of Andrew Coffey like I do, you'd be heartbroken, and the families of these young people who died because of alcohol abuse at fraternities would do anything to have their sons back," said David Bianchi. "And, unfortunately, not enough has been done to stop it, but hopefully, this will be a step in the right direction."

The NIC says each member fraternity needs to "adopt and implement a policy" by September 1 of next year.

This impacts more than 6,100 chapters on 800 campuses.

The 14 FSU fraternities that belong to the NIC are:

Alpha Delta Phi

Alpha Tau Omega

Beta Theta Pi

Delta Chi

Delta Tau Delta

Kappa Alpha

Phi Gamma Delta

Phi Kappa Psi

Phi Kappa Tau

Pi Kappa Alpha

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Phi Epsilon

Sigma Pi

Theta Chi

Florida State tells us its fraternities already have this policy in place as part of the "new normal" the university introduced last spring.

In a statement released to WTXL, Vice President for Student Affairs Amy Hecht said, "I do appreciate the work of the NIC to encourage healthy behaviors, and I do think this is a step forward."

The seven VSU fraternities that belong to the NIC are:

Delta Chi

Kappa Alpha

Phi Sigma Kappa

Pi Kappa Phi

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Sigma Chi

Sigma Nu

Valdosta State sent us this statement:

"This resolution is a call to action for national organizations that belong to the NIC to comply by September 1, 2019. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will implement a policy in our risk management protocol, in addition to our current policies, that is in accordance with this resolution before September 2019. These policies apply to all organizations recognized by our office."

The four FAMU fraternities that belong to the NIC are:

Alpha Phi Alpha

Iota Phi Theta

Kappa Alpha Psi

Phi Beta Sigma

We've also reached out to FAMU and are waiting to hear back.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A man is behind bars in Tallahassee after trying to carjack three vehicles, including an unmarked police car, within a 30 minute time frame.

Gerrod Wagner, 20, was arrested by the Tallahassee Police Department on Wednesday.

On Wednesday at about 11:23 a.m. officers were called to Young and Adams Street in response to a Dodge Charger that was left in the middle of the street. Callers advised a man, later identified as Wagner, was seen jumping out of the Charger.

Officers soon found the car and began to search for Wagner in the area. About 20 minutes later, officers received a call about the same man trying to car jack a victim in the Osceloa and Wahnish Street area.

K-9s, a police helicopter, and other police units, including Florida A&M University police officers, were requested for help in finding Wagner.

Officers were eventually able to find and detain Wagner at Osceloa and Main Street.

According to the police report, he was already bleeding from his hands before officers found him and EMS was called due to him sweating a lot and being tased by officers. After Wagner was put into an ambulance, officers made contact with the victim.

While talking to officers, the victim said that while walking up to her front porch from the parking lot on Kissimmee Street, she saw Wagner run down the grass embankment on her property, wearing a bloody t-shirt.

The victim told officers that while she was holding her car and house keys on a lanyard in her hands, Wagner grabbed her car keys and tried to pull them away from her.

According to the police report, Wagner was able to break a house key off the main key ring, but continued to try and take the victim's lanyard in an attempt to get her car keys.

The victim's friends heard her yelling and came outside to see Wagner fighting with the victim.

One of the victim's friends asked Wagner why he took the victim's keys and he said, "I'm sorry. I'm just going through something. I just seen her as an opportunity."

At that point, police say Wagner dropped the keys and began to run, while the victim and her friends chased after him while calling police. During the chase, Wagner tried stealing keys from a second victim before being chased away by the first victim and her friend.

Within minutes, documents say Wagner then tried to break into an unmarked police vehicle.

When the officer got out of the car, Wagner ignored the officer's commands and ran away. Eventually, the officer tackled Wagner to stop him from jumping a fence into an apartment building.

Police state Wagner refused to put his hands behind his back, so he was tased by officers.

Officers went to follow-up with Wagner at the hospital, but he was unable to provide them with any personal information to identify himself or details as to what happened, and tried to spit at EMS.

He was only identified when a relative returned a call officers made to Geico in response to finding the owner of the Dodge Charger. After a check of the registered owner's driver's license, police were able to positively identify Wagner by his Georgia driver's license.

Based on the evidence, he is being charged with robbery carjacking without firearm or weapon, two counts of robbery by sudden snatching without firearm or weapon, and resist officer without violence.

He was taken to the Leon County Detention Center and his bond has been set at $1,500.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department is asking the public for help in identifying two suspects in a theft at Target.

The suspects took electronic items and left without paying for any merchandise on Aug. 6, 2018, from the Target at 1861 W. Tennessee St., police said in a Facebook post.

If you recognize the suspects, you are asked to call Investigator O'Hara at (850) 891-4269.
MIDWAY, Fl. (WTXL) -- September 2nd, 2016. Hurricane Hermine made landfall overnight near St. Marks, Florida, ending a nearly 11 year long streak of Florida avoiding hurricane landfalls.

While the streak of avoiding hurricanes was incredible and for me, hard to imagine, it would eventually end. And Hurricane Hermine would be a good reminder of what even weaker versions of these storms could bring. The storm echoed Hurricane Kate of the 1980s, bringing tropical storm force winds and gusts, damaging storm surge, and torrential rains to parts of the Big Bend.

"The last time a hurricane came up through the Apalachee Bay region into the Big Bend was 1966 so it had been over a generation", said Mark Wool, Warning Coordination Meteorologist of the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, "So it was impactful because very few people in this area had experienced a hurricane.

While Hurricane Kate proved to be more destructive, Hermine was still very damaging. Damage to houses and businesses would stun locals. Strong winds and downed trees would result in around two-thirds of the City of Tallahassee losing power. While measured winds in the city never eclipsed hurricane strength, that doesn't mean they didn't happen. Power was lost with winds of tropical storm strength so winds of hurricane strength could never be recorded.

The key takeaway here is that it doesn't take a hurricane to cause widespread power outages", said Wool, "That is really where the impact comes from. So we want to encourage folks to always have their hurricane emergency supply kits prepared, even for a tropical storm. 

As we move through September (which for the last couple of years has been active for our region), we should use experiences from Hurricane Hermine and Hurricane Irma to be better prepared for the next storm.
MELBOURNE, Fla., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ubicquia  , the global leader in simply smart, simply connected network and IoT platforms for smart cities, today announced that widely respected mobile industry executive Ralph de la Vega has joined its board of directors as vice chairman. His distinguished career includes 42 years with AT&T Inc., where he served as vice chairman, CEO of AT&T Business Solutions and International, and president and CEO of AT&T Mobility. Under his leadership, AT&T became one of the worlds leading smartphone and mobile Internet providers and expanded into new growth areas including connected cars, home security and automation.



The Ubicquia platform solves some of the biggest challenges global providers are facing today with respect to cost, time-to-market and customer service, said de la Vega. Ubicquia is truly in the right place at the right time, as the current trends in conversion to LED lighting, IoT connectivity, and demand for bandwidth  particularly the push to bring 5G to fruition  will spark more small-cell development in the near future. The companys products are unlike anything currently on the market and deliver great value to customers who are being impacted by these trends. This combination of unique products and market position compelled me to join Ubicquias board, and I look forward to helping guide the company forward on its path to broad global market adoption.

Ian Aaron, Ubicquia CEO, said, We're honored to have Ralph de la Vega join our board. I am excited to be working closely with Ralph to leverage his extensive network and experience as an operator and innovator, as we position Ubicquia at the intersection of streetlight conversion to LED, small cell deployments and smart city services. Ralphs passion for our products and knowledge of our market sectors is another validation of Ubicquias technology and business as enabler and game changer for municipalities and utilities worldwide.



Added Lowell D. Kraff, Ubicquia chairman, "Ralph brings to Ubicquia a wealth of experience and knowledge at the board level, having served as AT&Ts vice chairman and as a director for other Fortune 100 companies. We are building a world-class team at Ubicquia, and nobody better exemplifies 'world class' than Ralph de la Vega.

Next week, at Mobile World Congress Americas in Los Angeles, Ubicquia will be demonstrating its Ubicell, Ubihub and Ubimetro products that leverage existing streetlight infrastructure to bring light control, smart city and small cell services to municipalities and utilities around the globe. Ubicquia will exhibit in the South Hall, Stand S.2150, at the show, being held September 12-14, 2018, at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

About Ubicquia

Ubicquia offers municipalities, utilities, and network operators a cost-effective, and modular platform for deploying broadband and smart city services. Ubicquias Ubicell, Ubihub and Ubimetro products replace the existing photocell and are compatible with more than 360 million streetlights globally.

Ubicell is a streetlight network and IoT router that provides advanced light control, utility metering, tilt sensing and public WiFi via a simple and cost-effective plug-in module.

Ubihub is a streetlight gigabit switch with integrated ARM processor that provides power-over-Ethernet (POE) connectivity to third-party sensors including cameras and digital signage and is designed to scale video and audio edge processing applications.

Ubimetro is a Qualcomm-based streetlight small cell designed to simplify the densification of mobile networks. It does not require pole replacement, has integrated fiber, Ethernet and PLC backhaul, and can support LAA and CBRS services.

To learn more about how Ubicquia can make your city simply connected and simply smart, visit www.ubicquia.com .

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e720cddb-02b2-41aa-9104-c48f736edde3
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-05 19:59:27|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

Xi said the friendship between China and Tunisia will remain unchanged no matter how the situation changes, and that the China-Tunisia relationship has maintained healthy and stable development.

China will, as always, support Tunisia in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions and conforming to the trend of the times, and support Tunisia's efforts in maintaining stability and promoting economic and social development, Xi said.

Xi also urged the two sides to increase interaction and strengthen exchanges of experience in governance.

China is willing to work together with Tunisia to promote major projects and deepen cooperation in fields such as aerospace and tourism, adding that the two sides should join hands on major international and regional issues to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, Xi said.

Chahed said the eight major initiatives proposed at the summit would elevate Africa-China relations to a new level.

Tunisia applauds the concept of a China-Africa community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi, and hopes to learn from China's success, strengthen cooperation in fields such as the economy and trade as well as tourism, and welcomes Chinese companies to invest in Tunisia, Chahed said.
File Photo: Soldiers are seen in a Turkish armored vehicle in Afrin, Syria, on Jan. 22, 2018. (Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the phone, and agreed that Syria's possible attack in its rebel-held Idlib Province is unacceptable.

According to a statement issued by U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, Pompeo and Cavusoglu agreed that any military offensive by Syrian government troops in Idlib would be "an unacceptable, reckless escalation" of the conflict.

Pompeo "also stressed the importance of Turkey releasing Pastor Andrew Brunson," the statement read, referring to the U.S. pastor who was detained on spying charges.

Earlier on Tuesday, the White House said that it would "respond swiftly and appropriately" if Syria uses chemical weapons in the expected attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that "the Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don't let that happen!"

The Kremlin responded later that Trump's warning to Syria not to attack the rebel-held Syrian province ignored the danger terrorists pose there.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Idlib will be one of the main issues on the agenda of the Russia-Turkey-Iran summit to be held in Tehran on Friday.

Since earlier this year, the Syrian rebels were driven out of key areas in the capital Damascus, the central province of Homs and the southern region.

The government's army has been amassing forces and military gears around Idlib in recent weeks, as the last major battle against the rebels in Syria looms.

Brookings Institution senior fellow Darrell West told Xinhua that "there is a high likelihood that the U.S. would launch counter-attacks against the Syrian military in order to stop the casualties."

"An American move would make an already tense region even more tense," West said. "It would run the risk of direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russian or Iranian forces, and that situation could escalate dramatically."

Idlib, with a population of about 2.5 million, is strategically important as it shares a border with Turkey to the north, and also hosts a Russian-operated air base. It is close to the coastal province of Latakia, home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-05 23:45:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank (AfDB), denied the alleged debt crisis in African countries during an interview on the sidelines of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit.

"Let me be very clear: Africa has absolutely no debt crisis," Adesina told the press after a discussion at the High-level Dialogue Between Chinese and African Leaders and Business Representatives, which was closed Tuesday as part of the FOCAC Beijing Summit.

Africa saw an overall debt-to-GDP ratio of 37 percent last year, which, albeit up from 22 percent in 2010, is within the reasonable range for low-income countries, Adesina said, stressing the ratio is markedly lower than 100 percent or 150 percent of many higher-income countries and over 50 percent of emerging economies.

For years, China has been providing money-starved African countries with loans that are urgently needed to build roads, power plants, and factories, as infrastructure is considered the precondition for African countries to propel industrialization and achieve prosperity.

African observers say that Chinese investments in Africa will not add any debt burden to the continent. In the long run, they will ease it.

Chinese loans are mainly dedicated to the infrastructure in Africa, which is the prerequisite to attract the foreign direct investment. If a country has good infrastructure, the investors will come and they will create jobs and generate more income for the governments.

"African countries are desperate for infrastructure. The population is rising, urbanization is there, and fiscal space is very small," the AfDB president said. "They are taking on a lot more debt, but in the right way."

A China-Africa infrastructure cooperation plan will encourage Chinese companies to participate in Africa's infrastructure development, with focus on energy, transport, telecommunications and cross-border water resources.

Established in 2000, FOCAC functions as an important platform for China and Africa to pursue win-win cooperation.
A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 bomber lands at the Russian Hmeymim military base in Latakia province, in the northwest of Syria on May 4, 2016. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Four Russian jets of the Hmeymim airbase in Syria bombed positions of Nusra Front in Idlib province on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Two Su-34 fighter-bombers struck a precise blow to a workshop where Nusra Front fighters were assembling attack drones and a warehouse of explosives for the drones, the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

A Su-35S fighter destroyed with high-precision ammunition a warehouse of portable air defense systems, Konashenkov said.

All the attacks were carried out "exclusively on the objects of terrorist groups identified and confirmed through several channels and far from populated areas," he said.

Also on Tuesday, Russia destroyed two drones launched by militants to attack the Hmeymim airbase, raising the number of downed drones to 47 in a month, Konashenkov said.

Idlib, a city in northwestern Syria controlled by "ultra-radical groups" as Russia calls, has a population of about 2.5 million and is strategically important as it borders Turkey.

It is close to the coastal province of Latakia, home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which also hosts the Russia-operated Hmeymim airbase.

The Syrian government army has been amassing forces and military gears around Idlib in recent weeks.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu by phone and agreed that Syria's possible offensive in Idlib is unacceptable.

Russia is conducting large-scale military drills in the Mediterranean on Sept. 1-8 involving more than 25 battleships and 30 warplanes.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 01:51:27|Editor: huaxia

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RIGA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Latvian government on Wednesday raised 350 million euros via two additional long-term Eurobond issues, local media reported, citing information from the Treasury.

The transaction concludes Latvia's borrowing program for this year, which already saw the launch of two earlier Eurobond issues, worth 650 million euros in total, in May.

The Treasury said the money would be used for this year's financing needs and a repayment of government debt due in 2019.

On Wednesday, the Treasury issued 150 million euros worth of 10-year bonds with a fixed coupon rate of 1.125 percent per year (0.997 percent yield) and 200 million euros worth of 30-year bonds with a fixed coupon rate of 2.25 percent (1.861 percent yield).

The additional bond issues, arranged by Citi, JP Morgan and Natixis, drew around 70 investors, mostly from European countries. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 03:41:52|Editor: Li Xia

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MOSCOW, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The statement made by British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was "absolutely unacceptable," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"It contains a number of peremptory accusations against Russia and two of our citizens. We strongly reject these insinuations," the ministry said in a statement.

Traces of the deadly nerve agent Novichok used in the attack have been found in a London hotel, May told MPs earlier in the day in the House of Commons.

She said in an official statement that the British police and intelligence agencies have identified two Russian nationals they believe were responsible for the attack in March in the British city of Salisbury which left Sergei and Yulia fighting for their lives.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Rossiya-1 TV channel that Britain should provide fingerprints of the suspects to Interpol as these people allegedly from Russia must have received British visas.

The poisoning case triggered a diplomatic crisis with Russia and Western countries mutually expelling a large number of diplomats. The United States has also imposed massive economic sanctions against Russia over the incident.

Russia has been denying any involvement in the case.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 03:46:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel said it will close its embassy in Asuncion and repatriate its ambassador after Paraguay canceled the relocation of its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem.

Less than a month after Paraguay's new President, Mario Abdo Benitez, was sworn in, the country decided to return its embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, reversing a May decision by former President Horacio Cartes.

The move was announced by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, which said that "Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Shortly later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli Foreign Ministry to repatriate the Israeli envoy to Paraguay and close the embassy.

Paraguay's unusual decision could cloud bilateral ties, said Israeli foreign ministry in a statement.

In May, Paraguay inaugurated its new embassy in Jerusalem following similar moves by the United States and Guatemala.

The controversial relocations were made in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel late in 2017.

The announcement was widely condemned by the Palestinians and the international community.

Israel seized East Jerusalem, together with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed East Jerusalem shortly later, claiming it part of its "indivisible capital," a move never recognized internationally.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 04:01:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Four security members and three Islamic State (IS) militants were killed Wednesday in clashes in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a security source said.

A joint force from army and police commandos teamed up with Sunni tribal fighters raided an IS hideout in north of Razzaza Lake in the southern part of Anbar province, and fought heavy clashes with IS militants, a source from the Iraqi army told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The clashes left three suicide bombers killed, while four of the security forces were also killed and four others wounded, the source said.

The security situation in Iraq has been dramatically improved after Iraqi security forces fully defeated the extremist IS militants across the country in late 2017.

However, small groups and individuals of extremist militants melted or regrouped in urban or fled to desert and rugged areas, and are carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite operations from time to time to hunt them down.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 04:42:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GENEVA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Swiss scientists have recently succeeded in using gene-editing technology to develop a variant of the starchy tuber cassava that is preferred by the food and paper industries, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) said on Wednesday.

Cassava is one of the world's most important starch crops. Although the plants are hardy and can survive even in drought conditions, which makes it one of the top five most important sources of carbohydrate globally, it's time-consuming to cross-breed useful new traits into different farmer-preferred varieties.

In a study recently published on the journal Science Advances, researchers at ETH Zurich opted to take a new approach to introduce new traits into cassava.

They used the famous CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool, dubbed gene scissors, to change two cassava genes so that the plant produces modified starch that has little or no amylose, and is in high demand on the global market.

To achieve this, the researchers inserted a block of several foreign genes into the cassava plants. This block included the genes for the Cas9 protein and for the guide RNA molecule that the CRISPR-Cas9 system needs in order to cut the genetic material at the desired point. It also contained a gene from another plant, called the thale cress Arabidopsis, to accelerate flowering.

As starch is composed of about 85 percent of amylopectin and 15 percent of amylose, the latter being the cause that makes processing the plant for food very difficult, the new variant turned out to be much easier to process commercially. Meanwhile, more frequent flowering made it easier to breed the new, amylose-free variety much faster, and to produce offspring that did not contain any foreign Arabidopsis genes.

For that reason, the industry would be particularly interested in amylose-free cassava starch, as removal of amylose usually requires more processing and energy-consuming methods for starch purification. Also, consumers may also prefer the waxy, amylose-free starch which is an important source of carbohydrates particularly in the southern hemisphere and in African countries.
Reston, Virginia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Virginia Institute of Robotic Surgery at Reston Hospital Center has announced the launch of its Visiting Clinician Program (VCP) for robotic assisted spine surgery using the Mazor X Robotic system, a partnered program with Medtronic. The VCP at Reston Hospital Center will be led by Dr. Christopher Good, spinal surgeon at the Virginia Spine Institute (VSI). As the Director of Scoliosis & Spinal Deformity Surgery at VSI, Dr. Good is at the forefront of spine surgery and has performed the Mid-Atlantics first and most advanced procedures using robotic assisted technology at Reston Hospital Center.

Our team has been leading the way in implementing the latest in surgical innovations for years, said John Deardorff, President and CEO of HCAs Northern Virginia Market and Reston Hospital Center. Consistently providing excellent patient care and superior results, Reston Hospital Center has become recognized as a destination that surgeons from around the world come to train.

The VCP at Reston Hospital Center is designed to enable spine surgeons from around the world to see the technology while learning best practices for implementation in another facility or surgical program.

A visit to the program includes a case observation, as well as an opportunity to complete a training curriculum and to spend time with Dr. Good, learning the technology and how its best applied in complex cases. Visiting surgeons will also be exposed to the daily operations of running a comprehensive robotic surgery program from the administrative perspective, while having the opportunity to speak with leadership from the surgical services area.

Our research is showing that this robotic technology can decrease radiation to patients in the operating room, as well as improve the safety for patients having spine surgery, said Dr. Christopher Good. The launch of this Visiting Clinician Program at Reston Hospital Center is just one more step toward ensuring that our patients have the safest and most advanced treatment available to them; and, now, I have the pleasure of giving the same opportunity to surgeons around the world.

The robotic assisted technology is used for pre-planning minimally invasive as well as complex spinal reconstruction procedures. It allows spine surgeons to precisely plan out the desired surgery and to carry out the procedure with a high degree of confidence and accuracy.

###

About Reston Hospital Center



Part of HCA Virginia Health System, Reston Hospital Center is a 187-bed, acute-care medical and surgical facility that has garnered high honors for attentive patient care and nursing excellence. Reston Hospital Center is home to the region's newest Level II Trauma Center and the most comprehensive robotic surgery in the Mid-Atlantic. Statewide, HCA Virginia Health System operates 14 hospitals and more than 30 outpatient centers and is affiliated with 3,000 physicians. It is Virginias fourthlargest private employer, provides $190.8 million in charity and uncompensated care, and pays $72.6 million in taxes annually. For more information about Reston Hospital Center visit www.restonhospital.com.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 05:22:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIYADH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that 23 individuals were injured of shrapnel of a missile shot from Yemen toward the border city Najran, Saudi Press Agency reported.

With the fresh attack, the total number of missile attacks against the kingdom increased to 189 missiles, causing 112 people dead and hundreds injured, said Turki Al-Malki, the Saudi-led coalition spokesperson.

He said that the Saudi air forces managed to intercept and destroy the missile that was shot from Yemeni city Saada, while the shrapnel fell on the people and wounded them.

He affirmed that the missile attack will increase the determination of the coalition forces to work harder to achieve the Yemeni and regional stability goals.

The coalition commenced the war in Yemen in March 2015 to support the Yemeni exiled government.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 06:52:33|Editor: Yamei

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CHICAGO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A genomic analysis has linked certain DNA mutations to a high risk of relapse in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, while other mutations were associated with better outcomes, according to U.S. researchers.

The researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of British Columbia analyzed tumor samples from more than 2,500 patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, one of the most common forms of the disease.

They found that although mutations in DDR1 and NF1 are rare, they are associated with early relapse, which makes them much more common in patients who unfortunately die from the disease.

One unique element of the study was the age of the samples. Many were over 20 years old, allowing the researchers to know the full history of how the patients fared.

The study also confirmed past work showing that relatively common mutations in genes called MAP3K1 and TP53 had opposite effects on tumor aggressiveness. Patients with MAP3K1 mutations did well, while those with TP53 mutations were likely to have a recurrence.

The study has identified three genes, namely DDR1, PIK3R1 and NF1, with relatively uncommon mutations that were associated with cancer recurrence and spreading.

"We would like to help doctors identify patients who are likely to do well versus those who are likely to have a recurrence," said first author Obi L. Griffith, an assistant professor of medicine and an assistant director of the McDonnell Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine.

"Those with mutations that are associated with a good prognosis may need less intensive therapy than they might otherwise receive. But if a patient's tumor has mutations linked to high risk of relapse, it's useful to know that early so they can be treated with more aggressive therapies or even potential investigational therapies that could be targeted to their specific mutations," Griffith added.

The researchers also pointed out the importance of continuing to sequence cancer genomes.

More than 266,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year, according to the American Cancer Society, and about 70 percent of cases are estrogen receptor positive.

The study was published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 07:02:38|Editor: Li Xia

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BRASILIA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sao Paolo prosecutors on Wednesday denounced presidential candidate and ex-Sao Paulo governor Geraldo Alckmin of illegal campaign financing.

Alckmin, the candidate of the Brazilian Social Democrat Party (PSDB), is accused of accepting and failing to declare at least 7.8 million reals (around 1.9 million U.S. dollars) from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to fund his successful gubernatorial reelection run in 2014.

Prosecutor Ricardo Castro requested Alckmin be barred from seeking office and fined.

Through his lawyers, Alckmin denied any financial wrongdoing.

The Public Prosecutor's Office alleges Odebrecht made nine different cash payments to Alckmin's campaign treasurer and former Sao Paolo Secretary of Planning and Management, Marcos Monteiro, in a south Sao Paolo hotel room.

The company expected lucrative public works contracts in exchange, the charges allege.

Odebrecht, one of the continent's largest construction and engineering companies, is at the center of Latin America's largest ever corruption investigation.

Alckmin -- ranked fourth in popularity, according to opinion polls leading up to the Oct. 7 general elections -- is now the third presidential candidate with legal woes that may keep him out of the race.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence on corruption charges relating to Odebrecht, was registered to be the presidential candidate for the left-leaning Workers' Party (PT).

On Friday, the nation's top electoral body disqualified him, citing Brazil's Clean Record Law, which bars anyone with a criminal record from seeking elected office.

On Tuesday, authorities denounced the PT's backup presidential candidate Fernando Haddad for corruption.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 07:17:41|Editor: Li Xia

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HELSINKI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A report presented here by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has urged Finland to step up support for the early integration of immigrant women.

The report noted that while Finland over the years saw fast growing migrant population, the gap in the country's labor market outcomes of native- and foreign-born has diverged.

"Women, in particular, are struggling to integrate; many are locked into inactivity, and face incentives to stay in the home," an OECD statement read.

On top of it, the statement noted that in Finland, women eligible for the Child Home Care Allowance may find that staying at home is as financially advantageous as engaging in training or paid employment.

The employment gap between migrant and native women is substantially larger among those with children under 18 than among those without, it added.

As in many OECD countries, the children of immigrants do worse in school in Finland than children with native-born parents. In Finland, however, these differences are particularly striking, according to the report.

Finland should offer labor-market-oriented integration support to all migrants, strengthen efforts to identify and address early vulnerabilities, and work more closely with employers, the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 07:22:43|Editor: Li Xia

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ghassan Salame said Wednesday that the status quo in Libya is "untenable" in his first briefing to the Security Council after the latest round of violence in late August.

Salame, also the UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, pointed to the violence in the capital of Tripoli that began on Aug. 26 as shattering "the facade of calm that had prevailed since May 2017," noting tanks and heavy artillery were deployed into residential neighborhoods, leaving 61 Libyans dead and injuring 159 others.

"Looting and crime became common place as gangs took to the streets. Hundreds of criminals broke out of prison. Migrants were either trapped in detention centres, or turned onto the street," he said.

When the city "stood on the brink of all-out war," he said, UNSMIL brokered a ceasefire between the major parties to the conflict, which halted the fighting and restored some order, adding the mission is offering technical assistance and its good offices in support of the ceasefire.

He also expressed fear that Libya "may become a shelter for terrorist groups of all persuasions," including the Islamic State, and asked the council for more help to address the threat.

Moreover, the envoy highlighted fighting between Chadian government and opposition forces operating from southern Libya, underscoring that "the recent Agreement signed between Chad, Sudan, Niger and Libya needs to be implemented, so Libya does not also become an alternative battleground for others."

Meanwhile, Salame pointed to the deteriorating standards of living of the Libyans, saying and for many, "every day is a personal emergency."

In tackling the underlying causes, he stressed the need for strong, unified civilian and military institutions, explaining UNSMIL's dual track approach.

First, he said the mission is working to revise the security arrangements in Tripoli to reduce armed groups and work with Libyans to identify steps towards reshaping security in the capital and develop sustainable arrangements.

"The mission's second priority is to address the economic issues, which underpin the crisis and erode the daily lives of citizens across the country," he informed the council, noting that if the plundering continues, there is little chance to move either the economic reforms or political process.

"We are also committed to advocating for a more equitable distribution of wealth in Libya focused not on appeasing groups based on their military strength, but on providing for citizens based on their need," said Salame.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 07:32:45|Editor: Li Xia

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YAOUNDE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least five Cameroonian soldiers were killed on Wednesday after a military truck transporting troops to Oku, a locality in the Anglophone region of North West, lost control before crashing into a valley, a military source told Xinhua Wednesday.

About dozen others were severely injured, the source said, adding that they were quickly rushed to a local hospital to receive medical attention.

Witnesses described a bloody scene of the accident.

The soldiers were heading to Oku to secure the residence of the Cameroonian Prime Minister Philemon Yang, where fierce fighting between armed separatist forces and Cameroon soldiers has been escalating, local media reported.

An investigation is underway to shed light on the circumstances of the accident, the source noted.

Armed separatist forces seeking to secede from the French-majority Cameroon to form a new nation called "Ambazonia" have been clashing with government forces in the Anglophone region since November 2017. At least 160,000 people have been displaced internally and 20,000 have escaped to Nigeria where they now live in refugee camps, according to the United Nations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 07:47:49|Editor: Li Xia

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MINSK, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Martin Sajdik, special representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), on Wednesday urged again the conflicting parties in Ukraine to make every effort to avoid human casualties, local media reported.

"I strongly urge the parties to do all they can to abide by the ceasefire and avoid human casualties," Sajdik said following the Contact Group meeting in Minsk.

The diplomat said that all members of the Contact Group reiterated their full commitment to the Minsk agreement.

The OSCE's special representative said that this summer was the calmest since the beginning of the conflict. Thanks to the harvest truce and school truce agreed by the parties, the level of ceasefire violations has reduced significantly, he added.

Sajdik also said the Contact Group is planning to discuss the proposal for launching an international investigation into the death of the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) Alexander Zakharchenko, who was killed on August 31 as a result of an explosion in the center of Donetsk.

The Contact Group on Ukraine will hold its next meeting on September 19.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 07:47:50|Editor: Li Xia

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YAOUNDE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon military announced Wednesday it has confiscated over 800 illicit firearms from armed separatist forces in the Northwest, one of the two Cameroon's English speaking regions.

"These firearms are used by the terrorists to attack the security forces. We have seized about 837. We have also dismantled many fabrication sites. We have also reinforced security in our borders where ammunition is imported," commander of the Fifth Joint Military Region, Brigadier General Agha Robinson Ndong, told state media Cameroon Radio Television.

He said the proliferation of the illicit firearms in the region was a serious security threat.

Government statistics show that there has been an increase in the circulation of illicit firearms in the country since the beginning of the Anglophone conflict.

In April, the Cameroonian government banned the purchase and sale of firearms and ammunitions in six regions of the country following an increase of licit and illicit guns possessed by civilians from 340,000 in 2007 to 510,000 in 2017.

Armed separatist forces seeking to secede from the French-majority Cameroon to form a new nation called "Ambazonia" have been clashing with government forces in the Anglophone region since November last year. About 109 security forces have been killed according to the government.

An unknown number of separatist fighters have died in these clashes though some military officers estimate over 200 armed separatists have been killed.

The UN estimates that over 160,000 people have been displaced internally and at least 20,000 have escaped to Nigeria where they now live in refugee camps.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 08:27:54|Editor: Li Xia

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TOKYO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 and a number of aftershocks rocked Japan's Hokkaido prefecture early Thursday, leaving multiple houses buried by landslides.

Rescue work is underway to search for the missing.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the major temblor was centered in the Hokkaido prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time Thursday (1808 GMT Wednesday), with the epicenter at a latitude of 42.7 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east and at depth of 40 km.

The earthquake was logged upper 6 in some areas of Hokkaido prefecture on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

Dozens of aftershock followed, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 that hit the prefecture at 6:11 a.m. local time (2111 GMT Wednesday).

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said the Tomari nuclear power plant operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s, had lost an external power source, and a spent fuel pool of its reactors was currently being cooled by an emergency power supply system.

The nuclear watchdog said no abnormality had been confirmed in radiation levels around the plant.

The JMA said there might be a slight sea-level change in Japan's coastal areas as a result of the magnitude 6.7 quake.

Local police said they had received multiple reports of injuries as a result of the quake, including an 82-year-old man who was found with no vital signs after falling down the stairs but was later recovered.

In Sapporo, capital city of Hokkaido, 53 people were reported injured as of 7:00 a.m. local time (2200 GMT Wednesday), according to local firefighters.

A number of houses in the quake-stricken areas collapsed, with rescue work under way for those possibly buried under the houses, according to local officials.

In Atsuma, at least 16 people were missing after eight households were buried by landslides as of 8:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Wednesday), according to public broadcaster NHK.

The quake has also triggered power blackouts across a wide area in Hokkaido affecting some 3 million households, and hundreds of thousands of households were reported with no water supply.

Telephone service and television broadcasting in Sapporo were affected, and flights were cancelled at New Chitose Airport due to the power outage, and bullet train and local train services were also disrupted.

More than 1,300 public schools in the prefecture have decided to temporarily close and asked their students to stay at home, according to local reports.

The Japanese central government has set up a liaison unit at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office to gather information on the quake.

It said some 25,000 personnels of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces will be dispatched to the quake-stricken areas for rescue and relief operations at the request of the governor of Hokkaido.

Japan's weather agency warned that earthquakes with a similar magnitude might again hit the quake-struck region in the following week.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 09:43:05|Editor: Li Xia

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PHNOM PENH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Assembly on Thursday confirmed Samdech Techo Hun Sen as prime minister for another five years after his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won all parliamentary seats in a July general election.

All 125 CPP lawmakers unanimously voted for him as prime minister, the position that he has held since 1985.

The National Assembly also approved Hun Sen's new Cabinet members for the 2018-2023 term.

According to an official schedule, the 67-year-old prime minister and his cabinet members will be sworn in on Thursday afternoon at the Royal Palace under the auspices of the nation's King Norodom Sihamoni.
LAS VEGAS, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nevada Gold & Casinos, Inc. (NYSE MKT: UWN) today announced that its financial results for the first quarter ended July 31, 2018 will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 13, 2018 after the close of the U.S. financial markets.



The company will host a conference call at 4:30 PM ET (1:30 PM PT) the same afternoon to discuss the financial results and provide a corporate update. The call can be accessed live by dialing (800) 289-0438. International callers can access the call by dialing (323) 794-2423.

A telephone replay of the conference call will be available after 7:30 PM ET and can be accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921. International callers can access the replay by dialing (412) 317-6671; the pin number is 2679122. The replay will be available through September 20, 2018.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We use words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "intend," "plan," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, our ability to increase income streams, to grow revenue and earnings, and to obtain additional gaming and other projects. These statements are only predictions and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are identified and described in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Nevada Gold & Casinos

Nevada Gold & Casinos, Inc. (NYSE MKT:UWN) of Las Vegas, Nevada is a developer, owner and operator of nine gaming operations in Washington ( wagoldcasinos.com ) and a local casino in Henderson, Nevada (clubfortunecasino.com).

Contacts:

Nevada Gold & Casinos, Inc.

Michael P. Shaunnessy / James Meier

(702) 685-1000

Stonegate Capital Partners

Preston Graham

(972) 850-2001
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 10:03:09|Editor: Li Xia

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SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un reconfirmed his firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean presidential special envoy said Thursday after visiting Pyongyang the previous day.

Chung Eui-yong, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's top national security adviser who led the five-member special delegation, told a press briefing that the DPRK leader reconfirmed his firm commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula, and expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with South Korea and the United States for the denuclearization.

Chung and four other delegates met Kim in Pyongyang during their one-day mission as special emissaries, delivering Moon's letter to the DPRK leader.

Chung said the two Koreas agreed to hold the third Moon-Kim summit in the DPRK's capital city from Sept. 18-20.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 10:03:09|Editor: Yamei

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KHARTOUM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has given fresh impetus to the development of the long-standing China-Africa relationship, a Sudanese political analyst said Wednesday.

"The FOCAC summit constituted a new opportunity for enhancing the standing cooperation between Africa and China," said Al-Fateh Al-Sayed, former secretary-general of the Sudanese Journalists Union, in an interview with Xinhua.

"The two sides, via the summit's final declaration, reiterated commitment to the principle of win-win cooperation, which is a clear message and a confirmation to the principles of the historical and deeply-rooted relationship between the two sides," he noted.

Al-Sayed further reiterated the importance of the topics discussed during the summit held on Sept. 3-4, pointing to the two sides' agreement to work together to build a community of shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

"Africa has significant characteristics for the building of the Belt and Road Initiative. Africa will also benefit from the opportunities and resources offered by the initiative," noted Al-Sayed.

He said the FOCAC has become "an important platform" for boosting China-Africa cooperation based on mutual benefits and common interests.

The 2018 Beijing FOCAC summit concluded sessions on Tuesday with the adoption of the Beijing Declaration which stated that the two sides have agreed to strengthen collective dialogue, enhance traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation and work together toward an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.

China and the African countries applaud the role the FOCAC has played over the past 18 years to promote relations. The African countries support China in hosting the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019, according to the document.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 10:23:12|Editor: Li Xia

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PYONGYANG, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top leader Kim Jong Un of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea told South Korea's envoy that the two sides should further their efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 10:58:19|Editor: Yamei

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(L-R) Yun Kun-young, a South Korean Blue House official, Chun Hae-sung, vice unification minister of South Korea, Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser of the Blue House of South Korea, Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea, NIS deputy chief Kim Sang-gyun and Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee and director of the United Front Department of the DPRK, pose for a photo in Pyongyang, DPRK, on Sept. 5, 2018. South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoys met Wednesday with Kim Jong Un in their one-day visit to Pyongyang, the presidential Blue House of South Korea said. (Xinhua/South Korea Presidential Blue House)

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un reconfirmed his firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean presidential special envoy said Thursday after visiting Pyongyang the previous day.

Chung Eui-yong, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's top national security adviser who led the five-member special delegation, told a press briefing that the DPRK leader reconfirmed his firm commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula during his meeting with the South Korean special delegation.

Chung and four other delegates met Kim in Pyongyang Wednesday during their one-day mission as special envoys, delivering Moon's letter to the DPRK leader.

Chung said the DPRK leader expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with the United States as well as South Korea for the complete denuclearization.

He noted that the two Koreas agreed to hold the third Moon-Kim summit in the DPRK's capital city from Sept. 18-20.

To discuss protocol, security, communications and media coverage for the upcoming summit, the two sides agreed to hold a high-ranking working-level meeting early next week at the border village of Panmunjom.

During the upcoming summit, Moon and Kim would discuss practical measures to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as well as issues on the permanent settlement of peace and co-prosperity on the peninsula and the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration, which the two leaders signed after their April summit.

The two Koreas, the special envoy said, agreed to keep advancing the ongoing dialogues to defuse military tensions along the inter-Korean border, and to reach an agreement at the upcoming summit on concrete measures to build mutual trust and prevent military clashes.

Seoul and Pyongyang also agreed to open a joint inter-Korean liaison office, where representatives of the two sides reside, before the third Moon-Kim summit is held, while continuing necessary cooperation for it.

The two Koreas already completed necessary preparations, including construction and ways to jointly form and run, to open the joint liaison office at the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

Chung said South Korea will brief the countries concerned, including the United States, in detail on the outcome of the special envoys' visit to Pyongyang, and closely cooperate with them.

He added that the two Koreas will make consistent efforts, with patience, to develop inter-Korean ties, denuclearize the peninsula and build peace.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 10:58:20|Editor: Li Xia

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SANTIAGO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The fourth Latin American congress on business and technology, America Digital, began here on Wednesday in Chile's capital.

The two-day event attracted over 200 exhibitors from 22 countries with an aim to promote business in the region with some 2,000 scheduled business meetings.

"This congress is a large table we can sit around to exchange experiences and do business," Lesley Robles, America Digital's director, said during the inauguration.

Organizers said the event's main objective was to "contribute to digital transformation to increase the competitivity of traditional industry."

Leidy Ortiz, a marketing manager at Chilean firm Metric Arts, said that although Chile still has a long way to go, "we are taking the first steps towards digital development."

Maria Alejandra Castillo, Chilean representative for multinational DXC Technology, said she could not see a future without digital connection.

"Every business is working digitally ... A country doesn't exist, nothing exists, without good relationships and connections," said Castillo.

"We're one of the countries with the most digital transformation growth and, as a business, we are finding many clients," she added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 11:03:20|Editor: Liangyu

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XI'AN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- What would you take with you on a trip to Africa? Sunscreen? Or a pair of binoculars to watch wildlife? For Hai Jiangbo, seeds and a straw hat are what he brings with every time he traverses the continent.

Hai, 52, set out for his 24th trip to Africa on Tuesday, shortly after the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) opened.

Over the past 15 years, Hai has been making trips like this and spending months in the continent to offer his agricultural expertise to African farmers. This trip, he will cover Mozambique, Egypt, Morocco and Eritrea.

His suitcase was filled with seeds of a dozen varieties, teaching DVDs and distiller's yeast, but Hai says that by far the most important thing is his straw hat.

"This straw hat is my best friend when I'm in Africa," said Hai. On his first few trips he wore a cap but he was still badly sunburnt while working on the test fields. To protect himself from the strong African sun, he needed a wider brim.

Now, his hat has become something every time he makes new African friends who he asks to sign his hat, as a souvenir of the trip. He hopes to cover the hat with signatures in his travels across the continent.

Back in China, Hai is an associate professor with Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University (NWAFU) based in Yangling Agriculture Hi-Tech Industrial Zone, a national-level high-tech development zone in Shaanxi Province.

Covering an area of 135 square kilometers, Yangling has been a testing ground for much of China's crop varieties, agricultural technology and management techniques, with more than 7,000 researchers. In the past 20 years, more than 1,000 new crop varieties and agricultural technologies were developed here.

As a leading university in agriculture studies, NWAFU has received students from colleges, institutes and governments in 59 countries over the past decade, and has sent 52 teachers like Hai abroad, particularly to Africa, teaching and offering support for agricultural development at a local level.

At the FOCAC Beijing Summit, China has vowed to work with Africa to formulate and implement a plan of action to promote cooperation on agricultural modernization, including 50 agricultural assistance programs, and 500 senior agricultural experts to be sent to Africa.

Hai is just one of these experts who will work with Chinese and African colleagues to support Africa's food security. Now, Hai's job in Africa is to promote Yangling's dryland farming practices: a method of farming in dry climates without irrigation, using drought-resistant crops and moisture conservation techniques.

And he has fallen in love with the continent he calls home for several months of the year.

"I'm half African now," Hai joked. He loves to eat Ugali, an African cornmeal porridge, with his hands. But he didn't forget to bring a luoluo, a type of round tray for making liangpi, the famous noodle-like Chinese rice dish.

"I make liangpi in Africa not only to soothe my homesickness but also to test the quality of the crops we plant there," he said.

Surprisingly, cooking is something that Hai considers an important part of his job. Once, in Ethiopia, he made authentic Chinese pancakes, not just as a tasty treat for his students but also as proof of their farming success.

Still, the most precious things in his luggage are the seeds. They are disease-resistant, pest-resistant and can grow in near-infertile soil. These are super-seeds and Hai has high hopes for increasing the yield on more than 1,300 hectares of paddies in Mozambique.

At the last minute, Hai threw some cowpea seeds into his suitcase, next to his straw hat. He wants to test interplanting of cowpea and corn to maximize the utility of fields.

"African farmers have been growing mostly industrial crops. They are not experienced enough with growing food, " said Hai, "In northwest China we have similar conditions to Africa, with the dry lean land. So we want to share the fruits of our research with African countries and help them feed their people."

Hai and his team achieved a yield of seven tonnes per hectare in the demonstration paddies in Cameroon. Hai also taught a local farmer how to grow watermelons. But the farmer ignored Hai's advice against overusing herbicide in the first year, and was reduced to tears over the bad harvest.

Hai didn't give up on him. He offered the farmer more seeds and more of his time and patience. The next year they reaped a bumper harvest and the farmer's crops sold like hot cakes, at 10 yuan (1.5 U.S. dollars) a melon.

As the harvests bear more crops, farmers can go beyond subsistence and begin to profit on their excess yield. One of the most popular products is rice wine. That's why Hai has added distiller's yeast to his case.

Hai's years of dedication to his work and his students has not gone unnoticed, the lives he has touched are forever changed.

"Professor Hai is not just walking around in his straw hat, planting seeds in Africans' fields, he's planting hope in our hearts," said Efienne Niyigaba, one of Hai's Rwandan students.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 11:28:24|Editor: Li Xia

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OTTAWA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday that his government will not sign a new deal for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that is bad for Canada, local media reported.

"We're not going to accept that we have to sign a bad deal just because the president wants that. We'll walk away and not sign a deal rather than sign a bad deal for Canadians," Trudeau said in Edmonton, southwestern Canada, on Wednesday after the two Canadian negotiating teams returned to the table in Washington.

He pointed out that NAFTA's dispute resolution mechanism is necessary in a world where the president of the United States "doesn't always follow the rules."

"One of the things that is clear is that we have red lines that Canadians simply will not accept. We need to keep the Chapter 19 dispute resolution because that ensures that the rules are actually followed and we know we have a president who doesn't always follow the rules as they're laid out," he said.

Chapter 19 is a known sticking point between Canada and the United States in the renegotiation of NAFTA.

The chapter allows companies to request arbitration when they believe their products have been unfairly hit by anti-dumping or countervailing duties.

Bargaining has been going on to finalize the text of the agreement and deliver it to the U.S. Congress by the end of the month.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to move ahead with a NAFTA deal with Mexico, and without Canada, both its neighbors.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 11:33:27|Editor: Li Xia

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SYDNEY, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A census of Australia's native fur seal pups released on Thursday revealed a shrinking in numbers for the first time ever since protection measures were introduced in 1975.

Lead author of the study Rebecca McIntosh told Xinhua that along with colleagues at Phillip Island Nature Parks on Australia's East Coast, she is eager to find out the reason for the decline in numbers.

"It's the first time that we've identified a drop in the pup numbers," McIntosh said.

"One of the problems with doing a census every five years is you're not sure whether it's a one-off event, or whether there's something else going on and it's part of a long term problem."

Counting the sometimes shy baby seals can be a challenge in itself, and with pup population at some sites is over 4,000, census takers had to get creative in their methods.

"If it's a larger site with more pups, then we will hand catch the pups, clip a little bit of fur of the top of their head, give them a little mark which will grow back when they malt and get into their juvenile coat," McIntosh said.

"And then we come back in and we count the number that have the haircuts and those that don't and we get a good estimate from that of the total number of pups."

Instead of simply waiting five years to do another census, the research team is now utilizing drones to increase their monitoring capabilities and are actually posting images online where "citizen scientists" can assist in counting seal pups from the photos.

If McIntosh's job seems enviable, she encourages anybody interested to take part.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 11:43:29|Editor: xuxin

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Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen walks at the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 6, 2018. Cambodia's National Assembly on Thursday confirmed Samdech Techo Hun Sen as Prime Minister for another five years after his Cambodian People's Party won all parliamentary seats in a July general election.(Xinhua/Sovannara)

by Nguon Sovan, Mao Pengfei

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Assembly on Thursday confirmed Samdech Techo Hun Sen as prime minister (PM) for another five years after his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won all parliamentary seats in a July general election.

All 125 CPP lawmakers unanimously voted for him as PM, the position that he has held since 1985.

The National Assembly also approved Hun Sen's new cabinet members for the 2018-2023 term.

According to an official schedule, the 67-year-old PM and his cabinet members will be sworn in on Thursday afternoon at the Royal Palace under the auspices of the nation's King Norodom Sihamoni.

Addressing the assembly after the vote, Hun Sen said it was another historic event for Cambodia and expressed his profound gratitude to all lawmakers for giving a vote of confidence to him and his cabinet members.

He vowed to continue maintaining the country's hard-earned peace and stability and to further develop economy and reduce poverty.

"The new government will work harder to accelerate socio-economic development in all fields and to promote the implementation of deep and broad reforms," he said.

He added that the government would give priority to governance reform so as to strengthen state institutions, to build clean administrations, and to enhance the quality of public services.

Hun Sen said the government would continue raising wages for civil servants, armed forces, and garment factory workers, and, at the same time, lowering the prices of water and electricity.

The PM added that the investment in human capital is also among the top priorities in the new-term government.

According to the official list of Hun Sen-led new cabinet approved by the National Assembly, the cabinet is made up of one PM, 10 deputy PMs, 17 senior ministers, and 29 ministers.

The list showed that the PM kept all old-term ministers in the same positions in the new term.

Experts have strong conviction that the new government would continue maintaining peace and stability and bring more development to the country over the next five years.

"With a better economic policy, it is expected that foreign direct investment (FDI) will continue to flow in, and as the result, the economy will continue to strive," Kalyan, chairman of the state-run Royal University of Phnom Penh's board of trustees, told Xinhua.

"Here, what we need to do more is to promote inclusive growth so that many members of the society will benefit, by mobilizing national skills, resources, and technology, in particular to lift up agriculture and rural economy," he said.

Joseph Matthews, a professor at the Beltei International University in Phnom Penh, believed that Cambodia would continue enjoying peace, stability, and strong economic growth over the next five years under Hun Sen's leadership.

"Under his leadership in previous terms, Cambodia's economy has grown very well, and its annual GDP (gross domestic product) growth is around 7 percent, which is the highest in the region," he said. "I believe that robust growth will continue over the next five years."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 12:03:37|Editor: Li Xia

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TOKYO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two people have been confirmed dead and 120 injured following an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 and a number of aftershocks rocking Japan's Hokkaido prefecture early Thursday.

Multiple houses were buried by landslides and rescue work was underway for those still missing, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the major temblor jolted Hokkaido Prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time on Thursday morning (1808 GMT Wednesday), with the epicenter located at a latitude of 42.7 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east and at depth of 40 km.

The earthquake was logged upper 6 in some areas of Hokkaido prefecture on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

It was the first time for a quake in Hokkaido to reach an intensity of upper 6 since the seismic scale was revised in 1996, the JMA noted.

Dozens of aftershock followed, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 that hit the prefecture at 6:11 a.m. local time (2111 GMT Wednesday).

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that earthquakes with a similar intensity could continue in the area for about a week.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said that the Tomari nuclear power plant operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co.'s, had lost an external power source, and a spent fuel pool was currently being cooled by an emergency power supply system.

The nuclear watchdog said that no abnormalities had been observed in radiation levels around the plant.

The JMA said there might be a slight sea-level change in Japan's coastal areas as a result of the early morning temblor.

A potentially lethal fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in Muroran, local media reported, and was later extinguished by firefighters.

Local police said they had received multiple reports of injuries as a result of the quake, including that of an 82-year-old man who was found with no vital signs after falling down the stairs. He was later found to have recovered.

In Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, scores of people were reported injured, according to local firefighters, and a number of houses in the quake-stricken areas have collapsed, with emergency work underway to rescue those potentially buried under the houses, local officials said.

In Atsuma, at least 16 people were missing after 8 households were buried by landslides as of 8:00 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Wednesday), according to public broadcaster NHK.

The quake has also triggered power blackouts across a wide area in Hokkaido affecting some 3 million households, and hundreds of thousands of households were reported as having no water supply.

Telephone services and television broadcasting in Sapporo were affected, and flights were cancelled at New Chitose Airport due to the power outage, and bullet train and local train services were also disrupted.

More than 1,300 public schools in the prefecture have decided to temporarily close and asked their students to stay at home, according to local reports.

The Japanese government has set up a liaison unit at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office to gather more information on the quake.

It said that some 25,000 personnel from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces will be dispatched to the quake-stricken areas for rescue and relief operations at the request of the governor of Hokkaido.
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(L-R) Yun Kun-young, a South Korean Blue House official, Chun Hae-sung, vice unification minister of South Korea, Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser of the Blue House of South Korea, Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea, NIS deputy chief Kim Sang-gyun and Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee and director of the United Front Department of the DPRK, pose for a photo in Pyongyang, DPRK, on Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/South Korea Presidential Blue House)

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), reconfirmed his firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a South Korean presidential special envoy said Thursday after visiting Pyongyang.

Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser for President Moon Jae-in who led a five-member special delegation, told a press briefing that the DPRK leader reconfirmed his firm commitment to the denuclearization of the peninsula when he met Kim in Pyongyang Wednesday.

Chung and four other delegates visited Pyongyang on their one-day mission as special emissaries, delivering Moon's letter to the DPRK leader.

Chung said the DPRK leader expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with the United States as well as South Korea for the complete denuclearization.

During the meeting with the South Korean delegation, Kim expressed his "stuffy" feeling over a part of international community raising doubts about his resolve to the denuclearization, according to the chief special envoy.

Kim said the DPRK had taken advance measures for the denuclearization, which he hoped would be accepted as a good faith, citing the dismantlement of its main Punggye-ri nuclear test site and its key Tongchang-ri missile engine test site.

No more nuclear test, Kim said, was made possible forever as the nuclear test site was completely destroyed, while dismantling the missile engine test site, a sole DPRK test site, meant the complete suspension of long-range ballistic missile test-firings in the future.

Kim asked the South Korean envoys to convey his message to the U.S. side, saying his trust in U.S. President Donald Trump has not changed nor will make any change.

The DPRK leader expressed his hope that Pyongyang and Washington would end a seven-decade history of hostility within President Trump's tenure, while realizing the denuclearization and improving the DPRK-U.S. relations, the chief South Korean envoy told reporters.

Chung Eui-yong (L), top national security adviser of the Blue House of South Korea, meets with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), in Pyongyang, DPRK, on Sept. 5, 2018. (Xinhua/South Korea Presidential Blue House)

To discuss specific measures to be taken for the denuclearization, Moon and Kim would hold their summit for three days from Sept. 18 in the DPRK's capital city of Pyongyang, Chung noted.

The two Koreas will hold a high-ranking working-level meeting early next week at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss protocol, security, communications and media coverage for the upcoming summit, Chung said.

During the upcoming summit, Moon and Kim would discuss specific measures to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as well as issues on the permanent settlement of peace and co-prosperity on the peninsula and the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration, which the two leaders signed after their April summit.

The two Koreas, the special envoy said, agreed to keep advancing the ongoing dialogues to defuse military tensions along the inter-Korean border, and to reach an agreement at the upcoming summit on concrete measures to build mutual trust and prevent military clashes.

Seoul and Pyongyang also agreed to open a joint inter-Korean liaison office, where representatives of the two sides reside, before the third Moon-Kim summit is held, while continuing necessary cooperation for it.

The two Koreas already completed necessary preparations, including construction and ways, to jointly open the joint liaison office at the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

Chung said South Korea will brief the countries concerned, including the United States, in detail on the outcome of the special envoys' visit to Pyongyang, and closely cooperating with them

He added that the two Koreas will make consistent efforts, with patience, to develop inter-Korean ties, denuclearize the peninsula and build peace.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 12:38:45|Editor: Li Xia

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ten insurgents, including a Taliban judge and a doctor working for the insurgent group, have been killed following an airstrike in southern Afghan province of Kandahar, a local official said Thursday.

The strike was launched by Afghan Air Force in Band-e-Timur area of Maywand district in early hours of Wednesday as a group of militants tried to launch attack on a newly set up security checkpoint at the area, district chief Haji Lala told Xinhua.

A militants' hijacked military armored vehicle and a weapon depot were also eliminated during the attack.

The Taliban militants fighting government forces in the region did not comment on the report.

Security situation has been improving in Kandahar, the former stronghold of Taliban, over the last months, as security forces have conducted search and cordon operations across the province. But the militants attack government interests in the province from time to time.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 13:23:50|Editor: Liangyu

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Federal Police said Wednesday that there is evidence that President Michel Temer received undue advantages from construction company Odebrecht.

In a report sent to the Supreme Court earlier on Wednesday, the Federal Police said that there is also evidence that Temer may have committed the crimes of money laundering and bribe-taking.

The president held meetings on May 2014, in which Odebrecht agreed to pay some 10 million reals to Temer's party MDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement), it said.

Investigators also said that Temer received 1.5 million reals in bribes from Odebrecht earlier in 2014.

The presidential office denied all accusations and called the report "an attempt against logic and chronology."

The meetings mentioned in the report were about formal support to election campaigns, and all amounts donated have been properly declared on the campaign accounts, it said.

"The investigation proves to be absolute persecution to the president, breaching the most elementary principles of cause and effect," said the presidential office.

The case was presented to Judge Edson Fachin, rapporteur of the case in the Supreme Court, who will forward the report to the Office of the Prosecutor-General to decide whether to present a formal denouncement against Temer.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 13:28:52|Editor: Yamei

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COLOMBO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- One person died and over 80 were hospitalized as a massive protest rally held by the opposition ended in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on Thursday, local media reported.

According to hospital officials from the Colombo National Hospital, one person had died from a cardiac arrest, eight had been hospitalized from food poisoning, eight with minor injuries and over 70 hospitalized due to excessive alcohol consumption.

They had been rushed to hospital by fellow protesters.

Sri Lanka's Joint Opposition held the rally on Wednesday to protest against the rising cost of living, the government's economic policies and call for a snap parliamentary poll.

The protest was organized by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's eldest son and parliamentarian, Namal Rajapaksa while the former president and his brother Gotabhaya Rajapaksa also participated in the rally.

Joint Opposition legislators said thousands had attended the rally but an exact figure could not be confirmed.

The protest which started on Wednesday afternoon, ended early Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 14:44:04|Editor: Li Xia

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by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Absar Kazmi, an electrical engineer in Islamabad, brought his three kids to plant trees at a section of the famous Parade Ground in the city, invited by the government for planting saplings under the "Plant for Pakistan" campaign aiming at protecting the country from pollution and climate change.

Kazmi said he brought his kids to plant trees to let them know the importance of saving the earth from the adverse effects of climatic changes. "I want them to know that we plant a tree today it will save their tomorrow," Kazmi told Xinhua.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has kicked off the drive "Ten Billion Trees Tsunami" recently by planting a sapling in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province himself.

The campaign is of an effort to combat climate change by planting trees across the country during five-year tenure of the current government.

The prime minister's advisor on climate change Malik Amin Aslam told local media that trees were planted and distributed freely across the country with an objective to motivate general public to make Pakistan greener.

Irfan Nizai, environment director of the Environment Directorate Islamabad, said that for an ideal atmospheric condition it is important that 20 percent area of a country should be under forest, but in Pakistan it is less than 2 percent.

"The government is now focusing on this issue to control the extreme weather conditions which are posing a threat to our agro-economy and also making living conditions harder for people," Niazi told Xinhua.

He said that in the first step about 1.5 million trees will be planted in various areas of the country and in next step they will provide saplings to schools where each kid will plant one sapling.

"It will make the kid guardian of the tree and he will water it and take care of it, giving him a sense of responsibility and motivating him to plant more trees," he said.

Khalid Malik, director of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, told Xinhua that Pakistan is the seventh most vulnerable country to climate change in the world and one of the major reasons is deforestation.

"A country's vulnerability to climate change is not only determined by changes in weather pattern but also the efforts which government and residents are making to control the affects of changing weather," he said.

He said that deforestation in the country has taken a serious toll on climate and no one cared to plant new trees which resulted in harsh weather conditions.

Uzair Qamar, a professor of water resource management and engineering in University of Agriculture Faisalabad, said that planting trees at individual as well as state level would help mitigate against climate change to a great extent.

Qamar told Xinhua that recently extreme weathers are being witnessed in Pakistan for the lack of trees. When more trees are planted they will convert excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into healthy ecosystems, resulting in moderate weather condition.

"It is a natural phenomenon that spring is followed by winter and autumn follows summer to give people some time to adapt themselves with the new weather, however, in Pakistan spring and autumn are almost going to extinct due to climatic changes mainly due to deforestation."

He said that the results of plantation will become visible at least half a century later, so planting a tree today can save the future generation from the hostilities of the climate like drought and flooding.

People participating in the tree-plantation drive in Islamabad said that the government should raise awareness about the importance of tree plantation in kids and include topics related to climate change in their curriculum.

Asif Khan, a businessman in Islamabad, was planting sapling with his five-year-old daughter in the Parade Ground. In a conversation with Xinhua, Khan said that he came to know about the drive from social media and told his daughter to join him.

"She doesn't know how important tree plantation is for her future. If teachers tell her and her class fellows about climate change in schools, they will participate more actively in the drive," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 14:54:07|Editor: xuxin

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Houses are damaged by a landslide triggered by an earthquake in the town of Atsuma, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 6, 2018. Eight people have likely died, with two confirmed dead and six in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said after a powerful earthquake battered Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido early Thursday. (Xinhua/Deng Min)

TOKYO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Eight people have likely died, with two confirmed dead and six in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, Japan's public broadcaster NHK said after a powerful earthquake battered Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido early Thursday.

Around 140 people have been injured following the powerful temblor with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7 rocking Japan's Hokkaido prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time on Thursday (1808 GMT Wednesday) and the death toll is likely to rise, officials said, as multiple houses were buried by landslides with rescue work underway for those still missing.

Local authorities said that around 40 people still remained missing as search and rescue operations ramped up their efforts to find the missing before nightfall.

Also complicating rescue efforts, Hokkaido Electric Power Company said that power was out across the whole of Japan's northernmost prefecture.

After the quake struck, it said that it shut down all of its thermal power plants as a preemptive measure to ensure safety in case multiple fires broke out as the prefecture continued to be rattled by powerful ongoing aftershocks.

All flights have been cancelled at Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport and train, bus and highway services have been suspended, local operators said.

Local police said they had received multiple reports of injuries as a result of the quake and in the town of Atsuma, at least 16 people were missing after eight households were buried by landslides and seven residents have since been found without vital signs, according to public broadcaster NHK.

In Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, scores of people were reported injured, according to local firefighters, and a number of houses in the quake-stricken areas have collapsed, with emergency work underway to rescue those potentially buried under the houses, local officials said.

The quake has also triggered power blackouts across a wide area in Hokkaido affecting some 3 million households, and hundreds of thousands of households were without water supply, local utilities said.

More than 1,300 public schools in the prefecture have decided to close and students are told to stay at home amid the dangerous aftershocks, according to local reports.

The Japanese government has set up a liaison unit at the crisis management center of the office of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to gather more information on the devastating quake.

It said some 25,000 personnel from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces will be dispatched to the quake-stricken areas for rescue and relief operations at the request of the governor of Hokkaido.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the major temblor occurred in Hokkaido Prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time on Thursday morning (1808 GMT Wednesday), with the epicenter located at a latitude of 42.7 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east and at depth of 40 km.

The earthquake was logged at upper 6 in some areas of Hokkaido Prefecture on the Japanese seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

It was the first time for a quake in Hokkaido to reach an intensity of upper 6 since the seismic scale was revised in 1996, the JMA noted.

Dozens of aftershock followed, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 that hit the prefecture at 6:11 a.m. local time (2111 GMT Wednesday), the weather agency said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned that earthquakes with a similar intensity could continue in the area for about a week.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said that the Tomari nuclear power plant operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. had lost an external power source, and a spent fuel pool was being cooled by an emergency power supply system. Power supply has since been restored at the plant, according to the plant's operator.

The nuclear watchdog said that no abnormalities had been observed in radiation levels around the plant.

The JMA said there might be a slight sea-level change in Japan's coastal areas as a result of the early morning temblor.

A potentially lethal fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in Muroran, local media reported, and was later extinguished by firefighters.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 14:59:08|Editor: Liangyu

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HARBIN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Driving his old banger along a path, Fu Jianguo started his daily work patrolling the Zhalong National Nature Reserve, where red-crowned cranes were roaming in reeds.

Fu, 56, called those birds in the vast marshland his beloved "children" that require national protection.

Located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, the Zhalong nature reserve serves as the habitat of over 190 types of rare birds like red-crowned cranes.

Among the rare birds, the red-crowned cranes and the oriental white storks are closely monitored by Fu, who is head of a wildlife protection association in Lindian County, where part of the nature reserve locates.

With their population both below 3,000 nationwide, the red-crowned cranes and the oriental white storks are listed as endangered species that are under first-class national protection.

"My home was like a zoo in my childhood," he said, recalling the abundant wetland and rare birds in the county in the past.

To Fu, protecting local wildlife was kind of family tradition, as his father also took care of cranes and other wild animals for zoos before retirement.

"My favorite thing was squatting down and observing them," he said.

Fu started his wildlife protection career in 1984 when the then 22-year-old youngster became a local guide for a wild life research institute.

Protecting wildlife is by no means easy in Heilongjiang, where long and bitterly cold in the winter brings major challenges for Fu during his fieldwork.

Sometimes it means risking his own life. During a freezing winter day in 2014, Fu plowed his way through the frozen wetlands and found a bird traps hidden in the snow. While rushing to remove them, he fell into an icy pit, and his clothes were frozen in just a minute.

While conducting fieldwork a few days later, he fell from the roof of his car and injured himself. He was in shock and was rushed to the emergency room where it took him over an hour to come around.

While the cold weather was challenging and dangerous, cracking down on poachers posed even more of a threat.

"A hunter put his gun to my head, ordering me to stop intervening," Fu said, recalling the most dangerous moment in his career about 23 years ago when Fu and some police officers confiscated guns from poachers in the reserve after being informed by locals of illegal hunting.

"I wasn't scared, because I believe evil never prevails over good," he said. Thanks to their quick response, no birds were harmed by the poacher.

Facing so many difficulties and dangerous situations, Fu once thought of giving up. However, those thoughts disappeared as soon as he saw his beloved red-crowned cranes, oriental white storks and others birds living happily in their natural habitat.

China has made notable progress in ecological protection in recent years, and non-governmental organizations with increasing numbers of volunteers are playing an important role.

Fu and over 60 volunteers on his team have saved and set free hundreds of birds under first-class national protection in the past 34 years. Now, his team receives up to 15 phone calls a day for help from wildlife protectors across the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 15:04:08|Editor: xuxin

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Former conservative President Lee Myung-bak (L front) arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, on Sept. 6, 2018. South Korean state prosecutors demanded a 20-year imprisonment on Thursday for former conservative President Lee Myung-bak over corruption charges. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho)

SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korean state prosecutors demanded a 20-year imprisonment on Thursday for former conservative President Lee Myung-bak over corruption charges.

Prosecutors said in a final court hearing of the Lee case that the Seoul Central District Court should sentence Lee to 20 years in prison, requesting a fine of 15 billion won (13.3 million U.S. dollars) and a forfeiture of 11.1 billion won (9.9 million U.S. dollars).

Lee, who served a five-year presidency from early 2008, was arrest in late March, before being indicted in the following month on 16 counts of corruption charges including bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The 76-year-old was accused of embezzling tens of millions of U.S. dollars from DAS, a local auto parts manufacturer that is believed to have been owned by Lee under borrowed names.

Lee was charged with taking bribes from the country's spy agency and Samsung Electronics as well as the head of a state-run banking group and a politician.

Samsung was suspected of paying litigation expenses in the U.S. lawsuit for DAS, which prosecutors saw as a bribe to the former president.

Lee was also charged with illegally moving confidential presidential documents from the presidential Blue House to his private building after retirement.

Prosecutors said the defendant abused his presidential authority, commissioned by people, for his personal interest and tainted the constitutional history.

They noted that it was miserable for Lee to completely deny all of his wrongdoings, which were committed during his presidency.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 15:24:12|Editor: xuxin

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday Defense Secretary James Mattis will remain in office, dismissing reports that he is looking for possible replacements for the Pentagon chief.

"He'll stay right there. We're very happy with him. We're having a lot of victories," Trump said when asked by reporters at the White House whether he was considering replacing Mattis.

The remarks came as The Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin wrote in an article released earlier Wednesday that the administration has been considering possible replacements for Mattis for weeks.

Rogin added that no decisions have been made, though White House officials expect that Mattis will leave his position in the coming months.

The Trump-Mattis relationship was put under limelight a day earlier after excerpts from an explosive book told that the defense secretary had made disparaging remarks about the president.

According to the book, "Fear: Trump in the White House," authored by veteran investigative reporter Bob Woodward, Mattis was quoted as having told associates that Trump acted like "a fifth- or sixth-grader."

Mattis denied Tuesday night that he ever said or heard the quotes attributed to him in the book.

"While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility," Mattis said in a statement.

Trump called Woodward's book "a total piece of fiction" on Wednesday, while praising Mattis' statement as "beautiful."

In a statement to The Washington Post, Woodward said, "I stand by my reporting."

According to the author, the book was based on hundreds of hours of conversations with direct players.

Woodward has been a reporter at The Washington Post since 1971 and remains an associate editor.

He is most famous for breaking the story of the Watergate scandal, which promoted the resignation of Richard Nixon from the presidency in 1974.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 15:29:13|Editor: Lu Hui

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BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Prime Minister of Cape Verde Ulisses Correia e Silva who attended the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Sept. 3-4.

Xi commended Silva's emphasis on developing Cape Verde's relationship with China and actively supporting China-Africa cooperation, saying that China is willing to work with Cape Verde to make the bilateral relationship a model for the principle of treating all countries as equals regardless of their size, as well as solidarity and cooperation.

Xi called on both countries to support each other more firmly on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns.

China commends Cape Verde's active support and participation in the Belt and Road cooperation and is willing to strengthen the connection of development strategies with Cape Verde and expand cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction and marine economy, Xi said.

China has paid attention to Cape Verde's special concerns as a small island country, Xi said, adding that China is willing to strengthen coordination with Cape Verde on issues such as climate change and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so as to safeguard the common interests of both countries as well as all developing countries.

Calling the FOCAC Beijing summit a great success, Silva said Xi's call for a stronger China-Africa community with a shared future and a series of measures he announced at the summit were uplifting and will lead the bilateral ties into a new era.

Cape Verde adheres to the one-China principle, speaks highly of the Belt and Road Initiative as the hope for Africa, and is ready to actively participate in it, according to Silva.

Silva said he was inspired by his visit to the Binhai New Area in Tianjin, adding that Cape Verde hopes to draw useful experience and conduct cooperation.
CINCINNATI, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heather Ackels, previously General Manager with Kroger Technology, has been named Executive Director for the INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati effective August 13, 2018. The Board of Directors unanimously confirmed Mrs. Ackels. Ackels replaces Executive Director Kyle Gundrum who has held a variety of roles for the INTERalliance over the past 10 years, including Director since 2016. While making the announcement, Mr. Scott (Board Chair) said, "Heather brings a unique perspective to the role of Executive Director. She has been a hiring manager, talent recruiter and technology leader. Her deep technology background, management skills and community support for High School students makes her an ideal leader for the INTERalliance. We are very fortunate to have someone of her caliber leading the INTERalliance. Our Board is excited about the passion and commitment that Heather will bring to the role.

Prior to the Executive Director role, Heather spent 13 years with The Kroger Company in a variety of technology leadership roles most recently leading the Research Enterprise Enablement Team within Kroger Technologys Research and Development Organization. Throughout her career, Heather received the Progressive Grocer Top Women in Grocery Rising Star award in 2015, was recognized by the Business Courier as a 40 under 40 nominee in 2016 and was selected as a Deloitte Top Women To Watch Honoree in 2017. Over the last 5 years, Mrs. Ackels has been an engaged advocate for INTERalliance and received the Mentor of the Year Award for her involvement in TechOlympics, Chapter Competitions, Company Support, and other volunteer points for the 2017-2018 year.

The INTERalliance of Greater Cincinnati has helped over 5,500 area high school students learn about local careers in IT through its programs, including summer internships for high school students with Fortune 100 companies, a series of immersive technology-in-business summer camps hosted by area universities and businesses, and its flagship conference, TechOlympics Expo. The University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Miami University are its key college partners. 54 of the area's high schools are served by its programs, with over 650 students reached each year.

Geoff Smith, co-Chair of the Cincinnati CIO Roundtable, stated, Ive seen first-hand the incredible impact that INTERalliance has had on the IT Talent Pipeline  nearly 40% of high school students in INTERalliance programs go on to pursue a career in IT and thats about 15 times the national average! I say that because weve achieved those great results over the past 12 years without ever having a full-time Executive Director, but instead leveraging wonderful volunteer IT executives willing to do this as an extracurricular to their 'day job.' Now with Heather we not only have a Full-time Executive Director for the very first time, but we have one whos infinitely qualified and personally committed to the cause as demonstrated by the time/talent she has generously volunteered to IA over the years.

I am so excited to partner with Heather as our new INTERalliance Executive Director, said Ginny Walker, Senior Director, GE Aviation, Engines Modernization. Her passion for the organization is contagious; and that, combined with her industry experience, positions us for great things in the future! Long time INTERalliance Board member Mahendra Vora echoed Walkers enthusiasm. We are thrilled to have Heather as our Executive Director. Her experience coupled with her passion for students in our community to be the next generation tech leaders, will be invaluable as we enter our next phase of growth of the INTERalliance locally and nationally. This is an important step forward towards creating the Greater Cincinnati region as a vibrant tech community, said Vora.

Member companies of the INTERalliance include The Kroger Co., Procter & Gamble, Great American Insurance, Worldpay, GE Aviation, Vora Technologies, Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati Bell and Western & Southern Financial Group, among many others.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 15:34:14|Editor: xuxin

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's ultra-right-wing candidate Jair Bolsonaro took the lead in a poll released Wednesday about the upcoming presidential election, which also shows that he will lose in a simulated second round of voting.

It was the first poll by Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (Ibope) since Brazil's Superior Electoral Court declared jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ineligible. Lula had taken the lead in all previous polls so far. Without his presence, the election scenario becomes considerably more complicated.

According to Ibope, Bolsonaro, from the Social Liberal Party, has 22 percent of voting intentions. Having served seven consecutive terms as a federal representative, Bolsonaro has managed to build an image of a maverick who is about to bring change.

The runner-up position is filled by two other candidates -- Ciro Gomes, from the Democratic Labor Party and Marina Silva, from Sustainability Network Party, both with 12 percent. Geraldo Alckmin, from the Social Democracy Party, has 9 percent.

Lula's running mate Fernando Haddad from the Workers' Party, who is expected to replace him on the ticket, has so far not managed to inherit Lula's massive voting base. According to Ibope, he has 6 percent of voting intentions.

The other eight candidates have an even lower percentage of voting intentions.

A total of 21 percent of electors said they will vote null and 7 percent remain undecided. The poll was carried out with 2,002 electors from all over Brazil and has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

While Bolsonaro takes the lead in the first round of polling, Ibope found that he would lose to major rivals in a simulated second round of voting, due to a high rejection rate. Bolsonaro is the most rejected candidate in the election, with 44 percent of electors saying they will not, under any circumstances, vote for him.

The other candidates have much lower rejection rates: Silva has 26 percent, followed by Haddad, with 23 percent; Alckmin, with 22 percent, and Gomes, with 20 percent.

In second round simulations, Bolsonaro loses to Gomes by 44-33 percent; to Silva (43-33 percent); and to Alckmin (41-32 percent). Against Haddad, there is a technical tie due to the poll's margin of error, with Haddad having 36 percent against Bolsonaro's 37 percent of voting intentions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 15:44:16|Editor: xuxin

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the climate change is "running faster than we are," and runaway climate change is still a real possibility.

Greater ambition, urgency and action are needed "if we are to prevent ever greater climate-related crises," said the UN chief at the launch of the 2018 New Climate Economy report, at UN headquarters in New York.

The document, published by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, finds that the benefits of smarter and clearer growth are significantly under-estimated, and that bold climate action could deliver 26 trillion U.S. dollars in economic benefits through to 2030.

Switching to a clean economy will also create over 65 million new low-carbon jobs, and reduce air pollution-related deaths by 700,000, among others.

Speaking at the launch, the secretary-general said that momentum for climate action is growing every day, and shifting to a sustainable growth path has many benefits.

Guterres said that clean energy system helps developing countries, noting that "it can help deliver access to energy to the one billion people who currently lack electricity."

The UN chief gave the example of Bangladesh, which has installed more than 4 million solar home systems. "This has created more than 115,000 jobs and saved rural households over 400 million dollars in polluting fuels," he said.

Underlining the risks faced by the world, the UN chief said that climate change is "running faster than we are," and that women, the poorest and the most vulnerable are hit first and worst by storms, floods, droughts, wildfires and rising seas.

Guterres said that the last 19 years included 18 of the warmest on record, that greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere continue to rise, and that there is still a significant gap between national commitments to lower emissions, and actual reductions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 15:54:17|Editor: xuxin

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ULAN BATOR, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 16th Discover Mongolia International Mining Investors Forum kicked off here Thursday, with an aim of highlighting the business-friendly environment in Mongolia's mining industry and attracting more investment.

More than 300 officials and investors from about 10 countries, including Canada, Australia and Germany, were attending the forum.

During the two-day event, the participants will discuss the current status of the Mongolian mining industry, the prospect of its development and ways to create a more favorable environment for foreign investors.

"The mining is the main economic sector of Mongolia. Currently, the industry accounts for 22 percent of the gross domestic product ... 74 percent of industrial production and over 90 percent of exports in Mongolia," Mongolian Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar told the opening ceremony,

The mining industry also involved 72 percent of the total foreign direct investment in Mongolia, the minister said, calling on foreign investors to invest more.

The vast territory of Mongolia has rich mineral deposits, including coal, copper, gold, uranium, molybdenum and fluorspar.

Oyu Tolgoi giant copper mine and Tavan Tolgoi coal mine in the southern Gobi desert of Mongolia are the country's world-class mining projects under development.

The Discover Mongolia is the largest event to attract investment in the landlocked East Asian country alongside the Coal Mongolia International Conference, which was held here on Sept. 4-5.

The international investment event came after Mongolia decided to sell up to 30 percent of the Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi Company on domestic and international stock markets.

Tavan Tolgoi is one of the world's largest untapped coking and thermal coal deposits, with an estimated reserve of 6.4 billion tons.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 16:09:19|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded on Tuesday.

Xi stressed that China has always supported and actively helped the peace process and development of Central African Republic, and hopes it will achieve new progress in its endeavor towards lasting peace and sustainable development.

China is ready to work with Central African Republic to strengthen political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, help it improve food security and people's living standard, and continue to send medical teams to the country, said Xi.

China will continue to stand up and speak for Central African Republic at multilateral organizations, push for more international concern and input in the peace process of the country, as well as more constructive assistance.

Touadera said his country firmly abides by the one-China principle, supports China's reunification, and appreciates China's long-term help in promoting stability and economic development.

Central African Republic is ready to strengthen the exchange between political parties and governance, and to improve the practical cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, and eight major initiatives proposed by President Xi at the summit, said Touadera.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 16:19:21|Editor: Lu Hui

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Gambian President Adama Barrow at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Gambian President Adama Barrow after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded Tuesday.

Xi welcomed the Gambian president's attendance at the FOCAC meetings for the first time, saying this is of great significance to China-Gambia relations, China-Africa relations, and the development of the FOCAC.

In the two years since resuming diplomatic relations, the two countries have seen their friendship and cooperation move forward comprehensively and smoothly, and bilateral ties have developed positively and quickly, Xi said, adding that China is satisfied with the achievements made in the development of bilateral relations.

China commends President Barrow and the Gambian government for adhering to the one-China principle, and is ready to work with the Gambia to continue steering bilateral ties in the right direction, continuously enhance political mutual trust, and continue firmly supporting each other on issues of core interests and major concerns, Xi said.

China supports the Gambian government's efforts in "building the new Gambia," and is willing to increase pragmatic cooperation and expand people-to-people exchanges with the western African country, Xi said.

China supports the Gambia's efforts to enhance peace and security capacity building, Xi said.

For his part, Barrow said almost all heads of state and government of African countries attended the summit, a demonstration of the great importance they attach to China and China-Africa relations.

It is with great pleasure that the Gambia has returned to the big family of Africa-China cooperation, and the Gambia is satisfied with the achievements the two countries have rapidly made after resuming diplomatic relations, Barrow said.

"China has helped us improve our telecommunications, and road and transport conditions -- things that we had wanted to do for many years but failed," Barrow said.

Facts have proved that it is a huge mistake for the Gambia to keep the so-called diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Barrow said.

Barrow said his country will unswervingly uphold the one-China policy without any hesitation and is committed to consolidating the win-win partnership with China, which fully conforms to the will of the Gambian people, Barrow said.

Barrow said he believes that cooperation with China will enable the Gambia to speed up its development.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 16:29:23|Editor: xuxin

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HANOI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam gained nearly 2.3 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 243,000 tons of cashew nuts in the first eight months of this year, up 2.5 percent in value and 8 percent in volume on-year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Thursday.

In the same period, Vietnam shipped abroad over 1.3 million tons of coffee worth nearly 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.8 percent in volume but down 3.1 percent in value.

Meanwhile, the country sold overseas 80,000 tons of tea worth 131 million U.S. dollars, witnessing respective year-on-year drops of 11.3 percent and 8.6 percent. It also earned 585 million U.S. dollars from selling offshore 175,000 tons of pepper, up 4 percent in volume but down 35.2 percent in value.

Vietnam earned over 3.5 billion U.S. dollars from exporting 352,205 tons of cashew nuts, mainly to the United States, the Netherlands and China, in 2017, while importing 1.1 million tons of raw cashew from Africa, said the ministry.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 16:34:24|Editor: Liangyu

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Wang Yang (R), chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Thursday met with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded Tuesday.

Wang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the Chinese and Ugandan heads of state met five times since 2013, which demonstrates the importance of the China-Uganda ties in China's relations with Africa.

Wang said China is willing to work with Uganda to implement the important consensuses of the two countries' leaders and the outcomes of the FOCAC Beijing Summit, strengthen joint efforts to build the Belt and Road, help Uganda solve bottleneck issues in economic development and push China-Uganda cooperation toward greater outcomes.

Museveni thanked China for its longtime firm support and selfless assistance provided to Africa and said more is to be learned from China in building a common market in Africa and boosting Uganda's economic development. He spoke of the need to deepen Uganda-China practical cooperation in fields such as trade, infrastructure, industrial parks and agricultural processing to benefit the people of the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 16:44:26|Editor: xuxin

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PHNOM PENH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday appointed former deputy commander of National Military Police Gen. Vong Pisen as the commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), according to a royal decree.

Gen. Pisen succeeded Gen. Pol Saroeun, who took new posts as a lawmaker and a senior minister.

The monarch also appointed RCAF's deputy commander-in-chief Gen. Eth Sarath as the chief of the RCAF's joint staff, replacing Gen. Kun Kim, who left for new posts as a lawmaker and a senior minister.

Also, the king named Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's eldest son Lieutenant General Hun Manet as the commander of the Royal Cambodian Army, substituting Gen. Meas Sophea, who was assigned to a new post as a senior minister in charge of special mission.

According to the royal decree, the appointments were made at the prime minister's request.

They are all key members of the prime minister's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP).
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 17:04:30|Editor: Lu Hui

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and foreign leaders attending the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) head for the venue of the summit's opening ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2018. The FOCAC Beijing Summit opened here on Monday. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech titled "Work Together for Common Development and a Shared Future" at the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), held on Sept. 3-4, shows an "encouraging" approach of China to its relations with Africa and Beijing's unselfish dedication to help developing countries, experts and world leaders have said.

"FIVE-NO" APPROACH ENCOURAGING

In Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech at the opening ceremony of the summit on Monday, he announced China's "five-no" approach in its relations with Africa: no interference in African countries' pursuit of development paths that fit their national conditions; no interference in their internal affairs; no imposition of China's will on them; no attachment of political strings to assistance; and no seeking of selfish political gains in investment and financing cooperation.

McHenry Venaani, chairperson of the Trade Immigration and Customs portfolio in the Pan-African Parliament and Namibian Opposition leader, expressed his support for China's "no interference and no strings attached" policy to development aid and infrastructure funding in Africa.

"Announcement by President Xi that his country will support Africa with no strings attached is welcome and indeed a cornerstone of engagement between China, the second largest economy, and Africa," Venaani said. "Whatever aid China is giving to Africa for economic growth and infrastructure development is timely as Africa needs a partner for growth currently."

China proves to be Africa's all-weather friend, said Hoze Riruako, political analyst and political science lecturer at the University of Namibia.

"For a long time Africa has been looking for a partner who comes in a mutually beneficial relationship and China has proven to be that partner," said Riruako, referring to the "five-no" approach as "encouraging."

Stephen Ndegwa, a public policy lecturer at the United States International University Africa based in Kenya, described China as "a genuine development partner" for Africa.

"China has chosen to let African countries chart their own course towards an ideally unique African continent with its own social, economic and political identity," he said.

China and Africa share a very solid cooperation relationship, said Sudheendra Kulkarni, ex-chairman of Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank.

The "five-no" approach, a brand-new international cooperation pattern, means China-Africa cooperation is based on equality and mutual respect, Kulkarni said.

"IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS"

The FOCAC Beijing Action Plan (2019-2021) was adopted at the summit to confirm that China and Africa will comprehensively enhance pragmatic cooperation focusing on the implementation of the eight major initiatives -- industrial promotion, infrastructure connectivity, trade facilitation, green development, capacity building, health care, people-to-people exchange, and peace and security.

"The eight major initiatives are important achievements of the summit," Zimbabwean economic analyst Ernest Mudzenge told Xinhua.

In his view, these initiatives reflect priorities in China-Africa relations and will also develop a blueprint for future cooperation between China and Africa.

"I think China-Africa cooperation will reach a higher point if the eight major initiatives are implemented successfully." He said.

Kabelo Ebineng, permanent secretary of Botswana's Ministry of Transport and Communications, hails the initiative of strengthening infrastructure connectivity.

Infrastructure connectivity will not only improve Botswana's road network, but also help address some social and economic challenges in the landlocked country, Ebineng said.

Augustine B. Njamnshi Chair, director of technical and political affairs in the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, spoke highly of the inclusion of green development in the initiatives.

"This is a great move and in the right direction. This move gives the right signals and I hope it will become a culture in China-Africa relationship," the expert said.

Fadimatou Iyawa, national president of Cameroon's National Youth Council, pointed out that reinforcing capacity building is very important to help African young generations to improve their skills.

"Cultural exchanges are fundamentally relevant. This is a very welcome opportunity for Cameroon," said George Ngwane, an expert of the Cameroon National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism. "We Cameroonians and Africans should be able to take that advantage in a win-win situation."

UNSELFISH DEDICATION

At a press meeting after the closing of the summit on Tuesday, Xi said that he is convinced that with concerted efforts and strong support of the over 2.6 billion Chinese and African people, the two sides will meet the goal of building an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future.

The Beijing summit shows an unselfish dedication of China to help developing countries, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said during his meeting with Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Li Manchang on Tuesday.

"As the world economy faces the challenges of trade protectionism, China, as a country of great economic power, has once again demonstrated its willingness to help developing countries unselfishly, to the benefit of, as President Xi Jinping said, a common prosperity," Vucic said.

He said that "the respect that China shows to all countries and their right to development, regardless of their sizes, as well as without interference in their internal issues and political conditions, deserves the support of all who believe in the ideals of genuine equality and solidarity."

Pierre Picquart, expert of international affairs of University of Paris VIII, said that with new progress achieved every year, China-Africa cooperation has become increasingly fruitful.

China plays an active role in the continent's development and the two sides have gained a true win-win situation, he added.

(Zhang Xingjun in Bombay, Wu Changwei in Windhoek, Gao Yuan in Cape Town, Wang Xiaopeng, Jin Zheng in Nairobi, Yang Mengxi in Gaborone, Qiao Benxiao in Yaounde, Zhang Yuliang in Harare, Gao Lan, Hu Xiaoguang in Moscow, Li Sibo in Dar es Salaam, Guo Jun in Abuja, Han Bing in Paris, Wang Huijuan in Belgrade contributed to the story.)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 17:09:31|Editor: xuxin

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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian central bank, Bank Negara, said Thursday that its international reserves stood at 104.4 billion U.S. dollars as of Aug. 30.

The reserves were 200 million U.S. dollars higher when compared with the 104.2 billion U.S. dollars as of Aug. 15.

The central bank said in a statement that the reserves position is sufficient to finance 7.5 months of retained imports and is 0.9 times the short-term external debt.

"The short-term external debt is mostly accounted by banking institutions, reflecting the centralization of liquidity management of Malaysian banks operating in the region and the sizeable presence of foreign banks in Malaysia," said the central bank.

"These institutions hold substantial external assets, which can be drawn upon to meet their external obligations without creating a claim on Bank Negara Malaysia's international reserves," it added.

The international reserves consisted of 98.5 billion U.S. dollars in foreign currency reserves, 900 million U.S. dollars in International Monetary Fund Reserves Position, 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in Special Drawing Rights, 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in gold and 2.3 billion U.S. dollars in other reserves assets.
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Maricann Group Inc. (CSE:MARI) (FRANKFURT: 75M) (OTCQB:MRRCF) (Maricann or the Company") wishes to make the following statements regarding recent market activity in its common shares traded on the OTCQB marketplace.



The Company became aware of certain promotional activity on its securities on September 4, 2018 upon receipt of correspondence from OTC Markets specifically related to certain promotional literature encouraging investors to purchase the Company's common shares and making certain statements regarding the potential returns on such investment, including certain promotional newsletter emails. Until being informed by OTC Markets of the promotional material, the Company was unaware of the promotional activity and remains unaware of the full nature of the promotional activity and the extent of the dissemination. It is difficult to determine whether the promotional materials resulted in any increased trading activity in the Company's common shares but the Company believes that recent increases in its share price and trading volume are industry specific as the cannabis sector and the Company's direct competitors have generally seen an increase in trading activity over the past week.

Upon reviewing the content of the material, it appears that certain of the statements and claims made were taken from the Companys website, historical press releases and other public documents, but the Company had no editorial control over the content of the material. Furthermore, there are statements made which encourage investors to purchase the common shares of the Company, which only express the view of the authors and the Company disclaims any potentially exaggerated or misleading statements contained in the material. In addition, the Company has determined that certain statements included in these publications related to the Company and its business might be read as misleading and/or incomplete and readers should not place undue reliance on these newsletters or websites. Specifically, the Company does not condone the use of sensational language to describe the Companys business prospects or the growth potential of the Companys industry. The Company does not condone any statements made regarding the urgency of investing in the Companys common shares or any other similar statements. Finally, the Company notes that investing in the Companys securities involves certain risks and uncertainties which investors should review prior to making any investment decision. The Company encourages all investors to undertake proper due diligence and carefully consider all investment decisions. The Company directs potential investors to rely solely on its filings and disclosures made with Canadian securities regulators, available at www.sedar.com and as posted on the filings and disclosure page for MRRCF on the OTC Markets website at www.otcmarkets.com.

The Company routinely responds to inquiries from shareholders, potential investors, and investment analysts, and generates its own Company marketing materials. The Company paid a media service, Tycona Media, to place banner advertisements on high traffic websites for the cannabis industry, complete with images of one employee and the Companys historic greenhouse operations. These media slots were purchased and booked one month in advance. However, to the Company's knowledge, after due inquiry of management, neither the Company, nor any of its officers, directors, controlling shareholders or any third-party service providers have directly been involved with the creation or distribution of promotional newsletter emails or websites that make exaggerated or misleading claims related to the Company and its securities.

After due inquiry of the Company's officers, directors, controlling shareholders and third party service providers, except for two officers that engaged in a securities lending arrangement (see press release dated August 10, 2018), neither the Company, nor any of its officers, directors, and to the knowledge of the Company, any controlling shareholders or third party service providers have sold or purchased the Company's securities within the past 90 days. Such transactions were in accordance with the Company's insider trading policy and were reported with the System for Electronic Disclosure (www.SEDI.ca).

Since September 1, 2017 the Company has engaged MJM Markets and Consulting (Toronto, Canada; Follow The Money Investor Group, o/a 2632436 Ontario Limited (Toronto, Canada); Harbor Access LLC (NY, USA); Investing News Network; M. Davis & Associates Capital Inc (Vancouver, Canada); ERPR AS (Oslo, Norway); BlackX GmbH (Germany); Tycona Media (Vancouver, Canada); DiePRBerator (Germany); and Prosdocimi (London, UK) at various times to provide investor relations services, public relations services, marketing, native advertising or other related services including the promotion of the Company, its business and/or its securities.

The Company has not issued any convertible debt or equity instruments that allow conversion to equity securities at prices constituting a discount to the current market rate at the time of the issuance.

For further information about Maricann Group Inc., please visit www.maricann.com or view the Company's filings at www.sedar.com.

About Maricann Group Inc.

Maricann is a vertically integrated producer and distributor of marijuana for medical purposes. The Company was founded in 2013 and is based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada and Munich, Germany, with production facilities in Langton, Ontario where it operates a medicinal cannabis cultivation, extraction, formulation and distribution business under federal licence from the Government of Canada. The Company also has production operations in Dresden, Saxony, Germany and Regensdorf, Switzerland. Maricann is currently undertaking an expansion of its cultivation and support facilities in Canada in a 942,000 sq. ft. (87,515 sq. m) and will continue to pursue new opportunities in Europe.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

For more information about Maricann, please visit our website at www.maricann.com

CONTACT INFORMATION

Investor Relations

Graham Farrell

Director of Investor Relations

graham@maricann.com

647-643-7665

Corporate Headquarters (Canada)

Maricann Group Inc. (Toronto)

845 Harrington Court, Unit 3

Burlington Ontario L7N 3P3

Canada

289-288-6274

European Headquarters (Germany)

Maricann GmbH

Thierschstrasse 3, 80538 Munchen, Deutschland




Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 17:19:39|Editor: zh

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Zhao Leji (L), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, meets with Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Zhao Leji Thursday met with Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded Tuesday.

China stands ready to work with the Central African Republic to fully implement the consensuses reached by the leaders of the two countries and the outcomes of the summit, said Zhao, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC.

Zhao also called for joint efforts in strengthening exchange and cooperation in various areas to lift the friendly and cooperative ties to a new height.

Touadera spoke highly of the fruitful results of the summit and its impact on the development of China and Africa.

The Central African Republic hopes to learn from China's successful experience in governance and enhance the bilateral cooperation in such areas as energy, agriculture and mining, said Touadera.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 17:34:41|Editor: xuxin

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DUBAI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A tourism delegation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will visit three Chinese cities on a roadshow, the UAE tourism authorities said on Thursday.

The delegation will travel to China's Shanghai, Shenzhen and Kunming over five days from September 10, said the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) in an e-mailed statement.

UAE's national carrier Etihad Airways, along with hoteliers, travel agencies and tour operators will join the roadshow.

"It is very important for us to continue to increase our presence in the Chinese market and boost awareness about the many and varied products we have across the emirate, especially as we have so many new and exciting offerings," said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions and Overseas Offices of DCT Abu Dhabi.

China is the largest overseas market of Abu Dhabi. In 2017, 373,400 Chinese tourists visited Abu Dhabi, an increase of more than 60 percent over 2016.

"Visiting Kunming and Shenzhen for the first time will also hopefully assist us in getting our message out to a wider audience of potential travellers," AL Nuaimi added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 17:49:44|Editor: xuxin

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QALA-E-NAW, Afghanistan, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants carried out an offensive on a security post in the western Badghis province, killing 11 army troops Wednesday night, the provincial governor's spokesman confirmed Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 18:04:49|Editor: xuxin

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BANGKOK, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Three Thai businesspersons were among four people killed in a helicopter crash in Czech Republic.

The privately-owned helicopter fatally crashed in Plzen city, about 100 km southwest of the Czech capital Prague, on Wednesday night, killing all the four people aboard, including the pilot, identified as Bohumil Doubek, who was the CEO of Workpress Aviation.

The Thais, killed in the civil helicopter crash, were identified as Chanathip Surachaisitthikul, president of Thai Subcontracting Promotion Association, Chanphim Sarutanond, marketing manager of Medica Technology Co., and Ekarat Lekphornprasert of C.S. Engineering Autoparts Co., according to a statement of the association issued on Thursday.

The Thais, who dealt in aviation and medical equipment industries, were taking a business trip organized by Thailand's Board of Investment's Frankfurt branch to Germany and Czech.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 18:04:50|Editor: xuxin

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QALA-E-NAW, Afghanistan, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants carried out an offensive on a security post in the western Badghis province, killing 11 army troops Wednesday night, the provincial governor's spokesman confirmed Thursday.

"Eleven army soldiers lost their lives in a wide Taliban attack that also resulted in the death of at least 10 militants and critically injuries of 14 militants in the Ab Kamari district of Badghis province," spokesman Jamshid Shahabi told Xinhua.

The militants have dispersed from the scene and the district was under security forces control after four hours of clashes, the source added.

The province has been the scene of clashes between security forces and Taliban militants from time to time.

On Tuesday, two police officers and 11 militants were killed and four police and 16 militants wounded in fierce clashes after Taliban attacked a security checkpoint on outskirts of provincial capital of Qala-e-Naw.

On the same day, a district police chief and a police officer were killed in a bomb attack in neighboring Muqur district.

The Taliban-led insurgency has been on the rampage since the beginning of 2015 when the Afghan security forces assumed full responsibilities of security from the U.S. and NATO troops.

The militant group was not immediately available for comment with media on the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 18:09:51|Editor: xuxin

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JERUSALEM, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have developed a new life-saving monitoring technology for early prediction of hemodynamic instability in intensive care patients, Ben-Gurion University published Thursday.

Hemodynamic instability is defined as instability in blood pressure and flow, especially low one, which can lead to poor blood supply to organs, and organ failure.

This is considered to be one of the most critical events requiring immediate and effective intervention in the intensive care unit. Once the patient becomes unstable, the treatment is much more difficult, and there is an increase in morbidity and mortality.

The new platform, called "VitalMiner," was developed by Ben-Gurion University researchers, together with experts from the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

The new software monitors vital signs in real time and implements advanced algorithms to predict hemodynamic instability events, such as blood loss shock, before the symptoms appear.

The platform can operate on systems that are connected locally or remotely, in curing information systems, and in vital signal monitors in intensive care units, emergency rooms and mobile or home intensive care services.

In the software evaluation experiments conducted on historical data from three hospitals, VitalMiner demonstrated an improvement of up to 6 percent in predictive.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 18:19:53|Editor: xuxin

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HANOI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- During upcoming World Economic Forum on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) slated for Sept. 11-13 in Vietnam's capital, 1,000 delegates from 43 countries and regions will focus their discussions on five key topics, organizers said on Thursday.

The key contents include defining new vision for the ASEAN on regional integration, seeking new economic models and governance in the digital era, finding new business models and driving forces for ASEAN countries, enterprises' new approach to regional and global governance, and developing smart infrastructure, skill training, business startups and innovations, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and head of the event's organizing board told a press conference.

The forum's theme "ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution" has shown the common interest of the ASEAN as well as the world, since it is relevant to the ASEAN's theme for 2018, a resilient and innovative ASEAN, he said.

Among the delegates are prime ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, presidents of Indonesia and the Philippines, and Myanmar's State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The forum's attendance is very strong, with the presence of not only leaders of governments and businesses from ASEAN members, but also leaders of international organizations, and senior officials and entrepreneurs from non-ASEAN countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and India, head of Asia-Pacific, member of the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum Justin Wood told reporters.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 18:49:58|Editor: xuxin

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KIEV, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A civil helicopter crashed in the non-residential area of Kiev, capital of Ukraine on Thursday, injuring two people, the Prosecutor's Office of Kiev said in a statement.

The privately-owned chopper went down at around 7:22 a.m. local time (0422 GMT) shortly after taking off from the Hydropark recreation area, the statement said.

Two pilots, aged 70 and 62 respectively, were injured in the crash and hospitalized, it said.

The Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation into the crash with experts currently working at the site to determine the cause of the accident.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:15:03|Editor: xuxin

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by Nguon Sovan, Mao Pengfei

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen was sworn in for another five-year term on Thursday after his ruling party won all 125 parliamentary seats in a July general election.

Experts have said that the new government will face a number of key challenges in economics and trade, state reforms, social justice, anti-corruption and environment protection.

Chheang Vannarith, vice-chairman of the Cambodian Institute for Strategic Studies, said the government should invest more in human resources and boost the exports of its products to Asian markets in order to reduce its reliance on U.S. and European markets.

"The government has to develop an effective strategy to diversify its sources of growth by investing more in human capital and skill development, improving business environment and environmental protection, and diversifying its export markets from the United States and Europe to Asia, especially to China," he told Xinhua.

"To maintain its popularity over the next five years, the government should prioritize the reforms of state institutions to deliver better public services, reduce corruption and cost of production, and invest in innovation and skill development," he said.

Mey Kalyan, chairman of the state-run Royal University of Phnom Penh's board of trustees, said so far, the government has done excellent jobs in keeping peace and stability, and in advancing Cambodia's development.

"Development of a nation takes a long time, and it is imperative to keep climbing the ladder, which is increasingly more difficult and more complex when we get higher," he said.

The expert hoped that the government would take similar path, and this time with more emphasis on strengthening public administration, diversification of the economy, social justice and care of the environment.

"As the country develops further, there will be more and more demand for better public services, for social justice, and for good living environment," he said.

Joseph Matthews, a professor at the Beltei International University in Phnom Penh, said the biggest challenges for the new government was the war against corruption, especially in public administration and bureaucracy.

"It's also important to take stringent actions against illegal logging and deforestation," he said.

Matthews added that the development of human resources, the empowerment of young generation with skills, and the improvement of employability in the country are also top priorities for the new government.

The National Assembly confirmed Hun Sen, 67, as the prime minister for another five-year term on Thursday.

Addressing the assembly's first session, Hun Sen said the government would give priority to governance reform so as to strengthen state institutions, build clean administration and enhance the quality of public services.

"The new government will work harder to accelerate socio-economic development in all fields and to promote the implementation of deep and comprehensive reforms," he said.

He added that the government would continue raising wages for civil servants, armed forces, and garment factory workers, and lowering the prices of water and electricity at the same time.

The prime minister stressed that the investment in human capital is also among the top priorities for the new government.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:15:04|Editor: xuxin

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COLOMBO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Sri Lanka as a rubella-free country, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

Health Ministry's Media Secretary Nipun Ekanayake said in a statement that the certificate declaring Sri Lanka as a rubella-free country was given to Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne by WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, Poonam Khetrapal Singh.

"Sri Lanka was declared as a malaria free country in 2015, filaria free country in 2016 and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus (MNT) free country in 2017 by the WHO," Singh said.

This declaration of Sri Lanka as a rubella free country was another landmark for the healthcare services in 2018, Singh added.

The WHO regional director pointed out that Sri Lanka eliminates a disease every year, praising the country's leadership in health services as a big support for the achievements.
Expect to repurchase an incremental $70 million of Delek US shares in September 2018



Combined share repurchases and dividends paid expected to be approximately $274.0 million by the end of the third quarter 2018

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Delek US Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DK) (Delek US) today announced it expects to complete a $100.0 million 10b5-1 repurchase plan of Delek US shares in the third quarter 2018 subject to 10b5-1 volume limitations. During the third quarter, approximately $30.0 million of shares were repurchased through the end of August 2018.

Uzi Yemin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delek said, We believe that Delek US is well positioned to benefit from the trends in the market with the current Midland to Brent crude oil differential and has the ability to generate significant cash flow that builds on our strong financial position. We believe this further supports our commitment to utilizing our financial flexibility through our disciplined approach to capital allocation to return cash to our shareholders while investing in our business. Taking into consideration the total share repurchases including this announcement, we expect to have repurchased approximately $215 million of Delek US stock, or approximately 5.0% of current market capitalization on a year-to-date basis by the end of September.

About Delek US Holdings, Inc.

Delek US Holdings, Inc. is a diversified downstream energy company with assets in petroleum refining, logistics, renewable fuels and convenience store retailing. The refining assets consist of refineries operated in Tyler and Big Spring, Texas, El Dorado, Arkansas and Krotz Springs, Louisiana with a combined nameplate crude throughput capacity of 302,000 barrels per day. The logistics operations primarily consist of Delek Logistics Partners, LP. Delek US Holdings, Inc. and its affiliates own approximately 63% (including the 2 percent general partner interest) of Delek Logistics Partners, LP. Delek Logistics Partners, LP (NYSE: DKL) is a growth-oriented master limited partnership focused on owning and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets. The convenience store retail business is the largest 7-Eleven licensee in the United States and operates approximately 300 convenience stores in central and west Texas and New Mexico.

Safe Harbor Provisions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements concerning current estimates, expectations and projections about future results, performance, prospects, opportunities, plans, actions and events and other statements, concerns, or matters that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined under the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding share repurchases; cash and liquidity; opportunities and anticipated performance and financial position.

Investors are cautioned that the following important factors, among others, may affect these forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: risks and uncertainties related to the ability to successfully integrate the businesses of Delek US and Alon USA Energy, Inc.; risks related to disruption of management time from ongoing business operations due to the integration implementation; the risk that the combined company may be unable to fully achieve anticipated cost-cutting synergies or it may take longer than expected to achieve those synergies; uncertainty related to timing and amount of future share repurchases and dividend payments; risks and uncertainties with respect to the quantities and costs of crude oil we are able to obtain and the price of the refined petroleum products we ultimately sell; risks related to Delek US exposure to Permian Basin crude oil, such as supply, pricing, gathering, production and transportation capacity; the ability to close the pipeline joint venture, obtain commitments and construct the pipeline, gains and losses from derivative instruments; management's ability to execute its strategy of growth through acquisitions and the transactional risks associated with acquisitions and dispositions; acquired assets may suffer a diminishment in fair value as a result of which we may need to record a write-down or impairment in carrying value of the asset; changes in the scope, costs, and/or timing of capital and maintenance projects; operating hazards inherent in transporting, storing and processing crude oil and intermediate and finished petroleum products; our competitive position and the effects of competition; the projected growth of the industries in which we operate; general economic and business conditions affecting the southern United States; and other risks described in Delek US filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), including risks disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other filings and reports with the SEC.

Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking information is based on information available at the time and/or management's good faith belief with respect to future events, and is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Delek US undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Investor Relations Contact:

Keith Johnson

Vice President of Investor Relations

Delek US Holdings, Inc.

615-435-1366

Media/Public Affairs Contact:

Michael P. Ralsky

Vice President - Government Affairs, Public Affairs & Communications

Delek US Holdings, Inc.

615-435-1407




Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:25:08|Editor: xuxin

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COLOMBO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Over 1.5 million tourists have arrived in Sri Lanka between January to August, recording a 4.9 percent growth when compared to the same period last year, statistics from the Tourism Ministry showed here on Thursday.

India, China and Britain were the leading three markets, followed by France and Germany.

The ministry said out of the total number, 190,312 arrivals were from China while in August alone 26,558 Chinese tourists visited the country.

In total, 200,359 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka last month which was a 4.9 percent growth when compared to August 2017.

Tourism Minister, John Amaratunga said last month that tourist arrivals from China was likely to see a significant growth following steps taken to promote Sri Lanka as a holiday destination in Chinese provinces.

Amaratunga said he had held discussions with the provincial tourism authorities in China, who had assured him that every effort will be made to increase visitor arrivals to Sri Lanka.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:25:09|Editor: xuxin

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MOSCOW, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Aviation authorities of Russia and Luxembourg agreed on launching direct flights between the two countries, Russian media reported Thursday.

The two sides held fruitful talks and made a decision on the opportunity to fly between their capital cities, namely Moscow and Luxembourg, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Alexander Yurchik said, according to Sputnik news agency.

Direct flights between Russia's second largest city St. Petersburg and Luxembourg will also be launched as "a gesture of good will," Tass news agency quoted Yurchik as saying.

Russia and Luxembourg reportedly agreed to carry out up to seven flights per week and the flights will start operating as early as the spring of next year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:30:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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HOHHOT, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sitting in the quiet grasslands, Qoluman couldn't stop laughing as he watched a popular video online with his mobile phone.

Despite the fact that his village is deep in the grasslands, Qoluman, 39, a herder of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, can also enjoy the many benefits of the Internet.

Qoluman lives in Adancholu Village, New Barag Right Banner, in the city of Hulun Buir, and spends more than half the year herding his sheep. Two years ago, WiFi was installed in his Mongolian yurt, and when he is out herding his sheep, he can access the Internet using 4G with his phone.

"Before, when a guest arrived, the first thing he said was 'Hello.' Now people ask, 'What's your WiFi password?'," he said. "These days, herders like myself can chat, shop, watch soap operas, and play games on our phones. In the past, I could only stare blankly at the grassland because there was nothing to do after work."

As of June 2018, according to China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the number of 4G mobile Internet users in China exceeded 1.1 billion. Over the next three years, China will work to improve the country's Internet infrastructure, pledging that 98 percent of villages will enjoy fiber-optic Internet and 4G services by 2020.

For Ganzhaorog, 43, in Huugjilt Village, Sunite Left Banner, Xilin Gol League, the Internet has helped him build a modern farm since WiFi was installed three years ago.

In 2015, his farm became one of the first in the village to have a video monitoring system. By 2016, four cameras that can monitor up to four km were installed, enabling him to see almost everything on his farm.

"The signals and instructions for the machines and sensors are sent via WiFi," he said.

The system has saved him time and the labor cost of having to physically check his herds -- his phone is the only tool he needs to run his farm.

His farm was also equipped with an automatic drinking system to ensure adequate water for his herds. "I can take care of my farm anywhere as long as there is Internet," he said.

The Chinese government has been promoting these monitoring systems in recent years. With subsidies from the local government, herders can get the system installed as long as there is electricity and Internet, costing them just between 290 to 440 U.S. dollars.

Moreover, the Internet has brought products from around the country to Enhgyirigarlang Village, East Ujimqin Banner, Xilin Gol League, where herders live as far as dozens of km from the city center. Su Mongh manages an e-commerce station where herders can pick up the products they buy online.

"In the past, we expected the postman to bring us letters, but now, we expect products we have bought online," he said. "The Internet has not only shortened the distance between us and the world but also allows herders access to the global marketplace, even in remote areas."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:30:13|Editor: xuxin

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PARIS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- France's armed forces chief Francois Lecointre said on Thursday that he expected to completely drive the remaining Islamic State (IS) insurgents out of Syrian and Iraqi territories by the end of November.

Speaking to local media, Lecointre pledged to reduce the number of French troops in conflict zones in Iraq and Syria "as soon as (he) can."

"I will take every opportunity to reduce forces' presence in operations, as long as they are not justified," he added.

In September 2014, France joined the U.S.-led coalition against IS with the launch of Operation Chammal at the request of Iraqi authorities, as Baghdad asked for an enhancement of military support for local forces to combat the group.

As part of coalition military offensive, it participated, a year after, in strikes against IS in Syria where French warplanes conducted waves of air strikes targeting training camps which, according to French officials, export terrorists to attack French interests.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:35:15|Editor: xuxin

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ZAGREB, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Croatia is ready to enter Schengen Area and it has proved that with a quality border-monitoring, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said after a midnight tour of the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday.

Croatia is the latest member of the European Union but not yet a member of the Schengen Area. Joining the Schengen Area is one of the strategic goals of the current government. Government officials claim that Croatia will meet the technical criteria to enter the Schengen Area by the end of 2018.

"My impressions about the border protection are excellent," the president said after touring the border between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, state news agency HINA reported.

The two countries share a 932-kilometer border and recently the number of immigrants attempts to cross Croatia's border illegally has increased rapidly. Currently there are around 4,000 migrants and refuges in Bosnia and Herzegovina, most of them near the border with Croatia. Migrants are trying to reach western European countries and Croatia is just a transit state for most of them.

President Grabar-Kitarovic believes that the problem of migration and illegal border crossing attempts will continue, but she said that the Croatian police is dealing with migrants in line with EU legislation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:45:18|Editor: xuxin

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DHAKA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh now enjoys an all-time high literacy rate of about 73 percent, Primary and Mass Education Minister Mostafizur Rahman said on Thursday.

"The country's current literacy rate is 72.9 percent," the minister told a press briefing on the occasion of International Literacy Day, which falls on Saturday.

The current figure marks an increase of 26.24 percentage points from 2007, when Bangladesh's literacy rate stood at 46.66 percent.

Highlighting the initiatives that the government has taken, the minister said the literacy rate in the country reached 72.3 percent in September last year.

He said the literacy rate is going up gradually with the multifaceted programs adopted by the government that handed out more than 354 million free books to 43 million primary and middle school students in January.

The minister said like previous years Bangladesh will observe International Literacy Day by launching commemorative postal stamps, releasing posters and publishing special supplements.

Rallies will be held and major roadways will be decorated in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country, marking the day on Sept. 8 that was designated International Literacy Day by UNESCO in 1966.

The day was celebrated across the world since 1967 with a view to raising awareness globally on the issues surrounding adult and child literacy.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:45:19|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng (R), also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, meets with Gambian President Adama Barrow in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng on Thursday met with Gambian President Adama Barrow after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded Tuesday.

After resuming diplomatic relations, a new chapter has opened for China-Gambia relations. The two sides have continuously enhanced political mutual trust on the basis of the one-China principle, and firmly supported each other on issues of mutual core interests and major concerns, Han said.

China is ready to work with the Gambia to actively implement the fruitful results of the FOCAC Beijing summit, which is a grand event for enhancing China-Africa unity and cooperation, Han said.

Barrow said the Gambia will firmly adhere to the one-China policy, and is willing to take the implementation of the summit's fruits as an opportunity to promote the greater progress of Gambia-China and Africa-China relations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:50:21|Editor: xuxin

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Flight information that all flights to Sapporo cancelled is seen on a screen at a terminal of Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 6, 2018. Nine people were confirmed dead and 300 people were injured after a strong earthquake rocking Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido early Thursday, local police and rescue officials said. (Xinhua/Du Xiaoyi)

TOKYO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were confirmed dead and 300 people were injured after a strong earthquake rocking Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido early Thursday, local police and rescue officials said.

Around 30 people still remained missing in the wake of the temblor, with almost 2,000 people taking refuge in emergency evacuation shelters that have been set up at more than 400 locations, local authorities said.

The powerful temblor with a preliminary magnitude of 6.7, which measured the maximum 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, rocked Japan's northernmost prefecture at 3:08 a.m. local time on Thursday and the death toll is likely to rise, officials said, as multiple houses were buried by landslides.

Complicating rescue efforts, Hokkaido Electric Power Company said that power was out across the whole of Japan's northernmost prefecture and 2.95 million homes were without electricity.

The utility said it might take up to a week to fully restore power in its service area.

In addition, hundreds of thousands of households were reported as having no water supply, local utilities also said.

All flights have been cancelled at Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport and trains, including Shinkansen bullet train services, bus and highway services have been suspended, local operators said.

At the airport, part of the ceiling collapsed in a terminal building due to the quake and a water leak and the power outage also forced the airport's closure, the Transport Ministry said.

The closure has resulted in more than 200 flights being canceled, which has affected around 40,000 passengers. Due to the power outage, the airport's operator said it was not sure when the airport could be reopened.

Local police said they had received hundreds of reports of injuries as a result of the quake, and in the towns of Atsuma and Abira, 20 houses were leveled after landslides engulfed wide regions of the area.

Whole mountain ranges in the hardest-hit regions had their landscapes altered owing to massive landslides, local media reported.

More than 1,300 public schools in the prefecture were forced to close and students told to stay at home amid continuous aftershocks, according to local reports, citing the education ministry and the Sapporo government.

A potentially lethal fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in Muroran, local media reported, but was later extinguished by firefighters.

The Japanese government has set up a liaison unit at the crisis management center of the offices of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to gather more information on the devastating quake.

Around 25,000 personnel from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces have been dispatched to the quake-stricken areas to assist with rescue and relief operations at the request of the governor of Hokkaido.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the major temblor occurred in southern Hokkaido at 3:08 a.m. local time on Thursday morning (1808 GMT Wednesday), with the epicenter located at a latitude of 42.7 degrees north and a longitude of 142.0 degrees east and at depth of 40 km.

The earthquake measured the maximum 7 on Japan's seismic intensity scale, marking the first time a quake in Hokkaido has reached this intensity level since the seismic scale was revised in 1996, the JMA noted.

Dozens of aftershocks followed, including one with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 that hit the prefecture at 6:11 a.m. local time (2111 GMT Wednesday), the weather agency said.

The JMA has warned that earthquakes with a similar intensity could continue in the area for about a week.

Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority said that the Tomari nuclear power plant operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. had lost an external power source, and a spent fuel pool was being cooled by an emergency power supply system. Power supply has since been restored at the plant, according to the plant's operator.

The nuclear watchdog said no abnormalities have been observed in radiation levels around the plant and Tohoku Electric Power Co. has said that the Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture south of Hokkaido has exhibited no problems.

The JMA said there might be a slight sea-level change in Japan's coastal areas as a result of the early morning temblor, but no official tsunami warning has been issued.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:50:22|Editor: xuxin

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WELLINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A unique trade and development deal, that will lower barriers while raising living standards, creating jobs and increasing exports by Pacific Island countries, has taken a step closer, New Zealand Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker said on Thursday.

The Tariff Amendment Bill, or the Bill on Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) strikes a balance between delivering lower barriers and greater certainty for New Zealand businesses, while helping the Pacific Island countries to open their economies to trade at a sustainable pace, Parker said.

The bill is a key step towards New Zealand ratifying PACER Plus in coming months.

"Pacific Island countries are our nearest neighbors and, with almost 296,000 Pacific peoples living in New Zealand, we share strong personal ties," he said, adding New Zealand, together with the 10 other signatories to PACER Plus, are all focused on ratifying as soon as possible to bring this agreement into force.

Signatories are being supported with a range of tools and financial assistance as they work towards ratification, the minister said, adding the other signatories are: Australia, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 19:55:24|Editor: xuxin

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PARIS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- France reiterated its support to international efforts assisting elections in Libya by year-end, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Wednesday night.

"In support of the United Nations and its partners, France is determined to work towards the continuation of the political process and the holding of elections by the end of the year, in accordance with the United Nations Action Plan," the statement said.

Paris also "calls on the international community, regional organizations and all the friends of Libya to join their efforts in this direction," it added, warning that "those who seek to hinder this political process will have to answer for their actions."

During the telephone talks with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his special representative for Libya Ghassan Salame, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian condemned the violence and attacks targeting the stability of Libya, the statement added.

Since the 2011 uprising to oust former leader Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has been plunged into chaotic violence and political instability which has helped the terrorist cell flourish and put the security of the Maghreb region at risk.

This main oil exporter in north Africa, since then, has been struggling to make a transition to democracy. It suffers from political division, with two rival parliaments and governments battling for legitimacy.
All amounts in Canadian dollars

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BROOKFIELD, NEWS, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Infrastructure (NYSE: BIP; TSX: BIP.UN) today announced that it has agreed to sell $500 million aggregate principal amount of medium-term notes, Series 6 (the Notes), due September 11, 2028, which will bear interest at a rate of 4.193% per annum, payable semi-annually. A subsidiary of Brookfield Infrastructure, Brookfield Infrastructure Finance ULC will be the recipient of the net proceeds and have primary responsibility for the payment of principal and interest on the Notes. The Notes will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by Brookfield Infrastructure and certain of its key holding subsidiaries.

The Notes will be issued pursuant to a base shelf prospectus dated December 16, 2016 and a related prospectus supplement and pricing supplement to be dated September 6, 2018. The issue is expected to close on or about September 10, 2018 subject to customary closing conditions. Brookfield Infrastructure intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to refinance indebtedness that will mature in October 2018, to fund an active pipeline of new investment opportunities and a growing backlog of committed organic growth capital expenditure projects, and for general working capital purposes. The Notes have been rated BBB+ by Standard & Poor's Rating Services.

The Notes are being offered through a syndicate of agents led by RBC Dominion Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Inc., Scotia Capital Inc. and TD Securities Inc.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction, nor shall there be any offer or sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority nor has any such authority passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the short form base shelf prospectus or the prospectus supplement. The offer and sale of the securities has not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to United States persons absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is a leading global infrastructure company that owns and operates high quality, long-life assets in the utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure sectors across North and South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. We are focused on assets that generate stable cash flows and require minimal maintenance capital expenditures. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfield.com/infrastructure . Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information.

Brookfield Infrastructure is the flagship listed infrastructure company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $285 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com

For more information, please visit our website at www.brookfield.com/infrastructure or contact:

Media:

Claire Holland

Vice President, Communications

Tel: (416) 369-8236

Email: claire.holland@brookfield.com Investors:

Rene Lubianski

Senior Vice President, Corporate Development

Tel: (416) 956-5196

Email: rene.lubianski@brookfield.com

Note: This news release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The words, will, expected, intends or derivations thereof and other expressions which are predictions of or indicate future events, trends or prospects, and which do not relate to historical matters, identify the above mentioned and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the terms, use of proceeds and closing of the offering. Although Brookfield Infrastructure believes that these forward-looking statements and information are based upon reasonable assumptions and expectations, the reader should not place undue reliance on them, or any other forward looking statements or information in this news release. The future performance and prospects of Brookfield Infrastructure are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results of Brookfield Infrastructure to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by the statements in this news release are described in the documents filed by Brookfield Infrastructure with the securities regulators in Canada and the United States including under Risk Factors in Brookfield Infrastructures most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and other risks and factors that are described therein. Except as required by law, Brookfield Infrastructure undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:00:25|Editor: xuxin

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BEIRUT, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A vessel from China arrived at Lebanon's Tripoli port Thursday to unload products for the local market and transport containers to other ports in the region, National News Agency reported.

"This proves once again the importance of Tripoli port as a regional and international hub capable of providing logistics facilities for big vessels," said a statement published by the agency.

The arrival of the vessel, apl Norway, takes place in the framework of the weekly vessel trips coming to Tripoli port for the third most important maritime shipping company Cmacgm.

"The company is currently preparing for the opening of the second maritime line between Lebanon and China to be launched in October," the statement added.

A huge vessel will arrive next week at the port to unload 1,200 containers, it noted, saying that the number of containers unloading at the port in 2019 is expected to reach 200,000.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:00:27|Editor: xuxin

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A Saudi applicant talks with the Chinese interviwer at a job fair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 6, 2018. A total of 25 Chinese enterprises operating in Saudi Arabia on Thursday took part in a job fair to recruit local graduates. (Xinhua/Tu Yifan)

RIYADH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 25 Chinese enterprises operating in Saudi Arabia on Thursday took part in a job fair to recruit local graduates.

The job fair was held in the Saudi capital Riyadh, offering 200 posts to local graduates with study experience in China.

Halid, graduated from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, showed up early in the morning.

"I want to get an engineer position in a Chinese company," He told Xinhua at the job fair.

Si Liang, deputy general manager of KSA Branch of China Railway Construction Corporation, said that these graduates are new-rising force for China-Saudi Arabia exchanges and cooperation.

According to statistics of the Chinese Embassy in Saudi Arabia, there are more than 1000 Saudi students going to China for studies every year.

Li Huaxin, Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that Saudi students can take the chance to apply knowledge and skills they have learned in China to boost the country's economic development.

"They can also contribute to people-to-people exchanges as well as economic and trade cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia," added Li.
Photo taken on June 3, 2018 shows the Nairobi Terminus of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

by Xinhua writer Wang Xiaopeng

NAIROBI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lilian Otuma was in ecstatic mood at dawn on Saturday after securing a ticket to travel to the coastal city of Mombasa for the first time, using the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) passenger train.

The young mother proudly displayed her ticket as a large crowd of travelers mingled freely at the Nairobi terminus' ticket office, before proceeding to board the modern passenger train dubbed Madaraka Express.

Otuma's excitement was palpable in spite of the chilly weather, thanks to the realization that her maiden tour to Mombasa via the famous Madaraka Express was looming on the horizon.

Otuma was among hundreds of passengers who flocked the Nairobi SGR terminus to make a voyage to Mombasa for business, leisure or family reunions.

This was her first time to see a modern train, Otuma said, thanking China for the gift.

The 480 km SGR, which was constructed by a Chinese company, is transforming lives of ordinary citizens profoundly.

Statistics from the Chinese operator of this modern train service indicate that it had ferried an estimated 1.72 million passengers toward the end of August.

The train takes four and a half hours to shuttle from Nairobi to Mombasa non-stop and vice versa as opposed to an average of 10 hours while travelling on buses.

Trips aboard the SGR with several stops in between takes about five hours.

Currently, four passenger and 18 cargo trains operate daily along the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR corridor, greatly boosting transport, commerce and tourism in east Africa's largest economy.

The SGR train service operator has recently set up a sleek waiting bay at the Nairobi Terminus for first-class passengers where passengers are served with coffee and tea at no cost. A coffee shop was set up near the area for passengers traveling on second-class seats.

The company provides luggage trolleys for passengers in the SGR terminuses, and a service center has been set up to provide escort services to unaccompanied passengers with disabilities.

The SGR train service has been a catalyst for Kenya's socio-economic transformation since its launch more than a year ago.

The Madaraka Express had transformed movement of goods and people while stimulating investments along its corridor, James Macharia, Kenya's cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure, told an occasion marking the SGR's first anniversary.

Kenyan youths in particular have been among the greatest beneficiaries of the SGR passenger and cargo train services thanks to the creation of thousands of new jobs.

Peterson Gitonga, a 30-year-old superintendent at the Nairobi SGR terminus, quit his previous job at a five-star hotel to work for Madaraka Express months before it started operation in late May last year.

An attendant arranges luggages on a train of Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) on June 1, 2018.(Xinhua/Wang Teng)

"When I heard that the SGR train service was about to be launched, I decided to signed up for a train operations training that was conducted by Chinese tutors," said Gitonga, stressing that they taught him a lot of things about railway work.

"My greatest joy in this job is to witness how this modern train has transformed the country," he said.

Gitonga noted that the SGR train service has resonated with Kenyans as evidenced by nearly 100 percent bookings on most days, especially on weekends. "The project is very good for the country and has changed the fate of many people," he said.

Kenya's SGR project, which is an early harvest of the Belt and Road Initiative, has positioned the country as an unrivalled transport, logistics, manufacturing and trading hub in the region.

China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), in its Kenya SGR Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report for the 2017/2018 period, said the SGR project injected strong momentum for social and economic development in the country by bringing real benefits to Kenyan people, generating 72,000 local jobs since the Mombasa-Nairobi part of SGR started construction in late 2014.

The mega infrastructure project has boosted Kenya's GDP by some 1.5 percent, providing jobs and facilitating skills upgrade for local youth, reducing logistic costs by 40 percent, according to the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:10:29|Editor: xuxin

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ULAN BATOR, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has launched a national campaign to protect children from cybercrimes and strengthen parental control over the social media usage of children, Mongolia's National Police Agency said Thursday.

"The number of Internet users has been growing day by day. Safety for kids and teens on social media in our country is generally under threat," said Davaasambuu Budzaan, head of the division to protect children from crime at the National Police Agency.

Before 2010, about 20 cybercrimes were registered in Mongolia annually, and since then, the number of online crimes in the country has increased significantly, Budzaan said.

"For example, a total of some 300 cyber-related cases, including child sexual abuse through the Internet and creation of child pornography, have been registered across Mongolia in the first half of this year," he said.

He urged all parents and relevant officials to reinforce their control over the social media usage of children, including removing strangers from their children's list of friends on social networking websites.

During the 20-day campaign, relevant officials will give lectures on how to use social media effectively at more than 700 general education schools across the country.

Facebook is the most popular social network among Mongolians. According to data by the Mongolian government, there are more than 1.5 million Facebook users in the country with a population of some three million.

Almost 97 percent of the pupils in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, and some 93 percent of rural pupils are active Facebook users.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:15:30|Editor: Liangyu

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Dou Xiankang, president of Wuhan University, confers on Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba (R, front) an honorary doctorate in law at the university in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Sept. 6, 2018. Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been conferred an honorary doctorate in law by the elite Wuhan University during his visit to central China's Hubei Province. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

WUHAN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been conferred an honorary doctorate in law by the elite Wuhan University during his visit to central China's Hubei Province.

A ceremony was held Thursday morning at the university in the city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, where Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba was granted the honorary degree.

Before it, the Gabonese president and his entourage arrived in Yichang, the nearest city to the well-known Three Gorges Project on the might Yangtze River Wednesday.

Wuhan University started to recruit Gabonese students in 1987. As of 2018, the university has recruited 100 students from Gabon who have finished or been studying disciplines including Chinese language, medicine, law and economics.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:15:31|Editor: xuxin

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BERLIN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The city of Frankfurt must ban certain types of highly-polluting diesel vehicles from its streets in order to improve local air quality, the Wiesbaden administrative court ruled on Wednesday evening (CET).

The judges hereby sided with the German Environmental Relief group (DUH) in a closely-watched lawsuit which the non-governmental organization (NGO) had filed against the Hesse state government. In its verdict, the Wiesbaden administrative court agreed with the DUH that existing clean air regulations in Germany's fifth largest city were insufficient to protect citizens from health risks posed by nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions.

As a consequence, state authorities were ordered to pass legislation to prohibit diesel vehicles with "Euro4" and older motor classifications, as well as "Euro1" and "Euro2" petroleum vehicles from entering the Hesse regional capital as of February 2019. The ban will also apply to more recent "Euro5" diesel vehicles from September 2019 onwards.

Presiding judge Rolf Hartman argued that the driving ban had become necessary because all other measures considered by the state government would fail to produce an "effective reduction of NOx emissions" within an acceptable timeframe. "We must realize that this (case) is about the dangers to the health of us all", Hartmann said.

The Federal Environmental Agency (UBA) estimates that diesel vehicles are responsible for more than 50 percent of harmful NOx emissions in Germany, the actual pollution levels of which were previously often obscured by carmakers' installation of illicit defeat devices in the ongoing "dieselgate" scandal. In light of the repeated failure of several German cities to comply with binding European Union (EU) limits on urban NOx levels, the Federal Administrative Court ruled in February that municipal governments could impose their own driving bans to address the situation.

Even prior to the conclusion of trial on Wednesday, the Wiesbaden court had signalled that it would not shy away from forcing Frankfurt to make use of the right which was granted to German cities in the earlier landmark ruling. Hartmann urged the Hesse government to elaborate a new air pollution control plan with concrete emissions limits and deadlines to ensure that NOx levels began to fall again in the city as soon as 2020.

However, the city of Frankfurt expressed disappointment at the looming prospect of court-ordered driving bans. "The citizens and cities are now being made to pay for the failures of the automotive industry and the federal government", municipal traffic minister Klaus Oesterling (SPD) complained. Oesterling demanded financial assistance from the state- and federal government in implementing the verdict, not least with view to the required modernization of a fleet of roughly 340 busses used for public transportation.

By contrast, the DUH welcomed the development as "clearing the path to clean air." The group has filed similar lawsuits to achieve bans in most of the 67 German cities where NOx emissions continue to exceed EU limits.

Growing pressure to act on polluting diesel vehicles is now also being exerted on German authorities from abroad. The Brussels-based EU Commission is in the process of suing the federal government in Berlin before the European Court of Justice for long-standing national non-compliance with the bloc's clean air legislation.

Earlier, Hamburg became the first city in Germany to impose an at least partial driving ban on older diesel vehicles on two centrally-located district of Altona. According to the UBA, driving bans in German cities could only realistically be averted if older diesel vehicles undergo comprehensive technical retro-fitting efforts resisted as too costly and complicated by carmakers and federal transport minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU).
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:25:34|Editor: xuxin

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JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo was scheduled to make a 2-day visit to Hanoi, Vietnam and discussed bilateral issues with his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Dai Quang, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said here on Thursday.

The ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said that Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi would join the president's entourage to Hanoi scheduled on Sept. 11.

Bilateral talks between the two leaders would highlight economy, investment and bilateral cooperation between the two countries, he added.

Related to bilateral economic and investment cooperation, the two leaders would also particularly discuss bilateral efforts in reducing barriers applied by the two economies.

Related to the agenda, the Indonesian and Vietnamese governments would launch a joint communique on joint efforts to eradicate illegal and unreported fishing activities.

During his visit in Vietnam, President Joko Widodo was scheduled to become a panelist at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:30:35|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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FUZHOU, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Every afternoon 55-year-old Xu-Shi Yin'e sits in a gallery on Tumen Street in the coastal city of Quanzhou, east China's Fujian Province, receiving admirers from both China and Sri Lanka like a monarch.

She is one of the 19th generation descendants of the Ceylon prince who traveled to China in the 15th century. The royal family once ruled Ceylon, the then kingdom of the South Asian country of Sri Lanka.

In her art saloon, Xu-Shi keeps specialties and artifacts from Sri Lanka, such as black tea, a sari, and brightly colored elephant sculptures, as well as pictures of her meeting with Sri Lankan leaders and politicians.

She opened the gallery in July, as she had so many visitors that the former antique shop was no longer able to accommodate them.

With elaborate patterns and vibrant colors on the gallery's arched facade, it stands out from the neighborhood shops.

As quiet as Xu-Shi seems, she becomes exuberant when talking about her Sri Lankan ancestry.

Her family maintained a low-profile life keeping their royal status secret for generations.

The family can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when the Prince of Ceylon visited China as an emissary in the year 1459.

"But on his return trip, he fell in love with the mountains and waters of Quanzhou and resolved to stay," said Xu-shi, pointing at a paragraph on the family tree.

Fu Enfeng, director of the archaeology department of Quanzhou Maritime Museum, said Quanzhou is one of the ports of departure on ancient Maritime Silk Road, linking China with the rest of the world. It was likened to the Port of Alexandria by the 13th century traveler Marco Polo.

In Quanzhou, the prince married a woman of Persian origin. He was given the name Shi by the Chinese emperor and settled down like a common citizen. Since then, no one knew his whereabouts back in Sri Lanka.

The family runs a thin line. For generations, there was only one son. Changes happened during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) when a man surnamed Xu married into the Shi family as there were no sons, changing the family name to Xu-Shi.

Like many locals, members of the family migrated overseas for better opportunities in the early 20th century. In 1970, Xu-Shi's parents moved to Hong Kong with her three brothers, and by then her grandfather had built a substantial construction business in the Philippines.

The young girl was left in Quanzhou under the care of her great-grandmother, without any knowledge of her family's hidden history.

"My grandma was always mumbling that our ancestors came from afar by sea," she said. But her father only told her one thing: the graveyard of the family is in Shijiakeng, or "pit of Shi family," in Qingyuan Mountain on the outskirts of Quanzhou.

Her grandmother, for fear of being accused of "having illicit foreign relations," burned all the family tree records to avoid any possible trouble during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which made it harder for the family to retrieve their history.

In 1983, Xu-Shi married a Chinese historian and they ran an artifact and antique shop in downtown Quanzhou.

In 1986, the Sri Lankan government requested the Chinese government trace the lost family of the Sri Lankan prince. The task was assigned to Quanzhou Maritime Museum.

After a decade-long search, Liu Zhicheng, an archeologist with the museum, finally located him in Shijiakeng, the Shi family graveyard in which he found tombstones with inscriptions saying that the remains were of the descendants of a Sri Lankan prince.

Liu and his colleagues carried 25 tombstones to a museum warehouse for protection and further study and published an article in a local newspaper, which came as quite a shock to historians and archeologists in China.

Xu-Shi said it was not until she read the article in the newspaper that she learned the true lineage of her family.

She reported to her father immediately, but the family chose not to disclose their identity after a long deliberation.

In 1998, when she heard some villagers had begun to bulldoze the graveyard to open up an orchard, she became anxious and turned to the local media for exposure.

A reporter with the Quanzhou Evening Newspaper published the family story, in which Xu-Shi was called "Ceylon Princess" for the first time.

Xu-Shi said had it not been for the risk of damage to the ancient tomb, which is a serious offense in Chinese customs, she might have kept her identity a secret.

Now Shijiakeng has been preserved as a historical relic site by the Quanzhou municipal government.

Sri Lankan historians were informed of the royal descendant and corroborated to trace evidence linking her to the royal family.

In 2002, Xu-Shi was invited to Sri Lanka and received with royal etiquette.

"I burst into tears the moment I set foot on Sri Lankan soil. It feels like I have realized the dream of coming home on behalf of my family's ancestors," she said.

The family has long forgotten their mother tongue, and their Sinhalese facial features have faded after intermarriages with other ethnic groups, but it did not stop the Sri Lankan people from loving their long lost princess.

A blue Sri Lankan sari gives her the appearance of a princess. Xu-Shi and her husband were astonished when a woman knelt down to touch their feet, a distinctive way of showing adoration and blessing in the country.

In 2010, she was received by D. M. Jayaratne, then prime minister of Sri Lanka, at the Shanghai Expo.

Xu-Shi said so far, she has made six visits to Sri Lanka, and each time she was accorded a ceremonial welcome by Sri Lanka's government in the etiquette of a princess.

Media exposure has changed her life, but Xu-Shi said she has accepted her role as a civic ambassador.

She is frequently invited to attend cultural and diplomatic events and deliver speeches about China-Sri Lanka relations. Many Sri Lankans take long trips to visit her.

On Feb. 4, she was invited to attend the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka's Independence Day celebration held by the Sri Lanka Consolate in Shanghai.

Lakshitha Ratnayake, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Shanghai, told Xinhua that Xu-Shi is the China-owned Ceylon Princess, and her presence to the event showed the ancient relationship and the strength of that relationship between Sri Lanka and China.

Wearing a fitted black dress and a pair of beige flats with a knot on top, Xu-Shi always keeps her hair neatly slicked back when meeting with visitors.

The devout Buddhist follows the routine of saying prayers for her family every morning. After a day's work, she returns home to prepare dinner for the whole family.

She said things about Sri Lanka always touch her heartstrings.

"China and Sri Lanka are both my home. But except for the duties, I want an ordinary life just like the prince 600 years ago," she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:45:38|Editor: xuxin

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A photo exhibition opened on Wednesday here to honor the survivors of the Japanese military's sexual slavery atrocities during World War II, euphemistically known as "comfort women."

The exhibition, featuring the portraits of 12 "comfort women" survivors and historical photos as well as an interactive installation, is on view at the lobby of the California State Building through Sept. 20.

The portraits show Chinese, Korean, Filipino, Japanese, Indonesian and Dutch "comfort women" survivors, who were among hundreds of thousands of girls and women confined in "comfort stations" -- where they were in captivity and being sex trafficked in 13 Asian countries by the Japanese military during the war.

The survivors featured in the exhibition include the late Hak Soon Kim, who was the first "comfort women" to break her silence in 1991 and told the world what had happened to her.

Cao Heimao, who died at the age of 96 in July, was the last of 127 known Chinese "comfort women" survivors who filed an unsuccessful suit against the Japanese government for their sexual enslavement.

She was forcibly taken to a "comfort station" in Yuxian county in northern China to serve as a sex slave for the Japanese soldiers. As a result of her experience, she became infertile for the rest of her life.

Julie Tang, co-chair of Comfort Women Justice Coalition, said it's a "breakthrough" to exhibit the photos at the California State Building.

"California state supports us by sponsoring a photo exhibit on the 'comfort women' issue. The U.S. government recognizes the historical significance -- how this affects America, and how this affects Asia. We are very proud that we can push against the Japanese government," said Tang.

In 1999, then California Assembly member Mike Honda helped the passage of Resolution AJR 27 in the California Assembly to urge the Japanese government to formally issue an apology for the war crimes committed by the Japanese military during World War II.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2001 adopted a similar resolution to urge the Japanese government to apologize for its wartime atrocities and provide just compensation for the surviving victims of its aggression.

Honda, while serving as a U.S. Congressman, initiated Resolution HR 121 in 2007 to urge the Japanese government to "formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibilities in a clear and unequivocal manner for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery."

However, the Japanese government has been denying and mitigating history despite documented evidence, and this photo exhibition aims to help people remember history, said Tang.

"At this time in our country, it seems very challenging to even talk about facts and history, which is why this fight is so important," said Phil Ting, a Chinese American Assembly member, at the opening event.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 20:45:39|Editor: xuxin

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CAIRO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Arab League (AL) welcomed on Thursday Paraguay's decision to return its Israeli embassy from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv.

"Paraguay's decision is a step on the right track that meets the international legitimacy resolutions," Saeed Abu Ali, AL assistant secretary general for the occupied Palestinian and Arab lands said.

Less than a month after Paraguay's new President, Mario Abdo Benitez, was sworn in, the country decided to move back its Israeli embassy, reversing a May decision by former President Horacio Cartes.

The move was announced by the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday, which said that "Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East."

Shortly later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli Foreign Ministry to repatriate Israeli envoy to Paraguay and close the embassy.

Paraguay believes the status of Jerusalem should be negotiated between the concerned parties, Abu Ali said.

The United States, Guatemala and Paraguay moved their embassies to Jerusalem in May.

Israel seized East Jerusalem, together with the rest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Middle East war. It annexed East Jerusalem shortly later, claiming it as part of its "indivisible capital," in a move which was never recognized internationally.

On Dec. 16, 2017, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that triggered escalating tension and a wave of outcry in the region.
TORONTO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fintech Select Ltd. (Fintech Select or the Company) (TSX-V: FTEC ) announces that its board of directors (the "Board") has accepted the resignation of Fareed Sheik & Co, Chartered Professional Accountants, the Companys auditor (Resigning Auditor), effective immediately. The Resigning Auditor, cited the fact that it is no longer continuing to provide audit services for public companies, as its reason for resignation. The Resigning Auditor has committed to providing any assistance required for a smooth transition to a new auditor. The Company is currently in the process of engaging a successor auditor and will report on any engagement forthwith.



We would like to thank Mr. Fareed Sheik and his team for their hard work and expertise provided in last years audit, stated Mr. Mohammad Abuleil, Director and CEO of the Company.

The Company also announces that further to ongoing litigation first press released by the Company on April 20, 2017, its Bank Identification Numbers (BINs) being held by PACE Savings & Credit Union Ltd. (PACE) have been terminated. The Company continues to work toward a negotiated settlement with PACE. As indicated in the Companys financial statements, the Company has been experiencing a decline in this business segment since the expiration of certain contracts and cards relating to government businesses. While the revenue associated with these BINs represents around 10% of the Companys total revenue, it has been not profitable in 2018.

About Fintech Select Ltd.

Fintech Select is a provider of robust and disruptive Pre-Paid Card programs, mobile banking solutions and Cryptocurrency technologies. Fintech Select has enabled these core assets which operate through separate divisions to work together harmoniously to create a new and ubiquitous environment for consumers and businesses alike. Fintech select also operates an international call centre that provides fulfillment and customer service support to customers across all three platforms mentioned. Its mission is to provide customers with choice, convenience and cost-effective ways to facilitate traditional and crypto financial transactions.

Follow us on:

https://www.facebook.com/FintechSelect

https://twitter.com/fintech_select

https://www.instagram.com/fintechselect

https://www.linkedin.com/company/fintechselect/

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Shelley Alliet

Investor Relations

Investor@fintechselect.com Or

Mohammad Abuleil

President & CEO

Investor@fintechselect.com




Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:00:42|Editor: xuxin

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by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The scenario that has taken place in southern Syria and led to the retaking of vast areas there by the Syria army could be repeated in the northwestern province of Idlib, analysts said.

Idlib is the last major rebels stronghold in Syria, where an imminent battle is grabbing attention of superpowers.

In southern Syria, the army fully secured Daraa, the birthplace of the over seven-year war in Syria, and other areas in southern Syria in August, and is currently dealing with a pocket held by the IS in the remote eastern countryside of Sweida province.

But the war there is considered done as vast swathes of southern Syria has returned under the control of the Syrian army, save for al-Tanf area, where the United States has a military base under the same name in southeastern Syria.

In the battle in Daraa and other areas in the south, some of the rebels accepted the reconciliation while the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, or Levent Liberation Committee (LLC), was reluctant and refused to deal with the government.

However, the rebel groups fell like domino pieces in front of the army's offensive and some factions of the LLC accepted to surrender their heavy weapons and evacuated toward Idlib province.

The battle in the south was quicker than anyone had expected, as the area there, mainly in Daraa, was home to various rebel groups, including the IS, whose militants are now besieged in the Tilal al-Safa in Sweida countryside.

After the victory there, the army has shifted its focus to Idlib, which is the last major stronghold of the rebels in Syria and the battle there is expected to be the last major one in Syria's long-standing war.

Now that military operation in Idlib seems looming, similarities have been drawn between Idlib and Daraa.

Similiar to the situation in Daraa, the army has started amassing forces near Idlib frontline, the few rebel-held pockets in the mountains of Latakia province in northwestern Syria, and the northern countryside of Hama province in central Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday the Syrian government forces have raised the level of alert, as part of the preparations for the anticipated military campaign in Idlib.

Ali Maqsoud, a retired military officer, told Xinhua that the scenario of the south will likely be repeated in Idlib. The LLC used to be the striking force in Daraa before its defeat and the group has become the striking force in Idlib.

Both Daraa and Idlib were included in the de-escalation zone deal agreed upon by Russia, Turkey, and Iran as part of the Astana talks on Syria.

But the presence of the terror-designated groups in Daraa has undermined the six-month deal.

The LLC presence in Idlib and the expiry of the six-month period of the deal made it crucial for the army to restore the last rebel bastion, but more favorably under international cover as Turkey has 12 observation points in Idlib as part of the de-escalation zones' deal.

Maqsoud, however, noted that the matter in Idlib is a bit more complicated, as it would be the last major battle in Syria's long-standing war and the foreign powers involvement is larger and deeper than that of Daraa.

Additionally, the foreign rebels in Idlib are more than in any other areas, especially as Idlib has turned into the destination to the rebels that left other parts of the country.

As part of the efforts to establish an international consensus about the upcoming operation, Iran will host a summit on Friday that will group the presidents of Iran, Russia, and Turkey to discuss the situation in Idlib.

Turkey has a considerable sway over the rebels and its alliance with the other two powers is crucial at this stage amid a rift between Ankara and Washington.

These efforts to end the situation in Idlib is also supported by Damascus, whose officials said that achieving reconciliation in Idlib is a priority but the war against the reluctant extremists seem inevitable after Turkey failed to persuade the LLC to dissolve itself.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said on Friday that the country is now in the "final quarter of an hour" of the Syrian war.

Maher Ihsan, another political analyst, said a limited military campaign could be launched against the extremists' groups while at the same time reconciliation deals could be struck with other factions desirous of achieving reconciliation with the government akin to what happened in Daraa.

He said that the amassing of forces and the tremendous political effort exerted by Iran and Russia to make this operation happen in order to bring an end to the battles in Syria mean that there is no turning back from the campaign in Idlib.

It's worth noting that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met earlier this week with his Saudi counterpart, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and a couple of days later with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem.

In the same timeframe, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held meetings in Turkey with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Sure that is not an easy task, but some positive signs have appeared after all these meetings.

Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Jubeir said at a press conference following his meeting with Lavrov that his country stresses on the unity of Syria and its territorial integrity, shying away from previous remarks about the need for Assad to leave Syria.

His remarks were seen by al-Moallem, Syria's FM, as a "new change" in the Saudi stance from Syria, taking into consideration that Saudi Arabia is among the biggest supporters to the opposition in Syria and has bankrolled major rebel groups in the country, mainly the Islam Army that was pushed out of its stronghold near Damascus to Idlib and other areas near the Turkish border.

For Turkey, Ankara has been apparently opposing a wide-scale operation in Idlib, with Turkey fearing for its interests there and a possible influx of refugees, as nearly 3 million civilians live in Idlib in addition to over 20,000 militants.

As for the United States, the administration there started its reaction to the preparations for the Idlib battle through warnings by officials and President Donald Trump as well.

Moreover, the United States, Britain, and France issued a new warning to Assad against using chemical weapons in the battle there.

But later remarks indicate that the U.S. administration could support a limited operation in Idlib.

On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States shares Moscow's concerns over the presence of terrorists in Idlib, noting that his country is ready to work on solving this issue.

For his part, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford said on Tuesday during a trip to Athens that the possible assault in Idlib could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe."

He noted that a precise and tailored counterterrorism campaign -- not a full-scale military offensive -- was the appropriate way to tackle extremist elements in northwest Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:00:42|Editor: xuxin

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ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia on Thursday reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara as the two Horn of Africa countries embark on strengthening ties after the two nations' long-time rivalry ended.

The reopening of Ethiopia's embassy in Asmara was attended by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Ethiopia's state affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) reported.

The reopening of Ethiopia's embassy in Asmara, which followed the reopening of Eritrea's embassy in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on July 16, is the latest of the positive developments as relations among the two long-time rival east African countries deepens over the past few months.

After 20 years of hostility, Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed diplomatic relations recently. On July 8, Ethiopia's PM Ahmed made a landmark visit to the Red Sea nation and a week after, Eritrea's Afwerki paid a courtesy visit to Ethiopia.

Recent positive developments are considered as a new beginning since the two countries bloody two-year border war from 1998-2000, that killed an estimated 70,000 people from both sides. The war was ended by a December 2000 Algiers peace agreement, but it left the two countries in a state of bitter armed standoff.

Amid the easing tensions, telecom services between the two countries have resumed, embassies resumed diplomatic relations, and agreements were made to strengthen economic ties.

The two countries' flag carriers - Ethiopian Airlines and Eritrean Airlines - have also started flights to Asmara and Addis Ababa respectively.

Leaders of the two countries, in another bid to augment their growing ties, had also agreed to increase the movement and amount of bilateral trade through Eritrea's port city of Assab to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The decision to construct a pipeline linking Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and Eritrea's port has been also unveiled by the Ethiopian government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which would allow landlocked Ethiopia to export crude oil via Eritrean port as Ethiopia recently commenced petroleum test extraction from the Somali Regional State in June this year.

Ethiopia's PM arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit, in which he visited Eritrean ports as land-locked Ethiopia eyes to use Eritrea's Assab and Metswa ports for its import-export needs.

Ahmed, Afwerki and Somali's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, had also on Wednesday signed a trilateral agreement that aimed at strengthening ties, FBC reported.

In addition to diplomatic relations, Ethiopia and Eritrea are also undertaking steps to strengthen cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries.

A cultural symposium, which was held last month here in Addis Ababa, had brought together 500 participants drawn from both countries, including senior government officials from both countries, who discussed various issues that include ways to enhance the cultural and linguistic ties as well as the need for cultural collaboration between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism Fozia Amin said during the symposium that cultural events are vital to advance the people-to-people ties between the two friendly nations.

The move to deepen ties between the two countries through people-to-people relations followed recent momentous culmination of the end of the state of war between the two neighbors.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:05:44|Editor: xuxin

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YAOUNDE, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- President Paul Biya of Cameroon has denounced an attack on school children in the Northwest, one of the country's two English-speaking regions, communication minister and government spokesman, Issa Tchiroma said on Thursday.

"President Paul Biya has expressed indignation at the terrorist act that constitutes serious violation to the right to education", Tchiroma said in a press release.

The president has instructed the government to take adequate measures to ensure the smooth conduct of the school year throughout the country, he added.

In the Northwest region, gunmen attacked the Presbyterian Girls Secondary School on Tuesday, kidnapping six students and the principal. The principal was severely injured, witnesses said.

Tchiroma said two of the students and the principal were later released, without giving more details.

Attacks on schools and learners have increased in the troubled regions since the start of the new academic year on September 3.

Fighting between armed separatist forces and Cameroon security forces is escalating in the two regions since November 2017 following a "declaration of independence" of the regions by the separatist forces.

The armed separatist forces want the Anglophone regions to secede from the majority French-speaking nation and form a new nation called "Ambazonia".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:05:45|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Lesotho's Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas Thabane after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded Tuesday.

China and Lesotho are good friends and good partners, and their bilateral relations set a fine example of mutual respect and equal coordination regardless of the size of countries, Xi said.

China appreciates that Lesotho adheres to the one-China principle, and is willing to work with Lesotho to continuously deepen friendly cooperation with mutual benefits, the president said.

He noted that China is ready to strengthen communication between the two countries' governments, political parties, legislatures, and all circles of society.

Meanwhile, Xi called for continuing to understand and support each other on issues of mutual core interests and major concerns, improving communication and coordination on international and regional affairs, and safeguarding their and developing nations' common interests, to better benefit the two countries' people.

Thabane congratulated China on the success of the summit, saying the historic outcomes will benefit the African people and set the direction for the future development of the FOCAC.

Noting that Africa and China have similar historical experiences, Thabane said China has never colonized, invaded or exploited Africa but has always sympathized with, supported and helped Africa. China is a friend with sincerity, affinity, and good faith that is focused on practical results, he said.

Lesotho commends the eight major initiatives proposed by the Chinese side, which are expected to give a huge impetus to Africa-China cooperation, according to Thabane.

Thabane said his country admires China's achievements in reform and opening up, stressing that China has found a development path suitable for national conditions, which has boosted African countries' confidence in achieving development.

Lesotho will continue to abide by the one-China principle, deepen cooperation with China, and strengthen their communication and coordination on international affairs, said Thabane.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:10:46|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds a welcome ceremony for Lesotho's Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas Thabane before their talks at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday held talks with Lesotho's Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas Thabane after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation concluded Tuesday.

China is willing to expand trade and investment cooperation with Lesotho and enhance bilateral cooperation in key areas including energy, agriculture, and infrastructure on the basis of mutual benefit, said Li, encouraging competitive Chinese enterprises to invest in Lesotho.

Li said China is willing to enhance communication and coordination with Lesotho in international and regional affairs, jointly maintain multilateralism with the United Nations as the core and safeguard free trade.

Lesotho appreciates China's help and support in promoting its economic and social development, said Thabane, adding that Lesotho welcomes Chinese enterprises' investment and cooperation and will further optimize business environment.

Lesotho firmly adheres to the one-China principle, he said.

After the talks, Li and Thabane witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.
File photo shows Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki raise an Eritrean flag at the Eritrean Embassy reopened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, on July 16, 2018. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia on Thursday reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara as the two Horn of Africa countries embark on strengthening ties after the two nations' long-time rivalry ended.

The reopening of Ethiopia's embassy in Asmara was attended by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Ethiopia's state affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) reported.

The reopening of Ethiopia's embassy in Asmara, which followed the reopening of Eritrea's embassy in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on July 16, is the latest of the positive developments as relations among the two long-time rival east African countries deepens over the past few months.

After 20 years of hostility, Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed diplomatic relations recently. On July 8, Ethiopia's PM Ahmed made a landmark visit to the Red Sea nation and a week after, Eritrea's Afwerki paid a courtesy visit to Ethiopia.

Recent positive developments are considered as a new beginning since the two countries bloody two-year border war from 1998-2000, that killed an estimated 70,000 people from both sides. The war was ended by a December 2000 Algiers peace agreement, but it left the two countries in a state of bitter armed standoff.

Amid the easing tensions, telecom services between the two countries have resumed, embassies resumed diplomatic relations, and agreements were made to strengthen economic ties.

The two countries' flag carriers - Ethiopian Airlines and Eritrean Airlines - have also started flights to Asmara and Addis Ababa respectively.

Leaders of the two countries, in another bid to augment their growing ties, had also agreed to increase the movement and amount of bilateral trade through Eritrea's port city of Assab to Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

The decision to construct a pipeline linking Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and Eritrea's port has been also unveiled by the Ethiopian government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which would allow landlocked Ethiopia to export crude oil via Eritrean port as Ethiopia recently commenced petroleum test extraction from the Somali Regional State in June this year.

Ethiopia's PM arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit, in which he visited Eritrean ports as land-locked Ethiopia eyes to use Eritrea's Assab and Metswa ports for its import-export needs.

Ahmed, Afwerki and Somali's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, had also on Wednesday signed a trilateral agreement that aimed at strengthening ties, FBC reported.

In addition to diplomatic relations, Ethiopia and Eritrea are also undertaking steps to strengthen cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries.

A cultural symposium, which was held last month here in Addis Ababa, had brought together 500 participants drawn from both countries, including senior government officials from both countries, who discussed various issues that include ways to enhance the cultural and linguistic ties as well as the need for cultural collaboration between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ethiopian Minister of Culture and Tourism Fozia Amin said during the symposium that cultural events are vital to advance the people-to-people ties between the two friendly nations.

The move to deepen ties between the two countries through people-to-people relations followed recent momentous culmination of the end of the state of war between the two neighbors.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:15:48|Editor: xuxin

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CAIRO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian and U.S. special forces on Thursday conducted a joint exercise with an aim to exchange expertise in combating terrorism, the Egyptian army said.

The training included "theoretical and practical lectures in fighting terrorism, means of dismantling explosive devices, and use of bullets from different weapons," said Tamer al-Refaay, spokesperson of the Egyptian armed forces, in a statement.

It came two days before the Bright Star 2018 drills slated for Sept. 8-20 in the Mohamed Naguib Base in west of the northern city of Alexandria.

Land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the U.S., Greece, Jordan, Britain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and France will take part in the drills.

The drills are meant to exchange expertise among participating forces, in order to hone their skills, develop operation and training mechanisms in combating terrorism, conduct joint planning and management of military operations, and train to deal with maritime security threat.

The Bright Star drills fall within the framework of the joint military exercises which the Egyptian Armed Forces conduct to promote military relations with friendly states, the statement added.

Egypt has been receiving annually from the United States about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in military and economic aid since it signed the 1979 U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:20:49|Editor: xuxin

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BERLIN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has criticized the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party sharply on Thursday for inciting hatred and seeking to overthrow Germany's constitutional order.

"The AfD is helping to fuel popular anger, this is something which simply must be said", Merkel told the public broadcaster "RTL" during a traditional "summer interview". She added that senior members of the party had recently made statements in response to a series of far-right demonstrations in Chemnitz which she viewed "extremely critically", including an appeal by AfD deputy leader Alexander Gauland to launch a "silent revolution" in Germany.

AfD politicians recently helped to organize several demonstrations inspired by the alleged murder of a German with Cuban roots by a Syrian and Iraqi national in Chemnitz. Following widely-publicized clashes between protestors and police, anti-Nazi protestors, and civilians, the party leadership defended what it described as understandable outbursts of anger.

The events and subsequent comments led to prominent calls for the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) to begin monitoring the AfD as an organization which potentially posed a risk to public security. Thomas Opperman (SPD), deputy president of the federal parliament (Bundestag), argued that violent demonstrations in the East German town had showcased how the AfD cooperated with Neonazis and other far-right activists who were plotting to overthrow Germany's constitutional order.

Speaking to "RTL" on Thursday, Merkel noted that there was no recommendation from national intelligence services for the BfV to begin monitoring the AfD. "Firstly, we should confront the AfD politically", the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader said.

Merkel hereby urged citizens to become actively engaged in such debate, as exemplified by a concert in Chemnitz to commemorate the murder victim while condemning right-wing extremism which drew more than 65,000 people from across the country earlier this week.

The chancellor said that Chemnitz experienced "very regrettable events" recently, starting with the violent and still unclarified death of a young man at a local city festival. She warned, however, that demonstrations which were "filled with hate and directed against other people" were not an appropriate way to grieve for the victim.

By contrast, Christian Social Union (CSU) leader and interior minister Horst Seehofer defended the protests in Chemnitz on Thursday. "I would have marched on the streets as well as a citizen if I were not a federal minister", Seehofer told the newspaper "Rheinische Post." Nevertheless, He insisted that he would have distanced himself from "radicals" such as the "Pro Chemnitz" group which organized the demonstrations.

The interior minister argued that the Chemnitz murder could have been prevented if stricter asylum policies championed by him had already been implemented earlier. The Iraqi murder suspect reportedly filed an application for humanitarian residency in Bulgaria prior to coming to Germany and would hence be ineligible to enter under the CSU leader's new "migration master plan". According to Seehofer, such cases were "costing (the government) the trust of citizens."

Seehofer consequently attributed the poor performance of the CSU in opinion polls ahead of regional elections to the failure of the government to toughen its stance on migration. "The migration question is the mother of all political problems in this country", Seehofer said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:20:49|Editor: xuxin

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JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo was scheduled to visit South Korea, aimed at strengthening bilateral economic and investment cooperation between the two countries, Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said here on Thursday.

The visit to South Korea, slated for Sept. 10-11, would be Widodo's reciprocal visit after his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in visited Indonesia last year, Nasir said.

The visit will be part of the jubilation to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Indonesia-South Korea diplomatic ties.

The visit was highly expected to enhance trade, investment and industry cooperation between the two countries, said the spokesperson.

During the visit, Indonesian and South Korean governments would sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) documents on legal, immigration, economy, human resources development, maritime, environment and forestry cooperation.

Besides having bilateral talks with President Moon Jae-in, Widodo would also attend an Indonesia-South Korea business forum.

South Korea was the fourth largest investor by nation to Indonesia with a total investment of 2.2 billion U.S. dollars last year.

The two nations have agreed to uplift bilateral cooperation into Special Strategic Partnership, reached during the visit of South Korean president to Indonesia last year.

The Indonesian president was also scheduled to deliver a general lecture at South Korea's Hankuk University during his visit in South Korea.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:25:50|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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CHANGSHA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank (CDB), the country's major policy bank, signed a deal Thursday to loan 500 million U.S. dollars to African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

The deal was reached at an African investment forum held Thursday in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province.

Afreximbank is an international financial institution aiming to finance and promote intra- and extra-Africa trade. The bank will enhance ties with CDB in financing infrastructure, power, communication, transportation and agricultural projects in African countries, according to the deal.

The CDB also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hunan provincial government at the forum to promote the province's investment in Africa.

On Wednesday, CDB led the establishment of China-Africa Financial Cooperation Consortium along with 16 African financial institutions.

Since 2006, CDB has spent more than 50 billion dollars financing nearly 500 projects in 43 African countries.


Colombia and corruption: the problem of extreme legalism



Once considered independent, the judicial system risks becoming politicised by graft scandals



John Paul Rathbone and Gideon Long in Bogota







For the past 10 months, Luis Andrade has suffered a baleful daily routine. Every morning, the former McKinsey consultant has breakfast in his Bogota apartment, works out at the downstairs gym, then goes online, watches movies or scans the news. He has little else to do.



By law, Mr Andrade cannot leave his building overlooking the Colombian capital. His enforced isolation is far from the days when he jetted between clients in New York, Sao Paulo and Bogota. It is also an abrupt fall from grace from his recent job.



Until last year, Mr Andrade ran a $20bn portfolio of projects at the National Infrastructure Agency, and was so well regarded that Juan Manuel Santos, the then-president, described him as an impeccable public servant. Now the mild-mannered 58-year-old is under house arrest for alleged corruption.



Mr Andrades charges stem from the Odebrecht scandal that has rocked Latin America and that the US Department of Justice has called the worlds biggest bribery scheme. The probe into the Brazilian construction firm has felled a Brazilian and a Peruvian president, and led to the conviction of scores of business leaders and government officials across the region.Luis Andrade talks to the British trade minister, Lord Green, in 2013.





Mr Andrade ran a $20bn portfolio of projects at Colombia's National Infrastructure Agency but is now under house arrest  FCO





Popular anger over the scandal has also helped make corruption many voters main concern during the marathon of Latin American elections held this year, including in Colombia. Ivan Duque, the centre-right president who began his term on August 7, has said he wants Colombia to be a shining example of law. There will even be a referendum about corruption this month.



What makes Mr Andrades case unusual, though, is that many people regard him as honourable and say he did not accept bribes from Odebrecht. The attorney-generals office has said there is no evidence of that, a view that gels with testimonies of those who have admitted to paying bribes.



The Colombian legal system is Kafkaesque, Mr Andrade told the Financial Times.



Many agree.



This is an extremely legalistic country, notes Rodrigo Uprimny, a former Constitutional Court magistrate and member of the International Commission of Jurists. Its the most legalistic in Latin America and one of the most legalistic in the world.



Indeed, such a legalistic culture highlights not only Mr Andrades curious situation but also the challenges Mr Duque faces over the next four years, many of which have a legal basis. These range from implementing Colombias controversial 2016 peace process with Marxist Farc guerrillas, to Venezuelas crisis, and the fate of Mr Duques political mentor  the polarising figure of Alvaro Uribe, the former president.



A key factor across all these issues is whether Colombias legal traditions can help restore confidence in national institutions, or be manipulated by the powerful to save themselves and attack their enemies.



A nation of angels



The notion of Colombia as legalistic may seem counter-intuitive given its reputation for extreme illegality  as dramatised in the Netflix series Narcos. Popular lore even celebrates the rule-bending culture of the vivo, or street sharp. The vivo lives off the fool, while the fool lives off his work, runs the refrain. There is also the tragic illegality of a six-decade civil conflict that left a quarter of a million dead.





The Netflix series 'Narcos'





Yet extreme legalism is as strong a Colombian tradition. It dates from the 19th century and Francisco de Paula Santander, a founding national father known as the man of laws. Victor Hugo later mocked the countrys 1863 constitution as written for a nation of angels. But the lofty quality of Colombian jurisprudence is renowned  as is the bravery of many of its judges who stood up to drug lords such as Pablo Escobar, and who still exercise judicial independence today.



Most judges take a deep pride in their work, and often risk their lives  which is interesting as they operate in such a violent and corrupt country, said Jose Miguel Vivanco, the head of Human Rights Watch and a Chilean lawyer who has worked in Latin America for 30 years. Colombia probably has the regions most sophisticated approach to legal principles; it goes far beyond formulistic debate.



The flipside of that coin, however, is a complex legal system. There are five higher courts: a Constitutional Court; a Supreme Court; a State Council, which adjudicates on public/private disputes; an Electoral Court; and a National Judicial Council to investigate judges.



Furthermore, as of this year, Colombia has yet another court system, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace tribunals, or JEP. It will rule on war crimes from the civil conflict, and has been hailed by some as a model for peace processes elsewhere. Colombia is a paradise for lawyers, says Fernando Carrillo, the state ombudsman. Adding further complexity to the system are tutelas  legal complaints launched by individuals if they believe constitutional rights are infringed.



Nestor Osuna, professor of constitutional law at Bogotas Externado University, says a staggering 7m tutelas have been lodged since the 1991 constitution launched the system. One recent tutela judged that the 1m Venezuelan refugees in Colombia can have access to the national health system.



Often [all] these courts end up working at cross-purposes, said Ramiro Bejarano, a leading civil and commercial lawyer. On the one hand, that creates a system of checks and balances as the courts balance each other out. The problem, though, is that the system has become corrupt, often because the judges are appointed via a political process.





Carmenza Gomez Romero, a member of the 'Mothers of Soacha' campaign group, speaking after a JPE hearing into extra-judicial killings by the army  Reuters





This politicisation of Colombias legal system is essentially why Mr Andrade believes he is under arrest.



In 2011, he gave up his McKinsey job to work in Colombias public sector with a specific task: cleaning up the National Concessions Institute (Inco), a notoriously mismanaged institution. Cost overruns on Inco projects were often huge, with the extra cash allegedly shared between corrupt beneficiaries. Such illicit payments are colloquially known as marmalade, and are often spread around to fund political campaigns.



Rather than reform Inco, Mr Andrade created the National Infrastructure Agency. Roads and bridges were built as investment flowed in. In 2014, P3 Bulletin, a specialist journal, voted ANI the best public-private partnership agency in the Americas. Under Mr Andrade, it awarded more than 30 contracts without any legal complaint.



However, the ANI also had some infrastructure contracts with Odebrecht left over from Inco. When the Odebrecht scandal erupted in 2016, Mr Andrade was dragged in.











As elsewhere in Latin America, the scandal had a political dimension. It emerged that Odebrecht provided funding towards not only the 2014 presidential re-election campaign of Mr Santos but also his rival, Oscar Ivan Zuluaga. Further complicating matters is an apparent conflict of interest that reaches to the heights of Colombian politics and finance.



The investigation is led by the office of the attorney-general. He is Nestor Humberto Martinez, a former legal adviser to Luis Carlos Sarmiento, Colombias richest man. Mr Sarmiento, who has an estimated $11bn fortune, is the founder and chairman of financial conglomerate Grupo Aval, which controls a subsidiary, Corficolombiana, an Odebrecht minority partner.



Grupo Aval says it is a victim of Odebrechts fraud and strongly denies any involvement in corruption. Mr Martinez denies any conflict of interest, saying he has withdrawn from the case due to his past links with Aval and has handed it to another prosecutor.



Caught in the crosshairs, meanwhile, is Mr Andrade who faces charges of undue interest in the awarding of a contract  a nebulous term which essentially means he was influenced by others who took bribes.Mr Andrade believes instead that he is being punished for getting in the way of the interests of the most corrupt company in Latin American history [Odebrecht] as well as the corrupt political establishment.









Last week the attorney-generals office levied fresh charges against Mr Andrade, including destruction of evidence. Mr Andrade, who has called for an independent investigation, could be sentenced to 30 years.



For its part, Odebrecht says it has spent 18 months seeking to agree a reparations settlement, as it has done elsewhere in Latin America. But Colombia seems to be the one country where we have struggled to reach such an agreement.



It is not just big business and civil servants that have become entangled in such legal and political controversies but also senior judges and even former president Uribe. Their tangle of interests goes to the dark centre of Colombias civil conflict, and traumas that the country seeks to heal.



Last year, the countrys anti-corruption chief, Luis Gustavo Moreno, was arrested for corruption after the US Drug Enforcement Agency taped him accepting a bribe in Miami.



In a plea bargain, Mr Moreno said several Supreme Court judges had accepted payment from politicians in exchange for favourable verdicts during investigations into their alleged ties to paramilitary death squads.



The scandal, which became known as the Cartel of the Robes, a reference to judges flowing gowns, shocked the country. There was full, eventual disclosure, and nothing was swept under the carpet as might happen in Mexico or Central America, Mr Vivanco notes. Still, the scandal sapped Colombian confidence in their institutions.



According to a Gallup poll, only 11 per cent now have a positive view of their judicial system compared with 50 per cent a decade ago. Moreover, that faith will be tested as the JEP tribunals hear inevitably controversial war cases, and Mr Uribe himself comes under the legal spotlight.



A divisive but popular politician, Mr Uribe heads the largest rightwing party, which provides Mr Duque with crucial Congressional support. He also has a long history of brushes with the law. Over the past decade, he has been dogged by claims of links to death squads and that he has bribed witnesses.



Mr Uribe vehemently denies the accusations, which supporters say are politically motivated, and he has never been charged. But in July, the Supreme Court placed him under formal investigation for bribery and perverting the course of justice.





Colombia's former president Alvaro Uribe, centre, was last month placed under formal investigation for bribery and perverting the course of justice  AFP





The case puts Mr Duque in a tricky position. Does he stand by his political patron and defend him from the accusations, which Mr Uribe denies, or does he distance himself and let justice run its course? For many, the outcome will be the biggest test yet of the judiciarys independence.



The Supreme Court may well be incapable of standing up to a government backed by Uribe, said Mr Bejarano, reflecting a widespread sense that, even in this highly legalistic country, power and money often trump justice.



If Mr Bejarano is right, it would be of a piece with Mr Andrades situation, where a thorny case involving powerful men has apparently been kicked into the long grass. More importantly, it will mark whether Colombia can move on from war and prove that it really is a country where the law shines bright.





A model peace process?



Somehow, the mundanity of the setting only emphasised its importance.



Last week, in a makeshift courtroom on the 12th floor of a nondescript Bogota office building, retired army colonel Gabriel de Jesus Rincon begged for forgiveness.



I ask for pardon from every one of the victims . . . of this awful internal conflict that has caused so many Colombians so much pain, he told the court and the mothers of five peasant farmers assassinated in 2008 by the army unit that Mr Rincon once commanded.



Mr Rincons case, and that of 13 other soldiers, is one of the first of tens of thousands that will be heard over the next decade under Colombias transitional justice scheme, or JEP.



The scheme, which is central to the countrys 2016 peace process with Marxist Farc guerrillas, will probably form a constant and controversial backdrop to Ivan Duques administration.



That is because under the JEP, anyone who pleads guilty and confesses fully receives only light sentences. That is a red flag for many of Mr Duques conservative supporters in Congress, who claim the JEP will let former leftist guerrillas off the hook for human rights atrocities.



However the JEP scheme also holds for members of the military or civil society that may have been involved in rights abuses. Mr Duque was elected on a platform that promised, in part, to change or perfect the peace process.



The JEP tribunals are unusual as they go beyond punishment to include reparations and victims rights. Although hailed by some jurists as a model for peace processes elsewhere, they are also something of a test of international criminal law.



Unlike South Africas transition from apartheid, Colombias peace process is the first transitional justice scheme undertaken by a signatory to the Rome statute  the 1998 treaty that created the International Criminal Court and forbids impunity for war crimes.
File Photo: Containers full of granny smith apples are seen in an apple orchard of Auvil Fruit Company in Wenatchee, Washington State, the United States, on Nov. 3, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Apple Association said Wednesday that apple growers are suffering damage caused by the government's trade policy.

The group, representing the country's 7,500 apple growers, about 40 state and regional apple associations and hundreds of apple-related companies, released nine tweets Wednesday on its official page, saying New York apple growers have discussed with Congress leaders on Capitol Hill critical trade issues affecting the industry.

The meeting was attended by two Senators and four Representatives, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Ellis Schumer, who is also a Senator from the New York state, it said.

Jim Bair, head of the U.S. Apple Association, was quoted by the tweet as saying that harvest is kicking off across the United States and that's normally a season of enthusiasm, but this year the impact of tariffs imposed by trading partners to retaliate the U.S. trade policy will be felt deeply across the industry.

In March, Mexico hit U.S. apples with a 20 percent tariff in retaliation for U.S. tariff hikes on steel and aluminum imports, the group said. Mexico is U.S. apples' top export market with a value of 291 million U.S. dollars in 2017.

"The recent trade agreement with Mexico is a good first step toward regaining that market, but it doesn't diminish the barriers," said Kaari Stannard, head of the association's New York Apples Sales. "Growers are still faced with a 20 percent tariff to our largest market because of steel and aluminum retaliation."

Meanwhile, Canada is not yet a party to the new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which could reopen duty-free access to the apple market of the two U.S. neighbors.

"As our number three export market, it (Canada) needs to be (a NAFTA party)," the association said.

Under the NAFTA, the U.S. apple industry had quadrupled its exports to Mexico and doubled its exports to Canada with a combined volume of nearly 450 million dollars per year.

In addition, since the U.S. apple industry gained full access to the Chinese market in 2015, the U.S. apple exports have increased to 2.5 million boxes per year and China is now the sixth largest export market of U.S. apples.

In cooperation with Farmers for Free Trade, a leading U.S. agricultural trade lobby group, the U.S. Apple Association in June placed advertisements on cable television, urging the White House to "end the trade war."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:35:55|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China will take necessary countermeasures depending on the U.S. tariff action, said a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) Thursday.

The statement was made in response to the possible imposition of additional tariffs by the U.S. on 200 billion U.S. dollars worth of imported Chinese goods.

The public comment period in the U.S. of additional tariffs on the above-mentioned amount of Chinese imports recently ended and the majority of participants opposed the move.

"If the U.S. side ignores the opposition of the majority of enterprises participating in the public comment, and goes its own way to impose additional tariffs on more Chinese imports, China will have to take necessary countermeasures," said Gao Feng, the MOC spokesperson, at a press briefing.

China reiterates that any attempts to pressure China are unreasonable and futile. The trade war will not solve any problems. Equal and sincere dialogue and negotiations are the only correct ways to solve China-U.S. trade disputes, said Gao.

After the U.S. announcement of a plan to impose additional tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports, China announced countermeasures on Aug. 3 to impose additional tariffs on U.S. imports of 60 billion dollars and released the list of the U.S. products.

Over the past few months, the U.S. has seriously violated the World Trade Organization rules, incessantly introduced unilateral policies and led to the continuous escalation of bilateral trade frictions, which not only damaged businesses and consumers' interests in both countries, but also undermined the global industrial chain and value chain, Gao said.

China will pay close attention to impact caused by the additional tariffs and take effective measures to help Chinese and overseas enterprises operating in the country overcome difficulties, he said.

"China has the confidence, capability, and measures to maintain the stable and healthy development of its economy," said Gao.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:35:55|Editor: xuxin

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by Jamil Bhatti

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Wednesday's visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pakistan has expediently offered new vistas of pragmatic thinking and strategies for bilateral relations to move from confrontation to cooperation, Pakistani analysts said on Thursday.

Pompeo and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi held a meeting in Islamabad and agreed to make an atmosphere to reset strained U.S.-Pakistan ties, the Pakistani top diplomat said.

Talking to media after their discussions, Qureshi said that talks were held in a very cordial manner which helped both sides break the ice in the bilateral relations.

"It was a start to understand each other's point of view. Pakistan doesn't want to play a blame game, but to fill the gaps in the relations," said Qureshi, adding that "sorting out the issues needs efforts from both sides which we have started."

Analysts here considered the outcome of the visit as very encouraging because no confrontation or a series of blames were exchanged between the two sides like they did in the past.

Qamar Afzal Rizvi, a member of the European Consortium for Political Research, said it is a good start to revive the bilateral relations between the two wayward allies which had been at loggerhead over some unrealistic demands and expectations.

"The U.S. and Pakistan must negotiate to prevent conflicts, and also establish link to re-activate the mechanism of civil-military diplomacy to dismiss the connotation of disbelief to bridge the parted relationship," Rizvi told Xinhua.

The two sides also agreed to hold another dialogue in Washington later this month following the UN General Assembly session as Qureshi accepted Pompeo's invitation for follow up discussions.

Pompeo also held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and underscored areas of shared interest, such as the expansion of two-way trade and commercial ties.

The U.S.-Pakistan relations went on low mode after Trump lambasted Pakistan on several occasions for allegedly supporting "agents of chaos." The blames were categorically rejected by the Pakistani side saying that how can Pakistan support militants when it is also affected by terrorism by losing over 70,000 lives in terrorist attacks.

"Can we blame Pakistan for the U.S. failure in Afghanistan?" Rizvi raised the question while saying that instead of backing the Pakistan role in this U.S.-waged war on terror, the U.S. behaved mischievously.

According to a statement from spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State Heather Nauert, apart from the bilateral relations, Pompeo's diplomacy focused on winning Pakistan's support for deeper counterterrorism cooperation and the South Asian country's active role in the Afghan peace process by bringing Taliban to talks for a "negotiated peace in Afghanistan."

Mushahid Hussain Sayed, chairman of Pakistan Senate's Committee on Foreign Affairs, said it is a good omen that instead of trying to pressurize Pakistan uselessly, the U.S. expressed desires of Pakistan's role to bring peace in Afghanistan.

"Morally and physically, the U.S. has weakened in Afghanistan as its top military commanders are publically stressing the urgent need to pull forces from Afghanistan. After doing several solo attempts, the Trump administration has finally realized Pakistan's importance on the Afghan issue," Sayed told Xinhua on Thursday.

Terming Pompeo's visit a sign of flexibility in the U.S. policy, Sayed opined that the two sides can get successes in bilateral relations and regional issues if they restart their relations by forgetting the bitterness they had in the past.

The Pakistani side reiterated on a number of times that the U.S. and the West should recognize the sacrifices Pakistan rendered as the frontline state in the war on terror after the U.S.-led forces attacked Afghanistan after the 9/11.

Imtiaz Alam, secretary general of the South Asian Free Media Foundations, said that the U.S.-Pakistan relations are very old, but have become very limited due to several reasons, including the U.S. embarrassment in the Afghan war.

"The main purpose of Pompeo's visit is to convince Pakistan to play a role on the Afghan issue. Now, we need to see how we can revive the relations," said Alam, who thinks that an abrupt U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will leave chaos behind, which would not be in Pakistan's favor.

The analysts agreed that Pompeo's visit cannot be called a big breakthrough, but it has offered a way to move ahead positively.

They advised the two sides to adopt a realistic approach by not raising unrealistic demands and expectation and making impossible promises, only then the trust gaps can be filled to revive relations which can benefit the two sides in the long run.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:40:55|Editor: xuxin

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ATHENS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A decrease in the Greek unemployment rate to 19.1 percent is recorded in June by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), compared with 21.3 percent during the same period last year, it was announced on Thursday.

Data from the country's statistics service showed the number of the unemployed among young people aged up to 24 years old fell below 40 percent, also for the first time in years.

More specifically, the total number of unemployed people amounted to 909,258, according to ELSTAT's press release, while the economically inactive population (people who are neither working nor looking for work) amounted to 3.2 million.

The number of employed people increased by 83,866 compared to June 2017 (2.2 percent increase) and by 17,656 compared to May 2018 (0.5 percent increase).

The highest unemployment rate is recorded in the 15-24 age group (39.1 percent in June from 43.4 percent in June 2017).

Women still bear the brunt of unemployment, with the jobless rate among them (23.8 percent in June this year from 25.5 percent in June 2017) remaining significantly higher than that for men (15.3 percent from 17.9 percent).

"The Hellenic Statistical Authority announced the further reduction of unemployment to 19.1 percent for June, a level last reached by Greece in September 2011. We are aware that it remains high. We are fully aware of the difficulties of the labor sector ," Effie Achtsioglou, Minister of Labor, Social Solidarity and Social Security, said in a statement to Greek national news agency AMNA.

"But the fact that more than 300,000 unemployed have found jobs in the last three years, allows us to be optimistic," Achtsioglou added, stressing that Greece will continue the effort with the same persistence, but also many more tools, after leaving the fiscal adjustment programs this August.

Greece's jobless rate, which hit a record high of 27.9 percent in September 2013, has been declining since, but remains the highest in the euro zone.

According to Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency, the unemployment rate in July across the 19-member euro zone was 8.2 percent.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:40:55|Editor: xuxin

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BERLIN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Economic growth in Germany will hold steady throughout the remainder of 2018, according to traditional autumn forecasts which were published on Thursday by leading research institutes in the country.

The Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH) highlighted that while the pace of expansion had slowed slightly in the Eurozone during recent months, strong global growth continued to benefit the export-oriented German manufacturing industry. "According to our current forecast, German gross domestic product (GDP) will expand by 1.8 percent in 2018 and hence come in only slightly weaker than during the previous year", a statement by IWH vice president Oliver Holtemoeller read.

The IWH further expects Germany's total budget surplus to remain unusually high in 2018 at 1.8 percent of GDP. At the same time, however, the institute warned against an increasing East-West divide, as well as risks posed by global trade conflicts, a potential disorderly exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) and fiscal policies of the new Italian government which could provoke a sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone country.

"The faith of financial markets in the solvency of the Italian state could erode further if the government goes ahead with its financial policy proposals", Holtemoeller warned.

The Berlin-based German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) predicted a 1.8 percent GDP growth rate as well, lowering its earlier forecast (1.9 percent) slightly. Nevertheless, Claus Michelsen, head of the DIW growth division, emphasized that the momentum of the Eurozone's largest economy remained strong in spite of the revision. Although investment by companies had slowed in light of trade-related uncertainty, there was still "no sign of a collapse" in GDP growth.

The DIW anticipates that the number of employed inhabitants in Germany will rise by a further 1.1 million between 2020 and 2017, while record unemployment low falls again by 430,000 to 2.1 million. Similar to the IWH, the institute predicted another record government surplus of 60 billion euros in 2018 but cautioned Berlin against irresponsible uses of this windfall.

The Ifo Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) was more upbeat in its assessment of the German economy's prospects for 2018 than the IWH and DIW. The Munich-based researchers raised their forecast for GDP growth both 2018 and 2019 to 1.9 percent from 1.8 percent earlier.

Ifo believes that the number of employed inhabitants will continue to rise from 44.9 million in 2018 to 45.4 million in 2019 and 45.8 million in 2020. During the same period, the official unemployment rate in Germany is predicted to fall from 5.2 to 4.7 percent.

Additionally, Ifo argued that "favorable financing conditions" and high demand faced by many German companies meant that a further increase in national productive capacities was likely. Risks which could undermine this trend were identified in the protectionist "America First" trade policies of U.S. president Donald Trump, and a chaotic Brexit of the United Kingdom.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:45:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation concluded Tuesday.

Noting that the enduring friendship and fruitful cooperation between China and Togo have set a model of South-South cooperation, Xi said the two sides should fully leverage the advantages of mutual political trust and friendly interactions between the two peoples, strengthen strategic communication and coordination, and continue to support each other on issues of their core interests and major concerns.

Togo is welcome to participate in the Belt and Road construction, Xi said, adding that China stands ready to work with Togo in areas including ports, agriculture, power supply and infrastructure.

Xi said the two sides should upgrade their pragmatic cooperation toward the integration of investment, construction and operation, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and deepen cooperation on the maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.

China supports Togo in playing a bigger role in African affairs, Xi added.

Faure Gnassingbe congratulated China on the success of the Beijing summit, which elevated the Africa-China comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to a new level.

African countries highly commend the eight major initiatives proposed by President Xi at the summit and will make joint efforts with China to build an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future, he said.

Cherishing the friendship with China and appreciating its long-term support, Togo is willing to learn from China's development experience, leverage its own regional advantages and participate in the Belt and Road construction, so as to speed up the development of its agriculture, digitalization and poverty reduction, he said.

Faure Gnassingbe also expressed Togo's support for China's propositions on the international arena and willingness to strengthen communication and coordination with China on multilateral affairs.

"Togo will always stand together with brotherly China," he said.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of bilateral cooperation documents.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:50:59|Editor: xuxin

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RIGA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Latvian lawmakers on Thursday took the first step towards open voting in presidential elections as they endorsed draft amendments to the Baltic country's constitution that would change the presidential election rules, the parliamentary press service said.

The draft amendments were passed in the first reading by 82 votes to one and three abstentions.

Under the current legislation, the parliament elects the president of Latvia in a secret ballot. To win the election, the candidate has to secure the votes of at least 51 of Latvia's 100 parliamentarians.

The Latvian Association of Regions, a party sitting in opposition in Latvia's current parliament, proposed the constitutional amendments, arguing that open voting in presidential elections would ensure greater transparency in the parliament's work. Also, presidential elections now remain the only procedure of this kind requiring a secret ballot, as all other top state officials are elected in open voting.

For the amendments on open voting in presidential elections to take effect, the parliament still has to pass them in two more readings and incumbent President Raimonds Vejonis has to sign them into law.

Proponents of the new regulation hope that the bill will be adopted by October 4 when Latvia's current parliament convenes for its last session ahead of a forthcoming parliamentary election, scheduled for October 6.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 21:55:59|Editor: xuxin

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RIYADH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-led coalition on Thursday denied allegations of hindering Yemeni Houthi rebels from travelling to Geneva for peace talks, local media reported.

The coalition said a plane had been granted to carry the Houthi representatives to Geneva, who refused to travel, Al Arabiya news reported.

Meanwhile, Turki Al Maliki, the coalition spokesman, told Al Ekhbariya news that the allegations came as the Houthis were not serious about the negotiations.

In August, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen invited warring parties in Yemen for a new round of peace talks in Geneva starting on Friday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:06:03|Editor: Lu Hui

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(L-R) Yun Kun-young, a South Korean Blue House official, Chun Hae-sung, vice unification minister of South Korea, Chung Eui-yong, top national security adviser of the Blue House of South Korea, Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Suh Hoon, chief of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea, NIS deputy chief Kim Sang-gyun and Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee and director of the United Front Department of the DPRK, pose for a photo in Pyongyang, DPRK, on Sept. 5, 2018. South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoys met Wednesday with Kim Jong Un in their one-day visit to Pyongyang, the presidential Blue House of South Korea said. (Xinhua/South Korea Presidential Blue House)

PYONGYANG/SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has called on the two sides to further their efforts towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Kim made the call when he met with the members of a special delegation of South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang on Wednesday, which was led by Chung Eui-yong, Moon's top national security adviser, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Thursday.

Kim firmly supports and will be devoted to completely removing the danger of armed conflicts and the horror of war from the Korean Peninsula and turning it into a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threats, according to the KCNA.

Kim discussed the schedule with the special delegation for the Pyongyang summit between him and Moon due in September, and "came to a satisfactory agreement with it," the KCNA said.

After reading a personal letter from Moon, which was delivered by the special delegation, Kim thanked the South Korean president for sending the letter, which expressed a firm will to wisely overcome many challenges in the future, "and open a bright future of our nation while appreciating the fresh advance in the relations between the north and the south," the KCNA said.

Kim fully supports Moon and "remains unchanged in his determination to strive hard to bring the fellow countrymen better results at an early date, bearing in mind the mission before the nation and its expectation," the KCNA added.

What's more, Chung said in Seoul on Thursday that Kim again expressed his firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The DPRK leader said he was willing to closely cooperate with the United States as well as South Korea for the complete denuclearization, Chung told a press briefing in Seoul after the delegation's one-day visit to Pyongyang.

During the meeting with the South Korean delegation, Kim expressed his "stuffy" feeling over a part of the international community's raising doubts about his resolve to denuclearize, the chief special envoy said.

Kim said the DPRK had taken advance measures for the denuclearization, which he hoped would be accepted as a gesture of goodwill, citing the dismantlement of its main Punggye-ri nuclear test site and its key Tongchang-ri missile engine test site.

Kim said no more nuclear tests would be conducted as the nuclear test site had been completely destroyed, while dismantling the missile engine test site, the DPRK's sole test site, meant the complete suspension of long-range ballistic missile test-firings in the future.

Kim asked the South Korean delegation to convey his message to the U.S. side, saying he would continue to trust U.S. President Donald Trump.

The DPRK leader hoped that Pyongyang and Washington would end seven decades of hostility during President Trump's tenure, while realizing denuclearization and improving DPRK-U.S. relations, Chung told reporters.

To discuss specific measures to be taken for the denuclearization, Moon and Kim will hold a summit for three days starting from Sept. 18 in Pyongyang, Chung said. However, the KCNA did not mention any specific date for the summit.

The two Koreas will hold a high-ranking working-level meeting early next week at the border village of Panmunjom to discuss protocol, security, communications and media coverage for the upcoming summit, Chung said.

During the upcoming summit, Moon and Kim are expected to discuss specific measures to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as well as issues surrounding the permanent settlement of peace and prosperous coexistence on the peninsula and the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration, which the two leaders signed after their April summit.

The two Koreas, the special envoy said, agreed to keep advancing the ongoing dialogue to defuse military tensions along the inter-Korean border, and to reach an agreement at the upcoming summit on concrete measures to build mutual trust and prevent military clashes.

Seoul and Pyongyang also agreed to open a joint inter-Korean liaison office before the Moon-Kim summit is held. The two sides have already completed the necessary preparations to open the joint liaison office at the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

Chung said South Korea will brief the countries concerned, including the United States, in detail on the outcome of the special delegation's visit to Pyongyang, and closely cooperate with them.

The two Koreas will patiently and consistently make efforts to develop inter-Korean ties, denuclearize the peninsula and build peace, Chung said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:11:05|Editor: xuxin

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RAMALLAH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat on Thursday blasted U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman's statement over the Palestinian cause.

"The extremist Friedman is pushing toward a religious war using the destructive thought and religious discourse," Erekat said in an interview with the official Palestinian radio station Voice of Palestine.

"Friedman and his likes of extremists have pushed President Donald Trump to make decisions against the Palestinian cause," he added.

The PLO senior official vowed that the Palestinian leadership will continue to call for the annulment of the U.S. decisions on Jerusalem and the Palestine refugees.

Friedman said on Tuesday evening at a reception held in his residence in Israel's coastal city of Herzliya that the Trump administration has "slayed the sacred cow of the calcified thinking that has held back progress on the Palestinian front."

"The U.S. did not make Jerusalem the capital of Israel. That was done by King David some 3,000 years ago under God's direction," he added.

The Palestinians have boycotted Washington since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved its embassy to Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, they referred to the U.S. "Deal of the Century," put forward by Trump to resolve the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as being far from their expectations and aspirations for a lasting and just peace settlement.
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Everything was going well on the surface, but beneath the surface, it was approaching unsustainability. First, an extended boom like what Turkey experienced, without major recessions beyond 2008, allows inefficiencies to build up. Recessions are necessary correctives for rapidly growing economies, and the constant flow of foreign money into Turkey hid the underlying problems . Second, the question of secularism and religion was not settled. The army, or at least part of it, continued to see itself  as the constitution called for  as the guarantor of secularism. As the government apparently became increasingly Islamist, powerful elements within the military saw it as their duty to halt this movement in a way that had become normal since World War I: by intruding into the political process. Third, there were strategic issues facing Turkey in Syria, Iraq and the Black Sea, not to mention the Kurdish issue in Turkey itself. Turkey knew what it no longer was, but it was not sure what it had become. It didnt have clear strategies in any of these places and found major powers intruding near its borders. Turkeys behavior was tactical, and the absence of a strategy made it unpredictable to other nations, which strained relationships. The crisis broke in 2016 when the Turkish military tried to overthrow the AKP and replace it with a military government. The failed coup prompted the government to both eliminate any future threat from the military and intimidate potential enemies. It saw this as a necessity to protect the democratically elected government and as an opportunity to impose its will on society as a whole. The coup and the extended state of emergency changed the perception of Turkey among foreign investors and lenders. Although economic growth continued, Turkeys stability came into question. Where the government hoped the vigorous pacification program would increase confidence in Turkey, it had the opposite effect. The government cracked down hard and long. The length of the crackdown magnified the threat to the government and the governments threat to stability. The influx of foreign money slowed, and the underlying weaknesses of the economy began to show themselves. The government needed high growth to maintain stability. As confidence declined, it attempted more and more desperate measures to contain the problems, increasing unease among outsiders about the economys stability. What has happened is that in the political, strategic and economic spheres, the solution that Turkey found a decade after the 1991-92 breakpoint reached its limits. The current crisis is part of a systemic problem. The United States, having grown dramatically from the Civil War until the 1920s, underwent a massive financial crisis that aligned with a restructuring of the federal government and World War II. There were those who doubted that it could recover, but the U.S., of course, weathered these crises. I have argued that Turkey is emerging as a great regional power . This crisis does not diminish my confidence  such crises are common, even necessary, among emerging powers because they clear away failing parts. And it is essential not to spend time imagining that political leaders and their idiosyncrasies determine the long-term direction of nations. Over the long term, geopolitical realities, like economic realities, are not subject to the whims of anyone. Turkey, like other countries, cannot be understood by looking at one person or a few people. And Turkey remains, by geography and history, the key power in the region.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:21:08|Editor: Lu Hui

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday met with Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa after the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) concluded Tuesday.

Xi said China and Tanzania have longstanding friendship, and Tanzania was the first African country that he visited after he took office as the Chinese president in 2013.

Noting that China highly values the development of bilateral relations, Xi said China is willing to continuously deepen the friendly win-win cooperation in various fields with Tanzania to better benefit the two peoples.

China supports Tanzania's efforts in safeguarding its rights and interests, developing the economy and improving people's livelihood, and is willing to strengthen sharing of experience in inter-party exchanges, governance, development and poverty reduction, Xi said.

Xi also said the two countries should jointly promote the implementation of key projects, strengthen people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and maintain close communication and coordination on major international issues.

China is willing to work with Tanzania to take the opportunity of implementing the outcomes of the summit to push forward China-Tanzania and China-Africa relations, Xi said.

Noting that Xi's speech at the opening ceremony of the summit is one of the greatest speeches on international cooperation in the 21st century, Majaliwa said the cooperation concept and the eight major initiatives proposed by China are fully compatible with Africa's needs for development.

Tanzania is committed to implementing the outcomes of the summit, said Majaliwa, adding that Tanzania regards China as an important friend and partner and thanks China for its valuable long-term support.

Tanzania adheres to the one-China policy, and is willing to actively participate in building the Belt and Road that benefits its infrastructure construction and industrialization, and elevate Tanzania-China relations to a new level, Majaliwa said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:36:14|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIGALI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Africa's smallholder farmers are responsible for the majority of the continent's food production, however their production efforts are hindered by the lack of access to adequate financing, experts said Thursday.

They were speaking at a session panel "the business case for agriculture" on the sidelines of 2018 African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

The event running from Sept. 5 to 8 seeks to harness new pathways to turn African smallholders into future agribusinesses.

"Agriculture, especially small-scale farming plays a vital part in food security in African economies, however, smallholders lack funds to scale up and modernize their farming systems," said Fokko Wientjes, vice president of Nutrition in Emerging Markets and Food Systems Transformation at DSM, a Dutch based science company active in health and nutrition.

He noted that to achieve growth in Africa's agricultural sector, key stakeholders from the public and private sectors must come together to ensure that farmers, most especially smallholders access finances to improve their farming practices.

Jennifer Blanke, vice president of agriculture, human and social development at the African Development Bank (AfDB), said that micro-financing remains a vital source of capital for agricultural producers, however, smallholder farmers are unable to access them due to lack of collateral.

"Inadequate financing for agriculture has been cited as a major impediment to smallholder farmers in Africa. It's time for African governments and the private sector to support farmers to access agricultural finance," she added.

According to Sarah Metcalf, head of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Rwanda, lack of financing threatens the growth of commercial farming among farmers in Africa.

"Many small-scale farmers in Africa are finding it difficult to realize their agribusiness potential due to lack of information and access to development financing models," she said.

The percentage of smallholders with access to finance such as value chain finance, are reaching fewer than 10 percent of smallholders, primarily those in well-established value chains dedicated to higher value cash crops, according to World Bank Group.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:36:15|Editor: Liangyu

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Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with a delegation from Japan's Komeito Party led by party leader Natsuo Yamaguchi in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang met with a delegation from Japan's Komeito Party led by party leader Natsuo Yamaguchi in Beijing on Thursday.

Yamaguchi delivered a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Xi Jinping, Chinese president and general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship.

"China and Japan are countries with significant global influence," Wang said, "The two sides should undertake their respective historical missions, focus on the overall and long-term development of bilateral ties, and work together to build a community of shared future for humanity and a better world."

Wang noted that exchanges between political parties are an important part of China-Japan relations.

"We hope that the two sides will deepen exchanges and cooperation, strengthen understanding and trust, consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations, and create conditions for the steady and sustainable development of their relations," Wang said.

Yamaguchi said the Komeito Party is always committed to the friendship between Japan and China.

"We hope the two countries will join hands to shoulder responsibilities and make contributions to regional and world peace and prosperity," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:41:17|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan (R) meets with Iceland's Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan met with visiting Iceland Foreign Minister Gudlaugur Thor Thordarson Thursday in Beijing.

Noting that China and Iceland both have a spirit of independence and self-determination and adhere to development paths that are in line with their own characteristics, Wang said the two countries respect each other and treat each other as equals, and have set a good example of countries, big and small, cooperating amicably, which is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples.

Bilateral ties have developed rapidly and steadily in recent years with fruitful pragmatic cooperation and deeply-rooted friendship, and the Chinese side appreciates Iceland's pioneering and innovative spirit in developing its relations with China, said Wang.

He added that China is willing to continue deepening understanding and mutual trust with Iceland, and seek synergy with Iceland's development strategies, so as to score higher levels of complementary advantages and win-win cooperation.

Thordarson said Iceland and China hold the same position on many international issues. He thanked China for its help during Iceland's financial crisis.

Iceland is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in areas including economy, trade, tourism, geothermal, Arctic affairs and climate change to achieve common development, he said.

Later Thursday, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Thordarson.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:41:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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GENEVA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Despite the obvious absence of the Houthi delegation on the first day of the scheduled new peace talks in Geneva, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths on Thursday said he was "hopeful" to see the delegation present at the Geneva talks so as to expedite the political process.

In a statement issued by his office Thursday afternoon, the UN envoy said that he is now making efforts to overcome obstacles to allow the talks to go forward.

"The Special Envoy is mindful of the challenges associated with bringing the parties together to Geneva, bearing in mind that they haven't met for two years," the statement said.

Griffiths met with the Government of Yemen delegation, headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Khaled al Yamani, Thursday morning and exchanged ideas on the expectations of the scheduled new talks in Geneva and relevant issues to the peace process.

According to previous arrangements, the Yemeni parties were in principle expected to be inside the Palais des Nations, or the UN headquarters in Geneva Thursday morning, but a latest notice from the UN said that "there will be no activity at the Palais des Nations" throughout Thursday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Griffiths announced here in Geneva that all the relevant parties to the Yemen conflict agreed that the time has come to restart the political process and both the government and the Houthi sides will kick off a new peace talks in Geneva on Sept. 6.

However, uncertainty has been increased Thursday, with the absence of the Houthi delegation on the first day of the scheduled UN-led talks.

According to the latest news report, the Yemen government has given the Houthi 24 hours to join UN-sponsored talks in Geneva.

Earlier on Wednesday, while answering concerns about "do you actually expect the Houthis to arrive", Griffiths told reporters that "we will make it happen".

"We are working at it, I think it will sort itself out," he said, adding that "if you look at previous negotiations on Yemen, there's always been a delay to begin".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:46:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KIEV, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Ukrainian researchers held a roundtable discussion here Thursday on the two countries' cooperation in science and technology.

The event brought together representatives of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) and the Guangdong Academy of Sciences (GDAS) in southern China.

Anatoly Zagorodny, vice president of the NASU, said at the event that the Ukrainian academy attaches great importance to its scientific cooperation with China.

"The NASU works closely with 120 research institutions from 50 countries, and cooperation with China is one of our priorities," Zagorodny told Xinhua.

The NASU has established partnerships with research institutions in 12 Chinese provinces, Zagorodny said, adding that the creation of the China-Ukraine E.O. Paton Electric Welding Institute (CUPIW) in Guangdong Province is a milestone in such cooperation.

Founded in 2011, the CUPIW has played an important role in the development of new technologies in China and in Ukraine, Zagorodny said.

Speaking about the prospects for future cooperation, Zagorodny said that the NASU and the GDAS plan to establish another joint Sino-Ukrainian scientific institution in Guangdong Province -- the Science and Technology Innovation Center.

The creation of the center would help the two sides develop cooperation in such areas as materials science, medicine, biology, chemistry and physics, Zagorodny said.

For his part, Liao Bing, president of the GDAS, said that the planned innovation center would become a new model of scientific cooperation between China and Ukraine.

"This project will be implemented in the form of a company for the development of new technologies. The main goal of the innovation center is to allow Chinese and Ukrainian scientists to choose projects for implementation," Liao said.

The delegation of Chinese researchers led by the president of the GDAS arrived in Ukraine on Wednesday.

During its trip, the delegation will visit several scientific and research institutions in Kiev and in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:51:20|Editor: Liangyu

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CAPE TOWN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- African countries welcome the win-win relationship with China and value the support China provides to them, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

Speaking upon his return from China where he paid a state visit and attended the 2018 Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) earlier this week, Ramaphosa described the forum as a huge success.

Ramaphosa said South Africa was honored to have co-chaired the Beijing FOCAC with China.

Many African countries have a sense that they have China as a meaningful partner which wants to assist fellow partners to reach higher levels of industrialization, said Ramaphosa.

African countries wish to exercise their right to development through industrialization, he said, adding that African countries and China also realize the need to address the issue of trade imbalance between them.

He said South Africa and China also entered into several agreements and signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) during his state visit.

These agreements pave the way for economic growth, educational opportunities and job creation in South Africa, said Ramaphosa.

The president called on South African companies to work in partnership, consolidate South African interests on the African continent and to collaborate with China on projects in line with South Africa's development and integration objectives.

Ramaphosa said South Africa is also seeking help from Chinese technology giant Huawei to explore innovative ways to strengthen the fight against crime through the use of modern technology.

For this purpose, Ramaphosa said he paid a courtesy call at Huawei's Beijing Executive Briefing Center, where he met Huawei group founder Ren Zhengfei, during his visit to China.

Ramaphosa also travelled to Hangzhou where he visited the headquarters of the leading e-commerce group, Alibaba, and met the group's founder Jack Ma.

The visit was aimed at assisting the South African small business sector, especially in rural communities, Ramaphosa said.

Alibaba is at its final stage of planning opportunities for South Africans, especially youth, to help South Africa leverage the fourth industrial revolution, according to Ramaphosa.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 22:51:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi authorities on Thursday lifted a planned curfew aimed at quelling anti-corruption and water contamination protests in the southern Iraqi province of Basra minutes before it was scheduled to take effect.

Jamil al-Shimary, commander of Basra provincial Operations Command, declared in a press release the lift of curfew and urged the citizens to cooperate with security forces to save lives and protect property.

The decision negated an earlier statement by Basra's provincial command to impose indefinite curfew in the province from 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) to prevent protests over wide-spread corruption, lack of jobs, water contamination and other basic services.

It was not yet clear why the curfew was cancelled, especially after the Interior Ministry spokesman Saad Maan told the press that the curfew was imposed after intelligence reports said protestors are planning to attack some government institutions in the province.

Basra, the province's capital city which bears the same name, has long witnessed complaints among its more than 2 million residents about the collapsing infrastructure, power cuts and corruption.

Water supply in the province is also widely criticized for high salinity, with thousands of residents having been hospitalized.

The protesters also accused the influential political parties of being behind the wide-spread corruption, which led to high unemployment and failure in rehabilitation of the country's electricity, water and other basic services.

A total of nine protesters have been killed and 93 others wounded in sporadic clashes with security forces in Basra since the beginning of September, according to figures released by the independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq.

Meanwhile, 18 security members were wounded, the figures showed.

The commission mentioned the "use of excessive violence by the security forces against peaceful demonstrators," Al Iraqiya official channel reported.

During the past few months, protests erupted in Basra and several cities in southern and central Iraqi provinces, including the capital Baghdad, despite a series of measures taken by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to quell the street anger.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:01:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Some Singaporeans praised their government for its wisdom in solving the railway project with Malaysia, while others are concerned about the fate of the program, local media reported here Thursday.

Singapore and Malaysia Wednesday signed a new agreement in Putrajaya, Malaysia to formally defer the construction of Singapore-Kuala Lumpur high speed rail (HSR) for about two years until May 31, 2020.

Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean who was on a visit to Malaysia, had witnessed the signing ceremony by Malaysia's Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali and Singapore's Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan.

Teo said the agreement was a positive, balanced outcome that addressed Malaysia's financial concerns by giving it the opportunity to think about what it wanted to do with the HSR.

It reflected the commitment of both Malaysia and Singapore to proceed with the bilateral relations in a positive way, he added.

Talking about the deferment, some political observers agreed with Singapore's handling of the HSR project. In an interview with the Lianhe Zaobao, Associate Professor Bilveer Singh, from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Political Science, said the Singaporean government has demonstrated that it is cool-headed, logical and wise by delaying the project.

However, others warned of possible variables resulting from the delay, such as the rising of the cost of the project after two years and the possibilities of finding ways to cut cost of the project.

The HSR project, signed between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur at the end of 2016, met with uncertainties after Mahathir Mohamad took power as the Malaysian Prime Minister. It was reported that he had talked about cancelling the project on grounds of financial difficulties of his country. Later his government agreed to discuss the issue with Singapore so as to avoid huge fines.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:01:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISTANBUL, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Two people were injured on Thursday when a civil helicopter crashed in the Marmara Sea south of Istanbul.

According to CNNTurk, the injured were rushed to a hospital nearby, with one in critical condition.

The broadcaster said the helicopter lost altitude rapidly before crashing into the sea.

The cause of the accident is yet unknown.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:01:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JUBA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The South Sudan Liberation Army (SPLA) court on Thursday sentenced ten soldiers to long-term imprisonment for raping foreign aid workers besides robbery and murder during the outbreak of renewed violence in the capital of Juba in July 2016.

Neath Almaz Juma, chairman of the military court, said five soldiers will serve 10 year prison sentence, and two others were convicted to life sentence. The others will serve between seven years and 14 years.

The verdict brings an end to a trial which commenced on May 30 2017 and had somewhere stalled due to lack of witnesses who fled the country during the renewed violence between government troops and rebels allied to former First Vice President Riek Machar.

According to military prosecutors, the court invited and interviewed some of the victims from foreign countries to finally conclude the widely publicized trial which has been closely followed by diplomats amid criticism on delays in expediting justice by the UN human rights division and other international NGOs.

The military court also ordered compensation for the six victims including a local journalist John Gatluak who was shot dead by the soldiers at the Terrain hotel located South of Juba.

It ordered payment of 2.3 million U.S. dollars to Michael Woodward, the proprietor of Terrain Hotel as compensation in damages caused by the errant soldiers meanwhile six victims of rape will be paid each 4,000 dollars.

The family of the slain journalist Gatluak who was killed for belonging to the Nuer tribe of rebel leader Machar by the soldiers from the Tiger division responsible for President Salva Kiir's security will receive 51 heads of cattle as compensation from the government.

President Kiir and Machar, leader of SPLA-in opposition rebel group, signed the Aug. 5 peace agreement in the Sudanese capital to end over four years of conflict which started in December 2013 leading to killing of thousands of people. Millions are displaced internally and externally.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:06:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump will attend a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in the state of Pennsylvania next week to mark the 17th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, according to reports.

First Lady Melania Trump will join the president at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, reports said.

The memorial is located where one of the four hijacked planes crashed during the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Nearly 3,000 people died during the attacks.

Trump observed the somber anniversary for the first time as president last year. He also participated in last year's 9/11 observance at the Pentagon.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:06:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LUSAKA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in Zambia to assess if the country had adequate infrastructure for nuclear development, a senior official said on Thursday.

Godfrey Malama, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Corporation, said the team was in Zambia to assess the status of nuclear infrastructure following the government's plans to acquire and operate a research reactor as part of its capacity building to operate a nuclear power plant.

In remarks delivered during a meeting of stakeholders, the official said the government has decided to pursue nuclear technology for industrial uses, medical applications and electricity generation.

"The research reactor project and a nuclear power plant require relevant nuclear infrastructure to be put in place in order to ensure that nuclear technology is used safely and in a secure manner," he said.

The official expressed optimism that the IAEA experts will help in identifying gaps, and assist in strengthening Zambia's nuclear infrastructure.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:06:30|Editor: xuxin

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MOSCOW, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin reiterated Thursday that Russia was not involved in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Britain's Salisbury in March, rejecting Britain's latest accusation.

"Neither the top leadership of Russia, nor the leadership of lower ranks ... had anything to do with the events in Salisbury. There can be no talk about that," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said in an official statement that the British police and intelligence agencies have identified two Russian nationals they believe were responsible for the March attack.

Peskov recalled that Russia offered Britain cooperation in the investigation into the Skripal case from the very beginning, but Britain declined to accept it.

Russia could only regret London's reluctance to interact with Moscow, Peskov said.

At the same time, he said that Moscow could take action against the suspects only upon receiving an "appropriate request from the British side on the basis of the existing bilateral and multilateral legislation on the provision of legal assistance."

Media publications and statements in the British parliament cannot be considered as such a request, Peskov said.

The Skripal case triggered a diplomatic crisis with Russia and Western countries mutually expelling a large number of diplomats. The United States also imposed massive economic sanctions against Russia over the incident.

Russia has been denying any involvement in the case.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:16:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will not meet U.S. President Donald Trump during the upcoming 73rd United Nations General Assembly, Financial Tribune daily reported Thursday.

Rouhani is scheduled to address the UN conference on Sept. 25, Mahmoud Vaezi, Rouhani's chief of staff, was quoted as saying.

However, Vaezi ruled out the possibility of a meeting between Rouhani and Trump on the sidelines of the UN conference despite Trump's readiness for such meeting.

A day earlier, Trump said it is possible for him to meet with Rouhani at the United Nations.

The UN General Assembly comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, which pulled out from the landmark 2015 Iranian nuclear deal in May and re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic republic.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:21:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Naim-Ul-Karim

DHAKA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- This year's Power and Energy Week, a fair on electricity equipment and associated businesses with a theme of Anirban Agami (Indomitable Future), kicked off on Thursday in Dhaka's Bashundhara Convention Center.

Scores of local and international firms including Chinese ones are participating in the fair to showcase their products and services.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the power and energy week and reiterated her government's commitment to providing electricity to every household. She called upon the public to maintain austerity in using power in their houses and workplaces to achieve the goal.

Bangladesh's power generation capacity has now reached 20,000 MW with the total number of consumers exceeding 30 million from 18 million about 10 years ago, Hasina said.

The Bangladeshi government planned to generate 60,000 MW electricity by 2041, 40,000 MW by 2030 and 24,000 MW by 2021.

The number of people having access to electricity was only 47 percent in 2009, which now surged to 90 percent, and per capita power consumption rose to 464 KWh from 220 KWh in 2009.

To transform its power sector development dreams to reality, the Bangladeshi government has long been seeking Chinese support.

As part of that, Bangladesh sought funds from China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on Wednesday.

Bangladeshi State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid renewed call for Chinese support as a high-powered AIIB delegation headed by Vice President Daniel Grian Alexander was on a five-day visit to Bangladesh.

Hamid informed the AIIB delegation that Bangladesh was in need of 82 billion U.S. dollars investment in the energy sector by 2041.

Hamid earlier told Xinhua that Bangladesh was looking to China for help to build a 12-billion-U.S. dollar major power hub at Payra, 204 km south of capital Dhaka.

The Bangladeshi government planned to develop the power hub which has a combined electricity generation capacity of about 9,000 MW, he added.

In March 2016, Bangladesh signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with a consortium of two Chinese firms for the installation of some 1.56-billion-U.S. dollar coal-fired power plant in the Payra Power Hub.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:26:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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PHNOM PENH, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on Thursday signed a royal decree to form the Supreme Council for Consultations and Recommendations, which is a consultation forum between the government and political parties.

According to the royal decree, the council is made up of 30 members from 16 political parties, and the king granted them titles which are in equal ranks to senior minister or minister.

"Samdech Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, must take responsibility to implement this royal decree from the day of signature," the monarch wrote.

Hun Sen initiated the establishment of the council during a meeting on Aug. 21 with the leaders or representatives of 16 political parties out of the 20 parties that took part in a recent general election.

The council's purpose is to mobilize human resources and constructive ideas for socio-economic development, the prime minister said, adding that the council has duties to provide opinion on government policies, give feedback on draft laws and report on inaction or violations by government officials.

He added that the council, to be presided by a rotating chairperson among political parties every month, will hold a consultation forum with him once every six months.

The council members will receive a salary from the national budget.

The parliament on Thursday confirmed Hun Sen as the prime minister for another five years after his Cambodian People's Party won all 125 parliamentary seats in the July 29 general election.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:36:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Four people, including a gunman, were killed and two others injured in a shooting incident in downtown Cincinnati, in the U.S. state of Ohio, local police tweeted Thursday.

Police said earlier they are responding to a shooting incident report there. The Cincinnati Police Department tweeted that it's "investigating active shooter/officer involved shooting incident at Fifth Third Bank at 511 Walnut Street in lobby and loading dock."

Local reports said a suspect was in custody.

A spokesman for University of Cincinnati Medical Center told a local news outlet that four persons had been transported to the hospital, whose conditions were unknown at the time.

According to pictures on social media, there is heavy police presence at the scene.

The city's Fountain Square and surrounding area are closed to foot traffic.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:41:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ISLAMABAD, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- About 10,000 Pakistani students from 50 universities on Thursday started to participate in the third information and communications technology (ICT) skills competition being held by Chinese networking, telecommunications equipment, and services company Huawei in collaboration with Pakistan's Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Aiming at the promotion of ICT industry, technology certification and development of local ICT industry talent, the competition was formally launched at the commission's secretariat Thursday and was attended by students and faculty members from prominent colleges and universities of the country.

Saif Chi, Huawei Pakistan CEO, highlighted the essential need to have ICT competition. He said that the Huawei team will hold seminars and roadshows in universities to create awareness about the competition among the students.

The ICT Competition will help enhance the quality of future ICT professionals in Pakistan, along with increasing national ICT competitiveness, and supporting local students across Pakistan, he said.

During the 2nd ICT competition in 2017, Pakistani students did exceptionally well and secured second and third positions out of 23 participating teams.

Tariq Banuri, chairman of Pakistan's Higher Education Commission, said that the ICT program should be replicated by other organizations in order to encourage more and more students to involve in informative competitions.

The competition is part of Huawei's longstanding effort to have a positive impact on the community in Pakistan.

Huawei has also collaborated with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan to launch the Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy (HAINA) program. This program provides opportunities to promote studies of advanced technologies.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:46:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ULAN BATOR, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The event "Taste of Inner Mongolia" opened here Thursday, with an aim to promote Chinese food culture from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Over 30 kinds of dishes, including Shao Mai, steamed meat dumplings made with fillings of mutton, green onion and ginger, are being offered to guests at the event, Delger Angir, the organizer, told Xinhua.

Shao Mai is one of the most well-known and oldest dishes in China, and comes from Hohhot, the capital city of China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, he said.

The cuisine event is part of the culture and tourism program called "Feel China."

The "Feel China" event, which is aimed at strengthening cultural ties between Mongolia and China, kicked off here on Wednesday and will last till Saturday.
Six years after first announcing they would open a theater in Manhattan, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will finally break ground on their latest NYC location. In 2012, they announced they would open in the former Metro Theater (at 2626 Broadway) on the Upper West Side, but those plans eventually fell through. Now the chain will be opening their first Manhattan location in the Financial District, at 28 Liberty, in 2019.

According to Alamo, the 12-screen theater will feature state-of-the art 4K laser projection and recliner seating, immersive surround sound, and 35mm changeover projection. And as with all of their locations, you can expect food and drinks, served up before, after, or during screenings. Similarly, they "will feature a diverse mix of blockbusters, indies, documentaries, foreign language films, repertory classics, and unique special events."

One added touch coming to the Lower Manhattan spot will be a Video Vortex bar, which is essentially a video store offering free rentals. They explain:

Each of the new locations will also include local branches of Video Vortex, a bar concept that debuted earlier this year in Raleigh, North Carolina. First and foremost, Video Vortex is a neighborhood video store that features thousands of DVDs, Blu-rays, and even select VHS (along with rentable VHS players) curated by Alamo Drafthouse staff and the American Genre Film Archive. But unlike a traditional video store, rentals at both Video Vortex locations will be free.

Kat Shuchter, Video Vortex manager, says, "So much of film history is not available on streaming platforms. We want to make our curated archive of film classics and obscurities available for the next generation of cinephiles." On the Not Free side of things, they'll also serve craft cocktails, wine, and have 48 local beers on tap. And you'll be able to purchase board games, collectibles, movies, and apparel there.

The Lower Manhattan location will take over two basement floors of 28 Liberty, according to Deadline, but if you want to get a view, head all the way upstairs before your screening for a drink at Manhatta.

Currently there is one other Alamo in the five boroughs, their Downtown Brooklyn location opened in 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-06 23:51:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's oil exports to the European Union (EU) have declined by nearly half in the past 18 months, the Financial Tribune daily reported Thursday.

Iranian oil exports to the EU dropped to 387,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, from nearly 740,000 bpd in March, 2017, the report said.

The decline in Iran's oil exports to Europe is believed to be related to the rising U.S. pressure on the international energy partners of Iran to reduce oil purchases from the oil rich country.

Iran has been holding talks with the EU on preserving the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), since the U.S. withdrew from it in May.

On Tuesday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran has given Europe until Nov. 5 to come up with "practical mechanisms" to fulfill its pledge to reduce the negative impact of U.S. economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

"We have informed the Europeans in unambiguous terms of our main priority regarding the JCPOA that if the issue of oil exports is not addressed, staying in the nuclear agreement would not be of any benefit for us," Araqchi was quoted as saying by the Financial Tribune.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the JCPOA in May and reimposed the first round of U.S. sanctions on Iran in August.

The sanctions targeted Iran's trade in precious metals, transactions in U.S. dollar, as well as Iran's auto sector.

The second round of U.S. sanctions will take effect in early November, which will include a total ban on Iranian oil exports and doing business with Iran's central bank.

A number of major international energy and industrial companies have quit Iran's market amid the fear that they might fall to the prey of the U.S. punitive measures.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:06:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese army on Thursday warned Israel against any violation of its sovereignty as the latter reportedly intends to start oil exploration close to the borders.

"The Lebanese army will face any Israeli violation of Lebanon's rights in implementing the central security council's decision," the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) said in a statement.

The statement was released following a meeting between the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Head of Mission and Force Commander Stefano Del Col and a senior delegation from the LAF.

It also came after Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri expressed his worry on Wednesday about Israel's intention to start oil exploration in July 2019 in the Karish field, which is very close to the Lebanese waters.

Berri also voiced concern over the intention of the French oil and gas giant Total S.A. to postpone its oil exploration in Lebanon's Block 9, which borders Israel's maritime zone and contains waters claimed by both sides.

Total was supposed to start operation in 2019 but has postponed it till the spring of 2020, said Lebanon 24, a local news agency.

"This is a very dangerous step," Berri was quoted as saying.

On December 14, 2017, the Lebanese Council of Ministers approved two exclusive licenses for oil exploration and production in blocks 4 and 9 for a consortium composed of Total S.A, Eni International BV and JSC Novatek.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:06:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Thirteen adult elephants will be fitted with satellite collars in the next 10 days in Tanzania's Mikumi National Park and Selous Game Reserve, WWF Tanzania said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said the fitting with satellite collars of the 13 elephants will bring to 20 the total number of elephants fitted with the global positioning system (GPS) satellite collars on adult elephants in core areas and outside the core areas of the Selous ecosystem.

"The fitting of satellite collars with improved technology will facilitate the collection of data for effective monitoring and security provision to large mammal movements and especially the elephants that have, in recent years, been decimated by poaching," said the WWF statement.

The statement added that the fitting of GPS collars will also strengthen elephant conservation efforts in the Selous Game Reserve by alerting field teams where each elephant family with elephants fitted with GPS collars were heading to and help move them away from croplands and reduce the risk of human-elephant conflicts.

"It will also identify critical habitats, seasonal dispersal areas and corridors for elephants that may require enhanced protection," said the statement.

Amani Ngusaru, WWF Tanzania Country Director, said WWF was supporting the Selous Game Reserve to attain zero poaching.

"We are excited to be part of this important exercise and to support the government's efforts in the conservation of elephants in the country," he said.

Ngusaru added the use of satellite collars was a proven technology as an effective measure to monitor wildlife movements and at providing a security function.

He said the Greater Selous ecosystem required special attention of all concerned conservation partners because it was the only area that can guarantee a sufficient space for elephants and other wildlife.

The collaring exercise which began in December 2017 targeting 60 elephants was being done in phases depending on prevailing weather conditions.

WWF was doing the collaring in collaboration with the Tanzania Wildlife Management Authority and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:16:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ACCRA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Ghanaian Trade and Investment expert has described the just ended Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as a crucial one which will help cement a crucial relationship between China and Africa.

David Ofosu-Dorte, Managing Partner of AB & David Lawyers for Business and Projects in Africa, told Xinhua in an interview that Africa will need to develop a strategy that enables the continent take advantage of the Chinese opportunity to develop Africa at a much faster rate.

"It is a very important gathering. China is a very influential partner of Africa at this stage and therefore a gathering of African heads of state to cement that relationship is very important and I consider it as significant," he said.

"Just look at the growth of trade between China and Africa. And we cannot deny the fact that China has become one of the most influential partners for Africa at this stage," he said.

China has been Africa's largest trading partner for nine consecutive years. Trade between China and Africa increased seventeen-fold in value from 2000 to 2017. In 2017, trade volume surged 14 percent year on year to 170 billion U.S. dollars. In the first half of 2018, the figure jumped 16 percent to nearly 100 billion dollars.

Meanwhile, China's investment in Africa surged by more than 100 times in value from 2000 to 2017. By the end of 2017, Chinese investment of all kinds in Africa totaled 100 billion dollars, covering almost every country on the continent.

He added it was natural for Africa and China to cooperate at the global level, since they both find themselves under the same categorization in global issues.

Ofosu-Dorte said it was heartwarming to hear Chinese President Xi Jinping set the tone for the future of the relationship underscoring China's continued commitment to Africa.

At the opening ceremony of the FOCAC Beijing Summit on Monday, Xi announced eight initiatives to bolster bilateral cooperation in the next three years, including promoting industrial cooperation, developing infrastructure connectivity, facilitating trade, protecting the environment, and upgrading health aid programs.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:21:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commended here Thursday the Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao for its pillar role in promoting the Chinese culture at the multi-culture society.

Lee made the remarks while addressing the gala party celebrating Zaobao's 95th anniversary at the Shangri-La Hotel.

The prime minister noted the newspaper has stood the test of times and witnessed the changes the Chinese community in Singapore has undergone in a time span of nearly 100 years.

He attributed the success of the daily to its contents being able to resonate among the readers, its reports being objective and profound, and its efforts to promote the local Chinese culture in Singapore.

The prime minister cited examples of the newspaper covering the latest development of the local Chinese community and helping to organize Chinese cultural activities.

Lianhe Zaobao is part of the Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPH) which also groups the English-language newspaper the Strait Times.

Even though confronted with the challenges of the digital era, Zaobao still embraces its heritage of producing a good newspaper with fine tradition, sticking to its role in uniting the local Chinese community and promoting the values of traditional Chinese culture, said SPH Chairman Lee Boon Yang in his speech.

"These are our fundamental values and they will continue to guide us as we transform ourselves to achieve growth in a more competitive market," the chairman added.

According to him, Zaobao has enjoyed a combined daily circulation of close to 200,000 copies in print and online since August 2017. He also quoted a Nielsen's survey to show that the Chinese-language newspaper has a combined daily readership of 14.7 percent among Chinese Singaporeans.

Lianhe Zaobao was found in 1983 by the merging of two predecessors Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh and is one of the best-knowing Chinese media in Asia. Nanyang Siang Pau was set up on Sept. 6, 1923 by the Chinese businessman Tan Kah Kee.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:27:00|Editor: Liangyu

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Wang Yang, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, addresses a reception to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), at the DPRK Embassy in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's top political advisor Wang Yang on Thursday said China stands ready to work with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to safeguard, consolidate, and develop bilateral ties.

Wang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks at the reception celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK held by the DPRK embassy in China.

Commissioned by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Wang congratulated the anniversary on behalf of the CPC, Chinese government, and Chinese people.

Wang said under the leadership of top leaders Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un, and that of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), people of the DPRK have resolutely defended the country's independence and made major achievements in the socialist cause.

He said China believes that the DPRK's socialist cause will embrace new bright prospects as it implements the decision at the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the WPK to adjust the strategic route and focus on developing the economy.

Wang said top leaders of the two countries have held three important meetings this year, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations.

China is willing to develop relations with the DPRK to the benefit of the two countries and the two peoples and make new contributions to regional peace and stability, he said.

Chi Jae Ryong, the DPRK ambassador to China, said the WPK and the government of the DPRK stand firm on carrying forward the traditional friendship between the two countries.

He said the DPRK hopes to work with China to push for greater development in relations between the two parties and the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:32:03|Editor: huaxia

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CHICAGO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities traded mixed on Thursday morning, with wheat futures falling slightly amid concerns about global competition after Russia said earlier this week that it wouldn't curb wheat exports.

The most active December corn was down 0.75 cent at 3.6425 U.S. dollars per bushel as of 1530 GMT, December wheat was 4.75 cents lower at 5.17 dollars, while November soybean was up 2 cents at 8.4 dollars.

Russia's Ministry of Agriculture said after a meeting with exporters on Monday that there's no need to curb shipments of wheat as its grain market is stable.

Analysts and market-watchers have been bumping the price of wheat in the past few weeks on speculation that the country would limit shipments.

Still, news that Argentina will put export taxes on shipments of agricultural products has been underpinning not only wheat but also corn and soybeans.

As for weather forecast for agricultural crop, Tropical Depression Gordon makes its way north from the Gulf of Mexico, threatening central U.S. states with heavy rain and flooding, according to the National Weather Service. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 00:52:10|Editor: xuxin

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Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (from L to R) attend a meeting in Bourglinster, Luxembourg, on Sept. 6, 2018. Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel hosted the Belgian, Dutch and French leaders for a working lunch on Thursday, during which they discussed, among other things, the future of Europe. (Xinhua/SIP/Jean-Christophe Verhaegen)

BRUSSELS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel hosted the Belgian, Dutch and French leaders for a working lunch on Thursday, during which they discussed, among other things, the future of Europe.

French President Emmanuel Macron, Belgian and Dutch prime ministers Charles Michel and Mark Rutte have joined Bettel to discuss the fundamental values of the European Union, Brexit and the intensifying migrant crisis.

At a press conference held in the grand Bourglinster Castle, Bettel stressed the need to protect the fundamental values of the European Union at all costs.

On the subject of the migration crisis, he said that there is "no miracle solution, (and) we must find peace in the affected countries", adding that he "regrets the lack of solidarity in Europe".

Macron, in his own statement, said it is the duty of every European country to take responsibility for managing the migratory problem and spoke of "a more united, more sovereign Europe on defense and the economy".

"The nationalists propose to host no one, not to respect the right of asylum. This is contrary to the history and values of Europe. Their solutions are neither humane nor effective," Macron told reporters.

Macron, who has been pushing for the constitution of a "progressive" platform in anticipation for the European elections next May, invited on Thursday the European People's Party (EPP) to clarify its position, saying it could not be alongside both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban simultaneously.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel spoke about Europe's values and migration, saying that "the migratory question will mobilize us for years".

The leaders of France, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg have also warned the British government that they will neither allow cherry-picking of European Union rules, nor risk the bloc's unity for a Brexit accord, according to media reports.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 01:12:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has reiterated its commitment to deepen its partnership with China based on the outcomes of the recently concluded Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held on Sept. 3-4.

The 55-nation member continental body, AU, expressed its commitment following the positive talks between AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday.

The meeting followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on September 2, according to the AU.

According to the AU's communique that was issued following the two leaders' discussion, Faki and Xi "reiterated their commitment to work towards the continued deepening of the partnership between the African Union and China, building on the Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the FOCAC Summit, as well as on the announcements made by President Xi Jinping on that occasion."

Faki "took the opportunity to thank President Xi Jinping for China's outstanding support for Africa and the Commission, as well as for the sincerity and friendship that characterize his country's actions," the communique read.

"They emphasized the centrality of FOCAC as an exemplary tool for win-win cooperation," the communique read.

President Xi "took the opportunity to express his appreciation for the crucial role played by the African Union in advancing the continent and achieving its unity," it added. "He reaffirmed China's support for the goal of silencing the guns by 2020, as well as the integration of the continent." it said.

During his discussions with AU's Chairperson, President Xi announced the launch of new programs to support African Union's efforts on the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; regional infrastructure; investments and the Free Trade Area; civil aviation; the African Standby Force and the fight against terrorism; education; and capacity building, according to the pan African bloc.

"In this context, they highlighted the synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Agenda 2063. They committed to do everything possible to ensure that both parties take full advantage of this synergy," the communique stressed.

According to the AU, Faki and Xi also reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and respect for international law, as well as the need for greater efforts to promote the emergence of a truly inclusive global governance system that reflects today's world realities.

"They noted that Africa and China, which alone represent one-third of humanity, constitute a major force on the international scene," AU said.

The two leaders also "welcomed the establishment of the African Union Mission in China as a tool for strengthening the strategic partnership between Africa and China."

The formal launch ceremony of the Mission was held on September 2 under the joint chairmanship of the Chairperson of the Commission and China's State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi.
File photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 10, 2018 shows Kim Jong Un (C), top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), inspecting a construction site at Samjiyon County of DPRK's northern Mount Paektu region. (Xinhua/KCNA)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department said here on Thursday that special representative for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) issue, Stephen Biegun, will travel to the capital cities of South Korea, China and Japan on Sept. 10-15 to discuss the denuclearization of the DPRK.

Biegun "will meet with his counterparts and continue diplomatic efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore," the State Department said in a statement.

The current DPRK-U.S. talks have been stuck in an impasse due to their differences in the scale of denuclearization, U.S. sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration.

The State Department said last month that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula shall happen before the United States signs a war-ending declaration with the DPRK; while the DPRK has argued that such a document is the first step towards peace on the peninsula, whereas Washington has said it is too early to discuss the topic.

U.S. media reported earlier that the signing of a joint declaration to formally end the Korean War was one of the verbal agreements between U.S. President Donald Trump and the DPRK's top leader, Kim Jong Un, when they met on June 12 in Singapore.

Kim told South Korea's envoy on Wednesday that he firmly supports and will be devoted to completely removing the danger of armed conflicts and the horrors of war from the Korean Peninsula and turning it into a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from any nuclear threat.

Trump tweeted later on Thursday in response, thanking Kim for making such a statement and noting that "we will get it done together," referring to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

At the conclusion of the historic Trump-Kim summit in June, the two sides issued a joint statement, in which they agreed to improve bilateral relations and work together to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the peninsula.
After initially denying reports that she had sexually assaulted, or even had sexual relations, with a former underage co-star, Asia Argento is now on the offensive. In a long, somewhat rambling statement posted to her attorney's website, Argento has now claimed that accuser Jimmy Bennett "sexually attack[ed] her," and calls for a "phase two" of the #MeToo movement. It reads, "Asia believes that all victims, whether or not they have led a blemish-less life, should have the courage to come forward and not be afraid that the abuse that they are complaining of will be colored by any negative dynamics in their history."

The NY Times reported last month that Argento had paid $380,000 to Bennett, who once played her son in a movie, after he claimed that she sexually assaulted him when he was 17 (which is under the legal age of consent in California). Argento adamantly denied they ever had sex: "I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett," she said in a statement, adding that her late boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, was involved in the decision to "deal compassionately with Bennett's demands for help," and Bourdain "personally undertook to help Bennett economically."

Argento now says in her statement that wasn't a contradictionthey never had a sexual "relationship," just sex one time. "Her relationship with Bennett was never sexual, but rather the relationship was a long distance friendship over many years," it reads. "As revealed in texts messages published by TMZ, Asia stated 'The horny kid jumped meI had sex with him it felt weird.' She went on to relate that she became 'frozen' when he was on top of her and he told her that she had been his sexual fantasy since he was 12 years old. Asia chose at the time not to prosecute Bennett for sexually attacking her."

Those text messages published by TMZ were from a conversation between Argento and gender-nonconforming model and activist Rain Dove, and took place after the initial NY Times story on the payment. Dove explained last week why they sent the text messages to police: "An individual admitted to sexual engagement with a minor which is an illegal act that can qualify as statutory rape... As well as such they admitted to receiving continued nude images without reporting/blocking the account/written rejection/or action. When [Argento] made it clear that they were not going to be honest about their engagement, I turned in materials that may contribute towards an honest investigation. All victims deserve justice. Justice can rarely exist without honesty."

Argento has also disputed parts of the NY Times reportage about the $380K payoff: "It was inaccurately revealed that a $380,000 settlement had been paid by Asia to Bennett in an attempt to preclude Bennett form making any allegations against Asia which would certainly create the impression that Asia was responsible for the alleged incident," the statement continued. "Bourdain chose to protect Asia's and his reputation and to pay Bennett and allowed Bennett to extract payments from him... now that Mr. Bourdain has passed away and is not able to comment on his desire to avoid potential scandal which resulted in his facilitating payment to Bennett, Asia will not permit any portion of the balance of the $380,000 payment to be paid to Bennett who has already received $250,000 from Anthony Bourdain."

TMZ reports that Bennett, who is now 22, had been on the fence as to whether he'd cooperate with authorities, but has now decided to file a sexual assault claim against her with the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. and cooperate with the investigation. Their sources say the tipping point was this statement, in which Bennett is characterized as a drug user, and references Bennett's "unfortunate past, stalled acting career... his desperation to seek money."

Bennett's lawyer, Gordon Sattro, told TMZ, "the attack on my client's character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client."

Below, you can read Argento's (latest) full statement:
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 01:22:19|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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LUSAKA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Thursday directed Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources, to mobilize resources and ensure it liquidates debts owed to suppliers and contractors without further delay.

Richard Musukwa, Minister of Mines and Minerals Development, warned that the government would take punitive action against the mining firm if it fails to comply with the directive.

The government had given the mining firm a one-week directive to liquidate the debts owed to contractors and suppliers who have been complaining for a long time.

Last week, some contractors and suppliers complained that the mining firm has failed to respect the directive to pay the debts and asked the government to intervene.

But the Zambian minister said that he expects the mining firm to come up with a plan on how it was going to pay off the debts, according to state broadcaster, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation.

The government, he said, was closely watching what was happening at the mining firm.

The mining firm has come under spotlight in recent weeks for failure to pay contractors and suppliers. Last week, a firm that supplies electricity to the mines effected a partial power cut to the mining firm due to failure to pay outstanding debts.

Some stakeholders have called on the government to take over operations at the mining firm as it was evident that the owners were facing challenges.

The Zambian government holds a 20.6-percent stake in the mine through its holding company, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines-Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH).
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 01:37:23|Editor: xuxin

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (L) shakes hands with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during their meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Athens, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2018. Le Drian carried out a one-day working visit to Greece on Thursday to discuss with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and other Greek officials issues concerning bilateral relations and European affairs, according to the Greek foreign ministry. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

By Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Greece and France have agreed to take initiatives to tackle a series of common challenges, with emphasis on the migration issue, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said Thursday after talks with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Le Drian carried out a one-day working visit to Greece to discuss with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and other Greek officials issues concerning bilateral relations and European affairs, according to the Greek Foreign ministry. The migration challenge was high on the agenda of the dialogue, it said.

"France always offers us solidarity generously without us having to ask. What we request from France is cooperation. We have discussed and agreed on a series of initiatives regarding also the migration issues and we will continue our dialogue during the upcoming UN General Assembly in a few days," Kotzias said during joint statements to the media with Le Drian after their meeting.

The two foreign ministers did not elaborate, but Le Drian stressed the need for a common European migration policy.

"We are also preparing for the Strasbourg summit where there will be a chance to put again on the agenda the migration issue which affects Greece so much. We share the vision for the creation of a common European migration policy which will be more effective and will better reflect the principle of solidarity," the French official said in the statements broadcast on Greek state broadcaster ERT.

"Greece and France also share at large extent similar views on European issues and I keep from our discourse the vision for a stronger and protective Europe as we both say," he added.

Greece has been at the forefront of the refugee-migrant crisis since 2015. Over a million people reached Greece to continue their journey to other European countries seeking refuge from warzones and extreme poverty.

Approximately 60,000 have remained stranded in the country after the closure of borders along the Balkan route to central Europe in March 2016.

Despite support given by other EU member states to Greece, as well as Italy, during the past two years to tackle the influx and the progress steps made to improve the living conditions for refugees and migrants in reception centers, Athens notes that problems remain in particular on the northern Aegean Sea islands where new arrivals are still reported every day.

The Greek government has requested a comprehensive approach to deal with the challenge more effectively and share the burden proportionally across Europe.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 02:17:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The massive fire that recently hit the National Museum of Brazil destroyed all 700 ancient Egyptian artifacts displayed in the pharaonic hall, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement Thursday.

"According to a preliminary report, the fire that engulfed all sections destroyed all its artifacts including those in the pharaonic hall, which contained 700 pieces," Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in the statement.

Waziri explained that most of the Egyptian objects in the Brazilian museum were bought by Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil from antiquities traders in the 19th century.

The pieces included five mummies, one of which was offered in its coffin as a gift to Emperor Dom Pedro II by Egypt's ruler Khedive Ismail Pasha during the emperor's visit to Egypt in the 19th century.

The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said the Egyptian consulate in Brazil was communicating with the museum's Egyptology department chief for a precise description of the damage of the Egyptian artifacts.

Most of the 20 million items at the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil were destroyed when the museum caught fire on Sunday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 02:47:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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VIENNA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Austrian farmers hit by drought over the summer months are to receive government aid totaling 60 million euros (70 million U.S. dollars), the Austria Press Agency reported Thursday.

The federal and state governments will each provide half of the total funding, which will take the form of direct aid to farmers, reforestation programs, and greater support for farmers in protecting against the elements.

In addition, the assistance will include an increase in subsidies on insurance premiums, as well as the possibility for credit to be extended by a year.

The lasting drought had in August been estimated by insurance authority Hagelversicherung to have caused a total damage of about 210 million euros (244 million U.S. dollars). As the picture on the total becomes clearer, however, it is anticipated it will be significantly higher than that.

Livestock farmers were particularly hard-hit, with up to 40 percent of grasslands in some regions affected by the drought, forcing them to buy food for their animals elsewhere.

Crop failures were also a problem, estimated to have affected 10 to 15 percent of crop totals.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 02:52:46|Editor: xuxin

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ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The delegation of the Yemeni government gave the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels a 24-hour-deadline to attend the UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva and threatened to withdraw if Houthi delegates remain absent.

Yemen's Foreign Minister Khaled Yamani leading the government delegation announced on Thursday that "in the next few hours, we will make our decision either to attend the Geneva talks or withdraw from it."

"Our delegates are ready to engage in the UN-backed negotiations and arrived here early as planned but we will not wait forever for the Houthi delegates to arrive," Yamani declared.

The UN-sponsored talks between the two warring rivals were scheduled to start on Thursday but the Houthi leaders decided to set new conditions before talks, including flying some of their seriously injured members to Oman to receive treatment.

On Thursday, a source from Sanaa airport said there was no

plane there yet for the Houthi delegation.

A Yemeni government official based in Aden said on condition of anonymity that the Saudi-led Arab coalition gave the Houthi delegation permission to depart from Sanaa airport before they put forward additional requests.

The rebel-run al-Masirah TV reported on Wednesday that the Houthis said the coalition had prevented them from

flying from Sanaa to Geneva. They also accused the UN of not keeping a promise to transport wounded on the flight.

"Serious arguments among the Houthi group leaders delayed their delegation presence in Geneva," said the Yemeni foreign minister during an interview with the Dubai-based Sky News Arabia TV.

According to him, "the Houthi militia leaders are not ready for political solutions and they are still arguing about naming their representatives to Geneva talks."

The anonymous government source also backed him in that, saying "the Houthis are trying to find excuses not to attend Geneva talks because they don't believe in the political process."

"Flying their injured members or other demands must be discussed during the consultations period not now," the source said, adding that "Houthis have no desire to participate in the Geneva negotiations and it looks like the efforts of the United Nations will fail again like in the past."

Salah Badr, a pro-government journalist based in Aden, said that "Houthis have no confidence in the process sponsored by the United Nations."

"Houthi militias are against peace and such conditions were the reason behind the failure of previous talks," Badr said.

He added that "the UN envoy must clarify everything to the international community about the behavior of such militia."

Earlier on Thursday, the United Nations Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths held a meeting with the Yemeni government delegation headed by Yamani.

They discussed what to expect from these consultations and relevant issues to the peace process, in particular Confidence Building Measures, according to a UN press release.

The special envoy thanked the Yemeni government for their positive engagement to relaunch the peace process. He also acknowledged their efforts to facilitate the consultation.

Griffiths was hopeful to see Sanaa delegation present to expedite the political process and vowed to continue in making efforts to overcome obstacles to push forward the consultations.

The last UN-backed peace negotiations for Yemen were held in 2016 in Kuwait, which continued for several months in the Gulf country but no constructive results had been reached due to serious differences between the rival parties.

The impoverished Arab country has been locked into a civil war since the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including capital Sanaa, in 2014.

The internal military conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government recently entered its fourth year, aggravating the suffering of Yemenis and deepening the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
File photo shows Nigerian soldiers participate in an operation in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno, March 16, 2016. (Xinhua/Wale Salau)

LAGOS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) had its spies operating from internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in the restive state of Borno in northeastern Nigeria, Nigerian police said Wednesday.

It was established that three among the 22 Boko Haram insurgents arrested two months ago were IS members, Ahmed Bello, a deputy police chief, told reporters in Maiduguri, the state capital.

He spoke while giving update on security situation at a humanitarian and development coordination forum in Maiduguri.

The terrorists usually stationed their stooge at the IDP camps to perpetrate chaos, without being noticed, he added, noting that the arrest of the culprits had led to drastic reduction in cases of bomb blasts in Maiduguri metropolis.

In June, local media widely reported that the West African country was under a threat by the IS, but the defense authorities was quick to say the country was not under threat by any local or foreign terrorist groups.

The media report, citing unnamed sources, further suggested that "leaders of ISIS are sneaking battle-hardened jihadists from Syria into Nigeria to train terrorists there for possible attacks in Britain".

In 2016, a faction of Boko Haram had pledged its allegiance to the IS after the government forces had dislodged them from Sambisa Forest, a former enclave of the terror group in Borno.

Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since 2009.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 03:27:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A UN official on Thursday asked for a sense of urgency in the transition of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti to a non-peacekeeping presence by October 2019.

"Time is of the essence to make concrete progress on Minujusth's mandate implementation," Bintou Keita, assistant UN secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, told the Security Council, using the acronym of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti.

Minujusth and the UN country team in Haiti as well as the Haitian government will need to redouble efforts to make up for the time lost because of the violence in early July, given the time-bound nature of the mandate and transition process, she said.

The government's announcement in early July to remove fuel subsidies triggered massive protests and violence.

Since the July violence, the Haitian authorities have not tried to remedy the root causes of the precarious social conditions. The risk of major troubles remains high as political and socio-economic triggers exist, she said.

Keita said dedicated intervention to spur progress is required for all transition targets to be achieved by October 2019.

Constant efforts must be undertaken to ensure that the development plan for the Haitian national police is fully implemented so that both the professionalism and the number of police officers continue to improve, she said.

Another critical area, on which progress on several benchmarks hinges, is the adoption and promulgation of key rule of law legislation, said the UN official.

Minujusth is a smaller police mission than its predecessor, the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (Minustah), which was composed of military personnel. Minujusth replaced Minustah on Oct. 16, 2017.
Native Korubo Isolado, from the Brazilian state of Acre, poses at the abandoned and crumbling Indian Museum complex, near the National Museum where on late Sunday a fire caused an irreparable loss for the indigenous cultures, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 4, 2018. (AFP photo)

CAIRO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The massive fire that recently hit the National Museum of Brazil destroyed all 700 ancient Egyptian artifacts displayed in the pharaonic hall, the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement Thursday.

"According to a preliminary report, the fire that engulfed all sections destroyed all its artifacts including those in the pharaonic hall, which contained 700 pieces," Mostafa Waziri, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in the statement.

Waziri explained that most of the Egyptian objects in the Brazilian museum were bought by Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil from antiquities traders in the 19th century.

The pieces included five mummies, one of which was offered in its coffin as a gift to Emperor Dom Pedro II by Egypt's ruler Khedive Ismail Pasha during the emperor's visit to Egypt in the 19th century.

The head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities said the Egyptian consulate in Brazil was communicating with the museum's Egyptology department chief for a precise description of the damage of the Egyptian artifacts.

Most of the 20 million items at the 200-year-old National Museum of Brazil were destroyed when the museum caught fire on Sunday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 03:37:55|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- An Italian court confirmed on Thursday that some 49 million euros (57 million U.S. dollars) have to be seized from the accounts of the right-wing governing League party.

The verdict was issued by a review panel at the Genoa Courthouse, which confirmed a previous sentence given by judges in Milan and upheld by Italy's highest court.

The sum referred to undue electoral reimbursements the party received in the past, which were embezzled by former representatives of the League between 2008 and 2010.

"This story belongs to the past, and I am relaxed," the current leader of the League and interior minister Matteo Salvini told a press conference in Rome after the verdict.

"If they want to take everything away from us, let them do it...Italians stand by us," Salvini added.

Former League Party chief Umberto Bossi, his son Renzo, ex-treasurer Francesco Belsito, and three external auditors were found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to various prison terms in a trial in July 2017.

At the time, the court also ordered the League to pay back 48.9 million euros of the overall state financing it had received over the years.

The party appealed, but after the sentence was partially overturned, the Court of Cassation confirmed the seizure order in July this year, recommending judicial police search for the requested funds "wherever they might be". That included bank accounts, deposits, and other assets of the League.

So far, Italian authorities have seized some three million euros, and the party is believed to have about five million euros in its accounts, according to Ansa news agency.

Now, with the verdict upheld by the court of review, the prosecution office is expected to request the immediate seizure of all available funds.

League leader Salvini has long maintained that the various rulings against his party were politically motivated. He also stated the League does not have so much money in its accounts.

League deputy chief Giancarlo Giorgetti last week told local media that if the seizure was definitively confirmed, the party "would disappear".
A Boeing 737-800 NG, owned by Dobrolet airline and heading to Simferopol, takes off at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside Moscow, June 10, 2014. (Xinhua/Reuters)

MOSCOW, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Aviation authorities of Russia and Luxembourg agreed on launching direct flights between the two countries, Russian media reported Thursday.

The two sides held fruitful talks and made a decision on the opportunity to fly between their capital cities, namely Moscow and Luxembourg, Russian Deputy Transport Minister Alexander Yurchik said, according to Sputnik news agency.

Direct flights between Russia's second largest city St. Petersburg and Luxembourg will also be launched as "a gesture of good will," Tass news agency quoted Yurchik as saying.

Russia and Luxembourg reportedly agreed to carry out up to seven flights per week and the flights will start operating as early as the spring of next year.
Police are searching for a man who shoved a woman to the sidewalk as she pushed her child with a stroller and tried to rape her on Tuesday morning.

The incident took place around 8:10 a.m. on September 4th in the Bronx. According to the NYPD, a 20-year-old woman was walking on the New England Thruway overpass at Steenwick Avenuepushing her infant child in a strollerwhen she was approached from behind by an unknown male who grabbed her arm and pushed her to the ground.

The suspect then allegedly pushed the stroller away and groped her breasts while trying to kiss her and remove her pants. He fled when another person came near them on the overpass, police say. He was last seen running on Rombouts Avenue towards Givan Avenue.

The victim was not injured and refused medical attention at the scene.

The suspect is described as being approximately 31 years old and 5'7" with brown eyes, medium build, light complexion, and long black curly hair. Surveillance footage of the suspect has been released in hopes of the public being able to identify the suspect.

Photos and video of the unidentified individual, obtained from 2244 Tillotson Avenue, are attached and available at DCPI. Anyone with information in regards to above incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 04:33:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DOHA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- International Bank of Qatar (IBQ), Qatar's leading private bank, has been awarded "Best Private Bank" by Global Banking & Finance Review in London, local media reported on Thursday.

General Manager and head of Private Banking of IBQ Chaouki Daher received the award during the ceremony held at the London Stock Exchange Studios in London, Qatar-based newspaper Peninsula said.

Daher said the award is a testament to IBQ's excellence in private banking.

Earlier this month, IBQ won the "Private Bank of the Year Qatar" award from International Banker.

Qatar's banking sector has witnessed a great expansion, and credit growth picked up speed in 2018 as companies borrowed and invested to overcome the economic impacts imposed on the country under the ongoing embargo.

Last July, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Qatar's leading Islamic bank, has won "the Best Islamic Bank in Qatar" award from the World Union of Arab Bankers (WUAB).

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a blockade on Qatar. However, Doha has been digging into its sovereign wealth fund to prop up its currency and ensure the stability of its banking sector.
Photo provided by Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Feb. 13, 2017 shows a test firing of a surface-to-surface medium- and long-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2 on Feb. 12, 2017. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) claimed it successfully test-fired a surface-to-surface medium- and long-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2 and its top leader Kim Jong Un guided the test firing, according to the state news agency KCNA. (Xinhua/KCNA)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Miroslav Lajcak said Thursday that besides human suffering and planet contamination, nuclear tests also pose political threat as they do not build trust.

"The last century has seen massive advancement in nuclear science and technology. And this has led to many benefits. But, also, indescribable pain," Lajcak said in his opening remarks at a high-level meeting to commemorate the International Day against Nuclear Tests that falls on Aug. 29.

Since nuclear weapons testing began in 1945, nearly 2,000 have taken place. "Some of which, unfortunately, happened not that long ago," he said.

"These tests do not build trust. Instead, they escalate tensions. They create openings for political miscalculations, and they bring us closer to the brink," he warned.

The UNGA chief said the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which was adopted in 1996 and has since been open for signature, "offers us our best shot at making nuclear tests a thing of the past," urging member states' support for entering the treaty into force.

Turning to the developments on the Korean Peninsula, Lajcak commended the past year's progress towards denuclearization.

"This time last year, things looked bleak... Now, we can see the opportunity," he said, noting "positive steps have been taken by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- including the suspension of nuclear tests and launches of inter-continental ballistic missiles, as well as the closure of a nuclear test site."

At the same time, he urged more tangible action on the Korean Peninsula, stressing "verification is crucial for progress."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke after Lajcak at the high-level meeting.

He recalled his visit in July to Japan's Nagasaki where he met with survivors of the atomic bomb attack.

"Through the testimony of the survivors, the Hibakusha, we are reminded of the need to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again," he stressed.

The UN chief also noted the victims of the disastrous era of widespread nuclear testing, saying "the catastrophic impact of nuclear testing has had profound effects on the environment, human health, food security and economic development."

On Dec. 2, 2009, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution to declare Aug. 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

The resolution was initiated with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan on Aug. 29, 1991.

The Day is meant to galvanize the UN, member states, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media to inform, educate and advocate the necessity of banning nuclear weapon tests as a valuable step towards achieving a safer world.
Gina Haspel (L) is sworn in as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (R) alongside U.S. President Donald Trump (2nd R) and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd L) during a ceremony at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the United States, May 21, 2018. (AFP Photo)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top aides to U.S. President Donald Trump rushed Thursday to deny authorship of an explosive and anonymous op-ed published by The New York Times a day earlier, which has revealed a "resistance" inside the administration against the president.

The Times said in a note that the op-ed, titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," was penned by a senior Trump administration official who has vowed to thwart parts of the president's agenda and "his worst inclinations."

The piece has put Washington into a wild guessing game as to the identity of the author, and several top Trump administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, offered their denials Thursday.

A spokesman for Pence said the vice president "puts his name on his Op-Eds."

"The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed," spokesman Jarrod Agen said on Twitter.

Pompeo said during a trip to India that he was not the author and condemned the Times for publishing the article, while Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Defense Secretary James Mattis did not write it.

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, budget director Mick Mulvaney and others denied authorship of the article.

In the op-ed, an unidentified official wrote while many senior officials "want the administration to succeed," they are "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda."

"We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic," the author wrote.

The Times said it is publishing the anonymous piece at the request of the author whose identity is known to it and "whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure."

"We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers," the note added.

The author also denounced in the piece the president's "amorality" and described his impulses as "generally anti-trade and anti-democratic" and his leadership style as "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective."

Besides, the op-ed revealed that Trump's Cabinet originally speculated about invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president, but they did not go with it because "no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

Former CIA Director John Brennan called the piece "active insubordination...born out of loyalty to the country."

Trump questioned the existence of the author via Twitter on Wednesday.

"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?" Trump wrote.

"If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

Trump earlier told reporters the article was a cowardly product of dishonest media.

In a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the person behind the op-ed chose to "deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States" and called on the "coward" to resign.

Sanders also urged the Times to issue an apology.

The release of the op-ed also came amid excerpts from an explosive book, titled "Fear: Trump in the White House," which painted a chaotic White House run under Trump.

Trump said the book, written by U.S. veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward, "means nothing" and called it a "work of fiction."

James Dao, who runs the Times op-ed page, told CNN he received the article through an intermediary several days ago, calling the timing of piece's publication and the Woodward book "a coincidence."

The author's identity is known to the opinion page editors of the Times, the newspaper said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 05:28:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MINSK, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Belarus condemned any attempts to disrupt the Minsk process, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"We cannot accept any violence in the conflict zone, the suffering and death of people, including that of Alexander Zakharchenko," Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz told local media.

"We urge all stakeholders not to follow those who seek to obstruct the Minsk process but to demonstrate a willingness to continue the dialogue," he stressed.

Glaz said that Belarus is not a party to the negotiations on resolving the situation in Ukraine, does not interfere with them, but is not a casual observer either.

Belarus will keep creating the conditions for the process and any initiatives aimed at avoiding confrontation, developing dialogue and cooperation in the region, he added.

The official said the Minsk process does not develop as dynamically as it could.

"We are ready to provide assistance to ensure that negotiations take any form when necessary," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 05:33:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HELSINKI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Yves Daccord, the Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on Thursday expressed his worries about the safety in Afghanistan, saying "there are no safe places in Afghanistan now".

The comment came just days after Finnish Ambassador to Afghanistan said the situation there had been improved.

However, Daccord predicted the situation would remain difficult as "no political solution is in sight."

He told the Finnish national broadcaster Yle that "there are no safe places in Afghanistan now, including the capital Kabul."

Daccord began a two-day visit to Finland and he was scheduled to meet with Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen and members of the parliament.

Discussing the issue of migration, Daccord said "closing the borders for some time" is not a durable solution. "Europe must decide on how many people it wants to take."

Earlier this week, Finnish immigration authority, Migri suspended granting asylum for applicants from Afghanistan. Migri told Yle on Thursday that the Finnish policy line regarding the safety of Afghanistan is likely to be clear early next week.

There has been a public debate in Finland on whether it is safe to repatriate rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan. Daccord underlined that he does not take a stand on the decisions taken by Finland.

The assessment by Daccord differed from comments of the Finnish ambassador to Kabul Hannu Ripatti last week. The ambassador told Yle that in his opinion the situation in Kabul had somewhat improved.

Ripatti said that the number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan is at the same level as in the drug related conflicts in the border areas between Mexico and Columbia.

The comments by the ambassador were quoted widely in Finland. He also said fewer civilians had been killed by terrorism in Afghanistan during the last two years than in traffic accidents in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 05:38:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TRIPOLI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday demanded a "firm and united international position" to restore stability in war-torn Libya.

Macron made his remarks during a telephone call with Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, according to the Information Office of the Libyan Prime Minister.

Macron called for joint action "against those who seek to slow down or undermine the political process aimed at holding elections the Libyan people are waiting for to choose their future leaders," the information office said in a statement.

The French president condemned attacks against Libyan civilians and legitimate institutions, pledging to "continue to work in the coming weeks to achieve three basic objectives: combating terrorist groups, controlling the flow of migrants, and implementing the political and electoral agenda while respecting human rights and fundamental freedom."

Serraj also called for a united international position on the Libyan crisis and to hold all those who endanger the security of civilians accountable, and take firm positions against those who obstruct the political process.

Over the past few days, southern Tripoli witnessed violent clashes between government forces and militants of the so-called seventh brigade militia from the nearby city of Tarhuna, some 80 km southeast Tripoli.

On Thursday, the UN Support Mission in Libya announced that the warring parties have signed a UN-sponsored cease-fire agreement to end the clashes, which killed 63 people, injured 159 others, and displaced more than 1800 families.

Following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Gaddafi's regime, Libya has been suffering escalating violence, chaos and political division.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 05:38:21|Editor: xuxin

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Photo taken on Sept. 6, 2018 shows a meeting of the United Nations Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York. UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu on Thursday asked the Security Council to find a common approach to tackle the issue of lack of accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu on Thursday asked the Security Council to find a common approach to tackle the issue of lack of accountability for the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

The lack of a mechanism to attribute responsibility to those who have used chemical weapons in Syria has been deeply troubling and a missing step on the path toward accountability, she told the Security Council.

The closure of the Joint Investigative Mechanism of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in November 2017 after Russia vetoed the extension of its mandate emboldened those who sought to carry out further attacks, warned Nakamitsu.

The Security Council holds the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, which is threatened by the use of chemical weapons, she said. "Anyone who uses chemical weapons must be identified and must be held to account."

Speaking of the Syrian government's assault on Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold, Nakamitsu asked for adherence to humanitarian principles and international disarmament and non-proliferation norms.

It is of vital importance that humanitarian principles are upheld, all relevant international disarmament and non-proliferation norms -- most importantly the Chemical Weapons Convention -- are fully respected, and that all sides work together to avoid further escalation in Syria, including in and around Idlib, she said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 05:38:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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YAOUNDE, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday said it had condemned acts of violence and abduction of school children in the troubled Anglophone area.

"UNICEF Cameroon condemns acts of violence, abduction, intimidation and attacks against schools in the Northwest and Southwest regions. All children in those regions like any other across the country must be able to go to school in peace." Jacques Boyer, UNICEF's representative in Cameroon said in a statement released on Thursday.

"UNICEF calls for the protection of the rights of all children." Boyer said.

Since the new academic year started on September 3, schools, students, teachers and administrative personnel in the two regions have become the targets of the violence. On Tuesday gunmen attacked a high school in the Northwest region, kidnapping six school children and the principal.

Armed separatist forces have been clashing with Cameroon security forces in the two regions since November last year. The separatists are fighting for creating a new country in the two regions called "Ambazonia."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 05:58:26|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RABAT, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan authorities have arrested two sub-Saharan Africans over their suspected involvement in organizing illegal migration operations in the northeastern town of Nador, local authorities said Thursday in a statement.

According to the authorities of Nador, the arrest of these suspects in a remote area came after investigations and searches carried out by security services following the foiling on Tuesday of an illegal migration operation of 58 people from sub-Saharan countries off Nador coast.

The initial investigations revealed that the two suspects received money in return for their act, the same source said, adding that the inquiry is under way to identify and nab other persons involved in these criminal activities.

The authorities of Nador, which borders the Spanish enclave of Melilla on the rim of North Africa, noted that over 230 people, both from Morocco and sub-Saharans African countries, have been arrested and brought to justice over their suspected involvement in organizing illegal migration operations since the beginning of the year.

Morocco has become a hub for African migrants who seek to reach Europe for a better life. Thousands of migrants try to flee poverty and unrest in Africa each year via Morocco to Europe, either by land into the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla or by sea often in flimsy vessels.

According to Morocco's Interior Ministry, security forces arrested some 50,000 migrants in 2017 and dismantled over 70 organized illegal migration networks.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-07 06:38:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The EU bloc of the Security Council on Thursday expressed deep concern about the escalating military action by Syria and Russia in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib.

The bloc, known as EU8, comprises eight countries: France, Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Belgium, Germany and Italy. The first five are incumbent Security Council members, the following two are upcoming members, and Italy shares a seat with the Netherlands in the chamber.

"The conflict in Syria has already caused unspeakable suffering to millions of people forced to live under siege or to leave that country," said Swedish UN envoy Olof Skoog, in capacity as briefer for the bloc for the month of September.

He feared such a military action would cause "catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians," including risking more than three million civilians' lives and leading to renewed mass displacement.
Mere hours ago, I was complaining about the relentless, withering heat currently smothering New York City. How petty those concerns seem to me now. Yes, we are sitting in the middle of a 101-degree swamp, but don't get too comfortable: Hurricane Florence may be headed for New York City, possibly in time for next week's primary elections.

So New York apparently might get hit by a hurricane on primary day https://t.co/UOJlefqeSb  Bill Mahoney (@mahoneyw) September 6, 2018

Before you start boarding up the windows, the National Hurricane Center (the country's highest hurricane authority) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration urges calm and cautionfor now.

"There is still considerable spread in the computer model ensemble for Florence's track beyond day 5," spokesperson Dennis Feltgen tells Gothamist in an emailed statement. "Given the large uncertainty at these time ranges, it is far too soon to speculate what, if any, impacts Florence may have on the U.S. East Coast next week."

Right now, we know that Florence continues to bluster near Bermuda, menacing the island with 115 mph winds as of 11 a.m. Thursday morning. Florence currently ranks as a category 3 hurricane, and is projected to sweep in a northwestern direction over the next few days, crashing right into the East Coast between South Carolina and Southern New England on Wednesday or Thursday of next week, according to AccuWeather. Do you know what lives between South Carolina and Southern New England? All of us hunkered in these five boroughs, that's what.

Evan Duffey, a meteorologist with AccuWeather, also stressed that any solid predictions about Florence's path would be extremely premature. "Right now, its almost in the middle of the Atlantic," Duffey tells Gothamist. "It is over 1,000 miles away from the Northern Leeward Islands and over 1,000 miles away from Bermuda. That is an awful long way away from New York City."



(Courtesy of AccuWeather)

While Tuesday is forecasted to be the day Florence hits Bermuda, this far out, even that prediction looks cloudy at best. She could move right over the island, Duffey explains, or she could miss it entirely. Past that point, three possible scenarios could unfold: Florence might track west and hit the southern portion of the East Coast. She could swing northwest and hit the mid-Atlantic-to-New-England area. Or, she could do neither, curving away from the coast and continuing out to sea without ever making landfall. Duffey mused that this may actually be the most likely outcome, but again, it's too soon to know anything for certain.

Nevertheless, NOAA suggests making a hurricane safety plan, and it's never too soon to start hoarding swamp town sewer gator gumbo. Stay tuned for updates...


A pro-government commentator and a left-wing analyst both think that the 2019 European Parliament election will determine the identity of Europe for a long time to come.

In Magyar Idok, Zoltan Kottasz contends that the 2019 European Parliament election campaign will be the first EP election in which real European issues will dominate.

While in the past, EP elections in all member states were determined by domestic issues, in 2019, EU voters will decide about the future and identity of Europe, the pro-government commentator suspects.

Kottasz predicts that the campaign will be fought between what he calls globalist multculturalist parties led by French President Macron, and forces which champion national sovereignty that oppose migration.

Kottasz thinks that PM Orbans anti-multiculturalist and anti-immigration vision are becoming increasingly popular in Europe.

In Nepszava, Balazs Bocskei also thinks that the 2019 EP election will be a competition between global and local elites.

The left-wing political commentator writes that the inflow of migrants to Europe has created new political rifts in the continent. Bocskei suggests that liberal global elites have less interest in maintaining national sovereignty and nation state institutions, while local, populist national elites want to limit the impact of globalisation.

In conclusion, Bocskei is confident that the European Union will prevail, even if nationalist parties win the 2019 EP election, although in a somewhat different format.

This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online Click here to Share Your Story
The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) issued a reminder on Tuesday that old HUF 1,000 bills, which have been replaced by a new banknote design with enhanced security features, will be withdrawn from circulation on November 1, 2018.

The new HUF 1,000 bills entered circulation on March 1, 2018.



The old HUF 1,000 bills may still be exchanged, free of charge, at banks and post offices for a period of three years after their withdrawal, and at the central bank until October 31, 2038.

The MNB has been upgrading the security features on all of its banknotes in the framework of a program launched in 2014. The last replacement, the HUF 500 banknote, will not enter into general circulation until February of next year.
Cabinet ministers of the Visegrad Four agreed to develop a feasibility study on connecting the quartet with a high-speed rail network, and plans will be completed within a year, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told the state media in Krynica, Poland, where he participated in an economic forum.

He intoned that the Visegrad Four is the engine of growth in Europe, but has to catch up with its infrastructure.

The high-speed track would run from Budapest to Warsaw via the Slovak capital Bratislava and Brno in the Czech Republic.

The government will contribute Ft 1.5 billion to the costs of the feasibility study to be completed in autumn of next year.
Embattled state Senate hopeful Julia Salazar was arrested as a teenager for allegedly impersonating and stealing from Kai Hernandez, the ex-wife of Met legend Keith Hernandez, according to multiple reports.

Charges were not ultimately pressed against the insurgent Democratic Socialist candidate, who has faced a series of increasingly bizarre controversies in recent weeks related to her background. The latest trouble concerns audio recordings that, in the view of the Florida police department, suggested Salazar once called Kai Hernandez's bank with the goal of gaining access to her personal account.

Tablet Magazine published those recordings on Thursday, and spoke with the detective who initially arrested Salazar in 2011. He continues to believe that Salazar made the phone calls, but says she was likely not charged because "a voice ID is not enough for the state attorney's office."

Initial details about Salazar's arrest were first revealed hours earlier by the Daily Mail, which obtained a defamation suit that the candidate filed against Kai Hernandez in 2013, two years after the charges were dismissed. The outlet reports that Salazar, a freshman at Columbia University at the time of the incident, was also accused of stealing $11,800 in cash, $1,175 in Pottery Barn vouchers and $950 worth of wine while house-sitting for the soon-to-be ex-couple in Jupiter, Florida.

In her libel suit, Salazar claims that Kai Hernandez had actually imitated Salazar's voice, as a means to set her up for bank fraud. The ex-wife of the current Mets broadcaster "further accused Salazar of interfering with her marriage and having an affair with Flushing favorite Keith who is 37 years her senior," according to the Daily Mail.

The claim also notes that Salazar, a family friend and neighbor of Keith Hernandez, had looked up to the former Mets all-star as a "father-figure," and was "humiliated" by his ex-wife's accusations.

A spokesperson for Salazar's campaign, Michael Kinnucan, maintains that the candidate is completely innocent, and blamed the accusations on the couple's messy divorce and a fourth person that Kai Hernandez was seeing at the time. "Kai Hernandez's bizarre and fraudulent attempts to defame and victimize Julia were recognized as baseless by the authorities, who declined to file charges," he told Gothamist.

The spokesperson added that a judge awarded Salazar $20,000 for her libel claim, most of which went toward legal fees. The Daily Mail notes that the defamation case was set for trial in March of 2017, "but both sides settled at the last moment."

Less than a year later, Salazar announced that she was running to unseat State Senator Martin Dilan, an eight-term incumbent whose district covers much of North Brooklyn. A surge of progressive endorsements and positive press coverage followedmuch of it in the wake of fellow DSA candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset victory over Rep. Joe Crowley.

But more recently, the campaign has been dogged by repeated inconsistencies in Salazar's statements about her past. As Gothamist first reported, she spent her junior year of college actively fighting to restrict abortion services at Columbia University, despite previously claiming to have "quickly" moved left upon arriving at school. Her also website implies that she graduated from Columbia, which she did not, the NY Times reports today.

Subsequent pieces in Tablet Magazine and City and State New York alleged, respectively, that her working-class immigrant Jewish background was "largely self-created" and "deployed..to gain maximum political advantage." While some questions regarding her identity have proved difficult to untangle, it does seem that Salazar's repeated statements about being born in Colombia are untrue.

Multiple media outlets have since spoken to her mother and brother, who say that Salazar was born to a middle-class family in Floridain a home that, apparently, neighbored Keith Hernandez's townhouse.

Salazar's opponent, Senator Martin Dilan, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Gogebic County left out SBA request

By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

LANSING  With the Federal Emergency Management Agency upholding its decision to deny individual assistance to those impacted by the mid-June rains that caused flooding across parts of the Upper Peninsula, Gov. Rick Snyder is turning to the U.S. Small Business Administration for help. But even if the SBA decides to provide assistance to those impacted by the storm, it appears Gogebic County residents wont be able to benefit.

While Snyder sent a letter to the SBA Tuesday asking the administration to declare a disaster and make impacted residents and businesses eligible for low-interest loans to cover rebuilding costs, the disaster declaration would only be limited to Houghton County and the surrounding area.

When you go to the Small Business Administration, you have a target county. And then it looks like if they approve it, (assistance) can be in contiguous counties as well, Snyder spokesman Ari Adler told the Daily Globe.

Houghton was where the worst of the damage from the storm occurred, with the National Weather Service reporting as much as 7 inches fell on parts of the county. Ontonagon, Baraga, Iron and Keweenaw counties were listed in Snyders letter as contiguous counties that also incurred damage.

Adler said the state was still trying to find ways to help those in Gogebic County and elsewhere recover from the storm, however, there may be no assistance available.

Were still reviewing that. Im not sure there is going to be, were kind of running out of options here, Adler said. But were going to continue to look at possibilities and see what we can do.

Much like FEMA, Adler said the SBA has certain criteria to determine whether assistance is merited. He explained that while individuals who sustained damage may feel significantly effected by the storm, the federal government often takes a larger view of the scale of the disaster when determining whether to grant assistance.

Several rain storms the weekend of June 15-17 caused flooding across parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and the U.P .; causing road washouts and other damage in the region. Gogebic County Emergency Management officials said in August the numbers were still being finalized but roughly $334,000 of the $44 million in storm damage occurred in Gogebic County.

Snyder issued a state disaster declaration for Houghton and Menominee counties June 18, adding Gogebic County to the declaration June 21. President Donald Trump declared a federal disaster in the three counties Aug. 2, making them eligible for public assistance and hazard mitigation efforts.

FEMA informed the state it was denying individual assistance Aug. 6, with the state appealing the decision later in the month.

Snyder expressed regret that FEMA was upholding its original decision.

Im disappointed FEMA did not recognize the severity of the economic impacts on homeowners and local businesses in the affected area who have suffered property damage and lost wages and productivity as a result of this disaster, he said in a news release. We will continue to explore options to help these communities recover from the devastation of the flood.

Adler said there was no set timeline on when the state would hear from the SBA regarding whether it would provide assistance.

Trump issued a federal disaster declaration Aug. 11 for six Wisconsin counties, including Iron County, impacted by the storm. Those counties had more than $13.1 million in damage to public infrastructure, with Iron County sustaining $707,000 in damage. Andrew Beckett, an assistant public information officer with Wisconsin Emergency Management, told the Daily Globe the state only sought assistance for public infrastructure repairs.
By RALPH ANSAMI

[email protected]

IRONWOOD  Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Jeff Mason and other state officials met Wednesday with Gogebic Range leaders to discuss the closure of the Ojibway prison in Marenisco.

The session was attended by about 30 people, including 18 community leaders. After the meeting, Mason said in a teleconference call that the MEDC has committed to fund a study to determine possible future economic development activities for the area. He said an effort would be made to diversify the economy.

This was the first step in the process. We wa...
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - Holly Beth Strom, 64, from Falls Church, passed away on Aug. 27, 2018, after a battle with cancer.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Wilma Randa Strom, nephew, Joel Strom, special cousin, Thomas Sprasky, and all her aunts and uncles.

Survivors include life-long partner, Michael Keller, daughter, Heather (Ryan) Susen, son, Ronald Jr. (Ed) Chiapusio, son, Brent Chiapusio, stepson, David (Susan) Keller, grandchildren, Bryce Susen and Mia Keller, sister, Jackie (Jim) Judth, brother Fred (Judy) Strom, many nieces and nephews, childhood friend, Kathy Grbavcich, and her pups, Macy Mae and CoCo.

One of Holly's greatest joys was spending time with her children and grandchildren. She also enjoyed arts and craft projects, camping, swimming, kayaking and fishing.

She was baptized and confirmed at Zion Lutheran Church in Ironwood, Mich. Holly had a deep belief in God and tried to practice His ways daily to the best of her ability.

Holly graduated from L.L. Wright High School in 1972 and then attended Gogebic Community College in 1973. Her adult life consisted of jobs caring for others. Her final job before retirement was in Dickinson, N.D., teaching English to people from all around the world.

Holly was a very kind, loving person who also had quite the sense of humor. She said nine out of 10 times if you smile at someone, they smile back! She was always willing to help someone out.

Her wishes were to be cremated. Everley Funeral Home in Falls Church handled the arrangements.

There will be memorial services in Falls Church and Ironwood at dates to be announced.

Contributions can be made to the Type 1 Diabetes Foundation in honor of Holly's grandson, Bryce Susen, American Diabetes Association, 2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 900, Arlington, VA 22202, 1-800-342-2383.
With just a week until primary Election Day, incumbent Brooklyn State Senator Martin Malave Dilan faces a serious challenge from upstart democratic socialist opponent Julia Salazar. The seat, which Dilan has held for 17 years, has become another flashpoint for a nationwide power struggle between entrenched Democratic incumbents and younger, less-experienced candidates embraced by the Partys ascendant left-wing.

In a district spanning the rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods of Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Greenpoint, access to housing has become a central issue in the race. To preempt the challenge from his left, Dilan, a former protege of disgraced Brooklyn kingmaker Vito Lopez, has positioned himself as a fighter for tenants and an opponent of rapacious landlords. Ive always been a champion for working-class, low-income, and senior tenants in the district, Dilan told Gothamist, touting his support for the Loft Law, rent freezes, and increasing penalties for abusive landlords.

An analysis of Dilans campaign war chest, however, tells a different story about the incumbent.

Its no secret that Martin Dilan takes money from the real estate industry. But the scale and intensity of Dilans romance with landlords and their lobbyists is greater than previously reported. Since 1999, Dilan has accepted $325,400 from real estate entities, more than any senate Democrat besides Jeff Klein, the former Independent Democratic Caucus (IDC) leader known for facilitating Republican control of the upper chamber. In total, 15 percent of Dilans campaign donations have come from developers and landlords. Thats nearly twice as much as any other state senator. (David Valesky, another member of the now-defunct IDC, took 8 percent of his contributions from real estate.)

Dilans campaign has painted his opponent as a gentrifier with no roots in the neighborhoods she seeks to represent. [Salazar] just parachuted into the district last year and has no record of involvement in the community, let alone accomplishments, said Dilan spokesman Bob Liff. She claims to be running to protect residents against gentrification when she herself is a gentrifier, living in a market rate apartment in a development with no affordable units whatsoever. (Salazar indeed lives in a market-rate apartment in Bushwick; she has three roommates. She moved to the district three years ago.)

Compare that to Dilans long history of progressive fights in a district he was born in, raised his family in and still lives in, Liff told Gothamist, You can go block by block in the district and see the fruits of Dilans advocacy for affordable housing, multiple developments, hundreds of millions for NYCHA upgrades, new schools, health programs, etc.

Our reporting also suggests that Dilans donors have seen the fruits of their sizable investments in his campaigns. Over the years, Dilan has voted for tax breaks for his campaign contributors, repeatedly neglected to co-sponsor pro-tenant legislation, and presided over a precipitous decline in rent-regulated housing stock in his district. Meanwhile, he opposed laws which seek to limit the influence of private industries on elected officials.

In 2008, Dilan joined corrupt former Republican city councilman Tom Ognibene in suing the Campaign Finance Board in an unsuccessful effort to overturn New York Citys pay-to-play laws, which restrict campaign contributions from developers and others doing business with the city. The lawsuit was financed by the real estate industry, and Dilans lawyer in the case was James Bopp, who also litigated Citizens United, the landmark Supreme Court case that opened up a limitless flood of corporate money into political campaigns. Dilan remained a plaintiff in the NYC case through 2016, when it was finally dismissed by the Second Circuit.

The plaintiffs local counsel was Charles Capetanakis, a real estate lawyer at powerhouse NYC firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. Between 2004 and 2014, Dilans campaign received $1,550 from the firm and its partners.

In an affidavit signed in April 2008, Dilan asserted that limits on donations from lobbyists and others doing city business would cause him irreparable harm if he were to run for city council.

I would like to solicit and accept contributions in excess of $250 from those having business dealings with the city, Dilan said in the affidavit. I expect that I will receive a substantial portion of my financial support from those having business dealings with the city. I also expect that I would receive substantial support from limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships, and partnerships, if they were allowed to contribute.

In a friend-of-the-court brief, then-city council candidate Brad Lander defended the pay-to-play rules, arguing that the limits enhance the independence and integrity of the City Council, and help non-incumbents who lack access to the Citys purse strings.

The Dilan campaign declined to comment on the lawsuit. Councilman Landers office also declined to comment.

Dilan has also received $84,000 from the Rent Stabilization Association (RSA), a landlord group which consistently opposes pro-tenant legislation and spent more than $1 million on lobbying last year. Aaron Sirulnick, president of RSA and a fourth generation landlord, and his wife donated $6,750 to Dilan. His firm, Ditmas Management, tacked on another $7,250. Ditmas owns 2,132 rent-stabilized units in New York.

And Dilan has received $51,350 from the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), a trade association representing more than a thousand real estate firms that also bankrolls both the IDC and Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Though Dilans real estate donations have dogged him in the past, tenant advocates hope this is the year they finally bite him. The ground has shifted beneath his feet, said Michael McKee, the head of Tenants PAC, a coalition of tenant groups which has endorsed Julia Salazar. The idea that you can be a champion of tenants and take that much real estate money, it just doesnt make sense to Democrats anymore. It wont work.

In recent weeks, Salazar has been accused of fabricating a working-class immigrant upbringing (she was in fact born in Florida to a Colombian immigrant father and American-born mother; her brother insists they were comfortably middle-class ) to gain political advantage. Others have called into question her Jewish identity. But Dilans self-image as an intrepid champion of tenants appears just as dubious.

While Dilan rakes in cash from landlords, the number of affordable units in his district has plummeted. Since 2007, Dilans district has lost at least 7,111 rent stabilized units, 21 percent of its total rent stabilized housing stock, according to tax records. The average number of units lost during the same 10-year period in the rest of the city was 10 percent.

The sharp decline has been enabled by a policy known as vacancy decontrol, which allows landlords to escape rent regulations when tenants move out of an apartment costing at least $2,700. Landlords are also permitted to pass on a percentage of renovation costs to tenants, allowing them to boost rents when regulated tenants leave. That is the number one tool for gentrification and the number one tool for fraud, Aaron Carr, head of the nonprofit Housing Rights Initiative, told ProPublica.

The law gives landlords an incentive to force tenants out; tenants groups call it the eviction bonus. As a city councilman in 1994, Dilan voted in favor of decontrol. The measure passed by just two votes. Dilan has since expressed remorse for his decision, telling The Intercept he never expected rents in his district to rise high enough to trigger destabilization. But Dilan also declined to co-sponsor every vacancy de-control repeal effort until 2015when he faced another competitive primary from a tenant organizer.

Maria Rubio, a longtime District 18 resident from Honduras, isnt buying Dilans image as a champion of tenants. Dilan never even shows his face here in the district, she said, Ive had to go to Albany to talk to him, but even after waiting hours and hours, he wouldnt take the trouble to talk to us. Dilan has done nothing to stem the tide of displacement of Latinos and poor working people.

Dilan has also supported legislation to raise penalties for landlords who harass tenants or sabotage their rent-regulated units. It's a situation that's ongoing within my district, where we have landlords that are basically destroying their properties so they can get rent-regulated tenants out of their apartments so they can get increased rents, Dilan said in 2014.

But Dilan has continued taking large sums of money from the citys most abusive landlords.

Since 1999, Dilan has received $15,850 from the Wartski Family. Jay Wartski, who has drawn multiple civil and criminal charges for abusing tenants and neglecting their apartments, made the news again in 2017 for allegedly spraying pesticides to force rent-controlled tenants out of their apartments. When Rafael Espinal, a former aide to Dilans son Erik, ran for City Council in 2011, Espinals $5,000 campaign donation from Wartski was criticized by tenant groups and the tabloids. Espinal hasnt taken a dollar from the Wartskis since. Dilan, however, has taken $10,000 from five different LLCs owned by the Wartskis since 2016.

The Dilan campaign declined to comment on the Wartski donations, but repeated that his record on housing and tenants speaks for itself. Councilman Espinal, who has endorsed Dilan, declined to comment for this piece.

Real estate entities often use this LLC loophole to donate unlimited amounts of money with little or no public scrutiny. Those LLCs are often the same used to obscure ownership of their properties, a frequent source of consternation for tenants and advocates.

Governor Cuomos biggest overall donor, mega-landlord Glenwood, has also been a major contributor to Dilans campaigns. In 2015, a federal indictment alleged that Glenwood bribed Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos for favorable votes on legislation, a series of tax breaks, that were crucial to Glenwoods profitability. Dilan voted for some of the same legislation, but he may have escaped public scrutiny at the time because his donations from Glenwood were masked behind LLCs. Glenwood has given $44,750 to Martin Dilan through various executives, LLCs and subsidiaries.

Yet Dilan has repeatedly asserted that political donations have no effect on his decisions. Im going to accept funds, and if you look at my track record, I have not done anything that goes against my constituents, Dilan recently told City Limits. But if you want to send me a check, Ill take it also. Liff, Dilans spokesman, told Gothamist, Dilan votes the interests of his constituents no matter who his contributors are.

Dilans campaign website calls him an outspoken critic of granting developers long-term tax breaks to develop affordable housinga reference to the controversial 421-a program, which gives developers a break on taxes in exchange for agreeing to build affordable units. Having supported these tax programs more than a decade ago, says his website, Senator Dilan has taken issue with the lack of enforcement holding developers to these agreements.

In reality, Dilan voted to extend tax abatements to two of his donorsExtell and Thor Equitiesjust five years ago. Extell, whose tax breaks were extended for an additional 10 years, made news for building a poor door at one of its 421-a subsidized developments. The market rate units at the luxury Riverside Boulevard tower on West 62nd Street in Manhattan feature stunning views of the river and have access to two gyms, a pool, a movie theater, a bowling alley, 24/7 doormen, a courtyard and a chandeliered lobby. Tenants in the affordable units, which face east, use a separate entrance and are prohibited from using the buildings generous amenities.

Dilan spokesman Liff said he didnt believe Extell or Thor had any business in the district.

Liffs own website lists Extell as a client of his public relations firm. He told Gothamist, Seven or eight years ago I showed up at one meeting for them, but Extell is a totally separate kind of client. We advise them through some of the city hall process.

In fairness, the main reason no significant pro-tenant legislation has passed during Dilans tenure is that Republicans have controlled the state senate. For the past 8 years, Dilan has been able to speak the language of tenant advocacy to his constituentswithout having to cast a vote that would significantly undermine his donors bottom line.

That may change in November.

In 2019 the State Senate may be controlled by Democrats for the first time in years, said Jonathan Westin, executive director of New York Communities for Change, which has endorsed Salazar, Well have a real chance to strengthen and expand rent stabilization, pass legislation that protects tenants, and house the 89,000 New Yorkers experiencing homelessness. To do that, well need a state senator whos willing to stand up to the landlords. I know Marty Dilan isnt up for it.

The New York State primary is Thursday, September 13th. Find out where to vote, and here's more coverage of the upcoming primary and midterm elections.

Georgia Kromrei is currently pursuing a dual graduate degree in computer science and journalism at Columbia University, where she is also a member of the Graduate Workers Union.

Sam Adler-Bell is a writer in New York. His work can be found at The Intercept, The Nation, the New Republic, and elsewhere.



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Es Martin Dilan el Democrata Favorito del Grupo de Presion de la Inmobiliaria?

Faltando solo una semana hasta las primarias, el titular Senador de Estado de Brooklyn Martin Dilan, enfrenta un desafio serio de su oponente socialista democratica Julia Salazar. La posicion, la cual Dilan ha tenido hace 17 anos, ha sido otro punto critico en la lucha de poder nacional entre titulares democraticos y candidatos mas jovenes, con menos experiencia y aceptados por la ala izquierda ascendiente del partido.

En un distrito abarcando los vecindarios rapidamente aburguesando de Williamsburg, Bushwick, y Greenpoint, la vivienda ha sido una cuestion central en la competencia politica. Para evitar el desafio de su izquierda, Dilan, el antiguo pupilo del poder en la sombra del deshonrado Vito Lopez, se ha posicionado como el luchador de los inquilinos y el oponente de los propietarios. Siempre he sido el campeon de los inquilinos de clase obrera, bajo ingreso, y de la tercera edad, Dilan le dijo a Gothamist, publicitando su apoyo por la Ley de Loft, el congelo de arriendo, y aumentos penales para propietarios abusivos.

Un analisis de los fondos de campana de Dilan, sin embargo, cuentan una historia diferente del titular.

No es un secreto que Martin Dilan acepta dinero de la industria inmobiliaria. Pero la escala y intensidad del romance de Dilan con los propietarios y sus cabilderos es mas grande que previamente declarado. Desde 1991, Dilan ha aceptado $325,400 de las entidades de inmobiliaria, mas que cualquier democata del senado aparte de Jeff Klein, el antiguo lider del Caucus Democratico Independiente (IDC) que es conocido por facilitar el control republicano de la camara superior. En total, el 15 por ciento de las donaciones de campana de Dilan ha venido de constructores y propietarios. Eso es el doble de cualquier otro senador de estado. (David Valesky, otro miembro del ya difunto IDC, tomo 8 por ciento de sus contribuciones de la inmobiliaria.)

La campana de Dilan ha pintado a su oponente como una aburguesada sin raices en los vecindarios ella quiere a representar. [Salazar] acaba de llegar de paracaida en el distrito el ano pasado y no tiene historia de implicacion en la comunidad, ni de que logros hablar, dijo el portavoz de Dilan, Bob Liff. Ella asegura ser candidata para proteger a los residentes contra el aburguesamiento a pesar de que ella sea aburguesada, viviendo en un apartamento a precio de mercado en una urbanizacion sin unidades asequibles de ningun modo. (Salazar de hecho vive en un apartamento a precio de mercado en Bushwick; ella tiene tres companeras de habitacion.)

Compare eso a la larga historia de luchas progresistas de Dilan en un distrito en el cual el nacio, crio su familia, y donde todavia vive, Liff le dijo a Gothamist. Usted puede ir manzana por manzana en el distrito y ver los frutos del apoyo de Dilan para vivienda asequible, multiples urbanizaciones, centenas de millones para actualizaciones de NYCHA, escuelas nuevas, programas sanitarios, etcetera.

Nuestro reportaje tambien sugiere que los donantes de Dilan han visto los frutos de sus inversiones considerables en sus campanas. A traves de los anos, Dilan ha votado por exenciones tributarias para sus donantes de campana, de seguido no cumpliendo con copatrocinar legislacion pro-inquilino, y presidio el disminuido escarpado de vivienda con arriendo regulado en su distrito. Mientras tanto se ha opuesto a leyes que querian limitar la influencia de industrias privadas en los oficiales elegidos.

En 2008, Dilan se unio al antiguo concejal republicano corrupto Tom Ognibene en demandar a la Junta de Finanza de Campana. La demanda fue financiada por la industria inmobiliaria, el abogado de Dilan en el caso fue James Bop, quien tambien mitigo Citizens United, el caso del Tribunal Supremo trascendental que facilito a una inundacion de dinero corporativo en las campanas politicas.

El abogado local de los demandantes fue Charles Capetanakis, un abogado de inmobiliaria del despacho de fuerza motriz de NYC Davidoff Hutcher & Citron. Entre 2004 y 2014, la campana de Dilan recibio $1,550 del despacho y sus socios.

En una declaracion jurada firmada en abril del 2008, Dilan aseguro que los limites en las donaciones de los cabilderos y otros haciendo negocio de la ciudad le causarian dano irreparable si el fuera candidato de concejal.

Me gustaria solicitar y aceptar contribuciones en exceso de $250 de los que tienen tratos comerciales con la ciudad, Dilan dijo en la declaracion jurada. Espero que recibire una porcion considerable de mi apoyo financiero de los que tienen tratos comerciales con la ciudad. Tambien me imagino que yo recibiria apoyo considerable de companias de responsabilidad limitada, sociedades de responsabilidad limitada, y asociaciones, si pudieran contribuir.

En un escrito amicus curiae, candidato del Consejo Municipal Brad Lander defendio las reglas de pagar para jugar, argumentando que los limites aumentan la independencia e integridad del Consejo Municipal, y ayudan a los no titulares que faltan acceso a los cofres de la Ciudad. La campana Dilan se nego a comentar sobre el litigio. La oficina de Concejal Lander tambien se nego a comentar.

Dilan tambien ha recibido $84,000 de la Asociacion de Estabilizacion del Alquiler (RSA), un grupo de propietarios que sistematicamente se opone a legislacion pro-inquilinos y gasto mas de $1 millon en cabildeo el ano pasado. Aaron Sirulnick, presidente de la RSA y un propietario de cuarto generacion, y su esposa donaron $6,750 a Dilan. Su empresa, Ditmas Management, anadio otro $7,250. Ditmas es propietario de 2,132 alquileres estabilizadas en Nueva York.

Y Dilan ha recibido $51,350 de la Junta de Bienes Raices de Nueva York (REBNY), una asociacion de comercio representando mas de mil empresas de bienes raices que tambien financia al IDC y Gobernador Andrew Cuomo.

Aunque las donaciones del sector inmobiliario a Dilan lo han perseguido en el pasado, defensores de inquilinos esperan que este sera el ano en que finalmente lo hunden. El suelo se ha cambiado debajo de sus pies, dijo Michael McKee, jefe de Tenants PAC, una coalicion de grupos de inquilinos que ha dado su apoyo a Julia Salazar. La idea que puedes ser campeon de inquilinos y aceptar tanta dinero del sector inmobiliario, ya no tiene sentido para las Democratas. No funcionara.

Sin embargo, Dilan ha afirmado repetidamente que las donaciones politicas no tienen efecto en sus decisiones. Voy a aceptar fondos, y si miras a mi trayectoria, no he hecho nada que vaya contra a mis constituyentes, Dilan recientemente dijo a City Limits. Pero si quieres mandarme un cheque, yo tambien lo aceptara. Liff, el portavoz de Dilan, dijo a Gothamist, Dilan vota en los intereses de sus constituyentes, independientemente de quienes son sus contribuidores.

El sitio de web de la campana Dilan le llama un critico abierto de conceder recortes de impuestos a largo plazo a desarrolladores para desarrollar viviendas asequibles - una referencia al controvertido programa 421-a, que otorga un recorte de impuestos a desarrolladores a cambio de consentir a construir unidades asequibles. Haber apoyado a estos programas de impuestos hace mas que una decada, dice su sitio de web, Senador Dilan ha tenido problemas con la falta de ejecucion manteniendo a los desarrolladores con estos acuerdos.

En realidad, Dilan voto a extender recortes de impuestos para dos de sus donantes - Extell y Thor Equities - hace solamente cinco anos. Extell, cuyos recortes de impuestos fueron extendieron para unos 10 anos adicional, se hizo noticia por construir una puerta pobre en uno de sus desarrollos subsidiados por 421-a. Las unidades de tasa de mercado en el torre lujo Riverside Boulevard en la calle West 62 en Manhattan ofrecen vistas maravillosas del rio y tienen acceso a dos gimnasios, una piscina, un cine, una bolera, porteros 24/7, un patio y un vestibulo de candelabro. Inquilinos en las unidades asequibles, que miran hacia el este, con una entrada separada y son prohibidos de usar las generosas comodidades.

El portavoz de Dilan, Liff, dijo que no creyo que Extell ni Thor tenian negocio en el distrito. El propio sitio de web de Liff lista Extell como cliente de su empresa de relaciones publicas. Dijo a Gothamist, Hace siete u ocho anos apareci en una reunion para ellos, pero Extell es un tipo de cliente completamente separada. Les aconsejamos a traves de algunos de los procesos de City Hall.

En justicia, la razon principal que no ha pasado ninguna legislacion pro-inquilino durante la tenencia de Dilan es que los Republicanos han controlado el Senado del Estado. Por las ultimas 8 anos, Dilan ha sido capaz de hablar la lengua de defensa de inquilinos a sus constituyentes - sin tener que emitir un voto que habria socavado significativamente el resultado final de sus donantes.

Eso puede cambiar en Noviembre.

En 2019 el Senado Estatal puede ser controlado por Democratas por la primera vez en anos, dijo Jonathan Westin, director ejecutivo de Comunidades por Cambio Nueva York, que ha endorsado a Salazar. Tendremos una oportunidad real para fortalecer y expandir la estabilizacion de alquiler, pasar legislacion que protege inquilinos, y alojar a los 89,000 Nuevayorquinos sufriendo la falta de vivienda. Para hacer eso, necesitaremos un Senador Estatal dispuesto a resistir a los propietario. Yo se que Marty Dilan no esta preparado para eso.
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...
GoFundMe is waiving part of its refund policy that could have prevented Johnny Bobbitt Jr.'s donors from requesting reimbursements, a spokesman for the company said Thursday.

The online fund-raising platform refunds individual contributions up to $1,000 if it determines that donations were misused, according to the company's guarantee policy.

But there are exemptions in this policy and requirements that donors must meet to get paid back. Typically, donors must submit claims within 30 days of donating.

The campaign benefiting Bobbitt  which raised more than $400,000 from roughly 14,000 people  began accepting donations in November, nearly 10 months ago.

>>READ MORE: The Johnny Bobbitt saga: From feel-good story to money mystery

A GoFundMe spokesman said the 30-day policy will not apply to Bobbitt's donors.

"This is an extremely rare situation and we are working with law enforcement officials to get Johnny the money raised on his behalf, which means the 30-day policy does not apply in this case," spokesman Bobby Whithorne said in a statement.

The 30-day window to file a claim is restrictive, said Daniel Borochoff, president of the watchdog group CharityWatch. "Typically, you wouldn't even know the money was misspent because there wouldn't be all of this reporting," he said.

To Borochoff, the Bobbitt case is an example of why donors are better off contributing to nonprofits that are subject to regulations and financial reporting requirements.

"GoFundMe is a business," Borochoff said. "Their biggest concern is not overseeing the legitimacy of all of these campaigns they're conducting, so there's very little in the way of regulations. It's easy pickings for a scammer."

>>READ MORE: Why do GoFundMe campaigns like the one for Johnny Bobbitt go viral?

There are other limitations in GoFundMe's guarantee policy. Rather than offer refunds, GoFundMe may redirect donations to the intended beneficiary, or provide refunds in the form of credits redeemable for donations to other campaigns, according to the policy.

A minimum donation may apply to qualify for benefits, and donors are typically required to reach out to campaign organizers and wait 72 hours for a response before submitting a claim. The policy also exempts claims over a "disagreement with how a campaign organizer or beneficiary uses funds raised in excess of the stated campaign goal at the time of your donation." The campaign for Bobbitt exceeded its fund-raising goal of $10,000.

"This campaign is backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee, which means that in the rare case that GoFundMe, law enforcement, or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors and beneficiaries are protected," Whithorne said.

On Thursday, Florence Township police and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office executed a search warrant at the home of Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico, the couple who started Bobbitt's GoFundMe campaign, as part of a criminal investigation.

Victims are more likely to get compensated if criminal charges are filed, said Stephen Stigall, a partner at the Philadelphia-based Ballard Spahr law firm.

"If the government can establish that your intent was to dupe people to provide you money, then that certainly is a crime," he said, listing wire fraud and theft by deception as possible charges. "If there were charges and then a conviction, usually  there is a mandatory restitution that goes along with that."

>>READ MORE: How to donate to charity and know where your money is going

GoFundMe's terms and conditions also includes an arbitration clause, meaning users are largely required to resolve disputes with the platform out of court through an arbitration process. And the service agreement makes it clear that GoFundMe does not guarantee donations will be used for fund-raising purposes.

"All donations are at your own risk," the service agreement states. "It is your responsibility to understand how your money will be used."

The language in the service agreement is not unusual, said Matthew Mousley, a partner in the intellectual property practice at Duane Morris. Platforms such as GoFundMe are not "set up in a way to ensure or guarantee all the private transactions happening on their platform are happening in a way that they can control and police."

By providing a guarantee policy, which also covers beneficiaries such as Bobbitt, GoFundMe is actually going above what would be the "default" language in a platform service agreement, Mousley said. GoFundMe has given $20,000 to a bank account created by Bobbitt's legal team to provide assistance during the investigation.

>>READ MORE: Couple in Johnny Bobbitt's $400k GoFundMe campaign will take the Fifth, lawyer says

Launched in 2010, GoFundMe says it has raised more than $5 billion from roughly 50 million donors. The crowdfunding platform allows users to raise money to pay for a variety of causes and expenses, from medical bills to college tuition.

Users create campaign web pages that include personal stories, photos, and fund-raising goals. The campaign pages can be shared on social media and donors can make contributions on GoFundMe's website. Campaign organizers can then withdraw donations by wire transfer or check.

>>READ MORE: Police raid South Jersey home of couple accused of stealing GoFundMe money from homeless Johnny Bobbitt

GoFundMe charges a 2.9 percent payment processing fee plus 30 cents per donation to cover "the cost of third-party card processors and the safe and secure transfer of funds," said Whithorne, the GoFundMe spokesman. He said the company no longer charges a separate "platform fee" as of December.

The Bobbitt case is unusual, Whithorne said.

"Normally, the campaign organizer would never touch money, but in this unique situation the campaign organizer was permitted to withdraw the funds," he said in a statement. "Regardless, we have taken steps to prevent this extremely unique situation from occurring again."
A view of the Trainer refinery in 2012, before Delta Air Lines bought it from ConocoPhillips. Delta is looking for a joint venture partner to run the plant. Read more

Delta Air Lines is looking for a partner to run its Monroe Energy refinery in Trainer, the airline's adventurous six-year-old experiment in producing aviation fuel.

Delta announced Tuesday night that it has hired Barclays Bank and Jeffries LLC to seek out potential joint-venture partners for the Delaware County refinery. Delta bought the refinery in 2012 from ConocoPhillips for $150 million to create an in-house supply of jet fuel for its fleet.

Delta said it expects to retain an ownership stake in the Trainer plant to ensure it maintains current levels of jet fuel production, while a strategic partner would focus on gasoline, diesel fuel and other refinery products. The refinery employs about 480.

"After several years of ownership it is natural for Delta to seek other opportunities that might exist to optimize the benefits to Delta and maximize the value of other aspects of the refinery for a potential joint venture partner," Paul Jacobson, the airline's chief financial officer, said in a statement.

Delta's move to get one foot out of Trainer is the latest shift in the region's beleaguered refining sector, which experienced the closure of refineries in Westville, N.J., in 2009 and in Marcus Hook in 2011, as well as the recent bankruptcy of Philadelphia Energy Solutions.

Delta rescued the Trainer refinery from potential closure in 2012, at a time when oil prices were high and the airline was spending $12 billion a year on fuel.

Delta says the refinery generates $300 million in "annual value" for the airline, but some analysts have criticized the investment in the mercurial and capital-intensive refining sector, saying that the airline could achieve better results by simply hedging its fuel supplies.

Philadelphia area refiners, many of which are configured to process costlier sweet crude oil, have struggled to compete with Midwestern refiners or overseas producers that have access to cheaper raw material.

The Delaware River refiners experienced a respite from 2012-2014, when they attracted heavily discounted North Dakota crude oil by rail. But they lost that advantage in 2015 with the decline in crude oil prices, and the Obama administration's lifting of the crude-oil export ban, which increased demand for American crude oil. Philadelphia refiners turned, once again, primarily to importing petroleum supplies by ship from Africa.

Delta hired a consultant in early 2017 to assess the impact on its jet fuel expenses if the carrier sells or closes the refinery, Reuters reported.

The airline said it expects the investment banks to finish the current evaluation by the end of the year, and said "the process may end without any change to the ownership or operating structure of the refinery."

Delta has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the refinery  it is currently planning to invest $120 million in the fourth quarter for maintenance and improvements to keep the plant operating for the next four to six years.
Traffic flows alongside two lanes closed for repair work in New Jersey last month. Read more

The United States Traffic Network skidded off the road on Wednesday.

The troubled traffic-information company, based in Malvern and caught up in a business feud with Entercom Communications, announced that it would cease supplying traffic data and on-air traffic updates to radio stations on Friday, effectively shutting down the business.

The United States Traffic Network also recently told Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that it would close its Malvern operations office on Oct. 20, with 118 people losing their jobs.

"All USTN radio employees have been released from all non-compete and non-solicitation agreements and every station and client will be given service for a limited wind-down period," USTN said on Wednesday in a statement, noting that it has hired liquidation agent Gavin/Solmonese LLC to coordinate the shut down.

United States Traffic Network's demise had been expected for weeks after Entercom, of Bala Cynwyd, the nation's second-largest radio group, terminated its contract with the traffic information provider.

Entercom has said it would do its own traffic updates and sell its own advertising instead of contracting with the United States Traffic Network. USTN provided the traffic updates for Entercom stations such as KYW in Philadelphia, as well as radio stations in other big markets such as New York and Chicago, and sold the traffic advertising around those traffic updates, giving Entercom a cut of the revenue.

But Entercom said that USTN failed to pay millions of dollars of its advertising cut this year, leading to acrimony.

"We are relieved to no longer be mired by the difficult USTN situation that was inherited as part of the CBS Radio merger. We will move quickly to augment our strong internal sales organization to ensure that we realize the full value of this inventory," Entercom president and CEO David Field said in a statement earlier this summer.

USTN CEO Ivan Shulman could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
An MTA bus driver hit a woman in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening, fatally striking her while she was crossing the street inside a marked crosswalk, according to the NYPD.

Just after 8 p.m., police arrived at the intersection of Stillwell Avenue and Bay Parkway in Bensonhurst, and found 81-year-old Yu Qing Chen "unconscious and unresponsive with head trauma." EMS took her to Maimonides Hospital, where she eventually died from her injuries. The NYPD says the bus driver, 62-year-old Audley Smith, was heading west on Stillwell and turned right onto Bay Parkway when he hit Chen.

Smith stayed on the scene and was later arrested and charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due care.

NBC New York reports that the bus line in question was the B6, and that the driver was treated for trauma at Maimonides, but authorities could not confirm either detail.

In early March, the Post reported that MTA buses had averaged an astounding 23 incidents per day since 2015, for a total of 21,823 "crashes, collisions, and other mishaps" in 31 months. Those episodes injured nearly 3 people daily, and resulted in 14 deaths. The MTA had not responded to request for comment about the Wednesday night collision by the time of publication, but we will update if we hear back.


Shareena Johnson walks across on Roosevelt Boulevard at Bustleton Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Traffic crashes frequently occur on the boulevard. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Read more

It's becoming a particularly deadly year on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Eleven people have died this year in as many crashes on the Boulevard as of this week, according to Philadelphia police data. Another died this year on the Roosevelt Expressway, a stretch of the road that is a limited-access highway. That means that, with four months to go before the end of the year, Roosevelt Boulevard has already seen more fatal crashes than it averages in most years.

"I sit out here and watch carnage," said Craig Jefferson, 43, from his steps on Ninth Street within sight of its intersection with the 12-lane Boulevard.

Two have died at that intersection this year, according to Police Department data, the most recent on Aug. 23. The latest death occurred Saturday.

The most dangerous roads throughout Philadelphia tend to be wide, long thoroughfares that carry fast-moving traffic through neighborhoods dense with homes and businesses. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Boulevard is the biggest and most troublesome of its type. Built in 1914 as a scenic drive from Center City through farmland to communities in the Northeast, a century of population growth and economic development has overwhelmed the road with driveways, tricky intersections, pedestrians, and lots of traffic. People who live near the road describe speeding cars, overturned vehicles, and pileups as common sights.

City officials said that the deaths so far are still within the range of 10 to 16 a year that's typical for the Boulevard, also called Route 1, but that this year does mark an increase over 2017, when there were eight fatal crashes, according to PennDot data.

"We are not able to identify a theme in the increased numbers vs. last year," said Mike Carroll, deputy managing director for transportation and infrastructure in the city, "but we will continue to monitor the situation to see if this increase remains and to identify causes and solutions."

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia keeps an unofficial tally on all the traffic-related deaths in the city, and the list of this year's victims on Roosevelt Boulevard and Expressway consists of four pedestrians, two motorcyclists, and five people in cars.

"For me, somebody died here. Somebody died here, and I can't believe these people are speeding," said Latanya Byrd, whose niece, Samara Banks, 27, and her three young children were killed by a drag racer while crossing Roosevelt Boulevard in July 2013. "Shouldn't people think something bad happened here?"

Byrd has become an outspoken advocate for change on the Boulevard, and she, city planners, and the Bicycle Coalition say controlling speed is the key to safety. Legislation pending in Harrisburg would legalize speed cameras on the Boulevard between Ninth Street and the border with Bucks County, along with allowing the technology in work zones on the state's highways and the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The bill passed both houses of the Pennsylvania legislature, said State Rep. John Taylor, a Philadelphia Republican and the bill's sponsor, and awaits only a concurrence vote in the House before it could be sent to the governor.

"We had hearings on it and there's no reasonable excuse for not allowing municipalities to use it except people don't feel like getting caught," Taylor said.

Taylor says the bill could come up for a vote by late September. If approved, the Philadelphia Parking Authority said the cameras could be up and running in four to six months, followed by a 30-day grace period that would let speeders off with a warning. After that, being photographed traveling 11 mph over the 45-mph speed limit would lead to a $150 violation.

The Boulevard would likely have up to nine speed cameras along nearly 12 miles in a pilot program, advertised by warning signs every two miles.

City officials say speed cameras are only a partial fix, though. Roosevelt Boulevard is the subject of a $5 million study to find solutions through the Route for Change initiative. Those answers will likely debut by 2025, while more comprehensive work won't be complete until 2040.

"We have to really take the time to do the analysis," said Angela Dixon, director of planning for the city's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems. "There's not a quick answer and implementation to fix the Boulevard."

Resolving traffic problems on the route requires planning for growth. The city estimates traffic, now estimated at 90,000 vehicles a day, will increase by about 4 percent in the next seven years.

Neighbors near Ninth and Roosevelt noticed that the timing of the lights caused problems there. Signals on the route will likely be adjusted to give pedestrians longer red lights and more time to cross. Also needed are redesigned intersections with curbs on opposite sides of the road that align, Dixon said. Aligning curb cuts can cost about $200,000 per intersection, she said.

Shareena Johnson had to drop off an overheating car at a dealership on one side of the Boulevard at the intersection with Bustleton Avenue on Wednesday, and then had to get to a bank on the other side of the road. The trip took several traffic-light cycles as she negotiated crosswalks and median strips.

"Normally I wouldn't walk across the Boulevard if I didn't have to," she said.

Total bus service on the Boulevard increased 5.5 percent over the last year, a SEPTA spokesperson said, in part because express routes began. By 2040, the city would like to see fewer lanes used for traffic, with some that now carry private vehicles devoted to express buses, Dixon said.

"We want to elevate the transit experience and the frequency," Dixon said, "so people have a really good option to driving on the Boulevard."

This story has been corrected to reflect the accurate projected rate of traffic growth on Roosevelt Boulevard.
A Philadelphia School District employee raises her hand during a session at new hire orientation, held at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush. Read more

Kaila DeFrancesco is 23, a brand-new educator about to begin her career as a health and physical education teacher at a North Philadelphia elementary school.

She's bright and eager, and in college had exactly zero formal classroom training in recognizing and responding to students affected by trauma  a subject that will surely have an impact on how effective she can be as a teacher.

So when DeFrancesco, who will begin teaching at Meade Elementary this month, sat through a session on that subject during a recent Philadelphia School District teacher-training institute, it felt like a revelation.

"Ninety-five percent of our students experience some form of trauma," said DeFrancesco. "We need to take care of their basic needs before we push ideas and curriculum on them."

In the not-too-distant past, school districts typically gave new teachers a brief and sometimes perfunctory warm-up to the jobs they were jumping into: Here's how you sign up for health insurance, take a handout on classroom management. Increasingly, though, districts are broadening and deepening that training in an effort to better equip educators.

In Philadelphia, part of that effort is a week-long, intensive new-employee institute that featured sessions on trauma-informed care, creating inclusive classrooms, and engaging multilingual families.

Meredith Mehra, the district's deputy chief of teaching and learning, said the aim  sharpened in the last few years  is to provide new teachers real-world tools to tackle a tough job in a massive bureaucracy organized around educating kids with unique challenges. An important part of the training, Mehra said, is the piece around climate, culture, and the things urban kids carry with them to school.

"This is just as important as 'What do I teach and when do I teach it?' or 'When do I get my first paycheck?'" Mehra said. "We have to tackle these conversations, and we can't let our fear of not doing it right or not doing it good enough stop us."

Nationwide, teacher induction programs  some call them "onboarding," a nod to the the business practice of integrating employees into a firm's culture  are on the rise, said Richard Ingersoll, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

"There's been a recognition that there's a very high quit rate among new teachers," Ingersoll said. "There's been growth nationwide in these induction support programs for beginning teachers."

The quality of such programs is mixed, but even with the best programs, strong training is no panacea. Still, it can move the needle, according to Ingersoll's research on teacher induction.

For the 500 new Philadelphia teachers and counselors who gathered at the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush for a week of day-long sessions this month, that was the hope of the orientation, which cost the district nearly a half-million dollars.

In one room, staffers from HIAS Pennsylvania, the nonprofit that supports immigrants, and Ludy Soderman, the school system's director of multilingual family support, talked about creating a welcoming classroom for families whose first language is not English.

They gave tips: include welcome signs in languages with which students are familiar, make sure you're pronouncing unfamiliar names properly, never use children as interpreters. Soderman grabbed her cell phone to give a demonstration of a service available to all district staff that offers real-time interpreters in hundreds of languages.

"You have to build bridges between the school and the family," Soderman said.

In another room, Hazel Edwards, an educator with the Attic, a nonprofit that serves LGBT youth, talked about microaggressions and preferred pronouns, running down sobering statistics: LGBT youth report anti-LGBT slurs upward of 50 times per day at school. They sometimes have no supportive adults at home; a teacher or counselor might be their refuge.

"Do not use your own internal bias to dictate how you treat a young person," Edwards said.

Maria Asencio, a staffer with the Children's Crisis Treatment Center, worked with another group of teachers on why some students exhibit chronic misbehavior.

"Children's acting-out behavior often originates in feelings of vulnerability as opposed to willful defiance," Asencio said, giving teachers tools to help kids coping with trauma: breathing exercises, "brain breaks" and other supports.

For the new employees themselves  some veterans coming to Philadelphia from other schools or districts, but many first-time teachers  it felt like a lifeline. No one was under the impression the first year of teaching in Philadelphia would be easy, but many felt better prepared.

Kenneth Freeman, who has worked for the district for a decade as a counselor but is moving over to teach film to students at Pollock Elementary, said he felt energized by the material  from classroom management techniques to more nuanced tips on welcoming diverse students.

"You couldn't pay for the information we got here," Freeman said near the end of orientation. "No one sugar-coated anything; being a teacher is a whole lot harder than I imagined, but I know where I can get help."

Philadelphia Media Network is one of 19 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the city's push toward economic justice. Follow us at @BrokeInPhilly.
Supporters of the Affordable Care Act protest during a rally at Burnett Park in Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. Democratic nominee for Texas Attorney General Justin Nelson hosted the Fort Worth Rally for Preexisting Coverage Protection. Read more

The fate of the Affordable Care Act played out anew Wednesday as a score of Republican-led states sought to persuade a federal judge in Fort Worth to halt the health-care law.

In the latest threat to the ACA, the coalition of GOP attorneys general and governors argued that a change in federal tax policy made the law unconstitutional, and they requested a preliminary injunction that would suspend the statute while the rest of the case unfolds  a ruling that would throw the U.S. health-care system into chaos.

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor, a conservative jurist appointed by President George W. Bush, did not immediately rule or indicate when he would do so. He asked more pointed questions of the parties arguing in favor of the ACA, while asking the opponents about the impact of a preliminary injunction or an outright ruling against the law.

The hearing, part of a lawsuit filed in January by the Texas attorney general and his allies, drew heightened attention for its timing amid the contentious Senate confirmation hearing for Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Advocates on both sides predict O'Connor's eventual ruling will be appealed and could become the first ACA case to reach the high court with Kavanaugh as a member.

Attorneys for the federal government, the defendant in the case, sat on the same side of the courtroom as the plaintiff's lawyers during Wednesday's hearing  a nod to their unwillingness to defend the law.

A group of Democratic attorneys general, who have won standing in the case, were left to argue Wednesday for the law's preservation.

The ACA has been upheld twice by the Supreme Court. In a 2012 ruling in a case challenging the law's requirement that most Americans buy health insurance, the majority reasoned that Congress' authority to set taxes made that mandate constitutional. The law contains a tax penalty for people who flout the requirement.

In an argument that several legal scholars regard as weak, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, R, and his allies say that the high court's opinion is out of date because late last year, Congress passed a law that ended the individual mandate penalty.

At the hearing, Darren McCarty, an assistant Texas attorney general, argued that once the penalty is removed, "the entire ACA falls."

The Justice Department agreed that without the mandate, required benefits and consumer protections will not be valid, including the highly popular preexisting conditions protection. But it also said many other aspects of the law can survive because they can be considered legally distinct from the insurance mandate and consumer protections.

Notably, Brett Shumate, a deputy assistant attorney general arguing for the Trump administration, asked the judge not to grant a preliminary injunction  at least not soon  saying that it would "cause chaos in the insurance markets." The next yearly shopping period for health plans through ACA insurance marketplaces is scheduled to start in November. The administration would prefer that the judge simply rule on the case after giving the parties more time to present evidence, Shumate said.

Arguing on behalf of the Democratic states, a pair of California deputy attorneys general told the judge the proper legal path was to strike down Congress's removal of the penalty  not to rule against the law.

One of them, Neli Palma, said that a preliminary injunction would cause "profound harm to the public interest" and millions of Americans. Such an injunction, she said, "is meant to maintain a status quo. They are seeking to blow it up."



Gayle Reaves reported from Fort Worth.
Lauren DeBruicker, an Assistant U.S. Attorney based in Philadelphia, talks to Julia Dorsett as the boat the Impossible Dream passes Philadelphia on the afternoon of Thursday, June 5, 2018. Read more

Steve Baker thought his life was over when a motorcycle crash left him paralyzed five years ago. Then he discovered the Impossible Dream, a sailing group with a fully wheelchair-accessible, 60-foot catamaran.

"It lets you take your life back," Baker said. "We show people with disabilities that their life doesn't have to be limited."

Now the Florida resident is part of the mission to empower others in wheelchairs. The crew of the Impossible Dream, which made its first voyage in the summer of 2015, spends the summers sailing up the East Coast from Miami, offering free sailing trips to wheelchair users at places where it docks along the four-month journey. The boat is equipped with features that make it welcoming for users on wheels, such as a lift, extra handles, low countertops, and a deck that allows wheelchairs space to turn.

On Wednesday, the catamaran came to Philadelphia to celebrate the Fourth of July and then on Thursday, took former patients from Magee Rehabilitation Hospital out sailing. The experience was "a bucket-list day" for Lisa Haring-Davner of Montgomery County.

"I wanted to come down [to sail] at Memorial Day, but I couldn't find anything that was handicap-accessible," Haring-Davner said. "I just wanted to come out on the water, wheelchair and all."
Q. Did the Environmental Protection Agency change its rules to allow companies to use asbestos in manufacturing?



A. No. Asbestos is already allowed in numerous products. A proposed EPA rule would prohibit the use of asbestos in certain products unless granted EPA approval.

FULL QUESTION

Is asbestos still legal in the United States?

Is it true that President Trump is going to put asbestos back in manufacturing product?

Have the EPA rules changed allowing more asbestos in manufacturing?

Are the photos of Trump's picture on pallets of Asbestos from Russia real?

FULL ANSWER

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that became a popular building material in the 20th century because of its insulating and fire-resistant properties along with its superb strength. Exposure to the material, however, can cause lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the tissue that lines the chest cavity and many vital organs, among other health conditions.

These health concerns have led more than 60 countries to ban all types of asbestos. Contrary to popular belief, however, the United States is not one of them.

Beginning in the late 1970s, the Environmental Protection Agency attempted a near-complete ban. But in 1991, a federal appeals court overturned several aspects of the regulation. Remaining in place were prohibitions on using asbestos in five product categories, as well as a rule that barred companies from using asbestos in any new ways after 1989.

These rules eliminated several popular uses of asbestos, including in certain insulation and fireproofing papers. But it meant asbestos could still be legally used in any other previously existing items, such as automotive brakes or floor tiles.

Over the last several decades, American companies have largely purged the material from their products. In 2002, the last American asbestos manufacturer shuttered its doors. Because asbestos mining no longer happens on U.S. soil, all asbestos is now imported. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, nearly all of the imports are used by the chlor-alkaliindustry, which fashions raw asbestos into special filters that are used to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide.

The proposed rule, which is known in EPA lingo as a Significant New Use Rule, or SNUR, has a somewhat confusing name because it does not apply to new uses of asbestos. Instead, the rule applies to pre-1989 uses of asbestos that are currently legal, but which no one happens to be using today. It states that if companies want to start reusing asbestos in certain ways, they will have to seek EPA approval first. The EPA identified 15 product categories of these older-but-previously-developed uses that would be subject to the review process, including adhesives, gaskets and high-grade electrical paper.

The proposed SNUR would not change the earlier ban on using asbestos in novel ways, nor would it make legal any uses that were previously outlawed.

The SNUR came about after modifications in 2016 to the Toxic Substances Control Act  the nation's primary legislation regulating chemical safety. Under those updates, the EPA is mandated to regularly reevaluate chemicals. Asbestos was chosen as one of the first 10 chemicals to receive new scrutiny.

Critics of the proposed rule, which include current and former EPA employees, as well as a variety of environmental groups, say that because of the way the rule is written, if a company wanted to put asbestos into a product that does not fall into one of the 15 categories the EPA specified, the company would be free to do so without undergoing a review.

In August, the New York Times reported that many scientists and lawyers within the EPA objected to the way the proposed rule was handled. Internal agency emails suggest that the agency originally planned to apply the SNUR restrictions to all potential reuses of asbestos, not just the 15 categories, but that EPA officials changed their approach in April.

The EPA, meanwhile, maintains that the proposed rule strengthens regulatory oversight of asbestos. "In the absence of this proposed rule," the agency states on its website, "the importing or processing of asbestos (including as part of an article) for the significant new uses proposed in this rule may begin at any time, without prior notice to EPA."

Richard Denison, a lead senior scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy organization, said in a phone interview that the EPA's statement is accurate, even if his group would have preferred the more open-ended approach.

"Compared to the status quo, the SNUR is an improvement," he said. "Without the SNUR, any of those prior uses could come back without any notification to EPA. The SNUR at least requires that notification."

Rena Steinzor, a law professor at the University of Maryland, said in a phone interview that while it's possible to criticize aspects of the proposed rule, "it is not accurate to say that EPA has opened up the door to new uses of asbestos."

Whether the proposed rule will lead to more products containing asbestos is not clear. Any throwback uses would have to be cleared by the EPA first, and companies would have to be interested in making them.

The rule is also not yet finalized; the 60-day public comment period concluded on Aug. 10.

As for those photos of President Donald Trump's face on plastic-wrapped pallets of Russian asbestos, yes, they are real.

As the Washington Post reported, the asbestos company Uralasbest posted the photos to its Facebook page on June 25, along with a caption thanking Trump and then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt for what it perceives as support of their industry. On multiple previous occasions, Trump has spoken positively about asbestos. In the image, Trump's face is part of a seal that includes Russian text that Google translates as either "endorsed" or "approved" by "Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States."

Brazil used to be the main supplier of asbestos to the United States, but following that country's asbestos ban in November 2017, Russia has filled the gap. Uralasbest has not commented directly on the proposed rule change, and it's not clear if the company or any others will benefit if it is finalized.

Sources

World Health Organization. Asbestos: elimination of asbestos-related diseases. 15 Feb 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

MedlinePlus. Mesothelioma. 1 Mar 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. Current Asbestos Bans. 22 Jun 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

Corrosion Proof Fittings v. EPA. No. 89-4596. United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. 18 Oct 1991.

EPA. Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Federal Register Notices. 9 Aug 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

U.S. Geological Survey. "Mineral commodity summaries 2018." U.S. Geological Survey, 2018, pp. 26-27.

Chapter 8, Section 11. Chlor-Alkali. AP 42, Fifth Edition, Volume I. Jul 1993.

EPA Asbestos; Significant New Use Rule, 83 Fed. Reg. 112 (Jun 11, 2018).

EPA. Asbestos Rule Fact Sheet. Aug 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

EPA. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. 23 Aug 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

EPA. Summary of the Toxic Substances Control Act. 28 Nov 2017, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

EPA Designation of Ten Chemical Substances for Initial Risk Evaluations Under the Toxic Substances Control Act, 81 Fed. Reg. 243 (Dec 19, 2016).

Friedman, Lisa. "E.P.A. Staff Objected to Agency's New Rules on Asbestos Use, Internal Emails Show." New York Times. 10 Aug 2018.

EPA. Federal Register Notice on Proposed SNUR for Asbestos. 9 Aug 2018, accessed 4 Sep 2018.

Denison, Richard. Lead Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund. Interview with FactCheck.org. 31 Aug 2018.

Steinzor, Rena. Edward M. Robertson Professor of Law, the University of Maryland School of Law. Interview with FactCheck.org. 4 Sep 2018.

Regulations.gov. Asbestos; Significant New Use Rule. Accessed 4 Sep 2018.

Rosenberg, Eli. "'Approved by Donald Trump': Asbestos sold by Russian company is branded with the president's face." Washington Post. 11 Jul 2018.

 "." Facebook post. 25 June 2018. Accessed 4 Sep 2018.

Kruse, Michael and Ruairi Arrieta-Jenna. "The 7 Oddest Things Donald Trump Thinks." Politico Magazine. 16 Oct 2016.

Erickson, Britt E. "Brazil asbestos ban impacts U.S. imports." Chemical & Engineering News.14 Dec 2017.

EPA. Problem Formulation of the Risk Evaluation for Asbestos. Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. May 2018.
Mark DOAmico.stands outside the house he shares with Kate McClure in Florence Township as a policeman stands guard while police execute search warrant September 6, 2018 looking for evidence in the disappearance of $400,000 in GoFundMe money meant for Johnny Bobbitt, Jr, the drug-addictd homeless man the couple befriended earlier this year. Read more

Editors Note: On Nov. 15, 2018, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office announced that the three central figures in this story had been arrested and charged with second-degree theft by deception and other offenses. Prosecutors concluded that their dramatic tale of rescue and redemption had been completely made up. Story detailing the findings can be found here.

The Burlington County Prosecutors Office has launched a criminal investigation into $400,000 in missing GoFundMe donations collected to help Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless man whose kindness to a stranger touched hearts across the nation and beyond.

On Thursday morning, law enforcement officials searched the Florence Township home of Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico, who set up the campaign for Bobbitt after he used his last $20 to buy gas for McClure when her car stalled on an I-95 overpass near Kensington last year.

The campaign was wildly successful, attracting more than 14,000 donations. But the couple's stated plans to buy Bobbitt a home and set up two trusts to ensure his financial independence quickly dissolved, and Bobbitt accused them of squandering the money and spending it on vacations and a new car. He sued them to try to recover the donated funds, but earlier this week, a lawyer for the couple said the money was gone.

Early Thursday, Florence Township police and investigators from the Burlington Prosecutor's Office executed a search warrant on the couple's home, confiscated several bags of evidence, and towed away the couple's BMW.

By evening, GoFundMe, which has been assisting law enforcement with the investigation, announced that the company would guarantee that Bobbitt would receive all of the money that was intended for him. "Johnny will be made whole," said GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne, "and we are committing that he'll get the balance of the funds that he has not yet received or benefited from."

Authorities began investigating after Bobbitt, 35, told the Inquirer and Daily News last month that he feared that the couple had spent much of the GoFundMe money on vacations, gambling, and shopping sprees. McClure and D'Amico bought him a camper and parked it outside their home, but Bobbitt said they later sold the camper, kept the money, and sent him back to the streets.

The couple, who drew national attention for their efforts to help Bobbitt, are now embroiled in a criminal investigation in addition to the civil suit. Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina on Thursday declined to comment on the inquiry.

>> READ MORE: Why do GoFundMe campaigns like the one for Johnny Bobbitt go viral?

Bobbitt said in his lawsuit that McClure, 28, and D'Amico, 39, used the GoFundMe account as their "personal piggy bank." Last week, a Superior Court judge ordered the couple to turn over any remaining money, and their attorney disclosed that there was nothing left. The judge also ordered the couple to testify at a deposition scheduled for Monday. Their lawyer, Ernest E. Badway, said the two would invoke their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

News of the missing money quickly sparked an investigation. As law enforcement officials converged on the couple's property, McClure remained inside the house. D'Amico stepped outside, chatted on his cellphone, played with his dog, and hit a few golf balls.

Soon gone was the BMW that D'Amico, a carpenter, said he bought McClure, a receptionist, as a gift. Authorities put it on a flatbed and hauled it away.

The couple denied spending any of the GoFundMe money for personal use, save for $500 that D'Amico said he used to gamble at SugarHouse Casino. He said he immediately returned the money from his winnings.

At the time of the raid, there was a bench warrant out for D'Amico's arrest in an unrelated matter, but authorities did not take him into custody as he spoke with them while they carted away boxes and loaded them into sedans. The warrant had been issued this summer when he failed to appear in court for traffic violations that included driving with a suspended license earlier this year. After the search concluded Thursday, D'Amico eventually drove away in McClure's other car, a white Subaru, ignoring reporters who shouted questions at him. Earlier in the day, McClure had done the same.

D'Amico was arrested in May after he was pulled over for a broken light on the car he was driving, a municipal court clerk said. At the time, he was wanted for failing to appear in court on previous charges of driving with a suspended license in October 2017 in Burlington City, authorities said. He was briefly jailed before McClure posted $500 bail to free him, the clerk said, but the money was later confiscated and the bail revoked after D'Amico twice did not show up for court hearings.

Coffina, the prosecutor, and Florence Police Chief Brian Boldizar said Thursday that they were unaware of the warrant and that they would look into the matter. Boldizar said authorities typically check for warrants before conducting a raid.

Before their relationship with Bobbitt deteriorated, McClure and D'Amico told GoFundMe donors they had bought him an SUV and a new home. That home was the camper, titled in McClure's name. The 20-year-old Ford SUV, also titled in McClure's name, soon broke down. Bobbitt, meanwhile, battled a drug addiction and did two stints in rehab.

McClure and D'Amico said they withheld much of the GoFundMe money from Bobbitt out of worry that he would spend it on drugs. They said they gave or spent $200,000 to help him. Bobbitt said they spent nowhere near that much. The couple also said Bobbitt stole from them to get money for drugs.

>> READ MORE: How to donate to charity and know where your money is going

In an interview last month, McClure and D'Amico said they did all they could to help Bobbitt.

"People trusted us to make sure this money went to something good and not him using it for drugs," D'Amico said.

Early the next morning D'Amico sent a reporter a text saying Bobbitt's accusations were "killing Kate."

"She's not like me  she cares what people think," he wrote. "I will do whatever it takes to protect her."

Bobbitt, for his part, admitted using some of the money for drugs, including Suboxone, a prescription drug used to wean off opiates. He now has several attorneys from Cozen O'Connor assisting him pro bono with his civil suit against the couple and helping him get into drug treatment.

Staff writer Avalon R. Zoppo contributed to this article.
Greg Porterfield (center) sits with his civil rights lawyer, Paul Hetznecker (right), and his criminal lawyer, Patrick Link, (left), Tuesday, June 27, 2017. Greg Porterfield is suing the City of Philadelphia, who fired and re-hired Officer Cyrus Mann, after having shot three people and winning arbitration ruling in 2016. ( MARGO REED / Staff Photographer ) Read more

The city has opened its municipal wallet once again to settle the latest lawsuit filed against Philadelphia Police Officer Cyrus Mann  this time for $600,000, a city official said Wednesday. Mann remains on the force despite having shot three people in three years, one fatally.

Gregory Porterfield, 59, who survived being shot eight times by Mann, 34, and his partner Officer Joseph Reiber during a June 2014 traffic stop in Lawncrest, settled his federal excessive-force lawsuit against the officers and the city last Friday, according to Andrew Richman, chief of staff for the city's Law Department.

The settlement brings to more than $1.2 million the amount of taxpayer money the city has paid to settle suits in which Mann is a defendant. That includes $465,000 paid to the family of Hassan Pratt, 28, who was fatally shot by Mann during an August 2012 traffic stop in West Philadelphia. Mann was fired for killing Pratt in 2015 but was rehired and received back pay in 2016 after an arbitrator ruled in his favor.

"It is my opinion that this particular officer should no longer be on the force carrying a gun," attorney Paul Hetznecker, who represented Porterfield in the lawsuit, said Wednesday. "I think everyone should be concerned regarding the circumstances of this case and this particular officer."



Hetznecker said that although the settlement was fair for his client  who has permanent hand, wrist, back, and shoulder damage from the shooting  larger questions linger about how police are policed.

"The question of accountability with respect to the Police Department and the supervision and discipline of their officers in cases involving the use of deadly force remains unresolved," the lawyer said. "The impact of this broader policy issue continues to affect all of the residents of Philadelphia."

Perry Dawes, Pratt's uncle, was dismayed to learn that taxpayers again are paying for Mann's actions.

"Making those payments is a way of sweeping those cases under the rug," he said in an interview Wednesday.

Mike Dunn, spokesperson for Mayor Kenney, said the decision to settle Porterfield's case was driven in part because it was a federal civil rights lawsuit that could have made the city liable for attorneys' fees in addition to money awarded by a jury if it lost at trial.

Of Mann's continued employment with the city, Dunn said: "Cyrus Mann was properly fired by then-Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and later reinstated by an arbitrator, as allowed for under state law. Mayor Kenney shares Police Commissioner Richard Ross's frustration with the arbitrator's decision and the resulting situation."

He added: "As the commissioner aptly said last year, we are baffled and dismayed when an arbitrator reinstates an officer who has been dismissed under these types of circumstances."

Mann has declined to be interviewed about his actions, and the Fraternal Order of Police could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Porterfield, during an interview last year, said Mann and Reiber never said why they stopped him at 9:20 p.m. after he left a worship service, parked briefly, and was driving a friend to get something to eat. Mann later would tell investigators that Porterfield was stopped because one of his brake lights was out.

Mann told investigators that Porterfield seemed nervous, so he ordered him to get out of the car.

When Mann asked whether he had any weapons, Porterfield said, he told the officer that he had a handgun in his pocket. He carried it for protection after a son had been murdered in 2010, although he had no license, Porterfield said.

Although Porterfield maintains that he never took his gun from his pocket, Mann and Reiber, in sworn statements to Internal Affairs investigators, said they opened fire on Porterfield after he drew his gun and fired at them. Both officers said they heard the gun discharge and saw the muzzle flash.

The Internal Affairs investigation found no fired cartridge casings from Porterfield's handgun. Additionally, investigators found lint in the gun's barrel, suggesting it had not been recently fired.

Mann and Reiber were not cited for apparently lying to investigators, and faced no discipline for the shooting. Both remain on the force.



In addition to the Porterfield and Pratt settlements, in 2014 the city paid $50,000 to settle a false-arrest lawsuit in which Mann was the lead defendant, and in 2015 the city paid $100,000 to settle a civil rights lawsuit in which Mann was one of nine officers named as defendants.
Glen Mills Schools is being investigated by city and state officials after two staffers were fired, accused of assaulting a 17-year-old boy in the school. Read more

Two City Council members are demanding answers of Glen Mills Schools and the state agency that supervises it, questioning the safety of children at the private juvenile facility after an assault on a Philadelphia teen by a school counselor.

>> INVESTIGATION: At Glen Mills, leaders have used the schools prestige to silence abused students  for decades

In a letter to Teresa Miller, head of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Council members Helen Gym and Kenyatta Johnson requested a listing of all violent acts against children detained at Glen Mills over the last decade.

Gym and Johnson, who serve on Council's committee on children and families, also asked for updates on the state's investigation into the teen's assault, as well as a "plan of action" to ensure the safety of boys currently at the school.

"We are outraged about the reported staff conduct, which has led to the physical and emotional trauma of young people who were directly abused or bore witness to abuse," Gym and Johnson wrote in a separate letter to Randy Ireson, the executive director of Glen Mills.

A 17-year-old boy told the Inquirer and Daily News that he was hit in the head, power-slammed to the floor, and choked for several minutes during which he repeatedly told Glen Mills counselors, "I can't breathe." The July 19 attack was caught on surveillance video. The teen said staff tried to keep him from reporting the incident, something the school's leaders deny.

Glen Mills has fired two staffers and suspended four as a result of the assault.

The city has, for now, stopped sending children to Glen Mills, the residential facility in Delaware County that receives the largest number of Philadelphia youth who have committed crimes and are sent to private placements. Nearly 40 percent of the 383 boys at Glen Mills are from Philadelphia.

The 143 boys from Philadelphia currently at the school will remain while the city's Department of Human Services investigates both the July incident and the school's broader operations, Commissioner Cynthia Figueroa said. Her agency is continuing to work with the state and law enforcement, which are conducting their own child-abuse and criminal investigations, respectively.

"The agencies entrusted with our children need to be doing everything in their power to keep our young people safe," Johnson said in an email to the Inquirer and Daily News. "The point of sending the letters is to make it well-known that we have serious concerns here and will be pushing for a wider investigation."

A spokesperson for Pennsylvania DHS said the agency was continuing to investigate and monitor the situation at Glen Mills while cooperating with Philadelphia officials.

"The Department of Human Services takes every allegation of abuse or mistreatment seriously and the well-being and safety of all children across Pennsylvania is always its priority," said Colin Day, the agency's press secretary.

In an emailed statement, Ireson said he and other school leaders "share City Council's commitment to our students, which is why our first priority has and always will be the safety of our students so they may lead full and productive lives."

Ireson said staff "goes through rigorous training."

"We have begun to outreach to City Council and will continue to engage them to address their concerns," he said. Ireson described the July 19 assault as an "isolated incident."

State records show that Glen Mills has fired at least 13 staffers and reprimanded nine more over at least 14 physical assaults on children in the last five years. In an interview, Gym said she wanted to know about violent incidents even if they didn't directly involve Philadelphia boys.

"As we're looking to determine if Glen Mills can handle our youth, we need to be looking at what happens at the facility overall," said Gym. "We're not going to have another Wordsworth."

She was referring to the death of David Hess, another 17-year-old from Philadelphia, who died in 2016 at Wordsworth Academy, a residential treatment facility for juveniles. Hess was heard saying he could not breathe as he struggled with guards who accused him of stealing a cellphone.

His death later was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation. Officials learned of a string of sexual assaults and other problems at Wordsworth, and shut it down.

Glen Mills is one we want to see work, Gym said, but we want to know we can guarantee our kids safety.
Firefighters go to work at a house fire in Bellmawr early Wednesday afternoon. Read more

A firefighter suffered a fractured ankle responding to a house fire in Bellmawr early Wednesday afternoon.

The fire was reported shortly before 1 p.m. at a 2-story home in the 300 block of Third Avenue, said Bellmawr Fire Department Battalion Chief Daniel DiRenzo.

A man on the second floor was awakened by a smoke detector and was forced to flee through a window, DiRenzo said. The man was rescued from the front-porch roof by firefighters. The injured firefighter was transported to Inspira Medical Center Woodbury to be treated.

The cause of the fire was not immediately determined.
Howard Unruh is taken into custody after killing 13 and wounding 3 in Camden on Sept. 6, 1949. Read more

On Sept. 6, 1949, Howard Unruh, a 28-year-old World War II combat veteran, shot and killed 13 people, including three children, in a matter of minutes in his working-class neighborhood in Camden.

The case against Unruh, who, unlike other spree killers, did not kill himself or get killed by police, appeared clear-cut.

In a 48-page confession, given shortly after he was taken into custody  and while bleeding from a bullet wound to the buttock  Unruh provided a detailed account of how he walked on River Avenue the morning after Labor Day armed with a 9 mm Luger and a grudge, shooting both strangers and people he knew.

He acknowledged he was aware that what he was doing was wrong, telling Camden County Prosecutor Mitchell Cohen he had considered killing his mother before going on his walk of death, to spare her the agony of what would follow. He said he expected to die in the electric chair.

>> READ MORE: Inside the mind of the Philadelphia area's worst mass killing

But, because of Cohen, Unruh never went to trial, and instead spent his remaining 60 years in a state mental hospital, a fate usually reserved for those found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Charged with 13 counts of murder, Unruh never appeared in court to face them. He had no arraignment  this would be unheard of today  and, more important, no competency hearing to determine whether he understood the charges and could participate in his defense at a trial.

Instead, Cohen had Unruh examined by a team of psychiatrists, who sometimes used truth serum  known as narcosynthesis and now considered unreliable because of patients' tendency to mix fact and fantasy  in their questioning. The prosecutor himself also interviewed Unruh.

The psychiatrists discovered that Unruh was a deeply conflicted closeted homosexual who led a double life, seen as a Bible-thumping weirdo by his neighbors while making regular trips to Philadelphia to rendezvous with gay men in movie theaters or a room he secretly maintained in a boarding house.

A month after the killings, four of the psychiatrists wrote to Cohen saying Unruh suffered from "Dementia Praecox, Mixed Type, with pronounced catatonic and paranoid coloring," and recommended he be committed to Trenton State Hospital.

Cohen took that to mean that Unruh was insane.

"Under the laws of this state, an insane person cannot be tried," Cohen announced.

But that was not the case, and Unruh's criminal case disappeared down a legal wormhole.

Insane people were and are tried all the time. Defense attorneys must make the case that their clients were so detached from reality that they were unaware of the nature of their actions.

That's based on what is known as the M'Naghten Rule, established in 1843 in Britain and adapted by other legal systems.

In The History of Forensic Psychiatry, Robert Sadoff notes, "New Jersey had adapted the narrow, 'right from wrong' M'Naghten test shortly after it was introduced in England and employed it consistently thereafter."

>> READ MORE: From Camden to Florida, connected by blood and mass shootings

In cases where an insanity defense appears imminent, hearings are often held to determine if the defendant is capable of standing trial. If not, the defendant is institutionalized until determined to be competent.

Such was the case with accused Waffle House shooter Travis Reinking. A judge on Aug. 22 ordered the 29-year-old to be treated at a mental facility for schizophrenia in hopes that he becomes fit for trial.

If Unruh's case had gone to trial, his attorney would likely have pursued an insanity defense. In that situation, a jury essentially would have had two options: guilty, which would have resulted in the death penalty or life in prison, or not guilty by reason of insanity, which would have led to his being institutionalized until a judge determined he was no longer a threat to society.

In a broad exercise of prosecutorial discretion perhaps reflecting the times, Cohen essentially decided the killer was incapable of standing trial  a decision typically reserved for a judge. After that, no effort was made to determine if he could stand trial.

Cohen, who became a federal judge and whose name adorns the U.S. courthouse in Camden, never explained why Unruh did not face a court hearing. Then again, no one appears to have asked him to.

In an interview with the Camden Courier-Post marking the 25th anniversary of the massacre, Cohen recalled questioning Unruh immediately after the shooting: "What really convinced me he must be terribly insane was when he got up after two hours and his chair was covered in blood  considerable amount of it. He had been shot and wasn't even aware of it." He described Unruh as "cold, cut and dry."

In an interview several years ago, Cohen's son, Fredric, a lawyer who was a boy at the time of the massacre, said he recalled his father, who died in 1991, calling the case "a new kind of situation" because of the number of victims and the fact that Unruh did not also die.

"I remember him saying they were breaking new ground, and he accepted the finding that [Unruh] was insane and could not stand trial," Fredric Cohen said.

>> READ MORE: Decades later, Camden mass killer still poses a mystery | Kevin Riordan

Dr. W.H. Minford, a psychiatrist who examined Unruh but did not sign the insanity letter with his colleagues, anticipated an effort to block a trial in his report:

If Psychiatrists are only to render a report of his sanity as to whether he is capable of standing trial, can understand the nature of the charge and aid counsel in his defense, then I believe Unruh can stand trial on the charge. I feel our examinations here should not preclude his appearance in court, no matter what we find. To clap him in the Vroom building [for the criminally insane] too soon would be regarded in some circles as psychiatry coming to the rescue

The trial should be a full dress affair because the public has a stake in law and law enforcement and there are possibilities that the legal and psychiatric practitioners may learn from this unusual and interesting case. After all the evidence is in, let the court and jury find their verdict. I feel Unruh was not near enough unsound mentally to not understand what he was doing even if murders for revenge or hatred can be termed essentially a paranoid mechanism.

On Oct. 29, 1949, Unruh's parents were summoned to court to sign off on a voluntary commitment of their son, a civil action. Judge Bartholomew Sheridan also directed Sam and Freda Unruh to pay $15 a week for his upkeep at Trenton State Hospital.

It is not clear if Mitchell Cohen willingly ignored the law in not prosecuting Unruh or honestly believed the law prevented an insane person from being tried despite the long history of the M'Naghten test in New Jersey jurisprudence.

Fredric Cohen, the prosecutor's son, said in a recent interview that he did not think his father  a "stickler" for details  ignored the law.

"He was not the type of man who would violate standard procedures," he said.

In the end, the survivors and the families of the victim's of the spree did not have to relive the trauma of the deadly day at a trial and the result was the same as if Unruh had been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

When, finally, Unruh started receiving competency hearings due to an unrelated 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision, no judge could find that he would not be a danger to himself or others outside of a mental-health institution.

>> READ MORE: Camden mass murderer Howard Unruh dies at 88
New Yorkers love a special edition MetroCard, whether it's honoring David Bowie, commemorating the return of Twin Peaks, a Supreme collectible, or Barbara Kruger's side hustle. The latest recipient of such an honorarium is Paul McCartney, who has a new album out this weekand you can pick up one of the limited edition Macca MetroCards at Grand Central only.

According to the MTA, 50,000 cards were printed and will be available at the station, while supplies last. They're reportedly at both the machines and at some booths, but we'd recommend heading over there in the next day or two if you really want to grab one.

Hi Diana -- if you're interested, we are currently offering a Paul McCartney promotional MetroCard -- it is available at the 42nd St-Grand Central station in the larger MetroCard Vending Machines and station booths while supplies last. ^BD  NYCT Subway (@NYCTSubway) September 3, 2018

I found them! Go to the person booth near the entrance to the 4 5 6 Lines  Gab (@gubnug) September 5, 2018

In other McCartney news, he's playing a secret show in NYC on Friday night to commemorate the new record (it'll also be livestreamed on his YouTube page here). "Fans will be able to tune in to watch Paul perform tracks from Egypt Station along with Beatles, Wings and solo classics from 8:00pm (ET). The venue is still to be confirmed," his website states. You can apply to win a ticket here, or if you have the Lyft app, you can apparently try to snag a ticket by using the code PAULNYC.

Hey New York - enter the code PAULNYC into your @Lyft app for a chance to win tickets to Paul's secret show this Friday, 9/7. Stay tuned to find out where... #EgyptStation #Sweepstakes pic.twitter.com/CUGF7Xzu9V  Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) September 5, 2018

And last but not least, McCartney was also the guest on Howard Sterns SiriusXM radio show Wednesday, and Marc Maron's WTF podcast today. You can check out highlights from Stern's show here and listen to the Maron podcast here.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., left, next to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., questions President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as he testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, on the second day of his confirmation hearing to replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Read more

Sen. Cory Booker roiled the nationally watched hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday, releasing previously confidential documents in what he described as an act of "civil disobedience"  but which Republicans labeled blatant political grandstanding.

The New Jersey Democrat said he understood that by releasing the documents, which the Republican committee chair had previously ruled private, he could face the penalty of expulsion from the Senate. He seemed to relish the possibility of that fight, repeatedly stressing that he was violating Senate rules and all but begging to be made a political martyr.

"I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that email right now," Booker said at a Judiciary Committee hearing, repeating the sentiment numerous times.

No matter that the fight was already over: The GOP-led committee had already agreed to Booker's request to allow public disclosure of the documents, which concerned Kavanaugh's views on airport security and racial profiling after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when he was a lawyer in President George W. Bush's White House.

Later, Booker told Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), the chamber's second-ranking Republican, that whatever the penalty, "apply the rule and bring the charges. Bring it."

By afternoon his staff was using the hashtag #BringIt on Twitter, and the scenes were highlighted on national cable news broadcasts.

When fellow Democrats joined Booker in protest, the senator called it his own "Spartacus moment."

The scene was the latest drama in a hearing that is unlikely to stop Kavanaugh  Republicans almost certainly have the votes to confirm him  but that has provided a national platform to Democrats considering 2020 presidential runs to show they are fighting hard against President Trump.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) had a viral moment Wednesday night with her sharp questioning of Kavanaugh, Trump's second nominee to the high court. She, like Booker, is considered a potential presidential contender.

As Booker captured the headlines Thursday morning, prominent voices on the left hailed him.

Though shadowed by politics, the debate raised what Democrats say is a critical point as they review Kavanaugh's nomination for a lifetime Supreme Court appointment. They have long complained that Republicans are rushing the hearings and hiding reams of relevant material.

With such a vital nomination at stake, Booker argues that Democrats have to push back hard.

"Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or of the confidentiality of the documents we are privy to," Cornyn said at the hearing. He called Booker's conduct "unbecoming a senator."

But by the time he released the selected emails Thursday morning, the GOP leaders of the Judiciary Committee had already agreed to make them public  fueling Republican criticism that Booker was more interested in headlines than documents.

During one Booker monologue, Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) interjected: "Can I ask how long you're going to say the same thing three or four times?"

The emails Booker released  from Kavanaugh's tenure as a lawyer in the White House Counsel's Office in the early 2000s  involved racial profiling and airport security in the months after the terrorist attacks.

"I sincerely believe the public deserves to know this nominee's record  on race and the law," Booker said Thursday morning.

Democrats came to Booker's defense, arguing that they had not consented to the GOP process for sealing some records and that many kept private did not warrant classification.

Booker later disputed that he had violated Senate rules, but acknowledged he did "willingly violate" Grassley's ruling to make some 140,000 documents available to committee members only. Booker said he "could not understand why these issues should be withheld from the public."

Later, he acknowledged that the documents had been cleared for release by the time he shared them Thursday by tweeting links to the files. But he insisted he had still broken Senate rules by reading from the documents Wednesday night as he questioned Kavanaugh, before they were cleared.

Booker said he had "shamed" Republicans into sharing them.

"When I violated the rule, I violated them yesterday," he told reporters, repeating the point several times.

A Bush lawyer who has helped review documents for the hearings told the Washington Post that he had approved public release of the documents before Thursday's session began. "We were surprised to learn about Sen. Booker's histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly," lawyer William Burck told the Post.

As the day wore on, Booker continued releasing more of Kavanaugh's emails, including at least some that had not been cleared by the committee for public dissemination.

In January 2002, Kavanaugh and other Bush White House lawyers debated the use of racial profiling in airport security. Kavanaugh wrote that he generally favored "race-neutral" security measures but that the White House needed to grapple with "the interim question of what to do before a truly effective and comprehensive race-neutral system is developed and implemented."

That interim question, he wrote, was "of critical importance to the security of the airlines and American people in the next 6 months or so especially given al-Qaeda's track record of timing between terrorist incidents."

Booker said that he had asked Kavanaugh during proceedings Wednesday night for his views on the subject, but that the nominee had demurred.

A spokesperson for Grassley told reporters Thursday that the chairman's staff had worked "throughout the night" Wednesday to facilitate requests from Booker and other senators to use "certain legally restricted documents" in the public hearing.

Grassley agreed to allow those documents to be made public, including the ones Booker released earlier Thursday, following reviews from Bush and Trump representatives, spokesperson Taylor Foy said.

"None of these senators took up Chairman Grassley on his offer from weeks ago to seek waivers on such material ahead of the hearing," Foy said. "Of course, doing so would have undermined their talking point that Republicans have something to hide. Obviously, that's not the case."
President Trump takes the stage at a rally in support of the Senate candidacy of West Virginia's Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston, W. Va. Read more

President Trump raised the specter of treason in denouncing an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times purportedly written by a senior administration official who portrayed a White House in disarray and described an effort by some insiders to check the president's impulses.

But what amounts to treason?

Treason is a major crime, one that has cursed the name of traitors since the nation's beginning. In the U.S. Constitution, the framers appreciated the seriousness of an allegation of treason enough to spell out what it specifically included and what would be needed to convict someone of treason.

Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution says: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."

Writing an op-ed that might undermine a government certainly does not qualify as "levying war" against the United States, unless it leads to the assembling of a force to overthrow the government by violent means.

While some might want to argue that painting a negative picture of the government provides a form of comfort to the nation's enemies, it does not meet the higher standard that would be applied in a case of treason.

Based on past convictions of treason, aid and comfort includes acts like working for or serving in an enemy army, sheltering a spy and spreading enemy propaganda during time of war.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., a Trump supporter, said the op-ed did not qualify as treason under the law but was a betrayal nonetheless.

"This is not treason under the Constitution," Graham said on CNN. "This is not a treasonous act against the nation. This is a disloyal and cowardly act against the president."

The last person convicted of treason in the United States was Tomoya Kawakita in 1952.

Kawakita was born in California in 1921 and went to Japan in 1939 with his father. He was there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and stayed. He registered as a Japanese national without renouncing his U.S. citizenship. He did not serve in the Japanese military, working instead as an interpreter at a mining and metal-processing plant that used American prisoners of war for labor. Kawakita took part in the abuse of the POWs there.

After the war, Kawakita returned to Los Angeles, where one of his victims spotted him and alerted the FBI. Kawakita was tried, convicted of treason and sentenced to death. President Dwight Eisenhower commuted his sentence to life in prison in 1953. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy released Kawakita on the condition that he return to Japan and never attempt to re-enter the United States. There are unconfirmed reports that Kawakita died sometime in the 1990s.

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, who were executed in 1953, were convicted of espionage for spying for the Soviet Union, not treason.

America's most-famous traitor, Benedict Arnold, who was military commander of Philadelphia from 1778 to 1780, was never tried for treason. He fled to Britain in 1781 and died there 20 years later.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks during a news conference at the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2018. A Pennsylvania grand jury says its investigation of clergy sexual abuse identified more than 1,000 child victims. The grand jury report released Tuesday says that number comes from records in six Roman Catholic dioceses. Read more

HARRISBURG  A lawyer for a group of unnamed clergy members is alleging in a new court filing that the state Attorney General's Office leaked grand jury material and engaged in a relentless media campaign that irrevocably deprived them of their due-process rights.

In a 95-page brief filed with the state Supreme Court this week, attorney Justin Danilewitz alleged that the leaks "publicly revealed the identities of two" clergy members whose information is shielded from the redacted version of a state grand jury report on clergy abuse in six of the state's eight Roman Catholic dioceses.

Citing secrecy concerns, Danilewitz did not describe the alleged leaks or to whom they were made, but wrote that he could provide the Supreme Court with additional material under seal. He did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The Attorney General's Office said it had been diligent in keeping grand jury information private.

"During the course of this massive, two-year investigation, the Office of Attorney General has worked diligently to abide by grand jury secrecy requirements and the Supreme Court's orders in this matter," spokesperson Joe Grace said. "That diligence is ongoing."

Danilewitz represents current and former clergy members who this summer sought to block the release of portions of the grand jury report that pertain to them, arguing that their due process rights had been violated. They argued that the report was inaccurate or unjustly tarnished their reputations.

Last month, the Supreme Court, following a legal filing by 10 media organizations, agreed to release a redacted copy of the report while it considers the case. Arguments are scheduled for Sept. 26.

In the petition, made public Wednesday, Danilewitz asked the high court to block the release of the full report.

Grace said that the Attorney General's Office would continue to fight for the release of the full report.

In his brief, Danilewitz contends that the clergy members who were named in the report but whose identities remain shielded from the public can no longer get any "meaningful due process" if the redacted portions of the sweeping report are publicly released.

In addition, Danilewitz contended that the purpose of the report is to shame his clients by naming them and "identifying them collectively as 'predator priests,' " which he argues creates a lifetime stigma and marks them as sex offenders without a criminal conviction. That, combined with the lack of an opportunity to have an evidentiary hearing, deprives his clients of their due-process rights, he argued.

"The [Office of the Attorney General] has overseen, controlled, and orchestrated every step of this process, from the investigation to the choreographed media campaign that followed," Danilewitz wrote. "The incurable errors  are of the OAG's own making. Humpty Dumpty cannot be put back together again."

The grand jury report examined allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up, and singled out more than 300 "predator priests" accused of misconduct over roughly 70 years. The grand jurors said they found evidence of 1,000 victims but expected there were more.
Two potential contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (left) and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will speak Friday and Saturday in Philadelphia at The Arena, a Super PAC and nonprofit holding summits around the country to recruit first-time candidates for public office. Read more

Ravi Gupta is hoping the conversation in Philadelphia this weekend goes better than the shouting match he had recently with his brother during their grandfather's funeral procession.

Gupta, a veteran of President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, is a cofounder of The Arena, a super PAC and political nonprofit holding summits around the country to recruit first-time candidates for public office. He hails from a mixed political family, with a lifelong Democrat for a mother and a father and brother who are staunch supporters of President Trump.

So while political partisanship creates an atmosphere of divisiveness, The Arena is seeking to grow beyond its progressive roots, planted after Trump's 2016 election, to draw independents and Republicans into the conversation it will hold Friday and Saturday in Philadelphia.

"The reason why I care about this community is because I'm struggling to maintain this kind of dialogue among the people I care about the most," Gupta said.

So far, 410 people have signed up for the Philadelphia summit  The Arena's fifth since December 2016  with half receiving a scholarship or subsidy for the event's $125 registration fee. A third of those who signed up lead or work for social organizations while a quarter are either running for office or thinking about it.

A pair of potential contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, are scheduled to speak, along with a collection of local officials  District Attorney Larry Krasner, City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, Chief Defender Keir Bradford-Grey, and former Mayor Michael Nutter.

That's a long list of Democrats. And Gupta acknowledges that Republicans account for 10 percent or less of people attending Arena summits.

But he can point to recent races showing the group's diversity. In West Virginia, the group backed a state senator who voted for Trump in 2016 and now is running in a Democratic primary for the U.S. House. In New York, it backed a Democrat in the primary trying to unseat an incumbent known for joining forces with Republicans in Albany.

That sort of work takes money. The Arena's super PAC, created to make independent expenditures in federal races, has collected $789,079 from the start of 2017 to the end of July, according to federal records. The bulk of that money has come from people connected to the tech industry or venture capital firms in California. Reid Hoffman, a cofounder of LinkedIn, is The Arena's largest donor.

The group's nonprofit arm has raised just under $2.5 million in the first seven months of 2018, with the largest donations coming from Dan Tierney, a Chicago-based venture capitalist.

Could Pennsylvania be next on The Arena's big-spending list? After holding a summit in Arizona in December, the group aimed to raise $500,000 there to support 17 candidates for the state legislature along with candidates for governor and attorney general.

"When we leave inspired, we generally have invested in electoral politics in the state we visit," Gupta said. "We try not to have a great party and then leave."
With Hurricane Florence spinning menacingly in the open Atlantic and emerging as at least a remote threat to the East Coast, meteorologists already are getting the willies about the potential for an outbreak of fake news.

"It's days and days away," said Dan Kottlowski, senior meteorologist and hurricane specialist with AccuWeather, adding that Florence wouldn't have any impacts on the U.S. coasts until the middle of next week at the earliest.

These two tweets from meteorologists that address radically different outcomes:

Late Thursday morning was still better than 1,000 miles east-southeast of the easternmost Caribbean islands, had lost some of its fearful symmetry, and was barely qualifying as a hurricane with peak winds of 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

On Wednesday it had mutated to a Category 4 hurricane, with peak winds of 130 mph, and the hurricane predicted it would regroup and be packing winds of 120 mph by the end of the weekend.

Kottlowski said Florence was in a fierce battle with shearing winds from the southwest on Thursday.

Hurricanes rely on columns of rising air to maintain and gain strength, and Florence's lower-level circulation has become detached from the upper levels, he said.

Florence's temporary weakening, however, is not necessarily a good development for the U.S. Atlantic coast.

The hurricane center's projected path has taken a noticeable turn to the west, compared with Wednesday's, and that's probably a function of the weakening, Kottlowski said.

As a weaker storm  and one that is relatively small in areal coverage  it would be more susceptible to the east-to-west trade winds that act as steering currents.

"My concern is there is one reliable model that took it due west," he said, but added, "we're telling people don't get fixed on anything right now. Let's let that thing play out."

By far this has been the briskest period of a heretofore unexceptional hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin.

The remnants of Gordon were centered along the Arkansas-Mississippi border, yet another tropical system is expected to form well east of Florence by early next week, and a disturbance in western Africa has a good shot at becoming a storm.

"It doesn't surprise me that this is an active period," said Kottlowski. Conditions in the basin are generally favorable for a harvest of storms, he said, "so there's a greater opportunity for tropical development."

This could well be a bullish period for plywood sales.
In 2016, 17-year-old David Hess suffocated in a scuffle with attendants at the now-shuttered Wordsworth, a West Philadelphia institution for troubled youths. In 2010 and 2011, two ex-Luzerne County judges were convicted of taking kickbacks for shunting children to treatment centers. And now there is a troubling story from the Glen Mills Schools, a juvenile detention facility in Delaware County, in which a 17-year old boy says he was punched in a violent clash with a counselor.

When Philadelphia City Council members Helen Gym and Kenyatta Johnson held hearings on residential facilities in May, Gym told children who'd suffered abuse, "We should have done more to protect you."

She's right. It takes more efforts and oversight among state, city, and institutional leaders.

Other incidents of physical  as well as sexual and emotional  abuse at residential facilities came up during the spring Council hearings. Gym has convened a task force to figure out how to protect the children who live there. It includes experts from the city's Department of Human Services, the District Attorney's Office, the Defender Association, the School District and others.

City Human Services Commissioner Cynthia Figueroa says she has reduced the number of children in the centers and is reassessing the facilities with input from the children and youth who live there.

In May, the city had about 1,300 children in 70 facilities at an annual cost of $70,000 per child and $30 million more to the School District. The state, which has ultimate oversight of these facilities, still hasn't answered questions about how much money it spends for children housed in them and its inspection process.

But in the wake of the July 19 Glen Mills incident, the state Department of Human Services, the state police and the city launched investigations. The city has stopped sending additional children to Glen Mills. The institution fired the counselor and another staffer.

At the heart of the Glen Mills incident are two very different versions of what happened. The boy says a counselor pulled him up by his collar and slammed him onto the floor, where two other staffers held his legs as the counselor choked and punched him. The school's version is far more mild. In its incident report, Glen Mills says the child was "slapped several times" and lifted off a couch, and staff merely "restrained" him on the floor.

The boy also alleges that a staffer tried to talk him out of reporting the incident, even telling him that if he left Glen Mills, he'd wind up serving more time.

It is chilling that as this child was being contained by staffers, about three dozen other detainees watched quietly. They were "motionless and emotionless," the boy's attorney, Leonard Hill, told staff writer Lisa Gartner. "No one said anything. Like it was normal."

Such events cannot be normal.

The state should use its investigation as an opportunity to take a hard look at its requirements for the adults and institutions it entrusts with vulnerable children. It should move quickly to do more to protect young people, especially those in the justice system, from what appears to be cruel and unusual punishment.
One of the more unusual figures of interest in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigationand that is saying somethingis Randy Credico, activist, comedian, former radio host at WBAI. Credico is scheduled to meet with Mullers team tomorrow, reports the NYTimes, and he plans to do impressions.

Its like, ask me if Im going to breathe? Of course Im going to do impressions, Credico told the Times.

Credico has had a long-time friendship and working relationship with President Trumps creepy political advisor Roger Stone. Last year, Roger Stone, who loves dirty tricks and white supremacist hand signals, said that Credico was his backchannel to Wikileaks, tipping him off when dirt on Hillary Clinton would drop. Credico denies this.

I asked Roger Stone in March if Randy Credico was his Wikileaks contact and he lied to me and said no. He just texted me, A misguided effort to protect Credico who I felt had helped me on an off the record basis. Sorry. Many reporters use Stone as a Trump source. Beware. https://t.co/OeGwFDeYtT  Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) November 30, 2017

He told me this repeatedly from mid-August and throughout September, Stone told the NY Times. He is my only source of information regarding WikiLeaks, as limited as it was.

Credico has interviewed Julian Assange on his former radio show, and has praised him as a hero on Twitter, but he has consistently denied connecting Assange and Stone on Hillary Clintons hacked emails. In March, on Midday on WNYC, Natasha Bertrand, staff writer for The Atlantic, was discussing her story "Roger Stone's Secret Messages with WikiLeaks. Credico called the show to say that the Bertrand did not know what she was talking about and had it all wrong. He was not put on the air.

When he went on MSNBC back in May, Credico agreed that that Stone was hyping or lying when he said that Credio was his intermediary to Wikileaks. But he did say that he spoke frequently to Assange, and spoke off the record with Representative Adam Schiff. The exchange between Randy Credico and Ari Melber is noteworthy:

Credico: I went down there for a specific reason. I went down there to ask him, if you want to get to the bottom of all this, then go to London, I had gone there with a mandate from Assange for Mr. Schiff to go over there and interview him. Melber: Hold on, what? Wait. You have Julian Assange willing to speak to Adam Schiffs committee? Credico: Yes. Thats the reason I went down there, it was a secret mission

Credico also told Melber that Stone had threatened to harm his dog, Bianca, a fluffy 14-pound Coton de Tulear, who will be by Credicos side during his meeting with Muellers team.

Stone and Credicos 16 year relationship has had its ups and downs, but it started to go south in 2007, when someone anonymously left a threatening, profanity laced voicemail for the father of then Governor Eliot Spitzer. Stone was identified as the culprit, and was pushed out of his job as consultant for Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno. But Stone told the Washington Post that it could have been Credico who left the voicemail, imitating him.

"He's been on Letterman, he's been on Leno," Stone told the Post. "He does an incredible [former senator Alfonse] D'Amato. He has made phone calls as me and the people he was calling thought it was me."

You can judge Credicos imitation skills for yourself in this 2013 video where he imitates Al Sharpton, with Sharptons glowing approval.

Considering Credico's penchant for the spotlight, he might be one of the few people willing to speak publicly about what it is like to be interviewed by Mueller's team.

Credico declined to comment for this story, as did WBAI.
PATNA: The Income Tax Department conducted raids at Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi's sister Rekha's home in Patna on Thursday in connection with the multi-crore Srijan scam.

The police team is also present on spot, reported ANI.

The scam relates to the fraudulent transfer of government money into the account of a 'Srijan' over a period of time.

Former Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav earlier gave bank statement of Srijan as proof in support of his claim. He had claimed that ''Sushil Modis sister Rekha and niece Urvashi received crores of Rupees from the Srijan Scam.''

In July, Yadav said that state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Modi were direct beneficiaries in the multi-crore Srijan scam.

Nitish Kumar was the first to bring the scam into the public domain on August 9 last year.
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Congress on Thursday announced that it would observe a 24-hour fast on Friday in support of Patidar leader Hardik Patel if the state government did not begin talks with him.

Patel's fast, which started on August 25 at his farmhouse near here, entered its 13th day Thursday as a visibly weak Patel was seen being moved around in a wheel-chair.

Doctors from Sola Civil hospital, after an examination, advised him to immediately get admitted for medical treatment.

              ,         13                                     Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) September 6, 2018

Thirty state Congress leaders, including party state unit president Amit Chavda and leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani and around 25 MLAs, met Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in connection with Patel's fast on Thursday.

The Congress delegation demanded that the state government begin negotiations with Patel and accept his demands concerning farm loan waiver.

"If the state government does not give a positive response to our demand, the Congress will sit on a 24-hour fast at each district headquarters of the state from 11 on Friday in support of Hardik," Dhanani told reporters in Gandhinagar after meeting Rupani.

"The state government should immediately start talks with Hardik and sort out issues raised by him," the Congress leader said.

The Congress' memorandum, submitted to Rupani, however, did not make any mention of the quota demand for the Patidar community.

Patel is on an indefinite fast demanding reservation in jobs and education for the Patidar community as well as the waiver of farmers' loans.

Patel's Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had, Wednesday night, threatened that he would stop water intake in case the state government did not begin negotiations in 24 hours.

While the BJP government in Gujarat has asked Patel several times to call off his fast, it has not cleared its stand on talking to Patel on the latter's demands.
New Delhi: Countering allegations of any wrongdoing in the Rafale deal signed between India and France, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar Thursday said what is being alleged does not match with facts at all.

He was responding to queries by reporters on the sidelines of an international seminar, 8th Heli Power India held at the Subroto Park in New Delhi, on allegations leveled by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on the government in connection with the Rs 58,000 crore deal for 36 Rafale jets.

The Congress has raised several questions on the deal, including over the cost escalation for the fighters. The government has rejected the charges but did not disclose the price details, saying a 2008 India-France agreement bars it from doing so.

Gandhi had claimed that the price of the Rafale fighters "magically" rose from Rs 540 crore apiece finalized by the UPA government to Rs 1,600 crore per jet under the NDA dispensation.

"This, who are claiming such numbers, I think they are misinformed and probably not aware of the facts that are known to us in the Indian Air Force," Nambiar said.

"As we are the ones who were very much part of the negotiations with the French government. And we have the facts with us, and I don't think what is being alleged matches up with facts at all," Nambiar said.

Asked about the price of a Rafale jet, alleged to be much higher than the previously negotiated price, he said, the total cost of acquisition consists of two elements, one, the price itself that dictates the total cost and second is the payment term.

"I can tell you that the Rafale that we have gone for is substantially lower than the price that was on the table in 2008," he said.

On a question on the allegation of offset contract being awarded to certain private players, he said, "The facts on record, indicate that there is no truth in those allegations."

India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for 36 Rafale fighters. The delivery is scheduled to begin from September 2019.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.
NEW DELHI: Taking their strategic ties to a new high, India and the United States on Thursday signed a long-negotiated defence pact that will enable the Indian armed forces to buy more sensitive military equipment from Washington while also urging Pakistan t do more to contain terror operating from its soil.

During the first 2+2 dialogue, the two sides pledged to cooperate for ensuring "a free, open Indo-Pacific" region to contain China`s expansionist aspirations.

India and the US asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border terror strikes, including those on Mumbai, Pathankot and Uri.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue here during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters," a joint statement issued after the talks said.

"The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new "qualitative edge and purpose".

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the "persistent threat of terrorism" and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

"We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us," she said.

The talks among other key outcomes culminated into the signing of Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA). Sitharaman and Mattis signed the pact as two of the most powerful men in the world negotiated with two top women ministers of India.

Addressing the media after the talks, Swaraj and Sitharaman said the two sides have concluded the COMCASA pact, taking their already close strategic and defence ties to an advanced level.

"Defence came out as the single-most important aspect of our discussions today," Sitharaman said.

"We are also putting in place an enabling framework for closer cooperation between our defence forces. The signing of COMCASA today will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India`s defence preparedness."

The pact guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

Indian armed forces will now also be allowed to install US-made high-security communication equipment on defence platforms sourced from America.

COMCASA is the second of the three foundational agreements needed for interoperability with the US. The two countries had earlier inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016. However, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement remains pending.

Secretary Pompeo told the reporters that the US and India shared a commitment to "a safe, secure, prosperous, free and open Indo-Pacific region" -- the region in India`s backyard where China has expanded its military presence, threatening trade on the key maritime line.

"The two sides also agreed to boost the rule of law, national sovereignty, peaceful resolution of maritime and other issues. We decided to elevate our strategic relations for more cooperation. We also agreed to increase military cooperation with India."

Sitharaman said maritime security was one of the focuses of the ties and "to deepen our cooperation in this area, we will expand our interactions on maritime domain awareness".

She recalled that the US had renamed its Pacific Command responsible for relations with India as Indo-Pacific Command which reflected "our wider global partnership" and would "enhance our interactions with the US military`s Central Command".

Secretary Mattis described the inaugural 2+2 dialogue "productive and forward thinking" to boost "our bilateral relationship and our shared future".

(With Agency inputs)
NEW DELHI: In a major breakthrough, the United States has reportedly agreed to help India in tracking down underworld don and Mumbai serial blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan.

According to Zee Media, the agreement between the United States and India in hunting the fugitive underworld don and his close aides was reached during the first-ever 2+2 dialogue that took place in New Delhi on Thursday.

It has emerged that the US Administration of President Donald Trump, which has declared Dawood a global terrorist and announced a bounty of USD 20 million on his head, has assured India to bring the perpetrators of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case to bring bars.

The US has also agreed to exert more pressure on Pakistan to rein in various terror outfits operating from its soil and dismantle their network.

A joint statement issued by the two sides mentioned the launch of a bilateral dialogue on the designation of terrorists in 2017, strengthening the action against terror groups, which reportedly includes 'D-Company and their affiliates'.

During the discussion, America shared India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Mumbai attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed roam free despite the reward the US has placed on his head for his role in terror activities.

During the 2+2 India, US dialogue, the two sides concluded that elimination of terrorism was crucial for global peace and stability.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue here during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters," a joint statement issued after the talks said.

"The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new "qualitative edge and purpose".

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the "persistent threat of terrorism" and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on the designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

"We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us," she said.

The talks among other key outcomes culminated in the signing of Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA). Sitharaman and Mattis signed the pact as two of the most powerful men in the world negotiated with two top women ministers of India.

The agreement between India and the US assumes significance as JuD led by Saeed was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. Saeed also carries a USD 10 million American reward on his head for his role in terror activities.

The JuD is a front for the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) that carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attack.

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to re-investigate the Mumbai terror attack case and also demanded a trial of Saeed and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the light of the evidence it had provided to Islamabad.

Ten LeT militants killed 166 people, including American nationals, and wounded dozens in Mumbai in November 2008.

Nine of the attackers were killed by police, while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and executed after a court found him guilty and awarded death sentence.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said a "Bharat ke Veer" Trust has been formed for providing assistance to the families of slain Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel.

The Trust is headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and former national badminton champion Pullela Gopichand are among six trustees.

The Ministry of Home Affairs took up the initiative in 2017. The success has been stupendous. It has now been formalised into a registered Trust, Rajnath Singh said in a series of tweets.

"The Trust has been created for providing a platform to all citizens to contribute and provide assistance to the families of martyred CAPF personnel," he said.

"The Ministry of Finance has given its approval to the Trust under 80(G) which means that all contributions to the Trust will be exempted under Income Tax," he added.
NEW DELHI: Escalating its attack on the Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre over rising fuel prices, the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress party will organise a nationwide shutdown on September 10.

While announcing the decision, the Congress urged other opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said, ''The common man was bearing the brunt of the escalating prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas.''

"The Congress party has decided that we will be giving a call for Bharat Bandh on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive VAT in the state," he told reporters.

A protest will be called on September 10 against this fuel loot by the Central Govt: Randeep Surjewala,Congress pic.twitter.com/6pyHpuwQ2q  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Surjewala said the Congress will also demand petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the GST so that the "common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief".

The Congress has also urged opposition parties to join the protest, he said.

"We also call upon other societal groups, NGOs... To join this people's movement," he said.

On his turn, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said that the Bharat Bandh is being called to awaken the Narendra Modi government which is doing nothing to ease the byurden on the common man due to sky-rocketing fuel prices.

The Congress party's call for a nation-wide bandh came on a day when a Bharat Bandh called by some upper caste-linked outfits against the amendment to the SC/ST Act impacted the normal life in vast swathe of north India.

Trains were stopped and highways blocked briefly in Bihar while shops downed shutters in some other northern states during a Bharat Bandh' Thursday against the recent amendment to the SC/ST Act.

Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.

There were scattered incidents of violence, mainly in Bihar, where bandh supporters stormed Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminus and disrupted the movement of trains for about 30 minutes, officials said.

Trains were briefly disrupted in Rajgir also as commercial establishments remained closed in many parts of Bihar.

Some organisation had called the one-day bandh to protest against the amendment last month to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The amendment bill passed by Parliament had nullified the `safeguards' ordered by the Supreme Court against arrests without a preliminary inquiry under the SC/ST law.

Shops and commercial establishments remained largely closed in Bihar capital's Patna, but banks and government offices functioned normally.

Protesters gathered before the Bihar BJP headquarters, raising slogans over the "betrayal'' by the party. Some of them also headed towards the office of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally.

The shutdown had a strong impact in Muzaffarpur, where bandh supporters blocked traffic in the town and on the national highway.

They also burnt tyres at many places and clashed with policemen who tried to stop them.

Cases of arson were also reported from Biharsharif town. Traffic was disrupted in Begusarai.

The bandh call evoked a strong response in Rajasthan where many shops and businesses, schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Thursday.

Shops were shut in Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and other districts in the state.

The police detained at least three leaders of the Samta Andolan Samiti, which is against caste-based reservation, as a precautionary measure. There were no reports of violence in the state till this evening.

Most private schools and petrol pumps remained closed in Madhya Pradesh while markets and business establishments in parts of the state were shut. Police said the bandh was observed in a peaceful manner.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of the upper castes and Other Backward Classes participated in the bandh in Madhya Pradesh.

He claimed the bandh was effective in almost the entire state, particularly in Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagar and Ujjain.

In Chhindwara, the Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, markets remained shut.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to the people saying, "Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace. I pray that we all progress and no one should try to disrupt the peace in the state.''

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, ''People have their feelings. In a democracy everyone has the right to express themselves."

Six policemen were hurt when they confronted protesters blocking traffic in UP's Ballia district. In Agra too, protesters blocked traffic and shops remained shut. But the bandh was largely peaceful in the state.

"The law is to protect the downtrodden. The government will ensure that it will not be misused," Adityanath told reporters in Gonda.

In Punjab and Haryana, there was little response to the bandh with people keeping their businesses open in most areas, reports said. But in Punjab's Phagwara shops and commercial establishments remained shut.

Earlier this year, the apex court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the SC/ST Act.

This decision had triggered nationwide protests by Scheduled Caste organisations, forcing the Centre to bring an amendment to the Act to overrule the SC order.

(With Agency inputs)
NEW DELHI: Homosexuality is a genetic flaw, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Subramanian Swamy said minutes after the Supreme Court's landmark verdict on Section 377, decriminalising homosexuality.

Homosexuality is a genetic flaw. Cannot be equated with normal sexual behaviour, said Swamy.

Homosexuality leads to increased instances of paedophilia, gay bars and HIV, said the BJP leader, adding a controversial statement, I know many judges who are homosexual.

He, however, agreed that police has no right to enter the bedroom.

What is Section 377? All you need to know

Swamy has been quite vocal about his views on gay sex and LGBT community.

"It (Homosexuality) is not a normal thing. These are all American habits, there's a lot of money behind it. The Americans want to open gay bars, and it'll be a cover for paedophiles and a huge rise in HIV cases. It is a danger to our national security," he earlier told ANI, adding, It (Homosexuality) is against Hindutva, it is against all our scriptures.

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday repealed Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising consensual gay sex, bringing down a 158-year-old colonial law. The judgment was delivered by a five-member bench -- Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.
BHUBANESWAR: Incessant rains crippled life in several parts of Odisha on Thursday as the depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression, raising the likelihood of more downpour till Friday, officials said.

Low-lying areas in several districts, including Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jajpur, Bhadrak and Khordha were inundated as heavy rain pounded many parts of the state since Tuesday, they said.

The depression, which concentrated into a deep depression, moved westwards before crossing the West Bengal coast close to Digha. It is likely to weaken gradually during the next 24 hours, said Director of Bhubaneswar Regional Meteorological Centre, H R Biswas.

Under its impact, rain and thundershower is likely to occur in most places in Odisha, while heavy to very heavy rainfall and extremely heavy rainfall may lash northern, southern and interior regions, said a MeT bulletin.

Squally wind with a speed of 50-60 kmph and up to 70 kmph is likely to sweep areas along and off Odisha and West Bengal coasts in the next 24 hours, while the sea condition would be rough to very rough, it said.

In view of the adverse weather conditions, the MeT office advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off Odisha coast till Friday.

In view of heavy rain forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Thursday evening ordered that all Anganwadi centres across Odisha will remain closed on Friday keeping in view the safety of children.

He also ordered the closure of schools in Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Collectors of different districts will take a decision in their respective areas after assessing the rain situation, the chief minister ordered.

Vehicular movement was disrupted at many places with roads getting submerged with rainwater. Life was affected in the twin-city of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

With rainwater leaving several areas marooned in Cuttack city, the administration declared closure of all educational institutions Thursday.

Life came to a standstill in the port town of Paradip which recorded a maximum 412 mm rain since Wednesday, the officials said, adding waterlogging in several areas of the Paradip Port disrupted loading and unloading of consignments.

A large number of vehicles were seen submerged in water as all low-lying areas in Paradip faced deluge.

Areas around the famous Sun Temple in Konark are under knee-deep water, while many places in the sea-side pilgrim town of Puri faced severe waterlogging, they said.

The situation is completely under control despite incessant rain in several parts of the state, Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) B P Sethi said.

There was very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall in some coastal districts of Odisha during the last 24 hours. The average rainfall of the state recorded for the last 24 hours is 54.9 mm, he said.

While there is no fear of flood at this juncture, a close watch is being maintained on the water level of rivers like Mahanadi, Brahmani and Baitarani, the SRC said.

Meanwhile, as many as 46 blocks in the state have recorded more than 100 mm rainfall with Erasama block in Jagatsinghpur district receiving the highest of 435 mm rainfall.

As normal life was affected in Cuttack city with two-feet high rainwater flowing over the busy Badambadi road, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) pressed into service around 150 high-powered pumps to drain out water.

In the state capital, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) deployed over a dozen teams to take stock of the situation in 67 wards and asked 40 engineers to stay on high alert to deal with any eventuality, a BMC official said.

The BMC has also opened a 24-hour control room and a special operation centre.

The water level in all major rivers in the state stood much below the danger levels except the Baitarani river, which is flowing above the danger mark of 17.83 metres at Akhuapada, but there is no cause for worry, said an official.

The SRC, who had on Tuesday asked the collectors of 26 of the 30 districts in the state to remain alert in view of heavy rainfall, said they were told to keep the administrative machinery in full preparedness to meet any eventuality and ensure the functioning of the control room round the clock.

Five districts have recorded average rainfall more than 100 mm. The districts are Kendrapara - 271.7 mm, Jagatsinghpur- 236.1 mm, Jajpur- 137.0 mm, Cuttack- 113.5 mm and Bhadrak- 105.7 mm, Sethi said.

Three more districts have received average rainfall between 50 mm and 100 mm. The districts are Puri- 79.2 mm, Khordha- 64.9 mm and Kandhamal- 54.1 mm.

Twelve districts which received average rainfall between 25 mm and 50 mm are Kalahandi- 49.9 mm, Boudh- 43.0 mm, Angul- 38.2 mm, Dhenkanal- 37.5 mm, Subarnapur-36.6 mm, Balangir- 34.6 mm, Nuapada- 33.6 mm, Bargarh- 32.3 mm, Nawarangpur- 31.2 mm, Keonjhar- 30.7 mm, Deogarh- 29.3 mm and Balasore- 28.5 mm. Remaining 10 districts have recorded average rainfall below 25 mm.

With this, the cumulative average rainfall of the state from June 1 till date comes to a surplus of 15.6 percent over the long-term average rainfall. Twelve districts have received surplus rainfall of more than 19 percent, whereas 18 districts have received normal rainfall (+19 percent to -19 percent) during the period, officials added.
Bengaluru: Stepping up space cooperation, India and France Thursday inked an agreement to collaborate on Gaganyaan, ISRO's first human space mission. The two countries have formed a working group for the project.

The ambit of the cooperation includes giving ISRO access to space hospital facilities in France and combining expertise of the two space agencies in fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, the president of the French space agency Jean-Yves Le Gall said.

The MoU was signed to define the conditions in which we are going to work together, the CNES president said. India plans to send three humans to space before 2022. The Indian Space Research Organisation's mission is significant as it would make India one of the four countries in the world after Russia, US and China to launch a manned space flight.

"The first step under the MoU is to exchange specialists to work on (space) medicine. We are going to send our specialists to identify exactly what we are going to do together. We have facilities like space hospital in France, and so we are doing exchange notes on the topic," Gall said in an interaction with PTI.

Engineering teams have already begun discussions and it is envisioned that infrastructure such as CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future Indian astronauts, as well as the exchange of specialist personnel, Gall said.

ISRO plans to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts.

The seeds of the MoU were sown when India and France released a joint vision on space cooperation during French President Emmanuel Marcon's visit to Delhi this March.

Under the vision statement, it was agreed that ISRO and CNES would jointly develop capabilities and critical technologies addressing radiation shielding solutions, personal hygiene and waste management system and design of man-in-loop simulators for human spaceflight as well as bioastronautics.

ISRO Chairman K Sivan said the joint vision statement was an umbrella agreement while today's MoU was more specific to the human space mission.

French-Indian space cooperation spans in areas of climate monitoring, with a fleet of joint satellites devoted to research and operational applications, innovation, through a joint technical group tasked with inventing launch vehicles of the future. The two space agencies also plan to work on Mars, Venus and asteroids.

Gall said, "The joint Oceansat3-Argos mission scheduled to launch next year, the French-Indian Trishna thermal infrared imaging satellite are being readied, and a study to develop a joint constellation of satellites for maritime domain awareness is also underway."

France is one of the three countries the other two being the US and Russia who share robust cooperation in the three strategic areas of defence, nuclear and space.
When Shweta Singh wanted to become a pilot in India 20 years ago, she had to first persuade her parents to let her pick an uncommon profession for women, then deal with unwelcoming male colleagues in the cockpit.

Today, she says, it would be a much easier career to embrace. More Indian women want to become pilots, and more benefits await them: union-mandated equal pay, a safe workplace, day care services and a booming aviation sector.

India has the highest proportion of female commercial pilots in the world at 12 percent, despite the country`s patriarchal society, which typically frowns on women in such jobs.

"It was difficult," Singh said, recalling her early days of being a pilot. "It was a male-dominated area and not easy to break into."

But society is changing, said Singh, a senior trainer at Jet Airways Ltd on temporary assignment to India`s aviation regulator as deputy chief flight operations inspector.

The percentage of female pilots in India is twice as high as in most Western countries, including the United States and Australia. Globally, less than 5 percent of pilots are women, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

Demand for pilots globally is surging. Planemaker Boeing Co estimates a need for 790,000 new pilots globally over the next 20 years, double the current workforce, as air travel rises.

India is the world`s fastest-growing aviation market, with domestic capacity growing 22 percent in the first half of the year, so airlines there are under particular pressure.

Recruiting more women is an obvious way to help solve the pilot shortage, but social constraints have worked against that, said Maria Bucur, a professor of history and gender studies at Indiana University.

"The training and stressful work needed to become and work as a pilot require choices of women that go against most of the gendered expectations our society has of them at that age: to have babies," she said.

EQUAL RIGHTS

Because pilot pay is based on seniority and flying hours under union agreements, it is one of the rare professions in India where there is no gender pay gap.

The starting salary, including flying allowance, for pilots there is $25,000 to $47,000 a year depending on the airline and type of aircraft.

That is similar to the starting salary for corporate lawyers or architects.

About 13 percent of the pilots at IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, are women, up from 10 percent five years ago, the company said. Some of IndiGo`s 330 female pilots are also managers.

The company provides day care and says it offers pregnant women office duties and an allowance equivalent to what they would have earned flying, helping them "constructively stay engaged with the profession."

At SpiceJet Ltd, 12 percent of pilots are women, including some department heads, and there is a mandate to grow that to 33 percent in the next three years, chairman Ajay Singh said this year at the Farnborough Airshow in Britain. The company also gives women a fixed monthly flying schedule.

Because everyday safety can be a concern for women in India, airlines offer a pick-up and drop-off service from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Women are accompanied by an armed guard - a practice introduced after a horrific rape in New Delhi in 2012.

"It is the safest job. Women are more protected here than in any other place," Singh said.

CHANGING SOCIETY

A year after graduating from flight school in 2002, Rupinder Kaur struggled to find a job and wondered whether spending 2 million rupees to get her flying license had been the "biggest blunder" of her life.

It took a year, she said, but she finally landed a job at a regional airline, Air Deccan.

Now, with India`s aviation market booming, finding work is easier, says Kaur, 37, a pilot at IndiGo working on secondment with India`s aviation regulator as a flight operations instructor.

"In India it is generally a rat race, where you choose a profession based on what the majority of people are doing," she said, adding that airlines should ensure women make up a certain percentage of their workforce, especially in piloting.

"It is still not that easy for us. We have to give our 200 percent," she said, because women are expected to efficiently manage families and jobs.

The stakes are high for the country as a whole. Women contribute 18 percent to India`s gross domestic product, and only a quarter of India`s workforce is female, according to a report by consultant McKinsey.

In China, women contribute 41 percent of the country`s economy and make up nearly half the workforce.

Recruiting more women to work could help India boost its GDP by 18 percent, or $770 billion, over the usual annual growth, McKinsey said.

There are signs that the number of female pilots in India will keep rising.

At the Bombay Flying Club, which has courses for commercial pilots, the number of women in the classroom has grown to about 25 percent from less than 10 percent five years ago, according to the institute`s principal and chief instructor, C. Kumar.

"The society is changing and there is more acceptance about working in the aviation sector," Kumar said.

($1 = 71.5800 Indian rupees)
NEW DELHI: In a welcoming judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday partially repealed Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising consensual gay sex thus bringing down a 158-year-old colonial law. The judgment was delivered by a five-member bench -- Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had reserved its verdict on July 17 after hearing various stakeholders, including gay rights activists. The Centre, which had initially sought the adjournment for filing its response to the petitions, had later left to the wisdom of the court the issue of the legality of the penal provision with regard to the aspects of criminalising consensual unnatural sex between two consenting adults. The Centre had said that the other aspects of the penal provision dealing with minors and animals should be allowed to remain in the statute book.

Here are the live updates:-

* It is an important decision. I'm happy as Court has realised the right of LGBTs, their pain & gave them proper space in the society. The most important thing about this decision is that they will be given equal rights as others: Mukul Rohatgi

* Humsafar Trust takes out LGBT pride parade in Mumbai after Supreme Court legalises homosexuality.

Humsafar Trust takes out LGBT pride parade in Mumbai after Supreme Court legalises homosexuality. #Section377 pic.twitter.com/j90zGjM7td  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

* Welcome todays landmark ruling by SC. Sexual orientation and gender expression form integral part of an individuals identity the world over & violence, stigma & discrimination based on these attributes constitute an egregious violation of human rights: United Nations

* See pictures of celebrations across the country by LGBTQ community

* Homosexuality genetic flaw, cannot be equated with normal sexual behaviour, says BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.

* I'm pleased to welcome SC decision to decriminalise consensual acts of adults in private. In this country, we've allowed government to interfere in private lives of people to discriminate against people on basis of sexual orientation, but SC stood up for equal treatment of citizens: Shashi Tharoor

* Justice Indu Malhotra said, "Members of LGBT community members and their family members owe an apology from society for being denied equal rights over the years, The society owes an apology to the LGBTQ community for the years of stigma imposed on them."

* SC verdict brings Tears of joy as LGBT community celebrates end of Section 377

* Welcoming the decision people all over the country celebrate the new dawn.

We have finally got justice. We are finally 'azaad in azaad Hind': Ashok Row Kavi, LGBT rights activist and founder of Humsafar Trust on Supreme Court legalises homosexuality pic.twitter.com/F2dBq5SLti  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

* De-criminalisation is but the first step; The Constitution envisages much more. LGBTs victim of Victorian morality. Constitutional morality and not Societal morality should be the driving force for deciding validity of Section 377, DY Chandrachud J.

* Treatment of homosexuality as a disorder/ disease has a severe impact on mental health of such persons, DY Chandrachud J

* To deny LGBT communitu of their right to sexual orientation is a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy. They cannot be pushed into obscurity by an oppressive colonial legislation, DY Chandrachud J.

* This case is much more than just decriminalising a provision. It is about an aspiration to realise Constitutional rights and equal existence of LGBT community as other citizens, DY Chandrachud.

* Justice Nariman concludes his concurring judgment, Justice Chandrachud reading his judgment now

* Justice Rohinton Nariman places extensive reliance on foreign jurisprudence including recent judgment from Trinidad and Tobago.

* Second judge Justice R F Nariman says homosexuality is not a mental problem and the Parliament is also alive to the fact.

* Autonomy establishes identity which is part of dignity of an individual: CJI

* Justice Rohinton Nariman now reads out his concurring judgment.

* Section377 of IPC insofar as it criminalises consensual sexual acts between man and man, man and woman or woman and woman is unconstitutional and struck down. Sex with animal will however remain criminal.

* Judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal overruled.

* In a historic judgement, SC repeals Section 377 of the IPC, decriminalises consensual gay sex.

* The provision of IPC had resulted in collateral effect in that consensual sex between LGBT person is criminalised and is violative of Article 14, Supreme Court.

* Sexual orientation of an individual is natural and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a violation of Freedom of Expression, Supreme Court.

* Homosexuality is not a crime: CJI

* LGBT community has the same rights like other members of society, says CJI

* Sustenance of identity is the pyramid of life, observes CJI Dipak Misra

* No one can escape from their individualism. Society is now better for individualism. In the present case, our deliberations will be on various spectrums: SC

* SC starts delivering judgement on validity of Section 377

* Four opinions, all concurring judgments, says CJI Dipak Misra

* The judgment will be delivered by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

* Bench assembles, pronouncement of judgment commences.

* Supporting the gay community Congress party took to Twitter saying, "Haters gonna hate. Hang in there and have hope."

Haters gonna hate. Hang in there and have hope. #Section377 pic.twitter.com/WDJn7YHd3X  Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2018

* While the apex court is likely to announce the verdict shortly, here's a read on What is Section 377? All you need to know

* Taking to Twitter, actress Dia Mirza said, "May today be the beginning of EQUAL rights... #Section377 #Section377Verdict"

May today be the beginning of EQUAL rights... #Section377 #Section377Verdict  Dia Mirza (@deespeak) September 6, 2018

* The judges in the case had previously said that gay people in India face deep-rooted trauma and live in fear.

* Anwesh Pokkuluri, another petitioner, said, "Based on how the proceedings have gone, we do not see how they can uphold (the ban)."

* As the nation awaits the verdict by the Supreme Court, one of the petitioners in the case Akhilesh Godi said, "The mood is extremely optimistic, the judges have been extremely empathetic. It is not only about decriminalising but recognising our fundamental rights."

* CJI Deepak Mishra and Justice DV Chandrachud will give their separate judgments.

* The verdict is likely to pronounce its verdict at around 11:30 am.

* A five-bench judge, headed by CJI Deepak Mishra will sit for deciding the verdict 10.30 am.

The issue of section 377 was first raised by an NGO, Naaz Foundation, which had in 2001 approached the Delhi High Court that had decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision "illegal".

Although the Delhi High Court had struck down the provision in 2009, it was revived by the Supreme Court in 2013 in a widely criticised judgment by a Division Bench of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice S J Mukhopadhyaya. However, the issue resurrected in July 2016, when a fresh petition filed.

The five-judge bench on July 10 had made it clear that it was not going into the curative petitions and would adjudicate on fresh writ petitions in the matter.

"Social stigma will go if criminality of gay sex under Section 377 goes. Once the criminality (under section 377) goes, then everything will go (all the bars, social stigma and others)," said the bench headed by CJI Deepak Misra, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

Observing that an environment has been created in the Indian society over the years that has led to deep-rooted discrimination against the community, the bench had said discrimination against such people has also adversely impacted their mental health.

The writ petitions were opposed by the Apostolic Alliance of Churches, Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals including Suresh Kumar Kaushal who had also challenged the 2009 verdict of the high court in the apex court.

LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community faced the stigma because of the criminality attached to consensual same-sex relationship, the bench had said.

The Central government had left it to the apex court to test the constitutional validity of section 377 of the IPC which criminalises "consensual acts of adults in private", urging that issues like gay marriages, adoption and ancillary civil rights of LGBTQ should not be dealt by it.

Taking note of the Centre's submission that other issues like gay marriages, adoption and ancillary civil rights of LGBTQ community should not be dealt, the court said it was not considering all these issues.
Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader and party MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court ruling decriminalising homosexuality as a "dawn of freedom" as the "government has no space in bedrooms".

Reacting to the apex court ruling which favoured the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community in India, Tharoor said he was very pleased with the historic judgement.

"We allowed the government to interfere in our private lives but the apex court has stood up to uphold the dignity of the people. This is not sex, this is freedom as the government has no space in bedrooms as this is a private act between consenting adults. This is a dawn of freedom," said Tharoor.

He went on to add that when he tried to move a private members bill in the Lok Sabha on two occasions, he was shouted down by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.

"I then said it`s only the judiciary that can do anything and through this judgement, it shames those BJP members who opposed this," said Tharoor.

So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018

The reactions from the Congress MP came shortly after the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as unconstitutional.

The bench said it is no longer an offence for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.

Reading out the judgement, Chief Justice Misra said attitudes and mentality have to change to accept others' identity and accept what they are, and not what they should be.

"It is the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail," said the court.

The verdict sparked celebrations in the LGBTIQ community across India even as the judgement was being read out. Many of the community members who had assembled outside the apex court jumped in joy and distributed sweets.

Chief Justice Misra said consensual sex between adults in a private space, which is not harmful to women or children, cannot be denied as it is a matter of individual choice.

Section 377 will not apply to consensual same-sex acts between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians, the court said, clarifying that sexual act without consent and bestiality will continue to be an offence under section 377.

"An individual has full liberty over his or her body and his or her sexual orientation is a matter of one's choice," said the Chief Justice.

"Time to bid adieu to prejudicial perceptions deeply ingrained in social mindset. Time to empower LGBTIQ community against discrimination. They should be allowed to make their choices," he added.

In a concurring judgement, Justice Nariman said homosexuality is "not a mental disorder or disease".

He said the LGBTIQ community has an equal right to live with dignity and are entitled to equal protection of the law. He directed the Centre to give wide publicity to this judgment to remove the stigma attached to homosexuality.

Justice Chandrachud said to deny the LGBTIQ community their right to sexual orientation is a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy.

"They cannot be pushed into obscurity by an oppressive colonial legislation... Sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second-class citizens," said Justice Chandrachud, adding "the state has no business to intrude on such matters".

Justice Indu Malhotra said that history owes an apology to the LGBTIQ community for all that they have suffered on account of the ignorance of the majority about homosexuality.

"LGBTIQ people have a right to live unshackled from the shadow," she said.

The Supreme Court verdict, which overruled its own earlier judgement, assumes significance as in the earlier round of litigation in 2013, the top court had reversed a Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising homosexuality.

The Delhi High Court bench, headed by the Chief Justice AP Shah, had in July 2009 legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults by overturning the 149-year-old law - finding it unconstitutional and a hurdle in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court in its landmark judgment on Thursday decriminalised gay sex in India but BJP MP Subramanian Swamy says that it (gay sex) is a genetic disorder and must be rectified by medical research.

Swamy, while opposing the apex court's judgment, says that HIV will now spread more. "This verdict could give rise to other issues such as an increase in the number of HIV cases," he said.

Adding another perspective, the BJP MP says that anything happening in someone's private life should not be anyone's concern, neither anyone should be punished for it but medical research should be done to rectify the 'genetic disorder' in homosexuals.

"It is basically a genetic disorder, like someone having six fingers. Medical research must be done to rectify it," he said.

Swamy says that this (decriminalising gay sex) is an American game and with this pace, gay bars will soon open up in India. "It is the American game. Soon there will be gay bars where homosexuals can go. HIV will spread," he said.

Swamy went on to add that the next government will move a seven-judge bench to set aside this five-judge bench order.

Earlier on Thursday, the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak (RSS) said that same-sex marriage and relationship are neither natural nor desirable which is why it does not support such relationships.

RSS said that it does not consider same sex as a crime. Arun Kumar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS said, "Like the Supreme Court we too do not consider this a crime. However, same-sex marriage and relationship are neither natural nor desirable which is why we do not support such relationships."

"Traditionally, the Indian society too does not recognise such relation,'' he said adding, ''a man usually learns by experiences which is why this subject has to be dealt at social and psychological levels," he added.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reacted on the verdict by saying that "government has no space in bedrooms" and the verdict comes as a "dawn of freedom".

In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as unconstitutional.

The bench said it is no longer an offense for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.

Reading out the judgment, Chief Justice Misra said attitudes and mentality have to change to accept others' identity and accept what they are, and not what they should be.

"It is the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail," said the court.

India now joins 25 other countries where homosexuality is legal.
NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Swayam Sewak (RSS) on Thursday said that same-sex marriage and relationship are neither natural nor desirable which is why it does not support such relationships.

BJP's parent organisation said his shortly after a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

The RSS, however, said that like the top court it also does not consider same sex as a crime.

Reacting to the historic SC verdict on decriminalising gay sex, Arun Kumar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh of RSS, said, ''Like the Supreme Court we too do not consider this a crime. However, same-sex marriage and relationship are neither natural nor desirable which is why we do not support such relationships.''

Like the Supreme Court we too do not consider this a crime. However, same sex marriage and relationship are neither natural nor desirable which is why we do not support such relationships: Arun Kumar, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh, RSS #Section377 pic.twitter.com/N7EDVqtXtj  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Arun Kumar stated that things like gay sex or same-sex marriages are still taboo and unacceptable things in the Indian society.

''Traditionally, the Indian society too does not recognise such relation,'' he said adding, ''a man usually learns by experiences which is why this subject has to be dealt at social and psychological levels.''

The reactions from the right-wing outfit came shortly after the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as unconstitutional.

The bench said it is no longer an offence for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.

Reading out the judgement, Chief Justice Misra said attitudes and mentality have to change to accept others' identity and accept what they are, and not what they should be.

"It is the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail," said the court.

The verdict sparked celebrations in the LGBTIQ community across India even as the judgement was being read out. Many of the community members who had assembled outside the apex court jumped in joy and distributed sweets.

Chief Justice Misra said consensual sex between adults in a private space, which is not harmful to women or children, cannot be denied as it is a matter of individual choice.

Section 377 will not apply to consensual same-sex acts between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians, the court said, clarifying that sexual act without consent and bestiality will continue to be an offence under section 377.

"An individual has full liberty over his or her body and his or her sexual orientation is a matter of one's choice," said the Chief Justice.

"Time to bid adieu to prejudicial perceptions deeply ingrained in social mindset. Time to empower LGBTIQ community against discrimination. They should be allowed to make their choices," he added.

In a concurring judgement, Justice Nariman said homosexuality is "not a mental disorder or disease".

He said the LGBTIQ community has an equal right to live with dignity and are entitled to equal protection of the law. He directed the Centre to give wide publicity to this judgment to remove the stigma attached to homosexuality.

Justice Chandrachud said to deny the LGBTIQ community their right to sexual orientation is a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy.

"They cannot be pushed into obscurity by an oppressive colonial legislation... Sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second-class citizens," said Justice Chandrachud, adding "the state has no business to intrude on such matters".

Justice Indu Malhotra said that history owes an apology to the LGBTIQ community for all that they have suffered on account of the ignorance of the majority about homosexuality.

"LGBTIQ people have a right to live unshackled from the shadow," she said.

The Supreme Court verdict, which overruled its own earlier judgement, assumes significance as in the earlier round of litigation in 2013, the top court had reversed a Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising homosexuality.

The Delhi High Court bench, headed by then Chief Justice AP Shah, had in July 2009 legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults by overturning the 149-year-old law - finding it unconstitutional and a hurdle in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In December 2013, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice GS Singhvi and Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya in the Suresh Kumar Koushal and another vs Naz Foundation and others case had set aside the high court's judgement and said that it was for the legislature to look into desirability of deleting section 377 of IPC.

The matter was subsequently resurrected in July 2016, when a fresh petition was filed by members of the LGBTIQ community -- dancer N.S. Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur -- which was then marked to the Constitution Bench by a Division Bench.

The reference was made on the basis of submission that it was the first time that individuals directly affected by the provision were approaching the court.

Among the petitioners are a batch of current and former students of Indian Institutes of Technology. Claiming to represent more than 350 LGBTIQ alumni, students, staff and faculty from the IITs, the petitioners said that the existence of Section 377 had caused them "mental trauma and illnesses, such as clinical depression and anxiety and relegated some of them to second-class citizenship".

Today's verdict was hailed by top political parties, celebrities and even the United Nations, which said that the verdict will help eliminate social stigma.

Congress on Thursday described the Supreme Court's decision to decriminalise homosexuality as "momentous" saying it was an important step towards a liberal and tolerant society.
The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended five advocates for elevation to the Delhi High Court.

According to news agency ANI, the advocates are - Jyoti Singh, Prateek Jalan, Anup Jairam Bhambani, Sanjeev Narula and Manoj Kumar Ohri.

The Collegium's letter dated September 4, read: For purpose of assessing merit and suitability of the above-named recommended for elevation to the High Court, we have carefully scrutinized the material placed in the file including the observations made by the Department of Justice therein. In view of the above, the Collegium resolves to recommend that (1) Ms. Jyoti Singh, S/Shri (2) Prateek Jalan, (3) Anup Jairam Bhambhani, (4) Sanjeev Narula, and (5) Manoj Kumar Ohri, Advocates, be appointed as Judges of the Delhi High Court. Their inter se seniority be fixed as per the existing practice.

The initial recommendation came in 2017 by the then Acting Cheif Justice of Delhi High Court in consultation with two senior most colleagues.

Initial recommendations had nine names out of which the collegium had recommended five.

The original list had names of Jyoti Singh, Prateek Jalan, Anup Jairam Bhambhani, Krishnendu Datta, Sanjeev Narula, Manoj Kumari Ohri, Saurabh Kirpal, Priya Kumar and Sanjoy Ghose.

However, elevation of Krishnendu Datta, Saurabh Kirpal, Priya Kumar, and Sanjoy Ghose has been deferred by the Collegium.
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said the Republican Party of India (RPI) would move the Supreme Court to challenge the Ministry of Information and Broadcast directive advising the media to refrain from using the word 'Dalit'.

Addressing the media here, the RPI chief said, "On behalf of the Republican Party, we will go to the Supreme Court and challenge the Bombay High Court's decision to ban the usage of the word 'Dalit' because it isn't offensive. It is wrong to ban its usage."

"We respect the court, even our ministry had issued a directive to use the word 'Scheduled Caste' instead of 'Dalit' in official documents, but it is not right to stop the media from using the word," Athawale added. He further stated that the 'Dalit' community had objections with the word 'Harijan', which was coined by Mahatma Gandhi, but the word was not banned.

"The Dalit community were treated unfairly and called Harijans at the same time. Mahatma Gandhiji's intentions were noble but the Dalit community had issues with being called that word. There shouldn't be any problems with the word 'Dalit' as well. We'll go to the Supreme Court and challenge the ban," Athawale said.

The I&B ministry recently issued the advisory to the media advising them to stop using the term 'Dalit' when referring to members of the Scheduled Castes. The Bombay high court, in June, asked the ministry to consider issuing the directive to the media.
NEW DELHI: Calling India its 'closest ally' and a 'major defence partner', the United States on Thursday assured full help in securing New Delhi's entry into the coveted Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The assurance from the US Administration of President Donald Trump came during the first-ever 2+2 dialogue between India and the United States in the national capital on Thursday during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Terming India as its major defence partner, United States Secretary of Defence James Mattis said that the US is elevating the defence relationship to be at par with its closest allies.

"India's leadership in the world supports our shared democratic values regionally and globally. We also recognise the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, renaming US Pacific Command to the US Indo-Pacific Command. With India as a major defence partner, we are elevating our defence relationship to be on a par with our closest allies as we deepen the broader US-India relationship, enhancing our interoperability, our defence trade, our technology innovation and industrial collaboration, and bolstering our people-to-people bonds," Mattis said while speaking to the media after the India-US 2+2 Dialogue.

"We see the US-India relationship as a natural partnership between the world's two largest democracies, a partnership that is based on the convergence of enduring strategic interests and shared respect for the rules-based order," Mattis said.

"Our discussion today is a testament to the power of free peoples. I note that over seven decades ago this week, the United States established diplomatic relations with India, prior to its formal Independence. Today, our partnership has become one of the most consequential in the region and in the world," he added.

He mentioned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at the Shangri-La Dialogue last June that said `a commitment to common values must be shared - the foundation upon which we build a shared destiny.'

"The US and India already have that foundation in our commitment to a safe, secure, prosperous, and free Indo-Pacific region, where sovereignty of all nations is respected, international norms are upheld, disputes are resolved peacefully, and nations freely transit international waters and airspace, and further to borrow Prime Minister Modi's words again, nations are free from impossible debt burdens imposed by others," he said.

Talking about terrorism, Mattis noted that 2018 marks 10 years since the Mumbai attacks, where innocent citizens from the US as well as 10 other nations perished at the hands of international terrorism. "And we do not forget," he said.

During the first-ever 2+2 dialogue, both India and the US agreed to work together to secure Nuclear Suppliers Group's membership for New Delhi at the earliest.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorisation Tier-I License Exemption reflected India's robust and responsible export control policies.

"In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest," she said.

"The United States welcomed India's accession to the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Missile Technology Control Regime and reiterated its full support for India's immediate accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group," a joint statement issued after the talks said.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is an elite club of countries that deals with the trade in nuclear technology and fissile materials. India's bid for entry into the 48-member NSG is being opposed by China citing that New Delhi is not a signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Pompeo, in his remarks, hailed the civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries as an important component of their strategic partnership.

"Today also marks another milestone for our relationship. Thanks to the intense advocacy from the US, 10 years ago today, the Nuclear Suppliers Group voted to allow India to trade in civil nuclear materials and technologies.

"That vote and the subsequent section 123 civil nuclear agreement opened a path for our strategic relations to grow, bolster defence and commercial cooperation and expanded our people-to-people ties," Pompeo said.

Both sides were committed to the full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India, the statement said.

"We now look forward to what we can achieve over the next 10 years. In particular, we look forward to finalising the Westinghouse civil nuclear project that will provide clean and reliable power to millions of Indians," the US Secretary of State said.

After the conclusion of the talks, the two sides signed crucial defence pacts and agreed to work together to combat terrorism.

(With PTI Inputs)
JAIPUR: The Jaipur Police on Thursday used water cannon on Congress workers who had gathered to protest over the Rafale deal. Congress has been holding protests across the country to brief them about the alleged irregularities in the deal with France to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets.

#WATCH: Police use water cannon on Congress workers who were protesting over Rafale deal in Jaipur earlier today. #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/UQXsZKovkf  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

On Wednesday, it had accused the Narendra Modi government of adopting "double standards" on defence agreements and asked why it did not adopt the same yardstick in the Rafale deal when it had disapproved Russia's move to grant offset contracts to a private player for AK-103 rifles.

The party said the "trigger of Modi government`s AK-47 deal with Russia has backfired for the Rafale `scam` and made it more murkier". "A fallacious argument of the Modi government on the Rafale scam has been nipped in the bud, by its own recent negotiations in another defence deal, which is the AK-rifle deal with Russia," said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

"That the Rafale deal was a government-to-government agreement and the Modi government had absolutely no role in facilitating the Rs 30,000 crore offset contract," he added.

"Modi government has reportedly advised Russia that its firm Kalashnikov Concern should tie up with the state-run Ordnance Factory Board if it wants its proposal to manufacture the AK-103 assault rifles in India to be considered by the Defence Ministry," said Singhvi.

"Why did it not apply the same principle in the Rafale deal? Why did the government not advise Dassault Aviation to negotiate further with government-run HAL?" asked Singhvi.

The party said the MoD last month said that if the Russians wanted to partner with a private Indian entity, they must come through the `tender route`.

"Since the government has virtually given up `Make in India` in defence, by only getting an investment of Rs 1 crore till now, it is imperative for them to clear the air on the same. The nation is waiting for a clear answer on this doublespeak," Singhvi said.

(With agency inputs)
Kolkata: The death toll in the unfortunate bridge collapse incident at Majerhat here has climbed to three after one more body was recovered from under the rubble on Thursday morning.

At least 25 people were injured and many were believed to be trapped under debris when the 40-year-old bridge collapsed on Wednesday evening. The injured were rushed to local hospitals where they are receiving medical care.

While NDRF and local police rushed to the spot immediately after the incident, political blame game too began shortly after with opposition leaders questioning why proper repair work was not done. BJP even demanded that CM Mamata Banerjee ought to resign.

Mamata has called for an emergency meeting on Thursday afternoon and has already sought a report from top officials regarding the incident. She also visited the site on Wednesday evening and assured of action. "I cannot ignore any angle of probe. I will keep an eye on timely inspection of all bridges and have asked for health reports from engineers."

Mamata however did not answer queries about which agency is exactly responsible for maintaining the bridge which collapsed.

(With inputs from Pooja Mehta in Kolkata)
Kolkata: Two days after a portion of a bridge collapsed here, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said bridge inspection and monitoring cells under different departments will be set up to expedite their check-up.

She said a preliminary report by the Public Works Department suggested that the ongoing Metro rail construction work created problems that led to the collapse of the Majerhat bridge portion on Tuesday afternoon, which killed three persons and injured 19 others.

"I heard the Majerhat bridge was built by the Kolkata Port Trust and handed over to the PWD. A high-powered committee led by Chief Secretary Malay De has already been set up to investigate the collapse. The committee will take the opinion of technical experts and evaluate the PWD report as well.

"Bridge inspection and monitoring cells under departments like the PWD, Irrigation, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) are being set up," she said at state Secretariat Nabanna.

Banerjee held a meeting with officials of the PWD, KMDA and other departments.

The Chief Minister said the Metro Rail Authority had been asked to stop construction work temporarily near the collapse site until the PWD report is evaluated and surveys conducted.

"The 20-wheel truck trailers will not be allowed to ply on bridges and police had been directed to ensure this. For heavy containers, rail and inland water transport can be thought of," she said.

"A total of 20 bridges across cities and suburbs were found to have outlived their life. Repairs will be taken up without waste of time," Banerjee said.
GWALIOR: In an unusual way to keep eye on demonstrators across the city, authorities used drone cameras for surveillance in Gwalior during the ongoing Bharat Bandh.

Lot of security forces deployed. We are fully ready to face any kind of situation. Section 144 imposed at several places. It is very peaceful at present, Sub Divisional Magistrate Narottam Bhargavi.

#BharatBandh protests: Drones are being used for surveillance in Gwalior. SDM Narottam Bhargavi says,Lot of security forces deployed. We are fully ready to face any kind of situation. Section 144 imposed at several places. It is very peaceful at present. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/hyRumwYAha  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

The Bharat Bandh has been called by 35 outfits linked to the upper caste communities protest against the recent amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Section 144 has been imposed in all districts of Madhya Pradesh. Security has been beefed up and over 6000 security personnel deployed.

Demonstrators took to streets on Thursday morning, burying tyres and effigies and stopping trains, forcing locals to stay indoors during the ongoing Bharat Bandh on Thursday morning. Reports of violence emerged from parts of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Bandh is also being observed in Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
MUMBAI: The Humsafar Trust, which has been spearheading the fight for equal rights to the LGBT community members, on Thursday welcomed the historic Supreme Court verdict decriminalising homosexuality in the country.

The trust founded by Ashok Rao Kawi said, ''Today's SC verdict will help eliminate stigma and discrimination against the LGBTIQ community. It is a historic verdict and we al welcome it.''

Hailing the top court verdict, several members of the LGBT community held a pride parade in Mumbai.

WATCH the LGBT pride parade here.

#WATCH: Humsafar Trust takes out LGBT pride parade in Mumbai after Supreme Court legalises homosexuality. #Section377 pic.twitter.com/BVo7csNX5a  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as unconstitutional.

The bench said it is no longer an offence for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.

Reading out the judgement, Chief Justice Misra said attitudes and mentality have to change to accept others' identity and accept what they are, and not what they should be.

"It is the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail," said the court.

The verdict sparked celebrations in the LGBTIQ community across India even as the judgement was being read out. Many of the community members who had assembled outside the apex court jumped in joy and distributed sweets.

Chief Justice Misra said consensual sex between adults in a private space, which is not harmful to women or children, cannot be denied as it is a matter of individual choice.

Section 377 will not apply to consensual same-sex acts between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians, the court said, clarifying that sexual act without consent and bestiality will continue to be an offence under section 377.

"An individual has full liberty over his or her body and his or her sexual orientation is a matter of one's choice," said the Chief Justice.

"Time to bid adieu to prejudicial perceptions deeply ingrained in social mindset. Time to empower LGBTIQ community against discrimination. They should be allowed to make their choices," he added.

In a concurring judgement, Justice Nariman said homosexuality is "not a mental disorder or disease".

He said the LGBTIQ community has an equal right to live with dignity and are entitled to equal protection of law. He directed the Centre to give wide publicity to this judgment to remove the stigma attached to homosexuality.

Justice Chandrachud said to deny the LGBTIQ community their right to sexual orientation is a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy.

"They cannot be pushed into obscurity by an oppressive colonial legislation... Sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second class citizens," said Justice Chandrachud, adding "the state has no business to intrude on such matters".

Justice Indu Malhotra said that history owes an apology to the LGBTIQ community for all that they have suffered on account of the ignorance of the majority about homosexuality.

"LGBTIQ people have a right to live unshackled from the shadow," she said.
New Delhi: Rumoured lovebirds Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are busy shooting for their upcoming film 'Brahmastra'. Fans lovingly call them 'Raila' and with each passing day, rumour mills are at work to find out what's cooking between the two. Even though the two have never accepted their relationship rumours, they haven't denied them either. Ranbir had almost confirmed the relationship by calling it 'too new to talk about' in an interview with GQ India magazine. On the other hand, Alia, in an interview with NDTV had revealed that she isn't single.

Along with relationship rumours, buzz is strong that the two might also plan to tie the knot!

In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Ranbir's father, Rishi Kapoor was asked if he approved of the Jodi or not. To this, Mirror quotes Rishi as saying, Its Ranbirs life. Who he wants to get married to is his prerogative. Neetu likes her, I like her, Ranbir likes her. Get it? I cant be judgmental. After all, my uncles Shammiji and Shashiji and I chose our life partners. Ranbir is entitled to choose his.

Ever since Ranbir and Alia started working together on 'Brahamastra', rumours about their alleged affair caught fire. The rumour of them being a couple gained ground after ace designer friend Manish Malhotra spilled the beans on 'BFF's with Vogue', hinting at their possible 'hook up in 2018'.

The duo walked in together at Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja's gala wedding reception held at The Leela, Mumbai. They came, happily posed and leftadding more fuel to them being a couple.
Mumbai: Kiara Advani is feeling "butterflies" in her stomach with the thought of working with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljeet Dosanjh in her next "Good News", but at the same time the actor has already started prep work to match up to these seasoned actors.

Kiara will team up with the three actors in Karan Johar's production "Good News" which will be directed by Raj Mehta and will reportedly be about surrogacy.

She says it is surreal that she will work with Akshay, who launched her in Bollywood with "Fugly" and Kareena, who she considers a "diva".

"There are butterflies in my stomach when I think of working with them. Akshay sir launched me and now to work with him in a film is surreal. I look up to Kareena, I think she is a total diva and one of the most iconic stars of today. I would learn so much by working with them and Diljeet," Kiara told PTI.

"I play a Punjabi character and then we have these three inherently Punjabi people. I have started prep work so I can match up to them. All of them are so spontaneous artistes and it's a mad comedy. There will be a lot of improvisation which is going to happen on set so as an actor it is going to be an amazing ride," she adds.

Kiara was speaking on the sidelines of an event to promote the first edition of Skechers Performance Walkathon. The actor rose to fame earlier this year when she featured in Karan Johar's short in "Lust Stories" for Netflix.

Kiara, who appealed to people to walk to stay fit at the event, said she's currently in the best phase, both personal and professional.

"I am in a very happy place, I'm enjoying life. But I want to work really hard and make all these people who have put faith in me really proud. Not just in Hindi cinema in terms of producers, directors and fans, but also Telugu industry where my film became a huge hit.

"It's so encouraging, humbling. You feel really responsible to live up to these expectations. I am hoping I work my hardest and leave no stone unturned," she added.
Mumbai: A mentally disturbed woman from Uttarakhand who landed in Mumbai because she `wanted to marry Bollywood superstar Salman Khan', was handed over by city police to her family, an official said Wednesday.

The 24-year-old woman had left her home on August 11, a police official said.

After reaching Mumbai, she went to Galaxy Apartments in Bandra where Khan lives, but security guards did not let her in, he said.

Later, some people spotted her walking aimlessly on a bridge on the Eastern Freeway and alerted police.

Sewri police took her in custody and sent her for medical examination, said police sub-inspector Narayan Tarkunde.

Doctors found that she suffers from a mental ailment, following which police started a probe to find out her family.

She initially only said that she had come to Mumbai to marry Salman Khan, but on August 29 she revealed a few phone numbers.

One of those numbers was of her father, who was then contacted.

He reached Mumbai the next day and after due verification she was handed over to him, Tarkunde said.
NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Thursday called for auctioning the properties of the real estate firm Amrapali Group in order to generate money for the completion of its various unfinished projects. The top court preferred the auction of the firm's 16 properties by the NBCC, to give the PSU an initial corpus to start work on the stalled projects.

In its order, the Supreme Court said, ''Initially Amrapali's 16 properties in India, including commercials, would be auctioned and later personal properties of company's promoters and directors will be auctioned or sold to generate money for completion of its unfinished projects.''

Amrapali Case: SC says initially Amrapali's 16 properties in India, including commercials, would be auctioned&later personal properties of company's promoters&directors will be auctioned or sold to generate money for completion of its unfinished projects. Next hearing on Sept 12. pic.twitter.com/IrKSN9ONVL  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and UU Lalit also ordered a forensic audit of the firm and its promoters to gauge the extent of financial wrongdoings.

NBCC offered to the court that it can start construction on the 15 stalled projects with a capital of Rs 1,000 crore and the remaining amount of Rs 7,500 crore could be given in quarterly instalments of Rs 250 crore.

The top court also brought CMD of Amrapali Group Anil Sharma under its scanner for declaring his assets worth Rs 67 crore as against Rs 847 crore declared in his election affidavit filed during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when he had unsuccessfully contested as a JD(U) candidate from Bihar's Jehanabad constituency.

The bench said the records regarding how Sharma's assets, which were worth Rs 847 crore, have now come to be worth only Rs 67 crore in a span of just four years, have not been placed before it so far.

The top court passed its order while hearing a batch of petitions filed against the construction firm by several home buyers and unsatisfied customers, and posted the matter for hearing on September 12.

The Supreme Court had last month said that the only way to secure over Rs 5,112 crore from real estate major Amrapali Group for construction of pending projects by the NBCC (India) Ltd is to sell the individual properties of the directors of the company.

The bench said that residential projects of Amrapali in the National Capital Region seem prima facie illegal and its real estate business is like "a well-operated cobweb".

Amrapali Group has to "come out with clean hands", the bench observed while directing it to provide detailed data of its unencumbered properties.

The apex court had said: "It seems that it is a well-operated cobweb and once you get into it, you would not be able to come out of it. They have such huge liability to pay to NOIDA, Greater NOIDA, property taxes and secured creditors that what will be left after selling its unencumbered properties is a pittance."

The bench asked the realtor to file an affidavit in seven days having details of all the directors who have even served for a few months in the group and their individual properties and bank accounts and made it clear that it would not touch the bona fide directors.

It also asked the group to clear the pending dues of electricity in the projects, observing that it is the company`s prime responsibility to clear all arrears.

On August 8, the apex court had asked the directors of the group to file details of all their movable and immovable assets along with valuation, and warned them that they would be rendered homeless if they try "to play smart."

The court had clarified that all the properties of the directors would be sold if the company failed to raise Rs 5,112 crore required to complete its unfinished housing projects and directed the company to furnish details on how it intends to arrange the money.

On August 1, the bench had slammed the group for playing "fraud and dirty games" with it and ordered the freezing of bank accounts of all the directors of its 40 firms, besides attaching their personal properties.

Public sector undertaking NBCC (India) Ltd -- formerly known as National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd -- was also directed to take over all the 16 unfinished projects of the Amrapali Group.

The real estate group is yet to hand over possession of flats to around 40,000 home-buyers.

The apex court has been hearing a batch of pleas filed by home-buyers who have sought quashing of the National Company Law Tribunal order to admit insolvency proceedings against the group.

The buyers belong to low and middle-income groups and must be granted equal protection as other stakeholders, the financial and operational creditors, the home-buyers` plea said.

(With Agency Inputs)
Mumbai: Actor-producer John Abraham's maiden Marathi production Savita Damodar Paranjpe will be releasing in US on Friday.

John on Wednesday tweeted: "After a stupendous success in India, my film 'Savita Damodar Paranjpe' will release in USA on September 7."

The film is based on a successful similarly titled Marathi play that starred late actress Reema Lagoo.

The film, directed by 'Fugay' famed Swapna Waghmare Joshi, features actors Subodh Bhave and Raqesh Bapat in the lead roles.

On the Bollywood front, John will next be seen in Batla House, which will be the second collaboration of Nikhil Advani and John Abraham after Salaam-E-Ishq.

In the film, John is likely to play the character of DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav who spearheaded the infamous 2008 Batla House Encounter case.

It will be shot in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur and Nepal.
Houston: Children's ability to score better grades may be encoded in their DNA, say scientists who found that around two-thirds of individual differences in academic achievement can be explained by comparing genes.

For many years, research has linked educational achievement to live trajectories, such as occupational status, health or happiness.

However, researchers from the University of Texas in the US and King's College London in the UK showed that genes have a substantial influence on academic success, from the start of elementary school to the last day of high school.

The study, published in the journal npj Science of Learning, analyzed test scores from primary through the end of compulsory education of more than 6,000 pairs of twins.

Researchers found educational achievement to be highly stable throughout schooling, meaning that most students who started off well in primary school continued to do well until graduation.

Genetic factors explained about 70 percent of this stability, while the twins shared environment contributed to about 25 percent, and their nonshared environment, such as different friends or teachers, contributed to the remaining five percent.

"Around two-thirds of individual differences in school achievement are explained by differences in children's DNA," said Margherita Malanchini, a psychology postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas.

"But less is known about how these factors contribute to an individual's academic success over time," said Malanchini. However, this does not mean that an individual was simply born smart, researchers explained.

Even after accounting for intelligence, genes still explained about 60 percent of the continuity of academic achievement. "Academic achievement is driven by a range of cognitive and noncognitive traits," Malanchini said.

"Previously, studies have linked it to personality, behavioral problems, motivation, health and many other factors that are partly heritable," she said.

However, at times grades did change, such as a drop in grades between primary and secondary school. Those changes can be explained largely by non-shared environmental factors, researchers said.

"Our findings should provide additional motivation to identify children in need of interventions as early as possible, as the problems are likely to remain throughout the school years," said Kaili Rimfeld, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London.
HONG KONG: Bullet Messenger, a Chinese messaging app, has racked up millions of downloads since its debut just a few weeks ago, using a stripped-down design to chip off a chunk of a sophisticated, billion-user market.

The Beijing-based company launched its app on Aug. 20, and within a week became the most downloaded free offering on Apple Inc`s App Store in China.

Analysts say its rapid ascent, driven by Chinese internet users` craving for alternatives to the ubiquitous WeChat, underscores just how fast China`s mobile internet landscape can change.

"The cycle of disruption in the Chinese internet space is getting much, much faster," said Matthew Brennan, co-founder of tech consultancy China Channel.

"There is an increasingly large amount of easy money chasing increasingly fewer opportunities, while there is also a very large pool of talented entrepreneurs now, so people know how to scale businesses fast - there is an established playbook," he added.

Some analysts have described Bullet Messenger as a potential challenger to Tencent Holding`s WeChat, although it lags far behind the Chinese super-app, which has more than 1 billion users.

Bullet`s minimalist design stands out, as does a feature that instantly turns voice messages into a text as the user speaks, and sends each voice message with a transcript that can be edited.

Users say the technology, supplied by Chinese voice technology firm iFlytek Co, allows them to chat faster without having to type or listen to voice recordings, a time-consuming act for the receiver that is considered impolite in WeChat etiquette in China.

WeChat offers a similar voice input function, but it is hidden in the app`s interface and not commonly used. It also does not allow voice messages and transcripts to be sent simultaneously, as Bullet does.

Wang Guanran, a Shanghai-based senior analyst with Citic Securities, described Bullet`s key advantage as being "lighter" than WeChat.

For example, WeChat`s extra functions include payment and gaming, while Bullet only offers to the message and a newsfeed, and its interface allows users to respond to messages in fewer steps.

"In a time of information overload, it makes communication more simple," he said.

CULT FOLLOWING

Bullet, developed by Beijing Kuairu Technology, says it amassed 5 million registered users within 10 days of its launch. It is backed by Smartisan Technology, a niche smartphone maker founded by English-teacher-turned-entrepreneur Luo Yonghao.

Kuairu said it has a team of just 36 people with an average age of 27 and raised 150 million yuan ($22 million) from venture capital within seven days of the app`s launch.

The company declined to give details and turned down a request for an interview.

Company registration records show Kuairu was registered in May with the capital of 100,000 yuan.

Zhang Ji and Hao Xijie, both former Smartisan managers, are listed as its two directors, while Wang Li, the chief operating officer of Chinese dating app Momo Inc was listed as the sole owner as of May 9.

Momo said Wang is an investor in Bullet but did not hold any position at Beijing Kuairu.

According to Chinese corporate database Tianyancha, Smartisan and two local venture capital firms, Chengwei Capital and Gaorong Capital, invested in August.

Chengwei and Gaorong did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

NEW COMPETITION

The rapid rise of Bullet serves as a wake-up call for WeChat, analysts say, which has seen no serious challenger in China`s mobile messaging world since it was launched in 2011.

"The Chinese consumer is considerably more fickle than the global average," Brennan said. "There are always new consumers willing to try new products and platforms."

Foreign services such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are banned in China, where service providers are required by law to censor their content.

The other mainstream option for messaging is QQ, with mobile and desktop versions, which is also run by Tencent and is popular among younger people.

Liu Hai, 29, an auto engineer in Shanghai, said he downloaded Bullet in part out of curiosity, but also because he was frustrated with the number of work messages cluttering his WeChat account.

"There are too many workgroup messages on WeChat. It feels like I am working all the time. I cannot even block it out on weekends," he said.

Liu said he was impressed with Bullet`s speed and voice-recognition technology, which was able to decipher his southern Chinese accent. But he said he lost interest after three days because "nobody is actually on it."

"Also, when chatting at work, speaking to your phone looks kind of stupid," he added.

Smartisan`s Luo said on his Weibo account, which has 15 million followers, that Bullet is simply providing a niche alternative to WeChat for users seeking faster communication.

"This is not a WeChat killer. The bullet is still tiny and has a lot to prove," said Brennan, who said it is "very, very difficult" to build a social network and make people stay. Fans of Luo and Smartisan, meanwhile, are cheering the app`s success as a comeback for the struggling smartphone maker.

Xu Kuo, 31, an entrepreneur who describes himself as a hardcore Smartisan fan, said via Bullet: "I am uninstalling WeChat to support Lao Luo."
Wellington/Sydney: The tiny Micronesian state of Nauru is demanding a formal apology after a dispute with China's representative at this week's Pacific Islands Forum brought to the surface tensions with Beijing over its support for Taiwan.

Nauru, an island country of roughly 12,000 inhabitants, hosted leaders of 18 Pacific nations, plus delegations from non-member countries including the United States and China, for the forum.

The spat occurred when Nauru's President Baron Waqa refused to give way when the head of the Chinese delegation, diplomat Du Qiwen, demanded to be allowed to address the forum before the Prime Minister of Tuvalu on Tuesday.

Waqa described China's envoy as "very insolent" and a "bully" for speaking out of turn.

Nauru and Tuvalu are two of six Pacific countries to have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which is a major source of tension with China, which regards Taiwan as a wayward province, to be taken back by force if necessary.

During a media conference that followed the leaders' meeting at the forum late on Wednesday, Nauru's president was asked whether he would seek a formal apology from China over its envoy's behaviour.

"We will go further than that, I tell you we won't just seek an apology, we will actually get the forum to do it...as well as our own and we will even take it up to the UN," Waqa said.

"Never mind they are big, they are our partners, they should not disrespect us."

H.E. President Baron Waqa to demand formal apology from China after official walks out of #NauruPIF2018 meeting. #BluePacifichttps://t.co/WIX2y3Os3H  Republic of Nauru (@Republic_Nauru) September 6, 2018

China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but on Wednesday had said that Nauru had violated international norms and the rules of forum.

Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times said in an editorial that the dispute was connected to Nauru's recognition of Taiwan.

"Taiwan should not believe there is still an opportunity for its "diplomacy" just because of Nauru's actions. It's absurd that Taiwan's future can be decided by a remote Pacific island country," the paper said on Thursday.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry also did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Waqa said that he had not allowed China to speak as protocol dictated that he allow prime ministers and ministers to speak before diplomats.

"I have to be strong here because no one is to come and dictate things for us," Waqa said. "It's about the way they treated us, they're not our friends. They just use us for their own purpose, for their own will."

The forum is set to end on Thursday.

China has become one of the dominant economic players in the Pacific, spending billions of dollars in trade, investment, aid and tourism in a region that staunch US ally Australia has long regarded as its "back yard".

Chinese lending to the region has surged from nearly zero to $1.3 billion over the last decade, stoking concern that tiny nations could end up overburdened and in debt.

Tuvalu is set to host the Pacific Island Forum in 2019 and Waqa said some states had suggested changing the rules around which forum events countries with 'dialogue partner' status, including China, would be allowed to speak.

Meg Taylor, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, said at the media conference that the rule change and protocols for meetings would be considered in the first quarter of 2019.
LONDON: Britain charged two Russians in absentia on Wednesday with the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter, and said the suspects were military intelligence officers almost certainly acting on orders from high up in the Russian state.

British police revealed images of the two men they said had flown to Britain for a weekend in March to kill former spy Sergei Skripal with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.

Skripal`s daughter Yulia and a police officer who attended the scene also fell ill in the case, which has caused the biggest East-West diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War. A woman later died from Novichok poisoning after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle which police believe had been used to smuggle the nerve agent into Britain.

British authorities identified the suspects as Russian nationals travelling on genuine passports under the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament the government had concluded they were officers in Russia`s military intelligence service, the GRU.

"The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, so this was not a rogue operation," May said. "It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state."

Skripal, himself a former GRU officer who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain`s MI6 foreign spy service, was found unconscious with Yulia on a public bench in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4. Police released security camera images of the two suspects and outlined a three-day mission that took them from Moscow to London to Salisbury, where they sprayed poison on Skripal`s door before flying back to Moscow hours later.

The Russian charge d`affaires in London was summoned to the Foreign Office to be told Britain wanted those responsible to be brought to justice. However Moscow, which has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack, said the names meant nothing.

"We have heard or seen two names, these names mean nothing to me personally," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow. "I don`t understand why this was done and what sort of signal the British side is sending."

Britain and dozens of other countries have kicked out scores of Russian diplomats over the incident, and Moscow has responded tit-for-tat with an identical number of expulsions. The affair has worsened Russian relations with the West, already under strain over Ukraine, Syria and other issues.

May`s spokesman said May had briefed U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening. U.S. Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson said on Twitter the United States stood with Britain in holding Russia accountable for its "act of aggression". Britain will update the U.N. Security Council at a meeting on Thursday.

"REMARKABLY SOPHISTICATED"

The "remarkably sophisticated" attack appeared to be a clear assassination attempt, said Neil Basu, head of UK counter terrorism policing. He described an investigation which involved 250 detectives and analysis of some 11,000 hours of video.

According to police, the suspects, both around 40 years old, flew to London from Moscow on March 2. They spent two nights in an east London hotel, making two day trips to Salisbury, the first for reconnaissance, the second to kill Skripal. They flew out on March 4, hours after the Skripals were found unconscious.

Security cameras filmed the suspects near Skripal`s house, and traces of Novichok were found in their London hotel room. The Russians were charged with conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal and with the attempted murder of Skripal, his daughter and police officer Nick Bailey. They are also charged with illegal use and possession of a chemical weapon.

A European arrest warrant has been issued for them, but prosecutors said Britain would not ask Moscow to extradite Russian citizens because Russia`s constitution forbids it. Basu said the Skripals were making a good recovery.

A woman near Salisbury, Dawn Sturgess, died in July and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after Rowley found a counterfeit bottle of Nina Ricci perfume in a charity collection box and brought it home. It contained Novichok. Basu said police had no doubt the events were linked, and were discussing charges over the Sturgess and Rowley case with prosecutors.

The Skripal case has been likened by British politicians to the murder of Russian dissident ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope in a London hotel in 2006. Britain charged two Russians with his murder but both remain in Russia, and one later won a seat in parliament.

May said the Litvinenko case showed there was no point to demanding the Skripal suspects` extradition. "But should either of these individuals ever again travel outside Russia, we will take every possible step to detain them, to extradite them and to bring them to face justice here in the United Kingdom."
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be willing to shut down the US government if Congress does not provide enough funding for border security, reversing a stance he took a day earlier.

Trump made his comments at a meeting with congressional Republican leaders at the White House about the legislative agenda for the next few months, including extending government funding past a September 30 deadline.

He said Congress was making "tremendous progress" on funding, but that he wanted to make good on a promise to fund border security. Trump has repeatedly threatened not to sign funding legislation if Congress fails to include enough money for a wall on the border with Mexico.

Trump reiterated that threat on Wednesday. Responding to a reporter`s question about a possible shutdown, he said: "If it happens, it happens. If it`s about border security, I`m willing to do anything. We have to protect our borders."

His stance contradicts an interview he gave to the Daily Caller on Tuesday, when he said: "I don`t like the idea of shutdowns."

"I dont see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now," Trump was quoted as saying.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, in an interview with Fox News, called the meeting with Trump a "good discussion" and said he expected the president to sign funding bills before the end of fiscal year, averting a shutdown.

McConnell said there was "no chance" of a government shutdown.

"We are still in favor of the wall. We still want to get funding for the wall. But we think the best time to have that discussion is after the election," he said.

`NO DRAMA`

Republican lawmakers had welcomed Trump`s move away from a possible government shutdown, saying party leaders wanted "no drama" ahead of the November 6 election to decide whether fellow conservatives keep hold of Congress.

House Republicans, who were leaving a closed-door party meeting held on Capitol Hill before Trump made his remarks, said the message from leadership was aimed at avoiding any crises before the midterm contest, an approach echoed by several Republican senators.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, a Republican representative with close ties to the administration, said he did not expect the federal government to shut, and that any decision on the controversial issue of funding border security would likely be delayed.

"We were told no drama," Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky conservative, said after the closed-door meeting.

The planned border wall, the Trump administration`s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries and other immigration issues loom large as Americans prepare to head to the polls in November.

Trump campaigned heavily on a promise to build a wall that would be paid for by Mexico, which it has refused to do. He has subsequently turned to Congress to seek $25 billion for the project, along with other immigration demands.

Still, lawmakers have not reached a consensus on any immigration steps.

While a few conservatives like Republican Representative Jim Jordan insist the border issue should be dealt with now, others seem resigned to waiting at least until the new Congress takes office in January following the election.

Trump and US lawmakers averted a government shutdown in March after passing a massive $1.3 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30.

A shutdown could backfire on Trump if voters blame Republicans for any federal government service disruptions.

"It doesnt benefit anybody, certainly not Republicans," Republican Senator Jeff Flake said.
As the Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalised homosexuality in the hearing of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the LGBTQ community revelled at the verdict by the apex court. The law which has been in existence since the past 150 years was struck down by the apex court.

The announcement which is also an important issue globally has been covered by several media organisations worldwide.

A detailed report on this landmark judgment covered by the international media:

* Washington Post: Indias Supreme Court decriminalizes gay sex in historic ruling

The report read:

Activists have struggled for more than a decade to invalidate Section 377 of the Indian penal code, a provision which dates to the colonial era. The law prohibited consensual 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature'. While the statute was rarely used as a basis for prosecution, its presence meant that gay people faced threats, harassment and blackmail. It also served as a constant reminder to the gay community that the state considered their sexuality illegal.

Thursdays ruling is also a boost for gay rights around the globe. India was the most populous country in the world which still had a law on the books criminalizing gay sex. As of last year, more than 70 countries still had such laws, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.

The judgment reflects rapid social change in India, where only five years ago, the top court upheld the same law. Since then, campaigners have mobilized a movement to spread awareness about gay rights. In recent years, more than 30 Indian cities have had their first pride parades, and public protests against Section 377 have spread across the country. Economic and technological changes have spurred shifts in thinking too  cheap smartphones and mobile data opened young Indians up to global trends and dating apps, while the mushrooming of Indias information technology sector has created a richer  and freer  generation of urban youth. Film, theater and pop culture show openly gay characters and in some cases challenge gay stereotypes."

* New York Times: India Strikes Down Colonial-Era Law Against Gay Sex

The report read:

India has a mixed record on the issue. Its dominant religion, Hinduism, is actually quite permissive of same-sex love. Centuries-old Hindu temples depict erotic encounters between members of the same gender, and in some Hindu myths, men become pregnant. In others, transgender people are given special status and praised for being loyal.

But that culture of tolerance changed drastically under British rule. India was intensely colonized during the height of the Victorian era, when the British Empire was at its peak and when social mores in England were very conservative.

In the 1860s, the British introduced Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, imposing up to a life sentence on whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature. The law was usually enforced in cases of sex between men, but it officially extended to anybody caught having anal or oral sex.

Though in recent years more and more Indians have come out, and acceptance of gay, lesbian and transgender people has grown to some degree, the fact that intimate behaviour was still criminalized created much shame and discouraged countless Indians from coming out.

* BBC: India court legalises gay sex in landmark ruling

The report read:

India had been reluctant to overturn it. ndia's gay and transgender communities have fought long and hard to strike down section 377, as the law is known. "How strongly must we love knowing we are unconvicted felons under Section 377? My Lords, this is love that must be constitutionally recognized, and not just sexual acts," Menaka Guruswamy, the lawyer for the petitioners, had told the Supreme Court in July when it began hearing the case.

But it is still too early to say what this can translate to in the longer term. The judges explicitly said that they only ruled on the constitutional validity of section 377 and were not looking at it in terms of other rights such as those related to marriage or inheritance.

* The Guardian: Indian supreme court decriminalises homosexuality

The report read:

The decision legalises behaviour that many Indians say was accepted in their culture before the imposition of conservative Victorian mores during the British imperial era. The anti-sodomy law was imposed in the Indian colony in 1860 as part of a raft of laws against public vice and immorality instituted across the British empire.

Ritu Dalmia, one of the five LBGTI Indians who put their name to a legal petition that succeeded on Thursday, said the verdict made her feel hope once again. I was turning into a cynical human being with very little belief in the system, but honestly this has really shown once again that, at the end, we are a functional democracy where freedom of choice, speech and rights still exist, she said.

The decision appears to mark the end of a fraught path to legalising homosexuality in modern India. Early cases filed in 1994 and then 2001 bounced back and forth for years between higher courts reluctant to rule on the issue.

The judgment was delivered by a five-member bench -- Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices Rohinton Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.
Open source

Autumn comes to Ukraine and brings several new innovations.

Digital TV



On Friday, August 31, Ukraine terminates the analogue TV signal transmission and switches to its digital version, which in turn is an obligation of Ukraine within the framework of the Geneva-2006 Regional Agreement.



"The Cabinet of Ministers issued Resolution No. 509 of June 13, 2018 amending the Plan for the use of the radio frequency resource of Ukraine regarding the timing of the use of analogue television broadcasting technology, so on August 31, 2018 analogue television broadcasting ceases throughout the country," the statement of the Television and Radio Broadcasting Council informs.



As you know, analogue and digital television are based on analogue and digital signals, respectively. The analogue signal that can be caught with a conventional antenna, goes continuously, the digital signal comes in compact "portions", which are separated by pauses.



In this regard, the "digital TV" is more protected from external influences, therefore it is more likely to provide high-quality picture and sound by its use, even when transmitted over long distances.

112 Agency

Baby boxes



Since September 1, all newborns in Ukraine will be able to get from the state free "baby packages" (or "baby boxes"), which will accommodate 25 necessary items.



The Ministry of Social Policy on August 15 approved the list of goods for "baby boxes": among other things, it will include clothes, diapers and a rattle.



Among 25 essential things for newborns:



- disposable diapers for newborns, from 2 to 5 kg, not less than 94 pieces per package;



- disposable wipes for children from 0 years, hypoallergenic, PH-neutral, odorless, at least 56 pieces per package;



- calico diaper; the size is 80 x 95 cm; diaper flannel size 90 x 110 cm; diaper cotton size 70 x 70 cm (the size can be changed +/- 10%); diaper reusable moisture resistant size 60 x 80 cm.



- 2 cotton caps (for 0-3 and 3-6 months);

- a thermometer for water;



- thermometer for the body electronic, with a rubber tip;



- manicure scissors for children with blunt tips (safe), made of stainless medical steel;



- pads for lactation, not less than 60 pieces in a package;



- blanket warm / demi-season, filler - 100% cotton, outer fabric - also 100% cotton; size 90 x 120 cm;



- plaid blanket, 100% knitwear, cotton; the size of 60 x 80 cm;



- mattress, composition according to international standards; size 42 x 70. The size of the mattress (perimeter) must match the size (perimeter) of the bottom of the box;



- towel for bathing; size 100 x 100 cm, made of natural material;



- toy-rattle, made of plastic with a certificate that allows the use of children's toys, without small parts;



- cream with lanolin content of 100%; liquid soap-shampoo for children with a dispenser, from 0 years, without parabens, hypoallergenic, odorless, 500 ml.



It is noted that the whole set should be packed in a box-cradle made of strong cardboard, the size of 43  70  27 cm. The cost of this kit is up to 5 thousand hryvnia. Earlier it was reported that the Cabinet decided to provide newborn children with the necessary goods from September 1. In addition, starting from January 1, 2019, the Cabinet of Ministers plans to compensate families for the costs of babysitting services for children up to 3 years.

112 Agency

Kyiv ambulance

Since September 1, brigades of emergency medical care have been transferred to the management of Center for Emergency Medical Care and Medicine of Catastrophes in Kyiv. That is, they switch to a new format of work. This was reported by the Director of the Department of Health, Valentyna Ginzburg, the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration informs.



She noted that the changes will positively affect the quality of providing medical care.



"Firstly, to call emergency services to the house, it will be enough to dial up a single number 103, well known to all. Thus, there is no need to recognize and remember the seven-figure emergency number of your district, and in return, there is control over the call already at the stage of receiving it. It is known that an audio recording of all conversations with the dispatcher of the Emergency Medical Service Center is being conducted, and the subscriber's number is automatically identified ... Secondly, henceforth all challenges are taken by a specialist who is able to instantly navigate: do you need emergency care, or maybe you need an ambulance," said Valentyna Ginzburg.



According to her, urgent medical care is now provided daily by family doctors, pediatricians and therapists from 08:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and from 9:00 to 15:00 on weekends and holidays.
The bill No. 7017 provides for imprisonment for up to 3 years for Russians illegal crossing of Ukraines state border

Ukraines Verkhovna Rada has supported the bill No. 7017, which provides for the introduction of criminal liability for the illegal crossing of the state border by the citizens of the aggressor country. 241 people's deputies have voted for the bill.

The bill provides for imprisonment for up to 3 years for Russians illegal crossing of Ukraines state border (or persons with other nationalities in favor of the Russian Federation). In particular, we are talking about getting to the territory of Ukraine outside the checkpoints, without the necessary documents or with documents containing inaccurate information.

If such violation is committed repeatedly or by a group of persons, the responsibility is toughened (deprivation of liberty from 3 to 5 years).

If the described violation is paralleled with the use of weapons, the imprisonment might be up to 8 years.

The co-author of the bill, presidential representative in the parliament Iryna Lutsenko stated that the bill is planned to be finalized for the second reading.

"The bill will establish a ground that is already used in the related article of the Criminal Code, which regulates the issues of violation of the order of entry to temporarily occupied territory. The following: a criminal offense will be the illegal crossing of the state border, aimed at harming the interests of the state borders for persons who are prohibited from entering the territory of Ukraine, as well as for persons who are representatives of the aggressor-state's security agencies," Iryna Lutsenko claimed.

According to her, it is planned that the Security Service of Ukraine will investigate such violations.

"In addition, we will take into account the proposal of the Fatherland faction representatives that the crime will also be criminalized when the line of delimitation is crossed illegally," the co-author of the document added.

Earlier, the parliament increased fines for illegally crossing the border. Since April 29, 2018, the crossing of the state border outside the checkpoint or on forged documents entails a fine of 125  315 USD. A repeated violation during the year or a group of people entails a fine of 300-500 USD. Deliberate entry into Ukraine by a foreigner, despite the ban, provides for a fine from 60-200 USD.

Violation of the order of entry into temporarily occupied territories is punished by a fine 125-190 USD, repeated violation by a group of persons or within a year carries a penalty of a 325 USD fine. But these fines can be imposed only within three months from the date of detection of the violation and not later than a year from the date of commission.

Procedure for the entry of foreigners into the territory of the temporarily annexed Crimea is currently in force, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 722 of September 16, 2015. According to the document, foreign journalists must coordinate a visit to the peninsula with the Ministry of Information Policy of Ukraine, and human rights activists and representatives of international NGOs must coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, the list of grounds on which foreign citizens can obtain permission to enter Crimea includes the preaching of religious beliefs, the performance of religious rites or the satisfaction of religious needs (exclusively at the request or agreement with the Ministry of Culture), as well as participation in activities of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

At the moment, the only legal way to visit Crimea is to come from the territory of Ukraine.

However, the approved rules were criticized, since foreigners cannot get the permits or apply for entry to the territory of annexed Crimea, being outside Ukraine. To obtain permission, they must go to Ukraine and file special documents.

Read the original text at 112.ua.
The Ukrainian leader said this during his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Soreide

18 servicemen of the Ukrainian military lost their lives in combat in Donbas over the past month. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said this during his meeting with Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Soreide; it took place in Kyiv on Thursday.

'In August 18 of my warriors perished. I spoke to a lot of wounded, whom I had the chance to visit at hospitals. Your (Norway's - 112 International) help in rehabilitation and medical support of our warriors is very valuable and symbolic for us', Poroshenko said.

Soreide came to Ukraine with a working visit, which included the visit to the combat area in Donbas.

Earlier, on September 5, he Joint Forces Operation headquarters reported that Russian militants increased the number of attacks in the combat area. One Ukrainian soldier died, three more were injured.

Russian occupation troops conducted the adjusted fire from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms.

The enemy shot at the positions near Syze, Stanytsia Luhanska, Krymske, Novotoshkivske, Zolote, Shumy, Movhorodske, Opytne, Pisky, Krasnohorivka, Marinka, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Hnutove, Lebedynske, Vodyane and Shyrokyne.
Open source

The militants increased the number of attacks over the past 24 hours on September 5. One Ukrainian soldier died as a result, three more were injured, as the Joint Forces Operation headquarters reported on Facebook.

Russian occupation troops were conducting adjusted fire from grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns and small arms.

The enemy shot at the positions near Syze, Stanytsia Luhanska, Krymske, Novotoshkivske, Zolote, Shumy, Movhorodske, Opytne, Pisky, Krasnohorivka, Marinka, Chermalyk, Pavlopil, Hnutove, Lebedynske, Vodyane and Shyrokyne.

Militants fired at a residential sector in Krasnohorivka, consequently, a fire occurred and a residential house was damaged. The fire was localized.

One solider dies, three were wounded over the past 24 hours, the Headquarters reported.

According to the intelligence, yesterday, two militants were eliminated, five  injured.

Today, the enemy performed four attacks. From grenade launchers and small arms in Donetsk sector near Marinka and in Mariupol sector  from heavy machine guns and small arms near Chermalyk and Vodyane. No casualties among our military reported.

Related video:
Although the leakage, reportedly from an acid storage tank at the Crimean Titan Factory, occurred during the night from 23-24 August, schoolchildren were only evacuated from the area on 5 September, with parents given just an hour to pack the childrens things

The Russian occupation authorities in Crimea took almost two full weeks to react at all to a dangerous chemical spillage with disastrous effects on Armyansk and the surrounding areas, including the Kherson oblast in mainland Ukraine. The measures taken are still grossly inadequate, and seem largely aimed at deceiving the population into believing there is nothing wrong.

Although the leakage, reportedly from an acid storage tank at the Crimean Titan Factory, occurred during the night from 23-24 August, schoolchildren were only evacuated from the area on 5 September, with parents given just an hour to pack the childrens things. The de-facto authorities are still tryingto downplay the scale of the problem, avoiding words like evacuation and claiming there is no danger to health.

There is a huge difference in scale, however the attempts to muffle the truth force analogies with the Soviet refusal to admit to the Chornobyl Nuclear Disaster in 1986 and take measures to protect the population. British writer Lily Hyde, who is currently in Crimea, writes that the situation around Armyansk in Northern Crimea is absolutely, damningly indicative of what happens when you destroy a free and professional press. She says that the coverage by the Russian-controlled Crimean media has to be seen to be believed.

Residents are seeing, breathing and feeling the consequences, which one described as true hell, and are clearly unconvinced by upbeat propaganda. The photos posted on social media are alarming, as are reports of problems with breathing, etc., and of damage to crops and to the flora in the area. A Krym.Realii video shows Sergei Aksyonov, the leader installed by Russia, claiming that there is no panic, no threat to health and that the children are merely being sent away as a preventive measures. His words conflict with those of a mother who says that her husband has taken their children away from the area. She asserts that virtually everyone is feeling unwell and that one in two people have sought help in hospitals.

Ukraines Human Rights Ombudsperson, Ludmila Denisova reported on Wednesday that she had notified Erik Solheim, the UNs Environment [UNEP] Executive Director and Jan Dusik, Director of the UNEP Regional Office for Europe. She stresses that the leak into the environment of an unidentified substance is affecting Crimeans, people living in the neighbouring Kherson oblast and presents a threat to other European countries.

She explains that the Ombudspersons Office began immediately receiving complaints from people in the North of Crimea who said that they were seeing a strange oily layer setting on metallic items in their apartments and on the roofs of buildings. They say that this substance is of a yellowish shade and that there is a permanent smell of acid in the air, which makes it hard to breathe.

Denisova accuses the occupation authorities of concealing the real environmental situation, a complaint repeated by many people living in Crimea.

It is known that a toxic chemical leaked at the Titan Factory in Northern Crimea which is still owned by Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash. It is seemingly not a hundred percent certain which specific substance was spilled and how much.

Dmytro Hutsuluk, a spokesperson for Ukraines Defence Ministry has asserted that the spillage occurred because the factory was hit by accident during Russian military exercises. What proof there is of this is unclear, but it is certainly putting Russian-controlled media into overdrive trying to dismiss the allegations.

The Russian occupation authorities have claimed that the factory will now be closed for two weeks, though Ukrainian Environment Ministry monitors saythat the factory appears to still be working. The public assurances that workers would be given two weeks paid leave are also contradicted by reports on social media suggesting that the staff are still being forced to work or take leave at their own expense.

A sheet with advice to those remaining in Armyansk was widely circulated on social media. If on the street or in public transport, people are advised to wear face masks or cover their nose and mouth with several layers of material, and to cover as much of their skin as possible. Any bathing, washing, etc. should be in a large amount of running water. All doors and windows should be closed, and children should not be allowed outside at all.

All of this, it should be stressed, is in very high temperatures, and with the peninsula already facing problems with water supplies due to Russias annexation of Crimea. Ukraine did not refuse to provide water to its citizens, even under occupation, but did insist that the contract should correctly identify Crimea as occupied territory. Russia preferred instead for the population to be deprived of its main source of water.

The only  Russian-controlled  media freely accessible in occupied Crimea appear intent on blaming Ukraines government because of the water situation, ridiculing the suggestion that Russian military exercises could have caused the situation, while in chorus denying that there is a situation and repeating assurances from Aksyonov and Co. that theres nothing to worry about.

Read the original text here.

Related video:
Open source

This afternoon, a ship called Solitaire in the Gulf of Finland started laying the first deep water pipes for the controversial Nord Stream 2 project  a strong signal that the new pipeline from Russia to Germany is now unstoppable.

Until today, construction on the pipeline has been limited to onshore and territorial waters at the Russian departure point near Saint Petersburg and the German arrival point near Greifswald.

Solitaire, which is carrying 420 workers, will lay pipes around the clock seven days a week  assembling the 12-metre, 24-ton pipes on-board before laying them on the sea bed. Three kilometres of offshore pipe can be laid on the sea bed per day, and Nord Stream expects to complete the pipeline by the end of next year.

The rapid pace of construction has raised eyebrows because it is happening even as the project seems to be in political peril. In Germany more and more politicians are speaking out against the pipeline and Chancellor Angela Merkel has sometimes appeared to be wavering in her support.

The pipelines detractors, which include almost all the governments of Eastern Europe, say the pipeline puts the European Unions energy security at risk because it makes the bloc more dependent on Russian gas. They also say it is designed to punish Kiev, enabling Russia to shut down its existing pipeline bringing gas to the EU through Ukraine. The United States is supporting them in their objection.

In July, U.S. President Donald Trump went on a now-notorious public rant against the pipeline, accusing Germany of making itself completely dependent on Russian gas. He has also threatened to sanction European companies who invest in the pipeline.

Trumps diatribe seemed to be more targeted at Germany than at Russia, and energy analysts suspect that there are commercial reasons why. The United States wants European countries to start importing American liquefied natural gas (LNG), a byproduct of the countrys newfound gas surplus from the shale gas boom. Moscow has accused Washington of trying to kill the pipeline in order to force countries like Germany to import US LNG. The Americans, meanwhile, say it is better that the Europeans get their gas from an ally than from a foe.

Russian gas currently accounts for just 4.3% of German power generation, though this proportion is rising and would increase significantly with the completion of Nord Stream 2.

Disagreement between EU member states on the issue has prevented the approval of a mandate to negotiate rules for the new pipeline with Russias government-controlled Gazprom.

And Yet, It Floats

Given all the intense political opposition, what makes Nord Stream so confident that the project is going forward as to invest millions in beginning construction?

The truth is there are not many legal avenues left to block it. Gazprom argues that the pipeline does not need an authorisation from the EU, only from the countries through which the pipeline passes  Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. It already has three of those authorisations.

The company points out that Nord Stream 1, the existing pipeline which the new pipeline will follow, did not need such an EU authorisation.

Denmark is the only country that hasnt authorised the pipeline, and at the moment it looks quite likely that it will reject it passing through its territorial waters. But Nord Stream isnt worried. Why? Because if Denmark does rejects, the company will simply change the route.

Right now the pipeline is planned to skim the East coast of the Danish island of Bornholm, which lies far away from the rest of Denmark, to the South of Sweden. Because the pipeline would go through Danish territorial waters, the government could use foreign policy concerns (the fear of Russian energy domination) as a justification for rejecting the application to construct the pipeline.

However, though Denmark could use such reasoning to reject a pipeline in its territorial waters, it could not use that argument to reject a pipeline through its exclusive economic zone' in international waters  defined as an area that extends 370km from a countrys territorial waters. Nord Stream could simply shift the pipeline to international waters to avoid Denmarks rejection.

Counterintuitively, the pipeline would actually be moved to the West of the island, closer to the rest of Denmark, to avoid the countrys territorial waters. Nord Stream put in just such an application last month.

Though it might seem to make more sense to shift the pipeline further to the East, there is a complex reason why this is not a good idea. Just to the islands East lie international waters that are disputed between Denmark and Poland  the lead opponent of North Stream II. This would be difficult because of both Polands strong opposition and the dispute between the two countries. So the pipeline could be shifted to the West, into the international waters between Sweden and Denmark.

When it comes to approval of projects within a countrys EEZ, only safety or logistical concerns can be used to deny them  not political ones. It is highly unlikely Denmark would risk rejecting a project in its EEZ for obvious political reasons, given that it has historically relied so heavily on commerce from its important trading route waters. The government would risk being seen as an untrustworthy maritime operator.

With that, Moscow sees little standing in the way of the new pipeline. All of this could change if Angela Merkel changes her mind. But at a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, the German chancellor gave little indication that she is prepared to do so. At this point, opposing the pipeline could look like she is giving in to pressure from Trump - which would also be politically unpopular.

Read the original text here.
As Judge explained it, none of the accusations is related to the possible collusion

The Federal Judge in the case of Paul Manafort, former Head of Trumps election campaign, ruled that a possible collusion between the campaign and Russia cannot be discussed at the hearing, as Reuters reports.

The collusion investigation being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is wholly irrelevant to the charges in this case, Judge Amy Berman Jackson said.

It is explained by the fact that none of the accusations is related to the possible collusion. The Judge in Virginia, who processed Manaforts case, made the same conclusion.

She also said she plans to deny a request by Manaforts defense attorneys to move the trial to different court, saying that a concern about the political affiliations of the jury pool in Washington, D.C., is not a lawful basis for a venue transfer, the news agency reads.

As we reported President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been found guilty on eight counts of financial crimes. After a 16-day trial Manafort was found guilty of five tax fraud charges, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 10 counts, and the judge declared a mistrial on those charges.

Manafort faces a maximum of 80 years in prison. He faces a second criminal trial next month in Washington on seven other charges brought by the special counsel, including obstruction of justice, failure to register as a foreign agent and conspiracy to launder money.

Paul Manafort is charged with laundering money and evading taxes over ten years of cooperation with former Ukrainian leaders. Previously, an investigation team released over 300 documents, which reveal the details of Manafort's cooperation with the currently disbanded Party of Regions - the-then pro-presidential and ruling political force in Ukraine.

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A lot of Senate members find the social network unable to resist the foreign influence on the U.S. policy

Open source

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg admitted at the hearing of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee that the social network was not ready to resist the attempts of Russia to interfere the presidential election in 2016 as Reuters reported.

The company was too slow to respond to Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election and general American political discourse, Sandberg said.

However, she emphasized that now the social network works better.

We deleted hundreds of pages and accounts suspected in the holding of the coordinated destructive campaigns. They misled other in what they were doing, she said.

Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey also testified at the Senate. The Google representatives refused to appear at the hearing. According to one of the Senators, the company behaved arrogantly.

As we reported Dan Coats, director of National intelligence of the US commented the meeting of Trump and Putin, claiming that the intelligence has made clear on the interference of Russia in the American election.

Earlier Russian Foreign Ministry commented the decision of Robert Mueller, the U.S. Special Counsel, to press charges against 12 Russian military intelligence officers. According to the representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the aim of these accusations is to spoil the atmosphere before the Russia-USA Summit.

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Former French leader Nicolas Sarkozy came to Odesa, southern Ukraine; the main reason for his visit was the 7th Black Sea Summit, which this city hosts now. Delegations of fifteen countries came to the Summit.

The politician willingly accepted the invitation to come to Odesa and share his vision of the process called 'the development of Europe of regions'. The Ukrainian side was represented by the local MPs, regional counselors Viktor Baransky and Vitaliy Sautenkov; in spring, they held a round of meetings with MEPs in the European Parliament to promote the event and raise awareness in the European Parliament of Odessa as a major transportation centre.

The French politician and the Ukrainian officials concluded that the deeper cooperation between Odesa and European regions is one of the keys to faster development of Odesa and Odesa region.

Sarkozy joined the ceremony of planting the Alley of Ukrainian-French friendship and attended the exhibition of the local museum of Western and Eastern Arts.
Open source

There's a need to create an international commission due to the situation that occurred at Crimean Titan factory in Armyansk, in the occupied Crimea. President Petro Poroshenko said that during the session of the National Security and Defense Council.

'We all are informed of the environmental disaster, which took place in the occupied Crimea, in Armyansk. Currently, environment safety experts tell us the quite disturbing news (...) We need to do a couple of things. The first thing is to create an international commission and stop the environmental disaster, which directly affects Ukraine, taking place in the occupied territory. Besides, according to my own reliable sources, these are the consequences of the respective drills held by the Russian military, which led to the destruction of protection mechanisms', Poroshenko said.

The second thing, the President continued, would be to create conditions for taking children from Armyansk to the mainland Ukraine for rest, rehabilitation and 'saving', in the Ukrainian leader's own words. Poroshenko charged Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman to see to it that the respective conditions are created.

Earlier it was reported that the hit of the shells at the technological tanks during the training of the detachments of the Armed Forces of Russia became the reason for the chemical emission at the plant Crimean Tytan.

As we reported an unknown substance was discharged in the air in Armyansk, North Crimea. A greasy mud with a yellow shade appeared on metallic objects, roofs and leaves on the trees.

Later, Sergey Aksyonov, head of the annexed Crimea claimed that the situation with the discharge of the unknown substance in the air goes beyond the norms.

Moreover, toxic chemicals were detected in the air in the Kherson region, southern Ukraine.

Refat Chubarov, the Chairman of the Crimean Tatars Mejlis claimed that the evacuation of the children due to the emission of the unknown substance has begun in Armyansk.
The Prime Ministers also discussed the growth of the totalitarianism

Open source

Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the cooperation in support of the global order in a phone conversation with Theresa May, the Prime Minister of the U.K., as Ukrinform reports.

Prime Minister Trudeau stressed the importance to continue cooperation between Canada and U.K. responding to the challenges Russia and other states are putting before the international system, the message says.

Besides, Trudeau and May discussed the growth of the totalitarianism and the need of Canada and Britain to play a leading role in promoting of the democracy, human rights and supremacy of law".

The leaders discussed the development of the events related to the fact that Russian agents used military warfare substance in March 2018.

The Prime Minister expressed Canadas complete solidary with the British national in the light of these events and promised full cooperation and support of the British Government, the press office of Canadas Government informed.

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Ukraine news on 112.international
Maritime security squads and Navy officers of Ukraine and Turkey conduct joint drills and counteract the illegal activity of poachers in the Black Sea waters

The units of the coastal guard of Ukraine and Turkey will be patrolling the Black Sea together. Arsen Avakov, Ukraine's interior minister and the head of Turkish Coast Guard Ahmet Kendir reached the respective agreement.

Avakov admitted that the sides have been working on the mechanisms of monitoring and rapid response, joint groups and the exchange of information. 'This will considerably increase our presence in the Black Sea', he said.

In September, the meetings of Ukrainian and Turkish colleagues will take place in Kyiv and Odesa.

The border guard services of the two countries refreshed the bilateral agreements in this area.

According to Head of Ukraine's State Border Guard Oleg Tsyhykal, maritime security squads and Navy officers of Ukraine and Turkey conduct joint drills and counteract the illegal activity of poachers in the Black Sea waters.
Google representatives refused to be present at the hearing

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey testified at the Senate Intelligence Committee on the measures the social networks take to resist foreign interference, as Reuters reports.

We deleted hundreds of pages and profiles suspected of conducting coordinated subversive campaigns. They were deceiving the others concerning who they were and what they did, Sandberg said.

Recently we failed our intended impartiality. Our algorithms were unfairly filtering 600,000 accounts, including some members of Congress, from our search auto-complete and latest results. We fixed it, Dorsey noted.

Yet, the Congress members regard social networks incapable of counterworking foreign influence on the U.S. politics.

Im skeptical that, ultimately, youll be able to truly address this challenge on your own. Congress is going to have to take action here, Senator Mark Warner said.

The hearing was interrupted by the protester who broke in and screamed that Dorsey from Twitter was lying accusing him of banning conservatives and saying Twitter was going to help Democrats steal the November elections.

Ahead of Wednesdays hearings, Trump, without offering evidence, accused social media companies of interfering in the November elections, telling the Daily Caller conservative website that social media firms are super liberal, the news agency reads.

Sandberg and Dorsey deny Trumps accusations. They stated that political preferences and parties do not play any role in the work of the social networks.

Many senators expressed anger that Google representatives refused to be present at the hearing.



"Republican Senator Marco Rubio said the company might have skipped the hearing because it was arrogant, Reuters reports.

It was noted that due to the hearing, the shares of the companies decreased: Twitters by 5,7% and Facebooks by 2,45%.

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Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council approved the initiative of President Petro Poroshenko, who offered to discontinue the Treaty on Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation with the Russian Federation for ten years-long period. The authority's press service reported that on Thursday evening.

Earlier on Thursday, the head of the state said that the Ukrainian side would send Russia the respective note in the near future.

Previously, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said that the documents are ready and they are soon to be handed over for consideration.

The Ukraine-Russia Friendship Treaty of 1998 fixed the principle of strategic partnership, the recognition of the inviolability of existing borders, respect for territorial integrity and mutual commitment not to use its territory to harm the security of each other. The treaty automatically renews on each 10th anniversary of its signing, unless one party advises the other of its intention to end the treaty.
Ukraines Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova appeals to the international organizations, including the UN, requesting to influence Russia in terms of the release of the Ukrainian fishermen kept in Balaklava, as she wrote on Facebook.

Denisova noted that its been four months since FSB (Russian Federal Security Service) detained the Ukrainian crew.

The captain of the ship, Viktor Novitsky, was detained for allegedly illegal procurement of aquatic biological resources. FSB opened a criminal case against the citizen. He is still kept in Simferopol detention facility in the occupied Crimea, Denisova wrote.

Moreover, the other members of the crew have to stay in Crimea as their passports were seized.

According to the Ombudsman, within these four months they communicated with Russias government authorities, who are involved in deciding on their return to Ukraine, every week. Yet, they did not get the answer.

Russian Federation violated the right for freedom, security and freedom of movement provided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, she added.

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If the EU decides to cancel the daylight saving, the Ministry of Economic Development will address the Cabinet of Ministers concerning the possibility of introducing the relevant changes to the order of computation of time

Open source

Daylight saving might be canceled in Ukraine. If the EU makes this decision, the Ministry of Economic Development will ask the Cabinet of Ministers to introduce changes to the process of computation of time, as UNN reported referring to the Ministrys information.

The order of Ukraines Cabinet of Ministers as of May 13, 1996 set the process of computation of time in Ukraine: the time of the second time zone (Kyiv time) is turned for an hour later on the last Sunday of March at 3 am and for an hour back on the last Sunday of October at 4 am, the representatives of the Ministry stated.

The same procedure was introduced in the European Union territory.

Ukraine set a course for the European integration which provides for the implementation of the European legislation. The order of computation of time which exists in Ukraine is the best possible. It complies with the international practice, facilitates the adaptation of the whole spectrum of the international economic, cultural and other relations, conforms to its geographical location. Considering the mentioned, if the EU decides to cancel the daylight saving, the Ministry of Economic Development will address the Cabinet of Ministers concerning the possibility of introducing the relevant changes to the order, the representatives of the Ministry said.

Additionally, the Ministry has no information on the economic reason for the annual transition to summer time and reduction of electric power consumption.

Earlier, Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, stated that the EU intended to cancel transition to summer and winter time. It was noted that more than 80% of the respondents supported the cancellation of the daylight-savings. 4,6 million people took part in the largest online-survey in the EU.

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Sentsovs mother was again denied to pardon her son. The lawyer of the Ukrainian political prisoner Dmytro Dinze published the relevant decision of Russian Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District Pardon Commission on Facebook.

The members of the Commission explained that they could not consider the motion Lyudmyla Sentsov filed, as it was not the convicted who did it.

Therefore, Sentsov has to file the request for pardon addressed to the President of Russia himself, the document says.

Moreover, Oleg Sentsov was informed about the requests concerning his case and that it is necessary that he himself should send the request, so that it can be considered.

Earlier, Sentsov has stated multiple times that he was not going to ask to pardon him.

The Verkhovna Rada suggested nominating Sentsov for Nobel Prize.

As we reported earlier, Oleg Sentsov, the Ukrainian political prisoner, has been starving in Russia penal colony of Labytnangi for 100 days now. He annoiunched hunger strike in May 2014, demanding to release him and the rest of Ukrainian political prisoners illegally held by the Kremlin. Sentsov already survived three health crises; the medics warn that the fourth one, which might involve the breakdown of the body's internal organs, could begin anytime.

The native of Crimea, film director and political activist, Sentsov was illegally detained in Crimea in 2014, then taken to Russia. They judged him and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment at a high-security penal colony. The prosecutors charged Sentsov with preparing terrorist acts in the occupied Crimea. Sentsov denies his guilt. Ukraine's government, common citizens and the international society - politicians, artists, public figures - urge the Kremlin to release him.

Sentsov's photos from Labytnangi penal colony were published on August 9.

Sentsov enjoys the wide support of the many in Ukraine and abroad. Rallies, where participants urge to release him, are held worldwide - in Ukraine, Russia, the EU and the U.S.

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As at the morning on September 5, 3,479 Hasidic pilgrims, including 473 children and 8 women arrived in Uman

The Emergency Service in Uman switched to the enhanced service for the celebration of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) as the press service of the department in Cherkasy region reported.

On September 4, the rescuers of Uman district unit deployed the tent camp at the territory where the equipment and personnel of the integrated rescue group are concentrated. Totally, 108 rescuers and 24 units of the rescue and firefighting equipment located there.

The specialists of the diving rescue operations, groups of the pyrotechnic works, departments of radiation, chemical and biological defense and medical services of the rescue group entered the membership of the group. The addition reserve of the personnel and equipment is also formed.

At the places where the festivities will be held, at the territory of the memorial complex and places with the high concentration of the pilgrims, the duty of five stations was organized.

Also, the involved specialists and firefighting equipment of Zhytomyr and Chernihiv regions will provide the security of the pilgrims at the roads aiming to Uman.

At the same time, it is planned to involve the medical Eurocopter for the festive events.

As at the morning on September 5, 3,479 Hasidic pilgrims, including 473 children and 8 women arrived in Uman.

Earlier, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine said it would implement all necessary measures to provide the security during the celebration of Rosh Hashanah. Emergency Service Chairman claimed this during the meeting with Eliav Belotserkovsky, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Ukraine as the press service reported.

As it was reported last year, the Hasid pilgrims from around the globe keep coming to Ukraine to celebrate the New Year according to the Jewish calendar. In 2017, Uman hosted about 30,000 Hasidic Jews, who came to honor the memory of their spiritual leader Rabbi Nachman at his grave on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

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40% of the children who suffered, never told anybody about it

Open source

24% of children became victims of bullying at school in Ukraine in 2017, as the report of UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency) says, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

According to the report, girls feel the psychological pressure more often, while boys are subjected to physical violence and threats.

40% of the children who suffered, never told anybody about it, UNICEF representatives noted.

Additionally, the Fund informed that more than a third of the pupils at the age of 13-15 years experienced bullying.

Every second pupil aged from 13 to 15 years, which is around 150 million children in the world, reported that they have been subjected to violence from their peers at school and near it, the representatives of the Fund noted.

The UN Childrens Fund urged to stop violence at schools, in particular, by introduction of the legislation and policy required for protection of the pupils.

Reportedly, every fourth child, who lives in conflict zones of 22 states, does not attend school, as UNICEF informed.

Earlier, the Fund reported that one child dies from violence every seven minutes in the world.

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Open source

The French court allowed the activity of the so-called representative office of the terroristic Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) at the territory of the country as Oleg Shamshur, the Ambassador of Ukraine to France reported on Twitter.

I am profoundly disappointed by the decision of the court on the so-called DPR representative office in France. We expect that it will be appealed by the prosecutors office: the activity of the representative office of the terroristic Donetsk Peoples Republic in France should be ended, he wrote.

In his turn, the head of this representative office Huber Faiar called the decision of the court a win.

The representative office was opened in summer 2017 and registered in Marcel as the social organization. Also, the French diplomat assured that they do not contact the center of the militants and support the integrity of Ukraine.

The so-called MFA of DPR claimed that the first in Europe representative center would be officially registered and opened in the Czech Republic and it will be headed by Neli Leskova in September 2016. The Czech Republic belied this information and eliminated the possibility of the creation of the militants representative center in the country.

As we reported the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) plans to hold election of the republics head this autumn due to the death of Alexander Zakharchenko in the result of the terrorist act on August 31.

Reportedly, on August 31, as a result of the explosion in the restaurant in the downtown of Donetsk, head of so-called DNR Aleksandr Zakharchenko died. The Russian mass media reported that Oleksandr Timofeyev, so-called "minister of revenue and duties" of so-called "DNR" has also died. The so-called law enforcers of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic stated that they detained Ukrainian saboteurs who are presumably involved in the assassination of Zakharchenko. Although, SBU hasnt approved the information.

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The criminal proceeding was opened due to the accident

In Kyiv, a helicopter crashed on Trukhaniv Island as the press service of Kyiv police reported.

The information on the crash of a helicopter on Trukhaniv Island was received by the police station of Dnipro department at 7:22. The police squad, rescuers and doctors were immediately sent to the site, the message said.

In the result of the incident, two persons sustained injuries. At the moment, they are hospitalized.

Preliminary, it was established that it is a civilian helicopter and a private firm owns it.

The investigative group works at the site now; the law enforcers assume measures to establish all circumstances of the incident.

One of the victims succeeded to get out of the helicopter on his own as spokeswoman of the Emergency Service Svitlana Vodolaha reported to 112 Ukraine.

The second person, a pilot, was wedged. The rescuers had to de-block a victim with the help of the special equipment. Both men were passed to the doctors. Preliminary, a man saved by the rescuers has the broken leg, she said.

Four units of the equipment and 20 members of the personnel work at the place.

The special commission was created to establish the circumstances of the incident. It also established an owner of the helicopter and whether he has a permission for departure.

Later it was reported that the criminal proceeding was opened due to the crash of the helicopter.

The Prosecutors Office of Kyiv will hold the procedural guide in the criminal proceeding opened due to the crash of a private helicopter on Trukhaniv Island in Kyiv during which two citizens were injured, the message said.

Also, it was specified that the victims are a 62-year-old pilot and 70-year-old pilot of the helicopter. Both were hospitalized with numerous injuries.

Earlier a light airplane crashed in the Ternopil region. As a result of the crash, the pilot deceased.

Also, Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Afghanistan on Sunday, September 2, killing 12 people. The helicopter carried out a mission under a contract with the UN. On its board were three crew members (citizens of Ukraine) and 11 Afghan soldiers. It is known that two Ukrainians and 10 Afghans died.

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The work of the mission in the Ukrainian capital will last until September 19

Open source

The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by Ron van Rooden has begun its work in Kyiv as Interfax-Ukraine reported.

It was also specified that the mission arrived in Kyiv on the eve.

Acting Finance Minister of Ukraine Oksana Markarova noted that the Ukrainian side intends to discuss all current issues with the IMF, including the continuation of the cooperation after the end of the program in March 2019.

According to her, the successful fourth re-consideration of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and receiving of the fifth tranche in the sum of $2 billion will open the way for the attraction of the financing of the state budget on favorable terms with the use of the guarantees of the World Bank in the sum of $800 million and receiving of the macro-financial aid from the EU in the sum of one billion euro.

In his turn, NBU Head Yakiv Smoly noted that the approaching of the prospect of receiving of the IMF financing will positively influence the state of the currency market of Ukraine and will improve the possibilities of the government on the attraction of the debt resources at the international capital markets.

Arrival of the IMF mission in Kyiv is a step for the reduction of the uncertainty toward the further development of the situation in the Ukrainian economy and improvement of the expectations of the market members, he said.

Earlier Goesta Ljungman, Permanent Representative of IMF in Ukraine claimed that IMF mission will visit Kyiv from September 6 through 19, 2018, to discuss the latest economic developments and economic policy and the following steps, including financial aid.

At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the IMF mission will visit Kyiv from September 6 through 19, 2018, to discuss the latest economic developments and economic policy. The mission will also discuss the following steps including financial aid of IMF for policy support, aimed at the maintaining of macroeconomic stability and economic development towards sustainable and inclusive growth, Ljungman claimed.

Ukraine cooperates with the IMF since 1992. Kyiv got nine tranches during this time.

Ukraine partially repaid the IMF under the stand-by program of 2014. Kyiv repaid two tranches - $37 billion and $87 billion.

The loan program for Ukraine in the amount of $17,01 billion was approved by the IMF at the end of April 2014. The first tranche of the stand-by loan in the amount of $3,19 billion was sent to Ukraine at the beginning of May.

The IMF Board of Directors approved the allocation of $17,5 billion for Ukraine in March 2015 by the EFF (Extended Fund Facility) four-year program instead of the stand-by program.

The stand-by program was replaced by the scheme of extended funding due to the long-term need of Ukraines pay balance.

Ukraine received the first $5 billion tranche under this program in March of 2015, the second one  $1,7 billion in August of 2015, the third one - $1 billion in September of 2016, and the fourth one - $1 billion in April of 2017.

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According to ombudsman of the Russian Okrug, Sentsov does not intend to stop the hunger strike and meet the human right activists and priests

Open source

Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov looks pretty healthy, despite almost four-month hunger strike. Anatoly Sak, the Ombudsman in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug claimed this as Interfax reported.

For a person who is in the hunger strike mode for 115 days, he looks pretty healthy. He is adequate, generally, he is calm. On a voluntary basis, he is served the pharmaceutical care. When I came to him, he was serving the intravenous therapy, Sak said.

According to ombudsman, Sentsov reported that he does not need anything, maintains contact with the lawyer and with the relatives by phone.

I said him that the human right activists are heading to him and different priests want to visit him. Sentsov said that he does not need the meeting with the human right activists and representatives of different religious denominations. Literally: I do not want to see anyone. The communication with my advocate and you is enough for me, the ombudsman said.

According to him, the Ukrainian does not intend to stop the hunger strike and he is ready to go to the end. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes.

Earlier it became known that Russia refused the mother of Sentsov to pardon her son once more.

As is known, the native of Crimea, film director and political activist, Sentsov has been serving time in the Russian penal colony in Labytnangi since May 2014. This spring, he announced a hunger strike, demanding to release all Ukrainian political prisoners, illegally held by the Kremlin.

Oleg Sentsov was illegally detained in Crimea in 2014, then taken to Russia. They judged him and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment at a high-security penal colony. The prosecutors charged Sentsov with preparing terrorist acts in the occupied Crimea. Sentsov denies his guilt. Ukraine's government, common citizens and the international society - politicians, artists, public figures - urge the Kremlin to release him.

Sentsov enjoys the wide support of the many in Ukraine and abroad. Rallies, where participants urge to release him, are held worldwide - in Ukraine, Russia, the EU and the U.S.

Related video:
They were the members of the crews of three ships, which were earlier detained for transferring the refugees

Open source

Six Ukrainians were sentenced to different terms of imprisonment for transferring refugees from the Middle East states in Greek Kalamata, as Slidstvo.Info reported.

They were the members of the crews of three ships, which were earlier detained for transferring the refugees.

Two Ukrainians, who worked on recreational crafts in Turkey, were sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment, four more  to maximum terms, which is 25 years and more.

The wife of one of the detainees, Olena Ulyanova, who was at the court session, said that her husband Sergiy was detained on December 17, 2017. According to her, he was offered a job of a seaman on a recreational craft in Turkey, and in two weeks he and another Ukrainian were forced to transfer refugees from Iraq to Italy.

Sergiy Ulyanov and his colleague were sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment, though Ulyanov will spend two-four more months in custody as he has already served the sentence for a year.

His wife explained that her husband got a small term as he himself called the police.

Four more Ukrainians, who were the members of the crews of other crafts, received maximum terms.

Earlier, 12 sailors of the arrested ship Mekong Spirit returned to Ukraine from Greece.

Related video:
Lyudmyla Denisova called the UN for joining the mutual struggle for the restoration of the rights of Crimean peninsula population for environment, safe for life and health

Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraines Ombudsman, appealed to Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Jan Dussek, the Director and Representative of the European Fund of UN Environment Programme, due to the emission of chemicals at Titan plant in the occupied Armyansk. She wrote about it on her Facebook page.

I addressed to Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, and Jan Dussek, the Director and Representative of the European Fund of UN Environment Programme urgently. I called them for joining the mutual struggle for the restoration of the rights of Crimean peninsula population for the environment, safe for life and health, Denisova stated.

She told that Crimeas inhabitants complain that there is a greasy mud with a yellow shade on the roofs, steel objects and in the apartments. Air smells like an acid, its hard to breathe. The Ombudsman stressed that Crimeas occupation authorities hide the real level of the environmental risk.

As we reported an unknown substance was discharged in Armyansk, North Crimea. A greasy mud with a yellow shade appeared on metallic objects, roofs and leaves on the trees.

Later, Sergey Aksyonov, head of the annexed Crimea claimed that the situation with the discharge of the unknown substance in the air goes beyond the norms.

Moreover, toxic chemicals were detected in the air in the Kherson region, southern Ukraine.

Refat Chubarov, the Chairman of the Crimean Tatars Mejlis claimed that the evacuation of the children due to the emission of the unknown substance has begun in Armyansk.

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Kemely Gomez

Every story has nuance. Yet, often times, as we try to stay tuned in to the world and access complicated stories through the media, we lose some of the richness, or forget that at the core what we are discussing are human lives with all the associated complexity. The work of Kemely Gomez aims to provide an antidote to the journalism that often paints these stories with broad strokes and too little of the depthsorrow and joythat colors the real narratives of our experiences. In particular, Gomez hones in on the stories of migrants, whose stories are often presented in the media, but not often told by those who have lived the experience.

I think that the media often generalizes the stories of immigrant families, Gomez explained. It is about attitudes, and creating a sense of what is and what is not important. When we watch or read the news  we can become disconnected from the real situation. We like to think that we are informed  but the reality is that media frames the debate and the questions members of the media ask shape the outcomes of the discussion.

In Gomez' upcoming exhibition at the Harwood Art Center (1114 Seventh Street NW) Aun no Escrito (Unwritten), she tackles the construction of the prevailing narratives surrounding immigration and gives them breadth, upends them or simply adds to them by embroidering real stories of migrants on top of those written and distributed in print media. Here, she overlays the stories in contrasting colors, bringing metaphorical and literal depth to the topic.

Gomez grew up in Guatemala in a very creative family. Throughout high school she took art classes, coming into her artistic ability. When she graduated she was still not convinced about the idea of being an artist, but was accepted into the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, where it became clear to her that this is what I was meant to do. Art became an avenue to explore all sorts of ideas and experiences for Gomez and in her second year of study in Santa Fe she began to find the complexities of migration a compelling point of departure for her creative practice. Dealing with my own immigration status, I've always struggled to find the right way to discuss this issue. Each time I touch upon that topic its always very sensitive and emotional to me. While trying to find my voice through my artwork I discovered art as a medium to share my experience. It made it comfortable for me to share my story. After that point, I began to explore themes of memory, absence and displacement.

Kemely Gomez

Over the course of several months, Gomez hand embroidered the pieces that will be unveiled during the opening of Aun no Escrito on Friday, Sept. 7 at 6pm, but collecting these stories was a years-long process, born of deep friendship. Something has always been clear for meI wanted to build a strong and close relationship with these individuals  [and] I do consider all the individuals that were a part of this project friends, she explained.  I asked each of the participants to share their story without restraint; I gave them a few questions to give them a starting point. I wanted them to know that their story was safe with me but needed to be heard.

And by sharing these stories, participants allow those who see the work to access stories in their fullness, as told by those who have lived the experience. We begin to relate to others and it becomes easy to comprehend the situation. We cant know others' situation while relying on a third partys recollection of the stories, Gomez said.

Over the course of the opening visitors are invited not just to observe Gomez' work in Aun no Escrito but to participate in the creation of another piece, Home. For this installation, ideas of what home means are to be written by anyone who has something to share. These will later be transferred to fabric and affixed to the wall structure. Regardless of where we go or we stay there is always a place that we call home, Gomez explained of the inspiration for the piece. By sharing our own personal meanings of place, and accessing the words of others, we can all gain some understanding of the importance of sharing stories and relating to others' experiences, Gomez said. And through art, she holds, there is a unique power to unite diverse cultures and allow communities to transcend boundaries.

Catch Gomez' work at the Harwood through the month of September.
Rob M.

President Donald Trump always keeps us guessing, God bless him. In June, he made the offhand comment that he would probably end up supporting a bipartisan bill that would protect states where the recreational use of cannabis for adults has been legalized from federal prosecution. The press lost its collective mind and rushed to call him Marijuana's Great Savior (I'm looking at you, Forbes), ignoring the long trail of bullshit in his wake, and the fact that he's been making little personal stabs at Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who's hatred of cannabis has become legendary) for months.

I would have enjoyed being wrong about it, though. I find it perversely appealing to consider the possibility of Trump being the one to finally remove cannabis prohibition. Another vote for weird, obviously. But it still seems doubtful to me. And a recent revelation from Buzzfeed News might confirm my current dalliance with cynicism.

According to White House memos, a secret anti-cannabis committee was formed to battle the increasingly positive view of cannabis taken by the majority of Americans. According to the report, the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee asked 14 federal agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration to submit data demonstrating the most significant negative trends associated with cannabis legalization. This reportedly followed a closed-doors meeting between the committee and the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and a number of other agencies in July. The committee instructed departments to identify marijuana threats; issues created by state marijuana initiatives; and consequences of use, production, and trafficking on national health, safety, and security.

It should be noted that general data related to cannabis was not expressly requested, only data that supported negative trends and anecdotal information. For instance, agencies were tasked with telling a story, relating an incident or picture, that illustrates one or more of the key areas of concern related to use, production, and trafficking of marijuana.

Which reminded me of the time President Richard Nixon commissioned a report on cannabis to decide its proper placement on the list of scheduled drugs in accordance with the freshly minted Controlled Substances Act of 1970. The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse (referred to as the Shafer Commission after Gov. Raymond Shafer) studied cannabis for two solid years before concluding that it wasn't physically addictive, didn't seem to cause any physiological harm and wasn't a gateway drug.

Shafer gave the president his report and recommended ending the cannabis ban right then and there, but Nixon wasn't interested in science that went against his policy. So the report was thrown on the rubbish heap and we entered a new Dark Age.

The Trump Administration clearly learned Nixon's lesson. They won't even pretend to want objective information.

Meanwhile, a recent Quinnipiac University Poll found that 63 percent of Americans are in favor of legalizing cannabis and a whopping 93 percent support the medical use of the drug. More importantly in this instance, 70 percent said the federal government should stay out of states where it's been legalized and mind their own damn business.

Which unsurprisingly puts the administration at odds with the public on this one. But let's get back to that weird comment about how Trump will probably end up supporting pro-cannabis legislationa sentiment that has yet to be reversed publicly by the president. Despite my distrust, I still have to wonder why his administration is acting in contradiction to his stated policies.

And there's something that bugs me about the requests for negative stories. Come, dear reader, and think way back to the dizzying heyday of Trump smack talk in 2017. There was a story going around about National Security Council officials sprinkling Trump's name throughout memos to keep the most powerful man on Earth from getting distracted.

Yes. Reuters reported last year that according to unnamed officials close to the president, Trump preferred single page memos with lots of pictures and a healthy amount of his own name because he keeps reading if hes mentioned.

What if Trump is completely clueless about everything? What if his famous policy turnarounds are actually the result of brightly-colored memos written with a convincing amount of gusto and illustrated with pictures of his face 'shopped onto the bodes of semi-nude models?

Trump probably doesn't know a thing about cannabis other than what he hears from his advisers and Fox and Friends. And that really makes me worry about the quality of these stories the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee were asking for. How many Trumps did they use?

When asked about the committee's existence, Deputy White House Press Secretary Lindsay Walters told BuzzFeed it was part of the administration's policy coordination process, but refused to discuss it further. She didn't deny the existence of the previously secret group, however.
A movement exercise form of dancing to the bars of music as well as a total body workout. Classes focus on stretching and strengthening with music ranging from choral arrangments to funk.

No there are no poles, no ballet bars..Dancing with the Bars is a movement exercise form dancing to the bars of music.

Is a fun way to have a fit, toned body and serene mind. Remember what it felt like as a youngster to skip, jump, imagine and dance for joy? This is a fusion fitness exercise class method that tones your body, mind and spirit. Dancing with the Bars will fit your personal needs and can be experienced by anyone: male, female, old and young; it is user-friendly, playful and easy.

Routines vary from class to class. Though this is a total body workout, some classes may focus on stretching and strengthening a particular part of the body. The music changes too, ranging from ecclesiastical choral arrangements to funk. Dancing with the Bars does not require any equipment. Some benefits include increase in the pleasure of your body, weight loss and maintenance, increased range of motion, improved muscle tone and strength, better balance and stabilization, more endurance, better ability to deal with stress and stay calm, improved posture, better concentration, a happier emotional state and more.

During the class you will come across the influence of dance, martial arts, and the healing arts. The result, a fusion of movement styles freer than other cardiovascular-based exercise. The comforting movement and stretching will melt away your tension and at the end of the class you will walk away with a feel good feeling that will begin your day.

No there are no poles, no ballet bars..Dancing with the Bars is a movement exercise form dancing to the bars of music.

Is a fun way to have a fit, toned body and serene mind. Remember what it felt like as a youngster to skip, jump, imagine and dance for joy? This is a fusion fitness exercise class method that tones your body, mind and spirit. Dancing with the Bars will fit your personal needs and can be experienced by anyone: male, female, old and young; it is user-friendly, playful and easy.

Routines vary from class to class. Though this is a total body workout, some classes may focus on stretching and strengthening a particular part of the body. The music changes too, ranging from ecclesiastical choral arrangements to funk. Dancing with the Bars does not require any equipment. Some benefits include increase in the pleasure of your body, weight loss and maintenance, increased range of motion, improved muscle tone and strength, better balance and stabilization, more endurance, better ability to deal with stress and stay calm, improved posture, better concentration, a happier emotional state and more.

During the class you will come across the influence of dance, martial arts, and the healing arts. The result, a fusion of movement styles freer than other cardiovascular-based exercise. The comforting movement and stretching will melt away your tension and at the end of the class you will walk away with a feel good feeling that will begin your day.
An exhibition of large-scale paintings and a collaboration of poetry on glass. The works are inspired by mountain ranges around the globe.

Pilgrimage

Beau Carey, Joanne Lefrak, and Hakim Bellamy

August 14October 5

Gallery Reception: Saturday, August 11, 68:30 pm, poetry reading 7 pm

Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to present Pilgrimage, an exhibition of large-scale paintings by Albuquerque artist Beau Carey and a collaboration of poetry on glass by Santa Febased artist Joanne Lefrak and Albuquerque poet Hakim Bellamy. The artworks included in Pilgrimage are inspired by mountain ranges around the globe.

Individual landscape paintings are often about specific places. Beau Careys new paintings comprise multiple geographies. He paints each invented landscape from memory, plein-air studies, and photographs. Mountain ranges from Norway, Alaska, and Colorado are compressed and layered into single compositions. Carey has traveled to remote areas including Denali National Park and the Arctic Circle to paint.

Joanne Lefrak and Hakim Bellamy traveled together to visit Nepals sacred sites and trek through the Himalayas. From this experience, Bellamy wrote a book of poetry entitled Prayer Flags about the pilgrimage, mountains, and people of Nepal. Lefrak selected excerpts from these poems and fused the text into glass by pressing glass powder through a silkscreen before firing in a kiln.

Careys work has been published on Blouin Artinfo, ARTSY, Sothebys, and alibi.com. He is an instructor in the Art Department at the University of New Mexico.

Lefraks work has been exhibited at MASS MoCA, the Albuquerque Museum, and the New Mexico Museum of Art, among others. She is the director of education and the curator of public practice at SITE Santa Fe.

Bellamy was Albuquerques Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014 and is the newly appointed Deputy Director of Cultural Services. He is also a 2018 Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow.

The gallery reception is Saturday, August 11 from 6:00 to 8:30 pm and includes a reading of Prayer Flags by Hakim Bellamy at 7:00. Copies of Prayer Flags and collaborative limited edition screen prints produced onsite by T-Shirt Lab are available for sale during the reception.

Images for this exhibition can be found on our website www.levygallery.com.

High-resolution images are available on request. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @levygallery #BeauCarey #JoanneLefrak #HakimBellamy #tshirtlab #Pilgrimage #PrayerFlags

Dates: August 14October 5, 2018

Gallery Reception: Saturday, August 11, 68:30 pm, poetry reading 7 pm

Gallery Hours: TuesdaySaturday, 11 am4 pm

Location: 514 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102

Contact: 505.766.9888, info@levygallery.com, www.levygallery.com

Gallery Reception: Saturday, August 11, 68:30 pm, poetry reading 7 pm
The faithful of Santa Fe gather to complete the promise made by Governor Don Diego de Vargas in September of 1692 upon his arrival in Santa Fe.

Fiesta officially begins at 6 AM at the Pregon de la Fiesta on Fiesta Friday. The faithful of Santa Fe gather to complete the promise made by Governor Don Diego de Vargas in September of 1692 upon his arrival in Santa Fe.

The Mayor of Santa Fe issues the formal proclamation declaring the start of the annual festivity. The speech includes original text from September 16, 1712 when the City Council of Santa Fe established Fiesta de Santa Fe, including the declaration which calls for Vespers, Masses, Sermon and Procession through the plaza in thanksgiving to La Conquistadora for her intercession in 1692. The declaration also calls for merriment by all citizens.

Hot Chocolate and Biscochitos Hot chocolate and biscochitos, a melt-in-your-mouth-cant-have-just-one shortbread cookie, are enjoyed by everyone immediately following the Pregon. The hot beverage was also served by Don Diego de Vargas during his negotiations with the Pueblo People of New Mexico in 1692.
Thursday 6

The Majesty of Music and Math (KNME-5 7pm) This locally produced PBS special explores the interconnectedness between music and mathematics. Santa Fe Institute mathematician and computer scientist Cris Moore provides contextual reasoning for a selection of musical compositions from the Santa Fe Symphony with Principal Conductor Guillermo Figueroa.

Save Me (Starz 7:30pm) Starz picks up this three-part British kidnapping drama starring Lennie James (currently reassigned from The Walking Dead to Fear the Walking Dead).

Jordin Sparks: A Baby Story (Lifetime 8:03pm) Jordin Sparks, winner of American Idol Season 6 and star of the Lifetime television movie Dear Secret Santa, is having a baby. Naturally, all of America is required to watch her journey to motherhood on a reality show.

Friday 7

House of Darkness: New Blood (Lifetime Movie Network 6pm) The 2016 Lifetime Movie House of Darkness told the scare-free story of a family who moves into an allegedly haunted farmhouse and is soon beset by dark forces. Or is it? It was inspired by true events. This ones got a different family, a different farmhouse and, presumably, different dark forces.

Stand Up To Cancer 2018 (KASA- 2/ KOB- 4/ KOAT- 7/ KRQE- 13 7pm) All the broadcast networks (plus more than 50 cable channelsfrom TNT to HBO) turn programming over to this special aimed at raising awareness and funds for cancer research. Lots of movie stars and musicians are on tap to bad-mouth cancer.

Saturday 8

Wedding of Dreams (Hallmark 7pm) Former 80s pop music icon Debbie Gibson stars in this Hallmark rom-com, a sequel to 2016s Summer of Dreams. Debbie plays a former pop music icon named Debbie whos found love in small-town America and is now teaching kids the value of their own musical talents. But shes lured out of retirement when her old manager convinces her to tour in celebration of the 20th anniversary of her hit single Out of the Blue (the title of Gibsons actual 1988 hit).

Sunday 9

The Bad Seed (Lifetime 6pm) Executive producer. director and star Rob Lowe re-imagines 1956s evil kid horror thrillerwith a lot more emphasis on the dad, were assuming.

Rel (KASA-2 6pm) Stand-up comic Lil Rel Howard lands one of the eponymous TV sitcoms in which stand-up comics play stand-up comics.

Monday 10

Land of the Free (Starz 7pm) Documentary filmmaker Camilla Magid spent two years following the lives of three people on the verge of major transition in the face of incarceration: A 42-year-old man released from prison after spending his entire adult life behind bars, a teenage boy struggling to leave the drug and gang life behind to become a father and a 7-year-old kid trying to reconnect with his mother who just got out of jail again.

Tuesday 11

Day the Towers Fell (History Channel 5am) History Channel commemorates 9/11 with a day of documentary programming.

Wednesday 12

Life (Netflix streaming anytime) In this series from South Korea, a patient-focused emergency physician clashes with his hospitals new, profit-minded director. Good to know America isnt the only country pumping out generic medical dramas.

American Horror Story: Apocalypse (FX 11pm) For the eighth season of FXs increasingly cynical horror anthology, all the regulars (plus new cast member Joan Collins) tackle the end of the world.
Reel World

Around the World on Screen

Throughout September the National Hispanic Cultural Center becomes the home to the free Globalquerque! International Cinema Series. Globalquerque! is the citys annual celebration of world music and culture. This year marks the 14th annual outing for the festival. In addition to all the other dance and music-based events going on, seven films from around the world are screening at the NHCCs Bank of America Theater (1701 Fourth Street NW). The series kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 7pm with the New Mexico premiere of Killing Jesus, This true-life thriller from Colombia/Argentina centers on a young woman who witnesses the cold-blooded murder of her father. An accidental meeting with the hitman who did the job sets her on a course of revenge. But what if both of them are victims of a violent and corrupt system? This opening night film is presented in conjunction with the Cinemagnifico! Latino Film Festival, which also returns this week. The Globalquerque! Cinema Series continues on Thursday, Sept. 13 with the dark Turkish drama Mustang, about a quartet of teenage sisters imprisoned in their house by a deeply conservative father. On Thursday, Sept. 20 its the Egyptian drama Clash, set entirely inside a crowded police van during violent political and religious protests in the wake of the Egyptian Revolution. On Saturday, Sept. 22 the Cinema Series shows Tony Gatlifs round-the-world musical documentary Latcho Drome and a pair of Spanish shorts. The series wraps up on Thursday, Sept. 27 with the South Korean family drama Treeless Mountain. For a complete listing of films and times, go to globalquerque. org/ free- cinema- series.
Dateline: Japan

Japanese workers who are unable to confront their employers can now pay a company to quit their job for them. NPR reports a company called Exit is referring to itself as a retirement agency and allows clients to avoid the awkwardness of quitting. Typically, the company will notify the employer that their client is quitting and will relay simple messages. Exit doesn't reportedly get involved in more complicated matters, like the negotiation of severance packages, but these details can generally be worked out between the client and their employer through mail. The company charges around $450 to quit a full-time job and $360 for part-time. Return customers receive a discount of around $90. Japanese work etiquette can reportedly make quitting a stressful time, as employees are expected to give at least a full month's notice in writing, discuss their plans in person with their employer and even hand out gifts to their coworkers on their last day. Japanese workers were traditionally expected to remain with a company for their entire lives, a practice that seems to be reversing. Exit has already received an investment offer from a venture capital firm. A number of competitors have also sprung up recently, according to The Japan Times.

Dateline: New Jersey

A judge has ordered a couple who raised $400,000 dollars in a homeless man's name to provide a full accounting of where the funds have gone after being accused of fraud. According to The Inquirer, a lawsuit was filed last week alleging that Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico committed fraud when they accepted donations from a GoFundMe account they created to benefit Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless veteran struggling with drug addiction. The fund was made following an incident last year when McClure's car ran out of gas and Bobbitt, who was living on the streets of Philadelphia at the time, reportedly spent the last $20 he'd made panhandling to buy gas and a gas can for her. Initially impressed by the kind act, McClure and boyfriend D'Amico set up the GoFundMe page as thanks for the man. The fundraiser gained media attention and drew over $402,000 in donations. The lawsuit filed last week in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Burlington County alleged that the couple spent over half of the donated funds and only gave Bobbitt some of the money. An update on the GoFundMe account claimed that the money would go toward a home and vehicle for Bobbitt as well as the establishment of two trust funds in his nameone to provide a yearly salary, and one to act as a retirement fund. According to the lawsuit, no formal trusts were ever created. After hearing the case, a judge ruled that a full accounting of how the funds have been spent will be submitted to the court by Sept. 10. Any funds currently remaining in the fund are to be turned over to Bobbitt's legal team and kept in a trust.

Dateline: China

A woman is claiming she was tricked into marrying a stranger while participating in what she thought was a simulated wedding. South China Morning Post reports that the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions is investigating a marriage scam case unlike any it's seen before. Authorities say an unnamed 21-year-old woman from Hong Kong answered a Facebook listing for a make-up artist apprenticeship. The firm looking to hire her reportedly convinced her to apply for a wedding planner position instead. She received a week's worth of training in Hong Kong before being sent to the Chinese province of Fujian to perform in a mock wedding as a closing exam. During the the wedding, she was told to sign papers alongside the man acting as her husband. She was told they would be voided. When she returned home, her friends convinced her the entire incident had been part of a scam. She reported it to the policewho reportedly failed to act on the informationand later to the FTU. It is believed that the scam was orchestrated to take advantage of a rule allowing the spouse of a Hong Kong resident to apply for a one-way permit to settle in the city. No money was exchanged.

Dateline: Wisconsin

Two women who believed police were members of the Illuminati were arrested after leading police on a double car chase. According to WISN in Milwaukee, a routine traffic stop turned into a car chase earlier this month when a driver asked an officer for his ID. When he failed to produce it, she drove away, leading Ozaukee County deputies on a chase. She was soon joined by a second vehicle. Both drivers were eventually stopped by police. Lapel footage of the arrest reveals that one of the suspects again asked for officers' identification. Do not shoot me, she can be heard saying. In Jesus' name, you have no power of authority over me. The suspect did not comply with officers on the scene, and deputies were forced to break her car window to take her into custody. Are you guys Illuminati or Masons? she asked as she was handcuffed. She accused authorities of being witches and warlocks and seemed to believe that they weren't actual police. Both drivers were arrested and charged in connection to the case.
PRINT | EMAIL | PERMALINK Newscity Straight-ticket Voting Meets Pushback Last week, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver announced that a straight-ticket option would once again be included on November's general ballotallowing voters to cast a single vote, deciding all their candidates along party lines. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Toulouse Oliver announced last week that she would be reformatting this year's general ballot to include the option, telling reporters that the change will cut voting time in half and make it easier for voters. But the Republican and Libertarian Parties of New Mexico have both joined a lawsuit alongside others that accuses Toulouse Oliver of overstepping her authority and circumventing public notice and commentary periods required by state law. RPNM Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi said the Secretary of State's move is an attempt to undermine free and fair elections and likely illegal, according to KOB4. He pointed out that the option was reinstated less than 70 days before an election where Toulouse Oliver is running for re-election.

Polls Show Lujan Grisham in Lead Three polls taken over the last month show US Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham is taking a lead over Republican US Rep. Steve Pearce in the race for governor. A poll released by Albuquerque's Carroll Strategies in late June found that Lujan Grisham had 50.5 percent support, while Pearce had 42.7 percent support. According to KOB4, 1,199 people were polled. Carroll Strategies said there was a 2.8 percent margin of error. A spokesperson for the Pearce campaign told reporters the poll was as credible as a phone scam. An Emerson poll released around the same time found Grisham at 45 percent favorable and 29 percent unfavorable, while Pearce was 41 percent favorable and 31 percent unfavorable. The Emerson poll had a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points. Last week a poll commissioned by the Lujan Grisham campaign found her favorable rating at 47 percent with 29 percent unfavorable. Pearce was rated 38 percent favorable and 37 percent unfavorable. 600 voters were polled. The poll has a 4 point margin of error.
14:19 | Lima, Sep. 6.

"For that reason, we have thoroughly selected the activities to be financed," the official expressed.





"With the combination of a higher budget and a better allocation, we will be able to fulfill our commitments," he added.





As is known, this plan is a tool that prioritizes public entities' operations, within the framework of articulated policies and transparency criteria.





Villanueva went on to add the 2019 Public Budget has increased by S/11 billion (US$ 3.323 billion) compared to 2018, an approximately 6.9% growth.





Decentralization, education, health quality improvement, and women's rights preventing violence against them are among the budget's priorities.













Furthermore, positive indicators enable the Executive Branch to continue boosting responsible policies and reforms.









The 2019 Public Budget bill submitted by the Executive Branch to Congress amounts to S/168.074 billion (US$50.77 billion).





Remarks were made at Congress plenary session.
" " This hapalotremus vilcanota is one of the seven new tarantula species discovered high in the Andes. This particular tarantula had a leg span of about 1.3 inches (3.5 centimeters). Dr. Tracie Seimon

Antarctica is the only continent that doesn't have any indigenous tarantulas. Generally speaking, these critters tend to avoid frigid areas. Most of the 900 or so recognized tarantula species live in desert, tropical or subtropical environments. Those native to places that get chilly in the winter, such as Utah or southern Australia, must often retreat to their burrows and become inactive during the coldest stretch of the year.

So the fact that not one, not two, but seven new tarantula species have just been discovered high in the Andes Mountains  where nighttime temperatures are liable to dip below the freezing point  is rather unusual. What's more, one of them lives at a higher elevation than any other tarantula known to science.

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The Mountain Spiders

All seven spiders belong to the genus Hapaloptremus. Roughly translated from Greek, that name means "of the soft hole," which may refer to the way the animals build their lodgings. Hapaloptremus tarantulas roam high-altitude parts of the Andean region. To date, they've been observed in Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. For shelter, the arachnids dig shallow burrows in the ground  sometimes under piles of rocks or fallen branches.

Columbia University's Tracie Seimon discovered the first of these new spiders in 2006. At the time, she was flipping rocks in the Cordillera Vilcanota mountain range, a Peruvian section of the Andes. Seimon had been on the hunt for local frogs, but as the biologist told National Geographic, she noticed several tiny burrows beneath the upturned stones. Many holes were occupied by diminutive tarantulas; the biggest were around 2 inches (5 centimeters) long.

With some help from a fellow scientist, Seimon dutifully photographed several of the creepy-crawlies and sent the pictures to arachnologist Rick West, one of the world's foremost tarantula experts. She also presented field specimens she'd collected to Nelson Ferretti of the Argentinian National Scientific and Technical Research Council. Minute details in the spider's reproductive anatomy revealed that it was a previously unknown species. The scientists named it Hapaloptremus vilcanota.

Ferretti, West, Seimon, and three colleagues describe the little tarantula in a paper that was published in the Journal of Natural History on Aug. 23, 2018. The document also introduces six other new species from the Andean region that their team has identified.

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Reaching New Heights

Before this paper came along, only three species of Hapaloptremus were known to science. These seven newcomers will no doubt force arachnid specialists to reevaluate the entire genus. In the past, experts thought that one of the distinguishing characteristics shared by all Hapaloptremus tarantulas was the low number of cuspules (tooth-like ridges) on a mouth segment called the labium. Yet some of the new species boast many cuspules there. Such anatomical findings might seem mundane, but they help improve our understanding of the genus itself. That in turn might enable us to figure out where Hapaloptremus belongs on the tarantula family tree.

Ferretti and company made behavior-related insights as well. There are just two seasons up in the Andes: dry and rainy. Judging by when their male tarantulas were captured, they deduced that most Hapaloptremus spiders mate in November, near the beginning of the annual rainy season, which lasts until April. Females hypothetically lay their eggs in the dry months.

Another finding earned one species a place in the record books. Seimon encountered some Hapaloptremus vilcanota in southern Peru at an altitude of 14,842 feet (4,524 meters) above sea level. Wild tarantulas have never been documented at such a high elevation before  though the paper does acknowledge that an unrelated Peruvian species from a different genus was once found lurking 14,429 feet (4,398 meters) above sea level. Close but no cigar.

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Opportunities in a Changing World

Let's revisit Seimon's frogs for a moment. The slopes of Peru's Cordillera Vilcanota are rapidly losing their glaciers. Between 1975 and 2016, 48 percent of the glacial ice that once covered these mountains disappeared. And during that period, elevations below 16,400 feet (5,000 meters) lost 81 percent of their former ice deposits.

Local animals are adjusting to this new environmental status quo. In 2006, Seimon was the lead author of a study about high-alpine amphibians in the Peruvian Andes. Her group's research found that as the mountain ice melted, indigenous frogs expanded their range vertically. They ascended the slopes and started turning up at high elevations where they'd never been seen before. Future studies may be able to determine if the Hapaloptremus tarantulas are following suit and scaling the mountains to exploit newly-available, ice-free habitats.

Now That Rocks A kind of North American tarantula was named after musical icon Johnny Cash in 2016. Aphonopelma johnnycashi can be found near Californias Folsom Prison, where Cash famously recorded a live album in 1968. And like their namesake, the males don black coats.
Ruth Behar

Anthropologist as poet

by Keith Taylor

From the September, 2018 issue

Ruth Behar is an anthropologist who has always reached out beyond her discipline. She was one of the first U-M professors-and the first Latina of any scholarly or artistic endeavor-to win one of the MacArthur "genius" grants. In the early 1990s she published Translated Woman, a book where she, the observer, was an intimate part of the narrative, which recounted the life of Esperanza, a Mexican street peddler. It was a major step in Behar's exploration of the nature of storytelling and how it can change both the teller and the listener.



Now Behar has published a collection of prose poems she has worked on for several decades. Everything I Kept/Todo Lo Que Guarde was written in English then translated by Behar into her native Spanish. The poems in the two languages appear en face throughout the collection. Behar's family emigrated from Cuba when she was a child, and she grew up speaking Spanish at home. That sense of displacement, and her reconnection with Cuba, are themes that animate this collection. The poems are urgent; they often feel as if they have to be written: "This is why I must rush. I write with a gun to my temple. I write like a prisoner."



Poems in Spanish are much more comfortable with explicit metaphors than some American poetry. Behar relishes that tradition, and her poems are often shaped by the pleasure of metaphors, even if the meaning approaches the reader obliquely. The very short prose poem "Balcony" allows Behar to bring the heat of Andalusia into an Ann Arbor winter:

Federico Garcia Lorca wrote "If I die, leave the balcony open."



I don't have a balcony, only a window shut against the bitter gray skies and



biting winds of winter.



If I die, leave the window closed!

...continued below...

A memory of desire.



A memory of the dry, dusty, sun-parched roads we've traveled."

A longer poem, "Errand," begins, "I watch you from my window setting off with a monk's devotion on another errand-to buy our bread, to put my poems in the mail." The poet watchesher partner move out on the snow-covered street, clearly in Ann Arbor,"As I am watching, you step down from the curb. There's a patch of ice frozen hard to the ground where you are about to slide your foot. I don't know why, but I fear you will slip. And you do. You slip, and then you catch yourself.And as I watch, something wants to come from me. No words. Not even a gasp. Nothing banal like tears. More like the crackle of memory.Ruth Behar reads fromat Literati Bookstore on Friday, September 7, and discusses her work at the Kerrytown BookFest on Sunday, September 9. [Originally published in September, 2018.]
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The third intra-Korean summit will take place in the North Korean capital city Pyongyang on September 18-20, South Korean President Moon Jae-ins special envoy Chung Eui-yong said on Thursday after a one-day visit to Pyongyang.

He also said that the sides had agreed to open an intra-Korean communications office in the city of Kaesong ahead of the summit, TASS reports.

According to the South Korean envoy, next week the two Koreas will hold high-level talks on the preparations for the summit.

He also said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had reiterated his commitment to complete denuclearization and promised to cooperate with the United States on that matter.

South Koreas President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met in Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas on April 27. The two leaders signed a joint declaration on peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula.



Their second meeting took place in the same town on May 26.



Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. U.S President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Defense Secretary James Mattis will remain in his job, a day after a report, denied by Mattis, that he had made disparaging remarks about the president, Reuters reports.

Asked by reporters at the White House whether he was considering replacing the Pentagon chief, Trump said: Hell stay right there. Were very happy with him. Were having a lot of victories.

Mattis was quoted as having told associates that Trump acted like a fifth- or sixth-grader, in excerpts published by the Washington Post of a book by Watergate reporter Bob Woodward.

Mattis issued a statement dismissing the book as a uniquely Washington brand of literature and saying the contemptuous words about Trump attributed to him were never uttered by me or in my presence.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez called on Catalonias leader Quim Torra to hold dialogue with those who are against independence, Interfax reported.

The Catalan government should launch a broad dialogue among the Catalans as Torras proposal satisfies only half of the residents, the Spanish PM said.

Earlier Quim Torra called on to hold a new referendum over the status of Catalonia.

Last year in October an independence referendum was held in Catalonia. The Spanish constitutional court declared the voting as contradictory to the Constitution.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Ani Sargsyan, the fugitive niece of former President Serzh Sargsyan has turned herself in to law enforcement agencies, the Special Investigative Service told ARMENPRESS.

The Special Investigative Service confined Ani Sargsyan to the country limits and released her on a signature bond pending further proceedings.

Ani Sargsyan, the daughter of Serzh Sargsyans brother Levon Sargsyan, was declared wanted on charges of illicit enrichment on July 6.

Levon Sargsyan, a high-ranking diplomat, and his son Narek are also wanted on the same charges.

Law enforcement agencies had found nearly 7,000,000 dollars in bank deposit documents under the names of Levon Sargsyan, Ani Sargsyan and Narek Sargsyan in the latters home. Narek Sargsyan owns shares at JLJ Project Company.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump thanked North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un for the unwavering faith in him, TASS reports.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together! Trump said on Twitter.

South Korean special envoy Chung Eun-yong said the North Korean leader hopes to significantly improve the relations with the US in coming years.

According to CNN, Kim said he had "never said anything bad about President Trump to anyone," Chung reported, adding that the North Korean leader expressed a wish to end 70 years of hostilities on the Korean Peninsula.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenias state news agency ARMENPRESS signed a cooperation agreement on September 6 with Kabar - the national news agency of Kyrgyzstan.

The document was signed by ARMENPRESS director Aram Ananyan and Kabar director Kubanichbek Tabaldiyev within the framework of the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of State News Agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

With the signing of the agreement we have formalized the cooperation which is continuing for already several decades. The signing of this document will boost information exchange. And in the present days there is a pressing need for activating information exchange. A new generation always comes which needs to be informed about what is taking place in our countries, Aram Ananyan said, attaching great importance that the information exchange will be constant in nature. Ananyan said that the agreement will contribute for Kyrgyzstan to know a lot more about Armenia, and Armenia a lot more about Kyrgyzstan.

The 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of CIS State News Agencies is taking place is Issyk-Kul. The organizer of the event is Kabar national news agency of Kyrgyzstan.

ARMENPRESS news agency was founded on December 18, 1918. It is the first news agency of Armenia. The agency currently publishes eleven newslines in four languages (Armenian, Russian, English and Arabic).

ARMENPRESS has bilateral partnership agreements with more than twenty leading news agencies of the world, 1/3rd of which has been signed in the past five years.

Kabar is the oldest news agency of Kyrgyzstan, having been established in 1937. The agency currently publishes news in Kyrgyz, Russian, English, Turkish, Chinese and Arabic.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian on September 6 had a meeting with the representatives of the Tekeyan Centre Fund and the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavar) led by chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yerevans Tekeyan Centre Fund Vardan Uzunyan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

During the meeting President Sarkissian said its always pleasure to meet with old friends.

The officials exchanged views on the programs being implemented by the Fund, as well as the expected initiatives.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
President Donald Trump's Cabinet reportedly considered removing him using the 25th amendment in the early days of the administration.

A senior White House official wrote anonymously in a Wednesday New York Times op-ed that despite "early whispers" of invoking the 25th, "no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

The 25th amendment of the US constitution lays out the procedure for the Vice President and a majority of Cabinet members to remove a sitting president from office.

President Donald Trump's Cabinet considered removing him using the 25th amendment in the early days of the administration, a senior White House official wrote in a stunning, anonymous New York op-ed on Wednesday.

In the op-ed, titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration", the unnamed senior aide reveals the internal, largely secret efforts of administration officials "thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

"Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president," the official recounted.

"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until - one way or another - it's over," the person wrote.

The 25th Amendment of the US Constitution lays out the legal procedure in the event that a president dies, resigns, or is declared unfit for office by himself or others, allowing the vice president to take over.

Most often, presidents have used the amendment to temporarily hand over the duties of the presidency to their vice president, like when President George W. Bush was under general anesthesia for colonoscopies in 2002 and 2007.

But under the amendment's fourth stipulation, it would only take 14 people to depose the president - Vice President Mike Pence and 13 of Trump's 24 Cabinet members.

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They could submit a "written declaration" to the president pro tempore of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives affirming that "the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

The idea is that the Cabinet and VP are the president's closest advisers, so they would be the ones with the best sense of his mental faculties, John D. Feerick, one of the chief architects of the 25th Amendment, told Business Insider's Rebecca Harrington.

After the declaration is submitted, if two-thirds of both houses of Congress don't vote to uphold the decision and keep the vice president in charge within 21 days, then the powers and duties automatically transfer back to the president.

The 25th Amendment is a separate process from impeachment, which allows Congress to remove a sitting president if a majority of the House of Representatives votes that he has committed treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours, and a trial in the Senate convicts him.

In a statement about the op-ed, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the official should resign and The Times should apologise for publishing it.

"The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States," she said. "He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign."
Activity levels across Australia's construction sector improved for a 19th consecutive month in August.

While overall activity levels improved, they deteriorated among a majority of sectors, particularly for apartment builders.

Experts don't see the outlook for residential construction improving anytime soon.

Activity levels in Australia's construction industry continue to improve on the back of strength in engineering work.

However, activity levels in all other sectors are deteriorating, especially in apartment construction.

The Australian Industry Groups (Ai Group) Performance of Construction Index (PCI) fell to 51.8 points in August in seasonally adjusted terms, down 0.2 points on the level reported in July.

The PCI measures perceived changes in activity levels across Australias construction sector from one month to the next. Anything above 50 signals that activity levels are improving while a reading below suggests theyre deteriorating. The distance away from 50 indicates how quickly activity levels are expanding or contracting.

So at 51.8, while activity levels still improved, they did so at the slower pace.

Despite the steep moderation, seen in the chart below, activity levels have now improved in each of the past 19 months, the longest stretch of growth in the history of the survey. However, momentum across the sector is slowing fast.

Despite continuing to improve, the headline PCI masked weakness in most construction sectors last month.

"The construction sector grew at a modest pace in August on the back of continued strength of engineering construction and despite a further significant drop in apartment building," said Peter Burn, Ai Group Head of Policy.

As seen in the table below from the Ai group, while activity levels among engineering firms continued to improve at a decent clip, they were fractionally weaker among home builders and commercial construction firms.

And for the apartment sector, they basically plunged, deteriorating at a faster pace than July.

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Like the headline PCI, a reading below 50 indicates a deterioration in activity levels. The further away from 50, the steeper the decline.

"Apartment building activity contracted for a sixth consecutive month in August, and at a sharper rate," the Ai Group said.

"The apartment sector has now experienced steady or declining activity in 12 of the past 13 months following a cooling in new orders over the second half of 2017 and through 2018.

"Apartment builders indicated that activity was being driven lower in response to project completions, reduced inquiries and falling investor demand."

The decline in apartment construction was close to the fastest in six years.

At the other end of the spectrum, activity levels among engineering firms improved for a 17th consecutive month, helped by a "boost from state government capital works".

The weakness outside of engineering was also seen in hiring levels with firms reporting that they shed staff during the month.

"Employment growth stalled in contrast to the general expansion of jobs over the past year or so," Burn said.

Reflecting weaker demand for labour, growth in wages also slowed compared to the levels reported in July.

Hinting that overall activity levels across the sector may continue to improve in the month ahead, the new orders subindex bounced sharply to 56.8 points as stronger order books for engineering and commercial work offset weaker demand for residential construction.

Suggesting that margin pressures for construction firms remain intense, survey respondents said input costs continued to increase at a rapid pace while selling prices actually fell.

"The ongoing gap between these price series demonstrates that tight profit margins persist for businesses in the construction industry. This is consistent with reports of a highly competitive tender pricing environment across the construction industry," the Ai Group said.

Looking ahead, Burn says the recent divergence in activity levels between residential and non-residential construction looks set to persist.

"Lower levels of new orders in the residential sub-sectors point to further slowing whereas for commercial construction and engineering construction the pipelines of new work grew more rapidly in August, pointing to further gains in the period ahead," he said.

Diwa Hopkins, Economist at Australia's Housing Industry Association (HIA), agrees the outlook for residential building is unlikely to improve anytime soon.

She said pressures with "access to finance are unlikely to ease in the near term -- only yesterday did other major lenders hike their mortgage rates, with more independent moves likely to follow," she said.

"Add to these factors a situation of falling house prices in the key Sydney and Melbourne markets, and the list of deterrents to investor activity is quite varied.

"We expect credit conditions to continue to weigh on new home building activity into 2019."
Former foreign minister and Liberal leadership aspirant Julie Bishop has joined the chorus of female politicians speaking our against the toxic culture in Australia's parliament.

Bishop, who moved to the backbench after missing out in the three-way tussle to replace Malcolm Turnbull a fortnight ago, thus freeing her up to speak her mind, said the "appalling behaviour" in Canberra would not be tolerated in any other workplace.

The former corporate lawyer, who rose to become the party's deputy leader under Tony Abbott and then Malcolm Turnbull, was speaking at the Women's Weekly Women of the Future Awards event in Sydney yesterday.

While is was "too soon" to discuss the spill that saw Scott Morrison become the third Liberal leader in five years in government, Bishop said it provoked a broader debate about workplace culture, including allegations of bullying, harassment and coercion and the unequal treatment of women.

"It's evident that there is an acceptance of a level of behaviour in Canberra that would not be tolerated in any other workplace in Australia," she said.

"I have seen and witnessed and experienced some appalling behaviour in Parliament, the kind of behaviour that 20 years ago when I was managing partner of a law firm of 200 employees I would never have accepted, yet in Parliament it's the norm."

Bishop said people needed to take responsibility for their behaviour.

"We must defend and strengthen our institutions, and we must treat our parliament with more respect. Unacceptable workplace practices are the responsibility of us all to identify, to stop it, to fix it," she said.

The veteran MP singled out another corporate lawyer, Victorian MP Julia Banks, who is leaving politics after just one term, over the bullying and intimidation she claims she experienced during the leadership spill and the subsequent reaction from male Liberal colleagues.

"When a feisty, amazing woman like Julia Banks says This environment is not for me, dont say Toughen up, princess, say Enough is enough, Bishop said.

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That culture then feeds through to public perceptions of politicians, she argued.

"When we politicians show such contempt for each other, aren't the public justified in feeling contempt for all of us?" she said.

Bishop said all political parties recognised they had problems with both attracting and maintaining women, as well as diversity in general.

"It's not acceptable for our party to contribute to the fall in Australia's ratings from 15th in the world in terms of female parliamentary representation in 1999 to 50th today. There's a lot to be done," she said.

She also took aim at the confrontational histrionics of the daily Question Time calling it "an embarrassing circus".

"I believe this televised theatre does more damage to the Parliament than virtually any other issue," she said.

"It ends up as an embarrassing circus. Ministers and shadow ministers are judged on their performance in Question Time and the more you sledge, the more you ridicule, the more you're applauded."
Russia says it's planning to design its own tilt-rotor aircraft like the US' V-22 Osprey, with experimental design work slated to start in September.

The aircraft will be given to Russia's elite Airborne Forces, or VDV, which are often Moscow's first troops on the ground.

If Moscow actually builds the aircraft, and heavily arms it like the US, it could be a deadly addition to Russia's paratroopers.

Russia says its planning to design its own tilt-rotor aircraft like the US' V-22 Osprey, according to The National Interest, citing Sputnik, a Russian state-owned media outlet.

"A tilt-rotor aircraft, or convertiplane, is planned to be created for Russian Airborne Forces," Sputnik reported, citing a Russian defence industry source.

"Before the end of September, it is planned to get the customer specification and start the experimental design work for this aircraft," the source told Sputnik.

Russian defence contractor Rostec also said in 2017 that it was building an electric tilt-rotor aircraft, which it said would be completed in 2019.

Tilt-rotor aircraft are basically a hybrid of a helicopter and fixed-wing plane that has the speed and range of an aeroplane, but can also take off and land like a helicopter. The V-22 has a max cruising speed of 310 miles per hour.

The elite Russian Airborne Forces, or VDV, are often Moscow's first troops on the ground, like in Afghanistan and more recently in Syria.

Numbering about 35,000 troops in 2010, VDV paratroopers were also deployed to South Ossetia during the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, and they blocked NATO troops from seizing the Pristina International Airport during the Kosovo War.

The VDV are also different than US paratroopers in that they're known to drop in with armoured vehicles and self-propelled howitzers.

If Russia actually builds this tilt-rotor aircraft - a big if given Moscow's budgetary problems and inability to mass produce other new platforms like the Su-57 stealth jet and the T-14 main battle tank - it could be a deadly addition to the VDV.

This is especially true if Moscow heavily arms the prospective tilt-rotor, just as the US is currently doing.

"A transport aircraft/helicopter that could land [Russian] troops to seize an airhead, and then provide them with heavy fire support, would be invaluable," The National Interest's Michael Peck wrote.
An employee has been accused of assaulting a resident at an aged care facility on Sydneys northern beaches.

A 35-year-old man was arrested in Wheeler Heights about 2pm on Wednesday after allegedly assaulting an 82-year-old man at an aged care facility on Sydney Road, Seaforth.

Police allege the man entered the room of a patient on a number of occasions.

The man was charged with two counts of common assault (DV) and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence.

The employee has been accused of assaulting a resident at an aged care facility on Sydneys northern beaches. Image: NSW Police

The man was charged with two counts of common assault (DV) and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence. Image: NSW Police

The man was granted conditional bail and will appear at Manly Local Court on Tuesday.

Elder abuse can take various forms such as physical, psychological, emotional, or financial abuse, Superintendent David Darcy from Northern Beaches Police Area Command said.

These vulnerable people need the communities help to be their voice.

To see an elderly man treated in this way is disgraceful, Superintendent Darcy said.
One year after devastating Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, the holiday islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barts are still counting the costs of one of the most powerful storms in history. Fringed by white sands and turquoise waters, the islands have long been a favourite for honeymooners -- but visitors to Saint Martin, which is split between France and the Netherlands, will find an island struggling to return to its former paradise status. Some families on Saint Martin, where the hurricane killed 15 people before continuing on its deadly path towards Cuba and Florida, are still living with no more than tarpaulins over their roofs as a new storm season gets underway. Anet, a former florist, is now back at home with her three children after months of staying with friends -- but her sons' bedroom doesn't have a wall, offering an unwanted panorama of the lagoon. "There are loads of mosquitos and we have no water or electricity. We can't stay in this situation," she said. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she said she didn't have enough money to repair the house, where the family are mostly sheltering in the basement using battery-powered lamps. Irma, the most powerful storm ever to cross the Atlantic, killed 134 people in total, more than 60 of them in Florida. It dealt a major blow to the economy of hard-hit Saint Martin -- heavily dependent on tourism -- when it ripped across the island on September 6 last year. The scale of the damage, low insurance coverage rates and administrative complications from the island's French-Dutch division have slowed reconstruction work. Across the two French territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts, 95 percent of buildings were damaged and the estimated cost of the havoc wreaked by Irma has come in at three billion euros ($3.5 billion). Saint Barts was more fortunate: "The reconstruction work has basically been done, and the tourist season will be able to kick off in excellent conditions," said Philippe Gustin, the government official overseeing the recovery effort. "For Saint Martin, things are more complicated." The island remains dotted with half-built homes and roofs still covered in tarpaulins, corrugated sheets and canvas. On the Dutch side, known as Sint-Maarten, 550 million euros of reconstruction aid was promised -- but only 110 million euros have been paid out as anti-corruption checks have slowed the payouts. Just 40 percent of property owners on the French side were insured, and the island's sole deep water port is functioning at just 40 percent capacity, making it slow to bring in building materials. The island's Juliana international airport was also heavily damaged and will not be fully back up and running until late 2019 at the earliest. - Overflowing rubbish dump - "Lots of people have had to wait for insurance payouts, and now some of them are hesitant to rebuild ahead of the new hurricane season," said Saint-Martin's top local official Daniel Gibbs. For children, this September marks a return to school after a year of heavy disruption to their education, and high school students will be going back to temporary buildings. In December, when the tourist season kicks off, only 800 rooms will be available -- half the number before the storm. Construction companies are swamped and lacking in qualified manpower, Gibbs said, while many hotels are putting off the rebuilding, taking the opportunity to modernise their facilities. Visitors who do come will find a tourism industry eager to restore its reputation for luxury in an idyllic setting. But despite an intensive campaign, wrecked cars remain by the roadsides, while rubble and other debris are still piled up everywhere. The island's waste treatment site at Grandes Cayes is overflowing. "There is only so much one rubbish dump can hold," said Gibbs, whose administration has poured more than 15 million euros into the clean-up operation. But volunteers have put a huge amount of work into tidying the island up, he noted. And two more mass clean-ups are planned for September and October, as Saint Martin gears up to welcome hordes of sun-seekers once again. Saint Martin and Saint Barts may be favoured honeymooners destinations but a year on from Hurricane Irma many families are still living in wrecked homes Map showing the path of Hurricanes Irma in 2017 which killed 47 people and caused $67 billion of damage Debris-strewn Nettle Bay on Saint-Martin, as authorities and construction companies press on with a mass clean-up operation before the tourist season kicks off in December


One man is dead and two others injured after a massive concrete-filled bucket fell on top of them at a Melbourne building site.

A crane operator had been lifting the load above construction workers in Box Hill on Thursday when a cable snapped.

A 28-year-old man from Caroline Springs was rescued after he was submerged by wet concrete when the bucket fell from the crane.

One man is dead and two others injured after a massive concrete-filled bucket fell on top of them at a Melbourne building site. Source: 7 News

As you can appreciate, there is a timeline with that [rescue], because concrete sets, Ambulance Victoria spokesman Gary Robertson said.

Thats been a big part of the logistics, to get him out of there. Thankfully for the people there, they were able to at least get him out of it and give him a chance.

He was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital where he remains in a critical condition with extensive head, chest and abdominal injuries, including fractures and internal bleeding.

The Box Hill construction site was in chaos as emergency workers rushed to the scene. Source: 7 News

Tragically another worker, believed to be in his 40s, was killed on impact when the 1.5 tonne bucket landed on him, pinning him underneath.

In a miracle move, a third worker escaped with only minor injuries. He was taken to Box Hill Hospital, where he remains in a stable condition.

Its been a very difficult incident as there has been a lot of work to retrieve these people from the scene, Melbourne Fire Brigades Brendan Angwin said.

A man, understood to be the cranes operator, was forced to watch everything from above until he could be escorted down.

A man, understood to be the cranes operator, was forced to watch everything from above until he could be escorted down. Source: 7 News

This is a major situation and it has a massive psychological impact on everyone there, Mr Robertson said.

On Thursday afternoon the CFMEU released a statement saying it had implemented its fatality policy, shutting down the construction site for the day and ceasing crane operations on site until a full mechanical audit was conducted.

The building industry is dangerous, but workplace fatalities are unacceptable, the statement read.

Our sincere condolences are with his family, loved ones and co-workers.

Its believed wild winds may have played a part in the tragedy, with early suggestions that the heavy bucket snapped from the cable after a strong gust. Source: 7 News

Its believed wild winds may have played a part in the tragedy, with early suggestions that the heavy bucket snapped from the cable after a strong gust.

WorkCover investigators and Victoria Police will now investigate to confirm if that was the case.
A week after he squared up to populists in Hungary and Italy, claiming to be their "main opponent", French President Emmanuel Macron is girding for the second round in a bitter battle for Europe's soul. On Friday, the self-styled guardian of liberal European values will huddle with Germany's Angela Merkel to discuss strategy eight months before crucial European Parliament elections. The pair will meet in Marseille, a city on the Mediterranean with a long history of immigration which Macron visited on the first stop of his presidential campaign. The meeting comes as Germany reels from a flare-up of xenophobic rage and traditionally tolerant Sweden prepares to vote in an election in which the far right is tipped for strong gains. With the far right now sharing power in Italy and Austria and nationalists firmly in control in Hungary and Poland, any hope that Britain's looming exit from the EU might have halted the rise of populism has fizzled. "It had a ricochet effect in so far as it is harder for populist parties to campaign for a divorce but it has not affected populist narratives," Francois Heisbourg of the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris told AFP. The meeting comes as Macron's star power begins to dim 16 months after his stunning election victory. At home a series of pro-business reforms have yet to bear fruit, one of the main factors behind a dramatic slide in his approval ratings. And he has little to show for his promise of a profound overhaul of the EU, hobbled by a distinct lack of support from German conservatives for his bid to boost north-south solidarity. Ronja Kempin, senior fellow on EU and France at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said she expected "no big comprehensive reforms of the kind envisioned by Macron" before the European elections in May 2019. "The German electorate is perfectly satisfied with Europe as it is. Angela Merkel cannot move quickly or far because she was not elected for that. That's where Macron finds himself quite alone," Heisbourg said. - A-la-carte EU - Macron is intent on framing the choice facing European voters next year as identical to that which the French faced in 2017 when they picked him over Marine Le Pen: a choice between anti-migrant nationalists and moderate, multilateralist globalists. On a tour of northern Europe last week to try build alliances he snapped up the gauntlet thrown down by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, who was in Italy to cement a new east-south alliance with anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini, described "two camps in Europe": a camp that wants to end illegal immigration and another "headed by Macron" which he described as pro-migration. Though Macron has himself taken a tough line on economic migrants, the French leader retorted: "If they want to see me as their main opponent, they're right." He vowed to give "no ground to nationalists and those who spread words of hate". Giving a flavour of France's line of attack in the coming months, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian last week accused European populists of "choosing only what interests them" in the EU, "first and foremost the redistribution of money". "We are not ready to pay for that Europe," Le Drian said, alluding to the EU development funds from which eastern members such as Hungary and Poland profit. But Macron faces a tricky task in trying to replicate the liberal alliance he has built in France at the European level. His left-right Republic on the Move party has no natural partners in much of Europe, including Germany whose conservatives are part of the same centre-right group as Orban's Fidesz. In a sign of the tensions in the Franco-German "engine", Paris reacted coolly Wednesday to the announcement by the German leader of the conservatives in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, of his bid to become the next European Commission president. "Who knows Manfred Weber? He's not the best-known European," France's European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau commented. In the nationalist/populist camp, by contrast, the emphasis is on unity, at least for now. Le Pen, leader of the renamed National Rally party -- formerly the National Front -- has vowed to adopt "the same line" as Salvini in her European rematch with Macron. Warning of a "serious" challenge from nationalists, Wolfgang Munchau, an associate editor of the Financial Times, wrote in his column last week: "Mr Salvini and Mr Orban are agenda-setters. The only agenda setter on the other side is Mr Macron". Macron will discuss strategy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week in Marseille Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said there were two camps in Europe -- one which wanted to end illegal immigration and the other which was pro-migration Map of the Mediterranean Sea region showing migrant arrivals by sea along with a tally of those dead and missing.
Germany has returned a pre-Columbian gold funerary mask to Peru following a 20-year legal and diplomatic battle, the South American country's culture minister said on Thursday. Peru had reported the eighth century Sican mask's disappearance in 1999, after which it was confiscated by Interpol from the German city of Wiesbaden. "I'm happy to receive one of the most emblematic assets from the north Peruvian cultures, the Sican Mask," said Patricia Balbuena in a statement. The mask was handed over to the Peruvian embassy in Berlin by Bavarian authorities. The Munich regional court ordered the mask be returned to Peru in December 2016 after it had been confiscated by the public prosecutor. It is due to arrive in Peru in the coming weeks. Like neighboring Ecuador, which secured the return of 13 pre-Columbian artifacts from a private German collection in July after a six-year legal battle, the South American country has been eager to recover priceless pieces from its cultural heritage. The Sican culture inhabited the north coast of Peru between the eighth and 14th centuries. Peru spent 20 years trying to secure the return of this gold funerary mask from the pre-Columbian Sican culture
Hundreds of Syrian civilians fled Idlib province on Thursday as the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey readied for last-ditch talks on the fate of the last rebel bastion. Government forces and their allies have been massing around Idlib, where aid groups fear what could be the last major battle of Syria's seven-year civil war may also prove its deadliest. Western powers have warned against a bloodbath but Damascus and Moscow are adamant that an offensive is needed to root out the jihadists who dominate the province. Sporadic bombardment has targeted armed groups on Idlib's fringes in recent days, and on Thursday families began streaming out of their battered hometowns to seek safety elsewhere. Trucks piled high with mattresses, metal pipes, plastic tanks and wicker mats could be seen heading towards camps near Syria's northern border with Turkey. "We left because of the shelling, the crazy indiscriminate shelling," said Abu Naser, who fled on the back of one such truck. "We don't know where to head now. So many people fled -- what are we supposed to do, sit under the shelling and airplanes? Another group of hundreds of families fled the province's southeast for other rebel-held areas, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said "around 180 families, or some 1,000 people" had escaped those areas since Wednesday night, heading to rebel territory further east. They were fleeing Syrian artillery and Russian bombardment on villages that lie close to government-held areas and would therefore be most vulnerable to the early phase of an assault. Artillery fire also killed one civilian and wounded six more, added the Britain-based war monitor. - 'Pull back from the brink' - The number displaced so far is tiny compared with the 800,000 that the United Nations fears may be thrown onto the roads, more than a quarter of the rebel zone's population. Warning of the risks of a regime assault on Idlib, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the rebel-held enclave as a "ticking time bomb, both in humanitarian and security terms". Save the Children said more violence would have "devastating consequences" for Syria's young. "During seven years of war, these children have seen and experienced things that no child ever should," said its chief Helle Thorning-Schmidt, calling on the warring parties in Idlib to "pull back from the brink". The UN, world powers, and aid groups hope a summit on Friday between the presidents of Russia, Iran, and Turkey -- the three main powerbrokers in Syria -- can avert an assault. The trio will meet in Tehran as part of the ongoing Astana process aimed at ending the conflict, which has killed 350,000 people and driven more than 11 million from their homes since it erupted in 2011. Russia says its priority is to eradicate jihadist groups from Idlib, with the foreign ministry pledging on Thursday that it would continue to "kill terrorists" across Syria. "We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists... whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria," said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Turkey, meanwhile, already hosts three million Syrian refugees and wants to avert an assault that would push more towards the border. Ankara is under pressure from Russia to exert its influence on rebels in Idlib, but the province is dominated by the more powerful and jihadist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance. "We can work together to render those (radical groups) ineffective. The solution is not to bomb or attack all over Idlib, without any distinction," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday. - Rescue centre hit - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before heading to Iran that an offensive could trigger "a serious massacre", while his US counterpart, Donald Trump, said the outcome of the Tehran summit would be crucial. "Because the world is watching. That cannot be a slaughter. If it's a slaughter, the world is going to be very, very angry. And the United States is going to be very angry, too," he said on Wednesday. Russia has hinted the Idlib offensive could be conducted in several phases, giving negotiations a chance to continue in parallel. The next few days could see the launch of an assault restricted to peripheral areas, focusing on the strategic north-south M5 highway and flushing out rebels responsible for drone attacks on Russia's Hmeimim air base. On Thursday, rescue workers said their headquarters in a southern part of Idlib province was forced to close after being damaged in air strikes. Mossab al-Qadur, the head of the centre in Al-Tamana, told AFP he was inside the building when it was struck by dozens of shells and rockets. "When the shells stopped, we quickly got out. About 15 minutes later, a Sukhoi 24 (Russian jet) targeted the centre, which put it out of service," said Qadur. Syrians at a camp for displaced people in Idlib province on September 5, 2018 Territorial control and statistics on the risk of a humanitarian crisis in the Idlib region of Syria. The three main power brokers in Syria, (LtoR) Iran's Hassan Rouhani, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin, seen here in Ankara on April 4, 2018, are to hold talks in Tehran on Friday on the fate of the last rebel bastion Idlib Syrian rebel fighters of the Turkish-backed National Liberation Front rest in the northern countryside of Idlib province on September 5, 2018, as a threatened government offensive looms
Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban will address the European Parliament next week as it debates whether to call for disciplinary proceedings against his government over threats to the rule of law. Euro MPs will debate on Tuesday whether to demand so-called Article 7 proceedings against Hungary, which could ultimately see Budapest's EU voting rights suspended -- a procedure only launched once before, against Poland last December. The parliament's "conference of presidents" -- the speaker and heads of the major political groups -- have given the go-ahead for Orban to speak at the beginning of the debate, and his aides confirmed his attendance to AFP. The motion to be debated asks the European Council, which groups the member states, "to determine whether there is a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values" of the EU and make "appropriate recommendations to Hungary". A parliamentary report by Greens MEP Judith Sargentini lists a series of "concerns" about Orban's populist Fidesz government, including constitutional and electoral issues, judicial independence, freedom of expression, minority rights and the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers. "This is a request to the Council to do their own investigation. It's politically huge but the immediate effects are not there," Sargentini said. To pass, the motion needs the backing of a majority of MEPs and at least two thirds of the votes cast, which sets the stage for a tight result. The votes of the biggest grouping, the centre-right EPP which counts Orban's Fidesz party as a member, will be closely watched. EPP chief Manfred Weber has said there could not be "favourable treatment on questions of fundamental values". The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has clashed repeatedly with Orban's government, especially since the migration crisis erupted in 2015. The clashes come amid broader fears that Hungary, Poland and other eastern countries from the former Soviet-bloc were turning away from the democratic values on which the EU is built. The commission launched legal action against Poland earlier this year after deciding that its response to the Article 7 proceedings was insufficient. While the Article 7 procedure could lead to a suspension of voting rights, Hungary has said it would veto any attempt to impose such a penalty on Poland, and it is likely Warsaw would reciprocate. Hungary's right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban will address the EU parliament
The International Criminal Court said Thursday it had jurisdiction to probe the forced exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar as a possible crime against humanity. The ICC's "pre-trial chamber... decided by majority the court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportations of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh," the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement. The Myanmar government on Thursday declined to comment on the announcement when contacted by AFP. Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown. The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes. In an unprecedented move in April, the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges at the world's only permanent war crimes court to rule whether she can investigate the deportations as a crime against humanity. It is a legally complicated request, as Myanmar is not a signatory and member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC. Bangladesh,however, is a signatory and Bensouda argued that should give her office jurisdiction to investigate the plight of the Rohingya. She likened deportation to "a cross-border shooting", arguing the crime "is not completed until the bullet (fired in one state) strikes and kills the victim (standing in another state)". Some 700,000 people from the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees staged angry protests for "justice" on August 25 on the first anniversary of a Myanmar military crackdown that sparked a mass exodus to camps in Bangladesh.
Serbian and Kosovar presidents Aleksandar Vucic and Hashim Thaci are set to resume talks in Brussels on Friday after a summer that broke the taboo of possible border changes between the former war foes. Critics say the proposal could have a dangerous domino effect in a fragile region scarred by the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia. What is the problem? The possible land-swap is being floated as a solution to Serbia and Kosovo's "frozen conflict." The heart of the dispute is Serbia's refusal to recognise Kosovo's independence, which the former southern province declared in 2008. Belgrade effectively relinquished control over the majority-Albanian region after 1999 NATO bombings forced the end of a bloody war between Serb troops and Kosovar separatists. Yet Serbia still regards Kosovo, now recognised by more than 110 countries, as a rebel province and has blocked its entry into the UN with help from Russia. In a bid to normalise relations -- a prerequisite for Serbia joining the EU -- Pristina and Belgrade started a dialogue in 2011. The talks have stalled for months but started generating buzz after Vucic and Thaci signalled an openness to the idea of border changes this summer. Which borders could change? The presidents have not laid out any detailed plans, instead using vague language like "border adjustments" and "demarcation." But Thaci, for his part, has spoken publicly of wanting to bring Presevo Valley -- an Albanian-majority strip of southern Serbia -- into Kosovo. Presevo Valley is home to up to 60,000 ethnic Albanians, as well as around 20,000 Serbs. The speculation in local media is this valley could be traded for northern Kosovo, a Serb-dominated region that Vucic will visit on Sunday. Belgrade has kept strong links with the 120,000-strong Serb community in Kosovo which also refuses to recognise Pristina's authority. What are the risks? Critics have been sounding the alarm that a land-swap would open a "Pandora's box" of conflicts in the region. Ethnic hatreds fuelled the bloody dissolution of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, wars that left 130,000 dead and displaced millions as borders were redrawn. Decades later, relations between ethnic groups remain precarious in many mixed states, such as Macedonia and Bosnia. There is particular concern about a knock-on effect in the Serb-run entity of Bosnia, whose president has repeatedly called for independence. Those fears were captured in a poster erected in a small town of the entity this summer of Ratko Mladic, a Serb commander convicted of leading the Srebrenica genocide of Bosnian Muslims in 1995. The poster, placed by Serb veterans in Bosnia who regard Mladic as a hero, bore one of his quotes: "It is with blood that borders are drawn". "The illusion that ethnically 'pure' entities and nation states would be a solution are not new, their architects have already been condemned in The Hague," warned Lejla Ramic Mesihovic, from the Sarajevo-based think tank Foreign Policy Initiative BH. What does the West think? For some observers, the most worrying dimension is an apparent change of heart among some Western powers, who once opposed redrawing the map in the Balkans. US national security advisor John Bolton said last month that the States would not "exclude territorial adjustments" from a possible accord. Senior EU officials, including Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn, have also refused to rule out border changes. The only vocal critics have been the UK, Austria and Germany. "We believe that this can tear open too many old wounds in the population. And therefore we are very sceptical at this point," Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said last week. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, who is leading the Kosovo-Serbia talks, has refused to comment on the specifics. Will this really happen? There is scepticism that a land-swap could take place soon, if ever. Thaci must contend with criticism from an opposition at home, plus a prime minister who has repeatedly condemned the idea, saying it would "mean war". Vucic, meanwhile, has been taking heat from the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church, which regards Kosovo as the "Jerusalem of the Serbs." Its leader Patriarch Irinej has warned that "what is taken by force can be taken back, while what is given is lost forever". Some analysts speculate the presidents are ratcheting up tension with plans to work down to a more palatable resolution. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, seen at a July Balkan summit, must take into account pressure at home notably from the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church, which regards Kosovo as the "Jerusalem of the Serbs" Map showing the position of Kosovo, the Balkan region and Balkan states' status regarding the European Union Kosovan President Hashim Thaci must contend with criticism from the opposition at home as he mulls a potential land swap
A tense truce within German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative camp imploded Thursday after her hardline interior minister defended protests marred by neo-Nazi violence and blasted immigration as "the mother of all political problems". The latest shots across Merkel's bow came just two months after the minister, Horst Seehofer, threatened to torpedo her ruling coalition over the explosive border issue. An uneasy calm that had taken hold during the summer holidays shattered in the aftermath of a fatal knife attack in late August against a 35-year-old German man in the city of Chemnitz allegedly committed by asylum seekers. Far-right groups and thousands of local citizens took to the streets in the days after the stabbing, with a number of participants attacking people who looked foreign, and flashing the illegal Nazi salute. As Germany's top law enforcer, Seehofer had faced calls to condemn the ugly scenes of marauding mobs that also assaulted reporters and police. He reserved judgement until Thursday's incendiary interview, in which he said he wished he could have joined the demonstrations. "There is agitation and outrage among the public over this killing that I can understand," Seehofer told the daily Rheinische Post. "If I weren't a minister, I would have hit the streets as a citizen -- of course not with the radicals though." - 'No mob, no pogroms' - While he condemned the violence, Seehofer, the most strident critic of Merkel's liberal refugee policy within her coalition, expressed sympathy with the anger that fuelled the protests. "The migration issue is the mother of all political problems in this country. I've been saying that for three years," since Merkel opened Germany's borders to more than one million asylum seekers as other EU countries shut the door to them. His comments echoed remarks this week by Seehofer's counterpart from Italy, firebrand interior minister Matteo Salvini, that Merkel had "underestimated" the troubles mass immigration would bring. Merkel pushed back against the gloomy assessments and the charges she had been reckless with public safety. "I would put it differently -- I would say that the migration issue poses challenges. There are problems but also successes," she told RTL television. "We have a completely different situation than in the autumn of 2015 (at the height of the refugee influx). Hence we can tell people that we have implemented measures to prevent a repetition," including pacts with Turkey and several African countries to fight people smuggling. The Social Democrats, junior partners in Merkel's administration, were stronger in their criticism of Seehofer. As some SPD deputies called for the minister's resignation, party leader Andrea Nahles said he threatened the government's stability. "Horst Seehofer and the CSU are playing with fire again and reigniting the conservative conflicts we saw this summer," she said. "That's not OK. It needs to stop." Seehofer's Christian Social Union (CSU) is looking down the barrel of a tight state election in Bavaria next month. With an eye to the poll, in which the CSU is fighting to head off a strong challenge by the far-right AfD party and maintain its absolute majority, Seehofer directly contradicted Merkel's assessment of events in Chemnitz. He was quoted by media as saying late Wednesday that her government had been too quick to criticise the protests and that he had waited until he had "authentic information" to comment. The same day, Saxony premier Michael Kretschmer denied in a speech to the state assembly that extremists had run wild in Chemnitz. "There was no mob, no hunting of foreigners and no pogroms," he said, drawing accusations that he was playing down the far-right problem in his region. - 'Hate-filled pursuit' - Merkel has repeatedly expressed shock about the distressing scenes in the city -- which were captured on video and described to the media by several victims. On Wednesday she stressed that "the images I've seen show quite clearly the hate-filled pursuit and persecution of innocent people". Seizing on the fresh rift in the government, AfD leader Alexander Gauland defended Seehofer, telling the daily Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that he was "perfectly correct in his analysis" of Merkel's migration policy. "But it won't help him much because he fails in implementation (of his own policies) -- Angela Merkel just puts hurdles in his way." A truce within German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative camp has shattered with her hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer defending protests marred by neo-Nazi violence and blasting migration as "the mother of all political problems" Far-right groups and thousands of local citizens took to the streets in the days after the stabbing of a German in the eastern city of Chemnitz Police block a street in Chemnitz, eastern Germany, on September 1, 2018 ahead of a protest by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party People gather for a "We Are More" concert to say 'No' to the far right demonstrations in Chemnitz, eastern Germany.
Nauru's president has demanded China apologise for a top diplomat's "crazy" behaviour at the Pacific Islands Forum and lashed out at Beijing's "arrogant" presence in the region. "They're not our friends. They just need us for their own purposes," President Baron Waqa told reporters. "Sorry, but I have to be strong on this because no one is to come and dictate things to us," said Waqa, whose country backs self-ruling and democratic Taiwan over arch-rival China in their battle for diplomatic recognition. This year's annual Pacific summit, which wraps up in Nauru on Thursday, has been one of the most contentious in the event's 49-year history. The usual discussions about climate change have been overshadowed by the host's row with China and its treatment of asylum-seekers held on the island under a deal with Australia. The diplomatic spat pits Nauru -- with a population of 11,000 and an area of just 21 square kilometres (eight square miles) -- against the Asian superpower. It erupted on Tuesday when the head of China's delegation Du Qiwen attempted to address a meeting but Waqa refused to let him speak until island leaders had finished. The Chinese delegation then stormed out, with Du reportedly striding around the room to emphasise his displeasure before leaving. "Would he behave like that in front of his own president? I doubt it," Waqa said at a press conference late Wednesday. "He disrespected the Pacific, the forum island leaders and other ministers who have come to join us in our territory. Are you kidding? Look at him, he's a nobody. "He's not even a minister and he's demanding to be recognised and to speak before the prime minister of Tuvalu. Is he crazy?" - 'No apology' - Waqa had already angered Beijing before the summit began in a row over visas. The exchange with Du highlighted sensitivities over Beijing's rising influence in the Pacific, where China provided an estimated US$1.78 billion in aid to island nations between 2006-16. "We're seeing a lot of big countries coming in and sometimes buying their way through the Pacific, some are extremely aggressive, even to the point that they tread all over us," Waqa said. "From this forum, all leaders (now) know how arrogant some of these people are." He said such behaviour merited an apology from Beijing. "We won't just seek an apology, we'll even take it up to the UN," he said. "Not only that, I will mention it at the UN and every international meeting." China rejected his calls for an apology, instead calling on Nauru to reflect on its actions. "I want to sternly warn Nauru, and whomever is behind this farce: the 'one China' principle is an unstoppable historical trend," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying at a regular press briefing. "It should stop this unreasonable fuss and stop humiliating itself." China does not belong to the PIF but is one of 18 countries that attends the leaders' summit as a "dialogue partner" for discussions with member nations. Beijing and Taipei have vied for diplomatic influence in the Pacific for decades, with both sides offering aid and support to small island states in return for recognition. Taiwan paid for much of the infrastructure used at the Nauru PIF and there could be similar tensions at next year's event in Tuvalu, which also recognises Taipei. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island views itself as a sovereign nation and is a self-ruling democracy. Meanwhile Australia and New Zealand have boosted their foreign aid programmes in the Pacific to counter Chinese influence in a region they regard as their backyard. Nauru's President Baron Waqa (R) lashed out at Beijing's 'arrogant' presence in the region during a fractious annual Pacific summit
Britain pointed the finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in England -- a charge that Moscow rejected as "unacceptable". The leaders of the United States, France, Germany and Canada later said they had "full confidence" in Britain's assessment that officers from Russia's military intelligence service were behind the Novichok attack that nearly killed Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March. British Security Minister Ben Wallace said that Putin was "ultimately" responsible for the poisoning in the southwestern city of Salisbury, prompting an angry response from Moscow. "For us any sort of accusation regarding the Russian leadership is unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. Britain has previously accused Russia of orchestrating the attack, but Moscow denies any involvement and insists it is ready to cooperate in any investigation. "Neither Russia's top leadership nor those in the ranks below, nor any official representatives have anything to do with the events in Salisbury," Peskov said. London and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats after the poisoning, prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow and plunging relations to a new low. In a major new development, Prime Minister Theresa May announced Wednesday that police had issued international arrest warrants for the two suspects, identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. She said they were members of Russian military intelligence and acted on orders from a "high level", but Wallace went further when asked if Putin had any responsibility. "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence," Wallace told BBC radio. He added: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue." Wallace also later mocked the GRU's competence, saying the attack was "more Johnny English than James Bond". He told LBC Radio that the two men "were sent as soldiers to do a mission... they failed in that mission". - Support from allies - Britain briefed the United Nations Security Council Thursday on its latest findings, with Russia vehemently denying involvement. Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Britain of spreading "the same repeated lies" and presenting an "unfounded mendacious cocktail of facts. "The Russian Federation categorically rejects all unfounded accusations regarding its involvement," he said. US Ambassador Nikki Haley said everyone should be "chilled to the bone" with the findings. A joint statement by the leaders of France, Germany, the US and Canada on Thursday said they had "full confidence in the British assessment" as they chose to "reiterate our outrage" over the incident. "Yesterday's announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories," they added. Wallace said his government would seek to "maintain the pressure" on Russia. Options include "more sanctions", he said. - 'Malign state activity' - The government is also reviewing visa applications by wealthy Russians in Britain, and is preparing new powers to stop people at the border if suspected of "malign state activity". The Skripals survived the poisoning but a local man, Charlie Rowley, picked up a fake perfume bottle containing Novichok weeks later. Rowley gave it to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died. British prosecutors accuse Petrov and Boshirov of conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon. They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair. Meanwhile, Sergei Skripal's niece on Thursday begged her uncle to call his 90-year-old mother to prove he was alive. "She is waiting for his phone call. She needs nothing else. She needs one phone call from her son," said Victoria Skripal at an emotional news conference in Russia. London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia British Security Minister Ben Wallace said that Putin was "ultimately" responsible for the poisoning A nerve agent was used in the attack in Britain, where two Russian agents are wanted for attempted murder. Russian suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov put up at the City Stay Hotel in east London
Han Solo's jacket from "The Empire Strikes Back" and Indiana Jones' signature hat top off some dazzling movie memorabilia that went on display in London on Thursday before being auctioned later this month. More than 600 props and costumes from film and television, including Marty McFly's hoverboard in "Back To The Future Part II", will go under the hammer in the British capital on September 20. Around a third of the rare and unique lots can be viewed at the BFI IMAX complex ahead of the bidding. "We've got some of the best (items) from the pinnacle of all the films," said Sian Taylor, project manager at organiser Prop Store -- namechecking seminal franchises from "Star Wars" and "Batman" to "The Terminator" and "The Lord of the Rings". The film memorabilia seller has held the annual auction since 2014, and expects this year's collection to fetch a record 3.5 million ($4.6 million, 3.9 million euros). "It's just getting bigger and better... and it's a very good year," Taylor told AFP of the 2018 crop. The Solo jacket worn by actor Harrison Ford in "Star Wars Episode V -- The Empire Strike Back" currently takes centre stage at the two-week exhibition. It is expected to be the highest-selling lot and fetch up to 1 million. That would smash Prop Store's previous record of over 300,000 paid for the motorbike from several "Batman" films. Meanwhile Ford's signature fedora in the Indiana Jones franchise debut "Raiders of the Lost Ark", and his bullwhip from 1984's "The Temple of Doom" are also featured. The hat, crafted by famed Italian milliner Borsalino, is set to sell for 300,000. For potential buyers on a lower budget, the multi-coloured hoverboard ridden by Michael J. Fox in the "Back to the Future" sequel could fetch between 30,000 and 50,000. - 'Not just for rich people' - Taylor said bidders range from film enthusiasts to investors -- and insisted the sale caters to all categories of wealth. "It's not just for rich people. There are entry-level pieces," she added, noting crew jackets from movies could go for 200. Britain's leading children's charity the NSPCC will receive all the proceeds from the sale of a stormtrooper helmet from "Star Wars: Episode VIII -- The Last Jedi". US costume designer Michael Kaplan recently donated the item, which is priced at 30,000 to 50,000, to the organisation. "We wanted obviously to maximise the amount of money we could get so we're really excited to be involved," said Charlie Porter, NSPCC senior partnerships manager. Other classic movie items available include the robe worn by Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden character in "Fight Club", a Wonka bar from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and Johnny Depp's unique costume in "Edward Scissorhands". Prop Store acquires its wares from movie studios, crew members and other collectors around the world, according to Taylor. This year's sale saw props and costumes coming from as far afield as Norway, the United States and Brazil. "It's really a worldwide hobby," she said. The fedora worn by Harrison Ford's character Indiana Jones in the 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark' film is on show in London ahead of auction The jacket worn by Harrison Ford's character Han Solo in 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back' will be auctioned on September 20
Russia will continue to kill "terrorists" in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria to bring back peace, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "We have killed, we are killing and we will kill terrorists...whether that be in Aleppo, Idlib or other parts of Syria. Peace must return to Syria," said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in comments reported by Russian agencies. "This is a question of our security," she added. Idlib, Syria's last major rebel stronghold, is held by a complex array of anti-regime fighters, many of whom have been blacklisted as "terrorists" by world powers. Sporadic bombardment has targeted armed groups on Idlib's fringes in recent days, with fresh Syrian artillery and Russian air bombardment of the southeast of the province on Thursday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The attacks have prompted terrified residents to flee before a fully-fledged assault is launched, the monitor said. The Russian military has confirmed airstrikes have been carried out on the area with warplanes targeting the "terrorist" Al-Nusra Front. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory said at least nine civilians, including five children from the same family, were killed in Russian raids Tuesday, while 10 more people were wounded. A Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber lands at the Russian Hmeimim military base in Latakia province, in the northwest of Syria, on December 16, 2015
A suspect in the brutal killing of a Dutch boy arrived in the Netherlands on Thursday after being handed over by Spain following an extensive manhunt lasting nearly two decades, prosecutors said. Suspect Jos Brech was arrested in Spain last month over the murder of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen, who disappeared during the night while at a summer camp in 1998. Dutch detectives said in August that they had identified Brech by a DNA match and were searching for him after he had been reported missing several months earlier. "On Thursday 6 September 2018, Jos B., suspected of involvement in the death of Nicky Verstappen, was surrendered to the Netherlands by the Spanish authorities," the Dutch prosecution service said in a statement. "Upon arrival in our country, he was arrested again by the police on suspicion of a crime against life, a sexual offence and a crime against personal freedom." Brech was taken into pre-trial detention for two weeks and will appear before an examining magistrates within 24 hours, it said. In a crime that horrified the Netherlands, Verstappen was at a summer camp at the Brunssumerheide nature reserve, near the German border, when he vanished on August 9, 1998. His body was found the next evening, close to the camp site. Police at the time of the murder mounted a massive search closely followed by local media and the Dutch public but the killer was never found. As time ran out to catch the suspect, police earlier this year appealed to more than 20,000 men to donate DNA samples in a bid to close in on the perpetrator. Police said new digital techniques helped them to develop a DNA profile in 2008, from traces found on Verstappen's clothing, but there had been no match. Brech, who was 35 at the time of the murder, was not among the volunteers but as he was previously interviewed as a witness, police became suspicious. When his family reported him as missing, Dutch and French police searched his cabin in the Vosges region of France. Traces of DNA on his belongings provided a match and a European-wide warrant for his arrest was issued on June 12. Suspect Jos Brech was arrested in Spain in August 2018 over the murder of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen, who disappeared during the night while at a summer camp in 1998
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Thunder possible. Low 47F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight. Thunder possible. Low 47F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50%.


A submarine owner has appealed his life sentence over a reporters death.

Peter Madsen, a Danish inventor who built his own submarine and was found guilty of the torture, sexual assault, murder and dismemberment of a Swedish reporter, challenged his life sentence before an appeals court on Wednesday.

The three day session at the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen before three judges and three jurors will not deal with the April 25 guilty ruling.

In Denmark, a life sentence is on average 16 years, but can be extended if necessary. Mr Madsen, 47, wants a time-limited sentence, not an open-ended prison term.

Mr Madsen looked down at the desk in front of him as his defence lawyer Betina Hald Engmark read long excerpts of his previous statement as she attempted to cast him in a more favourable light.

Peter Madsen has appealed his life sentence. Source: AP

In April, Mr Madsen was convicted of murdering the 30-year-old journalist in his homemade submarine last August before dismembering her body.

He has confessed to dumping her body parts at sea, but insists Ms Wall died accidentally.

Wearing a dark blazer, a black T-shirt and jeans, Mr Madsen listened quietly as prosecutor Kristian Kirk read out the April verdict to present the case.

The prosecutor also read out texts found in Mr Madsens possession about young women being impaled and killed. Walls parents, who both attended court Wednesday, also listened quietly.

He looked away when Mr Kirk played a police video of the inside of his UC3 Nautilus submarine, which he had claimed was the largest privately built submarine in the world.

My client is not satisfied with the (life) sentence. thats why we are here, not to find out whether he is guilty or not, Ms Hald Engmark said.

The Copenhagen City Court had ruled unanimously that Mr Madsen lured Ms Wall onto his home-made submarine with the promise of an interview.

Swedish journalist Kim Wall (pictured) died in August 2017. Source: AP

The court ruled the murder was sexually motivated and premeditated, with the prosecution using Mr Madsens shifting explanations against him and quoting a court-ordered psychiatric report that described him as emotionally impaired with severe lack of empathy, anger and guilt and having psychopathic tendencies.

Story continues

Ms Hald Engmark argued that the prosecution case was based on undocumented claims.

She said Mr Madsen did something horrible by cutting Ms Walls body into pieces, but he should only be sentenced for that, noting that the cause of death has never been established.

Under Danish law, indecent handling of a corpse carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.

A freelance journalist, Ms Wall wrote for The New York Times, The Guardian and other publications.

She had reported from post-earthquake Haiti, among other places, and had studied at Paris Sorbonne University, the London School of Economics and Columbia University in New York.

She set out on the submarine on a sunny August evening last year to interview Mr Madsen, the co-founder of a company that develops and builds manned spacecraft. Her remains were found in plastic bags on the sea bed weeks later.

Mr Madsen initially said he had dropped Ms Wall off on a Copenhagen island several hours into their submarine trip.

Then he claimed Ms Wall had died as a result of a build-up in pressure inside the submarine, and changed that to say that Ms Wall had died accidentally inside the vessel when a hatch fell and hit her on the head.

There was no indication of a skull injury when her head was finally located. A decision is expected on September 14.

 With AP
British Security Minister Ben Wallace said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "ultimate" responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England in March. London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence for using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern English city of Salisbury. Asked if Putin had responsibility, Wallace said: "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence." He told BBC radio: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue. "It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office." Britain has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the March 4 attack, sparking furious denials. In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind. The United States also imposed fresh sanctions over the attack. The Skripals survived the poisoning but remnants of Novichok found in a fake perfume bottle were picked up by a local man weeks later and given to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died. British prosecutors said Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon. They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair. London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence for using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia
Uncertainty hung Thursday over long-awaited talks in Geneva between Yemen's warring parties, as the rebel delegation refused to attend until its demands are met. UN mediator Martin Griffiths, who said Wednesday the meeting offered a "flickering signal of hope" of an end to the years-long conflict, had to postpone their scheduled start. Yemen's Huthi rebels said they would not join the talks until the UN meets conditions that include transporting their wounded to Oman for treatment and a guarantee that delegation members will be allowed to return to rebel-held Sanaa from Geneva. The rebels accused the UN of failing to keep promises in this regard. The talks are meant to be the first since 2016 when 108 days of negotiations between the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and rebels failed to broker a deal. But with government representatives already in the Swiss capital since Wednesday, the rebels remained stranded in Sanaa amid claims the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi was preventing them from leaving. According to the Huthis' Al-Masirah TV, the UN had been unable to "secure authorisation" from the coalition for a plane to transport the rebel delegation, along with wounded insurgents, out of Yemen. While the Huthis control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, the coalition controls the country's airspace. Asked about the Huthi charges, Griffiths said Wednesday: "We are working on that." On Thursday, an AFP journalist saw the envoy entering the Geneva hotel hosting the Yemen government delegation. Griffiths had told journalists he would begin informal consultations" with the government team, led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, while the rebels make their way to Switzerland. But when the two parties eventually meet, there would be no "formal negotiations," the envoy stressed, merely exploratory talks on how to get the parties back to the table. The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged both sides to "take a first step towards ending a conflict that has brought severe pain and humanitarian suffering to the Yemeni people". Griffiths was hopeful that the talks, expected to last a few days, "will begin to send a flickering signal of hope" to the people of Yemen. "There is a chance for some tangible progress," he insisted. The government and rebels, however, have said they expect no breakthrough. The foreign minister told AFP this week that the chance of face-to-face sitdowns between the two delegations was slim to none. - 'Collateral damage' - All previous attempts to resolve the Yemen war have failed. Griffiths is the UN's third Yemen envoy since 2014, when the Huthis overran the capital Sanaa and drove Hadi's government into exile. The following year, Saudi Arabia and its allies formed a powerful regional military coalition to back Hadi's government in its fight against the Huthis. The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and pushed the Arab world's most impoverished country to the brink of famine. On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition acknowledged there may have been "collateral damage" from August 23 strikes the UN said killed 26 children south of the port of Hodeida. A day earlier, Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels, with shrapnel wounding 26 people including two children, the coalition said. On Thursday, 16 humanitarian NGOs urged French President Emmanuel Macron to explicitly condemn any attack that causes civilian deaths in Yemen. Huthi supporters demonstrate in the Yemeni rebels' stronghold Saada on September 5, 2018 against an August air strike by the Saudi-led coalition which left 51 people dead UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has had to delay long-awaited talks between the government and rebels A Yemeni pro-government fighter near Hodeida fires a heavy machine gun in an image grab taken from AFPTV on June 15, 2018 Key actors in the Yemen conflict
The US embassy in Ukraine on Wednesday condemned a court decision to grant the country's prosecutor general access to the phone data of one of the country's top investigative journalists. "We are concerned that yesterday's court decision regarding investigative reporter Natalia Sedletska could have a chilling effect on press freedom and anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine," the embassy said on its official Twitter account. "Ukrainian authorities should support independent journalism," it added. Tuesday's court decision was linked to Sedletska's role as a witness in a case against Ukraine's anti-corruption head Artem Sytnyk, who is accused of leaking state secrets to journalists last year. Sedletska also fronts and edits a programme called "Schemes" -- a joint project by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Ukraine's first public TV channel -- that has investigated officials including the president and the prosecutor general. A court decision from August 27 granted investigators from the prosecutor's office access to metadata from her phone dating back almost a year and a half, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said in a statement. This includes lists of her phone calls and SMS messages, as well as her location over that time. Ukraine was ranked 101st out of 180 countries in the annual media freedom ranking composed by Reporters Without Borders in 2018. The US embassy in Ukraine says it is "concerned" by the Ukrainian court's decision to grant access to investigative reporter Natalia Sedletska's phone data, saying it could have a "chilling effect" on press freedom in the country
The US Open quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and John Millman ground to an astonishing halt at 2-2 in the second set Wednesday when the umpire gave Millman permission to leave the court to change his sweat-soaked clothes. A break in play of six and a half minutes saw 13-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic remain on the court as Australia's Millman -- who apologized profusely to Djokovic -- disappeared. "I could with a rest," said Djokovic. Djokovic used the break to send a ballboy over to his box in the stands seeking to get some tablets he said his wife had brought to the tournament for him but which had somehow not made it into the bag he took on court. When play resumed, Millman held serve for a 3-2 lead in the second set -- then they both sat down for the changeover. Wimbledon champion Djokovic won the first set 6-3 over the 55th-ranked Millman, who reached the quarters with a shock win over five-time champion Roger Federer. Serbia's Novak Djokovic speaks with people in his box during his US Open quarter-final against John Millman.
A woman has been killed after she was dragged by a truck in Melbourne.

The woman, who is yet to be identified, and a man, believed to be her husband, were about to unload the excavator in Wattamolla Ridge, Donvale on Thursday about 7.20am.

The excavator was attached to a trailer on the back of a truck.

A woman has died after she was dragged by a truck while trying to unload an excavator in Donvale, Melbourne on Thursday. Source: 7 News

The truck began moving and the woman was dragged, police said.

She sustained fatal injuries.

WorkSafe and Major Collision Investigation Unit detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the exact cause of the incident with the investigation ongoing.

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A mum says she was made to breastfeed standing up on a train for about half an hour when no one offered to stand up and give her a seat.

Kate Hitchens wrote on her Instagram account she was on her way home from London when her six-month-old needed to be fed.

What has the world come to that a mother has to stand up on a moving train breast feeding a wriggling and writhing 6 month old, 20lb (9kg) baby?! she wrote.

Ms Hitchens added she didnt ask for a seat.

I felt silly, she wrote.

I shouldnt have to ask. Maybe some people didnt see. I know for a fact some did; they made eye contact and actually smiled at me.

Mum Kate Hitchens says she was forced to stand for about 30 minutes on a train from London while breastfeeding. Source: Instagram/baby_led_weaning_club

Ms Hitchens claims one lady looked up from her book and offered her seat, but another woman took it.

The lovely lady said Oh excuse me I actually gave up my seat so this lady with a baby could sit down the sitting lady shrugged, plugged her earphones in and closed her eyes, Ms Hitchens wrote.

I can somewhat understand not offering your seat to someone elderly; perhaps they might be offended you think they look old, the mum wrote.

I can understand not offering your seat to someone you suspect might be pregnant; maybe its just their time of the month or perhaps they are just naturally curvy and they arent pregnant; perhaps you worry you might offend them.

I cannot get my head around not offering a parent with a child a seat.

Ms Hitchens is now urging people to give up their seats for anyone on public transport with children. Source: Getty Images (File)

She urged anyone who is able bodied and fit and healthy who sees someone with a child on a train to offer their seat.

Her post has received more than 800 likes.

In July, a single Adelaide mum hit back at her critics after revealing she still breastfeeds her seven-year-old son.

Lisa Bridger has breastfed all five of her children for the past 27 years.

But it is the feeding of her two youngest boys, seven-year-old Chase and four-year-old Phoenix, that is proving hard for some to swallow.

In Argentina, a police officer received praise after an image of her breastfeeding a neglected baby went viral.

The baby was seriously malnourished when the Argentinian officer arrived at the Sister Maria Ludovica Childrens Hospital in Buenos Aires, following reports that the childs mother was struggling to look after him.

Spotting that staff were overworked, police officer Celeste Ayala asked if she could help hold and then breastfeed the baby, who was described by staff as being smelly and dirty.
Scheduled Yemen peace talks hung in the balance Friday, with the Huthi rebels listing preconditions for coming to Geneva while the government warned it would decide within hours whether to fly home. The rebel delegation, still in Yemen's capital Sanaa, insisted the UN meets three demands before it travels to Switzerland. UN envoy Martin Griffiths, who earlier said the planned meeting offered a "flickering signal of hope" for an end to the years-long conflict, had to postpone the start of the talks and was left scrambling to save them. "He continues to make efforts to overcome obstacles to allow the consultations to go forward," his office said in a statement, adding that Griffiths remained "hopeful" the rebels would come. The Geneva talks are meant to be the first since 2016, when 108 days of negotiations between the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and rebels failed to yield a deal. The Huthis control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, while a Saudi-led coalition which backs Hadi's government controls the country's airspace. Led by Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani, a Yemen government delegation arrived in Switzerland on Wednesday. But on what was meant to be the opening day of talks, the rebels issued an ultimatum from Sanaa, saying they would not join until the UN meets three conditions that it had already agreed to. They want the transportation of wounded rebels to Oman for medical care, the repatriation of rebels who have already received treatment there, and a guarantee that the Huthi delegation will be allowed to return to Sanaa after the Geneva talks. The rebels said late Thursday that the coalition was "still refusing to give permission to a Omani plane" to land at Sanaa and take the delegation to Geneva. The rebels also need to "ensure the safety of the delegation" and require a guarantee that they would be allowed to return "smoothly" to Sanaa airport, according to a statement posted on the SABA news agency website. - Rebels 'don't want peace' - The government delegation said Thursday it would wait only 24 hours, until midday (1000 GMT) on Friday, then leave Geneva. Yamani later denied that the government had issued such an ultimatum but told journalists in Geneva "the government delegation will take a decision within a few hours whether to continue in Geneva or to withdraw". Yemen delegation member Hamza Alkamali said the talks had been scheduled for two months and that the rebels clearly "don't want peace". Clearance for a flight carrying rebel delegates and wounded was "issued three days ago," he insisted. Griffiths, was "mindful of the challenges associated with bringing the parties together to Geneva, bearing in mind that they haven't met for two years," his office said in a statement. On Thursday, an AFP journalist saw the envoy entering the Geneva hotel hosting the Yemen government delegation. Griffiths had told journalists he would begin informal consultations with the government team while the rebels make their way to Switzerland. If and when the two parties do eventually meet, he said, there would be no "formal negotiations", merely exploratory talks on how best to get everyone around a negotiating table. The UN Security Council this week urged both sides to "take a first step towards ending a conflict that has brought severe pain and humanitarian suffering to the Yemeni people". - 'Collateral damage' - All previous attempts to resolve the Yemen war have failed. Griffiths is the UN's third Yemen envoy since 2014, when Huthis overran the capital and drove Hadi's government into exile. The following year, Saudi Arabia and its allies formed a powerful regional military coalition to back Hadi. The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and pushed the Arab world's most impoverished country to the brink of famine. On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition acknowledged there may have been "collateral damage" from August 23 strikes the UN said killed 26 children south of the port of Hodeida. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Huthi rebels, with shrapnel wounding 26 people including two children, the coalition said. burs-apo/pvh/dl/ceb The conflict between Yemen's Huthi rebels and a Saudi-led coalition has left nearly 10,000 people dead Key actors in the Yemen conflict A Yemeni pro-government fighter near Hodeida fires a heavy machine gun in an image grab taken from AFPTV on June 15, 2018
Little Ali begged his father to let him and his brothers go on a class trip in northern Yemen this summer. None of them would come home alive. Weeks after the August 9 bombing of a school bus in the Yemeni province of Saada, the boys' father is still in shock after having to bury his three young children. "They waved to me from the bus, and I said 'go with God'," said Zaid Tayyeb at his home in Dahyan in Saada province, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Huthis bordering Saudi Arabia. Tayyeb had refused to send them on the Muslim youth camp trip earlier in the summer, fearing for their safety in Yemen's deadly conflict between the Huthi rebels and a government backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies. But following his children's pleas, he relented and allowed them to board the bus after another group of students returned safely after taking the same route. "When I woke up that morning, they were all dressed in their new clothes. So I asked them what was going on, acting like I had no idea where they were going," Tayyeb told AFP. "They laughed and reminded me that the faithful never lie. That I had promised to let them go on the (Koranic studies) class trip after they got top marks. "They hugged me tight, got on the bus and waved to me as it pulled away. I turned and walked maybe 100 or 150 metres when the bus was hit." Tayyeb turned and ran back towards the bus. "There was smoke and debris everywhere. I grabbed the first body I could reach. It was face down on the ground," he said. "It was my son. Ahmed," who was 10 years old. On the wall of the family's living room hang pictures of each child: Ahmed, his little brother Ali, 9, and 13-year-old Youssef. Each photograph is accompanied by the date of their death -- "Martyred on 9/8/2018 in the massacre of children in Dahyan". Tayyeb's only surviving son, five-year-old Mohammed, stands under his big brothers' pictures, wearing rebel military garb tailored to his tiny frame. He was too young to take the class trip. - 'Collateral damage' - According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 40 children were killed and 56 wounded in the air strike which was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Huthis. Coalition commanders have admitted a small number of mistakes and said the strike had "caused collateral damage", but there has been no public disciplinary action or changes to the rules of engagement. The rebels accuse the coalition of knowingly targeting children. The coalition says there was a legitimate target -- but a mistake in timing. The incident sparked a wave of international anger and the United Nations Security Council has called for a "credible and transparent" investigation. Following the Dahyan attack, UN officials accused the coalition of being behind twin air strikes on August 23 which killed at least 26 children south of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida. The coalition said on Thursday that its investigation into those strikes had found "there might have been collateral damage and civilian casualties." Both parties in the Yemen conflict stand accused of failing to protect civilians. The Saudi-led coalition last year landed on a UN blacklist for the killing and maiming of children. The Huthis are accused of using human shields and recruiting child soldiers. The UN children's agency (UNICEF) has long highlighted the plight of minors in Yemen, where the organisation says 2,200 children have been killed in the conflict. Since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015, some 10,000 people have been killed in the war which has triggered a humanitarian crisis. For Tayyeb, the loss of his three children leaves a wound that will never heal. "They were intelligent, polite, wise beyond their years. And now they're in heaven." A Yemeni child recites a prayer on September 4, 2018, next to the graves of boys killed when their bus was hit by a Saudi-led coalition air strike on the Dahyan market the previous month A Yemeni boy on September 4, 2018 stands in the wreckage of the bus which was hit by a Saudi-led coalition air strike The graves of children killed in an air strike which hit their bus last month, pictured on September 4, 2018 A child wounded in the air strike on a Yemeni bus awaits treatment at a hospital on August 9, 2018
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called for a baby boom in Armenia during a cabinet meeting today to review a proposal by Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Maneh Tandilyan to raise the one-time payment to parents having a second child from 50,000 to 150,000 drams.

Tandilyan argued that the increase of 100,000 drams ($206) would prompt families to have a second child and thus ameliorate Armenias demographic crisis.

When Tandilyan told the cabinet members that the birthrate in the country is dropping, Prime Minister Pashinyan turned to Minister of Defense Davit Tonoyan and joked that Tandilyan has actually meant a drop in the birth of baby boys.

And let them quickly reach the age of eighteen, Pashinyan said, referring to the age when males are conscripted into the army.

In response, Tonoyan said hed rather see the government paying more attention to promoting the birth of a third and fourth child.

Yes, but theres a technical problem. If theres no second child, there cant be a third or fourth, unless some new technical innovation comes along, Pashinyan joked.

He then asked the cabinet members how many children each had.

The cabinet then approved Tandilyans proposal and an additional one to double the payment in the case of twins.
Zimbabwe's former president Robert Mugabe, who had vowed not to vote for his old party in elections in July, on Thursday said he accepted the outcome of the disputed poll. Mugabe said on the eve of the ballot he hoped his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa and the ruling ZANU-PF party would be voted out of power, complaining they had "tormented" him when he was removed from power following a military intervention last year. He hinted that he would vote for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) after the military and his once-loyal ZANU-PF lawmakers turned against him and forced him from office, ending his 37 years in power in just days. Mnangagwa won the election taking 50.8 percent of the vote -- just enough to avoid a run-off against the MDC's Nelson Chamisa, who scored 44.3 percent. Chamisa challenged the result in court and lost. But speaking on Thursday at a wake following the funeral of his mother-in-law in Harare, Mugabe said Mnangagwa was the rightful president. "Mnangagwa is the winner. Things have been righted. We can't deny it," he said. It was his first public comment since the election. The 94-year-old spoke slowly and calmly spoke telling mourners "the past is gone, now it's time to unite and dialogue to build our nation". In a speech lasting about 40 minutes, Mugabe urged that the opposition "be allowed to peacefully" protest against the vote outcome. The country's top court dismissed the opposition bid to have the results annulled on grounds they were rigged. But Chamisa has rejected that ruling and vowed to lead "peaceful protests". Mugabe had not been seen in public since the election and even missed the inauguration of Mnangagwa on August 26, sending an apology that he was way in Singapore for medical treatment. Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe addresses media on July 29 during a surprise press conference at his residence "Blue Roof " in Harare
AUBURN  Health care is one of Democratic congressional candidate Dana Balter's top priorities, and she told a standing room-only crowd Wednesday night why she favors a Medicare-for-all system.

The discussion about health care and other issues came at a town hall meeting at Seymour Library in Auburn. It was Balter's third town hall meeting of the general election campaign. She is challenging U.S. Rep. John Katko, a Republican, in the 24th Congressional District race.

Balter, D-Syracuse, was asked whether she supports establishing a Medicare-for-all system. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has his own proposal to shift to Medicare for all and other progressive Democrats have backed legislation that would move away from a private insurance model in favor of a single-payer system.

In response to the question, Balter reiterated her support for Medicare for all.

"The goal, as I said before, is to make sure that every single person in this country has access to health insurance and health care ... We have a Medicare system that works beautifully," she said. "It is not perfect. We need to make improvements to it, but it works."

While Balter supports Medicare for all, she stressed that she also supports maintaining the private insurance market. Under her vision of a single-payer program, everyone would receive a basic level of coverage. But if they want additional coverage or something different, they could purchase private insurance.

The expansion of the social insurance program would be funded through the existing Medicare tax, Balter explained. The tax would be raised to pay for Medicare for all, and she acknowledged that opponents of single-payer "want to scare you." She contends that while there would be a tax increase, it would be "far less than what you would save" in out-of-pocket medical costs.

"Medicare for all is a more cost-effective approach to providing health care and it is better for the economy both at the macro level and the individual household level," she said.

Balter faced questions on other topics during the remainder of the town hall. She was asked if she would support impeaching President Donald Trump. If Special Counsel Robert Mueller presents evidence of wrongdoing, she believes those who committed crimes should be held accountable.

She wants to protect Mueller's investigation into Russia's meddling during the 2016 presidential election. She criticized Katko, R-Camillus, for not supporting legislation that would ensure Mueller's investigation continues unimpeded.

Katko has said in interviews that he supports Mueller's investigation, but doesn't believe legislation to protect the inquiry is necessary.

"Talk is not enough. We need action," Balter said.

Balter also touched on another of her priorities: getting money out of politics. She has railed against the existing system and released a government reform agenda over the summer. She recalled the moment when, after deciding she wanted to run for Congress, she was advised to take out her cellphone and open her contact list. She was then asked if she could raise $1 million from her contacts.

In the 24th district race, Balter is at a financial disadvantage. Katko has reaped the rewards of incumbency and has more than $1.6 million in his campaign bank account. Balter's campaign reported a little more than $100,000 in its July fundraising report.

She criticized the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case, which she considers "the worst decision in modern history."

"What it essentially did is legalize bribery in our political system," Balter said. "Money is not speech."

She supports a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision. She also wants public financing of elections, which she believes would help eliminate the influence of shadowy outside groups.

Balter repeated her opposition to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a Republican-backed tax reform measure that Trump signed last year. She criticized one of the law's provisions limiting state and local tax deductions up to $10,000.

The cap on state and local tax deductions was punishment to New York and other high-tax "blue states," she said. She criticized Katko for supporting the tax law.

"Get rid of that cap. Get rid of that whole tax law. It's a nightmare," she said. "There are far better ways to handle our problems than adding $1.9 trillion to our deficit to give gifts to the wealthiest in this country."

The town hall meeting was Balter's second in Auburn since launching her campaign last year. Before the primary election in June, she answered questions at a forum held at the Phoenix Building.

Balter's listening tour will continue this weekend in Oswego County. She has a town hall meeting planned for 6 p.m. Sunday at American Foundry, 246 W. Seneca St., Oswego.

Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding.

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A wheelchair-accessible swing is ready for use at Auburn's Casey Park  but a key will be needed to use it.

The Liberty Swing, which can accommodate a wheelchair, was recently installed at Casey Park as part of the playground's makeover, the majority of which took place in early May. The swing, which is manufactured by an Australian company, took longer to install because the city needed to add a soft, rubberized surface around it, city of Auburn Senior Planner Renee Jensen said.

The manufacturer requires a key for the swing to be used. There is a key onsite in a secure lockbox or one can be purchased from the city treasurer's office for $5. The code for the lockbox can be obtained by calling the Auburn Police Department, Jensen said. The key in the lockbox is free to use. Jensen said the city has distributed keys to local agencies, Casey Park Elementary School and the Auburn Enlarged City School District.

The swing cannot be used without the key, Jensen said. It is needed to lower the ramp and access the seat belt, which secures the wheelchair to the swing.

Instructions on how to operate the swing are posted at the park. The city of Auburn also produced an instructional video, which can be viewed on the city's website at auburnny.gov or at youtu.be/KFBsMAMWmQs.

The swing is located adjacent to the new playground, next to the other swings at Casey Park. The piece of equipment is fenced off from the rest of the playground for safety purposes, Jensen said.

"It's a very heavy piece of equipment," Jensen said. "We don't want people climbing or jumping on it. People could get hurt if they were using it incorrectly."

According to the Liberty Swing website, Auburn's swing is one of fewer than 20 in the United States and one of only three in New York. The rest of Casey Park playground is inclusive as well and was designed to be used by all children, regardless of any disabilities or physical handicaps.

Jensen said the kids "absolutely love" the climbing wall and the inclusive orbit, a merry-go-round type piece of equipment that can also accommodate a wheelchair, has been a big hit as well.

"Kids love getting dizzy for some reason," she said with a laugh.

While the city has been getting overwhelmingly positive feedback about the new playground, there have also been reports of vandalism, Jensen said.

"We are working very hard to deter that," Jensen said. "We are working with the Auburn Police Department on a couple options and monitoring the playground as well."

Jensen said the city plans to install some benches and picnic tables at the playground to make the park more family friendly and give parents places to sit while they supervise their children.

Staff writer Natalie Brophy can be reached at (315)282-2239 or natalie.brophy@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @brophy_natalie.

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Now that I'm a grizzled parenting veteran who has talked with teachers for many years about what's good for a child's development, I feel pretty confident in saying that one of most beneficial activities for students of all ages is reading.

Reading is great for the brain's health. It helps people expand their base of knowledge. It reduces stress, builds vocabulary, improves concentration. This list of benefits goes on and on.

For many students, though, the motivation to read isn't inherent. It's helpful for them to have materials that interest them, that stimulate their curiosity and engage them in critical thinking.

And as great as many school textbooks and digital reading platforms are these days, few options can offer the variety of content as daily newspapers. And that's why we continue to partner with educators throughout the Cayuga County area to offer our Newspapers in Education program.

NIE is a program that supplies free newspaper subscriptions (including digital access) to teachers to use in their classrooms as tools for instruction. Scores of classrooms around the area have signed up to get these papers this year, and more educators can reach out to us to get their subscriptions set up at any time. Contact our general manager, Jeff Weigand, at jeffrey.weigand@lee.net or (315) 282-2282 to get things started.

NIE is made possible by donations from readers and local businesses, which we're grateful to have so we can continue this program. We're also grateful to have support for our NIE program from the New York News Publishers Association, a trade organization for our industry that has a dedicated NIE/media literacy person on staff.

Thanks to the association, we're able to supplement our regular news content with features and activities that are targeted at student readers. We'll begin publishing that content starting next Wednesday, when you can look for a feature on National Hispanic Heritage Month. More monthly features will follow, along with weekly features in February for Black History Month and March for Women's History Month. All of that content will also be posted to our NIE blog at auburnpub.com/nieblog, where you can also look back at past features.

Another terrific resource for parents and teachers is the NIE page at the news publishers website: nynpa.com/nie.html. There you'll find a bunch of features and content to share with students, such as packages on how newspapers can be used to help the brain, what to know about cyber-bullying and how to be a critical reader of news.

Another link on the page that I want to highlight goes to the Young Voices of New York page. This is a news website for New York state school children that's written by and for students ages 13 and under. Students can write about whatever interests them. Movie and TV reviews, stories about field trips or family vacations, opinion pieces about issues in the news and more.

Young Voices is always looking for new contributors, and I'd love to see some Cayuga County-area bylines on that site this school year. The sign-up process is outlined on the Young Voices homepage at yvnewyork.com.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyers column appears Thursdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

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In a major victory for LGBTQ rights, the worlds second most populous country finally struck down a ban on consensual gay sex157 years after the law known in India as Section 377 was first put in place when the country was a British colony ruled by Britains Queen Victoria.

The wording of the 1861 law prohibited any type of sexual activity against the order of nature, which has long been interpreted to refer specifically to homosexual acts. LGBTQ activists in India had been challenging the law for years, before the Indian Supreme Court handed down its landmark ruling in which Chief Justice Dipak Misra called the Victorian-era law irrational, arbitrary and indefensible, Britains Independent newspaper reported.

Any consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adultshomosexuals, heterosexuals or lesbianscannot be said to be unconstitutional, the Chief Justice said in his ruling.

History owes an apology to members of the community for the delay in ensuring their rights, added Justice Indu Malhotra, according to The New York Times.

LGBTQ rights activists throughout the country of 1.324 billion people broke into celebration after the court handed down its decision on Thursday.

This decision is basically saying, You are not alone,  said Menaka Guruswamy. a lead lawyer for the petitioners in the case. The court stands with you. The Constitution stands with you. And therefore your country stands with you.

The petitionersdancer and yoga teacher Navtej Singh Johar, 59, and journalist Sunil Mehra, 63have been together as a couple since 1994, according to Quartz.com.

The 1861 law, when it was first imposed, carried a possible life sentence for whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature. According to the Times, the law was applied mostly to gay men, though even heterosexual oral and anal sex were considered illegal under Section 377.

The legal ban on gay sex actually extends back to a 1533 law known as The Buggery Act, according to the historical site Factly. The British law was first imposed under the reign of King Henry VIII.

Gay sex was finally decriminalized in the United Kingdom in 1967 and same sex marriage was legally recognized in Britain in 2014. But India, which won independence from Great Britain in 1947, kept the ban on gay sex on the booksuntil Thursday.

The Indian government has said that it would abide by the courts decision and would not seek legislation to reimpose a ban on gay sex, but conservative elements opposed to lifting the ban remain in India.

Its shameful, said Swami Chakrapani, president of the right-wing All India Hindu Mahasabha group. We are giving credibility and legitimacy to mentally sick people.

Photo By Nick Johnson / Wikimedia Commons
Real Good Food has sold the Haydens Bakery business  excluding the Chantilly Patisserie operation  to Bakkavor Group for 12m.

Real Good Food (RGF) has invested 15m in Haydens over the past 18 months, and the deal will mean a write-down of around 10.2m at 31 March 2018.

The significant investment made in plant and equipment was, however, one of the clear attractions to Bakkavor in its acquisition of Haydens, stated RGF, adding the disposal would allow it to focus on profitable assets elsewhere in the group.

RGF also owns cake decorations business Renshaw, coatings and sauces supplier R&W Scott and snack bar manufacturer Brighter Foods.

The move follows a troubled period for RGF, which has secured additional funding from shareholders, and recently raised 1m in an open share offer. It has also disposed of the Garrett Ingredients business.

RGF said the 9.6m cash funds from the Haydens deal would be used to reduce debt and boost working capital. Bakkavor is also assuming 2.4m of third-party debt.

Haydens, part of RGF since its inception in 2003, bakes premium tarts, pies and crumbles, Danish pastries, sweet buns, yum yums and doughnuts. Its core customers are the major retailers, and it provides a distribution operation for one of the leading UK retailers.

The business operates from two sites in Devizes, Wiltshire, and has 480 employees. Excluding the Devon-based Chantilly Patisserie desserts business, which is not a part of the deal, Haydens contributed 31.3m of revenue in 2017, and broke even at profit before tax, closing that year with net liabilities of 0.8m.

Bakkavor said the acquisition would enable it to increases the breadth and depth of its desserts range, and extend its in-store bakery offer. Combined with ongoing expansion of Bakkavors facility in Newark, it will also boost capacity and automation.

We are pleased to welcome Haydens to the Bakkavor Group, said Bakkavor chief executive officer Agust Gudmundsson.

It is a business which shares Bakkavors passion for providing outstanding service, quality and value to its customers and has a reputation for supplying some of the best-tasting sweet treats to the UKs leading retailers.

RGF chief executive Hugh Cawley said the deal marked an important next step in the restructuring and performance improvement of Real Good Food.

Given the sizeable areas of common interest, we believe that Haydens and its staff will prosper better in partnership with Bakkavor, he added.
Armenias Prosecutor Generals Office says it's taking a look at the details appearing in an August 24 Hetq article charging former Syunik Governor Surik Khachatryan with building a private house in Yerevan with no construction permit.

The article, Former Syunik Governor Surik Khachatryan Only Now Gets a Permit to Build a House Erected Years Ago, states that 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.
WASHINGTON, NC Students left stranded by the sudden closing of ITT Tech can find the classes they need to continue their education at Beaufort County Community College. BCCC offers a variety of programs, and students can choose both seated and online classes.On Tuesday, September 6 the for-profit company abruptly shut down all of its schools and left its students with an unclear future. ITT Educational Services Inc. was banned by the Department of Education two weeks ago from enrolling new students who use federal financial aid, according to the LA Times. The restriction on federal aid came after the company had been investigated in multiple states for fraud and predatory lending practices. The shutdown will affect 35,000 students across the country.BCCC is offering to help students who would like to continue their education through an accredited public community college. Some of the degree programs offered by BCCC include computer information technology: information systems, information technology: network management, information technology: software and web development, criminal justice technology, general occupational technology, business administration, medical office administration and office administration. Students will find a wide variety of online classes and hybrid classes, which combine in-person education with online components.Admissions staff can help students sort out how their previous credits can transfer. Even if classes do not transfer directly, students may get credit for prior learning. While BCCC does not offer student loans, financial aid staff can help them through applying for Pell grants, scholarships and other forms of financial aid, which do not need to be paid back. BCCC also offers a payment plan through the College Fund of North Carolina, so that students do not need to pay for their entire semester up front.BCCC also offers a series of eight-week classes, called Late Start, beginning on October 12. Students who sign up for these classes can still get an entire semester. Classes include Juvenile Justice, Business Psychology, Comprehensive Keyboarding and Music Appreciation. Students would not have to wait until the spring to start classes.Beaufort County Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates. In 1967, the College was officially chartered as Beaufort County Technical Institute. In 1979, community college status was granted, and since then, BCCC has functioned as a comprehensive community college offering continuing education and awarding associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates. Our faculty and staff are committed to providing accessible and affordable quality education, effective teaching, relevant training, and lifelong learning opportunities for the people served by the College.
Food handlers are in luck, but their good fortune might not help farmers who were victimized by shady operators.In the current version of Senate Bill 711 , NC Farm Bill of 2018, the Senate jettisoned a plan to hit produce transport services with hefty fees. The fees were meant to protect farmers from bankrupt or dishonest handlers, but they did not survive as the bill moved through the Senate. Instead, the bill beefs up an existing registration system and imposes fines when food handlers violate the law.S.B. 711 passed the Senate Monday, June 11, by a 33-13 margin. It is going through committees in the House.At least two of North Carolina's largest handlers have filed for bankruptcy since January, after allegedly leaving farmers waiting on several million dollars worth of payment.sweet potato grower Jeffery Lee said.The original draft of the Farm Bill hiked the cost of a handlers' permit to $500 with an annual $250 registration fee. It also more than doubled the minimum bond fee. Handlers would have paid bonds equal to the business of their highest grossing month, or a minimum of $25,000 and a maximum of $250,000.Lee said of the higher fees in the initial bill.The draft was apparently modeled on legislation in Florida and Georgia, but it would have made North Carolina more restrictive than both states.In Florida , handlers pay annual license fees of up to $500, as well as a bond ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, depending on their volume of business. Georgia requires produce handlers to apply online for a $50 to $100 license and provide a minimum bond of $10,000 and up to $230,000. As they annually renew their license, handlers must update their contact information, allowing the department to keep tabs on those handlers who do not pay with certified funds. The handlers who move their own goods or who pay upfront with certified funds are exempt from the licensing process.Like North Carolina's newest draft of the Farm Bill, Georgia kept registration costs down. Not wanting to discourage handlers from entering the market, regulators decided not to pile additional fees on top of the existing bond requirements.In Georgia farmers also struggle with "pinhookers," dishonest handlers who pay with bad checks or promise later compensation. They're nearly impossible to track down and prosecute because the pinhookers often cross state lines, getting agencies from several states involved and tangling disciplinary efforts.Georgia Department of Agriculture Assistant Director Jason Wamba said.Georgia hopes to win the help of big produce buyers by encouraging them to drive out illegal competition. Still, Wamba wasn't optimistic.Wamba said.North Carolina shares many of Georgia's troubles. Many of the agreements between farmers and handlers are verbal, and the lack of written contracts further complicates getting just compensation.N.C. Farm Bureau Federation legislative liaison Jake Parker said.The first draft of the Farm Bill slapped hefty registration and bonding fees on handlers as a fix. As the bill made its way through Senate, however, the registration fees were dropped. Handlers would now register for free, only paying in the form of business and contact information. Changes to bonding fees likewise were scuttled.This came as a relief to the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, which had been concerned that the fees would drive handlers out of the market, said the association's Senior Director of Government Relations Elizabeth Robinson.Robinson said.With a massive harvest in sweet potatoes - N.C.'s biggest produce crop - and diving profits this year, from a handler's perspective, the original fees would have created a "perfect storm," said Tami Long, director of marketing and business development for Nash Produce in Nashville, one of the nation's largest sweet potato and cucumber processing facilities. (North Carolina harvests the most sweet potatoes of any U.S. state.)Long said.The bill now fines handlers $100 per violation.Also, handlers who pay cash in advance, farmers who sell produce, and restaurants wouldn't have to register.Parker said.
Should Beaufort County's commissioners be resolved to ask the federal government to defend our Southern Border by ending the Biden /Harris Open Border policy in regards to that one border that is intentionally made OPEN?

Yes, Illegal Migrants are a huge expense to local governments.

No, the cost of Undocumented Immigrants is insignificant in our providing a pathway for the "Browning of America".
Parents and children all over the UK will surely sympathise with Theresa May and her Cabinet as they return to work after a pleasant summer break. But after those dancing videos in Africa, it appears as though the Prime Minister is serious about getting back to business.

In a speech to the House of Commons, she laid the blame for the Salisbury nerve agent attacks squarely at Russia's door.

May said: "We were right to say in March that the Russian state was responsible. And now we have identified the individuals involved we can go even further."

She explained that as the police investigation had enabled the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to bring charges against the two suspects, the security and intelligence agencies have also been working to identify the organisation responsible.

"Based on this work, I can today tell the house that based on a body of intelligence the government has concluded the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU," the Prime Minister added.

No rogue action

She went on to describe the GRU as a "highly disciplined organisation with a well established chain of command". As such, she ruled out "rogue" action, saying it was "almost certainly" approved "at a senior level of the Russian state".

To rule out any ambiguity, the Prime Minister explicitly said it was "part of a wider pattern of Russian behaviour that persistently seeks to undermine our security and that of our allies around the world".

May explained that the police would not be seeking extradition of the two suspects - who were using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - as there was little point. However, she warned that if either of them travel outside of Russia, "every possible step" would be taken to detain them.

After monitoring hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, police spotted the suspects, who were using false names of Petrov and Boshirov, flying into Gatwick and checking into a east London hotel. It is believed that they carried a fake Nina Ricci perfume bottle containing the nerve agent Novichok from Russia.

The Novichok attack

This was then used to spray the deadly substance onto the door handle of the home of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal. He and his daughter Yulia were then contaminated and were later found seriously ill on a park bench in Salisbury.

Both Sergei and Yulia were taken to hospital in a critical condition, as was Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who was also affected when he found the pair. Months later, Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley came across the bottle, which is thought to have been found in a charity bin in nearby Amesbury.

Both were taken to hospital in a critical condition, where Sturgess later died. The charges against the suspects are related to the Skripal incident, rather than the later event as the police have been unable to bring charges over the death of Sturgess or the poisoning of Rowley.

This is because it's not yet been possible to determine how the perfume bottle reached the bin where Rowley found it, or if it was the same bottle as that used in the Skripal attack.

"Full range of tools" to be utilised, May vows

The Prime Minister said the UK and its allies would "deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus in order to counter the threat posed by the GRU".

But just how many allies does the UK have now? It's been reported that May will speak to both the UN and European Union about taking further action, but will she get full support with Brexit negotiations still in progress?

The Prime Minister has been warned that security measures, like the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) that's being utilised to capture Petrov and Boshirov, will be a thing of the past when Britain leaves the EU.

May has previously called for a special security relationship between the UK and EU after Brexit, but this is expected to be rejected by Brussels. This is a result of the Prime Minister refusing to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court and is just one of many issues causing problems in negotiations.

But what about Brexit?

Although she has been authoritative in her approach to Russia, May is struggling to get her Chequers deal accepted by the EU. There are still many stumbling blocks that are preventing the UK reaching an agreement with the bloc, triggering significant concerns that Britain may leave the EU without a deal in place.

Now, with the Salisbury nerve agent attack, the weight and importance of having international security alliances has been under scrutiny.

Amber Rudd, former Home Secretary, warned May that any loss of security cooperation would be "completely unacceptable to the people of the UK".

Despite all this geopolitical upset, and the UK squaring up to one of the most powerful economies in the world, the markets seem relatively settled, with many reporting positive performances this week.

Key indexes for Britain, Germany and France all enjoyed slight increases, though emerging markets continue to struggle.


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My first experience with the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) occurred during my search for information on a certain gastropod, Tegula patagonica, for a biological research paper on the relationship between the abundance of marine gastropod shells and varying beach substrates in coastal Patagonia. I had just returned to Cornell University from field research in Bahia Bustamante, a small coastal town in Argentina, and I needed to begin compiling my research into a paper. However, there was one small catch  because Bahia Bustamante had no reliable internet connection, I had been unable to research the shells I was using for my project while in the field. Therefore, upon returning to Cornell, I had to first identify every shell I had used to the species level, and then research each species before I could even begin to write my paper.

The BHL proved the most useful resource in my search for information on Patagonian gastropods. By typing in Tegula patagonica alone, I found results not only in English and Spanish (which I could read and use for my paper), but also various other languages such as German, French, and Portuguese. Furthermore, I did not even have to leave my room to access these materials.

As a student studying History, Asian Studies, and Biology, I have found the ability to access digitized materials such as those offered by the BHL invaluable to any research project. Even though I have access to the Cornell Libraries while studying at university, when I return to my home in rural Colorado over the summer, I heavily rely on online resources. Therefore, I became interested in the process of the digitization of resources, and began searching for opportunities to involve myself in the process of digitization and making materials readily accessible online.

When I discovered the BHL offered a virtual digital content internship, I immediately decided to apply in order to learn more about the curation of and the considerations for maintaining an online library. Even though I had no background in library science, I had become familiar with the idea of metadata collection through my work in photography, and believed I would be able to apply that previous experience to the process of making materials accessible through the BHL. Once accepted for the internship, I learned to use a system called Macaw to add metadata to items and eventually upload them to the Internet Archive, where they could be accessed through the BHL website. I am very grateful to have had Bianca Crowley, the Digital Collections Manager for the BHL, to teach me and help me during the internship; no matter how many questions I had, she always had the answers!

Over the course of my internship, I worked on items ranging from geological publications in Hungarian, to the German-language Bonn zoological Bulletin, to ornithological articles on birds in Wales and Kenya, to articles on the botany of the Great Lakes region. However, the items I worked on do not even scratch the surface of the diverse languages, time periods, subject matters, and authors present in the BHL. I am happy to have made even a small contribution to the ever-growing collections available through the BHL. [Note: Stephanie contributed over 10,000 pages  thank you!]

Had this internship not been a virtual internship, I am certain I would have been unable to participate. For the first half of the summer, I participated in a program with Cornell in which I lived in Zen monasteries in Japan for a few weeks. I am currently learning Japanese and studying Asian Studies and History; thus, I could not miss this opportunity to go to Japan, practice my Japanese, and experience the day-to-day life of living in a Zen monastery. After that program, I stayed in Japan for another couple of weeks, making it impossible for me to participate in any internship in the United States where I had to be physically present. Luckily, I did not have to worry about my physical location in order to do a virtual internship with the BHL. For the first part of the internship, I worked from Japan in three separate locations: Hakone, Nikko, and Tokyo. I uploaded PDFs, added metadata, and sent off items for uploading. When I returned home to Colorado, I was also able to seamlessly continue my work.

Therefore, I am very grateful that the BHL offers the opportunity to learn and participate as a virtual intern. I believe the decision to have the internship be virtual gives people like me the opportunity to participate in programs they otherwise would be unable to engage in. This internship introduced me to the world of library science, and has made me more interested than ever in the ongoing process of digitization and the breakthroughs in the accessibility of materials online.
Around the world, wild species like foxes are kept in small, barren battery cages for their entire lives before being killed by gassing or electrocution. Prada has long supported the fur trade, and its current range includes items made of fox and mink fur. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur/SPCA Montreal

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*Editors note: HSUS and the Fur Free Alliance are in open dialogue with Prada, and we should have an update soon. Please stay tuned.

As Fashion Week begins in New York City today, the iconic fashion brand Burberry has announced that it will stop using fur in its products and phase out existing fur items. This announcement follows nearly a decade of engagement with the Humane Society of the United States, as well as recent fur-free announcements from Gucci, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Donna Karan, Armani, Hugo Boss and many others.

Meanwhile, more than 40 animal protection organizations from around the world have come together to launch a campaign urging Prada, one of the fashion industrys most high-profile holdouts on fur, to go fur-free.

In what may be the largest corporate fur-free campaign of all time, the Fur Free Alliance, which includes animal protection organizations in more than 30 countries, including the HSUS and Humane Society International, is asking its millions of supporters worldwide to contact Prada and ask them to go fur free. Prada has long supported the fur trade, selling fur from skinned foxes, raccoon dogs, mink, rabbits and even pre-born or fetal lambs (known as broadtail, astrakhan, karakul, Persian lamb or swakara). Pradas current range includes items made of fox and mink fur.

Fur simply isnt fashionable anymore, and a number of designers are moving rapidly toward fur-free, responding to growing awareness about the cruelty inherent in the production of fur, and consumer demand. A number of Pradas top competitors have embraced fur-free fashion in recent years.

Companies like Burberry and all the others going fur-free realize theres an opportunity to capitalize on consumers growing interest and commitment concerning animal welfare, and that going fur-free is part of a fashion companys looking toward the future. Consumers simply do not want to support companies that profit from the suffering of animals. In fact, before online luxury fashion retailer, YOOX Net-a-Porter, went fur-free last year, it polled more than 25,000 of its top customers  including those who spent over a million dollars on its sites  and a majority said they wanted the company to go fur-free.

Cities like San Francisco, West Hollywood and Berkeley have already banned fur sales and countries like Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and India are banning fur production and imports. In the United Kingdom, HSI is leading the charge to ban fur sales in that country, and here in the United States, Los Angeles is close to doing the same.

There is absolutely no good argument for keeping the fur industry alive, especially when we know that it contributes to the suffering of more than 130 million animals each year. Around the world, in countries such as the United States, France, Poland and China, wild species are kept in small, barren battery cages for their entire lives before being killed by gassing or electrocution. Animals caught in the wild for their fur are taken in steel-jaw leghold traps that keep them in pain for days or even weeks before trappers return to kill them. These cruel and indiscriminate devices also threaten other wildlife and family pets.

Please call Prada today at 1-866-960-8757, let them know that you do not support this cruelty, and urge them to go fur-free.

Tell Prada to go fur-free
Editors Note: Brett Bigham is the 2014 Oregon State Teacher of the Year and author of a series of over 150 books called Ability Guidebooks that help autistic people get out into the world. This summer, he traveled to South Africa with a group of teachers as part of the NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship program . Here, he shares insights from the group.

For many teachers, the idea of global education means finding YouTube videos to watch and books to read. Other teachers bring the world to their students through Twitter or programs that make use of the internet to bring classrooms closer together.

For the lucky few, there are rare chances to actually visit with schools and classrooms around the globe. The NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship programis one of those rare opportunities, and the program brings together educators from across the U.S., who, after a year-long professional development program to integrate global competence into their classroom, travel as a cohort to an international location for the summer. This year, the program brought together a group of teachers from forty-seven states and culminated in a trip to South Africa. The teachers were selected as Fellows because of their deep interest and passion for global education.

Some of these teachers come from as far away as a Native Alaskan village in Alaska; others from some of the smallest rural towns in the United States. Several of the Global Fellows shared their experiences and insights with me, and Ive recounted them below.

Norman Ayagalria

English Language Arts and Yugtun Immersion Program, Bethel, Alaska

In Cape Town, the Fellows visited the Rainbow Academy , an arts program open to young people with an interest in becoming professional dancers, actors, poets, and musicians. They performed traditional as well as modern South African songs and dances. As they invited Fellows to join their drum circle, Norman jumped right up to participate. To see him bound up into the drum circle surprised me initially, given his quiet nature, but only for a momenthe was clearly in his element. Then I remembered Native Alaskan performers I had seen in my youth, and it was easy to see that Normans Native Alaskan culture and these traditional drum circle dances of South Africa had much in common. You cant get much further from Cape Town, South Africa, than Bethel, Alaska, but these distant cousins had more in common than you would think. When I asked Norman about the similarities, he said, There are enough parallels between my culture and African culture that it is very easy for me to make connections regardless of the separate continents. It would be easy to teach my culturethe Yupik culture(in Africa) and broaden that to other cultures around the world, starting with South Africa.

Vasiliki Dardeshi

Social Studies, Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Vasiliki teaches de-colonization to her students in Doylestown. Her knowledge of the government and culture gave her a much deeper perspective on the recent damage that apartheid did to South Africa. She says: This is the best professional development opportunity Ive taken because you hear all these stories. I remember apartheid in the 1980s and never thought Id come to South Africa. The experience, the cause, and the effect of seeing apartheid in place and the impact that is still felt today in society. All of these primary sources are so important to understand past history and how history impacts today.

Vasiliki drew a parallel between issues that we are seeing in the southern United States and South Africa: You see statues of white imperialists all over town. When you look at the statues and think of the time they were createda select few made those decisions for the whole countryI saw a commonality between the two. Though they are memorials, in todays world, is it appropriate to have such a statue if it upsets the people who were oppressed?

Noah Zeichner

Social Studies and Spanish Language, Seattle, Washington

At Cape Towns South African Jewish Museum , Noah charmed a museum worker into giving the two of us a private tour of the closed Great Synagogue. The ensuing conversation gave us both a deeper understanding of how the ending of apartheid sent ripples of change through the Jewish community. Following one of our school visits, Noah shared these thoughts with me:

There is no substitute for visiting schools in different countries. I have learned so much from teachers and students I have met during international trips. I have gained new ideas for my classroom and I have gained new insights into how schools are structured. In South Africa, for example, I was excited to learn that many high school principals teach at least one class. My favorite part, though, is creating new relationships that can lead to virtual exchanges benefiting students in both countries.

Understanding the World

It was clear from my discussions with the other Fellows that this trip to South Africa was going to have immense impact in their classrooms. For example, a middle school teacher, Angie Madsen , from Omaha, Nebraska, observed, After traveling internationally, I feel I am better in pointing out to students that others have different perspectives. I can authentically share another side of the story.""

I agree. You cannot face the results of apartheid without understanding that when the leadership of a country does not believe in equality, oppression will often follow. That is why global education is so important. To know other cultures is to respect them. That must remain one of educations highest priorities.

Connect with Brett , Heather , and the Center for Global Education on Twitter.

Top image of the author speaking with a student in South Africa was taken by, and used with the permission of, Dr. Joe Underwood , 2018 Global Learning Fellow.

Quote image created on Pablo .
Flu shot season, that time of year when signs go up in pharmacies and doctors offices advertising flu vaccines, seems to start earlier and earlier every year.

According to the CDC, flu vaccine shipments started in August this year and will continue through November, or until all of the vaccine is distributed.

This week, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised parents to get flu shots for all children ages 6 months and older as soon as the vaccine becomes available.

You may have thought, Already? Isnt it too early?

Turns out, experts are interested in this question, too, because no one is sure how long the protection from flu vaccines actually lasts. There have never been any randomized clinical trials testing the duration of the flu vaccines effectiveness.

Some studies have tried to tease out a timeline of the flu vaccines effectiveness by comparing vaccinated versus unvaccinated patients who come to clinics with flu-like symptoms.

A 2018 analysis of these kinds of studies published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases found that the effectiveness of flu vaccine seems to decline significantly sometime between 3 and 6 months after you get the shot, particularly against certain strains, such as H3N2, the A strain that dominated much of last years severe flu season, and the B strains.

If you get your flu shot in early September, then, will it still keep you from getting sick in the spring if a flu season gets off to a late start or has a second, late peak?

For more insight on this, we reached out to William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

WebMD: Is it possible to get a flu shot too early?

Schaffner: This turns out to be a much more complicated question that you would think at first glance. Youd be interested that this has been a matter of discussion in the [CDCs] Influenza Vaccine Working Group for some time.

The data are mixed. Most of the data come from adults, and often older adults. There are investigators who are convinced that if you get the flu vaccine too early, there is evidence of waning protection by the time you get to February and March, which of course, is when you want to be protected.


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The area burning from the massive Delta fire in Shasta County, California tripled in size overnight, scorching 15,294 acres and counting as of Thursday afternoon, per California fire authorities. Human involvement is blamed.

This wildfire is a monster, and it's beginning to look like California is just going to be on fire permanently?

From the Los Angeles Times:

On Thursday, less than 24 hours after the blaze broke out in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, the Delta fire had chewed through 15,294 acres of timber and dense brush. Three homes had been damaged and 150 others were under threat. Roughly 300 people had evacuated along I-5 from Lamoine to the Shasta-Siskiyou county line, according to Capt. Brandon Vaccaro, a fire spokesman. The wildfire was initially reported as three fires Wednesday afternoon north of Lakehead  a community of about 500 people near the Vollmers exit on I-5  but it merged into one fire and spread rapidly. At one point, the blaze burned up to one mile per hour. Vaccaro said there was "human involvement" in igniting the blaze, but it is not clear whether it was an accident or arson. The fire's quick growth was fueled partly by warm weather and winds, and officials are not anticipating much relief Thursday. Temperatures are expected to reach the mid-90s in areas where the fire is burning, and winds with gusts in the 15- to 20-mph range are expected through the afternoon.

This video, shot by Amit Sekhri, shows what people on I-5 in Northern California were driving through when the #DeltaFire broke out. More on the fire: https://t.co/WUouzVftAp Video from our sister station in Redding, @KRCR7. pic.twitter.com/bcGrp1vMWO  BakersfieldNow (@bakersfieldnow) September 6, 2018

I-15 is closed in some areas.

CALTRANS said Thursday afternoon they have "no plans" to reopen I5 north of Redding tonight, and they will "re-evaluate" the closure tomorrow morning.

The state transportation agency is waring motorists that alternate routes are getting clogged already, too.

UPDATE: Caltrans says it has no plans to reopen #I5 north of #Redding tonight due to wildfire, will re-evaluate closure tomorrow. https://t.co/lLDpkJBfWg  ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) September 6, 2018

"The worst may be yet to come," Commissioner David Jones warned at a San Francisco news conference, noting that California wildfires are typically more destructive after Sept. 1.

It's warm, dry & gusty near the #DeltaFire burning north of #Redding. Changing winds & heat will make it challenging for firefighters. #CAfire #ShastaCounty pic.twitter.com/rUdrOrCew6  Sandhya Patel (@SandhyaABC7) September 6, 2018

Along a section of California's busy I-5 freeway Thursday, crews removed the burned out remains of several big rigs that fell prey to the destructive blast of the Delta Fire. https://t.co/jvBaPgKDbY  KPIX 5 (@KPIXtv) September 6, 2018

Thick wildfire smoke will continue to blanket far northern California. Smoke will remain mainly north of the Valley today before beginning to push south overnight into tomorrow. #DeltaFire #HirzFire #CAwx pic.twitter.com/YWZCcB946n  NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) September 6, 2018

A California truck driver makes a bold decision to drive straight through the raging Delta Fire after he was unable to turn around. Surrounded by flames and smoke, the driver emerges unscathed. https://t.co/QiLlBFALKI pic.twitter.com/u9REBlo5hw  ABC News (@ABC) September 6, 2018

Just saw this myself. They're flowing onto northbound I-5 from the Lake exit and people are having to swerve out of the way. #DeltaFire https://t.co/hvPZqwZ1SA  Alayna Shulman (@ashulman_RS) September 6, 2018

Terrifying videos show drivers on I-5 fleeing fast-moving flames as a wildfire rips through #ShastaCounty. #DeltaFire https://t.co/IkMJUcRRF0  ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) September 6, 2018

New #DeltaFire evacuations are happening in Trinity County right now: https://t.co/DGW7qsqtDm  Alayna Shulman (@ashulman_RS) September 6, 2018

Yesterday a pyrocumulus, or fire cloud, built up from the #DeltaFire, but upper level transport winds helped sheer off the column. The fear with a pyrocumulus is that it can create thunderstorm-ish conditions, including winds up to 50 mph, sending outflow winds in all directions.  Jaclyn Cosgrove (@jaclyncosgrove) September 6, 2018

A truck driver describes his frustration over getting stranded on I-5 because of the Delta Fire. He's supposed to deliver plastic bags to Washington by tomorrow morning. Dozens of truckers in the same boat #DeltaFire pic.twitter.com/cICrW4sBNB  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) September 6, 2018

Here's another video of the #DeltaFire overtaking Interstate 5 on Wednesday. This video was taken by a California Highway Patrol officer. It sounds like a lot of firefighters, law enforcement officers and good Samaritans helped get each other to safety. pic.twitter.com/iUqVjeeEWG  Jaclyn Cosgrove (@jaclyncosgrove) September 6, 2018

CAL FIRE Fire Apparatus Engineer Jesse Vandegriff and pilot Bill Neckles stand in front of Siller Helitanker 35S. This was one of the first air resources to arrive at the Delta Fire in Shasta County yesterday, capable of putting up to 2000 gallons of water on a fire at a time. pic.twitter.com/bqsrhbETgf  CAL FIRE Butte Unit/Butte County Fire Department (@CALFIRE_ButteCo) September 6, 2018
Susan Collins is one of the few pro-choice Republican senators in Congress. It's entirely possible that her vote could decide the fate of Roe v. Wade foe Brett Kavanaugh. To help her make up her mind, over 17,000 people have contributed nearly $500,000 to fund her future opponent if she votes to confirm Kavanaugh as the next Supreme Court Justice.

From Crowdpac:

If you fail to stand up for the people of Maine and for Americans across the country, every dollar donated to this campaign will go to your eventual Democratic opponent in 2020. We will get you out of office.

The people of Maine have made it clear that they want you to vote NO on Kavanaugh, and we're counting on you to do the right thing.

You have the chance to stand up for the people of Maine  and for the entire country  by rejecting this Supreme Court nominee. Side with us and make the right choice.
The Democratic Republic of Congo continues to fight off the worst Ebola outbreak in years. Butembo, a major regional hub of 1 million people, has now had a confirmed death.

The World Health Organization is worried, and recommends you worry too.

Via HuffPo:

The Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed its first Ebola death in the eastern city of Butembo, a trade hub with Uganda that is home to almost a million people. This first urban death, combined with ongoing violence in the northeastern outbreak area in DRC and some community resistance, is worrying experts that the slowing outbreak could still escalate.

Having already killed 87 people, this outbreak is close to becoming the eighth-largest Ebola outbreak in history. While officials have been pleased with the decreasing pace of cases and a successful vaccination and contact tracing campaign, this new case in an urban setting is worrisome, Peter Salama, the World Health Organization's emergency response chief, told HuffPost.

"When you have an Ebola case confirmed in a city with 1 million people, no one should be sleeping well tonight around the world," Salama said.

The patient traveled from the current outbreak hotspot, the town of Beni, 35 miles southwest, to Butembo after disregarding medical advice, Salama said. The patient died at a health facility there.

While WHO team members are on site and working to quickly trace and vaccinate those with whom the patient came into contact, the potential for further spread could "change the trajectory of the outbreak," Salama said. Two more cases are suspected in the trading hub, the DRC's Ministry of Health reported Wednesday. Butembo is known for being critical to import and export between DRC and East Africa, Reuters reported.
Sacha Baron Cohen, in character as an overbearing Israeli antiterrorism expert, scanned Republican politician Roy Moore with a "pedophile detector" during a comical interview shot for his series Who Is America? Moore, who was accused of molesting teenage girls and was once reportedly banned from an Alabama mall for doing so in public, is now suing the British comedian over the fake gadget, which beeped loudly in proximity to the disgraced judge.

His lawyers say the satirist falsely accused their client of being a sex offender. They are seeking $95m (73m) in damages from Baron Cohen and from the Showtime and CBS networks. Representatives for Baron Cohen have not responded to the lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Washington. A spokeswoman for Showtime said it did not comment on pending litigation.

The clip is embedded above. Jump 3m in for the relevant portion.
A general ban on people sleeping in public places, allowing the San Francisco Police to arrest homeless people for having no place else to go, has been ruled cruel and unusual punishment by the US 9th Circuit Court.

KRON4:

Police can no longer arrest people for sleeping on the streets if they have nowhere else to go.

KRON4's Lydia Pantazes at San Francisco police headquarters this morning.



She says a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled arresting people who are sleeping on the street with no where else to go is cruel and unusual punishment.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco sided with six homeless people from Boise, Idaho, who sued the city in 2009 over a local ordinance that banned sleeping in public spaces.

The ruling could affect several other cities that have similar laws, including San Francisco.

For example, In San Francisco it is a misdemeanor sit or lie down on a public sidewalk, or on a mattress or other object on a sidewalk, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.

The question now is whether cities can ban sitting, lying, or sleeping outside during a particular time and at a specific location. While that may still be allowed, an all out ban is not.
Business / International

by Staff Reporter

The President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, has urged Chinese business leaders to attend the Africa Investment Forum scheduled to take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 7-9 November 2018.Adesina made the call while addressing delegates at the 6th Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs, which took place on the sidelines of the 2018 Beijing Summit, attended by leaders from 53 African countries and China."I am sure you all know Africa is the place to be. African economies are growing well and the GDP growth rate is projected to average 4.1% this year," he said.Akinwumi had lively exchanges with high-level officials and business leaders from China, led by Vice-Premier Liu He, Governor Yi Gang of the People's Bank of China, and the President of China Development Bank, Zheng Zhijie.Responding to questions by China Economic News (CEN) on how China could be unique to Africa, Adesina said, "China doesn't just promise, China delivers."In another interview, with China Daily, he noted: "There's a perfect alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and the High 5s of the African Development Bank Group." The Bank is already discussing with China Development Bank about formulating large-scale projects, which can fit in the both of the frameworks."The Bank President also described the relationship between China and Africa as a mutually reinforced partnership, noting that there are 10,000 Chinese companies and 1.3 million Chinese people throughout Africa.Adesina cited significant trade imbalance as a challenge to be tackled. While nearly 90% of China's exports to African countries are high-value-added products such as machinery and equipment, 75% of Africa's exports are raw materials. He therefore called on Chinese companies to invest, and not just contract or provide loans to Africa's public sector.Highlighting energy and the agriculture and food sectors as opening vast opportunities and potential to China and the world, Adesina expressed hopes for a strong representation by Chinese businesses at the upcoming African Investment Forum in South Africa."This is not a talk-show, it is all about transactions. US$92 billion portfolios are already set on this platform," Adesina said.The Africa Investment Forum will convene project sponsors, borrowers, lenders and investors, necessary for accelerating investments in Africa. The three-day event will unite global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other financial sector investors.The Forum will also bring together a network of financial institutions with instruments to de-risk selected investment opportunities.During his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the 2018 China-Africa Cooperation Forum (FOCAC), President Xi Jinping referred to the Africa Investment Forum as a concrete step for "building a shared future."Jinping pledged to extend a US$60 billion financing package and US$10 billion investment in Africa over the next three years.China-Africa trade amounted to US$174 billion in 2017, a huge increase from just over US$10 billion in 2000. Chinese foreign direct investments in Africa have risen from US$10 billion in 2010 to over US$60 billion in 2017.
News / National

by Staff reporer

ZIMBABWE was by yesterday left with less than a month of wheat stocks after a United Kingdom-based supplier held back a 30 000-tonne consignment at Mozambique's port of Beira until payment is confirmed following delays by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to remit $12,5 million to close the deal.It is understood that some millers have since suspended operations owing to a critical shortage of flour.The country, currently producing less than a third of its national wheat requirements estimated at 350 000 to 400 000 tonnes per annum, relies largely on imports for the staple cereal.National output is this year is projected at about 100 000 tonnes, which would be a significant improvement on 2017's 20 000 tonnes, but way below national demand.Responding to NewsDay questions while in China on an official visit, RBZ governor John Mangudya said the central bank had acted on the matter to avert a crisis."We have arranged letters of credit for the procurement of the required 40 000 tonnes of wheat per month," he said.Given Zimbabwe's foreign currency crunch, the wheat shortages may just be the beginning of a broader food crisis.A letter written by Grain Millers' Association of Zimbabwe (GMAZ) general manager Lynette Veremu to the association's chairperson Tafadzwa Musarara on September 4, 2018 showed that the wheat and flour situation in the country had reached a breaking point.It also indicated that RBZ was yet to remit $12,45 million due to Holbud Limited, a UK-based company for the supply of 30 000 metric tonnes of Germany/Russian wheat to GMAZ.Holbud has rejected an RBZ guarantee under which payment would be done "in 60 days".The consignment, whose bill of lading has Zimbabwe as its destination, is sitting at Beira and amid indications that it could be sold to millers in Mozambique and Malawi.According to the letter, Zimbabwe's wheat stocks had fallen to 28 028 tonnes, which is less than a month's supply estimated at 38 000 tonnes.The current level is way below the minimum standard of three months of stock, roughly 114 000 tonnes, required for sustainability.As at September 4, National Foods  one of Zimbabwe's largest food processors which is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange  only had 9 745 tonnes of wheat in stock, just over a month of production.Six processors, including Victoria Foods and Unifoods, had suspended operations due to the crippling shortage of wheat, according to the letter.The list of companies that have suspended operations also includes Wheat Star, Power Foods, Falcon Foods and Oriental Milling.In her letter to Musarara, Veremu deplored that wheat was not receiving the same preferential treatment as fuel in foreign currency allocation, although both items fall under category one of the central bank's priority list."Regrettably, fuel gets $21 million per week religiously, but wheat is not getting a paltry $12,45 million per month religiously for the entire national monthly requirements. No remittance has been made despite commitment made by RBZ on August 28, 2018. Holdbud Limited has grown impatient and threatens to divert stocks currently at Beira to Mozambique and Malawi millers," she said.Veremu indicated that self-raising flour was no longer available in many retail shops nationwide."I strongly recommend that you alert the powers that be of this predicament, as the country is fast plunging into severe flour and bread stock-outs in the next few days," she added.
News / National

by Staff reporter

ZIMBABWE has called on the international community of postal regulatory authorities to be cautious before implementing a planned blanket mandatory tracking system on parcels, arguing it could hit operators hard.Contributing to debate at the ongoing Universal Postal Union (UPU) extraordinary congress underway in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) director-general Gift Machengete said the plan should be assessed how it impacts on operators."The tracking of postal items is an integral part of service delivery which has to be implemented," he told delegates from across the world."However, due care and caution has to be exercised when implementing the tracking system."Machengete argued that mandatory tracking would cripple operators."Implementing mandatory tracking of items immediately will no doubt cripple operators financially when they still to upgrade the tracking infrastructure," the Potraz boss said.Machengete added that Zimbabwe would recommend that regulatory authorities find ways of capacitating operators before the planned blanket mandatory tracking."Zimbabwe's view is that operators still need to be capacitated in terms of the software and hardware such as scanners, computers as well servers for them to be able to track items," he said."Zimbabwe, therefore, recommends that mandatory tracking should be considered after assessing its financial impact on operators and a concrete programme of infrastructure upgrading should be put in place."The integrated remuneration plan which is an essential part of integrated product plan (IPP) implementation must not disadvantage operators. The current terminal dues are country specific and they are derived from country specific costs of delivery."The extraordinary congress ends tomorrow and discussions also centred around implementation of UPU's IPP plan and the integrated remuneration plan as well as the sustainability of the global postal body's provident scheme.UPU is a grouping of the globe's 192 postal regulators whose congress is held every four years.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Zimbabwe's opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa may have to fork out more than R42 million to meet the costs of his election outcome challenge he launched and lost at the country's Constitutional Court.Chamisa sought to overturn president-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa's July 30 election victory, but the ConCourt unanimously dismissed his challenge with costs.But the figure may even rise if Chamisa's next course of action - appealing to a higher court - takes off.Chamisa's legal team is reported to be lodging a petition with The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR).The lawyers are seeking to challenge the decision made by the Constitutional Court, alleging that it violates the universal human rights of the people of Zimbabwe.Zanu-PF Secretary for Legal Affairs Paul Mangwana said the ruling party's lawyers were quantifying the exact amount due to them, but they had indicated an approximate bill of more than R42 million.That figure excludes the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission's legal bill."Lawyers charge according to the number of hours they spend on a case. You will appreciate that a humongous amount of hours were spent on this case because of its high profile nature and also because of the need to ensure that everything was on point," Mnangwana said.Mangwana said the final bill required approval of the registrar of the court."The amount has to be in line with the prescribed rates which lawyers charge. Such rates are approved by the registrar of courts who also has to grant the approval. The amount will also undergo the necessary taxation processes," he said.Mangwana said in the event Chamisa failed to pay, the opposition leader risked losing his personal property."What the ruling means is that Zanu-PF doesn't have to pay, it is Chamisa who has to pay our lawyers. The law says if he doesn't pay, we will have to attach his personal property."This law is made to guard against people who approach the courts with cases that are not of any substance," he said.Judgments of the Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe cannot be appealed in Zimbabwe, as it is a court of last instance.
News / National

by Staff reporter

BUHERA South Member of Parliament Honourable Joseph Chinotimba has lamented the delay on national economic development soon after harmonised elections.Hon Chinotimba, who was among the MPs who were sworn in yesterday at Parliament building, said he is expecting the august house to amend the electoral law to enable it allow a party with more MPs to elect their President."I am happy that I return to Parliament but was not pleased with the delay of the inauguration of our President Mnangagwa when his party had managed to have majority seats in Parliament," said Chinotimba."Opposition parties were supposed to use common sense that even if Chamisa had won the Presidential elections he was not going to rule given that his party had only managed to have fewer MPs than those of the ruling party."Taking the election results to the Constitutional Court delayed nation progress as well as us to be sworn in for duty."I represent people. I stay with them and I tell you they were not happy with the delay in allowing President Mnangagwa to be in office for the good of our nation."Chamisa is my friend and at one time he quoted my English during his rallies hanzi ndavakumbotaura chirungu chavaChinotimba."He is my friend and we talk; there is no animosity between us but when it comes to development I stand with my constituency for the best."Coming back to my constituency, I am prepared to engage national parks authorities to help people do their business without fearing hyenas that are a threat to villagers."I will make sure the infrastructure is improved to allow development in communities for the betterment of our people in Buhera South."Ndine dzimwe shamwari dzangu dzeStudio 7 dzinotepfenyura dziri kumhiri kwemakungwa ndinoti kwavari Zimbabwe yanaka dzokai mushandire munyika menyu; we are now in a new dispensation led by President Mnangagwa who has people at heart," said Chinotimba.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The Swiss food multi-national Nestle is investing $1.25m (1m) in Zimbabwe to help revive its coffee industry, news agency Bloomberg reports.It is set to buy nearly all the coffee produced by the country's smallholder farmers and plans to produce limited editions of its Nespresso coffee pods to appeal to a market looking for new tastes."We are rebuilding an industry that was disappearing," Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marc Duvoisin told Bloomberg."They produced a lot of coffee before, so there's a lot of history. Some people know Zimbabwean coffee but most have never tried it."The economy suffered during the decades-long presidency of Robert Mugabe. His successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has pledged to re-engage the country with the world.
Opinion / Columnist

Our NEXT move is very crucial for Zimbabwe's future. Things must change. We're currently engaging Zimbabweans countrywide on the steps ahead. We're ready to serve YOU.Tough decisions are about to be made. You decide we abide.Your wish is our command. Your thoughts & ideas ??  Nelson Chamisa (@nelsonchamisa) September 6, 2018

The will of the people shall never be overshadowed by the voice of the minority just because they shout loudly. This is a basic concept of modern democracy. There are legitimate and academic discussions how this should be resolved, and solutions range from regular plebiscites to proportional representation in Parliaments. This is the spectrum that democracies move on, the world over, from Argentina to Japan. Historically speaking, each of the forms practiced today is a monumental development from the early days of the Athenian democracy.But maybe us Zimbabweans are contributing to a completely new form of democracy: The cyber-democracy, or maybe Twittocracy. Over the course of the campaign for the 2018 harmonised elections, haven't we seen it all online, especially on Twitter? There were questions asked by users, and the results were called "polls", disregarding the professionalism and statistical nuances adhered to by think-tanks and polling institutes. Twitter feeds were filled with calls to actions such as "Like for ED, retweet for Nelson Chamisa", as if that could be any indication for the nation-wide popularity of any candidate. Twimbos were devastated when results didn't match their expectations fed from these conversations in the bubble.But today, Nelson Chamisa took this Twittocracy to a whole new level. In the morning, he tweeted: "Our NEXT move is very crucial for Zimbabwe's future. Things must change. We're currently engaging Zimbabweans countrywide on the steps ahead. We're ready to serve YOU.Tough decisions are about to be made. You decide we abide.Your wish is our command. Your thoughts & ideas ??"I was speechless. Is this how it would work if he were elected President? You tweet any idea at him and just "abides"? Shouldn't he lead, know what to do next, have a backbone? But most important of all  what about all the Zimbabweans who are not on Twitter?? Are their wishes worthless? This is exactly how the MDC lost the rural vote, and in turn, the national election. This is also schoolyard-level politics. It doesn't work that way. No wonder less and less people, here and abroad, seem to care about Chamisa.
Opinion / Columnist

Community Water Alliance staff visited households with pre-paid water meters in Kambuzuma Section 1. The purpose of the visit was to assess the impact of pre-paid water meters installed in 2017 by City of Harare on its pilot project. In Kambuzuma Section 1, one hundred households were used as a pre-payment pilot policy on water by the City of Harare.The visit and assessment by Community Water Alliance revealed that more than two thirds (of the 100 households installed) of those who pre-paid for water in 2017, still have the money un-used because water rarely comes in the area. Before installation of pre-paid water meters, the area used to have water 24/7. The situation now is extremely bad. A bucket of water fill-up after 8 hours.Water cuts worsen the situation in Kambuzuma Section 1. Access to water which sometimes comes after a long time ( two days), is worsened by water cuts.The price of potable water under the pre-payment system was $0,60c per cubic metre in 2017 when Kambuzuma residents paid for the services. This price is way too high as compared to the $0,25c per cubic metre under conventional metres in Harare.The City of Harare is dwindling residents through double billing. The composite bill of the City of Harare is coming with water charges whilst residents are buying pre-payment tokens for water.The challenges of access to water in Kambuzuma have forced residents to pay $40 per month on bulk water purchases. Some have resorted to digging shallow wells at their homesteads. Residents expressed high dissatisfaction with pre-paid water meters and proposed that the City of Harare should revert back to post-payment conventional meters. The local district is not helping because they have no knowledge on pre-paid water meters and they are referring residents to companies that installed the meters.Hildaberta RwambiwaNational ChairpersonCommunity Water Alliance
Opinion / Columnist

OUR doubts about the efficacy of our hopeless legal system have now been proved beyond any reasonable doubt. After that charade of an election court hearing, it is little wonder this country is in the troubles that it is in right now. I am now more than glad that I am no longer part of this embarrassment. You see comrades, this thing called legitimacy is not something that the courts are supposed to be "asked" to pronounce.Legitimacy comes from the people and not from the courts of law. Just to make this point clearer, during the Enlightenment-era (that is the period between 1715 and 1789 some 300 years ago) British social philosopher John Locke said political legitimacy derives from popular explicit and implicit consent of the governed, which is the people. "The argument of the (Second) Treatise is that the government is not legitimate unless it is carried on with the consent of the governed," said way back then. German political philosopher Dolf Sternberger also said: "Legitimacy is the foundation of such governmental power as is exercised, both with a consciousness on the government's part that it has a right to govern, and with some recognition by the governed of that right."Therefore, some among us are still 300 years behind in fully understanding that what is contained in the ballot boxes - which the "esteemed" courts curiously had no power to demand their surrender from those holding them captive - should have been the centre of this case. And how could the so-called learned judges expect my young and brilliant Chisa lad to access those ballot boxes to bring them to court as evidence? That's absolute nonsense! What madness was that? It is like the police telling someone who has been beaten into pulp by some thugs to go and bring the thugs to the police station. Anyway, as I had already said before this case was heard that we are fighting a monstrous system; and this is not a job for the faint at heart.Sometime back, I told my young Chisa lad that he is like David who defeated Goliath in the old days of Israel. David was only a mere boy when he defeated the giant. Some say David must have been about 15 years old or less. He only became King of Israel at 30 years of age and reigned over Israel for 40 years. So you see when one is legitimately given power by God and the gods through the people he or she can rule for a very long time. My reign was cut short by three years, if the great King David is used as the yardstick. As we speak, the giant has been defeated, but it will take some time for it to become apparent to all of you my people. So let us all not lose faith, many more elections are still to come. And our new real is still a young boy David. Asante Sana!Kindest RegardsYour One and Only LeaderME. . . . AND NOW THE NOTE BOOKWHOEVER said the law was an ass must have been a real prophet. A story is told of a case in which a goat was brought before some judges. The judges said: "You say this is a goat; the whole city says this is a goat; we also can see that this is truly a goat; but where is the proof that this is really a goat?" The person who brought the goat left completely baffled and the entire city absolutely dumbfounded. One hundred and eighty year ago in 1838 famous writer Charles Dickens, in his enthralling novel Oliver Twist wrote: "If the law supposes that,  the law is a ass - a idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is that his eye may be opened by experience - by experience." Fast forward to 2018 some people have been left thunderstruck by the dubious behaviour of the law. After their constitutional court challenge was dismissed with costs one of the MDC Alliance guys said: "The fulcrum of our case was based on ZEC figures which were generated from primary data. These figures had discrepancies. Why should we be asked to prove that which ZEC had admitted? If a debt is acknowledged why should it be proved beyond its admission or acknowledgement?" By the way, the judges had also ruled that they don't deal with figures but facts, facts, facts and facts alone. Period!ResignedSOME rude somebody had this to say: "I don't think a ZANU-PF government has the capacity to solve the country's challenges. But we are stuck with it for five years. It's not my wish for the people to suffer any more than they have, so I have to wish by some miracle ZANU-PF changes its mindset and culture of governance." This person seems to forget that ZANU-PF owns this country and everything in it, including the people. Everything and everyone has to come to terms with the fact that people in ZANU-PF died for this country; and so there is no way anyone should expect these guys to change their mindset and culture of governing. It is the people that need to change their mindsets and what they consider to be the suitable culture of being governed. ZANU-PF knows what is best for this country and the party will govern it the way it sees fit. The party is absolutely pleased with the way it has been running the country since 1980. The party has no regrets at all, none! The only thing the party regrets is letting people create these nuisances of opposition political parties. This country has been a de-facto one party State since Ian Smith's racist government was booted out 38 years ago. Therefore, people simply have to get used to living with ZANU-PF because it has no intention whatsoever of going anywhere or doing thing any different from how it has been doing them all along.Good startWHILE others have now resigned to fate, some have already kick-started in earnest campaigns for the 2023 harmonised general elections. The ruling party and its people officially launched the 2023 election campaigns in style this week by giving 90 vehicles to chiefs. And for the next months or years many rallies to thank the country for voting them back into power for yet another five years have already lined up. At these rallies be rest assured that there will be lots of chicken and chips for everyone to enjoy. Forget about the promises that were made during the election period because we all need to celebrate and thank ourselves for the peace around us. After the celebrations, a long period of convincing people that the ruling party is the best thing that has ever happened to this country will obviously follow. In between there will be those groundbreaking ceremonies such as the opening of rubbish bins to show the world that Zimbabwe is open for business and is indeed creating jobs. And of course, we should not forget that we are a command economy, so everything will soon be in command mode. To hell with the fact that Harare, the country's seat of government and commercial centre, is among the top 10 worst cities on the globe; who cares anyway? Besides where is the proof that Harare is such a miserable place to live in? In fact, this is the best city in the world where you don't need to be a banker to deal in money matters. This is a place where everyone has been so empowered that anyone can be a mobile bank. The only city where there is more money on the streets than in the banks. Awesome!WisdomAND for some wise words from one Warren Buffet:The smartest people I know:1 don't get easily offended2 read more than they talk3 enjoy intelligent discourse4 quickly admit when they are wrong5 comfortable changing their opinion6 surround themselves w/ intelligence7 seek to understand every perspective on a topicAdvice for the all the young people:1 read and write more2 stay healthy and fit3 networking is about giving4 practice public speaking5 stay teachable6 find a mentor7 keep in touch with friends8 you are not your job9 know when to leave10 don't spend what you don't haveBe thankful for:1 good health of you and your loved ones2 living in a place where you feel safe3 work that helps you grow for the better4 freedom to express yourself5 ability to choose how you spend your time6 the ability to give7 another day of lifeHere is what's cool:1 saying "thank you"2 apologising when wrong3 showing up on time4 being nice to strangers5 listening without interrupting6 admitting you were wrong7 following your dreams8 being a mentor9 learning and using people's names10 holding doors openYou will not regret1 spending quality time with loved ones2 following your dreams3 choosing work that brings you joy4 investing in your wellbeingYou will regret1 worrying about things that don't matter2 stressing over a job3 overeating4 staying around the wrong peopleDistance yourself from people who:1 love to show off2 speak badly about others3 feel entitled and overly important4 blame others for losing5 waste time6 make you feel bad about yourself7 resist change at all costs8 never listen9 think complaining is a solutionA delicate corporate matterALL of the 10 senior members of the Board of Directors of the company were called into the chairman's office one by one until only Bob, the junior-most member, was left sitting outside. Finally, it was his turn to be summoned. He entered the boardroom to find the chairman and the 10 other directors seated around the table. He was invited to join them, which he did. As soon as he had sat down, the chairman turned to Bob and looked at him squarely in the eye, and in a stern voice, asked:"Bob, have you ever known' my secretary?""Oh, no sir, positively not," Bob replied."Are you absolutely sure?" asked the chairman."Honest, I've never been close enough to even touch her!""You'd swear to that?""Yes, I swear I've never been close to her anytime, anywhere.""Good, then YOU FIRE HER from the job, we can't".
Opinion / Columnist

Leader of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC A), Nelson Chamisa, huffed and puffed during his rallies, threatening to make Zimbabwe ungovernable, if the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), failed to pronounce him as the winner of the June 2018 harmonised elections. His exact words were "hakudyiwi rinopisa, ndozvidira mavhu, kana ZEC ikayita zvekutamba," translated to say I will make this country ungovernable if ZEC fails to announce me as president elect.Following his dismal loss to ZANU PF leader, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Chamisa put his foot where his mouth is. His first attempt at making this country ungovernable was the August 1 chaos that got 6 people killed, leading Government to set up a Commission of Inquiry into the violent acts. His second attempt was when he took his petition to the Constitutional Court where he made himself a laughing stock by demanding that the panel of judges pronounce him as the presidential winner with no iota of evidence. After failing to sneak into the leadership of this country through deceitful means he has activated his third card, attack on the economy through alleging that Zimbabwe's economy is on a downward spiral and he is the only one with the keys to make things happen.In the same way his first and second attempts to make this country ungovernable failed, this third attempt is fast approaching its demise as people have proven it's all false. In the past week there has been an upsurge in the amount of social media posts, on all social media platforms, purporting that the price of basic commodities has gone up. This should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves, because a survey that was carried out proved that the prices on social media were from as far back as 2010. This social media onslaught on the economy by the MDC Alliance is an attempt to create artificial shortages by triggering panic buying.Recently, there has been a rise in cement prices due to people hoarding it for speculative reasons. The prices rose from US$12.50 for a 50kg bag of PPC cement to US$20 which is illogical and unjustifiable price increase. There is no justification as to why the price suddenly shot up to such a ridiculous price. It is therefore an issue that the law enforcement agencies should look into as people cannot continue to be robbed in daylight.It has become clear that this is the work of the MDC Alliance and its external supporters who are sending false information about price hikes through Twitter, FaceBook, WhatsApp and Instagram. People should be aware of the amount of panic this can cause and refuse to be used to propagate falsehoods. Some citizens went to the shops while live on social media and took video footages to show the world and the people of Zimbabwe that claims of price hikes on basic commodities are false.An assertion that the country's economy is going on the decline should be dismissed with contempt, because they are meant to derail Government initiatives to revive the country's economy. President E.D. Mnangagwa had extended a hand to regional, continental and international investors, to approach Zimbabwe for possible business opportunities, a gesture that has been widely welcomed. His recent visit to the People's Republic of China brought him face to face with willing Chinese investors that are ready to come and invest in Zimbabwe. These opportunities will see the country reviving its economy, creating employment, improving infrastructure and service delivery.In the next five years President Mnangagwa has declared that his focus will not be on politics but on reviving Zimbabwe's economy to be an upper-middle class economy by 2030. And as soon as he swears in his cabinet, it will not be business as usual and every member of cabinet will be expected to deliver tangible results. President Mnangagwa's zero tolerance to corruption has also created a conducive ground for investor confidence. All efforts to destabilise the country by Nelson Chamisa have hit a brick wall as President Mnangagwa is adamant that he will serve and protect the people of Zimbabwe, through implementation of policies that favour growth and development.
The head of the B.C. Teachers' Federation says more than 250 teacher and administrative positions remain unfilled, as the new school year gets underway.

"It's alarming from our perspective to see so many jobs still posted," said Glen Hansman.

In December, a Ministry of Education task force made six "immediate recommendations" aimed at addressing the crisis.

However, the top recommendation  establishing a provincewide recruitment and retention fund  has not been acted on.

According to Hansman, the fund would instantly make B.C. more attractive in the highly competitive teacher recruitment market, offering temporary help around moving expenses and student loan repayment.

"It's an easy, no-brainer that would dramatically help the situation," he said.

"If we're trying to get teachers into B.C. from Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, all of which pay [higher salaries] and all of which  minus Toronto  have places to live that are much cheaper than British Columbia, that fund is helpful for school districts."

Hansman said the fund wouldn't be permanent and could be targeted to a region or a type of job that is most difficult to fill.

A $2 million version of the fund was set up by former education minister Mike Bernier but was accessible only to a handful of rural school districts.

Record French immersion enrolment

French immersion teachers remain the most in-demand in the province with enrolment at an historic high.

Almost 10 percent of the entire B.C. student population, or 53,487 students in total, are enrolled in French immersion this year.

But according to the Canadian Parents for French Immersion, the numbers would be even higher if B.C. school districts were able to meet the demand from parents.

"It's hard to gauge but we estimate we need between 100 and 150 additional French teachers in the province right now," said Glyn Lewis, executive director of the B.C. and Yukon chapter.

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"Parents are often frustrated to be told by a school district that your son or daughter can't go into this program because we haven't created enough space."

B.C.'s teacher shortage can be traced to the 2016 landmark Supreme Court of Canada decision, which found the then-Liberal government had acted unconstitutionally to increase the number of students per class.

The result of the court's decision was to shrink class sizes back to 2002 levels which, in turn, required the hiring of thousands of new teachers.

Quebec and Nunavut are also experiencing teacher shortages, while Ontario and New Brunswick expect to be in a similar situation, with a wave of teacher retirements set to hit in the next few years.

Read more from CBC British Columbia
By Jonathan Weber and Jess Macy Yu HSINCHU, Taiwan (Reuters) - In late August, the new chairman of chip-making titan Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co <2330.TW>, Mark Liu, got the sort of news that would make any boss smile: his biggest competitor was throwing in the towel. Just under three months into Liu's tenure, rival GlobalFoundries had announced that it would not compete in the latest generation of chip-making technology. It was a reminder of just how dominant TSMC has become in manufacturing chips for other companies, a business it all but invented. TSMC stock quickly hit an all-time high. But Liu's job seems likely to get tougher, not easier. In an interview at the company's newly christened Morris Chang headquarters building, named after its founder, Liu said global politics were his biggest worry. "The worst you can imagine can be very bad," Liu said, referring to geopolitical developments such as the U.S.-China trade war and tensions between Taiwan and the mainland. The thoughtful, soft-spoken engineer took over from the ebullient and outspoken Chang at a tricky time. Emerging competition from China casts an ominous shadow, and the intricate network of relationships that have enabled TSMC and its brethren in the global technology supply chain to thrive are under threat amid the trade dispute. Worse, global smartphone sales have flattened. Purchases of smartphone chips by the likes of Apple Inc and Qualcomm have powered TSMC for a decade. But Liu remains optimistic about that business. "Smartphone units have plateaued, but the silicon content of each smartphone on average is still increasing," he said, projecting growth in the high single digits over the next couple of years. He said smartphones would continue to account for 40 percent to 50 percent of TSMC's revenue. A slowing smartphone market was one of the reasons the company cut revenue targets this year. It also reduced capital spending for the year from $11.5 billion-$12 billion to $10 billion-$10.5 billion - a move it attributed at the time partly to more efficient equipment delivery and currency adjustments, but which Liu acknowledged was also influenced by softer demand. Meanwhile, new markets such as autonomous vehicles and the "internet of things" - interconnected consumer and industrial devices - have been slow to arrive. Liu chuckled as he predicted self-driving cars would come "within our lifetime," but said little about when they might benefit TSMC. "The issue is that these new areas are not going to be big enough in the foreseeable horizon to offset the slowing growth of smartphones," said Mark Li, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. Liu was more optimistic about the sophisticated chips that power data centers. The boost TSMC and others enjoyed from the sale of such advanced processors for mining cryptocurrencies has largely dissipated, but Liu said the sector had made a lasting impact on high-performance computing (HPC). "They have an amazing architecture innovation and it will carry onto other areas of HPC, including blockchain and artificial intelligence applications," he said. Moves by consumer tech giants such as Google to design their own chips could also be a boon for a company that vows to be "everyone's foundry." GROUP MANAGEMENT Liu, who worked at Intel and AT&T's Bell Laboratories before joining TSMC in 1993, shares the job of running the company with chief executive C.C. Wei, another industry veteran. One major investor, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss individual companies, said he was cautiously optimistic that they could adequately replace "hero" Morris Chang, who ran TSMC for 30 years. Analysts say the company has some fresh opportunities with the pull-back of GlobalFoundries and could win more business from top chip vendors, including AMD and Qualcomm. Still, Liu acknowledged that global overcapacity in an older production technology, stemming in part from new investment by mainland Chinese firms, "gives you headaches." The company said that category accounted for 23 percent of the company's revenues. And questions about long-term growth loom large. Liu expressed optimism that the current "cooling down" in smartphones would last only a couple of years before 5G technology drives a new round of growth. But it is far from a sure thing. "What they are doing right now is moderating their spending, and returning extra cash back to investors," said Li of Sanford C. Bernstein. The big test for Liu, he added, is to prepare "for something new, some growth in the next era." Liu is confident that will happen, and said the company may increase spending on advanced production techniques in light of the GlobalFoundries retreat. In China, where the company has pledged to invest $3 billion on its latest factory, Liu said TSMC would stay on the offensive. "We will (invest more) to make sure we have a local position to compete," Liu said. ($1 = 30.7330 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting by Jonathan Weber and Jess Macy Yu; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
'It was,' Alberta premier says of meeting with Trudeau over Trans Mountain

A visibly frosty Premier Rachel Notley met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Edmonton on Wednesday to discuss next steps in resuming construction on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, following a court ruling last week that put the brakes on the project.

In stark comparison to past meetings, the tension between the two leaders was apparent as they made brief statements to the media before their closed-door session.

When she left less than an hour later, Notley was asked by reporters how the meeting was.

"It was," the premier said.

It was the first time Notley and Trudeau had met face to face since the Federal Court of Appeal last Thursday reversed a cabinet decision to allow construction on the Trans Mountain expansion.

The court ruled the federal government had not done enough consultation with Indigenous people, and that the National Energy Board didn't properly consider the impact of an increase in oil tanker traffic off the West Coast.

Hours after the ruling was issued, Notley demanded Ottawa appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, or come up with a legislative fix.

At an earlier event Wednesday in Spruce Grove, Alta., Notley said officials in her government have developed strategies to restart construction on the project while still respecting last week's court ruling.

She would not reveal what those steps are, but repeated her determination to get the project back on track.

"We absolutely cannot be held hostage to a regulatory merry-go-round that never ends," Notley said.

Trudeau rejects legislative 'tricks'

Minutes after the court ruling was released, Kinder Morgan shareholders approved the sale of the existing pipeline and other assets to the federal government for $4.5 billion. The purchase closed on Friday, making the federal government wholly responsible for what happens next.

Edmonton on Wednesday, Trudeau told radio station CHED that using what he called "tricks" to ram the project through might be satisfying in the short term but would create further legal fights down the road.

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Trudeau said the court ruled more consultation and study is needed and that's what his government intends to do.

"Using a legislative trick might be satisfying in the short term, but it would set up fights and uncertainty for investors over the coming years on any other project, because you can't have a government keep invoking those sorts of things on every given project," he told the radio station.

"People want to know that we are doing things the right way for the long term  that jobs that get started will continue and won't get stopped by the courts. That's the change we are focused on making."

But hours later, in a news conference at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Trudeau said legislative and legal options are still on the table.

"We're looking at various options, including legislation, including appeals, and we're also looking at what we need to do to respect what the court has laid forward as the process necessary," he said.

A decision on whether to appeal will be made "within the deadline provided to us," Trudeau said. The government has 60 days from last Thursday to request leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Trudeau said the federal government remains committed to the project.

"This really hurt as a ruling," he said. "What I tell Albertans and all Canadians is, 'We get it.' "

Alberta senator proposes solution

Alberta Independent Sen. Doug Black is also calling on Ottawa to trump last week's court ruling against the Trans Mountain pipeline with a series of legislative manoeuvres.

Black is calling on the prime minister to recall Parliament and pass his private member's bill, which already has Senate approval.

It would need additional language to say that Trans Mountain is in the national interest, but the bill could help the government get around the Federal Court of Appeal decision that effectively killed the pipeline, Black said.

Black detailed his "roadmap" to construction in an open letter to Trudeau last week.

"Our premier has called for bold action on getting Trans Mountain going, and I think my letter provides exactly that," Black said in an interview Wednesday with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

In Edmonton on Wednesday, Trudeau rejected the suggestion that the federal government use legislation or a court appeal to get construction started quickly.

'Enough time, enough talking'

Black said if Ottawa is serious about the pipeline, it must immediately adopt his private member's bill, Bill S-245 the Trans Mountain Project Act.

Then, by either order-in-council or amendment to the bill, Ottawa should give the National Energy Board a four-month window to review the impacts of coastal tanker traffic and complete consultations with previously excluded Indigenous communities, Black said.

Amendments to the bill could then ensure that temporary operating permits are issued to Trans Mountain.

"I'm told that work has principally been done, so I don't think it's a big deal that the NEB needs to go back, dust it off, look at it and make whatever recommendations they need to make," Black said.

Trudeau could resolve the conflict and put shovels back in the ground in a matter of months, Black said.

"The prime minister will take into account what he hears and then frankly the permits need to be reissued," Black said.

"We've spent enough time, enough talking, enough court cases. It's just time to build that pipeline."

Black would also like to see Ottawa appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. Confusion around the legal duty to consult is squarely to blame for putting the Trans Mountain pipeline in limbo, he said.

Without legal clarity, major national resource projects will face more rejection, he said.

"We do not understand what the duty to consult is, and one court goes one way and another court goes another way.

"What are the rules? What does proper consultation look like? It does not exist in Canada, so either the Supreme Court of Canada needs to define that or Parliament needs to define that."

Phoenix pay protest

The pipeline wasn't the only problem on people's minds. A small group of Edmontonians highlighted their frustration with the federal government's Phoenix payroll system, which has plagued public servants since its launch in 2016.

On Wednesday evening, dozens of people rallied outside of the Delta Hotel on Edmonton's south end, where Trudeau hosted a Liberal Party fundraiser.

Government workers have been overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all because of the Phoenix system. It has affected thousands of Edmontonians and they're tired of waiting for it to be fixed, said Marianne Hladun, vice-president for the Public Service Alliance of Canada's prairie region, which organized the rally.

"There is zero confidence by any public service employee in their pay system at this point," Hladun said.

"Our message to the Prime Minister is saying that you're fixing it is not solving the problems. These are real people that are impacted, these are real families that are impacted. And what [the government is] doing is not enough."

Charmaine Nelson attended Wednesday's rally, and said she wants Phoenix abolished and replaced with a new system  and fast. The 2018 federal budget included $16 million to fund an exploration phase for replacing the system.

Nelson went without pay for 10 weeks when she worked at Edmonton's Employment Insurance call centre. There were times she couldn't make rent.

"It's very, very humiliating," she said.

"Not only does it embarrass you. It just makes you feel worthless. It makes you feel upset and stressed out."

The Public Service Alliance of Canada is calling for a national inquiry for the Phoenix pay system.

"Because this is going to cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars," Hladun said.

"We need to know how this happened, why this happened and to make sure that this never happens again to anyone else."
By Margaryta Chornokondratenko and Pavel Polityuk KIEV (Reuters) - A Ukrainian filmmaker on the verge of starving himself to death in Russian jail will not end his hunger strike because it is "his only way to fight", a cousin who was one of the last people to visit him told Reuters. Oleg Sentsov, a native of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, was jailed after Russia seized and annexed it in 2014, and has become a symbol of defiance in Ukraine. Russian authorities sentenced him to 20 years for plotting terrorist attacks, charges he says were fabricated because he spoke out against Moscow's seizure of his homeland. His cause has been taken up by Western governments and by celebrities such as authors Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood. The filmmaker has been on hunger strike since May, and his health has sharply deteriorated in recent weeks. The family revealed last month that he had written to tell them "the end is near". His cousin Natalya Kaplan, who last visited him two months ago in a Russian penal colony north of the Arctic circle when he had already gone two months without eating, sighs as she describes the condition she saw him in. "It was difficult for him to sit down, it was difficult to communicate, but in terms of his character Oleg remained the same. He did not break down at all," Kaplan said. Starving himself is "his gesture of despair, to do at least something," she said. "It's probably his only way to fight in the circumstances where he is, and he is using it." To avoid being force fed, Sentsov has agreed to be given warm water and be drip-fed vitamins and glucose. The family has not given up hope for his release, though diplomatic efforts have come to nothing. Kaplan and her cousin mostly swap news through letters, which he always signs "Hugs and kisses. Oleg". She must pay a symbolic fee of 50 rubles ($0.73) to send him a letter via the prison officials. She mainly writes to him with news of how his teenage daughter Alina and son Vlad are holding up, and about the public fallout from his imprisonment. In response, Sentsov in August told her that "'the end is near', and he's not referring to when he will be freed." Back in Kiev, Kaplan regularly joins rallies outside the Russian embassy to keep Sentsov's cause in the public eye. That way, she says, if her cousin does die, it will make life more difficult for President Vladimir Putin and "will raise an even bigger wave" of protests. "Oleg is fighting and we are not allowed to give up," Kaplan said. (Editing by Matthias Williams)
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Nairobi, September 6, 2018Authorities in Kenya should carry out a thorough investigation and bring to justice those responsible for the September 3 assault and abduction of Daily Nation journalist Barrack Oduor and the death of his source, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Oduor said he was working on a story about a woman who alleged she had been impregnated and abandoned by a prominent politician in Migori County in western Kenya. Oduor and the woman, university student Sharon Otieno, went to meet Michael Oyamo, Migori Governor Okoth Obados personal assistant, who was supposed to provide a response to the allegations, according to reports by the privately owned Daily Nation and The Star newspapers.

When they met, Oyamo directed Otieno and Oduor into a vehicle where their phones were taken away. They were subsequently assaulted, with the journalist only managing to escape because he jumped out of the moving vehicle, according to Tom Mshindi, editor-in-chief of the Nation Media Group, Daily Nations parent company, with whom CPJ spoke, and multiple media reports. The body of Otieno, who was seven months pregnant, was yesterday found badly mutilated in Kodera Forest in neighboring Homa Bay County. Her father identified her body, according to reports by the Daily Nation and The Star.

We urge police to thoroughly and independently investigate this case, and to bring to account those responsible for the assault and abduction of Barrack Oduor and the death of his source, Sharon Otieno, said CPJs sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. Otienos death is extremely troubling, and suggests that the journalists abductors may have meant to do him far worse harm.

According to his colleagues, Oduor has yet to replace the phone that his abductors confiscated, and CPJs attempts to reach Oduor through journalists in Nyanza region, which includes Migori and Homa Bay counties, were unsuccessful on September 4 and September 5.

In a statement yesterday, national government spokesperson Eric Kiraithe said the circumstances of Otienos death distinctly point to murder and that the abduction of Oduor, who was in the course of his duties as a journalist was actually an attempted murder.

Nicholas Anyuor, a spokesperson for Migori County, on September 4 told CPJ that the governors office had not been involved in the assault or abduction of Otieno and Oduor.

The Daily Nation reported yesterday that Otieno had given the journalist information about an affair that left her pregnant and that the man responsible had turned his back on her. Oduor told the privately owned Standard newspaper that he had been pursuing a story of a love gone sour between a university student and a prominent politician. The Standard further reported that the student had been impregnated by the politician, without naming him.

The Daily Nation reported that Otieno called Oduor on September 3 and told him that the governors assistant was ready to meet to discuss the story. When Otieno and Oduor met Oyamo at a hotel in Rongo town in Migori County later that evening, Oyamo requested a venue change and directed Otieno and Oduor to a waiting vehicle that already had two other occupants, a driver and a front-seat passenger, according to the Daily Nation. Oduor, Oyamo, and Otieno sat in the back seat and the vehicle drove a few meters before Oyamo got out and two more unknown men entered, sandwiching Otieno and Oduor between them as the vehicle drove off, according to Mshindi.

Oduor told the Daily Nation that the two unknown men in the car were initially friendly; however, they later confiscated Otieno and Oduors phones. About 70 kilometers from Rongo, they started assaulting Oduor and Otieno, attempting to strangle the journalist, according to the same source. Oduor fought back, managed to open the cars door, and jumped out of the moving vehicle. Mshindi told CPJ that the journalist sustained tissue injuries to his knees and hands. A Nyangweso resident drove Oduor to a local police post and later that evening he was transferred to Kendu Bay Police Station, where he recorded a statement about the incident, according to the Daily Nation.

Migori County government spokesperson Anyuor on September 4 told CPJ that the governors office had not been aware of the assault and abduction until it was reported by news sites and claimed that the reports were merely a political ploy meant to damage the reputation of Obado. When CPJ yesterday asked him if the county government was carrying out any internal investigation, Anyuor said that they had decided to leave the matter to the police.

Oyamo was arrested on September 4 in connection with the attack on Oduor and Otieno, and is being held at a police station in Homa Bay, according to reports by Daily Nation and The Star. Michael Barasa, head of the Nyanza region directorate of criminal investigation, told CPJ on September 4 that he could not provide any updates on the investigation except to say that it was ongoing. Kenyas director of criminal investigation, George Kinoti, yesterday told the Standard newspaper that a team of detectives had been sent from the capital, Nairobi, to Homa Bay to assist in the investigation into the alleged murder of Otieno. Kinoti separately told Daily Nation that key statements had been collected from witnesses and that suspects in the alleged murder of Otieno were awaiting arrest, though he declined to name them.
The United Nations-mediated talks began in Geneva on Thursday between representatives of Yemens Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels who have thus far managed to survive a concerted military assault led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

They follow last weeks UN report on some of the atrocities committed on Yemeni soil in the recent past, which holds both sides responsible for possible war crimes, but attributes greater culpability to the Saudi-UAE coalition in the context of civilian casualties. That is hardly surprising, given the military capabilities of the two Gulf kingdoms, the biggest consumers of lethal hardware supplied by the US and Britain, among other countries.

It was a 500-pound American bomb that the Saudi Air Force dropped less than a month ago on a school bus, causing dozens of fatalities. Forty of the victims, returning from a picnic, were under 12 years of age. A couple of weeks later, another 26 children and at least four women were killed in a Saudi air strike while fleeing fighting in a different part of the country.

Last Sunday, the coalition took the unusual step of admitting that the destruction of the school bus was unjustified, adding that anyone found to be responsible for the error would be held to account. Well, dont hold your breath. The Saudis are far more inclined to incarcerate human rights activists than war criminals.

The UN report cites evidence of attacks on residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings and medical facilities, among other targets, and talks about torture, rape and the use of child soldiers, some as young as eight. The Houthis may be incapable of mounting air strikes, but on the ground are not much less brutal than their foes.

The scale of the humanitarian tragedy in Yemen, however, extends far beyond the direct carnage of conflict. An estimated 80 per cent of the population relies on aid for sustenance, amid the threat of famine and mass outbreaks of diseases such as cholera.

Meanwhile, an Associated Press investigation last week suggested that Saudi-Emirati claims of combating Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula are exaggerated at best: the coalitions dealings with the Yemeni branch of the terrorist outfit often entail paying them to move away (including in one case a farewell feast for the departing mujahids), as well as recruitment from AQAP ranks.

It is, of course, not entirely surprising that there should be some ideological affinity between Al Qaeda and its Wahhabi cousins, especially when it comes to opposing the Shia Houthis whose affiliation with Iran has never been as close as Riyadh has made it out to be, even if it has increased since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched his offensive three years ago.

One can only wonder whether the prince encounters moments of self-doubt. After all, every foreign misadventure he has dictated since his father became king has essentially flopped. A military triumph remains elusive three years after the assault on Yemen. Qatar seems to be getting by quite comfortably after being consigned to the naughty corner by its Gulf brethren (although Al Jazeera was recently obliged to withhold a documentary about the Israel lobby in Washington that risked incurring the wrath of powerful voices in the US). The audacious Saudi attempt to coerce a resignation out of Lebanons Saad Hariri backfired.

Inevitably, the crown prince has enjoyed greater leeway on the domestic front by posing as a reformist while castrating potential rivals within the vast royal family, and expecting plaudits for permitting women to drive while imprisoning those who had mildly agitated for this peripheral right.

The arrogance that draws sustenance from having the Trump White House and the Netanyahu regime on his side was demonstrated by last months breach in ties with Canada after the latters foreign minister tweeted a message in support of a detainee, Samar Badawi, whose brother Raif is serving a 10-year sentence by virtue of being a blogger whose opinions did not chime with the kingdoms official line, while her ex-husband Abu al-Khairs human rights activism earned him a 15-year prison term.

Tellingly, almost none of Canadas Western allies sprang to its defence, while Saudi insouciance has lately been compounded by prosecutors seeking the death penalty against five peaceful protesters, including womens rights campaigner Israa al-Ghomgham. Need one say anything further about Saudi liberalisation?

As for the state terrorism in Yemen, former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel pointed out two years ago that if the US and UK tonight told King Salman that this war has to end, it would end tomorrow, because the Royal Saudi Air Force cannot operate without American and British support. Thats probably true, but again it would be inadvisable to hold ones breath. Theres probably worse to come as a monumental catastrophe continues to unfold across the Middle East.

By arrangement with Dawn
A worker is seen at construction site for new apartments in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh city January 17, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer

The HCMC realty association says bubble factors have been neutralized, but skeptic experts insist that risks persist.

The HCM City Real Estate Association has listed six reasons for the 2007-2011 property bubble in its latest report, pointing out there are no signs of any of them now.

Firstly, there was the very high GDP growth rate in 2007, the report said.

Vietnams economy grew at 8.48 percent while HCMCs grew at 12.6 percent, the highest rate in 10 years, which lulled investors and speculators into thinking there were easy profits for the taking.

Secondly, the banking sector had a loose credit policy and banks ended up with credit growth of 37 percent in 2007, with a lot of the money going into realty amid lax oversight.

Thirdly, there was a big gap between demand and supply in the property sector, especially in the high-end segment.

Fourthly, a large number of brokers and speculators took advantage to manipulate prices, which went sky high as a result.

Fifthly, authorities had neither timely, effective policies on tax nor efficient plans for land use and urban development to effectively regulate the market and drag it out of bubble territory.

Lastly, in mid-2009, there was serious misuse of the governments $1 billion stimulus package, which was meant to help low-income people buy houses.

The association said such a nightmare would not recur now.

Credit remains under control, with growth last year being a modest 18.17 percent. It is expected that in 2018, credit growth will be around 17 percent.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has a prudent credit policy in place and has gradually reduced credit to the property sector.

This year, banks are only allowed to use 45 percent of their short-term deposits for medium and long-term loans, which mainly go the realty sector. It is set to further fall to 40 percent from January 1, 2019.

The association said authorities have drawn lessons from the previous bubble and adopted timely and effective policies while realty firms, banks, developers, and buyers are smarter now.

The doubters

However, some analysts are not convinced.

They say that realty bubbles are cyclical in nature and suggest that concerned authorities look at the time when the next bubble could burst in order to avoid a damaging fallout.

Banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu noted that a bubble had formed when there was a lot of bank loans given to the realty sector, as was happening now. He warned that a bubble burst was possible in 2019, corresponding to a 10-year cycle that has been noticed in Vietnam.

Huynh Phuoc Nghia, deputy head of the School of International Business Marketing at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, feared that a bubble burst could happen amidst ongoing land fevers in HCMC and other provinces.

Nghia said a land fever has persisted in Saigon since 2017, pushing the market into bubble territory.

He said the city needs to do at least five things to ward off adverse consequences: tighten land tax collection; tax land at market prices; tighten credit for the realty sector; strengthen management of land-use plans; and adopt adequate mechanisms for land administration.

The head of a realty investment and consulting firm in the south of HCM City told VnExpress that many market participants tend to ignore the risk of bubbles because of sheer optimism.

A new bubble would not follow the rules of the past, he warned. Therefore, he said, prevention is better than cure.

Nguyen Xuan Quang, chairman of housing developer Nam Long Investment, also told VnExpress he still feared a bubble, but added that his company was prepared to deal with it.

He said the company has three weapons to protect itself: product diversity, a war chest of VND2.6 trillion ($115.5 million) and good income from commercial real estate. This was strong enough to cope with any crisis that may arise, he said.

Most importantly, with enough land for its needs for the next five years, the company would be unscathed if a land fever breaks out, he added.
Recent innovations in solar power technology have made Vietnams 9.35 cents per kWh FIT attractive to private investors. Photo by Reuters

A long-awaited proposal to extend a key pricing incentive for solar power projects in Ninh Thuan Province has been approved.

The Government has issued Resolution No. 115/NQ-CP that allows solar power projects in the central province to enjoy a feed-in tariff (FIT) of 9.35 cents per kilowatt-hour for a period of 20 years as long as they begin commercial operations by the end of 2020.

This is an extension of the earlier commercial operation date (COD) deadline of June 30, 2019, applying to all localities, which was set by the Prime Ministers Decision No.11/2017/QD-TTg.

The extension of COD for Ninh Thuan, as specified in the new resolution, will hold good until projects that were approved by the Prime Minister reach a combined capacity of 2,000MW.

The FIT for subsequent projects has not been finalized yet.

Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan are central provinces that have the greatest potential for renewable energy in the country.

The COD extension is part of a package of incentives the Government is offering Ninh Thuan to support its 2018-2023 development, based on a proposal by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

The MPI first submitted to the Government a COD extension proposal for Ninh Thuan in early July, but later in the month, the Government Office issued Official Letter No. 7108 stating that the deadline remains unchanged.

The new resolution has given investors hope that the COD deadline would also be extended to other localities later this year, an industry expert told VnExpress International, declining to be named.

FITs are payments made for supplying renewable energy to the national grid.

Recent innovations in solar power technology that have helped bring down production costs dramatically have made Vietnams 9.35 cents per kilowatt hour tariff attractive to private investors.

Hundreds of private investors have submitted proposals to set up solar farms, but the June 30, 2019 deadline was too tight, energy experts had said.

The projects can get entangled in land acquisition hiccups, procedural lags and a lack of master zoning plans for solar power development at the national and provincial levels, they added.

There were also concerns over infrastructure needed for the solar power projects to connect to the national grid.

There are no definitive answers now to questions about pricing for solar power connected to the grid after the end of 2020 in Ninh Thuan and after June 30, 2019 in other provinces.

How the FITs are decided after June 30, 2019 could depend on what technology prices will be at a specific period of time, according to the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam (ERAV).

Meanwhile, power authorities are considering piloting auctions as an alternative option to FITs after June 2019.

ERAV has sought World Bank assistance and hired consultants to study auction mechanisms.

Bidders offering the lowest prices to the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the countrys sole power distributor, will be awarded development contracts.

MoIT has approved around 70 solar projects with a total capacity of over 3,000 megawatts to be commissioned before June 30, 2019.

Vietnam currently relies largely on hydropower and thermal power plants for its electricity demands, but these have drawn frequent domestic and international criticism for their social and environmental impacts.

Solar accounts for just 0.01 percent of the power output, but the government plans to increase this ratio to 3.3 percent by 2030 and 20 percent by 2050.

By 2030 Vietnam aims to produce 10.7 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, with wind energy being the other main option.
Although Vietnam allows expats to own houses in the country, many of them are finding it challenging to obtain title documents.

Huynh Truc Mais Finnish husband was happy when he bought an apartment in District 2, HCMC, two years ago, and was eager to have their names appear as joint owners. But this was denied because he was not Vietnamese.

Mai said: Eventually my husband had to agree I will be the sole owner of the house on paper. He was upset.

Mais husband is among many foreigners who have bought houses in Vietnam but are unable to get a pink book, which is the title deed to apartments and houses.

Since July 2015 Vietnam has allowed foreigners to buy property except land and not more than 30 percent of a residential quarter or apartment project.

According to the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA), foreigners have bought 1,000 apartments since then.

But none has received the pink book yet, real estate businesses told a recent conference.

Authorities do not reject our application, but they say they have not received detailed instructions on issuing ownership documents to foreigners, local newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong quoted an executive from giant developer Novaland as saying.

So many foreigners need a Vietnamese to be the nominal owner on their behalf, he added.

National security

Experts said foreigners can own property in Vietnam but the government has yet to provide a clear solution to resolve the paperwork issue.

One of the reasons for this delay is that foreigners can only own properties in locations that do not have a bearing on national security, Tran Trong Tuan, director of the HCMC Department of Construction, told the media.

These areas should be designated by the Ministries of Public Security and Defence, but they havent given a specific list yet, he said.

HCMC has already reported this challenge to the Ministry of Construction and the Prime Minister and is waiting for further instructions.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of HoREA, said the Ministry of Construction should announce in which areas foreigners can own property.

The construction ministry should do this when real estate firms apply for the license, he said.

Official data shows there are now 83,500 foreigners working in Vietnam.
Military vehicles are seen in the loading dock of the HMS Albion, the British Royal Navy flagship amphibious assault ship, after the ship's arrival at Harumi Pier in Tokyo, Japan, August 3, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Toru Hanai

A British Royal Navy warship sailed close to islands claimed by China, heading toward Vietnam, two sources said.

The move aims to assert freedom of navigation rights and challenging Beijings excessive claims in the South China Sea, said the sources, who were familiar with the matter but who asked not to be identified.

Vietnam calls the waters the East Sea.

The HMS Albion, a 22,000 ton amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, passed by the Paracel Islands in recent days, said the sources. China seized the Paracel Islands from South Vietnam by force in 1974 and has been occupying the archipelago illegally since, although Vietnam has repeatedly demonstrated legal and historical evidences to affirm its sovereignty rights.

The Albion was on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, where it docked on Monday following a deployment in and around Japan.

One of the sources said Beijing dispatched a frigate and two helicopters to challenge the British vessel, but both sides remained calm during the encounter.

The other source the Albion did not enter the territorial seas around any features in the hotly disputed region but demonstrated that Britain does not recognize excessive maritime claims around the Paracel Islands. Twelve nautical miles is an internationally recognized territorial limit.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms.

Neither Chinas Foreign nor Defense Ministries immediately responded to a request for comment.

Freedom of navigation

Chinas claims in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion of shipborne trade passes each year, are contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Britain does not have any territorial claims in the area.

While the U.S. Navy has conducted Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the same area in the past, this British challenge to Chinas growing control of the strategic waterway comes after the United States has said it would like to see more international participation in such actions.

Both Britain and the United States say they conduct FONOP operations throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies.

The British Navy has previously sailed close to the disputed Spratly Islands, further south in the South China Sea, but not within the 12 nautical mile limit, diplomatic sources have said.

FONOPs, which are largely symbolic, have so far not persuaded Beijing to curtail its South China Sea activities, which have included extensive reclamation of reefs and islands and the construction of runways, hangars and missile systems.

Beijing says it is entitled to build on its territories and says the facilities are for civilian use and necessary self-defense purposes. China blames Washington for militarizing the region with its freedom of navigation patrols.

Foreign aircraft and vessels in the region are routinely challenged by Chinese naval ships and monitoring stations on the fortified islands, sources have said previously.

In April, warships from Australia - which like Britain is a close U.S. ally - had what Canberra described as a close encounter with Chinese naval vessels in the contested sea.
Khanh Hoa police are searching for two men who robbed a bank Wednesday morning and escaped with bundles of cash.

Police hunt two bank robbers in central Vietnam Police after two male bank robbers in central Vietnam

Camera footage shows a man going very calmly into a bank with a handmade pistol, and putting bundles of cash into a bag without seeming to cause much disruption.

The robbery took place at a branch of the commercial lender Vietcombank on a street in Ninh Hoa Town, 45 minutes north of the popular resort town Nha Trang.

Both men had their heads, faces and hands covered.

One of them threatened the staff, mostly women, and chased after the guards with his gun while the other took the cash.

The two only ran when the alarm bell rang.

In the camera footage, the man driving the motorbike throws something to a third person, apparently a woman, who catches it and keeps walking as the two robbers get away on one motorbike. Reports have made no mention of the third person thus far.

Eye witnesses said one of the men dropped his gun in front of the bank before the other one fired two shots to threaten people around before they made their escape.

The staff at the bank only had enough time to throw a metal bar at the robbers.

The gun that one of the robbers drops in front of the bank when running away and the metal bar that staff at the bank threw at them. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Ngoc

"The two robbers were too fierce, plus they had guns so no one dared to do anything, said one witness, who added that the whole incident took little more than two minutes.

Police have seized the pistol and other evidence from the scene.

They said the rapid manner in which the two robbers operated showed they knew exactly where to get the money, which meant theyd done their homework and studied the office carefully.

Bank officials said no staff was hurt, but they could not reveal the amount of cash that was taken.

It has been reported that Vietcombank is unlikely to suffer any loss as it is insured as regulated.
'A friend of mine committed suicide after I abandoned him for him confessing his homosexuality to me.'

Shocking, poignant stories were narrated at an unusual event hosted recently by the U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Storytelling Contest on LGBTQI issues, involving members of the community as well as their families and friends, was part of a series of mini events supporting Viet Pride. LGBTQI stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex.

Viet Pride is an annual event that focuses "on celebrating the freedom of love and personal expression, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity."

Most of the 23 contestants who participated in the event were 15-25 years old. Some sat alone, some surrounded by friends and families. Some looked cheerful, others looked nervous.

But when the story telling began, people bared their souls and shared their anguish.

Tran Duc Bao, who won the first prize at the contest, shared how his name was modified to mock him. His friends and classmates called him Bao Duc, the initials of which fit the pronunciation of "Be e".

"Be e," originating from "Pe de," a French slang for homosexual, is a derogatory term widely used to attack gays in Vietnam.

"I used to bite my pillows in tears," Bao said.

Bao was a natural on stage, which was a winning element in his presentation, apart from his story. He demonstrated how he walks, according to his haters: pelvis out, shoulders back, a limp wrist, hips swishing from side to side. This was obviously a deliberate exaggeration, because Baos gait is nothing like the stereotype.

The 17-year-old student questioned the modern day freedom that does not grant him the freedom to be himself.

Tran Duc Bao, first prize winner at a Saigon storytelling contest on LGBT issues, shares his story of being discriminated for being gay. Photo courtesy of US Consulate General

'More normal'

Another contestant, Vu Hoang Thanh Trang, did not suffer any discrimination.

She was the discriminator.

When her friend confessed that she liked her, Trang reacted in a shocking way that silenced her friend and drove her away. When Trang managed to apologize, her friend broke to tears and the two embraced each other.

"I wish I was more normal," her friend said.

Trang has since been accompanying her friend on her journey to find herself, providing her the mental support she needs. In the process, Trang has become a pillar of support for many other friends who face the thorny challenges faced by all LGBTQI individuals. She invited others around her, including the audience present, to expand their horizons on sexual orientation.

"Society cannot change immediately. If we can only inspire 3-5 people, that is okay. We are here, we can fight the stigma. We will make a difference, one mindset at a time," the 18-year-old said.

A made-up story

Among many captivating stories, one by Ngo Thanh Triet stood out.

A Vietnamese student in Finland who calls himself "a gay guy who likes make-up," Triets attempt to boost his self-esteem backfired quickly.

"I felt judgmental eyes on me from everyone around me because of my make-up."

And this was happening in Finland, a country far more progressive and empathetic towards LGBTQI appearances and rights than many countries, including Vietnam.

Then, something else happened.

"One time, when I was at a bar, there were two girls sitting not so far from me.

"They were looking in my direction, with their hands covering their mouths as they spoke, and I realized they were talking about me."

The women ended up approaching Triet, and asked him a question he did not expect: "What highlighter do you use?"

It hit Triet then that he does not really know what people think of him  his own negative thoughts were wreaking havoc.

"So why do I stress myself about what others think of me?"

Ngo Thanh Triet shares his story at the contest. Photo courtesy of the US Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City

Misunderstanding, cruelty

Despite the upbeat nature of several stories, the pain caused by a society that discriminates against them was evident.

At another LGBT event hosted by the U.S. Consulate General last month, Doctor Nguyen Tan Thu and psychologist Mia Nguyen addressed common misunderstandings and responses that causes more suffering.

"To cure homosexuals, doctors injected hormones into them. If that does not work, they were subjected to electric shocks, either on top of their head, arms, or sexual organs," Thu said.

There was one gruesome method the doctor mentioned that sent shivers down the audiences spine: corrective rape. The term was coined in South Africa after numerous rapes of lesbians. Perpetrators claimed that the act would transform the homosexual victim into heterosexual.

Thu categorically stated that all the abovementioned conversion therapies do not change the sexual orientation of "patients."

An openly gender queer person himself, Thu is an ardent activist for LGBTIQ rights. He is now a consultant for Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) where he provides counseling and HIV test referrals for men who have sex with men (MSM).

Boi Nhi, a freelance actress and health consultant at My Home Clinic, a LGBTQI-friendly clinic that welcomes patients who are afraid to go to public and private hospitals, spoke openly about her predicament.

She said that hormones used by transgender individuals are not regulated in Vietnam. "Transgenders like me who use these hormones are not protected by law," Nhi said. Homosexuals who want to become transgenders often look up to those who have already had sex reassignment surgery and seek their advice on hormone use, the actress said.

"We have no idea what these pills contain. Because the Ministry of Health does not inspect and supervise these hormone pills, we as transgenders have to resort to advice from successfully transgendered people for medical advice and support so that we can eventually find ourselves just like they did," Nhi said.

Mia Nguyen, a psychologist who has worked with the LGBTQI community for over a decade, told VnExpress International that sex reassignment surgery was not covered by health insurance in Vietnam. In contrast, in Australia, where she has worked since 2007, counselling and hormone therapy for people undergoing the surgery are covered by health insurance. She hoped that the operation will soon be covered by health insurance in Vietnam.

Vietnam is regarded highly in the region when it comes to supporting LGBTQI rights. It scrapped the ban on same-sex marriage in 2014. However, the nations laws does not recognize nor protect gay couples.

Harsh attitudes at home remain one of the toughest challenges facing Vietnams LGBT community.

Ending it all

"My friend committed suicide after I abandoned him for him confessing his homosexuality to me."

When Bui Quang Nghias friend came out of the closet and confided in him, Nghia cut off contact. He did not answer texts or phone calls. And before he could realize how much hurt he had caused by shunning his friend, it was too late. The friend overdosed on sleeping pills.

Nghia did not cry, but the pauses in his storytelling were pregnant with grief.

Nguyen Khanh shared another dramatic story about a friend of his.

He seemed to have everything anyone could want. He was intelligent, sociable, ambitious and had an excellent education funded by his family. But there was something inside that had been eating him up for a long time  his unorthodox sexual orientation.

As Khanh spoke, a picture of a railway track appeared on the screen.

"He stood there, one step away from death. He wanted to end it all. Do you think he jumped?", he asked, and the audience tensed up.

Nguyen then took a symbolic step back and said with a smile, "Fortunately, he did not. Because he is me."
Vietnam to try safer way to clean up Agent Orange hotspots

A new method will filter, wash and rinse contaminated soil at the Bien Hoa Airport to sponge dioxin out.

Dioxin, the toxic ingredient in the Agent Orange defoliant sprayed by the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, will float up and latch on to sponges after the contaminated soil filtered by the size of its particles, washed and rinsed.

The application of this new method was announced in a memorandum signed by the Ministry of Defense and Tokyo-based general contractor Shimizu Corporation on Tuesday.

It said that Shimizu Corp will finish building a decontamination factory at the Bien Hoa Airport in southern Dong Nai Province by December this year and begin operations next January.

The factory will have a maximum decontamination capacity being 40 tons of soil per hour.

It is claimed that the new method can remove over 90 percent of dioxin present in the contaminated soil, and that 70 percent of it can be reused normally.

Previously, the dioxin was removed from the soil through a heating method that was too costly and needed to meet stringent emission management requirements.

Applying the new method along with the old can cut decontamination costs by half and is less harmful to the environment, officials said.

Vietnam currently has 28 dioxin hotspots, including airports in several cities and provinces like central city of Da Nang that were heavily used by the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

Of these, the Bien Hoa Airport is considered the worst, with the total mass of contaminated soil reaching 850,000 tons.

The Vietnamese government hopes to complete dioxin decontamination of the countrys soil by 2030.

Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are highly toxic organic pollutants in Agent Orange, which was sprayed by the U.S. militarys Operation Ranch Hand from 1961 to 1971. Some 80 million liters of Agent Orange are said to have been sprayed over 78,000 square kilometers (30,000 square miles) of Vietnamese territory.

The chemical, which stays in the soil and at the bottom of lakes and rivers for generations, was later found to be capable of damaging genes, which causes deformities in the offspring of exposed individuals.

The Vietnam Red Cross says that between 2.1 to 4.8 million Vietnamese were directly exposed to Agent Orange and other chemicals that have been linked to cancers, birth defects and other chronic diseases occurring through several generations.
Vietnam receives over 6,500 cyber-attacks in the last eight months. Photo by Reuters

Cryptocurrency mining malware is the new threat and Vietnams weak cyber security makes it particularly vulnerable.

Experts said at a regional conference Wednesday that Vietnam suffered over 6,500 cyber attacks in the first eight months of the year.

It underlines Vietnams vulnerability to new cyber security threats, they said.

Cyber criminals are switching from spreading ransomwares, which encrypt users data and prevent them from being accessed unless a ransom is paid, to spreading cryptocurrency mining malware, said Nguyen Trong Duong, Director of the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT).

This is happening as institutions and organizations have successfully developed countermeasures against ransomwares, he told the 2018 ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Teams Incident Drill (ACID 2018) conference in Hanoi.

The malwares can go far beyond simply hoarding the resources of users computers; they can also exploit security vulnerabilities to diversify their attack methods or even install more malwares on affected computers, he added.

As system operators, we must stay vigilant and dutiful to safeguard the systems security, and to be ready to deploy countermeasures in emergencies, said Phan Tam, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications.

Fifteen countries and territories - Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - participated in this years drill, which focused on resolving system vulnerabilities that could be exploited for cryptocurrency mining.

Malware cost Vietnam VND12.3 trillion ($540 million) in losses last year, according to Bkav, a Vietnamese cybersecurity corporation.
From the structure to the decorations, the cafe is a reconstruction of Vietnamese houses in the 60s and 70s. According to the owner, the whole block of houses on Huynh Tinh Cua Street are old, built during the American occupation. As it was meant to house American officials back then, the buildings are spacious and designed with a lot of balconies and windows to let the fresh air in, keeping the house cool even during the heat of a Saigon summer.
The ministry had previously ruled exposure to radiation caused the illnesses of four workers at Fukushima, the official said.

Japan has acknowledged for the first time that a worker at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami more than seven years ago, died from radiation exposure.

A 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck in March 2011, triggering a tsunami that killed some 18,000 people and the worlds worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl 25 years earlier.

The Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry ruled on Friday that compensation should be paid to the family of the man in his 50s who died from lung cancer, an official told Reuters by phone.

The worker had spent his career working at nuclear plants around Japan and worked at the Fukushima Daiichi plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power at least twice after the March 2011 meltdowns at the station.

He was diagnosed with cancer in February 2016, the official said.

The ministry had previously ruled exposure to radiation caused the illnesses of four workers at Fukushima, the official said. This was the first death, he said.

More than 160,000 people were forced from their homes after the meltdowns at the plant.

Hundreds of deaths have been attributed to the chaos of evacuations during the crisis and because of the hardship and mental trauma refugees have experienced since then, but the government had said that radiation was not a cause.

Tokyo Electric is facing a string of legal cases seeking compensation over the disaster.
Ukraine households seeing solar power boom

Recently, the number of Ukrainians who installed solar panels in their households increased almost 120 times.

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IMF mission arrives in Ukraine

The experts will discuss recent economic developments and policies.

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The bill provides for the use in the army not only "comrade", but also "pan".

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted in the first reading Bill "On amendments to the charters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine" (No. 9036).

The relevant decision was backed by 283 MPs, an UNIAN correspondent reports.

The bill proposes changes to the Charter of Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Charter of the garrison and guard services of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and Drill Regulations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the establishment of a new military greeting "Glory to Ukraine"  "Glory to heroes," as well as the procedure for the ritual of raising the national flag of Ukraine.

Read also"Glory to Ukraine!" now on Ukraine national football team's new uniform (Photo)

In addition, the bill provides for the use in the army of an official address "Pan" ("sir" in Ukrainian) along with the Soviet-era "tovarysh" [comrade].

First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Rusnak said the issue of introducing a new greeting "was discussed among the military and received unconditional support from servicemen and ATO participants."

At the same time, MP Ivan Vinnyk said the norms defined in the law will be extended to other military formations, including the National Guard and the SBU Security Service of Ukraine. According to him, "the National Police is regulated by separate government decrees," therefore it is proposed to provide by the second reading definitions, which will allow the same greetings to be used there.

The period for drafting the bill ahead of the second reading has been reduced to 10 days.
Ukraine's central bank expects new IMF disbursement this year

The current cooperation program is expiring in spring 2019.

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Poroshenko: Ukraine to spend 5.26% of GDP on defense this year

Ukraine's National Bank of Ukraine forecasts a 3.4% increase in GDP in 2018 from last year's US$109.3 billion.

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Galaxy Group of Companies expands its activities in Belarus: a new TIME and Pandora store launched

I think its a good moment to invest in Armenia. Head of Markets at Symbiotics Vincent Lehner

Ameriabank has Raised USD 17.5M Tier 2 Capital

UNIGHT TO UNITE. UCOM CELEBRATED ITS REBIRTH

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Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees

Ameriabank. 62.5% Growth in Taxes YOY

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans have provided 300 million AMD to overcome the infertility in Armenia

UCOM has officially launched the sale of IPHONE 13

Six servicemen were wounded by the attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh, two of them in critical condition

S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to Positive

Ararat Mirzoyan to visit to Minsk

Foreign Minister of India visits the Memorial of Armenian Genocide

1217 new cases

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group

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"Fall forward": Gurgen Khachatryan, the Co-Founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies, addressed a message to young people in Armenia

UCOM hosted interns of Russian CBOSS corporation for a month

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Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group

UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount

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Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency

UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers

Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland

Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden.

"The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer

Generation A 13  your chance to be the change
Galaxy Group of Companies expands its activities in Belarus: a new TIME and Pandora store launched

I think its a good moment to invest in Armenia. Head of Markets at Symbiotics Vincent Lehner

Ameriabank has Raised USD 17.5M Tier 2 Capital

UNIGHT TO UNITE. UCOM CELEBRATED ITS REBIRTH

Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees

Ameriabank. 62.5% Growth in Taxes YOY

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans have provided 300 million AMD to overcome the infertility in Armenia

UCOM has officially launched the sale of IPHONE 13

Six servicemen were wounded by the attack of the Azerbaijani armed forces in Artsakh, two of them in critical condition

S&P Improved the Outlook on Ameriabank to Positive

Ararat Mirzoyan to visit to Minsk

Foreign Minister of India visits the Memorial of Armenian Genocide

1217 new cases

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group

At UCOM only: Tv sets at 10% discount + 1 month free UMIX package + 4k tv channel

Google Ad

Ameriabanks Special Offer for New Clients of Hrazdan Branch

"Fall forward": Gurgen Khachatryan, the Co-Founder of the Galaxy Group of Companies, addressed a message to young people in Armenia

UCOM hosted interns of Russian CBOSS corporation for a month

The 20-episode Bloody bet thriller to be broadcast on Ucom's Armenia Premium TV channel

Statement by the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group

UCOM offers affordable gadgets at bigger discount

Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will pay a working visit to New York

Governments preventing publication of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper during state of emergency

UCOM prolongs the unlimited internet offer for the level up 4700 and level up 5500 subscribers

Ucom employees received recognition for their services to the homeland

Karen Vardanyan has allocated 105 million AMD to rescue the Yerevan Botanical Garden.

"The Power of One Dram" to overcome childhood cancer

Generation A 13  your chance to be the change
Orphanage graduates left at streets (video)

Today, the youth who graduated from the Zatik orphanage were in front of the government. They demand that the state provide them with houses, which is enforced by law. For years, they have addressed this issue to the authorities, but in vain. Former children of the orphanage demand a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. "I stay at street, earn money for bread by selling watermelons. We do not want much. A small shelter where we can live," said one of them. Ashot Vanyan, Adviser of Head of the State Audit Service David Sanasaryan, asked the young people to write a letter to Nikol Pashinyan. "Write a letter so that your complaint is resolved in a legitimate way," he said. The young people mentioned that they would write the application but did not leave the Government building and would continue the sit-in. Details are in the video.
Action in front of government building: Put equality between mourning mothers (video)

Mothers of soldiers killed in army before 2015 complain of injustice. According to them, the social support provided to the families of the killed servicemen after 2015 has increased and they are deprived of it. "My boy was replaced by the April boys. I want equality, to look at mother equally. That's wrong. The government's decision on September 1 was made," says one of the mothers. According to them, nobody accepts them. "We are not ownerless either. After all, our children died for this state," they say. They wrote a letter to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in August but they have not yet received an answer. More details are in the video.
Agreement to implement investment project to build wind farm in Kherson region for $450 mln signed in Kyiv

An agreement on the implementation of an international investment project to build a complex of wind farms in Kherson region with Norway's NBT to play the leading role in the project was signed in the Presidential Administration of Ukraine on Thursday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said after the signing of the agreement by the sides that the agreement to build a wind farm with a total capacity of 250 MW would allow satisfying almost the half of the needs in electricity in Kherson region.

The head of state said that total investment under the agreement is almost $450 million.

"Ukrainian reforms bring results in the form of Norwegian investment," Poroshenko said.

NBT develops wind farms in emerging markets. The company has offices in Oslo (Norway), Limassol (Cyprus), Beijing (China), Singapore, Kyiv (Ukraine) and Karachi (Pakistan). Corporate management and administration is located in Oslo, while the technical functions and procurement are located in Beijing and Singapore.

NBT owns 49% of the 100 MW Linxi wind farm in Inner Mongolia, China. The wind farm is operated in a joint venture with Datang, one of Chinas leading utilities. NBT and Datang have a framework agreement for development and construction of up to 1,000 MW of wind power in China. In addition, NBT owns 33% of the 49.5 MW Baicheng wind farm in the Jilin province, China. The majority owner is GanttCo China Power Limited.

According to a posting on the company's website, NBT acquired Syvashenergoprom in Kherson, Ukraine in April 2018.

"The plan is to construct a wind farm with installed capacity in the range of 250330 MW," the company said.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects that negotiations with the mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which started working in Ukraine on September 6, will be successful, head of the central bank Yakiv Smolii has stated.

"The IMF mission arrived yesterday. And today it started work with the Ministry of Finance, the Cabinet of Ministers  I will meet with the mission. We expect that the negotiations will be successful and we will achieve consensus in getting the next tranche this year," Smolii said at a briefing.

Deputy Head of the National Bank Dmytro Solohub said during the briefing the NBU lays in its forecasts the growth of tariffs for natural gas for the population by 25% this year and 15% next year.

"The forecast has not changed for the time being, because we review it on a quarterly basis. We expect gas tariffs to rise by 25% this year and by 15% in next year," he said.

As reported, the IMF mission headed by Ron van Rooden began work in Kyiv on September 6.
Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy must resign after making statements violating the legislation banning Nazism, opposition parliamentary faction Opposition Bloc leader Yuriy Boiko said.

"The parliamentary speaker, the second highest-ranking official in the country, directly violated the law banning Nazism while positively mentioning the leader of the Third Reich in a TV program. In any civilized society, a parliamentary speaker must resign voluntarily after such remarks," Boiko said at the parliament on Thursday.

"If Andriy Volodymyrovych doesn't step down voluntarily, our faction reserves the right to submit an address to the parliaments of all countries explaining this disgraceful incident and a direct violation of Ukrainian law by the second highest-ranking official in the country," Boiko said.

The Opposition Bloc has registered a draft resolution on dismissing Parubiy, Boiko said. He called for putting the document up for vote and supporting it.

Parubiy in reply called Boiko's statement absurd. "I said on the air that the Nazis used referendums as a direct democracy method for manipulations," he said, adding that he denounced such methods.
PrJSC Kyivspetstrans plans to build a waste treatment plant with a capacity of 450,000 tonnes of garbage a year worth EUR60 million, board chairman of the company Andriy Hruschynsky has said at a press conference.

"Kyivspetstrans plans to construct a waste processing plant, which should replace the capacity of solid waste landfill No. 5 to finally close it, reclaim it and put it in order. We focus on a mechanical-biological technology: it's more modern and environmentally friendly technology than garbage incineration," he said.

According to the expert, the company plans to attract international companies with experience of similar projects as designers and contractors of construction. Companies from Germany and Poland have already expressed interest.

"We believe that such a project can be realized in two years - the time it takes to develop a project, to order and manufacture equipment," he said.

He noted that several sites are being considered for the construction of the plant. To finance the project, it is planned to attract loan funds.

"Such projects need credits, and such large infrastructure facilities for the territorial community can be credited at institutions. We focus on the EBRD, as they give the best conditions," Hruschynsky told Interfax-Ukraine.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) will consider the matter of urgent measures to ensure protection of Ukraine's national interests in the Sea of Azov on Thursday, Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"Today we will consider in secret mode the issue of urgent measures to protect national interests in the Sea of Azov. The relevant initiatives are proposed and the necessary coordination of our actions is agreed," he said at a meeting of the NSDC on Thursday.
The European Union intends to soon offer its candidates to the Public Council of International Experts, which will help in the selection of judges for the Higher Anti-Corruption Court in Ukraine (HACC), head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Hugues Mingarelli has said.

"We intend to propose very soon experts to the public council of international experts. This Council will then help the High Qualification Commission of Judges to select independent and professional judges," Mingarelli said in his video address posted on the Facebook page of the European Union in Ukraine on Thursday.

According to him, the establishment of the High Anti-Corruption Court will allow Ukraine to complete the process of changes in the sphere of justice and fight against corruption.

"For this court to be effective it will be key to ensure that this selection process for judges to be fair and transparent. And with our international partners we are determined to help our Ukrainian partners in this regard," he added.

He also called on potential candidates for the posts of judges of the anti-corruption court to file their applications before September 14.
The Verkhovna Rada has ratified the agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey on mutual assistance and investment protection, which provides Ukrainian and Turkish investors with assistance in use of investments, as well as secures guarantees against illegal expropriation and nationalization.

Some 244 people's deputies supported the corresponding bill with the quorum being 226 votes.

According to the website of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the agreement also provides for the free transfer of payments and the application of internationally recognized dispute settlement procedures.

In addition, the parliament ratified the trade agreement between Ukraine and the Kingdom of Thailand.

The corresponding bill, providing for the creation of a special intergovernmental commission on trade, was supported by 241 people's deputies.
The Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine (NSDC) at its meeting on Thursday supported the initiative of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko on the non-renewal of the Treaty on Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation with the Russian Federation for 10 years.

"The NSDC supported the proposal of the Ukrainian president regarding the non-renewal of the Treaty of Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation with the Russian Federation for the next 10 years," the NSDC press service said following the meeting.
Interfax-Ukraine to host press conference 'MPs Can Leave Ukraine without Power, Heating: Experts Present Analysis of Controversial Power Price Reduction Bill'

On Friday, September 7, at 11.00, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "MPs Can Leave Ukraine without Power, Heating: Experts Present Analysis of Controversial Power Price Reduction Bill." Participants include member of the Supervisory Board of the Energy Strategies Institute Yuriy Korolchuk, Co-Chairman of the Energy Strategies Institute Dmytro Marunych (8/5-A Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation.
PARIS, Sept 6 (Reuters)

France's foreign ministry said on Thursday it regretted the arrest of the husband of a detained Iranian human rights lawyer, a rare criticism that is likely to irk Tehran at a time of strained relations.

Reza Khandan is married to Nasrin Sotoudeh, an activist lawyer who served about half of a six-year jail sentence imposed in 2010 for spreading propaganda, then was arrested again in June.

Khandan, who had campaigned for his wife's release, told Iranian media then she was facing security charges. He said on Facebook on Monday he had been called in for questioning by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence, and when he objected he was told, "Then you'll be arrested".

"France regrets the arrest in Tehran of Reza Khandan, husband of Nasrin Sotoudeh," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Agnes von der Muhll said in a statement. "We remain very concerned about Mrs Sotoudeh, who started a hunger strike on Aug. 25, and we hope she and Mr. Khandan are released quickly."

France rarely comments publicly on human rights issues in Iran. It is now working with Britain and Germany to save a 2015 agreement on Iran's nuclear programme, which was thrown into disarray when U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the accord in May and re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran.

Even so, tensions between Paris and Tehran have grown in recent months ass President Emmanuel Macron and his government have become increasingly frustrated with Iran's regional activities, in particular its ballistic missile programme.

Both countries have yet to appoint new ambassadors to each other's capitals.

Paris also told its diplomats and foreign ministry officials to postpone indefinitely all non-essential travel to Iran, citing a foiled bomb plot and a hardening of Tehran's attitude towards France.

(Reporting by John Irish, editing by Larry King)
Iran's enmity with Israel has led Arabs to realize it is Iran's radical regime that is their enemy, not Israel, said Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman in an exclusive interview with Radio Farda on September 4.

"This is perhaps the first time moderate Arabs realize Iran is their main enemy, not Israel, the Jewish people or Zionism," he said. "We owe this change in attitudes among Arabs to Iran, and this is a step forward.

He was referring to what international media, including the New York Times, have characterized as an unwritten alliance against Iran that brought Israel closer to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2017.

However, Lieberman made it clear in the interview with Radio Farda, "We do not have any problem with the Iranian people, but we have problems with the fanatic and crazy regime. Every day, they have a speech or statement saying that they are going to destroy the state of Israel and that they would never accept our existence. Even there was an inscription in Hebrew on one of their missiles saying that they want to wipe Israel off the map. That is an irrational approach."

Lieberman told Radio Farda's Mehrdad Mirdamadi that Israel is determined not to allow Iran to continue its military presence in Syria.

Israel's defense chief warned that his country will seek to "destroy any Iranian military presence" in Syria, where Tehran has intervened to prop up its ally, President Bashar al-Assad, in a more than seven-year war.

"We will try to destroy any Iranian military presence on Syrian territory, be it an air base, a naval base, a missile production factory, or the Shi'ite militias that they are bringing there from Pakistan, Iraq, and all of the Middle East," he said.

Asked if there was a reduction in Iran's activities in Syria as Iranians have claimed, Lieberman said, "I am not sure if they are speaking about the reduction of their activity in Syria," adding that Tehran had adopted a "different approach" in Syria, although he did not reveal any specifics.

"They have adopted some other patterns of behavior in Syria because they understand that we are monitoring, we are watching, and we have all the political will and determination to prevent their desire to turn Syria into their forward base against Israel [from being fulfilled]," he said.

"They are careful, and they understand that they have too many challenges," he added. "We hope our message is quite clear that we would do anything to prevent the establishment of a military base in our neighbourhood or bringing militia from different countries to Syria."

Israeli military strikes against Iranian targets in Syria have been mostly ignored by Russia, Damascus' backer, and Israel has attempted to persuade Moscow to pressure Tehran to withdraw its forces from Syria.

Nevertheless, stressing the history of the friendship between Iranians and the Israeli people, Tel Aviv's defense chief said, "Israel believes Iran is an independent country and has every right to cooperate with Israel as a partner," further stressing that "we are not against economic, diplomatic, and other forms of cooperation between Iran and Israel."

Elsewhere in the interview, Lieberman told Radio Farda that "the combination of Iran's nuclear program and political ambition is dangerous for the Middle East."

Iran has backed Assad in the Syrian conflict and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has played a crucial role on the ground.



The IRGC has recruited tens of thousands of Shi'ite fighters from the region to fight in Syria. More than 1,000 Iranians, including senior members of the elite IRGC, have been killed in Syria since 2012, according to Reuters.



Iranian officials say their military presence in Syria is at the invitation of the Damascus government and they have no immediate plans to withdraw.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 99 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Sept. 6.

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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

An official welcome ceremony has been held for President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who is in the Republic of Croatia for an official visit.

A ceremonial guard of honor was arranged for the Azerbaijani President at the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries.

President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic welcomed President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

State anthems of Azerbaijan and Croatia were played.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to President Ilham Aliyev.

The presidents reviewed the guard of honor.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev saluted Croatian soldiers.

Croatian state and government representatives were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev, while members of the Azerbaijani delegation were introduced to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

The presidents posed together for photographs.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic have held a one-on-one meeting.

The presidents hailed the successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Croatia in political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres.

The importance of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's official visit to Croatia was emphasized in terms of the further strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Other bilateral issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has visited Voice of Croatian Victims  Wall of Pain monument in Zagreb.

The president put a wreath at the memorial and paid tribute to the people who gave their lives for Croatia.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit Azerbaijan in mid-September, the Turkish media reported Sept. 6.

Reportedly, the prospects for development of bilateral relations, as well as regional issues will be discussed during President Erdogans one-day visit, scheduled for September 15.

Over the past year, political and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey have reached a new level. Ankara supports Azerbaijan in all international organizations in connection with the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

President Erdogan once again confirmed this position during the Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, held in Kyrgyzstan on September 3.

He also said that Turkey, as before, will support Azerbaijan in all spheres.

The Turkish president also said that all Turkic-speaking states must contribute to settlement of conflicts and establishment of stability in the world.

Today, Azerbaijan and Turkey have a solid bilateral cooperation, but the two countries also have experience of working in a multilateral format.

Turkey participates in the majority of large-scale projects being implemented by Azerbaijan in the region. Among them are the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline projects.

Turkey and Azerbaijan demonstrated their leadership by signing an agreement on the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) in Istanbul in 2012. TANAP is one of the important components of the Southern Gas Corridor, which will allow supplying Azerbaijani gas to the world markets.

In summer, the first commercial gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field was supplied via the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Sangachal terminal through the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline. The next stage was the commissioning of TANAP, through which gas is supplied to Turkey and further to Europe.

Another large-scale project of the century is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will ensure more active economic and trade cooperation between Ankara and Baku by supplying goods from Central Asia to Europe.

After the railway was commissioned in November 2017, the time of cargo transportation was almost halved, decreasing by 12-15 days. As is known, at this stage the biggest cargo turnover is carried out between Europe and China. Before the BTK railway, the transportation was carried out through sea routes and on average it took 25-30 days.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey reached $2.64 billion in 2017, of which $1.37 billion accounted for exports to Turkey. The trade turnover between the two countries increased by 14.8 percent in 2017.

In January-July 2018, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $1.74 billion (a 19.6 percent growth for the year).

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Details added (first version posted on 18:49)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Andrej Plenkovic have had a working dinner.

The Croatian prime minister welcomed President Aliyev.

The Azerbaijani president signed an honorary guest book at the state residence.

President Aliyev and Prime Minister Plenkovic posed together for photographs.

The development of strategic partnership ties and successful cooperation between the two countries in political, economic, energy and other areas was stressed at the meeting.

The sides emphasized good opportunities for further expansion of economic relations. The prospects for cooperation in agricultural, pharmaceutical, transport and other fields were also discussed.

The successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and the European Union was highlighted. Azerbaijans role in energy security of Europe, the significance of the Southern Gas Corridor were hailed, and the sides exchanged views over other issues of mutual interest.

Then, the Azerbaijani president and the Croatian prime minister had a joint working dinner.
Details added (first version posted on 19:10)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has met with Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Croatia Gordan Jandrokovic.

Jandrokovic welcomed President Aliyev.

President Aliyev and Speaker Jandrokovic posed together for photographs.

The Azerbaijani presidents official visit to Croatia was hailed as successful, and the sides emphasized fruitful discussions held during the visit. The development of strategic partnership ties and successful cooperation between Azerbaijan and Croatia in political, economic, energy and other areas was stressed at the meeting.

The importance of increasing trade turnover was underlined. Azerbaijans role in energy security of Europe, the importance of the Southern Gas Corridor were pointed out. It was said that high-level reciprocal visits play a special role in expanding the bilateral relations.

The importance of Azerbaijan's participation in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan was highlighted, and Azerbaijan's successful cooperation with the European Union was hailed during the meeting. The sides emphasized good opportunities for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Croatia in transport, pharmaceutical and tourism spheres.

The sides noted the importance of expanding inter-parliamentary relations, and emphasized that friendship groups can make a significant contribution to this. Other issues of mutual interest were discussed during the meeting.
Details added (first version posted at 12:45)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Azerbaijan will be represented by a national stand at several international exhibitions by the end of the year, the acting President of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Fund (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev said at a press conference in Baku Sept. 6.

He noted that these exhibitions will be held in Russia, France and China.

"By the end of 2018, we plan to present Azerbaijan with a single national stand at several more exhibitions. The first of them will be held in late September in Moscow. This is a well-known World Food exhibition, and this year Azerbaijan, as in the past, is a partner of this exhibition. In October, our country will be represented at the SIAL exhibition in Paris. This exhibition, which will be held on October 21-25, is one of the largest food exhibitions in the world. Then two exhibitions in China, which will be held in November. One of them is the exhibition of alcoholic beverages Provine held in Shanghai, where we have already participated last year," Abdullayev said.

He also said that by the end of 2018, several more export missions are planned to be sent to foreign countries. In addition, he said, over the next four months it is planned to establish a number of trading, wine and tea houses.

"In the remaining months of 2018 we plan to send export missions to Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Germany. Two missions will be sent to Russia - one to Moscow and the other - to St. Petersburg, in addition, we plan to send another export mission to China. As for trading houses, this tool is gradually bringing its benefits, and so by the end of the year we want to open trading houses in Aktau and Warsaw. In addition, it is planned to open wine and tea houses in Russia," Abdullayev said.

In January 2018, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on amendments to the "Procedure for determining and regulating the mechanism of payment for part of the expenses paid from the state budget for the organization of export missions to foreign countries, research of foreign markets and marketing activities, promotion of the "Made in Azerbaijan" brand in foreign markets, obtaining certificates and patents by local companies in foreign countries in connection with exports, research programs and projects for export development".

According to the decree, this year the number of export missions that can be organized with the participation of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs within one calendar year has been increased from 10 to 25. The number of international fairs and exhibitions has been increased from 5 to 10.

In recent years, Azerbaijan has been actively promoting the Made in Azerbaijan brand in foreign countries through the creation of trading houses.
Details added (first version posted on 12:16)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Azerbaijan is aimed at increasing trade ties with China, acting president of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev said at a press conference in Baku Sept. 6.

He said that a special Azerbaijani pavilion will be opened for this purpose at the end of September in Chinas Luzhou city.

There are plans to open the pavilion on September 28, Abdullayev said. It will feature various Azerbaijani products, which are in great demand in the Chinese market, especially wines and other alcohol products. Visitors of the pavilion will have the opportunity to purchase Azerbaijani products of various types. Some of the goods have already been delivered to China, and another part is planned to be delivered in the near future.

He noted that during the last delegation to China and participation in exhibitions between the companies of Azerbaijan and China, a significant number of agreements were reached on the supply of Azerbaijani products, and Azerbaijans wine house was opened in Urumqi city.

Azerbaijans trade turnover with China exceeded $616 million in January-July 2018, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. China is one of the main suppliers of products to Azerbaijan and ranks third in terms of imports of goods ($586.38 million).

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

The accounts chambers of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation, the Accounts Chamber of Kyrgyzstan said in a message on Sept. 6.

The document was signed in Moscow by heads of the highest audit agencies of the two countries - Vugar Gulmammadov and Ulukbek Maripov.

During the meeting, Ulukbek Maripov stressed that the Accounts Chamber of Kyrgyzstan pays special attention to the establishment and development of bilateral cooperation with the Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan.

Since the last meeting of the two agencies employees on the exchange of experience in Bishkek city, much work was done on the preparation of the agreement, he said. We see the results of this work. We are very glad that we will begin to build a new bridge for the professional interaction, exchange of experience and friendship between us.

Ulukbek Maripov expressed confidence that the norms stipulated in the agreement will work in favor of deepening and strengthening bilateral cooperation not only between the accounts chambers, but also between Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan as a whole.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

The Tashkent city administration has attracted 5.5 billion soums for the implementation of 47 investment projects, the press service of the city administration reported Sept. 6.

The relevant agreement was reached during the meeting of the acting head of administration of Tashkent city Jahangir Artikhodjaev with investors.

Earlier it was reported that by the end of the year, five regional investment projects will be implemented in Uzbekistan, their total cost will be $124.4 million, more than $117 million of which will fall on direct foreign investments.

From January to July 2018, more than 1,100 enterprises with participation of foreign capital were established in the country. Thus, their number increased by 2.8 times - to 736 over the year.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 6

By Ilkin Shafiyev  Trend:

SOCAR Energy Ukraine (a subsidiary of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR) plans to greatly increase natural gas supplies to Ukraine, the company told Trend.

"In the first half of 2018, SOCAR became the leader in terms of sales of natural gas in Ukraine among commercial structures," the company said. "We plan to reach a record figure in the autumn - one billion cubic meters of imported gas."

In the first half this year, SOCAR Energy Ukraine imported 250 million cubic meters of natural gas into the country.

This is almost four times more than during the same period of 2017. The company supplies the purchased resource both for household consumers and major business structures.

SOCAR has been operating in Ukraine since 2008. The network of SOCAR filling stations includes 59 filling stations and two oil loading bunkers located in 11 regions of Ukraine.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The three-day exhibition-conference entitled as "Main trends of development of energy industry of Turkmenistan" has opened in Ashgabat Sept. 6, the organizers of the event - the Ministry of Energy and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Turkmenistan said in a statement.

The participants of the event, which will continue until September 8 inclusive, will be informed about the investment climate and prospects for the development of the energy sector of Turkmenistan.

The agenda includes attraction of foreign investments, modernization of generating and distributing capacities and energy saving in the electric power industry.

The Concept for the development of the electric power industry in 2013-2020 is implemented in Turkmenistan, according to which six new power plants have been built in different regions of the country.

At this stage, Turkmen electricity is exported to Afghanistan and Iran. The project of construction of a 500 kilovolt high-voltage transmission line in the direction of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan is being implemented.

Earlier it was reported that the total amount of electricity produced in Turkmenistan by 2024 is planned to be brought up to 33 billion kilowatts/hours, which is 27.2 percent more than the amount planned for 2018.

According to the latest published data, the export of Turkmen electricity for the eleven months of 2017 amounted to 3,246,737,000 kilowatt/hours.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Ankara Mayor's Office has announced a tender to purchase 45,000 liters of firefighting foam for the fire department of the city.

Both local and foreign companies can participate in the tender.

The tender will be held at 10:30 (GMT +3) on September 18, 2018.

Applications and proposals of interested parties are accepted at: Turgut Ozal Bulvar No: 9 Iskitler Altndag/Ankara.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (+90 312) 341 41 60

Fax: (+90 312) 341 90 64

The tender participation fee is 200 Turkish liras.

(1 USD = 6.6944 TRY on Sept. 6)

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 6

Trend:

Overhaul of a bridge in the Depo district of Oral city in West Kazakhstan province has been completed, the local government said in a message on its webpage, citing the head of the local government Altay Kulginov's speech at a live broadcast on the TV channel "TDK-42".

The work was completed ahead of schedule. The construction started on March 1, 2017 and was to be completed only in the spring of 2019.

The bridge will be commissioned on September 7 on the occasion of the City Day.

Previously, the bridge's width was 11 meters and had two lanes.

The new bridge has a width of 19 meters. The number of lanes has increased from two to four. There is also a two-sided pavement with a width of 1.5 meters.

All 130 beams have been completely installed. The length of the bridge is 536 meters.

The work was financed by Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) b.v. The existing bridge was built in 1965 and was repaired before.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and Colonel General Xu Qiliang, Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China (PRC) have announced at a meeting in Dushanbe the priority of bilateral cooperation in military sphere, the press service of the Tajik president stated Sept. 6, Interfax reported.

The sides also discussed the issues of implementation of the previously signed agreements, provision of security on the border with Afghanistan and the issues of collective counteraction against terrorism and extremism, as well as illegal drug trafficking.

Emomali Rahmon and Xu Qiliang expressed satisfaction with the development of strategic cooperation between the two countries.

It is expected that on Sept. 6, Deputy Chairman of the CMC of the PRC will meet with Defense Minister of Tajikistan Sherali Mirzo, as well as will visit one of the military units.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The Turkmen-Austrian investment forum is being held in Vienna, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan (UIET) said in a statement Sept. 6.

The event is attended by about 125 representatives of European business, including trade and banking institutions, companies specializing in various fields of industrial production, agribusiness.

The delegation of Turkmenistan is represented by the heads of a number of departments and structural units of UIET, "Rysgal" joint-stock commercial bank, large companies and individual enterprises.

The event featured a presentation of the macroeconomic situation, investment climate, and current trends in the development of entrepreneurship in Turkmenistan.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

To ensure stable and reliable supply of energy resources for foreign consumers is one of Turkmenistans priority goals, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said in his message to the participants of the international exhibition-conference entitled "Main Directions for the Development of the Energy Industry of Turkmenistan" which opened Sept. 6.

Implementing large-scale energy projects, we pay great attention to international energy cooperation, the message says. In accordance with the national program of social and economic development of Turkmenistan for 2011-2030 and the concept of development of the electric power industry for 2013-2020, the volumes of electricity generation will be greatly increased.

The distribution systems, transformers and substations will be overhauled in the countrys villages, settlements soon.

"The accelerated rates of development of the energy sector that have been achieved so far allow to systematically increase the volume of electricity exports that are in great demand in foreign markets, the president said. The capacity of this sector greatly increased thanks to the construction of powerful power stations in a short time, the laying of new transmission lines.

Transnational power lines have an important economic and geopolitical significance, contributing to the strengthening of peace and sustainable development in the region, the expansion of partnership among countries, the message says.

Gas turbine power plants, which will later be built in the regions of the country within the "Concept for the development of the electric power industry of Turkmenistan for 2013-2020", are expected to greatly increase the national energy capacity. Presently, large-scale projects, aimed at modernizing existing gas turbine power stations and building new ones, are being implemented.

"New power transmission lines are being built, the message said. Distribution systems are under construction. The work is underway to modernize the energy infrastructure and outdoor lighting systems in the capital and regions. When implementing projects in the energy industry, energy-saving technologies and highly efficient equipment are used.

I am sure that the current international exhibition and scientific conference will provide you with opportunities for acquaintance with the achievements of the energy sector of Turkmenistan, exchange of information, discussion of new promising projects, topical issues of effective use of energy-saving technologies and renewable energy sources, will help to outline the vectors of mutually beneficial cooperation, the message says.

Presently, Turkmen electricity is exported to Afghanistan and Iran. A project is being implemented to build a high-voltage 500-kilovolt power line in the direction of Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan.

Earlier it was reported that the total volume of electricity generated in Turkmenistan by 2024 is planned to be increased to 33 billion kilowatt-hours, which is 27.2 percent more compared to the plans for 2018.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 6

Trend:

Uzbekistan is taking additional measures to increase efficiency of using production areas, Sputnik Uzbekistan reported citing the country's Foreign Ministry.

The new order will be introduced from September 15, as unused state property facilities will be transferred to private companies, including for rent. Taxes for not using such lands will increase by five times in six months and ten times in a year.

The measures being taken to assist business entities in the successful implementation of their investment projects and increase the responsibility of owners for the rational and targeted use of their idle production areas have actually shown their effectiveness, the message said.

In the near future, interdepartmental commissions on the effective use of unused land will be established in Tashkent and Karakalpakstan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

Iran has removed ban on export of fish feed, Mahmoud Bazari, director of the Trade Promotion Organizations Exports Bureau, said.

The press office of the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) quoted Bazari as saying that the decision was made after several meetings of governmental and private sector organizations of the fishery sector.

He added that based on the new decree the export of fish feed will be possible after receiving the approval of the countrys Fisheries Organization.

Earlier in July the Iranian government banned the export of 18 agricultural products "until further notice."

These items included corn, wheat, flour, barley, oat, oilseeds, unprocessed oil, palm oil, alfalfa, straw and wheat straw, fish meal, bran, soybean meal, press cakes, fish feed, additives for fish feed, rye and sorghum.

The move came after the Iranian minister of industry, mine and trade on June 20 banned the import of 1,339 commodities categorized as "non-essential goods with domestic counterparts".



The decisions came as a move to save foreign currency, after the Iranian rial plunged to a record low against the US dollar on the unofficial market after President Donald Trump in May withdrew from the nuclear deal with Tehran.

Earlier, Arash Nabizadeh, the managing director of Cold Water Fish Farmers of Iran said that the Islamic Republic was exporting some 15,000 tons of fish feed annually at a value of $1-1.2 per each kilogram.

Since 2015, Iran has reportedly been exporting fishery products, including shrimp, trout, other varieties of fish, and canned products to a number of countries in the region, including Russia.

Iran Fisheries Organization has defined projects in the fields of aquaculture, fishing, processing, marketing and trade, for which it supports domestic and foreign investments.

Irans fishery output reached 1.15 million tons in the fiscal year that ended March 2018. Irans fishery sector aims to reach the planned output of 1.6 million tons by 2022, under the sixth five-year economic development plan (39 percent more than the current level).

The countrys overall fishery exports reached 123,000 tons, worth $500 million in the last fiscal year. The figure for the fiscal year to March 20, 2017 accounted for $412 million.
Tehran, Iran, Sept. 6

Trend:

The managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) said China's state-owned CNPC would assume Totals share of around 80 percent in the development of Phase 11 of South Pars.

CNPC would shoulder 80 percent of the cost of the project and Irans Petropars will hold the remaining 20 percent, Mohammad Meshkin-Fam told ILNA on September 6.

So far, the Chinese oil giant, which already operates two oil fields in Iran, has spent about $20 million on planning to develop the field.

The official added that CNPC has no problem financing the project and will make it operational in due time.

In July 2017, the NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) awarded the project to a consortium comprising Total (50.1 percent), Chinas CNPC (30 percent) and Irans Petropars (19.9 percent) through a contract worth around $4 billion.

However, when the US announced that it would restore sanctions against Iran, the French major said it would withdraw from Phase 11 to avoid American punitive measures.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Meshkin-Fam said Tehran has no plans to sue Total for leaving the contract, saying, International conditions forced the company to quit, so there is no good reason to sue it."

Total signed up to develop the project back in 2009, but was forced to abandon its projects in Iran in 2012 when France joined a US-led campaign to put sanctions, including an oil embargo, against the country.

The objective of the development of Phase 11 was to send a daily of above 56 million cubic meters (around 2 billion cubic feet) of natural gas into Irans domestic grid from 2021.

In early August, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order which made the sanctions against Iran effective.

The sanctions would in the first wave prevent Irans access to the US dollar among other restrictions. The second wave to hit in November would ban investments in Irans oil and gas projects.
Tehran, Iran, Sept. 6

Trend:

Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi has traveled to New Delhi to attend Indias first ever global mobility summit MOVE on September 6-7.

Heading an economic delegation, Akhoundi left Tehran for the Indian capital to make a speech at the Global Mobility Summit 2018, the official website of Irans ministry of roads and urban development reported on September 6.

During his two-day visit, the Iranian minister will hold talks with senior Indian officials, including ministers of commerce, transportation, shipping and railway, the report added.

Senior officials with the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways and Ports and Maritime Organization are accompanying Akhoundi in his trip.

According to Indian officials, the Global Mobility Summit is the first-of-its-kind, and will see participation from over 2,200 individuals from across the world, including leaders from the government, industry, research organizations, academia, think tanks and civil society.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on September 7 on sidelines of the Syria summit, Putins aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, TASS reports.

"Tehran will become a platform for bilateral talks. We are planning three bilateral meetings for our president - with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as separate talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Along with this, there will be a bilateral meeting with Turkish President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan," he said.

Speaking about the issues, which are expected to be touched upon at the talks with the Iranian supreme leader and president, Ushakov pointed out that "there will be both Syria and various aspects of bilateral cooperation, along with the situation with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), taking into account the US withdrawal from the deal."

According to Ushakov, Putin and Erdogan will focus on bilateral cooperation and "will have a specific conversation about the situation at the Syrian platform."

The Kremlin official added that the two presidents maintained intensive contacts, in particular, they "are in ongoing phone dialogue, as Putin and Erdogan have communicated by phone 17 times this year.".
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Ilkin Shafiyev  Trend:

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's visit to Russia will be a chance to prove his loyalty, Azerbaijani political analyst Fikret Sadikhov told Trend Sept. 6.

Pashinyan will visit Russia on September 8.

"Yerevan's relations with Moscow have never been equal partnership, he said. For Russia, Armenia has always been an instrument for using for certain political purposes. Today, Armenia has virtually no opportunities to enter European markets. It has been deprived of the opportunity to participate in all projects that are being implemented in the South Caucasus.

Today Yerevan hopes only for Moscow, Sadikhov added. Russia has always been the main sponsor, donor and guardian of Armenia. Pashinyan's visit is to a certain extent connected with panic in Yerevan amid the visit of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Russia and the documents signed during this visit.

Pashinyan perfectly understands that there are a lot of questions addressed to him, he said. He should answer them and prove that he has not changed his political orientation. This is a big question whether he succeeds or not. It is no secret that the level of Armenia-Russia relations has greatly decreased. Amid this situation the level of Azerbaijan-Russia relations is growing.

"The reality is that there is long-term strategic partnership between Baku and Moscow," he added. During the visit of President Aliyev to Russia, many documents confirming and expanding bilateral cooperation in many spheres have been signed.

"Some Russian experts and MPs openly declare that Azerbaijan is a true ally of Russia in the South Caucasus, which testifies to the importance of bilateral cooperation, Sadikhov added. Amid this situation Pashinyan will visit Russia as a guilty child."

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Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyev
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

Trend:

China intends to increase natural gas supplies from Russia and Kazakhstan in the near future, China News Service reported citing a representative of the National Energy Administration of China.

It is noted that China also intends to encourage diversification of natural gas imports into the country.

In 2017, China imported 94.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas, including via the Central Asian-China gas pipeline and the China-Myanmar gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Myanmar, the representative said.

The representative added that the number of countries importing LNG into China reached 22, thus the level of diversification of supply sources has become quite high.

Russias Gazprom company and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in May 2014 signed an agreement on gas supplies from Russia to China along the eastern route. The contract was concluded for 30 years and envisages annual supply of 38 billion cubic meters of gas via the Power of Siberia pipeline.

The deliveries should begin on December 20, 2019. Also, Russias Novatek gas producing company jointly with the CNPC is implementing the Yamal LNG project. China became the buyer of the second cargo of LNG from this project.
China has unveiled tax breaks for banks and other financial institutions to encourage lending to small firms, in the latest step to support the cooling economy amid rising trade tensions with the United States, Reuters reports.

China has in recent months taken a series of measures to ease financing strains for small and private businesses, which are vital for economic growth and job creation.

Interest income from loans by financial institutions to smaller firms, or micro-loans, will be exempt from value-added tax (VAT) from Sept. 1 until the end of 2020, the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

Such loans for small firms should be less than 10 million yuan ($1.46 million), the ministry said.

Interest income from loans with lending rate no higher than 150 percent of the benchmark official lending rate will be exempt from VAT, the finance ministry said on its website.

It added that interest earned from loans with lending rate higher than 150 percent of benchmark rate will incur the current VAT policy.

That means interest income from loans made to small firms at rate of no higher than 6.53 percent will be exempt from the VAT, based on the one-year benchmark lending rate of 4.35 percent.

The tax breaks will be enjoyed by eligible financial institutions with annual loan growth for small firms no lower than their overall lending growth, the ministry said.

Chinas central bank will improve its policy transmission mechanism to further step up financing support for smaller firms, its governor, Yi Gang, said in remarks published on Wednesday.

Over the past few several months, Beijing has taken steps to keep liquidity channels relatively loose in the wake of growing pressure on the economy amid fears an escalating Sino-U.S. trade dispute could make a significant dent in growth.

The central bank has cut reserve requirements for banks three times this year to boost liquidity, with further reductions widely expected.

But commercial firms remain reluctant to lend to small and private firms, which they consider to be riskier than state-owned firms.
Britain and France have agreed a deal over scallop fishing in the English Channel after fishermen from both countries became embroiled in a spat at sea last month, Britains food and agriculture ministry said, Reuters reports.

French fishermen had accused the British of unfairly catching scallops in the Baie de Seine during the summer, when French boats were banned from doing so because of French regulations aimed at protecting shellfish stocks.

The UK and French fishing industries and governments held constructive talks today about scallop fishing in the eastern Channel including Baie de Seine, the governments of both countries said in a joint statement issued by Britains Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

An agreement on the principles of a deal has been reached.
The European Union should launch dialogue with Russia and the United States on the Syrian settlement, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said on Thursday, TASS reports.

"We [the EU] should begin dialogue with the US and Russia on the developments in Syria," the Austrian Foreign Ministrys press service quoted Kneissl as saying after talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels.

According to Kneissl, joint talks between the US and Russian top diplomats and the EU foreign policy chief on the sidelines of the UN General Assemblys session in New York later this month could yield progress on the Syrian issue.

"During a direct contact with US Secretary of State [Mike] Pompeo and [Russian Foreign Minister Sergey] Lavrov we need to look for a solution to the Syrian conflict. We are all interested in ending the bloodshed. The talks concern returning the refugees, humanitarian assistance and reconstruction," she stressed.

Austria holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1 to December 31.

According to Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, Vienna is set to do its utmost to establish good ties between the EU and Russia, stressing that cooperation with Moscow on all issues of the international agenda is vital.

"Russia plays a crucial role in providing safety and stability in Europe and around the world, which is why Austria will direct its efforts to continue EU-Russia relations basing on five principles, and to strengthen the dialogue between Russia and the EU," the Austrian governments program states.
The constant danger African migrants face when trying to make the sea crossing between North-Africa and Spain was once again highlighted on Thursday with the news that five lost their lives earlier the day, Xinhua reported.

Spanish Maritime Rescue services confirmed that the rescue vessel Guardamar Polimina pulled the bodies of four men and a woman from an area off the southeast coast of Spain known as the Sea of Alboran in the early hours of the morning during an operation which saw 107 migrants, including 2 children and 17 women, rescued and taken to the nearby port of Motril.

The five victims were attempting to make the dangerous crossing from Morocco to Spain in along with 56 others in a dinghy which was spotted by rescuers when it was already partially submerged with many of its occupants already in the water.

Maritime Rescue sources described the rescue as "complicated," explaining they had to throw life-rafts into the water for the migrants to attempt to hold onto before pulling them aboard to safety.

After rescuing the migrants from the first dinghy, the Guadamar Polimina then proceeded to the rescue of 51 more migrants from a separate dinghy which had been discovered by a Civil Guard aircraft in the same area.

The migrants were treated by the Red Cross on arrival at port, with some of them showing symptoms of hypothermia.

The news comes two days after the Spanish Interior Ministry confirmed that 28,620 African immigrants crossed from North Africa to Spain in a total of 1,168 dinghies during the first eight months of 2018; a 163 percent increase over the same period of 2017.

Meanwhile the United Nations agency for refugees, UNHCR estimates that 318 people either died or disappeared trying to make the crossing between January and July of this year, almost three times than of the 113 deaths registered a year ago.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israels embassy in Paraguay, hours after the Latin American nations new government announced it would move its embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem, Reuters reports.

Paraguays foreign minister called Israels reaction disproportionate. Paraguay President Mario Abdo defended his decision as part of an effort to support broad, lasting and just peace among Israelis and Palestinians.

Paraguay is a country of principles, Abdo said on Twitter.

Abdo took office last month and belongs to the same conservative party as his predecessor Horacio Cartes, who inaugurated Paraguays new embassy in Jerusalem in May.

The Palestinians said their foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, met Abdo two weeks ago and hailed Paraguays change of mind as a new Palestinian diplomatic achievement.

Minister Maliki exerted a big effort during his meeting with the new president who instructed his foreign minister to arrange the issue, the Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Israel acted swiftly after the news broke and a statement in English from the Prime Ministers office said: Israel views with utmost gravity the extraordinary decision by Paraguay which will cloud bilateral relations.
Israel's population has surpassed 8.9 million on the eve of Jewish New Year 5779, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports. In addition, there are an estimated 166,000 foreign non-residents living in Israel, Globes reports.

The population has grown by 1.9% or 162,000 over the past year to 8,907,000. Over the year, 175,000 babies were born, 29,000 people immigrated to Israel and 43,000 people died.

The Central Bureau of Statistics projects that Israel's population will reach 10 million by 2024, 15 million by 2048 and 20 million by 2065.

6,625,000 Israelis are Jewish (74.4%), 1,864,000 are Arabs (20.9%), while 418,000 (4.7%) belong other religions and communities.
North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 to discuss practical measures toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a senior South Korean official said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reconfirmed his determination to completely denuclearise the peninsula, and expressed his willingness for close cooperation with South Korea and the United States in that regard, the Souths national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters a day after meeting Kim in Pyongyang.

Kim told South Korean officials that his faith in U.S. President Donald Trump remains unchanged and he wanted to realize denuclearization and end long-standing hostile relations between the two countries during Trumps first term, Chung said.

Chairman Kim ... expressed frustration over the doubt shown by some parts of the international society about his will, Chung said.

North Korea has been preemptively carrying out measures needed for denuclearisation, and Kim said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent Chung and other envoys to the North Korean capital on Wednesday to set the timing and agenda for the third inter-Korean summit this year, and to break the impasse in talks between Washington and Pyongyang over dismantling the Norths nuclear program.

Kim and Trump held a watershed summit in June in Singapore and pledged to work toward denuclearization of the peninsula.

But their nuclear talks have since been on shaky ground, with both parties accusing each other of not meeting their commitments quick enough, especially after Trump called off U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos trip to North Korea last month.
At least two people were killed and 38 were missing after a powerful earthquake paralyzed Japans northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, media reported, but the death toll was likely to rise as rescuers searched houses buried by landslides, Reuters reports.

The quake also knocked out power to Hokkaidos 5.3 million residents.

Public broadcaster NHK said five people were found unresponsive, a term commonly used in Japan before death is formally confirmed, and another 120 were injured after the 6.7-magnitude quake struck before dawn.

Aerial footage showed dozens of landslides exposing barren hillsides near the town of Atsuma in southern Hokkaido, with mounds of reddish earth and toppled trees piled up at the edge of green fields. The collapsed remains of what appeared to be houses or barns were scattered about.

The shaking was really terrible, an unidentified man in Atsuma told NHK. I thought the house was going to collapse.

Other scenes from the southeastern part of Sapporo, Hokkaidos capital, showed crumbled roads and mud flowing onto a main street.

The entire island lost power for the first time since Hokkaido Electric Power Co (9509.T) was created in 1951. The utility conducted an emergency shutdown of all its fossil fuel-fired power plants after the quake.

All trains across the island, which is about the size of Austria, were also halted.

The government said there was damage to the Tomato-Atsuma plant that supplies half the electricity to the islands 2.95 million households.

The utility was trying to restore some power from hydroelectric and other fossil-fuel sources on Thursday and aimed to bring other plants on line by Friday, industry minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters. It may take a week to restore power fully to all residents, he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe does not plan to postpone his visit to Russia due on September 10 due to the powerful earthquake in Japans northern Hokkaido Prefecture, Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

"No changes to the schedule are planned," he said.

Abe is supposed to take part in the Eastern Economic Forum due to be held in Russias Far Eastern city of Vladivostok on September 11-13. According to Russian presidents aide Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the Japanese prime minister in Vladivostok on September 10.

Meanwhile, governor of Hokkaido Prefecture, Harumi Takahashi, has cancelled her visit to Russias Sakhalin scheduled for September 6-8, Kyodo said.

A strong magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked southwest of Hokkaido Island in the small hours on Thursday. The epicenter was located in Iburi subprefecture at a depth of 37 kilometers. According to latest reports, two people died and more than 100 were hurt. Tens are missing.

The earth tremors caused serious damage to buildings, large-scale landslides in mountainous areas and problems in railway and air traffic. The regions main airport, New Chitose Airport, has been closed, all flights have been canceled.
Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it is in talks with Chinese automaker Geely about cooperation in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle technology, but nothing has been decided on the matter, Reuters reports.

The move comes as Japans biggest automaker has been increasingly embracing new automotive technologies for future growth, and has also embarked on a strategy to ramp up sales in China, the worlds biggest auto market.

Toyota said in a statement to Reuters that it and Geely are currently communicating with each other about gasoline-electric hybrid technology.

It was not immediately clear in what aspects of the hybrid technology Geely and Toyota are discussing cooperating.

A person familiar with the matter, however, said that the talks apparently involve a Chinese supplier of electric battery technology both companies have already been associated with but separately. Toyota declined to comment on the specifics of the cooperation.

Toyota has been conducting the business with the open policy which also applies to the area of electrification technologies. The relationship with Geely (Toyota is exploring) is also based on this open policy, the statement said.

Toyotas response comes after a Chinese media report said Geely was working with Toyota on the conventional hybrid technology. The report said details on the joint effort would be announced soon.

A Geely spokesman declined to comment.

Toyota, which bet big on gasoline-electric hybrid technology in the late 1990s when it began selling the Prius hybrid, has since localized production of conventional hybrid cars in China and has been selling them here since 2015 under the Corolla and Levin names.

The company has said it plans to sell plug-in hybrid versions of the Corolla and the Levin next year.
King Abdullah II of Jordan and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte discussed Thursday means to boost bilateral ties and the war on terrorism, Xinhua reported citing the state-run Petra news agency.

In talks in Amman, the two leaders discussed cooperation in various fields, including commerce and economy.

Discussions also included the war on terrorism, where the Jordanian king stressed that the issue of terrorism is a challenge both for the Middle East, and for the Philippines and East Asia.

King Abdullah said cooperation between the two countries in the field of counter-terrorism will continue.

Discussions also covered the peace process in the Middle East.

In this regard, King Abdullah underlined the need for a just solution to the Palestinian issue, noting that the two-state solution is the sole solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Such a solution should lead to the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital at the borders of 1967, said the king.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel did not hold contacts on Syria on Thursday, but they discussed the situation there earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, TASS reports.

Earlier on Thursday, the German Chancellor told RTL and n-tv TV channels that she discussed with the Russian and Turkish presidents the situation in Syria, namely in Idlib Governorate.

In comment on this, Peskov said: "Probably, this was an earlier conversation." On Thursday, Putin only held a phone conversation with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. "Yesterday, there was no such conversation either," he added.

According to Peskov, Merkel spoke about her earlier conversation with Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Idlib is the only Syrian province still controlled by illegal armed groups. In 2017, a de-escalation zone was established in the region, where militants reluctant to lay down their arms can move together with their families.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on August 25 that militants were making preparations together with British intelligence services to stage a chemical weapons attack in the Idlib province and blame it on the Syrian government.
Turkey and Germany will work intensely to strengthen bilateral ties and prevent the escalation of conflicts in Syria's Idlib region, foreign ministers of the two countries stressed Wednesday in Ankara, Xinhua reported.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he has discussed with his German counterpart Heiko Maas steps to improve and restore relations, as well as the latest developments in Syria's Idlib region.

Cavusoglu said the bombing of Idlib was wrong and had serious risk, adding that Ankara was going to prevent such attacks happen again on the Friday's Turkey-Russia-Iran summit in Tehran.

"We are making intense efforts with Germany to normalize and strengthen bilateral ties," the minister added.

For his part, Mass retaliated the important of German-Turkish relations, and expressed positive stance for Turkey's effort on Syrian issues.

"Turkey is right in its concerns over Idlib, we will work together with Turkey to prevent escalation in Syria's Idlib region," Mass said.

Maas kicked off his two-day trip to Turkey on Wednesday as the two countries seek to improve ties which have strained after a failed coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016.

Before the press conference, Mass was hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential Palace in Ankara. Erdogan has planned to pay a state visit to Berlin on Sept. 28 and 29.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey condemns the terrorist attack in Kabul, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement Sept. 6.

Turkey condoles with the families and friends of the victims of the bloody terrorist attack in Kabul and with all people of Afghanistan, the message says.

Two explosions thundered in the west of Kabul, which killed 25 people and injured 95 people.

The first explosion occurred Sept. 5 during the competition at the martial arts club in the sixth police quarter in western Kabul. The explosive device was detonated by a suicide bomber. The second explosion thundered not far from the scene of the first explosion.

It was also reported that the terrorist group "Islamic state" has claimed responsibility for both explosions.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
U.S. President Donald Trump said here on Wednesday that it is possible for him to meet with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani later at the United Nations, Xinhua reported.

Speaking before a bilateral meeting with Kuwait's visiting Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Trump said "anything is possible" regarding the meeting.

"Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me," he said. "I will always be available ... we'll see what happens."

Trump said on July 30 that he is ready to meet with Rouhani without preconditions.

"I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meeting," Trump said. "They want to meet, I'll meet. Any time they want. Good for the country. Good for them. Good for us. And good for the world."

However, the United States in August re-imposed sanctions on Iran that had been suspended under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Rouhani said in response that the Iranians would make the United States "regretful" for its renewal of sanctions.

He also said that the U.S. administration "is not trustworthy for any negotiations" after its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal, since "negotiations with sanctions don't make sense."

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said lately that any negotiation with the United States to solve the existing problems is an "obvious mistake."

U.S.-Iranian relations have been at odds as the Trump administration left the historic Iran nuclear deal, delegitimized its government, vowed to re-impose sanctions on the nation and pressed other nations to cut down their purchase of Iranian oil to zero.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 6, 2018 - 13:52 | World, All

The Cambodian parliament approved a new government led by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday, giving the long-serving strongman another five years in charge of the Southeast Asian country.

Hun Sen and other members of his Cabinet, all of them in the previous government, are scheduled to be sworn in later Thursday.

Three more Cabinet members have been promoted to deputy prime ministers -- including Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon and Economic and Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth -- bringing the total number of deputy premiers to 10.

Following the parliamentary approval, Hun Sen said his new government will try to develop the country and act for the benefit for the people.

He also called on all partners to continue supporting his government for the country's further development.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly opened its first session since the July 29 general election, in which Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won all the seats in the absence of any credible opposition.

The session's opening was boycotted by nine of the 31 foreign diplomatic corps members invited to the occasion, including representatives of Western countries such as the United States that have criticized the election as neither free nor fair.

The main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was forcibly dissolved by the Supreme Court ahead of the election. Its leader Kem Sokha was arrested for treason and 118 of its senior members were banned from participating in politics.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 8, 2018 - 01:25 | All, Feature, Japan

Eighteen people have been confirmed dead and two others show no signs of life in Hokkaido, the local government said Friday, a day after a magnitude-6.7 earthquake struck Japan's northernmost main island.

About 390 others are also said to have been injured as a result of the temblor, with rescue workers continuing their search for survivors as 19 people remain unaccounted for.

Meanwhile, the central government said nine people have been confirmed dead. After earlier announcing that 16 people had been killed in the quake, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga revised the figure to nine and said another nine are feared dead but have not been officially declared as fatalities. Another 22 people are still missing.

Police, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel used heavy machinery and manually combed through rubble in the town of Atsuma where massive landslides buried a number of homes. All of the missing people were located in Atsuma, according to the government.

Heavy rain was expected in Hokkaido through Saturday, and the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of more mudslides, saying earthquakes of a similar intensity could occur again in the region. More than 100 smaller temblors have been recorded in the region since the major quake, according to the agency.

The quake caused a prefecture-wide blackout Thursday and left many homes without water, while over 10,000 people were forced to spend the night at evacuation centers.

"I've been living in Atsuma all my life but I have never experienced such a quake. I came here because I'm scared of aftershocks," said Toyokazu Kurashige, 79, who was staying at the evacuation center with five family members.

Kurashige was among more than 100 residents of the hard-hit town who took refuge at a shelter adjacent to the town office. The facility had no water service and evacuees slept under blankets on thin mattresses in an open space without any partitions.

The temblor registered the highest reading of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Atsuma and upper 6 in the neighboring town of Abira, both southeast of Sapporo. Smaller aftershocks have continued in the prefecture.

The SDF boosted their presence to 24,000 personnel, with the government saying it will also call in reserve members.

Power has returned to more than half of the 2.95 million Hokkaido households affected, according to the industry ministry. Power supply to the prefecture is expected to reach 3.6 million kilowatts on Saturday, just short of the weekday peak of 3.8 million kilowatts.



(Evacuees receive water at a shelter in Atsuma)

Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi urged homes and offices already with power to cut usage by about 10 percent.

Running water was cut off at more than 66,000 households at their peak, but the figure has since dropped to around half as of noon Friday, according to the health ministry. People formed long lines at emergency water stations set up in many areas.

The ministry also said 191 hospitals were still without power as of noon Friday.

Transportation is slowly becoming available in the region, with some train and air services expected to resume during the day.

Hokkaido Railway Co. restarted its bullet train services, but the operator canceled its local express trains for the day.

New Chitose Airport also restarted services for domestic flights to and from the main gateway to Hokkaido, although many people were unable to secure seats. The airport operator said it will reopen the international terminal from Saturday morning.

"I was told all the flights are booked," said Masahiro Torimoto, 49, who was scheduled to travel to Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, to take part in a national softball tournament.

In Sapporo, a city of some 1.96 million residents, neon and traffic lights were out Thursday night and parts of its roads caved in, while long lines formed in front of a limited number of convenience stores and gas stands that had reopened.

"I can't use anything at my all-electric home. I can't even flush a toilet so I have to use my neighbor's," said a 39-year-old woman in the city.

Garbage collection in the city was canceled for the day, with the city government saying it has been unable to secure fuel for the garbage collection vehicles.

More on Hokkaido earthquake:

IN PHOTOS: Damage from major earthquake in Hokkaido

Hokkaido quake disrupts business activities, impact may be prolonged
KYODO NEWS - Sep 6, 2018 - 22:10 | All, Japan, Feature

At least nine people were killed and about 300 injured by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake that struck Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido early Thursday, destroying houses, ripping apart roads and causing a number of massive landslides, including some that buried parts of towns.

The 3:08 a.m. quake also cut power to all 2.95 million homes and a nuclear power plant in the prefecture, causing the cancellation of flights and disrupting train services to the popular tourist destination, authorities and other sources said. As of 5 p.m., power had been restored to 340,000 households.

About 30 people are missing and more than 6,400 people took shelter at evacuation centers set up at over 500 locations, according to police, rescuers and local authorities.

About 4,900 members of the Self-Defense Forces were quickly dispatched to assist with relief operations, with the number expected to increase to 25,000, according to the Defense Ministry.

The temblor, which occurred in southern Hokkaido at a depth of about 37 kilometers, registered the highest reading of 7 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale in Atsuma and upper 6 in Abira, both southeast of Sapporo. No tsunami warning was issued.

Smaller aftershocks continued and the Japan Meteorological Agency warned that earthquakes with a similar intensity could continue in the area for about a week.

Quakes with an intensity of 7 occurred in 2016 in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, as well as in March 2011 when a huge M9.0 quake and subsequent tsunami devastated northeastern Japan.

Thursday's quake is the latest in a series of natural disasters in Japan this year, and came just days after a powerful typhoon roared through western Japan, killing more than 11 people, injuring more than 400 and forcing the temporary shutdown of Kansai International Airport, one of the country's key gateways.

(A collapsed road in Sapporo)

A M6.1 quake also rocked Osaka Prefecture in June, killing five people and injuring more than 370.

In the Hokkaido quake, more than 20 houses were flattened in Atsuma and Abira after being struck by landslides. And in neighboring Mukawa, a man in his 80s was crushed by a chest that toppled onto him, local police reported.

Massive landslides altered the landscape of some mountain ranges in the quake-hit area. Hiroyuki Ono, a senior researcher at the Sabo and Landslide Technical Center, said that the ground in the area is loose, consisting partly of volcanic ash or eroded earth.

"It couldn't hold together after being shaken so hard. It had rained beforehand, which may have also made things worse," he said.

The idled Tomari nuclear power plant temporarily lost an external power source, forcing its operator Hokkaido Electric Power Co. to cool a spent fuel pool at its Nos. 1 to 3 reactors by an emergency power supply system, regulators said.

(Landslide in Atsuma)

No abnormality has been detected in radiation levels around the plant, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said. And Tohoku Electric Power Co. confirmed no problems at the Higashidori nuclear power plant in Aomori Prefecture south of Hokkaido.

The incident brought back memories of the 2011 quake and subsequent tsunami, which knocked out both the main and emergency power supply at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and caused three reactors to melt down.

The power outage across much of Hokkaido on Thursday was caused by a systemic showdown after the Tomatoatsuma thermal power plant, which produces nearly half of the prefecture's electricity, stopped. The resulting imbalance in power supply and demand forced other thermal power plants to come to an emergency halt, according to the plant's operator.

The blackout also affected around 80 hospitals, as well as telephone services and television broadcasts in Hokkaido.

Hokkaido Electric said it would take at least a week to fully restore service.

Following the quake, a fire broke out at a petrochemical complex in Muroran which was later extinguished by firefighters.

Hokkaido has experienced a number of strong earthquakes in its history, including an M8.0 quake in 2003 with an intensity of lower 6 and an M8.2 quake with an intensity of 6 in 1994.

"It messed up my entire house. I've never experienced an earthquake like this," an 87-year-old man in Atsuma said.

Yuriko Nakamura said she evacuated to the gymnasium of an elementary school in Sapporo after the quake left the floor of her home covered in shattered dishes. "I can't live like this. What am I to do?" wondered the 70-year-old, who lives alone.

New Chitose Airport, the main gateway to Hokkaido, was closed throughout the day after part of its terminal building ceiling collapsed, as well as due to a water leak and the power outage, the transport ministry said.

More than 200 flights were canceled, affecting over 40,000 passengers. Power has been restored at the airport and its operator aims to resume domestic flights on Friday, the ministry said. Hakodate and Asahikawa airports are operating.

All train services, including bullet train operations, in Hokkaido are suspended, operators said.

About 2,000 public elementary, junior high and high schools decided to close for the day, according to the education ministry and the Sapporo government.

(Central Sapporo remains blacked out on Sept. 6)
This is clearly tax terrorism. The state government has earned additional revenue by way of the frequent increases in fuel prices by the Centre, the Opposition Leader said.
Of the 8.6 million deaths from conditions treatable by health care, poor-quality care is responsible for an estimated 5 million deaths per year - more than deaths due to insufficient access to care (3.6 million)

Global efforts to expand access to care through Universal Health Coverage will be wasted if health system quality does not improve

An estimated 5 million deaths per year in low and middle income countries (LMICs) are the result of poor quality care, with a further 3.6 million the result of insufficient access to care, according to the first study to quantify the burden of poor quality health systems worldwide.

While many LMICs have made significant progress in improving access to care, a new reality is at hand: poor quality care in the health system is now responsible for a greater number of deaths than insufficient access to care. The total number of deaths from poor-quality care per year is estimated to be five times higher than annual global deaths from HIV/AIDS (1 million), and over three times more than deaths from diabetes (1.4 million).

The findings come from a new analysis published in The Lancet, as part of The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems - a two-year project bringing together 30 academics, policy-makers and health systems experts from 18 countries who examined how to measure and improve health system quality worldwide.

"Quality care should not be the purview of the elite, or an aspiration for some distant future; it should be the DNA of all health systems," said Commission Chair, Dr. Margaret E Kruk, of Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston (USA) [1]. "The human right to health is meaningless without good quality care. High quality health systems put people first. They generate health, earn the public's trust, and can adapt when health needs change. Countries will know they are on the way towards high-quality, accountable health systems when health workers and policymakers choose to receive health care in their own public institutions." [1]

The epidemic of poor-quality care

The over 8 million excess deaths due to poor quality health systems lead to economic welfare losses of US$ 6 trillion in 2015 alone. The Commission found systematic deficits in quality of care in multiple countries, across a range of health conditions and in both primary and hospital care. These include:

Approximately 1 million deaths from neonatal conditions and tuberculosis occurred in people who used the health system, but received poor care.

Poor-quality is a major driver of deaths amenable to health care across all conditions in LMICs, including 84% of cardiovascular deaths, 81% of vaccine preventable diseases, 61% of neonatal conditions and half of maternal, road injury, tuberculosis, HIV and other infectious disease deaths.

Insufficient access to care was a proportionally greater contributor to deaths from cancer (89%), mental and neurological conditions (85%), and chronic respiratory conditions (76%), highlighting the need to increase access to care for these conditions alongside improving quality.

Data from over 81000 consultations in 18 countries found that, on average, mothers and children receive less than half of the recommended clinical actions in a typical visit, including failures to do postpartum check-ups, incorrect management of diarrhoea or tuberculosis, and failures to monitor blood pressure during labour (see Commission figures 2, 3 & 4).

A third (34%) of people in LMICs report poor user experience, citing lack of respect, long wait times, and short consultations. Similarly, confidence and trust in health systems are low. For instance, in India, half of households report bypassing their nearby public facility, with 80% citing at least one quality concern (see Commission figure 8).

Poor-quality care is more common among the vulnerable in society. The wealthiest women attending antenatal care are four times more likely to report blood pressure measurements, and urine and blood tests compared to the poorest women; adolescent mothers are less likely to receive evidence-based care; and children from wealthier families are more likely to receive antibiotics. People with stigmatised health conditions, such as HIV/AIDS, mental health and substance abuse disorders, as well as other vulnerable groups such as refugees, prisoners and migrants are less likely to receive high quality care.

In India, an estimated 1.6 million deaths per year were due to poor quality care (and a further 838,000 deaths due to insufficient access to care); in China 630,000 deaths per year were due to poor quality care (and 653,000 deaths due to poor access); in Brazil, 153,000 deaths per year were due to poor quality care (and 51,000 due to insufficient access). In Nigeria 123,000 deaths per year were due to poor quality care, and 253,000 due to insufficient access [Country data provided in the Appendix]. These are conservative figures after subtracting cases of disease that should have been prevented by strong public health measures. "The impact of poor quality care goes well beyond mortality, but can lead to unnecessary suffering, persistent symptoms, loss of function, and a lack of trust in the health system. Other side effects are wasted resources and catastrophic health expenditures. Given our findings, it is not surprising that only one quarter of people in low and middle income countries believe that their health systems work well," adds Dr. Kruk [1].

The right to high quality care

The Commission proposes several ways to address health system quality, starting with public accountability for and transparency on health system performance.

The Commission found that many current improvement approaches have limited effectiveness. Additionally, commonly used health system metrics such as availability of medicines, equipment or the proportion of births with skilled attendants do not reflect quality of care and might lead to false complacency about progress. The Commission calls for fewer, but better measures of health systems quality, and proposes a dashboard of metrics that should be implemented by counties by 2021 to enable transparent measurement and reporting of quality care.

"The vast epidemic of low quality care suggests there is no quick fix, and policy makers must commit to reforming the foundations of health care systems. This includes adopting a clear quality strategy, organizing services to maximize outcomes not access alone, modernizing health worker education, and enlisting the public in demanding better quality care. For too long, the global health discourse has been focused on improving access to care, without sufficient emphasis on high quality care. Providing health services without guaranteeing a minimum level of quality is ineffective, wasteful and unethical," says Dr. Muhammad Pate, co-Chair of the Commission and Chief Executive of Big Win Philantropy and former Minister of State for Health in Nigeria [1].

In a linked Comment, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO, adds: "Quality is not a given. It takes vision, planning, investment, compassion, meticulous execution, and rigorous monitoring, from the national level to the smallest, remotest clinic.... The strength of a country's core capacities under the International Health Regulations depends on the quality of its health services. The same nurse who vaccinates children and cares for new mothers will also need to detect an unusual communicable disease. Similarly, people and communities are at the heart of quality health service delivery. We cannot talk about quality without placing them at the centre. When people are actively engaged in their own health and care, they suffer fewer complications and enjoy better health and wellbeing."

Writing in support of the findings and recommendations from the Commission, 19 leading global health organisations [2] including the World Bank's Health, Nutrition, and Population Department, Asian Development Bank, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, UNICEF, as well as the Ministries of Health of Argentina, Japan, Malawi, Indonesia, and South Africa, have signed the Bellagio Declaration on High Quality Health Systems, calling for action and state: "High quality health systems are at the heart of global equity. Quality care should not be a privilege for a lucky few, in a few facilities, in a few countries. Health systems must effectively protect, treat and respect all people, especially the vulnerable. As countries work to achieve universal health coverage let us use this moment to ignite a movement for high quality health systems."

###

Peer-reviewed / Modelling and review

NOTES TO EDITORS

The work of the Commission was supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The labels have been added to this press release as part of a project run by the Academy of Medical Sciences seeking to improve the communication of evidence. For more information, please see: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/AMS-press-release-labelling-system-GUIDANCE.pdf if you have any questions or feedback, please contact The Lancet press office pressoffice@lancet.com

[1] Quotes direct from the authors and cannot be found in the text of the Commission.

[2] 'The Bellagio Declaration on High Quality Health Systems: from a quality moment to a quality movement' is published in The Lancet Global Health - embargoed link provided below. Full list of signatories: Argentina Ministry of Health; Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; International Federation of Medical Students' Associations; Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Malawi Ministry of Health; Malaysian Society for Quality in Health; Mexican Institute of Social Security; Mexico National Institute of Public Health; MSD for Mothers, an initiative of Merck & Co; Public Health Foundation of India; South Africa Department of Health; Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; UNICEF; World Bank Health, Nutrition, and Population Global Practice; Asian Development Bank; Indonesia Ministry of Health; University of Ibadan, Nigeria; White Ribbon Alliance.
Black Hills' (BKH) Tax Savings Will Reduce Electric Bills

Black Hills Corp.s BKH subsidiary, Black Hills Energy, announced that it has received approval from The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission to pass $7.7 million annual tax savings to the customers of South Dakota by reducing electricity bills in 2018. The benefit of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be transferred to customers through a one-time credit on their October 2018 bill.



In 2019, customers will witness an aggregate reduction of $8.9 million in base rates, which will lead to lower monthly electricity bills. Moreover, Black Hills received approval from five state utility commissions, including South Dakota, to provide the benefits of federal tax reform to utility customers amounting to $26.6 million.



Growth Initiatives



Black Hills supplies natural gas and electricity to customers in eight states and owns regulated as well as non-regulated business. Regulated electric utility companies require huge amount of capital to upgrade their assets.



In the month of April, Black Hills received approval to purchase 60 megawatts of wind energy through a 25-year power purchase agreement, which helped the company to meet renewable energy standard in Colorado. In July, South Dakota Electric subsidiary placed a transmission line into service running from Rapid City to Stegall, NE. This was the first 48-mile line segment of a planned 175-mile transmission line, which is worth $70 million.



Over the 2018-2022 time periods, the company is expected to invest $2,331 million to strengthen infrastructure and improve the reliability of its system.



Passing the Tax Reform Benefits



The latest tax reform has resulted in lower accrued tax expenses for the utilities. Lately, various companies are passing on this benefit to customers, which have been lowering utility rates and bills.



Recently, Avangrid Inc AGR, NextEra Energy, Inc NEE and Duke Energy Corp DUK directed the federal tax savings to reduce bills for customers.



Price Performance

Story continues

Shares of the company have gained 15.0% in the past six months compared with the industrys rise of 6.4%.

Zacks Rank

Black Hills currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All



Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.



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Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Avangrid, Inc. (AGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



NextEra Energy, Inc. (NEE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Black Hills Corporation (BKH) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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In this article:

BRUSSELS, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The following are mergers under review by the European Commission and a brief guide to the EU merger process:

APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS

-- Luxembourg investment company JAB Holding Co S.a.r.l. to acquire British food outlet Pret a Manger (IPO-PRET.L) (approved Sept. 6)

-- iPhone maker Apple to acquire UK music streaming service Shazam (approved Sept. 6)

NEW LISTINGS

EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES

FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE

SEPT 14

-- French transport company Keolis and British infrastructure asset management company Amey to acquire joint control of British passenger rail services company W&B Rail Franchise (notified Aug. 9/deadline Sept. 14/simplified)

SEPT 17

-- International Flavors & Fragrances Inc to acquire Israeli flavours and ingredients maker Frutarom (notified Aug. 10/deadline Sept. 17/simplified)

SEPT 19

-- German carmaker Volkswagen's Italian car dealer Eurocar to acquire Italian peer Vicentini (notified Aug. 14/deadline Sept. 19)

-- Private equity firm KKR to acquire U.S. business software company BMC Software (notified Aug. 14/deadline Sept. 19/simplified)

-- French carmaker PGA Motors and Fiber to acquire joint control of auto dealer and car parts distributor Bernard Participations (notified July 31/deadline extended to Sept. 19 from Sept. 5 after the French competition authority asked to take over the case)

SEPT 20

-- Norwegian investment company Akastor, Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co and Japanese container shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines to acquire joint control of subsea oil and gas services company Akofs Offshore (notified Aug. 16/deadline Sept. 20/simplified)

SEPT 21

-- U.S. pharmaceutical company Biogen and South Korean peer Samsung BioLogics to have joint control of South Korean drugmaker Samsung Bioepis to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 17/deadline Sept. 21/simplified)

-- Norwegian aluminium maker Norsk Hydro to acquire some of Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto's aluminium production assets (notified Aug. 17/deadline Sept. 21)

Story continues

SEPT 24

-- Private equity firm Advent International to acquire General Electric's distributed power business (notified Aug. 20/deadline Sept. 24/simplified)

-- French energy company Total to acquire gasd turbine power plant operators Pont Sur Sambre Power and Toul Power (notified Aug. 20/deadline Sept. 24/simplified)

-- Real estate investment fund DV4, Dutch pension fund ABP and Canada's Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System Primary Pension Plan to set up a British property joint venture (notified Aug. 20/deadline Sept. 24/simplified)

SEPT 25

-- German alphalt maker Deutsche Asphalt, which is a subsidiary of Austrian construction company Strabag, and German road construction company Bunte to set up a joint venture (notified Aug. 21/deadline Sept. 25/simplified)

SEPT 26

-- U.S. private equity fund Charlesbank Partners Group to acquire joint control of contract food maker H-Food Holdings and the Hearthside group of companies (notified Aug. 22/deadline Sept. 26/simplified)

SEPT 27

-- Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority to acquire oil and gas pipeline firm North Sea Midstream Partners from private equity firm ArcLight Capital (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27/simplified)

-- U.S. planemaker Boeing and French aerospace company Safran to set up a joint venture to make and service aircraft auxiliary power units (notified Aug. 23/deadline Sept. 27)

SEPT 28

-- Private equity firm KKR and French telecoms provider Altice to acquire joint control of Altice's French subsidiary SFR Filiale (notified Aug. 24/deadline Sept. 28/simplified)

-- U.S. management company Abry Partners to acquire Norwegian A2P messaging company Link Mobility ASA (notified Aug. 24/deadline Sept. 28/simplified)

OCT 1

-- Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Canadian institutional investor British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) to acquire joint control of Canadian forest product company Island Timberlands (notified Aug. 27/deadline Oct. 1/simplified)

-- Private equity firm EQT Fund Management to acquire Luxembourg specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor Azelis (notified Aug. 27/deadline Oct. 1/simplified)

OCT 3

-- U.S. plane maker Boeing to acquire aerospace parts company KLX (notified Aug. 29/deadline Oct. 3)

-- Goldman Sachs and Japanese financial services group Orix Corp to acquire shares in Japanese pharmaceutical company ILS Inc

OCT 4

-- Private equity fund Lone Star to buy roof tiles business of France's Imerys (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)

-- German project group Steag and German engineering company Siemens take joint control of power plan in Herne, western Germany (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4)

-- Germany's Vossloh and Austria's Rhomberg Sersa Rail Holding form joint venture in railway technology (notified Aug. 30/deadline Oct. 4/simplified)

OCT 5

-- Boeing and automotive seat maker Adient to form joint venture to make airline seats (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5)

-- Japanese beverages and pharmaceutical group Kirin Holdings and Japanese trading house Mitsui to acquire joint control of nutritional supplements company Thorne Holding Corp (notified Aug. 31/deadline Oct. 5/simplified)

OCT 8

-- Swedish mobile operato Tele2 to buy Swedish cable TV company Com Hem (notified Sept. 3/deadline Oct. 8)

-- Chinese conglomerate CITIC Group to require a majority stake in Czech holding group European Bridge Travel, which controls travel services companies (notified Sept. 3/deadline Oct. 8/simplified)

OCT 9

-- Alphabet's Verily forms a joint venture with ResMed to study sleep apnea (notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9/simplified)

-- Canadian auto parts maker Magna to acquire Italian lighting products maker Olsa (notified Sept. 4/deadline Oct. 9/simplified)

OCT 10

NOV 30

-- Deutsche Telekom to acquire Swedish peer Tele2's Dutch unit and merge it with its Dutch business T-Mobile Nederland (notified May 2/deadline Nov. 30 after deadline suspension ended Aug. 6)

DEC 13

-- Copper company KME, which is part of Intek Group , to acquire German peer MKM Mansfelder Kupfer and Messing GmbH (notified June 4/deadline extended to Dec. 13 from Nov. 29 after the companies asked for more)

JAN 3

-- German copper products maker Wieland-Werke to acquire German copper smelter Aurubis' flat rolled products unit Products Schwermetall (notified June 13/deadline extended to Jan. 3 from Dec. 10 after the companies asked for more time)

JAN 8

-- French aerospace and defence group Thales to acquire Franco-Dutch chipmaker Gemalto (notified June 18/deadline extended to Jan. 8 from Nov. 29 from July 23 after the companies asked for more time)

SUSPENDED DEADLINE

-- Siemens and Alstom to merge their railway operations (notified June 8/deadline suspended on Aug. 7)

-- German company BASF to acquire Belgian chemicals company Solvay's worldwide polyamide business (notified May 22/deadline suspended on July 17)

GUIDE TO EU MERGER PROCESS

DEADLINES:

The European Commission has 25 working days after a deal is filed for a first-stage review. It may extend that by 10 working days to 35 working days, to consider either a company's proposed remedies or an EU member state's request to handle the case. Most mergers win approval but occasionally the Commission opens a detailed second-stage investigation for up to 90 additional working days, which it may extend to 105 working days.

SIMPLIFIED:

Under the simplified procedure, the Commission announces the clearance of uncontroversial first-stage mergers without giving any reason for its decision. Cases may be reclassified as non-simplified - that is, ordinary first-stage reviews - until they are approved. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee)
In order to meet the anticipated growth in chemical products demand in China, Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM has inked a cooperation framework agreement with the Guangdong Provincial Peoples Government.



The agreement relates to proceeding with the discussions involving the proposed construction of a multibillion-dollar chemical complex in the Huizhou Dayawan Petrochemical Industrial Park. The framework agreement establishes support of Guangdong Provinces in moving ahead with the Huizhou LNG receiving terminal, in which Exxon plans to participate, including supply of LNG.



The project will comprise 1.2-million-tonsperyear ethylene flexible feed steam cracker, two performance polyethylene lines and two differentiated performance polypropylene lines. The new complex will use sophisticated proprietary technologies for direct crude steam cracking and performance polymers manufacturing.



Several factors, including receipt of permits and project competitiveness, will influence Exxons decision to advance with the project. The project is scheduled to come online in 2023.



Exxon proposes to boost chemicals manufacturing capacity in Asia Pacific and North America by about 40%. Thus, the company is appraising various chemicals manufacturing projects in Asia to help meet estimated demand growth in the region.

The company intends to add 13 new facilities, of which two will be world-class steam crackers in the United States, to meet cater to growth. This forms a part of Exxons Growing the Gulf initiative. These initiatives will enable the company to meet growing demand in Asia and other emerging markets.



Recently, Exxons new 1.5-million ton per year ethane cracker at the companys integrated Baytown chemical and refining complex in Texas was commissioned. Exxon and SABIC have also formed a new joint venture to accelerate the development of the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project. Currently, a 1.8-million ton ethane cracker has been planned to be constructed in San Patricio County, Texas. The facility will include a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units.



Exxon already has a downstream and chemical business presence in China, wherein it operates mainly through its affiliate, Shanghai-based ExxonMobil (China) Investment Co. Ltd. The company has also partnered with Sinopec, Fujian Province and Saudi Aramco in Chinas first integrated refining and petrochemical facility to incorporate international participation.



Price Performance



In the past year, Exxons shares have increased 3.3% compared with the industrys 11.6% rise.

Story continues









Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider



ExxonMobil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



A few better-ranked players in the same sector are Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. PBR, or Petrobras SA, Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. HLX and TC Pipelines, LP TCP. All these stocks flaunt a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Petrobras is the largest integrated energy firm in Brazil and one of the major players in Latin America. It pulled off an average positive earnings surprise of 10.4% in the last four quarters.



Helix Energy offers specialty services to the offshore energy industry. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 66.7% in the trailing four quarters.



TC Pipelines purchases, owns and actively participates in the management of U.S.-based natural gas pipelines and related assets. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 3.7% in the last four quarters.



The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All



Last year, it generated $8 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $47 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.



See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>



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



TC PipeLines, LP (TCP) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.- Petrobras (PBR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. (HLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment Research
Bill Heinecke was 42 when he did something drastic: He walked into the United States embassy in Bangkok, handed over his passport and renounced his citizenship.

It wasn't a moment of madness, nor was it strictly necessary: The American-born entrepreneur had by then been living and working in Thailand for almost three decades. But it did showcase what he says is one of the most important skills in business  commitment  and, as a result, propelled him up the ranks of the country's rich list.

"I remember the time very well," the now-69-year-old self-made billionaire said during a recent episode of CNBC's "Managing Asia."

"I remember the counselor who said to me: 'I think you have to rethink this, you know. I've never seen or heard of anyone who wanted to give back their citizenship.'"

But Heinecke was resolute: "I said: 'Well I've made up my mind and I, you know, I don't need to wait.'"

Heinecke is the chairman and CEO of hospitality group Minor International MINT-TH , the company he founded as a cleaning business when he was 17  still a minor  four years after relocating to Bangkok with his family. Throughout his 20s and 30s, it evolved into one of Thailand's leading hospitality chains, and Heinecke said he felt he owed it to the country that "adopted" him to show his dedication to doing business there.

By giving up his U.S. citizenship, Heinecke relinquished certain benefits afforded to U.S. nationals, such as his right to vote in U.S. elections and enjoy unrestricted travel into the country. But he also exempted himself from U.S. tax implications.

"You know, we've had so much good support from whether the Thai banks or Thai business people or the community in general," said Heinecke. "They've embraced us and embraced our company and, you know, we're proud to be a Thai company."

Committing to working in an emerging economy was not without its challenges: Heinecke's hotel chain has battled tsunamis, the Asian financial crisis and near-bankruptcy. But it also proved to be a savvy business move, which helped him win favor over other major international corporations.

Story continues

Eight years after becoming a naturalized Thai citizen in 1991, Heinecke was faced with one of his toughest business negotiations; a takeover bid by Goldman Sachs of the Anantara Siam, a heritage hotel in which Minor International owned a minority stake. Ultimately, Heinecke managed to thwart the bid because of the reputation he'd built as a trusted local businessman and the relationships he'd cultivated with the business arms of the Thai royal family.

"It was very much that we wanted to retain this hotel in Thai hands," said Heinecke.

Minor International has since gone on to expand beyond Thailand, catapulting Heinecke's net worth to $1.9 billion and positioning him as Thailand's 17th wealthiest person, according to Forbes' rich list . But he said demonstrating that commitment all those years ago stood him in good stead to build trust and develop one of the Asia Pacific region's largest hospitality and leisure groups.

"I'd like to hope that some of my Thai friends are proud that I'm Thai  even if I'm only Thai by citizenship," said Heinecke.

Of course, not everyone has the option, nor the need, to do something as radical as relinquish their citizenship. However, Heinecke said the ability to show commitment, in any of its many forms, has been one of the most important contributors to the success of his 52-year-old career  and, to this day, it continues to be one of the key traits he looks for in his team of almost 100,000 employees.

"You've got to be totally committed to what you're doing, you've got to be willing to sacrifice everything in the interest of what your vision or what your interest is," he said.

"If you're not, then you shouldn't be pursuing it."

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The Iranian governments recognition of cryptocurrency mining as a legitimate industry propelled bitcoin price to hit record highs at a time when the country closes in on its own national cryptocurrency to evade sanctions.

According to local news agency IBENA, the countrys High Council of Cyberspace (HCC) has confirmed that the government now sees the mining of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as a legitimate industry. HCC secretary Abolhassan Firouzabadi stressed that the authority will declare the framework and final policies for startups and companies in the cryptocurrency sector before the turn of this month.

Notably, the senior government official pointed to a unified policy approach among several government bodies including the ministries of Communications and Information Technology, Industry, Mining and Trade, Energy as well as the Ministry of Economic Affairs have all agreed that crypto mining has been accepted as an industry.

As reported in November 2017, Firouzabadi has taken a decidedly embracive approach to the use of cryptocurrencies in Iran, under regulation.

He stated at the time:

We [at the HCC] welcome Bitcoin, but we must have regulations for Bitcoin and any other digital currencyOur view regarding Bitcoin is positive, but it does not mean that we will not require regulations in this regard because following the rules is a must.

The legitimization of crypto mining in Iran follows the much-publicized government endeavor to develop and launch a state cryptocurrency. The state token, Iranian authorities hope, will help circumvent western financial sanctions led by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The indigenous cryptocurrency is pegged to Irans national currency, the rial, and is being developed on open-source blockchain tech offered by the Linux Foundaiton-led Hyperledger Fabric. When launched, the cryptocurrency will be used as a digital token to settle transactions within domestic banks alongside its intended usage in global commerce with allies without depending on SWIFTs global interbanking system.

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Firouzabadi stressed that the state cryptocurrency can be used as a financial transaction instrument with Irans trade partners and friendly countries amid economic pressures through U.S. sanctions.

Bitcoin Price Hits Domestic All-Time High

In a direct reaction to the states recognition of crypto mining, trading activity in domestic Iranian exchanges shot through the roof to send bitcoin prices to record highs at $24,00 per coin, over 3x the global average in recent days.

The $24,000 figure was quoted on multiple digital currency exchanges but most notably Exir, where BTC traded hands at a price of 1,020,000,000 IRR, Sam Bourgi of CCNs sister publication Hacked reported. That quashes the previous high of $20,000 per coin. By comparison, bitcoin traded at around $7,000 on major cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday.

Trading activity has been rampant in Iran during recent months with the head of Iranian Parliaments Economic Commission claiming citizens had spent over $2.5 billion buying cryptocurrencies beyond the countrys borders in anticipation of the United States formal withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Tehran palace image from Shutterstock.



The post Iran Legitimizes Crypto Mining Industry, Bitcoin Price Spikes to $24,000 Locally appeared first on CCN.


Questions around what you can grow and whether you can smoke still linger for renters. (Sunset)

While cannabis legalization may be just over a month away, a new survey shows that many Canadian homeowners, renters and landlords dont fully understand what it means for them.

Recent numbers released by financial website Ratehub.ca show that 40 per cent of all Canadians say they arent sure whether legalization will cause their insurance premiums to rise  with a split of nearly 33 per cent saying they do and 27 per cent saying they dont.

There is a lot of confusion with cannabis becoming legal, Alyssa Furtado, co-founder and CEO of Ratehub tells Yahoo Canada Finance. They dont understand their rights around where they can smoke and whether or not they can grow it in their homes.

She adds that for renters, the situation is more complex, because the landlord is also in the equation.

According to Ratehub, homeowners and renters have appeared to adopt a wait-and-see approach to growing cannabis at home due to uncertainty around how it might impact their insurance coverage.

The site found that nearly 60 per cent of renters dont know if their insurance policy would cover damages related to growing cannabis.

Because legalization is a new thing, existing insurance policies may or may not address it, and so Canadians rightly have questions as to what they are or are not allowed to do as it relates to their insurance, and then if theyre renting, how it relates to their lease agreement, Furtado adds.

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If you plan to smoke or grow cannabis in your home, Vanessa Barrasa, manager of media relations at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, says its vital to be open and forthright with your insurance company.

Its really important that you have a conversation with either your broker or your insurance company as to what are your needs and what it is you need in your policy, Barrasa says. When it comes time to the unfortunate event of having to make a claim, theres no surprises for the person making that claim.

Renters, landlords divided

The survey also shows a dramatic split between what renters and landlords believe about growing cannabis at home.

The financial site says that 28 per cent of renters polled believe that Canadians should be able to smoke and grow cannabis in their rental units even if their landlord or property manager forbids it. Of landlords polled, nearly 60 per cent said they plan to place restrictions on whether renters could smoke pot in their rental units.

Matt Hands, senior business unit manager for insurance at Ratehub, says renters could be out of luck if thats the case.

Most provinces are putting the power in the hands of the landlord to allow them to change their tenant agreements to basically put a ban in there for growing cannabis, Hands says. Were seeing a strong push from the provinces to empower the landlords to put those bans and those restrictions in their tenant agreements.

And Furtado says renters should look for amendments to standard leasing agreements that specifically mention cannabis.

Some provinces like Quebec have been more heavy-handed when it comes to restricting growing pot in homes, Hands says, and it will remain illegal to do so there.

Landlords in the province could even make changes to existing leases to ban renters from smoking pot, but in Ontario, landlords cant make a change to a lease before it ends.

In more cannabis-friendly regions in Canada, like Ontario, the landlord still rules and some allow for landlords and property management groups to introduce restrictions in lease agreements or building rules.

Ontario is saying, You know what, if there isnt a ban in place or if there isnt a rule against this, if youre a renter, go ahead and smoke and grow in your building, Hands adds.

At the same time, if the landlords are taking the onus on and saying, You know what, we dont feel comfortable with that, were going to put a ban in. Well then unfortunately, if youre renting, you have to follow the rules of your landlord.

Impact on insurance up in the air

Considering that Ratehub found that 57 per cent of landlords said they dont know whether their landlords insurance policy would cover damages to their rental unit related to growing cannabis, it may be a precaution some landlords are willing to take.

And for homeowners, legalization brings more uncertainty with 79 per cent saying they dont know if their home insurance policy would cover damages related to growing cannabis and another 20 per cent say they believe their home insurance policy would not provide coverage.

The site says its unclear which insurance providers will allow Canadians to grow cannabis at home without voiding their coverage and that theres uncertainty how insurers will account for the potential increased risks around legal cannabis in homes when pricing policies.

Its really a business decision thats going to be made by individual insurers, so the pricing and the offering could be very different, Barrasa says.

According to Ratehub, Canadians can brace themselves for higher premiums if the insurance industry perceives that there will be an increased risk due to more people using cannabis.

But Hands says its going to take time to see the full impact that legalization is going to have.

Unfortunately, it takes data and it takes incidents to occur to see the full effect, he says. Every provider, every province treats risk in a different way.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
In this analysis, my focus will be on developing a perspective on Franco-Nevada Corporations (TSE:FNV) latest ownership structure, a less discussed, but important factor. The impact of a companys ownership structure affects both its short- and long-term performance. Different types of investors can have varying degrees of influence on a companys management team. For example, an active institutional investor may be more likely to hold a company accountable for certain actions whereas a passive fund will move in and out of stocks without regards to corporate governance. The implications of these institutions actions can either benefit or hinder individual investors, so it is important to understand the ownership composition of your stock investment. Now I will analyze FNVs shareholder registry in more detail.

View our latest analysis for Franco-Nevada

TSX:FNV Ownership Summary September 6th 18

Institutional Ownership

FNVs 80.9% institutional ownership seems enough to cause large share price movements in the case of significant share sell-off or acquisitions by institutions, particularly when there is a low level of public shares available on the market to trade. However, as not all institutions are alike, such high volatility events, especially in the short-term, have been more frequently linked to active market participants like hedge funds. For shareholders in FNV, sharp price movements may not be a major concern as active hedge funds hold a relatively small stake in the company. Although this doesnt necessarily lead to high short-term volatility, we should dig deeper into FNVs ownership structure to find how the remaining owner types can affect its investment profile.

Insider Ownership

Insiders form a group of important ownership types as they manage the companys operations and decide the best use of capital. Insider ownership has been linked to better alignment between management and shareholders. A stake of 1.6% in the large-cap FNV is relatively significant. This means there is some alignment of interest with shareholders. A higher level of insider ownership has been found to reflect the choosing of projects with higher return on investments compared to lower returning projects for the sake of expansion. I will also like to check what insiders have been doing recently with their holdings. Insider buying may be a sign of upbeat future expectations, however, selling doesnt necessarily mean the opposite as insiders may be motivated by their personal financial needs.

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General Public Ownership

A big stake of 17.5% in FNV is held by the general public. This level of ownership gives retail investors the power to sway key policy decisions such as board composition, executive compensation, and potential acquisitions. This is a positive sign for an investor who wants to be involved in key decision-making of the company.

Next Steps:

FNVs considerably high level of institutional ownership calls for further analysis into its margin of safety. This will allow investors to reduce the impact of non-fundamental factors, such as volatile block trading impact on their portfolio value. However, ownership structure should not be the only determining factor when youre building an investment thesis for FNV. Rather, you should be looking at fundamental drivers such as the intrinsic valuation, which is a key driver of Franco-Nevadas share price. I highly recommend you to complete your research by taking a look at the following:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for FNVs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for FNVs outlook. Past Track Record: Has FNV been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of FNVs historicals for more clarity. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
A sizeable part of portfolio returns can be produced by dividend stocks due to their contribution to compounding returns in the long run. In the last few years Molson Coors Canada Inc (TSE:TPX.B) has paid a dividend to shareholders. Today it yields 2.3%. Lets dig deeper into whether Molson Coors Canada should have a place in your portfolio.

View our latest analysis for Molson Coors Canada

Heres how I find good dividend stocks

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

Is it paying an annual yield above 75% of dividend payers?

Has its dividend been stable over the past (i.e. no missed payments or significant payout cuts)?

Has dividend per share risen in the past couple of years?

Is its earnings sufficient to payout dividend at the current rate?

Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

TSX:TPX.B Historical Dividend Yield September 6th 18

How well does Molson Coors Canada fit our criteria?

Molson Coors Canada has a negative payout ratio, which means that it is loss-making, and paying its dividend from its retained earnings.

If theres one type of stock you want to be reliable, its dividend stocks and their stable income-generating ability. The reality is that it is too early to consider Molson Coors Canada as a dividend investment. It has only been consistently paying dividends for 4 years, however, standard practice for reliable payers is to look for a 10-year minimum track record.

Relative to peers, Molson Coors Canada produces a yield of 2.3%, which is high for Beverage stocks but still below the markets top dividend payers.

Next Steps:

After digging a little deeper into Molson Coors Canadas yield, its easy to see why you should be cautious investing in the company just for the dividend. But if you are not exclusively a dividend investor, the stock could still be an interesting investment opportunity. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, you should always research extensively before deciding whether or not a stock is an appropriate investment for you. I always recommend analysing the companys fundamentals and underlying business before making an investment decision. There are three important factors you should further research:

Valuation: What is TPX.B worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, its not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether TPX.B is currently mispriced by the market. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business  take a look at who sits on Molson Coors Canadas board and the CEOs back ground. Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
Investors who want to cash in on The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limiteds (HKG:3) upcoming dividend of HK$0.12 per share have only 4 days left to buy the shares before its ex-dividend date, 11 September 2018, in time for dividends payable on the 02 October 2018. Should you diversify into Hong Kong and China Gas and boost your portfolio income stream? Well, keep on reading because today, Im going to look at the latest data and analyze the stock and its dividend property in further detail.

Check out our latest analysis for Hong Kong and China Gas

5 questions to ask before buying a dividend stock

If you are a dividend investor, you should always assess these five key metrics:

Is its annual yield among the top 25% of dividend-paying companies?

Has it paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past?

Has it increased its dividend per share amount over the past?

Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

Will the company be able to keep paying dividend based on the future earnings growth?

SEHK:3 Historical Dividend Yield September 6th 18

Does Hong Kong and China Gas pass our checks?

Hong Kong and China Gas has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 59.3%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a higher payout ratio of 65.6%, leading to a dividend yield of around 2.4%. Furthermore, EPS should increase to HK$0.59. The higher payout forecasted, along with higher earnings, should lead to greater dividend income for investors moving forward.

If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock youre eyeing out is reliable in its payments. Whilst its per-share payments have increased during the past 10 years, there has been some hiccups. Investors have seen reductions in the dividend per share in the past, although, it has picked up again.

In terms of its peers, Hong Kong and China Gas produces a yield of 2.2%, which is high for Gas Utilities stocks but still below the markets top dividend payers.

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Next Steps:

With this in mind, I definitely rank Hong Kong and China Gas as a strong dividend stock, and makes it worth further research for anyone who likes steady income generation from their portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I urge potential investors to try and get a good understanding of the underlying business and its fundamentals before deciding on an investment. Below, Ive compiled three fundamental factors you should further examine:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for 3s future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for 3s outlook. Valuation: What is 3 worth today? Even if the stock is a cash cow, its not worth an infinite price. The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether 3 is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there better dividend payers with stronger fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here.

To help readers see past the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned. For errors that warrant correction please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com.
By Marco Aquino

LIMA, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Peruvian Energy and Mines Minister Francisco Ismodes on Thursday proposed making a temporary tax benefit for mining companies part of the country's permanent tax code in order to reduce investment uncertainty in the world's No. 2 copper producer.

Miners in Peru have enjoyed refunds on an 18 percent value-added tax rate for nearly two decades thanks to repeated renewals under market-friendly governments.

But the tax refund tends to face criticism as its expiration nears, and opposition lawmakers have proposed ending it this year. In 2017 and 2016, the government returned about $3.625 billion to mining companies as part of the refund, according to the country's tax agency.

"If this is something that's going to be renewed or extended repeatedly, it's better to just make it part of rules for the (mining) sector," Ismodes told Reuters in a brief interview, stressing that the Economy Ministry would make a final decision.

Ismodes said the government of centrist President Martin Vizcarra would at the least extend the tax benefit past this year, when it is now set to expire.

Mining is a key driver of economic growth in Peru, where international firms such as Anglo American, Glencore and Freeport-McMoRan Inc operate large mines, and scores of smaller companies prospect for new discoveries.

Peru is the world's second largest producer of copper, zinc and silver, and the sixth biggest gold producer.

Ismodes also said he expects Congress to approve proposed legislation aimed at promoting investments in oil and natural gas. The proposal, which would extend the length of exploration and drilling contracts, could draw $6 billion in new energy investments, according to a local industry group.

"We expect that once the law is approved, oil production will rise by 30,000 barrels of oil per day from the current 40,000 average today," Ismodes said.

Peru is a relatively small oil producer and has struggled to compete for energy investments with big regional players such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino Writing by Mitra Taj Editing by Leslie Adler)
(Adds Showtime comment, paragraph 3)

By Jonathan Stempel

Sept 5 (Reuters) - Roy Moore, the former U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama, on Wednesday filed a $95 million defamation lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen, claiming he was duped into appearing on the British comedian's Showtime series "Who Is America?" and falsely portrayed as a sex offender.

Moore, a Republican and former chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court, also sued Showtime and its parent CBS Corp for defamation, and accused all three defendants of fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Baron Cohen's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Showtime spokeswoman said the network does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit arose from a July 29 broadcast where Baron Cohen, disguised as fictional Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad, interviewed Moore and demonstrated a supposed "pedophile detector" that beeped when waved near him.

Moore, 71, whose wife Kayla is also a plaintiff, said he had been lured to Washington, D.C. on the pretense he would receive an award for his support of Israel, and would not have met Baron Cohen had he known what was planned.

After the beep, he told Baron Cohen: "I support Israel. I don't support this kind of stuff," and walked out.

"This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender ... has severely harmed Judge Moore's reputation and caused him, Mrs. Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause plaintiffs financial damage," the complaint said.

Running in heavily Republican Alabama, Moore lost his Senate race last December to Democrat Doug Jones after being accused of sexual misconduct toward female teenagers while in his 30s. Moore has denied wrongdoing.

The lawsuit was filed in the Washington, D.C. federal court.

Larry Klayman, a conservative lawyer representing Moore, in a statement called his client "a man of great faith, morality and intellect," and said the defendants will be held legally accountable for Baron Cohen's conduct.

Baron Cohen, 46, is known for portraying characters like Ali G, Bruno and Borat Sagdiyev whose interactions with people, who do not realize they are serving as foils, often result in their revealing more of themselves than they realize.

His sketches have gotten him in legal hot water before, including when two former college fraternity students claimed they were duped while drunk into appearing in his 2006 film "Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." That case was dismissed in 2007. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Susan Thomas and Marguerita Choy)
By Alexander Winning

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised a new investigation into a water ministry contract with German software firm SAP (SAPG.DE) on Thursday, citing allegations that public money was spent unlawfully.

The investigation by South Africa's Special Investigating Unit (SIU) comes after the country's anti-graft agency said in March it was conducting its own probe into a 671 million rand (34.1 million pounds) water ministry deal with SAP.

SAP is one of several foreign firms to suffer reputational damage in South Africa after becoming entangled in corruption scandals under Ramaphosa's predecessor, Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa has launched a corruption crackdown since replacing Zuma in February, and several investigations into government and private companies have moved forward.

SAP said on Thursday it was aware of the contract to be investigated by the SIU and that it was reviewing all its public-sector work in South Africa dating back to 2010.

"If we identify any matters of concern, we will address and manage them vigorously and comprehensively. SAP continues to cooperate with U.S. and South African authorities in their ongoing investigations," it said in a statement.

SAP said last October the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had opened an investigation into the company under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) related to South Africa.

The South African presidency said on Thursday the SIU would look into allegations that SAP's work for the Department of Water and Sanitation "had not been fair, competitive, transparent, equitable or cost-effective, and that legislation, guidelines or policies had been flouted".

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The SIU, which reports directly to Ramaphosa, will seek to establish whether water department officials and/or SAP employees had broken any laws and will focus on the period from January 2015 to the present.

The German business software company in March admitted to paying more than $9 million (6.9 million pounds) to intermediary companies controlled by the Guptas, friends of Zuma, relating to deals with South African state firms Eskom and Transnet.

The Guptas and Zuma have denied wrongdoing. Their relationship is one of the main areas of focus for an ongoing South African government corruption inquiry.

SAP did not mention the water ministry contract when it admitted to wrongdoing over the Eskom and Transnet deals.

The earlier investigation into the water department contract was started by South Africa's constitutionally mandated Public Protector after the anti-graft body received an anonymous letter pointing to irregularities in the way the contract was agreed.

Among the allegations contained in the letter was that the contract was unnecessary because existing water ministry licences with SAP covered the same services. SAP declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by Reuters in March.

SAP's shares were little changed after the SIU investigation was announced on Thursday, trading up 0.7 percent at 99.96 euros at 1235 GMT.

(Additional reporting by Douglas Busvine in Berlin; Editing by Peter Graff and Mark Potter)
Adventure starts here.

Thats the tagline for RackStarz, a rack and hitch store that opened last spring in Colorado Springs and adds to the areas outdoor recreation industry  an industry gaining attention on the national, state and local stages.

The question for RackStarz owner Nick Bullion was: Where would his adventure begin? He had spent 18 years in California in the rack and hitch business before returning to his native Colorado to start his business. While he plans multiple locations for RackStarz, he had to choose his launch pad.

Colorado Springs was the logical place to start, says Jackson Thom, marketing manager for RackStarz.

For one thing, he says, Colorado Springs did not have a dedicated rack and hitch business. But more importantly, he says, RackStarz is all about getting people and their gear out into the great outdoors  and the Colorado Springs area is an outdoor mecca.

Bikes, skis, kayaks, paddleboards, none of those things are fun sitting in your driveway, Thom says. The only way they get to a trailhead, the only way they get to their destination, is through a roof rack, a hitch product, one of those things.

That image of the Pikes Peak region as an outdoor wonderland is key as Colorado cements its reputation as a leader, if not THE leader, in the outdoor recreation industry.

That reputation got an immense boost last year when Outdoor Retailer, the largest outdoor recreation expo and conference in the country, announced it was moving from Salt Lake City to Denver with three events a year. The Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show made its Colorado debut in January, the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market was in July and the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market is coming in November.

This years events are expected to generate an economic impact of $110 million.

Last month, another big get was announced. VF Corp., the parent company of such major outdoor brands as The North Face, JanSport and Smartwool, announced it would be moving its global headquarters from Greensboro, N.C., to the metro Denver area.

Becky Leinweber, executive director of the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, expected a ripple effect from Outdoor Retailers move to Denver  and she sees VFs decision as proof.

The fact that Outdoor Retailer moved here is definitely a catalyst for all sorts of things, she says. We saw it in Salt Lake City  what it brought not only economically, but just the brands that moved to Salt Lake City over the years because of the location of Outdoor Retailer. Were hoping to see some of that migration here, and VF is definitely the first, and a pretty big one.

Luis Benitez, director of Colorados Outdoor Recreation Industry Office, agrees that Outdoor Retailers move played a role in VFs decision.

I dont think it was the deciding factor, but it was definitely a factor, he says. You cant have 30,000 people come to a town three times a year who are focused on thought leadership and innovation for your industry and not be interested in locating close to that.

VF also was wooed by up to $27 million in tax incentives. It also helped, Benitez said, that a component of the company, Smartwool, was already in Colorado, with offices in Steamboat Springs and Boulder.

Organizers of Outdoor Retailer, meanwhile, were influenced by Colorados commitment to public lands when they were looking for a new home.

Our industry is an interesting one, Benitez says. We focus deeply on conservation and stewardship because our natural resources, and the utilization of those resources, really drive our economic engine. Outdoor Retailer wanted a new home in a state that was philosophically aligned on that devotion to natural resources.

Benitez expects that ripple effect from Outdoor Retailers move  and now from VFs upcoming move  to continue. And that impact shouldnt be limited to just the Denver area.

You dont just come here for a trade show and then go home.  I think over the next two or three years that theres going to be a lot of discovery by folks attending the show who just happen to be industry CEOs and thought leaders of our economy who are going to be exploring our state and checking out all of what we have to offer, Benitez says.

So how does the Pikes Peak region get some of that attention? Benitez points to the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, founded by Beckys husband, David. (The two also own Anglers Covey.) The alliance is touted as a collaborative of businesses and individuals who recognize the value of our regions incredible natural and recreation assets to our community, both as an economic driver and for our health and well-being.

What they (David and Becky) have done with the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance is really what we are looking for across the state, Benitez says. This is an important economy to your region. These moves arent going to be made magically; you have to focus on them and you have to create sort of that nexus for telling that story of why an organization would want to move to your region. The Outdoor Recreation Alliance has done a tremendous job of shaping that story, telling that story, pulling in the political leaders, the business leaders, the nonprofit leaders.

In pursuing outdoor recreation companies  with a particular focus on manufacturing  the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC teams with the Outdoor Recreation Alliance, the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau and those types of partners that are a little more dedicated to the space, says Tammy Fields, chief economic development officer for the Chamber & EDC.

Economic development is truly around relationships that you build, Fields says  and the Leinwebers networks are deep and wide.

We have to, as a community, coalesce together and take advantage of those resources and those relationships that we have, so were working hard to do that with them, Fields says.

I think certainly having the Outdoor Retailer show in Denver is paying dividends already, with the announcement of VF Corp. coming to Colorado. So I think its continuing to build that awareness, that hey, its not only Denver, here are these other communities in Colorado, particularly for us, the Pikes Peak region. We want to get some of that action, and were a great location.

In working to get some of that action, Fields and Becky Leinweber plan to meet this month with Rebecca Gillis of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade for a brainstorming session.

What can we do to help elevate ourselves, Fields says, and how can we use some of the state tools and resources to make sure we have a robust offering?

Nows the time to act, Leinweber says. Nationally, the U.S. government this year tallied for the first time outdoor recreations contribution to the economy  $374 billion in 2016, adding up to 2 percent of GDP. (In Colorado, outdoor recreation generates $28 billion in consumer spending annually and 229,000 direct jobs, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.)

In 2015, Colorado became the second state to have a state office devoted to the outdoor recreation industry; since then, it has been leading the way, Leinweber says. In July, Colorado was one of eight states to sign the Confluence Accords, which outline shared, best-practice principles in growing the outdoor recreation economy.

Theres just a lot of focus on Colorado right now, and we have a lot to offer in this region, Leinweber says.

Its easy for residents to forget that, she says. We take it for granted  yeah, theres Pikes Peak, isnt it beautiful  and we dont really think about what that means to our community, the economic impact of being where we are. More and more, thats changing.
Various currency rates are displayed at a window of an exchange shop in downtown Tehran on Wednesday. The Iranian rial fell to its lowest rate ever and saw worried citizens line up at money-changer shops.
The water is set within the gorgeous Curecanti National Recreation Area. And while there's plenty to do by land, the deep Blue Mesa is the place for fishing and boating in this mountain state.
Latvian English

Riga, 2018-09-06 08:14 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On September 5, 2018 AS Latvenergo organized its Investor Conference Webinar. During the webinar Guntars Balcuns, AS Latvenergo Chief Financial Officer, analyzed Latvenergo Group financial results of 6 months 2018, informed about Groups current issues and provided answers to webinar participants questions.

The recorded AS Latvenergo webinar is available online: http://ej.uz/Latvenergo_2018Q2, and the presentation, demonstrated during the webinar, can be found in the previously published AS Latvenergo announcement: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cdsPublic/viewDisclosure.action?disclosureId=854231&messageId=1074699.

Latvenergo thanks all participants, who joined the webinar, and encourages everybody to follow companys announcements to get information about the next webinar!

Additional information:

Janis Irbe

Group Treasurer

Phone: +371 67 728 239

E-mail: investor.relations@latvenergo.lv

www.latvenergo.lv

About Latvenergo

Latvenergo Group is one of the leading energy suppliers in the Baltics operating in electricity and thermal energy generation and trade, natural gas trade, electricity distribution services and lease of transmission system assets. Latvenergo AS has been acknowledged as the most valuable company in Latvia for several times. International credit rating agency Moodys has assigned Latvenergo AS an investment-grade credit rating of Baa2/stable.

Latvenergo Group is comprised of the parent company Latvenergo AS (generation and trade of electricity and thermal energy, trade of natural gas) and seven subsidiaries - Latvijas elektriskie tikli AS (lease of transmission system assets), Sadales tikls AS (electricity distribution), Elektrum Eesti OU (trade of electricity and natural gas in Estonia), Elektrum Lietuva UAB (trade of electricity and natural gas in Lithuania), Energijas publiskais tirgotajs AS (administration of mandatory electricity procurement process) and Liepajas energija SIA (generation and trade of thermal energy in Liepaja, electricity generation). All shares of Latvenergo AS are owned by the state and held by the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Latvia.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tower One Wireless Corp (CSE: TO) (OTCQB: TOWTF) (Frankfurt: 1P3N) (Tower One or the Company) announces a comprehensive update on recent company milestones throughout Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico. The Company now has a total of fifty (50) In-Service towers throughout Argentina and Colombia with fifteen (15) collocations hosting an additional tenant; and thirty -five (35) additional towers are now under construction. Tower One has a backlog of four hundred and ninety (490) sites awarded for Build to Suit BTS.



Country In-Service

Towers Collocations Tenants Towers Under

Construction Tower

Backlog Argentina 38 12 50 25 350 Colombia 12 3 15 10 80 Mexico - - - - 60 Total 50 15 65 35 490

Alejandro Ochoa, CEO of Tower One, states: We are pleased with the number of collocations in the first 18 months of operations in Argentina. In addition, we welcome the increase in the Mexico backlog that now provides the company with a larger diversification in our principal markets of focus.

About Tower One Wireless Corp.

Tower One Wireless Corp. is a pure-play, build-to-suit tower owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate. The Companys primary business is the leasing of space on communications sites to mobile network operators (MNOs). The Company offers tower-related services in the largest Spanish speaking countries in Latin America: Argentina, Colombia and Mexico.

Contact Information USA (917) 546-3016 E-mail: info@toweronewireless.com Website: www.toweronewireless.com

The CSE has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the contents of this news release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the United States, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.
execnitinsharma wrote:

Centuries ago, biologists undertook the challenge of defining the term species, however, even today, no single definition is universally accepted.



A. however, even today, no single definition is universally accepted.

B. but even today, have not universally accepted a single definition.

C. but even today, no single definition is universally accepted.

D. but today, no single definition is even universally accepted.

E. however, even today, a single definition is not universally accepted.



Don't just answer the question, get some explanations going!!

execnitinsharma

however

however

nevertheless

relative adverb

However one might learn a new language, the first challenge is

however

nevertheless

however

nevertheless

however

(A)

(E)

(D)

even

Even today

even

(D)

even universally accepted

universally accepted

(D)

(B)

(C)

(C)

(B)

have ... accepted

species

(B)

biologists

centuries ago

even today

they

demonstrative pronoun

those alive now

(B)

(C)



Magoosh Test Prep





Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Mike McGarryEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Signature Read More

DearI'm happy to respond.The first split concerns the word "", a somewhat contentious grammar topic. True grammatical purists such as myself would say that the word "" should not be used as a synonym for "," and should only be used as a("..."). The GMAT does not adhere to those very high standards, and occasionally will use "" as a synonym for "." When used this way, "" or "" is a strong enough break that is requires a semicolon break in the sentence. It is not enough to have a comma splice separation: that is a kind of run-on sentence. Even if one allows for this expanded use of the word "," using it in the middle of a sentence with a comma splice constitutes a run-on sentence, and bothmake this mistake. They are both wrong.Choicemakes a fascinating logical mistake. The intensifying adverb "" must emphasize something that is extraordinary, contrary to expectations. "" emphasizes that one might expect that scientist have worked out this definition long ago, and contrary to these expectations, they still haven't! That's a correct use of "." By contrast, inwe have "" as if "" is not something standard; but, the precise point of the sentence is --- it's the common standard in science for single definition of a term to be universally accept, and it's quite unusually that the term "species" has not achieved this status. In choice (D), the word "even" is emphasizing the exact opposite of what it should be emphasizing. Choiceis quite wrong.Then we get to the split between. Choiceis perfectly correct, smooth, and completely natural sounding. It is flawless. It's hard to explain what is not ideal about--- it's grammatically correct, but off. One problem is that the verb "" gets awkwardly divided with the adverb --- that is not clearly "wrong" but its slightly awkward. Also, consider the rhetorical focus of the sentence --- the topic of the sentence really is the term "" -- as much as possible, the topic of the sentence should be the subject. It's not the subject of the first clause, but we can make it the subject of the second clause, and that's better than making the biologists the subject again. ---- Also, there's a very subtle logic mistake in choice. Think about that first subject. The subject is "," and the particular "biologists" we have in mind are ones that were working on this problem "." They are all dead now. The folks working "" are still biologists, but they are not the SAME biologists. This is problematic for the personal pronoun "" --- technically, a personal pronoun establishes a "personal" connection with its antecedent, and it must refer exactly to its antecedent. Technically, to denote a new group of biologists, biologists alive now as opposed to biologist centuries ago, we would need a(e.g. "..."), not a personal pronoun. All of these problems makeunacceptable.Choiceis the best answer, the only possible answer. Another high quality question from .Mike_________________
To whom it may concern,I am currently a green card holder (permanent resident). I was born in Russia and immigrated to the US when I went to college (5-6 years ago). I can now apply to be a citizen of the US, but I was wondering if a dual citizenship will hurt my chances of getting admitted to top schools. From my understanding Business Schools value having a diverse class, which me being a Russian Citizen plays into. Can I still apply as Russian if I get my American citizenship? I really want to become a US citizen (traveling is easier), but I could hold off for a few years if this will boost my chance of getting into a better program.Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this.Best,Nikolay
Diversity in the doctors office saves lives.

Thats the finding of a recent study from Harvard. Researchers at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health examined outcomes for over 1.2 million Medicare patients treated by 44,000 internists at American hospitals. Patients treated by foreign medical graduates had better 30-day survival rates than patients treated by U.S.-educated physicians.



The study is the latest to show that racial, socioeconomic and international diversity arent just nice things to have within Americas physician workforce. Theyre matters of life and death.

More than 31 percent of the U.S. population is Hispanic, Native American or African-American. Yet people from these ethnic groups account for just 6 percent of practicing physicians.



This racial disparity isnt likely to change. Fewer than 14 percent of students admitted to medical school for the 2017-18 school year were black, Hispanic or Native American.

Schools also lack economic diversity. Three in four medical students come from the richest 40 percent of families. Only one in 20 come from the poorest 20 percent of families.



Its tempting to argue that an applicants race or socioeconomic background should be irrelevant in the medical school admissions process.



In reality, a doctors background can have more impact on patient health than even the best academic credentials.

When people of color do seek medical care, they turn to nonwhite physicians. Sometimes, for language reasons. Two in five Hispanic patients consider whether a doctor can speak Spanish before choosing to visit.



Sometimes they do so because theyre more comfortable with doctors who look like them and may have similar experiences. Black patients report higher satisfaction ratings when treated by black doctors.

As a result, nonwhite doctors care for over 53 percent of minority patients and over 70 percent of non-English-speaking patients, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study concludes racial and ethnic diversity of the physician workforce may be key to meeting national goals to eliminate health disparities.



Socioeconomic diversity is equally important. Doctors with parents who make less than $100,000 per year are more likely to enter family medicine, according to a meta-analysis of 57 different studies.



Diversity of national origin is also crucial, especially as Americas immigrant population continues to swell.



Since 1990, the number of foreign-born U.S. residents has more than doubled, to roughly 42 million.



The growth in the diversity of our nations population coincides with doctor shortages across the United States. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts a shortage of about 105,000 doctors by 2030.



More than 40 percent of that gap could be in primary care.



Doctors trained abroad will play an outsized role in closing that shortfall. Thats in part because American medical school graduates refuse to do so. Only 15 percent of U.S. medical school graduates go into internal medicine. Nearly half of international graduates choose the specialty.



Diversity is a top priority at the medical school I lead, St. Georges University in Grenada. Our students currently hail from 104 different countries. Eighty percent receive financial aid. Roughly three-quarters of our graduates go into primary care.



If the Harvard study is right that international medical graduates offer better care than their domestically trained counterparts, then the United States should hold its doors wide open to doctors from abroad.

Policies that block these doctors from practicing in the United States put Americans at risk by undermining their ability to access quality health care.



G. Richard Olds, M.D., is president of St. Georges University (www.sgu.edu). He was founding dean of the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine.
Ive told you about the non-binding referendums to be held in dozens of Downstate counties designed to entice pro-gun voters to the polls, but thats not the end of the story.

Shall the [local county board] pass a resolution that opposes any gun control legislation in the Illinois General Assembly? most of the Downstate ballot questions will ask. The Illinois State Rifle Association, Gov. Bruce Rauners campaign and several Republican legislators have all worked to get the question on ballots in Downstate counties.

But a ballot question like that in the suburbs would run the risk of backfiring by attracting voters who might not be voting for Republican candidates. So, a different tactic was required in that part of the state.

Shall [the county] oppose the General Assembly instituting a property tax increase equivalent to 1 percent of your homes value to help retire state debt? is just one of the questions that will appear on ballots in Republican-controlled DuPage and Kane counties this fall.

The 1 percent tax surcharge was first broached by a few economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago back in May. The Illinois Policy Institute and its allies (including former Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Jeanne Ives) whipped up some public furor against it, but the idea wasnt ever going anywhere.

The Republicans need to counteract what looks to be a coming Democratic wave election. They have to do whatever it takes to get their people to the polls. And property taxes are most definitely a huge issue in the suburbs.

DuPage County will also ask its voters about a proposal to tax vehicle mileage  another tax that has so far gone nowhere in Illinois. Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker has said hed consider a study of the idea, but it has not yet gained much if any traction in the General Assembly. Senate President John Cullerton briefly flirted with the idea, but dropped it because the state still didnt have a budget (among other reasons).

And several suburban Cook County townships will ask their voters a version of this question being asked in Schaumburg Township: Should the Cook County Board of Commissioners reinstate the Cook County Sweetened Beverage Tax Ordinance (also known as the Soda Tax) to fill an $82 million county budget deficit?

Elk Grove, Palatine, Lemont and Maine townships will also ask the question, according to a report in the Daily Herald last week.



A Rauner campaign official told me last week that voters in more than 60 counties and townships will have a chance to express their non-binding opinions on hot-button issues favorable to Republicans.

So, will this work? Well, it likely depends on your meaning of work. This is just one piece in a much larger puzzle. But, either way, it probably cant hurt. And if they put some money and effort behind it, some folks who might not be planning to vote could be convinced by the ploy.

The statewide Republican operation is going to use paid advertisement to target Republican voters with this referendum to turn them out and vote for all of us, according to a text sent by Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) to one of his local county board members, according to published reports.

House Speaker Michael Madigan has admitted to using non-binding statewide referendums to get Democrats to the polls, including in 2014, when he added questions about increasing the minimum wage, taxing millionaires and requiring insurers to provide birth control coverage.

Rauner and the Republicans couldnt possibly put questions favorable to them on the statewide ballot because that would require the General Assemblys approval, so theyve had to improvise locally. If nothing else, it at least shows some gumption on their part.


Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law a package of bills to improve treatments and medical access for mental health and substance use disorders.



At a press conference at the Memorial Center for Learning & Innovation in Springfield, Rauner, mental health experts and substance abuse treatment advocates discussed the bills, while stressing the importance of adequate quality in treating patients statewide with mental health and substance use disorders.



We are taking steps to dramatically improve mental health and substance use disorder treatment for the people of Illinois, Rauner said. These five initiatives work together to improve the quality of care and hopefully, the quality of life for so many Illinoisans suffering from mental health and substance use disorders.



The Emergency Opioid and Addiction Treatment Access Act, sponsored by Sen, John G. Mulroe, D-Chicago, removes prior authorization barriers by authorizing health care providers to give immediate access to outpatient treatment. Sara Howe, chief executive officer of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health, said that the bill had its origin in the opioid crisis. I advocated for a bill which has its roots in the opioid epidemic, which we know has devastated both rural communities and cities and suburbs across the state, she said.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, opioid overdoses have killed nearly 11,000 people in Illinois since 2008. Last year, almost 2,000 people died of overdoses. What this bill will do is provide immediate access to treatment. It will remove that prior authorization that will give somebody immediate access instead of having to wait two, three or four days, when they need help right now, Howe said.



Another initiative, sponsored by Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, changes insurance companies coverage of mental health and substance use disorder treatment. This increases the ability of the Department of Insurance to protect its consumers in the process. David Lloyd, director of policy for The Kennedy Forum Illinois, a Chicago-based mental health facility, said the legislation will hold insurers accountable for complying with state and federal mental health parity laws.



When the governor signs this bill into law, Illinois will have the strongest mental health and addiction parity law in the country, Lloyd said. That is critical to saving lives and that is critical to combating our states ongoing opioid epidemic and also our rising suicide rates. When people have access to mental health and addiction coverage under their health plans, they get the treatment that they need and ultimately they can live full and productive lives.



Additionally, a measure sponsored by Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, and Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, enables behavioral and mental health experts to provide better treatment by allowing Medicaid patients to use telehealth technology. Telehealth medicine is the way of the future, said Scherer. After working nine months on this bill, it is now becoming law. I appreciate the bipartisan support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Early Mental Health Addictions Act authorizes waivers that could allow treatment for serious mental illness for young adults who experience psychosis. You would think that early treatments are what we would expect from mental health and addictions. But often, people wait years before they are able to get treatments, and they suffer significant debilitating conditions in the lag time that they are unable to get treatment, said Heather ODonnell, senior vice president of Advocacy and Public Policy at Thresholds. What this bill does is create early treatment teams tailored specifically for adolescents and teens who are at the early stages of mental health condition.

Finally, the Community-Law Enforcement Partnership for Deflection and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act establishes a partnership between law enforcement agencies and licensed substance abuse service providers to assess and coordinate proper substance abuse treatment. Our police officers want to help us solve the problem, not just punish people, Rauner said. This effort builds community and allows our law enforcement and peace officers a way to give people help instead of a criminal record.

Rauner concluded that these bills are about making Illinois a national leader in delivering mental health services. This is very important legislation because they are great progress done in a bipartisan basis, he said. These bills work in partnership with what our administration has done in achieving a very important waiver from the federal government in our Medicaid program to get proactive, high-quality mental health services.



Alex Camp is a masters degree graduate in Public Affairs Reporting from University of Illinois Springfield. He is currently a freelance journalist. Contact him at acamp4@uis.edu.
Springfield-area residents can learn firsthand about U.S. foreign policy and global economic issues through free programs presented by the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois (WACCI). This civic organization hosts a speaker series with experts on a wide range of topics that are important globally and also have a local impact.

The first program of the new season is Monday, Sept. 17. Michael Swaine, senior fellow of the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, will discuss the relationship between the U.S. and China. Swaine is a specialist in Chinese defense and foreign policy, U.S.-China relations and East Asian international relations. He is the author of numerous books and journal articles, directs several security-related projects with Chinese partners and advises the U.S. government on Asian security issues.

Swaines lecture, which is free and open to the public, is Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Illinois Springfield Student Union Ballroom. Prior to the lecture there will be a reception and dinner. Cost for the dinner is $30 for WACCI members and $35 for nonmembers. Advance reservations for the dinner are required by Sept. 10. For more information, go to http://mywacci.org/.

Additional programs are scheduled for October-December. They include:

 Oct. 16, Brexit, presented by Chris McDonald, political science professor at Lincoln Land Community College. University of Illinois Springfield Brookens Auditorium



 Nov. 26, How World War I Changed the World, presented by Dr. Christine Anderson and Karl Rubis. Anderson is a Global Studies and Gender Studies instructor at Maggie K. Walker Governors School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, Virginia. Rubis is historian for U.S. Army Ordnance Corps and School in Fort Lee, Virginia.University of Illinois Springfield Student Union Ballroom



 Dec. 12, Colombia after the Drug War, panel discussion by Andrew Koch, Peace Corps volunteer; Dr. Adriana Crocker, professor, University of Illinois Springfield; and Dr. Stanley Ruecker, Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hoogland Center for the Arts.

Lectures begin at 7:30 p.m. In addition to the free lecture, each program has a reception and dinner in advance for which reservations are required.



Membership fees are the only source of funding for most programs. A basic membership costs $50. For more information about the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois and the benefits of membership, go to http://mywacci.org/.


Sundown Town is an easy, yet difficult, read. Its a page-turner with an unbelievable, yet believable, story. Taking the reader from Alabama to Illinois right before the turn of the century, the authors give us everything a well-rounded story needs to be good. Even an ending.

Sundown Town utilizes the coal mine wars of the late 1890s as the focal point for this 358-page novel. From beginning to end, the authors weave a tale that envelopes total and unapologetic hate, life-saving and life-taking, tender smiles and violent rape, laughter and tears, unfulfilled hopes and shattered dreams. There is also a great deal of courage in the face of fear, ambush and inhumanity.



Kevin Corly is from Shelbyville and has authored three books: Sixteen Tons, Throw out the Water and now Sundown Town. A history aficionado, Kevin is a retired educator who uses his love of writing to tell the stories he enjoyed sharing with his students. Douglas E. King of Springfield is a native of St. Louis and this is his first book. A retired state of Illinois employee, Douglas has been active with the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum, Frontiers International and the Springfield Coalition on Dismantling Racism. He lives with Pamela, his wife of 47 years.



What makes Sundown Town easy to read is its well written age-old story of lies, deception and power. What makes it difficult are the vivid descriptions of the extreme hatred, gunfights, murders, massacres and cruel treatment of other human beings. In addition, there are approximately 30 main characters to keep track of. What makes this easier is the fact that the authors chose to prepare the reader by listing and describing the major characters prior to beginning the story, instead of writing each of the characters entire back-story within the story

Sundown towns are well known in Illinois. A sundown town is a town which does not allow blacks on the street or in the town after dark, when the sun goes down. This account of historical fiction has so many actual names, places and events, it reads like an episode of Dragnet. This reads like a true story with the names being changed as not to out the guilty.



Sundown Town opens in Birmingham, Alabama, in August of 1898. Howard Smithson is a white coal mine owner from Illinois advertising a need for 175 good colored miners. The story was that the war in Cuba had drained the workforce. So, they offered free train tickets, jobs with decent wages and a place to live in Pana, Illinois. To sweeten the deal, wives (and children) were also welcomed and promised jobs as rock pickers as long as their men were in good standing. The God-forsaken life for Negroes in Alabama made the hope of a better life in the North worth the risk of taking a train over 500 miles to a place no one had ever heard of.

Big Henry Stevens was one of those colored men willing to take that risk to leave Birmingham. He was 13 pounds at birth, an only child and big enough to work in the mines by the time he was eight. His ma died in childbirth and his pa in a rock fall, making Big Henry an orphan at the age of 11. A grown man now, Henry could go toe to toe with anyone when it came to working, fighting, drinking, shooting, navigating difficult situations and even quoting scripture.

Little did the Negroes know that once they reached Pana -- if they reached Pana -- they wouldnt be welcomed. They would be known as scabs. They would be hated, their lives constantly threatened. Their pay consisted of only credits at the company store and much less than was promised. Their wives and childrens train tickets were not free.

As the weeks go by, the characters come to life. We quickly learn more about the towns, unions and people of Pana, Springfield, Virden and Carterville and what they think about scabs, especially, Negro scabs. Being physically large and mentally fearless, Big Henry was the obvious leader of the black men. Myrtle Wallace, Garfields wife, led the black women. She cooked, cleaned, sewed, took care of her four boys (and others) and spoke up and stood her ground with anyone (black or white). Illinois Governor Tanner supported the unions, but also black citizens rights. Jeb Turner is the Pana deputy who protects the Negro strikebreakers.

As not to give away the end of the story, it should simply be noted that there is the smell of redemption in the air as the epilogue opens. The character who has seen it all from beginning to end prepares to tell their truth for historys record.

This is a wonderfully written harsh story, full of real-life people and history.



Pamela Woodson, Th.D., of Springifeld, is a speaker, writer, educator and the owner of Pamela Speaks Training & Consulting. She is the author of the Seasons of Mia & Mya series and runs Mia and Myas World.


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
Police across Indiana seized more than $3 million worth of property and cash during fiscal year 2017 that they believe was involved in suspected crimes.

Prosecutors and law enforcement agencies say civil forfeiture empowers them to take the fruits of crime and use some of the proceeds to further other investigations.

But critics say where the proceeds go creates conflicts of interest  and may even violate the state constitution.

Delaware County Prosecutor Jeff Arnold says civil forfeiture is a powerful tool to get drug money off the streets (Barbara Brosher, WFIU/WTIU News).

Bath Salts Bust Leads To Massive Forfeiture

During the fall of 2011 in Muncie, first responders were overwhelmed.

"We were having multiple overdoses," says Delaware County Prosecutor Jeff Arnold. "The EMTs and the first responders were averaging about two a day where people were overdosing on this stuff."

Arnold says people were overdosing on bath salts and spice.

Court documents say they were buying the drugs from convenience stores in Delaware County, which were part of a large drug ring. On top of selling the drugs, court documents say those involved mixed money from the deals with proceeds from legitimate sales at the stores.

So several police agencies started an undercover operation.

On several occassions, an undercover officer bought spice or bath salts from one of the stores. In one instance, a packet had a warning on it that said "the content of this item is not for human consumption and can pose a health risk if accidentally ingested."

The Indiana State Police lab tested the substance. The test revealed it contained pyrovalerone, which is a Schedule V controlled substance.

The investigation continued for nearly nine months before police made arrests.

"A large group of law enforcement agencies came together to serve warrants on those [stores] simultaneously," Arnold says. "We froze bank accounts simultaneously, because we knew there would be telephone calls really fast. And, it was a good deal of money."

The county filed criminal charges against those involved, ranging from racketeering and money laundering to dealing in a controlled substance. The county also filed a separate civil forfeiture case in an attempt to keep cash, property and cars seized during the investigation.

While the court ordered some of that be returned to the defendants, it also said tens of thousands of dollars should be forfeited.

READ MORE: U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Indiana Civil Forfeiture Case

The money was divided between Muncie police, the sheriffs office, the private law firm hired to prosecute the case and the prosecutors office.

Arnold spoke to a legislative study committee last year about the power of civil forfeiture. He says he used the money from that case to make improvements in several circuit court rooms. He bought drop down screens and three audio-visual carts.

"And, ever since that day its been very satisfying for me to go into that court when I do major felonies and remember that that equipment and those drop downs came from someone who was selling drugs and killing people on our streets," Arnold told the committee. "No tax dollars."

Lawsuit Challenges How Civil Forfeiture Proceeds Are Used

Some legislators argue the way Indiana allows money from civil forfeitures to be used creates a major conflict of interest.

Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) says it can lead to distrust.

"We have to separate where the money goes from the people actually doing the seizing of the property," Pierce says. "Because I think it breeds cynicism amongst the public when they see the prosecutors and law enforcement directly profit from the assets that are seized."

And there are questions about whether the practice violates the states Constitution, which says the common school fund should receive money from the fines assessed for breaches of penal laws of the State; and from all forfeitures which may accrue.

Several Marion County residents are suing the prosecutor, police and mayor, arguing the countys ignored that statute for years and instead distributed all proceeds to local law enforcement efforts.

Horner v. Curry Complaint by Indiana Public Media News on Scribd

Data from the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council shows police seized nearly $3.4 million worth of cash and property statewide during fiscal year 2017, but less than two percent of that went to the common school fund.

Former Attorney General Greg Zoeller weighed in on the controversy over where the money should go eight years ago. In an opinion, he wrote, a proceeding under Indianas forfeiture law is civil in nature, and it is only fines and forfeitures from criminal proceedings that must be paid into the common school fund.

Its something the Indiana Supreme Court will consider when it hears the Marion County lawsuit. In a rare move, it granted emergency transfer of the case. That means it will bypass the Indiana Court of Appeals.

The court's ruling would impact civil forfeiture thorughout the state.

Senate Bill Addresses Some Criticisms Of Civil Forfeiture

Legislators passed a bill earlier this year that includes several civil forfeiture reforms (Steve Burns, WFIU/WTIU News).

Some state legislators say theyve already addressed some of the problems with Indianas civil forfeiture laws through Senate Bill 99, which went into effect this summer. It includes a long list of changes.

Among other things, the new law is more specific about how proceeds from seizures should be distributed.

Before, the law allowed police and prosecutors to use that money to reimburse agencies for their investigation costs. But oftentimes prosecutors and law enforcement said it was too hard to determine those exact costs, and in many cases took all of the money.

Now, the money first goes to pay attorneys fees if an outside law firm is hired to prosecute the case. Then, a third of the remaining proceeds go into a countys forfeiture fund to offset investigation expenses.

And 85 percent of the money left over after that goes to law enforcement agencies.

"Which sounds like a really big number," says State Senator Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville). "It is a big number. But, these investigations are expensive."

Any money left over after all of those expenses are covered goes to the common school fund. Bray says while it may not seem like much, it's more money than the fund was getting before because some agencies held on to all forfeiture funds.

The bill also adds more due process to Indiana's forfeiture proceedings. The prosecuting attorney must file a forfeiture case within seven days of the seizure so a court can determine whether the county has probable cause to take the property. Before, prosecutors had up to 180 days to initiate the case.

"So they could take that car and hold it in an impound lot for 180 days, and then they might be able to file it and go on with the civil forfeiture," Bray says. "Or, they may not. They may decide 'here, we don't want it. You can have the car back.' Now, the probelm that happens then is the person has their car in an impound lot for 180 days, it's accrued really large impound fees, probably more than the car was worth. And, so, there's no point in going back to get it because you have to pay more than the value of the car to get it. The person was out their car and never really had a day in court."

Hoosiers can also request their property be released while the forfeiture case is pending.

If the prosecutor fails to meet the burden of proof required to keep the property and its possession is legal, the court will order it to be released to the owner. In that case, the owner would not be responsible for any charges associated with storing or preserving the property.

And the legislation includes more robust reporting requirements for county prosecutors, who must report forfeiture activities to the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. That information will now include how the property was seized, what type of property was seized, whether the forfeiture was challenged and what happened to the money.

Bray says legislators constantly heard stories about a grandmother's car being seized by police because one of her grandchildren used it while buying a small amount of drugs.

"We're having a hard time getting a good focus on that sort of issue and if it's really a problem," he says. "So, with this reporting requirement, I hope we'll be able to find out whether it's a problem or not, and then we may address it."

Indiana Still Lags Behind Other States With Its Reforms

Despite changes legislators made to Indiana's civil forfeiture laws, experts say the state's fallen far beyond others when it comes to reforms.

There is no criminal conviction required in Indiana before a civil forfeiture case moves forward. In fact, prosecutors can file a forfeiture case without even filing related criminal charges.

Some legislators say that's necessary because, in some cases, no one comes forward to claim the property. For example, when large amounts of drug money are sent through the mail. In that case, they argue, they shouldn't have to send the money back just because they don't have enough evidence for a criminal case.

"If they have probable cause they can seize the money," says Louis Rulli, a practice professor and civil forfeiture expert at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. "The question, though, is should anybody lose their property if they haven't been convicted of a crime? What is the basis in our society, in our democracy for the government taking people's property if they haven't been convicted of a crime?"

The standard of proof for criminal and civil forfeiture cases is different. In a criminal case, a prosecutor has to prove someone is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to secure a conviction.

In a forfeiture case, the standard is much lower. A prosecutor only has to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the property is connected to a crime and should be seized. That essentially means the attorney has to show it's more likely than not that's the case.

Rulli says he's also troubled by a provision that allows counties to hire private attorneys to prosecute civil forfeiture cases. In many cases, those attorneys work on a contingent fee agreement where they receive some of the proceeds from a forfeiture.

"When we financially incentivize private attorneys to take on a government function, that we expect to be performed by neutral government officials who don't have any direct personal stake in the outcome, and then we then transfer it to private attorneys who will have a personal stake in the outcome, we really have, I think, possibly run afoul of professional responsibility requirements," Rulli says.

SB 99 does include additional restrictions for those types of compensation agreements. It stipulates prosecutors and deputy prosecutors cannot receive a contingency fee for forfeiture cases they conduct.

And, it limits the contingency fee for attorneys retained to handle forfeiture actions. Under the new law, those attorneys can receive no more than 33.33 percent of the proceeds for settlement of $10,000 and under, no more than 20 percent for forfeitures between $10,000 and $100,000, and no more than 15 percent for forfeitures of more than $100,000.

Arnold says he thinks all of the changes made to Indiana's law this year addresses the biggest criticisms of civil forfeiture. But he understands peoples continued concerns about the ethical problems.

"There are too many stories out there about prosecutors throwing Christmas parties with forfeiture money or buying things that dont help fight crime or drugs," he says. "Im sure that that happens occasionally, and its wrong. But, dont throw the baby out with the bath water. Change those type of behaviors and continue using the forfeiture money to offset these budget restraints that have hit smaller communities."
Vice President Mike Pence and Director of National Intelligence and former U.S. Senator for Indiana Dan Coats both deny writing the anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times that said an internal "resistance" was working to thwart some of President Donald Trump's efforts.

Coats says speculation that either he or his top deputy wrote the op-ed is "patently false. We did not."

Washington was consumed by a wild guessing game as to the identity of the author, and swift denials of involvement in the op-ed came Thursday from top administration officials, including from Pence's office and from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In an extraordinary move, Trump tweeted Wednesday that if "the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

White House officials didn't immediately respond to a request to elaborate on Trump's call for the writer to be turned over to the government.

Two people familiar with the matter say Trump has demanded that aides identify the leaker. The two were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Trump administration hopes that the re-imposed sanctions that followed his exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will force Iran to negotiate for a new nuclear deal to replace it. However, many Iran analysts believe that Iran is inclined to wait Trump out, putting off any re-engagement until after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in the hope there may be a new occupant in the White House.

Rouhanis future, however, appears dismal. The only other time a sitting Iranian president was brought before lawmakers was in 2012, when Mahmoud Ahmedinejads relations with the countrys political elite and its Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei were at their worst.

Hard-liners have been attacking Rouhani, and he was called to explain his governments mismanagement of the economy.

A conservative member accused Rouhani of creating a dream castle of expectations over the 2015 nuclear accord, and of failing to come up with a Plan B when Trump destroyed it with one kick.

Many believe that Khameneis use for Rouhani is now primarily as a scapegoat. Since the end of last year, protests across the country that began with a huge uprising, have continued. Iranians have had enough of the mismanagement of the economy, corruption, and government spending on Syria and Lebanon. Protestors slogans target Khamenei.

Irans government gives the Supreme Leader most of the power, and the president most of the responsibility, allowing Khamenei to deflect blame to Rouhani, which he has done as the protests continue.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Leader blamed foreign enemies  the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia  for creating troubles for the Islamic Republic. With the ongoing demonstrations, he has since grudgingly allowed that the protesters have legitimate grievances. But Khamenei does not acknowledge his own contribution to their grievances.

Khameneis religious foundations have amassed enormous, unaccounted wealth, while Iranians struggle to feed their families. The resource-draining foreign misadventures the protesters complain of are Khameneis creation.

Ministers from Rouhanis cabinet are also Khameneis targets. The labor minister was the first to be impeached, followed by the minister for the economy. Now two other members of the cabinet, the minister of education and the minister of mines, industry, and business, face impeachment. He has begun an anti-corruption crackdown which has led to scores of arrests.

Regarding impeaching Rouhani himself, discussions will likely halt. Khamenei still needs his president to blame.
The JPCOA had the potential to give Iran domestic tranquility through prosperity. Instead, Iranian leadership chose to pay for its foreign meddling in the region, and left its domestic spending needs in vain.

After US President Trump made it clear that the Iranian violations of the agreement would not be forgiven or tolerated, he announced the United States withdrawal from the agreement, and that sanctions would be renewed. The sanctions that were reimposed after Trump exited the JPCOA in May has exacerbated the problems of an already shaky economy.

Iranian officials responded with threats and criticism. In fact, a few days after Trumps announcement, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani stated, It seems that Mr. Trump does not have the mental capacity to deal with issues and the language of force is more effective for this person so that he could face the consequences of his arrogant characteristics. . ..

And, according to Irans Foreign Ministry, We are extremely concerned that the United States is once again acting contrary to the opinion of the majority of states and exclusively in its own narrow-minded and opportunistic interests, in flagrant violation of international law.

European parties to the accord will side with Iran, said IRGC Chief-Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, who believes that Iranian nuclear deal with the United States will collapse.

President Hassan Rouhani said that there was a short time to negotiate with the countries that did not withdraw from the nuclear agreement. The nuclear deal will continue if we see we can meet the demands of the Iranian people with the cooperation of five countries in the short period. He added, Our heroic people will not be affected by this psychological attack. . .. Irans economic progress will continue. Our people should not be worried at all.

Iran chose to ignore the its own domestic privations, and now the frightening economic reality of the re-imposed sanctions has pushed this regime close to the brink. A storm is coming to Iran  its people call for regime change, and it appears to be within their grasp.
- Neri Naig posted on social media that her son Miggy was bullied and hurt at school

- She added that she also talked to the childs grandfather

- Later on, the social media star slammed the netizens who bashed her for posting about the bullying incident

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Neri Naig took to social media to narrate her son Miggys traumatic experience in his school.

KAMI learned that Miggy, who is 1 year and nine months old, was hit in the head by his 3-year-old classmate.

The social media star added that she also confronted the boys grandfather, who did not ask the child to apologize to Miggy.

Here is Neris viral post, uploaded by Fashion Pulis:

Emotional Neri Naig shares her son Miggys traumatic experience at school (Image from Fashion Pulis)

Source: Instagram

Later on, Neri ranted about the netizens who bashed her for posting about the bullying incident. She added that she also had a good talk with the childs aunt and grandmother in the school office.

Here is her emotional post:

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In a previous report by KAMI, Chito and Neri treated their driver to a breakfast buffet at a hotel in Alabang.

Neri Naig started her acting career after she joined Star Circle Quest, a defunct reality television show of ABS-CBN, which she ended up as the 6th placer.

She played several roles in notable primetime television series and films before she settled down and focused on her business ventures.

POPULAR: Read more news about Neri Naig Miranda!

In a unique experiment, Sam from the Philippines tried to lose weight by doing different exercises each week. We think its fascinating and useful content for all those people who are struggling to lose the unwanted pounds. We decided to make a short recap of Sams fitness transformation here  on KAMI HumanMeter YouTube channel!

Source: Kami.com.ph
- Actor Carlo Aquino celebrated his 33rd birthday through a aimple but star-studded party

- During the event, he said he felt really part of showbiz because of his guests

- Carlos ex-girlfriend, Angelica Panganiban, was also present in the party

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Kapamilya actor Carlo Aquino revealed that he still feels he belongs to the showbiz industry because of who attended his birthday party.

KAMI learned that the Exes Baggage star did not expect that he would be able to gather a lot of showbiz stars in a party he called his debut.

Carlo mocked that he only imagined that his guests would be six persons but he felt overjoyed for the support from his friends in the industry.

Maraming salamat sa lahat ng pumunta sa debut ko! he expressed.

Ito talaga yung pinaka-excited ako. Sa lahat ng pumunta, akala ko nga mga anim lang kami dito, e, he remarked as the audience could not resist laughing.

The actor also said he really felt he has a place in showbiz after more than 20 years in the industry because of his guests.

Maraming, maraming salamat! Ngayon ko naramdaman na belong pala ako sa industriyang ito, he explained.

Thank you, thank you talaga! Sobrang maligaya lang yung puso ko, he added.

Some of the celebrities who attended the birthday party of the actor were: Sue Ramirez, Ketchup, Gladys Reyes, Ping Medina, JM De Guzman, Joem Bascon, Glaiza de Castro, and Jason Abalos.

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Carlos ex-girlfriend, Angelica Panganiban, was also present in the celebration and was even seen sharing happy moments with the actor and his friends.

The Magic Temple star decided to make the star-studded occasion simple as he just also wore a simple all-black outfit with a scarf.

Here is the highlight of the event:

In a previous article by , Angelica gave a hint of her true feeling for the actor as she posted a cheesy message for his birthday.

Sayo lang hindi nagbago ang salitang pagmamahal, she wrote.

Carlo is a Filipino actor who rose to fame when he was just a child. His performance in the movie, Bata, Bata... Paano ka Ginawa? gave him critical recognitions in showbiz.

This year, he became part of the film, Meet Me in St. Gallen. He will also be seen in two upcoming movies such as Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral and Exes Baggage which he will star with Angelica.

POPULAR: Read more news about Carlo Aquino!

Imagine that youre walking down streets of the Philippines, thinking of your work, friends, and family. Suddenly a man walking in front of you drops his wallet. He continues walking, without realizing that he has just lost all his money. What would you do in this situation? Social Experiment: How Honest Are People Around You?  on HumanMeter!

Source: Kami.com.ph
- Actress Jean Garcia could not contain how proud she is for her daughter after giving birth

- She revealed that Jennica decided to use the water birth method that made her even proud

- Jean also shared that she is happy for her daughter for being an advocate of first-time moms

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Kapuso actress Jean Garcia expressed how proud she is for daughter Jennica who gave birth in a brave and unusual way.

KAMI learned that the actress daughter welcomed her second child via water birth.

Jean admitted that she was really scared by how her daughter wanted to give birth using a kiddie pool.

She also explained that because of being afraid of the situation, she was advised by Jennica to just stay outside.

Ang asawa lang niya at midwife saka yung magca-catch ng bata ang nandun, she said in an interview with PEP.ph.

Ayaw niya na nandun ako kasi mati-tense lang daw siya. Saka walang doctor ha! paliwanag pa ng aktres.

Jean even admitted that she did not know how her daughter managed to give birth in the pool especially that the midwife came in late.

Heto pa, may kasama naman, pero yung midwife, late dumating. Nakapanganak na nung dumating yung midwife, she shared.

Si Alwyn yung kumuha ng bata sa loob ng swimming pool, she added.

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Aside from the courage to give birth in the pool, Jean is also proud of her daughter for being an advocate of first-time moms.

Jennica initiates workshops for mothers through the foundation called Kalinga ni Nanay where actress Kylie Padilla is also reported as a member.

Di ba ang mga nanay ngayon, hands-on talaga sila? Jean concluded.

In a previous article by , the Inday Will Always Love You Star said that she hopes her next partner is her last already.

Jean is a Filipino television and film actress who became popular for her antagonistic roles such as Miss Minchin in Sarah: Ang Munting Prinsesa and Claudia Buenavista in the original version of Pangako Sa Yo.

Imagine that youre walking down streets of the Philippines, thinking of your work, friends, and family. Suddenly a man walking in front of you drops his wallet. He continues walking, without realizing that he has just lost all his money. What would you do in this situation? Social Experiment: How Honest Are People Around You?  on HumanMeter!

Source: Kami.com.ph
Two ministries say the Army didnt consult over military drill

Nepals decision to participate in the joint military exercise between the armies of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation member states was a result of military engagement between Nepal Army and the Indian Army, without formal dealings at the diplomatic or political level.
Nepal and India push health pact

Nepal and India have agreed to bilateral co-operation and partnership in health sector.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Mazda set a new record in Jan-Aug China sales with 188,805 vehicles delivered for the first eight months, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%. However, the company's August sales declined 12.7% from a year ago to 22,369 vehicles, according to the figure released by Mazda Motor (China) Co., Ltd.

Changan Mazda posted a year-on-year growth of 5.7% in year-to-date sales with 112,621 vehicles delivered in total. Besides, Changan Mazda said its August retail sales presented positive growth compared with the same period a year ago and a month ago. The China-made Mazda CX-8 was officially unveiled at the Chengdu Motor Show 2018. Reportedly, Changan Mazda aims to complete a product lineup featuring the SKYACTIV Technology in 2018, including 3 SUV models, namely, the locally-produced Mazda CX-8, the second-generation CX-5 and the imported new Mazda CX-3, and a car model, the Mazda Axela.

FAW Mazda saw its year-to-date sales edge down 1.9% to 76,184 units. The joint venture showcased the Atenza, the CX-4 and the MX-5 at the Chengdu Motor Show. Especially, the all-new version of the Mazda CX-4, priced at RMB169,800, hit the market at the show, aiming to further improve driving experience for users.
Andrew Gillum Shocks the Political World and Sets Stage for Three Black U.S Governors

Wildly outspent by a billionaire challenger and the daughter of a former Florida Governor, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, 39, shocked the political establishment to win the gubernatorial primary in Florida on August 28.

Gillum defeated former Congresswoman Gwen Graham 34-31 percent to win the Democratic contamination. He will now face pro-Trump Congressman Ron DeSantis in the general election on November 6. Gillums victory caught many political observers by surprise. The 39-year old Mayor was polling in fourth place less than a month ago. But recent polls showed an upward movement to second place. Gillum and his supporters completed that upward movement by coming in first on election night.

Gillums victory sets up a historic opportunity for there to be three sitting African American Governors in the U.S. for the first time in history. Former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams is the Democratic nominee or Governor of Georgia after a decisive July 24 primary victory. Abrams would be the first African American woman to be a Governor from any state should she win. Former NAACP President Ben Jealous is running for Governor in Maryland against moderate incumbent Republican Larry Hogan. There are also four Black candidates for Lt. Governor running this year for the first time in history.

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Gillums progressive victory was cemented in part by a late visit by Sen. Bernie Sanders in support of his candidacy. Though he did not win, the Independent Vermont U.S. Senator who ran for President in 2016, focused on bread and butter issues many Americans identified with as he ran against Hillary Clinton. Sanders issue focus included income inequality, money in politics, corporate greed and raising the minimum wage. Despite the Democratic Partys support of the moderate blue dog style of former U.S. Representative Gwen Graham, voters had other ideas and a progressive shift has likely been spurred by Donald Trumps policies.

Gillum, a graduate of Florida A&M University, is viewed as the continuation of a progressive surge and a shift away from the establishment also seen in the victory shocking victory of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez over longtime Conrgressman Joe Crowley in a primary for his New York House seat. Though her victory is not necessarily a symptom of a widespread trend, it is a signal that a political wave in the opposite direction of Donald Trump is on the horizon in less than 70 days on November 6, 2018.
Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Gears Up For 48th Annual Legislative Conference, Welcomes Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris as Co-Chairs

WASHINGTONThe Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF) announced today, for the first time in the foundations history, two senators  Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey) and Senator Kamala D. Harris (California)  will serve as honorary co-chairs for the 48th Annual Legislative Conference (ALC), scheduled for September 12-16, 2018. Historically, co-chairs have been members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The premier conference, which takes place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., annually attracts nearly 10,000 people from across the world and is the only event of its kind in the United States. The conference offers more than 90 forums on public policy issues affecting black Americans.

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For more than 40 years, the Annual Legislative Conference has provided an extraordinary platform for people  domestic and abroad  to come together and discuss vital issues related to social justice, leadership, economic prosperity, entrepreneurship and much more, said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, chair, CBCF Board of Directors. As we continue to grow and expand the conference, we know that we must be unwavering in our approach to have the difficult conversations, elevate debates about the state of Black America, and also define new and innovative solutions.

The impact of civil and social movements over the last 50 years has played a major role in changing the trajectory of American history. This years ALC theme, The Dream Still Demands, focuses on the influence and legacy of these moments, while uplifting present-day champions in the fight for racial equality, justice and freedom.

As we approach the 48th year of hosting the Annual Legislative Conference, we find ourselves in a critical time where, now more than ever, diverse voices are imperative to the future of this nation, said A. Shuanise Washington, president and CEO, CBCF. We must rise to meet the demands of the moment and capitalize on actionable outcomes that will advance black Americans and move this country forward.

During the five-day conference, attendees will have the opportunity to delve into important conversations with industry leaders from across the globe on public health, gender equality, social mobility, LGBTQ rights and environmental sustainability, among many other topics. ALC provides a safe haven for black Americans to contribute their experiences, knowledge, and opinions to a larger, national dialogue.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundations Annual Legislative Conference is among the most important annual gatherings for black Americans, and I am honored to lead its 48th convening with Senator Harris, said Senator Cory Booker. The Conference theme, The Dream Still Demands, presents an important opportunity for our community to lead the national dialogue on so many pressing issues, from fixing our broken criminal justice system to creating economic opportunities for communities of color. We have so many urgent challenges that must be addressed, and Im looking forward to hearing from all of the incredible leaders who will be participating in the conference this September, added Senator Booker.

The Annual Legislative Conference is also a time to network and enjoy connecting with a diverse group of individuals. Networking and special events include the Exhibit Showcase with an on-site employment fair and free health screenings; the Prayer Breakfast; National Town Hall; Gospel Extravaganza; the Annual Celebration of Leadership in the Fine Arts, which honors the contributions of individuals in the performing and visual arts who have influenced our history and inspired generations; and the culminating event, the Phoenix Awards Dinner, which supports the CBCFs mission-critical programs including education, economic development, health and research.

The Annual Legislative Conference, over nearly five decades, has brought together some of the countrys greatest leaders, innovators, and job creators to address the most pressing issues facing black America, said Senator Kamala D. Harris. This year is no exception. The conference will provide a platform to advocate for the voiceless, the vulnerable, and all who believe in fulfilling the American promise of equality and justice for all. I look forward to confronting these issues head on, and working to create solutions that will lead to lasting change.

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The ALC is the leading policy conference on issues impacting African Americans and the global black community. Lawmakers, celebrities and concerned citizens attend the conference to partake in a plethora of forums on health, education, economic empowerment, the environment, civic engagement and more. The ALC is the largest platform in which the CBCF delivers against its mission to eliminate the disparities in the global black community.
Federal Indictment Targets Inglewood-Based Street Gang

Ten members and associates of an Inglewood-based street gang were arrested overnight and today on federal drug-trafficking and weapons charges alleging they used a fake convenience store as a front for manufacturing crack and distributed the drugs in Inglewood and South Los Angeles.

The indictment targets the leadership and key members of a Crips- affiliated street gang that allegedly manufactured and distributed crack cocaine from the Stop and Shop Market in an Inglewood strip mall on South Prairie Avenue, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

After cooking and packaging the crack at the store, the gang allegedly delivered drugs to customers at a variety of locations, including at a U.S. VETS office and the Social Security office in Inglewood, authorities said.

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Paul Delacourt, the assistant director in charge of the FBIs Los Angeles field office, said during a news conference at Inglewood City Hall said drug sales took place on a near daily basis out of the Stop and Shop over at least two years.

This is an investigation to take out the top tier of a specific local gang which had morphed into a criminal enterprise, so we think weve made a significant impact on that gang here in Inglewood and were suspecting the community will be safer as a result, Delacourt said.

Delacourt said the convenience store was operating solely as a front for the drug operation. Law enforcement raided the shop Tuesday night, arresting five people named in the federal indictment. The remaining arrests were made during Wednesday morning raids.

The gang members and their associates used violence and intimidation, including firearms, to maintain and expand their drug-dealing territory, to protect themselves, their drugs, and their drug proceeds from rival gangs and drug-dealing organizations, and to collect payment from drug customers, according to the indictment.

The indictment, filed in Los Angeles federal court, charges 15 defendants, 10 of whom were arrested Tuesday and Wednesday. Of the remaining five defendants, one was already in state custody, and four remain at large.

The four outstanding suspects were identified as Andre Bailey, 43; Steven Edwards, 20; Delshawn Johnson, 41; and Carnisha Connors, 29.

The 16-count indictment charges all 15 defendants in a conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. The indictment also charges various defendants with maintaining a drug-involved premises; possession with intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine; possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime; and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

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The lead defendants in the indictment are Glen Dwight Big Luck Love, 46, of Pasadena; Deshay Lewann Shay Bone King, 45, of South Los Angeles; and Wiley Venoy Slim Ivory II, 38, an Inglewood resident who was already in state custody on unrelated charges.

Prosecutors contend the trio ran the Stop and Shop that was nothing more than a drug processing and storage facility.

According to the indictment, several defendants discussed attempting to make the shop look like an actual retail store and getting window signs to tell drug customers and co-conspirators when to avoid going into the shop.

If convicted of all charges, each of the defendants would face decades in federal prison. The conspiracy count alone carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life without parole, prosecutors said.
Kavanaughs Civil Rights Views Studied Ahead of Confirmation

Brett Kavanaugh emailed his White House colleagues in June 2003 with an alert: The U.S. Supreme Court was about to release opinions on the University of Michigans use of race as a factor to admit students.

It was an issue of great interest to his boss, President George W. Bush who favored race-neutral admissions. Staff prepared a response anticipating the practice would be struck down, saying, We must be ever mindful not to use means that create another wrong and thus perpetuate our divisions in the pursuit of diversity.

But the next day, justices released a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Sandra Day OConnor upholding the universitys law school admissions policy, a disappointment that prompted then-Bush policy adviser Joel Kaplan to email Kavanaugh, then a White House attorney: Whats going on??? In a separate 6-3 opinion, the court said race could be a factor in undergraduate admissions, but not the deciding factor.

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There is no evidence of a reply from Kavanaugh from his time in the White House counsels office.

But as President Donald Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court, his views on affirmative action, along with voting rights and discrimination, are coming under intense scrutiny by civil rights organizations as the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to begin confirmation hearings Tuesday.

We are confident that if hes confirmed to the court, he would undermine the courts integrity and would prove a grave threat to civil rights, racial justice and the marginalized communities that the Legal Defense Fund represents, Janai Nelson, associate director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said Thursday as the organization announced opposition to Kavanaughs nomination.

Civil rights organizations that have been combing through Kavanaughs 300-plus decisions during 12 years as a federal appeals court judge in Washington, D.C., his work as a lawyer and his time inside Bushs White House say there are red flags. He co-wrote a brief as a private attorney in a case involving native Hawaiians that they fear signals his personal opposition to affirmative action, and he wrote the appellate court opinion upholding South Carolinas voter ID law.

Kavanaughs record also includes opinions that civil rights advocates would praise in other candidates, including that a single utterance of a racial epithet toward a black employee _ a word Kavanaugh said was probably the most offensive word in English could create a hostile work environment under federal law, and a suggestion that federal courts should make it clear that discriminatory actions by employers violate the Civil Rights Act.

That contrasting record underscores the challenge facing groups that already opposed Kavanaugh because he was on a list of potential nominees put forward by the conservative Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation, essentially certifying them as appropriately conservative for Trump. The president has vowed to move the high court to the right while replacing retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

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The White House had no comment for this story but referred The Associated Press to a former Kavanaugh law clerk, an African American, who said Kavanaugh is attuned to civil rights and racial justice issues.

Luke McCloud, who clerked for Kavanaugh from 2013 to 2014 and is now in private practice, praised Kavanaughs efforts to recruit and mentor minority lawyers, saying Kavanaugh acknowledges the history and current reality of race in this country and takes it into account as he can within the confines of his role as a judge.

Kavanaughs keen interest in affirmative action is evident in the released White House emails. Although he appeared careful to withhold his own opinion, he clearly was interested in Bushs anti-affirmative action views, often emailing and receiving articles and opinion pieces on the issue.

In private practice earlier, Kavanaugh wrote a brief along with failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork challenging a law banning non-native Hawaiians from voting in Office of Hawaiian Affairs elections. He also wrote an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal sharply criticizing the policy, but during confirmation hearings for the appeals court post, he said he wrote the piece to advance his clients position and refused to say whether he agreed.

The case involved a $300 million public trust fund set up by Congress to compensate ancestors of native Hawaiians whose land and cultural heritage were taken by the U.S. The state said only blood relatives could vote in board of trustees elections, while Kavanaugh challenged that as discriminatory to non-indigenous residents. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the law amounted to racial discrimination.

Kavanaughs brief and other comments around the case indicate that he thinks government will ultimately end up race-blind, which could signal where his own thinking is on affirmative action, said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, who also opposes Kavanaugh. His record is deeply disturbing  but there is a lot we dont know.

Opponents point to other issues that trouble them, especially his 2012 ruling on South Carolinas voter ID law. Kavanaugh said the statute was legal because those who had difficulty getting a photo ID still could vote by signing an affidavit. The law had been blocked by the Justice Department, which sided with those who said such laws make it more difficult for minorities to vote and are pushed by conservatives to dampen minority turnout.

But Kavanaugh also delayed the laws implementation to give voters who lacked IDs time to get them, acknowledging that most were black, and writing: There is too much of a risk to African-American voters for us to roll the dice.

Critics also question his record on employment discrimination, citing an appellate court case in which Kavanaugh disagreed with the majority of judges, who said that a Black woman fired from a job as House of Representatives deputy budget director could pursue claims of racial discrimination and retaliation in federal court.

Were mostly concerned about whether Judge Kavanaugh, if confirmed, would approach civil rights issues with the appropriate understanding and respect for the history of racial discrimination in this country, said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
LAUSD Teachers Overwhelmingly Vote to Authorize Strike

Los Angeles Unified School District teachers have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if labor negotiations continue to stall, union officials announced.

According to United Teachers Los Angeles, which represents about 33,000 teachers, 98 percent of its members who cast ballots voted in favor of a strike.

Arlene Inouye, chair of the UTLA bargaining team, called the vote a sharp rebuke of LAUSD Superintendent Austin Beutners agenda to starve our schools of resources, call them failures, opening the door to dismantling our school district.

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What are we asking for? Smaller class sizes, a fair pay raise, more nurses, counselors, psychologists, librarians. Less testing and more teaching. Charter and co-location regulation. Real support for school safety, Inouye said Friday.

The vote does not automatically mean a walkout will occur. But it gives union leadership the right to call a strike, depending on the status of labor talks with the district.

There has not been a teachers strike in the LAUSD since 1989.

In response to the vote, the district issued a statement saying it remains opposed to a strike and stands with students, families and employees to ensure learning and safety come first.

Students and families will bear the brunt of a strike, according to the district. We hope our shared responsibility to put students first will prevent a strike and lead to a common-sense resolution that recognizes the hard work of our employees while addressing the safety and instructional needs of students and the financial solvency of L.A. Unified.

UTLA has already declared the negotiations at an impasse, and a state mediator has been appointed in hopes of resolving the deadlock.

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But no mediation sessions have occurred, and none are scheduled until Sept. 27. The late date has led to accusations by UTLA that district officials have been delaying the process, with the union claiming it was prepared to begin mediation by mid-August. The district has denied the allegation, saying it accepted the Sept. 27 offered by the state mediator.

Meanwhile, both the district and the union have filed charges against the other with the state Public Employment Relations Board. The union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the district on Monday night, accusing officials of unlawfully interfering with the unions strike-authorization vote and failing to provide requested financial documents.

The district followed suit the next day, accusing UTLA of engaging in take-it-or-leave-it bargaining and failing to even consider any compromise for roughly 16 months.

Salary is one part of the division between the district and the union. United Teachers Los Angeles has asked for a 6.5 percent raise retroactive to July 1, 2016, with the possibility of future raises in a contract that would run through June 30, 2020.

The district has offered 6 percent, stretched out over a three-year period. Other district employee unions already have settled for about 6 percent, spread out over several years in various ways, but they could be entitled to additional compensation if the teachers get more.

The union has also called for steps to reduce class sizes and to increase accountability for charter schools.

The district has contended that the unions offer would increase the LAUSDs existing $500 million deficit in the current school year by another $813 million. It also claims the districts existing $1.2 billion reserve fund cannot be used to cover the union demands since it is already being used to offset the existing budget shortfall.
Man Gunned Down On 59th Street In South Los Angeles

A man was gunned down in the street in South Los Angeles today in an apparent gang-related shooting, and sheriffs detectives were searching for the shooter.

The killing took place about 4:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of East 59th Street in an unincorporated section of Los Angeles, Deputy Trina Schrader said.

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When deputies arrived at the scene they found the man lying in the middle of the street suffering from a gunshot wound, Schrader said. Paramedics were called but the victim died at the scene.

His name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

A motive for the shooting was unclear and theres no immediate suspect description.

Police asked anyone with information on this death to call the sheriffs homicide bureau at (323) 890-5500. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
Mourning Kofi Annan, Remembering Ron Walters

Kofi Annan made his transition in August. The seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, he worked up from the lower ranks (starting at age 24) of the international organization, to serve as head of peacekeeping operations, and four years into his term as UN Secretary-General, earning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Annan, born in the kente-weaving province of Kumasi, Ghana, was the first African to lead the United Nations. After leading the UN for a decade, he continued to serve the world in a peacekeeping role through his foundation and in a leadership role in the Elders, a peacekeeping group.

Kofi Annans contributions to the United Nations are twofold, in my opinion. First, he was committed to peace, and to the UNs peacekeeping role. He saw human rights as more important than state sovereignty and felt that the UN had a role in maintaining citizen rights in the face of state brutality.

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To be sure, he failed to recognize the threat to human rights in Rwanda (as did the Clinton administration and the rest of the world). Still, he expanded the role of the United Nations by asserting the importance of human rights.

Kofi Annans second significant contribution was his expanded definition of human rights, which included the fight against global poverty, global warming and AIDS. In other words, he felt that human rights included the right for us all to live in a better world, and he focused on the ways that predatory global capitalism shaped the ways many in the developing world lived.

Annan, the consummate diplomat, would not use the same words that I have. But he was passionate in advancing the vision of global politics that was both peaceful and expansive.

In these moments after his transition, African Americans must celebrate the legacy of Kofi Annan. We must commemorate an African man with a global vision by widening our lens to acknowledge our global view of, in the words of the late Dr. Ron Walters (the dean of African American political science), foreign policy justice.

Walters decried inconsistencies in US foreign policy  including the many ways that some nations were favored, and others were not  with Israel often having too preferred a status compared to Palestinian nations. He also opposed the uneven ways our country chose to intervene in country conflicts.

Through the lens of Walters, too little conversation about foreign policy justice took place, and African Americans were too often missing when these conversations took place.

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Walters was among those who felt that African American people needed to be more fully involved in the development of US foreign policy, not only around Africa but in general. He was a trusted advisor to Rev. Jesse Jackson, a longtime political science professor at Howard University (and later at the University of Maryland), and a prolific writer and speaker. He embraced the legacy of Kofi Annan and the vision of Afro-globalism. When we embrace Annan, we recognize the many ways that Dr. Ron Walters was pivotal in lifting awareness of African American people around global issues.

Both Annan and Walters were born in 1938, both would have turned 80 this year (Walters made his transition in 2010). Both provided a foundation of critical thinking around foreign policy issues and foreign policy justice. Thanks to Walters, African Americans embraced foreign policy issues more closely and critically. Thanks to Kofi Annan, the United Nations began to look at human rights more globally.

I do not hesitate to celebrate the legacy of Kofi Annan, a legacy that the Nobel Prize committee was an excellent representative of the United Nations and probably the most effective secretary-general in its history. At the same time, when I celebrate Annans legacy, I remember the legacy of Dr. Ron Walters, the civil rights activist (leading sit-ins in his hometown of Wichita, Kansas), iconic political science professor, and pioneering political activist and advisor to leaders, and submit that his legacy should motivate African Americans to be more fully committed to foreign policy justice.

Two men, Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Professor Ron Walters, embraced the vision of a safe, peaceful, equitable world and must be celebrated for it. Their legacy is in contrast to US leadership where our 45thPresident sows dissent and disparages the countries Annan and Walters so loved as shithole countries.
Newseum Honors First African American Woman to Cover White House

On Friday, Sept. 21, a new sculpture of Alice Allison Dunnigan, the first African American woman to receive press credentials to cover the White House and Congress, is scheduled to go on display at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

At the unveiling of the sculpture, featured guests are expected to tell the story of this pioneering journalist who rose to the top of her profession despite racist policies that segregated Black journalists and sexist attitudes that severely limited opportunities for women in the industry.

Alice Dunnigan endured poverty, segregation and sexism and she fought to fulfill her dream of becoming a journalist, designer Lauren Bohn wrote on Twitter.

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Alices story should give hope to anyone who has ever doubted his or her ability to make it through tough times or, much more painfully, his or her own worth, said political analyst Jordyn Holman.

Denver, Colo., Mayor Michael B. Hancock said the tribute is long overdue.

Alice Dunnigan was a barrier breaker for women and people of color to reach higher heights in journalism, Hancock said.

The announcement by the Newseum comes as current CNN White House Correspondent April Ryan  whos also African-American  revealed she has hired a bodyguard because of the intimidation and threats shes received covering the president and his administration.

Ryan, who has earned recognition for her fearless reporting on the White House, couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

Dunnigan, who began her journalism career in Kentucky before moving to Washington, D.C., was a pioneering journalist who rose to the top of her profession despite racist policies that segregated black journalists and sexist attitudes that severely limited opportunities for women in a male-dominated workplace.

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The life-sized bronze sculpture was created by Kentucky sculptor Amanda Matthews and is being cast at the Prometheus Foundry in Lexington, Ky., Newseum officials said in a press release.

During World War II, Dunnigan moved to Washington, D. C. to work at the War Labor Board. After the war ended, Dunnigan went to work for the Associated Negro Press and became the head of that organizations Washington Bureau on Jan. 1, 1947, a job she held for 14 years supplying stories to 112 African American newspapers across the United States.

Dunnigan was the first African American woman accredited to report on the White House, covering presidential press conferences.

She also became the first African American woman to gain press credentials to report on Congress, the State Department and the Supreme Court. She also made history by being the first African American woman on a presidential tour when she went on the whistle-stop tour with President Truman, according to the Newseum.

Throughout Dunnigans career, she battled the rampant racism and sexism that dominated the mostly white and male professions of journalism and politics. She once famously stated, Race and sex were twin strikes against me. Im not sure which was the hardest to break down.

In 2015, the Newseum hosted a program about Dunnigan, Inside Media: Alice Dunnigan, Pioneer of the National Black Press.

The program featured Carol McCabe Booker, who edited and annotated a new edition of Dunnigans autobiography, Alone Atop the Hill.

The sculpture will be on display at the Newseum through Dec. 16, 2018. It will then be taken to Dunnigans hometown of Russellville, Ky., and installed on the grounds of the West Kentucky African American Heritage Center as part of a park dedicated to the civil rights movement.

At a time of growing racial divide courtesy of the Trump administration, this is a very welcomed development, said journalist James Kosur.

Alice Allison Dunnigan deserves this honor  she was a true pioneer in journalism for women and the African American community, Kosur said.
Obama to receive award, give speech at University of Illinois

Former President Barack Obama will speak at the University of Illinois, where hell also receive an award for ethics in government.

The university says Obama will speak at 11 a.m. Friday at Foellinger Auditorium in Urbana. Tickets will be distributed to university students and are not available to the public.

The universitys Institute of Government and Public Affairs will honor Obama with the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government. A national selection committee chooses the recipient of the award.

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Obama spokeswoman Katie Hill tells The News-Gazette Obamas speech will offer new thoughts on this moment and what it requires from the American people. She says hell also encourage people to vote.

The award honors the legacy of Douglas, who served in the U.S. Senate from 1949 to 1967.
Reward Offered in Case of Woman Who Was Hit, Dragged, Killed in South L.A.

Police officials and family members of a 62-year- old woman who was dragged for blocks after being struck by two vehicles in South Los Angeles pleaded today for information leading to the two drivers while announcing a $50,000 reward in the case.

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Joan Davis was killed about 12:40 a.m. on Aug. 2. She had been walking east across Central Avenue north of 81st Street when she was hit by a white Ford Econoline van that was headed south, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The van didnt stop.

Additional vehicles passed Davis prone body until a gray hatchback struck and dragged her for a block, police said.

This driver then pulled to the southwest curb of 82nd Street and Central Avenue for approximately three minutes, according to a police statement.

After stopping, the driver exited the vehicle, walked around and then got back in and drove off, heading south with the victim still beneath the hatchback, police said.

The victims body finally becomes dislodged on Central Avenue at 84th Place, police said. The driver of the hatchback continued southbound on Central Avenue towards Manchester.

Davis was pronounced dead at the scene.

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The LAPD reported that the fatal collisions were recorded on surveillance video.

If I dont get you, Gods going to get you, Davis son Roscoe Scally said at a news conference near the scene of the fatality.

Davis sister Olivia Davis said her sibling had grandchildren and was loved. She appealed for the culprits to turn themselves in and for witnesses to step forward.

This was a human being, you got to have a heart, Davis said.

Anyone with information about the case was urged to call LAPD South Traffic Division detectives Michael Flannery or Ryan Moreno at (323) 421-2500. Calls after hours or on weekends should be directed to (877) LAPD-24-7. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS or at lacrimestoppers.org.
Senator Harris Introduces Maternal Health Bill to Address Racial Disparities in Childbirth

On August 27, United States Senator Kamala Harris introduced the Maternal Care Access and Reducing Emergencies (CARE) Act, a bill aimed at reducing racial disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity. Harris felt it was important to introduce the bill, she said, because African American women are dying due to racial biases that permeate our medical system. Thirteen of the senators colleagues introduced the bill along with her, stating that Black women are at risk for pregnancy related deaths, three to four times more than their White counterparts (according to the Centers for Disease Control).

Health equity for Black women can only happen if we recognize and address persistent biases in our health system, said Harris in a statement released to the public.

This bill is a step towards ensuring that all women have access to culturally competent, holistic care, and to address the implicit biases in our system.

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During a pregnancy, say medical experts from the CDC, a womans body goes through many changes that are normal, until they become complications.

A pregnancy related death is defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy or within one year of the end of pregnancy from a pregnancy complication, a chain of events initiated by pregnancy or the aggravation of an unrelated condition by the physiologic effects of pregnancy, they said.

Researchers havent been able to put a finger on the exact reason(s) for the disparities, however, a number of factors like poor access to pre and post natal care, inadequate medical treatment and chronic stress have been contributors. Last year, television judge Glenda Hatchetts son filed a lawsuit against Cedars Sinai for the wrongful death of his wife Kiyra Dixon, after he said she had been severely neglected during her childbirth at the hospital. And, in February, athlete Serena Williams nearly died during the week after giving birth, from a pulmonary embolism.

Lucky for her, she said, she had a team of doctors and nurses at a hospital with state of the art equipment.

They knew exactly how to handle this complicated turn of events. If it werent for their professional care, I wouldnt be here today, she told reporters at CNN.

However, Harris and her colleagues said there are plenty of other women who arent so lucky.

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Women of color continue to face disproportionate rates of maternal mortality and morbidity in this country, said Jennifer Jacoby Altscher, Federal Policy Counsel, Center for Reproductive Rights.

This bill aims to address these racial disparities head-on through the creation of programs that have proven to lead to better health for women of color.

Legislators said that the CARE Act creates two new grant programs focused on reducing racial disparities in maternal health. One will be for implicit bias training to address judgement or behavior on the behalf of medical personnel based on implicit attitudes and stereotypes. The second will go towards the Pregnancy Medical Home Demonstration Project, which establishes a demonstration project to assist up to 10 states with implementing and sustaining pregnancy medical home (PMH) programs to incentivize maternal health care providers to deliver integrated health care services to pregnant women and new mothers and reduce adverse maternal health outcomes, maternal deaths, and racial health disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity.

We applaud Senator Harris on putting forward this critical legislation and appreciate her commitment to ending racial disparities in maternal health care and outcomes, said Elizabeth Gay, MPH, Co-Director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance.

Addressing racial discrimination and implicit bias is an important but often overlooked part of improving maternal health in the United States. We are grateful for Senator Harris brave leadership.

Added Lisa Hollier, M.D., M.P.H, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), We are proud to endorse Senator Harris legislation, the Maternal CARE Act. This bill gives young people entering the medical field access to implicit bias training, as well as establishes a pregnancy medical home demonstration program.

We know that racial and ethnic disparities in womens health  including in maternal mortality, an issue I have dedicated my ACOG presidency to addressing  cannot be reversed without addressing racial bias; both implicit and explicit. Thats why, in partnership with the Council on Patient Safety in Womens Health Care and the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, ACOG is actively involved in educating health care providers on implicit bias to improve womens health. We look forward to working with Senator Harris to ensure this legislation becomes law, so we can work toward realizing an equitable health care system.
Smokey and the Bandit Star Burt Reynolds Dead at 82

Burt Reynolds, the handsome film and television star known for his acclaimed performances in Deliverance and Boogie Nights, commercial hits such as Smokey and the Bandit and for an active off-screen love life which included relationships with Loni Anderson and Sally Field, has died at age 82.

His death was confirmed Thursday by his agent Todd Eisner. In a statement, his niece, Nancy Lee Hess, called his death totally unexpected, although she acknowledged he had health issues.

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Burton Leon Reynolds was born on Feb. 11, 1936, the son of a police chief who looked down on his sons ambitions to become an actor. After several years in California, he returned in 1969 to Florida, where he had gone to college. He bought eight acres of waterfront property in the wealthy community of Jupiter and spent most of the rest of his life there, devoting much of his later years to his only son, Quinton, whom he had adopted with Anderson.

He opened the Burt Reynolds Jupiter Theatre and a Burt Reynolds and Friends Museum, where he displayed his memorabilia and sometimes lectured to drama students.
Stop Kavanaugh: President Trumps Supreme Court Nominee Must Not Join the High Court

It is confidence in the men and women who administer the judicial system that is the true backbone of the rule of law.  Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, 531 U.S. 98, Bush v. Gore [Dissent], December 12, 2000

There are many words one could use to describe President Trumps White House, but you might be hard pressed to choose transparent as one of them. It should come as no surprise to anyone who even casually follows politics that a president who bucks decades of tradition and refuses (to this day) to release his tax returns is offering the American public a nominee for the Supreme Court whose public record of work remains largely unknown and unavailable.

Unfortunately, Trumps campaign and subsequent presidency has acclimated much of the public, and many of our political leaders, to lowered expectations of open and transparent governance, but this growing tolerance for the erosion of institutional democratic norms must stop now or our nations highest court, and the hard-fought-for gains of human and civil rights groups, will be lost for generations to come.

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If the past is prologue, Judge Brett Kavanaugh will do the civil rights community no favors as a sitting Supreme Court justice. From what we can glean from his court decisions, Judge Kavanaugh has a strong record of ruling against policies and protections that seek to address injustices levied on marginalized communities.

Concerned citizens can call 202-224-3121 to tell their Senators to vote no on Kavanaughs confirmation.

In 2011, President Obamas administration blocked a South Carolina law requiring residents to show photo ID before voting. In 2012, Judge Kavanaugh wrote an opinion upholding that very same law. In a keynote address to the Heritage Foundation, Judge Kavanaugh shared his view that the Supreme Court was wrong to uphold the Affordable Care Acts insurance mandate as constitutional. And in his only decision on record concerning abortion rights, Judge Kavanaugh dissented from a decision to allow an undocumented, teenage detainee to seek an abortion, seeking to further delay the process while dismissing the concerns and desires of the young woman.

When fundamental liberties are at stake, the public and our Congress must act. To fully evaluate what kind of justice Judge Kavanaugh will be, we must know what kind of justice and public servant he has been. This is why the National Urban League has joined forces with sister civil rights organizations to demand that Judge Kavanaughs September 4 confirmation hearing be delayed until his entire record can be fully, impartially and carefully examined by the Senate. Based on the research compiled by the Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights Under Law and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, he is not fit to serve on the nations highest court.

A rushed nomination process conducted without the full trove of government documents and records related to his nomination will leave a cloud of illegitimacy hanging over any eventual nomination and it will undermine the publics confidence in our nations highest court. A Supreme Court appointment is a lifetime appointment. In the recent past, requesting and receiving all relevant documentation and records was the norm. That should remain the case today, especially when so many rights and liberties hang in the balance.

Just because a president, who has the constitutional duty and authority to fill court vacancies, nominates a justice, it is not a foregone conclusion that the nominee will make it to the benchjust ask Merrick Garland, President Obamas pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. In the 229-year history of the Supreme Court, presidents, beginning with George Washington, have nominated 163 men and the occasional woman for the Supreme Court, but only 113 have served on our nations highest court.

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There have been moments in our history when our nation has had to fight to ensure that the court swings more towards justice and not a particular partisan ideology. While Senate Republicans do not need a single vote from Democrats to confirm Judge Kavanaugh, they do need to know that we the people are watching, and come Election Day, we can and will make our thoughts known with our votes.

To continue with the nomination process under this unnecessary and politically damaging cloud of secrecy would be a supremely bad decision that would undermine our nations judicial branch.
Taste of Soul Spotlight: Moon Merch

This vendor is bringing a unique and original sense of style for those not afraid of being themselves.

Taste of Soul (TOS) is comingits literally right around the corner and will feature vendors galore. This festival is definitely known for its food vendors but you will also find vital information, clothes and a variety of merchandise. Moon Merch will be at TOS this year and they are bringing their brand for the odd or weird.

Keisha and Krystal Carter are filling a niche with Moon Merch targeting customers who have a distinct and particular taste.

Moon Merch offers clothing, jewelry, and accessories that may not speak to the average consumer, according to the Carter sisters.

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Individuality is our mottowe love expressing ourselves through our merchandise and products, and we hope by doing so it will encourage others to go out and be yourself.

The Carter sisters are from Long Beach CA, and were raised in Bellflower, CA. Keisha went to school for fashion design and is currently an aspiring bag and clothing designer. Krystal has a history and background in art and has a passion for digital art.

We both have keen interests in alternative fashion and art, stated the sisters about their style.

We both decided to merge our interests and talents together to start our brand Moon Merch.

Moon Merch was established earlier this year and utilizes both sisters creative talents. Together, they had been collaborating for a few years on different projects but then decided on merging together to build a stronger brand together.

Moon Merch will be participating in its first TOS festival come October 20, but the Carter sisters attended the festival a couple years ago.

We definitely enjoyed the vibe of the festival, and felt we would be a great fit for it, said the sisters about TOS.

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We enjoyed the food, performances and just the overall energy.

We are really looking forward to being a part of this monumental event.

Do you like clothing and items you cant find anywhere else? Do you have an eclectic sense of fashion? Do you just have a tendency to be drawn to original merchandise that is a little out of the ordinary? Well, you need to visit Moon Merch at TOS!

Make sure you visit Keisha and Krystals booth and see what these talented ladies have to offer.

Creatively we vibe and flow together so well and all of our styles and interest are very closely related, said the sisters about working together. Our brand, Moon Merch, 1000 percent embodies individuality, which is what our brand encouragesnot being afraid to express yourself!

For more information on Taste of Soul, please visit tasteofsoul.org

Get the Taste of Soul App for up-to-the-minute performer & stage info, interactive maps, exclusive offers, discounts, contests and more available on Apple App Store and Google Play.
Thirteen Health Care Workers Arrested At Labor Day Kaiser Protest

Thirteen union activists marked Labor Day by getting peacefully arrested to protest plans by Kaiser Permanente to reduce staffing, which the giant health-care chain says is necessary to contain costs.

Workers linked hands and sat down on pavement near Imperial Highway at Bellflower Boulevard in front of the Kaiser Permanente in Downey, at 9333 E. Imperial Highway.

The protest march began at 10:30 a.m. and ended peacefully around noon, according to Downey Police Sgt. Maria Villegas.

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Police said they made 13 arrests but would not provide details. Westbound Imperial Highway was closed at Bellflower Boulevard much of the day, as the planned confrontation unfolded.

Unionized health care workers have been protesting since May at Kaiser Permanente facilities across the state, including in Harbor City, Baldwin Park and West Los Angeles.

Kaiser is raking in money and yet its acting like it has no choice but to outsource jobs, relocate workers and pay new employees less, union member Lanette Griffin said in a statement released by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West last spring.

It makes no sense because Kaiser Permanente is a nonprofit organization and it is supposed to be putting the communitys interests first.

The union has accused Kaiser of boosting its bottom line while making cuts that could hurt patient care. It says that the hospital plans to lay off pharmacy warehouse workers in Downey and make further staff cuts at other warehouses while relocating call center jobs in Los Angeles, Baldwin Park and Woodland Hills to other areas where workers will earn less.

We are disappointed that the current leadership of SEIU-UHW has chosen to mischaracterize Kaiser Permanentes strong commitment to labor and to pursue an adversarial, destructive approach to its relationships with several California health care systems, John Nelson, vice president of communications for Kaiser Permanente, said in a statement Monday.

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The unions claims that we have announced hundreds of layoffs or relocations at our call centers is simply not true, Nelson continued. We have talked with the union about ways to significantly improve our appointment call center operations in Southern California, and to do so thoughtfully and over time to minimize the chance that any current employee would be forced to lose their job.

Nelson also addressed the pharmacy layoffs.

Weve been working with SEIU-UHW for more than a year to transition our internal pharmacy warehouse operations to an existing, proven service provided by UPS Supply Chain Solutions, he said. This change, which may affect up to 200 jobs across the state, is needed to address the many regulatory, technical and efficiency challenges we face now and in the future.

Whats important is that we never make decisions like this lightly. We dont know of any other employer who offers more generous support to employees who are affected by job changes: We try to retrain and reassign our people first, and if that isnt feasible, we provide them up to one year of salary and benefits.
Three Sentenced for Robbery, Beating in Long Beach

Three men were sentenced today for their role in the robbery and 12-hour beating of a man in Long Beach, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office announced.

Patrick John Adams (dob 5/10/94) of San Diego was sentenced to 17 years in state prison. On July 31, Adams pleaded no contest to one felony count each of assault with a semiautomatic firearm and dissuading a witness by force or threat. He admitted inflicting great bodily injury and using a pistol in the assault.

Eric Javier Riddle-Rios (dob 7/15/93) of Anaheim and Ryan Scott Urban (dob 5/14/93) of San Diego were sentenced to six years in state prison. Riddle-Rios pleaded no contest on July 31 to one felony count of second-degree robbery and Urban entered a no contest plea to one felony count of assault with a semiautomatic firearm.

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Deputy District Attorney Lucrezia Pratico prosecuted the case.

Adams, assisted by the other two defendants, assaulted the victim on Feb. 20, 2015, and held him until the next day. During the prolonged robbery, the victim was pistol-whipped and his ATM card was used to steal his money, the prosecutor said.

On Feb. 21, 2015, when the victim was taken to a bank to withdraw more money, he managed to get help from bank personnel, the prosecutor added.

Case NA101291 was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department.
WATCH: Harris Slams Confirmation Process, Suggests Kavanaugh Would Prioritize Trump Over Americans

Senator Harris today slammed Kavanaughs confirmation process and suggested Kavanaugh will prioritize Trumps agenda over Americans.

Senator Harris: Im concerned his loyalty will be to the president who appointed him, and not to the people of the United States, Harris said.

Harris told of the impact the Supreme Court has had on her own life, pointing to the Brown v. Board of Education decision.

At Kavanaugh's hearing today, @KamalaHarris told of the impact the Supreme Court has had on her own life, pointing to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. pic.twitter.com/RM1qPYS4IR  DNC Press (@dncpress) September 4, 2018

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Senator Harris: So for me, a Supreme Court seat is not only about academic issues of legal precedent or judicial philosophy. It is personal. When we talk about our nations highest court and the men and women who sit on it, were talking about the impact that one individual on that court can have, impact on people youll never meet and whose names youll never know.

Harris continued to call on Senate Republicans to delay Kavanaughs hearing. Harris earlier said that we cannot possibly move forward until senators had time to review the 42,000 new records that were released just last night.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to be recognized to ask a question before we proceed. The committee received just last night  less than 15 hours ago  thousands of documents that we have not had a chance to read or review or analyze. We cannot possibly move forward. pic.twitter.com/IWSeM6AtNx  Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) September 4, 2018

Senator Harris: Mr. Chairman, I would like to be recognized to ask a question before we proceed. The committee received just last night  less than 15 hours ago  42,000 pages of documents that we have not had a chance to review or read or review or analyze. We cannot possibly move forward.
WATCH: Senator Cory Booker explains why he released confidential documents regarding supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh

WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today publicly released several documents previously marked Committee confidential from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaughs time as White House Counsel under President George W. Bush.

As Ive been saying from the beginning, this process has been a sham, Senator Booker said. The fact that tens of thousands of documents revealing a Supreme Court nominees views on key issues were deemed Committee Confidential and not available to the public reflects the absurdity of this process. The public has a right to access documents about a Supreme Court nominees views on issues that are profoundly important, such as race and the law. This process has demonstrated an unprecedented level of secrecy and opaqueness that undermines the Senates Constitutional duty to advice and consent.

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Last month, Booker joined Senate Democrats in advocating for the full public release of the 141,000 documents related to Judge Kavanaughs record that had been marked Committee Confidential.

The documents Booker released today contain several emails regarding Judge Kavanaughs concerning views on racial profiling and affirmative action  emails that Booker referenced during his questioning of Kavanaugh last night.

In one email, with the subject line racial profiling, Judge Kavanaugh remarked that he generally favored race-neutral security measures, but thought there was an interim question of whether the government should use racial profiling before a supposedly race-neutral system could be developed sometime in the future.

Booker asked Judge Kavanaugh to further explain his views on these subjects during questioning yesterday, but Kavanaugh refused to answer.

The set of documents can be downloaded at the following link:

https://www.scribd.com/document/387988906/Booker-Confidential-Kavanaugh-Hearing
A South Korean official says North Koreas leader commented that he is committed to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

National security advisor Chung Eui-yong also said that the leaders of North and South Korea are to meet in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, from September 18th to the 20th. Chung made the announcement Thursday in Seoul.

One day earlier, Chung led a delegation to the North Korean capital to confirm details of the planned meeting. He also met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim said to be frustrated

Thursday, Chung told reporters about his talks with Kim. He said Kim confirmed his commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The official added that Kim also promised to cooperate with both South Korea and the United States.

Chung said that Kims faith in U.S. President Donald Trump is unchanged since their summit in Singapore on June 12.

News of the comment brought a statement of thanks from Trump on Twitter.

Chung noted that Kim said he wishes for North Korea and the U.S. to end their hostilities by the end of Trumps first term in office in 2021.

The Associated Press reports that Chung said Kim expressed frustration over the international communitys reaction to measures taken by the North.

Several measures were meant to show the Norths willingness to end its banned weapons programs. These include disabling part of the Sohae missile launch area and destruction of tunnels used to test nuclear weapons. Last month, North Korea also returned 55 sets of human remains to the United States. They are believed to be those of American soldiers who died in the Korean War.

Kim said he would take more active measures toward denuclearization if his moves were met with similar measures, Chung said.

The South Korean delegation came to Pyongyang as U.S.-North Korean diplomatic efforts appeared to have cooled. Last month, Trump cancelled a planned trip by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang. He said not enough progress had been made toward denuclearization.

Critics of the most recent negotiation efforts say North Korea has, in the past, said it would end its nuclear program. They say the North has often sought to gain economic aid and then failed to keep its promises.

Chinas part in negotiations

The most recent developments come as North Korea prepares to mark its 70th anniversary on September 9. Representatives of North Koreas close ally, China, are expected to be at the special ceremony.

Chinese parliamentary chief Li Zhanshu is set to attend, not President Xi Jinping. Li is the third ranking member in Chinas Communist Party.

Stephen Noerper is a senior director at the Korea Society in New York City.

He said, while China has listened to North Koreas concerns, the country has reduced trade with its neighbor and placed pressure on it. North Korea continues to face strong United Nations restrictions because of its banned nuclear and missile program.

President Trump has called on China to do more to get North Korea to take part in talks on denuclearization.

Noerper said South Korea is acting as a moderator between the U.S. and the North. He said this position is risky for South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Moons popularity at home has fallen since his earlier meetings with Kim and the Trump-Kim summit.

Moon spoke to his aides Thursday about the next meeting with Kim. He said the talks will speed up negotiations between the U.S. and North Korea on the issue of denuclearization.

The newly announced summit between the Korean leaders would come just before the yearly gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York.

Im Mario Ritter.

Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English from VOA, AP and Reuters sources. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

frustration n. the fact of being prevented from succeeding or doing something

goodwill n. a kind, helpful, or friendly feeling or attitude

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
Thirty-seven year old Sara Tasneem once had big plans for her future.

During her first year in high school, Tasneem had decided she wanted to join the United States Air Force and go to law school. But her American-born father had different ideas. He gave her to a man to be married when she was only 15 years old.

At the time, Tasneem visited her father during the summer months. Normally, while attending school, she lived with her mother.

My dad had become involved in a veryits basically kind of like a cult. Its separate from the religion of Islam. Its different in its practices and beliefs, she said. Growing up in the group, it was your role as a girl that you would just be a wife and a mom.

Sara Tasneem is not her real name, but one she used to protect her privacy.

Pregnant at only 16

Tasneems father told her that, as a young woman, she was at an age when boys would start paying attention to her. He said she had to marry because sex outside of marriage was not unacceptable.

Tasneem was spiritually married to a man who was 28, 13 years older than her. She was then taken away to her husbands homeland. She told VOA she does not wish to identify the name of the country.

Tasneem and her husband returned to the United States when she was 16 and pregnant with her first child. They were legally married in Reno, Nevada. Tasneem said her husband, like her father, was abusive.

I got really depressed, and I just remembered seeing kids my age going to school and thinking I want to be one of those kids. Why cant I go to school? she asked.

Not stable marriages

The United Nations considers marriage before age 18 to be a human rights violation. While the highest numbers of child marriages take place in the least developed nations, they are still a reality in the U.S.

Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, or UCLA, looked at information from the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey. They found that from 2010-2014, about 78,000 Americans between the ages of 15 and 17 said they were married.

Jody Heymann was one of the researchers. She heads the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Heymann notes that girls who marry at a young age often experience health and social problems.

They are less likely to finish high school, 31 percent more likely to land in poverty in adulthood, and for girls, their health is threatened when they give birth young and the health of their babies is threatened, Heymann said.

She added that one difference between the United States and the rest of the world is that American boys are also getting married young.

Rates of child marriage in US

The Census Bureau numbers showed that for every 1,000 children, nearly seven girls under the age of 18 were married. Among underage boys, the rate was nearly six for every 1,000 children.

The Census Bureau study showed higher numbers of children of American Indian and Chinese American ancestry were married. Immigrant children were also more likely than U.S.-born children to have been married. Child marriages were also not linked to any one religion.

There are child marriages across all ethnic groups and countries of origin, but those children who come from families that originated in Latin America, the Middle East or East Asia do have higher rates of child marriage, Heymann said.

In the states of West Virginia, Hawaii and North Dakota, more than 10 out of every 1,000 children reported being married at the time of the study.

Maine, Rhode Island and Wyoming, three other states, have much lower rates of child marriage, with less than 4 out of every 1,000 children being married.

The study found 20 percent of married children were living with their husband or wife; most of the rest were living with their parents.

In one out of four, by the time they turn 18, they are already divorced or separated, Heymann noted.

I felt robbed

Tasneem had two children with her husband before she was able to end her marriage.

I really felt robbed. I felt robbed of my education and to this day Im fighting to get my education back so its a very long process because not only are you 10 steps behind your peers but now youre saddled with the responsibility of taking care of children on your own for the most part, Tasneem said.

Her children are now grown adults, and she recently remarried. But getting to this point was not easy.

Theres really no way to make somebody whole after taking away their freedom, Tasneem said.

She is now working on a higher-level education study program. She wants to be an activist for womens rights and fight human rights abuses.

Im Phil Dierking.

Elizabeth Lee reported this story for VOANews.com. Phil Dierking adapted her story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

cult - n. a small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous

originate - v. to begin to exist

practice - v. to live according to the customs and teachings of (a religion)

role - n. the part that someone has in a family, society, or other group

saddle - n. to cause (someone or something) to have (a problem, burden, responsibility, etc.)

spouse - n. a husband or wife
Top Trump administration officials say they are not the writer of a New York Times opinion piece sharply critical of President Donald Trump.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on the issue during his visit to India. He called the opinion piece sad. He criticized the media for what he said were its efforts to undermine this administration.



Vice President Mike Pence also denied writing the opinion piece. His deputy chief of staff said Pences office is above such amateur acts.

The director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, released a statement denying that he or his top deputy wrote the piece.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also issued denials.

The Times said the writer is a senior administration official whose job would be at risk if the person's identity were to be made public.



The opinion piece says that Trumps staff often takes action to block the president from action.

The writer of the piece says he or she wants Americans to know that there are adults in the room.

The writer describes the president as impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.

Trump has spoken and written about the piece several times since its publication Wednesday. In one tweet, he demanded that the newspaper name the source for legal action.

Trump wrote, Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

The demand came shortly after Trump published a one-word message on Twitter: TREASON?



Trump was asked about the piece on Wednesday following an event at the White House. He called it "gutless" and launched into an extended criticism of the newspaper.



They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them because they're very dishonest people, the president told reporters.



Trump described the writer of the opinion piece as someone probably who is failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons.



The piece says administration officials have discussed the possible use of the 25th Amendment. That measure defines methods to legally remove a president from office.



However, the writer says no one wants to cause a constitutional crisis. The piece reports, So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  it's over.



White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement in which she described the piece as a new low for the so-called paper of record.



Sanders said The Times should apologize. She called the story's publication another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the President.



The press secretary accused the writer of not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. She said the writer should resign from the administration.

The opinion piece in The New York Times is similar to parts of a new book about Trump by reporter Bob Woodward. Short parts of Fear: Trump in the White House were published Tuesday in The Washington Post. The book is set for release next Tuesday.



Trump called Woodwards new work fiction.

Im Lucija Millonig

And I'm Phil Dierking





Steve Herman reported this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

adversarial - adj. involving two people or two sides who oppose each other

amateur - adj. a person who is not skillful at a job or other activity

anonymous - adj. not named or identified

concerted - adj. done in a planned and deliberate way usually by several or many people

ego - n. the opinion that you have about yourself

fiction - n. written stories about people and events that are not real

gutless - adj. lacking courage

impetuous - adj. acting or done quickly and without thought

petty - adj. not very important or serious

phony - adj. not true, real, or genuine

steer - v. to control the direction in which something moves
Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon 850 processor in June, promising it would offer up to a 30 percent performance improvement for Windows-on-ARM laptops and tablets when compared with the Snapdragon 835 chip.

Based on my experience with the Asus NovaGo and its Snapdragon 835 processor, Windows on ARM needs all the performance boosting it can get. So Im looking forward to finding out whether Qualcomms chip lives up to its promise.

We might not have too long to wait to find out. Last week Lenovo introduced the first computer expected to ship with the new processor. And today the Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS showed up at the FCC website, suggesting that it could be ready to hit the streets soon.

Lenovo says the computer has a 13.3 inch full HD touchscreen display, pen support, a 360-degree hinge that lets you use the system in laptop or tablet modes, up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.1 storage.

It measures half an inches thick, weighs about 2.6 pounds, features always-connected capabilities thanks to an integrated cellular modem and smartphone-like connected standby features. and the Lenovo Yoga C630 WOS should get long battery life thanks to its energy-efficient processor. Its also a fanless computer that should operate silently.

Heres a roundup of tech news from around the web.

You can keep up on the latest headlines by following Liliputing on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.

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Microsoft released two major Windows 10 feature updates per year, but if youre not ready to upgrade right away, the company continues to support older versions for 18 months. Thats not a lot of time compared to the 5 years of support Microsoft offered for earlier versions of Windows, but since Windows 10 updates are free, theres not much reason for most users to hold off on an update for more than a year and a half.

Enterprise customers, on the other hand, might have very good reasons. So after receiving complaints about the rapid pace of updates, Microsoft has announced a new support strategy.

Feature updates to Windows 10 Enterprise and Window 10 Education editions will receive up to 30 months of support. Home, Pro, and Office 365 ProPlus users will still get only 18 months.

Things are actually a little more complicated than that: Microsoft says itll offer 30 months of support but only for feature updates released in the fall. Spring updates will continue to receive 18 months of support.

The idea isnt that the fall updates are more robust, but that Microsoft expects customers to be more likely to update in the fall and the move means the company only has to offer extended support for half as many versions of the operating system. So while my first thought was that the fall releases are the equivalent of Ubuntus LTS (long term support) releases, that appears not to be the case.

Anyway, Microsoft is still encouraging most individual users to update more frequently to get the latest security updates, bug fixes, and new features. But businesses and schools that may want to thoroughly test new versions of Windows and ensure that the apps they need are compatible can now do that every other year instead of once or twice a year.

via The Verge and All About Microsoft

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Team MAVLAB of The Netherlands, is $1 million richer after their autonomous drone won the 2019 Artificial Intelligence Robotic Racing (AIRR) Circuit race. The team is part of a drone research lab from Delft University of Technology where they developed algorithms to drive their autonomous drone through the track at a top finishing-time of 12 seconds  25% faster than the second-place drone.

AI played a major part in our solution and we are thrilled to see it turned out to be very reliable during many of DRLs AIRR races. The team worked super hard on this and we are very grateful we were rewarded with this beautiful prize from Lockheed Martin. I would like to congratulate the other AlphaPilot Team finalists for making it this far, and I cant wait to see how autonomous drone technology innovation will continue to evolve over the next few years, said Christophe De Wagter, Team MAVLAB Lead.

AIRR, the autonomous drone racing series, accelerates AI innovation through futuristic sports competition. The challenge, sponsored by Lockheed Martin, competed nine international AlphaPilot Teams of students, engineers and programmers from five continents competed in AIRR by developing AI that could autonomously pilot standard, custom-built DRL RacerAI drones the fastest.

The AlphaPilot open innovation challenge is about going fast, taking risks and pushing the boundaries of AI and autonomous flight, said Lockheed Martin Chief Technology Officer Keoki Jackson. We are excited to recognize Team MAVLAB and award them with the $1 million prize, but the most energizing part of this competition is seeing how Lockheed Martins partnership with DRL inspired great emerging global AI talent to help our world leverage AI and autonomous technologies.

As a bonus lap to push the limits of performance between human and machine, Team MAVLAB participated in an AI vs. human-piloted drone race. Both flying the DRL RacerAI drone, Team MAVLABs AI raced against DRL Pilot Gabriel Gab707 Kocher, one of the best drone pilots in the world, who competes in the 2019 DRL Allianz World Championship Season. While DRL Pilot Gab707 won the race, finishing in six seconds, five seconds faster than Team MAVLAB, showcasing the ever-closing gap in performance between AI and humans.

Through this series, Lockheed Martin was able to foster a growing community of artificial intelligence experts by providing a high-visibility opportunity to shine and compete, while simultaneously catalyzing innovative approaches toward autonomous systems command and control.

This program was financed through tax returns and demonstrates our commitment toward STEM and giving back to the community.

For fans interested in watching the futuristic final of AI-powered drones racing against each other, DRL will air highlights from the AIRR Championship on Sunday, Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and via @DroneRaceLeague on Twitter.
In 2017 four Swedish men were sentenced by Linkoping District Court [ see here ] to jail for their role in running and operating the following torrent websites: Dreamfilm, PirateHub, TFplay, and Tankafetast.





As also explained on TorrentFreak , the four sites initially generated millions of visitors thanks to users seeking to download movies, available on those websites, via bit-torrent clients such as Utorrent . Tfplay and Dreamfilm also offered users the possibility to stream the movies directly on that website. The sites were described as Europes leading players in file sharing and streaming by Swedish anti-piracy group Rights Alliance.





In early 2015, Dreamfilm announced it would shut down, following the arrest of one of its administrators. This generated a domino effect, with PirateHub, TFplay and Tankafetast shutting down as well.





The four individuals behind the sites were eventually convicted by the Linkoping District Court and sentenced to 6  10 months in jail. In addition, the District Court also ordered them to pay approximately SEK 1 million to the claimants.



The defendants appealed the case to the Court of Appeal. They claimed that that, since the content available on the platforms was already available on other platforms, it had not been made available to a new public [on the new public criterion, see Svensson C-466/12 ] . However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the defendants claim and held that the works in question had been made available to a new public. As far as the samples presented in the case would allow, the men were found to have committed between 45  118 infringements of copyright law. In the eyes of the Court of Appeal, the defendants were motivated by profit GS Media sense] [in asense] , which was proved by the fact that there was advertisement available on their platforms. . However, the Court of Appeal dismissed the defendants claim and held that the works in question had been made available to a new public. As far as the samples presented in the case would allow, the men were found to have committed between 45  118 infringements of copyright law. In the eyes of the Court of Appeal, the defendants were motivated by profit, which was proved by the fact that there was advertisement available on their platforms.





Since the defendants were relatively young, were not in the risk of recidivism, and had not been convicted for any offences prior to this case, the Court of Appeal ruled against the custodial sentences and instead quadrupled the damage award to approximately SEK 4 million [approx EUR 380,000] . The award was based on the cost of a hypothetical licence to distribute the works in question.







The Swedish Supreme Court





Two of the defendants appealed the case to the Swedish Supreme Court. They claimed, inter alia, that the damage award was unreasonable based on their respective incomes. The defendants argued that, since the calculation of damages has varied both in Swedish case law, and also, in this case, between the lower instance courts, guidance by the Supreme Court is necessary to preserve the principle of sound administration of justice and ensuring predictability of judicial outcomes.



The Swedish Supreme Court granted the appeal and hearing will (hopefully) take place later this year.




A women climbs into a taxi cab in New York City on July 12, 2012. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

New Study Rejects Idea That Americans Wont Do Certain Jobs

WASHINGTONA new study debunks the common refrain that America needs illegal immigrants to do the jobs that Americans wont do.

Only six of the 474 job categoriesdefined by the Chamber of Commerceare filled by a majority of immigrants, and none of the occupations are dominated by illegal immigrants, according to a study released by the Center for Immigration Studies on Aug. 26.

Even in those six jobs, 46 percent of workers are native-born.

The study uses Census Bureau data and applies an industry-standard method to identify which respondents are most likely illegal aliens.

There are just 24 occupations out of 474 in which illegal immigrants comprise at least 15 percent of workers, the study indicates.

Illegal immigrants work mostly in construction, cleaning, maintenance, food service, garment manufacturing, and agricultural occupations. However, the majority of workers even in these areas are either native-born or legal immigrants.

The study lists the proportion of native-born workers within several occupations that are commonly thought to be dominated by immigrantsboth legal and illegal:

Maids and housekeepers: 51 percent native-born.

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs: 54 percent native-born.

Butchers and meat processors: 64 percent native-born.

Grounds maintenance workers: 66 percent native-born.

Construction laborers: 65 percent native-born.

Janitors: 73 percent native-born.

Many of the high-immigrant (legal and illegal) occupations dont require an education beyond high school, which suggests the impact of illegal immigration on wages and employment opportunities will be felt most by less-educated natives, the study said.

It also found that in regions where immigrants were fewer, the overwhelming majority of workers were native-borneven in low-wage, difficult jobs.

Meaning that when immigrants are not present, natives do this type of work, the study states.

Because the American economy is so dynamic, with many factors impacting employment and wages, it would be a mistake to believe that every job taken by an immigrant is a job lost by a native.

It would also be a mistake, however, to assume that dramatically increasing the number of available workers in high-immigrant occupations has no impact on the employment prospects or wages of natives.

ICE Worksite Enforcement

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has stepped up its worksite-enforcement operations over the past year, under the direction of former Acting Director Tom Homan.

I want to increase that by four to five times what theyre currently doing, Homan said on Oct. 17, 2017. Not only only are we going to prosecute the employers who normally hire the illegal immigrants, were going to detain and remove the illegal alien workers.

Arrests of aliens found at a workplace, but who arent authorized to work, plummeted during the Obama erafrom more than 1,600 arrests in fiscal year 2009 to 106 in fiscal 2016.

The agency has since ramped that back up to 1,186 in fiscal 2018 to date.

Numbers are markedly up across the boardfrom worksite audits and inspections, to indictments, arrests, and convictions.

Criminal arrests are up from 135 in fiscal 2017 to 723 in fiscal 2018, to date.

ICE has served more than 5,100 notices of inspection to businesses in fiscal 2018 to dateup from 1,360 in all of fiscal 2017.

A notice of inspection alerts business owners that ICE is going to audit their hiring records to determine whether or not they are in compliance with the law, ICE said in a statement. If the businesses are found to not be in compliance with the law, they will face civil fines and potential criminal prosecution.

Texas Operation

On Aug. 28, ICE arrested 160 employees alleged to be working illegally in the United States at a North Texas tractor-trailer business, Load Trail.

ICEs Homeland Security Investigations said in a statement it received information that the company was knowingly hiring illegal aliens, and many of the aliens were using fraudulent identification documents.

Businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens create an unfair advantage over their competing businesses, said Special Agent in Charge Katrina Berger, HSI Dallas.

In addition, they take jobs away from U.S. citizens and legal residents, and they create an atmosphere poised for exploiting their illegal workforce.

HSI is responsible for enforcing the 1986 law that requires employers to verify the identity and work eligibility of individuals they hire.

According to ICE, worksite enforcement investigations often uncover egregious violations of the law by employers, as well as widespread abuses.

Such cases often involve additional violations such as alien smuggling, alien harboring, document fraud, money laundering, fraud, or worker exploitation, ICE said on its website.

The agency also investigates employers who employ force, threats, or coercion (for example, threatening to have employees deported) in order to keep the unauthorized alien workers from reporting substandard wage or working conditions.

ICE said it will obtain the necessary authority to prosecute an employer before it arrests the employees for immigration violations at a worksite.

E-Verify

A voluntary system, called E-Verify, already exists for businesses to check that potential employees are able to work legally in the United States.

Hans von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said making the system mandatory would help curb illegal immigration.

The biggest way to get large numbers of the illegal alien population in the United States to self-deport, is dry up their ability to work, he said on Oct. 17, 2017.

Arizona introduced mandatory E-Verify in 2008 and included a penalty to revoke a business license if an employer knowingly hired an alien who was unauthorized to work in the United States.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued and it went to Supreme Court, von Spakovsky said. And the Supreme Court said its perfectly legitimate for states to make the E-Verify system mandatory and to threaten the loss of a business license.

However, E-Verifys limitation is that it wont work if an illegal alien has obtained fraudulent documentation and social security informationas in the recent case of the alleged killer of Mollie Tibbetts in Iowa.

Unauthorized workers often use stolen identities of legal U.S. workers, which can profoundly damage for years the identity-theft victims credit, medical records and other aspects of their everyday life, ICE said in a statement.
Rollerblading Across the US Without Even a Dollar on Her, Girl Has the Utmost Faith in Humanity

In order to prove that good still exists in the world, she's relying solely on the goodness of others to provide her with food, water, and shelter.

Relying solely on the goodness of others to provide her with food, water, and shelter, Yanise Ho, 23, is rollerblading across the United States to show how one girls faith in human kindness can make what seems impossible, quite possible.

Ho, dubbed The Bladress, started her cross-country expedition on March 14, making her rolling departure from Miami, Florida, without even a dollar in her pocket to prove that the abundance of love in the world will come alongside her on the 6,000-mile journey.

After almost six months into Hos odyssey, humanity has not yet let her down, not even once.

Posted by The Bladress on Tuesday, August 28, 2018

The response I have received has been so amazing that sometimes I cant even believe it myself. I feel like I am living in a utopia. I am the luckiest and happiest person in the world, Ho recently told Humanity, while gearing up to start a new day of blading in Nebraska.

There has not been one day that I have went hungry and not one night that I have had to sleep on the street. I have always been out in front of the right house and at the right time. The right people have called me in to host me and give me a bed to sleep in. I have been overfed by strangers who quickly became my friends. I trust them, and they trust me. This has been an incredible experience so far and I have met the best people.

Ho said her journey, to date, is validating her belief that regardless of backgrounds, everyone is deeply connected with one another.

The world is encircled by natural masterpieces, vibrant cultures, and, most of all, incredible people, she said.

As she rolls from the east coast to the west coast, Ho is also fundraising for One Girl Can, a non-profit organization that empowers young girls living in Kenya and Uganda, to end poverty, and create gender equality through an education and mentorship program.

An International Connection

Ho said she wants girls in Kenya and Uganda to understand, through her rollerblading expedition, one girl really can turn her vision into a reality, and there are enough kind and giving individuals in the world who will help along the way.

To date, strictly through online donations, Ho has raised over $19,000 for her Bladress Scholarship, which, so far, will educate at least 38 girls in Africa for one year. Her goal, by the time her trip has ended, is to fund a year of education for 120 girls.

Ho, born and raised in Hong Kong, received her own education at different schools in the United States, Canada, and Europe. As someone who has always enjoyed traveling to study and embrace new cultures, Ho has been all around the globe and now is proficient in five different languages.

Ho said that, at the age of nine, the freedom visiting new places provides called to her.

When she was 15-years-old, a trip to New Zealand helped Ho realize the world was so different outside Hong Kong.

She began studying abroad at the age of 16, and even embarked on a solo backpacking adventure across Central America at the age of 20 just to better appreciate the beauty of the world and its people.

I have never done any research before I go to a new place. That way I can experience it fresh, for myself, Ho said.

I love to just pick up and fly some place where I dont know anyone. I meet amazing people every time and bring the good out of people. This is something I am best at.

Cross-Country Charity

At the age of 21, Ho was struck with the idea to trek around the United States on a mission to showcase the best in humanity while supporting educational opportunities for girls in Africa.

Hearing it would not be safe or even possible to venture alone through the United States with no money only made Ho more determined than ever to make her journey happen.

I really do not care what other people say, Ho told Humanity. People may not have much, but they are giving. I have seen that people living in poverty situations still can be trusted. I was traveling on a bus through a small village in Honduras once and needed to use a phone and everyone was willing to help me. There is good all around the world.

After researching her idea more, Ho decided that rollerblading from one state to the next would be the most efficient way to accomplish her mission, even though she had never even stood up on inline skates before.

She purchased her first pair of rollerblades in 2016, allowing a then-stranger, now friend, to train her. She went from a beginner to experienced inline skater in about two months.

When she first started, Ho experienced bruises and even needed 10 stitches in her scalp after one rough tumble, but she did not let injuries keep her down.

In November 2016, Ho took a 19-day test run, going from Savannah, Georgia to Miami without cash in hand, depending on people to show her kindness when needed.

So many people were so good to me. There is way more good than bad out there and I continue to prove it, she said. My first trip was a huge success. I made so many great friends and promised I would be back to start my complete journey from Miami, which I did on March 14.

Ho has had offers from others, including video crews, to go alongside her on the lengthy trip, but she declined.

I wanted to go solo all along and I was bent on helping fellow girls through female empowerment, as this is something close to my heart, she said.

Kind-Hearted

Now, as she makes her way toward Oregon and inches closer to beating the world record for longest journey made on inline skates, which currently is 5,300 miles, Ho said she has not felt fear one single time.

If someone sees me rollerblading, and it is getting toward dark, they invite me inside for the night, even though they know nothing about me. Every day has been like this; random strangers offer to care for me, she said.

Ho said even little children have seen her resting at a park and invited her to go home with them for a meal or to sleep overnight.

Each day, Ho begins rollerblading around 11:30 a.m. and usually travels about 20 to 30 miles before dusk.

Ho said she receives the encouragement she needs each day to keep pressing on.

People stop me just to give me a hug or some water. One little boy even came up to me to give a special blessing, she said.

Even though she is offered money often, Ho refuses it.

It has been difficult, though, because sometimes I do find that money has been left in my backpack or inside my rollerblade. People just want to be sure I am safe and not hungry or thirsty. Humans are amazing, she said.

To track Hos travels or to donate to the scholarship, visit YaniseHo.com/the-bladress. She invites people to connect with her through Twitter, as well, @TheBladress.

This article was originally published on Humanity.
The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) and the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in order to enhance the coordination and cooperation between the two authorities on financial policies and supervision.

Under the agreement, the PBOC and the AMCM will establish an information-sharing and notification framework, deepen cooperation in financial supervision and enhance the exchange and training of financial talents.

According to a statement issued yesterday by AMCM, the PBOC will support the stable and healthy development of featured finance in Macau, particularly fostering cooperation in the areas of financial leasing, settlement in RMB between China and Portuguese-

speaking countries, wealth management and other relevant financial activities. A consensus was also reached to enhance the supervision and promotion of Fintech and mobile payments.

The AMCM stated that the agreement will broaden the scope of development of the Macau financial sector, thus promoting economic diversification of the MSAR and providing more diversified and convenient financial services for Macau residents, while reinforcing Macaus position as a financial services platform between China and PSCs to support the national development strategy.

Vietnamese community commemorates national day

The Vietnamese community in Macau celebrated Vietnams 73rd National Day on Sunday by remembering the countrys major achievements in socio-economic development and its international integration over the past decades.

The commemoration was attended by the Vietnamese Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau, Tran Thanh Huan, along with officials from Vietnamese representative agencies in Hong Kong and local authorities, as cited in Vietnam News Summary.

Huan noted that Sino-

Vietnamese relations have

been reinforced and developed

in recent years, with important progress made in various fields.

He also mentioned that China has become the largest trade partner of Vietnam, while Vietnam is the biggest trade partner of China among ASEAN countries and is the eighth largest in the world.

The Consul General reminded his compatriots to continually promote their culture in the SAR, lauding their efforts and contributions in the city.

Meanwhile, the head of the Mutual Support Fellow-Countrymen Association in

Macau, Tran Thi Thu, said that the meeting was also a chance for Vietnamese migrants in Macau to be reminded of the glorious tradition of the nation and the pride of the homeland as well as their responsibility to the motherland.

Celebrations were also held in other regions, including in Malaysia, where a number of Vietnamese migrants competed in a badminton tournament to commemorate their national day.

The event aims to strengthen exchange and solidary amongst the community.
Angolas debt to China amounts to USD23 billion, Finance Minister Archer Mangueira said in Beijing on Tuesday, calling for investment in projects that guarantee medium- and long-term financing for the country to pay down the loans.

Two-way trade grew 22.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to $6.8 billion, reaching $22.34 billion in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 43.42 percent, according to official figures from China.

The Angolan President on Tuesday in Beijing called for increased direct investment by Chinese companies in the production of consumer goods in Angola, speaking at the summit meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), according to Angolan news agency Angop.

Joao Lourenco said that this investment should be achieved through mutually advantageous partnerships with Angolan businesspeople, and the agreement should include sharing of technology, scientific knowledge and training of Angolan staff.

The President of Angola said that African and Chinese banks should play an important role in order to provide the necessary resources to develop projects that ensure mutually advantageous development. MDT/Macauhub
Malaysia and Singapore agreed to delay, not cancel, a planned high-speed railway that would cut travel time between their capitals to just 90 minutes.

Shortly after a stunning election victory in May, new Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said the 350-kilometer rail project would be axed because it was too costly.

But after weeks of negotiations, officials from the two countries signed an agreement yesterday to defer construction of the rail link by two years to May 31, 2020. The two governments said the railway is now slated to begin operations by 2031 instead of 2026.

Mahathirs about-turn will help Malaysia avoid paying hefty compensation and buy time to improve government finances.

Economics Minister Azmin Ali said Malaysia will pay 15 million Singapore dollars (USD10.9 million) to Singapore by January as a suspension cost. If the project isnt revived by the agreed date, Malaysia will have to bear the termination cost, he said, but declined to give details.

The agreement signed today clearly stated our commitment to continue the project after 2020, Azmin told a news conference after signing the pact with Singapore Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan. The signing was witnessed by Mahathir.

The two countries signed an agreement in December 2016 to build the rapid rail line with speeds of over 300 kilometers an hour. It was dubbed a game-changer that would strengthen economic ties between the neighbors. Currently, it takes at least four hours to travel by car.

Khaw said Singapore agreed to Malaysias request to put the project on hold to give its government time to manage its finances.

Mahathirs alliance won a stunning victory in May 9 elections to oust scandal-tainted former Prime Minister Najib Razak and end his coalitions 60-year grip on power.

The new government has begun reviewing large-scale infrastructure projects, including Chinese investments, to cut costs after revealing that national debt and liabilities had surged to 80 percent of gross domestic product, taking into account government guarantees and other payments.

The huge debt is partly due to a massive corruption scandal at the 1MDB state investment fund set up by Najib that led voters to abandon him and sparked investigations in the U.S. and several other countries. U.S. investigators say Najibs associates stole and laundered at least $4.5 billion from the fund.

Mahathir has reopened an investigation into 1MDB that was suppressed during Najibs rule and barred Najib and his wife from leaving the country.

Najib, who denies any wrongdoing, is facing multiple charges of money laundering and criminal breach of trust. AP
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, delivered a speech yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 12th Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum and Economic and Trade Fair, also known as the PPRD Forum. The event, being held in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, has as its theme the concept, Greater Bay Area: Driving Innovation, Collaboration and Opportunities. In his address, Leong mentioned the region has been trying to establish itself as a commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries, in a bid to act as a bridge between the PPRD region and Portuguese-speaking countries.

More simplified Chinese books wanted

Jiang Xuchun, member of the Islands District Community Services Consultative Committee, says that since Macaus youth will take part in the development of the Greater Bay Area, they should read more mainland books. Xuchun proposed for the relevant government department to speed up the renewal of library collections, set up new book lists and contact mainland publishers so as to import more mainland books in terms of both quantity and genres. In particular, Xuchun recommended that local libraries have more books about the mainlands certification, accreditation and license exams.

New heads appointed to delegations in Beijing, Taiwan

The government announced yesterday that Chief Executive (CE) Chui Sai On has appointed Leong Kit Chi as the new head of the Representative Office of Macau in Beijing, starting from September 26. Leong, whose term will last for one year, has a Bachelor of Art Degree in Journalism from the National Chengchi University and a degree of Master of Administrative Management from Sun Yat-Sen University. From November 2011 until now, Leong has been the Director of the Macau Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan. Previously, Leong also worked for the Macao Government Tourism Office. The CE has also appointed Ho Weng Wai as the Director of the Macau Economic and Cultural Office in Taiwan. In the past, Ho served the Commission Against Corruption as an assistant and also as an investigator.

Local student receives scholarship to study in Japan

Yip Ka Seng, a fourth-year student of Japanese studies from the University of Macau (UM), has been recommended by the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong to receive the Japanese Government (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, MEXT) Scholarship, for the fiscal year 2018, to study in Japan. Yip, the only student from Macau to receive this scholarship, will study Japanese language at Keio University for one year. According to a statement issued by the UM, Yip described the benefit as a precious opportunity, saying that the scholarship shows recognition of his effort in Japanese studies and that he will continue to study traditional Japanese culture and customs during his stay in Japan. According to the statement, in Macau, only students of Japanese studies from UM are eligible to apply for the scholarship.

Man arrested for fraud involving MOP500,000

A 49-year-old local resident has been arrested for fraud involving MOP500,000, the Judiciary Police (PJ) reported yesterday. The suspect is a civil servant who has been working within the public sector for more than 30 years. In 2017, he reportedly took money from a buildings property management committee. He then signed nine checks, issued to the committee, in order to collect the money. The suspect was the vice-chairman of the committee. He claimed that he took the money to clear his debts.
Cambodias king yesterday presided over the opening of the new session of the National Assembly, whose 125 seats are filled by members of a single party following an election widely decried as unfair.

The lawmakers from the Cambodian Peoples Party are expected to confirm Hun Sen, who has held power for three decades, for another five-year term as prime minister today.

His party won a landslide victory in the July 29 general election.

The only credible opposition force, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was disbanded last year by the courts in a move seen as politically motivated. The 19 other parties that contested the election were seen as either having trivial support or being promoted by the ruling party to foster the illusion of democratic choice.

Many countries branded the election a sham and several poll-watching groups  as well as national contingents from the United States, the European Union and Japan  declined to take part because they also felt the polls were not legitimate.

In a speech at the assemblys opening, King Norodom Sihamoni conveyed his warmest congratulations to the new lawmakers and urged them to fulfill their duties under the law and to work for the benefit of the entire country.

In a sign of continuing international rejection of the election process, no representatives from the U.S., British and Australian embassies attended the event. Many other diplomats also appeared to be absent.

The United States in December imposed visa restrictions on top Cambodian officials because of the anti-democratic actions taken in the lead-

up to the vote , and said it was disappointed by the flawed elections.

Last month, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. would expand those visa restrictions and in certain cases apply them to immediate family members of the individuals the U.S. had deemed responsible for undermining Cambodian democracy.

Hun Sen has aligned his country firmly with China in recent years, both politically and economically, allowing him to largely ignore criticism from the West. AP
The Venetian Macao has taken three top titles at the World Travel Awards Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2018, held in Hong Kong on Monday, after being awarded Asias Leading Resort, Macaus Leading Casino Resort and Macaus Leading Resort.

This is the 10th year that The Venetian Macao has been recognized at the World

Travel Awards, after also winning Macaus Leading Resort and Macaus

Leading Casino Resort at last years event, the gaming operator notes in a statement.

We are thrilled and honored to have received these prestigious awards,

now for the 10th year in a row, said Mark McWhinnie, senior vice

president of Resort Operations and Development, Sands China Ltd.

The fact we have been recognized in this way by both the industry and the public endorses the quality and diversity of our facilities and services.

The World Travel Awards was established in 1993 to identify and reward the

worlds best travel organizations.

Oktoberfest Macau tickets to be on sale from sept 17

The annual Oktoberfest Macau will hold its 10th anniversary at MGM Cotai from October 18 to 29 at its Roof Terrace, Admission tickets will go on sale on September 17.

In the past nine years, MGM has welcomed 127,473 beer lovers with 123,750

liters of beer and nearly 40,000 kilograms of roasted pork knuckles and

chicken, the gaming operator said in a statement.

The Hogl Fun Band will once again fly over from Munich for dynamic live performances. Lowenbrau, one of the six genuine German Oktoberfest brews, will be one of the highlights.

The traditional German gastronomies, Bavarian patterned beer tent and ceiling wreaths, as well as a wide range of carnival game booths, will be features across the 11-day Bavarian party.

On top of the regular Family Day Oktoberfest held in the afternoon of October 28, MGM will introduce its first- ever Industry Day on the afternoon of October 20, to welcome all employees from the hospitality industry to get-

together with friends and families.
Mozambiques participation in the third summit meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) was very positive, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi said on Tuesday in Beijing, according to Mozambican news agency AIM.

Nyusi, in a final assessment of Mozambiques participation in this two-day event that ended Tuesday, said that on a bilateral level Mozambique had benefited from a pardon of interest free debt maturing in late 2018. AIM added that Nyusi did not specify the amount of the debt nor in what year it had been taken on.

Another gain, said the Head of State, was that the country received a donation of 140 million yuan (about USD20 million), with 100 million yuan to be applied in development projects and the remaining 40 million in the form of a rice donation.

Nyusi also noted the signing, on Saturday, by the delegations of Mozambique and China, of three bilateral cooperation instruments, technical assistance memoranda for capacity building, plant health and structuring of cooperation under the Belt and Road, initiative.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Pacheco, said that the three documents have a permanent validity and can be revised at any meeting of the Joint Commission, with the plant health memorandum allowing Mozambican products of plant origin to enter the Chinese market.

The President of the Republic said Mozambican entrepreneurs who travelled to China had signed six memoranda of understanding, including the Millennium bim bank, which signed an agreement with Fosun International, a company that operates in the area of finance, insurance, tourism and health, as well as Mozambican public mobile phone company, Mcel, which signed a memorandum with the Huawei group.

The Mozambican Agency for Investment and Export Promotion (Apiex) reached an agreement for the promotion of industrial parks in Mozambique and the National Road Administration, under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Water Resources of Mozambique, signed three agreements, AIM reported.

The agency also reported that the President of China, Xi Jinping, said his country is ready to help Mozambique accelerate the industrialization and modernization of agriculture so that the country can achieve sustainable development. MDT/Macauhub
Myanmars government looks as if its under siege from an international community concerned about the condition of its nascent democracy, with widespread calls for a genocide tribunal to hold its military to account for the brutal treatment of its Muslim Rohingya minority.

But experts say not to expect any change of course from the countrys leader, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, even after a fresh round of withering criticism from abroad following Mondays show-trial conviction of two Reuters reporters who helped expose extrajudicial killings of 10 Rohingya men and boys.

Suu Kyis motivations are opaque. Even as a revered pro-democracy activist, the Nobel Peace laureate had a reputation for being autocratic, but now her core ideology has come into question.

There is at least a loose consensus that she faces real restrictions on her actions due to the power retained by the military that is enshrined in the constitution it imposed in 2007.

Aung San Suu Kyi has tried to balance her delicate and antagonistic relationship with the military and her conception of societys needs, perhaps fearing too strident a stance could prompt an overt return to military rule, which is possible under the constitution in certain circumstances, David Steinberg, professor emeritus at Georgetown University, wrote in July in the online magazine The Diplomat.

Other observers are less generous, saying Suu Kyis seeming impassivity toward the plight of the Rohingya  and hostility toward those wishing to address the issue  undercut the narrative pitting her against the military.

People tended to think that Aung San Suu Kyi and the military were at odds, and each feared that the other would dislodge them from power, said Khin Zaw Win, a rare outspoken critic of the government who directs the Tampadipa Institute, a Yangon-based capacity-building institution.

He said the conviction of the two Reuters journalists, who were sentenced to seven years in prison, is a reminder that shows that what they fear in tandem is the world out there finding the truth and seeking to unseat them.

The old saying, They have to hang together, or they hang separately, describes their situation, he said.

Political realities inside and outside Myanmar suggest there is neither the will nor a way to ensure justice for the Rohingya, 700,000 of whom fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape a brutal counterinsurgency campaign by the army. Myanmar denies any large-scale human rights violations and says its actions were a response to surprise attacks by militants in August last year that killed a dozen members of the security forces. Critics charge it was ethnic cleansing.

Those inclined to bring Myanmar to account have few weapons to do so. Despite the recommendation last month of a special U.N. fact-finding commission that top Myanmar commanders be charged with genocide, no trial is likely to be held in the foreseeable future.

Its far from clear that any country would officially push prosecution, and certain that several would seek to frustrate it. Major powers that have never entertained much interest in human rights  China and Russia  also have strategic reasons to cozy up to Myanmar, a well-situated outpost on the Indian Ocean.

A tribunal at the International Criminal Court, for example, on genocide charges will be difficult to pull off, Murray Hiebert, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C, said in an email interview. Not only isnt Myanmar a member of the ICC, but a case must be brought by a member of the U.N. Security Council. China and Russia have made clear that they would block a case against Myanmar.

The desire to contain Chinas growing influence in Southeast Asia is a major issue.

The U.S. and most Western democracies want to avoid pushing Myanmar further in the arms of Beijing, Hiebert said.

Competition with China for geopolitical influence, as well as friendship from regional countries anxious not to rock the boat or jeopardize investments, also limit the threat of unfriendly action. AP
At least 18 flights between Macau International Airport and western Japans Kansai International Airport have been canceled due to the impact and damage caused by super typhoon Jebi, according to flag carrier Air Macaus website.

Typhoon Jebi came ashore in Japan with sustained winds of 160 kilometers per hour, cutting a path of destruction in and around Osaka and nearby cities that bore the brunt of the storm.

Jebi left at least 11 dead and millions of homes without power. It also cut off access to the artificial island that hosts Kansai International Airport  the regions main international gateway  after a tanker was sent spiraling into a key bridge. The airports runways were flooded, making flights in and out of the airport impossible. Thousands of travelers have reportedly been stranded at the airport.

Air Macau flights between the MSAR and Osaka have been canceled since Tuesday and, according to the airlines website, they will not resume until at least September 12.

Passengers booked on these flights may change to another date or have their tickets refunded, without having to pay rebooking or refund fees.

According to the government, Air Macau is also offering to reschedule affected passengers return tickets to Macau via either the Narita or Fukuoka Airports.

Macaus Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) said that it was paying close attention to the situation and will keep in contact with both the Macau travel industry and flag carrier Air Macau for any updates.

In a statement issued yesterday, GGCT noted that, from the information gathered via the Macau travel industry, there are currently no tour groups from Macau in Osaka.

As of midday yesterday, the Office had received 27 requests for information, mainly relating to the status of flights between Macau and Japan. It has not received any requests for assistance.

The Kansai airport remains closed indefinitely, two days after the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in at least 25 years flooded a runway, toppled huge cranes, flipped cars on their side, damaged historic shrines and caused at least 11 deaths as it swept across part of Japans main island.

Some 3,000 airline passengers who had to spend the night at the offshore Kansai airport were able to leave on boats and buses under sunny skies. They were stranded after a tanker unmoored by the storms pounding waves and wind slammed into a bridge that is the airports only link to the mainland.

Officials could not say when the airport, a gateway for Asian tourists visiting Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, would reopen. The closure of the main airport serving one of Japans major business and commercial areas triggered concern about the possible impact on tourism and the economy.

Flooding at the airport had largely subsided Wednesday but flight operations equipment needed to be assessed for damage, as did the crushed part of the bridge.

Passengers stranded overnight appeared relieved but exhausted after an uneasy night in the dark.

Hideko Senoo, a 51-year-old homemaker planning a family trip to India, said the terminal was hot and dark after losing power, and food at convenience stores was sold out.

We could not use vending machines or access the wireless network to get information, she told Japans Kyodo News service.

Miki Yamada, a 25-year-old office worker planning a trip to Thailand with her friend, told Kyodo she spent the night at an airport cafeteria. It was a rather scary night, as we were so isolated, she said.

Osaka heavily affected

The Universal Studios Japan theme park in Osaka was closed for a second day yesterday but said it would reopen today.

Factories in the region, including automaker Daihatsu Motor Co., electronics giant Panasonic and beverage maker Kirin Co., were expected to resume operations yesterday after suspending production during the typhoon, Kyodo said.

The deaths included a man in his 70s who was blown to the ground from his apartment in Osaka prefecture. Police said at least five others died elsewhere in the prefecture after being hit by flying objects or falling from their apartments. In nearby Shiga prefecture, a 71-year-old man died when a storage building collapsed on him, and a man in his 70s died after falling from a roof in Mie, officials said.

In Nishinomiya in Hyogo prefecture, about 100 cars at a seaside dealership burned after their electrical systems were shorted out by sea water, fire officials and news reports said.

In Kyoto, the former imperial capital and a popular tourist destination, wooden shrine buildings and tall orange-red entrance gates were knocked down. Soaring trees fell at a shrine in Nara, another historic city.

More than 400,000 households in western and central Japan remained without power yesterday, and electric utilities warned that it would take time to bring everyone back on line. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at least 11 people had been confirmed dead and 470 people were injured.
The e-commerce billionaire who was arrested and released by Minneapolis police is a prominent member of a Chinese tech elite who enjoy the glamor of movie stars in their homeland.

Admirers know Richard Lius story well: The son of peasants built a Beijing electronics shop into JD.com, Chinas biggest online direct retailer, selling everything from clothes to toys to fresh vegetables. He appealed to customers by promising genuine products in a market buffeted by scandals over fake and sometimes deadly milk and other goods.

Like a pop star keeping fans up to date, the 45-year-old Liu shares some details of his life on social media, including his 2015 marriage to a woman 19 years his junior.

That celebrity meant Liu immediately attracted attention when news broke that police in Minneapolis arrested him Friday and released him a day later.

JD.com said he was falsely accused and police found no misconduct. The company said Liu was back in Beijing on Monday. A police report said the charge stemmed from a felony rape accusation but gave no details.

Liu, known in Chinese as Liu Qiangdong, was the top search topic online Monday, according to Baidu.com, the countrys most popular search engine. By Tuesday, he had dropped to No. 35 for the day but still was the most popular topic of the week.

Liu, with a fortune of USD7.5 billion, is part of a generation of entrepreneurs who have created Chinas internet, e-commerce, mobile phone and other technology industries since the late 1990s. They include rival Jack Ma of e-commerce outlet Alibaba Group and Ma Huateng of Tencent, a games and social media giant.

Admirers of their success make their memoirs and books on management best-sellers.

Liu has said his business plan was based on bitter experience. He started a restaurant as a university student but said it failed because employees stole from him.

In his second try, Liu opened an electronics shop in Beijings university district in 1998. He said he was the neighborhoods first merchant to use price tags and skip haggling over prices. He went online in 2003.

I felt this was an opportunity to establish a new kind of business, he told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview.

JD.com purchases directly from suppliers and delivers using a fleet of thousands of bright red electric delivery vans emblazoned with its logo, a cartoon dog called Joy. Its workforce of 158,000 includes thousands of employees who monitor suppliers and product quality.

JD.com operates 486 warehouses and says its drivers can reach 99 percent of Chinas population. It is experimenting with deliveries by drone to the most remote rural customers.

With its own online payments system, JD.com is the equivalent of Amazon.com, Federal Express and Visa combined.

Alibaba, Chinas biggest e-commerce company by total sales volume, acts more like a shopping mall, providing online platforms to merchants who deal directly with customers. But Alibaba also has begun to imitate JD.com by investing in product-handling operations and setting up anti-piracy and customer service units.

JD.coms 2014 initial public stock offering in New York was the biggest to that point by a Chinese company, though it was surpassed by Alibaba later that year.

The high cost of doing everything itself means JD has struggled to make a profit despite explosive sales growth.

It reported a 2.2 billion yuan ($334 million) loss for the quarter ending in June while revenue rose 31 percent over a year earlier to 122.3 billion yuan ($18.5 billion).

Despite that, JD has attracted new investors and partners. Google agreed in June to invest $550 million in the company. Tencent owns a 20 percent stake and Walmart almost 10 percent after merging its struggling China online operation into JD.com.

While other companies embrace its strategy, JD.com is branching out in new directions including creating technology the ruling Communist Party is eager to promote.

It opened an experimental automated supermarket in Beijing without human cashiers and robot warehouses with few employees. AP
The Health Bureau (SSM) has claimed that it has been strictly carrying out law enforcement regarding tobacco control inside casinos, according to a statement released by the bureau on this week.

The SSMs statement came out after a group of 300 casino employees held a demonstration last Monday afternoon, accusing the government for its lack of supervision over illegal smoking inside casinos.

The group, led by the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, delivered a letter to the SSMs tobacco control department which requested a reply.

The group also urged the government to punish casino managers who allow illegal smoking inside gambling facilities.

SSM received the associations opinion regarding tobacco control inside casinos. SSM expressed that it places great importance [on the matter] and will analyze and follow up [on the situation], the SSM statement reads.

Regarding the suggestions proposed by the group, which include establishing a blacklist of illegal smokers in casinos and applying a fine of MOP15,000 to casinos that do not perform their duties as the supervisor of the casino. The SSM states that there are no relevant regulations in accordance with the current tobacco control laws. In any case, SSM welcomes opinions so that it [can] continuously improve the relevant laws, the bureau says, claiming that nevertheless, SSM will strictly enforce the law in accordance with the current laws.

In fact, casinos working environment has changed significantly since the new tobacco control law came into effect. [The environment changed] from full clouds of smog to todays high-standard set across all smoking lounges, the SSM stated. [Nowadays] casino employees can work in a smoke-free environment.
Executives from Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. are expected to tell members of Congress that they have stepped up efforts to detect and remove accounts that violate their policies after Russian- linked hackers used social media to meddle in the 2016 election.

Facebook deleted more than 270 accounts in April linked to the Internet Research Agency, a so-called troll farm with links to Russias military intelligence unit, that companys Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said in advanced testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee. These accounts are in addition to the 470 similar accounts and pages that Facebook removed between June 2015 and August 2017, she said.

Twitter has removed a total 3,843 accounts for possible affiliation with the Internet Research Agency, according to CEO Jack Dorseys prepared testimony for a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing scheduled for later today. This came after the February indictment of a dozen individuals who had been employed by the St. Petersburg- based agency under Special Counsel Robert Muellers continuing investigation.

The Intelligence Committee had invited Larry Page, chief executive officer of Googles parent Alphabet Inc., or Google CEO Sundar Pichai to the hearing to appear alongside Dorsey and Sandberg. But the panels leaders rejected Googles offer to settle instead for Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker, who the Mountain View, California- based company had said would be an appropriate witness for this hearing.

The hearing will set the tone for the coming two months as tech companies and the U.S. government awkwardly collaborate to fight foreign influence campaigns ahead of Novembers midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. Social medial platforms have become a venue for spreading messages seeking to broaden divisions in the U.S., but the crackdown on accounts has prompted concerns that some are being deleted because of political leanings.

Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules, Dorsey said in advanced testimony. We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially. We do not shadowban anyone based on political ideology. In fact, from a simple business perspective and to serve the public conversation, Twitter is incentivized to keep all voices on the platform.

Despite Googles absence from the witness table, the company on Tuesday posted what it called prepared testimony from Walker on social media companies efforts to thwart election meddling in advance of the midterms.

Walkers prepared testimony lists the four new types of disclosure the company promised concerning election advertising in his last congressional appearance in the fall of 2017. Those include databases listing election ads on Google Search, YouTube and across the web, as well as a verification program and disclosures on political ads.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said in a tweet yesterday [Macau time] that Dorsey and Sandberg will testify and Larry Page should be there, too. Its not too late for @Google to step up.

Warner also criticized a letter Pichai sent to several senators last week explaining why the company cant answer detailed questions about its plans to return to China.

Any effort to get back into China could enable the Chinese government in repressing and manipulating their citizens, Warner said in a statement on Tuesday. Google owes the public some answers about its reported plans.

In his Aug. 31 letter, Pichai wrote that Googles tools could help to facilitate an exchange of information and learning that would have broad benefits inside and outside of China. However, the CEO said it was unclear whether the company would or could release a search service in China.

Should we have something to announce in the future, we would be more than happy to brief you and your staff on those plans, the letter concluded.

For todays hearings, the likely outcome of the sparring is a stalemate  and Google testimony that no one will deliver. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have increased pressure on technology companies on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and other election meddling as well as issues including alleged anti-conservative bias and antitrust questions.

Google said in a statement that Walker will be in Washington today [Macau time], where he will deliver written testimony, brief members of Congress on our work, and answer any questions they have.

We had informed the Senate Intelligence Committee of this in late July and had understood that he would be an appropriate witness for this hearing, Google said.

In her prepared testimony for the Intelligence Committee, Sandberg highlighted efforts by Facebook to prevent election interference, including the use of artificial intelligence to detect bad content and bad actors, removing fake accounts and implementing stricter policies for advertising.

We were too slow to spot this and too slow to act, Sandberg said of Facebooks performance in 2016. Thats on us. This interference was completely unacceptable. It violated the values of our company and of the country we love.

This week, the Washington Post published a guest column by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in which he highlighted some of the same points as Sandbergs testimony and stressed cooperation with law enforcement and government. Its an arms race, and it will take the combined forces of the U.S. private and public sectors to protect Americas democracy from outside interference, he wrote.

In prepared testimony for a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Twitters Dorsey emphasized his companys role as aglobal town square and the importance of a diversity of voices.

We know the way to earn more trust around how we make decisions on our platform is to be as transparent as possible, Dorsey said. He said the Twitter platform itself does not take sides, even as President Donald Trump and some Republicans are asserting a bias against conservatives on social media platforms.

Dorsey said Twitters data scientists did a study of all tweets sent by House and Senate members for the 30 days ending Aug. 13. While Democrats on average sent more tweets and had more active followers, after adjusting for that, he said,  a single tweet by a Republican will be viewed as many times as a single tweet by a Democrat, even after all filtering and algorithms have been applied by Twitter.

In Walkers testimony, the Google lawyer also focuses on security measures that the company rolled out in the past year, such as a tool to prevent email phishing scams and a program, from the Alphabet unit Jigsaw, to protect political campaigns from adversarial cyber-attacks.

Walker has assumed increasing responsibility at Google, where the lawyer oversees the companys sprawling legal and policy efforts. Earlier this summer, Google promoted Walker to oversee a larger portfolio, including the units that monitor security and abuse on its services, what Google calls trust and safety.

Walkers ascent came under the tenure of CEO Pichai, who has focused more on Google products and shied away from addressing political issues. Eric Schmidt, Googles former CEO and chairman, was far more willing to be the companys political ambassador. He previously testified before the committee. Schmidt stepped down from his role as chair of Google parent Alphabet last year. Ben Brody & Mark Bergen, Bloomberg
Bangladesh to purchase 9,000 MW electricity from Nepal

Bangladesh has decided to purchase 9,000-megawatt electricity from Nepal.
China is trying to defuse a spiraling tariff war with Washington over technology policy by highlighting gains in other trade-related areas.

The Cabinet press office invited The Associated Press to interview the head of the countrys patent and copyright office, as part of government efforts to persuade Washington and other trading partners to tone down objections to Chinese industry policy.

The official, Shen Changyu, pointed to improvements in fighting violations, previously a target of complaints by the United States, Europe and other traders.

Chinas work on intellectual property protection is solid and very productive, said Shen, commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office. This point should be evaluated objectively and fairly by the international community.

The interview coincided with a series of events organized by Chinese officials, including briefings for foreign reporters by economists and other researchers, seeking to change minds abroad.

They have emphasized Chinas importance as a market, its plans to end ownership limits in its auto industry and other regulatory changes. But none of those moves directly addresses the policies that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to impose penalty tariffs on Chinese goods.

Washington says Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology. American officials say Chinese plans for state-led development of global champions in robotics and other fields violate Beijings free-trade commitments and might erode American industrial leadership.

The Cabinet press office said Shen couldnt address those complaints because his office has no role in technology policy.

The Trump administration has imposed 25 percent duties on USD50 billion of Chinese imports and is poised to add similar penalties on another $200 billion list of goods as early as this week. Beijing says it will retaliate.

Washington and Beijing went to the brink of a trade war in the 1990s over complaints China allowed rampant unlicensed copying of medicine, movies, software, designing clothing and other goods. Business groups say enforcement has improved since then, largely because Chinese companies started creating their own technology in smartphones, solar power and other fields that required protection.

Shen cited promises this year by President Xi Jinping and Chinas No. 2 leader, Premier Li Keqiang, to strength enforcement and make infringers pay a heavy price.

It is an independent choice for us to build an innovative country and promote economic and social development, said Shen.

The conflict has largely moved on from over rampant Chinese copying of Hollywood movies, music, software and medicines to one focused on the bedrock of Beijings state-led development strategy.

Chinese officials have rejected U.S. pressure to scale back industry plans Beijing sees as the path to prosperity and global influence.

Ratcheting up U.S. pressure will not work on China, said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, last week. For people who still think China will give in to intimidation, threats and groundless criticism, I think its the time for them to wake up.

Chinese leaders also have stressed protection for patents and copyrights in meetings with foreign businesspeople, though their reaction suggested the topic is no longer the irritant it once was.

Li, the premier, asked representatives of some of Europes biggest companies at a July meeting to give examples of intellectual property theft or measures they wanted changed. None did during the portion of the meeting reporters were allowed to watch. Instead, a German auto executive expressed concern about Chinese industrial standards  part of technology policy.

Shen expressed frustration at the U.S. governments Section 301 investigation that concluded Beijing improperly obtains foreign technology.

In the 301 survey, intellectual property was a justification or an excuse, said Shen. We hope the U.S. government will provide specific infringement cases or clues. We will deal with them seriously and will not tolerate them.

China faces similar, though more muted, criticism from Europe and other trading partners.

The 28-nation European Union challenged Chinas rules on technology licensing in a June complaint to the World Trade Organization. The EU said Beijing unfairly favors domestic companies in violation of its commitments to treat all competitors equally.

At a government-organized event last week, researchers from official think tanks stressed the potential gains from collaboration between the two biggest global economies and what might be lost if they fight.

The United States and China are interdependent. Not just trade in goods but in many other areas too, said Wu Baiyi, director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

These are the only two countries with more than $10 trillion of economic scale, said Wu. If there is a serious [economic] war between these two countries, then the whole world economic system may collapse. This will be a disaster for the whole world. Joe McDonald, Beijing, AP
Dahal arrives in Delhi, busy in meeting leaders

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Co-Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has started political meetings with Indian leaders shortly after he arrived here in New Delhi for a three-day visit on Thursday afternoon.
Dahals foreign trips are about diplomacy and his own image

The moment Nepal Communist Party Co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal lands in India, all eyes from Kathmandu to Delhi will be watching for two things: how he interacts with the top Indian leadership and what political message he has got to convey.
Heather OConnell 02 has received a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching short-term grant to Spain from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

The award allows OConnell to work within the regional education center in Santiago de Compostela, Spain to develop and enhance STEM curriculum. During her time in Spain, she will offer a workshop to local teachers to inspire STEM teaching.

OConnell, who teaches at West Hawaii Explorations Academy (WHEA) in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, is one of approximately 20 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad through the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching short-term program in 2018-19. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential.

New York Roots

OConnell graduated from Manhattan College with a degree in biochemistry in 2002. After beginning her career analyzing pharmaceuticals at Pfizer and conducting sleep research with Weill Cornell Medical College, she decided to pursue teaching and received a masters degree in education from Pace University in 2007.

After three years of teaching in New York and working with service groups that included Habitat for Humanity, OConnell moved from Long Island to Hawaii. She soon ended up at WHEA, a charter school with a shark lagoon on site. At WHEA, OConnell teaches trigonometry, pre-calculus and an after school chemistry class. She also advises science projects, including a project where students monitor the population of urchins at a marine life conservation district.

I love providing the opportunity for students to collect real data, OConnell said. Some of my favorite parts about my job are learning alongside students, as I knew nothing about plumbing a marine tank before WHEA and working with such a great team. When I am teaching students how to be stewards of the land through the lens of science and math, I feel as if I am pursuing my passion in life. It fulfills me greatly.

About The Fulbright Program

The Fulbright program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright program is funded through an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of States Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and the United States also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright program has provided more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, professionals and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all areas, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching program sends U.S. teachers abroad and brings international teachers to the United States for a semester of independent study and professional development focused on sharing international best practices and developing students global competence. Based at university-level schools of education or other educational institutions in the host country, participants complete an inquiry project, take courses, share their expertise with local teachers and students, and engage in action planning to implement what they learn on the program when they return home.
Interview with Richard Adjei, Managing Director of Kasapreko

We saw you in 2015 and we are now three years down the line. First, let's talk about the beverage sector itself. Has there been any sort of modification in the sector, new entrants, or new strategic entities like big companies coming in? What has been happening?

Certainly, in the beverage industry, there have been changes over the past three or four years. We have seen one of the largest beer companies in the world, AB InBev, enter the market. They have recently bought SABMiller and are now in Ghana. Basically, the number one beer company bought out the number two beer company. They are quite huge throughout the world. In Ghana, Diageo is growing, especially in the premium spirits sector. Other international companies, like Coca Cola and Pepsi, have entered the market. Over the past few years, we have also seen new entrants into the bitters industry, such as Joy Industries and Angel Industries, which are coming in very strongly. Local companies that mainly used to be involved with herbal products, such as soaps and others, have now changed their model from an herbal product to mainly a bitters category. Soft drinks and water are also booming. Twellium has entered the soft drinks and water business. Bel Aqua were already in the water sector, but now they are also doing soft drinks. Multi Pac is currently growing in soft drinks and the energy drinks sector. Special Ice used to do only water, but is now in soft drinks as well. Kasapreko is also changing to become a total beverage company. Now, Kasapreko is truly the only total beverage company in Ghana. We are bottling spirits, wine, soft drinks, water, and we just started ciders through our partnership with Distell in South Africa.

You have become a global, total beverage company. What are your key competitive advantages?

Our main goal is to have our flagship product, Alomo Bitters, be present in most African countries. That is what we continue to push for.

One main key competitive advantage is our skill. We are able to produce in large volume, so we are able to offer quite affordable prices in the market. Secondly, for example, when you are doing an event such as a wedding or an engagement and Kasapreko has come onboard to be your beverage supplier, you do not need to go anywhere else. You have our water, soft drinks, spirits, cocktails, ciders, and we come in and take full control of the event. We are doing the same with shops. We go in and we are able to sell different categories of products. Kasapreko is now the number one exporter of beverages in Ghana which is also a strong competitive advantage in the market. We are able to bring in foreign currency to the country as well as hedge our foreign currency imports on our side.

How has your exporting progressed?

Over the past three years, we have progressed, and we have now been able to register our flagship product, Alomo Bitters, in the US market. We are the only company in Ghana that has a product that has been registered by the US Food and Drugs Board, which is a big step for us, and we have started selling into that market officially. There are other markets that are also growing, such as Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Burkina, Nigeria, and South Africa. In exports, we are the number one exporter of local beverages in Ghana.

What is your strategy for exporting? Do you want to be strong in each sector or do you want to have a foothold everywhere?

Our main goal is to have our flagship product, Alomo Bitters, be present in most African countries. That is what we continue to push for. We want Alomo Bitters to be a story for many Ghanaians and we want Alomo Bitters to be a story that for any foreigner who comes to Ghana, if they want to drink a Ghanaian beverage, the first recommendation should be Alomo Bitters.

You are focusing on your main product for the export market. For this product, what sort of help do you need? Do you need distributors? Are you looking for partnerships? Do you only produce here and then export? Are you planning to produce somewhere else?

Currently, we produce all our products here in Accra and export outside. So, certainly, when we are exporting to other countries, our main aim is to find distributors in those countries. We are also open to partners that are already strong in new markets that would partner with us and take our product, possibly exclusively, in their markets. Over the past few years we have discussed some co-packing ideas with a few companies and we are still exploring such opportunities, and if they come up, we will be very happy to produce in those countries.

And that will be mainly them asking you?

Yes, mainly.

And you only export your main product?

There are a few other products that we export, but our main brand is Alomo Bitters.

For the Ghanaian market, you have a different strategy. You sell your main product, but you also sell a lot of brands. What do you want to develop the most? What is the main focus now for the Ghanaian market?

For the Ghanaian market, we are in spirits, wine, water, and soft drinks. Now, there is a lot of demand for soft drinks and water, so we are investing more to expand that business. The spirits business is also growing, but at a much slower pace because of the competition that has come in. However, in Ghana, our main focus and our strategy is to be a total beverage company, so we want to grow in every sector where we are present. When we enter a sector, we expect to be one of the top three leaders within four years and if we cannot achieve that, we will probably leave that sector.

Do you want to attract international brands for you to produce here?

Kasapreko is the only local beverage company that has been able to attain an ISO certification in Ghana, which we attained last year in December. We are now ISO 22000 certified. We have a lot of capacity, especially on the spirits side, and we are in talks with three or four different companies to contract bottle for them. We recently signed a deal with Distell South Africa to contract bottle their brands, Savanna and Hunters, and at the same time, distribute some of their products, such as Knights Whisky and 4th Street wine. Currently, we are in talks with two international soft drink companies that are looking to bottle with us.

What percentage does your exports represent?

We are now doing about 27% in exports.

Do you want to see that increase?

We hope to push that to 40% in the next three years.

Are you looking for investments or partnerships in technology or other sectors?

In technology, we are not specifically looking for any partnerships. But, we are very happy to talk to any partner that has a good strategy or idea in technology that benefits our way of production, distribution, and controlling finances. We currently use SAP for our systems here and it is working well for us.

On the financial side, you work with the local banks. The rates are now going down. Are you in talks with international investors or financial entities?

The majority of our investment has been through the local banks. However, over the past three to four years, when we are buying equipment from Italy or Germany for example, the suppliers are able to link us up with some funding companies that are able to support us internationally with far better rates than those in Ghana. We hope that the government will keep supporting the industry and keep bringing the rates down. Over the past two years, the rate has come down from 30% to around 18% currently.

What are the challenges that you face?

There are no major challenges, but with the new government in place, there are new laws, rules, and regulations that we must abide by. There are regulations that sometimes require a $200,000 or $500,000 investment, such as tax stamps. The government passed a law requiring beverage companies to put a stamp on each and every single bottle that we produce, which has caused us to invest almost $200,000 into equipment in order to be able to meet this regulation. As one of the biggest beverage companies in Ghana, Kasapreko must take that step in order for the smaller companies to follow.

What is your opinion of the regulations and the global action of the government towards the private sector?

In general, the government has a good plan for the private sector. They genuinely feel that the policies they are putting into place will help the private sector. The some of our power cost has come down over the past year, which we are very happy about. Investment and the cost of funding has come down in the banks in Ghana. The government has put into place the one district, one factory policy, which is very good for manufacturing. Manufacturers, in general, as well as investors, should be able to tap into that idea. For example, we are trying to put up a new factory in Kumasi in the Ashanti region. We hope that the government can take onboard some of these new projects as part of the one district, one factory agenda. There is certainly more that can be done. There are a few taxes that have been implemented that are negative towards the private sector, such as the policy change in VAT which is increasing our costs by 5%. We now have to pass some of these costs on to the consumers. For the tax stamp, we now have to buy the stamps, which is increasing costs as well. The government implements some policies that help us but also some policies that are not as beneficial for us. However, the tax stamp is there for the government to be able to monitor their taxes as far as the excise taxes that they are supposed to receive. In general, it is a good policy, but we wish the stamps were free. On the whole, the government is doing quite well to support private industry.

What is important to you as a company?

Kasapreko is one of the major investors in the beverage industry in Ghana. Over the past few years, most governments have mainly focused on foreign direct investors that are coming in, so most incentives are aimed towards them. However, the government should also turn their attention to local investors and try to push some of those incentives and tax waivers to them as well.

What is your vision? What do you want Kasapreko to be in the medium term, two to three years time, if everything goes well and according to plan?

We want to be in the top four out of all the beverage companies. By 2020, we want to be in the top two. But, combining our water, beer, and soft drinks together, in terms of revenue, our main goal is to be the number one company in the beverage industry.

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Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Dong Changzheng, vice general manager of Toyota Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., recently revealed that Toyota is cooperating with China's largest privately-owned automaker Geely to popularize hybrid power technology, through Corun, Toyota's largest Chinese core parts supplier of hybrid power.

At the eve of the 2018 Chengdu Motor Show on Aug. 30, An Conghui, president of Geely Holding Group, and president and CEO of Geely Auto Group also confirmed that Geely and Toyota are working on the cooperation. However, the detailed information will be announced later.

Currently, both parties have reached an agreement that Geely's models will come fitted with Toyota's hybrid power technology. Via sharing and collaboration, the cooperation will benefit for both Toyota and Geely. On one hand, Toyota can enjoy lower application cost of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in China, on the other hand, Geely will set a good example that helps attract more automakers to use hybrid power technology.

Noticeably, this is first time for Toyota to share its advanced hybrid power technology with its Chinese peer, and also the first time Toyota deeply cooperates with China's domestic automaker.

On June 27, Foshan plant of CHS project, which was jointly invested by Corun, Geely, Changan and Yunnei Power, officially put into operation. With an investment of around RMB 10 billion, the Foshan plant is planned to have an annual production capacity of 1 million units or sets. Having invested RMB 4.65 billion, the production capacity of the plant's early stage will reach 100,000 units or sets.
Empty seats

Shortage of staff at the provincial and local levels is impairing service delivery
I wish to visit Angered, Sweden (sometimes called Angered Centrum), yes that is the name of the place:

When I entered this mysterious end station. I didnt expect to find a shopping center that had so many Halal restaurants, Turkish delights stores and Kebab places. I love to eat Kebabs here in Norway with Halal meat, so for me its not a problem eating this. I rather found this place interesting, because it had all of the world foods in one place. At the end of this shopping center, I found ICA store and here I found some Swedish people. But mostly everywhere I went there was foreignersWhy is Angered Centrum almost empty of Swedish people? Have the government in Sweden made this to a place so that foreigners and Swedish people should live so far apart from each other that it would reduce conflicts?

Here is more. The Wikipedia page of Angered is unusual, it serves up tidbits such as:

The hilly terrain forced the planners to build the different parts of Angered at some distance from each other.

It turns out that Angered was modeled after Brasilia, and it was a major center for public housing investment.

The locale can be subdivided further yet:

Of those born in Hjallbo, a district of Angered, three-quarters have a foreign background. This compared with a half two decades ago and just 6.5 per cent in all of Sweden. Added to this sense of cultural and social isolation is the suburbs reputation for criminality and violence. Nawol and Hamdi, two Somali teenagers in hijabs, voice their concerns about living in a neighbourhood that has long been characterised as a ghetto. I dont like living in Angered. A lot of people do bad things, said Nawol, 19. Hamdi added: There are a lot of gangsters.

There is a Swedish election on Sunday, and to counter the Sweden Democrats many of the other Swedish parties are moving to the right on immigration, the median voter theorem in slow motion, so to speak.

Exactly what kind of institutional failure is this? Political? Intellectual? Democratic? The absence of real democracy? I should stress that I am happy to live near Somali and Yemeni women in hijab (and not) in northern Virginia, and I believe American assimilation continues to work reasonably well, including for Muslims and in fact especially for Muslims overall. But the formula seems to work less well in Sweden, with its tighter social structures and more generous welfare benefits. What exactly went wrong? What is the final equilibrium? Will anyone ever be able to say again if only they had a Nordic-style social welfare state?
Researchers at the University of York has shown that a drug commonly used to help smokers overcome addiction to cigarettes does not have the same effect in shisha smokers.

Smoking tobacco through a waterpipe, often referred to as shisha or hookah smoking, is becoming popular, particularly among young people, across the globe. It is often considered a 'safer' alternative to cigarette smokinga common misconception.

Research at the University of York, involving a trial with more than 500 daily shisha smokers in Pakistan, where shisha smoking is particularly common, showed that vareniclinea medication used to help tackle cigarette smokingdid not make a difference in assisting shisha smokers break the habit.

Professor Kamran Siddiqi, from the University of York's Department of Health Sciences, said: "Shisha smokers inhale large volumes of tobacco and charcoal smoke exposing themselves to the same health risks as cigarette smokers, including a variety of cancers.

"Flavoured tobacco smoking, such as fruit shisha, has become particularly popular with young people, and in some countries, the hookah is a tourist attraction in some bars and restaurants.

"Whilst most countries, Pakistan included, recognise the dangers of shisha smoking, it can be difficult to regulate and medications to help people quit can prove too expensive in some parts of the world."

The research trial consisted of both men and women living in Pakistan; half were treated with the drug varenicline, and the other with a placebo drug. The treatment programme was supplemented with advice on changing behaviours to address some of the psychological aspects of addiction.

Results showed that varenicline was not more effective than placebo interventions. The researchers suggest that this is not necessarily because the drug does not work in shisha smokers, but that despite the willingness of participants to quit, only a minority made a serious attempt at quitting all forms of tobacco.

The study demonstrated that shisha smokers in the trial were highly dependent and many smoked cigarettes as well, reducing the efficacy of the drug.

Dr. Omar Dogar, from the University of York's Department of Health Sciences, said: "The drug, varenicline, attaches to the nicotine receptors in the brain and deactivates them, alleviating the symptoms of craving, but along with the drug there still has to be a willingness to quit smoking.

"There are many layers to addiction, neurological and psychological, and one of the things we found in this trial is that the social aspect of shisha smoking played a significant role in its appeal. Almost 90% of our study participants smoked shisha with others."

The study suggests that more work is needed to break the social norms of shisha smoking and improving tobacco control policies. The way in which loose leaf tobacco is sold and bought in Pakistan, for example, means that standard packaging carrying health warnings do not always exist and it is still fairly cheap for most people to buy.

Professor Siddiqi said: "Shisha smokers may have a better chance of quitting if shisha smoking is less affordable and not served in cafes, bars and restaurants, as it is in many places in Asia and the Middle East.

"An approach, similar to that taken against cigarette smoking, to raise awareness of the risks, particularly with young people, and control its use in public spaces would be a step forward, alongside traditional drug and behavioural interventions."

The research trial was supported by Pfizer and the study is published in the journal Addiction.

Explore further Singapore clamps down on shisha smoking
Dr. Michael J. Vitacco, forensic psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Credit: Phil Jones, Senior Photographer, Augusta University

After being found not guilty by reason of insanity, it's not typically a crimerather declining mental health or breaking rules of conditional release like not drinking alcoholthat puts people back in a psychiatric hospital or even jail, researchers say.

And, the violence risk-assessment tool most commonly used in making a release decision, called HCR-20, isn't good at predicting who will end up reincarcerated, says Dr. Michael J. Vitacco, forensic psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

"While recidivism rates for these individuals are fortunately low, we want to be able to better determine who needs more services before they are released. If we can do that, we might be able to take that rate down even lower," says Vitacco.

The study reaffirms the success of conditional release programs, as well as the need to regularly monitor dynamic risk factorsfactors that can change quickly like employment status and drug useassociated with violent or other illegal behavior, which provide both red flags and points for intervention, the researchers write.

Next steps should include evaluating other risk-assessment tools' proficiency at both evaluating readiness for release and predicting outcome, Vitacco, corresponding author, and his colleagues report.

The study in the journal Law and Human Behavior looked at 238 individuals201 males and 37 females a mean age of 40 at the time of their conditional releasein Oregon between Jan. 1, 2007 and Dec. 31, 2011.

Sixty-six percent maintained their conditional release throughout the four- to nine-year period they were followed for the study, and 33.6 percent had their release revoked. Out of the 81 individuals who had their conditional release revoked, one committed a new, nonviolent criminal offense.

"That means that once you treat the mental illness and take care of some other factors, these people are relatively safe," Vitacco says. In fact, people with mental illness are the minority of violent offenders or other crime committers, he says. Revenge, greed, anger and alcohol are more likely drivers.

"There are some real consistencies here," Vitacco said of the low recidivism rates for insanity acquittees the researchers have now found in Oregon as well as Georgia, Virginia, Wisconsin and Maryland. By comparison, the National Institute of Justice reports 67.8 percent of people convicted of committing a crime are rearrested three years after getting out of prison and 75 percent after five years. An Oregon study found about half of those on felony probation are rearrested within three years.

"When it is due to mental illness, they are much more treatable and much less likely to do it again," Vitacco says, adding that it's important to counteract myths that most violence is committed by the mentally ill.

However, when treatment and conditional release don't work out well, there can be bad consequences, which is one of the many reasons Vitacco and his colleagues are working to find even better ways to assess who will and won't do well on release.

The 20-item HCR-20, or Historical, Clinical, Risk-20, is the most widely used tool to help assess violence risk. It helps mental health professionalsall psychologists in the case of the Oregon studyassess things like past behavior and current dynamics emperically linked to violence.

It's been suggested that HCR-20 is good at predicting violence among forensic psychiatric patients undergoing assessment for conditional release. But, prior to Vitacco's study, there were already inconsistent findings about that ability. However, his findings and others' do not negate HCR-20's value in assessing overall violence risk and treatment needs, Vitacco notes.

For the study, the researchers also looked at demographic and criminal history data on the 238 individuals, like their clinical diagnosis, length of hospitalization and age when they committed crimes.

Sex, race and age at the time of the offense or release did not appear to be a factor in their success, neither did the number of charges or whether they involved violence. About 56 percent had committed a violent crime. More than half had committed a single offense, 12 percent had four charges against them and a small percentage were tried on as many as 18 charges.

Individuals in the Oregon study had diagnoses of psychosis, mood disorders, intellectual disabilities, substance abuse, cognitive disorders and anxiety. One individual had dissociative disorder, which is often associated with trauma. The majority of the individuals were diagnosed with two disorders and the second one was often substance abuse; 64 had a secondary diagnosis of personality disorder, which interferes with personal and societal relationships.

Psychosis, a thought disorder that interferes with the ability to engage in rational thinking, is a top diagnosis for individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity, Vitacco says, but adds that most people who are psychotic do not commit crimes.

Vitacco notes another issue that needs exploration is whether the type of crimekilling someone as opposed to stealing a caris predictive of conditional release revocation. "Both individuals broke the rules, but should they be handled differently? That is an important question," he says.

Balancing community safety and individual rights underscores the importance of accurately assessing whether an individual is at risk for a violent crime once they are released, Vitacco says.

Not guilty by reason of insanity by definition means the individual cannot be held responsible for a crime, even a violent one. "Their mental illness interferes with their ability to differentiate between right and wrong," Vitacco says.

Most people found not guilty by reason of insanity are committed to a psychiatric hospital, some of which exclusively treat prisoners, for further evaluation and treatment.

If/when they are determined to not be a danger to themselves or others and otherwise ready to return to general society, they typically are given a conditional release. Much like being on parole, that means they must meet certain requirements like taking their medications, abstaining from drugs and alcohol and participating in group psychotherapy, to remain free. Typically they are closely monitored by the state, and a violation can put them back in a psychiatric hospital.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that individuals must be both actively mentally ill and dangerous to be kept in the hospital, and that because individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity were not convicted of a crime, he/she may not be punished for the crime. In fact, the court further stated that there is no clear correlation between a hypothetical criminal sentence and the time it takes the offender to recover. The court accepted that some people found not guilty by reason of insanity, even for a relatively minor on nonviolent crime, might not recover and remain dangerous and require continued hospitalization.

More information: Michael J. Vitacco et al. Reconsidering risk assessment with insanity acquittees., Law and Human Behavior (2018). Michael J. Vitacco et al. Reconsidering risk assessment with insanity acquittees.,(2018). DOI: 10.1037/lhb0000298
New research from Dr. Heyu Ni, Platform Director for Hematology, Cancer and Immunological Diseases at the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) of St. Michael's Hospital and his team demonstrates that ApoA-IV is an inhibitory factor for platelets, uncovering why foods high in unsaturated fats may protect against cardiovascular disease. Credit: St. Michael's Hospital

Foods high in unsaturated fats may protect against cardiovascular disease, and new research published today in Nature Communications has uncovered why.

Apolipoprotein A-IV, known as ApoA-IV, is a plasma protein. Levels of ApoA-IV increase after the digestion of foods, particularly foods high in unsaturated fats, such as olive oil. Higher levels of ApoA-IV in the blood have been reported to be associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease.

New research from the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) of St. Michael's Hospital demonstrates that ApoA-IV is an inhibitory factor for platelets, which are small blood cells that play a key role in multiple diseases, particularly in bleeding and cardiovascular diseases.

These new findings suggest that ApoA-IV is a blocker of platelet surface glycoproteins GPIIbIIIa (also named integrin II3). Integrin II3 is a platelet receptor that is necessary for platelets to clump together in the blood (called platelet aggregation). Platelet aggregation can cause vessel occlusion that blocks blood flow, leading to thrombosis, which is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.

"Platelet aggregation can save lives, because it can stop bleeding in damaged vessels," said Dr. Heyu Ni, Platform Director for Hematology, Cancer and Immunological Diseases at the KRCBS, who is the principal investigator of this study. "But we usually don't want platelets to block blood flow in the vessels. This is thrombosis, and if vessel occlusion occurs in the heart or brain, it can cause heart attack, stroke or death."

Platelets bind together with a series of connectors. For one platelet to bond to another, the platelet receptor integrin II3 first binds to fibrinogenan abundant protein that bridges platelets in bloodand fibrinogen molecules then bind another integrin II3 on a second platelet. Then fibrinogen and likely also other proteins allow many platelets to bind one another, leading to platelet aggregation.

Examining both lab models and humans, Dr. Ni, who is also a scientist at Canadian Blood Services Centre for Innovation, and his team have shown that ApoA-IV can link to the integrin II3 and block fibrinogen binding, decreasing platelet aggregation in a vessel. The ApoA-IV protein can also change its shape to accommodate increased blood flow, and become more effective to protect vessels from complete blockage.

"This is the first study to link ApoA-IV with platelets and thrombosis," Dr. Ni said. "With this work, we have also explained why higher levels of ApoA-IV can slow down plaque build-up in blood vessels, known as atherosclerosis, because this process is also related to platelet function."

The researchers also examined ApoA-IV's interaction with food. After every meal, platelets are stimulated, which makes it easier for them to bond together or bond to white blood cells. ApoA-IV increases in circulating blood almost immediately after meals containing unsaturated fats and decreases platelet hyperactivity and bonding, thus reducing the inflammation after meals and the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The study also found that ApoA-IV has its own circadian rhythm. It is most active overnight and least active in the morning.

"Mother Nature wants us to sleep well," Dr. Ni said. "So we are protected by this protein while we sleep, and most likely to experience a cardiovascular event after waking up in the morning."

Dr. Ni and his team are excited about these findings because they show that foods with high unsaturated fats, along with appropriate sleep patterns, create the perfect combination for the protein ApoA-IV to play a positive role in reducing the chances of cardiovascular disease in the form of atherosclerosis, heart attack, or stroke.

This new knowledge has many potential applications, Dr. Ni explained. Future studies will focus on better understanding this protein and how to harness its protective potential to build therapies targeted at cardiovascular disease and other diseases that arise from platelet activation and aggregation.

Explore further PCSK9 is a co-activator of platelet function beyond its role in cholesterol homeostasis

More information: Xiaohong Ruby Xu et al, Apolipoprotein A-IV binds IIb3 integrin and inhibits thrombosis, Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications Xiaohong Ruby Xu et al, Apolipoprotein A-IV binds IIb3 integrin and inhibits thrombosis,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05806-0
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Several years ago, a research paper made headlines by finding that the happiest states in the United States also had the highest suicide rates.

This seemingly paradoxical conclusion caught the attention of a trio of researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder and University of California Irvine for a different reason: could there be more to the story than the eye-catching findings suggested?

By looking at counties instead of states and making a few other experimental tweaks, researchers put the newsy findings to the test. The results of their study, published last fall in the Journal of Happiness Studies, contradict the earlier study, adding another layer to a growing body of research about how our geographic location affects our happiness and well-being.

"Our basic finding was that we don't see any relationship between the general level of happiness in a place and people's likelihood of committing suicide," said Tim Wadsworth, an associate sociology professor at CU Boulder and one of the study's co-authors.

Designing the experiment

The initial headline-grabbing study, conducted by a team of economists and published in 2011, concluded that the happiest U.S. states also had the highest suicide rates. The economists' explanation for this paradox was that people tended to compare themselves to those around themif you're an unhappy person in a happy place, your negative feelings might be exacerbated by your positive surroundings, which could lead to suicide.

Wadsworth, along with then-CU Boulder graduate student Philip Pendergast and UC Irvine criminology professor Charis Kubrin, were skeptical of the study's focus on people living in the same state.

Since states can span hundreds of thousands of square miles, there are major regional differences to considerBoulder, for example, is very different from Colorado Springs. Positing that people were more likely to compare themselves to others in their immediate vicinity, the researchers narrowed in on data at the county level instead.

"We found it to be problematic, unless you're going to make the argument that people in one part of California are comparing themselves to people in other parts of California," Wadsworth said. "But I will buy the idea that I'm influenced by what I see living in Boulder among other Boulderites."

They deviated from the initial study in other ways, too, such as by controlling for regional variations in suicide rates and well-being. The researchers also accounted for the availability of firearms and included a measure of overall health in their analysis, since those two factors are also correlated with suicide. In essence, they created a more rigorous experiment to see if they could reproduce the initial findings.

In the end, their study failed to find evidence of a relationship, either negative or positive, between suicide rates and the average subjective well-being, or happiness, of U.S. counties. Instead, the findings reinforced the traditional predictors of suicide, such as the accessibility of firearms and health and regional variations.

Noting the limitations of their work and the low number of studies on this topic, the researchers also pointed out the need for future research.

"The question is then, 'Well, who's right?'" Kubrin said. "No study is ever the full explanation of anything. What awaits is additional studies to weigh in on thisthat's the way science works. More than anything, our paper raises questions about those initial findings."

Understanding the findings

Practically speaking, the study's findings suggest that you shouldn't necessarily be concerned about living in a happy place if you're unhappy, nor that you should rush out and move to a happy place in an attempt to become happier.

"The idea that anybody could move to a place to change their level of happiness, there's no evidence that that's actually happening," Wadsworth said. "Let's not all of a sudden jump on the bandwagon and say we need to be extra concerned about unhappy people in happy places, not to say that it's impossible, but (this study was) really just sort of holding up our hands and saying, 'Whoa.'"

Another analysis made headlines recently, too, this one from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In May, the federal agency reported that suicide rates across the country increased 25 percent between 1999 and 2016.

While that statistic alone is alarming, sociologists like Wadsworth and Kubrin say it's important for public health officials and policymakers to drill down into the data to look at state, regional and local trends, as well as other factors such as race, age, education level, marital status and the availability of firearms.

"One of the things we know about suicide, as well as homicide, is that it's not equally distributed," Kubrin said. "One of the things you have to do is disaggregate the suicide rate. The overall suicide rate is helpful, but not nearly as helpful as looking at different groups of people and the areas where the increase has occurred in particular."

On the other side of the spectrum, when our friends, family members and even celebrities such as Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain die by suicide, we tend to focus on their individual circumstances, such as their mental health. But if we really want to prevent more suicides across the country, it's equally as important to look at widescale trends that go beyond individual factors such as depression, Kubrin said.

"Individual-level explanations are 100 percent absolutely important," she said. "But if we just stay at the individual level, we might be missing bigger, broader factors that impact suicide above and beyond any one individual's characteristics. There are other questions about suicide that need answering. Why do suicide rates cluster in certain regions of the U.S.? It's not just a function of people with depression moving to certain areas. There's something beyond the individual that plays into this distribution."

Suicide research continues

Overall, the researchers say that further study on suicide is needed. Though suicide is much more common than homicide or violent crime, it receives a fraction of the attention.

"We're obsessed with crime and crime trends and crime data," Kubrin said. "The reality is that suicide, especially for certain groups, is much more likely to occur than homicide."

For his part, Pendergast said he hopes to continue his contributions to suicide research in his new role as administrator of the U.S. Census Bureau's Rocky Mountain Federal Statistical Research Data Center, which is housed on campus.

After completing his doctorate at CU in May, Pendergast now reviews proposals from people who want to use the center's restricted population data in their research. With such a rich dataset, Pendergast said he hopes researchers will explore topics such as why the American West has a higher suicide rate than other parts of the country. More broadly, Pendergast said he hopes this and other studies help spark much-needed conversations about suicide.

"I hope that any papers about suicide would have the implication of causing people to engage in more of a cultural dialogue about suicide and making it less stigmatized by simply talking about it," Pendergast said.

More information: Philip M. Pendergast et al. Suicide in Happy Places: Is There Really a Paradox?, Journal of Happiness Studies (2017). Journal information: Journal of Happiness Studies Philip M. Pendergast et al. Suicide in Happy Places: Is There Really a Paradox?,(2017). DOI: 10.1007/s10902-017-9938-y
Stroke survivors and their partners are not adequately supported to deal with changes to their relationships, self-identity, gender roles and intimacy following stroke, according to new research from the University of Sydney.

Published today in Clinical Rehabilitation, the qualitative study found that stroke survivors struggle to openly discuss sexuality, and health professionals rarely address the topic during rehabilitation.

This finding is supported by data from the Stroke Foundation showing as few as 15 percent of patients receive information on intimate relations post-stroke, despite clinical guideline recommendations.

Lead author Dr. Margaret McGrath from the University of Sydney said the new review shows that sexuality is essentially silenced following stroke.

"Issues around post-stroke sexuality and where to seek support are rarely discussed with stroke survivors or their loved ones despite numerous interactions with medical, rehabilitation and counselling staff," said Dr. McGrath, a researcher in occupational therapy from the Faculty of Health Sciences.

"Sexuality and disability is viewed as a taboo topic so stroke survivors don't know how to talk about it and health professionals don't ask the questions."

"This is problematic as sexuality, which includes so much more than just sex, is an essential part of human experience and strongly with linked with emotional and mental health."

"But that (stroke) doesn't change the essence of who I am or what I want before and after. It only changes what I can do. It doesn't change what I want."- Stroke survivor

The systematic review collated several studies to explore the experiences of almost 650 male and female stroke survivors ranging from 20 to 105 years of age, as well as the experiences of 283 partners.

Using a broad definition of sexuality, the study explores dimensions such as gender roles and identity, presentation of self to others, sexual expression, intimacy, relationships and reproduction.

For couples in a relationship before stroke, physical and cognitive impairment, communication difficulties and post-stroke fatigue meant that pre-existing, often stereotyped gender-based roles, needed to change.

"Men often struggled with an inability to be what they viewed as a 'protector' or 'provider' for the family, while female stroke survivors lamented a loss of their role as wife, mother or homemakerall of which affects the way they interact with each other" said Dr. McGrath.

"This also impacts partners' self-identity, particularly when they moved from being an intimate partner to a primary caregiver."

For people not in a relationship or whose relationship ended, stroke decreased their self-confidence and willingness to seek out new relationships.

"Stroke also impacted the survivor's relationship with their own body, with many seeing their body as unpredictable or separate from themselves. Being sexually intimate exacerbates these feelings, leading to heightened levels of anxiety."

Dr. McGrath said many of these fears and misconceptions could be addressed through proper support from health and rehabilitation professionals.

"Health professionals' reluctance to address sexuality is due to a lack of knowledge and confidence. We need tailored education and training to address this knowledge gap."

Explore further CDC: Outpatient rehab rates suboptimal for stroke survivors

More information: Margaret McGrath et al, How is sexuality after stroke experienced by stroke survivors and partners of stroke survivors? A systematic review of qualitative studies, Clinical Rehabilitation (2018). Margaret McGrath et al, How is sexuality after stroke experienced by stroke survivors and partners of stroke survivors? A systematic review of qualitative studies,(2018). DOI: 10.1177/0269215518793483 Under funding from the Stroke Foundation, the University of Sydney is developing programs to address sexuality with stroke survivors. Stroke survivors or partners interested in finding out more can contact Dr. McGrath. Journal information: Clinical Rehabilitation
Credit: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

Nothing less than a breakthrough. That's how researchers at UMC Utrecht see their MRI device with built-in irradiation. With this device, doctors can irradiate the tumour more accurately, because they can map the tumour tissue live on the MRI scans. After a development period of twenty years, the first cancer patients successfully finished a complete radiation programme.

Being able to see what you're doing while irradiating a tumour. It sounds very logical, but for a long time it was considered technically impossible. Researchers from the University Medical Center Utrecht however did believe in it. Together with Philips Medical Systems and Elekta they worked on an MRI scanner in which the irradiator is incorporated. This way you can irradiate the cancer cells much more accurately and leave the healthy tissue intact. This creates less damage to the healthy tissue in the vicinity of the tumour, which is now inevitably also irradiated. An additional advantage is that the patient has to undergo fewer radiation treatments.

The development of the technology has lasted twenty years, and now the first cancer patients have gone through a complete radiation trajectory. Various national media reported on this breakthrough, including the Algemeen Dagblad and De Telegraaf. There is also a great interest in the technology worldwide. In the United Kingdom and the United States, among others, there are several hospitals that are looking forward to working with the technology.

Research

Credit: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

An important part of the development of the combi-technique was a research project that was funded by Technology Foundation STW, now NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences (AES). The project, called A hybrid MRI radiotherapy system, started in 2007. Researchers worked together with Philips and Elekta, who develop MRI systems and radiation equipment.

One of the UMC researchers who developed the radiation system was Bas Raaijmakers. He received a Veni grant in 2003 to be able to work on the integration of radiation equipment and an MRI system. The Veni project was supervised by Technology Foundation STW.

After these successful projects success the development of the combi-technique continues. This is realised in various projects, including two AES projects that have been granted within the HTSM programme. Both AES projects should lead to more knowledge and dexterity in following the movements organs make during the irradiation. This should make it possible to irradiate even more accurately. Partly thanks to this kind of projects, the technology can reach full maturity.

Explore further New technology to allow simultaneous tumour imaging and radiotherapy treatment
Gangster Baghe arrested for extortion

Notorious gangster Suk Bahadur Tamang aka Baghe has been arrested from Swoyambhu in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Investigation delay into Nirmalas rape and murder case raises suspicion

The drawn-out investigation into the rape and murder of 13-year-old Nirmala Panta in Kanchanpur district has stoked public rumour that the authorities are deliberately delaying the probe to protect the perpetrators.
Vodacom has shown off a working 5G connection and various use cases for the next-generation technology at Vodacom World in Midrand, Gauteng.

The event displayed the various consumer technologies and applications enabled by the high-speed network.

This follows the companys recent launch of its 5G network in Lesotho, which it said is the first commercial 5G network in Africa.

Speaking at the event, Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub said the company was very excited about the speeds it was seeing on its 5G network in Lesotho.

This is the first commercial launch of 5G anywhere on the continent, Joosub said.

We are now seeing up to 1Gbps speeds on our network, which is very exciting.

The mobile operator said its South African network was ready to connect 5G customers  all that it requires is the spectrum to support the technology.

Low latency

Vodacom CTO Andries Delport said the lower latency of 5G technology combined with edge computing and a NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) network would enable various new applications.

Latency is the one parameter that will open possibilities for the 5G network which other technologies are not able to deliver, Delport said.

We have no idea what all the use cases will be, but the reality is the number of possibilities that are being created by this technology is endless.

Vodacom showed off a number of use cases for commercial 5G networks at the event, using Huaweis CPE hardware  including live video streaming, cloud-powered virtual reality applications.

The company hosted various demonstrations of 5G network applications at its event, too, leveraging its temporary spectrum licence in the 3.5GHz band.

Vodacom further conducted a speed test on the 5G network deployed at the venue, reaching:

Download speeds of 704.2Mbps.

Upload speeds of 90.2Mbps.

A latency of 9ms.

Photos of the event are posted below.

5G showcase

Now read: Ramaphosa told Telecommunications Minister to speed up 4G and 5G spectrum
The Oxbow School has named Michael Williamson as the school's second head of school.

After 20 years as the founding director and head of school, Stephen Thomas retired in June 2018.

Williamson "brings a wealth of experience in school leadership, arts education and student-centered pedagogy to this role," said a news release.

He joins Oxbow after 27 years at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia.

Williamson graduated cum laude with a B.A. from Yale and an M.F.A. in painting from Bard Colleges Milton Avery Graduate School of Fine Arts in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

Williamson is a practicing artist and has exhibited his work throughout Pennsylvania and New York.

Co-founded by Margrit and Robert Mondavi and Ann Hatch in 1999, The Oxbow School is a residential semester program in Napa focusing on studio artmaking and interdisciplinary humanities.

Info: 707-255-6000
Ezekiel Hampton will be at the Studio at Feast it Forward from 7:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7, for a release party for his new album, If Thy Grace Should Tarry.

Its my first solo album in 11 years, and it is artistically a much different direction leaning more towards an experimental ambient style, Hampton said.

The entire album was recorded in an improvised fashion over a slew of various instruments, which I feel gives it a more intuitive and emotive quality to it.

Hampton said his album release party will be just as unique as the genre, where video projection will accompany the album underneath the stars at the new Feast it Forward property.

Attendees are encouraged to bring sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and lawn chairs for Hampton will also be doing a live, improvised performance.

A taco truck from Hella Rad Food Co. and 38 different local wines will be available for purchase.

Feast it Forward is at 1031 McKinstry St., Napa, across the street from Model Bakery.
Throughout the valley, 64 artists are applying finishing touches to pieces theyve been working on and spiffing up their studios in preparation for Open Studios Napa Valley.

The free, self-guided art discovery tour that art lovers look forward to all year, always takes place during the last two weekends in September. This year, 38 studio locations throughout Napa, Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga will be open on Sept. 22-23 and 29-30.

To kick off Open Studios Napa Valley, Jessel Gallery in Napa is hosting a preview party and show Friday, Sept. 7, from 5-8 p.m. The show will run through the end of the month featuring one piece of art from every artist participating in Open Studios.

The preview party is the perfect opportunity to experience all the Open Studios artists in one room, said gallery owner Jessel Miller.

Were having the party to celebrate the many wonderful artists in the valley, Miller added. I think we have a wealth of art in the valley and theres a vast variety of talent in different mediums here.

Over the two weekends that artists invite the public to their work spaces, live demonstrations will take place in many of the studios. These will include painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, glass, fiber, printmaking, jewelry design and sculpture.

The Open Studios Napa Valley directory and map indicates which artists will be giving demonstrations and whether they are handicapped-accessible and open if raining.

All artists, whether they are giving demonstrations or not, are happy to share how and why they do what they do and give visitors personal insight into the world of the artist.

Not only can visitors discover multiple mediums and experience the studio atmosphere, but they also discover hidden parts of the valley and hear stores from artists about their work.

It really is wonderful to see how much talent we have in the valley. Some of our artists here are recognized internationally, said Lis MacDonald, a watercolor and inks artist whose alcohol ink on Yupo was selected by fellow artists for the cover of this years Open Studios artist directory and map.

Like other participating artists, MacDonald misses out on visiting other artists studios during the event, so seeing a representation of their work at Jessel Gallery is a privilege she said she appreciates.

I was amazed to have my work chosen by the committee for the cover, MacDonald said. I really felt honored to have been selected.

Though MacDonald enjoys oils and acrylics, for the last 20 years she has become best known as a water media artist. Recently, she has been using alcohol inks. Her work was displayed at the Napa County Librarys juried Art in the Library exhibit in March.

A dog lover who volunteers at the Napa County Animal Shelter, MacDonald has painted various breeds of dogs for the 10 years. Without abandoning these paintings, she is now finding a sense of freedom with her alcohol inks.

I have been searching for a way to abstract my landscapes without sacrificing design and color, MacDonald said. This started my alcohol ink paintings.

She allows the inks, with their intense colors and fluidity to run on tilted Yupo paper, adding more color or softening with plain alcohol to create patterns consistent with landscapes.

Most of the paintings are from inner visions rather than a specific place, she said. In the end, the painting ends up looking like a watercolor painting.

Over the last two weekends in September, MacDonald will be giving demonstrations of her artistic process at 2394 Big Ranch Road where she will be exhibiting with three other artists: Bob Saxby, Gerda Shupe and Karen Winograde.

Wed like people to just come visit, MacDonald said. Purchase is not necessary. We just want people to come enjoy the art and visit.

The popular art event is a collaborative effort by the participating artists of the Art Association of Napa Valley.

The program has endured for more than three decades because local artists believe in the importance and value of opening their studios to visitors. Volunteers have contributed hundreds of hours and sponsors have contributed financial support to ensure the success of Open Studios Napa Valley.

In gratitude for the community support they receive, the art association contributes a portion of revenues to local high school and junior college scholarships.

The 2018 Open Studios Napa Valley artist directory and maps are downloadable at www.OpenStudiosNapaValley.com.

Copies of the 2018 Open Studios Napa Valley artist directory and map will soon be available free of charge throughout Napa and the valley at:

Napa Tourist Information Center, 1331 First St.;

Napa Valley Art Supplies and Cartons and Crates, 3250 California Blvd.;

Napa Main Library, 580 Coombs St.;

 Art Gallery Napa Valley, 1307 First St.;

 Upper Valley Calistoga Pottery at 1001 Foothill Blvd.

Most studios will also have extra directories to pass out.

Also visit www.facebook.com/napavalleyopenstudios for daily updates.

For information about the Open Studios preview party, call Jessel Gallery at 707-257-2350. The Jessel Gallery is at 1019 Atlas Peak Road, Napa.
AMERICAN CANYON  American Canyon High School was locked down for an hour and a half at mid-day Wednesday after six students were robbed of their phones, shoes and jewelry at an off-campus location, the Napa County Sheriffs Office reported.

The suspected robbers  two non-students from out of county, one armed with a gun, the other with a knife  were arrested a short time later, said Henry Wofford, a spokesman for the Sheriffs Office and the American Canyon Police Department, which is staffed by sheriffs deputies.

The robbers sprawled the students out on the ground and one of them put a gun to one of their heads and said, Give it up or else Ill kill you, Wofford said.

At one point, one of the students, fearing the worst, stood up and bolted and the others soon followed, Wofford said.

Although four of the students sustained injuries, none were life-threatening and there is no evidence that the gun was fired, Wofford said.

The students, who had left campus to get lunch at a 7-Eleven, were pulled over on a street in the Vintage Ranch subdivision, officials said.

Early reports on a law enforcement radio channel referred to a shooter in the area and referred to victims requiring medical aid. Ambulances were summoned and to carry students to hospitals in Napa and Vallejo.

Several students went to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. Another student was to go to Kaiser Hospital in Vallejo. Officials would not disclose details of the injuries.

Police and medical units were called to the area on reports of young victims scattered on Newell Drive, Shenandoah Drive and Silver Oak Trail.

Because early reports, including a posting on napavalleyregister.com, spoke of likely gunfire, the Sheriffs Office issued a Nixle report at 2:30 p.m. saying there was no shooting or stabbing at AmCan High.

There was a lockdown on campus as a precautionary safety measure for incident near campus, according to the Nixle report.

The identities of the suspects were not immediately released. Wofford said they were tracked down using vehicle information provided by a student.

Student Jaylen Jones said the report of violence and school lockdown shocked us.

It was kind of scary, said student Jeremy Linn, who said he was told to stay in the gym locker room when the lockdown was first announced.

American Canyon High School sent a letter to parents on Wednesday afternoon to clarify what had happened near campus.

Our thoughts tonight are with the students who injured in an off-campus incident today, and with their families. We are grateful for the quick action on the part of the American Canyon Police Department, who have the perpetrators in custody, the letter stated.

Although our campus remains safe, we are taking some steps in response. In addition to our campus counseling staff, tomorrow additional professional counselors will be available to help any student or staff member who needs support, the letter said.

The American Canyon High campus will be locked down during lunch until further notice, parents were advised. Please have your student plan to eat lunch on campus. Food Service will be prepared to serve more students, or your student can bring lunch, the letter stated.

All other activities will take place as scheduled, the school said.

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Kathmandu Post journo feted

The Cooperative Journalists Society Nepal (CJN) has honoured Rajesh Khanal, a journalist with The Kathmandu Post, for his reporting on issues related to the countrys cooperative businesses.
When a Napa Police officer goes on patrol, a third eye will soon be watching.

Years in the making, a system of body-worn video cameras and digital evidence storage won the City Councils approval Tuesday night. A five-year, $572,069 contract with the Arizona-based Axon company will equip about 80 police officers with the pocket-size cameras, which can be worn on the chest or shoulder, by November or December, Police Chief Robert Plummer said after the unanimous vote at City Hall.

Police officials have called the move to in-the-field video a way to increase the accountability of law enforcement officers while building trust with Napa residents. In an August interview with the Napa Valley Register, Sgt. Kristofer Jenny said one goal of the camera rollout is to encourage police to behave as if your mom was with you on a ride-along.

The St. Helena Police Department also will start using body cameras this year, probably within a few weeks, joining a national trend of law enforcement using technology to record its interactions with the public.

As soon as the equipment arrives, St. Helenas 13 sworn officers will manually turn on the cameras every time they interact with a member of the public, said Lt. Chris Hartley.

Even if its just a little old lady who needs help crossing the street, that camera will be on, he said.

In Napa, the palm-size devices  4 by 3 inches and weighing 5 ounces  will capture video of officers interactions with suspects and other people, and come with desktop docks to transmit their footage into a cloud-based network for storing police evidence. Battery life is sufficient to power each camera for a full shift of 10 to 12 hours, Plummer said.

Axon-made camera units come either in a version mounted to a chest bracket or in a design mounted on the shoulder. A chest-type version demonstrated Tuesday featured a large central pushbutton to switch video on and off, with a lens mounted in the corner.

A wireless Bluetooth connection lets an officer view videos and photos captured by the camera on a police-issued smartphone, but the phone does not store any footage, according to Axon spokesperson Bob Dillon. A special phone app allows the addition of notes and metadata to help the department keep track of evidence and any requests for it.

Officers can tag videos with case and state penal code numbers, but will not be able to erase or redact anything from the cameras, said Plummer.

Equally as important as the video devices is the network that will capture and safeguard it, according to Plummer, who took the helm of Napa Police in late July. An Axon-operated and password-protected website, Evidence.com, stores the footage, and the company hires so-called white-hat hackers four times a year to check its system for online intrusions and security flaws, Dillon told councilmembers.

The equipment is not where the cost comes in; the cost comes in storing the evidence, said Plummer, who served 27 years in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and helped guide that agencys adoption of body cameras starting in 2012.

Napas selection of Axon equipment followed trials that ran from December to May, and the police department recorded more than 2,300 videos totaling 305 hours during testing, according to the city.

Body-mounted cameras were first adopted by Napa traffic officers several years ago in hopes of refuting complaints about traffic stops, according to Jenny, who has said the footage can be used for training officers in handling critical situations.

As Napa officers prepare to wear cameras on their rounds, the resulting increase in video evidence is expected to come with a greater time demand on those investigating alleged crimes.

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley has said that even a routine drunken-driving case could involve viewing five to 10 hours of footage. Jenny, of Napa Police, estimated a high-profile case like an officer-involved shooting could involve as many as 40 cameras producing a few hundred hours of video  a quantity requiring several days to watch in full.

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In smoothing out parking patterns downtown, Napa should first make better use of what assets it already has before setting its ambitions higher.

Such was the conclusion of a consultant helping Napa map parking patterns in a city core made increasingly busy by restaurants, wine tasting rooms, shops and hotels. In presenting a survey of downtown parking  the first of its kind in three years  Julie Dixon joined city officials in calling for a fresh look at parking enforcement, directional signs, time limits, and the distribution of all-day spaces that could accommodate downtown workers but often go underused even as other lots fill up quickly.

The discussion may herald a reboot of Napas efforts to prepare for increasing parking demand in its business district, but also may mark at least a temporary break from more ambitious talks  so far unrealized  to install paid parking or raise another downtown garage for 300 or more vehicles. Sharing her study with the City Council on Tuesday afternoon, Dixon urged better and smarter use of Napas existing supply.

Rome wasnt built in a day, nor was the parking challenge we face today in Napa, she told councilmembers.

Dixons presentation followed her firms release of a study, sponsored by the citys parking manager Tony Valadez, that was based on two Thursday afternoon surveys taken downtown in June.

Occupancy increased at five city parking areas, and at least 85 percent of slots were taken at nine facilities, San Diego-based Dixon Resource Unlimited wrote. The report also noted a 37 percent decline in parking citations from the 2013-14 fiscal year to 2017-18, dropping to 5,485 tickets from 8,684, which Dixon said may be the result of thin enforcement staffing encouraging drivers to exceed time limits  particularly on weekends when parking officers are off duty.

While crowding is the problem at some lots  and especially for coveted curbside spaces  other facilities languish by comparison. Dixon pointed to the Pearl Street garage as a prime example, as it was filled to less than half its capacity on both days of the June survey.

Possible steps suggested by Dixon include better signage to point drivers toward garages and lots, as well as signs at garages to show whether or not spaces are still open. To better track those overstaying parking time limits, Napa also may consider reviving the use of license-plate recognition scanners, which it dropped about four years ago.

In addition, she added, Napa could reduce congestion on curbsides by prohibiting re-parking or hopscotching, in which drivers move their vehicles from space to space as the two-hour limit approaches.

Councilmember Scott Sedgley, meanwhile, called Napas monthly permit parking program an underused tool, saying its wider use by downtown merchants could keep more employees cars out of spaces that otherwise could be used by shoppers and diners.

I tell business owners whose workers hopscotch, Wouldnt it help you if you gave your employees parking permits at $30 a month, a dollar a day? he said.

Because of a perception that many all-day parking slots  such as those in the Pearl Street garage  are too far from core businesses or unsafe at night, Councilmember Jim Krider suggested looking into a fleet of small shuttle vehicles running no-cost downtown routes, including to and from parking areas, similar to San Diegos FRED (Free Ride Everywhere Downtown) system.

Whatever steps Napa takes to better manage its parking supply, Krider predicted a change of drivers expectations also will be needed to create lasting improvement  and ensure that prime vehicle spaces next to city hot spots turn over as quickly and fairly as possible.

Napa has a small downtown, and people have a small-downtown notion that they should be able to park right next to where theyre going, he said. And its difficult to change that dynamic.

Mostly absent from the City Councils discussion was talk of installing a pay-to-park system to replace the meters Napa removed in the 1990s. City officials in 2016 discussed a pilot metering program that would have charged the users of about 500 vehicle spaces, but never followed through.

Meanwhile, Valadez, the Napa parking manager, said the citys immediate plans will include setting goals and a budget by years end  and trying to optimize our inventory first and get enforcement up to par first before seeking any costlier fixes.

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Californias booming economy is pouring many billions of additional tax dollars into state and local government treasuries.

Nevertheless, the locals  cities and school districts, especially  find themselves in an ever-tightening fiscal vise because mandatory payments into public employee pension funds are growing much faster than revenues.

Thats why dozens of them are asking their voters this year to approve new taxes, although they typically, for political reasons, dont specify pensions as the reason.

Laws governing those tax elections, however, are in a state of legal flux.

The state constitution separates local tax proposals into those meant for general purposes and those for specially designated purposes. It allows simple majority voter approval of the former and requires two-thirds voter approval for the latter.

Last year, the state Supreme Court shook up those provisions, implying in a Southern California marijuana case that if special purpose tax measures are placed on the ballot by initiative petition, rather than by the local governments themselves, the two-thirds vote threshold might not apply.

The ruling was not definitive. But ever since it was issued, those in the cloistered world of local government finance have speculated about its potential effects. Everyone has been waiting for a test case and it might be a special property-related tax approved by San Francisco voters on June 5.

Measure C, placed on the ballot by an initiative petition sponsored by members of the citys Board of Supervisors and approved by 51 percent of its voters, imposes a 3.5 percent tax on local commercial rents, such as office buildings, and a 1 percent tax on warehouse rents.

Titled Universal Childcare for San Francisco Families, the measure dedicates tax proceeds to child care and early childhood education.

Commercial property owners and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association sued, contending that Measure C is clearly a special tax, since its proceeds are designated for one purpose, and thus needed a two-thirds vote.

Its evident that tax sponsors see it as a way of converting the Supreme Courts earlier implication into rock-solid case law, thus making it easier to enact new local taxes. And just as clearly, Jarvis and other plaintiffs in the suit see it as a potential erosion of the constitutions two-thirds vote requirement for special taxes.

Thus, the die appears to be cast for a legal showdown. But wait, as the TV peddlers say, theres more.

As the San Francisco suit was being launched, the state Supreme Court issued another ruling regarding a pension reform initiative sponsored by former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders in 2012 and overwhelmingly approved by the citys voters.

City employee unions waged a legal battle to overturn the measure and won a ruling by the state Public Employee Relations Board that said Sanders was acting as a city official when he sponsored the initiative, not as an ordinary citizen.

Therefore, the board said, as mayor, Sanders was legally obligated under state labor law to meet and confer with unions on something that affected their members compensation. The Supreme Court upheld the boards ruling.

Logically, if Sanders was under that legal obligation as an official, then members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors also were acting officially, and not as ordinary citizens, when they sponsored Measure C. If so, they were placing a special tax on the ballot that would require a two-thirds vote.

Logic does not always prevail in legal battles, but the outcome of this one will reverberate for decades to come.

CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.
In response to the Aug. 29 letter by Debra Phairas (Fox News is the real Fake News):

I believe that we, the American public, deserve accurate and complete news about what is happening in our country.

Over the last 18 months, I have developed a formula for determining what is fake news and what is not. Heres the formula: first, find a story you personally know the actual facts about through personal experience. Next, try to eliminate your personal bias while watching the reporting of the facts, relating to that specific story, on CNN and Fox News. I have used this formula over 50 times in the last 18 months. It is amazing.

On Monday, Aug. 27, for example, most would agree that the major news story was the Trump-led press conference where he and the president of Mexico (via speaker phone) commented on the principles of a new trade agreement, replacing NAFTA, between the USA and Mexico. CNNs top White House reporter, Jim Acosta, was present.

What happened at this press conference (I watched the entire press conference): Trump announced the important aspects of the new trade deal with Mexico. He and the president of Mexico, on the speaker phone, expressed their excitement over the new deal and went on to say that they hoped Canada would soon become a part of it. This was important news given it seemed to be the first major step in making progress in the controversial trade conflicts/wars.

So, Monday eve, I turned on Anderson Cooper 360, CNNs prime-time news broadcast, to watch the coverage. The contents of the one hour show: 30 minutes bashing Trumps handling of Senator McCains death and aftermath, then 15 minutes of paying tribute to McCain, followed by 15 more minutes of bashing Trumps handling.

Next, turned on Fox News to watch their coverage: an interview with the USA trade negotiator about the details of the negotiations of the last few months leading to todays announcement of the new deal with Mexico, including an analysis on whether Canada will likely join in..also, coverage of the Trump controversy over his handling of McCains passing.

You decide  which channel reported the hard news? What significant facts were omitted or ignored?

There are literally hundreds of similar examples in the last 18 months of news coverage, including printed and online news, ignoring pertinent events or negotiations that could be seen as positive for the Trump administration.

Lets touch on the next day's news (Tuesday, Aug. 28). The number 4 man in the Department of Justice, Bruce Ohr, testifies for hours, behind closed doors, to the House Oversight and Judicial Committees. Turn on Anderson Cooper 360 to watch the news: contains about 40 minutes of Trump bashing, plus some coverage of the latest adjustment in the death count from the Puerto Rico hurricane (which they managed to turn into Trump bashing). No mention of the Ohr hearing or the very significant facts that led to Ohr being called in for this Congressional hearing.

What are the facts that caused Ohr to be called in to be grilled before Congress? Over 60 Ohr text messages, e-mails, and his personal notes of conversations had been obtained by Congress. They are all exchanges between Ohr and Christopher Steele, the British retired secret service agent who was hired (and paid several million dollars through the company, Fusion GPS) by the Clinton campaign to unearth dirt on Trump relating to Russia (i.e. this is commonly referred to as the Steele Dossier). This dossier has been discredited.

If any of this is new to you, check out your source of news. CNN keeps reporting the facts that appear in the FBI and Department of Justice investigations as an attempt by Republicans to discredit the Mueller investigation. Just not true: these facts are hard facts, not the sort of rumors or allegations from an unnamed source that CNN reports on an almost daily basis.

It is not a surprise that CNN and MSNBC ratings are plummeting and Fox News is number 1. In a recent poll of most trusted TV brands, Fox was number 2 to BBC; CNN was 9th.

I am not a big fan of Trumps personality or some of his approaches. However, I find the overall news coverage (or selective coverage) from the left-leaning news outlets to be so unprofessional  so many inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and most important, omissions. They are so eager to take Trump down that the real news does not get covered -- and they are paying the price in ratings.

And, since they are feeding their left-leaning supporters the news they want to hear, they are greatly adding to the divisive spirit existing in our country. Believe it; there really are a lot of good things happening. Even if you dont hear about those happenings from CNN and MSNBC, they still keep happening.

Don Muelrath

Napa
North Guwahati is witnessing a never before seen sight since early Thursday morning.

Hordes of public transport buses under Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) are ferrying commuters from North Guwahati to mainland Guwahati city since early Thursday morning.

Also read: Opp leader blames Assam Govts negligence for boat mishap in Brahmaputra

The need to introduce passenger buses was necessitated as the State Transport department had ordered to immediately halt the plying of mechanized country boats (bhutbhuti) between North Guwahati and Guwahati on the Brahmaputra River following the tragic incident on Wednesday afternoon.

Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary in a statement issued after the incident on Wednesday said the order will remain effective during the entire rainy season.

Also read: Dispur finally wakes up from slumber, orders suspension of mechanised boat service

The Minister added that three new vessels for ferry service between North Guwahati and Guwahati will be introduced this month for public convenience.

The Minister on Wednesday also said that the Transport Department is ready with a draft bill for constitution of a Regulatory Body which will be soon placed before the Assembly for approval.

According to locals, earlier only ASTC bus used to ply between North Guwahati and Guwahati city.

Also read: Boat carrying 40 passengers capsizes at Brahmaputra in Guwahati

Search operation resumed: Meanwhile, divers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have resumed search operation early Thursday morning in search of bodies of Wednesdays boat capsize tragedy.

Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, a mechanized country boat carrying 40 passengers capsized near the Aswaklanta Temple in the middle of Brahmaputa.

The mishap took place around 1.30 pm when the boat developed a technical snag and subsequently collided with a pillar of GMDAs JICA funded water supply project in the Brahmaputra.

Around 17 people were rescued alive while bodies of two victims were recovered on Wednesday.
An Indian Army team including five officers, 7 junior commission officers and jawans of 70 other ranks have been deployed in the search operation in the Brahmaputra river where a mechanised boat capsized on Wednesday.

Informing this, Guwahati-based Army spokesman Lt Col P Khongsai stated in a press communique on Thursday, The Army personnel along with the SDRF and NDRF have been carrying out search for the missing persons and the boat but no fruitful result achieved till now.

Also read: Brahmaputra boat tragedy: Four Inland Water Transport officials suspended

Khongsai also informed, Indian Navy personnel will join the operation and the task will be carried out again tomorrow.

The Army spokesman further informed that the Army includes team from the Engineer Regiment and the personnel from the IWT Battalion equipped with sophisticated equipment for the operation.

Indian Air Force helicopters were also used for recce of the area.

It may be mentioned that over 40 persons were reportedly on board the ill-fated mechanised boat which capsized on Wednesday at Aswaklanta Ghat, the north bank of river Brahmaputa in North Guwahati.
US man kills teenage daughters boyfriend who sold her to sex traffickers

Newspaper: Armenia Judicial Department officials make deal with State Supervision Service, law enforcement

Newspaper: Who did CoE co-rapporteurs on Armenia meet with?

Netflix releases final trailer for Money Heist Part 5: Volume 2 (VIDEO)

Russian government gives consent to signing of interregional cooperation plan with Armenian government

Why can't COVID-19 be treated with antibiotics?

China records new outbreak of COVID-19

Prominent physicist Yuri Hovhannisyan becomes recipient of UNESCO-Russia International Prize

U23 World Wrestling Championships: Shant Khachatryan scores bronze medal

30 probed in Turkey for Twitter posts suggesting Erdogan died

Armenia FM states how likely it is to cooperate with Russia in terms of military and 'open itself towards Europe'

Case of sale of child forwarded to Armenian court, an advocate is among the culprits

Afghan man sells 9-month-old daughter for $2,000 to maintain his family

International Committee of the Red Cross reps visit Armenian captives and hostages in Azerbaijan

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Armenian political scientist: '3+3' format is only Turkey's attempt to enter region in field of diplomacy

Armenia FM: Ankara's rhetoric is having a negative impact on stability in the region

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Armenia PM discusses Karabakh conflict and regional issues with US Deputy Assistant Secretary

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Armenia Human Rights Defender's Office to receive more funding next year

Several political parties in Armenia will receive government funding

Dmitry Shugayev: Russia not violating international commitment with regard to supplies to Armenia and Azerbaijan

Aram Sargsyan's Republic Party and Samvel Babayan's Liberal Party sign coalition memorandum in Meghri

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NEWS.am daily digest: 03.11.21

FC Barcelona to sign three-year deal with Xavi

National Hero of Armenia Tatul Krpeyan's daughter Aspram Krpeyan to become MP of opposition faction

Armenian FM: Armenia stands for full resumption of Nagorno-Karabakh peace process

Armenia justice minister: New penitentiary institutions to be built in 2022

Ombudsman: Some Armenia villages do not have water at all because of Azerbaijan

Armenia ombudsman: Do officials realize accountability for their statements about road sections?

Premier, IMF Mission Chief to Armenia confer on cooperation agenda

Dollar drops in Armenia

Belarus proposes creating roadmap for developing relations with Azerbaijan

Barcelona hope to sell Philippe Coutinho to Newcastle

Member of Armenian initiative Vahagn Chakhalyan apprehended again, declares sitting strike

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis have opportunity to establish control over road leading to Kapan

Armenia obtains another consignment of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from China

Guardiola to Aguero: We wish him a safe recovery.

Georgia defense minister visits Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex

Armenia Supreme Judicial Council: Courts are overloaded

Missing soldiers families reopen street in front of Armenia government building

Britney Spears accuses mother of guardianship

Numerous Azerbaijan criminals to be released from prison on anniversary of occupation of part of Artsakh

Armenia Security Council secretary should be held accountable for his statements, says ombudsman

Relatives of missing Armenian soldiers shut down street near government building

Armenia State Revenue Committee chief, Russia ambassador underscore active contacts between tax, customs authorities

Champions League: Armenia representative to serve as Milan-Porto clash referee inspector

Armenia justice minister: We have first death from Covid in penitentiary

102 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

Congressman Pallone: US must push Minsk process forward to achieve settlement that keeps Artsakh Armenian

2 people die during ABBA concert

Armenian PM staff chief says has no information on Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan leaders possible meeting

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2,045 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

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Armenia justice minister, World Bank official discuss collaboration

Russia peacekeepers ensure safe travel of about 1,000 transit vehicles in Karabakh in 1 month

5 people die at Squid Games party in Panama

Armenia PM, Artsakh President discuss Karabakh conflict

Ronaldo: We believe until the end

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Newspaper: What Artsakh authorities are worried about?

Champions League: Lewandowski surpasses Messi, Ronaldos records

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2 high-ranking officers detained by NSS testified refuting charge against Armenia ex-defense minister, his lawyers say

Champions League: Match results of the day

Biden says not worried about possibility of armed conflict with China

ARF-D to run in local self-government elections in Armenia's communities

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Russia Security Council Secretary meets with U.S. CIA Director

Armenia's Davit Ovasapyan becomes U-23 silver medalist

At least 19 killed after attack on military hospital in Kabul

Russia, Azerbaijan FMs discuss implementation of agreements on Karabakh

Armenia FM, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State underscore need for Karabakh conflict settlement

Body of teenager found under bridge in Yerevan

Armenia Deputy PM receives US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State-led delegation

Armenia Constitutional Court declares article dismissing ex-chief of army's General Staff constitutional

Meghan Markle has plans to become next U.S. President

Deputy head of Yerevan's Nork-Marash district is arrested

Armenia State Revenue Committee envisages increase of ratio of tax and state duties to GDP in 2022

Dutch Ambassador presents embassy's programs and overriding directions in Armenia's Kotayk Province

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World Boxing Championships: Armenia's Davit Chaloyan scores medal after impressive victory (PHOTOS, LIVE)
The activity of anti-Armenian lobbyist found in Yerevan, ethnic Turk Kevin (Kemal) Oksuz, whom US law enforcers are seeking, and who had founded a company in Armenia and started business activities in the country, caused concern not only in our country in our country and raised concerns among Armenian American lobbying organizations. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) is particularly interested in how he has been able to enter the territory of Armenia, to engage in entrepreneurial activity, and what exactly he has been doing during the last year.

Armenian News-NEWS.am asked Elizabeth Chouldjian, spokeswoman for the Armenian National Committee of America to comment on Oksuz's anti-Armenian activities in the United States.

Do you know Kemal Oksuz and what work has he done in the US in terms of anti-Armenian efforts? When did he first get on the ANCAs radar screen?

Mr. Oksuz has been on the Armenia National Committee of America (ANCA) radar screen since about 2011 when PBS Religion and Ethics News Weekly and the New York Times had done reports on Turkish Islamic scholar / imam Fethullah Gulen and his movements campaign to set up charter schools across the U.S. Mr. Oksuz was featured prominently in each news item as a lead spokesman for their efforts.

Soon thereafter, we began seeing reports that the groups he was leading  the Houston-based Turquoise Council for Americans and Eurasians and the Assembly of Friends of Azerbaijan (AFAZ), among others  were reaching out to federal, state and local officials, hosting fundraisers for them, leading trips for politicians to Turkey and Azerbaijan.

The largest of those trips came in May/June, 2013, for the USA-Azerbaijan: Vision for the Future  conference held in Baku. According to the Washington Diplomat  the only US-based news outlet reporting from the conference - the guest list included 317 delegates from 42 states, including 11 sitting members of Congress and 75 state representatives, not to mention the former governors of New Mexico and Oklahoma as well as three ex-Obama White House insiders: political strategist David Plouffe, former press secretary Robert Gibbs and ex-deputy chief of staff Jim Messina. According to reports, Mr. Oksuz and his organizations  the Turquoise Council and AFAZ  coordinated the participation of elected officials at the conference. The event was a lavish extravaganza, under the leadership of President Aliyev  caviar diplomacy at its best.

The goals of the conference were obvious  to cover up the Aliyev regimes dismal human rights record and advance pro-Azerbaijan and anti-Armenian policies here in the U.S. In fact, one of the participants, Georgetown University's Center for Security Studies professor Donald C.F. Daniel, a former top official at the National Intelligence Council, told the Washington Diplomat: "They had one clearly stated request: that the U.S. support them in their confrontation with Armenia, an adversary whose lobbying clout in the United States is evidenced by a law that sharply conditions American aid to Azerbaijan."

On the Armenia/Artsakh front, the effects of the conference were seen fairly quickly. Within months, a Hawaii state legislator who had attended the 2013 Baku trip, introduced two resolutions in the Hawaii legislature  one designating February 26, 2014, as the 22nd Anniversary of the alleged Khojaly Tragedy in Azerbaijan and the other calling for expanded U.S.-Azerbaijan relations. The Hawaii Armenian community and the ANCA Western Region mobilized immediately and were able to successfully stop passage of both resolutions.

A Tennessee elected official, who had gone on the Baku trip introduced pro-Azerbaijan legislation, which was eventually stopped thanks to the efforts ofANCA Eastern Region and local Armenian advocates, who worked with investigative reporters to spotlight how questionable donations from supporters of AFAZ and the Turquoise Council affected his decision. The ANCA helped block similar pro-Azerbaijan legislation in the states of South Dakota and Wyoming.

In Congress, former Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine, who had attended the 2013 Baku conference and had participated in many political fundraisers at Mr. Oksuz home, cosigned a letter calling for an end to foreign aid to Artsakh, and spoke out in favor of Azerbaijan on the House floor.

And then, of course, the 2014, Houston Chronicle news accounts showed that all 11 members of Congress who attended the conference support pro-Azerbaijani oil amendments in the U.S. House. This prompted the Office of Congressional Ethics to start a massive investigation into who actually funded the 2013 Baku conference and by 2015 it was clear that while Mr. Oksuz had personally signed all the paperwork stating that it was the Turquoise Council organizing and paying for the trips, it was actually the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) that had paid over $750,000 for the travel and accommodations alone.

Throughout that process, the ANCA called for transparency  that whatever the Office Congressional Ethics (OCE) found be made available to the public, to reveal the extent of Azerbaijani government manipulation and intervention in the U.S. political process. The ANCA led a grassroots campaign and joined civic groups calling for the release of the OCE report. By October, 2015, transparency triumphed. The 70-page report and some 1000-pages of investigative material were eventually turned over to the Department of Justice. It is likely that Mr. Oksuzs arrest warrant on falsification of documents to Congress is a direct result of that investigation.

Were you surprised that Mr. Oksuz was apprehended in Armenia and has had a registered business here for over a year?

Yeghisapet / ANCA: We had heard Mr. Oksuz had fled the U.S. following the Office of Congressional Ethics investigation. We were of course happy to see close cooperation between Armenia police and Interpol to apprehend Mr. Oksuz and help bring him to justice here in the U.S. But, the fact that he had been apparently working in Yerevan for a year is surprising and concerning, given his history of anti-Armenia and anti-Artsakh lobbying efforts. Its true that because he had not registered as a foreign agent for the Azerbaijani government, his lobbying efforts were not as easy to track. But Mr. Oksuz was not shy about publicizing his ties to elected officials on social media  and, of course, he signed paperwork for the 2013 Congressional trip to Baku. His presence in Armenia certainly warrants more investigation on how he was able to enter the country, set up a business, and what exactly he was doing there for the past year.

Earlier it was reported that in cooperation with the Interpol bureau in Armenia, Armenian police have foundin capital city Yerevanethnic Turk Kevin (Kemal) Oksuz, whom US law enforcers are seeking, and who had founded a company in Armenia and started business activities in the country.

On August 23, an international search was declared for Oksuz, under the US criminal code, and on charges of falsifying documents and submitting a false statement.

He was the chairman of a public, nonprofit organization of Turkish Americans and Eurasians. The objective of this organization was to establish close relations between Turks and Americans by organizing trips to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Koshi river flood victims demand compensation

Victims of Koshi flood living in Barahachhetra Muni-cipality, Sunsari, have demanded that the municipal office compensate them for their lost properties.
Mirchaiya residents protest against tax hike

Residents of Mirchaiya, Siraha, took out a rally to protest against the municipalitys decision to hike tax rates on Wednesday.
The European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgement in Dadayan v. Armenia case.

The European Court ruled that there had been: a violation of Article 6  1 and 3 (d) (right to a fair trial and right to obtain attendance and examination of witnesses) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case concerned criminal proceedings brought against an Armenian national, Garik Dadayan, for aiding and abetting the smuggling of enriched uranium into Georgia.

The two smugglers were prosecuted and convicted in Georgia, while Mr Dadayan was prosecuted and convicted in Armenia, essentially on the basis of the smugglers witness statements to the Georgian authorities.

The Court found in particular that Mr Dadayans defence rights had been substantially affected because the Armenian trial court had never heard the smugglers in person. The Georgian authorities had refused their transfer to Armenia pending the criminal proceedings against them in Georgia.

This was despite the fact that those witness statements had been the sole basis on which the courts could decide whether or not Mr Dadayan had been involved in selling the radioactive substance.

The Court held that Armenia was to pay Mr Dadayan 2,400 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 1,000 euros in respect of costs and expenses.
US man kills teenage daughters boyfriend who sold her to sex traffickers

Newspaper: Armenia Judicial Department officials make deal with State Supervision Service, law enforcement

Newspaper: Who did CoE co-rapporteurs on Armenia meet with?

Russian government gives consent to signing of interregional cooperation plan with Armenian government

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Prominent physicist Yuri Hovhannisyan becomes recipient of UNESCO-Russia International Prize

30 probed in Turkey for Twitter posts suggesting Erdogan died

Armenia FM states how likely it is to cooperate with Russia in terms of military and 'open itself towards Europe'

Case of sale of child forwarded to Armenian court, an advocate is among the culprits

Afghan man sells 9-month-old daughter for $2,000 to maintain his family

International Committee of the Red Cross reps visit Armenian captives and hostages in Azerbaijan

Russia MFA on '3+3' regional advisory mechanism

Armenian political scientist: '3+3' format is only Turkey's attempt to enter region in field of diplomacy

Armenia FM: Ankara's rhetoric is having a negative impact on stability in the region

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Armenia PM discusses Karabakh conflict and regional issues with US Deputy Assistant Secretary

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Armenia Human Rights Defender's Office to receive more funding next year

Several political parties in Armenia will receive government funding

Dmitry Shugayev: Russia not violating international commitment with regard to supplies to Armenia and Azerbaijan

Aram Sargsyan's Republic Party and Samvel Babayan's Liberal Party sign coalition memorandum in Meghri

Armenia MOD ex-spokesperson to join parliamentary standing committee on defense and security as expert

NEWS.am daily digest: 03.11.21

National Hero of Armenia Tatul Krpeyan's daughter Aspram Krpeyan to become MP of opposition faction

Armenian FM: Armenia stands for full resumption of Nagorno-Karabakh peace process

Armenia justice minister: New penitentiary institutions to be built in 2022

Ombudsman: Some Armenia villages do not have water at all because of Azerbaijan

Armenia ombudsman: Do officials realize accountability for their statements about road sections?

Premier, IMF Mission Chief to Armenia confer on cooperation agenda

Dollar drops in Armenia

Belarus proposes creating roadmap for developing relations with Azerbaijan

Member of Armenian initiative Vahagn Chakhalyan apprehended again, declares sitting strike

Armenia Ombudsman: Azerbaijanis have opportunity to establish control over road leading to Kapan

Armenia obtains another consignment of Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from China

Georgia defense minister visits Armenian Genocide Memorial Complex

Armenia Supreme Judicial Council: Courts are overloaded

Missing soldiers families reopen street in front of Armenia government building

Numerous Azerbaijan criminals to be released from prison on anniversary of occupation of part of Artsakh

Armenia Security Council secretary should be held accountable for his statements, says ombudsman

Relatives of missing Armenian soldiers shut down street near government building

Armenia State Revenue Committee chief, Russia ambassador underscore active contacts between tax, customs authorities

Armenia justice minister: We have first death from Covid in penitentiary

102 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

Congressman Pallone: US must push Minsk process forward to achieve settlement that keeps Artsakh Armenian

Armenian PM staff chief says has no information on Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan leaders possible meeting

Armenia ombudsman: Security zone needed at all areas of contact with Azerbaijan

Head of Markets at Symbiotics: I think its good moment to invest in Armenia

How much funding will several Armenia state institutions get next year?

Armenia premiers office expenses to be reduced by 34.5% in 2022

2,045 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia justice minister, World Bank official discuss collaboration

Russia peacekeepers ensure safe travel of about 1,000 transit vehicles in Karabakh in 1 month

Armenia PM, Artsakh President discuss Karabakh conflict

World oil prices falling

Newspaper: On what grounds Armenia prosecutors are being rewarded?

Newspaper: What Artsakh authorities are worried about?

2 high-ranking officers detained by NSS testified refuting charge against Armenia ex-defense minister, his lawyers say

Biden says not worried about possibility of armed conflict with China

ARF-D to run in local self-government elections in Armenia's communities

Attorney: Result of Robert Kocharyan's PCR test is negative

Russia Security Council Secretary meets with U.S. CIA Director

At least 19 killed after attack on military hospital in Kabul

Russia, Azerbaijan FMs discuss implementation of agreements on Karabakh

Armenia FM, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State underscore need for Karabakh conflict settlement

Body of teenager found under bridge in Yerevan

Armenia Deputy PM receives US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State-led delegation

Armenia Constitutional Court declares article dismissing ex-chief of army's General Staff constitutional

Deputy head of Yerevan's Nork-Marash district is arrested

Armenia State Revenue Committee envisages increase of ratio of tax and state duties to GDP in 2022

Dutch Ambassador presents embassy's programs and overriding directions in Armenia's Kotayk Province

Armenia sets up governmental commission for funeral of writer, statesman Vano Siradeghyan

Armenian official: Government plans to increase wine production by several times within 5 years

Karabakh Defense Army: Azerbaijani army opens irregular fire in direction of Karmir Shuka

NEWS.am daily digest: 02.11.21

Man run over by train and dies in Armenia's Armavir Province

One of 16 Armenian children with COVID-19 is in critical condition at university hospital

Armenia opposition faction MPs meet with Russia Ambassador

Armenian, Georgian defense ministers discuss cooperation

Deputy Mayor of Armenia's Goris: Azerbaijanis are building fortifications in Armenian territory

Pashinyan: There is high dynamics in Armenia-Georgia relations

Dollar continues losing value in Armenia

About 300 new apartments expected to be put into operation in Stepanakert by years end

Armenian official: According to 1920s map Al lakes are marked as Armenia territory

Ardshinbank clients can win AMD 10,000

Armenia to attend CSTO PA plenary session

Mishustin: Eurasian Intergovernmental Council to hold next session in mid-November in Yerevan

Possible reopening of Turkey border not taken into account in projected economic growth, says Armenia official

4 more persons die of coronavirus in Karabakh

Azerbaijan hands over 11 more remains to Armenian side

Azerbaijan is interested in purchasing Pakistani JF-17 Thunder fighters

Armenia minister: Construction of Yerevan-Gyumri highway will be almost fully ready by late 2022

Urgent court hearing on imprisoned Armenia opposition lawmakers health condition reconvenes

Armenia opposition MP meets with Finland Ambassador

More than 600 kg of cocaine seized in Guatemala

Armenia Finance Ministry considering possibility of increasing turnover tax for small businesses
Turkish culture and tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy will attend the divine liturgy at the Holy Cross Armenian church on Akhtamar Island in Lake Van, Turkey, on September 9.

The island is preparing to host the liturgy after a three-year break, Turkiyeturizm website reported.

The hotels on the island are fully booked, and the local authorities said all state agencies are ready to ensure that the liturgy is held at the proper level.

The church was restored by the Turkish government funding, and in 2007, it opened as a museum.

Subsequently, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul) petitioned to the Turkish government to get permission for offering Divine Liturgy at this church once a year.

In March 2010, the Turkish minister of culture and tourism announced that the permission was granted to offer church service there and install a cross on the dome of this church.

In 2015, however, the patriarchate decided to cancel that years Divine Liturgy at this church, and due to the terrorist attacks in the area.

And afterward, the Turkish authorities suspended the holding of religious rituals at this church.

This matter is reflected also on the International Religious Freedom Report for 2016 of the US Department of State.
Nepals proposed participation in BIMSTEC military drill divides the ruling party

All is not well within the Nepal Communist Party as leaders of the ruling political group appear sharply polarised over the issue of Nepals participation in a joint military drill of BIMSTEC member states scheduled to commence in India next week.
The leaders of France, Germany, the US, Canada and UK issued a joint statement on the poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

We welcome the progress made in the investigation into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and take note of the attempted murder charges brought yesterday against two suspects. We commend the work of the UK Police and all those involved in this investigation, the statement said.

According to UKs analysis, independently verified by the OPCW, the exact chemical nerve agent was used in the poisoning of Dawn Sturgess and Charles Rowley.

We urge Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW. And we encourage those with information about the attack in Salisbury on 4 March, as well as the further poisoning in Amesbury, to come forward to the UK authorities, the statement reads adding: We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level. We have already taken action together to disrupt the activities of the GRU through the largest ever collective expulsion of undeclared intelligence officers. Yesterdays announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies.
Newest Arrival  Joe Miller, left, a senior in Southern Illinois University Carbondales aviation flight program from Chicago, talks with Air Wisconsin Airlines Capt. Michael McClintock Thursday at Southern Illinois Airport. An agreement between SIU and Air Wisconsin is providing a career path for aviation students who are interested in becoming professional pilots. (Photo by Steve Buhman)

Pilot pathway program with Air Wisconsin to help SIU students land jobs

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  An agreement between Southern Illinois University Carbondales aviation program and Air Wisconsin Airlines, a regional air carrier that operates as United Express throughout the Midwest and East Coast, is providing a career path for aviation students who are interested in becoming professional pilots.

The university and airline formally introduced the agreement Thursday at Southern Illinois Airport. The pact allows qualifying students to join the airlines Airman Trainee Cadet Program in significantly less time than students from other universities.

Air Wisconsin began in 1965 as a regional airline to provide service between Appleton, Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois. With 65 50-passenger, Bombardier CRJ200 jets in service, the airline has 350 flights daily to 70 cities including Denver, Colorado, Pensacola, Florida, Columbia, South Carolina and Washington, D.C.

Several benefits for students with the agreement

Airman trainees enjoy bimonthly paychecks, worldwide travel benefits on United Airlines, mentoring opportunities and an abbreviated First Officer interview process once they accumulate the hours needed for airline pilot employment.

SIU Carbondale has always had a fantastic history of a top-notch flight program that produces impressive pilots, Tim Genc, director of pilot recruiting for Air Wisconsin, said. We are happy to be able to work with such an institution.

Under the agreement, the airline will also provide the university with operations manuals and other material to assist in training and include site visits to interact with students and participate in career fairs.

Another opportunity for students

Jose R. Ruiz, professor in the Department of Aviation Management and Flight, said the partnership is another opportunity for students to pursue careers as aviation flight officers. The agreement is a win-win for students and the aviation program, Ruiz said.

Students receive a benefit of almost guaranteed employment when they complete their education and the program played a role in cultivating the next generation of aviation professionals and extending the reach of SIU aviation, Ruiz said.

The agreement was signed earlier this summer and will remain in place for the duration of the mutually beneficial relationship between Air Wisconsin and the aviation program, Genc said.

The airline has partnered with around 20 other aviation colleges and vocational flight schools. The agreement with SIU Carbondale is one of three in Illinois, Genc said.

Market predicts strong need for pilots in the future

Aviation market projections from Boeing indicate a strong need for pilots over the next 20 years.

Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook forecasts that the aviation industry will need 635,000 commercial airline and 96,000 business pilots worldwide through 2037, including 206,000 in North America.

The forecast notes cadet programs that train aspiring pilots from zero flight hours to being an operationally ready first officer have increased in popularity as airlines look to provide career pathway programs and fill future pilot pipelines.

Agreements are key in helping shortage

Agreements such as this help to alleviate the national shortage of pilots for airlines and it helps students by allowing them to be recruited and hired by an airline before they even finish school. That way they have security about their job placement while they are students, Michael Burgener, interim chair of the aviation management and flight program and aviation technologies chair, said.

This is a great time for aviation students or those interested in pursuing a career in the field, Burgener said.

The agreement with Air Wisconsin is the universitys fourth with a regional airline that provides students a pathway toward an aviation career. SIU Carbondale also has similar types of agreements with Republic Airlines, Trans States Airlines and Cape Air.

This also provides for better industry relations between SIU aviation and airlines that hire our students, Burgener said.
Home | News | General | Robber jumps into Lagos lagoon with gangs loot

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad have arrested three one-chance robbers in Lagos while one of them reportedly jumped into the lagoon with the gangs loot.

According to a post on their page, the RRS the suspects were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge on Monday, September 3.

READ ALSO: A taxi driver gave me the information - Informant who led police to Edwin Clarks house speaks

The suspects confessed that they have been engaging in the crime for more than three months.

Read the statement below:

The operatives of Rapid Response Squad of the Lagos State Police Command have arrested three one-chance robbers on the Third Mainland Bridge while another jumped into the Lagoon with the gangs loot.

Robber jumps into Lagos lagoon with gangs loot

Source: Facebook

The robbers, John Akinyemi, 27; Paul Oliseh, 37 and Amos Williams, 12, were arrested on Monday afternoon on the Third Mainland bridge after a chase by the Rapid Response Squad patrol team monitoring Iyana-Oworo.

The policemen after being informed that the one-chance robbers were operating around the area, chased the bus, a Volkwagen Transporter with the registration number, AKD 562 XP to the bridge.

The robbers, after being double crossed by the officers on the Third Mainland Bridge, abandoned their vehicle and were fleeing on foot when they were arrested.

One of the robbers, who was later identified as Junior, 19, was reportedly hit by speeding vehicles twice on the bridge before jumping off into the Lagoon.

According to the leaders of the gang, John Akinyemi, there were four of us. I was in charge of calling the team to work. It was our first trip for the day. We took four passengers in Estate Bus Stop in Alapere. They were going to Oshodi. We dispossessed them and dropped them off before Iyana-Oworo one after the other.

We took their phones and money. We have been doing this for more than three months. We sell the mobile phones and jewelry, and we share the money.

One of the victims, Semiu Oluwaseun, who alerted the RRS officers immediately he was thrown out of the moving bus, said the robbers collected his phone and the sum of N500,000:00.

Another victim, Jamiu Ojuroye, who was robbed on Sunday, identified John Akinyemi as the driver of the bus he was robbed in. He noted that he was robbed on Sunday night and that the robbers team took N150,000:00 from him before threw him out of the speeding bus.

Ojuroye added that after struggling with the robbers, they poured a peppery substance on his face, took his money before throwing him off around 8:00 p.m.

The robbers were paraded today by Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, at the Command Headquarters.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that some armed robbers who had been terrorising the Ipaja Ayobo area of Lagos state were apprehended by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad.

According to report, the gang which specialised in breaking into innocent peoples homes in Lagos, stole vehicles and personal belongings before selling the cars to a dealer in Onitsha.

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NTB fails to pass budget due to delayed verdict

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) was not able to pass its annual budget this week too as the anticipated final court verdict for the reinstatement of its three board members has not been issued.
Home | News | General | Breaking: Aregbesola picks new chief of staff from ADP governorship candidate Adeoti's town

- Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state appointed a new chief of staff, Abdulrasak Salinsile

- The new appointee was the secretary of the APC in the state before his appointment

- He is from the same local government with the former SSG and governorship candidate of ADP in the state

Seventeen days to the governorship election in Osun state, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, has appointed Abdulrasak Salinsile as his new chief of staff.

NAIJ.com regional reporter in Osun state, Sola Adetona, reports that prior to his appointment as the new chief of staff, Salinsile was the secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

READ ALSO: Osun 2018: Ogunbiyi finally bows to pressure, pledges to support Adeleke's candidacy

The new chief of staff to the governor is from the same local government with the ADP candidate in September 22 governorship election, Moshood Adeoti, who recently resigned his appointment as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and defected to ADP to realise his governorship ambition.

The position became vacant following the former occupier, Gboyega Oyetola's victory during APC's governorship primaries, thereby becoming the party's standard bearing during the forthcoming election.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday, August 29, inaugurated the partys 63-member national campaign council for the September 22 Osun state governorship election.

The campaign council is chaired by the Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje. In his remarks, Oshiomhole, said: We are very grateful to Governor Ganduje for graciously accepting to provide leadership and chair this very important committee.

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Your Excellencies, many of you present here have been very much involved in helping to provide leadership in most of the campaigns that we have had in recent times after the last general elections. The most recent is that of Ekiti state where your Excellencies did very well.

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Home | News | General | Comedians at war: Bovi slams Igodye for criticising ex-Delta state governor Uduaghan

It appears all is not well between comedians Bovi and Igodye. This is because of a one sided exchange they both had on Instagram recently.

Igodye had written a lengthy post concerning former Delta state governor Emmanuel Uduaghans alleged plan to run for senate in 2019.

He detailed why Uduaghan who according to him is 64 years old should not be seeking for elective office instead he should be nominating someone younger to run.

Read an excerpt of his Igodyes post below:

After enjoying the executive position for (8) eight years, with a allocation of 62.2bn a year  8 years, over Five trillion nine hundred and seventy one billion two hundred million (5,971,200,000,000 ) within that period, noting can be ascribed to you ,in terms of infrastructural and human capital development. This is enough reason why he shouldn't seek any other elective position in Delta State.

Bovi who wasnt happy with Igodyes post commented that since the veteran comedian was friends with the ex-governor, why did he not tell him this when he was in office.

See their exchange below:

READ ALSO: Tiwa Savage reveals how much she reveres Don Jazzy

Igodye is yet to respond to Bovis query. This is coming after NAIJ.com shared the story of how Davidos billionaire dad once tried to get him arrested with the aid of 50 policemen.

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Home | News | General | Informant who led police to Edwin Clarks house speaks

Ismail Yakubu who is the informant who gave police information that led to the raid of the house of Chief Edwin Clark has revealed that a taxi driver gave him the information that he passed to officers.

The Punch reports that Yakubu who is an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory claimed a taxi driver told him that a sealed vehicle in the house of the Niger Delta chieftain contained ammunition.

A two-hour search of the house of Clark however yielded nothing.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Group of good Nigerians purchase N45m presidential form for Buhari

He said: The point is that I was going to Asokoro on Monday exactly 4pm. I was called to come and receive a message at the back of ECOWAS. I took a taxi from Apo roundabout. When we were on our way, I was in front and two other passengers were in the car. I noticed that the whole street was blocked and then I began to ask questions to know what was happening.

It was then the taxi man said the street is where the Niger Delta people are living. I probed further to know why the road was blocked and rowdy. He then pointed out to me to see the truck entering the compound, the compound was House 43. The truck was a white Hilux van and it was sealed. The driver said the road was blocked because the van was trying to enter the compound.

The driver said the van was filled with ammunition. As an indigene of the FCT and hearing the information. I thought to myself that why ammunition in the FCT because residents of the FCT are peace-loving people. I said I cannot take that. I asked how sure he was and he said he was sure and that was why the whole area was blocked.

On Tuesday morning, I met Inspector Sada and I narrated what I saw. I told him that I got the information from a taxi man. I told him the address and they went there to investigate."

NAIJ.com previously reported that Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, decried the raid on the Abuja home of one of Nigeria's elder statesmen, Chief Edwin Clark, by the police, and called for a thorough probe into the development.

Saraki described the incident as an unwarranted harassment of the statesman, adding that the act must not be pushed under the carpet, without the public knowing all the details, especially concerning who gave the order, who signed the police search warrant, which officers executed it and what objective it was meant to achieve.

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Meanwhile, the informant, Yakubu, who allegedly gave the police false information to conduct a search on the home of Edwin Clark, has been paraded at the police headquarters in Abuja.

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Home | News | General | I am not against FG - Wike replies APC

- Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has berated APC over 2019 election in the state

- He said the ruling APC has no business presenting a governorship candidate in Rivers state

- Wike, however, said that he is not against the federal government contrary to people's belief

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no business presenting a governorship candidate for the 2019 elections in the state.

NAIJ.com regional reporter in Port Harcourt, Tony Ihunwo, reports that Wike stated while speaking in an interview at the Government House Port Harcourt on Wednesday, September 5, that aside the plot to rig, the APC has no platform to campaign upon in Rivers state.

"For the APC to even think of bringing up anybody against me in this state to challenge whether I have done something or not, then you know that something is fundamentally wrong with the party.

READ ALSO: Osun 2018: Ogunbiyi finally bows to pressure, pledges to support Adeleke's candidacy

"What has the federal government done for the APC in Rivers state? What has Rivers APC achieved? Mention one thing. Is it in terms of the roads, the airport or seaports? Tell me", he said.

He regretted that the APC does not believe in credible polls, noting that rigging and fraud are in the DNA of the party.

"All their meetings, all their gatherings at the federal level, whether by hook or crook, they must have Rivers state. They want to use soldiers, SARS, DSS. All cries by the international community don't matter. Just take Rivers state first", he said.

Governor Wike said that as a minister of state for education, his contributions to the development of Rivers state are scattered across the state. He wondered why the current minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has failed the people of Rivers state by refusing to attract a single project to the state.

He said: "When I was a minister and he was in APC, I brought development to the state. For example, I brought faculty of law to the University of Port Harcourt. I brought grant of N500million to Ken Saro Wiwa polytechnic and Ignatius Ajuru University of education.

"I am from Rivers state and must contribute to the development to the state. As at the time I was in the federal government, he was the governor under APC and there was no development in the state. I brought UBEC intervention to Rivers state. This is my state."

He said that as governor of Rivers state, he has transformed the state, citing key projects across the state.

He said that his third year anniversary celebration underscored the fundamentals of good governance with leaders across political, traditional and social divides commissioning key projects.

He said that in October, his administration would commence another leg of project commissioning. He noted that President Muhammadu Buhari would be invited to commission projects, even though he is unlikely to honour the invitation for political reasons.

Governor Wike, however, said that contrary to the propaganda of the APC, he is not against the federal government.

He said that he is only committed to the fight against injustice.

"Thats part of the misconception. I dont stand up against Federal Government. I stand up against injustice and marginalization.

"It has nothing to do with the federal government. If this Government is not in place tomorrow and another government comes and they perpetrates injustice, I will stand up against them. It has nothing to do with Federal Government", Governor Wike said.

Speaking on the EFCC plan to investigate the state finances under his leadership, Wike maintained that the law is settled that the EFCC has no power to investigate the state government.

He said: "I am not interested whether EFCC backs off or not. A body that does not respect the rule of law. A body that is full of impunity. That is what the federal government is all about, impunity. You heard the president say national interest supersedes rule of law. I am not against the EFCC fighting corruption, if at all they are fighting corruption.

"My concern is we must do it according to the law. The law says that we have a federation comprising the federal government, the states and the LGAs. We go to the monthly federal allocation when money comes to the federation and all tiers take their share. The federal government is now saying that the money that comes to states will be monitored."

He noted that the EFCC can only be taken seriously if it operates within the rule of law by successfully appealing the 2007 judgment between the commission and the state government.

"I was not here in 2007. Rivers state government went to court against the EFCC to say the commission has no constitutional power to interrogate the finances, the expenses of the state government. And the matter was adequately addressed and judgment was given against EFCC.

"Since 2007, EFCC has been struggling to appeal the judgment. EFCC has not succeeded up till now. What they are doing now is when they feel a government is not pro-Buhari, let's do this.

"Nobody will appear before the EFCC until they follow the rule of law. This country must not allow personal interest of individuals. That is a coup against the interest of Nigeria. No wonder the EFCC will go to Benue State and seal the account of the state government. No wonder EFCC will go to Akwa Ibom state to seal the account of the state government", he said.

Commenting on the 2015 general election, Governor Wike said that he never used the police or any security agency to his advantage.

He noted that former police commissioner Mbu was not in Rivers state when the 2015 general election was conducted.

He noted that the APC was not on ground, hence it could not have won any elections in the state.

"It is unfortunate for people who dont have a sense of history. Mr Mbu was not here when I was elected governor ", he said.

He said that the current peace and serenity being enjoyed in the state was the handiwork of God, as the APC-led federal government has been plotting insecurity to no avail.

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He said even though his administration has invested heavily in logistical and financial support to security agencies, God has stopped all evil plots of the APC federal government from manifesting.

He said: "Its God. Whatever you do believe in God. The present APC government did everything to turn Rivers state as a place of insecurity. I believe in God. This state is a Christian state. This state is one state that has supported security agencies in this country. I have been sabotaged, but God in his infinite has kept us in this state."

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state said he was prepared for his 2019 re-election bid.

He made the announcement in Port Harcourt on Saturday, September 1, before inaugurating the secretariat of the One million youths for new Rivers state.'

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Home | News | General | 2019: Ondo APC adopts indirect primaries, says direct primaries may lead to chaos, violence

- The APCs Ondo state chapter has adopted indirect primaries to pick its candidates for 2019

- The chapter said it settled for indirect primaries as direct primaries may lead to chaos and violence

- The state party chairman urged members to place the party over and above themselves

The Ondo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday, September 5, in Akure, adopted indirect primaries for selection of its candidates for the 2019 elections.

Speaking to newsmen after the state executive meeting of the party, Senator Tayo Alasoadura, representing Ondo central senatorial district of the state, said the option was endorsed to forestall difficulties and crises, come 2019 elections, NAN reports.

READ ALSO: Gunmen kill 5 persons at Plateau mining site

We have unanimously adopted indirect primaries for choosing our candidates for 2019 elections.

"We have done this because of difficulties usually associated with direct primary which may lead to chaos and violence, and any results coming from such may not have true representation. And by adopting this, we are fully in compliance with constitution of our party," he said.

Also speaking, Bamidele Oleyelogun, the speaker of the state House of Assembly, said that there was no aspect of the partys constitution that stipulates any particular option of primary election on any chapter.

Ade Adetimehin, the state party chairman, who urged members to place the party over and above themselves, noted that the chapter of the party was one family.

Oloyelologun had earlier moved the motion for the adoption of the option, which was seconded by Agboola Ogunleye, the chairman of Owo local government area of the state.

Others present at the meeting include the state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, his deputy, Agboola Ajayi and Senator Yele Omogunwa, representing Ondo south senatorial district.

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In a similar development, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Adamawa chapter of the All Progressives Congress adopted the indirect primaries for the election of its candidates for the 2019 general elections.

A communique issued at the end of the State Executive Committee (SEC) meeting of the party in Yola said indirect primary was the best option for the state.

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Home | News | General | FCT: Gwadabe enters senatorial race

ABUJAAhead of the 2019 general elections, the senator who represented the Federal Capital Territory FCT, between 1999 and 2003, Khairat Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe, has decried the poor living condition among residents of the territory despite hosting the seat of government.

Abdulrazaq-Gwadabe who promised to reverse the trend spoke Wednesday in Abuja when she formally declared her ambition to vie for the sole senatorial seat in the FCT.

According to her, The FCT has not been able to get the full benefit of having the government at the top because the FCT APC does not have a senator in the National Assembly. So, the level of recognition of our chapter of the party by other states is very poor. They look at us as if we were beggars. Now, are we going to continue for the next four years without an APC senator in the National Assembly? Not anymore.

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Home | News | General | Patients groan as LASUTH doctors down tools

By Chioma Obinna

LAGOSIT was a day of pain and anguish for patients at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, as medical doctors under the auspices of the Association of Resident Doctors in LASUTH, LASUTH-ARD, made good their threat to embark on a three-day warning strike.

Cross section of some of the patients after surgery at the CCU, LASUTH, Ikeja.

The medical doctors had Sunday issued a threat to embark on strike over the shortage of resident doctors and house officers in the hospital.

Many of the patients, who besieged the hospital as early as 5 am to keep their appointments with the doctors, were left unattended to.

Several of them, who hung around for hours with the hope that doctors may change their minds and consider them were disappointed.

From the General Out-patient-Department, GOPD, to other clinics, many of the patients were given a new date for their appointments.

Further investigation showed that a few doctors at the family clinic however volunteered to work on a compassionate ground.

But only a few patients were fortunate to be attended to.

At 1 pm, the doctors stopped working and asked other patients waiting to leave and come back another day.

Patients groan

Some of the patients who spoke to Vanguard narrated their frustrations.

A patient, who identified himself as Adebayo, told Vanguard that he left his home at Abule Egba as early as 5 am in order to keep his appointment.

He said: I came for the doctors to review my treatment but nobody attended to me. I was told they are on strike.

LASUTH-ARD boss reacts

Reacting to the situation, the Acting President of LASUTH-ARD, Dr. Ibrahim Ogunbi said the management of LASUTH failed to respond to their demands.

Ogunbi said: We are not attending general out-patient clinics, all elective surgeries have been cancelled, patients in the wards are currently being discharged and very severe patients coming for emergencies will be seen and discharged immediately. Henceforth, the strike will be total.

As soon as those in the wards are stable, they will be discharged.

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Home | News | General | N45m, N12m presidential nomination forms by APC, PDP

It does not mean that they cannot afford it. Some, who said they cant afford meant that they cant just pay N55m, for a nomination form, because it is not a justified spending.

It is not that they dont have the money for it. It is just expensive. That amount could be used for something more meaningful. People have priorities that they should spend the money on.

The money is huge in an economy like ours.

Mr. Adetiloye Adetoyese, Business Manager

Governor Kashim Shettima (third right) tapping Israel Galadima Zakari (from Biu local government area in Borno State) who came first in the 2018 JAMB exams with 364 marks. First right is Jummai, Israels mother while on Governor Shettimas immediate right is Bornos Commissioner for Higher Education, Usman Jaha and another official when the Governor presented a award letter for fiye years scholarship with payment upfront to cover a Degree at Covenant University where Israel is already admitted at the Government House in Maiduguri on Tuesday

One of the reasons for payment of monies by aspirants for the purchase of nomination forms is that it serves as a veritable means to enable the parties to have funds for campaign purposes.While it is assumed that we have only one presidential aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress,APC, whose form is N45 million, The PDP has over 14 presidential aspirants.If only we can go back to the era of government-funded political parties when the Social Democratic Party, SDP, and the National Republican Convention, NRC, existed.

Mr. Obaro Othihiwa, Businessman

This is another game by the political parties. Nigerians, should not be deceived again. This is a way of exploiting Nigerians. We should not allow it to work. President Buhari cant decieve us again. He cant afford N55m but he spent so much on his medical trips and vacations.

His son could afford a bike worth over N30m.

Nigerains are wiser now, except those, who have refused to be wise. He deceived us in 2014 that he could not afford the money for his form.

Miss Precious Opara, Model

It is disheartening that a party which prides itself as an agent of change will price its nomination forms out of the reach of the people it hopes to serve.How can APC, price its presidential nomination forms at 45million naira after the President had signed the Not Too Young to Run Bill?How many young people can cough out 45million to pick up the forms? APC appears to be giving the nod to the young to run for office while at the same time, using the backdoor to deter them from running for office by out-pricing its ticket.

Mr. Charles Ighobefai, Businessman

How can the aspirants pay so much for forms and people will expect them not to steal in order to recoup their money?

President Buhari really cant afford it, some didnt even realise he cut down his salary from day one.

If all our politicians could do the same thing, the country would benefit from but they wont do that. Some youths are even saying that Saraki is better.

Do they know how much some of these politicians have stolen from us?

Miss Obi Precious, Presenter

I have an impression that the President meant that the price of the form is expensive. It is not that he cannot afford it. I have the impression he is saying that the fee be reduced for people to be able to buy the forms. However, the price is a mockery of the Not Too Young to Run law. It does not encourage young people to run for elective positions.. It is a charade by APC stalwarts.

Miss Akande Temiloluwa, Student

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Home | News | General | CCII lauds Ajimobis achievements

IBADANTHE Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes, CCII, yesterday, promised to establish a foundation that will institutionalize the political and historical strength of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, from when it was founded to date, during the forthcoming 69th birthday of Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

*Gov Ajimobi

The CCII said that the proposed Ajimobi Foundation for Advanced Democracy, AFAD, would also inspire and serve as incubation ground for youths aspiring for political offices.

The President of CCII, Chief Yemi Soladoye said this during a thank you visit to Ajimobi by the executive members of the council and affiliate Oluyole Social Elite, in his office adding that the council had lined up these activities in recognition of the governors achievements.

Soladoye said: We have not come here today with any shopping list or accusation of marginalization, threat of militancy or requests for schools, hospitals, and pipe borne water or good roads. Rather, we have come with our thank you list to Senator Abiola Ajimobi, the governor of Oyo State in particular and the Federal Government in general.

We thank you for the modernization of inter-state bus garages, the crisis-free relationship between the three arms of the government, up-scaling of our Customary justice system up to Appeal court level and the new corporate look of our public servants.

In his response, the governor expressed appreciation to the CCII for acknowledging the strides of his administration saying You have mentioned many areas where we have done well in governance. I assure you that there is a succession plan that will ensure that we sustain the gale of development and growth in our infrastructure, commerce, education, manpower development and youth employment.

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Home | News | General | Detain suspect beyond 48 hours, risk dismissal, IGP warns FSARS

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has told the Federal Special Anti Robbery Square across the country to respect peoples rights or risk being sanctioned.

Idris who said membership of FSARS was voluntary asked those who felt they could not cope with the reforms in the unit to opt out.

He said, forthwith, any FSARS officer who detained any suspect beyond 48 hours without recourse to the court risked dismissal.



The IGP read the riot act at the Anambra State Police Command Headquarters, Amawbia during a lecture to officers of FSARS.

Represented by the National Coordinator X-Squad, Mr. Amaechi Elumelu, a Deputy Commissioner of Police, the IGP said the FSARS was created to handle armed robbery and kidnapping cases alone.

You are created and authorised to handle only armed robbery and kidnapping cases, Idris stated.

He said the new rule of engagement of the reformed SARS required officers of the unit to undergo medical examinations, especially mental and psychological tests, adding that a counseling Department had been put in place in the unit.

He added, Operatives of FSARS are to be trained and retrained regularly to equip them with modern working knowledge and skills to perform optimally in line with international best practices.

Youre barred from searching handsets and laptops of innocent citizens, unless the search is directly linked to a case or directed by IGP or any person or persons he so delegated.

Youre prohibited from detaining any suspect beyond what the law says without recourse to the court.

He said a custody management system had been introduced in the unit for purposes of documentation and access to information about criminal suspects.

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Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues and human interest stories. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years.
Home | News | General | Hollywood Actor, David Oyelowo Celebrates 20 Years Wedding Anniversary With Wife, Jessica Oyelowo

Hollywood actor David Oyelowo and his wife Jessica Oyelowo are on Wednesday celebrating their 20th year wedding anniversary!The actor shared the news on his Instagram, along with a photo of himself with family and friends trying to recreate one made on their wedding.

He wrote:

20 years of blissful marriage. Thank you Lord!!!

Had fun recreating our 20 year old wedding photo with my forever-bride, best man, ushers and my beautiful brothers. Everyday I thank God for my amazing wife, Jessica.



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Home | News | General | Fear grips Borno residents as Boko Haram hijacks bus, abducts 20 travellers

- Boko Haram has hijacked a commercial bus in Maiduguri, Borno state capital

- The terrorists also abducted about 20 passengers travelling in the bus

- Witnesses said the passengers including men and women were taken to unknown location by the terrorists

Some members of the Boko Haram terrorists group have hijacked a commercial bus and kidnapped about 20 passengers on board in Maiduguri, Borno state capital city.

The passengers, Punch reports were kidnapped on Wednesday, September 5, while they were travelling on the bus.

Witnesses who spoke to Reuters said between 10 and 20 passengers were abducted by the terrorists.

READ ALSO: Robber jumps into Lagos lagoon with gangs loot

One of the witnesses, Isa Musa, said it was still uncertain, the accurate number of victims of the fresh attack by the group.

According to Musa, his uncle and some women are also among those kidnapped by the Boko Haram insurgents.

Musa said: Boko Haram attacked a commercial vehicle and abducted some civilians - over 10 men and women were abducted."

READ ALSO: Informant who led police to Edwin Clarks house speaks

"My uncle was in the bus with some other passengers, men and women, about 20 of them, when the incident occurred," Musa said.

Also confirming the incident was a soldier who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not in the position to speak on the matter.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Nigerian Army had asked remnant members of the Boko Haram sect to surrender.

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The Army warned the terrorists that their game was up after six members of the sect were neutralised in an ambush by troops of the 22 Brigade Dikwa under 7 Division of Operation Lafiya Dole.

Nigerian Air Force Operations Against Boko Haram | Naij.com TV

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Home | News | General | 2019: Ogun west elders pick federal lawmaker as Amosuns successor

- The Ogun West Elders Forum have chosen their preferred candidate for the state governorship election in 2019

- The forum anointed the aspiration of Honourable Adekunle Akinlade, a House of Representatives member

- Akinlade is a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state

The Ogun West Elders Forum have endorsed the aspiration of Honourable Adekunle Akinlade and endorsed him as their governorship candidate on the platform of the APC in the 2019 general elections.

Mr Mohammed Olagbayi made the announcement on behalf of the forum on Wednesday, September 5, after a closed-door meeting which lasted for hours at the residence of the late Poju Adeyemi in the state.

Akinlade, popularly known as Triple-A, was picked to succeed Governor Ibikunle Amosun in the presence of party executives, elders, and other aspirants in the zone, Channels TV reports.

READ ALSO: Another APC senator joins Shehu Sani to oppose indirect primaries

Speaking after the announcement, an aspirant and the Speaker of Ogun state House of Assembly, Mr Suraj Adekunmbi, commended the leadership of the senatorial district for doing a good job at reaching a consensus.

He also congratulated Akinlade on his victory and assured him of the support of all, stressing that he can rely on their unflinching backing.

Another party member, Mr Dapo Oke, said he was happy to see Akinlade emerge as the chosen one and appreciated other aspirants for being part of the history.

One of the aspirants, Mr Kola Bajomo, explained, We the aspirants came together, and we unanimously chose and agreed on the choice of Honourable Akinlade.

In his response, Akindele thanked the party leaders and other aspirants, saying it was a project and vision for all.

He also assured them and other members of the party of an all-inclusive relationship.

Akinlade currently represents Egbado South and Ipokia federal constituency at the National Assembly in Abuja.

He is a taxation expert and holds a Bachelor of Science in political science from the Lagos State University.

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Meanwhile, Governor Ibikunle Amosun has declared his intention to contest to represent Ogun Central senatorial district at the Senate.

The governor disclosed this at the state executive council meeting of the APC held at at a hotel on Abeokuta, the state capital.

Nigeria News Today: Goodluck Jonathan Wants To Teach Again | Naij.com TV

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Home | News | General | Actress Adunni Ade poses with her 13-year-old white half-sister in America

- Actress Adunni Ade is currently on vacation in the USA

- She has taken to her Instagram page to share photos and videos from her trip

- The mum of two even shared a photo of her white 13-year-old sister

It is well known that popular Nigerian actress Adunni Ade is of mixed ancestry. She was born to a American/German mother and a Nigerian father in Queens, New York.

Anyone who takes a look at her Instagram page will see that she is currently in the USA and she recently visited her white siblings.

The mum of two shared photos of her half-sister who is also white and is just 13-year-old she even commented on how big she has gotten.

See her posts below:

READ ALSO: Project Fame winner Olawale who now works as a cab driver shares his story

Speaking about her upbringing in a recent interview, Adunni revealed that her parents are very proud of her and that she wants to be recognised all over the world.

Well, my father supports me 100%, and my mother is very proud of me. Actually, Americans dont care about such things. They support their children in whatever they want to do. That is why I have no problem building a dream in the movie industry.

The thing is that I have never been an ape. I am not searching for the easiest way to come into the limelight. I would rather express myself. My ambition is to be recognized all over the world. And I want to be well-known for being successful because of hard work

This is coming after actress Tonto Dikeh hinted that she may have gotten herself a new man. She did this via her Instagram page.

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Omoni Oboli Interview: About the Nigerian Movie Industry | Star Chat on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | Ortom, Turaki submit nomination forms to PDP

- Presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Taminu Turaki has submitted his nomination and expression of interest form

- Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state also submitted his nomination form at the PDP's secretariat

- The governor is said to be ready to go into the partys primary ahead of 2019 general elections

Taminu Turaki, one of the numerous presidential aspirants of the opposition PDP, and Benue Governor Samuel Ortom have submitted their nomination and expression of interest forms for the general elections.

Turaki, a former minister of special duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, who submitted the completed forms on Wednesday, September 5, explained that all the aspirants agreed to support whoever emerges as the partys candidate in 2019 presidential election.

He said that the aspirants were motivated by the assurances of the party leaders to conduct credible primaries.

Turaki, represented by the spokesman of his campaign organisation, Mr. Sola Atere, said he would not step down for anybody but would support anyone that emerges as PDP candidate.

He also dismissed insinuation that Turaki was fronting for somebody, and noted that he would not do such a thing given his pedigree.

It is just impossible for Turaki to step down. He is a man of honour once he has set out for a task he accomplishes it.

The question of fronting for anybody does not arise, if he fronting for anybody the person would be paying the bills. He cannot change from his good ways.

We have been to 32 states and the reception has been very good and excellent.

The special adviser to the Benue state governor on special duties, Mr Abraham Kwanghngu, who also submitted forms for Governor Samuel Ortom, said that the governor was ready to go into the partys primary.

Kwanghngu said that the PDP Constitution did not give room for automatic ticket.

He added that though the Ortom, as a sitting governor, has the first right of refusal, he was ready to go into contest with any other person that wants to go in.

We are going to participate in the primaries and I can assure you that the governor will be sure of victory. So we are not even thinking that we shall get automatic ticket.

The party belongs to all, it doesnt belong to anybody or any group of individuals that can stop somebody from entering the party.

The doors of the party are always wide open and decisions to enter the party are taken by individuals.

The governor decided, after full consultations with people of Benue state and the leadership of PDP, both at the state level and at the national level, agreed that he comes back to PDP, Kwanghngu

A governorship aspirant from Oyo state, Seyi Makinde who also submitted his form said that the defection of some politicians from the PDP in Oyo state including former governor Rasheed Ladoja, would not affect his sure victory in 2019.

We wont say that the exit of anybody, even if it is a single individual wont have an impact because this is a game of number.

But if you look at the people that came into the party when we all came back to the home we jointly built with other people, you will notice that when Sen. Rasheed Ladoja and others decided to leave the party, majority of the people they came with did not leave with them.

Twenty nine local government chairmen of PDP were presents today out of 33, same with the State executive 80 per cent of our state executive still intact, and these are committed members of the party.

I think that at the end of the day we gained more people by governor Ladojas decision to leave the party than when he was actually with us, Makinde said.

Another PDP governorship aspirant from Imo State, Sen. Anyanwu, said that the party had a solid structure in the state to reclaim PDP mandate lost to Governor Rochas Okorocha of the All Progressives Congress.

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that Senator David Mark, a former president of the Nigerian Senate joined other aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the race for the 2019 presidential election.

James Oche, the co-coordinator of Door2Door, a support platform for Mark, confirmed the development on Monday, September 3.

Nigeria Latest News: Primate Ayodeles Predictions About The Upcoming 2019 Elections | Naij.com TV.

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Home | News | General | Crisis looms in PDP over alleged plan to offer federal lawmakers automatic ticket

- The National Executive Committee (NEC) of PDP is alleged to have offered all interested serving national law makers automatic ticket

- Major leaders and stakeholders not in favour of the alleged plan warned that it would spell doom for the party if the NEC goes ahead

- The alleged decision is already causing ripples among aspirants in Abia state chapter of the party

There is crisis in the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2019 elections over an alleged plan by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to offer all interested serving national law makers automatic ticket, Vanguard reports.

NAIJ.com gathered that major leaders and stakeholders of the party across the nation not favourable to the alleged plan have kicked against such action and warned that it would spell doom for the party if the NEC goes ahead with the alleged plan.

They warned that such action would just be an open and deliberate action to kill PDP in all the states the party is in control, saying that the race should be left open to all interested aspirants.

The Abia state chapter of the party alleged that decision of the NEC is already causing ripples among aspirants who have already purchased forms as well as party leaders and stakeholders who said they would resist such decision.

Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, a strong leader of the party in Abia state, said the party in the state has heard of the rumour and warned that it just remains a rumour.

Ogbonnaya wondered if the party was going back to its days of impunity that cost it power in 2015 and urged the NEC led by Prince Uche Secondus not to succumb to any threat or intimidation from any quarters and go ahead with such action, saying the party would pay dearly for it.

I wish the rumour remains a rumour. If the NEC tries it, we will all defect to APC or APGA and leave the party for them and that will be the end of PDP in Abia.

We said that we have reformed and we must show it by our decisions and actions. The NEC should not succumb to any intimidation from any quarters to give automatic ticket to any person. Let all of them go to the field and test their popularity and acceptance, otherwise the party would be in big trouble.

Ogbonnaya, a serving commissioner and renowned grassroots politician, further said: Let us not be deceived. Whoever wants to serve the people should come down to his people to test his acceptance with the people he wants to serve.

The NEC should learn a big lesson from the mistake of 2015. We should not repeat such a mistake. A stitch in time saves nine. Some aspirants have got their forms and somebody is talking of automatic ticket to some people. That will not work.

Let all of them go to the field and test their acceptance at the primary elections. What the party should do is to insist on the conduct of fair and credible primaries for all the aspirants so that whoever wins will clearly be seen to have won and the people will vote for such person.

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NAIJ.com previously reported that crisis has been sparked between the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the partys intending aspirants across the states following an alleged offer of automatic tickets to serving members of the two chambers of the National Assembly for the 2019 elections.

Protesters, who stormed the partys Abuja secretariat on Monday, September 3, demanded a level play field for all aspirants through free, fair and transparent primary elections across the states.

A group protesting from Kogi state said offering automatic tickets to the lawmakers was in clear violation of the Electoral Act, the PDP constitution and the partys guidelines.

Who is Nigeria's greatest president ever? - on NAIJ.com TV:

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Home | News | General | Army kills insurgents, recovers 147 stolen livestock in Borno

Maiduguri  The Nigerian Army on Thursday said it killed many Boko-Haram insurgents and recovered 147 livestock in two separate operations in Jentilo and Gesada villages of Kukawa and Guzamala Local Government Areas in Borno.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, with AK47 rifle, aims at a target during shooting competition at a range in Shittu Alao Barracks in Keffi, Nasarawa State, on Wednesday.

Brig.- Gen. Texas Chukwu, Director Army Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement in Maiduguri.

Chukwu said that the troops of Sector 3 Operation Lafiya Dole, in conjunction with 82 Task Force Battalion, on clearance operations, killed the insurgents when they (insurgents) tried to extort money and rustle livestock belonging to the villagers.

Chukwu explained that some Items recovered from them include 147 livestock and two AK47 rifles.

He said that the troops returned the livestock to the owners after proper screening and confirmation by the District Head and Civilian Joint Task Force personnel.(NAN)

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Home | News | General | Kaduna APC adopts indirect primaries

By Ben Agande,

Kaduna  The Kaduna state Executive Council of the All Progressive Congress Thursday morning adopted the indirect primaries for the election of candidates for the various offices in the forthcoming elections.

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State; Governor Yahya Belo of Kogi State; Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State; Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State; Governor Jibrila Bindo of Adamawa State; Governor Simon Dalong of Plateau State and Governor Mohammed Belo of Niger State briefing journalists after the seven APC Governors met with President Muhammadu Buhari on the 2019 Presidential Elections at the State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 12/01/2018

At the end of an emergency meeting of the state executive council at the party Secretariat in Kaduna, the state chairman of the party, Emmanuel Jakada said the party decided o adopt the indirect primaries because it could not access the list of genuine party men and women from the national secretariat of the party.

According o him, apart from not having the genuine liatbof members, the state chapter of the party can not afford the cost of conducting a direct primaries as it may run into N1Billion.

While expressing the hope that the direct primaries may be used in future elections, the state chairman said as at the moment, it was not feasible.

Details shortly

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Home | News | General | Keyamo hails NCAN for purchasing Buharis N45m Nomination Form

Spokesperson of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Festus Keyamo has hailed those who bought presidential nomination form for President Muhammadu Buhari.

From left, Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) National Coordinator , Sanusi Musa displaying Presidential nomination form purchased for President Muhammadu Buhari by the group while National Treasure of the Party, Hon. Adamu Panda , National Chairman of the Party Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and National Secretary of the Party , Hon. Mai Mala Buni looking on at Party Secretariat in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan

Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) yesterday, picked expression of interest and nomination form to contest in the forthcoming primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC for President Buhari who is in China.The form, bought for N45 million, on Buharis behalf by one of his support groups NCAN

Keyamo congratulated NCAN for beating other groups in buying Nomination Form for PMB just as he said that there are over 100 PMB groups rushing to Abuja in a fierce race to purchase the form. Some rice farmers was one of such groups.

Congrats to NCAN group that beat other groups to purchase d Nomination Form for PMB. Officially, there were more than 100 PMB groups rushing to Abuja in a fierce race to purchase d Form. Some rice farmers was one of such groups. As the trendsetters would say na dem dey rush us!  Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) September 6, 2018

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Home | News | General | Frank calls for IGs sack over Police invasion of Clarks residence

Says Nigerians are tired of trial, error Police Boss

The immediate past Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has called for immediate sack of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, over Tuesdays illegal invasion and search of the House of elder statesmen and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark by the police.

Ibrahim Idris, IGP

Frank said the current Police boss has shown lack of capacity, disrespect for the Constitution and flagrant disregard to the rule of law in handling the affairs of the security agency, adding that Nigerians are tired of a trial and error Inspector General of Police.

Recall that some police officers had on Tuesday stormed the Abuja residence of Chief Clark to allegedly search for weapons but the Police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood in a statement had appologised and denied knowledge of the incident.

But reacting to the development in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, Comrade Frank, said despite the apology, the current IG has shown that he is not fully in-charge of the Nigeria Police.

While condemning the illegal siege on Clarks residence, the former APC chieftain recalled the recent siege on the National Assembly which led to the sack of the erstwhile DG of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura.

Frank said he believes that the current IG has not only shown himself as incompetent but a security apprentice who lacks knowledge of all that is happening in the force under his command.

This latest siege on the premises of Pa Clark must be thoroughly investigated and culprits made to face the law, or we will be at liberty to conclude that a plot to finally eliminate Chief Clark is at a full blown stage as anything short of the IGs sack will be seen as a nod by his paymasters to carry on with his nefarious acts.

The activities of the Nigeria Police in recent times has left everyone wondering if indeed this is the same police saddled with the responsibility to Serving and Protect all Nigerian citizens.

The modus operandi of this administration in clamping down and arm-twisting perceived opposition figures in the country has become one too many as Nigerians are now feel perpetually under siege.

To buttress this assertion, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, only recently ordered a review the activities of the FSARS  an arm of the police  that had become a living nightmare for law abiding citizens.

Furthermore, this unwarranted police assault on Chief Clark is an attack on the Ijaw Nation, aimed at stereotyping, embarrassing and nationally shaming the Ijaw People.

The disdain and bad blood exhibited by this administration towards other minority tribes in the country is the worst since independence, and all well-meaning Nigerians must rise to condemn and resist it.

The Bayelsa-born politician, however called out all Ijaw sons and daughters to protect their PVCs and vote out this malicious and self-serving government during the forth coming presidential elections.

Any Ijaw man or woman who supports this administration is indeed an enemy of the Ijaw nation and must be viewed as such. This attack is one too many to ignore as a mere coincidence. All other minority tribes that feel marginalized are free to make their choice.

The hounding and hoodwinking of the Acting DG of the DSS, Matthew Seiyefa  an Ijaw man  speaks volume of the level of hatred and disdain with which the present administration holds the Ijaw people and other minority tribes in the country, he declared.

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Railroads and the China card

Tactics such as playing one neighbour off against the other are not a viable strategy
Home | News | General | You must respect citizens rights, IGP tells FSARS

By Vincent Ujumadu

AWKA  THE Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mr. Ibrahim Idris has urged the personnel of the Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad, FSARS, to respect peoples rights, warning that the police hierarchy would no longer tolerate illegal detention.

Addressing members of FSARS in Awka, the IG said that on no account should they detain any suspect beyond 48 hours, adding that anyone who contravened the directive risked dismissal from the Force.

SARS operatives in conference

Idris, who was represented by the national coordinator of X-Squad, Mr. Amaechi Elumelu, a deputy commissioner of police, DCP, reminded them that membership of FSARS was voluntary and asked those who felt they could not cope with the reforms in the unit to opt out.

He said: You are created and authorized to handle only armed robbery and kidnapping cases. You are barred from searching handsets and laptops of innocent citizens, unless the search is directly linked to a case or directed by IGP or any person or persons he so delegated.

You are also prohibited from detaining any suspect beyond what the law says without recourse to court order.

He explained that operatives of FSARS would be trained and retrained regularly to equip them with modern working knowledge and skills to perform optimally in line with international best practices.

He also said that under the new rule of engagement of the reformed FSARS, officers of the unit would undergo medical examinations, especially mental and psychological tests, adding that a counseling department had been put in place in the unit.

Similarly, he added, a custody management system had been introduced in the unit for purposes of documentation and access to information about suspects.

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Home | News | General | 2019: Collection of PVCs to continue till 1 week before election - INEC

- INEC boss, Yakubu Mahmood, has assured that collection of PVCs still continues till February 2019

- He gave the assurance during a meeting with the 36 electoral commissioners

- He said the collection lasts till a week to the general elections

Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), has expressed that the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) by Nigerians will continue till a week to the coming general elections.

Premium Times reports that the INEC boss gave this assurance on Thursday, September 6, in a speech he delivered while meeting with resident electoral commissioners across the 36 states.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Gunshots reportedly heard around PDP secretariat as Atiku submits nomination form

Read the full speech below:

"Remarks by honourable chairman, Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, at a regular meeting with the resident electoral commissioners, conference room, INEC headquarters, Abuja, Thursday, 6 september, 2018

Honourable National Commissioners

Resident Electoral Commissioners

Senior officials of the Commission

Ladies and Gentlemen

"1. Once again, it is my pleasure to welcome the resident electoral commissioners to this meeting. You may recall that at our last meeting held about two (2) months ago and four days after the Ekiti State Governorship election on Wednesday 18th July 2018, I told you that as we approach the 2019 general elections, our meetings are going to become more regular.

"Todays meeting is holding exactly sixteen (16) days to the Osun state Governorship election scheduled for Saturday 22nd September 2018. Since the Ekiti state governorship election, the commission has conducted six (6) bye-elections, concluded five (5), but suspended the Port Harcourt III State Constituency in Rivers State. In addition to the interim report submitted to the Commission, the resident Electoral commissioner in charge of the State will brief this meeting on that election.

"I wish to assure Nigerians that our elections will continue to meet the requirements of our laws, processes and procedures as well as international best practice. Todays meeting shall dwell essentially and extensively on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise and the consequential steps we need to take as we continue to prepare for the 2019 general elections.

"2. As you are aware, the commission concluded the current phase of the nationwide CVR exercise last week. For a period of sixteen (16) months, from 27th April 2017 to 31st August 2018, the exercise was conducted continuously in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as envisaged by the electoral act. At the end of the exercise, a total of 14,551,482 new voters were registered.

"If this figure is added to the existing register of 69,720,350 voters, it means that the nation now has a voter population of 84,271,832. Although the figure may drop slightly after we run the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), the current figure represents about 21% increase on the existing register.

"On this note, let me also appeal to Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the ongoing nationwide display of the particulars of new voters for claims and objections as required by law. By doing so, citizens will be helping the Commission to further clean up the register and purge it of all ineligible registrants as required by Sec. 12 of the electoral act.

"3. The commission has consistently shared information on the voter registration exercise with Nigerians by publishing the figures as well as detailed breakdown by States and gender. After running the AFIS, the commission shall present a detailed analysis of the voter register, not only by State and gender, but also by age group and occupation.

"4. In addition to fresh registration, the commission is also processing 769,917 requests for intra and inter-State transfers as well as 1,178,793 requests for replacement of lost, damaged or cards with misspelt names or incorrect personal details of voters as required by law. This means that the Commission has to print a total of 16,500,192 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and make them available for collection by citizens ahead of the 2019 general elections.

"Already, the Commission has printed the PVCs for those registered in 2017 and delivered them to States for collection. I can also confirm that the PVCs for 2.7 million voters registered in the first quarter of 2018 have been printed and will be delivered to the States next week. We wish to reassure Nigerians that every registered voter will have his/her PVC available for collection before the general election.

"5. The collection of PVCs will continue until one week to the 2019 general elections. We shall ensure that the process of collection is simplified with minimum inconvenience to citizens. We will also ensure that information about the collection of PVCs is widely disseminated. Already, we are partnering with telecommunication companies to send bulk text (sms) messages to citizens for the collection of their PVCs.

"Todays meeting will also consider other options, including the devolution of collection to Ward level. We however wish to restate the Commissions policy that no PVCs will be collected by proxy. Registered voters must endeavour to collect their cards personally. We are working hard to ensure that no PVC goes into the wrong hands.

"6. On the preparation for the Osun state governorship election, all processes and activities are going according to our timetable and schedule of activities released almost a year ago. The last major activity was the presentation of the Voters Register to each of the 48 political parties fielding candidates in the election, giving detailed information of the distribution of the 1.6 million registered voters by Local Government Areas, Wards and Polling Units.

"The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State will brief this meeting on the state of readiness so far. Furthermore, the Commission is convening a meeting of the national Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) next week to review the security arrangement for the election. We are working on a multi-faceted approach to the menace of vote-buying and other sundry electoral malpractices. We will introduce changes to the election-day administration of our polling units, in addition to the electronic tracking of our sensitive materials.

"We are discussing with the security agencies on a more vigorous enforcement of the law against voter-inducement. Furthermore, we are working with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and other stakeholders on voter education and sensitization. This is the third election we are conducting in Osun State since the 2015 general elections. The first was the Ife Central State Constituency and the Osun West Senatorial District. We wish to reassure the people of Osun State that their votes will continue to count.

"7. Once again, I welcome all resident electoral commissioners to this meeting. We now go into the working session.

"6. I thank you for your attention."

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Meanwhile, the office of the youth organising secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, on Saturday, September 2, pleaded with Nigerians and residents of the state against acts that could heat up the polity.

Aregbe Idris, the head of the office, also pleaded with INEC to extend the deadline for the voters registration exercise so that many citizens would be able to take part in the 2019 general elections.

Nigeria Election 2019: What are Bukola Sarakis chances against President Buhari? | NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | What are the best schools in Nigeria in 2018?

Looking for the top 10 best schools in Nigeria 2018? Take a look at the list of best secondary education institutions in Nigeria. Since children are the future, they deserve the best education the country has to offer.

Photo: getjobsandscholarships.com

Source: UGC

List of best schools in Nigeria

There are a lot of schools in the country, but everyone knows that not all of them offer the best education. That is why we have decided to write about the best secondary schools in Nigeria you can choose from. You can find the full list of 100 best schools in Nigeria according to WAEC on CurrentSchoolNews.

Without much further ado, here are the best schools in Nigeria (presented in reverse order):

10. Corona Secondary School

Photo: visionofthechild.com

Source: UGC

Website: coronaschools.org

E-mail: cssinfo@coronaschools.org

Phone no.: 0818-807-2467 or 0818-807-2489

Address: Agbara Estate, Yenagoa Rd., Agbara, Ogun State

Established in 1992, Corona Secondary School is a boarding school in Agbara. In the recent years, its students have been scoring very well in WAEC examinations, and this year, it recorded a 100% pass with 99% of grades being from A1 to C6. To compare, the national pass rate is 49.98%.

9. Lumen Christi International High School

Photo: @davenof on Twitter

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Top business schools in Nigeria

Website: www.lumenchristi-uromi.org

E-mail: info@lumenchristischool.net

Phone no.: 0803-5417-323 or 0705-9568-564

Address: Uromi, North East Edo State

Since its creation in 1986 by Rev. Dr. P.E Ekpu, this school has been on the lists of best schools in Nigeria and even the whole of West Africa. This year, it ended up being among the top 10 best secondary schools according to WAEC.

8. Lekki British School

Photo: brandiconimage.com

Source: UGC

Website: lekkibritishschool.org

E-mail: enquiries@lekkibritishschool.org

Phone no.: 01-453-7247

Address: Victoria Arobieke St., Lekki Phase I, Lagos State

Lekki British School is a British boarding school that can be found in Lagos. It has a pre-school, a junior school and a high school, so your child can attend it at any age and get the best education. It boasts a 99% rate of students who got admitted into universities, so you can tell it is good.

7. Day Waterman College

Photo: streetsofnaija.net

Source: UGC

Website: dwc.org.ng

E-mail: info@dwc.org.ng

Phone no.: 08058698081

Address: Abeokuta-Sagamu Expy, Asu Village Rd., Abeokuta, Ogun State

Founded in 2008 by Tayo Aderinokun, the school offers some of the best facilities in the whole of Africa. It provides excellent education that teaches children how to use their talents and capabilities to excel in this world. Day Waterman College believes in personalized approach to every child.

6. Vivian Fowler Memorial College

Photo: vivianfowler.org

Source: UGC

Website: vivianfowler.org

E-mail: info@vivianfowler.org

Phone no.: 0818-212-0532, 0806-155-0543 or 01-793-8424

Address: Plot 5 Billingsway, Chief T.A. Doherty Industrial Layout, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos State

At this girls-only institution, young ladies have been able to get the education they deserve since 1991. The college offers balanced education that aims to develop the personal qualities of students, which can help them in the outside world. Its mission is to promote the enhancement of women through education.

5. Christ The King College

Photo: Christ the King College on Facebook

Source: Facebook

Website: ckconitsha.org

E-mail: info@ckconitsha.org

Phone no.: 0803-401-8824

Address: Oguta Rd., Onitsha, Anambra State

One of the oldest secondary schools in Nigeria, Christ The King College was founded in 1993 by Irish missionaries. Since then, it has remained among the best schools in the country. It strives to awaken, motivate and guide the young hearts and minds towards their full potential.

4. Grange School

Photo: grangeschool.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Top 10 music schools in Nigeria

Website: grangeschool.com

E-mail: info@grangeschool.com

Phone no.: 01-295-7630

Address: Harold Shodipo Crescent, GRA Ikeja, Lagos State

Since 1958, Grange School has been offering quality education to its students. Apart from general education, the school also provides children with a very diverse extra-curricular programme.

3. Loyola Jesuit College

Photo: loyolajesuit.org

Source: UGC

Website: loyolajesuit.org

E-mail: principal@loyolajesuit.org

Phone no.: 0811-4681-636

Address: Loyola St., Gidan Mangoro, Karu-Karshi Rd. Abuja FCT

Of course, this list would not be complete without at least one college from FCT. Loyola Jesuit College has been providing its students with quality education since 1996. It is a full boarding school that offers the children an effective learning environment, with highly qualified staff and wonderful surroundings.

2. Kings College

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Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Private secondary schools in Lagos

Website: kingscollegelagos.com

E-mail: info@kingscollegelagos.com

Phone no.: 0802-336-8915

Address: 3, Catholic Mission Street, Lagos Island, Lagos State

Kings College is probably the oldest all-boys secondary educational institution in Nigeria. It was founded in 1909, and it has been offering high quality education ever since. In addition to great learning opportunities, the students at Kings college can enjoy the best boarding and sporting facilities in a highly secure environment.

1. Atlantic Hall

Photo: atlantic-hall.net

Source: UGC

Website: www.atlantic-hall.net

E-mail: enquiries@atlantic-hall.net

Phone no.: 0704-2932-098 or 0814-0727-213

Address: Atlantic Hall, Poka-Epe, Lagos State

Occupying the first spot is none other than Atlantic Hall. It is a Christian school, but it accepts students of all religions. The school offers pastoral care and academic rigour that are meant to help students learn how to live and work in this world.

As you can see, most of the top schools can be found in Lagos, so if you are looking for the best education you can offer for your child, it is definitely the place to go. That said, there are plenty of great schools outside Lagos, so check them out as well. We wish you the best of luck in your search.

READ ALSO: Top 20 secondary schools in Lagos

Source: kikiotolu.com

Source: Naija.ng

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Home | News | General | 41 suspected homosexuals arrested in Bauchi

By Suzan Edeh

Bauchi- No fewer than 41 suspected homosexuals have been arrested by security operatives in Bauchi State.

The suspects were arrested during a joint operation by men of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Bauchi State command.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Kamal Abubakar, who confirmed the incident, said the police had charged 37 of the suspects to court.

He said, Although we gathered through intelligence reports that the suspects were homosexuals, we did not charge them to court as homosexuals or lesbians since we did not catch them in the act. But we charged them for being public nuisance since they were arrested at a birthday party.

Abubabakar, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, reiterated the commitment of the police to protect lives and property of residents.

The Bauchi State Commissioner for Religious Affairs, Alhaji Ado Zigau, said the suspects were arrested based on intelligence reports.

He said, Intelligence reports revealed that some lesbians and homosexuals planned a gathering at the Federal Secretariat Conference Hall. Security operatives were mobilised to the scene and they arrested quite a number of the suspects. Each security team arrested some suspects and took them to their office for interrogation.

Meanwhile the state command of the NSCDC paraded four of the suspects.

The Public Relations Officer of the corps, DSC Garkuwa Adamu, said, On September 1, 2018, intelligence information revealed that some group of youths suspected to be homosexuals were having a meeting at the Federal Secretariat and we swung into action and arrested four suspects.

The suspects are Abubakar Adamu, 18; Usman Abubakar, 20; Dalhatu Hassan, 19; and Mukhtar Mohammed, 20.

We recovered three Jincheng motorcycles, one Haojue ladies motorcycle, one generator, three birthday cakes, four GSM phones and other souvenirs during the operation, he said.

One of the suspects, Abubakar Adamu, denied being a gay.

He said We are not gay; we dont have lesbians among us. I organised a birthday party and invited my friends. I sat with a female friend when I was arrested. I am a tailor and we followed due process and applied to use the Federal Secretariat Conference Hall, which they gave us.

After we finished the birthday, security operatives came in and arrested us. But we are not homosexuals and we dont belong to any association.

When asked how he got money to organise the birthday, he said I am a tailor. My customers pay me between N400 and N2,500. My friends contributed some of the items. I have learnt my lesson and I will not organise a birthday party again.

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Home | News | General | Reckless PHarcourt driver kills one, injure another, disappears

By Egufe Yafugborhi

PORT HARCOURT  IT was gory at Mile 1, Port Harcourt, Rivers state Thursday morning as a reckless speeding bus driver crushed two wheelbarrow operators, killing one and leaving the other in coma.

The killer driver, yet unidentified, was said to have taken to his heels, disappearing from the scene after his bus veered off course and hit both victims conversing in waiting for customers on the Mile 1 Ikwerre Road median.

Lucky Dike, an eyewitness told Vanguard, The driver could have been high on something, most of them are. He was speeding recklessly and they usually do as they challenge for passengers in the morning. It was about 8am.

He overtook a vehicle at busy Mile 1 Market area. Suddenly he lost control, swerved the bus to the median and hit a streetlight pole on which the two wheelbarrow pushers where leaning. One died on the spot. It is doubtful if the one rushed to the hospital would make it.

Both victims said to be Akwa-Ibom indigenes were known to have made the particular spot their parking lot and rest point in their wheelbarrow pushing business.

Distraught traders and by-passers were seen expressing their disgust in groups when men of the Federal Road Safety Corps came in to remove the mangled remains of the dead victim from the bloody spot when Vanguard visited the scene.

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Home | News | General | Caning of lesbians against Islamic compassion: Mahathir Malaysian PM

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad stoked further legal controversy over homosexuality when he denounced the caning of two Muslim women for attempting lesbian sex.

Mahathir Mohamad: against caning of lesbians

His comment came after the Indian Supreme Court ruled homosexuality as legal.

The caning sentence had sparked in Malaysia outrage and raised fears about the treatment of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The women had pleaded guilty to charges under Islamic laws forbidding lesbian sex. They were caned on Monday in front of dozens of people at a sharia court in Terengganu, a conservative state in the east, prompting an outcry from human rights activists, who described the punishment as torture.

Mahathirs government has appeared divided about the LGBT community, while the premier himself had been silent on the caning and recent attacks on transgender people and marginalised groups in the Muslim-majority country.

In a video posted on his Twitter account, Mahathir said the caning did not reflect the justice or compassion of Islam.

It was the womens first offence, he said, which warranted a lighter sentence, such as counselling.

This gives a bad impression of Islam, the 93-year-old leader said. It is important that we show Islam is not a cruel religion that likes to impose harsh sentences to humiliate others.

The LGBT community is routinely persecuted in Malaysia, where it is seen as a threat to conservative values.

Mahathirs government swept into power in May after campaigning on a reform agenda, but has been unconvincing in its handling of matters relating to race, religion and minorities in the multi-racial country.

The caning followed a series of incidents in recent weeks that civil rights groups say illustrate growing hostility against gay and transgender people.

Mahathirs comment got a prompt response from a muslim leader, Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria, the Perak Mufti, who urged all parties to look at the legal and not political benefits of the public caning of the women.

Harussani said the caning was meant to teach the offenders a lesson and the caning did not maim, torture or injure them.

There is a way to do it, of which the cane was not raised high and it was not brutal. From an Islamic perspective, the caning was meant to teach them a lesson.That was why the caning was open to the public as it was meant to teach and act as a deterrent to others.

The offenders meanwhile, will not repeat the act or risk being caned again, Harussani told reporters here after delivering a keynote address at the Wacana Kesejagatan Ummah 2018.

Last month, a gay bar in Kuala Lumpur was raided by police and religious enforcement officials, while a transgender woman was beaten up by a group of assailants in Seremban, near the capital.

The minister in charge of Islamic affairs also came under fire, including from other ruling party lawmakers, after he ordered the removal of portraits of two LGBT activists from an art exhibition.

Malaysia describes oral and anal sex as against the order of nature. Civil law stipulates jail for up to 20 years, caning and fines for offenders, although enforcement of the law is rare.

Muslims are also governed by state-level Islamic laws, most of which carry provisions outlawing same-sex acts.

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Home | News | General | Vice President Osinbajo inaugurates disbursement of capital to 2 million traders

- Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has begun the disbursement of capital to 2 million traders in Abuja

- The disbursement is part of the current administrations drive to empower over two million petty traders across the country

- He had on Monday, September 3, launched empowerment programme for 30,000 petty traders in Osun state

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday, September 6, began the disbursement of start-up capital for 39,000 petty traders in the Federal Capital Territory.

The Punch reports that the disbursement is part of the current administrations drive to empower over two million petty traders across the country through a commercial loan scheme tagged Trader moni.

NAIJ.com gathered that the scheme being implemented by the Bank of Industry allows each beneficiary to get an interest free loan of between N10,000 to N15,000.

READ ALSO: Osun 2018: Falae reveals why electorate must reject APC and vote SDP

The interest-free loan is part of the social intervention programmes under the President Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

The VP also inaugurated a One-Stop-Shop to address some of the impediments to the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the country.

Osinbajo commissioned the facility which is located at the headquarters of the Abuja Enterprise Agency.

The centre would provide MSMEs with support services to grow their businesses.

Some of these support are access to finance, enterprise development and regulatory support in areas such as business registration, tax-related issues, and export promotion.

The VP while speaking at the event said the establishment of the centre underscored the effort of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to creating an environment that would support the rapid growth of MSMEs in the country.

The executive director, MSMEs, Bank of Industry, Toyin Adeniji, said that the bank is partnering with the Federal government to empower small traders.

Adeniji said that the project which is wholly driven by the government is expected to give N10,000 grant each to the traders to boost their businesses.

She said: We are targeting at least 39,000 beneficiaries from every state to benefit from this N10,000, but we hope to increase the amount to N15,000 soon as they pay back within six months.

It is not a BoI project, but that of the Federal government, we are only here to supervise, after this phase, we will go ahead to ask beneficiaries to open account with the banks, get their Permanent Voter Cards before we start further disbursement.

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The managing director, AEA, Muhammad Tukur said that the agency has fully aligned its operations into the vision of the government in providing MSMEs with the needed support to grow.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday, September 3, arrived Iwo in Osun state to launch empowerment programme for 30,000 petty traders in the state.

List President Buhari's achievements in two years - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | Osun 2018: Falae reveals why electorate must reject APC and vote SDP

- National chairman of SDP, Chief Olu Falae, has urged people of Osun not to vote for APC

- Governorship election is holding in the state on Saturday, September 22

- Falae said that his partys gubernatorial candidate in the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore has solution to the problem confronting the state

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and national leader of Social Democratic Party (SDP), Chief Olu Falae, has revealed why the people of Osun state should reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the governorship election slated to hold in the state on September 22.

NAIJ.com regional reporter in Osun, Sola Adetona, reports that while addressing the party faithful at the freedom park, Osogbo on Thursday, September 6, Falae said the osun people should not vote for the party that is owing civil servants and pensioners.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Gunshots reportedly heard around PDP secretariat as Atiku submits nomination form

He said: "I was in Osogbo in 1953 when most of you here were not born. I don't see any changes that make it better than what I saw then. You all know plans that our party SDP through the presidential candidate then Chief MKO abiola had for the Nigerians before the military dashed our hope.

It is these goodies that Omisore is bringing for the people of osun state. You should not vote for the APC. You are all aware I was kidnapped three years ago and maltreated in the hand of the herdsmen. So, I urge you to vote for Omisore and monitor your votes come September 22. You should not allow them to buy votes if u see them trying that inform the security agents."

Among the dignitaries present at the rally are Dr Yemi Farounbi, Chief olu Falae, Chief Seyinde Arogboga who represents the national chairman of Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that ahead of Saturday, September 22, gubernatorial election in Osun state, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) published the names of 48 political parties that are contesting for the election with the names of their governorship candidates and deputies.

It was reported that while speaking at the presentation of soft copies of voters register to the participating political parties, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Segun Agbaje, said that the exercise was in line with the electoral act of Nigeria and the law of the commission.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola interview: 'State of Osun' is correct (Exclusive) - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | Media is free to criticise any President but not to denigrate Buhari or anybody  Lai Mohammed

Abuja  The Federal Government on Thursday admonished the media to stop denigrating the person of President Muhammadu Buhari through their platforms.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed gave the admonition when he paid advocacy visit to the Abuja office of the Peoples Daily newspaper to drum support for national campaign against fake news.

Lai Mohammed

Mohammed, who was reacting to a recent editorial published by a national newspaper, said while the press was free to criticise the President and the administration, such criticism must not be to smear the person of the president.

There was an editorial in an otherwise respected national daily a few days ago that without any scintilla evidence, they denigrated the person of Mr President.

Make no mistake about this, the media is free to criticise any President but not to denigrate anybody.

If you have the facts, please come out. How can anybody says Mr President favoured one group than any other?

The President of a country, irrespective of the party or tribe which he comes from, he is the symbol of the country.

When you denigrate him, you are denigrating yourself. We therefore want to appeal to the media organisations to desist from this.

Some of them are consumed by hatred and bitterness that they throw cautions to the winds. This is not healthy either for the media or for the country, he said.

The minister stressed that fake news was beyond publishing what was not true.

When you hide under editorial to pursue agenda which are driven largely by sentiment, emotion, vengeance and bitterness, it does not augur well for the country, he said.

Mohammed said that the issue of herdsmen and farmers clash in Nigeria was largely being driven by fake news.

The minister reiterated that the clash had little or nothing to do with ethnicity and religion; rather a fall out of demography, climate change and in some cases, criminality.

He urged the media to be vigorous and circumspect in looking at the issue before arriving at erroneous conclusion.

In defending the position, the minister explained: If you remember in 1960 the country population is 45 million today we are 190 million hence the struggle for scarce resources.

Lake chad used to occupy 25,000sq km in 1963, today, the same lake has shrunk to 2500 sq km yet 35 million lives from Central African Republic, Cameroon, Niger Nigeria depend on the lake.\

The Lake is the natural source for their fishing, irrigation farming and water supply.

This is the tension we are seeing. It has nothing to do with religion or ethnicity.

The minister also gave the example of Zamfara state where he said the country had lost more lives to cattle rustling than those killed in Benue, Plateau, Taraba.

He said both the rustlers and the owners of the cattle in the Zamfara were Fulanis and Muslims.

How do we input religious and ethnic motives into this? It is the duty of the media to look at this and interrogate it very seriously.

It is a pity that the purveyors of fake news have not relented. They are perfecting their strategy to de-market this administration and it is so sad that some main stream media have joined in this, he said..

Mohammed also gave the recent fake report that 48 soldiers were killed as a result of Boko Haram insurgent activities.

He said even when the military had denied it vigorously, the media houses, including a respected international media organisation that published the story had not come out with any proof.

When lives are lost, the military has the obligation to inform the family of the deceased so they cannot cover up.

We should give respect to the gallant men and women in uniform who are daily sacrificing their lives for us to sleep. When you file this kind of report they are demoralised, he said.

The minister said the rise in the phenomenon of fake news was because it was difficult by naysayers to fault the Buharis administration on performance.

Whether on issues of security, infrastructure, fighting corruption agriculture or social investment programes, we challenged anybody to a debate.

 We will tell them exactly what we have done, he said.

Mohammed said that fake news was a global issue and each country had different approach to combating it including the UK that was contemplating legislating punitive fines on fake social media reports.

He however reiterated the position of the federal government not to coerce or censor but appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of the media.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Peoples Daily, Hameed Bello thanked the minister for the visit and gave the assurance of the medium to keep fighting against tjhe menace of fake news. (NAN)

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Home | News | General | 2019: APC youth leader wants reduction in nomination fees

Lokoja  Mr Kayode Adekunle, Youth Leader, All Progressives Congress (APC), Ijumu Local Government Area, Kogi, has appealed to the partys national leadership to reduce nominations forms fees being charged aspirants.

From left, Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network (NCAN) National Coordinator , Sanusi Musa displaying Presidential nomination form purchased for President Muhammadu Buhari by the group while National Treasure of the Party, Hon. Adamu Panda , National Chairman of the Party Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and National Secretary of the Party , Hon. Mai Mala Buni looking on at Party Secretariat in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan

Adekunle made the appeal in an interview in Lokoja on Thursday, and urged that the fees should be made affordable for young political aspirants.

The APC fixed its presidential nomination form at N40 million and expression of interest form at N5 million. For governorship, the nomination form is N20 million and expression of interest is N2.5 million.

For the Senate, the nomination form costs N7 million while the expression of interest costs N1 million. Cost of form for House of Representatives aspirants is N3.5 million and the expression of interest form, N350, 000.

House of Assembly is N750, 000 for nomination form and N100, 000 for expression of interest.

The youth leader said that President Muhammadu Buharis intention of signing the Not-Too-Young-to-Run Bill had not been demonstrated in the costs of the nomination forms announced by the party.

He said that if the prices of nomination forms were reduced, it would encourage some youths to contest and be part of the electioneering.

He stated that youths should no longer be left out of political contests.

According to Adekunle, the percentage of youth population and their contributions to the success of the partys electioneering in the forthcoming general elections need to be factored into the costing of nomination forms.

He appealed that forms for House of Assembly and House of Representatives should attract moderate fees to pave way for young aspirants into the legislative arm of government. (NAN)

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Rising demand gives boost to fish farming

Fish farming is expanding rapidly in Bara district due to increased demand in both rural and urban markets.
Home | News | General | Police raid: Delta Advocacy Cttee, DIPA visit Clark, ask militants to keep the peace

By Etop Ekanem

Delta State Advocacy Committee Against Vandalism of Oil and Gas Facilities, Thursday, tasked aggrieved militants in Niger Delta creeks to keep the peace and maintain stability in the oil environment.

Edwin Clark

Deputy Governor of the State, Mr Kingsley Otuaro, who is also the chairman of the Advocacy Committee, stated this when he led Delta Ijaw Political Assembly, DIPA, to visit Chief Edwin Clark in Abuja, saying the elder statesman remains healthy following reported illegal raid by the Police on his Abuja residence.

The raid had raised concerns on the state of health of the nonagenarian Ijaw and South-South geopolitical leader even as aggrieved militants vowed immediate resumption of hostilities against Nigerias oil-based economy. The aggrieved militants had, amongst other issues, cited Pa Clarks travails as coming from his strident voice for restructuring, which they said the Federal Government was opposed to.

But Otuaro appealed to the aggrieved agitators to help promote the causes Pa Clark stood for by continually employing responsible strategies in the quest for equity in the Nigerian nation. The issue of the embarrassing arms search of Pa Clarks house in Abuja is already being amicably handled by Pa Clark and security agencies and there is no cause for alarm.

The DIPA visit to Pa Clark was principally to show support for the elder statesman over his avowed commitment and standing for the greater part of his life, on peace, development and a united Nigeria driven by justice, equity and fairness to all.

We must, therefore, support and preserve these legacies. It is against this background that I on behalf of DIPA and the Delta State Advocacy Committee, appeal to all critical stakeholders of all the ethnic groups in Delta State, especially in the oil operating environment, to maintain the peace and stability.

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Home | World | Africa | Voters voted for the party not individuals that is why now there is concern over mayoral election

Zimbabwe Communist Party secretary general Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena has said the Bulawayo residents who voted on July 30 voted for the party MDC Alliance and were not careful to look who the candidates were, that is why now they are concerned over the election of the city mayor.

"If you are not a resident of Bulawayo, you will think the contest for the position of Mayor and the Deputy Mayor is between ZANU (PF) and the MDC Alliance. On the 30th July, the people of Bulawayo voted for the 29 MDC Alliance councillors to run the affairs of the City for the next 5 years. In terms of the constitution, the 29 MDC Alliance councillors must elect amongst themselves the Mayor & the Deputy Mayor. The MDC Alliance 29 councillors are split between the Ndebele and Shona speaking. Some residents are saying a Shona speaking person can not be elected as Mayor or Deputy Mayor, they then fear that, if the election of the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor is left to the 29 Councillors as was the case in other cities, the Councillors might elect a Shona speaking person hence the mass mobilisation now taking place in Bulawayo and surrounding areas," he said.

"When the voters went to cast their votes on 30th July, they were only looking for a party symbol not the name of a candidate. Assuming (l did not check) that ZANU (PF) fielded all 29 council candidates of Ndebele origin, they are now asking residents this question , why did you reject your very own Ndebele speaking council candidate whom we presented in favour of a council candidate whom you will not want to be a Mayor of the City?"

He said the MDC Alliance is preparing for its congress , its political structures in Bulawayo will once again be dominated by the working class of all tribes in the City (by the way working class know no tribe) and they will once again mobilise for an MDC Alliance victory in the City of Bulawayo in 2023.

"Its political structures will have the task of once again electing council and MP candidates who will represent the party. It is possible that in 2023 the MDC Alliance will have more Shona speaking candidates in Bulawayo and we all know what this means," he said.

"As Communists, we are saying, residents should at all material times elect a candidate who advances its interests. In other words, a candidate must emerge from the community struggles. The origins of the said candidate is immaterial, what is key in our view is that, for one to hold a public office , one must work with their community in addressing societal issues. Communities must refuse the imposition of a candidate and equally communities must vote for a candidate they have identified irrespective of party affiliation. This chete chete mentality must be rejected."

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The MDC Alliance leader, Nelson Chamisa has proved that he is a failed politician after he failed to win both the 2018 harmonised elections and the Concourt ruling where he challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa's election victory.

There are characteristics that are associated with failed leaders. Normally leadership weaknesses are noted through lack of adaptability, little vision for the future, lack of accountability and poor communication skills among others. All these poor performances are synonymous with Chamisa's leadership qualities.

Real leaders produce results. Before he became the leader of MDC-Alliance, Chamisa was MDC-T Member of Parliament for Kuwadzana East constituency. During his tenure as a legislator, Chamisa proved his incompetency. In short, the Alliance leader failed to develop Kuwadzana East. They say, if you want to determine someone's leadership prowess, give them some responsibility and see what they do with it. In 15 years, Chamisa could not complete his project of constructing a library in his constituency. Honestly, can such a person be fit to lead a nation. How will the nation expect development under his leadership if he struggled to develop a mere constituency?

There are reports that they are members of the MDC Veterans Activist Association (VAA), who are calling for the removal of Chamisa from his post as the leader of MDC and replace him with Divine Mafa, a United States of America based MDC member. The VAA are accusing Chamisa for the dismal performance that led to their defeat during the July 30 harmonised elections.

Chamisa is being blamed for imposing candidates and intentionally side-lining popular candidates who were nominated by that party's supporters during primary elections. For instance, the MDC Alliance leader undemocratically imposed Vimbai Tsvangirai Java in Glen-View South and Joanna Mamombe in Harare West to contest as Members of Parliament against the will of party supporters.

Had it been that Chamisa was a democratic, visionary leader, he should have respected the will of the people. From those accusations, Chamisa can best be described as a dictator.

Chamisa should practise the 'one size fits all leadership style.' Best leaders are flexible in their approach. Only those leaders who can quickly recognise and adapt their methods to the situation at hand will be successful in the long haul. Good leadership needs one to surrender and not control; one to collaborate and not dictate.

Recently in Chitungwiza, Chamisa clashed with his councillors after the former imposed a mayoral candidate. Reports are that Chamisa imposed Councillor Gift Tsverere against the preferred former deputy mayor Councillor Goodwill Mushangwe for the mayoral post. This caused chaos and disgruntlement such that other MDC Councillors ended up voting for the much organised ruling party Councillors.

Furthermore, to confirm his incompetency and lack of leadership skills, Chamisa recently tweeted on his handle that, "Our next move is very crucial for Zimbabwe's future. Things must change. We are currently engaging Zimbabweans countrywide on steps ahead. We are ready to serve you. Tough decisions are about to be made. You decide, we abide. Your wish is our command. Your thoughts and ideas?"

Chamisa's utterances reveal his ultimate goal to cause mayhem as he promised during his election campaigns. There is nothing to consult his supporters on, as the havoc script is already there and he wants to gauge people's willingness to sacrifice themselves over his selfish quest to rule even though he lost the elections. Violence is never a solution to any problems. Remember, after Tendai Biti, one of the MDC Alliance principals fuelled illegal protests when he loosely said opposition supporters should defend their votes through protests, leading to the loss of six lives.



Chamisa should be reminded that, leaders who are not focused will fail themselves and their team. Leaders who also lack discipline will model the wrong behaviours and will certainly not prosper.
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
Toothless tigers

Conflict victims are not fully convinced by the truth and disappearance commissions
In April 1942, Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is forcibly transported to the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When his captors discover that he speaks several languages, he is put to work as a Tatowierer (the German word for tattooist), tasked with permanently marking his fellow prisoners.Imprisoned for over two and a half years, Lale witnesses horrific atrocities and barbarismbut also incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money from murdered Jews for food to keep his fellow prisoners alive.One day in July 1942, Lale, prisoner 32407, comforts a trembling young woman waiting in line to have the number 34902 tattooed onto her arm. Her name is Gita, and in that first encounter, Lale vows to somehow survive the camp and marry her.A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Seriallike podcast following the clues she's left behind.Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.When West McCraya radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in Americaoverhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.Lisa lives for her daughter Ava, her job and her best friend Marilyn.But when a handsome client shows an interest in her, Lisa starts daydreaming about sharing her life with him, too. Maybe shes ready now. Maybe she can trust again. Maybe it's time to let her terrifying secret past go.But when her daughter rescues a boy from drowning and their pictures are all over the news for everyone to see, Lisa's world explodes.As she finds everything she has built threatened, and not knowing who she can trust, it's up to Lisa to face her past in order to save what she holds dear.But someone has been pulling all their strings. And that someone is determined that both Lisa and Ava must suffer.Because long ago Lisa broke a promise. And some promises aren't meant to be broken.Hazel Camille Bradford knows shes a lot to takeand frankly, most men arent up to the challenge. If her army of pets and thrill for the absurd dont send them running, her lack of filter means shell say exactly the wrong thing in a delicate moment. Their loss. Shes a good soul in search of honest fun.Josh Im has known Hazel since college, where her zany playfulness proved completely incompatible with his mellow restraint. From the first night they metwhen she gracelessly threw up on his shoesto when she sent him an unintelligible email while in a post-surgical haze, Josh has always thought of Hazel more as a spectacle than a peer. But now, ten years later, after a cheating girlfriend has turned his life upside down, going out with Hazel is a breath of fresh air.Not that Josh and Hazel date. At least, not each other. Because setting each other up on progressively terrible double blind dates means theres nothing between them...right?The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, who continue to wage bloody war over a stolen woman--Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman watches and waits for the war's outcome: Briseis. She was queen of one of Troy's neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes Achilles's concubine, a prize of battle, and must adjust quickly in order to survive a radically different life, as one of the many conquered women who serve the Greek army.When Agamemnon, the brutal political leader of the Greek forces, demands Briseis for himself, she finds herself caught between the two most powerful of the Greeks. Achilles refuses to fight in protest, and the Greeks begin to lose ground to their Trojan opponents. Keenly observant and cooly unflinching about the daily horrors of war, Briseis finds herself in an unprecedented position to observe the two men driving the Greek forces in what will become their final confrontation, deciding the fate, not only of Briseis's people, but also of the ancient world at large.Sources: 1
Irans oil exports have been falling much faster than expected, but Tehran is hoping to avoid the worst, deploying some creative solutions to keep exports from crashing too much.

Irans oil exports may have plunged as much as 600,000-700,000 bpd in August, falling as low as 1.66 million barrels per day (mb/d), according to the Wall Street Journal and SVB Energy International. The pain only grows worse as the November deadline for U.S. sanctions on Irans oil industry approaches. SVB expects Irans oil exports to fall as far as 0.8 mb/d by November. That will amount to the loss of nearly 1 mb/d from April, the month before the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear accord.

The supply disruptions have been more severe than many had expected because the U.S. is taking a very hard line on sanctions, sending signals that Washington will grant few, if any, waivers to buyers of Iranian oil. That, in turn, is making it difficult for Iran to find insurance for its shipments and bankers to finance the deals.

All is not lost for Iran. The European Union and China have rejected U.S. demands, and have tried to help Iran weather the onslaught.

Still, there authority and resolve is questionable. European politicians arent able to control the decisions made by European refiners, who began cutting purchases of Iranian oil months ago. China, for its part, also cut imports from Iran, despite signaling its intent to keep buying. Chinas imports from Iran fell by around 250,000 bpd in August compared to a month earlier. Indias imports fell by as much as 400,000 bpd. Its not clear that such a downward trend will continue, but it doesnt bode well for Tehran. Related: Why Algerias Oil Sector Isnt Booming

Irans oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh suggested that Iran has other ways to keep his countrys oil exports from falling too much. Iran could significantly discount its oil, which will make it appealing to buyers. It can also barter. Prior to the lifting of sanctions in 2016, India and Iran had an arrangement in which Indian buyers would purchase oil in rupees, with Iran using the rupees to purchase goods from India. That avoided the trap of using dollars, which will off limits to Iran under U.S. sanctions.

Iran can also smuggle its oil, including over land through Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Bloomberg notes that Iran managed to export some oil during the last round of sanctions by turning off the tracking systems for its fleet of tankers and obscuring destinations on shipments. Furtive efforts such as these could keep about 200,000 bpd of exports in the dark, Robin Mills of Qamar Energy told Bloomberg. Mills says Iran could probably keep total exports at about 800,000 bpd through next year through a variety of strategies to evade the effect of sanctions.

The EU is hoping to entice Iran to stay within the confines of the 2015 nuclear deal and not abandon its commitments even though the U.S. has withdrawn from the agreement and waged a belligerent maximum pressure campaign against Tehran. For what its worth, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog over Irans nuclear program, said in a confidential report in late August that Iran continues to abide by its obligations, staying within required limits on enrichment and enriched uranium stocks. Related: Say Goodbye To Cheap Oil For Now

Europes last-ditch strategy is to try to wait out Trump. If Europe can convince Iran can continue to comply with the nuclear deal for a few more years, perhaps a new U.S. president will come into office and take a different approach and rejoin the nuclear deal.

To do this, Europe may try to develop an alternative system to transfer money for major financial transactions, outside of U.S. influence, according to NBC News. Some European countries may even use their own central banks to conduct the transfers, since commercial banks are backing away from Iran for fear of running afoul of U.S. sanctions.

It is not at all clear that this will be enough. Iran is under extreme economic pressure due to falling oil exports and a plunging currency. That is undercutting the political position of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who staked his administrations legacy on negotiating with the United States. Hardliners are gaining ground at his expense.

Either way, Irans oil exports are heading down. Its just a question of how far and how fast.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
As OPEC has been easing the production cuts, the cartels crude oil production hit a 10-month high in August, as Iraq including Kurdistan pumped at record levels and Libya recovered from weeks of port blockades, according to the monthly S&P Global Platts survey.

Total OPEC-15 oil production came in at 32.89 million bpd last month, including 320,000 bpd output from its newest member, Congo, which joined OPEC in June this year.

Excluding Congo, OPEC pumped 32.57 million bpd in August, the highest level since October 2017, the Platts survey found.

Libya boosted production the most, as fields and oil export terminals returned to operation after the attack on the Oil Crescent in June that crippled the countrys oil production and exports in both June and July. Libyas production recovered to 940,000 bpd, according to the Platts survey.

OPECs no.1 and de facto leader Saudi Arabia saw its production average 10.49 million bpd in August. That number is up from the Saudi production in July, as per official OPEC figures, 10.387 million bpd.

Last week, an OPEC source told S&P Global Platts that Saudi Arabia would report to OPEC that its crude oil production in August averaged 10.424 million bpd.

OPECs no.2 Iraqincluding the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region produced 4.68 million bpd last month, up by 110,000 bpd over July, and the highest Iraqi production in the 30 years of Platts OPEC surveys. Related: Oil Could Jump To $95 This Winter

OPECs no.3 Iran is already seeing the impact of the U.S. sanctions not only on its exports, but also on its production. According to the Platts survey, Irans production in August was 3.6 million bpd, down by 120,000 bpd from July. Platts Analytics expects U.S. sanctions to remove around 1.4 million bpd of Iranian oil from the market by November.

Venezuelas production further tumbled, by 20,000 bpd to 1.22 million bpd in August. Compared to August last year, Venezuelan oil production plunged by 680,000 bpd.

OPEC is releasing August production figures in its next monthly report on September 12.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Exxon will build a multibillion-dollar petrochemical complex in China and invest in an LNG import terminal, both in the Guangdong province, the company said. The news comes amid growing trade tensions between Beijing and Washington that have sparked concern about the future of U.S. oil and LNG exports to one of the worlds top energy consumers.

Exxon said the petrochemical complex is still pending a final investment decision, but if it is made, the facility will feature an ethylene cracker with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons, two performance polyethylene lines, and two differentiated performance polypropylene lines. If the project remains competitive and receives all necessary permits, it should go into operation in 2023.

Exxon will also provide financial support for the Huizhou LNG terminal and will supply LNG for it, the company said, without, however, providing any details regarding the size of shipments or the capacity of the terminal.

Exxon has a significant footprint in global LNG with its total liquefaction capacity at some 65 million tons annually, and thats not counting its PNG LNG in Papua New Guinea and the Gorgon project in Australia. This puts Exxon in a favorable position after Beijing slapped 25-percent tariffs on U.S. LNG imports beginning August 23.

China last year topped the list of biggest LNG importers in the world as it continues its shift away from coal towards gas and LNG. It is a huge market and it makes sense for energy majors to enter it as early as possible.

But China is also the biggest chemicals market in the world. There are only a few foreign participants in this market, but it is opening up to accommodate more as its plastics and chemicals demand soars, driven by consumer electronics and cars, among others. Just a couple of months ago, Reuters recalls, Germanys BASF announced plans to build a US$10-billion chemicals complexthe first such facility that will be wholly owned by a foreign company in China.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Gazproms Power of Siberia natural gas pipeline from Russia to China is 93 percent complete, the Russian gas giant said in an update on its major projects.

A total of 2,010 kilometers (1,249 miles) of pipes are laid for the Power of Siberia gas pipeline between Yakutia and the Russian-Chinese border, or on 93 percent of the routes length, Gazprom said in a statement.

The natural gas pipeline is expected to start sending gas to China at the end of 2019 and its completion is among Gazproms top priorities.

The two-string submerged crossing of the Power of Siberia pipeline under the Amur River is 78 percent complete, and the Atamanskaya compressor station adjacent to the border is also under construction, the Russian company says.

Gazprom has a 30-year contract with CNPC for the supply of an annual 1.3 trillion cu ft of natural gas via the infrastructure.

This year, Gazprom plans to invest nearly US$3.2 billion (218 billion Russian rubles) in the pipeline project, up from the US$2.3 billion (158.8 billion rubles) investment last year, according to Russias TASS news agency.

Gazprom and CNPC have also discussed another pipeline from Russia to China via the western routethe so-called Power of Siberia 2 pipelinethat would source gas from Western Siberian gas fields, but little progress has been made regarding the specifics of this project.

Gazprom is dominating gas supplies to many European markets while it vies to meet the surging Chinese natural gas demand as the country is in the middle of a massive switch from coal-fired to gas-fired heating in millions of homes.

Although Chinese companies are looking to boost domestic natural gas production, local production wont come even close to meeting surging demand, and China is expected to increasingly rely on gas imports.

According to the Gas 2018 report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), China will become the worlds largest natural gas importer by 2019. The share of imports in Chinas natural gas supply is seen rising from 39 percent to 45 percent by 2023, the Paris-based agency forecasts.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
" " Street harassment is now punishable by law in France. Jeremy Woodhouse/Getty Images

In August 2018, French lawmakers officially made catcalling  making noises or comments of a sexual nature  against the law. Catcalls and other forms of street sexual harassment are now a punishable offense that can result in fines of up to 750 euros (around $870).

The move comes after a public outcry for social change fueled, in part, by the viral video of a young woman, Marie Laguerre, who was hit by a man on a Paris street after he made lewd noises and comments, and she objected. The incident was recently a topic of discussion in our Stuff Mom Never Told You podcast.

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"What's key is ... that the laws of the French republic forbid insulting, intimidating, threatening and following women in public spaces," Marlene Schiappa, France's secretary for gender equality, told Europe 1 radio.

Along with penalties for catcallers, the French bill included more stringent penalties for other types of sexual misconduct. Under the new law, it will be easier to prosecute crimes of sexual violence against minors age 15 or younger. Previously, any sexual act by an adult with a child younger than 15 could be prosecuted as a sexual offense, but prosecutors had to prove the sex was forced to garner greater punishment. With the criteria of "force" removed, it will pave the way for appropriate charges to be filed.

In addition, the bill includes a decade-long extension during which rape victims who are minors can file complaints. This means that minors who are sexually assaulted or abused now have until 30 years from the day they turn 18 to report wrongdoing. It also makes it illegal to use a smartphone or other device to take photos up a woman's skirt.

Catcalling is not illegal in the United States, although a few states  New York and Alabama, for example  have disorderly conduct laws meant to prevent lewd activity. However, catcalling has been illegal in Belgium since 2014, and is now against the law in Portugal and New Zealand.

Now That's Interesting Marie Laguerre created a website called "Nous Toutes Harcelement"  "We Are All Harassed"  to collect similar stories of harassment from other women.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in his speech during the ceremonial exchange of business agreements between the Philippines and Israel at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on September 4, 2018, assures the Israeli companies that the Philippines will provide them a corruption-free business environment. A total of 21 business agreements were signed between various private companies from the Philippines and Israel. The agreements have an estimated investment value of $82.9 million and are expected to generate around 790 jobs for the Filipinos. KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

ISRAEL  Despite the protests against his policies at home, President Rodrigo Duterte was welcomed by the Israeli business community during a business forum on Wednesday (September 3).

According to Malacanang, a total of 21 business deals amounting to $82.9M U.S. dollars were signed between the Philippines and Israeli businessmen, expected to generate jobs for at least 800 Filipinos.

The President, for his part, vows to provide a favorable business environment to Israeli businessmen and to other foreign nationals who wish to invest in the Philippines.

There will be no corruption. There will be no harassment, the President said.

The agreements signed include three Memorandums of Agreement (MOA), 11 Memorandums Of Understanding (MOU), and seven Letters Of Intent (LOI).  UNTV News and Rescue

Agreements signed during PRRDs trip to Israel

1) MOA between Century Properties, Inc. and Globe Invest Ltd.

(On advanced energy optimization management; advanced agriculture and urban farming; housing; water treatment; and other master-planned real estate development projects.)

2) MOA between Stone of David Corporation and Gaia Automotive Industries Ltd.

(On marketing and promotion of tactical vehicles, including technology transfer.)

3) MOA between Stone of David Corporation and MCTECH RF Technologies Ltd.

(On development of military and intelligence products and hardware)

Story continues

4) MOU between Century Pacific Food, Inc. and Kvuzat Yavne

(On the distribution of canned tuna products for the Century brand within Israel and the Palestinian Authority.)

5) MOU between Integrated Computer Systems, Inc. and Verint Systems Ltd.

(A collaboration on security, intelligence data mining, and information technology.)

6) MOU between the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE) -7Go Negosyo and Israel-Philippines Chamber of Commerce/Israel Chamber of Commerce

(To develop and undertake programs, projects, and advocacy initiatives related to the Kapatid Mentor ME Program.)

7) MOU between the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce

(To exchange information on commerce, industry market updates, and identification of business and trade opportunities.)

8) MOU between the PCCI-National Capital Region and Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce (JCC)

(To promote, strengthen, and expand trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation, and other business relations between member-organizations of the two parties.)

9) MOU between Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and Eilat Port Company Ltd.

(To promote the all-water route between the Port of Subic Bay and the Eilat Port.)

10) MOU between AMA Education Systems (AMAES) and HackerU

(To develop cybersecurity-related certification courses in the Philippines.)

11) MOU between Le Soleil Shipping Agencies, Inc. and ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.

(To provide additional ships or vessels to service the countrys local and international shipping requirements.)

12) MOU between Armscor Global Defense, Inc. and EMTAN Karmiel Ltd.

(On transfer of know-how and technology of EMTAN to Armscor to enable the latter to create a local manufacturing facility for the manufacture of weapons in the Philippines, under license from EMTAN. This project has an estimated cost of US $10 million and is projected to generate 200 jobs.)

13) MOU between KEREM IT Solutions and Carbyne Ltd.

14) MOU between KEREM IT Solutions and SuperCom

(To allow the local partner to promote and sell the other partys products.)

15) LOI of Amdocs Philippines, Ltd

(To expand operations in software development and support services in the Philippines as its hub in the Asia-Pacific Region.)

16) LOI of TrueLogic Online Solutions, Inc.

(To expand operations in software, systems development, and support services. This venture has an estimated cost of US $500,000 and is projected to generate 100 jobs by 2019.)

17) LOI of Silver Shadow Advanced Security Systems and Rayo Illuminar Corporation

(To explore opportunities in the manufacturing and refurbishment of small arms and ammunition, together with the local partner, Rayo Illuminar Corporation. This project is estimated to cost US$50 million and is expected to create 160 jobs by 2019)

18) LOI of MIMA TECH and I GilanGroup

(To expand operations in the field of agriculture and wastewater and sewerage treatment projects. This project is estimated to cost US $20 million, which is expected to generate 300 jobs by 2019.)

19) LOI of FlyEast Philippines

(To expand current Philippine operations on tourism development. This project is estimated to cost US $400,000 and is expected to create 30 jobs by 2019.)

20) LOI of FoodLab Capital

(To expand operations by building the FoodTech Acceleration Center within the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZFP) to service the food industry locators of the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA). This project is projected to cost US $ 1 million.)

21) LOI of Assuta Medical Center and I-DEA Ventures Group Inc.

(To expand operations in the Philippines by building a state-of-the-art medical center within the CSEZFP to service the medical needs of the locators of the CEZA. Also expected to cost US $1 million.)

The post Dutertes trip seals up to $80M in business deals with Israel appeared first on UNTV News.
Germany has returned a pre-Columbian gold funerary mask to Peru following a 20-year legal and diplomatic battle, the South American country's culture minister said on Thursday. Peru had reported the eighth century Sican mask's disappearance in 1999, after which it was confiscated by Interpol from the German city of Wiesbaden. "I'm happy to receive one of the most emblematic assets from the north Peruvian cultures, the Sican Mask," said Patricia Balbuena in a statement. The mask was handed over to the Peruvian embassy in Berlin by Bavarian authorities. The Munich regional court ordered the mask be returned to Peru in December 2016 after it had been confiscated by the public prosecutor. It is due to arrive in Peru in the coming weeks. Like neighboring Ecuador, which secured the return of 13 pre-Columbian artifacts from a private German collection in July after a six-year legal battle, the South American country has been eager to recover priceless pieces from its cultural heritage. The Sican culture inhabited the north coast of Peru between the eighth and 14th centuries.
On the afternoon of 3 September, Novotel Phuket Phokeethras managers and staff, including artists from Phuket Art Club presented a generous donation of THB 83,625 to Phuket Governor, Mr.Norapat Plodtong, in aid for the Phuket Straydog Shelter. This money will go towards improving the shelter and maintaining the health of its inhabitants.

Novotel Phuket Phokeethra hosted the Phokeethra Gallery art exhibition from 2 June- 21 July, 2018, featuring pictures created by local Phuket artists from Phuket Art Club that were available for sale.

At the end of the event, Novotel Phuket Phokeethra had raised an impressive revenue of up to THB 836,250, with the aim to donate 10% of the toal amount (amounting to THB 83,625 Baht) to the Phuket Straydog Shelter, without deducting any money from related costs.

With this donation, both Novotel Phuket Phokeethra and artists from Phuket Art Club hope that this amount of money can play an important part in helping all dogs in the Phuket Straydog Shelter to have better living conditions and lives.
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
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Semi-autonomous and autonomous machines and robots can become moral machines using annotated decision trees containing ethical assumptions or justifications for interactions with animals.

Machine ethics is a young, dynamic discipline, which primarily targets people, not animals. However, it is important that animals are kept from harm when encountering these machines since animals cannot make informed decisions or react as humans would.

Several prototypes of semi-autonomous and autonomous machines that do not startle animals in the wild have been developed at the FHNW University in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland. The prototypes are a ladybird-friendly robot vacuum cleaner, a self-driving car, a drone study for nature photography and advanced driver assistance systems.

The article "Towards animal-friendly machines" by Professor Oliver Bendel of the FHNW School of Business, published in De Gruyter's open access journal Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics, describes how annotated decision trees for animal-friendly moral machines are being developed and compared while making the moral justifications transparent.

The modeling for the drone, for example, was presented in 2015 and instructed it to ignore humans, to avoid harming flying birds and to identify skittish animals and only photograph them from an appropriate height.

The robot vacuum cleaner was programmed to identify ladybirds by their coloring, and stop vacuuming until the insect had moved on. Furthermore, the owner could control the morality of the machine by presetting it to spare ladybirds, but vacuum other invasive or undesirable species. This may not seem animal-friendly, but absolute moral rules need not be enforced consistently if, for example, a vermin-free house is justified.

Programming advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) in terms of decisions they can make with respect to animals is the main focus of the Robocar design study. The study posits that ADAS should recognize warning signs for toad migration, hedgehog populations or deer crossings and adapt the car's reactions (emergency brake, reduced speed, etc) accordingly. In short, ADAS systems should identify such animals and animal species directly and react appropriately.

"Both robotics and computer science must be sensitized to animal protection and advocates for animal ethics should follow developments in robotics and artificial intelligences and should be involved in both," said Professor Bendel.

Explore further Self-driving cars may soon be able to make moral and ethical decisions as humans do

More information: Oliver Bendel. Towards animal-friendly machines, Paladyn, Journal of Behavioral Robotics (2018). Oliver Bendel. Towards animal-friendly machines,(2018). DOI: 10.1515/pjbr-2018-0019

Provided by De Gruyter
Healthy house finches. Credit: Geoff Hill, Auburn University

A study of a songbird and a bacterium that infects it has revealed how species in conflict evolve in response to each other.

University of Exeter researchers found North American house finches developed greater resistance to a bacterial pathogen (Mycoplasma gallisepticum) thereby pushing the pathogen to become more virulent.

This processknown as "host-pathogen coevolutionis believed to play a key role in evolution, but until now evidence for it has been scarce."Our results show how these competitors respond to each other over time," said Dr. Camille Bonneaud, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

"As the finches evolve better resistance to the pathogen, the pathogen becomes more potent to overcome these defences."It is widely assumed that animalsincluding humanscoevolve with their infectious pathogens and become ever more resistant, but in fact most direct evidence for this comes from studies of bacteria and their viral pathogens.

"In this study we show how a pathogen can shape evolution in a vertebrate and how this has consequences for the pathogen."

The research, supported by universities in Alabama (Auburn University) and Arizona (Arizona State University), was made possible by differences in finch populations in these two US states.House finches in Arizona have not been exposed to Mycoplasma gallisepticum, while those in Alabama have been exposed to it for over 20 years.

Healthy house finches. Credit: Geoff Hill, Auburn University

Researchers found that exposure to the pathogen led to eye swelling in birds from both states, but that resistant Alabama birds were three times less likely to show symptoms that would lead to death in the wild.

Similarly, the pathogen evolved to become better able to infect and transmit as the birds became more resistant.

The findings have implications for our knowledge of diseases that affect humans.

Dr. Bonneaud explained: "The Plague and more recently the pandemic of HIV are sobering reminders of the impacts that emerging infectious diseases can have on us. "We know that we can see the signature of such impacts on our genome.

House finch with severe symptoms of conjunctivitis. Credit: Geoff Hill, Auburn University

"This study provides a direct demonstration that these outbreaks can shape our evolution and that how we respond will, in turn, shape the evolution of our infectious pathogens."

The paper, published in the journal Current Biology, is entitled: "Rapid antagonistic coevolution in an emerging pathogen and its vertebrate host."

Explore further Math shows how human behavior spreads infectious diseases

More information: "Rapid antagonistic coevolution in an emerging pathogen and its vertebrate host" Current Biology (2018). Journal information: Current Biology "Rapid antagonistic coevolution in an emerging pathogen and its vertebrate host"(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.07.003
Fresh deforestation in Honduras. Credit: Monte Neate-Clegg

The cloud forests of Honduras can seem like an otherworldly place, where the trees are thick with life that takes in water straight from the air around it, and the soundscape is littered with the calls of animals singing back and forth.

Otherworldly, yes, but scientists have found that the cloud forests are not immune to very down-to-earth problems of climate change and deforestation. A 10-year study of bird populations in Cusuco National Park, Honduras, shows that the peak of bird diversity in this mountainous park is moving higher in elevation. Additional land protection, unfortunately, may not be enough to reverse the trend, driven in part by globally rising temperatures. The study is published in Biotropica.

"A lot of these species are specialized to these mountain ranges," says study lead author Monte Neate-Clegg, a doctoral student at the University of Utah, "and they don't have a lot of options as to where to go should things go wrong."

Heads in the clouds

A cloud forest is an ecosystem that derives much of its moisture from water vapor in the surrounding air. Due to elevation and climate conditions, these forests are fed directly by clouds. Nothing ever dries, Neate-Clegg says.

"Cloud forests are pretty special," he says. "The tropics hold most of the world's biodiversity to begin with, and then the mountain slopes hold the greatest biodiversity within the tropics." For example, he adds, Cusuco National Park is the home to at least six amphibian species that are known nowhere else on Earth. The park also supports species large and small-from jaguars to hummingbirds.

Resplendent Quetzal, an icon of the Central American cloud forest, and one of the study's focal species. Credit: Sam Jones

Such specialized environments are at high risk for drastic alteration due to climate change,however. Scientists, including U professor and study co-author Cagan Sekercioglu, predicted that rising temperatures and changes in precipitation would cause species, particularly birds, to shift to higher elevations, shrinking their habitat and boosting the risk of extinction.

That, the authors found, is exactly what's happening.

Trouble in paradise

Neate-Clegg and his colleagues, including researchers from the UK and Belgium, examined a ten-year dataset of bird species counts in Cusuco National Park. The counts were conducted starting in 2006 by Operation Wallacea, a conservation organization. Few long-term studies like this have been undertaken in the tropics, Neate-Clegg says, with a significant data gap in Central America. "I wanted to plug this geographic gap," he says.

They found most species moving upslope, at an average of 23 feet (7 m) per year. Beyond species-specific changes in elevation, though, the researchers focused on bird diversity along the mountain slopes.

"By looking across all species we could show that the diversity was increasing at higher elevations and decreasing at lower elevations," Neate-Clegg says.

Blue-crowned Chlorophonia, one of the studys focal species. Credit: Sam Jones

Losing ground

The authors turned their attention toward discriminating the likely causative factors for such a shift. One factor is the continuing development and deforestation within the park.

"Every year we go back and resurvey, and transects that were forested the previous year are suddenly cut down," Neate-Clegg says. "They are encroaching year on year." The terrain's status as a national park, he says, doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for those seeking to expand agricultural land.

But habitat loss is not the only factor. Comparing forested study plots, the authors concluded that changes to the local climate were responsible for the upward shift as well.

Increased land protection would help give the birds more stable habitats, Neate-Clegg says, especially protections that encompass as much elevation as possible. But, as the paper grimly states, "Increased protection is unlikely to mitigate the effects of climate change."

Explore further A global view of species diversity in high elevations, via mountain birds

More information: Montague H. C. Neate-Clegg et al, Elevational changes in the avian community of a Mesoamerican cloud forest park, Biotropica (2018). Journal information: Biotropica Montague H. C. Neate-Clegg et al, Elevational changes in the avian community of a Mesoamerican cloud forest park,(2018). DOI: 10.1111/btp.12596
Credit: Eotvos University

Galactic nuclei are teeming with black holes. Earlier this year, 12 X-ray binaries were discovered at the Milky Way's center which suggested that thousands of black holes may be hiding in that region. A recent study shows that these stellar black holes are expected to orbit in a disk around the central supermassive black hole.

Observations show that the centers of most galaxies harbor a supermassive black hole. The immense gravity of these objects acts to collect a dense population of millions of stars and several thousands of stellar mass black holes within a few light years. Astrophysicists simulated the interactions of stellar orbits in these regions and found that the black holes settle in previously unexpected structures. The results show that the more massive objects of the stellar population form a thick disk structure around the supermassive black hole in galactic nuclei.

"Previously it was thought that the orbits of both light and massive stellar objects are distributed isotropically around the supermassive black hole. We now understand that massive stars and black holes typically segregate into a disk," said Akos Szolgyen of Eotvos University, Hungary, who led the study that has been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Szolgyen and his Ph.D. advisor Bence Kocsis at Eotvos University, Hungary, incorporated an important additional effect in their simulation, namely vector resonant relaxation. This effect represents a small component of the gravitational torque among the orbiting objects which accumulates over millions of years and becomes dominant over long timescales. As a consequence the orbital planes of objects around the supermassive black hole turn slowly.

"Unlike a swarm of bees around a beehive, stars fly around in the galactic center in a more ordered way: along precessing elliptical trajectories, each confined to a plane, respectively. The interactions among such planar orbits slowly reshuffles their orientations over millions of years," explained Bence Kocsis.

Researchers simulated the interactions of stellar orbits in nuclear star clusters throughout cosmic history since their formation.

"According to our current knowledge, nuclear star clusters may form in two different ways. The first suggests that gas flew into the center of the Galaxy and formed stars in situ around the supermassive black hole. The other model assumes that ancient globular clusters spiraled into the Galactic center where the tidal forces of the supermassive black hole tore them apart and populated the central region with their stellar content. It is likely that both processes were equally important in the formation of the nuclear star cluster," said Akos Szolgyen.

In both models, the initial stellar orbits formed disks around the central supermassive black hole. The orientation of these disks is set by the direction from which the gas or the infalling globular clusters approached the center. With time these disks of stars gravitationally interact and the earlier assumption was that they ultimately dissolve. However the more massive stars, which ultimately turn into black holes, sink to lower inclination orbits in the disk similar to how the more massive particles sink to the bottom of a container. The physicists discovered this phenomenon in the simulations and found that the disks of massive objects may be long-lived.

"While the stellar system evolves to fill up the available region of space as a gas in a container, some of its constituents, i.e. the massive objects, cannot reach the most disordered spherical distribution. The gravitational interaction among them causes these objects to settle in a state of lower entropy," explained Bence Kocsis. "This is very similar to the process of spontaneous symmetry breaking known in particle physics and in condensed matter physics."

They also investigated what happens with the light and intermediate mass stellar objects in this region. While the orbits of intermediate mass objects, like B-type stars, showed a small amount of anisotropy, the calculations showed that the light objects, such as old main sequence stars like the Sun, neutron stars, and white dwarfs behave fundamentally differently. The light stellar objects reached a spherical distribution in the galactic nucleus in the simulation. These results are consistent with the observations of the Milky Way's center in the vicinity of the central supermassive black hole with a spherical population of old low mass stars, an anisotropic distribution of B-stars, and a warped disk of young massive stars.

Although there is only a dozen known black hole candidates in the Galactic Center, the researchers conclude that the black holes, which are typically more massive than stars are hiding within the disk of massive stars.

The discovery can have important implications on the understanding of stellar dynamics of galactic nuclei, galaxy evolution, and the origin of gravitational waves.

"If thousands of black holes reside in a disk around the central supermassive black hole, they may collectively warp and puncture the ambient gas clouds in active galactic nuclei from which highly energetic outflows are observed. These outflows can fundamentally affect the large scale structure of the host galaxy even thousands of light years away," said Bence Kocsis. "But the most exciting question is whether the predicted distribution of black hole disks may explain the high rate of mergers seen in gravitational waves by LIGO and Virgo."

Explore further Another way for stellar-mass black holes to grow larger

More information: Akos Szolgyen et al. Black Hole Disks in Galactic Nuclei, Physical Review Letters (2018). Journal information: Physical Review Letters Akos Szolgyen et al. Black Hole Disks in Galactic Nuclei,(2018). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.101101

Provided by Eotvos University
Customers' details on 380,000 cards of British Airways were stolen in a data breach

British Airways said that the personal and financial details of customers making bookings between August 21 and September 5 had been stolen in a data breach involving 380,000 bank cards.

The almost two week long hack did not involve travel or passport details, the airline said, adding that it had launched an urgent investigation into the theft of customer data.

"The personal and financial details of customers making bookings on our website and app were compromised," it said. "The breach has been resolved and our website is working normally. We have notified the police and relevant authorities."

BA said the breach took place between 2158 GMT on August 21 and 2045 GMT on September 5 and that around 380,000 payment cards were compromised.

BA advised anyone who believed they may have been affected to contact their bank or credit card provider and follow their recommendations.

In terms of compensation, BA said they would be in touch with customers "and will manage any claims on an individual basis."

"We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused," the airline said.

It said customers due to travel could check in online as normal as the incident had been resolved.

BA customer Daniel Willis, 34, who booked a flight on Monday with the airline, said he had not been contacted by the airline despite being affected by the data breach.

"I've not heard anything from them on this and I've just had to cancel the card I used. They're a shambles," he told the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

Another BA customer, Stephanie Jowers, said she contacted the airline hours before the hack was announced to query a suspicious charge on her account but was not informed it could have been compromised.

"I asked repeatedly for an explanation. None was given," she told the Daily Telegraph.

Past IT issues

The National Crime Agency said: "We are aware of reports of a data breach affecting British Airways and are working with partners to assess the best course of action."

The NCA is set up to tackle the most serious and organised crime posing the highest risk to public security in Britain.

BA apologised in July after technology issues caused dozens of its flights to and from London Heathrow Airport to be cancelled.

The airline said the problem was down to an incident with an IT system.

And in May 2017, British Airways suffered a major computer system failure triggered by a power supply issue near Heathrow which left 75,000 customers stranded.

IAG, which owns British Airways and Spanish carrier Iberia, said last month that first-half profits more than doubled.

Earnings after taxation flew to 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in the first six months of 2018 compared with 607 million euros a year earlier, IAG said in a results statement.

The London-listed group, which is also the owner of Irish airline Aer Lingus and Spanish carrier Vueling, added that total revenues swelled three percent to 11.2 billion euros.

BA announced last month that it will halt flights to Tehran in September, citing low profitability as the US reimposes sanctions on Iran.

Explore further More Heathrow chaos as BA scrambles to recover from IT crash (Update)

 2018 AFP
Australias grain exports will suffer under climate change. Credit: Alpha/Flickr, CC BY-NC

Ending world hunger is a central aspiration of modern society. To address this challenge  along with expanding agricultural land and intensifying crop yields  we rely on global agricultural trade to meet the nutritional demands of a growing world population.

But standing in the way of this aspiration is human-induced climate change. It will continue to affect the issue of where in the world crops can be grown and, therefore, food supply and global markets.

In a paper published today in Nature Palgrave, we show that climate change will affect global markets by reshaping agricultural trading patterns.

Some regions may not be able to battle climate impacts on agriculture, in which case production of key commodities will decline or shift to new regions.

The challenge

The negative impacts of climate change on agricultural production are of great concern to farmers and decision-makers. The concern is increasingly shared by governments including those most hostile to the advancement of climate change mitigation.

Even the United States, which has opted out of the Paris Agreement, acknowledged at last year's G7 summit that climate change was one of a number of threats to "our capacity to feed a growing population and need[ed] to be taken into serious consideration".

The UN median population projection suggests that the world population will reach some 10 billion in 2050. Between 2000 and 2010, roughly 66% of the daily energy intake per person, about 7,322 kilojoules, was derived from four key commodities: wheat, rice, coarse grains and oilseeds. However, the most recent UN report on food security and nutrition shows that world hunger is on the rise again and scientists believe this is due to climate change.

We must ask: what is the cost of adapting to climate change versus the cost of mitigating carbon emissions? And assuming that changes in climate and crop yields are here to stay, are we prepared for permanent agricultural shifts?

Disruptions and opportunities

Agricultural production is significantly affected by climate change. Our results suggest that global trade patterns of agricultural commodities may be significantly different from today's reality  with or without carbon mitigation. This is because climate change and the implementation of a carbon mitigation policy have different effects on a regions' agricultural production and economy.

Take the US, which in 2015 had 30% of the global market share of coarse grains, paddy rice, soybeans and wheat. We modelled production between 2050-59 under two scenarios: in a world 2 average temperature rise, and with a 1.5 increase. In both cases, the US market share would shrink to about 10%.

China is currently a net importer of these commodities. If temperature increases by 1.5, we expect to see an increase in exports of some products, like rice to the rest of Asia.

(However, it's worth bearing in mind that limiting warming would be very expensive for China, as it would need to absorb a costly technological transition to a low carbon economy.)

China's story is different in the 2 scenario. Our projections suggest that climate change will make China, as well as other regions in Asia, more suitable to produce different commodities.

China's economy will keep expanding, whilst the new climatic conditions create opportunities to produce other food commodities at a greater scale and export to new regions.

Our results also suggest that, regardless of the carbon policy scenarios, Sub-Saharan Africa will become the greatest importer of coarse grains, rice, soybeans and wheat by 2050. This significant change in Sub-Saharan Africa imports is driven by the fact that the largest increase in human population by 2050 will occur in this region, with a significant increase in food demand.

In our research Australia was aggregated in "Oceania" with New Zealand. The exports from Oceania to the rest of the world comprised about 1.6% of the total in 2015, which is dominated by wheat exports from Australia.

Our projections suggest that carbon mitigation policies would favour the wheat industry in this region. The opposite occurs without carbon mitigation: the production and exports of wheat are projected to decline due to climate change impacts on agriculture.

The benefits of mitigation

A recent report published by the European Commission about the challenges of global agriculture in a climate change context by 2050 highlights that "emission mitigation measures (i.e. carbon pricing) have a negative impact on primary agricultural production [] across all models."

However, the report does not mention the technological costs to buffer (or adapt to) the effect of climate change on agriculture.

Our results suggest that the cost paid by the agricultural sector to reduce carbon dioxide emissions is offset by the higher food prices projected in the non-mitigation scenario, where agricultural production is significantly affected by climate change. We found that there is a net economic benefit in transitioning to a low carbon economy. This is because agricultural systems are more productive under the mitigation scenario, and able to meet the demand for food imposed by a growing population.

Mitigating CO emissions has the side benefit of creating a more stable agricultural trade system that may be better able to reduce food insecurity and increase welfare.

Changes in the agricultural system due to climate are inevitable. It is time to create a sense of urgency about our agricultural vulnerabilities to climate change, and begin seriously minimising risk.

Explore further Climate taxes on agriculture could lead to more food insecurity than climate change itself

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
A LinkNYC kiosk in Manhattan, shortly after its 2016 debut. Credit: Epicgenius, via Wikimedia Commons

Only a couple of months after they were installed in 2016, New York City decided to cut off internet access to a series of "smart city" kiosks it built to replace old telephone booths after homeless people monopolized them with such socially unpleasant activities as watching pornography and listening to loud music.

According to a new paper co-authored by Associate Professor of Film & Media Studies Germaine Halegoua, skirmishes like those over LInkNYC "configure how the internet and the city street are and are not public, who is and is not supposed to be using these utilities, and who gets to decide their use." They write that this sort of failure of imagination plagues planners of both the visible parts of the internet infrastructure, like the kiosks, as well as the unseen and publicly unmapped expanses of "dark fiber" backbone network that are buried throughout America.

In an article published in June in the journal New Media & Society, Halegoua and her co-author, University of Pennsylvania Assistant Professor Jessa Lingel, write that during the 1990s, when much of the current internet infrastructure was built, network operators overestimated the rate at which demand for connectivity would grow. Thus they laid many thousands of miles of glass fibers in underground conduits that have remained unused, or "unlit," all these years later. That capacity is buried, out of sight and out of the public mind.

In contrast, some recent so-called smart-city efforts to distribute internet access through kiosks, wireless and fiber networks strive for visibility and public access.

The authors say their study "interrogates the social and material decisions about where networks are, who they are for and how they are accessed." Its title is "Lit up and left dark: Failures of imagination in urban broadband networks."

For the portion of the study involving the LinkNYC kiosks, Lingel walked around the three New York City boroughs where they had been installed and asked people what they thought about the kiosks, which the authors liken to "a Swiss Army knife of digital technology support, all free of charge."

The authors write that the Links, as they were called, "originally provided four key functions: a USB charger, a Wi-Fi hotspot, phone calls (provided by Vonage) and a web browser."

Lingel asked users who they thought had installed the Links and for what purpose. In fact, LinkNYC was a partnership between the city and companies including Qualcomm and Google.

Halegoua's portion of the study was even trickier to tease out.

"Maps of dark fiber are generally not available," she said. "That's private, corporate information."

So Halegoua used grant money from the Urban Communication Foundation and International Communication Association to pay for some of the maps she consulted for the study.

That information was compared to the map of LinkNYC kiosks to create a synthesis of the seen and unseen parts of the internet above and below the streets of the city.

As for why there is so much dark fiber honeycombing America today, Halegoua blames it, in part, on overbuilding spurred by turn-of-the-millennium exuberance. Like the LinkNYC creators, the builders of the dark-fiber networks failed to consider a wider range of populations living in rural and inner-city regions who would incorporate internet access into their daily lives.

"It was a failure to imagine future uses and users and also to imagine simultaneous technological developments that disrupted their idea of what a fiber network and public internet access was," she said. "Today, we have other ways of connecting," with smartphones served by satellites and cell towers probably the most relevant.

With commercial imperatives having led broadband companies, by and large, to ignore poor communities, "smart cities" looking to improve access "need to expand the imagination of who might use those services and how," Haleguoa said. "If loud music is a problem, you might design the system differently."

Some cities, including Lawrence, invested in fiber networks that wound up remaining largely dark. Urban planners and communities should try to learn from these histories, Halegoua said, and she hopes her paper can provide "recommendations  for policymakers who want to build an urban broadband network that is more equitable or socially just."

Halegoua is continuing her research on dark-fiber networks, with plans to write a book on the subject next year.

Explore further NYC to pull plug on sidewalk internet after porn complaints

More information: Germaine R Halegoua et al. Lit up and left dark: Failures of imagination in urban broadband networks, New Media & Society (2018). Germaine R Halegoua et al. Lit up and left dark: Failures of imagination in urban broadband networks,(2018). DOI: 10.1177/1461444818779593
The planet Mercury, the closet planet to our Sun, is something of an exercise in extremes. It's days last longer than it's years and at any given time, it's sun-facing side is scorching hot while its dark side is freezing cold. It is also one of the least understood planets in our solar system. While it is a terrestrial (i.e. rocky) planet like Earth, Venus and Mars, it has a significantly higher iron-to-rock ratio than the others.

For decades, the most widely-accepted theory for this was that Mercury experienced a massive impact in the past which caused the planet to shed much of its rocky mantle. However, according to a new study by a team of scientists from the Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology (CTAC) at the University of Zurich, Mercury's mysterious nature may actually be the result of multiple collisions with giant objects.

For the sake of their study, titled "Forming Mercury by Giant Impacts," team leader Alice Chau and her colleagues (all of whom are members with the Institute for Computational Science at the CTAC) considered the various reasons for why Mercury has the density and iron-to-rock ratio that it does. In the end, they considered all the possible scenarios to determine which was the most likely one.

To break it down, Mercury has remained something of a mystery to astronomers because of its much more metallic than its neighbors. Much like Earth, Venus and Mars, Mercury is a terrestrial planet, meaning that it is composed of silicate minerals and metals that are differentiated into an iron core and silicate mantle and crust. But unlike the other rocky planets of the solar system, iron makes up a disproportionately large amount of the planet.

Internal structure of Mercury: 1. Crust: 100300 km thick 2. Mantle: 600 km thick 3. Core: 1,800 km radius. Credit: NASA/JPL

Not only does Mercury's core have a higher iron content that any other major planet in the solar system, but based on its density and size, geologists estimate that Mercury's core occupies about 42 percent of its volume  compared to Earth's 17 percent. The reason for this remains unknown, but many theories have been advanced over the years. As Chau told universe Today via email, these theories can be divided into two categories:

Either Mercury acquired its large iron core from the beginning on, in the solar nebula/disk. Close to the Sun some mechanisms might have been more efficient to separate metals and rocks (because of their different condensation temperature, or conductive properties, or their balance between drag force and gravity), which would drift more metals inward and rocks outward. Mercury would then form at a location more metal-rich than in the rest of the disk. ii) or it formed a core similar in mass ratio than the other terrestrial planets but lost part of its mantle in the late stages of its formation, like in a giant impact or by evaporation (and the vapor mantle would be blown away by solar winds)."

The second possibility, where Mercury lost much of its mantle due to evaporation or a massive impact, remains the most widely-accepted among the scientific community. Building on this, Chau and her colleagues studied standard collision parameters (impact velocity, mass ratio, impact parameter) and considered what an impactor's likely composition would be, as well as how the cooling of Mercury afterwards would play a role.

Artist view of the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting the innermost planet Mercury. Credit: NASA

The purpose of this was to determine if Mercury's composition was the result of a single, giant impact, or many smaller ones. While both possibilities are rare and would require a unique set of circumstances, Chau and her colleagues determined that either impact scenarios could account for Mercury's curious nature. As she explained, their conclusions came down to five points:

A single giant impact or hit-and-run impact require a highly tuned impact parameter and velocity to reproduce Mercury's mass and iron mass fraction. There is a somewhat larger parameter space of possibilities in the hit-and-run scenario. The impactor's composition affects the resulting final mass and post-impact iron distribution. The pre-impact state of the target affects the resulting final mass. A multiple-collision scenario escapes the fine-tuning of the geometrical parameters but is constrained by the timing and by the volatile-rich composition of Mercury's surface. Forming Mercury by giant impacts is feasible but difficult.

In short, they found that it is possible that both scenarios could account for Mercury's high iron-to-rock ration, but that the odds of them having happened are not great. This is supported, according to Chau, by the fact that few Mercury-analog exoplanets have been found. In this respect, whatever caused Mercury to become the way it is may be a relatively rare event as far as the evolution of star systems are concerned.

Artists impression of the impact that caused the formation of the moon. Credit: NASA/GSFC

"Our study isn't the first one to propose giant impacts to explain Mercury's large iron core, but confirms that we need rather specific conditions for giant impacts," said Chau. "It seems that forming Mercury is difficult. In another sense, this is reassuring because we do not observe a lot of exoplanets that are similar to Mercury in composition. Also, even if it is a rare event, only one impact is needed."

In this sense, giant impacts could be seen as fortunate events and a reminder of how chaotic planetary systems are, Chau added. For not only do these types of collisions have a profound impact on a planet's properties (for instance, the Earth-moon system is believed to be the result of a giant impact), but based on exoplanet surveys, such instances also appear to be quite rare.

Perhaps our solar system is unique in several respects, which include the emergence of life and the presence of giant impacts that fundamentally altered several of its planets. Then again, we have really only begun to scratch the surface as far as exoplanet discoveries are concerned, and we may find many Mercury-like planets out there yet.

More information: Forming Mercury by Giant Impacts: Forming Mercury by Giant Impacts: arxiv.org/abs/1808.02448
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study quantifies the effect of glacier retreat due to global warming on hydropower production. This detailed analysis of all Swiss water resources shows that only a small percentage is provided by glacier meltwater. Consequently, the reduction of these waters predicted for the end of the 21st century poses no threat to Swiss hydropower production.

For decades, glacier melt due to climate change has provided additional water for dams. According to glaciologists, glacier mass loss may even be accelerating. But this windfall for hydroelectric generation is unlikely to continue if society manages to slow global warming.

Now, a study led by Bettina Schaefli, holder of an SNSF professorship at the University of Lausanne, shows that fears of a threat to power generation are unfounded. For the first time, a comprehensive model of water flow into Swiss hydropower plants has quantified the contribution from glacier retreat. Since 1980, this has averaged 1.4 TWh per year, or 4 percent of the country's total hydropower output. This additional electricity generation is linked to the fact that melting glaciers lose more water than they take in from precipitation. The study is published in the journal Renewable Energy.

The evolution of glacier retreat during the 21sth century  based on projections of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  remains uncertain, but is expected to slow considerably between now and 20702090, provided measures are taken to counter global warming. This situation would reduce the production of electricity linked to glacier melt to roughly 0.4 TWh per year, says the study. The predicted decrease, around 1 TWh, corresponds to 2.5 percent of the electricity from hydropower sources foreseen by the government's Energy Strategy 2050.

"We have been able to quantify this change in a concrete way," says Schaefli. "Producers have expressed concern about a potential drop in production. Our model can help them to anticipate the future, in particular through regional forecasts. For example, they show that in Valais, power plants rely on glacier melt for 9 percent of their electricity. This would be reduced by half, but later than in other areas of the country owing to the high elevation of the dams and the size of the glaciers involved. All in all, our model offers the first comprehensive overview of the factors influencing the amount of water available for Swiss hydropower production."

93 percent of the Swiss territory supplies water to dams

The researchers have established a detailed map of all the catchment areas (the areas that supply watercourses) in Switzerland, from meadows measuring 1 km2 to areas a thousand times larger. The map shows that the water falling on 93 percent of the land area of Switzerland ultimately passes through at least one Swiss electric power plant. Some watercourses originating in the Bernese Oberland pass through 30 plants before leaving Switzerland via the Rhine at Basel. "It's an extremely efficient use of this source of renewable energy," says Schaefli.

The study consolidates numerous data sources: a history of glacier mass loss in Switzerland and a simulation of its future evolution (Matthias Huss, University of Fribourg and ETH Zurich), the flow of all Swiss rivers (FOEN), annual statistics on hydropower production (SFOE) as well as HydroGIS, a geographic database of all of Switzerland's hydropower facilities.

The research team also developed a very simple model for use by non-specialists. It is based on average production (the amount of electricity produced per cubic metre of water) of the six main regions of Switzerland that supply the power plants. It is proportional to the average elevation of the regions. This average production makes it possible to deduce the productivity of the power plants supplied by glaciers, as well as the effect of glacier retreat, which has been documented by glaciologists. The approach was verified by the comprehensive model, taking into account each catchment area and power plant in Switzerland.

"The slowdown in glacier melt will add to other projected losses in productivity, as those linked to the Water Protection Act, which governs renewal of concessions granted to dam operators," says Schaefli. "Our study shows that these two reductions are of the same order of magnitude and should be offset by the expansion of hydroelectric capacity envisaged by the Energy Strategy 2050."

This study represents a collaboration between the Universities of Lausanne, Fribourg and Zurich, EPFL, ETH Zurich and WSL. It was funded by the SNSF (through an SNSF professorship and an Ambizione Energy grant) and by the Swiss Competence Centre for Energy Research  Supply of Electricity (SCCERSoE) administered by Innosuisse.

Explore further Acceleration of mountain glacier melt could impact Pacific Northwest water supplies

More information: Bettina Schaefli et al. The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production, Renewable Energy (2018). Journal information: Renewable Energy Bettina Schaefli et al. The role of glacier retreat for Swiss hydropower production,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2018.07.104
Magnetic field lines. a, North polar view; b, south polar view; c, equatorial view. The non-dipolar nature of the magnetic field in the northern hemisphere and the dipolar nature in the southern hemisphere is apparent. The equatorial view is centred near the Great Blue Spot and shows the linkage of magnetic field lines that enter through the Great Blue Spot. The contoured surface on which the field lines shown start and end is at r = 0.85RJ, where the density of field lines is proportional to the radial magnetic field strength and is depicted by the colour scale (red outward flux, blue inward flux). Credit: Nature (2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0468-5

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S., including NASA and a pair from Denmark has found that Jupiter's magnetic field is quite different from Earth's. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of the planet using data from the Juno spacecraft, and what they found. Chris Jones, with the University of Leeds, offers a News and Views piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.

NASA launched Juno into space back in 2011, and it entered a close orbit around Jupiter in 2016just 4,000 kilometers above its surface. Over the past two years, it has been monitoring the planet's magnetic field. In this new effort, the researchers reveal what the data shows.

When mapping a planet's magnetic field, it is common to use colored lines to show magnetic fluxdoing so depicts the Earth's magnetic field as lines emanating outward from the north pole then circling back at the south pole. The result resembles a giant bar magnet. But the researchers report that things are different with Jupiter. While it does have flux lines emanating from its north pole, it also has two return points, rather than just oneone is located near its south pole, the other close to its equator. Also, on Earth, parts of the magnetic field do not favor either pole, and are instead spread between the two. With Jupiter, the same kinds of magnetic fields are almost all in the northern hemisphere.

There is also the matter of how the magnetic fields are generated. Earth's magnetic field is believed to be generated by its internal dynamothe churning of electrically conductive fluids in the core. But Jupiter is thought to be made of helium and hydrogen, which are not very conductive. This has led to theories that suggest the great pressure exerted inside the planet resulted in the formation of liquid metallic hydrogen, which, as its name implies, conducts much like a metal.

The researchers note that thus far, there is no data that can explain Jupiter's odd magnetic field, but suggest it most likely has something to do with the planet's unique internal structure.

Explore further New science from Jupiter

More information: Kimberly M. Moore et al. A complex dynamo inferred from the hemispheric dichotomy of Jupiter's magnetic field, Nature (2018). Kimberly M. Moore et al. A complex dynamo inferred from the hemispheric dichotomy of Jupiter's magnetic field,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0468-5 Abstract

The Juno spacecraft, which is in a polar orbit around Jupiter, is providing direct measurements of the planet's magnetic field close to its surface1. A recent analysis of observations of Jupiter's magnetic field from eight (of the first nine) Juno orbits has provided a spherical-harmonic reference model (JRM09)2 of Jupiter's magnetic field outside the planet. This model is of particular interest for understanding processes in Jupiter's magnetosphere, but to study the field within the planet and thus the dynamo mechanism that is responsible for generating Jupiter's main magnetic field, alternative models are preferred. Here we report maps of the magnetic field at a range of depths within Jupiter. We find that Jupiter's magnetic field is different from all other known planetary magnetic fields. Within Jupiter, most of the flux emerges from the dynamo region in a narrow band in the northern hemisphere, some of which returns through an intense, isolated flux patch near the equator. Elsewhere, the field is much weaker. The non-dipolar part of the field is confined almost entirely to the northern hemisphere, so there the field is strongly non-dipolar and in the southern hemisphere it is predominantly dipolar. We suggest that Jupiter's dynamo, unlike Earth's, does not operate in a thick, homogeneous shell, and we propose that this unexpected field morphology arises from radial variations, possibly including layering, in density or electrical conductivity, or both. Journal information: Nature

 2018 Phys.org
To answer significant questions about planetary systems, such as whether our solar system is a rare phenomenon or if life exists on planets other than Earth, NASA should lead a large direct imaging mission  an advanced space telescope  capable of studying Earth-like exoplanets orbiting stars similar to the sun, says a new congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The study of exoplanets  planets outside our solar system that orbit a star  has seen remarkable discoveries in the past decade. The report identifies two overarching goals in this field of science:

To understand the formation and evolution of planetary systems as products of star formation and characterize the diversity of their architectures, composition, and environments.

To learn enough about exoplanets to identify potentially habitable environments and search for scientific evidence of life on worlds orbiting other stars.

Based on these goals, the committee that authored the report found that our current knowledge of the range of characteristics of planets outside the solar system is substantially incomplete. A holistic approach to studying habitability in exoplanets, using both theory and observations, will ultimately be required to search for evidence of past and present life elsewhere in the universe.

While the committee recognized that developing a direct imaging capability will require large financial investments and a long time scale to see results, the effort will foster the development of the scientific community and technological capacity to understand myriad worlds. To detect a system analogous to our own Earth-sun system, the report recommends using instruments that enable direct imaging of an exoplanet by blocking the light emitted by the parent stars  such as a coronagraph or starshade.

In addition, ground-based astronomy  enabled by two U.S.-led telescopes  will also play a pivotal role in studying planet formation and potentially terrestrial worlds, the report says. The future Giant Magellan telescope (GMT) and proposed Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) would allow profound advances in imaging and spectroscopy  absorption and emission of light  of entire planetary systems. They also could detect molecular oxygen in temperate terrestrial planets in transit around close and small stars, the report says.

The committee pointed out that the technology road map to enable the full potential of GMT and TMT in the study of exoplanets is in need of investments, and should leverage the existing network of U.S. centers and laboratories. To that end, the report recommends that the National Science Foundation invest in both telescopes and their exoplanet instrumentation to provide all-sky access to the U.S. community.

While missions like Kepler spacecraft have characterized a remarkable population of planets relatively close to their stars, our knowledge of worlds in the outer reaches of the universe is woefully lacking, the committee said. The report says WFIRST, the large space-based mission that received the highest priority in the Academies' 2010 decadal survey, will play two extremely valuable roles: first, it will permit a survey of planets farther from their stars than surveyed by Kepler and other missions. Second, it will enable a large direct imaging mission.

Although the radial velocity method  which measures the shift of the star as it orbits the center of mass of the planet system  will continue to provide essential mass and orbit information, its measurements are currently limited by variations in the surface of the star and imperfect calibration of the instruments, the report says. New instruments installed on large telescopes, substantial allocations of observing time, and collaboration between observers as well as theorists are some of the requirements for progress. To develop these methods and facilities for measuring the masses of temperate terrestrial planets orbiting sun-like stars, NASA and NSF should establish a strategic initiative in Extremely Precise Radial Velocities.

In addition, NASA should create a mechanism to systematically collect data on exoplanet atmospheres early in the James Webb Space Telescope mission. The committee also recommended building on the model of NASA's interdisciplinary collaboration initiativeNexus for Exoplanet Science System  by supporting a cross-divisional research effort inviting proposals for interdisciplinary research.

The committee called on NASA to support a robust individual investigator program that includes grants for theoretical, laboratory, and ground-based telescopic investigations to fully realize the scientific payoff of exoplanet missions. The report also recognizes that discrimination and harassment exist in the scientific workforce and can affect the exoplanet research community, posing barriers to the participation of people from certain demographic groups. To maximize scientific potential and opportunities for excellence, institutions and organizations should take concrete steps to eliminate discrimination and harassment and to proactively recruit and retain scientists from underrepresented groups.
The share of women on corporate boards rose since the quotas were implemented in five European countries. Credit: Horizon

Mandated quotas are raising the number of women appointed to top company posts in Europe and sparking a cultural push for gender equality, but entrenched networks are getting in the way of achieving true boardroom diversity, according to researchers.

In recent years, a number of European countries have tried to tackle the underrepresentation of women on boards by introducing gender quotas of between 30% and 40%, with differing reach and levels of enforcement.

'There are definitely more women on boards in countries that introduced legislation,' said Dr. Anja Kirsch, a professor at the School of Business and Economics at Freie Universitat Berlin, Germany.

Norway was the first country to mandate a quota, passing a law 10 years ago, and firms risk dissolution if they don't comply with the 40% target. Belgium, Italy and France have legislative quotas with penalties, including fines. Germany introduced a 30% quota without sanctions in 2015, while in the Netherlands companies must 'comply or explain' if they don't hit the 30% target.

The European Commission has even proposed EU-wide legislation mandating that the under-represented sex make up 40% of companies' non-executive directors (the average is 26% in the EU), which won't pass unless Member States reach an agreement.

Getting more women into the top business ranks has increasingly become a topical issue in public and academic debate, says Dr. Kirsch. For the past five years, she has been looking in detail at women's access to boards in Germany, Europe's largest economy where about half the workforce is female, as part of a project called BoardEquality.

480 women

Germany's requirement since 2016 of 30% female-held board seats applies only to the supervisory board of publicly listed companies, the outside directors of the country's two-tier system who appoint top management board members. What this means is that the quota only affects a small number of companies, about 100, and some 480 women, says Dr. Kirsch.

Even so, it has increased the proportion of female supervisory members, Dr. Kirsch points out. In 2015, women accounted for 26% of supervisory board directors and in 2018, 33%. The proportion of their male counterparts dropped from 73% to 69% in that period.

She believes that Germany's quota should be expanded to include more types of companies, but is doubtful it could extend to management boards after the current law faced decades of resistance from society and companies.

German legislation requires that the supervisory boards set targets for female management board directors that are no lower than the status quo within the company. Given that so many management boards are all-male, Dr. Kirsch says the target is often zero.

However, she says that quotas establish responsibility and accountability within an organisation and, for her, the most striking outcome in Germany is that gender inequality within top management is now a live issue for the supervisory board members.

In Germany, the proportion of female supervisory board directors increased from 26% to 33% between 2015 and 2018. Credit: rawpixels

'The women directors are making it an issue. They're supporting other women,' she said. She has now started work on a new project looking at how male colleagues can also support change.

For Dr. Florence Villeseche, assistant professor at Copenhagen Business School in Denmark, quotas are not only working but, for now, they're also the only means of achieving diversity. 'In the sense that there are more women on boardsit's not just a promise, a target or an aspirationit actually happens,' she said. 'Quotas are the only tools that work in terms of sheer numbers.'

But they are a blunt instrument, according to Dr. Villeseche. 'Quotas are good, they're effective, but they're not enough  they are the tip of the iceberg, if you will. There is no automatic trickle-down effect. Policies and laws are, for now, mainly concentrated often on private firms.'

She says that there tends to be fearmongering that quotas promote women regardless of qualifications and that the discourse around merit  that people are hired to boards because they're deserving  conceals the 'invisible male quotas'. Dr. Villeseche argues that quotas challenge such biases.

'It is not an irrational thing to do, to implement quotas,' she said. 'It just forces firms to rethink their recruitment strategies, to question their bias, to reassess their own networks  so in which kind of circles do they scout candidates.'

Networks

Through a study called Womboardnet, which ended in 2017, Dr. Villeseche examined the laws that get women into the boardroom but also the social phenomena  particularly networking  that hinders or enables qualified women to rise through the ranks. She analysed data to understand how board diversity has evolved in Switzerland and Denmark.

Change is still coming much too slowly, but it's through such data that researchers can show firms there's work to do, she says.

She found that accessing top levels is not just a question of gender but also the social connections forged through networking.

Dr. Villeseche draws on the example of how when it comes to recruiting new board members from a few equally strong final candidates, unconscious biases come into play. These can include socially defined ideas about what someone can or can't do according to gender or demographics, or the homophily principle where we prefer people who are like us.

According to Dr. Villeseche, such preconceived ideas are linked to networking, which is crucial for visibility and advancing careers.

Dr. Villeseche found that in Switzerlandnow edging closer towards a quota law - where women are poorly represented in top company roles, that nationality and career paths tended to be more influential than gender. She also analysed networks discovering them to be gendered and nationality-orientated despite the country's growing number of women and foreign directors. 'Which means there is a continuous reproduction of the centres of power,' she said.

For her, these findings suggest that policies and laws promoting diversity, rather than just focusing on broad stroke categories like gender, should consider the nuanced intersections with other demographic categories, such as nationality, social class and race.

Explore further Research finds gender-diverse boards are greener
Steel production. Credit: SIJ Metal Ravne, Slovenia

Kristijan Plesnik, energy manager at the steel production SIJ Metal Ravne in Slovenia, talks to ESCI about economic threats to steel production and how these may affect EU climate targets. Kristijan is also involved in the EU-funded ETEKINA project, which looks at new innovative ways to recover waste heat in energy-intensive industries using heat pipes. During the project, SIJ Metal Ravne will adapt a new heat pipe heat exchanger (HPHE) in one of their plants in order to verify and demonstrate its impact in reducing the plant's overall energy consumption.

ESCI: Are you already reusing waste energy within your plant?

Kristijan Plesnik: Indeed, we are already using some of the waste energy from our electric arc furnaces, so called UHPs, Ultra High Power furnaces. We have had very good experiences with that. ETEKINA draws on this but takes it further. The project has a new approach, as it gives us the opportunity to use waste energy from most other gas furnaces. We can benefit from this project as we know that our company is a rather big consumer of energy. For us, this is a big plus as we can reduce this consumption.

ESCI: I can imagine that the steel industry is facing quite a lot of challenges: for example, the tariffs the US are imposing on steel while you are exporting quite a bit of your steel. How important is energy or its costs for you in this context?

Kristijan Plesnik: I would say our main market is the European Union. This means Germany and other countries in the vicinity. Of course, we also export to America, about 15 %. But our production is foremost vulnerable when it comes to energy product prices, which represent 15% of all annual production costs. With or without Trump, we expect a rise in prices of electricity and natural gas in the future.

ESCI: Where does the energy you are using come from?

Kristijan Plesnik: Electricity and natural gas are for us the main energy sources in the production and processing of our steel. Of course, the electricity is partly provided by Slovenian companies under contract, whereas natural gas is imported. Today we have contracts with Slovenian companies, which receive their gas supplies from Russia. This means our gas comes mainly from Russia, and some from North Africa.

ESCI: What kind of impact do you expect from the heat recovery technology in the future?

Kristijan Plesnik: With over 60 furnaces fuelled by natural gas we are one of the bigger producers of tool steel in Europe. This means that there is a great potential to use this system on the remaining material heating furnaces as well and thus increase our overall competitiveness.

ESCI: The EU is very concerned about energy efficiency and CO 2 reduction. How could ETEKINA contribute to EU goals?

Kristijan Plesnik: The steel industry is one of the biggest consumers of energy in Slovenia as well as in Europe. We are therefore one of the biggest producers of CO 2 emissions, too. We release about 800 kilograms of CO 2 per ton of steel produced. Considering this, the ETEKINA project is an important asset for us, as we expect to reduce our CO 2 emissions by about 4 %. Of course, this reduction can only be achieved at the facility where we will implement the heat pipe technology, not across the whole company.

Explore further New, greener prospects for steel waste gases

Provided by European Science Communication Institute
People line up to vote against mining in San Juan Ostuncalco. Credit: My Mom is Wolves/flickr, CC BY-NC

One morning last year, Santiago (not his real name), a campesino (peasant farmer) who grows corn and mangoes in southwestern Guatemala, left his home with a plan to engage in industrial sabotage.

Santiago was frustrated by the diversion of the Ixpatz River. Formerly a communal water source for drinking, cleaning and subsistence crop irrigation, the Ixpatz and four other rivers in the Champerico area had been re-routed from their natural courses and into large plantations. Joining forces with other small farmers, Santiago set out with pickaxes and sticks to break up dikes by hand.

Known locally as "liberating rivers," this new social movement tactic has spread across the lowlands near Guatemala's Pacific coast since 2016. A growing number of communities are supporting one another to dismantle the unauthorized dams, wells and irrigation motors installed along many of the 18 major rivers and their tributaries that flow into the Pacific Ocean.

With sugarcane and palm plantations expanding in part to meet global demand for biofuel, such a conflict points to a clash between renewable energy and the people affected by its production.

In 2017, after conducting nine years of research on land conflicts in Guatemala, I began to interview the people liberating rivers. The clash over rivers struck me as at once unique and emblematic of broader social and environmental turmoil.

Bitter sugar

The world is searching for cleaner sources of energy. Fossil fuel production is finite, environmentally destructive and politically contentious. These concerns have made growth industries out of alternative energies such as hydroelectricity and biofuel, which counts sugarcane and African palm among its top sources.

In Guatemala, this growth has shaken up patterns of land and water usage. Guatemala is the world's fourth largest exporter of sugar, it follows only Indonesia and Malaysia for palm oil exports and the country is the largest Central American exporter of electricity.

Biofuel production in Guatemala responds predominantly to European demand. The hydroelectricity the country generates is largely consumed domestically, with around one-third of it sold to the Central American regional market in 2014.

The United States and intergovernmental agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank have heavily promoted both energy sources.

Land dedicated to sugarcane in Guatemala grew by 46 per cent between 2001 and 2012, with expansion concentrated along the Pacific coast. There, and in particular within the department of Suchitepequez, sugarcane coverage grew primarily through the termination of land rental agreements with campesinos. Palm oil plantations expanded even faster, with a 270 per cent increase in land used for the crop over 10 years, mostly in Guatemala's northern lowlands.

Upstream from the Pacific coast, these same rivers are also being dammed to produce electricity. Thirty-seven hydroelectric dams are operating or under construction within the coastal departments of Retalhuleu, Suchitepequez, Escuintla and Santa Rosa.

Hydro and biofuel are intimately connected through more than the use of the same rivers. Sugarcane producers also generate electricity onsite by burning the crop's biomass pulp, and many of the small hydroelectric dams in the Pacific region are financed by sugar companies. In 2016, the Panama Papers leak shined light on a consortium including 10 of Guatemala's 12 sugarcane producers, which exports electricity directly and invests in 116 offshore companies.

Many local residents also take issue with the dams due to water usage, land access and pollution.

Water theft

All of this has had a negative impact on the lives of rural Guatemalans.

Sugarcane requires three times more water than corn, the primary subsistence crop grown by Guatemalan campesinos. African palm, rubber and banana plantations under expansion in the Pacific region have also diverted community water to satisfy irrigation needs.

Due to a shortage of water, plantations have begun "stealing" water, in the words of people from surrounding communities: diverting river routes, mechanically extracting river water and drilling deep wells.

This drainage of publicly accessible water is occurring in a region where many communities lack piped water for household use. The strain on such a vital resource explains the discontent of those who choose to destroy industrial property and return river water by force.

Violence and death

The social movement that came together around the river water near the Pacific coast did not form in a vacuum. Across Guatemala since at least 2005, communities affected by the expansion of agro-industry, hydroelectric dams and mining have developed innovative tactics in attempts to block these extractive projects.

One widespread form of opposition has been the consultas votes held by affected communities. Around one million Guatemalans voted overwhelmingly against local extractive projects in 78 instances between 2005 and 2013, setting off a number of legal challenges and leading to the suspension of some licenses.

The consultas are locally organized plebiscites whose validity has been recognized by the Guatemalan constitutional court. The plebiscites draw on the internationally established right of Indigenous peopleswhich includes most Guatemalan campesinosto free, prior and informed consent over economic development within their traditional lands.

Where opposition is strong, however, repression has followed.

Activists opposed to mining have been killed in relation to all four Canadian-financed mines in operation in Guatemala since 2005. Four lawsuits in Canada are currently trying mining companies for violence conducted by their security guards in Guatemala: one charges Tahoe Resources for the shooting of seven protesters in 2013, and three charge Hudbay Minerals for the murder of one man and shooting of another in 2009, and the gang-rape of eleven women in 2007.

Of the 134 human rights defenders killed between 2007 and 2017 in Guatemala, my research has found that at least 61 were active in the resistance to resource extraction, including mining, dams, agro-industry and more. These figures align with an international trend: the NGO Global Witness reported the murder of 207 land and environmental defenders in 2017 alone.

Dirty renewables

Violence against those engaged in water battles on the Pacific coast has not been as extreme as that seen around Canadian mines, but the movement has experienced repression.

I spoke with one man who faced this violence personally, when private security guards from a sugar company allegedly ambushed the river liberation action he participated in. "In that moment, well, I had bad luck, and they hit me with a pellet from a shotgun. But we did manage to liberate that river, at least for now."

Even though many rivers have been freed by communities across the Pacific coastal region, the struggle is far from over. Santiago, who helped free the Ixpatz River, now takes part in foot patrols to prevent further theft from any of the five waterways near his community in Champerico.

At another community in Suchitepequez, a river was freed and now runs deeply, but residents note that the returned water is polluted. "There is a rubber plantation upstream and they throw all their waste into the Ican River," said Julio. "So the water comes this way and you can't drink it. The animals do, but we can't drink that water."

The social movement tactics referred to as river liberation have opened a new front in an ongoing struggle over land and water usage Guatemala. Consumers in North America and Europe are right to encourage a transition to renewable forms of energy, but we must also look deeper into alternative industries, and ensure that no harm is done in our name.

All names in this article have been changed.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Robin Whytock Credit: University of Stirling

Experts at the University of Stirling have shed new light on the impact of habitat fragmentation on migrant birds.

Scientists used audio technology to analyse the behaviour of willow warblers, after spring migration, in 23 woodland patches across Scotland and England. While the patches were of a similar size, the landscapes in which they were located had differing amounts of available habitat.

Significantly, the study found that migrant male willow warblers arrived earlier in woodland patches when there was less habitat in the surrounding landscape, within a 2km radius.

The team also found that an individual's decision to remain in a patch after initial colonisation depended on patch quality, as measured by vegetation characteristics. In particular, birds preferred to stay in woodlands with a relatively open understorey, also known as undergrowth.

Robin Whytock, of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, led the work as part of his Ph.D. alongside colleagues at the University, Professor Kirsty Park, Dr. Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor and co-supervisor Dr. Kevin Watts at Forest Research.

"Habitat fragmentation and loss has changed how animals move through landscapes and use the remaining habitat," Dr. Whytock said. "Whether an animal colonises a fragmented habitat patchfor example, a small woodlanddepends on a variety of factors, including the content of the surrounding landscape and the quality of the patch itself.

"This study gives a valuable insight into how habitat fragmentation affects the behaviour of even very mobile species, such as migrant birds.

"Our results support prior research in aquatic study systems that have looked at colonisation of artificial reefs and pondsand, as far as we know, this is the first time that the patterns observed in our study have been observed over such large spatial scales and with such a highly mobile species."

The scientists conducted the study in spring 2016 to focus on the spring migration of the willow warbler, which migrates bi-annually between northern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

They combined the latest bio-acoustic technologywhich recorded the first song dates of male willow warblerswith Stirling's unique Woodland Creation and Ecological Networks (WrEN) project to test how the amount of habitat in a regional landscape affects colonisation timing of isolated woodland patches.

On analysing the audio data, the team found first song dates were on average five days earlier in patches with five percent woodland cover in the landscape, when compared to patches with around 30 percent cover.

Dr. Whytock added: "These findings are particularly interesting when you consider that previous research has suggested this species benefits from large expanses of woodland during migration. Therefore, it's surprising that individuals should choose to settle earlier in isolated woodlands."

He said further work is now required to examine whether this has consequences for the survival and reproduction of willow warblers.

Explore further Improving habitats for bats

More information: Robin C. Whytock et al, Context-dependent colonization of terrestrial habitat 'islands' by a long-distance migrant bird, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Robin C. Whytock et al, Context-dependent colonization of terrestrial habitat 'islands' by a long-distance migrant bird,(2018). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1490
Most of the time, stressed college students didnt tell their parents what was bothering them, but they felt better anyway, Erin Ruppel, UWM associate professor of communication, found in her research. Credit: Thinkstock photo

The secret to helping your children cope with the pressures of college  without crippling their growth and development  could be tucked in your pocket.

Research by Erin Ruppel, UWM associate professor of communication, suggests that simply exchanging text messages with your children can provide support during their early college days.

Such support is more important than ever. According to the American College Health Association, nearly 40 percent of college students surveyed in spring 2017 reported feeling so depressed that they found it difficult to function at least once during the previous year.

"A lot of students have trouble transitioning to college, and rates of mental health problems are increasing," Ruppel said. "We thought parent-child relationships might be important in this transition, so we looked at how students might turn to their parents for support."

Ruppel and Tricia Burke of Texas State University examined the communication habits and social competence of 155 first-semester college freshmen. They tracked students' self-reported stress and loneliness, as well as the number of phone calls or text messages between students and their parents. They discovered that students who felt a lot of stress one day tended to exchange a flurry of text messages with their parents the next day. Then, the day after that, students' stress levels fell.

"More stress leads to more texting," Ruppel says, "but more texting leads to less stress."

Help for vulnerable students

The finding was especially true for students who struggle with face-to-face communication, as well as making and maintaining friendships. So texting may be a particularly effective way to support more vulnerable college students.

"People with low social competence tend to be the ones who struggle more in the transition to college," Ruppel said. She notes that previous research shows they are more susceptible to loneliness, depression and stress.

Ruppel's research didn't dig into the specific content of text messages between students and parents, but the researchers did learn something surprising. "Most of the time," Ruppel said, "students didn't talk to their parents about what was bothering them." Yet they felt better anyway. Additional research is necessary, Ruppel said, to examine the content and frequency of text messaging between parents and college students over time.

"Popular opinion says that technology is bad for relationships," Ruppel said. "I'm trying to figure out when it helps, why and for whom."

Explore further Texting in college classrooms common, distracting
Bone artefacts from various South African Stone Age archaeological sites have been interpreted as arrowheads. Credit: J. Bradfield (as published in Bradfield, J. & Choyke, A. 2016. Bone technology in Africa. In: H. Selin (ed.), Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, pp, 20-27. Springer)

Animals played an important role in prehistoric societies. They were a source of food, raw material, and, sometimes, reverence. Their bones were also used to create tools  for instance, arrowheads. The use of animal bone as raw material for tools dates back at least 1.8 million years.

In several parts of the world certain animals and the tools made from their bones were held by their makers to be symbolically important. For instance, in South Africa the frequent depiction of certain animals such as eland and rhinoceros in rock art illustrates their cultural importance.

Some animals served as important symbols of power and religion among hunter-gatherer and Bantu-speaking farmer groups.

But it wasn't clear whether and to what extent certain animals' symbolic importance translated into other aspects of society, such as technology and tool manufacture. That's because most bone tools recovered from archaeological excavations are so pervasively modified that it is impossible to identify the type of animal from which they were made based on anatomical markers. Archaeologists could only assume that people made tools from the same animals they preyed on for food.

But we've used emerging technology to provide some answers. A recent study by scientists in South Africa and the UK has identified the animals used by people in the past to make bone arrowheads.

Our findings suggest that only certain animals were used for tool manufacture. Others appear to have been deliberately avoided. For example, carnivores and bush pigs appear not to have been selected for tool manufacture despite their remains being found in archaeological sites. Their apparent avoidance may have to do with cultural taboos.

This is the first time a species-level identification of bone tools has been undertaken in southern Africa. Future research could offer greater insight into how ancient people chose the raw material for their tools. This, in turn, could provide clues about the social, ideological and technological considerations that governed their choices and how these may have changed through time.

Animal identification

We used an analytical technique called Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). This uses unique collagen peptide markers (which are the amino acids that make up the organic component of bone) to distinguish between different groups of animals. It can sometimes identify bone to the level of species.

The results indicate that farmers used fewer species for tool manufacture than they hunted for food. We also found that certain animal species were used for tools that didn't appear to have been hunted for food.

We identified a narrow range of antelope from the bone tools from nine archaeological sites from Gauteng and Limpopo. Of particular interest is the presence of sable, roan, zebra and rhino. Until now, we didn't know that these species' bones were used to make tools in southern Africa.

Sable and roan were important sources of supernatural potency among the Bushmen. But their symbolic importance to early farmers is unknown.

Rhinos, on the other hand, were an important symbol among both hunter-gatherers and farmers. Rock engravings of rhinoceros (as well as of raon, sable, sheep, wildebeest and giraffe) are common in our study area. Rhinos were likely associated with shamanism and rain making by the Bushmen, and leadership by the farmers.

Despite the symbolic importance attached to the rhinoceros, they were still actively hunted and consumed by farmers. This indicates that their symbolic significance didn't spare them from becoming food.

We also identified cattle bones at several farming sites, supporting the long-held notion that farmers used livestock bones to manufacture tools.

If we accept that rock art and the animals it depicted were believed to be imbued with supernatural powers, then it is conceivable that the tools made from their bones were viewed in a similar way.

Some exclusions

It's worthwhile noting which species don't appear to have been targeted for tool manufacture.

There are many different animals in the study region whose bones are the correct size from which to make arrowheads. Yet, despite a wide range of animal remains found at the sites, only a fraction were used to make bone arrowheads. Most of the bone tools come from bovids. The two exceptions are zebra and rhinoceros. Why might this be?

Carnivores' long bones, for instance, are mechanically ill-suited for impact-related tasks like arrows. That may explain why we didn't find any bones belonging to species like jackal, leopard or lion. But we're not sure how to explain the absence of other species, such as pigs, whose bones share the same broad mechanical properties as cows and antelopes and which are present at all the archaeological sites.

The apparent avoidance of certain animals in bone tool manufacture may be understood in terms of their bones' fitness for purpose: that is, could it perform the desired task? Yet, it is clear that this was not their only consideration and that culturally-mediated technological strategies were likely a factor too.

Future directions

This study looked at only a small sample of bone tools from a small geographical area. There is clearly much more scope to improve our understanding by expanding the study to include older contexts from other parts of southern Africa. This line of enquiry has already started to gain traction in Europe and North Africa.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
One of Britain's leading astrophysicists is donating her $3 million purse from a major science prize to encourage diversity in physics.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell says the money will go to the Institute of Physics to fund graduate scholarships for people from under-represented groupswomen, members of ethnic minorities and refugees.

She told the BBC that people from minority groups bring "a fresh angle on things and that is often a very productive thing. A lot of breakthroughs, she added, "come from left field."

Bell Burnell won the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics on Thursday for her role in discovering radio pulsars. The discovery of the rotating neutron stars won a Nobel Prize for physics in 1974, but two of Bell Burnell's male colleagues were named the winners.

Explore further Finding the unknowns in the universe

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Ashish Sharma, research assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame. Credit: University of Notre Dame

Extreme heat poses a unique challenge to cities in the United States. According to the National Weather Service, extreme heat accounts for 20 percent of deaths by natural hazard in the United States, taking an average of 130 lives per year.

With exploding urban populations and increasing migration, cities are struggling to keep up with increases in extreme heat-related climate impacts, threatening human health, straining energy resources and reducing economic productivity.

Heavily populated cities like Chicago have made an effort to mitigate the effects of extreme heat, implementing green roofs designed to provide insulation and significantly lower temperatures.

Now in a new study published in Environmental Research Letters, researchers have created an integrated framework to identify which neighborhoods would benefit most from green roofsand provide city officials with a strategic approach to ensure the best return on their investment to beat the heat.

"We wanted to look at the potential of these types of mitigation strategies through the eyes of the mayor, city manager or city planner," said Ashish Sharma, research assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, who led the study for Notre Dame's Environmental Change Initiative. "If you're considering factors like temperature and electricity consumption to improve quality of life, reduce energy loads and lower temperatures, you need a scientific and interdisciplinary approach. We examined temperatures based on current climate models, electricity consumption (air conditioning) loads from public available data, and socioeconomic vulnerability of census tracts to identify susceptible hotspots. The goal of this study is to help city officials make more-informed decisions when it comes to urban planning."

Sharma said Chicago was an ideal choice for such a study, as extreme heat has been a particular challenge for the city. During a particular brutal heat wave in the summer of 1995, more than 700 people in Chicago died due to extreme heat. Previous studies found the impact was highest among disadvantaged neighborhoods.

According to the City of Chicago's website, green roof coverage accounts for an estimated 5.5 million square feet, a number that is expected to rise given the city's goal of seeing 6,000 green roofs within the city by 2020.

Though green roofs have lowered temperatures and contributed to improved air quality, they are a response to hotter temperatures, not a fix. The reality of climate change shows little relief in sight when it comes to extreme heat. Temperatures are expected to rise, with comparable heat waves expected to occur at the rate of twice a decade, according to current models, rising to five times per decade in high-emission scenarios.

Sharma and his team simulated temperature data and used publicly available electricity consumption for the entire Chicago region. They then calculated a social vulnerability assessment, collecting variable data from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Community Survey at the census tract. The results became the Heat Variability Index (HVI). The combination of these factors allowed researchers to take a closer look at optimal locations for green roof implementation.

"It's critical not only to identify where green roofs can lower the temperatures most, but also to identify populations that are disproportionately affected by high temperatures," Sharma wrote in the study.

Looking only at electrical consumption, those areas where air conditioning is used most, for example, may not account for affluence. In certain neighborhoods, residents can afford the cost, which ultimately makes them less vulnerable. In lower-income neighborhoods, some residents can't afford to turn their air conditioning on, or don't have access to air conditioning at all.

By layering data, the result of the study is a comprehensive look at the utility of green roofs to reduce temperatures, ease electricity consumption and help the populations most vulnerable to heat exposure.

"What we've seen when it comes to urban planning is decisions are made without interdisciplinary input," Sharma said. "Now, we have a framework for answering the question, how do we improve urban resilience to extreme heat?"

The next step, Sharma said, is to enhance the framework to account for multiple variations, such as variables that take place throughout the day or season so models can be tailored to other cities and their unique conditions.

Explore further Cold wave reveals potential benefits of urban heat islands

More information: A Sharma et al. Role of green roofs in reducing heat stress in vulnerable urban communitiesa multidisciplinary approach, Environmental Research Letters (2018). Journal information: Environmental Research Letters A Sharma et al. Role of green roofs in reducing heat stress in vulnerable urban communitiesa multidisciplinary approach,(2018). DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aad93c
Saint Martin and Saint Barts may be favoured honeymooners destinations but a year on from Hurricane Irma many families are still living in wrecked homes

One year after devastating Hurricane Irma swept through the Caribbean, the holiday islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barts are still counting the costs of one of the most powerful storms in history.

Fringed by white sands and turquoise waters, the islands have long been a favourite for honeymoonersbut visitors to Saint Martin, which is split between France and the Netherlands, will find an island struggling to return to its former paradise status.

Some families on Saint Martin, where the hurricane killed 15 people before continuing on its deadly path towards Cuba and Florida, are still living with no more than tarpaulins over their roofs as a new storm season gets underway.

Anet, a former florist, is now back at home with her three children after months of staying with friendsbut her sons' bedroom doesn't have a wall, offering an unwanted panorama of the lagoon.

"There are loads of mosquitos and we have no water or electricity. We can't stay in this situation," she said.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, she said she didn't have enough money to repair the house, where the family are mostly sheltering in the basement using battery-powered lamps.

Irma, the most powerful storm ever to cross the Atlantic, killed 134 people in total, more than 60 of them in Florida.

It dealt a major blow to the economy of hard-hit Saint Martinheavily dependent on tourismwhen it ripped across the island on September 6 last year.

The scale of the damage, low insurance coverage rates and administrative complications from the island's French-Dutch division have slowed reconstruction work.

Map showing the path of Hurricanes Irma in 2017 which killed 47 people and caused $67 billion of damage

Across the two French territories of Saint Martin and Saint Barts, 95 percent of buildings were damaged and the estimated cost of the havoc wreaked by Irma has come in at three billion euros ($3.5 billion).

Saint Barts was more fortunate: "The reconstruction work has basically been done, and the tourist season will be able to kick off in excellent conditions," said Philippe Gustin, the government official overseeing the recovery effort.

"For Saint Martin, things are more complicated."

The island remains dotted with half-built homes and roofs still covered in tarpaulins, corrugated sheets and canvas.

On the Dutch side, known as Sint-Maarten, 550 million euros of reconstruction aid was promisedbut only 110 million euros have been paid out as anti-corruption checks have slowed the payouts.

Just 40 percent of property owners on the French side were insured, and the island's sole deep water port is functioning at just 40 percent capacity, making it slow to bring in building materials.

The island's Juliana international airport was also heavily damaged and will not be fully back up and running until late 2019 at the earliest.

Overflowing rubbish dump

"Lots of people have had to wait for insurance payouts, and now some of them are hesitant to rebuild ahead of the new hurricane season," said Saint-Martin's top local official Daniel Gibbs.

Debris-strewn Nettle Bay on Saint-Martin, as authorities and construction companies press on with a mass clean-up operation before the tourist season kicks off in December

For children, this September marks a return to school after a year of heavy disruption to their education, and high school students will be going back to temporary buildings.

In December, when the tourist season kicks off, only 800 rooms will be availablehalf the number before the storm.

Construction companies are swamped and lacking in qualified manpower, Gibbs said, while many hotels are putting off the rebuilding, taking the opportunity to modernise their facilities.

Visitors who do come will find a tourism industry eager to restore its reputation for luxury in an idyllic setting.

But despite an intensive campaign, wrecked cars remain by the roadsides, while rubble and other debris are still piled up everywhere.

The island's waste treatment site at Grandes Cayes is overflowing.

"There is only so much one rubbish dump can hold," said Gibbs, whose administration has poured more than 15 million euros into the clean-up operation.

But volunteers have put a huge amount of work into tidying the island up, he noted.

And two more mass clean-ups are planned for September and October, as Saint Martin gears up to welcome hordes of sun-seekers once again.

Explore further Hurricane Jose spares storm-ravaged French Caribbean islands

 2018 AFP
By Benjamin Jumbe.

Kyadondo East Member of parliament Robert Kyagulanyi has vowed to continue fighting for freedom

Kyagulanyi commonly known as Bobi Wine who is in US for specialized treatment said he is not to back down

Speaking exclusively to BBC Africa from the US, Kyagulanyi said Ugandans must not give up the fight for freedom

He is expected to address an international press conference in Washington DC this evening

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Former minister Muhwezi  Bobi Wine should go slow

MOH  MPs Bobi & Zaake did not need to go abroad for treatment
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP)  Ruhollah Parazideh, a wiry 38-year-old with a thick mustache and hair flecked with gray, was desperate for a job. The father of three in southern Iran walked into a local office of a foundation that helps war veterans and their families, pleading for assistance. Local media reported that Parazideh told officials he would throw himself off their roof if they couldn't help.

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By Ssebuliba Samuel.

President Museveni has met a cross-section of Ugandans living in China, promising to attend to three key issues they raised for his attention.

This followed submissions by six Ugandan representatives who asked the President to raise some of the issues with his Chinese counterpart.

MrNtumwaBirimumaso, the proprietor of Ubuntu Cafe, a company that exports Ugandan coffee to China, told the President about the high taxes placed on roasted coffee beans yet they would fetch more money than green beans.

In his remarks, the President promised to raise the two issues (taxation and teachers certification) with his host, President Xi Jinping, at a meeting scheduled for today

President Museveni, who has been part of African leaders attending FOCAC, also commended Maria Nakaweesi, a Ugandan running a freight and logistics company in Guangzhou city.
Nastasia Yakoub, Founder of Dame Traveler: Sort of an unexpected choice, but Toronto has an incredible food scene! Because of its diversity, there are endless cafes & restaurants with gorgeous, Instagrammable interiors like Oretta. I also really loved the food scene in Charleston, South Carolina. Tons of fresh seafood &, of course, soul food. which is always a good idea!

Stephanie Hill of The Style Bungalow: Lisbon, Portugal and Lima, & Peru.

Mary Lauren of Mary Lauren: We traveled to Paris (& beyond) with our three year old when I was pregnant. We didnt do a lot of fancy dining, for obvious reasons, but I could seriously eat those chocolate + strawberry street crepes all day every day (which we pretty much did.) I also fell in LOVE with Angelina. The eggs benedict breakfast was incredible & then we went back that afternoon for the richest, creamiest hot chocolate & the most delicious pain au chocolat I have had in my life. Maybe it was my pregnancy heightening all my foodie senses for sweets while we were there but Paris definitely tops my list!

Caitlin Bea of The Caitlin Bea: I didnt expect this, but London was so vegan-friendly, I was in heaven! Since I eat plant-based, my way of eating through a city when I travel is a lot different than others. I usually have to prepare in advance, use apps like HappyCow to discover vegan-friendly places around me. London, & England in general, was such a relief, as most restaurants had plenty of options for me, or even separate vegan menus! I absolutely LOVED having an English breakfast every morning. For all you fellow veg heads out there, Amsterdam is another city with so many options! I even had a vegan version of bitterballen, a classic Dutch snack! So. Delicious.



Jillian Attaway Eversole of Rhyme & Reason: Without a doubt my favorite food city is the city I live in, Charleston! Its not only a top culinary destination in the south but in the whole country. Charleston has everything from delicious local seafood to inventive southern food & is the home to multiple James Beard award winning chefs & restaurants. Charleston is one of the most warm & welcoming cities &, after you get a taste of the food scene, youll want to pack your bags & move here permanently so you never have to stop enjoying our food!

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By Benjamin Jumbe.

Aruu county Member of Parliament Odonga Otoo has vowed not to attend any parliamentary proceedings chaired by the deputy speaker of parliament Jacob Oulanya until 2021.

In a letter dated 5th September, the legislator expressed displeasure over the conduct of the deputy speaker on the report of Robert Kyagulanyi and Francis Zaake.

Otto accused the deputy speaker of bias and direct political leanings and going against the rules of procedure by sidelining opposition legislators who were not given chance to speak despite standing up.

Speaking to Kfm Otto now says he will only attend sessions chaired by speaker Rebecca Kadaga, further noting that he is to champion a motion to amend the constitution to bar a presiding speaker from belonging to any party.
By Ritah Kemigisa.

The minister of state for East African Affairs Julius Maganda has dismissed reports that some members of parliament were tortured in the recent Arua fracas that marred the Arua By-election.

The ad hoc report released by parliament yesterday confirmed that there were some levels of illegal detention and torture and also approved the torture of Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine and Francis Zaake.

Addressing civil society leaders from the East African region at a conference to advance their civic space, Maganda said the legislators were instead harassed and beaten.

He says however much he condemns the alleged torture of these MPs, there is need to probe circumstances that possibly led to the fracas that made them victims of torture.
The Santa Maria Elks held their 47th annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Night on Wednesday. Officers from the California Highway Patrol, the Santa Barbara County District Attorneys Office, County Probation, Sheriff's Department and the Santa Maria and Guadalupe Police Departments were honored.

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Education Reporter

Mathew Burciaga is a Santa Maria Times reporter who covers education, agriculture and public safety. Prior to joining the Times, Mathew ran a 114-year-old community newspaper in Wyoming. He owns more than 40 pairs of crazy socks from across the globe.
The Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda has arrived at Gulu state lodge in 4th division army barracks in Gulu municipality with his team assigned to find a lasting solution to the land wrangles between the Acholi and Madi communities over land in Apaa, Northern Uganda.

The minister is slated to hold a two-day meeting with the 16 selected members committee from Adjuman and Amuru district following up on the president Musevenis decision to bring to an end the contention over Apaa land.

The Uganda wild life authority and national forestry authority claims that the land is a gazzeted East wild life game reserve and zoka central forestry reserve respectively.

President Museveni late last month gave out three options to the leaders in the two districts and ordered for the selection of an eight members committee from each district in abide to end bring conflicts over the land in question.
" " The crew from the Fallen American MIA Repatriation Foundation in Greenland. Their motto: "Honor the promise and bring them home." Jim Salazar/AHPS/Fallen American MIA Repatriation Foundation (FAMIARF)

During World War II, hundreds of U.S. aircraft flew across the North Atlantic to bases in England via the perilous "Snowball Route," which necessitated landing in Greenland to refuel and then taking off again, sometimes into the path of brutal snowstorms. About 10 percent of the planes crashed, and sometimes the planes sent out to rescue them suffered a similar fate, according to Nicholas A. Veronico's book "Hidden Warbirds: The Epic Stories of Finding, Recovering and Rebuilding Lost Aircraft."

Seven decades later, a group called the Fallen American MIA Repatriation Foundation says it has used a heavy-lift drone aircraft equipped with ground penetrating radar to locate one of those lost planes, a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter hidden under several hundred feet of ice on the east coast of Greenland. The P-38 is part of the famous "Lost Squadron," a group of six P-38s and two B-17s on a flight to Iceland that had to turn back because of bad weather in July 1942, and were forced to crash-land. Though the crews were rescued, the planes were abandoned and gradually enveloped by ice and snow. (Another P-38 from the squadron was recovered by a different group in 1992, as detailed in this 2007 Air & Space Magazine article.)

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Jim Salazar, a southern California businessman and pilot who has joined forces with fellow lost-aircraft searcher Ken McBride, hopes that this P-38 discovery will be the prelude to an even more momentous find. Salazar says in an interview that the search team plans to return to Greenland in 2019. In addition to retrieving the P-38 from the ice, searchers will head to nearby Koge Bay and deploy several more radar-equipped drones in an effort to locate a Coast Guard Grumman J2F-4 Duck, a small, single-engine amphibious plane that vanished in a storm during an effort to rescue a crashed B-17 crew in late November 1942. They hope not only to locate the wreckage, but also to retrieve the remains of the decorated pilot, Lt. John A. Pritchard, Jr. along with those of his radioman, Petty Officer 1st Class Benjamin Bottoms and U.S. Army Air Corps Cpl. Loren Howarth, who also were on board.

"Our idea is to recover these heroes," Salazar says.

" " The Coast Guard Grumman J2F-4 Duck, a small, single-engine amphibious plane that vanished in a storm during an effort to rescue a crashed B-17 crew in late November 1942, with three men aboard. Jim Salazar/AHPS/Fallen American MIA Repatriation Foundation (FAMIARF)

The combination of drones and ground penetrating radar (GPR) could be a potential game changer for locating long-lost aircraft in Greenland and elsewhere. Previously, searchers had to put radar equipment on sleds and slowly comb the surface, facing the continual risk of falling into crevasses in the ice. "You're pulling a sled on the ice cap, and not knowing if you're going to fall through," Salazar says. By using robotic aircraft that fly 32 feet (10 meters) off the ground, it's possible to cover a larger area far more quickly.

The search team spent several years figuring out how to couple a lightweight GPR system with a drone and develop the software needed to operate it. The technology performed well in tests in Europe, but "that's not the same as the Greenland ice cap," Salazar explains.

" " A crew member poses with the drone on the ice in Greenland. Jim Salazar

But when they got to Greenland, the technology exceeded expectations. "We had two teams, a conventional sled team and the newly developed drone team," Salazar explains. "By the time our guys on the sled team had put their harnesses on and had the equipment ready to go, the drone already had gone up, made radar contact with the P-38, and landed. You could see in real time what the drone actually was seeing. It was incredible."

Since the radar could only confirm the existence of a large object under the ice, the team lowered a steam probe. The latter brought up hydraulic oil, indicating the presence of an aircraft. (Here's a more detailed account of the search and discovery that the team provided to Warbird Digest, a publication for military aircraft enthusiasts.)

Salazar says that finding the Duck will be a tougher challenge. The amphibious aircraft was smaller than the P-38, and unlike the fighter, was an old-fashioned aircraft made from wood and canvas, so didn't produce big radar echoes. "We're looking for the engine case," Salazar explains.

Previous efforts to find the plane have been unsuccessful. A U.S. military team went to what was believed to be the location in 2013, but were unable to find anything, the Associated Press reported in 2014.

Finding the Duck would provide a resolution to a tragic saga that began on Nov. 28, 1942, when Pritchard and Bottoms took off in an effort to rescue a the nine-man crew of a crashed B-17 who were stranded out on the ice. According to Mitchell Zuckoff's 2013 book, "Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II," Pritchard reached the B-17 that day and not only managed to land on the ice but also to take off again with two of the bomber's crew, the first time a pilot had accomplished that feat in Greenland.

After returning to the Northland, their base ship, Pritchard and Bottoms flew back to the crash site the following day, Nov. 29, to pick up more men. By then, rescuers on motor sleds had reached the bomber as well. But one rescuer had fallen into a crevasse and was in danger. Pritchard and Bottoms got back in the plane, with Howarth accompanying them, and tried to fly back to the Northland to get help. But instead, they were caught in a storm that arrived sooner than expected and crashed.

A week later, a B-17 pilot spotted the wingless fuselage of the Duck along the coast. But bad weather and uncertainty about the precise location forced searchers to abandon efforts to reach wreckage, and Pritchard, Bottoms and Howarth were left out on the ice where they had died, according to Zuckoff. Pritchard and Bottoms were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The rescuer lost in the crevasse also died, and the surviving members of the B-17 had to spend a harrowing winter out on the ice, before finally being rescued in the spring.

Salazar is hopeful that the new technology will enable his team to find the Duck and the remains of the three servicemen. "Once success is achieved in this mission, we plan to bring the same kind of effort to other possible recovery sites," he says.

Now That's Interesting The B-17 crashed trying to locate yet another crashed plane, a C-53 transport carrying a crew of five. Rescuers never were able to find that plane, and eventually gave up the search, according to Zuckoff's book. Salazar hopes to find that aircraft and the remains of those servicemen as well.
The clothing chain C&A in Brazil suffered a cyber attack on its gift card/exchange system last week, hackers leaked data on Pastebin.

The International fashion retail clothing chain C&A in Brazil suffered a data breach, the company confirmed hackers hit its gift card platform.

Hackers accessed to records belonging to customers who purchased gift cards, exposed data includes ID numbers, email addresses, the amount loaded into the cards, order number and data of purchase.

A member of the Fatal Error Crew hacker group that use the moniker @joshua has published on Pastebin the data from C&A customers who purchased gift cards online.

Since you like to play with the data of others, weve decided to play around with your systems, wrote hacker Joshua when he published the data.

We would like to point out that we do not have the list of Gift Cards C & A or any other list of personal information of the customer, we mapped the same through the ID and only posted some internal information for staff C & A confirms the invasion We will not distribute any personal information on the internet since we do not endorse financial crimes Customer data is secure, the few published GiftCards were in the return section, so they would be discarded  Fatal Error Crew reads a statement published by The Fatal Error Crew.

According to the Brazilian website Tecmundo, data of about 36,000 customers have been exposed in the attack.

In a conversation with TecMundo, Joshua said that four million orders are exposed  Joshua says that probably there are data from two million different customers, considering more than one request per customer. Directly in the present card system, with their numbers, are exposed the data of 36 thousand. reported TecMundo.

According to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, the Public Ministry of the Federal District and Territories (MPDFT) has launched an investigation on the data breach fearing that data from 2 million customers of C&A were leaked online.

The company confirmed to have detected the incident last week and immediately started the incident response procedures, it also reported the intrusion to the authorities.

C&A highlighted that it doesnt use personal data for any unauthorized purposes.

we reiterate our commitment to ethics and respect to the laws and that we work to offer the best possible experience to our customers, and that includes the online environment. added C&A.

Pierluigi Paganini

( Security Affairs  C&A, data breach)

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Security experts from ESET observed a treat actor, tracked as PowerPool, exploiting the recently disclosed Windows zero-day flaw in targeted attacks.

The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on August 27 by the security expert @SandboxEscaper, the researcher also published the exploit code for the vulnerability.

The vulnerability affects Microsofts Windows operating systems that could be exploited by a local attacker or malicious program to obtain system privileges on the vulnerable system.

The vulnerability resides in the Windows task scheduler program and ties to errors in the handling of Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) systems.

Microsoft was expected to address the vulnerability in September security Patch Tuesday, that is scheduled for September 11, but the news of live attacks exploiting the issue could force the company to roll out a patch sooner.

Security community 0patch has also released an unofficial patch for the vulnerability.

Now security researchers from ESET reported the local privilege escalation vulnerability has been exploited by a previously unknown group tracked as PowerPool.

As one could have predicted, it took only two days before we first identified the use of this exploit in a malicious campaign from a group we have dubbed PowerPool.reads the analysis published by ESET.

This group has a small number of victims and according to both our telemetry and uploads to VirusTotal (we only considered manual uploads from the web interface), the targeted countries include Chile, Germany, India, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Ukraine.

The threat actor leveraged the Windows zero-day exploit in targeted attacks against a small number of users located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Chile, India, Russia, the Philippines, and Poland.

According to ESET, attackers have modified the publicly available exploit source code and recompiled it.

To obtain a Local Privilege Escalation, the attacker needs to properly choose the target file that will be overwritten. The target file, in fact, has to be a file that is executed automatically with administrative rights.

PowerPools developers chose to change the content of the file C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Update\GoogleUpdate.exe. This is the legitimate updater for Google applications and is regularly run under administrative privileges by a Microsoft Windows task. continues the analysis.

PowerPools attack vector is spear-phishing messages, ESET researchers pointed out that the same group was also responsible for a spam campaign spotted by SANS in May that used Symbolic Link (.slk) files to spread malicious codes.

The group used a multi-stage malware, the first stage is a backdoor used for a reconnaissance activity. It determines if the infected machine is interesting for the attackers, in this case, the malicious code downloads a second stage backdoor that supports various commands such as uploading and downloading files, killing processes, and listing folders.

The analysis of the second-stage backdoor allowed the researchers to determine that the malicious code is not a state-of-the-art APT backdoor.

Once the PowerPool operators have persistent access to a machine with the second-stage backdoor, they use several open-source tools, mostly written in PowerShell, to move laterally on the network. continues the report.

The tools used by the attackers include PowerDump, PowerSploit, SMBExec, Quarks PwDump, and FireMaster.

This specific campaign targets a limited number of users, but dont be fooled by that: it shows that cybercriminals also follow the news and work on employing exploits as soon as they are publicly available, ESET concluded.

Further details, including the IoCs are reported in the analysis published by ESET.

Pierluigi Paganini

( Security Affairs  hacking, PowerPool group)

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Bangladesh police on Thursday arrested a top road safety campaigner weeks after the country was rocked by massive student protests demanding greater efforts to halt deaths caused by speeding. Dhaka police said Mozammel Hoque Chiwdhury, secretary general of the Passenger Welfare Association, was detained after being accused of extorting 200,000 taka ($2,500). Dadan Fakir, head of police for the Mirpur neighbourhood of Dhaka where the case was filed this week, said the arrest bore no link to the protests, in which tens of thousands of students gridlocked Dhaka for nine days. The protests, a major challenge to the authority of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saw vehicles vandalised and pro-government groups attack demonstrators, photographers and even the US ambassador's car. About 12,000 people die each year in accidents on Bangladesh's notorious roads, according to the monitoring group led by Hoque, a vocal campaigner for many years. Last week, his group said 259 people were killed and 960 people were injured in more than 200 road accidents during the Eid al Adha holidays in late August. After the protests, the government approved a new transport law allowing harsher punishments for offenders. Dhaka police say they are already cracking down on dangerous motorists and taking unsafe vehicles off the road. Police have, however, also detained scores of young protesters, a top photographer and an actress over charges of inciting the demonstrations, sparking fears among activists. Shamsuddin Chowdhury, an executive member of the Passenger Welfare Association, told The Daily Star newspaper that the charges against Hoque were "false". "This arrest was made to gag his voice. Police are just making charges up," he said.
FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The federal judge overseeing the second trial of Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's one-time campaign chairman, ruled on Wednesday that a federal investigation of possible collusion between the campaign and Russia cannot be discussed during the trial.

The collusion investigation being led by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is "wholly irrelevant to the charges in this case," Judge Amy Berman Jackson said during a pre-trial hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Manafort was convicted last month in Virginia of charges including bank and tax fraud in what was the first trial arising from Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election. Jackson said on Wednesday that while prosecutors may present evidence used in that trial, the jury will not be allowed to hear about Manafort's conviction.

She also said she plans to deny a request by Manafort's defence attorneys to move the trial to a different court, saying that a concern about the political affiliations of the jury pool in Washington, D.C., is "not a lawful basis" for a venue transfer.

During the trial, which begins with jury selection on Sept. 17 and opening arguments Sept. 24, Manafort will face seven counts, including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the United States, failing to register as a foreign agent for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government, making false statements and witness tampering.

Manafort, a long-time Washington lobbyist who was with Trump's campaign from March through August in 2016, was convicted on Aug. 21 on eight counts in a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, related to bank fraud, tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts.

The jury deadlocked on 10 other charges and prosecutors have not yet announced if they will seek to retry him.

The decision by Jackson to exclude testimony about the Russia collusion investigation is not a surprise. None of the charges are related to alleged collusion and Judge T.S. Ellis made a similar ruling ahead of the Virginia trial as part of an effort to keep politics out of it.

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Discussion of Manafort's role in the Trump campaign will come up only in connection with alleged false statements he made about his foreign lobbying activities after critical media reports surfaced during the end of his stint as campaign chairman, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Prosecutors also indicated they do not yet know whether they plan to call as a witness Manafort's former business partner Rick Gates, who has pleaded guilty in the Mueller probe.

In the first trial Gates testified he helped Manafort doctor financial statements, hide foreign income and cheat on his taxes. The jury decided to disregard his testimony and focus on the documentary evidence, a juror said.

Manafort's lawyers revealed they are working to retain an expert witness who may testify at trial. They did not call witnesses in his first trial.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Writing by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Bill Trott)
Political exile Tan Wah Piow (centre) with Thum Ping Tin (left) in Malaysia in August 2018. (Photo Razak Ghazali via The Malay Mail)

It was political exile Tan Wah Piow, and not historian Thum Ping Tjin, who invited Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to address a conference about democracy in Southeast Asia, said activist Kirsten Han in the latest development in the controversy over a meeting between Mahathir and a group of Singaporeans.

Han was responding to a statement by Sunny Lee, press secretary to Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, on the meeting which took place last Thursday (30 August). Lee had said, Dr Thum also invited Dr Mahathir to address a conference about promoting democracy in Southeast Asia.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Han stressed, This isnt fact. Its inaccurate. It was not Pingtjin Thum who invited Dr Mahathir. It was Tan Wah Piow. The conference is the project of Wah Piow and Malaysian activist Hishamuddin Rais; the rest of us are not involved in it. Malaysian activist Hishamuddin, foreign worker advocate Jolovan Wham and graphic novelist Sonny Liew were also present at the meeting.

Tan also commented on the post, Hi Kirsten, You are right. The invite was from me, on behalf of FORSEA, that was accurately reported in the press. PJ is not part of the organisation.

Lees statement was in response to complaint letters by Han, Thum and Wham, addressed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods, to look into the highly irresponsible and unbecoming allegations made by MP Seah Kian Peng of the meeting.

Han also added that the accusations have been amplified by the Peoples Action Party Facebook page, the mainstream media and other members of the PAP and Select Committee, such as Shanmugam.

But Lee said that Shanmugam stood by his comments on the meeting, noting, We can have vigorous debates within Singapore about our own affairs. But you cross a red line when you invite foreign powers or foreign leaders into Singapore politics.

In her latest post, Han noted that she had attended the East Asia Democracy Forum in Taipei this year, while former ambassador Kishore Mahbubani is also speaking at the Athens Democracy Forum this month. Other speakers include the Chief of the Cabinet Ministers for Argentina and the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, said Han.

Story continues

Do all these forums equate to interfering in Singapores politics? Or is Singapore interfering in other peoples politics?

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FILE PHOTO: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks live on television after casting his ballot in the Iranian presidential election in Tehran June 12, 2009. REUTERS/Caren Firouz/Files

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused the United States and Israel on Thursday of waging a media war to discourage Iranians, state TV reported, as the country faces economic hardship after the reimposition of U.S. sanctions.

The rial currency has lost about two-thirds of its value this year under the threat of the sanctions, reimposed by President Donald Trump after he withdrew Washington from a 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.

The cost of living has also soared, sparking sporadic demonstrations against profiteering and corruption, with many protestors chanting anti-government slogans.

"The goal of this media war is to create anxiety ... and pessimism among people towards each other and the authorities, and to exaggerate economic problems in the minds of the public," the television quoted Khamenei as saying.

"Based on our intelligence, the U.S. and Zionist (Israeli) spy agencies, financed by the super-rich of our region, have set up an organisation for this media war and are seriously planning and trying to infect the advertising space and the minds in our community," Khamenei said.

Saudi Arabia, Iran's main regional rival, and the United Arab Emirates have backed Trumps decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, reflecting the wealthy oil exporters' concern about Irans ballistic missile programme and support for militant groups.

Trump said on Wednesday he remained open to the possibility of talks between Washington and Tehran. However, he added: "Iran is in turmoil right now. They're in total turmoil."

"Now they are just worrying about their own survival as a country," he told reporters, without offering any evidence.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by David Stamp)
Singapore state courts (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

A day after he was released from prison, Maidin Buang went to a mosque, lowered the Singapore flag from the flag pole there and burnt it with a lighter.

On Thursday (9 September), the 63-year-old unemployed Singaporean was jailed six months on one count of committing mischief by fire. Maidin was sentenced to an additional 420 days of jail for reoffending while on remission for his previous jail sentence.

Maidin, who suffers from schizophrenia and has a history of substance abuse, is homeless and estranged from family members, the court was told.

He committed the offence on 17 June this year at Darul Aman Mosque, along Jalan Eunos.

The caretaker of the mosque noticed Maidin standing beside the flagpole at around 11.30am. He saw Maidin lowering the Singapore national flag before using a red lighter to set fire to the flag, burning holes in it.

The caretaker stopped Maidin, who said that God had told him to burn the flag. Maidin fled the scene shortly after.

At around 3pm on the same day, Maidin returned to the mosque for prayers and the caretaker recognised him. The caretaker called the police, who arrested Maidin.

Maidin, who had previously been remanded at the Institute of Mental Health, claimed to have dreamt of an Indonesian man who directed him to burn the flag. A red lighter, an exercise book and a rolled up paper sticker with the words P.A.P OUR TEMASEK INDONESIA were found on him.

At the time of the flag-burning incident, Maidins schizophrenia relapsed and contributed to him committing the offence, Deputy Public Prosecutor Wu Yu Jie told the court.

However, Maidin was not of unsound mind then despite his relapse as he still knew what he was doing and that it was wrong, said the DPP. Maidin was certified fit to plead guilty.

Maidin has a history of past offences dating back to 1971 including mischief, theft, mutilating currency notes, and drug offences. He was jailed three years and six months in 2016 and was released on remission on 16 June this year, a day before he committed the latest offence.

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While DPP Wu did not propose a specific sentence, he noted that Maidin had deliberately set the flag on fire and had been sentenced in the past for mischief and vandalism.

Maidins pro-bono lawyer, Nur Mohd Marican, who was appointed under the State Courts Enhanced Guidance for Plea Scheme, told the court that his client was a single, homeless man who was estranged from his family. Maidin had not taken his medicine at the time of the offence when his psychiatric condition relapsed, the lawyer added.

District Judge May Mesenas stressed that Maidin needed to continue his treatment regardless of the sentence. The DJ arranged for Maidin to see a court counsellor to make arrangements for him when he is released from prison. She suggested that Maidin go to a halfway house after he is released.

For his offence, Maidin could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.
Police officers seen outside the Istana. (Yahoo News Singapore file photo)

You are stupid. That was what Gurcharan Singh told the operator when he called the police emergency hotline one night in June this year.

This was not the first time he had called the police hotline while intoxicated. The 61-year-old began making prank phone calls to the police in 2000 and had been on remission for a previous jail term when he reoffended.

At the State Courts on Thursday (6 September), Singh was jailed three years on multiple counts of calling the police hotline with the intent to abuse or annoy the operator and one count under the Telecommunications Act for transmitting a false message.

The false message related to an incident during which he told the operator he had placed dynamite at a particular location. Twelve other counts of a similar nature were taken into consideration for his sentencing.

Singh was also sentenced to an additional 66 days jail for offending while on remission.

Multiple prank calls to police hotline

The court heard that on 10 June, Singh drank a few cans of beer at the void deck of a HDB block in Chai Chee. At about 9.09pm, he called the 999 hotline from a public phone at the void deck, which was answered by police call operator Mohamad Suhaimi Ami.

As Suhaimi was not able to hear what Singh was saying, he advised Singh to call back. This was when Singh told the operator, You are stupid.

When asked what emergency he was reporting on, Singh replied immigration and the the permit all issuing of Malaysian one all these corruption one. He added that he had also put one dynamite to the immigration house.

Singh also used expletives during the conversation, which lasted about two minutes and 10 seconds.

After the call, Singh continued drinking. At about 9.40pm, he made a second call to the police hotline from a public phone, which was picked up by a different operator.

He again expressed his unhappiness with the immigration authorities and told the operator, You are scare to see me you got balls to see me not. The second call lasted about six minutes.

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Operators recognised Singh as he had previously called the emergency hotline. They alerted their supervisor to the calls and managed to identify Singhs location.

Police officers dispatched to the site caught Singh in the act of speaking to the operator over a public phone. Singh admitted to the offences and was arrested.

However, Singh repeated the act nine days later  again after consuming alcohol. This time, he made 15 calls to the emergency hotline on the same day but did not report any emergency.

According to the prosecution, Singh had been prank calling the police hotline since 2000. Among his many past convictions was a five-year corrective training sentence he received in 2008.

He was also slapped with a two-year jail term for the same crime in 2016 and was under a remission order when he committed his most recent offences.

In sentencing Singh, District Judge Eddy Tham said that his offences affected an essential public service.

For transmitting a false message, Singh could have been fined up to $10,000, jailed up to three years, or both. For calling an emergency telephone number with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any person who answers the call, Singh could have been fined $10,000, jailed a maximum two years, or both.

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Reuters

India did not sign the COP26 https://www.reuters.com/business/cop pledge to stop deforestation and cut methane gas emissions by 2030 because of its concerns over the impact on trade, on the country's vast farm sector, and the role of livestock in the rural economy, officials said. At the COP26 global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, world leaders on Tuesday pledged to stop deforestation https://www.reuters.com/world/global-climate-talks-deliver-moves-cut-methane-deforestation-2021-11-02 by the end of the decade and cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane to help slow climate change. Agriculture accounts for over 15% of India's $2.7 trillion economy and employs almost half of the country's more than 1.3 billion people.
A tense truce within German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative camp imploded Thursday after her hardline interior minister defended protests marred by neo-Nazi violence and blasted immigration as "the mother of all political problems". The latest shots across Merkel's bow came just two months after the minister, Horst Seehofer, threatened to torpedo her ruling coalition over the explosive border issue. An uneasy calm that had taken hold during the summer holidays shattered in the aftermath of a fatal knife attack in late August against a 35-year-old German man in the city of Chemnitz allegedly committed by asylum seekers. Far-right groups and thousands of local citizens took to the streets in the days after the stabbing, with a number of participants attacking people who looked foreign, and flashing the illegal Nazi salute. As Germany's top law enforcer, Seehofer had faced calls to condemn the ugly scenes of marauding mobs that also assaulted reporters and police. He reserved judgement until Thursday's incendiary interview, in which he said he wished he could have joined the demonstrations. "There is agitation and outrage among the public over this killing that I can understand," Seehofer told the daily Rheinische Post. "If I weren't a minister, I would have hit the streets as a citizen -- of course not with the radicals though." - 'No mob, no pogroms' - While he condemned the violence, Seehofer, the most strident critic of Merkel's liberal refugee policy within her coalition, expressed sympathy with the anger that fuelled the protests. "The migration issue is the mother of all political problems in this country. I've been saying that for three years," since Merkel opened Germany's borders to more than one million asylum seekers as other EU countries shut the door to them. His comments echoed remarks this week by Seehofer's counterpart from Italy, firebrand interior minister Matteo Salvini, that Merkel had "underestimated" the troubles mass immigration would bring. Merkel pushed back against the gloomy assessments and the charges she had been reckless with public safety. "I would put it differently -- I would say that the migration issue poses challenges. There are problems but also successes," she told RTL television. "We have a completely different situation than in the autumn of 2015 (at the height of the refugee influx). Hence we can tell people that we have implemented measures to prevent a repetition," including pacts with Turkey and several African countries to fight people smuggling. The Social Democrats, junior partners in Merkel's administration, were stronger in their criticism of Seehofer. As some SPD deputies called for the minister's resignation, party leader Andrea Nahles said he threatened the government's stability. "Horst Seehofer and the CSU are playing with fire again and reigniting the conservative conflicts we saw this summer," she said. "That's not OK. It needs to stop." Seehofer's Christian Social Union (CSU) is looking down the barrel of a tight state election in Bavaria next month. With an eye to the poll, in which the CSU is fighting to head off a strong challenge by the far-right AfD party and maintain its absolute majority, Seehofer directly contradicted Merkel's assessment of events in Chemnitz. He was quoted by media as saying late Wednesday that her government had been too quick to criticise the protests and that he had waited until he had "authentic information" to comment. The same day, Saxony premier Michael Kretschmer denied in a speech to the state assembly that extremists had run wild in Chemnitz. "There was no mob, no hunting of foreigners and no pogroms," he said, drawing accusations that he was playing down the far-right problem in his region. - 'Hate-filled pursuit' - Merkel has repeatedly expressed shock about the distressing scenes in the city -- which were captured on video and described to the media by several victims. On Wednesday she stressed that "the images I've seen show quite clearly the hate-filled pursuit and persecution of innocent people". Seizing on the fresh rift in the government, AfD leader Alexander Gauland defended Seehofer, telling the daily Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that he was "perfectly correct in his analysis" of Merkel's migration policy. "But it won't help him much because he fails in implementation (of his own policies) -- Angela Merkel just puts hurdles in his way."
Nicaragua's opposition called a 24-hour strike on Thursday, due to start the next day, in protest against President Daniel Ortega and to demand the release of "political prisoners." The strike is due to begin at midnight on Thursday, the Civil Alliance for Justice and Democracy, made up of students, businesses and civil service groups, said in a statement. The opposition is demanding dialogue with Ortega's government after months of turmoil that left more than 300 people dead, according to rights groups. It called on supporters to "join this national effort from your homes." "Nicaragua needs an urgent and peaceful solution through dialogue," said the opposition. "We need to live in security, without kidnappings, without political prisoners, without persecution and without the stigmatization of those who think differently." Last week, Ortega expelled the United Nations human rights mission after it published a report criticizing the "climate of fear" in the Central American country, one of the poorest in the region. The UN denounced a wide range of serious violations, including disproportionate use of force by police, which in some cases resulted in extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention and torture. Ortega, a former guerrilla leader who has been in power for the last 11 years, refuted the claims and described the UN as "an instrument of the policies of terror, lies and infamy." In addition to the dead and 2,000 people injured in clashes between anti-government protesters and regime forces back by paramilitaries, more than 300 Nicaraguans have been charged with crimes for taking part in the protests, of which 85 are accused of terrorism. Two Alliance leaders, Medardo Mairena and Edwin Carcache, are amongst those to have been charged. The opposition says "dialogue is the only path" to overcome the current political crisis. Nicaragua's descent into chaos was triggered on April 18 when relatively small protests against now-scrapped social security reforms were met with a government crackdown, backed by armed paramilitaries. Catholic church-brokered peace talks broke down in June after Ortega rejected a key opposition demand to step down and bring forward presidential elections. Opposition supporters claimed the last strike in mid-July was 90 percent respected, although government media said businesses had remained open in several trade zones.
Chief of the national security office at Seoul's presidential Blue House Chung Eui-yong meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang Chief of the national security office at Seoul's presidential Blue House Chung Eui-yong meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea September 5, 2018. Picture taken September 5, 2018. The Presidential Blue House /Handout via REUTERS

By Hyonhee Shin and Susan Heavey

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for denuclearisation, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would "get it done together".

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss "practical measures" towards denuclearisation, Moon's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said a day after meeting Kim.

The summit could provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearisation between North Korea and the United States, after Trump cancelled a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month citing lack of progress.

Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was "unchanged" and that he wanted denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and an end to hostile relations with the United States before Trump's first term ends in early 2021, Chung said.

But there was no indication that Kim had offered concrete steps towards giving up his nuclear arsenal, something some U.S. officials have said privately they doubt he is willing to do.

"He particularly emphasised that he has never said anything negative about President Trump," Chung said.

Trump welcomed Kim's remarks in a trademark Tweet.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!" Trump wrote.

Trump had previously hailed his landmark June 12 summit with Kim as a success and said the North Korean nuclear threat was over, despite little evidence to back that assertion.

In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear programme if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.

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U.S. officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearisation and has insisted the United States must first agree to simultaneous steps to reduce sanctions pressure.

Some analysts suggested Kim was flattering Trump in hopes of dividing the president from advisers who have advocated a tougher U.S. stand.

"Kim just owns Trump. He knows his mark," Vipin Narang, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in nuclear issues, said in a message on Twitter.

'ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK TO DO'

Pompeo, on a trip to New Delhi, said there was still "an enormous amount of work to do" on the denuclearisation issue.

He visited Pyongyang in July, after which North Korea accused him of making "unilateral and gangster-like demands for denuclearisation".

Asked about U.S. intelligence that North Korea was still advancing its weapons programmes, Pompeo noted Pyongyang had ceased its nuclear tests and test-firing missiles, which he said was a "good thing."

"But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make this strategic shift that we've talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues," Pompeo said.

The State Department later said Pompeo was sending his newly appointed North Korea envoy, Stephen Biegun, to South Korea, China and Japan from Sept. 10-15.

Signalling that Washington's concerns extend beyond Pyongyang's nuclear programme, the U.S. government on Thursday charged and sanctioned an alleged North Korean hacker over the 2017 global WannaCry ransomware cyberattack, the 2014 cyber assault on Sony Corp. and other "malign cyber activities."

Chung said Kim had stressed the need for the United States to reciprocate North Korea's initial moves, which have included dismantling a nuclear test site and a missile engine facility.

"We support progress in inter-Korean relations and President Moons statements that such progress must go hand-in-hand with denuclearisation," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said when asked about the meeting

North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim told the South's envoys that his "fixed stand" was to turn the Korean peninsula into "a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat".

Chung said Kim showed "frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearise, and asked us to convey his message to the United States".

"He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures towards denuclearisation if action is taken in response to the North's preemptive steps," Chung said.

Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, said: "Looks like Kim is trying to wash away worries that talks could stall or fail, knowing well that Washington is losing patience."

U.S. officials have previously said they have already made conciliatory gestures, such as suspending joint military exercises with South Korea.

During his meeting with Kim, Chung delivered a message from Trump and will relay comments from Kim to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moon's spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters. Chung later spoke to Bolton, the NSC official said.

Trump spoke to Moon on the evening before Chung's trip and asked Moon to act as "chief negotiator" between Washington and Pyongyang, the spokesman said.

However, a three-way summit between Trump, Kim and Moon - an idea that South Korea has floated - is not expected on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York this month, Chung said, suggesting that Kim is not likely to become the first North Korean leader to attend the gathering.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised the Koreas for their trust-building efforts and expressed hope for further progress towards "complete and verifiable denuclearisation," his spokesman said.

WHAT HAPPENS FIRST?

Kim and Trump held an unprecedented summit in Singapore in June, in which the North Korean leader made a broad, vague commitment to work towards denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. But negotiations have stalled, while signs North Korea has maintained work on its weapons have emerged.

Under discussion is whether North Korean denuclearisation or declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning U.S.-led U.N. forces are technically still at war with the North.

"The United States shouldn't delay any further an end-of-war declaration, which the U.S. president promised at the Singapore summit," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said.

U.S. officials have said such a declaration could weaken North Korea's incentive for denuclearisation, and create uncertainty about the purpose of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

(Additional reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee in SEOUL, Matt Spetalnick, John Walcott, Susan Heavey, Lesley Wroughton and Christopher Bing in WASHINGTON and Phil Stewart in NEW DELHI; Writing by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie and James Dalgleish)
Fave users will soon be able to use GrabPay credits in Singapore and Malaysia

The company claims its platform has seen an annual growth rate of over 300 per cent

Malaysia-based O2O (online to offline) platform Fave has announced it has raised US$20 million in a Series B round from investors including Sequoia India, SIG Asia Investment and Venturra Capital.

It will use the newly-raised funding to accelerate its goal to serve 100,000 offline businesses by 2019.

Faves platform provides businesses with the ability to easily integrate a mobile loyalty and rewards platform, as well as a cashless mobile payment. It incentivises customers to use its payment app by providing cashback rewards.

The company claims that in 2018, it will help drive over US$100 million to businesses. Currently, these businesses offer over 40,000 active rewards to a user base of over 3 million consumers.

The businesses span multiple industries including food & beverage, beauty & wellness, services, activities, leisure and travel.

Also Read: Go-Jeks Go-Ventures reportedly investing in Indonesian online media Kumparan

Fave claims it has seen an annual growth rate of over 300 per cent. Its platform is now active in over 15 cities across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Everyone talks about the cashless society, but making the actual shift requires an exceptional user experience, with clear benefits for the users as well as for businesses, said Pieter Kemps, Principal of Sequoia Capital (India) Singapore, in an official press statement.

If you help businesses drive revenue and reduce operational burden, you can truly drive adoption and create choice for consumers. Fave knew this when it launched FavePay.



Fave

The post O2O platform Fave raises US$20M in Series B round appeared first on e27.
After collective horror brought the case of two women sentenced to a public caning to national and international headlines over the last few days, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has finally issued a measured statement on the matter.

Declaring in a Facebook video that Islam is not a ruthless religion that seeks to humiliate its followers, he went further and said that the harsh sentence issued to the two women tarnished the religion. In future cases, he called for lighter sentences, so as to avoid a repetition of the abhorrent sentence.

Instead, we can give lighter sentences, while advising and such, he told the public.

Whats important is to show that Islam is not a ruthless religion that dishes out sentences that humiliate people. This is not what Islam encourages, he said in the clip.

Public outcry was far and wide, after two women caught attempting lesbian sex in Terengganu were sentenced in Sharia court to six strokes of the cane, and a fine for their action. Members of the public gathered in the gallery to witness the event, while a media circus awaited them in the Sharia court complex.

Coconuts KL wrote an extensive op-ed on the matter, expressing the disappointment that the current Pakatan Harapan government was doing little to fulfill their pledge in maintaining a clean human rights record for Malaysia, as they had promised in their election manifesto. Amnesty International called the event a black day for human rights in Malaysia.

PM Mahathirs statement is welcome, and we hope that other governments and courts will heed our leaders advice to show compassion, love and mercy.

The post Prime Minister Mahathir says caning of lesbian women sentence tarnished Islam appeared first on Coconuts.
Proposed artificial island near Lantau in Hong Kong could suffer same fate as Jebi-hit Osaka airport, green groups warn

Extreme weather could flood a proposed artificial island in Hong Kong just as Typhoon Jebi had shut down Osakas airport, which was built on reclaimed land 24 years ago, environmental groups said on Wednesday.

The warning came as a public consultation on how to boost land supply, conducted by a government-appointed task force, was under way and set to end on September 26. Eighteen options have been put up for discussion, including building a 1,000-hectare (2,500 acres) island east of Lantau Island.

Leung Wing-mo, former assistant director of the Hong Kong Observatory, said the sea level in Hong Kong was forecast to rise by more than 1 metre from 2000 levels by the end of this century.

The weather in Hong Kong had also become more extreme in recent years and the government should consider the possibility of the proposed island being flooded, as in the case of Kansai International Airport, Leung said. He is now a spokesman for climate advocacy group 350HK.

[Japan] did not plan thoroughly before the airport was built. The consequences can be dire if [the Hong Kong government] also fails to consider all scenarios in building the artificial island, Leung said.

[Japan] did not plan thoroughly ... The consequences can be dire if [Hong Kong] also fails to consider all scenarios

Leung Wing-mo, 350HK

Typhoon Jebi tore across southwest Japan on Tuesday, forcing the Osaka airport  Japans third busiest  to shut down. Strong winds also sent a 2,591-tonne tanker smashing into the only bridge connecting the airport to the mainland. Runways were inundated, causing hundreds of flight cancellations.

On Wednesday, rescuers began to evacuate thousands of travellers stranded at the airport. As of Wednesday evening, Japan recorded 11 deaths and hundreds of injuries caused by the typhoon.

Roy Tam Hoi-pong, founder of Green Sense, said when the airport was still in the planning stages more than two decades ago, the Japanese government failed to consider the amount of precipitation a typhoon such as Jebi  Japans strongest in 25 years  could bring.

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With the climate becoming more extreme and unpredictable, Tam said he feared the Hong Kong government would likewise fail to predict a similar disaster years from now.

Twenty-five or 30 years from now, a typhoon the magnitude of Jebi may come every year, Tam warned. You can build the artificial island higher, but then it would cost much more. It is not worth it.

He also dismissed remarks by Stanley Wong Yuen-fai, chairman of the Task Force on Land Supply, that reclamation was one of the options most supported by the public.

Tam cited an August study his group conducted with Tom Yam, a member of the Citizens Task Force on Land Resources, that showed it would cost about HK$460 billion (US$58.6 billion) to build the island and its connections to other parts of Hong Kong.

The government has yet to announce its own estimations.

The green groups admitted that rising sea levels could flood not just the proposed island, but other coastal residential areas as well. But because the island would cost billions to build, they asked the government to consider if such an idea was worth it.

This article Proposed artificial island near Lantau in Hong Kong could suffer same fate as Jebi-hit Osaka airport, green groups warn first appeared on South China Morning Post

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The far right surge in Europe risks "incubating" more of the violence unleashed by Anders Behring Breivik, the maker of a film about the 2011 Norway attacks warned Wednesday. Paul Greengrass, the British director of "Bloody Sunday" and the Oscar-nominated "United 93" -- about the passengers on 9/11 who fought the hijackers -- made the comments as his film "22 July" was shown at the Venice film festival. Breivik killed 77 people in one day in the worst solo mass shooting in history, most of them young social democrat activists at a summer camp on the island of Utoya near Olso. With his highly-emotional film about the killings and the subsequent trial bringing critics to their feet, Greengrass said the rising tide of populist nationalism was a "grave threat to democracy and our way of life". "We are facing an unprecedented movement towards nativism and populism. That is not to say that the people who endorse those ideas would act in the way that Anders Brievik did," he told reporters. "But what is troubling when you read Breivik's testimony is that the world view he propagated and the arguments that he used -- that in 2011 were considered outre -- are now pretty much mainstream." - 'Growing fringe of hatred' - Greengrass, who consulted families of the victims and survivors while working on the film, said no answer has yet been found to check the extreme right beyond French's President Emmanuel Macron's election defeat of Marine Le Pen. "Until people do, the shift to the right is going to get worse, and the danger incubated within that is a growing fringe of hatred that can foster violence," said the maker of the "Jason Bourne" blockbusters. "22 July" was premiered on the same day at Venice as a new Errol Morris documentary about Donald Trump's former strategist and hero of the alt right Steve Bannon. In it he evokes a "coming revolution" in America born of the anger of the "common man", which found an eerie echo in the Greengrass film where the Breivik character uses the same phrase. "It would be grossly unfair of me to equate Mr Bannon with that," Greengrass told reporters. "I do not approve of the way he gives succour to hard right views in Europe. That is troubling and dangerous. The world view is the same," he insisted. - 'Democracies have to fight' - Greengrass said "democracies have to fight for themselves and win the arguments", which he said happened in Norway with the Breivik trial. "We face a grave threat to our way of life. Our parents and grandparents lived through the 1930s and realised that nationalism unchecked leads to warfare and conflict," he added. "They built a world after 1945 with the express intention of keeping nationalism within boundaries. Over the past 10 to 15 years those moorings have started to become frayed, and you are getting this virulent rise of hatred and nativism." Actor Anders Danielsen Lie, who plays Breivik, "the most hated Norwegian ever", said he was a lone wolf, but one "operating within an ideological context. "There are many people out there who share his ideas. You also have to ask the question why a well-off, white middle-class person in one of the best countries in the world to live in would do such a thing?" "22 July" is one of a clutch of screen attempts to deal with the Norway attacks. Earlier this year "Utoya 22", a harrowing depiction of Breivik's killing spree, was premiered at the Berlin film festival. A Swedish film, "Reconstructing Utoya", re-enacts how five people survived the attack, and a television series has also been made.
The decision to defer the construction of the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur High Speed Rail (HSR) until May 2020 is unlikely to cause a strain between the relationship of both countries...

Artists impression of the HSR terminus in Jurong East.

While many may be disappointed, Singapore and Malaysias agreement to postpone the development of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) offers greater clarity on the way forward for the mega project, said Singapore Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan in a Facebook post.

The two countries had agreed to postpone the construction of the much-anticipated project until end-May 2020, with the rail service between Singapore and KL to start by 1 January 2031, instead of the 31 December 2026 initially planned, reported Channel NewsAsia.

Search for properties near the future High Speed Rail terminus in Jurong.

Malaysias Economic Affairs Minister Azmin Ali and Mr Khaw signed the new agreement at the Prime Ministers Office in Putrajaya.

Malaysia will pay $15 million to Singapore for costs incurred in deferring the project.

Min Khaw Boon Wan and Min Azmin Ali worked hard to reach an outcome which meets the interests of both countries. This bodes well for future cooperation between our countries, said Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, who witnessed the signing, in a Facebook post.

Aimed at reducing travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 90 minutes from the current five hours, the proposed 350km-long HSR line is one of the projects by the previous Malaysian government to be reviewed following the historic win of Pakatan Harapan in May.

Shortly after winning the election, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced plans to cancel the HSR project as it would not be beneficial to Malaysia and would cost a huge sum of money.

In July, however, he said that his government would negotiate for a postponement of the HSR project to reduce any burden of compensation.

Interested in buying property near the future High Speed Rail terminus in Jurong? Check out our step-by-step guide to buying a condo.

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
US start-up Driver, backed by Li Ka-shing, matches cancer patients worldwide with clinical trials and treatments in America, China and Singapore

An American start-up backed by Hong Kongs richest man Li Ka-shing on Thursday officially launched a paid service for cancer patients worldwide, matching them with suitable treatments offered in the United States, China and Singapore.

For a one-off fee of US$3,000 (HK$23,500) and a monthly subscription of US$20, Driver will provide a list of the latest available cancer treatments, including clinical trials, at more than 30 institutions in the three countries, and monitor patients outcomes if they sign up for any of the options.

With the monthly fee, Driver will keep tabs on the patients condition and suggest follow-up care if needed.

The company, founded by two doctors, had been in talks with the two medical schools in Hong Kong  at Chinese University and the University of Hong Kong  to include their trials in its database.

Petros Giannikopoulos, Drivers co-founder and president, said the company, which was formed three years ago, aimed to narrow the gap between what people were told or knew about cancer treatments and what options there actually were.

Dont limit it to just what this one person in this one hospital can offer you

Petros Giannikopoulos, Driver co-founder

We want to give people access to all the information out there, the pathologist explained. Dont limit it to just what this one person in this one hospital can offer you.

The company estimated it could take on average as little as two weeks for patients who used its service to be presented with available options on its mobile app.

First, they need to provide Driver with their medical records. Residents in mainland China and the US can also provide their tumour samples to Drivers labs in both countries and the information would be used to generate options.

A doctor then explains the choices to the patient through video conferencing and if the patient chooses a specific institution, the start-up would help make an appointment there.

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Clinical trials are used by researchers to test the safety and efficacy of new drugs and usually funded by pharmaceutical firms, and form the bulk of treatment options. The founders, who spoke to the Post on separate occasions, said they believed clinical trials were the best cancer treatments and were cutting-edge treatments.

Driver co-founder and CEO William Polkinghorn said once a patient was transferred to a specific centre, that facility would be responsible for the patients care.

We only work with the best centres in the world ... They have very careful processes to be able to accept a clinical trial, the radiation oncologist said.

About 30 of the institutions are in the US, four are on the mainland and one is in Singapore. They include the countries national cancer centres.

Chinese Universitys medical school confirmed Driver had contacted it to discuss a potential collaboration, but refused to disclose further details. HKU did not respond to the Post.

Polkinghorn said the company wanted clinical trials in Hong Kong to be listed on its platform as those conducted here were just as advanced, or even more so than those done in other developed economies.

It would be easier for Hong Kong patients to access clinical trials, and it would be easier for Hong Kong institutions to fill clinical trials, he added.

It would be easier for Hong Kong patients to access clinical trials

William Polkinghorn, Driver CEO

Since 2015, Lis private investment arm Horizons Ventures has pumped an undisclosed amount into Driver and is now the start-ups largest investor. Driver did not reveal how many investors it had, but on Thursday said it had raised US$90 million in total so far.

Horizons Ventures representative Patrick Zhang, who sits on Drivers board, said the platform helped address the problem of poor accrual of patients, which he called a significant barrier to the successful completion of oncology clinical trials.

According to data cited by Driver, about 60 per cent of clinical trials in the US have been shut down as they cannot enrol the required number of patients.

The service comes as more people in Hong Kong are being diagnosed with and dying from cancer. According to the latest available statistics, there were 30,318 new cases of cancer in 2015, up from 22,775 in 2005. In 2016, cancer was the cause of every one in three male deaths; the figure was slightly lower for women.

More service providers have also emerged in recent years on the mainland to give people access to medical services through mobile apps, including We Doctor and Ping An Good Doctor.

Clement Chan Wai-kit, chairman of the citys Cancer Patient Alliance and a blood cancer survivor, said it was good to have more information about treatment options. He believed cancer patients in general were open to clinical trials.

Dr Stephen Chan Lam, associate professor from Chinese Universitys department of clinical oncology, said at present a patient hoping to join a clinical trial in Hong Kong usually relied on referrals from doctors. They could also look for ongoing clinical trials themselves on the internet.

But patients need to know how to screen the information ... and rely on their own knowledge for online searches, Chan said.

This article US start-up Driver, backed by Li Ka-shing, matches cancer patients worldwide with clinical trials and treatments in America, China and Singapore first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
Taiwans defence minister Yen Teh-fa has been invited to take part in the US-Taiwan Defence Industry Conference this October.

The move is certain to irk Beijing, which has warned Washington and other countries against having high-level military exchanges with the self-ruled island.

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, which organises the event, confirmed to the South China Morning Post that the council has invited Yen to the event.

If Yen accepts the invitation, he will be the first defence minister from Taiwan to take part in the event since 2008.

The US-Taiwan Defence Industry Conference 2018 will be held between October 28 and 30 in Annapolis, Maryland.

It will be the 17th edition of the annual event which, according to the council, is intended to address future US cooperation with Taiwan, the defence procurement process and Taiwans security needs.

This year, the conference will open with a discussion on Taiwans role in the US Indo-Pacific strategy, and look at how Taiwan can increase regional engagement on defence and national security issues, it said.

Beijing regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland and has not ruled out the use of force to do so. It has also stepped up the pressure on the island in recent months, conducting military exercises and tightening the diplomatic squeeze on Taipei.

Taiwans defence ministry said it was still deciding who would attend the conference.

But a Taiwanese military source said that Yen was expected to accept the invitation, given that it was a good chance for him to exchange views directly with US officials and congressmen.

Actually, during a parliamentary session in May, he told legislators if he was invited, he would consider going, the source said.

If Yen does attend, he is expected to make a keynote speech on Taiwans strategic role in the Indo-Pacific, according to the conference agenda.

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While the council has yet to announce which senior official will represent the US, it has announced that speakers will include delegates from the Department of Commerce, arms companies such as BAE Systems and Raytheon Company and several think tanks.

Hammond-Chambers said the council has invited defence ministers from Taiwan to attend the event every year since 2002.

Taiwans ministers of defence have attended the conference in the past, he said.

Taiwan sent then defence minister Tang Yao-ming to attend the 2002 event and in 2008 Chen Chao-ming led a delegation.

In other years junior ministers and defence officials have attended.

Analysts said Taiwanese defence ministers have generally stayed away from the event due to the likely response from Beijing, which could cause unnecessary problems for the US.

Edward Chen I-hsin, professor of political science at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said technically speaking the invite for Yen this year is in line with the 2019 US National Defence Authorisation Act and serves to facilitate high-level military exchanges between the two sides.

In the wake of the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, the invite can be seen as Washington playing the Taiwan card to try to force concessions from Beijing, he said.

According to the act signed by US President Donald Trump on August 13, the Secretary of Defence should promote exchanges that enhance the security of Taiwan.

These should include opportunities for practical training and military exercises with Taiwan.

They also include exchanges between senior defence officials and military officers that are consistent with the Taiwan Travel Act  a law signed by Trump earlier this year to allow high-level official exchange visits with the island.

This article US-Taiwan council risks Beijings anger by inviting Taipei minister to defence industry conference 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:
An alternative to propping up coal power plants: Retrain workers for solar

Posted on 6 September 2018 by Guest Author

Joshua M. Pearce, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Trump administration announced new pollution rules for coal-fired power plants designed to keep existing coal power plants operating more and save American coal mining jobs.

Profitability for U.S. coal power plants has plummeted, and one major coal company after another has filed for bankruptcy, including the worlds largest private-sector coal company, Peabody Energy.

The main reason coal is in decline is less expensive natural gas and renewable energy like solar. Coal employment has dropped so low there are fewer than 53,000 coal miners in total in the U.S. (for comparison, the failing retailer J.C. Penny has about twice as many workers).

The EPA estimates the new rules will cause about 1,400 more premature deaths a year from coal-related air pollution by 2030. The Trump administration could avoid the premature American deaths from coal pollution  which amount to about 52,000 per year in total  and still help the coal miners themselves by retraining them for a more profitable industry, such as the solar industry.

A study I co-authored analyzed the question of retraining current coal workers for employment in the solar industry. We found that this transition is feasible in most cases and would even result in better pay for nearly all of the current coal workers.

How to make the jump?

What is left of the coal mining industry represents a unique demographic compared to the rest of America. It is white (96.4 percent); male (96.2 percent); aging, with an average age of 43.8 years old; and relatively uneducated, with 76.7 percent having earned only a high school degree or equivalent. Many are highly skilled, however, with the largest sector of jobs being equipment operators at 27 percent. Many of these skills can be transferred directly into the solar industry.

In the study, we evaluated the skill sets of current coal workers and tabulated salaries. For each type of coal position, we determined the closest equivalent solar position and tried to match current coal salaries. We then quantified the time and investment required to retrain each worker.

Our results show there is a wide variety of employment opportunities in solar  the industry overall already employs more than five times more people than in coal mining, at over 250,000 by one industry group estimate. We also found the annual pay is generally better at all levels of education, even with the lowest-skilled jobs. For example, janitors in the coal industry could increase their salaries by 7 percent by becoming low-skilled mechanical assemblers in the solar industry.

Overall, we found that after retraining, technical workers (the vast majority) would make more money in the solar industry than they do in coal. Also note this study was about careers and was done before an uptick in the practice of hiring temporary coal workers. The only downside on salaries we found are that managers and particularly executives would make less in solar than coal. This represents only about 3.2 percent of coal workers that are professional administrators.

Retraining needs

How would coal workers make this transition? There are over 40 types of solar jobs which the DOE has mapped out. They range from entry-level jobs, such as installers, to more advanced positions in engineering and technical design. Most coal workers could not simply walk into a solar job; they would need some retraining. But certain positions require less training.

For example, a structural engineer in the coal industry would not expect to need additional schooling to work as one in the solar industry. And for some coal employees, the retraining would amount to only a short course or on-the-job training. This is particularly true for installers, which represents the most common and geographically spread solar jobs.

There are various programs already set up to do this, such as Californias solar apprenticeship program or one in Oregon, for example, and another through the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

More advanced positions would require more education. Some solar-related engineering positions call for up to a four-year university degree, which has a large range in costs, from US$18,000 to over $136,000, depending on the school.

Our paper includes appendices that can help current coal workers match their existing job to the best potential fits in solar, as well as what training theyll need. (Please note the costs and specific schools used are only examples and are not meant to be prescriptive; for example, most coal miners that need college credits would be able to find less expensive options at their own state schools.)

Overall, the analysis showed that a relatively minor investment  viewed from a nationwide retraining perspective  would allow the vast majority of coal miners to switch to solar-related positions. In the worst-case scenario we calculated, the cost was $1.87 billion.

Counting the benefits

Although there was a dip in solar jobs last year, in general the solar industry needs trained workers. Since the rapid decrease in the costs of solar photovoltaic technology, unsubsidized solar is now often the least expensive source of electric power, and solar deployment is rising in the U.S.

The way I see it, if the country retrains coal miners for the solar industry, the workers themselves win by making larger salaries in a growing field; America wins because we will be more economically competitive with lower-cost electricity; America wins again because of lower health care costs and reduced premature deaths from coal-fired air pollution; America wins a third time because of an improved economy and solar-related employment; and even the environment wins.

President Trump could even win by taking credit for it  he did recently sign an executive order that boosts American apprenticeships, which could be used to train coal workers for solar jobs. That is a lot of winning.
Slate today is taking the rare step of publishing a letter someone sent us from inside an ongoing bank robbery. We have done so at the request of the author, who is currently robbing a bank, but would like to minimize his exposure to criminal charges from this whole bank robbery thing now that it seems to be going south. We invite you to submit a question about this essay or our vetting process here.

Machine Gun Bill McGuire, the leader of the gang of hardened criminals currently robbing the First National Bank, is facing a test to his leadership unlike any faced by a modern American bank robber.

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Its not just that the building is surrounded by police officers. Or that hes running out of hostages to bargain with. Or even that the sentries he posted in the loading dock dont seem to be responding over their walkie-talkies anymore.

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The dilemmawhich he does not fully graspis that many of the senior henchmen inside his own gang are working diligently from within the bank to paint ourselves as heroes in the press while continuing to stuff our duffel bags with as much money as we can grab.

I would know. I am one of them.

To be clear, ours is not the popular police department of the government, the one that enforces the laws against robbing banks. We want the robbery to succeed and think that the part where we made the bank clerks hand over all the money in their drawers at gunpoint was a step in the right direction.

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But we believe our first duty is to make it out of the bank alive so we can spend the money we have stolen, and Machine Gun McGuire continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to our escape.

That is why many members of the Gratuitously Murder All the Bank Tellers, Even If They Are Out Sick on the Day of the Robbery Gang have vowed to do what we can to murder slightly fewer bank tellers during this particular robbery, while blaming as much of the whole crime spree as possible on Machine Gun McGuire as we shoot our way to the getaway vehicle. In this sense, we, too, are police officers.

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The root of the problem is Machine Gun McGuires collection of machine guns. Its the kind of thing you might think would have sent up some red flags for us back in the job interview stage, or when we saw just how many machine guns Machine Gun McGuire considers normal to take to go on a Starbucks run (a lot of machine guns, it turns out), or when everyone who had ever met Machine Gun McGuire told us in no uncertain terms that he was a murderous, monumentally stupid lunatic and nothing but disaster would befall anyone who agreed to work for him. But you have to understand: Robbing banks pays very, very well. And until quite recently, we believed we were going to be able to continue traipsing up and down the west coast in a sort of endless summer of crime, lazily trying to catch the perfect robbery and the perfect wave, and all without hurting anyone but the banks, whove kind of had it coming since the 2008 financial crisis, so whos really the villain here? But then we forgot to disable the silent alarm at First National, and before we knew it there were flashing blue lights everywhere we looked, and suddenly we realized that stealing was wrong and Machine Gun McGuire was a bad, bad man.

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Although we, personally, had hoped not to machine gun anyone we didnt have to, we have to regretfully report that Machine Gun McGuire shows little affinity for not shooting people with machine guns. Were going to keep emphasizing Machine Gun McGuires outsized personality and big, attention-grabbing nickname, so you pay less attention to the way were edging toward the back stairwell with these tasteful, understated black duffel bags. Come to think of it, it looks like Machine Gun McGuire is preparing for a last-ditch shootout in the main lobby of the bank, so you should probably all be looking over in that direction, dont you think?

The result is a two-track bank robbery.

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Take the lobby: Machine Gun McGuire is hollering, Eat lead, coppers! and rat-a-tat-tatting his way off the planet in a demented blaze of glory, which means hes also going to be stepping down from his leadership position in our gang, in whichand we cannot mention this enoughhe made all the important decisions. Its really entertaining to watch!

Astute observers have noted, though, that the rest of Machine Gun McGuires gang is operating on another track, moving smoothly up the stairs while everyone watches their erstwhile leader do his best Butch Cassidy imitation in the lobby.

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Cody Jarrett put it best in his farewell letter. All Americans should heed his words and quit worrying about who stole what from whom, or who killed which bank tellers when, or whos trying to convince you that theyre some kind of a secret hero now that theyre afraid theyre going to get caught and miss out on the wingnut lecture circuit, all with the high aim of, uh, unifying our country, I guess? Im sorry, Im not snickering at you, I was just thinking of something funny that happened earlier today.

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There is a quiet resistance within this bank robbery of people choosing to put countryno, humanity!first. These heroes should be allowed to make their way to the roof, where theres a fully-fueled helicopter Machine Gun McGuire didnt know about, ready to take off for an indeterminate location in the Pacific northwest along with all the money we can carry. Its hard to overstate how brave our selfless, tireless service as informal, freelance police officers inside this bank robbery has been, or how grateful the nation should feel about everything weve accomplished here. Because despite the fact that were essentially the greatest patriots in human history, we know that the real difference will be made when everyday citizens rise above politics, reach across the aisle, and resolve, with tears in their eyes, that we get to keep everything we stole.
On Wednesday night in New York, 13-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and upstart John Millman fought each other and the oppressive heat in a quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open. While Djokovic eventually got the win in straight sets, the heat was the nights big winner.

With the score tied 2-2 in the second set, Millman told the chair umpire that he was too sweaty to continue, and he was allowed to leave the court to get a change of clothes.

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US Open statement on that 2-2 mess between Millman and Djokovic: pic.twitter.com/E2Anpdopyg  Carole Bouchard (@carole_bouchard) September 6, 2018

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I dont know what to do about it, Im sweaty, I dont want to change, Millman told Djokovic. While his Aussie opponent got a new kit, Djokovic took off his own shirt and relaxed courtside.

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On Monday night, it had been Millmans opponent Roger Federer who was ravaged by the humidity. Was just one of those nights where I guess I felt I couldnt get air; there was no circulation at all, Federer said. I dont know, for some reason, I just struggled in the conditions tonight. Its one of the first times its happened to me. He added, Everything feels off when youre hot.

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Millman, too, appeared insanely sweaty during his fourth-round win over Federer, though he didnt request a special break to peel off his gross-looking shirt.

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The U.S. Open invented new rules on the fly during this years event to give players a break from the 90-plus-degree temperatures, allowing for 10-minute breaks between sets. The conditions in the tournaments showcase court, Arthur Ashe Stadium, have been particularly horrific; as Tom Perrotta noted in the Wall Street Journal, air doesnt appear to circulate well in the stadium since the addition of a retractable roof in 2016.

Deadspins Giri Nathan, who noted on Wednesday that American John Isner changed his shirt 11 times during his quarterfinal match, suggests closing the roof at Ashe Stadium, providing both players and fans with a pleasant, air-conditioned environment. And if bringing air conditioning to a Grand Slam event is too big of a break with tradition, maybe they can add a really big ceiling fan.
The 13th season of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia opens with a voice weve never heard before on the long-running comedy. What an awesome night its been! exclaims Mindy Kaling in her signature upbeat chirp, her fuchsia and grass-green outfit brighter and more joyful than anything weve ever seen on this beer-soaked, shit-stained, can-never-feel-clean-again grimefest of a sitcom. And yet more jarring still might be the crowd that Kalings con artist Cindy has managed to draw to the usually empty Paddys Pub. New patrons have flocked to Cindys Night of Liberal Conversation and Liberal Drinkinga scheme that, like so many of the Gangs, is destined to implode by the end of the episode. Hilariously playing on internet rumors about Kalings supposed conservatism (long ago disavowed), The Gang Makes Paddys Great Again finds Cindy in a red cap making fun of liberal morons. In the end, though, shes just as happy peddling wine bottles labeled Liberal Tears as she is pushing Conservative Whine. Eager to exploit the hostile tribalism of the current political climate, her only loyalty is to her personal gain.

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Cindys extreme cynicism, combined with her elaborate ploys, makes her the perfect replacement for Dennis (Glenn Howerton), who we last saw departing for North Dakota to parent the son he didnt know he had. (Howertons casting on NBCs A.P. Bio fueled speculation that the actor might be leaving the FXX show for good, and the Sunny team dumped its share of gasoline on that fire by, among other things, leaving Howertons name off the opening credits in the premiere.) Like Dennis and his father, Frank (Danny DeVito), Cindy is a stupid persons idea of a smart person: Her personality mostly consists of condescension and a taxonomic vision of the world that divides people into hustlers and chumps (or, uh, winners and losers). And yet shes an indubitable improvement over Dennis: She doesnt compulsively put down the rest of the Gang, especially Dennis sister Dee (Kaitlin Olson), and she doesnt seem to need constant affirmation that shes superior to everyone around her.

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But when Dennis abruptly reappears, the Gang quickly casts Cindy aside. In some ways, he never left. The presence of a horrifying sex doll made in Dennis image, its open mouth seemingly mid-rant, is all thats necessary for the Gang to hear in their minds exactly what their absent friend would have said: Dee is ugly, Mac (Rob McElhenney) is fat, Charlie (Charlie Day) is dumb, Frank is embarrassing. Cindy pleads her case for the new, Dennis-less Gang hardest to Dee: Theyre just going to go back to treating you like shit the minute I leave. Us ladies, weve gotta stick together. Dees response is utterly, pathetically true to herself: I kinda like being the only woman, because it makes me feel special. And so the show returns to its equilibrium, with Dennis back to lead and shame his friends and family.

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The return to the starting point is a cliche of the sitcom format, as well as a key source of the genres low stakes and unchanging appeal. But as an uncommonly smart series with a tendency to lacerate pop culture tropes, Sunny treats its own characters relapses to square one not as the usual concession to formula, but as pointed commentary on their lazy and ultimately self-defeating refusal to change. At this point in the series, no one in the Gang particularly likes or respects the others, and yet they continue to stick it out in the toxic stew that is their group relationship, willingly boiled to death in their own dysfunction and inertia.

Threats to the Gangs membership have often come in the form of foils for the main characters, of which Cindy is only the latest. As Dennis and Dees father, Frank had his relatively late entry into the high school friends close-knit circle challenged when a kindly philanthropist played by Stephen Collins turned up and announced he was the twins biological dad, though it turned out the siblings degenerate lifestyle better aligns with a father whose professed goal for his final years is to wallow in the gutter. Mac would have lost his place in the Gang to his exactly-like-him-in-every-way-but-better cousin, Country Mac (Seann William Scott), if it werent for the latters sudden death from being such a badass. Schmitty (Jason Sudekis), a high school bud free of the psychosexual hang-ups that render his old friends sexual pariahs, is the guys Platonic ideal, but he only thrives, by townie standards anyway, once hes gotten rid of them.

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But Cindy isnt just any foil. As she herself puts it, shes a brown-skinned girl, and so her eventual ejection from the Gang, while inevitable, feels different from previous iterations of this storyline. The Sunny writers know that their morally grotesque characters are uncomfortable around black people, routinely stereotype other people of color, and mistreat women on a regular basis. (One of the shows most remarkable aspects is its high-wire ability to engage in politically incorrect humor that seldom feels like its punching down.) But women and people of color are rarely suggested as substitutions for one of the Gangs members, so Cindys ousting becomes one of the shows most forceful reminders that, while the group regularly brushes off outsiders, that closed-mindedness includes a refusal to treat anyone whos not a white man as a potential coequal. If the Gang previously seemed like dirtbags whose actions largely happened to be racist and sexist, Cindys expulsion suggests that their uglier qualities were meant to be the text, rather than the subtext, all along.

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Fans of Sunny know that its not just the Gang thats insular. For a show so attuned to its characters blind spots, the creators didnt seem particularly aware of their own until recently. It took until the 130th episode for the series to have its first female director, for instancea statistic all the more glaring because of the much-touted campaign by FX, Sunnys original network, to hire more women and/or people of color as directors.

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The question thats greeted every new season of Sunny in the last few years has been: Will the show keep up its shockingly high quality for another year? After watching the new seasons first four episodes, Im not sure. But those early installments certainly suggest that the show is reaching for freshness through topicality and self-examination. The third episode tackles female reboots, and the surprisingly introspective fourth episode reacts to #MeToo by re-evaluating its own storylines in the context of contemporary mores without relinquishing the characters creepiness one bit. If certain episodes in later seasons can feel a bit too insidery by relying on callbacks to more than a dozen years worth of plotlines, at least the show is proving extremely adaptive to the fact that our goal posts for decency, and for the jokes dependent on deftly dancing around them, are rapidly moving. Thankfully, its catching up fast.
Roy Moore, the former Alabama senatorial candidate and Ten Commandments aficionado whose campaign imploded amidst allegations that he had a habit of sexually harassing teenage girlsallegations Moore has deniedis suing comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for $95 million for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud, Variety reports. At issue is Moores humiliating appearance on Cohens Showtime series This Is America, in a segment in which Cohen, pretending to be an Israeli security expert, demonstrated a pedophile detector to Moore, who kept setting it off. Heres the segment Roy Moore doesnt want you to see:

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The most brilliant part of Sacha Baron Cohens work has always been getting people who cannot possibly benefit from appearing on a Sacha Baron Cohen show to sign releases, and Moores legal complaint gives some details on how this part of the con worked:

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In order to fraudulently induce Judge Moore and Mrs. Moore to travel to Washington D.C., where filming was to and did take place, and where the majority of acts pled herein occurred, on or about February 14, 2018, Defendant Cohen and his agents falsely and fraudulently represented to Plaintiff that Yerushalayim TVwhich does not actually existwas the producer and broadcaster of the show that later appeared on Showtime. In addition, Defendant Cohen and his agents falsely and fraudulently represented that Judge Moore and Mrs. Moore were both being invited to Washington D.C., for Judge Moore to receive an award for his strong support of Israel in commemoration of its 70th anniversary as a nation state. This ceremony, and presentation of this award, Defendant Cohen falsely and fraudulently represented was to occur during the interview.

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The results of Cohens fraud, according to Moores filing, have been utterly disastrous, in the sense that they reminded everyone about the nine separate women who came forward to accuse Moore of sexual misconduct, including one who said hed sexually assaulted her when she was 14 and he was 32:

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As a direct and proximate result of Defendants and their agents extreme, outrageous, and malicious defamatory conduct set forth above, Judge Moore has been the subject of widespread ridicule and humiliation and has suffered severe loss of reputation, which in turn also caused him, Mrs. Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress and pain and financial damage, especially given his status as a prominent conservative and a God fearing person of faith.

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Weirdly, Moore didnt ask for any damages for the part of the segment where Cohen tricked him into saying that Alabama had always been a state known for its dedication to freedom and equality for all its citizens. Still, if Moore thinks his relatively anodyne This Is America segment did $95 million in damage, what on earth is he going to want for this devastating Jimmy Kimmel bit from the night he lost his Senate race?

Showtime responded to news of the lawsuit in a statement, saying, The press has been sent copies of an alleged complaint, yet to our knowledge SHOWTIME has not been served. With that said, we do not comment on pending litigation. However this plays out in the courts, one thing is clear: $95 million would be a small price to pay to get Roy Moore out of politics for good.
The Pickle, a food and cooking advice column, was written by The Art of Gay Cooking author Daniel J. Isengart. You can follow all of his work at his website.

I know recipes are notoriously bad at estimating how long they take, but I do feel like every time I try a new one, it takes me way longer than it seems like it should. I only ever try new recipes on the weekends now because I fear Ill lose my whole day. How can I get faster at cooking so that I can try new things more often?

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It seems to me that you are dealing with two separate problems at once: your relationship to time (how you are willing to spend it) and a tendency to pick recipes that may be a bit too elaborate or advanced for you to complete in a reasonable period.

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On the first point, Id ask why you think of occasionally spending a day in the kitchen as a loss? One of the thrills we can experience in the kitchen (or any other working space that demands our full attention) is being in the zone, something that happens when we are so immersed in what we do that we completely lose sense of time while being in sync with it. Two, four, six hours can go by in a pinch. I cherish these moments, which dancers refer to controlled abandon. Naturally, this state of grace can only be achieved when you feel confident about what you are doing. So lets figure out a way to build up your confidence, for both weeknight meals and more involved cooking alike.

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Next time you pick a new recipe, try to project the amount of time it will take you to make the dish from beginning to endnot by reading (and believing) the time the recipe is giving but by mentally going in great detail through each step. In other words, acquaint yourself with the recipe before you even step into the kitchen. Try not only to grasp which step follows which, but why. Ideally, with the exception of occasionally looking up measurements, you will not need to refer to the recipe anymore while you are preparing it, freeing yourself to focus on the actual task at hand and its immediate results. Consider that nothing is more time-consuming than the constant checking of a written text: It interrupts the energy flow, slowing you down not just physically but mentally. If you realize that the recipe is too complex for you to memorize the steps, then you should either pick another one or prepare yourself for the fact that it will take you more time than expectedand schedule accordingly.

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Also, it might help you to actually revisit recipes that took you longer than expected when you made them for the first time. Chances are it will go faster the second or third time around because you will know where youre going. And how else would you register your learning curve? There is much pleasure in realizing that what took you forever the first time is a breeze the second time around. This is the kind of thing that will boost your confidence to forge ahead into more uncharted territory with the enthusiasm and commitment of the explorer.

Try not only to grasp which step follows which, but why.

One more thing to consider is the importance of setting up your kitchen well: Your equipment and tools should be neatly stored for easy access, and you should have an uncluttered working station for all your prep work. You might also adopt a very useful principle required in restaurant cooking known as mise en place: Place all the items and ingredients you are going to need to prepare the dish on the counter, within reach but not in the way.

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Ultimately, its both your mental approach and your practical experience that will not only make you a more proficient cook but a better and more relaxed one, as well.

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Read More From the Pickle

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A friend of mine makes their own charcuterie. What is a polite way to tell them that I feel unsafe eating it?

Since the word charcuterie is quite generic, lets differentiate between chilled charcuterie such as pates and fresh sausages; smoked bacon, ham, and sausages; and, finally, dry-cured salume (the Italian word for charcuterie). The former onesthe cooked kindare almost as benign as any cooked meat products as long as they are fresh, and your level of wariness should equal the one you have toward anything prepared by your friend. I wont get into the smoked category here because it seems less likely to apply to your situation. (Smoking meat and sausages to the point of them acquiring a long shelf life without refrigeration demands a contraption that is even moreway moreelaborate than classic American-style barbecuing.) I suspect that your friend is trying their hand at dry-curing sausages. Making these is indeed a daunting task because one needs not only immaculately clean and fairly precise conditions; they must also be fastidious about proper handling of the raw ingredients, the preparation (hopefully including the addition of carefully measured sodium nitrite, which inhibits bacterial growth), the air-curing process, and finally, storage, to get a safe, durable product. Arguably, the sausage maker should be the first to know when their product has gone bad because that is fairly noticeable to eye and nose, but I would not call this form of detection a reliable method by any standard.

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On the other hand, I would think that any reasonable person deciding to go down the sausage casing has done some extensive research and figured out how to make their product safeafter all, I assume that they would want to consume it too.

Lets assume your friend gives you a pair of dried sausages as a gift. This is one instance where you might get away with a white lie and pretend that you not only ate them but enjoyed them. Be careful with your praise, though, because too much enthusiasm is likely to invite unwanted seconds.

The trickier scenario is that you find yourself at a dinner party where the proud sausage maker is present, their products are part of the menu, and your tasting of them is not only encouraged but expected. It makes me cringe in sympathy to think of it, for I too have been in situations where I was a dining guest somewhere and the hosts standards of cleanliness or aesthetics turned out to be so far below mine that eating anything coming out of their kitchen was a hurdle I would have preferred to skip. One gambit would be to show interest in the process. At the very least, youd find out how invested the charcuterie fan is in this risky game. Dont be shy of asking the pertinent question: But how do you make sure that it does not go bad? Their answer might even swerve your reluctance. Show some admiration by making it clear that you are very sensitive to food-safety issues, implying that you are aware that uttermost exactitude is called for to accomplish this venerable task.

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Which, in fact, it is: In preindustrial ages and before refrigerators became the norm in virtually every household, sausage makers were highly regarded artisans. After all, they were the only ones who knew how to transform highly priced fresh meat into a durable commodity. The irony of this story is that meanwhile, the really dirty business is found not in an ambitious home cooks kitchen but in the processing plants of the meat industry. How strange that we would place more trust into these businesses than into someone who passionately commits to make something from scratch.

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Living in NYC, I order delivery or pick up a quick salad for dinner 90 percent of the time. Now that I moved into a new apartment with a full kitchen, Im debating trying to cook more, but my one saucepan and spatula are about all I have for utensils and tools. Any advice on what products are essential for a novice cook?

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Congratulationsthis is the end of your salad days! You are mere steps away from becoming a member of the club of home cooks and embracing the bliss of domesticity (or what my husband calls dough-mysticity).

Setting up your kitchen as your new playground can be great fun, and I am very glad you are asking me how to go about getting the right inventory: I get to cook in many kitchens whose owners have never prepared a single dish from scratch in their life yet felt confident enough to buy what they considered necessary basic equipment or entrusted an interior decorator with the task, with often laughable results, the latter case being even more risible for its cost.

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Two points upfront: Dont think small (cooking small portions is easier in medium or large vessels, saving you from mild attacks of claustrophobia) and dont buy sets of anything, ever. (They are merely manufacturers ruses to get you to buy more than you really need.)

To keep up your laudable quick-salad habit but make it homemade, get a salad spinner and a large storage container for your leafy greens and herbs (glass or plasticjust remember to always include a sheet of paper towel in it to absorb excess moisture to prevent the greens from spoiling too fast).

Next would be a large wooden cutting board for cutting, slicing, and chopping virtually everything except meat, poultry, and seafood. Wood because it is kinder to your knives and large because this will allow you to chop whatever you need without 90 percent of it falling off by the wayside. (Definitely avoid those diminutive little cutting boards that are more fit for cutting up a lime for a vodka tonic.) For the aforementioned meats, you should have a separate cutting board made of plastic, this one medium-size so it will fit into your sink for proper cleaning.

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As far as knives are concerned, no need to develop a fetish: A large, good-quality chefs or vegetable knife (I like the Japanese Santoku shape) and a paring knife should do. You might add a medium-size serrated knife for citrus and vegetables with waxy skins like tomatoes and peppers. If you like crusty bread, get a bread knife. Unless you intend to make big meat roasts on the bone, a carving knife will not be of any use. As for tools, get a vegetable peeler, a wooden spoon, a whisk, and metal tongs. Perhaps a box grater and a micro zester.

One crucial equipment most noncooks dont think of is mixing bowls. I recommend easy-to-handle stainless steel; glass breaks easily, stoneware is heavy, and plasticwell, really, who wants more plastic in their lives than absolutely necessary? Again, stay clear of sets and think big: No one can cook up a storm (or toss a salad) in a teacup.

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To your saucepan, add a medium-size non-stick frying pan, perhaps a cast iron or stainless steel pan for searing, and a large pot (big enough to fit a whole chicken) for soups and boiling potatoes and pasta. A Dutch oven is a must for braises, risottos, pasta sauces, and anything slow-cooked. Youll also need a large fine-mesh sieve for draining things, a glass baking dish for gratins, a couple of rimmed baking sheets (aluminum; dont buy the cheap tin ones sold in supermarkets, as they conduct heat very badly and burn everything before the process is done) for roasting vegetables and baking cookies. The next level moves you into the modern age, with a food processor for purees (and quick short crusts) and a blender (for blended soups, shakes, and the like). Dont think that a hybrid between the two is a smart solutionits a machine that merely cannot handle either function well. A stand mixer is a luxury, but a hand mixer for beating cream, cake batter, and egg whites will fluff up your culinary life. Which bring us to pie dishes and tart shells. As you can tell, this list can grow quickly, so Ill stop here.

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Well, actually here: Dont forget to a get few sturdy, all-cotton dish towels. Not just for drying dishes but for handling hot pots, wiping down your kitchen counter, and, most importantly, drying your hands.

Notice that I did not endorse any specific brands or disclose the ones I preferthe choice is always yours. But dont make that choice online: Go out there and visit an actual kitchen store. This is not just functional stuff; there are tactile and aesthetic elements to consider that will enhance your sense of joy and ownership when you begin working with your new tools.
Rabbit Holes is a recurring series in which writers pay homage to the diversity and ingenuity of the ways we procrastinate now. To pitch your personal rabbit hole, email humaninterest@slate.com.

Somehow, a few months ago on deadline, I found myself digging through a subreddit dedicated to someone who seemed like he must be the manliest man ever to walk the planet. He was raised and toughened in the frigid wastelands of Northern Alberta, had flown a hammer-head roll in a carbon-fiber stunt-plane, and built a Native American longhouse on the upper floor of his Toronto home. Was he the Most Interesting Man in the World? No, it was just Jordan Peterson, his titillating Random House biography mockingly supplied by my new favorite subreddit, r/enoughpetersonspam.

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For the uninitiated, Jordan Peterson rose to fame when he took a very public stance against a Canadian bill that would extend the Canadian Human Rights Code to protect gender identity and gender expression. Peterson expounded on the thought policing of it all and indicated that this signaled the beginning of the Wests death march to the gulags. He became a lauded figure in conservative free speech circles. From there, he parlayed that notoriety into a book deal, and that book became a best-seller.

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I didnt know any of this when I heard Petersons name for the first time, from the mouth of someone I had been seeing. Id known my boyfriend and I had different values. He was a libertarian who trawled Reddit and had some weird views on postmodernism. Since his parents had fled the Cultural Revolution, I figured I didnt have any right to question his conservatism. Slowly, though, I became aware that he had strong feelings about this Peterson character. Everyone wants to argue with Peterson but no one wants to engage with Peterson, he sighed. I took this as a challenge. I would be a responsible human and investigate this guys beliefs objectively.

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I dove into YouTube lectures and Joe Rogan interviews, and of course, Petersons recent self-help book, 12 Rules for Living. At first I thought my boyfriends Peterson fixation was a little funny, but I soon became alarmed and frustrated. I realized that Peterson wrote widely across a variety of subjects to add a veneer of intellect to his foul views about women and rape, Islam, and leftist college students. As I dug deeper and deeper into internet research, my notes on the horrors of Petersons ideology spilled over into three different note-taking apps, several Microsoft Word documents, and endless texts to friends. Reader, I had spiraled.

It takes the troll-y, flippant attitude that has radicalized so many men, and flips it back on one of their most prized intellectual figures.

Enter: Feb. 8, 2018, 2:17 p.m. My best friend wordlessly sent me the r/enoughpetersonspam subreddit, the way I assume a sleep-deprived mother would offer her whining child a bottle. It seemed to be borne out of a similarly minded subreddit called r/badphilosophy, which apparently received such an influx of Peterson-related discussion they had to issue a moratorium.

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Everything on this subreddit is meant to express an irreverent disdain for Peterson. It draws a bunch of diverse voices: feminists, of course, but also former Peterson admirers, philosophy professors, people of all political stripes. Members are jokingly referred to as crawfish, as in: There are currently over 8 million asexually reproducing crawfish subscribed to the year-old subreddit. (Peterson infamously uses the first chapter of his book to defend hierarchies in society by describing the highly stratified way lobsters reproduce. The humble crayfish is the groups cheeky reply to that dubious argument.) There are dank memes, like this one about life-changing hygiene tips, and this one, which imagines the real-life origins of Petersons big ideas. This irreverent humor struck me as the perfect response to Peterson fans, who constantly claim that Peterson has been misunderstood or taken out of context by his haters, or that he simply knows more than you do. The subreddit takes the troll-y, flippant attitude that has radicalized so many men, and flips it back on one of their most prized intellectual figures.

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There are also some moments of real reflection. In the Ex-Lobster Tank, former Peterson acolytes gather to share their experiences with the ideology they once subscribed to. I remember combing these early stories, hoping to identify the breaking point for each so I could strengthen my arguments for my own Lobster. But it always seemed to be more than one moment that did them in, a process that certainly wouldnt be sped up by long-winded antagonistic dissertations. It can feel a little like being gaslit to engage with Peterson fans, maybe because theyre being gaslit themselves. Peterson is great at sandwiching harmful views between harmless generalities. I spent days alone on the subreddit, reading story after story about peoples attachment to a huckster who pretended to help them and then slowly weaponized that admiration. In the end, r/enoughpetersonspam helped me figure out what parts of Petersons ideology were worth seriously engaging with, and which were merely laughable.

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I dont know when exactly I put down my notes apps and gave up this obsession. I do know it took me months to end things with the Lobster, and even longer to stop earnestly discussing politics with him. But r/enoughpetersonspam became a salve for my political, ethical, and romantic frustrations. The more I aligned myself with the droll voices of the subreddit, the less my boyfriends views seemed like something that I personally had to fix. When he shrugged off a video of Peterson saying that feminists align themselves with Muslims (a glaring generalization to begin with) because of their unconscious wish for brutal male domination, I realized his fanboying wasnt something that could be reasoned with. Debate was futile, and the relationship, I saw at last, was doomed. As one crawfish mod noted in an early post warning against disingenuous engagement, Dont allow yourself to be baited.
This post has been updated with additional information as news develops.

Several senior officials in the Trump administration have denied that they were the author of Wednesdays New York Times op-ed lambasting the president.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in India on Thursday, It is not mine, while Mike Pences spokesman said on Twitter that the vice president and his office are above such amateur acts.

The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts.  Jarrod Agen (@VPComDir) September 6, 2018

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Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross also joined the dog pile:

Kirstjen Nielsen denial: Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homelandnot writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times. These types of political attacks are beneath the secretary and the departments mission. https://t.co/U1SQ4kLj4d  Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) September 6, 2018

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.@stevenmnuchin1 is honored to serve @POTUS & the American people. He feels it was irresponsible for @nytimes to print this anonymous piece. Now, dignified public servants are forced to deny being the source. It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary.  Tony Sayegh Jr. (@tony4ny) September 6, 2018

I am not the author of the New York Times OpEd, nor do I agree with its characterizations. Hiding behind anonymity and smearing the President of the United States does not make you an "unsung hero", it makes you a coward, unworthy of serving this Nation.  Rick Perry (@SecretaryPerry) September 6, 2018

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I did not write and am thoroughly appalled by this op-ed. I couldnt be prouder of our work at Commerce and of @POTUS. https://t.co/dBlLIGK6g1  Sec. Wilbur Ross (@SecretaryRoss) September 6, 2018

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While these officials are all close to Trump and are seen as loyalists, another official who at times has appeared distant from the president, especially on foreign policy and Russia, weighed in to say it wasnt him. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a statement that speculation that the . op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not.

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Note that other officials went beyond a simple denial to criticize either the op-ed writer or the TimesPompeo said, I find the medias efforts in this regard to undermine this administration incredibly disturbingwhere as Coats statement was far more measured, saying only that the intelligence community he oversees remain[s] focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible.

JUST IN: DNI Dan Coats calls speculation that he or his Principal Deputy authored NYT op-ed patently false. We did not. pic.twitter.com/8FQBXE7L7S  Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) September 6, 2018

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Several other officialsincluding Defense Secretary James Mattis, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, budget director Mick Mulvaney, and CIA Director Gina Haspelissued denials through their spokespeople.

While some Republican senators such as Ben Sasse and Bob Corker said the op-ed was concerning but also largely consistent with what they knew about the White House, one unlikely senatorRand Paulsuggested that the president could force administration officials to undergo polygraph tests to prove it wasnt them.
Less than 24 hours after the New York Times reported that the New Yorkers annual festival would feature an interview with Steve Bannon conducted by New Yorker editor David Remnick, Remnick himself released a statement saying the conversation had been canceled. This followed an uproar on social media and among many of the magazines staffers and contributors for what was seen as giving a platform to white nationalism. (The festival offers a small honorarium, as well as expenses, to interviewees.) In his statement explaining his change of heart, Remnick wrote, There is a better way to do this. Our writers have interviewed Steve Bannon for The New Yorker before, and if the opportunity presents itself Ill interview him in a more traditionally journalistic setting as we first discussed, and not on stage.

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Responding to the controversy, New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephens penned a piece titled, Now Twitter Edits the New Yorker. Stephens wrote, Social media doesnt just get a voice. Now it wields a veto. What used to be thought of as adult supervision yieldsas it already has in Congress and at universitiesto the itch of the crowd. He scolded journalists for failing to understand what he considers part of journalisms mission: putting tough questions to influential people, particularly bad people and expressed dismay at the irascible (and unappeasable) demands of social media mobs. Stephens column, which also alluded to the days when a staff writers public challenge of her editor would have been a firing offense, got its own heated reaction on social media.

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In the wake of all that, I spoke by phone with Stephens, a #NeverTrump conservative and former columnist for the Wall Street Journal. During the course of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, we discussed how to distinguish a Twitter mob from people simply expressing their opinions, whether anyone is too beyond the pale to interview, and how far journalists should be able to go in criticizing their bosses.

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Isaac Chotiner: Do you think that Steve Bannon doesnt hit the awfulness threshold, or do you think that people shouldnt be up in arms about this sort of thing, regardless of who the person being interviewed is?

Bret Stephens: I think Steve Bannon is a newsmaker. There are people who meet awfulness thresholds who arent newsmakers. Steve Bannon, whether we like it or not, doesnt belong in that category, and wishing it were so doesnt make it so. Bannon is the impresario of a style of politicsnationalist, illiberal, in many respects very bigotedthat is globally relevant. And once an invitation was issued to him, I thought there was potentially an interesting journalistic opportunity to put him in front of a hostile audience and ask hard questions and generate news and ideas. And that opportunity has now been lost because of a variety of pressuresmost of them from social mediawhich I dont think serve the public interest.

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Lets say it was Louis Farrakhan. Or lets say it was Richard Spencer. What do you think your feeling would be?

I think its worth thinking through because those are judgment calls. Im not sure Richard Spencer has anywhere near the reach or impact of Steve Bannon. And so I think that people reasonably can disagree, but I dont think he reaches the relevance threshold. Louis Farrakhan strikes me as a has-been and [someone] speaking to a fairly limited audience. I would also wonder whether he met that threshold. But Bannon does, in the way that Vladimir Putin does, or [Irans supreme leader] Ali Khamenei does. These arent people I like. They are people I detest. I detest Steve Bannon, by the way. But the purpose of journalism isntas Malcolm Gladwell put itto organize dinner parties.

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You wrote a column in 2007 about Irans then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being invited to speak at Columbia University. In the column, you bring up Hitler and write that [Lionel] Trilling might have said that in hosting and perhaps debating Hitler, Columbias faculty and students would not have been confronting him, much as they might have gulled themselves into believing they were. And Hitler at Columbia would merely have been a man at a podium, offering his ideas on this or that, and not the master of a huge terror apparatus bearing down on you. To suggest that such an event amounts to a confrontation, or offers a perspective on reality, is a bit like suggesting that one confronts a wild animal by staring at it through its cage at a zoo. The idea is that its a liberal fantasy that hearing from a Hitler or Ahmadinejad will lead to increased understanding, and people who want to destroy you or kill you or change your society cant be reasoned with. You mentioned Khamenei now, not Ahmadinejad, but do you think Bannon doesnt fall into this category? Whats the difference?

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I think the difference is that citing a column from 11 years ago that says something somewhat different than what I am saying today only indicates that I changed my mind. And I changed my mind for various reasons: maturity, I hope. Reconsideration. And a sense that today, more so than in 2007, the issues of free speech and the free exchange of ideas have to be thought of differently. At the time, I thought Ahmadinejad was a dangerous outlier and that there was less to be gained from inviting him to Columbia than from keeping him away. Now I think about it differently.

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Back then, the progressive view was lets hear from anyone and everyone. And there are of course risks to that. It is not as if I am blind to the argument that giving a platform to bigoted and dangerous individuals doesnt carry risks. But I thinkand its a conclusion I have come to over these many yearsthat the risk is probably not as great as the risk of setting ourselves up in thought bubbles or silos that fail to expose us to ideas that, like it or not, we are going to have to grapple with.

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I agree a lot of progressives have changed on this, in the opposite direction. The concern now is less that free speech is endangered, but rather that white nationalist or fascist ideas are much more of a threat, and so we have to shun certain dangerous voices.

Citing a column from 11 years ago that says something somewhat different than what I am saying today only indicates that I changed my mind.  Bret Stephens

One of the things that the ascendancy of Trump has done for me is helped clarifyas few other things havethe importance of standing for core liberal values. Ten or 12 years ago, it didnt seem to me that those values were under threat, at least in mainstream American politics. That is to say that I thought Republicans were basically as committed to free speech as Democrats were, and as committed to other foundational liberal ideas. I am using the word liberal in the more old-fashioned sense. Politics took place within narrow parameters. Certain fundamental values of liberal democracy were not at risk.

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But now you have a president whose explicit message is illiberal, including on the subject of free speech and the media. And I dont see how those of us who care about liberalism can usefully stand up to Trump by espousing what amounts to a counter-illiberalism. The right response to a president who wants to trash the First Amendment is to honor the First Amendment. The right response to a president who wants to quash dissenting voices is to hear from dissenting voices.

You write in the piece that the gradual degradation of editorial authority is another depressing feature of our digital age, as supposedly neutral reporters use social media to opine freely, ferociously and very publicly about whatever they please, not least their own colleagues and employers. What is the difference between a mob and people speaking out freely, even about their own publication? Why is all of this not free speech and all to the good?

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It is free speech, but unfortunately the nature of Twitter is that it turns free speech into a kind of crowd, right? It is not like anyone in 140 or 280 characters is making foundational points. What they are doing is getting themselves retweeted and liked, and if they are unlucky they are getting ratioed. The essence of what is happening on Twitter is not speech so much as the accumulation of numbers. It is not so much an argument so much as 10,000 people angry at you and banging on your digital door. That scares me because it means that you cannot really advance conversation in the ways to which we ought to aspire.

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I am not saying that people do not have a right to take to Twitter. But there is a real difference between someone writing a thoughtful letter to David Remnick and saying that I will raise thousands of people on Twitter to say I will unsubscribe unless you submit right away to what it is we want you to do. I think that is simply different.

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People could always unsubscribe. Conservatives could complain about something the Nation published on Israel and unsubscribe or not read it. Each of these things is different on the merits. But I am not sure how different it is from the market deciding. If people dont want to subscribe to a magazine that hosts Steve Bannon, they dont have to. Hasnt this always existed?

Yeah, sure, but just as there are differences between representative democracy and rank populism, there are differences between the votes of the market and what we are seeing now, which is, in one case after another, editorial decisions being made by targeted and frequently frenzied campaigns conducted online. We now have technologies that allow you to create the equivalent of crowd politics, which did so much to contribute to early 20th century totalitarianism.

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Right, but the ends matter. If these politics are used to cancel New Yorker subscriptions because you or Ross Douthat is speaking at the festival, I think that is stupid and even dangerous, but

Well, why not, by the way? Say if I were invited to the festival, which I dont think would ever happen and certainly is not going to happen now.

You really blew your chance.

If people say, Bret Stephens is beyond the pale because of XYZ, and then its Ross beyond the pale because of his pro-life views. Ask yourself where that takes you and where it takes the New Yorker, because ultimately the purpose of a journalistic enterprise like the New Yorker is to enlarge the horizon of its readers. And if you have a magazine that is constantly succumbing to the prejudices of its readers, or trying to remain within the comfort zone of its readers because of its need to maintain a subscriber base and so on, you might serve one end, which is that you provide readers with a warm bath they want, week in and week out, but on the other hand you are not serving the purpose of good journalism.

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I agree this could conceivably go in a dangerous direction. I just think that Steve Bannon is a much more complicated case.

I dont think Steve Bannon in this context is complicated. I wrote a column back in November in which I denounced the Zionist Organization of America for essentially providing a celebration for Steve Bannon and giving him a stage without any form of challenge. I thought [it] was disgraceful for any Jewish organization to participate in any celebration of a man whose politics strike me as deeply antithetical to the long-term interests of the Jewish people. But what was being promised [by the New Yorker] was a challenging interview on stage from presumably one of the greatest journalists of our time. So we werent talking about celebrating Bannon in the way you might celebrate, I dont know, Jim Carrey or someone. And its an ideas festival, right?

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One issue here is that its the festival, not in the magazine or on the New Yorker Radio Hour. You pay someone for coming, and there is prestige, etc.

As far as I know, Bannon said he was happy to forgo the honorarium, so if the issue was the honorarium, they could have said, We arent going to pay you. How about that?

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Right, but a festival is different. It isnt considered to be journalism in the same way. But look, I agree to the extent that the biggest problem over the past couple of years has not been giving him a platform so much as covering him and Breitbart poorly. There was a very euphemistic New York Times cover story on Breitbart. There was a ridiculous, fawning interview with him in New York magazine mere weeks ago, which presented him as this bold populist. There are much bigger problems.

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And if you are going to get your top guy, a highly accoladed, Pulitzer-winning editor to perform the journalism, there is the expectation you are going to get a good show.

Kathryn Schulz, who is a New Yorker writer, tweeted that she was appalled by the decision to have Bannon at the festival, told Remnick as much, and encouraged others to write in. You wrote in your piece, Not long ago, a public challenge such as Schulzs would have been a firing offense. Were you saying she should have been fired, or that mores are changing?

I would say that mores are changing. I am not advocating anyone being fired, least of all Kathryn Schulz, who is a distinguished journalist. But I am astonished that a journalist who believes in what I think are the foundations of our profession would take that view. It would have been a firing offense, I suspect, in the days of Tina Brown or previous editors of the New Yorker, because there used to be expectations about collegiality that no longer apply when every journalist has his or her own platform from which to opine.

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When Sarah Jeong came to the Times and there was a controversy about her tweets about white people, you wrote that they were snarky and mean and racist, even though you also said she should not be fired. That is criticizing a colleague.

Yes, but I was also standing up for her and saying she shouldnt be fired. It was a huge public issue and I wanted to take a stand on the subject.

But its still taking a stand and calling out the opinions of a colleague. Which is not a bad thing per se. I think you should have been able to write that she should be fired. And I think we are back to things feeling differently when its a tweet rather than in a column. Anyway, I think its silly that Times columnists cant criticize each other by name.

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Well, what you are doing is raising interesting questions about a complicated subject, which is the boundaries of collegiality, and the imperatives of speaking freely, and how they intersect and where they are in tension. I think many of these are in some sense judgment calls. I have chosen not to say certain things about the Times or my colleagues because I have a sense there is something called collegiality, and that we should, generally speaking, respect it as a norm, respect that we are, at the Times, playing for the same team, and try to look outside the building and think about the world. And there are occasions when the Times or the New Yorker become the story and there are ways of dealing with that.

You are going to accuse me of speaking in a muddle, but I think the deep truth here is that these things need to be thought of pretty carefully. If I had been Kathryn Schulz, and I had felt the way she does about the Bannon invitation, I probably would have offered my views to Remnick privately. I think that is much more appropriate than not to just tweet this but essentially invite a campaign to pressure Remnick. Maybe I am old-fashioned or prematurely old-fogey, but I found that stunning. He wasnt offering to celebrate Steve Bannons accomplishments. He was offering the opportunity to interrogate him as a journalist. Thats what we are supposed to do, and I was dumbstruck that any journalist doesnt take that view. We dont just interview people who cure cancer and help the indigent. We are exposing vice and bad ideas and have the kind of conversations you and I are having now about difficult subjects, and opening up ourselves to criticism.

Would you not have written the Sarah Jeong piece if you had thought she should have been fired?

I dont know. Thats a good question. I hesitate to give you an on-the-record answer when I havent digested the thought sufficiently, but thats a fair question for you to ask.
California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted in August on charges of having embezzled campaign money for years to finance luxury lifestyles. (They have both pleaded not guilty to all charges.) The indictment mentioned in not-so-veiled language that Duncan Hunter had spent some of that money on solo outings involving unnamed Individual[s] with whom he had personal relationships. Hunters hometown paper, the San Diego Union-Tribune, is now reporting that his lawyer admitted in a letter to prosecutors that said activities may constitute evidence of marital infidelity:

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According to [attorney Gregory] Vegas letter, prosecutors told the defense that they have pictures of indiscretions. While there may be evidence of infidelity, irresponsibility or alcohol dependence, once properly understood, the underlying facts do not equate to criminal activity, Vega wrote.

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Taken in this light, the indictment depicts the 41-year-old Hunter as, essentially, someone who really wishes he were on the young-person dating scene. His personal relationship spending includes the following:

 $121 at a rock venue in Alexandria, Virginia with Individual 14.

 $64 on drinks and an Uber ride for a night at the lively Hill Country barbecue restaurant in D.C. with Individual 15 and others as well as $115 with Individual 15 at a speakeasy above an Italian restaurant.

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 $203 at D.Cs sceney H Street Country Club and $353 at the Matchbox pizza bistro in D.C. with groups including Individual 16.

 $42 for what appears to be an Uber to Individual 17s residence and an Uber pickup at the same address the next morning.

And, most amazingly:

 $32 for an Uber ride from Individual 18s residence to Hunters office  at 7:40 a.m. on Thursday. Thats a ride of shame on a lot of levels!

Hunters urge to experience the carefree social life of an unattached D.C. twentysomething, Ubering to and from upscale-casual restaurants and faux-speakeasies, would perhaps even be endearing if he hadnt been (allegedly) doing it all behind his wifes back by stealing from people. (He has, for the record, described previous reports that he was unfaithful as tabloid trash.) He even loves to vape! Duncan Hunter, the man born approximately four to 20 years too soon.
A 6.7 magnitude earthquake left at least seven people dead, 30 missing, and more than 150 injured on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning. The earthquake further crumpled roads, triggered landslides that knocked over houses, and damaged power systems. First responders, who include more than 4,000 defense force soldiers, have been searching for survivors and working to restore electricity. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that the defense force may eventually deploy up to 25,000 troops if needed.

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Much of the destruction occurred in Sapporo, a city with a population of 1.9 million people that serves as the prefectural capital of Hokkaido. Atsuma, a small town of 40 residents located near the epicenter of the earthquake, was also particularly hard hit by the landslides. At least four people died in the town, and rescuers are still digging through soil, rocks, and wreckage to locate survivors.

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According to the Hokkaido Electric Power company, almost 3 million households lost electricity after a main power station ceased operating. Though some residents had their power back within hours after the quake, it could take more than a week to fully restore service to the island because of damage to the generators. Hokkaidos Tomari nuclear power plant was also relying on emergency generators for 10 hours, which was a source of anxiety on the island given the meltdown at the Fukushima plant in the aftermath of Japans catastrophic tsunami and earthquake in 2011. However, no abnormal radiation had been detected from the Tomari plant.

Japan has suffered through a series of natural disasters over the last few months. In July, 200 people died across the country as a result of landslides and flooding. That same month, a heat wave killed 65 people and hospitalized 22,000 others. And on Tuesday, the strongest typhoon to hit the countrys mainland in 25 years killed at least 10 people. Japan is still recovering from the typhoon, and now must address the fallout from the earthquake as well.
I dont get to pick and choose which Supreme Court precedents I get to follow, Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. I follow them all.

While thats a nice line, Kavanaughs record reveals a judge who is eager to warp precedent to fit his ideological preferencesmost flagrantly with regard to guns and abortion. In a pair of major opinions, Kavanaugh proved adept at constraining Roe v. Wade and bolstering D.C. v. Heller, manipulating the law to throttle the liberty of women and aggrandize the rights of gun owners. His precedential chicanery offers clear proof that Kavanaugh will overturn Roe and strike down assault-weapons bans once he reaches the Supreme Court. And he only has to pretend otherwise for a few more weeks.

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In 2011, Kavanaugh wrote a dissent arguing that a D.C. law banning certain military-grade assault weaponsnamely, semi-automatic rifles like the AR-15was unconstitutional. How, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein wondered, could Kavanaugh reach that conclusion when the Supreme Court has held only that the Constitution protects the use of handguns in the home?

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In the Second Amendment context, a poker-faced Kavanaugh began, the Supreme Court, in the Heller decision, written by Justice Scalia, had held that there was an individual right to bear arms. Correct! He added that Scalia pre-identified a number of [gun restrictions] that would be allowed, including the prohibition of dangerous and unusual weapons. Also true. But then Kavanaugh asserted that in order to determine whether a weapon is dangerous enough to be banned, Scalia instructed the courts to examine whether it is in common use. Under his reading of Heller, Kavanaugh declared, a weapon cannot be outlawed if it is commonly used by Americans. And because semi-automatic rifles are widely possessed in the United States, the District of Columbia has no authority to ban them.

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Wait, really? Could it really be that a specific type of gun, even mass shooters weapon of choice, gains constitutional protection just because lots of Americans buy it? Not according to Heller. Kavanaughs theory rests on a willful misreading of Scalias opinion. What the ruling actually says is that the sorts of weapons protected are, at a minimum, those in common use at the time of the Second Amendments ratification. At the timethat means in 1791, not today. Scalia used the phrase common use three times in Heller; in each instance, it is followed by the words at the time. Moreover, this concept did not lie at the heart of Scalias opinion. It was, rather, an effort to link his analysis to the 18th century well regulated militia described in the amendment.

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Theres another reason why Kavanaughs fixation on common use makes no sense. Two years after Heller, the Supreme Court issued McDonald v. Chicago, holding that states are also barred from banning handguns in the home. (Heller applied only to D.C.) McDonald did not deploy Kavanaughs common use test or even use that phrase. Instead, it reiterated what Heller had made perfectly clear: The Second Amendment protects handguns, not assault weapons. Yet Kavanaugh ignored this fact in order to craft a new, expansive rule that would deprive citizens of their ability to protect their communities from weapons of war. That isnt strictly and carefully [following] the Supreme Court precedent, as Kavanaugh claimed. Its distorting precedent to impose your own policy preferences on the law.

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Kavanaugh turns out to be pretty good at that, as Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin seemed to imply when he questioned the judge about his dissent in the case Garza v. Hargan. In Garza, the Trump administration attempted to bar an undocumented 17-year-old (known as Jane Doe) being held in a Texas shelter from terminating her pregnancy. The government argued that this prohibition did not constitute an undue burden in violation of Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a landmark SCOTUS precedent that prevents the government from creating a substantial obstacle to abortion access. Why? Because Jane Doe could simply leave the country or try to find a sponsor who would take custody of her and, perhaps, let her get an abortion. (Doe was 16 weeks pregnant; Texas bans abortion after 20 weeks, and the process of securing a sponsor takes months.)

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As a matter of law, the Trump administrations position was dead wrong. Its true that the Supreme Court has allowed states to impose special limitations on minors seeking abortionsnamely, parental consent or notification. But it has also compelled states to let minors get permission from a judge when asking their parents is impossible or dangerous. As required by Texas law, Doe requested and received this judicial bypass from a state judge. And so, under Supreme Court precedent, she discharged the only obligation that states may demand of minors before they get an abortion.

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Kavanaugh didnt see it that way. In a furious dissent, he accused the majority of creating a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in U.S. Government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand. He wouldve let the administration continue delaying Does abortion while she sought a sponsor (likely in vain). When Durbin challenged Kavanaughs abortion-on-demand accusation on Wednesday, the nominee demurred: I look at precedent. And the most analogous precedent is the parental consent precedent  [that says] minors benefit from consultation about abortion. Thus, he concluded that the government may force Jane Doe to consult about the abortion with a hypothetical sponsor, even if doing so dangerously delays the procedure.

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There is a vast chasm between Kavanaughs interpretive approaches to Heller and Casey. When evaluating the rights of gun owners, he imbued Heller with an atextual maximalism, twisting its words to prohibit a gun law that he plainly dislikes. When evaluating the rights of a teenager seeking an abortion, he cabined Casey and its progeny to their facts, then kept whittling until nothing remained of their constitutional guarantees. As University of CaliforniaIrvine law professor Leah Litman noted, Kavanaugh is an expert at reading pro-choice precedent as narrowly as possible, to the point of disingenuousness if not outright mendacity.

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We will hear plenty more from Kavanaugh on Thursday about the timeless beauty and utmost gravity of precedentabout how he hews closely to it and would continue doing so on the Supreme Court. Dont believe it. Justice Neil Gorsuch said the same thing during his confirmation hearings, then promptly overturned a 40-year-old precedent via his vote in Janus v. AFSCME. Kavanaugh is reading from a script, one he will jettison as soon as he dons his robe at SCOTUS. And no senator, Democrat or Republican, need pretend that he cares any more about precedent than he does about the liberty and dignity of Jane Doe.
In Wednesdays first round of questioning during Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearings, Sen. Patrick Leahy made a significant allegation against the Supreme Court nominee. The Democrat from Vermont claimed to have evidence showing that Kavanaugh lied to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the 2004 and 2006 hearings regarding his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The key testimony came when Leahy questioned Kavanaugh about previous testimony in which he denied that he had any knowledge of confidential electronic communications that had been pilfered from Democratic senators by Republican staffer Manuel Miranda and used to help advance President George W. Bushs judicial nominations in the early 2000s. Kavanaugh, who worked for the Bush administration as part of the White House counsels office, worked with Miranda on matters relating to those judicial nominations.

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As Leahy put it to Kavanaugh, the judge had been asked in prior hearings extensively about your knowledge of this theft and testified repeatedly that you had never received any stolen materials. (The GOP staffer was never charged with a crime; more on that later.) Indeed, in the April 2004 hearing, when asked directly by Sen. Orrin Hatch if he had so much as seen any documents that Miranda had taken, Kavanaugh answered in unequivocal terms.

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Hatch: Now, this is an important question. Did Mr. Miranda ever share, reference, or provide you with any documents that appeared to you to have been drafted or prepared by Democratic staff members of the Senate Judiciary Committee? Kavanaugh: No, I was not aware of that matter ever until I learned of it in the media late last year. Hatch: Did Mr. Miranda ever share, reference, or provide you with information that you believed or were led to believe was obtained or derived from Democratic files? Kavanaugh: No. Again, I was not aware of that matter in any way whatsoever until I learned it in the media.

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In that hearing 14 years ago, Sen. Chuck Schumer reiterated the concern and got the same answer:

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Schumer: I just want to clear up the questions that Orrin asked. You had said that Mr. Miranda never provided these documents, you know, that were from this. Kavanaugh: Right. Schumer: Had you seen them in any way? Did you ever come across memos from internal files of any Democratic members given to you or provided to you in any way? Kavanaugh: No.

In his 2006 hearing, Kavanaugh was asked by Sen. Ted Kennedy whether he had any indication that materials he had seen might have been stolen. Kavanaugh rejected the premise of the question, again stating that hed never laid eyes on such materials:

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Kennedy: Have you ever gone back, now that you are aware of it, and seen what decisions you may or might not have taken on the basis of documents that were illegally taken?  Kavanaugh: Senator, theres a very important premise in your question that I think is incorrect, which is I didnt know about the memos or see the memos that I think youre describing. So, I think  Kennedy: Oh, you never saw any of those? Kavanaugh: No, senator, thats correct. Im not aware of the memos, I never saw such memos that I think youre referring to. I mean, I dont know what the universe of memos might be, but I do know that I never received any memos and was not aware of any such memos. So, I just want to correct that premise that I think was in your question.

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On Wednesday, Leahy pointed to newly released emails that he says contradict Kavanaughs previous testimony. Leahy began by asking, Did Mr. Miranda ever provide you with highly specific information regarding what I or other Democratic senators were planning in the future to ask certain judicial nominees? This time, though, Kavanaugh hedged, refusing to directly answer a question that would seem to elicit a simple no based on his previous testimony. Instead, he offered that it was typical in his role in the White House counsels office to meet and discuss what senators on both sides of the aisle were thinking about asking a given nominee:

During those meetings, of course it would be discussed, Well, I think heres what Sen. Leahy will be interested in. That is very common. Im sure in President Obamas administration when they had similar meetings, they would probably have meetings and say, I think this is what Sen. [Lindsey] Graham will be interested in.

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Leahy then pointed the Supreme Court nominee to an email Kavanaugh had received from Miranda describing Leahys line of questioning about a nominee on July 19, 2002, four days before a hearing with that nominee.

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Again, Kavanaugh argued it was not uncommon to discuss the individual interests of particular senators. Leahy then followed up with what appeared to be smoking gun evidence that Kavanaugh was being untruthful when he repeatedly testified that he had never seen the materials Miranda had stolen.

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Leahy: In January of 2003, let me go to something very specific. Mr. Miranda forwarded you a letter from me and other Judiciary [Committee] Democrats to then Majority Leader Tom Daschle. The letter was clearly a draft. It had typos and it wasnt signed. Somebody eventuallywe never put it out, but somebody eventually leaked its existence to Fox News. Im not sure who. I could guess. It was a private letter. At the time, I was shocked to learn its existence had been leaked. But here is the thing: You had the full text of my letter in your inbox before anything had been said about it publicly. Did you find it at all unusual to receive a draft letter from Democratic senators to each other before any mention of it was made public? Kavanaugh: The only thing I said on the email exchange, if Im looking at it correctly, senator, was, Who signed this? Which would imply that I thought it was a signed letter. Leahy: It was sent to you. Were you surprised to get it? It is obviously a draft. It has got typos and everything else in it. Were you surprised that a draft letter circulated among Democrats ended up in your inbox from Mr. Miranda? Kavanaugh: I think the premise of your question is not accurately describing my apparent recollection or understanding at the time. Because I wouldnt have said, Who signed this? if I thought it was a draft. My email says, Who signed this? Leahy: So you didnt realize what you had was a stolen letter [sent] by me, that you had a letter that had not been sent to anybody, had not been made public? Kavanaugh: All I see that I said was Who signed this? Thats all I see.

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In his previous testimony, Kavanaugh didnt say that he didnt realize that some of the materials he had received were stolen. Instead, he stated definitively that he had received no stolen materials. He went further, in fact, stating to Hatch that he had never seen any documents that appeared [] to have been drafted or prepared by Democratic staff members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. On Wednesday, Kavanaugh acknowledged receiving an email with exactly that material.

In 2004, the Senate sergeant-at-arms released a 65-page report laying out how Miranda and another Republican aide improperly accessed and distributed 4,670 files showing Democrats private tactics in opposing Bushs judicial nominations. The New York Times reported at the time that the information in question was about how Democrats would question some nominees and included the files of staff aides for Sens. Leahy, Kennedy, Dick Durbin, Joe Biden, Dianne Feinstein, and Russ Feingold. The files were taken after an inexperienced computer coordinator did not make files properly inaccessible, according to the Times. Neither Miranda nor anyone else was ever charged with a crime for accessing those private Democratic files.

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On Wednesday, Leahy hinted that materials that havent been made public indicate Kavanaugh was given very strong hints that Mirandas materials were not acquired legitimately. The Vermont senator asked Kavanaugh about documents that have been listed as committee confidential by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that, according to Leahy, demonstrate that Kavanaugh was told of a mole that provided  secret information related to nominations.

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Kavanaugh indicated he couldnt recall such an email, and this time Leahy was unable to pull out the receipt because of that committee confidential designation.

I am concerned because there is evidence that Mr. Miranda provided you with materials that were stolen from me. And that would contradict your prior testimony, Leahy concluded. It is also clear from public emailsand Im restraining from going into not public onesthat you have reason to believe materials were obtained inappropriately at the time.

Leahy then said he had six other committee confidential emails that would prove his case, but they were being kept from the public without any rational basis.

These other six contain no personal information, no presidential records, restricted material, he said. There is simply no reason they cant be made public.
As Judge Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court confirmation hearings have gotten underway this week, one critical area of his jurisprudence has been underexplored: Judge Kavanaughs views on campaign finance law. After all, he could rule on President Donald Trumps own legal exposure for possible criminal violations of campaign finance laws. More fundamentally, Judge Kavanaugh has played a leading role in undermining legal limits on big money in elections. He has done so by misinterpreting a major Supreme Court precedent. This record reinforces widespread concern that he will tilt the court against settled law in Roe v. Wade and other cases.

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The most important manifestation of Judge Kavanaughs campaign finance perspective is his opinion in the 2009 D.C. Circuit Court case Emilys List v. Federal Election Commission. There, Judge Kavanaugh declared unconstitutional decades-old limits on large contributions to nonprofit groups spending in federal elections. The 21 decision was sternly criticized at the time by fellow conservative George W. Bush appointee, Judge Janice Rogers Brown. Notably, her dissent expressed grave doubts about the courts analysis of Supreme Court precedents.

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Making his rounds in the Senate, Kavanaugh has emphasized his appropriate respect for judicial precedent. Yet, as Judge Brown observed, the Emilys List opinion was in perhaps irreconcilable tension with the then-reigning precedent of the Supreme Court.

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Emilys List is a top federal PAC. It challenged revised FEC regulations that had limited its use of donations exceeding federal limits for election activities that simultaneously benefited state and federal candidates. Kavanaugh determined the regulations went beyond federal law. But the main thrust of his opinion was much broader. Under the Constitution, he argued, the federal government could not put any limits on contributions to PACs and nonprofits that spent independently of candidateseven for purely federal elections. That would violate the First Amendments guarantee of freedom of speech.

Judge Kavanaugh has played a leading role in undermining legal limits on big money in elections.

Kavanaugh acknowledged that the Supreme Court had recognized the governments legitimate anti-corruption interest in regulating campaign money. However, he maintained that the courts precedents defined corruption narrowly as candidates and donors exchanging dollars for political favorsor appearing to do so. Under that standard, he deduced, it was implausible that contributions to nonprofit entities, which did not contribute directly to candidates but supported them only through independent spending, would be corrupting. In reality, it should have been very plausible since the donors would remain free to communicate their support to benefiting candidates. After limits were eventually struck down, 80 percent of the top 100 individual donors to independent spenders in the 2012 and 2014 elections also gave directly to the same candidates they supported through their contributions to independent groups.

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Judge Brown agreed with Kavanaugh that the regulations were illegal and moreover constituted a weighty burden on speech. But, she cautioned, there is a rub. We sit on a lower court and must follow the binding Supreme Court precedent until the Court overrules it.  Stare decisis means nothing if we are only bound by cases with which we already agree. This was a direct rebukeBrown proceeded to highlight Kavanaughs disregard for key portions of the most recent and relevant Supreme Court precedent on corruption, the 2003 case McConnell v. FEC. She showed that the McConnell court had in fact employed an expansive definition of corruption, one not limited  to the elimination of cash-for-vote exchanges between donors and candidates but extending to the broader threat from politicians too compliant with the wishes of large contributors. Moreover, the court had upheld Congress right to enact broad prophylaxes to prevent candidates and parties from circumventing their contribution limits. McConnell, she concluded, was therefore broad enough to encompass some limits on independent expenditure committees.

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Kavanaugh contended that McConnell focused on restricting large contributions to political parties, not independent spending groups. Brown countered, Nothing in [McConnells] logic clearly precludes Congress or the Federal Election Commission from similarly regulating independent spending groups, particularly those with a self-proclaimed electoral mission.

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Just six months later, though, the full circuit took up the very same constitutional issue in SpeechNow.org v. FEC. It abandoned Kavanaughs reading of the old precedents and tacitly approved Browns. Nevertheless, it held that a newly minted decision of the Supreme Court, Citizens United, had retracted McConnells and other cases expanded definitions of corruption. The new definitionquid pro quo deals between candidates and donorswas the same narrow one that Kavanaugh had wrongfully drawn from prior precedents in Emilys List. The circuit then cited this new standard to reaffirm Judge Kavanaughs dubious opinion that unlimited contributions to independent spenders do not corrupt candidates.

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After SpeechNow.org, super PACs and other nonprofit independent spenders poured $1.43 billion into the 2016 federal elections22 percent of total spending. Moreover, their funds were concentrated on the most competitive races. These groups were overwhelmingly financed by the wealthy few. In the 2016 election cycle, the top 1 percent of individual donors (516 people) provided 76 percent of reported contributions; the top 100 givers alone supplied 61 percent. Notwithstanding current political rhetoric, there is no greater threat to U.S. democratic elections than this emerging plutocracy. Judge Kavanaugh showed his willingness to misinterpret precedents as a lower-court judge in order to undo laws that were keeping that threat at bay. Theres every chance that he will go even further once his job includes the power to reverse precedents.

For his zeal to overturn legal limits on contributions to independent spending groups, his magical precocity in anticipating the Supreme Courts new, crabbed definition of corruption, and his success in selling some improbable reasoning to his colleagues, Kavanaugh might be considered the godfather of super PACs. For his flawed interpretations of Supreme Court campaign finance precedentsand what these portend for his attitude toward settled law he merits wider Senate inquiry into his judicial record.
The grassroots left scored one of its biggest primary victories of the year Tuesday, as Ayanna Pressley took down 10-term U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano in Massachusetts. On Thursday, progressives have a chance at an even bigger win in Delaware, where Kerri Evelyn Harris is hoping to hand centrist Democratic Sen. Tom Carper his first electoral defeat of his 40-year political career.

Harris, a veteran and community activist, has never before run for office and is a clear underdog against Carper, a 71-year-old, three-term senator who has also served as governor, congressman, and state treasurer since first being elected to statewide office in 1976. But an upset no longer seems out of the question after Pressleys shocking victory, which came a little more than two months after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stunned Rep. Joe Crowley, also a 10-term incumbent. Yes, Carper is a sitting senator, not a sitting congressman. But Delaware is tiny enough that it has only one at-large representative in the U.S. House, and so a Senate primary in the state and a House primary face the same electorate.

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Like Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez, the 38-year-old Harris has paired a progressive policy agenda with a lived-experience argument in a bid to unseat an older white man who has been a fixture in national politics since the turn of the century. Im running because I know what youre experiencing right now, Harris told a debate audience last week. And I know that a firm handshake, a kind smile, a witty remark, is not enough to move us forward. Were suffering.

Like Capuano, Carper has put a premium on his political resume and deep ties to the community. Unlike Capuano, Carper is a moderate and would have been vulnerable to a challenge from the left even if the question of identity and representation were absent from this one. He has the backing of his partys establishmentincluding an endorsement from former Vice President and Delaware Sen. Joe Bidenas well as from mainstream environmental and labor groups. But the activist lefts case against him looks something like this: He voted to authorize the invasion of Iraq, opposes Medicare for All, has backed offshore drilling, and he was one of about a dozen Senate Democrats who helped loosen key provisions of the post-financial crisis banking rules known as Dodd-Frankthe latest example of him siding with the banking industry that is responsible for roughly one in every 10 jobs in the state and which has donated millions to Carper.

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Harris, meanwhile, has shrugged off the progressive labelI avoid that term because its shut some people off to it, she told Vox recentlybut her policy positions make clear she is one. She supports Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage, a Green New Deal, the abolishment of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency, legalizing marijuana, ending mass incarceration, and eliminating all student debt. Like Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley, Harris has also sworn off corporate PAC money. All of that was enough to earn her Ocasio-Cortezs stamp of approval: The New York congresswoman-to-be has endorsed Harris, lent her campaign staff, and travelled to Delaware last week to stump for her. And like a number of other political newcomers this cycle, Harris would make history if elected this November: She would become the first woman, first person of color, and first openly LGBTQ person sent to the U.S. Senate by Delaware voters.

Polling has been spottyCarper led by 30-plus points at the end of July, the last time Gravis surveyed the statebut the fundraising numbers make Carpers advantage clear. As of mid-August, he had raised $3.5 million and spent $3.3 million; Harris had raised roughly $114,000 and spent $63,000. By any traditional measure, then, Carper should be expected to coast to the nomination. But, of course, so too were Crowley and Capuano.
In June, when the Trump administration abandoned its widely condemned and likely unconstitutional policy of separating undocumented families apprehended at the Mexican border, it stated its intent to replace the policy with one that held such families together in indefinite detention. This put it on a collision course with the 1997 Flores court settlement, a binding agreement between the government and immigrant-rights litigants which holds that undocumented children are not to be held in detention for longer than 20 days. A federal judge soon thereafter rejected the administrations attempt to modify the settlement, and now the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Homeland Security have formally announced their intent to circumvent it.

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The administrations move takes the form of a proposed federal regulation which would amend Flores rules in a number of ways before formally terminating the agreement. Most prominently, the new regulation would allow Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials to use appropriate facilities to detain family units together during their immigration proceedings. This rule, the proposal makes clear, may result in extending detention of some minors, and their accompanying parent or legal guardian, in FRCs [Family Residential Centers] beyond 20 days. Currently, unaccompanied undocumented minors must be released from federal detention after those 20 days into the legal custody of an adult individual or entity, a category that includes state-licensed shelters for minors from which they can be released into the custody of a relative or guardian. Theres no such thing as a state-licensed family shelter, though, which means that after 20 days families that include minor children are simply released with instructions to appear later for court hearings.

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The Trump administration claims, dubiously, that such a system has created an epidemic of families that skip their hearings and disappear into the U.S. illegally, and its new regulation proposes that the federal government (rather than state governments) be allowed to license and fill humane family shelters that would constitute an appropriate place to hold undocumented children with their parents for longer than 20 days. The proposal argues that such facilities would satisfy Flores in spirt by ensuring that all juveniles in the governments custody are treated with dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors.

Needless to say, not everyone is likely to agree with this interpretation, and the advocates who represent Flores plaintiffs would be able to challenge it in court if it is implemented after the 60-day public comment period that its subject to by law. One such advocacy group, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, has already criticized the new proposed rules and promised that it will oppose any effort to terminate the Flores settlement unless and until the Government proposes regulations that provide for the safe and humane treatment of detained children. (Update, Sept. 7: Another Flores plaintiffs group, the National Center for Youth Law, also says
Two weeks ago, the U.S.-North Korea talks appeared to be on the verge of collapse when President Trump canceled a planned trip by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Pyongyang, citing a lack of progress on denuclearization.

But today, things seem to be (tentatively) back on track, with a flurry of positive messages coming out after a meeting between South Korean envoys and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday. In addition to announcing an upcoming third summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in later this month to discuss practical measures toward denuclearization, the South Korean delegation also conveyed Kims warm regards for Trump. According to the AP, Moons national security adviser said that Kim told him that he still had faith in Trump despite diplomatic setbacks. He said Kim emphasized that he has not once talked negatively about Trump to anyone, including his closest advisers.

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Trump, naturally, returned the compliment this morning:

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2018

None of this means the Americans and the North Koreans actually agree on anything. North Korea wants a declaration to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War, which only ended in an armistice. U.S. officials, however, have balked at the idea, wanting to hold off on such a major concession until North Korea makes concrete moves toward denuclearization, such as providing a full accounting of its current nuclear capabilities and allowing in international inspectors. The North Koreans think theyve made enough concessions already, such as dismantling a nuclear testing site and sending home the remains of U.S. service members, and want the Americans to respond in kind.

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This issue and others have frustrated talks between the two sides since the initial meeting between Trump and Kim in Singapore in June. But through it all, the constant factor has been the mutual admiration expressed between Trump and Kim. Even as evidence was emerging in July that North Korea was in violation of UN sanctions and not beginning the process of dismantling its nuclear weapons, Trump touted a very nice note from Kim as a sign that progress was being made. When he announced he was canceling Pompeos trip a few week ago, Trump was sure to note, In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon! Explaining, last week, why Trump was continuing to suspend U.S.-South Korean military exercises, a statement from the White House affirmed that his relationship with Kim Jong Un is a very good and warm one. As for the lack of progress on denuclearization, Trump has blamed that mostly on China, continuing to vouch for Kims good intentions.

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For their part, the North Koreans have vouched for Trump as a man of peace, even as theyve attacked Pompeo and other subordinates for going against the intention of President Trump. They may have good reason for believing this. According to a recent Vox report, Trump said at the Singapore summit that he would soon sign a peace treatywhich makes sense given Trumps public boasts that he would bring an end to the nearly seven-decade old Korean War. So from the North Korean perspective, Trump made promises that his lackeys arent fulfilling. In other words, it seems that Kim has concluded that Trump administration officials dont actually speak for the president, and is acting accordingly.

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Recent events do seem to vindicate this belief. Last week, for instance, Trump publicly contradicted his own secretary of defense, James Mattis, by announcing that the military exercises would remain canceled. Then yesterday, an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times by a senior administration official stated that theres a two-track presidency and asserted that members of Trumps own team are working against his policy preferences, most notably his preference for autocrats and dictators, such as President Vladimir Putin of Russia and North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un.

The North Koreans already suspected that Trump and his underlings werent on the same page when it came to dealing with them, and now that suspicion has been confirmed. Expect more flattery from Kim, and Trumps continued embrace of it, to come.
Warning: Graphic video below.

Far-right Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed Thursday during a rally in the city of Juiz de Fora in an incident caught on video:

Juiz de Fora, ha pouco! pic.twitter.com/Z3M9S1pz6E  Blog do Noblat (@BlogdoNoblat) September 6, 2018

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One of Bolsonaros sons has tweeted that the wound was superficial and that he is recovering at a hospital. (Update, Sept. 7: Bolsonaros injuries were in fact significant and he is now in serious but stable condition. One of the doctors who treated him says he will need to spend a week in the hospital and could take two months to fully recover.) The attacker, whose motives are as of yet unknown, is in reportedly in custody. (Update: The attacker appeared to be mentally disturbed.)

Bolsonaro is a veteran of the Brazilian army who has praised the countrys bygone military dictatorship and run a law and orderthemed campaign during which hes promised to reward police for killing criminal suspects. Much like Donald Trump, he has a large social media following and has been accused of inciting hatred against minority populations, women, and gay people; in an incident nearly identical to one involving Trump in 2016, he once told a female legislator that she was too ugly to rape.

Recent polling shows Bolsonaro with more support than any other candidate in the presidential race but projects him to lose in the runoff election that would be held if no contender reaches 50 percent in the early October vote.
A couple of weeks ago, Tucker Carlson got into a fight about tacos. But of course, it was about much more than that.

The Fox News host had invited my colleague Enrique Acevedo on his show to discuss a Univision report about Houston restaurant owner Roland Laurenzo, who had faced criticism after sharing a picture on social media of Attorney General Jeff Sessions patronizing his eatery, El Tiempo Cantina. We had the honor to serve Mr. Jeff Sessions, the enthusiastic post read, sparking disapproval. Univision reporter Vilma Tarazona covered the story, which news anchor Jorge Ramos presented by dutifully noting the controversy surrounding Laurenzo. Ramos summary of the piece apparently irked Carlson, so he called on Acevedo for a clarification.

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The debate deteriorated quickly. Carlson began by wrongly accusing Ramos of calling for a boycott of Laurenzos restaurant. I never did such a thing, Ramos told me recently. Carlson then tried to corner Acevedo by bullying him with some nonsense about whether his job as a Univision journalist included bringing Hispanic Americans back into the herd when they step out of line, referring to what he though was the reports (nonexistent) condemnation of Laurenzo. Did you think when you joined Univision that part of your job would be to attack disobedient Hispanics? Carlson asked. Was that in the contract? Acevedo laughed off the provocation and proceeded to lament the trickle-down incivility that Donald Trumpand people like Carlsonhave brought to American public life.

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If it had ended there, the exchange would have been just one of Carlsons many theatrical tussles. It didnt. Instead, it took an unexpected turn into, of all things, culinary history and cultural appropriation. In the end, the argument laid bare some of the inconsistencies in Carlsons nativist rhetoric.

When Acevedo suggested that the attorney generals visit to Laurenzos restaurant to enjoy Mexican food might be a contradiction given that Sessions has attacked Mexican Americans, and their cultural influence in the United States, Carlson took offense: Its American food! he said, chuckling. What, do you think you own tacos now? Trying hard to keep his composure, Acevedo explained that no one owned tacos and that Mexican food in America should be celebrated as an example of cultures merging. Carlson would have none of it: Youre not going to appropriate my culture. Im from San Diego, man, he said. Those are my tacos! Mine!

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Historically speaking, of course, tacos are certainly not an American food. Tortillas have been an essential ingredient in Mexicos culinary tradition for millennia, having been wrapped around other ingredients from the moment they were invented, writes Mexican food critic Alonso Ruvalcaba. There have been commercial taquerias in Mexico since at least the late 19th century, with every region developing its own spin on the countrys most emblematic food item.

Immigrants hold the key to the countrys present and future culinary greatness.

Much of that gastronomic tradition made its way up north and, with ingenuity and entrepreneurial drive, evolved into something new and unique. I asked journalist Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, how much of the United States culinary evolution has been influenced by inspiration from Mexico and elsewhere. Nearly all of it, he said. Even corn, the historical base food for so many indigenous tribes, came via migration and trade centuries ago. Arellano, a Californian native, is an obsessive student of the vibrant food scene around Los Angeles. He told me Korean tacosmade famous by Korean-American chef Roy Choiare the perfect example of how the culinary encounter of two different cultures (in the streets of one of the countrys most diverse cities, no less) might produce something new and, yes, American.

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California is not alone. Immigrant cooks have long transformed culinary scenes across the country, both with street food and in more formal settings. In New York, for example, Enrique Olvera, Mexicos most celebrated chef, combines Mexican know-how and ingredients like Mexican Coca-Cola with the produce and tradition of the American northeast to create the much-celebrated duck carnitas at Cosme, his flagship Manhattan eatery.

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Something similar happened years ago in Carlsons hometown of San Diego. Carlson grew up in La Jolla, 30 miles from the border. When he speaks of his early love of Mexican cuisine, he is likely referring to a version of fish tacos, perhaps at Rubios, the legendary chain that began in the Mission Bay area in 1983 when Carlson was a teenager. Rubios now has 200 locations all over the southwest, but that first taqueria stood only 15 minutes away from La Jolla. Rubios success is another examplenot of Carlsons rather crude notion of nativism, but rather of the power of both the exchange of ideas and the sway of cultural assimilation. While in college in San Diego, founder Ralph Rubio travelled to Mexico to surf the Baja waves. There, he fell in love with traditional Mexican fish tacos: beer-battered fish on a corn tortilla. Legend has it he asked the owner of his favorite taco stand for the recipe, which he kept for years until he opened the original Rubios. At first, clients were not used to the flavor or texture of Rubios creation. But the place eventually caught on. In time, Rubios tacos became, well, quintessentially American without losing one bit of their Mexican flare.

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That cultural blend is at the heart of much of the countrys culinary tradition (Cajun and Creole food? Floribbean cuisine? The southwests burritos?). In Southern California, the extent of immigrant influence on food is undisputable.

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Chef Ray Garcia, owner of Broken Spanish, a top Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles, agrees. Garcia, who considers himself a Mexican-American chef, is a third-generation Southland native. My cooking is probably best described as Mexican food through an Angeleno lens, he told me. Garcia found Carlsons exchange with Acevedo painful to watch. Garcia described gastronomy in the United States as a mosaic in which cultures are being brought together, maintaining their individual beauty, to create something beautiful. I asked Garcia about the role that outside influences play in Americas burgeoning culinary scene. He was adamant: Without it, he told me, American cuisine would become stale and stagnant.

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Are Chois Korean Tacos in Los Angeles American? Are Rubios tacos, in Tucker Carlsons childhood neighborhood? What about Olveras New York carnitas or Ray Garcias bright and inventive cuisine in Los Angeles? Yes, but probably not in the sense that would fit Carlsons restrictive interpretation. For Ray Garcia, at least, immigrants hold the key to the countrys present and future culinary greatness. It is the constant influx of new ideas and cross pollination of information across borders and cultures that has made American food what it is today, he told me.

Sounds like a lesson about far more than just tacos.
Gmails redesign, which debuted in the spring and has been gradually rolling out to inboxes across the internet all summer, gives increased real estate to so-called smart replies, which suggest short, one-click responses to emails. Theyre usually fairly innocuous phrases like, Sounds good! or Cant wait! The smart replies are generated by a machine learning algorithm scanning your inbox, but until now, its been unclear how much the suggested responses are capable of mimicking a particular persons email style. Do they just flatten everyone into a blandly peppy corporate automaton or are they capable of reflecting ones personality? What about someone like, say, Elon Musk, whose outre email style has been getting a lot of attention over the past few days? In reports from Business Insider and BuzzFeed, Musk reveals himself to be possibly even more of a madman in his inbox than he is on Twitter.

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In a miraculous coincidence, Slate has obtained access to Elon Musks Gmail after the mogul inadvertently left a Century City, Los Angeles, Apple Store recently without logging out.* Imagine that, a man who trained his (erstwhile?) pop-star girlfriend to communicate in Signal isnt such an infosec master after all! While we cant share most of what we learnedlegal reasons, blah blah blahfrom the looks of his inbox, Googles A.I. has gotten scarily good at imitating the CEOs eccentrically curt missives. At this point, Gmails smart reply bot is fully trained to replicate his fragile and impatient egoso much so that its unclear whos responsible for some of his recent howlers, real Elon or smart-reply Elon. Heres a sampling of what Musks smart replies look like:

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WTF.

Workplace shorthand Musk uses to offer, er, constructive feedback to Tesla managers and check in on issues. If it drives his deputies into a scrambled panic, well  thats called managing, look it up. No time for hugs and kisses when you have three companies to run.

[No reply]

Tesla has an open-inbox policy, but workers told Business Insider that that most common response from Musk is no response. In terms of efficiency, this is actually the smartest reply of all, because it doesnt require a single click.

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Off the record.

Gmail is usually able to tell when Musk is communicating with a journalist and provide this phrase, which as all journalists know and learn in journalism school is a get-out-of-jail-free card for sources to completely go off. Somewhat inconveniently, journalistic institutions like BuzzFeed dont always see it that way, though, arguing, Per common journalistic practice, a conversation is off the record only if both parties agree to the terms. These people!

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On background.

When off the record doesnt work, Musk has this guy on deck. It didnt fly with BuzzFeed eithersee abovebut worth a try.

[Link to a Google search for child trafficking]

Elon Musk doesnt have time to Google child trafficking for every single person emailing him who needs to be educated about child trafficking, something he alleged a diving instructor did without offering evidence. So its useful that he can add in this link with one click.

The monsoon arrived later than expected.

A good catchall excuse, whether discussing why a submarine rescue mission didnt work or some other thing that fell through. Monsoons: classically unpredictable!

The prime minister thanked me personally per attached docs.

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For when Musk wants to offer proof that a prime minister thanked him personally for a good deed, lent submarine, or similar.

You fucking asshole.

Clippy used to ask Microsoft Word users if they were writing letters and help with the formattingit made the process super easy. In a similar way, Gmail has learned to pepper You fucking asshole throughout Musks emails like an honorific. CEOs are very busy and Musk gains crucial seconds this way.

I fucking hope he sues me.

Handy, because this comes up more than you would think.

*Not really. Just having a little fun with famous sense-of-humor-haver Elon Musk!
With two months to go until Election Day, social media executives were back on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify about propaganda and voter manipulation on their platforms. Politicians grilled Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to learn more about what the companies are doing about foreign election meddling, alleged political bias, and their principles in generallike whether Facebooks absence from China is due to human-rights concerns or not. A morning hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee featured both executives (and an empty chair for Google) while an afternoon hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Committee starred only Dorsey. This was the first time that either Dorsey or Sandberg sat for public testimony in front of Congress, and the ways the executives handled a number of the tougher questions from elected officials revealed a lot about how their companies are coming to terms with their role in and responsibility to the public discourseparticularly when it comes to the thorny issue of hate speech.

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In one particularly revealing line of questioning during the Senate hearing, California Democrat Kamala Harris asked Sandberg how Facebook makes money and whether the companys hate-speech policies are truly aimed to protect vulnerable communities that are often the subject of prejudice and animus. Harris, noting that Facebook makes more money the more people engage with Facebook, also pointed out that its precisely the content thats hateful, conspiratorial, and inflammatory that often generates the most engagement. Her point was that theres a real question as to whether Facebook, a company whose first responsibility is to its shareholders, is adequately poised to address false news, hate speech, or any other harmfuland highly engagingcontent that users generate.

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Heres part of their exchange:

Sen. Harris: Would you agree thatI think its an obvious pointthe more people that engage on the platform, the more potential there is for revenue generation for Facebook? Sandberg: Yes, senator. Only when the content is authentic Sen. Harris: I appreciate that line. So the concern that many have is how we can reconcile an incentive to create and increase your user engagement when the content that generates a lot of engagement is often inflammatory and hateful. So for example, Lisa-Maria Neudert, a researcher at Oxford Internet Institute, she says, quote, The content thats most misleading or conspiratorial, thats whats generating the most discussion and the most engagement and thats what the algorithm is designed to respond to.

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Harris went on to note that it wasnt until last year, perhaps in light of a blockbuster June 2017 report from ProPublica, that Facebook decided to refine its categories for what counts as hate speech. That report revealed documents showing that Facebook relied on formulas that prohibit hateful language against protected categories, which include sex, gender identity, race, religion, national origin, serious disability or disease, and sexual orientation. Yet the company was more permissive when it came to hate speech directed at subsets of these categories, like age, political ideology, appearance, social class, or occupation. So, with that approach, commenting on white people in general would probably be considered hate speech, but a post about killing people based on a political and religious ideology, like radical Muslims, wouldnt be, because its referring to a particular subset of Muslims. Under this rubric, black children would also be allowed to have hate speech leveled against them but white men wouldnt. Sandberg said that that was a bad policy and that it has since been fixed.

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Sen. Harris: My concern is that, according to Facebooks community standards, you do not allow hate speech on Facebook. However, contrary to what weve seen, on June 28, 2017, a ProPublica report found Facebook training materials instructed reviewers to delete hate speech targeting white men but not against black children because black children are not a protected class. Do you know anything about that and can you talk to me about that? Sandberg: I do. What that was, was, I think, a bad policy that was changed, but not saying black childrenit was childrenit was saying different groups werent looked at the same way and we fixed it. Sen. Harris: Isnt that with hate, period, that not everyone is looked the same way? Sandberg: Hate is against our policies and we take strong measures to take it down. We also publish publicly what our hate-speech standards are. We care tremendously about civil rightswe care tremendously about civil rights. Weve worked closely with civil rights groups to search for hate speech and take it down.

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Harris was suggesting that if Facebook was indeed dedicated to making its community safer for all users and weeding out hate speech, it probably wouldve examined its definition of hate speech before it was called out by journalists. And Sandberg didnt offer much of an explanation for the oversight.

While it may be true that Facebook is working with civil rights groups now, it wasnt the case for a long time despite repeated attempts from civil rights organizations to get the social media giant to meet with them. In October 2016, a group of 73 national and local civil rights groups asked for clarification on the social media giants content-removal polices, which the groups claimed were unfairly censoring the advocacy of racial-justice advocates. In January 2017, again, a coalition of 77 social and racial-justice organizationslike the ACLU, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and otherswrote a letter to Facebook requesting a meeting to address what the organizers called the disproportionate censorship of Facebook users of color, but Facebook declined. Then, in March 2017, the coalition gathered about 570,000 petition signatures to present to Facebook in an attempt to meet with the company to address the troubling experiences minority groups had with Facebooks content-moderation policies. It wasnt until after the ProPublica report came out that Sandberg met with the leaders from civil rights and racial-justice groups in October. In April, Facebook finally released its previously secret community guidelines for handling hate speech.

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But that wasnt necessarily out of a sense of responsibility to the civil rights communities. It followed a revival of complaints from conservatives that Facebook was unfairly biased against them, which came into even sharper focus as a concern for conservatives following Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerbergs testimony to Congress in April. All of which set the stage for Facebook agreeing in May to two separate internal auditsone focused on harms to civil rights that occur on the platform and a second to assess whether Facebook is unfairly biased against conservative voices. The claim of partisan bias against the party thats currently in control of Congress and the White House isnt something that one of the most powerful American companies in the world can really take lightly, even if theres little evidence to back it up. And while its hard to know if Facebooks decision to release its rules and conduct audits was due to complaints from the civil rights communities or cries from conservatives about decreased traffic, the company certainly responded quickly to the political party in powers complaints.

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And so, when Harris asked Sandberg about its previous hate-speech policy and how much money Facebook makes from posts intended to inflame political divisions, like those from Russian agents posing as American activists, Sandberg fumbled. She admitted Facebook was wrong in the past, admitted Facebook makes money from increased engagement, and said Facebook has changed its policiesbut she couldnt address the real problem Harris was scratching at. That problem is that Facebook has every incentive to allow hate speech against historically targeted groups if it means more engagement and little incentive to remove it without outside pressure or regulation. Which might lead critics to a question Harris didnt ask but was probably thinking: Would the company do better if failing to protect its users civil rights was against the law?
It all makes sense once you realize they want to kill us, by Mike Whitney - The Unz Review : 'It is now apparent that these products in ...
Fashion e-shop will get a new warehouse in western Slovakia

The new warehouse will provide 60,000 square metres on several levels.

Construction of a warehouse for the chain of fashion e-shops Factcool in Nove Mesto nad Vahom. (Source: Courtesy of Arete Invest )

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The Czech investment fund Arete Invest, focusing on investment in real estate, is building a new warehouse for the international chain of fashion e-shops Factcool in the industrial park at Nove Mesto nad Vahom.

The Slovak market is an advantageous investment destination for our fund and our investors, said Lubor Svoboda, co-founder and chairman of the administrative board of Arete Invest, as cited by the SITA newswire, adding that the investors are expecting upper standard yields.

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Read also: Investment in real estate is on the rise Read more

Construction of the 11 million warehouse that will serve the region of central and eastern Europe started in July. It should be put into operation next April. Thanks to a sophisticated storage system, it will offer more than 60,000 square metres of storage on several levels over 16,500 square metres. In total, 100 people will find work here.

Factcool and Arete have signed a rental contract for 10 years.

Arete Invest is also negotiating with other tenants, who could take up the remaining free plots for construction.

As well as the extension of the Arete Park at Nove Mesto, the investment fund is negotiating the construction of two brand new premises worth 15 million and plans other acquisitions in the future as well.

6. Sep 2018 at 12:38 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Employment of Roma people remains Slovakias perpetual problem

Unemployment rate is low maybe in Slovakia, but it does not apply to Roma community.

When Juraj Brecko from eastern Slovakia wanted to pave his yard, he was surprised when the head of the company he ordered asked Brecko if he did not mind that the workers are Romas. He had no problem with it.

The work was done on time and at high quality, wrote Brecko for the Tyzden weekly.

Brecko maybe was the one who did not hold any prejudice toward Roma working in his yard. However, that is not the usual Slovak attitude, as an analysis worked out by the Institute for Financial Policy showed recently.

The employment rate of the Roma population is improving moderately with the positive economic development but still significantly lagging behind the majority, is written in the analysis.

In the years between 2004 and 2017 the employment rate of Roma was only one third of the employment rate of the majority. It is characteristic according to short-term and seasonal contracts. If the economy thrives, the employment rate of Romas grows faster than the rate of the majority. Contrarily, Romas are the first to lose their jobs in times of crisis.

One of the barrier is mistrust in the Romas ability to work, Zuzana Kusa, a sociologist from the Slovak Academy of Sciences, told The Slovak Spectator. She mentioned common prejudice about Romas concerning work, that they are not persistent and reliable. The conviction has emerged that investing money in Romas will not pay off.

Problems with names

The prejudice is often on the side of co-workers who do not want to live in the same place as Romas, use the same working tools or share bathrooms. Employers often have to deal with these issues after they employ Roma.

6. Sep 2018 at 13:46 | Nina Hrabovska Francelova
Spectacular Slovakia #1: Bratislava vs. Vienna

Listen to the first episode of our travel podcast, with tips on how to make the best of your trip to Bratislava.

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/495564264&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true

In the first episode of the Spectacular Slovakia podcast, author of the 2009 edition of the eponymous travel guide, James Thomson, will give listeners insider tips on how to make the best of your trip to Bratislava.

James has recently moved back to Bratislava after living for some time in Vienna and will reveal why he left the worlds most liveable city for the Slovak capital.

Spectacular Slovakia travel podcast is the latest addition to our range of travel-related products. This programme is part of The Slovak Spectator subscription and our readers are receiving it every Thursday morning as part of their subscription.

More information:

Print+audio: shop.spectator.sme.sk/newspaper

Online+audio: www.sme.sk/predplatne-spectator

6. Sep 2018 at 8:48 | Michaela Terenzani , James Thomson
President: Every name holds a story of the Holocaust victims and their families

Jews deported to the extermination camps during WWII were remembered with the reading of names from deportation lists in Bratislava.

Every name holds the story of a person and their family, said President Andrej Kiska during the annual Reading of the Names of Holocaust Victims in the P. O. Hviezdoslav City Theatre in Bratislava. He called on people to prevent similar events from happening by building clear and solid barriers against any kind of extremism.

We see also today that evil is growing fast, Kiska said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. We cant forget that in the beginning of every similar tragedy there was a word. Words were used to spread hatred towards people of other religions or skin colours. Also today words of hatred are often spread via social networks, media and people.

It is necessary to talk about evil, the president stressed. One of the ways to delineate barriers against hateful behaviour in society is that people with the same values of love, understanding and forgiveness will create a sense of belonging, as reported by TASR.

Remembering the Holocaust victims

With the Day of Victims of Holocaust and of Racial Violence in Slovakia, which falls on September 9, Slovakia remembers the adoption of the 1941 Jewish Code. It introduced new rules concerning the social and economic degradation of Jews. In 270 paragraphs, the code introduced a special legal regime for Jews, who in fact lost their civil rights. The Jewish Code belonged to the toughest anti-Jew laws in Europe.

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Read also: Holocaust remembrance divided over several days Read more

One year later, thousands of Jews were deported to the extermination camps, TASR reported.

The Holocaust memorial in Bratislava, built on the site of the former synagogue, was ceremonially revealed on August 28, 1997. The joint statement to the Day of Victims of Holocaust and of Racial Violence and the displays of extremism and hatred was adopted by the parliament on September 6, 2006.

Moreover, to remember those deported to the extermination camps where they later died, the names from the deportation lists are read every year. So far, some 4,000 names have been read. The ambition is to read all 58,000 names, the public-service broadcaster RTVS reported.

6. Sep 2018 at 13:55 | Compiled by Spectator staff
The first Slovak F-16 will first remain in the US

The final agreement with Slovakia might be signed until the end of this year, head of Lockheed Marin said in an interview.

However, they will not be immediately delivered to Slovakia. For the first few months they will remain in the US since part of the Slovak pilots training will take place on the aircraft, the Sme daily reported.

The first four machines will arrive in Slovakia in the first quarter of 2023, said Orlando Carvalho, vice-president of the company Lockheed Marin, in an interview with Sme.

How long will the training take?

The training plan is for 22 pilots, which is some three pilots for two aircraft. The training will be organised by the Air Force Security Assistance Training Squadron in several locations, Carvalho said.

We expect several experienced pilots who are currently flying MiG-29 jets in Sliac will come here, he added for Sme. However, for many of them this will be quite a new experience.

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Read also: Slovakia to buy F-16 fighter jets. What is wrong with the ministry's analysis? Read more

The training is quite long, with more experienced pilots undergoing it for 12-18 months. The Slovak pilots are expected to arrive in the US in the end of this year or at the beginning of the next one, Carvalho said.

At the same time, the US company also requests the preparation of technicians for the maintenance of the jet fighters. Some 140 to 160 people should undergo the preparation.

Service to be also provided by Slovaks

Part of the deal is the two-year service of the jets provided by the US between the years 2023 and 2025. When asked by Sme what will happen next, Carvalho answered that they are currently negotiating the cooperation in servicing the F-16 with the aircraft repair company Letecke Opravovne Trencin (LOTN).

As he explained, they plan to construct the necessary facilities in Trencin between the years 2020-2025 so that it will be capable of taking over the activities.

In the long-term, the jets will have to receive some components, hydraulics, electronics and training. This is why there is a plan to sign a deal with LOTN, which will have access to the engineers in the US in case of any problems, Carvalho specified.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Marin is in negotiations with other Slovak companies that could participate in servicing the F-16s.

Read also:

Read also: Cabinet approved purchase of 14 US F-16s Read more

Agreement to be signed by the end of the year

Carvalho appreciated the negotiations with the Slovaks, claiming that the Defence Ministry and its analysis of the offers was really thorough.

Slovakia still has not signed the purchase agreement since the details are still being discussed. Among other things they are trying to reach an agreement on the instalment calendar for which the approval of the Finance Ministry is necessary, Carvalho said.

He expects that the agreement will be reached soon. The necessary documents are expected to be signed in November, or by the end of the year, he added for Sme.

6. Sep 2018 at 14:04 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Hungarian MP: We have saved Europe once, we are protecting it again

Schengen was discussed in the Polish town of Krynica.

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Europe is not facing a migration crisis. The number of refugees coming to the continent is not one that the EU member states are unable to cope with.

That was the message Spanish academic, Ruth Ferrera, brought to the Economic Forum in the Polish town of Krynica.

The Spaniard, from the Complutense University of Madrid, currently on a stay at the Prague-based Institute for International Relations, was a lone voice on the panel about the future of Schengen. Speakers who see the influx of people as a threat prevailed.

The mismanaged migration is a great threat to Europe, said the deputy chair of the Hungarian Parliaments foreign affairs committee, Mihaly Balla. It is also a threat to European culture and everyday life in the states of the EU.

Polish MP Izabela Kloc, member of the foreign affairs committee, said that the situation deteriorated after the refugees got a very concrete invitation from the western part of Europe.

And many of them were willing to take advantage of this invitation, she said, referring to the statement of German Chancellor Angela Merkel from three years ago, saying that Germany could cope with the situation and that central-European countries should allow the refugees headed to Germany to pass.

Davos in central Europe

6. Sep 2018 at 23:10 | Matus Krcmarik
Slovak armys orders support the local armament industry

State company Konstrukta will produce 25 Zuzana 2 artillery systems for the Slovak Armed Forces worth 175 million.

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The state-owned company Konstrukta Defence will produce 25 upgraded Zuzana 2 artillery systems for the Slovak Armed Forces by 2020 worth up to 175 million. The Slovak government gave a green-light for their purchase this May. The Slovak defense industry will also produce 88 armoured personnel vehicles, with the price per piece at less than 4 million. Defense Minister Peter Gajdos informed about the plans on the premises of Konstrukta Defense.

Thanks to the decision to support the domestic defence industry and to introduce Slovak products into the Slovak Armed Forces, well significantly revive the arms industry in the Povazie region, said the minister, as cited by the TASR newswire.

Based on preliminary estimates, 150-300 jobs will be created directly within the DMD Group companies and 300-500 in the network of subcontracters and co-operative companies.

The Director General of the DMD Group, Vladimir Duris added that, thanks to the implemented projects for the Slovak Armed Forces, the regions potential, which has stagnated for years, is being preserved and developed.

Apart from Zuzana 2, Konstrukta Defence also produces 8x8 military armoured vehicles for the Slovak Armed Forces.

The costs associated with the implementation of the 155 mm Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzer are estimated at 175 million, including VAT. In the case of the procurement of the 8x8 military armoured vehicles, costs should not exceed 417 million.

6. Sep 2018 at 22:55 | Compiled by Spectator staff


By Jhoo Dong-chan







KB Kookmin Card has launched its first overseas subsidiary in Cambodia under a joint venture.







According to KB Financial Group, KB Kookmin Card held an inauguration ceremony in Phnom Penh Thursday for KB Daehan Specialized Bank, a joint venture with LVMC Holdings, the Laos-based automotive firm listed in the benchmark KOSPI.







The move is part of KB Financial Group's efforts to strengthen its foothold abroad. The card firm's parent group also established an asset management unit in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday.







KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo and other executives, including, KB Kookmin Card CEO Lee Dong-cheol, participated in the ceremony with LVMC Holdings Chairman Oh Sei-young and National Bank of Cambodia Governor Chea Chanto.







"Separate from KB Kookmin Card's launch in the country, KB has expanded its presence in Cambodia since KB Kookmin Bank opened its branches in Stueng Meanchey and Chbar Ampov in July," said a KB Financial Group official.







"KB Daehan Specialized Bank will closely cooperate with KB Cambodia Bank to strengthen its marketing in retail sectors, including consumer financial, card and capital products."







Under the deal with LVMC Holdings, KB Daehan Specialized Bank will immediately provide an auto loan service for Cambodian people who buy cars from the automotive firm's dealerships. The bank also offers mortgage loans for Cambodians.







In the long term, the bank aims to expand its businesses to credit cards as well as the credit loan sector while opening more branches in other major cities in Cambodia.







The group added KB Cambodia Bank will also start a check card service with its bank customers beginning next year.


Jaguar Land Rover has increased the price of real estate in Nitra by tens of percent

The price of small apartments has almost doubled.

After the British carmaker Jaguar Land Lover (JLR) announced its plan to build a brand new plant in Nitra, local real estate prices skyrocketed. Now the situation seems to be calming down. This is because the central bank has tightened conditions for taking out mortgages as well as developers announcing projects for the construction of new apartments.

Read also:

Read also: Insiders indicate that Jaguar Land Rover in Nitra will start production on September 3 Read more

In the years 2016 and 2017 real estate prices in Nitra and its vicinity increased by 20-30 percent. Rudolf Pauke from the real estate agency RE/MAX Family does not see this as natural growth caused by an increase in employment, labour productivity or wages. Real estate prices were mainly affected by the behaviour of people, the TASR newswire reported.

After the announcement of the investment, real estate prices began to increase. Because of this many sellers withdrew their offers from the market with the aim of waiting for higher prices. On the other hand, there was a high demand from people who wanted to buy residential real estate with a view to later renting it or selling it on for a higher price. This resulted in a drop in offers and an increase in demand, causing a significant increase in prices.

The price of one-room apartments and studios grew the most. While before JLRs arrival a studio in Nitra went for about 29,000, at the time of the biggest boom in prices one could expect to pay as much as 54,000. The price of a one-room apartment went from 35,000 to almost 70,000. At this level they could no longer be sold, so the price cap was about 65,000, said Matias Fest from Fest Garant Invest, as cited by TASR.

The price increase in land was even higher due to a shortage. Before the arrival of the carmaker, land cost 30-50 per square metre. Now it is 80-120 per square metre, said Fest.

6. Sep 2018 at 23:41 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Picnic to open renewed park in Bratislavas Old Town

Landerers Park now has less asphalt and more greenery.

New look of Landerer's Park in Bratislava's Old Town (Source: TASR)

Bratislava is getting a new modern and functional public space. Bratislavas borough of Old Town is just finishing off the work on the new look of the once abandoned Landerers Park close to Safarikovo Square. After the work is complete, the more than 7,000 square metre park will feature more lawns and less asphalt than in the past. There will be new lamps, benches, dust bins, a playground for children, a dog park and a reconstructed fountain.

The creator of the new design for the park is a German architect of Slovak origin, Hans-Michael Foldeak. He is currently working in Paris, the TASR newswire reported.

The works on the park cost 400,000. The Old Town borough has covered one half and the civic association Dobre Miesto, launched by the foundation of the developer HB Reavis, has covered the second half.

The park is named after a former dominant building in this area  Landerers Palace and also for the first book printer in Bratislava - Jan Michal Landerer.

Opening picnic

The park will open with a picnic on Saturday, September 8. The programme starts with a yoga lesson at 10:00 to be followed with a theatrical performance for children at 11:00. At 12:00 architect Hans-Michael Foldeak will tour the park with those interested and explain his ideas behind the project. A concert by Funny Fellow will follow at 13:00.

Refreshment will be secured by NYC Corner and UNAS street food while Pan Kralicek will serve coffee.

6. Sep 2018 at 23:48 | Compiled by Spectator staff
After failing to attract a full field in 2018, the recently-resurrected Jug Preview may once again be a part of harness racing history.

Long a staple of the Grand Circuit and a stop in Ohio ahead of the Little Brown Jug, the Jug Preview made its return to the stakes schedule in 2017 at Scioto Downs after a hiatus of a decade. Last year's race was won by star pacing colt Downbytheseaside, defeating eventual Little Brown Jug champ Filibuster Hanover. The race had a full field of nine, with two horses scratched reducing the starters to seven.

This year, however, just four colts were dropped in the entry box from a total of 61 eligible. Two of those colts were supplements -- Indiana star Always A Prince and Meadowlands Pace winner Courtly Choice. The other two -- Adios champ Dorsoduro Hanover and locally-based Done Well -- were nominated into the race through traditional payments.

The $15,000 in nomination fees that Scioto received for the Jug Preview will be split between the connections of Dorsoduro Hanover and Done Well. The owners of Always A Prince and Courtly Choice get a refund of the $15,000 supplement.

Based on the lacklustre response, Stacy Cahill, GM of Racing Operations for Eldorado Scioto Downs, stated that the Jug Preview likely won't appear on the 2019 stakes schedule.

"This will be the last year I write that race," Cahill told Trot Insider. "Last year it was underwhelming and this year it didnt fill."

Cahill mentioned that the purse money Scioto designated for the Jug Preview could go toward future editions of the Jim Ewart Memorial, possibly putting the purse for the 2019 Ewart in the $500,000 range.
The sailing ship which aroused the interest of locals when it arrived in Tauranga Harbour on Monday is the converted Scottish-built fishing trawler Alvei.

She is in port for a haulout and repair work at the new Vessel Works marine precinct.

The ship, registered in Port Vila, Vanuatu, is a rare specimen, says owner Evan Logan of California.

Technically it's a main to'gallant schooner. It's a schooner rig, it has square yards, and the uppermost yards are called the to'gallants. Apparently there's only two of them with this exact rig in the whole world.

Alvei was built in Montrose, Scotland in 1920 as a herring drifter. Originally designed as a sailing vessel, it was only when he bought her in Norway in 1986 that she actually became one, says Evan.

By about 1910 they started putting motors in these vessels. By about 1920 when she was launched the sailing rigs were almost gone. She was really a motor boat.

I bought the boat in 1986, took it to Portugal in '87, and spent eight years gutting the boat right down to the keel and rebuilding everything. It was supposed to be a two year refit that cost $150,000, and turned out to be an eight year refit that cost a quarter of a million.

Normally the 96 foot (29.25m) Alvei would be in the Pacific at this time of year. She spends winter in the islands, and then returns to either Australia or New Zealand, usually based near Nelson, for the summer.

Alvei's first visit to Tauranga in eight years has been caused by the need to have a leak welded up, says Evan. Vessel Works is the best equipped and most cost effective place in New Zealand to have the work done.

He hopes the boat will be hauled out on Monday, and the work completed by the end of the week.

It's a nice setup and the people are nice, so we're looking forward to working with them, he says.

Once the work has been completed Evan plans a voyage north to Fiji, on a humanitarian mission.

We have an aid project. We have been doing work with people there for several years - we're taking water tanks up to Fiji to supply some of the outer islands.

It's the latest in a series of medical, cultural and ecological relief projects Evan and Alvei have been involved with in the islands of the South Pacific.

He says he's on the lookout for new crew, who are keen on an authentic, traditional sailing experience. They have a crew of eight currently, and Evan would like eight more to join him for the passage.

Vessel Works Managing Director Phil Wardale says the Alveis arrival in Tauranga is a sign of the success of the newly-opened Vessel Works.

Theres few places that can lift him in New Zealand, he says, thats why hes come to Tauranga.

If you go by the facility youll see the shrink wrap just going around a 44m superyacht Encore.

Also on the site at the moment Ive got Deliverance, the Motiti barge that would normally go to Whangarei for work. It hasnt been able to lift out in Tauranga in recent years.

And weve also got a little trimaran up on the hard thats never been able to be lifted out in New Zealand because of its width.

Evan says they hope to be on their way by the end of next week, so anyone keen to join him for the voyage should email him at evan@alvei.org.

The sooner the better because we can use all the help we can get.
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Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
Ahead of opening for the massive US rock band, local heroes TUYS talk to RTL Today about the hopes and expectations.

It's been a busy year for TUYS. They've released a well received LP (Swimming Youth), played a heap of shows AND got their heads down for some serious studies.

A little weary with the 'local' tag, TUYS have the capacity to take on the big leagues. A support slot such as the one at Rockhal this evening is one hell of a stepping stone.

RTL Today catches up with Tun Biever as he travels to Belval from Berlin about the band's journey so far and the extent to which support slots are a crucial component in winning new fans.

Hows things in camp TUYS? Whats new with you?

We are now in the last stages of our studies, so we have to slow things down with regards to touring. But we are using our last release, our recent album as a reason for playing some more shows and finishing the promotion cycle for it - we'll be looking to play some shows in Germany, certainly some in Luxembourg. We will have a new video coming out too. After we graduate, we will hopefully have more festivals to play.

Support slots, in general, are they easy to play?

I would say, it depends, on the kind of support slots you get, we've played support slots with small German bands for example and we've been extremely lucky, also being able to play with some big bands in Luxembourg. Big support slots, when you have 30 minutes, with a large crowd and one that is a bit hyped, at least the ones we have played, have been amazing.

Have you played with a band as big as 30STM?



None as big as 30 Seconds To Mars, no...but we opened for the 1975 in 2014. The Kooks, Crystal Fighters were the main ones, I hope I didn't forget any (Everything, Everything - ed.). We are really looking forward to playing the biggest stage in Luxembourg, its definitely one to tick off the checklist. We are really excited.

What are your expectations?



Aside from a lot of people - their all there to see 30STM rather than us. We've heard that their fans normally go crazy for the support band too, so I hope that is true. We will just enjoy ourselves, playing a short and intense show and then really enjoy ourselves after the show.

Are you fan of the bands output?

Yeah, there are some songs that I quite like. Mostly the older songs. I am quite impressed by Jared Leto...the different roles that he slips in and out of, not just professionally but in his personal life.

I like the tracks Conquistador and Up In The Air (from Love Lust Faith + Dreams). I am not as big a fan of the new album, I have to admit. But still a VERY impressive band.

How did the support booking come about?



den Atelier approached us, and I am really thankful that they book local bands for such big shows. That's really incredible. I mean, the show was already sold out when they booked us and that there is a sign of trust and support that they have for local bands...so, yeah....THANKS.

If you could get Jared to guest on one of your tracks which would it be and why?

Hah, I think I would rather have him in one of our video clips. That would be pretty funny and probably even better than having hm on a song. Perhaps on Remember, playing a bi-polar drug addict. Something where he'd have to transform, lose some weight...

Plans for the rest of the year?

Focus on our studies...some shows. There will be the new single and video in late Autumn and more shows to be announced.
Mountain Shadows in Wayanad is just the place for a dreamy vacation
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Page: 1 2 Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota SevenThunders

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09-06-2018 03:27 AM



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Post: #1 Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

Advertisement



https://pjmedia.com/faith/ex-muslim-chri...minnesota/





If you are a democrat or a RINO republican throw yourselves on the ground and repent in fear and trembling, and put your faith in Jesus Christ so that you might be saved. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? Thanks Obama, and thanks liberals for creating a God hating oppressive police state. God will hold you accountable for institutionalizing evil. You reject the very freedoms you claim to revere in order to persecute Christ.If you are a democrat or a RINO republican throw yourselves on the ground and repent in fear and trembling, and put your faith in Jesus Christ so that you might be saved.The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,and mighty is the army that obeys his command.The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 352517

09-06-2018 03:27 AM











Post: #2 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

Dear OP,



You're a f*cking dipshit. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460585

09-06-2018 03:29 AM











Post: #3 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

The U.S has always been anti god.



The police state started long before obama.



Jesus is a Mexican. Archangel

Michael

User ID: 441975

09-06-2018 03:31 AM



Posts: 14,103









Post: #4 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

Moral of the story? Don't talk about God in the Temple of Mammon. HardTruth

Get your wisdom on or GTFO of the way

User ID: 417246

09-06-2018 03:34 AM



Posts: 3,321









Post: #5 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

SevenThunders Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:27 AM) Thanks Obama, and thanks liberals for creating a God hating oppressive police state. God will hold you accountable for institutionalizing evil. You reject the very freedoms you claim to revere in order to persecute Christ.



https://pjmedia.com/faith/ex-muslim-chri...minnesota/





If you are a democrat or a RINO republican throw yourselves on the ground and repent in fear and trembling, and put your faith in Jesus Christ so that you might be saved.

Come out of the dark ages, the BS of your false religion has been exposed, folks want no part of it!!



. Come out of the dark ages, the BS of your false religion has been exposed, folks want no part of it!! If it seeketh, expects, or demands worship, it is not divine!!



Anyone that believes Earth has the only intelligent life in the whole of the cosmos, is a f*cking moron, and shouldn't be allowed an opinion about anything else!!



Galaxy tamarack

lop guest

User ID: 334357

09-06-2018 03:35 AM











Post: #6 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

If he wasn't being a nuisance, then he'll win a civil rights lawsuit. SevenThunders

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09-06-2018 03:36 AM



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Post: #7 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

Archangel Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:31 AM) Moral of the story? Don't talk about God in the Temple of Mammon.

This issue has gone to the supreme court I believe. Depending on the state, the oppressive mall cops may be violating these people's first amendment rights.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruneyard_..._v._Robins



However note how the lib.s immediately jump to the defense of the state to intervene and oppress two private individuals who were simply having a religious conversation! In other words the pastor wasn't even open air preaching or handing out tracts. He was simply having a conversation that some nearby psycho-lib or demon possessed Muslim couldn't handle.



The lib.s of course will always side with evil, and the doctrines of demons and always against true expressions of free speech. It's simply so very sad. This issue has gone to the supreme court I believe. Depending on the state, the oppressive mall cops may be violating these people's first amendment rights.However note how the lib.s immediately jump to the defense of the state to intervene and oppress two private individuals who were simply having a religious conversation! In other words the pastor wasn't even open air preaching or handing out tracts. He was simply having a conversation that some nearby psycho-lib or demon possessed Muslim couldn't handle.The lib.s of course will always side with evil, and the doctrines of demons and always against true expressions of free speech. It's simply so very sad. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (This post was last modified: 09-06-2018 03:37 AM by SevenThunders .) LoP Guest

lop guest

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09-06-2018 03:41 AM











Post: #8 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

he should take it to court tamarack

lop guest

User ID: 334357

09-06-2018 03:46 AM











Post: #9 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:41 AM) he should take it to court

The mall might have a protect your ass posted policy that completely

leaves the matter up to their own discretion,,, in which case that mall should

be exposed and boycotted by any self-respecting visitor. The mall might have a protect your ass posted policy that completelyleaves the matter up to their own discretion,,, in which case that mall shouldbe exposed and boycotted by any self-respecting visitor. SevenThunders

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09-06-2018 03:52 AM



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Post: #10 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

tamarack Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:46 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:41 AM) he should take it to court

The mall might have a protect your ass posted policy that completely

leaves the matter up to their own discretion,,, in which case that mall should

be exposed and boycotted by any self-respecting visitor.

Agreed, but this mall cop behavior would actually be illegal in CA thanks to free speech clauses put into it's constitution prior to being overthrown by the current Marxist junta.



In Minnesota it's hard to say, but I do note the same preferential treatment of satanic cults like Islam over traditional Christianity. This is the same mandate exercised by Western European countries hell bent on committing national suicide. There were 2 crimes here in the eyes of the far left.

1) Preaching the gospel.

2) Trying to convert a Muslim.



The principality of darkness that promotes a particular devil cult over everything else is so very apparent, yet the eyes of the left have been darkened to it's machinations. Agreed, but this mall cop behavior would actually be illegal in CA thanks to free speech clauses put into it's constitution prior to being overthrown by the current Marxist junta.In Minnesota it's hard to say, but I do note the same preferential treatment of satanic cults like Islam over traditional Christianity. This is the same mandate exercised by Western European countries hell bent on committing national suicide. There were 2 crimes here in the eyes of the far left.1) Preaching the gospel.2) Trying to convert a Muslim.The principality of darkness that promotes a particular devil cult over everything else is so very apparent, yet the eyes of the left have been darkened to it's machinations. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (This post was last modified: 09-06-2018 03:53 AM by SevenThunders .) LoP Guest

lop guest

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09-06-2018 03:57 AM











Post: #11 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:41 AM) he should take it to court

He might not win in the Sharia courts in Minnesota.... He might not win in the Sharia courts in Minnesota.... tamarack

lop guest

User ID: 334357

09-06-2018 04:03 AM











Post: #12 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

SevenThunders Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:52 AM) tamarack Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:46 AM) The mall might have a protect your ass posted policy that completely

leaves the matter up to their own discretion,,, in which case that mall should

be exposed and boycotted by any self-respecting visitor.

Agreed, but this mall cop behavior would actually be illegal in CA thanks to free speech clauses put into it's constitution prior to being overthrown by the current Marxist junta.



In Minnesota it's hard to say, but I do note the same preferential treatment of satanic cults like Islam over traditional Christianity. This is the same mandate exercised by Western European countries hell bent on committing national suicide. There were 2 crimes here in the eyes of the far left.

1) Preaching the gospel.

2) Trying to convert a Muslim.



The principality of darkness that promotes a particular devil cult over everything else is so very apparent, yet the eyes of the left have been darkened to it's machinations.

Of course if he was being as insulting and demeaning as you in the process of stirring up antagonisms in a place of business, then he would deserve to have his ass booted,,, but I think he was probably being more discrete and considerate of others' right to privacy. Of course if he was being as insulting and demeaning as you in the process of stirring up antagonisms in a place of business, then he would deserve to have his ass booted,,, but I think he was probably being more discrete and considerate of others' right to privacy. SevenThunders

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09-06-2018 04:54 AM



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Post: #13 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

tamarack Wrote: (09-06-2018 04:03 AM) SevenThunders Wrote: (09-06-2018 03:52 AM) Agreed, but this mall cop behavior would actually be illegal in CA thanks to free speech clauses put into it's constitution prior to being overthrown by the current Marxist junta.



In Minnesota it's hard to say, but I do note the same preferential treatment of satanic cults like Islam over traditional Christianity. This is the same mandate exercised by Western European countries hell bent on committing national suicide. There were 2 crimes here in the eyes of the far left.

1) Preaching the gospel.

2) Trying to convert a Muslim.



The principality of darkness that promotes a particular devil cult over everything else is so very apparent, yet the eyes of the left have been darkened to it's machinations.

Of course if he was being as insulting and demeaning as you in the process of stirring up antagonisms in a place of business, then he would deserve to have his ass booted,,, but I think he was probably being more discrete and considerate of others' right to privacy.

The gospel is an offense to those who are perishing. I tell the simple truth without sugar coating anything. I'm sorry if you are a Hillary supporter and your heart is darkened by these principalities. I was once in your same state, until my eyes were opened. So you see any sinner can receive salvation by trusting in Jesus. The gospel is an offense to those who are perishing. I tell the simple truth without sugar coating anything. I'm sorry if you are a Hillary supporter and your heart is darkened by these principalities. I was once in your same state, until my eyes were opened. So you see any sinner can receive salvation by trusting in Jesus. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? LoP Guest

lop guest

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09-06-2018 05:08 AM











Post: #14 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

Low IQ people believing in a magical sky daddy. SevenThunders

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09-06-2018 05:15 AM



Posts: 3,747









Post: #15 RE: Ex Muslim Christian Pastor Arrested and Abused For Preaching: In Minnesota

LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 05:08 AM) Low IQ people believing in a magical sky daddy.

It's quite likely my IQ is higher than yours, so your generalization has failed. Some of the most intelligent and insightful scientists and innovators were men of faith. These include Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Leibniz, Faraday and Pascal.



In fact knowing Jesus gives you an edge in science, since God himself will honor a humble request for wisdom. It's quite likely my IQ is higher than yours, so your generalization has failed. Some of the most intelligent and insightful scientists and innovators were men of faith. These include Isaac Newton, James Clerk Maxwell, Leibniz, Faraday and Pascal.In fact knowing Jesus gives you an edge in science, since God himself will honor a humble request for wisdom. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? Advertisement


















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Page: 1 2 Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska LoP Guest

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09-06-2018 07:51 PM











Post: #1 Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

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The bombers were detected flying near the Aleutian Islands, said Michael Kucharek, a spokesman for the Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).



"Two Alaskan-based NORAD F-22 fighters intercepted and visually identified two Tu-95 Bear' long-range bomber aircraft flying in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, south of the Aleutian Islands," he told the Free Beacon.



Kucharek declined to specify the distance the bombers flew from the west coast of Alaska to protect operational security.

https://freebeacon.com/national-security...-alaska-2/ Two Russian nuclear-capable bombers were intercepted by American F-22 jets near Alaska on Saturday, the Northern Command disclosed.The bombers were detected flying near the Aleutian Islands, said Michael Kucharek, a spokesman for the Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)."Two Alaskan-based NORAD F-22 fighters intercepted and visually identified two Tu-95 Bear' long-range bomber aircraft flying in the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone, south of the Aleutian Islands," he told the Free Beacon.Kucharek declined to specify the distance the bombers flew from the west coast of Alaska to protect operational security. Hamburgerwagon

lop guest

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09-06-2018 07:52 PM











Post: #2 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

This happens all the time. When they shoot one down, then we will have some news. general mishka

lop guest

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09-06-2018 07:55 PM











Post: #3 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

Another test of response time LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460745

09-06-2018 07:59 PM











Post: #4 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

Russian bombers can hit most northern NATO targets with nuclear armed cruise missiles by just circling the North pole.



If a Russian bomber flys down the West coast, it's missiles can easily hit everything West of the Rockies.



Most "intercepts" occur when Russian planes are well within their strike range.



A real bomber strike would be preceded by nuclear attacks on interceptor bases so there will be no intercepts of an actual bomber wave. LoP Guest

lop guest

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09-06-2018 08:45 PM











Post: #5 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

Propellers. udis

Philosopher

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09-06-2018 09:04 PM



Posts: 32,300









Post: #6 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska



The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.



They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,

First flight: 18 December 1981.





But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.

Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

First flown in 1952,





They Do Not Fly These Near US Cuz they Know we would SHOOT it DOWN!

Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M



The RUSSIANS Dont Want Their New PRETTY Flying Wing

getting Ugly Scratches On it From Our Fighter Jets. Russia Actually Keeps their Cold War Museum PLANES in Flying Condition.The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,First flight: 18 December 1981.But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 BearFirst flown in 1952,They Do Not Fly These Near US Cuz they Know we would SHOOT it DOWN!Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2MThe RUSSIANS Dont Want Their New PRETTY Flying Winggetting Ugly Scratches On it From Our Fighter Jets.  This Claim Is Disputed Pending Fact Checkers.  udis

 The Ministry Of Thought Crime. Does Not Approve Of Your Thoughts!   (This post was last modified: 09-06-2018 09:07 PM by udis .) udis

Philosopher

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09-06-2018 09:08 PM



Posts: 32,300









Post: #7 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

general mishka Wrote: (09-06-2018 07:55 PM) Another test of response time Nope Just Dropping Off Russian Troops to Train with Americans.

SPACE FORCE Stuff, Very Hush Hush!

Nope Just Dropping Off Russian Troops to Train with Americans.SPACE FORCE Stuff, Very Hush Hush!  This Claim Is Disputed Pending Fact Checkers.  udis

 The Ministry Of Thought Crime. Does Not Approve Of Your Thoughts!   LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460713

09-06-2018 09:08 PM











Post: #8 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

I heard Alaskans do not just fight terrorists. They generate them. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460582

09-06-2018 09:26 PM











Post: #9 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM) Russia Actually Keeps their Cold War Museum PLANES in Flying Condition.

The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.



They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,

First flight: 18 December 1981.

link to image: https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/...430892.jpg Because there are at most only 11 Tu-160s in flight worthy condition.

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/we-just...bc593f6846



udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM) But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.

Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

First flown in 1952,

link to image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...Marina.jpg Because bears make up the vast bulk of Russia's bomber fleet, they are actually pretty fast for a turboprop.



udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM) link to image: https://militarywatchmagazine.com/articl...037845.jpg

The RUSSIANS Dont Want Their New PRETTY Flying Wing

getting Ugly Scratches On it From Our Fighter Jets. Because they don't exist and never will. Russia can't even afford the Su-57, despite being under development for 20 years in a joint programme with India, the defense budget can only stretch to buying 12 of them, a far cry from the days when the Kremlin could afford to build 800 Su-27 or 1600 Mig-29. Because there are at most only 11 Tu-160s in flight worthy condition.Because bears make up the vast bulk of Russia's bomber fleet, they are actually pretty fast for a turboprop.Because they don't exist and never will. Russia can't even afford the Su-57, despite being under development for 20 years in a joint programme with India, the defense budget can only stretch to buying 12 of them, a far cry from the days when the Kremlin could afford to build 800 Su-27 or 1600 Mig-29. udis

Philosopher

User ID: 459984

09-06-2018 09:38 PM



Posts: 32,300









Post: #10 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska



We are Going to Build it For THEM!

AMERICAN COMPANIES OPERATING IN RUSSIA

In total there are almost 3,000 American companies in Russia,

and the U.S. is also the leader in terms of foreign companies in

Special Economic Zones, with 11 projects.

Like The Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M



3M

Abbott Laboratories

AbbVie

AECOM

Air Products

Albermarle Chemicals Representative Office

Alcoa SMZ (Alcoa Russia)

American Express Russia & CIS

AmeRussia St.Petersburg, Russia

Amrustrans

Amsted Rail Company

Amway Russia

Apple

Armstrong World Industries

Autodesk

Avis Russia

Avon Beauty Products Company

Black & Decker, Moscow Representative Office

BAE Systems

Boeing Russia

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Brown-Forman Russia

Burger King

Cameron

Cargill

Caterpillar Eurasia

Caterpillar Tosno

Celgene Corporation

Chevron

Cisco Systems

Citi Russia

Citibank, Saint-Petersburg Branch

Coca-Cola System in Russia

Colgate-Palmolive

Compressor Controls Corporation

CononoPhillips Russia

Corning SNG

Crate & Barrel

Cummins Incorporated

Dell

Delta Air Lines

Dolby

Dow Europe

DuPont Science and Technologies

Eaton

Ecolab

ExxonMobil

Fluor Entrprises Group

Ford Sollers Holding

Forever 21

General Dynamics Corporation

General Electric

General Motors Russia & cIS

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories

Goldman Sachs

Google

Halliburton

Herbalife International RS

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Hilton Russia

Honeywell

Huntsman CIS

IBM East Europe/Asia (NW Region Branch)

IBM East Europe/Asia

Intel

International Paper Russia, Moscow Branch

John Deere Rus

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson Controls International

JP Morgan

KBR East

Kellogg Rus

KFC

Kimberly-Clark

Kinross Gold Corporation, Moscow Representative Office

Krispy Kreme

Levi Strauss Moscow

Lexmark International

Liberty Insurance

Lilly Pharma

Lockheed Martin

Mars Inc.

Mary Kay

MasterCard International

McDonalds Russia

Medtronic

Metlife

Microsoft RUS

Mondelez International

Morgan Stanley

Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions, St. Petersburg Software Design Center

MSD Pharmaceuticals

NBCUniversal

Nike

NVIDIA

Northrop Grumman

OCV Steklovolokno (Owens Corning)

Oracle Development SPB

OTIS Lift

PepsiCo

Pfizer

Philip Morris Izhora

Philip Morris Sales & Marketing

Procter & Gamble

Qualcomm Europe, Russia Branch Office

RAND Corporation

Raytheon Company

SC Johnson

Sealed Air

Sherwin-Williams

Software Technologies

Standard & Poors Credit Market Services Europe Limited

Starbucks

Subway Russia

Tenneco Automotive Volga

The Estee Lauder Companies

The Walt Disney Company, CIS

Thermo Fisher Scientific

Timken-Rus Service Company

United Technologies International Operations

United Way of Russia

Visa

Walt Disney Studios Sony Pictures Releasing

Western Union

Wrigley, A subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated-St. Petersburg Branch

Xerox

YRIR (YUM! Restaurants International Russia and CIS)

AMERICAN COMPANIES OPERATING IN RUSSIAIn total there are almost 3,000 American companies in Russia,and the U.S. is also the leader in terms of foreign companies inLike The Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M3MAbbott LaboratoriesAbbVieAECOMAir ProductsAlbermarle Chemicals Representative OfficeAlcoa SMZ (Alcoa Russia)American Express Russia & CISAmeRussia St.Petersburg, RussiaAmrustransAmsted Rail CompanyAmway RussiaAppleArmstrong World IndustriesAutodeskAvis RussiaAvon Beauty Products CompanyBlack & Decker, Moscow Representative OfficeBristol-Myers SquibbBrown-Forman RussiaBurger KingCameronCargillCaterpillar EurasiaCaterpillar TosnoCelgene CorporationChevronCisco SystemsCiti RussiaCitibank, Saint-Petersburg BranchCoca-Cola System in RussiaColgate-PalmoliveCompressor Controls CorporationCononoPhillips RussiaCorning SNGCrate & BarrelCummins IncorporatedDellDelta Air LinesDolbyDow EuropeDuPont Science and TechnologiesEatonEcolabExxonMobilFluor Entrprises GroupFord Sollers HoldingForever 21General Motors Russia & cISGenesys Telecommunications LaboratoriesGoldman SachsGoogleHalliburtonHerbalife International RSHewlett Packard EnterpriseHilton RussiaHuntsman CISIBM East Europe/Asia (NW Region Branch)IBM East Europe/AsiaInternational Paper Russia, Moscow BranchJohn Deere RusJohnson & JohnsonJP MorganKBR EastKellogg RusKFCKimberly-ClarkKinross Gold Corporation, Moscow Representative OfficeKrispy KremeLevi Strauss MoscowLexmark InternationalLiberty InsuranceLilly PharmaMars Inc.Mary KayMasterCard InternationalMcDonalds RussiaMedtronicMetlifeMicrosoft RUSMondelez InternationalMorgan StanleyMotorola SolutionsMotorola Solutions, St. Petersburg Software Design CenterMSD PharmaceuticalsNBCUniversalNikeNVIDIAOCV Steklovolokno (Owens Corning)Oracle Development SPBOTIS LiftPepsiCoPfizerPhilip Morris IzhoraPhilip Morris Sales & MarketingProcter & GambleQualcomm Europe, Russia Branch OfficeSC JohnsonSealed AirSherwin-WilliamsSoftware TechnologiesStandard & Poors Credit Market Services Europe LimitedStarbucksSubway RussiaTenneco Automotive VolgaThe Estee Lauder CompaniesThe Walt Disney Company, CISTimken-Rus Service CompanyUnited Way of RussiaVisaWalt Disney Studios Sony Pictures ReleasingWestern UnionWrigley, A subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated-St. Petersburg BranchXeroxYRIR (YUM! Restaurants International Russia and CIS)  This Claim Is Disputed Pending Fact Checkers.  udis

 The Ministry Of Thought Crime. Does Not Approve Of Your Thoughts!   (This post was last modified: 09-06-2018 09:44 PM by udis .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460755

09-06-2018 09:38 PM











Post: #11 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:26 PM) udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM) Russia Actually Keeps their Cold War Museum PLANES in Flying Condition.

The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.



They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,

First flight: 18 December 1981.

link to image: https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/...430892.jpg Because there are at most only 11 Tu-160s in flight worthy condition.

https://medium.com/war-is-boring/we-just...bc593f6846



udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM) But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.

Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

First flown in 1952,

link to image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...Marina.jpg Because bears make up the vast bulk of Russia's bomber fleet, they are actually pretty fast for a turboprop.



udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM) link to image: https://militarywatchmagazine.com/articl...037845.jpg

The RUSSIANS Dont Want Their New PRETTY Flying Wing

getting Ugly Scratches On it From Our Fighter Jets. Because they don't exist and never will. Russia can't even afford the Su-57, despite being under development for 20 years in a joint programme with India, the defense budget can only stretch to buying 12 of them, a far cry from the days when the Kremlin could afford to build 800 Su-27 or 1600 Mig-29.

...or at least thats what Putin is letting you think.

Id wager Russia or China could cripple us militarily and domestically in about 45 minutes if they felt like it.



We are militarily incompetent.

LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 458449

09-06-2018 09:43 PM











Post: #12 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM)

The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.



They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,

First flight: 18 December 1981.

link to image:



But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.

Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

First flown in 1952,

link to image:



They Do Not Fly These Near US Cuz they Know we would SHOOT it DOWN!

Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M Russia Actually Keeps their Cold War Museum PLANES in Flying Condition.The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,First flight: 18 December 1981.link to image: https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/...430892.jpg But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 BearFirst flown in 1952,link to image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...Marina.jpg They Do Not Fly These Near US Cuz they Know we would SHOOT it DOWN!Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M

link to image: https://militarywatchmagazine.com/articl...037845.jpg

The RUSSIANS Dont Want Their New PRETTY Flying Wing

getting Ugly Scratches On it From Our Fighter Jets.

Nice try Boris, but...



Tupolev PAK DA is not even close to be operational; it is announced to enter service in 202530, but... Western military experts consider this prediction far too optimistic. Nice try Boris, but...Tupolev PAK DA is not even close to be operational; it is announced to enter service in 202530, but... Western military experts consider this prediction far too optimistic. udis

Philosopher

User ID: 459984

09-06-2018 09:46 PM



Posts: 32,300









Post: #13 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:43 PM) udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:04 PM)

The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.



They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,

First flight: 18 December 1981.

link to image:



But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.

Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 Bear

First flown in 1952,

link to image:



They Do Not Fly These Near US Cuz they Know we would SHOOT it DOWN!

Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M Russia Actually Keeps their Cold War Museum PLANES in Flying Condition.The So Called BOMBERS are Ancient Russian Technology.They actually have Much Newer BOMBERS! But even this One dates back to,First flight: 18 December 1981.link to image: https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/...430892.jpg But What they Send to Alaska is these Old Things.Russian Air Force Tupolev Tu-95 BearFirst flown in 1952,link to image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...Marina.jpg They Do Not Fly These Near US Cuz they Know we would SHOOT it DOWN!Tu-160M2 and Tu-26M2M

link to image: https://militarywatchmagazine.com/articl...037845.jpg

The RUSSIANS Dont Want Their New PRETTY Flying Wing

getting Ugly Scratches On it From Our Fighter Jets.

Nice try Boris, but...



Tupolev PAK DA is not even close to be operational; it is announced to enter service in 202530, but... Western military experts consider this prediction far too optimistic. Please Refer to Post #10 and go else where to CRY When You learn RUSSIA is a Capitalist Nation, And we are Building their New High Tech Bombers For them. Please Refer to Post #10 and go else where to CRY When You learn RUSSIA is a Capitalist Nation, And we are Building their New High Tech Bombers For them.  This Claim Is Disputed Pending Fact Checkers.  udis

 The Ministry Of Thought Crime. Does Not Approve Of Your Thoughts!   (This post was last modified: 09-06-2018 09:46 PM by udis .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460582

09-06-2018 10:03 PM











Post: #14 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

udis Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:46 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (09-06-2018 09:43 PM) Nice try Boris, but...



Tupolev PAK DA is not even close to be operational; it is announced to enter service in 202530, but... Western military experts consider this prediction far too optimistic. Please Refer to Post #10 and go else where to CRY When You learn RUSSIA is a Capitalist Nation, And we are Building their New High Tech Bombers For them.

No one is going to build the PAK DA, Russia can only afford a dozen PAK FA/Su-57, they are broke. Please Refer to Post #9 No one is going to build the PAK DA, Russia can only afford a dozen PAK FA/Su-57, they are broke. Please Refer to Post #9 LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 460745

09-06-2018 10:26 PM











Post: #15 RE: Russian Nuclear Bombers Intercepted Near Alaska

The Tu-95 can hit every NATO capital in Europe without leaving Russian airspace.



Their medium range missiles at Kaliningrad can destroy nearly every airfield in Europe.



And to the idiot who said the Russians fly old bombers, so does the US. B-52 bombers are very old. The US cant afford huge bomber fleets either.



Unless the US is able to deploy its shorter range fighter/attack jets, it's relatively impotent.



Long range unmanned bombers are the future along with glide bombers. China and Russia both way ahead.



It's not 2003. Advertisement


















Gretel Killeen, Meshel Laurie and former AFL player Peter Spida Everitt are amongst first cast names revealed for Go Back to Where You Came From Live for SBS.

Airing Live over 3 nights in early October, the fourth instalment of the ground-breaking documentary event will see a group of Australians immersed in some of the most dangerous places on earth to experience the refugee crisis first-hand.

The participants, who will be a mix of high profile and everyday Australians, include:

Meshel Laurie, comedian, radio and TV personality, is an active supporter of asylum seekers. Her Buddhist spiritualism is a motivator for her to give back to communities around the world.

Spida Everitt, ex-AFL player and breakfast radio host who believes refugees should only come in the right way, should work and offer something to Australia. Spida thinks African gangs are a problem in Melbourne and worries for the safety of his daughters who live there.

Gretel Killeen, writer, performer and media personality. Gretel believes Australias treatment of refugees is barbaric.

Steve, 41, from Adelaide, a prison youth worker and anti-refugee provocateur who thinks Australias stop the boats policy is effective. Steven says refugees in Australia are country shoppers, who head to Australia for economic reasons.

Gareth, 29, a theatre student from Bathurst, with mixed views. While he believes indefinite detention is not humane, says we cant just open the floodgates and need to protect our borders.

Dannii, 24, from Townsville, is a young conservative who works at her local church and believes in protecting Australias cultural values. She thinks our current policies are spot on and shouldnt be altered.

SBS will announce more participants and the global locations they will visit in the coming weeks.

Marshall Heald, SBS Director of Television and Online Content, said: Using state of the art technology to broadcast from the heart of the global refugee crisis, Go Back to Where You Came From Live is one of the most ambitious television events in Australian broadcasting history. By taking audiences to the frontlines of this crisis in real time, the latest instalment of SBSs award-winning series will capture a snapshot of the issue as it develops with a sense of urgency befitting the subject.

Opinions will be challenged as we witness stories of adversity, resilience and an optimism for a new life from refugees and asylum seekers at home and abroad. Putting this human face on a seemingly unsurmountable problem and encouraging a national conversation is what SBS does best.

Michael Cordell, CJZ Creative Director, said: Covering the global refugee experience in a live television event is probably the most difficult project we have attempted. Despite the challenges its hard to imagine a more important story to bring to Australian audiences. The immediacy and veracity of live TV will make this incredibly compelling.

Over three nights from 2  4 October, Australian audiences will follow events live from conflict hotspots and frontlines across multiple continents, witnessing the complexity of mass human migration and its ripple effects in 2018. Journalist Ray Martin and SBS World News Janice Petersen will be stationed in the Nerve Centre in the studio in Sydney, as the stories unfold through a mix of documentary elements and live crosses to participants on-the-ground.

The participants, each with pre-conceived ideas about refugees, will glimpse the reality of life in disputed territories, at border crossings and inside refugee camps. They will get a first-hand experience of the global refugee crisis beyond the headlines, protests and policies, and opinions from all sides of the debate will be challenged.

Go Back to Where You Came From Live is a CJZ production for SBS, with principal production investment from SBS in association with Screen Australia. Financed with the assistance of Create NSW.

Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia, said: It is exciting to see this award-winning series return in an innovative and more technologically advanced format. SBS has proven itself to be a leader in event television, with bold documentaries that spark national conversations on complex issues. With new hosts, and new ways of bringing these stories into Australian living rooms, Im sure this series, produced by the experienced team at CJZ, will resonate with audiences and have an impact beyond broadcast.

Sophia Zachariou, Director of Screen Investment, Engagement and Attraction at Create NSW said: As a champion of diverse storytelling, we are hugely excited to be involved in what is set to be a timely and epic broadcast experience. Through incredible access, Go Back Live will shine a unique light on the global refugee crisis to capture the attention of audiences across the country and challenge the perceptions of many. This is such an exciting technological feat for SBS and we cant wait to watch the experience unfold across the three nights.

This is the fourth season of CJZ and SBSs Go Back To Where You Came From; one of the worlds most awarded television formats  winner of two Logie Awards, an AACTA Award, an International Emmy, and two Rose dOr awards, as well as a UN Peace Award.

Live 8.30pm 2  4 October on SBS.
Netflix has thrown a lifeline to Kiefer Sutherland drama Designated Survivor after it was axed by ABC (US).

It will return for a third season of 10 episodes in which President Kirkman (Sutherland) will face a political reality campaigning. What does it take to make a leader? What price will he be willing to pay? This season will explore todays world of campaigning, smear tactics, debates, campaign finance and fake news. Democracy, as we know it, will hang in the balance.

Kiefer Sutherland said, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play President Kirkman for season 3 of Designated Survivor with Netflix, eOne and (showrunner) Neal Baer. I believe this format will allow us to continue to delve deeply into storylines and issues concerning the American electorate that were not previously possible.

Executive Producer Mark Gordon said, The continuation of the show via Netflix is a win-win for all involved. The story of President Kirkman and those around him has not been fully told and we look forward to working with our new partner in continuing the show for a global audience.

For Australian fans there will be no change given the series was already available via Netflix.

Season 3 will go into production later this year and launch in 2019.
Richard (Rich) M. DeVos exemplified the value of hard work, free enterprise and expansive philanthropy in building flourishing communities. The Acton Institute mourns the passing of DeVos, 92, who for decades was known for leadership in business, his dedication to the promotion of liberty, and his courage in maintaining and defending the free and virtuous society.

Rich DeVos never shrank from the conviction that the roots of liberty and the morally-charged life are to be found in the eternal truths of the Judeo-Christian tradition, said Rev. Robert A. Sirico, co-founder and president of Acton. His entire life is a testament to putting those principles into concrete action.

In 2010, Acton awarded DeVos its Faith and Freedom Award in recognition for his many achievements. He began his first business in the late 1940s, when he and friend Jay Van Andel became independent distributors for Nutrilite. The California manufacturer of vitamins used a person-to-person direct-selling approach that DeVos and Van Andel adopted when starting Amway from their Ada, Mich. homes in 1959. Together, they refined the direct-selling method of offering individuals the opportunity to build businesses of their own that became the model for scores of direct-selling companies and marked the start of a major worldwide direct-selling industry. Today, Amway is among the largest and most successful companies in the world.

In addition to his generous support of Christian causes and the American conservative tradition, DeVos is an accomplished author. Throughout his four books, DeVos presents his most poignant stories and important principles. The second of these books, Compassionate Capitalism, outlines 16 strategies for integrating compassion with free enterprise. A later work inspired by DeVos heart transplant, Hope from My Heart (1997), imparts ten lessons for life on subjects including persistence, confidence, optimism, respect, and faith. Former President Gerald R. Ford hailed the book exciting, inspiring, and down-to-earth with God-given advice for everyone.

A testament to his dedication and courage, DeVos once famously remarked: The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from his life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible. It is this tenacity and conviction that has earned DeVos a place among Christians, among business executives, and among men.

Home page photo: Richard M. DeVos Center on Grand Valley State University Pew-Grand Rapids campus (wikicommons)
Hollywood and the general public are supporting Geoffrey Owens of The Cosby Show, after a woman took photos of him working behind the till at a Trader Joes outlet in Clifton, New Jersey. Owens played Bill Cosbys son-in-law on the show for seven years. However on Thursday last week  ironically shortly before the Labor Day holiday in the US  the Mail Online tabloid published an article about Owens with a headline saying he had gone from learning lines to serving the long line. Fox News followed suit with a similar article.

As reported by the BBC, the images were also shared on social media, leading to people job-shaming Owens for doing an honest days work.

However, social media also supported the actor, saying they found the article insulting towards Owens because the man was doing an honest days work. Many people said the article was job-shaming the actor.

Owens thanks people for their support

Owens played Bill Cosbys characters son-in-law, Elvin Tibideaux on the last five seasons of The Cosby Show, a sitcom that was on TV from 1985 to 1992. After the actor was openly mocked online, he went on to thank his supporters who stood by him. He said the support of celebrities and fellow actors was really overwhelming adding that this was in a good way.

On Tuesday, the actor told Good Morning America that he feels more like a celebrity now than he did when he was really a celebrity, starring in The Cosby Show.

FULL INTERVIEW: @GMA EXCLUSIVE -- "There's no job better than another...every job is worthwhile..." Actor Geoffrey Owens speaks out, responding to job shaming and backlash after a photo of him working at a grocery store was posted online: https://t.co/0wZJnpowI9 pic.twitter.com/aNiG5fV2yf  Good Morning America (@GMA) September 4, 2018

Owens has worked at the Clifton Trader Joes for 15 months and said several shoppers have recently recognized him.

The actor proudly wore his name tag from Trader Joes throughout the interview.

Owens went on to say that he hopes people will rethink the dignity of work and the honour of a working person. He added that every job is valuable and has prestige. The actor did admit that should he see Al Pacino working behind a till he might be shocked, but said he would handle the situation with sensitivity.

Celebrity support for the actor

Chris Rankin, who starred in the Harry Potter movies tweeted his support for Owens by saying he worked in a Wetherspoons kitchen when the Film franchise ended. Rankin said he needed a job and there is no shame in doing that. In fact, he added that he enjoyed doing the work.

I swept floors AFTER the @NFL. If need be, Id do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of. https://t.co/8mseCpaIqz  terrycrews (@terrycrews) September 2, 2018

Again, why is this news? When I worked on Thirtysomething I was also summarizing depositions to pay my rent. Why are you trying to humiliate this honorable, hardworking actor? Shame on you! #geoffreyowens - many great blessings are coming your way! https://t.co/8tgvW3iixr  Patricia Heaton (@PatriciaHeaton) September 2, 2018

As noted by the Daily Mail, there was even a job offer for Owens, when filmmaker Tyler Perry sent out a tweet after the interview, saying the actor should turn up when the filming starts for a new season of a television series on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
Marks acting career is now moving almost as fast as he did - as a former international athlete for Great Britain and Canada. He has already appeared in many significant Film and television projects such as the popular Deep State series, The Infiltrator (2016) and many others. Theatre-wise he played Bill Devaney in The Bodyguard at Londons Dominion Theatre in the West End, before taking it to the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, Canada. At the moment he is filming a couple of episodes for season 2 of Riviera (Sky Atlantic). In the interview, he tells us more about his film and TV projects and explains how acting changed his eclectic and busy life for the better.

Acting beginnings

Sabina: Mark, can you tell us about your early days in acting?

Mark: "Back in the late 60's/early 70's, my mother took me to watch several movies, like The Jungle Book, The Aristocats (Disney animated films), James Bond films, Fiddler on the Roof and also live amateur theatre, such as Oklahoma and other popular musicals. I do remember one Christmas around 1969, we were at my grandmother's house when West Side Story came on the television. This memory has always stayed with me and is one of my favourite films to date. My mother and I didn't have a television, so whenever I was at my grandmother's house, I used to watch lots of films, The Wizard of Oz, Chitty Bang, Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Elvis Presley films, One Million Years BC with Raquel Welch and others.

All this gave me an appetite for acting so when I was around 11 years old, I joined a local amateur dramatic company, where I performed in musicals and pantomimes. I also gained some stage-hand experience at a larger more recognised amateur theatre company. Then from my late teens, my sporting career took over my time, until I returned to the theatre in 1991 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where I started taking acting workshops and courses and performed in semi-professional plays and musicals, whilst also working as a police officer in the Edmonton Police Service.

In 1992 I auditioned for the late Robin Phillips, who was the Director General at the Edmonton Citadel (Edmonton's leading theatre). From this audition, I was cast in Peter Shaffer's The Royal Hunt of the Sun, as Villac Umu (High Priest of the Inca Empire). My professional career really started to take off at this point and I became an apprentice member of Canada Actors Equity Association".

Sabina: Where do you think is the best place to be as an actor and why?

Mark: "This is hard for me to answer really because I never attended a drama school, so starting my professional career in Edmonton (which is an amazing theatre town) was a great start. In 1996, I left the police and moved to Vancouver and honed my skills in front of the camera for television and film, I gained a lot of experience there working with some great actors and directors. So that continued to expand my skill-set as an actor. I then made the decision to move back to London, England, which was fortuitous, because my career was then taken up a couple of levels, and I was also able to gain experience in a second career as a close protection operative, working in the UK, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, in between my acting projects.

This gave me an exceptionally unique experience as an actor, with all the different people I worked with and many interesting security challenges and venues. So I have had a few different best places to be an actor in, at different times in my life. I am in the best place for me right now, but who knows..."

Best projects to date

Sabina: What are your best projects to date?

Mark: "Theatre-wise, playing Bill Devaney in The Bodyguard at the Dominion Theatre in London's West End (July 2016 - January 2017) and then taking it to the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto, Canada (February 2017 - May 2017). Back in Vancouver, I enjoyed working as a guest star on an episode of Stargate-SG1: Dead Man Switch, as Korra.

The Stickup was a fun film, working closely with James Spader and The Infiltrator, working with the legendary Bryan Cranston and John Leguizamo. I guess one of my most memorable films has to be Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, where we filmed in Malta for 7 weeks back in 2012. Most recently I enjoyed filming as a regular on Fox Networks Group, new television series, Deep State, as John Lynn, a CIA handler.

Sabina: How did acting change your life?

Mark: "Acting has given me so many life experiences: stepping temporarily into someone else's shoes and headspace, dealing with their turmoil, life events, fantasies etc. I've met and am still meeting wonderful people in the business, some who are good friends to this day.

I've travelled to places, and countries that I may not have gotten to had I not been an actor. I feel fortunate to be able to call this my job".

Upcoming projects

Sabina: Do you have any interesting film or TV projects coming up?

Mark: "I'm currently filming a couple of episodes for season 2 of Riviera (Sky Atlantic). I've been down to Nice, South of France, a couple of times recently, and am off again in a few weeks to complete my filming. I will also start filming a few episodes of The Feed (Amazon) in the next few weeks in Manchester, I play Stewart Freeman, the father of one of the series leads, Nina Toussaint-White. I am also due to start filming on another project sometime in the next few months (NDA signed).

Then I have two short films that will be premiering in the next 8 weeks. SATORI, directed by Adam Batchelor and produced through Hasraf Dulull's very successful production company HaZ Films, where I play Warren Rogers, commander of a spacecraft  plus MORNINGWOOD, directed by the very talented Rikki Beadle-Blair MBE, where I play Brigadier Russell Watson, whose daughter is in a relationship that has a slight twist".
FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk past the logo of National Australia Bank which is displayed outside their headquarters building in central Sydney, Australia August 4, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo

By Byron Kaye

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's corporate watchdog filed a lawsuit on Thursday against pension funds run by the wealth management unit of National Australia Bank Ltd <NAB.AX>, accusing them of charging fees with no service to hundreds of thousands of retirees.

The lawsuit, the second by the regulator against a big bank this week, reflects the heightened scrutiny of the financial sector as a public inquiry airs allegations of misconduct and wipes billions of dollars from company valuations.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has been criticised for not keeping a tight rein on finance firms, with the head of Australia's sovereign wealth fund saying the regulator was "not awake at the wheel."

The ASIC court filing, made public by the regulator on Thursday, said the NAB pension funds NULIS Nominees (Australia) Ltd and MLC Nominees Pty Ltd had charged fees for no service to about 300,000 retirees.

"The commencement of this civil penalty action is part of ASIC's broad-ranging and significant investigations currently underway into fee for no service failures in the financial services industry," the regulator said in a separate statement.

NAB chief lawyer Sharon Cook said in a statement that the bank was assessing the regulator's case.

ASIC did not say whether the court action was related to the public inquiry, called a Royal Commission.

It said NAB had wrongly taken A$100 million (56 million pounds) from customers' retirement accounts from 2012 to 2018.

NAB had agreed to return some of the fees, but "irrespective of the remediation, the conduct...did not promote confident and informed decision making by retail clients", ASIC added.

The regulator said a separate action against NAB was expected to deliver more than A$850 million ($609.7 million) in compensation for NAB customers. ASIC did not give details of this action.

NAB has said it wants to sell its wealth management arm, in keeping with a broader push by lenders to focus on core operations and avoid any new regulations that result from the public inquiry into the financial sector.

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Last month the inquiry heard allegations of widespread charging of fees for no service in the country's A$2 trillion pension industry.

ASIC filed the Federal Court lawsuit against NAB a day after it said No. 2 lender Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> had agreed to pay a A$35 million fine for using incorrect processes to approve 260,000 home loans.

In Thursday's court filing, ASIC said it was seeking court declarations that the bank had broken the law and NAB should pay unspecified fines.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye and Wayne Cole; Editing by Stephen Coates and Darren Schuettler)
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks at the Hussayniyeh of Imam Khomeini in Tehran, Iran, August 13, 2018. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS

Thomson Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday accused the United States and Israel of waging a media war to discourage Iranians, state TV reported, as the country faces economic hardship after the reimposition of U.S. sanctions.

"The goal of this media war is to create anxiety ... and pessimism among people toward each other and the authorities, and to exaggerate economic problems in the minds of the public," the television quoted Khamenei as saying, blaming the United States, Israel, and the Gulf Arab states.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom)

See Also:
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the European Investment Bank is pictured in the city of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, March 25, 2017. Reuters/Eric Vidal

KRYNICA ZDROJ, Poland (Reuters) - Poland is threatening to block a post-Brexit capital plan for the European Investment Bank <EIB.UL> unless it can secure a bigger role at Europe's biggest development lender, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told Reuters he wanted to increase Poland's influence in the bank but, when asked about the reported threat, would only say Warsaw was being "very tough" in talks about the EIB's future.

The FT cited sources close to the matter saying Poland - the European Union's biggest eastern member - was pushing for more involvement in the bloc's major institutions given Warsaw's growing economic clout.

Britain is currently the joint-biggest shareholder in the bank which is owned by all the bloc's governments and uses their capital deposits as security to fund loans for research, infrastructure and environmental projects in Europe and beyond.

Britain's departure will deprive the bank of capital, including 3.5 billion euros ($4 billion) payed in directly, the FT reported.

The FT said Poland had threatened to block a plan for EU governments to replace the 3.5 billion euros unless Warsaw was allowed to increase its own relative shareholding.

The EIB and Poland's finance ministry declined to comment.

But a source in Poland's government, who asked not to be named, said Warsaw was not making threats but instead pushing what it felt was a better plan to bring in fresh funding, rather than draw on existing reserves to fill a gap.

Relying on existing reserves would not be enough to safeguard the bank in the event of a hard Brexit, the source added.

"Poland is not threatening anyone, just the opposite - it is submitting a very specific proposal, which is beneficial for the bank," the government source said.

An EIB source did not comment on Poland's position, but told Reuters that officials there were discussing proposals from some member states who "have offered to pay in fresh capital, increase the proportion of their membership or share in the EIB, and support additional lending".

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Another person familiar with the situation said Poland's plans would be discussed at the EU finance ministers meeting in Vienna on Friday.

Poland received 5.1 billion euros in financing from the EIB in 2017, making it the fifth largest recipient of EIB loans last year.

($1 = 0.8604 euros)

(This story has been refiled to remove extraneous word from first paragraph)

(Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Marcin Goclowski in Krynica Zdroj, Pawel Sobczak in Warsaw and Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels; Writing by Agnieszka Barteczko; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar and Andrew Heavens)
The holidays may be over  but the debate over young people and screen time continues. And as anxious parents prepare children for the start of a new school term, many will have concerns about what exposure to technology they will have in the classroom.

The UK education secretary Damian Hinds has challenged the technology industry to spearhead a classroom revolution. He wants more classrooms to take advantage of the gadgets and software available which enable pupils to go on virtual trips or control robots.

Hinds is right to see the potential that technology has to transform teaching and learning. High quality educational apps available on smart phones and tablets really can help raise attainment, and provide a unique learning experience.

Over the past five years, we have been conducting an international research project evaluating a series of educational apps developed by the British charity onebillion.

These interactive apps are designed specifically to support early years numeracy and literacy skills. They are available in different languages and enable children to learn independently and at their own pace. There is even an in-app teacher who guides them through the curriculum-based content.

Children interact with the apps by touching, dragging, and dropping objects to answer questions. Their learning levels are then assessed through quizzes.

So far, we have found many positive results from using these apps in early years education. Here are some of the things they can do:

Improve learning outcomes  these apps significantly raise attainment in key skills such as mathematics and literacy (when used alongside standard teaching methods). Foster an inclusive learning environment  children with special educational needs and disabilities can learn effectively with these apps. This gives teachers a tool for providing high quality education for children with specific needs alongside mainstream classroom peers. Support cognitive development  when using educational apps to acquire specific skills, such as mathematics, core cognitive skills can also develop. When children in Malawi used interactive maths apps on a daily basis for eight weeks, their attention and concentration skills also improved. Promote development of non-cognitive skills  teachers in Malawi and the UK using the same interactive apps to support early mathematical and literacy skills, reported that children become more confident and independent in their learning. Bridge home/school divides  these apps are also available for parents to download and are easy to use, so can support learning at home. Equalise access  as these apps are available in different languages, are easy to use by teachers and parents, and promote self-paced learning, they can be used in different settings, equalising access to high quality education for all.

The apps are currently being implemented by Voluntary Service Overseas in Malawi in their flagship international development programme, Unlocking Talent through Technology. They have also been implemented in 15 schools across Nottinghamshire with promising results. So far, children using the app for 12 weeks (for 30 minutes a day) were up to four months ahead of their peers. The app was particularly beneficial for children struggling with maths.

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Marc Faulder , Author provided

But its not just about numbers. Educational apps can also be used by teachers and children to create their own imaginative content, and connect classrooms worldwide. Stories of a Lifetime is a global literacy project run by Marc Faulder (in the UK) and Jason Milner (in Australia), which creates a library of local stories and myths, told by children in their own words and animations. Part of Apples Distinguished Educators programme, it enables teachers across the world to share their childrens stories in way which promotes digital literacy, communication skills and a sense of identity.

Teaching the teachers

But while tablets have considerable potential to transform teaching, teachers themselves need to be skilled and confident in using this technology creatively. To revolutionise learning through technology, greater opportunities for professional development of teachers is needed.

Tech giants such as Apple, Microsoft and Google already offer introductory and specialised training for teachers in using tablet technology effectively in the classroom. But for technology to enhance learning universally, training should be an integral part of professional development.

Those currently in the profession, and those studying to become teachers, would benefit from being taught how to use apps and tablets to improve learning in all subject areas  even if that means the adults having a bit more screen time, too.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Nicola Pitchford receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, the Education Endowment Foundation, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy to support this research.

Laura A. Outhwaite receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council to support this research.
Peat bogs, which cover 3% of the worlds land surface, are special places. While historically often considered as worthless morasses, today they are recognised as beautiful habitats providing environmental benefits from biodiversity to climate regulation. However, they are threatened by drainage, land reclamation for agriculture and peat cutting for fuel, which has significantly reduced the extent and condition of these ecosystems on a global scale. Bogs are fragile and sensitive to change, whether by human hands or by processes such as climate change.

A less well known aspect of bogs is their remarkable archaeological potential. In their undisturbed state at least, bogs are anoxic (oxygen-free) environments due to their saturation. These conditions are hostile to the microbes and fungi that would normally decay organic material such as the remains of plants, which are the principal constituents of the peat. The same anoxic conditions also offer protection from decay for organic archaeological remains. The vast majority of objects and structures used by our ancestors were made from organic materials (in particular wood). These are normally lost on dryland archaeological sites but can be preserved in peatlands.

The saturated conditions mean that even soft tissue can survive, including both skin and internal organs. Probably the best known archaeological finds are the remains of bog bodies such as the famous prehistoric Tollund Man in Denmark, Lindow Man in the UK, or the more recent Irish discoveries of Clonycavan Man, Old Croghan Man and Irelands oldest known bog body, Cashel Man, dated to the Bronze Age.

 Henry Chapman

Seeing hidden landscapes

But archaeology is only part of the story these environments have to tell. They are important archives of the past in other ways: the layers of moss and other vegetation that make up peat are themselves immensely valuable as archives of past environments (palaeoenvironments). The manner in which peat accumulates means that the deposits have stratigraphic integrity, meaning that contained within each layer can be found macroscopic and microscopic remains of plants and other organisms that shed light on landscape change and biodiversity on timescales ranging from centuries to millennia. The high organic content of peat means that these records can be dated using the radiocarbon method.

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The best known such records are probably pollen grains which provide evidence of past vegetation change. But evidence from other organic material can be used to reconstruct other past environmental processes. For example, single-celled organisms called testate amoebae, preserved in sub-fossil form, are highly sensitive to peatland hydrology and have been extensively used in recent years to reconstruct a history of climatic changes. Meanwhile, fossil beetles can tell us how the biodiversity and nutrient status of a peatland has altered over time.

 Nicki Whitehouse , Author provided

The potential of bogs to preserve both environmental and archaeological records means that they can be regarded as archives of hidden landscapes. The accumulating peat literally seals and protects evidence of human activity ranging from the macroscopic (in the form of archaeological sites, artefacts and larger plant and animal remains) through to the microscopic (pollen, testate amoebae and other remains) material that provides contextual evidence of environmental processes.

Through detailed integrated analyses these records can provide evidence of past human activity ranging from the everyday exploitation of economic resources of peatlands, through to the ceremonies associated with prehistoric human sacrifice and the deposition of the so-called bog bodies. The associated palaeoenvironmental record can be used to situate these cultural processes within long term patterns of environmental changes.

Taming the wild

There has been extensive study of the palaeoenvironmental record from bogs and notable archaeological excavations of sites and artefacts, but there have been relatively few concerted attempts to integrate these approaches. In part this is because generating sufficient data to model the development of a bog in four dimensions (the fourth being time) is a formidable research challenge. But some peatlands have seen relatively extensive archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research over the last few decades, providing an excellent starting point. Hatfield and Thorne Moors, situated primarily in South Yorkshire, are two such peatlands.

These two largest surviving areas of lowland bog in England are located within a wider lowland region known as the Humberhead Levels. After decades of industrial peat extraction, these bogs are now nature reserves managed by Natural England, and are becoming the wild bogs they once were. We are attempting to reconstruct the wildscape and bring the complex histories of this vast and dynamic boggy landscape to life.

 Peter Roworth , Author provided

These moors are just two surviving parts of a once rich mosaic of wetland landscapes. In the past, this landscape was famed for its wildness  a remnant of an extensive complex of mires, rivers, meres and extensive floodplain wetlands. Antiquarians such as John Leland visited the area in the 16th century, and his descriptions provide a window onto what must have been a truly fabulous everglades-like landscape, as described by local historian Colin Howes.

Now largely drained, tamed and converted to farmland, its hard to imagine the vast wetland landscapes that once characterised these areas. Following large-scale land reclamation in the 17th century, many of the traditional practises such as fishing, fowling, grazing and peat-cutting (turbary) rights were no longer available to commoners. Consequently, the connections between people and place became increasingly defined by a new, dryland landscape and disconnected from its former wetlands that were once so central to peoples lives.

 Peter Roworth

We are investigating and reconstructing this dynamic and changing wildscape throughout its history, reconnecting communities to these wetland landscapes. Drawing together previous research alongside targeted archaeological fieldwork and palaeoenvironmental analyses, we are combining these with newly available digital data and sophisticated modelling techniques to reconstruct their interwoven landscape and human histories. Together, for the first time, we are beginning to see the complexity of the dynamic and changing landscape that once characterised the Humberhead Levels.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Henry Chapman is a project partner of The Reconstructing the Wildscape project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is co-produced through the participation and commitment of volunteers and projects via the HLF-funded Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Partnership.

Ben Gearey is a project partner of The Reconstructing the Wildscape project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is co-produced through the participation and commitment of volunteers and projects via the HLF-funded Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Partnership.

Jane Bunting is a project partner of The Reconstructing the Wildscape project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is co-produced through the participation and commitment of volunteers and projects via the HLF-funded Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Partnership.

Kimberley Davies is a project partner of The Reconstructing the Wildscape project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is co-produced through the participation and commitment of volunteers and projects via the HLF-funded Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Partnership.

Nicki Whitehouse is a project partner of The Reconstructing the Wildscape project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is co-produced through the participation and commitment of volunteers and projects via the HLF-funded Isle of Axholme and Hatfield Chase Partnership. She also receives funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the European Research Council.
By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's front-running far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro rallied supporters on Wednesday with a message of a clean break from the past as a new opinion poll showed him consolidating his support among voters fed up with rampant corruption.

Charges filed against two of his main rivals in recent days could further strengthen his presidential bid.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is running on an anti-graft, law-and-order campaign. He labels his opponents from the Workers Party (PT) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) as criminals who took part in corruption.

"We're going to sweep the leaders of these parties into the dustbin of history," Bolsonaro told several thousand backers at a rally in a working class suburb of Brasilia. "Brazil cannot stand another government by the PT or PSDB."

Bolsonaro then kicked into the crowd an inflatable doll portraying jailed former president and PT founder Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula, who easily leads opinion polls, is banned from running because of a graft conviction.

A poll by Ibope showed Bolsonaro increasing his lead by two percentage points to 22 percent for the Oct. 7 first-round vote, though he would lose to most rivals in a likely runoff ballot. Environmentalist Marina Silva and center-left populist Ciro Gomes are tied at 12 percent.

PSDB candidate Geraldo Alckmin and PT presidential contender Fernando Haddad, whose parties have governed Brazil for 21 of the last 23 years, are struggling to gain traction and are in the single digits. Both have had corruption charges filed against them this week, which they deny.

Congressional deputy Major Olimpio, a campaign manager for Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo, said those charges "exposed what is obvious" and reinforced Bolsonaro as the clean candidate.

Bolsonaro is trying to win over roughly one-third of voters who tell pollsters they will nullify their ballots or not vote for anyone, highly disillusioned with politics-as-usual after years of investigations that exposed stunning levels of graft.

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Major Emilio Kerber, a shaven-head active duty Air Force officer who is running for Congress, said that Bolsonaro "represents the anger of Brazilians with political corruption."

"He is the only candidate who can break clean with the traditional give-and-take politics that we are tired of," Kerber said at Wednesday's rally.

Bolsonaro is facing charges of his own of inciting hate and rape. He says he has done nothing wrong and the charges are politically motivated.

Earlier on Wednesday, Brazilian state prosecutors accused Alckmin of taking 10 million reais ($2.4 million) in illegal campaign funding. The charges are civil and not criminal, and must be accepted by a judge before going to trial.

Alckmin's campaign denied any wrongdoing by the candidate and accused the prosecutors of having political motivations as they filed charges just a month ahead of the election.

Prosecutors accuse Alckmin of taking campaign funds from Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL], a scandal-plagued construction conglomerate, when he was running for governor of Sao Paulo state in 2010 and again in 2014.

The charges are unlikely to halt Alckmin's campaign. Under Brazilian law, a politician can only be barred from running if convicted of a crime that is upheld on appeal, which cannot possibly occur before next month's vote.

On Tuesday, the PT's Haddad was charged by state prosecutors in Sao Paulo with corruption, charges he denied. The charges must be accepted by a judge to go to trial.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Additional reporting by Pedro Fonseca in Rio de Janeiro and Eduardo Simoes in Sao Paulo; Writing by Brad Brooks; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Grant McCool)
Colombia's President Ivan Duque leaves the polling station after voting in a seven-question referendum on anti-corruption measures in Bogota, Colombia August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Julio Martinez

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombias Marxist ELN rebels have released three soldiers held hostage for nearly a month, the countrys human rights ombudsman said on Wednesday, as new right-wing President Ivan Duque evaluates whether to continue peace talks with the insurgents.

Duque has said the National Liberation Army (ELN) must free 19 hostages before he will resume dialogue. He said during his Aug. 7 inauguration he would evaluate the talks, which began with his predecessor Juan Manuel Santos government in February 2017, over his first 30 days.

The last round of the talks, which have been held in Cuba, ended on Aug. 1. The rebel group is believed to be holding six more members of the security forces in Choco province as well as 10 civilians.

"The soldiers Orlando Yair Vega Diaz, Juan Pablo Rojas Ovando and Eduardo Caro Banol, in the power of illegal group the ELN since August 8, 2018, were handed over to a humanitarian commission comprised of the ombudsman and the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, the ombudsman said on Twitter.

The soldiers had been held in eastern Arauca province, near the border with Venezuela.

The ELN, founded by radical Catholic priests, is considered a terrorist group by the United States and European Union. It has waged a five-decade war against the government, engaging in bombings, kidnappings, extortion and sabotage of oil pipelines.

During a ceasefire from September 2017 to January 2018, the ELN suspended hostage-taking, attacks on oil installations, the use of landmines and the recruitment of minors.

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Tom Brown)
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch foreign minister survived a no confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday, as he apologised for saying multi-cultural societies could never be peaceful, and calling former colony Suriname a "failed state".

"I should not have said those words and I take them back," Stef Blok said during a debate over his remarks, made at a closed meeting with Dutch employees of international organisations in July.

"Give me an example of a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society, where the indigenous population still live ... where they live in a peaceful, societal union," Blok said at the meeting. "I don't know of any."

The minister then went on to say people in general were probably "genetically" ill-equipped to relate to unfamiliar people, and linked political problems in Suriname to its "ethnic composition."

The former Dutch colony on South America's Atlantic northern coast, populated mainly by the descendants of Asian indentured workers, African slaves and indigenous people, was mentioned by someone in Blok's audience as an example of a peaceful multi-cultural society.

But the minister dismissed this, and said Suriname was a "failed state".

In his defence, Blok on Wednesday said he had only wanted to spark a debate during the meeting, and hadn't really meant what he said.

When footage of the session was made public in July, the minister already said his choice of words had been "unfortunate and careless". But both opposition and coalition lawmakers demanded further explanations in parliament.

"I don't know what's in our genes or not", the minister said in the debate. "But I do know that despite difficulties people are indeed perfectly able to live together."

He also said he had tried to make amends with Suriname, but that his apologies had so far not been accepted by the country's government.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer; editing by John Stonestreet, Editing by William Maclean)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - An Ethiopian commercial ship docked in an Eritrean port for the first time in two decades on Wednesday, state-affiliated media said, in a concrete sign of a stunning rapprochement between the neighbors and former foes.

The Mekelle entered the Red Sea port of Massawa and was due to carry 11,000 tonnes of Eritrean zinc to China, Ethiopian broadcaster Fana Broadcasting reported.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed offered to make peace with Eritrea after taking office in April - part of a series of reforms that has turned politics on its head in his country and the region.

Landlocked Ethiopia has said it wants to make the re-opening of two roads connecting it to two of Eritrea's ports a priority in the reconciliation process.

Eritrea's information minister, Yemane Ghebremeskel, said on Twitter that Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on a two-day working visit. The premier would visit Massawa and the capital Asmara, he added.

Abiy first visited Eritrea in July as the countries agreed to end a two-decade old military standoff over their border and other issues.[nL8N1U405A]

(Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by George Obulutsa and Andrew Heavens)

See Also:
A man who helped clean up a Japanese nuclear plant after it was hit by a tsunami has died due to the radiation.

It is the first time Japan's government has acknowledged a connection between a death and radiation exposure at the Fukushima plant, according to Japanese news reports.

In March 2011, a massive magnitude-9 earthquake shook the country's north east, triggering a tsunami that caused the plant's meltdown.

The man in his 50s was in charge of measuring radiation at the plant after the disaster and he worked there until December 2011.

He also worked at other atomic power stations across Japan between 1980 and 2015 and is said to have worn a full-face mask and protective suit, officials said.

In February 2016, he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

:: 2017 - Record radiation levels at Fukushima

The man was not publicly identified and his family have asked that the exact date of his death remains private.

The Japanese government has already paid compensation in the cases of four workers who developed cancer, according to reports.

A Japanese daily newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, says 17 plant workers have filed for compensation.

Along with the four who had their claims accepted, five claims have been rejected.

Another five are pending, and two have been withdrawn.

The tsunami killed around 18,000 people and caused a failure in the nuclear plant's cooling system, resulting in a meltdown and the release of radioactive materials.

The nuclear disaster was the worst since Chernobyl and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

The area near the plant remains uninhabitable due to the danger from radiation.

Meanwhile, at least two people are dead and 32 missing after a 6.7-magnitude quake struck the northern island of Hokkaido just after 3am Thursday local time.

The quake prompted landslides and left millions of homes without electricity.

Local media reported that 120 people had been injured.

Hokkaido's main airport - New Chitose - was badly damaged and closed, cutting access to the island, which is popular with tourists because of its mountains, lakes and seafood.

The Tomari Nuclear Power Station, closed since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, suffered a power cut but was cooling its fuel rods safely with emergency power, according to chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga.

The plant's operator Hokkaido Electric said there were no radiation irregularities.
Iraqi cleric calls for 'immediate and radical' solutions to Basra unrest

Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr called Thursday for "radical" solutions to a health crisis which has sparked mass rallies and left seven protesters dead this week.

Thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in the southern city of Basra, angry at pollution of the water supply which has put 30,000 people in hospital.

Seven demonstrators have been killed in clashes with security forces since Tuesday, while protestors set fire to part of the provincial government headquarters.

Sadr, whose political bloc won the largest number of seats in May elections, on Thursday called for a special parliamentary session to address protesters' concerns.

>> As Iraqi protests turn deadly, what's at stake for the new government?

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, along with the ministers of interior, health, housing, water resources and electricity, must all attend along with officials from Basra province, Sadr said.

"We will be uncompromising and you have been warned, be ready," said the cleric, whose successful campaign in the May election focused on tackling Iraq's endemic corruption.

Politicians must present "radical and immediate" solutions at the meeting or step down if they fail to do so, he said.

Abadi responded shortly afterwards, saying he was "ready to attend a parliamentary session with the ministers and officials concerned, to discuss the situation and the needs of Basra province".

The premier is trying to hold onto his post in the future government through forming an alliance with Sadr, a former militia chief who has called for Iraq to have greater political independence from neighbouring Iran and the United States.

Despite Iraq holding elections nearly five months ago, parliament reconvened for the first time on Monday after claims of fraud triggered a vote recount.

The session was brief and lawmakers are not scheduled to meet again until September 15, in order to allow the various political blocs time to agree on alliances and on a candidate for parliamentary speaker.

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Ahead of Abadi and other top officials meeting to discuss the social unrest, Sadr called for "protests expressing anger peacefully" in Basra and said plans for such rallies would be announced soon.

As well as the water supply, demonstrators have protested against incompetent officials who have failed to tackle chronic electricity shortages and high unemployment in their oil-rich but marginalised province.

At least 22 people have been killed in demonstrations since they erupted in Basra on July 8, before spreading across southern Iraq.

(AFP)
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly will have their salaries cut by more than 13,000 until an executive is restored, it has been announced.

Stormont has been without a power-sharing government since January 2017.

Karen Bradley, the Northern Ireland secretary, said the country was "stalling" without devolved government and that local people were "suffering" because of a lack of decision-making.

She confirmed the cut would take place in two stages, starting in November.

Staff working for politicians in Stormont will have their pay rate protected.

The move will see salaries slashed from 49,500 down to 35,888, in line with a recommendation by former Assembly chief executive Trevor Reane.

"While Assembly members continue to perform valuable constituency functions, it is clear that during any such interim period they will not be performing the full range of their legislative functions," Ms Bradley told MPs on Thursday.

"So, in parallel, I will take the steps necessary to reduce Assembly members' salaries."

She added: "I do not think MLAs' staff should suffer because of the politicians' failure to restore an executive."

It is the last move by Westminster to force the major political parties in Northern Ireland to get back round the negotiating table and agree a power-sharing deal.

Last year, Bill Clinton, the former US president and a powerful broker behind the Good Friday Agreement, travelled to meet the leaders of Sinn Fein and the DUP in a bid to break the deadlock.

The latest round of talks collapsed in July, but both sides agreed to try again after the summer.
Facebook (FB) COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter (TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey took to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding their companies efforts to counter disinformation campaigns by foreign governments seeking to influence U.S. elections.

Google (GOOG, GOOGL) leadership, however, was conspicuously absent from the hearing much to the committees ire. Instead, the company chose to submit written testimony. As a result, Google appeared to send the message that the meeting was unimportant. Of course, skipping the hearing spared the company from having to comment on its attempts to develop a new search engine for the Chinese market, as well.

Im disappointed Google decided against sending the right senior level executive to participate in what I truly expect to be a productive discussion, Committee Chairman Senator Richard Burr (R, NC) said in his opening statement.

The Intelligence Committee originally sought to bring Larry Page, CEO of Google parent Alphabet, in to testify, though the company decided against that or having Google CEO Sundar Pichai speak. Instead, Googles Chief Legal Officer and Head of Global Affairs Kent Walker submitted the companys testimony to the committee.

According to TechCrunch, Google informed the Intelligence Committee in July that it would be sending Walker to the hearing, and was under the impression at that time that doing so would be sufficient. The senators clearly felt differently.

Bashing the big G

Vice Chairman Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) hit Google especially hard saying, Im deeply disappointed that Google, one of the most influential digital platforms in the world, chose not to send its own top corporate leadership to engage this committee. Because I know our members have a series of difficult questions about structural vulnerabilities on a number of Googles platforms that well need answers for.

Warner continued, From Google Search, which continues to have problems surfacing absurd conspiracies, to YouTube where Russian-backed disinformation agents promoted hundreds of divisive emails, to Gmail where state-sponsored operatives attempted countless hacking attempts, Google has an immense responsibility in this space. Given its size and influence I would have thought that leadership at Google would have wanted to demonstrate how seriously it takes these challenges and actually take a leadership role in this discussion.

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Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) said she wanted to express her outrage that Google was absent, while Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), questioned whether Googles absence from the hearing was due to its own arrogance.

In his written testimony, Walker laid out how Google is fighting disinformation campaigns and where it is cooperating with government officials.

We believe that we have a responsibility to prevent the misuse of our platforms and we take that very seriously, Walker wrote in his testimony. Google was founded with a mission to organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful. The abuse of the tools and platforms we build is antithetical to that mission.

But those comments werent enough to save Google from the committees anger. On the flip side, senators repeatedly praised Sandberg and Dorsey for attending the meeting, and expressed their thanks for the work Facebook and Twitter have done to reduce the effectiveness of disinformation and interference campaigns from the likes of Russia and Iran.

In his written testimony submitted to the Intelligence Committee in November 2017, Walker explained that Google saw a relatively small amount of disinformation through YouTube compared to the vast amounts of content uploaded to the service.

Of course, by refusing to send its chief executives, Google and Alphabet managed to dodge any questions regarding the companies reported work on a new search engine for the Chinese market that would abide by the governments strict censorship of topics ranging from freedom of speech and human rights to religion.

Both Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) questioned why Facebook and Twitter dont do business in China  Sandberg and Dorsey responded that they are banned from the country. In July, Facebook briefly received approval to open an innovation center in the country, only to have the approval revoked in a matter of hours.

Its not as though Google isnt working to prevent election interference and disinformation, but by failing to have its highest-ranking leadership appear before the committee it appeared to take a backseat in the conversation.

Based on optics alone, having Page and Pichai sit out of the hearing makes it appears as though Google simply doesnt take the matter of election interference and disinformation seriously. And while Walker says Google recognizes the importance of the committees work, actions often speak louder than words.

Still, the decision not to attend the meeting didnt appear to affect Googles stock in the short-term. Facebooks stock was down 1.6% in midday trading, while Twitter was down 4.7%. Google, meanwhile, was down 1.2%

More from Dan:

Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@oath.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. Follow Yahoo Finance on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn
By Shihar Aneez

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Thousands of Sri Lankan opposition demonstrators led by former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa blocked a main road in Colombo on Wednesday in protest at economic hardship and the delaying of provincial polls.

Police did not give an estimate but independent analysts said the number of demonstrators in the capital could be well over 15,000, mainly from rural Sri Lanka.

They blocked a main road near the finance and defence ministries, disrupting traffic, and thousands also gathered on nearby streets late into the evening.

The coalition government of President Maithripala Sirisena's centre-left Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) is under fire for sluggish economic growth.

The opposition said the protest was to force the government to hold delayed provincial council polls. The authorities have said the delays are due to deliberations about a possible new electoral system.

"The people's democratic rights are being violated by postponing elections," said Rajapaksa at the protest.

"The situation is going from bad to worse. The country is heading towards an autocratic form of governance rather a democratic rule. Therefore, it is our responsibility to restore democracy by forming a new government."

Namal Rajapaksa, the legislator son of the former leader, said the protest was the first step towards bringing down the government and forcing it to hold early national elections.

"People are frustrated against unreasonable taxes and economic hardships," Namal told Reuters.

The government, however, said the protest was nothing to do with provincial council elections or economic suffering.

"They want to divert the focus of misappropriation probes against their legislators and stop the ongoing state mechanisms," junior Home Affairs Minister J.C. Alawathuwala told reporters in Colombo.

Nalin Bandara, junior Public Administration minister, said the government had advised the 5,000 police deployed for the protest to allow opposition supporters to practise their democratic rights and freedom of expression.

Story continues

The coalition government has initiated probes against Rajapaksa's family members including his two brothers and sons and many allies in relation to alleged corruption and financial misappropriation. However, the investigations are going slowly and the opposition has said they are politically motivated.

Rajapaksa was ousted in 2015 amid allegations of human rights abuses, threatening journalists and rights defenders, and corruption. Rajapaksa and his family deny any wrongdoing.

(Additional reporting by Ranga Sirilal)
U.S. President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Kuwait's Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the White House in Washington, D.C. U.S. President Donald Trump glances at the news media while he waits for the arrival of Kuwait's Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he remained open to the possibility of talks between Washington and Tehran, but said Iran was in turmoil and struggling to survive.

"Iran is in turmoil right now. They're in total turmoil," Trump told reporters before a meeting with Kuwait's emir, without offering any evidence.

"Now they are just worrying about their own survival as a country," he said. "We'll see what happens with Iran. Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me. I will always be available but it doesn't matter one way or the other."

In May, Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 international agreement intended to stall Tehran's nuclear capabilities and has since reimposed sanctions suspended under the deal.

Trump said in July that he would be willing to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani without any preconditions to discuss how to improve relations, which Rouhani dismissed.

When asked whether he would be willing to meet Rouhani at the U.N. General Assembly, Trump, who will chair a Security Council meeting at the United Nations on Iran this month, said, "It's possible. Anything's possible. Anything's possible. We'll see."

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Writing by Makini Brice and Tim Ahmann; Editing by James Dalgleish and Lisa Shumaker)
FILE PHOTO: Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni arrives for a group picture at the BRICS summit meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 27, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo

By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA (Reuters) - A group of Ugandan legislators have petitioned the supreme court to overturn a lower court decision that upheld a constitutional amendment allowing long-serving leader Yoweri Museveni to seek re-election.

Parliament, which is controlled by the ruling party, voted overwhelmingly in December to scrap an age limit of 75 for presidential candidates. The original legislation would have effectively ruled out 73-year-old Museveni from standing in the next elections due in 2021.

Opponents of Museveni, including lawmakers and individual opposition activists, mounted a legal challenge to the amendment but the constitutional court rejected it in July.

Ladislaus Rwakafuzi, a lawyer for six lawmakers opposed to the amendment, told Reuters that the group had filed an appeal against that ruling on Tuesday.

"We are dissatisfied with the verdict. We don't think they evaluated the evidence properly. Hopefully the supreme court will agree with our position," he said. "You cannot amend the constitution without involving the people."

As grounds for appeal, Rwakafuzi said lawmakers had been bribed before the vote and that insufficient public consultations had been held. He also alleged that soldiers ejected some MPs from the chamber during the debate.

The government rejected these accusations when they were used in the original legal challenge.

In power since 1986, Museveni has been accused by critics of using security forces to stifle opposition through intimidation. Political activists routinely allege arbitrary arrests and beatings.

Last month, two lawmakers critical of Museveni, including popular musician-turned-politician Robert Kyagulanyim, said they were tortured by the military after the president's convoy was stoned in northwestern Uganda.

Kyagulanyim's supporters deny the allegations and say Museveni enjoys genuine mass support.

For their part, Ugandan authorities have rejected the accusations of torture by both men but said they would investigate them.

The move to amend the constitution last year drew widespread opposition and violent protests. Fistfights broke out in the legislative chamber on two occasions.

(Editing by Aaron Maasho; editing by David Stamp)
The UK has warned Russia that it will respond robustly to "malign state activity" at a UN hearing on the novichok attack.

Karen Pierce, the UK's ambassador to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council that the UK hopes to rebuild a strong partnership with Russia, but will take necessary action when its security is threatened.

She said: "We have fought alongside Russian troops in the Second World War.

"But we will respond robustly when our security is threatened, when the lives of our citizens are endangered, and when the norms and rules of international law, and the international system, are flouted in such a brazen and reckless manner.

"We stand with our partners and allies."

Ms Pierce added that the UK is determined to combat hostile activities on British soil and protect British citizens.

"We will defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies," she said.

Leaders of the UK's allies have backed Theresa May's claim that the suspects in the Salisbury nerve agent attack are Russian spies.

Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement with Mrs May agreeing with the British assessment that the operation was "almost certainly approved at a senior government level" in Moscow.

The two men alleged to have been behind the March nerve agent poisoning - Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - have been identified by the UK as members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

In the joint statement, the leaders said: "We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level. "

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the UN, accused the UK of creating a "mendacious cocktail of facts".

Story continues

Saying the council had just heard the "same repeated lies", he said: "We hoped today we'd hear something convincing that sheds light on this mysterious incident - unfortunately our expectations were not met once again.

"London needs this story for one purpose - to unleash a disgusting anti-Russian hysteria."

US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, told the security council "no one is buying" Russia's repeated denials.

She said: "Rather than accept responsibility for its actions, the Russian government has offered only denials and counter-accusations.

"The Russian denials have followed a familiar script, from Crimea, to MH17, to the Donbass, to the killing of Litvinenko.

"The list goes on and on and the song is always the same: Russia is somehow never behind these incidents.

"But no one's buying it."

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury in March.

Detectives believe it is likely the two suspects, thought to be about 40 years of age, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Officers have formally linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury when Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair became ill.
FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a joint news conference with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto following their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia August 22, 2018. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via Reuters/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for an nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in Salisbury earlier this year, Britain's security minister said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Theresa May said police and prosecutors now believe the attack on Sergei Skripal was carried out by two Russian military intelligence officers who were almost certainly acting with the approval of senior Russian officials.

Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement and some Russian officials have suggested the British security services carried out that attack to stoke anti-Moscow hysteria.

Asked whether President Putin bears responsibility, Ben Wallace told BBC radio: "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence."

"Ultimately of course he is responsible, he is leader of the state," he said.

Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service, and his daughter Yulia, were found unconscious on a public bench in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

After the attack, allies in Europe and the United States sided with Britain's view of the attack and ordered the biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War. Russia retaliated by expelling Western diplomats.

The motive for attacking Skripal, who was exchanged in a Kremlin-approved spy swap in 2010, is still unclear, as is the motive for using an exotic nerve agent, Novichok, which has such clear links to Russias Soviet past.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
Storyful

Travelers said they were stranded at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on Monday, November 1, as American Airlines (AA) made a further cancellations after more than 1,500 flights were cancelled between Friday and Monday morning.The airline on Sunday issued a statement saying high winds and limited runway space at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday and Friday had forced multiple cancellations. Further cancellations were due to flight staff being out of their regular flights sequences and additional weather throughout the system, the airline said.Among the travelers affected that day was Dom Johnson, who was due to depart from Houston via Charlotte for her home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on AA flight 1478 at 1.52 pm local time on Monday afternoon. Johnson posted this video from a line in the airport at exactly 1.52 pm, writing that the airline had just cancelled her flights with no warning or explanation.Minutes later, Johnson posted a video message and wrote on Twitter that she was never flying with AA again.I cannot be more upset right now, Johnson said in the video. American Airlines just straight cancelled my flight, did not notify me. I feel like that is completely irresponsible. They could have let me know hours ahead of time that they were going to cancel my flight. Now Im stranded here at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. I just.Its pretty ridiculous," she said.Johnson later tweeted photos of printed AA travel itineraries that showed she had been moved to a flight on Tuesday, November 2, due to depart at 4.35 pm, leaving her stranded overnight in Houston. Credit: Madam Dom Johnson via Storyful
Action Hotels ' chief executive Alain Debare stepped down from the group's board on Thursday.

Debare, who was at the helm of the Middle East and Australia focused three and four-star hotel operator since 2008, will be replaced by Andrew Lindley, the firm's current chief financial officer until a suitable replacement is found.

Action's chairman Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, said: "Alain has overseen the growth of Action Hotels for the last ten years, taking it from a private company to a public company. On behalf of the board we are grateful to Alain's extremely hard work and efforts and wish him all the best for the future."

Last month, the AIM-listed firm said an agreement had been reached with Action Group, its largest shareholder, on a takeover.

Under the terms of the offer, Action Hotels shareholders will be entitled to receive 24p in cash per share.

The offer values the entire issued ordinary share capital of Action Hotels at 35.43m and represents a premium of 50% to the closing price of 16p on 28 June 2018

As of 1355 BST, Action shares were untraded on 23p.
Pharmaceuticals giant Shire on Thursday said it had bought Switzerland's sanaplasma AG for an undisclosed sum.

In a statement, Shire said the deal would increase its access to plasma in the longer term and add to its European collection network, complementing existing core capabilities in plasma supply and manufacturing.

Plasma is essential to the manufacture of immunoglobulin therapies that help treat patients living with certain rare immunological diseases, Shire said.

Immunology is Shires largest franchise, with 18% growth on a pro-forma basis in 2017 to $4.4bn in product sales.

This acquisition is expected to support the growth of the immunology business and help meet the needs of patients around the world, the company said.

Sanaplasma has 14 plasma centres in the Czech Republic and Hungary.
London's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 7,368.67 in afternoon trade on Thursday.

Shire retreated as it announced the acquisition of Switzerland's Sanaplasma AG for an undisclosed sum and as its stock went ex-dividend.

BHP Billiton and Admiral were also ex-dividend.

Budget airline EasyJet flew lower as it reported a 5.6% year-on-year rise in passenger numbers for August to 8.6m. The load factor was flat at 96.4% and rolling passenger numbers for the year to August rose 5.8% to 84.1m, with the load factor for the same period up 1.2 percentage points to 93.6%.

Going the other way, Centrica was the top gainer as investors breathed a sigh of relief after Ofgem's proposed price cap came in in line with expectations, ending uncertainty for the utilities sector.

The energy regulator said energy suppliers will not be allowed to charge a typical dual-fuel customer paying by direct debit more than 1,136 a year under the new price cap. Analysts had pencilled in a range of between 1,100 and 1,160.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the findings of the report were "no worse than expected".

"Theres nothing the market hates more than a lack of clarity and now the level of the price cap is known analysts can reflect it in their earnings estimates. This should help reinforce the credibility of earnings and most importantly dividend forecasts," said Mould.

SSE, United Utilities and Severn Trent were also firmer.

Melrose Industries racked up strong gains after saying it found "no black holes" in the GKN business and progress since its 8bn hostile takeover was completed. The turnaround specialist also reported a statutory loss before tax of 303m for the half year after booking significant acquisition-related charges but only including 73 days of trading from GKN.

Barratt Developments and Berkeley were on the front foot as FTSE 250 peer Bovis Homes posted a 41% jump in first-half pre-tax profit as completions rose and the company said it was targeting a record year of profits, at the top end of its expectations.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Centrica (CNA) 151.60p 6.05%

Melrose Industries (MRO) 233.30p 4.63%

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 562.80p 2.97%

United Utilities Group (UU.) 728.40p 2.22%

Severn Trent (SVT) 1,957.00p 1.85%

Vodafone Group (VOD) 165.80p 1.66%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 3,601.00p 1.61%

Evraz (EVR) 498.42p 1.51%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 983.60p 1.49%

Rightmove (RMV) 482.10p 1.47%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,004.50p -3.60%

Just Eat (JE.) 712.80p -3.47%

BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,569.20p -3.31%

Admiral Group (ADM) 2,036.00p -2.77%

Shire Plc (SHP) 4,307.00p -2.18%

NMC Health (NMC) 3,656.00p -2.14%

easyJet (EZJ) 1,470.50p -1.71%

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 684.20p -1.58%

Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 6,920.00p -1.56%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 896.00p -1.32%
The Emir of Kuwait Wednesday told US President that efforts are underway for an early end of the over one-year old diplomatic crisis dividing US allies, Kuwait state-run news agency KANU reports.

Discussions between Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday touched on several issues including the ongoing diplomatic crisis opposing Qatar to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt.

We are going to explore ways for solving the Gulf crisis in the hope of putting an early end to it, Sheikh Sabah is quoted as saying.

Saudi Arabia and its allies cut off ties with Qatar in June last year over the tiny gas-rich countrys alleged support for terrorism and close ties with Iran, known as Saudi Arabias regional arch foe.

Qatar has squarely denied the charges arguing that it was a victim of a smear campaign.

The crisis broke out following Trumps visit to the region in May 2017. It was his maiden trip abroad. The US leader sided with the Saudi-led camp, taking benefit of Qatars isolation.

Kuwait has been playing the mediator role, trying to defuse the crisis between the feuding sides.
Netflix has expanded it's Netflix Originals library with its newest addition of "Designated Survivor." Deadline reported that Netflix has ordered a 10-episode Season 3. The Kiefer Sutherland starring series welcomes a new showrunner, and Neal Baer will fill the role, after being appointed last spring before ABC decided to not renew the political drama.

Baer and Keifer Sutherland had been discussing the direction Season 3 takes, while talks with Netflix were continuing. Most of the original cast is set to return, including Kal Penn, Adan Canto, and Italia Ricci.

Production is scheduled to begin sometime later this year, with an expected 2019 premiere.

Season 3 will tackle real-life campaigning issues

The upcoming season will see President Kirkman enter the political world of campaigning. Questions will arise about whether he has what it takes to be a leader and how much he will be willing to pay. Season 3 will dive into the world of campaigning, debates, smear campaigns and dirty politics.

Uproxx said that Sutherland was thrilled to be back as President Kirkman for a third season and working alongside Netflix, eOne and Neal Baer. Sutherland thinks this new format will allow the story to dive deeper into issues concerning the democratic process.

Designated Survivor no longer controlled by ABC Studios

"Designated Survivor," aired on ABC and was produced by eOne and ABC Studios. However, eOne announced that the show will be produced by them alone. EOne originally started shopping the popular series to other networks after ABC announced the cancellation. They quickly entered discussions with Netflix.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

Talks started up thanks to Chief Strategy Officer Peter Micelli. Negotiations were complex due to Hulu having US SVOD rights to the original two seasons, thanks to its airing on ABC. Netflix has rights to the series internationally. EOne reached a deal with Hulu, allowing Netflix to stream Season 1 and Season 2 of the hit series "Designated Survivor.

The two seasons will begin streaming this Fall.

Netflix released a statement saying the series has increased the pulses of their international subscribers with the first two seasons. The international audience helped convince Netflix to bring the show globally as a Netflix original.

The political drama started out as one of ABC's most promising series since "LOST." The network and Sutherland received standing ovations following the presentation of the opening act. ABC saw ratings decline in season 2 but witnessed a solid increase in delayed viewings.
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The Palestinian Authority (PA) said it will open a mission in Paraguay to strengthen ties with the South American country following its decision to return its embassy in Israel to Tel Aviv few months after walking in the steps of the US administration, which moved the US embassy to the disputed city of Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Authority will immediately open an embassy in Paraguay, Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said Wednesday.

The announcement was made immediately after Paraguay early Wednesday said it will return its current Jerusalem-based embassy to Tel Aviv, four months after former President Horacio Cartes personally attended the opening of the Paraguayan mission in Jerusalem in May this year.

The Foreign Minister of the South American country, Luis Alberto Castiglioni at the embassy in the old city, said the issue of Jerusalem is one of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts most complex components.

The government considers it appropriate to re-establish the headquarters of its embassy in its previous location, Castiglioni said.

Paraguay considers that it (Jerusalem issue) has to be addressed through negotiations by the concerned parties, within the framework of the relevant international organizations decisions.

The South American country on May 21 officially opened a new embassy in Malha Technological Park, in Jerusalem few days after the transfer of the US diplomatic mission to the holy city.

US President last year decided to recognize the holy city as Israels capital. The decision, he said, is part of his so-called deal of the century to end the decades-old conflict between Palestinians and Israelis.

Paraguays Wednesday decision irked Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructing the immediate closing of the Israeli embassy in Asuncion and the recall of ambassador Zeev Harel.

Israel reopened its mission in Paraguay two years ago, after shutting it down in 2002 over budgetary constraints, Times of Israel reports.

The PA leadership welcomed the move by President Mario Abdo Benitez.

Paraguay is among over 130 countries around the world that recognize Palestine as a free state.

The reversal is a blow to the Israeli diplomacy as it came hard upon Columbias decision this week to formally recognize Palestine as a state. Bogota is Tel Avivs closest ally in Southern America.

With the withdrawal of Paraguay, only two countries, namely the US and Guatemala, recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.

The PA has called on Guatemala to follow Paraguays step and to position itself on the right side of history.

We also call upon the government of Guatemala to stand on the right side of history and move its embassy outside Jerusalem, said Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat.
UN officials are once again expressing hope that fighting which has raged in the Libyan capital of Tripoli over the past two weeks is over, with the announcement of a new ceasefire between the UN-backed unity government and a militia. The two sides have been fighting through several ceasefires in that time, and has centered on southern Tripoli. At least 61 have been killed in the fighting, including a large number of civilians, with another 159 wounded.

Source: Another Libya Ceasefire Announced After 61 Killed  News From Antiwar.com

Hmm

Five months into the year, more than 1,000 people have been shot in Chicago and there have been more than 200 homicides, according to data kept by the Tribune. As of early Monday at least 1,071 people have been shot this year, below the last two years when violence hit record levels in the city but well above other recent years. There have been at least 202 homicides, the data shows. Chicago crossed the 1,000 mark after the long Memorial Day weekend, when seven people were killed and 32 were wounded by gunfire.

Source: More than 1,000 people shot in Chicago so far this year  Chicago Tribune

Just two weeks in Tripoli? (Actually endless in Libya, due to USA involvement.) . (Yet) Endless in Chicago? (Also) Each city is a war zone! (Yes?)

Looks like a cease fire is needed in Chicago?

This is just one American city; How about others in the same boat?

UN officials are once again expressing hope that fighting which has raged in the Illinois capital of Chicago over the past several years, with the expected announcement of a new ceasefire between the UN-backed Pro American government and a inner-city militia

Interesting thought

Yes, Chicago and many US cites are a war zone according to technicalities that enforce said behavior

WtR
Could someone please remind Pompeo and Bolton that al-Qaeda are the bad guys? After six years of a foreign-backed regime-change operation in Syria, where hundreds of thousands have been killed and the country nearly fell into the hands of ISIS and al-Qaeda, the Syrian government is on the verge of victory. Assad is hardly a saint, but does anyone really think al-Qaeda and ISIS are preferable? After all, how many Syrians fled the country when Assad was in charge versus when the US-backed rebels started taking over? Americans should be outraged that Pompeo and Bolton are defending al-Qaeda in Idlib. Its time for the neocons to admit they lost. It is time to give Syria back to the Syrians. It is time to pull the US troops from Syria. It is time to just leave Syria alone!
Jocelyn Kaiser in Science:

The first test of a new gene-editing tool in people has yielded early clues that the strategyan infusion that turns the liver into an enzyme factorycould help treat a rare, inherited metabolic disorder. Today, the biotech company Sangamo Therapeutics in Richmond, California, reported data suggesting that two patients with Hunter syndrome are now making small amounts of a crucial enzyme that their bodies previously could not produce. But the company is still a long way from providing evidence that the new method can improve Hunter patients health. Hunter syndrome results from a mutation in a gene for an enzyme that cells need to break down certain sugars. When these sugars, called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), build up in tissues, they damage organs such as the heart and lungs, sometimes leading to developmental delays, brain damage, and early death. The new treatment uses a gene-editing tool called zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs). ZFNs were developed earlier than CRISPR, the hugely popular gene-editing tool, and Sangamo has already used them to edit cells in a dish that were then returned to a patients body.

Sangamos new results are for four men with a mild form of Hunter disease. The participants were already receiving a standard Hunter syndrome therapy: weekly injections of iduronate-2-sulfatase (IDS), the enzyme they lack. However, blood levels drop within a day of injections, limiting their effectiveness. To test the ZFNs, Sangamo injected patients with harmless viruses that ferry DNA for the nucleases into their liver cells, along with a good copy of the IDS gene. The ZFNs snip DNA in a specific location, which the cells then repair using the provided IDS gene. The landing spot is within the gene for the protein albumin, which has a strong onoff switch that controls the new IDS gene. Because of this powerful promotor, less than 1% of a persons liver cells may produce sufficient amounts of IDS to treat Hunter disorder, says Sangamo President and CEO Sandy Macrae. Last November, Sangamo treated the first patient in its trial, Brian Madeux. Today, geneticist Joseph Muenzer of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, principal investigator for the trial, reported results for Madeux and three more patients at a meeting in Athens, Greece.

More here.
\Thank you for everything you've done for me in Aberdeen
Moscow is hosting September 5-6 the United Nations 2018 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East.

Engaging in debate over how best to advance peace in the Middle East and resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a welcome reminder of the power of words over weapons, said UN chief Antonio Guterres in a message to the seminar.

In his message, delivered by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, Alison Smale, the UN Chief said that the seminar provided an important platform to discuss media-related topics connected to the difficult and challenging situation in the Middle East adding that it was encouraging that it remains strong, 27 years after its inception.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains central to the Middle East quagmire. The recent tensions in Gaza are a painful reminder of how fragile the situation is, Alison Smale said, on behalf of Guterres.

The people of the region and the world cannot afford another escalation of violence, she added, noting that the UN remains strongly committed to a just, comprehensive and lasting two-State solution that ends the 50-year occupation and resolves all final status issues. This is key for security and stability in the entire region.

The event brings together more than 150 diplomats, journalists, media experts and youth representatives from Israel, Palestine and other parts of the Middle East, Russia, the United States, Europe, and beyond.

Subjects for discussion and debate on Wednesday and Thursday include a look back at the legacy of the 1993 Oslo Accords; how journalists cover the whole Israel-Palestine conflict; how they can better protect themselves covering the conflict; and the narrative of Palestine refugees, 70 years on from the Nakba, or catastrophe by which Palestinians commemorate their mass-displacement during the 1948-1949 war.

The seminar is organized by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) as part of the Special Information Program on The Question of Palestine.
Its hard not to think of the International Districts old moniker  the War Zone  when setting foot on the property at 132 Wisconsin NE.

Walking must be done with care, as the ground is littered with used syringes.

There are holes where windows once were, and the walls are covered with graffiti and nearly pulled apart in places, probably for looters to get at appliances or metal wiring.

The residence is one of two that sit on the property, and both are being demolished by the city after dozens of calls for service there and the property owners inaction in improving the condition of the buildings.

Theres a whole legal process that this property has been through, Mayor Tim Keller said before taking a ceremonial whack at a wall with a sledgehammer. It has, unfortunately, earned the right to be bulldozed.

Keller said its one of 15 residential properties being considered for demolition.

A month ago, the equally dilapidated house next door was also demolished.

The mayor said his administration and the City Council have recently put more focus  and resources  into the problem of substandard and vacant structures.

Earlier this year, the city started a pilot project aimed at streamlining the handling of dilapidated commercial buildings.

Federico Martinez, who has lived next door to the property for 10 years, said the police are constantly being called to the area, largely because of drugs.

At night, there are many bad people, he said in Spanish. Were scared.

But he said he was pleased the property was finally being torn down.

Things will calm down now, he said.
With just two months until Election Day, new television ads are hitting the airwaves in New Mexicos gubernatorial race.

Republican Steve Pearce launched a 30-second spot Wednesday that highlights what he described as his plans to improve public schools, including proposed changes to the states standardized testing system and more money earmarked for classrooms.

Good teachers dont give up on their kids  as governor, I wont give up on our teachers, a smiling Pearce says in the ad.

The Pearce campaign is spending roughly $130,000 to run the ad on Albuquerque-based network and cable channels, a campaign adviser told the Journal.

Pearce, whose mother was a teacher, has sought to distance himself in some areas from the education policies of outgoing Gov. Susana Martinez, a fellow Republican.

However, his Democratic opponent, Michelle Lujan Grisham, has landed the endorsement of both of the states largest teachers unions.

And a Lujan Grisham campaign spokesman responded to the new ad by citing some of Pearces past votes on education-related bills and pointing out that Pearce has not said whether he would halt a planned appeal of a state judges landmark ruling dealing with education funding levels for at-risk students.

Meanwhile, the political arm of a New Mexico environmental group launched a TV ad Wednesday that targets Pearces record on environmental issues, including his support of a plan to shrink the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, near Las Cruces.

The ad is narrated by Don Schreiber, a rancher who lives in the San Juan Basin. It cites hefty financial contributions received by Pearce from the oil and natural gas industry, while claiming the energy industry has not been a good steward of public lands.

The Conservation Voters New Mexico Verde Voters Fund said the ad would be part of a $500,000 series aimed at informing voters about Pearces ties to the oil and natural gas industry.

The group also said Pearce was among its dirty dozen of state-level candidates it hopes to defeat this year.

The Verde Voters Fund has gotten big contributions in recent months from out-of-state entities, including a $150,000 donation in May from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Dan Boyd: dboyd@abqjournal.com
Albuquerque city councilors voted unanimously Wednesday to create a 12-member task force to explore options to regulate short-term rentals in the city.

A short-term rental is defined as a rental in a single-family residence or apartment of 29 days or less, but is not a defined use within the citys Integrated Development Ordinance and is currently regulated in the same way that other residential uses are regulated.

The resolution says that since the arrival of online short-term rental websites, the number of such properties has increased significantly in the city.

This is just like any other task force, said Councilor Diane Gibson, who sponsored the legislation establishing the advisory group. We want to extend our knowledge base.

Monte Harms, who operates an Airbnb in Albuquerque, told councilors he didnt understand the need for a task force to explore short-term rentals.

It seems the impetus of this was a party house on Airbnb or a couple more that had issues with noise or parking, Harms said. All of the other Airbnbs should not be regulated because of a bad apple. If there are these problems, shouldnt the existing laws of the city take care of that?

Airbnb Inc. is a San Francisco-based company operating an online marketplace and hospitality service that allows people to lease or rent short-term lodging in cottages, apartments, homestays, hostel beds or hotel rooms.

The task force will be made up of representatives from the citys Planning Department, Code Enforcement Division, Legal Department, City Council Services Department, Mayors Office, Treasury Department and Visit ABQ.

They will be joined by someone in the real estate industry knowledgeable in short-term rental properties, two community members appointed by the council with special knowledge or interest in issues and community impacts associated with short-term rental properties, and two representatives from the lodging industry, at least one of whom is involved with the short-term rental industry.

The task force has a March 1 deadline to submit a list of recommendations to councilors and Mayor Tim Keller.
Grant Lipman, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Stanford Medicine, was running through the brown hills behind the campus a few years ago during a severe drought when he came across a 3-foot-long rattlesnake lying by the trail. When a colleague mentioned hed experienced a similar rattlesnake sighting, Lipman got to thinking.

I wondered if there are more snakebites during droughts, said Lipman, clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, who routinely treats patients with venomous snakebites.

Lipman launched a study with a team of researchers to investigate the question. What they found defies conventional wisdom: The number of snakebites actually decreases after a drought but goes up after periods of rainy weather. The study also reported that the increase in weather extremes caused by climate change has a direct influence on snakebite incidence in California. This could be useful to help guide public health measures, such as determining the best allocation of antivenom supplies, the study said.

Lipman shares lead authorship with Caleb Phillips, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of computer science at the Univeristy of Colorado-Boulder. The senior author is Derrick Lung, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. The study was published Sept. 5 in Clinical Toxicology.

Little scientific evidence links drought to an increase in snakebites, and yet everyone seems to believe theres a connection, including emergency medicine providers, since thats what theyre taught during training, Lipman said. A quick Internet search of headlines from the popular press quickly confirmed this: Deadly Snakebites Set to Skyrocket During Record-breaking Drought, reads one in 2018 in the Daily Mail. Another, Snakes Cross Paths with Humans in Bay Area Due to Drought, was reported ABCNews.com in 2015. The prevailing theory goes that snakes wander further to forage for food during times of drought, plus they are simply more active in warmer weather.

We set out to prove that, yes, there are more snakebites during high drought time especially since thats what we were taught, Lipman said.

20 years of snakebite data

The researchers collected and examined 20 years of snakebite data from every phone call made to the California Poison Control System from 1997 to 2017. Details included the date and time of the bite; the patients age and sex; where the bite occurred on the body; call site; treatment; and medical outcomes. Cases were also grouped by the callers ZIP codes to Californias 58 counties.
A judicial process that doesnt allow the accused to cross-examine his accuser or reliably see the evidence against him is a civil libertarians nightmare. It traduces every principle of fairness and is blatantly un-American.

Yet Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is about to get savaged for replacing just such a process with something more in keeping with our long-standing legal norms.

The Education Department is preparing new rules that would roll back the monstrously unfair Obama-era requirements for how colleges handle sexual assault and harassment allegations. It will be a significant advance for due process, which is almost as out of style on campus as free speech.

In one of its least defensible actions, the Obama administration used its Office for Civil Rights to impose its preferred procedures for handling sexual assault cases on all the universities in the country that receive federal funds. It did it via a 19-page Dear Colleague letter, in the name of Title IX, the provision in federal law prohibiting sexual discrimination in education.

The process was terrible. It blew right by the Administrative Procedure Act, which requires public notice and comment before such rules go into effect.

And the substance was worse. If the letter reads as if it was written by inflamed activists who had no interest in balanced proceedings, thats because it was. It required colleges to adopt a preponderance of evidence standard rather than a clear and convincing standard.

It more or less forbid colleges from allowing the cross-examination of accusers. It adopted a remarkably broad definition of sexual harassment to include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

The administration also encouraged the use of a single investigator-adjudicator system, i.e., one person as investigator, judge and jury.

The Obama rules are medieval in the sense that they ignore central developments in Anglo-American justice that arose hundreds of years ago. In their important book The Campus Rape Frenzy, KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor Jr. describe how the rules often played out: Start with an alcohol-soaked set of facts that no states criminal law would consider sexual assault. Add an incomplete investigation, unfair procedures, and a disciplinary panel uninterested in evidence of innocence. Stir in a de facto presumption of guilt based on misguided Obama administration dictates, ideological zeal, and fear of bad publicity.

The result has, inevitably, been jaw-dropping miscarriages of justice. Everyone should want perpetrators of sexual assault to be punished  and in the criminal-justice system, not just by colleges  but elementary protections for the accused cant be discarded in the process.

One reason the Obama rules were so lopsided is that they were crafted in an atmosphere of moral panic. It was assumed that there was a spiraling epidemic of sexual assault on campus. Taylor and Johnson note, to the contrary, that sexual assaults of female college students dropped by more than half between 1997 and 2013, and that young women in college are less likely to be assaulted than those who are not in college.

The Obama rules have been receiving a battering in the courts, where due process is still taken seriously. A U.S. District Court judge wrote in a 2016 ruling against Brandeis University: If a college student is to be marked for life as a sexual predator, it is reasonable to require that he be provided a fair opportunity to defend himself and an impartial arbiter to make that decision. Put simply, a fair determination of the facts requires a fair process, not tilted to favor a particular outcome, and a fair and neutral fact-finder, not predisposed to reach a particular conclusion.

This is the animating spirit behind the DeVos changes. They are still being formulated, but a New York Times report suggests they will correct the worst excesses of the Obama rules and interject fairness into proceedings that were, shamefully, designed to lack it.

E-mail: comments.lowry@nationalreview.com.  2018 by King Features Syndicate.
Five adults were taken into custody last month from a filthy Taos area compound, where authorities discovered 11 malnourished children and the body of a 3-year-old who was allegedly kidnapped from his home in Georgia by his father.

State prosecutors alleged Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, the boys father, and Jany Leveille, the boys stepmother, intentionally deprived the child of his seizure medication, performing a prayer ritual over him instead to cast out demons they believed were making him sick.

The five defendants are also accused in court documents of training children to carry out armed attacks against society.

And yet the district attorneys office in Taos County botched the case to the point where two judges last week said they had no choice but to dismiss the initial child abuse charges that all five of those defendants had been facing. Taos District Attorney Donald Gallegos  realizing his office wasnt prepared to move forward with a preliminary hearing for charges of child abuse resulting in death against the father and stepmother within the 10 days mandated by law  also dropped those counts, the last of the major state court charges. He says he plans to present the case to a grand jury later this month.

Thankfully, FBI agents swooped in Friday and re-arrested all five adults on federal firearms and conspiracy charges.

Leveille, a native of Haiti and one of the five Muslim defendants, is now charged in federal court with unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition by an alien living illegally in the U.S. The four others are charged with aiding and abetting and conspiring with her in the weapons violation.

And while the FBI rode to the rescue to ensure the firearms case is judged on its merits, there is still the DAs shoddy handling of the state child abuse charges so far.

The initial child abuse charges were thrown out because prosecutors missed a deadline to hold preliminary hearings.

Before that, they failed to present sufficient evidence to convince a judge the defendants should be held pending trial. A judge ruled the prosecutors hadnt met their burden to show community danger by clear and convincing evidence.

Among those outraged by how this case has played out so far are Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe and both N.M. gubernatorial candidates. U.S. Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic candidate, called the situation inexcusable and U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, the Republican nominee, called for Gallegos to resign immediately.

Meanwhile, Gallegos is defensive about the blistering criticism his office has been receiving, posting on Facebook, My staff has worked diligently, professionally and ethically and I am very proud of them. OK, but what about basic prosecutorial competence? If allowing five felony defendants to skate on a technicality is work to be proud of, imagine what poor performance looks like.

This is arguably the highest profile case this DAs office has ever handled. National attention has been intense, and the fact state prosecutors were outmaneuvered at every turn leaves the impression the Taos team is out of its depth on basic policies and procedures. No wonder many New Mexicans believe the state criminal justice system is broken. Now many outside the state believe our justice system is a joke.

Thank goodness the FBI stepped in, but it cant take on the Taos DAs whole caseload. Gallegos needs to do some soul searching, and seriously consider asking Attorney General Hector Balderas to step in to prosecute state charges in the compound case. If recent history is any indication, its a case his office and its resources are not equipped to handle.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
Ten years after Danny Bacas body was found riddled with bullets and torched in the Pajarito Mesa  deputies say they have taken another of his killers into custody.

Bernalillo County Sheriffs spokeswoman Felicia Maggard said 35-year-old Jaime Veleta Jr. was extradited from Mexico on Wednesday to face charges of murder, kidnapping, aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence in the Jan. 2008 slaying of 53-year-old Baca.

Deputies say Veleta Jr., along with three other men, were following cartel orders when they kidnapped Baca at gunpoint from his Tijeras home after Baca stole $7,000 of the cartels drugs.

Bacas body was found on Jan. 11 in the middle of a dirt road near Dennis Chavez and Paseo Del Vulcan SW. He had been shot 22 times and set on fire.

At the time, BCSO Sheriff Darren White said the cartel was sending a message with Bacas murder.

Two of Veleta Jr.s accomplices, Gerardo Nunez and Mario Talavera, have already been arrested in the case but Veleta Jr. has been on the run  earning him a spot on the U.S. Marshals most-wanted list in New Mexico.

I am pleased that our office has successfully extradited Jaime Veleta from Mexico, where he evaded prosecution, and secured his custody in the State of New Mexico so that he will not escape trial for murder charges in Bernalillo County, Attorney General Hector Balderas said in a statement released Wednesday night.
SANTA FE  The acting secretary of the state Aging and Long-Term Services Department has asked Attorney General Hector Balderas to investigate possible criminal activity on the part of an organization with a state contract to provide various services for roughly 70,000 elderly New Mexicans.

The letter to the Attorney Generals Office from acting Secretary KyKy Knowles was sent earlier this week, after a special audit found that the organization improperly spent $118,395 in taxpayer dollars on fancy meals, alcohol, hotels and employee bonuses over a 2-year period.

Specifically, Knowles said the organizations decision to give incentive-based bonuses to some of its employees might violate both the state Constitution and the groups contract with the state.

However, both the executive director and board chairman of the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District, a Santa Fe-based consortium of counties, has said there was nothing improper about the spending in question.

The development districts executive director, Tim Armer, recently told the Journal the merit-based staff bonuses were paid out with savings from vacant positions and unused overtime.

In addition, state Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, chairman of the organizations board of directors, said Wednesday that the money used for a staff team-building retreat and other expenditures came from funds earmarked for operational expenses, not senior services.

We honestly feel thats our money, Trujillo said.

He also questioned state Auditor Wayne Johnsons authority to order a special audit into the organizations finances, and described the Aging and Long-Term Services Department as an agency in turmoil after recent high staff turnover rates.

The special audit was conducted by an outside auditing firm and focused on the finances of the development district in regard to its work running the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging, which has a $20 million annual contract to work with providers in most of New Mexico, but not in Bernalillo County.

In addition to the questionable spending, the audit also found some internal controls to be lacking, such as giving too much check-signing authority to one top executive at the economic development district.

An Attorney Generals office spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the agency had received the referral and said the matter is under review.

Meanwhile, the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging is one of four state management agencies that oversee providers of transportation, home-delivered meals and job-finding assistance for thousands of seniors. The programs money comes from a mix of state and federal dollars.
LAS CRUCES, N.M.  Three New Mexico boys are facing charges after police say they broke into a Las Cruces day care, mutilated the centers goldfish, and then stole the day cares van.

Las Cruces police spokesman Dan Trujillo said the boys ages 13, 12 and 11 were arrested early Sunday following the burglary of the Discovery Child Development Center.

Trujillo says the boys took out three goldfish from day care tank, stomped on them and smeared their insides across the floor. He says another fish was found smashed to death on a counter top.

Trujillo says the boys picked up another 11-year-old boy and broke windows of several vehicles.

The boys were later stopped by a New Mexico State University officer.

The boys were charged with non-residential burglary and extreme cruelty to animals among other charges.
SUNLAND PARK  Residents efforts to make Santa Teresa a city have once again been thwarted, at least temporarily, by the communitys neighbor and nemesis, Sunland Park.

The Sunland Park City Council on Tuesday voted to appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court a state appeals court decision that favored the Santa Teresa citizens group seeking to incorporate the community as a municipality.

Residents of Santa Teresa have been trying off and on for more than three decades to incorporate, but have been consistently blocked by Sunland Park. A similar legal battle that began in 1986 also ended up in the Supreme Court, which rejected Santa Teresas efforts on different grounds than are being considered currently.

Sunland Park has also repeatedly expressed an interest in annexing Santa Teresa, which is more influent and has more industry, though it has never gone through with those efforts.

Although Sunland Park officials have said in the past that they oppose the incorporation of Santa Teresa because they feel the two cities should join to better compete with larger cities such as El Paso and prevent fragmentation of governance, City Manager Julia Brown said on Tuesday that Sunland Park also opposes incorporation because it would constrain the citys ability to grow.

The city is really moving into a growth and development mode, she said. If we allow this decision to stand  it pretty much landlocks the city and prevents us from moving ahead, and growing and developing.

Sunland Park borders Santa Teresa on the east along McNutt Road, and for a short distance on the north and south as well. Sunland Park is bordered on the east by El Paso and on the south by Mexico. However, even if Santa Teresa is able to incorporate, Sunland Park would still be able to expand westward along much of its border and to the north.

The City Council on Monday voted unanimously to appeal the latest court decision. Council approved the resolution to appeal without discussion after meeting in closed session to consider the issue. There was no public comment on the resolution. The issue took less than two minutes to resolve in the Councils regular meeting.

I anticipated it, said Mary Gonzales, president of the Provisional Government of Santa Teresa, the citizens group seeking incorporation, who did not attend the meeting. We were ready for it. Were not shying away.

The group formed after Sunland Parks City Council in October 2014 approved a resolution saying the city would like to extend a hand to residents of Santa Teresa and open a discussion regarding  possible annexation.

The following July, PGST petitioned the Dona Ana Board of County Commissioners to incorporate 3,984 acres, extending from McNutt Road west almost to the Santa Teresa airport and including the Santa Teresa Airport Park, the largest of the industrial parks in the area.

In November 2015, the Board of County Commissioners voted 4-0 to deny the petition, saying that it did not meet state requirements for incorporation. PGST then appealed the decision in district court, which initially ruled in favor of PGST. But Sunland Park made a motion for the court to reconsider, and the court reversed its decision. PGST then took the case to the state court of appeals.

The current dispute centers on different interpretations of state requirements for incorporating a municipality in an urbanized area. They are ambiguous.

State statutes says that no territory within five miles of a municipality with a population of at least 5,000 can incorporate unless: (1) the existing municipality approves; (2) residents of the territory proposing incorporation file a petition to be annexed by the municipality and the municipality fails to annex it within 120 days; (3) residents of the area to be annexed prove that the municipality cannot provide services within the same period of time as the proposed municipality.

The parties disagree on whether all three conditions must be met, or they represent three independent paths to incorporation. They also disagree about what is necessary to prove Sunland Parks intention to annex Santa Teresa. State statues describe three methods for annexing a territory. One states that a municipality can begin that process by passing a resolution stating its desire to annex a territory.

PGST contended that the three parts of state statutes represent alternative paths to incorporating, so that only one is required. It also argued that Sunland Parks approval of a resolution on annexation demonstrated the citys intention to seek annexation, so satisfied the second condition.

Sunland Park and the Board of County Commissioners disagreed, contending that PGST must file a formal petition with Sunland Park seeking annexation, and prove that it can provide municipal services sooner than Sunland Park, before it can petition to incorporate as a municipality.

On Aug. 22, the state appeals court ruled in PGSTs favor. It agreed that state statutes on incorporation provide three stand-alone approaches to incorporation. It also said that Sunland Parks resolution constituted an informal proposal to annex Santa Teresa, so met annexation requirements.

Most importantly, the appeals court said that it would be absurd to interpret the statutes as meaning that residents who oppose annexation, and instead seek to incorporate as a municipality, would first have to petition to be annexed.

Such an interpretation, the court said, would nullify any meaningful opportunity for residents of unincorporated territory . to avoid unwanted annexation.

Gonzales and other members of PGST believe that incorporation is preferable to annexation by Sunland Park. They dont want to be part of Sunland Park, which they say is ill-equipped to provide it services and is only interested in annexing Santa Teresa to increase its property and gross receipts tax revenue.

Theyve never taken care of their residents, Gonzales said. I dont want to be part of a city thats not going to take care of me.

Santa Teresa residents are also seeking to incorporate because the community has declined since its founder, who also provided services to the community, went bankrupt and the country club it was built around closed.

Since then, roads have deteriorated, streetlights are no longer turned on at night, streets signs have faded, and sidewalks have bucked. Common areas, once green and meticulously landscaped, have turned brown and palm trees have died.

PGST has spent about $70,000 so far in legal expenses. They raised that money through donations, chiefly from Santa Teresa residents, ranging in size from $35 to $1,000. The group only has about $5,000 left, though, so will need to raise more money to defend their case before the Supreme Court. It plans to mount a Go Fund Me campaign shortly.

Our lawyers feel very confident, Gonzales said. Theyre willing to go all the way.

Santa Teresa and Sunland Park battled once before over annexation and incorporation in a case that was also ultimately decided by the New Mexico Supreme Court.

The first battle began in 1986 when Sunland Park, only three years after it became a city, expressed an interest in annexing Santa Teresa. Santa Teresa residents then, as now, formed a citizens group to fight the annexation attempt. It also petitioned the county to incorporate the community.

The Dona Ana County Board of Commissioners approved the petition, but Sunland Park appealed and a district court judge reversed that decision. The Santa Teresa group appealed the district court ruling and it was overturned. Sunland Park took the case to the Supreme Court, which ruled in its favor.

The issue in that case was different. The parties and courts disagreed about whether the Santa Teresa group could prove that it could provide services as quickly as Sunland Park.

The Supreme Court said in its ruling, It is the states policy to discourage splinter communities or a proliferation of neighboring, independent municipal bodies, whose competing needs would divide tax revenues, multiply services, create confusion and factionalism among our citizens.

Sunland Park won that battle, but never completed the annexation process.

Blake Gumprecht may be reached at 575-541-5453, bgumprecht@lcsun-news.com or @blakegumprecht on Twitter.



2018 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Rio Arriba County Commissioner Barney Trujillo has been indicted on three felony counts of unlawful interest in a public contract and another felony count for a campaign finance violation.

The New Mexico Attorney Generals Office sought the indictments from a Rio Arriba grand jury.

The AGs office conducted a raid on Trujillos Chimayo home in January 2017 and also went after documents from county government and the Espanola Public Schools regarding couty expenses related to Trujillo and the school districts contract with the county commissioner.

In August 2014, he was awarded a $50,000-a-year, no bid marketing contract with the district.

Public school funds should be used on the needs of students, said Attorney General Hector Balderas in a news release. I will continue to bring charges against candidates and officials who fail to serve our communities by pursuing or failing to disclose improper financial interests.

Trujillo will be arraigned, but that date has not yet been set.

Trujillo ran unsuccessfully for a northern New Mexico House of Representatives seat in Democratic primaries in 2016 and in June of this year.
Fabian Gonzales has hired a new lawyer just six weeks before he is set for trial on charges connected to the death of Victoria Martens, according to a news release.

Santa Fe attorney Steve Aarons announced late Tuesday that he had hit the ground running in the case and plans to file a motion seeking to dismiss the charge of child abuse resulting in death against Gonzales. In an interview Thursday, Aarons said he does not plan to ask for a delay in the case.

Contract public defense attorney Tom Clark had been representing Gonzales since September 2016.

In a motion to substitute counsel, Aarons said that Gonzales parents hired him, and Gonzales no longer wishes to be represented by Mr. Clark in these proceedings. A hearing on the motion is set for Monday.

Gonzales initially faced murder and rape charges, but those counts were dismissed after prosecutors announced that Gonzales wasnt at the apartment when 10-year-old Victoria was killed.

Victorias mother, Michelle, pleaded guilty in June to child abuse resulting in death. Gonzales cousin, Jessica Kelley, and an unknown man are facing murder charges in the case.

Gonzales trial is set to begin Oct. 15.

A spokesman for the District Attorneys Office declined to comment on the motion.
The state Department of Agriculture is proposing rules that would allow the growing of hemp in New Mexico  a key step in carrying out a 2017 law that Gov. Susana Martinez opposed.

The rules outline licensing and testing requirements to ensure that hemp  a relative of marijuana  doesnt have high levels of the chemical that makes people high.

Hemp is a kind of cannabis, grown for industrial purposes, not to cause intoxication. Its illegal to grow in New Mexico, at least until new rules are adopted.

Supporters say hemp could be a lucrative crop for New Mexico farmers and help the states economy. It can be used to make clothes and other products.

We have a huge opportunity, Sen. Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, said in an interview.

The production of hemp, he said, has the potential to create farming and manufacturing jobs, especially in rural areas. Its used in many kinds of products, McSorley said.

Gov. Martinez, a Republican, opposed the legislation allowing hemp, arguing that it would complicate law enforcement efforts.

She tried to veto the bill in 2017, but the state Supreme Court later ruled that she failed to follow the proper procedures to reject the legislation. Senate Bill 6, sponsored by McSorley, was one of 10 pieces of legislation that became law after her vetoes were invalidated.

The state is now seeking public comment as it prepares to put the hemp law into effect. Five meetings are scheduled for mid-October.

Under the proposed rules, people would have to apply for a license about five weeks before growing hemp. There would be licensing fees, of about $900 per location in some cases; testing and inspection requirements; and procedures for destroying plants that contain too much tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that causes intoxication.

Kristie Garcia, a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture, stressed that the rules are simply proposed at this point and the state is soliciting public comment on them. A hearing officer will then make a recommendation.

The department has authority over the growing of hemp, not what producers do with the plant afterward, Garcia said.

The rules are available at the Department of Agriculture website, www.nmda.nmsu.edu.

Dozens of other states already allow the cultivation of hemp in limited circumstances.

Proposals to legalize marijuana for recreational use have repeatedly failed in New Mexico. The state allows the use of cannabis for some medical conditions.
Floor & Decor, a specialty hard-surface flooring retailer, opened the doors Thursday at its new Albuquerque location  the companys first outlet in New Mexico.

The 75,000-square-foot retail store and design center opens with a team of 47 employees led by Matt Averill, the stores chief executive merchant.

Albuquerque-area chambers of commerce officials and a city economic development representative welcomed the arrival of the business and hailed the new jobs during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the newly built store, at 4936 Pan American Freeway NE. The ceremony was followed by a private industry event attended by hundreds of builders, contractors, architects, designers, installers and real estate agents.

The companys Albuquerque landlord, Maestas Development Group, said construction costs totaled $10 million. Wilger Enterprises was the builder.

Floor & Decor, which is on a five-acre site formerly occupied by a storage warehouse, serves homeowners and professional contractors. The warehouse-size showroom carries more than one million square feet of in-stock flooring and offers free design services and how-to clinics.

The industry event was a chance to shake hands and show support for those in the community that Floor & Decor hopes to do business with in the years to come, said Tim Froning, who focuses on the companys professional services division. He said a dedicated team serves construction industry professionals, who represent 60 to 70 percent of the companys clientele.

Established in 2000 and headquartered in Atlanta, publicly-traded Floor & Decor offers ceramic, stone, tile, wood and laminate flooring. In addition, it stocks tools, decorative materials and accessories related to hard-surface flooring projects.

According to Investors Business Daily, all new Floor & Decor stores are located within five miles of a Home Depot and 91 percent of the outlets are within five miles of a Lowes.
Opposition leader Jean-Pierre Bemba has been definitively barred from running as a presidential candidate in Decembers presidential election in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Constitutional Court of the Central African nation earlier this week backed the electoral commissions ruling that Bemba cannot run because of a conviction at the International Criminal Court.

The constitutional court also upheld the invalidation of former Prime Minister Adolphe Muzitos candidacy but reinstated another former Prime Minister Samy Badibanga as a candidate.

Jean-Pierre Bemba, a charismatic Congolese leader, was acquitted by the appeals chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes charges relating to actions of his troops in the Central African Republic in 2002-2003. However, Congos top court ruled that the major rival to President Joseph Kabila remains convicted by the ICC for bribing witnesses  a crime for which he was handed a year-long prison term and a 300,000 ($350,000) fine.

Jean-Pierre Bemba, often called the chairman by his supporters in a reference to his business past, did not comment on the court ruling yet. But the secretary-general of his MLC party wrote on Twitter after the judgment Congo has fallen very low!

Besides Bemba, opposition leader Moise Katumbi was barred from re-entering Congo last month to register his candidacy after two years in exile.

A country of some 80 million people, DR Congo has never known a peaceful transition of power since gaining independence in 1960.
Contract Advertising recently bagged the creative mandate for Sony SAB and will be handling all their creative duties, which include brand and show related communications. The business that came after a highly contested multi-agency pitch will be handled out of the agencys Mumbai office.

Talking about the new association Neeraj Vyas, Business Head, Sony SAB said; We welcome Contract Mumbai as our creative partner for Sony SAB. We are currently at an exciting juncture of expanding our content portfolio and taking the channel towards growth. It is therefore the right time to bring in a fresh perspective and Contract seemed like the most fitting team to collaborate with in this endeavour. We look forward to infusion of fresh and creative thinking and eventually taking the business to the next level with this partnership.

Vaishali Sharma, Head  Marketing & PR, Sony SAB said; "After an extensive pitch process that involved key creative agencies, we are happy to have Contract Mumbai on-board as our creative partner for Sony SAB. We look forward to positioning the exciting new content line-up in the most refreshed way to take the brand ahead. With great creative minds on board from both sides, we look forward to some path-breaking creative campaigns and marketing communication for Sony SAB.

Commenting on the win, Raji Ramaswamy, CEO, Contract Advertising said; We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Sony SAB in their ambition to further growth across geographies. Sony SAB is a great brand to build and we are very excited to work on it. We look forward to creating memorable work across media to build a larger audience base for the channel.

Ashish Chakravarty, Chief Creative Officer, Contract added; Sony SAB is a lighthouse brand in Indian television and getting a chance to write the narrative of such a brand is nothing less than inspiring. Add to that its formidable repertoire, and the whole experience is a lot of fun. The channel is beginning to express itself in a sharp new voice and wants to invade new drawing rooms. We are thrilled to be a part of this journey.
Marking a significant development in Indias Hair Care category, Emami Limited, one of the leading and fastest growing personal and healthcare businesses in India has announced a rejuvenation of its Kesh King brand portfolio through new advanced formulation and new pack design for Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil andKesh King Ayurvedic Shampoo.

Adding to the consumers delight, Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil and Shampoo have been power packed by stronger and advanced ayurvedic formula consisting of 21 rare herbs which will provide the very best of ayurvedic care to ones hair. While the new and stronger formulation of Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil comes with a 2X superior claim of alleviating hair fall along with assisting in new hair growth, the enriched constituents of Aloevera and 21 Ayurvedic herbs of Kesh King Anti-Hairfall Shampoo promises not only to minimise ones hair fall but also to give ones hair an enhanced silkier, shinier and smoother texture in comparison to other available brands in the category.

As a part of a major rejig to the brand, Kesh King portfolio undergoes its first packaging change after it got acquired by Emami Limited. While Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil transformed from silver carton pack to a premium quality gold pack, Kesh King shampoo, in a complete design revamp, now comes packed in a new smart bottle, moving away from its erstwhile carton format.

Speaking on this occasion, Ms. Priti A. Sureka, Director, Emami Limited, stated, Emami as a brand has always valued the significance of packaging that plays a crucial part in consumer communication, both on intellectual and emotional tenets. Using conventional packaging materials in unconventional ways and being on a continuous research to bring about cost effective packaging designs and formats without compromising quality and values, have already positioned Emami as an Innovator in the packaging space. Aligned to this ethos that the FMCG major believes in, Kesh King has come up with the refurbishment of the pack design and format for both its Ayurvedic Oil and Shampoo brands, the first major change in packaging since Emami Ltd had bought out the brand.

With this pack refreshment, Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil will now come in three pack sizes, viz. 60ml priced at Rs 80.00, 100ml priced at Rs 160.00 and 300ml priced at Rs 320.00 while Kesh King Anti-Hairfall Shampoo will now have pack sizes of 80ml priced at Rs 50.00, 200ml priced at Rs 120.00 and 340ml priced at Rs 200.00.

Ms. Priti A. Sureka, continued to add, Kesh King is clearly the No.1 brand in the ayurvedic haircare space. With multiple ayurvedic hair care brands jostling for a pie in the Indian market, it was obvious that Kesh King carves out a distinct positioning for itself amongst its consumers as the very best in its category. Thus modernizing the brand attributes, yet keeping the essence and values that ayurvedic brings in, was an absolute must. Through this rejuvenation, Kesh King wants to bring a relief to the target consumers from the anxiety or lack of confidence that they suffer from due to hair fall and other associated hair problems. We target to reach out to a broader cross section of society cutting across all socio-economic strata, right from Urban top end to rural

Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil is the only ayurvedic oil which has been certified by the countrys foremost institution of Ayurveda, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur. It is regarded as the numero uno brand in ayurvedic hair oil category globally. Clinical study has concluded that Kesh King Ayurvedic Oil being prepared using Tel Pak Vidhi, a process prescribed in Ayurvedic texts, is twice more effective than any other ayurvedic oil in the market, making it a must have product among its crores of satisfied consumers.
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eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is celebrating 50 years of independence on Thursday. To mark the event, King Mswati III had announced that the country would henceforth be called the Kingdom of ESwatini as announced in April.

According to the king, the move will stop the confusion between Swaziland and Switzerland.

Swaziland will return to its original name, the monarch told a packed stadium in the capital Mbabane. In 2017, he had used this term during the General Assembly of the European Union and also at the opening of the 2018 parliamentary session.

At the United Nations, the country is already acknowledged by its new name, and is also now known as eSwatini by Germanys Federal Foreign Office. The official home page of the government of eSwatini has been updated  although many other national agencies are lagging behind.

Mswati III is Africas last absolute monarch. The King rules by decree over his million subjects, most of whom live in the countryside and follow traditional ways of life.

Two thirds of its 1.4 million people live in poverty and the life expectancy is just 56  one of the lowest in the world.

Last month, the Kingdom has chosen to maintain relations with Taiwan after a diplomatic tussle between Taiwan and China.

While China meets African leaders at a major summit in Beijing this week, the king of eSwatini was at home, hosting thousands of young Swazi women celebrating chastity in a lavish week-long ceremony.
RAMALLAH, West Bank  As of the evening of Aug. 30, the Palestinian post office in the southern West Bank city of Jericho was still busy sorting 10 tons of mail. The Palestinian Authority had distributed only half of the massive backlog it received in mid-August from Jordan when the Israeli authorities finally released it after an eight-year delay.

Ramadan Ghazzawi, the Palestinian Post official overseeing the sorting process, told Al-Monitor that workers in the post office in Jericho and many other offices across the West Bank have been working day and night, adding, We still need another three weeks to get through all the mail and distribute it to West Bank post offices.

On Aug. 13, Palestinian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Allam Mousa announced that Israel had released about 10 tons of mail held since 2010. It includes mail shipped at various costs and priority levels. Dozens of workers have been sorting hundreds of plastic bags at the Palestinian Post in Jericho in the West Bank.

Israel and the PA signed an agreement in 2008 for direct postal exchange via Jordan under the auspices of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), but the agreement was not implemented. Both parties renewed the agreement in September 2016 to allow Palestinians to receive mail through Jordan via land crossings after spending 48 hours in Israeli security screening, but the agreement was yet again not implemented.

Ghazzawi noted, We have various types of mail from all over the world. There is paper mail, letters, parcels, goods and small online-shopping packages. Theyre all randomly mixed.

He said that before the mail was handed over, it passed through two Israeli security checks: first at the Allenby crossing and again at the Israeli Civil Administration headquarters in the West Bank settlement of Beit El near Ramallah. It was then returned to the Allenby crossing to be handed over to the Palestinian post office in Jericho.

A large part of the mail is damaged and rotted due to the long storage period, weather factors and transport, destroying postal information such as names, addresses and tracking numbers, Ghazzawi said. He explained that the sorting process also includes repairing and packaging damaged mail and integrating the mail within the International Posting System (IPS) which connects postal facilities that are part of the UPU, to be registered with the Palestinian Post.

He said the mail that has been sorted so far will start reaching citizens by Aug. 26, after Eid al-Adha. A statement from the Ministry of Communications will be delivered with the mail advising citizens of the conditions in which the mail was received and that the PA is not responsible for damages.

Israel's refusal to release Palestinian mail has denied the Palestinian treasury millions of dollars every year. The agreement between the PA and Israel stipulates that the PA collects the terminal dues, not Israel, which would make the treasury millions of dollars, Ghazzawi noted.

Ghazzawi said terminal dues are the payments one country makes to another for the mail it sends to it. The payment is calculated based on the difference in weight. He added, Palestine receives more mail than it sends out, which is why it has the right to collect terminal dues from the countries sending out the mail. The terminal dues include the costs of sorting and distributing the mail. Israel has been collecting those dues because it controls Palestine's mail.

According to the Palestine Post website, Israel withholds the funds due to the Palestine Post, including terminal dues. As a result, the Palestinian Post has lost $20,000 monthly since 2004, amounting to more than $3.5 million worth of losses overall.

Mohammad Ashtiyeh from Nablus has been waiting three years for a small LCD screen that he had purchased online. I lost hope in the package ever arriving. With a three-year delay, it will most probably be damaged, he told Al-Monitor.

Ghazzawi pointed out that one package sent in 2012 from the United States "contained clothes for a two-year-old boy. We are in 2018 and that toddler is now a young boy.

He added, We also received a wheelchair sent by a donor in Turkey in 2015 to a disabled person in the West Bank, whose identity is yet to be determined because the name and address are no longer visible.

Although all mail has been released, Palestinians fear more delays from Israel. The acting general director of the Palestinian Post, Hussein Sawafta, told Al-Monitor that Palestinians are in open discussion with the Israelis to implement signed agreements including those stipulating the entry of mail from Jordan. Sawafta believes Israel released the mail at this particular time to improve its image before the UPU, which will convene next month in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

He said that there will be several issues to discuss with the Israelis concerning mail to Palestine, pointing out that several bodies will be involved in supervising the process such as the UPU and Palestinian ministries.

On Aug. 14, AFP quoted an anonymous official in the Israeli administration as saying that there was an agreement between Israel and the PA that post would be carried directly to the Palestinian territories, but this is yet to happen, without stating why. The official stated that Israel allowed a one-time transfer of approximately 10 and a half tons of mail that had been held in Jordan.
The Egyptian government announced on Aug. 28 a massive budget worth 275 billion Egyptian pounds ($15.4 billion) to carry out developmental projects in the Sinai Peninsula until 2022, as part of efforts aimed at fighting an Islamist insurgency in that unstable part of the country and improving living standards for its residents.

In the government announcement, Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed said that the Egyptian government is planning to establish fish farms spanning an area of 15,590 feddans (16,179 acres) in the Suez Canal area, construct a natural lake and an industrial zone in Port Said, and build about 10 roads at a total length of 1,339 kilometers (8332 miles) in the Sinai Peninsula.

The planned projects also include the building of a number of residential units, 15 hospitals and health units, and the establishment and upgrading of 53 schools, a university and an educational institute in Sinai, according to the planning minister.

Saeed said a total of 54 water supply projects would be carried out in the North Sinai governorate, adding that al-Arish and Sharm el-Sheikh airports, in addition to the industrial zone for glass and marble in central Sinai, would be developed and upgraded. A total of 400,000 feddans of land would also be reclaimed in the North Sinai governorate, and electricity networks along the roads in the governorate's towns would be installed, he added.

Economists and security experts widely praised the plan, saying it would enable the state to create an integrated urban community in that turbulent area  a matter that would greatly help eliminate terrorism.

Hassan el-Haywan, an economist and a professor of economics at Ain Shams University, said such an enormous plan has a very significant security dimension. Securing Sinai would only be achieved through comprehensive development. If you want to end terrorism, you create job opportunities and achieve development. That is the only way out, he told Al-Monitor.

Haywan also said the government is planning to attract people to the province by establishing proper infrastructure and offering necessary services. The move aims to increase the population of the Sinai Peninsula to stand at 3 million residents by 2022 and 8 million residents by 2052, instead of the existing half a million. Having more people in the Sinai Peninsula would for sure help move ahead with the development process, he added.

Ahmed el-Shami, an economist and a professor of feasibility studies at Cairo University, also lauded the plan, saying it would not only help put an end to terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula but would also result in huge revenues for the government because that region is full of natural resources.

Sinai is rich with natural resources and raw materials, which make it a very attractive destination for investors and for carrying out projects in various economic sectors, including tourism, agriculture and industry, Shami told Al-Monitor. He referred to the great potentials of the marble and cement industries as well as quarries and the agriculture sector in Sinai.

Shami said most of the allocated budget would be directed to infrastructure, which is the basis for the launch of any developmental projects. He added that the geographical location of Sinai links it with the Suez Canal developmental projects. That is why moving ahead with developmental projects in the Suez Canal would positively affect development in Sinai, as it will create job opportunities for its people as well as encourage more people to live there, he added.

However, Shami added that the budget allocated to development in Sinai is still not enough, highlighting that the state has to allocate about 600 billion Egyptian pounds ($33.7 billion) to achieve development there.

Amr Ammar  a security expert and geostrategic researcher  said that the developmental plan in Sinai cannot be accomplished in just four years, and he expects development to take years. When the security crises in Syria, Yemen and Libya ease, development in Sinai can move forward, Ammar told Al-Monitor.

Security threats are still there in the region, and this will definitely affect development in an area like Sinai, he added.

However, Ammar said that such a developmental plan comes as part of a wider state strategy to defend Egypts borders against extremists. The state is creating a strong urban community that can act as a defensive wall against any regional threats targeting the Sinai Peninsula, Ammar added.

This developmental plan is extremely crucial for Egypt especially in the light of the regional unrest, he noted.
When retired Col. Miri Eisin graduated from high school in Israel in 1980, she was drafted like every 18-year-old boy and girl in the Jewish State to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was both a totally ordinary and extraordinary event: At home in Israel, military service is as much a part of quotidian life as taxes and public transport. But zooming out of that postage-stamp-sized nation and taking in the state of the world as a whole, Israels military  which is among only a handful on earth to require conscription of its female citizens  is radically unique.

Eisin, who was born in Northern California but raised in Israel, speaks fluent English and also impressive French. It was mostly for her language skills, she says, that she was placed into military intelligence, a role that jived well with her personality. Eisin is quick-thinking, intelligent and has fierce work ethics, which might have been why  while still in her compulsory training  she pushed very hard to get accepted into an officers training course. Eisin would go on to spend 20 years in the military, far beyond the mandatory two years that are required of Israeli women (men must serve for three years). She rose all the way up to the rank of colonel  a position whose stripes are so elusive that only 2% of the officers wearing them in Israel have ever been women.

At the time, she was extraordinary. While equality for women in the IDF looks much different today than it did when Eisin first joined up as a teenager, the reality, she says, is that equality has never been the goal.

Everything that has to do with women in the [Israeli] military has evolved, developed and changed in the last 25 years, she says. Most women used to go to clerical positions, but I was lucky, and I pushed very hard to go to an officers course.

Today, the Israeli military looks quite different. Fifty-one percent of all officers in the military are women, among them the first-ever female Israel air force squadron commander  known only by her first initial, Maj. G  who was tapped for her boundary-breaking position early last month. In 2017, the country launched its first program to train female tank commanders. A few months earlier, it announced with great pride that the numbers of women serving in combat positions were up by 38%. Progress, it seems, has been steady and swift. It was only in 2001 that a woman  Roni Zuckerman  reached the pilots seat itself in the Israel air force, meaning it took less than two decades to leapfrog from that achievement to the position of squadron commander.

But forward momentum, much like war itself, is always more complicated on the ground. Eisin, today a mother of three who is retired from the army and serves as a geopolitical expert, looks at her experience as a woman fighter with the cut-and-dry steadiness one might expect from a career soldier.

It isnt about equality 50/50, its about equal opportunity, she says. In general I feel that the military has given back to me as much as I have given it, she says bluntly. I [served in] a lot of diverse and amazing positions, and I think thats a dimension of the modern world and what the last 100 years have given women.

Retired Brig. Gen. Gila Klifa-Amir, who during her distinguished service served as the IDF chief of staff's adviser on women's affairs, says she is immensely proud of the gains made toward embracing women as soldiers within Israeli society.

It must be understood that gender equality is an evolutionary process within a developing society, she says. The IDF has gone a significant distance and has adjusted and changed a great deal over the years in this arena.

But a key point often left out of the conversation about women fighters and Israeli society, she says, is actually the most important: Women have not excelled within the ranks of the IDF because of the firm lobbying hand of the womens rights movement. On the contrary, Klifa-Amir says. They have excelled because their advancement has gone hand-in-hand with the primary aim of the IDF itself, which is protecting the State of Israel above all.

Equal opportunity for women in the IDF is not a discussion of balancing state security and womens rights. Rather, preserving the rights of women in the IDF in itself promotes the basic interests of both the IDF and Israel as a whole, she says.

Today, when young women arrive for their first day of mandatory service on military bases across Israel, there are more positions open to them than were open to Eisin on her first day those decades ago. But much of the reasoning for the opening of those positions has simply been a matter of good sense: Those young women, it has been determined, are as capable as the young men alongside them to fill those ranks, so the doors have been unlocked.

Eisin, who retired from military service after the birth of her third child, says with a hint of irony in her voice that working mothers in every field will always shoulder a burden that their male colleagues do not.

I wasnt forced out, she says, but life is always about timing. She wanted to take a year-long maternity leave after the birth of her third child, an option many women in Israel choose to take  their right to a full year away from work is protected by the law  and her superiors offered her an early retirement and collection of her pension instead.

This aspect of how you balance your professional life and your married life and your life with children  that balance doesn't have to do with the military, really, she says. It has to do with every working mother I can think of.
New cracks are starting to appear in Irans conservative and religious establishment. The past two weeks or so have seen several prominent clerics voicing harsh criticism at Hassan Rahimpour Azghadi, a key ideologist and theoretician of the hard-line camp during the last two decades. On the opposite end of the same camp stand generally young and novice political activists who have begun an extensive media campaign in defense of Azghadi and who are standing up to the old and influential clerics of the holy city of Qom.

The clash of ideas began Aug. 16 after a number of students at Qoms iconic Feizieh seminary rallied against the worsening economic situation and the governments economic policies. The gathering initially seemed to have the green light from Qoms clerics. However, this soon proved to be wrong after the clerics themselves began to criticize the protest rally for two main reasons. One was the presence of a poster that raised suspicion about the death of late former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, implying that he was killed rather than died of natural causes, while threatening President Hassan Rouhani with the same fate. The second, and perhaps more important, were the remarks made by Azghadi during the event. Addressing the crowd of protesters, he said, The root of secularism [in this country] lies in the seminary." This remark sparked a wave of intense criticism among the clerics at Qom. Of course Azghadi did not stop here and also raised a series of questions about seminaries, highlighting that despite their position and influence in the political establishment, these institutions have brought no significant yield for the country and have nothing to say about daily events.

Several high-ranking clerics including Mohammad Mahdi Shabzendedar, Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani described these remarks as an insult to Irans seminaries. The countrys main clerical organization, the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom, a government critic, issued a statement describing Azghadis comments as improper.

But what was interesting was how many figures, outlets and opposition supporters backed Azghadis remarks instead of supporting the stance adopted by the clergy, which had hitherto been common practice. Ali Naderi, editor of the hard-line Rajanews website, which is run by supporters of Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi, a key opponent of the Rouhani administration, tweeted, Rahimpour Azghadi is the only cleric. Similar reactions were seen by Iranian youths on social media. What stood out the most, however, was perhaps a statement by a group of seminary students who stood up to their senior teachers and defended Azghadi instead of siding with their superiors.

On the media front, outlets close or linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  such as Fars News or Tasnim News Agency  covered developments from the clerical stance but in some independently authored pieces rose to Azghadis defense. The Union of Independent Islamic Student Associations, which is one of the main student groups opposed to the government, also came to Azghadis defense.

Qom clerics have always enjoyed a unique prominence and level of respect among Irans conservative political groups, most of which are opposed to the Rouhani administration. In fact, two religious groups  the Combatant Clergy Association and the Society of Seminary Teachers of Qom  are the key decision-makers for the conservative camp when it comes to rivalries and political developments. In the past two decades, these two groups have used their position and words to eliminate or pressure their Reformist rivals. In other words, the opponents of the Rouhani administration have used the political stance taken by these clerics as a tool for furthering their agendas.

Azghadi himself has also been a prominent political and philosophical theoretician for these groups during the past two decades. With a higher degree education, he has held a unique position among seminary teachers and students during these years.

But these two parts of the conservative movement, which until now seemed homogenous, are starting to show cracks, speaking volumes about the new situation in their camp. Indeed, in addition to the extensive support being shown for Azghadi by individuals who until now were followers of Qom clerics, Azghadi himself has stressed that he remains steadfast on his viewpoint about seminaries being secular.

Azghadi and the movement that now supports him have officially requested that seminaries become directly involved in different issues from international and economic matters to banking-related topics. What seems to have worried the Qom clerics regarding Azghadis remarks is his implication that older, traditionalist clerics are not capable of performing such a task. In his Aug. 16 speech, Azghadi said, I have heard that 700-800 religious treatises are coming out of Qom. But do we even need 700 maraji [senior clerics]? [I] put forward 100 problems that they dont deal with in their lectures. Eighty of these 100 problems are among the main issues of our society. The majority of them [clerics] dont even have an answer. In response, Makarem Shirazis office issued a second statement Aug. 28 in which it accused Azghadi of not being aware of the seminaries situation and position.

The differing viewpoints that have emerged in recent days may lead to a temporary silence on the part of both sides. However, it also shows the existing gap in their evaluations of seminaries and their role as well as the impact that high-ranking clerics have on day-to-day issues. This gap is unlikely to be filled easily. Indeed, it could rather pave the way for fundamental shifts among religious groups that oppose reforms in Iran, which would certainly impact their role in political rivalries in the country.
The upcoming battle in Syria in the province of Idlib has been described as the last major battle between the Syrian government and opposition forces. With approximately 3 million residents in the rural area and home to opposition groups, some of which have relocated to the province after having struck a deal with the government, Idlib will determine not only the future geography of the Syrian government but the influence of regional and world powers intricately involved in the seven-year-old Syrian civil war.

The presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia, three of the most influential foreign countries in Syria, are scheduled to meet in Iran on Friday to discuss the future of Idlib and, ultimately, Syria. The meeting in Tehran, which was originally scheduled to be held in the northwestern city of Tabriz, is the third meeting between the three presidents to discuss Syria.

An article in Mehr News wrote that Syrian troops are prepared for the Idlib battle and will likely begin operations after the summit between the three countries. Turkey has been one of the biggest sponsors of opposition groups, while Russias air support and Iranian advisers have helped keep the Syrian government afloat when the tide of the war was turning against them.

Iranian analyst Mahmoud Shouri told Defah Press that despite the differences among the three countries, their ability to sit with one another and encourage dialogue between the Syrian groups demonstrates political maturity in resolving regional issues. More importantly, Shouri added, it demonstrates the ability of the three countries to resolve disputes without outside powers  a likely reference to Americas dominant role in the region. Heshmatollah Fallahatpisheh, head of parliaments National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, also referred to the lack of American involvement, noting that for the first time in West Asia an initiative has been undertaken without the role of America.

An article in IRNA reported that this meeting is the third step of Russia, Turkey and Iran in ending terrorism in Syria. Iranian officials refer to all armed oppositions as terrorists. The first two steps were the meetings in Sochi, Russia, and Ankara, Turkey. The IRNA article stated that attempts by the United States, Israel and some Arab countries to expel Iran from Syria have failed, and that with Irans role in fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq  and with the summit taking place in Tehran  Irans influential role in the region has been established.

The IRNA articled also noted that the Tehran summit is taking place in the backdrop of Donald Trumps attempts to isolate Iran and ignore Irans important role in regional developments, that the summit rips apart Trumps illusions about Iran, and that Iran is a significant regional player despite its poor economic conditions and the newly imposed US sanctions.

The IRNA article added that Turkey and Iran would discuss continued economic relations in spite of US sanctions. A common point amongst a number of Iranian media to cover the summit noted that all three countries have been sanctioned by the United States to one degree or another. The article also stated that Russia and Iran would discuss Israeli attacks on Iranian positions in Syria and the issue of Syria's reconstruction.
Newly elected Iraqi legislators, unable to even determine which alliance of parties holds the most seats, on Sept. 4 postponed their vote on a new speaker until Sept. 15. The constitution calls for electing a speaker before a new government can be formed.

The main Shiite forces in the country are fighting over the post of prime minister, indicating a potential row between the pro-Iran side and the one supported by the United States.

On the US side, two bodies  the Nasr coalition led by current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, and the Sairoon party led by Islamist cleric Muqtada Sadr  announced Sept. 2 that they had formed a partnership with 180 members, making them the largest group eligible to form the government; 165 seats are needed for a majority.

Within hours, however, the rival pro-Iran group led by Vice President Nouri al-Maliki and Badr Organization militia leader Hadi Ameri announced they had secured the votes of 145 parliament members, and claimed some of them had defected from the Abadi-Sadr grouping, possibly removing this coalition's stated majority.

As the numbers remained in question, only 85 of 329 parliament members attended the Sept. 4 meeting, so the discussion about choosing a speaker was postponed.

Remarkably, Abadi had issued an order Aug. 30 dismissing Faleh al-Fayad  the national security adviser, head of the national security apparatus and head of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU)  from all of his government posts. The PMU officially reports to Abadi, but Iran supports many of its Shiite factions.

According to Abadi's office, Fayad was dismissed because of his involvement in political and partisan action, which goes against the critical security tasks he is entrusted with. But Fayad had been an Abadi ally and founded the Ataa movement, a political party that campaigned in the May parliamentary elections as part of Abadi's Nasr list. Apparently, Abadi didn't mind Fayad's political involvement until reports surfaced that Fayad was switching his loyalties to the Fatah Alliance.

There have been leaked reports that a considerable number of members withdrew from the Nasr list to join the pro-Iran rival front that includes, among others, Ameri's Fatah Alliance [of which the Badr Organization is part] and Maliki's State of Law Coalition.

Hanan al-Fatlawi, an ally of the Fatah Alliance, confirmed Aug. 30 that Fayad had join the Fatah front. A couple of hours into Abadi's decision to dismiss Fayad, the alliance alleged that Abadi took that action because Fayad isn't in favor of renewing Abadis term. It claimed Abadi's action was made to settle a personal grievance and therefore was illegal.

Of note, the Fatah Alliance consists of pro-Iran parties that make up most of the PMU.

Another possible indication of the differences plaguing Abadis list surfaced in leaked news reports that some leaders in Abadi's Nasr list will nominate Fayad for prime minister. The Nasr list denied that claim in an Aug. 31 statement, but some leaders subsequently issued another statement Sept. 2 expressing their discontent with Abadis leadership. These leaders alluded to their joining the Fatah Alliance and the State of Law Coalition by saying, We are all for the biggest representation of political forces and for a national lineup.

On the same day, Abadi confirmed that Fayad doesn't represent the Nasr coalition and that Abadi would sue Fayad if he tried to speak on behalf of the coalition.

The Fatah Alliance/State of Law Coalition partnership accuses Abadi of receiving US support, saying this would disqualify him for the post of prime minister.

Ameris bureau issued a statement Aug. 30 saying he had met with Brett McGurk, the US special presidential envoy to the international coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS), and told him, If you insist on interfering, then we shall deem any government you [help] form as a collaborating government and we shall seek to overthrow it within a matter of two months.

Although McGurk said the meeting never happened, Ameris statement clearly threatened both the United States and Abadi.

The Shiite differences in the lead-up to forming the new government aren't limited to ministerial posts, as they have gone so far as to include PMU military commanders.

A row broke out between Abadi and PMU deputy head Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, who is known for his close ties with Qasem Soleimani, leader of Iran's Quds Force. The United States considers Mohandes a terrorist.

In early August, Mohandes had issued two orders without Abadi's approval. On Aug. 21, Abadi annulled those directives. The first order was to withdraw PMU forces from the mostly Sunni provinces of Anbar and Ninevah; those forces had remained after full-scale operations against IS ended. The order also was to have moved the brigade stationed in Sinjar to an undetermined location. The other directive was to remove PMU brigade headquarters from cities in those areas and disconnect the brigades from institutions, including holy shrines. The PMU brigades affiliated with such shrines are close to Abadi and were strongly dissatisfied with Mohandes' order.

International reports say the PMU decisions were made to satisfy the Sunni blocs and annex them to the partnership between the Fatah Alliance and the State of Law coalition.

Following the prime minister's order repealing Mohandes' decisions, rumors spread that Abadi had also suspended Mohandes powers. This led important PMU factions to issue threats against Abadi, as he is the commander of these forces under a law parliament passed in 2016.

On Aug. 29, Abu Ali al-Askari, a security official in the PMU faction Hezbollah Brigades, called the attempt to exclude Mohandes an open-ended conflict. Ali al-Husseini, spokesman for PMU forces in the north, said the same day that the forces don't allow any encroachment upon Mohandes' authority, no matter the source.

These developments and threats predict an armed clash between Shiite factions. The Institute for the Study of War warned Aug. 28 of bloody clashes if attempts to form a government come to an impasse.

For his part, Maliki said in a Sept. 1 statement that if foreign interference doesn't stop, internal fighting is likely to take place and won't spare anyone.

Addressing Abadi, Maliki added, It's unfortunate that people who have shared the same path and the same fate are heeding foreign schemes that seem supportive but are actually devious and deceitful, as they well know.

As the formation of the new government draws near, personal and partisan disputes, as well as differing foreign influences in the Iraqi political arena, are surfacing, thus dragging Iraq further into a cycle of complex and intertwined conflicts that have long stricken the country.
Optimistic assessments by senior Hamas leaders that their arrangement with Israel would soon go into effect were dashed last week. An agreement to ease the siege on the Gaza Strip now seems even farther away than before.

On the eve of Eid al-Adha, Aug. 21, Hamas political bureau leader Ismail Haniyeh had promised Gazans that the siege would soon be lifted. He congratulated them on standing firm against the siege, saying that strength had led them to victory.

Now, other voices are being heard. Hamas leaders are preparing the Palestinian public for news of the arrangement's failure, pointing fingers of blame. As far as Hamas is concerned, the person who bears the brunt of responsibility is Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is adamantly refusing to even approach the sickbed that is the Gaza Strip.

The movements leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, said Sept. 4, As of now, there is no agreement or even the outline of an agreement with Israel. He criticized the UN emissary to the Middle East, Nikolay Mladenov, who was very active in discussions between the parties but hasnt been to the Gaza Strip in the past three weeks.

Meanwhile, at an Aug. 24 meeting in Israel with leaders of the local councils surrounding Gaza, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said what was under discussion was not an agreement with Hamas, but rather understandings reached after the 2014 Operation Protective Edge, which included a cease-fire and easing of restrictions at border crossings. He added that he's not involved in any arrangement with Hamas and doesn't support any such agreement. There is only one arrangement and this is the reality on the ground, Liberman said. If there is terrorism, there will be no [economic relief]."

The arrangement's fate has also come into question because Hamas leaders demand clear assurances of a feasible solution to economic crisis. But Hamas knows that without Abbas on board, the plans wouldn't be worth the paper they were written on.

Furthermore, PLO Executive Committee Chairman Saeb Erekat, an Abbas confidant, threatened that if Hamas does sign an agreement with Israel, the Palestinian leadership will impose further sanctions on Hamas. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded to Erekat, All that these threats show is how determined Fatah is to strangle the Gaza Strip.

A political source in Hamas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Theres talk and promises. People toss out numbers. Still, nobody knows how serious it really is. According to him, the promises come primarily from UN emissary Mladenov, who claims he was able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for Gaza relief. The problem is, the source continued, that until now, no one has known if its true, [but] the money really will begin to flow to projects in Gaza. During talks, the Egyptians mediating the deal had presented Hamas representatives with all sorts of potential economic programs based on promises by the administration of US President Donald Trump. But, as with anything to do with Trump, Hamas leaders cant be sure they can rely on these promises.

Another serious concern also is adding to Hamas leaders' worries about the future. Late last week, on Sept. 1, the United States announced it is stopping all aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). In other words, the main source of aid to residents of the Gaza Strip is about to be eliminated. Despite condemnation by EU leaders, almost no European nation promised to provide UNRWA with replacement funds. However, the UK did announce this week that it will step up its support of UNRWA.

In response to the dramatic American decision, Abu Zuhri pointed a finger at Israel. The fact that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu congratulated the US for its actions against UNRWA proves that this is really an Israeli decision with American cover, he said. He went on to threaten, Israel will bear responsibility for its implications."

Given this situation, when it's obvious to Hamas that economic conditions in the Gaza Strip could get much worse, there is no way Hamas leaders will knowingly tie their own hands with an agreement with Israel.

At the same time, the source said, Israel has conditions of its own for this arrangement, particularly the return of its fallen soldiers remains, as well as the two Israeli citizens being held by Hamas. So far, Sinwar has insisted on keeping the arrangement separate from an agreement over the prisoners, even if it means that the deal might collapse. On the other hand, in an Aug. 30 talk with reporters in Gaza, Sinwar acknowledged the possibility that progress might soon be made on returning the Israeli civilians and soldiers remains held in Gaza in exchange for Israeli releasing Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas must realize that this insistence obligates it to make progress on the prisoner issue first.

There is a dispute between the Israeli political and military leadership about whether the government should insist on the return of the soldiers remains and the two civilians. A statement released Sept. 4 by the Israel Defense Forces said the IDF has intelligence confirming that the two civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, are alive in Hamas' custody. In an unusual step, the IDF also said it believes it would be wrong to include the issue in the initial part of the arrangement in Gaza and that the issue should be postponed to a later stage.

But while the IDF is reworking its assessments to prevent an armed conflict with Hamas, the political leadership is still subject to the pressure of the Israeli public. Netanyahu recently sustained a harsh attack from the families of soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, which was immediately followed by a report that Netanyahus wife, Sara, had called Leah Goldin, Hadars mother, ungrateful in a phone call to the bereaved mother two years ago. The Netanyahu family denied these allegations. It's entirely conceivable that the comments were leaked to the media to pressure the prime minister and expand the circle of people on the Israeli right (the source of Netanyahus strength) that oppose the economic arrangement. For the moment, it looks like this tactic has worked. The pressure is taking its toll and the arrangement with Hamas is now on hold  at least until the next blowup.
At a meeting Sept. 2 in Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas surprised his guests from the Meretz Party and Peace Now movement on two separate occasions. The first surprise came when he told them that the members of US President Donald Trumps peace negotiations team raised the idea of a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation. The second surprise was when he told them his response: He would only be willing to enter such a confederation if Israel is a part of it.

The American proposal proves that the team spent quite a bit of time poring over documents in the dusty archives. Late King Hussein of Jordan first raised the idea of a confederation 35 years ago, and the Palestinian National Council adopted it in 1983. The council even granted PLO leader Yasser Arafat a mandate to enter into negotiations with the king over the details of such a confederation. But nothing came out of these negotiations.

I spoke with King Hussein about this during the negotiations between the parties, and then with President Arafat years later. Arafat told me that the king insisted on being head of the new political framework, whereas Arafat demanded rotation. According to Arafat, King Hussein responded that kings "dont do rotations. Nor did Hussein agree to his request that a Palestinian state be established first, and only then unite with Jordan in a confederation.

The king said that his original proposal, which dated back to 1972, was to establish a federation based on an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and the creation of an autonomous Palestinian entity, under a Jordanian flag, in the territory occupied in 1967. Both the PLO and Israel rejected this proposal. At a conference that took place in the Moroccan capital of Rabat two years later (1974), the Arab League issued a resolution that took away Jordans right to represent the Palestinians and handed it over to the PLO, much to King Husseins dismay (but with his formal support. Everyone else voted for it, so he was forced to raise his hand in support of it too, even though he disagreed).

This meant that the king was no longer entitled to talk about a federation, so he started talking about a confederation instead. The proposed Palestinian entity was promoted from autonomous to sovereign, with him suggesting a common umbrella for the two entities: the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Palestine. This time it was Arafats conditions that sabotaged the idea.

In April 1987, during secret talks in London (talks that led to the London Agreement), Israels foreign minister at the time, Shimon Peres, attempted, with the help of this author, to reach a series of understandings with Jordan. Backing these efforts was Jordanian Prime Minister Ziad al-Rifai. The document that they prepared proposed that an international conference would launch talks between Israel and a Jordanian delegation, which would also include Palestinian representatives. The document stipulated that all participants  Palestinians and others  would be people committed to renounce terrorism and accept United Nations Resolution 242 and Resolution 338. King Hussein accepted the proposed agreement. But the Israeli National Unity government headed by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir refused to adopt these understandings. In late July 1988, King Hussein announced at a press conference that he abandoned his claims to the West Bank. As far as he was concerned, this was territory intended for the Palestinians.

The Israeli right wing considered this to be a major achievement. As far as it was concerned, the idea that Jordan is Palestine had become even more practical now: Jordan had a Palestinian majority for many years already, so it was, in effect (from the Israeli rights point of view), the Palestinian state. Palestinians living in the West Bank, and perhaps in the Gaza Strip too, would be able to continue living in their homes, but without political rights, or they could relocate to Jordan.

The camp supporting the partition responded very differently. As far as it was concerned, partition was the only solution that could ensure that Israel remains a democratic state with a Jewish majority  a binational state including Israels territory and the West Bank would create a Palestinian majority. If Jordan or a Jordanian-Palestinian configuration is not a partner in the permanent solution, and if Israel wants to avoid imposing a unilateral solution, the PLO is the only possible partner from a practical perspective.

Four months later, the PLO decided to adopt the relevant UN Security Council resolutions and denounced terrorism. It was the final days of the Reagan administration, and the United States had started to speak publicly with the PLO (President Ronald Reagan announced that late 1988).

When the 1991 Madrid Conference led to negotiations between an Israeli delegation and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, it was obvious to everyone that the latter group was actually two separate delegations, with one taking orders from King Hussein and the other from Arafat, in meetings that he had with the members of the delegation on their way to or from Washington. It was also obvious that there was no joint Jordanian-Palestinian solution on the horizon.

In the summer of 1993, the steering committee met in Moscow for multilateral talks involving Israelis, Palestinians, representatives of Arab states and other representatives from the international community. Palestinian negotiator Faisal Husseini and I, representing Israel, met for a long talk as heads of our respective delegations. The Oslo negotiations were well underway when I asked him what he thought of a possible Jordanian-Palestinian solution. Husseini laughed and asked me if the Israelis really think that all Palestinians are that stupid. He explained, You keep talking about a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation, and Im telling that we want an Israeli-Palestinian confederation. Why do you think were particularly interested in creating a joint framework with an impoverished and undemocratic monarchy east of the Jordan River? We would prefer to establish a more natural confederation, west of the river, with a wealthy and stable democratic state, and to learn a lot from it. He immediately assured me that he was speaking out of concern for Palestinian national interests and not some love of Israel, but he went on to explain that he believed this would be the right solution for Israel as well, because it would ensure cooperation in a long list of fields.

This week, when Abbas said that he would insist on a tripartite confederation, I realized that he meant the same thing as Husseini. The pragmatic Palestinian leadership wants a confederation with Israel. If the American intermediaries really are interested in looking at a new model under which settlers want to stay east of the border between the two sovereign and independent states, they would do well to examine the option of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation, with or without Jordan.

There could be nothing more logical than the two independent states that would exist west of the Jordan River to operate in a formalized framework of cooperation. It could prevent the need to evacuate settlers and allow those interested to live in Palestine as Israeli citizens, just as a similar number of Palestinian citizens could live in Israel. An Israeli-Palestinian confederation could also make it possible to integrate the two entities security forces and even make it easier to resolve the question of sovereignty over the Old City, particularly if the joint institutions operate from it. It turns out that Abbas really wasnt joking after all.
Many wondered why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is quick to tweet in anger against any disrespect of Jews, was struck dumb after three Israeli Arabs were brutally beaten by a group of Jews Aug. 23 simply because they were Arabs. This was not negligence on his part, nor a lapse in judgment. The prime minister was true to his worldview, a view he expressed less than a week later at a ceremony naming Israels nuclear facility in the Negev Desert after the late President Shimon Peres. The weak are collapsing, slaughtered, erased from history; and the strong, for better or for worse, are the ones who survive. The strong are respected, the strong enter into alliances  , Netanyahu said. The Arab doctor and his two friends who were roughed up were apparently the weak, whereas the gang of fascists who beat them were the strong, for better or worse, as Netanyahu put it.

On Sept. 4, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked bolstered Netanyahus Darwinist perspective. Speaking at an Israel Bar Association event, she threatened a legal and political earthquake should the Supreme Court challenge the countrys constitutional-level basic laws. Shaked was clearly referring to the top courts deliberations in petitions against the controversial Nationality Law. Such a ruling, she added for good measure, would be a regime earthquake. The law, adopted in July, enshrines Israels status solely as the nation-state of the Jewish people. As one who believes in democracy with all her heart, I will not concede the place of the nation, she said in winding up her speech. I won't concede its representative's place. I will not give up democracy, and the Knesset of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."

With only a slim majority, this same Knesset tarnished Israels compendium of basic laws with legislation that strips 20% of the countrys population (Israeli Arabs) of their affinity for their homeland and only encourages the establishment of Jewish communities. It was a member of this same legislature, Moti Yogev of Shakeds HaBayit HaYehudi party, who shouted at elected Arab lawmakers, This is not your country. He said that at a chance meeting at the airport this week as the Arab lawmakers headed to Brussels, making their way to seek redress from parliaments and law courts across the sea. This very same Yogev was the one who in 2015 urged the crushing of the Supreme Court with a bulldozer.

Shakeds declared intent to strip the Supreme Court of authority to overturn a basic law, based on an interpretation of democracy as a system in which the winner takes all, leaves Israels Arab minorities with two options. One is to resign themselves to their new official status as second-class citizens; the other is to mobilize international law and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights on their behalf. Our visit to Brussels is a type of self-defense against the abuse directed by Netanyahu and his government at our public, Joint List Knesset member Jamal Zahalka told Al-Monitor shortly after he and his fellow lawmakers met Sept. 4 with the European Unions foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

Our main goal is to convince the Europeans to take concrete steps pressuring Israel to revoke the Nationality Law, Zahalka continued. We demanded recognition as a national minority and asked the Europeans to activate section 2 of the [Israel-EU] association agreement, which obliges Europe and Israel to respect human rights and to condition the future of the special relationship with Israel on the rescinding of all racist legislation and all types of discrimination.

On Aug. 30, Knesset member Aida Touma-Sliman met in New York with UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo to push for international action against the Nationality Law. This law officially turns Israel into an apartheid state within the Green Line too, she said, referring to Israels sovereign territory in addition to the lands it occupies. Therefore this is not a domestic Israeli matter, but rather a law that requires sharp and urgent intervention by the international community and the UN, she added.

The first article of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The landmark charter goes on to stipulate, Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Israeli officials are well-aware that the Nationality Law is a manifest contravention in language and spirit of the Human Rights Declaration. Diplomats are monitoring with concern the meetings Arab lawmakers are holding in world capitals and even trying to sabotage them. However, other than a slight blow to Israels propaganda machine, the law is unlikely to damage its foreign policy. Past and more recent experience shows that the US Congress consigns to the rubbish bin any UN initiatives adopted against Israels will. The situation in Europe is not much better.

So far we have received a lot of words, Zahalka conceded. But the countries of Eastern Europe block any move against Israel. Indeed, Israels Arab citizens, like their brethren in the Israeli-occupied territories, are getting a generous supply of words from Europe. On July 13, the EUs delegation in Israel issued the following statement: We value Israels commitment to the shared values of democracy and human rights We in the EU would not want to see these values being put in question or even threatened."

The Netanyahu government acted in accordance with Israels first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurions famous saying in 1955, when Israel was still in diapers, Our future does not depend on what the Gentiles say but on what the Jews do. Six days after the EUs statement, the Knesset with a right-wing, ultra-Orthodox majority adopted the discriminatory Nationality Law to which it referred. Hours later, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban landed in Israel. No leader is more fitting than the EUs radical right-wing standard-bearer to be the countrys first high-ranking guest after passage of the Nationality Law.

The leader who has declared war on liberal democracy and its institutions sought to compliment his host Netanyahu. In this relationship between us I see evidence that a Hungarian patriot and a Jewish-Israeli patriot always find a common denominator, Orban said, standing at Netanyahus side. He, too, probably believes in the survival of the fittest, whom one respects and with whom one forges alliances. With leaders of the same persuasion in European capitals and the United States, Israeli-Arab advocates of human rights cannot count on salvation from either Washington or Brussels.
PM Thanks Shatili People for Protection Countrys Northern Border

By Gvantsa Gabekhadze

The Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze congratulated the population on the traditional feast Shatiloba in Khevsureti region on Monday and thanked them for protecting the countrys northern border with Russia.The PM also vowed support to the people in the mountainous regions amid the oppositions harsh criticism that people are leaving Georgian areas due to the hard economic condition.Shatili has been guarded our northern border for centuries. Each Georgian and world culture is proud of this unique monument. We started rehabilitation works in Shatili. This year one tower has been rehabilitated, and we already have a general plan of development,  the prime minister said.Bakhtadze spoke about the sustainable development and rehabilitation five-year plan of another unique monument  Mutso.It is essential to maintain each detail and nuance of these monuments during the rehabilitation. We are very rapidly rehabilitating roads, improving tourism infrastructure and I am sure it will be reflected directly on the local populations income, Bakhtadze said.The European Georgia and the United National Movement opposition say that the government is very slow to benefit the state economy and improve the current hard socioeconomic situation.They say that Georgian regions, especially the mountainous areas, are being emptied from locals as they have no incomes and have no condition to live during cold winter and spring seasons.The opposition believes that the situation benefits the enemy, which is carrying out the creeping occupation of the historic Georgian land.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Palestine is set to open an interactive money museum by next spring that will showcase the monetary history of a land that has used more than 28 different currencies in its volatile past.

The museum will be created through cooperation between the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and the Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA), the Ramallah-based central bank that is responsible for formulating and implementing the country's monetary and banking policies.

PMA Governor Azzam al-Shawa told Al-Monitor that the museum will tell the story of the Palestinian economy through the ages  from the time of bartering to modern economic concepts. The museum, to be located at the PMA headquarters, will also support research and publication in monetary and financial history with its research and resource center.

Jihad Yassin, the director general of the Archaeological Excavations Department at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, explained that his ministry will provide the museum with coins that were confiscated from antiquities smugglers. The ministry will also restore ancient coins that will be placed in the museum to offer a chronological display of money used throughout the different eras.

Palestinians started using coins for transactions in the 5th century BCE, with the Persian conquest of Palestinian lands. The Persian coins replaced the barter system, said Mohammed al-Zard, head of the Palestinian Association of Coins and Stamps Collectors.

He told Al-Monitor that the Persian coins were not used in the entirety of the Palestinian territories, as the coastal areas were controlled by the Canaanites, who introduced their own coins in their dealings with Persians.

In the third century BC, after the conquest of Alexander the Great, Palestinians traded using Greek coins, which were minted in the ancient Kingdom of Gaza and were also accepted across the Greek territories, he added.

Palestinians later used Byzantine coins and after the Muslim conquest, Islamic ones. Islamic coins appeared in 696 AD during the Umayyad era and were highly valued in Palestine. After the Umayyads came the Abbasids. Money minting, however, did not flourish until the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Palestine for four centuries and came to an end after the First World War in 1917, Zard said.

He explained that during the British Mandate of Palestine, which began in 1920, the Ottoman lira and the Egyptian pound could both be used for daily transactions. This practice came to an end in 1927, when the British Colonial Councils Currency Committee introduced the Palestinian pound, whose value was equal to the pound sterling. These coins, minted in London, could be used in other parts of the Middle East under the British Mandate, such as Transjordan Emirate.

The minting stopped in 1947, shortly before the establishment of Israel, but the Palestinian pound was used into the early 1950s.

In 1967, Israel occupied all of the Palestinian territories. Back then, the currency was the Israeli lira [also known as Israeli Pound] and then was replaced with first the old shekel, then the New Israeli Shekel. Finally, with the signing of the Oslo Accords, three currencies could be used for trade in the Palestinian territories: NIS, the US dollar, and the Jordanian dinar, Zard said.

He continued, Palestine has used 28 different currencies over the ages, all of which will be viewable in the money museum, displayed in chronological order for visitors so they can gain insight into Palestines monetary history.

Shawa said that museum will include several sections: an area for permanent exhibitions on themes such as pre-cash trading and global banknotes, an interactive map and a timeline on development of money and how coins were and are minted. A special section will also focus on the PMAs history since its establishment in 1994, its key documents and its future plans.
On Sept. 7 the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran will meet in Tehran for the third trilateral summit on Syria as part of the Astana process. The agenda is likely to center around the situation in Idlib, the largest area still controlled by the Syrian opposition. Ankara would like to keep Idlib under rebel control until the end of the peace process, while Moscow and Tehran are pushing for an offensive against opposition factions. On Sept. 4, the Russian and Syrian air forces resumed their strikes on Idlib after a three-week pause. This may signal that preparation for a ground operation has entered its final stage.

Although an assault on Idlib is almost inevitable, its scale is still under debate, and this will likely be a subject of the talks in Tehran. Turkey may indeed provide some concessions by yielding certain northwestern areas to the regime forces. However, these concessions should be made in a way that would not put the rebel factions under the threat of elimination, disarmament or any critical losses. Every party should be able to save face.

It should be kept in mind, however, that the so-called Greater Idlib region, which includes parts of Aleppo, Latakia and Hama provinces, should not be considered the last stronghold of the opposition. The so-called Turkish protectorate  including the northern Aleppo, Afrin, al-Bab, Jarablus and Azaz districts that fell under Turkish control following the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations  hosts almost 35,000 Syrian National Army troops, controlled by Turkey. The territory is also virtually covered by the Turkish air defense system, which enables Turkish air forces to operate in the area, when needed.

At the same time, the politicians in Ankara realize that if the opposition loses Idlib, the Syrian government will not stop there. In an effort to re-establish its authority over the entire country, the regime would then assault the Turkish protectorate. Therefore, until Turkeys leadership has decided to leave Syria, it is a matter of principle for Ankara to maintain the oppositions control over most of Idlib or even integrate the area into Turkey's protectorate to secure itself. Local moderate opposition factions, amounting to around 50,000 fighters united into the National Liberation Front, may join the Syrian National Army.

Recently, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again emphasized his strong opposition to any offensive by Assad and his allies.

We will take the situation to a positive point at this summit. ... God willing, we will be able to hinder the Syrian governments extremism in the region, Erdogan told reporters on his plane while coming back from a visit to Kyrgyzstan.

In a situation like this, where will the fleeing people go to? A large proportion of them will come to Turkey, he added, signaling Turkeys biggest preoccupation over the consequences of the offensive.

Earlier that day, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, at a press conference in Ankara with his German counterpart Heiko Maas, urged a common strategy to eliminate radical groups in Idlib but said the continuation of attacks would be disastrous.

These circumstances have caused Moscow and Ankara to continue to seek a compromise. This may be ultimately based on a white paper  Turkeys own suggestions for Idlib as set forth July 22 in Arabic media. It seems to suggest that all rebel factions from Idlib could be merged into the pro-Turkish Syrian National Army.

Also, there are plans to reopen the M5 highway between Aleppo and Homs for transportation; the route could be jointly controlled by Russia and Turkey. Opposition sources told Al-Monitor that Ankara will not stop the regime from taking over rebel-controlled areas of Hama and Latakia provinces  a direction from which Assad and his allies would most likely start the Idlib offensive; this is also an area from which Russia's Defense Ministry argues a provocation with the use of chemicals is being planned. The M5 runs through parts of Idlib province.

Taking this in account, a possible compromise over Idlib may look as follows: Turkey might keep the city of Idlib and areas between the city and the Turkish border under control of the opposition, thus expanding the protectorate over these territories. Other parts of Greater Idlib would be allowed to be taken over by Assad.

However, this scenario will become real only if Russia and Turkey manage to solve another common problem  ousting the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, which consists of some 20,000 militants. They are gathered along the border between Syria and Turkey and in the center of Idlib province.

Solving the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham problem exclusively by force involves serious risks. The Syrian regime had success in eastern Ghouta, Daraa and Quneitra after local opposition groups were bombed but then negotiated their departure from those areas for the northwest, keeping at least their light weapons; some even joined the regimes forces. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, however, cannot be moved anywhere or negotiated with, as it is officially recognized as a terrorist organization. To make the matters worse, the group is combat-capable, rather efficient, and, being pushed against the Turkish border, it is high-motivated to resist to the very end. Assad and his allies havent experienced such a major operation. For instance, the destroyed Islamic State enclave in Daraa consisted of 1,000-2,000 militants at most, 10 times less than the possible number of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists.

This should give Moscow and Ankara a solid interest in coming up with a solution, over time, for the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham problem. The Russians have probably already secured Turkeys assistance to design the general plan of confrontation against the group. This may mean that Turkey will be able to divide the jihadis, persuading some factions to leave Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and join the legal National Liberation Front. In late August Ankara negotiated with the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, requesting that the group be dissolved. When Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the commander of the group, refused to engage on Aug. 28 Turkey formally listed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as a terrorist organization.

This measure should have shown the groups leaders that they could no longer hope for any support from Turkey. Moreover, Ankara managed to seize control over at least a part of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham factions. This, too, should mean it is not impossible for Turkey to manage to dissolve and fragment Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump, in a call with Jewish leaders and rabbis today ahead of the Jewish new year holiday, boasted about cutting off US aid to the Palestinians, pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and taking the issue of Jerusalem off the table in Mideast peace talks, even as he and the White House fumed over two new devastating accounts of his presidency, largely sourced to his own current and former aides.

I stopped massive amounts of money that we were paying to the Palestinians and the Palestinian leaders, Trump said in the call, during which he was interviewed by lawyer Alan Dershowitz. I'd say, you'll get money, but we're not paying you until we make a deal. If we don't make a deal, we're not paying. And that's going to have a little impact.

Trump said he wished he had pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal sooner and that his decision to do so last May and to reimpose sanctions on Iran, despite Irans compliance with the deal, had already reduced Irans mojo. Trump credited his presidency itself with rolling back Irans presence in the region, though it was hard to see what evidence there was for that assertion.

Ultimately I decided Im just doing it, Trump said of his decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action last May. And I did it. And its had a tremendously positive impact on, I think really, world security, because Iran is no longer the same country. From the day I did it, theyve lost their mojo."

He continued, The day before I took over as president, Iran  it was not a question of how big and how strong they were; it was a question of when will they take over the entire Middle East.

And if you look at them today, theyre not looking at the Mediterranean any longer.  And I think Israel feels a lot safer than theyve felt in many, many years, Trump said. Iran is fighting for their own survival. Theyve got demonstrations in every city.

Trumps praise for his perceived accomplishments on the call with Jewish leaders came after the White House has felt increasingly besieged by insider accounts that describe the Trump White House as Crazytown, according to one.

A senior Trump administration official, writing anonymously at The New York Times Wednesday, described Trump as ranting, amoral and reckless, and said that several current Trump officials have formed an internal resistance network actively working to thwart his erratic policy decisions. Meantime, excerpts of a forthcoming book by journalist Bob Woodward, Fear, cite current and former Trump officials and lawyers calling Trump a liar and idiot. "Fear" portrays officials conducting an administrative coup detat to try to thwart Trump from taking actions they fear will harm the United States.

Were in Crazytown, Woodward cites White House Chief of Staff John Kelly as saying, according to a Washington Post report. Kelly issued a denial via the White House on Tuesday that he called Trump an idiot. The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true.  This is another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump and distract from the administrations many successes."

Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations, the unnamed senior Trump administration official wrote in a New York Times op-ed Wednesday, which sent shock waves through Washington and beyond. I would know. I am one of them.

"The result," the official wrote, is a two-track presidency, with Trump praising dictators and autocrats, while the rest of the administration is operating on another track, one where countries like Russia are called out for meddling and punished accordingly, and where allies around the world are engaged as peers rather than ridiculed as rivals.

Trump, in the call today, expressed continued high confidence in his international deal-making abilities, despite limited results to date, saying he expects Iran will call soon to make a new deal, and saying he will also reach some sort of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

If you look at Israel and the Palestinians, it's always top of everybody's list in terms of levels of difficulty, Trump said in response to a question from Dershowitz, who has written a book arguing against impeaching Trump and frequently defends him on television. But we're going to be able to get it done.

Iran is no longer the same country, Trump said. I would imagine that theyll be calling in the not-too-distant future to try and make a deal. If we can make a real deal, well do it. If they dont call, thats OK, too. Eventually, theyre going to have no choice. But well see what happens.
The Donald Trump administration has delayed an October summit to band together Gulf countries against Iran until next year, current and former US officials tell Al-Monitor, a potential blow to efforts to reconcile the six-nation bloc.

Officials say President Trumps packed travel schedule before Novembers midterm elections has forced the administration to postpone the summit, marking the second time this year the United States has nixed a meeting to reunite the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Leaders of the Gulf bloc haven't met since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain began a blockade of Qatar in June 2017 over the tiny emirates ties to Iran and Islamist groups. The bloc also includes Kuwait and Oman.

A US-led effort to reconcile the Gulf countries failed after the UAE objected to visiting the White House before the emir of Qatars visit in April, which would have denied them the opportunity to have the last word with Trump. Despite the administrations support for a gathering that would reportedly also include Egypt and Jordan, experts say getting the fragmented Gulf alliance on the same page will likely prove difficult.

The idea of the GCC-plus-two summit is enthusiastically supported by parts of the administration. The Pentagon may be the biggest part. State is on board, said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA officer who now directs the Brookings Institutions intelligence program. Part of this may be a plan to stop the Qatar boycott. But it strikes me as a very difficult thing to pull off.

The meeting, now tentatively set for January, will focus on building a so-called Middle East Strategic Alliance of eight countries to handle Irans growing assertiveness in the region through proxy militias. The idea isnt new: The Barack Obama administration held two summits with the GCC in 2015 and 2016, hoping to strengthen the blocs resolve to fight terror groups such as the Islamic State and assuage regional concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.

The US decision to defer the meeting is the latest setback to efforts to revive the GCC, which has taken a back seat to the Trump administrations push to isolate Iran since withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal in May. Despite the summit chatter, its not clear that Gulf reconciliation remains a top foreign policy priority for the Trump team.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has racked up more than 100,000 miles since taking office in April, but has yet to visit Qatar. His predecessor Rex Tillerson by contrast enjoyed a strong relationship with Doha from his days as CEO of ExxonMobil, visiting the country in the midst of the crisis in October. The White House did not return Al-Monitors request for comment in time for publication.

Theres really not much more momentum on doing much, a source close to the Trump administration told Al-Monitor. I dont get a sense that Jared [Kushner]s too keen on resolving the Gulf crisis.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have also struggled to push the Gulf talks forward. Qatars lobbyists have pushed legislators to help reunite Gulf families divided by the blockade, but a House provision championing unity in the six-country bloc inserted into the annual US defense authorization bill died in conference last month.

US-Gulf relations could face more political headwinds if Democrats capture either chamber this November. Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is already holding up arms sales to the Gulf over concerns about civilian casualties caused by the Saudi and UAE intervention in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have stuck by a list of 13 demands on Qatar to end the crisis, including shuttering state-owned television broadcaster Al Jazeera and cutting ties with Iran. All sides appear to be settling in for a long fight, with a source close to Qatar telling Al-Monitor that Doha has few expectations of getting the crisis settled quickly.
Turkish and Moldovan intelligence services have reportedly detained at least six Turkish nationals employed at a private chain of high schools in Moldova today, part of Ankaras controversial global campaign to seize and render individuals linked to exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey.

Details remain sketchy but Moldovas secret service, the SIS, stated that its anti-terror arm had carried out an operation today in several localities to prevent threats to national security, reported Balkan Insight, an online media outlet.

The Turkish media also confirmed the detentions had taken place. Gunes, a pro-government propaganda sheet, gloated on Twitter of Turkeys national spy agency, MIT is back on the scene. Six members of FETO were bundled off like this. Photographs of large, muscular men shoving people including a child into an unmarked white van accompanied the tweet. BOLDmedya, a YouTube account dedicated to government persecution of Gulenists, posted footage allegedly shot at the scene of a brown Volvo with darkened windows and men wearing black ski masks inside. Its unclear where the detainees were taken.

Amnesty International indicated they had been deported back to Turkey in a press release: "The Moldovan authorities ignored their international human rights obligations when they detained and deported seven Turkish nationals reportedly seeking asylum in Moldova this morning."

FETO stands for the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terror Organization. Turkey says the Pennsylvania-based imam masterminded the abortive July 2016 coup to bloodily overthrow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

All six detainees are teachers or students at the Horizont Turkish chain of lycees linked to Gulens worldwide network, which Ankara is determined to see shuttered. Ilknur Karacaoglu's husband Hasan, a deputy principal at Horizant, was among the detainees. She told BOLDmedya she and her husband were driving when a group of men she described as police stopped their car by force. The men did not identify themselves. My husband tried to flee. They pushed him to the ground and kicked a few times, then took him away. It was a mafia-style thing, she said.

BOLDmedya claimed that another of the detainees, school accountant Mujdat Celebi, carried papers identifying him as an asylum seeker. Images of the documents allegedly issued by the Moldovan authorities were posted on BOLDmedyas account.

In an earlier statement, Amnesty International condemned the illicit abduction of people carried out today in violation of search and detention rules. Rebecca Harms, a German member of the European Parliament, tweeted, I strongly support the urgent appeal by @amnesty to [the] government of Rep of Moldova: stop the deportation of teachers to Turkey. Teaching children is not a crime.

On March 31, the SIS detained Horizont director Turgay Sen for alleged links to terrorism financing. He was freed after seeking political asylum in Moldova. He was not named among todays group.

His arrest came shortly after a meeting between Erdogan and Moldovan President Igor Dodon at the Istanbul airport. Erdogan is expected to travel to Chisinau in October for the opening of the presidential building damaged in the 2007 riots and repaired by Turkish contractors.

Rights groups say there is an emerging pattern of Ankara targeting countries where there is weak rule of law to yield to its demands for action against Gulenists. Erdogan himself declared at a public rally in April that Turkey had as of then snatched 80 FETO members abroad. We will chase them no matter where they flee, he said. Erdogans comments followed the March 29 renditions of five schoolteachers and a medical doctor associated with Gulen-affiliated schools from Kosovo. The forced repatriations via a private jet owned by MIT provoked an outcry in the tiny Balkan state. Turkmenistan, Gabon and Bulgaria are among several countries cooperating with Turkey against Gulen, either arresting and extraditing teachers or closing down their schools.

This week Erdogan told reporters he had submitted a list of 130 FETO operatives to Kyrgyz authorities during an official visit to the Central Asian state.

Not all countries are bending. In July, Mongolian authorities grounded an airplane that was allegedly carrying Turkish schoolteacher Veysel Akcay, who had lived in the country for 24 years. He was reportedly abducted outside his apartment in the capital Ulaanbataar. The Turkish Embassy denied involvement in the scheme.

Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey director for Human Rights Watch, commented to Al-Monitor, While not knowing the specific details of where these people were detained or where they were taken it looks like part of the pattern of blatant disregard for the rule of law, the sidestepping of courts and the mechanisms for extradition. Sinclair-Webb drew parallels with Turkeys thuggish approach in Kosovo, adding that the timing of the affair could be connected to Erdogans planned state visit to Moldova. There appears to be a transactional element, she said.

Nate Shenkaan, director for special research at Freedom House, concurred. He told Al-Monitor, As it is throughout southeastern Europe, Turkey is an important economic player in Moldova. The country has an unfortunate reputation for very high levels of corruption, which have not been remedied despite major scandals over the last several years.

Shenkaan added, We need more reliable information to say for sure which international norms were violated here. If those arrested are in the midst of applying for asylum because of political persecution in Turkey, it is a violation to arrest them on a Turkish request, and would be a flagrant violation to extradite them to Turkey.
Birmingham-based Southern Research is launching its "Change Campaign" fundraiser to build awareness and raise money for three key areas of research: cancer, green chemistry and neuroscience.

The peer-to-peer community fundraiser officially kicks off Monday, Sept. 10 and will conclude with an event at Southern Research on Oct. 11.

Southern Research is a scientific research organization specializing in drug discovery, drug development, engineering and energy and the environment.

All funds raised through the "Change Campaign" will assist researchers by opening doors for breakthrough exploration and furthering the development of new technologies within their respective fields, including lifesaving cancer advances, sustainable planet-saving environmental solutions and treatments for neurodegenerative disorders such as ALS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, among others, according to Southern Research.

"Our passion at Southern Research is driven by hope: hope for a cure, for a cleaner, greener Earth and for lives to be changed  and ultimately saved," said Art Tipton, Southern Research president and chief executive officer. "Donations to the Change Campaign will allow us to continue to explore important scientific breakthroughs within high-risk, high-reward endeavors that are many times difficult to fund through traditional government grants."

Change Campaign fundraising will be generated through 30 pre-selected "Change Agents," who volunteered to advocate for funds within and outside their personal networks.

"We are incredibly thankful to these 30 community leaders for their enthusiastic support of Southern Research," said Tipton. "They fully recognize the importance of our mission to make the world a better place in which to live."

Some of these volunteers are participating to help take Southern Research's innovative solutions to the next level, but others, like David Powell, have personally been impacted by issues the organization consistently tries to solve.

"My mother passed away in 2017 from ovarian cancer, however, she was also diagnosed with Alzheimer's. She was more fearful of the latter having watched her own mother struggle as it claimed her brain," said Powell. "I've chosen to raise funds for neurodegenerative disorder research to hopefully help fund a cure in my lifetime."

Southern Research is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with additional laboratories and offices in Wilsonville, Alabama; Frederick, Maryland; Durham, North Carolina; Houston, Texas; and Cartersville, Georgia. The research institute was established in 1941.



To donate to Southern Research's Change Campaign now or for tickets to the culmination event on Oct. 11, click here.
Cameron and Lauren Cole could not have seen it coming. Their 3-year-old son, Cam, seemed perfectly healthy.

But Cam died mysteriously in his sleep on Nov. 11, 2013. Despite an autopsy and genetic testing, no cause of death was ever discovered.

"There's no answer," Cole said.

But Cole, as director of youth ministries at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, an Episcopal congregation in downtown Birmingham, turned to his faith for answers.

"Biblically we know God brings everything into our lives for redemptive purposes," Cole said. "God can use us to offer hope and comfort through the gospel."

Five years later, the grief has not gone away.

"There still is that wound that just pops up," Cole said. "He's still part of our daily conversation."

The loss has bound Cameron and Lauren closer together, he said. They are the only ones who truly understand their loss, and the only ones who can comfort each other.

"If you're going to know and understand us, you have to know and understand that part of our story," Cole said. "Lauren and I are the only ones who lost our child. It really helped us bond in our marriage."

Cole has spoken in churches about the loss of their son and how to deal with grief from a biblical perspective.

He's written a book, "Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy," published this summer by Crossway. Lauren would read each chapter and offer suggestions as he wrote numerous drafts.

"Her experience of what happened is different than mine," Cole said. "She's the one who discovered him. I was away on a church retreat."

She called him with the news.

"A parent who has lost a child desperately wants their child to be remembered," Cole said.

"One of the tough questions for parents who have lost a child is 'How many children do you have?' You really want that child to be acknowledged, but you also think, 'Do I really want to get into this?'"

Their daughter was too young to remember Cam, but they talk about him with her and her two younger brothers who have been born since.

"Our daughter, she's in kindergarten, she did a math exercise where they asked how many people are in your family, and you draw a picture," Cole said. "She put six. There's a picture of her baby brother, her 3-year-old brother, herself, us and Cam is up at the top of the picture - even looks like he has wings. That's special to us. She knows and acknowledges she has an older brother, even though he doesn't live here."

Thinking about heaven has become an even more important part of their theological perspective.

"Since he died, I've become much more heavenly minded," Cole said. "That's where my kid lives."

And their faith binds them to him, he said.

"We're connected to Cameron through Christ," Cole said. "Cameron is one with Christ. We're one with Christ. It's like Cameron is on one side of a giant oak tree, hugging the oak tree. I'm on the other side of the oak tree, hugging the oak tree. I can't see him. He can't see me. I can't hear him. He can't hear me. But we're both hugging the same oak tree and that oak tree is Christ."

Support, especially from a religious congregation, can be crucial in dealing with grief, Cole said.

"One problem for parents who lose children is people abandoning them," Cole said. "That didn't happen with us. But we've had lots of conversations with parents who've lost children whose close friends abandoned them. It's every parent's worst nightmare. It's too intense for them to enter into someone else losing a child. They just retreat."

A feeling of isolation is one of the most daunting elements of grief, Cole said.

"That was very surprising to me, how isolating it is," Cole said.

"One reason I've been able to embrace the God of the Bible so passionately, with such assurance, is because the story of Christianity is the story of a God who gives up his son," Cole said. "There's this mutual understanding of that experience. I truly believe he is a suffering God. He does understand me. I feel safe with him. If you're going through a tragedy you have a hard time feeling safe with someone who hasn't experienced something difficult."

And God is always there in ways that family and friends are not always equipped to be.

"The God of the Bible is attracted to sufferers," Cole said. "There's this promise of his presence. God is near to the brokenhearted. Jesus comes and dwells with broken, suffering people."
Two women who police say used pepper spray on a store employee who tried to stop them from leaving with items for which they didn't pay have now been identified and arrested.

Authorities on Wednesday identified the suspects as Khadijah Greenwood, 23, and Santoria Quinn, 21. Both are charged with second-degree robbery.

The incident happened about 10:38 a.m. Aug. 6 at a store in the 2300 block of Eastern Boulevard. The females passed the last point of sale of the store without paying for merchandise, said Crime Stoppers of Central Alabama Executive Director Tony A. Garrett.

As they were confronted by an asset protection employee of the store, the females used pepper spray the employee and fled the business on foot.

Greenwood was arrested Aug. 28 and released from the Montgomery County Detention Center the following day after posting $30,000 bond. Efforts to obtain the arrest date for Quinn weren't immediately successful.
The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the capital murder conviction in a 2013 Sumter County fatal beating.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Thursday announced the court's decision. Damon Lake, 25, was convicted last year in the April 6, 2013 slaying of Terrell Brown. The court also upheld Lake's sentence of life without parole.

Brown was beaten to death with a metal pipe during a robbery. Lake, who was 19 when he murdered Brown, claimed that he had diminished capacity as though he were under the age of 18. Therefore, he argued, he should have been in the same protected class as juveniles covered by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which prohibits mandatory sentences of life without parole for defendants under 18.

Marshall said The Court of Criminal Appeals found that because Lake was 19 when he murdered Brown, that ruling was not applicable to his case, and therefore, his sentence was not cruel and unusual.

The office of Sumter County District Attorney Greg Griggers prosecuted the case in circuit court. The Attorney General's Criminal Appeals Division defended the conviction on appeal urging the Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm the conviction.

Lake is currently incarcerated at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility.
Authorities have released the names of two men killed Wednesday night after an already-deadly day in the city.

The Jefferson County Coroner's Office identified the victims as Tarrell Antwone Watson, 24, and Preston Lemar Robinson, 30.

Watson and Robinson were among four homicides in Birmingham in less than 24 hours. A fifth person - Mitchell Owen Buel of Gadsden - was fatally shot following a chase with Alabama State Troopers for a total of five homicides in Jefferson County Wednesday.

Watson was found at 9:20 p.m. when Birmingham's West Precinct officers responded to a report of a vehicle crash in the 1200 block of Mitchell Street and found a black male unresponsive inside a vehicle that had struck a home, said Sgt. Johnny Williams said. He was pronounced dead by the Jefferson County Coroner at 9:40 p.m.

Williams said residents in the area reported hearing shots fired just before Watson was found dead in the vehicle. Police and coroner's officials have not determined Watson's cause of death, but police labeled his death a homicide.

Within the hour, West Precinct officers were then dispatched to the 1100 block of Meadow Lane on a report of a person shot. They arrived to find Robinson laying in the roadway suffering from a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 10:20 p.m., coroner's officials said.

Authorities said the shooting may have been the result of an earlier domestic incident at the home. Williams said police detained one person who is believed to have additional information about the case.

The first of Birmingham's four fatal incidents happened about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday when police responded to Princeton Hospital after two people suffering from gunshot wounds arrived at the emergency room. Police said they were shot in a vehicle in Pratt City.

One of those victims, 26-year-old Briana Young, died from her injuries.omicide investigators to arrive to start their investigation," Williams said.

The second homicide happened around 2 p.m. in the 5100 block of Jenkins Street. West Precinct Sgt. Danny Woodard said a neighbor heard shots fired and the saw an SUV crashed into a tree.

Coroner's officials said they have not yet identified the Jenkins Street victim.

Wednesday night's killings brings the city's homicide total to 81 so far in 2018. Of those, at least five had been ruled justifiable and therefore will not be included by the Birmingham Police Department in its year-end tally. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 114 homicides this year, including the 81 in Birmingham.

"What we want to do, as the mayor said this morning, we've got to address this head-on as a community. It's not just the police department. There are a number of things that need to take place. A lot of people need to get involved to help curb this violence," Williams said Wednesday night. "We're going to do our part as a department. We want to find out exactly what happened in each one of these cases. These victims and their families deserve justice."

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
In the wake of massive economic disruption, many American communities have been left by the waysidewhether due to technology, trade, or globalization. While rural factories have shuttered and farms have consolidated, job prospects and educational opportunities have abounded in Americas largest urban centers.

Those shifts have brought plenty of benefits through an increased density of smarts, skills, and capital, but theyve also introduced new risks, from the centralization of power to the fracturing of family and community to the diminishment of national diversityeconomic, political, cultural, institutional, and otherwise.

As a result, many have wondered how we might return a bit of balance to American culture and community. How might we restore and reinvigorate cities or regions that are experiencing decline from disruption? Are there ways we might nudge our population patterns to be more varied, creative, and intentionalbeyond the purely economicalresisting blind marches to distant coastal hubs?

For progressives and populists and communitarian conservatives alike, the proposed solutions typically include a menu of government interventions, from trade barriers to wage minimums to subsidies to a range of regulatory constraints. Fortunately, thanks to markets and their many fruits, a range of cultural corrections and improvements are already taking place, with little organized effort or control.

According to Pablo Fuentes, CEO of Proven and host of the Small Business War Stories podcast, we are witnessing a great re-homing, wherein American entrepreneurs are finding new freedom, tools, and resources to return to their home communities, bringing plenty of economic growth and human capital in tow. Having now interviewed over 90 small business owners from across the country, Fuentes observes a common thread.

The most interesting trend I noticed was small business entrepreneurs returning to the communities where they came from, he explains. There is an invisible shift happening where people who once wanted to spread their proverbial wings somewhere else are returning to their hometowns to make things happen. This has always been the case to some extent, but I believe that technology is enabling people to be successful in ways that were very difficult or impossible just a decade ago.

As for whats driving it, Fuentes observes three leading causes, which represent a mix of economic, social, and moral concerns:

1. Lower Cost of Living

Returning to communities with a lower cost of living gives people a better chance of succeeding by keeping costs low. This can be the difference between getting through a rough patch and going back to working a dead-end job. Because of his skills and popularity on social media platforms, Seth gets customers from far and wide to buy his guitars and his music. He is selling globally, and living locally. You can check him out Monday nights at The Colony, a bar in Tulsa.

2. Community and Belonging

In my experience, [building community] a bit easier in places with a bit of a slower pace of life. When there are fewer competing interests and lower stress, its just a little easier to stop and smile at a stranger and to remember the name of the barista who pours your coffee. There is something special about feeling like youre a part of the community. And its a bit easier to make an impact on a smaller community, especially where you grew up.

3. Technology Changes Everything

Technology is enabling people to get more creative about how (and where) they make money. Tools such as Slack, Google Meetings, and good ol email allow people to collaborate with remote teams. Craftspeople can get a following on Instagram, sell their wares on Etsy, and work with a number of different on-demand shipping companies to get their products to their final destination. Its easy to take these things for granted, but many of these tasks were much more difficult, if not impossible, as little as a decade ago. The development of technology will continue to create flexible opportunities. From distance learning, to even more remote office connectivity, to deeper broadband Internet reach, the future is bright for people with initiative and flexibility. That means more opportunities for people to live where they want and do what they like.

Fuentes evidence is mostly anecdotal, but weve seen similar stories emerge from a variety of other areas, whether through J.D. Vances decision to bring venture capital to the Rust Belt, or journalist Rod Drehers journey from the East Coast back to his hometown in Louisiana.

Further, as Joel Kotkin has demonstrated elsewhere, overall growth momentum has shifted from Americas biggest cities to a series of mid-sized metros across the Midwest. Indeed, the fastest-growing cities in the Midwest are not what youd expect, including Kansas City, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Grand Rapids, and Des Moines. Such growth doesnt necessarily indicate a return to home, but it represents the same freedom and flexibility that Fuentes is beginning to detect.

The extent of all this is still unknown. We may or may not be witnessing a great re-homing or a massive urban exit and dispersion. Regardless of the scope and scale, the shifts represent the actions of free people who are freely adapting and moving and collaborating in response to modernity.

If were unhappy or unsatisfied with the fruits of economic disruption, we neednt wait for government protection or artificial stimulus or surface-level tinkering. We, ourselves, already have the freedom and opportunity to reorient our lives and shape our communities according to a broader and deeper set of values, virtues, and priorities.

Image: Migration, Jim ONeil (CC BY 2.0)
@newsbysmiley @alextdaugherty

Republican gubernatorial nominee Ron DeSantis has picked Miami Rep. Jeanette Nunez as his running mate, the Miami Herald has confirmed.

Nunez, a Kendall-area politician who was first elected to the state House in 2010, would be the first Cuban-American woman to serve as the states second in command if she and DeSantis are elected in November. She recently served as Speaker pro tempore under House Speaker Richard Corcoran.

Nunezs selection was first reported by Politico. The Herald confirmed her selection through a source familiar with the campaigns vetting process.

Nunez, 46, was hesitant to agree, but was swayed by an 11th hour pitch from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, according to Politico.

During the 2016 presidential primary, Nunez, who was supporting Rubio, said Donald Trump supports the Klu Klux Klan on Twitter. DeSantis won his primary after Trump made an aggressive pitch to Republican voters to support the congressman over agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam.

Wake up Florida voters, Trump is the biggest con-man there is, Nunez tweeted. #nosubstance #anti-Israel #supportsKKK VOTE Marco Rubio #RUBIO.

Neither the DeSantis campaign nor Nunez would comment Wednesday evening.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a loyal DeSantis supporter throughout the primary, said Nunez would make a great choice on the ticket with DeSantis.

I served with Jeanette Nunez for 6 years in the State House. I have long extolled her her virtues, and I think she would make a great pick for lieutenant governor, Gaetz said, adding that he could not confirm himself that the pick is official.

Nunezs selection is expected to be announced at a GOP unity rally in Orlando on Thursday. DeSantis is scheduled to visit Little Havana later in the day to discuss his push in Congress to indict Cuban leader Raul Castro for the shoot-down of two Brothers to the Rescue planes in 1996.

I think tomorrow is going to be a big day, Gaetz said.

Read more here.
Two former Republican associate justices on the Alabama Supreme Court have donated to the democratic candidate for the Chief Justice's spot.

Robert Vance Jr. and Tom Parker are competing for the top position on the Alabama Supreme Court, and voters will decide Nov. 6 who will hold the position for the next six years. Vance, a Democrat, and Parker, a Republican, have raised a total of more than one million dollars during the race.

But, campaign finance records show, Vance has had more contributions and contributors than Parker--including from two Republicans who previously served on the state's highest court.

Both former Chief Justice Drayton Nabers Jr. and former Associate Justice Thomas Woodall have donated to Vance's campaign.

Vance has raised a total of $632,472.19 during the race; Parker has raised $426,652.05. According to the latest finance records, Vance has in his campaign account more than 23 times the money Parker does. Vance ended last month with $420,197.48 on hand, while Parker had $17,508.59. The decrease comes after Parker used $432,238.44 on expenditures during the race.

During the 2018 election cycle, Parker has gotten 69 contributions--Vance has been given 1704. Those contribution numbers include loans or donations each candidate has given his own campaign, and the data for Parker begins last year, while Vance's began in February.

In June, campaign records show Woodall gave $500 to Vance's campaign. Woodall served as an Associate Justice on the Alabama Supreme Court from 2001 until his retirement in 2013.

This year isn't the first time Woodall has supported Vance. When Vance was competing against Roy Moore for the chief justice spot in 2012, Woodall endorsed Vance in a letter along with two other Republicans and seven Democrats. At the time, Woodall was serving as Associate Justice.

In August, Nabers gave $2,500 to Vance's campaign. Nabers currently is an attorney with Maynard Cooper and Gale PC in Birmingham, but he has a 50-year career as an attorney, business executive and public servant. He served as finance director for the state until being named to the Supreme Court in 2004, where he served two years as chief justice before returning to private practice in 2006.

"Even though we're in different parties, I have nothing but the highest respect for those two men," Vance said. "It's a high honor to receive that kind of support. I am touched and honored."

Vance said that he aims to appeal to everyone, and his message is non-partisan. "My vision is to be an advocate for everyone, regardless of their political party. Once we go into the courthouse, politics should have no role... really, there's no place for politics."

"Deep down, the people of Alabama just want the courts to function efficiently and promote fairness- no matter who they are or where they come from."

Parker released a statement Thursday evening. He said, "It is no surprise that the failed moderate establishment politicians who oppose President Trump are funneling money to Justice Parker's SPLC-backed liberal opponent."

This post was updated 9/7/2018 at 7 a.m. with Parker's comment. AL.com has reached out for comment to Nabers and Woodall. This post will be updated.
The former YWCA childcare director has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for stealing nearly $200,000 from the non-profit over several years.

U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon on Thursday sentenced 38-year-old Rikki Ross, of Hoover, to 15 months behind bars, according to a joint announcement by U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams.

The Young Women's Christian Association of Central Alabama is a non-profit group headquartered in Birmingham. The YWCA focuses on providing quality child development program for children of homeless and working poor families, affordable housing, domestic violence services and social justice programming.

Ross worked as director of the YWCA Child Development Center from August 2010 until she resigned in 2017. She pleaded guilty in April to one count of federal program fraud for stealing from an agency that received more than $10,000 in federal benefits annually between 2012 and 2017 through grants or other assistance.

As part of Ross' job as the YWCA's childcare director, she was responsible for processing credit and debit card payments from parents for childcare services, according to her plea agreement. The YWCA CDC uses Square to process debit and credit card payments. Square is a point-of-sale provider that works in conjunction with the user's smartphone or tablet device. The Square reader is a small removable magnetic stripe reader that plugs into the headset jack or Lightning port of a smartphone or tablet device.

The YWCA CDC utilized a Square account named "YWCA Child Development Center." The YWCA authorized Ross to use that account to process payments for childcare services provided at the YWCA.

In April 2012, Ross created a Square account of her own and named it "YWCA CDC," according to her plea agreement. She linked the YWCA CDC account to her personal Regions Bank account.

Ross used the fraudulent Square account to charge parents and guardians for childcare services at the YWCA center, according to her plea agreement. Between April 2012 and August 2017, Ross stole more than $190,000 intended as payment for childcare services at the YWCA.

In addition to the prison sentence, the judge also ordered Ross to forfeit $198,597 to the government as proceeds of illegal activity, and to pay that same amount in restitution to the Young Women's Christian Association of Central Alabama.

Ross will remain on supervised release for three years following completion of her prison term.

"For 115 years, the YWCA has provided services to our community, including much needed childcare services for families in need. The parents trusted this defendant to provide a safe environment for their children," Town said. "Ms. Ross betrayed the trust of the parents and the YWCA. Her deliberate theft from low-income working families and from a non-profit agency dedicated to helping young women and families in need is reprehensible. A federal prison cell awaits her."

"The defendant in this case was self-centered and egotistical to take advantage of the most vulnerable in our society," Williams said. "It's gratifying for law enforcement when we are able to investigate white-collar criminals and bring individuals like Ms. Ross to justice."
Birmingham has asked Bird Rides to immediately remove scooters that were illegally placed on city sidewalks last week.

Since the scooters landed on Aug. 28, the city of Homewood has impounded 38 Bird scooters that were illegally placed on city sidewalks, police Sgt. John Carr said. Bird will be issued a citation for doing business without a city license. Fines and court costs total $371, he said.

He said a Bird representative is set to pick up the scooters on Friday.

Birmingham

In a cease and desist letter, dated Aug. 29, Birmingham City Attorney Nicole King said if the scooters are not removed, they would be impounded for "safekeeping." The company would also face fines, the letter stated.

As of Sept. 6, though, the scooters remain on Birmingham city sidewalks. A Birmingham spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

A representative from Bird didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bird Rides Inc. is in violation of city law by operating a business on the public right of way without obtaining permission, in the form of a franchise license, Birmingham's cease and desist letter stated. The company also placed scooters on city sidewalks without permission, which is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and/or 180 days in jail for each violation and for each day that a violation continues.

Bird dockless, electric scooters landed in Birmingham, Homewood and Auburn on Aug. 28. They arrived in Tuscaloosa the week before. The scooters can be located and rented through the Bird app.

"It was a tough decision," Birmingham Chief Operating Officer Kevin Moore said, of city's decision to ask for the scooters to be removed. Moore made the remarks at a Tuesday meeting of the city council's transportation committee.

He said the city was receiving complaints from local business owners where scooters were left.

According to the city of Birmingham's letter, Bird Rides has applied for a business license but hasn't paid for the license. No license has been issued, according to the letter.

"Please be advised that Alabama courts have found that the mere purchase of a business license does not satisfy the requirement for consent of the proper governing authorities to do business in the public ways of a city in the state of Alabama, the letter stated.

Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O'Quinn, who chairs the transportation committee, said the city is in the process of drafting legislation that would regulate scooters and similar small vehicles.

The transportation committee had previously heard presentations from Lime-S and Spin dockless scooters, but none have been approved to operate in Birmingham yet.

Officials with the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport contacted Bird to remove the scooters from airport property on Aug. 29. The nine scooters were removed later that afternoon.

"Our top priority is to operate a safe and secure airport of our passengers and community," airport spokesperson Toni Herrera-Bast said in an email. "In order for a company or individual to operate at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, they must follow and comply with all city and airport operating requirements."

Bird scooters can be rented through its smart phone app, according to Bird. The app allows users to locate and unlock a scooter. The app also shares safety tips for riders.

A ride costs an initial $1 plus a charge of 15 cents per minute. Bird scooters are calibrated to run at a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour. A charge lasts for about 15 miles.

Each night a Bird contractor, called a charger, picks up the scooters and takes them home to be charged, according to Bird. The scooters are placed back in their "nests," a pre-approved spot, by 7 a.m. the next morning.

According to Bird, the company works to make sure users are riding safely by:

Requiring riders upload a driver's license and confirm they are older than 18

Requiring all riders to consent to a safety agreement.

Showing riders an in-app tutorial on how to safely ride the scooters.

Posting safety instructions on each scooter.

Though it is currently operating illegally in Birmingham, Bird contends that it works closely with the cities where it operates. The company said scooters are located in front of businesses where scooters are wanted.

According to Bird, the company offers to remit $1 per vehicle per day to cities where they operate. The money is intended to be used to build more bike lanes, promote safe riding, and maintain our shared infrastructure.
A 25-year-old Pelham man has been charged with six felony crimes involving a reported relationship with a young teen girl.

Jacob Oliver Green was arrested Wednesday, according to court records made public Thursday. Police said Green was sexually involved for a couple of months with a 14-year-old girl. The sexual interactions happened in July, August and September.

Green is charged with five counts of second-degree rape. Under Alabama law, a person commits the crime of second-degree rape if:

- Being 16 years old or older, he or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex less than 16 and more than 12 years old; provided, however, the actor is at least two years older than the member of the opposite sex.

- He or she engages in sexual intercourse with a member of the opposite sex who is incapable of consent by reason of being mentally defective.

In addition to the rape charges, Green is charged with selling or furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, also a felony. Court records state that substance was marijuana.

Pelham police investigated the case against Green. He was booked into the Shelby County Jail Wednesday and remains behind bars on bonds totaling $65,000.
Five environmental advocacy groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the Tennessee Valley Authority's plan to implement fixed fees on its electric customers, regardless of how much electricity they use.

The groups argue that the fees are an "attack" on customers who generate their own electricity via solar panels and will prevent residential and business customers from substantially reducing their bills by using less power.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in the Northern District of Alabama by the Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of Earth, Energy Alabama, Gasp, and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

TVA says the fee, called a "grid access charge," will help families by making their electric bills "more stable."

The TVA board of directors approved the policy in May, and it is scheduled to go into effect in October. The utility says the restructuring is not a rate increase because the variable rates will decrease as the fixed fee is implemented.

TVA will charge the new fee to local power companies that distribute TVA-generated electricity to customers in a seven-state region that includes much of the northern third of Alabama. The local customers will see the fee reflected in their bills.

The groups filing the lawsuit say higher fixed fees hurt customers' ability to control their electric bills.

"TVA's move to increase fixed fees on monthly bills is intended to undercut customers' ability to control energy costs through energy efficiency and solar investments," Stephen A. Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said in a news release.

"The devious 'grid access charge' will only accelerate the high-bills problem by increasing fixed fees and stifling efforts to control electric consumption by families and small businesses, leading to higher costs and more pollution. This legal action seeks to educate people about what is happening to them each and every month."

The groups also argue that TVA's environmental assessment finding of "no significant impact," violated the National Environmental Policy Act "by failing to disclose and consider the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts of all of these Anti-Solar Rate Changes."

TVA's assessment of several proposed fixed charge options projects that the chosen rate structure (C1) will also decrease the average rates for large businesses, providing an incentive for economic development.

"TVA expects minor positive effects to large commercial customers and minor negative effects to Standard Service and large manufacturing customers," the document states. "Alternatives B, C1, C2 and D would lower rates for large commercial customers and make the rates more competitive. Rates for Standard Service and large manufacturing customers would increase, however, but remain competitive."

The groups believe that the measure will also prop up legacy fossil fuel plants by discouraging adoption of distributed energy resources.

"TVA's rate changes are about one thing and one thing only," Daniel Tait, technical director for Energy Alabama, said. "Killing energy efficiency and renewable energy to protect its monopoly stranglehold on regular folks."

Michael Hansen, executive director of Birmingham-based group Gasp, said the move will provide an additional roadblock for a solar industry in Alabama that is already facing significant hurdles.

"Clean, renewable energy like rooftop solar represents a tremendous opportunity in Alabama to create new jobs, generate homegrown energy, save customers and businesses money, and reduce impacts on human health," Hansen said. "TVA's so-called 'grid access charge' will disincentivize solar energy and all its benefits."

In addition to the environmental groups, some public officials like Nashville Mayor David Briley have been critical of the plan. Briley told the Chattanooga Free Press the move would hurt Nashville's efforts to become the "greenest city in the South." The Tennessee Small Business Alliance and the NAACP have also expressed opposition to the new rate structure.
President Donald Trump responds to a reporters question during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Two Alabama sheriffs got a front row seat Wednesday to President Donald Trump's angry reaction over a scathing New York Times Op-Ed about his leadership as president.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack and Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin were among the 42 sheriffs at a White House meeting with administration officials over illegal immigration issues.

"It's a different world up here and there is no doubt about it, it can be emotional at times," said Mack.

Franklin herself was the subject of an in depth December 2017, New York Times article investigating the circumstances behind a potential federal investigation into her office's use of jail food funds.

On Thursday, she sympathized with the president.

"I had to applaud when he said, 'New York Times (is) fake news,'" said Franklin, who is not seeking re-election in November and will end her tenure as sheriff in January 2019. "I've been there."

'Public props'

The sheriffs' attendance, part of a three-day visit to Capital Hill sponsored by the Federation for American Immigration Reform, also served as backdrop during president's public rebuke of a highly critical editorial piece reportedly written by someone inside his administration and posted first by The New York Times.

"This is what we have to deal with," said Trump, turning to face the sheriffs who stood on a podium behind him during a photo op inside the White House's East Room. "And, you know, the dishonest media - because you people deal with it as well as I do - it's really a disgrace."

Said Trump: "Someday, when I'm not president, which will be 6-1/2 years from now and The New York Times and CNN and these phony media outlets will be out of business, folks. They'll be out of business because there will be nothing to write, and there will be nothing of interest."

Trump's remarks, which received applause from the supportive sheriffs, drew a rebuke Thursday from the ACLU of Alabama.

In remarks to AL.com, the Montgomery-based division of the national organization said "a free press is fundamental to democracy precisely because they hold elected officials accountable for their words and actions. Meanwhile, law enforcement officials like sheriffs are not props but are public employees sworn to protect and serve our communities."

Franklin said she never felt like a prop during the president's appearance. She also said she felt that Trump's interaction with a reporter, who shouted a question to Trump about the Op-Ed, was unscripted.

"Some people said it was scripted, but it didn't appear that way to me," said Franklin. "Trump was leaving. He did pull out the statistics he had been given and briefed on. I think President Trump is in a position at this point that anywhere there is media, he's probably prepared for it. But I don't think that this was a (scripted) moment. It seemed like it took him a little off guard."

Said Mack, "I think it was a surprise. I don't think it was planned."

Franklin said from her observation, there was no prearranged encounter planned between Trump and the reporter. "He was walking out the door when it happened and the reporter leaned over a barrier (and shouted out a question). He stopped, turned around, and addressed it."

Trump's public remarks also included highlights of what he says are his administration's accomplishments. They were written on a piece of paper he had tucked inside his suit pocket.

"All of you people benefited tremendously from the tax cuts," Trump said, referring to the president's significant legislative victory late last year. His comment drew applause from the sheriffs.

Phillip Rawls, a journalism instructor at Auburn University and a former longtime reporter with The Associated Press who covered Alabama politics and government, said Trump's speech before the supportive sheriffs is nothing new for politicians to do.

"All presidents give speeches to friendly audiences rather than critics," said Rawls. "President Barack Obama knew he would have a friendly audience when he spoke in Selma in 2015 for the 50th anniversary of 'Bloody Sunday.' He knew everyone attending the event would share his interest in voting rights and civil rights."

Rawls added, "It's what smart politicians do."

Immigration focus

Franklin and Mack, meanwhile, were in Washington, D.C., visiting with members of Congress and urging them to support tougher immigration policies as well as encouraging national support for E-Verify.

That system, in place in 20 states including Alabama, would be authorized nationally if legislation is adopted requiring employers to use the electronic system to ensure newly hired employees are U.S. citizens or foreign nationals authorized to work in the country legally.

The sheriffs also encouraged Congress to support a budget to continue construction on Trump's proposed U.S.-Mexican border wall, and to continue funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mack, who has been in law enforcement for over three decades, said it was the first time he can remember a presidential administration reaching out to county officials and asking, "What are you seeing and dealing with?'"

"There is a two-way communication and they are giving us feedback on the issues they fight in the Senate and the House," said Mack.

Said Franklin: "The process this week has been about bringing information to them and that is what the federal government wants are boots on the ground and asking the sheriffs what trends they are seeing locally in their respective communities and across America."

ICE arrests are up within the five-state region based in New Orleans, which includes Alabama. For the first three quarters of fiscal year 2018, there were 7,584 arrests within the New Orleans district, or just slightly below the 7,968 arrests made in all of fiscal year 2017.

Both years are an increase from fiscal years 2016 and 2015. The federal government's fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

Mack said the Baldwin County Jail has seen a rise in the number of ICE detainments within the past two years.

"We don't necessarily have a huge illegal immigrant population in Baldwin County, but we do have a huge transient problem because of Interstate 10," said Mack. "Two years ago, we managed maybe 5-10 illegal immigrant detainees per day by ICE. Now, we are averaging 30-a-day."

Mack said that drug-related arrests along the interstate, which connects Mississippi to Florida through Mobile and Baldwin counties, continues to be high.

"The drugs we are seeing coming in from South and Central America continues to be increasing because of the weakness at our borders," said Mack.

Franklin said the combating undocumented immigration concerns isn't an issue "just for border states." She, like Mack, said Alabama's interstates - including I-65 and I-20 - are utilized for drug smuggling.

"One of the things we addressed as well was how the opioid crisis relates to drug smuggling from the Southern border and how it's a cost for our citizens," Franklin said. "We are not enforcing our borders with these laws, and ... drug cartels and human trafficking and things like that are happening because it's like open season on criminals to utilize that weakness to profit from their crimes."
Complaints stemming from elections in November 2016 and the 2017 U.S. Senate special election have either been closed or resolved, Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said Tuesday.

The office received 764 election-related complaints between April 2015 and August 2018, ranging from second-hand reports of unauthorized campaigning at polling places to first-hand accounts of voter fraud, the office said.

In a phone interview Thursday with AL.com, Merrill said two high-profile cases involving alleged absentee voter fraud in the August 2016 mayoral election in Brighton and the July primary runoff elections in the Black Belt, were among 58 pending cases.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill announced this week his office has now successfully resolved or closed all election complaints from the 2016 regular election cycle and the 2017 special Senate election. His team has now closed more than 92 percent of all election issue reports that have been submitted by citizens since the time he took office.

Some of the cases took little effort to close. For example, 27 people from outside the state claimed to witness voter fraud at the polls - cases that Merrill said did not contain "credible evidence." Other closed cases were referred to the state Ethics Commission (24 cases), sent to the state attorney general's office (37 cases) while 151 cases were closed due to lack of "sufficient information" and 446 cases were "closed generally." Another 39 closed cases were reported to local or state law enforcement, and two cases were withdrawn.

Of the 706 closed reports, 7 were handled by a team from the Secretary of State's office, 24 were sent to the Ethics Commission, 37 were reported to the Attorney General, 151 were closed due to lack of sufficient information, 446 were closed generally, 39 were reported to local or state law enforcement and two were withdrawn.

"Our office is committed to serving the citizens of Alabama and to doing our part to uphold the rule of law," Merrill said in a statement. "We work closely with our law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels to ensure these issues are properly investigated and vigorously prosecuted. We currently have several cases under investigation that could lead to criminal charges, and we hope that serves as a deterrent for people who would seek to harm our electoral process in the future."

One such case is the August 2016 mayoral election in Brighton, where the race's winner, Brandon Dean, was invalidated amid allegations of absentee voter fraud. Dean chose not to run in the runoff election.

Another was a case involving absentee voting irregularities in

. The counties reported unusually high turnout - double and triple the statewide rate of 14 percent - for Democratic primaries for probate judge and circuit clerk.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walt Maddox slammed Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday during a speech to the Birmingham Rotaract Club, claiming the governor's campaign lacks substance and is focusing on issues that don't affect the state.

"On one hand ... you can see that we have released content and complex policies about the challenges facing Alabama. On the other hand, my opponent has talked about Judge Kavanaugh - by the way, I don't think the governor has any say who sits on the Alabama [sic] Supreme Court," Maddox, the Tuscaloosa mayor, told the club of 18-30 year olds. "They talk about the 2nd Amendment, they talk about President Trump, they talk about a couple of other things."

Maddox said the state needs a plan to attract businesses for the new, tech-based economy and training Alabamians for those jobs instead of focusing on manufacturing.

"The economy is changing quicker than we can imagine. We have no sustainable workforce development strategy in the state of Alabama," he said. "But they [the Ivey campaign] want you to hold on to mountain oysters, and Confederate monuments and things that are up in Washington, D.C. that'll do nothing for the people in your neighborhoods. ...That is why this election matters."

An Ivey campaign spokeswoman called Maddox's criticisms "cheap political shots," contending that the governor is putting the state on the right track.

"Since he can't seem to win over voters with his liberal agenda, Walt has resorted to taking more cheap political shots," the spokeswoman said. "Under Kay Ivey's leadership, employment is at a record high, teachers and schools are receiving the funding and resources our children deserve, and the future looks brighter than ever."

Maddox said the state's Republican leadership, starting with then-Gov. Robert Bentley, failed the people by not expanding Medicaid under Obamacare, which would have added 331,000 Alabamians to the Medicaid rolls. If the state expanded Medicaid, according to Maddox, Alabama would have received $1.8 billion in direct economic benefit from a $108 million investment.

"You know why we didn't? Because it was Obamacare," Maddox said. "People running for board of education [at the time] were running against Obamacare" because it was a Democratic ideal.

The Tuscaloosa mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate also dismissed Ivey's campaign attacking him for supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

The choice in this election for Governor is clear: if you want a candidate who proudly voted for Hillary Clinton, Walt Maddox has earned your vote. pic.twitter.com/rw2L3sNsV8  Kay Ivey (@kayiveyforgov) July 19, 2018

"If the worst thing that you can say about me is that I voted for Hillary Clinton, I think you're in the wrong race for all the wrong reasons," he said.

Updated at 8:06 p.m. to change economic benefits of Medicaid to $1.8 billion, not $108 billion.
An old brick schoolhouse sitting empty in Fairhope for the past seven years serves as a rare aesthetic blemish in one of Alabama's more vibrant downtowns.

But the single-story school has plenty of sentimental value, and residents have long hoped it could be redeveloped. Built in 1925, the schoolhouse provided generations of memories: Grandparents, parents and their kids tell tales of their school days inside a building that is both short walks to the city's downtown or to the scenic Mobile Bay.

"It is a part of our history," said Cassandra Jones, once a teacher at the schoolhouse, last known as the K-1 Center before closing down in 2011.

Preserving that history moved one step closer on Wednesday after the Fairhope City Council unanimously approved a plan to purchase the downtown schoolhouse and transform it into a multi-faceted educational and business development center.

The council's vote, made during a special meeting postponed for one day because of Tropical Storm Gordon, endorsed a planned acquisition of the school, a nearby playground and a senior citizen center for $4 million from the Baldwin County School System. Of that, $2.5 million would be due upon closing, with an additional $1.5 million paid out in $300,000 annual increments for five years to the city's Educational Advisory Committee.

The School Board will have to accept the deal, which has been negotiated between Fairhope and school officials for months. The board next meets on Sept. 20.

"I think this should be a very happy occasion," said Fairhope City Councilman Jay Robinson. "I think this is a huge win for the city of Fairhope and for all the citizens, young and old, to have the opportunity to preserve what is considered a historic piece of this community and use it in a way to inspire and educate our rising generations."

Said Councilman Kevin Boone: "This is probably one of the best buys the city will ever have."

In a statement, Baldwin County Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler said he was "very pleased" with the deal that the city and school officials struck, and he anticipates the board voting for its approval later this month.

"I will be very excited to see this facility preserved and repurposed," said Tyler.

The city, in conjunction with the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance, is applying for a $6.1 million federal grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration that, if received, will pay for the purchase and renovation of the building. Details on the fate of the grant application should be known by October or November.

A closing is scheduled to take place before Dec. 31.

The plan for the building includes developing it into a multi-faceted educational "resource hub" that would be administered partly by the University of Alabama.

Portions of the building would be utilized by the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation for a science, technology, engineering, arts and math center. Another portion could be utilized by Coastal Community College, which currently occupies space inside the city's library.

In addition, city officials embrace the possibilities of renovating an auditorium into a future performing arts center.

"I would envision public and private funds to construct the performing arts center," said Council President Jack Burrell.

Burrell wanted to have the council vote on the transaction during a special meeting because he was concerned over a competing proposal that would turn portions of the property into a boutique hotel.

Under that proposal, Birmingham-based Capstone Corporation would have purchased the property and developed a hotel that would generate more lodging and sales taxes for the city than the current proposal.

That proposal was backed by local historian and artist Dean Mosher, who is also a chief support of Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson.

Mosher, during Wednesday's meeting, praised Capstone's past work, and said that the hotel plans would preserve the schoolhouse's facade.

He said he was more concerned with what he said was a lack of public debate into possible alternative developments for the coveted downtown property.

"There needed to be a public debate on this," said Mosher. "I'd like to see what the options are for this piece of property."

Wilson, in recent days, posted on Facebook that there needed to be transparency with the school's future use, a feasibility study and urged against a "rushed" decision.

She said on Wednesday that she wanted the decisions about the building to go through the "right process" and that "it's transparent and prudent."

Wilson didn't openly advocate for any particular development, but said she wanted to support a project that had an economic impact and "will not drain our coffers."

Said Wilson, "All I ever wanted was to spread ideas. We're Fairhope. We can share our ideas and we shouldn't be criticized and we should respect everyone's opinion."

Burrell took exception to claims that the process was not transparent. He said he was initially authorized by the council in February to begin negotiating the purchase of the property, and that he publicly discussed last month the potential for the council to vote on it in early September.

Burrell and Wilson have butted heads politically since 2016.

Burrell said the reason he called a special meeting to "quiet any rumors on who would own this property."

The proposal transaction also includes two other properties the school system owns - a playground that is located across the K-1 but has since been redeveloped as one of Fairhope's more vibrant parks, and the James P. Nix Center, which serves primarily as a senior citizens venue. There are no imminent plans to make changes to either facility.

Most of the people who showed up to Fairhope City Hall vocalized support for transforming the K-1 Center for an educational purpose, and not as a hotel.

The speakers included former employees of the K-1 Center, including the building's last principal, Pat Carlton.

"Preserve it and provide something for our children," she said.
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 []
Elizabeth Standifer admits she left home as a 14-year-old.

According to an affidavit, she clashed with her parents, who locked her out of the house. For three days, Standifer slept in a gazebo outside an apartment complex, ducking inside a friend's home during the day to shower and eat.

Family members said the teen's behavior caused her parents to relinquish custody to Alabama's Department of Human Resources - the agency in charge of children who have been removed from home or abandoned.

Since she entered the system nine months ago, the teen said she has tried hard to follow the rules and recently graduated from a treatment program in Opelika. An aunt located in Texas has petitioned the court to take custody of the teen, and Standifer said she wanted to move there too.

But her case appears stalled, and Standifer said attempts to hire an attorney have been rejected. Judges in dependency proceedings do not have to allow attorneys for minors. That's left her unable to voice her concerns and desires to adults in charge of her care, Standifer said.

"I haven't spoken to the judge in the nine months I've been in DHR," Standifer said.

The Department of Human Resources closely guards information about children in its care and will not comment on cases. Court records from juvenile proceedings are not open to the public.

Children involved in dependency proceedings - which usually occur in cases of abuse or neglect - are entitled to guardians ad litem. The state requires all guardians ad litem to be licensed attorneys, but they serve a different role in juvenile hearings. Instead of advocating for the child's wishes, a guardian ad litem must advocate for their best interest.

Gar Blume, an attorney and guardian ad litem in Tuscaloosa, said there are inconsistencies in the way the court handles children in court proceedings. A 15-year-old charged with a crime who appears in court is entitled to an attorney, but the same is not true for a 15-year-old involved in a juvenile dependency hearing due to the actions of her parents.

"The state says that a 15-year-old in a delinquency hearing is capable of forming a judgment of how they want to be represented," Blume said. "A child who has been abused and neglected is not afforded that same level of participation."

State leaders designed the system to protect children who may want an outcome that is not in their best interest, such as remaining with a parent who is neglectful or abusive. However, Standifer believes she is old enough to weigh in on how her case is handled.

Her aunt, Barbara Allen, has been involved in the case for several frustrating months. She said she doesn't understand why Standifer hasn't been allowed to move to Texas, even after she graduated from a behavioral program over the summer.

Standifer attended high school in Jefferson County before she went to DHR care. Earlier this year, she was sent to the Lee County Youth Development Center several hours from Birmingham, where her hearings have occurred. She has since moved to a group home in Tuskegee. The distance has made it difficult to participate in her proceedings, she said. Transport workers often missed scheduled pickups, causing her to miss hearings and other appointments.

"This kid has literally been denied due process in this case," Allen said.

Lisa Chasteen, who has been trying to represent Standifer, said the case reminded her of the uproar over the lack of representation provided to children in immigration proceedings. Earlier this summer, outlets including the New York Times and USA Today reported that young children appeared at detention hearings without attorneys.

"The same thing is happening here," she said.

Guardians ad litem do provide some legal information and advocacy for children, meeting with them, explaining the court process and appearing at hearings. However, the guardian does not have to advocate for the child's desires.

Concerns about the guardian ad litem system have emerged in the past. An attorney who testified in a 2015 meeting of the now-defunct DHR task force said they need better training. Jacquelyn Tomlinson said standards vary widely by county for those charged with protecting the best interests of children.

For almost 20 years, federal judges oversaw Alabama's child welfare system - as the state wrestled with problems in the child protection system. A 1988 case involving an emotionally disturbed child who was heavily medicated and bounced from placement to placement prompted the federal intervention. The case ended in 2008, but scrutiny of the system has continued. Former Gov. Robert Bentley appointed a task force to examine the Department of Human Resources, but it ended after he resigned in 2017.

Blume said Alabama requires one day of training and three hours of continuing education every year. He often provides continuing education for guardians ad litem.

"Guardians ad litem are as different as snowflakes," he said. "There are some GALs who interact a lot with the kids, and others who do it less."

Judges occasionally allow children to hire lawyers, but they are not required to, Blume said. He said he encourages children to write directly to the judge to make the case for hiring an attorney.

According to the affidavit, Standifer said she has never even laid eyes on the judge in her case. She said her attempts to hire, or even speak to, an attorney have been blocked.

"DHR would never let me call her," according to the affidavit. "DHR would not let her talk to me when she called. I have chosen her to be my attorney and I am not allowed to meet with her or talk to her. I have never met with her in person. I have only been able to speak with her a few times when I have called her."

Allen, who works as an attorney, said she has done everything that has been asked of her, including background checks and two home studies. She and her husband both hold concealed handgun licenses in Texas, which also require background checks.

Blume said the process for moving children between states can be complicated. Some states don't want to accept foster children from other places. However, it's state policy to keep children with family members, which should help Standifer reunite with her aunt.

Allen has been fighting the case from Texas and keeps in touch with her niece via phone and mail. Standifer has maintained a good attitude throughout the ordeal, but she worries the girl's mental health could be damaged if the case drags on.

"We want to get her reunited with family," Allen said. "There's nobody representing this kid."
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a striking anonymous broadside, a senior Trump administration official wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times on Wednesday claiming to be part of a group of people "working diligently from within" to impede President Donald Trump's "worst inclinations" and ill-conceived parts of his agenda.

Trump said it was a "gutless editorial" and "really a disgrace," and his press secretary called on the official to resign.

Later, Trump tweeted: "TREASON?"

TREASON?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

The writer, claiming to be part of the "resistance" to Trump but not from the left, said, "Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office." The newspaper described the author of the column only as a senior official in the Trump administration.

"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room," the author continued. "We fully recognize what is happening. And we are trying to do what's right even when Donald Trump won't."

A defiant Trump, appearing at an unrelated event at the White House, lashed out at the Times for publishing the op-ed.

"They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them," he said of the newspaper. The op-ed pages of the newspaper are managed separately from its news department.

The essay immediately triggered a wild guessing game as to the author's identity on social media, in newsrooms and inside the West Wing, where officials were blindsided by its publication.

And in a blistering statement, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the author of choosing to "deceive" the president by remaining in the administration.

"He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people," she said. "The coward should do the right thing and resign."

Sanders also called on the Times to "issue an apology" for publishing the piece, calling it a "pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed."

A "House of Cards"-style plot twist in an already over-the-top administration, Trump allies and political insiders scrambled late Wednesday to unmask the writer.

The text was pulled apart for clues: The writer is identified as an "administration official"; does that mean a person who works outside the White House? The references to Russia and the late Sen. John McCain -- do they suggest someone working in national security? Does the writing style sound like someone who worked at a think tank? In a tweet, the Times used the pronoun "he" to refer to the writer; does that rule out all women?

The newspaper later said the tweet referring to "he" had been "drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error."

Hotly debated on Twitter was the author's use of the word "lodestar," which pops up frequently in speeches by Vice President Mike Pence. Could the anonymous figure be someone in Pence's orbit? Others argued that the word "lodestar" could have been included to throw people off.

This image shows a copy of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." (National Archives via AP)

Showing her trademark ability to attract attention, former administration official Omarosa Manigault Newman tweeted that clues about the writer's identity were in her recently released tell-all book, offering a page number: 330. The reality star writes on that page: "many in this silent army are in his party, his administration, and even in his own family."

The anonymous author wrote in the Times that where Trump has had successes, they have come "despite -- not because of -- the president's leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective."

The assertions in the column were largely in line with complaints about Trump's behavior that have repeatedly been raised by various administration officials, often speaking on condition of anonymity. And they were published a day after the release of details from an explosive new book by longtime journalist Bob Woodward that laid bare concerns among the highest echelon of Trump aides about the president's judgment.

The writer of the Times op-ed said Trump aides are aware of the president's faults and "many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them."

The writer also alleged "there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment" because of the "instability" witnessed in the president. The 25th Amendment allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." It requires that the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet back relieving the president.

The writer added: "This isn't the work of the so-called deep state. It's the work of the steady state."

--By Zeke Miller and Catherine Lucey, Associated Press.
Vice President Mike Pence is backing embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to reports.

CNN's Kaitlin Collins - once banned from a White House event after she asked President Trump "inappropriate" questions - tweeted a comment from Pence regarding Sessions, a former Alabama Senator.

Wow. Asked if he has confidence in Jeff Sessions, Vice President Mike Pence says, I hold Jeff Sessions in the highest regard. I appreciate his service to the nation."  Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 5, 2018

Sessions has found himself the frequent target of President Trump's ire after the AG recused himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2006 presidential election.

Most recently, Trump reportedly criticized Sessions' Southern accent and his Alabama education.

Sessions has remained mostly quiet on the criticism, saying only while he was "Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."
The Pakistani military has propagated a false narrative about the 1965 war that justifies its oversized role in society.

Every year Pakistan celebrates Defence Day on September 6. On this day, the army reminds the Pakistani public that it defeated the Indian forces in the 1965 war and highlights the sacrifices it made in defending Pakistans borders from a surprise attack from India.

Ceremonial military parades are held across the country where senior military officials make fiery speeches and soldiers march alongside armoured vehicles mounted with the latest missile technologies while fighter jets perform an airshow in the skies above.

The media wing of the army also asks national media outlets to run promotional videos that pay tribute to the armed forces. Religious and extremist groups, known to have friendly ties to the military, also come out in the streets, holding rallies glorifying Pakistans army.

But efforts to militarise the Pakistani population and reinforce a narrative of victory in the 1965 war is not limited to Defence Day. This narrative is written into official Pakistani textbooks that teach students, both at public and private schools, how India committed an open aggression against Pakistan to facilitate its expansionist intentions and attacked on the night of September 6.

Although Pakistan had far less military and economic resources compared with India, the armed forces of Pakistan, filled with the spirit of jihad, forced an enemy many times bigger to face a humiliating defeat  a Pakistani textbook reads.

However, there is little truth to these claims; Pakistan did not win this war. It agreed to a ceasefire with India after it realised it may lose. Also, it is absolutely false that India started this war.

The evidence of this first came to light when, in the early 2000s, General Mehmood Ahmed published a book bursting the myths around the 1965 war. The general was tasked by the army to investigate the 1965 war, and he chose to go public with his findings, which highlighted how the Pakistan Army launched a secret military operation into Indian-administered Kashmir in 1965, and India responded in turn.

According to Ahmeds account, the Pakistani military was eventually overwhelmed by Indian troops and forced to withdraw, thus failing to achieve the objective of taking over Kashmir. The book goes on to explain in detail that only a select few generals knew about the secret military operation, that the Pakistan army miscalculated the Indian response and that this version of events is kept away from the public.

After the book came out, it mysteriously disappeared from bookstores. Today it is almost impossible to find a copy of it in Pakistan.

But why does the Pakistani army insist so vehemently on propagating a false historical narrative and ensuring that the truth does not get out? It is quite simple: having a perpetual enemy next door helps the military stay relevant and justify its enormous budget that burdens the countrys economy.

It also shields the military from any criticism it may face for regularly intervening in politics, having multibillion-dollar businesses, and allegedly supporting Kashmiri and Afghan fighter groups. It poses as the saviour of the country and elevates itself above the state and the need for accountability.

Last year, when I pointed out the Pakistani militarys false glorification of the 1965 war on social media, I was told by a military official not to disrupt their media campaign. Then in January this year, armed men tried to kidnap me in Islamabad. Luckily, I managed to escape and was forced to relocate to France.

Today, as Pakistanis once again celebrate Defence Day, we should ask ourselves whether we should continue believing in engineered narratives.

Preaching hate, celebrating a false victory and promoting narrow-mindedness will only further exacerbate one of the core issues faced by Pakistan today: growing extremism.

The first step towards reversing this trend should be accepting the truth about the 1965 war. We must remember that incitement and conflict will not bring progress and development to the country, only peace will.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Irans cheap goods have long been stifling Iraqs economy. The new US sanctions will further exacerbate the problem.

In response to the new set of sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran on August 7, Tehran is now vigorously seeking to expand its stakes in the non-oil trade, energy and engineering markets of neighbouring Iraq.

This was a widely expected move by Tehran, as Iraqi non-oil imports from Iran already amount to more than $6bn and Tehran has significant influence over the federal government in Baghdad. Moreover, Iranian traders have long enjoyed relatively easy access to Iraqi markets. The actions of other regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey, are also pushing Iran to increase its trade share in Iraq.

While a substantial increase in trade with Iraq may help revitalise Irans worsening economy, it will probably stifle Iraqs economic development.

Flooding Iraqi markets with cheap products

Iran has already been flooding Iraqi markets with cheap products for over a decade, and the latest round of US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration are expected to further exacerbate the problem.

If a pro-Iran coalition government is formed in Iraq in the coming days, it would mean minimal implementation of US sanctions and it would pave the way for Iraq to become the most important market for Iranian exports. Last month Irans ambassador to Iraq, Iraj Masjedi, met Iraqi trade officials to discuss the prospects of higher economic cooperation and Iranian private sector investment in the country.

Moreover, trade with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) is booming again after Iran lifted a temporary embargo imposed in the aftermath of the Kurdish independence referendum last year.

After the reversal of punitive measures in January 2018, the KRG started to renovate its border-crossings with Iran, and both sides agreed on allowing to drop duties on certain commodities. Today, one-third of Irans non-oil exports to Iraq are destined for the KRG.

First Deputy Chairman of Erbil Chamber of Commerce Ibrahim Muhammad Kanabi told me in a phone interview that he expects some Iranian manufacturers to relocate to the KRG to overcome the obstacles caused by the US sanctions. As a result, low-cost Iranian products are likely to overwhelm the KRG market, despite the fact that they are of relatively poor quality, compared with their Turkish equivalents.

The water crisis

The water crisis in Iraq is also providing Iran with an opportunity to further increase its trade share in the country. Both climate change and the upstream dams Turkey built on the Euphrates and Tigres rivers, which supply Iraq with most of its water needs, caused the country to become more and more dependent on agricultural and foodstuff imports from Iran and Turkey.

Irans exports of agricultural products and foodstuffs to Iraq are worth more than $2bn annually.

Due to the increasing severity of the water crisis and the inability of local producers to compete, this dependency is likely to increase in the coming days, giving Tehran (and Ankara) more leverage to grow its share of the market. This is despite the fact that Iran is also suffering from a water crisis of its own.

However, to maintain and ramp up its exports to Iraq, it is resorting to more sophisticated trade strategies such as re-exporting raw products such as wheat in the value-added form of flour. Turkish officials see this as an Iranian attempt to emulate Turkish trade strategies in Iraq.

Nevertheless, it is unclear to what extent a water-scarce Iran can continue to export agricultural and foodstuff products to Iraq at the current rate.

The role of Turkey and Saudi Arabia

The strengthening of Turkeys trade links with Iraq is also encouraging Iran to invest more in trade with the country. Turkeys trade with Iraq has long been dependent on the cooperation of the KRG, as most goods are transferred between the two countries through the Ibrahim Khalil border-crossing on its border with the Kurdish region.

However, after Erbil proceeded with its plans for an independence referendum despite its neighbours vocal opposition in September 2017, Ankara felt the need to end its dependency on the KRG.

In August 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, reiterated their commitment to building a new, direct border-crossing between Turkey and Iraq in Ovakoy -Faysh Khabur, bypassing the KRG. This border crossing would not only allow Turkey to circumvent the KRG in its trade relations with Iraqs federal government, but it will also allow Turkey to increase its market share in Iraq.

At a time when Iran is hit by a new set of US sanctions, it is logical to assume it will do everything in its capacity to prevent a loss in its trade revenues in Iraq. Over the past months, Iran has already been building new border markets with Iraq to increase religious tourism-driven trade activity.

Saudi Arabia is another driving force behind Irans economic expansion towards Iraq. Riyadh has a new engagement policy, with trade cooperation at the top of its agenda, and it wants to increase its market share in Iraq. It does not have the accumulated geo-economic experience that Tehran has developed over the past decade in Iraq, but it appears to be targetting economic areas where Iraq and Iran have disputes, including energy.

Saudi Arabia is offering to supply Iraq with triple the amount of electricity it is getting from Iran at a significantly lower price (if the contribution of Iranian natural gas exports to power generation in Iraq were to be excluded). With these soft power moves, Riyadh is attempting to cripple Irans economic leverage over Baghdad.

To counter Saudi Arabias soft power strategies and help neutralise the impact of US sanctions, Iran has no option but to increase its trade with Iraq. To achieve this, it will likely engage its loyal Iraqi paramilitary networks in business and reconstruction efforts, transforming them into a lobbying force against Riyadhs trade and investment schemes.

By doing so, Tehran would seek to relieve itself of some of its financial commitments to them and turn them potentially into economically self-sufficient proteges.

The latest wave of protests in Iraq that commenced in July 2018 reflects, in part, how Irans strategy of exporting cheap products have harmed Iraqs economic development. The latest set of sanctions imposed on Iran and the ambitions of other regional actors will only intensify its negative impact over the development of the Iraqi economy in the coming few years.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Multiple police officers engaged shooter in Cincinnati after he opened fire on civilians in a downtown bank.

A gunman opened fire at a downtown bank in the US city of Cincinnati, killing three people and wounding five others.

Police received an emergency call at 9:10am [13:10GMT] on Thursday and several officers responded to the active shooter situation.

The Cincinnati Police Department said in a tweet they were investigating an active shooter/officer involved shooting at the Fifth Third Bank, located in the citys Fountain Square, a busy meeting place.

@CincyPD UPDATE: active shooter/officer involved shooting incident at Fifth Third Bank at 511 Walnut Street in lobby and loading dock. Call received at 9:10am. Five victims injured, three dead. Suspect is dead. Three or four officers responded and engaged the shooter. pic.twitter.com/AlRP6wTANw  Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) September 6, 2018

Cincinnati Police Chief Elliot Isaac told reporters the shooter opened fire at the loading dock of the building before entering the banks lobby where he continued his rampage.

Isaac was quoted as saying there was an exchange of gunfire between our officers and the suspect. He was unable to confirm whether the shooter was killed by police or ended his own life.

The shooters identity and motive were not released.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was actively shooting innocent victims and it was a horrific scene. He offered thoughts and prayers to the victims families.

Cranley said the attack could have been much worse had it not been for the quick response of police officers. Police were there within seconds, literally, he said.

Streets around Fountain Square were closed Thursday morning and the area cordoned off. The situation appeared to be under control shortly before 10am [14:00 GMT].

There was a senseless act of gun violence on the streets of Cincinnati this morning, Ohio Governor John Kasich said on Twitter.

@CincyPD UPDATE: active shooter/officer involved shooting incident at Fifth Third Bank at 511 Walnut Street in lobby and loading dock. Call received at 9:10am. Five victims injured, three dead. Suspect is dead. Three or four officers responded and engaged the shooter. pic.twitter.com/AlRP6wTANw  Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) September 6, 2018

One unnamed witness, a construction worker, told WLWT television he heard at least six gunshots before police arrived.

I just seen people running out of the building, he said. Theres guys with suits laying on the ground, hiding behind big flower pots.

Controversy over mass shootings has been a motivation for growing protests in the United States over the past year.

There have been more than 500 deadly incidents with weapons in the US in 2018, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a website that tracks gun-related attacks.

A rampage in February at the Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people  mostly minors  spurred demonstrations across the country.

Leaders of the movement, including survivors of the Parkland shooting, have called on politicians to stop offering thoughts and prayers and to enact stricter gun control instead.
Margaret Atwood, Elif Shafak and Ali Smith are just two among a group of leading writers piling pressure on the Bahraini king to intervene in the case of a detained political leader who was stripped of the right to read in jail.

Bahrains opposition leader, Hassan Mushaima, 70, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 on charges of attempting to overthrow the government at the height of the Arab Spring.

In a letter to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the group of literary icons urged the monarch to ensure Mushaima receives fair treatment in detention amid reports that his much-cherished collection of 100 books, dictionaries, and religious texts was confiscated while he was locked up in Jau prison.

It comes as his son Ali enters the 37th day of his hunger strike outside Bahrains embassy in London, where he is calling for his fathers to be granted his basic rights, namely access to healthcare, family visits, and his books.

Ali, 35, who has lost 14kg since starting his protest on August 1, said: In some ways when you are prisoner, your books are not less important than your life-saving medication.

While your medicine physically saves your body, the books you have save your mind in a place where life seems to stand still, Ali told Index for Censorship.

My father is a researcher and his books where how he spent his days in prison, they gave him purpose. Taking them away from him felt like a new way to suffocate him in his prison.

The letter calls for the books to be returned to their owner, whose treatment is in breach of the UN resolution 45/111 whereby all prisoners shall have the right to take part in cultural activities and education aimed at the full development of the human personality.

He also said his father is in need of vital medical care as he suffers from several serious illnesses.

Bahrains embassy in London dismissed the allegations of Hassans mistreatment and told Reuters news agency this month he had been given all the medical attention required, including a recent scan to check for cancer.

1/4

On the 29th day of my hunger strike, my father called to inform me that yesterday he was taken unshackled to the hospital for cancer scan after 2 years. Results are expected in a few days.#Bahrain #FreeHassanMushaima pic.twitter.com/udBY10gpVM  Ali Mushaima (@AMushaima) August 28, 2018

In response to a letter of concern by MP Caroline Lucas, the UK Foreign Office said it had raised Mushaimas detention with Bahrains government and said it continues to encourage it to deliver on human rights.
From Michael Flynn to s**thole countries, Donald Trumps presidency has been marred by insider press leaks.

Washington, DC  It is becoming a near-daily occurrence. Leaks from inside US President Donald Trumps White House have both riled and undermined its current occupant and his administration.

But a Wednesday opinion piece in The New York Times, penned anonymously by a senior administration official who is highly critical of Trump, has taken leaking to a new level.

Leaks are nothing new at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. US President Richard Nixons Justice Department took The New York Times and Washington Post to court over the Pentagon Papers, leaked documents showing the US had doubts about its military intervention in Vietnam.

Former President George W Bushs White House was rocked by scandal after the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was leaked to the media following her husbands criticism of the administrations justification for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

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Still, the latest op-ed is unprecedented, something the Times noted in its preamble to the piece. It follows 20 months of constant revelations that continue to surprise.

Here are the top six leaks from the Trump White House:

1) Michael Flynn meets the Russians

Less than a month into his presidency, Trump was forced to fire his national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The whole controversy started after leaks to the media that Flynn had spoken with the Russian ambassador during the transition time between the election and the inauguration, an interaction that raised questions about the Trump teams improper contact with foreign governments.

For weeks, Trump and White House officials denied Flynn had ever spoken with the Russian government. Vice President Mike Pence even made a TV appearance on CBS denying it.

But the leaks didnt stop and eventually, the White House was forced to admit Flynn had spoken with the Russians, a move Trump eventually praised during a press conference on February 16, 2017. Trump complained publicly about the number of leaks around the story saying its an illegal process and the press should be ashamed of themselves.

Flynn later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the investigation into whether or not the Russians interfered in the 2016 US election.

2) Trump calls Africa a s**thole

It was an off-hand remark heard around the world. In a closed-door White House meeting on immigration in January with both Republican and Democratic legislators, Trump sparked a furious reaction from world leaders after a leaked quote made it out of the discussion.

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Trump allegedly asked aloud, Why are we having all these people from s**thole countries come here? According to people present, Trump was referring to Africa, El Salvador and Haiti. He reportedly asked why the US wasnt allowing more people from countries such as Norway, according to the Washington Post account of the meeting.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who was present, confirmed the remarks for reporters, saying Trump said them repeatedly.

Others denied it, but it didnt matter.

The condemnation was swift, with opponents calling Trumps remarks racist, forcing Trump to clarify that while he used tough language during the meeting, he never said the word s**thole.

3) Fire and Fury

There have been and will continue to be many books written about the Trump administration. But the biggest bombshell so far came in January when author Michael Wolffs Fire and Fury hit the shelves a year into the Trump presidency. For months leading up to its publication, Wolff was given extraordinary access to the White House and the book included both on-the-record and leaked conversations with some of the presidents top lieutenants.

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Overall, Fire and Fury paints a White House in constant chaos, with backstabbing and factional fighting that was not only witnessed but reportedly encouraged by Trump.

The president called it a phony book and full of lies. One passage includes a conversation with former top adviser Steve Bannon who called a June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Junior and Russians with ties to the Kremlin treasonous. Bannon later apologised publicly for his comments.

4) Trump talks with Mexico and Australia

In August 2017, the Washington Post leaked two separate conversations between Trump and the leaders of Mexico and Australia. Rather than deny the conversations ever took place, White House officials attacked the Post for publishing them. The transcripts reveal the presidents early attempts to change the US trade relationship with Mexico and deeply concerned about his public image on an assortment of other issues.

During the conversation with former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump addressed his biggest campaign promise to build a wall along the US-Mexican border and make the Mexicans pay for it.

Pena Nieto told Trump his country would never pay for the wall.

You cannot say that to the press, Trump told him. The press is going to go with that and I cannot live with that.

In a conversation with former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Trump railed against a deal the US made under his predecessor, Barack Obama, to allow some refugees held by Australia into the United States.

This shows me to be a dope, Trump told Turnbull in a tense exchange. I am the worlds greatest person that does not want to let people into the country. He later told Turnbull their conversation was the most unpleasant call all day.

5) Comey and Trump  duelling leaks

In May 2017, Trump fired FBI director James Comey whose agents were investigating the presidents campaign over improper, and potentially illegal, contact with the Russian government during the 2016 election.

As Trump faced a furious backlash over the firing and charges of obstructing justice, he threatened to leak tapes of his conversations with Comey. Within days, a story leaked that, while Comey was still FBI director, Trump had asked him to let go of an investigation into Michael Flynns contact with the Russians.

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

A month later, during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Comey revealed that, in fact, he was the one who leaked a de-classified memo of the conversation to the press after Trumps threat of tapes. Comey said he did it because he hoped it would prompt the appointment of a special counsel to look into the mounting accusations that Trump campaign officials colluded with Moscow.

Thats exactly what happened.

Less than a week later, former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed to the job. His investigation has netted four Trump campaign officials and led to the indictments of more than two dozen Russian citizens.

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The White House later admitted that, contrary to Trumps assertions, there were no tapes of the Comey conversations.

6) Trump reveals Kim Jong-un meeting

One of the most overlooked themes in this particular administration is that often the leaks are not only coming from inside the White House but inside the Oval Office itself. Unlike previous administrations, the president seems eager to be the first person to reveal any big news, often via Twitter, no matter how sensitive.

Case in point, the stunning revelation that Trump would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In March, a South Korean delegation came to the White House to brief officials about a meeting with the North Korean government, with which the US has no formal diplomatic relations. What many journalists didnt know at the time was they brought a message from Kim to Trump.

The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 10, 2018

In a surprise appearance that afternoon, Trump popped his head into the briefing room, an unorthodox move even for him. He told a handful of confused journalists there would be a big announcement by the South Koreans later that day.

Sure enough, that evening, the South Korean delegation emerged from the West Wing and told the world about the request for an historic meeting with Kim.

On June 12th, Trump became the first sitting US president to meet a North Korean leader when he shook hands with Kim in Singapore.
Jair Bolsonaro suffers grave internal wounds in stabbing and could take at least two months to recover, say doctors.

The leading candidate in Brazils presidential race has been transferred to the Albert Einstein Israelite hospital in Sao Paulo for further treatment after being stabbed at a campaign rally, according to local media.

Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate in Brazils October 7 presidential election, was attacked in the city of Juiz de Fora, on Thursday.

On Friday morning, the 63-year-old underwent a roughly 500km trip after undergoing emergency surgery to address a perforated liver, according to 24-hour Brazilian news channel GloboNews.

Bolsonaro could take two months to fully recover, said Dr Luiz Henrique Borsato, who operated on him.

His internal wounds were grave and put the patients life at risk, Borsato said.

Videos shared on social media showed Bolsonaro, whose agenda includes cracking down on crime in Latin Americas largest country, being carried through a crowd by his supporters when he is suddenly stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach.

The attacker was arrested immediately.

He was identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira, 40, who said he was carrying out a divine mission, a mission from God, according to Luis Boundens, head of a union of federal police officers.

Oliveira was affiliated with the left wing Socialism and Liberty Party from 2007 to 2014, the party said in a written statement, in which it repudiated the violence.

Authorities are investigating the suspects mental health, police said.

Stronger than ever

Bolsonaros son, Flavio, said in a tweet late on Thursday that his father was stronger than ever and ready to be elected in October.

Jair Bolsonaro esta mais forte do que nunca e pronto para ser eleito Presidente do Brasil no 1 TURNO!

Deus acaba de nos dar mais um sinal de que o bem vencera o mal!

Obrigado a todos que nos deram forca nesse momento muito dificil!

Brasil acima de tudo, Deus acima de todos! pic.twitter.com/iijlCFBhE1  Flavio Bolsonaro (@FlavioBolsonaro) September 7, 2018

I just want to send a message to the thugs who tried to ruin the life of a family man, a guy who is the hope for millions of Brazilians: You just elected him president. He will win in the first round, Flavio Bolsonaro said on Friday, speaking outside the hospital where his father was being treated.

Bolsonaro is the frontrunner in the first round of the presidential elections next month with 22 percent support, according to a poll published by the Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics (IBOPE), a private media company in Brazil.

It was the first public opinion poll since former president and popular leftist, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was barred from running by Brazils electoral court on September 1.

Lula, who was previously leading the opinion polls, is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for fraud related to a corruption scandal.

Bolsonaros rivals in the race expressed outrage at the attack.

Fernando Haddad, who will likely replace Lula as the presidential candidate of the Workers Party, said the stabbing was a shame and a horror.

President Michel Temer and Bolsonaros electoral rivals Ciro Gomes, Marina Silva, and Geraldo Alckmin all condemned the violence.

Haddad has also been charged with corruption and came in last with six percent in the Ibope poll, which, however, also found that a third of Brazils population is undecided.
Supreme Court reverses its 2013 judgement saying discrimination on basis of sexual orientation violates rights.

New Delhi, India  Indias Supreme Court has decriminalised gay sex in a landmark ruling.

The court heard petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377  a colonial-era law under which a same-sex relationship is an unnatural offence punishable by a 10-year jail term.

Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violates fundamental rights, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who was head of the five-judge bench, said in Thursdays ruling.

The constitution is a living organic document  pragmatic interpretation has to be given to combat rigorous inequality and injustice. Social morality cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual. Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality.

Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violates fundamental rights Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra

Thursdays judgement is a shot in the arm for Indias gay community.

We become equal citizens with the removal of Section 377. Equal rights are accessible for us with this decriminalisation, one of the petitioners in the case, Ashok Row Kavi, told Al Jazeera.

Hundreds of LGBTQ campaigners, who had gathered outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, broke into loud cheers as news of the ruling reached them.

https://twitter.com/dhrubo127/status/1037591303301685248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Activists say the law banning homosexuality had been used to harass and target the community.

This section 377 is a terrible colonial legacy, Menaka Guruswamy, one of the lawyers representing the petitioners, had argued in court in July.

She had urged the judges to emancipate a class of people who have not been given the promises of our Constitution.

Historic moment

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has an overwhelming majority in parliament, has been silent on the issue of homosexuality so far. The government told the top court it would leave the decision to the wisdom of the court.

There are no official figures on the number of harassment cases as victims are scared to report crimes, fearing section 377 will be used against them.

Activist Kavis Humsafar Trust, a charity that works with Indias LGBTQ community, included a crises data report in its petition to the top court.

It said less than 20 percent of those surveyed had publicly revealed their sexual identity while two out of every five homosexuals in the country have faced blackmail after the top court had re-criminalised homosexuality in 2013.

Neighbouring China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997 and with this landmark ruling in India, a majority of Asians now will not face criminal charges for their sexual identities.

It is indeed a historic moment for India, the worlds largest democracy and a global power on the rise. So the world is watching, and its neighbours are watching, Lieu Anh Vu, Asia coordinator at the Geneva-based International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), told Al Jazeera.

LGBTI communities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh are also working to repeal similar remnants of British colonisation in their own country and the ruling from India will feed into more dialogues, at least among LGBTI civil society across these countries, she added.

Take me as I am says the Chief Justice pronouncing his order on #Section377 . Is this the most beautiful, romantic judgdement ever delivered   Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) September 6, 2018

Homosexual acts are still illegal in most of Indias neighbouring countries, including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Conservative Indians

The ruling comes as a major respite but conservative Indians might not change their perception of the gay community, say activists.

Violence against homosexuals and transgender individuals in India in recent years has ranged from physical beatings and sexual assault to blackmail, bullying and extortion. Perpetrators of the violence have been family members, the general public and the police, say rights campaigners.

An anti-discrimination law would further boost efforts to fight homophobia in the deeply conservative nation, according to activists.

Activists such as Kavi advocate a more pragmatic approach.

You cant break the fortress in one go. Open the door. If the door gets opened, you are inside. Be inside and fight it out, he said.

Gay-rights activists in India have been posting congratulatory messages on Twitter and Facebook since the court ruled on Thursday that gay sex was not a crime.

#Section377 Chandrachud  To deny the LGBT community their right to expression is also violative of the fundamental right to privacy. Human sexuality cannot be confined to a binary existence.  sflc.in (@SFLCin) September 6, 2018

The ruling is expected to have wide-ranging implications in the months to come, including its effect on the transgender community.

Lawyers arguing in the top court in July for the ban to be scrapped also referred to the rich regional heritage of cultural and religious depictions of homosexual relations.

Visitors to the ancient temples of Khajuraho in southern India, built in the 10th century, can find homosexual couples immortalised in its stone carvings.

Many Indian scriptures and ancient rulers, according to some historians, did not criminalise romantic or sexual relations between members of the same gender. Transgender individuals held high positions in courts of Mughal rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries.

There was no persistent homophobia in Indic [Indian subcontinent] faith systems. There were no ancient injunctions against homosexuals or transgenders, known as Hijras, here. Societal homophobia that we see now seems to have been injected by the introduction of this anti-homosexual law, Section 377, by colonial British rulers, said Kavi.
The archaic law criminalises same-sex intercourse and LGBTQ rights groups have petitioned the court to review the law.

Indias Supreme Court is expected to rule on an archaic law that criminalises gay sex.

The countrys LGBTQ community is hopeful that the controversial ban, which Indias top court reinstated in 2013 after four years of decriminalisation, will be struck down on Thursday.

In July this year, the court heard a series of petitions asking it to review a previous ruling that upheld the 1861 British colonial-era law, under which unnatural sex is a criminal act punishable by a 10-year prison term and a fine.

A five-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, will deliver the ruling, according to the cause-list on the court website.

The mood is extremely optimistic. The judges have been extremely empathetic, Akhilesh Godi, one of the petitioners in the case, told Reuters news agency. It is not only about decriminalising but recognising our fundamental rights.

In 2009, the Delhi High Court declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional. But, four years later, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, saying any amendment must be made by parliament and not the judiciary.

Several individuals and LGBTQ rights groups then petitioned the Supreme Court to review that decision, saying members of the community lived in fear of being prosecuted.

The ruling is expected to decriminalise gay sex and lead to a change in the governments stance on homosexuality.

In its hearings, the court said no one should have to live in fear because of their sexuality, according to broadcaster NDTV.

The government, which had earlier supported the anti-gay sex law, said it left it to the judges to decide whether the law was constitutional.
Protests have raged in the oil-rich province of Basra for several weeks against poor services and lack of jobs.

Iraqi authorities have cancelled a planned curfew in the southern city of Basra minutes before it was to start, following the blocking of the Umm Qasr port by demonstrators earlier on Thursday.

The Basra Operations Command confirmed to Reuters calling off the curfew, which was due to start at 3pm local time (12:00GMT) as a measure to quell weeks-long protests which had intensified over the past week.

One protester succumbed to his wounds after being shot in the head by security forces with a smoke grenade the night before, bringing the death toll this week to eight people. At least 25 people were also injured on Wednesday.

Dozens of protesters on Thursday prevented the entry and exit of trucks loaded with goods to and from the port, forcing it to halt all operations. They chanted slogans against the security forces for their use of live ammunition against them.

Iraq is largely dependent on Umm Qasr for imported food; the port receives grain, vegetable oil and sugar shipments.

Protesters also blocked the highway from Basra to Baghdad and set fire to the main provincial government building where they had been demonstrating for a third night.

Southern Iraq, the heartland of the Shia majority, has erupted in unrest in recent weeks as protesters express their rage over collapsing infrastructure, power cuts and corruption.

Public anger has grown at a time when politicians are struggling to form a new government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in May. Residents of the south complain of decades of neglect in the region that produces the bulk of Iraqs oil wealth.

Residents in Basra, a city of more than two million people, say the water supply has become contaminated with salt, making them vulnerable and desperate in the hot summer months.
At least eight dead and dozens missing after earthquake triggers multiple landslides in Hokkaido island.

A powerful magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on Thursday, killing eight people, collapsing homes, and triggering landslides that have left dozens missing.

Multiple, large-scale landslides struck the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of a powerful typhoon that surged through Japan earlier this week.

Aerial views showed dozens of houses destroyed at the bottom of a hill that was engulfed by a landslide, with a rescue helicopter winching a resident to safety.

Around three million homes lost power after the quake damaged a major thermal plant supplying the region.

The Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido, which was not operational before the quake, was forced to turn to emergency back-up power to keep its cooling system working, said broadcaster NHK.

There was a sudden, extreme jolt. I felt it went sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three minutes, Kazuo Kibayashi, 51, a town official at hard-hit Abira town, told AFP news agency.

It stopped before shaking started again. I felt it come in two waves. I am 51, and I have never experienced anything like this. I thought my house was going to collapse. Everything inside my house was all jumbled up. I didnt have time to even start cleaning, he added.

People inspect an area damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo on Hokkaido island [Kyodo/via Reuters]

Moments after the initial quake, an aftershock measuring 5.3 rocked the area and dozens more aftershocks followed throughout the night and into the morning.

Akira Fukui, from the main city of Sapporo, told AFP: I woke up around 3am with a vertical jolt. I put the light on but it went out shortly afterwards. All the traffic lights are out and theres no power at work.

No tsunami warning was issued after the relatively shallow quake, which struck 62km southeast of the regional capital Sapporo.

Rescue workers search for survivors after a landslide on Hokkaido [Kyodo/via Reuters]

Around 20,000 rescue workers, including police and members of the Self-Defence Forces (SDF), were responding to the disaster, government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said. Another 20,000 SDF troops are expected to join the effort.

We will do our best to save lives, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after an emergency cabinet meeting.

NHK reported that eight people had lost their lives, six of them in the village of Atsuma, where the landslide engulfed the homes. Nearly 40 people were still missing, the broadcaster added.

Local media said the dead also included an 82-year-old man who fell down the stairs at his home during the quake and that around 130 people had sustained minor injuries.

I urge people in areas shaken by strong quakes to stay calm, pay attention to evacuation information and help each other, Suga added.

Japan is still recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday, claiming at least 11 lives and causing major damage to the regions main airport.

Ring of fire

Officials warned of the danger of fresh quakes.

Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days (of a big one), said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring earthquakes and tsunamis at the meteorological agency.

The risk of housing collapses and landslides had increased, he said, urging residents to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas.

The earthquake also caused travel disruption, with all flights cancelled from Sapporos main Chitose airport, where the quake brought down part of a ceiling and burst a water pipe. Local buses and trains and bullet train services were halted.

Houses damaged by the post-earthquake landslide are seen in Atsuma [Kyodo/via Reuters]

Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said it would take at least a week for power to be restored to nearly three million homes after a fire in the areas largest thermal plant was discovered.

And the national meteorological agency warned that more bad weather could be on the way for Hokkaido, urging people to be vigilant for landslides, high tides and heavy rain.

Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where many of the worlds earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

In June, a deadly tremor rocked the Osaka region, killing five people and injuring more than 350.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.
The number of asylum-seekers attempting to cross the Hungarian border has plummeted following a series of anti-migrant measures passed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his nationalist government.

In the first six months of the year, border police either turned away or arrested more than 3,000 migrants and refugees, according to data released on Thursday by local rights monitor group the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (HHC).

That figure is down from more than 40,000 in the 18 months prior as a result of push-backs, a process that allows border police to physically remove asylum seekers within 8km of the border without due process.





Hungary has in recent years become a less viable option for asylum seekers fleeing war-torn Middle Eastern countries, following a slew of laws making it nearly impossible for migrants and refugees to resettle there.

According to the HHC, Hungary accepted just 430 asylum applications from January to July, down from 3,397 for all of 2017, while granting asylum to only 310 migrants compared with 1,216 during the same period.

In addition to stricter border laws and a 175-km wire fence along the Hungarian-Serbian border, Hungary this year also passed the Stop Soros bill, which allows for the imprisonment of anybody aiding undocumented migrants.

As a result, a lot of people have decided to give up, Andras Lederer, information and advocacy officer for the Hungarian Helsinki Committees refugee programme, told Al Jazeera.

They literally grab someone, put them in a police car, drive them to the border and push them out, he said.

You cant appeal against it. The whole thing takes 15 to 20 minutes and there is nothing the people can do about it.

Push-back laws





Orbans hardline stance and subsequent crackdown on migrants and refugees have been heavily criticised by numerous rights groups and international organisations, including the UNHCR and the Council of Europes Human Rights Commissioner as a violation of fundamental human rights.

The so-called push-back laws passed in July 2016 allow police to engage apprehended asylum seekers. Rights groups have cited hundreds of claims that such removals are often violent and can occur nowhere near the borders.

The key thing here is that no matter what legislation they pass, the government is trying to deter people from coming into Hungary, whether its through the practice of violently pushing people back across the borders, or making life miserable for those who do get into the transit zones, said Lydia Gall, Eastern EU and Balkans researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Last month, HRW reported Hungarian authorities had stopped food distribution for rejected asylum seekers held in transit zones on the countrys border with Serbia, something that its Immigration and Asylum Office later argued it was under no obligation to provide.

Hungary is not responsible for those who have not requested asylum and those whose requests have been denied. Theres no free lunch for illegal immigrants, government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote in a post.
Nicaragua police under threat for criticising deadly crackdown

Rights groups say officers face danger for speaking out against violent repression of protests that have killed at least 300 people and wounded thousands of others in past five months.
The far right has drawn significant support ahead of polls, politicising issues such as migration and a rise in crime.

Swedes are heading to the polls on Sunday in elections which are expected to see the far-right Sweden Democrats make historic gains.

The current government, formed as a coalition between the centre-left Social Democrats and Green Party after the 2014 elections, could be unseated owing to the growing popularity of the Sweden Democrats and right-wing Moderate Party.

Headed by incumbent prime minister Stefan Lofven, Social Democrats is Swedens oldest party. While some polls suggest that it could remain the largest, challenges are mounting.

After months of rising support, Sweden Democrats is currently polling at 24.8 percent, making the anti-immigration party the largest in the field, according to a recent YouGov tally.

The party system in the country has undergone change and is undergoing change. For decades, the whole of that period has been about left against right. Nicholas Aylott, associate professor of political science at Sodertorn University

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While confidence in the Social Democrats has slumped, the Left Party has reached nearly 10 percent in the polls and hopes to enter a potential coalition of left-leaning and progressive parties.

With anti-migrant, far-right and populist parties garnering strong performances across the European Union thus far in 2018, refugees have again become a central issue for voters.

How does voting work?

The Riksdag, Swedens parliament, has 349 seats, which are decided through a proportional vote. Of that total, the countrys 29 constituencies will decide 310 seats, while the remaining seats are divvied up to match each partys share of the total national vote.

A party must receive at least four percent of votes to be assigned a seat.

Representatives from eight parties currently have the 349 seats  Social Democrats, Moderate Party, Sweden Democrats, Green Party, Centre Party, Left Party, Liberals and Christian Democrats.

While the centre-left is represented by Social Democrats and the Greens, a centre-right political alliance comprises the Moderates, Centre Party, Liberals and Christian Democrats. Both blocs are polling around 40 percent, with the left slightly in lead.

Sweden has had a historically high voter turnout, with more than 85 percent of eligible voters casting their votes during the 2014 elections. That year, more than 2.4 million people voted early.

Centre Party leader Annie Loof casts her vote in advance, at a polling station in central Stockholm, Sweden [Janerik Henriksson/TT News Agency/via Reuters]

This year, according to a preliminary tally, upwards of 7.6 million people  slightly more than half of them women  are registered to vote in the Riksdag elections.

Of that total, around 161,000 Swedes living abroad are eligible to vote.

But unlike many European countries, residents without Swedish citizenship are entitled to vote in municipal elections.

Where does Sweden stand on refugees?

Sweden absorbed 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015, the onset of the refugee crisis, which saw upwards of a million refugees and migrants reach Europe.

Swedens long-held reputation as a liberal bastion in Europe has been challenged by the recent rise of anti-refugee sentiment, which has prompted the current coalition to impose stricter measures on the asylum process and border control.

In May, the government announced plans to cut, almost by half, the number of refugees and migrants entering the country.

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At the time, Immigration Minister Helene Fritzon said Sweden should accept between 14,000 and 15,000 refugees a year, as opposed to the 27,000 it took in last year.

Even if the number of asylum seekers has dropped significantly in Sweden, it is significantly higher than [what it should be given] our population share in Europe, she told reporters at the time.

Is the far right going to succeed?

The Sweden Democrats, established in 1989, took just under 13 percent of the vote in 2014 and currently holds 42 seats in the Riksdag.

Campaigning on anti-refugee positions and a pledge to crack down on crime, the partys popularity has swelled during the lead-up to this years elections.

In the past, critics have lambasted the Sweden Democrats links to neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups, something its leader, Jimmie Akesson, has argued is no longer an issue.

Protestors demonstrate against Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson during his campaign visit to Gothenburg on August 28 [Adam Ihse/TT News Agency/via Reuters]

In its official platform, the party says its anti-migrant policies are driven by love and confidence in our country.

If we are the second biggest or biggest party in parliament and the other parties still believe we can be ignored, and pretend we dont exist, then we must flex our muscles, Akesson told Reuters in an interview earlier this year.

While hardline calls to freeze migration drew fresh support, Sweden Democrats promise to hold a potential EU referendum has been less popular.

Former Prime Minister Carl Bildt described the proposed referendum as the biggest single danger to Swedens future prosperity.

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Nicholas Aylott, an associate professor of political science at Sodertorn University, said the rise of the Sweden Democrats reflects a disruption of the countrys political tradition.

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[The] party system in the country has undergone change and is undergoing change, he told Al Jazeera. For decades, the whole of that period has been about left against right.

Speaking of the Sweden Democrats potentially entering a coalition, he added: It would be an absolutely enormous change, a huge event in the countrys political history.

How has crime become a campaign theme?

A wave of crime has impacted the election discourse, especially after the August 13 torching of some 80 vehicles in Gothenburg and other towns.

Society will always act hard against this and we must continue to do so  We will do what needs to be done to take care of it and go in hard against this crime, Lofven, the prime minister, told Swedish radio at the time.

In the last two years, dozens of people have been killed in what was described as gang violence in Stockholm and other large cities.

Swedish Left Party leader Jonas Sjostedt meets with voters during an election campaign visit [Adam Ihse/TT News Agency/via Reuters]

According to official statistics, 129 shootings took place in Stockholm in 2017 and 19 people were killed, nearly twice the number of those who died in similar incidents the year before.

The government responded by calling for harsher punishment for gun crimes and sexual assault.

In early July, political leaders announced crisis talks with police over the escalating violence.

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With fears of violence spreading, Sweden Democrats seized the opportunity to link immigration and crime, arguing migrants are responsible for the rise.

In its online platform, the party argues that serious crimes should [receive] severe punishment and that foreign citizens who commit crimes in Sweden should be expelled.

Why is climate change a central issue?

Climate change thrust into the public discourse after the country endured wildfires and record temperatures throughout the summer.

The Green Party, which entered a coalition with the Social Democrats after the 2014 elections, has pushed for environmentally friendly policies and measures against climate change during the last four years.

A firefighting helicopter drops water over the fire in Ljusdal, Sweden on July 18, 2018. The fire was one of 40 wildfires in Sweden due to dry weather [Maja Suslin/EPA]

By 2050, Sweden hopes to create a society with no net greenhouse gas emissions, and the country leads the EU in climate ranking, according to an international survey published in June.

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The Sweden Democrats expressed scepticism, and its leader, Akesson, criticised other politicians for calling for extensive measures after what he described as one summer of hot weather.

The far-right party has also vowed to introduce cheaper petrol prices.

Other key issues in the election include healthcare, education and the countrys social welfare system.
Court hands sentences ranging from seven years to life for raping aid workers and killing a local journalist.

A South Sudanese military court has handed out jail sentences to 10 soldiers for the rape of foreign aid workers and murder of a local journalist in 2016.

Eleven soldiers were on trial but one was set free due to the lack of charges against him.

In Thursdays ruling, where the sentences handed down ranged from seven years to life, the court also ordered the government to pay damages to the victims.

The case was widely seen as a test of will by President Salva Kiirs government to bring accountability to a military that has long drawn accusations of widespread rights violations and a culture of impunity.

The attack, one of the worst on aid workers in South Sudans civil war, took place in July 2016 as President Kiirs troops won a three-day battle over opposition forces loyal to former vice president Riek Machar in the capital Juba.

Mike Woodward, manager of the Terrain Hotel where the attack happened, told a court last year that between 50 to 100 soldiers arrived at the hotel in the afternoon and began looting an hour later.

Five women working with humanitarian organisations were then raped. John Gatluak was shot at 6:15pm, said Woodward.

Witnesses told Reuters news agency that victims phoned UN peacekeepers stationed a mile away and asked for help which did not arrive.

The military head of the UN peacekeeping mission was sacked and the political head resigned over the incident.
Syrias Idlib faces humanitarian disaster as offensive looms

Turkey wants to ensure offensive against last remaining rebel-held province will be as limited as possible.
More than 2,900 children were recently separated from their parents prompting international outrage.

The Trump administration is seeking to allow US authorities to keep immigrant children in detention longer than the current 20-day limit, a move critics denounced as sickening and cruel.

The US government said on Thursday it plans to abandon a long-standing federal court agreement that strictly defines the conditions under which minors can be held in immigration detention facilities.

Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the  ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said.

The announcement also proposed new rules that would allow US authorities to detain minors for the duration of their families immigration proceedings.

The regulations aim to end the Flores settlement, a 1997 court ruling that limits the length of time minors can be detained to 20 days and sets out the conditions that must be afforded to them.





The agreement requires the government release children to their parents, relatives or qualified programmes without unnecessary delay and to keep children in the least restrictive conditions possible while in custody, including separating them from adult detainees. In 2015, the agreement was expanded to cover children detained while with their parents.

Thousands separated

The Flores agreement became an issue earlier this year when the Trump administration adopted a zero-tolerance policy of prosecuting anyone caught crossing illegally.

More than 2,900 children were separated from their parents and held in harsh conditions, prompting international outrage and leading a federal judge to order reunification of the families in June.

More than 500 children were still separated from their parents in late August, according to reports.

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The Trump administration plans to publish new regulations in the Federal Register on Friday, which will attempt to replace the Flores settlement.

The proposed regulations will also allow the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to detain children in facilities not falling under state licensing regulations, a publicly available copy said.

Trauma for children

Representative Paul Ryan, the highest-ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives, said he just heard about it [proposed regulations] this morning.

My positions been really clear about this: we should not be separating people at the border. I believe that the administration also agrees, Ryan said.

The move angered immigrant rights activists and is likely to trigger another round of court battles.

It is sickening to see the United States government looking for ways to jail more children for longer, said Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Immigrants Rights Project.

And its yet another example of the Trump administrations hostility toward immigrants resulting in a policy incompatible with the most basic human values.

Jadwat accused the administration of trying to expand the trauma it is inflicting on these children in order to deter other people from coming to the country.

Rachel Prandini, staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, told The Associated Press the erosion of Flores protections would subject children to worsening conditions.

The Trump administrations decision to exacerbate the suffering of kids  by imposing the cruel policy of family separation earlier this summer and now with this rule change to vastly expand detention of children  is horrifying, she said.
London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill a former Russian spy.

British Security Minister Ben Wallace has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had ultimate responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England in March.

London has accused two members of Russias military intelligence service of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern city of Salisbury in March.

Asked if Putin bore responsibility, Wallace said: Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence.

He told BBC radio on Thursday: I dont think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isnt in control of his state And the GRU is without doubt not rogue.

Prime Minister Theresa May also confirmed the involvement of Russias military intelligence on Wednesday but did not accuse Putin directly.

Security Council

British prosecutors issued arrest warrants on Wednesday for Alexander Petrov and Russian Boshirov, charging them with conspiracy to murder.

They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.

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Britain will present its evidence at a UN Security Council meeting on Thursday, a spokesman for Theresa May told reporters.

We have called for a Security Council meeting to take place on Thursday so we can update the Council on the progress of the Salisbury investigation, he said.

The meeting is due to take place around 1530 GMT, he added.

The US ambassador to London, Woody Johnson, and the Australian government have also offered their support for Britains stance against Russia.

Wallace said his government would seek to maintain the pressure on Russia to say that the behaviour weve seen is totally unacceptable.

Options include more sanctions, however, he noted that Russia would be there and would likely use its veto on any statement that might arise.

Doubts and questions

Russia has questioned the charges.

The names published by the media, like their photographs, mean nothing to us, Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministrys spokeswoman, told TASS news agency.

The Russian side has numerous questions for London.

Zakharova demanded British authorities work with Moscow on the case.

Once again we call on the British side to move away from public accusations and informational manipulations towards practical collaboration of law enforcement agencies, she said.
UK envoy to UN says British government has clear evidence of Russian state involvement in failed assassination.

The United Kingdom has asked Interpol to issue arrest warrants for two men accused of working for Russian intelligence and are wanted for the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury.

In a statement before the UN Security Council, UK Ambassador Karen Pierce reiterated on Thursday that the British government has clear evidence of Russian state involvement in the attack and the use of the Novichok chemical weapon against former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia.





There is an established pattern of malign Russian behaviour perpetrated by military and intelligence agencies overseas, Pierce said.

They work in a parallel universe where the normal rules of international affairs are inverted.

Full confidence

Pierces strongly worded statement came as the UK, France, Germany, Canada and the United States pledged to work to disrupt the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks.

In a joint statement, the countries said they backed Britains assessment that Russian officers were behind the Skripal attack.

We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level, it said, adding they urged Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme.

UKs UN Ambassador Karen Pierce accused Russia of operating in a parallel universe [AP]

Yesterdays announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens, and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies.

Mythical chemical

In response, Russias ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, accused London of repeated lies during the investigation.





He told the Security Council the allegations were unfounded and mendacious, and referred to the Novichok nerve agent as mythical.

Nebenzia also said the accusations intended to create hysteria against Moscow.

The UK government has refused Russias offer to join in the investigation of the case, he added.

Pierce responded, You dont recruit an arsonist to put out a fire. You especially dont do that when the fire is one they caused.

On Wednesday, UK prosecutors announced they were charging two suspects  identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  for the attack.

The Skripals were poisoned with the military-grade nerve agent Novichok  developed by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 80s  in March but survived after spending weeks in hospital.

The failed attack sparked an international diplomatic crisis with Russia being accused of responsibility by several countries  allegations Moscow has repeatedly denied.
"What do you think about ... creating an awesome festival where only non-men are welcome until ALL men learn how to behave?" This comes from the article titled "Women Cheer as Sweden's Man-Free Music Festival Kicks Off." Initiated as a response to the wave of sexual assaults at Swedish festivals in recent years, only female bands are performing, and "neither male security guards nor journalists are allowed to enter." However, "transgender women [sic] born as men are allowed to attend. Only men who identify with the sex they were born with, also called cis men, are banned."

In fact, the misandry has led the Swedish Equality Ombudsman, a government agency that promotes equal rights, to "examine whether the festival is compatible with discrimination laws."

It appears that the left-wing feminist movement has become the perpetrator of man-hatred, all in the name of protecting women. Yet overlooked by the advocates of the man-free festival is that it was a plethora of Muslim migrants who perpetrated the dreadful assaults and rapes. These migrants come from societies where this is considered an acceptable way to treat women. In fact, "no issue is taken with toxic Islamic masculinity. This thinly-veiled excuse-making may be considered an attempt at dispelling anti-Islamic bigotry. Yet, holding woefully low standards for men based on their background is an equally poor form of bigotry."

Thus, the elephant in the room is being deliberately ignored. Accusations of bigotry must be avoided at all costs. It is easier to inflict collective blame than to deal with the actual guilty parties.

By scapegoating all men, ignored is the fact that Sweden is not providing the proper security to protect its women from sexual assaults. At the same time, the country is spending vast sums of money to support more migrants from the Muslim world. They bring their culture and religion to bear, and it is decidedly anti-female.

No one in authority dares question why there has been an increase in sexual assaults. No one dares wonder why the Islamic world does nothing to assist its own brethren while the West is expected to pick up the tab.

Reason and logic are vanquished as all men are targeted as sexual predators. Instead of connecting the increase of sexual assaults that has occurred since the mostly Muslim migrants were invited into the country, left-wing ideology takes hold, and innocent men are denigrated, sexes are separated, and biology is ignored.

Some background: "FKP Scorpio, organizers for Sweden's Bravalla Festival officially announced the end of the country's largest and most popular music festival. Following last year's event, organizers said the festival would be canceled for 2018 after an excess of sexual assaults."

First question: Why now? What accounts for the sudden increase of sexual assaults since this festival first began in 2013? It is true that rapes had been reported at Swedish music festivals at Arvika in 2006 and 2010.

But "after the nation's parliament decided to transform Sweden with mass immigration into a multicultural society, violent crime has increased by 300 per cent and rapes by 1,472 per cent. Now, Sweden has the worst rates of physical and sexual violence committed against women in the European Union (EU), according to a survey by the EU's rights agency."

Swedish authorities have been repeatedly slammed for their inaction. In an effort to look proactive they handed out wristbands with 'don't grope' written on them at the Bravalla festival. Several girls who were assaulted were wearing the wristband, which did not offer them much protection. Last month, an official report by Swedish police into the migrant sex attack phenomenon blamed 'Nordic alcohol culture' and the 'non-traditional gender roles' of European women for the growing problem. Migrants, the police said, might not be able to 'handle the alcohol', simply feel 'horny', have 'ignorance of the consequences for the girls', 'have misplaced feelings', be 'expressing anger in this way', or be acting due to 'peer pressure'.

Meanwhile, "Sweden has a critical shortage of police officers, which means that it is easy to commit crimes and get away with them. If one would, against all expectations, get caught, the punishment in Sweden is not harsh. If someone is convicted of rape, he would be incarcerated from two to six years. In 2015, the proportion of rapes where the police actually found the suspect was 14%. This means that in 86% of the rapes, the rapist got away. The police could simply not do their job because of lack of resources and poor leadership."

Many might say that it is racist to associate migrants with sexual crimes. The Swedish police published a report in June 2016 which gave a status report of sexual abuse. In the report, one can read the following quote: 'In cases where the crimes were carried out by offenders in a larger group in public places and in public swimming pools the perpetrators have been mainly youngsters who have applied for or have recently received asylum in Sweden.'

In February 2016, "mass immigration continued to claim victims in Sweden. Murder, assaults and rape have become everyday occurrences in this small country, with a population just short of ten million, which in 2015 opened its doors to almost 163,000 immigrants. The latest victim is 22-year-old Alexandra Mezher. She was stabbed to death last week by a so-called unaccompanied refugee child at the asylum house where she worked."

Moreover, "[m]igrant sex attacks at music festivals are not limited to Sweden. Breitbart London reported in June on a similar attack at the Schlossgrabenfest music festival in Darmstadt, Germany, which was likened to the Cologne attacks in which over 1,000 men and women were assaulted and robbed."

It is important to factor in the Islamic belief that if a woman is uncovered, it is acceptable to assault her. This idea can be directly linked to "a senior Muslim cleric in Australia, Shek Taj Aldin al-Hilali who compares women who do not wear a headscarf to 'uncovered meat', implying that they invited sexual assault."

In addition, the British Abduljalil Sajid, a senior figure in the Muslim Council of Britain, offered support for Sheikh Taj Din al-Hilali's views, saying "loose women like prostitutes encourage men to be immoral."

Moreover, the Karbala in Iraq imposes its version of modest dress on female visitors. Thus, "the council agreed not to allow visitors to enter without the hijab. [It also took] the decision to ban music in the holy city, as well as dancing and tight clothes, with God's permission. And women will not be able to go out without an abaya or whilst wearing makeup."

There is an undeniable truth that two diametrically opposed societies are on a major collision course, and the accommodating group is being destroyed because of its consideration and respect, which is being met with violence and destruction. There is also the insertion of radical feminism in the mix, which basically promotes its own agenda and uses the opportunity to co-opt impressionable young women.

That all this is being ignored and replaced with men-free spaces is an invitation to disregard the real problem. Until immigrants are properly assimilated into Western culture and taught genuine respect of women, the violence will not be curtailed.

In many cases, male-only and female-only venues have served people well  that is, until radical left-wing militant ideology is promoted. Boy Scouts are no longer just for boys. It is important to question the underlying reason for the left's advocating such events. Is it to scapegoat or to safeguard? Does such expression of discrimination against all men aid and abet the Muslim agenda of destroying the Western civilization from within? Are left-wing radicals and the Muslim world helping each other's causes while promoting their own?

Instead of Swedish officials dealing realistically with the issue, they offer an opening to what I call ideological abuse  now these young women accept that all men are sexual predators except those men who claim they are women.

Confusing and dangerous at best.

The jihadist world repeatedly claims that it will infiltrate the West to destroy it. Extremist feminists have publicly acknowledged that the traditional family structure is to be utterly restructured. What clever deception by the red-green axis as they exploit these young impressionable girls who do not understand how they are being used and who do not have the information or critical thinking skills to refute these destructive ideas.

Perhaps the worst culprits are the Western countries who allow it to happen. A country is supposed to protect its young. When it fails that, it has doomed itself. If a country stops honoring the inviolable promise to protect its children, it will surely lose them in the long run to one ideology or another.

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com.
In the year 410, Alaric and his Goths sacked Rome. For 800 years, Rome had not suffered siege and sack. Within 30 years, the Western Roman Empire effectively vanished, becoming a bundle of new Germanic kingdoms. The change plunged the West into a darkened age. But it also reinvigorated Europe to have a brilliant future.

Historian Michael Kulikowski offers a new take on the Western Empire's fall. He proposes that the Western Roman Empire accidently committed suicide.

Like the Eastern Roman Empire, the Western Empire was basically stable and should have lasted. But it didn't. The pettiness and vitriol of powerful fools destroyed a great empire from the inside. We face that same risk.

The Roman Empire always had a fundamental problem: succession. How does the empire peacefully transfer power from one competent emperor to the next? The Romans never solved this problem. Some emperors reigned for decades, others for weeks. Some emperors died in bed, but most were murdered.

The Empire was too massively coherent for any given emperor to do much damage. However, in the time of Alaric, supreme idiocy triggered the West's downfall.

Our founding fathers found a clever solution to the Romans' problem of succession. This was our Electoral College. When it failed, in 1860, disputed succession gave us secession and the Civil War. The Romans were all too familiar with civil war.

In 212, the Roman Empire fundamentally changed: Emperor Caracalla proclaimed that all free people in the empire were now Roman citizens. Unfortunately, universal citizenship had its downside.

Until Caracalla, Rome was a loose association of different peoples in different places with different cultures and different laws. In effect, the Empire was a kind of armed trade association. The early United States was similar until the Civil War, and the later 17th Amendment, imposed constricting centralized authority on America.

During the early Empire, members of the Roman Senate oversaw a light sprinkling of Roman rules in each of the provinces. Local laws and institutions remained intact. Under this system, most people had friendly relations with other members of the empire regardless of their various cultures.

With Caracalla's edict, this fundamentally changed. Now there was to be comprehensive uniformity of law  Roman Law  everywhere, and at all levels. Enforcing this led to a vast expansion of the governing bureaucracy, culminating in Diocletian's administrative system. The Roman Deep State had arrived. Now a vast influx of ambitious men joined the ruling class, all greedy for power.

Religious and political factions developed, each of which attempted to impose a different doctrine. Friendships evaporated. And everyone despised "barbarians."

But the "barbarians" weren't always barbarian. Indeed, most of the Goths were Christian. Over centuries of contacts with the empire, the Goths had become Romanized.

Then the climate changed. There began a centuries-long Little Ice Age. The newly winter-frozen Rhine and Danube were no longer barriers. Worse, drought drove the fearsome Huns west. Fleeing before them were the Goths seeking refuge inside the Roman Empire.

Rome had been swallowing foreigners for centuries  melting them into the Empire, much like the American melting pot. The emperor admitted the Goths and promised to provision them until they could be properly settled and begin farming.

Rome then initiated its suicide: the arrogant and greedy Deep State appallingly treated the Goth refugees. The Goths rebelled and annihilated the Roman Army at Adrianople. Emperor Valens vanished.

Theodosius the Great restabilized the empire. Near death, Theodosius installed his son-in-law, the half-Vandal general Stilicho, as regent of the West and protector of his underage son, Augustus Honorius.

We first see Alaric in command of many federated Goths under Stilicho. At the civil war battle of the River Frigidus, Alaric's troops were up front, resulting in their great losses. Resentful at this placement, Alaric rebelled against Stilicho, and the Goths joined him.

For several years, Alaric maneuvered his army around the Balkans and northern Italy, all the while skirmishing and negotiating with Stilicho. But negotiating with the feckless Roman Deep State was hopeless. Since the establishment treated him like a barbarian, Alaric would be a barbarian! And Rome was sacked.

The Western Empire had committed suicide. Without effective defenses, the empire now succumbed to multiple invasions and faded away.

Today, our current political environment resembles the situation in the time of Alaric.

Consider succession. The attacks on President Trump are the most dangerous assault against our founders' solution to the problem of succession. Our Deep State refuses to recognize that Donald Trump really is the president. It is doing everything in its power to eject him from office or cripple him.

Without orderly succession, our republic will disintegrate as it almost did in the Civil War.

Today we have the parasitic swamp. The Deep State part of the swamp is the government bureaucratic system and the regulatory agencies. These institutions have become corrupt ruling kingdoms unto themselves. They are no longer governed by we the people.

Federated in the swamp are its elitist forces: the academy, many judges, most of the media, web giants, and so on. These federates propagate the Swamp's progressive ideology  Orwellian ideas that subvert the very essence of our Constitution.

With the recent ascendency of progressives, most Americans are now treated as un-American  in many cases with expressions of real hatred and scorn. Conservatives are now "deplorables," "barbarians," "morons." Even a recent progressive president called the traditionalist majority "the enemy." In effect, an alien ideology has conquered most of America's institutions. Most Americans are now strangers in their own land.

Very well: If lovers of liberty are to be called "barbarians," they will be "barbarians"  political barbarians. They will fight those who oppress them. Sweeping aside conventional politicians, conservatives found a fearless, dynamic leader  an outsider, like themselves. They now have their own Alaric  Alaric inside the political gates. They have President Donald J. Trump.
Hey, we know what your first question was, and both the DMV and the press assure that none of them were illegals. They aren't too sure what happened, which is why they are telling everyone to check their own registrations, but they are ... sure there were no illegals. This, despite the origins of the problem they described - that DMV officials left old screens up and the information from the previous clients was sent to the state on behalf of the clients that followed. Why that couldn't possibly include illegals was not a topic of inquiry for either the Los Angeles Times or the Sacramento Bee that covered this issue. Illegals, see, wouldn't dream of registering to vote, nor would any of the Democrats running the DMV out in the one-party precincts ever dream of registering them, right?

If there is any truth in this just being a matter of just classifications gone wrong, with no illegals involved, none of them are saying how they actually would know. Never mind that uncomfortable detail about the DMV being suddenly tasked with both issuing drivers licenses to illegals and registering voters - in a one-party state. We're just supposed to trust them on this.

Here's some other things we are supposed to trust them on: The direction of the switched parties of motor-voter clients. No one from the press thought to ask whether those motor-voters got disproporationately registered as Democrat, which is the second question readers are going to have. We're just supposed to think it was random. Color me skeptical. What's telling is that the information was witheld in the reports.

Here's another mix-up where I know I was affected, one of the 23,000: Mail-in preferences were screwed up, so I ended up with a mail-in ballot I didn't ask for last June. Why do I oppose mail-in ballots? Because I don't like my ballot passing through multiple hands via the leftist and loss-prone post office with its obviously Republican-looking return address on it. I'd rather dump it into a voter station ballot box to cut th middlemen and reduce the odds of mishandling or worse still, manipulation in the hands of a party that's rather famous for that.

The DMV would have us this this was a tiny screw-up affecting a "mere" 23,000 registrations. But with elections decided on 1,000- or sometimes even 20-vote margins these days, 23,000, alongside all the illegals illegally registered (we know they are in this state) suggests potential to swing an election. Little problem? In this era? Sorry, not buying.

And how much do these DMV bunglers make? Average salary, according to Payscale, is $50,000 a year, including the zero-college crowd at the customer service windows. More likely, it's $98,000, given that that's the average pay of the people who serve as "government program managers," government being the people who interact with the Secretary of State over at the voter registration operation.

So the best case scenario we have right now, is that the DMV, despite its bloated salaries, is incapable of running a motor-voter registration program that's not its core mission and it's screwing up. That whole registration idea is a bad one, given that it's supposed to bullyrag people who can't be bothered to register to vote, to register, which inevitably means Democrat. Couple that with issuing drivers licenses to illegals, another Democrat hobbyhorse, and what could go wrong?

Here's the other thing: The downplaying of the problem by the DMV, and the unwillingness of the press to ask questions has some creepy precedents from the recent past. Didn't Lois Lerner first get her name in the news apologizing for a minor "customer service" problem around the issue of Tea Party groups obtaining their tax-exempt status, based on the blunderings of its faceless bureaucratic bunglers out in the Cincinnati office? We soon learned that the little mistake omission was something else.

That's the sense I have with this admission of minor guilt from the DMV and the somewhat incurious press. It's telling that the DMV just weaseled out of an audit of its delay times just a month ago, with a little help from just three Democrats in the state senate.

Now we have bigger problems. Color me unsurprised if this turns out bigger than it looks.

Image credit: Vince, via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0
This came out just after Bob Woodward released a book basically pitching the same story as the editorial and based entirely on anonymous sources whose claims have already been shot down by the people the anonymous sources talk about. When, within hours of the book coming out, two of the people who supposedly said things about Trump have gone on record saying Woodward's anonymous sources are wrong, the credibility of Woodward has to be in doubt.

According to the NYT, whose credibility is shot, a dishonest, disloyal member of the Trump administration has attacked his boss in an anonymous editorial.

Because this editorial is clearly going to help Woodward sell books and give him credibility even though on-the-record sources are denying his anonymous claims, the NYT, which has made it clear that it hates Trump and the people who voted for him, has every reason to make up this supposed source or at least inflate the source's position in the administration.

We know that the fake news media have been lying to the people ever since Trump won the election. Note that CNN is still standing by a story that its anonymous source has gone public to repudiate. Further, CNN lied to us by saying its source didn't tell the network anything.

Hence, it's likely that either the editorial writer doesn't exist or he's simply a low-level disgruntled NeverTrump. The writer's praise for Republican policies that Republican voters rejected in the primary is another sign that despite his claims, he's probably more interested in sabotaging Trump than advancing the agenda that got Trump elected.

Even if, by some miracle, the NYT is not completely fabricating this story, the charges are mostly that the coward doesn't like Trump's management style.

A key complaint by the possibly fictional author is that Trump lacks a moral compass based on how Trump makes decisions. But if we're going to talk about moral compasses, let's look at our past presidents:

Obama:

Intentionally and repeatedly lied to the American people about Obamacare letting them keep their doctors and save money.

Supported infanticide.

Destroyed the government of Libya and sentenced the Libyan people to anarchy.

Protected Iran's development of nuclear weapons.

Hated Israel.

Weaponized the IRS, the FBI, and the DOJ to attack his political opponents.

Told the Russians that after the election, he could give them more of what they wanted but purposely hid that from the voters.

Said implementing DACA would be unconstitutional and then implemented it anyway.

Refused to enforce laws he didn't personally approve of.

Bush: From a conservative perspective, Bush did have a good moral compass, but here's what the left  the folks who are applauding this editorial  said about him.

Lied about Iraq and got thousands of Americans killed in order for oil companies to make profits.

Clinton:

Was accused of rape.

Cheated on his wife.

Sexually harassed subordinates.

Lied under oath to avoid in relation to a #MeToo lawsuit against him.

Compromised on every issue but abortion in order to get re-elected.

Nixon:

Lied to protect his subordinates from criminal charges.

LBJ:

Escalated the Vietnam war and conducted it in a way that led to lots of innocents dying.

Established a welfare system that destroyed black families.

JFK:

Cheated on his wife extensively.

To date, the only evidence we have that Trump has done anything remotely like any of this is that he's cheated on his wife, though that seemed to stop at least a few years ago.

Keep in mind that the same folks who are attacking Trump's moral compass said Clinton sexually harassing subordinates was irrelevant to his ability to be president and that Obama's IRS targeting political opponents was nothing of importance.

Similarly, they condemned Bush for getting us involved in Iraq while condemning Trump for not wanting to drastically escalate tensions with Russia  which, unlike Iraq, has thousands of nuclear weapons.

We can all agree that Trump hasn't been a choir boy, but how has that hurt the American people?

So rather than depend on a possibly fictional, disloyal, and cowardly source, let's look at Trump's record and see what sort of moral compass he has based on what he's done as president.

Why would the people care about how the sausage of Trump policy is made so long as the sausage is great? Does anyone really believe that Obama or any previous president was always serenely right and presided over some dispute-free staff?

The cowardly "source" says Trump's advisers have steered him away from bad things. Given that the president has the last word, that means that Trump's moral compass includes listening to others and being willing to admit he's made mistakes and take actions to fix the mistakes. It's unclear how that's a bad thing.

Trump promised the American people he'd nominate judges who would interpret the law, not make it, and he's done precisely that. Is a politician keeping his promises a sign of a missing moral compass? It probably is to Deep-Staters and NeverTrumps who believe in the right of the elites in D.C. to rule over the people, but it's not to the average American.

Trump promised to get the economy moving, get jobs back to America, and reduce taxes. He's done all of that and shown that the NYT and the rest of the left were wrong when they said that 2% GDP growth was the new normal. If that's a sign of a missing moral compass, then we should have more presidents with missing moral compasses.

Even if the coward is credible, and even if he's not lying, nothing he said really shows any major moral flaw on the part of Trump, and certainly no moral flaw worse than the massive moral flaws Obama demonstrated.

All this "editorial" proves is that the Deep State includes both Republicans and Democrats whose primary concern is nullifying the 2016 election and retaining the corrupt structure that lets politicians rule over the people. Obama said elections have consequences, but the Deep State is working hard to prove Obama wrong by annulling the 2016 election.

You can read more of Tom's rants at his blog, Conversations about the obvious, and feel free to follow him on Twitter.
How crazy has it gotten? Bookies around the world are giving odds on who the traitor might be.

Whodunnit? That's the question roiling social media and news websites around the world as the hunt is on for the identity of the anonymous author of a New York Times op-ed that savaged Donald Trump and his administration.

Fox News:

Vice President Mike Pence  and "the field"  lead offshore bookmaking picks as the White House mole behind the anonymous bombshell New York Times op-ed blasting President Trump. Pence was listed at 2-to-3 odds on the site MyBookie as the fifth column official who claims to be working behind the scenes to stop some of Trump's policies that they find wrongheaded. The biggest favorite, at 1-3 odds, is "the field," someone not listed among the 18 administration officials listed by the Costa Rica-based operation. At 2-to-3 odds, a winning bettor investing $1 would profit 66 cents. At 1-to-3, a gambler wagering $1 would net 33 cents with a win.

Why Pence? Desperate gamblers have latched on to the thinnest of reeds: the use of a single word in the op-ed that has also been used on occasion by the vice president.

HuffPo:

The unidentified author singles out the late Arizona Sen. John McCain as "a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue." The word  which Merriam-Webster defines as either "a star that leads or guides" or a person who "serves as an inspiration, model, or guide"  isn't that commonly used. But Pence apparently says it a lot, according to this mash-up posted on Twitter: The "lodestar" hashtag is already trending on Twitter. While it might sound like a conspiracy theory, audio producer Dan Bloom explained in an interesting Twitter thread why he thinks the use of "lodestar" in the op-ed makes Pence a key suspect.

This may be the definition of "grasping at straws":

The word is "LODESTAR." Note that it comes in the same paragraph praising John McCain. That would rule out flame-throwers like Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino and suggest someone with Senate ties. This reveal is not going to take long. pic.twitter.com/NwnUtvFlko  Dan downLODESTAR Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

"Lodestar" just seems like an unusual word to use in general, not to mention in an op-ed that's going to be widely read. It has this whiff of sanctimony. So I search for John Kelly and James Mattis ever having used the word "lodestar." Nothing. But then...  Dan downLODESTAR Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

...an example pops up of Vice President Mike Pence using the word "lodestar" in a speech at the UN in September 2017. https://t.co/CI1PUzDUdA pic.twitter.com/OrOYrFgP0M  Dan downLODESTAR Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

Lest you believe Pence's "lodestar" proclivities began with his Vice Presidency, enjoy this little ditty from 2011. https://t.co/hJyO0CvM8w pic.twitter.com/yDxq7LElPd  Dan downLODESTAR Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

Pence has denied being the author of the op-ed.

USA Today:

On Thursday morning, Pence's Chief Deputy of Staff and Communications Director Jarrod Agen tweeted that Pence puts his name on anything he writes, and that whoever wrote the piece should be ashamed. "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," Agen tweeted. "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts." The piece, penned by a "senior official in the Trump administration," described President Donald Trump as erratic and amoral and said his aides were actively working to thwart him on decisions that are detrimental to the nation.

Pence as the author is beyond a long shot, beyond fantasy  it is a leftist delusion. It points up how truly unhinged opposition to Trump has become.

Even if every word in that op-ed is true, there is nothing impeachable or criminal described. Trump's opponents apparently can't wait until 2020 to remove him the legal and constitutional way  the American way  through an election. This makes them as treasonous as they accuse Trump of being.

Unable to make any headway in their collusion scenario, failing to find impeachable offenses elsewhere, we have now entered a new phase of TDS. With Woodward's book and this Times op-ed  the narrative that Trump is crazy and unbalanced and needs to be removed before he does something really bad  the tactics have changed.

But the goal remains the same: overturn the results of a legitimate election for the sole purpose of seizing power.
At first, everyone was shocked at the news.

As you may have heard, there was a huge museum fire down in Rio. Apparently, there were many important historical artifacts lost in the blaze.

Then everyone blamed the bureaucracy, as we see in this report:

In the months and years before Brazil's National Museum was consumed by fire on Sunday, federal prosecutors, researchers and even the museum's own administration warned that neglect had turned the 200-year-old institution into a tinderbox. On Tuesday, evidence of this disregard came to light even as workers sifted through what little is left of the 20-million-item collection. The devastation has come to symbolize what many Brazilians see as a nation in disrepair because of widespread corruption and a wholesale decline in government services. "We knew that the fire one day was bound to happen," said Marcelo Weksler, a curator of the mammals exhibit. "Everybody here knew that. It was our worst nightmare." A citizen's complaint, filed with the federal prosecutor's office in Rio de Janeiro by an architect on July 27, included photos and pointed to specific hazards like the use of flammable plastic on the roof, uncovered wires and other evidence of jury-rigged wiring.

So what really happened?

Let me share a couple of reactions from two Brazilian friends who live in Dallas. One is here working legally, and the other is on a student visa.

The first one told me it was an inside job. He said that they came in and stole all of the valuable stuff, moved it out, and then set the place on fire.

Arson? Yes, my friend called it Brazilian arson. First you steal, and then you say everything of value was burned up.

So what happens when someone tries to sell the stolen goods in the market? It's a black market, and these artifacts will show up in some cartel leader's home, or so my friend explained.

Wow. My friend is very cynical, isn't he?

Then I asked my other friend.

First, he used every four-letter word on the planet, in Portuguese and broken English, to describe the integrity of the political class. Then he said no one in his family believes that it was an accident.

Will anyone be held accountable for the fire? My friends don't think so.

Well, I am convinced after talking to my Brazilian friends that someone dropped the ball in Rio. I am further convinced that Brazil's political class has lost the respect of most citizens.

How much longer can Brazil go on like this? Not much! The upcoming presidential election may answer that question.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
Naomi Levin takes on the NY Democratic cartel

Entrenched Democrat establishment career politician Jerrold Nadler may have met his match in Naomi Levin. Her campaign website sums it up well: "growing up[,] she was keenly aware that entitlement is not an American value[;] hard work is." Running as a Republican in the Tenth Congressional District, she seems the perfect foil to Congressman Nadler, a man who supported Obama's disastrous Iran deal and has made resisting the duly elected President Trump his chief goal. Levin, the daughter of immigrants from the former USSR, has been interviewed on Fox and Friends. In that interview, she contrasts her capitalist views with another N.Y. Millennial turned politician. Unlike Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Naomi does not believe in socialism, but rather believes in making America great and that it doesn't need what Obama referred to as a fundamental transformation. Instead, Naomi appreciates this country and wants to cut taxes, which in N.Y. are extremely high.

Naomi Levin is the perfect foil for her opponent. She wants to go to Washington "to influence a system overhaul." Contrast that with Nadler, a pillar of the Washington establishment since 1993. Her opponent represents the epitome of an establishment seeing its political clout fading. Unlike Nadler and the open borders Democrat N.Y. establishment, Naomi Levin supports law enforcement and believes in enforcing immigration law, saying, "We also need to control who can cross our border and support our efforts to do that." Like many establishment politicians of both parties, Nadler has opposed the president's agenda at every turn. He refers to Brett Kavanaugh's judicial philosophy as an "extreme legal ideology" even though Judge Kavanaugh is an originalist hardly outside the mainstream of judicial thinking. Nadler has also, in the words of Levin, acted as the now disgraced former FBI and Deep State actor Peter Strzok's defense attorney. Strzok was infamously lauded by Nadler despite his attempt to weaponize the FBI as a tool to elect Clinton and defeat President Trump. New York's Tenth Congressional District now has a chance to elect a Republican outsider to a seat held by the Democrat establishment since the 1990s. The president needs more allies in Congress, and this is a great opportunity to overthrow a career politician.
In the end, Emanuel's tattered reputation would have suffered even more in a third term. The "police reforms" are likely to lead to more crime and more violence. There is a pension crisis with city employee unions that is likely to get worse. Taxes will have to be raised. Who can blame Emanuel for declining to serve under these circumstances?

Having presided over Chicago's descent into rampant crime, "wilding" attacks by "urban youths" in the city's prime shopping districts, and a murder rate that shocks Baghdadis, Rahm Emanuel pulled the ripcord on his mayoralty and announced he would not run for a third term . As Rick Moran wrote:

The ugly truth is that doing something to make Chicago solvent, safe, and a sane place to do business would require taking on the vested interests that dominate the Democratic Party. Public employee unions, the racial grievance industry, and the rent-seekers all would lose under real reform.

So what does Rahm do to salvage his reputation after two terms as mayor of a city rightfully scared about becoming the new Detroit? If real reform is out of the question for a lame duck, then one way to look good is to have things really start spiraling downward after he leaves office. Call me cynical (as if one could be too cynical about Rahm Emanuel), but this suggests support for the "make voters regard my administration as the good old days" strategy.

Bill Ruthhart of the Chicago Tribune:

Chicago police officers would be required to document every instance in which they point a gun at someone under an agreement reached Wednesday between Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, two sources familiar with the deal confirmed. The new requirement, which will be agreed upon formally in a federal court hearing Thursday morning, marks a win for Madigan who had pushed for the new level of documentation as part of her ongoing negotiations with Emanuel on a federal consent decree that will govern sweeping reforms to the Chicago Police Department in the coming years.

Prior to deciding to leave office, Rahm had fought Madigan, an ambitious pol whose father has been the most powerful figure in the state legislature for many years:

For more than a month, however, the mayor and attorney general had been at odds over whether Chicago police officers should have to document every instance in which they point a gun at someone. Madigan called the requirement essential to ensuring that officers properly use the threat of a gun, given the department's history of excessive force and misconduct. Emanuel portrayed the documentation as superfluous, while Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said it could make officers hesitant to draw their weapons in dangerous situations. After weeks of talks, both sides told U.S. District Judge Robert Dow Jr. last week that they planned to litigate the matter in court. But on Wednesday  the day after Emanuel announced he would not seek a third term  the mayor's team agreed to the provision, according to sources who were not authorized to discuss the agreement publicly.

Superintendent Johnson is exactly right. Cops hate paperwork and are likely to avoid situations in which they might have to unholster a weapon. That means even less "active policing" and even more failures to intervene to stop crimes. The blog Second City Cop comments:

Make no mistake, Rahm is going to fold on a lot more points before this "consent" decree takes effect. He has nothing to gain by siding with a Department that disliked him pretty much from day one and grew to hate him the more we got to know him. ... [T]he only thing this agreement does is keep more cops and their supervisors off the street for extended periods of time, during which patrol officers aren't visible, streets are undermanned, backup isn't available and supervision non-existent. You know how to avoid useless paperwork? Slow roll, make a lot of noise arriving, cut a report, advise warrants, leave.

What could go wrong?
I was excited to read the front-page headline on the Tuesday USA Today paper titled "Candidates of Color" because I knew it would be all-inclusive.

With Democrat Andrew Gillum's surprise victory in Tuesday's gubernatorial primary in Florida, nine candidates of color are closer to the occupying the top positions in state government.

Candidates of color? To the press stenographers of the left, colors seem to include everything but the crayon box shade known as "white."

I can't recall in my 65 years ever using the term "people of color" or "candidates of color," but in deference to these Democrats, I will use that term for this piece.

When I walk through my office, or a store, or down the street, after reading all they write, now when I see someone who is not white, I will think: there are some "people of color" that those USA Today people talked about.

Up until now, when I have gone into the voting booth, I have always looked at a candidate's policies to determine whom I would vote for, not a candidate's color. But now, after reading USA Today, I know that color is much more important because these stenographers don't seem to want to talk about their policies. I did notice that not one of these "people of color" had an "R" behind his name. It seems that "people of color," just like women, don't count if they have independent thoughts.

I don't care what color a candidate is, and I will be glad to vote for anyone under the following conditions.

Like the majority of all of us, he believes that government should be smaller and there should be fewer regulations and lower taxes. I will not support the people who want the government to control so much and have so many people, including "people of color," be dependent on government. I support candidates who support capitalism.

He believes that immigration laws that Congress passed should be enforced, and he follows through with the 2006 bipartisan law to fund a border barrier, which would save taxpayers huge amounts of money.

He understands that cities and states should follow immigration laws and not be sanctuary cities and states.

He does not support a president who up until the end of his term says he can't unilaterally change immigration laws and then dictatorially and unconstitutionally does it anyway.

He believes that all lives matter, including the lives of those killed by illegal aliens.

He doesn't create a fake "hands up don't shoot" narrative with the support of the press to gin up racial hate against whites and cops.

He never uses the purely racist term "white privilege" to gin up racial hate.

Like a significant majority of people, including people of color, he supports photo IDs to vote. It is a shame that stenographers and other Democrats support photo IDs for most things but then lie that people of color are oppressed if they have to get an ID to vote.

He holds all people accountable to the law, especially our leaders. who repeatedly violate the nation's security laws and who have committed perjury.

He does not fund a fake dossier to take down political opponents.

He does not use the "independent" IRS to shut up his political opponents. He does not use the "independent" Justice Department to take down political opponents.

He does not illegally spy on thousands of Americans, nor does he spy on or infiltrate political opponents' campaigns.

He does not illegally unmask and leak information on political opponents.

He supports freedom of choice on health care. I cannot support any candidate who wants complete government control of health care, which would destroy millions of jobs and reduce innovation.

He understands that the climate has always changed naturally; that CO2 is a clear, innocuous, non-pollutant gas that makes plants grow; and that fossil fuels are used in thousands of products to improve our quality and length of life.

He does not support a president who unilaterally gave billions to a country that pledges death to America and spreads terrorism around the world.

He supports getting rid of prevailing wage laws that were put on the books to prevent people of color from taking white workers' jobs. It is time that stenographers and other Democrats support getting rid of these clearly racist laws that have oppressed taxpayers and minorities for over eighty years.

He does not threaten to shut down all of government if an organization that crushes and crunches babies, that kills children of color at a much higher percentage than their percent of the population, and that was founded by a woman who wanted to reduce the births of people of color to build a cleaner race is not given $500 million per year in taxpayer dollars.

For eight years, we had a person of color running our country, and for eight years, I opposed his oppressive, regressive, big-government policies, and for eight years, I was called a racist by these same press stenographers and other Democrats who always throw out the race card instead of actually debating policies.

Last week, there was a disgusting spectacle where we had a person who died  who, back in 2008, was not at all respected and was frequently called a racist by these same stenographers and other Democrats. Last week, he was honored as the greatest thing since sliced bread as these same people acted as though they had never called him a racist. His death was disgustingly used as a means to rip the current president.

That is what this "people of color" press game is really about: the racism of the left. Republicans are called "racists" because the left doesn't want to debate policies.
During World War II, in an effort to disguise the facility and ward off enemy fire, officials at Burbank's Lockheed Air Terminal (now known as Bob Hope Airport ) took the unusual but highly effective step of covering the entire airport with strategically placed camouflage netting. Up from the air, in the eyes of the enemy, the entire area looked like a rural subdivision.

Before

After

In February 1942, a Japanese submarine was spotted just outside San Francisco Bay. When another Japanese submarine surfaced off Santa Barbara, a few nights later, and fired a few shells at an oil storage facility the War Department ordered Lt Gen John L De Witt, head of Western Defense Command, to protect vital installations along the Pacific Coast.

The job of disguising California fell upon Colonel John F Ohmer, a pioneer in camouflage, deception and misdirection techniques. During the Battle of Britain in 1940, Colonel Ohmers carefully made and positioned camouflage caused the Luftwaffe to waste thousands of tons of bombs on empty fields.

With help of scenic designers, painters, art directors, landscape artists, animators, carpenters, lighting experts and prop men from movie studios in Hollywood, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal Pictures and others, Colonel Ohmer began the task of disguising March Field and its neighborhood.

Ohmer concealed key factories and assembly plants that may be targets, including Douglas Aircraft. In a short period of time the entire area of the factory was camouflaged. The Lockheed-Vega aircraft plant in Burbank was fully hidden beneath a complete suburb replete with rubber automobiles and peaceful rural neighborhood scenes painted on canvas. Small farm complete with animals, a barn, a silo and other buildings were erected. Pastoral settings used frames of lumber and large spreads of canvas.

Hundreds of fake trees and shrubs were positioned to give the entire area a 3-dimensional appearance. The trees and shrubs were created from chicken wire treated with adhesive, then covered with chicken feathers for leaves, then painted various shades of green (with spots of brown, even). Air ducts were disguised as fire hydrants.

In other sections, scattered decoy aircraft made of canvas scraps, ration boxes, and burlap on chicken wire as well as flattened tin cans dominated the landscape. None of these aircraft looked real up close but looked great from a distance. Fake runways were made by burning grassy strips.

Maintaining the illusion of a neighbourhood required signs of life and activity. Workers emerged to relocate automobiles, and took walks on hidden catwalks. Some took washing down from fake clotheslines only to replace it later at scheduled times. Parked automobiles were moved to indicate drivers were using their cars daily and returning home from work.

Ohmer's "suburb" brought requests for other camouflage projects. In Seattle, Boeing Aircraft covered nearly 26 acres. It became covered by a complete town with municipal buildings, a park, schools and homes.

The disguise of California ceased to be critical when the US Navy dealt a smashing defeat to a Japanese carrier task force at Midway Island. The threat of a serious attack against the West Coast diminished, then vanished.

Sources: 1, 2
The tiny landlocked country of Moldova in Eastern Europe is one of Europes poorest. The roads are a bone-shaking ordeal. Horses haul carts loaded with produce and people. Geese glare at outsiders, wrote Stephen Sackur for BBC News. But there is one thing the countrys agriculture-driven economy is rich at, and that is grapes.

Moldovas low hills, its sun-kissed plains, the flowing streams and two big rivers, and the moderate climate shaped by the Black Sea provides all the ideal conditions necessary to grow grapes. Wine is Moldova's best-known product appreciated throughout the east and the west. Once part of the Soviet Union, it is said that every second bottle of wine consumed in the former Union was made and bottled at a vineyard in Moldova.

The underground wine cellars of Cricova winery. Photo credit: FrimuFilms / Shutterstock.com

Moldovas rich tradition of winemaking dates back thousands of years. Fossil evidence suggests that grapes grew here naturally as early 25 million years ago, while grape-growing and winemaking is at least 4,000 to 5,000 years old. Moldovas wineries boasts thousands of hectares of beautifully tended vines, but the real spectacle lies underground.

In the commune of Milestii Mici, is a vast subterranean complex with miles of tunnels filled with wine. According to the Guinness World Records, it is the biggest wine collection in the world with 2 million bottles stored in cellars that stretches for 200 kilometers, although only about 55 kilometers are actually in use. The tunnels belonged to an old limestone mine. When the mines closed in the late 1960s, the caverns were repurposed into Milestii Micis wine cellar. The limestone galleries remain at a constantly high humidity (8595%) and cool temperature (1214C) throughout the yearconditions ideal for aging red wine.

The wine cellar is so huge that the tunnels have been given street names to help people navigate, and visitors can drive their cars and bikes through the massive underground city.

The famous Cricova winery with 120 km of underground passages for wine storage. Photo credit: Martyn Jandula / Shutterstock.com

Nearby, the Cricova winery also contains an extensive network of underground tunnels that stretch for about 120 kilometers. Its the second biggest wine cellar in the world holding 1.5 million bottles of rare wine, such as a vintage 1902 Jerusalem of Easter, and the Nazi leader Hermann Gorings private collection. During the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the winerys large wooden barrels were used for hiding Jews.

Just like Milestii Mici, Cricovas vast subterranean tunnels are given street names, named after popular wines. There is Cabernet Street, Pinot Noir Street, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Feteasca, Aligote, Muscat Streets and so on. Some of the tunnels are so spacious, that even a large truck can drive through them.

A third of Moldovas wine exports went to Russia, until recently, when relationship with the former communist state soured after the Moldovan government expressed interest to join the European Union. Vladimir Putin decided to punish the country by imposing a ban on Moldavian wine, but you can be pretty sure he is secretly smuggling bottles for his own consumptionafter all, Putin has his own alcove stashed with the choicest wine within Cricovas cellars. He loves Moldavian wine and his personal cellar so much he reportedly celebrated his 50th birthday there.

The wine cellars of Cricova winery. Photo credit: FrimuFilms / Shutterstock.com

The decor inside Cricova winers underground cellars. Photo credit: Hans Poldoja/Flickr

A wine fountain outside Milestii Mici Winery. Photo credit: www.milestii-mici.md

The tunnels and interior of Milestii Mici Winery. Photo credit: www.milestii-mici.md

The tunnels and interior of Milestii Mici Winery. Photo credit: Maps / Shutterstock.com
Frances Agence France-Presse and 20 other European news agencies are now jointly urging the European Parliament to pass copyright reforms that would diminish the threat posed to consumers and democracy by companies like Google and Facebook. The organizations accuse the companies of plundering both content and advertising revenue from news media groups without fair compensation. That often includes videos and photos as well as news, the agencies argue, resulting in sizeable costs incurred by publishers and agencies in order to generate the content. Companies such as Facebook and Google typically earn approximately upwards of $10 billion in profit per year and are in a position to be able to easily pay for the content theyre using. Whats more, that could be done without charging users any more than they already pay, the agencies posit.

The reforms themselves are set to be debated and voted on as early as September 12 and include two parts. As they are currently written, Article 13 seeks to hold technology companies such as YouTube or Facebook legally responsible for copyrighted materials that appear on their sites without compensation. Article 11, meanwhile, would seek to ensure that news agencies and respective organizations receive payment whenever Google or other websites link to content published by those groups. A draft of the reforms was recently rejected in July during an initial vote and both articles have drawn stark criticism from both digital rights organizations and the companies the reformed law would affect.

Digital rights groups, in particular, have expressed concerns about whether it would have an overarching negative impact on users. Specifically, the concerns center around costs to end-users and over-regulation limiting free-speech. Some have claimed that providers of services would need to charge users or set prices higher in order to offset the expected costs. Opponents of the new regulations claim that those would force technology companies to censor users much more generally and widely to prevent legal ramifications for the content or media shared on their platforms. Moreover, it could be severely limiting to some platforms, such as YouTube, since it would have a measurable impact on the creativity thats central to the services existence.
Facebook has now seemingly gone on the offensive in an ongoing patent dispute between the social media giant and BlackBerry, filing its own legal suit alleging that as many as six of its patents were stolen by the smartphone company. Among those, Facebook has claimed that a voice messaging technology invented by the company has been used by BlackBerry without permission as well as a method for improving delivery of audio, video, and imagery on mobile devices. The social media company accuses BlackBerry of stealing tech that centers around both the tracking and analysis of GPS data. At present, Facebook hasnt committed to a specific amount of damages it expects to be awarded if its suit turns out to be successful. The case is currently filed with the U.S. District Court Northern District of California under docket number 3:18-cv-05434.

This case actually follows another ongoing dispute between the two companies, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in March under docket number 2:18-cv-01844. In that particular case, BlackBerry accused Facebook and its subsidiaries of infringing on its patents associated with mobile messaging. Those patents included messaging-related features such as in-message timestamps and notification badges. Facebook, for its part, responded initially by accusing the company of patent trolling as a way to compensate for a lack of internal innovation. Meanwhile, at least one of BlackBerrys patents tied to its own case against Facebook has since been invalidated. In particular, the companys messaging timestamp patent was directly challenged by Google recently and dismissed after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruled the UI element in question was unpatentable.

For the time being, none of those previous filings from BlackBerry are expected to go to court until at least 2020 and the remaining patents surrounding the earlier case have not been addressed. The same can also be said of yet another patent case filed by BlackBerry against Nokia which alleges that the company utilized networking technologies that were also patented by BlackBerry. So a similar time-frame for Facebooks newly docketed complaint against the company can probably be expected.
The Ghostek soDrop Pro wireless over-ear headphones offer quite a bit for its $149 price tag. Here youll find active noise cancellation, allowing you to block out whats going on around you. Theres also HD Crystal Clear sound here, allowing you to get a really good sound out of these headphones, and that is at any volume. Typically, headphones will start to sound worse when the volume gets higher and maxes out, the sound will start to sound distorted. But thats not an issue with the soDrop Pro wireless headphones. These are indeed wireless headphones and connect to your smartphone using Bluetooth 4.0. These will work great with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, and really any other smartphone out there  especially those that do not have a headphone jack.

Over-ear headphones are typically larger, since they are covering your entire ear instead of justing being on your ear. That usually results in headphones being heavier and not as comfortable to wear. But again, thats not the case with the soDrop Pro headphones from Ghostek. These are still pretty lightweight, but also have a very comfortable band and earcups included, so you can listen to music on these headphones for hours and never get uncomfortable. Battery life is also pretty stellar on the soDrop Pros here, offering around 12-14 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. That is pretty decent for a pair of headphones in this price range, and will last you all-day as well. Ghostek has included a microphone on the soDrop Pro, allowing you to use the headphones for making and receiving phone calls.

Ghosteks soDrop Pro wireless over-ear headphones are available on Ghosteks website right now  which you can check out by hitting the link below. The soDrop Pro are available in black, with the other colors (white & gold and white & rose) being available for pre-order. These headphones are a great pick up for those that just picked up the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, paired with the DAC found inside the Galaxy Note 9, youre going to get some stellar audio quality here, and these also wont break the bank at $150.
Google is readying a loyalty program for the Play Store which is likely to be called Play Points. The information on the existence of the program comes from a recent teardown of the Play Store Android app by 9to5Google, which found multiple references to the program over the last couple of APK versions (specifically, versions 11.5 and 11.6), as well as imagery that further adds to the authenticity of the programs existence.

First up, the program works much as one might expect with users able to accumulate points for purchases made through the Play Store. What is of note, is these points do not seem to be solely reserved for apps, with users able to equally gain points for music, video, and book-related purchases as well. Regardless of how they are accumulated, the details allude to the ability to cash in points for either Google Play Store credit or special in-app items. Adding to this, and besides the collecting of points, it seems likely users will be able to level up their loyalty status as the references in the app make note of loyalty tiers which can be progressed through (five in total) with each level coming with its own colored badge. While the details on this are fairly limited it would seem the moving through the tiers is not just a recognition statement, but will also come with some form of benefits specific to each level.

Besides the points-based loyalty program, the teardown also revealed Google is working on a voting system which could in theory impact on the way apps are ranked, as well as a redesign to the Account section of the app which not only improves navigation but also makes it easier to find free items or redeem promotion codes. Its worth keeping in mind that while the information here is fairly detailed (suggesting these features are close to being made available to end users), there is always the possibility they wont be released as described, or at all. As nothing is ever confirmed with Google until its announced by Google. In the meantime, however, the image below is understood to be the icon which will be used by Google for its Play Points feature.
Cloud storage and file hosting service provider Mega Limited has taken its blog to advise users that the MEGA Chrome extension was replaced with a credential-stealing trojan over the course of several hours this week. The infected software effectively replaced the official extension in the Chrome Web Store and was installed either manually or through an auto-update. Once installed, the malware  listed as version 3.39.4  first asked users for Read and change all data permissions and then proceeded to steal data from those websites. Some of that data included credentials for major sites like Amazon, GitHub, Google, and Microsofts Live. However, it also took credentials tied with service sites associated with cryptocurrencies such as MyEtherWallet and MyMonero, in addition to HTTP POST requests  which are linked to with web forms. MEGA credentials were not stolen unless users signed into the site while the extension was installed but all of the data that was is noted as having been moved to a server in Ukraine.

The exact details for how MEGAs Chrome Web Store account became compromised and the number of users affected by the attack have not been provided, as of this writing. The company does say that only users who downloaded version 3.39.4, allowed permissions, and signed into websites or conducted similar activity were impacted. Moreover, the offending update was only on the store site for approximately 4-hours, although that doesnt necessarily solve the problem caused by auto-updates. Another update to version 3.39.5 was pushed in that same timeframe and would have arrived via manual or automatic installation. Subsequent updates should be secure as well. Within an additional hour, Google was informed and had removed the version from the Chrome Web Store entirely, preventing the trojan from afflicting further devices with Chrome and the extension installed. An investigation into the attack is ongoing, in the meantime.

This is hardly the first time a Chrome extension has been impacted by a credential-stealing cyber attack but that doesnt necessarily take away from the severity of the situation. Those who think they may have been affected, which could likely be applied to a substantial number of users of the MEGA extension if not all, will want to take steps to ensure that their online accounts are secure. As noted by Mega, that means actions such as changing passwords and setting up two-factor authentication where available and not already enabled.
Nokia smartphones, like the Nokia 5.1 Plus and 6.1 Plus, have notches in them. Thats not a surprise since it is 2018, and thats what every smartphone maker is doing. However, Nokia had an option in the settings that allowed the user to make the status bar black, and essentially hide the notch. But that option has been removed. According to a moderator on Nokias forums, the manufacturer had to remove this option to meet Google requirements. Now this doesnt tell us a whole lot, but since Nokias smartphones are all Android One or Android Go-branded, that likely means that this is an Android One requirement from Google.

This removal is likely not all that big of a deal for many people, seeing as only two of Nokias phones have notches, and not everyone chooses to hide that notch. But this is Android, and users love the customization, so as you might expect, users are not to happy with this. In fact, some are questioning why Nokia decided to give all of their smartphones Android One or Android Go branding, as they now have more requirements on those phones than before. Other phones are still using the option to hide the notch on their smartphones, but those are not Android One devices, so they have the freedom to do just that.

The Nokia 5.1 Plus and 6.1 Plus are the companys newest smartphones, that were only announced a few weeks ago. They are the newest members of the Android One family, and are also some of the first to join with a notch. So it makes sense that we are seeing some features like this one being removed now, as there wasnt a precedent for it before. But this does mean that the Pixel 3 XL may not have the option to hide its notch, and it does look to be a pretty big notch. At least according to the many, many leaks weve seen recently.
Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida attended IFA in Berlin where he discussed various aspects surrounding the PlayStation platform, including the virtual reality segment which, he believes, still has room to grow. Describing it as a completely unique experience that is still rising in popularity, Yoshida discussed some of the areas where VR is still lacking from a technical standpoint. One of the persisting problems is that users are being virtually blindfolded without any options for seeing the outside world through the HMD, which can lead to confusion and could be a little bit dangerous. Having said that, Mr. Yoshida claims that VR is still in its very early days and its evolution is likely to lead to mixed reality solutions becoming mainstream.

Of course, some VR HMDs like the HTC Vive already offer a way to view the real world through the VR goggles with the help of embedded cameras, but the discussion seemed to be more focused on the Sony PlayStation VR solution rather than the competition. The CEO also added that one of the biggest challenges faced at present by developers of virtual reality titles is negating VR motion sickness, adding that theres room for improvement and VR users should eventually see positive changes in this area as the technology moves forward and developers become more confident. Realistically, one of the causes for VR motion sickness is the discrepancy between what the users eyes perceive and what their bodies feel, in some cases leading to the human brain causing symptoms similar to car sickness. In general, better tactile feedback from controllers or other accessories, improved display resolutions and properly optimized fields of view can all contribute to a more pleasant, natural VR experience but it also comes down to how the end users react to this technology, and how quickly they can unconsciously trick their brain into the virtual world to avoid confusion and motion sickness.

In closing, Sonys CEO didnt reveal any timelines or concrete bits of details about the companys VR platform for the near or distant future, or whether there will ever be a PSVR2 model for the next-generation PlayStation 5. However, the discussion suggests that Sony is still working on improving the technology, and the natural evolution of VR could lead to the adoption of augmented reality solutions in the future. Meanwhile, as the PS VR closes its two-year anniversary with more than three million units sold since October 2016, Sony launched a couple of new PlayStation VR bundles earlier this week, the more complete of which costs $350 and includes the PSVR helmet, two PlayStation Move controllers, a PS Camera, a Demo Disc 2.0 and two full VR games. The second bundle priced at $300 features one full VR title and includes much of the same hardware except for the Move controllers.
Sony announced three new 4K projectors this week during CEDIA 2018 and while 4K is in itself a selling point, what is far more notable is these are IMAX Enhanced projectors. Which arguably means they are literally some of the best quality audio and picture projectors to date.

The reason for this is the IMAX Enhanced program in general. This was just announced this week at the same expo as a certification and licensing program for studios and manufacturers. The program is spearheaded by IMAX on the vision side along with DTS on the audio side and the general premise is any products that get the IMAX Enhanced stamp of approval, can be considered of a certain heightened quality. Sony was already confirmed as an early program partner by IMAX and all three of these projectors come with the IMAX Enhanced badge attached. Effectively, marking the arrival of some of the first IMAX Enhanced certified products so far. For reference, other IMAX Enhanced certified hardware is expected to come through in due course from Denon and Marantz.

Of the three new projectors, the Sony VPL-VW995ES is the most premium featuring an All Range Crisp Focus (ARC-F) 18-piece all-glass lens that is designed to provide high precision clarity throughout an image, a Digital Focus Optimizer for image quality correction, as well as a physical iris and a modulated laser. As for the price, the VPL-VW995ES is set to cost $34,999.99 and is due to arrive to market in November, 2018. In contrast, the VPL-VW695ES is more of a mid-range option which is set to cost $9,999.99 when it becomes available in October, and among other things, allows users to very quickly adjust the format to match any screen, as well as a high dynamic contrast of 350,000:1. Lastly, the VPL-VW295ES marks the entry-level option which looks to build upon popular features from last years models, including up to 1,500 lumens of brightness, as well as the use of Motionflow to reduce motion blur. In terms of the price, the VPL-VW295ES is the most affordable option coming in at $4,999.99, and is also set to arrive in October in the US and Canada.
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Tom Cotton (R-AR) blasted Huawei and ZTE over their ties to the Chinese communist government. While speaking at yesterdays Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on election security, the lawmakers also criticized Google for cooperating with the two firms, citing recent reports about the company developing a censored version of its Search engine for China. At the same time, Google decided against renewing its Project Maven contract, ending the collaboration with the U.S. military that was meant to help Washington weaponize artificial intelligence. The Senators related those two developments during the hearing and called them concerning, in addition to blasting Google for declining an invitation to the hearing.

Google repeatedly said its relationship with Huawei and ZTE isnt any different to its collaboration with other manufacturers of Android devices, whereas it decided to drop Project Maven due to employee activism. While Huawei maintains it isnt controlled by Beijing, ZTE is majority-owned by a state company. Senator Wyden also questioned Facebook over the fact that it shared user data with Huawei and other Chinese companies as part of a project that the social media giant started winding down in June, though its presently unclear when exactly will the initiative be fully discontinued. The lawmaker asked Facebook Chief Operating Officer whether the firm would be prepared to share the findings of its internal audits into its Chinese partners with the committee, with the official responding that she cannot commit to such a move.

The hearing itself mostly retreaded old ground and provided little new insights into the Silicon Valleys attempts to curb the spread of fake news and combat misinformation campaigns seeking to polarize and mislead the American public. Such coordinated efforts sponsored by foreign entities are still a major issue across all popular social media platforms, though both Twitter and Facebook said their efforts to fight them are working, even though they arent expecting the issue to ever go away completely.
Universitat Pompeu FabraI was listening to someone on a radio talk show who, in defending the need for a Statute, asked: "what do you want to do with independence that you cant do with the Statute?". Immediately an avalanche of arguments came to me, which Im going to outline below since its worth remembering what we want that cant be achieved with a Statute.

The need to reform the Statute of Sau passed in 1979 arose as a response to a decline in Catalan autonomy, in conjunction with the abuse of the Catalan governments basic powers at the hands of successive Spanish governments. Wherever the Spanish Constitution granted exclusive powers to the autonomous communities, the state retained regulatory power in the last instance. The state has progressively and forcefully used these powers since the 1980s. In fact, it has stripped the autonomous communities of their powers by regulating everything it was possible to regulate. Regional governments were unable to decide almost anything of any significance. They had content themselves with simply paying their taxes. This explains why the debate surrounding the financing of the autonomous communities has become so heated: when one is unable to legislate, the only difference one can make to a service is the amount of money one can spend. The little actual politics that can be conducted and the wisest is limited to obtaining more funds. Whenever the autonomous communities and the Catalan government in particular have found ways to better manage their resources, the Spanish government has boycotted or torpedoed these solutions. In Catalonia, for example, it is customary for local administrations to collaborate through the creation of Consortiums. The PP has attacked and dismantled these consortiums. It has used simplifying administrations as an excuse, the economic crisis as an excuse and efficiency as an excuse. These are all fake excuses. It has destroyed a system of cooperation between administrations that saved resources, which increased the number of possible initiatives (county-level hospitals, for example) and used to avoid administrative inflexibility.

With the Statute and the Constitution interpreted as they have been up to now, Spains autonomous communities are unable to decide their own policies

The regional ministers of Education and Health, for example, are well aware that they can hardly decide anything since everything is regulated by Madrid. There has recently been talk of suspending the "Wert decree" that raised the number of students in each class. This is the extent to which the state regulates education. It is the Spanish government that sets, at its choosing, the salaries of the employees in all the administrations their major expense. Spain can hardly be called the most decentralized state in the world. This is why there was a desire to formulate a new Statute fifteen years ago in Catalonia. All attempts to protect the Catalan governments powers as part of the Statute of Miravet were blown to smithereens following the Constitutional Courts (CC) ruling of 2010. The CC, together with the majority of the PP and part of the PSOE, ceased to be arbitrators and proceeded to become active participants in the recentralization and homogenization of the state. They have been establishing homogenizing jurisprudence that totally runs counter to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution. Otherwise, how come those who supported the Constitution in 1978 are now pro-independence, and those who were against it are now constitutionalists? Quite simply, the Neo-Francoist, centralizing and uniformizing tendency has won. It goes against the very nature of the Constitution, and the Statutes have been stripped of their content.

As a result, with the Statute and the Constitution interpreted as they have been up to now, Spains autonomous communities are unable to decide their own policies. Their ability to take decisions is severely limited since state control is omnipresent. This explains why the policies that the people of Catalonia might wish to create no longer fit with their current autonomic and constitutional powers.

There are powers which are not autonomic, but which instead belong to the state. They are not insignificant, quite the contrary. Even if the autonomous communities retained their powers in the fields of health, welfare, education, commerce, tourism, industry, culture, language and so on, the state retains the power in highly significant areas: regulation of the labour market, immigration and border policy, regulation of social security, unemployment, defence, policing (a fact which was made very clear to us not so long ago), justice (one of the cornerstones of the CCs 2010 ruling), the oversight and regulation of all policies, and such "details" as fiscal policy, banking regulation, ultimate control over spending, foreign affairs (which was also made clear in recent months), and a very long list detailed in Article 149.1 of the Spanish Constitution.

The problem is that Catalonias autonomous powers have been reduced by the state, particularly when the PP have been in government, and that these other powers state powers are essential in order to respond to the ever-changing world in which we live. This is why the Statute does nothing to fix our problems.
Across the Gulf states comprising the GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman), defence budgets are expected to reach record highs next year, with increases in spending primary focused on modernising and expanding military force structure and improving readiness in response to continuing regional instability.

The 6% growth in defence expenditure in the GCC that weve seen this year is expected to slow, but growth rates of 3-4% a year are sustainable over the next decade  meaning that defence spending is likely to hit a record $100 billion next year, said Craig Caffrey, principal defence budgets analyst at Janes by IHS Markit. If we see any significant increases in oil prices, well probably see further growth  or at the very least, more procurement activity.

Janes Defence Budgets data says that despite predicted fluctuations in the growth rate, defence spending will continue to increase over the next five years, reaching around $117 billion by 2023. In total, the states of the GCC are expected to spend around $86 billion on defence equipment over the next five years.

GCC defence budgets have risen as a percentage of GDP over recent years, but even more significantly are also rising as a share of government spending; highlighting the importance placed on enhancing military capabilities.

A major driving factor in defence procurement plans has been the increase in operational activity by GCC militaries in places such as Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen. Such actions have led to an increase in spending on the development of expeditionary and intelligence gathering capabilities, as well as the bolstering of combat aircraft fleets.

Despite accounting for just 5% of global defence spending, the GCC is responsible for almost a quarter of all imports of defence equipment  importing assets worth approximately $56 billion between 2014 and 2018.

North America and Europe provide about 95% of all equipment acquired by Gulf states. The US alone has accounted for about half of all exports to the GCC in the last five years. However, despite the prevalence of equipment from these sources, other suppliers  ranging from Australia to China and Turkey  are increasing their market presence.

The modernisation and operational requirements of some militaries in the region are seeing some governments turn to alternative suppliers for equipment, said Charles Forrester, senior defence industry analyst at Janes by IHS Markit.

The downturn in oil prices in 2014 and 2015 made cost an important factor, while export controls from some key suppliers have prevented the transfer of desired equipment, Forrester said. Similarly, operators in the region are becoming increasingly conscious of the cost of procurements and through-life support costs of equipment and systems.

Janes Markets Forecast has identified $48 billion in announced requirements and $32 billion in unannounced opportunities in the GCC region over the next decade.

Countries in the region are also continuing to leverage large defence procurements to improve domestic military and non-military technological capabilities through offset programmes. Most notably, Saudi Arabia aims to increase domestic defence procurement spending from 2% to 50% by 2030 as part of the countrys Vision 2030 goals.

Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia aim to improve their own defence industrial bases to improve self-sufficiency and ensure the security of supply for their own militaries. They also intend to leverage this capability to boost exports of locally made defence equipment, with the UAE already exporting its Nimr protected vehicle to countries including Algeria and Turkmenistan.

Efforts to expand indigenous production over the next decade will need to be in partnership with foreign suppliers, Forrester said. Requirements and supplier relationships may be shifting, but the overall strength of the market remains unchanged.


The new Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan opens today!

Is an intricate masterpiece of Italian craftsmanship and coffee innovation.

The marble and brick, the twisting copper pipes and blossoming bronze roasting cask, the cascade of sounds and vibrant colors and changing light  where to even start?

Dont worry. Weve got you. Here are 10 initial things to look for in the new Milan Roastery.



1. A Roastery theater in the round



Milan is the third Starbucks Reserve Roastery in the world (the Seattle Roastery opened in 2014, and Shanghai in 2017) but the first where customers can move all the way around the bright green Scolari roaster (made in Italy, by the way) and watch every step of the coffee roasting process from bean to cup.



2. The 'dancing lady'



The epicenter of the new Roastery is a 22-foot, first-of-its-kind bronze roasting cask that periodically unfolds and rotates, like a blooming flower, to give customers a rare glimpse of the de-gassing phase of the coffee bean roasting process.



3. A jewel box of color

While the Seattle and Shanghai Roasteries used rich, dark tones, the Milan Roastery is an explosion of color, including marble in jewel tones and a roaster and clackerboard display in a distinctive, vibrant green inspired by the coffee card for Starbucks Reserve Ethiopia Kayan Mountain Farm.

4. Hidden history



The entrance wall of the Roastery features a floor-to-ceiling, engraved brass story of Starbucks. Guests can view the wall as it is or, with the help of their mobile device, can experience the wall in augmented reality (AR), giving them access to even more multimedia artifacts about the companys history and the art and science of coffee.

5. Radiant marble





In a nod to the marble countertops featured in espresso bars across Milan, all of the bars in the Roastery are marble and warm to the touch, thanks to radiant heat inside. They were carved from the same 30-ton block of Calacatta Macchia Vecchia marble from a Tuscan quarry.

6. Artistry underfoot



The Roasterys stunning mosaiced marble floor is handcrafted in the traditional Palladianan style, while its geometric ceiling was designed and engineered digitally, creating a floor-to-ceiling blend of history and future.



7. Aperitivos, per favore



On the Roasterys mezzanine, up a sweeping staircase, is the chic Arriviamo Bar. Inspired by the tradition of the Italian aperitivo, early evening social cocktails paired with small bites, the bar features more than 100 cocktails with new creations and traditional favorites like the Negroni and the Aperol spritz.



8. Fire & ice



At the end of the Roasterys main coffee bar on the ground floor is a theatrical mix of food and beverage that partners have dubbed Fire and Ice. A line of siphons with glowing flames for brewing coffee sits next to an affogato station creating ice cream with liquid nitrogen, generating clouds of puffy, white vapor with each hand-crafted batch.



9. Fresh from the oven

The Princi Bakery in the Milan Roastery is anchored by a wood-fired oven, made brick-by-brick on site  local baker Rocco Princis ultimate tool for making bread the way its meant to be done.

10. Bella terrazza





Outside on the Roasterys distinctly European terrace, customers can enjoy the full range of Roastery coffees, cocktails and cuisine. As you make your way out to the leafy, street-side cafe tables on the terrace  some of which sit in giant, bronze bird cages  be sure to look for the stunning statue of the siren in the portico, hand-carved from Carrara marble by Tuscan sculptor Giovanni Balderi.





Starbucks Reserve Roastery

piazza Cordusio, 3 - Milano

https://www.starbucksreserve.com/it-it/locations/milano



Starbucks Press Release
Do it yourself if you can We accept  in principle  that private equity can deliver (somewhat) excess returns over most other asset classes. But there are a lot of qualifications attached to that, and most of them are very relevant to whether and how pension funds should invest in private equity.
Introducing The Toffee Dating App

Meet The Dating App You Can Only Use If You Went To Private School

The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.

If youve been single for the last five years  give or take  you know the dating game has changed dramatically as dating apps have grown in popularity.

While some of the standby, household-name favorites like Match.com and eHarmony are still kickin, the ability to swipe, match and meet is more appealing for younger users.

Tinder, Hinge and Bumble are among the top three most used downloadable matchmakers for iOS and Android, but since they cater to mass market, companies who niche interests have started to sprout up. In fact, it sometimes seems like  as the saying goes  theres an app for everything: dog lovers, beach runners, workout enthusiasts, globetrotters  you name it. Some of these marketing strategies have proved successful in helping two folks find one another, while others have received plenty of flak for their purpose.

Case-in-point: Toffee, which debuted a few months ago for iPhone users in the UK. To join this community, you must have attended a private school. Though this might not seem like quite a big deal, plenty of people are offended by the elitist attitude, claiming it puts down those who didnt have access to this expensive level of education.

Others add that it creates a class system, promoting only those of the same background should partner together. However, Toffee argues much like any other app that caters to a specific, special community  like JSwipe for Jewish singles or Hater for the sarcastic crowd  their mission is similar.

And obviously, theyve attracted plenty of hopefuls since their inception, with a recent press release estimating over 12,000 users in the United Kingdom. In response to this flurry of swipers, theyve introducing an Android version thatll be available in Britain, and theyre expanding to Australia. Why this Oceania nation? Here, its estimated around 35% of locals attended a private school at some point in their lives, while only 8% did in England.

This is great news depending on what your resume says and where youre located, but if youre not part of this crew, dont worry. Here, are some other high-quaity dating apps to consider downloading if you keep striking out in a lonely place:

Zoosk

If you travel frequently for work or youre part of the new generation of digital nomads who combine work and play, you need a dating app that offers plenty of international members. If you dont want to get quite as serious as Match.com but not as flippant as Tinder, Zoosk is a happy medium. Youll fill out a questionnaire and a profile, and theyll match you based on who you give a thumbs up or thumbs down to. And because their security measures are strong, youll never have to worry about someone pretending to be someone they are not.

Check out Zoosk

Match.com

Tried and trueand for a reason. Its arguable to say Match.com launched the concept of online dating, and theres a reason theyve stayed around for so long. As the trends continue to morph, so does Match, continuously shifting their strategy to appeal to new age groups and industry reactions. Though the signup process is still rather long comparative to other apps, it is worth the time investment since their algorithm is among the most effective. Keep in mind, folks here are mostly looking for serious relationships, so dont lead anyone on if youre not quite there yet.

Check out Match.com

FriendFinder-X

FriendFinder-X is not a G-rated site, even if the name might make you question it. That X is important, since this is a great starting point for those who are interesting in swinging. This open-minded community is welcoming and gentle, allowing you to dip your toe (or whatever you like) into the culture, sans intimidation. You can make your own pace, chat online, find times to meet up and explore your fantasies safely.

Check out FriendFinder-X

EliteSingles

Also an international standard, EliteSingles prompts new users to take their one-of-a-kind personality test thatll help them better understand what youre looking for, what matters to you and other important qualities. Then, instead of fishing through an endless sea of eligibles, youre given seven matches a day. This prevents you from wasting too much time, and makes it easier to fit in time for dating if your schedule is overpacked. Just remember, you have to go on dates to meet someone!

Check out EliteSingles

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Two woman representatives  Gladys Wanga(Homa Bay) and Pamela Odhiambo(Migori)  have urged girls to focus on education and avoid shortcuts, such as dating sponsors.

This comes after the death of Sharon Otieno, a student at Rongo University, who was abducted alongside Nation journalist Barack Oduor. The journalist is said to have been investigating a story of a love gone sour between Migori governor Okoth Obado and Sharon Otieno, who was pregnant. Oduor managed to escape by jumping out of a moving car but Sharon wasnt as fortunate.

Speaking about the matter, Gladys Wanga asked girls to learn from the case and avoid sponsors.

Our girlsthis must be a lesson to youit doesnt matter where you come from but be contented with what you have and focusleave alone the sponsors and focus, Wanga said.

Addressing journalists at Parliament buildings on Wednesday, the Homa Bay woman rep also called on the DCI to quickly solve the murder.

It is a very sad morning, this act must be condemned. This is the true test for the DCI because it is alleged that the high and mighty are involved, she said.

It does not matter who you are, nobody deserves to take a life we want the real person behind this matter arrested and charged with the murder of Sharon.

Her Migori counterpart Dr Pamela Odhiambo appealed to the young girls to accept their humble backgrounds.

I appeal and urge our young people that accept the conditions that you are in and avoid shortcuts.

It is okay that you are a studentwhatever humble background you have, just accept that you are a student, she said.

She further asked mothers to guard their daughters and take it upon themselves to know what is happening in their lives.

As a mother, I want to offer my condolencesmothers poleni sanawhether you went to school or not, be as close to your daughter as possible and make sure they are protected regardless of their social economic status, she said.

We demand for respect of our lives. I demand for righteous leadership for all the male leaders. It is not right to use money and position to lure our young daughters to their deaths.

Odhiambo noted that the murder is shameful and unacceptable and said women from Migori county will not relent until the perpetrators are brought to book.

The pain is unbearable for the family. We know there is nothing that can pay for a life but justice needs to be carried out regardless of who they are, she said.

We are struggling with the education of the girl child and its very sad. We condemn this heinous act and we call upon the investigative agencies, EACC, DCIA to take this matter with the urgency it deserves.
Fire restrictions have been eased as the hot, dry summer of 2018 has given way to a period of rainy, early September weather.
Actons Alejandro Chafuen weighed-in at Forbes on the new Hollywood movie about the arrest and eventual trial of Nazi Adolph Eichman, Operation Finale. The movie is more than a historical reenactment for Chafuen, who recounts in his essay that a notorious Nazi once inhabited the Argentine neighborhood where Chafuen lived for 30 years.

The Nazi who lived close to my family, Joseph Mengele, has been credited for being extremely astute in evading capture and changing addresses just in time. But many mistakes in official reports, perhaps some made on purpose, allowed him to avoid being properly tracked. From Argentina he moved to Paraguay and then to Brazil. He died after a stroke while swimming at a Brazilian beach not far from Sao Paulo.

It was only in the late 1970s that I started focusing on Mengele, the Angel of Death. Before that, my only reading about the Nazis in Argentina were the few references about the affinity between the National Socialists and Juan Peron that was recounted in Libro Negro de la Segunda Tirania (Black Book of the Second Tyranny) published by a commission established by the military government who deposed him in 1955 and called for elections in 1958.

I became more interested after an encounter in 1978 while taking a short break from college and visiting friends near Toronto. In jest, the wife of my host accused all Argentines of protecting or harboring Nazis. Why do you say this, there were some, but they were not all over, I responded. She led me to a book published a few years before, Aftermath: Martin Bormann and the Fourth Reich, by Ladislao Farago. It was in this big book where for the first time I saw copies of official documents about Mengele, including his address in Argentina. I immediately recognized the neighborhood as well as a glaring mistake. It appeared in the cover of the seven-page, 10-count, Mengele indictment that came from Germany, dated June 5, 1959, but not received by the Argentines until 1960. It stated that Mengeles address was Virrey Ortiz 970, in Vicente Lopez, a suburb in Buenos Aires. I was born and spent 30 years of my life in Virrey Vertiz 930, in the same neighborhood, but Argentina never had a Virrey (Viceroy) Ortiz, or a street with such a name. As soon as I returned to Argentina from my studies, I was able to corroborate that indeed, Mengele had been our neighbor.
The mother of slain Rongo University student, Sharon Otieno, has lifted the lid on the alleged relationship between her daughter and Migori County governor Okoth Obado.

Melida Auma Otieno confirmed Sharon Otieno had a relationship with governor Obado that was characterized by unfulfilled promises of county business tenders that the governor had made to the Second Year student, who traded in attire.

Auma Otieno said governor Obado was aware of Sharon Otienos antenatal visits to the hospital. She was seven months pregnant when she met her tragic death.

Okoth Obado knew how the girl was going for medical checkups. There is evidence in her phone log and texts. The girls phone is with the Migori County Commander [Joseph Nthenge], claimed Auma Otieno.

Auma, who is a primary school teacher at Rabango in Rangwe Constituency, added that Sharon Otieno had been living in fear in the past two weeks but did not disclose what caused the fear.

Sharon had sensed danger; she had sensed danger. She could not walk alone; that was why she opted to walk with the journalist, Barack Oduor, whom they were kidnapped with [last Monday]. Last week, that girl [Sharon Otieno] flew to Nairobi. The governors P.A. [Michael Oyamo] was the one, who booked her the flight. Besides going to meet the P.A., her journey to the capital city was also business-motivated. She bought clothes there, came back to sell them here [Homa Bay], Auma was quoted.

He lied to my daughter that he would award her business tenders in the county. My daughter even registered a company believing Obado would give her the business deal, lamented Auma.

On Monday, I called her [Sharon Otieno] at 7 pm asking why she hadnt returned home. Rongo, and Yimbo where I stay, are not worlds apart. She told me: I havent met the governors P.A. I am still waiting for him. When I called her again at 8pm, her phone was switched off, she added.

The governor should be investigated over my daughters death.

Governor Obado has since distanced himself from the abduction and subsequent murder, through Migori County communications director, Nicholas Anyuor.

In a statement on Wednesday, Anyuor claimed the allegations are meant to damage the reputation of governor Obado.

Obados personal assistant, Michael Oyamo, was arrested on Tuesday. He has been described as one who uses extreme thuggery to silence anyone who would dare criticize Governor Obado.
"We expect that the next 18 months should see robust M&A activity in global healthcare," said Shane Evans, MinterEllison Partner and national Health Industry group leader. "Signals show that healthcares deal boom is set to continue, with cashed up buyers chasing an increasingly narrow pool of assets that combine quality businesses with growth potential."

While some larger firms will be spinning-off healthcare divisions, while the industry faces challenges from an ageing population and increased regulation, MinterEllison highlights growing interest from several sources.

"There's also an overall trend towards building scale in the fragmented industry, more cashed up PE funds making new inroads into healthcare, and Chinese investment focused on strategic assets, advanced technologies and the commercialisation of IP, said Victoria Allen, MinterEllison's Deals Chair.

Australia is increasingly attractive the report says, with nearly AU$48 billion worth of M&A transactions over the last decade, representing 27% of all Asia-Pacific healthcare M&A since 1 January 2017.

Senior partner hire for HFW push in Asia Pacific

The head of HFW's global Fraud & Insolvency and Commercial Litigation groups has relocated from London to Hong Kong as the firm continues to push into Asia Pacific.
Customers who prefer the five-door option need to pony up $20,750, which is a lot of money for a car that targets college students across the country returning to school and recent graduates coming off their first summer post-graduation. For reference, the cheapest Toyota Corolla retails at $18,700.If youre buying domestic, the Chevrolet Cruze is great value at $16,975. Theres also the Ford Focus , available from $17,950. On the other hand, the style and aura of a MINI cant be matched. Having made this point clear, what do you get as standard in the Oxford Edition?First of all, MINI points out that the car comes with $6,900 worth of optional equipment as standard. More to the point, the list of features starts with a manual or automatic transmission, along with a 1.5-liter TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder engine that develops 134 horsepower at 4,400 rpm and 162 pound-feet of torque at 1,250 rpm.To this, MINI adds the Connected Infotainment System (6.5-inch screen), rearview camera, park distance control, Teleservices, and emergency call. 17-inch wheels painted in silver or black, dual-pane panoramic moonroof, heated seats, and a choice of six exterior color options.The MINI Oxford Edition represents a tremendous value for college students and recent graduates who are looking for a fun, stylish car that wont break the bank, declared Randy Clements, head of Product Planning & Aftersales. Students and graduates can save thousands on a well-equipped MINI that is ideal to get them to get to campus or their first job out of school in style.The Oxford Edition can be bought by full- and part-time students of any accredited college or university. College graduates within 12 months of their graduation are also qualified, together with students enrolled in a post-bachelors degree program.
A restored Curtiss Model F flying boat is scheduled to be in attendance at this years Wings & Wheels benefit event at Keuka Lake in Hammondsport, New York, on Sept. 15 and 16. The aircraft first flew off of Keuka Lake 104 years ago. It is owned by the Massachusetts-based Collings Foundation and was recently restored by Century Aviation in Wenatchee, Washington. The Model F will be assembled on-site and, if conditions allow, take a short flight over the lake.

Sponsored by the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, the two-day Wings & Wheels event combines seaplanes and classics cars for a variety of activities including seaplane takeoff and landing competitions, spectator-judged car shows, seaplane rides and a banquet held at the museum. So far, event organizers say that 18 aircraft are registered with more expected to sign up in the week before the show. There will also be show space available for approximately 80 classic and exotic cars each day.

Proceeds from the event go to the nonprofitGlenn Curtiss Museum, which sees more than 30,000 visitors come through its doors each year. 2017 was the first year for the combined seaplane and car showearning a name change to Wings & Wheelsbut the museum has been flying restored and replica aircraft since 1999.Funds are used to support facility care and maintenance, exhibits, collections care and public programming.
The FAAs Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative (PAFI) will resume testing a possible unleaded replacement for avgas this fall, according to AOPA. The FAA suspended most PAFI testing operations in June to assess issues related to the differences between 100LL and the two unleaded test fuelsone developed by Shell and one by Swift Fuels. That announcement was followed by Swift Fuels halting its work with the program in late August to pursue development and certification of an unleaded avgas replacement outside of PAFI.

The PAFI Steering Group made the decision to resume testing on the Shell fuel at its quarterly meeting, which was held at AOPA Headquarters in Frederick, Maryland, at the end of August. Peter White, the FAAs alternative fuels program leader, said in an interview with AOPA that the break in testing has provided time for development of mitigations for the problems encountered. White also said that the FAA has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding future regulation of leaded avgas.

Originally scheduled to wrap up in December 2018, the end date for PAFI testing has been pushed to late 2019. The FAA has said that it is also interested in seeing data on unleaded fuels developed outside of PAFI.
The Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) has refuted torture allegations made by Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, his arrest on August 13.

The musician turned politician on September 3 finally told his highly anticipated side of the story narrating the horrific abuse and inhumane conditions he allegedly underwent at the hands of security agencies.

Bobi Wine, who has since flown to the US for specialised treatement, said the soldiers went as far as pulling and squeezing his manhood with pliers and battered him with blunt objects.

Those guys did to me unspeakable things in that vehicle! They pulled my manhood and squeezed my testicles while punching me with objects I didnt see, narrated Bobi Wine, adding, They hit my back and continued to hit my genitals with objects. The marks on my back, ankles, elbows, legs, and head are still visible. I continued to groan in pain and the last I heard was someone hit me at the back of the head with an object  I think a gun butt or something. That was the last time I knew what was going on.

Read: Bobi Wine: My Story on What Exactly Happened in Arua

However, and as expected, the UPDF has denied the torture allegations saying investigations are ongoing.

As promised earlier, we shall avail you all the details of actions we have taken against our officers when the time comes. We dont torture people to that extent. If what Bobi Wine alleges in the statement is true, our investigations will unearth it and make no mistake, every officer will be individually held accountable, the army spokesperson, Brig Richard Karemire, said on Tuesday evening.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet in Pyongyang from September 18-20 to discuss "complete denuclearization," the Associated Press reports, citing the South Korean government.

Why it matters: Despite the easing of tensions between the rival Koreas, Kim Jong-un has refused to provide documents related to his country's nuclear weapons, stalling any further progress in talks between North Korea and the United States. Most recently, President Trump cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to North Korea last month, saying the country was not "making sufficient progress with respect to denuclearization."

The details: According to the AP, a senior South Korean presidential official told reporters that when he met Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday, the North Korean leader reaffirmed his "firm resolve" to realize denuclearization.
A joint statement released by the leaders of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada supports the conclusions by the British government that officers from the Russian military intelligence service were behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal.

The big picture: U.K. authorities charged two suspected Russian GRU officers Wednesday with the attempted murder of Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England, and claimed that their operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level.

"We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, reiterate our outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent , known as Novichok , in Salisbury on March 4.

We welcome the progress made in the investigation into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and take note of the attempted murder charges brought yesterday against two suspects.

We commend the work of the UK police and all those involved in this investigation.

We also note the UK's analysis, independently verified by the OPCW, that the exact same chemical nerve agent was used in the poisoning of Dawn Sturgess and Charles Rowley as was used in the poisoning of the Skripals.

We urge Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW.

And we encourage those with information about the attack in Salisbury on March 4, as well as the further poisoning in Amesbury, to come forward to the UK authorities.

We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level.

We have already taken action together to disrupt the activities of the GRU through the largest ever collective expulsion of undeclared intelligence officers.

Yesterday's announcement further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies."

Go deeper: Trump's dueling Russia policies
With Syria's army preparing for a major offensive in Idlib province, the country's last opposition stronghold, the leaders of Russia, Iran and Turkey will gather in Tehran on Friday to discuss a path toward ending the seven-year civil war.

The big picture: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to strike a decisive blow in Idlib, but the three leaders meeting on Friday have clashing concerns and objectives. Meanwhile, the estimated 3 million civilians currently in the northwestern province many of whom have already relocated from elsewhere due to the war  are in a precarious position.

We've seen crises like this before, in Eastern Ghouta and Aleppo. But what makes this different is that the people in the Idlib province have no where else to go. With the pro-regime coalition pushing on one side, and Turkey saying it won't take in more refugees on the other, civilians in the area would be trapped.

in Eastern Ghouta and Aleppo. But what makes this different is that the people in the Idlib province have no where else to go. With the pro-regime coalition pushing on one side, and Turkey saying it won't take in more refugees on the other, civilians in the area would be trapped. Chris Kozak, senior analyst at the Institute for the Study of War who focuses on Syria, told Axios: "You have a very large population that is already on the edge, there's not a lot of capacity to deal with a new big wave of internal migration provoked by fighting."

who focuses on Syria, told Axios: "You have a very large population that is already on the edge, there's not a lot of capacity to deal with a new big wave of internal migration provoked by fighting." The decision of what comes next ultimately comes down to Turkey, which has set up observation posts with the intention of protecting its border, Kozak says.

Where they stand

While Russia is Assad's staunch ally, it is also seeking to exploit strained ties between the U.S. and Turkey. It doesn't want to risk that advantage with a military offensive in Idlib that would infuriate Ankara

it is also seeking to exploit strained ties between the U.S. and Turkey. It doesn't want to risk that advantage with a military offensive in Idlib that would infuriate Ankara Syria and Iran, however, "strongly want to go in and launch an offensive operation to recapture the area," Kozak told Axios.

"strongly want to go in and launch an offensive operation to recapture the area," Kozak told Axios. Turkey has forces in Idlib, and has said an offensive there would cross a "red line." At the end of the day, though, it may concede some parts of the province to the coalition in order to keep security over its border.

What they're saying

President Trump weighed in on Twitter : "President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. ... Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Dont let that happen!"

: "President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. ... Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Dont let that happen!" Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford said, per the Wall Street Journal: "We dont see any way that significant military operations are going to be beneficial to the people of Syria. ...[I]f major operations take place, we can expect a humanitarian catastrophe, and we would all want to see that be avoided.

said, per the Wall Street Journal: "We dont see any way that significant military operations are going to be beneficial to the people of Syria. ...[I]f major operations take place, we can expect a humanitarian catastrophe, and we would all want to see that be avoided. U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said this week that if Assad and his allies "want to continue to go the route of taking over Syria, they can do that, but they cannot do it with chemical weapons. They cant do it assaulting their people."

said this week that if Assad and his allies "want to continue to go the route of taking over Syria, they can do that, but they cannot do it with chemical weapons. They cant do it assaulting their people." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, per Reuters: "A fairly large group of terrorists has settled [in Idlib]...We know that Syrias armed forces are preparing to resolve this problem."

The bottom line: Kozak believes that unless the Assad regime deploys chemical weapons in Idlib, the U.S. ultimately won't get involved.
In the most important geopolitical region in the world, the Asia Pacific, the Trump administration has its bets placed squarely on India.

The big picture: The U.S. strategy depends on closer relations between the U.S. and India, and India playing a larger role throughout Asia. So as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrive in New Delhi tomorrow for the so-called 2+2 dialogue, one of the highest-level dialogues between the two countries since Trump took office, it bears asking: how are things going?

On many fronts, relations between the U.S. and India are on an upward trajectory.

Perhaps the strongest area of cooperation is on arms saleswhere India went from importing zero U.S.-made equipment in 2008 to around $15 billion in the decade since.

Secretaries Pompeo and Mattis are looking to use their trip this week to sign a long-stalled defense pact that would enable billions more in weapons deals and expand military ties, including the sharing of encrypted communications and communications systems.

The recent U.S. decision to cut off military aid to Pakistan should certainly help boost trust.

But there remain points of friction, particularly on economic issues, that could ultimately limit the deeper cooperation envisioned by U.S. strategy.

India has a large trade surplus with the U.S., a particular bone of contention for President Trump, and was hit by US steel and aluminum tariffs earlier in the yearwhich though not yet economically damaging have proven to be an irritant.

In addition, the U.S. is currently considering two different sanctions packages against India  one for its planned purchase of a Russian-made air defense system, the other because of its continued reliance on Iranian oil imports.

Trumps tendency to mimic his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is certainly not helping his administrations efforts to cozy up to a man who oversees one-sixth of the worlds population.

Even if they can get along, theres a broader question: Could India ever provide the U.S. the reliable foothold it wants in Asia? Here, the U.S. faces two problems.

First, India remains a reluctant power that will struggle to challenge China strategically in the region.

Second, deeper ties with India will do little to combat Chinas growing economic clout  of which India is, and will continue to be, a willing beneficiary. For the U.S., it will take more than 2+2 to tango in Asia.

Sign up for Signal, a thrice-weekly newsletter from GZERO Media, a Eurasia Group company.
Over mushroom omelettes at the governors mansion in Olympia, Washington, the states Democrat governor, Jay Inslee, and I talked about his support for a ballot initiative taxing carbon emissions, climate-related lawsuits and more.

Why he matters: Inslee, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, is emerging as a leading progressive politician and critic of President Trump. Excerpts of the interview are below  with some corresponding reality checks.

Inslee drew a stark contrast between those who vote for and those who vote against a state-wide ballot proposal imposing a fee  others call it a tax  on most major polluting facilities in the state as a way to address climate change.

"Let me tell you, if youre voting against the [ballot] initiative, youre going to be voting with Donald Trump, who is a climate denier."

 Inslee

Reality check: Theres a lot more daylight between voting no on this proposal and denying that climate change is real. Two years ago, Washingtonians voted against a similar carbon tax proposal. Inslee may now see connecting anything to Trump as an effective political ploy in the mostly blue state of Washington he represents.

Inslee is traveling next week to a big climate summit in San Francisco, though he acknowledged many countries  and even Washington state  arent meeting their climate goals.

"Its obviously concerning, including our own because weve abandoned any pretense of reaching those goals.  Washington state wont meet it if we dont pass this initiative."

 Inslee

Reality check: Despite increasing climate action by progressive states like California and Washington, their efforts fall short without national government action. As a global problem, any individual action by itself wont do much, and yet collective action on a global scale may not occur without individual actions first.

Inslee expressed general support for lawsuits  including one brought by King County  suing oil companies alleging liability for climate change.

"I support people having access to the courts. I support the right to bring this lawsuit. I wouldnt be in favor of shutting them down."

 Inslee

Reality check: Thats a pretty tepid response for a politician otherwise outspokenly supportive of any and all actions to address climate change.

Stay tuned for a deeper dive on the ballot initiative in an upcoming Harder Line column.
Official Baku has sent a note of protest to the United States over the visit of American citizen Dan Bilzerian to Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to official sources, U.S. Charge d'Affaires William Gill was summoned to the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan over this matter earlier this week and was given an official note of protest addressed to the U.S. Department of State.

Bilzerian, a 37-year-old American social media celebrity of Armenian descent nicknamed the King of Instagram, made a trip to Armenia in late August to be issued a passport of an Armenian citizen.

The professional poker player, who is primarily known for his playboy lifestyle and has tens of millions of followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter attracted by his regular photos of private jets, scantily clad women, piles of cash and guns, then traveled to Nagorno-Karabakh where he fired various weapons at a local shooting range.

Azerbaijan, which considers ethnic Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh to be its territory, saw it as a violation of its laws. It was brought to the notice of the senior American diplomat that Bilzerian had violated the law of Azerbaijan on the state border and the countrys Migration Code as, without presenting relevant documents, bypassing our checkpoints, he entered the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, said Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev.

The note of protest directed to the American side also claims that Bilzerian illegally acquired firearms and for provocative purposes demonstratively opened fire on the positions of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. We also informed the American diplomat that this person was making insulting and immoral statements on camera affecting the dignity and moral values of the Azerbaijani people and contradicting the spirit of friendly relations between Azerbaijan and the United States, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Immediately after Bilzerians visit to Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijan launched a criminal case against the flamboyant millionaire. A court in Baku issued an arrest warrant for Bilzerian and put him on the international wanted list.

In response to this development, Bilzerian, who is no stranger to controversy, told the American magazine People that he thinks the arrest warrant was politically motivated. They only issued the warrant for my arrest, and nobody else on the trip, he said. I think its because I am a public figure and they want to try to make an example out of me.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan does not conceal the demonstrative nature of the criminal case against Bilzerian to prevent visits of U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries to Nagorno-Karabakh. We have informed the American side about the charges brought against Bilzerian and about the steps taken to bring him to justice. The Azerbaijani side expects the U.S. Government to take seriously the concerns of Baku and take the necessary measures to ensure that U.S. citizens refrain from visiting the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Hajiyev said.

At least on one occasion in the past authorities in Baku already acted on their warnings by arresting a foreign national over his visit to Nagorno-Karabakh. In December 2016 at the request of Azerbaijan the authorities of Belarus arrested blogger Alexander Lapshin, who has the citizenships of Israel, Russia and Ukraine. The blogger was then handed over to Baku where he was tried and sentenced to three years in prison for violating Azerbaijani laws. Lapshin was released from Azerbaijani prison in September 2017 after numerous calls from human rights organizations and some backstage negotiations with official Baku.

Baku has a long list of international figures who are declared personae non gratae in Azerbaijan and are banned from entering the country.
Armenian lawmakers on Thursday voted unanimously to set a stricter criminal punishment for offering people various enticements to vote for a particular candidate, party or programs with the offer of cash or somehow else during elections and referendums.

Sixty-six members of the 101-seat National Assembly, who attended the special session, backed, in the first reading, the government-drafted bill amending a number of laws, including the Criminal Code, to that effect.

Deputy Justice Minister Artur Hovannisian, who presented the bill in parliament, called for measures to be taken to exclude pressure, vote buying and other illegal influences on citizens expression of will during electoral processes.

We really need to make sure that citizens make their choices freely, he said.

The bill envisages criminalization of electoral bribes in any form - be it a promise of cash or provision of cash on preferential terms, provision of food, services or other incentives under the guise of charity  during campaigning periods.

Today it is also considered illegal, but now only administrative responsibility is envisaged for that, with the highest penalty set at 2.5 million drams (about $5,150). We find that such deeds amount to vote buying. And today vote buying is criminally punishable, Hovannisian explained.

Under the amendments, the violation may land the offender in prison for up to six years.

The vote on the amendments in the second and final reading is due on September 7.
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have 99 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Sept. 6.

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.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

Release of the terrorists of Sasna Tsrer by the new Armenian authorities continues to worry and outrage the countrys political circles.

Earlier, Press secretary of Sasna Tsrer Varuzhan Avetisyan announced the end of the armed struggle by the group and the beginning of political activity, the creation of the same party, which intends to participate in the next extraordinary elections to the National Assembly of Armenia and become the leading participant in the political life of the country.

Commenting upon this issue MP of the NA RPA faction Hayk Babukhanyan said that, if earlier we talked about the danger of entering a business into politics, now there is a greater danger: the entry of terrorism into politics.

He went on to say that it is unclear, on what basis and what legislation, people who committed onslaught with the murder of three policemen, were at liberty.

MP underlined that in fact, what is happening today is a threat to statehood.

Sasna Tsrer is the group that in July 2016 stormed a police station in Yerevan and held hostages for about two weeks, killing two police officers in the process. Then they surrendered to the authorities, came before the court, and received long sentences.

The process of reviewing the cases of the accused began after Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister of Armenia, who stated that there should be no political prisoners in the country, focusing on the Sasna Tsrer.

On August 17 of the current year, the court ruled to satisfy the mediation of the defense about changing the measure of restraint and release of leader of the armed group Sasna Tsrer Varuzhan Avetisyan, choosing as a preventive measure the release under the guarantee of the lawyer.

However, the transformation of terrorist groups into political parties is not a unique phenomenon, but there is no certainty that the Sasna Tsrer militants actually decided to abandon the armed struggle.

Terrorists rarely succeed in public policies. They return to their profession as soon as possible. And in Armenia, with its growing social problems, such outcome will not be long in coming.

Today fascists are honored in Armenia. For example, terrorist Garegin Ter-Harutyunyan - fascist general Nzhdeh, who laid the foundation of the Armenian punitive legion of the Wehrmacht. Streets and squares are named after him and other terrorists and it is a kind of reminder that the spirit of fascism is not defeated, it is is alive and has found haven in Armenia.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Trend

Azerbaijan and Japan have started negotiations on an investment agreement, Deputy Press Secretary of the Japanese Foreign Ministry Mitsuko Shino said Sept. 5 at a briefing in Baku.

She said the agreement will enable Japanese companies to invest more in Azerbaijan and make it possible for Azerbaijani companies to invest more in Japan.

Shino added that creation of a working group is envisaged to implement the agreement.

So far, Japan has invested about $7 billion in the Azerbaijani economy.

Shino further told about the results and objectives of the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono to Azerbaijan.

This is Konos first visit as Japanese foreign minister to Azerbaijan (he first visited Azerbaijan in 1999 as a Member of the House of Representatives) and the visit's goal is to intensify relations with the countries of the Caucasus, she said.

Stability in the Caucasus means stability in the world, Shino noted, adding that Japan supports the development of the region. Therefore, Tokyo launched the Caucasus Initiative, she said.

This program includes two areas - supporting the development of human resources and maintaining efforts to increase the attractiveness of the region for Japanese companies, Shino noted, adding that the specific components for various countries are different.

Shino noted that unlike Azerbaijan, Japan has very limited natural resources.

Japan has only human resources and this is the main resource for sustainable development of the country, she said.

Shino noted that the two countries can cooperate on environmental issues as well as in the expansion of opportunities in logistics.

The second direction in the program is the strengthening of contacts between the two countries in such sectors as tourism and business, she noted.

Japan is also eyeing to simplify issuing the multiple-entry visas for the countries of the region, she added.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Azerbaijan will be represented by a national stand at several international exhibitions until the end of the year, acting chairman of Azerbaijani Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev said at a press conference on September 6.

These exhibitions will be held in Russia, France and China.

Until the end of 2018, we plan to present Azerbaijan by a national stand at several other exhibitions, the first of which will be held in Moscow in late September. This is the famous World Food exhibition, and this year Azerbaijan, as in the past, is a partner of this exhibition. In October, our country will be represented at the SIAL exhibition in Paris. This exhibition, which will be held from October 21 to 25, is one of the largest food exhibitions in the world. Then it is planned to participate in two exhibitions in China, which will be held in November. One of them is the exhibition of alcohol production Provine in Shanghai, in which we already participated last year, Abdullayev said.

He also noted that by the end of 2018, several more export missions are planned to be sent to foreign countries. In addition, according to the head of AZPROMO, it is planned to create a number of shopping, wine and tea houses over the next four months.

In the remaining months of 2018, we plan to send export missions to Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Germany. Two missions will be sent to Russia: one - to Moscow and the other one - to St. Petersburg. In addition, we plan to send another export mission to China. As for the trade houses, this tool bring benefit gradually, and therefore we want to open trading houses in Aktau and Warsaw by the end of the year. In addition, we intend to open a wine and tea house in Russia, he said.

He went on to say that Azerbaijan is aimed at increasing trade relations with China.

With this purpose a special Azerbaijani pavilion will be opened in the Chinese city of Luzhou in late September, according to the head of AZPROMO.

This pavilion is planned to be opened on September 28. It will feature various Azerbaijani products, which, incidentally, are in great demand in the Chinese market. It especially concerns wines and other alcohol products. Visitors to the pavilion will have the opportunity to purchase Azerbaijani products of various types. Some of the goods have already been delivered to China, another part is planned to be delivered in the near future, he said.

In the course of the last mission to China and participation in exhibitions between the companies of Azerbaijan and China, a significant number of agreements were reached on the supply of Azerbaijani products, and the wine house of Azerbaijan in Urumqi was opened.

The trade turnover with China amounted to almost $1.3 billion last year, which is 33 percent more than in 2016. Exports have increased by 63.75 percent to $443.8 million, and imports by 21.4 percent to $854.5 million over the year, in accordance with the data of the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. Meanwhile, the trade turnover between the two countries totaled $616,402 million in the first half of 2018.

China is a huge opportunity and a priority market for Azerbaijan. In May 2016, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) opened a representative office in China to support and encourage relations between the two countries businessmen, as well as to promote the export of Azerbaijani goods to the Chinese market and attract Chinas leading investment funds to the Azerbaijani economy.

In January 2018, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on amending the procedure for determining and regulating the payment mechanism for part of the expenses paid from the state budget for organizing export missions to foreign countries, studying foreign markets and marketing activities, promoting the Made in Azerbaijan brand to foreign markets, the receipt by local companies of certificates and patents in foreign countries in connection with exports, research programs and export development projects.

According to the decree, this year the number of export missions that can be organized with the participation of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs in one calendar year has been increased from 10 to 25. Also, the number of international fairs and exhibitions, where a national stand can be presented with the participation of Azerbaijani businessmen was increased from five to ten.

Promotion of the Made in Azerbaijan brand on foreign markets became one of the priorities of the countrys foreign economic policy.

The export missions play an important role in expanding non-oil exports and promoting the domestic made products. To date, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) has organized 13 export missions to 10 foreign countries-Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Hungary, China, Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia.

Exhibitions, organized by the state bring excellent results. National entrepreneurs took part in different international exhibitions-Gulfood 2017, Prowein, ANUGA, Worldfood Moscow 2017 and the International Exhibition of Wines and Alcoholic Beverages in Hong Kong to promote the brand.

President Ilham Aliyev signed the decree on large-scale promotion of local non-oil products in foreign markets as Made in Azerbaijan on October 5, 2016.

This decree includes nine different support mechanisms to stimulate exports and promote Made in Azerbaijan abroad. Depending on the support mechanisms, the costs relating to their realization are fully or partially covered by the state budget.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Laman Ismayilova

Shirin Melikova, Director of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, Chair of ICOM Azerbaijan National Committee, Honored Worker of Culture, took part in the presentation of the Quality Mark by World Crafts Council (WWC) on August 15-22 at the invitation of Dinara Chochunbaeva, UNESCO expert on Intangible Cultural Heritage, Founder of the Central Asian Crafts Support Association.

At the event, Melikova was elected as a member of the International Jury. Dinara Chochunbaeva (Kyrgyzstan), Edik Onk (Malaysia) and Ajan Bekkulova (Kazakhstan) were also on the jury.

More than a hundred artists from Central Asian countries were nominated for the WWC.

The prize was awarded to products that received a rigorous multi-stage selection. Suzane and gulebetin embroideries, metal, ceramics, wood, lacquer and jewelry works, felt products, specimens of traditional costume, as well as the author works made in traditional technique such as clothing and accessories, are among them. In total, forty-six products have received the Quality Mark, said the Museum Director.

She also added that nowadays handicrafts in Central Asia are reviving their popularity.

Handicraft movement in the countries of Central Asia is gaining momentum. In all countries of this region, ancient handicrafts are being revived - the whole family, young and old alike, is engaged in them. Thanks to the invaluable work of the devotees of this great cause, these crafts feed tens of thousands of families, developing the economy and promoting their culture throughout the world, said Melikova.

Notably, artisans who have received the Quality Mark get the right to sell their products not only within the country but abroad.

Melikova also held several meetings within the framework of her visit. She visited the gold stitch embroidery factory in Bukhara and got acquainted with their work, materials and embroidery technique as well. Forty women work at the factory. Moreover, this factory also cooperates with home-workers.

During the visit, Melikova visited the workshop of the prominent representative of the Gijduvan ceramics school of Uzbekistan Abdullo Nazrullayev, located near Bukhara. In Nazrullayev family this craft is passed down through generations. There is a gallery, presented with a range of products, and a museum with ancient samples of pottery at the workshop.

She stressed an opportunity for organizing a joint exhibition of the Carpet Museum and this institution, dedicated to the art of ceramics and embroidery.

Melikova also met with Abdulhamid Badjisi, Head of the Samarkand Carpets Factory "Samarkand and Bukhara Silk Carpets." He elaborated on the methods of factory work, its staff recruitment, and training programs on dyeing and weaving. Shirin Melikova got acquainted with the Azerbaijani carpets, kept in the factorys collection.

The Azerbaijan Carpet Museum was created in 1967. From 1967 to 1993, the museum was called the Azerbaijan State Museum of Carpet and Folk Applied Arts, from 1993 to 2014 - State Museum of Carpet and Applied Arts named after Latif Karimov, from 2014 to the present time the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum.

The first exposition was presented on April 26, 1972 in the building of the Juma Mosque, an architectural monument of the 19th century, located in the Icherisheher  Old City.

The museum has become a research-training and cultural-educational center where many events, such as exhibitions, international symposiums, and conferences, are held. During its 50 years of existence, the museum has organized more than 30 exhibitions in different countries throughout the world.

In 2004, a law on the Preservation and Development of Azerbaijan Carpet was enacted with the museums participation. The law aimed to implement the registration of Azerbaijan carpets, protect and support their development, and coordinate scientific and methodical training.

In 2010, the Azerbaijan Carpet Weaving Art was included in UNESCOs Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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By Naila Huseynli

YARAT Contemporary Art Center will host a film of Ivan Tverdovsky titled "Jumpman" on September 11.

The chronometer of the screenshots is 95 minutes which will be presented within the framework of the Russian Film Week.

The film talks about a story of a young man recently released from a psychiatric clinic that has a rare condition  he feels no pain. The hero of the film goes to live with his mother but becomes caught up with crime and corruption in Moscow. His main party trick is to jump in front of cars and then extort money from their drivers, because he does not feel pain.

The film will be shown in Russian.

Tverdovski, known as director, screenwriter, operator and artist, is the curator of the Short Film Program since 2012. The director's full-length film debut was "Correction Class". In 2014, he won two awards at the Kinotavr Film Festival in Sochi, and won a prize for the best debut.

The film won the Grand Prix of the East European Film Contest "From the West to the East" at the Film Festival Karlovy Vary. In 2016 at the 27th Kinotavr Film Festival, he won the "Elephant" prize of cinema critics and cinematographer for the film "Zoology".

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By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated King of Eswatini Mswati III.

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I congratulate you and through you all the people of your country on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Kingdom of Eswatini, President Aliyev said.

On this remarkable day, I wish you robust health and happiness, and the people of your country peace and prosperity, Ilham Aliyev said.

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By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has arrived in the Republic of Croatia for an official visit.

A guard of honor was arranged for President Ilham Aliyev at Franjo Tuman Airport decorated with the national flags of the two countries in the city of Zagreb.

President Ilham Aliyev was welcomed by Chief of Staff of the Office of the Croatian President Anamarija Kirinic and other officials.

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By Trend

A meeting of foreign ministers of GUAM member countries will take place at the UN General Assembly, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said at a press conference Sept. 5.

He noted that an agreement has been reached to hold the meeting in New York in the framework of the UN General Assembly.

The GUAM format was created by the post-Soviet countries in 1997 during the summit of the heads of states of the European Union in Strasbourg. Uzbekistan joined this format in 1999, but left it four years later. In 2006, at the first summit of this format in Kiev, it was decided to declare GUAM an international organization with a new name - the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM.

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By Trend

An official welcome ceremony has been held for President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who is in the Republic of Croatia for an official visit.

A ceremonial guard of honor was arranged for the Azerbaijani President at the square decorated with the national flags of the two countries.

President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic welcomed President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

State anthems of Azerbaijan and Croatia were played.

The chief of the guard of honor reported to President Ilham Aliyev.

The presidents reviewed the guard of honor.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev saluted Croatian soldiers.

Croatian state and government representatives were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev, while members of the Azerbaijani delegation were introduced to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

The presidents posed together for photographs.

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By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic have held a one-on-one meeting.

The presidents hailed the successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Croatia in political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres.

The importance of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's official visit to Croatia was emphasized in terms of the further strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Other bilateral issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting.

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By Naila Huseynli

In the harvest season more and more snakes, scorpions and spiders crawl out in the regions and the surroundings of Baku city.

In this regard, in August, six cases of steppe spider bites, eight cases of yellow scorpion bites were reported and were hospitalized in the Toxicology Center of the Clinical Medical Center, according to Azer Magsudov, Head of Toxicology Department at the Center.

Magsudov said that complaints about the yellow scorpion and steppe spider bites were mostly reported by people living in the suburban arias of Baku.

He added that 14 people were hospitalized with a diagnosis of snakebites in August.

Statistics says that appeals to the hospital with complaints of yellow scorpion and steppe spider bites were included from mostly Shirvan and Hajigabul, Yevlakh, Barda, Kurdamir, Gabala regions.

In order to protect themselves from snakes, people should repair cracks in homes, as much as possible restrict access to the cellars, which are their favorite places of residence.

Yellow scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus ), also known as deathstalker is a species of scorpion, a member of the Buthidae family. They are 3077 millimetres (1.23.0 in) long, with an average of 58 mm (2.3 in). A deathstalker scorpion's sting is extremely painful and also causes paralysis, an inability to move or feel part of the body.

Steppe spider, sometimes known as the Mediterranean black widow is a species in the genus Latrodectus of the widow spiders. Black widow has a very painful bite. In order to avoid getting bitten it is best to avoid dark, hidden spots such as piles of rocks, leaves or wood.

From April 15 up to June 30, as many as 42 incidents were recorded. Most of these were caused by poisonous snake bites. 12 wounded were in serious condition and four of them were children. Death incident was not recorded.

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By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has visited Voice of Croatian Victims  Wall of Pain monument in Zagreb.

The president put a wreath at the memorial and paid tribute to the people who gave their lives for Croatia.

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Ace the meal, close the deal: New class covers business dining

Youre meeting a potential new client over dinner, and business-wise, youre crushing it. But then dining doubt sets in. Which bread plate is yours? What wine should you order, and are you supposed to swirl and sniff it? And why are there so many forks?

Meetings are as likely to happen around a dining table as a conference table, but the typical college curriculum wont teach you where to rest your chopsticks, when its OK to shift from small talk to shop talk, or why to avoid the chicken wings at a mixer.

A new class led by Lori Pennington-Gray, a professor of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management at the University of Floridas College of Health and Human Performance, gives students the skills to navigate those situations with confidence.

Employers want their employees to have this knowledge, she said.

The three-credit online class deals with more than place settings. Students write and give toasts, dive into dining protocols of other cultures and even learn how to mingle. Pulling from YouTube videos, online resources and her own experiences, Pennington-Gray demystifies the basics, pointing students to sources they can turn to for further information.

I grew up with table etiquette, but when I started to travel internationally, I realized there was so much I didnt know, said Pennington-Gray (pictured above), whose work has taken her to Mexico, Korea, South Africa, Russia, Peru and the Caribbean.

For better or worse, people will judge you if you dont know what to do, she said.

In business, youre always marketing yourself, and manners are part of how people perceive you.

The class  called Farm, Fork and Table: Hospitality Business Etiquette for Success  is open to students from any major. Pennington-Gray plans to offer the course again in the Summer 2019 term.
By Trend

The accounts chambers of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation, the Accounts Chamber of Kyrgyzstan said in a message on Sept. 6.

The document was signed in Moscow by heads of the highest audit agencies of the two countries - Vugar Gulmammadov and Ulukbek Maripov.

During the meeting, Ulukbek Maripov stressed that the Accounts Chamber of Kyrgyzstan pays special attention to the establishment and development of bilateral cooperation with the Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan.

Since the last meeting of the two agencies employees on the exchange of experience in Bishkek city, much work was done on the preparation of the agreement, he said. We see the results of this work. We are very glad that we will begin to build a new bridge for the professional interaction, exchange of experience and friendship between us.

Ulukbek Maripov expressed confidence that the norms stipulated in the agreement will work in favor of deepening and strengthening bilateral cooperation not only between the accounts chambers, but also between Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan as a whole.
By Trend

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to visit Azerbaijan in mid-September, the Turkish media reported Sept. 6.

Reportedly, the prospects for development of bilateral relations, as well as regional issues will be discussed during President Erdogans one-day visit, scheduled for September 15.

Over the past year, political and economic relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey have reached a new level. Ankara supports Azerbaijan in all international organizations in connection with the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

President Erdogan once again confirmed this position during the Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, held in Kyrgyzstan on September 3.

He also said that Turkey, as before, will support Azerbaijan in all spheres.

The Turkish president also said that all Turkic-speaking states must contribute to settlement of conflicts and establishment of stability in the world.

Today, Azerbaijan and Turkey have a solid bilateral cooperation, but the two countries also have experience of working in a multilateral format.

Turkey participates in the majority of large-scale projects being implemented by Azerbaijan in the region. Among them are the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline projects.

Turkey and Azerbaijan demonstrated their leadership by signing an agreement on the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) in Istanbul in 2012. TANAP is one of the important components of the Southern Gas Corridor, which will allow supplying Azerbaijani gas to the world markets.

In summer, the first commercial gas from Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field was supplied via the first segment of the Southern Gas Corridor from the Sangachal terminal through the expanded South Caucasus Pipeline. The next stage was the commissioning of TANAP, through which gas is supplied to Turkey and further to Europe.

Another large-scale project of the century is the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which will ensure more active economic and trade cooperation between Ankara and Baku by supplying goods from Central Asia to Europe.

After the railway was commissioned in November 2017, the time of cargo transportation was almost halved, decreasing by 12-15 days. As is known, at this stage the biggest cargo turnover is carried out between Europe and China. Before the BTK railway, the transportation was carried out through sea routes and on average it took 25-30 days.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkey reached $2.64 billion in 2017, of which $1.37 billion accounted for exports to Turkey. The trade turnover between the two countries increased by 14.8 percent in 2017.

In January-July 2018, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $1.74 billion (a 19.6 percent growth for the year).
By Trend

SOCAR Energy Ukraine (a subsidiary of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR) plans to greatly increase natural gas supplies to Ukraine, the company told Trend.

"In the first half of 2018, SOCAR became the leader in terms of sales of natural gas in Ukraine among commercial structures," the company said. "We plan to reach a record figure in the autumn - one billion cubic meters of imported gas."

In the first half this year, SOCAR Energy Ukraine imported 250 million cubic meters of natural gas into the country.

This is almost four times more than during the same period of 2017. The company supplies the purchased resource both for household consumers and major business structures.

SOCAR has been operating in Ukraine since 2008. The network of SOCAR filling stations includes 59 filling stations and two oil loading bunkers located in 11 regions of Ukraine.

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By Trend

Iranian Parliament speaker Ali Larijani said his visits to Russia and Belarus are aimed at boosting bilateral ties with the two countries.

Russia and Belarus have been always among Irans good friends, and through history we have had close cooperation with them, Larijani said before leaving Tehran for Moscow on September 5, ICANA reported.

Heading a parliamentary delegation, the Iranian speaker left Tehran for Moscow and Minsk to attend two joint commission meetings.

"During my two-day visit, I will take the opportunity to explore ways to enhance bilateral ties with the two nations in different fields, including oil, mine, and agriculture," he added.

Iran and Belarus have developed good relations in recent years, particularly in the economic and trade sectors, and have signed a number of agreements to shore up bilateral cooperation.

Iran and Russia have also formed a strong alliance in recent years, with both supporting the Syrian government against foreign-backed militancy.

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By Trend

The Uzbek Metallurgical Plant JSC has commissioned a new workshop for the production of ferroalloys, Uzbek media reported Sept. 5.

The construction of the new workshop was held with the participation of Posco Daewoo, a subsidiary of the South Korean steel giant POSCO.

The workshop will produce about 25,000 tons of ferrosilicon and ferro silico manganese per year, of which about 8,000 tons worth $12 million will be exported.

In general, investments in the new workshop are estimated at $60 million.

The Uzbek metallurgical factory was put into operation in 1944. In 1994, as a result of its association with the Shirin Mechanical Engineering Plant and the self-supporting management of the Vtorchermet plants, it was transformed into the Uzbek Metallurgical Plant JSC.

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By Trend

The National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) signed an agreement on cooperation worth $50 million.

The agreement envisages cooperation with Afreximbank in trade finance, as well as the opening of credit lines to finance the export of goods and services from Egypt and other African countries to Uzbekistan, National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan said Sept. 5.

According to the message, the signed agreement will strengthen bilateral cooperation and promote the development of trade and investment ties of Uzbekistan with Egypt and African countries.

Presently, Uzbekistan mainly exports textile products, food, transport and tourism services, while Egypt exports pharmaceutical products, agricultural products, household chemicals.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Ukrainian company Farmak plans to invest $ 10 million in the construction of a pharmaceutical plant in Uzbekistan.

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Farmak JSC Filya Zhebrovska and Uzbek Ambassador to Ukraine Alisher Abdualiyev agreed on the construction of a new pharmaceutical plant in Uzbekistan.

Farmak has been operating in Uzbekistan for more than 15 years. During this time, Farmak JSC became one of the leaders in this region, ranking fourth on the pharmaceutical market of Uzbekistan in terms of sales among corporations, and earned credibility among doctors and population of the republic. The company sells more than 120 medicines, including socially important ones.

Zhebrovska noted that in order to expand its export potential, Farmak is considering an investment project worth up to $10 million aimed at localizing production in the Republic of Uzbekistan, launching in-bulk production with gradual transition to full-cycle production, developing more technologically advanced products, in particular, radiopaque and biotechnological.

We are ready to bring our positive experience in the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Uzbekistan to provide the population with high-quality medicines, she noted.

The Uzbek Ambassador said that the new production of Farmak will expand the range of medicines that are produced in Uzbekistan, reduce dependence on imported production and create a basis for further expansion of the pharmaceutical cluster.

Quality and innovation allowed Farmak JSC to be the leader of the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine since 2010. Farmak has 19 production lines with national GMP certification. As many as 14 production lines are certified by the European regulatory authorities. The pharmaceutical quality system has been introduced and is constantly being improved according to current GMP requirements and ISO 9001, ISO 13485, ISO22000 standards. Annually, the company passes approximately 15 national and international inspections and audits.

The company has five modern laboratories. The laboratory and technological R&D center is a research test ground for testing new and improving existing technologies of finished medical products. The laboratories are equipped with high-tech equipment produced by world-class manufacturers such as Glatt, SBM, Urlinski, Belimed, De Ditrich, Gea, Sartorius, Malvern Instruments and others.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Trend

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and Colonel General Xu Qiliang, Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China (PRC) have announced at a meeting in Dushanbe the priority of bilateral cooperation in military sphere, the press service of the Tajik president stated Sept. 6, Interfax reported.

The sides also discussed the issues of implementation of the previously signed agreements, provision of security on the border with Afghanistan and the issues of collective counteraction against terrorism and extremism, as well as illegal drug trafficking.

Emomali Rahmon and Xu Qiliang expressed satisfaction with the development of strategic cooperation between the two countries.

It is expected that on Sept. 6, Deputy Chairman of the CMC of the PRC will meet with Defense Minister of Tajikistan Sherali Mirzo, as well as will visit one of the military units.

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Overhaul of a bridge in the Depo district of Oral city in West Kazakhstan province has been completed, the local government said in a message on its webpage, citing the head of the local government Altay Kulginov's speech at a live broadcast on the TV channel "TDK-42".

The work was completed ahead of schedule. The construction started on March 1, 2017 and was to be completed only in the spring of 2019.

The bridge will be commissioned on September 7 on the occasion of the City Day.

Previously, the bridge's width was 11 meters and had two lanes.

The new bridge has a width of 19 meters. The number of lanes has increased from two to four. There is also a two-sided pavement with a width of 1.5 meters.

All 130 beams have been completely installed. The length of the bridge is 536 meters.

The work was financed by Karachaganak Petroleum Operating (KPO) b.v. The existing bridge was built in 1965 and was repaired before.

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By Trend

The Tashkent city administration has attracted 5.5 billion soums for the implementation of 47 investment projects, the press service of the city administration reported Sept. 6.

The relevant agreement was reached during the meeting of the acting head of administration of Tashkent city Jahangir Artikhodjaev with investors.

Earlier it was reported that by the end of the year, five regional investment projects will be implemented in Uzbekistan, their total cost will be $124.4 million, more than $117 million of which will fall on direct foreign investments.

From January to July 2018, more than 1,100 enterprises with participation of foreign capital were established in the country. Thus, their number increased by 2.8 times - to 736 over the year.

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Could Andrew Gillum be the next governor of Florida?

A UF political scientist and the director of UFs African American Studies Program asks: What awaits in the general election following the mayor of Tallahassees surprise upset in the states Democratic primary?





Andrew Gillum with wife R. Jai Gillum addresses supporters after winning the Democrat primary for governor. AP Photo/Steve Cannon

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum electrified Democrats with his surprising victory in the Floridas Democratic primary  but will he go on to win in the general election?

Come November, voters will choose between Gillum and Trump-endorsed candidate U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis, who represents Floridas Sixth Congressional District, won his nomination by a significant margin. Both men are 39 years old, politically experienced Florida natives  perhaps the only two similarities they share.

After trailing in the polls for weeks before the election, Gillum, who spent US$6.5 million in the primary, defeated three opponents who each spent more than $100 million in their campaigns. Gillum, the only candidate who was not a millionaire, received $650,000 in last-minute contributions from donors such as Tom Steyer and George Soros.

He now joins Georgias Stacey Abrams and Marylands Ben Jealous  two other young African-Americans with strong chances of winning their states gubernatorial elections. Each won their Democratic primaries because of the strong backing from black voters. But because none of them could have won with the black vote alone, their campaigns emphasized issues voters of all races were concerned with, like health care, and education and jobs. All received significant backing in some predominantly white communities.

Their victories are significant and rare because only four African-Americans have ever served as governors in our nations history  but winning during the general election wont be an easy task.

An uphill battle?

Gillum in particular is competing in a state that hasnt elected a Democratic governor in 20 years. True, former President Barack Obama won Florida twice, but it was by close margins  3.8 percent in 2008 and 0.9 percent in 2012. Then, President Trump again put Florida in the red category in 2016 by defeating Hillary Clinton by a mere 0.8 percent. However, as a professor of political science and African-American studies, I believe the unpredictable outcomes in recent national elections  as well as Floridas tendency to swing from red to blue  should encourage Gillum.

So how can Gillum win? Hell need a large turnout among his base of minority voters and progressives. Hell also need to expand his appeal among moderate Democrats and to seek crossover support from Republicans who are dissatisfied with President Trump. In the primary, he won only 18 of the states 67 counties. Some of these included cities and towns with larger minority populations, but others were rural or suburban predominantly white counties  like Clay, Escambia and Hamilton. Gillum also did well in South Florida counties like Broward, Hendry, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach.

Unfortunately for Andrew Gillum, he wont be running against Ron DeSantis alone. Hes also be running against Donald Trump.

DeSantis is one of Trumps most loyal allies. Hours after Gillum won the primary, Trump referred to him as [ DeSantiss] biggest dream  a failed socialist mayor.

Problems at home

A more troublesome dilemma for Gillum concerns Tallahassees problems.

Three years after he entered office, in June 2017, the FBI issued a subpoena of city records. Although Gillum is reportedly not the focus of their corruption investigation, the investigation allows the DeSantis campaign to accuse him of being untrustworthy regardless of the outcome.

Tallahassee also has the highest crime rate in Florida, even though crime has actually decreased since Gillum began his term in 2014.

On the positive side, Gillums progressive agenda and endorsement from Bernie Sanders may appeal to younger voters. During the primary, the Gillum campaign emphasized the mobilization of African-Americans and younger voters. Even before he began his gubernatorial campaign, Gillum carried out several efforts to mobilize young voters in support of progressive causes. About a week after a February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School resulted in the deaths of 17 students and educators in Parkland, Florida, Gillum led thousands of gun control advocates in a march at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He also opposes Floridas controversial Stand Your Ground Law.

Race as the elephant in the room

Soon after Gillums primary victory, the issue of race surfaced. In a television interview, DeSantis said, You know, he is an articulate spokesman for those far-left views and hes a charismatic candidate. He then said, The last thing we need to do is to monkey this up by trying to embrace a socialist agenda with huge tax increases and bankrupting the state. That is not going to work. Thats not going to be good for Florida.

Immediately, a debate surfaced about racialized rhetoric. DeSantis later argued that he had no racial intent. But, DeSantis has taken heat before. He referred to Puerto Rican candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a girl of whatever she is after she won the Democratic primary in New Yorks 14th Congressional District.

He also was criticized by Democrats  and praised by Republicans  because of a controversial campaign ad that featured him showing his young daughter how to build the wall and reading Trumps The Art of the Deal to his infant son.

Regardless of the outcome, this will be a campaign that wont soon be forgotten in Florida.

Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Science and Director of the African American Studies Program, University of Florida

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
A large oilfield wastewater disposal pond near Buttonwillow will likely close this summer, and its operator and last remaining customer will t
William Luther /San Antonio Express-News

The electric power industry made such a dramatic shift last year away from coal and toward natural gas and renewable energy sources, contributing to the industrys 4.6 percent decrease in emissions of carbon dioxide, the Energy Department reported.

The decline was enough to offset emissions increases from all other business sectors.
A retired accountant for the city of Cupertino is facing charges of embezzling nearly $800,000 from the city over her 18-year career, authorities said.

Jennifer Chang, 66, a former senior accountant, used a sophisticated scheme to bilk $791,494 from the Silicon Valley city between 1997 and 2015, the year she retired, Santa Clara County Sheriffs officials said.

Chang was arrested Wednesday on a district attorneys warrant alleging 68 felony charges including embezzlement, grand theft, unauthorized computer access and fraud.

Authorities said Chang drafted checks to several bogus vendors that she created and then pocketed the cash, officials said.

Chang pulled off the scheme under the citys old and outdated financial system that was replaced in December 2014, officials said.

This persons alleged actions are unacceptable and disappointing, Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul said in a statement. We are working to ensure that we have the highest safeguards against fiscal corruption.

The checks were uncovered in April as city employees conducted a detailed review of old financial records while implementing a new finance system.

Employees became suspicious because of the size and nature of the checks, city officials said. The checks also had no supporting documentation.

I am very appreciative of the efforts of our current Finance Division employees who uncovered this scheme, Interim City Manager Amy Chan said in a statement. They did their due diligence by continuing a review of the citys past financial accounts to ensure all are appropriately reconciled.

No one else was implicated in the case.

Chang is being held in Santa Clara Countys Main Jail on $3 million bail.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
Five people in the Houston area are accused of duping FEMA and the Small Business Administration into handing out a combined $270,000 in fraudulent disaster assistance after Hurricane Harvey, according to charges filed this week.

The alleged fraudsters represent the first wave of federal charges related to Harvey that were filed about two weeks after the one-year anniversary of the 2017 storm, said U.S. Attorney Ryan Patrick, who believes more charges for similar cases related to Harvey are forthcoming.

The investigations took more than a year, Patrick said.

These type of cases are no different than looting during and after the storm, Patrick said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

Some people try to exploit natural disasters by taking things that arent theirs, he said. It is white collar storm looting, and fewer people who actually need assistance get it.

Only at HoustonChronicle.com: After Hurricane Harvey, con artist contractors didn't worry about getting caught [Opinion]

The five people, all of whom were charged with multiple fraud offenses for unrelated cases, were identified as Clinton Booker, 51, of Houston; Randal Radack, 44, of Spring; Robert Kaitho, 55, of Humble; Christopher Howard, 45, of Highlands Ranch, Colorado; and Patricia Rodriguez, 38, of Houston.

The charges include fraud in connection with a major disaster and wire fraud.

The brunt of the allegedly fraudulent loans went to Radack after he claimed the storm damaged his Humble property, where he was not living during Harvey, according to officials. He obtained $115,100 from the Small Business Administration and another $16,541 from FEMA disbursements.

The indictment accuses Kaitho of lying about the property damage to his home and using a $53,000 SBA loan to pay a credit card company, according to the news release. For that, he also faces two counts of money laundering charges.

Howard was indicted after applying for and receiving $30,586 in FEMA disbursements for damage to a property owns in Crosby. He did not live at the Harris County property during the storm either, officials said.

ONLINE: Couple out in the cold after Craigslist housing scam

As for Rodriguez, investigators said she was not the rightful owner of a property she filed a damage claim for. She obtained $33,300 in FEMA disbursements, officials said.

Booker was similarly accused of lying about storm damage to his Houston home. He allegedly submitted or caused others to submit falsified records to make the claim appear legitimate, the statement reads.

He received an allegedly fraudulent loan of $25,000 from the SBA.

A copy of the criminal complaints against the accused was not immediately available.
Exploring the Texas wilderness doesn't have to be confined to hiking trails and winding rivers. Around the Lone Star State, waterfalls can also be a rewarding end to a long drive or hike.

Perhaps the most popular is the 50-foot beauty at Hamilton Pool Preserve, about a 45-minute drive northwest of Austin.
WASHINGTON - Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as senators continue publicly interviewing President Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh, a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has a good chance of being confirmed when the Senate votes later this month. Under questioning from senators, he has so far avoided answering whether he believes Trump can pardon himself, declined to say whether Roe v. Wade was correctly decided and defended his dissenting opinion in a case involving the abortion of a pregnant immigrant teenager held in federal custody.

What to watch for

The third day of hearings will see Kavanaugh facing more questioning from senators. Among other things to expect and watch for:

-- The battle over access to records from Kavanaugh's tenure in the Bush White House is sure to resurface, with Democrats asking the committee to release additional documents that have not been disclosed to the public.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt. implied Wednesday that there is evidence in confidential Senate Judiciary Committee records that Kavanaugh in 2003 was privy to an email allegedly stolen by a former committee staffer. Kavanaugh said he never knowing dealt with stolen records. Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, did not guarantee that those documents would become public this week, but said, "we'll try to get them."

-- More questions are likely about Kavanaugh's views on a host of pivotal issues, including guns, abortion, executive power, health care, affirmative action and more, as well as about his experiences on the bench and in the White House under President George W. Bush.

-- Health care and the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act will continue to be a potent issue, particularly as a legal challenge to the law unfolds in a courtroom in Texas this week. The nominee says he can't assure senators that he would uphold the law's requirement that insurers cover people with preexisting conditions because doing so would compromise his judicial independence. Democrats say they will revisit the issue.

-- Loud, angry protests are likely to continue to punctuate the Senate debate about Kavanaugh's legal theory and judicial opinions. A phalanx of Capitol Police officers, dressed in dark blue and some with zip ties, have been a fixture against the back wall of the hearing room, poised to quietly haul out protesters.
A 41-year-old man from Georgia was indicted Wednesday after police found over 4,000 tablets of oxycodone in his vehicle, according to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

On August 14 police conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 10 westbound in Orange County after witnessing a traffic violation.
TOKYO - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a team of South Korean envoys that he continues to trust President Donald Trump despite a breakdown in negotiations between the two countries, and repeated his commitment to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the chief envoy said on Thursday.

But North Korea media also repeated the country's demand that the United States make the next move by formally declaring an end to the Korean War, which concluded in 1953 with an armistice but not a peace treaty.

That's something it says Trump promised when he met Kim in Singapore in June - but it is a move that Washington is reluctant to make, fearing it could ultimately throw into question the continued presence of its troops in South Korea.

Judging by the photos, the mood was warm when the South Korean envoys met Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday. But if the atmospherics were good, the impasse between Washington and Pyongyang continues, despite South Korea's attempts to mediate.

The South Korean envoys delivered a letter from President Moon Jae-in, and a message from Trump, who had spoken to Moon by telephone earlier in the week.

The two sides agreed that a planned summit between the leaders of both Koreas would take place in Pyongyang from Sept. 18-20, and they pledged to open a joint liaison office in the North ahead of time.

Moon said the envoys' trip had turned out "really well," and they had brought back better achievements than he expected.

"I have big expectations for the upcoming inter-Korean summit," he told officials Thursday, according to the presidential Blue House. "I also have expectations for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and for talks between North Korea and the United States to be accelerated as well."

In Wednesday's meeting, North Korea's Kim expressed frustration with skepticism among some parts of the international community about his commitment to denuclearize, according to Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's Director of National Security and the leader of the team of envoys.

The North Korean leader also pointed to the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and Dongchang-ri missile launch facility as evidence of his commitment to end nuclear testing permanently, Chung said. And he asked for a message to be delivered to Trump.

"I can't release it here, but Kim said he wants conditions to be created that will make him feel right about his decision to denuclearize," Chung said.

That message will very probably contain an appeal for the United States to formally declare an end to the war, something North Korea says is vital to building trust and ending decades of hostility. Kim said such a declaration would not imply a withdrawal of U.S. troops or a weakening of the U.S.-South Korean military alliance, Chung added.

"Chairman Kim said that although the dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea is experiencing some difficulties, his trust in President Trump continues, especially at times like this," Chung told a news conference the day after his return.

"Chairman Kim also emphasized he has never spoken ill of Trump to his aides or anyone really. He also said, on the basis of such trust, he hopes to end 70 years of hostile relations with the United States, improve the bilateral relationship and fulfill denuclearization."

An end-of-war declaration is only seen as a first step toward a full peace treaty, that would in theory involve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and normalization of diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Washington, diplomats say.

On Thursday, a column in North Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the Trump administration must discard its "stubborn" stance that the North must denuclearize first before the United States agrees to a peace treaty.

It said North Korea had shown "goodwill and generosity" through actions such as returning the remains of some U.S. servicemen who died in the war and dismantling the nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, but that the United States had failed to respond with corresponding measures to improve relations.

But Shin Beom-chul, a North Korea specialist at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said this was a one-sided reading of the situation: the dismantling of the nuclear and missile test sites were unilateral moves not previously discussed with the United States, he pointed out, and had not been subject to external verification.

North Korea's assertion that the United States had not reciprocated also ignored Trump's announcement of a suspension of some military exercises with South Korea, Shin added.

Still, there is some hope that South Korean leader Moon will be able to break the deadlock as he tries to mediate between the two sides, pushing for a deal where both Washington and Pyongyang move simultaneously or at least in short succession in a coordinated way, diplomats say.

The summit later this month will be the third meeting between leaders of the two Koreas this year, as Moon makes a major effort to improve relations with the North in the hope this will persuade Kim to scale back or abandon his nuclear arsenal.

It will discuss the implementation of a joint declaration reached by Moon and Kim when they met in the border village of Panmunjom in April, and will also focus on issues relating to "the permanent settlement of peace and common prosperity on the Korean Peninsula" and "practical measures to realize denuclearization on the peninsula," Chung said.

"Second, Chairman Kim Jong Un reconfirmed his determination to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and expressed his willingness for close cooperation not only with the South but also with the United States in that regard," Chung said.

Harry Kazianis, director of Defense Studies at the Center for the National Interest in Washington, said he felt the envoys' visit could not have gone any better, with agreement to hold a three-day summit, and with Kim restating his commitment to denuclearize and confidence in Trump.

"All of that will go a long way in alleviating the Trump administration's fears that we could be sliding back toward a crisis," he said, adding the inter-Korean talks could set the stage for a resumption of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.

"In fact, I would not rule out a Peace Declaration being signed by all parties this year," he added. "If Trump wants a legacy building moment abroad, especially at a time when his administration has problems back home, ending the Korean War could be it."

North and South Korea had agreed to set up the joint liaison office when Moon met Kim in April.

The office will be established in the city of Kaesong in North Korea with resident representatives from both sides, "to facilitate close consultation between the authorities as well as smooth exchanges and cooperation between the people," according to the declaration issued at the end of that April summit.

Kaesong is also the site of an industrial complex jointly developed by both Koreas but largely financed by the South. It was launched in 2004 during a previous bid to improve relations with the North and enabled South Korean companies to manufacture products using cheaper North Korean labor. But Seoul suspended operations there in 2016 following the launch of a long-range rocket and Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test.

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Min Joo Kim in Seoul reported from Seoul.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made his first official trip to Pakistan on Wednesday, saying that he hoped to "reset the relationship" with the new government after a period of sharp disagreements between the longtime security allies over Pakistan's alleged harboring of anti-Afghan militants.

The secretary of state also told reporters that Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, was traveling with him from Washington and would join the Trump administration as a special envoy to Afghanistan, with a focus on pursuing reconciliation and peace talks with the Taliban.

It was the first official confirmation of widespread reports that Khalilzad would be named to the position, which has been vacant since President Donald Trump took office. The announcement added emphasis to Pompeo's message from Washington that settling the Afghan conflict after 17 years is the administration's top regional priority.

Pompeo's five-hour visit was greeted with skepticism and indignation in many quarters here, especially because it came just a a few days after the Trump administration announced it would suspend $300 million in military support funds to Pakistan as a reprisal for sheltering armed militants who stage attacks on Afghanistan. That was the second major U.S. cut in security assistance to Pakistan this year.

All week, Pakistani commentators denounced the United States as a hectoring bully that seeks to force Pakistan to do its bidding and fails to appreciate its efforts to fight Islamist terrorism. But officials of the new government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to maintain a cordial tone during the meetings Wednesday, and later pronounced the day a success.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a news conference Wednesday evening that the discussions with Pompeo, who was accompanied by Gen. Joseph Votel, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had "set the stage to reset the environment" for bilateral relations and that he had been invited to Washington to follow up later this month. "We understood what they want, and have also presented what Pakistan expects . . . in a mutually respectful manner," he said.

Pompeo, before departing for a longer visit in India, said he was "hopeful" that the talks with Qureshi, Khan and Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Javed Qamar Bajwa, would lead to improved relations. He said they had discussed the need for a "peaceful resolution" in Afghanistan, but that there was still "a long way to go" on making any firm agreements.

"We made clear to them and they agreed that it's time for us to begin to deliver on our joint commitment," Pompeo said. "There was broad agreement" about the need for "on the ground" actions that will "begin to build confidence and trust."

Pakistani officials expressed support for recent stepped-up U.S. efforts to seek reconciliation with the Taliban in Afghanistan and settle the 17-year conflict peacefully, asserting that it had long been Khan's wish. Qureshi said they had decided not to mention the military aid cut in order to maintain a positive atmosphere at the meetings.

Yet up until Wednesday, both Pakistani officials and commentators were fulminating about the sanctions, and a get-acquainted phone call last week between Pompeo and Khan led to anugly spat when Pakistan heatedly denied a State Department spokesman's statement that the two had discussed the issue of cross-border attacks.

"The antagonism witnessed now is unprecedented," Zahid Hussain, a columnist for Dawn newspaper, wrote Wednesday. "Washington's demand for unquestionable compliance is unacceptable to Pakistan." Although noting that the two "frenemies" cannot afford to break up, he added, U.S. efforts to "punish" Pakistan with aid cuts and belittle it with "humiliating tweets" would only backfire.

Pompeo told reporters Wednesday that the Islamabad government had been told in advance the sanctions were coming and why. "The rationale for them not getting the money is very clear," he said. "It's that we haven't seen the progress that we need to see from them."

Pakistan's priority in foreign policy has always been guarding against aggression by India, its nuclear-armed next-door neighbor. But the American priority in the region today is ending the war in Afghanistan, a long-elusive goal that is showing new promise. U.S. officials are eager to enlist Pakistan's help in that effort while pressing it to stop cross-border attacks.

American officials continue to insist that Pakistan is sheltering anti-Taliban militants in its porous border region with Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly denied the charge. Afghan officials accused Pakistan just last month of sending fighters to attack Ghazni, a large Afghan city near the Pakstan border, which was besieged by Taliban forces for four days.

There were widespread reports of wounded and dead fighters being returned to Pakistan for treatment and burial, and foreign diplomats and military officials in Kabul said they had seen indications of that taking place. Pakistani officials have said the victims could have been Pakistani laborers or others caught up in the violence.

While U.S. officials tried to keep Wednesday's meetings focused on Afghanistan, Pakistanis continued to grumble about U.S. favoritism toward India and bias against their country. The Trump administration is working on an agreement with India that would give it greater access to defense technology, one of the items on the agenda for Pompeo's longer, more relaxed visit there beginning Wednesday night.
Francisco Reyes was a family man, a husband of 10 years and a father to three young children. He loved jujitsu and competed at the purple-belt level during many weekends, his two daughters cheering him on. He worked hard, touting three employee-of-the-year awards from his work as the nighttime supervisor at a food distribution warehouse in Missouri City.

But on Aug. 20, Reyes went to work his night shift on Cravens Road and never came home. Authorities said he was shot and killed by coworker Kristine Peralez, who entered their workplace with a gun in the early hours of the morning.

Now, members of Reyes family say they are seeking justice for his death. At a press conference Wednesday, attorney Benny Agosto announced a lawsuit against the employer, Ben E. Keith Company, alleging that it had failed to secure its buildings. The suit also accuses the company and Peralezs estate of negligence.

Miss Peralez walked in with a semi-automatic weapon with no gates to hold her back, no security guard on the premise, nobody to stop her, said Benny Agosto, an attorney for the Reyes family, at a news conference. This tragedy was preventable.

Agosto said that the company had previously received violent threats from a different coworker and had hired security guards for three months as a result. However, Agosto said, the company discontinued security services about a month before the shooting took place.

We bring this lawsuit to bring justice for this family to send message that companies like Ben E. Keith need to protect its coworkers and have safety measures on its premises, Agosto said. In particular if youre going to be working 24/7, making money 24/7, cut out a little bit (of money) for a security guard.

Capt. Paul Poulton with the Missouri City Police Department was among the police officers who responded to the scene the night of the shooting. He said he remembered at least two gentlemen wearing jackets that said security on the back.

Poulton added that Peralezs motives are still unknown, even though she streamed her final words to family on Facebook around 2 a.m. and blamed an unspecified person for the violence yet to unfold at the workplace. Authorities said Perelez fatally shot Reyes and wounded Fedencio Janas, and then exchanged fire with responding police officers before taking her own life.

I miss him. I will always love him, said Reyes wife, Michele Pena. Its hard for my children, they keep asking for him. Its going to be hard without him.

The Ben E. Keith Company did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company previously said the incident was a tragic situation and that it was working with investigators.

About 20 to 25 workers were inside the building when shots were fired, police said, and several employees talked with Peralez before the shooting broke out.

Ben E. Keith Foods is a national food distribution company. The Missouri City location opened in 2013 and has 431 employees

massarah.mikati@chron.com
Japan's main gateway for Asian tourists, Kansai International Airport, has remained shut down in the wake of Typhoon Jebi, threatening to disrupt the growing tourism that has been a key engine of the Osaka-area economy.

Foreign tourists were left stranded on Wednesday as airlines scurried to reroute flights away from the flooded airport. The most powerful storm to strike Japan in 25 years has forced many budget airlines flying to the rest of Asia to cancel flights and rearrange bookings.

Though operator Kansai Airports says Runway B -- the runway that was not submerged -- will reopen first, an official could offer no time frame. "Runway A will take more time," the official said of the other runway.

All Nippon Airways suspended sales for all domestic and international flights to and from Kansai Airport through Tuesday.

Kansai Airport is used by about one-quarter of the foreign tourists visiting Japan. It served 28.8 million passengers in fiscal year 2017, up 12% from the previous year. Foreign passengers accounted for nearly 70% of those on international flights, mostly from South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia thanks to the airport's proximity.

But the typhoon exposed the airport's vulnerability, a question since its opening in 1994. One of the most prominent weaknesses of the island airport is the soft foundation on which it was built.

With pillars constructed on a base 18 meters deep, the man-made island has sunken 3.4 meters in the past two and a half decades and continues to drop by 6 cm a year.

To cope with the dangers of high waves, the airport installed 5-meter sea walls in 2004. But the typhoon, which happened to coincide with the high tide, triggered waves that surpassed expectations.

The other obvious weak point is the bridge, the sole means of access to the island. Roughly 8,000 people were forced to stay the night at the airport, stranded after the bridge was struck by a 2,591-ton tanker set adrift by the storm. They were evacuated starting on Wednesday morning by ferries that sailed the 24 km across Osaka Bay.

At this time of year, the airport serves a daily average of 195 international flights, most of which fly to and from other parts of Asia. - Nikkei
William Choctaw, MD, the physician advisor for The Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare, outlined four ways to create sustainable healthcare projects and processes.

Here are the insights Dr. Choctaw shared:

1. Define problems. Assessing how a problem can be solved by consulting an overall team, infrastructure and timeframe can help get to the bottom of the problems affecting a health system.

2. Work with quality data. Consulting quality data as a source to assess how severe the problem is can be useful in the decision-making process.

3. Check improvement. Once a project is completed, progress and improvement needs to be monitored.

4. Account for failure. Having plans in place to address failure is key to increasing project sustainability. Asking a team how improvement can fail is one way to plan for failures.
Miami-based Gastro Health closed its acquisition of Boynton Beach-based South Florida Gastroenterology Associates, rebranding the practice's several locations under the Gastro Health banner.

Here's what you should know:

1. Gastro Health announced the acquisition in April.

https://www.beckersasc.com/gastroenterology-and-endoscopy/gastro-health-to-acquire-south-florida-gastroenterology-associates-will-add-15-providers-7-offices.html

2. The acquisition more than doubled Gastro Health's presence in Palm Beach County, with the group acquiring locations in Boynton Beach, Jupiter, Fla., and Lake Worth, Fla.

3. Gastro Health also expanded its footprint in Boca Raton, Fla., Delray Beach, Fla., and Wellington, Fla.

4. Gastro Health now has 119 physicians in 55 Florida-based offices.

5. Gastro Health CEO Joseph Garcia said, "We are pleased to welcome SFGA's patients, physicians and professionals to the Gastro Health family. This important collaboration helps us serve more patients and strengthens our focus on delivering a market-leading healthcare experience."
Las Vegas-based Mountain's Edge Hospital is expanding to add an orthopedic surgery center, Las Vegas Business Press reports.

Here are six insights:

1. The Mountain's Edge Hospital Orthopedic Surgery Center expansion project will include 19,135 square feet of renovations. It will add a surgical suite, five operating rooms and material management, preoperative and recovery suites.

2. The project is slated for completion in March 2019. Mountain's Edge, which opened in 2015, always planned to build the surgery center, according to CEO Melissa War.

3. Construction costs $7 million, plus an additional $4 million with equipment.

4. Nigro Construction President Michael Nigro told Las Vegas Business Journal he has seen a surge in medical facility projects in the area. He said his company sees more interest in tenant improvements and converting procedure rooms into surgery centers than it did a year ago.

"What I am seeing on my end is a lot of doctor groups coming together to build 5,000-square-foot to 10,000-square-foot facilities," Mr. Nigro said. "Our medical business is up about 30 to 40 percent from a year ago."

5. Nigro Construction is also renovating a 6,000-square-foot obstetrics and gynecology practice and working on a renovation for Las Vegas-based Gastroenterology Associates, which operates an onsite surgical center.

6. Senior sales associates with CBRE said they've observed consolidation among physicians, who then look for space. One national physician group is reportedly in the hunt for a Las Vegas surgery center and might build one because existing ones don't fit the group's needs.

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Sheryl Rose, chief information security officer and senior vice president at Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, discusses the evolution of the CISO role and how hospital systems can implement the best practices for data protection.

Question: What tasks require most of your time as CISO?

Sheryl Rose: The role of the CISO has evolved over the years. It's important to have a solid technical background but as recent years have shown, having a strategic, balanced approach to security is extremely important. It is critical to understand your organization's threat landscape. The potential security threats that may impact an organization are continually changing. You must have strong processes for identifying, remediating and communicating risks to your organization. In some cases, you will have to think about compensating controls in mitigating the risks as not all risks can be addressed.

I spend a lot of time focusing on the projects that will enhance our security posture. This means working with the teams to have a solid focus on people, process and technology. Cyber threats in healthcare are real and spending your time focusing on how to prevent as well as detect [them] is critical. While I spend a large portion of my time working through our risk management processes and the associated projects, it is also extremely important to focus on strategy. Everyone's responsibility is security, and to get support is necessary to balance the business with the security needs.

Understanding the impact of security to healthcare providers as well as patient care is significant if you want to get engagement at all levels. I spend a lot of time taking very technical security controls and metrics and turning them into meaningful business analytics that can be discussed and balanced with business need, cost, risk appetite, etc. I also spend a lot of time ensuring that our leadership team has a deep understanding of our risks and support for security initiatives. As you know, some security initiatives may pose certain restrictions from an operations perspective; balancing security controls and users' experience is a delicate balance.

Q: How do you train clinicians and front-line staff to protect patient data and avoid cyberattacks?

SR: One of the most significant threat vectors for a cyber event is phishing. Training your end users is critical, but not just training, getting them to truly understand the potential impact of their action. It is beneficial to continue to enhance your training to focus on healthcare security as well as specialized role-based training. It is a balance to do so when clinicians' priority is patient care, but through thoughtful, ever-changing awareness training and scheduled phishing exercises, more awareness can be brought forward. Cybersecurity and awareness training cannot be underestimated even though we continue to implement technical controls in managing phishing threats.

Q: What do you see as the next big cybersecurity threat hospitals should look out for and why?

SR: I dont know if there is something specific for the 'next big thing' hospitals should look at. Instead, I think continued steady improvement in your security risk posture is important. Security isn't all about technology, it is critical to balance your people and processes as well. Having solid preventative controls but ensuring you align those with detective controls is key. The healthcare industry is making huge leaps into the technology space with consumer demands, mobile applications, [Internet of Things] and telehealth. These are definitely areas to engage and make sure you understand your organization's risks. The industry overall continues to see complex agreements with physician practices and partnership with other organizations that change the risk landscape dramatically. The outsourcing of technology and impact of cloud service providers in the healthcare space require an emphasis on third-party risk management programs to closely monitor existing and new partners' security practices.

Q: What do you consider to be the most important aspect in hospital data protection?

SR: The amount and the type of confidential data handled by healthcare entities and the ability to apply a true risk management approach in identifying critical infrastructure systems and critical data. I definitely see a lot of partnership in collaborating IT, business and operations leaders in addressing operational security risks. One of the most important aspects of hospital data protection is educating your end users on the criticality of the data they handle and providing them guidance on how to transmit or store this data. In addition to this, having a strong data loss prevention program provides detective controls to identify where sensitive data may be at risk. Finally, most healthcare organizations do not have unlimited funds to address IT and security related risks. It is important to be creative in addressing significant risks facing an organization. As always, a cybersecurity program is a journey, not a destination.

To learn more about hospital and health system cybersecurity, as well as the key trends for CISOs, register for the Becker's Hospital Review 4th Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference Sept. 19-22, 2018 in Chicago. Click here to learn more and register.
Four of the top vendors hospitals use to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program are Allscripts, Cerner, Epic and Meditech, according to June 2018 ONC data.

Here are 16 hospitals and health systems that posted job listings during the past two weeks seeking EHR and IT expertise:

Editor's note: This is not an exhaustive list. Job listings were compiled from job seeker websites.

Allscripts

1. Arizona Community Physicians (Tucson): Seeks an EHR applications analyst

2. Eastern Maine Healthcare System (Brewer): Seeks a health information management manager

3. HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital (Sheboygan, Wis.): Seeks an informaticist

4. Southeastern Regional Medical Center (Lumberton, N.C.): Seeks an EHR trainer

Cerner

1. Adventist Health System (Altamonte Springs, Fla.): Seeks a clinical applications manager

2. Christiana Care Health System (Wilmington, Del.): Seeks a senior systems analyst

3. Howard University Hospital (Washington, D.C.): Seeks an applications director

4. Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle): Seeks a health information services project manager

Epic

1. Montefiore Medical Center (New York City): Seeks a senior applications analyst

2. Mount Sinai Health System (New York City): Seeks an associate IT director

3. Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Seeks a project leader for clinical applications

4. Stanford Health Care (Palo Alto, Calif.): Seeks a clinical applications manager

Meditech

1. Eastern Maine Healthcare System (Brewer): Seeks a health information management manager

2. Stamford (Conn.) Hospital: Seeks a clinical systems analyst

3. Steward Health Care (Boston): Seeks a lead applications analyst

4. Valley View Hospital (Glenwood Springs, Colo.): Seeks a CIO
The following hospitals announced or completed plans in the last week to expand, upgrade or renovate their facilities.

1. Florida hospital plans $110M upgrade

Gainesville-based, North Florida Regional Medical Center, owned by Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, will invest $110 million to expand and renovate several areas of its campus.

2. Mayo Clinic invests nearly $800M to expand in Florida, Arizona

In an effort to meet rising patient demand, Mayo Clinic will invest nearly $800 million to expand its campuses in Arizona and Florida.

3. Presbyterian Healthcare to open 4 retail clinics for emergency, urgent care

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services will open four retail-based clinics offering 24/7 emergency and urgent care.

4. New York health system gets $180M loan for $480M expansion

Utica, N.Y.-based Mohawk Valley Health System secured the last piece of funding to finance its $480 million expansion project.
Albuquerque, N.M.-based Presbyterian Healthcare Services will open four retail-based clinics offering 24/7 emergency and urgent care.

The walk-in clinics, opened in partnership with INtuitive Health, aim to increase patients' access to immediate care in an appropriate setting. When patients present to the walk-in clinics, a clinician will assess their symptoms and give any required treatment. The hope is that patients will see lower out-of-pocket costs by accessing both emergency and urgent care outside of more expensive settings.



"Patients want convenience, immediate access to care, better customer service and greater transparency into the billing process," Thom Herrmann, CEO of INtuitive Health, said in a prepared statement. INtuitive led the move to combine emergency care and urgent care in Texas more than a decade ago, according to the company.



The clinics are scheduled to open by the end of 2019.
Boston Children's Hospital recently revamped its food court to serve patients, families and staff in more ways outside of clinical care, according to Mic.

Here are five highlights from the report:



1. Boston Children's food court, located in the building's basement, features locally sourced food whenever possible. It exchanged its salad bar for a "salad creations" station, where employees serve custom-made salads to reduce cross-contamination. Additionally, its meats are free of hormones and antibiotic.



2. Some recipes, such as its chicken, lemon and ginger soup, are Boston Children's own proprietary recipe developed specifically for cancer patients. Shawn Goldrick, senior director of patient support services at the hospital, told Mic that while undergoing cancer treatment, patients' ability to taste often changes. Hospital research showed citrus flavors like lemon are still enjoyable for patients, while ginger can aid with digestion.

3. Mr. Goldrick told Mic, "The challenge is, for hospitals in general, the focus is all on the clinical outcomes. The hospital's whole mission is to take care of patients  and we do so much well here in life-changing research, and that's the high-level focus." He added food is not often a revenue-driving operation for the hospital, which can add difficulties for the department.

4. Still, the recent renovations have allowed patients to learn about food and nutrition through cooking demonstrations  with retractable sneeze guards included. The Culinary Academy, held once a month, allows kids to learn from chefs and make a recipe on their own.

5. In addition to Boston Children's, Hagerstown, Md.-based Meritus Medical Center and New York City-based NYU Langone Medical Center have reimagined their food courts. Meritus Medical Center completely removed fryers from its kitchens. NYU Langone also eliminated deep fryers, hired professional chefs to bring healthier meals to the hospital, and prioritized local foods.
An Arizona man was billed thousands of dollars for gallbladder surgery he never had because his name and birthdate matched another patient's, according to a KTVK/KPHO-TV report.

Jose Angel Perez began receiving late notices from Tucson, Ariz.-based Banner Health South Hospital earlier this year, the report states. The late notices were for gallbladder surgery he never had, and he continued to get medical bills, totaling about $3,000.

Mr. Perez told KTVK/KPHO-TV that his insurance already has paid part of the medical bills, so media contacted the hospital to investigate.

Mr. Perez discovered that another Jose Perez with the same birthdate should have received the bills, and the issue was resolved.

Banner Health South Hospital told KTVK/KPHO-TV: "Upon learning about the inaccurate bills received by Mr. Perez, we launched an investigation into the issue. The error that caused the issue has been resolved, and we have recalled the inaccurate bills sent to Mr. Perez. Mr. Perez currently is in good standing with Banner Health, with no collections or financial notations in his patient record. We regret the confusion this may have caused."

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El Segundo, Calif.-based Verity Health System, the nonprofit operator of six hospitals, filed for bankruptcy protection Aug. 31. The bankruptcy proceedings are being challenged by SEIU-UHW, a union representing 2,000 workers at Verity Health hospitals.

The hospitals were originally owned by Los Altos, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System. The financially troubled system began seeking a buyer for the hospitals in 2014, and Integrity Healthcare, a company created by BlueMountain Capital Management, took over the facilities in 2015 and renamed them Verity Health System. Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, bought Integrity in July 2017, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Dave Regan, president of SEIU-UHW, expressed concern about Verity entering bankruptcy.

"When Verity bought these hospitals from Daughters of Charity four years ago, they made promises to these communities that they would not lose access to the care they needed," he said in a press release. "Now it looks like Verity's billionaire owner wants to go back on those commitments."

In the bankruptcy filing, Verity seeks court permission to sell the hospitals from any liens and encumbrances. SEIU-UHW contends this shows Verity's "intent to nullify their obligations both to their union collective bargaining agreements and the conditions of sale imposed by former Attorney General Kamala Harris when Verity purchased the hospitals."

By challenging the bankruptcy filing, SEIU-UHW intends to ensure the hospitals are kept open and continue to meet pension obligations and maintain current services and levels of employment.

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Moody's Investors Service affirmed its "Ba1" rating of Indiana (Pa.) Regional Medical Center, affecting $23.6 million of debt. Concurrently, the medical center's outlook was revised to negative from stable.

The affirmation is a result of several factors, including the hospital's status as a community provider, favorable revenue growth and ample liquidity position. Moody's negatively viewed the hospital's small size and limited financial flexibility.

The outlook is negative, reflecting the hospital's volume declines and weaker operations in fiscal year 2018, coupled with the hospital's plan to take on more debt.
A physician leader at Texas Health Plano resigned earlier this week after his comments criticizing female physicians were published in a local medical journal and went viral on social media, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Gary Tigges, MD, is an internal medicine physician at Plano Internal Medicine Associates, which is affiliated with the 386-bed hospital. Until earlier this week, he also served on the executive committee of Texas Health Plano's medical board and as chair of the hospital's credentialing committee, the report states.

Dr. Tigges' resignation was announced to employees by Texas Health Plano President Josh Floren this week. The announcement, obtained by Becker's Hospital Review Sept. 6, aimed to assure staff Dr. Tigges' comments were not reflective of Texas Health Resources or Texas Health Plano.

"This past weekend we learned of comments that Dr. Gary Tigges made to the Dallas Medical Journal regarding physician pay inequities between the genders, which spread quickly on social media. His remarks were and remain extremely divisive and have caused a great deal of hurt and concern among the medical staff, the Dallas-Fort Worth medical community and the entire country.

"I wanted to assure you that the comments made by Dr. Tigges do not reflect the opinion or values of Texas Health Resources or Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. These comments were made by an independent physician who was not speaking on behalf of this hospital or our medical board. Yesterday, the executive committee of the medical board at Texas Health Plano accepted Dr. Tigges' resignation from his leadership position on the medical board and as chair of the credentialing committee. In addition, they strongly and unanimously disagreed with his comments. The executive committee and the Texas Health Plano administrative team have worked to develop an environment free of discrimination, including those based on gender, race, creed, ethnicity, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or identification.

"On behalf of Texas Health Planos leadership team, I thank you for your commitment to Texas Health's values of respect, integrity, compassion and excellence in the care and service you provide our community each day."

Dr. Tigges drew widespread criticism for comments he made in response to a Dallas Medical Journal questionnaire that asked members of the Dallas County Medical Society whether they believed a pay gap between male and female physicians existed. In his response, Dr. Tigges said the pay gap existed because "female physicians do not work as hard and do not see as many patients as male physicians. This is because they choose to, or they simply don't want to be rushed, or they don't want to work the long hours. Most of the time, their priority is something else," he wrote, according a copy of the journal obtained by CBS News.

Dr. Tigges issued a public apology Sept. 3, stating his comments were taken out of context and that his opinions were based on data he had read indicating female physicians often earned less because they treated fewer patients or worked fewer hours.

"I have heard from several trusted female physician colleagues who disagree with and are deeply hurt and offended by the comments I made to the Dallas Medical Journal regarding pay equity among female and male physicians. I want to thank them for reaching out to me and sharing their concerns. I now understand more clearly how intricate this issue is and that there are ways we can work together to resolve these disparities.  I sincerely apologize to all female physicians for my comments and the pain they have caused," Dr. Tigges said in his apology, according to CBS News.

To access the full report, click here.

Editor's note: This article was updated at 5:10 p.m Sept. 6 to include additional comment from Texas Health Plano.
A joint study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and the RAND Corporation found increasing consolidation among hospitals and physician practices in California correlated with higher insurance premiums and higher prices for specialty and primary care.

The study, published in the September 2018 issue of Health Affairs, examined healthcare consolidation in California between 2010 and 2016 and analyzed nearly 71 million California medical claims between 2011 and 2016 for every county across the state.

Here are four takeaways from the study:

1. Between 2010 and 2016, the percentage of physicians in medical practices owned by hospitals increased from 25 percent to 40 percent. Researchers attributed the increase in vertical integration from 2013-16 to a 12 percent increase in ACA insurance premiums, a 9 percent increase in outpatient physician visits for four specialties and a 5 percent price increase in primary care office visits.

2. One of the reasons a physician practice may consolidate with a larger hospital is to integrate with the larger hospital's brand, allowing the practice to potentially tack on additional fees or charge higher prices for services.

"There's a potential branding effect. People are willing to pay more, insurance companies like to have that in their plan, they charge more for it," which is not illegal, Richard M. Scheffler, PhD, emeritus and professor at the graduate school of the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, told the San Francisco Chronicle.

3. Such consolidation practices also benefit larger hospitals or health systems, as owning a larger share of physician practices may provide them with an upper hand when negotiating with health insurers to set prices.

"[It] happens a little bit at a time, [hospitals] buy 10 practices here and 20 practices here, it kind of falls under the radar. You don't see it, but the cumulative effect ... what it means is higher premiums and higher prices," Dr. Scheffler said.



4. The study authors concluded: "California's healthcare markets are at a pivotal point. Rapid integration and consolidation may have significant benefits. Care coordination and quality improvement are possible, but so are significant increases in the cost of care. ... Our work highlights areas that should be of concern to regulators, policymakers, payers and consumers."

To access the Health Affairs study, click here.
Nurses and nurse practitioners from New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health rallied Sept. 5 as contract negotiations began.

The workers, represented by the New York Professional Nurses Union, work at Northwell Health facilities in New York CityLenox Hill Hospital, Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital and Lenox Health Greenwich Village. They seek increased staffing levels and wages, particularly in maternal-child health, as well as paid leave.

"NYPNU is demanding Northwell Health update  safe patient limits to align with current national recommendations as well as acknowledge the economic realities that New York City nurses face, including burdensome student loan debt and higher costs of living," union officials said.

The rally coincided with the 30th anniversary of a historic strike by Lenox Hill Hospital workers.

Lenox Hill Hospital spokesperson Barbara Osborn told Becker's: "As always, our goal is to reach a fair contract. We are proud of the excellent care our dedicated nurses provide, and we are committed to bargaining in good faith. We look forward to positive and productive negotiations with NYPNU, so we can continue to provide the highest quality care to our patients."

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Goop, a lifestyle brand owned by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, agreed to pay $145,000 to settle allegations it made false claims about three of its products focused on women's sexual and emotional health, CBS News reports.

Prosecutors from 10 California counties filed the lawsuit, which alleged Goop did not have scientific evidence to support health claims for two of its vaginal eggs  devices marketed as a way to "balance hormones, regulate menstrual cycles ... and increase bladder control"  and a mix of essential oils that it sells online. The oil mix was advertised as a method to "help prevent depression," CBS News reports.

"People have been selling snake oil for a long time. This is just another type of snake oil," Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told the publication.

The lawsuit alleged the products' descriptions were "not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence."

"There's a group of people who have problems like that and they might be vulnerable. A lot of people  might do the things that you suggest and so you can do a lot of harm by falsely advertising that something is a medical cure," Mr. Rackauckas said.

The three products are still available on Goop's website, but their descriptions have been updated. Under the settlement, Goop will also offer refunds to customers who request them.
Students at Boston-based Harvard Medical School unveiled a photography exhibit at Brigham and Women's Hospital, also in Boston, illustrating the narratives of local community members affected by the opioid epidemic, according to The Harvard Crimson.

The exhibit, titled "RESILIENT: Narratives of Hope from Boston's Opioid Crisis," contains 31 individual portraits that line the hospital hallway. Portrait subjects include Louis Cherubino, supervisor of the Cambridge (Mass.) Police Department's opioid response initiative, and Monica Bharel, MD, Massachusetts commissioner of public health, according to a press release cited by The Crimson Tide.

"A lot of the coverage of the opioid crisis has actually been from people who havent experienced it themselves," Joyce Zhou, a medical school student who co-directed the photography project, told The Harvard Crimson. "It was really important for us to try to highlight those stories and hear from the people themselves."

The exhibit is just another way Harvard's faculty and students are focusing on the opioid epidemic. In April , the School of Public Health invited five former governors to discuss state responses to the opioid epidemic.

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Walk down the hall on 2 East at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and the magnitude of the opioid epidemic will hit you.

Roanoke Memorial is our region's Level 1 Trauma Center and the only tertiary/quaternary care center for 150 miles in any direction. We're used to seeing the sickest of the sick.

The patients on 2 East come from all walks of life. Many are there because they've developed an infection in their hearts due to drug use. These are serious, complicated cases and often result in six weeks of hospitalization. Many of the patients have been close to death, some have been close more than once. And, they may not be ready to address their addiction.

Life on 2 East can feel bleak. People try to sneak illicit drugs onto the floor to give to our patients. Patients are naturally scared of becoming "dopesick." Our doctors and nurses struggle to convey the gravity of the situation to their patients. The care emotionally taxes our staff. Hope can be fleeting.

Best-selling-author Beth Macy's latest book, "Dopesick," is an exploration of our nation's opioid epidemic that originated in our region of Virginia.

We all know the statistics  72,000 people died of a drug overdose last year (more deaths than US soldiers lost during the entire Vietnam War), most of them due to opioids. It's dangerous to focus on the numbers alone, and Beth's book puts a fine point on the epidemic by introducing us to the patients and families whose lives have been devastated. For my neighbors and me, this epidemic is personal. Roanoke is the type of place where everyone knows everyone else. All of us have been touched by it.

I've known Beth for many years from her time as a reporter at The Roanoke Times. She's a good journalist, and she tells this story in a way that implores you to care. In the pages of "Dopesick," you'll meet mothers and their children, people like Kristi and Jesse, Janine and Bobby, Robin and Scott, Patricia and Tess. People I knowsome are doctors or nurses. Your heart will break like mine has.

If nothing else, I want you to read this book because I want you to feel a renewed sense of urgency to do something. Our nation offers the most sophisticated healthcare in the world, and yet we're losing tens of thousands of able-bodied adults every year.

Now we must fight for our patients and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

Hospitals and health systems across the country are tackling the opioid epidemic. For our part, Carilion Clinic is doing a lot of work to address challenges from all angles.

Some initiatives are simple  we added drug take-back boxes at our pharmacies, and we hand out drug deactivation bags with certain prescriptions.

Some initiatives are more difficult  we monitor prescribers through a sophisticated dashboard that allows us to address those who might be prescribing above recommended levels. We're also resetting expectations about pain with our patients.

Some initiatives are short-term  we are encouraging journalists to change the language they use to reduce the stigma around addiction. For instance, we've encouraged them to stop referring to "drug-users" and instead call them "individuals with substance use disorders." After all, addiction is a disease state, not a moral failing.

Some initiatives are longer-term  we've begun work on a predictive analytics platform that could enable us to better identify when a patient is more prone to substance abuse.

And with all this and many other initiatives, we still see overdoses every day in our emergency department. The demand for our Medication Assisted Treatment program continues. And we rarely have an empty bed on 2 East.

That reality, and the raw emotions I felt reading "Dopesick," left me aching for hope.

I found it on 2 East. One of our newest employees  I'll call her Sarah  is a peer recovery specialist. She's had a difficult time, having struggled with addiction herself before finding her way into recovery. Ironically, her struggles are the most important prerequisite for her new job.

Every day, Sarah visits patients on 2 East. She shares her own story of addiction and recovery, answers questions about the treatment they're receiving and acts as a conduit for information between patient and provider. She is a shoulder to cry on, a sympathetic ear, and she doesn't shy away from offering tough love as well.

Sarah has been in her patients' shoes. She knows what they feel like. She knows their fears and their struggles. And most importantly, Sarah is a living, breathing example of what life could be like in recovery.

It's not unusual, Sarah tells me, for a patient to ask her how to become a peer recovery specialist. Sarah's patients want to be her one day. What is more hopeful and life-affirming than that?

The fight we are all waging against the opioid epidemic is accelerating. Pick up a copy of "Dopesick" and renew your commitment to the communities that depend on you. I know we have.
In an effort to increase drug price transparency, the Senate passed a bill that would ban Medicare insurers from writing gag clauses into their contracts with pharmacists, according to The Washington Examiner.

Here are five things to know:

1. Gag clauses have been blamed for complicating price transparency efforts at the pharmacy counter. These clauses, which insurers and pharmacy benefit managers often write into their contracts with pharmacies, prevent pharmacists from telling a consumer that it would be cheaper to buy a drug out of pocket than through their insurance.

2. The bill, dubbed the Know the Lowest Price Act, is intended to ban these clauses to help patients save money.

3. The new bill applies explicitly to Medicare Part D, which pays for prescription drugs and to Medicare Advantage, a health plan managed by private insurers.

4. The Know the Lowest Price Act was unanimously passed in the Senate.

5. Another bill, Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act, is making its way through the Senate. This bill would provide the same protections for patients with commercial, private health insurance.
A 2014 Massachusetts law mandating patient-to-nurse staffing ratios in intensive care units statewide resulted in nurse staffing increases but not improved patient outcomes, according to a study published in Critical Care Medicine.

The study  led by physician researchers at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center  found that nurses in Massachusetts ICUs saw more patients at a given time pre-mandate (1.38) versus post-mandate (1.28). But researchers said they saw a similar increase in other states without state-mandated ICU staffing regulations.

The study also found no link between Massachusetts ICU nurse staffing regulations and the number of patients who died in Massachusetts ICUs. Additionally, researchers said complications and do-not-resuscitate orders in Massachusetts' ICUs did not change significantly after the law's implementation.

"State regulation of patient-to-nurse staffing with the aid of patient complexity scores in intensive care was not associated with either increased nurse staffing or changes in patient outcomes," the study's authors concluded.

The study examined data from 246 U.S. hospitals to compare Massachusetts ICUs before, during and after the implementation of 1:1 or 2:1 patient-to-nurse ratios with states that don't have mandated ICU nurse staffing ratios.

It comes amid a proposed Massachusetts November ballot initiative to mandate nurse staffing ratios in all areas of Massachusetts hospitals. Question 1, proposed by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, calls for one nurse to be responsible for no more than four pediatric patients and no more than five psychiatric patients at a given time. Different guidelines would apply with sicker patients, according the Boston Globe. Staffing ratios would also differ by unit.

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'Lisburn has long been TECH's European headquarters, but it retains a presence in Belgium and in 2015, acquired a company in Italy' (stock photo)

Around 50 jobs at a tyre repair materials plant in Lisburn are at risk after the US-owned company launched a major review of its business.

TECH Europe employs 53 people at its warehouse and manufacturing facility on the Ballinderry Road. Part of a global brand that employs around 600 people across the world, the Lisburn plant is the Ohio-based company's sole UK operation.

However, its future has been placed in doubt this week after the firm launched a major operational review, which will likely see the business relocated to Belgium. It's understood that around 80% of the company's output in Lisburn is exported to Europe.

Lisburn has long been TECH's European headquarters, but it retains a presence in Belgium and in 2015, acquired a company in Italy.

Gary Crawford, who heads TECH's operation in Europe said the company began discussing the changes some months ago. While the Lisburn plant remains profitable and the company is continuing to expand and invest, TECH is making a strategic decision.

"Whenever you look at where's the location you want to invest in, based on where your market is, then it's pointed very much toward Belgium as a hub for both getting goods in and distribution right across Europe and beyond."

He said Brexit was not the main reason for the move.

Nonetheless, it had created some uncertainty across the industry. The proposal to consolidate the business into the Belgian operation was put to TECH's workforce in Lisburn on Monday. The firm is currently undertaking a consultation exercise before making the final decision.

However if it presses ahead, its anticipated manufacturing will cease in Lisburn in mid-October.

It's understood that the bulk of the 53 staff would be made redundant at that point, the remainder being let go in March.
Princess Anne opens the new hi-tech product packing facility at Lakeland Dairies in Newtownards

Princess Anne has officially opened a new automated packing facility at Lakeland Dairies in Newtownards following a 5m investment by the farmer-owned co-operative.

The new facility, which was also supported by Invest NI, boosts the co-op's export potential and market access for valued-added dairy products using locally produced milk.

It is part of an overall 27m investment by Lakeland Dairies over the past 10 years in Newtownards and follows on from the 2015 opening of its Global Logistics Centre there.

The co-operative now hopes for more international sales growth as a result of the investment adding to its 170m annual income from exports. It will focus in particular on Asian Pacific, Middle Eastern, African and American markets.

Lakeland Dairies is made up of over 750 family farms that produce 600 million litres of high quality, sustainable, pasture-based milk in Northern Ireland.

The co-operative employs 225 people at Newtownards and the operation supports some 700 further jobs among suppliers and contractors across Northern Ireland.

On her visit, the Princess Royal was welcomed by the Lord Lieutenant of Co Down, David Lindsay, and greeted by senior representatives of the co-operative, including chairman Alo Duffy and group chief executive Michael Hanley.

After touring the new facility, Princess Anne met members of the Board of Lakeland Dairies, the staff of the co-operative and other guests including senior executives of Invest NI and DAERA.

She then unveiled a specially commissioned plaque to mark her opening of the facility.

Alo Duffy, chairman of Lakeland Dairies, said: "The driving aim of Lakeland Dairies is to create a vibrant and sustainable future for co-operative dairy farmers and to support them with the highest possible milk prices in line with market conditions.

"We are also intent on promoting the well-being of rural communities and the environment in which we operate.

"The opening of these new facilities by the Princess Royal provides great encouragement for our co-operative ideals of Better Farming, Better Business and Better Living for our producers and the provision of exceptional service for our customers throughout the world."

Lakeland group CEO Michael Hanley, said: "Lakeland Dairies is an internationally recognised supplier of superb dairy ingredients and food service products underpinned by outstanding, high quality raw materials in the milk that our dairy farmers send to us for processing.

"We serve the dairy product needs of leading customers in key food industry sectors worldwide. Together with modern, large scale processing facilities and a highly skilled workforce, we are addressing many opportunities for growth and development in line with continuously strong global demand for dairy products.

"Our Newtownards base will continue to play a key role in the ongoing export success of Northern Ireland long into the future."
'The new positions will involve reviewing the source of wealth for bank customers, which is now standard practice in accordance with anti money laundering legislation'

Danske Bank will create 67 new jobs in Londonderry in its new customer protection centre.

The positions will include quality assurance managers and analysts and will contribute 1.5m to the city's economy in annual wages.

Invest NI contributed 234,500 towards the creation of the roles, which have a starting salary of around 17,000. Stephen Matchett, Danske Bank's chief financial officer, said: "Our successful bid for this new centre to be located in the north west, rather than at one of the Danske Bank Group's existing European centres, ensures that we remain close to our customer base in Northern Ireland.

"This new team in Derry will be an additional resource supplementing existing teams in Lithuania and Poland, and will initially be responsible for completing the checks for customers here in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and London.

"We have already begun recruiting for this team and for the first Academy, with all the roles to be in place by 2020."

The new positions will involve reviewing the source of wealth for bank customers, which is now standard practice in accordance with anti money laundering legislation.

Jeremy Fitch, executive director, business and sector development, Invest NI said: "This is a new and emerging function for Danske Bank operations throughout Europe in response to new financial crime and anti-money laundering legislation."

The mayor of Derry and Strabane, SDLP councillor John Boyle, said: "This investment boost is very good news for our region and reaffirms the north west's position as a competitive, exciting and innovative place to do business.

"The commitment being demonstrated by Danske Bank and Invest NI shows business confidence is improving throughout the area and is in keeping with the work the council is doing in terms of job creation and investment that is set out in our strategic growth plan."

The president of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer McKeever, said the new jobs are a "tremendous boost". She added: "The creation of 67 new jobs right in heart of our city centre at Shipquay Place is very welcome news for Derry. The generation of 1.5m in salaries from the new customer protection centre will be a tremendous boost to the local economy.

"We particularly welcome the collaboration of Danske Bank with the Department for the Economy to provide training and skills development in Derry."
The mother of a young woman killed in a crash on the A5 has challenged MLAs to get back to Stormont before the road claims more lives.

Marie O'Brien, whose 23-year-old daughter Caoimhe died instantly in the October 2016 accident, said that the three deaths on the A5 this week had traumatised her all over again.

On Monday an elderly couple from England died when the vehicle they were travelling in was involved in a collision with a lorry on the Doogary Road near Omagh.

Less than 24 hours later, Sean Reid (69) was killed in an accident on Great Northern Road in Omagh.

In total there have been six deaths over the past seven years on the Doogary Road, while 32 people lost their lives along the A5 from 2006 to 2016.

A scheme to improve the A5 was announced more than a decade ago. However, the A5 Western Transport Corridor (WTC) scheme - the single largest road scheme ever undertaken in Northern Ireland - has been continually delayed.

This week, the Department for Infrastructure's (DfI) permanent secretary confirmed a legal challenge by the group Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A), which is opposed to the A5 WTC, has been adjourned.

This means the start date for work to upgrade the A5 has been delayed indefinitely.

Mrs O'Brien, who is from the Douglas Bridge area, said politicians must get back to government so the planned dualling of the road can progress before more lives are lost.

Her daughter Caoimhe, a care worker, was killed when her blue Ford Focus crashed on the Victoria Road.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mrs O'Brien said: "The deaths of three people on the A5 has had an awful impact on us as a family, because it has taken us right back to when Caoimhe was killed.

"No one can know what that pain is like; it is unimaginable and it is never ending.

"It has been almost two years since Caoimhe died and our whole world was turned on its head.

"She was the centre of our world, our lives revolved around her, but all that was taken from us the second I saw those two police officers standing at our door at two o'clock in the morning."

Mrs O'Brien hit out at the political impasse - and said the political focus must be on issues like the A5. She added: "Not all of these crashes result in a fatality but many of them are serious and people are being left with life-changing injuries, so that road is actually a lot more dangerous than people who don't live near it realise.

"If the work to upgrade the road had gone ahead without all these delays, just think how many lives would have been saved because it has been proved there are less crashes on better roads.

"It angers me so much that politicians are getting paid but they are not doing their job. If they had been in government there would at least have been a chance of the work going ahead.

"It is very frustrating that because they are not doing their jobs people are dying and I wonder how many more families will get a knock on the door from a police officer telling them their son or daughter has been killed on this road."

SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan has continuously called for the A5 to be upgraded and said that the latest tragedies have stunned everyone.

He said: "This road scheme is absolutely vital for this area. People are needlessly dying on our roads, especially young people. Those holding this scheme back are doing nothing to stop it.

"The A5 upgrade is the only solution that can truly make our roads safer for its users and suitable to travel on.

"It will improve safety on what is one of the most dangerous stretches of road on this island. I have campaigned for, and fought for, the completion of this scheme and I sincerely hope that it will come to fruition. The people of this area deserve better and safer infrastructure."

Local Sinn Fein MP Orfhlaith Begley said the recent tragedies had emphasised the importance of the A5 dual carriageway.

She said: "The fact that more lives have been taken on our local roads in such tragic circumstances is a sombre reminder of the importance of road safety and in particular the urgent need for the A5 dual carriageway to go ahead.

"There is no doubt that the upgrade of the A5 dual carriageway must proceed as planned, without any further delay.

She added: "Too many lives have already been lost on this road, safety concerns are the driving force behind this much-needed upgrade."
A Belfast school has offered its condolences to the family of a former pupil following her sudden death.

Belfast Royal Academy said it was with "deep regret" it had learned of the passing of former pupil Hilary Ferris.

She was in her early 20s and had suffered a short illness.

"Staff remember Hilary as a vibrant young woman with a genuine zest for life, and we are so saddened by her passing," the school said in a Facebook post.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to her parents Heather and Ivan and to her sister Erin."
An artists impression of the bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland / Credit: Google Maps

One of the UK's leading architects has called for a feasibility study to be carried out into building a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Speaking at a conference at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen on Wednesday, Professor Alan Dunlop said he wanted the governments of Scotland, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland to take the idea seriously.

"The conference was about borders and that was a kind of general theme," Professor Dunlop told the Belfast Telegraph.

"I have done quite a bit of work looking at major infrastructure projects worldwide and I think on that basis there is a justifiable case about whether it is economically viable. It definitely can be done economically.

"There is concern about the cost of the project, but you know what they say you can have three economists youd have four conclusions.

"There are opinions either way about whether it can stack up or not."

At the conference Professor Dunlop also released the first artist impression of what the bridge might look like.

The catalyst for the proposed bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland came from a speech made by Boris Johnson in January 2018 while he was the Foreign Secretary, in which he floated the idea of a 22-mile bridge across the English Channel to France - something he said would improve transport links after Brexit.

Professor Dunlop said the proposal wasn't feasible as the stretch between the United Kingdom and France is one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, but was asked shortly afterwards by Scottish newspaper The National if a similar project between Scotland and Northern Ireland was a possibility.

He laid out two proposals for the route - one from Larne and Portpatrick (potentially costing around 20bn) or a crossing between the Mull of Kintyrne and Torr Head (potentially costing between 12bn and 15bn).

"One haulier I was speaking to was making dozens of trips across from Northern Ireland to Scotland every year and the cost of that was 600 each time. So when you take personalised stories like this you can see how the financial benefit would add up," Professor Dunlop said.

The proposal received a boost in March after a spokesman for the Scottish Government said it would "initiate discussions to explore improving connectivity" between the island of Ireland and Scotland, adding it was important "that all options are fully considered"

DUP leader Arlene Foster and MP Sammy Wilson have both previously voiced their support for the project.

The idea was also supported by former Foreign Secretary, who has called for it to be considered "seriously".
The scene on the Belfast Road where a car collided with an ambulance rapid response car

The driver of an ambulance rapid response vehicle had a lucky escape after it rolled over on a busy road.

It happened just before 10am yesterday morning on the Belfast Road in Carrickfergus.

The ambulance was in collision with another car that was emerging onto the Belfast Road from Castlerocklands - a notorious junction on that road.

Back in August 2014 a female driver lost her life at the same junction.

According to witnesses, the ambulance vehicle was in collision with the car driven by an elderly man.

The ambulance rolled at least twice, scattering medical equipment, including a defibrillator, along the road, before it came to a rest on the pavement against a street light.

The ambulance was damaged following the crash, but no-one was injured.

However, the incident has led to fresh concerns over road safety. Attempts have been made to improve safety, including banning right turns at other busy junctions, but accidents are still occurring.

Local DUP councillor Cheryl Johnston said she has continually raised concerns about the Belfast Road.

"I am sorry to hear about yet another crash on the Belfast Road and I am glad there were no serious injuries sustained by either driver," she said.

"I urge all road users in this area to be more aware of the traffic on this really busy road.

"I am the secretary of the road safety committee in Carrickfergus and we meet monthly to discuss ongoing issues like this. The committee will meet again this month following summer break and I will certainly raise this accident blackspot again."

Plans to introduce a 20mph speed zone adjacent to the Carrickfergus Model Primary School, which is just metres from the scene, were discussed last year and should start soon, she said.

PSNI officers and another ambulance crew attended the scene of yesterday's collision.

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) said: "A NIAS Rapid Response Vehicle was involved in a road traffic collision in Carrickfergus while responding to an emergency call.

"The original call was a Category B (non-life-threatening) call and, once informed about the collision, NIAS immediately despatched another crew to it.

"NIAS despatched one emergency ambulance crew and a paramedic officer to the road traffic incident where, thankfully, following assessment at the scene, no one required transport to hospital," it added.
22 May 2015 Election poster of Jonathan Bell Dup still on display on the Cregagh Road, Belfast.

12th July 2017 - Junior Minister Jonathan Bell at the end of the parade at Barnetts Demesne in Belfast.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 3rd June 2014 - First Minister Peter Robinson and Junior Minister Jonathan Bell pictured with Dr Raied Al-Wazzan and Dr Saleem Tareen during his visit to the Belfast Islamic Centre in Wellington Park, south Belfast this evening. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

15/12/2016 BBC interview titled The Truth where former DUP minister Jonathan Bell has said he will reveal what he describes as "the truth" about the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

10th May 2013 - Ulster vs Llanelli Scarlets, RaboDirect PRO12 Semi Final Playoff at Ravenhill Belfast. First Minister Peter Robinson along with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers Jonathan Bell, Arlene Foster and Edwin Poots pictured supporting Ulster at Ravenhill

Press Release image Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 29th May 2015E Bell: Tourism already a winner at Royal County Down Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell wishes Michael Hoey well ahead of his second round at The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation. Over 90,000 spectators are expected to flock to Royal County Down to see some of the best golfers in the world battle the elements in a bid to take home the trophy on Sunday. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye.

Martina Anderson MLA and Jonathan Bell MLA, OFMDFM Junior MInisters pictured during a visit to the Brandywell Stadium as part of a tour of the TRIAX area in Derry-Londonderry. Picture Martin McKeown. Inpresspics.com. 26.5.11

Thursday 6th September 2018 Picture by Press Eye Jonathan Bell arrives at Stormont with his Solicitor Denis Moloney this morning for RHI Inquiry. Mr Bell will give evidence to the RHI public inquiry on Thursday.

Thursday 6th September 2018 - Jonathan Bell arrives at Stormont with his Solicitor Denis Moloney this morning for RHI Inquiry. Mr Bell will give evidence to the RHI public inquiry on Thursday.

A movie poster, originally for the film, Heat, starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino with the heads of Jonathan Bell and Arlene Foster superimposed by, The Ulster Fry, regarding the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme

Former DUP Minister Jonathan Bell gives his evidence at the RHI Inquiry at Stormont today. Photo by Pacemaker.

Former Stormont Minister Jonathan Bell made a number of shocking revelations during his first day of evidence at the RHI inquiry on Thursday.

Mr Bell who was Enterprise Minister at the time the RHI scheme was closed, painted a picture of a party ruled by special advisers and of how he was the "victim of a massive smear campaign".

Mr Bell told the inquiry a submission on RHI had been kept from him for months and cost control measures designed to rein in the scheme's over expenditure had to be delayed for four weeks.

He rejected claims from his Spad Timothy Cairns that the submission was discussed with him on a number of occasions and said Mr Cairns "made up" a number of claims in his written evidence to the inquiry.

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Mr Bell said that he was told by Mr Cairns that DUP Spad Timothy Johnston did not want the RHI issue "progressed" as he and his brother-in-law had interests in the poultry industry.

It was put to Mr Bell that Mr Cairns claimed in his evidence that Mr Bell was compiling information on DUP members private lives.

Mr Bell rejected this suggestion totally.

"It was Timothy Cairns who explained inappropriately in garish and lurid detail, the sexual misbehaviour of two DUP ministers," Mr Bell said.

He also told the inquiry how Mr Cairns told him about an encounter between Head of the Civil Service David Stirling and DUP Spad Dr Andrew Crawford.

Mr Stirling allegedly told Dr Crawford "'you kept this scheme open for the benefit of your family and you've done significant budgetary damage to Northern Ireland."

He also rejected as totally untrue a claim he attempted to break the finger of special adviser Timothy Cairns - which was made in his evidence to the inquiry.

That allegation is "untrue, completely without foundation and has no basis whatsoever in fact", said the former DETI minister.

"I have never tried to break anybody's finger and never would."

Claims that he threw a punch are also false, he says - that's something "I have never ever done."

He also claimed the then head of communications in the Executive Office David Gordon was briefing against him as a "monster who had to be put to sleep".

He also alleged that broadcaster David Blevins was briefing the DUP to discredit him using his Christian faith, a claim rejected by Mr Blevins' employer Sky News.

The DUP said it had no comment to make while the inquiry continued.

Mr Bell will be back before the RHI inquiry on Friday morning.

Here's how the day unfolded:
Prominent loyalist Dee Stitt has stood down from his role as CEO of charity Charter NI.

Writing on his Twitter account, the UDA leader wrote: "Life goes on..... Sad but necessary."

While Mr Stitt is standing down from his role at the head of the organisation, he will take up a role as a project manager with the charity, working with the Open Doors Ex-Prisoner Project.

A statement issued by Charter NI reads: "David has asked that we accept his resignation of CEO duties within Charter NI (tendered on August 28). This has been accepted by the board at a meeting held on Friday August 31.

"The board would like to thank David for his commitment and dedication to Charter NI especially through difficult times.

"Negative media attention has been a great strain on David and his family and we offer them our continued support."

In a statement Mr Stitt said: "The reality is that I'm putting my family first from now on, as all the negative media attention that the CEO role brought me has affected my wife and our young daughter. It's as simple as my past is constantly affecting my future and I have no control over that and I never will."

In the wake of Mr Stitt's departure, Charter NI has said it will undergo a restructuring of its current staff and management.

Last week the Charity Commission ruled Mr Stitt was unfit to serve as the trustee of Kilcooley Community Forum, a group he has been a leading member of which was recently granted charitable status.

His application to join its Trustee Board was rejected over concerns around his criminality and how his home was targeted in a recent police drugs raid.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The City of Pascagoula is holding a meeting to approve a potential millage hike, but there's a problem -- the proposed 14.45 mill increase can't be instituted unless approved by the voters in a citywide referendum.

According to state law, if a municipality proposes an ad valorem (property) millage increase, the revenues generated by said increase cannot exceed 10 percent of the ad valorem revenues generated in any of the previous three years.

Mississippi Code 27-39-321 states, "With respect to ad valorem taxes levied for each fiscal year, no political subdivision may levy ad valorem taxes in any fiscal year which would render in total receipts from all levies an amount more than the receipts from that source during any one (1) of the immediately preceding three (3) fiscal years, as determined by the levying governing authority, plus, at the option of the taxing authority, an increase not to exceed ten percent (10%) of such receipts."

The code includes exceptions to the 10 percent rule, but it does not appear Pascagoula would meet any of the requirements for those exceptions.

In Pascagoula, the current value of a mill is $232,500. The proposed millage increase of 14.45 would generate additional ad valorem revenues of $3,359,625.

That figure would represent a more than 33 percent increase over ad valorem revenues in any of the previous three years -- more than three times what's allowed under state law without a referendum.

The city is considering enacting a tax hike in the form of increasing millage rates from 42.05 to 56.50 mills because of the $14 million deficit facing the city.

The city, according to Assistant City Manager Frank Corder is operating with a projected revenue of $59 million -- $9.8 million of which is generated through ad valorem taxes.

Per Corder, the proposed budget for FY19 projects revenue of $51.4 million with $13 million to be financed through an ad valorem tax levy.

Comment from City officials was not immediately available Thursday afternoon.
Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley has slapped down Brexit backers including Boris Johnson who claim the border issue is being used as an excuse for the lack of progress in EU withdrawal talks.

Ms Bradley suggested Mr Johnson and former Brexit Secretary David Davis did not understand the issues facing Northern Irish businesses, and said it would be madness to leave the EU on World Trade Organisation terms.

In an incendiary Daily Telegraph article attacking Theresa Mays Brexit plans earlier this week, Mr Johnson said it was a myth that Ireland was facing the prospect of a hard border and insisted any problems were fixable.

And Mr Davis  who quit the Cabinet along with Mr Johnson in protest at the PMs Chequers proposals for Brexit  said solving the border issue would be straightforward if the government was ready to show political will.

Well, with all due respect to my colleagues, you cannot possibly understand the issues of Northern Ireland from WestminsterKaren Bradley

Asked about the pairs comments, Ms Bradley told The House magazine: Well, with all due respect to my colleagues, you cannot possibly understand the issues of Northern Ireland from Westminster. Its just not possible, you have to be here talking to businesses.

I think they need to come and meet some of the businesses and people that I speak to and come and see it for themselves.

Ms Bradley said that people in Northern Ireland feel slightly offended at the way the border issue was being discussed.

To say, Oh, this is the Northern Ireland tail wagging the Brexit dog. Well, what if it was Norfolk we were talking about? she asked.

How would people feel then, if it was something that was being done to work for Norfolk?

Expand Close The Northern Ireland Secretary called on everyone to get behind Theresa Mays proposals (Kirsty OConnor/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Calling on everyone to get behind Mrs Mays proposals, she said: I really do stand by the point that if Brexit works for the people of Northern Ireland  and I firmly believe the Chequers deal means it does  it also works for my constituents in Staffordshire Moorlands.

Because the burdens we would impose on businesses in Staffordshire Moorlands by some of the proposals that have been put forward  a sort of Canada-style deal etcetera  the proposition is we move to rest of world customs arrangement for our EU trade. That seems to me to be madness.

I didnt come into politics to impose burdens on business. I came into politics to make it easier for business.

Ms Bradley  who supported Remain in the 2016 referendum campaign  warned that if people backed a whole range of different approaches at this late stage in negotiations, that might mean that Brexit simply doesnt happen.

She said: I want to see Brexit happen, my constituents voted for it, the country voted for it. I want to see it happen, but I want to see it happen in a way thats a success for the UK.
Almost 80% of people in Northern Ireland have not yet made a will, new research has found.

The worrying figure makes us the top region in the UK when it comes to adults who die intestate.

A study by a charity will-writing campaign has discovered a dramatic 10% increase in the number of local people who haven't prepared this vital documentation - up from 74% in the 2017 poll.

That's much higher than across the UK as a whole, according to Will Aid, where 53% of adults have failed to prepare the essential paperwork, compared to 51% last year.

President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Eileen Ewing, explained that drawing up a will is "a simple and inexpensive process".

"Making a will is one of the most important things we can do for our families and good causes," she said.

"By making a will, you can be specific about how your assets will be dealt with.

"It will ensure that your wishes are followed at a difficult time for those you leave behind.

"It also gives you the comfort of knowing that the rewards of your life's work will be distributed and managed according to your wishes.

"If you don't leave a will, then the Rules of Intestacy will dictate what happens to all of your assets."

She added: "Our advice is to go and make an appointment with a local solicitor today, so that they can help ensure that your tomorrows are taken care of."

Will Aid's new findings also showed that some regions are far worse than others.

After Northern Ireland, the North East and North West of England fared the next worst, with 58% of people admitting that they don't have a will.

In fact, only three of the 13 regions in the UK scored better than when people were polled in 2017 about ensuring that their wills are in order.

Peter de Vena Franks, campaign director for Will Aid, said the Northern Ireland figure "is almost 20% higher than the other nations within the United Kingdom".

"To see that the percentage of people without a will increased this year is all the more reason to stress the importance of taking the time to make a will," he said.

"Having a professionally drawn-up will is the best way to ensure peace of mind and make sure your family members are taken care of.

"Will Aid provides the perfect platform to complete this important task with the expert guidance of professional solicitors.

"Participating solicitors volunteer their time and expertise and waive their fee for writing a basic will, inviting clients to make a voluntary donation to Will Aid.

"If you don't have a will, we encourage you to book an appointment with one of our participating solicitors for November."

Will Aid Month, which takes place every November, encourages people to write a will with the assistance of a professional solicitor.

This is the 30th year of the campaign and solicitors are being urged to sign up to provide their time for free.

Law firms volunteer their time and expertise to write basic wills, waiving their fee, with clients being invited to make a voluntary donation to Will Aid instead.

Donations support the vital work of nine partner charities.

Last year, Will Aid raised more than 1.25m for ActionAid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, Sightsavers, SCIAF (Scotland) and Trocaire (Northern Ireland).

Those who wish to book a will can make their November appointments from September onwards via the website or by calling Will Aid on 0300 0309 558.

For more information, visit www.willaid.org.uk
Northern Ireland Secretary of State Karen Bradley has announced that MLAs salaries will face cuts of over 13,000.

The reduction was recommended by an independent review into MLA salaries. Mrs Bradley also announced that she will bring forward legislation to allow Northern Ireland's civil servants to make decisions in the absence of a functioning Executive.

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The Secretary of State also ruled out calling an Assembly election.

Salaries will be cut by over 7,000 from November and a further reduction of over 6,000 from February if parties cannot reach an agreement to return to Stormont.

The initial reduction will see MLA salaries fall from 49,500 to 35,888 followed by the reduction of a further 6,187.

"The reduction will take effect in two stages, commencing in November - it would not reduce the allowance for staff as I do not think that MLAs' staff should suffer because of the politicians' failure to form an Executive," Mrs Bradley told the House of Commons.

"I recognise that there is a need to provide reassurance and clarity to both the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the people of Northern Ireland on the mechanisms for the continued delivery of public services.

"So, the legislation I intend to introduce after the conference recess will also include provisions to give greater clarity and certainty to enable Northern Ireland departments to continue to take decisions in Northern Ireland in the public interest and to ensure the continued delivery of public services."

The decision making power of Northern Ireland's civil servants had been called into question by a Court of Appeal ruling in July which said that Stormont's civil servants did not have the power to make key decisions without the approval of a minister.

The ruling said that senior civil servant Peter May had acted above his power when he gave the go-ahead for a controversial waste incinerator in Mallusk, Co Antrim.

Expand Close Karen Bradley PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mrs Bradley told the Commons she was planning to introduce legislation to remove the obligation to call an Assembly election.

"I have not believed and do not now believe that holding an election during this time of significant change and political uncertainty would be helpful or would increase the prospects of restoring the Executive," the Secretary of State said.

"I intend, therefore, to introduce primary legislation in October to set aside for a limited and prescribed period the legal requirement to propose a date for a further election."

The devolved administration at Stormont has not sat for months in a row over identity issues like the place of the Irish language.

Repeated rounds of negotiations, led by the British and Irish Governments, have been unable to secure the restoration of the former coalition between Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists.

Public services have suffered because no ministers are in place to make major decisions.
A British astrophysicist will donate a three million dollar (2.3 million) prize in an effort to increase diversity amongst leading scientists.

Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell was awarded the lucrative Breakthrough Prize for her work on the discovery of pulsars and a lifetime of scientific achievement.

She was overlooked for the Nobel Prize  with senior male colleagues involved in the work on pulsars awarded the honour in 1974.

Expand Close As a research student Dame Jocelyn was overlooked for the Nobel Prize (PA Archive/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp As a research student Dame Jocelyn was overlooked for the Nobel Prize (PA Archive/PA)

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme she did not need the shocking financial reward from the Breakthrough Prize and hoped the money would be used to support female and ethnic minority physicists.

The money will go to the Institute of Physics to establish research studentships for people from under-represented groups.

I think diversity is very important and I hope this might increase the diversity a bit, Dame Jocelyn said.

One of the under-represented groups in physics is women, so that is one that interests me.

But groups with various ethnicities could well be included, it would be wonderful if we could find a refugee or two.

Dame Jocelyn, originally from Northern Ireland, said her background had pushed her to work harder at university, studies which included the discovery of pulsars, a form of rotating neutron star which emits pulses of electromagnetic radiation as it spins.

In the late 60s, early 70s, when all this was happening, science was very male dominated and, in Britain, white male dominated.

I came in as a female and came into Cambridge from the north and west of the UK  I had never been that far south before.

I was really scared, I thought they had made a mistake admitting me, reckoned they were going to throw me out in due course but decided to work my very hardest so that when they threw me out I wouldnt have a guilty conscience and I was being incredibly thorough.

Asked if she felt she should have been awarded the Nobel, she said they dont often give the Nobel Prize to students and its perceived as a senior mans prize.
Belfast Lord Mayor Deirdre Hargey has said the sustainability of the city's business and keeping people in work was vital in the wake of the devastating fire at Primark's Bank Buildings.

She was speaking after traders vented their frustration and anger after they were told a safety exclusion zone was to remain in place around the building for at least four months.

Fourteen businesses have been closed with many more saying takings are significantly down and there is real concern it will lead to closures as the busy Christmas period looms.

There is a feeling among businesses the preservation of the historic Bank Buildings is of a priority over reopening an area considered the heart of the city.

"Absolutely not," the Lord Mayor told the Belfast Telegraph.

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"We are pushing hard to get the exclusion zone reduced as soon as possible but public safety has to come first.

"I am no structural engineer but from what we have been told we are not even at the point of knowing what the options are as the building is unsafe. Even if demolition was an option people would have to get into the building to arrange for that and that can't happen at the minute.

"We have looked at what has happened in other cities and what they have done and it can be a long and arduous process.

"It is too early to say what we can and can not do. But we wanted to be upfront with the people of Belfast as much as possible."

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The Sinn Fein councillor said she and the council acknowledged the anger and frustration felt by businesses and they would be continuing to push Primark on the matter.

She said the council was considering a large marketing campaign in order to try and drive people into the city.

"Sustainability is vital. The key has to be keeping people in work and that is the council's long term priority. I am acutely aware we are potentially talking hundreds of jobs - many of them low-paid - and people's livelihoods.

"I would love if we can retain the heritage of the city but we can't at the cost of putting people out of work."

Expand Close The exclusion zone around Primark's Bank Buildings. Graphic Raymond Esteban / Facebook

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Fire devastated the Primark shop last week taking tree days to extinguish. The retailer has said it is committed to the city and exploring options to getting back in business as soon as possible.
Prominent republican Colin Duffy is mounting a new legal bid to have a newspaper forced to reveal details of its source for reports on covert surveillance allegedly linked to him.

Lawyers for the 50-year-old Lurgan man are seeking an order compelling the Sunday World to disclose the status of whoever supplied information for articles claiming to quote from the secret audio.

Judges in the Court of Appeal are set to hear the challenge next month after requesting details on all those who had access to a confidential document at the centre of the case.

Duffy, of Forest Glade in the Co Armagh town, and two other men, Henry Joseph Fitzsimons, 49, of no fixed abode, and 56-year-old Alex McCrory from Sliabh Dubh View in Belfast, are currently facing criminal proceedings.

They have denied charges connected to a gun attack on a police convoy on north Belfast's Crumlin Road in December 2013.

Prosecution evidence centres on covert recordings of conversations allegedly held in Lurgan the following day.

In 2015 the Sunday World published two articles purporting to quote from the tapes.

Duffy, McCrory and Fitzsimons sued the newspaper and the Chief Constable, claiming the source of the disclosure is a police officer.

As part of the proceedings they sought an injunction prohibiting the unidentified journalistic source from revealing any further contents of the covert recordings.

They also wanted an order compelling the newspaper to reveal the name or status of the person who supplied the material.

Although the Sunday World refused to disclose its source, undertakings were given not to republish.

Last year a High Court judge refused to grant the injunction, and ruled that the disclosure being sought was not important enough to override the public interest in protecting journalistic sources.

Counsel representing Duffy and Fitzsimons are now appealing that decision.

Edward Fitzgerald QC, for Duffy, argued that revealing just the status of the source "did not then and never will lead to a reasonable chance" of actually identifying them.

But the Sunday World's legal team contended that providing those details may result in the source being unmasked through a jigsaw identification process.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan, sitting with Lord Justices Deeny and Treacy, confirmed the case will now go to a full hearing to decide on the issue.

Amid debate over potentially narrowing the pool of candidates for the source, both sides were also asked to submit any evidence about anyone who had access to the confidential document.
DUP special adviser Timothy Cairns told then Stormont minister Jonathan Bell, "Now you're going to listen to me, big balls" in the presence of top civil servants, documents released to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) inquiry have stated.

The row happened ahead of a planned meeting in London with then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd.

The incident, revealed in witness statements made by former DUP minister Mr Bell and published online last night, is said to have occurred in June 2015 during a ministerial visit about wind energy.

It follows previous claims of a dysfunctional relationship between the then Strangford MLA and his special adviser or 'spad', including bullying allegations made by Mr Cairns that Mr Bell "tried to break his finger and swung a punch at him".

But in documents released yesterday, Mr Bell said that "no such incident took place" and he had "no knowledge of any complaint being made".

Mr Bell was suspended from the DUP in December 2016 after outspoken comments regarding Arlene Foster's handling of the RHI scheme.

As part of his evidence to the inquiry, Mr Bell submitted recordings of a meeting and a telephone call with Dr Andrew McCormick, the most senior civil servant in his Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Deti), as well as a voicemail which he had left on Dr McCormick's phone, from December 2016.

He also provided a voicemail which he had left on his former party colleague Carla Lockhart's phone, and a recording of a conversation with her.

Recalling the ministerial visit to England in his witness statement, Mr Bell said that Mr Cairns "frequently spoke over" him and "stated the Department would take a different perspective on the one that I was considering during discussions over dinner with officials".

Mr Bell described this as "inappropriate" and said it "led to tension".

Mr Bell said that he asked to speak to Mr Cairns on his own, with a view to telling him that "he could have his perspective; however it was not a spad role to overrule and contradict the Minister in front of officials and certainly not in the incoming meeting with the Secretary of State (Mrs Rudd)".

Mr Bell said: "Timothy Cairns initially refused to speak with me and a second request was made via the Private Secretary. Timothy then came into the breakfast table, he appeared agitated and when I attempted to address the issue he stated to me with his finger raised: 'Now you're going to listen to me big balls'."

Mr Bell said he was "shocked and taken aback at this outburst" and "dismissed" Mr Cairns, requesting that he "did not attend the Secretary of State meeting".

He claimed that Mr Cairns "stated he was ignoring my request and decision, and would attend the meeting regardless of my decision".

"This continued for about six statements from me including that he would ignore me as Minister and he would attend the meeting regardless of my view as Minister and that I would see what he would do with my instruction by attending the meeting and ignoring me," Mr Bell continued.

"This was embarrassingly played out in front of the Permanent Secretary and civil servants and it was only when I directed Permanent Secretary Andrew McCormick that I wanted him to ensure the Ministerial instruction was followed that Timothy Cairns while in the taxi en route to the Secretary of State's offices stated he would not now attend."

Mr Bell said that in a subsequent phone call with senior DUP spad Timothy Johnston that afternoon, Mr Johnston "stated Timothy Cairns had been told to come home and we would address the issues; however he wanted to remind me that the spads were appointed by the party officers".

Mr Bell said that Mr Cairns later "apologised for his behaviour and agreed not to interrupt or talk over the Minister" and that the "working relationship improved".

However, he said that Mr Cairns "saw himself as more accountable to the DUP spads than to the Minister, as he stated, 'Ministers come and go but spads remain'".

Mr Bell claimed that he discussed Mr Cairns' behaviour in London with Timothy Johnston and then First Minister Peter Robinson, and that Mr Robinson "stated he would not tolerate this behaviour for a moment from his spads".

Mr Bell said that he "signed to appoint" Mr Cairns as his spad and that Mr Cairns "remained the spad for the Deti Department" throughout his time as Minister.

However, he said that "for a two week period and following a dispute in London in advance of a meeting with Amber Rudd", the special adviser remained in post but "was not active in his role as spad".

During a meeting between Mr Cairns, Mr Bell and Mr Johnston, which Mr Bell said "was arranged for the purpose of Mr Cairns explaining his behaviour to me", Mr Bell said that "no allegations of bullying were discussed".

He said that "Mr Cairns returned to work and my working relationship with him was satisfactory as far as I was concerned".

Mr Bell said his working relationship with Mr Cairns had been "generally good". However, he added that he felt Mr Cairns was "intimidated" by other DUP spads.

Mr Bell also makes claims that Mr Cairns had sought to "indirectly control" him.

He said: "It is also my belief that my spad acted in a manner whereby information relating to RHI (whether generated by Deti or otherwise) was filtered and filleted so that, as Minister, I was not provided complete information.

"I believe this was a form of indirect control of my actions and decisions as Minister."

Mr Bell claimed that shortly after becoming Deti Minister in 2015, his permanent secretary had tried to raise the issue of RHI, but that Mr Cairns "stated he did not wish the RHI scheme to be on the agenda".

Following his appointment as Minister, Mr Bell said that the RHI scheme "was not included in my urgent business to address when taking over the Department but an overview was given in the general overview of the Department".

He said he was "eventually given a submission relating to RHI towards the end of August" 2015.

Mr Bell said: "It is my view that in my period as Deti Minister, pressure was exerted on me to delay the introduction of the cost control reduction by my spad Timothy Cairns, not acting on his own behalf, but under the influence of OFMDFM spad Timothy Johnston and DFM spad Andrew Crawford.

"This was exerted verbally in the form of not allowing the RHI to be discussed at the Ministerial Issues meeting.

"On one occasion, spad Cairns referred verbally to OFMDFM spad Timothy Johnston and his brother-in-law DUP Director of Communications John Robinson as having interests in the chicken industry and that was why it was so difficult to get RHI on the agenda.

"This occurred from June 2015 and was ongoing through the period of the delaying of the introduction of the cost controls."

Mr Bell said he also believed that "pressure was brought to bear on me by Permanent Secretary Dr Andrew McCormick verbally" in following the lead given by OFMDFM and the Department of Finance "both to delay the introduction of the cost controls and to extend the closure of the scheme by two weeks".

Regarding the budget for RHI, Mr Bell said he was informed by Dr McCormick that "a change had been made in previous budget under the then Minister Arlene Foster that had not been picked up in Deti that transferred significant cost to the Department from the Treasury".

Mr Bell said he was "not aware and was never made aware of any briefing or concern on a spike on demand" for the scheme.

He added that it was his understanding that Mr Cairns "interacted" with Dr McCormick and Deti's senior management team "verbally and through email correspondence".

He said: "The manner of these communications was of some concern to me. I do not believe that there was full disclosure of these communications to me - particularly in relation to RHI."

Mr Bell claimed that Mr Cairns "was in a position to (and did) exercise considerable control in respect of the agenda of the weekly Ministerial Issues meeting".

Regarding the relationship between himself and his spad, Mr Bell highlighted his understanding that the spad would be "provided with instructions from DUP party officers, other Ministerial spads, and myself as Minister".

He added: "In my experience, the fact that an instruction was given by me did not mean that it would be followed, particularly in circumstances whereby my instruction conflicted with those provided by others."

He said that there was an "accepted hierarchy" among spads, with Timothy Johnston, then the First Minister's spad, at the top, followed by Richard Bullick, also a spad to OFM, and then all other spads.

Mr Bell said that when he took up his post as Deti Minister in May 2015 he "inherited the RHI schemes that were ongoing" and "had no role in the setting up or design of the RHI scheme".

He added: "I had no involvement with the RHI scheme in period November 2012-May 2015."

Mr Bell claimed he met with Arlene Foster on February 9, 2016, and she "ordered" him to "keep the scheme open, essentially saying that she was the First Minister and by her authority I would keep the scheme open".

Mr Bell said he "passionately argued that this was folly" during the meeting, which he claimed was also attended by spads Timothy Cairns, Timothy Johnston, Stephen Brimstone, Andrew Crawford and Richard Bullick.

He added: "I was not in agreement with the outcome, but had been ordered by the First Minister to keep it open.

"The reason I disagreed with Arlene Foster was that I had been informed by my department that the schemes should be closed as soon as possible because of the budgetary pressures."

Mr Bell said that Mrs Foster "did not identify a time frame in her order to keep the scheme open".

He added that he requested a further meeting with Mrs Foster, which took place in the First Minister's office that evening.

During this meeting, Mr Bell claimed that Mrs Foster "changed her position and stated she agreed with my logic this needed to come to an end and stated she was now prepared to close within two weeks".

Mr Bell said he "agreed to take this to the Deti Deptartment" and contacted Dr McCormick, with whom he agreed to proceed.

Regarding the closure of the RHI, Mr Bell added: "My own view that the interests of industry and private businesses did not outweigh the public interest in closing the scheme sooner to minimise further public expenditure. However, I was overruled by the First Minister."
A toxic relationship between former Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell and his special adviser Timothy Cairns led to an atmosphere of distrust at the height of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) crisis, the inquiry has heard.

The former Permanent Secretary at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Deti) Dr Andrew McCormick was questioned about a breakfast meeting argument between the two men in London in June 2015.

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The Deti Minister, his adviser and Dr McCormick had arrived in the city for a scheduled meeting with then UK Energy Minister Amber Rudd.

The inquiry heard the row concerned Mr Cairns questioning Mr Bell's ability to take decisions on his own without consulting others in the DUP and ended with Mr Cairns being told that he wouldn't be attending the meeting with Ms Rudd.

There was a "pretty sharp" exchange between the pair, according to Dr McCormick, but he added he did not see anything from either man that was threatening or intimidating.

But Dr McCormick said he sensed a "breakdown in trust" afterwards and that had "made the difficult RHI issue significantly harder to resolve".

He told the inquiry: "Tim Cairns' intervention was a sharper rebuke to a minister from a special adviser than I'd seen before. The tone and the language was terse and pointed and right at the borderline of normal conversation.

"It wasn't long before we realised this was not for us (Civil Service) to be involved in. It got sharp, so we got off-side."

Dr McCormick added he had not seen anything from either man that would have triggered a duty of care from him.

Following the meeting, Mr Bell said Mr Cairns was dismissed for the day, while Mr Cairns thought he was dismissed permanently.

Dr McCormick said: "I walked up to Whitehall place and Jonathan Bell came into the reception area and said briefly 'Timothy Cairns isn't coming to this meeting'. I heard more details later that day and in the following days.

"I heard that Tim Cairns had a medical certificate in relation to his absence after that. I didn't hear the word sacked or dismissed in relation to this issue, until long after the event. Not that long later he came back and we resumed working together, but I was aware there was a real difficulty in the relationship."

Mr Cairns previously recalled in his evidence to the inquiry that he had gone to the Deti permanent secretary with concerns about Mr Bell's behaviour, but that Dr McCormick told him that he could only act in relation to civil servants and there was nothing he could do.

Asked if he remembered that happening, Dr McCormick said he'd been "scratching my head" about whether it did.

"I think I would remember Timothy coming saying: 'You need to help me with a bullying problem.' I don't recall that," said Dr McCormick.

"The understanding was that the dispute between Mr Bell and his adviser was a matter for the DUP rather than the Civil Service."

During yesterday's hearing, Dr McCormick also told the inquiry he still struggles with why a whistleblower warning about the key flaw in the scheme was ignored. He said he only found out about businesswoman Janette O'Hagan's concerns after the RHI was closed.

Ms O'Hagan told the department in 2015 that the scheme was being abused and businesses were burning fuel to take advantage of the over-generous state subsidies on offer, but the warning was not followed up.

Dr McCormick said he could not understand why she had been ignored at a time when officials were beginning to realise they had a budget problem. He said he could see no "defensible explanation" why the information had not been acted on.

The hearing also heard evidence about the working culture within the enterprise department when problems with the scheme first began to emerge.

Inquiry panellist Dr Keith MacLean asked if staff were reluctant to speak out because of power struggles, or took the view that "if I do say something I'll get my head bitten off for it".

Dr McCormick admitted there should have been a message conveying confidence to staff.

The former senior civil servant also spoke of communication difficulties between the energy and finance teams when it came to looking at the scheme's budget, which led to a reliance on emails.

Dr MacLean asked: "Is this an example where someone should have gone along the corridor and banged heads together until they got an answer?"

Dr McCormick admitted there had been a culture of self-protection within the department.

Inquiry chairman Sir Patrick Coughlin asked why Dr McCormick did not ask more questions in May 2015 when the cost of the scheme had risen from 12m to 23m.

Dr McCormick conceded: "That should have happened. I agree. I didn't ask hard enough questions at the time. I deeply regret not asking more fundamental questions at that time".

Dr McCormick also told the inquiry that he did not recall any attempts from DUP spads to stop discussion of the RHI scheme in meetings during summer 2015 shortly after Jonathan Bell became Deti minister.

Mr Bell's claim that DUP advisers did not want the scheme to be discussed during ministerial meetings was also put to Dr McCormick.

Dr McCormick replied: "I don't see why anyone would withhold that fundamental information."

Mr Bell is to appear before the inquiry over the next two days.
Taps believed to be deliberately left running in a recently vacated property in Co Antrim have forced a family out of their home.

It happened at a flat in Beechview Court in Crumlin on Wednesday 05 September.

Water had been left running in an upstairs property causing the property underneath to be damaged.

Sinn Fein councillor for the area Anne Marie Logue said the two social housing properties were left uninhabitable, blaming "criminal elements".

She said the ceilings had all caved in within the property and all the family's property including their clothes had been destroyed.

"They have been left destitute," the councillor told the Belfast Telegraph.

She said those "responsible for terrorising our community" needed to be faced down for the sake of the law-abiding and hard-working Crumlin community.

The reckless criminal damage on a recently vacated first floor flat has completely destroyed the flat beneath and forced a family out of their home.

This is the outworking of a series of anti social behaviour incidents, during the course of which the family who occupied the ground floor flat was terrorised and threatened by criminal elements."

The councillor called on Clanmil Housing Group, which operates the properties, to urgently respond.

Clanmil was contacted for a comment.

Police are investigating.
The Western Trust have apologised to a UUP MLA who criticized the use of Londonderry's Free Derry Corner to promote Organ Donation Week.

The landmark has been painted pink to encourage people to take part in organ donation.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Rosemary Barton said it was "abhorrent" that the Western Trust would use Free Derry Corner to promote the cause.

A Western Trust spokesperson that they contacted Mrs Barton directly to explain the objectives of the campaign and apologise for any offence caused.

Free Derry Corner is repainted throughout the year to highlight various charity events and good causes including the city's Pride Festival.

In a tweet Mrs Barton said "Abhorrent of the Western Health and Social Care Trust to use an overt Irish Republican symbol and location (often used by violent republican groups) to promote Organ Donation Week.

"It seems they are promoting the Irish Republican viewpoint rather than organ donation. Poor decision," she wrote.

Abhorrent of the @WesternHSCTrust to use an overt Irish Republican symbol and location (often used by violent republican groups) to promote Organ Donation Week. It seems they are promoting the Irish Republican viewpoint rather than the Organ Donation. Poor decision! pic.twitter.com/ynfxHdid8t  Rosemary Barton (@barton_uup) September 6, 2018

The Western Trust posted a picture of the freshly painted Free Derry Corner on their Facebook page and encouraged people to support organ donation.

A Trust spokesperson said it was one of a number of landmarks to be lit up to mark the campaign.

A campaign to light up or paint recognisable landmarks and buildings was devised to mark National Organ Donation Week ( 3 to 9 September). This also included lighting up the Guildhall Clock face, Derry City and Strabane District Council offices, Strule Arts Centre (Omagh), Enniskillen Castle and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council offices," the spokesperson said.

The Western Trust has spoken with Mrs Rosemary Barton directly, explained the wider objectives of the campaign and have apologised if this has caused any offence to Mrs Barton.

On average 16 patients die annually in Northern Ireland while waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. Thus, it is vital that everyone considers becoming a donor, registers as a potential donor and informs their next of kin of their decision to do so. Together we can and we shall save many lives."

Free Derry Corner is a free standing wall that in the city's Bogside area which commemorates 'Free Derry' a republican controlled area of the city during the Troubles.

'You are now entering Free Derry' was painted on the side of a house in the area in January 1969 and when the houses were demolished the wall was retained.

It is now a historical landmark and is included on tours of the city.
Two men have been charged after being arrested by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force in south Belfast.

A 39-year-old man has been charged with burglary and a number of motoring offences and will appear in Belfast Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

A 42-year-old man has been charged with a number of offences including burglary and using a false instrument with intent.

False instrument charges relate to forgery, such as illegally creating fake versions of legal documents like a driver's licence or passport.

The two men were arrested after a stolen car was stopped on the Malone Road in south Belfast.

The 42-year-old man has been released on bail pending further police enquiries.

As is normal procedure all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

The Paramilitary Crime Task Force was set up to tackle criminality linked to paramilitary activity, and is made up of the PSNI, HM Revenue & Customs, and the National Crime Agency.
Reliance on agency workers in the public sector is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions in Northern Ireland, a major trade union has claimed.

Nipsa, the public service union, said their research showed that huge sums were being spent on the overpriced sticking plaster of agency staff every year in the absence of proper workforce planning.

General secretary, Alison Millar, said this flew in the face of claims there was no money to invest in public services.

This fails to deal with the real crisis in our public services  low pay, staff shortages and job insecurity, she said.

These flow from a consistent failure of central and devolved governments to undertake the appropriate long-term approach to planning and investment.

Nipsa claims that in the health and social care sector  where there are hundreds of long-term vacancies  200m was spent on non-medical agency staff between 2010/11 and 2015/16. They add that more than 50m has been spent by local government on agency staff since 2014, despite the number of councils being reduced from 26 to 11.

The Civil Service is also said to spend 11m a year on agency staff, despite reducing the number of government departments and a voluntary exit scheme for staff. Ms Millar said the vast amount of public money being spent on agency staff included exorbitant management fees to private sector employment agencies.

This is a failure of manpower planning and an indictment of the failure to address severe staffing shortages across the public sector, she said.

This is shown most clearly in those areas that have supposedly come through their latest reform phase. She said the scandal of under-investment meant our public services were now built on employment insecurity, low pay and reduced employment rights.

Ms Millar said Nipsa would be challenging the ideologically driven casualisation of public services, as well as calling for changes to labour laws for greater employment protection for all public service workers, both full-time and agency.

A spokesperson for the Department of Finance said:The use of agency staff is a legitimate and necessary way to manage some aspects of temporary work and meet particular business needs. This is normal practice in any modern large organisation providing a range of services to the public.

Derek McCallan is chief executive for the Nilga, the organisation that represents local government in Northern Ireland.

He said that four years after changes to local government, using agency staff was often still an operational necessity.

The four years since the Review of Public Administration has been a period of substantial change, with 26 councils transforming into 11, taking on new powers like planning, agreeing new organisational design, yet continuing to deliver high-quality services at affordable costs to ratepayers, he said.

It acknowledges that the use of agency staff, whilst often not ideal, can on occasions be an operational necessity, once other options have been worked through, due to short-term workforce vacancies, long-term absenteeism, periods of paid and unpaid leave and similar.

The Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Department for Health were contacted, but have yet to respond.
Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley is to begin talks aimed at restoring Stormont powersharing soon (Parliament/PA)

Discussions aimed at re-establishing formal powersharing talks are to be held in the next few weeks, the Northern Ireland Secretary said.

Karen Bradley will also canvass local views on whether an external mediator should be appointed to help restore the devolved institutions, but reiterated that no solution could be imposed from outside.

She will take steps at Westminster to give civil servants greater clarity on their responsibilities in the absence of ministers. Proposals requiring major decisions have stacked up on in trays since a landmark court ruling that officials had exceeded their powers.

Public appointments in areas like policing are expected to be given the go-ahead soon following another intervention from the Secretary of State.

But despite her increasing involvement, Mrs Bradley stopped short of fulfilling the Democratic Unionists key demand that in the absence of devolved government, ministers from Westminster undertake the direct rule of Northern Ireland.

Expand Close Karen Bradley is to take a range of steps in the absence of ministers at Stormont (Steve Parsons/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Karen Bradley is to take a range of steps in the absence of ministers at Stormont (Steve Parsons/PA)

Mrs Bradley told MPs: I also intend, therefore, to use the next few weeks to engage in further discussions with the parties and the Irish Government in accordance with the three-stranded approach with the intention of establishing a basis for moving into more formal political dialogue that leads to a restoration of the institutions.

These discussions will also seek the views from the parties on when and how external facilitation could play a constructive role in the next round of talks. No agreement can ever be imposed from outside Northern Ireland.

The recent court case in Belfast has left civil servants unable to take major decisions without ministers.

Mrs Bradley said: I recognise that there is a need to provide reassurance and clarity to both the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the people of Northern Ireland on the mechanisms for the continued delivery of public services.

So, the legislation I intend to introduce after the conference recess will also include provisions to give greater clarity and certainty to enable Northern Ireland departments to continue to take decisions in Northern Ireland in the public interest and to ensure the continued delivery of public services.

She will also bring forward legislation to enable key public appointments to be made, expected to be in areas like policing.

Mrs Bradley said Northern Irelands voice must be heard at this critical Brexit time.

With new powers coming back from Brussels and flowing to Stormont, Northern Ireland needs an Executive in place to use those powers to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead, she said.

In a nod to nationalist concerns, she said a functioning North-South Ministerial Council for formal cooperation with the Republic of Ireland was vital.

She added: Critical cross-cutting programmes  addressing social deprivation, tackling paramilitarism  are stalling following 19 months without devolved government.

As this impasse continues, public services are suffering. Businesses are suffering. The people of Northern Ireland are suffering. Local decision-making is urgently needed to address this.

The only sustainable way forward lies in stable, fully functioning and inclusive devolved government.

She said she did not believe holding an election would be helpful and will legislate in October to set aside, for a limited and prescribed period, the legal requirement to propose a date for a further election.

A ministerial Executive may be formed at any point without the requirement for further legislation.
A former Stormont minister has claimed he was labelled a monster who had to be put to sleep over a green energy scheme which was plunging into chaos in Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Bell said he was the victim of a massive smear campaign and was framed by members of his own party.

The senior figure who he claimed briefed against him was David Gordon, who led the communications strategy of the Executive Office department in 2016.

Mr Bell made a series of explosive claims as he gave evidence to a public inquiry in Belfast into why the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme costs spiralled under his Enterprise Departments watch.

I fear I have been the victim of a massive smear campaignFormer Stormont minister Jonathan Bell

He blamed the DUP for fitting him up, his former special adviser Timothy Cairns and officials for not making him aware what was happening, and claimed Mr Gordon briefed that he was a monster who had to be put to sleep.

I fear I have been the victim of a massive smear campaign, he said.

Mr Bell was minister at the Enterprise Department, which oversaw the RHI scheme, from 2015 to 2016.

He told the inquiry: I have to say to you, I am just one boy, I cant operate against the Executive Office.

Expand Close Former DUP minister Jonathan Bell (left) and his solicitor Denis Moloney arrive at the inquiry (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Former DUP minister Jonathan Bell (left) and his solicitor Denis Moloney arrive at the inquiry (Niall Carson/PA)

He alleged that Sky News Ireland correspondent David Blevins gave the DUP advice on how to discredit him  strongly denied by the broadcasters employer  including attacking his Christian faith.

A statement from Sky News said: The suggestion by Jonathan Bell that David Blevins advised the DUP on anything is completely and utterly untrue.

Text messages between Mr Bells former special adviser Mr Cairns and DUP leader Arlene Foster as well as another special adviser, Timothy Johnston, revealed that Mr Cairns would fit his story to whatever the party narrative was to be, Mr Bell claimed.

Mr Bell also contended to the inquiry that he first became aware of issues with the scheme on August 24 2015.

In September he signed an order for cost control measures with a four-week delay.

But he has insisted he would have authorised it earlier if he had been aware.

There was a surge in applications for the scheme before the cost-cutting tariffs took effect in November.

Almost 1,000 boilers were accredited to the scheme between August and November.

Mr Bells special adviser Timothy Cairns has given a statement to the inquiry that he gave the minister a briefing about the RHI scheme on July 8 before Mr Bell went on holiday.

Mr Bell refuted that.

Mr Cairns also claimed in his evidence that Mr Bell had limited availability that summer between his family holiday to China in July and being away in Portstewart in early August.

Mr Bell responded saying: I was available for every meeting, every photocall, every business  (civil servants) couldve contacted me at any time  but there was no attempt to contact me, I believe.

Mr Bell has also distanced himself from a four-week delay in introducing the cost cutting measures to the scheme.

He claimed he was told the delay was necessary to get measures through.

The inquiry also heard claims from Mr Bell that he was told some DUP special advisers had an interest in keeping the scheme, without the cost cutting measures, open as long as possible.
Sinn Feins Conor Murphy said the British Government had acted to ensure its own survival following Karen Bradleys Commons statement (Niall Carson/PA)

The British Government has put its own survival and its relationship with the DUP ahead of its obligations to the peace process, Sinn Fein claimed.

The pro-Brexit Democratic Unionists MPs are propping up Prime Minister Theresa Mays minority Government in key votes.

Newry and Armagh Sinn Fein Assembly member Conor Murphy said the prospect of a court ordering a fresh Stormont election had caused Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley to rule out the step for a limited period.

Expand Close Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley gives an update to MPs in the House of Commons (PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Murphy said: There is no doubt that the prospect, we think, of a court-ordered election has caused the British Government to consider their relationship and arrangement with the DUP in Westminster as opposed to their obligations to the Good Friday Agreement, and yet again they have acted in the interests of their own survival.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement largely ended decades of violence and heralded the devolved institutions.

One requirement on the Northern Ireland Secretary has been to call an election if powersharing collapsed.

Mrs Bradley said it had not been an easy decision to set aside that obligation for a limited and prescribed period, effectively ruling out another poll for now.

She said: I have thought about this long and hard. I have considered all the options and it feels to me like an election is not going to resolve the situation and my priority is how do we get devolved government and an election is not going to deliver that.

We had an election, we have properly elected MLAs [Members of the Legislative Assembly], the people have already said who they want to represent them and form a Government, now we need to get on and form that Government.

I think calling an election at the moment would be an absolute waste of money and a complete distraction and the people of Northern Ireland simply dont want it.

.@DUPleader comments following the NI Secretary of States statement in the House of Commons. pic.twitter.com/VmsKZV0psW  DUP (@duponline) September 6, 2018

DUP leader Arlene Foster said Sinn Fein were the roadblock to forming a ministerial Executive at Stormont and expressed her frustration.

She said: Ultimately, Northern Ireland needs a ministerial decision-making mechanism which respects democracy.

We have been and will continue to press the Government to get a mechanism in place which can ensure decisions about front line services are no longer left in abeyance.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney said he was concerned.

I have noted the announcement this morning by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Karen Bradley, of proposed temporary amendments to the legislative framework for the calling of an Assembly election, in the continuing absence of the Northern Ireland Executive.

I am deeply concerned at the continuing impasse in Northern Ireland and I spoke with the Secretary of State last night to again convey that concern, which she shares.

Todays announcement further underlines the seriousness of the absence of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, and the urgent requirement for all with responsibilities to do everything in their power to get them operating again.

The strong and consistent calls from across all sections of the community in Northern Ireland for the devolved institutions to operate must be heeded.
One of Sinn Fein's most senior politicians has said he could see a future where the Union Flag was flown from government buildings in the Republic.

Speaking this week, the party's finance spokesman and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty was discussing the need to accommodate unionism in a future united Ireland.

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He told RTE's Irish language station Raidio na Gaeltachta he said he could see a day when the flag was flown at Leinster House alongside the Irish tricolour.

"We need a conversation about symbolism, for the million people who identify as British and who believe deeply in their identity," he said.

"It is important that those symbols are part of this new Ireland."

He said the issue was one which should be discussed by all parties in the Republic.

In recent months Sinn Fein has ramped up its campaign for a border poll on a united Ireland, with party leader Mary Lou McDonald emphasising the need for a poll within the next five years.

In July, former party president Gerry Adams called for a border poll to be held imminantly.

As part of its campaigning the party has emphasised the need to include unionism in a potential future united Ireland.

In an interview with Irish news website TheJournal.ie last month, Mrs McDonald said she would be open to discussions on Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth.

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You can hardly make that call and then say we are not going to discuss any particular item. And there are some people who think that rejoining the Commonwealth is a worthy proposition," she said.

I think those that hold that view need to put that view forward, and I think it needs to be looked at, and debated, and it needs to be discussed."
Former DUP minister Jonathan Bell arrives at the RHI inquiry at Stormont Parliament buildings in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA)

Former Stormont minister Jonathan Bell has claimed he is the victim of a "massive smear campaign" at the hands of the DUP while giving evidence to the RHI inquiry.

In an explosive morning of evidence, Mr Bell also denied accusations by his then special adviser Timothy Cairns that he attempted to break his finger and swung a punch at him during a trip to London.

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Mr Bell was appointed Minister for the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI) replacing Arlene Foster and remained in the post until May 2016. It was during this time that he ended the lucrative tariffs in the RHI scheme before closing it down.

He told the inquiry that when he decided to close the scheme down, the DUP began to brief against him in the media.

He said: "They knew the information I was given was correct. Hundred of millions of pounds would be taken out of the Northern Ireland budget and if they couldn't discredit the message they had to discredit the messenger."

He also claimed that a journalist "from a multi-national corporation" was advising the DUP on how to destroy him by "attacking his Christian faith".

Mr Cairns, in written evidence claimed Mr Bell bullied him and had attempted to break his finger and swung a punch at him.

Expand Close Jonathan Bell (left) and his solicitor Denis Moloney arrive at the RHI inquiry (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook

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When asked about this incident while giving evidence, Mr Bell said: "The allegation that I tried to break a finger or any other bone, or even attempted to, is untrue and is completely without foundation and has no basis whatsoever in fact.

"I have never tried to break anybodies finger and never would."

He added that it was "completely without basis in fact or law" that he attempted to use physical violence against Mr Cairns.

He added: "I am across newspapers as having thrown a punch, which I have never, ever done."

Mr Bell also claimed he had seen evidence that Mr Cairns told DUP special adviser Timothy Johnston and DUP leader Arlene Foster that he would "fit his story" to whatever the party narrative about the RHI scandal was.

Mr Bell, replying to David Scoffield QC regarding text messages sent by Mr Cairns, said: "I regard what you have said as a fitting of me up. His words to colleagues that you have provided to me was 'I will fit my story to whatever the party narrative is to be'".

Mr Bell also claimed that a senior official within the Executive Office was briefing that he was a "monster that had to be put to sleep."

"I have to say to you, I am just one boy, I can't operate against the Executive Office," he told the inquiry.

Mr Bell also claimed that the DUP offered a newspaper an exclusive story about him being a bully, if they used the headline "Bully boy Bell".

"I fear I have been the victim of a massive smear campaign, and I fear this is part of the smear campaign," he said.
Four Grenfell Tower residents were accidentally left to die in an upper-floor flat after a calamitous mix-up during the rescue effort, an inquiry has heard.

Eight tenants from the 14th floor had been told by firefighters to hunker down in flat 113 and await rescue  but only four were taken out.

It emerged at the Grenfell Tower inquiry on Thursday that the team tasked with saving them were under the impression only a family of three were in the flat.

But, in an extraordinary divergence of accounts, rescuer Peter Herrera had his story called into question by survivor Omar al-Haj Ali, whose brother Mohammad died that night.

The Lambeth firefighter was accused of being mistaken  and challenged about how he could have missed four people in the flat if he had looked properly.

Mr Herrera insisted he did not make this up, but closed his evidence saying he was very, very, very sorry if anyone thought he had failed them.

He told the hearing at Holborn Bars he had arrived at flat 113 to find the electricity out and the family of three  Oluwaseun Talabi, his partner and their young daughter.

Thats the thing, I didnt see them, they werent there. Especially if Im being told he was the last person, there was no need to look, from my point of view that flat was emptyRescuer Peter Herrera

The family were reluctant to leave, but he pulled them out and sent them down the stairs with his colleagues.

He then noticed a silhouette in the flat, according to his written statement, which transpired to be Omar al-Haj Ali.

Omar had been with Mohammad and their 14th-floor neighbours Denis Murphy, Zainab Deen and her young son Jeremiah.

The firefighter asked the man if anyone else was left in the flat and was allegedly told: No, Im the last one.

Omar was quickly rushed down the stairwell with Mr Talabi and his family.

The firefighter claimed he only realised the mistake later in the night, when he saw Omar on the phone to his trapped brother outside the tower.

His statement said: He then went on to say, I am still on the phone to him, he is on his knees praying. He also said, I was mistaken.

I remember saying to (crew manager Benjamin McAlonen), oh f***.

There seemed to be some confusion as I recall Syrian man being very clear earlier that no-one else was in the flat. I said to him dont worry, I will sort it out.

But his version of both conversations was hotly contested by Mr al-Haj Ali.

The survivor, who was present at the hearing along with Mr Talabi, claimed he never said the flat was empty, nor did he later admit being mistaken.

Counsel to the inquiry Andrew Kinnier QC said: Mr al-Haj Ali wants me to suggest to you that the account of that conversation is mistaken  would your response be effectively the one you have already provided?

It must have been a mistake on one of our parts, yes, Mr Herrera said.

Mr Kinnier continued: Mr al-Haj Ali would want to say that you didnt come into the lounge  what would you say to that?

He replied: I was there and I know what I did  I spoke to the gentleman, he was there, I was there. I didnt make this up, I was with him.

The firefighter said he did not search the remaining rooms as he assumed there was no-one there.

Several of the remaining residents were found dead within flat 113, the inquiry was told.

I would just like to say to the family members of Denis Murphy and the family members of the other seven residents I came into contact with on the 14th floor - Im very sorry we couldnt get your loved ones out of the buildingFirefighter Desmond Murphy

Mr Herrera was asked by Mr Kinnier why he did not notice them, if they were in there, if you looked properly.

He replied: Thats the thing, I didnt see them, they werent there.

Especially if Im being told he was the last person, there was no need to look, from my point of view that flat was empty.

Mr Talabi could be seen shaking his head at the answer.

Earlier, the firefighter who made the initial decision to move the 14th-floor residents into one flat also apologised.

Desmond Murphy, a firefighter from Kensington, assessed it was too dangerous to take the group down the smoke-logged stairwell and found flat 113 to have safe air.

He, colleague Charles Cornelius and two firefighters from Acton including Nicke Merrion were forced to leave for the lower floors as they ran low on oxygen.

They told their superiors at the operational hub that eight people, six adults and two children required rescue in flat 113, the inquiry was told.

Working hard to maintain composure, Mr Murphy told Thursdays hearing: I would just like to say to the family members of Denis Murphy and the family members of the other seven residents I came into contact with on the 14th floor  Im very sorry we couldnt get your loved ones out of the building.

Mohammad al-Haj Ali, Ms Deen and her son and Denis Murphy all died in the fire.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during 100 Days To Peace at Westminster Central Hall, London (Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph/PA)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched a charity performance for veterans with the former Army chief ultimately responsible for Harry in Afghanistan.

The duke and Meghan sat with Lord Dannatt at Central Hall in Westminster, London, on Thursday night for the concert titled 100 Days To Peace, which was to mark the final stretch of the First World War.

The general led the Army between 2006 and 2009, during which Harry started his first of two tours in Afghanistan in 2007.

Soprano Lesley Garrett performed a WB Yeats poem, and Sir Karl Jenkins was to conduct The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, an anti-war piece performed by choir and orchestra.

Garrett praised Harry for highlighting mental health issues and supporting veterans.

We did sign up before we knew Prince Harry and Meghan would be here, she added.

Expand Close The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at the event hand in hand (Geoff Pugh/The Telegraph) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Its so important to support these amazing charities.

Lord Dannatt, accompanied by his wife, spoke warmly with the royal couple before they entered the Great Hall for the show.

During the intermission the peer led Meghan, in a dark blue dress by Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu, and Harry, in a sombre navy suit, to meet performers and charity leaders.

The show, presented by the Royal Armouries Museum, raised money for three charities supporting veterans with mental health issues  Help for Heroes, Combat Stress and Heads Together.
A Police Scotland officer has been charged over a report of a serious sexual assault (Andrew Milligan/PA)

A police officer has been charged in connection with a report of a serious sexual assault in Dumfries.

The 40-year-old man was initially arrested last month over an incident in the towns St Marys Street in the early hours of Thursday August 23.

He was suspended from duty and released as the investigation continued.

Police Scotland have now confirmed the man has been charged over the incident and is due to appear at Dumfries Sheriff Court on Friday.

A spokeswoman said: We can confirm that a 40-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with a report of a serious sexual assault which occurred in the early hours of Thursday August 23 2018 in St Marys Street, Dumfries.
Devastated relatives became the face of Londons year of violence (Catherine Wylie/PA)

Grief, shock, incomprehension.

The pain of the living was an image too hard to ignore, even as London coarsened to news of death.

Their voices provided nuance when trends and headlines threatened to sand down the circumstances shaping each murder of 2018.

There was the mother sitting on a low brick wall, begging for an end to the violence that took away her teenage son, Rhyiem Ainsworth Barton.

There was the public outrage among friends and family of 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne-Blake after she died in her mothers arms.

Every time, the anguish delivered an emotional gut-punch that statistics could not.

Several deaths were linked to drill rap music, the soundtrack to London gang culture.

But Pretana Morgan, tearfully lamenting the loss of Rhyiem from the wall in Southwark, south London, had a different story about the young rapper.

The 17-year-old, a member of collective Moscow17, was described as an aspiring architect with so much potential, who had been trying to make a difference by learning to work with children.

He was killed by a gunshot wound in May.

Ms Morgan said: Let my son be the last and be an example to everyone. Just let it stop. What must be, must be.

The spectre of gang violence also hung over the death of Tanesha in April, but friends made clear she was an innocent casualty in a postcode war.

Expand Close Floral tributes rest against a wall near the site of Tanesha Melbourne-Blakes murder (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The youth worker was killed in a drive-by shooting in Tottenham, north London.

Amaan Shakour, 16, was shot dead minutes later in Walthamstow, east London, while out with friends.

Taneshas shell-shocked loved ones visited the site of her killing to leave flowers in the days that followed, many expressing disbelief and anger.

Expand Close Tanesha died in a drive-by shooting in Tottenham, north London (PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Tottenham-raised rapper Wretch32 wrote online: RIP to the young angel who lost her life  Im honestly lost for words.

Days later, a Facebook friend of Taneshas, Israel Ogunsola, also died from stab wounds in Hackney, east London.

Protesters flooded the streets of the borough in a united front against the spate of killings.

Other victims of this years violence in the capital died at their homes.

Expand Close Joel died in his home in Deptford, south-east London (PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Seven-year-old Joel Urhie was killed when his family were targeted in a suspected arson attack in Deptford, south-east London, on August 7.

His father, John, paid heartbreaking tribute as he stood outside the shell of the schoolboys home the next day.

He said: He was a very lovely boy who was just loving life and its a terrible loss.

Its terrible, the pain we can never forget.

Pictures of a grinning Joel were shared with the media, including one of him dressed up as a firefighter.
Theresa May said Britain will deploy a full range of tools in response to the Salisbury attack (PA)

Theresa May said Britain will deploy the full range of tools from across the National Security apparatus to counter the threat posed by the GRU, Russias military intelligence service.

While some measures that could form part of the response are likely to be played out on the world stage, others will take place under the radar.

Tomorrow's front page: May vows revenge on Russia #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/ZvmYKoqiXQ  The Times (@thetimes) September 5, 2018

Cyber

Speculation about the possibility of a retaliatory cyber strike emerged in the wake of the Salisbury poisoning in March, and again after police identified two Russian nationals as suspects.

The Times reported that such operations will aim to disrupt the GRU by scrambling communications and obstructing access to finance.

Britains capacity in the area of offensive cyber was summarised in December by the Commons Intelligence and Security Committee, which has access to high-level security figures and highly classified material.

Offensive cyber covers a range of measures including possible retaliation and capabilities to attack wider systems or infrastructure, according to the committees annual report.

Counter-espionage

Britains security chiefs were flagging up the threat from Russia prior to the Salisbury attack.

In a speech in October last year, MI5 director general Andrew Parker referenced the agencys work against espionage and other clandestine activity by Russia and other foreign states who seek to do Britain harm.

Methods adopted could include alerting someone to a foreign intelligence services interest in recruiting them or providing advice to companies with sought-after information.

Security agencies could also seek the expulsion of foreign intelligence officers if their activity is deemed to be especially intrusive or threatens real damage to UK interests.

Expand Close MI5 Director General Andrew Parker has highlighted the agencys work against clandestine activity (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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New border powers

The disclosure that the two Salisbury suspects flew in from Moscow two days before the poisoning bolsters the Governments case for new measures to stop spies and agents at the border.

Under plans unveiled earlier this year, police and immigration authorities will be handed anti-terror style powers to intercept individuals to determine whether they are or have been engaged in hostile activity.

The UK has called for a #UNSC meeting tomorrow, Thursday, to update the Council on the Salisbury investigation. pic.twitter.com/exK4kEX0uD  UK at the UN  (@UKUN_NewYork) September 5, 2018

International pressure

Britain will continue efforts to rally the international community and close partners to strengthen defences against and clamp down on malign Russian activity.

In the aftermath of Salisbury, Britain, Nato and 28 other countries expelled more than 150 Russian intelligence officers in the largest collective expulsion ever.

Diplomacy

While she made clear the UKs outrage over the attack, Mrs May did also commit to continuing to engage Russia on topics of international peace and security.

She said: We continue to hold out hope that we will one day once again enjoy a strong partnership with the Government of this great nation.
A devastated man whose mothers death has been linked to a mesh implant has called for the products to be completely banned.

Eileen Baxter, 75, died in August after being admitted to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Multiple organ failure was said to have led to her death, with sacrocolopexy mesh repair  an implant to fix a pelvic organ prolapse  noted as an underlying cause.

Her son Mark, 52, said if his mother had known the potential implications she would never have had the implant, which he said destroyed her quality of life and robbed her of her dignity.

I want to see it totally bannedMark Baxter

He said: Prior to the implant she was the life and soul of the party, she was a great dancer and she loved going shopping.

After the implant she was not able to do the simple things in life, she could never do what she once was able to do. It hurt my mum so much, but she put on a brave face.

It was hard to see my mum like that and she was in a lot of pain.

The Scottish Government has said it will consider whether a review or inquiry should be held in the wake of Mrs Baxters death.

Mr Baxter welcomed the news but also called for a complete ban on the implants.

He said: I want to see it totally banned. I dont want to see any other woman going through what my mum went through, or any other family going through it.

It is hard to read that they are still carrying out this procedure.

My mum has been a massive loss, not just to me and my family but outside the family circle. She was my best pal and my best friend.

He said he was devastated at what happened to his mother, and added: That mesh took my mothers dignity completely away.

Mrs Baxter, from Loanhead in Midlothian, leaves her husband Chic, two children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Scottish Labour said it is believed to be the first time a mesh implant has been officially listed as a cause of death in Scotland.

Labour MSP Neil Findlay said: The news that a repair to a mesh implant carried out by NHS Scotland was a contributing factor in the death of Eileen Baxter will deeply distress not only her family but the many hundreds of women in Scotland who underwent this procedure.

In light of Mrs Baxters death, it is crucial that the Cabinet Secretary for Health investigates this specific case fully to ensure no further harm is done to women in any part of the country.

This news leaves absolutely no doubt that the minister must also now immediately ban mesh implants from NHS Scotland.

Many women who have undergone this procedure say they have experienced infections, bleeding and even paralysis.

Mesh implants should be consigned to the history books and those manufacturers who potentially broke the law should be prosecuted.

Dr Tracey Gillies, medical director at NHS Lothian, said: We are unable to discuss individual care without consent. If patients or relatives have concerns surrounding care or treatment, we would urge them to get in touch with us and contact our patient experience team.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: Our condolences go to the family and friends of Eileen Baxter.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on individual patients or their treatment, but we will give any information supplied to us on Ms Baxters case very careful consideration.
Ten people taken to hospital after a large commercial jet arrived in the US from Dubai have tested positive for influenza, officials say.

Spokesman for the mayor of New York Eric Phillips tweeted that some tests came back inconclusive on other viruses, and will be re-administered.

All 10 patients will be kept in the hospital as a precaution until the final results come in.

Test results on the 10 hospitalized patients find influenza. Some tests came back inconclusive on other viruses, which is common. Theyll be re-administered this morning. All 10 patients will be kept in the hosipital as a precaution until we know those final results. https://t.co/t4gOEkHJDN  eric phillips (@EricFPhillips) September 6, 2018

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention quarantined the Emirates aircraft holding 520 passengers on Wednesday so it could evaluate about 100 of them.

Some had complained about coughs, headaches, sore throats and fevers.
The US president has raged against the gutless editorial (AP)

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has denied writing an anonymous New York Times opinion piece which claimed an internal resistance is working to thwart some of President Donald Trumps efforts.

Mr Pompeo said of the article: Its not mine.

Speaking after a meeting in New Delhi with Indian officials, Mr Pompeo added that it shouldnt surprise anyone that the New York Times chose to print such a piece.

He said that if the piece actually was written by a top US official, they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actors word for anything.

Mr Pompeo has accused the media of trying to undermine the Trump administration, and says he finds it incredibly disturbing.

The New York Times said publishing the essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to its readers.

The piece, written by an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of a resistance working from within to thwart Mr Trumps worst inclinations, has set off a guessing game over the authors identity.

Mr Trump tweeted that if the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the coward who wrote the piece to do the right thing and resign.

Two insiders have said that Mr Trump has demanded that presidential aides should identify the leaker.

The author of the article wrote: Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room.

We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont.

The text of the article was pulled apart for clues:

 The writer is identified as an administration official; does that mean a person who works outside the White House?

 It contains references to Russia and the late Senator John McCain  do they suggest someone working in national security?

 Does the writing style sound like someone who worked at a think tank?

 In a tweet, the Times used the pronoun he to refer to the writer; does that rule out all women?

The newspaper later said the tweet referring to he had been drafted by someone who is not aware of the authors identity, including the gender, so the use of he was an error.

Hotly debated on Twitter was the authors use of the word lodestar, which pops up frequently in speeches by US vice president Mike Pence. Others argued that the word lodestar could have been included deliberately to lay a false trail.

Mr Trump, appearing at an unrelated event at the White House, lashed out at the Times for publishing the article.

He said of the newspaper: They dont like Donald Trump and I dont like them.

The op-ed pages of the newspaper are managed separately from its news department.

In a blistering statement, Ms Sanders accused the author of choosing to deceive the president by remaining in the administration and putting himself or herself ahead of the will of the American people. The coward should do the right thing and resign.

The White House press secretary also called on the Times to issue an apology for publishing the piece, calling it a pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed.
Rabbi Sacks said on the BBC last weekend that Jeremy Corbyn should 'repent and recant'

Morgan Phillips, a former Welsh miner who was general secretary of the Labour Party in the 1950s, is reported to have said that the Labour Party owed more to Methodism than to Marxism.

That may have been true at one time and, of course, the Tolpuddle Martyrs, who were early trade unionists, were led by a Methodist local preacher. However, today the dominance within the Labour Party lies with the Marxists rather than the Methodists.

Labour is firmly under the control of Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell, who are both on the hard Left of the party. Indeed, McDonnell has openly declared himself to be a Marxist.

The third man in the Labour leadership triumvirate is Seumas Milne, whose father was the director general of the BBC. The former public schoolboy started out his political career as business manager for the magazine Straight Left, which was produced by the hardline, pro-Soviet faction of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). He wasnt a member of the CPGB, but was clearly comfortable in that environment, as indeed were several Labour MPs.

That hard-Left triumvirate was put in place by the organisation Momentum, set up for that purpose in 2015. It has drawn into the Labour Party large numbers of far-Left activists, who can exert their efforts within the ranks of Labour, rather than in one of the many Trotskyist micro-parties.

It is reminiscent of the entryism of the old Militants, except that this time they didnt have to weasel their way in, because changes in the party rules threw the doors open for them.

They have brought energy and, indeed, momentum with them, but they also reinforced the anti-Semitism that was already there on the left of Labour.

This has resulted in a bitter dispute within Labour and has been a constant story in the news over the summer, almost as constant as Brexit. Day after day, it has featured on radio and television and in newspapers and political journals.

In the midst of that controversy, I was particularly struck by the recent intervention from Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, a former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.

Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Rabbi Sacks highlighted statements made by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and said that he should repent and recant.

He said that Corbyn had befriended Hamas and Hezbollah and that when people hear the kind of language coming out of Labour thats been brought to the surface among Jeremy Corbyns earlier speeches, they cannot but feel an existential threat.

Sacks remarks to the BBC came after an earlier interview with the New Statesman, in which he described Corbyn as an anti-Semite and said that one of his recent statements was the most racially divisive speech in a generation.

In both cases, he called out the culprit and his words were clear and unequivocal. His intervention was incisive and impressive. It was, indeed, a lesson for other religious leaders in how to communicate.

In the New Testament, Paul told the Church in Corinth: If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? (1 Corinthians 14:8).

Hearing a bugle means nothing to a soldier if it is unclear. Even if it is played by the official bugler on the best instrument available, it means nothing if the notes are unclear.

Too often in the past, we have heard Church leaders speak in terms that are hesitant and ambivalent. Too often, the official statements are vague and vacuous.

So, when the leader of the second largest political party in Northern Ireland shouts up the rebels and eulogises the terrorist organisation that murdered so many people, should we not hear something from Church leaders? Could they not ask her to repent and recant? Repentance is a thoroughly biblical concept.

The example of the former Chief Rabbi is one that many religious leaders would do well to reflect on.
When you hear a politician in Northern Ireland declare a commitment to the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, allow yourself to scoff. None of those who speak about the Agreement as if it is holy writ cares to implement paragraph 34. That clause established a Civic Forum.

Politicians of opposing views may be up for power-sharing and cross-border bodies and a border poll, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, but they are virtually united in wishing to exclude unelected citizens from their debates and the business of politics. Yet the architects of the agreement made a place for them.

The idea was to create a body of expertise which would advise the Assembly, drawing on connections with wider society, experience of business, the media, culture and arts, the voluntary sector; what might roughly be described as "the real world". And the last thing any political party wants is to fund people who might contradict them.

So the Civic Forum lasted two years. After the suspension of the Assembly in 2002, no one had the slightest interest in resurrecting it.

The agreement says the Civic Forum "will comprise representatives of the business, trade union and voluntary sectors and such other sectors as agreed by the First Minister and the deputy First Minister. It will act as a consultative mechanism on social, economic and cultural issues".

It wasn't to be a second tier of government, like the House of Lords, or the Irish senate. At its worst - and we probably had a good view of the worst it could be - it was a cantankerous talking-shop.

Many of the issues which were irritants within community politics were aired in the forum. I covered one meeting in which the chair, Chris Gibson, promised to look into the provision of Irish language translation facilities for a member who felt that her identity was not adequately catered for. As if there wasn't enough haggling about identity in the Assembly itself.

But we might have indulged the first generation of the forum so soon after the end of the Troubles, indeed years still before decommissioning.

And we might realistically have allowed it to mature and evolve into a consultative body that could dilute the factional ardour of the big parties - if given a chance.

But factional parties don't want their ardour diluted. We inherited from the agreement a standing deadlock between Sinn Fein and the DUP.

To be fair, a major part of the blame goes to the reworking of the agreement at St Andrews, so that voters were incentivised to support the biggest party in their community and dispense with the smaller ones.

The outworking of this is that unionists now vote to block the growth of Sinn Fein and republicans and nationalists vote to curtail the DUP. They are effectively in competition for the top job.

When they are canvassing at election time, they say things like, "If you don't want one of them to be First Minister, there's only one way to stop that happening and it's not to give your number one to the SDLP/UUs (delete as appropriate)."

This consolidation of the factions produces an even greater need for other voices concerned with civic interests.

Perhaps the Civic Forum was never really sold to us. Its potential was never explained - let alone developed.

And it was, even by prescription of the agreement, at the mercy of the First and deputy First Ministers, who would always have the power to squash it if they didn't like what it was doing.

So, what might it have done? There is a phenomenon in Northern Irish life that is much commented on by visitors and lightly assumed by ourselves: we are nice people.

Most of us are not nearly as contentious, factional, devious, or caustic as the people we elect to the big parties contending for the greater number of Executive seats.

We get berated sometimes - and even berate ourselves - with the simple wisdom that we deserve the parties we vote for.

The logic of this is that we must all be secretly impassioned, aching every day with the urge to preserve the Union, or destroy it. Actually, we get on with our own lives and even mutter about how those ghastly parties are failing us. Though we put them there. The Civic Forum idea recognised that our politics tended towards the sectarian, that our parties became dangerous concentrations of our anxieties and that this tendency would inhibit their ability to work together.

So, it sought a means of bringing not only the expertise of different segments of society into the political discussion, but also the ordinary civil decency of most people.

It is that civility and spirit of accommodation which enables all the other segments of society to function.

If unionists and nationalists working in the health service, or the police, were to place their ideological divisions before their work, the way politicians do, then those sectors would stagnate and deadlock as well.

If we had a Civic Forum what might it have done? Take a question like whether we need an Irish Language Act. The Civic Forum might have discussed this to advise culture ministers before they ruled it out and hardened division.

If the Forum had a budget, they might have commissioned polls to gauge opinion. And, if the Civic Forum had not been suspended and had even been allowed to continue to meet and debate when the Assembly couldn't, then it could now be feeding ideas into a talks process, or a pre-talks process, on how resolutions might be reached.

In the Republic, a Citizens' Assembly debated whether or not a referendum should be held to admit the possibility of legislating to allow abortion. Most of the political parties thought the issue was toxic, yet the Citizen's Assembly argued that attitudes in the country were much more liberal than those being aired in Dail debates. The referendum went ahead and the Citizens' Assembly's perspective was endorsed.

It did not rely just on its own deliberations, but commissioned research and polling.

We have a system of government which tends towards deadlock. It rewards contention.

Parties that confront each other across the factional divide grow stronger, garner more votes for being awkward.

It may be that this simple fact of political life here means that power-sharing has already come to an end.

But, if it can be restored, it will have to be in some way protected against its own toxins, its own inherent tendency towards deadlock and breakdown.

And the Civic Forum can contribute to that by calling the parties back to informed, rather than impassioned, debate.
James Mattis and Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretaries of defense and state (left and center), and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj prepare to make a joint statement after 2+2 talks in New Delhi, Sept. 6, 2018.

Top officials from India and the United States held long-delayed talks Thursday to forge deep security and political ties, reaching a defense accord under which Washington will provide encrypted defense technologies to the Indian military.

In New Delhi, the defense and foreign ministers of both countries led so-called 2+2 talks and later signed the Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA). The talks, which lasted a few hours, were focused on security topics and took place as the worlds two largest democracies have recently boosted security alliances in a bid to counterbalance Chinas growing influence in Asia, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

The signing of COMCASA will allow the countries to exchange sensitive military information securely and quickly, and will enable India to access advanced technologies from the U.S. and enhance Indias defense preparedness, Indian Defense Minister Sitharama said during a joint news conference in the Indian capital.

She said India and the United States would carry out Tri-Services joint exercises off the eastern coast of India in 2019. Sitharaman met separately with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis before joining Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who also held their separate talks.

Pompeo described the agreement as a milestone in the Indo-U.S. relationship.

I must say the kickoff of the 2+2 was pretty special, a historic level of relationship that the two countries have not previously had, the top U.S. diplomat told a press briefing.

Weve had 70 years of diplomatic relationships with India, and it was important for the four of us to work together through this dialogue so that we can continue to keep these two relationships both intertwined and moving towards our set of shared objectives of the worlds two largest democracies, he added, according to a transcript from the U.S. State Department.

Russian arms deal

The United States is Indias second largest arms supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Thursdays talks, however, unfolded amid controversy over Washingtons demands, including an end to Indias plan to acquire a sophisticated Russian air-defense system.

Mattis, while en route to India, played down the potential diplomatic issues.

Freedom means that at times nations dont agree with each other, Mattis told reporters, according to the Associated Press, when asked about the countrys plans to buy a sophisticated Russian air-defense system. That doesnt mean we cant be partners. That doesnt mean we dont respect the sovereignty of those nations.

Washington has imposed sanctions on Russia over its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in the Ukraine. The sanctions means that any nation that engages in intelligence or defense sharing with Russia could also be subjected to similar punitive measures.

Delhi applauds US action on Pakistan

During the news conference, Swaraj said that they had reviewed the direction of the Indo-U.S. relations in recent months and exchanged views on a number of regional issues.

India supports American President Donald Trumps South Asia policy, Swaraj said.

His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, she said.

Efforts by India and the United States in promoting an Afghan-led and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process, which would bring together all ethnic groups in that country, also came up during the talks, the minister said.

After the talks, India and the U.S. asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory was not used to launch terror attacks and bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border militant strikes, including those in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists, a joint statement issued after the talks said.

The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries, it said.

Before coming to India, Pompeo held talks in Islamabad with Pakistans new government headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The visit to Islamabad came as the Trump administration announced it was cutting a package of $300 million in annual military aid to Pakistan, citing concerns that Islamabad was not doing enough to stop terrorist groups from operating from within the countrys borders.

Swaraj said India also welcomed Washingtons recent designation of Lashkar-e-Taiba as a terrorist group, as well as tightened bilateral cooperation against other militant groups, including al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
Rohingya women walk toward the exit of Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Aug. 31, 2018.

In the crowded refugee camps of southeastern Bangladesh, Rohingya girls sometimes disappear  and, in certain cases, into the homes of local people.

Jamila Khatun  who came to Bangladesh from Myanmar in 2012 with her husband and six daughters  said she had allowed two of her girls to be taken into the home of a local official in Bandarban district, then lost track of them for five years.

The municipal official took my daughters to Dhaka by making a lucrative job offer, she said. The girls were 13 and 9 at the time.

After taking them there, the official told them that if they did not agree to stay, their parents would be tortured, Jamila told BenarNews. She claimed she and her husband were also threatened.

The family was reunited earlier this year with help from the International Organization for Migration (IMO) and officials in the Leda refugee camp in Teknaf, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar, where they now live.

Abdul Motaleb, chairman of the Leda camp development committee, told BenarNews that he had received a letter late last month from a woman whose two girls, ages 11 and 12, were missing.

I am praying to you for the rescue of my daughters, Sakhina Khatun wrote to the chairman.

Sakhinas letter said two Rohingya women took the girls to Chittagong after offering them jobs. She went there but could not retrieve her daughters.

Jahangir Kabir Chowdhury, chairman of Rajapalong Union Council, a local governing body, said financially secure people in Chittagong hired poor Rohingya women and girls.

Some families have more than one Rohingya domestic worker, he said.

An official of an international agency working with Rohingya who asked not to be identified told BenarNews that women and children are being trafficked to exploit them for sexual servitude and domestic work.

Mohammad Rashid, an official with the development committee at the Leda refugee camp in Teknaf, Bangladesh, holds up a letter from Sakhina Khatun, a mother of two missing Rohingya girls seeking the committees help in finding them, Aug. 26, 2018. (Sharif Khiam/BenarNews)

Concerns downplayed

More than 700,000 Rohingya escaped to Coxs Bazar and nearby areas in neighboring Bangladesh after a crackdown began on Aug. 25, 2017, in Myanmars Rakhine state. They joined more than 200,000 who had fled previous persecution and cycles of violence in Myanmar.

In July, an IOM statement said the U.N. agency had identified and was assisting 78 trafficking victims in Coxs Bazar district over the previous 10 months, and warned that many more people were at risk.

The horrific prospect that thousands of people affected by the Rohingya crisis will end up in the hands of traffickers is a risk that must not be underestimated, said Manuel Marques Pereira, IOMs Emergency Coordinator in Coxs Bazar.

Two refugee camp leaders  Mohammad Foyezu Arakani of Kutupalong camp and Deen Mohammad of the Tulabagan camp  told BenarNews that four to five women and children had gone missing from each camp over the last two months.

Rohingya refugees are restricted from leaving the camps and have no legal means of earning a livelihood, adding complexity to the question of who is missing and why.

About 58,000 Rohingya were arrested and returned to the camps over the last year, according to Bangladeshs Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner.

Local officials, meanwhile, downplayed concerns about human trafficking of Rohingya.

The number of potential cases of trafficking has come down, A.K.M. Iqbal Hossain, the police superintendent in Coxs Bazar, told BenarNews, adding, Sometimes we get one or two potential trafficking cases.

Hossain said the Bangladesh border guard and army had set up 13 security checkpoints at different strategic points in Ukhia and Teknaf sub-districts to stop human trafficking.

A Red Cross official concurred.

There are some cases of missing of women and children. But the number of such cases is not very high, Imam Jafar Shikder, an International Red Cross official in Ukhia told BenarNews.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday decried the public caning of two women in Terengganu state this week, saying it tarnished the image of Islam as he called for lighter sentences to prevent a repetition of the case.

The women each received six strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to charges linked to allegedly attempting to have sex in a parked car in the religiously conservative Terengganu. The caning, which took place inside a courtroom at the Terengganu Sharia High Court, was witnessed by more than 100 people, including government officials and journalists.

Whats important is to show that Islam is not a ruthless religion that dishes out sentences that humiliate people. This is not what Islam encourages, Mahathir said in a video posted on Facebook.



His cabinet had determined that the punishment meted out by the Sharia court was harsh, considering the two women were first-time offenders, he said.

That is why we are of the opinion that even if there are such cases, consideration should be given to the circumstances, in Islam we can give lighter sentences, according to Mahathir.

Islam is the dominant religion in multi-ethnic and multi-faith Malaysia. The country has a dual justice system made up of federal courts and Sharia courts that function separately.

Awang Azman Awang Pawi, a sociologist with the Academy of Malay Studies at Universiti Malaya, said any changes to Malaysias Sharia court system would require support from the Malay-Muslim majority.

Just because it is seen as cruel doesnt change the fact that many Muslims believe that it is part of the Islamic faith, Awang said.



On Tuesday, Mahathirs expected successor, Anwar Ibrahim, criticized the caning of the women in Terengganu.

Im a practicing Muslim, I dont share that interpretation and certainly that sort of action to publicly cane without proper due process and understanding, and [a] show of compassion is something most Malaysians do not accept, he said.

Anwar helped lead the Pakatan Harapan alliance from a prison cell to an upset victory over Prime Minister Najib Razaks Barisan Nasional coalition in the May general election. Following the victory that put Mahathir in charge of the government, Anwar received a full pardon on a second sodomy conviction.



While Anwar was challenging the punishment, the state government in Kelantan, which is controlled by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), said it was considering performing canings in a stadium.



Chief Minister Ahmad Yakob said caning was allowed, following last years amendment to the Kelantan Sharia Criminal Procedure Enactment of 2002 to allow the punishment to be carried out in public.

Among the suggestions were in a closed hall, within the compound of a mosque or a stadium, Ahmad told reporters.
Vicky Hall talks to media following the press conference announcing the new investigation into her daughter and grand daughters deaths.
The Southern BBQ Network is holding a certified judges training on Saturday at the Summerville Masonic Lodge at 111 N. Main St.
Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, the woke vs. the awakened.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For Immediate Release, September 6, 2018 Contacts: Lisa Test, NoFrackingAz, (928) 414-1370, Nofrackingaz@gmail.com

Monte Cunningham, Kerr-Cole Sustainable Living Center, (928) 536-4266, monty@stress-away.com

Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org

Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club, (602) 999-5790, sandy.bahr@sierraclub.org

Tony Tangalos, resident of Taylor, Arizona, (602) 321-4100, tangalos@cox.net

Eleanor Bravo, Food & Water Watch, (505) 730-8474, ebravo@fwwatch.org

Rebecca Fischer, WildEarth Guardians, (406) 698-1489, rfischer@wildearthguardians.org

Kelly Fuller, Western Watersheds Project, (928) 322-8449, kfuller@westernwatersheds.org Trump Administration to Lease 4,200 Acres in Northern Arizona for Fracking Today's Sale Threatens Water, Petrified Forest, Endangered Species PHOENIX The Bureau of Land Management today plans to auction off 4,200 acres of public land for oil and gas leases in northern Arizona near Petrified Forest National Park and two rivers. Parcels that do not receive bids today will be available for noncompetitive leasing for two years. The sale will put the land at risk of chemical spills and water contamination that could harm the Little Colorado River and Silver Creek, threatening endangered species and water users. Its appalling that the Trump administration would consider this reckless plan that puts Arizonans and wildlife at risk, said Taylor McKinnon, a public lands campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity. Public health, precious water and wild places shouldnt be sacrificed for corporate profits. Accidents are inevitable, and if these leases go through, water could be contaminated and local communities could be harmed, said Lisa Test with NoFrackingAZ. As children, we are taught to look both ways before we cross the street. Why then is BLM pushing these leases without first assessing the dangers ahead? The sale today is a part of a Trump administration policy issued in January that requires the BLM  the agency in charge of oil and gas leasing  to offer industry-nominated parcels for lease. Additionally, under this new policy, the BLM is foregoing legally required analysis of any potential harm to land and water, skipping tribal consultations, and deferring all environmental analysis until the drilling stage, after development rights are sold to industry. Groups sued to block the policy in July. By skipping environmental reviews, the BLM is opening the door for corporations that could inflict lasting damage on the water that we depend on, said Monte Cunningham of the Kerr-Cole Sustainable Living Center. What we dont know can hurt us, which is why it is critically important to evaluate impacts and any potential harm prior to moving forward with these leases, said Sandy Bahr, chapter director for Sierra Clubs Grand Canyon Chapter. The public has a right to know what harm may be caused early on and to have the opportunity to speak up against it and for iconic places such as Petrified Forest National Park. Driven by high helium prices, companies are targeting the Holbrook Basin for helium, oil and gas development. State permits for helium fracking in the area show that companies will inject acid and other chemicals to help fracture rock layers 150 feet above the Coconino aquifer, a critical regional water source. Our precious aquifer, which just about everyone depends on, is largely unprotected and at real risk of both unmonitored fracking contamination and significant down drafting, said Tony Tangalos, a resident of Taylor, Ariz. Those risks and this lease sale are unacceptable and unconscionable. More than 80,000 people have sent letters opposing the lease sale, including U.S. Representative Tom OHalleran (D-Ariz.). Residents of Navajo and Apache counties formed a new organization, NoFrackingAZ, opposing the plan with more than 2,000 local signatures. Formal administrative protests from 158 locals and several conservation groups also urged the BLM to cancel the sale. We are outraged by this administrations continued pandering to big business, said Eleanor Bravo with Food & Water Watch. These irresponsible practices will cause grave and irrevocable damage to our precious natural resources and public lands. We call for an immediate halt to this dangerous and irresponsible leasing. Trump and Zinke are once again putting our most valued public lands at risk by proposing to frack near Petrified Forest National Park, said Becca Fischer, a climate guardian with WildEarth Guardians. This lease-anywhere approach is the hallmark of an administration that will do anything for the oil and gas industry at expense of the American people. We deserve better. Unless everyday people stand up and say no to these proposed sales, Arizonas wildlife, water and families are not safe from the oil and gas industrys desire to drill and frack every place it can, said Kelly Fuller, energy campaign coordinator for Western Watersheds Project. The lands in todays auction straddle the Little Colorado River and Silver Creek, home to two federally threatened species  the Little Colorado spinedace, a silvery minnow-like fish, and the yellow-billed cuckoo, a bird known for its distinctive call.
For Immediate Release, September 5, 2018 Contact: Hollin Kretzmann, (510) 844-7133, hkretzmann@biologicaldiversity.org Lawsuit Confronts Water Board's Approval of Oil-waste Dumping in Kern County Chemicals From Unlined Pits Already Contaminating Groundwater BAKERSFIELD, Calif. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board today over its decision to allow continued dumping of toxic oil-waste fluid into 83 unlined pits near Buttonwillow, Calif. The regional boards staff confirmed that harmful chemicals discharged into these pits have spread underground and contaminated groundwater used for water-supply wells. Despite knowing this contamination is spreading, the water board is letting the oil industry continue this dangerous dumping, said Hollin Kretzmann, a senior attorney at the Center. Its a slap in the face to the families, farms and businesses that depend on the Central Valleys precious water resources. Valley Water Management Company dumps an average of 2.8 million gallons of chemical-laden wastewater per day into its McKittrick 1 and 1-3 pit facilities near Buttonwillow. The contamination has spread underground for at least 2.2 miles, but the full extent of the damage is still unknown. The regional boards staff report confirms that wastewater has reached multiple groundwater sources below, including those connected to active water-supply wells. It also confirms that the discharged wastewater contains hazardous chemicals, including dangerous levels of cancer-causing benzene. As a result of the contamination, groundwater that had been suitable for municipal and agricultural use is now unsuitable for both. However, at its meeting on April 5, the regional board rejected calls from the public to halt the toxic discharges, instead voting to allow the dumping to continue indefinitely with no timetable for stopping. On May 7 the Center petitioned the State Water Resources Control Board to rescind the regional boards decision and order an immediate halt to the discharges, but the agency ignored the appeal. Todays lawsuit filed in the Kern County Superior Court challenges the regional boards decision not to shut down the facility even as the groundwater contamination spreads. California is the only state with significant oil production that allows wastewater to be dumped into unlined pits. There are hundreds of active pits around the state. In 2015 an independent scientific panel recommended that California phase out the use of unlined pits, citing their danger to groundwater. Despite calls from an independent panel of experts to phase out this dangerous practice, the regional board has refused to do so. The regional board has even approved the disposal of wastewater from fracking, despite state prohibitions against this kind of disposal. Valley Water receives some wastewater from the South Belridge oilfield, which is one of the most heavily fracked fields in the state. The people of Kern County already suffer from some of the worst fossil fuel pollution in the nation, Kretzmann said. They shouldnt have to sacrifice another drop of water to the oil industry.
For Immediate Release, September 6, 2018 Contacts: Howard Crystal, Center for Biological Diversity, (202) 809-6926, hcrystal@biologicaldiversity.org

Daniel Tait, Energy Alabama, (256) 812-1431, dtait@alcse.org

Erin Jensen, Friends of the Earth U.S., (202) 222-0722, ejensen@foe.org

Michael Hansen, Gasp, (205) 746-4666, michael@gaspgroup.org

Jennifer Rennicks, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, 865-235-1448, Jennifer@cleanenergy.org Lawsuit Challenges Tennessee Valley Authority's Attack on Solar Energy in South Utilitys Rate Hike Hampers Solar, Harms Climate BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Five climate and energy-conservation groups today sued the Tennessee Valley Authority for imposing discriminatory electricity rates that discourage homeowners and businesses from investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Todays lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of Alabama, notes that the utilitys new fixed grid-access charge will, for the first time, require its customers to pay a mandatory electricity fee regardless of their energy usage. Such fixed fees make rooftop solar less cost-effective. The utility is also reducing electricity rates for large businesses. This move encourages companies to continue relying on its fossil fuel-powered energy rather than investing in distributed solar. The new rates also cut costs for the biggest energy users, discouraging efficiency. The utilitys board of directors, with a majority appointed by President Trump, has now given final approval to all of these rate changes. TVAs outrageous new rates penalize people working hard to save energy and money while rewarding big companies that run up huge electricity bills, said Howard Crystal, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. This perverse plan forces customers to prop up dirty, outmoded power plants instead of transitioning to renewable power. We desperately need clean-energy progress and efficiency investments to protect our communities and the environment. As detailed in todays lawsuit, the utility has failed to disclose the environmental impacts of these rate changes, in violation of federal law. The new rates will inevitably result in more energy generated by power plants that run on fossil fuels  creating unnecessary pollution and worsening the climate crisis. TVA must address the damage the new rates will cause in an environmental impact statement. TVA continues to lose its leadership position on renewable energy and energy efficiency. TVAs rate changes are about one thing and one thing only, said Daniel Tait, technical director for Energy Alabama. Killing energy efficiency and renewable energy to protect its monopoly stranglehold on regular folks. Clean, renewable energy like rooftop solar represents a tremendous opportunity in Alabama to create new jobs, generate homegrown energy, save customers and businesses money, and reduce impacts on human health, said Gasp Executive Director Michael Hansen. TVAs so-called grid access charge will disincentivize solar energy and all its benefits. The TVAs notoriously high bills already force working families and low-income households to choose between feeding their families and keeping the lights on, said Damon Moglen, senior strategic advisor with Friends of the Earth. Now customers are being forced to bolster the highly polluting fossil fuel industry by paying even more for their electric bills. We must end the TVAs disastrous and unfair practices and transition to a clean energy system that is accessible and affordable to everyone. TVA's move to increase fixed fees on monthly bills is intended to undercut customers ability to control energy costs through energy efficiency and solar investments, said Dr. Stephen A. Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. TVA is trying to mislead people by talking about their low rates but energy consumers dont pay rates, they pay bills, which are calculated as a rate times consumption plus fixed fees. Customers in the TVA service territory have some of the highest bills in the United States. The devious grid access charge will only accelerate the high-bills problem by increasing fixed fees and stifling efforts to control electric consumption by families and small businesses, leading to higher costs and more pollution. This legal action seeks to educate people about what is happening to them each and every month. TVA is a federally owned corporation and the nations largest public power provider. It generates electricity for more than 9 million customers in Tennessee, northern Alabama, northeastern Mississippi, southwestern Kentucky, and portions of northern Georgia, western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.
3HCare was founded by Ruchi Gupta in 2016. It is an initiative by a group of senior health care professionals to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare services for an enriched experience.

New Delhi based healthcaretech start up has raised $1 million in the second round of funding from a group of technology experts.

We plan to utilize this investment to expand our team, infrastructure and scale up the platform by strengthening IT, said Ruchi Gupta, Founder and CEO, 3HCare.

Ruchi Gupta added, The idea has always been to improve hyper-local neighbourhood concept, powered in the front end by technology. Part of funds will be used to bolster and upgrade our technology, especially incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to provide an enhanced value added customer experience & expansion to PAN India.

3HCare was founded by Ruchi Gupta in 2016. It is an initiative by a group of senior health care professionals to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare services for an enriched experience. Within two years of inception, the portal has improved the accessibility to healthcare for all.

The portal provides access to labs and hospitals with complete information regarding tests, pricing, discount, location, etc. The portal allows users to compare and book online treatment for cancer, heart, spine, orthopaedics, neurology, fertility, gynaecology, organ transplant, cosmetic surgery, and others.
Acquisition of Danish Ellipse adds globally renowned IPL and laser technologies to Syneron Candela's portfolio, further strengthening their position in multi-application, multi-technology devices

Syneron Candela, a leading global aesthetic device company, announces the acquisition of Ellipse, a Danish medical device company that manufactures and markets Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) and laser-based platforms for a wide variety of medical and aesthetic skin treatments. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"The acquisition of Ellipse allows Syneron Candela to strengthen its footprint in the multi-application space and provide our customers a comprehensive portfolio. Syneron Candela's best-in-class laser and energy-based technologies are now coupled with a trusted IPL technology that is well respected by physicians," states Geoffrey Crouse, Chief Executive Officer of Syneron Candela.

"Ellipse platforms will provide aesthetic practices with a fully scalable multi-application, multi-technology device. We look forward to Ellipse strengthening our portfolio as we continue to deliver our brand promise of Science, Results, Trust to our physicians and patients worldwide. The Ellipse product portfolio is consistent with our commitment to scientifically proven technologies backed by consistent clinical outcomes."

Ellipse's key products include Nordlys, a multi-application, multi-technology IPL and Nd: YAG platform for vascular and pigmented lesions, as well as hair removal. The Nordlys also offers a fractionated 1550 nm handpiece for skin resurfacing.

Other products include an IPL-only system used for skin rejuvenation, facial veins and hair removal, as well as a fractional non-ablative laser system used for skin resurfacing.

Ellipse's Selective Waveband Technology (SWT) uniquely utilizes dual filtering on all IPL handpieces to focus on effective wavelengths and selectively deliver precise energy to the targeted area, using sub-millisecond pulses for some applications.

"We are excited to join forces with Syneron Candela and market our strong technology platforms via Syneron Candela's expansive global footprint, along with its commitment to clinical excellence, quality and innovation," says Jacob Kildegaard Larsen, Chief Executive Officer at Ellipse.

"Syneron Candela and Ellipse are both physician acknowledged leaders in their respective categories. Bringing the companies together will herald a new era in device innovation that elevates patient care," concludes Christine Dierickx, M.D, a Luxembourg based dermatologist, specializing in laser surgery and cosmetic dermatology.
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Assiniboine Community College has put the finishing touches on three new trailers that will be used to bring trades-related training to Indigenous communities across the province.

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This article was published 6/9/2018 (1154 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Assiniboine Community College has put the finishing touches on three new trailers that will be used to bring trades-related training to Indigenous communities across the province.

Representatives from Assiniboine unveiled the newly built trailers at the colleges North Hill campus on Wednesday.

Assiniboine president Mark Frison described the trailers as a "program in a box" and said they will allow the college to bring training into communities more easily and cost-effectively.

He said programs were offered in more than 20 communities across the province last year and that Assiniboine will look at developing proposals  and obtaining funding  to provide training in other communities and sectors.

"Well continue to look at that and hopefully these trailers can be fully subscribed through that process, now that folks are aware that we have these assets," he said.

Each trailer has been outfitted with Apprenticeship Manitoba-approved tools in carpentry, plumbing and electrical.

The three programs being offered  applied building construction, applied electrical installation and applied plumbing installation  will last for five months and can accommodate 15 to 16 students at a time.

The carpentry trailer will make its debut in Peguis First Nation for two full cohorts of applied building construction from mid-September to fall 2019.

TIM SMITH/THE BRANDON SUN Brandon East Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson and Brandon Coun. Jeff Harwood (University) are shown in the carpentry trailer with Dennis White, chairman of mechanical trades at Assiniboine Community College, during the unveiling of the trailers on Wednesday.

Kevin Poirier, chair of construction trades for Assiniboine, said the college has seen a great deal of success in its partnerships with First Nations communities over the years.

He said the most recent applied building construction programs have been offered in Waywayseecappo and Sandy Bay First Nations. Assiniboine has also offered applied plumbing in Peguis and applied electrical at the colleges Parkland campus in Dauphin, he added.

The trailers were built using $150,000 in funds from Western Economic Diversification Canada. The contribution was announced in April and was matched by the college.

"ACC looks forward to being able to provide community trades training and this investment from Western Diversification ensures that well be able to deliver this skilled trades training for years to come," Poirier said.

Graduates will earn their Level 1 in-school pre-employment training and can also obtain their mature student high school diploma through the program.

The college is also offering programs in residential framing and residential plumbing for shorter periods of time.

"The colleges Indigenization Strategy calls on us as a college to increase participation rates for First Nations, Metis and Inuit students, both on campus and by extending educational opportunities to regions that dont have permanent post-secondary venues," Kris Desjarlais, director of Indigenous education at Assiniboine and Rosser ward councillor, said in a news release.

In the same release, Pam Favel, program manager for Peguis First Nation Training and Employment, said it has been a challenge to purchase the required equipment in the past, but the new trailers will make it easier to bring accredited, community-based training opportunities to her community.

"We are witness to much greater success rates in community-based training and we look forward to our continued work ahead with the Assiniboine Community College."

 mlee@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @mtaylorlee
Canadian country music superstar Paul Brandt, along with High Valley, Jess Moskaluke and Hunter Brothers, have announced that Brandon will be part of a national music tour in February.

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This article was published 5/9/2018 (1155 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Canadian country music superstar Paul Brandt, along with High Valley, Jess Moskaluke and Hunter Brothers, have announced that Brandon will be part of a national music tour in February.

The Journey Tour 2019 brings together all four acts and will perform at Westoba Place in Brandon on Feb. 9, presented by Dauphins Countryfest and the Keystone Centre.

THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/BOOTS AND HEARTS MUSIC FESTIVAL Country music star Paul Brandt performs at the Boots and Hearts Music Festival in 2014 in Bowmanville, Ont. Brandt will be headlining a concert at Brandons Westoba Place on Feb. 9, 2019

The tour will kick off in Abbotsford, B.C., on Jan. 25, wrapping up 21 stops later in Sudbury, Ont., on Feb. 24.

"This is a country music festival wrapped up into one singular night," Rob Waloschuk of Dauphins Countryfest said in a press release.

"Were happy to partner with the folks at the Keystone Centre to bring this extensive show to the folks in Westman. We know country, and this is great country."

In announcing the tour, Brandt praised the work of the other performers, and said he is looking forward to bringing this new tour to stages across the country.

"The artists I have the honour of performing with on this tour are incredibly talented, successful and also some of the best friends Ive made in the music business. There is a palpable energy and chemistry when we are in the room together, and I cant wait to bring that to stages across Canada," Brandt said in a press release.

"The Journey Tour will combine talent and artistic vision in a way that Canada has not yet experienced; all of the artists involved are committed to making this tour one that country music fans will never forget."

Tickets will be available for an exclusive Keystone Centre pre-sale from today at noon until Friday at 10 p.m.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/LIAM RICHARDS Jess Moskaluke, shown performing during the 2017 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Saskatoon, will also be on the bill for Paul Brandts Feb. 9 concert, along with High Valley and Hunter Brothers.

Use pre-sale password MYKC0209 for advanced tickets at tickets.keystonecentre.com or by calling 204-726-3555.

Brandt is the most-awarded male Canadian country music artist in history, and the first Canadian artist to crack the Billboard Country Top 20 since 1976.

Brandt is touring his new album "The Journey YYC: Vol 1," bringing an eclectic concert experience to Westoba Place at the Keystone Centre.

Two-time CCMA duo or group of the year High Valley are enjoying the biggest success of their career with a No. 1 single in Canada and a Top 10 hit in the U.S. to go along with five gold singles and a gold-certified album.

Juno Award winner Jess Moskaluke is the three-time CCMA Female Artist of the Year and is tied for the most nominations this year with six, including the Apple Music Fans Choice Award.

Hunter Brothers, when not working on the family farm, racking up millions of views on Facebook or releasing hit singles like the recent Top 10 smash "Those Were The Nights," are enjoying this years three nominations at the 2018 Canadian Country Music Awards.

Other concert stops in Manitoba include Winnipegs Bell MTS Place on Feb. 8 and Dauphins Credit Union Place on Feb. 10.

 The Brandon Sun
A full Irish breakfast - you cant beat it.

Beans, sausages, rashers, the list goes on - this breakfast meal is pure and utter bliss.

Murphy's Law Breakfast platter

However, some prefer to opt for a healthier option instead.

One customer in Killarney, County Kerry asked was there an alternative option to the classic meal they had no idea what treat was in store.

Derek OBrien, who captured the pic, explained the story behind the hilarious photo.

My boss asked about the vegan/vegetarian options [for breakfast] and the server mentioned something about "doing something special" for him.

It took just ten minutes for this stunning masterpiece to arrive in front of Dereks boss.

Our favourite thing about the breakfast is that they still decided to add garnish because presentation matters.

Whats the strangest thing youve been presented with when eating out?

If you have anything youd like to share with us then send it to us via our WhatsApp on 0871520145.
Up to a thousand men and women may be held against their will in care homes around the country.

The figures are part of a new campaign to highlight how older people, including some in nursing homes, could return to their own home with some extra help.
by Gordon Deegan

The intolerable conditions faced by patients and staff at the overcrowded A&E at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) are set to be further prolonged.

That is according to Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) officer, Mary Fogarty who was commenting on plans for a 14m 60-bed unit aimed at alleviating the chronic overcrowding at the A&E unit at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) being hit by a fresh delay.

The delay arises from Dooradoyle resident, Joe McNamara lodging an appeal to An Bord Pleanala against the decision last month by Limerick City and County Council to give the project the green light.

The A&E at the hospital is frequenting ranked at the most over-crowded A&E in the country and last month, the INMO reported that the hospital had the highest figure for patients on hospital trolleys in the country during August at 969.

The A&E unit serves the Limerick, Clare and north Tipperary - however, there is now a question mark over the 60-bed plan after Mr McNamaras appeal.

Ms Fogarty said: Everyone has the right to appeal but the appeal will delay the 60-bed block and prolong the intolerable conditions faced by staff and patients at the A&E.

Ms Fogarty said: It is very hard for staff and it is a pity that this project is being held up. It is disappointing. These beds are long overdue and should have been in place 10 years and the hospital continues to play catch up.

Independent member of HSE West Forum and Clare Co Council, Cllr Ann Norton echoed Ms Fogartys view when she said: Everyone has the right to object, but it is a pity that this development has been appealed to An Bord Pleanala as the beds are very much needed at UHL

The appeal by Mr McNamara - if maintained - will delay the final grant of permission for the development for four to six months or stop it from proceeding altogether.

A spokeswoman for the UL Hospitals Group said yesterday: We are hopeful the appeal will be resolved to all parties satisfaction and that it will not impact on the delivery of the project.

Mr McNamara was one of a small number of local residents to make submissions on the development.

In his submission, Mr McNamara stated that it is inappropriate for the developer to seek planning permission for a building and car-parks of this scale without a landscaping plan that would help alleviate the negative effects on the residential amenity.

Mr McNamara stated that 11 major projects have been carried out in the hospital over the past eight years. He said that this represents a massive intensification of use of a facility in the middle of a residential district.

Mr McNamara from Woodlawn Drive, Dooradoyle, said that a master plan should be submitted to enable the assessment of how the block fits in with proposed and past developments on the site.

The proposal is that the 60 additional beds will all be single patient rooms with en suites.

The UHL Hospitals Group spokeswoman said: With these additional single rooms, the initiative would help to improve patient comfort, safety, privacy and dignity and assist with the management of infection control in the hospital."

She said: The additional 60 beds would directly increase capacity allowing patients access to an increased overall bed-stock and improve patient flow across the hospital.
By Louise Roseingrave

A 66-year-old mother of three died following a routine procedure to remove a gallstone.

A verdict of medical misadventure was returned at the inquest into the death of Patricia Bishop, from Slievebloom Road, Drimnagh in Dublin 12.

Mrs Bishop loved sea-water swimming and was fit and healthy when she was admitted for the procedure at St Jamess Hospital on September 22, 2016.

She planned to travel to Wexford to go swimming the following day, but instead of being discharged home as expected she became critically unwell and was transferred from recovery to intensive care.

She developed sepsis due to a perforation of bowel tissues during the procedure and died eight days later on September 30.

Patricia Bishop

Dublin Coroners Court heard that her doctor had "never before seen a case of sepsis like this".

Finbar McCarthy, Consultant Gastroenterologist/Physician at St Jamess Hospital said he hopes never to see a case like it again.

He was removing the stone from the womans gallbladder ahead of a planned removal of the gallbladder. He said Mrs Bishop experienced some discomfort after the procedure but felt at the time this was normal.

When I examined her the following morning at 8am her heart rate and blood pressure were normal and she had no fever. These are the early warning signs for sepsis, Dr McCarthy said.

Three hours later her condition deteriorated so rapidly that she was transferred to intensive care.

The womans husband Tom Bishop said she was not well hours after the procedure and was having trouble breathing, but he was told to go home.

The next day I went in to see her, but by 11am they were taking her into intensive care and that was the end of my wife." - Patricia Bishop's husband Tom Bishop

"I was told to bring in the family, Mr Bishop said from the public gallery.

Dr McCarthy described the bowel as a barrier system to prevent harmful bacteria from entering the body. A breach of this barrier, such as a perforation, can allow dangerous bacteria to enter the system and "create havoc", he said.

She wasnt matching up with what you would expect to see in somebody in her condition, he said of her initial post-procedure condition.

As a result, the woman developed an overwhelming form of sepsis that lead to multi-organ failure.

There was a period where things were being held together but then it was like a dam broke. I have never seen anybody get so sick, so quickly, Dr McCarthy said.

A post-mortem report by pathologist Dr Kate Dineen gave the cause of death as multi-organ failure due to sepsis due to a complication of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) to remove a gallstone.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane returned a verdict of medical misadventure and offered condolences to the family.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has remained firm on the issue of the border in Brexit talks amid reports that a softening of the deal with Britain may now be on the table.

It had been reported that the UK and Germany are prepared to drop key demands in relation to the future of trade relations as part of a Brexit deal.

However, speaking at the Fine Gael think-in in Galway this morning, Mr Varadkar said there can be no compromise on the backstop agreement to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

"Our absolute position, which we cannot depart from and we will stand our ground on, is that there has to be an Irish protocol as part of the withdrawal agreement and that is something we have to insist on.

"We need the assurance that there won't be a hard border on the island of Ireland.

"We have always been flexible on the detail and the language and that's important, but the principal stands and we can't compromise on that."

Asked whether he would be willing to compromise on other areas he said negotiations are "complex".

"I would be wise not to engage in a running commentary," he said.

However, Mr Varadkar moved to play down reports that Germany is now ready to accept a less detailed agreement around the future economic and trade ties between the UK and the EU.

"I think we have seen over the past couple of weeks a fair bit of kite flying and a fair bit of posturing from lots of different quarters."

"Only last week I say a story of President Macron being willing to make all sorts of concessions and that turned out not to be the case and this may be in that vein."

However, he said he would be speaking to all of the heads of Government when he travels to Salzburg in two weeks' time.

"We don't have any indications yet of any dramatic move," Mr Varadkar said.

Mr Varadkar also moved to dismiss mounting speculation that a General Election may be called in the near future, but said his party would be ready to go to the polls, if that were to happen.

"It's always prudent to be ready for all eventualities, just as we are preparing for a no-deal Brexit, even though we think that's unlikely to happen, obviously we have to be ready for a General Election were that to occur," he said.
Update - 11.27am: Nine people, including six children, two adults, and a teenager, have been taken to hospital with serious injuries, following a collision between a school bus and a car, in Co Limerick.

The collision, which occurred at Ardvarna, Lisnagry, was reported to emergency services at 8.15am this morning.

The 28-seater bus, contracted by Bus Eireann from a private operator, and white Renault Laguna collided near a house, and on a bend in the road.

A spokeswoman for Bus Eireann confirmed all seats on the bus had seatbelts. By law, all school transport buses must have safety belts, they added.

One of the passengers on the bus managed to get out of the vehicle and run a mile to a house to raise the alarm, a reliable source said.

According to reliable sources, the car ended up pinned between the front of the bus and a wall of a house.

The scene of the crash this morning. Pic: Press 22

Shortly after 8am Sean Hassett heard a loud bang outside his house at Ardvarna, Lisnagry.

I knew something had happened so I ran out and saw there was a crash between a car and a bus. Kids were screaming on the bus, said Sean who along with a few more neighbors helped comfort those injured.

We were trying to calm the children down, and thank God, I dont think anyone is very seriously hurt.

 At that stage it was hard to tell who was injured and who wasnt. My biggest worry was the kids and to see that the kids were OK.

We were just trying to calm them down a bit.

I was in a bit of shock myself to see this happening. You dont expect that to happen outside your front door.

The bus passess this way every day. It picks the kids up down the road and brings them to school in Newport. I hope everyone recovers well, added Sean.

Two people travelling in the car were cut from the wreckage by firefighters attached to Limerick City Fire and Rescue Service.

The driver and passenger of the car, along with the six schoolchildren and their bus driver, were all taken to hospital by a fleet of ambulances.

Out of the six injured children, one has a (suspected) broken jaw; another has a (suspected) broken arm; and four have head lacerations, said a reliable source.

The driver of the bus is believed to have sustained a chest injury.

According to a reliable source, there were between 10 and 12 people, including the driver, on the 28-seater bus.

One of the schoolchildren who was on the bus ran about a mile to a house to raise the alarm, they added.

A fleet of ambulances set up a staging area near the scene to allow firefighters to cut out the driver and passenger from the car and get passengers off the bus.

Some of the nine injured are said to have sustained, what was described by reliable sources as serious, but not life-threatening injuries.

Gardai have closed the road and are awaiting the arrival of a Forensic Collision Inspector to conduct a technical examination of the scene.

Principal of St Marys Secondary School, Newport, Kevin Cusack, said the seven injured students were in good spirits, despite their ordeal.

We met with students and parents and offered support and words of comfort. We immediately initiated our critical incident policy, he said.

We notified NEPS [National Educational Psychological Service] who are on standby to offer support to our students and to families concerned. Our staff are to be commended for the way they rallied to offer support this morning and are continuing that support and are obviously very concerned about the students involved, he added.

They are being extremely well cared for. They are in good spirits.

They stepped up to the mark and they offered support to their fellow students on the bus following the accident.

The older ones looked after the younger ones.

Praising the bus driver, he added: There were very, very good reports about the way he handled the situation immediately following the crash. The students were talking very highly of him.

Mr Cusack also praised Limerick fire service, paramedics and Gardai for their professionalism in dealing with the incident.

He also expressed his best wishes to the passengers of the car, and added: We wish them a speedy recovery.

10.44am: School bus carrying seven pupils in collision with car in Co. Limerick

Nine people, including six schoolchildren, are reported to be in hospital after a collision between a school bus and car in Co. Limerick.

Virgin Media are reporting that the six schoolchildren and three adults have been taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that include bone fractures.

The station's MidWest correspondent, Eric Clarke, said that five ambulances and three Limerick Fire units were at the scene.

#WATCH: Nine hospitalised following Limerick school bus collision https://t.co/132aDnmAKu  Limerick Leader (@Limerick_Leader) September 6, 2018

Bus Eireann have issued a statement saying the bus was carrying seven pupils to Newport Post Primary School.

They said they will carry out an internal investigation while another investigation is being carried out by gardai.

9.49am: School bus and car collide in Co. Limerick

By David Raleigh

Emergency services are at the scene of a collision between a school bus and a car in Co Limerick.

The collision which occurred at Ardvarna, Lisnagry, was reported to emergency services at 8.15am this morning.

A spokeswoman for Munster Fire Control said five units attached to the Limerick City and County Fire and Rescue Service as well as one unit from Newport, Co Tipperary, were dispatched to the scene.

It is not known if there were any injuries.

It is being reported by the Limerick Leader that the incident happened near Ahane National School and the bus was taking students to Newport Secondary school.

Gardai have closed the road and diversions are in place.

Three appliances from Limerick City fire service are at the scene, while two units, from Cappamore and Newport, have since been stood down.

- Digital Desk
Australian prosecutors have said they will appeal for a tougher sentence for the most senior Roman Catholic cleric convicted of covering up child sex abuse.

A magistrate last month ordered former Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson to be detained at his sister's house in New South Wales state for at least six months of a one-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.

The 67-year-old cleric was convicted in May of failing to report to police the repeated abuse of two altar boys by a paedophile priest in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney during the 1970s.

The Australian director of public prosecutions' office said prosecutors are appealing the "inadequacy" of the sentence in the New South Wales District Court.

Wilson had faced a possible sentence of up to two years in prison.

He will appeal his conviction in the District Court in a hearing in November, Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.

Wilson denied the accusations and had refused to resign pending an appeal. However, Pope Francis accepted Wilson's resignation in July after pressure mounted, including from Australia's prime minister, for him to be fired.

He had failed four times to have courts throw out the charge since he was first indicted in 2015.

Wilson temporarily stepped down as Adelaide archbishop after he was convicted in May. Adelaide is the capital of South Australia state, which will bring in laws in October obliging priests to report evidence of abuse heard during a confession.

The Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania state are planning similar laws.

Wilson was once Australia's highest-ranking bishop as president of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference.

- PA
Beijing accused the HMS Albion of "provocative actions" after the vessel, carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, used freedom of navigation rights to pass near the Paracel Islands last month.

In retaliation, China dispatched a frigate and two military helicopters to confront the HMS Albion.

The ship was believed to be on its way to Ho Chi Minh City, having finished a deployment in Japan, according to Reuters.

The US and its allies have in recent times sent planes and warships to the area for "freedom of navigation" operations intended as a signal to Beijing of their right - claimed under global law - to pass through the contested waters.

However, the Royal Navy insisted they did not enter the territorial disputed region but travelled twelve nautical miles away from the area, in accordance to the internationally recognised territorial limit.

During the speech in Singapore, Gavin Williamson said the warships outlined the "critical" importance of defending freedom of navigation in the region.

They said the move was to demonstrate that Britain did not recognise China's excessive claims to Paracel Island which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

China's foreign ministry said the HMS Albion naval ship entered the area on August 31, sailing close to the Paracel Island chain, known as Xisha in Chinese.

In a statement, a Royal Navy spokesperson said: "HMS Albion exercised her rights of freedom of navigation in full compliance with global law and norms".

Royal Navy ships previously sailed close to the disputed Spratly Islands, which are also controlled by China.

The Royal Navy said it was conducting a freedom of navigation exercise "in full compliance with worldwide law".

China's territorial claims in the South China Sea have always been a source of dispute, with Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei all contesting its actions.

"But China will be displeased as it suggests that USA allies are responding to Washington's appeals".

Beijing says it is entitled to build on its territories and says the facilities are for civilian use and necessary self-defence purposes.

The United Kingdom, along with France, announced in June it would be sending its vessels to the Asia region to engage in freedom of navigation exercises.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said in June that deployment of the three ships was meant to send the "strongest of signals" on the importance of freedom of navigation.

In April, warships from Australia had a close "encounter" with the Chinese navy in the contested sea.

That law included the ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, whose landmark 2016 judgement criticized Chinese actions in the South China Sea and found no basis for its sweeping historic claims.
William Blakeley spent five years teaching in Japan and it changed his life. Last month 130 Australians joined one of the worlds largest international exchange programs.

The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, JET, promotes international cultural understanding through education. Taking up positions in Japan as assistant teachers, international relations coordinators and sports exchange advisors, the JET participants are paid more than $40,000 each year and may renew for up to five years. The program has seen significant growth since its inception 32years ago, with the number of participants growing from 848 in the first year, to 5528 from 54 countries this year. To be eligible to apply, participants must be an Australian citizen holding at least a Bachelors degree and must possess excellent English language ability. A teaching degree is not a prerequisite, though many teachers do apply.

For William Blakeley, participation in the JET was life-changing on many levels. During his five years teaching in a small town in Japans least populous prefecture, he met the woman who would become his wife. They married one week after the devastating Tohoku earthquake. He was able to make a contribution to the response effort, volunteering to repair fishing nets, distribute water to temporary housing residents, and clean up affected houses. Blakeley arrived in Japan in July 2006 as an international business graduate with the plan to stay for a year or two. He enjoyed the teaching program so much he ended up staying for five years. During that time he taught at kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, senior high school and a special needs school. As a minor celebrity in the small town, he was on local TV 15 times, and appeared as an amateur model at two bridal fairs. Other only-in-Japan experiences included joining in sake festivals, excelling at karaoke competitions, and forging lifelong friendships with locals and other expats. Blakeley says he seized challenges at work and was promoted to leadership positions. He also started up two letter exchange programs with schools in Melbourne. He improved his language skills, first by talking to Japanese people, and later by buying textbooks and asking Japanese colleagues to explain things he didnt know. Ultimately he passed level N2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, which is roughly business-level Japanese.
An anti-feminist who defaced a memorial dedicated to a young woman allegedly raped and murdered in Melbournes inner-north has told a court he is guilty, but has no remorse for his "political" statement in a bizarre hearing.

Andrew Nolch graffitied the memorial to Eurydice Dixon in Princes Park at Carlton North where she was killed as she walked home on June 13.

Andrew Nolch says he is guilty, but has no remorse for defacing the memorial. Credit:AAP

He painted a 25-metre by five-metre ejaculating penis, leaving a damage and clean-up bill of more than $19,000.

The 29-year-old man is a self-described anti-vaxxer who believes Ms Dixons alleged rape and murder was hijacked by feminists.
Geoff Clark, who was once the country's most senior Aboriginal leader, has been charged along with three family members over a string of historical alleged fraud offences, following a four-year investigation in Victoria's south-west.

Mr Clark, 66, from Framlingham near Warrnambool, his wife Trudy Clark, also from Framlingham, and their sons Jeremy Clark from Abbotsford and Aaron Clark, of Northcote, have all been charged and are set to face court next month.

Geoff Clark. Credit:Angela Milne

It is understood major fraud and extortion squad officers began an investigation into Mr Clark  the former chairman of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC)  and the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust he managed for 20 years in 2013.

Victoria Police confirmed charges had been laid this week with the investigation ongoing.
Victorias Ombudsman has found a senior public servant who once worked for Deputy Premier James Merlino engaged in inappropriate behaviour when he phoned a witness preparing to testify about the governments mishandling of the youth justice crisis.

But the Ombudsman has stopped short of finding that Education Department regional director Stephen Fraser  or his boss Gill Callister  deliberately sought to pressure the witness not to give damaging evidence.

Young people were moved from the Parkville Youth Justice Centre to Barwon Prison in November 2016. Credit:Pat Scala

The investigation by Ombudsman Deborah Glass has given a rare insight into the backroom machinations in state departments as the Andrews government scrambled to assert control over youth justice facilities.

One intense pressure point for the government was a Supreme Court case launched by human rights lawyers which challenged Premier Daniel Andrews decision in November 2016 to move young people into Barwon Prison after a series of riots.
Washington: Twitter said on Thursday it had "permanently suspended" conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his website, Infowars, for sharing a series of tweets and videos, including verbal attacks on a reporter that Jones live-streamed outside a congressional hearing the day before.

The company said in a statement that it implemented the ban because it was not Jones' first violation. Twitter had previously suspended Jones for a week after he broke site rules against violent threats.

Alex Jones speaks outside of the Dirksen building of Capitol Hill after listening to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testify this week. Credit:AP

The ban occurred a day after Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey testified to lawmakers about his company's practices for moderating content online.

Before the hearing began, Jones and his followers surrounded Oliver Darcy, a reporter at CNN who has covered InfoWars and Twitter. He broadcast his attacks on Darcy using Periscope, the live-streaming site owned by Twitter.
Washington: The US Justice Department is poised to charge a North Korean hacker over the 2017 global WannaCry ransomware attack and a 2014 cyber attack on Sony.

The charges, part of a strategy by the US government to deter future cyber attacks by naming and shaming the alleged perpetrators, will also allege that the hacker broke into the central bank of Bangladesh in 2016, according to a Justice Department official quoted by Reuters.

The US Justice Department is preparing to announce charges in relation to a devastating 2014 hack of Sony Pictures. Credit:AP

In 2014, US officials said unnamed North Korean hackers were responsible for a major cyber intrusion into Sony, which resulted in leaked internal documents and data being destroyed.
Latest News RBA reaction continues as Westpac hikes rates again Second change in two weeks for one of Australias biggest lenders

AFG and Volt link up for first of its type app for lending and finance Aggregator and neobank create new offering that could revolutionise the way customers and brokers interact

A non-bank lender is strengthening its support of grassroots broker community Finance and Coffee.

By becoming a Gold Partner, Bluestone will be involved in the groups Experiences and will also work with them to create regular content for members.

Finance and Coffee is a community designed for brokers, run by brokers, which aims to increase knowledge and expertise in the industry.

The organisation began as an online hub for brokers to share scenarios and industry tips via the Finance and Coffee Facebook page, but quickly grew into an industry mainstay with regular broker-focussed events and workshops run across the country.

The value the group provides to the industry is recognised by brokers, lenders and industry bodies alike, with active membership earning brokers five CPD points from the MFAA or FBAA.

For Bluestone the new partnership is a chance to interact directly with brokers and provide additional value by offering greater insights on the near prime and specialist lending spaces.

Royden DVaz, Bluestones national head of sales and marketing, said, Working with Finance and Coffee gives us more opportunities to meet with brokers and share our knowledge in a social environment.

Co-founder of Finance and Coffee, Joel Rozen, said, We are very pleased to announce Bluestone as Gold Partners of Finance and Coffee.

Bluestone has been supporters of F/C for a while, so it's great to now have them onboard as Gold Partners.

Their insight into the near prime and specialist lending space will especially be of value for our community and we're very much looking forward to what we can accomplish together under this partnership.
Latest News RBA reaction continues as Westpac hikes rates again Second change in two weeks for one of Australias biggest lenders

AFG and Volt link up for first of its type app for lending and finance Aggregator and neobank create new offering that could revolutionise the way customers and brokers interact

A new report has indicated that housing affordability is improving, but not for the long-term.

Alternative reports released this week from the June quarter suggested that affordability in Australia was continuing to decline.

However both reports agree it is currently much more affordable to rent than it is to make mortgage repayments.

CoreLogics Housing Affordability Report looks at sectors such as rental to ownership, with comprehensive measurement across varying factors including the ratio of home price to household income, the challenge of saving for a deposit, mortgage serviceability and how much household income is required to pay the rent.

National results indicate that as at June 2018 the price to income ratio was measured at 6.81. This was a modest reduction from the March 2018 quarter when the national dwelling price to income ratio reached a record high of 6.84.

Across the broad dwelling types, the ratio of house prices to household incomes was recorded at 7.1 times, down slightly from the March quarter. The unit price to household income ratio was recorded at 6.2, which was well down from its 6.6 times peak in late 2015 through to early 2016.

Commenting on the findings, CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said, Affordability from a share of income required for mortgage payments shows improvement.

In June 2018, the repayment on an 80% LVR mortgage required 36.3% of gross household income (37.6% to service an 80% LVR mortgage on a house and 26.9% for a unit); a substantially lower share compared with ten years ago when households were dedicating an average of 51.0% of their gross income towards paying the mortgage.

This servicing reduction is partly because discounted variable mortgage rates have almost halved over the past ten years, from 8.85% in June 2008 to 4.50% in June 2018.

At its peak a decade ago, a repayment on a house required 52.4% of household income and a unit required 48.7% of household income.

For those wanting to save for a deposit to buy a home, the results say the national average time it takes to save is 9.1 years for the typical household.

Five years ago it took eight and a half years to save a 20% house deposit and 8.3 years for a unit. A decade ago it took 8.8 years and 8.2 years respectively.

For renters, both house and unit rents currently cost 26.9% of gross household income.

In fact, stronger income growth relative to rents has pushed the national rent to income ratio to its lowest level since September 2007.

Even at their peak, rents required less than 30% of gross household income.

According to CoreLogic, the relatively healthy rent to household income ratio can be attributed to the low rate of rental price appreciation.

National weekly rents have risen only 2.9% per annum over the past ten years, while household incomes have tracked 3.1% higher per annum over the same period.

Capital city affordability

At a national level, the past ten years has seen worsening housing affordability, fuelled primarily by strong growth in property prices across Sydney, Melbourne, regional NSW and more recently Hobart.

Australias two largest cities of Sydney and Melbourne do have a strong influence over the national trends, but outside these markets, property price growth has been limited and in many areas housing affordability has been improving with rising incomes and falling mortgage rates.

Throughout the individual capital cities, on every measure except rental affordability, Sydney is overwhelmingly the least affordable housing market, followed by Melbourne.

Property prices in both cities are now falling, resulting in some moderate improvement in affordability, but both remain significantly less affordable than other capital cities.

Darwin is a much more affordable housing market than all other capital cities due to high incomes and an ongoing decline in property prices. Canberra is also more affordable than most other capital cities again due to high household incomes.

For renters, Hobart is now the most unaffordable market. The past twelve months alone have seen Hobart rents rise by 10% while household incomes only climbed 2%.

At the other end of the rental affordability spectrum is Darwin, where rents have fallen substantially over recent years whilst household incomes have pushed higher.

Regional areas affordability

Regional NSW is much less affordable than all other regional markets due to the strong price growth over recent years.

Regional QLD is the second least affordable Australian regional market, due to relatively high prices in large markets such as the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

Regional areas of SA and WA are Australias most affordable regional markets due to ongoing property price falls since the end of the mining boom.
21-year-old Charisse Stinson is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau.

Stinson said she struck the boy in the face, causing his head to hit a wall, "during a moment of frustration" after an "unexplained, serious injury" to his right leg, per an arrest affidavit.

But instead of seeking medical help, Stinson took the child to a wooded area and left him to die, the affidavit stated.

Ms Stinson faces a charge of first-degree murder and is now being held without bail. "There was no feeling with them that there was any remorse, only her attempting to escape the reality of the story by making things up as she went".

Authorities also found children's clothing rolled up into a rug and placed outside of Stinson's apartment.

Stinson had earlier claimed her son was abducted by a man who had offered them a ride, then knocked her unconscious and left her in the woods, WTXL reported.

She told police she accepted the ride because she had a long walk ahead of her and Jordan was becoming too heavy to carry.

Stinson said that once they were in the vehicle she was struck in the face and lost consciousness, police said.

Stinson reported her son Jordan Belliveau missing on Sunday, prompting a statewide Amber Alert.

Belliveau, who was the subject of an Amber Alert, was found dead in a wooded area Tuesday. Police also released a sketch of Antwan, who was described as having dreadlocks and gold teeth. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries.

Per Spectrum News, Jordan was put in foster care at 3 months old but returned to Stinson in May.

For about a week, several law enforcement agencies were working to try and find the boy.

Chaney said they got information, though not from Stinson, that led them to the area where Jordan's body was found. "He wasn't just the boy in the Amber Alert". She said she woke up hours later and alone in Largo Central Park.

Police are expected to release more details surrounding the case Wednesday.

"According to the detectives, during her interview, she would constantly change what she was saying based on the line of questioning".

That included Antwan, who Chaney said investigators now know was a figment of Stinson's imagination. The Florida Department of Children and Families said in a statement Wednesday that it would conduct a special review of prior contact with the child.

Charisse Stinson, 21, appears in this photo provided by the Pinellas County Jail, Sept. 5, 2018.
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Mayor DeBlasio refused to say if he will stop his daily cross-city commutes to work out at the Prospect Park YMCA after he blasted the gyms staff for allegedly violating a transgender persons civil rights.

A mayoral spokesman repeatedly dodged questions about whether Hizzoner will curtail his beloved pastime of traveling 11 miles from his Manhattan digs to the Ninth Street facility following the transmasculine nonbinary persons report of being kicked out of its locker rooms, instead insisting this newspaper focus on steps the city will take to prevent future incidents.

[NYC Commission on Human Rights] is going to train the staff [at the Prospect Park YMCA] to ensure it doesnt happen again. Thats whats important here. Thanks, said Eric Phillips.

The Prospect Park YMCA came under fire after BuzzFeed reporter Branson LB, whose sex was assigned woman at birth, published a first-person account on Aug. 30 that described their humiliation after employees forced them out of two locker rooms on separate occasions last month.

Branson reported the incidents to the citys Human Rights Commission, claiming their treatment violated the provision of the New York City Human Rights Law  which then Councilman DeBlasio voted for in 2002  that entitles a gender non-conforming person to use facilities consistent with their identity.

And Phillips told a separate BuzzFeed reporter that what happened to Branson was unacceptable following initial news of the incidents, but again ignored queries about whether his boss would boycott the gym in the aftermath.

DeBlasio, a former Park Slope resident who represented the neighborhood in Council, has continued to patronize his one-time local gym  often under escort by police motorcade  since moving into Gracie Mansion in 2014, leading critics to blast his habit as wasting taxpayer money and unnecessarily polluting the air.

But the mayor insists on working out at the Prospect Park YMCA because it is where he feels most comfortable, his reps have said in the past.

He is staying close to the community where he raised his family, and where he has lived for 20 years, spokesman Wiley Norvell told this newspaper in 2015.

The same cant be said for Branson, however, who wrote that although they will continue to patron the gym, they now feel out of place in all of its locker rooms.

The truth is, I dont feel comfortable in any of these spaces, Branson wrote.

YMCA bigwigs are investigating Bransons allegations of civil-rights abuse, according to a rep, who confirmed employees at the Prospect Park branch will be trained to accommodate the needs of transgender patrons.

The YMCA deeply regrets that a member felt unwelcome at one of our branches, said spokesman Erik Opsal. The YMCA is also partnering with the NYC Commission on Human Rights to provide training to our staff as part of our ongoing commitment to being a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space for everyone we serve.
Results like that may have played into Trudeau's decision Tuesday to draw a firm line on certain issues, telling the media that Canada won't accept USA proposals to do away with a key dispute resolution clause or Canadian cultural protections.

"We continue to work hard", Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said after meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. "We need a dispute resolution mechanism", he said, adding: "We will hold firm on that".

"We've been very clear that there are a number of things that we absolutely must see", Trudeau said.

"We are always going to stand up for the national interest and Canadian values", Freeland said Friday.

Another area of disagreement is the so-called Chapter 19 of NAFTA, a mechanism for dispute resolution that allows the signatory countries to challenge one another's anti-dumping and countervailing duty decisions before a committee that has members from each country that is part of the dispute.

Canadian and US sources with knowledge of the negotiations have said that giving the Trump administration a victory on dairy is key to concluding a deal.

"NAFTA goes down as one of the worst trade deals in the history of our country", he said.

"We have red lines that Canadians simply will not accept", Trudeau said.

A Canadian government source with knowledge of the talks said that for the Americans, on the other hand, "it has proven to be a sticking point" - even more so now that progress has been made on other issues (like rules for the auto industry).

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Surrey, B.C., Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Trade experts say Canada and the U.S. need to present a text to the U.S. Congress by October 1 to join the deal the Trump administration signed with Mexico last week.

The overall goal is to reach a deal by December 1 so Congress can give its approval to a new NAFTA before Mexico's new president takes office.

A week ago, the USA and Mexico reached an agreement on revisions to the current North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump and the unions alike have criticized as a "disaster" (in Trump's words) or "devastating" (in Trumka's) for US workers.

Levy of the Chicago Council says there are already signs that Mexico and Canada are taking steps to diversify their trade and broader economic relations beyond a less-predictable US.

The emergence of the cultural exemption as a bone of contention at this stage in the talks surprised those who have followed NAFTA closely.

The two sides broke off talks Friday as Trump formally notified Congress of the deal with Mexico, saying Canada might join later.

Freeland flew to Washington last week for four days of negotiations to try to keep Canada within the regional trade bloc.

Trump administration officials and Canadian negotiators are resuming talks to try to keep Canada in a North American trade bloc with the United States and Mexico. Trump is under pressure from Republicans to preserve NAFTA as a deal among all three North American countries, but the president showed signs of chafing at the pressure from Congress.

USA business and labour leaders have warned Trump not to dump Canada from NAFTA.

The flags of Canada, Mexico and the USA are seen on a lectern before a joint news conference on the closing of the seventh round of NAFTA talks in Mexico City, Mexico, March 5, 2018.

To me, that's another way of saying they'd reached an impasse.

With the USA midterms eight weeks away, and Trump facing pressure to maintain the Republican hold on the House and Senate, the influence of Congress will permeate the resumption of Wednesday's talks. Congress, meanwhile, has met the deal with some skepticism. But that's not set in stone, said Dan Ujczo, an Ohio-based trade lawyer with Dickinson Wright.
Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



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Retailers association CAIT has called for nationwide traders' strike on September 28 to protest against acquisition of Flipkart by US retail giant Walmart, the traders' body said Thursday.

"We are observing Bharat trade bandh on September 28. Almost 70 million traders across the country will keep their shutters closed to protest against Walmart acquiring Flipkart," CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said.

He said that the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) will approach the government to annul the deal as it violates press note 3 of 2016, which clearly says that no foreign direct investment will be allowed in e-commerce.

Reacting to CAIT's call for nationwide bandh, Walmart said it remains committed to contributing to the Indian economy by supporting smallholder farmers, manufacturers, and kirana (grocery) customers.



"Flipkart is a prominent player in India with a strong, entrepreneurial leadership team that is a good cultural fit with Walmart. We believe that the combination of Walmart's global expertise and Flipkart will position us for long-term success and enable us to contribute to India's economic growth," Walmart spokesperson said.

CAIT has challenged Walmart-Flipkart deal before (NCLT).



"If need be, we will take the fight to Supreme Court. The business of traders is adversely effected because Walmart is using e-commerce platform passage as a way to infiltrate goods sourced globally by it to influence Indian retail market," Khandelwal noted.



He alleged that through e-commerce Walmart will dump products in Indian retail market that it sources globally and indulge in predatory pricing and other malpractices.

"Ultimately domestic manufacturing sector and the traders will lose their business because of uneven level playing field," Khandelwal added.

The CAIT is also launching a 90-days Digital Rath Yatra beginning September 15 from Delhi.

"The Digital Rath will have LEDs on its wall and audio system to address people around," Khandelwal said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to the suspension of all future long-range missile tests, while also expressing faith in an increasingly embattled President Donald Trump's efforts to settle a nuclear impasse, South Korean officials and the North's official media said on Thursday.

But a disappointing revelation too - the South Korean envoy said it's unlikely that Kim Jong-un will make his global debut at the UN General Assembly in NY, . which would have opened the door to a a possible three-way summit with Presidents Moon and Trump.

That promise by the regime's leader comes as denuclearization talks with the USA stall.

"After reading the personal letter the Supreme Leader expressed his thanks to the President for sending the good personal letter which expressed a firm will to wisely overcome many challenges in the future, too, and open a bright future of our nation while appreciating the fresh advance in the relations between the North and the South", the KCNA said.

The high-level South Korean delegation left for North Korea to discuss arrangements for an inter-Korean summit there this month, as relations grow cooler between Washington and Pyongyang.

And in the process of its denuclearization, .

On the one-day trip, the five-member delegation, which also included National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon, met with Kim and top North Korean officials including Kim Yong-chol, vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. The U.N. General Assembly in late September would be an ideal date for Seoul, but many analysts see that possibility as low, considering the complications of the process and how far apart the parties now are.

North Korea has long sought a formal end to the war but USA officials have said an end-of-war declaration could weaken North Korea's incentive for denuclearisation, and raise questions about the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the three-year war. Seoul has indicated an interest in Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump meeting in NY, and Mr. Trump, who is facing growing domestic turmoil, has hinted that another summit could happen.

In this year's talks, North Korea and the United States have been at odds over whether denuclearisation or declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

The South Korean envoy's visit to Pyongyang came amid a deadlock on the North's atomic weapons, with United States efforts to dismantle the arsenal stalled for weeks.

But no details were agreed at the Singapore summit and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

The summit, from 18-20 September, will be the third inter-Korean summit this year. Mr. Moon has made an end-of-war declaration an important premise of his peace agenda with North Korea.

Peace talks between the United States and North Korea have been rocky in recent months as reports of North Korea still developing missiles appeared to have spoiled the rapport between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

"Moon and Kim are pushing for a peace declaration to notionally end the civil war".
The India-US relationship is on a firm foundation and the administration sees as a "consequential" emerging partner, US Defense Secretary said Wednesday.

Mattis and US Secretary of State arrived in to hold the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue with their Indian counterparts Defense Minister and External Affairs Minister

The focus of the dialogue will be to deepen strategic ties and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with and crude oil import from

"My visit is a firm indicator of what we see as India's place among our most strategic, and I would even call them consequential emerging partners," Mattis told reporters travelling with him on his way to

"Not just in the Region, but in the world, as steps up to its legitimate role as they see it in the community of nations. During Prime Minister Modi's visit to the last year, the president, Trump, said - and I quote here 'The friendship between the US and India is built on shared values," Mattis said.

"We all know those values are based on democratic values, and that's what we see in the world's two largest democracies that exist. We don't have to create those values, those values exist. This is not an opportunity we are creating, it's an opportunity that is resident in the two countries' politics," he said.

Mattis, one of the strongest advocates of India-US relationship in the administration, said that the two nations shared more than just democracy.

"We share a steadfast commitment to a safe and a secure, a prosperous and, especially, a free Indo-Pacific," he said.

"Free of terrorism and freedom for each nation to make sovereign decisions on their own, based on their own interests. This is underpinned by our steadfast commitment to the rule of law, the freedom of navigation, freedom from coercion for all nations no matter their size or the age of their independence," he said.

As the world's largest democracy, the US sees India as taking on a greater regional and global responsibility, a stabilising force, Mattis said.

"Secretary Pompeo and I are coming to for the continued consultations. I believe we will be reaffirming much of our shared vision for the region, alongside our Indian counterparts, Minister Swaraj and Minister Sitharaman, during this first two-plus-two meeting between the US and India at the ministerial level," he said.

He said there had been scheduled meetings before, but scheduling challenges on both sides had interrupted those schedules.

"We did not cancel them; we simply kept postponing them until we could find a mutually convenient time. The normal give and take in - in the tempo of the offices that we and our counterparts occupy," Mattis said.
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code is a relic of British India, having been introduced way back in 1861. It was modelled on a 16th-century British law called the Buggery Act, which was the first such civil law that criminalised certain kinds of sexual intercourse. The Supreme Court is expected to pass its judgement on the legality of the section on Thursday.

It has heard arguments representing all sides of the issue over the last few months. Even though homosexuality was partially legalised in England more than fifty years ago, it stayed on as an illegal act in India. The ...
Tapan Banerjee, general secretary of Joint Council of Bus Syndicates, said that they are, however, sticking to their demand for an increase in ...
India Thursday urged the US to take a "balanced and sensitive" view on the issue of proposed changes in America's H-1B visa policy, saying it could effect the people-to-people links that are crucial for energising bilateral ties.

During the first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries, External Affairs Minister sought US Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo's support for nurturing people-to-people exchanges. and US Defence Secretary also took part in the talks.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said, "I have requested Secretary Pompeo to adopt a balanced and sensitive view on the issue of proposed changes in the H-1 B visa regime as this could effect the people-to-people links which are important for energising ties."



She said that in view of the friendship between Prime Minister and Donald Trump, feel the US will not do anything against their interests.

oreign Minister with US Secretary of State before a meeting, in New Delhi. (Photo:PTI)

"I have asked him (Pompeo) that he should make sure that people continue to have this confidence," she said.

A joint statement issued after the talks said the ministers highlighted the unmatched people-to-people ties between their countries and recognised the benefits to both nations and the world from these ties, including the free flow of ideas and collaboration in health, space, oceans, and other areas of science and technology.

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.

Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and



The is pushing for a reform of the H-1B system, saying some IT companies were abusing the US work visas to deny jobs to American workers.

The US, however, had recently extended by over five months the temporary suspension of premium processing for H1-B visas as part of its efforts to clear the backlog.



The H1-B visa has a numerical limit cap of 65,000 each fiscal year as mandated by the US Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap.



Additionally, H1-B workers who are petitioned for or employed at an institution of higher education or its affiliated or related nonprofit entities or a nonprofit research organisation or a government research organisation are not subject to this numerical cap.



In July, a report by an American non-profit body claimed that there has been a substantial increase in denial of H-1B visa petitions of by the US Immigration authority as compared to people of other nationalities.

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), between 2007 and 2017, it received the maximum number of 2.2 million H-1B petitions from high-skilled
At the conclusion of the first ever 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi on Thursday, India and the United States signed a key defence pact that had been under negotiation for some years.

The COMCASA, or Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, would allow greater communications interoperability between the militaries of the two countries. It wasnt clear if the Indian side received any assurances from the US on New Delhis oil imports from Iran, its purchase of a missile system from Russia and its concerns on the proposed changes by the Donald Trump administration to ...
Sean Patrick Maloney, the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress from New York visited the Island last month. Maloney is criss crossing the state to promote his next election bid.He met with voters at Clove Lakes Park seeking support.

This was not the Congressman's first visit to the island. We first met Maloney at Brendan Fays' all inclusive St. Patrick's Parade in Queens in 2006 Then he was seeking support in his first bid for office as NY Attorney General.

This writer was very impressed with Maloney as he marched with his long time partner, Randy Florke. The two met in 1992 and they married in 2014.

They have adopted three children over the years and all live upstate in Cold Springs in the Hudson Valley. In 2013, Maloney made history by being elected to Congress representing the Hudson Valley .

They brought two of their children with them at my invitation to celebrate our Coming Out Day celebration held at Snug Harbor Cultural Center in October 2006.

Maloney, 52, attended Georgetown University and is a 1988 graduate of University of Virginia and a 1992 Graduate of their School of Law. He spent a year in a Peace Corps mission helping the poor in the slums of Peru. He worked in Bill Clinton's White House as a Senior Assistant to the President. He was the highest ranking openly gay White House staff.

When Matthew Shepard was killed in Wyoming, because he was gay, in 1998, President Clinton sent him as his representative to the funeral. He later became a member of the Mathew Shepard Foundation granting scholarships to young gay students.

Most politicians talk the talk in supporting us, Sean Maloney walks the walk.

He is now seeking the Democratic nomination to be the Candidate for Attorney General. If you are a registered Democratic consider voting for him on Thursday, Sept. 13. It would be nice to have an openly gay person in high office in Albany.
Paraguay will return its embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv, reversing a contentious decision months ago to move the diplomatic site to Jerusalem.

Mr Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move the U.S. embassy was denounced by the Palestinians, who said it showed the U.S. could not be a neutral mediator.

The move presents an embarrassing diplomatic setback for Israel, which had hoped to build on the momentum started by the U.S., Guatemala and Paraguay, which all moved their embassies to Jerusalem in May.

FILE PHOTO: Paraguay's new President Mario Abdo Benitez gestures to the public as he rides in an open auto alongside Paraguay's first lady Silvana Lopez Moreira after his inauguration ceremony in Asuncion, Paraguay August 15, 2018. It opened a new embassy in the city on May 14.

"Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East", Luis Alberto Castiglioni said. In response to Paraguay's decision, Israel said it was shuttering its embassy there, warning that ties between the countries would be "strained" by the decision.

Former President Horacio Cartes personally inaugurated the embassy opening.

Foreign affairs minister Riyad al-Maliki said the Palestinian move was "a mark of esteem for the courageous position of the Paraguayan government". Two days later, Guatemala opened its embassy in Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry praised the reversal and Paraguay's "commitment to global law".

As a salute to Paraguay's reversal, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry announced that it would open an embassy in Asuncion.

Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and according to the 1993 Israel-Palestinian peace accords, the final status of Jerusalem is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.

He said he had "judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America, and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians".

Netanyahu hailed the move, saying Paraguay was a "true friend" of Israel - and the nation was taking a "bold stance" in worldwide affairs.

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its united capital, while the Palestinians who hold a competing claim, argue that the Arab-majority eastern part of the city is the future capital of their desired state.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), had condemned the opening of the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem.
India aims to have at least 15 per cent of the vehicles on its roads to be electric in five years, an official said, signalling the government's wish to join a long list of countries around the world that are already seeking to cut fossil fuels aggressively. If at least 15 per cent comes in the next five years, it will be useful for the country, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said Thursday at a conference organized by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers in New Delhi. This is a time for the country to think seriously about ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital Editor
US President has once again threatened to shut down the federal government over border security this time.

"If it happens it happens. If it's about border security, I'm willing to do anything," Trump told the media at the White House on Wednesday.

"If we don't protect our borders our country is not going to be a country, so if it's about border security I'm willing to do what has to be done," the president added.

The remark comes ahead of Trump's meeting with congressional leaders over the legislative agenda for the next few months, including extending funding for the federal government past a September 30 deadline, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump had earlier in late July fired off threats to shut down the government.

However, during an interview with The Daily Caller published earlier on Wednesday, Trump said he did not like the idea of government shutdowns.

"I don't see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now," he said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan told a press conference earlier in the day that a shutdown was "not in anyone's interest, and he (Trump) knows that".

The US Congress is working on passing a series of funding packages for the new fiscal year, which begins October 1.

Trump could force a partial shutdown of the government in October if he vetoes the funding bills.

The US federal government has occasionally been shut down in the past year, mostly when Congress failed to reach a spending bill due to political infighting.
The Supreme Court on Thursday observed that initially 16 properties of Amrapali Group in India, including commercials, would be auctioned and later on the personal properties of the real estate company's promoters and directors will be auctioned or sold to generate money for completion of its unfinished real estate projects.

The apex court division bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra and also comprising Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, directed to conduct a forensic audit of all the 46 companies or properties of the Amrapali Group and assets of all their directors within two months.

The owner of Amrapali Group, Anil Sharma, is having his own property in Maharani Bagh and one house in Sector 62, Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

The Supreme Court also asked the directors of the Amrapali Group to furnish their asset details by way of an affidavit to it within four days, and fixed the matter for further hearing to September 12. The court had on August 4 sought details of all the properties which Amrapali has.

To complete the unfinished projects of Amrapali, NBCC ( Buildings Construction Corporation) had a submitted a plan to the apex court.

NBCC said that they roughly need Rs 8,500 crore to complete the unfinished Amrapali projects where 42,000 homebuyers are waiting for their homes. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Pinky Anand had submitted the plans for NBCC.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi [India], Sept 6 (ANI): After months of hectic negotiations, India and the United States of America signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) on Thursday that enables India access advanced US defence systems.

The pact was signed following the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue between US Secretary Defence James N. Mattis, US Secretary State Michael R. Pompeo, India's Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"Defence cooperation has emerged as the most significant dimension of our strategic partnership and as a key driver of our overall bilateral relationship," Sitharaman said after the talks.

Terming COMCASA as a landmark agreement, James Mattis said: "We will continue to work to enhance India's role as a primary major defence partner to elevate our relationship to a level of our closest ally. Today, we took a significant step by signing the COMCASA. The landmark agreement will increase our ability to share advanced defence technology making us both stronger.Today, the steps we took will pave way for closer military relationship."

COMCASA is one of three major foundational agreements in the defence sector. India has already signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 while talks are still on for the third pact - Basic Exchange and Cooperation for Geo Spatial Cooperation. COMCASA allows US to install high-end communication technology delivered by it in the Indian military systems.

"We had many productive, forward thinking conversations on our bilateral relationship. Today our two countries entered into an ambitious plan to elevate our security cooperation across a number of areas. The COMCASA is a major step forward in our defence collaboration and coordination. It will allow us to better protect freedom in the Indo-Pacific... We agreed to scale up the scope of our military cooperation," Pompeo said.

During the meeting, India conveyed to the US that it expects a non-discriminatory and predictable visa regime from the Trump government. "I sought Secretary Pompeo's support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship," Swaraj said in a media statement after the talks.

The two countries have decided to establish hotlines to help their foreign and defence ministers remain in touch regularly. India and the US also agreed to work together to secure India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest.

On the counter-terrorism cooperation, India and the US will increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters. The two countries called on Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries and bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri and other cross-border terrorist attacks.

Spokesperson of the US Secretary State, Heather Nauert said that Pompeo and Swaraj discussed efforts to promote a rules-based order in the Indo Pacific, expand the bilateral trade relationship, move forward on civil-nuclear cooperation, and deepen people-to-people ties.

Terming the meeting as "most productive, positive and purposeful", Sitharaman said the two sides have also agreed closer defence industry cooperation and collaboration. The US had in 2016 designated India as its Major Defence Partner (MDP). Last month, the US gave India the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1) to allow sale of high-technology products in the field of defence and space.

India and the US will soon begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defence industry cooperation and collaboration. India has invited the US companies to be part of the Make in India. The US has agreed to nominate a Point of Contact in its Department of Defence to help address procedural complexities and facilitate Indian companies to join the manufacturing supply chains of US defence companies.

In an effort to intensify their military-to-military ties, the two sides agreed to create a new tri-services exercise and further increase personnel exchanges between the two militaries and defence organisations and expand cooperation in the area of maritime security. "We will also enhance our interactions with the United States military's Central Command," Sitharaman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Today, a Texas Federal District Court heard arguments in the case Texas v. Although the lawsuit was brought by 20 Republican state attorneys general, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 75 percent of Americans don't want those protections reversed.

The Supreme Court, in upholding the law in 2012, deemed that penalty a tax and thus a valid and legal exercise of Congress' power of the purse.

"This case is going to help renew the focus on health care in the midterm elections", said Celinda Lake, a longtime Democratic pollster, who noted that the issue had been flagging slightly as President Donald Trump and other Republicans have talked less about rolling back the health care law since they failed to repeal it in Congress previous year.

The lawsuit asks the judge to prohibit the federal government "from implementing, regulating, enforcing, or otherwise acting under the authority of the ACA".

"The Trump administration's decision to wreck these protections is heartless". The Justice Department agrees that the individual mandate is rendered unconstitutional but argues that invalidates only the law's protections of those with pre-existing conditions. "Allowing insurance companies to once again charge people with high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, diabetes or other conditions up to 10 times more than what others pay for the same coverage - or deny them coverage altogether - would be devastating to the estimated 25 million older adults with a pre-existing condition". That is when the tax penalty goes away.

"It's perfectly clear that when Congress zeroed out the penalty in 2017, it didn't mean to get rid of pre-existing conditions protections", said Tim Jost, emeritus professor at the Washington and Lee University School of Law.

The Democratic attorneys general applied to "intervene" in the case to defend the law in its entirety. Now they're attacking the most important life-saving protection in the law.

They are asking the judge to block the law immediately and not wait until the case is finally decided. Now, states are arguing that the entire basis for the health care act standing as constitutional is gone, meaning the entire law is unconstitutional. Insurers hold a key financial stake in the individual market, but an even bigger stake in the law's provisions on Medicare and Medicaid.

That's mostly due to conservative Judge Reed O'Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, who presided over Wednesday's oral arguments.

The case is largely partisan - with Republicans who oppose the health law arguing for its cancellation and Democrats who support it fighting to keep it in place. There is a question of timing on when and how the court rules.

Technically, Congress is watching the case just as everyone else is. Most of the law's major provisions, however, such as the health insurance mandate, federal subsidies for health insurance and elimination of restrictions on pre-existing conditions, didn't go into effect until 2014 and mostly applied to USA -born and documented Latinos.

However, their popularity is one of the main reasons GOP lawmakers had such difficulty repealing Obamacare a year ago and it has given Democrats fodder for attacking Republican rivals in the midterm elections.

"This legislation is a common-sense solution that guarantees Americans with preexisting conditions will have health care coverage", Tillis said.

Critics, however, were quick to point out that the bill doesn't actually offer the same protections that are embodied in the ACA. As a practicing physician, I applaud its pre-existing condition protection, much as I support the Medicaid expansion, the team approach of Accountable Care Organizations, as well as the expansion of Federally Qualified Health Centers providing health care to millions of otherwise underserved patients.

Marlene Baca, CEO of the nonprofit on-exchange insurance provider New Mexico Health Connections, said Wednesday that the cooperative has focused on its management of medical costs in the wake of recent regulatory upheaval.
A shooting incident at the Fifth Third Centre in Cincinnati's Fountain Square on Thursday killed at least three people and injured five others, Cincinnati police chief, Eliot Isaac confirmed.

The suspect is among the deceased, the Cincinnati police department informed on its official Twitter handle.

The shooting occurred at around 9 AM when the suspect open fired near the loading dock of the Fifth Third Centre, a 30-storey skyscraper, the police chief was quoted as saying by CNN. The suspect then proceeded towards the lobby area, where he was engaged by three or four officers.

The police secured the building in around two hours.

Speaking on the incident, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said, "This is not normal, and it shouldn't be viewed as normal. This is abnormal. No other industrialized country has this level of active multiple shootings on a regular basis. I think there's something deeply sick at work here."

Meanwhile, a witness at the scene told CNN affiliate WLWT, "I heard about eight gunshots, and I actually got on my knees. I kind of got down on the ground and then all the cops started coming. I'm still shaking."

"We did hear a gun shooting from the 29th floor. We could quickly see there was a large police presence and could see them blocking Fountain Square. We knew immediately something was wrong. We're a bit rattled," another witness told CNN affiliate WXIX.

The Cincinnati police are being assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in their investigations.

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The Taliban on Wednesday set ablaze the bodies of at least eight policemen who were killed in an insider attack in the northeastern province of Takhar.

The provincial police spokesperson, Asir, confirmed the incident, saying that the policemen were killed after the Taliban terrorists attacked their check post in the Kandahar Qeshlaq area of Khwaja Ghar district, Khaama Press reported.

Asir further stated that an Afghan policeman, with links to the Taliban, helped facilitate the attack, adding that the terrorists took the police's weapons and escaped the area.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban, also confirmed the incident, claiming that nine policemen were killed in the incident.

Takhar province has been relatively calm and isolated from the militancy and violence since the fall of the Taliban regime in the country. However, owing to an expansion of the terror activities towards the north and northeast provinces in the past few years, the security of the province has increasingly deteriorated.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Basti district in the state.

Adityanath also met with flood victims in the district's Dubalia village under Ridhauli tehsil and distributed relief material. He also inspected Chandpur Kataria dam.

"Our government is prepared for any eventuality, and we will extend all help to those affected by floods. If someone dies in the calamity, aid should reach to the family of the deceased within 24 hours," the Chief Minister said.

On August 4, Adityanath conducted an aerial survey of Lakhimpur Kheri district, which was also affected by floods due to incessant rainfall in the state.

Earlier, a flood-like situation also erupted in Moradabad after the water-level rose in Ramganga following heavy and continuous rainfall in Uttarakhand. The torrential rains claimed four lives in Amethi and Auraiya districts.

Apart from Uttar Pradesh, the adjacent states of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh too experienced heavy rainfall in the past several days.

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As many as 11 members of the Haqqani network were arrested on Wednesday by Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) in an operation in Kabul.

In a statement, the NDS said that the Haqqani network members were arrested from PD 5, PD 12, Bagrami and Paghman districts of the Kabul province, TOLO News reported.

The statement underlined that the group was involved in various terror activities, planting land mines, assassinating government officials and influential individuals, etc.

The NDS confiscated an AK-47 rifle, a pistol, three kilograms of explosives and a motorcycle, reported Khaama Press. The captured members have been identified as Momin Khan, Azizullah, Sardar Wali, Hamid, Mustafa, Mir Agha, Mohammad Rasool, Nawab, Lal Agha, Munir, and Ehsanullah.

The Haqqani network or the Taliban have not yet responded to the operation.

The capture comes a day after the Afghanistan Taliban issued a statement to announce the death of the founder of the Haqqani network, Jalaluddin Haqqani.

The Haqqani network is responsible for some of the deadliest attack in Kabul in recent times.

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Airtel Payment Bank, India's first payments bank, has announced that its customers can now make card-less cash withdrawals at over 100,000 ATMs across India.

Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Empays, a global provider of cloud based payment solutions, under which it will enable Airtel Payments Bank's savings account holders to withdraw cash using just their mobile phone through the card-less cash technology of Empays, called IMT (Instant Money Transfer).

The technology can be used for self-withdrawal or for sending money to an intended recipient for ATM cash withdrawal.

"We believe in digital India. We are making this a reality by providing innovative digital solutions that enhance banking," said MD and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Payments Bank, Anubrata Biswas.

"Our tie-up with Empays is an important step that enables our customers to realize digital, phone based cash withdrawals at over 100,000 ATMs, through either USSD or the MyAirtel App," added Biswas.

Over 100,000 ATMs belonging to some of the largest banks in the country such as State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Punjab National Bank are linked to the IMT system for card-less cash withdrawals. The network is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India as a payment system and is the only one of its kind in the country.

"We are delighted that Airtel Payment Bank has enabled the IMT capability for its customers. IMT is the largest cardless cash ATM network in the world. We believe IMT will provide an additional convenience to Airtel Payment Bank's consumers," said Ravi Rajagopalan, founder & CEO Empays Payment Systems.

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Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said the Republican Party of India (RPI) would move the Supreme Court to challenge the Ministry of Information and Broadcast directive advising the media to refrain from using the word 'Dalit'.

Addressing the media here, the RPI chief said, "On behalf of the Republican Party, we will go to the Supreme Court and challenge the Bombay High Court's decision to ban the usage of the word 'Dalit' because it isn't offensive. It is wrong to ban its usage."

"We respect the court, even our ministry had issued a directive to use the word 'Scheduled Caste' instead of 'Dalit' in official documents, but it is not right to stop the media from using the word," Athawale added.

He further stated that the 'Dalit' community had objections with the word 'Harijan', which was coined by Mahatma Gandhi, but the word was not banned.

"The Dalit community were treated unfairly and called Harijans at the same time. Mahatma Gandhiji's intentions were noble but the Dalit community had issues with being called that word. There shouldn't be any problems with the word 'Dalit' as well. We'll go to the Supreme Court and challenge the ban," Athawale said.

The I&B ministry recently issued the advisory to the media advising them to stop using the term 'Dalit' when referring to members of the Scheduled Castes. The Bombay high court, in June, asked the ministry to consider issuing the directive to the media.

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Madhepura Member of Parliament and Jan Adhikar Party leader Pappu Yadav on Thursday claimed that he was attacked in Muzaffarpur in the wake of 'Bharat Bandh', which was announced by several minority rights organisations, against amendments in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

After the attack, Yadav got emotional in front of media and said, "I have never asked for anyone's caste. Never did caste politics. But the attackers first asked for my caste and then attacked."

However, Muzaffarpur SSP Harpreet Kaur has denied any attack on Yadav.

"Videos and photographs does not show any attack. He wanted to go to the Highway however protesters asked him to go back. He was standing amongst the protestors. His bodyguard had little scuffle with the protesters, as per the information given by the SHO," Kaur said.

"If this video could be made, then video of any attack should also have been there in today's world of smart phones with everybody. But nothing sort of that is there. There was no image of any broken window or anything of his vehicle. No injury. If he was claiming of getting his phone damaged by the mob, he should have shown it to media. He did not file any complaint with police. IG sir and I talked to him and directed DSP town to look into it. That is the whole matter," Kaur added.

Meanwhile, Janata Dal (United) leader Shyam Rajak was also allegedly attacked when he was going from Begusarai to Khagaria.

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Security was heightened in various parts of Madhya Pradesh in view of Bharat Bandh announced by several minority rights organisations against amendments in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on Thursday.

"Forces have been divided judiciously across districts in Bhopal. It has been peaceful until now. Nobody can force anyone to be a part of the bandh," police said.

A high alert has been issued in 35 districts across the state in the wake of the bandh. As many as 34 companies of security forces and 5,000 security personnel have been deployed in various districts. Section 144 has also been imposed in several districts of the state while drones are also being used for surveillance in Gwalior. All schools and colleges in Gwalior also remained closed.

Speaking to ANI, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Narottam Bhargavi said, "Lot of security forces deployed. We are fully ready to face any kind of situation. Section 144 imposed at several places. It is very peaceful at present."

About 35 organisations have called for a bandh in the state. The government has imposed Section 144 in Satna, Bhind, Shivpuri, Gwalior and other districts.

Meanwhile, protests are also underway at various other places in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar.

The Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018 was passed in Lok Sabha on August 6. The Congress has alleged that the Centre passed the Bill keeping in mind 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the house arrest of the five activists, who were allegedly involved in Bhima Koregaon violence, till September 12.

The five activists- Sudha Bhardwaj, P. Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, and Vernon Gonsalves, were detained on August 28 by Maharashtra police, from various locations.

The Apex Court, in an earlier order on August 29, had directed the Pune police to keep the activists under house arrest till September 5.

During the last hearing, the Maharashtra Government, in an affidavit to the Supreme Court, stated that they "were members of banned terrorist organistaion Communist Party of India (Maoist)."

The action by Maharashtra Police was taken in connection with the violence that erupted in Pune during an event which marked 200 years of the Bhima Koregaon battle, in January this year. The clashes killed one person and left several injured, including 10 policemen.

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Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday announced exemption of commercial vehicles, buses, taxis and all vehicles running on alternative fuel from the permit requirements at the 58th Annual Convention held by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). As a long-term focus areas for the government, he listed three areas (i) Reduce import (ii) Increase export (iii) reduce pollution.

Speaking at the Convention, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo said the government has provided incentives for electric mobility and policies would support electric vehicles. He added that "the increased focus on safety, is impacting the technological development in the auto industry."

John Simlett, Global Leader future of mobility, (E&Y) said, "The future will be less about the advanced technology and more about new ways of applying it." When we talk about 'Mobility Revolution' it is more about new and easy ways of applying technology."

Guenter Butschek, CEO & Managing Director, Tata Motors said, "There must be diffusion across industries, a connected vehicle platform, and inclusivity in order to revolutionize mobility. We envision E-mobility as the future with better support through incentivisation."

Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Swatantra Dev Singh said his state is an important market for the auto industry as it is changing considerably. "Road safety has been a key concern for us We have established driver training schools across the state with prime focus in rural areas. We have also started the online tax payment services and perhaps are the first ones to do so." Singh said.

Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said Delhi has one of the most progressive road safety policy and his government has an ambitious target to bring down the accident rate by 80 per cent. "There is a need for constructive collaboration between the state government and auto industry to tackle challenges like charging infrastructure and using the bus depot spaces for electrification of public transport. We are currently working on an electric vehicle policy and should soon come up with one," said Gahlot.

Pawan Goenka, Past President, SIAM and Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, emphasised the need for localising advanced technologies as this will help grow the industry and also create new employment opportunities. He said, "The auto industry needs to stay focussed on increasing its share to GDP from current 7.1 per cent to 12 per cent by 2026"

At the inaugural session of the SIAM convention, the speakers highlighted the need for a long-term regulatory and policy roadmap for India's auto sector and moderating GST taxation, as it heads towards a global transition to electric vehicle and future mobility.

Abhay Firodia, President, SIAM & Chairman, Force Motors urged the government to address the need for a long-term regulatory policy roadmap for India's auto sector. Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Anant G Geete assured that the government would soon come out with the new auto policy and assured all aspects of the industry would be discussed with the industry and considered before finalizing the new auto policy.

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A senior US State Department official on Thursday, while talking about the '2+2' dialogue, said that India and the United States have a remarkable relationship with counterterrorism as a shared interest.

"We've worked closely with India over the last year to have both a counterterrorism dialogue as well as a dialogue on designations. We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai bombing. Obviously, we share India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai bombing, free, at-large, despite the reward that's on his head and despite his very known role in helping to facilitate that attack," he said.

When quizzed about the violence in Kashmir and the increased militancy on the Pakistani side, the official said that the US shares India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence.

He further asserted that efforts by both the countries (Indo-Pak) to speak with one another and to engage one another are welcomed.

The official revealed that there are no similarities between the relationship shared by US-Pakistan and US-India. He said that the relationship shared by US and India is more of a strategic partnership.

"These are relationships that are utterly separate: a strategic partnership, burgeoning strategic partnership with India, one in which we're laying out foundations for what you can see down the road is going to be an increasingly robust military, economic, diplomatic relationship; whereas, with Pakistan, we're confronting existential questions about the relationship and about what Pakistan - what role Pakistan is prepared to play in the international community," the official stated.

He asserted that India's relationship with the US stands on its own and the partnership between the two countries has global implications.

While talking about the discussion in the '2+2', the official stated that Iran sanctions and reduction of oil imports with regards to India will be discussed in the meeting.

"We are asking all of our partners, not just India, to reduce to zero the oil exports - or oil imports from Iran, and so I'm confident that will be a part of our conversation with India. In the past we've seen India take steps during the previous round of JCPOA sanctions where they did - their private oil companies did work towards that goal," the official said.

He further said that the two countries are making good progress in concluding some of the "key agreements" when asked about the details of military communications cooperation or partnership between the two countries.

The official also stated that India has a prominent role in several strategies including the National Security Strategy, the South Asia Strategy, and the Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Elucidating on India's role in these strategies, the official said that India has an important role to play in the stabilization of Afghanistan and is recognised as "fifth-largest assistance contributor to Afghanistan."

He further talked about the Indo-Pacific strategy saying, "India's role with us, with other like-minded countries of the region, in committing ourselves to a free and open Indo-Pacific. And there are obviously security dimensions to that cooperation. There are maritime domain awareness (inaudible) of our exercise that we do with Japan, the fact that India is already the country we do the most military exercises with.

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The logistics industry in Southeast Asia is going through significant changes. The opening of "East and West Economic corridor," that covers the Indo-China Peninsula and the desire for cost reduction through efficiency in logistics are some of the driving forces behind the change.

A logistics industry exhibition - "TILOG Logistics 2018" was held in Bangkok with the aim of connecting companies in Southeast Asia.

Daifuku - a Japanese company developing advanced logistic systems, automated storage and retrieval systems around the presented solutions to manufacturers for issues such as building automated sorting technologies, factory line automation systems in automotive plants and home delivery warehouses.

Daifuku's technology has contributed to the development of Japan's industries and lifestyles, helping automotive manufacturing industries and contributing to the rapid increase in automatic sorting of deliveries by e-commerce.

A Daifuku representative said, "Daifuku Thailand can be expanded and used as a base for ASEAN regions. We are focusing not only on Thailand but also on other countries such as Vietnam and Myanmar."

"We have introduced Virtual Reality technology that is used in automatic allocation system. When scale is huge, the process of automatic sorting technology can be seen from various angles," he added.

A visitor at the exhibition said, "The VR system has showed me a clear image and it is very easy to understand about stored products and distribution to other places. ASEAN countries are witnessing rapid surge in personal delivery through online shopping. It is becoming necessary to have accurate distribution technology and this can be achieved by automation.

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Defence cooperation has emerged as the most significant dimension of India and the United States strategic partnership and as a key driver of the overall bilateral relationship, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

Speaking to the media after the conclusion of inaugural 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US, which was attended by US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, US Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis, India's Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Sitharaman, the Defence Minister said that the discussions on Thursday have paved way for a new era in India-US defence and strategic engagement.

Terming the meeting as "most productive, positive and purposeful", Sitharaman announced the signing of Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) saying this will enable India access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India's defence preparedness.

"We are also putting in place an enabling framework for closer cooperation between our defence forces. The signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 and the Helicopter Operations from Ships Other Than Aircraft Carriers (HOSTAC) earlier this year were important steps in this direction. The signing of COMCASA today will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India's defence preparedness," she said.

While talking about India-US joint exercises, Sitharaman said that to enhance synergies in this area, the two sides have decided to carry out, for the first time, a tri-Services joint exercise with the US off the eastern coast of India in 2019.

"Maritime Security has been a focus area of our cooperation. To deepen our ties in this area, we will expand our interactions on Maritime Domain Awareness. The United States has renamed its Pacific Command responsible for relations with India as Indo-Pacific Command. Reflecting our wider global partnership, we will also enhance our interactions with the United States military's Central Command," she said.

The minister underlined that one of the focus areas of the discussions was on expanding the scope and content of the US' designation of India as its Major Defence Partner (MDP). "We welcome the recent decision to elevate India to STA Tier 1 status for access to advanced technologies, especially in the defence field. I am confident that this and other measures to follow will enable our defence industry cooperation to make speedy progress for mutual benefit," the Defence Minister said.

During the talks with the US, the Indian side highlighted the major reforms implemented by the Indian government to promote defence manufacturing under the Make in India initiative, including setting up of defence manufacturing corridors.

"We welcome the US' positive response to India's request to nominate a Point of Contact in the US Department of Defense to help address procedural complexities and facilitate Indian companies to join the manufacturing supply chains of US defence companies. We also identified cooperation in defence innovation as a major area of emphasis for the future. As our defence needs become increasingly driven by technology, this is both necessary and timely. I am particularly thankful to have Secretary Mattis, who has spent several years in Silicon Valley, as our interlocutor in taking this aspect of our ties forward. The Memorandum of Intent between our defence innovation agencies is a first step in this direction," Sitharaman said.

"Given our shared interests, we are confident that we can work together to promote peace, economic prosperity and security in our region and beyond," Sitharaman said. She added that the two countries will work together to combat the persisting threat of terrorism and other shared security challenges.

"As Prime Minister Narendra Modi had succinctly stated at his address to the US Congress a year ago, India's relations with the US have overcome the hesitations of history. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of defence," she said.

"In our discussions, we explored the instrumentalities necessary to deliver on those shared objectives," Sitharaman said. She added that the momentum in their defence partnership has imbued a tremendous positive energy that has elevated India-US relations to unprecedented heights. "Given our shared interests, we are confident that we can work together to promote peace, economic prosperity and security in our region and beyond," Sitharaman said.

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New Delhi [India], Sep. 6 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Delhi government on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking urgent action against all illegal pathological labs and diagnostic centers across the region. The case will come up for hearing on September 17.

The petitioner, Bijon Kumar Misra, through his counsels Shashank Deo Sudhi and Dr Shashi Bhushan, has requested the court for urgent implementation of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act 2010 in the capital region.

It was informed that the central government had written to the Arvind Kejriwal government on several occasions for implementation of the Act in order to regulate the pathological labs and diagnostic centers in the capital.

The petition, filed in the court, further claimed that only 10 per cent of the pathological labs and diagnostic centers in Delhi are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL), which is an autonomous body of the Quality Council of India (QCI), and remaining are being operated illegally.

The petitioner, in the PIL, stated that the diagnostic centers and pathological labs are the backbones of the health system and the entire treatment of a person depends on such clinical reports. Hence, it is important that the government takes appropriate measures in order to have quality diagnostic centres and pathological labs.

The counsel of the petitioner also highlighted that clinical reports are being signed by technicians in place of specialised doctor MD (Pathology) as per the direction of the Supreme Court. The Delhi government was accused of playing with the safety and health of the citizens.

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Even after the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality, Bharatiya Janata Party (BP) leader Subramanian Swamy called it a 'genetic disorder', which needs to be rectified with 'medical science'.

Swamy said, "Of course what happens in someone's private life should not be of anyone's concern, neither should they be punished. It is basically a genetic disorder, like someone having six fingers. Medical research must be done to rectify it."

"It is the American game. Soon there will be gay bars here where homosexuals can go. HIV will spread. So, after looking at the consequences I hope the next Government will move a seven-judge bench to set aside this five-judge bench order." he asserted.

However, welcoming the landmark verdict by the top court, Former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said, "It is an important decision. I'm happy as the Court has realised the right of LGBTs, their pain and gave them proper space in the society. The most important thing about this decision is that they will be given equal rights as others."

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which criminalised homosexuality.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Rohinton Fali Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra, issued the verdict on a bunch of petitions filed to scrap the law. The bench had earlier reserved its verdict on July 17.

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While saying that she has sought US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo's support to nurture people-to-people links, Swaraj said, "Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship."

Swaraj added that she and Secretary Pompeo have decided to remain in touch regularly through the new hotline that will be established soon.

In her media statement after the talks, Swaraj said the meeting has helped shared efforts of both sides to promote a whole-of-government approach for strategic priorities. "The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I (STA-1) License Exemption reflects India's robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest," the EAM said.

Terming rapidly growing trade and investment ties as an important element of the strategic partnership between the two countries, Swaraj added that faster growth in these areas and deeper people-to-people connections are a force for the strategic partnership.

"Rapidly growing economies are giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement, which supports the development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth. The United States is emerging as a supplier of energy to India. We recognised and supported efforts made by the two sides to address trade-related issues on both sides and to make trade balanced and mutually beneficial," Swaraj said.

Swaraj added that she has sought Secretary Pompeo's support to nurture people-to-people links. "Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship," Swaraj said.

The minister said that during the discussion of the four ministers at the 2+2 Dialogue, there was a growing convergence of views on the Indo-Pacific. "Our respective approaches towards this concept have been outlined by our leaders- by President Trump at the APEC meeting last year and by Prime Minister Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue this summer. We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing," she said.

While welcoming the US' interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region, Swaraj said that the two countries agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation with other partners in the region to achieve common goals in connectivity and infrastructure.

"Our counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose. We recognised the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security. We have agreed to deepen our cooperation in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force. We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," Swaraj said.

The minister mentioned discussions on the situation in South Asia and expressed India's support to President Trump's South Asia Policy. "His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us. We discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the United States in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process, that brings together all ethnic groups and political formation in the country," Swaraj said while adding that the two sides also had "productive exchange" on other regional issues.

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India and the United States of America on Thursday urged Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries and bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri and other cross-border terrorist attacks.

In their joint statement issued at the end of the inaugural 2+2 Dialogue, India's Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region while calling on Pakistan to act on terror.

"On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri and other cross-border terrorist attacks. The Ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qa'ida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company and their affiliates. The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber-attacks," the joint statement said.

Recognising the two countries as strategic partners, major and independent stakeholders in world affairs, India and the US committed to work together on regional and global issues, including in bilateral, trilateral and quadrilateral formats. The two sides have decided to stay in touch through a dedicated hotline for communications between Foreign and Defence ministers of both sides.

Strengthening their defense and security partnership, the ministers reaffirmed the strategic importance of India's designation as a Major Defense Partner (MDP) of the US and committed to expand the scope of India's MDP status and take mutually agreed upon steps to strengthen defense ties further and promote better defense and security coordination and cooperation.

"They welcomed the inclusion of India by the US among the top tier of countries entitled to license-free exports, re-exports, and transfers under License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA-1) and also committed to explore other means to support further expansion in two-way trade in defense items and defense manufacturing supply chain linkages. They welcomed the signing of a Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will facilitate access to advanced defense systems and enable India to optimally utilize its existing U.S.-origin platforms. The Ministers also announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defense industry cooperation and collaboration," the statement read.

On the rapidly growing military-to-military ties, the two sides committed to the creation of a new, tri-services exercise and further increase personnel exchanges between the two militaries and defense organizations. They also committed to expand cooperation in the area of maritime security. The ministers committed to start exchanges between the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy, underscoring the importance of deepening their maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean.

Acknowledging the unique role of technology in the India-US defense partnership, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continue to encourage and prioritise co-production and co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), and to pursue other avenues of defense innovation cooperation. In this regard, they welcomed the conclusion of a Memorandum of Intent between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization - Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX), the statement said.

On the expansion of bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, the ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters. They committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and FATF and reaffirmed their support for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.

The ministers also reviewed cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. Both sides committed to work together and in concert with other partners toward advancing a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, based on recognition of ASEAN centrality and on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law, good governance, free and fair trade, and freedom of navigation and overflight. Noting the importance of infrastructure and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region, both sides emphasised the need to work collectively with other partner countries to support transparent, responsible and sustainable debt financing practices in infrastructure development.

On the issue of Afghanistan, the joint statement said, "The Ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable, prosperous, and peaceful Afghanistan. The two sides expressed support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. The US acknowledged India's longstanding and ongoing contributions of economic assistance to Afghanistan and also welcomed India's enhanced role in Afghanistan's development and stabilization."

India welcomed the recent US-North Korea summit and the two sides pledged to work together to counter North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programmes and to hold accountable those countries that have supported them.

The United States welcomed India's accession to the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Missile Technology Control Regime and reiterated its full support for India's immediate accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

On the civil nuclear partnership, the statement said that both sides looked forward to full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India.

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das met with the Party Secretary of Henan Province, Wang Guosheng on Wednesday evening and invited Chinese investment in the food processing companies in his state.

During his visit to China's Zhengzhou city, the Chief Minister also exchanged views with Guosheng on enhancing cooperation at the provincial level.

As per Jharkhand Chief Minister office, there are around 30,000 food processing companies operational in Henan Province of China and Jharkhand can offer immense opportunities to them for investment.

Das also invited Guosheng in the Global Agriculture and Food Summit 201, which will be organized in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi from November 29 to 30. He also expressed hope for consistent great relations with Henan Province, same as in the past.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister also shared insights about Jharkhand's Buddhist history and said that both provinces are closely connected through the Buddhist heritage. He also extended an invitation to his Chinese guests for visiting Jharkhand's Itkhori, from where Buddha started his spiritual journey.

The Chief Minister is on a five-day tour to China on the invitation of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will meet for the third time during the inter-Korean summit from September 18 to September 20 in Pyongyang.

As per Yonhap News Agency, Moon's special envoy Chung Eui-yong, who returned from Pyongyang late Wednesday, confirmed about the South Korean President's visit to North Korea.

"First, the South and the North agreed to hold a South-North Korean summit in Pyongyang between September 18 to September 20, and to hold high-level negotiations early next week to prepare for the summit," Chung said.

A five-member delegation to Pyongyang was headed by Chung and also included the director of the National Intelligence Service, Suh Hoon, and Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung. The trip to North Korea was largely aimed at setting the date for the third Moon-Kim summit.

This will be the third summit between the two Korean leaders. The two, first met in the border village of Panmunjom on April 27, then again on May 26.

Chung said that the forthcoming summit would review the implementation of the inter-Korean summit agreement signed between the two countries during the first meeting in Panmunjom.

"The countries agreed to review the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration and discuss the future direction of its implementation, and to discuss practical ways to establish lasting peace and ensure joint prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, especially denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," he said.

Chung further informed that the North Korean leader has reaffirmed his commitment on denuclearization and to work closely with the United States on the same.

This will be Moon's first visit to North Korea as a head of the state, although, during the April meeting, the South Korean President had briefly crossed over to the other side of the inter-Korean border with Kim.

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Another body has been recovered from the site of Kolkata's Majerhat bridge collapse on Wednesday, taking the death toll to three.

SS Khatri, Deputy Commandant, Disaster Response Force (NDRF) informed that the search and rescue operations have ended. Speaking to ANI, he said, "The operation has ended now. We have recovered two more bodies from the site of the bridge collapse. 5 teams of NDRF teams were working at the site since the evening of September 4 till today morning."

A section of a bridge in South Kolkata's Majerhat came crashing down on Tuesday following which the state government, along with the NDRF, launched a rescue operation on war-footing

Yesterday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh for the families of those killed in the incident.

She had also assured that her government would take necessary steps and look into the records of the bridges which need maintainance.

Speaking on the mishap, Banerjee had stated that the locals living in the area had alleged that they felt earthquake-like vibrations, which were on account of the metro railway piling work. However, she did not exactly say that the bridge collapsed due to the metro work.

West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi had earlier said that Public Works Department (PWD) and railway administration should be held responsible for the incident.

The Alipur police station on Wednesday registered a suo motu case against unknown persons in connection with the incident.

Deputy Commissioner (south) Meeraj Khalid had said the case was registered under Sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (causing the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act), 427 (causing damage to property) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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A new Moroccan privacy rule will be enforced starting Sept.13 to protect personal data from online abusers and blackmailers, according to local press reports.

Under the new regulation, anybody who ventures to publish photos and videos of people without their consent risk prison terms from six months to three years and fines going up to $5000.

The move to criminalize violation of personal data and toughen up privacy comes after some disturbing photos and shocking videos were posted lately online in revenge or just for the sake of keeping up audiences entertained.

These images, which went viral in social media networks, caused irreparable damage to the victims who will be able to take legal action against any misuse of their personal information.

The new law will add an instrument to the Moroccan legal arsenal to protect better individuals against abusive usages of their personal data that could potentially harm their privacy. Moreover, the protection of privacy is a fundamental right stipulated by the new Constitution of Morocco.

Data protection laws prohibit the disclosure or misuse of information about private individuals and many countries around the world have laws against nonconsensual disclosure of personal images and videos.

In Europe, the United States and Asia, the victims often sue the perpetrators for compensations for infliction of emotional distress. They can also force websites to remove the undesirable material from major online platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Terming India as its major defence partner, United States Secretary of Defence James N. Mattis on Thursday said that the US is elevating the defence relationship to be at par with its closest allies.

"India's leadership in the world supports our shared democratic values regionally and globally. We also recognise the increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, renaming US Pacific Command to the US Indo-Pacific Command. With India as a major defence partner, we are elevating our defence relationship to be on a par with our closest allies as we deepen the broader US-India relationship, enhancing our interoperability, our defence trade, our technology innovation and industrial collaboration, and bolstering our people-to-people bonds," Mattis said while speaking to the media after the India-US 2+2 Dialogue on Thursday.

"We see the US-India relationship as a natural partnership between the world's two largest democracies, a partnership that is based on convergence of enduring strategic interests and shared respect for the rules-based order," Mattis said.

"Our discussion today is a testament to the power of free peoples. I note that over seven decades ago this week, the United States established diplomatic relations with India, prior to its formal Independence. Today, our partnership has become one of the most consequential in the region and in the world," he added.

He mentioned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at the Shangri-La Dialogue last June that said 'a commitment to common values must be shared.the foundation upon which we build a shared destiny.'

"The US and India already have that foundation in our commitment to a safe, secure, prosperous, and free Indo-Pacific region, where sovereignty of all nations is respected, international norms are upheld, disputes are resolved peacefully, and nations freely transit international waters and airspace, and further to borrow Prime Minister Modi's words again, nations are free from impossible debt burdens imposed by others," he said.

Talking about terrorism, Mattis noted that 2018 marks 10 years since the Mumbai attacks, where innocent citizens from the US as well as 10 other nations perished at the hands of international terrorism. "And we do not forget," he said.

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Swedish actor Rebecca Ferguson is in talks to join Timothee Chalamet in 'Dune' reboot.

Directed by 'Blade Runner 2049' and 'Prisoners' director Denis Villeneuve, the film is based on Frank Herbert's iconic novel and is penned by Eric Roth. Herbert will be serving as one of the executive producers.

'Dune', set in the future, revolves around Paul Atreides (lead character), whose family assumes control of the desert planet 'Arrakis' and who later fights to restore his family's reign over the region. The story is a combination of themes like politics, religion, and man's relationship with nature, reported Variety.

Ferguson's past credits include 'Mission: Impossible - Fallout', 'The Kid Who Would Be King', 'The Shining' and the latest 'Men in Black'.

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Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DIR), Mumbai foiled a bid to illegally export 9,040 kilograms of red sanders logs worth Rs. 4.52 crore and arrested one person. The consignment, which was seized from Mumbai's Nhava Sheva port on Wednesday, was reportedly meant to be exported to Malaysia.

Sharing details of the seizure, revenue officials informed, "We received an intelligence regarding an attempt to export red sanders from Nhava Sheva port. The containers were identified and on examination 9040 kgs of wooden logs of red sanders were found in different sizes. In the export document, the goods had been declared as "Polyester Yarn" and the logs were found concealed with 'Draw Textured Yarn of Polyester (Mix Color)' and Rice bags."

Red sanders is endemic to the Seshachalam forests of Andhra Pradesh and is an endangered species, listed in Appendix-II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Export of the same is prohibited under the EXIM policy or Foreign Trade Policy of India.

The trailer worth Rs. 6.5 lakh, which was being used for transportation along with the cover cargo comprising polyester yarn and rice totally valued at Rs. 10,03,460 have also been seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act,1962 under the reasonable belief that they are liable to confiscation under the provisions of the Customs Act,1962.

Section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962 has been invoked on the arrested person accused of smuggling.

Further investigation in the case is in progress.

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The US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo in a press briefing following the '2+2' dialogue while answering a question about the waiver to India said that no decision has been taken with respect to missile purchase from Russia.

When quizzed about a waiver for the purchase of S-400, Pompeo said, "With respect to the S-400, no decision has been made. We are working to impose CAATSA Section 231 in a way that is appropriate and lawful and to exercise that waiver authority only where it makes sense. And we as a team, the security team, will work on that and as we continue to have these conversations with India about that, I think come to an outcome that makes sense for each of our two countries."

He further asserted that the US understands the history of the relationship between India and Russia.

"Our effort here, too, is not to penalize great strategic partners like India, a major defence partner. The sanctions aren't intended to adversely impact countries like India. They are intended to be a - have an impact on the sanctioned country, which is Russia," he said.

When questioned about India's oil import from Iran, Pompeo asserted that the sanctions against Iran will come into effect from November 4 and the US will provide waivers where appropriate.

"That it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed. So we'll work with the Indians. We committed that we would do that. Many countries are in a place where they - it takes a little bit of time to unwind, and we'll work with them, I am sure, to find an outcome that makes sense. And from whence they purchase the other crude oil, we're happy to see if it's American products that are able to deliver for them. I think that'd be a great outcome. But our mission set is to make sure that Iran doesn't engage in malign behavior with wealth that comes from countries around the world, thus the purpose of the sanctions," he added.

While talking about trade, Pompeo stated that the US wants the trade to be "free, fair and reciprocal."

"We want the trade balance, the trade deficit that the United States has in its trade with India, to be rectified. They have made some progress on that, and we thank them for that. They're going to buy more energy products from the United States. They're going to purchase more aircraft from the United States. We truly do appreciate that. But the gap will remain, and so we are urging them to do all that they can to narrow that gap," he added.

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United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday in the UK parliament addressed the Salisbury attack and said that only Russia had the motive to carry out the attack as well as the technical means and operational experience.

She referred to the chemical attack as "despicable and sickening", which killed one woman and has left four others fighting for their lives.

"We repeatedly asked Russia to account for what happened in Salisbury in March, and they have replied with obfuscation and lies. .Their attempts to hide the truth by pushing out a deluge of disinformation simply reinforces their culpability," May said while holding Russia accountable for the attack.

She further revealed that the police investigation has enabled the Crown Prosecution Services to bring charges against the two suspects, so the security and intelligence agencies have carried out the investigations into the group behind this attack.

"I can today tell the House that, based on a body of intelligence, the Government have concluded that the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU. The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, so this was not a rogue operation. It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state," she said.

The Skripals were found unconscious at a shopping centre in Salisbury on March 4. They were admitted to a hospital soon after.

The UK blamed Russia for the poisoning, following which, it expelled 23 Russian diplomatic workers in retaliation. In a display of solidarity, over 25 western nations, including the United States, have ousted Russian diplomats.

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Calling for a free and open Indo-Pacific, United States Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo said that both India and the US should continue to ensure the freedom of the seas and the skies.

Speaking to media after the 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US, Pompeo stressed on the need for upholding peaceful resolution of territorial maritime disputes, promoting market-based economics, supporting good governance, fundamental rights, and liberties, and preventing external economic coercion.

"Our two nations are united by shared values of democracy, respect for individual rights, and a shared commitment to freedom. Given those values, India and the United States have a natural starting point for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific. We should continue to ensure the freedom of the seas and the skies; uphold the peaceful resolution of territorial maritime disputes; promote market-based economics; support good governance, fundamental rights, and liberties; and prevent external economic coercion," Pompeo said.

"We know the threats to stability that exist in the region, and the United States seeks to ensure that both of our peoples can live in peace and in freedom. For years now, our counterterrorism cooperation has deepened, with progress on terrorist designations and information sharing, and is solidified through regular bilateral counterterrorism joint working group meetings. I hope we can continue to make progress on counterterrorism today," the US Secretary of State added.

This was Pompeo's first visit to India. "I am delighted to be making my first trip to India as the Secretary of State now 16 weeks into my time, and especially because I'm here for this important first 2+2 Strategic Dialogue between our two countries. It is a clear demonstration the United States places in terms of priority on the relationship between the United States and India," the Secretary of State said.

"Our partnership has been steadily growing since Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi visited the White House last June. President (Donald) Trump is eager for it to continue, and he told Secretary Mattis and I that before we departed. We fully support India's rise as a leading global power, and we welcome India's equal commitment to our partnership," Pompeo said.

Talking about working together on global and regional issues, Pompeo said that he hopes to discuss with India on denuclearization of North Korea, and ways to deal with Iran.

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Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan invited Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) to set up manufacturing units in the Eastern States of India. He attended the 58th annual convention of SIAM on Thursday in the capital.

SIAM is an auto industry body, which represents all major vehicle and vehicular engine manufacturers in India.

Speaking at the convention Pradhan said, "I invite SIAM to look east, towards states like Odisha, Jharkhand for setting up manufacturing units and R&D (Research and Development) centres."

The Union Minister spoke of Prime Minister's Purvodaya vision and the growth the region has experienced in the past four years.

"Prime Minister's Purvodaya vision focuses on a paradigm change in the development of Eastern States. Past four years have witnessed an unprecedented growth in logistics infrastructure and skilled manpower in these mineral-rich states of India," added Pradhan.

Pradhan also took to Twitter and lauded members of SIAM for supporting the government's initiative to promote clean and sustainable sources of energy.

"Guided by Hon PM @narendramodi ji's energy vision and promise at COP21 to promote clean and sustainable sources of energy, I am grateful to the members of @siamindia for their support in our BS-VI program and reassure pan-India launch of BS-VI grade fuel by April 1st, 2020," he tweeted.

"Work is underway for expansion of CGD (City Gas Distribution) network in 300 districts, nearly half of India's geography. This massive infrastructure expansion will unleash great potential for the automobile sector to manufacture CNG-LNG vehicles," he added in a subsequent tweet.

Bharat stage emission standards -known as Bharat Stage (BS) - are emission standards to regulate the air pollutants output. At the launch of BS-IV fuel in April 2017, the Petroleum Minister said, "We plan to launch BS-VI compliant fuel by 2020.

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The producers of 'London Fields' announced that after reaching a settlement with actor Amber Heard, they have paved the way for the film to release, which has long been delayed.

Most importantly, money wasn't issued to Heard as a part of this settlement that took place on Wednesday.

In November 2016, the producers accused Heard of 'Aquaman' fame, of disrupting the film premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, reported the Variety.

The film, which is based on a dystopian novel authored by Martin Amis novel, is now scheduled to release on October 26. Heard stars alongside Jim Sturgess and Billy Bob Thornton in the flick.

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The Supreme Court today asked the Tamil Nadu government to seek redressal and direction from the State Governor for its demand to release the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

The two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, disposed of the petition filed by the Centre on Tamil Nadu government's proposal seeking an early release of the convicts.

On August 10, the Centre stated that the President had rejected the proposal to release seven convicts. The affidavit from the central government came after the apex court asked the Centre to explain its take on Tamil Nadu's 2016 decision to acquit all seven convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.

In May 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber, during an election rally in Sriperumbudur.

All seven - Nalini, Perarivalan, Murugan, Santhan, Robert Pious, Jayakumar and Ravichandran - were convicted in the case. All seven convicts are serving life terms and had been in jail for the last 27 years.

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'Three cheers for the Supreme Court,' screamed Bollywood as the apex court on Thursday decriminalised homosexuality.

A five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra and also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud, Rohinton Fali Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and Indu Malhotra, issued the verdict on a bunch of petitions filed to scrap the law. "Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible," observed the bench unanimously while delivering the verdict.

Terming it as a "historical judgment", celebs took to social media to express their support and happiness.

Giving the verdict a 'huge' thumbs up, ace filmmaker Karan Johar said, "Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"

Here's what the others posted:

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja This is the India I want to live in. Not one filled with hate, bigotry,sexism homophobia and intolerance. THIS is the India I love.

Arjun Kapoor: Sanity prevails for once we can believe we have some sensible decision makers and lawmaker s available to this generation. #Section377 gone with the wind.

Taapsee Pannu: My India of 2018!!!! Truly heartening ! Let's embrace one n all and their choices

Ayushmann Khurrana: RIP #Section377 The new sunshine of this day is that of a progressive India. Love all!

Swara Bhasker: Congratulations to all the activists and petitioners on #SupremeCourt judgement scrapping #Section377 Your perseverance just made #India a freer place for everyone ! #LoveIsLove #Pride #377Verdict #377Scrapped Three cheers for the #SupremeCourt

Known as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the 157-year-old law criminalised certain sexual acts, terming them as 'unnatural offences', punishable by a 10-year jail term.

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Moroccan security services announced on Thursday the arrest of three ISIS members who were operating in the cities of Tetouan (North) and Agadir (South).

The arrest of the three individuals, aged between 25 and 26, was made by the special units of the central bureau of judicial investigation (BCIJ), dubbed Moroccos FBI, said the Moroccan Interior ministry in a press release.

The BCIJ agents searched their homes and found knives, a military uniform, jihadist propaganda documents and computing equipment, says a press release issued by the Interior Ministry.

Preliminary investigation shows that members of this cell swore allegiance to the Emir of the ISIS terror group and were planning to carry out terrorist operations in the Kingdom through explosive devices with poisonous items.

The dismantling of this cell shows that the North African Kingdom is still targeted by the terrorist group, which remains determined to commit terrorist acts in Morocco and elsewhere in the world.

Morocco has a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that includes vigilant security measures, regional and international cooperation, and counter-radicalization policies.

Thanks to this strategy, there have been no terrorist attacks on Moroccan soil since 2011. The authorities have placed counterterrorism at the top of priorities following the Casablanca terror attacks in 2003 and the subsequent attacks of 2007 and 2011.

Moroccos counterterrorism efforts mitigated the risk of terrorism, but the country continues to face threats, largely from numerous small, independent violent extremist cells.
Shahid Kapoor's Twitter handle appears to be hacked after a series of absurd tweets were posted on the actor's timeline, including messages praising Alauddin Khalji.

The actor's account has allegedly been hacked by 'Pro-Pakistan' Turkish cyber army Ayyildiz Tim.

The unusual tweets included links to Facebook page and YouTube channel of the outfit, while one read 'I love Katrina Kaif', another carried gif from a Raj Kapoor movie.

The tweet praising Alauddin Khalji was later, also pinned on the actor's timeline.

Earlier this year, Anupam Kher and Abhishek Bachchan's Twitter accounts were also hacked by the same outfit.

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Three passengers and seven crew members of Dubai to New York Emirates flight, who fell ill during the journey, were admitted to the hospital for further medical care and evaluation.

The airline, in a statement informed that all passengers were disembarked and were screened by the local health authorities prior to disembarkation. It also stated that nine other passengers had to undergo an additional medical screening at the site near the aircraft.

The Emirates flight EK203 was quarantined at New York's John F Kennedy Airport on Wednesday after about 10 passengers fell sick while travelling.

The airline had also released a statement, confirming the news. "Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety and care of our customers is our first priority," read the statement.

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Hollywood actor Timothy Dalton is all set to return to television as 'The Cheif' in DC Comics' live-action series 'Doom Patrol'.

Dr. Niles "The Chief" Caulder, in the series, is described as a pioneer in medical science who is searching the world for those on the edge of death. Brilliant but controversial, Dr. Caulder stops at nothing to help the needy, including his collection of strange heroes known as the Doom Patrol.

The one-time James Bond will take on his first series regular part since the end of his three-season run on Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful' in 2016.

His fans went berserk over the news and took to Twitter to express the excitement.

A user wrote, "Timothy Dalton as the chief in Doom Patrol is the best casting in the whole damn world."

"Casting Timothy Dalton pretty much confirms to me that #DoomPatrol is going with the callous, duplicitous, murderous interpretation of The Chief from Grant Morrison's run." wrote another user.

Written by Jeremy Carver, 'Doom Patrol' revolves around the iconic DC Comics characters, Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Negative Man (Dwain Murphy), Elasti-Woman (April Bowlby) and Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), who are led by modern-day mad scientists Dr. Niles Caulder and Cyborg (Joivan Wade).

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The United States President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his "unwavering faith" in him and said that the two will work together.

Trump took to Twitter to write, "Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims "unwavering faith in President Trump." Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!"

According to Yonhap, the North Korean leader Kim via a South Korean envoy said that his faith in Trump has remained unchanged.

This comes after the North Korean leader met with delegations from South Korea at Pyongyang where talks regarding denuclearisation negotiations were held. Kim was revealed to the delegations that he was still firmly committed to the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

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Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, on Wednesday heaped words of praise on Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is facing thire of President Donald Trump over the Department of Justice investigations into two GOP Congressmen.

"I hold Jeff Sessions in the highest regard. I appreciate his service to the nation," Pence was quoted by the CNN as saying.

Former Alabama Senator, Sessions was one of the first members of Congress to come out in support of President Donald Trump during the 2016 Presidential elections.

However, he has often been criticised by Trump for recusing himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Russian meddling during the 2016 elections.

The most recent of Trump's criticisms for Sessions were over the investigations into GOP (Republican) Congressmen Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York, Fox News reported.

Hunter, along with his wife Margaret, was formally charged over allegations of illegally converting around $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses and filing fake records last month. Collins was in August charged over allegations of insider trading, with the alleged insider trading being traced back to June 2017 by prosecutors, after Trump assumed office.

On September 3, Trump took to Twitter to slam Sessions, saying that he has endangered two "easy wins" in the upcoming midterm elections.

"Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff......," Trump tweeted.

Sessions responded to Trump's remarks through a statement, saying, "While I am Attorney General, the actions of the Department of Justice will not be improperly influenced by political considerations."

Last month, the US President tweeted that Sessions, "doesn't understand what is happening underneath his command position.

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Sripeetam seer, Swami Paripoornananda, said that he would possibly join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if their ideologies match.

Earlier, reports were doing the rounds that the pontiff, who is being seen as the Yogi Adityanath of Telangana will join the BJP.

Speaking on the same, Paripoornananda told ANI, "If I have to join, then the party will choose me, why should I run after a party? If there is a similarity in my thoughts and theirs (BJP), then there might be a possibility (of joining)."

Paripoornananda was externed from Hyderabad on July 11 for six months by the Hyderabad police for making provocative comments against other communities.

However, the Telangana High Court reversed the ban after a petition was filed by the Hindu seer.

Paripoornananda, who returned to the city on Tuesday, has long been rumoured to join the BJP and is also dubbed as "Yogi Adityanath of the South." However, he dismissed these comparisons, saying the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's political expertise is far greater than his.

"I and Yogi Ji are of the same age bracket, but he has more political knowledge because he is a four-time Member of Parliament and he is known for his unique identity," the swami from Shree Peetham mutt in Andhra Pradesh's Kakinada said.

Paripoornananda confirmed that he will be working with BJP leader T. Raja Singh in the coming elections, saying that, "whoever works for Hindutva, I will work with them."

He was also not concerned with Singh's known affinity for hate speeches, saying the MLA from Goshamahal assembly constituency makes hate speeches because he gets hurt when anything bad is said about the Hindu community. "We will not tolerate it," said Paripoornananda.

When questioned about his known hatred for Owaisi brothers- Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi, he said, "People who don't want to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' why should I like them. Also, they have always said bad things about my religion, I don't have any personal problem with them but they say bad things about my god that is the reason I don't like them.

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In a joint statement released on Thursday, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany and the United States supported the claims made by the United Kingdom that two suspected accused involved in the poisoning of the former Russian spy and his daughter were Russian military intelligence officers and that the Russian government "almost certainly" approved the attack.

"We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level," said the leaders in the statement.

Urging Russia to disclose Novichok programme, the leaders said, " We, the leaders of France, Germany, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, reiterate our outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent, known as Novichok, in Salisbury on March 4."

The UK Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday in the UK parliament addressed the Salisbury attack and said that only Russia had the motive to carry out the attack as well as the technical means and operational experience.

She referred to the chemical attack as "despicable and sickening", which killed one woman and has left four others fighting for their lives.

The poisoning of the Russian spy led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned with the military-grade nerve agent Novichok.

May further revealed that the police investigation has enabled the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS) to bring charges against the two suspects, so the security and intelligence agencies have carried out the investigations into the group behind this attack.

The prosecutors have also procured a European Arrest Warrant and the police are seeking to circulate Interpol Red Notices. However, Russian law does not allow the extradition of the nationals from their own country.

Meanwhile, Russia has refuted the claims made by the UK. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, "A link with Russia is being alleged. The names published in the media, like the photos, do not tell us anything.

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Aurobindo Pharma announced that wholly owned subsidiary, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc., USA, has entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets from Sandoz Inc., USA ("Sandoz"), a Novartis Division, comprising a market leading dermatology business and a portfolio of oral solid products along with commercial and manufacturing infrastructure in the US.

The acquisition will be on debt free and cash free basis.

Aurobindo and Sandoz will enter into a transitional services agreement to support the ongoing growth plans of the businesses being acquired by Aurobindo. The transaction will be an all cash transaction which Aurobindo will finance through a fully committed debt facility.

This US acquisition is in line with Aurobindo's strategy to strengthen and grow its global business and to expand and enhance its product portfolio offerings in key therapeutic areas.

The transaction is expected to close in the course of 2019 following the completion of customary closing conditions, including FTC clearance.

This is a carved out business of Sandoz in US and the product portfolio consists of Dermatology, CNS, Alimentary Tract/Metabolic, Women's Health, Anti-infectives, Systemic Hormones and others along with three manufacturing facilities situated in Hicksville and Melville in New York and Wilson in North Carolina.

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Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, has launched the National Mission on Government eMarketplace (GeM) for increasing awareness and accelerating the use of (GeM). The Minister said that in the next 3 years transactions on GeM will reach USD 100 billion. He further stated that during this mission efforts will be made to bring more self-help groups, artisans and start-ups on this platform. The Central andState Governments along with Banks and PSUs willundertakethe national drive from6th September to 17th October 2018by organising workshops, roadshow,trainings, events and other information, education and communication activities, including buyer and seller registration.

Government eMarketplace is the national public procurement portal offering an online, end-to-end, solution for procurement of common use goods and services by government departments. GeMprovides an open, inclusive, transparent and efficient online marketplace, which provides huge savings to government.It is mandatory for central government departments to procure through GeM. 25 states and Union Territories have signed MoU with GeM to adopt it as the mandatory mode of procurement for their departments so far.

GeM deploys technology to completely automate procurement processes and systems, introducing greater accountability in public procurement across India. In two years of its operations, GeM has recorded more than 7.25 lakh transactions worth over Rs.11,250 crores and established itself as an open, transparent, efficient and inclusive platform providing huge savings to the government. The portal has nearly 27 thousand buyer organisations registered and about 1.37 lakh sellers and service providers offering more than 4.65 lakh products and services for online purchase and contributes to approximately 20-25% average overall savings to the Government.

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The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu has said that today's India is a growing India and that phenomenal changes have been brought about in both social and economic sector reforms at the same time, under the leadership of Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Noting the 8.3% growth in GDP in the last quarter, the Minister said that this is going to be consolidated, going forward. He said that India will become a 5 trillion dollar economy in seven years, and certainly a 10 trillion dollar economy by 2035, and that the Government has prepared a multi-sectoral strategy for the same. The Minister was speaking at the India Ideas Summit, organized by the US-India Business Council.

He said that India shares an excellent and forward-looking relationship with the USA and that we will continue the constant dialogue with the US to promote greater partnership between the two nations in all avenues for mutual growth. The Minister proposed that India can set up a Special Economic Zone for US industry which will help make US-India parternship greater again. Speaking about the World Trade Organization, the union minister said that WTO needs reform, and that India can play the role of a facilitator in bringing about this reform, given its good relations with the world's countries. He said that India, the US and other countries need to work together in creating a new dynamic agenda for the multilateral institution.

The Minister said that various reforms have been taken to improve ease of doing business.

He said that a new Industrial Policy will be announced soon, with the dual focus on modernizing existing businesses and on getting new and futuristic businesses into the economy. Twelve champion service sectors have been identified, for promoting them in a systematic manner, he added. Speaking about the growth in agriculture and horticulture, the Minister said that the Government aims to double the income of farmers by 2022. Speaking of exports, he said that India has recorded the highest export growth in 2017-18, which is the highest in last six years.

Minister expressed hope that Make In India initiative will become an even bigger success in the days to come. Startups are the best laboratory for change and innovation. We already have close to 20,000 start-ups registered with DIPP and we are promoting this in a major way across the country, he added. We are seeing a huge growth in the aviation sector, India is the fastest-growing aviation market in the world, he said, outlining the plan to promote the aviation sector.

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The UN Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salame

pointed to the violence in the capital, Tripoli, that began on August 26 as shattering the facade of calm that had prevailed since May 2017, relaying that tanks and heavy artillery were deployed into residential neighborhoods, leaving 61 Libyans dead and injuring nearly 160.

Many of those who died were civilians, including children. Families were forced to flee their homes. Looting and crime became common place as gangs took to the streets. Hundreds of criminals broke out of prison. Migrants were either trapped in detention centers, or turned onto the street, he detailed in a briefing to the UN Security Council Wednesday.

Against the backdrop that the city was on the brink of all-out war, he said that on September 4, UNSMIL brokered a ceasefire between the major parties to the conflict, halting the fighting and restoring some order.

Salame said that as a first step for peace to take root, the Mission was offering technical assistance and its good offices in support of the ceasefire.

Groups that violate the ceasefire must be held to account, he insisted, adding that the time for impunity is behind us.

He noted that in recent weeks, the nation has lurched from one emergency to another. Fearing that it may become a shelter for terrorist groups of all persuasions, he asked the Council for more help at this critical juncture.

Alerting the Council that the presence and operations of the terrorist group ISIL are spreading, he said the terror group claimed two attacks in August and an attack on the High National Elections Commission on May 2.

The Special Representative also highlighted fighting between Chadian Government and opposition forces operating from Southern Libya, underscoring that the recent Agreement signed between Chad, Sudan, Niger and Libya needs to be implemented, so Libya does not also become an alternative battleground for others.

Meanwhile, he continued, the countrys citizens suffer deteriorating standards of living, and for many, every day is a personal emergency.

In this vein, he called for a more equitable distribution of wealth in Libya focused not on appeasing groups based on their military strength, but on providing for citizens based on their need.

He maintained that Libyans want change in their political leadership: I will not mince words. Many members of the House of Representatives are failing to do their job, he stated. They simply have no intention of relinquishing their positions. They have put in place legal provisions to maintain their authority in perpetuity.

He said that Libya needs the unified, determined and vocal position of the Council, to find the peace and tranquility it is desperately looking for.
Trading of Nifty 50 index futures on the Singapore stock exchange indicates that the Nifty could rise 23 points at the opening bell.

Overseas, most Asian stocks are trading lower amid ongoing concerns about emerging-markets. Most US stocks fell yesterday, 5 September 2018 as executives of the tech heavyweights faced scrutiny on Capitol Hill.

Back home,the key benchmark indices logged modest losses in a highly volatile session of trade yesterday, 5 September 2018 amid negative global cues. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 139.61 points or 0.37% at 38,018.31. The Nifty 50 index lost 43.35 points or 0.38% at 11,476.95.

The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 383.67 crore yesterday, 5 September 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 176.95 crore yesterday, 5 September 2018, as per provisional data.

Among corporate news,Aurobindo Pharma announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets from Sandoz Inc., USA (Sandoz), a Novartis division, comprising a market leading dermatology business and a portfolio of oral solid products along with commercial and manufacturing infrastructure in the US. The announcement was made before trading hours today, 6 September 2018.

Bharti Infratel announced that subsequent to completion of Vodafone-Idea merger and their scheme becoming effective from 31 August 2018, Bharti Infratel (the company) and Indus Towers where the company holds 42% equity, have received exit notices, which would result in exit of 27,447 co-locations for the company on a consolidated basis. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

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Nandan Denim rose 15.57% to Rs 89.80 at 10:03 IST on BSE after the company announced that its application for sanction of various incentives under Gujarat State Textile Policy, 2012 has been approved.

The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 137.96 points, or 0.36% to 38,156.27.

On the BSE, 29,000 shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 11,000 shares in the past two weeks. The stock had hit a high of Rs 92.40 and a low of Rs 80.40 so far during the day. The stock hit a record high of Rs 186.65 on 10 October 2017. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 60.85 on 20 July 2018.

Nandan Denim announced that the application made by company for sanction of various incentives (interest, power, VAT / GST) under Gujarat State Textile Policy, 2012 has been approved. The company expects to save Rs 65 crore on account of interest and power subsidy over a period of five years starting from December 2016. Further, the company is entitled for GST / VAT refund of upto Rs 340 crore for a period of eight years starting from December 2016.

Government of Gujarat had come out with a comprehensive textile policy in 2012 to overhaul the textile industry in Gujarat, with an aim to create jobs in the sector.

Net profit of Nandan Denim declined 67.87% to Rs 5.24 crore on 15.73% decline in net sales to Rs 357.06 crore in Q1 June 2018 over Q1 June 2017.

Nandan Denim is India's largest and world's fourth largest integrated denim fabric maker.

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Sagar Cements said total consolidated cement sales rose 24.03% to 247,051 MTs in August 2018 over August 2017. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

Aurobindo Pharma announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets from Sandoz Inc., USA ("Sandoz"), a Novartis division, comprising a market leading dermatology business and a portfolio of oral solid products along with commercial and manufacturing infrastructure in the US. The acquisition will be on debt free and cash free basis and will be made through its wholly owned subsidiary, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc. Aurobindo and Sandoz will enter into a transitional services agreement to support the ongoing growth plans of the businesses being acquired by Aurobindo. The transaction will be an all cash transaction which Aurobindo will finance through a fully committed debt facility. This US acquisition is in line with Aurobindo's strategy to strengthen and grow its global business and to expand and enhance its product portfolio offerings in key therapeutic areas. The announcement was made before trading hours today, 6 September 2018.

PSP Projects said it has received work orders worth Rs 226.07 crore (on standalone basis) from various clients for industrial and institutional projects since the last intimation of receipt of work orders by the company dated 26 July 2018. The total work orders received during the financial year 2018-2019 (till date) on standalone basis amounts to Rs 419.97 crore. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

Nandan Denim announced that the application made by company for sanction of various incentives (interest, power, VAT / GST) under Gujarat State Textile Policy, 2012 has been approved. The company expects to save Rs 65 crore on account of interest and power subsidy over a period of five years starting from December 2016. Further, the company is entitled for GST / VAT refund of upto Rs 340 crore for a period of eight years starting from December 2016. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

Bharti Infratel announced that subsequent to completion of Vodafone-Idea merger and their scheme becoming effective from 31 August 2018, Bharti Infratel ('the company') and Indus Towers where the company holds 42% equity, have received exit notices, which would result in exit of 27,447 co-locations for the company on a consolidated basis. The aforesaid co-locations contribute to 13.7% of the total co-locations on a consolidated basis as on 30 June 2018. This is likely to result in a net reduction of consolidated service revenue of approximately Rs 60-65 crore per month effective from 1 September 2018. The company expects that this will be mitigated by exit charges and incremental revenues on account of anticipated new network rollouts by the operators going forward. The announcement was made after trading hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

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A total of 63 people died and 12 went missing in the clashes in Libya capital Tripoli, said the Ministry of Health has said.

The announcement came on Wednesday, a day after the UN announcement of a cease-fire agreement between the warring parties.

"There have been 63 deaths and 12 missing so far, 159 people have been treated, and 51 others were taken to Tunisia for medical treatment," said Tarek Al-Hamshri, director of the ministry's department of wounded affairs, at a press conference, Xinhua reported.

Southern Tripoli witnessed violent clashes between government forces and militants of the so-called seventh brigade militia from the nearby city of Tarhuna, around 80 km from Tripoli.

"The situation in the capital of Tripoli is stable and normal," Interior Minister Abdul Salam Ashour said at the press conference.

Minister of Transport Milad Matug said that Tripoli's only functioning airport is expected to resume flights in the next 24 hours, after it was closed for days due to the clashes and flights were redirected to the international airport of the city of Misurata, around 200 km from Tripoli.

Matug confirmed that the airport has not been harmed, stressing that "all workers are ready to resume work as soon as the security situation is stable enough."

The governments of France, Italy, Britain, and the US on Tuesday welcomed the cease-fire agreement in Tripoli, considering it a "critical step to advancing the political process in accordance with the UN Action Plan".

--IANS

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Veteran actor Anupam Kher says "A Wednesday!", which has clocked 10 years of its release in the Hindi film industry, offered him a great role and an amazing film.

"'A Wednesday!' offered me a great role and an amazing film. It also gave me a lifelong friendship of Neeraj Pandey. Can't believe it has already been ten years of 'A Wednesday' today on a Wednesday. Thank you Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia for your visit to my office 13 years back," Anupam tweeted on Wednesday.

Directed by Neeraj Pandey, "A Wednesday!" revolves around Prakash Rathod, a retired police commissioner recounts the most memorable case of his career wherein he was informed about a bomb scare in Mumbai by an ordinary commoner.

Anupam will soon be seen in "The Accidental Prime Minister".

The film is based on a book by Sanjaya Baru, a media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Akshaye Khanna features as Baru, and Divya Seth Shah plays Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur in the movie.

It is directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, along with Hansal Mehta as the creative producer.

The film is slated to release on December 21.

--IANS

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In a historic verdict that the gay community rejoiced, the Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring as "manifestly arbitrary" Section 377 of IPC, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex.

In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra struck down the British era law insofar as it criminalised consensual sexual acts of adults in private.

Chief Justice Misra began reading out the eagerly awaited verdict, quoting German thinker Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who had said: "I am what I am, so take me as I am."

Misra said attitudes and mentality have to change to accept others' identity and accept what they are, and not what they should be.

"It is the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail. An individual has full liberty over his or her body and his or her sexual orientation is a matter of one's choice.

"Time to bid adieu to prejudicial perceptions deeply ingrained in social mindset. Time to empower LGBTIQ community against discrimination," said the Chief Justice, giving a final ruling on an issue that has been embroiled in legal battles since 1994.

Section 377 will not apply to consensual same-sex acts between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians, the court said, clarifying that sexual act without consent and bestiality will continue to be an offence.

The bench said it was no longer an offence for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.

Justice Indu Malhotra said history owed an apology to the LGBTIQ community for all that they have suffered on account of the ignorance of the majority about homosexuality. "LGBTIQ people have a right to live unshackled from the shadow."

In a concurring judgement, Justice Nariman said homosexuality was "not a mental disorder or disease".

He said the LGBTIQ community had an equal right to live with dignity and were entitled to equal protection of law. He directed the Centre to give wide publicity to the judgment to remove the stigma attached to homosexuality.

Justice Chandrachud said to deny the LGBTIQ community their right to sexual orientation was a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy.

"Sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second class citizens," he said. "The state has no business to intrude on such matters".

The verdict assumes significance as in an earlier round of litigation in 2013, the top court had reversed a Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising homosexuality.

The Delhi High Court in July 2009 legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults.

But in December 2013, the Supreme Court set aside High Court ruling saying that it was for the legislature to look into desirability of deleting Section 377 of IPC.

The matter was resurrected in July 2016 when a fresh petition was filed by members of the LGBTIQ community -- dancer N.S. Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur. It was marked to a Constitution Bench.

Thursday's verdict sparked street celebrations in the LGBTIQ community across the country. The film world and activists too expressed their joy.

An overwhelmed Ritu Dalmia told IANS: "Today, for the first time, I feel we are living in a functional democracy. It is a good day for human rights, for the country and for the Constitution."

West Bengal's Manabi Bandopadhyay, India's first transgender college principal, said the ruling will be "helpful for the next generation of LGBTIQ (community)".

The verdict was, however, greeted in silence by most political parties barring the Congress.

"We join the people of India and LGBTIQ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive and decisive verdict from the Supreme Court and hope this is the beginning of a more equal and inclusive society," the Congress tweeted.

Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said the "government has no space in bedrooms".

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is yet to react, its ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), said it agreed with the court's view but does not endorse homosexuality.

"Like Supreme Court, we also do not consider this to be a crime. The same sex marriages and relations are not compatible with norms of nature. So, we do not support such relations.

Indian society also does not have the tradition to recognise such relations," the RSS said in a statement.

Bollywood stars like Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Karan Johar expressed their joy.

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, whose film "Aligarh" made a crucial statement on a gay professor, wrote: "The verdict is clear. Two consenting adults irrespective of sex, religion, cast and gender cannot be rendered criminals by the law."

National award-winning film editor Apoorva Asrani, a prominent voice against Section 377, told IANS: "Seventy-one years after a majority of Indians achieved complete independence, the LGBTIQ community is finally free. It's been a lifetime of suppressing true desires and then living in fear of criminal prosecution."

The UN also welcomed the verdict, saying it will help eliminate stigma and discrimination against the LGBTIQ community.

"LGBTIQ persons across the world continue to be the targets of violent attacks and are affected by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on age, gender, ethnicity, disability and social status," the UN said in a statement.

--IANS

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Condemning the government's decision to ban e-cigarettes in the absence of scientific evidence, experts said the move is regressive.

In a statement on Thursday, the Association of Vapers India (AVI) -- an organisation that represents e-cigarettes -- said the government has failed to offer an alternative to tobacco cigarettes known to cause many diseases, including cancer and lung disease.

"The government has so far relied on an emotional appeal to persuade tobacco users to kick the habit, but never offered an alternative beyond gums and patches, which have a very low success rate," said Samrat Chowdhery, Director, AVI.

In such a scenario, "an attempt to ban e-cigarettes is regressive given that the government's stated policy is to provide wider choices to consumers for all products and services, and not restrict them," he added.

The advisory issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare last week, stated: "States/Union Territories are advised in larger public health interest, and in order to prevent the initiation of ENDS by non-smokers and youth, with special attention to vulnerable groups, to ensure that any Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) including e-Cigarettes, Heat Not-Burn devices, Vape, e-Sheesha, e-Nicotine Flavoured Hookah... are not sold (including online sale)."

However, academicians and activists have expressed concern on the advisory issued without any evidence to substantiate the decision.

Although e-cigarettes too contain nicotine like tobacco cigarettes, they do not produce tar and toxic chemicals that cause most tobacco-related deaths across the world, they argued.

"In e-cigarettes, there is huge reduction of cancer-causing elements to the tune of 90-92 per cent. The government should make a policy to give an option to the smokers to switch to e-cigarettes in its fight against cancer," said R.N. Sharan, Professor at North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, Meghalaya.

"Vaping involves no smoke. It takes nicotine, which occurs naturally in vegetables like tomato, potato and broccoli, warms it to a vapour for use, eliminating smoke through burning tobacco," added Delhi-based Deepak Mukarji, who is using a not-for-profit advocacy platform called The Alternatives.

Moreover, worldwide 55 countries, including the UK, New Zealand, Norway and Canada, among others, have legalised sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquids as consumer goods.

These nations view vaping (inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette) as a much safer harm reduction alternative to smoking.

A report from the Royal College of Physicians stated that "the hazard to health arising from long-term vapour inhalation from the e-cigarettes available today is unlikely to exceed 5 per cent of the harm from smoking tobacco".

"An innovation that must be encouraged as a harm reduction alternative to tobacco usage. Yet sadly, misguidance and misrepresentation of facts is leading to the increased banning of a product that could save lives," Mukarji said.

--IANS

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Many places in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh on Thursday were affected by the Bharat Bandh called to protest against the changes made in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Not just rail and road traffic, markets and schools were closed. Even rural hinterland and smaller towns joined the protest called by upper caste communities, including the Akhil Bhartiya Vaishya Samaj and dozens of other groups.

The agitators blocked trains and put up road blocks on national and state highways. Schools declared a holiday to ensure the safety of students.

In Mathura and Vrindavan, the bandh was total as protesters took out marches and blocked main roads. In Firozabad, even Muslim shopkeepers joined the shutdown.

A protestor said: "Our anger is directed towards the recent changes in the Act which empowers the police to arrest anyone without investigations. We are not opposed to persons belonging to the SC/ST."

The bandh has placed political parties in a dilemma. Officially the Congress, Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party have remained neutral, but their members are openly supporting the shutdown.

The massive turnout for a series of marches, to protest the amendment to the Act, in many districts and tehsils over the last few days have sent panic signals to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party.

Organisations representing the 'so-called' upper castes supported by several fronts of OBCs, have openly challenged the BJP leadership and demanded immediate withdrawal of the amendment or face the music during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Sumant Gupta, national chief of the Vaishya Ekta Parishad, an umbrella front of various trading communities, said the protesters would march to Delhi on October 2, to demand scrapping of the amendment.

Clashes and violence have been reported from various parts of Uttar Pradesh. There was a scuffle in the Agra market where supporters of the SC/ST Act protested against efforts to shut down shops.

Police chased the mob and used tear gas shells to quell the warring groups as they pelted stones at each other and vandalised property.

Protestors stopped the Agra-Etawah passenger train by squatting on the rail tracks in Pinahat. They threw stones on the vehicle of a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) on the Yamuna Expressway.

Prohibitory orders have been issued in many districts of the state.

Major protests have been reported from Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agitators set ablaze some kiosks and stalled traffic at the Hyderabad Gate of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Two trains were stopped in Mainpuri district. Protests were also reported from Dibiyapur in Aurraiya, Aligarh, Hathras, Etah, Kasganj.

Lawyers have also extended their support to the Bharat Bandh. There was, however, not much disturbances in Lucknow and Kanpur.

In the Madhya Pradesh capital, petrol pumps were closed as security was heightened in 35 areas there, police said.

The administration imposed Section 144 of the CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) in Chhatarpur, Shivpuri, Bhind, Ashoknagar, Guna, Gwalior and Katni, the police said.

There were huge protests in Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's home district Sehore. In Vidisha, people wore black T-shirts saying "Hum hai Mai ka Lal" in response to Chouhan who had said no one can end reservation.

Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior and Sagar, too witnessed huge protests.

Organisations that have joined the protest include Akhil Bhartiya Kshtriya Mahasabha, Rashtriya Brahmin Mahasabha, Garib Sena, Karn Rajpoot Samaj, Rajputana Youth Brigade, Anarakshit Samaj Party, and dozens of other groups.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said a "Bharat ke Veer" Trust has been formed for providing assistance to the families of slain Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel.

The Trust is headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and former national badminton champion Pullela Gopichand are among six trustees.

The Ministry of Home Affairs took up the initiative in 2017. The success has been stupendous. It has now been formalised into a registered Trust, Rajnath Singh said in a series of tweets.

"The Trust has been created for providing a platform to all citizens to contribute and provide assistance to the families of martyred CAPF personnel," he said.

"The Ministry of Finance has given its approval to the Trust under 80(G) which means that all contributions to the Trust will be exempted under Income Tax," he added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
All power to this person. Photo: Rick Loomis/Getty Images

Throughout 2018, the Democratic Party has had two core messages for the American people: Donald Trump is a dangerous, corrupt president whose power must be checked  and the GOP are a corrupt, dangerous party that wants to take away health care from the sick.

Now, as the midterm campaign hits the homestretch, Republicans are making the Democrats case for them.

In an anonymous New York Times op-ed published Wednesday, a senior Trump administration official wrote that President Trump has anti-democratic impulses, is bereft of any discernible first principles, behaves in an erratic manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic, and is so psychologically unstable, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment (which allows for a president to be removed for physical or mental incapacity). The official went on to insist that all of this would be more concerning if it werent for unsung heroes in and around the White House who have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing, though they are clearly not always successful.

The op-ed never advises its readers to vote for Democrats this fall. In fact, it suggests that unified Republican government serves the American peoples interests, as it has led to effective deregulation and historic tax reform. But when GOP strategists were sketching out the ideal message for their party to run on in 2018, they probably didnt choose: The health of our republic requires Donald Trumps power to be checked  but dont vote to place any additional checks on his power because his insubordinate staff is sometimes successful at blocking his worst ideas, and if you vote Republicans out of office they wont be able to pass any more corporate tax cuts that you dont like.

Whats more, it isnt just a single, anonymous Republican official saying that President Trump cannot be trusted with power. Following the anonymous op-eds publication Wednesday, GOP senator Bob Corker told reporters, This is what all of us have understood to be the situation from day one  I understand this is the case and thats why I think all of us encourage the good people around the president to stay. I thank General Mattis whenever I see him.

Corkers comments echo remarks he made in October 2017, when he told the Times that the presidents recklessness threatened to put America on the path to World War III; that every single day at the White House, its a situation of trying to contain him, and that the vast majority of the Republican caucus knows these things to be true.

Corkers Republican colleagues have not moved to expel him from the Senate for telling outrageous lies about the president. Many have declined to even dispute the senators account. Which is to say: A large swath of elected Republicans have tacitly conceded that Donald Trump poses a threat to global security, and that this threat is mitigated primarily by the systemic insubordination of officials who serve at Trumps pleasure.

Once all this is stipulated, the only plausible argument for allowing Republicans to retain full control of Congress (instead of putting a check on Trump that he could not summarily fire) is that the GOP is ready and able to check Trumps authority itself.

But in recent weeks, congressional Republicans have explicitly assured voters that they will not provide effective oversight of the Executive branch. In campaign advertisements, Republican congressional candidates have devoted more airtime to proclaiming their loyalty to Donald Trump than they have to defending their partys signature tax reform legislation. In recent weeks, many Republicans have reframed their 2018 message around a pledge to protect Trump from overzealous oversight. Last month, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn warned voters that a Democratic Congress would seek to reverse the election by whatever means possible.

Around the same time, Republicans on Capitol Hill compiled a list of all the White House scandals that a Democratic House would likely investigate  which is to say, a list of scandals that the current Congress is actively covering up. Among them, per Axios:

 President Trumps tax returns

 Trump family businesses  and whether they comply with the Constitutions emoluments clause, including the Chinese trademark grant to the Trump Organization

 Trumps dealings with Russia, including the presidents preparation for his meeting with Vladimir Putin

 The payment to Stephanie Clifford  a.k.a. Stormy Daniels

 James Comeys firing

 Trumps firing of U.S. Attorneys

 Trumps proposed transgender ban for the military

 Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins business dealings

 White House staffs personal email use

 Cabinet secretary travel, office expenses, and other misused perks

 Discussion of classified information at Mar-a-Lago

 Jared Kushners ethics law compliance

 Dismissal of members of the EPA board of scientific counselors

 The travel ban

 Family-separation policy

 Hurricane response in Puerto Rico

 Election security and hacking attempts

 White House security clearances

Its hard to imagine any Democratic consultant putting together a better advertisement for divided government than this.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been doing everything in its power to bolster the other pillar of Team Blues midterm message. Its long been clear to Democrats and Republicans alike that health-care policy is the House majoritys biggest liability. The Obamacare repeal bill that House Republicans voted for last year proved to be the most unpopular piece of major legislation in Americas modern history. Shortly after the bills introduction last spring, the Democratic Party opened a double-digit lead in polls of the 2018 generic ballot, while President Trumps job approval dipped. Subsequent surveys showed the public favoring the Democrats over the Republicans on health-care policy by wide margins.

In May, Republican congressman  and longtime GOP strategist  Tom Cole told CNN that he wasnt worried about the repeal effort hurting his party on Election Day. After all, by then, it would be water under the bridge. Its hard to beat you on a vote you didnt succeed on, Cole reasoned.

Alas, the Trump administration  and red-state attorneys general  has made that task much easier for Democrats. Earlier this summer, the Justice Department announced that it would not defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) from a challenge brought by a group of red states, which claims that Congresss repeal of the individual mandate rendered the laws protections for people with preexisting conditions invalid. This claim  that Congress is not constitutionally allowed to eliminate the ACAs insurance mandate, unless it also repeals the laws other regulations of the health-care market  is not some sacred principle of originalist jurisprudence. Rather, its an ad hoc rationalization for right-wing judicial activism so specious, it makes the National Review blush. And yet, Attorney General Jeff Sessions concluded that his department could make no honest argument against the plaintiffs case, and thus, had no choice but to forfeit its responsibility to defend federal law.

Oral arguments in that case began this week  and a Republican-appointed judge in Texas signaled that he buys the red states case. Judge Reed OConnor gave only cursory treatment to the baseline question of whether the individual mandate without an accompanying penalty could stand as constitutional, according to Modern Healthcares Susannah Luthi, devoting most of his questions to the matter of precisely how much of the Affordable Care Act he is constitutionally obligated to strike down. On Wednesday, the judge indicated that he expects to deliver a ruling soon on whether the ACAs consumer protections can remain in force.

Its hard to overstate how inconvenient such a ruling would be to the GOPs electoral strategy. The only thing Republicans want to discuss less than repealing Obamacare is repealing that laws most popular provision. Last year, the idea of letting the market decide who can get chemotherapy without having to declare bankruptcy proved so politically toxic, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell retained versions of the ACAs protections for people with preexisting conditions in all of their health-care bills. Even for a House Speaker whose signature policy idea is privatizing Social Security, scrapping those protections outright was a bridge too far.

Now, as voters head to the polls, Republicans may be forced to defend the god-given right of insurance companies to deny coverage to anyone whos ever seen a psychologist. In fact, in some of 2018s most competitive Senate races, Republicans nominated state attorneys general who brought the lawsuit to begin with.

In general, the relevance of messaging to midterm election outcomes is greatly exaggerated. But to the extent that campaign themes influence voter behavior, the Republican Party is doing its best to turn the long-forecasted blue wave into a tsunami.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's statement over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was "absolutely unacceptable," the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

"It contains a number of peremptory accusations against Russia and two of our citizens. We strongly reject these insinuations," the ministry said on Wednesday in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

Traces of the deadly nerve agent Novichok used in the attack have been found in a London hotel, May told MPs on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

She said in an official statement that the British police and intelligence agencies have identified two Russian nationals they believe were responsible for the attack in March in the British city of Salisbury which left Sergei and Yulia fighting for their lives.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Rossiya-1 TV channel that Britain should provide fingerprints of the suspects to Interpol as these people allegedly from Russia must have received British visas.

The poisoning case triggered a diplomatic crisis with Russia and Western countries mutually expelling a large number of diplomats.

The US has also imposed massive economic sanctions against Russia over the incident.

Russia has been denying any involvement in the case.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British luxury goods maker Burberry on Thursday announced that it will stop the practice of burning unsold goods, with immediate effect.

The fashion label also said it would stop using real fur in its products and would phase out existing fur items.

Burberry's annual report stated that it destroyed unsold 28.6 million pounds ($37.1 million) worth of products last year to protect its brand, taking the value of items destroyed over the past five years to 105 million pounds, the Guardian reported.

It previously defended its practice by saying that the energy generated from burning its goods was captured. But now Burberry will cease burning millions of dollars' worth of excess stock and is likely to donate garments to charities such as Smart Works, a UK organization that provides interview clothes to unemployed women to help them get jobs.

The company said it will reuse, repair, donate or recycle all unsaleable products.

Burberry is the first major company to publicly end the practice of destroying unwanted products. Its Chief Executive Marco Gobbetti said he hoped others in the industry would follow suit.

"Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible. This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success. We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products," he said.

Greenpeace welcomed the move as a "much-needed sign of a change of mind in the fashion industry".

"Because fashion is a high-volume business with more than 100 billion garments produced each year, consumers' closets are already overflowing with unworn clothes -- creating an overstock problem for many companies," the environmental campaigning group was cited as saying by the BBC.

"It's high time for the whole fashion industry to start dealing with overstock at its source: by slowing down production and re-thinking the way it does business."

The label said the debut collection from its new Chief Creative Officer Riccardo Tisci to be presented on September 17 during London fashion week, will not feature any real fur designs. Existing fur products will be phased out. The brand till now used rabbit, fox, mink and Asiatic racoon fur in its collections.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) foundation welcomed Burberry's decision.

Burberry started a partnership with sustainable luxury company Elvis & Kresse in the past year that will see 120 tonnes of leather off-cuts transformed into new products over the next five years.

At the same time, the fashion label also established the Burberry Material Futures Research Group with the Royal College of Art to invent new sustainable materials.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's top diplomat and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay a three-day official visit to Pakistan from Friday.

This will be the first high-level visit by any Chinese official to Pakistan after the country elected a new government led by Imran Khan.

"At the invitation of Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, China's State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Pakistan from September 7 to 9," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said here.

Besides meeting his Pakistani counterpart, Wang is likely to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and President-elect Arif Alvi and discuss the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and bilateral issues.

"He will also meet the main leaders of Pakistani side and exchange views on bilateral relations, regional as well as international issues of mutual interest," Hua said.

"China and Pakistan are all-weather, strategic and cooperative partners. Our bilateral ties have been developing at sound momentum.

"We have seen frequent high-level exchanges and political cooperation is also moving forward and there are rich outcomes from the CPEC," the spokesperson said.

Wang's visit came after US Secretary Mike Pompeo's flying visit to Pakistan. Pompeo met Qureshi and Khan before heading to India for a maiden strategic and defence dialogue.

Pompeo and Khan pledged to reset the bilateral ties that have sunk to a new a low, especially after Washington, scrapped $300 million of military aid to Islamabad, saying Pakistan did not use the fund to fight terrorism.

India will keenly watch Wang's visit.

The CPEC is one of the pesky issues between Beijing and New Delhi as its planned route cuts through the disputed Kashmir held by Pakistan and claimed by India.

A commentary in Pakistani daily Dawn said "recent global and regional developments, including India's intensifying alliance with the US to contain China, has created a compulsion for Pakistan and China to further intensify their military and economic relationship".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that was signed on Thursday after the first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will give India access to high-end US defence technology.

COMCASA is one of the four foundational agreements that a country needs to sign to become a major defence partner of the US, the other three being General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMoA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

While India signed the GSOMIA in 2002, and the LEMoA, which gives access to both countries to designated military facilities on either side for the purpose of refuelling and replenishment, in 2016 after being made a major defence partner, the BECA, which facilitates the exchange of geospatial data, is yet to be signed.

COMCASA guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

The Indian armed forces will now also be allowed to install US-made high-security communication equipment on defence platforms sourced from America.

Earlier called the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), the name was changed to COMCASA to reflect its India-specific nature.

It will enable India to optimally utilise its existing US-origin platforms like C-17, C-130 and P-81.

India was earlier using commercially available and less secure communication systems on such platforms.

COMCASA essentially provides a legal framework for transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Thursday attacked the Modi government after the rupee breached the 72 mark against the US dollar, saying government polices had derailed the economy.

"The falling rupee crosses Rs 72 against a dollar. Fiscal deficit will increase and price rise has caused panic," Congress spokesman Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted.

"Rupee is falling repeatedly due to the policies of the BJP. The economy is in doldrums," he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calling the steep rise in diesel and petrol prices as Rs 11 lakh crore 'fuel loot,' the Congress on Thursday called for a 'Bharat bandh' on September 10, saying it was in touch with other parties for their support.

The party again demanded that petrol and diesel be brought under Goods and Services Tax (GST). The government had earlier rejected the demand saying most states were opposed to it.

It also demanded that there should be immediate reduction in central excise duty and excessive VAT in the states.

"Many promises were made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before coming to power in 2014, but none were kept. When questions were raised by Congress President Rahul Gandhi about the Rafale fighter deal and Amit Shah's son, those too went unanswered," Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said at a press conference in the Capital.

"The mismanagement of economy has led to high prices. When fuel prices were rising during the UPA regime, taxes were reduced to take the burden off the people. But due to the mismanagement by the current government, the prices of petrol, diesel and gas cylinders have gone up steeply," he said.

"We decided for the Bharat Bandh call today after a meeting of all party general secretaries and the state leaders," he said, adding the party was in touch with other opposition parties for their support.

He said Congress workers would protest at petrol stations across the nation between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Later his party colleague Randeep Singh Surjewala said the "fuel loot" has resulted in the Modi government profiting Rs 11 lakh crore.

In May 2014, he said, excise duty on petrol was Rs 9 per litre while today it is Rs 19 per litre. "Similarly the excise duty on diesel in 2014 was Rs 3 and today it is around Rs 15 today.

"An RTI reply has revealed that the Modi government is selling diesel for Rs 34 per litre and petrol for Rs 37 per litre to other countries whereas in India the price is high," he alleged.

Calling it "fuel loot," the Congress leader said the diesel and petrol should have been brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"Rahul Gandhi had demanded to bring petrol and diesel under GST as this alone will give a relief to common people by Rs 10-15 per litre," he said.

"The rupee is getting devalued every day. 10 per cent is the loss in value of the rupee in last one year. It is the most devalued currency in Asia, but neither the Prime Minister nor the Finance Minister is worried about it."

On Supreme Court ruling that 'bandhs' are illegal, Surjewala said: "We are aware of the ruling and that is why the 'bandh' is between 9:00 am to 3:00 pm so that the common person is not inconvenienced."

Congress leader Ahmed Patel said that most opposition parties have given their consent to support the bandh. "Consultations are going on with three or four parties. The SP, RJP and NCP have agreed."

"We have not consulted BSP yet and so far as TMC is concerned, they have agreed to support the agitation," he said.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Thursday demanded that the Kerala State Women's Commission (KSWC) be disbanded as it is of no use even to a lady party worker, who was allegedly sexually abused by a CPI-M legislator.

State Congress President M.M. Hassan in a statement issued here said that while the National Women's Commission (NWC) has suo motu started proceedings based on the allegation, the state commission is silent on it.

While the state commission has acted so swiftly in certain cases including registering suo motu cases for posting comments on social media, in this particular instance they say no case can be taken, he said

"If this commission is not good enough for their own party lady, then it's better this be disbanded," Hassan added.

Earlier this week, a CPI-M woman youth leader complained to the party's central committee against Shornur legislator P.K. Sasi, after her complaint to the state leadership was not taken up.

The youth leader had also complained to politburo member Brinda Karat, who also failed to act.

The state unit took up the case only after party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday directed it to look into the matter.

While the NWC on Wednesday announced that they have started legal steps against the allegation, M.C. Josephine, Chairperson of KSWC, said that no case can be registered against the legislator as there is no complaint.

Meanwhile, to stem the opposition pointing fingers at CPI-M, party's state secretariat is meeting here on Friday to discuss the matter.

The Congress has been after CPI-M veteran V.S. Achuthanandan who has always spoken for atrocities against women. On Thursday the CPI-M leader told the media that "these things have to be studied before commenting".

Sasi, who has called this a conspiracy against him, on Friday will meet his party committee at the lower levels to discuss the issue, which till now was kept under wraps.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Reacting sharply to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao's remark describing Rahul Gandhi as the country's "biggest buffoon", the Congress on Thursday hit back calling Rao a dictator.

Congress leader R.C. Khuntia, who is incharge of the party affairs in Telangana, said Rao "is a dictator worse than Hitler".

KCR, as Rao is widely known, had termed Rahul Gandhi a buffoon while addressing a news conference shortly after the dissolution of the state Assembly to pave the way for early elections.

"Only a buffoon can say that," Khuntia told reporters in Delhi.

Slamming the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief for banning protests at Dharna Chowk in Hyderabad, he alleged that KCR was a dictator.

"Can a person who comes from a movement deny people their democratic rights," asked the Congress leader.

Khuntia said though people had given amandate to the TRS to rule for five years, KCR dissolved the Assembly nearly 10 months ahead of time. He said early elections to Assembly and subsequent polls to Lok Sabha will hamper development in the state.

The Congress leader said by going for early polls, KCR himself declared the end of KCR era. He exuded confidence that the Congress will come to power in Telangana with a thumping majority.

Telangana Congress chief Uttam Kumar Reddy asked the Election Commission to come clean in the wake of a statement by KCR that he spoke to the poll panel for dissolution of Assembly.

"The Election Commission has a lot to answer for because KCR has said that he spoke to them before dissolution. This created suspicion as the Election Commission had announced revision of voters' list in Telangana from September 1 and the process was to end on January 1, 2019. The Election Commission should clarify what he spoke with them and what they spoke with him."

Reddy termed as blatant lies the claims by KCR about the growth rate and development of Telangana.

He claimed that Telangana was number one in the country in terms of sale of liquor and also number one in farmers' suicides. He accused KCR and his family of looting Telangana by resorting to corruption in various projects.

Terming the coming elections as a fight between KCR family and people of Telangana, he said that people will teach a befitting lesson to the family.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu Governor to consider the mercy petition of A.G. Perarivalan, who is serving a life term in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

Perarivalan's counsel told a bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Naveen Sinha and Justice K.M. Joseph that a decision was yet to be taken on his mercy petition pending for over two years.

He submitted the plea to the Governor on December 30, 2015, saying he had undergone more than 24 years of solitary/single confinement.

Perarivalan, among the seven convicts in the case, had sought remission/pardon from the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution.

After the court asked the Centre to take a call on Tamil Nadu's proposal to release the convicts, the central government said on August 10 in its report submitted in the court that it did not agree, holding that setting them free will set a "dangerous precedent".

"Releasing the killers of a former Prime Minister will set a very dangerous precedent. The case has been decided by various forums of judiciary and executive and the prisoners do not deserve to be set free," the Centre contended.

Releasing them will lead to "international ramifications" by other such criminals in future, it added.

The now-vanquished Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka was blamed for the Congress leader's assassination by a suicide bomber at an election rally near Chennai on May 21, 1991.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The death toll in a double suicide bombing, claimed by the Islamic State terror group, at a wrestling club in the Afghan capital has risen to 25, a police spokesman said on Thursday.

The first explosion occurred at 5.55 p.m. on Wednesday after a terrorist shot dead a security guard and detonated his explosive belt inside Maywand Wrestling Gym in Dasht-i-Barchi neighbourhood, killing six sportsmen and injuring 10 others, Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told Xinhua news agency.

The second blast occurred outside the compound about an hour later. A bomber in a car targeted emergency services, police, reporters and crowd of people gathering near the site. At least 75 people were injured in the attacks.

A journalist and a cameraman working for local TV channel Tolo News TV also lost their lives and four reporters were wounded in the car bomb explosion.

Many of the injured, including several policemen, remained in critical condition.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, UN mission in Afghanistan and journalist associations condemned the attack.

According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, more journalists have been killed in Afghanistan than any other country during 2018.

This year, 12 died in the violence, including two in Wednesday's attack. Another 10 journalists were killed in two attacks in April. They included a BBC reporter and a well-known photographer who had written about the dangers of reporting in the Afghan capital.

Dozens of Kabul residents have also been caught up in the escalating violence. At least 34 people were killed in a suicide attack targeting Shias at an education centre in Kabul last month.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Most weeks, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich speaks with contributor Alex Carp about the biggest stories in politics and culture. Today, the meaning of Bob Woodwards new book and the New York Times op-ed by an anonymous administration official, the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, and John McCains legacy.

Despite the depiction of a nervous breakdown of the American presidency  senior aides interfering with presidential duties and ignoring direct orders, claiming to protect Donald Trump from himself  in Bob Woodwards new book and yesterdays anonymous Times op-ed, the wider GOP has been slow to push back against either the claims or the president. Is the party betting that these revelations will blow over?

For once Trump is right: the anonymous Times op-ed is gutless. The anonymity allows its author to do what every other cowering administration figure and Republican leader has done since Inauguration Day  duck any responsibility for what is happening and retreat from any real pushback against Trump. If we are to believe Mr. (or Ms.) Anonymous, he and his fellow in-house Trump resisters are the adults in the room and unsung heroes who are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. This is no doubt how Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, and all the rest of the presidents Vichy Republicans see themselves too. Its also how the departed economic adviser Gary Cohn  clearly a major source for Woodward  saw himself. But which of Trumps worst inclinations have any of them frustrated? The ripping apart of immigrant families? The nonstop race-baiting and the condoning of white neo-Nazis at Charlottesville? The assaults on Americans health care, on LGBT rights, on the press? The nonstop ethical abuses and kleptomania of the Trump family and Cabinet members? The wholesale effort to sabotage the rule of law? The anonymous author, like every other Trump enabler, essentially says dont worry, we have the countrys back, and any White House horror is worth it in exchange for effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.

At least when those like Lindsey Graham espouse such a rationale they attach their names to it. Mr. Anonymous is a coward so lacking a moral compass that he doesnt realize that the best way to preserve our democratic institutions (as he claims to be doing) is to identify himself, resign, and report any criminal activity he has witnessed by the president or his colleagues. The Washington Post media columnist Erik Wemple has a point when he dismisses the op-ed as a P.R. stunt for the Times, since it adds an intriguing guessing game but no news to what we already know about this White House from Woodward and even Omarosa, not to mention the stalwart work of reporters at the Times and Post since Inauguration Day.

But the piece could also be viewed as a P.R. strategy for its author. It reads like a defense document thats being put on the record should that rainy day come when Mr. Anonymous, no longer anonymous, will have to defend his own actions in a Nuremberg-like legal reckoning once the king of Crazytown has been carted off. As any student of Vichy knows, there was no shortage of French collaborators who falsely claimed to have been secretly part of the underground Resistance to the Petain regime once the war was over.

Many people have been following Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court hearings to learn more about the nominees views on two topics that may, in the near future, be before the court: abortion rights and the legal limits of the presidency. Have any of Kavanaughs answers tipped his hand?

The hearings have done nothing to contradict what we knew before they began. Of course Kavanaugh is going to do his part to restrict abortion rights, no matter what his evasive double talk about precedent upon precedent. The only person in America on either side of the question who thinks he favors upholding Roe v. Wade is Senator Susan Collins of Maine. And, as his refusal to answer particular hypothetical questions indicate, Kavanaugh also stands ready to help Trump evade the law. He refused to say whether he believes the president can defy a subpoena or pardon himself, and he refused to recuse himself from any forthcoming cases which might involve Trump. He even refused to condemn Trumps tweet attacking the nations top law-enforcement officer, Jeff Sessions, for permitting the indictments of two Republican congressmen accused of wholesale financial theft.

What kind of country have we become? whined Lindsey Graham, appalled that Kavanaughs daughters had to witness rude protesters in the hearing room on opening day. Thanks to Graham and his cohort, we have become Trump country. In keeping with that, the hearings are a clown show, a bare simulation of democratic procedure, with withheld evidence, unexamined evidence delivered in a last-minute document dump, and a foregone conclusion. In that spirit, heres what I would ask Kavanaugh if I were a Democratic senator on the Judiciary Committee: Explain your thinking when you wrote a legal memo to the independent counsel Kenneth Starr proposing that President Clinton be asked this question and nine others like it: If Monica Lewinsky says that on several occasions in the Oval Office area, you used your fingers to stimulate her vagina and bring her to orgasm, would she be lying? And in further keeping with the ethos set by the grab em by the pussy president who nominated Kavanaugh, I would ask that question aloud before the nominees family. The answer might well illuminate the future justices view of women and their right to govern their own bodies with a specificity missing in his obfuscating filibusters about Roe.

John McCains memorial proceedings proved to be something of a Washington Rorschach test, where members of the political elite saw everything from the end of Washington civility to a meeting of the resistance to the precursor of Trumpian politics. What will be McCains legacy?

Outside the Trump White House, it hardly needs to be said that McCains self-sacrifice as a prisoner of war and his unwavering dedication to principled public service afterward is one of the most heroic tales in the American canon. He never stopped trying to do the right thing as he saw it, and if most of the time that was the conservative thing, he came by his Arizona brand of Goldwaterism honestly. His memorable thumbs-down to the repeal of Obamacare was something of an anomaly in that regard  a brave vote of conscience under horrific medical circumstances. Its a moment that may be savored by students of politics for decades to come.

He made two major errors of judgment that history is unlikely to forgive. The first was his unalloyed cheerleading for the post-9/11 Iraq War, one of the biggest foreign policy fiascoes in our history. The second was putting Sarah Palin on the 2008 Republican ticket. McCain deserves full credit for talking down that voter who characterized Barack Obama as a malevolent Arab. But in picking Palin, he did give his valuable imprimatur to what we now know as Trumpism, an ugly amalgam of race-based nationalism and corrupt, incompetent governance.

Look at the Palin rallies during the McCain campaign and youll see the dry run of Trumps MAGA hatefests. In the anonymous Times op-ed, the author uses McCain as a beard, calling him a lodestar and citing his powerful farewell letter as an expression of his own beliefs. But Mr. Anonymouss enlistment in the Trump White House mitigates his self-aggrandizing appropriation of McCains final message much as McCains empowering of Palin in 2008, which he never fully disowned, casts a shadow over his subsequent anti-Trumpism.

The memorials to McCain were fascinating. The outpouring of affection for him was genuine, to be sure  including from the press. McCain joked that journalists were his base, and with good reason. He was an utterly charming, forthright, and disarming guy when he wanted to be, with a sense of humor very rare among politicians of any stripe. But even without Meghan McCain making it explicit, the memorial proceedings were as much about Trump as John McCain, in part by McCains design.

My favorite take on it all was from Tim Miller, a Never-Trump Republican political operator whod worked for Jeb Bush in 2016. Heres my problem with saying a eulogy is an implicit critique of the president, he wrote on Twitter. It is impossible to praise someones commitment to American values or highlight admirable character traits without implicitly criticizing Trump bc he doesnt believe in them and he has none.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the AAP government to respond to a plea for action against illegal pathology labs and diagnostic centres here.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. Kameswar Rao listed the matter for September 17.

Bijon Kumar Misra, who filed the public interest litigation, pleaded for appropriate steps by the government to ensure that the labs and diagnostic centres maintained quality as the patients' line of treatment depended solely on their reports.

The petitioner sought the urgent implementation of the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act of 2010 in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The petitioner claimed that only 10 per cent of the labs and diagnostic centres operating in Delhi were accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, an autonomous body of the Quality Council of India.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
After Wednesday's congressional hearings, Facebook and Twitter will now face questions from the Justice Department (DOJ) over allegations of political bias, an issue flagged by US President Donald Trump.

In a meeting in September, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, along with state attorneys general, would look into whether Facebook and Twitter are "intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms", CNET reported on Wednesday.

The DOJ announced the meeting on a day when Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg appeared before the US Congress, admitting to the lawmakers that they were "too slow to act" and "ill-prepared" to tackle foreign interference on their platforms.

According to The Washington Post, Sandberg told the US Senate Intelligence Committee that they were too slow to spot this and too slow to act. "That's on us."

The social networking platforms attracted criticism for being vulnerable to Russia-linked influence campaigns.

Trump has accused Google, Facebook and Twitter of trying to "silence" conservative voices.

Appearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday in a hearing on online censorship of conservative opinions and misinformation activities ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections, Dorsey said Twitter will remain an "impartial" "global town square", and it does "not shadow-ban anyone based on political ideology".

"To serve the public conversation, Twitter is incentivised to keep all voices on the platform," he said.

Twitter has constantly denied the claims by Republicans that conservative accounts were shadow-banned or their opinions were censored on the platform.

Earlier in the day, Dorsey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

Following the meeting, Twitter shares fell six per cent on Wednesday, CNBC reported.

--IANS

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A gunman opened fire at a building in Cincinnati, in the US state of Ohio, killing three persons and injuring five others, officials said on Thursday.

"Five victims injured, three dead. Suspect is dead. Three or four officers responded and engaged the shooter," the Cincinnati Police Department tweeted.

The incident took place at a 30-storey building, home to the corporate headquarters for regional banker Fifth Third Bank and other businesses, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police said the gunman opened fire at the loading dock of the building and then entered the bank's lobby where he exchanged gunfire with police.

It's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers.

The gunman was not identified, and police did not comment on the possible motive.

One of the victims died at the scene and two more died at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre, according to reports.

A spokeswoman for the medical facility said one victim remained there in critical condition and another was listed as serious. All four treated at the hospital suffered from gunshot wounds, she said.

In a statement, Fifth Third Bank offered thoughts and prayers for those caught up in the "terrible event".

The bank operates around 1,200 banking centres in 10 US states.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Google on Thursday launched a new search engine for the scientific community that will help them make sense of millions of datasets present online.

The service, called Dataset Search, will help scientists, data journalists and geeks find the data required for their work and their stories -- or simply to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.

The new search engine will work like Google Scholar, the company's popular search engine for academic studies and reports.

"Dataset Search lets you find datasets wherever they're hosted, whether it's a publisher's site, a digital library, or an author's personal web page," Natasha Noy, Research Scientist, Google AI, said in a blog post.

To create Dataset search, Google developed guidelines for dataset providers to describe their data in a way that the company (and other search engines) can better understand the content of their pages.

"These guidelines include salient information about datasets: who created the dataset, when it was published, how the data was collected, what the terms are for using the data, etc," Noy said.

Google then collects and links this information, analyses where different versions of the same dataset might be, and finds publications that may be describing or discussing the dataset.

"We encourage dataset providers, large and small, to adopt this common standard so that all datasets are part of this robust ecosystem," said Google.

People can find references to most datasets in environmental and social sciences, as well as data from other disciplines including government data and data provided by news organisations, such as ProPublica.

Dataset Search works in multiple languages with support for additional languages coming soon, said Google.

--IANS

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Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor on Thursday described the Supreme Court decision decriminalising homosexuality as a "dawn of freedom" as the "government has no space in bedrooms".

Reacting to the apex court ruling in favour of the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community in India, Tharoor said he was very pleased with the historic judgement.

"We allowed the government to interfere in our private lives but the apex court has stood up to uphold dignity of the people. This is not sex, this is freedom as government has no space in bedrooms as this is a private act between consenting adults. This is a dawn of freedom," said Tharoor.

He went on to add that when he tried to move a private members bill in the Lok Sabha on two occasions, he was shouted down by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members.

"I then said it's only the judiciary that can do anything and through this judgement, it shames those BJP members who opposed this," said Tharoor.

R. Renju, an LGBTIQ activist, expressed happiness and applauded the apex court for this huge game-changing verdict.

"I always felt proud to be an Indian, and now as we become the 27th country which legalises homosexuality I feel even more proud to be an Indian.

"If anyone who has followed the LGBTIQ community, this judgement has been made after studying the community's needs in detail. If I love or like someone, it comes from the heart.

"Now I am extremely proud to be an LGBTIQ activist. It's at this time that I remember how much my predecessors have suffered, especially at the hands of the police," said Renju.

Former Communist Party of India-Marxist backed legislator and Lok Sabha member Sebastian Paul said with the country progressing so much in 157 years, a lot had changed between now and then when this law was framed. So this new directive was welcome.

--IANS

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The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the city government and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to file their response to Congress leader Ajay Maken's plea for subsidising the metro fare.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.A. Kameswar Rao issued notice to the Delhi government and DMRC on Maken's petition opposing the rise in fares.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on September 27.

Maken's counsel and Senior advocate Vikas Singh pleaded that the Delhi Metro has become the second costliest metro service in the world following the last fare hike in October 2017. He said the rise in fares has led to a sharp decline in metro's ridership -- by around three lakh commuters.

Maken contended that subsidising the metro fare would make its service affordable, as well as reduce the road traffic and consequently the air pollution levels in the national capital.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Their monumental fight against social stigma and oppression ended with a triumph on Thursday with the Supreme Court decriminalising homosexuality. And now a jubilant LGBTIQ community says the verdict has made them feel they are living in a "functional democracy".

In a historic verdict, a Chief Justice Dipak Misra-headed apex court bench decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by partially striking down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as unconstitutional, triggering waves of celebration by the LGBTIQ community across the nation.

The verdict came on a clutch of petitions filed by chef Ritu Dalmia, dancer Navtej Singh Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur, all representing the LGBTIQ community.

An ecstatic Dalmia said she wants to enjoy the day which made her realise she was living in a functional democracy.

"Today, for the first time, I feel we are living in a functional democracy. It is a good day for human rights, for the country and for the Constitution," Dalmia who runs a niche restaurant chain told IANS.

Johar and Mehra, who waited with bated breath for the verdict, hoped the decision will trigger others to continue the fight for LGBTIQ rights.

"We have spoken a lot and now it is time that other people should start speaking about this. Our work is public, we want our life to remain private," Johar and Mehra told IANS.

Activist and the Founder of Delta -- India's first LGBTIQ networking app -- Ishaan Sethi said history owes the community an apology.

"History owes this community an apology and this judgment acknowledging that homosexuality is nothing but a natural variation and urging counsellors to get requisite training and sensitisation for police will ensure this is executed on the ground perfectly," Sethi said.

Activist and Marketing Manager of the Delta app, Dipalie Mehta, said it is the first stage of the 150-year-old battle.

"It feels like I was born with this lurking, suffocating monster on my back and I have finally gotten rid of it. The country has won the first stage of a 150-year-old battle. The Court, all the judges and the media have handled this issue with unprecedented maturity and impartiality. I've nothing but gratitude today, today I will celebrate. Towards marriage equality, tomorrow."

Anwesh Sahoo, Mr Gay World India 2016, said closets are for clothes, not for emotions.

"Homosexual acts have been decriminalised in India. We've been validated. We all deserve to live a life of dignity, and self-respect. Even the SC believes closets are for clothes, not for our emotions, for our being. Come out to yourself, you deserve a life of greatness," Sahoo told IANS.

A host of gay rights activists hailed the verdict and exuded confidence of the verdict bringing a social change and remove the stigma attached to the LGBTIQ community.

"Its a day of celebration for human rights, for gender, for queerness. Its a day of political liberation. There is still a lot that needs to be done. Like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said, 'political change must go hand in hand with social change'," Shruthi Apalla, founder of Nazariya A Grassroots LGBT-Straight Alliance, told IANS.

Gay rights activist Arpit Bhalla celebrated the occasion saying: "Finally, a huge 'minority' is not criminals anymore. However, there's a still a long way to to go, in terms of the right to marriage, the right to adoption."

For human rights activist Simran Shaikh, the historic verdict has paved the way for a progressive India.

"The next step would be changing the mindset and behaviour of the Indian citizenry. This is our struggle as well," said Shaikh.

Rafiul Alom Rahman, founder of Queer Muslim Project and one of the founding members of Delhi University Queer Collective, said: "We're finally recognizing that everyone in this country deserves to be treated as an equal citizen. I think it's a long way ahead, we'll have to push for social change. But it's one of the greatest victories that we've had."

Anmol Chowdhury, a member of the DU Queer Collective said the verdict will enable the LGBTIQ members to come out of the closet.

"It's great to see it's finally happening in favour of the people. Now that we have a legal mandate on it, we also need to kind of talk about it more now in the open. Now people can't say, 'we won't talk about it because the law says it's illegal'. Now it's easier for me to talk to my parents about it, now that it's legal," said Chowdhury.

--IANS

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India requires stringent steps to ensure maximising the efficiency of its existing coal-fired power plants to achieve nationally determined contributions under the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement, a report said on Thursday.

The report by the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad, favours retiring old coal plants, scaling up new and alternative fuels, reducing end-use energy demand and developing a coherent strategy for future energy system to manage risk and avoid stranded assets.

A team led by Amit Garg has modelled three transition pathways which address some of key international and national debates on future of coal in a report "Coal transition in India: Assessing India's energy transition options".

The analysis brings out key insights on the future of coal in Indian energy systems, and its implications on international coal trade, including the possibility of increased stranded assets both in coal and power sectors as a result of coal transitions.

The report, authored by Saritha S. Vishwanathan and Vineet Tiwari, also co-published as part of an international research project, discusses the impacts of critical natural resource such as water on coal-based power plants.

"Any coal phase down in India has to, therefore, consider the socio-economic-political implications on over 15 million workforce and their families," said Garg.

According to the report, thermal coal demand decreases by two per cent under two degrees Celsius conventional scenario and by 50 per cent in 2050 under two degrees sustainable scenario, over nationally determined contributions scenario in 2050.

French think tank Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI) and Britain-based research network Climate Strategies are international partners of this study.

"Investments of up to $5 trillion are required until 2030 for transforming the energy systems. Power sector leads the investment requirements at $2 trillion, followed by industry and transport ($1 trillion each), buildings ($0.7 trillion) and agriculture ($0.3 trillion)," said Garg.

He added: "Stranded assets in the thermal power sector could also create pressure on financial institutions that have provided debt for constructing these plants to the tune of $90 billion during 2006-2014."

Sustaining one of the fastest GDP growth rates in the world currently at around eight per cent per annum, India is well on track to meeting and even surpass its nationally determined contributions Paris commitments for 33-35 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of its GDP during 2005-2030 (around 25 per cent reduction achieved during 2005-2014) and 40 per cent share of non-fossil electricity capacity by 2030 (around 30 per cent by 2017).

Coal, however, is projected to remain the mainstay of Indian energy systems at least until 2030.

"With Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) recently imposing a cap on solar at Rs 2.50/unit without safeguard duties and Rs 2.68 with safeguard duties which is similar to providing a feed-in tariff to solar, it may have indirectly provided a temporary breather to coal as NTPC power costs have come down below Rs 2 per unit in 2016-17 due to grade readjustments and improvement in coal quality and supply.

"However, coal would continue to be under relative cost pressure with renewables. Financing capital costs for coal will also increase due to increased risks from climate change and many global financial institutions gradually coming out of their coal portfolios," Garg said in a statement.

Coal consumption in India could, therefore, drop significantly beyond 2030, especially under stringent carbon mitigation, he said.

Globally coal meets 28 per cent of the world's energy needs to generate 41 per cent of world's electricity and emit approximately 46 per cent of global carbon dioxide.

In contrast, Indian energy security revolves around coal with about 70 per cent contribution to total power production, resulting in 65 per cent of national CO2 emissions.

India is currently the third largest power producer using coal and third largest coal importer in the world.

However, the Indian population is characterized by low levels of consumption of modern energy (880 kWh/capita/year) by international standards.

Coal transitions especially in a coal dependent economy such as India will be challenging in short to medium-terms, mainly due to its energy security concerns and national developmental targets (aligned with sustainable development goals) for universal electricity access, housing, health, and education by 2022.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the US on Thursday signed a long-negotiated and landmark defence agreement, COMCASA, which will enable Indian armed forces buy more military equipment from Washington and also access critical and encrypted defence technologies.

The Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed as the two sides held here their first 2+2 talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Sushma Swaraj and Sitharaman in a joint press conference said the two sides have concluded the COMCASA pact.

"Defence came out as the single-most important aspect of our discussions today," Sitharaman said, adding COMCASA would enhance "our defence cooperation and our capabilities".

The pact guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

Indian armed forces will now also be allowed to install US-made high-security communication equipment on defence platforms sourced from America.

COMCASA is the second of the three foundational agreements needed for interoperability with the US. The two countries had earlier inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016.

However, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement remains pending.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the US on Thursday signed a long-negotiated defence pact that enables Indian armed forces to buy more sensitive military equipment from Washington but there was no progress on securing a waiver from American sanctions that bar New Delhi from purchasing Russian weapons or Iranian oil.

During their first 2+2 dialogue, the two sides also pledged to cooperate in ensuring "a free and open Indo-Pacific" region to contain China's allegedly expansionist designs in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean Region. Beijing has consistently denied any such aspirations.

Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met their US counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis for the strategic talks that were first scheduled in April and then in June but postponed on both occasions due to Washington's preoccupations with North Korea and other priorities.

The talks among other key outcomes culminated in the signing of Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA), originally known as the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). The nomenclature was changed to COMCASA to make it India-specific and guarantee New Delhi that the intelligence data shared between the two countries won't be shared with a third party.

Sitharaman and Mattis signed the pact.

However, the US appeared to have stuck to its hardline position on barring countries, including India, from doing business with Russia and Iran on which it has imposed sanctions.

India has been maintaining that purchase of Iranian crude is crucial to its energy security and that it would go ahead with its purchase of S-400 missile defence system from Russia whose agreement is ready to be signed in the coming months.

"With respect to the S-400, no decision has been made. We are working to impose (sanctions) in a way that is appropriate and lawful and to exercise that waiver authority only where it makes sense. And we as a team, the national security team, will work on that, and as we continue to have these conversations with India about that," said Pompeo.

About Iran, he said the Americans had told the Indians "consistently that on November 4 the sanctions will be enforced, and that we will consider waivers where appropriate".

He, however, said the US expected that the purchases of Iranian crude oil would "go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed".

Pompeo said the US was "happy to announce" the inking of COMCASA.

Swaraj and Sitharaman said the conclusion of the pact had taken the already close India-US strategic and defence ties to an advanced level.

"We are also putting in place an enabling framework for closer cooperation between our defence forces. The signing of COMCASA today will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India's defence preparedness," Sitharaman said.

Top defence sources said the agreement, which comes into effect "immediately" and has a lifespan of 10 years, didn't mean India would have to necessarily buy American military equipment.

"India has ensured it gets full access to equipment. There is no commitment on acquisition and there will be no disruption (in case ties soar between the two countries," a source said, adding the text of the pact was shrouded in "confidentiality".

The pact guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

The previously bought US military equipment -- including C-130 Hercules aircraft and the Globemaster C-17 strategic lifters -- came without original communications assets. The Hercules is pressed into service to fly commandos in hostile territories where the aircraft has to continuously communicate with them.

The US communication system is said to be secure and encrypted. In the absence of COMCASA, India was not given access to it and used its own systems.

The pact has also raised concerns about data leakage to third parties. However, the sources said that such concerns have been addressed and there was "enough guarantee" that Indian data won't be shared with its adversaries.

COMCASA is one of the four foundational agreements that a country needs to sign to become a major defence partner of the US, the other three being General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMoA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

India had earlier signed the GSOMIA in 2002, and the LEMoA in 2016, which gives access to both countries to designated military facilities on either side for the purpose of refueling and replenishment. The BECA, which facilitates the exchange of geo-spatial data, is yet to be signed.

The US has these agreements, usually limited to NATO allies, with Japan, South Korea and Australia - the major powers in the Indo-Pacific it is looking up to contain China's military expansionist aims in the region in India's backyard, threatening sea trade on the key maritime line.

Pompeo told reporters that the US and India shared a commitment to "a safe, secure, prosperous, free and open Indo-Pacific region".

"The two sides also agreed to boost the rule of law, national sovereignty, peaceful resolution of maritime and other issues. We decided to elevate our strategic relations for more cooperation. We also agreed to increase military cooperation with India."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Brett Kavanaugh looked like Graham was handing him a rattlesnake when he invited the Supreme Court nominee to criticize the right to an abortion. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Throughout the confirmation hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, Democratic senators have challenged his acceptance of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that established a constitutional right to an abortion. Hes become adept in reciting a sort of formula acknowledging (in language also used by Chief Justice John Roberts at his own confirmation hearing) Roe as settled law and an important SCOTUS precedent  and then refusing to answer questions about Roes original legitimacy (the key to a possible future reversal by SCOTUS itself, which is not bound to its own precedents the way lower courts are) because his answers might prejudge a future case.

But Republican Lindsey Graham threw Kavanaugh a curve today by asking him to criticize Roe on the standard grounds that conservatives like both of those men have heard (and almost certainly agreed with) thousands of times in their adult lives.

Graham went back to basics:

GRAHAM: Is there anything in the Constitution about the right to an abortion? Anything written in it 

KAVANAUGH: Senator, the Supreme Court recognized the right to an abortion in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, and has reaffirmed it many times.

GRAHAM: Look, my question is, did they find a phrase in the Constitution that says the state cannot interfere with a womans right to choose, until medical viability occurs? Is that in the Constitution?

KAVANAUGH: The Supreme Court, applying the liberty 

GRAHAM: This is pretty simple: No, its not, Senator Graham.

KAVANAUGH (laughing): I want to be very careful 

GRAHAM: Will you tell me, yes or no, is there anything in the document itself talking about limiting the states ability to protect the unborn before viability? Is there any phrase in the Constitution about abortion?

Kavanaugh tried to talk about the Supreme Courts interpretation of the constitutional liberty cause, but Graham wasnt having any of it:

GRAHAM: What are the limits on the Courts ability to find a penumbra of rights to apply in a particular situation? What are the checks and balances for people in your profession, if you can find five people who agree with you, to confer rights, whether the public likes it or not, based on this concept of a penumbra of rights? What are the limits to this.

Graham is alluding to the famous penumbra doctrine of unenumerated but implied rights contained in Justice Willam O. Douglass decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, the 1965 SCOTUS case that struck down a state ban on contraception as violating a right to privacy the Court had never explicitly identified before. It was, more importantly, the chief precedent cited by the Court majority in Roe v. Wade. Every American who has ever taken a constitutional law class knows all about Douglas, penumbras, Griswold, privacy rights, and Roe, and has heard the standard conservative complaint, echoed by Graham, that the whole thing is the epitome of illegitimate judicial activism.

But instead of agreeing or disagreeing with Graham, Kavanaugh tried to go off on a tangent about later Supreme Court cases about privacy rights being rooted in the countrys history and traditions. After mocking that idea, Graham got back to his basic objection of five people (justices) using one word (privacy) to tell everybody elected in the country you cant go there (in restricting abortion).

GRAHAM: The only real check and balance is a constitutional amendment, to change the ruling. Would you agree with that?

This was a treacherous question, since most of the conservatives backing Kavanaugh would begin rioting in the streets if he conceded the Court had no power to fix Roe v. Wade. After a brief pause, Kavanaugh objected that he did not want to comment on potential constitutional amendments, and then mostly fell silent as Graham continued to offer the standard conservative rant about judicial activists robbing legislative bodies of their power to determine public policies. At the end, recognizing that Kavanaugh wasnt going to comment, Graham concluded: All I ask is that you think about it, as though the veteran conservative jurist never had.

This near-comical exchange was revealing in that the well-rehearsed Kavanaugh had the discipline to act as though Graham, in enunciating tenets of liberal judicial overreaching that are part of his own philosophical inheritance, was handing him a rattlesnake to cuddle. There is no way Kavanaugh would have passed the Federalist Society vetting process if he didnt at the very least broadly share Grahams point of view about Roe. And if he is confirmed to the Court and blandly follows Roe as unshakable precedent, there will be hell to pay in conservative circles  from white-shoe law offices to small Evangelical churches  that will burn all the Republicans who voted to confirm him, and will even scorch Donald Trump if he is still in office at that point.

Everyone on the Judiciary Committee understands the deceptive game that he and Republican senators are playing on this subject. And thats probably why Lindsey Graham felt secure in just making a speech to the galleries. But it seems to have given Brett Kavanaugh an uncomfortable moment, before he remembered the script he will follow until he is safely on the Supreme Court.
India and the US on Thursday elevated their strategic ties to a new level and signed a long-negotiated defence pact that will enable Indian armed forces to buy more sensitive military equipment from Washington while they also pledged to cooperate for ensuring "a free, open Indo-Pacific" region to contain China's expansionist aspirations.

The two sides held their first 2+2 talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

The talks among other key outcomes culminated into the signing of Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA). Sitharaman and Mattis signed the pact as two of the most powerful men in the world negotiated with two top women ministers of India.

Addressing the media after the talks, Swaraj and Sitharaman said the two sides have concluded the COMCASA pact, taking their already close strategic and defence ties to an advanced level.

"Defence came out as the single-most important aspect of our discussions today," Sitharaman said.

"We are also putting in place an enabling framework for closer cooperation between our defence forces. The signing of COMCASA today will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India's defence preparedness."

The pact guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

Indian armed forces will now also be allowed to install US-made high-security communication equipment on defence platforms sourced from America.

COMCASA is the second of the three foundational agreements needed for interoperability with the US. The two countries had earlier inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016. However, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement remains pending.

Secretary Pompeo told the reporters that the US and India shared a commitment to "a safe, secure, prosperous, free and open Indo-Pacific region" -- the region in India's backyard where China has expanded its military presence, threatening trade on the key maritime line.

"The two sides also agreed to boost the rule of law, national sovereignty, peaceful resolution of maritime and other issues. We decided to elevate our strategic relations for more cooperation. We also agreed to increase military cooperation with India."

Sitharaman said maritime security was one of the focuses of the ties and "to deepen our cooperation in this area, we will expand our interactions on maritime domain awareness".

She recalled that the US had renamed its Pacific Command responsible for relations with India as Indo-Pacific Command which reflected "our wider global partnership" and would "enhance our interactions with the US military's Central Command".

A joint statement issued after the talks recognised "that the two sides are strategic partners, major and independent stakeholders in world affairs". It noted their commitment to work together and "in concert with other partners toward advancing a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, based on recognition of ASEAN centrality and on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law, good governance, free and fair trade, and freedom of navigation and overflight".

The two sides emphasized the need to work collectively with other partner countries to support transparent, responsible, and sustainable debt financing practices in infrastructure development and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region.

Secretary Mattis described the inaugural 2+2 dialogue "productive and forward thinking" to boost "our bilateral relationship and our shared future".

--IANS

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A 24-year-old Indian charged with "high-range" drink driving and "driving while disqualified" in Australia received a 10-month suspended sentence on Thursday.

Surya Teja Penugonda from Telangana pleaded guilty to both charges. In Parramatta local court, Magistrate Brett Shields placed him on the suspended sentence and disqualified him from driving for nine months.

Penugonda, currently living in Australia on a student visa, was also fined $750, South Coast Register newspaper reported.

The incident took place on July 8 during which Penugonda, driving a Mitsubishi 380 sedan, was pulled over by the police in south of Nowra. He was with four other people in the car.

Court papers said the police had received calls about "the manner in which a sedan was being driven on the Princes Highway at Falls Creek".

Officers spotted the vehicle about 6.26 p.m and stopped the car. Court papers said officers had witnessed the vehicle swerving between lanes and it almost collided with the nearside gutter when it came to a stop.

According to officers, Penugonda smelt strongly of intoxicating liquor, however he claimed he had nothing to drink.

Police said he was driving on an international licence and had been disqualified from driving for a minimum of 12 months after being caught "high-range" drink driving on January 6.

Penugonda was also supposed to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle. It took three attempts to successfully provide his breath test, which was positive.

The police said his eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dilated, his breathing was slow, speech was slurred and he was clumsy. He later admitted to the police that he had six glasses of wine that day.

The court ordered Penugonda to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle for four years.

--IANS

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Indian space agency ISRO has urged the country's industry to invest in space business in a big way, an official said on Thursday.

"We (ISRO) are not satisfied with the current level of participation of the Indian industry in the space business, as they have only been vendors. We want them to be our partners," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K. Sivan said here.

"ISRO will require a minimum of two launches each month to meet the requirements, which gives industry a huge opportunity to partner with us," he added.

India currently has 45 satellites in space, but needs at least another 59 satellites in space over three years for communication, defence and other civilian needs, he said.

The ISRO Chairman was addressing the 6th edition of the biennial Bengaluru Space Expo to be held from September 6-8, in the presence of Indian industry, space agency representatives from France, Russia, Taiwan and over 600 delegates.

As much as 85-90 per cent of a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) cost lies with the industry, Sivan said, urging the industry to step up participation.

Of the ISRO's Rs 10,400 crore allocated budget for three years for 40 launch vehicles, including 30 PSLVs and 10 Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles, the industry can tap business of about Rs 9,000 crore, he said.

"By 2020, we want the industry on board to produce PSLVs and Small Satellite Launch Vehicles, so that ISRO can focus on the proposed human space mission by 2022," Sivan said.

The agency is setting up six incubation centres across the country to promote start-ups and small-to-medium sized enterprises in the space business.

At a time when the $330-billion global space market is looking at huge growth opportunities and newer technologies, India has a huge role to play, said ISRO commercial arm Antrix's Chairman and Managing Director S. Rakesh.

"As a major space-faring nation, India has a larger role to play in the growth of space business, and it requires the industry to step in," said Rakesh.

The conference on space technologies, with a theme of 'creating dynamism in Indian space ecosystem' will see the participation of over 100 exhibitors, 50 speakers and 600 delegates from countries like France, Russia, US, UK, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

It will see panel discussions by industry and space experts on Indian space ecosystem and launch vehicles, opportunities for industry, space transportation and space infrastructure.

--IANS

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The Income Tax Department on Thursday raided the residence of senior BJP leader and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi's sister, Rekha Modi, who is one of the accused in Rs 1,900 crore Srijan scam, police said.

"A team of the IT Department raided Rekha Modi's residence -- a flat in Saraswati Apartment at posh commercial S.P. Verma road here. The team conducted searches in connection with the Srijan scam," a district police official said.

According to the police officials, Rekha Modi is accused of purchasing huge jewellery gifts from the kingpin of multi-crore Srijan scam that is being probed by the CBI.

After Rekha Modi's name surfaced in Srijan scam, opposition RJD attacked Sushil Modi, saying his family had links with those accused in the scam.

Leader of the Opposition in Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav has repeatedly alleged that Sushil Modi's family has direct links with the accused in the multi-crore Srijan scam case involving an NGO that allegedly pilfered funds meant for government welfare schemes.

"Sushil Modi's sister Rekha Modi and niece Urvashi Modi received crores of rupees from Srijan scam," the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister had said earlier this year in a series of tweets, attaching the statement of Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd's Indian Bank's Bhagalpur branch account in which few transactions showed the names of Rekha Modi and Urvashi Modi.

However, Sushil Modi had claimed that he had no relation with Rekha Modi.

The Srijan scam involves Bhagalpur-based NGO Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Ltd, which used to provide vocational training to women. The NGO allegedly pilfered funds meant for government welfare schemes from the bank accounts of the Bhagalpur district administration.

Nitish Kumar had on August 18, 2017 recommended a CBI probe into the scam after RJD chief Lalu Prasad accused him of "murdering democracy" in Bihar.

In August last year, the CBI registered 10 cases related to the scam and filed four fresh cases in June this year.

--IANS

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The Congress on Thursday condemned Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's decision to dissolve the Telangana assembly, terming it "undemocratic" and said the party was ready for early elections. It called KCR "a dictator more than Hitler" and noted that he was acting as a puppet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

AICC in-charge of Telagana Ram Chandra Khuntia said the slogan of the Congress party would be "KCR Hatao, Telangana Bachao" for the elections. He also said the Congress is not averse to having an alliance with any party other than the BJP and TRS.

"There was neither a natural calamity nor there was a short of majority in the House. This decision is totally undemocratic, with a political motive to misguide the Telangana people. We strongly condemn this undemocratic action," said Khuntia.

Telangana caretaker Chief Minister and TRS President K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday described Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the "biggest buffoon" in the country.

Replying to this Khuntia said: "He is the biggest buffoon. Only a buffoon can say that. He is a dictator more than Hitler. This is the end of the era of a dictator, who is more dangerous than Hitler. He is a chief minister who has not gone to the Secretariat for 4 years."

Nearly nine months before its term was to end, the Telangana Assembly was on Thursday dissolved by the Governor on the recommendation of the state cabinet.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said K. Chandrashekhar Rao is a stooge of the BJP and is acting as the puppet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.

--IANS

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will hold their three-day third summit from September 18 in Pyongyang, Seoul said on Thursday, after their envoy met the North Korean leader.

South Korea's National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, who led the special delegation to Pyongyang on Wednesday, told this to the media here on Thursday.

Kim and Moon have agreed to hold the new summit to continue strengthening ties and work on the denuclearization of the peninsula, as stipulated in their joint declaration signed in the first inter-Korean summit in April.

They also discussed the complex process of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, Efe news reported.

During the meeting, Kim "reaffirmed his firm commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and expressed his willingness to closely cooperate with not only South Korea but also the US to that end," Chung said.

North Korea's state news agency KCNA, just minutes before the press conference,also published a statement by Kim guaranteeing his pledge to "realise the denuclearization".

Chung also said that Kim has asked him to deliver a message to US President Donald Trump. However, he did not specify its content.

After Trump and Kim signed a joint declaration in Singapore in June to work towards the denuclearization, in exchange for Washington guaranteeing Pyongyang's security, the White House has grown impatient over the absence of concrete measures from the regime.

Pyongyang, for its part, demands progress in the signing of a peace treaty to definitively end the inter-Korean conflict in exchange for concrete steps to dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

--IANS

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Visiting Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday greeted the people of Bulgaria on the occasion of its 133rd Unification Day.

"The most cordial wishes for the nice and hospitable Bulgarians on the occasion of the unification of Bulgaria. I am glad to be in Sofia to share this Skroven moment," the President said in a tweet.

Kovind arrived here on Tuesday from Cyprus on the second leg of his three-nation visit to Europe that will also take him to the Czech Republic.

This is the first presidential visit from India to Bulgaria in 15 years.

On September 6, 1885, the Principality of Bulgaria unified with the autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Roumelia, a few years after its liberation from the Ottoman rule.

--IANS

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A few hours after the Supreme Court on Thursday announced its historical judgment on Section 377 by decriminalising homosexuality, members of the LGBTQ community gathered here along with their supporters to celebrate the landmark decision.

About 100 people -- mostly young -- became part of the celebrations at Jantar Mantar here on a rainy Thursday evening, singing, dancing and raising slogans of freedom. Several men wore attires which are generally considered to be feminine.

People clicked pictures with the flag, comprising six different colours, which is used to represent the diversity of the LGBTQ community.

"I could sense so much of happiness and enthusiasm when I walked in here to join the queer group in celebrating their day," Augustin Hose, who works with a production house here told IANS.

"As an ally to the people of this community, I feel a sense of relief though this is just the first step and there is a long battle ahead for other rights," he said.

He also said with the Narendra Modi-led central government in power, he was unsure whether the society will be sensitised towards the LGBTQ rights.

"With the current government in power, we can't really say if the society is sensitised and if they will now start accepting these people as a part of them."

Saatvik Singhania Rehani, an undergraduate student at Ambedkar University, expressed how "liberating" the top court's verdict was for him as a member of the LGBTQ community.

"We still don't have the legal rights to marriage and adoption but the fact that we are not criminals anymore is liberating.

"It feels like the country has come to senses and we are progressing towards a better life," the 19-year-old said, adding that he has struggled a lot in his life so far because of his sexual identity.

"I have been implicitly and also explicitly targeted because of it at various occasions, been physically abused. With this order, I can just hope that by the time I enter a workplace the degree of discrimination will be lesser," said Rehani.

A student of Lady Shri Ram College, Katyayni Sharma, a member of the community said that she and others, who joined the celebrations, were not prepared and they will have a major pride march in the coming week.

"There weren't any colours or posters because we were not prepared and also because it rained, but soon we all will gather to celebrate this epic verdict."

--IANS

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As the Supreme Court on Thursday passed a landmark judgement on Section 377 by decriminalising homosexuality, the Bollywood fraternity hailed the decision.

From filmmakers Karan Johar and Hansal Mehta to actors Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham, several celebrities took to the social media to express their joy over the judgment.

Karan, who in his book "An Unsuitable Boy", said he didn't feel the need to scream out his sexual orientation "because I live in a country where I could possibly be jailed for saying this", called the apex court's judgment "historical".

"So proud today. Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing Section 377 is a huge thumbs-up for humanity and equal rights. The country gets its oxygen back," tweeted Karan, one of India's most popular filmmakers.

Abhishek and John, who posed as homosexuals in the movie "Dostana", are also happy for the LGBTQ community.

"Well done India," Abhishek tweeted, while John wrote: "Stand tall in honour with pride. LGBTQ."

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta, whose film "Aligarh" made a crucial statement on a gay professor, wrote: "The verdict is clear. Two consenting adults irrespective of sex, religion, cast and gender cannot be rendered criminals by the law. We as a society need to understand this before bringing bestiality, paedophiles etc as a counter to today's landmark judgement."

He also congratulated "Aligarh" writer Apurva Asrani "on being an important voice in this fight to gain justice for a community that has long been marginalised by law and society".

"His stand is vindicated. 'Aligarh' stands vindicated by the courts. The ball is in our court now," Mehta added.

Asrani wrote: "At the stroke of the mid-day hour, as the conscience of many slept, India's LGBTQ awoke to light and freedom. This moment came 71 years too late history, 71 yrs after our brethren attained freedom; but the soul of a community, long suppressed, has found utterance. Congratulations!"

Actress Swara Bhaskar, known for fearlessly expressing her mind on socio-political issues, wrote: "Good on you Honourable Supreme Court and thank you. I hope the citizens of India are listening. 'Majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights. We have to vanquish prejudice, embrace inclusion and ensure equal rights.'"

Here's what other stars tweeted:

Aamir Khan: We thank the Supreme Court for its decision to strike down article 377. It is a historic day for people who believe in equal rights for all. The judiciary has done its duty, and now we must do ours.

Farhan Akhtar: Bye bye 377. Thank you Supreme Court. No more dicrimination. Love is love.

Arjun Kapoor: Sanity prevails for once we can believe we have some sensible decision makers and lawmaker s available to this generation. Section 377 gone with the wind.

Sonam K Ahuja: This is the India I want to live in. Not one filled with hate, bigotry,sexism homophobia and intolerance. This is the India I love.

Vidya Balan: I am what I am. So take me as I am... Hail the Supreme Court Of India. Grateful that so many people I love won't need to live in fear of 'being found out' anymore.

Nimrat Kaur: RIP Section377. Happy birthday 2018. Equal love. Equal lives. Proud Indian today.

Ayushmann Khurrana: RIP Section 377.The new sunshine of this day is that of a progressive India. Love all.

Priety Zinta: If you have a heart you should be free to love who you want. So happy tohear that Supreme Court of India has abolished section 377.

Dia Mirza: Equality for India. Equal love. Equal rights.

Konkona Sen Sharma: We won. Thank you SC. 377 is history.

Kubbra Sait: The verdict is here. I am who I am. Congratulations to everyone who voiced their hearts out. India Pride. Section 377 decriminalised.

Sanya Malhotra: Such an amazing morning. So happy and proud.

--IANS

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Top LGBTQ activists in Mumbai on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising gay sex amidst caution that "the real work will begin now".

Leading activist and gay rights campaigner Ashok Row Kavi said the "apex court verdict is very sensitive" to the rights of the LGBTQ while protecting minors and animals.

"However, the real struggle begins to tackle the issues of mental and physical health of the LGBTQ, the high incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, tackling the very high rate of depression, nearly 60 per cent plus, rampant alcoholism and suicides especially among lesbians," Kavi told IANS.

"The second stage is to see how the existing laws pertaining to marriage, divorce or adoptions would be applicable to the LGBTQs, who are prevalent in all religious communities," said Kavi, Chairman of Humsafar Trust and Executive Editor of "Bombay Dost", India's first niche magazine for the LGBTQs.

He assured that the Humsafar Trust is already preparing for it in earnest, especially since the LGBTQ comprises an estimated five per cent of the Indian population, a significant chunk.

Another LGBTQ activist Harish Iyer termed the verdict as "very progressive and welcome, heralding the beginning of the end of discrimination".

"Now, the big challenge will be opening the hearts and minds of the people towards the sexual minorities, getting their wholehearted acceptance to ensure reforms at all levels," said Iyer, who grabbed headlines after becoming the first gay in the country seeking proposals for same-sex marriage in 2015.

Another women's rights campaigner feels that the verdict could be a boon and revolutionise the scenario for women who are the biggest sufferers and are shunned by society for their 'same-sex' preferences.

"Lesbians undergo huge torture in their public and private lives, many resort to excessive smoking, drinking or drugs, face several health issues and mental trauma, or fall into depression with nobody to confide in... We hope the SC judgement will be a big relief," she said.

Meanwhile, various NGOs, rights groups and LGBTQ organisations under the Humsafar Trust banner will take out a victory rally from Vakola to Kalina in Santacruz east later this evening to celebrate the apex court verdict.

--IANS

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The moment Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed. Photo: Raysa Leite/AFP/Getty Images

A far-right politician dubbed Brazils Donald Trump was stabbed during a campaign rally on Thursday. The incident, which occurred when Jair Bolsonaro was being carried on the shoulders of supporters in Juiz de Fora, was captured on video.

Juiz de Fora, ha pouco! pic.twitter.com/Z3M9S1pz6E  Blog do Noblat (@BlogdoNoblat) September 6, 2018

Bolsonaro has taken to wearing a bulletproof vest on the campaign trail in recent weeks but the blade seems to have hit in the abdomen, below the vest. He was immediately taken to a local hospital and his son tweeted that his fathers wounds were only superficial and said he is OK.

Police told the Associated Press that they have a suspect in custody. The man, police said, was jumped by Bolsonaros supporters after the stabbing and badly beaten.

Bolsonaro has drawn a big following in Brazil for his tough talk on crime and lack of a filter. In an article last year calling him Brazils Donald Trump, The Economist described Bolsonaro as a religious nationalist and former army captain, he is anti-gay, pro-gun, and an apologist for dictators who tortured and killed Brazilians between 1964 and 1985.

He is also currently second in Brazils presidential polls, trailing only former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is in jail and has been barred from running for another term.
Malyasian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday condemned the caning of two women charged by an Islamic court for having lesbian sex and said they should have been shown compassion.

In a video posted on his official Facebook page, Mahathir said the sentence, executed in Terengganu state in northeast Malaysia on Monday, painted Islam in a poor light and did not reflect the religion's ideals of justice and compassion.

Being their first offence, the women should have been counselled, not punished, he said.

The Islamic police had arrested the two women, aged 22 and 32, in April from a car parked in a public square in Terengganu, one of the most conservative parts of the country.

In August, an Islamic court had ordered the women to be caned six times for violating the Sharia or Islamic law that forbids gay sex.

Human rights groups called the punishment cruel and unjust and described it as a setback to the rights of the LGBT community in Malaysia while warning about a rise in intolerance in the country.

Malaysia has a dual justice system, in which Islamic courts rules related to religion and family, including adultery, of the Muslim population.

--IANS

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To help researchers and academia build Indian language speech recognition for all applications where speech is used, Microsoft India on Thursday launched its Indian language "Speech Corpus", offering speech training and test data for Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati.

This is the largest publicly available Indian language speech dataset which includes audio and corresponding transcripts, Microsoft said in a statement.

This Indian language "Speech Corpus" content is provided by Microsoft Research Open Data initiative, a collection of free datasets from Microsoft Research to advance research in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and domain specific sciences.

"Microsoft Indian Language Speech Corpus is an extension of our on-going efforts to reduce language barriers and empower Indians to harness the full potential of the Internet," said Sundar Srinivasan, General Manager, Artificial Intelligence and Research, Microsoft India.

"Using our technology expertise, we want to accelerate innovation in voice based computing for India by supporting researchers and academia," Srinivasan said.

Microsoft's Indian Language Speech Corpus was tested at Interspeech 2018 conference in Hyderabad this month.

In a Low Resource Speech Recognition Challenge, participants used data from Microsoft Indian language speech corpus to build Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems.

They were able to create high quality speech recognition models using this data, thus validating the efficacy of the Corpus, Microsoft said.

Microsoft has been working with Indian languages for over two decades since the launch of Project Bhasha in 1998, allowing users to input localised text easily and quickly using the Indian Language Input tool.

--IANS

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Pakistan observed Defence Day on Thursday by paying tribute to martyrs on the 53rd anniversary of the 1965 war with India.

The day dawned with a 31-gun salute in the federal capital and 21-gun salute in the provincial capitals. A change of guard ceremony was held at the mausoleums of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi and at Allama Iqbal's in Lahore, Geo News reported.

Special prayers were offered followed by change of guard ceremonies at the mausoleums of Allama Iqbal in Lahore and Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi. A ceremony at the Pakistan Navy headquarters in Islamabad was also held.

Prime Minister Imran Khan and outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain issued their messages of solidarity on the Defence Day.

Khan said Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence and wants to promote mutual cooperation with other countries, including its neighbours, on the basis of equality, Radio Pakistan reported.

"The people of Pakistan will leave no stone unturned in defending their motherland, while standing side by side with (the) valiant armed forces of the country," he said.

Hussain said the spirit of sacrifices rendered by the armed forces and the nation should inspire the people to forge unity among their ranks.

The highlight of the day will be a function scheduled for 8 p.m. at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Khan will be the chief guest at the ceremony, which will be attended by Army Chief General Qamar Jawed Bajwa, services chiefs, ministers, diplomats and people from various walks of life.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump has said it is possible for him to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the UN.

Speaking on Wednesday before a bilateral meeting with Kuwait's visiting Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Trump said "anything is possible" regarding the meeting, Xinhua reported.

"Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me," he said. "I will always be available... we'll see what happens."

Trump said on July 30 that he is ready to meet with Rouhani without preconditions.

"I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meeting," Trump said. "They want to meet, I'll meet. Any time they want. Good for the country. Good for them. Good for us. And good for the world."

However, the US in August re-imposed sanctions on Iran that had been suspended under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Rouhani said in response that the Iranians would make the US "regretful" for its renewal of sanctions.

He also said that the US administration "is not trustworthy for any negotiations" after its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal, since "negotiations with sanctions don't make sense".

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said lately that any negotiation with the US to solve the existing problems is an "obvious mistake".

US-Iranian relations have been at odds as the Trump administration left the historic Iran nuclear deal, de-legitimised its government, vowed to re-impose sanctions on the nation and pressed other nations to cut down their purchase of Iranian oil to zero.

--IANS

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British Security Minister Ben Wallace on Thursday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "ultimately responsible" for the deadly Salisbury nerve agent attack as a result of his firm grip on the Russian state.

Wallace told the BBC that "ultimately, of course", the Russian President was behind the poisoning. The Kremlin, which denies involvement, said it was "unacceptable" to make accusations against the leadership.

Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with Novichok on March 4. Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey also fell ill after responding to the incident.

The UK named two men believed to be from Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, as the main suspects in the attack.

Wallace's remarks are the furthest the British government has gone yet in attributing direct blame to Putin for the attempt by two Russian military intelligence officers to murder Sergei and his daughter, the Guardian reported.

Britain was expected to seek to intensify diplomatic pressure on the Kremlin by laying out the case against Moscow at the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a member, on Thursday.

Police linked the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on June 30, which led to the death of British woman Dawn Sturgess.

British Prime Minister Theresa May told the Commons on Wednesday that the suspects had entered the UK on Russian passports using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

She said the poisoning was "not a rogue operation" and was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Wallace said that the UK must use the UN meeting to "maintain the pressure, to say the behaviour we have seen is totally unacceptable".

He said Putin's government "controls, funds and directs the military intelligence", adding that nobody could say the Russian leader was "not in control of his state".

May also said Britain will push for the EU to agree to new sanctions against Russia. Ahead of the UN meeting, Australia said it was "in lock step with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account" over the "dangerous and deliberate act".

Police were asking the public for information about a suitcase seen in the CCTV image of the two suspects leaving Heathrow Airport on March 4.

In the image, Petrov can be seen pushing a hard dark-coloured wheelie suitcase with a green stripe of the size that can fit into hand luggage lockers. It does not appear that he arrived in the country with the suitcase, the BBC said.

--IANS

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Telangana caretaker Chief Minister and TRS President K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday described Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the "biggest buffoon" in the country.

"The whole country has seen how he went and hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament and winked," KCR told a news conference.

When asked about Gandhi's plans to extensively campaign in Telangana, the TRS chief said: "The more he comes, it will be easier for us (to win elections)."

KCR said Rahul Gandhi inherited the legacy of the Congress Delhi empire and hence he was appealing to the people of Telangana not to become slaves to Delhi. "The decisions of Telangana should be taken in Telangana," he said.

--IANS

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Normal life in Bihar was affected on Thursday due to a nationwide shutdown called by dozens of upper caste groups to protest against the amended SC/ST Act, police said.

Trains were forcibly halted, railway tracks, national and state highways were blocked in Bihar as upper caste communities forced the shutdown, disrupting rail and road traffic for hours and stranding thousands of passengers at different railway stations and bus stands.

Hundreds of people from the upper caste communities took to streets across the state early in the day to protest against The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and rail traffic in Patna, Gaya, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Madhubni, Bhojpur, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nawada and Bhagalour districts.

In Patna, supporters of the Sawarn Sena and Sawarn Morcha activists surrounded Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in protest against the SC/ST Act. They shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and threatened to intensify their protest against the central government.

The agitators also staged a protest in front of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) office. The JD-U is an ally of the BJP.

Schools and colleges, markets and business centres remained closed in several towns in Bihar.

At different places across the state, angry protesters raised slogans against Modi and the central government and demanded reservation for the poor among the upper castes in jobs and educational institutions.

The protest was called by over two dozen groups including the Sawarn Sena and the Bhumihar-Brahmin Ekta Manch on the social media.

Security has been tightened in the state with additional forces deployed at sensitive places.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has termed the protest as anti-Dalit and anti-reservation. While JD-U said the protest was against the Constitution.

The BJP leaders maintained a total silence over the protest.

--IANS

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Dipesh Jains "Gali Guleiyan", which releases on Friday, features the adolescent non-actor Om Singh as a victim of child abuse. Significantly, Om suffered domestic violence of the most brutal kind at the hands of his real-life father and brother until he could take it no more.

"Om ran away from home to escape the violence," revealed the Los Angeles-based young director Jain.

"I auditioned close to 2,000 kids. We had a big casting team recruited to find the child actor. Finally, we found Om at the Salaam Balak Trust in Delhi. Om is a real-life victim of child abuse who ran away from home, just like the character Idris that Om plays," Jain said.

It took a while for the child to open up.

"I got goosebumps when he told me his story. Initially, he was very shy and refused to talk. To make him comfortable, I spent two months during pre-production with him. We hung out together, had lunches, built a relationship of trust. Then he slowly started opening up and telling his story. And I began moulding my screenplay to fit his reality," Jain recounted.

The filmmaker would consult the boy to ensure Om's reality matched with the situation of the character he played.

"Om would tell me whether it was right or not. He's a brilliant kid with such a high emotional quotient. After shooting, he acquired great self-confidence. He's a total rockstar."

Jain has taken charge of Om's future.

"He's working hard. My family has offered to look after him and pay for his education. Right now he just wants to do theatre. If he's good, he will become an actor in future. He is also studying hard. He is slowly healing and getting over his past wounds. He had difficulty remembering things. But now he is in good health."

The target is to give Om the education he never had.

"The Salaam Balak Trust is associated with Lawrence School, Sanawar. I've advised Om to study hard and get into Sanawar. We are there to support him in every way possible."

Let's hope Om Singh has a future beyond the fame of his celluloid outing. Otherwise, who remembers those wonder-kids from Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" and Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire"? And what happened to the amazing little Sunny Pawar who just a year ago was the toast of Hollywood after he stole the show from Dev Patel in "Lion"?

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict on decriminalising Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and upholding the rights of the LGBT community.

"As an advocate of ensuring equal opportunities in workspace, our bank commends the apex court's ruling against Section 377, which will ensure individuals are comfortable in their own skin," said RBS Managing Director (International Hubs) Anuranjita Kumar in a statement from Mumbai.

Earlier in the day, a five-judge bench decriminalised homosexuality, saying it was the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail.

--IANS

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Congress on Thursday described the Supreme Court's decision to decriminalise homosexuality as "momentous" saying it was an important step towards a liberal and tolerant society.

"The Supreme Court's verdict on Section 377 is momentous. An age-old colonial law that was an anachronism in today's modern times ends, restoring the fundamental rights and negating discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"It's an important step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a tweet.

His remarks came soon after the apex court decriminalised homosexuality in a historic verdict for the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community in India.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor also welcomed the top court's decision saying it vindicates his stand on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the grounds of privacy, dignity and constitutional freedoms.

"So pleased to learn that the Supreme Court has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private.

"This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377 and on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity and constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in Lok Sabha," Tharoor said in a tweet.

--IANS

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Diane Douglas, Arizonas superintendent of public instruction, who was first elected in 2014 after running on a promise to get rid of Common Core State Standards but whose tenure was marred by legal spats with the states board of education, is out of the race for re-election with her loss in the recent Republican primary.

Douglas came in third in a three-way race that had come down to just a few hundred votes between the top two vote-getters, according to the most recent count . The Republican nominee will compete against Democratic primary winner, Kathy Hoffman, a teacher, in November.

Douglas received national attention with her successful 2014 bid to become state chief by promising to rid the state of the common core standards. After being elected, Douglas got into several legal battles with the states governor-appointed board of education over the education departments role and the boards role and which staff members should report to her. That relationship became especially fraught as the state attempted to draft its plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act.

In an interview with Education Week in 2016, Douglas said ESSA, which shifts much of education policymaking from federal to state control, is too prescriptive for her taste and said that because the legislation deals mostly with the state complying with federal policy, the states education department, she and her staffnot the state boardwould handle the laws implementation.

Most of this work regards the relationship between the feds and the department, Douglas said. This is about us coming up with a plan on how were going to implement the various pieces and bringing it to the feds to make sure we are in line. Thats not really policy work. Thats administrative work, and thats the role of the department.

School funding, school choice and teacher pay has dominated Arizonas midterm race this year. David Garcia, an college education professor who barely lost to Douglas in 2014, is in a tight race to replace incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican.

Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.
Find out what happens when senators stop being polite and start getting real. Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

During the second day of Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court confirmation hearings, a theme emerged in the Democratic questioning of the proposed justice. Kavanaugh and his Republican allies had depicted him as a regular guy who was steeped in the experiences of what the judge kept referring to as the real world, even as he retreated to legal abstractions  most notably Supreme Court precedents  with respect to every major controversy he might face as an actual justice. Democratic senators (especially the less senior senators) chipped away at that have-it-both-ways defensive edifice.

Hawaiis Mazie Hirono interrupted Kavanaughs planned atmosphere of a genial con law class with an intensely personal inquiry about his relationship with his disgraced former boss and mentor Judge Alex Kozinski, who resigned under the dark cloud of multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault. While Kavanaugh professed ignorance about Kozinskis misbehavior, Hirono briskly raised doubts about his failure to grasp the real world consequences of that misbehavior, and linked that observation to his questionable sensitivity to native Hawaiian interests in another case, and his attitude toward womens reproductive rights.

A bit later, Senator Cory Booker identified some of Kavanaughs writings from when he was George W. Bushs judicial adviser as suggesting that race-based remedies for past racial discrimination were illegitimate. The judge repeatedly rejected Bookers efforts to discern his actual views  in the real world  from his recitation of Supreme Court precedents on affirmative action and related issues. In the end Booker concluded that for all of Kavanaughs protestations of devotion to civil rights  mostly involving his efforts to hire minority law clerks  your answers dont provide me any comfort.

The last Democrat to question Kavanaugh, Senator Kamala Harris, began with a real-world two-by-four slam, asking him if he had ever discussed the Mueller investigation with members of the law firm representing President Trump. After much back-and-forth, Kavanaugh basically said that while he could not definitively deny there was any such conversation, he was so careful about judicial independence that he would never consciously prejudice possible future cases. The California senator went on to explore the nominees attitudes toward the cases that established the constitutional basis for Roe v. Wade  and again Kavanaugh retreated behind a narrow conception of Supreme Court precedents.
Holding that the punishment under Section 377 had created a chilling effect, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it was the responsibility of the three organs of the State to curb any "propensity or proclivity of popular sentiment or majoritarianism" to invade the rights of LGBTQ community.

Having said this, the top court trashed its own 2013 judgment that had pointed out that in the last 150 years less than 200 prosecutions were made under Section 377 that constitutes a minuscule fraction of the country's population. This did not make a sound basis for declaring Section 377 IPC ultra vires of the Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution, it had ruled then.

The top court by its 2013 judgment had reversed the Delhi High Court verdict decriminalising gay sex.

Speaking for himself and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Chief Justice Dipak Misra said: "The rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population, cannot be construed to be 'so-called rights' as the expression 'so-called' seems to suggest the exercise of liberty in the garb of a right which is illusory."

Setting aside the top court's 2013 judgment, the Chief Justice said, "Their (LGBTQ) rights are not at all 'so-called' but are real rights founded on sound constitutional doctrine."

The 2013 judgment had said that LGBT community constituted a minuscule minority. CJI Misra said, "The observation... that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders constitute a very minuscule part of the population is perverse due to the very reason that such an approach would be violative of the equality principle enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution."

The mere fact that the percentage of population is low does not limit the top court from protecting their fundamental rights, CJI Misra said.

The court also said that the framers of the constitution "could have never intended that the protection of fundamental rights was only for the majority population".

"If such had been the intention, then all provisions in Part III of the Constitution (spelling out fundamental rights) would have contained qualifying words such as 'majority persons' or 'majority citizens'", said the CJI.

This Court is not concerned with the number of persons belonging to LGBTQ community. "What matters is whether this community is entitled to certain fundamental rights which they claim and whether such fundamental rights are being violated due to the presence of a law in the statute book".

The constitutional courts, Chief Justice Misra said, "must not display an iota of doubt and must not hesitate in striking down such provision of law on the account of it being violative of the fundamental rights of certain citizens, however minuscule their percentage may be".

The CJI said that the "sustenance of fundamental rights does not require majoritarian sanction. Thus, the ruling (of 2013) becomes sensitively susceptible."

On the chilling effect that operation of Section 377 IPC criminalizing the consensual sex between two adults of same sex, Chief Justice Misra said, "The immobility due to fear corrodes the desire to express one's own sexual orientation as a consequence of which the body with flesh and bones feels itself caged and a sense of fear gradually converts itself into a skeleton sans spirit."

Asserting that it was the responsibility of the three organs of the State to curb any "propensity or proclivity of popular sentiment or majoritarianism", CJI Misra said, "Devotion and fidelity to constitutional morality must not be equated with the popular sentiment prevalent at a particular point of time."

It is expected from the courts as the final arbiter of the Constitution to uphold the cherished principles of the Constitution and not to be remotely guided by majoritarian view or popular perception.

"The Court has to be guided by the conception of constitutional morality and not by the societal morality", said the judgment pronounced by the CJI.

"It is for the constitutional courts to ensure, with the aid of judicial engagement and creativity, that constitutional morality prevails over social morality."

The court said: "In the garb of social morality, the members of the LGBTQ community must not be outlawed or given a step-motherly treatment of malefactor by the society."

"If this happens or if such a treatment to the LGBTQ community is allowed to persist, then the constitutional courts, which are under the obligation to protect the fundamental rights, would be failing in the discharge of their duty," the CJI said in his judgment.

Making clear that the Court could not fail to carry out their obligation, the CJI said, "A failure to do so would reduce the citizenry rights to a cipher."

--IANS

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The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to periodically sensitise and give awareness training to all government officials, including police officials, about the plight of people belonging to LGBTQ community.

Justice Rohinton F. Nariman, one of the five-bench judges, while decriminalising homosexuality between consenting adults, asked the Central government to ensure that this judgment is given wide publicity and initiate programmes to reduce and finally eliminate the "stigma associated" with such persons.

"We are also of the view that the Union of India shall take all measures to ensure that this judgment is given wide publicity through the public media, which includes television, radio, print and online media at regular intervals, and initiate programmes to reduce and finally eliminate the stigma associated with such persons.

"Above all, all government officials, including and in particular police officials, and other officers of the Union of India and the states, be given periodic sensitisation and awareness training of the plight of such persons in the light of the observations contained in this judgment," Justice Nariman said in a 96-page judgment.

Justice Nariman in a concurring but separate judgment said that persons who are homosexual have a "fundamental right to live with dignity".

Declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary", Justice Nariman further declared that such groups are entitled to the "protection of equal laws", and are "entitled to be treated in society as human beings without any stigma being attached to any of them".

Justice Nariman made a reference to an earlier judgment of the apex court saying that the right of every citizen of India to live with dignity and the right to privacy including the "right to make intimate choices" regarding the manner in which such individual wishes to live are being protected by Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty).

"It is clear that Section 377, insofar as it applies to same-sex consenting adults, demeans them by having them prosecuted instead of understanding their sexual orientation and attempting to correct centuries of the stigma associated with such persons," he added in his separate judgment.

Justice Nariman made it clear that homosexuality was "not a mental disorder" and cannot therefore be penalised and Section 377 must be held to be a provision which is "capricious and irrational".

"Also, roping in such persons with sentences going up to life imprisonment is clearly excessive and disproportionate, as a result of which, when applied to such persons, Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution would clearly be violated."

Tracking down the history of laws on homosexuality in England, America and other countries, including India, Justice Nariman said the court said at one point of time, the thinking in Victorian England and early on in America was that homosexuality was to be considered as a mental disorder.

But, the present definition of mental illness in the 2017 Parliamentary statute makes it clear that "homosexuality is not considered to be a mental illness" and this is a major advance in our law which has been recognised by Parliament itself, Justice Nariman held.

"Mental illness shall not be determined on the basis of non-conformity with moral, social, cultural, work or political values or religious beliefs prevailing in a person's community. It is thus clear that the Parliament has unequivocally declared that the earlier stigma attached to same-sex couples, as persons who are regarded as mentally ill, has gone for good. This is another very important step forward taken by the legislature itself.

"Morality and criminality are not co-extensive -- sin is not punishable on earth by courts set up by the state but elsewhere; crime alone is punishable on earth. To confuse the one with the other is what causes the death knell of Section 377, insofar as it applies to consenting homosexual adults," the judgement added.

Justice Nariman also opined that the very purpose of the fundamental rights chapter in the Constitution of India is to "withdraw the subject of liberty and dignity of the individual and place such subject beyond the reach of majoritarian governments so that constitutional morality can be applied by this court to give effect to the rights, among others, of 'discrete and insular' minorities".

One such minority (LGBTQ) has knocked on the doors of this court as it is the custodian of the fundamental rights of citizens, said Justice Nariman, adding that these "fundamental rights do not depend upon the outcome of elections" and it is "not left to majoritarian governments to prescribe what shall be orthodox in matters concerning social morality".

--IANS

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National Award-winning filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who is delighted at the Supreme Court striking down the law against homosexuality, has urged the society to practice the change by showing equal respect to the LGBT community.

Mehta, who directed the film "Aligarh" -- inspired by the real-life story of a professor who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation -- told IANS: "I am delighted to know the Supreme Court's judgment. The wordings of the judgment are very significant and humane in the present time to establish equality."

"I think this is just the beginning. It is our responsibility as a society to treat the LGBT community with equal respect," added the "Shahid" famed director.

According to Mehta, the court can only make rules and laws, but a change in society can come if people practice it.

"The majoritarian morality is not necessarily inclusive in our society and the problem is lying there. So I think the thought of the majority needs to change, needs to open up to build a society where equality is largely celebrated," he said.

Mehta's widely acclaimed film "Aligarh" features Manoj Bajpayee. It is based on the life story of Ramchandra Siras, a professor from the Aligarh Muslim University who was suspended from his job while caught in his room having consensual sex with another man.

Siras had once said: "I spent two decades here. I love my University. I have always loved it and will continue to do so no matter what. But I wonder if they have stopped loving me because I am gay."

Asked if the professor, who died in 2010, would have been happy to hear the verdict if he was alive today, the filmmaker said: " I think so. I mean that is precisely my point... Why it is important for the society to change the mindset on morality? You see, in 2010, Section 377 was decriminalised, but Professor Siras was ostracised by the institution before that because of the people.

"That largely shows, that keeping the law aside, if people will discriminate against one of the members of the society because of their consensual choices, then no court can change it. So the change has to come from us."

Recounting his experience of making "Aligarh", he said: "Making that film was surely an emotional journey for me, because anything that makes people isolated in present time, is the biggest tragedy to humanity. Why should we live in an unequal society?"

Considering how cinema is a medium that has a huge influence on people, after the verdict, does he feel there will be better representation of LGBT characters?

"Let's be fair... In the last couple of years, homosexuality has been represented without any stereotyping, with a lot of sensibilities. I mean in a mainstream Bollywood film, we have "Kapoor & Sons". If I have a plea to society to be inclusive, Bollywood also comes under that.

"So, of course, it includes my community... It includes all my fellow filmmakers," Mehta said.

(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)

--IANS

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Sporadic violence and partial disruption of road and rail traffic on Thursday marred the Bharat bandh called to protest against the changes made in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In four states -- Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -- rail and road traffic was affected and markets and schools were closed as smaller towns joined the protest called by upper caste communities and other groups. The agitators blocked trains and put up road blocks on national and state highways. Schools declared a holiday to ensure the safety of students.

A Patna report said Pappu Yadav, MP from Madhepura Lok Sabha seat, was attacked by shutdown supporters. "I was attacked but saved by my bodyguards," said Pappu Yadav, chief of the Jan Adhikar Party.

Shayam Razak, a Dalit leader and general secretary of the ruling JD-U, said shutdown supporters attacked his vehicle, injuring him. "They attacked my vehicle, called me out by my caste and abused me," he said.

Police resorted to a lathicharge against shutdown supporters in Patna and Nawada, officials said, adding there were reports of clashes in Begusarai and Bhojpur districts.

Organisations that joined the protest included Akhil Bhartiya Kshtriya Mahasabha, Rashtriya Brahmin Mahasabha, Garib Sena, Karn Rajpoot Samaj, Rajputana Youth Brigade, Anarakshit Samaj Party and several other groups.

In UP's Mathura and Vrindavan, the bandh was total as protesters took out marches and blocked the main roads. In Firozabad, Muslim shopkeepers joined the shutdown.

The bandh put mainstream political parties in a dilemma. Officially the Congress, Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party have remained neutral, but their members openly supported the shutdown.

Organisations claiming to represent upper castes and supported by several fronts of OBCs, openly challenged the BJP leadership and demanded immediate withdrawal of the amendment.

Sumant Gupta, national chief of the Vaishya Ekta Parishad, an umbrella front of various trading communities, said the protesters would march to Delhi on October 2 to demand scrapping of the amendment.

Clashes and violence were reported from various parts of Uttar Pradesh. There was a scuffle in the Agra market where supporters of the SC/ST Act protested against efforts to shut down shops.

Police chased away the mob and used tear gas shells to quell the warring groups as they threw stones at each other and vandalised property.

Protesters stopped the Agra-Etawah passenger train by squatting on the rail tracks in Pinahat. They threw stones at the vehicle of a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) on the Yamuna Expressway.

Prohibitory orders have been issued in many districts of the state.

Protests were also reported from Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agitators set ablaze some kiosks and stalled traffic at the Hyderabad Gate of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Two trains were stopped in Mainpuri district. Protests were also reported from Dibiyapur in Aurraiya, Aligarh, Hathras, Etah, Kasganj.

In the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, petrol pumps were closed as security was heightened in 35 areas there, police said.

The administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in Chhatarpur, Shivpuri, Bhind, Ashoknagar, Guna, Gwalior and Katni, the police said.

Indore, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior and Sagar, too witnessed huge protests.

Reports from Rajasthan said all shops, schools, business establishments and educational institutes were closed.

The Jaipur police detained Samta Andolan Samiti president Parashar Narayan Sharma along with a few others in the city as a precautionary measure to maintain peace, officials said.

The Samta Andolan Samiti campaigns for changes in the caste-based reservation system.

The state's Special Director General (law and order) N.R.K. Reddy said the bandh was peaceful throughout Rajasthan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Political party leaders in Tamil Nadu on Thursday welcomed a Supreme Court order asking the Governor to decide on the mercy petition of A.G. Perarivalan, serving life term for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

DMK President M.K. Stalin, welcoming the apex court's decision, said Chief Minister K. Palaniswami should immediately call a cabinet meeting and decide to release the seven convicts now in jail in the Gandhi assassination case.

In a post in his Facebook account, Stalin said the late former Chief Minister and DMK President M. Karunanidhi had been saying that the state had the powers to free the convicts.

Former Union Health Minister and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said the central government should not go on appeal against the apex court decision.

He urged the Tamil Nadu government to take immediate steps to implement the apex court order.

Ramadoss said Chief Minister Palaniswami should call a cabinet meeting and pass a resolution to release all the convicts in the Gandhi assassination case and send it to Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

The President of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, M.H. Jawahirullah, also urged Palaniswami to pass a resolution in a cabinet meeting recommending the release of the convicts.

The seven convicts are V. Sriharan alais Murugan, T. Suthendraraja alais Santhan, Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini Sriharan, wife of Sriharan alias Murugan.

All seven have been in prison since 1991, the year a woman Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew up former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally near Chennai.

--IANS

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Telangana is heading for early elections as the state Assembly was dissolved on Thursday by the Governor on a recommendation by the state cabinet and in a swift move the ruling TRS announced almost all candidates.

Nearly nine months before its term was to end, the Assembly was dissolved by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, accepting a recommendation by the cabinet. He asked Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his Council of Ministers to continue in office as caretaker Government.

Immediately after the cabinet meet that lasted for less than half hour, KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief is widely known, drove to Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor and present the resolution passed by the cabinet.

The Assembly term was till May 2019 and elections in normal course would have been conducted along with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May.

Addressing the media, the TRS chief exuded confidence that Assembly elections in Telangana will be held along with those in four other states by year-end.

"As far as I know, the poll process may begin in October and get completed in November. The results may be announced in the first week of December," he said.

KCR claimed that he spoke on the issue with the Chief Election Commissioner whereas the Chief Secretary and the state government's Chief Advisor too held talks with the Election Commissioners.

KCR said "political fragility" in the state was the reason for the recommendation for early dissolution of the Assembly and early elections.

He decided to approach the people's court to curb the ever increasing political fragility and the "unlimited idiocy" of the opposition.

The TRS chief alleged that this political fragility was created by false and baseless allegations by the opposition against his government.

He defended the decision for early dissolution of the house, saying it was taken for the "bright future of Telangana".

"Let people take a call. Why should anybody else? I sacrificed my (full) term for the sake of the people of Telangana, to maintain steady growth of the state and to protect the state from bloody fragility."

He lashed out at the main opposition Congress for allegedly trying to create hurdles in the path of development.

He denied he was moving closer to the BJP. "TRS is 100 per cent secular and will remain secular."

KCR said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of a state.

He also said that the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(MIM) will remain a friendly party for TRS and did not rule out a friendly contest with it in some constituencies.

KCR also announced TRS candidates for 105 constituencies. He said among sitting legislators, only two were denied ticket. He said candidates for the remaining 14 constituencies will be announced soon.

KCR will formally launch the TRS election campaign with a public meeting at Husnabad in Siddipet district on Friday.

This will be the first of 100 public meetings planned by TRS over the next 50 days.

The Congress, BJP, TDP and other parties have criticised KCR's move. The BJP termed it undemocratic. Its leaders called on the Governor in the evening to request him to ensure that the caretaker government functions within the prescribed limits.

The Congress said early elections to the Assembly and subsequent polls to the Lok Sabha will hamper development process in the state.

R.C. Khuntia, who is incharge of Congress affairs in Telangana, said by going for early polls, KCR himself declared the end of KCR era. He exuded confidence that Congress will come to power in Telangana with a thumping majority.

--IANS

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on said Thursday the 2+2 talks with India would focus on jointly tackling terrorism and enhancing trade, energy and economic cooperation between the two strategic partners.

"Meeting today with my Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj for a robust discussion of topics at forefront of US-India relationship: from trade to energy and economic cooperation to terrorism," Pompeo tweeted.

Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis are in New Delhi for the inaugural high-level 2+2 dialogue, which was twice postponed by the Donald Trump administration citing scheduling conflicts.

The two US officials will hold talks with Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The four will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the afternoon. Twelve officials from each side are expected to attend the talks, followed by a working lunch.

The agenda for the talks is likely to include key issues like maritime security and countering China's military expansion in the Indian Ocean.

Prominently to figure in talks between the four will be Washington's key demands for India to stop buying Iranian oil and Russian weapons.

The US Congress has passed a law allowing sanctions on countries that buy "significant" amounts of defence equipment from Russia. But India is seeking a waiver from those sanctions.

The US also wants all countries to stop buying Iranian oil by November 5.

However, it appears impossible for India which has no oil and natural gas of its own and hugely depends on Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran for its enormous energy needs to maintain the momentum of its growing economy. India is Iran's No. 2 oil buyer, after China.

--IANS

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The Indian tyre industry is expected to be adversely hit due to estimated lower rubber output by 18-20 per cent following the Kerala floods, a report said on Thursday.

According to rating agency Icra's report, the natural rubber which accounts for 35 per cent of the overall input costs in values for manufacture of tyres, is expected to witness considerable shortage due to the inundation resulting in pressure on operating margins for tyre manufacturers.

Natural rubber accounts for over 20 per cent of Kerala's total area under cultivation and the southern state contributes the largest share of 84 per cent of output in the country followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and North-Eastern states like Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya etc.

"We expect the natural rubber output to decline by 1.2-1.4 lakhs MT (or) 18-20 per cent fall during FY2019. With the natural rubber being a critical raw material, the sharp fall in output will have consequent impact on the Indian tyre industry. It accounts for 32 per cent and 35 per cent of total inputs, in volume and value terms, respectively," agency's Vice President (Corporate ratings) K. Srikumar said.

India is the second largest consumer, consuming 8 per cent of global natural rubber output, after China.

Despite India also being one of the key producers contributing to over 5 per cent of global output, it remains a net importer.

"During FY2018, India produced 6.9 lakh MT of natural rubber but consumed 11.1 MT, with the supply gap being fully met through imports from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc, the agency said.

Imports have accounted for 40 per cent of consumption in the last five years and the same is expected to reach 50 per cent during the current fiscal with the shortfall envisaged in output.

With demand exceeding supply, domestic natural rubber prices have increased by over 10 per cent during the period April-August 2018, including an increase of over 5 per cent in the last one month.

"As the domestic prices continue to increase due to supply shortage concerns, domestic tyre makers continue to import with the current landed costs lower than domestic prices. However, with the expected rise in both domestic and global prices, exacerbated by the depreciating rupee, the tyre manufacturers are likely to witness pressure on margins. We expect a 100-bps contraction in operating profit margins for FY2019," Srikumar said.

--IANS

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Paris, Sep 6 (IANS/AKI) Unesco will on Monday organize an international meeting aimed at rebuilding the war-torn ancient Iraqi city Mosul's cultural heritage, rehabilitating its system and revitalising its cultural life, the UN culture body announced.

The first 'Revive the Spirit of Mosul' initiative is being held at Unesco's headquarters in Paris and is being jointly organised with Iraq's government, Unesco said.

"We wish to concentrate our efforts on the human dimension of the city's reconstruction through the promotion of culture and Only by restoring the shared cultural heritage and revitalizing cultural and educational life will the people of Mosul be, once again, actors in the renewal of their country," said Unesco's Director-General Audrey Azoulay.

Top Iraqi government aid Mahdi Al-Alak will together with Azoulay open the conference which will be attended by politicians including ministers, representatives of religious authorities and Unesco partners, international experts and civil society members, Unesco said.

The event seeks to take stock of the situation in Mosul, once an ethnically and religiously diverse city - after its liberation from the Islamic State jihadist group in 2017 after four years of devastating conflict.

--IANS/AKI

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said the US seeks to "abuse" the upcoming meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to blame Iran for the violation of international law.

It is US President Donald Trump who is violating the international law and is bullying others to do the same, Zarif said on Wednesday with reference to the UNSC resolution 2231 on Iran's nuclear programme, Xinhua reported.

On Tuesday, it was announced in Washington that Trump was going to chair a meeting of the UNSC on Iran on September 26.

Trump would raise the topic concerning Iran's "violations of international law" in the UNSC meeting, said US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kim and Trump at the Singapore summit in June. Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump and Kim Jong-un appeared this week to mend their strained relationship, at least for the moment, with both men lavishing the other in praise and the North Korean leader making a major commitment: He will denuclearize before the end of Trumps first term.

Kims pledge came during a meeting with a South Korean envoy who was in Pyongyang to reopen the stalled talks regarding the Norths denuclearization. Kim reportedly complained about the U.S. negotiating in bad faith and regretted the doubts raised about his commitment to peace. But, he added, he continues to trust Trump.

He particularly emphasized that he has never said anything negative about President Trump, South Korea envoy Chung Eui-yong said after the meeting. Trump appreciated that.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2018

Despite the warm exchange between the two leaders, its not remotely clear that theres any movement being made toward North Koreas denuclearization. Kim will meet later this month with South Korea President Moon Jae-in to talk over practical measures toward that goal. But negotiations have not been going well.

The primary sticking point at the moment is North Koreas desire to bring an official end to the Korean War. Despite Trumps all-caps tweet from April  KOREAN WAR TO END!  that hasnt yet happened. And it wont until Pyongyang gives up its nuclear weapons, the U.S. says. Kim wants to sign a treaty first, but American officials fear that hes after a propaganda win and will use the peace treaty to press for the removal of nearly 30,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.

Kim believes hes earned the trust of U.S. though and says that moves such as ending nuclear tests and destroying an underground test site should prove that hes serious about denuclearizing. Few believe him. And his recent kind words for Trump are more about buying time than a desire to move toward giving up his nukes, one expert told the Times. He probably saw that there was nothing good in provoking Trump, Lee Byong-chul, of Seouls Institute for Peace and Cooperation, said. So hes seeing how far he can get with sycophancy instead.
A US woman, who was found with cocaine stuffed inside her high heels and other belongings in her luggage, was jailed on Thursday for smuggling drugs into Australia.

Denise Marie Woodrum, 51, was arrested at Sydney Airport last year. She claimed that she was tricked by a fake Internet suitor into smuggling drugs, the BBC reported.

In January, she pleaded guilty to the illegal import but told the court she was a victim of an online romance scam.

A judge found she had willingly participated in the operation.

On Thursday, the New South Wales District Court sentenced Woodrum, from Missouri, to a maximum of seven-and-a-half years in jail.

"I do not accept that she is genuinely contrite for her offending as opposed to being sorry for the situation she now finds herself caught in," said Judge Penelope Wass, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Her lawyer Rebecca Neil described her client as a deeply religious and socially isolated woman who had been groomed by a man online, the newspaper said.

Woodrum had visited South America before embarking on the trip to Australia with 756 grams of cocaine, the court heard.

She had told authorities that she had no knowledge of the drugs and "it was supposed to be just clothes".

However, Judge Wass said she was not convinced by Woodrum's story and said the defendant had shown little remorse for her "reckless actions".

Woodrum will be eligible for parole after four-and-a-half years.

--IANS

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Actor Varun Dhawan, who visited the "Indian Idol 10" set to promote his forthcoming film, compared contestant Salman Ali to actor Salman Khan.

Salman Ali, one of the top 11 contestants on the singing reality show, takes care of his large family single-handedly, and he strives to fulfil the wishes of his parents.

Varun, who made an appearance on the show with his "Sui Dhaaga - Made In India" co-star Anushka Sharma, was mighty impressed by Salman Ali, as he was touched by his story of struggling to make ends meet, read a statement.

The actor then said: "Salman Ali is the Salman Khan of our music industry. His performance was absolutely incredible. I felt as if I was listening to a recording and not a live performance. It's said that when you do a film, you have to completely get into the character of the role.

"I have acted as a hero in multiple movies, but I would like to say that the real hero out here is Salman Ali who so lovingly takes care of his parents. I wish him all the happiness in the world and I am totally sure that he will reach the pinnacles of success. His parent's blessings and our good wishes are always with him."

--IANS

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Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that vehicles such as buses, taxis and rickshaws powered by alternate fuels such as "Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel and CNG" will be exempted from the requirement of a permit.

The Minister for Road Transport and Highways was speaking at the 58th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

"I am happy to announce that we have decided that electric vehicles and all vehicles which operate on Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel, CNG will not require a permit," Gadkari said.

According to the minister, transport ministers of all the state governments have given their unanimous support to the criteria.

--IANS

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Passenger airline Vistara on Thursday signed a codeshare agreement with British Airways to share around 60 Vistara-operated flights each day in India with the UK-based airline.

Under the agreement, British Airways will add its 'BA' designator code to the Vistara flights starting September 27, on the designated routes, Vistara said in a statement.

The tie-up brings into its ambit around 60 Vistara-operated flights covering 13 Indian cities, including eight new virtual British Airways destinations -- Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune, it said.

Additionally, the BA code would also be used in the Vistara flights between Mumbai and Amritsar, and Chennai and Kolkata.

"Sales under the codeshare agreement opened today on all channels and major GDS systems for flights starting September 27, 2018," the statement.

According to British Airways, as part of the new agreement, passengers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.

British Airways operates two direct flights a day from Heathrow to Mumbai, a double daily service to Delhi and a daily flight to Chennai.

The airline also flies direct to Hyderabad and Bengaluru from Terminal 5.

--IANS

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Air Marshal C. Hari Kumar, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Air Command, arrived here on Thursday to take stock of current security scenario, operational and infrastructure aspects of the Air Force Station in Jammu.

Air Marshal Kumar also visited the station war memorial where he laid a wreath to pay homage to the soldier who never returned.

On his arrival, he was given a guard of honour by a contingent of Air Warriors of Air Force Station Jammu, commanded by Squadron Leader Shweta Dhiman.

Accompanied by his wife Devika Hari Kumar, who is President, Air Force Wives Welfare Association (Regional), the IAF commander was received by Air Commodore Shashi Kant Mishra, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Jammu, and Nisha Mishra, President, AFWWA (L).

--IANS

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Actress Kiara Advani, who was last seen in Netflix film "Lust Stories", has said that she will start shooting of her forthcoming film "Good News" in December.

Kiara said this on Wednesday while interacting with media here at the press conference of first edition of 'Skechers Performance Mumbai Walkathon'.

Talking about her upcoming projects, Kiara said: "'Good News' is my next Hindi film that has been announced. I am very excited and nervous being part of the film because I am working with stalwarts in that film. The film also features Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor and Diljit Dosanjh.

"Apart from that, I m currently shooting for a film down South film industry with Ram Charan and it will be released next year."

Kiara made her Hindi film debut with "Fugly" (2014) but year 2018 has been really fruitful for her as her Telgu film with Mahesh Babu "Bharat Ane Nenu" was immensely successful down South and her Netflix film "Lust Stories" also received positive response from the audience.

"Especially, this year has been extremely motivating in terms of films that I have done and it did super well. I am looking forward to this coming year because I have got a lot in store. I am excited to shoot my new films and share it with the audience very soon."

"Good News" is a laugh riot, family drama in which Akshay and Kareena are playing a married couple and trying for a baby.

Diljit and Kiara are playing the role of a Punjabi married couple trying for a baby as well.

The film is being directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Films.

The film is slated to release on July 19, 2019.

--IANS

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A long-negotiated pact under which critical and encrypted technologies will be provided to the Indian military by the US was inked here Thursday after the two countries held their first 2+2 dialogue during which they also discussed key issues, including cross-border terrorism, india's NSG bid and the contentious visa issue.

During the talks External Affairs Minister and Minister had with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis, the two countries also decided to set up hotlines between them.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj expressed satisfaction over the agenda of the inaugural dialogue while giving the details of the deliberations.

While Pompeo termed the 'Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA)' agreement a "milestone" in the relationship, Sitharaman asserted that the pact will enhance India's defence capability and preparedness.

The COMCASA will facilitate India to obtain critical defence technologies from the US, and access critical communication network to ensure interoperability among the US and the Indian armed forces.

It will also allow the installation of high-security US communication equipment on defence platforms being sourced from the US.

Swaraj also asserted that the dialogue reflected the desire of leadership of the two countries to further elevate the bilateral strategic communication on cross-cutting defence and security issues.

She said, "The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects India's robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest."





Talking about her bilateral meeting with Pompeo before the 2+2 dialogue, the External Affairs Minister said they reviewed the direction of the Indo-US relations in recent months and exchanged views on a number of regional issues of shared concern.

Terming the rapidly growing trade and investment ties as an important element of bilateral relationship, Swaraj said this growth is giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement which supports development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth.

"I sought Secretary Pompeo's support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship," Swaraj said.

She also noted that there was a growing convergence of views, including on the Indo-Pacific, during the discussion among the four ministers.

"We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing," the minister said, adding India welcomed the US' interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region as they "complement our own efforts".

Asserting that counterterrorism cooperation between India and the US has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose, Swaraj said they have agreed to deepen ties in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force.

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the US. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the US alike. On the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognized the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," Swaraj said.

She also said, "India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us".

The two sides also discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process, that brings together all ethnic groups and political formation in that country, the minister added.
Two Scheduled Caste men were charred to death after their house was allegedly set on fire by two others from the same community after a clash Thursday at a village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, police said.

As tension prevailed in Sankavaram mandal following the killings, said to be due to previous enmity, heavy police pickets had been posted in the area to prevent any untoward incident, they said.

During a clash between two pairs of brothers of the mandal, Prasad and Nukaraju allegedly stabbed Sudhakar and Rajendra Prasad and hid themselves in a house.

Later, Sudhakar and Prasad found them and poured petrol on the house and set it afire, killing the two rival brothers, Peddapuram Deputy Superintendent of Police C H Rama Rao said.

Previous enmity was the motive for the killing, he said adding further investigation was on.

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Dangerous Donald. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images

In an anonymous New York Times op-ed, a senior White House official writes that the president of the United States has anti-democratic impulses, is bereft of any discernible first principles, behaves in an erratic manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic, and is so psychologically unstable, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment (which allows for a president to be removed for physical or mental incapacity).

But none of this should trouble you, the official explains. In fact, reasonable people can accept all of these facts and still, like the author himself, want the administration to succeed.

Sure, the president is a would-be autocrat with severe emotional problems (who, technically, has unilateral command of the worlds largest nuclear arsenal). But that isnt a dealbreaker once one realizes that the White House is full of unsung heroes (like our fearless author) who have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing. And while these patriots are clearly not always successful, Americans still shouldnt feel any obligation to vote for Democrats this fall. No additional oversight is required  the steady state (get it? Its like deep state!) has got this whole thing covered.

What Americans should really worry about, the anonymous official explains, is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. The answer to a crisis in which one of Americas two major political parties has installed an authoritarian ignoramus in the Oval Office  and refuses to check his power in any formal way  is not to fight back, politically, but rather, to rise above partisan politics:

We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility  There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans.

The problem with this argument is clear enough to capture in Twitter memes.

I Am Willing to Sacrifice Anything to Protect Our Democracy, Up to But Not Including Losing an Election or Giving Up Literally Any Policy That I Support: A Hero's Story  James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) September 5, 2018

remember when the ny times had standards pic.twitter.com/gkOhI23ogm  josh terry (@JoshhTerry) September 5, 2018

There is a reasonable, ethical case to be made for remaining in the Trump administration for the purpose of checking an authoritarians impulses. But it is impossible to reconcile that case with writing a self-congratulatory New York Times op-ed that radically increases the chances that you  and other officials like you  will be summarily fired (dont worry, the president has no idea that his advisers are committed to undermining him, and we will all be safe so long as he remains ignorant of this fact, which I am writing in the paper of record).

There is, separately, an ethical case for writing a whistle-blowing newspaper column that damages the dangerous president politically. But there is no such case for discouraging Americans from organizing politically to check the dangerous presidents power  nor is there one for wanting an administration led by this president to succeed.

Or, at least, there is no such case unless one believes  as this senior official apparently does  that making it easier for payday lenders to scam the working poor, lowering the corporate tax rate, and increasing Americas military budget (which was already larger than every other major powers combined) are such morally urgent goals, it is worthwhile to risk autocratic rule for the sake of advancing them:

To be clear, ours is not the popular resistance of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous  There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage of the administration fails to capture: effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.

There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put the Koch Networks agenda first. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens engaging in politics, reaching across the aisle  and (figuratively) beating the Republican Party over the head until it is bloodied and broken enough to admit that it has a problem.
The Jammu and Kashmir police arrested Thursday two truckers and seized a total of 42 kgs of poppy from them, foiling two separate bids to smuggle the narcotics to Punjab from the state.

The arrests were made from Kathua and Ramban districts, a police official said.

The first truck was intercepted at Banihal in Ramban district with 25 kgs of poppy, following which its driver Gurvinder Singh was arrested and a case was registered under the NDPS Act against him, the official said.

In another incident, a police party intercepted a truck on its way from Kashmir to Punjab and recovered 17 kgs of poppy from it, he said.

The driver of the second truck too was arrested and a case was registered against him, he said.

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The Delta Force, a counter insurgency force of the Indian Army, Thursday celebrated its 25th Raising Day.

A wreath laying ceremony was organised at the Delta Force headquaters, on the occasion, in the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, a defence spokesman said.

Raised on September 6, 1994, the force has been instrumental in eliminating terrorism from the Chenab Valley and ushering peace in the region.

Till date, the Force has been honoured with 1,380 Gallantry Awards including one Ashok Chakra, five Kirti Chakras and 46 Shaurya Chakras, he said.

Addressing the troops on the occasion, General Officer Commanding Delta Force Major General Rajiv Nanda praised all the veterans and personnel of the Delta Force.

He further called upon all the ranks to rededicate themselves to the motto 'Dridhta aur Veerta' and to strive for excellence.

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Four more people have been arrested in connection with the lynching of a teenager on the suspicion of being a thief in Delhi, police said on Thursday, taking the total number of arrests to six.

The post-mortem report of the 16-year-old boy, who was thrashed for almost three hours by the accused after he allegedly entered a house to steal valuables on Tuesday, said, the "cause of death was haemorrhage shock due to multiple injuries by blunt object", a police officer said.

"The report said the injuries collectively were sufficient to cause death. The report also stated that the pattern and nature of injuries was consistent with continuous beating for a considerable time while the hands of the deceased were tied with some ligature," said Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest).

Two persons, Nand Kishore and Raj Kishore, were arrested after the incident in Mukundpur on Tuesday. Four others -- Triveni, Deshraj, Sant Lal and Sohan Lal -- were arrested from the area on Wednesday night, Khan said.

A case was registered under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), but after the post-mortem report, the accused were charged under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, the DCP said.

The boy had entered the house around 3.30 am and was caught around that time, but the police were only informed around 6.30 am, which means they thrashed him for almost three hours, said another officer.

Police were told that the boy was accompanied by two others when he came to the house for allegedly committing a theft. A woman resident of the house was awakened by some noise and she saw three boys on the second floor of the house. Two others fled from there, but the teenager was caught and beaten to death by the owners and their neighbours.

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About 40 per cent of milk and milk product samples, which were seized during raids conducted by food safety officials in the last one month, were found to be of substandard quality, a senior official said today.

"About 40 per cent of the samples failed the food safety test," said Punjab Food and Drug Administration Commissioner K S Pannu in a press statement here.

To check adulteration of milk and milk products, the food safety teams had conducted raids at dairy shops across the state in the last one month. A large quantity of adulterated milk and other items were seized during the raids.

In the state, Pannu asked traders to follow Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) guidelines to ensure quality and nutritious standard.

Meanwhile, Punjab health minister Brahm Mohindra held a meeting with the milk plant association, here on Thursday.

Mohindra said shops found adulterating food produce would not be spared.

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The Uttar Pradesh special task force arrested seven members of a gang in Agra on Thursday for allegedly duping youths by offering them railway jobs.

The arrests were made near the Agra Cantonment railway station after the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) tipped-off the police about a gang issuing fake appointment letters of jobs in the railway subsidiary, a statement said.

The accused have confessed to luring unemployed youths, who belong to smaller towns, for employment as booking clerk, announcer and cook in the IRCTC for Rs 6-7 lakh. As many as 18 such appointment letters, 17 offer letters, six cheques worth Rs 12.82 lakh and Rs 38,400 in cash were recovered from their possession, it said.

Five of the accused belong to different districts of Bihar and two hail from Kannauj district of UP, it added.

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RSS-affiliated Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Thursday staged a protest against BJP MLA Ram Kadam here and demanded that the BJP act against him over his controversial remarks.

Kadam had told youngsters at a Dahi Handi event in suburban Ghatkopar on Monday that he would "abduct" a girl they like even if she rejects their proposal.

After facing flak from various quarters, Kadam expressed his apology on twitter.

Around 25 activists of the ABVP carrying posters of the Ghatkopar (West) MLA in their hands gathered at Ghatkopar railway station in eastern Mumbai and blackened them.

Aniket Ohval, the Pradesh Mantri, Konkan Prant of ABVP, termed Kadam's remark as "unfortunate and unforgivable".

"Kadam's misogynistic remark cannot be ignored. We have asked the BJP, state Women Commission as well as Mumbai Police to take suitable action against the MLA. He doesn't even have basic courtesy to apologise for his distasteful comments," he said.

Raju Mandave, ABVP organising secretary, Mumbai city, said not only members of the BJP but also common citizens are left ashamed due to Kadam utterances.

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Opposition Congress Thursday demanded suspension of top Maharashtra police officials for briefing the media on the arrests of five Left wing activists in August in connection with the January 1 Bhima Koregaon violence.

The demand was made hours after the Supreme Court rapped the police officials concerned for addresing the media following the arrests.

Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil of Congress alleged that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is into "contempt" of court over the police briefing to media, as he heads Home portfolio.

Vikhe Patil sought apology of Fadnvais over the "contempt".

Maharashtra Additional Director General (ADG) of Police Parambir Singh and Pune Police Commissioner K Venkatesham had last week addressed the media separately in the run up to hearing of the matter before the apex court.

In a media briefing in Mumbai on August 31, Singh defended the Pune police's nationwide crackdown and arrest of the activists on August 28.

Venkatesham had told reporters that police are in possession of "digital" evidence about a "larger conspiracy" to mobilise cadres for "action" against security forces.

Vikhe Patil also questionned the authority of the police officials in addressing reporters on the sensitive matter.

"The ADG and the Pune commissioner of police should be immediately suspended after the supreme court's objection. The chief minister should apologise for the contempt of court and misleading people of the state," the Congress leader demanded.

The Pune Police had arrested Left-wing activists Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bhardwaj and Gautam Navlakha after conducting nationwide raids.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into a conclave -- Elgar Parishad -- held in Pune on December 31 last year, which had allegedly triggered caste clashes at Bhima Koregaon in the district the next day.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged the police officials had read out "press releases" under "pressure" from the government.

"People are afraid of the police system. We insist the police to discharge their duties within the framework of law. Governments come and go. They (police) should not act under the pressure," he told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, the apex court extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.

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A court here sent suspected right-wing activist Avinash Pawar and former Shiv Sena councillor Shrikant Pangarkar to judicial custody till September 21.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested Pangarkar on August 19 and Pawar on August 24 and the duo were produced Thursday before Additional Sessions judge Vinod Padalkar after their police remand ended.

The court remanded them to judicial custody till September 21 after the ATS made no further arguments seeking their custody.

Earlier, the ATS had claimed that Pawar had carried out reconnaissance of houses of certain persons including slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's daughter Mukta, activist Shyam Manav and NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad.

Pangarkar, the ATS had told the court, was providing training for making arms in Jalna. His name was also found in a diary seized from an accused who is in the custody of the Karnataka police in connection with a high-profile murder case.

Besides, Pawar and Pangarkar, ATS had arrested three more persons- Vaibhav Raut, Sudhanwa Gondhalekar and Sharad Kalaskar - in connection with seizure of explosives, arms and ammunition from various places in the second week of August.

The accused were booked under relevant provisions of the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

While Raut and Gondhalekar are currently in judicial remand, Kalaskar is in CBI custody in connection with his alleged role in the killing of Dabholkar.

The CBI has claimed that it was Kalaskar who opened fire first on Dabholkar.

The 67-year-old anti-superstition crusader was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men while he was on a morning walk on the Onkareshwar Bridge in Pune on August 20, 2013.

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The district administration Thursday sought public help in tracking anti-social elements who are reportedly staying in Gautam Buddh Nagar despite being expelled under law.

In order to maintain law and order, continuous action is being taken jointly by the district administration and the police on the persons with criminal nature, District Magistrate Brajesh Narayan Singh said.

At present, 33 anti-social persons are officially under expulsion from Gautam Buddh Nagar, he said.

"But the district administration is getting reports that the anti-social elements who were expelled out are staying in Gautam Buddh Nagar," he said, according to a statement from the district information office here.

He sought feedback from the public regarding such persons if they are seen staying or moving within the district.

"If the people come across any information about such persons they may inform their nearest police stations, or administration officials sub-divisional magistrate or the additional district magistrate -- or the senior superintendent of police," Singh said.

"The name of the person giving the information will be kept confidential," he assured.

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The Bombay High Court has sentenced a lawyer to simple imprisonment for a week in a 13-year-old case of contempt of court wherein he abused a trial court judge and threw a notebook towards him.

The contempt petition seeking action against the lawyer, Ramchandra Kagne, 55, was filed before the Aurangabad bench of the high court by a trial court judge.

A bench of Justices T V Nalawade and Vibha Kankanwadi sentenced Kagne to jail for a week and also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on him last Friday.

The court held that interference in the administration of justice, particularly by a lawyer, could not be tolerated.

The incident took place in October 2005 when Kagne was present before the then district and sessions judge Ashok Bilolikar at Parbhani in Maharashtra, representing an accused in a rape case.

The judge had held the accused guilty, pronounced his conviction order in the open court, and invited all parties to argue on the sentence.

When Kagne's turn for arguments came, he began shouting slogans against the judge.

As per the high court judgement, Kagne called the judge "foolish," asked him to refrain from awarding the sentence, and then snatched the stenographer's notebook and threw it towards judge Bilolikar.

The notebook hit the additional public prosecutor present in the court room.

Judge Bilolikar warned Kagne to maintain decorum but the latter continued with his tirade, the HC judgement noted.

"This is definitely an act of scandalising and obstruction in the administration of justice," the HC said.

"Interference in the administration of justice by giving threats, snatching the steno diary, addressing the judicial officer in a loud voice, are definitely serious, more so when done by an advocate, who is an officer of the court," the court observed.

Kagne, however, submitted before the court that he was being harassed because he frequently sent "complaints against some judges to the President of India".

But, the high court bench rejected the argument.

"Definitely it was his duty to represent his client but when the client (the accused), who was facing trial was being punished by the court of law, then he should have accepted the sentence. If at all anything was to be agitated, it should have been through the principles of law," the bench said.

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Kavanaugh and his supporters are underplaying his significance very deliberately. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

By the second day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh the GOP strategy has become plain: depicting this crucial addition to the Supreme Court, capping a decades-long conservative drive for a solid SCOTUS majority, as a routine matter that only fanatics and extremists could possibly find objectionable.

This bland masking of Kavanaughs significance was made most evident in the nominees own opening statement that capped Day One, a relentlessly moderate presentation, as I noted yesterday:

He certainly did not play to the presidents conservative base. The only Supreme Court Justices he mentioned by name were the man he seeks to succeed, Anthony Kennedy (largely hated by conservative ideologues) and Justice Elena Kagan in her capacity as his employer at Harvard Law School. There was nary a word about conservative icon Antonin Scalia, or the chief justice he has in the past cited as his first judicial hero, William Rehnquist. He did, however, manage a brief shout-out to D.C. Circuit Chief Judge Merrick Garland, the Obama SCOTUS appointee that Senate Republicans famously denied a hearing.

Today Kavanaugh in answering questions from Judiciary Committee members has relentlessly touted his respect for judicial precedents (though it has often elided notice that Supreme Court precedent is binding on lower courts like the one Kavanaugh has served on in the past in a way that it does not bind SCOTUS itself). He has specifically expressed respect for the settled law nature of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the cases establishing and affirming a constitutional right to abortion, which virtually all of his partisan sponsors deplore as an abomination. Listening to Kavanaugh, youd almost think he was a judicial machine, mechanically applying settled law to achieve consensus results. He has also repeatedly expressed an aspiration to join a Team of Nine on the Court, failing to acknowledge there are hard and extremely important factions produce many crucial decisions on divided votes (often 54).

Judiciary Committee Republicans are contributing to this game by weeping crocodile tears over the partisan nature of the hearing (if only Obamas nominee Merrick Garland had even been given the courtesy of a partisan hearing!), with Lindsey Graham in particular pursuing this angle, as a live-blog indicated:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) now doing some defense work for Kavanaugh after the Leahy questions. You will probably get about 55 votes, Graham says. In other times, someone like you would probably get 90 votes.

Graham also tried to compare Kavanaugh to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who told the Judiciary Committee that she reflected the progressive philosophy of judging of President Obama, just as Kavanaugh reflected the philosophy of judging of Donald Trump. He may have fouled up here by suggesting that Trump of all people has a judicial philosophy comparable to that of his predecessor, a constitutional law professor.

Democratic senator Sheldon Whitehouse further pierced the veil of bland routine surrounding Kavanaugh by raising the Federalist Society-driven vetting process that selected him (and his own predecessor, Neil Gorsuch). The judge professed not to know anything about that, which is risible. And in fact, this whole line of questioning seemed to make the smooth jurist nervous.

The reality which this combined Kavanaugh/GOP Senate performance is obscuring to the casual viewer of these hearings is the one that has not only made this nomination the subject of vast conservative rhetorical and financial investments, but is the glue that binds millions of conservative Evangelical Christians and highly influential conservative movement members to Donald J. Trump. This was made plain earlier this year in a spiritual biography of the president written by two very prominent leaders of the Christian right, reflecting on Trumps first SCOTUS nominee:

When assessing the faith of Donald Trump, the significance of the Neil Gorsuch nomination cannot be underestimated. Of course the access evangelicals have had to this president is unprecedented and should not be overlooked. The push of the pro-life agenda was a major development as well in the first one hundred days of this administration. The confluence of all three in totality presents concrete evidence that Donald Trump is trying to live out his faith with deed.

Trumps willingness to consummate the long-planned conservative ideological takeover of the Supreme Court  and to make not just vague promises, but to prepare an exclusive list of prospects prepared by the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation  has led innumerable conservatives to suspend their misgivings over this strange mans hostile takeover of the GOP and stay in line. That the Republican members of the Judiciary Committee (and Kavanaugh himself) are pretending this dynamic doesnt exist is more outrageous than the shouts of protest at the hearing which has so annoyed the senators.

The revolution Kavanaugh is being designated help consummate will most definitely include modification if not complete repeal of the constitutional right to choose abortion. Every GOP member of the Judiciary Committee is a faithful support of the anti-abortion movement that has made a shift in the Court its prime goal for decades. Senator Mike Lee (himself a member of Trumps SCOTUS list), who as I type this is engaged in an elevated discussion of constitutional law with Kavanaugh, had this to say at the last March for Life in Washington:

[O]n this forty-fifth anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let us respond to Roe as Frederick Douglass responded to a similar indignity, Dred Scott v. Sandford.

Happily for the whole human family, Douglass thundered, their rights have been defined, declared, and decided in a court higher than the Supreme Court.

Those words are as true today as they were when they were spoken.

Theres nothing routine about this nomination. Its a turning point, just as Trump planned.
Contrary to popular belief, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have a "positive impact" on workplaces as it would create new job roles besides enhancing employee engagement and decision-making, a report said Thursday.

According to a Tata Communications' study based on inputs from 120 global business leaders, AI will diversify human thinking rather than replace it.

As per the study, 90 per cent leaders agree that cognitive diversity is important for management, while 75 per cent respondents expect AI to create new roles for their employees, and 93 per cent believe that AI will enhance decision-making.

"While AI will replace some tasks, it will also create new ways of working, new jobs and new roles in companies. AI will also help people as well as organisations become more productive. It's not man vs machine, rather man and machine working together," Tata Communications CEO and MD Vinod Kumar told PTI.

The report further noted that AI has the potential to assess each employee's skills and innovation priorities, and suggest activities to spark creative thinking throughout the organisational hierarchy. This can democratise the creative process and increase engagement of all workers.

AI will also free employees from most tedious repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more on communication and innovation.

"Work will move from being task-based to strategic, enabling workers to enhance their curiosity and creative thinking," it added.

According to Professor Ken Goldberg, a leading AI researcher at UC Berkeley, there is fear now that AI will surpass human thinking and that machines are superior to humans.

But, it is important to keep in mind that while machines do certain things very well, there are many things that they are not very good at, like the nuances of communications, understanding, empathy, and creativity, he said.

"Robots and AI are not going to take away this creative, insightful, empathetic aspect of almost every job," Goldberg noted.

Tata Communications had partnered with Goldberg for the survey.

The study also included 15 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, executives and thought leaders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Americans across the board Thursday welcomed the overturning of a colonial-era law in India that criminalised gay sex, saying it was a victory for the LGBTQ rights and equality around the world.

The Supreme Court Thursday decriminalised part of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises consensual gay sex, saying it was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Misra unanimously held that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community possess the same constitutional rights as other citizens of the country.

The influential LGBT Caucus in the US House of Representative said it was a piece of "good news".

"Good News! India's Supreme Court struck down an archaic colonial-era law criminalising consensual same-sex relationships. Today's historic ruling by the Supreme Court ends more than 150 years of discrimination against LGBT people in India," House LGBTQ Caucus said.

"History in India and a victory for LGBTQ rights and equality around the world. Love is love," Senator Dick Durbin tweeted.

Chelsea Clinton, daughter of former US president Bill Clinton, described it a landmark verdict.

"India decriminalizes homosexual acts in landmark verdict!!!!!!!!!!" she said in a tweet.

"This decision by India's Supreme Court is an important step forward in ending discrimination against LGBT individuals," said Congressman Frank Pallone.

"As a founder of the Congressional India Caucus, I'm proud of the progress India has made toward protecting the rights of all individuals," he said.

The bench termed sexual orientation as a "biological phenomenon" and "natural" and held that any discrimination on this ground was violative of the fundamental rights.

"Pleased to learn of India's Supreme Court decision over



urning section 377, the draconian law that criminalised homosexuality. Love is love," tweeted Congressman Eliot Engel, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

"Today, India's Supreme Court finally struck down a law criminalizing homosexuality. LGBT rights are human rights, Congressman Brad Sherman said.

As Ranking Member of the Asia Subcommittee he followed the case with interest.

"More countries should follow India's lead," he said.

"I'm proud India took this critical step toward recognising that love is love. There's still more work to do to ensure full equality for all of India's LGBT community, but today, I'm celebrating with you on this historic victory," Congressman Joe Crowley tweeted.

Leela Fernandes, professor of women's studies and political science at the University of Michigan, said the Supreme Court ruling marked a significant victory for LGBQT rights.

"This, along with earlier Court rulings on transgender rights, is important legal milestones on sexuality and equality," she said.

"The next challenges will be ensuring that formal legal rights are translated into substantive equality in everyday life in contemporary India," she said.

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Billionaire Richard DeVos, co-founder of direct-selling giant Amway, owner of the Orlando Magic and father-in-law of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, died Thursday. He was 92.

Family spokesman Nick Wasmiller says DeVos died at his western Michigan home due to complications from an infection.

DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, not far from Ada, the community about 225 kilometres west of Detroit where he later lived and died.

In 1949, he and friend Jay Van Andel took USD 49 and invested the modest amount into manufacturer and vitamin direct-seller Nutrilite.

They became independent vitamin distributors and later used the company's person-to-person selling approach when starting Amway in Ada with an all-purpose household cleaning product.

They coined the name Amway as an abbreviation of "American Way." Over five decades, Amway became a multibillion-dollar international corporation. Van Andel died in 2004.

"Rich and my father built this company from the ground up, and in many ways Rich was the heart and soul of Amway," said Steve Van Andel, Amway's chair.

"His vision and spirit inspired our employees and independent business owners for more than 50 years."



Michigan's Republican governor described DeVos as "an incredible businessman, philanthropist and true Michigander."



"The positive impact Rich had on our state is truly immeasurable," Rick Snyder said Thursday.

"Through successful business ventures and charitable endeavours, he created endless opportunities for residents of many different ages and backgrounds. Rich's giving spirit is how we will always remember him, and his legacy is certain to live on forever."



DeVos, who served as Amway's president until 1993, also was involved in the NBA, buying the Magic from a group headed by Orlando real estate developer William duPont III in 1991 for USD 70 million.

"Mr. DeVos' boundless generosity, inspirational leadership and infectious enthusiasm will always be remembered," Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement.

"Simply, he was the team's No. 1 cheerleader and the best owner that a Magic fan could ever want for their team."



Amway was not without controversy. The Federal Trade Commission charged in 1969 that the company was an illegal pyramid scheme, but ruled after a six-year investigation that it wasn't.

Amway also has been controversial because of its almost evangelical zeal in promoting free enterprise, and gained attention with DeVos' and Jay Van Andel's high-profile participation in Republican politics.

DeVos was a major supporter of the Republican Party and was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the Presidential Commission on AIDS in 1987.

DeVos and his late wife, Helen, also donated to Christian churches and ministries and various other causes through their Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation.

DeVos also supported Grand Valley State University in Allendale. In the 1970s, he served on its governing board. He later became president of the university's foundation board.

"Rich gave so much of himself to Grand Valley. His enthusiasm and vision were contagious, and drew the entire community together to help provide a world-class education to West Michigan citizens," Grand Valley State President Thomas J. Haas said in a written statement.

DeVos and Van Andel also helped revitalize downtown Grand Rapids, and many buildings and institutions in the city bear the names of the men or their company.

"I give because the Lord told me to give. But more than that, I give here because this is our town," DeVos told WOOD-TV in 2011.

"The town doesn't owe me anything. I grew up here and I was blessed to grow up here and it's a good place to be." He graduated from Grand Rapids Christian High School and attended Calvin College. DeVos served from 1944-46 in the US Army Air Corps.

His son, Dick, is married to Betsy DeVos, who was appointed Education Secretary by President Donald Trump. He is also survived by three other children, two sisters and a number of grandchildren.

Services have not been finalized.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Top members of Donald Trump's administration are so alarmed by the president's "erratic" and "amoral" behavior that they are actively working to undermine him, an anonymous senior official wrote in The New York Times Wednesday.

Trump immediately slammed as "gutless" the unsigned op-ed -- published a day after excerpts from bombshell book claiming that White House staff were constantly battling to rein in the president's worst impulses.

In the article entitled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," the official stressed they were committed to the Republican agenda, and did not side with opposition Democrats.

But, the official wrote, "we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic." "Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the official wrote. "I would know. I am one of them."



The official described a "two-track" presidency in which Trump says one thing and his staff consciously does another, for example with regard to what he called Trump's "preference for autocrats and dictators." Staff actively worked to insulate themselves from Trump's "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective" leadership style, the writer said.

"The root of the problem is the president's amorality," the official said. "That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office." Trump lashed out at the author of the anonymous piece -- and at the "dishonest" Times.

"They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them," Trump said. "So if the failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial, can you believe it, anonymous -- meaning gutless -- a gutless editorial -- we're doing a a great job." White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders branded the piece "pathetic, reckless, and selfish" and condemned the Times for publishing it.

"Nearly 62 million people voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016," said Sanders. "None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times."



The unsigned piece appeared to reinforce the claims made in the new book by investigative journalist Bob Woodward, which describes a virtual cabal of high-minded White House and cabinet officials scheming to prevent Trump from taking decisions damaging to the US economy and national security.

The White House has condemned Woodward's book as "fabricated stories," and Trump called it "a work of fiction." But the Times op-ed suggests that dissent and resistance inside Trump's White House are even deeper than Woodward described.

The official said that early on in the administration, some officials quietly discussed invoking the 25th amendment of the US Constitution, which allows the removal of a president judged unable to perform his duties.

"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until -- one way or another -- it's over." The New York Times acknowledged the extraordinary step of publishing such an anonymous op-ed, saying it did so at the request of the author whose identity is known to the paper.

"We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers," it wrote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Insurgents killed 19 security personnel in separate assaults in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, a day after twin bombings in Kabul killed 21 people, including two local TV reporters.

Another 89 people were wounded in Wednesday's bombings, in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital. The attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has carried out a wave of bombings against minority Shiites in recent years. The Taliban denied responsibility.

Later Wednesday, suspected Taliban insurgents overran a security outpost in the northern Badghis province and then ambushed reinforcements, killing a total of 10 soldiers, according to Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the governor.

In what is being described as an insider attack, a local police official in the northern Takhar province turned his weapon on his colleagues early Thursday, killing all eight. Abdul Khali Aseir, the provincial police spokesman, says the gunman escaped.

Two journalists from Afghanistan's TOLO TV were among those killed in the Kabul bombings. Samim Faramarz and Ramiz Ahmadi were "fearless" reporters who represented what is best in the country, the station said in a posting on Twitter.

"They challenged and pushed boundaries to deliver to millions daily. . .We are devastated," it said.

The UN envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, condemned the "callous attack" in Kabul and expressed "deep concern over the heavy price paid by Afghan media, with the killing of journalists in Afghanistan being among the highest in the world."



In April, nine journalists who rushed to the scene of an explosion in Kabul were killed by a second suicide bomber. A 10th journalist was killed the same day, shot in eastern Khost province.

Both the Taliban and IS carry out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan targeting security forces and government officials, but IS also regularly targets Shiites, who it views as apostates.

In the same neighborhood where the twin bombings took place, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 35 high school graduates last month as they sat for their university entrance exams. The dead were all teenagers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bengaluru International Airport Thursday said it plans to roll out facial recognition facility for the passengers of some select airlines from early next year as it seeks to make the boarding process paperless.

The private airport operator has inked a pact with the Lisbon-based digital and biometric solutions services provider Vision-Box to implement the technology, Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) said in a release.

The introduction of biometric self-boarding technology is aimed at transforming passenger experience and creating future-ready airport, it said, adding the move will also bolster government's proposed DigiYatra project.

Biometric technology will identify passengers by their face as they move across the airport, avoiding stops and the repeated presentation of boarding passes, passports or other physical identity documents, the release said.

The DigiYatra project seeks to minimise paperwork for air travel under a digital system for airport entry and boarding flights using a passenger's Aadhaar number and mobile phone.

"Vision-Box's biometric technology, combined with its passenger flow platform will enable a seamless journey for our passengers, from registration to boarding," said Hari Marar, managing director and chief executive officer, BIAL.

The first phase of the roll out will be completed in the first quarter of 2019, with Jet Airways, Air Asia and SpiceJet passengers as the first users, the company said.

With the implementation of the biometric technology, Bangalore airport will become the first aerodrome in the country to have an end-to-end solution for paperless air travel, it added.

Canadian NRI Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax owns 54 per cent and Siemens Projects Ventures 20 hold per cent in BIAL.

Of the remaining 26 per cent, Karnataka government and the Airports Authority of India holds 13 per cent each, respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bangladesh police on Thursday arrested a top road safety campaigner weeks after the country was rocked by massive student protests demanding greater efforts to halt deaths caused by speeding.

Dhaka police said Mozammel Hoque Chiwdhury, secretary general of the Passenger Welfare Association, was detained after being accused of extorting 200,000 taka (USD 2,500).

Dadan Fakir, head of police for the Mirpur neighbourhood of Dhaka where the case was filed this week, said the arrest bore no link to the protests, in which tens of thousands of students gridlocked Dhaka for nine days.

The protests, a major challenge to the authority of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, saw vehicles vandalised and pro-government groups attack demonstrators, photographers and even the US ambassador's car.

About 12,000 people die each year in accidents on Bangladesh's notorious roads, according to the monitoring group led by Hoque, a vocal campaigner for many years.

Last week, his group said 259 people were killed and 960 people were injured in more than 200 road accidents during the Eid al Adha holidays in late August.

After the protests, the government approved a new transport law allowing harsher punishments for offenders. Dhaka police say they are already cracking down on dangerous motorists and taking unsafe vehicles off the road.

Police have, however, also detained scores of young protesters, a top photographer and an actress over charges of inciting the demonstrations, sparking fears among activists.

Shamsuddin Chowdhury, an executive member of the Passenger Welfare Association, told The Daily Star newspaper that the charges against Hoque were "false".

"This arrest was made to gag his voice. Police are just making charges up," he said.

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Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre Thursday reviewed the operational preparedness of Coast Guard, during at visit to the Regional Headquarters (West) here.

The minister was briefed on the infrastructure development and coastal security mechanism of the Coast Guard Region (West), an official said.

Bhamre reviewed the preparedness of the Coast Guard to tackle maritime emergencies like marine oil pollution, grounding of ships and cyclones, the official said in a statement.

Measures taken by the Coast Guard to safeguard the interests of the fishing community, progress on the second phase of chain of static sensors were reviewed.

"An insight into the operational infrastructural developments was also presented to the minister. Special initiatives like making fishermen the "eyes and ears" of Coast Guard and helping children from fishing hamlets join the Coast Guard through community interactions were also discussed," he said.

Bhamre expressed satisfaction at the prompt response by Coast Guard ships and aircraft to numerous SAR (Search and Rescue) and medical evacuations at sea including assistance to fishermen in distress, the official said.

The minister also lauded the efforts of Coast Guard Region (West) for the "massive resource mobilisation" in the recent flood relief operations in Kerala.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Six policemen were injured and protesters stopped a train in Uttar Pradesh during a 'Bharat Bandh' called by upper-caste groups, but life remained largely normal across the state.

The bandh was called to protest against the recent amendments to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Parliament to overturn a Supreme Court judgment.

Reports from districts across the state said life was by-and-large normal despite the bandh call, officials said here.

However, in Kanpur, protesters stopped an intercity train at Panki railway station, but fled as soon as the GRP and RPF reached the spot, inspector S N Pandey said.

Heavy force was deployed in the Gorakhpur, where protesters blocked the Gorakhpur-Varansi national highway for three hours, hitting traffic movement.

In Sonbhadra district, the bandh had a good response, with minor incidents between the protestors and shopkeepers being reported from some places. About 50 protesters were taken into custody after a clash in Robertsganj town, in which a young girl had suffered minor burns, said Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sadab Alam.

Protesters burnt the effigy of the government in Kushinagar, whereas students protested at Sant Vinoba Bhave Degree College in Deoria and submitted a memorandum at the district magistrate's office.

In Etah, protesters gheraoed the home of Jalesar MLA Sanjeev Diwakar, who had to call the police. "I was with the people of my constituency when members of the 'Savarna Samaj', especially those belonging to Awagarh town, raised slogans and misbehaved with locals," the BJP leader said.

In Ballia, bandh supporters had a heated argument with another BJP MLA, Anand Swarup Shukla from Ballia Sadar, who refused to back them. Superintendent of Police Sriparna Ganguly said some people resorted to brick-batting in which six policemen were injured.

BJP MLA from Bairia, Surendra Singh, came out openly in support of the bandh. "Upper-caste people made me the MLA and not Muslims and Dalits. I am ready to sacrifice for the upper caste. If my upper-caste supporters ask me I can also resign (from my seat) for their sake," he said.

Normal life was also hit in Agra, where shops in main markets remained shut and agitators in several parts of the city blocked traffic.

Commenting on the strike, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "It (Bharat Bandh call) has no meaning. People have their feelings. In a democracy everyone has the right to express themselves."



"The BJP government is committed towards the welfare of people and development. We never play politics of caste and religion. The law is to protect the downtrodden. The government will ensure that it will not be misused," Adityanath told reporters in Gonda, where he had gone to visit flood-hit areas.

The Supreme Court had on March 20 ruled out immediate arrests under the Act and suggested a preliminary enquiry to ensure the allegations were not frivolous and to avoid the false implication of innocent persons. It also held that a government official could not be prosecuted under the Act without the sanction of the appointing authority.

This decision had triggered nationwide protests by Dalit organisations, forcing the Centre to amend the Act during the Monsoon Session of the Parliament to overrule the SC order.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 'Bharat Bandh' call given by some upper caste organisations and supported by OBC outfits against the amended SC/ST Act Thursday evoked a strong response in Madhya Pradesh even as the day largely passed off peacefully.

A majority of private schools, petrol pumps, markets and business establishments in most parts of the state remained shut, police said.

Protests were witnessed in Rewa, Satna, Chhatarpur and Ashoknagar districts while incidents of stone-pelting were reported from some places, they said. Police said they had to lob teargas shells at Aron in Guna district to disperse the protesters.

A number of arrests were made in some districts but the police could not give the exact number of those held.

The bandh was called against the amendment carried out by the Parliament to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after some of its provisions were read down by the Supreme Court.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs participated in the bandh.

The shutdown was effective in most the state's cities, including capital Bhopal, Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Mandsaur, Chhattarpur, Sagar and Ujjain, he said.

"We got an overwhelming response to our 'Bharat bandh' call," Sharma claimed.

A senior police official said, "In Rewa, Satna and Chhatarpur districts, thousands of protesters took to the streets. In Shadora area of Ashok Nagar district, some protesters squatted on the railway tracks, while in Rewa they tried to stop a train."



Tyres were set afire at some places in Rewa and Satna district. In rural parts of Ujjain, members of the Dalit community and the upper castes came face to face, the official said.

"Stone pelting was reported at some places in the state and police had to lathi-charge the protesters. At Aron in Guna district, police had to lob teargas shells to disperse the unruly mob," he added.

According to the official, some people tried to storm into Rewa district police control room, although their attempts were thwarted by the police. The protest did not evoke much response in tribal dominated districts, he added.

Inspector General of Police (IG-Intelligence) Makrand Deuskar said they were yet to work out the exact number of arrested protesters.

The bandh was by and large peaceful, he said.

In Khandwa district, members of Samanya Pichda evam Alpsankhyak Varg (SAPAKS) Samaj, a newly formed political outfit, staged protests in front of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The CM later reached out to them and received their memorandum.

"In most cities, the protesters belonging to different organisations took out rallies wearing black clothes and submitted the memorandum to authorities," Sharma said.

The markets in Indore remained shut in view of the bandh.

Talking to PTI, Indore's Ahilya Chambers of Commerce and Industries' chairman, Ramesh Khandelwal, said 110 traders' bodies extended their support to the bandh.

Several other organisations also staged protests in different parts of Indore.

"The bandh passed off peacefully and no untoward incident took place," Indore Deputy Inspector General (DIG) H C Mishra said.

Rewa SP Sushant Saxena said force was used to disperse stone pelting protesters at the city railway station. He said three persons were arrested in this connection.

In Bhind district, police detained Pushpendra Singh, son of BJP MLA Narendra Singh Kushwaha, while he was leading a protest in violation of prohibitive orders under CrPC section 144, Additional Superintendent of Police Gurukaran Singh said.

Several people in Gwalior, Bhopal, Vidisha and other cities were seen sporting caps and T-shirts with 'Main hoon mai ka lal' (I am my mother's son) written on them. These words apparently referred to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's past statement- 'Hamare rahte koi mai ka lal aarakshan khatam nahi kar sakta' (No one can dare to end the reservation as long as I am the chief minister).

Earlier, in Khandwa, Chouhan appealed to the people saying, "Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace. I pray that we all progress and no one should try to disrupt peace in the state. I am available for everyone...for each citizen."



"The door of the chief minister and his heart is open for all. I appeal to everyone to ensure that law and order situation remains peaceful in the state and if there is anything they want to say, they should say it in a peaceful manner," he said in the morning.

Interestingly, a flower shop owned by Chouhan's son, Kartikey, in Bhopal also remained shut.

Earlier this year, the apex court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the Act. This decision triggered protests by Scheduled Castes organisations, forcing the Centre to bring an amendment to the Act during the Monsoon Session to overrule the SC order.

The Gwalior-Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh had witnessed a violence on April 2 this year during the 'Bharat bandh' called by Dalit groups. Now, the upper caste organisations are staging protests against the amendments to the Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nikolas Cruz has offered to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison. Photo: Taimy Alvarez/TNS via Getty Images

Less than a month after Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Broward County prosecutors said they would try to make sure he was killed, too. His crime, the Broward state attorney said, was cold, calculated, and premeditated and prosecutors rejected Cruzs offer to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life in prison.

Broward public defender Howard Finkelstein said at the time that Cruz should not be put to death because the troubled teenager, known in his upscale Florida neighborhood for torturing pets and picking fights with other kids, gave off red flag after red flag, and all of them were missed.

This kid exhibited every single known red flag, from killing animals to having a cache of weapons to disruptive behavior to saying he wanted to be a school shooter. If this isnt a person who should have gotten someones attention, I dont know who is. This was a multi-system failure, Finkelstein said.

Now another line of defense may be emerging in the attempt to save Cruz from the death penalty, according to the Miami Herald, and it hinges on new information learned about his birth mother. Until recently, little was known about Brenda Woodard, who gave birth to Cruz in 1998 and gave him up for adoption almost immediately.

But in a sprawling article published today, the Herald says she was an oft-arrested career criminal who was known as a one-woman wrecking crew among law enforcement and drug treatment circles in Broward County throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. This is expected to come up in court.

Experts in criminal law say the Broward Public Defenders Office will likely explore Cruzs genetic makeup and childhood development in their effort to keep the 19-year-old from being executed. His birth mother could be called to testify during the sentencing phase of his trial on 17 charges of first-degree murder and 17 charges of attempted murder.

It is not necessarily her past, but how her past contributed to his genetic makeup, former prosecutor David S. Weinstein told the Associated Press. Her use of drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him, and how her genetic makeup was passed on to him.

It might not carry the day, but it will give the jurors another mitigating factor to consider, Weinstein said.

And it will only have to convince one. In Florida, a jury must recommend death unanimously, and even though the research suggesting a genetic component of criminal behavior is not strong, Woodards record may be long enough to sway someone. At least, that appears to be the bet Cruzs lawyers will make.
Most private schools and petrol pumps in Madhya Pradesh remained closed Thursday, while markets and business establishments in parts of the state were shut in view of a 'Bharat Bandh' call given by some groups against the amendments in the SC/ST Act.

Police said the bandh has been observed in a peaceful manner with no reports of violence or clashes so far.

The state government has imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 in all the districts of the state ans security has been tightened as a precautionary measure.

The bandh has been called against the parliament amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after some of its provisions were read down by the Supreme Court, which was construed as its dilution.

Majority of private schools in the state remained shut, while in several districts including Bhind, Shivpuri and Gwalior, the local administration declared a holiday for educational institutions as a precautionary measure. Petrol pumps across the state have also been kept shut.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs are participating in the bandh.

The bandh is effective in almost the entire state, especially Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagar, Ujjain and other cities, he said.

In Chhindwara, the Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, markets remained shut.

"Local residents wore black clothes in protest and business establishments remained shut," Vyapari Sangh president Mahesh Chandak said.

Chhindwara Superintendent of Police (SP) Atul Singh said, "Police were deployed in large numbers as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident."



Several people in Gwalior, Bhopal and other cities were seen sporting caps with 'Main hoon mai ka lal' (I am my mother's son) written on them. These words apparently referred to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's past statement- 'Hamare rahte koi mai ka lal aarakshan khatam nahi kar sakta' (No one can dare to end reservation as long as I am the chief minister).

Meanwhile, Chouhan appealed to the people saying, "Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace. I pray that we all progress and no one should try to disrupt peace in the state. I am available for everyone...for each citizen."



"The door of the chief minister and his heart is open for all. I appeal to everyone to ensure that law and order situation remains peaceful in the state and if there is anything they want to say, they should say it in a peaceful manner," he said.

Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) Makrand Deuskar had told reporters Wednesday that the administration in most of the districts have clamped prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144 in view of proposed bandh Thursday.

He said 34 companies of special armed force (SAF) have been deployed in different districts across the state.

Earlier this year, the apex court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the Act. This decision had triggered nationwide protests by Scheduled Castes organisations, forcing the Centre to bring an amendment to the Act during the Monsoon Session to overrule the SC order.

The Gwalior-Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh had witnessed a large-scale violence on 2 April this year during the 'Bharat bandh' called by Dalit groups. Now, the upper caste organisations are staging protests against the amendments to the Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scores of people Thursday protested amendments in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and carried out a march demanding changes in the legislation.

The protestors, including representatives of some social and industry bodies, also handed over a memorandum of their demands to District Magistrate Brajesh Narayan Singh.

The march began from the Noida Stadium with protestors, some of them sporting black bands on their arms, moved chanting slogans. The march culminated at the camp office of the district magistrate in Sector 27, amid beefed up security in the area.

The participants in the march included people from the Noida Lok Manch, the Noida Entrepreneurs Association (NEA), the Brahman Samaj Seva Samiti, the Agarwal Mitra Mandal besides representatives of trade unions and resident welfare associations (RWAs).

"The new law is being openly misused. Point in case is the episode of a retired Army colonel, where the misuse of law was evident and it is intolerable. The government should ensure changes in the law so that a majority of population is not victimised," the memorandum stated.

They demanded there should not be any arrest without a prior probe in any case related to the Act.

In case the accusation is found false, legal proceedings must be initiated against the complainant, it said. The groups said they also opposed the reservation system on grounds of caste and religion and batted for a quota system based on economic status.

"We hope and request that keeping in view the concerns you will take an appropriate action and not let the majority population become helpless which otherwise would be left to take some moves which might be detrimental to the law and order situation in the region," the memorandum stated.

Some organisations had given a call for 'Bharat bandh' Thursday against the SC/ST Amendment Bill passed in Parliament last month.

"The other community can get you jailed anytime and this march is to protest that. We want to tell the central government that please follow the guidelines of the Supreme Court on this issue. In the 2014 general election, it was our votes that brought you to power at the Centre but if you don't reconsider this, your desire to retain power in 2019 may not be fulfilled, Vipin Kumar Malhan, President of the Noida Entrepreneurs Association (NEA) said.

He said the city magistrate took the memorandum on behalf of the district magistrate and has assured forwarding it to the central government.

"If our demands are not met, next we will gherao the local Member of Parliament (Mahesh Sharma) and if he doesn't stand with us, then this public will also part ways with him in 2019 general election, Malhan said.

We are not against the SC/ST Act in entirety but only against the draconian provisions like arrest without probe and no bail proposed in the law after the recent amendments, social activist and founder of Noida village residents welfare association Ranjan Tomar said.

"The articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution provide every citizen with the rights to liberty and freedom. When you arrest somebody without probe it is like snatching away their rights," he argued.

"No doubt atrocities continue to be committed on people from the SC/ST communities but there have been several instances of false accusations also. Arresting someone without probe and making such accusations non-bailable offence is unfair," Tomar said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's Davis Cup captain Mahesh Bhupathi on Thursday defended the selection of N Sriram Balaji ahead of higher-ranked Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Purav Raja for the tie against Serbia.

Balaji was included in the side for the September 14-16 away tie as a replacement for Divij Sharan, who pulled out due to a tear in his serving shoulder. Saketh Myneni replaced Yuki Bhambri after Sumit Nagal refused to play the tie citing the Challenger Tour.

Balaji, 28, is now set to play his second tie having made a winning debut against Uzbekistan, last year.

AITA usually picks players on rankings but shunned the policy when it was forced to pick a replacement after both Sharan and Yuki Bhambri pulled out due to injuries.

"I wanted a balanced team. We have a lefty in Prajnesh already and I wanted someone who can serve big as well," Bhupathi told PTI when asked about the logic behind the selection.

Balaji is ranked 110th, while the left-handed Nedunchezhiyan and Raja are inside top-100, at 88 and 89 respectively.

"There is no doubles versus singles in Davis Cup. You always factor the opposition, surface, conditions and combinations. If you just go down the ranking as a compliance exercise every time, I don't think we can achieve the right combination of players to try and win the tie," Bhupathi added.

AITA selection committee chairman S P Misra said the decision was based purely on the recommendation of the non-playing captain.

"Rohan Bopanna and Balaji had played an excellent match against Uzbekistan (in Bengaluru, in April 2017). Their combination was good, so on captain's advise we picked Balaji. Also, there was no time to ask for the availability of other players because only yesterday morning we got to know about Divij and Yuki's unavailability," Misra said.

A source privy to the selection said Jeevan was not suited for clay courts.

"On clay, you need someone who can hit the ball very hard. With someone like Jeevan it won't work on clay. All these factors were considered while making a decision, so Balaji was a better choice," the source said.

However, Nedunchezhiyan's results this year show that out of his seven finals on the ATP Challenger Tour, two were on the clay courts of Savannah and Tallahassee in the US.

So, he has won three titles this season and ended runner-up in four, out of which two were on clay.

Asked about Purav Raja, another source said the AITA was not happy with the way he played in the World Group Play-off tie against Canada in September 2017.

"He did not play according to the expectations in the against Canada, so he was not considered," said the source.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tata Steel Thursday submitted before the NCLAT that the lenders of the debt ridden firm Bhushan Power & Steel permitted rival JSW Steel to change the basic parameters of its bids after submission.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on behalf of Tata Steel, submitted before the appellate tribunal that it was against the interim order passed by NCLAT on August 6.

While, Tata Steel following NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) order of the appellate tribunal August 6 order, has filed one additional plan.

Passing an order on August 6 order, the NCLAT had allowed all three contenders -- Tata Steel, Liberty House and JSW - to file additional unconditional 'resolution plans' by August 13, 2018, improving their financial offer without compromising the basic parameters of the 'resolution plans' already submitted by them.

However, the Committee of Creditors allowed JSW to change basic parameters of its resolution plans.

A two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairperson Justice S J Mukhopadhaya has listed the matter on September 24 for next hearing.

In July, NCLAT had vacated its stay and asked the CoC to consider resolution plans submitted by three firms -- Tata Steel, Liberty House and JSW Steel. The tribunal on July 20 gave a go-ahead to the CoC meeting, directing it to finalise a bid for the company.

However, JSW Steel revised its offer from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 18,000 crore ahead of the CoC meeting.

Tata Steel put in a bid of Rs 17,000 crore.

Bhushan Power and Steel owes about Rs 45,000 crore to its lenders.

Earlier on July 17, the NCLAT had stayed the meeting of CoC when they were going to vote for finalisation of the highest bidder (H1) for BPSL.

Bhushan Steel and Power was among the 12 non-performing accounts referred by the RBI for NCLT proceedings.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump has described famed investigative journalist Bob Woodward's forthcoming book, which has some damaging revelation about his presidency, as a work of fiction.

Titled "Fear: Trump in the White House", the 448-page book is scheduled to hit stores on September 11 and claims to give an insider's account on the White House working and decision-making process in Trump's presidency.

"The book is a work of fiction. If you look back at Woodward's past, he had the same problem with other presidents. He likes to get publicity. He sells some books, Trump said in a joint media appearance with the Amir of Kuwait inside the Oval Office on Wednesday.

The Washington Post on Tuesday had published a report along with some excerpts from the book, which the White House had said was "nothing more than fabricated stories" to make Trump look "bad".

In the book, based on hundreds of interviews, Woodward, an associate editor with the daily, has quoted senior administration officials, including Defence Secretary Jim Mattis. speaking against the president.

Trump and the White House insisted that the book does not reflect the working of the administration.

"We have done more as an administration than any other administration in already less than two years. It's incredible. We will soon be approaching two years, Trump said.

"The book is a work of fiction. It's really, if you look at it, it was put out to interfere, in my opinion, at this time, with the Kavanaugh hearings, which I don't think it's done, because so many people have come out against it.

"So many who have been written about said I never said that. Rudy Giuliani (Trump's lead personal defense attorney) is another one. He is very insulted by the book and what was stated in the book, the president said.

Trump said he runs a strong White House and "there's no question about it" as "we are doing things that nobody else has ever been able to do".

Our country is stronger now than it's ever been. And in a very short period of time, USD 700 billion being spent on the military.

"The next year, USD 716 billion. We will actually be far stronger than we have ve ever been. That's what we need it to be," he said.

Trump also denied a report in the Woodward's book that he ever suggested the assassination of Syrian autocrat Bashar-al-Assad.

Not at all. No, the book is fiction. I heard somewhere where they said the assassination of President Assad by the United States. Never even discussed, he said.

The book is total fiction, just like he wrote in the past about other presidents. You look at what he said about President Bush, what he said about President (Barak) Obama. Big, scandalous thing. It lasts for about a day, he said.

"That was never even contemplated, nor would it be contemplated. And it should not have been written about in the book. It's just more fiction," Trump said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Canadian generic drug manufacturer JAMP Pharma will be setting up its biggest centre of excellence for R&D and manufacturing of export quality drug formulations and will invest around Rs 250 crore.

According to an official release, the firm which will come up in the Genome Valley cluster here, is expected to generate 2,000 direct jobs over the next 24 months.

Telangana IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao assured the company of complete support from the Telangana government.

The city-based GeneSys Biologics, a specialty biotech company engaged in R&D of advanced biosimilars also announced the inauguration of its state-of-the-art biotechnology manufacturing facility in the Genome Valley.

Rama Rao Thursday unveiled several new projects in Genome Valley to the tune of Rs 800 crore, the release said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The CBI has arrested two promoters and directors of Annamalai Industries allegedly involved in Gutka scam in Tamil Nadu, officials said Thursday.

Along with its promoters A V Madhava Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta, the CBI has also taken into custody, Dr P Senthil Murugan of Food Safety and Drug Administration department of Tamil Nadu and N K Pandian, a superintendent of Central Excise department, they said.

The agency had carried out searches at 35 locations in the state Wednesday including the residence of state police chief T K Rajendran, a probable first in the country, and state health minister C Vijayabaskar.

The case pertains to illegal sale of gutka, a concoction of tobacco and 'pan masala' which was banned in Tamil Nadu in 2013, by Jayam Industries.

"The places searched were residential premises of the promoters/directors of the company and other public servants including officials of Sales Tax Department, Customs and Central Excise, Food Safety and Drug Administration Department and jurisdictional police officials," the CBI spokesperson had said.

The promoter-directors of Jayam Industries -- A V Madhav Rao, Uma Shankar Gupta and Srinivas Rao -- continued selling MDM brand gutka in the state even after the ban by allegedly influencing officials, politicians and regulatory authorities, the agency officials said.

Jayam Industries was rechristened into Annamalai Industries to continue the sale, they said.

The scam came to light on July 8, 2017, when income tax sleuths raided the godown, offices and residences of the company in Tamil Nadu, which had been facing charges of tax evasion to the tune of Rs 250 crore.

During the raids, the income tax department had seized a diary containing names of those who had been allegedly paid by the gutka manufacturers.

The case was sent to the CBI by the Madras High Court in April this year on the plea of a DMK leader.

It is alleged by the petitioner in the Madras High Court while demanding a CBI probe that monthly payments worth over Rs 14 lakh were made to health minister Vijayabaskar while payments in lakhs of rupees were made to officials of Central Excise, Food Safety and Sales Tax department of the state, senior police officials and politicians among others.

This was challenged in the Supreme Court by a Tamil Nadu health official but the apex court sided with the Madras High Court order and asked the CBI to register a case.

The agency had registered the FIR against unidentified officials of the Tamil Nadu government, Central Excise Department and the Food Safety Department in May.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Social Justice Minister on Thursday said there was no going back on the amendments made to the passed by Parliament against which some organisations had called for a

Speaking in Nagpur, Maharashtra, he said that his party-- the Republican Party of India (Athawale)-- was opposed to the government's advisory against the use of the word Dalit.

Those who are demanding a change in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act should change their own behaviour towards Dalits and treat them well, he said.

"There is no question of invoking the Act against anyone if he has not committed any atrocity against a member of SC or ST communities. We will ensure that the Act is not misused," Athawale, a prominent Dalit leader said.

An officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police first examines a complaint before initiating action under the Act, he pointed out.

"We are ready to talk with them (the protesters) if they are feeling that injustice is being done to them and find a way out. But there will be no changes to the passed by Parliament," the Union minister said.

Some organisations had called a one-day bandh on Thursday to protest against the amendments brought last month to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The amended bill passed by Parliament had nullified the "safeguards" ordered by the Supreme Court against arrests without a preliminary inquiry under the SC/ST law.

Asked about a government advisory to the media asking them to refrain from using the word Dalit, Athawale said, "The RPI does not agree with this advisory and will approach the Supreme court and put forth its view on the issue."



"The term Dalit is not insulting, rather it is a very energising word. Besides, we agree that the Dalit word should not be used in government work. But it should be allowed in the media," he said.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Pakistan Friday to hold talks with the country's new leadership to consolidate cooperation and elevate the all-weather bilateral strategic partnership.

This is the first high-level visit by a Chinese official to Islamabad since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections.

The visit by Wang, who is also designated as the State Councillor which makes him the top diplomat of China, comes two days after that of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo met new Prime Minister Khan and pressed him to take "sustained and decisive measures" against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

Announcing Wang's visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media that besides holding talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he would also meet top leaders of the new Pakistan government and exchange views on bilateral ties, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"This is the first high-level visit between the two sides after the establishment of the new government in Pakistan. We hope that through the visit the two sides could consolidate our traditional friendship, all-round cooperation and elevate China-Pakistan all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership," she said when asked about China's expectations from the visit from September 7-9



"China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and cooperative partners. We are good neighbours, good friends and good brothers. Our bilateral ties have been developing with sound momentum. We have frequent high-level exchanges, practical cooperation moving forward and rich outcomes from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)," she said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Pakistan's newly-elected President Arif Alvi, saying the strategic significance of the bilateral ties is "more prominent under the current circumstances" and both sides should support each other "more staunchly".

Wang's visit also comes amidst reports of unease in Beijing over how the new PTI government would approach over USD 50 billion Chinese investments in various projects under the CPEC connecting China's Muslim-majority Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Pakistan.

Khan in the past criticised former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the lack of transparency and corruption in the CPEC projects.

Newly-appointed Finance Minister Asad Umar has promised to bring about transparency to the CPEC projects whose details remained closely guarded secrets.

India has protested to China over the CPEC, which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kenya has arrested a Chinese businessman after a video of him making a string of racist remarks was widely shared on social media, the government said Thursday.

The Chinese national, identified as Liu Jiaqi, has been arrested and is being processed for deportation, said Kenya's immigration department.

"His work permit has been cancelled and (he) will be deported on racism grounds," the immigration service said on its Twitter feed.

In the two and a half minute video shared on Twitter and elsewhere, Liu, who appears to be in the midst of a dispute with one of his employees, is recorded issuing a litany of racist slurs.

"Every one, every Kenyan... like a monkey, even Uhuru Kenyatta. All of them," he said.

After the employee suggests Liu should "go back to China" if he feels that way, the businessman responds with further abuse. "I don't belong to here. I don't like here, like monkey people, I don't like talk with them, it smells bad, and poor, and foolish, and black. I don't like them. Why not [like] the white people, like the American?"



He added that he only stays in Kenya because "money is important."



It was not clear from the video exactly what Liu's job was in Kenya. Some Kenyans on social media have called for Liu to be charged rather than simply deported.

This is not the first time Chinese workers in Kenya have been accused of racism. Three years ago a small Chinese restaurant in the capital Nairobi was shut down by authorities and the owner charged for operating a "no blacks" policy after 5pm. Earlier this year Kenyan workers on a new Chinese-built railway alleged racism and discrimination by Chinese staff and managers.

However, the government dismissed allegations of racism on the USD 3.2 billion (2.8 billion euro) signature infrastructure project. Kenyatta was this week in Beijing attending a conference where China promised to invest another USD 60 billion in Africa.

The arrest comes a day after Kenyan police raided the African headquarters of the China Global Television Network in Nairobi, briefly detaining several journalists as part of an ongoing crackdown against illegal immigrants.

The Chinese embassy said in a statement it would express its concern through diplomatic channels, after several incidents in which nationals with legal documents were hauled into police stations for verification.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Unsurprisingly, Trump has already formulated a wacky conspiracy theory. Photo: Yuri Gripas/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Its becoming hard to get excited about every anonymous White House official who regales a reporter with tales of how theyre nobly fighting to keep President Trump from destroying the country  even when the reporter is legendary journalist Bob Woodward  but the latest plaintive wails from Trumpland come in an exciting new package: a New York Times op-ed titled I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration.

The piece spawned a new parlor game not unlike the decades-long quest to identify Deep Throat (except for the part where this individual tells Americans they can chill out about our anti-democratic leader because theres an unelected cabal working to advance a traditional conservative agenda). People immediately started digging for clues, both inside and outside the White House. Per the Washington Post:

The column, which published midafternoon Wednesday, sent tremors through the West Wing and launched a frantic guessing game. Startled aides canceled meetings and huddled behind closed doors to strategize a response. Aides were analyzing language patterns to try to discern the authors identity or at a minimum the part of the administration where the author works.

The only problem: Working in the Trump administration is an unrelenting nightmare, so everyone is a suspect.

The problem for the president is it could be so many people, said one administration official, who like many others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. You cant rule it down to one person. Everyone is trying, but its impossible.

The phrase The sleeper cells have awoken circulated on text messages among aides and outside allies.

Heres a look at the theories that have emerged so far: A few are somewhat plausible, while others may ascribe too much cunning to the gang that couldnt lower a flag to half-staff without controversy.

The author is a figment of the Times imagination  or an urgent threat to national security.

After denouncing the piece to reporters as a gutless editorial (which isnt inaccurate), President Trump offered up his theory on Twitter: The New York Times fabricated an entire op-ed, or the paper is harboring the identity of a traitor. Either way, we should definitely blame the New York Times!

Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

If Trump is right (fact check: he isnt) the papers opinion editors have done a good job of fooling their colleagues.

So basically: Times reporters now must try to unearth the identity of an author that our colleagues in Opinion have sworn to protect with anonymity? https://t.co/wj2nKmDHz9  jodikantor (@jodikantor) September 5, 2018

Maybe everyone in the White House did it?

CNNs Chris Cillizza wrote a piece describing 13 suspects, based not on any specific clues offered in the op-ed, but on what we know about the various factions, likes, dislikes, motivations and ambitions within the Trump administration. Kellyanne Conway is on the list because her husband trolls Trump on Twitter. Trump adviser and Russia expert Fiona Hills supposed motive: She was close to H.R. McMaster and Trump once mistook her for a clerk. Melania Trump is mentioned because the first lady writing the op-ed would be the most reality TV thing EVER.

Of course, none of this makes much sense. Melania declaring that everyone knows her husband is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making doesnt really fit with her anti-bullying campaign.

The author is a member of Trumps Cabinet.

The writer seems to suggest in this paragraph that they are part of Trumps Cabinet, or are at least privy to the thinking of Cabinet officials:

Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  its over.

After the Times referred to the author as he in social media, some concluded it was a man. But Times op-ed page editor Jim Dao told CNN thats just the papers standard for referring to someone who is not named. So you can keep speculating about whether Betsy DeVos decided to sound the alarm about Trumps lack of genuine appreciation for the ties that bind us to allied, like-minded nations.

The author isnt a MAGA hat-wearing conservative.

There are a few signs of anti-Trump conservatism in the piece. The author complains Trumps impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic, and lists the administrations achievements as effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.

Plus, the author concludes by citing Senator John McCains farewell letter, lamenting, We may no longer have Senator McCain. But we will always have his example  a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue.

The author is a MAGA true believer attempting to frame White House foes.

Back in May, one of the Trump administrations many anonymous leakers told Axios, To cover my tracks, I usually pay attention to other staffers idioms and use that in my background quotes. That throws the scent off me.

Making no mention of immigration, using stodgy turns of phrase, and praising McCain is exactly what someone like Stephen Miller might do if he wanted to frame certain colleagues, prompting his erratic boss to carry out a purge.

Its Vice-President Mike Pence, our scandal lodestar.

Is the vice presidents Waylon Smithers-esque demeanor toward President Trump all an act? On Wednesday night one word (and Gods reported plan for Pence) convinced many on the internet that this is the case.

Journalist Dan Bloom tweeted that one archaic word in the op-ed stood out to him:

The word is "LODESTAR." Note that it comes in the same paragraph praising John McCain. That would rule out flame-throwers like Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino and suggest someone with Senate ties. This reveal is not going to take long. pic.twitter.com/NwnUtvFlko  Dan "Darvo Part" Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

"Lodestar" just seems like an unusual word to use in general, not to mention in an op-ed that's going to be widely read. It has this whiff of sanctimony. So I search for John Kelly and James Mattis ever having used the word "lodestar." Nothing. But then...  Dan "Darvo Part" Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

Bloom discovered that Pence regularly used the word lodestar, dating back to at least 2011.

Here's Pence saying #Lodestar eight times, going back to 2001. I'm just saying! pic.twitter.com/oWWtngCgpK  Tommy Christopher (@tommyxtopher) September 6, 2018

Pence penning the op-ed would come close to being the most reality TV thing EVER, but the theory has its detractors. As Bloom noted, the Times identifies the writer as a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. Pence is the one White House employee who Trump cant fire, but maybe the paper was being intentionally vague?

as i read it, the language "job would be jeopardized" is rather broad. Even if Vice President Mike Pence can't be fired, if this were to go public, Pence's influence and effectiveness would certainly be jeopardized.  Dan "Darvo Part" Bloom (@danbl00m) September 5, 2018

Or perhaps, there is another 

What about Larry Kudlow?

While Twitter spread elaborate theories about Pence, another lodestar user was identified: Larry Kudlow, who succeeded Gary Cohn as Director of the National Economic Council in April.

Nate Silver identified another term that seems out of place: anti-trade.

"Anti-trade" sticks out here in a sentence where it doesn't really belong and makes me wonder if it's someone in Treasury or at least highly concerned with economic policy. https://t.co/I5G0jUvT8j pic.twitter.com/1iWZhmFse0  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) September 5, 2018

The Weekly Standard noted that Kudlow served in the Reagan administration and has struggled to fit his free-market views on trade into the Trump administration. Kudlow has served as a columnist and economics editor for National Review Online, and spent many years working as a media commentator, so he knows how to put together an op-ed.

Kudlow has been known to use all of the unusual phrases that appear in the piece, including steady state, lodestar, and first principles.

A phrase that *jumps* out to me is 'steady state'. Not something you see used every day but *very* familiar to someone with a grad degree in economics. pic.twitter.com/xE4ZffVoou  Dean S (@DinoStraciatela) September 5, 2018

No, but we must stick to first principles.  Larry Kudlow (@larry_kudlow) March 3, 2018

The Weekly Standard even found a familiar sentence in Kudlows 1998 book:

Plus, there are some similarities between the pieces language and Kudlows own writings. The root of the problem is the presidents amorality, writes the anonymous official. Anyone who works with him knows he is not moored to any discernible first principles that guide his decision making. Heres what Kudlow wrote in his 1998 book: If we stick with what I call first principles, which is morality and ethics, some spiritual guideline which was present at the creation with the founders  then this country is unstoppable.

On the other hand, it could also be 

Literally hundreds of other people.

The disclaimer from the Times makes it sound like theyre talking about a known Trump administration figure, and it seems unlikely that theyd publish such an extraordinary declaration from some low-level staffer. But technically a senior official in the Trump administration could work in the White House or at any executive-branch agency. It could apply to hundreds of government employees.

.@MajorCBS on identity of NYT op-ed author: "It is, for the moment, Washington's central obsession...One problem: the elastic definition here in Washington of who qualifies as a senior administration official. Hundreds upon hundreds might fit that bill." https://t.co/PEn0oz5DXg pic.twitter.com/sXad5R7n5D  CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) September 5, 2018

In other words, keep guessing! An anonymous administration official claiming hes part of a resistance movement working to thwart our unhinged president is about as fun a story as were going to get in these troubled times.
A box containing ultra-sound machine, worth Rs 16 lakh, that was stolen from a running Delhi Metro train few days back has been recovered by CISF sleuths after CCTV footage monitoring led them to the minor who allegedly picked it up, an official said Thursday.

The theft took place on August 31 when a company executive, who was carrying the machine in a carton, forgot to pick it while de-boarding at the Dwarka sector-21 station.

The executive, Rakesh, lodged a compliant with the Delhi Police stating that the carton containing Rs 16 lakh worth ultrasound machine has been stolen and subsequently the CISF was roped in and CCTV footage of the day was retrieved, a senior CISF officer said.

In the CCTV footage, a minor boy was seen picking the carton and his photo was then circulated amongst all Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) units deployed in the Delhi Metro, he said.

Sub-inspector S K Soni on Wednesday saw a minor sitting in the station area along with his mother and he immediately recognised the boy, the officer said.

The mother-son duo were interrogated and they led the police personnel to their home in Dwarka's sector-26 where the box and the machine was kept.

The machine was recovered and the minor boy and his mother have been taken into custody by the police for the alleged theft, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The City of London Corporation on Thursday announced its sponsorship of the Indo-British All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), a cross-party informal group working to strengthen bilateral ties, to promote closer India-UK relations in the field of financial and professional services.

The APPG, chaired by veteran Indian-origin Labour party MP Virendra Sharma and made up of members of both Houses of Parliament in the UK, aims to promote understanding and cooperation between Indian and British parliamentarians.

The City of London Corporation's sponsorship, which involves an annual fee of 3,000 pounds, falls under the umbrella of its wider Asia programme.

Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, said support of the "highly influential group" marked a logical next step for the Corporation, which provides local government and policing services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, known as the Square Mile of London.

"Since we opened our office in Mumbai a decade ago, the City of London Corporation has been at the forefront of promoting closer UK-India relations in financial and professional services alongside industry and government partners, McGuinness said.

The City Corporation highlighted its longstanding programme of work in India, with current priorities for the organisation in the country ranging from developing ties in insolvency and bankruptcy regulation development, green finance and fintech.

"The APPG is excited to be working more closely with the City of London Corporation. The City Corporation is a worldwide brand and an amazing asset to Britain, what they say matters, and we are looking forward to their contributions to the group, said Indo-British APPG chair Virendra Sharma.

"Their support means we can do new things, draw more attention to UK-India relations and continue to ensure policy makers are always thinking of that special relationship, he said.

The support of the APPG comes as the City Corporation continues its Asia Next Decade campaign, which involves working in partnership with industry and government to highlight future priorities for engagement between the UK and Asia.

The decision to support the Indo-British APPG was agreed at a meeting of the City Corporation's Policy and Resources Committee, which is responsible for the organisation's governance arrangements, recommending its strategic priorities, agreeing policy, and allocating overall resources.

It follows the organisation's longstanding sponsorship of many similar groups, including the APPG for China.

The City Corporation says it has run a representative office in Mumbai since 2007 to enable long-term relationship building with financial sector stakeholders across India. Around 10-15 Indian financial firms are based in the Square Mile, which the City Corporation works closely with.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee Thursday claimed over 100 prominent workers of the PDP and National Conference have joined its ranks in Uri Tehsil of Baramulla district.

"Hundred workers from the NC and PDP today joined the Congress party at a function presided over by senior party leader Taj Mohiuddin in Uri," said a JKPCC statement.

Welcoming the purported PDP and NC workers into the Congress fold, Mohiuddin, as per the statement, said his party would continue to work for overall development of the state and its people.

Mohiuddin was also quoted as saying that the Congress believes in uniting people and it would continue to bridge the gaps among the communities, created by "divisive forces to serve their vested interests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The will organise a nationwide shutdown on September 10 over rising fuel prices, parties leaders announced Thursday and asked other opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government.

The common man was bearing the brunt of the escalating prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, communications in-charge said.

"The party has decided that we will be giving a call for on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 trillion fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive in the state," he told reporters.

Surjewala said the Congress will also demand petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the so that the "common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief".

The Congress has also urged opposition parties to join the protest, he said.



Petrol prices in New Delhi and Mumbai rose to an all-time high of Rs 79.51 and Rs 86.91 per litre respectively, news agency ANI reported on Thursday. Diesel prices too rose up by Rs 0.36 per litre in Delhi (Rs 71.55 per litre) and Rs 0.42 in Mumbai (Rs 75.96 per litre).

"We also call upon other societal groups, NGOs... to join this people's movement," he said.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Thursday called TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao a "stooge" and "puppet" of the BJP and accused him of betraying the interest of Telangana, after his government recommended dissolution of the assembly months before the end of its term.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said Rao "insulted" the mandate by dissolving the assembly and has hit the "Telugu pride" of the people.

"Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is a stooge of Bharatiya Janata Party and is acting as a puppet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and (BJP chief) Amit Shah. He has betrayed the interests of the people of Telangana," he said.

Surjewala said Rao displayed "arrogance" by deciding to dissolve the assembly.

"This rank arrogance will be punished by Telugu people and they will not pardon him for siding with the BJP and for sacrificing the interests of people of Telangana," he said.

The reaction from Congress came hours after Rao called the party Telangana's "enemy number 1" and its chief Rahul Gandhi the "biggest buffoon" in the country.

Recalling how Gandhi had hugged Modi during the debate on the no-confidence motion against the BJP government at the Centre and his subsequent wink, Rao said, "Everybody knows Rahul Gandhi. He is the biggest buffoon in the country. Whole country has seen in the open assembly (Lok Sabha) how he went to Mr Narendra Modi and hugged him, the way he was winking," the TRS president said.

"Rahul Gandhi has inherited the legacy of the Congress Delhi Sultanate. He is the legal heir of the Congress empire of Delhi. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let's not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi," Rao said in Hyderabad.

At the presser in New Delhi, Surjewala sought to ask Rao whether it was not correct that the then UPA government had promised special institutions and development package to both the states - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

"Has the prime minister fulfilled this promise in the last 4.5 years. The truth is that the BJP and PM Modi have betrayed the people of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

"By sitting in the lap of BJP, K Chandrasekhar Rao ji is betraying the interests of people of Telangana. He is acting as a stooge and puppet of the BJP and he will be punished by the people of Telangana for the stark betrayal, rampant corruption, and complete maladministration during his government in these years," he claimed.

Shortly after recommending the dissolution of the Telangana assembly, Rao announced candidates for 105 seats.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Consensual sex among adult homosexuals or heterosexuals in private space is not a crime, the Supreme Court unanimously held today, as it struck down part of a British-era law that criminalised it on the grounds that it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity.

The path-breaking judgement held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised consensual gay sex was "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary".

While a constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the 158-year old law had become an "odious weapon" to harass the LGBT community by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment, a judge also said that history owed an apology to the community and their families for the delay in providing redressal for the "ignominy" and "ostracism" they have faced through the centuries.

It said Section 377 was a product of Victorian-era morality and there was no reason to continue with it as it enforced Victorian morale on the citizens of the country.

While concluding the historic 493-page verdict, Chief Justice Dipak Misra, who headed the constitution bench, said it was time to move from "darkness to light" to herald a New India which would be a more inclusive society.

"Section 377 IPC, so far as it criminalises even consensual sexual acts between competent adults, fails to make a distinction between non-consensual and consensual sexual acts of competent adults in private space, which are neither harmful nor contagious to the society.

"Section 377 IPC subjects the LGBT community to societal pariah and dereliction and is, therefore, manifestly arbitrary, for it has become an odious weapon for the harassment of the LGBT community by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment. Therefore, ... Section 377 IPC is liable to be partially struck down for being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution," the five-judge constitution bench said.

The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, held that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community possess the same constitutional rights as any other citizen and part of Section 377, which prohibits sexual relationship between consenting adults of the same sex, is violative of the right to equality and the right to live with dignity.

However, the apex court clarified that non-consensual gay sex or sexual activity with an animal or a child will continue to invite penal liability under Section 377 of the IPC and would remain a criminal offence.

The CJI, who along with Justice Khanwilkar, penned the main judgement, termed sexual orientation as a "biological phenomenon" and "natural" and held that any discrimination on this ground was violative of the fundamental rights.

"It is declared that insofar as Section 377 criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private, is violative of Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Constitution. It is, however, clarified that such consent must be free consent, which is completely voluntary in nature, and devoid of any duress or coercion," the bench ruled.

Delivering the judgement on a clutch of petitions, it said "morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality and only constitutional morality can allowed under the rule of law".

Justice Malhotra, a member of the bench in her separate judgement, said that history owed an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries.

Justice D Y Chandrachud, in his judgement, said that due to Section 377, the LGBTQ members were forced to live in hiding and as second class citizens, while the others used to enjoy the right of sexual orientation.

"Section 377 IPC, so far as it penalises any consensual sexual relationship between two adults, be it homosexuals (man and a man), heterosexuals (man and a woman) or lesbians (woman and a woman), cannot be regarded as constitutional. However, if anyone, by which we mean both a man and a woman, engages in any kind of sexual activity with an animal, the said aspect of Section 377 is constitutional and it shall remain a penal offence under Section 377 IPC.

"Any act of the description covered under Section 377 IPC done between two individuals without the consent of any one of them would invite penal liability under Section 377 IPC," the apex court said in its landmark verdict.

Justice Nariman said that homosexuality was not a mental disorder and such persons have a fundamental right to live with dignity.

It also said that "consensual carnal intercourse among adults, be it homosexual or heterosexual, in private space, does not in any way harm the public decency or morality. Therefore, Section 377 IPC in its present form violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution."



The respect for individual choice is the "very essence" of liberty and criminalising carnal intercourse was "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary", it stated.

The court referred to its 2013 verdict and said that upholding the validity of Section 377 on the ground that LGBTs comprised a minuscule fraction of the total population was constitutionally "impermissible" and the law was being misused.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

The constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises consensual unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 of the IPC as being violative of the right to equality and the right to live with dignity.

In four separate but concurring judgements, the top court set aside its 2013 verdict in the Suresh Kaushal case which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

The bench said the other aspects of Section 377 of the IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.

"Any kind of sexual activity with animals shall remain penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC," the bench said.

Dealing with a clutch of petitions, the court held that section 377 of IPC was used as a weapon to harass members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, resulting in discrimination, with Justice Indu Malhotra in her separate judgement saying that history owes an apology to the community for denying them their rights and compelling them to live a life of fear.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional.

The top court said the LGBTQ community possesses same human and fundamental rights as other citizens.

CJI Misra, who wrote the judgement for himself and Justice Khanwilkar, said the denial of self expression was akin to inviting death. The other three judges have written their separate concurring verdicts.

The bench said courts must protect the dignity of an individual as right to live with dignity is recognised as fundamental right. It termed sexual orientation as a "biological phenomenon" and held that any discrimination on this ground was violative of fundamental rights.

In so far as consensual unnatural sexual act in private is concerned, it is neither harmful nor contagious to society, the bench said.

Justice Nariman asked the government and the media to give wide publicity to the verdict so that the LGBTQ community does not face any further discrimination.

Justice Chandrachud, while reading out the operative portion of his verdict, said the members of LGBTQ community were targeted and exploited due to Section 377 of IPC. The members of this community have constitutional rights like that of any other citizen, he said.

Observing that the Constitution nurtured dissent as a "safety valve" of the society, he said "we cannot change the history but can pave a way for better future."



Justice Chandrachud also said that due to Section 377, the LGBTQ members were forced to live in hiding and as second class citizens, while the others used to enjoy the right of sexual orientation.

He said the denial of right to sexual orientation was akin to denial of right to privacy and the society cannot dictate sexual relationship between consenting adults as it was a private affair.

The apex court also said India was a signatory of international treaties on rights of LGBTQ and it was obligatory to adhere to them.

The bench also said that homosexuality was not a mental disorder but a completely natural condition.

The issue was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001. The Delhi High Curt had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal".

This high court judgement was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals, including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs two lakh on AAP MLA from Tughlakabad, Sahi Ram Pahalwan, for assaulting a youth in September 2016.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal did not award any jail term to the AAP politician as "an opportunity to reform" himself.

Besides Pahalwan, co-convicts Subhash and Lalit were also directed to pay a fine of Rs two lakh each.

"...considering primarily that the injured Yogender Bidhuri had suffered simple injuries in this case and in order to give an opportunity to the convicts to reform themselves, I do not deem it fit to award a sentence of imprisonment.

"Therefore, in the facts and circumstances of the case, all the three convicts are punished with a fine of Rs two lakh each under section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) IPC," the Judge said.

He also awarded a compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh to the victim.

The court had on August 1 held Pahalwan guilty while relying upon the testimony of Bidhuri.

The court convicted all the three accused for the offence punishable under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by sharp object), 341 (wrongfully restrain) and 34 (common intention) of Indian Penal Code.

The offence carried a maximum of three years jail term.

The accused had denied the allegations levelled against them, saying that they were falsely implicated in the case.

They had claimed that they had not beaten the complainant Yogender Bidhuri and that they were not even present at the spot at the time of the alleged incident.

The complainant had earlier told the Delhi Police that a cemented road was being constructed in a lane outside his house in Tekhand. He had alleged that the MLA had "threatened" the supervisor who was observing the construction to stop work on the intervening night of September 18 and 19, 2016.

Bidhuri had claimed that he called the MLA and tried to know why he was opposing the construction of the road after which the legislator "threatened" him with "dire consequences".

He had alleged that he had gone to get medicines with a relative when the MLA along with his accomplices allegedly beat him up.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Travel firm Cox & Kings Thursday said it has roped in Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma as its first ever brand ambassador.

Sharma will be promoting the company's unique travel offerings in a new TV campaign to be released soon, Cox & Kings said in a statement.

"She perfectly represents a generation that is energetic, unapologetic and fun loving which makes her the right fit to showcase Cox & Kings' innovative holiday offerings," company's Relationships Head Karan Anand said.

Anushka will be promoting the brand across print, television and digital platforms, it said.

"I am glad to be associated with the world's oldest travel company Cox & Kings. I love to travel and personally think that travelling opens us up to new incredible experiences and changes the way we look at the world," Sharma said.

Cox & Kings has operations in 22 countries across four continents.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken Amol Kale, the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case, in its custody in connection with its probe in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder case, an official said Thursday.

The CBI suspects that Kale is also the mastermind of Dabholkar's killing, he said.

Kale, who was arrested in May this year by the Karnataka Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with Lankesh's killing. will be produce before a court in Maharashtra's Pune district Thursday, he said.

Dabholkar was killed in Pune on August 20, 2013, while Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence at Bengaluru in Karnataka on September 5, 2017.

The official claimed that during Kale's interrogation, his alleged role in Dabholkar's killing also came to light.

Kale and Sachin Andure, the alleged main shooter in Dabholkar's killing, had met in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district and also stayed there in a lodge, he said.

During his stay in Aurangabad, Kale gave a pistol to Andure and it was passed to the latter's brother-in-law Shubham Surale, the official said.

The pistol was found last month at Surale's friend Rohit Rege's residence in Aurangabad during raids by the CBI and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

The seized pistol was sent to a forensic science lab for analysis and the ballistic report is yet to be known, he said.

The CBI wants to interrogate Kale to find out about his alleged role in the Dabholkar case and in this connection, the probe agency Wednesday took his custody from a prison in Bengaluru, he said.

During the course of investigation, the CBI is likely to confront Sharad Kalaskar, the other alleged shooter in the Dabholkar case, with Kale, and two others arrested in Lankesh's murder case -- Amit Digvekar and Rajesh Bangera, another official said.

The agency had claimed earlier that Digvekar and Bangera were also involved in the Dabholkar murder conspiracy.

It had arrested the duo in the Dabholkar case last week.

Kalaskar was arrested last month by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with an alleged conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state.

The ATS had claimed that during interrogation, Kalaskar revealed that he and Sachin Andure were involved in the Dabholkar murder, following which it tipped off the CBI which then arrested Andure.

The CBI took Kalaskar's custody from the ATS on Monday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Last year, representatives of Silicon Valley attended the first of what would become semi-regular meetings with Congress, open hearings in which the companies were criticized and prodded over a number of distinct issues: foreign election meddling, hate speech, censorship and privacy. Following those initial hearings and the lines of questioning on display, I thought Congress was on the cusp of an important realization: that these companies are simply too broad in scope, too large in scale, to address any of these issues effectively. Our representatives havent gotten there yet.

Almost a year later, nothing has changed. After other hearings of varying seriousness this year  witnesses ran the gamut from Facebook President and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to YouTube stars Diamond and Silk  Congress and Big Tech now perpetually recycle the same dialogue in each meeting.. The tech companies say they are aware of the problems, couldve done better, and will do more. The Congressional representatives respond with veiled threats of regulation: moves like breaking up the companies, or revisiting the shield laws that limit platform liability for user-submitted content. And then little happens and everything resets on the next go around. This is because both the interrogators and those being interrogated like to speak of these issues in vague terms, either because they dont entirely grasp the issue or because they want to avoid saying anything too definitive.

Today in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey fielded questions ostensibly about foreign election meddling but, as the hearings always tend to go, were actually about a kludge of messy issues (Google was invited but didnt appear, earning condemnation from the committee). For Sandberg, the hearing was about expressing Facebooks commitment to stopping  and being transparent about  inauthentic behavior. For Dorsey, it was about emphasizing Twitters commitment to bolstering the health of conversation on his platform.

What do these terms even mean? Its unclear. Inauthentic behavior, according to Sandbergs opening statement, means that the accounts misled others about who they were and what they were doing. That is, by design, an unspecific definition. Its what lets Facebook try to ferret out sock-puppet accounts from Russia without also shutting down the page for The Onion. Trying to judge whether behavior is inauthentic is a lot like trying to determine whether one of Trumps falsehoods is a lie  its difficult to determine intent. If the only difference between an American and a foreign user posting the same Black Lives Matter meme is intent, then maybe the metric needs to be reconsidered.

Dorseys endorsement of healthy conversation is similarly vague. A healthy conversation could mean exposing democratic socialists to alt-right Twitter users and vice-versa, or it could mean siloing each group entirely. Does showing users more factual news, even if personally distressing, count as healthy or harmful? Dorsey didnt really say and the Senators didnt push him on it.

One of the many problems with regulating big tech is that nobody seems sure about what aspect to regulate (speech? algorithmic fairness? competition?), and neither side wants to say. Politicians dont want to push for regulating speech, and tech companies dont want to openly state that they can arbitrarily limit speech at any time for any reason they want. Similarly, neither party wants to admit that that commitment to freedom of speech is what allows toxicity, foreign meddling, malevolent bots, and so-called inauthentic behavior to proliferate.

Eventually something has to break. Maybe the tech companies eventually assert their rights as private businesses to self-govern their platforms. Maybe regulators get tired of waiting and act without the cooperation of these companies. But trying to walk the line between these options is only shedding more light on how enormous these platforms are, how difficult online interaction can be to parse and how tough fair enforcement can be to execute. In other words, the longer this stalemate drags on, the more likely Congress is to arrive at the conclusion that the platforms are simply too big to exist.

Compounding the nebulously defined problems from Sandberg and Dorsey are the solutions that Facebook and Twitter are emphasizing to combat them: Artificial intelligence and strictly enforced sets of rules. They are trying to judge the fuzziness of human interaction in terms of 1s and 0s. Even the humans making moderation calls must do so at a machine-like pace, spending just seconds on each deliberation. The amorphous problem and the cold, technical solution dont exactly align.

By deploying this rhetoric in the Senate, Sandberg and Dorsey put regulators in a tight spot. Nobody wants to seem like they are endorsing inauthentic behavior and nobody wants to be against healthy conversation and debate. And so we are left with a stalemate  in which complex problems are boiled down to metrics then analyzed by machines and machine-like humans.

Maybe we are using the wrong metrics to evaluate social media and its many problems. The next time these companies appear before Congress, its probably worth asking if inauthentic behavior is the right problem to tackle, or if whatever defines healthy conversation is the right outcome to work towards.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das Thursday visited the food processing unit of the Sanquan Company located in Zhengzhou city in China to see the functioning of the plant.

Chen Zemin, the Chairman of the company, welcomed Das and other members of the delegation and informed them about different facilities of his plant, food processing, packaging and quality testing etc., for about an hour, according to an official release issued here.

This company has seven plants all over China and about 10,000 people work in this company with a turnover being about 10 billion yuan which is roughly Rs 10,000 crore, the release said.

Das informed the Chairman of the company about the possibility of production of vegetables and food processing in Jharkhand and also about the food processing policy and the facilities provided by the state government for the industries.

The chief minister also invited the Chairman to Jharkhand to understand these possibilities.

Das invited him and his delegates for the Global Agriculture and Food Summit to be held on November 29-30. In Jharkhand this area can get maximum investment, the Chief Minister said adding in the coming days, Jharkhand will become India's largest food processing hub.

Chen Zemin assured that he will study the Indian market and the possibilities of food processing in Jharkhand and will definitely take further action.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aimed at imparting electoral literacy to the youth, Delhi's first Electoral Literacy Club (ELC) at the college level will be inaugurated tomorrow in east district, an official said Thursday.

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Dev will inaugurate the club at Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women of Delhi University in Vasundhara Enclave, the official said.

According to east Delhi district administration, a number of youths will be provided information on registration of voters at the club and will also be encouraged to motivate others to register themselves with the club.

The official said the Election Commission of India has conceptualised the idea of ELC at different social strata of the society to make citizens informed and ethical voters.

"The ECI has formulated different instructions as resource guide at school level, college level and community level. It is Delhi's first Electoral Literacy Club at college level to spread awareness about electoral literacy," the official said.

The Delhi's draft electoral roll, published last week, has showed a dip of more than 1.4 lakh in the total number of electors in the city compared to the draft list of last year.

The total number of electors in Delhi stands at 1,36,15,776 in the draft roll and there is a decrease in the number of both male and female voters vis-a-vis the one published on October 23, 2017.

With the release of draft electoral roll, the Election Commission has begun the process to induct new voters in the electoral list.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Punjab Police on Thursday claimed to have nabbed a drug peddler and recovered 1.4 kg of heroin, smuggled from Pakistan.

A Pakistani mobile SIM card was also seized from Sukhchain Singh, police said.

During interrogation, Singh revealed that he had hidden the drugs in the fields near the Indo-Pak border, police said.

In a joint operation with the BSF, the Punjab Police retrieved two packets containing 1.4 kg of heroin near the border village of Algo Kothia, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Election Commission (EC) is likely to discuss the issue of holding polls in Telangana, where the state cabinet has resolved to dissolve the legislative assembly, on Friday.

A senior EC official said the commission met every Tuesday and Friday to discuss a variety of issues and the matter of holding elections in the southern state may come up for discussion at the next meeting.

"Issues like festivals, examinations and weather conditions will be discussed before arriving at a final conclusion," the official said.

The term of the Telangana assembly was till June, 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The (ED) Thursday conducted searches at 5 locations in Jharkhand in connection with the first-of-its-kind cybercrime money laundering case in which conmen based in a remote town of the state robbed gullible people of their hard-earned money by making cheat phone calls, officials said.

They said multiple teams of the central probe agency raided locations in Jamtara district and adjoining areas as part of the evidence gathering exercise in this probe.

The premises of at least four people, named as accused in the ED FIR, at five places are being searched, they said.

The agency had registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the ED equivalent of a police FIR, last month as part of its first-of-its-kind criminal case aimed to choke cyberbanking fraudsters.

It had filed as many as three ECIRs against Pradeep Kumar Mondal, Yugal Mondal and Santosh Yadav and their associates whom the agency has charged with have conned numerous people in the last few years by obtaining their vital banking information over phone (called 'vishing' in cyber terminology) after posing as bank officials.

These banking crimes perpetrated over phone and using stolen e-database has seen a phenomenal rise in the last few years prompting banks to ask their customers not to share their personal account details with anyone.

"It is alleged that these people and their associates, sitting in the remote town of Jamtara, syphoned off huge amount of money of bank account holders and have amassed assets worth about Rs 10 million each. The state police has registered multiple FIRs against them.

"The ED has now taken over cases under the PMLA in order to choke finances and freeze tainted assets of these conmen," a senior official had told PTI.

The ECIRs are the first of their kind for the ED as they have been registered after taking cognisance of original FIRs and the predicate offence filed under the Information Technology (IT) Act and sections of the IPC.

The ED complaint stated that these alleged conmen and their associates used to "make random calls to bank account holders" residing in any part of the country and threatened them that their accounts would be suspended if they did not share their confidential banking credentials.

"On getting the customer PIN/OTP after conning the account holder they would syphon off the money to e-wallets connected with some account that they had created with banks using fake KYC details.

"These cyberbanking scamsters allegedly used wallets of different banks to purchase various items or withdraw the stolen money," the ED found as part of its investigation before filing its criminal complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency found that these people used to operate bank accounts which they had opened using the identities of other people and used to transfer the stolen money into them.

"They were using various SIM cards which they used to dispose of after committing the crime and making calls to victims by introducing themselves as officials belonging to banks and regulatory bodies like the and among others," the official had said.

The ED took over the case after it found that the modus operandi of this criminal act had its root in the remote and far-flung areas of Jharkhand which are traditionally known to be backward.

"Being the epicentre of such crimes, Jamtara, a small town in Jharkhand, has earned the sobriquet of being the 'cybercrime capital of India'. Scamsters based in few of its neighbouring locations like Giridih, Dumka, Deoghar among others are also fast catching up with these e-crimes.

"This brings disrepute to the entire state," he had said.

The notorious story of Jamtara and its adjoining areas was also highlighted by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba sometime back when at an event here in May he said that more than half of India's cyber crimes are being committed by fraudsters from an "obscure place" called Jamtara in Jharkhand.

The 1982-batch IAS officer, whose cadre state is Jharkhand, had said that this town in Santhal Pargana region has become the "underbelly" of digital India due to the notoriety it received as the country's cyber crimes hub.

The home secretary had said the region was known for petty criminals and thugs and earlier their modus operandi was drugging train passengers, looting them, stealing coal, other minerals, because the region is mineral-rich.
Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Jay Pratap Singh Thursday asked officials of Gautam Buddh Nagar to ensure public welfare schemes of the state government reach the citizens.

Singh, the excise and prohibition minister as well as the Yogi Adityanath government's minister in-charge of this district, made the remarks during a meeting with administration officials here, read an official statement.

State officials have a major role (to play) in making sure programmes and schemes of the government reach the people. Therefore, all the district-level officers should make special efforts to ensure benefits of public welfare schemes reach the ordinary citizens, he said.

Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, Dadri MLA Tejpal Nagar, District Magistrate Brajesh Narayan Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Pal Singh, among others, were present at the meeting.

While interacting with the administration and police officials, the minister stressed that Gautam Buddh Nagar is a very important district in terms of industrial development and that the Uttar Pradesh government sees it as the 'face for the whole state'.

The officers of the police and administration should change their functioning style and make special efforts to maintain law and order so that Gautam Buddh Nagar sees industrial development at a faster pace, Pratap Singh said, according to the statement.

While reviewing development programmes, he asked the officers to utilise the budget allocated to their departments and ensure timely and quality works.

The minister also commended the district administration for invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against the mining mafia.

"Other such mining gangs should be identified and strict action should be taken against them, he said. The minister said several online programmes are available for the people where their grievances could be addressed.

He asked the district officials to spread awareness among the people about such programmes and also to address their problems at the earliest.

District Magistrate B N Singh assured the minister that all development works would be accelerated, while special efforts would be made to maintain law and order.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bollywood celebrities such as Karan Johar, Hansal Mehta and Alia Bhatt welcomed the Supreme Court's judgement Thursday decriminalising consensual gay sex, calling it a historic victory for equal rights and a proud moment for the country.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said the law was violative of right to equality.

Director Hansal Mehta, who made "Aligarh", a true-life inspired film about in Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras, who faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a "new beginning".

"A new beginning. The law is gone. The Supreme Court has done what parliament failed to do. Now it's time for attitudes to change. Let's rejoice but let us also reflect. This is a new beginning. #Sec377verdict," he tweeted.

Alia Bhatt tweeted, "Love is love Such a momentous day in the history of our country!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!! #Section377 #PrideIndia."



Filmmaker Karan Johar said the verdict had given the country "its oxygen back".

"Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!," he wrote on Twitter.

Actor Arjun Kapoor said,"Sanity prevails for once we can believe we have some sensible decision makers and lawmakers available to this generation. #Section377 gone with the wind."



Actor Sonam Kapoor said she was overjoyed for the LGBTQI community.

"One day there won't be any labels and we will all live in utopia," she added.

"Aligarh" scriptwrite Apurva Asrani said it has taken 71 years for the community to find its freedom but their voice can no longer be suppressed.

"At the stroke of the mid-day hour, as the conscience of many slept, India's LGBTQ awoke to light & freedom. This moment came 71 years too late history, 71 yrs after our brethren attained freedom; but the soul of a community, long suppressed, has found utterance. Congratulations!," Asrani said.

Mehta said their differences with Asrani aside, the scriptwriter has been an important figure in the fight to "gain justice for a community that has long been marginalised by law and society."



Actor Swara Bhaskar said the verdict showed that popular morality cannot suppress constitutional rights.

"Yayeee!! Good on you Hon'be #SupremeCourt & thank you! I hope the citizens of #India are listening! Majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights. We have to vanquish prejudice, embrace inclusion and ensure equal rights," she wrote.

Akshay Kumar called the judgement a historic day for India.

"Love for all, freedom for all RIP #Section377," he wrote on Twitter.

Anushka Sharma said it was huge step forward for love and the right to love.

Farhan Akhtar said the verdict was long overdue.

"Bye bye 377. Thank you #SupremeCourt #abouttime #nomorediscrimination #loveislove @MardOfficial," he tweeted.

Actor Ayushmann Khurrana also celebrated the death of Section 377.

"The new sunshine of this day is that of a progressive India. Love all!," he said.

Actor Kalki Koechlin wrote, "So happy today, thank goodness for the rainbow (and all the lawyers that helped put it there!)," she wrote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A shareholder and former employee of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has approached the NCLT alleging oppression and mismanagement of employee welfare fund and assets of the company.

However, L&T refuted the claims, terming them as "frivolous" and "baseless".

The petitioner Uday Dixit sought action against the engineering major and its chief A M Naik.

Dixit, in his petition, alleged that the company, which is the only large firm majority-owned by employees, had committed fraud on shareholders and employees.

Denying the allegations, an L&T spokesperson said, "The petitioner has been filing frivolous and baseless cases against L&T and its management in the past few years. The courts have already dismissed five of these cases including the SLP in the Honourable Supreme Court of India in September 2013 and the writ petition in the Honourable High Court, Mumbai in March 2018. L&T will suitably respond to the petition in NCLT."



The petition, filed before the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), claims that L&T had deducted a sum from the salaries of its employees, including the petitioner's, between 2003 and 2008, without taking due consent.

Even though a Memorandum of Settlement regarding wage scale and other payables to workers was signed and given to the workers by the company's union, the deduction of Rs 2,000 per month from the payables to the employees was never reflected in the settlement, the petition claimed.

According to Dixit's petition, employees were verbally informed in a general meeting of the union that some amount would be deducted from their salaries and equity shares of L&T for the deducted amount would be issued to them.

However, employees were given shares of the Employee Welfare Pvt Ltd company.

It can be noted that Dixit, in the 73rd AGM of L&T last month, had questioned the rationale for the board to allow Naik to set a super specialty cancer hospital at the Powai campus in memory of Nirali, Naik's grand-daughter who died of the dreaded disease as a child.

Dixit and a few other shareholders had said the land allotted for the proposed hospital was supposed to be a manufacturing facility of the company till 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facebook and Twitter are taking steps to prevent foreign interference in elections around the world, top executives of the two social media giants have told the US Congress.

US intelligence agencies have in the past claimed that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election won by President Donald Trump. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the claims during a summit with his American counterpart in Helsinki in July.

Chief Operating Officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg and Chief Executive Officer of Twitter Jack Dorsey on Wednesday testified before the US Congress.

Sandberg told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence: "We are focused on the upcoming US midterms and on elections around the world. Our efforts in recent elections from Germany to Italy to Mexico to the Alabama special Senate election show us that the investments we are making are yielding results.

"We also know that we cannot stop interference by ourselves. We're working with outside experts, industry, partners and governments, including law enforcement, to share information about threats and prevent abuse".

Facebook is getting better at finding and "stopping our opponents" from financially motivated troll farms to sophisticated military intelligence operations, she said.

"We don't have access to intelligence that the government has, so we don't always know exactly who is behind these attacks or their motives, and that's why we will continue working closely with law enforcement," Sandberg said.

Twitter's Dorsey told lawmakers that his company has made significant progress recently on tactical solutions like identification of many forms of manipulation intending to artificially amplify information, more transparency around who buys ads and how they are targeted, and challenging suspicious logins and account creation.

"We've seen positive results from our work. We're now removing over 200 percent more accounts for violating our policies. We're identifying and challenging 8 to 10 million suspicious accounts every week, and we're thwarting over a half million accounts from logging in to Twitter every single day," Dorsey said.

Twitter has learned from 2016 and more recently from other nations' elections how to protect the integrity of elections; better tools, stronger policy and new partnerships are already in place, he said.

"We intend to understand the efficacy of these measures to continue to get better, but we all have to think a lot bigger than decades past. We must ask the question, what is Twitter incentivising people to do or not do and why? The answers will lead to tectonic shifts in Twitter and our industry operates. Required changes won't be fast or easy," he said.

Responding to a question, Dorsey said Twitter has also learned a lot from elections around the world; most recently, the Mexican election. Twitter opened a new portal to cover that election, that allows any journalist or government law enforcement to actually report any suspicious behaviour very quickly to it, so that they can take more actions.

"Otherwise, we have been investing in artificial intelligence and machine learning models to again recognise the patterns of behaviour because we believe this is where the greatest leverage will come from, recognising how people artificially amplify information and shutting it down before it spreads, into the shared spaces of Twitter and more broadly, into someone's replies to a tweet," Dorsey said.

Sandberg said: "I think we've learned a lot and I think we're going to have to continue to learn because as we learn, our opponents learn and we have to keep up. We're working on technology and investments in people making sure fake is disseminated less on the platforms, transparency actions and taking down bad actors.

"We have seen everywhere from Mexico to Brazil to other places around the world, these same techniques deploy differently and each time we see it, I think we get smarter, I think we see the new threat and I think we're able to connect the dots and prevent those threats going forward".

Senator Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, expressed concern that social media is vulnerable to corruption and misuse.

The very worst examples of this are absolutely chilling and a threat to democracy, he said.

Ranking Member Senator Mark Warner said that Russians continue to infiltrate and manipulate American social media to hijack national conversation.

"You've gotten better, and I'm pleased to see that you've begun to take action, but also the Russians are getting better as well. They have now become harder to track. Worse, now that the Russian playbook is out there, other adversaries, as we saw recently, like Iran, have joined the fray," he said.

Warner said foreign-based disinformation campaigns represent just a fraction of the challenge before you. In the same way that bots, trolls, fake pages, algorithmic gaming can be used to spread fake news, these same tools can be used to assist financial stock pumping fraud, to create filter bubbles and alternative realities, to incite ethnic and racial violence, and countless other misuses.

"Russian disinformation has revealed a dark underbelly of the entire online ecosystem, and this threatens to cheapen American discourse, weaken privacy, erode truth, and undermine our democracy on a previously unimagined scale. Worse, this is only going to get harder as we move into artificial intelligence, use of Deepfake technology," Warner added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Tamil Nadu government Thursday expressed serious concern on the Terms of Reference of the 15th Finance Commission, even as the panel's chairman said it had "no say" in its formulation.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami opposed the reference to control of expenditure on government's "populist programmes."



"Populist is a subjective term which has a very fine line of difference with popular schemes.

Tamil Nadu has a number of social welfare schemes designed with specific socio-economic objective and cannot be termed 'populist', he said during a meeting with the Commission chairman N K Singh at the Secretariat here.

Palaniswami said he felt that it would be inappropriate for the commission "to judge the collective wisdom of States' legislatures."



Palaniswami said he has already written to the chairman expressing serious concern on the Terms of Reference (ToR).

"I wish to reiterate that we oppose the use of 2011 population data. It would punish progressive states like Tamil Nadu which have achieved success in population control through their own efforts," Palaniswami said.

Talking to reporters after holding discussions with top government officials, Singh said the commission has "no say" in formulation of the ToR and "it is completely neutral."



About other issues pertaining to Tamil Nadu, Singh said the rise in aging population in the state would create "new pressures" on the government's finances.

Singh said the urban population in Tamil Nadu has crossed 50 per cent based on the latest census data.

"There is no doubt that in the decades ahead, India's growth engine will come from urban centres of growth and will not only provide Tamil Nadu, but also the country a great opportunity to achieve high rates of economic growth," he said.

Singh said the state has made an outstanding contribution to the momentum of India's economic development by bringing down "poverty" significantly below the all India average and the "per capita income" significantly better than national average.

"They (Tamil Nadu) have also had an excellent record in terms of fiscal management and macro economic stability and fiscal and debt ratios well within the acceptable limits," he said.

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

Shuffling between classes and study sessions, busy college students rely on their backpacks to tote everything theyll need for the day around with them. While high schoolers love their basic JanSports, Sube Zia, manager of Ambassador Luggage in Manhattan, says undergrads look for more durable, professional bags that can go from the classroom to an internship. Fortunately, as Cassandra Sethi, fashion stylist and founder of Next Level Wardrobe, points out, Backpacks are still trending among many age groups, so there are lots of attractive, grown-up options on the market. We asked Zia and Sethi to recommend their favorites for new, and returning, college kids.

Best laptop backpacks

Victorinox VX Sport Cadet Laptop Backpack $75 now 9% off $68 This lightweight pack, from Victorinox (of Swiss Army knife fame), has a padded laptop compartment to securely fit a computer up to 16 in size, and also has padded shoulder straps for keeping students comfortable as the backpack weight climbs up. Compared to other backpacks at a similar price point, Zia says, You can see the fabric is superior in the VX Sport. He likes it for college students because its one of the more affordable options from the quality-focused brands lineup, and has dedicated pockets for staples like pens, tablets, and water bottles. $68 at Amazon Buy $68 at Amazon Buy

Best fashion backpacks

Knomo London Mayfair Beauchamp Backpack $149 While pricier than most options for students, Zia says he sells Knomo bags to plenty of college kids who want to make an impression. The London-based brand is known for its travel bags and backpacks that manage to be both stylish and functional. This style, with saffiano leather trim and gold accents, features a shockproof laptop compartment and ergonomic, padded straps. $149 at Zappos Buy

Briggs & Riley Kinzie Street Small Wide Mouth Backpack $249 Zia calls the bags from Briggs & Rileys Kinzie Street line subtly good looking and appealing to those who prefer a style thats more business casual than utilitarian. He says its ideal for college students because its ultra-lightweight, laptop-oriented, and comes in different colors. With useful pockets for stashing headphones or pens, and a water-resistant coating, its an investment pick that could easily last for all four years of college  and look professional enough for a first job. $249 at Amazon Buy $249 at Amazon Buy

Best sporty backpacks

Kipling Seoul Go Backpack $119 If your day includes a workout at the campus gym  and then carrying around smelly exercise clothes  Zia recommends Kiplings expandable and washable backpacks that can stash an extra outfit and easily be thrown into the washing machine to eliminate odors. This lightweight bag can even fit a laptop up to 15 in size, and has several interior compartments for staying organized. $119 at Zappos Buy

Topo Designs Y-Pack Backpack $79 Photo: 18-03-09 Accessories PM1 B8 pattygranlund M With a background in rugged, outdoorsy styles, Topo Designs bags are a good match for students who might also take their daily backpack on a hike or camping trip. This backpack is made out of a ballistic weave, says Sethi, which is highly durable and can stand all the daily wear and tear. The 15 laptop sleeve and zippered outer pouches provide plenty of storage space, and active students can use the easy-access side pockets for water bottles or other gear. $79 at Madewell Buy

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YNOT Deploy Backpack $90 now 20% off $72 Even college students who are rough on their bags will have a hard time wrecking the Deploy bag. The waxed canvas outer layer is highly water-resistant and the seams are reinforced with bartacked stitching in areas that see a lot of wear and tear. Theres also a lifetime warranty if anything does tear or break. For students traveling abroad, Sethi likes that the whole bag folds into the front pocket for easy storage. $72 at YNOT Buy

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best womens jeans, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, ultra-flattering pants, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.


Reflecting growing congruence in ties, India and the US Thursday signed a landmark security pact, decided to set up hotlines between their defence and foreign ministers and deliberated on thorny issues such as India's purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia and import of crude oil from Iran.

In the first edition of the two-plus-two talks, the two sides also discussed cross-border terrorism, India's bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the contentious H1B visa issue, and ways to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

These key strategic issues came up during talks External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis here.

Recognising their rapidly growing military-to-military ties, the two sides also decided to have a new tri-services exercise as well as further expand scope of jointly developing military platforms and equipment, a joint statement said. The first tri-services -army, navy and air force- exercise will take place next year.

"We fully support India's rise as a leading global power, and we welcome India's equal commitment to our partnership," Secretary Pompeo said at a joint media briefing with Swaraj, Mattis and Sitharaman.

Officials said the 'Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement' (COMCASA) will allow India to receive high-end military communications equipment from the US and will also ensure exchanges of real-time encrypted information on platforms used by Indian armed forces from the US military networks.

They said the provision of the pact came into effect immediately and it will be valid for next 10 years. The pact was long-pending due to apprehensions in India that provisions of the pact may allow the US to keep an eye on the India's military platforms as they will be connected through the American communication network.

During the talks, India has conveyed to the US about its reliance on the Iranian crude oil to meet the country's energy requirement to which the US side conveyed that it will help it deal with the situation and that both sides will remain engaged on the issue, sources said.

The US has asked all countries to bring down their oil import from Iran to zero by November 4, when the sanctions will come into effect fully.

Sources said on New Delhi's plan to buy S-400 air defence missiles and other defence platforms, the US told India that it understands the decades-old Indo-Russia defence and military cooperation.

"The US delegation assured India that its ties with Russia will not impact the long term Indo-US strategic cooperation," a source said.

The purchase of the S-400 missile system could trigger US sanctions on India as the Trump administration has imposed restrictions on military purchase from Russia.

"Freedom means that at times nations don't agree with each other...That doesn't mean we can't be partners," Mattis had told reporters ahead of his visit to India when asked about New Delhi's plan to buy missile systems from Moscow.

Sources said India also explained strategic importance of New Delhi's involvement in the Chabahar port project in sanction-hit Iran to the US, particularly for trade with Afghanistan and the US concurred with the view. The ports in Iran are also coming under US sanctions.

Talking about cooperation in the energy sector, the joint statement said both sides resolved to full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India.

Sources said Swaraj also forcefully raised the issue of H1B visa.

"I have mentioned this to Secretary Pompeo that on the basis of the friendship which exists between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, Indians believe that America will not work against their interest. I have mentioned him to maintain the trust of Indians," Swaraj said at a joint media event.

Referring to maritime cooperation, both the countries expressed commitment to work together and in concert with other partners toward advancing a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

In the joint statement, the two countries called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries.

"On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist attacks," the statement said.

Swaraj said President Donald Trump's call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with India.

"We discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the United States in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process, that brings together all ethnic groups and political formation in the country," she said.

According to the joint statement, the ministers also announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defense industry cooperation and collaboration.

On stepping up maritime cooperation, the ministers committed to start exchanges between the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy, underscoring the importance of deepening their maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tour operators in the should tap the full tourism potential of the country and special focus was needed to bring more Chinese tourists, Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam said today.

Addressing the inaugural session of the four-day 34th annual convention of the Indian Association of TourOperators (IATO) here, he also suggested that the industry body be renamed Indian Association of Tour Ambassadors.

The Minister said despite special measures, only 2.47 lakh Chinese tourists visited India in 2017 and asked the IATO to play a major role in exploring the full potential and drawing more visitors.

Referring to the flood-hit Kerala, he said the state was ready in record time to welcome tourists thanks to the solidarity of its people.

"I salute the spirit of the Kerala people," he said appreciating the efforts of relief workers.

Even school and college students and civil servants from other states took part in the relief efforts, the minister said.

Kerala Tourism Minister Kadakmpally Surendran thanked everyone on behalf of the state government for helping in the rescue and rehabilitation of the people, who faced unprecedented floods in over a century last month.

Union Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma said tour operators should explore and promote new destinations across the country to attract more foreign tourists.

She said the country's full potential of tourism and hospitality sector has not yet been explored.

"It is time to explore and promote new tourist destinations to attract more number of foreign visitors who have been looking for new destinations, particularlyadventure and rural tourism," the official said appealing to the IATO to seek new places for the growth of the sector.

Noting that foreign tourist arrivals in the country crossed the 10 million mark in 2017, she said there was a lot of potential in the tourism sector to achieve the IATOs mission of 20 million tourists by 2020, though it was not an easy task.

IATO President Pronab Sarkar requested the union government to consider lower visa fee for attracting foreign tourists and have a rethink on GST on hoteland hospitality services.

Andhra Pradesh Tourism Minister Bhuma Akhila Priya said the state government had been focusing on promoting tourism by developing tourist destinations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Under pressure from US safety regulators, Ford is recalling about 2 million F-150 pickup trucks in North America because the seat belts can spark and cause fires.

The recall, which covers trucks from the 2015 through 2018 model years, comes about one month after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating fires in the pickups, which are the top-selling vehicles in the United States.

Ford said Thursday that it has 23 reports of smoke or fire in US and Canadian trucks, but it's not aware of any injuries. NHTSA began investigating in early August after getting five fire reports, including three reports that trucks were destroyed.

According to Ford, seat belt pretensioners can generate excessive sparks when they tighten before a crash. That can ignite gases inside a support pillar between the front and rear seats, causing insulation and carpet to catch fire.

The Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab trucks were built between March 12, 2014 and Aug. 23, 2018, according to documents posted Thursday by NHTSA.

The seat belt pretensioners were made by ZF-TRW and now-defunct air bag and seat belt maker Takata, which was purchased by Joyson, another auto parts supplier.

Dealers will remove insulation and install heat-resistant tape to repair the trucks. They also will remove remnants of wiring tape and modify interior panels in Regular Cab trucks. Owners will be notified starting September 24.

In one of the complaints filed with the US government, an owner in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told NHTSA that on July 7, a deer ran into the driver's side of a pickup, causing minor damage.

The side air bags inflated, and after five to 10 minutes, a passenger noticed a fire on the bottom of the post between the front and rear doors where the seat belts are located. "The truck went up in complete flames in a matter of minutes and is a complete loss," the owner wrote.

People who file complaints are not identified in the NHTSA database. Ford said in a filing Thursday with US securities regulators that the recall will cost about USD 140 million and will be counted in third-quarter results. The company maintained its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share guidance of USD 1.30 to USD 1.50.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A gunman opened fire at a bank building in the US city of Cincinnati Thursday, fatally wounding three people before police shot and killed him, authorities said.

The incident occurred after 9:00 am local time at the lobby and loading dock of the 30-story Fifth Third Bank building in the city's downtown business district.

"An individual entered the loading dock area, began firing shots," Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said.

Nearby police engaged the gunman in a shootout and killed him, the chief said.

Three people died of their wounds and two others remain hospitalized.

The shooter's identity or motive were not released.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Global trade protectionism poses low-to-moderate risk to steel producers in India as there is lesser dependence on exports and safeguard measures on imports, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said Thursday.

"Global trade protectionism poses low-to-moderate risk to Indian steel producers because of low reliance on exports and safeguard measures on imports," it said in a statement.

On March 9, US President Donald Trump imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel and aluminium items, a move that has sparked fears of a global trade war.

Thus, an upward revision of the anti-dumping measures to the extent of raw material cost push could be essential, India Ratings and Research said.

The rating agency said that it has maintained a stable outlook on the steel sector for the remaining part of FY'19, in view of a healthy domestic and global demand growth and supply discipline.

"However, EBITDA could be affected by about INR3,000/tonne because of growing global trade frictions resulting in increased exports to India from ASEAN and China," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Goa Congress will meet Governor Mridula Sinha Friday to discuss the state's political situation due to the "frequent absence" of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and two other ministers on account of ill health.

While Parrikar returned to the state Thursday after undergoing medical check-up in the United States of America for a pancreatic ailment, ministers Francis DSouza and Pandurang Madkaikar are hospitalised in the USA and Mumbai respectively.

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar said a party delegation would meet Governor Sinha Friday afternoon to brief her about the existing political situation in the state.

"There is absolutely no government existing in Goa and we expect the Governor to intervene in the matter. No one knows who is running the affairs of the state. Two ministers with important portfolios are unavailable as they admitted in hospitals and the Chief Minister has been frequently flying to the USA for treatment," Chodankar said.

He said that the party would ask the Governor to order the ruling BJP-led government to issue a statement on Parrikar's health.

"There is no clarity on his illness. While we pray for his good health, we want to know what he is suffering from," the Congress leader said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Google India put out a 'rainbow flag' on its homepage on Thursday to mark the decriminalisation of consensual gay sex by the Supreme Court.

The internet giant, known for its timely theme doodle on various occasions put the colourful icon below the search bar on its webpage.

A message 'celebrating equals rights' pops up when a cursor is moved over it.

The India page of social media behemoth Facebook also changed its display picture to a multi-hued icon.

The rainbow flag, commonly known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag, is a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and LGBT social movements.

No sooner the judgment was announced, celebrations erupted as people from the community rejoiced in the streets, by dancing and waving rainbow flags with gay abandon.

The apex court unanimously held that consensual sex among adult homosexuals or heterosexuals in private space is not a crime, as it struck down part of a British-era law that criminalised it.

The path-breaking judgement held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised consensual gay sex was "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary".

While a constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the 158-year-old law had become an "odious weapon" to harass the LGBT community by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment, a judge also said that history owed an apology to the community and their families for the delay in providing redressal for the "ignominy" and "ostracism" they have faced through the centuries.

It said Section 377 was a product of Victorian-era morality and there was no reason to continue with it as it enforced Victorian morale on the citizens of the country.

While concluding the historic 493-page verdict, Chief Justice Dipak Misra, who headed the constitution bench, said it was time to move from "darkness to light" to herald a New India which would be a more inclusive society.

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Asian Games medal winner Fouaad Mirza on Thursday called for financial help in popularising equestrian in India, saying the government can take a cue from European nations such as the United Kingdom and Germany.

Mirza recently became the first Indian to win an Asian Games individual medal in the equestrian event since 1982 besides guiding the country to a second-place finish in the team competition in Indonesia.

Mirza bagged silver in individual jumping with a score of 26.40.

"It would be interesting to look into the programmes of countries like UK, Germany, Japan and Thailand, to see if we can also come up with a system to support and help equestrian sport grow in India," Mirza told PTI in an interview here.

"These governments provide financial aid to the sport and equine athletes. Our government should adopt this system as the sport is expensive. It needs lots of money to maintain a horse and matters concerning logistics," he added.

Mirza was felicitated by Embassy Group chairman and managing director Jitu Virwani at an event.

Fouaad, who has been training under German Olympian Bettina Hoy, topped the dressage and cross-country qualifiers with a score of 22.40 and went into the jumping finals as a favourite.

Replying to a query, Mirza said quarantine regulations makes the sport even more expensive, and it becomes difficult for equestrian enthusiasts to get horses into India.

"Therefore, to tide over this problem, people like Mr Jitu Virwani, who is the Chairman of Embassy Group, should chip in. I am very grateful to Mr Jitu for supporting me to get horses and cater to sundry other requirements to train. We have eight horses imported at the Embassy Inetrnational Riding School," he added.

Mirza said more and more equestrian competitions should be conducted to popularise the sport in India.

"The equine athletes are fortunate to have many equestrian competitions, especially the Equestrian Premier League, which which provides a platform for beginners and also professionals," he said.

Virwani said Army control over equestrian federation in India is tight and it needs to be replaced with experts, who are well-versed in the sport.

"Serving army officials should be off the federation, instead experts and knowledgeable civilians, should run it. Unfortunately, there is much of politics in the federation and country takes a back seat," he said.

Asked if he wishes to contest the federation election, Virwani said only if the Army wishes him to do so.

"However, I will not advise Fouaad to contest election because training takes a lot of time and needs focus. I will contest only if the Army wants me to do," he said.

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The government Thursday assured domestic ferro alloy producers of taking steps to address their concerns of unavailability of raw materials and high prices of power.

Speaking at '2018 International Ferro Alloys Conference' here, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said measures will be taken to resolve these issues.

Ferro alloy producers are grappling with raw material shortage and high prices of power, said Manish Sarda, Chairman, Indian Ferro Alloy Producers Association (IFAPA).

He urged the steel minister to ensure availability of manganese ore and address the issue of high cost of power, which contributes 50 per cent to the total production cost.

"Ferro alloy is an additive to finished steel to provide strength, hardness, anti-corrosive properties etc. Raw materials for it are manganese ore, chrome ore and coke," said Manish Mishra, Marketing Head, Sarda Energy and Minerals.

IFAPA Chairman further said the country does not have abundant raw materials for ferro alloy and the players are importing it from countries like Australia and South Africa at higher prices.

"Sadly, there is (also) a 2.5 per cent import duty on manganese ore and chrome ore and an anti-dumping duty of USD 25 a tonne on coke. All these things are making it very difficult for ferro alloy producers to maintain India's global position," Sarda warned.

Besides, the power cost is very high compared to other countries. The power cost on average is Rs 5-6 per kilo watt in India as compared to Rs 2 per kilo watt elsewhere in the world, he added.

India has an installed capacity of producing 5 million tonne per annum of ferro alloy, Sarda said.

In a video message, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu asked the industry members to suggest ways to deal with the issues and assured full support of the government in addressing them.

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The shipping ministry today cautioned against the fake Sagarmala website, which contains false advertisement about recruitment of trainee engineers.

"It has come to the notice of Ministry of Shipping that a fake website link with the url:http:agarmala.org.in/ is being sent through emails to job seekers and other genuine stakeholders of Sagarmala programme.

"This fake website that may appear to be similar or identical to the original Sagarmala Website contains a false advertisement about recruitment of engineer trainee and diploma trainee," the ministry said in a statement.

Investment worth Rs 12 lakh crore are being planned for the ambitious port-led development programme Sagarmala.

"...it is here by cautioned against any such false and misleading advertisements. It may be noted, that such acts of fraud, misrepresentation, falsification and fabrication of information as seen here are clear violations under the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code, for which swift and strict criminal actions are being initiated against all such fraudulent entities," the ministry added.

All the stakeholders of the Sagarmala Programme are hereby reminded that the official domain of Sagarmala website is http://www.sagarmala.gov.in/, it said.

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Sinead died on the way to the hospital.

Officials at the Port of Argostoli have said that a crew member found the young woman unconscious and hanging from rope at the back of the vessel at around 2am on Friday.

Major media outlets have reported the death of 20-year-old Australian crewmember Sinead McNamara, who was found in a critical condition on 93m motoryacht Mayan Queen IV on Thursday.

She died as she was being airlifted to hospital, media reports say. An autopsy is now being carried out to determine the cause of death.

Greek media reported authorities had ordered that the yacht remain in the port of Argostoli while investigations take place.

Only days before her death, the model was posting snaps for her 18,000 Instagram followers, including shots of the scenic Greek islands and bikini shots aboard the super yacht.

The luxurious US$140 million, 92 metre yacht is owned by Mexican mining magnate Alberto Bailleres, who is worth an estimated AU$9.6 billion.

Bailleres was reportedly not in Greece when McNamara died.

Birthday girl Carla Suarez Navarro upsets Maria Sharapova

Her bitterest rival Serena Williams , after four rounds, has just nine double faults and has been broken only three times. Maria Sharapova was left frustrated by her inconsistency after making a fourth-round exit at the US Open on Monday.

All members of the crew will be interviewed by detectives followed by a forensic examination of the vessel. She had been working on Mayan Queen, the luxurious cruise, as a crew member.

The model was working on yachts while she traveled through Europe.

Several fans also left messages on her account.

"I have unfortunately received the worst news of my life, [Sinead] has passed away", her brother, Jake McNamara, told The Australian.

According to Australian news, McNamara's mother and sister were on their way to Greece to meet her for a holiday when they heard of her death.

"Thanks Sinead for photos of things I have not seen", her grandmother wrote. "Excitement is an understatement", McNamara wrote on Instagram.

New details have emerged about the mysterious death of a Sydney model on board a billionaire's superyacht in Greece - and they raise more questions than answers.
Five staff members of a government hospital here have been arrested for consuming liquor inside the premises, police said Thursday.

According to SHO, Shastrinagar police station, Nihar Bhushan, the staff members were arrested while consuming liquor inside the Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan hospital late Wednesday night.

The arrested persons include radiographer Ranjit Kumar, ward attendants Ajeet and Yamuna Paswan, Operation Theatre assistant Shankar Suman and night guard Ajay Kumar, the SHO said.

He said a bottle of liquor was also seized from the spot where they were caught drinking.

Sale and consumption of liquor was completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April, 2016.

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The scion of the erstwhile princely Rajpipla state, Manvendrasinh Gohil, on Thursday said the Supreme Court order decriminalising a part of IPC section 377, related to consensual unnatural sex, had given him "true independence" 71 years after the country attained freedom.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

The apex court termed this part of section 377, IPC as "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary".

Gohil had made his sexual orientation public some years ago and has been working for the betterment of the LGBTQ community through his Lakshya Trust, earning the sobriquet "gay prince" from a large number of admirers.

"After 71 years of Independence, this verdict has set us free. This is really a day of true independence for me and the members of my community," Gohil told reporters in Vadodara, about 115 kilometres from here.

"This is a very positive development for the LGBTQ community. We are feeling free, we are unburdened today," he added.

"This historic judgment will improve the image of the country in the world. Other countries, where gay sex is considered a crime, will follow India's example," Gohil said.

The former prince of the erstwhile Rajpipla state had appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2007 after he declared himself gay.

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Hamza Shahbaz, the son of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif, was appointed as the Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Thursday.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi issued a written order appointing 44-year-old Hamza as the Leader of the Opposition in the provincial assembly, Geo TV reported.

Citing sources, it said Hamza's appointment had faced a delay after the Assembly Secretariat received a complaint about forged signatures on the nomination papers.

"After probing into the matter and ensuring that signatures were not forged, the Punjab Assembly speaker proceeded with Hamza's appointed," it said.

Hamza's father Shehbaz Sharif serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. Sharif was the chief minister of Punjab from 2008 till 2018.

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The monsoon session of the



Haryana assembly beginning here Friday is likely to be a stormy affair with the Opposition set to corner the BJP-led government on issues of law and order and the SYL canal, amongst others.

The first day of the session will start with obituary references at 2 pm.

Leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala said the main issues his party Indian National Lok Dal would raise include "illegal mining, deaths of cows in gaushalas, drug smuggling and addiction, SYL canal, deteriorating law and order situation and the plight of health services in the state."



INLD would raise these issues through the adjournment and calling attention motions, he said.

"We will also raise the issue of irregularities in various land deals during the previous Congress regime in the state," he added.

He said the INLD had prepared a charge-sheet in 2014 against "the misdeeds" of the previous government and had sought establishment of a high-level panel to investigate the allegations and registration of cases, if the charges were found true.

"When the matter was raised earlier in the assembly, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had assured the House that appropriate action would be taken after studying the charge-sheet," Chautala told reporters here.

Referring to the case registered by Gurgaon police last week against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for alleged irregularities in land deals, he suspected the complainant in the case to be close to the BJP.

The case against Vadra and Hooda was lodged on a complaint by a Nuh resident, Surinder Sharma.

The FIR said Vadra's firm Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd bought 3.5 acres of land in Gurgaon's Sector 83 from Onkareshwar Properties for Rs 7.50 crore in 2008, when Hooda was the chief minister with Town and County Planning Department also under him.

Skylight Hospitality later sold the land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore, after procuring with Hooda's help the licence to develop a residential colony there, Sharma alleged.

Reacting to the lodging of the FIR, Hooda has accused the BJP government of pursuing "vendetta politics".

Talking separately to the reporters, Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhry asserted the Khattar government has failed on all fronts.

She said it has failed in tackling law and order situation, containing corruption, uplifting the plight of the poor and farmers and providing optimum water and power in the state.

The government has opened women police stations but the crime against women is on the rise, she alleged.

The Opposition has also been asking the government to bring an ordinance to protect the interests of the employees hit by a Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict, setting aside the provision for regularising the services of contractual employees.

Meanwhile, the Business Advisory Committee of the assembly will meet on Friday morning to decide on the number of sittings of the House and various businesses to be transacted during the session.

The monsoon session was to begin earlier on August 17, but it was postponed due to the demise of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

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The Bombay High Court Thursday came down heavily on the Maharashtra Police machinery for divulging information to the media about sensitive cases, saying such "over-enthusiasm could be fatal".

A division bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and B P Colabawalla was hearing petitions filed by family members of slain rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, seeking court supervision in probes being conducted by the CBI (in Dabholkar case) and the state CID (in Pansare case).

The bench, after perusing reports submitted by both the agencies on the investigation, said everyday there is vital information leaked to the media by probe agencies.

Referring to the press conference of senior IPS officer Parambir Singh along with Pune Police officials last Friday on their case against some activists arrested for alleged Maoist links, Justice Dharmadhikari said, "There is so much hue and cry about this media briefing and disclosures made."



During the press conference, Singh had read out letters purportedly exchanged between the arrested activists. He claimed the police had "conclusive proof" to link Left-wing activists arrested in June and last month to Maoists.

"This over-enthusiasm could be fatal. In such sensitive cases where the investigation is in crucial stages, it is not advisable for police to rush to the media. This shows total lack of maturity," Justice Dharmadhikari said.

The court said by disclosing information to the media, the police were alerting the accused persons.

"Such self-praise and self-patting on their backs by police machinery is not advisable. We see daily there is information in the press regarding such sensitive cases. At whose instance is information being given to the media?" Justice Dharmadhikari said.

The court asked Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to convey to senior police officials concerned that it is not happy with the press conference.

"Ask those police officials, who took the media briefing, to go to the trial court and see how difficult it is to prove a case against an accused person," Justice Dharmadhikari said.

CID counsel Ashok Mundargi told the court that the probe agency has not taken any press conference till date on this case.

"Our investigation is on. We are now waiting to interrogate two persons arrested by the CBI in the Dabholkar case," Mundargi said.

The court said the state Crime Investigation Department's (CID) probe should not come to a standstill just because it is waiting to interrogate the accused who are in CBI's custody.

"Do not abandon your (CID) past theories. The CID should continue to look into the involvement of other accused persons too. Both the cases (Dabholkar and Pansare killings) have different repercussions," Justice Dharmadhikari said.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on October 10. On that day, both the CBI and the CID will have to submit fresh progress reports.

Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while on a morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to injuries on February 20.

The high court had last month expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which the CBI and the CID were probing the two cases.

Last month, the CBI arrested two persons - Sachin Andure from Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Sharad Kalaskar from Nallasopara in Palghar district - and claimed that they had shot Dabholkar.

In June 2016, the CBI had arrested Virendra Tawde, alleging he was one of the conspirators. Tawde is presently lodged in jail.

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The Delhi High Court Thursday sought responses from the AAP government and DMRC on Congress leader Ajay Maken's plea opposing the rise in fares of Delhi metro and seeking that ticket prices be subsidised.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao issued notice to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and asked them to indicate their stand on the plea which alleges that rise in fares from May last year has led to a decrease in ridership by around three lakh commuters.

Apart from the issue of "skyrocketing" metro ticket prices raised by Maken, the court sought the Delhi government's response regarding construction of multi-level parking for the additional buses that the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) intends to procure.

Senior advocate Vikas Singh and advocate Aman Panwar, appearing for the Congress leader, told the court that with the last hike in fares in October 2017, Delhi metro has become the second costliest metro service in the world, which has defeated its purpose.

In his application, Maken has claimed that with the last hike in fares, Delhi metro earns an average of Rs 7.5 extra from each passenger and with an annual ridership of 100.79 crore, its annual revenue would come to over Rs 755 crore.

He has said that if the Delhi government subsidises the amount, it would make the metro more affordable and would reduce the traffic on the city roads as well as the air pollution levels here.

The metro minimum and maximum metro fares in 2009 were Rs 8 and Rs 30, but last year they were hiked to Rs 10 and Rs 60, respectively.

The application by Maken was filed in a PIL by Nipun Malhotra, who suffers from a locomotor disability, challenging the Delhi government's decision to procure 1,000 standard floor buses (SFBs) for the national capital.

Malhotra, in his plea filed through advocate Jai Dehadrai, has claimed that standard floor buses were not accessible by disabled persons and leads to their exclusion from access to public transport.

On the issue of procuring the standard floor buses, the Delhi government told the bench that since the Supreme Court has allowed it to procure 500 SFBs, the high court may consider allowing it to procure the remaining 500.

The bench, however, refrained from issuing any such direction without first going through the government's plans on how it intends to make the SFBs as well as the roads and bus stops in the city accessible to the disabled.

It directed that an affidavit be filed indicating the government's plan and listed the matter for further hearing on September 27.

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Following are the top stories from the northern region at 5.50 pm.

NEWDELHI DES3 DMRC-HARDEEP-KEJRIWAL



New Delhi: A day after Arvind Kejriwal expressed sadness over Delhi metro becoming out of reach for common man, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri Thursday said the Delhi Chief Minister should instead look at the state of public transport system that comes under his government which lacks 7,000 buses.

JAIPUR DES2 RJ-LD HOUSE ADJOURNED



Jaipur: The Rajasthan assembly was adjourned twice Thursday during the pre-lunch session amid the Opposition's uproar over alleged shelving of over 4000 of their questions on public interest and the misuse of state machinery for Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's 'gaurav yatra'.

LUCKNOW DEL45 UP-LD BANDH



Lucknow: Six policemen were injured in Uttar Pradesh during a 'Bharat Bandh' called by some upper-caste groups, but life remained largely normal across the state.

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Homosexuality is not a crime, the RSS said Thursday, while maintaining that it does not support same-sex marriage as it was "not natural".

The comments came on a day the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of Section 377, which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

"Like the Supreme Court's verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime," Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) 'prachar pramukh' Arun Kumar said in a statement. 'Prachar pramukh' is the designated spokesperson of the Sangh.

However, he maintained the Sangh's old stand and said gay marriage and such relationships were not "compatible with nature". "These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship."



He claimed that Indian society "traditionally does not recognise" such relations. Humans usually learn from experiences, so this topic needs to be discussed and handled the social and psychological level, Kumar added.

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Homosexuals have a fundamental right to live with dignity and are not suffering from mental disorder, Supreme Court judge Justice R F Nariman said Thursday.

He said the Section 377 was the product of the Victorian era morality which was long gone and there was no reason to continue with it especially when it enforces Victorian mores upon the citizenry of India.

"We find that Section 377, in penalizing consensual gay sex, is manifestly arbitrary. Given modern psychiatric studies and legislation which recognizes that gay persons and transgenders are not persons suffering from mental disorder and cannot therefore be penalized, the Section must be held to be a provision which is capricious and irrational," Justice Nariman said.

He was part of the five-judge Constitution bench which declared as unconstitutional the part of Section 377 of the IPC which criminalised homosexual as also transgender sex between consenting adults.

In his separate concurring verdict, Justice Nariman said Constitutional morality always trumps any imposition of a particular view of social morality by changing majoritarian regimes.

He said the apex court is the custodian of fundamental rights which are beyond the reach of majoritarian governments.

"The very purpose of the fundamental rights chapter in the Constitution of India is to withdraw the subject of liberty and dignity of the individual and place such subject beyond the reach of majoritarian governments so that constitutional morality can be applied by this Court to give effect to the rights, among others, of 'discrete and insular' minorities.

"One such minority has knocked on the doors of this Court as this Court is the custodian of the fundamental rights of citizens. These fundamental rights do not depend upon the outcome of elections. And, it is not left to majoritarian governments to prescribe what shall be orthodox in matters concerning social morality," Justice Nariman said.

He said "fundamental rights chapter is like the north star in the universe of constitutionalism" in India.

He also said that persons who are homosexual have a fundamental right to live with dignity and declared that such groups are entitled to the protection of equal laws, and are entitled to be treated in society as human beings without any stigma being attached to any of them.

"We further declare that Section 377 insofar as it criminalises homosexual sex and transgender sex between consenting adults is unconstitutional," he said.

He urged the Centre to take all measures to give wide publicity of the verdict on section 377 through media and initiate programmes to reduce and eliminate the stigma associated with such persons.

"Above all, all government officials, including and in particular police officials, and other officers of the Union of India and the States, be given periodic sensitization and awareness training of the plight of such persons in the light of the observations contained in this judgment," Justice Nariman said.

He said Section 377, the victorian era product must give way to constitutional morality and the same has been recognized in many of the apex court judgments.

"It must not be forgotten that Section 377 was the product of the Victorian era, with its attendant puritanical moral values... The rationale for Section 377, namely Victorian morality, has long gone and there is no reason to continue with...," he said.

"Morality and criminality are not co-extensive - sin is not punishable on earth by Courts set up by the State but elsewhere; crime alone is punishable on earth. To confuse the one with the other is what causes the death knell of Section 377, insofar as it applies to consenting homosexual adults," he said.

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Police have arrested hostel warden of an engineering institute here for allegedly sodomizing a student, an official said Thursday.

Based on a complaint filed by the victim, an FIR was registered against Avinash Rai, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Chauhan.

According to the complaint, Rai called the victim, a native of Allahabad, in his room on Wednesday and sexually assaulted him.

When the victim tried to stop him, the accused threatened to expel him from the hostel, Chauhan said.

Meanwhile, scores of students protested in the campus demanding immediate arrest of the warden.

They alleged that the warden had sexually assaulted many students in the past, the DSP said.

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But that hasn't stopped people from trying.

It sounds like something out of a science fiction film, but a very real "space elevator" is being developed by researchers at Japan's Shizuoka University, and the first test is coming this month.

Carbon nanotubes "spun" to form a yarn. A small motorised container will then slide between the two ends.

From there, the connected satellites will be launched and a motorised container acting as an elevator auto will travel along the cable and have its journey recorded via a camera attached to the satellites.

The test equipment will piggyback on an H-2B rocket from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launching from the island of Tanegashima. The researchers will monitor the action via camera to study how the systems works in orbit.

While the challenges to creating a space elevator are massive, that hasn't deterred Japan from continuing to invest in the idea.

Clarke quote goes, "The Space Elevator will be built about 50 years after everyone stops laughing".

South Africa feels chill of recession

For the first time since Q1 2016, households also cut consumption expenditure, which decreased by 1.3% for the quarter. Stats SA say was largely driven by a decline in the production of field crops and horticultural products.

The experiment is supported by Obayashi, a corporation that ever since 2014 announced it plans to have a space elevator up and running by the middle of the century.

The structure - composed of a 96,000-kilometer (59,650-mile) carbon nanotube cable, a 400-meter (1,312-foot) diameter floating Earth Port and a 12,500-ton (11.3 million-kilogram) counterbalance - will have the capacity to carry 100-ton (90,700-kilogram) climbers. A trip from the sea to the sky would take an estimated eight days.

Obayashi Corp ambitiously places the cost of the project at about 10 trillion yen ($A125 billion).

Yoji Inshikawa, leader of the Shizuoka team, tells the Mainichi that he doesn't think the concept is completely pie-in-the-sky.

Building a true space elevator remains a monumental project that, at least at the moment, is hard to even fathom.

Space elevators are expected to cut the costs - and risks - of space travel massively if they can be realized.

Putting aside the technological problems for a moment, there remains another hurdle engineers have yet to address: how are we going to print an "Out of Order" sign big enough to read from space?
The International Criminal Court said Thursday it had jurisdiction to probe the forced exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar as a possible crime against humanity.

The ICC's "pre-trial chamber... decided by majority the court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportations of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh," the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement.

The Myanmar government on Thursday declined to comment on the announcement when contacted by AFP.

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown.

The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes.

In an unprecedented move in April, the ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges at the world's only permanent war crimes court to rule whether she can investigate the deportations as a crime against humanity.

It is a legally complicated request, as Myanmar is not a signatory and member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC.

Bangladesh, however, is a signatory and Bensouda argued that should give her office jurisdiction to investigate the plight of the Rohingya.

She likened deportation to "a cross-border shooting", arguing the crime "is not completed until the bullet (fired in one state) strikes and kills the victim (standing in another state)".

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has moved NCLT against Naval and Engineering Ltd to recover its dues from the company.

The company has been informed that Ltd, a lender of the company, has filed an application before the (NCLT), Ahmedabad, seeking debt resolution under the (IBC), Naval and Engineering said in a regulatory filing Thursday.

Besides, long-term infrastructure lender IFCI had also filed a similar application in November 2017, which is pending since last 10 months for admission, it said.

The promoted Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNAVAL) is the first private sector company in India to obtain the licence and contract to build warships.

The company had said its net loss widened to Rs 3.47 bn in the quarter ended June 30, from Rs 2.30 bn in the year-ago period.

The company, which was earlier known as Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering, was bought over by group in 2016 and renamed it as Reliance Defence & Engineering.

It owes over Rs 90 bn to over two dozen banks, mostly state-run, led by the troubled

Also, the company had issued a corporate guarantee for loan availed by its subsidiary Reliance Marine and Offshore Ltd (ROML), further to which IFCI had issued a loan recall notice in 2017-18 and subsequently had applied for the insolvency petition under IBC due to continued default in repayment of loans against ROML and the company.

Subsequent to loan recall by IFCI, and RMOL had asked the lender to liquidate the securities to meet the obligations by RMOL.

Stock of RNAVAL closed 1.57 per cent up at Rs 16.15 on BSE.
Pakistan's President and Prime Minister Thursday said it was imperative to find a solution to the Kashmir issue under the UN resolutions for peace in the region as they voiced their desire to promote mutual cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality.

Pakistan observes September 6 as the Defence Day to mark the anniversary of the 1965 war with India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his first message on the occasion, said: "Pakistan believed in peaceful coexistence and wanted to promote mutual cooperation with all its neighbours and the entire world on equal basis".

Outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain said that people of Pakistan demonstrated unsurpassed national unity and stood by their armed forces to thwart the evil designs of the enemy.

The President and Prime Minister, in their separate messages on the occasion, emphasised that the resolution of the Kashmir issue in light of the UN resolutions is imperative for peace in the region, Radio Pakistan reported.

In his victory speech in July, Khan had said that Pakistan was ready to improve its ties with India and his government would like the leaders of the two sides to resolve all disputes, including the "core issue" of Kashmir.

In his message today, Khan appreciated the courage and professionalism of the Pakistani armed forces in eliminating militancy and terrorism, saying "no doubt their efforts for national development, strengthening of democracy and world peace were laudable".

The government, he said, would continue absolute struggle in the war against terrorism till its logical end.

The day is being celebrated across the country with the Army leading the Defence Day activities. The day dawned with 31 gun salute in the country's capital and 21 gun salute in provincial capitals.

Special prayers were offered in mosques for progress and prosperity of the country.

The main event is held every year at the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

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Imposing legal sanctions on consenting adults involved in a sexual relationship has given the state the authority to perpetuate social stereotypes and encourage discrimination, the Supreme Court said Thursday.

In a historic verdict, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra struck down part of Section 377 of IPC, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex, saying this penal provision has consigned a group of citizens to "the margins".

"What links LGBT individuals to couples who love across caste and community lines is the fact that both are exercising their right to love at enormous personal risk and in the process disrupting the existing lines of social authority," Justice D Y Chandrachud, who wrote a separate concurring verdict, noted.

He said the British-era law had continued to exist for nearly 68 years after the country came out with a "liberal Constitution" after gaining independence.

"Gays and lesbians, transgenders and bisexuals continue to be denied a truly equal citizenship seven decades after Independence. The law has imposed upon them a morality which is an anachronism," he said, "while section 377 has been used to prosecute non-consensual sexual acts, it has also been used to prosecute consensual sexual acts."



Justice Chandrachud said that Section 377 has been "destructive" of the identities of members belonging to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community who have been relegated to the anguish of closeted identities.

"By imposing the sanctions of the law on consenting adults involved in a sexual relationship, it has lent the authority of the state to perpetuate social stereotypes and encourage discrimination," he said.

"The struggle of citizens belonging to sexual minorities is located within the larger history of the struggles against various forms of social subordination in India. The order of nature that section 377 speaks of is not just about non-procreative sex but is about forms of intimacy which the social order finds 'disturbing'," the judge noted.

He also said that sexual orientation has become "a target for exploitation, if not blackmail, in a networked and digital age" and Section 377 was destructive of an identity which was crucial to a dignified existence.

He said the entitlement of members of LGBT community should be as equal participants in a society governed by the morality of the Constitution. "That in essence is what section 377 denies to them. The shadows of a receding past confront their quest for fulfillment," Justice Chandrachud said.

He referred to Article 372(1) of the Constitution, which provides that all laws in force prior to the commencement of the Constitution shall continue to be in force until altered or repealed, and said the IPC and many other pre-Independence laws were 'saved' and allowed to operate in independent India.

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India and France Thursday announced a working group for Gaganyaan, ISRO's first manned mission announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day.

The announcement was made at the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space Expo by French space agency President Jean-Yves Le Gall.

India plans to send three humans to space before 2022.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's mission is significant as it would make India one of the four countries in the world after Russia, US and China to launch a manned space flight.

ISRO and CNES, the French space agency, will be combining their expertise in fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, Gall said.

Engineering teams have already begun discussions and it is envisioned that infrastructure such as CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future Indian astronauts, as well as exchange of specialist personnel, Gall said.

ISRO plans to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts.

French-Indian space cooperation spans in areas of climate monitoring, with a fleet of joint satellites devoted to research and operational applications, innovation, through a joint technical group tasked with inventing the launch vehicles of the future.

The two also have plans to work on Mars, Venus and asteroids.

Gall said, "CNES is especially proud to be working on this endeavour alongside ISRO to share the experience it has acquired from the first French human spaceflights to Thomas Pesquet's Proxima mission, and to hone our own expertise by learning from ISRO's innovative developments in the field of crew transport.

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With the decriminalising gay sex, India joins 25 other countries where is legal.

However, 72 countries and territories worldwide still continue to criminalise same-sex relationships, including 45 in which such relationships between women are outlawed.

In what is being hailed as a historic move, a five-judge constitution bench of the on Thursday unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

The constitution bench headed by Chief Justice termed the part of of the which criminalises consensual unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

According to a recent report of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), there are eight countries in which can result in a death penalty, and dozens more in which homosexual acts can result in a prison sentence.

Indian equal rights activists have undertaken a long and arduous journey to decriminalise same sex relationships.

They had tasted their first victory when the Delhi High Court in July 2009 decriminalised among consenting adults. However, in December 2012 the Supreme Court, quashing the High Court order, held that the order was legally unsustainable.

In 2015, the Lok Sabha voted against the introduction of a private member's Bill to decriminalise homosexuality, proposed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, indicating that the BJP led NDA Government was not in a hurry to legalise homosexuality.

Soon after a group of well known rights activists, N S Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur approached the SC which agreed to reconsider the issue.

The petition claimed their rights to sexuality, sexual autonomy, choice of sexual partner, life, privacy, dignity and equality, along with the other fundamental rights guaranteed under Part-III of Constitution, are violated by

In a ray of hope for the community, in August 2017, the apex court upheld the Right to Privacy, stating that sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy.

In Thursday's verdict the bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down part of Section 377 of the IPC as being violative of the right to equality and the right to live with dignity.

In four separate but concurring judgements, the top court set aside its 2013 verdict in the Suresh Kaushal case which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

"I was turning into a cynical human being with very little belief in the system, but honestly this has really shown once again that, at the end, we are a functional democracy where freedom of choice, speech and rights still exist," said Dalmia who is currently in the UK.

Calling the SC verdict a historical judgment, Karan Johar wrote on Twitter, Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"



Some of the countries where gay sex has been legalised are: Argentina (2010), Greenland (2015), South Africa (2006), Australia (2017), Iceland (2010), Spain (2005), Belgium (2003), Ireland (2015), United States (2015), Brazil (2013), Luxembourg (2014), Sweden (2009) and Canada (2005).
Consensual gay sex is not a crime, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday, striking down a British era law that it said violates the right to equality and triggering celebrations among LGBTQ activists who welcomed it as a harbinger of a more inclusive India.

Parts of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex, are "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary", the apex court said in its historic ruling that made India the 26th country in the world where homosexuality is legal.

History owes an apology to members of the community for the delay in ensuring their rights," for denying them their rights and compelling them to live a life of fear, said Justice Indu Malhotra, who was part of the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that delivered the judgement, capping a 17-year legal struggle.

In its 493-page judgement, the bench said aspects of Section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.

"Any kind of sexual activity with animals shall remain a penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC," it said.

Delivering four separate but concurring judgements, the top court set aside its 2013 verdict which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, struck down part of Section 377 of the IPC as being violative of the right to equality and the right to live with dignity.

Dealing with a clutch of petitions, it held that Section 377 was used as a weapon to harass members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, resulting in discrimination.

Across the country, gay people gathered in front of their television sets, waiting anxiously for the verdict to be announced. Tears flowed and people hugged each other spontaneously, when the judgement flashed across their television and mobile phone screens.

Many cut cakes and unfurled rainbow flags, a symbol of gay pride, to welcome the verdict, which also said society cannot dictate a sexual relationship between consenting adults.

"Kudos to the Supreme Court for reinstating our faith in the Indian judiciary system. Finally, we are a part of an inclusive society, a society free from taboos, free from judgement. We are finally a country where love won't be defined by genders anymore," Ishaan Sethi, founder of the Delta App, a networking platform for the LGBTQ community, told PTI.

The judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur as well as 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 _ enacted 158 years ago _ illegal and unconstitutional.

CJI Misra, who wrote the judgement for himself and Justice Khanwilkar, said the denial of self expression was akin to inviting death.

The bench said courts must protect the dignity of an individual as right to live with dignity is recognised as fundamental right. It termed sexual orientation a "biological phenomenon" and held any discrimination on this ground was violative of fundamental rights.

Describing the verdict as landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said it was a start.

"We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

The Congress also put out a Twitter post welcoming the judgement.

"We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society," it said, adding intersex and asexuality to LGBTQ.

On the other end of the political spectrum, the RSS said in a statement that while it doesn't see homosexuality as a crime, such relationships were not "compatible with nature" and so it does not support them.

The United Nations in India welcomed the verdict, saying sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual's identity the world over. Violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an "egregious" violation of human rights, it said.

Justice Chandrachud, while reading out the operative portion of his verdict, said members of the LGBTQ community were targeted and exploited due to Section 377. They have constitutional rights like that of any other citizen, he said.

Observing that the Constitution nurtured dissent as a "safety valve" of society, he said "we cannot change the history but can pave a way for better future".

The apex court noted that India is a signatory of international treaties on rights of LGBTQ and it was obligatory to adhere to them.

The issue was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001. In 2009, the Delhi High Court decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender.

This was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed.

Section 377 had made "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" punishable by imprisonment for life.

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India and the US Thursday asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border terror strikes, including those on Mumbai, Pathankot and Uri.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue here during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters," a joint statement issued after the talks said.

"The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new "qualitative edge and purpose".

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike.

"In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the "persistent threat of terrorism" and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

"We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us," she said.

Swaraj said the efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process were also discussed.

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A 24-year-old Indian man in Australia Thursday received a 10-month suspended sentence and was disqualified from driving for nine months for "high-range" drink driving and "driving while disqualified".

Surya Teja Penugonda from Telangana pleaded guilty to both charges in Parramatta Local Court.

Magistrate Brett Shields placed him on a 10-month suspended sentence and disqualified him from driving for nine months, South Coast Register newspaper reported.

Penugonda, who is living on a student visa, was also fined him USD 750, the report said, adding that the judge also ordered him to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle for four years.

The drink driving incident took place on July 8.

Penugonda, who was driving along with four other people in the car, was pulled over by the police in south of Nowra.

According to the court papers, police officers had witnessed the vehicle swerving between lanes and it almost collided with the nearside gutter when it came to a stop.

According to officers, Penugonda smelt strongly of intoxicating liquor, however he claimed he had nothing to drink.

Police said he was driving on an international licence and had been disqualified from driving for a minimum of 12 months after being caught "high-range" drink driving on January 6.

Penugonda was also supposed to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle. It took three attempts to successfully provide his breath test, which produced a positive result, the report said.

The police said his eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dilated, his breathing was slow, speech was slurred and he was clumsy. He later admitted to the police that he had six glasses of wine that day.

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The utility said it wasn't clear when electricity would be restored to 2.95 million households.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said there may be a slight sea level change in coastal areas as a result of the quake but added that no damage was expected. Aerial views showed large-scale landslides in the sparsely populated countryside, which was also hit by the edge of a powerful typhoon that surged through Japan earlier this week.

The magnitude 6.7 quake struck southern Hokkaido at 3:08 a.m.at the depth of 40 kilometers (24 miles), Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

Photos from Sapporo, Hokkaido's main city on the western part of the island, showed huge cracks in the street and subsided houses.

In Tokyo, the central government set up a liaison unit at the crisis management center of the prime minister's office to gather information on the temblor. Japan's Self-Defense Forces have been dispatched to help with recovery efforts. Officials said a main power station lost operations, affecting other sites. "We will do our best to save lives", said Abe after an emergency cabinet meeting.

Authority said. Spent fuel in storage pools was safely cooled on backup power that can last for a week, the agency said.

A fire broke out at a Mitsubishi Steel Mfg Co plant in the city of Muroran after the quake but was mostly extinguished with no injuries, a company official said.

Power was knocked out across the island.

United Kingdom names two Russians for attempted murder of Skripals with nerve agent

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home was contaminated with the military-grade substance on that date. They travelled to the City Stay Hotel in Bow Road, East London , where they stayed on Friday, 2 March, and Saturday, 3 March.

A series of smaller shocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.4, followed the initial tremble, the Meteorological Agency said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said a command centre had been setup to coordinate the response. They warned residents about increased risks of collapse among buildings near the epicenter.

Japan is located in the so-called "Ring of Fire", an area bordered by oceanic trenches and volcanoes which is particularly susceptible to earthquakes.

The powerful natural disaster and tsunami in March 2011 that hit northeast Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.

Almost two million people live in Sapporo.

Saturday marked the 95th anniversary of the Great Kanto quake, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

A number of houses were buried in the towns of Atsuma and Abira following the 3:08am (1.08am Thailand time) quake after mountain slopes collapsed, according to the prefectural government and firefighters.
Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Mihir R Bhansali, an executive of absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, in connection with the alleged USD 2 billion PNB money-laundering case, officials said Thursday.

The notice, which acts as an international arrest warrant, mentions that Bhansali (40) is required on charges of "money laundering".

The RCN against Mihir Rashmi Bhansali, CEO of Nirav Modi's jewellery firm Firestar International, was requested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), they said.

The ED wants him in order to take its investigation in the case forward, they added.

It had told the global police body that Bhansali was "likely" to travel to the US, the UK, Hong Kong, China or the UAE.

In its RCN issued against a fugitive, the Interpol asks its 192 member countries to arrest or detain the person if spotted in their countries after which extradition or deportation proceedings can begin.

A similar Interpol notice was issued against Nirav Modi sometime back.

Bhansali is said to be operating from the United States of America as part of the overseas operations of Firestar International.

The case pertains to cheating the state-run Punjab National Bank through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit worth over USD 2 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore) by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, both absconding since the first week of January.

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has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Mihir R Bhansali, a close confidante and senior executive of absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, in connection with the alleged USD 2 billion PNB money-laundering case, officials said Thursday.

The notice, which acts as an international arrest warrant, states Bhansali (40) is required by Indian probe agencies on charges of "money laundering".

The RCN against Mihir Rashmi Bhansali, CEO of Nirav Modi's jewellery firm in the US, Firestar International, was requested by the Enforcement Directorate, they said.

The ED wants him to join the investigation in order to take the probe in the case forward, they added.

It had told the global police body that Bhansali was "likely" to visit the US, the UK, Hong Kong, China or the UAE.

In its RCN issued against a fugitive, the asks its 192 member countries to arrest or detain the person if spotted in their countries after which extradition or deportation proceedings can begin.

The ED has identified Bhansali as the "second-in-command" in the Firestar Group after Nirav Modi, and that "he was actively involved in the diversion and laundering of the funds received from the alleged fraudulently issued PNB LOUs (Letters of Undertaking).

"Bhansali was instrumental in rotation and diversion of the proceeds of crime generated in this case," an official privy to the probe said.

ED's investigation found that with the help of other officials of the Firestar Group, Bhansali "inducted dummy partners in Solar Exports, Stellar Diamond and Diamond R US (Modi's firms in whose names LOUs were issued)."



"He was instrumental in formation of overseas dummy companies in Hong Kong and Dubai, and employees/ex-employees of the Firestar Group were sent as dummy directors/owners in these entities at his directions," the agency charged Bhansali.

The ED, as part of its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), found that a "secure internal email communication system was developed at Bhansali's insistence and its server was deliberately kept in Dubai."



"Fund transfer, rotation of goods, melting of metal, dismantling of jewellery and low quality jewellery production with high-value declaration were done on his instructions," the agency charged.

The ED alleged that after the PNB fraud came to light, Bhansali "along with Nehal Modi (Nirav Modi's brother), took 50 kg gold and substantial cash from Dubai, and directed dummy directors not to reveal his name before the authorities."



It is alleged that the businessman is also a director in few of the dummy companies which are "controlled" by and are based in the British Virgin Islands.

Bhansali is also said to have purchased a USD 7 million worth property in the US "from the funds believed to be generated from the alleged PNB scam".

Sometime back, a similar notice was issued against even as India is seeking his extradition from the UK.

The case pertains to cheating the state-run Bank through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit worth over USD 2 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore) by and his uncle Mehul Choksi, both absconding since the first week of January.
The condition of 2014-batch IPS officer Surendra Kumar Das, who had allegedly consumed poison due to marital discord, continued to be very critical on



Thursday.

"Das, who had attempted suicide yesterday, is on ventilator for respiratory support and the next 36 hours are very crucial," said Kanpur's Additional DGP Avinash Chandra.

His treatment is going on with the help of ECMO (Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation), an advanced medical setup, used for critically-ill patients of poisoning, he said, adding the setup has been brought to the city from Mumbai.

A team of doctors has also arrived from Mumbai to assist the local doctors, he said.

The relatives of the officer who reside in Lucknow too have reached Kanpur.

A one-page hand-written suicide note was recovered from the spot where the officer was found unconscious and it is being sent to the hand-writing experts for examination, said City Superintendent of Police (West) Sanjiv Suman.

It seems the officer had taken the extreme step due to marital discord, said SSP Anant Deo.

Investigations so far indicate the IPS officer was in acute depression for the past few days and had searched the Google for ways to commit suicide, the SSP said, adding he consumed sulphas powder that he had asked his domestic help to bring from market for killing rats.

He had a tiff with his wife and had not talked to his mother for the past 40 days, the SSP said, adding the police will soon inquire with his wife and other family members regarding it.

The 2014-batch IPS officer was posted here as City SP (East) last month.

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The Islamic State group will have been driven from all the territory it once controlled as a self-declared "caliphate" before the end of the year, French military chief Francois Lecointre said Thursday.

The jihadists, who conquered vast stretches of Iraq and Syria in 2014, have lost all but a pocket of land in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province between the Euphrates river and Iraqi border, though they remain present in the Syrian desert.

Using an Arabic acronym for IS, Lecointre predicted "the end of the physical caliphate of Daesh before the end of the year, probably late autumn".

France is part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS since 2014 and is now supporting Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they battle to oust the jihadists from their last holdout.

"Once the physical caliphate has fallen... we will pose the question of how to reconfigure Operation Inherent Resolve," Lecointre said of the coalition.

Speaking to reporters, the general pledged to downscale the French troop contingent -- currently more than 1,000-strong -- "as soon as I can".

The Syrian conflict has become increasingly complex since it grew out of anti-government protests in 2011, drawing in other major powers including Russia and Turkey.

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The northern Israeli coastal city of Haifa on Thursday celebrated the centenary year of its liberation from Ottoman rule during World War I, honouring the brave Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in what is considered "the last great cavalry campaign in history".

The Indian Army commemorates September 23 every year as Haifa Day to pay its respects to the three Indian Cavalry Regiments - Mysore, Hyderabad and Jodhpur Lancers, that helped liberate Haifa following a dashing cavalry action by the 15th Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade of the then British Indian Army at the Battle of Haifa in 1918.

Captain Aman Singh Bahadur and Dafadar Jor Singh were awarded the Indian Order of Merit (IOM) and Captain Anop Singh and 2nd Lt Sagat Singh were awarded the Military Cross (MC) as recognition for their bravery in this battle while Major Dalpat Singh was awarded a military cross for his bravery.

"Major Singh and the bold Indian soldiers are very dear to us and this centenary celebration is special to us," Mayor of Haifa, Yona Yahav, told the gathering assembled to pay tributes to the fallen Indian soldiers.

"Dalpat Singh not only changed the history of my city but the history of the Middle East," Yahav asserted.

About 900 Indian soldiers are interred in cemeteries across Israel in Jerusalem, Ramle and Haifa.

India's Ambassador to Israel, Pavan Kapoor, said that the event is meant to "salute the brave Indian soldiers for their valiant deeds" and "to show that their courage and sacrifice is not forgotten".

"Indian cavalry regiments armed with spears and swords displayed the highest tradition of valour and cleared the enemy from the rocky slopes of Mt Carmel," Kapoor said.

"Today we commemorate the courage and sacrifice of those soldiers who laid down their lives far away from their homes and families. These soldiers represented all the major faiths and regions of our country. This tribute shows that their courage and sacrifice has not been forgotten," he said.

"It is also a sign that even in this part of Israel, far from India, the eternal flame of of the Indian Army - duty and service before self - continues to shine," the envoy said.

Yahav also told the gathering that once he became aware of the sacrifices of the Indian soldiers in liberating the city, he subsequently made efforts to get the information in the school textbooks so that the youngsters of Haifa would know an "important episode in the history of their city".

"Eight years ago a special committee which is researching the history of Haifa put up on my table a document which dealt with the history of Haifa from the Ottoman times," the Mayor told PTI.

"It talked about the victory led by Maj (Dalpat) Singh and I said that it is a part of our history and we must commemorate it. We must find the place he is buried. They looked for it. They found the place and we decided to do a ceremony here every year. The Indian Embassy also has been very helpful in organising these events," he said.

"We have changed the whole textbooks to insert the story of the Indian troops because this is an important part of our history and legacy. It is important that the students know who liberated their city," Yahav stressed.

History textbooks from classes 3 to 5 teach about the story of the liberation of Haifa by Indian soldiers.

The Haifa mayor said that he was "touched" by the gesture of the Indian government to rename the famous Teen Murti Chowk in New Delhi adding his city's name to it.

In a symbolic gesture of friendship with Israel, India renamed the iconic Teen Murti Chowk, a war memorial, to Teen Murti Haifa Chowk, during the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to New Delhi in January.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the Haifa cemetery during his visit to Israel in July 2017 and unveiled a plaque commemorating Major Dalpat Singh, known as the 'Hero of Haifa' for his critical role in the liberation of the city.

"I am deeply honoured to stand here today to salute the valiant Indian soldiers, who led down their lives for the liberation of Haifa during the WWI," Modi had written in the guest book.

"The exceptional bravery and supreme sacrifice of Major Thakur Dalpat Singh MC, the 'Hero of Haifa' and his men, will be remembered forever and continue to inspire generations to come. Next year, the centenary of the battle of Haifa will present another opportunity to mark this enduring bond between India and Israel," he wrote.

The Indian Army's 61st Cavalry, the name given to the unit created after the merger of the three cavalry units after independence, also sent a contingent to participate in the centenary celebrations.

The Indian contingent serving in UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) and a small contingent from the Israel Defence Forces also participated in the ceremony.

The former maharaja of Jodhpur, Gaj Singh, and Brigadier M S Jodha, grandson of Aman Singh Bahadur, were also present for the ceremony.

The Israel Post also presented to Yahav and Kapoor special stamps released in February this year to commemorate hundred years of the battle.

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The Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, probing the death of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Thursday warned the Apollo Hospital of legal consequences if it failed to depute its doctors to appear before the panel.

In a letter to the hospital chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy, the panel, whose extended tenure ends next month, noted that in previous hearings some of the doctors, summoned, had not appeared before it had been condoned.

"Depute the doctors and technician before this commission without raising any technical objections, remembering that your hospital has received several crores of rupees towards treatment charges (of Jayalalithaa)," it said.

The panel directed cardiologist Dr Sai Sathish, Consultants, Dr C Vignesh and Dr D Ravi Varma to appear before it on September 11, respiratory medicine specialist Dr Babu K Abraham and technician Madivannan on Sept 12 and chief physiotherapist, Raj Prassanna on Sept 10.

"...if you fail to depute the doctors and technician, law will take its own course against you and other directors," the letter, a copy of which is made available to the media, said.

The one-man commission, headed by retired Madras High Court judge A Arumughaswamy, pointed out that the doctors were directed to appear only in a phased manner.

It has so far examined a number of witnesses, including over ten doctors, retired and serving government officials and police officers.

Last month, three AIIMS-Delhi doctors, who had periodically examined Jayalalithaa during her hospitalisation, appeared before the panel.

Jayalalithaa had died on December 5, 2016 after being treated in the hospital for 75 days for various ailments.

In September 2017, the state government had constituted the probe panel under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, mandating it to inquire into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation on September 22, 2016, and treatment provided by the hospital till her demise.

The commission, whose term has been twice extended since then, had invited all those having "personal knowledge and direct acquaintance" to furnish information related to her.

Several persons, including present Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his followers, had earlier raised suspicions about the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death.

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A suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) operative tried to commit suicide following his arrest in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said on Thursday.

Feroz Ahmad Hajam, a suspected Jaish operative, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with an FIR registered earlier this year, a police spokesperson said.

"During the course of questioning, the suspect went to attend nature's call. While in the washroom, he attempted to take his life by slitting his throat," he said.

The spokesperson added that Hajam was given immediate medical attention and rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

"Necessary legal actions have been initiated," he said.

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Paint maker Kansai Nerolac has roped in Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador.

"Introducing Ranveer as an exciting face of the brand, the company aims to develop and foster its promise to celebrate the joy of beautifying one's home and life," the company said in a statement.

It feels good to be associated with Kansai Nerolac, a brand that strongly believes in the journey of transformation by bringing colours into our lives, Ranveer Singh said.

The company had reported a marginal decline in its net profit to Rs 139.84 crore for the quarter ended June 30.

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Ending weeks of speculation, the Telangana government recommended the dissolution of the state assembly Thursday, official sources said.

A resolution recommending the dissolution of the House was adopted at a meeting of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao this afternoon.

Shortly afterwards, Rao drove to Raj Bhavan and handed over the resolution to Governor ESL Narasimhan, who accepted the Cabinet's decision.

"The Governor, while accepting the recommendation of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers has requested K Chandrashekar Rao and his Council of Ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government. Chandrasekhar Rao has agreed to this request," a Raj Bhavan press communique said.

This brings the curtains down on the first elected Legislative Assembly in Telangana.

The Council of Ministers led by Rao assumed office on June 2, 2014, the day Telangana came into existence as the 29th state of India.

Speculation was rife for quite some time that Rao may go in for an early poll as the opposition in the state was in a disarray.

The final decision on whether to hold an early election now rests with the Election Commission.

In normal circumstances, election to the Telangana assembly would coincide with the Lok Sabha polls.

Sources in the ruling party said Rao wanted to cash in on what he believes was a "positive atmosphere" in favour of his government.

The TRS government's decision to for an early election has come in for sharp criticism by the Congress and some other opposition parties.

"The state was formed after so much of struggle and sacrifices. People had so many hopes of development, farm issues being addressed and empoloyment generation but all these promises have not been fulfilled," chief spokesperson of the Telangana unit of the Congress Sravan Dasoju told PTI.

He also alleged there was a "dubious pact" between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rao, insisting if simultaneous elections were to be held for Lok Sabha and the state assembly, it would have turned into a "Rahul Gandhi versus Modi fight" in states like Telangana and benefited the Congress.

The BJP, however, was ambiguous on the issue, with its state spokesman Krishna Sagar Rao saying voters had already made up their minds about whom to vote and will stick to it.

Keeping in mind the "electoral pattern nationally" the BJP certainly feels that it has an edge whenever polls are held.

CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said Rao's decision to have an early election stemmed from his "fear" that he would get "more isolated" if polls are held next year.

Sources in the TRS said Rao was upbeat about his continued popularity among the electorate.

"The idea is to encash the positive mood among the people. Rao has played safe," a TRS leader said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The party-wise strength in the 120-member Telangana Legislative Assembly before its dissolution was TRS-82, Congress-17, AIMIM-7, BJP-5, TDP-3, Vacant-2, the CPI, CPI(M), indipendent and nominated member (one each).

The TRS had bagged 63 seats in the 2014 polls but its strength rose over time with 19 MLAs from the opposition, including 12 from the TDP, three of the YSR Congress and two of the Bahujan Samaj Party joining it.

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In a huge tactical gambit, the Telangana government Thursday recommended dissolution of the state assembly months before its term was to end, driven by the hope its chief K C Rao's charisma will give it a second spell in power, and the urge to avoid a "KCR vs Modi" campaign simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls would entail.

Ending weeks of intense speculation, chief minister Rao chaired a meeting of the state cabinet, which adopted the resolution urging Governor E S L Narasimhan to dissolve the House.

The governor accepted the recommendation soon afterwards and asked Rao, who headed the state's first government, to continue as caretaker chief minister.

"The Governor, while accepting the recommendation of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers has requested K Chandrashekar Rao and his Council of Ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government. Chandrasekhar Rao has agreed to this request," a Raj Bhavan press communique said.

The Congress and some other opposition parties cried foul over the development, calling it the result of a "dubious pact" between K Chandrashekar Rao and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speculation was rife over the last few weeks about the likelihood of Rao going for an early election as he did not want national issues raised during the next year's Lok Sabha polls to overshadow local factors, which the TRS feels, are in its favour.

In normal circumstances, the assembly election in the state would have coincided with the Lok Sabha poll likely April-May next year.

Narasimhan is expected to send a report to the Centre on the developments and formally communicate the Telangana government's decision to the Election Commission.

The final call on whether to conduct an early election rests with the Election Commission, which has six months till March to hold the polls.

A home ministry official said in New Delhi it is up to the poll panel to decide whether it wants elections in Telangana to take place with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in November-December.

"Today, it's KCR versus nobody. Six months later, it would have become a KCR versus (Narendra) Modi campaign," TRS veteran K Kesava Rao, a party MP told a TV channel, indicating that the decision to go for a snap poll was also aimed at delinking the assembly and Lok Sabha elections to avoid a personalised campaign, with the local issues taking a back seat.

With the opposition hardly presenting the picture of a cohesive bloc, the TRS currently sits pretty in the state in whose creation Rao played a pivotal role.

Sources in the ruling party said Rao wanted to cash in on what he believes was a "positive atmosphere" in favour of his government.

Rao, they said, felt popular programmes launched by his government including the Bhagirathi Drinking Water Scheme, Kalyana Lakshmi/Shaadi Mubarak schemes for one-time assistance to economically weak families of girls of marriageable age, and Rythu Bandhu investment support scheme for farmers will help it reap a rich electoral harvest.

The TRS boss also did not want to give enough elbow room to the Congress, a formidable force in undivided Andhra Pradesh, and the neighbouring state's ruling TDP to come together and put up a united fight against his party. The two parties had voted together during the recent no-trust vote against the Modi government and the vice presidential poll.

Delaying the polls till Apri-May would have given the two parties more leeway to form an alliance the possibility of which still exists. However, the two parties will have to hasten the pace and remove the possibile irritants in the way.

The TRS, despite being seen as having "friendly" ties with the Centre's ruling BJP, has a committed following among the Muslim voters.

Simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls could have denied the TRS the benefit of its Muslim support base if the opposition could convince the minority voters about the genuineness of its claim of his proximity to the BJP.

The Congress reacted sharply to the development, saying Rao's decision reflected a "dubious pact" with prime minister Modi.

"If simultaneous elections were to be held for Lok Sabha and the state assembly, it would have turned into a Rahul Gandhi versus Modi fight in states like Telangana and benefited the Congress," chief spokesperson of the Telangana unit of the Congress Sravan Dasoju told PTI.

The BJP, with just five MLAs in Telangana and little at stake in the assembly polls, will be all to happy to see the TRS back at the helm. Keeping TRS in good humour may stand the saffron party in good stead when it hunts for allies if it falls short of a majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

Rao today completely avoided criticising the BJP and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling the party Telangana's "enemy number 1" and its president Rahul Gandhi the "biggest buffoon" in the country.

"Everybody knows Rahul Gandhi. He is the biggest buffoon in the country. Whole country has seen in the open assembly (Lok Sabha) how he went to Mr Narendra Modi and hugged him....the way he was winking," Rao told a press conference after the cabinet decision.

He said his ties with Modi were "purely government to government, constitutional and not personal".

"The number one villain and biggest enemy of Telangana is Congress. It was Jawaharlal Nehru who merged the then Telangana region with other Telugu-speaking regions against the wishs of Telangana and it was Indira Gandhi who crushed the separate statehood agitation during her regime," he said.

He said there was "political fragility and unlimited idiocy" in Telangana due to the opposition's false propaganda against his government.

"To end his I decided to go to the people's court. Let people take a call," he said.

Rao said he "personally" spoke to the Chief Election Commissioner and claimed Telangana polls will be held with those in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

"As per my knowledge, the notification will be issued in October, elections will be held in November and results will be declared in the first week of December," he said.

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Paraguay's government says it's moving its embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem and back to Tel Aviv.

In May, Paraguay announced that it would follow U.S. President Donald Trump's lead and relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, becoming the third country to do so after Guatemala and the United States.

In May, then-president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem after his country and Guatamala opened their embassies there.

Previous US presidents, as well as almost every other country, refrained from opening embassies in Jerusalem, saying the city's final status should first be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Paraguay's previous leader, Horacio Cartes, chose to move the embassy in Israel in May, shortly after US President Donald Trump did the same.

Incoming President Mario Abdo Benitez formerly expressed concern over the "divisive" nature of the decision for the Paraguayan population; he also claimed that he had not been consulted by Cartes who made the announcement in the denouement of his term.

"Paraguay is a country of principles", Abdo, who took office last month, said on Twitter.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated on Wednesday, "Israel views with great severity the unusual decision of Paraguay, which will cloud bilateral relations".

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Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), another best friend to McCain and also an ally to Trump , said he too was very "proud" of Meghan. Meghan McCain taking a break from The View following her fathers funeral, and there is no word on when she will return.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry praised the reversal and Paraguay's "commitment to global law".

"One of the most complex components of the conflict (between Israel and the Palestinians) is the status of Jerusalem", Castiglioni said, and Paraguay believes it should be negotiated between the parties involved - a position still held by most nations. Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector that it annexed after the 1967 war, as its capital.

On Wednesday, Paraguay announced that it would be moving its embassy back to Tel Aviv.

In the decades since 1967, worldwide consensus has been that the city's status must be negotiated between the two sides.

But the Palestinians, with broad global backing, want East Jerusalem for the capital of a future state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), had condemned the opening of the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem.

On Wednesday while meeting Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Netanyahu said: "I appreciate your decision to open an honorary consulate in Jerusalem, and I hope, I hope, I hope it's the first step toward establishing the Bulgarian embassy in Jerusalem".
The officers and staff of Kolkata Metro Railway have contributed a day's salary to stand by the flood-affected people of Kerala, a Metro spokesperson said Thursday.

The Metro officers and staff contributed Rs 23.39 lakh to the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund, the spokesperson said.

Unprecedented floods led to widespread devastation in Kerala in August, causing loss of thousands of crores of Rupees worth infrastructure and immense hardship to the people of the southern state.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday took strong exception to the statement of a senior police officer on the arrest of five rights activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, saying he had cast "aspersions" on the top court.

The court also extended its earlier order saying the rights activists -- Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha-- would remain under house arrest till September 12, when it will take up the plea filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others in the case.

A visibly angry Justice D Y Chandrachud, who along with Justice A M Khanwilkar was part of a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, referred to the statements made to the media by an Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune and said he was casting aspersions on the apex court by saying that it should not have entertained the plea.

"I watched the press briefing by the Assistant Commissioner, Pune which insinuated that the Supreme Court should not have intervened at this stage. He has no business saying that and casting aspersions on the Supreme Court Judges," Justice Chandrachud said.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Maharashtra government, immediately apologised for the action of the police officer.

"Tell him we have taken it very seriously ... You (law officer) must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we don't want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong," the judge said.

Considering the submissions of the law officer that Thapar and others have no locus to file the plea, the bench asked the petitioners to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case.

"In a criminal investigation, can a third party enter," the bench asked.

Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Thapar and others, said they were "not third parties" and the issue was larger.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the arrested activists have consented that they can be represented by the petitioners and moreover, they can also be allowed to become parties to the litigation here.

At the outset, Mehta referred to the reply of the Maharashtra police and several judgements and said the petition filed by Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala, was not maintainable as they are "strangers" to the issue in question.

He said the accused have been represented by lawyers at various courts and the present petitioners cannot seek remedy and issuance of writ on their behalf as such procedures are "unknown to the criminal law".

The law officer said there was enough evidence including the materials taken from the activists' computers and other sources which belied the perception of the petitioners about the arrested accused.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Tushar Damgude who had filed the FIR in the Koregaon-Bhima violence, opposed the plea of Thapar and said the plea against the arrest could have been raised in the magistrate's court by the affected parties.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising raised the issue of the arrest of an activist in the matter six months ago.

The bench fixed the matter for further hearing on September 12.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government had filed its response to the plea claiming the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI (Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views.

The state's response had come in the backdrop of the apex court, while ordering the house arrest of the five activists on August 29, categorically stating that "dissent is the safety valve of democracy".

Prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested on August 28 from Hyderabad, while activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad in Haryana and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from New Delhi.

The Maharashtra police had arrested the five activists in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- 'Elgaar Parishad' -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.

The court had questioned the state police's move to arrest these activists nine months after the incident and said all of them were reputed citizens and "stifling the dissent" was not good.

The plea by Thapar and others has sought an independent probe into the arrests and their immediate release.

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A two-member judicial commission, set up to probe the Koregaon Bhima violence at Pune in Maharashtra, began its proceedings here by recording evidence of a witness, even as an activist urged that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis be summoned before the panel.

A 40-year-old graphics designer from Maharashtra's Thane district deposed as a witness and told the commission on Wednesday that she was among those injured in the violence.

During the cross-examination by right wing leader Milind Ekbote's lawyer Niteen Pradhan, the woman said she was among those injured in stone-pelting on a bus.

Ekbote is one of the accused in the Koregaon Bhima violence case.

Before the commission began its proceedings, a social activist, Sanjay Lakhe Patil, filed an application seeking the panel to summon Fadnavis to appear before it.

Patil's counsel B A Desai told the commission, headed by former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice J N Patel, that Fadnavis held the Home portfolio and hence, his evidence should also be recorded by the panel.

Desai relied on the state government's affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, alleging that Ekbote was responsible for the violence.

"The chief minister, who holds the Home portfolio, should be summoned by the commission for examination," Desai said.

The panel, however, refused to pass any order and asked Patil to present prima facie evidence against the chief minister after which it would consider the application.

Violence had occurred on December 31 last year at Koregaon Bhima village in Maharashtra's Pune district in which one person was killed.

The government had set up the commission in February this year to inquire into the violence.

The commission will probe the sequence of events leading to the violence, the people responsible for it, if there were adequate police personnel in and around Koregaon Bhima at that time, and suggest measures to avoid repetition of such incidents.

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The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with the violence in Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.

"You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we don't want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong," the bench told ASG Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Maharashtra government.

The bench also asked petitioner Romila Thapar and others to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case.

Meanwhile, Mehta told the bench that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing investigation.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 12.

The Maharashtra government had yesterday told the apex court that the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI(Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views.

The state police had filed the affidavit in response to a plea of historian Romila Thapar and four others, challenging the arrest of the five activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, and claimed that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

While prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from Delhi.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year, which had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village in Pune district of Maharashtra.

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President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov here and invited companies from the Balkan nation to manufacture in India as part of the ambitious 'Make in India' programme.

Kovind arrived here on Tuesday from Cyprus on the second leg of his eight-day three-nation visit to Europe to continue India's high-level engagements with European countries. From Bulgaria, he will fly to Czech Republic.

"President Kovind meets PM Borissov of Bulgaria; calls for stronger bilateral relations; invites Bulgarian companies to come and manufacture in India as part of the 'Make in India'programme," the President's Secretariat tweeted.

The bilateral trade between India and Bulgaria stands at just over USD 300 million.

Referring to the trade volume, Kovind on Wednesday said at the India-Bulgaria Business Forum, "This falls way below the potential. I am confident that a lot more can be done together if we drive deeper into each other's economies and look for prospects. I am certain your deliberations today would be most productive on that account."



"While our political relations have always been strong and deep, our economic ties have so far been modest. It is time for us to catch up," he added.

The President said Bulgarian companies can take advantage of the high growth trajectory of the Indian economy. And Indian companies could form partnerships in Bulgaria both for the domestic market and for the wider EU economy.

"The key areas with potential for two-way trade and investment engagement include ICT, Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture, Food Processing, Auto Components, Medical Devices, Defence Production, Infrastructure and Tourism sectors," he said.

Kovind said India with a current growth rate of 8.2% is on course to become a 5 trillion economy by 2025.

"India has recently become the 6th largest economy in the world with a GDP of US dollars 2.6 trillion. The IMF has forecast the Indian growth to be at 7.8% in 2019.Our economic graph offers long-term prospects for Bulgarian companies to invest, trade and establish technology tie-ups in India," he said.

The President said India has the largest pool of digital talent in the world and is the largest ICT sourcing destination and Bulgaria is also famous for its ICT strengths. So there is "immense potential for our companies to come together to collaborate in artificial intelligence, data analytics, the internet of things, robotics and nano-technology".

He also said Bulgaria can help India meet its massive defence requirements.

"I invite Bulgarian companies to join hands with Indian majors and manufacture in India both for the local market and for rest of the world," Kovind said.

Bulgaria is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member country with a large indigenous defence industry. It is ranked as a "medium" small arms exporter according to the Small Arms Survey.

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The Kremlin on Thursday rejected accusations by British authorities that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ultimately responsible for poisoning a former spy in England, and said Russia is not going to investigate the suspects.

Britain's security minister on Thursday called out Putin over the nerve agent attack targeting Sergei Skripal and his daughter and also warned that the UK would counter Russian "malign activity" with both public and covert measures.

Ben Wallace told the BBC that Putin and his government "controls, funds and directs" the military intelligence unit known as the GRU , which Britain believes used the Soviet-developed Novichok nerve agent to try to kill ex-Russian spy Skripal.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were hospitalized for weeks in critical condition after they were exposed to Novichok in the city of Salisbury on March 4. They are now recovering in a secret location for their own protection.

Local woman Dawn Sturgess died and her boyfriend Charlie Rowley was sickened after they came across remnants of the poison in a discarded perfume bottle in June.

Britain on Wednesday announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov names that are likely aliases. The murder attempt was approved "at a senior level of the Russian state," British Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday.

Moscow strongly denies involvement in the attack, and Russian officials said they didn't recognize the suspects.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called the accusations leveled against Putin and the Russian government "unacceptable." "Neither the Russian leadership nor its representatives have anything to do with the events in Salisbury," he said.

Peskov also said that Russia "has no reasons" to investigate the two individuals charged on Wednesday because Britain has not asked for legal assistance in the case.

Britain has said it is not going to seek the men's extradition because Russian law does not allow for the extradition of its nationals to be tried abroad.

Russian officials have been vehemently denying the fresh accusations.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova went on national television Wednesday evening, claiming that the security camera footage of the two suspects arriving at Gatwick Airport released by the British authorities has been doctored because it shows them at the same time in the same place. A closer look, however, shows that the men were walking in different gate corridors.

Zakharova on Thursday accused Britain of "concealing the evidence," and demanded that Britain share the suspects' fingerprints and other data.

The Skripals' poisoning ignited a diplomatic confrontation in which hundreds of envoys were expelled by both Russia and Western nations. But there is limited appetite among Britain's European allies for further sanctions against Moscow.

Sergei Skripal's niece, Viktoria, on Thursday called on British authorities to allow her to visit her family in Britain after her visa application was denied. She said that she does not know the men Britain suspects of being behind the poisoning.

Skripal also said that she doubts that the former Russians spy is still alive because he has not communicated with the family since the poisoning. Britain plans to press its case against Russia at the U.N. Security Council later on Thursday.

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November 03, 2021, Wednesday

The COP26 is being held from October 31 to November 12 under the presidency of the UK which is partnering with Italy for the
Sri Lankan officials accused in abductions and enforced disappearances during the country's brutal civil war against the LTTE should not be promoted or transferred till the final determination of such cases, a special panel has recommended.

The Office of Missing Persons (OMP), which is tasked with determining the status of all persons who went "missing" during the war-era, also recommended interim measures to provide relief and reparation to the families affected by the disappearances of their loved ones.

"In particular, ensure that suspected officials are not transferred, promoted or offered any other office in the armed forces, police or the public service while cases against them are pending," the OMP recommended in an interim report published Wednesday.

The OMP came into force in February as the first steps toward reconciling the island nation's war-era past tracing about 20,000 people who went missing during 37 years of fighting for a separate Tamil state.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had run a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland in the northern and eastern provinces of the island nation before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The committee is compiling a centralised list of the missing and their current status.

The UN Human Rights Council had also recommended the formation of the committee to compel Sri Lanka to be accountable for the alleged human rights abuses.

The report said the current socio-economic situation of many families of the missing or disappeared is dire and they cannot wait until a final reparations scheme is devised. Therefore, a key set of measures is required in the interim to provide urgent and immediate relief to the families.

The OMP also recommended separate programmes for such families on debt relief, housing development, educational support, and vocational training and livelihood development.

It also recommended introduction of an employment quota of one per cent within the state sector to facilitate family members of the missing and disappeared who have requisite skills.

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Clean energy generation firm Leap Green Energy Thursday said it looks to increase its power capacity to 2 GW from existing operational 751 MW and also plans fund infusion of USD 300 million.

"Leap Green Energy Pvt Ltd (LGE), India's leading renewable power generation company, plans to increase its power capacity through opportunistic acquisitions and setting up green field projects," a statement said.

The company is expecting to have an installed capacity of above 2 GW by FY2020, it said. The company currently has an operational capacity of 751 MW of wind assets and 400 MW of under construction wind assets.

To meet capital requirements for expansion, the firm is planning a fund infusion to the tune of USD 300 million. The state electricity boards (SEBs) and various industrial and commercial corporate consumers form the prospective users of the produced power capacity, it added.

The company intends this robust expansion encouraged by growing demand. Their reported revenue was Rs 525 crore generated in the FY 2017-18 alone.

"...going forward, wind energy will be our main focus area with a few ventures into solar and hybrid energy as well. We have been very fortunate to be associated with the state of Tamil Nadu and are forecasting wind energy for the entire state with our new technology. Wind Energy has a great potential in India and we are glad to be part of its growth journey in India and across the world," said by Rajeev Karthikeyan, Founder and MD of Leap Green Energy, said in the statement.

Currently, LGE operates in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat with plans to enter more states immediately. The institutional demand for wind energy is growing and applicable across functions including malls and shopping centres, hospitals and banks among others.

In-terms of wind power installed capacity, India is ranked 4th in the World. The wind power generation has significantly increased in the recent years, today India is a major player in the global wind energy market. The current total installed wind power capacity is 34.293 GW and is going to expand to 60 GW by FY 2022, it added.

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The Supreme Court verdict legalizing gay sex among consenting adults has given a "ray of hope" to continue the struggle against injustice, Sabha Husain, the partner of one of the five left-wing activists under house arrest, said Thursday.

Husain said the struggle of LGBT community and the historic Supreme Court verdict are an inspiration for her and her partner, Gautam Navlakha, to continue their fight for justice.

"Just as we were waiting for a verdict for all of us, the Supreme Court gave the most historic judgement on decriminalising homosexuality. It is a moment of pride for all of us. Gautam and I feel this has been possible due to the relentless struggle and campaign of the LGBTQ community," she told PTI.

Navlakha is one of the five human rights activists and lawyers who are accused by the Maharashtra government of having links with the banned CPTI (Maoist) group. They were arrested by Maharashtra police last week after a series of raids in several cities. The five were to be sent into detention, but got a reprieve by the Supreme Court, which allowed them to be kept under house arrest pending investigations. On Thursday, the Supreme Court extended the house arrest period to September 12.

Husain compared the struggle which the LGBTQ community underwent before the Supreme Court verdict to the one she and her partner have been going through.

She said Navlakha saluted the spirit of the LGBTQ community.

"Their struggle and today's victory is an inspiration for us to continue our fight for justice. We have learnt a lot from their persistence and perseverance and resistance," she added.

She said they are hopeful of a positive verdict from the apex court. "The Supreme Court will intervene where democracy itself is threatened. We will wait as patiently as we have done till now and see what happens on September 12," she said.

She said Navlakha is disappointed that he is not been able to see his family, and is confined by barricades around their Nehru Enclave residence in south Delhi.

"Gautam has a big family ... but we are getting used to barricades." However, she and Navlakha are able to interact with each other freely as there is no police presence inside the house, she said.

When she has to meet friends she goes up to the barricades because no visitor is allowed to walk beyond that point.

"We are having gate meetings. I am free to go anywhere but voluntarily I like to stay around. I don't want to leave Gautam," she said.

"How long can they have that kind of surveillance? They have been seeing us for a week. We are not the ones who will run away. We are here to fight. So they don't sit right there in front of the door and are present around the barricades," she said.

The Maharashtra Police raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31, 2017.

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British prosecutors have charged the two Russian men with the nerve-agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

She said: "I come today to tell the House that based on a body of intelligence the Government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and the CPS, are officers from the Russian Military Intelligence Service, also known as the GRU".

Although Mrs May did not explicitly blame the Kremlin for authorising the attempted assassination, senior Conservatives directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving the operation.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are wanted for conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the nerve agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Police said they were still not absolutely certain that the bottle found by Rowley was the bottle used to apply Novichok to Sergei Skripal's front door.

A European arrest warrant has been issued for the two Russians, British prosecutors said, but Britain will not ask Moscow to extradite them because Russia's constitution does not allow its citizens to be extradited. The incident, which unfolded in the quiet city of Salisbury, England, left double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter seriously ill for weeks.

Mr Morrison said the heinous Novichok nerve agent attack was in clear and direct violation of global law. Ms Sturgess died in hospital on 9 July. They travelled to the City Stay Hotel in Bow Road, East London, where they stayed on Friday, 2 March, and Saturday, 3 March.

Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Neil Basu, at a Thursday morning news conference, appealed "for anyone who has information about the suspects" to contact police.

May said the Litvinenko case showed there was no point to demanding the Skripal suspects' extradition.

A police officer, Nick Bailey, was also hospitalized.

Japan issues evacuations for 300,000 people as typhoon Jebi bears down

Jebi - which means swallow in Korean - is the first typhoon to be classed as "very strong" by Japan's weather agency since 1993. Almost 14,000 people in the region have been moved to refuge zones, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

The U.S. levied sanctions against Russian Federation at the end of August in retaliation for the attack.

Despite the link between the cases, no charges have yet been made over the subsequent poisonings after the Skripals. May said. She added that Britain's security services would pay closer attention to the GRU and work with allies to "deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus in order to counter the threat posed by the GRU".

More than three months later, the bottle was found in nearby Amesbury by a local man, Charlie Rowley.

Prosecutors said they used surveillance video and passport records to tie Petrov and Boshirov to the attack.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home was contaminated with the military-grade substance on that date. Later, she told the state news agency Interfax that the ministry demanded that the British supply Russian Federation with the fingerprints of the two men accused of the attempted murder of the Skripals.

"The names published by the media, like their photographs, mean nothing to us", foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

As a result, he said, police are not yet ready to bring charges in the second poisoning.

May promised new action to combat the GRU and Russian Federation more effectively.

Mr Rowley has told police he found the box containing the small bottle and an applicator in a charity bin.
The Supreme Court verdict, which said gay sex among consenting adults is not a criminal offence, has given us a "ray of hope" to continue our struggle against injustice, partner of Gautam Navlakha, Sabah Husain, one of the five activists who has been under house arrest in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence said Thursday.

On a day when the apex court extended the house arrest of five rights activists, including Navlakha till September 12, Husain said the struggle of LGBT community and today's victory is an inspiration for her and her partner to continue their fight for justice.

She compared the struggle which the LGBTQ community underwent before the Supreme Court verdict to the one they have been going through.

Husain pointed to the barricades placed outside her Nehru Enclave residence, asserting those were her new meeting point.

"Just as we were waiting for a verdict for all of us, the Supreme Court gave the most historic judgement on decriminalising homosexuality. It is a moment of pride for all of us. Gautam and I feel this has been possible due to the relentless struggle and campaign of the LGBTQ community," she told PTI.

She said Gautam saluted the spirit of the LGBTQ community and the comrades who have fought all these years.

"Their struggle and today's victory is an inspiration for us to continue our fight for justice. We have learnt a lot from their persistence and perseverance and resistance," she added.

On the forthcoming verdict, Husain said "...We will wait as patiently as we have done till now and see what happens on September 12".

She claimed Gautam has not been able to meet his family after his house arrest.

However, they are able to interact with each other freely as there is no police presence inside the house, she said.

Maharashtra police had raided the homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested them, sparking a chorus of protests from human rights activists.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31, 2017.

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Celebrations broke out Thursday as the LGBTQ community and others welcomed the Supreme Court judgment decriminalising consensual gay sex, asserting that the "historic" verdict granted them a basic human right but also acknowledging that complete equality was still some distance away.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, prompting joyous tears, hugs and dancing across the country.

Activists, members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) community, authors and politicians welcomed the verdict -- which also said society cannot dictate a sexual relationship between consenting adults -- with many cutting cakes and unfurling the rainbow flag.

LGBTQ activist Anjali Nazia said the Supreme Court had paved way for bigger judgements ahead.

"We were granted a basic human right today and we can't express just how happy we are," Nazia told PTI.

Describing the verdict as a landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said it would be help them in their quest for equality.

"It is a start. We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

For many activists, this was the harbinger of better days to come.

A member of the gay community who requested anonymity said the decision was long due."I have suffered for 10 years because of my sexuality. Hopefully things will change," he said.

According to Alliance India CEO Sonal Mehta, it is a day of victory for love and law.

"We are finally not criminals and this minuscule minority has an identity now," is how gender and sexuality rights activist Arpit Bhalla put it.

The Congress also put out a Twitter post welcoming the judgement.

"We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society," it said, adding intersex and asexuality to LGBTQ.

Expressing his happiness, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the judgement "shamed" BJP MPs who had opposed him on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

"So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS," he tweeted.

Writer Chetan Bhagat said India will survive and thrive only by accepting diversity.

"India is a country where the culture changes every 100km. Accepting diversity has to be the core value of every Indian and frankly is the only way India will survive and thrive. Scrapping #Section377 is a step in that direction. It is a good day for India."



Saying that she was jubilant and emotional, feminist activist Rituparna Borah termed the verdict a stepping stone. "But there are issues like police violence, right to adoption and marriage that still stay," she told PTI.

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Hailing the Supreme Court's landmark decision to decriminalise consensual gay sex under Section 377 of the IPC, Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the country's first transgender college principal, said Thursday it was a "new dawn" for members of the LGBTQ community and activists.

The judgment would enable every community member to claim his/her rightful place in the society, she told PTI.

"I have been fighting for my rights since 2001. I have seen many highs and lows but never gave up," Bandyopadhyay, the principal of Krishnanagar Women's College said.

"Today, for the past half an hour, I have been getting innumerable congratulatory calls. It is like a new era and a new dawn for all of us associated with the movement," she added.

Bandyopadhyay said she did not think that the verdict would overnight change the attitude of people with patriarchal mindsets towards the transgender community.

"With the apex court judgment today, however, the society at large will begin to look at LGBTQ community, including transgenders, in a more positive way. We have come half way, there is still a long road ahead," she observed.

The activist, who took charge as the principal in 2015, had resigned the following year, citing non-cooperation from teaching, non-teaching staff and students of her college.

Her resignation, however, was not accepted by the state education department and she resumed office in January, last year.

West Bengal Transgender Development Board member Ranjita Sinha said it wasn't just the LGBTQ community that was happy with the order, people at large have welcomed the historic decision.

"Every person in the country should feel happy with the order as it is a matter of human rights. The mindsets and thought processes of people have been changing over the years and, with this order, those that never cared have also started expressing their solidarity towards the community," she added.

Social media, too, was flooded with celebratory posts since the announcement of the decision.

Actor and elocutionist Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee posted "We won" on Facebook, right after the judgment.

Dancer-choreographer Sudarshan Chakraborty also expressed his happiness over the top court's ruling.

"Section377 abolished!!!!!historical moment for India #lgbtq rights or rather #human rights....right to live with dignity," he wrote on Facebook.

A five-judge constitution bench of the apex court decriminalised consensual gay sex between two adults, bringing down the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

The bench also clarified that other aspects of Section 377 of the IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.

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LGBTQ rights activists here on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court judgement decriminalising consensual gay sex and dubbed the verdict "historic" and "unprecedented".

Satya Benerjee from Gay Bombay, a body working for the betterment of the community, said the historic judgement will have a far-reaching impact on the Indian society and will also help in "stopping brain-drain".

"This is a milestone that a particular community has achieved after a long, long struggle. A whole new era of equal rights for gay or lesbian people will begin. Thanks to the government and other parties as well, who kept a neutral stance," he said.

"This verdict will instill a sense of confidence among qualified and learned citizens of the country and stop the brain-drain," he added.

Transgender rights activist Laxmi Tripathi said the verdict was a tight slap on the faces of those who differentiated between people on the basis of their sexual preference.

"This verdict is a real tribute to those people who committed suicide or who were raped due to the stigma. This (judgement) has vanquished the cruelty that existed for a long time and has maintained the faith in the Constitution," she said.

"This day will be remembered as a golden day in the history of the country and it is a tight slap on (the faces of) those who used to categorise human beings on the basis of their sexuality and were looking into others' beds," Tripathi added.

Another LGBTQ activist Ashok Row Kavi said a new dawn has arisen for the people of this marginalised section.

"This verdict is quite unprecedented in many terms. The judges gave a unanimous decision. It will not only empower the marginalised sections, but ensure their social, physical, psychological welfare. These people, hijras, members of the LGBTQ community, face several health and other issues like alcoholism, suicide, HIV etc. These issues will now get addressed. This is a better late than never move."



Welcoming the SC verdict, advocate Abha Singh said the decision to strike down Section 377 was long overdue.

She said this draconian provision of the IPC was violative of the fundamental right to equality (Article 14, 15), freedom of expression (Article 19) and most importantly, the right to life itself (Article 21).

"Every person has the right to choose their life partner. By criminalising homosexuality, the state was impinging on the individual's personal liberty and privacy, both of which are fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The injustice and discrimination that has been meted out to the LGBTQ community is abominable," Singh said.

"Justice Indu Malhotra has rightly said that we as a society owe them an apology for the stigma that has been associated with them. While the judgement is laudable and historic, for it to translate into reality, we require awareness campaigns and a receptive audience," she added.

She also said that the public must be willing to come together and be sensitive and empathetic to address the problems faced by the LGBTQ community.

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A notorious laptop thief who targeted people travelling in the Delhi Metro was arrested, police said Thursday.

The accused was identified as 32-year-old Raqib Ahmad, a resident of Sri Nagar district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Delhi Police's Metro unit said in a statement here.

Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested Ahmad on September 3 from a hotel in Paharganj in connection with a theft case, DCP (Metro) Deepak Gauri said.

During interrogation, Ahmad told the police that he used to sell the stolen laptops to a man in Srinagar.

"The accused person used to come to Delhi from Srinagar and stay in various hotels in Paharganj area for 20-25 days at stretch. After having stolen several laptops, he returned to Srinagar for supplying/selling these to Wahid in Srinagar," the statement said.

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A 29-year-old man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly plotting the killing of his 86-year-old grandfather in Fort area, the police said Thursday.

Police also arrested four aides of the prime accused Dorji Lama.

Prima facie, grabbing property was the motive behind the crime, a police official said.

The prime accused bore a grudge against Aja Lama who had sought sexual favours from his (Dorji's) mother in the past, he said.

Aja Tejling Lama was found dead with stab injuries at his residence in Sant Niwas building on Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg on September 4, he said.

A case of murder was registered by Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg Police.

"Police found that Lama's daughter-in-law and her son Dorji are staying separately in Dombivli in neighbouring Thane district due to some personal reasons," said DCP (Zone I) Abhishek Trimukhe.

According to police, the deceased owned some property and two hawking stalls in prime South Mumbai area.

Police then questioned the family members of the deceased, including Dorji.

Police found that Dorji had a criminal background and had serious offences registered against him, according to the official.

Dorji had been externed for two years from Thane in the past.

During interrogation, Dorji "confessed" to have plotted the killing of his grandfather by awarding a "contract" of Rs 1.5 lakh to four people.

On September 4, they allegedly went to Aja Lama's residence where one of them stabbed him in chest and stomach, resulting his death, the official said.

Other accused are identified as: Utkarsh Soni (19), Angel Bhise (21), Anand Ray (21) and Jayesh Kanoujia (22) from various places in the city, the official said.

A local court Thursday remanded the accused in police custody, he said.

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A 26-year-old man was lynched to death and two others were injured by a mob in Jharkhand's Palamu district on the suspicion of being thieves, police said on Thursday.

The three went to the house of a prospective bride at Tisibar village -- around 200 km from Ranchi -- on Wednesday evening. They were dragged out the house and beaten up by the mob after a member of the woman's family apparently spread a rumour that that they were thieves, said district Superintendent of Police Indrajit Mahatha.

The deputy SP reached the spot with a police team and rescued the three men, who are residents of the same village. Faced with stiff opposition, the police had to fire four rounds in the air to disperse the mob, but no one was injured, Mahatha said.

The three, all in their twenties, were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors referred them to another one, about 15 km away. One of them succumbed to injuries after arriving at the hospital, the SP said.

Six people have been detained and family feud was suspected to be the reason behind spreading of the rumour, the officer said. "We have identified 23 miscreants involved in the incident and will take action against them following investigation. None involved in the incident will be spared."



Two cases -- for obstructing the police and murder -- have been registered. Security has been provided to the victims' family and police have launched vigil on the village to maintain peace, he added.

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Manipur University Vice Chancellor (VC) A P Pandey has filed a writ petition in the high court, challenging the institution of a two-member fact-finding committee by the HRD ministry to probe the allegations of irregularities levelled against him.

The VC, who joined office on September 1 following a month's leave, moved the court on Wednesday, demanding dissolution of the inquiry panel, his counsel said.

He has set up an office at his official residence as the students and teachers have refused to allow him to enter the central university's campus.

"Manipur High Court judge N Kotiswar has referred the plea to a larger bench comprising Chief Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar as the issue involves public interests," the counsel said, adding that the plea has not been admitted as yet.

After resuming office last week, Pandey had released a statement banning Manipur University Teachers' Association (MUTA) and Manipur University Staff Association (MUSA).

He reasoned that the central university does not have provisions for employees' bodies.

The ban sparked fresh protests at the university where academic activities had resumed on August 24 following the suspension of 85-day-long strike to press for Pandey's removal.

Before the agitation's suspension, the state government and the HRD ministry's representatives entered into an agreement on August 16 with the protesting bodies - Manipur University Students' Union (MUSU), MUTA and MUSA.

Pandey's counsel told media that the Manipur University was not party to the August 16 Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).

"Two of the associations, who had signed the agreement, are not officially recognised bodies as per the provisions of Manipur University Act, 2005," he claimed.

Meanwhile, MUSU members gathered at the entrance gate of the university in Canchipur area here and burned Pandey's effigies.

Around 40 protesters also tried to storm the VC's official residence in Sanjenthong area, but the police thwarted their attempt.

MUSU Secretary Anish Singh said the students were compelled to take action as Pandey resumed office even when the probe into the allegations against him is pending.

MUSU president M Dayamand urged President Ram Nath Kovind to intervene in the matter and allow resumption of normal activities at the varsity.

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State-run warships and submarine builder Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders (MDS) is aiming to diversify into exports and vessel repairing, and also creating a facility at nearby Nhava, a senior official said Thursday.

The company, which is reportedly aiming to raise up to Rs 850 crore in divestment for the government through an initial public offering (IPO) soon, is completely dependent on the defence ministry for its business at present.

It has an order book of Rs 52,000 crore, including four P-15 bravo destroyers, seven P-17 frigates and five of the remaining Kalvari-class Scorpene submarines.

Its director Capt Rajiv Lath said while the margins for the shipbuilding are capped at 7.5 per cent, the same for repairs and also exports are higher, which makes both the segments endearing from a profitability perspective.

"We are looking for exports of ships, including commercial ships and ship repairs in a big way," he said.

Another company official added that a delegation from Egypt was at the in south Mumbai yesterday to discuss a possible deal and stressed that in the past as well, it has exported ships.

Looking at the thrust given to defence given the geopolitical realities and the country's aspirations at a global stage, the company feels there will be a higher demand for hardware in the future and specifically pointed out to Indian Navy's comments to be a 200-ship strong fleet by 2027 and the order for next generation submarine in the works.

MDS is exploring to utilise its 40-acre land parcel at Nhava, adjacent to the country's largest container port JNPT across the city harbour, which will house both repair and shipbuilding facilities, he said.

The total sea frontage is over 150 metres and there is a deep draft of over 10 metres where container vessels are plying at present, a senior official said, adding that it will require investments of more than Rs 900 crore, which was spent in various developmental works recently.

The official, however, declined to quantify the investments and also clarified that the IPO proceeds will not be used for the expansion.

At present, MDS operates out of a land parcel measuring over 60 acres in what is the financial capital's eastern waterfront. It has been operating from here since 1770, when the British East India Company set it up for repairing ships.

Lath said last of the vessels on order at present will be delivered to the Navy by 2025 and will include one delivery of Scorpene class submarines per year till 2022, starting with 'INS Khanderi' by December this year.

A senior official hinted delivery of the INS Vishakhapatnam (P-15 bravo) may be ahead of the revised timeline of 2021.

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Toeing the line of Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC), the two other self-governing bodies in Meghalaya are striving to pass a bill that proposes to strip women of their tribal status upon marriage to a man outside the community.

The councils also want to debar constitutional rights of children born out of the wedlock between a tribal woman and an outsider.

The hill state of Meghalaya is divided into three autonomous councils - Khasi, Jaintia and Garo.

The KHADC had passed the Khasi Hills Autonomous District (Khasi Social Custom of Lineage) (Second Amendment) Bill in July to "protect the lineage and indigenousness" of its tribe in the districts of East Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills, South West Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi.

Former governor Ganga Prasad, however, returned the bill for a thorough deliberation.

"A committee has been constituted earlier this month to hold discussions with legal experts, heads of traditional bodies and women organizations for the smooth passage of the bill," KHADC chief executive member H S Shylla told PTI.

Taking a cue from KHADC, the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (JHADC) and the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) are pitching for the passage of a similar bill to strip their women of ST status upon marriage with a non-tribal man.

"After last week's consultations with Shylla, the Jaintia council has also decided to pass a similar bill in areas under its jurisdiction," JHADC chief executive member Madonbai Rymbai told PTI.

D R Marak, the chief of GHADC, said a legislation proposing similar measures were passed in 2016.

"The then chief minister Mukul Sangma (present Leader of Opposition) had returned the Garo Customary Law Codification Bill passed by the council. Now we are working to pass the bill again," Marak added.

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Former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh has alleged that his elder brother Malvinder forged his wife's signature, perpetrated illegal financial transactions and led the company into an unsustainable debt trap. In a petition filed before the New Delhi-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the younger of the Singh siblings, who were synonymous with each other for decades, sued Malvinder for "oppression and mismanagement" of their companies.

The petition, which is likely to come up for hearing Thursday, charges Malvinder, 45, and former chairman of Religare Enterprises Ltd Sunil Godhwani of putting the company in a debt trap and acting prejudicially to the interest of its creditors and shareholders. Malvinder "forged the signatures" of Aditi Singh, Shivinder's wife, in the documents of RHC Holdings Pvt Ltd, which along with Oscar Investments Ltd jointly owned financial services firm Religare Enterprises Ltd and hospital chain Fortis Healthcare Ltd, it said. Malvinder and Godhwani "used their respective positions to perpetrate or cause others to perpetrate illegal financial transactions and various acts of mismanagement by and through RHC, leading to massive losses to RHC and its subsidiaries, and a depletion of the wealth," the petition said.

Their mismanagement put the company "into an unsustainable debt trap," it said. Shivinder, whose public shareholding along with that of his elder brother was seized by lenders, besides being probed for illegal withdrawal of funds from Fortis Healthcare, wanted NCLT to remove Malvinder and reconstitute the board of RHC. He asked NCLT to declare that Malvinder and Godhwani caused grave prejudice to the interest of the company by acting in "collusion with each other". He also requested NCLT to "direct Malvinder Mohan Singh and Respondent No. 4 (Sunil Godhwani) to restitute the undue gains made by themselves which lead to losses being suffered by the petitioners and RHC Holdings".

Shivinder has also petitioned NCLT to direct Malvinder and Godhwani to "restitute and restore the wealth of RHC Holdings which got eroded due to their unlawful actions" and disclose "their assets, bank accounts and net worth". The petition filed through law firm RRG & Associates also asked NCLT to direct Malvinder "to return the funds unlawfully taken from Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises". hen contacted, RRG & Associates Managing Partner Ranjana Roy Gawai refused to comment, saying the "matter is subjudice and proprietary demands that we should await the outcome." Malvinder Singh could not be reached despite repeated attempts. Shivinder also requested NCLT to direct Malvinder and Godhwani "not to alienate any interest in any asset anywhere so that recoveries can be effected against them".

While seeking interim relief, Shivinder has sought an injunction "to maintain status quo as on filing of the present Petition" over the shareholding of RHC Holdings till the time of disposal of the matter. He has also sought "status quo to be maintained on board of directors" of RHC Holdings in his petition filed under section 241, 241 and 244 of the Companies Act, 2013. In his 43-page petition, Shivinder alleged that signature of his wife Aditi Singh, who had held the post of managing director of RHC Holdings, was forged. "There are also instances of the petitioner No 3 (Aditi Singh) being shown as present for a board meeting when she was in fact abroad. "A resolution of the board of the company dated September 25, 2014, demonstrates the presence of petitioner No 3 in the board meeting, while in fact she was out of the country from September 24, 2014, till September 28, 2014... ," he said.

Shivinder further said: "Aditi Singh mere held the post of managing director on paper and had no role to play in the day to day workings of the company...has always been a homemaker who played no part in the functioning of RHC Holdings." RHC Holding Pvt Ltd is a non-banking financial company owned by the families of Singh brothers. Currently, Malvinder Singh is the managing director of the firm.
Former MLA Laxman Tiwari Thursday announced his resignation from the Madhya Pradesh BJP in protest against restoration of provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, on a day of Bharat bandh over the issue.

Earlier this year, the supreme court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the Act.

As the decision triggered nationwide protests by Scheduled Castes organisations, the Centre brought an amendment to the Act during the Monsoon Session to overrule the SC order.

Organisations opposing restoration of the SC/St Act are observing a nationwide shutdown Thursday.

Criticising the amendments brought to the Act, Tiwari said it was "atrocious" to send people to jail merely on the basis of suspicion.

Tiwari was elected as an MLA in 2008 from Mauganj assembly constituency in Rewa district on the ticket of the Bharatiya Janashakti Party founded in 2006 by Uma Bharti, after she was expelled from the BJP.

The party was merged with the BJP in 2011.

Tiwari didn't get ticket to contest the assembly elections in 2013.

"We didn't have any hopes from the Congress. But now the BJP too has acted in the same manner," he said.

Tiwari claimed that members belonging to the creamy layer of SC and ST communities are meting out injustice to the poor people of their own.

"Our main demand is to withdraw the amendments in SC/ST Act besides the reservation on the basis of economic status," he said while announcing a tour on the issue from Ujjain beginning Friday (September 7).

A meeting of elected representatives from 12 states is convened on September 14 to prepare a strategy in view of the amendments to the Act, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed helplessness in dealing with the aspect of water level in the Mullaperiyar Dam, wondering what can it do if Tamil Nadu, Kerala and the Centre "cannot rise to the occasion".

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, meanwhile, said it would not deal with the aspect as to what should be water level to be maintained at the Mullaperiyar Dam.

It said the sub-committee constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the National Crises Management Committee (NCMC) and the panel, set up in pursuance of the apex court's verdict, would deal with maintenance of water level in the reservoir.

"If states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Centre cannot rise to the occasion then what can we do," the bench asked.

It was hearing a plea filed by Kerala resident Russel Joy who is seeking a study by international experts to ascertain the age of the 120-year-old dam.

The plea has also sought that water level in the dam be maintained at 139 feet in the reservoir keeping in mind the safety of people living in the down stream.

Senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Tamil Nadu, strongly opposed the plea saying that he has been saying from day one that it was ploy to ensure that water level at the dam can be fixed at 139 ft.

Tamil Nadu government, as per the Constitution bench judgement of 2014, was entitled to have the water level of 142 feet in the dam and it can be raised to 152 feet if some measures to strengthen the dam were undertaken.

The bench said that it had asked the panels to consider decreasing the water level to 139 feet keeping in mind the safety of people due to the massive flood.

The court has now fixed the plea for final disposal after eight weeks and asked the panels to take the decisions on the water level and made clear that they would be followed by the two states.

Earlier, the apex court had directed the panels on the Mullaperiyar Dam to ensure that the water level at the reservoir is maintained at 139.99 feet till August 31.

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.

Kerala's claim was rebuffed by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami, who had said the neighbouring state had suffered the deluge due to the discharge of excess water from 80 reservoirs spurred by heavy rains there.

The bench had said it would not get into the maximum limit as fixed by it in 2014 but rather deal with the aspect of disaster management.

Lawyer G Prakash, the standing counsel for Kerala, had said the Supreme Court in 2014 had fixed at 142 ft the maximum permissible water level in the dam.

However, the Kerala government had then set up the "Dam Safety Authority" and fixed the maximum limit at 136 ft, the apex court had set aside the decision of the state government, the lawyer said.

The 18th century dam's full reservoir level stands at 152 ft and the limit of 142 ft has been fixed keeping in view its safety.

In 2007, an experts panel had submitted a report to the Kerala government saying there were chances of the dam breaking if the water level was raised beyond 136 feet.

A 2009 report by IIT Roorkee had also stated that the dam "was likely to face damage if an earthquake of the magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale struck its vicinity when the water level is at 136 feet".

In 2012, a 5-member Supreme Court-empowered Committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A S Anand on the Mullaperiyar Dam had submitted its report to the top court, focussing on all aspects of the 123-year-old dam and its safety.

The plea had said that 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.

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Nauru's president has demanded China apologise for a top diplomat's "crazy" behaviour at the Pacific Islands Forum and lashed out at Beijing's "arrogant" presence in the region.

"They're not our friends. They just need us for their own purposes," President Baron Waqa told reporters.

"Sorry, but I have to be strong on this because no one is to come and dictate things to us." This year's annual Pacific summit, which wraps up in Nauru on Thursday, has been one of the most contentious in the event's 49-year history.

The usual discussions about climate change have been overshadowed by the host's row with China and its treatment of asylum-seekers held on the island under a deal with Australia.

The diplomatic spat pits Nauru -- with a population of 11,000 and an area of just 21 square kilometres (eight square miles) -- against the Asian superpower.

It erupted on Tuesday when the head of China's delegation Du Qiwen attempted to address a meeting but Waqa refused to let him speak until island leaders had finished.

The Chinese delegation then stormed out, with Du reportedly striding around the room to emphasise his displeasure before leaving.

"Would he behave like that in front of his own president? I doubt it," Waqa said at a press conference late Wednesday.

"He disrespected the Pacific, the forum island leaders and other ministers who have come to join us in our territory. Are you kidding? Look at him, he's a nobody. "He's not even a minister and he's demanding to be recognised and to speak before the prime minister of Tuvalu. Is he crazy?"



Waqa, whose country backs Taiwan over arch-rival China in the battle for diplomatic recognition, had already angered Beijing before the summit began in a row over visas.

The exchange with Du highlighted sensitivities over Beijing's rising influence in the Pacific, where China provided an estimated US$1.78 billion in aid to island nations between 2006-16.

"We're seeing a lot of big countries coming in and sometimes buying their way through the Pacific, some are extremely aggressive, even to the point that they tread all over us," Waqa said.

"From this forum, all leaders (now) know how arrogant some of these people are." He said such behaviour merited an apology from Beijing.

"We won't just seek an apology, we'll even take it up to the UN," he said. "Not only that, I will mention it at the UN and every international meeting."



China has shown no sign of backing down, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying Wednesday that Nauru violated forum regulations "and staged a bad farce".

China does not belong to the PIF but is one of 18 countries that attends the leaders' summit as a "dialogue partner" for discussions with member nations.

Beijing and Taipei have vied for diplomatic influence in the Pacific for decades, with both sides offering aid and support to small island states in return for recognition.

Taiwan paid for much of the infrastructure used at the Nauru PIF and there could be similar tensions at next year's event in Tuvalu, which also recognises Taipei.

China sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island views itself as a sovereign nation and is a self-ruling democracy.

Meanwhile Australia and New Zealand have boosted their foreign aid programs in the Pacific to counter Chinese influence in a region they regard as their backyard.

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The NCP Thursday alleged conflict of interest in the appointment of a BJP MLA as CIDCO chairman claiming a firm reportedly linked to him was executing several projects for the state-run agency.

The opposition party said that it would move court if the appointment of Prashant Thakur, BJP MLA from Panvel, as City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) chairman was not cancelled.

"The firm he is director of, Thakur Brothers Infrastructure Private Limited, is executing Rs 900 crore worth contracts of the CIDCO. There is a conflict of interest," NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik told reporters here.

"Therefore, his appointment has to be cancelled immediately. We will go to court if the government does not take a decision in this regard in a week," he added.

Malik said cancelling Thakur's appointment was also required as the firm may seek to bag CIDCO's Navi Mumbai International Airport work contracts worth some thousand crores.

Referring to Thakur's recent rebuttal of the "conflict of interest" charge in a media report, Malik said his affidavit for the 2014 Assembly polls shows him having Rs 5.5 crore worth of shares in the firm concerned.

"So when he says he is not related to the firm, it means he is misleading people," the NCP leader added.

When contacted, Thakur trashed the charges claiming that the allegations were being levelled to target him and the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.

Thakur claimed he had detached himself from the firm in 2006 when he contested Panvel municipal council polls.

A petition was filed before a court alleging his links to the firm in that year and also in 2014, but both stood dismissed, he claimed.

"I am not associated with the firm in any way. I am being linked to the firm (as part of efforts) to target me and the government. I am not going to work against the interest of CIDCO. My colleagues and people in my constituency are also sure about it," he added.

Meanwhile, the NCP launched a campaign posing 56 questions to "those with 56-inch chest" - an apparent reference to Prime Minister Modi.

Modi had made the "56-inch chest" remark in the run up to the 2014 general elections.

As part of the campaign, the NCP leader targeted the government over rising fuel prices. He said prices of petrol and diesel could come down by Rs 20 per litre if the Modi government followed the path taken by the Congress-led UPA government.

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The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Thursday condemned the remarks of BJP MLA Ram Kadam who told youngsters that he would "kidnap" a girl they like even if she rejects their proposal and sought an explanation from him.

Kadam made the comments at a 'dahi handi' event in his suburban Ghatkopar assembly constituency in Mumbai on Monday night.

In a video that went viral on social media, he was seen telling the crowd, which mainly comprised the youth, that he will kidnap the girl they like, even if she says no to their proposal, and hand her over to them.

The commission took suo motu cognisance of media reports about Kadam's comments and seriously condemns such statements given by "a person occupying a responsible position in the society", an official of the NCW said.

"The commission has written to the MLA seeking an explanation in this regard at the earliest," she said.

Kadam apologised for his controversial remarks on Thursday.

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A housing and disaster response non-profit organisation Thursday said it will provide 10,000 humanitarian aid kits to flood-hit families in Kerala in addition to the 66,196 kits distributed in the immediate aftermath of the devastating deluge last month.

The organisation, Habitat for Humanity India, garnered Rs 34 lakh for flood relief through a crowd funding platform, a release said.

Noted film actor Kunal Kapoor, who is also the co-founder of Ketto- the crowd funding platform that helped raise funds - took part in the distribution of relief material Thursday at Aluva, one of the worst-affected areas.

Rajan Samuel, managing director, Habitat for Humanity India, and Kapoor interacted with the flood-affected people and distributed kits.

It also opened a 'tool bank' that will help several families to use the tools to clear their homes of debris and water.

"Celebrities and people from all walks of life have extended support to Kerala through our platform - Ketto," Kapoor said.

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The NHRC has sent notices to the Bihar government and the state's police chief over reports that a minor girl was allegedly assaulted, tonsured and paraded naked after having been dragged out from her house by six persons in Araria district.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Thursday said it has has taken suo motu cognisance of reports while emphasising there was an "immediate need" for the law enforcing agencies to be "more active, vigilant and attentive" with a zeal to stop such disgraceful incidents tarnishing the image of the state and the country.

While issuing the notices, the NHRC also said that recently it had taken suo motu cognisance of another incident in Bihar, in which a woman was paraded naked in Bihiya village of the Bhojpur district.

The Commission has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police, Bihar, seeking a detailed factual report on both the incidents mentioned in the reports.

"The Commission would also like to know as to what is the action plan with the state government to deal with such shameful incidents. The response is expected within four weeks," the statement said.

According to reports, the minor girl was "assaulted, tonsured and paraded naked after having been dragged out from her house by six persons in Araria on August 31".

"Reportedly, her tormentors also tried to mutilate her private parts. The report carried another story in the box stating that after Muzaffarpur and Patna, a shelter home in Begusarai district of Bihar has come under the scanner when one of its residents tried to commit suicide by consuming glass pieces on September 2," it said.

A report in the matter is awaited from the chief secretary and the DGP, the NHRC said.

The Additional General of Police, headquarters, Bihar has been reportedly "claiming that there is a decline in the violent incidents against women, but the reports are telling a different story raising serious issues of violation of human rights of the innocent victims, especially minor girls and women", it added.

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"Game of Thrones" star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has been ordered by an arbitrator to pay his former manager a whopping USD 2 million.

According to court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the arbitrator asked the 48-year-old Danish actor to pay USD 1.75 million plus nearly USD 225,000 in interest to Jill Littman, who managed him until he fired her in 2015.

Coster-Waldau had terminated his relationship with the manager via an email, where he wrote, "I am nothing but grateful for our many years working together and the success we shared. And the reason I have decided to leave Impression is not to go somewhere else but to basically take control myself. 'Game of Thrones' is coming to an end now."



The severing of the relationship led to a dispute over commissions owed to Littman.

Littman claimed that while she was representing Coster-Waldau she was paid 10 per cent of his income, but the actor contended that there was an oral agreement for no post-termination commissions.

The ruling ultimately went in the favour of Littman, and Coster-Waldau now owes his former manager USD 2 million in earnings from "Game of Thrones" and other revenue streams.

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The Nagaland Peace Centre (NPC) Thursday urged the NSCN(K) to resume ceasefire and peace talks with the central government.

The NPC, founded by socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan and others, was instrumental in signing of ceasefire agreement between the Centre and the then underground Nagaland Federal Government on September 6, 1964. The day is now observed as Peace Day.

The agreement was signed in 1964 after several years of violence, but it is unfortunate that hostility and bloodshed have resumed thereafter, NPC chairman N Theyo said at the 53rd anniversary programme of the Peace Day.

The Centre signed peace pact with the NSCN(IM) on August 1, 1997 and with the NSCN(K) on April 2, 2001. However, the Centre on April 18, 2015, the central government cancelled the agreement with the NSCN(K) led by S S Khaplang.

The decision has been taken in view of the NSCN(K)'s involvement in insurgent activities, violating the ground rules of the ceasefire.

"We sincerely appeal to the leaders of NSCN(K) to resume ceasefire and have understanding and dialogue with the Government of India," the NPC chairman said.

Nonetheless, considerable progress in peace efforts have been made in recent years, he said.

A framework agreement was also signed with the NSCN(IM) on August 3, 2015.

Theyo also appealed to everyone to work for the final settlement of the Naga political issue.

A Thanksgiving Service was also observed on the occasion of the 53rd anniversary of Peace Day by the NPC.

Besides Jayaprakash Narayan, the NPC in 1964 was also comprised English clergyman Rev Michel Scott, the then chief minister of Assam B P Chaliha and 18 leaders of the Nagaland Baptist Church Council.

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Amid walk out by opposition Congress and BJP members, Odisha Assembly Thursday passed a resolution for setting up a Legislative Council in the state.

Speaker P K Amat announced that the resolution was passed as it got support of 104 of the 147 members of the Assembly while opposition Congress and BJP stayed away from the House.

Before going to vote, the Speaker sent two ministers - Prafulla Samal and Ananta Das - to request opposition members to return to the House and participate in the voting. As they turned down the request, a voting was conducted.

After casting the first vote in favour of the proposed legislative council, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said: "Odisha has picked up growth momentum and to further accelerate growth, wider consultations are necessary. In this context legislative council will be of great help."



However, the opposition called the state government's move for establishment of a Legislative Council, had intention to "rehabilitate" the ruling BJD leaders. They walked out of the House in protest.

The opposition alleged that the council formation has no meaningful use to the people of Odisha as it will only solve the political agenda of the ruling party.

"It is unfortunate that the state government is setting up a legislative council while a large number of youths have been waiting for jobs. The government will spent Rs 35 crore per annum towards the proposed legislative council which will be a burden on the state exchequer," Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati said.

BJP legislature party leader K V Singhdeo also criticised the state government's resolution and said there was no need to set up a legislative council in Odisha keeping the state's population in mind.

Even big states like Madhya Pradesh has no such legislative council, he said and agreed to the Congress's view that it (council) would be used as a rehabilitation centre by the ruling party.

Even the progressive states like Punjab and Chhattishgarh do not have a legislative council. Only seven states in India have legislative council. "While 60 per cent of posts in the Odisha Legislative Assembly remain vacant since 2013 and the government is unable to fill them up, there is no need to create another set up," Singhdeo said.

Appealing the state government to reconsider its decision for setting up a legislative council, Sighdeo said: "It may prove costly for the state in the long run."



Earlier while moving the resolution, Parliamentary Affairs Minister B K Arukha said the proposed legislative council will help to strengthen democratic set up in the state.

Arukha said the council will help in conducting more discussion on important issues and serving the people of the state. He said seven states like Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharastra and Uttar Pradesh have legislative councils along with legislative assemblies.

The Minister said the proposed council will have 49 members and one-third (16) of the council will be elected by the states MLAs, another 1/3rd (16) by sitting members of local governments such as municipalities and Zilla Parishads, 1/12th (4) by an electorate of teachers and another 1/12th (4) by registered graduates.

The remaining nine members will be appointed by the Governor for distinguished services in various fields.

The council will function as a permanent house and its two-third members of will retire on every two years, the minister said adding that the council will function from Sardar Patel hall in Unit-II area.

The House also Thursday passed two bills - The Odisha Legislative Assembly Members' Salary, Allowance and Pension (Amendment) Bill- 2018 and The Odisha Ministers' Salaries and Allowance (Second Amendment) Bill-2018.

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Normal life was disrupted in various parts of Bihar and UP after over 35 upper caste bodies called for an all-India Bharat Bandh on Thursday. While train services were affected in a few areas of Bihar, including Patna and Rajgir town, six cops were also injured in Uttar Pradesh. Evoking strong reactions, the anti-reservation bandh protesters jammed national highways and blocked trains for hours in Bihar. Most private schools remained closed in MP but the bandh was observed in a peaceful manner. People also kept their shops closed as a mark of protest in Rajasthan. Businesses, schools and other institutions were also closed for the day.

The upper caste organisations had called for Bharat Bandh against the Parliament amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after some of its provisions were read down by the Supreme Court, which was construed as its dilution. In wake of the shutdown call, state governments had issued prohibitory orders under Section 144 (no assembly of more than four people in an area).

The train services were affected significantly in Bihar after some protesters boarded trains and obstructed officials from doing their duties. Major trains stuck at stations included Vaishali Superfast Express at Karpurigram, Bihar Sampark Kranti Express at Samastipur, Kathgodam Express at Dubha, Samastipur-Muzaffarpur Passenger at Samastipur, Amritsar Jainagar Shahid Express at Darbhanga, and Darbhanga-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Pawan Express at Darbhanga.

The Congress party has said that the protests against the SC/ST Act are nothing but the BJP's ploy to invoke some emotional issue. Calling the bandh a BJP-sponsored protest, Congress MP Deepak Babaria said: "The BJP owes an explanation to the country. What about the corruption issue? They are creating this gimmick to divert attention." BJP MP and National Chairman of the All India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, Udit Raj, said that those protesting against the Act have a problem with the BJP. He also junked reports on the stopping of trains' services. "There is no great effect of the stir. Even 10 people can block the road and stop the trains," he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has said that it will observe a Bharat Bandh against fuel price hike on September 10. Party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said the party has called 'Bharat Bandh' against the Rs 11-lakh crore "loot" by Modi government on fuel prices. He tweeted that though crude oil prices are lower ($73-77 per barrel) as compared to May when crude oil was priced at $106.24 per barrel, the government was not still doing anything to contain the increasing fuel prices.

(Edited by Manoj Sharma)
Continuing its attack on BJP MLA Ram Kadam over his "will kidnap the girl a boy likes" remark, the Opposition in Maharashtra Thursday called for his dismissal as a lawmaker, saying his apology would not suffice.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil also questioned Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's "silence" over the issue.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said his party would continue to protest in front of the police station in suburban Ghatkopar, Kadam's constituency, till an FIR is registered against him.

"What he said is unforgivable. He thought of apologising three days after the comment. He should have been immediately arrested. The chief minister is still silent... Kadam should be dismissed from the House," Vikhe-Patil told reporters.

Malik said Kadam should be arrested immediately.

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) has issued a notice to Kadam over his remark, seeking his response within eight days.

At a Dahi Handi event in his Assembly constituency Monday night, the BJP MLA had told youngsters that they can tell him if they like a girl and he will "kidnap" her for them even if she rejects their proposal.

He later apologised, but also claimed that his political rivals "doctored" the remarks.

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Relatives of Telugu poet Varavara Rao, who is under house arrest for his alleged links with Maoists, Thursday described as "small relief" the Supreme Court extending the confinement till September 12.

The Supreme Court extended till Wednesday the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with the violence in Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra government has submitted that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing investigation.

"This is a small relief and partial victory," N Venugopal Rao, Varavara Rao's nephew, said.

He said Rao was keeping well now.

He was unwell about a fortnight ago as he was suffering from sinusitis, Venugopal Rao said.

Venugopal alleged that police did not allow doctors to attend to Rao.

"However, he is alright now," he said.

The Maharashtra police had arrested Rao from here last month, while activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Farreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad in Haryana and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha from New Delhi.

The raids and arrests were carried out as part of the probe into the violence at Maharashtra's Koregaon Bhimavillage following an event called 'Elgar Parishad' (conclave) held in Pune last year.

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Over 500 endangered Indian star tortoises have been seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) from a woman passenger at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) here, the agency said Thursday.

All the 523 seized tortoises were allegedly bound for sale to pet traders in the city.

The accused, who was travelling from Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh to the Kurla Terminus, was apprehended in a joint operation by the city units in association with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau and the state forest department, the DRI said in a statement.

As endangered species, the Indian star tortoises are trafficked and smuggled as a part of the exotic pet trade and are highly priced, both in local and international markets.

They have been transferred to the forest department for further investigation, the statement said.

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Pakistan's focus for decades has been to undermine India's territorial integrity through the "explicit use of terrorism" as a state policy, New Delhi said in a stern response after Islamabad raked up the Kashmir issue at the UN.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi yet again raised the issue of Kashmir while addressing the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace in the UN General Assembly Wednesday.

She said "foreign occupation and the denial of fundamental rights including the right to self-determination exacerbate the sense of injustice among the occupied and the oppressed".

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in the pain and suffering" of the people in Kashmir and Palestine, she said, citing the recent report on Kashmir issued by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Minister in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Srinivas Prasad said that a culture of peace is not just an abstract value or principle to be discussed and extolled in conferences, but needs to be actively built into global relationships between and among nation states.

"It rests on good neighborliness and a respect for the territory and the governing systems and principles of other states," he said.

In a stern response, Prasad said it is ironic that Pakistan, "whose focus over the decades has been the undermining of India's territorial integrity through the explicit use of terrorism as a state policy has chosen to use this platform to yet again claim Indian territory under the guise of a supposed concern for 'justice and self-determination' by quoting a report that not a single member state had asked for or has supported".

He asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India.

"As a democracy, India has always abided by the choices of the people and will not allow this freedom to be undermined by terrorism and extremism," he said.

Prasad further said that one of India's enduring principles has been Vasudheva Kutumbakam' or the concept that the world is one family'.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said a "non-violent revolution is not a programme of seizure of power. It is a programme of transformation of relationships".

"From the Vedic age in the distant past to the great teachers Mahavira and Buddha to Gandhiji, India's message has always been about the need of a Culture of Peace. It is may be due to this heritage of a Culture of Peace that has made India, home to the harmonious blending of different cultures and religions," Prasad said.

He said that India is the birthplace of Lord Buddha as well as home to the second largest Muslim community in the world.

"We are deeply conscious and proud of this heritage and our commitment therefore, to a Culture of Peace is natural and automatic," Prasad added.

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Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar returned Thursday evening to Panaji from the US, where he had gone for medical treatment in the last week of August.

Parrikar, 62, arrived at Goa airport around 5.30 pm by a regular flight from Mumbai, where he had landed in the afternoon on his return journey from the US, an official in his office said.

He was seen walking out of the airport building before driving off.

Parrikar underwent treatment in the US for a pancreatic ailment for nearly three months earlier this year.

After returning in the last week of June, he flew to the US again on August 10 for what was described as a follow-up, and returned to Panaji on August 22.

But he had to be rushed to Mumbai the next day and was admitted to a private hospital. From there, he flew to the US for treatment for a third time on August 30.

During his three-month-long treatment in the US, Parrikar had formed a Cabinet Advisory Committee of ministers Sudin Dhavalikar, Francis D'Souza and Vijai Sardesai to look after governance.

No such committee was formed during his second and third visit to the US, but instead he delegated powers to the Chief Secretary to handle important issues.

Opposition Congress had alleged that administration had "collapsed" due to Parrikar's absence, and demanded that the BJP-led state government be dismissed and President's rule be imposed in Goa.

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Amid widespread anger, including calls of 'Bharat bandh', against the amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Thursday said all political parties should get together to discuss the issue.

A Bharat bandh was called Thursday by some



anti-reservation bodies against the amendment to the Act last month.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had, on August 6 and August 9 respectively, passed the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under this Act.

Speaking at a programme of Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) traders cell meet, Mahajan said the issue must not be politicised because all parties had voted in favour of maintaining the basic structure of the Act.

"The Parliament's work is to enact laws but all MPs should think on this subject (amendments made in the SC/ST Act). It is the responsibility of all the people in society to create a proper environment for this discussion," she said.

Explaining her point, the Lok Sabha Speaker said, "Suppose if I give a big chocolate to my son and I later realise that it is not good for him to have so much of it at one go, one will try to take back the chocolate from the child. But you cannot take it as he will get angry and start crying".

"But some sensible person can make the child understand and take back the chocolate from him," she said.

"If anybody immediately tries to snatch anything given to a person, there may be an explosion," Mahajan claimed.

She stressed on the need for discussions regarding relevant legal changes.

"The prevailing social situation is not correct. If injustice was done earlier with a section (of society), it does not mean that injustice should be done with other sections to settle score," she said.

The BJP leader said justice must be done with everybody and this could be achieved only by explaining it to people.

"Everyone should also feel that there should be no atrocity against the deprived castes," the Lok Sabha Speaker added.

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The Congress in Telangana Thursday slammed caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's for his comments against the party and said people would teach him a lesson for not delivering on poll promises.

The party also said the matter of the Election Commission holding discussions with Rao, when revision of voters list is taking place, was something unheard of and it should be taken seriously, Telangana PCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

"Is the Election Commission in match fixing with him (KCR). Before dissolving the assembly what was Election Commission speaking to him," Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy asked.

"This definitely creates suspicion as to what the Central Election Commission is doing. Because on September 1, they ordered a revision of voters list of Telangana and the due process was to end on January 1, 2019.

After that the chief minister says he spoke to the CEC and they are going to conduct elections," Reddy told reporters in New Delhi.

Rao at a press meet said he spoke to the CEC and the Election Commission before he dissolved the Assembly, Reddy said.

"I am sure the Election Commission has a lot to answer for because if a chief minister is saying before dissolving the assembly he spoke to the CEC and the Election Commission what is he speaking to them and what are they speaking to him," he said.

Reddy said the next elections would not be about "Congress versus TRS. "But it will be KCR family versus people of Telangana."



"The people of Telangana will teach a befitting lesson to KCR for not delivering on his election promises," he said.

Congress is ready for the polls anytime and it will emerge victorious, he added.

Reddy slammed Rao for his remarks against the Congress and describing the party as the "biggest enemy and villain number one" of the state.

"Repeatedly he (KCR) has been talking about growth of revenue of Telangana state. This year Telangana is number one in liquor sales and the only state in the country to have more than Rs 20,000 crore liquor sales," Reddy said.

Hitting out at the KCR government, he alleged that the biggest loot in the country in independent India has happened in Telangana in the last four-and-half years.

Reddy slammed Rao for his statement on the state's drinking water scheme Mission Bhagiratha to provide piped water supply to every household, saying not more than 5 per cent houses have been covered under the scheme.

"In December 2014, KCR himself announced in the assembly that if drinking water does not reach every household through taps in three years he would not contest elections... till today not even 5 per cent houses have been covered," Reddy said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Japanese auto major announced Thursday plans to hire 1,500 people in India to strengthen R&D and global digital hub while also stating that it would go for "voluntary separation" at its Chennai manufacturing unit.

The company, which is seeking to revive its presence in India, said it would go for separate dealerships for and brands especially in smaller towns in the country.

As part of a new strategy, the company is positioning the at the upper-end building on the brand's global SUV heritage while the brand will address the mass market segment, Nissan Chairman for Africa, Middle East and India Peyman Kargar said.

Interacting with reporters on the sidelines of annual convention of SIAM, he said Nissan will also bring new products to India starting with the Kicks SUV in 2019.

The company already employs around 7,000 people at its R&D centre near Chennai doing development work for vehicles in India and handling engineering activities for its alliance with Renault.

"We are going to invest in this area in India further. We will hire 1,000 for R&D this year and another 500 for the newly set up digital hub," Kargar said.

In the coming years, in India, he said, "We will grow and our workforce will shift towards highly skilled jobs to lead the technological changes coming to the auto industry in India."



On the other hand, he said the company will also reduce excess manpower starting with its manufacturing vertical.

"We are also going to offer a voluntary departure for excess people in areas where we don't require," he said without disclosing the exact number.

"Our aim is to ensure our operations in India are best in class and that India becomes an even more significant global hub for Nissan and the alliance in manufacturing, engineering and R&D," he added.



As part of the company's MOVE 2022 strategy, Nissan is looking to fix its business operation in India along with Saudi Arabia, where it has made significant investment but hasn't had much success.

"Our strategy in India is to strengthen both the brands Nissan and for our customers across India," he said, adding the strategy was to use the alliance synergy differently as compared to the past.

Through its new strategy, the company is looking at utilising the full capacity of the alliance plant in Chennai as compared to the current 40 per cent through the new measures, Kargar said.

At present the plant has an annual production capacity of 480,000.



ALSO READ: Nissan Motor admits emissions and fuel economy tests falsified

Kargar said going forward, the company is looking at the plant serving the domestic requirement mainly although exports would continue.

When asked about new product launches, he did not elaborate but said the company would continue to bring new models in the country.

"We will reinforce Nissan as a premium brand building on its SUV heritage starting with the launch of Kicks in 2019," he said.

He said Nissan would also harness opportunities in India from its global leadership in electrification and connected cars.

The company has been testing its e-Power electric vehicle in India but Kargar said Nissan hasn't fixed a time line for launching the product in India.

For Datsun, he said the focus would be on progressive mobility targeting mass market through reinforcement of new product line-up to address developing segments in India.

When asked if sales network for Nissan and Datsun would be separated, Kargar said in Tier III and Tier IV areas, it would be to offer differentiation of the brands.

"We are putting in place dedicated people for marketing and sales for the Datsun brand," he added.

Admitting that the company has made the mistake of underestimating the need for sales network, Kargar said going forward Nissan is looking to double its sales and service touch points in the next three years from 270 at present.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit here on September 14 to meet Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community who arrived in the city on Thursday.

District Collector Nishant Warwade told PTI that Modi is likely to visit Indore on September 14 to meet the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, but added that a detailed programme of the prime minister's visit is still awaited from the Centre.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson of the Dawoodi Bohra community informed that thousands of people welcomed Saifuddin at the Sanghi Ground on his arrival.

He added that the Syedna, who will be here for 20 days, praised the people of Indore for the city achieving the top rank for the second consecutive year in the Swachh Survekshan 2018, a survey carried out by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The spokesperson said Saifuddin would deliver religious discourses and inaugurate three mosques during his stay in the city.

More than 1.7 lakh people from over 40 countries are expected to come here to attend the Syedna's sermons, he added.

The Syedna, who has been accorded the status of state guest by the Madhya Pradesh government, was on Thursday welcomed by Lok Sabha Speaker and local MP Sumitra Mahajan, Minister of State for Cooperatives Vishwas Sarang and Lok Sabha MP from Ratlam-Jhabua Kantilal Bhuria among others.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Political parties in Maharashtra Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict on decriminalising gay sex, with the Congress terming the judgement as a big jolt to the BJP and RSS' "conservative" and "narrow" mindset.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the party has long been seeking a relook at Section 377 of the IPC as everybody has an equal right to live life the way they want.

"This verdict is a big jolt to the conservative and narrow mindset of the BJP and the RSS leadership, who wanted to govern what people should eat and their sexual orientation," Sawant said.

When contacted, BJP leaders here refused to comment on the SC verdict.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said everybody is bound by the judgement of the apex court.

"Everybody has freedom of speech, the right to eat what they want. Now they have the right to live the way they want," she said.

Congress MLA Nitesh Rane said, "Today, India has changed forever and for good."



NCP leader Dhananjay Munde said the "outdated" law caused unnecessary harassment to the LGBT community, but the Supreme Court verdict has brought clarity on the issue, which is good for the country.

"Many progressive nations in the country do not have any legal issues with the LGBT community. After the Supreme Court verdict on this outdated law, it will be immensely beneficial for India, considered to be a liberal and progressive society," the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council said.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed it irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shivinder Singh's petition alleging oppression and mismanagement against elder brother Malvinder Singh and former Religare CEO Sunil Godhwani has thrown open a host of corporate governance issues in transactions among group companies, including alleged widespread forgery, false claims and fake documentation.

In a serious allegation, the petition says Shivinder's wife Aditi, other directors and Shivinder himself were documented as "discussing and approving the bulk of...proposals when in fact, the requisite meetings did not take place".

In another serious violation, Shivinder alleges Aditi was recorded as being present at a board meeting when she was, in fact, abroad.

"A resolution of the Board of the Company dated 25.09.2014 demonstrates the presence of Petitioner No. 3 (Aditi) in the board meeting, while in fact she was out of country from 24.09.2014 till 28.09.2014 as delineated by immigration and emigration stamps affixed on the passport of Petitioner No. 3," says the petition.

"In fact, (Aditi) Petitioner No. 3 was usually sent a thick stack of minutes and papers to sign at her residence, with short notice along with a note to sign and return immediately with no further explanation," says the petition which also says there was an understanding between the brothers that ladies in the family were not supposed to ask any questions regarding business dealings.

"It was always the understanding between the families of Respondent no. 2 (Malvinder) and Petitioner No. 2 (Shivinder) that ladies from the families are not supposed to ask any questions with regard to the business activities as the same were supposed to be handled by male members of the families, as was the age old tradition and family values. Therefore, the ladies were expected to follow the instructions given to them for signing the papers," says the petition.

The petition thus alleges that Malvinder, Godhwani and Co. had by their conduct oppressed Shivinder, his wife Aditi and their holding company Shivi Holdings with their 'hostile attitude' and "breach of trust by misusing the position given to them in good trust and by illegal and unlawful manipulation of records" of RHC Holding, their joint holding company.

Finally, the petition levels another major charge against Godhwani that he was de facto control of the group holding company RHC Holding even though he was not an office-bearer there. And that Godhwani and Malvinder allegedly collaborated in managing the transactions. "Even though he was not bearing any office in the Respondent No. 1 (RHC Holding) Company, it is evident from a perusal of email conversations that he was actually involved in issuing mandatory instructions to the employee of the Respondent No. 1 Company and was in fact managing the day to day affairs of the Respondent No. 1 Company in connivance with Respondent No. 2 (Malvinder).

Interestingly, less than a fortnight ago, a joint email response sent to BusinessToday.In by the two brothers had identified Sunil Godhwani as the person who "orchestrated" transactions and left with a "debt load".

This appears to be the beginning of what could be a prolonged legal battle over how the Singh brothers blew Rs 22,500 crore ($3.2 billion) and lost control of prized possessions such as Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises-all in less than a decade. From holding cash of Rs 9,576 crore in 2008 to the sale of Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2008, the brothers were in debt of Rs 13,000 crore just 8 years later in 2016. It is now going to be left to the courts to unearth what transpired and who orchestrated such unprecedented decimation of private wealth.
Children's ability to score better grades may be encoded in their DNA, say scientists who found that around two-thirds of individual differences in academic achievement can be explained by comparing genes.

For many years, research has linked educational achievement to life trajectories, such as occupational status, health or happiness.

However, researchers from University of Texas in the US and King's College London in the UK showed that genes have a substantial influence on academic success, from the start of elementary school to the last day of high school.

The study, published in the journal npj Science of Learning, analysed test scores from primary through the end of compulsory of more than 6,000 pairs of twins.

Researchers found educational achievement to be highly stable throughout schooling, meaning that most students who started off well in primary school continued to do well until graduation.

Genetic factors explained about 70 per cent of this stability, while the twins shared environment contributed to about 25 per cent, and their nonshared environment, such as different friends or teachers, contributed to the remaining five per cent.

"Around two-thirds of individual differences in school achievement are explained by differences in children's DNA," said Margherita Malanchini, a psychology postdoctoral fellow at University of Texas.

"But less is known about how these factors contribute to an individual's academic success overtime," said Malanchini.

However, this does not mean that an individual was simply born smart, researchers explained. Even after accounting for intelligence, genes still explained about 60 per cent of the continuity of academic achievement.

"Academic achievement is driven by a range of cognitive and noncognitive traits," Malanchini said.

"Previously, studies have linked it to personality, behavioral problems, motivation, health and many other factors that are partly heritable," she said.

However, at times grades did change, such as a drop in grades between primary and secondary school. Those changes can be explained largely by non-shared environmental factors, researchers said.

"Our findings should provide additional motivation to identify children in need of interventions as early as possible, as the problems are likely to remain throughout the school years," said Kaili Rimfeld, a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda", the Chairman of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), left for India Thursday on a three-day official visit during which he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hold talks with senior ministers.

Talking to reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital prior to his departure, Prachanda said the main agenda of his visit was to create positive atmosphere to implement the bilateral agreements signed between the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

"There was no other political agenda except this," the former prime minister said.

Prachanda said that he will discuss with Prime Minister Modi the past commitments expressed by the Indian side on various occasions.

He is also scheduled to meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other senior leaders among others.

Prachanda will return home on September 9.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former president Pranab Mukherjee Thursday paid floral tributes to late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi at the latter's residence here.

Mukherjee, who arrived here Wednesday to participate in some private events, placed a bouquet of flowers in front of a portrait of Karunanidhi at the Gopalapuram residence of the former Tamil Nadu chief minister.

Mukherjee was accorded a warm welcome by DMK president M K Stalin.

DMK Rajya Sabha MPs Kanimozhi, R S Bharathi and party treasurer Duraimurugan were also present.

Karunanidhi passed away on August 7 after a prolonged illness.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in the Czech Republic Thursday on the final leg of his three-nation European tour during which he will hold talks with his counterpart Milos Zeman, Prime Minister Andrej Babis and President of the Chamber of Deputies.

He is the fifth Indian President to visit the central European country, and the first since President Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1996, the President's Secretariat said.

Kovind earlier visited the Czech Republic in his capacity as a Member of Parliament.

President Kovind arrived here from Bulgaria where he met Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and invited companies from the Balkan nation to manufacture in India as part of the ambitious 'Make in India' programme.

During his stay in Prague, President Kovind will meet with President Zeman, Prime Minister Babis and President of House of Deputies Radek Vondracek. He will also attend a business forum meet.

Over 60 Indian companies are travelling for the event and an equal number of Czech companies will take part in business-to-business interactions there, according to Indian officials.

President Kovind will have interactions with Indologists at the Charles University in Prague, which had a Sanskrit chair way back in 1850, they said.

He will also visit the ELI Beamlines -- International Laser Research Centre -- which aspires to install and run the world's most intense laser system.

The Czech Republic, a member of the European Union, is technologically advanced and strategically located in Central Europe.

The trade between India and the Czech Republic is USD 1.07 billion annually. It is a fast growing economic storehouse in Central Europe. Many Czech companies have made investments in India in different sectors.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday obtained the custody of Amol Kale, the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case, claiming that he was also a key conspirator behind the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

A Pune court today remanded Kale in CBI's custody till September 14 in Dabholkar case.

Sources privy to the probe said it was Kale who allegedly provided firearms and a two wheeler to the two assailants who shot Dabholkar dead in Pune on August 20, 2013.

The two alleged assailants -- Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar -- are already arrested.

Sources said that after Virendra Sinh Tawde, alleged mastermind of Dabholkar's murder (now charge sheeted), Kale was the second-most important conspirator in the case.

"Kale hails from Pimpri Chinchwad (near Pune) and being a local person he is suspected to have provided logistical help, including the firearms and the vehicle," they said.

He was roped in the Lankesh murder conspiracy because of the "successful" execution of Dabholkar's killing, sources claimed.

The CBI, which arrested Kale from a prison in Bengaluru, produced him before judicial magistrate (first class) S M A Sayyad in Pune on Thursday.

Seeking his remand, CBI lawyer Vijay Kumar Dhakne said he will not make oral argument as the Bombay High Court has directed the probe agencies to maintain confidentiality in these cases. He, instead, submitted a written application.

The CBI lawyer only told the court that Kale was one of the key conspirators in the Dabholkar murder case.

Defence lawyer Dharmaraj Chandel opposed CBI's demand, saying even if there is prima facie evidence against Kale, it would not warrant his custodial interrogation.

He also demanded that Kale should be questioned only about Dabholkar murder.

"In Andure's case, while in CBI custody he was interrogated by (police's) SIT about comrade Govind Pansare murder case. When Kale was in custody of Karnataka SIT in Lankesh case, he was questioned by CBI in the present case," the lawyer said, terming it "abuse" of custody.

Kale was arrested in May this year by Karnataka Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Lankesh case. Gauri Lankesh was killed outside her house in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017.

CBI officials had said earlier that Kale allegedly handed over a pistol to Andure which was suspected to have been used in Lankesh murder.

During the investigation, the CBI is likely to bring Kale face to face with Sharad Kalaskar, Amit Digvekar and Rajesh Bangera, a probe official said.

Digvekar and Bangera, arrested by Karnataka police in Lankesh case, were allegedly also involved in Dabholkar murder conspiracy and were arrested by the CBI last week.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Protesters stopped trains and blocked highways in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and shopkeepers downed shutters in some other northern states during a Bharat Bandh Thursday against the recent amendment to the SC/ST Act.

Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.

There were scattered incidents of violence in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Two Bihar politicians, JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak and Madhepura MP Rajesh Ranjan, faced angry mobs while travelling. Protesters pelted stones at Rajak's car, he told reporters later.

Bandh supporters stormed Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminus and disrupted the movement of trains for about 30 minutes, officials said. They also disrupted train services in Rajgir.

Some organisation had called the one-day bandh to protest against the amendment last month to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The amendment bill passed by Parliament had overturned the Supreme Court order which barred arrests without a preliminary inquiry.

Commercial establishments remained closed in many parts of Bihar, particularly in capital Patna. But banks and government offices functioned normally.

Protesters gathered before the Bihar BJP headquarters in Patna, raising slogans over the "betrayal by the party. Some of them also headed towards the office of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally.

The shutdown had a strong impact in Muzaffarpur, where bandh supporters blocked traffic in the town and on the national highway.

They also burnt tyres at many places and clashed with policemen who tried to stop them.

Cases of arson were also reported from Biharsharif town. Traffic was disrupted in Begusarai.

Six policemen were hurt in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia's district when they confronted people blocking traffic.

Protesters briefly stopped a train in Kanpur and the Varanasi highway was blocked for three hours at Gorakhpur, officials said.

In Etah, protesters gheraod the house of Jalesar MLA Sanjiv Diwakar who had to call in the police.

But officials said apart from such scattered incidents of violence, the state remained by and large peaceful.

The bandh call evoked a strong response in Rajasthan where many shops and businesses, schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Thursday.

Shops were shut in Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and other districts in the state.

The police detained at least three leaders of the Samta Andolan Samiti, which is against caste-based reservation, as a precautionary measure.

In Madhya Pradesh, there were scattered incidents of stone-pelting. Police lobbed teargas shells at Aron in Guna district to disperse protesters.

"In Rewa, Satna and Chhatarpur districts, thousands of protesters took to the streets. In Shadora area of Ashok Nagar district, some protesters squatted on the railway tracks, while in Rewa they tried to stop a train," a police official said.

People set tyres on fire at some places in Rewa and Satna districts.

In rural Ujjain, members of the Dalit community and the upper castes came face to face, the official said.

Some people tried to storm into Rewa district police control room, but the attempt was thwarted.

Most private schools and petrol pumps remained closed in Madhya Pradesh. Markets and business establishments in parts of the state were also shut.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of the upper castes and Other Backward Classes participated in the bandh in the state.

He claimed the bandh was effective in almost the entire state, particularly in the major towns of Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagar and Ujjain.

In Chhindwara, the Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, markets remained shut.

"Local residents wore black clothes in protest and business establishments remained shut," Vyapari Sangh president Mahesh Chandak said.

In Punjab and Haryana, there was little response to the bandh with people keeping their businesses open in most areas, reports said. But in Punjab's Phagwara, shops and commercial establishments remained shut.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to the people, saying, "Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace. I pray that we all progress and no one should try to disrupt the peace in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, People have their feelings. In a democracy everyone has the right to express themselves."



"The law is to protect the downtrodden. The government will ensure that it will not be misused," Adityanath told reporters in Gonda.

Earlier this year, the apex court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the SC/ST Act.

But the decision had triggered nationwide protests by Scheduled Caste organisations, forcing the Centre to bring an amendment to the Act to overrule the SC order.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the AAP government to put in place a system which would automatically release pension amounts to poor people suffering from the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), just like various subsidies are paid into the bank accounts.

A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V K Rao asked the Delhi government to specify the time period within which the financial assistance would be released.

"Release it automatically, like subsidies are released. Put in place such a system. Specify the time period within which the amounts under the scheme would be transferred," the court said and listed the matter for further hearing on October 8.

It also asked the government to consider granting travel concessions, like bus passes, to AIDS patients so that they can access public transport free of cost.

The suggestion was given by the court after advocate Ajay Verma, appointed as amicus curiae in the matter, told the bench that states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka provide free travel passes to such persons while Kerala and Gujarat had several schemes, including access to subsidised food, for them.

The Delhi government, meanwhile, told the bench that the financial assistance being paid to poor AIDS patients, including orphan and destitute children, has been doubled and every year it will see a five per cent increase.

According to an affidavit filed in court by the Delhi government, people/children living with HIV/AIDS would get a monthly pension of Rs 2,000, increased from the earlier amount of Rs 1,000.

Apart from that orphan and destitute children infected with HIV would get Rs 4,100 instead of the earlier amount of Rs 2,050 each month, the Delhi government said and added that the decision to double the pension amounts was taken on August 31.

The affidavit was filed in response to the court's query in March this year about the status of a proposal by the Delhi State Aids Control Society to increase the monthly pension to be paid to poor people suffering from AIDS.

The society had suggested increasing the pension amounts to Rs 3,000-6,000.

The bench was hearing a PIL initiated by it after receiving a letter from an AIDS victim, seeking enhancement of the Rs 1,000 pension he was getting.

The court had earlier told the Delhi government that if it cannot provide pension to poor AIDS patients, then it should also not provide free water and electricity to those who can afford such amenities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Britain said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "ultimate" responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England, as it prepared to brief the UN Security Council.

London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern city of Salisbury.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the poisoning.

"Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence."



He told BBC radio: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue.

"It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office."



Britain has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the March 4 attack, sparking furious denials.

In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind.

The United States also imposed fresh sanctions over the attack.

Britain will brief the UN Security Council later Thursday on its latest findings, with the meeting due to open around 11:30 am (1530 GMT).

Moscow on Wednesday again denied involvement in the case, accusing Britain of "unfounded accusations".

"Instead of conducting an independent, objective and transparent investigation... London continues to engage in anti-Russian megaphone diplomacy, continuing its propaganda show," the foreign ministry said.

The US ambassador to London, Woody Johnson, and the Australian government have offered their support for Britain's stance against Russia.

Wallace said his government would seek to "maintain the pressure" on Russia "to say that the behaviour we've seen is totally unacceptable".

Options include "more sanctions -- we are obviously taking it today to the UN to present our case".

However, he noted that Russia would be there and would likely use its veto on any statement that might arise.

Amid reports that Britain was planning a response in cyber-space, Wallace said the Russians were the main operators behind attacks on British networks.

"We retaliate in our way... within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way, that they know the cost of what they do," he said.

The Skripals survived the poisoning but remnants of Novichok found in a fake perfume bottle were picked up by a local man weeks later.

Charlie Rowley gave it to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died.

British prosecutors said Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge the two men identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon.

They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Describing AICC president Rahul Gandhi as the country's "buffoon," Telangana caretaker chief minister K Chandrasekhar RaoThursdaysaid the Congress party was the "biggest enemy and villain number one" of the state.

Soon after recommending the dissolution of the Telangana assembly, Rao announced candidates for 105 seats and launched a blistering attack on the Congress.

Recalling how the Congress president had hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate on the no-confidence motion and his subsequent wink, Rao said,"Everybody knows Rahul Gandhi. He is the biggest buffoon in the country.

Whole country has seen in the open assembly (Lok Sabha) how he went to Mr Narendra Modi and hugged him, the way he was winking," the TRS president said.

"Rahul Gandhi has inherited the legacy of the Congress Delhi Sultanate. He is the legal heir of the Congress empire of Delhi. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let's not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi."



He described the Congress as the "biggest enemy" of Telangana, flaying it for "baseless, mindless and meaningless" allegations against the TRS government.

"The number one villain and biggest enemy to Telangana is Congress.

Jawaharlal Nehru defeated Telangana...November 1, 1956 (states' reorganisation, formation of unified AP) is Telanganas black day. After that late Indira Gandhi acted as a dictator," he said when asked about the Congress' claim that it created Telangana as separate state.

Largely sparing the BJP in his criticism, he said "decisions on Telangana should be taken in Telangana."



The state assembly was dissolved Thursday by Governor E S L Narasimhan on the recommendation of the state cabinet.

Slamming the Telangana Congress leadership, he alleged that the local leaders "stand in queue" before their leadership and "beg (for tickets)."



"We do not want that to happen to Telangana. Telangana should not forego its self-respect," he said.

Replying to a query on the possible elections, Rao said according to discussions he had with the election Commission, polls are likely to be held in November and results declared in December along with four other states.

The assembly polls for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram are scheduled to be held in November.

"There is no confusion. I personally spoke to the Chief Election Commissioner. Elections will be held along with the four other states."



He claimed that the notification would be issued in October.

On the TRS support to the NDA Government on certain issues, Rao said the support was always issue-based.

The relationship between him and Modi was purely on a "chief minister to prime minister" level, he said.

Rao said he is working towards a "non-Congress non-BJP Federal Front" aiming for more decentralisation and power to the states.

He ridiculed reports of possible tie-up between Congress and Telugu Desam party for the assembly polls.

Rao described Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM as a "friendly party" and said the TRS would continue to work with it.

Rao, however, made it clear that the TRS would go it alone in the assembly elections and asserted it will win more than 100 of the state's 119 seats.

The 120-member assembly also has a nominated member.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Soon after recommending the dissolution of the assembly, TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao Thursday announced candidates for 105 seats and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling its president Rahul Gandhi the "biggest buffoon".

Rao, who has been asked to continue as the caretaker chief minister, also claimed the Election Commission has been consulted and that would go to polls along with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

Branding the Congress as the "biggest enemy" of Telangana, he flayed it for making "baseless, mindless and meaningless" allegations against the TRS government.

"Congress is Telangana's villain number one," he told a press conference but largely spared the BJP any criticism.

Recalling how the Congress president had hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate on the no-confidence motion and his subsequent wink, Rao said," Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in this country."

ALSO READ: Telangana CM Rao dissolves assembly 8 months ahead of full term

He described Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM as a "friendly party" and said the TRS will continue to work with it.

Rao, however, made it clear that the TRS would go it alone in the assembly elections and asserted it will win more than 100 of the state's 119 seats. The 120-member assembly also has a nominated member.
To spruce up connectivity between Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport and Greater Noida's proposed Jewar airport, the government is considering building a 40-km elevated road as an option. The Yamuna Authority has decided to conduct a feasibility study regarding this. The authority is also in the process of getting a consultant for the study and has floated an e-tender for the same. The consultant will also suggest funding pattern, revenue estimates etc.

CEO of Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority Arunveer Singh said that they have made a terms of reference to select the best-suited public transport system for the project, as mentioned in a report in Times of India. The options for that include Hyperloop, Rapid Rail Transport System (RRTS), Pod Taxi, Tram, Bus Rapid Transit, Metrino among multiple alternatives. However, metro rail will not be one of the options considered.

YEIDA officials informed that the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) that was earlier given the responsibility of conducting a feasibility study limited itself from only studying the Rapid Metro system due to technical reasons.

The new elevated road will not only make commuting easier but will also help in the transportation of goods, YEIDA officials said.

The annual passenger capacity of the IGI Airport is around 62 million. While currently approximately 60 million passengers transit through the airport annually, it is estimated to touch 80-85 million by 2020. As an increase in passengers has constrained the IGI Airport in terms of space and facilities, Jewar airport will address the spillover.

Once the Jewar airport is done and becomes functional, it will be the second international airport in the national capital region (NCR) after IGI Airport. The construction work of the airport is expected to start by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, according to multiple reports the Gautam Buddh Nagar administration, Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh and YEIDA are working overtime and holding meetings in all the villages to seek the consent of farmers to acquire land for construction of the Jewar airport.

(Edited by Anwesha Madhukalya)
They hugged, they cried tears of joy and they danced their hearts out as rainbow flags swirled the skies with the LGBTQ community breaking into impromptu jubilations on roads, in hotels and everywhere else after the Supreme Court Thursday decriminalised consensual gay sex.

Bollywood celebrities, authors, advocates, teachers, politicians and people from all walks of life joined the activists, who have been fighting a long-drawn battle against a colonial era law, in their celebrations after the apex court's historic verdict granted them "a basic human right".

Amid all celebrations, many also acknowledged their fight may still go on as a complete equality remains some distance away due to fears of police and mob violence and continuing legal obstacles to right to adoption and to gay marriages.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down a part of the 158-year-old law under Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

The LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) community welcomed the verdict that also said the society cannot dictate a sexual relationship between consenting adults. Many cut cakes and waved the rainbow flag -- which has come to be associated with the gay pride movement and is often used during marches held by the community to reflect its diversity.

Activist Anjali Nazia said the Supreme Court had paved way for bigger judgements ahead.

"We were granted a basic human right today and we can't express just how happy we are," Nazia told PTI.

Describing the verdict as a landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said it would be help them in their quest for equality. "It is a start. We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

For many activists, this was a harbinger of better days to come. A member of the gay community who requested anonymity said the decision was long due. "I have suffered for 10 years because of my sexuality. Hopefully things will change," he said.

Alliance India CEO Sonal Mehta said it is a day of victory for love and law.

"We are finally not criminals and this minuscule minority has an identity now," is how gender and sexuality rights activist Arpit Bhalla put it.

One of the petitioners said it is a new dawn for the community which would no more feel like a criminal and a second class citizen.

Film director Hansal Mehta, who made "Aligarh" on life of an Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras who had faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a "new beginning".

"A new beginning. The law is gone. The Supreme Court has done what parliament failed to do. Now it's time for attitudes to change. Let's rejoice but let us also reflect," he tweeted.

Filmmaker Karan Johar also hailed the verdict and said it is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights. "The country gets its oxygen back!," he wrote on Twitter.

Actor Sonam Kapoor said she has tears of joy for the LGBTQI community and "one day there won't be any labels and we will all live in utopia."



Actor Swara Bhaskar said the verdict showed that popular morality cannot suppress constitutional rights.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh said it does not consider homosexuality a crime, as declared by the Supreme Court verdict, but it does not support same-sex marriage as such relationships are not "compatible with nature".

Calling the change "historic", LGBT activist Ankit Gupta of the Humsafar Trust said the fight for equality continues and there is still a long way to go for it



Another activist with the Humsafar Trust said the change has come after 18 years of suffering and what the community has gone through in these 18 years could not be expressed in words.

"Tomorrow when we wake up we would be able to look in the mirror and not see ourselves as a second class citizen or a criminal," he said.

The Congress also put out a Twitter post welcoming the judgement.

"We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society," it said, adding intersex and asexuality to LGBTQ.

Expressing his happiness, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the judgement "shamed" BJP MPs who had opposed him on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

The United Nations also lauded the supreme court and said the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBTI persons.

It also hoped the ruling will be the first step towards guaranteeing the full range of fundamental rights to LGBTI persons.

Sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual's identity the world over, and violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an "egregious" violation of human rights. it said.

Writer Chetan Bhagat said India will survive and thrive only by accepting diversity.

Feeling jubilant and emotional, feminist activist Rituparna Borah called the verdict a stepping stone. "But there are issues like police violence, right to adoption and marriage that still stay," she told PTI.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Rajasthan Assembly proceedings were adjourned for 45 minutes Thursday as the Opposition created an uproar saying over 4,000 questions asked by the members of House were dropped during the present and past sessions.

As soon as the Question Hour began on the second day of the monsoon session, Congress deputy whip Govind Singh Dotasara said that questions were dropped over multiple sessions of the House.

He said the government was trying to evade tough questions.

Independent legislator Hanuman Beniwal supported the Congress members and trooped into the well of the house.

Amid the ruckus, Speaker Kailash Meghwal adjourned the House for 45 minutes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Rajasthan Assembly passed an amendment bill Thursday that proposes to reimburse the expenditures incurred in medical treatment of dependent children of ex-MLAs and remove riders for family pension.

The House passed the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly (Officers and Members Emoluments and Pension) (amendment) Bill, 2018 by voice vote.

The amendments in these sections will involve a recurring expenditure of about Rs 55 lakh per annum.

Proposing the bill, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore said sections of the previous Act provided reimbursement of expenditure on account of medical treatment of ex-members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. This facility is proposed to be extended to dependent children of such members.

In another provision, the rider of salary or pension from other sources, used to determine the family pension payable under this section to spouses of ex-members, was removed.

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Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Thursday accused the Congress of trying to create hurdles in her pre-poll yatra across the state.

Raje Thursday began the next leg of her 'Gaurav Yatra' to seek public mandate for the BJP in the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly polls due later this year.

The chief minister along with other party leaders addressed rallies in Mukam, Poogal and Kolayat areas and interacted with people.

Raje will cover the entire Bikaner division by September 11, a party spokesperson said.

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Tamil Nadu government Thursday said it stood for release of all seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and would take a decision after going through the Supreme Court's order on a plea by one of them.

Reacting to the apex court's order directing the Tamil Nadu Governor to consider the mercy petition of A G Perarivalan, one of the seven life convicts in the case, state Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam said the government wanted to release all of them.

"It is the stand and desire of late Amma (Jayalalithaa) that all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assasination case should be released," he told reporters.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami will take a decision after a thorough study of the Supreme court's judgement and consultations with legal experts, he said.

Perarivalan's mother Arputhammal expressed joy over the ruling and appealed to the state government to take steps for the expeditious release of her son and six others as well.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Naveen Sinha and K M Joseph disposed of the Centre's petition regarding a Tamil Nadu government's proposal for the release of the convicts.

The Centre had on August 10 told the apex court that it does not concur with the Tamil Nadu government's proposal to release the seven convicts, saying remission of their sentence will set a "dangerous precedent" and have "international ramifications".

Perarivalan, 47, had told the apex court that no decision had been taken as yet on his mercy petition filed before the Tamil Nadu Governor on December 30, 2015 seeking remission or pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Welcoming the court order, DMK President M K Stalin said a Cabinet meeting should be convened and a resolution adopted facilitating the release of all the seven convicts.

Noting that late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had appealed for their release several times, he said "All of them should be released immediately."



Advocate Prabhu who represented the case in Supreme Court told PTI over phone that the release contemplated was under Article 161 of the Constitution wherein either consultation or concurrence of the Central government was not necessary.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief Su Thirunavukkarasar, however, struck a different note.

When asked if he welcomed the court ruling, he said, 'no,' but added that 'let it happen according to law.'



"The death of Rajiv Gandhi on Tamil Nadu soil is still a wound in the hearts of the people," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Thirunavukkarasar, however, said party President Rahul Gandhi had made it clear that he did not hold any grudge against anyone.

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, MP, too urged the government to immediately release the seven convicts.

He said the Centre should not come in the way of the convicts' release by filing new petitions against it, he said.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur near here by an LTTE woman suicide bomber, Dhanu, at an election rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.

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The Reserve Bank has turned down the Power Ministry's request to give certain concessions for setting up of an Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) for warehousing stressed assets to prevent distress sale of these plants, a senior official said Thursday.

"An upfront valuation is required for taking assets into ARC. We have sought exemption from that. The ARC is required to make 15 per cent upfront payment to lenders. We were asking for exemption from that. These type of concession are not in the scheme of RBI," Power Secretary A K Bhalla told reporters here.

About setting up of the ARC by state-run lender Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) with other lenders to power projects, Bhalla said, "The REC and lenders together will set up this ARC."



A power sector expert said in the absence of the sought concessions from RBI, it would be a tight rope walk for the REC and other lenders to implement the proposal of setting up an ARC for the purpose.

After setting up of the ARC, the stressed assets would be taken over by it to avoid insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for five years to avoid any distress sale of these projects.

Besides, the assets already moved to the NCLT under the code can also be resolved by the ARC. The REC had proposed to bring about 25,000 MW of stressed power projects under this ARC.

Yesterday, Power Minister R K Singh had chaired a meeting of lenders to stressed power assets to resolve the issues related to bad loans for avoiding any distress sale.

During the meeting, 'Pariwartan' scheme proposed by the REC was also discussed.

'Pariwartan' stands for power asset revival through warehousing and rehabilitation. It proposes to warehouse around 25,000 MW stressed projects under an asset management company to prevent distress sale.

Stressed power assets are a cause of concern and the government set up an empowered committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to resolve issues related to these plants.

The first meeting of the panel was held on August 31, 2018 where RBI representative was not present. The government had invited RBI for the first meeting.

The issue of stressed assets in the power sector became more vicious after the Allahabad High Court did not give any reprieve to these plants from RBI's new framework for resolving bad loans, issued on February 12, 2018.

The RBI framework provided for strict timeline for resolution of these bad loans where debt is Rs 2,000 crore or more. It mandates insolvency proceedings to start in case no resolution plan is provided by lenders within 180 days of default.

Setting up an ARC is a legal option available to avoid insolvency proceedings for these stressed power assets.

A Parliamentary panel had earlier recommended new framework for resolution of stressed assets in the power sector, saying RBI's framework "addresses only financial issues, ignoring the whole range of vital issues of electricity sector".

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NDA constituent RPI (A) Thursday staked claim for two Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra for 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing reporters, RPI (A) chief and Union minister Ramdas Athawale said he wanted to contest the Mumbai South Central seat, currently held by the Shiv Sena.

The MoS for Social Justice and Empowerment said he wanted the Mumbai South Central seat from the BJP quota.

"The BJP should leave two Lok Sabha seats--Mumbai South Central and Satara--if they want us to be with them," said Athawale who is currently a Rajya Sabha MP.

Athawale said he had apprised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis about his wish to contest.

"I will contest this seat irrespective of the BJP and Shiv Sena coming together to contest the 2019 LS polls. The RPI (A) wants to contest Satara Lok Sabha seat as well," he said.

Satara constituency is represented by NCP MP Udayanraje Bhosale.

Athawale said he would raise his demand with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, besides with senior leaders of the BJP in Maharashtra.

He said the RPI (A) is eyeing to contest 13 seats in the 2019 Assembly elections in case the BJP and Shiv Sena forge an alliance, and 25-30 seats in the event of both the parties going solo.

Athawale's demand for Mumbai South Central seat is likely to raise hackles of the Shiv Sena.

The seat is currently represented by Rahul Shewale of the Sena.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party had announced to go solo in the next year's elections.

Athawale, who wields clout in some Dalit pockets of Maharashtra, had last month announced that the RPI (A) would field candidates of other communities in half of the total seats it will contest from in the 2019 general elections.

The RPI(A) has no representation in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. The party, however, enjoys a loyal following among the Dalit youths.

Mumbai South Central constituency comprises six Vidhan Sabha segments including Dalit pockets of Dharavi and Chembur. Other segments include Anushakti Nagar, Sion-Koliwada, Wadala and Mahim.

Of the total six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena and the BJP had won three seats each in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Athawale had lost Lok Sabha elections in 2009 from Shirdi constituency in Ahmednagar district against Bhausaheb Wakchaure of the Shiv Sena by a margin of more than one lakh votes.

After the loss, Athawale joined forces with the BJP for the 2014 elections.

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Union Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Thursday said a Spanish company will set up a Rs 350 crore vegetable processing facility at Mohali in Punjab, which will benefit vegetable growers of the state.

The minister, in a statement here, said she visited the factory premises of food processing company Conelodos de Navarra in Spain and assured the promoters that her ministry will extend all possible support to it.

Company President and CEO Benito Jimenez told the minister that the new plant would create around 500 jobs, besides benefitting 5,000 farmers directly, said the release.

He said the company would also focus on potato processing which will open up a new market for farmers of Doaba region.

Badal, who was on a visit to Spain and Netherlands, also held a meeting with Carola Schouten, Minister for Agriculture in Amsterdam and discussed ways and means as to how Indian and Netherlands can cooperate in food processing, said the release.

The minister said two Dutch investors were also set to invest in Punjab.

She said Punjab would benefit immensely from Dutch investment and collaborations as they were the leaders in agriculture and food processing.

The minister said with the efforts of her ministry, value was being added to farm produce, be it traditional crops like wheat and rice, milk products, honey, vegetables, fruits or agri produce like 'haldi'.

"We have created the necessary awareness about the need to add value to agri produce and even hand held farmers by hiring consultants to enable them to form their own self help groups, clusters or join mega food parks," the minister said.

She said besides establishing three mega food parks in Punjab, the Food Processing Ministry had established 20 cold chains and four backward-forward linkages.

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Nestled deep in Sweden's mining country, Lindesberg has an old-time small-town charm: its imposing Lutheran church overlooks cobblestone streets with locals calmly strolling about on their daily errands.

There are no telling signs that this is one of strongest bastions of the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), an anti-immigration party with roots in the neo-Nazi movement.

The few people out on a rainy day in late August, of various ages and origins, stop to exchange pleasantries, with just days to go before the country's September 9 local and legislative elections.

SD, founded in 1988, is tipped to win about 20 percent of votes nationwide, according to an average of seven polling institutes published in the past 10 days.

That would make it Sweden's second or third biggest party.

Two hours northwest of Stockholm by car, Lindesberg seems a world away from the disadvantaged suburbs of Sweden's big cities -- and the associated debate on immigration.

Figures provided by municipal authorities show that 186 foreigners were granted residency permits in Lindesberg in 2017, or just 0.8 percent of the 23,000-strong population.

Even Mats Seijboldt, an SD town councillor, claims to say "Yes" to immigration when it is managed "in a good and positive way".

Yet the SD is thriving in Lindesberg on voter discontent.

In the 2014 election, it clinched 21 percent of votes and eight seats on the Lindesberg town council, second only to the Social Democrats who govern nationally.

In one Lindesberg district, SD won 37 percent, its strongest score in the nation.

Channelling locals' dissatisfaction, Seijboldt has appropriated US President Donald Trump's slogan, making it his own: "Make Sweden Great Again".

Like other areas swept by waves of populism, growing numbers in the town feel like they're being left behind, observers say.

The population is ageing faster in Lindesberg than elsewhere and the proportion of people living off benefits is higher than the national average, according to Statistics Sweden.

Many of them blame immigrants.

To the typical SD voter, "immigration presents an economic and cultural threat," says Stockholm University sociology professor Jens Rydgren.

SD voters "tend to be male, relatively low educated, over-represented among the working class", he said.

The Social Democratic mayor of Lindesberg, Bengt Storbacka, says SD voters have a "wrong perception" of the situation.

Still, he expects what he calls the "racist party" to improve even further on Sunday on its local election score from four years ago.

Five hundred kilometres (310 miles) to the south lies another SD bastion: Horby, a town of 15,000 in the Skane countryside.

It is just 30 minutes from Malmo, Sweden's third-biggest city, which has a large immigrant community and is stricken by gangland shootings.

In the 2014 election, SD won nine seats on the Horby town council, second only to the Social Democrats.

The far-right was relegated to the opposition by a broad coalition that teamed up against it.

"Five parties needed to come together to keep us out in 2014," says Stefan Borg, who heads the far-right on Horby's town council.

Now the SD plans to collaborate with a small pensioners' party -- an influential group in this ageing town.

In Horby, 13 percent of residents were born outside the country, according to Statistics Sweden.

Asked to estimate the number of immigrants in the town, Borg puts their number at between 20 and 25 percent.

Sociologist Rydgren judged that to be "a typical over-estimation" of a kind he said is common among far-right voters.

As in Lindesberg, some Horby residents expressed fear for their safety.

"When it gets dark, a lot of people don't dare to go out, myself included," says Cecilia Bladh in Zito, an SD candidate.

Statistics do not support a link between crime and immigration however.

Figures from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention show reported acts of violence have only risen marginally in the town since a wave of refugees arrived between 2015 and 2017.

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The Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly, Debabrata Saikia has demanded that the state government provide adequate compensation to the next of kin of the boat capsize victims.

A mechanised boat capsized in the river Brahmaputra after it hit a rock near north Guwahati on Wednesday in which two persons were killed.

The Congress leader condoled the deaths and demanded that the state government provide adequate compensation to the bereaved families.

In a press release here Saikia alleged "negligence on the part of the government and boat operators plays a major part in such accidents".

He alleged overloading, insufficient safety measures, inadequate and virtually non-existent enforcement by state government agencies were root causes of such disasters.

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The sanitation coverage in rural India under the Swachh Bharat Mission has more than doubled to 92 per cent and the country is on its way to become open defecation free (ODF) by next year, a top government official said Thursday.

The sanitation coverage in rural areas was 39 per cent as on October 2, 2014 when the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched.

Addressing a press conference here, Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Drinking Water and Sanitation, said as on date the sanitation coverage in rural parts of the country is 92 per cent and over 8.3 crore toilets were built in the last four years in villages across the country.

"This programme is the largest behavioural change programme in the world and 4.3 lakh villages have become ODF till now," he said.

As many as 444 districts have become open defecation free, but there are only nine such in Uttar Pradesh and four in Bihar, the official said while responding to a question.

Till date, 19 states and Union Territories have become ODF, he said.

Iyer said this success has been achieved due to a difference in approach, political commitment and making the mission a mass movement.

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the popular mission, various programmes will be held across the country under the theme 'Swachhata Hi Seva' in which the emphasis will be on reinforcing the concept of sanitation as everyone's business, he said.

The programmes will start on September 15 and conclude on October 2.

The secretary said the four-day Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation conclave will also be organised to mark the fourth anniversary of the clean India programme, where the government has invited ministers of sanitation ministries working in various countries.

Iyer said President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also expected to attend the conclave.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu Governor to consider the mercy petition of A G Perarivalan, a convict in the 1991 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Naveen Sinha and K M Joseph disposed of the Centre's petition regarding a proposal for the release of the convicts, filed by the Tamil Nadu government.

The Centre had on August 10 told the apex court that it does not concur with the Tamil Nadu government's proposal to release the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, saying remission of their sentence will set a "dangerous precedent" and have "international ramifications".

On August 20, 47-year old Perarivalan alias Arivu had told the apex court that no decision has been taken as yet on his mercy petition filed before the Tamil Nadu Governor over two years ago. He was charged with supplying a 9-volt battery which was allegedly used for the belt bomb that had killed Gandhi and 14 others.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on the night of May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at an election rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.

This was perhaps the first case of suicide bombing which had claimed the life of a high-profile global leader.

Perarivalan, who is among the seven convicts in the case, had said that he had filed the mercy petition seeking remission or pardon from the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution.

He had filed the mercy petition on December 30, 2015, saying he has suffered more than 24 years of solitary/single confinement.

"As per jail rules, life imprisonment at ground level is only for a maximum of 20 years and thereafter the prisoner is considered for release. Now I have already undergone more than life imprisonment," his letter had said.

He had also claimed that the probe was not full-fledged and was incomplete and partial. "The main culprits who designed the bomb made of RDX were not nabbed till date. They are scot-free and investigation is still pending into the vital aspects of the crime itself," he had said in his letter to the Governor.

"The charge sheet of the CBI (Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Authority -MDMA), which was constituted pursuant to the Jain Commission report for further investigation of foreign hand in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, is still pending and the real conspirators are yet to be found.

"There will be no justification in keeping me behind bars even after 25 years of actual punishment when the investigation is itself pending", Perarivalan's letter said, giving a detailed outline of the case against him for seeking pardon of his sentence from the Governor.

Convicts Perarivalan, V Sriharan alias Murugan, T Suthendraraja alias Santham, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, P Ravichandaran and Nalini have been in jail for 25 years.

On August 10, the Centre, while holding that it does not concur with the Tamil Nadu government's proposal to release the seven convicts, had said the case involved the assassination of a former prime minister in a brutal manner in pursuance of a "diabolical" plot carefully conceived and executed by a foreign terrorist organisation.

On January 23, the apex court had asked the Centre to take a decision within three months on a 2016 letter of the Tamil Nadu government written on March 2, 2016, seeking its concurrence on releasing the seven convicts.

The apex court had on February 18, 2014, commuted the death sentence of three convicts - Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan - citing inordinate delay by the executive in deciding their mercy plea.

After Gandhi's assassination on May 21, 1991, the probe was transferred to a Special Investigation Team of the CBI on the request of the Tamil Nadu government.

The SIT had named 41 accused in its charge sheet - including 12, who died in the blast and three who were absconding - before a TADA court in Chennai. The prolonged trial culminated in 1998, when the TADA court sentenced 26 of the accused to death.

In May 1999, the apex court had upheld the death sentence of four, including Murugan, Santham, Perarivalan and Nalini, commuted the death sentence of three to life, and freed the remaining 19.

In April 2000, the Tamil Nadu Governor had commuted the death sentence of Nalini on the basis of state government's recommendation and an appeal by Rajiv's wife and then Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The death sentence of remaining three convicts were commuted in February 2014 by the apex court on the ground of inordinate delay of 11 years in deciding the mercy petitions.

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The on Thursday identified 16 properties of the for auctioning, preferably by the NBCC, to give the PSU an initial corpus to start work on the stalled projects.

It also ordered a forensic audit of the firm and its promoters to gauge the extent of financial wrongdoings.

offered to the court that it can start construction on the 15 stalled projects with a capital of Rs 10 billion and the remaining amount of Rs 75 billion could be given in quarterly installments of Rs 2.5 billion.

The top court also brought CMD of Anil Sharma under its scanner for declaring his assets worth Rs 670 million as against Rs 8.4 billion declared in his election affidavit filed during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when he had unsuccessfully contested as a JD(U) candidate from Bihar's Jehanabad constituency.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit said the records regarding how Sharma's assets, which were worth Rs 8.47 billion, have now come to be worth only Rs 670 million in a span of just four years, have not been placed before it so far.

It sought an affidavit on the list of properties of Sharma and other directors, including their family members, within four days and posted the matter for further hearing on September 12.

The bench directed that forensic audit of 46 group of Amrapali and its directors and promoters and their spouses and children will be done in two months.

"In the circumstances, we direct forensic audit of 46 of including Jotindra Steel and Tubes Ltd. Let the forensic audit of assets of all directors including movable and immovable, their family members and related Let the forensic audit be completed within two months and reports be submitted in the court," the bench said.

The apex court, however, said it would later decide which agency will do the forensic audit, but would look at the extent of properties held by directors, diversion of funds, if any, statement of accounts of companies and their family members.

The 16 properties to be sold by auction are Amrapali Homes at Vrindavan, Amrapali Homes Projects Pvt Ltd at Indore, Amrapali Homes Project Pvt Ltd and Bhubaneshwar, Sangam Colonizer, Jaipur, Hi-tech City, Jaipur, Ultra Home Construction Pvt Ltd at Sikkim, Udaipur, Raipur and New Raipur.

Other projects to be sold by auction include unlaunched part of Amrapali Leisure Valley and Amrapali Leisure Valley Commercial in Greater Noida, unlaunched part of Amrapali Centurial Park Pvt Ltd and Amrapali Centurian Park Commercial.

The bench said the auction should preferably be done by National Buildings Construction Corporation India Ltd (NBCC) as it was a trusted name and the homebuyers have faith in it.

" was chosen over others as it will repose faith in home buyers. Being a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), let it not take the projects for profit motive. Over 42,000 flat buyers will be thankful to NBCC," the bench said.

The top court also asked the Noida, Greater Noida and other concerned authorities to file their reports regarding the available space in the 16 unencumbered properties.

At the outset, Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for NBCC, said the corporation was keen to help the home buyers but the real concern was money. She suggested quarterly installments of Rs 2.5 billion and a one-time amount of Rs 10 billion was required to start the construction of the pending Amrapali projects.

When advocate Gaurav Bhatia, appearing for Amrapali, said the group was proposing an alternate plan to raise money, the bench said, "Everybody has burnt their fingers. No one reposes any faith in you (Amrapali). Unless you put money to start the pending projects, their will be no second thought".

The court also grilled group CMD Anil Sharma, who was present in the court, and asked him how his assets came down from Rs 8.4 billion to just 670 million in just four years.

Sharma said that out of Rs 8.47 billion, he had Rs 7 billion equity in the group companies.

The bench then asked from where he got the money to purchase equity worth Rs 7 billion and remarked that "it is not your personal money" which you showed in election affidavit.

"You can get Rs 7 billion equity in group companies only if someone has given you freebies or shall we take it that you bought Rs 700 crore equity by just paying Rs 7000. This is totally wrong under companies Act. You cannot do it this way," the bench said.

It told Sharma that he was inviting more trouble for himself and warned that the court was not at present embarking on starting an investigation into his assets but would certainly do so in future.

"You can ditch anyone on earth. A businessman, who cares for his reputation, will never do such things but you (Amrapali) are a habitual offender," the bench said.

Earlier, the apex court had assured state-run of funds to complete 46,575 flats of crisis-hit Amrapali Group at an estimated cost of Rs 85 billion and favoured a forensic audit of balance sheets of the private realtor to assess the extent of siphoning of funds by them.

The NBCC had given a proposal for completion of 15 residential projects of Amrapali having 46,575 flats at an estimated cost of Rs 85 billion in 6-36 months.
The Congress Thursday hailed as "momentous" the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising consensual gay sex and termed it as an important step forward towards a liberal and tolerant society.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the age-old colonial law was an anachronism in today's modern times and the verdict restores the fundamental rights and negates discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 is momentous.

"An age-old colonial law, that was an anachronism in today's modern times, ends restoring the fundamental rights and negating discrimination based on sexual orientation. It's an important step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society," he said on Twitter.

On its official Twitter handle, the Congress said, "We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society."



A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

The constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

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Markets regulator has sent its officials to foreign countries to study initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies, a move that will help in understanding of the systems and mechanisms.

Cryptocurrencies are digital units in which encryption techniques are used for trading and these 'currencies' operate independently of a central bank, while initial coin offerings are equivalents of initial public offerings in stock markets.

The regulator has organised study tours to Japan's Financial Services Agency; the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, and Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, "to study initial coin offerings and cryptocurrencies," said in its in annual report for 2017-18.

The study tours "help engage with the international regulators and gain deeper understanding of the systems and mechanisms".

Besides, hosted a number of international organisations including regulatory bodies and business and ministerial delegations in the past fiscal.

"These meetings foster deeper levels of cooperation, facilitate a better understanding of the Indian securities market and facilitate further collaboration with visiting institutions," the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) noted.

The government has already constituted an inter-disciplinary committee chaired by, Subhash Chandra Garg, secretary in the department of economic affairs, to examine the existing framework with regard to virtual currencies.

Other members of the panel include Sebi chairman and deputy governor B P Kanungo. The committee is yet to submit its report.

Earlier in July, RBI had told the Supreme Court that allowing dealings in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins would encourage illegal transactions and it has already issued a circular prohibiting the use of these virtual currencies.

While crypto investors filed a complaint against the ban, the Supreme Court had refused to lift RBI's ban on dealing. The final hearing of the case is scheduled for September 11.
Security agencies are trying to obtain new software and improved face-recognition technology to enable themselves to dig deeper into social media about a criminal whose record is unavailable in police database, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Thursday.

Singh said cybercrimes were posing a "big challenge" to the security establishment.

He said security agencies have detected that terrorists were using the "dark internet" to recruit operatives and to "sell and purchase confidential information by big criminals."



He said hence, for the first time, they have created a cyber-security division in the home ministry.

Inaugurating a three-day Defence and Homeland Security Expo and Conference 2018, organised by the PHD Chamber, Singh said the utility of drones in ensuring security has been found to be necessary and the central government will soon bring out a policy on their comprehensive usage in the country.

"I am fully confident that drones will be very useful for our security forces. I have seen their capabilities and utility in the conduct of anti-naxal operations," he said.

The home minister then talked about the "new tech-edge" that the country's security agencies are looking to procure.

"We can track criminals through the CCTV cameras. But at times, it is very difficult to identify and recognise them. We are trying that face recognition technology is better improved so that if a criminal is not identified by CCTV cameras, there should be a technology to get his face recognised. This is what we are trying.

"We are also trying that if there is no information about them (criminals) in the CCTNS (crime and criminal tracking network system), we should have such software that can dig into the social media network and collate information about such elements," the home minister said.

Singh said apart from these challenges faced by security agencies and forces under his ministry's command, ensuring effective security of India's over 15,000-km land border and more than 7,000-km sea border was also very essential.

He said he will soon inaugurate a pilot project for laser-fencing border security in Jammu.

"We are testing similar laser fences, radars and non-physical barriers at other border locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Assam. The country's borders need to be effectively secured," the home minister said.

Lauding the security forces and agencies, he said it was an achievement that there has "not been even one major incident of terrorism in the country" in the past four years of the BJP-led government at the Centre.

"Organised crime and terrorism are the biggest challenges for us... We know that these elements are using new technology and sophisticated weapons.

"That is why, technical upgrade and modernisation of the central and state police forces is necessary and these two should go together," he said.

Singh said his ministry has simplified the purchasing procedures for equipment, weapons and gadgets for the security forces and "now it is a two-tier system as compared to the previous three-tier task."



"If it requires that we will have to delegate more financial powers to the chiefs of the security forces, we will do that too," Singh said.

He assured that the CCTNS, a comprehensive national computer-based police database, will be "effectively launched" across the country.

At the conclusion of his speech, the home minister promised the defence manufacturing industry he will soon hold discussions with Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu about difficulties faced by them in obtaining production licenses.

"I will see to it that it is simplified and streamlined," he said.

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The Shiv Sena Thursday wondered "lack of action" against BJP MLA Ram Kadam whose remarks have caused a huge public outrage.

Kadam had told youngsters at a Dahi Handi event in suburban Ghatkopar on Monday that he would "abduct" a girl they like even if she rejects their proposal.

Rejecting Kadam's apology, Sena MLC Nilam Gorhe Thursday said the party would raise its demand for action against the MLA in the upcoming winter session of the state legislature.

"The BJP legislator's apology is not enough. He was arrogant enough to accuse his political rivals of twisting his remarks," Gorhe said.

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday slammed Kadam and appealed to the BJP to take strong action against the MLA.

Women members of the Sena Thursday staged a protest outside the state BJP office at Nariman Point in south Mumbai.

BJP spokesperson Shaina NC also slammed Kadam, saying she was shocked by his remarks.

Earlier in the day, Kadam twitted an apology.

He claimed that his comments on Dahi Handi day were blown out of context which has hurt the sentiments of women.

"I have repeatedly expressed my apologies. I once again tender my apology without going into the issue again," Kadam twitted.

The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) has issued a notice to Kadam and sought his response within eight days.

Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari on Wednesday sought to play down Kadam's remark and said as the MLA has expressed regret, the matter was over.

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Trains were stopped and highways blocked briefly in Bihar while shops downed shutters in some other northern states during a Bharat Bandh' Thursday against the recent amendment to the SC/ST Act.

Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab but the shutdown call by anti-reservation bodies had little impact elsewhere in the country.

There were scattered incidents of violence, mainly in Bihar, where bandh supporters stormed Patna's Rajendra Nagar terminus and disrupted the movement of trains for about 30 minutes, officials said.

Trains were briefly disrupted in Rajgir also as commercial establishments remained closed in many parts of Bihar.

Some organisation had called the one-day bandh to protest against the amendment last month to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The amendment bill passed by Parliament had nullified the 'safeguards' ordered by the Supreme Court against arrests without a preliminary inquiry under the SC/ST law.

Shops and commercial establishments remained largely closed in Bihar capital's Patna, but banks and government offices functioned normally.

Protesters gathered before the Bihar BJP headquarters, raising slogans over the "betrayal by the party. Some of them also headed towards the office of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally.

The shutdown had a strong impact in Muzaffarpur, where bandh supporters blocked traffic in the town and on the national highway.

They also burnt tyres at many places and clashed with policemen who tried to stop them.

Cases of arson were also reported from Biharsharif town. Traffic was disrupted in Begusarai.

The bandh call evoked a strong response in Rajasthan where many shops and businesses, schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Thursday.

Shops were shut in Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and other districts in the state.

The police detained at least three leaders of the Samta Andolan Samiti, which is against caste-based reservation, as a precautionary measure. There were no reports of violence in the state till this evening.

Most private schools and petrol pumps remained closed in Madhya Pradesh while markets and business establishments in parts of the state were shut. Police said the bandh was observed in a peaceful manner.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of the upper castes and Other Backward Classes participated in the bandh in Madhya Pradesh.

He claimed the bandh was effective in almost the entire state, particularly in Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagar and Ujjain.

In Chhindwara, the Lok Sabha constituency of Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, markets remained shut.

"Local residents wore black clothes in protest and business establishments remained shut," Vyapari Sangh president Mahesh Chandak said.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to the people saying, "Madhya Pradesh is an island of peace. I pray that we all progress and no one should try to disrupt the peace in the state.

In Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, People have their feelings. In a democracy everyone has the right to express themselves."



Six policemen were hurt when they confronted protesters blocking traffic in UP's Ballia district. In Agra too, protesters blocked traffic and shops remained shut. But the bandh was largely peaceful in the state.

"The law is to protect the downtrodden. The government will ensure that it will not be misused," Adityanath told reporters in Gonda.

In Punjab and Haryana, there was little response to the bandh with people keeping their businesses open in most areas, reports said. But in Punjab's Phagwara shops and commercial establishments remained shut.

Earlier this year, the apex court had removed the strict provision of mandatory arrests under the SC/ST Act.

This decision had triggered nationwide protests by Scheduled Caste organisations, forcing the Centre to bring an amendment to the Act to overrule the SC order.

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Automobile industry body SIAM announced Thursday election of Mahindra and Mahindra President Automotive Sector, Rajan Wadhera as its new President.

The executive committee of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) also elected Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa, as Vice President, SIAM said in a statement.

Wadhera succeeds Abhay Firodia, Chairman, Force Motors Ltd, it said, adding that he has been SIAM's Vice President till now.

"The election for new office bearers was conducted during the Executive Committee Meeting, which was held after SIAM's Annual General Meeting today," the statement added.

SIAM further said Vinod Aggarwal, MD & CEO, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) has been elected as Treasurer of SIAM. He replaces Ayukawa.

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Auto industry body SIAM Thursday asked the government for long-term policy for promoting electric mobility in the country, saying absence of such guidelines is not helpful to the industry to plan future investments.

The auto industry body also sought lower taxation for the vertical in order to help it realise its true potential.

Speaking at the annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), outgoing president of the body Abhay Firodia regretted the government's decision to stay away from framing an electric vehicle (EV) policy.

"After the earlier significant announcement favouring large-scale electrification of vehicles in the country, in an unexpected way, the government came out and stated that it will not be issuing a formal policy promoting EVs, but rather rake specific actions to enable proliferation if EVs in the country," Firodia said.

At the request of the government, SIAM had proposed policy measures for 40 per cent electrification by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2047, he added.

"However, the government stepped away from laying down a long-term approach, and... this is not very helpful for the industry. Laying down clear objectives will help the industry prepare for future investments," Firodia said.

EVs cannot be just out in the market, they require infrastructure and a complete ecosystem, he added.

"I therefore see it more as a challenge for transformation, which needs to be gradual." Sudden moves could disrupt (the industry) and such disruption can seriously hamper Make in India aspirations, Firodia said.

He added that in 2011 too, the industry had submitted a proposal to bring policy for electric mobility.

"I just want to emphasise that the industry does not oppose EVs... I can assure you that the industry will not be found wanting in delivering competitive and technically viable EVs if there is a clear policy that addresses consumers... and also the manufacturers," Firodia noted.

He added that implementation of goods and services tax (GST) was a watershed moment which the auto industry was looking forward to for a long time.

"The GST rate of 28 per cent along with cess of 15 per cent was in line with expectations of the industry and was widely welcomed by the auto industry. However, soon after, the GST on passenger vehicles (PVs) was increased upwards in September last year to around the same level which was there in the pre-GST regime," Firodia said.

This dented the confidence of the auto industry, he added.

"The industry seeks stable policy environment and change in the mindset (of consumers) where vehicles are not to be considered as luxury goods akin to sin goods and they don't need to be shunned," Firodia said.

"Vehicles are important for the progress a country and growth of the economy. Therefore, due recognition needs to be there by moderating taxes on vehicles," he added.

Firodia said that average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of the industry is about 10 per cent, but the overall GST on PVs ranges from 28 to 50 per cent.

"If we include state taxes, the overall taxation in some states goes up to 70 per cent," he added.

"This... is not a rational level of tax at about five times the EBITDA of the industry and is in contrast to some developed nations. It should be like Europe and Japan where taxation is in the range of 17-20 per cent," Firodia said.

The very high proportion of tax does not allow the industry to grow to its full potential, he added.

"The industry had the potential to do much more if our policies had allowed it to grow in a more favourable regime," Firodia said.

He said India had poor penetration of vehicles as compared to other countries.

Stating the auto industry as the leading contributor of taxes to the government, Firodia also sought a single ministry to take care of auto industry issues.

He also sought a long-term policy roadmap so that the industry could plan accordingly.

Firodia said that the industry is the process of investing around Rs 1 lakh crore for upgradation to BSVI emission norms.

Once the country moves to BSVI norms, there should not be "fuel-based discrimination".

Responding to the demand from the auto industry, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said there was a need to plan for transition with least disruption to the industry.

"We can't go about it by putting together an assortment of policies across different departments.. It has got to be a unified and convergent view, not just within the government but within the society, which includes all the stakeholders like state governments, " he said.

For example Karnataka has announced its own electric vehicle policy, Kumar said adding that it is for the centre and Niti Aayog to make sure that these policies are in convergence and not inconsistent.

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Education,health,water sectors to be looked after by federation: Fawad Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet Wednesday decided to constitute a special unit at the Prime Ministers Office and promulgate a whistle-blower law for early recovery of the public money embezzled through corruption and the wealth stashed abroad illegally.



Briefing reporters here after the cabinet meeting, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar said the landmark whistle-blower law would be enforced immediately through an ordinance envisaging reward of 20 per cent of the recovered amount for those who would help recover the embezzled money. They names of the informers would be kept confidential.



The special assistant said another ordinance on mutual legal assistance was also being issued which would help remove bottlenecks in the way of seeking information from foreign countries on the wealth illegally stashed by the Pakistanis there. He said the prime minister had directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to dispatch a high-powered delegation to Switzerland to expedite ratification of the treaty on exchange of information on bank accounts. The treaty, which was signed in 2013, had not been ratified as yet due to ulterior motives, he added.



Shahzad Akbar said the government would hire firms to detect and help recover illegal money stashed by Pakistanis abroad and in the case of recovery, the firm would get an agreed share of the recovered amount. He said the prime minister would get reports on the implementation of measures on fortnightly basis, which would also be submitted to the Supreme Court.



He said the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had detected properties of thousands of Pakistanis in a foreign country made from the stolen money. Around 100 big fish would be focused and misappropriated money would be recovered from them, he added.



The information minister said Rs 80 billion saved due to abolition of the prime ministers discretionary funds had been returned to the Finance Ministry. Schemes like the Prime Ministers Laptop Scheme had been abolished and the money returned to the Finance Ministry, he added.



Fawad said the prime minister had taken notice of a media report about premature commissioning of Tarbela Extension-4 Project causing a loss of Rs 25 billion to the national exchequer and ordered an inquiry into the matter. The previous government staged the drama of its inauguration for the sake of point-scoring, he added.



He said the cabinet also decided that education, health and water sectors would be looked after by the federation. A task force, headed by Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood and comprising prominent educationists, representatives of seminaries and skill development experts, had been constituted on education. The governments main objective was to bring 250 million out-of-school children into the education network, he added.



The minister said that a uniform school education and certification system would be enforced throughout the country. It was decided to take the provinces on board regarding hike in school fees by the private schools. It was also decided to allocate funds for establishing centers for street children and women, he added.



On the recommendations of the Ministry of Human Rights, the cabinet issued instructions for provision of easy access for disabled people in all buildings, both at federal and provincial levels. The cabinet directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ask its staff in foreign missions to improve their attitude with overseas Pakistanis. Strict action would be taken if complaints were received regarding the attitude of staff deputed at foreign missions and embassies worldwide, he warned.



The cabinet also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to collect data of over 10,000 Pakistanis incarcerated in various countries. Some 3,000 of them were jailed in Iran, mostly on drug-related offences, he said, and hoped that a large number of Pakistanis would get relief as Iran had amended its anti-drugs law in recent days.



To a question about naming internationally acclaimed academic Atif Mian to the governments Economic Advisory Council, Fawad said it was the responsibility of an Islamic republic to uphold the rights of its minorities.
Punjab Cabinet Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu Thursday released a CCTV footage, showing the police action on anti-sacrilege protesters at Kotkapura in 2015.

He also released statement of Dr Kulwinderpal Singh who was allegedly asked by police officers to reach the Kotkapura hospital on October 14, 2015 for any "eventuality which might arise" because of 'dharna' by the protesters.

Holding former chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal responsible for firing at Kotkapura, Sidhu said both of them should be booked as there was "prima facie evidence" in the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission's report, which probed sacrilege incidents, to proceed against them.

Notably, the commission, whose report was tabled in the House last month, had held the police responsible for using force at the protesters in Kotkapura, while describing it as "unprovoked, unwarranted and uncalled."



The footage was procured from different cameras installed at the main road, connecting Moga, Jaitu, Muktsar at Kotkapura in Faridkot, the minister said.

In the footage, Sidhu said a large number of Sikhs could be seen sitting in the middle of the road in a tent at around 6.40 am as part of their protest against sacrilege incidents.

The then senior IPS officer R S Khatra along with other police officers could be seen in the video urging the protesters led by radical Sikh leader Panthpreet Singh to end the dharna, the minister said.

When the protesters did not accede to the requests, a large number of police personnel picked up Panthpreet Singh forcibly, leading to commotion there, he said.

To disperse the crowd, the police lobbed tear gas shells and opened fire, Sidhu said, citing the CCTV footage.

"The people who were sitting peacefully at the dharna site in Kotkapura were brutally thrashed by the police," he alleged.

Quoting the statement of the doctor, Sidhu said when he went to the roof of the hospital, he was also asked by the police officers there to move away as some bullet might hit him.

"Both Badals should be booked first and later the proposed special investigation team can investigate the matter. The commission says there is prima facie evidence against them," he said.

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A military judge in South Sudan on Thursday sentenced 10 soldiers to jail for a 2016 rampage in which a local journalist was killed and five international aid workers were gang-raped.

The case was widely seen as a test of South Sudan's ability to hold its soldiers to account during the five-year civil war here, and diplomats and activists welcomed the outcome.

However, they said many other victims of violations have yet to see justice and urged the government to hold more trials.

Brig Gen Knight Briano convicted and sentenced two soldiers to life in prison for the murder of a South Sudanese journalist.

The judge found three other soldiers guilty of raping foreign aid workers, four guilty of sexual harassment and one guilty of theft and armed robbery. They received sentences ranging from seven to 14 years in jail.

Another soldier was acquitted for lack of evidence. Still another accused soldier died in jail during the trial.

The convicted soldiers were stripped of their uniforms before being transported by truck to prison.

In July 2016, dozens of soldiers broke into the Terrain Hotel compound in Juba and began their rampage, while UN peacekeepers nearby did not respond to pleas for help.

An investigation by the Associated Press in 2016 revealed the extent of the crimes and spurred the South Sudanese government and the United Nations to investigate.

The army hopes the trial will act as a deterrent to other soldiers while reassuring civilians that anyone who commits a crime will be punished, army spokesman Col. Domic Chol Santo told AP.

"This is important because the army has been accused of a great deal of rape, sexual harassment and all forms of violations, and it's not part of our doctrine," said Santo.

The judge ordered USD 2 million to be paid to the Terrain Hotel for damages, USD 4,000 to each of five rape victims, USD 1,000 to an aid worker who was shot in the leg and 51 cattle to the family of the journalist who was killed (each cattle is worth roughly USD 600).

Many were pleased by the verdicts.

"I am very happy! I won...we won...women won!" exclaimed a rape victim who had returned to South Sudan to testify in the trial.

"It is important to fight for our rights and never give up. We women have to still continue to fight for our rights that still in 2018 are trampled."



The woman said she is "happy for all women in South Sudan and other parts of the world who don't have voice.

This trial can be a precedent for rape as war crimes."



AP does not identify victims of sexual assault.

"The process was far from perfect, but shows that justice can be done where there is political will to do so," said Jehanne Henry, associate director in Africa for Human Rights Watch.

She said the case shows "how far South Sudan has to go to provide real justice and accountability for atrocities committed in this war."



France's ambassador to South Sudan, Jean-Yves Roux, said he hopes the verdict sends a message that violence and impunity are not "business as usual, and that this trial opens the way for other trials."



Some observers had criticised the fact that only low-ranked soldiers were tried, but their commanders were not.

"We continue to push for commanders to be held responsible and not only for the low-level people to be picked on," said Andrew Clapham of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.

"That's the only way we're going to be able to prevent things in the future if the commanders feel that there is some accountability and punishment," he said.

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Indian ship 'Malaviya Twenty', which has been stranded at a port in Great Yarmouth in the East Anglia region of England since July 2016 after its Indian owners declared bankruptcy, is on the verge of being sold by next week.

Captain Nikesh Rastogi on Wednesday expressed relief at prospect of being able to return to his home and family in Mumbai once the sale process is completed.

"We hope there's a suitable quote by the 11th (September) when the tenders open and on the 12th we could be enjoying in-flight meals, Rastogi was quoted by local media as saying.

"It would be a huge sigh of relief. The worst is over... the Marshal has been kind enough to arrest the vessel. Once you leave this location...it will hit you that you are finally free," he said.

Rastogi joined the already-marooned boat 18 months ago and has not been paid since late last year, along with his three crew members. They have been stuck aboard the boat, a supply vessel, in the town's port as they feared it could be deemed a derelict and taken over if they left, meaning they would go unpaid.

"The captain cannot abandon the ship because it will have consequences for his operating licence. He, along with three other crew, are stuck on board and have been undergoing severe hardship, explained Paul Keenan, inspector with the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), who has been involved with the dispute from the start.

The 'Malaviya Twenty', estimated to be worth between 700,000 pounds and 800,000 pounds was "arrested" by the UK's Admiralty Marshal when the crew's lawyers from Birketts law firm secured a High Court order last month for its sale.

Creditors have been battling for control of the 4,500-dwt platform supply vessel since its owners, GOL Offshore, went into liquidation in February last year.

A settlement over outstanding wages was agreed in November last year through the ship's Maritime Labour Convention 2006 protection and indemnity cover, allowing over a dozen other crew members to return home to India.

Great Yarmouth harbour owner Peel Ports said the crew would be paid ahead of the port because the Marshal had seized the vessel on their behalf.

"It should work through quite quickly and then the crew can go home as they deserve to do and get the pay they deserve too," Peel Ports said.

A sister vessel, Malaviya Seven, was sold last year after being stranded with a crew for over a year in Scotland. Also owned by Mumbai's GOL Offshore, the proceeds from the ship's auction had helped pay off the nearly 11 unpaid crew at the time in September last year.

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The World Health Organization asked countries in its South-East Asia Region, including India, on Thursday to strengthen their emergency medical teams to be better prepared for public health emergencies.

As per the 2016 World Disaster Report, the region disproportionately accounted for 26.8 per cent of the deaths in emergencies over the past decade.

The global health body asked member countries to develop and implement a national plan for strengthening systems for emergency medical teams (EMTs) in collaboration with all key partners.

It also asked countries in the region to establish and strengthen national mechanisms which supports effective and high-performing national EMTs in line with the WHO Classification and Standards.

The WHO said experience from health emergencies in the region have shown that following a sudden-onset disaster, large number of EMTs or emergency response teams often arrive in the affected country to provide emergency care to affected people.

"Strengthening national and regional-level EMTs is a high-impact investment in reducing deaths, diseases and disabilities due to disasters, outbreaks and other emergencies.

"EMTs contribute to life-saving critical interventions," Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia Region, said at the ongoing Regional Committee meeting here. The meeting is being attended by health ministers and senior officials of the 11-member countries.

The EMTs are national, international, government, non-governmental, civilian and military, and these teams have varied capacities, and their deployment is often not based on assessed needs.

"To be more effective, EMTs need to be standardised, strengthened and well-coordinated," she said.

The global health body said it was helping mentor EMTs to improve their capacities in line with international standards.

The WHO EMT Initiative aims at supporting countries, non-governmental organisations and international organisations by identifying minimum standards, best practices, logistics and standard operating procedures for operating field coordination, for saving lives, preserving health and protecting dignity.

The initiative seeks to improve timeliness and quality of health services provided by national and international EMTs, enhance the capacity of national health system to lead and coordinate such teams.

"In an emergency, the outcome of the response depends on how quickly the right expertise reaches the right place at the right time to meet the needs of the affected people," Dr Singh said.

The South-East Asia Region is vulnerable to various disasters and emergencies such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, landslides and volcanic eruptions.

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The Karnataka cabinet today decided to set up a cabinet sub-committee to look into the demand for shifting some important government offices to other parts of the state, especially north Karnataka.

People have been raising the demand to avoid travelling to Bengaluru and get work done in their region itself.

"The cabinet has agreed in principle to shift Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited, Karnataka Sugarcane Development Directorate, Karnataka Powerloom Directorate, Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board to north Karnataka," rural development and panchyatraj minister Krishna Byregowda.

The cabinet also decided to transfer a Karnataka Information Commissioner and a member of the Karnataka Human Rights Commission to north Karnataka.

"Though these topics were not in the agenda of the cabinet, the decision was taken after the chief secretary moved the proposal," Byregowda told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

It was also decided in the cabinet to allow private firms to purchase land from farmers to set up solar plants.

The government has plans to invest Rs 5,000 crore in the next four years to improve infrastructure and skill development as part of its project 'Healthy competition with China.'



The cabinet decided to take up a Rs 450 crore drinking water project in 16 villages between Ramanagar and Channapatna.

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President Donald Trump's administration should be held accountable for emotional trauma inflicted on children who were separated from their parents at the US border, lawyers say in a lawsuit that could result in compensation for more than 2,000 immigrant families.

The federal class-action lawsuit filed late Wednesday seeks unspecified monetary damages and the creation of a fund to pay for mental health treatment for children who were taken away from their parents after the Republican administration adopted a policy requiring anyone who crossed the border illegally to be prosecuted.

Now that many immigrant families have been reunited, lawyers say the focus should turn to helping children with the lingering psychological effects of their separation and detention.

The attorneys say they believe this is the first case in the country to request damages for all children from central and South America who were separated.

"These children suffer from nightmares. They chew their fingernails until the bleed. They fall out of bed at night because they are startled awake from fear," said Susan Church, one of the lawyers who filed the lawsuit in Worcester, Massachusetts, against Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other administration officials.

"This lawsuit is being brought so we don't have to see what happens to these children 20 years from now when they have suffered this trauma and it's never been addressed," she said.

US Department of Justice officials didn't immediately respond to an email on Thursday.

The US government separated more than 2,500 children from their parents this year as the Trump administration adopted a "zero-tolerance" policy on illegal immigration. On June 20, Trump reversed course amid an international outcry and said families should remain together. More than 300 parents remain separated from their children.

On Thursday, the Trump administration also moved to abandon a longstanding court settlement that limits how long immigrant children can be kept locked up, proposing new regulations that would allow the government to detain families until their immigration cases are decided.

Attorneys say many families whose children are suffering the psychological consequences of their separation must currently rely on lawyers to connect them with free services.

Many parents can't get health insurance or drivers' licenses and don't speak English, which makes it difficult for them to find help, Church said.

The lawsuit details the stories of two families from Guatemala who are seeking asylum in the US. The parents and children are identified in the complaint only by their initials in order to protect their privacy.

One father, who was separated from his 11-year-old son for more than a month after they arrived in the US in June, told reporters Thursday that he feared he would never see his son again.

The father, identified in the lawsuit as FC, said his son was hit in the face by another child while he was in detention. Now, his son routinely has nightmares that he's being chased by the child, he said.

Another parent was separated from her 9 year old and 17 year old when they arrived in the US in May, the lawsuit says.

The mother, identified as LO, fought back tears as she described feeling like her children were being kidnapped when immigration officials took them away. She was told her children were being separated from her to punish her and that they would be given up for adoption, she said.

Her daughter now wakes up in the middle of the night crying and fears her mother will abandon her again, the complaint says.

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Ahead of the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held separate meetings Thursday with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis respectively.

Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were to be discussed during the meetings.

Both Pompeo and Mattis arrived here Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-US two-plus-two talks which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year.

In a special gesture, Swaraj received Secretary Pompeo at the airport here yesterday while Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attaches to their visit here.

The officials said the focus of the two-plus-two talks will be to deepen global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran.

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that talks were ongoing on whether to grant waivers for India from US sanctions on Russia and Iran as he made it clear that Washington's intention is not to "penalise great strategic partners like India."



Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis held the first 2+2 Dialogue here with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to bolster the strategic ties with India and step up defence and security collaboration.

Pompeo told journalists travelling with him that the United States would work with India on its planned purchase of a Russian missile and air-defense system known as the S-400.

India is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf missile air defence systems from Russia for around USD 4.5 billion.

The purchase will violate sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) instituted by Congress on arms purchases from Russia, but lawmakers have allowed the possibility of a presidential waiver.

"There's been no decision made. But I will share that we do understand the history, right, of India's relationship with Russia and legacy systems. Our effort here, too, is not to penalise great strategic partners like India, a major defence partner.

"The sanctions aren't intended to adversely impact countries like India. They are intended to be a have an impact on the sanctioned country, which is Russia," the secretary of state said.

"And so we'll work our way through the waiver decision as the days and weeks proceed, and we'll do that alongside our partner, India, as well," he said.

He said the US was working to impose CAATSA Section 231 in a way that is appropriate and lawful and to exercise that waiver authority only where it makes sense.

"And we as a team, the national security team, will work on that, and as we continue to have these conversations with India about that, I think come to an outcome that makes sense for each of our two countries," he said.

On the issue of India's oil imports from Iran, Pompeo said, "We have told the Indians consistently, as we have told every nation, that on November 4th the sanctions with respect to Iranian crude oil will be enforced.

"We will consider waivers where appropriate, but that it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed."



The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions, making it clear that there would be no waivers to anyone.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil during April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal).

"So we'll work with the Indians. We committed that we would do that.

"Many countries are in a place where they it takes a little bit of time to unwind, and we'll work with them, I am sure, to find an outcome that makes sense," the top US diplomat said.

"And from whence they purchase the other crude oil, we're happy to see if it's American products that are able to deliver for them. I think that'd be a great outcome. But our mission set is to make sure that Iran doesn't engage in malign behaviour with wealth that comes from countries around the world, thus the purpose of the sanctions," he said.

On the difference with India on the issue of trade, Pompeo said, the US wanted it to be "very straightforward, free, fair and reciprocal."



"We want the trade balance, the trade deficit that the United States has in its trade with India, to be rectified.

"They have made some progress on that, and we thank them for that. They're going to buy more energy products from the United States. They're going to purchase more aircraft from the United States. We truly do appreciate that. But the gap will remain, and so we are urging them to do all that they can to narrow that gap," he said.

At the same time, he said it was important that the trade barriers that are there, places that American companies' and American workers' products can't be sold here, be reduced.

"And so very consistent what President Trump is seeking all around the world are the things we talked about with our Indian counterparts here today," Pompeo said in response to a question.

India-US bilateral trade is estimated at around USD 74.5 billion. India has a surplus of USD 23 billion in trade with the US, and Washington wants to reduce it by forcing New Delhi to buy more American products.

New Delhi is also concerned over recent US move to increase tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from countries China and India.

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With the ruling TRS in Telangana opting for dissolution of the state assembly, the Telugu Desam Party is expected to take a call on electoral alliances at a crucial meeting on September 8 amid indications it was not averse to a tie-up with Congress.

Amidst the fast-paced political developments in neighbouring Telangana, TDP leaders from the state rushed here Thursday for confabulations with party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

A resolution recommending the dissolution of the assembly before its term ended was adopted at a meeting of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao this afternoon, putting the state on election mode.

The TDP is said to be not averse to forging an alliance with the Congress in Telangana as part of its state-specific policy and a decision on it would be taken by Naidu.

During the the TDP's annual conclave 'Mahanadu' in May, Naidu had announced his party would emerge as the decisive force in Telangana and play the kingmakers role.

Naidu will have a detailed meeting with Telangana TDP leaders in Hyderabad on the September 8. We will decide on alliances after that, TDP general secretary E Peddi Reddy told reporters emerging from a meeting with the party supremo.

He claimed the Congress was ready for an alliance with the TDP while there was also a proposal to join hands with Left parties and the Telangana Jana Samiti, floated by Prof M Kodandaram, to form a united front.

We will discuss all this in detail and take a well thought-out decision, Reddy said.

In the 2014 elections, the TDP in alliance with the BJP had won 15 seats in the 119-member Telangana Assembly in 2014, but 12 of the MLAs later defected to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti while another joined the Congress.

Its lone MP from Telangana had also joined the TRS subsequently.

The TDP has snapped its ties with the BJP this year.

Interestingly, the CPM is ready to sail with Jana Sena of actor Pawan Kalyan while the CPI has not made its stand clear yet.

The TDP, which suffered further jolt in Telangana when it lost the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in 2015, was desperate to prove it was a force in the second Telugu state with a strong cadre base.

It also is seeking to bank on the Andhra-Rayalaseema population settled in Telangana that could possibly influence the electoral fortunes in several constituencies across that state.

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The opposition Congress Thursday raised the teachers strike in the Assembly and demanded a discussion on the matter while the BJP raised the issue relating to alleged corruption in sapling plantation forcing Speaker P K Amat to adjourn the House for an hour.

The members of the both Congress and BJP rushed to well of the House as soon as it assembled for the Question Hour and asked the Speaker to allow discussion on their issues.

Both of them shouted anti-government slogans. Congress members attempted to climb on the Speaker's desk leading Amat to adjourn the House till 11.30 am.

"We have given notice for a discussion on the teachers issue. The Speaker may hold an all-party meeting to discuss on the issue. The government cannot behave like a deaf and dumb. Let not this House become non-functional," leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra of Congress said during Zero Hour.

BJP Legislature Party leader K V Singhdeo said: "The government is not holding discussion with the agitating teachers. Therefore, you (Speaker) need to intervene and sort out the issue."



BJP member Pradip Purohit also raised the issue of alleged corruption in the sapling plantation and demanded a discussion in the House.

The BJP members picked up the sapling plantation corruption case a day after senior BJD leader and former minister Damodar Rout outside the assembly hinted at alleged Rs 100-crore scam in the plantation of saplings in the state.

Rout had also alleged massive irregularities in providing job cards to the beneficiaries under the Centrally-sponsored Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

The block grant school and college teachers are on indefinite dharna since August 16 demanding regular grant-in-aid, equal facilities as the teachers in government schools get and service conditions.

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FO summoned Indian Deputy High Commissioner

The South Asia and SAARC desk at the Foreign Office on Wednesday summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner, JP Singh, and condemned unprovoked ceasefire violations by Indian forces in Kotkotera Sector along the Line of Control (LoC) on September 4.



The firing had resulting in the killing of a civilian identified as Abdur Rauf.



The Indian Forces have carried out more than 2000 ceasefire violations along the Line of Control and the Working Boundary, resulting in the killings of 32 innocent civilians, while injuring 122 others. This unprecedented escalation in ceasefire violations by India is continuing from year 2017 when the Indian forces committed 1970 ceasefire violations, the Foreign Office stated in a press release on Wednesday. The deliberate targeting of civilian population areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws. The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation.



FO spokesperson Mohammad Faisal, who heads the South Asia and Saarc desk, urged the Indian side to respect the 2003 ceasefire arrangement and investigate the incidents of ceasefire violations. He also asked the Indian forces to respect the ceasefire, in letter and spirit and maintain peace on the LoC. Mohammad Faisal urged that the Indian side should permit UNMOGIP to play its mandated role as per the UN Security Council resolutions.
"Maybe I would have left the country" had the verdict not been favourable, said hotelier Keshav Suri, one of the petitioners against Section 377, parts of which was struck down by the Supreme Court Thursday.

With the top court decriminalising consensual gay sex, Suri said, "We are ready for a change."



As soon as he entered his The Lalit hotel in New Delhi after the verdict, a flash celebration broke out there. The staffers, wearing rainbow scarfs, danced to the tune of "Scream & Shout" by American recording artists will.i.am and Britney Spears.

The lyrics of the songs is, "... When we up in the club All eyes on us. All eyes on us. All eyes on us."



Suri married his French partner Cyril Feuillebois earlier this year in Paris. He said the verdict paves the way for full equality.

"It is time... The LGBTQ community should not live in shadows and not in the basement of a nightclub. We hope to have representation in Parliament and in the Supreme Court someday," he said.

Feuillebois, who was accompanying Suri when the Supreme Court announced the judgment, said the verdict is the "first step for many more such things to come".

"I have been in India for 15 years and I am very happy to have married Keshav," Feuillebois said.

In its 493-page judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that consensual gay sex is not a crime and struck down the British-era law. It held that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was used as a weapon to harass members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, resulting in discrimination.

LGBTQ activist Mohnish Malhotra said hearing the verdict was a "tear-jerking moment for us".

"Our identities were called sacred. We were told we will look at every cloud with a rainbow. Such things bring validation to everything we have gone through all these years - the stigma and the abuse," said Malhotra.

He said the law will not be used for harassment of the community now and the historic verdict paves the way for an inclusive India.

"The legal journey has been a long and tedious one. We went to the court multiple times. It was goosebump moment when Justice Indu Malhotra apologised to the community," he said.

In delivering four separate but concurring judgements, the top court set aside its 2013 verdict which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

Neeha Nagpal, Suri's lawyer, said each of the four judgements is a profound one.

"Today has been a historic unanimous judgement. It was a one-hour pronouncement, something which has never happened before. There was a bench of five judges and four verdicts and each one of them agreed with the other. Each judgement is so profound," she said.

Be it Justice Indu Malhotra's impactful apology or Justice Nariman asking for sensitisation of police and public, which has laid the path for India, it is difficult to say what was more profound than the other, Nagpal said.

Ishaan Sethi, creator of Delta app for connecting members of the LGBT community, said there were "multiple goosebump moments" during the verdict.

"It was beautiful to see the emotions. There were multiple goosebump moments and the acknowledgement is a huge step forward," Sethi said.

The activists also said Justice Indu Malhotra's apology was reminiscent of British Prime Minister Theresa May's apology.

Suri said his company has inclusive policies for the community and they have worked with 35 drag queens and 35 trans-queens.

"There is no law that stops corporates from running inclusive and diverse programmes and now there will be a change," he said.

In reply to a query about his future course of action in case the verdict had not been in favour of the community, Suri said, "Maybe I would have left the country. It has been a big issue because a massive amount of braindrain has happened with members of the LGBTQ community moving abroad due to the colonial and draconian law."



He expressed the hope that conversation will have a trickle effect in every walk of life.

"There are places like Israel, France and the US which allow LGBTQ tourism. The Indian economy lost anywhere between 0.1 and 1.7 per cent of its GDP because of the law. This conversation is going to have a trickle affect in every walk of the life.

"The world is watching. Now the judge has turned around and told the media to make sure this goes viral," he said.

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Amid indications of early polls in Telangana, the state cabinet is scheduled to meet Thursday



afternoon, a top government official said.

"The Cabinet meet will be at 12.30 pm. I will not be able to share the agenda," Chief Secretary S K Joshi told PTI.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is scheduled to address a press conference at 2.30 PM, official sources said.

Indications are that the cabinet would recommend dissolution of the Legislative Assembly.

Rao is expected to meet Governor ESL Narasimhan with the recommendation. Soon after, he will address the press, the sources said.

Sources in the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had yesterday claimed that the government has more-or-less made up its mind on dissolution of the assembly, whose term ends next year.

Speculation has been rife about the dissolution of the assembly and early polls for over a fortnight now.

Legislative Assembly polls in Telangana are scheduled to be held simultaneously with Lok Sabha elections next year, but the ruling TRS reportedly sees political benefit in delinking the two polls.

The party captured power in the state in the maiden assembly elections held in May 2014, winning 63 of the 119 seats.

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Television actor Payal Chakrabory has been found hanging in a hotel room in Siliguri, north Bengal, under mysterious circumstances, police said.

Chakraborty, a resident of South Kolkata, have appeared in multiple TV soaps and web series.

"Payal was founding hanging from the ceiling of her hotel room Wednesday morning. She had checked into the hotel the evening before," Siliguri police commissionerate DCP Gourab Lal said.

The police have also found out that the 38-year-old actor, who recently separated from her husband, is survived by a two-year-old son, Lal said.

"Prime facie, it looks like a case of suicide, but the police are not ruling out other possibilities. The body has been sent to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem," the DCP added.

Arun Deb, an employee at the hotel, said the actor had told the staff members Tuesday night that she would be leaving for Gangtok the next day.

"Chakraborty, after checking in, had categorically told the hotel officials that she did want to be disturbed in her room. She had locked the room from inside and did not order dinner," he said.

The following morning when there was no response from her despite repeated knocks on the door, the hotel contacted the police, Deb added.

The actor's family members, who arrived here Thursday afternoon, said they were not aware of the reasons behind her Siliguri visit.

"Payal told us she would be going to Ranchi. I am not sure what was she doing in Siliguri," her father Prabir Guha said.

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A Delhi court will pronounce next week its order on whether to allow Enforcement Directorate to quiz a UAE-based businessman, arrested by the NIA and currently in judicial custody, in a terror-funding case also involving Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and 26/11 Mumbai attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

District Judge Poonam A Bamba reserved order on ED's plea to quiz businessmen Naval Kishore Kapoor for September 11.

During a brief hearing Thursday, ED's special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana told the court that Kapoor was required for interrogation and recording of his statement in a money laundering case, being probed by ED in connection with the present matter.

The NIA arrested Kapoor on July 26 and he is presently lodged in Tihar central jail.

The ED had interrogated a Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, a co-accused in the case, during an investigation in the matter under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for allegedly receiving funds from abroad.

In it's application, moved through advocate A R Aditya, the ED told the court, "Watali had mobilised huge amount of funds in the guise of foreign remittance from unknown sources in India through/in association with one of his old associates Kapoor."



"It is crucial to record the statement of the accused as the money laundering case is being investigated," it said.

According to the NIA, Kapoor entered in an agreement with Trison Farms and Constructions through its Managing Director Watali to take land in Budgam on lease.

Kapoor remitted a total amount of Rs 5.579 crore in 22 instalments between 2013 and 2016 to Watali, it had said.

According to the NIA, the said land did not exist in the name of the company and the agreement lacks legal sanctity.

The agency alleged that it was a 'cover' created by Watali to bring foreign remittance from unknown sources to India.

Watali, LeT chief Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen head Syed Salahuddin and others have been accused by the NIA of "conspiring to wage war against the government" and fomenting trouble in the Kashmir Valley.

In its chargesheet, the NIA has alleged that officials of the Pakistan High Commission here were passing on money to separatists in Jammu and Kashmir through Watali.

The separatist leaders have been accused of taking a cut of the money.

Saeed has been accused of using Watali's services for passing on the money to the separatists and some individuals, who were actively indulging in stone-pelting in the Valley.

The NIA has charged Pakistan-based terrorists Saeed and Salahuddin, besides 10 others, with criminal conspiracy, sedition and provisions of the UAPA.

Besides Saeed, Salahuddin and Watali, the agency has named hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Shah alias Altaf Fantoosh and Bashir Ahmad Bhat in the chargesheet.

Hurriyat Conference leaders Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Mohammad Akbar Khanday and Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal have also been charged by the agency in the terror-funding case.

Most of the accused are in judicial custody.

Two of the accused - freelance photo-journalist Kamran Yusuf and Javed Ahmad Bhat - both accused of stone-pelting, were granted bail by the court.

The ED had registered a case under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on an FIR filed by the NIA.

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Top officials of the Trump administration, including the office of the Vice President Mike Pence, rushed Thursday to deny that they were the author of an anonymous op-ed in The New York Times that slammed the working style of President Donald Trump.

Trump has described the explosive op-ed as treasonous and has asked the leading daily to reveal the identity of the author who has been identified as a senior administration official.

In the op-ed titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump administration", the official said he and like-minded colleagues have vowed to work diligently to frustrate the President's agenda and his "worst inclinations".

The editors of the newspaper know the identity of the senior administration official, which has not been revealed to protect his job.

The White House has called for the resignation of the anonymous official and launched an intense investigation to find out who wrote the highly damaging op-ed.

A number of top officials of the Trump administration came out in open, denying that they were the author.

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts," Pence's spokesperson said in a tweet Thursday.

"It's not mine", Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at a conference in New Delhi, where he is for the 2+2 dialogue with India.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that The New York Times, a liberal newspaper that has attacked this administration relentlessly, chose to print such a piece, he said.

"If that piece is true, if it's accurate, if it's actually I think they described it as a senior administration official they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actor's word for anything and put it in their newspaper," Pompeo said.

It is sad more than anything else that the US has come to where you have again. if it is what it's purported to be, it is sad that you have someone who would make that choice, he said.

"I come from a place where, if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option:It is to leave. And this person -according to The New York Times - chose not only to stay but to undermine what President Trump and this administration are trying to do. And I ought to tell you, just I find - I find the media's efforts in this regard to undermine this administration incredibly disturbing," Pompeo said.

A similar denial came from Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence.

"Speculation that The New York Times op-ed was written by me or my Principal Deputy is patently false. We did not. From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire IC remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best intelligence possible," Coats said.

In a tweet, Trump alleged that the Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the fake media, are going crazy and do not know what to do.

"The economy is booming like never before, jobs are at historic highs, soon two Supreme Court Justices & maybe declassification to find additional corruption. Wow!" he said.

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The Trump administration is seeking to initiate steps against social media companies for allegedly stifling free exchange of ideas and hurting competition.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has convened a meeting of the state attorney generals in this regard, the Department of Justice said.

"The attorney general has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms," the department's spokesman Devin O'Malley said.

The Justice Department has listened to the senate intelligence committee hearing on social media.

The possible legal crackdown by the administration has been opposed by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a non-profit public policy think-tank.

Social media platforms find themselves caught between some policy makers arguing that they have a moral and legal obligation to remove legal, but offensive, content, and others who are calling for these companies to be punished for censoring some of this extreme political speech, ITIF vice president Daniel Castro claimed.

He said social media platforms have the right to determine what type of legal speeches they will permit on their platforms.

"It is inappropriate for the federal government to use the threat of law enforcement to limit companies from exercising this right.

"In particular, law enforcement should not threaten social media companies with unwarranted investigations for their efforts to rid their platforms of extremists who incite hate and violence," Castro said.

The ITIF argued that companies such as Facebook and Twitter have taken important steps to detect illegitimate users, identify fake and increase ad transparency.

"While these companies still have much more work ahead of them, it is premature to start calling for new regulations, Castro said.

For example, calls to require social media platforms to assign specific labels to automated bots or false information are well-intentioned but ultimately misguided, because correctly distinguishing between humans and bots and true versus false information is an exceedingly complex challenge, he said.

Castro said calls for stricter regulation of digital platforms will be observed by foreign legislators in capitals around the world.

He said while the United States upholds strong protections for free speech, this is not true everywhere, and social media platforms are facing growing calls from foreign governments to censor their content globally.

"The US government would better serve its citizens and businesses if it defended the value of using a light-touch regulatory approach on social media platforms both domestically and abroad," Castro said.

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US President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday for reportedly expressing faith in him.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Kim restated his commitment to denuclearising the Korean peninsula Thursday.

South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong delivered a letter Wednesday to Kim from South Korea's President Moon Jae-in.

Trump and Kim pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula at the Singapore summit in June but no details were agreed.

And Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

Kim emphasised that his "trust in Trump remains unchanged" despite the difficulties, Chung said, and expressed his intention to work closely with the United States to achieve denuclearisation "in the first official term of President Trump.

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Donald Trump's "erratic" and "amoral" behaviour is "detrimental" to America's health, an anonymous official has warned in an explosive op-ed in a leading US daily and said many top officials are working diligently to frustrate parts of the President's agenda and his "worst inclinations".

The nearly unprecedented attack on the President drew a sharp reaction from Trump who termed the op-ed as "treason" and "gutless".

In The New York Times op-ed "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration", the official, identified only as "a senior official in the Trump administration", said President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern US leader.

"Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of (Trump's) agenda and his worst inclinations," claimed the writer, who The Times, in a tweet, identified as a 'he'.

The daily, which rarely publishes anonymous articles, said it did not disclose the name of the senior official in the Trump administration on the request of the author, whose "identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardised by its disclosure".

The official said, "To be clear, ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous".

"But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.

"That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office," the writer said.

However, Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, lashed out at the daily, saying that "anonymous, meaning gutless, editorial."



"When you tell me about some anonymous source within the administration, probably who is failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons, and The New York Times is failing. If I were not here, I believe The New York Times probably would not exist," he said.

"We have somebody in what I call the failing New York Times that is talking about, he is part of the resistance in the administration. This is what we have to deal with," Trump said.

In a tweet he demanded that The Times reveal the identity of the person.

"Treason. Does the so-called senior administration official really exist, or is it just the Failing the New York Times with another phony source? If the gutless anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once." Trump said on Twitter.

In the damaging editorial, the official alleged that in public and in private, Trump showed preference to autocrats and dictators such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and displayed little genuine appreciation for ties that bind the US to allied and like-minded nations.

He said though Trump was elected as a Republican, "the president shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people".

In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the press is the enemy of the people, President Trump's impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic," he said.

The writer claimed. "Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims."



The official said, "Astute observers have noted, though, that the rest of the administration is operating on another track, one where countries like Russia are called out for meddling and punished accordingly, and where allies around the world are engaged as peers rather than ridiculed as rivals.".

The White House has called for the resignation of the senior administration official who wrote the piece.

"The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected president of the United States.

"He is not putting the country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

Nearly 62 million people voted for Trump in the 2016 elections, earning him 306 electoral college votes against 232 for his opponent. None of them voted for a "gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times," she said.

"We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed. This is a new low for the so-called 'paper of record', and it should issue an apology, just as it did after the election for its disastrous coverage of the Trump campaign," Sanders said.

This is just another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the president, she claimed.

The author said given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president.

"The bigger concern is not what Mr Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility," he wrote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US president is acting in a manner that is "detrimental to the health of our republic", an anonymous senior official wrote in The New York Times on Wednesday, with Donald Trump and the White House terming the editorial as "gutless".

In the op-ed titled "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration", the official said he and like-minded colleagues have vowed to thwart parts of the president's agenda and his worst inclinations.

President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern US leader, claimed the writer, who The New York Times, in a tweet, identified as a he.

The daily, which rarely publishes anonymous articles, said it did not disclose the name of the senior official in the Trump administration on the request of the author, whose "identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardised by its disclosure".

The official said, "To be clear, ours is not the popular 'resistance' of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous."



"But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.

"That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office," the writer said.

However, Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, lashed out at the daily, saying that "anonymous, meaning gutless, editorial."



"When you tell me about some anonymous source within the administration, probably who is failing and probably here for all the wrong reasons, and The New York Times is failing. If I were not here, I believe The New York Times probably would not exist," he said.

"We have somebody in what I call the failing New York Times that is talking about, he is part of the resistance in the administration. This is what we have to deal with," Trump said.

In the damaging editorial, the official alleged that in public and in private, Trump showed preference to autocrats and dictators such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and displayed little genuine appreciation for ties that bind the US to allied and like-minded nations.

He said though Trump was elected as a Republican, "the president shows little affinity for ideals long espoused by conservatives: free minds, free markets and free people".

The official said at best, Trump has invoked these ideals in scripted settings and at worst, he has attacked them outright.

"In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion that the press is the enemy of the people, President Trump's impulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic," he said.

From the White House to the executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chief's comments and actions, the writer claimed. "Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims."



The official said, "Astute observers have noted, though, that the rest of the administration is operating on another track, one where countries like Russia are called out for meddling and punished accordingly, and where allies around the world are engaged as peers rather than ridiculed as rivals.".

The White House has called for the resignation of the senior administration official who wrote the piece.

"The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected president of the United States.

"He is not putting the country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

Nearly 62 million people voted for Trump in the 2016 elections, earning him 306 electoral college votes against 232 for his opponent. None of them voted for a "gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times," she said.

"We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed.

"This is a new low for the so-called 'paper of record', and it should issue an apology, just as it did after the election for its disastrous coverage of the Trump campaign," Sanders said.

This is just another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the president, she claimed.

The senior administration official also said given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president.

"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until one way or another it is over," the official said.

"The bigger concern is not what Mr Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility," he wrote.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
US President Donald Trump is seeking to replace Defence Secretary Jim Mattis mainly because of the sharp differences between them, a report in The Washington Post has claimed.

The report quoted an unnamed White House official as saying that speculation about a replacement was now "more real than ever" after revelations in famed investigative journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book titled "Fear: Trump in the White House".

However, Trump, soon after publication of the report denied such a move and said Mattis is doing a fantastic job.

Mattis is in India along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to attend the maiden India-US 2+2 dialogue being hosted by their Indian counterparts External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"Well before this week's revelations about President Trump's interactions with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis in Bob Woodward's new book, officials inside the White House have been actively discussing who will replace Mattis at the Pentagon whenever he might step down, the daily reported.

In the forthcoming book being released next week, Woodward claims that Mattis told associates that Trump "acted like and had the understanding of a fifth- or sixth-grader".

The 448-page book is scheduled to hit stores on September 11 and claims to give an insider's account on the White House working and decision-making process in Trump's presidency.

Mattis would leave his post sometime over the next few months, according to the daily.

"The speculation about who replaces Mattis is now more real than ever," a senior White House official was quoted as saying in the report.

"The president has always respected him. But now he has every reason to wonder what Mattis is saying behind his back. The relationship has nowhere to go but down, fast," the official said.

Mattis a day earlier had issued a statement denying his remarks in Woodward's book.

"The contemptuous words about the president attributed to me in Woodward's book were never uttered by me or in my presence.

"While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility," the defence secretary had said.

Denying any move to replace the defence secretary, Trump described Mattis as a terrific person and said "he is doing a fantastic job as secretary."



"He will stay... We're very happy with him, we're having a lot of victories, we are having victories that people don't even know about, and he is highly respected all over the world," the president said.

"I think because the book is a total piece of fiction. He (Mattis) was totally, not even misquoted, he never made the statement.

"I have heard over the years that General Mattis is an intellect, and when I read his statement, I asked him whether or not this was true," he told reporters at an White House event.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It was a good meeting,Ice has been thawed: Shah Mehmood Qureshi 06 September, 2018



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Woke Bingo ISLAMABAD: An impasse in relations with US has been broken in talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his day-long visit to Islamabad, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi claimed on Wednesday.



It was a good meeting  we met, listened, understood, talked and then decided on a next meeting. Ice has been thawed, Qureshi told reporters at a press conference following the conclusion of the high-profile visit. They have agreed that the blame and shame game is not good as it only vitiates the atmosphere. Yes, we have different issues and we will be thinking differently but our objectives are same. I feel that todays meeting has set the stage to reset the environment for bilateral relations, and the lack of trust that was present has been broken which is a very positive development, he said. Im pleased to announce that Secretary Pompeo invited me to the US. When I will go to New York for the UN conference, I intend to engage with them once more, he added.



I told them, and they also agreed, that there is no benefit of a he said, she said narrative. I told them that if you want to proceed with Pakistan, the foundation lies in trust, frank and candid conversation. And until and unless we address concerns from both the sides, progress is not possible, Qureshi said. Finger pointing will get us nowhere. The other way is to understand where the gaps are and how to bridge those gaps. I identified a lot of those gaps and presented it to them. Where our narratives are different on similar issues, he maintained.



Qureshi said he responsibly presented Pakistans stance during the interaction with US officials. From the body language, you should have gauged that the meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere. We tried to understand their wishes and put forth our own expectations and concerns, he said.



Qureshi said that he decided not to raise the US decision of scrapping the $300 million aid to Pakistan. This wasnt a new decision, he said. That decision was taken before this government took charge. I gave this matter some thought then I decided against raising it because free nations think along the lines of self-sufficiency. We will take a new direction, he said, adding, Our relations are not limited to trade and barter.



Qureshi said that contrary to the medias claim that Washington would press Islamabad to do more in the fight against terrorism, the US delegation conveyed a willingness to move forward.



He said the US administration has reviewed its policy in Afghanistan and now it is amenable to talks with the Taliban in an effort to end the 16-year-old conflict in the troubled country.



Regarding the US delegations meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, Qureshi said, During the meeting at the PM Office, we all sat down and exchanged views. In the past, they used to come, meet the PM separately and then visit the GHQ. However, todays meeting sent a clear message that we all are on the same page.



Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan looked forward to strengthening its relationship with the US based on trust and respect, a statement issued by the PM Office after meeting with the visiting dignitaries said. Prime Minister Khan said his governments agenda was focussed on human development and poverty alleviation for which peace and stability in the region was a pre-requisite. He also underscored his commitment to peace with all neighbours.



He shared Pakistans perspective on the situation in the region and reiterated its desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan.



Secretary Pompeo congratulated the prime minister on forming the government. He appreciated the prime ministers agenda of socio-economic development and conveyed the desire of the US administration to work with Pakistan to achieve the common objectives of peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region.



Earlier, speaking to media from his airplane en route to Islamabad, Pompeo said he hopes to reset the relations between the two countries. We hope that both countries could leave the past behind and begin to make progress, Pompeo said. We will have three opportunities to walk through the complexity that is this relationship and hopefully begin to make some progress so that we can get back to set of common understandings. So thats really the very straightforward objective, the secretary of state said regarding his visit.



Pompeo also indicated that the Trump administration could release aid to Pakistan that was halted earlier this year. Pakistan was told this past summer that they werent likely to get that money, the secretary said.



Stating that the rationale for Pakistan not getting the money is very clear, he said, Its that we havent seen the progress that we need to see from them. And the very reason for this trip is to try and articulate what it is our expectation is, the things that they can do, the things that they expect us to do, and see if we cant find a path forward together.



Pompeo stressed on Pakistans assistance and help to resolve issues related to stability in Afghanistan. We need Pakistan to seriously engage to help us get to the reconciliation we need in Afghanistan, he said and mentioned General Nicholson and General Miller having the same opinion on the issue.



Pakistanis have important interests, security interests in Afghanistan to make sure they get the issues at their border right, and we need their help, Pompeo said. He was also hopeful that his trip could convince the new government in Pakistan to provide the assistance for reconciliation in Afghanistan.
The leaders of the two Koreas will hold a summit in Pyongyang in September, Seoul said Thursday, as the North's leader Kim Jong Un renewed his commitment to the denuclearisation of the flashpoint peninsula.

The announcement of the September 18-20 summit -- the third between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in this year -- comes as US efforts to dismantle the North's nuclear arsenal have stalled.

The two leaders will meet in the North Korean capital to discuss "practical measures to denuclearise" the Korean peninsula, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong told reporters.

Chung flew to the North on Wednesday where he handed over a personal letter from Moon to Kim, as Seoul seeks to kick-start the diplomacy that led to the landmark summit between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader in June, where they pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

But no details were agreed at the Singapore summit and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

However, in his meeting with Chung, Kim renewed his commitment to that goal, North Korean state media said Thursday.

The two Koreas "should further their efforts to realise the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

"It is our fixed stand and... will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat." -



The pledge comes after Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress on disarmament, last month cancelled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang after the North reportedly sent a belligerent letter to the US leader.

Kim made it clear that his "trust in Trump remains unchanged" despite the difficulties, Chung said, and expressed his "intention to work closely with the US" and "achieve the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula in the first official term of President Trump." But the North Korean leader also expressed a "sense of frustration" with the international community for not appreciating what he called Pyongyang's "very significant and meaningful" steps, Chung said.

Kim noted the North had dismantled its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, where nuclear tests "have been made impossible for good", according to the South Korean envoy.

"Chairman Kim asked us to convey the message to the US that the US (should) help create situations where he would feel his decision to denuclearise was a right move", Chung added.

North Korea has demanded that Washington agree to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, and accused it of failing to reciprocate "goodwill measures".

But American officials and conservatives in the South are concerned such a declaration would weaken the US-South Korea alliance and deprive the 28,000 US forces stationed on the peninsula of their deployment rationale.

Kim dismissed such worries, Chung said, and told the South Korean delegation that a formal end of the Korean War would not be linked to the withdrawal of the US troops.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eleven people including two women were injured when a vehicle rolled down into gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district Thursday, police said.

A Tata Sumo, on its way to Banihal from Mangith, skid off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Khari area, they said.

Eleven people including two women were injured and were hospitalised, they said adding that four injured were referred to a hospital in Srinagar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
America shares India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed roam free despite the reward the US has placed on his head for his role in terror activities, a senior State Department official said Thursday.

The statement comes a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan and pressed him to take "sustained and decisive measures" against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

This was the US' first high-level dialogue with Pakistan since the new government of Prime Minister Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections and comes days after the US cancelled USD 300 million in military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups active on its soil.

Talking to the media persons travelling with Pompeo in New Delhi, the official, who chose not to be identified, said: "We've worked closely with India over the last year to have both a counter-terrorism dialogue as well as a dialogue on designations".

The official said that counter-terrorism is obviously another shared interest with India.

"We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai bombing.

"Obviously, we share India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai bombing, free, at-large, despite the reward that's on his head and despite his very known role in helping to facilitate that attack," the official said.

Asked about his concern over the presence of militants on the Pakistani side, the official said that America shares India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence.

"I'm confident that there'll be a conversation on counter-terrorism cooperation, and we share India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence.

"With respect to Indo-Pak relations, we welcome efforts by both countries to speak with one another and to engage one another," the official said.

The official said that there has been a Director General of Military Operations channel that has been used over the last several months.

"We saw a commitment by the countries, I believe in early June, a commitment by Pakistan to reduce levels of violence along the Line of Control. I think there's been a reduction in the historic levels, but it's certainly not the level of reduction that we need to see.

"I can't comment on the Secretary's meetings yesterday, but as an ongoing element of our conversation with Pakistan is the need to end all support for terrorist proxies whether on the eastern border or the western border," the senior State Department official said.

The Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD), led by Saeed, was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.

Saeed also carries a USD 10 million American bounty on his head for his role in terror activities.

The JuD is a front for the Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT) militant group that carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attack.

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to re-investigate the Mumbai terror attack case and also demanded trial of Saeed and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the light of evidence it had provided to Islamabad.

Ten LeT militants killed 166 people, including American nationals, and wounded dozens in Mumbai in November 2008.

Nine of the attackers were killed by police, while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and executed after a court found him guilty and handed down death sentence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the US on Thursday agreed to work together to secure Nuclear Suppliers Group's membership for New Delhi at the earliest.

The countries vowed to work towards this goal during their first 2+2 dialogue here as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorisation Tier-I License Exemption reflected India's robust and responsible export control policies.

"In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest," she said.

"The United States welcomed India's accession to the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Missile Technology Control Regime and reiterated its full support for India's immediate accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group," a joint statement issued after the talks said.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is an elite club of countries that deals with the trade in nuclear technology and fissile materials. India's bid for entry into the 48-member NSG is being opposed by China citing that New Delhi is not a signatory to the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Pompeo, in his remarks, hailed the civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries as an important component of their strategic partnership.

"Today also marks another milestone for our relationship. Thanks to the intense advocacy from the US, 10 years ago today, the nuclear suppliers group voted to allow India to trade in civil nuclear materials and technologies.

"That vote and the subsequent section 123 civil nuclear agreement opened a path for our strategic relations to grow, bolster defence and commercial cooperation and expanded our people-to people ties," Pompeo said.

Both sides were committed to the full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India, the statement said.

"We now look forward to what we can achieve over the next 10 years. In particular, we look forward to finalising the Westinghouse civil nuclear project that will provide clean and reliable power to millions of Indians," the US Secretary of State said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Trump administration is warning the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives of possible sanctions on key officials if upcoming elections are not free and fair and the country does not reverse democratic backsliding.

The State Department said Thursday the September 23 presidential election, the release of political prisoners and an end to executive interference in the courts and parliament are "of critical importance" to Maldives' future.

Absent a return to a democratic path, the US will consider sanctions on Maldivians who undermine democracy, rule of law and the electoral process, it said.

Maldives, known for its luxury resorts, became a multiparty democracy in 2008 after decades of autocratic rule.

However, the country has lost much of its gains since current President Yameen Abdul Gayoom was elected in 2013.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vistara has signed a code share pact with British Airways, a move that will provide convenient connections for the daily flights operated by the overseas carrier to various Indian cities.

With the new agreement, both airlines are deepening their existing interline partnership. Besides, Vistara is the only code share partner for British Airways in India, according to a release.

Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline.

Under the code share pact, British Airways would add its 'BA' designator code to around 60 Vistara-operated flights each day covering 13 Indian cities including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune, among others.

"Additionally, the BA code will also be put on Vistara flights between Mumbai and Amritsar, and Chennai and Kolkata," Vistara said in a release.

The signing of the pact also comes at a time when Vistara plans to start international operations this year.

In a separate release, British Airways said the "new partnership will open up more routes between India and London than ever before".

As part of the pact, customers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, it added.

British Airways operates two direct flights a day from Heathrow to Mumbai, a double daily service to Delhi and a daily flight to Chennai, among others.

Sale of tickets under the code share agreement started today for flights from September 27.

"We are delighted to extend our existing interline and through check-in partnership with British Airways to a code share agreement.

"This partnership reaffirms our commitment to taking India's finest airline brand beyond Indian borders," Vistara's Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said.

British Airways (Head of Alliances) Rishi Kapoor said the airline has been wanting to expand its network in the region for some time and to have Vistara on board is great for customers and for companies based in these important cities.

Currently, Vistara serves 22 destinations with over 800 weekly flights.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WarnerMedia has announced a new company-wide policy to promote diversity and inclusivity in all of its productions that hail from Warner Bros, HBO, and Turner.

As a first step towards implementing, the studio has partnered with actor Michael B Jordan and his forthcoming legal drama, "Just Mercy", will be the first production to adopt the new policy.

Jordan, who serves as an executive producer on the film, and his agent Phillip Sun, helped WarnerMedia launch this policy.

"I'm proud that Warner Bros, and our sister companies HBO and Turner, are willing to state unequivocally that this is where we stand on diversity and inclusion. Our policy commits us to taking concrete action to further our goals, to measure the outcomes and to share the results publicly," said Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros.

"I'm also thrilled that we were able to work with Michael B Jordan to craft a meaningful policy and framework that will apply to all of our productions, across all of our divisions, going forward," he added.

Jordan said he was inspired by the call for an "inclusion rider" made by Oscar winner Frances McDormand in her Academy Awards speech.

"Inclusivity has always been a no-brainer for me, especially as a black man in this business. It wasn't until Frances McDormand spoke the two words that set the industry on fire inclusion rider that I realized we could standardize this practice. It allowed me to formally pledge my production company, Outlier Society, to a way of doing business," Jordan said.

"The WarnerMedia family has introduced an approach that accomplishes our shared objectives, and I applaud them for taking this enormous step forward. I'm proud that our film, 'Just Mercy', will be the first to formally represent the future we have been working toward, together. This is a legacy-bearing moment," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Bombay High Court Thursday asked the Railways why non-passengers are allowed to enter railway stations in Mumbai that already face the problem of overcrowding.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Naresh Patil and Rajesh Ketkar said if the passenger travelling in a train was "kind" then "ten persons from his family come to see him off".

"They hold the hands of the passengers and say don't go, come back soon. Sometimes, if a person if affectionate, ten people come to the station with him, sing a song for him...then there are hawkers on the platforms...the Railways is very kind, it allows everyone to enter. What is the need for this?" the bench asked.

The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions highlighting the infrastructure problems plaguing the existing suburban railway network in the city.

Two of these petitions also sought appropriate directions to the state and the Railways to avoid in future, incidents such as the stampede at the Elphinstone Road station in the city last year.

The bench noted that while the Railways had solved the problem at Elphinstone station by constructing a new foot overbridge, it needed to take "proactive steps" to avoid such incidents in the future at other places in the city.

The bench also noted that the problem of overcrowding wasn't restricted just to the suburban railway stations in the city, but also to the stations where long distance trains stopped.

"The infrastructure at most of these stations is ageing. And we have a problem of population explosion. On top of that, so many people from outside of Maharashtra come to the city. How will the existing infrastructure cope with all this?" the bench asked.

Amicus curiae Zal Andhyarujina, however, told the bench that a major percentage of the migrant population in the city used the Railways and it was difficult to stop them from doing so.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the bench that the government had roped in IIT Bombay to audit the safety of all existing railway overbridges and foot overbridges across the city.

He also informed the court that both the Centre and the state were taking a number of measures to ensure safety of rail passengers.

The bench disposed of one of the petitions on the Elphinstone incident after noting that the IIT audit report was pending and that appropriate remedial steps would be taken by the authorities once the report was in.

"We hope you (government, railways) will take proactive steps in future when it comes to taking decisions, allocating budget, etc. If a bridge is deemed dangerous in the future, don't take any risk. Seal it and don't let the public use it," the bench said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of assembly elections in five states and Lok Sabha polls next year, Google Thursday said it is working on measures to bring "greater transparency" in political advertising on its platforms.

The move comes amidst growing scrutiny tech companies are facing globally on issues ranging from concerns about market dominance and their online platforms being used to peddle fake or incorrect The US is considering a law requiring companies like Facebook and Google to disclose information about sponsors of political ads on their sites, including how much they're spending and what audiences the ads are focusing on.

"We are in the early stages of finalising measures that will bring greater transparency to political advertising on our platforms," a Google spokesperson told PTI.

The spokesperson said as the measures are still in the works, the company will share more details on the political ads policy for India once finalised.

The spokesperson emphasised that the company will support Election Commission of India in its efforts on integrity of polls.

Representatives from Google as well as other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have met officials from the Election Commission to discuss the role they can play in the run-up to elections.

While the spokesperson did not give details of discussions with the Election Commission, it along with Facebook and Twitter have reportedly agreed to keep an eye on political advertisements and publicity material on their platforms and block fake and defamatory and objectionable content during the forthcoming assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Five states Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Telangana are going to polls this year, while the Lok Sabha elections will be held next year.

They have reportedly agreed to observe a 48-hour 'silence period' before polling during which they would ensure that no political advertisements go online.

Emails sent to Facebook and Twitter did not elicit a response.

In the US, Facebook, Google, and other online sites were used by Russians in 2015 and 2016 to influence Americans on hot-button social and political issues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The world media Thursday hailed the overturning of a colonial-era law in India that criminalised gay sex, saying the landmark ruling was a boost for gay rights not only in the world's largest democracy but also across the world.

The Supreme Court Thursday decriminalised part of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises consensual gay sex, saying it was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

The apex court unanimously held that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community possess the same constitutional rights as other citizens of the country.

The Washington Post said India's top court's ruling was a



landmark victory for gay rights in the world's largest democracy.

It noted noted that activists have struggled for more than a decade to invalidate the section of the Indian Penal Code that prohibited consensual "carnal intercourse against the order of nature."



The leading American newspaper commented that the ruling is also a boost for gay rights around the globe.

"The judgment reflects rapid social change in India, where only five years ago, the top court upheld the same law. Since then, campaigners have mobilised a movement to spread awareness about gay rights," it said.

Economic and technological changes have spurred shifts in thinking too, it said while pointing out that conservative attitudes toward homosexuality still persist.

The New York Times described the ruling as a "groundbreaking victory" for gay rights in India which has put to rest a legal battle that stretched for many years and burying one of the most glaring vestiges of India's colonial past.

It quoted Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director for Human Rights Watch as saying that the ruling could set a precedent for nations with similar colonial-era laws to end their "discriminatory, regressive treatment" of gay and transgender citizens.

"Though in recent years more and more Indians have come out, and acceptance of gay, lesbian and transgender people has grown to some degree, the fact that intimate behaviour was still criminalised created much shame and discouraged countless Indians from coming out," the influential paper said.

The decision to repeal the law is a major victory for India's LGBT activists and supporters after years of determined struggle, CNN commented.

"Thursday's historic ruling is the culmination of a lengthy and often fraught legal battle for equality in a country where homosexuality remains taboo," it said.

The decision appears to mark the end of a fraught path to legalising homosexuality in modern India, The Guardian newspaper of the UK said, noting that early cases filed in 1994 and then 2001 bounced back and forth for years between higher courts reluctant to rule on the issue.

Though describing the Supreme Court's ruling as "historic", the BBC noted that "in a largely conservative India, where leaders of all religions have consistently opposed gay sex, it will still be a while before attitudes change and the community finds full acceptance."



The Independent newspaper said the ruling will have a profound impact both in India and across the world.

The Telegraph newspaper noted that sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second class citizens and the Suprme Court's decision to decriminalise gay sex has sparked jubilation among LGBTQ and human rights groups across the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Learn About Driving Under the Influence Record Expungement and Get the Life Back in Line 06 September, 2018



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Woke Bingo The majority of states in America allow Drunk driving record expungement. Expunging the Drunk driving criminal arrest or conviction record removes all the implications it has in your daily life and helps to get your life back in line. To help you in relation to expungement, this informative article answers some of the most common questions.



1. What Is Expungement?

Expungement is the particular process by which particular criminal history records can be wiped out, usually right after a particular time period or even a result in the courtroom - for instance, after any acquittal, nolle prosequi, probation before the verdict, or some other retrenchment of the charge.



Although this write-up is about expungement, I would like to explain an important distinction between expunging history and sealing history. Expungement signifies that the history is completely wiped out. It's as though the criminal offense never happened, or at best the history of the criminal offense does not exist. Sealing signifies that the history is still there, but an order from the court prohibits them from being observed by most people.



1. What Can Criminal History Records Be Expunged?

It is essential to keep in mind that not all criminal history records, charges, results, prosecutions, etc. can easily be expunged. On the other hand, when it's decided that history can be expunged. Usually, all records within any courtroom, correction center, detention center, law enforcement officials agency, or felony rights information registry about that person's felony charge can be expunged. This generally consists of information and facts pertaining to apprehension, criminal arrest, detention, trial, or even predisposition for that specific criminal offense.



2. Are Criminal History Records Instantly Expunged?

With the exception of limited conditions, criminal history records aren't instantly expunged. Generally, the individual asking for the expungement, or even their criminal legal professional, has to file a case or petition in the courtroom and then follow different processes to have the history expunged. In many cases, records can't be expunged until a particular time frame elapse. In some cases, for example in some teen cases, records data may be instantly closed or even expunged once the teen defendant gets to a particular age.



3. Can an Expungement Request Be Refused?

Definitely expungement requests can certainly be declined. First, and foremost, expungement isn't a definite right. Criminal history records are only able to be expunged in limited conditions and only if the individual follows the processes the right way. Expungements in many cases are declined because time periods are not met, the case is inadequate, the records are not the ones that can be expunged, as well as for a number of other reasons.



In most cases, criminal history records are general public information. In other words, anyone can proceed to Maryland, the state of Virginia, or DC courthouse and find out if you've been imprisoned or found guilty of a criminal offense. Expungement is a process by which an individual can limit or remove the convenience of most of these records completely. In the long run, though, it is crucial to take note that expungement laws and regulations and procedure vary profoundly between states, even between Maryland, The state of Virginia, and Columbia.



4. Are You Qualified to Apply for An Expungement?

You are entitled to expunge the Drunk driving record:

- In case a specific amount of time has transpired since your criminal arrest or conviction.

- In case you have completed all the conditions and terms of probation.

- In case you have no new unresolved charges.

- In case you have paid all the penalties and fees, completed prison time, community support, rehabilitation and fulfilled just about all the conditions enforced by the court.



5. What Will You Make the Most of Expungement?

When you're notified that your Drunk driving records are expunged, you're, afterward, to be happy of all the afflictions resulting from your Drunk driving criminal arrest or conviction.



This would mean you don't have to reveal the conviction or criminal arrest to your prospective company or while applying for a house mortgage or under any other conditions.



6. How Much Does Expungement Cost?

Using the services of a legal professional to expunge the Driving under the influence records costs about $400 to $4000 based on many factors such as the type of the charges, i.e., misdemeanor or criminal offense, a variety of charges and experience of the Driving under the influence expungement legal professional. The best part is, the courtroom and filing charges may cost $100 to $400.



7. Are You Looking for A Legal Professional for Expunging the Drunk Driving Record?

You can easily expunge the Driving under the influence record without or with the help of a legal professional. Driving under the influence expungement lawyer helps to ensure that the records get expunged by the due date. Therefore, if you are able to afford a lawyer fee, you can seek the services of one. Or else you must ensure each and every phase in the expungement process is carried out by the due date and properly.



8. Do They Really Need Your Presence at The Courtroom?

In case you have hired a legal professional, he/she will handle all the concerns for your benefit. However, if you simply haven't, you have to represent yourself in the courtroom.



9. How Long Will the Drunk Driving Expungement Process Take?

If you wish to expunge the misdemeanor record, it will require roughly a couple of weeks from the time your application is submitted.

Or if you wish to expunge the criminal offense record or desire to reduce it to some misdemeanor it generally takes 3 to 4 weeks from the particular time your application is submitted.



10. What Expungement Won't Do in Your Case?

The expunged Drunk driving criminal arrest or conviction may still be used to increase your fees and penalties and punitive measures in case you get another Driving under the influence down the road.



Now you know the answers for some of the most commonly asked questions, therefore you can take the appropriate steps to expunge the existing or older Drunk driving sentence and criminal arrest record and get the life back in line.



Some Great Benefits of Expungement

Right after facing a felony charge, many people would choose to simply overlook that their felony and the lawful problem had even happened. Like the time you might have spent in prison and away from family members can't be removed, your criminal history can. If you'd like to have your criminal history driven out of the picture of the general public, think about having your history expunged.

Expungement refers back to the act of having the criminal history removed from general public view by having it sealed or even wiped out. Expungement has numerous positive aspects, such as:



Safety of Your Status

Your status is very important to you, and you are proud of sustaining a certain impression to the general public. Having your criminal history sealed or wiped out will help you to carry on and develop and protect the popularity as you move forward from your felony past and then try to start your new life.



Be Eligible for A Better Work Opportunities

Right after the expungement of the criminal history, you get the right to refuse any felony acts or prosecutions up to now. Usually, all job applications range from the question, " Have you ever committed a criminal offense?" Even though it isn't stated, the accessibility of past criminal offenses usually leads to the automatic refusal of a job by most companies.



Make Application for A State License

Having your criminal history expunged doesn't let you argue past criminal activity while applying for a state permit, on the other hand, having your history expunged does indicate the board of accreditation that you are dedicated to turning over a new leaf. If you have the history expunged prior to applying for the permit, the application works itself through the accreditation board much more easily as compared to a person who has not taken the time and effort to clean up (and eliminate) their felony past completely.



Join A Company

The expungement of the criminal history will also enable you to join a professional business. Some companies require criminal background checks for their associates and organization authorities. Having your history expunged will help you to be authorized in professional business and will provide you with the ability to a system for future career options.



If you'd like to understand more about having your criminal history expunged, make contact with an experienced expungement lawyer right away. A knowledgeable Expungement Attorney is dedicated to helping you liberate yourself from the stress of your criminal history. Make contact with an expungement attorney right now to find out more about the legal options. To hire the best one, you need to visit some websites of some law firms. Read the client reviews and testimonials to determine the quality of their services.
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi will likely put in place a dedicated team for its new sub-brand 'Poco', aimed at the premium smartphone market, a company source said on Thursday.

"Xiaomi will have a separate team for the Poco sub-brand, though it will continue to leverage the company's existing marketing infrastructure," the source said.

The 'Poco-F1' is the first handset from the Xiaomi sub-brand, and the company is planning to keep it limited to online sales for now in order to maintain aggressive pricing, he said.

Xiaomi has already achieved 30 per cent of its total handset sales from the offline route within a year of introducing the channel, Chief Marketing Officer Anuj Sharma said here.

He, however, did not speak about offline sales targets.

Xiaomi has offline presence in some 40 cities with various marketing channels and expects to increase the number in future.

Sharma was in the city to launch three smartphones under the new Redmi 6 series, a day after its national launch.

Meanwhile, he said the company will evaluate the introductory pricing between Rs 5,999 and Rs 12,000 of the Redmi 6 series after two months, irrespective of the rupee's value against the US dollar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Michael Martina and David LawderBEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With U.S. President Donald Trump gearing up to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods and Beijing certain to retaliate against any measures, the world's two biggest economies are locked in an escalating trade war, with no resolution in sight.The United States is negotiating with Canada this week to try and finalise a deal to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, an outcome some in the White House say will allow Washington to turn up the heat on Beijing. "The hope is that this (NAFTA) puts a lot of ...
By Jennifer Hughes and Adam JourdanHONG KONG/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A U.S. police investigation into an allegation of rape against JD.com Inc CEO Richard Liu has hammered the e-commerce giant's shares, with the case laying bare risks posed by his iron grip on management and the lack of other leaders to challenge him.Liu was arrested and then released without charge in the U.S. city of Minneapolis last week. Through his lawyers, he has denied any wrongdoing. While the tech industry is known for the outsized control that founders like Liu have over their businesses, China's tech leaders tend to ...
ROME (Reuters) - Steel giant ArcelorMittal has reached a deal with trades' unions over its planned purchase of Italy's Ilva steelmaker, ending months of uncertainty over the contested takeover, sources said on Thursday.ArcelorMittal signed a preliminary deal last year to buy Ilva, which has the largest steel-producing capacity in Europe, but the accord was thrown into doubt by Italy's new, anti-establishment government when it took office in June.However Thursday's agreement with unions over staffing levels will now make it impossible for the government to block the pact. Under the deal, ...
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria plans to push for a position on the European Central Bank's six-person Executive Board, where several posts are due to be vacated in the next 15 months, Finance Minister Hartwig Loeger said.Half the positions on the board, which runs the ECB and makes policy proposals, are due to become available next year, including that of President Mario Draghi, whose term lasts until Oct. 31, 2019."Austria is ready to take on greater responsibilities in Europe. In particular in the ECB we want to be more actively involved and position ourselves for a post on the Executive ...
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Brazil's sugar exports are likely to fall 28.6 percent in 2018/19 from a year ago to 22 million tonnes as the South American country trims production of the sweetener to raise ethanol output, a senior industry official said on Thursday.Brazil's sugar production in the next season could fall nearly a quarter to 31 million tonnes, said Marcos S. Jank, chief executive of Asia Brazil Agro Alliance, an industry body.The country's ethanol production could jump to 30 billion litres from 25 billion litres, Jank said.With fuel prices on the rise and sugar prices trading near ...
(Reuters) - International Airlines Group said on Thursday that its subsidiary British Airways was investigating a customer data breach on the British Airways website and mobile application.The breach compromised personal and financial details of customers making bookings on the website and app between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5 this year, IAG said.IAG said the stolen data did not include travel or passport details and British Airways was communicating with affected customers. The airline had notified the police and relevant authorities, it added. The breach has been resolved and British Airways ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland reiterated that talks to save the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States had been "positive and constructive," repeating a phrase she used on Wednesday.Freeland told reporters as she headed in for a second day of talks with U.S. trade negotiator Robert Lighthgizer that officials from both sides had worked on technical issues overnight.She did not elaborate on the areas covered by the officials' work or on areas of disagreement between the United States and Canada. (Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Writing ...
By Ken Li and Vibhuti Sharma(Reuters) - Media company CBS Corp's board is in settlement talks with Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves to negotiate his exit, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday.These discussions are tied to the settlement talks over the control of CBS between the company, Shari Redstone and majority shareholder National Amusements Inc, the source said.The board has offered a roughly $100 million exit package, CNBC reported https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/06/cbs-board-in-negotiations-for-ceo-moonves-exit-from-the-company-sources.html earlier on Thursday, citing ...
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will be forced to retaliate if the United States implements any new tariff measures, China's commerce ministry warned on Thursday, as the world's two biggest economies remain locked in an intensifying trade war. Global markets were on edge after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports. "If the United States, regardless of opposition, adopts any new tariff measures, China will be forced to roll out necessary retaliatory measures," ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular news conference. China will closely ...
PML-N to hold convention of LG representatives

Lahore: The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) vowed on Wednesday to resist any attempts to dismiss local governments ahead of the expiry of their five-year term, demanding that reforms needed in the system should be undertaken after debate in the provincial assembly.



These announcements were made at the end of a gathering in Lahore attended by the partys local government representatives, including mayors and chairmen of district councils across the province. The meeting was chaired by PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz.



The party decided to raise the issue in the assemblies, besides challenge any changes in the provincial law on local governments (LGs) in the court. It was also decided to hold a convention of PML-Ns LG representatives in the next week in Lahore. All the mayors, deputy mayors, chairmen and vice-chairmen of district councils and municipal committees will participate in the convention where a strategy will be devised for future. Talking to the media after Wednesdays meeting, former spokesperson of the Punjab government and PML-N MPA from Kasur, Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan said that after some ministers of the PTI-led provincial government announced plans to abolish the existing LG system, uncertainty was prevailing among chairpersons of municipal committees and union councils. He said the meeting was called after a large number of LG representatives approached Hamza Shahbaz regarding their concerns. The provincial LGs minister and the federal information minister have talked about abolishing the existing LG system and they have also talked about bringing a draft for a new LG system, Khan said , adding that it would be unlawful on the part of the government to wrap up the system midway, before the expiry of the five-year term. Khan said if the government sought to reform the LG system, it should bring a draft for the purpose in the assemblies. The PML-N wouldnt allow anyone to steal the peoples mandate once again, he said.



Prime Minister Imran Khan has given the task of preparing proposals for a new LG system within a week to LG minister Aleem Khan. The next step will be legislation on the draft.



In a statement in which he gave a brief outline of the new system, Aleem Khan said that mayors would be elected directly through popular ballot in the new system, instead of the existing system of indirect election with tehsil and union council chairmen forming the electoral college.


By Josephine Mason and Chen AizhuBEIJING (Reuters) - ExxonMobil Corp said on Thursday it has signed a preliminary deal to build a petrochemical complex and invest in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in China, the latest major foreign investment in the world's top chemicals market.The agreement worth billions of dollars with the southern Guangdong provincial government includes a 1.2 million-tonne-per-year (tpy) ethylene plant, two polyethylene production lines and two polypropylene lines in the coastal city of Huizhou, it said.Exxon also agreed to participate in a provincial project to ...
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Facebook said on Thursday it will build its first data centre in Asia in Singapore, investing more than $1 billion. "The 170,000 square metre data centre represents an investment of more than S$1.4 billion ($1 billion), and will support hundreds of jobs and form part of our growing presence in Singapore and across Asia," it said in a statement. (Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Reuters) - International Airlines Group said on Thursday that its subsidiary British Airways was investigating a customer data breach on the British Airways website and mobile application.The breach, now resolved, compromised personal and financial details of customers making bookings on the website and the app between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5 this year, IAG said. (Reporting by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's tea exports in the first seven months of 2018 rose 6.6 percent from a year ago to 133.21 million kg as Egypt, Iran and Pakistan raised purchases, the state-run Tea Board said in a statement on Thursday.Iran bought 15.24 million kg of tea during January to July, up from 13.21 million kg a year ago, the Board said.India, the world's second-biggest tea producer, exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and the orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard ...
(Reuters) - Jet Airways (India) is in talks with its pilots to address delays in salary payments and other matters, its pilots' union said on Thursday.The airline, part-owned by Etihad Airways, said last month it would inject funds and cut costs in excess of $278 million over two years to try to stem losses."Our issues such as the disbursement of salaries are being amicably addressed and we continue to resolve ongoing concerns through constant dialogue with the airline's management team," the National Aviators' Guild (NAG) said in a statement.Earlier, the Times of India reported, citing news ...
(Reuters) - Pilots of embattled carrier Jet Airways (India) Ltd have warned the airline's management of 'non-cooperation' over default on salary payments, the Times of India reported on Thursday citing news agency Press Trust of India.The airline, part-owned by Etihad Airways, has been struggling to stem losses in the world's fastest-growing domestic aviation market, but has said it is confident it can slash costs and keep flying, dismissing reports it had told staff it was running out of cash."Withholding salaries, that too without prior notice, is a serious matter and the management will ...
(Reuters) - Novartis AG said on Thursday it would sell the dermatology and generic U.S. oral solids portfolios of Sandoz U.S. to India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd for $900 million, as the Swiss drugmaker looks to focus on higher growth areas.The deal also includes about 300 products and additional development projects of Sandoz and an additional $100 million in performance-based payments, Novartis said.Shares in Aurobindo rose more than 5 percent on the news, while Novartis stock was little changed in early business.Analyst Stefan Schneider at Swiss bank Vontobel said in a research note the sale ...
By John Miller and Nivedita BaluZURICH/BENGALURU (Reuters) - New Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan has further reshaped the Swiss drugmaker, announcing on Thursday he is selling U.S. dermatology and generic pill assets to India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd for up to $1 billion.The deal, which comes after price pressure hurt the U.S. pills business, includes some 300 products. An initial $900 million cash payment could be followed by $100 million in performance-based payments to the Basel-based drugmaker.This transaction has been in the works for months but some analysts said Aurobindo was ...
By Henning GloysteinSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday as emerging market turbulence weighed on sentiment, while a deadline neared for a potential new round of U.S. tariffs on another $200 billion of Chinese goods.U.S. sanctions against Iran, however, prevented prices from falling further as they are expected to tighten the market after being implemented from November, traders said. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $68.59 per barrel at 0645 GMT, down 13 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last settlement. Brent crude futures fell by 4 cents, to $77.23 a ...
By Nerijus AdomaitisOSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian power producer Statkraft is looking to expand its investments in hydropower in India, where demand for electricity is growing rapidly, its chief executive said on Thursday.On Monday, the company announced the acquisition of the 100 megawatt Tidong hydropower project, which is about 60 percent complete, in Himachal Pradesh, north-western India, for an undisclosed sum. "We don't have any 'almost ready' (projects), but we are screening another 19 hydropower projects in India," Statkraft Chief Executive Christian Rynning-Toennesen told Reuters on the ...
By Daina Beth Solomon and David LawderWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian negotiators pushed ahead in grinding talks to rescue the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Thursday, but a few stubborn issues stood in the way of a deal, including dairy quotas, protection for Canadian media companies, and how to resolve future trade disputes. A U.S. source familiar with the discussions in Washington said it was still unclear whether the two sides could bridge the gaps or whether President Donald Trump will opt for a Mexico-only bilateral trade deal."We're down to three issues: ...
Former Ranbaxy promoter and founder of Fortis Healthcare Shivinder Singh's petition against brother Malvinder and former Religare CEO Sunil Godhwani provides an intriguing insight into the reasons Shivinder believes the family lost control of one of India's largest hospital chains Fortis Healthcare and one of India's largest NBFCs Religare Enterprises.

This, however, may be a limited view of L'affaire Singh brothers as the cycle of boom and bust at Fortis and Religare involved a lot more than just the two incidents Shivinder outlines.

The petition first deals with how the brothers lost control of Fortis Healthcare. Shivinder alleges that Malvinder abused his position as executive chairman of Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises in 2016 and "caused the companies to extend loans in the form of Inter Corporate Deposits of Fortis" and then used his "position of control and influence with (RHC Holding) Respondent No. 1, obtained use of these funds for" RHC Holding.

In doing so, Malvinder allegedly used Rs 473 crore taken out from Fortis to pay creditors of RHC Holding. Malvinder has denied abuse of position saying he followed all procedures.

However, the petition says, "This payment had actually not helped RHC in any meaningful way and in fact has resulted in value loss to RHC far in excess of the amount of the outstanding ICDs as it leads to erosion of wealth of its subsidiary and led to resultant erosion" of RHC Holding.

More importantly, the money only pushed RHC holding further into debt trap and more financial trouble. Since these resources were taken from Fortis despite Malvinder being fully aware of Fortis's precarious financial position. As a result, Fortis, a listed company, also went into "a debt trap prejudicing the interest of its shareholders at large due". The petition says Shivinder first learned about the outstanding ICD (Inter Corporate Deposits) in October, 2016 and that he was neither involved in its conception nor its execution.

In the second instance of losing control over Religare Enterprises, the Shivinder petition says that Malvinder allegedly used his position as chairman of Religare Enterprises and caused its subsidiary Religare Finvest to create a fixed deposit of Rs 750 crore with Laxmi Vilas Bank on November 19, 2016. Against this FD, RHC Holding and its subsidiary Ramchem Private Limited were granted loans worth Rs 750 crore.

That, effectively eroded the capital of Religare Finvest while the loans taken by RHC and its subsidiary still remain outstanding. But that may be only part of the story. Once the proceeds of the Ranbaxy sale were received, Singh brothers paid nearly Rs 2,000 crore in taxes and previous loan repayments. Of the remaining Rs 7,500 crore, Rs 1,750 crore were invested in Religare to fund its growth; about Rs 2,230 crore was invested in Fortis' growth. Religare and Fortis went on a rapid-fire expansion and acquisition spree.

Once slowdown hit, Religare and Fortis were unable to service the massive debt raised during the expansion spree. Though several businesses were losing money, the biggest drain on Religare were subsidiaries Religare Capital Markets and Ligare Aviation; the latter was run by Godhwani's brother Sanjay Godhwani. Ligare reported net losses of Rs 590 crore between 2008 and 2014, the last reported results. The debt on Ligare's balance sheet shot up from Rs 3.85 crore in 2007 to Rs 730 crore in 2010. The other drain, Religare Capital Markets, reported losses worth Rs 1,628 crore between 2011 and 2016 (the last reported). Lending arm Religare Finvest also reported a net loss of Rs 350 crore in 2016/17 while its debt shot up from Rs 1,695 crore in 2008 to Rs 17,218 crore in 2016. During 2008/18, for the 10 Fortis subsidiaries and eight Religare subsidiaries whose data has been filed with RoC, Religare subsidiaries reported losses worth Rs 2,047 crore and Fortis subsidiaries Rs 650 crore.

At the consolidated level, the company went into the red soon after. From a net profit of Rs 92 crore in 2008, it reported net losses of Rs 295 crore, Rs 149 crore and Rs 481 crore between 2010/11 and 2012/13. This was followed by three years of profits and then another Rs 123 crore loss in 2016/17.

On the other hand, Fortis went into a phase of reckless global expansion across Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Vietnam and Dubai funded entirely through acquisitions of over $1 billion. Malvinder himself moved to Singapore to manage international operations. In 2010, Singhs even got into a takeover battle for Singapore's Parkway vis-a-vis Malaysia's sovereign fund Khazanah. The Singhs finally had to pull out and sell their stake in Parkway also to Khazanah. That was also the beginning of flipping the international acquisition and expansion strategy to focus entirely on the Indian market starting 2012-13.

By 2012/13, Fortis had gone ahead of Apollo Hospitals as India's largest hospital chain by revenue (though Apollo reclaimed its top rank right after). Since then, it has reported losses of Rs 34 crore, Rs 40 crore and Rs 75 crore in the following three years. A big reason why Fortis is in the red is the nearly Rs 270 crore licence fee it pays to the RHT Trust in Singapore. RHT owns 12 of Fortis' clinical establishments and two hospitals (Delhi and Gurgaon).

Shivinder says that inability to repay these loans resulted in the family losing control of Fortis and Religare. The first major invocation of their shareholding happened in July 2017 when RHC and its subsidiaries defaulted in payment to First Gulf Bank and the shares were invoked. The very next month, the second lot of shares were invoked in August by Indiabulls. After Supreme Court ordered maintaining status quo on Fortis sale, the third lot was invoked on August 31, 2017. And finally the fourth lot was invoked right after the SC order. "This led to a further massive value loss for RHC and Petitioner No. 2 (Shivinder)," says the petition.

Also read: What family-led businesses should learn from the Singh brothers' conflict
The Interpol has issued a red-corner notice (RCN) against one of the close aides of Nirav Modi, Mihir Bhansali, in connection with the Punjab National Bank scam. Mihir, who was the CEO of Modi's Firestar International, is wanted by the Enforcement Directorate as part of its probe in the biggest bank scam.

"We had requested Interpol to issue an RCN against Mihir as he is one of the main key players in the entire scam. Based on the request, an RCN has been issued by the Interpol on the charges of money laundering," said an ED official.

Interestingly, it was Mihir Bhansali, Director of Firestar Diamond, who filed an appeal before the US court for bankruptcy in February, just days after the PNB scam was detected.

An examiner appointed by the US court in its report also said that Firestar International and A Jaffe Chief Executive Officer Mihir Bhansali were involved in assisting the fraud.

An India Today documentary evidence suggests that Bhansali was a key man for Nirav Modi, and he was not only involved in the control of the debtors and other US Firestar entities but also other firms of Nirav Modi.

According to the US examiner, Mihir Bhansali went to the office of Firestar Diamond in Dubai a few days after filing bankruptcy in the US. In Dubai, Bhansali asked his Indian associates that no one should go to India and his name should not be mentioned by anyone. Later, Bhansali took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and 50 kilograms of gold and left the city.
India's booming digital payments market, which is expected to mushroom from less than $200 billion currently to $1 trillion over the next five years, had lured several global players, including Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Google. But the country's new thrust on data localisation seems to have started scaring them away.

Apple Inc has shelved plans to introduce Apple Pay, a Unified Payments Interface-based payments platform, in India, according to The Economic Times. This development comes at a time when WhatApp Payments and Amazon's plans to launch its own UPI payment service in the country have run into regulatory trouble.

"Apple will not launch payments in India yet. They are waiting to see how the regulatory landscape shapes up," a source told the daily. That's a U-turn from the company's stance less than a year ago. "What Apple Pay does is make that process easy, integrated and safe. We absolutely want to bring Apple Pay to the market here," Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice-president for internet software and services, had told the daily last October. Apple Pay is currently available in Australia, Canada, Mainland China, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and Taiwan.

People in the know told the daily that although Apple had held discussions with a few leading banks and the National Payments Corporation of India, which manages the UPI platform, the Silicon Valley giant's main worry is the RBI's recent data localisation rule.

In April, the apex bank had released a 'Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies', which announced that "all payment system operators will ensure that data related to payment systems operated by them are stored only inside the country within a period of 6 months". The idea, it said, was "to have unfettered access to all payment data for supervisory purposes".

Subsequently, the Justice Srikrishna Committee report on Personal Data Protection also recommended that every data fiduciary has to store one live, serving copy of personal data in India. The draft personal data protection bill is currently open for public feedback, which the government yesterday extended the deadline for comments till the end of this month.

The RBI's diktat has not only put the brakes on Apple's plans, but also landed several other foreign companies in a regulatory grey zone, including Mastercard, Visa, Amazon, WhatsApp and PayPal. Even Google, which recently rebranded its India payment app from Tez to Google Pay, has said that it is assessing the evolving situation around data localisation, its aggressive plans for a bigger share of the market notwithstanding.

Apart from regulatory hiccups, Apple had also run into technical and design hurdles related to the flow of payments on UPI. Citing a banker, the daily added that Apple wanted to include fingerprints as a mode of authentication for UPI payments, instead of the typical six- or four-digit number used for the purpose, but NPCI had refused. "NPCI has prescribed that transactions can be authenticated by biometrics only when they get validated by UIDAI [the Aadhaar-issuing body]," said the banker, adding, "NPCI does not allow biometrics collected by devices as a mode of authentication."

Apple, in fact, has been facing headwinds in the country on other fronts too, be it churn in its India leadership team or running into an impasse with the telecom regulator over supporting its do-not-disturb (DND) app. The iPhone maker finally agreed to include about 75% of the features of the DND app in its new operating system last month.
Facebook Inc today announced plans to build its first data centre in Asia, and its 15th worldwide. The 170,000 sq mt facility in Singapore is expected to be operational in 2022 and the social media giant said that it will invest around $1 billion in the project.

According to AFP, the renewable energy-powered data centre will be stacked over 11-storeys, and will come with custom features to cope with the city-state's steamy temperatures. These include a new state-of-the-art cooling system which uses water rather than air and will work better in the humidity, as well as a building facade made of perforated, lightweight material to allow for better air flow.

Thomas Furlong, Facebook vice president of infrastructure data centres, told reporters that the facility will host Facebook servers and centralise its IT operations. He added that Facebook had picked Singapore because of its robust infrastructure, availability of skilled labour and the ease of doing business with the government.

This development comes as US tech players have been lobbying against India's recent move towards data localisation, claiming that it would hinder their growth plans in the country. The recent Justice Srikrishna Committee report on Personal Data Protection recommended that every data fiduciary has to store one live, serving copy of personal data in India. But most foreign companies, including Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp, Amazon, American Express, Google and Microsoft, currently store most of their user data in servers located overseas.

Furthermore, the committee proposed that all "critical personal data" should be processed only within the country, and the government would define what kind of data would qualify. The draft personal data protection bill is currently open for public feedback - the government yesterday extended the deadline for comments till the end of this month. In the meantime, tech firms will be hoping they won't end up with inflated operating costs by having to set up domestic data centres.

Not to mention the many doubts stakeholders have on the quality of infrastructure and the security levels of Indian data centres. Although global commercial real estate agency Cushman & Wakefield sees India's data centre market mushrooming to $7 billion by 2020, it is still at a nascent stage, sharing less than 2% of the global data centre IT infrastructure.

In contrast, the agency ranked Singapore as the most robust market out of 10 Asian countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China, in terms of business operations for data centres last October. And Facebook is not the only behemoth it has lured - Google has already built two data centres in the city-state, and recently announced plans for a third, bringing their total investment in the sites to $850 million.

Given that Asia is one of Facebook's fastest-growing markets, reportedly accounting for 40% of its 2.23 billion monthly active users (as of end-June), it makes sense that its newest data centre will be the largest in Singapore. The social media company's other 14 data centres are mostly located in the US and Europe.

With agency inputs

(Sushmita Choudhury)
The Indian Air Force on Thursday dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claims of a "scam" in the Rafale deal and called it a "much better deal" than the one negotiated by the Congress party. The Air Force said the Modi government's deal is 40 per cent cheaper than the Congress deal, which was being negotiated since 2008 and could not be completed.

In an exclusive interaction with India Today, Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar dismissed all accusations that Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence was favoured as part of the offset agreement and awarded Rs 30, 000-crore contract by the Modi government. The Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal added that as compared to the prices of 2008, the price received by the Modi government was "much better" than what the Congress was negotiating for. The deal negotiated by the UPA could not be inked.

The Deputy Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal also said that Rafale is the best fighter jet available in the market today and will help in establishing the supremacy of the IAF over the skies of the subcontinent.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Modi government of favouring a businessman (Anil Ambani) with "zero" experience in the defence sector. The party has been accusing massive irregularities in the Rafale deal, alleging the government was procuring each aircraft at a cost of over Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 526 crore finalised by the UPA government for the procurement of 126 Rafale jets.

Gandhi, who on August 29 called the Rafale deal a "globalised corruption", challenged the Modi government to form a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to scrutinise it. He accused the PM of lying while reading excerpts from the joint statement by PM Modi and then French President Francois Hollande, which had been issued in Paris in April 2016. "The two leaders agreed that the aircraft and associated systems and weapons would be delivered on the same configuration as had been tested and approved by Indian Air Force," Gandhi said, adding that the PM is "saying something else" now. "It is clearly written here that the configuration is going to be the same. So, the man is lying," Gandhi said.

The Congress has also been pressing for the price details of the deal, but the NDA government has refused to divulge them citing confidentiality provisions of a 2008 Indo-France pact. Recently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the Rafale deal negotiated by the Modi government is 9 per cent cheaper than what the Congress had negotiated. "What was negotiated from 2015 to 2016 and finally executed in 2016, with the escalations and the currency variations, the basic aircraft price turns out to be 9 per cent cheaper. Is the Congress party aware of this?" the Finance Minister further asked.

(Edited by Manoj Sharma)
Market regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has said that it will review its earlier proposal to impose a ban on Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) from taking beneficial ownership of FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investment) vehicles. Sebi has now said that it would take a holistic view of the matter after considering viewpoints of all the stakeholders, including market participants and the government.

After several objections were raised by the FPIs, the regulator has now formed a working group, which will be headed by former RBI Governor HR Khan. The group will look into issues like Know Your Client (KYC) requirement and disclosures regarding beneficial ownerships.

The group has already initiated consultations with various stakeholders to understand their point of view of the matter. The Sebi said that the working group would soon submit its report to the regulator. Sebi's move is aimed at checking inflow of foreign money or any possible re-routing of funds in the country by Indians and NRIs, especially from countries like Mauritius, Singapore, and Dubai.

"The working committee has heard various stakeholders, held consultations and is in the process of giving its recommendations. The Ministry of Finance has also been consulted on various issues," Sebi said in a statement. On Tuesday, after concerns raised by a lobby group, Sebi had said that it was preposterous and highly irresponsible to claim that 75 billion dollars of FPI investment would move out of the country because of Sebi's circular issued in April 2018.

A lobby group, AMRI (Asset Management Roundtable of India), said on Monday that the immediate impact of the new norms, if not amended, would be that $75-billion investment managed by overseas citizens of India (OCIs), persons of Indian origin (PIOs) and non-resident Indians (NRIs) will be disqualified from investing into India, and the funds will have to be withdrawn and liquidated within a short time-frame, reported PTI, adding that it would have an adverse impact on the currency as well as stocks.

Sebi had formulated new KYC norms for foreign portfolio investments in India in April. The regulator had also asked Category II and III FPIs to list all the beneficial owners -- who derives the benefits of ownership - in six months. After some of the FPIs objected to these requirements, the regulator extended the deadline till December. As per these norms, NRIs, PIOs, overseas citizen of India and resident Indians can't be included in the FPI.

Continuing their selling spree, foreign investors have pulled out more than Rs 64,000 crore from the capital markets since April on higher crude oil prices and a depreciating rupee. Prior to that, overseas investors had infused Rs 2,661 crore in March.

(Edited by Manoj Sharma)
Ride-hailing app Uber, which is considering India among five global locations for its futuristic aerial taxi service, Thursday said it is in talks with regulators in the country to gauge the modalities and constraints of offering such a service.

Last week, the Softbank-backed Uber had said it is considering India along with countries like Japan and France to be a part of Uber Elevate -- its aerial taxi service that could be launched in the next five years.

Uber has already named Dallas and Los Angeles as its first two launch cities in the US and has been on the prowl to select an international city as its third partner.

Uber head of Elevate, Eric Allison, said the company is looking at large Indian cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru as potential candidates.

"...there are different challenges in each of these places and so we are talking to the regulators...officials... understanding what the tradeoffs are in terms of different geographic and regulatory constraints," he told PTI.

The company is meeting representatives from various ministries like civil aviation, as well as local authorities and thought leaders to explore options.

Uber has shortlisted five countries -- India, Japan, Australia, Brazil and France -- and one of them will become the first Uber Air City outside of the US, Uber said in a statement recently.

Allison said while the service may be premium at the beginning, the attempt will be to bring the rates at par with its offering like Uber X.

Asked about India's chances of being selected finally, Allison said, "All of these countries (shortlisted nations) are very important to us and these are businesses where we are investing a lot in."

Uber has already said it hopes to start operating demonstrator flights in 2020 and begin commercial operations in 2023 in the three cities, depending on the regulatory clearances.

Allison said Uber Elevate would make a lot of sense for cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru that are among the most congested cities in the world and where travelling even a few kilometers can take over an hour.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said Thursday that the drone policy unveiled last month will make air taxi operations in India a reality soon.

Uber believes that its aerial service has tremendous potential to help create a transportation option that bypasses congestion, instead of adding to it.

The company had said its final decision, which will take about six months, will be based on factors like size of the market, and availability of enabling conditions. Uber Elevate will also take into account a third criteria of local commitment, where it will work with respective governments and communities to make the dream project a reality.

Uber plans to use vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft for the service. A fancy video by the company depicts the future scenario where riders book an aerial ride from their smartphones and hop onto the VTOLs via helipads atop a high-rise.
Legendary Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar was admitted at Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital on Wednesday due to his deteriorating health.

According to recent updates, he has been diagnosed with mild pneumonia. His wife and actress Saira Banu said that he is doing fine now. "He is doing better now. The medical reports are saying a small patch of pneumonia is there. God willing, he will be out of it soon. But he is doing fine," Kumar's wife Saira Banu told PTI.

He was taken to the hospital after he complained of uneasiness and breathlessness because of a chest infection. As of now, he has been kept under observation.

The news of his ill health was first shared on his official Twitter account. The tweet said, "Saab has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital as he was bit uneasy due to a chest infection. He's recuperating. Requesting your duas and prayers."

Saab has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital as he was bit uneasy due to a chest infection. He's recuperating. Requesting your duas and prayers. -FF - Dilip Kumar (@TheDilipKumar) September 5, 2018

Dilip Kumar's family friend Faisal Farooqui also took to Twitter to inform his fans about the actor's health condition

.@TheDilipKumar has been admitted to Lilavati after he complained of breathlessness. Due to advance age, Saab has been routinely visiting the hospital for overall health care and health management. 1/2 - Faisal Farooqui (@faisalMouthshut) September 5, 2018

Allah is kind that He has blessed @TheDilipKumar Saab with such wonderful family, friends, well wishers and the prayers of millions of people all over the world. Pls keep him in your prayers. 2/2 - Faisal Farooqui (@faisalMouthshut) September 5, 2018

In August last year, the 95-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital over complaints of dehydration and urinary tract infection. He has also faced several medical complications in the recent years.

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who made his debut with Jwar Bhata in 1944, has featured in many prominent films in his career such as Andaz, Aan, Madhumati, Devdas and Mughal-e-Azam. He was last seen on the big screen in Qila in 1998. His tear-jerking and emotional films earned him the epithet of 'Tragedy King.'

Dilip Kumar was awarded the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994. In 2015, Government of India honoured him with Padma Vibhushan for his contribution towards Indian cinema.
For Immediate Release

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today denounced the Trump administrations announcement that it would seek to evade its legal obligations under the Flores settlement, which limits the length of time that children can be detained and creates minimum standards for their housing and care. PHR said that defying the 1997 consent decree would place the administration squarely in breach of its legal obligations and violates international norms protecting the rights and wellbeing of children, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Homer Venters, MD, PHR director of programs, said that this announcement amounts to punishing children under the guise of immigration enforcement, contravening universal norms of child protection:

Child detention is harmful and fundamentally against the best interests of the child. The basic purpose of the Flores settlement is to prevent child detention, while the administration is actively seeking to hold children in jail indefinitely. Instead of pursuing noncustodial alternatives, to minimize harm and trauma, the administration would rather continue to exploit children to advance inhumane and harmful immigration policy objectives. As the medical evidence makes clear, stripping protections from children and adolescents  particularly those who are fleeing persecution in their country of origin and have endured traumatic experiences in transit before arriving in the United States  causes irreparable harm. These detention centers have been proven to fall short of even basic conditions of confinement.

The core obligation under Flores is to not jail children, and particularly not as a form of leverage to carry out a fundamentally inhumane zero tolerance policy. Using children as a cruel means to an unjust end, and disregarding the extreme harm which results, will unquestionably cause further human rights violations, he added.

The Department of Homeland Securitys own medical and psychiatric experts have extensively documented the significant threats of harm to children from family detention. These experts monitored and investigated the Karnes and Dilley detention centers in Texas, the Berks detention center in Pennsylvania, and one closed facility, Artesia in New Mexico. They found, among other things:

a 16-month-old baby who lost a third of his body weight over 10 days because of untreated diarrheal disease;

a 27-day-old infant who was born during his mothers journey but was not examined by a physician until he had a seizure due to undiagnosed bleeding of the brain;

numerous children vaccinated with adult doses of vaccine; and

numerous severe finger injuries (including lacerations and fractures) due to spring-loaded closure of heavy doors in a converted medium-security prison.

These risks are certain to increase should the administration defy the terms of the Flores agreement.

PHR clinicians have conducted forensic evaluations at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, since 2015. PHR medical and mental health care experts have consistently reported that these facilities cause re-traumatization for these families, as their symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety deteriorated during the time that they were in detention. Parents have told PHR experts that their children do not understand why they are being detained and find that the stress causes their children to have increased mood swings, appetite loss, separation anxiety, and difficulty socializing with other children. PHR experts observed that children were listless and traumatized, and registered the concerns of mothers that their requests for medical care for their children were subjected to dangerous delays.

These reports are consistent with PHR research on the harms of immigration detention generally, as indefinite detention violates the universal prohibition on torture and ill-treatment.

The harms of child detention cannot be repaired by improving standards, a fact that the Flores settlement recognizes by insisting that children should not be detained longer than 20 days. Mental health concerns resulting from detention include severe and chronic anxiety and dread; pathological levels of stress that have damaging effects on the core physiologic functions of the immune and cardiovascular systems, as well as on the central nervous system; depression and suicide; post-traumatic stress disorder; and enduring personality changes and permanent estrangement from family and community that compromise the possibility of the detainee regaining a normal life following release.

PHR urges health professionals to speak out against the administrations efforts to expand family detention through dismantling the protections provided under Flores. PHR calls on the administration to pursue noncustodial, community-based alternatives to detention, consistent with U.S. obligations under international human rights law and best practices for the treatment of children.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to prevent mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.
The government has decided to keep electric vehicles and automobiles running on alternative fuels out of the ambit of permit requirements in order to boost public interest in them. Vehicles using electricity or, ethanol, biodiesel, CNG, methanol and biofuel need not apply for permits, said Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. Demand for eco-friendly vehicles can be created by mandating cab aggregators like Ola and Uber to induct a certain percentage of such vehicles in their fleet.

"We have decided to exempt EVs and all vehicles including autorickshaws, buses, taxis run on alternative fuel like ethanol, biodiesel, CNG, methanol and biofuel, from permit requirements. We have taken the decision to make these permit-free," Gadkari said while addressing the SIAM annual convention.

The transport minister further added that the states have agreed to abide by decision as recommendations to this effect came from a Group of Ministers of states, headed by Rajasthan Transport Minister Yunus Khan. He urged auto manufacturers to take up the production of electric vehicles and those using alternative fuel, but ruled out any financial incentive, on grounds of favourable GST rates.

"With GST at 12 per cent on EVs, I don't think there is any further need for subsidy... we need to think innovatively to bring in that environment. My ministry has prepared a detailed report to raise production of EVs through non-fiscal initiatives in the next five years," Gadkari said clarifying that the subsidy was not mandatory.

The decision to keep EVs and other vehicles using alternative fuels comes amid government's efforts to promote eco-friendly vehicles through Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India scheme, which was launched in 2015. The second phase of FAME India scheme will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 7. According to official sources, FAME II offers incentives for mass adoption of EVs with an outlay of Rs 5,500 crore.

Gadkari also said the ministry has done away with the requirement of local testing for initially bringing EVs into India for sale. "This will be available for limited number of pieces in the domestic market and if the customers' response is positive then these companies can start making the vehicles in India," he said.

The minister also encouraged automakers to diversify into water transport. "Why don't you diversify? From Allahabad to Varanasi, we are maintaining a draft of 1.5 metre. Fifteen crore people will be gathering at Kumbha mela. You come and run 500-600 seater catamarans. I will give you all permissions in eight days," the minister said.

He said the multimodal hub at Varanasi will be inaugurated soon and 60 river ports offered vast opportunities to automobile makers.
The Toyota-Suzuki alliance plans to launch a host of electric and hybrid vehicles to tap into the promising electric vehicles market in India. Under phase 2 of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme, which is expected to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow, the government expects to see an eight-fold increase in the sale of EVs.

According to The Economic Times, the two Japanese automakers have planned to ready four electrified models by 2020-21, which will be shared by both for the Indian market. Citing sources in the know, the report added that Maruti Suzuki, the local unit of Suzuki, is testing an electric version of the Wagon R, and is likely to share it with Toyota.

The Wagon R EV may even be showcased at the upcoming government-organised 'MOVE' summit in New Delhi on September 7-8 - India's first global summit on mobility. A prototype line for this has reportedly been put up at the automaker's Gurgaon plant, and about 50 vehicles are currently being tested in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

In addition, a range of hybrid options are likely to be shared between the two companies, including the Baleno, Vitara Brezza and Corolla. To remind you, in March, Toyota Motor Corporation and Suzuki Motor Corporation had signed a basic agreement under which Suzuki would supply premium hatchback Baleno and compact SUV Brezza to Toyota, while the latter would supply Corolla to Suzuki.

According to the sources, while the Baleno and Brezza are likely to get a lithium-ion battery pack and 12-volt system, Wagon R EV is likely to be powered by the 72-volt system with a battery capacity of 10-25 KWH. The Corolla may also get the more advanced 72-volt system. This is expected to help improve the fuel efficiency of the hybrid vehicles by 5-45%.

They added that once the more stringent corporate average fuel economic rules are implemented in 2023, Suzuki and Toyota are likely to come out with better hybrid solutions for the Baleno and Brezza, ranging from 48 to 72 volts.

The development follows the MoU signed by the two Japanese players last November to manufacture and sell EVs in India by the turn of the decade. As per the deal, Toyota would provide the technical support while Suzuki would produce the vehicles and supply some to Toyota.

Given the government's push to promote EVs and the fact that lithium-ion batteries, which power EVs, are becoming cheaper - its cost has reportedly dropped over 70% in the past eight years - the time is ripe for car manufacturers to aggressively focus on electrified and hybrid vehicles. In fact, at a meeting of the committee on EVs last month, which was chaired by Expenditure Secretary AN Jha, the panel mulled a direct subsidy of up to Rs 1.4 lakh on EVs, including cars and two-wheelers and three-wheelers. Furthermore, efforts to make EVs more affordable for Indian buyers, by pushing local sourcing of parts and components, are also underway.

According to Gaurav Vangaal, senior analyst for forecasting at IHS Markit, the Toyota-Suzuki alliance was a marriage of equals at the right time - Maruti brings frugality, while Toyota brings future technology. "India needs latest technology that is frugal, cleaner, cost-effective, has potential to be exported," Vangaal told the daily. "This will not only reduce the import and, hence, economic burden, but also project Indian manufacturing at the global level. If successful, the alliance has the potential to tap the global market with a similar approach."

With PTI inputs

(Edited by Sushmita Choudhury)
Last November, Jet Airways and Air France-KLM had signed a first-of-its-kind cooperation agreement on the India-Europe market, which had strengthened the three-year old partnership between the airlines. The airlines now want to enhance the cooperation further.

KLM's president and chief executive officer Pieter Elbers told Mint yesterday that Air France-KLM wants to deepen its alliance with the Indian carrier to exploit an expected double-digit growth in the air travel markets of India and North America.

"First we put connections and code-share in place on each other's network. Now we are taking it [the alliance with Jet Airways] to the next level in terms of customer interface," Elbers said on the sidelines of the International Aviation Summit-India in New Delhi. He added that the two airlines are also working towards aligning their frequent flyer programmes.

The previous pact had given India's second-largest airline wider access to Europe and North America, while boosting the European airline's access to the Indian market, the world's fastest-growing aviation market. The idea was to connect India to a vast Trans-Atlantic network via the Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol hubs.

"Everyone knows that there is a huge flow of passengers from India and the US. Using our hubs in Amsterdam and CDG, which are two of the strongest hubs in Europe and connecting them directly to the network of Jet Airways is helping us," said Elbers, adding that the airline now boasts a "strong position" in the Europe, US and Indian markets.

He also said that he was "impressed" at how swiftly the alliance between the two airlines was moving forward, especially compared to the amount of time it took to build alliances in the US and China. Commenting on the scope of leveraging on Jet Airway's domestic network, Elbers added that "At the end of the day, it is our job as aviation executives to make it possible for people to travel between say Amritsar, an Indian city, and a city in Denmark".

However, he did not comment on whether Air France-KLM would invest in the financially-troubled domestic airline, which recently announced its second consecutive quarterly loss. Earlier this week, Jet Airways informed the exchange that rating agency ICRA had downgraded long term ratings of its borrowing programmes. The short-term rating assigned to the airline's Rs 3,950 crore short-term, non-fund-based facilities were also downgraded.
The beleaguered Maharajah, scrambling for cash infusions since the failed disinvestment attempt, may have just landed a lifeline. The buzz is that Qatar Airways, which has been eyeing the fastest-growing Indian aviation market for a while now, is showing interest in buying Air India.

"We would be interested in Air India if we had a strong partner. We need to have a very strong partner and we take the airline without the baggage," Qatar Airways group CEO Akbar Al Baker told the media in the capital recently. According to The Economic Times, he had clarified that that the national carrier's total debt of over Rs 48,000 crore wasn't the problem. "Look, it is not the debt that's the baggage. It is the other functions that Air India carries out such as ground handling, engineering and things like that are. We would be interested only in the airline," Baker added.

To remind you, while the government was keen to sell up to a 76% stake in the loss-making carrier, the preliminary information memorandum released in March made it clear that the deal would also include stakes in Air India's subsidiaries like Air India Express and Air India SATS airport services, a ground-handling service company formed in partnership with Singapore-based SATS. This condition eventually proved to be a deal breaker for most interested buyers.

According to Reuters, back in 2017, a year after India eased foreign investment rules for the sector, Qatar Airways had said it would set up a domestic airline in the country. But its plans haven't gained traction. "We are really very interested to launch an airline in India, but the regulation is a little bit confusing to us," said Baker. Qatar Airways planned to own a minority stake of the domestic airline with sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) being the majority owner. However, according to him, enquiries to start the application process in India were rejected over QIA's ownership of the state-owned Gulf carrier.

In any case, Air India isn't the only option for Qatar Airways - it is reportedly also keen on a 15-25% stake in IndiGo. If both options fail to pan out, Baker said that they would have to forget about the domestic market.

The daily added that Qatar Airways is pushing for an increase in bilateral flying entitlements and has made fresh requests to the Indian government for the same. "Unfortunately, the civil aviation ministry has been unfair with Qatar Airways [in case of granting increase in bilateral rights]. While we were been restricted, everyone was getting bilaterals," said Baker. "First, there was a condition that Indian carriers need to utilise 80% of existing bilaterals. They have now reached 84%, still there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Indeed, Dubai and Abu Dhabi have seen huge increase in their flying rights quota with India. However, the government is reportedly not keen to allow any new seats to countries within 5,000 km radius unless domestic airline companies fully support it.

With Reuters inputs
Vistara and British Airways today announced a new agreement that will allow seamless travel on the networks of both the airlines. So Vistara customers travelling on the codeshare flights will now be able to check their bags straight through to the final destination in Europe, while British Airways passengers will be able to enjoy the same on destinations serviced by Vistara.

"As part of the new agreement customers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Seats are available to buy on ba.com from today, for travel from September 27, 2018," said a release from British Airways.

According to The Economic Times, the codeshare agreement means that British Airways customers will now be able to visit 13 new destinations across the region, opening up cities such as Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune that have previously been more difficult to access from the UK. "Both airlines use the same terminals at Delhi and Mumbai airports, making it even easier for customers to connect on to domestic services," Vistara said in a statement.

British Airways operates two direct flights a day from Heathrow to Mumbai, a double daily service to Delhi and a daily flight to Chennai. The airline also flies direct to Hyderabad and Bengaluru from Terminal 5 and is rolling out a GBP 4.5 billion, five-year customer investment plan that includes the installation of the best quality Wi-Fi and the delivery of 72 new aircraft.

"This partnership reaffirms our commitment to taking India's finest airline brand beyond Indian borders, and it gives us the opportunity of welcoming travellers from around the world to experience the 'new feeling of flying' in India with Vistara. We share a lot in common with British Airways, key among which is our focus on delighting customers. We are confident that our respective customers will truly enjoy the reciprocal benefits of this collaboration," said Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara.

Moreover, British Airways Executive Club members can now also collect Avios - the Club currency, which can be spent on flights and cabin upgrades - and earn tier points when booking on 'BA' coded Vistara flights.

Edited by Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal
Anti-competition watch dog Competition Commission of India (CCI) has asked its Director General (DG) to conduct an investigation into the pricing pattern of super-specialty hospitals in and around Delhi. The directive is the fallout of an ongoing case, where a complaint was registered against medical device maker Becton Dickinson India (P) Ltd and Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, against alleged contravention of Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act that deals with anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position.

While CCI sought more information on the investigation report submitted by the DG on the particular case, it also widened the scope of investigation to include more products and services offered to in-patients by all other hospitals in the region. This was done as DG's report on the specific case flagged the existence of huge profit margins that are being earned by sale of products to the locked-in in-patients, in private super specialty hospitals in the National Capital Region of Delhi.

"Investigation will focus on the products sold by the super specialty hospitals to their in-patients, which are not required on an urgent basis for any medical procedure/intervention or which do not involve any high degree of quality issue from the medical procedure point of view; and for the purchase of which the patients have the time and scope to exercise their rational choice to purchase such products from open market, where such products may be available at lower rates," the commission stated. It also added that the commission aims to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition in the tertiary healthcare sector.

Incidentally, the DG investigation on the Max-Bector Dickinson case did not find any evidence of anti-competitive agreements with the two entities. The commission, in its August 31 order, notes that the allegation of the informant that Max in collusion with the medical device maker had printed a higher MRP on the disposable syringes, to be sold in the in-house pharmacy of the hospital in order to cheat the patients, has not been substantiated in DG's investigation report.

"It has been reported by the DG that both the parties have not entered into any exclusive agreement with respect to supply of disposable syringes and, according to the DG, have not contravened any of the provisions of Section 3(3) of the Act," the CCI Order said.

"It is common knowledge that this practice of exploitative pricing from the locked-in patients is followed with impunity by most of the hospitals. Though the information in the present matter was received with respect to the alleged abusive conduct of Max Super Speciality Hospital only in the sale of syringes, the scope of investigation may be broadened by the DG by including other super speciality hospitals who are indulging in the aforesaid practices not only with respect to syringes but also with respect to other products such as medicines, surgical tools etc," the order says.

The investigation report has to be submitted within 45 days.
Nokia 6.1 Plus will be going on sale today. The device will be available on flash sale today. The device will be available on Flipkart. The company is currently selling the 4GB RAM, 64GB storage variant in India at a price of Rs 15,999. On Flipkart, the original price is quoted as 17,600 but the company is providing an extra discount of Rs 1,601 on the device.

Flipkart is selling the device in three colours; black, blue and white. The company is offering an extra 5 per cent off on the use of Axis Bank Buzz Credit Card. Airtel will be offering a cashback of Rs 1,800 in the form of 36 coupons and up to 240GB data in the form of 20GB per recharge every month on Rs 199, Rs 249 and Rs 448 recharge.

The device is placed in the mid-range segment and comes with Google's Android One software. This assures a bloat-free software experience. The Nokia 6.1 Plus also comes with a premium glass sandwich design which helps it stand out from the mid-range crowd.

The biggest competitor of the Nokia 6.1 Plus will be another Android One smartphone, Xiaomi Mi A2. While the Nokia 6.1 Plus is powered by Snapdragon 636, the Mi A2 comes with a slightly more powerful Snapdragon 660. However, Nokia 6.1 Plus races ahead in terms of design language. The device also comes with a notch on top.

Nokia 6.1 features a 5.8-inch full display with 1080x2280 pixel resolution, with 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 protection and 19:9 aspect ratio. The device has a screen to body ratio of 81.5 per cent.

The device comes with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and is assured to get the Android Pie update as soon as it starts rolling out to other Android One devices.

The device uses a dual-SIM (Nano) smartphone with a 3060mAh battery and Quick Charge 3.0. The smartphone boasts a dual rear camera setup, with one 16-megapixel sensor and another 5-megapixel monochrome sensor, with f/2.0 aperture. There is also a 16-megapixel front camera with the same f/2.0 aperture. The Nokia 6.1 comes with 64GB of inbuilt storage which can be expanded via microSD card (up to 400GB). In terms of build, the Nokia 6.1 has an aluminum body with a 93 per cent glass surface at the front.
Italy is unlikely to get one of its own appointed as the next head of Europe's banking watchdog, sources say, diminishing Rome's chances of retaining its influence over the European Central Bank once ECB chief Mario Draghi steps down next year.

The ECB is looking to replace Daniele Nouy, a French national, as the head of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) -- the first of four top jobs at the central bank coming up for grabs in the next 15 months.

Nouy's successor must be chosen by year-end. Although a shortlist has not yet been drawn up, Irishwoman Sharon Donnery is seen as the front-runner after winning Germany's backing, conversations with seven sources close to the matter showed.

A spokesman for the ECB declined to comment.

The other two known candidates are the Italian head of the European Banking Authority, Andrea Enria, and French market regulator Robert Ophele.

With Enria's chances seen dimming, Italy could also find itself without a seat on the ECB's six-member Executive Board for the first time since the introduction of the euro when Draghi's term as ECB President expires in October 2019.

This would undermine Rome's sway over the euro zone's most powerful institution at a time when it may need support.

Italy has the second highest public debt in the euro zone, its borrowing costs have been rising since an anti-establishment coalition government took power in June, and its banks are still struggling with the legacy of the last economic crisis.

During Draghi's tenure, the ECB has taken bold steps to shield indebted countries like Italy from market speculation and adopted ultra-easy monetary policies that helped revive their battered economies despite German opposition.

"The current situation is unique ... and can't be replicated," one of the sources said.

Another source said Rome was "isolated" within the SSM after it forced Nouy to partially water down proposals to reduce the burden of bad loans on banks' balance sheets -- a big problem for Italian lenders.

While Enria has a reputation for independence from his country's interest, Rome's inability to forge alliances may cost him dear.

The head of the SSM is proposed by the ECB after a competitive application process, but the appointment is made by the heads of EU governments as part of a broader chess game to distribute top roles among countries.

Frictions between Italy's populist government and influential partners such as France on issues like migration were making it difficult for Rome to forge alliances, three sources said.

Suggestions the government might implement policies that would increase debt and breach EU fiscal rules had also irritated some within the bloc, although ministers have now promised to keep public finances in check.

"The chance of Enria getting the job are very low, below 30 percent," one Italian source said.

Enria did not respond to requests for comment made through the EBA and an EBA spokeswoman did not immediately provide comment.

Missing out on the SSM's top job would be a blow for Rome as it may also soon lose its seat on the Executive Board, which runs the ECB and makes policy proposals.

Unless a German or Frenchman replaces Draghi, freeing up a seat for Italy, Rome may have to wait until France's Benoit Coeure steps down in December 2019 or Luxembourg's Yves Mersch almost a year later.

France has already had an ECB President and the German government is focusing on securing the presidency of the European Commission, according to recent reports in Italy's daily Il Sole 24 Ore and Germany's Handelsblatt.

One of the sources cautioned it was still too early to draw any clear conclusion and the need to keep a balance between different countries in the way top European Union jobs are handed out could yield "a different, hard-to-predict" outcome. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Irish consumer sentiment slipped in August as worries about Brexit grew, a survey showed on Thursday, erasing a July bounce put down to unusually warm weather and the start of the summer holidays.

Ireland's economy is on course to be the best performer in the European Union for the fifth consecutive year, but there is increasing concern about the vulnerability of the economy to an unruly British exit from the bloc.

The KBC Bank Ireland/ESRI Consumer Sentiment Index fell to 102.4 in August from 107.6 in July, leaving it broadly in line with the June level of 102.1.

The fall in Irish consumer sentiment coincided with weakness in comparable indicators for the United States and the euro zone, and consumer expectations could be further dampened by global risks, Philip Economides of the ESRI said.

"August was mired in such events, including the commencement of a U.S.-China trade war, the rising concerns of emerging market contagion risks for European banks and the lethargy exhibited within Brexit negotiations," Economides said.

The sentiment index has not moved in the same direction in successive months since last November, reflecting substantial uncertainty, the survey's authors said.

"The pull-back in August is partly a reaction to the end of summer sales and the onset of various financial commitments ranging from back-to-school spending to higher autumn energy bills," KBCIreland Chief Economist Austin Hughes said.

"Irish consumer sentiment is on a modestly positive trend but the average consumer is seeing modest and quite uneven gains in spending power and many feel some distance removed from strong macro data." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
European Union finance ministers will this week discuss proposals to adopt a tax on companies' digital turnover by the end of the year, a document prepared by the Austrian presidency of the bloc said.

EU governments agree that tax rules should be changed to increase levies on digital services that are currently undertaxed, but are at odds on the process to reach this target.

Smaller states with lower tax rates such as Luxembourg and Ireland, which host large American multinationals, want EU changes to come together with a global reform of digital taxation, which has been under discussion for years to no avail.

Larger states, such as France and Italy, which claim to have lost millions of euros of tax revenue due to digital giants' shift of taxable profits to lower-tax countries, want a quick solution.

They support the European Commission's proposal for an EU-wide 3 percent tax on digital revenues of large firms that would be introduced before a global overhaul of tax rules.

Austria, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, intends to move forward with the 3 percent tax plan, it said in a paper seen by Reuters that will feed into discussions on the subject at a meeting of EU finance ministers on Friday and Saturday in Vienna.

While waiting for a global deal, EU states "face the risk of erosion of the corporate taxation bases already now and might be tempted to act unilaterally," the Austrian document said, urging "a uniform approach" for an interim EU solution based on the Commission proposal.

Eleven of the 28 EU states are already considering their own national measures, the document said, warning against the risk to the EU common market if no common plan was quickly agreed.

Austria will ask ministers whether they agree on focusing work on a EU temporary solution that should be agreed upon by the end of the year, according to the paper.

To overcome some of the criticism of the measure, Vienna is proposing to reduce the scope of the tax, which would no longer be applied to the sale of users' data as in the Commission proposal.

Only revenue from online advertising services, in which Google and Facebook excel, and from virtual marketplaces, such as Amazon, would be subject to the new tax, under the Austrian plan.

In line with the Commission's proposal, only firms with a global annual turnover of 750 million euros and EU revenue of at least 50 million euros a year would be taxable.

Some 200 companies would fall within the scope of the new tax proposed by the Commission, European officials said, estimating additional annual revenues of about 5 billion euros (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Chinas relationship with Africa has now entered a golden age, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters after the closing of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing on Tuesday.

Ramaphosa made his comments after China pledged an additional $60 billion worth of loans, aid, and investment in Africa. This follows an initial $60 billion promised at the previous FOCAC summit in Johannesburg three years ago.

Africa has lately begun pivoting toward China and away from its historic main trading partners  Europe and the United States. The value of trade between China and Africa rose from $10 billion in 2000 to $169.7 billion in 2017. Meanwhile, trade between Africa and the EU, which remains the continents largest trading partner, has fallen.

But Chinas growing relationship with Africa has come under fire, with critics saying that Chinas loans to the continent are miring already poor countries in debt traps, and are essentially a form of modern-day colonialism.

Theres no new colonialism, Ramaphosa told reporters on Tuesday, echoing Chinese President Xi Jinping, who said on the first day of the summit on Monday that Chinas investment in Africa came with no political strings attached.

We were all engaged in struggle against the colonialists from the Northern Hemisphere, he said, referring to the long-standing relationship between South Africas ruling African National Congress party and the Communist Party of China.

In an interview with Caixin and other media outlets after the summit, Ramaphosa talked about South Africas historical ties with China, and Chinas changing policy toward Africa.

Caixin: What do you think about recent criticisms of Chinas loans to African countries? A number of people have accused China of making politically motivated investments on the continent.

Ramaphosa: The $60 billion that was announced in 2015 went to investments and infrastructure. Many countries have taken that up. They are now improving their infrastructures, improving a whole lot of areas that impact their own economies. So, even if it is debt-based, you are able to invest in your economy and generate sufficient funding to be able to pay back whatever loans they have.

And this time round, President Xi announced that China is going to be putting out another $60 billion, which will be composed of categories of funding. Some of it will be grant funding, some of it will be assistance programs, and some of it will be debt. It will be loans that will be given out. It depends on various countries, on the strength of their own economies, and their own capability to pay back the debt.

Now, in some cases, these are going to be investments, investments in a number of projects. So the categorizations should be left to the countries themselves.

I would say that rather than stand on the rooftop of some tall building somewhere in the world and criticize, it should be left to those respective countries themselves how they want to participate in this funding that has been made available. Because some of it could be investments, Chinese companies could be investing in a number of projects. It could be loans. It could be grants. It could also be assistance. So, I say to those who are critical of this, they should first look at precisely how the categorization is going to work.

Yes, many countries have debt. Even the very rich countries are also debt-laden. It depends on how you manage your debt.

What President Xi also announced is that there are certain countries that are not able to keep up with their debt. They are poor, and those countries will have their debt forgiven. So I think were facing a situation that is quite progressive, in which a number of countries will be able to choose.

This year marks the 20th anniversary since China and South Africa established diplomatic relations. Can you comment on the two countries relationship so far?

The 20 years of diplomatic relations between China and South Africa have been really positive. There have been years of great partnerships being formed between South Africa, as a democratic state, and the Peoples Republic of China.

You must remember that the governing party of South Africa had long-term relations with the Communist Party of China over many years. So the bonds of friendship were formed in struggle, where the Communist Party of China supported the ANC in its struggle.

So, once South Africa became a free and democratic country, it was easy to have that transition of beginning diplomatic relations. And that has been based on South Africa having a One China principle, recognizing the Peoples Republic of China as the government of China.

Recently, the Peoples Republic of China supported us to be a member of the UN Security Council, a non-permanent member. And weve agreed that we are going to work together because our political orientation and perspective is very similar on a number of issues. We both come from a revolutionary type of approach. The way we look at the world is very, very similar.

What do you think will be the most important driver for Chinas relationship with South Africa over the next five years, especially in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative and South-South cooperation?

We have a good partnership with China now because China has become our biggest trading partner outside of the continent. The trade between China and South Africa is booming and rising, but at the moment, it is skewed in favor of China. We have a deficit, and weve discussed this.

What is pleasing with the Peoples Republic of China, and President Xi himself, is that we want to ensure that the trade between our two countries develops in a way in which we will have market access and be able to bring in value-added products into China. Because that will help us to balance our trade so that we no longer are a country that is just exporting raw materials or resources to China.

They want a win-win outcome. And that is what is most pleasing with us dealing with a trusted friend like the Peoples Republic of China.

Can you comment on President Xis statement that China does not intend to interfere in local politics through its Africa investments?

The notion that was put forward by President Xi about non-interference is an important one. Its the same political perspective that we have. It is born out of a revolutionary approach to development, to relations with other countries.

No interference is an important consideration in our case, and we discuss things on a mature basis, where advice is sought, it is given, but there is just no interference. Because there is no need for any country to interfere in the affairs of any other country. Because the minute you want to interfere, it means that you are being patronizing. You are paternalistic. You look down on others. The relationship that weve always had with China, right from our own struggle days, when we were struggling against apartheid, was based on no interference.

How do you think Chinas strategy in Africa has changed in recent years? It appears to have shifted from mostly trade and economic cooperation toward security and military cooperation.

I dont really see China really changing policy. Its beginning to address issues that are important, like security and peace. China is big in peace-monitoring and all that on the African continent. And so peace and security is very important on the African continent, and we welcome the fact that China wants to play a role, and continues to play a role in that.

But China goes beyond that. It goes into areas that I call solidarity. Solidarity, for instance, when many other countries were running away from outbreaks of diseases like Ebola, China was sending people into Africa. And why were they doing it? They were doing it for solidarity.

It debunks this notion that some people have, that Chinas looking at Africa as a place where it just gets resources and it just wants to make money. But China is rolling out a number of assistance programs  solidarity, health, security, and many others.
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
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.
Step 1

Log on to the HPL official website.

Step 2

Choose the language you want to view.

Step 3

Click on the CAREER tab on the home page.

Step 4

The list of notifications will be displayed on the screen.

Step 5

Click on the PDF file link against Contract Employment Notice No. 07/2018 - Advt.

Step 6

The detailed advertisement will be displayed on the screen. Read the details carefully.
India Post, for the West Bengal Circle has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Multi Tasking Staff. The position is available even for the differently abled candidates according to the government norms. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here.

Selection Process

The selection will be done on the basis of a written exam to test the aptitude skills of the candidates. The exam will carry 100 marks with questions from general knowledge, Math, English and regional language. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 29700. The last date to apply for the government job is Oct 4, 2018.

Dena Bank Recruitment 2018 For RSETI Rajnandgaon

India Post Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Multi Tasking Staff Organisation West Bengal Educational Qualification Class 10 pass out from a recognised board Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Knowledge of local language Job Location West Bengal Salary Scale INR 18000 to INR 29700 Industry Postal Application Start Date September 5, 2018 Application End Date October 4, 2018

Application Fee INR 400 Age Limit 18 to 25 years

Also Read: PWD Recruitment 2018 For 163 Apprentices

How To Apply For India Post Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for India Post Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1 Log on to the West Bengal Postal Circle registration official website. Step 2 Click on the button that reads, Click here for New Registration. Step 3 The registration form will be loaded. Enter your details in the fields provided. Step 4 Enter the captcha code. Step 5 Click Save & Next and follow the subsequent pages to complete the registration process. Step 6 Go back to the home page and login using your credentials to complete the application process.

Follow the link - http://cpmgwbrecruit.in/recmtssep18/uploads/loadpdf.php?file=k7m5p fQk9qtvdjn1NzK2pqemdWyp5rXppSo3aRx&t=0rjFodnKx8m8w9rhj9nJ0A==#toolbar=0&navpanes=0 to read the detailed official notification.
After weeks of volatility, the market started this Wednesday fearful of what could happen with the signals provided by the...
Buzzi Unicem set to acquire 50% of Grupo Ricardo Brennand

06 September 2018

Buzzi Unicem has signed an agreement with Grupo Ricardo Brennand aimed at acquiring 50 per cent of BCPAR SA, a subsidiary of Brennand Cimentos, including two integrated cement plants in Paraiba and Minas Gerais, Brazil.



The agreement allows Buzzi Unicem to reach a 50 per cent stake in BCPAR SA after acquiring the

totality of the shares held by the current minority shareholders, BNDESPAR and FIP MPlus, besides a part of the shares owned by Brennand Cimentos, as well as the underwriting of dedicated capital increase of the same company BCPAR SA.



Initially Buzzi Unicem will outlay BRL$700m (US$168.8m), of which BRL$350m for the share purchase and BRL$350m for the capital increase, corresponding to approximately EUR150m. The initial phase will be funded through cash and existing credit facilities.

The Minas Gerais cement plant in the municipality of Sete Lagoas started operations in May 2011 and has a capacity of 1.2Mta of cement and 2.4Mta of cement. The Paraiba cement plant in Pitimbu, which was commissioned in August 2015, has a capacity of 1.4 Mta of clinker and 1.7Mta of cement.

The completion of the 100 per cent acquisition, if the options are exercised, will occur no later than 2026. It is deemed that the closing can take place by 31 December 2018, subject to approval of the Brazilian antitrust authority (CADE).



The agreement reached allows Buzzi Unicem to extend its industrial operations to the largest economy in South America and contributes to improve the geographical diversification of its regional presence. Buzzi Unicem believes that the current downturn in the Brazilian economy, and in particular of the local cement industry, can be positively resolved starting from 2019.



Total cement consumption in Brazil reached its peak in 2014 with 71.7Mt, while in 2017 domestic consumption amounted to 53.8Mt. The prevailing expectation is that in 2018 the market performs at a level consistent with 2017. The per capita cement consumption decreased from 350kg in 2015 to 260kg in 2017.





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Zimbabwe's cement demand outpaces supply

07 September 2018

Zimbabwe is facing a cement shortage due to demand temporarily outpacing supply. The Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) has demanded answers from the country's cement producers regarding the shortages.

"We met the cement producers yesterday and they all said they are operating at full throttle. Sales are going on. Usual informal traders were taking advantage of the situation and hoarding cement for speculative purposes," said Sifelani Jabangwe, president of the CZI.

As a result of the speculation, cement prices in some retail outlets have surged from US$10/50kg bag in 2017 to US$15/50kg in the past few weeks and finally to USD17/50kg this week.

However, Mr Jabangwe explained that despite the supply challenges with cement, "official retailers and wholesalers have not increased the price of cement". In the large formal retail and wholesale outlets  most of which have run out of cement stock - prices of the commodity have remained around US$11/50kg.

PPC Zimbabwe managing director, Kelibone Masiyane, clarified that the current cement shortage is temporary, adding that PPC had capacity to "supply the existing market" demand. "With regards to escalated cement prices in the market, PPC Zimbabwe can assure customers and other stakeholders that our factory prices have not increased," added Mr Masiyane.

According to reports, Lafarge Zimbabwe has imported SupaSet cement from Mozambique to counter the shortage. "We have been clearing Lafarge Cement this week. They have a consignment of about 5000t of SupaSet cement that we have processed," said an official with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority on Wednesday.

Alongside foreign currency and liquidity constraints, the lack of cement is amongst several factors which have slowed the countrys construction industry. "The shortage has slowed down activity as projects have slowed down. The cost of completion has gone up. There has been a serious slowdown in construction activity in the past few weeks," said Shingi Nyamhandu, managing director at Harare-based Canistron Construction.

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Brown v. Board of Common Sense Christian Examiner Contributor | 06 September, 2018 by Mark Klages

Just when I thought the crazy elevator had reached the top floor, Brown University hits the "penthouse" button and up we go.

First off, let me say that the Bible is clear, Jesus Christ died for each one of us and everyone has the opportunity to know Him, love Him, serve Him and be saved. The famous and oft quoted John 3:16 says,

"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (NIV)

In Romans, Paul tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23, NIV).

I think that needs to be said before we delve into this discussion. It needs to be said and understood that, no matter what your choice, your sin, you version of reality, God loves you.

God loves you even if you are a dean at Brown University who is quoted as rejecting the facts within a recent Brown-published scientific study on gender dysphoria because the truth, "might invalidate the perspectives of members of the transgender community." Say what?

That's right. Brown University, a stalwart in the battle for free speech and academic primacy, pulled the study by Lisa Littman, assistant professor at Brown and author of the study, because the scientific truth might force transgender persons to face facts. And, in today's society where "God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them" (Gen 1:27) becomes hate speech, I am not surprised by the University's "enlightened" actions. In the same breath, the dean of Brown's School of Public Health, Bess Marcus, stated the "School [has] always affirmed the importance of academic freedom and the value of rigorous debate informed by research.... At the same time, we believe firmly that it is also incumbent on public health researchers to listen to multiple perspectives and to recognize and articulate the limitations of their work."

So let us be sure to get this straight. A Brown professor of public health conducted a study that was sanctioned and published by Brown University. The response offended some in Brown's student body; therefore, a Brown dean of public health withdrew the study and said that academic freedom is important, but not as important as the feelings of gender dysphoric victims.

Folks  that's Satan right there and he's an expert at deception, lies, and destruction. He knows he lost the war so he spends his days waging battle against weak human minds in his futile effort to steal hearts from God. His sole purpose is to "steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10, NIV) but the rest of that verse is so much better, because Jesus has "come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

You see, readersdespite the best efforts of the mainstream media, the courts in California, or the dean of Brown's School of Public HealthJesus saves. He came into a world that hated him, to life a life that was beneath him, to die a death that was an affront to him, so that no one could keep you from coming to him. Why? Because God provides where hate divides.

 Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/.
Jackie Hill Perry: Stop Telling Gay People They'll Become Straight If They Become Christian 06 September, 2018 by Michael Gryboski , |

Rapper, writer, preacher and poet Jackie Hill Perry, who once identified as a lesbian, says churches should stop telling gays that they will become heterosexual if they become Christian.

In her newly released book, Gay Girl, Good God, a part of which was published on DesiringGod.org, Perry speaks about what she described as "the heterosexual gospel."

"The heterosexual gospel is one that encourages SSA men and women to come to Jesus so that they can be straight, or it says that coming to Jesus ensures that they will be sexually attracted to the opposite sex," explains Perry.

"It usually sounds like, 'I know you're struggling with being gay. I can promise you, if you give your life to Jesus, he will completely deliver you from those desires because he loves you.' Or, 'I know a guy that used to be gay and now he's married. Jesus will do the same for you if you trust him.'"

Perry, who used to be a lesbian but is now married to a man and has two daughters, warns that the "heterosexual gospel" is problematic because it "tends to put more emphasis on marriage as the goal of the Christian life than on knowing Jesus."

"What the gay community needs to hear is not that God will make them straight, but that Christ can make them his," she continues.

"Someone trying to pursue heterosexuality and not Christ is just as far from a right standing with God as someone actively pursuing homosexuality. They have put their faith in a new 'orientation' rather than in knowing the living God."

Gay Girl, Good God focuses on the now 29-year-old's personal spiritual journey.

At one point in the book, Perry talks about how she once believed that if she "could just be straight" that "God would accept me and call me His own."

Referring to it as a "delusion," she speculated that such thinking explained why "salvation has eluded many same-sex attracted men and women."

"You will hear them say how they've sought God's help in this manner. They have asked Him to make them straight and He has, according to them, denied them access to the miraculous," she wrote in her book.

"The error is this: they have come to God believing that only a fraction of themselves need saving. They have therefore neglected to acknowledge the rest of them also needs to be made right."

Perry says she was attracted to women "before I knew how to spell my name." She grew up in a fatherless household and was molested by a male teenage relative as a child.

To her, men were "incapable of loving" and "unsafe."

After years of living a promiscuous lifestyle as a lesbian, she was led by the Holy Spirit to repentance and gave her life to Christ at age 19.

Though she ended up marrying a man, she makes it clear in her book that marriage didn't "prove" that she changed. Rather, "the fruit of the Spirit did."

Read more about Jackie Hill Perry on The Christian Post.
When Good Deeds Go Bad Christian Examiner Contributor | 06 September, 2018 by Mark Klages

I like eggs. Scrambled eggs, over medium eggs, eggs and cheese, cheesy bacon scrambled eggs, omelets. Of course, for the right effect, you have to say that list using a voice akin to Bubba Blue from Forest Gump. My wife has this deliciously simple recipe we call "fried rice" (because it is rice... fried) that is a mixture of rice, bacon and of course, eggs. Fresh off the stove, steaming hot, with just the right amount of pepper and a pinch of salt, fried rice is my comfort food. But eggsas good as they are when freshly preparedcan go bad. And nobody likes eggs that have gone bad.

Surprisingly, good deeds are like eggs. Good deeds, when fresh, can be exciting, rejuvenating, and can leave everyone involved with wonderful feelingseven, at times, in spite of circumstances. Good deeds can even overcome "bad blood" if they are presented with the right heart, a good heart, or if prepared and presented just right. But like eggs, good deeds can go bad. Like eggs, nobody wants to be left holding a bad batch of "good" deeds.

Such appears to be the case with Johnny Bobbitt and Kate McClure. For those who are not regular followers, I praised Bobbitt and McClure in my blog a year ago when the homeless vet Bobbitt used his last twenty dollars to get gasoline for McClure, who had run out of fuel near the overpass Bobbitt frequented. McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D'Amico, established a "gofundme" campaign for Bobbitt with the stated goal of repaying his kindness and getting him off the street. In November, 2017, Bobbitt, McClure and D'Amico's deeds were fresh, rejuvenating, and the site quickly amassed $400,000 for the cause.

Just like eggs left out unattended long after the meal is over, our story took a sour turn when Bobbitt stated in August of this year that he had no access to the funds because McClure and D'Amico had stolen them from him. Sadly, Fox News just reported that the formerly praised Good Samaritans have squandered, it appears, more than $200,000 of the donations on a car and lavish vacations, which are definitely not beneficial to Bobbitt.

Even good deeds can turn sour if the heart behind the deed is not right. But we should not be surprised. Galatians warns us of the toll good deeds can take on anyone not prepared for the ongoing effort these deeds need in order to be sustained.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." (Gal. 6:9, NIV)

Doing good takes effort. Anyone who has ever tasted temptation can attest to the difficulty of making the right choice when the wrong choice is so delicious, so decadent, so... tempting. Our human condition is one of a tenuous balance between good and evil, where the light coming from either side of the line is bright enough to blind us. Sometimes we don't even know we've stepped into the path of a train until it is too late. Paul sums it up well in Romans when he says "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.... For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do  this I keep on doing" (Romans 7:15 & 7:19, NIV). Even the Apostle Paul fell short of God's will, and God's planbut not of God's grace.

Even though we are still in the midst of sorting out what happened to the money, the story of Johnny Bobbitt, Kate McClure, and Mark D'Amico is sad. It is sad because, like eggs on a brisk Sunday morning, the story started out so well, so uplifting, so fresh. Everyone involved was praised for doing the right thing and going a step beyond expectations for the betterment of others. But the same story almost a year later stands in stark contrast to its good start, with money missing and lawyers now taking the podiums.

In Luke, Jesus tells us of a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. Let this story of the Good Samaritan be our guide in today's tumultuous world:

"In reply Jesus said: 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have." (Luke 10:30-35, NIV)

The priest in this story is today's casual unbeliever, blessed with everythingand good for nothing. Satan works hard so some unbelievers can live the good life, with cars and houses and vacations. I can imagine this priest had plenty, but he crossed the street to avoid the naked, wounded man. I can also imagine his thought process, "I'm not risking myself for that sucker. What if it's a setup? What do I get out of it? He probably deserves his punishment."

The Levite in this story is today's casual Christian. He looked the part and even acted the part among the crowd, but in the desert between Jerusalem and Jericho, when nobody was watching, he couldn't be bothered to lift a finger and help a hurting man. It didn't matter the Levite is called to serve God without condition and the wounded, naked man was in need of service that the Levite was perfectly able to render. It also didn't matter the only one watching was God himself. I can imagine the Levite's thought process as well: "Sorry, no sir. I have to serve the showbread this week and there is no way I'm going to risk being unclean and miss my chance to serve! People will talk."

But the Samaritan, who had little in the way of possessions, and even less care for what people thought of him, stopped, rendered aid, and took care of the man until he could get well. The Samaritan in this story is a "good neighbor" in Jesus' parlance. He is today's true Christian.

So, tying back to McClure, Bobbitt and D'Amico, we do not know the whole story, and we would be remiss to assign blame without all the details, but we can quote the great Randy Travis when we say "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Maybe McClure and D'Amico set out on the right path to help Bobbitt and maybe they didn't realize when the response so overwhelmingly exceeded expectations that the light they were walking towards was a train. And maybe the missing money is somewhere waiting for legal protections to ensure Bobbitt gets the help and relief he needs from drugs before it can be administered.

But what we do know is while some good deeds start fresh, are served piping hot, and are enjoyed to the fullest, those not prepared with a Godly heart, steeped in His grace and served with a pinch of His mercy risk turning sour. Just as Timothy warned:

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." (1 Timothy 6:10-12, NIV)

So be a Good Samaritanand ignore the world around you. Ignore the demands on you to "be Christian"and just be a Christian. Avoid the trains of temptation in life's path by seeking God's face in everything and trusting his grace and mercy when this train comes anyway. And serve up plates of good deeds, prepared with the love of God and no other expectations. In the end, it's not McClure or D'Amico's responsibility to police Bobbitt's actions, it is God's.

 Mark Klages is an influential contributor, a former US Marine and a lifelong teacher who focuses on applying a Christian worldview to everyday events. Mark blogs at https://maklagesl3.wixsite.com/website under the title "God Provides where Hate Divides," with a heart to heal social, political, relational, and intellectual wounds through God's divine love and grace. Mark can also be found on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-klages-04b42511/.
A powerful 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck Japan early Thursday morning. The quake struck the northern island of Hokkaido and triggered landslides throughout.

According to BBC News, at least eight people have reportedly been killed and around 40 are missing. Additionally, the quake damaged a thermal power plant leaving about three million homes without power.

The tremor struck around 3:00 am and its epicenter was about 62km (39 miles) south-east of the regional capital Sapporo.

Many took to social media to voice their experience. One Twitter user said, Scary wake up call this morning. Was woken up by my phone blaring "earthquake" just moments before my apartment started shaking. ##hokkaido #japan #earthquake

Scary wake up call this morning.

Was woken up by my phone blaring "earthquake" just moments before my apartment started shaking.# #hokkaido #japan #earthquake pic.twitter.com/0p413L7cDL  Jan (@j_burza) September 5, 2018

Another Twitter user said, My friends. We just had a major #earthquakehere in Japan. #Hokkaido. #Sapporo. We are in the dark, but otherwise fine. Omg! It was humongous. No information on magnitude. Internet still works for now.

My friends. We just had a major #earthquake here in Japan. #Hokkaido. #Sapporo. We are in the dark, but otherwise fine. Omg! It was humongous. No information on magnitude. Internet still works for now.  Licia (@CSKawai) September 5, 2018

Authorities are encouraging people to remain cautious as they prepare for potential aftershocks.

Toshiyuki Matsumori of the meteorological agency told AFP, "Large quakes often occur, especially within two to three days [of a big one]. He continued, We urge residents to pay full attention to seismic activity and rainfall and not to go into dangerous areas."

The quake came following a deadly typhoon that had been over the west of Japan for the past few days.

According to BBC News, Jebi is the strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years. Reportedly, Jebi killed at least 10 people and caused significant damage.

Japan is one of the world's most seismically active nations accounting for approximately 20% of the worlds earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.0 or higher.

Japans meteorological agency has noted that the quake does not pose a tsunami risk.

Photo courtesy: Unsplash/Elisha Terada
This week, during the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh hearings, California Senator Dianne Feinstein said that she has sentenced women to jail for illegal abortions.

Feinstein is not a judge or attorney, but she says she was an appointee of Governor Edmund Gerald Brown in the 1960s and helped set terms and parole requirements for women in California, according to LifeNews.com.

And so I sentenced women who had committed abortions to state prison and granted them paroles, and so came to see both sides the terrible side and the human and vulnerable side, she said.

This isnt the first time Feinstein has claimed to make those types of sentences. In January 2017, she said, As you know, the constitution protects womans right to access to health care. Im old enough to remember what it was like before.

When I was a student at Stanford and thereafter and the early 1960s, I actually sentenced women in California convicted of felony abortion to state prison for a maximum sentences of up to 10 years and they still went back to it because the need was so great.

According to LifeNews.com, Feinstein is neither a judge nor attorney.

Ed Whelan, with the National Review, said Feinstein did serve on the California Parole Board in the 1960s, however, no women were ever prosecuted for obtaining abortions in California prior to Roe v. Wade. According to research from the senior legal counsel for American United for Life, there have only been two persecutions of women for abortions. One was in 1911 and the other was in 1922.

According to USA Today, Feinstein also incorrectly cited a studys findings on illegal abortion procedures.

She said that in the 1950s and 1960s, illegal abortion deaths totaled between 200,000 and 1.2 million.

The Guttmacher Institutes 2003 report, however, said between 200,000 and 1.2 million illegal abortions took place, but only 300 resulted in deaths in 1950 and 200 in 1965.

Feinsteins spokeswoman said she did not intend to make the error.

She meant to cite just the number of illegal procedures, not deaths, the spokeswoman said.

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff
September 6, 2018 (Morning Star News)  Authorities yesterday ordered 15 more days of jail for Christians arrested on Aug. 22 in Egypt for worshipping in a house without a permit, rights activists said.



After Muslim mobs demonstrated against the Virgin Mary and St. Mahrael church in Luxor Governorate, 435 miles south of Cairo, police accused the Coptic Catholics of worshipping without a permit, according to Coptic rights activist Safwat Samaan.



Police closed the church in Al-Zeneeqa village, in Esna, which has been holding worship services at the site for 18 years, according to Samaan. Five Muslims were also arrested, with another 10 arrested on Aug. 24 as they prepared another demonstration against the church, according to U.S.-based Catholic publications The Tablet.



The Copts were arrested even though they did not take any action against the demonstrators, the Catholic outlet reported. Besides charging the Christians with worshipping in an unlicensed venue, they charged them and the Muslims with illegal gathering, disrupting public peace and inciting sectarian strife, according to local media.



The church was the third one in Luxor closed in four months after Muslim extremists protested their existence, giving police the pretext of security threats for shuttering them. Hundreds of churches have submitted applications for legalization under a law passed on Sept. 28, 2016 regulating church construction, with little hope of obtaining licenses soon.



In the past 11 months, authorities approved only 220 of the 3,730 church and other ministry buildings that have applied, Watani newspaper reported on Aug. 26. Many churches have already waited 15 years for decisions on their applications for permits, and at the current rate, it will take 17 years to obtain decisions on applications from unofficial churches, according to Watani.



Human Rights Watch has described the 2016 laws restrictions over construction and renovation of church buildings discriminating against Christians.



The new law empowers provincial governors to approve church building and renovation permits, previously the domain of security services, The Tablet reported. However, it grants a governor the right to deny a building or renovation permit on security and public safety grounds, which allows mob violence to dictate the matter. Usually, such mob attacks serve as a pretext for closing the church, especially in upper Egypt where perpetrators act with impunity.



In Beni Suef Governorate, a member of the security forces responsible for protecting St. George Church in Zaytoun village, some 75 miles south of Cairo, on Aug. 25 charged into their building and shouted, You are infidels All of you are infidels, the Catholic outlet reported.



Muslim mobs that week reportedly demonstrated against a church in Sultan Basha, in Minya Governorate, keeping Copts from worshipping.



Egypt was ranked 17th on Christian support organization Open Doors 2018 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.



If you would like to help persecuted Christians, visit http://morningstarnews.o rg/resources/aid-agencies/ for a list of organizations that can orient you on how to get involved.
This spring, California assemblyman Evan Low introduced legislation that would have designated paid conversion therapy services as a fraudulent business practice. Until last week, Lows measure seemed set to pass. It moved through both of Californias legislative chambers and governor Jerry Brown had shown no sign of opposition.

But last Friday, Low quashed his own legislation after meeting with Christian leaders who had expressed concerns about how the bill might affect their ability to minister to those in the LGBT community.

Some would say this is crazy, Low, who is gay and the chairman of the legislative LGBTQ caucus, told The Los Angeles Times. Why would you pause when you dont need to, when youre in the drivers seat?

One answer was Lows relationship with Kevin Mannoia, the former president of the National Association of Evangelicals and a leader in the Free Methodist Church.

Over the course of the summer, Mannoia met with and developed a relationship with Low. Last week, Mannoia wrote an op-ed for The Orange County Registerexpressing his opposition to the billand to reparative therapy. Low dropped the bill the next day.

In his years working as an evangelical leader, Mannoia has learned to build relationships with those with whom he may disagree. So what does it take?

Being willing to commit to them as people  and what we believe to be right and appropriate in reflecting Christ well, said Mannoia. Not primarily driven by the political agenda, nor even the possibility that we may be used or manipulated, but simply doing what is right because its right.

Mannoia joined Morgan Lee, associate digital media producer, and Richard Clark, director of editorial development for SmallGroups.com and PreachingToday.com, to discuss how this story unfolded and what it says about the future of relationships between evangelicals and the LGBT community in one of the countrys most progressive states.

This episode of Quick to Listen is brought to you in part by Focus on the Familys Bring Your Bible to School Day on October 4. To learn more about this initiative, visit bringyourbible.org.

What is Quick to Listen? Read more

Subscribe to Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts

Follow the podcast on Twitter

Follow our hosts on Twitter: Morgan Lee and Richard Clark

Visit our guests website: Kevin Mannoia

Quick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee, Richard Clark, and Cray Allred
The Mobile Family: How Online Education Provides Consistency in a Ever-Changing Environment

For military families, international families, and students living outside their passport country, the experience of continually changing schools, making new friends, and adjusting to new teachers is common. Though it can be exciting, living in an ever-changing environment can also be stressful and intimidating  even for the most outgoing student. Fortunately, online education can provide the consistency, community, and quality education students need to thrive.

Whether youre a military or expat spouse seeking an advanced degree, a college student trying to juggle work and academic requirements, or a K-12 student beginning the school year in a new environment, online education may be the right choice for you.

Online Education Provides Consistency

For families facing the challenge of frequent relocation, online learning offers both the flexibility and the stability needed for academic success. In fact, the Learning House reports that in 2014, 17% of online learners were active or veteran military, their spouses, or their dependents.

According to statistics, the average child in a military family will move six to nine times throughout their school career. That's an average of three times more frequently than non-military families. Students who take advantage of online education dont have to worry about constantly transitioning between schools because their schooling travels with them  no matter where they are. And multiple time zones, states, or countries are not an issue for K-12 online students either  all they need to attend class is access to the internet.

Online education benefits more than just children; its also a great option for military or expat spouses who want to further their schooling. Because third-culture or military families move so frequently or may be stationed overseas with no access to higher education in their own language, returning to school can seem impossible. Thankfully, online colleges and universities easily cross borders, making quality educational opportunities not only possible, but also accessible, flexible, and affordable.

No matter where youre living or what kinds of obligations you may have, online colleges provide a convenient way to fit continued professional development into your life. Additionally, military students and their spouses often are eligible for a number of financial benefits that help make a college education more affordable.

Online Education Provides Community

Online schooling is becoming an increasingly popular choice for many students across the country  and the world. A recent report found that more than 6.3 million students in the U.S., most of whom were undergraduates, took at least one online course in fall 2016, a 5.6 percent increase from the previous year. Additionally, the number of students studying on a campus has dropped by over one million between 2012 and 2016.

As more and more students choose to study online, strong, thriving digital communities are emerging. Thanks to chat rooms, video conferencing, discussion boards, and social media, connecting with other students has never been easier. Students have the ability to support one another, celebrate accomplishments, and share experiences  just like they would in a traditional school setting.

Online courses offer more than just an education behind a computer screen; establishing relationships with those around you via technology provides a enriching learning experience.

Online Education Provides a Quality Learning Experience

Just because you move regularly or have an unpredictable schedule doesnt mean you have to sacrifice an education. Overall, 77% of educators believe that online learning is as rigorous as traditional learning, if not more so, and nearly 70% of all students find online classes to be as good as or better than in a traditional classroom setting.

An increasing number of accredited universities are offering online courses, too. Statistics show that 62.4% of higher education institutions offered at least one online program, an increase from 34.5% since 2002.

For college students, online learning is a cost-effective option. The total average cost of a traditional degree is $85,000, while the total average cost of an online degree is $30,000.

Online learning tools  such as e-books and other resources  are another benefit of distance learning. Unlike heavy textbooks, ebooks are easily portable, allowing for access on a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. E-books, videos, and graphs are also a great option for visual learners who may not find plain text effective.

As more and more colleges offer online courses, access to quality online education is becoming increasingly accessible. For families in an ever-changing environment, these online classes are a constant, allowing them to enjoy their transient lifestyle while continuing to grow socially, academically, and professionally.

>>>Request for Liberty University Online degree info now.

Liberty University, also referred to as Liberty, is a private, non-profit Christian research university in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty is one of the largest Christian universities in the world and the largest private non-profit university in the United States, measured by student enrollment.
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Three headlines in quick succession over the past few days got me thinking about how my fellow Americans are thinking about animals and personhood.

PETA, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have a new ad campaign equating the eating of crustaceans (crabs in Maryland and lobsters in Maine) with cannibalism. The tag lines and visuals are provocative.

If we believe what God has said in the Bible about the intentional creation of all things  the intentional created order including human beings in His image, distinct from animals and all other creatures even in the heavenly realms, then we must resist the efforts of those who would equate animals with people. PETA isn't just trying to insure the ethical treatment of animals, as their name might suggest, they are attempting to convince human beings that to eat animals equates with cannibalism. (That is not to say there are not some very good reasons to be a vegan, but this is not one of them.)

Next was the headline about the real mistreatment of animals by their opioid-addicted owners in order that veterinarians would prescribe narcotics that the people then abuse.

The consequences of sin here are evident. Having succumbed to the power of addiction, people will do anything  including abuse animals  to satiate that which is actually insatiable. The fact that animals are owned as pets, subject to abuse, unable to tell someone they are being hurt by someone in their home, unable to fill, pay for and manage their own prescription medications, is all evidence of the distinction between human beings and animals.

Then there is the news that a Minnesota company is now offering paid furternity leave for new adoptive pet owners.

Notably, we don't call new adoptive parents owners so part of the confusion here is in the application of words like adoption to pets. We give them names, they do not name us.

What then is the difference between human beings and animals? To answer this question we find ourselves at a critical point in worldview discourse. If we assert that human persons are persons and animals are not, on what basis do we make that claim? I make that claim based on what God reveals about the intentional creation of all things  including animals and human beings. In the Creation account, God makes clear that human beings are unique, categorically different, by design. God made human beings in His image. The same cannot be said of any other creature (not animals nor angels). Human beings are alone created in the image of God (Genesis 1) and human beings, as God's self-reflective, morally responsible stewards, are charged by God to care for, and carefully use, everything God places under their dominion. That means we care for animals with the same concern with which we care for the most vulnerable people but we do not confuse the two. People are not animals and ought not be treated as such; nor are animals people.

The story of Noah is relevant here. God commanded a human being to build a massive ark in the middle of the desert and then God rounded up the animals in order that they might be preserved. Noah built the ark, animals did not. All humanity and every other living thing perished in the great flood. The consequences of human sin are real and they are experienced and felt throughout Creation. Scripture confirms that Creation itself is groaning with eager longing for Man's redemption precisely because we are uniquely saved in Christ Jesus. And at the consummation of all things, all Creation will also experience a renewal to pre-fall realities.

There are animals who we recognize as having extraordinarily complex brains and social behaviors (whales, dolphins, elephants), and animals have a beauty we are to recognize, appreciate and admire  but never worship. They too declare the glory of God but the Bible makes clear they are also distinct from human beings. So, while we thank God for creating them, we do not elevate them to the status of human persons  nor beyond that, exchange the worship of the Creator with creation (read Romans 1).

Here is the ethical line that grows fuzzy in the minds of many people today: if there is a hungry child and a hungry animal, which do we feed? There are actually those today who would here ask what kind of animal because, they argue, if the animal represents an endangered species then the preservation of the life of the animal is morally imperative. The child, they will note, does not represent an endangered species. This was the argument made in the aftermath of the killing of Harambe the Gorilla when a child fell into the animal's enclosure at an Ohio zoo.

Clarification is here necessary. I support the ethical treatment of animals and I deplore their mistreatment. But we must not become confused about the relative worth of a human being and any animal. When animal advocates seek to elevate animals to the status of human beings what they accomplish instead is the devaluing of humans, threatening the dignity of every person.

For nearly a decade, animal rights advocates have been working to see language adapted and laws adopted to create a status of non-human persons. Dolphins, chimpanzees, apes and other animals are declared by some to possess personhood, although they are not human persons. Watch for language equating characteristics like personality, intelligence, future planning, social networking to personhood. Note also that those performing these behavioral studies on animals are well, making a study of the animals and publishing papers, not the other way around.

The research findings may well be valid. I have no reason to doubt that animals have distinct individualized characteristics, the ability to think and communicate. But does that mean we should regard them as persons with equal rights to human beings?

There is no denying the fact that pets have personality but that does not equate with personhood. The word for what we're doing when we project human attributes onto animals  mind, intelligence, conscience  is anthropomorphism. In the same way it is wrong to reduce God to human categories so we can get our minds around Him, so too it is wrong to assign humanness to animals from whom God has made us categorically distinct. In so doing we literally exchange the truth about God and ourselves for lies and worship the creature instead of the Creator.

The moral implications of this conversation are massive. We do not eat people, so if  as PETA now asserts, crabs and lobsters are persons, then, well, it logically follows we must not eat them. Now imagine you sincerely believe that animals are people. What would you not do to stop people from eating them? This is where veganism becomes a militant worldview whose adherents would stop at nothing to see the rights of non-human persons recognized by society writ large.

There is a legitimate role for organizations like PETA to engage in efforts to stop the intentional abuse of animals by sinful human beings. God has set us as stewards over all that He has made and that includes the just stewardship, protection and appreciation of animals. But let us never confuse the categories: people are persons, crustaceans are not. And if crustaceans are not, then cows are not, chimps are not, animals are not. It is certainly true that some people are crabs, but the reverse does not hold true.

Originally posted at The Reconnect.
As refugee camps close, Nigerian Christians fear being left to the mercy of Boko Haram

Displaced Christians in north east Nigeria have expressed fears about being told to go home to vote despite the continuing crisis caused by the operation of Islamist militia Boko Haram.

The insurgency has seen more than 20,000 people killed, more than 4,000 women and girls abducted and more than 2 million people forced to leave their homes.

According to World Watch Monitor, thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) are facing pressure to return to their villages from government officials who claim it is now safe to do so.

However, aid workers and Western diplomats have criticisedthe move and say it is geared towards the Nigerian elections, with the aim of having as many as possible return to vote in the parties' primary rounds. These started in August, ahead of the presidential elections in February 2019.

Fr Maurice Kwairanga, in charge of St Theresa's Church IDP Camp, in Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, said the policy was political propaganda. He told World Watch Monitor: 'The authorities want to show they are winning the war, though at local levels where people mostly live in remote areas, the situation is not safe enough. In some parts of Michika, Madagali, and Gwoza, there are still pockets of militants moving in small numbers  15 to 20 insurgents carrying guns  but large enough to ransack a village of 500 inhabitants. Some IDPs in St Theresa come from southern Borno state, notably from Gwoza, which was the "capital" of Boko Haram.'

President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking a second term in office but has faced criticism for failing to end the Boko Haram insurgency or to control attacks by Fulani militants on Christians.

Fr Kwairanga said he had opposed attempts in June to relocate IDPs from St Theresa camp. According to World Watch Monitor he said on two occasions, the governor of Borno state, with the army, brought trucks to relocate them, but they refused to go. 'So we told them to leave these people alone; there's no need to force them if they don't want to go back,' he said.

Some IDPs had returned to their communities on the border with Cameroon, but had been killed. Others had returned to the camp. Other IDPs, forcibly sent home, now live in camps around Gwoza town. They said militants hide in the bushes and on the mountains. They come overnight to attack and kill, and to abduct young women  and there is no army or police presence in such locations.

Some camps have been shut and IDPs who refuse to go back to their villages face food shortages.

'Unfortunately, we don't have enough resources to meet the demands,' said Fr Kwairanga. 'The Catholic Church provides food and relief for over 700 IDPs at St. Theresa, but we also take responsibility for food distribution elsewhere when resources enable us to do so.'

He said current insecurity is also fuelled by attacks carried out by Fulani herdsmen. 'Most of these communities are farming ones. But for security reasons, they are no longer able to farm.'

He said the herdsmen come in great numbers, some from neighboring countries, armed with dangerous weapons, to invade the communities, destroy the crops and kill.

'During the last rainy season (June-October), some returnees managed to farm. But in November, when crops were about to be harvested, herdsmen came with their cattle and destroyed everything. Any attempt by villagers to stop the herdsmen is suicidal as they are heavily armed.'

A donor conference has pledged $2.7 million to the Lake Chad regions affected by Boko Haram, Reuters reported on Monday.

According to UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock, millions of people in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon are still in dire need. He said: 'The crisis is not over. There are still 10 million people who need lifesaving assistance. A quarter of the people we are trying to reach are displaced from their homes and the only means of staying alive they have is what is provided by humanitarian organisations.'
Getty music conference to be beamed live around the world

Songwriters Keith and Kristyn Getty have announced that their forthcoming 'Getty Music Worship Conference: Sing!' will be live simulcasted around the world from September 10 to September 12.

The conference will be hosted at the Music City Centre in Nashville. It sold out after unprecedented demand for tickets but all seven plenary sessions, many breakout sessions and interviews can be accessed through the live simulcast.

UK audiences will have the opportunity to hear celebrated speakers including the Gettys, Alistair Begg, John Piper, Ravi Zacharias, John MacArthur, Tim Keller and more than 50 other speakers and seminar leaders.

Keith Getty said: 'This conference is a conference for pastors and church leaders on encouraging and reforming congregational worship. We want to celebrate how worship transforms individuals, families and churches, and strengthen and encourage congregational singing in churches. We would love for churches across the British isles to register for the live simulcast and be equipped to release even greater potential through their worship.'

The publishers of Keith and Kristyn Getty's music, Integrity Music, believe up to 100 million people use their songs.

Last year their first book, Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church, was published internationally by B&H (Lifeway).

To register for the Getty Music Worship Conference: Sing! live simulcast click here.
Lonely people who believe in God fare better than those who are atheists, say researchers

People who feel lonely but have a religion feel a greater sense of purpose in life than atheists, according to a new study.

University of Michigan researcher Todd Chan looked at three separate studies that asked over 19,000 people about their friendships, religious beliefs, feelings of loneliness and sense of purpose, the Daily Mail reports.

He concluded that among those who described themselves as lonely, those with a religion fared better than atheists because they were able to see God as a friend.

'For the socially disconnected, God may serve as a substitutive relationship that compensates for some of the purpose that human relationships would normally provide,' Chan said.

He said that those who fewer social connections could benefit from 'leveraging religion and turning to God as a friend.'

Co-author of the study, Nicholas Michalak, said the research suggests that those who lack friends but feel more connected to God 'will have a better sense of purpose in life.'

Another member of the research team, psychology professor Oscar Ybarra, cautioned however that people should not rely solely on God for social fulfillment.

'These results certainly do not suggest that people can or should rely on God over people for purpose,' he said. 'Quality human connections still remain a primary and enduring source of purpose in life.'
Lucy Berry: Making things happen, one poem at a time

Lucy Berry, a performance poet and United Reformed Church (URC) minister, has been named as the first poet-in-residence for the Joint Public Issues Team (JPIT) of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church and the URC.

She's a subtle observer of life and Christian life, able in a few lines of verse to reveal the pressure point where faith meets hypocrisy, or to nail a profound truth with a single striking image. Accessibility  she spent four years with Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show  does not mean triviality.

JPIT's remit is to act as its churches' voice on issues ranging from gambling to housing via taxation and nuclear weapons. Lucy attended one of its conferences, invited there to reflect and offer feedback in verse. 'I ended up, during the course of the day, very taken both by the people who set it up, and the people who attended and contributed,' she tells me. 'They were all "doers" in one way or another. Lovely; I like active faith.'

I have a niggling doubt, though, about the enterprise. I wonder if she'll be writing poems about the iniquities of the government's housing policy, and just how poetical she'll be able to be. How can you write poems that are good poetry, but still pack a punch in terms of expressing something about 'issues'? I try her with John Keats, who said, 'We hate poetry that has a palpable design upon us.'

It's not exactly a slap-down, but: 'You're assuming he's right. All poems have a "palpable design", even if it's not conscious. In the process of writing, a poet may be sorting things out between different aspects of her/himself  or finding a position alongside, or against, an existing assumption  or merely wanting to share/reveal something the poet finds important or touching.

'Think of a few: Charles Causely's Timothy Winters is, among other things, sharing the poet's despair about child poverty. John Betjeman's Slough shares, amongst other things, the poet's fear-filled contempt for mediocrity ['Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough...]; Matthew Arnold, in Dover Beach, is expressing his deep sadness at what he believes to be Christian faith in atrophy.

'I don't think my brief is to pack a punch, although I sometimes want to. It's about sharing a personal view on a JPIT issue. My poems won't be trying to express what JPIT thinks; just speaking alongside. God only knows if they'll be good.'

And what counts as a good poem?

'To be good, it would have to be emotional not sentimental, personal not general, witness not theory.'

I ask if she has a favourite, among the ones she's written. 'There's one about addiction which I rate. And one about lies. They're pretty nasty. But not overstated or tricksy. They make people cry. So probably they're rather true.'

This is another hallmark of her writing: it has an edge to it that's continually unexpected. One she tweeted recently is about the rose-ringed parakeets that infest parts of London today  beautiful, exotic birds that allegedly, though improbably, escaped from the set of The African Queen, filmed at Isleworth Studios in 1951. How strange it must have been for these immigrant creatures with their bright colours in a grey land, she reflects  and closes with the killer lines, 'At what point do you listen to a song/ sung in a different accent and decide/ whether they do  or never shall  belong?'

Thinking of that edge, I ask her what makes her angry at the moment.

'Too many things to list here. If I have grandchildren one day, they will all be brown  so racism infuriates me personally as well as intellectually. But all my many furies fall under the general headings of individual or institutional pettiness, bullying, sulking, intimidation, dishonesty, squeamishness. Oh, and denial! One of the ex-archbishops of Canterbury defined Evil as "the denial of what is". I'd buy that.'

As well as being a poet, Lucy is a United Reformed Church minister. I'm curious about the way she reads the Bible, and how poetry affects it.

'It's more the other way round: the Bible affects everything I write,' she says. 'My poems are full of Bible, even when it's not mentioned. I love the Bible deeply. Perhaps, being a poet, I hear and read it slightly differently. At one level I consider the whole Bible as poetry (not poems). It asks itself questions, which it answers, contradicts, echoes, rejects, repeats, denies, threatens...'

Back to JPIT: it's the churches' campaigning arm, aimed at challenging injustices and righting wrongs. I try her with another poet on poetry  WH Auden, who wrote that 'poetry makes nothing happen'. True or false?

'Um. To my mind, false. Poems and poetic songs allow like-minds an emotional gathering place. That can be dynamic. I know that, for example, I Rise, by Maya Angelou, has inspired a lot of women of colour to walk taller. Is that a happening? I think so.'

To watch her reading her poem 'An Empire and a Village', click here. Her own website is here.
Pastor killed as anti-government protests in Nicaragua continue

A pastor is among the fatalities as violent anti-government protests continue across Nicaragua.

According to World Watch Monitor, the pastor of the evangelical Camino de Santidad church in Managua was identified as one of three men found dead in Mozonte, 171 kms north of the capital Managua.

Pastor Justo Emilio Rodiguez Moncada and two other men were found with their hands and feet tied, and gunshot wounds to the head.

Although authorities have reportedly blamed their deaths on gang violence, World Watch Monitor reports that the men's relatives do not agree with the official verdict.

Protests against President Daniel Ortega have been a regular occurrence in Nicaragua since April, when the government tried to introduce unpopular cuts to welfare and benefits.

Since that time, the protests have spread in their cause from welfare cuts to the government in general. Reuters reports that over 300 people have been killed and at least 2,000 injured in a crackdown by police and armed groups.

As the country's economy deteriorates further, protestors are demanding that Ortega step down and call an early election.

However, Ortega is showing no signs of leaving and last week ordered the expulsion of a UN Commission after it strongly criticized the human rights situation in the country.

The Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua has been trying to mediate in the unrest and churches have been providing shelter and medical assistance to victims of violence.

World Watch Monitor reports that church buildings and church leaders have been attacked in recent months.

Open Doors analyst Rossana Ramirez told the news service that some churches were using their bells to warn of attacks by paramilitary groups and government supporters.

'The government has labelled Christian leaders "coup plotters" and "enemies of the regime",' she said, adding, 'Church leaders and even bishops have been targeted as though they were terrorists.'

Bishop Silvio Baez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, has blamed the president's 'confrontational attitude' for the lack of progress towards peace.

'Calling for dialogue right now is going to be difficult given the confrontational attitude of the government and slanderous language against the Church,' he said.
Roy Moore sues Sacha Baron Cohen over 'Who is America?' sting

Roy Moore, the former US Senate candidate from Alabama, on Wednesday filed a $95 million defamation lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen, claiming he was duped into appearing on the British comedian's Showtime series Who Is America? and falsely portrayed as a sex offender.

Moore, a Republican and former chief justice of Alabama's Supreme Court, also sued Showtime and its parent CBS Corp for defamation, and accused all three defendants of fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Baron Cohen's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Showtime spokeswoman said the network does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit arose from a July 29 broadcast where Baron Cohen, disguised as fictional Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad, interviewed Moore and demonstrated a supposed 'paedophile detector' that beeped when waved near him.

Moore, 71, whose wife Kayla is also a plaintiff, said he had been lured to Washington, DC on the pretence he would receive an award for his support of Israel, and would not have met Baron Cohen had he known what was planned.

After the beep, he told Baron Cohen: 'I support Israel. I don't support this kind of stuff,' and walked out.

'This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender...has severely harmed Judge Moore's reputation and caused him, Mrs Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause plaintiffs financial damage,' the complaint said.

Running in heavily Republican Alabama, Moore lost his Senate race last December to Democrat Doug Jones after being accused of sexual misconduct towards female teenagers while in his 30s. Moore has denied wrongdoing.

The lawsuit was filed in the Washington, DC federal court.

Larry Klayman, a conservative lawyer representing Moore, in a statement called his client 'a man of great faith, morality and intellect' and said the defendants will be held legally accountable for Baron Cohen's conduct.

Baron Cohen, 46, is known for portraying characters like Ali G, Bruno and Borat Sagdiyev whose interactions with people who do not realise they are serving as foils often result in their revealing more of themselves than they realise.

His sketches have landed him in legal hot water before, including when two former college fraternity students claimed they were duped while drunk into appearing in his 2006 film Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That case was dismissed in 2007.
'TREASON?': Trump lashes out at claims of White House resistance movement

Many senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration have been working from within to frustrate parts of his agenda to protect the country from his worst impulses, an anonymous Trump official wrote in a column published by the New York Times on Wednesday.

In the piece, the official described 'early whispers' among members of Trump's Cabinet to take steps to remove him as president, but added they decided against it to avoid a constitutional crisis.

The official wrote that the root of the problem was that Trump is amoral and not moored to any discernible principles that guide his decision-making.

'It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room,' the author wrote.

Asked about the column during a White House event, Trump called it a 'gutless editorial' bashed the New York Times as 'failing' and ticked off economic achievements that he said were proof of his leadership.

Staring into the cameras, he said: 'Nobody is going to come close to beating me in 2020 because of what we've done.'

The Republican president later fired off a one-word message on Twitter: 'TREASON?'

In another tweet, he said: 'If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!'

The Times took what it called the rare step of publishing an opinion column by the official under an agreement to keep the author's name secret. It said the senior administration official's job would be jeopardised by its disclosure.

The article further fuelled accusations by critics that Trump was unstable and unfit for the presidency, and seemed likely to resurrect talk among some Democrats about potentially impeaching the president should they take control of the US House of Representatives in November elections.

25th Amendment

There was an immediate guessing game in Washington about who wrote the article and whether it came from someone within the White House or in another government agency.

The opinion piece followed publication on Tuesday of the first excerpts from a book by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward describing chaos in the White House.

Woodward reported that Defense Secretary James Mattis rejected a recommendation from Trump for the US military to kill Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, according to excerpts published by the Washington Post.

Mattis dismissed the book as 'a uniquely Washington brand of literature' and Trump has called it 'total fiction'.

In the Times piece, the official wrote: 'Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president.

'But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  it's over,' the author added.

Under the 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967, the vice president and a majority of either Cabinet officials or 'such other body as Congress may by law provide' may declare in writing that the president 'is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office'.

It has never been used to strip a president from power and would be a complicated process.

'We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous,' the writer said. 'But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.'
(Bloomberg) -- A protester disrupted Jack Dorseys testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, berating the Twitter Inc. chief executive officer and calling him a liar. She asked President Donald Trump to help her and said Dorsey is trying to influence the election.

We are not Russian bots, we are conservatives, she said.
One of the oldest homes in the Heights  a 1910 estate built by the founder of historic Woodland Heights  hit the market this week for just under $3 million.

The owner, civic leader, activist and Boulevard Realty owner Bill Baldwin, tried the sell the house three years ago. But after a short period, he decided to stay put and renovate.

Baldwin has lived 13 years in the 6,700-square-foot home at 205 Bayland. Now, he plans to build a new home in the area with his partner of three years, Fady Armanious, creative director for high-fashion retailer Tootsies.

We just felt like this is really the right time. The Heights has never been more popular, Baldwin said. I know many houses that are well worth between $2 and $3 million. Mine isnt the only one anymore.

ANOTHER HEIGHTS PICK: Historic Heights Victorian seeks new owner

Million-dollar homes in the Heights used to be a rarity. But last year, 82 homes sold for at least $1 million in the Heights, up from 21 in 2013, according to the Houston Association of Realtors. Through early September, 64 homes sold for $1 million or more  a pace, if maintained, would surpass last years $1 million-plus sales.

The neighborhood, known for historic properties and newer, more eclectic home designs, now rivals Montrose as one of the most desirable neighborhoods because of its proximity to downtown and growing collection of trendy restaurants, coffee shops and shops. Young families also have flocked to the area, driving up housing prices in parts of the neighborhood zoned to highly-rated elementary schools.

At the end of August, a Victorian-style home, built in 1892 on Harvard Street, was listed for $2.28 million. The life-sized dollhouse, a rare example of end-of-the-19th century architecture, was the home of the late Bart Truxillo, a longtime advocate for historic preservation in Houston.

Amy Lynch Kolflat, the Re/Max Metro agent listing the historic Harvard Street property, said she has shown the home frequently in the last couple of weeks. Theres been a steady stream of activity on it, she said.

Million-dollar-plus home sales in the Heights 2018: 64 (year to date) 2017: 82 2016: 79 2015: 56 2014: 48 2013: 21 Source: Houston Association of Realtors See More Collapse

Baldwin is asking $2.995 million for his home, the same price he listed it for in 2015. He believes the property has appreciated since then, but said he he wants it to sell in a reasonable time frame. Typically it takes an average of a year to sell a home at that price, he said.

MISSING LINKS: Why there are so few historic buildings in Houston

Originally built for William A. Wilson, founder of the Woodland Heights and Eastwood neighborhoods, the Prairie-style home sits on a just under half an acre and features wrap around porches, a wine cellar and a three car garage.

It was designated by the city as a protected landmark in 2009, meaning exterior alterations must be approved by a special committee.

Over the years, Baldwin has hosted hundreds of events in the home, from lavish galas and political fundraisers to business meetings and baby showers. In their next home, Baldwin and Armanious said they will continue to host events of all kinds.

In addition to his real estate business, Baldwin recently formed a political action committee focusing on local elections and referendums aimed at improving the citys neighborhoods schools and local governments. He also serves on the citys Planning Commission.

The couple considered moving to a high-rise, but decided against it.

We dont fit in 3,000 square feet, he said. Were really single-family people.
WeWork and Bunker Labs are starting a program to help Houston veterans and their spouses launch and scale early-stage startups.

Houston is the 14th city to get WeWork Veterans in Residence. This program, starting Thursday, accepts up to 10 participants in each city every six months.
Houston's Kinder Morgan and Midland-based EagleClaw Midstream said they've authorized the proposed $2 billion Permian Highway Pipeline project to transport natural gas from West Texas to Houston and other hubs.

The project is part of the race to build gas and oil pipelines from the booming Permian Basin to refining and port hubs near Houston and Corpus Christi. Permian production is currently stalling from pipeline shortages to carry the oil and gas out of rural and landlocked West Texas.

RECOVERY: Offshore oil production shows signs of turnaround

The 430-mile Kinder Morgan project is backed by customer support from Exxon Mobil and Houston-based Apache Corp., which also has the option of buying a one-third stake in the pipeline through its proposed spinoff company, Altus Midstream. For now, Kinder Morgan and EagleClaw are 50-50 partners.

The 42-inch pipeline is slated for completion by the end of 2020 and would stretch from Waha in West Texas' Pecos County to Katy near Houston. From Katy, the natural gas could flow to U.S. Gulf Coast and Mexican markets via existing pipelines. The project is designed to transport 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

"With the continued growth in drilling activity in the Permian Basin, this project will help to provide key infrastructure for producers to move natural gas to the best premium markets along the Gulf Coast and South Texas," said EagleClaw President Jamie Welch.

Some of the main uses of the Permian Highway Pipeline are to supply gas for electricity generation in Texas and Mexico and for new liquefied natural gas export complexes under construction in Freeport and Corpus Christi.

Kinder Morgan just proposed the project in June in the new partnership with EagleClaw, a private firm that's financially backed by the New York private equity giant Blackstone Group.

GROWING: EagleClaw Midstream acquires Houston's Caprock for $950M

Earlier this week, EagleClaw said it's buying another Permian pipeline company, Humble-based Caprock Midstream, for $950 million to expand its West Texas footprint.

Back to Kinder Morgan, the Houston firm already is leading the construction of the $1.7 billion Gulf Coast Express Pipeline that would stretch farther south from the Permian to just west of Corpus Christi in Agua Dulce. Apache also is an anchor customer on that project, slated for completion in fall 2019.

As for crude oil, Exxon Mobil said in June it plans to create a joint venture with Houston's Plains All American Pipeline to construct a multibillion-dollar pipeline stretching from west of Midland to the Houston and Beaumont areas that would carry oil and condensate.
Crude plunged to a two-week low as emerging-market stocks tumbled to the edge of bear market territory.

Futures in New York slid 1.4 percent on Thursday. Emerging-market stocks extended losses from a January peak to 20 percent, the threshold of a bear market. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration reported rising fuel stockpiles across the U.S. at the same time as supplies at the nation's largest crude distribution hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, also expanded last week.

"Bear market territory or not, there is some weakness there," said Brian Kessens, who helps manage $16 billion in energy assets at Tortoise. Investors are focusing on "what that might mean in the future for global oil demand. It's just a risk-off day."

Aside from the emerging-market scare, traders are focused on U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran. As the early-November deadline set by the U.S. on Iran's exports nears, JXTG Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest refiner, and domestic rival Idemitsu Kosan Co. are both said to have skipped purchases of Iranian supplies loading in October.

West Texas Intermediate for October delivery slid 95 cents to settle at $67.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Total volume traded was about 9 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent for November settlement fell 77 cents to end the session at $76.50 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a $8.98 premium to WTI for the same month.

The EIA reported gasoline supplies rose 1.85 million barrels last week, while distillate fuel stocks increased by 3.12 million. Cushing stockpiles expanded by 549,000 barrels, overshadowing a decline in crude inventories of 4.3 million.

Reports of stockpile increases "to a great extent has created some negativity," said Bart Melek, head of global commodity strategy at TD Securities in Toronto. There is concern "that there may be a bit of a demand decline."

Other oil-market news:

Gasoline futures dipped 0.7 percent to settle at $1.9510 a gallon, the lowest since March.

OPEC oil shipments will increase by 450,000 barrels a day to 25.29 million a day in the four weeks to Sept. 22 versus the period to Aug. 25, tanker-tracker Oil Movements said in a weekly report.

The price of access to unexplored shale assets in the Permian Basin soared to more than $95,000 an acre in a U.S. government auction.

Schlumberger Ltd., Baker Hughes and Halliburton Co. are bidding to drill for oil in waters off Kuwait, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Continental Resources Inc., the shale-oil producer controlled by billionaire Harold Hamm, is targeting a fourfold return on a royalties investment with Franco-Nevada Corp.

2018 Bloomberg L.P.
After a summer of record-breaking electricity use that stretched supplies in Texas, the state's grid operator says it will have enough power to meet demand this fall.

Peak demand this fall, which runs from Oct. to Nov., is expected to reach nearly 59,000 megawatts, according to grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas. That is compared to the nearly 82,000 megawatts of power generation that will be available to ERCOT.
A 32-year-old Houston firefighter was arrested Tuesday and charged with felony burglary after allegedly breaking into a home, according to police.

Michael Sinclair, of Spring, was busted on a burglary of a habitation charge after entering a residence in northeast Harris County, records show. He was released from custody Wednesday after posting a $30,000 bond.
For military veterans, it's a great time to be looking for a job.

Right now the veteran unemployment rate is 3 percent, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. That's an all-time low, and lower than the national unemployment rate of 4 percent.

"That speaks really highly of the national economic strength and the value of the military person," said Doug Turner, an event coordinator for RecruitMilitary. Companies are eager to hire veterans, he said, and they're competing to do so.

More than 81 of those companies will be interviewing and hiring in Houston Thursday, Sept. 6 at the RecruitMilitary job fair for veterans, their spouses and their dependents.

That's a record number of participating employers, Turner said - including Intel Corp., U.S. Customs and Border Protection, H-E-B and the City of Houston.

"They know unemployment is low, and they value military veterans," he said. "They're looking to hire."

Some employers will be hiring on the spot, Turner said. At the last RecruitMilitary job fair in Houston, 375 candidates showed up - and companies issued 255 job offers right then and there.

Veterans Job Fair When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Thursday Where: Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford Cost: Free More info: www.RecruitMilitary.com See More Collapse

When Turner was getting ready to retire after 24 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he went to a job fair for veterans to get his next job. Here are his tips for making the most of it.

Tips to make the most of the job fair:

1. Show up early - maybe an hour before the job fair starts. This gives you a chance to scope out the competition. Besides, American GI Forum will be fitting veterans for free suits and jackets, and supplies are limited - so get in line.

2. Bring your resume - the more copies, the better. If you need help putting it together, get advice at the RecruitMilitary website.

3. Have a 30-second introductory speech ready to go. "You'll go to a booth and market yourself: 'This is who I am, this is how I can help you out with your company.'"

4. If you're a veteran's spouse or dependent, don't hesitate to join in. Employers are looking for you, too.

5. Be persistent. Keep interviewing. "Don't go until you get a job offer," Turner advises.
GREENWICH  More Greenwich Public School students met or exceeded state standards on the Smarter Balanced assessment this year than in the previous two years, according to results released Thursday.

Greenwich students have shown steadily upward achievement over the three years the states new testing system has been in place.

We are extremely proud of our students, our communitys support of public education, and our staffs tremendous dedication and commitment to the Vision of the Graduate at the Greenwich Public Schools, Interim Superintendent Ralph Mayo said in a statement.

Greenwichs results were well above the state averages; the public school system also is climbing the ranks of its District Reference Group, a state-set classification of similiar districts based on socio-economic factors. GPS ranked seventh and fifth in English and math, respectively, among the 19 districts in its DRG, which include Fairfield, Trumbull, Avon and Farmington. In 2015-16, it was ranked 13th and 11th, then 10th and sixth in 2016-17.

Students in grades three through seven were tested in the spring, and followed a statewide trend in which overall performance on tests is increasing, but individual students are not showing greater jumps in performance from one year to the next.

Seventy-eight percent of Greenwich students met or exceeded state English standards, while 71.4 percent did so in math. Both figures supercede previous years. In 2016-17, 75.6 percent of students hit or surpassed the mark in English, while 70.7 percent did so in math.

The tests dont just measure overall student performance for the district. Each student also is given target marks for performance each year to encourage growth.

In Greenwich, students on average reached 70.6 percent of their target scores this year in reading and writing, recovering from a nearly 8-percentage-point fall from 71.8 percent in 2015-16 to 64 percent in 2016-17.

In math, Greenwichs growth lagged behind previous years, with students reaching on average 71.3 percent of their targets, losing the ground gained last year when results jumped from 74 percent in 2015-16 to 77.6 percent in 2016-17.

In terms of the achievement gap, the results show overall improvement among high-needs students  those who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, or receive English-language-learning or special education services  but also the presence of a persistent gap in town schools. The percent of Greenwich students with high needs who met or exceeded expectations in English increased to 49.7 percent in 2018 from 43.4 percent in 2017. In math, the percentage rose to 41.7 in 2018 from 36.7 in 2017.

School officials are beginning to review the data, according to GPS Communications Director Kim Eves. The Board of Education will receive an academic achievement update at its next meeting on Sept. 20.

All administrators will review the current status of student learning as measured by the standardized assessments and instructional practices to identify successes to celebrate and amplify, and areas of focus to address through school and program improvement plans, Eves said in a statement.

Mayo said standardized testing is one metric of many for monitoring students progress.

Our strategic vision to make learning personal requires continuous focus on changing the learner experience guided by a tightly aligned, yet flexible standards-based curriculum in order to meet the individual strengths, needs, interests and goals of each student, he said.

State results

Statewide, slightly more than half  55.3 percent  of students met or exceeded proficiency in English. The same cannot be said of math, where only 46.7 percent of test takers hit the target.

Both percentages ticked up slightly from the previous year.

State officials characterized the overall scores as promising.

I would say they are stable with an upward trend, Commissioner of Education Dianna Wentzell said the day before the scores were publicly released. Obviously, we would like to see the upward trend happening more quickly than it is. We are happy to see steady progress, particularly with the new, more demanding standards. We know it is a heavier lift.

In terms of growth targets, students statewide are reaching about 60 percent.

Ajit Gopalakrishnan, chief performance officer for the state Department of Education, said the state aims for students to achieve 100 percent of their annual growth targets.

The growth across the board is not as strong as we would like it to be, while proficiency is promising, he said.

The growth measurement, which educators call cohort growth, interests Gopalakrishnan more than raw achievement scores.

I think the growth is a leading indicator where things are heading long-term, he said.

High-achieving and low-achieving kids are both expected to grow, but the gap is greater for students who are farther from the achievement level the state sets.

Weve selected the standard based on the standard of getting the lowest kids to achievement level in five years, Gopalakrishnan said. Our accountability is 100 percent. Were not there, were working to improve that.

jo.kroeker@hearstmediact.com
KENT  The buildings at the top of Skiff Mountain were largely untouched for 50 years, even after Marvelwood School moved in about 20 years ago.

But that changed this summer with the completion of a $2 million project that completely renovated the dorms, several common rooms and a science lab. The public will be able to see the work at an open house from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday.

Its been a long time since we had any construction tape up here, said Assistant Head of School Caitlin Lynch.

Marvelwood has 140 students. Of these, 20 are day students, although all students get a dorm room.

That helps build a sense of community, said Michael Gabriel Deveau, the project manager.

The project made the buildings more modern, brighter and eco-friendly. It was paid for with a loan that was incorporated into the schools mortgage.

This whole campaign for the students is going to change the lives of our students because this is their home away from home, he said.

The environmentally friendly renovations in the dorms included adding electric hand dryers in the bathrooms, water fountains to replace plastic bottles and energy efficient laundry facilities. LED lighting was also installed with the new electrical systems, which are expected to save about 40 percent in electricity. The school plans to look at solar power soon.

Its all about the carbon footprint and being eco-friendly going forward, Deveau said.

The dormitories also had new ceilings, doors and carpets added. The two larger common rooms, which have balconies that overlook the fields and lake, changed the fireplaces by adding a new stone around the old red brick to add a cozier, modern feel. The smaller common rooms have special lights added into the wall that can be changed to any color. Privacy stalls were also added in the remodeled bathrooms.

Each dorm has its own color scheme that plays off of the schools colors of blue and white.

Kitchenetts were put in the dorm hallways and all of the fire exits and codes were updated.

The landscaping was also redone and flower boxes, donated by the parents group, were added.

The project also included adding an imaging and innovation lab off the renovated science lab, that allows for more tools to expand its offerings for science, technology and arts. These include a 3-D printer, laser engraver, a weather station, photography tools, drones and bioacoustical program, which the school is using to identify bird species.

Its designed to be more modern, said Laurie Doss, the science department chair.

The science lab renovation also allows for more collaboration with tables that allow for different configurations.

Marvelwood was founded in 1956. It started in the village of Cornwall, using homes as dorms and classrooms and a barn as the dining hall.

It was a really cool atmosphere but we quickly outgrew it, Lynch said,

In 1995, the school moved to its current campus, which was built by Kent School to house the female students when it went co-ed. Kent School left the space though and decided to just build another dormitory for the female students to eliminate the need for busing the girls to their classes on the main campus at the base of the hill.

The campus sat vacant for about eight years before Marvelwood moved in and spruced it up.

Lynch remembers what the campus looked like when they first moved in, describing it as a dilapidated ghost town. She said they did some work but not the full renovation they did now.

To do everything at once was such a gift, she said, adding the next project will be renovating the performing arts center.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345
Seven major U.S. hospital systems and three philanthropies, including the Arnold Foundation in Houston, have established a not-for-profit generic drug company to combat soaring prices and shortages.

The initiative, which plans to produce generic drugs for which the market currently lacks competition, is being launched Thursday, eight months after the concept was initially announced. Since then, leaders said in a news release, more than 120 health organizations have expressed interest or committed to participating.

"We are creating a public asset with a mission to ensure that essential generic medications are accessible and affordable," Martin VanTrieste, CEO of the initiative, named Civica Rx, said in a statement. "This will improve the situation for patients by bringing much needed competition to the generic drug market."

The participating hospital systems include Catholic Health Initiatives and HCA Healthcare, both of which have hospitals in the Houston area; Intermountain Healthcare, the Mayo Clinic, Providence St. Joseph Health, SSM Health and Trinity Health. The seven systems represent 500 hospitals.

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Gary and Mary West Foundation are pledging a total of $30 million to the effort. Each is making an initial $1 million contribution to Civica Rx and a commitment of $9 million in loans to be used in the future as necessary.

The initiative is a response to markets hurt by certain players buying up monopolies of old, off-patent drugs and then sharply raising prices. Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager known as "Pharma Bro" who raised the price of a decades-old drug, Daraprim, from $13.50 a tablet to $750 a tablet in 2015, is the best-known example.

The shortages of vital drugs over the past decade, such as injectable morphine and sodium bicarbonate, has also hurt hospitals. Such shortfalls are exacerbated when only one or two manufacturers make the product.

Civica Rx has identified 14 generic drugs routinely administered in the hospital as the planned initial focus of its efforts. They would not name the drugs, arguing that competitors could shut them out of the market by quickly dropping the price of the medications in question, then raising them again later.

"The current market for generics has resulted in shortages and high prices for certain essential drugs," said Mark Miller, vice president of health care for the Arnold Foundation. "The objective of Civica is to enter the market, create an additional competition with the hope of correcting those shortages and putting downward pressure on prices.

The company, organized as a Delaware non-stock, not for profit, will be headquartered in Utah.

Todd Ackerman covers medicine for the Houston Chronicle. He can be reached at todd.ackerman@chron.com or twitter.com/ChronMed.
CROWMELL  Residents will gather at the Frisbee Park Tuesday morning to mark the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The remembrance ceremony, which is being held at the pavilion at Riverport Park at Frisbee Landing, begins at 8:30 a.m. and will continue until 9:15.

Mayor Enzo Faienza will lead a delegation of officials during the ceremony organized by Jay Polke, co-owner of the Willowbrook Spirit Shoppe, and contractor Robert Donohue, owner of Donohue Home Improvement.

Polke and Donohue said they were staging the event so we will never forget the Americans that died on that infamous day.

A total of 2,937 people were killed in coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington when terrorists flew hijacked jetliners into the buildings.

Forty more people died when they fought to regain control of a United Airlines Flight 93 which had been hijacked and was being flown toward Washington. The passengers and crew were killed when the plane crashed outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Joining Faienza will be the Rev. Paul D. Kramitz, pastor of the Bethany Lutheran Church of Cromwell, Police Chief Denise Lamontagne and state Rep. Christie Carpino, R-Cromwell.

Richard F. Donohue, president of the Cromwell Historical Society, has been invited to sing the National Anthem.

The public in invited to share in the remembrance as well.

Reporter Jeff Mill covers East Hampton, Cromwell and Portland for the Middletown Press. Contact him at jeff.mill@hearstmediact.com.
MIDDLETOWN  Nothing could have prepared Westfield Fire District volunteer Lt. John Kloc for the starkness and utter wreckage he witnessed once his 20-man team arrived to tackle massive fires in the wilds of Colorado.

Kloc, 31, was deployed to remote, federally protected land July 27 for 19 days as part of a crew specially trained and certified by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to assist the U.S. Forest Service in fighting wildfires in western states.

You can see this in the magazines, and you can watch the news, but until youre out there, all your senses are picking all this up, its really mind-blowing, he said.

Kloc compared it to what it would be like walking on the moon.

Everything that was once trees was ash  and were walking through there to our next assignment. Everything that was once lush forest is nothing but ash, said Kloc, who began volunteering at the Westfield hose company in 2013.

Often, crews trudged through a foot of ash, he said. Your feet are sinking into it, kicking up the dust.

Kloc began his career with the Long Hill Fire Department in Trumbull in 2013. In 2015, he transferred to Westfield fire, and, in January, he was named lieutenant and given charge of 50 volunteer firefighters.

Hes not unfamiliar with working 12-hour shifts in Middletown  from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Thats after hes worked at his full-time day job as the shipping and maintenance coordinator for the Michaels Jewelers in Waterbury.

His employer generously allowed him to take personal time.

John strongly influenced us to extend our 10 percent discount offered to all military personnel to include first responders as a thank you for their generous services to our community, Lindsay Michaels Gorski, Michaels marketing director, said in a prepared statement.

Kloc is not unfamiliar with tough working conditions.

All these guys, sometimes well be out all night: two fire alarms and a medical call thatll take three, four hours a night, he said.

If all is quiet, Westfield firefighters can lie down for a nap about 10 p.m., but the calls are relentless, and can come every two hours.

Youre not sleeping much, but thats the life we have chosen. All of us enjoy doing it, or we wouldnt be doing it anymore, he said. Ive always been intrigued and fascinated by the technical rescue aspect of things, firefighting, emergency medical care. This is just one thing I can do to help.

The Connecticut interagency crew was originally deployed to the first 748-acre fire, Buttermilk, for a week. After it was contained, Kloc and his men traveled an hour to a fire that originated from a lightning strike and spread across 75 acres, he said.

Such strikes touch off the majority of forest fires, Kloc said. The land is so mountainous that a smoldering tree could go undetected for days.

By that time, its massive, Kloc said. It did started to grow significantly in size, so firefighters switched tactics to a more aggressive method.

Within nine or 10 days, they had the fire under control, so they were sent an hour north to Gunnison, Colorado, for five days to help knock down the Green Mountain fire.

They were the first team on scene.

That was big for us, especially for an eastern crew to come out there and get the assignment. Its showing a lot that Connecticut has made a name for itself. They work hard, and we do what weve got to do to get the job done, Kloc said.

Over 17,000 trained wildland firefighters from across the nation have responded to over 3.9 million acres of wildland fires so far this year  an area larger than the state of Connecticut, according to DEEP.

Getting trained in a classroom to fight wildfires can only prepare a firefighter so much. Even Kloc was surprised to see conditions once he arrived on site.

Theres nothing like seeing it firsthand.

I knew wed be working long hours, and it would be hot, and wed be hiking a lot, but when you get out there, and you see the sheer devastation and everything the fire had caused, just how much manpower people are putting into it, and the effort that is created to try to stop these wildfires, it blows your mind, Kloc said.

He was also impressed by the amount of air support used out west.

We had helicopters and air tankers that were assisting us. Im used to structural firefighting, where multiple departments come together with truck companies and rescue companies, but just the sheer amount of acreage that was on fire out there meant massive coordination between many many many bureaus: the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service, local fire departments and interagency crews.

It was tough going, Kloc said. Being born and raised in Connecticut means a firefighter hasnt always experienced the demands placed on them, he said.

Connecticut is couple hundred feet above sea level. In Colorado, the mountains are as high as 10,000 feet. Everything was very dry; the humidity in the single digits. Theres fire around, so everything is burnt.

Wildfire fighting does not use breathing apparatus, Kloc said, so the crews were outfitted in fire-resistant long cotton pants and long-sleeved collared shirts. In structural fires, the blaze is contained within the home or facility, making the chances of suffering from smoke inhalation very great.

The whole time, [the flames and smoke] are going straight up and away, in Colorado, said Kloc, who, with his men, easily hiked 10 miles a day with 50-pound packs on their back up significant elevations.

Its so remote you cant take a truck there or even ATVs, because where we were going, only people could get to.

Managing Editor Cassandra Day can be reached at cassandra.day@hearstmediact.com or Twitter @cassandrasdis.
WASHINGTONRep. Duncan Hunter once called Washington whispers that he had engaged in multiple extramarital affairs tabloid trash.

But the California Republican  who, along with his wife, Margaret, was indicted last month on 60 counts related to spending more than $250,000 in campaign cash for personal expenses that included vacations to Italy and Hawaii, dental work, and flying his familys pet rabbit across the country  may face more scrutiny in the coming months for the personal relationships he had with at least five women on whom prosecutors have alleged he spent campaign donation money.

The Hunters pleaded not guilty at their arraignment in August.

According to the indictment, the Hunters were profligate spenders who lived well beyond their means.

The couple overdrew their bank account more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period. They accrued approximately $37,761 in overdraft and insufficient funds bank fees. In the same period, the couples credit cards were charged to the credit limit, often with five-figure balances, resulting in approximately $24,600 in finance charges, interest and other fees related to late, over-the-limit and returned-payment fees.

Duncan spent some of that money on five unidentified people living in Washington, D.C., with whom he had personal relationships, prosecutors allege: Individuals 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 in the indictment.

The San Diego Union-Tribune first broke down the sections of the indictment that implicate Hunter for marital infidelity.

Hunters lawyer, Gregory Vega, argued in a letter last month to the Department of Justice that many of the charges against Hunter, including the details about his personal relationships, should not be tried in criminal court but rather be litigated under civil election law, the Union-Tribune reported.

Hunter has struck a defiant  yet inconsistent  tone with the media as he marches on with his campaign for a sixth term in Californias 50th District.

At first, he shifted blame to his wife, claiming she handled his finances. But after outlets reported those comments, he returned to reporters, telling them to leave my wife out of it.

Griffin Connolly is a CQ-Roll Call writer.
Permits for an offshore crude oil export terminal south of Galveston could be approved in 2020, according to the Houston company pushing the project.

Enterprise Products Partners said it expects it to take up to 24 months for it to receive permit approvals for its proposed offshore oil export terminal that it announced in July. The terminal would be located roughly 80 miles offshore and would be able to load 85,000 barrels of oil an hour, or more than 2 million barrels a day.
WASHINGTON - After returning from a trip to Mexico City to discuss the overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement, South Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar said he could not get assurances from the new ruling party there, led by leftist president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, that its leaders would sign on to a new trade deal.

Still, Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, said he was reassured after meetings with both Alfonso Romo, chief of staff to Obrador, and Ricardo Monreal, the coordinator for the Morena party in the Mexican Senate.

"They didn't say, we are going to (agree to the NAFTA deal) but they did talk about jobs," Cuellar said in an interview Wednesday. "One of the things they want to do is create jobs, and I think they understand trade is the way to create jobs."

RELATED STORY: Trump cuts deal with Mexico, raising hopes for NAFTA

Last week President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced they had come to terms on a new NAFTA, setting the stage for those two countries and Canada to sign a final deal before Pena Nieto leaves office Dec. 1.

But Mexico's recently elected congressional representatives took their seats Saturday, with Obrador's Morena Party in majority. And there are questions whether they will go along with the deal Pena Nieto cut with Trump.

"There is a strong nationalist element there, and they might not see this as favorable to Mexico," Tony Payan, director of Rice University's Mexico Center at the Baker Institute, said last week.

Mexico is Texas' largest trading partner, making business leaders in both countries increasingly nervous as the relationship between the two countries has become volatile in recent years.

During his trip, Cuellar also met with the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who was once the richest man in the world and who exchanged tough words with Obrador during the presidential campaign.

Two members of Obrador's staff were present at the meeting with Slim, Cuellar said, adding the appointment of Romo, a wealthy Monterrey businessman, as chief of staff had reassured many in the Mexico's business world.

"They're trying to send out a message," Cuellar said, adding that Obrador "sat down with a lot of the business leaders near the election to calm them down."
H-E-B will put all of its Austin digital team under one roof and hire hundreds of employees to staff its new digital headquarters there  the latest in a series of big moves this year to bolster the companys mobile and online operations.

The San Antonio grocer, which operates 400 stores in Texas and Mexico, announced Wednesday that it plans a world-class tech facility and innovation lab to consolidate its digital team currently operating in Austin along with Austin-based Favor, the mobile delivery company H-E-B bought for an undisclosed sum earlier this year.

Employees on H-E-Bs digital team in San Antonio will remain here, company spokeswoman Dya Campos said.

H-E-B and Favor said they plan to hire several hundred workers to fill positions across all areas of expertise including product management, product design, and software engineering.

This state-of-the-art space will be a hub for creativity and innovation as we continue to develop the ultimate digital experience for our customers, Jag Bath, H-E-B chief digital officer and Favor CEO, said in a statement.

The San Antonio retailer has made big strides in the digital sphere as retail giants Amazon, Target and Walmart make headway in the grocery sector and encroach on H-E-Bs turf in Texas.

Consumers increasingly are seeking offerings that make grocery shopping easier, retail analyst Jan Kniffen said. And once a category of retail product, like books or electronics, starts seeing online sales growth, that growth doesnt stop, Kniffen said.

Grocery will be the same way, Kniffen said. People who dont believe that have not been watching every other category.

But its unclear whether grocers, who operate at low margins, can profit from new digital offerings like home grocery delivery, mobile checkout apps and allowing customers to order groceries online and pick them up in stores  or have employees load them into shoppers vehicles.

Grocerys kind of the last frontier of the digital domain, said Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at retail consulting firm RSR Research. The challenge is not is there a market, the challenge is can you make any money at it and I dont think you can.

H-E-B has added home grocery delivery and curbside pickup on grocery orders to more than 100 stores in Texas and is on track to add the services to 165 Texas locations by the end of 2018.

Other retailers also have been aggressively adding grocery delivery and pickup options to their services.

Amazon  which bought Austin-based Whole Foods Market last year for $13.4 billion  expanded Prime Now delivery of Whole Foods products to San Antonio and Houston in ZIP codes where the Prime Now subscription delivery service operates in June.

That announcement came the same day Walmart announced a partnership with the mobile restaurant courier company DoorDash, offering delivery of at least $30 worth of items for a $9.95 flat delivery fee. Walmart  which has been rolling out in-store grocery pickup in its stores since it first piloted the program in 2013  also is piloting its own last-mile grocery delivery service, the company said Wednesday.

And Target bought grocery delivery company Shipt for $550 million in December, saying it would provide same-day delivery on orders of groceries, clothes and electronics, among other goods.

H-E-B also is piloting a mobile checkout app, H-E-B Go, at three stores in the San Antonio area  a service Walmart and Sams Club have increasingly offered to their customers.

H-E-B bought Favor in February, a rare acquisition for the $25 billion company. Three months later, H-E-B named Bath to the newly created position of chief digital officer, overseeing H-E-Bs digital products and services. Last month, the company hired Mike Georgoff of Austin-based digital marketing firm to head its digital product strategy, design and development as chief product officer.

For the digital headquarters, IA Interior Architects will customize a two-story, 81,000-square-foot workspace in a recently rehabbed warehouse at 2416 E. 6th St. on Austins East Side, less than 10 minutes from downtown Austin, and H-E-B will lease the space. The facility is projected to open in spring 2019.

The headquarters announcement also marks H-E-Bs latest corporate move in Austin. The chain consolidated its regional operations last year by buying about 100,000 square feet of office space on Austins North Side.

H-E-B still is growing its presence in San Antonio. City Council members waived $1.5 million in city and utility fees for H-E-B to build its $130 million, 1 million-square-foot distribution center on its 870-acre site at the southwest corner of East Houston Street and South Foster Road on the East Side.

Joshua Fechter is a San Antonio-based staff writer covering retail and tourism. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jfechter@express-news.net | Twitter: @JFreports
An angry Liberty father is mourning the death of his 3-year-old son who was found dead after he went missing near Las Vegas on Sunday, allegedly while with his biological mother at a park.

Daniel Theriot was found Monday by authorities in a remote area near Lake Mead after an extensive search. Las Vegas prosecutors Wednesday charged his mother, 20-year-old Cassie Smith, and her 40-year-old boyfriend, Joshua Oxford, with first-degree murder in connection with Daniels death.

There are no words (to describe) how angry I am and how I feel, said James Theriot, 26, Smiths ex-boyfriend and Daniels father.

At 9 a.m. Sunday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department patrol officers were dispatched to Sunset Park at 2601 E. Sunset Ave. to investigate a report of a missing child.

'LITTLE JACOB CASE': Mother indicted by Galveston County grand jury in boy's death

The officers spoke to Smith, who told them she had taken the child to the park to feed the ducks. Smith alleges she took a phone call and turned her back to the child. The child was gone when she returned.

A police press release said officers immediately established a command post in the area and requested additional resources to assist with the search. Red Rock Search and Rescue, Child Protective Services, Clark County Park Police, National Park Services, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Joint Child Abuse Rapid Deployment Team all assisted.

While officers were searching the immediate area, another team of officers went to check the apartment where the child lived.

When they arrived, they found Oxford watching Smiths other son. CPS took Smiths other son into custody and took him to an area hospital, where medical staff discovered signs of physical abuse.

During their investigation, detectives located the 3-year-old in a remote area near Lake Mead.

Initially, Oxford and Smith were transported to the Clark County Detention Center and charged with one count of child abuse or neglect.

On Wednesday, following the autopsy, prosecutors added first-degree murder charges to both Smith and Oxford in the death of Daniel.

Theriot, the boys biological father from Liberty, was in disbelief.

He received a phone call at 11:30 p.m. Sunday from an FBI agent informing him his son was missing. He was notified Monday morning that the body had been found.

Theriot said his ex-girlfriend was living in Spring with the two boys and going to school to become a certified nurse assistant until a couple of months ago.

Allegedly, she met Oxford and wanted to move to the West Coast to be with him. Theriot said the couple found it too expensive to live in California so they moved in with his mom at her home in Las Vegas.

Once in Vegas, Theriot thought things might be better for the two boys. Instead, he received a series of texts from her warning that Daniel had been acting up.

One of the texts from Smith read: Daniel is getting worse and worse by the day, he wont listen to either of us. We cant take it anymore. I lost it on him yesterday and josh did today, we cant do this anymore.

He had planned to visit near his birthday Sept. 20th.

On Labor Day Theriot was awakened by a call from the FBI informing him that his son had been found dead.

There are no words (to describe) how angry I am and how I feel, he said.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
Dirty floors, dirty cooking surfaces, and the improper handling of food were among the common health code violations found at Houston restaurants from Aug. 27 through Sept. 3.

During health inspections, inspectors distribute violations that carry a weight between 1 and 25, increasing in severity. The term "demerit" is used by city health inspectors to describe the weighted value assigned to each violation.
While many have lamented the low countywide turnout -- 6.7 percent -- for the Aug. 25 referendum on $2.5 billion in flood-resilience bonds, voters in one area hard-hit by Hurricane Harvey's floods can boast that they bucked the trend.

The Harris County clerk's official canvass of the vote -- a precinct-by-precinct breakdown of results in an election that passed with more than 85 percent support -- shows that five of the eight precincts with the highest turnout are in Kingwood, a master-planned community in northeast Harris County.
What started as a four-day open-space event in 2012 is now a 6,000 square foot, full-time store, celebrating its sixth year.

The four-day event was so popular that it quickly turned into a full time store. Jazzy Junque is the resale store benefiting New Danville. The store offers high quality home decor items at a fraction of the original cost. Located at the Outlets at Conroe, it has become an important financial resource for New Danville, a nonprofit day program benefiting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and a valuable re-sale store for Montgomery County.

Jazzy Junque has been serving the Montgomery County community with outstanding, upscale home decor items, since Aug. 12, 2012.

Jazzy Junque operates full time with mostly volunteers from the community. Odette DAgostino credits the support from the surrounding community for a large part of the stores success.

We have the most fabulous customers. Many come on a regular basis. But we also have those that are from other states and countries who are visiting in the area. Also those moving, scaling down, or redecorating find Jazzy Junque a worthy place to donate household items.

In addition, Jazzy Junque has been fortunate to have the support of Dennis Brown, manager at The Outlets At Conroe and owner, Craig Realty.

This is a major milestone for a resale store. And we could not have done it without our hardworking volunteers dedicated to our mission to support New Danville, said Nanci Day.

According to Nanci and Odette, Many people are surprised to learn that we are a resale store. We are selective in what goes on the floor and many times we repurpose an item into a new, unique product. The stores motto is, Here today, gone tomorrow, or maybe today.

Frequent shopper Jackie Nielson said, This store is so beautiful its hard to believe its a re-sale store.

For more information on Jazzy Junque call 936-441-4500. For more information on New Danville visit www.newdanville.org or call 936-344-6200.

Tea on the Lawn featured speaker

New Danville announced recently that LaDonna Gatlin will be the feature speaker at the 11th annual Tea on the Lawn, on April 26, 2019.

Born into showbiz, she grew up on stage performing with her famous brothers, the legendary Gatlin Brothers. In the mid 1970s, this gutsy Texas native chose to follow her heart and sing a different song apart from her famous family. Tea on the Lawn will be held once again at Madera Estates, 3201 North Frazier Street, Conroe, Texas. For more information on Tea on the Lawn visit the Tea on the Lawn Facebook page.

Woodforest Charitable Foundation Grant

New Danville was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Woodforest Charitable Foundation to be used to expand New Danvilles client employment program.

Thanks to their generosity and support New Danville will be employing some of its clients to perform essential duties within our 42-acre ranch, said CEO and President Eva Aguirre.

According to Estelle McLaughlin, Executive Director, Woodforest Charitable Foundation, We are proud to support this very worthy cause and extend our best wishes as you continue to serve the citizens of your community.

Aguirre continued, This is a very exciting day at New Danville. We are extremely appreciative of the support of the Woodforest Charitable Foundation as this will allow us to continue creating employment opportunities for our clients.

Christin Allphin added to New Danville Board

New Danville announced that effective Sept. 1, Christin Allphin has joined the New Danville Board of Directors. Allphin, an experienced banking executive,  brings a wealth of banking and business knowledge that will help lead New Danville into the future, said Jim Kuykendahll, New Danvilles chairman of the board.

Allphin leads the Healthcare Commercial Banking Group and the Business Banking Team for Woodforest National Bank. Allphin has more than 14 years in the banking industry. She is an active participant in various charitable and civic organizations. She is a graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Christin and her husband, Matthew, and their daughter, Mackenzie live in The Woodlands.
Although Tropical Storm Gordon did not directly affect the Montgomery County area, officials continue to watch three active tropical developments including Hurricane Florence and continue to encourage residents to be prepared for any kind of natural disaster.

Both the Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and the San Jacinto River Authority keep in constant communication with the National Weather Service.

We continuously monitor local weather, pay close attention to rainfall amounts and how it is affecting the lake, river and creek levels, said Cynthia Jamieson, spokesperson for Montgomery County OHSEM. We also make sure we are prepared at home, by having a plan for our families and making sure they have the necessary supplies, should we be called in to work the Emergency Operations Center.

Despite whether there is a storm or not, the Montgomery County OHSEM stresses the importance of being prepared.

They recommend residents restock and/or prepare their emergency supply kit and possibly pack a go-bag in the event of localized evacuations due to flooding. If they plan to self-evacuate, Montgomery County OHSEM representatives want residents to be sure they know where they will be going, how they plan to get there and where they will be staying.

If they have a generator and plan to use it due to power outage, service your generators and have fuel to run it. Always use generator safely and never run a generator inside the home or garage, Jamieson added.

In response to flooding issues during Hurricane Harvey and requests from the community, SJRA formed the Flood Management Division and began to implement flood mitigation plans such as the temporary seasonal lowering of Lake Conroe.

Originally, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott challenged the SJRA to identify how it could be a part of regional flood management solutions and how a funding mechanism could support these efforts in response to the massive flooding as a result of heavy rains dumped on the area during Hurricane Harvey.

SJRA board members voted in April for a proposed plan that would call for lowering Lake Conroe on a temporary basis in the spring and fall.

According to information provided by SJRA, Lake Conroe has a normal water level of 201 feet which means from April 1 until May 31, the lake will be reduced and maintained at 200 feet then restored to normal pool level after that date. Then again, from Aug. 1 until Sept. 30, Lake Conroe will be reduced and maintained at 199 feet then restored after that time period.

As always, we continue to monitor weather conditions and work with the National Weather Service (NWS,) said Ronda Trow, public relations manager for SJRA, said. If we feel that a weather system is going to hit our waterway directly, we will host conferences with NWS and make sure we have a plan going forward. We did receive some rain this past week but Lake Conroe currently remains at 199.06 and do not perceive releasing any water at this time.

On the other hand, the city of Houston announced the gates at Lake Houston were opened on Saturday and remained open until the inclement weather event passes. This protocol will be observed during all future rain events.

Stay informed and monitor conditions for Montgomery County and the surrounding area through the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management website www.mctxoem.org, Facebook or twitter and NOAA Weather Radio, KStar 99.7FM.

Residents can also register on Smart911s website at http://www.mc911.org/page/ecd.AlertMCTX and create a profile to assist first responders if there is a need to call 911. To receive emergency alerts to your phone or email from Montgomery County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, check the box next to Share my Smart911 profile with TX-Montgomery-County-911 to support emergency preparedness.

jennifer.summer@hcnonline.com
Harris County prosecutors have filed their first-ever criminal wage theft case against a Houston homeowner for allegedly refusing to pay a self-employed independent contractor in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

Sonny D. Nicholas, 62, has been charged with theft of service for not paying a man $2,300 for painting his house in Southside Place near West University, a residence appraised by the county at $1.5 million. The charge is a misdemeanor, and if convicted Nicholas faces up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.

Nicholas agreed to pay the contractor $3,000 and wrote him a $500 deposit to cover the supplies. The check bounced, according to a press release from the Harris County District Attorneys office.

After doing $2,300 worth of painting, Nicholas asked for more work to be done but said he wanted it included in the original price, according to the release. When the contractor refused to do the extra work without more compensation, Nicholas told him to leave.

Mike Monks of Monks Law Firm said he looks forward to representing Nicholas.

"This is not a post-Harvey issue, a Latino issue or even a wage theft issue. Sonny Nicholas has an estimate for the cost to repair damages to his home caused by these individuals. He did not 'bounce' a check. Bank records indicate that the check was returned because it appeared to be altered or fictitious," Monks said.

This is Harris Countys first wage theft charge since the Texas Legislature passed the Wage Theft Law in 2011, according to the release. The law was meant to crack down on employers who only pay a portion of wages owed.

While previous Harris County district attorneys required a written contract, DA Kim Ogg only required a verbal agreement to prosecute for theft of service, said Valerie Turner, chief of the consumer fraud division for the DA office.

Were very proud to have filed this case because we want to emphasize to contractors, regardless of their legal status, that if they are not paid for their work to please make a police report with law enforcement, she said.

Contractors can also contact the AFL-CIOs Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, the Worker Defense Fund and Fe y Justicia Worker Center, Turner said.

Silvia Chicas, coordinator for the worker empowerment clinic at Fe y Justicia Worker Center, said the contractor is Latino and has been in Houston for several years.

Nicholas was arrested Wednesday, and according to jail records, remained in jail after his bail was set at $10,000.
A mother is seeking justice for her daughter who died in jail in July 2017 despite allegedly asking law enforcement officers to take her to the hospital for treatment.

Kelly Coltrain, 27, of Austin, was found dead in her cell in Nevada's Mineral County Jail on July 23, 2017, after suffering a seizure related to drug use, according to documents in a death investigation conducted by the Nevada Department of Public Safety's Investigation Division (NDI). Coltrain was a heroin user since 2008 and had been jailed because of traffic violations, NDI said.

The NDI determined that Coltrain told Sgt. J. Holland of the Mineral County Sheriff's Office before she was placed in cell that she had a drug dependency and a history of seizures. Coltrain told Deputy R. Gulcynski that she wanted medical intervention during the course of her incarceration, the NDI wrote.

LOOKING TO HELP: Scripps researcher developing vaccine to battle heroin addiction

"Based upon investigative findings it appears that several Mineral County Detention Facility policies and procedures were violated," NDI detective Damon Earl wrote on April 26, 2018.

The Mineral County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. Lyon County District Attorney Stephen Rye declined to press charges against the sheriff's office, Holland, or Gulcynski.

"Based on my review, they did not notice any signs warranting any medical intervention based on their training or experience," Rye said, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. "They were provided information related to her, and it appeared to me that was taken into account in her housing and monitoring. The officers did not ignore information provided to them. And, based on the reports by NDI, it did not appear that they exhibited any cruel, oppressive or malicious treatment."

Coltrain's mother Carol Fesser has since retained Terri Keyser-Cooper and Kerry Doyle as legal council and have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Mineral County Sheriff's Office. Doyle hopes the lawsuit forces Mineral County to adopt the necessary policies and training to ensure that this doesn't happen to someone else, she told the Houston Chronicle.

The events leading up to Coltrain's death began when she traveled to Lake Tahoe for her grandmother's 75th birthday. The family went to the beach July 18, 2017, as part of the celebration. Coltrain's aunt Catherine Wise remembers her having a great time with the family.

"We had gone on hikes, swam and relaxed by the lake together. Most importantly we were able to hug, have a laugh and share the exciting things going on and plans for the future. I miss my niece's sweet laugh," Wise said.

It was at the beach where Fesser raised concerns over infections on Coltrain's arm due to drug use. Fesser gave her an antibiotic to help her feel better, documents from the NDI investigation stated.

The next day, Coltrain was arrested for speeding while travelling home, documents from the NDI investigation stated.

Coltrain called her mom from jail around 3:30 p.m.

"Carol stated Kelly's first words to her were, 'I never thought I'd call you from jail again, mom.' Carol told Kelly she was not bailing her out. Kelly told Carol to just pack up their stuff because they were going to lose their apartment. Carol said Kelly then made the statement that she should just go kill herself," Fesser told Detective Desiree Mattice in a Dec. 4. report.

Fesser claims she told Sgt. J. Holland about her daughter's drug addiction and seizures, according to the Dec. 4. report.

Roughly four hours after being placed into a jail cell, Coltrain told the night deputy she needed to go to the hospital.

"Unfortunately, since you're DT'ing (a reference to the detoxification process), I'm not going to take you over to the hospital right now just to get your fix," Dep. Ray Gulcynski told Coltrain, according to the NDI report. "That's not the way detention works, unfortunately. You are incarcerated with us, so ... you don't get to go to the hospital when you want."

Hours before her death on July 23, 2017, Holland noticed that Coltrain had vomited on the floor of her cell. He brought her new prison uniform and a mop to clean her cell before leaving and closing the door behind him. When Holland returned, he asked if Coltrain was OK and she said, "Well....I'm fine, I'm fine," according to an interview Holland gave to Detective Damon Earl Sept. 11, 2017. This entire interaction was captured by a surveillance camera in Coltrain's cell.

Kerry Doyle, the lawyer representing Coltrain's family, called the video of her cleaning up her vomit "horrifying because it shows that the person charged, by law, with caring for Kelly Coltrain, dismissed her medical condition as laziness in the hour before her death. His deliberate indifference is apparent since he entirely failed to ever seek guidance from a medical professional."

A couple of hours later, Coltrain was found dead in her cell by Gulcynski. A paramedic was not called after Coltrain was initially found, documents with the NDI state.

Coltrain's friend Katie Adreano first met her when they were in gym class at Clark County's Centennial High School in 2005. She remembers Coltrain has being bright, sweet, and loyal.

"Kelly and I spent years as best friends going to music festivals and adventuring. She was so full of life even in her deepest points of addiction," Adreano said. "She was someone you wanted to be around and the best friend you could ever ask for. She was my biggest cheerleader and I will miss her support and positivity for the rest of my life."

Fernando Alfonso III covers everything from crime to weird internet trends. Read him on the breaking news site chron.com and the subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | fernando.alfonso@chron.com
Christopher Lawford, an actor, author and member of the Kennedy clan who wrote a memoir about his years of drug addiction and subsequent recovery and later promoted efforts to help people attain sobriety, died Sept. 4 in Vancouver. He was 63.

The cause was a heart attack, a cousin, former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., told the Associated Press.

Lawford's parents were Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy Lawford, who was the sister of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass.

His father, a popular film actor in the 1940s and 1950s, was a member of the Rat Pack with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Lawford grew up in Hollywood, surrounded by glamour, fame and temptation.

"I was given wealth, power and fame when I drew my first breath," he wrote in his best-selling 2005 memoir, "Symptoms of Withdrawal."

In his book, he wrote that Marilyn Monroe taught him how to dance the Twist. He sat on Sinatra's knee and recalled that Judy Garland came to his family's house to play poker.

He also wrote that he once received a gift of scrimshaw - a carved whale's tooth - from President Kennedy at the Kennedy family's winter home in Palm Beach, Florida. He acted as something of an older brother to the president's only son, John F. Kennedy Jr.

Christopher Kennedy Lawford was born March 29, 1955 in Santa Monica, California. He was 8 when John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and 13 when Robert F. Kennedy was killed five years later.

Both of Lawford's parents struggled with addiction, before and after their divorce in 1966, and he said he began using drugs in his early teens. He was addicted to heroin for a time and in 1980 was arrested in Colorado for impersonating a doctor in an effort to obtain prescription drugs.

"Opiates were my drug of choice," he wrote in his memoir, "but whatever changed my consciousness was my friend."

In spite of his heavy drug use, Lawford graduated in 1977 from Tufts University in Massachusetts and in 1983 received a law degree from Boston College.

His father died in 1984 at age 61, after years of drug and alcohol abuse. The same year, Lawford's 28-year-old cousin David Kennedy, one of Robert Kennedy's sons, died of a drug overdose. The two were particularly close.

Lawford gave credit to his aunt Joan Kennedy - Teddy Kennedy's first wife - for introducing him to an addiction treatment program in 1986.

"Joan did for me what no doctor, therapist, priest, or guru could do," he told the Palm Beach Post in 2006. "She brought me to a church basement full of a diverse group of apparent losers who would teach me how to live without drugs and alcohol a day at a time, and a whole lot more."

In the late 1980s, Lawford - who bore a striking resemblance to his father - embarked on an acting career. He acted in dozens of films and television shows, including the TV soap operas "All My Children" and "General Hospital." He had small roles in such films as "The Russia House," a 1990 spy thriller with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, Oliver Stone's 1991 rock-music film "The Doors" and the 2005 motorcycle-racing film "The World's Fastest Indian," opposite Anthony Hopkins.

He also played a Navy officer in "Thirteen Days," a 2000 film about the Cuban missile crisis, the real-life drama in which John F. Kennedy averted a nuclear war with the Soviet Union in 1962.

In addition to his 2005 memoir, Lawford published other books on addiction and recovery, as well as a book on hepatitis C, which he acquired through intravenous drug use.

"There are many days when I wish I could take back and use my youth more appropriately," Lawford told the Associated Press in 2005. "But all of that got me here. I can't ask for some of my life to be changed and still extract the understanding and the life that I have today."

He studied counseling at Harvard University and lectured on addiction at Harvard, Columbia University and other college campuses and was a spokesman for the Caron Foundation, a nationwide drug and alcohol rehabilitation network.

Lawford's marriages to Jeannie Olsson and actress Lana Antonova ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife since 2014, Mercedes Miller, a yoga instructor; three children from his first marriage; and three sisters.

Lawford said his childhood taught him not to have any illusions about the lives and troubles of the Hollywood stars he grew up around.

"We can re-create the days when Frank, Dean, Sammy and my dad were together," he told the Boston Globe in 2005. "But they all ended up dysfunctional, messed-up guys. And they once had everything. Money. Good looks. Success. Yet at the end, they were miserable, miserable men alone, angry, drinking. So what's that all about?"
For defendants facing a criminal trial in Virginia, there is no requirement that prosecutors provide any police reports, witness statements or a witness list to the defense team. Some prosecutors do it anyway, some do not. A 15-year procession of committees and reports seemed poised to change that in 2015, but the Virginia Supreme Court abruptly shelved all changes, with the chief justice saying that "such fundamental and sweeping changes in the system . . . seem unwise at this time."

But the state Supreme Court has decided the time has come. In an order issued Wednesday, the court changed Virginia's rules of criminal procedure to require commonwealth's attorneys to allow defendants to review - but not copy - all relevant police reports in a case and all witness statements. Those reports and statements were specifically excluded from pretrial discovery by the state's Rule 3A:11.

In addition, prosecutors will soon be required to provide to the defense a list of names and addresses of all witnesses expected to testify at trial or sentencing, though addresses and other identifying information may be withheld if approved by a judge. The prosecution also must notify the defense if it intends to call any expert witnesses and provide their qualifications and expected testimony, as is done in civil cases but was not required in criminal cases.

Prosecutors who have complained that they must reveal their own cases while defendants may keep their case secret received a new boost from the Supreme Court too: defendants now must provide their expected witness list to the prosecution. At least one prosecutor voiced concern that this could create legal quagmires down the road, and one defense attorney said it could lead to witness intimidation by police.

"This is a huge deal," said defense lawyer Alex Levay, a member of numerous task forces which pushed for discovery reform dating from the 1990s. "This is a huge step forward for justice and fairness and providing the information that everyone should be provided when their liberty is at stake."

"It was long overdue," said Chief Justice Donald Lemons said in an interview with The Washington Post, "and it's finally here." He said that as a private attorney, "I handled criminal defense cases and I do understand the dilemmas."

Lemons noted that the rule doesn't go into effect until July of next year, in order to enable the Virginia General Assembly to consider additional funding for prosecutors, both to handle the new discovery rules and also to process the footage from police body cameras that can be highly time-consuming.

"The Supreme Court has basically instituted an obligation on our office that takes resources," said Loudoun County Commonwealth's Attorney James E. Plowman, the vice president of the state prosecutors' association. "Is there an understanding on the legislative side that they're going to have to pony up and provide more bodies?" He noted that the state only funds 25 percent of his office, and Loudoun pays for the other 75 percent.

Lemons said he was hopeful that the General Assembly could provide more funding for prosecutors in its next session, before the rule goes into effect. Plowman said delaying the implementation of the rule until after the session was a good idea.

Defendants do not have a constitutional right to police reports or witness lists, but most states have required them to be provided either through laws or court rules. Virginia is one of only eight states which does not require prosecutors to provide a witness list, a 2014 survey found. In 2004, the American Bar Association ranked Virginia last among all states in terms of protections for criminal defendants.

A state task force in 2015 proposed changes to Rule 3A:11 which would have required prosecutors to hand over police reports, witness statements and a witness list. But the Supreme Court issued a one-paragraph order saying it "declined to adopt the committee's recommendations."

Lemons said Thursday that "the language of that order was specifically intended to send a message that we're not opposed to criminal discovery reform. And we never have been." He said the court simply wanted to know which aspects of the rule were opposed by the defense bar, or the prosecution, and "what the various parties were giving up."

The chief justice noted that the state legislature tried in its last two sessions to devise reforms themselves, but failed. "I made an effort," Lemons said, "to let the bar know they ought to take another shot at it."

The Virginia State Bar launched another task force, headed by state Court of Appeals Judge Robert J. Humphreys, which solicited comments from the public and various legal organizations and proposed a new rule that had something for everybody: statements and a witness list provided to the defense, and a witness list provided to the prosecution. The rules allow either side to ask a judge to allow them to withhold witness information. It also more clearly defines who is subject to subpoena for documents.

The Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys issued a statement Thursday that said it "supported the general concept of criminal discovery reform" but suggested some modifications to the task force's proposal, some of which were adopted.

"I am absolutely delighted," said defense attorney Corinne Magee, vice president of the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "Regardless of what jurisdiction I'm in, this is going to assure that I get a copy of a police report, and that prosecutors aren't trying to spring jailhouse snitches without our knowledge." She said clients have been amazed to learn they didn't have a right to their police reports, and that she has resolved many cases with guilty pleas once given access to police files.

Prosecutors have previously said about two-thirds of commonwealth's attorneys in Virginia already allow defense attorneys to review or make copies of police files. "You have commonwealth's attorney's offices across the state," Levay said, "who realize that fairness and justice requires a more open discovery process," and he said prosecutors helped move the process forward this time. Levay said smaller or more rural counties have resisted providing such information to the defense.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers issued a statement lauding the move by Virginia as "meaningful changes." Association president Drew Findling said that "Virginia's amended rules are an important step forward toward leveling the playing field and ensuring that accused persons and their counsel are able to prepare the defense to which they are entitled."
ARLINGTON, Va. - In her day, she was the heroine of the Lime Rock Lighthouse, the intrepid young woman who by herself rowed into the stormy waters of the Newport, Rhode Island, harbor to rescue mariners in distress.

She was Ida Lewis, the shy daughter of a disabled sea captain. And after bold rescues in the late 1800s, she was front page news. She was given awards. VIPs clamored to see her. A polka, "The Ocean Waves Dashed Wildly High," was written in her honor, and the sheet music bore her image.

But since she died in 1911, her deeds have been largely forgotten.

As Arlington Cemetery opens its new $81.7 million section with solemn fanfare on Thursday, she will become the first woman to have one of the cemetery's drives named for her.

"It's a big deal," Karen Durham-Aguilera, executive director of Army National Military Cemeteries, said this week. "It's a huge commemoration."

In the 154-year-history of the cemetery, all of the more than 40 roadways have been named after men - such as presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ulysses S. Grant, and generals George Patton and John Pershing, the cemetery said.

The cemetery's new 27-acre section, the first geographic expansion in 40 years, was designed with two new drives.

"A few years ago we went out and had the senior enlisted advisers . . . of each branch of the armed services basically nominate" a candidate, Durham-Aguilera said. "Then it was looked at by an advisory committee. . . . Then the secretary of the Army approved them."

The names of Lewis and 34-year-old Marine Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan W. Gifford, who was given the Navy Cross posthumously for heroism after he was killed in Afghanistan in 2012, were chosen. He is the first U.S. Marine to be honored with a street name at the cemetery.

Lewis was born Idawalley Lewis on Feb. 25, 1842, according to historian Margaret Adler. She is believed to have saved at least a dozen people, and perhaps as many as 25, during her service at the lighthouse, which was first operated by her father, Hosea, in the late 1850s.

After he suffered a stroke, the lighthouse was run by his wife and Ida, according to the website, Rhode Island Lighthouse history. Ida became the official keeper in 1879.

By then she had already made a series of dramatic rescues.

"The Heroine of Lime Rock," the illustrated newspapers called her. Her first rescue occurred when she was 15 and rowed out to save two boys whose boat had capsized, according to newspaper accounts.

She once used a clothesline to rescue two men who had fallen through the harbor's ice. And in 1867, she saved two more men whose boat was being swamped in a gale, and then went back and rescued their sheep, which had also fallen in.

In 1869, after she saved two soldiers from drowning in the harbor, the New York Times reported: "She never hears the voice of distress, night or day, without jumping into her little craft and proceeding to the scene of trouble. . . . It is a pity that no testimonial has ever been given to this lady for the many lives she has a saved."

The Fourth of July that year was declared "Ida Lewis Day," and Newport presented her with three cheers and a new boat.

She didn't like the fuss and appeared at the event reluctantly, according to a Times account. The famous abolitionist Thomas Wentworth Higginson spoke on her behalf.

"Miss Lewis desires me to say that she has never made a speech in her life and does not expect to begin now," he said.

"Miss Lewis is grateful to you for your acknowledgment of what seemed to her a simple act of duty," he said. "And she is more grateful to the Divine Providence which enabled her to do what she hopes never to have to do again. Miss Lewis . . . thanks you for your kindness and bids you farewell."

She had visits from Grant, women's rights champion Susan B. Anthony, and hundreds of others.

By the 1890s she had experienced bouts of poor health, but told a reporter in 1893 she had recovered thanks to a concoction called Paine's Celery Compound.

Lewis died Oct. 24, 1911, after she suffered a stroke and collapsed in her room in the lighthouse.

In Newport harbor, bells tolled in tribute.

She is buried in Newport's Common Burying Ground, under a tombstone with the image of an anchor and crossed oars.
South Jacksonville trustees hope they have cleared up some confusion over the handling of the Scot Fitzgerald Memorial 5K and the dispersal of the events proceeds.

Trustees held a special committee meeting Tuesday to discuss the matter, which recently arose when it was incorrectly thought that the Fitzgerald family no longer wanted to receive the 5K funds.

The village is being diligent in paying attention to both legal ramifications and promises made for the 5K, Trustee Paula Belobrajdic-Stewart said. We need to pay attention to donating public funds to a private individual while doing everything we can to support the Fitzgerald family.

South Jacksonville police officer Scot Fitzgerald died in March 2016 as the result of injuries he suffered in a traffic accident while on duty.

The Scot Fitzgerald Memorial 5K has been held the past two years, with the proceeds going into an education fund for his two children  Colton, 6, and Fynlee, 2. However, some communication breakdown between village officials and the Fitzgerald family led South Jacksonville Celebration organizers to believe the 5K proceeds could go to another cause.

I feel like (Tuesdays) discussion solidified this boards desire to continue to support the 5K, Belobrajdic-Stewart said. We simply had to figure out the legal way to accomplish this.

Village Board President Harry Jennings said he received a legal opinion about the 5K from village attorney Rob Cross.

The basic point of the matter is that if a third party, not-for-profit entity holds a private fundraiser, like the Scot Fitzgerald Memorial 5K, they are free to do so, Jennings said. However, the village is legally prohibited from using public funds or property for private use. Therefore, we cannot sanction any fundraiser for private use.

Trustees will vote tonight on whether to approve a tourism grant request to cover start-up costs for next months planned 5K.

Greg Olson can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1224, or on Twitter @JCNews_Greg.
Contributed / Contributed Photo

WESTPORT  A Westport man was arrested following a Connecticut Department of Labor investigation into a complaint against the residents company.

James DeVito, owner of DeVito & Sons LLC, a general contractor and residential home construction and development company, claimed to labor department investigators that the person who filed the complaint was an independent contractor.
Former Furr High School principal Bertie Simmons, who was fired from Houston ISD in June following multiple allegations of misconduct, is fighting her termination through a Texas Education Agency appeal process.

Records obtained from the TEA show Simmons, a long-revered leader within HISD, has requested a ruling from an agency-appointed hearing examiner, who will review evidence against Simmons and issue a recommendation regarding her job status.

HISD trustees voted 5-1 to fire Simmons after an outside counsel's investigation found Furr High School administrators broke state law by changing student grades and manipulating education records. Simmons, who is 84 and white, has denied the allegations and is suing HISD for age and racial discrimination. The district disputes Simmons' claims.

The TEA hearing examiner, Houston-based lawyer Peter Thompson, is expected to see evidence against Simmons and hear arguments from lawyers on both sides at a mid-October proceeding. Thompson must issue findings of fact, legal conclusions and recommendations about any relief owed to Simmons by early November.

Thompson's findings and recommendations are non-binding, meaning the HISD Board of Trustees could uphold its decision to terminate Simmons' employment regardless of Thompson's rulings.

EARLIER: HISD principal Bertie Simmons to lose job over misconduct allegations

Simmons and HISD have been locked in an often-contentious battle over her treatment since September 2017, when the once-retired educator was placed on administrative leave amid allegations that she threatened students with a bat and disregarded the district's student dress code. Simmons was admonished for her actions in that case, but a subsequent, months-long investigation ended with HISD administrators recommending Simmons' termination.

Investigators determined Furr administrators changed student grades without informing teachers, instructed educators not to assign grades below 50 percent, improperly altered attendance records and awarded credit to students with excessive unexcused absences. HISD officials have not publicly released underlying evidence to support the findings.

The Houston Chronicle submitted a public records request for the investigative report, but HISD officials said the report was shielded from public disclosure by state law, largely because it constituted attorney-client communications. The Texas Attorney General's Office ruled in mid-August that HISD had legal grounds to deny the Chronicle's public records request.

EARLIER: Furr High School principal claims discrimination after removal

Simmons' lawyer, Scott Newar, said HISD officials have not provided him with a copy or excerpts from the investigative findings.

"They won't disclose to the public the evidence that they say they have," Newar said. "To me, it's essentially an effort by the district to smear these people without really giving them any due process."

HISD trustees voted on Aug. 28 to produce 42 pages of the investigative report to lawyers involved in Simmons' case before the TEA hearing examiner, as well as parties involved an ongoing retaliation lawsuit tied to the Furr High School case.

Simmons came out of retirement in 2000 to lead Furr High School, an east side campus rife with gang activity and academic issues at the time. She long has been credited with turning around the school and restoring order.
After an hourslong manhunt, Houston police late Thursday said they captured a shooting suspect who escaped custody at the courthouse earlier in the day - but it turned out to be the wrong man.

Jaquaylyn Momon slipped away from a court room inside 201 Caroline around 10:30 a.m., according to authorities. The Houston Police Department tweeted that they'd caught him around 5 p.m., but just over an hour later the Harris County Sheriff's Office amended that claim.

"CORRECTION: @houstonpolice detained an individual who was thought to be Momon," the sheriff's office tweeted, "but later determined it was not him. Search continues."

The 21-year-old aggravated assault suspect was free on bond when he appeared in front of Judge Randolph Roll early Thursday morning and was ordered to take a drug test, according to sheriff's office spokesman Jason Spencer.

But when the results came back, the judge ordered Momon into custody - and he promptly fled.

Before deputies could stop him, he allegedly ran out of the courtroom on the 11th floor and disappeared.

"It was a dreadful mistake for him to do that," his attorney, Allen Isbell, told the Chronicle.

Houston police, the sheriff's office, and the Precinct 1 Constable's Office all pitched in to track down the wanted man, who is described as 5-foot-8 and 130 pounds with distinguishing neck tattoos.

The case that landed Momon in front of a judge started in September 2017, when the east Houston man and his friend Deon Henderson allegedly walked up to three acquaintances and challenged them to a fight, according to court records.

The trio had had trouble with Momon and his friend before, they later told police. So instead of engaging, they decided to walk away.

But Momon and Henderson followed along, and a scuffled ensued. One of the three acquaintances - a man identified in court records as Deadric Roberson - punched Momon.

Then, Henderson allegedly pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and passed it to Momon, who is accused of shooting Roberson repeatedly in the back.

Momon was arrested in October and prosecutors asked for high bond, which a judge granted and set at $30,000. Three months later, Momon made bail and was released with pretrial supervision in place.

Before his latest arrest, Momon had a short criminal history in Harris County. In 2016, he was arrested for assault on a family member and sentenced to four days in jail. The following year, he was arrested for evading and sentenced to 60 days in jail.

But in light of his apparent escape, additional charges are pending, the sheriff's office confirmed.

This is at least the third escape from custody in downtown Houston this year. In January, a man picked up on a probation violation escaped from a police transport van.

Then in March, a man slipped out of the Harris County jail while waiting for immigration officials to pick him up after he made bond for a pair of misdemeanor charges. He was recaptured a day later.
A subdivision in a small Texas town north of Austin is facing a dangerous influx of rattlesnakes.

Micah Brown, a resident of the Leander, Texas neighborhood, has lived in the area since 2016 and has only heard of rattlesnake reports being a "one-off" situation until around mid-August.

Brown came across a baby rattlesnake in his own yard, where his two-year-old daughter and three dogs often play.

Shortly thereafter he began noticing more warnings from people finding rattlesnakes in their yard on his Nextdoor app  a platform where neighborhood residents can communicate  including one woman whose dogs were bitten on the face.

UM WHAT? Hen sits on egg-thieving snake, leaving both the snake and the human no idea what to do next

According to KXAN, local authorities are aware of the issue, but to Brown's knowledge, they haven't done much other than recommend people take preventive measures by cleaning up any overgrown brush or getting rid of places where snakes can hide.

Leander city officials told the publication that a new development in the area could be the cause of a mass exodus from the woods into nearby yards and are asking residents to contact Animal Services with the Leander Police Department at 512-528-2800 if they come across any wildlife.

As for Brown, he thinks the snakes are victims too and people should heed the recommendations from authorities.

I don't want a child, adult, or dog to be bit," Brown said. "I just think people could pick up stuff in their yards, and have situational awareness. If the snakes have no reason to take up residence in your yard, they will go elsewhere."

Brown and his wife are taking precautions when taking the dogs out, or letting their daughter play outside, including teaching the little girl how to search for snakes before playing on her playscape.

"When any number of mosquito-transmitted diseases get news attention, people may be distressed, but they don't just stay indoors forever, " said Brown. "They put on bug spray, avoid mosquito-ridden places, and get rid of standing water. That's basically what people need to do now - take preventative measures and be aware."

Take a look through the gallery above to see photos of the rattlesnake found in Brown's yard.

Daniela Sternitzky- Di Napoli is a digital producer covering Texas news and pop culture. | Daniela.DiNapoli@chron.com | @Dani_DiNapoli
A Detroit man was arrested Thursday in Houston after he allegedly stabbed his friend over an argument about a baby's diaper rash, authorities said.

Otis Russell Parks was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the midnight fight in the Energy Corridor, according to the Precinct 5 Constable's Office.

Afterward, deputy constables found the wounded victim - a 22-year-old from Philadelphia - running along Highway 6, a mile from the scene of the crime. He was bleeding from multiple stab wound to the throat and shoulders.

TRAGIC END: Liberty father mourning after his child found dead in Vegas

The dispute broke out after the Pennsylvania man tried to drop off Parks, his girlfriend, and their 7-week-old baby off in west Houston.

They'd all been planning to go to Mexico together, but the trip got called off during an argument over the baby's skin condition. The dispute quickly escalated into some sort of physical altercation near Highway 6 and Park Row.

At some point, Parks allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim repeatedly. The wounded man managed to get away before deputies arrived to intervene.

Still in the victim's car, Parks was arrested at the scene of the argument without incident. The victim was rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The mother and child were turnover over to the care of Child Protective Services.
Police arrested a carjacking suspect after a chase ended in a crash in south Houston Thursday morning.

Houston police began tailing the suspect around 1:15 a.m., when a woman called in a stolen vehicle on Reed Road and Highway 288. The attacker approached her at gunpoint and took her keys, fleeing the scene in her car, said Lt. Larry Crowson of the Houston Police Department.

Officers spotted the vehicle and tried stopping the driver, but he continued going to Highway 288s southbound feeder road.

The chase came to an end when both the suspect and the officer missed a curve on the feeder road near Holmes and went straight into a muddy area.

The suspect came to a stop near train tracks, and the officer, who was unable to stop on time, hit the back of the stolen vehicle, Crowson said.

The suspect ran but was quickly caught. Police found that the pistol in his possession was fake, Crowson said.
Doxo, the third-party bill-paying service deemed suspicious by the city last month, is a legitimate business that residents can use to pay water bills, a public works spokesperson said Wednesday.

The city warned customers in an Aug. 15 news release that the public works department had fielded complaints from Doxo users who said they paid water bills that the city did not receive.

Last Friday, prompted by a request from Doxo attorneys, the city issued a second statement recognizing Doxo as a Seattle-based business providing all-in-one bill pay services. The statement, however, did not walk back the Public Works Department warning or claims that Doxo is suspicious.

Alanna Reed, Houston Public Works communications director, said Wednesday the department has no problems with Doxo as a business. Theyre legitimate.

We just want customers to know that houstonwater.org is the official site to make payments, she added.

The citys website does not charge an online payment fee, Reed said, unlike Doxo. And the company is not affiliated with the city, meaning public works cannot guarantee payments through Doxo would be posted to customers water accounts.

Doxo co-founder Roger Parks told the Houston Chronicle in August that a complaint from a single Houston-area water customer prompted the citys news release. Parks said he felt immensely frustrated by how the city handled the issue.

Jim Kreyenhagen, Doxos vice president of marketing and consumer services, said Thursday he was pleased about the updated statement, but still believed the city essentially committed libel by publishing an initial news release that contained bad information.

Were just disappointed that it could have been satisfied if they had just reached out to us and communicated initially, Kreyenhagen said.

Parks has said residents have used Doxo to pay their water bills since 2011 with no apparant problems.

The city could not verify that this incident was the first payment problem reported by Doxo users.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

Twitter.com/jaspscherer
A former Cypress Springs High School teacher broke down as she was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison for having sex and smoking marijuana with a 15-year-old student last year.

Michelle Schiffer, 24, started crying after her punishment was announced by Harris County State District Judge Robert Johnson. She was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

Michelle and her family are disappointed with the outcome thus far, but she accepts responsibility for what she has done, defense attorney Grant Scheiner said. Michelle is prepared to serve her sentence and hopes the complainant and his family can forgive her.

Because Schiffer was convicted of the charge of improper relationship with a child, and not sexual assault, she will not have to register as a sex offender. Scheiner had argued that probation was the appropriate punishment during a hearing before the judge last month.

She has a scarlet letter thats going to last the rest of her life, Scheiner said. And that is part of the punishment.

It is unclear when prison officials could release Schiffer on parole. The offense does not require that she serve at least half the prison sentence.

The former teacher also is eligible for shock probation, an unusual mechanism that a judge can use to sentence a person to less than 10 years in prison, then release him or her after six months.

Judges do not disclose when they are going to use shock probation, so the shock of the lengthy jail sentence will sink in.

After they are released on probation, they can be sent sent back to prison for bad behavior.

Neither Scheiner nor prosecutor Keaton Forcht would discuss whether shock probation was appropriate.

I asked the judge to consider the full range of punishment, Forcht said. Whatever Judge Johnson does, he is a great judge. And I respect whatever decision he makes in this case.

Schiffer was facing the possibility of 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in May to one charge of improper relationship with a student.

During a hearing last month, her friends and family said Schiffer suffers from depression and had stopped taking her medication when she met up with the teen to have sex and smoke marijuana. Prosecutors also said she was texting other students and sending them topless photos.

This isnt a heat-of-the-moment thing, Forcht said during last months hearing. This is over a series of months with different students.

brian.rogers@chron.com

twitter.com/brianjrogers
One of five Houston men accused in a sprawling federal conspiracy case linked to three ATM heists, two murders, one slain assassin and a shoot-out with a SWAT team pleaded guilty Wednesday just days before the case is slated for trial.

In exchange for possible testimony that could help put his co-defendants away for decades, Trayvees Duncan-Bush described to a judge his role in a high-profile case that captured the publics attention two years ago, when federal agents and local police set up a sting to ensnare a violent crew believed to be running an ATM courier heist ring.

At one point, the case could have been headed for a death sentence, but the government decided against that option by early this year, court records show. Now, prosecutors are pursuing conspiracy and other charges against the four remaining suspects, who are all slated to begin trial next week in Judge Ewing Werlein Jr.s court.

WATCH: Video shows violent robbery near Texas Medical Center

After watching his client led away in handcuffs and green jail scrubs on Wednesday afternoon in court, an attorney for Duncan-Bush declined to comment.

The federal investigation against the robbery ring kicked off in March 2016 and ended nine months later, with a bloody gunbattle outside an Amegy Bank.

Redrick Batiste, the groups leader, was shot to death by Houston police. Three of his alleged accomplices - including Duncan-Bush - were arrested while fleeing, and another two were picked up after the ill-fated heist.

It likely wasnt the first time theyd set up such an operation, according to court documents. Batistes schemes had a pattern, and federal investigators linked his operation to at least two other killings.

The first, in March 2016, left dead the Loomis security courier, Melvin Moore, who was murdered while refilling an ATM at the J.P. Morgan Chase on Airline.

In a final act, Moore reached for his gun and shot at the would-be robber - who ended up fleeing empty-handed.

Then in August, a robbery crew targeted the Wells Fargo Bank in the 13000 block of Northwest Freeway, sniping down cash courier David Guzman as he refilled the ATM.

After a gunman killed Guzman from afar, another robber moved in to snatch the money, making off with $120,000. Though two of the accused - Marc Hill and Nelson Polk - were charged with conspiracy in relation to Guzmans slaying, it doesnt appear that any of the men have been charged in connection with the earlier killing.

The final fatality came in December, when Batiste and his five alleged accomplices set their sights on the Amegy Bank. For days, the men posted up near the bank, monitoring the coming and going of the armored vehicle they planned to target.

Then, on the morning of Dec. 7, they took their places.

We was gonna wait until the security guard got out the truck, Duncan-Bush said in court Wednesday. And, Batiste, he was gonna take the shot.

Afterward, Duncan-Bush and Polk would pull up, and Duncan-Bush would jump out to grab the loot, he told the court.

But thats not how it went down.

Instead, it was not a truck full of cash but a cadre of police and FBI agents that pulled up to the bank.

MOM SEEKS JUSTICE: Texas woman died in jail cell despite alerting law enforcement to medical condition

Duncan-Bush and Polk were the first to spot the sting, and they tried running away, according to court documents. Batiste opened fire, and was fatally wounded. Afterward, authorities recovered a .223-caliber AR-15 with a scope from nearby.

When Hill - sitting in his car - saw the sting going down, he tried driving away but was arrested. Two others - John Scott and Bennie Phillips - were taken into custody later.

Now, following Wednesdays guilty plea, Duncan-Bush is slated for sentencing in November. His four alleged accomplices are scheduled to begin trial Monday.

But while the plea could mean damning testimony, at least two of the men say they werent there or werent involved.

Late last month, Phillips filed a notice saying he plans to offer an alibi, saying he was at parole and at immigration offices.

Guy Womack, the attorney representing Hill, said his client is a long-time local businessman and didnt even know some of the others hes accused of plotting with.

He would have no need to try to rob an armored car, its absurd, Womack said. Itll be a very hard-fought trial.

keri.blakinger@chron.com
Sen. John Cornyn attacked New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker on Thursday amid a heated confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

During the third day of the hearing, Cornyn accused Booker of trying to score political points by planning the release of "confidential" emails belonging to Kavanaugh and his work under George W. Bush.

"Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate or the confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to," Cornyn said to Booker.

In reality, the documents were already cleared for public release and not confidential as Booker described them.

That detail wasn't known to Cornyn, who went on to compare Booker's actions to the leaking of classified information from the White House.

"That is irresponsible and outrageous and I hope that the Senator will reconsider his decision," Cornyn said.

ICYMI: Ted Cruz attacks O'Rourke after former Iranian president defends Kaepernick

The emails released by Booker reveal Kavanaugh discussing "race-neutral" security measures following 9/11 while working in the Bush White House in 2002.

Elsewhere during the combative hearing, protestors continued to be arrested for disrupting the confirmation process. So far, more than 70 protestors have been arrested and charged with either disorderly conduct or obstruction.

See photos of some of the protestors who have been arrested above.

Fernando Ramirez covers Texas news and politics. Read him on our breaking news site and on our subscriber site. | Fernando.ramirez@chron.com | @fernramirez93




NASA astronaut Anne McClain said Thursday she is confident Russia will get to the bottom of the air leak-causing hole recently found on the International Space Station.

Russia has "a very long history of safe space flight," McClain said at a news conference at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "I know the people there, I work with the people there and I trust them just as I trust the people at NASA."

McClain is scheduled to launch to the space station Dec. 20 aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft -- her very first spaceflight since being selected as an astronaut in 2013. She will be joined by two crewmates, Canada's David Saint-Jacques and Russia's Oleg Kononenko who were also at the Thursday news conference.

REPORT: Six Galveston Bay beaches listed as some of the most unsafe places to swim

The safety of the Russian Soyuz -- the only spacecraft that ferries astronauts to and from the station -- was called into question last week after an air leak was traced back to a hole in the Soyuz currently attached to the station.

The leak first was discovered Aug. 29 while the six astronauts on board slept. The following day, space station crew found the hole which measures a fifth of a centimeter in diameter (about the thickness of a penny) in the Soyuz. The compromised part of the Soyuz does not return to Earth and the patch astronauts put in last week is holding.

Russian officials currently are investigating how the hole occurred, whether it was intentional and if other Soyuz modules currently in development also have defects. They expect to complete their investigation by mid-September, well before the next Soyuz flight is scheduled to launch Oct. 11.

It's not yet clear how the hole discovery will impact the October flight, which will be carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague. Hague is not a member of McClain's crew and was not at the news conference Thursday.

More for you Errant drill likely the culprit in hole in Space Station that caused air leak, Russia says

But Kononenko said he believes the hole was an "exception" and not a problem in other Soyuz models.

"Just in case, they're checking other Soyuzes, including ours," he said. "I'm sure they'll figure out what went on."

STEPPING DOWN: First astronaut candidate in 50 years resigns

Design engineers in Russia initially thought the hole was caused by space debris, but now believe it was the result of sloppy drill work, either on Earth or in space.

If left unchecked, the leak could have resulted in total air loss for the station in 18 days.

The Soyuz has been the only way to get to the orbiting laboratory since 2011, when NASA's space shuttle program was shuttered.

"I know [the hole] is a big issue and a lot of people are worried about it and thinking about it," McClain said. "I can say that no one probably thought about it more than those of us inside the space program right now."

But Russia "will not let an unsafe vehicle fly," she continued.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Mayra Beltran, Staff / Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN  When U.S. District Judge David Ezra explained why he was striking down Texas fetal burial law, he offered a hypothetical: As the law was written, if a pregnant woman visits an ophthalmologists office and miscarries while there due to a medical emergency, that eye doctor would be responsible for arranging the burial or cremation of the embryonic or fetal remains.

While such a scenario is unlikely, it is likely that a woman experiencing pain due to the onset of a miscarriage may well visit a health care facility that is unprepared to comply with the law, Ezra said in his 53-page ruling. That sweeping effect, Ezra said in court Wednesday, means women could find themselves in facilities unprepared to comply with the law.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming the manufacturing industry. According to a report released late last year by the World Economic Forum, the combination of artificial intelligence, advanced robots, additive manufacturing and the internet of things (IoT) will combine to usher in the fourth industrial revolution.

The majority of manufacturing companies, 80 percent, expect to see positive effects of AI initiatives, with a predicted increase in revenue of 22.6 percent, and a 17.6 percent reduction in costs.

In fact, manufacturers are already using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to reduce equipment downtime, spot production defects, improve the supply chain, and shorten design times. However, the lack of skilled personnel, data, and standards is keeping many companies from forging ahead.

General Electric leads the charge

One of the companies at the forefront of this new wave of industrial transformation is General Electric, which has been motivated to explore the use of AI due to declining productivity in its sector.

"Up until 2010, productivity growth was in the 4 to 5 percent range," says Colin Parris, the company's vice president of software research. Then the industry changed. Experienced engineers were retiring, while the new geographies GE was in, including India and China, had primarily a young workforce.

Meanwhile, Parris says, customer requirements were rapidly becoming more complex. There were new routes to destinations with extreme weather conditions and air pollution that affected the jet engines that GE produced. And social media magnifies the impact of any outage, forcing customers to demand better reliability and less downtime.

At the same time, customers expected prices to continue to fall.

"People say you can't predict the future," Parris says. "You definitely can. People want things cheaper."

To address this issue. General Electric turned to artificial intelligence and machine learning, starting with services it provided to its customers, such as jet engine and turbine maintenance. Then GE applied AI to internal manufacturing, followed by design, and then internal processes, such as data center operations and human resources.

"We've been using models and forms of analytics in services for last 10 to 15 years at least," says Parris. Five years ago, GE began using machine learning and digital twins, which provide a virtual representation of a piece of machinery, such as a wind turbine, or a grouping, such as a wind farm. Digital twins can also be used to represent an assembly line, an entire factory, or a procurement process.

At GE, digital twins are used to model performance, predict failures, and allow for rapid testing of potential improvements.

"We can predict which things are going to fail, so we have the right engineers, and we have the right parts in inventory," Parris says. "We can get [better] fuel efficiency and fly planes longer without bringing in parts for service unnecessarily. We've been saving millions of dollars for customers."

Another side benefit of having a digital twin of every piece of equipment, system or process was that GE could take advantage of additive manufacturing  3D printing  to create custom parts, instead of having to rely on replacement parts that had to be manufactured in bulk, on traditional assembly lines.

"As the years go on, the machines degrade differently," he says. "Now I can say, 'Can I design parts specifically because in this machine used in this way we're seeing damage in the training edge, or more cracking in this blade?' Additive manufacturing allows me to build one part at a time, to solve the unique problems that this machine is having in this environment, rather than having to build these huge factories and turn out hundreds of these parts that will work on average. Before, I had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build the factories. Now I can print one part at a time, and can constantly adapt the body of the machine, and the mind of the machine. Now I have a machine that can continuously adapt itself to be more and more productive, what we call an immortal machine."

"This is where I think the future gets very interesting for GE," he adds.

The promise of predictive maintenance

Other manufacturing companies are also looking at using artificial intelligence and machine learning to cut costs and improve performance.

Florida-based Jabil, a Fortune 500 company that performs contract manufacturing for major global brands, began a push to using artificial intelligence several months ago to spot manufacturing defects and predictive maintenance.

For example, in one of its factories in China, automated optical inspection machines have several cameras looking for defects in circuit boards the company is manufacturing.

Basic image recognition technology was already in place to look for defects, but 35 to 40 percent of the boards flagged by the system and sent to human operators for review actually had no problems at all.

"Operators have two seconds per image, and some of those boards can be quite large and have hundreds of components," says Ryan Litvak, the company's senior manager. "The challenge was to capture the intuition of the operators and with a high accuracy level to be able to tell yes, this is actually a defect, or no, this is not a defect."

By reducing the number of boards flagged, without sacrificing accuracy, Jabil will be able to have its operators spend more time on the problematic boards, or be reassigned to other, more value-added tasks.

"We've been able to show really good results," he says. "Capturing between 93 and 98 percent of the true defects, which is pretty high, and being able to eliminate about 70 percent of the passed components, the ones that are not defective."

The proof of concept involved two production lines, he says, which had very similar equipment and processes. Now, Jabil is working on generalizing it to different lines, to handling larger volumes of data, and to incorporate the new decision-making process directly into the workflow.

Another area that the company is focusing on is predictive maintenance, where the challenge is getting the needed data.

"There are many different systems in use, a lot of different equipment," says Litvak. "Some of it has their own systems for doing maintenance, some doesn't. Some providers track maintenance on spreadsheets, some have home-grown systems."

He says that Jabil's data scientists are working on normalizing this data, and collaborating with experts at Microsoft to build the deep learning models required to predict equipment failures.

According to research from McKinsey & Co., AI-enhanced predictive maintenance of industrial equipment will generate a 10 percent reduction in annual maintenance costs, up to a 20 percent downtime reduction and 25 percent reduction in inspection costs.

There's been a lot of interest in recent months in pilot projects for specific use cases of artificial intelligence, says Matthias Kasser, a partner in McKinsey's Munich office.

The biggest impact is using computer vision and sensor data in quality inspections and in predictive maintenance.

"We currently implement such vision-based AI applications at several companies unlocking tremendous potentials," he says. "However, to fully leverage the potential, companies will need to quickly transfer the learnings from these pilots into holistic AI transformations across functions and processes. This is where the real work starts."

A question of accuracy

Another manufacturing company that is just starting to use image recognition to spot manufacturing problems is Lennox International, a Dallas-based maker of HVAC systems.

"The accuracy level is much higher than with human beings," says Sunil Bondalapati, the company's director of IT, advanced and emerging technologies. "Right now, we are at about 20 percent higher accuracy rate. We don't see it as a headcount value proposition, we see it more as an accuracy value proposition."

Lennox also leases equipment to business customers, and, like General Electric, improving maintenance is a core need.

Today, the HVAC equipment transmits information about its performance to the cloud, on the order of 8 million new records per hour.

Adding intelligence allows the company to predict equipment failure in real time, which wasn't possible before.

"That's where AI comes in," says Bondalapati. "It is able to retain the context and the memory of the particular equipment from, say, two years ago  how did it perform under 105 degree temperature when the humidity level was at this level, how did it perform then, how is it performing now."

Lennox began the project four months ago, and the results were promising enough that it decided to begin a full rollout of the technology over the next four months.

Calculating the return on investment on the maintenance side will be tricky, he says. "How do you calculate ROI when the equipment doesn't fail? We're going to have to do some data gathering over the next year on that."

But Lennox already saw its storage and computing costs cut in half, as it was able to use technology from DataBricks to consolidate the data.

"We went down from 20 cores to four cores," he says.

Another use of AI for the company is on the financial side.

Take, for example, calculating how much the company should set aside for warranty liabilities.

"Previously, we just used to approve a certain dollar amount  $20 million or $30 million  there was no scientific way of knowing how much money you needed to put aside for customers returning products," says Bondalapati. "Today, using AI, we are able to predict the failure rates on each component, and tell the warranty department how much to set aside, and we are able to tweak it every day as we get more data."

He says that he expects a 10 percent decrease in required set-asides as a result.

The power of AI proliferates

Lennox is also using artificial intelligent to look for accounting problems.

"We do millions of general ledger postings," he says. "It's not humanly possible to go through all the postings that happen every day."

He says that his team is constantly looking for opportunities to use artificial intelligence to help the business.

"We are like an internal consulting organization," he says. "We are constantly selling this. We speak with the business units and other stakeholders every week and come up with other use cases for them to try out."

He says that Lennox is a little early to the AI game. "For industries like ours, AI is a hard road, and it requires a lot of selling to a very skeptical audience."

AIs chief limitations today: Skills and data

Machine learning and advanced analytics play an important part in predictive maintenance and other aspects of the manufacturing process.

According to a recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers, 78 percent of manufacturing companies have deployed or are planning to deploy predictive maintenance technology, followed by 73 percent for manufacturing execution systems, 60 percent for digital twins, and 59 percent for robotic process automation.

Only 29 percent are using or planning to use artificial intelligence, which PricewaterhouseCoopers defines as moving beyond machine learning and advanced analytics to making independent cognitive decisions.

Today, most of the focus in about embedding artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in order to cut costs, says Kumar Krishnamurthy, a PwC principal who focuses on IT strategy. "But my prediction is that some of these technologies are going to help companies scale and drive productivity at a different level."

Demand from customers and pressure from industry disruptors will force manufacturing companies to change, he says.

However, the technology isn't quite as mature yet as people believe it to be, he says. In addition, the lack of AI skills, and lack of usable data, is also hindering the process.

According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, 52 percent of manufacturing companies implementing AI say that lack of skilled people is a major challenge, and 42 percent point to reliability of data.

Building AI into the design process

One group trying to overcome both the skills and the data problem in the difficult and extremely time-consuming design phase of the manufacturing process is Palo Alto Research Center, the Xerox company behind such innovations as laser printing, object-oriented programming, the graphical user interface, optical storage, and many other foundational technologies.

Artificial intelligence can take functional requirements, cost, regulatory, and manufacturing constrains, and come up with designs that human beings would not have thought of, says Ersin Uzun, PARC lab manager and vice president of R&D.

"If I ask you to design something that would let me hold liquids, you would probably start with something like a cup," he says. "You would not necessarily come up with a camelback design immediately."

Once something is designed, PARC is also working on creating technology that would figure out how to build it, using both subtractive and additive manufacturing methods, and keeping in mind the imperfections that are introduced by different design and manufacturing choices.
The fact that I have to write this blog at all is quite surprising but yes, it is in fact necessary. There are still some companies (and industries) stuck in the dark ages. But, unlike 100 years ago, or even earlier in this decade when Kodak and Blockbuster were struggling (without success) to survive, there are clear warning signs to watch for ... look for them and escape before you have an extinct company on your CV.

1. Your IT department is viewed as a necessary evil

Its extraordinary, isnt it, that in this tech-saturated world that there are still companies out there where the IT department is about as popular as chopped liver. These companies and their employees see IT as that necessary evil they contact when a PC breaks down, password is lost, or to solve some another niggling problem.

In an era where technology has transformed the way we work, shop and live -- and techies are now C-suite regulars and modern-day heroes  the few straggler companies that still dont get it may want to step into the 21st century and make a few important adjustments.

2. Tech is listed as a corporate function

Is technology listed on corporate presentations as a function along with finance and legal?

With respect to my friends in finance and legal functions whose work is essential to the success of any company, theres a problem with technology being seen as a function. The reality is that the line between technology and business is blurring rapidly, and, as I have said many times, the term digital business is almost redundant. True forward-thinking companies have long ago elevated IT to the same level as strategy or product development  an integrated element of their business model.

3. Tech is NOT included in earnings reports

Imagine if Netflix, Google, or Facebook had an analyst day without mentioning technology. Ok, that may seem farfetched as these companies are fundamentally technology based. But, to my point that all businesses are becoming digital, its almost astonishing when IT initiatives, which are all about the quality of future operations and competitiveness, are absent in CEO calls.

Talking too much about technology when you have never mentioned it will of course lead to skepticism, but technology should clearly be a part of your strategy and story.

4. Executives do not have tech objectives

You manage what you measure is a common catchphrase. Therefore, company leadership that sees the irrefutable and powerful value of technology will ensure tech goals become annual performance measures for their executives. You could see this as being similar to how adding diversity to annual performance goals has helped some companies change the tide in this area.

One global leader I know has only two unique objectives above and beyond the normal financial and operational measures. Both of them are about enhancing client experience through technology and analytics. They came directly from the CEO. Thats how change starts.

5. Same tactics continue to be used

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results. Yet, some companies still manage and think about problems today the same way they thought about them a decade ago.

Im not just talking about moving from waterfall to agile, though techies love to talk about that transition. Im talking about literally thinking about problems differently. Technology doesnt simply enable businesses to be more efficient, it has the power and potential to create entirely new business lines. It can disrupt the current model and displace competitors. The problem is that many companies are still looking for ways that technology can enhance an existing model. Thats old thinking!

You cant continue to do what youve always done to stay ahead and be successful, is how Paul Chapman, CIO of Box, put it in a recent interview with Apptio in their Emerge ezine.

Watch out for people who stick to the narrow word enablement when referring to technology. Let's talk about new revenue models and EBITDA enhancement instead.

6. Your CIO is NOT on the senior management team

Many studies have discussed the reporting structure of company CIOs. In the United States, a Deloitte study found, 50% of CIOs report to the CEO while globally this figure is 46%. But there are many companies where the CIO reports to the CFO, COO or and they thrive.

Reporting structure does matter but I would argue that structure alone does not determine whether your business will emerge from the dark ages. A CEO that does not understand or appreciate technology, or one that is too stretched to give it focus, could possible make things worse for a CIO trying to drive digital strategy. A tech savvy and engaged CFO might therefore be a much better reporting structure.

Whats most important is that the CIO is seen as a strategic part of the management team. The CIO can report up to the CFO, COO, or CEO -- studies have shown that it really doesnt matter. However, regardless of structure, the CIO leader must be in the room where it happens or your business will ultimately falter in our digital age, which continues to transform almost everything with mind-blowing speed.

If your technology leader is relegated to the next level and not a part of critical meetings where business strategy, M&A, and revenue growth are discussed, he or she will be trapped in an enabler role. And your business will struggle to keep up.

Is this comprehensive list? Probably not. Are there some successful companies out there that do not adhere to the above guidance? Yep.

Be well. Lead on.
Audio Transcript

Brian Anderson: Welcome back to the 10 Blocks Podcast. This is your host Brian Anderson, the editor of City Journal. Joining me today on the show are two guests, first we have Aaron Renn, Aaron's a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor to City Journal, you can follow him on twitter @Urbanophile. Joining him is Rafael Mangual, he's the Deputy Director for legal policy at the Manhattan Institute and you can also follow him on Twitter it's @Rafa_Jdoc. Were gathered here to talk about the second greatest city in the United States at least as it describes itself, Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel surprised political world this week when he announced that he would not seek reelection for a third term. Emanuel who previously served under presidents Obama and Clinton on the federal level has faced tremendous challenges since coming into office in Chicago in 2011. There's been the serious spike in violent crime a failing school system and severely underfunded pensions just to name a few of the challenges he's been addressing, but what does this announcement mean for the city's future? Luckily for us, these two guests have a lot of experience writing about and even living in the Windy City Aaron and Ralph thanks for joining us.

Aaron Renn: Thank you.

Rafael Mangual: Thanks for having me.

Brian Anderson: Aaron we'll start with you. What do you make of Emmanuel's decision and how is he leaving the city is it better or worse off?

Aaron Renn: He was elected originally in 2011, a very bleak time for the city. The entire country had essentially suffered a lost decade, Chicago was no exception the region had lost jobs, Mayor Daley who'd served something like six terms was deeply unpopular as he seemed to have lost his magic touch, the city was humiliated in a bid to try to host the 2016 Olympics, there was a debacle with a 75-year lease for the city's parking meter system and there was a sort of civic malaise in the air. Now, when Rahm is going to leave in 2019, the city is booming in many ways the loops in all time, the job high, theres skyscrapers everywhere, highly educated people and tech companies have been pouring into the city and he's probably going to point to this and say look I brought this big turnaround.

Brian Anderson: And you can see it, the loop area looks beautiful it's actually very clean even compared with New York City these days.

Aaron Renn: Yes, so I would say that's going to be his claim I think there's some fairness to it. But what he really failed to do is address the two major problems that hang like a cloud over the city. One being the finances and the other one being crime. As you noted, he made a lot of attempts to find a way to avoid simply having to pay all these pensions he negotiated with the unions

Brian Anderson: Lets step back a minute and describe what those fiscal or financial issues are pensions are certainly at the heart of it right?

Aaron Renn: Yes, the city's pensions are underfunded by some astronomical amount of money like 38 billion or something like that. The city has also has a tremendous amount of just plain, old, ordinary bonded debt. For many years the city hasn't even been paying its bonds off when they come due they simply refinance them and extend the payments in a system called scoop and toss. Then, they were even using bonds to pay what we're essentially operating expenses, which is what you're not supposed to do, youre supposed to be using bonds for like building roads and schools and things like that. They're using bonds just to stay afloat just and to do things like pay legal settlements including hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements for police misconduct just being financed out of bonds. So, this has really been a bad situation. He didn't create that mess, it was largely created under his predecessor but it's really bedeviled him trying to get a handle on it.

Brian Anderson: The state has played a role here as well, right? By making it very difficult to reform pensions because I know mayor Emanuel had at least talked about the problem.

Aaron Renn: On pensions specifically the Illinois Supreme Court has basically ruled that you can't make any changes that will deal with this problem. Not even if you negotiate with the unions, it's got one of these systems where even future increases in your pensions that you will earn years from now can't be taken away from you. So they can't even like reduce future benefits in a lot of instances, except for brand-new employees. So it's a very difficult environment in which to operate, he did try to do some negotiations but ultimatel,y dissident union members sued and they were overturned. That was probably worth trying when you want to try to negotiate some give backs by everybody but in the meantime while he was doing a lot of this he wasn't putting in the money to start bringing in the funded ratios back up and so he really missed several years of opportunities to start addressing the problem.

Brian Anderson: So the city is in a real financial hole yes and

Aaron Renn: not just the city that's going to get worse it's not just that the city's in the hole, the school district has the same hole, Cook County has the same hole the state has the same hole so essentially every layer of government in Illinois is facing similar crises you know the state government is also politically dysfunctional in many ways so that creates a huge problem for the city it's not like the state could just bail them out for example because the state itself practically needs a bailout.

Brian Anderson: Now you've written in the past for City Journal that Chicago's ambitions to be a global city might be a little hubristic. Why do you think that and what do you think the best path forward is going to be for the city? And we'll get to crime in a minute with Ralph.

Aaron Renn: Well, in a sense Chicago is a global city it's if you look at it it's the city in the other states that most resembles New York physically with its big downtown full of all these skyscrapers and they have big financial exchanges like the Chicago Mercantile Exchange it's a center of high-frequency trading and and business services and other things so in a sense Chicago is the interior city that most resembles the coastal places like the Boston's DC's the San Francisco's in the kinds of profiles of their economy as a talent hub and a talent magnet etc. Chicago has never quite managed to post the kinds of impressive economic results that those other places have it really hasn't joined that the true coastal club, now in a sense that's good because for example, housing prices are much more cheap there so that's been good but they have Chicago doesn't have an industry like finance in New York government in DC or tech in San Francisco, Bay Area that just generates oceans of cash for them. It's a very diversified economy which is very good for them in a lot of ways because that helps to preserve your wealthWhen you just when you have all your eggs in one basket it needs to be a big basket, just ask Detroit. But ultimately you know and they never quite joined the coastal elite. They've outperformed a lot of the Midwest cities in a lot of ways in terms of becoming a destination for investment and people. But they have not quite been able to join the coastal levels and Rahm, I know that was his one of the ambitions for Chicago was to be seen in the same breath as the Singapores and the in that London's and the Paris's and the Toronto's and the New York's and the San Francisco's but it couldn't quite make it to that level.

Brian Anderson: Well certainly the crime situation has dominated headlines and Ralph you've been monitoring that for City Journal have written several pieces for us. it's been reported recently that violent crime is actually down for the year in in the city but this is after very substantial crime rises over the last few years where is the crime problem right now how bad was it during the spike and is it really getting better?

Rafael Mangual: Well it's getting better as you pointed out when you compare it to a really intense spike that Chicago started to experience and in 2016 and so you know when people ask the question of how bad crime is in Chicago at any point in time it's really important to kind of buck the trend of looking at crime at citywide levels and this is something that I think probably contributed significantly to Emmanuel's failure to adequately deal with the crime problem in that city I mean when you look at crime in a citywide level in a place like Chicago would you have to what gets lost is that Chicago is a very divided city I mean it really is a Tale of Two Cities and that jurisdiction insofar as there's a really densely populated area of the city that is extremely safe I mean Aaron and I both lived on the north side of Chicago and you know I never felt insecure walking late at night or anything like that but there's another part of the city, what I've called sub Chicago in a piece for City Journal last summer, that's also pretty heavily populated insofar as it would be a large city in and of itself with 1.1 million people but the crime picture there is very very different and so when you look at the overall crime rate or the overall homicide rate for example in a city like Chicago the homicide rate in the area that it encompasses the south and west sides is about double the citywide rate which means that whenever you talk about it at a citywide level you kind of underestimate exactly how dangerous things are in the bad neighborhoods.

Brian Anderson: Crime in these neighborhoods exploded as we mentioned a few years ago what in your view was behind that and what has been the policing response to it.

Rafael Mangual: I think a couple of things were behind it you know part of it was you know especially relating back to the Emanuel administration I mean he came into office at a time where Chicago was experiencing modern lows in in terms of their murder rate in 2010 homicides fell to their lowest level in Chicago since 1965 they fell again slightly in 2011 when a manual came into office and in 2014 there were only four hundred and seven murders which was even lower than that now they started an uptick in about 2012 and I think first thing that contributed to this was sort of the lack of urgency um in the mayor's office and at the high higher levels of the police force that I think resulted from this trend of looking at crime in a citywide level I mean in 2014 Emanuel didn't an interview with Politico specifically about crime in that city and he got kind of he took a sort of hard tone when he was asked to react to the characterization of Chicago as the murder capital and he said quote the narrative is that where the murder capital not close and you know what he was doing there was pointing to other smaller cities with higher per capita rates but again that ignores the fact that there are areas of Chicago which with that are much bigger than those smaller cities in and of themselves and have much higher rates so I think it was a combination of approaching crime from through that lens and then you know during the Emanuel administration there were a bunch of things that the city did both in terms of policing and incarceration that I think contributed to crime increases for example into the first quarter of 2016 the height of what Heather McDonald is called the Ferguson effect there were 80 percent fewer pedestrian stops done by the Chicago Police Department a lot of people think that this emboldened criminals and I'm one of them, and 2016 overall saw a significant drop in arrests and more importantly it also saw a significant drop in the number of illegal guns covered recovered compared to 2015 I think there were a hundred and eighteen fewer firearms confiscated in 2016 compared to the prior year so I don't think it's---

Brian Anderson: And didn't Emanuel describe the police as going fetal at one point?

Rafael Mangual: He most certainly did. I think he was he was right to point that out but I think a lot of analysts who look at it will say that me and beyond that statement he didn't really do much to counteract that he didn't really do much to communicate a level of support for more intense police activity you know the other thing too is that there was a big push for Dakar serration in that city you know in September of 2017 the chief judge of the Cook County Court system put in an order to lower bail amounts basically responding to some stories out of New York that argued that pretrial detainee practices were unfair and unjust and this lead to a significant decrease in the Cook County jail population I mean it dropped to its lowest point in a decade you know right around that time and so you know what that meant is that you had a bunch of criminals who would otherwise have been behind bars roaming the streets and I think the sort of confluence of all those factors really contributed to a spike that has been essentially sustained I mean despite the fact that there was a slight drop-off in 2017 in this light drop-off this year I mean the drop-off is from one of the high points in history.

Brian Anderson: A very significant increase. Aaron, your assessment of long term scenario for Chicago you know what is there to look forward to?

Aaron Renn: Their number one thing to look forward to is tax increases and nobody is really sure why Emanuel didn't want to run again but he was floating this idea for a pension obligation bond that the city would borrow ten billion and put it into its pension plan and that's kind of a hokey move that's usually you see people doing that it's a sign of desperation and I think you may have been looking for a way to avoid this big ramp up and tax contributions to pensions it's coming by 2023 the city's contributions to its pensions are scheduled to nearly double almost like an additional billion dollars a year which is more than the budgets of most cities in the any country is going to be going just to pay off yesterday's mistakes there's no public benefit to any of these tax increases and it's like every tax increase it's not just its one-year I mean it's in perpetuity that run rate just keeps going so billions and billions of dollars going for that so it'll be interesting to see when the tax increases finally start hitting Chicago start hitting l annoy you know I believe that Democratic candidate for governor by big tax increases in income taxes when you start seeing that kind of taxes in Chicago in Illinois that are more familiar to people and say New Jersey then I think we'll really see what Chicago is made of in a sense of whether people are willing to pay that level of a premium in order to live there because there's going to be a lot more expensive in terms of your tax bill in the near future.

Brian Anderson: And Ralph's on the crime scene do you think the city's going to get that back under control in a satisfactory way.

Rafael Mangual: It really depends I mean you know I don't think that there's an optimistic picture to paint right now that would predict success on that front, yeah.

Brian Anderson: And of course there were high profile incidents which led to a lot of friction between you know minority neighborhoods and the police.

Rafael Mangual: That's right and you know look Chicago being a blue city has been dominated by the sort of left-wing narrative on crime and that has been a sort of anti-police narrative in large part which I think is going to continue to play a role in how cops approach their job you know one of the things that Aaron just pointed out which is also interesting is that you know as its financial situation gets worse it's going to start feeling the effects of not being able to do things like hire more police which I think the city really needs to do because

Brian Anderson: If youre just paying off old debts, that means a lot less money for services.

Rafael Mangual: Exactly, I mean one thing that that that I think could help at least stem the tide if not start to turn things around will be will depend on whether the crime that's currently heavily concentrated on the south and west sides starts to bleed into areas that are more commonly sort of used by the city's middle and upper classes I mean you saw that in New York, I don't think that played a small role in in changing the tune that the city took when it came to crime. And you know there have been a series of increases in carjackings in nicer neighborhoods sort of flash mobs in the shopping district so m you know I think we'll have to just wait and see but my hope is that things don't get to that point before the city starts to do the right thing and start to address crime in a more aggressive manner.

Brian Anderson: Thanks very much don't forget to check out Aaron Renn and Rafael Manguals work on our website www.City-Journal.org You can follow Aaron on Twitter @Urbanophille and Ralph as well @Rafa_Jdoc. We'd also love to hear your own comments about today's episode on Twitter at City Journal and lastly if you like our show and want to hear more, please leave ratings and reviews on iTunes thanks for listening and thanks gentlemen for joining us.

Aaron Renn: Thank you.

Rafael Mangual: Thanks.
Rahm Emanuel became mayor of Chicago in 2011, just as the city was coming out of a lost decade. The Chicagoland region had lost jobs, and the city was staggering under the weight of civic debacles, ranging from the 75-year lease of its parking-meter system to a humiliating rejection of its bid to host the 2016 Olympics. Today, after seven years of Emanuels leadership, the Loop enjoys record employment, vast tracts of the city are booming, the tech sector is gaining momentum, a sparkling new downtown river walk is drawing huge crowds, and the city can justly boast that its transit system is not suffering from the critical breakdowns slamming New York and Washington. The mayor surely wants this significant turnaround to mark his legacy.

But while Chicago is better in many ways for his time in the mayors office, Emanuel largely failed at grappling with the citys biggest problems: finances and violent crime. And he couldnt bring Chicago to parity with the elite global cities on the coasts.

Emanuel inherited the citys grievous financial crisis, created by his predecessor Richard M. Daley. The city was largely in the dark about the woeful state of its ledgers until a Crains Chicago Business report appeared in 2010, followed soon after by investigative reporting that revealed deep-seated problems: severely underfunded pensions, high levels of bonded debt, constant refinancing to extend payments (termed scoop and toss), and the use of debt to pay operational expenses, including millions of dollars in settlements for police misconduct.

After eight years, Chicago is only beginning to address these challenges. Emanuel first attempted to negotiate a solution with public-sector unionsthe right move to make, though it proved futile in the face of Illinois Supreme Court rulings that effectively invalidated any form of pension reform. But while pursuing these efforts, Emanuel neglected to increase funding for the pension system, a costly decision during one of the all-time-great bull markets.

Now, at the end of Emanuels second term, Chicago faces the prospect of many years of tax increases to close the pension-funding gap, with city contributions to the system almost set to double by 2023. What mayor wants to preside over years of tax increases that produce no public benefit, going only to pay for yesterdays mistakes? This looming future perhaps helps explain Emanuels decision to step down. The mayor recently floated a proposal for a pension-obligation bond, generally a move suggesting desperation.

Emanuel also never got a handle on crime, as Chicago became a national byword for homicide. In 2017, the city continued to rack up more than double the combined number of murders in Los Angeles and New York, both larger cities than Chicago. The city made national news for multiple weekends this past summer, with stunning numbers of shootingssuch as the first weekend in August, in which 66 people were shot, 12 fatally. The city has also seen a wave of car-jackings, which have plagued even the most prosperous neighborhoods. Chicagos crime story is complex, but public safety is the most important job of any mayor, and Emanuel clearly failed to keep Chicago safe. The behavior of some Chicago locals in trying to explain away the killingsuch as comparing the citys murder rate with that of Memphis and Detroit, two cities that Chicagoans would never otherwise want to be lumped in withis a civic disgrace.

Emanuels successes are also less impressive than they might first appear. Chicagos economic turnaround was part of a national boom. Other American cities have been rallying economically, too, and often at a faster rate. Tech is growing all over, and Chicago hasnt cracked the elite club in venture-capital investing, remaining significantly behind the big four coastal centers (the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and Boston). And unlike the other largest American cities, Chicago continues to see its population fall, as blacks flee in droves and Mexican immigration dries up.

Emanuel brought formidable skills to city hall, but they were not necessarily the ones that Chicago needed. The mayor is a hardened political streetfighter, and that helped him in some aspects of his job. He pursued his goals with relentless ferocity. His ability to get out-of-town CEOs on the phone at willa rarity among mayorshelped him bag several major job announcements early on, which put wind in the citys sails at a time when Chicago badly needed a boost. But Emanuels lack of strategic and operational skills hobbled his ability to respond to structural and systemic problems. And his Washington-style approach to spin doesnt work at the urban level, because residents have firsthand knowledge of how their neighborhoods are doing and wont fall for media massaging. That top-down effort at controlling the narrative reached its nadir just before the last election, when the city sat on a video of a Chicago cop shooting and killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The officer is only now headed to trial, and the verdict, whatever it may be, will cast a shadow on the 2019 election.

Taking a job as a big-city mayor, especially of Chicago, is not exactly a strategic career move; Emanuel, a well-connected power player who served in two presidential administrations, deserves credit for his civic ambition. His departure is of enormous consequence for the city. No obvious successor is in sight, and the race looks wide open. In choosing a new mayor, Chicago will have an opportunity to break free of its clout-driven, big daddy style of governancean unwelcome prospect for the citys civic and business elite, who fear more than anything a return of the chaos that the city experienced in the 13-year interregnum between the two mayors Daley, pere et fils. Some level of chaos may indeed come, and it may even be healthy. Chicago needs to create new and more open political structures that can produce better outcomes and a healthier civic culture; an electoral shakeup could help start that process.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (Photo: Joshua Lott/Getty Images)
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has appointed broadcast journalist Sue Inglish as its next chair, taking over from Clive Jones in November.

The DEC originally announced former Oxfam chair Karen Brown as Joness successor, but she withdrew from the role in February, a month before she was due to take it up, saying she did not want her association with Oxfams Haiti scandal to be a distraction.

Inglish has 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism including her role as the BBCs head of political programmes, analysis and research until 2015.

Before joining the BBC in 2002, she spent 13 years at ITN in roles including foreign editor and deputy editor of Channel 4 News.

Inglish is chair of the Royal Television Societys TV Journalism Awards and a governor of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy.

She also chairs the board of the International News Safety Institute, a charity championing the safety of journalists worldwide.

Inglish said: When major disasters strike around the world, the British public have shown their enormous generosity time and again by supporting the efforts of the Disasters Emergency Committee to alleviate suffering. It is a great privilege to be asked to play a part in this vital work.

Saleh Saeed, chief executive of the DEC, said: Sues vision and commitment together with her wealth of experience in journalism and broadcast media will help the DEC further build its long-established and trusted reputation for rapidly mobilising the UK public to so generously respond to the worlds worst humanitarian disasters.

Saeed also paid tribute to outgoing chair Jones, who has been in post since 2011.

He said: Clives achievements and impact during his time leading the DEC have been numerous and deeply felt, both within the organisation, amongst our member charities and in the broader fundraising, humanitarian and charity sectors.

His legacy of thoughtful and dynamic leadership will underpin the DEC for years to come.
On a Monday in April, at Lee Correctional Facility, in South Carolina, a bloody brawl erupted. More than four hours passed before guards intervened; in the meantime, seven men died and dozens lay injured. The violence was so intense, and the sluggish response from authorities so disconcerting, that, starting August 21, incarcerated people across the country launched a peaceful strike in protest. In an effort organized by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, a union group, and Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, an anonymous collective, prisoners are refusing to perform their assigned jobs and demanding that authorities address a range of concernsfrom little or no pay for prison labor to racial disparities in sentencing to the lack of voting rights for incarcerated citizens and ex-felons.

Coverage of the killings, and the strike, have been limited, and not because they arent noteworthy. Although prisons and jails can be found in nearly every community in America, journalists struggle to keep the public informed. What happens behind prison wallswith public funds and in the name of public safetyis completely out of public view, Jessica Pupovac, a reporter in Chicago, says.

Pupovac, who has worked with the Society of Professional Journalists to document media access to prisons in all 50 states, has found that, in many cases, authorities will simply avoid reporters they dont want to deal with. If theyd prefer a story not get out, she tells CJR, it doesnt. In addition to a complex network of state policies that restrict everything from the length of interviews to the pens and paper reporters can bring in, journalists say that the system is often unresponsive to information requests and that they must worry about retaliation against their sources.

RELATED: Inside Mother Jones monster investigation of private prisons

Without direct access, nailing down key details about the incident in April and the ongoing strike is an impossible task. The trickle of accounts from within Lee Correctional has conflicted with what official sources say. Emily Bohatch, a reporter at The State, the daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, has been trying to write about the riot that took place in the spring, but prison officers wont answer basic questions about the timeline, including what time an ambulance arrived, or when a SWAT team was called. She has also been lodging Freedom of Information requests with the state prison system for documents on deaths behind bars; so far, shes had no luck obtaining records. As a journalist, its my dutyI need to investigate, she says. But there are so many barriers in the way, its so difficult, and it takes so long. Lately, she has been calling Lee Correctional almost every day, asking if the strike has taken root inside; shes been told it hasnt. But from some inmates lawyers, shed heard rumors that suggest otherwise.

Some details have emerged. Heather Ann Thompson, a historian at the University of Michigan, obtained cell phone videos of the riot at Lee. In an op-ed for The New York Times, she included information from the footage to raise questions about the authorities account of the events guards had said that they took four hours to intervene because the scene was too violent to enter. Instead, the footage shows an eerily quiet dorm, she wrote, with prisoners wrapping a bandage for a man who is bleeding heavily.

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Last year, Thompson won a Pulitzer Prize for Blood in the Water (2016), her history of the 1971 Attica prison uprising, in which at least 29 incarcerated men were killed by law enforcement. During the uprising, there were reporters inside because the prisoners insisted on it, she says. But when officers came to take back the prison, the media was swept out. According to Thompsons account, law enforcement shot 128 people, tortured many more, and engaged in an extensive cover-up. Even as the air was still thick with tear gas and you could hear gunfire, Thompson says, state officials told media gathered outside Attica that something completely different happened than what really happened. She adds, Horrible things go on in the absence of the eyes of media. The current prison strike is due to end on Sunday, which will be the 47th anniversary of the Attica massacre.

Thompson developed a number of techniques to get around stonewalling by prison officials and Freedom of Information denialstalking with incarcerated people over contraband cell phones and reaching out to family members over social media. But even with these tools, it can take a long time to uncover what is going on inside.

Prisoners trying to get word out risk retaliation. In South Carolina, where the riot took place, many ways of communicating with the outside world can result in harsh punishment. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that, between 2012 and 2015, hundreds of people in that state had been sent to solitary confinement for using Facebook; over a dozen were sentenced to decades in disciplinary detention. According to EFF, South Carolina prisons consider a day of social media to be a Level 1 offensea category reserved for the worst violationswhich means that an inmate who caused a riot, took three hostages, murdered them, stole their clothes, and then escaped could still wind up with fewer Level 1 offenses than an inmate who updated Facebook every day for two weeks. (The South Carolina Department of Corrections did not respond to a request for comment.)



I dont want somebody to be tortured because of something I print, Jared Ware, an advocacy journalist for ShadowProof, a website that covers abuses of government power, tells CJR. He recalls a chilling experience covering accusations against a prison in McCormick, South Carolina, where inmates were reporting that they were denied access to water. Ware reached a number of people inside the prison by phone and aired the interviews on a podcast. After it was released, Wares sources told him that officers were going through the facility, playing the recording and demanding that Wares interviewees be identified. His sources asked him to take the podcast down; he did.

Madison Pauly, who has been covering the national strike for Mother Jones, has been trying to verify details about whats going on behind bars, including the extent of retaliation against those talking to the press. After strike organizers on the outside claimed active participation in Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, and New Mexico, prison officials in those states declined to respond to Pauleys questions. There are strong incentives for officials to not want to discuss any unrest inside, she says. They want to portray it as less than it is. Officials who do respond deny anyone is taking part, even if there is video showing evidence otherwise.

What makes the prison beat especially hard is that much of the stonewalling is, in fact, legal. In a recent piece for CJR, Jonathan Peters detailed how First Amendment precedent provides little help for journalists seeking to access prisons: although the Supreme Court has held a view that First Amendment rights do not end in prison, state and federal authorities are free to ban interviews between reporters and inmates, partially on grounds of security. State policies on media access vary widely, with some states limiting interviews to 15 or 30 minutes and others banning face-to-face interviews entirely. In some cases, it may take months for reporters to get on an inmates visiting list, and interviews may be monitored.

In practice, prisons have repeatedly curtailed speech and access for reasons of security. In 2007, Alan Prendergast, a journalist in Colorado, reported on documentsobtained through a freedom of information requestshowing that the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility, a federal supermax prison in Fremont County, had received 100 requests for media interviews since 2002 and had denied them all, often citing unspecified security concerns. (In a follow up article in 2015, Prendergast said that he was still unaware of any in-person interviews granted there). When it comes to federal prison, the courts have deferred so much to the wardens judgement about whats necessary for running the facility, David McCraw, the deputy general counsel for The New York Times, says. But in most cases the reason given seems preposterous.

Thats driven some reporters to take extreme measures. In 2016, Shane Bauer, a reporter with Mother Jones, went undercover as a prison guard in a private prison Louisiana. I could keep fighting these battles, he recalls. Or I could get inside, and really paint the scenes, see it with my own eyes.

Jeanne Woodford, a former prison official, tells CJR that she believes many of the restrictions are excessive. Woodford, who was the director of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, has hopes for a system in which reporters can enter a facility and pull inmates aside for an interview. But even proponents of reform draw a line when it comes to weighing media access against other state interests: In California, journalists can appear on visiting lists and tell prisons that they would like to talk to anyone in a given group, but they cannot single out an incarcerated person for a face-to-face interview. Woodford, who served as the warden of San Quentin State Prison, tells CJR that she agrees with this ban in the name of avoiding sensationalizing coverage of notorious serial killers like Charles Manson.

Often, the people in the best position to cover prisons are those who are currently or formerly incarcerated. Newspapers run out of prisonsfrom Californias San Quentin News to Louisianas Angolitehave a long history of testifying to the experience of incarcerated people. In recent months, however, some journalists have reported being retaliated against for writing while behind bars. Mark Horan, a public information officer at the Wyoming Department of Corrections, tells CJR in an email that Wyoming inmates are not allowed to be employed by a news organization, act as a reporter, publish under under a byline or enter into an agreement with a media outlet to be published under a byline.

For reporters covering incarceration, theres a nagging sense that the full story will always be just over the horizon. When I ask myself about what I dont know, I am floored thinking about how many things could be going onthings that are pretty horrendousthat I might never be able to know about, Nicole Lewis, a reporter covering the national strike for The Marshall Project, says. Theres just such a big loss there.

RELATED: We started hearing about this crazy thing called honey bunning

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the strike began on August 29. It began August 21.

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Alexandra Ellerbeck and Avi Asher-Schapiro are the authors. Alexandra Ellerbeck is the North America program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists. She previously worked at Freedom House on its Freedom on the Net publication. Avi Asher-Schapiro is CPJ's U.S. correspondent. Avi is a former staffer at VICE News, International Business Times, and Tribune Media, and an independent investigate reporter who has published in outlets including The Atlantic, The Intercept, and The New York Times.
President Trump indicated last week that the White House is looking into regulating Google, Facebook, and Twitter because they are, he alleges, privileging voices that criticize him while suppressing his supporters ideas.

He wrote, in a series of early morning tweets on August 28, that Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation  will be addressed! Trumps suggestion that these companies are privileging certain information while suppressing other content followed similar accusations made by Infowars founder Alex Jones and other right-wing figures of bias against conservatives.

Google search results for Trump News shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake News Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD. Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal? 96% of.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018

.results on Trump News are from National Left-Wing Media, very dangerous. Google & others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good. They are controlling what we can & cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 28, 2018

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How, exactly, would this blanket suggestion to regulate these companies work? When were talking about regulating the information that comes up in Google searches or appears in peoples timelines on Facebook or Twitter, were really talking about governing algorithms and the decisions they make about which information should be provided and prioritized.

Regulating algorithms might seem like entirely new legal territory, since Google and its cousins are only two decades old. But a newspaper case from 1974 has quite a bit to say about whether the government can control, under the First Amendment, companies algorithms and how they produce and organize information.

In Miami Herald v. Tornillo, the Supreme Court struck down a Florida law that gave political candidates the right of reply to criticisms they faced in newspapers. The law required the newspaper to publish a response from the candidate, and to place it, free of charge, in a conspicuous place. The candidates lawyers contended that newspapers held near monopolistic roles when it came to reaching audiences and that compelling them to publish responses was the only way to ensure that candidates could have a comparable voice.

Nearly 45 years later, we are hearing a similar argument. Google and Facebook do not face any significant competition. If they manipulate their algorithms to privilege certain information, those who are harmed have comparatively limited tools through which to be heard.

In the Herald case, the paper refused to comply with the law. Its editors argued the law violated the First Amendment because it allowed the government to compel a newspaper to publish certain information. The Supreme Court resoundingly agreed with the Herald. Justices explained that the government cannot force newspaper editors to publish that which reason tells them should not be published.

Whats important in 2018, however, isnt simply that the law was unconstitutional. Justices used the decision to highlight that the government cannot compel expression. At the same time, they recognized that newspapers are businesses as well as journalistic endeavors. In one passage, the majority opinion explains that a privately owned newspaper has only two responsibilities: to publish information that is of interest to a sufficient number of readersand hence advertisersto assure financial success; and, second, the journalistic integrity of its editors and publishers.

Justices also emphasized that the information editors select for their audiences is part of a process and that the government has no role in that process. The choice of material to go into a newspaper, the Court wrote, and the decisions as to limitations on size and content of the paper, and treatment of public issues and public officialsfair or unfairconstitute the exercise of editorial control and judgment.

Google is not a newspaper and algorithms are not human editors. Should a search engine or social media companys algorithm-based content decisions be protected in similar ways as those made by newspaper editors? According to two federal court decisions, the answer is yes.

A North Carolina man in 2007 sued to force Google to include his websites in its search outcomes and to publish advertisements on his websites. Google had refused to fulfill both of these requests. The website publisher argued that Google had opened itself up to being a type of public forum, thus giving him a right to enter that forum with his ideas. The federal judge found, citing the Heralds case, that Google cannot be compelled to speak.

Similarly, an Oklahoma company in 2003 sued Google after its website was dropped significantly within the search engines results. The company argued that Google intentionally manipulated its algorithms because its website was competing against Google for advertising revenue. The judge sided with Googles right to adjust its algorithms freely. The judge likened Googles algorithmic outputs to opinions, ultimately concluding that the company cannot be compelled to change its opinions simply because someone disagrees with them.

Here, the process, which involves the . . . algorithm, is objective in nature, the judge explained. In contrast, the result, which is the PageRankor the numerical representation of relative significance of a particular websiteis fundamentally subjective in nature. Ultimately, the judge compared Googles algorithms to the types of judgments that credit-rating companies make. These firms have a right to develop their own processes and to communicate the outcomes.

A final connection between journalistic protections and algorithms came in the Supreme Courts ruling in Citizens United v. FEC in 2010. The case focused on the parts of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act that limited certain types of corporate donations during elections. Citizens United, which challenged the law, is a political action committee. Chief Justice John Roberts, in a concurring opinion, drew news organizations into the Courts discussion. He explained that the law, because of its limits on corporate spending, could allow the government to halt newspapers from publishing certain information simply because they are owned by corporations. This, he concluded, would harm public discourse.

In striking down the lawand citing the Miami Herald case in the majority opinion in the processthe Court reinforced and expanded freedom of expression protections for corporations.

Any attempt to regulate Googles and other corporations algorithmic outputs would not only have to overcome the hurdles the Supreme Court put in place in the Herald case regarding compelled speech and editorial decision-making, it would also have to overcome the Citizens United precedent that corporate speech, which would also include a companys algorithms, is protected by the First Amendment.

RELATED: Are bots entitled to free speech?

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Jared Schroeder is an assistant professor of journalism at Southern Methodist University, where he specializes in First Amendment law. He is the author of The Press Clause and Digital Technologys Fourth Wave.
On this weeks episode, Pete talks with Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, about the conviction of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. The two Reuters reporters were sentenced to seven year in prison after helping expose atrocities in Myanmar. Then, CJR Editor and Publisher Kyle Pope joins to discuss the reaction to Bob Woodwards upcoming book, Fear: Trump in the White House. They discuss why books do a better job of capturing Trumps Washington than daily political reporting, and what we can expect from the reactions to Woodwards work.

SHOW NOTES:



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Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon.
Atlas General Insurance Services Launches Workers Compensation Program for the Cannabis Industry

National program administrator, Atlas General Insurance Services, LLC, announced its new workers compensation program for the cannabis industry in California.

This exclusive program with Accredited Surety and Casualty Co. can accommodate work comp risks involved in all aspects of the cannabis industry  including growers, extractors, analytical labs, medicine manufacturers, food & beverage products manufacturing, packaging, warehousing & distribution, transportation and dispensaries.

For more information, please contact Chuck Holdren, executive director of programs, at chuck@atlas.us.com

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies Partners with Safe Drive Systems on Pilot Project

Safe Drive Systems (SDS), a developer and distributor of advanced auto safety technologies, announced a new alliance partnership with Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies in a fleet technology pilot project.

During the pilot, SDS systems will be installed in the vehicles of selected fleet customers of Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies to evaluate whether the installation will reduce the frequency and severity of their claims. The vehicles will be equipped with SDSs RD140 Anti-Collision Radar System, supplemented with the SDS Fleet Management System (FMS) including real-time tracking abilities, report generation software, driver behavior scoring, and the Fleet SDS mobile application.

Athens Announces Expansion to San Antonio with the Acquisition of 1-2-1 Claims, Inc.

Athens Administrators, a third-party claims administration services provider has acquired 1-2-1 Claims, Inc. expanding operations to eight offices throughout the United States.

Athens Administrators acquired 1-2-1 Claims, Inc., a San Antonio, Texas, licensed third-party administrator (TPA) company specializing in liability, self-insured workers compensation and non-subscriber benefit plan claims administration. The combined companies will deliver an even wider range of services, pricing options and flexibility that will be unique to the risk management services marketplace. The geographic expansion will position Athens to provide even more robust service offerings and support.

Headquartered in Concord, California, Athens Administrators is a privately held third-party claim administration and managed care services company. Clients include private self-insured entities, self-insured public agencies, insurance companies, joint power authorities, self-insurance groups and captives. The combined company will employ over 300 professionals.
AKRON, Ohio - International Institute of Akron will close its office at 207 East Tallmadge Avenue in North Hill on Sept. 24 and move to the Summa Health System St. Thomas Campus.

IIA, which serves and helps resettle Akron's immigrants and refugees, will reopen its doors on Oct. 1 at 8:30 a.m. at 20 Olive Street, Suite 201.

Free parking is located in the lot behind the Summa building at the corner of Olive Street and North Howard Street. The entrance is at the back of the building. IIA's telephone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.

"We are so grateful to have the International Institute as a vital community asset here in Akron," said Mayor Dan Horrigan in a news release. "It was imperative that they remain close to their core clients in North Hill, and the community came together to assure that happened. I look forward to further strengthening our partnership to further grow this community together."

The organization is moving to make way for a state road project, which will reconfigure Dayton Street.

"We appreciate the patience of our clients and the community as we make this transition. Our services to the immigrant community will continue with minimal interruption." said Madhu Sharma, IIA's acting executive director, in the news release.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Federal agents who searched an office in Cleveland City Hall in December were investigating potential tax charges involving a mid-level city employee, according to new information obtained by cleveland.com.

An agent wrote in documents submitted to a federal magistrate judge that information obtained through executing the search warrant would likely provide evidence for charges of false statements on a federal income tax return of a material matter under perjury; and evasion of the assessment of personal income tax.

The documents also show that the agent obtained a warrant to search a house owned by Khalil Ewais on West 46th Street in Cleveland. Ewais is an engineer and section chief for construction inspection in the city's engineering and construction division, which is part of the Office of Capital Projects.

(You can read the search warrant and new documents at the bottom of this story.)

Agents took 10 items from City Hall, including files related to Pioneer Engineering, a company owned by Ewais.

Ewais has not been charged with any crime. He remains employed with the city of Cleveland.

The city of Cleveland released the documents Wednesday in response to a public records request. Cleveland.com requested and obtained a copy of the search warrant and receipt left by agents from the FBI, IRS and Department of Housing and Urban Development on Dec. 7, the day after the raid.

The city, however, did not turn over the attachments, which detail the properties the agents were authorized to search and what they intended to seize, until after a reporter filed an additional request last week.

The attachment detailing the property agents wanted to seize says agents were seeking the following:

- Individual federal tax returns and corresponding documents in the names of Ewais, Abdeljawad Ewais and Munther Ewais for tax years 2011 to the present. This included records of business expenses, business and rental income and information pertaining to dependents.

- IRS forms and documents related to tax rules, regulations and schedules.

- Access to safes, vaults, briefcases or any locked containers.

- Invoices, receipts and business paperwork for Pioneer Engineering or the renting of real estate.

- Records of communication with Pioneer Engineering clients and real estate tenants.

- Records related to federal income tax refunds.

- Other financial and accounting documents.

- Records about occupancy and ownership of the premises agents were authorized to search.

Agents were authorized to look for physical and digital copies of the records, the documents show.

Paul Flannery, an attorney representing Ewais, said Wednesday that he would not comment on the investigation or the facts of the case.

"He has an excellent reputation as an engineer (and) an outstanding reputation in the city for performing his duties and often going above and beyond," Flannery said of Ewais.

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Mike Tobin declined to comment on the documents.

Agents in December also took invoices and a 2015 contract related to Burton Scot Contractors. The Geauga County-based company specializes in asphalt installation and highway rehabilitation, and its website touts its work on multiple public projects, including the Opportunity Corridor, a $331-million boulevard under construction on the city's East Side.

Roger Synenberg, an attorney for Burton Scot, said Wednesday that his client is a "well-respected company in the community and we have cooperated in every way in this investigation."

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
AKRON, Ohio -- A man who spent 22 years in federal prison for a cocaine charge racked up during the height of the U.S. government's War on Drugs, only to be granted clemency by President Barack Obama in 2015, is headed back to prison for marijuana trafficking.

Antwon Rogers, 47, was sentenced Wednesday to four years, nine months in federal prison for violating the terms of his probation. U.S. District Judge John Adams said that Rogers, who lived in Parma Heights, failed drug tests and didn't tell his probation officer that he had moved.

By far the most serious offense, though, was that Rogers fell back into his old ways, despite being given an extraordinary chance at a new life, Adams said.

The judge said it was "tragic the defendant has returned ... to the drug trafficking trade."

Obama and his White House undertook major efforts to shorten the sentences of a record number of people, part of a way to attack the consequences of decades of stiff sentences for people convicted of non-violent drug crimes. The majority of the thousands sentences Obama commuted were for drug cases, a pattern that has not continued under President Donald Trump.

Rogers was the beneficiary of this program. He was sentenced to life in prison in January 1995 after authorities said he sold crack cocaine. In March 2015, Obama commuted the remainder of Rogers' sentence, and he was released shortly thereafter. He had a construction job, and seemed optimistic about the future.

Jeff Lazarus, a federal public defender for Rogers on both the new case and the clemency request, said getting the call that Rogers was getting out was one of the proudest moments of his law career, and his client's good fortune lent him a feeling of invincibility.

Rogers was arrested on Nov. 17, though, after state and federal investigators orchestrated the delivery of a package with five pounds of marijuana to his apartment. A search turned up drug paraphernalia, bags, scales and marijuana residue, and Rogers admitted to receiving packages of marijuana from California for several months, both for him and others to sell.

He pleaded guilty in August to a drug possession charge, and Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Shaughnessy sentenced him to nine months in prison.

Adams was noticeably irked by Rogers' case, and the opportunity he gave up. The 57-month sentence he imposed was the highest one recommended by the U.S. Probation Office and the U.S. Attorney's Office, and just three months short of the maximum sentence allowed by federal law. He did not count the time Rogers served on the state sentence toward the new federal penalty.

The judge also rejected Rogers' request for a recommendation that he participate in an intensive drug and alcohol treatment program while in prison. The program in which he wanted to participate can lead the Federal Bureau of Prisons to shave time off an inmate's sentence. Adams noted that he previously gave Rogers chances to get clean, to no avail.

"It's unfortunate that you did not seize the opportunity given to you by the president," Adams said.

The judge also said he believed Rogers at least had knowledge of more than an ounce of cocaine that investigators found in a coat in a bedroom closet, something that Rogers adamantly denied.

Rogers apologized to everyone in the courtroom, which included his wife in the viewing gallery. He said he wants to leave Ohio after getting out of prison.

Lazarus said his client is embarrassed for his actions and that "negative influences took him down."

He said Rogers has repeatedly asked him if he was mad and that he responded that "we're all just disappointed because you had this chance and you squandered it."

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Thursday's rime and courts comments section.
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Garfield Heights police released the identity of the 19-year-old woman shot and killed Wednesday night during a domestic incident that led to an hours-long standoff with law enforcement.

Giselle Lopez was shot by her mother's 29-year-old boyfriend just before 10 p.m. at their home on the 4800 block of East 86th Street, police said.

Paramedics took her MetroHealth where she died while undergoing surgery, according to police.

Lopez graduated Garfield Heights High School in 2017 with a 4.130 GPA, making her fifth in her graduating class. She had perfect attendance her freshman year of high school, according to a school newsletter. She planned to become a nurse.

Lopez not only attended school consistently, but she did so with attentiveness, dedication and kindness, according to a Facebook post from Garfield Heights City Schools that recognized her as the high school's Spanish student of the month in March 2014.

"Giselle is extremely kind, responsible and dedicated to her studies," the post from her freshman year says. "She is always in class on time, prepared, productive and polite."

The Garfield Heights High School Spanish Student of the Month for March is Giselle Lopez! Giselle is extremely kind,... Posted by Garfield Heights City Schools on Tuesday, March 11, 2014

In the post, Lopez said her favorite food is spaghetti and her favorite show is The Walking Dead.

Giselle and her younger brother, Manuel Lopez, Jr., often made the school's honor roll and merit roll together. Her 17-year-old brother was also shot and killed Wednesday, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.

Their mother was treated at MetroHealth for minor injuries after police say a dispute with her boyfriend turned violent. The man surrendered to police at about 1:40 a.m. and was arrested on charges that include aggravated murder, police said.

The 29-year-old shooter's name has not been provided by police.

To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A Garfield Heights woman ran to her neighbor's house late Wednesday and said her boyfriend shot her children, a neighbor said.

Multiple children were shot just after 9:30 p.m. at the home on East 86th Street near Garfield Boulevard, the union that represents Garfield Heights firefighters said on Facebook. A SWAT unit then surrounded a home where the shooter is believed to be barricaded inside, authorities said.

The shooting happened after a woman fought with her boyfriend, a neighbor told cleveland.com.

Neighbor Connie Allshouse said the woman ran over to her home and asked Allshouse to call police.

"Call 911, Connie. He shot my babies, he shot my babies," Allshouse, 67, described the woman as saying.

SWAT members asked Allshouse and other neighbors to evacuate their homes.

Allshouse said the woman fought with her boyfriend and the woman's 17-year-old son tried to break it up. The woman told her son to run away and his 19-year-old sister would soon be returning home from work.

Allshouse said she heard four to five gunshots before the woman knocked on her door screaming for help. Allshouse's husband ran outside and found the woman's son and daughter lying on the ground, Allshouse said.

The son "didn't look too good," Allshouse said. The son and daughter were taken to hospitals for treatment; authorities have not given updates on their conditions.

Allshouse said the woman was "always afraid" of her boyfriend.

"He always threatened her and said he would kill them and set the house on fire," Allshouse said.

More than a dozens police cars, ambulances and fire trucks lined the street just after midnight. Officers with the Valley View, Bedford and Solon police departments were also at the scene.

East 86th Street is closed in the area. An armored SWAT vehicle was seen arriving just before midnight. SWAT officers told spectators and reporters to move several yards away as they approached the home with high-powered rifles and bulletproof vests.

The street is typically quiet, Allshouse said, but she was afraid fights over the last four or five years would escalate.

"I always knew this would happen," she said bursting into tears. "And it finally really happened."

To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
HAMILTON, Ohio -- A driver of a motorcycle attempting to race away from police after a traffic stop died Tuesday after he crashed into an embankment.

Police have not identified the dead motorcyclist, according to reports.

The incident occurred late Tuesday night when an officer stopped several motorcyclists for traffic violations, Local 12 reports. The riders were displaying the insignia for the Iron Horsemen motorcycle club, reports say.

Three of the motorcyclists sped off but were spotted by another patrol car. One of the cyclists crashed into and over an embankment, Fox19.com reports. He died of his injuries at the scene.

One other motorcyclist stayed at the site of the crash while another was caught after trying to run from police, according to Fox19.com.

Anastasio Camacho, 31, of Versailles, Indiana, and Kyle Ramey, 27, of Harrison, Ohio, are charged with failure to comply with an officer and obstructing official business.

To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A conditional use permit is on tap for a brewpub in the Van Aken District.

Craft Collective, owned by the Cleveland Heights-based and Lakewood-expanded Bottlehouse Brewery, is set to open in November in Market Hall.

"The brewpub space will include seating for about 70 patrons, but will not include food service," City Planning Director Joyce Braverman noted in a memo to City Council, which approved the permit Aug. 27.

Craft Collective will be located in the southwest corner of Market Hall -- the shell of the former Fresh Market building -- with overhead garage door access to the shared patio and sliding barn doors to the rest of the interior tenants.

"The brewpub will include onsite aging and barreling equipment," Braverman added. "They propose to serve beer, mead, cider wine and craft cocktails made in-house and featuring a list of guest breweries."

The confirmation, recommended by the City Planning Commission, was passed on first reading, as construction continues in the Market Hall building, located on the northeast corner of two of Shaker's newest streets, Tuttle and Meade roads.

Currently on hold is an earlier proposal to apply to the Ohio Division of Liquor Control for designation as an "open container district."

This designation would allow patrons to carry drinks out into the park or between establishments, rather than being restricted to one vendor's patio.

At this point, Van Aken District developer RMS Investment Corp. is holding off on the open container district application, with some of the restaurants not scheduled to open until next spring.

Sustainable Shaker

In other business at council's Aug. 27 meeting, Mayor David Weiss discussed a proposal to replace the Sustainable Shaker Task Force with a full-fledged committee, providing a renewed and expanded focus.

Weiss mentioned using most of a $60,000 grant from the Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), along with $10,000 from the city, to hire a consultant to help set it up.

Councilman Sean Malone, who chairs the task force, asked that current members get first preference on whether they would like to continue on the committee.

Council also gave first reading to a resolution urging state officials to take an estimated $147 million budget surplus and instead of putting it in the state's $2.7 billion "rainy day fund," redistribute it back to the cities whose respective Local Government Fund allotments have been cut steadily over the years.

It's part of a consolidated effort through the Ohio Municipal League to recover some of those funds, as well as losses through the repeal of the Estate Tax and phasing out of the Tangible Personal Property tax.

"We struggle every day to find resources to upgrade our aging infrastructure," Weiss said.

Day care restrictions

Council also heard from Shaker Heights resident and landlord Jeff Posner about a proposal from neighbors on either side of one of his rental properties to further restrict home day care providers.

"It appears to be some neighbors who simply don't get along with each other," Posner said, adding that he thought home day care was a good idea for the neighborhood and the city.

The neighbors' concerns have been referred preliminarily to the City Planning Commission to review the regulations, which date back to the 1990s.

But along with Posner, some council members questioned the idea of moving day care into commercial districts.

Councilman Earl Williams said the the dispute appears to be among the adults and not about the children, adding that the State of Ohio issues the primary permits.

Weiss noted that cities are not allowed to relax state regulations, although they can sometimes be made more restrictive on the local level, with mixed results.
Passengers and crew on two American Airlines flights arriving from Europe were held away from other travelers upon arrival in Philadelphia on Thursday after several showed signs of "flu-like symptoms," federal officials said.

Customs and Border Protection said 12 passengers on two flights, Flight 755 from Paris and Flight 717 from Munich, showed signs of illness. All 12 have been released after they were reviewed by federal and Philadelphia health officials, CBP said.

The agency said the measure, which is unusual, was taken out of "an abundance of caution" a day after authorities briefly quarantined an Emirates Airline plane upon landing in New York from Dubai. Its crew reported passengers had similar symptoms. The ill travelers in Philadelphia were arriving from the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia CBP said in a statement.

The American Airlines flights  unlike the Emirates superjumbo jet, which was met with ambulances  were not quarantined. CBP said it examined passengers in a station "away from other passengers." At least 10 passengers were taken to a local hospital after the Emirates flight landed, including seven crew members, the airline said.
Opponents of former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demonstrate in the city of Curitiba on March 28, 2018.

An upcoming presidential election in Latin America's biggest economy has the spill-over potential to dramatically impact emerging markets, strategists told CNBC this week.

Brazil is set to hold a two-round ballot next month, with the vote widely expected to be the most unpredictable since the country's return to democracy three decades ago. Political corruption investigations have dominated the headlines ahead of the election, as voters become increasingly alienated with several of their representatives.

Meanwhile, emerging market currencies in general have suffered in recent weeks, as escalating trade tensions threaten to curb global economic growth. The MSCI emerging markets stock index is down nearly 12 percent since the start of the year.

"The evident economic difficulties that have hit Turkey and Argentina this year have so far been viewed by markets as largely confined to those two countries  with limited spill-over potential to other emerging markets," Jon Harrison, managing director of emerging-market macro strategy at TS Lombard, told CNBC via email.

"What has changed is Brazil. The likelihood of a market friendly outcome in the Brazilian election first-round has receded (and that) has the potential to shock markets out of their complacency," he added.
British Airways said on Thursday that it is investigating a customer data breach on its website and mobile app.

Around 380,000 card payments were compromised by the breach, the airline told CNBC.

The breach occurred from Aug. 21 to Sept. 5 and is now resolved, according to the airline. British Airways said that the stolen data did not include travel or passport details.

While the airline said it is in contact with affected customers, it also advised anyone who thinks they may have been affected to "contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their recommended advice."

"We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers' data very seriously," said CEO Alex Cruz.

The airline said it had notified the police about the breach and "will provide further updates when appropriate."

 CNBC's Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
China will be forced to retaliate if the United States implements any new tariff measures, China's commerce ministry warned on Thursday, as the world's two biggest economies remain locked in an intensifying trade war.

Global markets were on edge after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports.

"If the United States, regardless of opposition, adopts any new tariff measures, China will be forced to roll out necessary retaliatory measures," ministry spokesman Gao Feng told a regular news conference.

China will closely monitor the impact from any fresh tariffs and adopt strong measures to help Chinese or foreign firms operating in China to overcome difficulties, said Gao.

The Trump administration is ready to move ahead with a next round of tariffs after a public comment period ends at midnight in Washington on Thursday, but the timing is uncertain, people familiar with the administration's plans told Reuters.

The new duties will start to hit consumer products directly, including furniture, lighting products, tires, bicycles and car seats for babies.

China and the United States have already slapped tit-for-tat tariffs on $50 billion of each other's goods, spooking financial markets in recent months as investors and policy makers worried the bitter trade war could derail global growth.

Trump is demanding Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for U.S. companies, cut industrial subsidies and slash a $375 billion trade gap.

Markets fear any fresh U.S. duties on Chinese imports will mark a major escalation in the trade dispute between the world's two economic giants, potentially causing significant drag on global business investment, trade and growth.

In August, China unveiled a proposed list of retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods ranging from liquefied natural gas to certain types of aircraft, in response to the U.S. measures.

Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was not yet ready to come to an agreement over trade disputes with China but he said talks would continue.
Chinese 100-yuan notes at a bank in Nantong in China's eastern Jiangsu province. AFP | Getty Images

China is running out of options when it comes to hitting back at President Donald Trump's tariffs. Due to China's massive trade surplus over the U.S., China can't keep up with the magnitude of Trump's levies  Beijing doesn't buy enough American products on which to impose the equivalent volume of tariffs in the first place. In 2013, China sold $506 billion worth of goods to the U.S., while importing just $130 billion in American goods. Trump has said he's ready to erect tariffs on all $506 billion worth of Chinese imports to the U.S. So far, Washington has slapped duties on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, and a fresh $200 billion more could be facing the same fate this month. In turn, China has imposed tariffs on $50 billion of U.S. goods and threatened another $60 billion following Trump's latest volley, indicating it's not willing to give in any time soon. But its remaining options for retaliation could backfire on its own growth.

A further yuan deprecation?

One option, some economists say, is a move by China's central bank to further devalue its currency, making its exports cheaper and more attractive and thereby offsetting the costs of the tariffs. The yuan has depreciated around 8 percent against the dollar since April, and economists Bo Zhuang and Rory Green of TS Lombard believe that the 25 percent levies placed on the bulk of Chinese goods "would damage China's trade enough to provoke over the next six months or so a further 15 percent depreciation." But while some see this as a predictable tactic, other economists argue that China's done all the devaluing it can and could instead clamp down on U.S. firms inside the country. This could mean increasing the regulatory burden on American companies, impeding the visa process and cash transfers to get money out of China, raising taxes on foreign businesses and further propping up domestic companies. While it would send a clear message, this tack would likely deter new investment. China has yet to call for a national boycott of U.S. businesses and goods like it did with South Korea in 2017, which badly hit South Korea's market share in the country after it installed a U.S.-made THAAD anti-missile system.

And inherent risks in further devaluing the yuan mean that strategy could seriously backfire. "It's what they're fearful of," said Josef Jelinek, senior China analyst at Frontier Strategy Group, speaking to CNBC's "Street Signs Europe" on Wednesday. "On the one hand a depreciated currency helps them offset some of these tariffs. But if it falls too far too fast, then investors may get frightened and they could see huge capital outflows, which is exactly what they don't want right now." In 2015, China devalued its currency by about 4 percent over a few days, representing the yuan's biggest drop in 20 years and sending markets reeling. The resulting capital outflows meant Beijing ended up burning through $1 trillion of its foreign currency reserves in order to support the yuan. Indeed, on August 24 this year the People's Bank of China re-introduced its counter-cyclical factor, which lends itself to supporting the yuan's value amid the worsening trade war. This could be "seen as a coded signal for a CNY (yuan) strengthening policy," Mizuho Bank said in a note on Monday. The move could even be "a gesture from the Chinese authorities to the U.S. side," one Asia researcher was quoted as telling the South China Morning Post.

'Growth woes are homegrown'

On top of the currency risk, the world's second-largest economy is already dealing with headwinds of its own, independent of Washington's trade war. "It's very important to say that Chinese growth woes are homegrown, they're not the result of the U.S. tariffs," Jelinek said. Instead, they're due to two factors. The first is the government's concerted effort, over the last five quarters, to tighten credit and stabilize China's heavy debt levels. The second is a dramatic drop in investment spending by local governments. "So now China is trying to walk this very difficult tightrope of on one hand not backing away from the deleveraging campaign, but on the other hand cushioning the economy against these weak fundamentals and trade tensions," the analyst described.
The silhouette of a pedestrian holding a mobile device is seen walking past a Citigroup bank branch in San Francisco.

Citigroup is set to announce a restructuring of its investment banking operations and top executives are taking on new roles, Business Insider reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Citigroup will combine its corporate and investment bank with its capital markets origination business, the financial news website reported.

Ray McGuire, the global head of corporate and investment banking, will take on a new role as vice chair of Citigroup, the report said.

The bank was not immediately available for comment.

Read the Business Insider report here.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., threatens to release committee confidential documents during the start of day three of Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday morning, Sept. 6, 2018.

Democratic senators, led by Cory Booker of New Jersey, released confidential documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday over the objections of some Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Booker, who was joined by Sens. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that he is willing to face charges that could potentially have them expelled from the Senate as a result of their actions.

The documents showing email correspondence between Kavanaugh and a number of White House officials during President George W. Bush's administration were designated "committee confidential," a label barring senators from discussing their contents in open session, NBC News reported.

Read more: Booker's 'I am Spartacus' document release wasn't as defiant as it seemed

Booker's gambit was the latest play in an ongoing struggle by Democrats to release hundreds of thousands of pages of documents related to Kavanaugh's Bush years, and while he was an attorney on the team of Kenneth Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton in the 1990s.

But Booker had already received clearance to publicly release the documents in question before the hearing, said William Burck, a Kavanaugh ally and former co-worker who is playing a role in the document release process.

"We cleared the documents last night shortly after Senator Booker's staff asked us to," Burck told CNBC.

"I was surprised to learn about Senator Booker's histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly. In fact, we have said yes to every request made by the Senate Democrats to make documents public," Burck said.

Booker had clarified his comments later at the hearing. "I broke those rules yesterday. Today, I released the documents, but they, because I shamed them," Booker said. "They didn't go through the process."

At the hearing, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, accused Booker of making a political play. "Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to," Cornyn said.

After learning that the documents were already set to be made public, Cornyn told reporters that "all this drama" was for nothing.

A spokesperson for Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was not immediately available for comment. Booker's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the hearing, Booker acknowledged that doing so would violate Senate rules and could technically lead to his expulsion. "If Sen. Cornyn believes I violated senate rules, I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that email right now," he said.

Booker was quickly joined by Durbin and Hirono.

"Count me in," Durbin said. "I want to be part of this process."

Hirono chimed in a few minutes later: "I would defy anyone reading this document to be able to conclude that this should be deemed confidential in any way, shape or form."

Hirono tweet

Democrats' opening salvo Thursday echoed the raucous opening minutes of the confirmation hearings two days earlier, when Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., demanded the confirmation hearings be delayed until senators had time to review Kavanaugh's paper trail.

More than 100,000 pages of documents have been blocked for public release, though lawmakers have been permitted to review them.

"This entire process has cast a cloud over Judge Kavanaugh," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on panel, said Tuesday. "We go to these hearings under protest."

Republicans have insisted that there have been more documents released for Kavanaugh's nomination than for previous nominees.

 CNBC's Jacob Pramuk and John Schoen contributed to this report.
A Hillary Clinton presidency would have been even more disruptive that the current Donald Trump administration, historian and prolific author Niall Ferguson told CNBC on Thursday.

"There would have been an almost immediate impeachment process," Ferguson said in an interview with CNBC's Steve Sedgwick at the Ambrosetti Forum in Italy on Thursday.

"More importantly, Trump supporters would have bought the story that the election had been rigged and you would have had Trump supporters with their pitchforks, or more likely semi-automatics, in a very ugly mood," he added.

An anonymous op-ed published by The New York Times on Wednesday painted a chaotic picture of the way President Trump runs The White House. It detailed an ongoing effort within the U.S. government to essentially derail Trump's agenda.

That followed a preview Tuesday of an upcoming book written by veteran journalist Bob Woodward that quotes unhappy administration insiders and says the Trump team is enduring a "nervous breakdown of executive power."

"I actually think the United States would be in an even bigger mess if she (Clinton) had won," said Ferguson before adding that the U.S. is undergoing catharsis by getting the "massive piece of disruption" that it voted for in Trump.

The senior fellow at Stanford University also said that Trump's base support remains on-board with the president, but may at some stage wonder if they have taken a gamble too far.

Ferguson added that Trump was not a king or an emperor and that there were 63 different agencies working to administer the United States.

"When you look at what they are up to, it is a different story. The Trump administration's economic policy has not been a disaster, contrary to the predictions of some economists who said there would be a complete market meltdown," Ferguson said, adding that in fact the market had "melted up."

On foreign policy, Ferguson said Trump had changed policy on China, North Korea and the Middle East and that most of the changes should be considered improvements.
Stocks in Europe closed lower Thursday on the back of ongoing concerns over potential new U.S. tariffs on China and a sell-off in emerging markets.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 extended losses to hit a session low, closing provisionally down 0.59 percent. Basic resources stocks led Europe lower, down 1.75 percent, as traders continued to worry over the possibility of a trade war between two of the world's largest economies. Mining firm BHP Billiton and copper producer Aurubis were the worst sectoral performers, both down around 5 percent.

Tech was also one of the worst-performing sectors, due to political scrutiny of the industry stateside. French engineering consultant Altran was the top sectoral loser, after reporting a first-half free cash flow loss of 225 million euros ($262 million), much larger than the 14 million euro loss it reportedly last year. Shares were down 8.07 percent.

Looking at individual stocks, British engineering firm Weir Group was the worst performer in Europe, tumbling 8.623 percent after reporting a weakening in demand for original equipment. French aircraft engine manufacturer Safran led the gains, up by 6.37 percent after reporting solid first-half earnings.

Shares of energy providers were also higher. This followed news that the U.K.'s energy regulator, Ofgem, has set the level of a proposed price cap, which is expected to save about $1.29 billion to consumers. Centrica was among the top gainers across Europe, up by 4.986 percent.

In the corporate world, Commerzbank will be replaced in the DAX by payments firm Wirecard from September 24 onwards. Meanwhile, U.K. housebuilder Bovis Homes said that full-year profits will come at the top end of expectations.
Ford Motor Co. F150 trucks move along the production line at the company's Dearborn Truck Assembly facility in Dearborn, Michigan.

Ford Motor said on Thursday it would recall 2 million F-150 pickup trucks in North America to address fire and smoke concerns in seat-belt pretensioners.

The second-largest U.S. automaker said it was aware of 17 reports of smoke or fire in the United States and six in Canada relating to belt pretensioners, but was not aware of any accidents or injuries as a result of this condition.

The mechanism of the pretensioner, which works in tandem with air bags, involves an explosive charge that locks a seat belt in place during a crash.

Some pretensioners in front seat belts could generate excessive sparks when deployed, resulting possibly in a fire, the company said.

The recall covers 2015-18 Ford F-150 Regular Cab and SuperCrew Cab vehicles in North America for driver and front passenger seat-belt pretensioners.

Ford said the recall included 1.62 million U.S. vehicles, 340,000 in Canada and 37,000 in Mexico.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said last month it was investigating complaints of fire in the seat belt component.

There were five complaints alleging fires following the activation of seat-belt pretensioners, the NHTSA said.

To resolve the issue, dealers will remove some insulation material and remnants of wiring harness tape from the vehicle's B pillar area, and apply heat-resistant tape to the carpet and its insulation. They will also modify the back interior panels of Regular Cab vehicles. The B pillar is the vertical support behind a vehicle's front seat windows.

Transport Canada contacted Ford in November 2017, regarding a B-pillar area fire on a 2015 model year vehicle, prompting a joint vehicle inspection by Ford and Transport Canada.
A North Korean hacker suspected of the cyberattack on Sony Pictures, the Wannacry ransomware attack and the brazen cyberheist of Bangladesh Bank was named in a criminal complaint revealed Thursday, as the Treasury Department sanctioned that man and a North Korea entity that employed him.

The hacker, Park Jin Hyok, is also suspected of trying to hack into Lockheed Martin's THAAD Missile defense system project currently deployed in South Korea. Park is suspected of working for North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, a leading intelligence agency of that country.

The complaint against Park describes a "wide-ranging, multi-year conspiracy to conduct computer intrusions and commit wire fraud by co-conspirators working on behalf of the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea."

The one-two punch against North Korea came hours after President Donald Trump warmly thanked Kim Jong Un, the North Korean dictator, after Kim reportedly told representatives of South Korea that he still has faith in Trump and in their commitment to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Tweet

But the Treasury Department's statement announcing the actions Thursday said they were in direct response to "the Government of North Korea's malign cyber activities." The Treasury said the sanctions were being unveiled in conjunction with federal criminal charges for the hackers.

Park, who is a computer programmer, and the Chosun Expo Joint Venture both were hit with sanctions by the Treasury Department.

The Treasury said the joint venture, also known as Korea Expo Joint Venture, is "a front for the North Korean government," according to the Justice Department.

"The scale and scope of the cyber-crimes alleged by the complaint is staggering and offensive to all who respect the rule of law and the cyber norms accepted by responsible nations," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.

"The complaint alleges that the North Korean government, through a state-sponsored group, robbed a central bank and citizens of other nations, retaliated against free speech in order to chill it half a world away, and created disruptive malware that indiscriminately affected victims in more than 150 other countries, causing hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars' worth of damage."

Park, who is not in custody, was charged with conspiracy and conspiracy to commit wire fraud by federal prosecutors.

The department said Park is part of the conspiracy responsible for the Wannacry and Sony attacks, as well as the February 2016 fraudulent transfer of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank.

Park and his unidentified co-conspirators "operated from North Korea, China, and elsewhere to perpetrate these malicious activities," according to the Treasury Department. The sanctions will bar Americans from dealing with Park or the joint venture. The sanctions also will lock up any property or interests held by the the targets of the sanctions.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, "We will not allow North Korea to undermine global cybersecurity to advance its interests and generate illicit revenues in violation of our sanctions."
Okta stock jumped as high as 18 percent in extended trading Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected results for the second quarter of its 2019 fiscal year, which ended on July 31.

Here's how the company did:

Earnings: Loss of 15 cents per share, excluding certain items, vs. loss of 19 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters.

Loss of 15 cents per share, excluding certain items, vs. loss of 19 cents per share as expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue: $94.6 million, vs. $84.8 million as expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters.

Okta's revenue grew by 57 percent, according to a statement. That's down 3 percentage points from one quarter ago.

With respect to guidance, Okta said that in the fiscal third quarter it's expecting a loss of 12 cents to 11 cents per share, excluding certain items, on $96 million to $97 million in revenue. That's ahead of the estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, which called for a loss of 17 cents per share, excluding certain items, on $89 million in revenue.

For its entire 2019 fiscal year Okta is calling for a loss of 48 to 46 cents per share, excluding certain items, on $372 million to $375 million in revenue. That's also ahead of expectations from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, which were a loss of 56 percents per share, excluding certain items, on $356.5 million in revenue.

Also on Thursday, Okta said it has new or larger relationships at 21st Century Fox, Cisco, Pret A Manger and the state of Georgia.

On Thursday's conference call with analysts, Gray Powell of Deutsche Bank asked about the potential impact of Cisco's 2.35 billion acquisition of one Okta competitor, Duo Security.

"I think that partnering with Cisco more broadly and Duo as part of Cisco is going to be great, and we're very optimistic about that," Okta CEO Todd McKinnon said. McKinnon said that Duo is a "really good partner" of Okta's.

Okta stock is up 134 percent since the beginning of the year. In the quarter Okta announced the acquisition of security company ScaleFT. Okta went public in April 2017.
The extraordinary op-ed by a senior Trump administration official could have an impact on President Donald Trump's dealings with foreign leaders, a former White House official under President Bill Clinton told CNBC on Thursday.

The anonymous op-ed, published in The New York Times, described a "resistance" against Trump within his own administration.

Matt Bennett, former White House deputy assistant in the Clinton administration, said while Clinton was able to compartmentalize during his impeachment proceedings, Trump takes things personally.

"It's very likely that foreign leaders are concluding that he will be too distracted to be an effective negotiator," he said on "Closing Bell."

"You could see foreign leaders, particularly in hostile countries but even in allies that Trump is aggravating, really trying to take advantage of the United States. It could be dangerous."
Emergency personnel and police respond to a reported active shooter situation near Fountain Square, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018, in downtown Cincinnati.

Police say four people are dead, including the gunman, in a downtown Cincinnati bank shooting.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac said the shooter opened fire early Thursday morning at the loading dock of the Fifth Third Bank building. Isaac said the gunman then entered the bank's lobby where he exchanged gunfire with police.

It's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers.

One of the victims also died at the scene.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was "actively shooting innocent victims" and that it was a "horrific" scene. He noted the building on the city's Fountain Square houses popular ice cream, sandwich and pastry shops.
Political scandal and the backlash against major tech companies are an impending threat to American equities, the CEO of an asset management firm has warned, advising investors to short the U.S. market despite record highs.

Gillaume Touze of Quadra Capital Partners does not hold the mainstream view on booming tech stocks, many of which have seen more than 50 percent returns year-to-date.

So he raised eyebrows during an appearance Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" when he revealed his firm's strategy of shorting big names in the U.S. market, calling a bear market by the second half of this year.

"We believe that the volatility is going to very much remain," Touze said of major tech stocks, noting the fall in Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter's stock prices at the market's close Wednesday after U.S. lawmakers grilled tech executives on Capitol Hill over ethics and security issues. Twitter was down 6 percent on the day by the end of the hearing.

"The pressure coming from the media is likely to continue to be very tough for the FAANGs, we believe. We've been short some of those big names for quite a bit," he said, using the acronym for the market's five most popular tech stocks, namely Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet's Google.

Quadra Capital Partners, which specializes in total return investment strategies, is currently favoring smaller names. "That volatility combined with political turmoil is making us overall short on the key markets, particularly the U.S. one," Touze said.

This is a bold argument to make, given that the FAANGs  with the exception of Facebook  have all made massive gains this year. Netflix and Amazon are up an eye-popping 81.7 and 69.6 percent, respectively, with the latter briefly hitting the $1 trillion market cap figure on Tuesday. Apple was the first company to breach the $1 trillion mark in early August. Twitter is up about 33 percent, while Facebook is down nearly 6 percent on the year, beleaguered by scandals and a dramatic 20 percent plunge in July on the back of a bad earnings call.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the Oval Office of the White House on June 7, 2018.

President Donald Trump told a columnist for The Wall Street Journal that he will take his trade fights to Japan next.

WSJ's James Freeman wrote on Thursday about a phone call he received from the president, in which Trump "described his good relations with the Japanese leadership but then added: 'Of course that will end as soon as I tell them how much they have to pay.'"

Freeman, in the column for the opinion section, said the phone call came after he appeared on Fox News Channel giving the president credit for the results of his tax and regulatory reforms. During the phone call, Freeman wrote, the president sounded "still very focused on eliminating trade deficits with America's trading partners."
Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh answers questions during the second day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill September 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a secret 2003 email that the Roe v. Wade landmark abortion ruling may not be considered "settled law of the land." The email was leaked to The New York Times, which published it Thursday.

In the exchange, written while he was working as an attorney in the George W. Bush White House, Kavanaugh proposed deleting a line from a draft opinion article that said: "it is widely accepted by legal scholars across the board that Roe v. Wade and its progeny are the settled law of the land."

Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearing are underway on Capitol Hill, said in the email he was not sure that Roe was considered settled "since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so."

The email was provided to lawmakers but not approved for public release.

The abortion ruling has been a flash point in Kavanaugh's confirmation process, which entered its third day of hearings Thursday morning. Asked about the email on Thursday, Kavanaugh told Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that he was not offering his own opinion on Roe but was instead summarizing the views of other scholars.

While Kavanaugh's confirmation is widely considered likely, the GOP holds only a narrow majority in the Senate. Two moderate Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said Kavanaugh's position on the issue could be a significant factor in their votes.

Collins told reporters last month that Kavanaugh indicated to her in private that Roe was settled, though Democrats and reproductive rights activists said the remark was a dodge.

On Wednesday, Kavanaugh sought to tamp down fears that he would overturn or roll back the ruling. Kavanaugh said that Roe was "an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times." He referred to Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 abortion case that reaffirmed Roe's central holding, as "precedent on precedent."

Abortion rights activists have opposed Kavanaugh's nomination, citing President Donald Trump's claim that he would nominate judges to the court who would "automatically" overturn Roe. Also in the limelight is a remark Kavanaugh made last year praising former Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist, a dissenter in Roe, as Kavanaugh's "judicial hero."

Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that Kavanaugh's comments about Roe were not enough.

"We can't accept vague promises from Brett Kavanaugh when women's reproductive freedom is at stake," the lawmaker's office tweeted.

The leak of the email comes as Democratic senators have demanded the release of hundreds of thousands of pages of documents from Kavanaugh's former work. Sen. Cory Booker threatened on Thursday to release "committee confidential" documents, noting that he would be "knowingly violating the rules."

The New Jersey senator's threat was joined by fellow Democrats Mazie Hirono and Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Correction: An earlier version misstated Hirono's party. She's a Democrat.

Read the full article in The New York Times.
Snap continued to sink Thursday, falling below $10 for the first time and hitting an all-time low for the third straight day.

The shares fell 3 percent to a session low of $9.62. The dip makes for Snap's seventh straight day of losses and extends its week-to-date losses above 10 percent.

Social media stocks have been under pressure this week, as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey fielded questions from lawmakers about political bias, digital security and abuse of their platforms.

Twitter's stock tanked 6 percent Wednesday, and dragged its peers lower.

Snap's shares have struggled to hold their value since its IPO early last year. At Thursday's lowest point, Snap was off more than 40 percent from its debut price of $17 and more than 65 percent off its all-time intraday high of $29.44.

Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal is an investor in Snap.
Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan, Italy Starbucks

With more than 25,000 stores worldwide, it may seem like Starbucks has left no country unclaimed, yet Italy is uncharted territory for the coffee giant  until now, that is. Starbucks opened a Roastery location in Milan Thursday, marking its first foray into Italy. Roastery locations are far from the typical Starbucks store. Designed for a more upscale experience, rather than catering to those looking to get their quick caffeine fix. There is a coffee roasting facility inside the store and customers can choose a wide array of items from alcoholic beverages to pizza. Howard Schultz, who stepped down as executive chairman in June and is now chairman emeritus, was cautious in entering the Italian market  choosing to open with the experiential-based store and working with multiple local partners. "We are not coming here to teach Italians how to make coffee, we're coming here with humility and respect, to show what we've learned," he said last year when announcing the new venture.

Starbucks

A look inside Starbucks Milan Roastery

The Milan Roastery is in the city's Palazzo della Poste on the Piazza Cordusio, just streets away from iconic landmarks like the Duomo di Milano. This 25,000-square-foot location features small-batch roastings of rare and exotic coffees from 30 countries and fresh baked artisanal food from local baker, Rocco Princi. The company's flagship Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room opened in its home market of Seattle in 2014 and a second Roastery opened in Shanghai earlier this year. Starbucks has said it could open as many as 20 to 30 Roastery stores around the world. The Milan location is just one of four Roasteries expected to open before 2020. Roasteries are currently slated to open in New York in 2018 and in Tokyo and Chicago in 2019. "The choice to enter the Italian marketplace was a careful one," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson told CNBC. "We have taken our time to ensure our entry into Italy is done thoughtfully and respectfully."

Starbucks

The center piece

The center piece of the Milan Roastery is a 22-foot tall bronze roasting cask. Patrons will get a glimpse into the degassing period of the roasting process. During roasting, gases form inside the beans. Over the course of a few days to a few weeks, depending on the bean variety, the built-up carbon dioxide is released and the flavor of the coffee develops. While the Shanghai and Seattle locations have copper casks, Milan's is bronze, a material that is prominent in Milan design and architecture.

Starbucks

Theatrical coffee experiences

The Roastery boasts an extensive menu, with more than 100 cocktails at its Arriviamo Bar and more than 115 beverages at its coffee bar. The techniques used in this location range from pour over and chemex coffee brewing to siphon and cold brew. The main bar will also feature Starbucks first affogato station, where ice cream will be mixed with a shot of espresso using liquid nitrogen. Like those in Seattle and Shanghai, the Milan Roastery has items not found in other Starbucks cafes. "Customers typically spend four times more in our Roasteries than they do in a regular Starbucks," Johnson said. "More than that, the Roasteries themselves have also come to represent a pipeline for innovation at Starbucks, as drinks like Cold Brew, Nitro, and Cold Foam all originated in the Roastery."

Starbucks

Milan's influence
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

CBS  CBS is in talks with National Amusements and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone to settle litigation over control of the media company, according to a Wall Street Journal report. According to people familiar with the talks, CBS would drop its attempt to strip National Amusements of its voting control, and National Amusements would refrain from pushing for a merger of CBS and Viacom, which it also controls.

Exxon Mobil  Exxon Mobil signed a preliminary agreement to invest in a petrochemical plant and liquefied natural gas terminal in China.

Facebook  Facebook is investing more than $1 billion to build a new data center in Singapore, its first such facility in Asia.

Delta Air Lines  The airline has hired two investment banks to help it sell a stake in its refining subsidiary, according to a Reuters report.

Navistar  The truck and engine maker reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1 per share, 10 cents a share above estimates. Revenue was slightly below Street forecasts, however. Navistar was helped by fleet upgrades and strong freight demand.

GlaxoSmithKline  Glaxo will cut 650 U.S.-based jobs as part of a recently announced restructuring. The British drug company currently employees about 15,000 people in the U.S.

DocuSign  DocuSign earned an adjusted 3 cents per share for the second quarter, 2 cents a share above estimates. Revenue also topped forecasts. The provider of electronic signature technology, which went public in July, also gave strong revenue guidance for the current quarter and the full year.

G-III Apparel  The marketer of licensed apparel earned an adjusted 22 cents per share for its latest quarter, well above the 3 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue also beat forecasts, and G-III also increased its full-year outlook.

MongoDB  MongoDB lost 41 cents per share for the second quarter, 4 cents a share smaller than Wall Street had anticipated. The database platform company's revenue exceeded Wall Street estimates, however it gave mixed guidance for the current quarter and full year.

Cloudera  Cloudera posted a quarterly loss of 8 cents per share, 7 cents a share smaller than consensus forecasts. The cloud computing company's revenue came in above analysts' forecasts. It also cut its projected annual loss.

GameStop  GameStop is up once again in pre-market trading after jumping a combined 22.5 percent over the past two sessions. The video game retailer's rise is being fueled by reports that GameStop is working with an adviser on a potential sale of the company and that private-equity firms Sycamore and Apollo are both interested.

Verint Systems  Verint earned 76 cents per share for the second quarter, beating consensus forecasts by 14 cents a share. The maker of call center software also reported better-than-expected revenue, and increased its full-year revenue forecast.

Lands' End  The apparel retailer lost 16 cents per share for its latest quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of a 4 cents per share loss. Revenue also came in below Street forecasts, although the company points out that sales grew for the fifth consecutive quarter.
The trade war between the United States and China is escalating quickly. Much has been written about the impact of tariffs on large businesses. Ultimately, though, most large companies have the resources to absorb new taxes, or simply pass the increase on to consumers.

But what if you're a brand-new start-up suddenly faced with new, unexpected taxes?

That's exactly the question many technology start-up companies in the U.S. are confronting in the wake of the recently announced tariffs.

Our company, Brilliant, created a new kind of smart home control that gives homeowners touch and voice control over all of their smart devices from anywhere in their home. For three years, our team of 30 has invented new technologies, raised capital, created the product and built an ecosystem of partners. We launch today, finally putting our product in the hands of homeowners.

Just two months from our launch, Brilliant was suddenly faced with adversity from an unexpected source: its own government. Our nascent products were subject to the 10 percent tariffs that were announced on $200 billion in "Chinese" products.

To be clear, Brilliant is a US company; all our employees are based in the United States, and the Brilliant product is designed entirely in the United States. Our manufacturer is even a US-based company, albeit one with factories throughout the world. But like most consumer electronics products, Brilliant is being manufactured in China, because that is where the electronics supply chain is based, and it offers a unique combination of high quality and consumer-acceptable cost. Simply because of the geography of our manufacturing, we're suddenly subject to tariffs imposed by the US government.

With no time to move our supply chain, we were forced to raise our prices. No sooner had we done so than the tariff rate was abruptly increased to 25 percent. We felt that we could not raise our prices further without pricing ourselves out of our market. We are a premium product, but we are premium in an attainable manner  more like Apple than like Cartier. We didn't want to become a luxury product, so we had little choice but to absorb the price increase.

Technology start-ups generally lose money as they establish their business, because everything is more expensive for a start-up than it is for a large company operating at scale. The initial objective is not to make money, but rather to prove that a product can ultimately be profitably scaled. Many now-great companies have followed this path. But when companies are in their infancy, absorbing punitive taxes means that precious capital reserves will be depleted more quickly. For start-ups like Brilliant that are doing well, this means that more investment will be needed, resulting in less ownership for employees. Start-ups that are on shakier ground may run out of capital before they have a chance to prove themselves. In the vast graveyard of failed start-ups lie many that would ultimately have thrived, given the chance.

Nearly all economists agree that the effect of the trade war with China on the US economy will be profoundly negative, but the challenges to start-ups are especially troubling. Start-ups are important drivers of future economic growth, because some will grow exponentially  not too many years ago, such tech giants as Google, Facebook and Amazon were all start-ups. But because start-ups look insignificant today, there's relatively little attention paid to the impact that tariffs have on them.
Bolt scooters have been released on to the streets of Paris by the firm, Taxify.

The rise of the electric scooter as a method of cross-city travel shows no sign of slowing down as a new rental service launched in Paris on Thursday.

Taxify, the Estonian ride-hailing rival to the likes of Uber and Lyft, is rolling out an electric kick-scooter service in the French capital that is accessible via the firm's mobile app.

Branded "Bolt," Taxify CEO and co-founder Markus Villig said that he expected some of the firm's taxi customers to make the switch to a scooter for certain journeys.

"One in five Taxify rides is less than 3 kilometers (1.86 miles), which is the perfect distance to cover with an electric scooter," he said. "In the future, we expect some of them to opt for scooters for shorter distances, but we're also pretty excited to be attracting a whole new group of customers with different needs."

To use the scooter, Taxify app users in Paris must switch between taxi ride-hailing and scooter rental. Unlocking a scooter requires customers to scan a QR-code. Once done, riders can leave the scooter on the street.

Taxify has promised to collect the scooters every evening for recharging and maintenance. The firm said the cost of a ride will be 15 cents a minute, on top of a one euro charge.

It is the third such service to launch in Paris after rival companies Bird and Lime, who both placed their electric scooters on Parisian streets earlier this year.

Electric scooter sharing has enjoyed fast growth in some cities in the United States, although there have been complaints over dangerous riding, dumping them in inappropriate places and riding illegally on the sidewalk.

The anger led to San Francisco politicians banning the powered scooters, before then issuing a permit to just two companies, Scoot and Skip. Uber and Lyft, who wanted to add scooters to their taxi apps in San Francisco, were both rejected.

London, for now, looks to be holding out against encouraging the new method of urban travel. While battery powered scooters can be spotted on British streets, the U.K. Department for Transport has deemed them illegal on public roads and sidewalks.
If you're looking for a country that offers a quality retirement, you may want to look outside the U.S.

Natixis Investment Managers has released its annual ranking of countries with the best retirement based on finances, material well-being, health and quality of life.

This year, the U.S. managed to nudge up one spot to number 16 out of 43 countries.

The move was just a modest improvement compared with Ireland, which moved up seven spots to debut in the Top 10 for the first time at number 7. Canada also managed to move up to return to the Top 10 at number 9.

All of the countries that landed in the Top 10 have three things in common, according to Ed Farrington, executive vice president of retirement strategies at Natixis Investment Managers. They have low levels of income inequality, available health care and strong social programs.

The U.S. did not rank higher because of the challenges it faces in those areas, including a widening income gap, high health costs and the challenges of finding a secure retirement.

What did help to bump the U.S. higher included its financial strength, as well as improvements to its job market and certain environmental issues including air quality.

The overall ranking was calculated by combining the category scores. Here is how the Top 10 countries fared.

10. Netherlands

Global Retirement Index score: 76%
President Donald Trump disparages the New York Times as he speaks following a meeting with sheriffs from across the country at the White House in Washington, September 5, 2018. Leah Millis | Reuters

As the Trump White House reeled on Thursday in the wake of The New York Times' publication of what has been dubbed the "resistance op-ed," Trump administration officials from across the federal government raced to issue denials and condemnations, insisting they were not the anonymous author, and lambasting the Times for publishing the piece. The nearly 1,000-word column, published Wednesday afternoon, described a secret crusade by officials inside the Trump administration to "thwart parts of [the president's] agenda and his worst inclinations." The surprise column ran one day after explosive excerpts from journalist Bob Woodward's upcoming book about the Trump administration, and not surprisingly, it launched a furious round of finger-pointing in Washington on Wednesday evening.

For a president who has repeatedly shown that he values personal loyalty above all else, the idea of a mole inside Donald Trump's own administration, working against him, seemed to confirm some of Trump's worst fears of a conspiracy at the highest levels of Washington's power structure, determined to undermine his presidency. Little wonder, then, that Trump's political appointees spent Thursday morning practically tripping over one another in their rush to deny they were the anonymous author of the column. By early afternoon, the public denials numbered nearly two dozen, according to NBC News. As more and more denials landed in reporters' inboxes from far-flung corners of the government, the more difficult it became to tell which were genuine, and the less it seemed to matter to the bigger picture of the state of Trump's presidency. Washington, D.C., has a long tradition of emphatic denials that later turn out to have been completely false. This episode could easily turn out to have been yet another one. Recall former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who insisted in the spring of 2011 that he had not sent explicit photos of himself to a woman over Twitter. That was a lie, and Weiner was forced to resign from Congress soon after. Seven years later, Weiner is currently serving time in federal prison for sending explicit material to a minor. Even the greatest anonymous source of all time denied it for more than 30 years. Former senior FBI official Mark Felt, who was the "Deep Throat" source for Woodward and Carl Bernstein's explosive reporting on then-President Richard Nixon's role in the Watergate scandal. That reporting eventually led to Nixon's resignation from office in 1974. Felt, however, did not admit helping the journalists until 2005, 31 years after Nixon left office. Below is a running list of formal denials from Trump administration officials, based on statements released to major news outlets and posted publicly.

Vice President Mike Pence: "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," said Pence's spokesman, Jarrod Agen, on Twitter. "The @NYTImes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: Speaking to reporters during a trip to India, Pompeo said the op-ed was "not mine." He called the author a "disgruntled deceptive bad actor" who should quit rather than "undermine what President Trump and this administration are trying to do." Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats: "Speculation that the New York Times op-ed was written by me or my principal deputy is patently false. We did not," Coats said in a statement, referring to his top aide, Sue Gordon. White House counsel Don McGahn: Asked on Capitol Hill whether he wrote the piece, McGahn, who is leaving the White House later this fall, said simply, "No!" First lady Melania Trump: The first lady was not among the top candidates who might have authored the piece, so her statement Thursday, from her typically quiet press office, was unexpected: In it, the first lady said, "To the writer of the oped - you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions." Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen: "Secretary Nielsen is focused on leading the men and women of DHS and protecting the homeland - not writing anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times," said Tyler Houlton, press secretary for DHS. Secretary of Defense James Mattis: "It was not his op-ed," said Dana White, chief Pentagon spokesperson, to reporters traveling overseas with Mattis. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie: "Neither Secretary Wilkie nor anyone else at VA wrote the op-ed," said Wilkie's spokesman, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross: "I did not write and am thoroughly appalled by this op-ed. I couldn't be prouder of our work at Commerce and of @POTUS" he tweeted. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin: "It is laughable to think this could come from the Secretary," said Tony Sayegh, a spokesman for Treasury, in a tweet. The list of potential authors, or at least potential agencies they might have come from, was narrowed by the fact that the op-ed seemed to focus on national security, it mentioned the author's admiration for the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. and it referenced the very early days of the Trump administration. Other officials who seemed much less likely to have authored the op-ed, or even to have known who did, also took pains to deny authorship, either in person or through their spokespeople on Thursday. They included Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta, CIA Director Gina Haspel, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, acting Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency Andrew Wheeler, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Linda McMahon, administrator of the Small Business Administration. This story will be updated with new statements as they come in.

WATCH: White House searches for anonymous inside critic
A Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Sergei Malgavko | TASS via Getty Images

NEW DELHI  Turkey is in the process of constructing a site for a Russian missile system despite warnings from the United States to not buy the platform, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of an intelligence report covering the subject. The assessment, published a month ago, included satellite imagery of a concrete launch facility as well as bunkers, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new construction fits the pattern for Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system, the source indicated.

Last year, Ankara signed an agreement with Moscow for S-400 missiles, a deal reportedly worth $2.5 billion. Since then, Turkey's march toward procuring the Russian missile system has raised concerns among NATO partners, who are wary of Moscow's increasing military presence in the region. The S-400 system is believed to have a larger range than the American-made THAAD missile system and is estimated to cost significantly less. Turkey is slated to receive the S-400 next year and is expected to have the system ready for war by 2020. Meanwhile, all of that comes as Congress is inching closer to blocking the transfer of two F-35 jets to Turkey.

The stealth fighter jets that hang in the balance

A U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter approaches at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. U.S. Air Force photo by Samuel King Jr.

Turkey, an F-35 program partner, is currently slated to receive two of the jets. That delivery of Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation jets is the start of what Ankara hopes will eventually amount to 100 of the stealth aircraft. In June, the U.S. defense giant held a formal hand-off ceremony at its F-35 facility in Fort Worth, Texas. After the ceremony, Lockheed ferried the aircraft to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona where Turkish pilots began training alongside U.S. airmen. The Russian-made S-400 missile system, which is equipped with eight launchers and 32 missiles, is capable of targeting stealth warplanes like the F-35 fighter. In the colossal $717 billion National Defense Authorization Act, Congress tasked the Pentagon to deliver a report in 90 days outlining the potential risks associated with Turkey's purchase of the S-400 missile system. "We are going through this current issue between us, and we are engaged in, I would call it, frequent, right now, very frequent, discussions at very high levels to try to sort this out," Defense Secretary James Mattis said Tuesday when asked about the F-35 sale to Turkey. "I believe that there is sincerity on both sides to try to work this out. So we're engaged in it right now, and I  you know, I need to work with them directly on this, as does Secretary (of State Mike) Pompeo and others on our side," he added. What's more, tensions between the U.S. and Ankara have intensified over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. AFP | Getty Images
Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing concerning foreign influence in use of social media platforms, on Capitol Hill, September 5, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Shares of Twitter shed another 6 percent Thursday, adding to the stock's 6 percent dip Wednesday, during CEO Jack Dorsey's week in Washington.

The stock fell as low as $30.62 by the end of trading, down more than 12 percent for the week.

Dorsey testified before two congressional committees Wednesday to address online election interference and claims of political bias on the platform. They're familiar conversations for Twitter by now, as scrutiny of social media companies heightens ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Facebook, Twitter and Google have all ramped up detection efforts in light of calculated foreign misinformation campaigns during the 2016 presidential election. Twitter said last month it removed hundreds of abusive accounts, many of which had ties to Iran.

At the same time, Twitter is answering to accusations from prominent Republicans of conservative censorship. President Donald Trump has called the company's actions "discriminatory and illegal" and vowed to look into the matter. The Department of Justice said Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions would be meeting with state officials later this month to discuss growing concerns around tech companies.

Dorsey is less familiar with the spotlight, though. He said during prepared testimony Wednesday he's "typically pretty shy."

Lawmakers and insiders commended Dorsey for his candor and apparent off-the-cuff answers during the back-to-back hearings. But it appears Twitter shareholders were harder to win over.

As of close Thursday, the stock is on pace for its worst week since July when it shed 20 percent on a disappointing earnings report.
Chinese President Xi Jinping gestures the way to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May ahead of their meeting in Beijing on February 1, 2018.

A British Royal Navy warship sailed close to islands claimed by China in the South China Sea as it headed towards Vietnam, asserting "freedom of navigation" rights and challenging Beijing's "excessive claims" in the region, two sources said.

The HMS Albion, a 22,000 ton amphibious warship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, passed by the Paracel Islands in recent days, said the sources, who were familiar with the matter but who asked not to be identified.

The Albion was on its way to Hanoi, where it docked on Monday following a deployment in and around Japan.

One of the sources said Beijing dispatched a frigate and two helicopters to challenge the British vessel, but both sides remained calm during the encounter.

The other source said the Albion did not enter the territorial seas around any features in the hotly disputed region but demonstrated that Britain does not recognize excessive maritime claims around the Paracel Islands. Twelve nautical miles is an internationally recognized territorial limit.

The Paracels are occupied entirely by China but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms."

Neither China's Foreign nor Defence Ministries immediately responded to a request for comment.
United Airlines is the latest airline to ditch plastic straws and cocktail picks, amid concerns over pollution and wildlife threats caused by disposable plastics.

Starting in early November, the third-largest U.S. carrier, which operates 4,600 flights a day and carried 148 million passengers last year, will replace disposable plastic drink stirrers that double as straws and picks with bamboo versions in all of its cabins.

American Airlines, the world's largest airline, took a similar step in July and said it would also offer plastic alternatives to flatware and stir sticks in its lounges. In May, Alaska Airlines announced it would ditch plastic stirrers for ones made with white birch and start using citrus picks made of bamboo.

Airlines' shift to other materials for on-board and lounge use mirrors that of the restaurant and food and beverage industries where several companies are pledging to use alternatives to single-use plastic straws or plastic packaging. Starbucks, for example, in July said it would eliminate plastic straws from its cafes by 2020. A ban on plastic straws, utensils and cocktail picks went into effect in Seattle, where Starbucks is headquartered, that month.

United declined to say whether the bamboo picks and stirrers would be more expensive than the plastic versions but said they are slightly heavier.
Vice President Mike Pence's office is denying that he is the senior administration official behind an extraordinary, anonymous opinion essay describing a "resistance" against President Donald Trump within his own administration.

The article's publication in The New York Times set off a wave of intense speculation about the author's identity. Observers seized on the essayist's use of the word "lodestar," which Pence often uses in his speeches and statements, as possible evidence the op-ed came from the vice president or among his top staff.

The vice president's office "definitively denies" that he wrote the piece for the Times, according to NBC News.

ALEXANDER TWEET

A top Pence communications official on Thursday also rejected the notion. "The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," Jarrod Agen wrote on Twitter.

AGEN TWEET

Several high-ranking Trump officials denied writing the essay. "It's not mine," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters in India, after ripping the Times for publishing the piece. Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White, meanwhile, said Defense Secretary James Mattis wasn't behind it, either.

There was also speculation that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats might be the writer, who has been dubbed "Lodestar" by some in the Beltway. Coats memorably shot back at Trump in July, after the president appeared to take Russian President Vladimir Putin's side over the U.S. intelligence community's findings that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.
India is a long-term destination for foreign investors and rupee volatility and crude shocks are "mere blips on the radar" which will not affect the capital, said investment giant Fairfax's founder and CEO Prem Watsa.

In an exclusive conversation with CNBC-TV18's Nithya Balakrishnan, Watsa said that Fairfax's $5 billion India bet will only increase given the country's policies to enable ease of doing business.

The second edition of the Invest India Conference kicked off in Toronto with focus on deepening Indo-Canada business ties. Led by Prem Watsa, the summit brought together more than 430 delegates from India and Canada including Tata group companies, ICICI, HDFC, Bombardier, Brookfield Asset Management, IIFL, Air Canada among others.

Talking about India being the investment opportunity of a lifetime, Tata Sons' chairman N Chandrasekharan said, "India has grown neck-to-neck with China in the last two years. GST, Aadhaar, financial inclusion and formalisation of our economy means all cycles of growth are firing simultaneously. A really optimistic estimate is that India could become a 15-trillion-dollar economy by 2030. Canada, the time to invest in to India is now."

Echoing that sentiment, Indian minister for Trade and Commerce, Suresh Prabhu added "In the next seven years, India will surpass the $5 trillion mark with manufacturing contributing $1 trillion and services contributing over $3 trillion to growth."

Invest India 2018 throws light on India as an investment destination for healthcare, financial services, education, research & innovation, infrastructure and food security.

According to Nirmal Jain, CEO of IIFL, India is in dire need of ramping up infrastructure and investment into roads, real estate and airports will yield good returns. "It is a win-win for the country as well as for global investors," he said.

The summit also comes at a crucial juncture for Canada, in the final leg of negotiations with US and Mexico on finalising NAFTA. Canada's trade with India stands at a low of $8 billion annually despite ambitious targets of clocking $15 billion by 2015.

While the Canadian government is also slowly emphasising the importance of diversifying its markets and reversing its over-dependence on US, especially given the uncertainty over NAFTA.

"Scale and market access is what Canadian companies are searching for, especially growing entrepreneurs, and India provides the perfect opportunity to leverage this," said Navdeep Bains, Canadian minister for innovation, science and economic development.
Family and friends told an inquest jury that bullying played a part in Kenny Suttner's suicide, and the transcript of the inquest into his death seems to corroborate that view. But the Glasgow School District says it never received complaints about bullying.
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Vaping terminology for the uninitiated

E-cigarette: short for electronic cigarette, a device containing a nicotine e-liquid which is vaporized and inhaled

E-liquid: the solution used to create vapor

Sixty-three percent of JUUL users are unaware that the product always contains nicotine, according to a Truth Initiative study published in April.

The e-liquid formula in the JUUL pod is not regulated by the FDA. JUUL Labs does not have to apply for a health review until 2022.

Vapor: aerosol derived from an e-liquid, quickly dissolves into the air

JUUL: e-cigarette composed of the JUUL device and a JUULpod

JUUL device: creates 200 puffs vapor through heat technology, rechargeable in one hour via USB port

JUULpod: capsule that attaches to the top of the JUUL device containing e-liquid which is five percent nicotine, equivalent to a pack of cigarettes

JUUL Labs: e-cigarette company born in 2017 from PAX Labs, the company which launched the JUUL in 2015

JUUL Labs has an estimated net worth of $15 billion, Bloomberg reported in June 2018

JUUL Labs sells the device and USB charging dock for $34.99, the pods for $15.99 per 4-pack, and the starter kit  includes device, four pods and charging dock  for $49.99.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Russia 1) May prepares for cyberwar

Attackers will be arrested if they ever leave Russia  Daily Mail

Theresa May is preparing a cyberwar against Russias spy network after accusing two of its agents of carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent attack. Serving notice of new covert operations against the Russian military intelligence service, the prime minister said that it was a threat to all our allies and to all our citizens and promised to do whatever is necessary to keep our people safe. In a Commons statement yesterday Mrs May named two members of Kremlin military intelligence as key suspects in the poisoning of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 67, and his daughter, Yulia, 34, with a nerve agent on March 4. The prime minister drew gasps from MPs when she revealed that Britains security and intelligence services had established that the men, who used the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were GRU (foreign intelligence) agents.  The Times

Comment

Russia is reviving Cold War methods to theatrically kill off its enemies  Nigel West, Daily Telegraph

Now we know for sure Putin sent assassins to Britain  we must target Russia  The Sun Says

This was a warlike act by Russia  Leader, Daily Telegraph

Skripal and the Kremlin  Leader, The Times

>Today: Bob Seely on Comment: Ten steps to defend our country against the aggression and subversion of Putins Russia

>Yesterday: Andrew Gimsons Commons sketch: May condemns Russian obfuscation and lies about the Salisbury attacks

Russia 2) The UK pledges to dismantle Kremlins spy network

Downing Street vowed to do everything in its power to dismantle the GRU and warned of further sanctions and retaliation against Russia, but admitted police were powerless to extradite the men. Whitehall sources accused the GRU of acting with a sense of impunity and of developing an appetite for brazen operations such as the attack on Col Skripal as well as cyber hacking and the shooting down of the passenger jet MH-17 over Ukraine.  Daily Telegraph

Russia 3) Corbyn challenged over weaselly words

If even Russian state media can admit who poisoned the Skripals, why cant Jeremy Corbyn?  Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

Russia 4) Putins spokesman says the names mean nothing to us

Jeremy Corbyn faced a backlash over his weaselly words on Russian blame for Salisbury today. The Labour leader was taken to task by Theresa May, Boris Johnson and even his own MPs for equivocating over the nerve agent outrage. Mr Corbyn was widely criticised earlier this year when he resisted stating that the Russian authorities were behind the poison attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia. He also previously played down Moscows annexation of the Crimea in 2014, suggesting that NATO was to blame for the aggression.  Daily Mail

Russia said Wednesday it did not know the names of two Russians Britain has blamed for a nerve agent attack on a former spy and accused London of manipulating information. The names published by the media, like their photographs, mean nothing to us, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. British police identified Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov as the men who tried to kill Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with Novichok in March. UK authorities said the names were likely to be aliases.  Daily Mail

Hancock warns NHS IT systems are putting lives at risk

Sunka pledges to stop landlords charging excessive sums for damaged items

I know NHS IT has had a chequered history. And I understand why some have shied away from reforming it. There are fewer bigger organisations in the world, but for the Chinese army and Walmart, so its not easy. But we have learned how we can do it, from seizing the incredible opportunities of artificial intelligence through to fixing basic computers in hospitals so they can talk to each other. The fact that your hospital cant see your GP record, or that patients dont have control over their data, or that even within the same hospital different departments have to write down basic details, is expensive, frustrating for staff, and risks patient safety. Health Secretary Matt Hancock, Daily Telegraph

Fat-cat landlords will be banned from charging rip-off rates to replace damaged items under a new 250 million-a-year crackdown. Ministers last night unveiled new rules that will limit landlords and agents to recovering only reasonable incurred costs.And they will be forced to back up the bills with evidence. Local Government Minister Rishi Sunak said tenants were being charged as much as 60 for smoke alarms when councils would replace them free of charge. He said: Tenants across the country, whatever their income, should not be hit with unfair costs by agents or landlords. This Government is determined to make sure our housing market works and this new provision will make renting fairer and more transparent for all.  The Sun

Brexiteers to set out alternative to Chequers

Post-Brexit migrant farm worker visa scheme announced  BBC

Anything could now happen on Brexit as Barnier bluff goes wrong  Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph

The EU is a racket willing to break any rule  Iain Martin, The Times

Even with a bad deal Brexit still backed  John Curtice, Daily Telegraph

Labour would vote down Canada-style Brexit deal says Starmer  The Guardian

Raab head for Brussels  Daily Express

As Westminster is settling down to the next phase of its collective mild nervous breakdown, the pushback to Brexiteers criticism of Theresa Mays Chequers plan is that the naysayers dont have their ownIn the coming days, the Brexiteers, organised behind the scenes by that powerful grouping, the ERG, which regular readers here will be very familiar with, have a plan to counter that accusation. I hear from Sunday onwards we should expect several days of carefully planned announcements, almost like a government grid perhaps, where the Brexiteers, with their eyes ruthlessly on their short term prize of chucking Chequers, will lay out an alternative.  Laura Kuenssberg, BBC

>Today:

Investigation into Corbyns overseas trips

Parliaments ethics watchdog has launched an inquiry into controversial overseas visits made by Jeremy Corbyn before he became Labour leader. Mr Corbyn was reported to the parliamentary commissioner for standards by three different Conservative MPs during the summer over allegations that he had not properly registered trips abroad which were paid for by other organisations. Pictures had emerged of Mr Corbyn holding a wreath in front of a plaque honouring the founder of Black September, the group behind the killing of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972, in Tunisia in 2014.  The Times

The Labour Party is lost to ultra-left fanatics  David Aaronovitch, The Times

May demands an apology for anti-semitism  Daily Mail

McDonnell says he would not fire nuclear weapons to protect the UK

Scallop wars ended

Labour shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has said he would not fire nuclear weapons to protect Britain and named Das Kapital as his most influential book. Mr McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyns effective deputy, also defended his historic support for the IRA saying everything I did around Ireland was to try to bring about peace. During the interview Mr McDonnell also compared himself and Mr Corbyn  both pensioners  as like two old geezers from Last of the Summer Wine touring the country.  Daily Telegraph

Scallop wars, the conflict between Cornish fishermen and their French counterparts, appears to have been brought to a peaceful conclusion, after the French government agreed to compensate British boats for staying out of the Baie de Seine. A joint statement released by the UK and French governments on Wednesday night said constructive talks involving representatives of their respective fishing industries had resulted in a deal. Conservation measures aimed at restoring scallop stocks in the 40-mile stretch of waters off the Normandy coast will now be extended to British boats under 15-metres long, which were initially excluded.  The Guardian

Scots disatisfied with SNP performance

Call for boost in Universal Credit payments

Opponents of the Scottish National party seeking to portray it as a faltering force after more than a decade in power do not have to look far for ammunition. Just hours before SNP leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon on Tuesday unveiled her programme for government for the coming year to the Scottish parliament, official data showed a fall in the proportion of Scots satisfied with key public services and a worrying rise in waiting times for mental health treatment for young people.  Financial Times

Theresa May has been told that she must inject nearly 3 billion into controversial benefit reforms as the policy reaches its most delicate stage in parliament. MPs will be asked this autumn to approve the extension of universal credit payments to 2.1 million less well-off families who at present claim income-linked benefits. These include about one million families in which parents work in low-paid jobs. This group of people who are just about managing have previously been identified by the prime minister as her political priority.The analysis by the Resolution Foundation, a think tank chaired by Lord Willetts, a former Tory minister, found that universal credit had lost a key objective of increasing benefit take-up among low-paid claimants in addition to increasing incentives to find work.  The Times

Timothy: There is merit in the IPPR report

Welby is wrong to put his faith in ever higher taxes  James Price, The Times

News in brief

Trumps legacy: Banana Republicanism  Dominic Green, CapX

The rise of Sajid Javid  The Spectator

Trump challenged by anonymous attack from White House official  Independent

Vote Leave head Matthew Elliott: The Brexiteers won the battle but we could lose the war  New Statesman

PMQs, possibly the worst thing about British politics  Finn McRedmond, Reaction

Wednesdays controversial report by the Institute for Public Policy Research will inevitably be attacked for its tax recommendations. This is not surprising, given the think tanks centre-Left originsBut there is merit in several of the reports ideas. A National Investment Bank would help to re-industrialise the economy, improve productivity and bring growth to the regions. An alternative minimum corporation tax would prevent multinationals from avoiding UK taxes.Increasing taxes on accumulated wealth would mean lower taxes on income, and save younger families from carrying the burden of our ageing society alone. A better approach to corporate governance would not only give workers a say in decisions that affect them, but help firms to make their own decisions for the long term, and so allow a reduction in micro-managing government regulation.  Nick Timothy, Daily Telegraph
Congratulations to Paul Davies who has been elected as the new leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly. He has been a member of the Welsh Assembly since 2007, representing the constituency of Preseli Pembrokeshire. Since June he has been serving as interim leader since the resignation of Andrew RT Davies.

Suzy Davies, the Welsh Assembly Member for South Wales West, was the runner-up.

The BBC reports:

Welsh Conservative chairman Byron Davies told activists at Ffos Las racecourse, Carmarthenshire, on Thursday that Mr Davies won a postal ballot of party members by 68.1 per cent of the votes to 31.9 per cent on a turnout of 52%.

It would have been interesting to have the figures for the actual number of votes cast  as we would then have been able to discover how many members we have in Wales. But the declaration did not include that. However it was followed by a confident speech by the new leader.

Paul Davies promises to offer a progressive, innovative and radical alternative to more of the same. He calls for a tax system [which] encourages work, protects the low paid and allows people to keep their hard-earned money. His vision is for a Wales that is unashamedly pro business and where we encourage entrepreneurship, innovation and wealth creation. This includes protecting small businesses from the stranglehold of excessive Business Rates. It also requires public services where decision makers are genuinely held to account. Some of us would like a similarly bold and unapologetic tone from Conservatives in England

Theresa May, the Prime Minister, said:

I warmly congratulate Paul Davies on his election as Leader of the Conservatives in the Welsh Assembly, and look forward to working with him and the rest of our team as they hold Labours failing Welsh Government to account.There has never been a more vital time to do this, and I know that Paul will do a fantastic job speaking up for the Welsh people.

Alun Cairns MP, Secretary of State for Wales, said:

Id like to extend my congratulations to Paul Davies, the new leader of Conservative Group in the Assembly and my commiserations to Suzy Davies who fought a great campaign across Wales. Suzy will continue to play a key part in the Assembly group and the Welsh party. I have worked with Paul over many years and I am excited by the enthusiasm, ideas and close collaboration that he will bring to the role.

I look forward to working with Paul to hold the failing Welsh Labour Government to account after two decades of control, but more importantly in ensuring that the Conservatives in Cardiff Bay and Westminster can continue to deliver for the whole of Wales.

Brandon Lewis MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party, said:

I send my congratulations to Paul Davies, the new leader of the Conservative Group in the Welsh Assembly. I know that Paul will continue to deliver for Wales and work hard to hold the failing Labour-run Welsh Government to account.

The Conservative Group in the Welsh Assembly is currently 12 strong. Paul Davies says it is time for us to raise our game. Labour has a poor record in Government  but they remain well ahead with 29 out the 60 seats. The next election is due to take place in 2021.

Good luck to them. It does seem that a confusingly high proportion of the high up in the Welsh Conservatives are called Davies. The joke used to be that all Welshmen were called Jones
Daniel Hannan is an MEP for South-East England, and a journalist, author and broadcaster. His most recent book is What Next: How to Get the Best from Brexit.

Its the tetchiness thats so odd: the frenzied language, the talk of catastrophe and betrayal, the blackguarding of opponents. Twenty-six months after the referendum, why is everyone still so bloody angry?

I get why Remainers were initially cross. The result must have come as a shock and, in its aftermath, there was too little effort to reach out to what was, after all, nearly half the electorate. But Id never have predicted that, more than two years on, people would be actively hoping for bad economic news, egging on Brussels to toughen its position, gleefully predicting an embargo  including the denial of flight landing slots  beyond anything the EU would impose against Russia or Iran.

Even harder to explain is the grumpiness of many of my fellow Leavers. We won, for Heavens sake. Whatever happens next, EU laws will no longer have precedence over our own. We shall again get to decide our agriculture, fisheries, immigration, taxation, regional policy and the rest. Yet people continue to rage about treachery and defeat and national humiliation as though nothing had changed. For decades, we Eurosceptics, in Galadriels haunting phrase, fought the long defeat; it has apparently made some of us unable to accept victory.

Let me make an observation that, were it not for the current fevered mood, might seem obvious. Every potential outcome has some drawbacks. Chequers has drawbacks, the EEA has drawbacks, leaving with no deal has drawbacks  just as staying in the EU would have drawbacks. I believe that the first three options are all better than the fourth, but none of them is perfect. Perfection doesnt exist in politics.

It is right to discuss which option would bring the greatest benefits and the fewest disadvantages. But the really benign change has already happened. The European Communities Act has been repealed. The next general election will be the first since June 1970 that returns a wholly sovereign Parliament.

Next to that epochal victory, everything else is detail. I dont say that everything else is unimportant. The degree to which we align our specifications with our trading partners, the terms on which EU nationals can take up jobs here, the European programmes we continue to support, the extent to which UK and EU regulators recognise each others standards  all these things matter. But they are primarily questions of procedure rather than principle. The decision of principle was made when we voted to recover our independence.

So why are people seizing on rules of origin and customs mechanisms as life-and-death battles? Why do MPs who, two years ago, couldnt have told you what Euratom did, or how equivalence in financial regulation differed from passporting, now regard these things as tests of their patriotism? Why is every clod of mud contested like some piece of No-Mans-Land in 1916?

Morality binds and blinds, the brilliant psychologist Jonathan Haidt teaches us  it binds us to our team, and blinds us both to our sides faults and the others virtues. In the aftermath of the 2016 poll, ideas that would otherwise have been wholly uncontroversial were automatically rejected because they emanated from the other side. Tribalism replaced empiricism. Instead of assessing new proposals on their merits, people on both sides began to virtue-signal to their own teams by taking up harder and harder positions.

Plainly, the Chequers proposal has flaws, as even its lonely supporters admit. Their argument is not that it is a perfect arrangement, simply that its the best way to square the referendum result with the numbers in Parliament while getting a decent deal for Britain. But, in the current absolutist mood, no one wants to listen to a faute de mieux argument.

Precisely the same is true of the EEA proposal eloquently put forward on this page by George Trefgarne on Tuesday. George is emphatically not claiming that the EEA is perfect. All he is arguing is that, given the other options, it is the best way to ease our transition to a better long-term future.

Now its legitimate to argue that, on balance, leaving with no deal is better than either of these options. As I have written on this site, the costs of a complete rupture have been absurdly exaggerated. But, whatever view you take, the question is fairly technical. Does regulatory autonomy in physical goods outweigh preferential exports to the EU? That should be an issue that is primarily of interest to trade specialists, not one to be fought over as if the soul of Britain were at stake.

For the avoidance of doubt, I want there to be a deal. I argued before, during and after the campaign for a Swiss-style arrangement (to the evident confusion of many Remainers, who keep quoting my articles and interviews as evidence that I have either lied or changed my view). Again, people might prefer a different option. Fine. They might argue that the moment has passed for a Swiss deal. Fine. But to dismiss EFTA as not really leaving is preposterous. EFTA  whether in its Swiss or Norwegian variations  would represent a return to the status quo ante. It was the outcome favoured by Hugh Gaitskell, Enoch Powell, Peter Shore, Teddy Taylor and the other Eurosceptic Long Marchers. It was supported for years by UKIP. The only occasion during the campaign when I shared a platform with Nigel Farage, he went further than I have ever done in singing the praises of the EEA (Wouldnt it be awful to be like Norway? Wouldnt it be awful to be rich? Etc etc.)

What has changed? A Tory MP friend, a Remainer, offers me a grim explanation. In every revolution, the original leaders are trampled over by the hardliners who came late to the party. Read Hillary Mantels A Place of Greater Safety. Its all in there.

Mantels book is a lengthy, semi-fictionalised account of the French Revolution, told through the lives of Camille Desmoulins, Georges-Jacques Danton and Maximilien Robespierre  three revolutionaries who end up being guillotined. My MP friend undeniably has a point about the authors of revolutions. Michael Collins ended up with a bullet in his head in County Cork. Alexander Kerensky had to flee Petrograd in a Renault borrowed from the American embassy.

But is Brexit truly a revolution? Is that honestly the best way to describe a return to the system that prevailed, certainly before 1973, and arguably up to the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993? Objectively, Brexit should simply mean a gradual reorientation of our trade back to its natural global patterns; a stepping aside while our neighbours deepen their political integration. But there is no denying it: the present heated rhetoric makes it seem much more like a revolution than a restoration.

So let me, once again, make a few statements that might, in calmer times, seem obvious. First, it is better to have friendly relations with our neighbours than not to. Second, a 52-48 vote is a mandate for an orderly and phased recovery of powers, not for a total rupture. Third, accepting some common standards for reasons of economy of scale, especially when those standards are largely set at global level, is not a betrayal of anything. Fourth, EFTA countries are not in the EU. Fifth, ending the direct effect of EU law in this country will set Britain on a different trajectory: that is the big win, almost regardless of what else happens. The only way to reverse it would be to reverse Brexit altogether  a danger that has to be acknowledged.

It may be, of course, that the EU wont accept any proposal for an amicable withdrawal. There are plainly some officials in Brussels (though fewer in the 27 capitals) who would rather see all sides suffer than watch a post-EU Britain succeed. If the EU insists on offering Carthaginian terms, we shall have no option but to leave without a deal; that possibility shouldnt scare us.

But the idea that we should want a deep friendship with our closest neighbours ought to be utterly uncontroversial. How sad that that needs saying. Come: a little more British phlegm from all sides, please.
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Guwahati, Sep 6 : Indian army and the teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are engaged in search and rescue operations in Brahmaputra river in Guwahati as many people are still missing following the boat capsized incident.





Three people including two college girl students died and many are missing after an overloaded country made single-engine private boat, locally called as bhutbhuti capsized in Brahmaputra river near Ashwaklanta Temple in North Guwahati on Wednesday.





The boat carrying 36 passengers plied from Fancy Bazar area in Guwahati to North Guwahati on the other side of the mighty river and was capsized after hitting a concrete piller, while it was about 200 meter away from its destination





Rescue teams had already recovered three bodies including two college girl students and safely rescued another 12 persons from the river.





Apart from it, 12 others swam and reached at the safer places after the boat capsized.





On Thursday, Indian army and the teams of NDRF, SDRF resumed search and rescue operation in the river.





Some local people have also been pitched in to help the rescue teams.





On the other hand, police had arrested two divers of the boat.




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There's a famous line in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark where Harrison Fords character, Indiana Jones, explains the poor state of his aging body as, Its not the years, its the mileage. Despite Fords character being fictional, there is quite a bit of truth in this statement; and it directly applies to the challenges faced by the skin care industry as it seeks to maintain the youthful appearance of those who purchase its products. While the gradual passing of time itself can eventually age one's appearance, the repeated daily insults of solar irradiation and countless sources of toxic urban pollution, e.g., dust, high energy visible light, ozone and tobacco smoke, can rapidly accelerate the aging process and leave skin appearing decades older than its chronological age.

In efforts to prevent both premature skin aging and general effects of aging itself, the personal care industry has responded with a wide range of actives. Skin care products are now designed with materials that block UV rays. They also contain antioxidants, which can be effective against the reactive oxygen species formed from exposure to urban pollution. In addition, specialty ingredients have been developed to target specific effects of aging, such as a decline in collagen, elastin or hyaluronic acid production; or increases in entities including matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which promote the breakdown of essential extracellular matrix components.

Despite the overall effectiveness of these skin care actives, the skin will continue to age and with this aging comes an inevitable accumulation of senescent cells. Unfortunately, senescent cells are more than just cells that no longer replicate. In fact, an accumulation of senescent cells in any organ of the body is associated with a decline in the functioning of that organ. Also unfortunately, senescent cells can greatly accelerate the aging process by their presence alone.1

The skin is no exception to this observation. Therefore, countering the effects of senescent cells in the skin represents an excellent target for future active ingredients. However, before any sort of active can be developed, it is essential to understand how senescent cells can form, their basic characteristics and how they affect neighboring cells.

Cellular Senescence

In 1961, Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead published a paper describing their discovery that human cells can only divide a finite number of times.2 This limit to the number of cell divisions a normal cell can make is now called the Hayflick Limit, and it introduced the concept of replicative senescence. Once a cell has reached replicative senescence, no amount of stimulation with growth factors will stimulate it proliferate again.

The molecular mechanism behind replicative senescence is thought to be associated with telomeres. Telomeres are tandem repeating DNA sequences (TTAGGG) found at the ends of linear DNA molecules.3 Telomeres are essential to the process of linear DNA replication; however, as part of the replication process, each time a cell copies its genomic DNA to undergo cell division it loses a portion of these telomeres. Once the telomere-repeats reach a shortened critical length, the cells can no longer undergo cell division and they enter replicative senescence.

Before utilizing senescent cells to test an active, it is essential to understand how senescent cells form, their basic characteristics and how they affect neighboring cells.

While replicative senescence can be thought of as a more chronological-based mechanism of aging, cellular stress can dramatically accelerate the onset of cellular senescence. This process is referred to as stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS), and often involves exposing cells repeatedly to insults that form reactive oxygen species such as peroxides4 or UV light.5 However, the direct generation of reactive oxygen species is not necessary to induce SIPS since other forms of cellular stress can damage DNA and induce senescence. These include: mitochondrial dysfunction,6 autophagy deficiency,7 cellular membrane disruption8 and exposure to chemotherapeutic agents.9 As with replicative senescence, once cells enter SIPS, they will no longer undergo the process of cellular replication.

Despite the various methods by which cellular senescence can be induced, in the end, the resulting senescent cells seem to share similar characteristicsthe most important of which is the activation of the p53 pathway. This pathway functions to carefully monitor the integrity of cellular genomic DNA, since damage to the genomic DNA can potentially be tumorigenic. At low levels of DNA damage, the p53 pathway can be temporarily activated, which will, in turn, activate cell cycle inhibitors such as p21 and p16INK4a and stop the cell from replicating until the DNA damage is repaired. However, at a certain DNA damage threshold, the genomic damage is considered by the cell to be irreparable and the p53 pathway will push the cell to either a state of permanent growth arrest (senescence) or to a programmed cell death pathway (apoptosis) in an effort to prevent extensive, and potentially cancer-causing, DNA damage from being propagated by dividing cells.

In addition to the activation of the p53 pathway and subsequent expression of p21 and p16INK4a, senescent cells tend to display an interesting characteristic that makes them easy to visualize using a simple staining procedure. As cells become senescent, a certain lysosomal -galactosidase experiences a shift in the pH at which it is active; rather than its typical activity at a pH of 4, the enzyme becomes active at a pH of 6. This shift has led to its referral as senescence associated -galactosidase (SA -gal), which is widely used to mark senescent cells within a larger field of cells viewed microscopically in order to determine the percentage of senescent cells in a sample. Additional characteristics all senescent cells appear to share include an increase in their size, the absence of proliferation markers, and changes in their heterochromatin.10

The accumulation of senescent cells within the skin can further accelerate the aging process.

Consequences of Senescent Cells

One of the most troubling aspects of senescent cells is they release a number of dangerous materials into their surrounding cellular environment. These materials can not only damage the local extracellular microenvironment, but also promote harmful effects such as inflammation, tumorigenesis and the conversion of otherwise healthy neighboring cells into senescent cells. It is through the release these dangerous materials that the accumulation of senescent cells can contribute to the decline in function of the skin and accelerate the aging process.

The mechanisms by which senescent cells release materials into their environment generally fall within two categories:

The release of soluble factors via the senescent-associated secretory phenotype (SASP); or The release of more complex factors via extracellular vesicles (EV).

Research into these pathways could help to elicit details about how senescent cells impact the otherwise healthy cells around them, and may provide insight into how to develop skin care actives that can prevent or reverse the adverse effects of senescent cells.

Senescence-associated Secretory Phenotype

SASP appears to be a universal feature observed in all senescent cells11 and involves the chronic release of cytokines, i.e., IL-1, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-; chemokines; growth factors including TGF- and GM-CSF; and proteases such as MMP1 and MMP3.12, 13 Functionally, it is thought that the release of soluble factors through SASP is intended to recruit immune cells to senescent cells to facilitate their removal. However, studies have shown that the chronic release of soluble factors through SASP is enough to convert neighboring cells to the senescent phenotype and can also be potentially tumorigenic to neighboring cells.10 In addition, the prolonged release of inflammatory cytokines can lead to chronic inflammation, while the chronic release of proteases can further augment the decline in ECM components observed with aging.

While some of the components released via SASP have been described, the reality is the sheer variety of soluble factors released can be quite extensive and the listed materials are by no means a complete library. Also, despite the fact that more and more soluble factors released by senescent cells are being characterized, the work is far from complete and numerous others, along with their adverse effects on target cells, remain unknown.

Characterizing the release of exosomes can determine potential actives to prevent their adverse effects.

Fortunately, some analytical methods are well-suited for screening the soluble factors released via SASP. From a genetic perspective, DNA microarrays can easily determine which genes for cytokines, chemokines, growth factors and proteases are being transcribed by senescent cells. Since most DNA microarray chips encompass a significant portion of the human genome, they may provide a means to best capture a complete picture of which soluble factors are present. Alternatively, commercially available protein arrays or multiplexing, bead-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) also can be used to quantify and characterize which soluble factors are being released at the protein level by senescent cells into the environment. While protein arrays and multiplexing ELISA-based assays have a considerably smaller range than DNA microarrays, they are none the less quite effective for gaining insight into complex mixes of soluble factors.

Extracellular Vesicles

In addition to the release of soluble factors, senescent cells communicate with neighboring cells through the release of extracellular vesicles. While extracellular vesicles can range in size and cellular source, particular interest has emerged in exosomes. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles (30100 nm) that originate as intraluminal vesicles in the late endosomal compartment of cells. They are released when the vesicle containing them fuses with the plasma membrane. Once thought of as cellular trash receptacles, they are now known to be a form of normal communication between cells and contain a variety of materials including mRNA, miRNA, genomic and mitochondrial DNA, proteins and lipids. While the cellular release of exosomes is a normal process, exosome release is greatly increased in senescent cells via a p53-dependent mechanism potentially as a means to remove damaged DNA.12 Unfortunately, exosomes released by senescent cells and taken up by neighboring cells can cause senescence in the neighboring cells,14 and/or promote an inflammatory response,15 or can even become tumorigenic.12

As can be imagined, the contents of exosomes released by cells are far from homogeneous and can vary extensively. Following in the trend of soluble factors, there is a need to characterize the exosomes released by senescent cells in order to determine how they impact neighboring cells and whether it is possible to target them using actives to prevent any adverse effects they may promote. Of particular interest is the RNA cargo, since both the mRNA and the miRNA contained within the exosome released by the senescent cell will be functional when taken up by a normal neighboring cell. Thus, the mRNA transcribed within the senescent cell can be translated by the neighboring cell taking up the exosome and likewise, the miRNA produced within the senescent cell can exert a regulatory effect within the receiving cell.

There are multiple ways to induce cellular senescence in the lab that can mimic the way senescent cells are formed in vivo.

For some time, the only way to recover exosomes for analysis was using an ultracentrifuge to pellet them. Most labs do not have such a specialized piece of equipment. However, methods are now available to recover exosomes via precipitation or filtration, which require nothing more than centrifuges commonly used for cell culture practice. And once an enriched collection of exosomes is gathered, microarray-based RNA analysis may be a good way to determine the species of RNA present in the exosome samples. Traditional DNA microarrays actually measure mRNA, so DNA microarray characterization of exosomes would provide details on which mRNA species are being exported by senescent cells. In addition to traditional DNA microarrays, commercially available human miRNA arrays are available that contain extensive miRNA libraries, which would be extremely useful for determining the miRNA species produced by senescent cells.

While there is keen interest in the RNA components of exosomes, exosomes also contain proteins and lipids. Thus, the protein content of exosomes can be determined using traditional protein array and Western blotting analyses while the lipid content can be measured using traditional lipid composition assays. It also should be noted that both the protein and lipid components of the exosome may contain active forms of signaling pathways that would exert an effect in the target cells taking them up. All in all, exosomes provide a broad and challenging range of targets for skin care actives to potentially treat the effects of senescent cells in skin.

Concluding Remarks

The accumulation of senescent cells within the skin can further accelerate the aging process, leading to a decline in both the function and appearance of skin. Fortunately, from a research perspective, there are multiple ways to induce cellular senescence in the lab that can mimic the way senescent cells are formed in vivo. The availability of these models, coupled with new array-based analytical techniques that can rapidly screen thousands of cellular components, will ultimately lead to a better understanding of senescent skin cells and the development of new actives to further delay the effects of aging in the skin.

References

DJ Baker et al, Naturally occurring p16(Ink41)-positive cells shorten healthy lifespan, Nature 530 184189 (2016) L Hayflick and PS Moorhead, The serial cultivation of human diploid cell strains, Exper Cell Res 25 585621 (1961) CB Harley, AB Futcher and CW Greider, Telomeres shorten during aging of human fibroblasts, Nature 345 458460 (1990) P Dumont et al, Induction of replicative senescence biomarkers by sublethal oxidative stresses in normal human fibroblasts, Free Rad Biol and Med 28(3) 361373 (2000) F Chainiaux et al, UVB-Induced premature senescence of human diploid skin fibroblasts, Intl J of Biochem and Cell Biol 34 13311339 (2002) CD Wiley et al, Mitochondrial dysfunction induces senescence with a distinct secretory phenotype, Cell Metabolism 23(2) 300314 (2016) X Song et al, Autophagy deficient keratinocytes display increased DNA damage, senescence and aberrant lipid composition after oxidative stress in vitro and in vivo, Redox Biol 11 219230 (2017) WK Martins et al, Membrane damage by betulinic acid provides insights into cellular aging, Biochemica et Biophysica Acta 1861 (1Pt A) 31293143 (2017) UK Rajarajacholan and K Riabowol, Aging with ING: A comparative study of different forms of stress induced premature senescence, Oncotarget 6(33) 3411834127 (2015) JP Magalhaes and JF Passos, Stress, cell senescence and organismal aging, Mech of Aging and Dev [Epub ahead of print] (2017) HO Byun et al, From cell senescence to age-related diseases: Differential mechanisms of action of senescence-associates secretory phenotypes, BMB Reports 48 (10) 549558 (2015) M Takasugi, Emerging roles of extracellular vesicles in cellular senescence and aging, Aging Cell [Epub ahead of print] (2017) GC Leonardi et al, Aging: From inflammation to cancer, Immunity and Aging [Epub ahead of print] (2018) AHJ AL-Mayah et al, Exosome-medicated telomere instability in human breast epithelial cancer cells after x irradiation, Radiation Res 187 98106 (2017) Z Wang and PM Lieberman, The crosstalk of telomere dysfunction and inflammation through cell-free TERRA containing exosomes, RNA Biol13, 690695 (2016)
The Port of San Diego is celebrating September as Green Port Month. An annual tradition since 2008, Green Port Month showcases the Ports progress in making the bay a healthy natural resource for generations to come.

New to Green Port Month this year, the Port said it is inviting the public to be Green Port champions by participating in its signature event, #ThatsMyBay Service Day on Thursday, September 20, 2018.

#ThatsMyBay Service Day is a tremendous opportunity for our neighbors to join us in cleaning up the waterfront and showing pride in our bay, said Chairman Rafael Castellanos of the Board of Port Commissioners, in a prepared statement. A Green Port means clean air, blue water and vibrant life for the people, animals and plant-life that call San Diego Bay home, and we couldnt achieve this without the hard work and commitment by our Port community  tenants, partners, supporters and employees,

Also during Green Port Month, the Board of Port Commissioners will recognize environmental champions who are working year-round to maintain a healthy balance between maritime industry, tourism, water, land recreation, environmental stewardship and public safety. To be held during the September 12, 2018 Board meeting, the second annual Michelle White Environmental Awards program will honor four Port employees: Amy Tigri, Kimberly Coker, Julio Bello and Isabel Ortega; Hilton San Diego Bayfronts Director of Engineering, Michael Denison, as the tenant awardee; and Ocean Connectors Executive Director Frances Kinney as the community organization awardee.

The September 12 Board meeting will also showcase the Ports overall environmental efforts with a presentation of the 2017-2018 Green Port Year in Review, which highlights the Ports Climate Action Plan progress, along with achievements in the Ports Blue Economy Incubator, Green Business Network and many other environmental programs.

Some accomplishments include: Securing a $5 million California Energy Commission grant for a microgrid  a solar energy infrastructure and battery storage  at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal; Managing, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, 1,690 acres of eelgrass beds in San Diego Bay. This makes up 50 percent of Southern California eelgrass resources and 15 percent of the statewide eelgrass habitat, which improves water quality and light availability, increases biodiversity and supports healthy ecosystems.

Other accomplishments include: Completing 147 storm water inspections of commercial, industrial and municipal operations and facilitating an 82-percent implementation rate of best management practices for storm water within those organizations; the removal of 5,000 pounds of trash from San Diego Bay in a single quarter by a new marine debris removal vessel, approved under the Ports Blue Economy Incubator; and the successful growth and performance of a test batch of 100,000 oysters in the first year of the Ports aquaculture nursery.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines is promoting its sailings from the north of the UK in its new Balmoral from the North brochure, showcasing a variety of cruises from Newcastle and Rosyth (Edinburgh) next year.

The brochure profiles 20 of Fred. Olsens cruise itineraries from Newcastle and Edinburgh in 2019.

Fred. Olsen will be returning Balmoral to Edinburgh (Rosyth) in 2019, for its second cruise season from the convenient Scottish port.

Next year, Balmoral will be offering a total of eight cruises from Edinburgh (Rosyth), between June and August, including a seven-night Norwegian Fjords departure, a 14-night Baltic Capitals discovery, and a nine-night European Rivers & Canals experience.

This follows on from the debut season for Balmoral from Rosyth in 2018, from May to July, with a record nine sailings  an increase on the eight departures onboard Black Watch from the port in 2017, the company said.

Clare Ward, Director of Product and Customer Service for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

In order to accommodate Balmoral, the Port of Rosyth consulted with us and made significant investments in the port area and facilities. The introduction of a sheltered marquee and car parking close to the Cruise Terminal, along with enhanced passenger flows, has led to a marked upturn in guest satisfaction and a greatly-improved guest experience.

We look forward to another successful cruise season from the scenic Port of Rosyth in 2019, when we will once again be welcoming Scottish guests aboard Balmoral, both old and new.

Guests have awarded facilities at the Port of Rosyth a 12% improvement rating year-on-year, and disembarkation has seen a year-on-year increase in satisfaction of 17%. Check-in and embarkation have also achieved an average of 90% guest satisfaction, the company said.

Fred. Olsen will also be operating Balmoral from the Port of Tyne from April to October 2019, on a cruise season split with Rosyth. The ex-Newcastle cruise season starts with an eight-night German Waterways sailing in April 2019, with other notable itineraries including a 14-night Capital Cities of the Baltic departure  utilising the port's northern location closer to Scandinavia and the Baltic  and an 11-night France, Spain and Portugal getaway.
Penang Port today signed a deal with Royal Caribbean Cruises to upgrade the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal at a reported cost of $37 million.

The expanded facility will allow larger cruise ships to berth by the end of 2019, as the port's berth will be extended to 660 meters from 440 meters.

The addition will allow the port to host two large cruise ships at once, plus smaller ships.

Royal Caribbean has 36 calls scheduled in Penang next year, and for 2019-2020, the 4,100-guest Quantum of the Seas moves to Singapore to homeport at Marina Bay, opening up new possible itineraries in Southeast Asia.
Endpoint detection and response (EDR) has been an important technology for security professionals as they attempt to find suspicious activity, or at least traces of it, on endpoints and hosts. Cybersecurity itself is as old as computers, but the EDR segment is still in its infancy with the first solutions dating back only about five years or so.

The technology works by monitoring the endpoint and then storing the data in a centralized repository where analysis can be done to detect a threat. Typically, EDR solutions require a software agent to be installed on the host system to provide the data used in monitoring and reporting.

EDR has been critical for advanced protection, as more threats are being directed at the user. In fact, one of the industrys leading penetration testers recently told me that he can normally breach an organization within an hour by attacking the user and compromising the endpoint. Also, Windows is still the most widely used operating system in the business world, and many of its internal features are used by threat actors to breach that computer and others.

[ Next-generation endpoint security tools are ready to replace antivirus. | Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters. ]

So, if EDR is so integral to threat protection and provides so much value, why am I proclaiming EDR dead? Is that crazy?

As valuable as EDR has been, it provides a very narrow view of the world. Its akin to looking out a porthole on a ship where one sees only a slice of the horizon. To determine what the weather is like, if there are islands around or if there are passing ships, one would need to be on the bridge to get an overall view.

EDR is narrowly focused

EDR is too narrowly focused, as it provides a view of only the endpoint. Its time for EDR to give way to XDR where X is a far broader set of data that includes endpoint, as well as cloud, threat intelligence, network data, logging information and possibly even community data. This certainly isnt meant to be an exhaustive list of data feeds into XDR, but rather serves to highlight the point that more sources of data from more enforcement points lets the security team and technologies find more threats faster, and then block them.

Its like being on the bridge of a ship and being able to see everything at once. The difference is that XDR brings into view all elements of an attack, not just those found on a single endpoint, it adds the analytics that are required to interpret the data across different data sources, and it makes more efficient use of security analysts time in investigations.

XDR sees everything

Also, because XDR solutions have an understanding of the enforcement points, they can actually respond and block the threat faster and across a wider range of vectors, not just the endpoint. With EDR, the endpoint may highlight a breach, but the only thing known is what occurred on the endpoint. The solution is able to see what occurred on the endpoint and then pivot to another endpoint to evaluate it. If the source is external, then EDR wouldnt help because the endpoint data would not reveal anything and is blind to network data.

Whats required is visibility into the network portion of the threat and the link between the different stages of the attack. For example, something showing that administrator credentials were stolen off server A and then those credentials were used to infiltrate server B.

XDR can trace threats back to their source

With XDR, the system is able to better trace the bad traffic from where it was discovered, reconstructing the attack. This helps the security team better understand what happened, determine where it happened, and respond at the best possible enforcement point (or points if there are multiple ones). Without that, all one knows is that an attack occurred and a single endpoint is involved. Using the ship metaphor, water in the bottom would indicate there was a leak. One could clean up the leak, but if the source isnt known, the problem cant be fixed.

One of the criticisms Ive had with EDR is that it focuses largely on the detection and often doesn't help much with the response unless youre a specialist. With XDR, they are equal parts detection and response. Think of EDR as being big D and little r and XDR being big D and big R across all potential data sources, giving the security team a much better chance at fighting the bad guys.

In its time, EDR was a breakthrough for security buyers because it provided a way to see what was happening on the endpoint, which is the biggest attack point. Now that we live in a world where literally everything is connected, its important that EDR evolve into XDR so security teams can see more and block more at their source. If youre going to commit the budget and time of your security team, why restrict them to endpoint?

This story, "EDR is dead! Long live XDR!" was originally published by CSO .
Lets face it: Nobody looks forward to access certifications. Not the business user who has to take a big chunk of time out of an already stretched schedule to go through every single users access privileges and confirm whether theyre correct. Not the internal audit team that has to play the bad guy and prod the business user to quit procrastinating and get the reviews done. And certainly not the CISO, whos ultimately responsible for the organizations security and compliance postureknowing that for every business user who conscientiously and painstakingly examines each users access, there could be another whos just checking boxes as fast as possible (and leaving behind unmitigated risks of inappropriate access for someone to come along and exploit).

Its probably safe to say the process for access certifications at any given organization isnt making anyone particularly happy. Thats a big problem, and the reason its a big problem is that it creates a much bigger problem: the threat to security. When access certification reviews are as burdensome as they can sometimes be these days, business users may take shortcuts. When they take shortcuts, they create security gaps. And when they create security gaps, they leave the door open to every bad actor out there who is just waiting for a gap they can sneak through.

When you take action to make access certification review easier, you reduce the burden on your business users, improve your ability to achieve compliance, and most importantly, become more effective at closing security gaps. You make it possible to achieve access assurance, or the confidence that a users access privileges are exactly as they should be, and that the organization is compliant and secure. But to get to that happy ending, we have to first look back at how access certifications got to be so challenging in the first place, then examine what can be done to make them reviews more effectiveand thus make organizations more secure.

Wheres Waldo? Business users are overwhelmed by sheer numbers

Access certification processes were originally adopted largely in response to the need for organizations to attest to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). This mandate has companies creating annual certification processes to regularly attest that users access is appropriate. These annual (and sometimes more frequent) ceremonies were built on the principle that we needed managers to look at their employees access to gain the assurance their access privileges are appropriate to their jobs. After all, who better than an employees manager to know what the employee needs in order to be successful, right?

That makes sense, but heres the problem: Now that weve moved beyond SOX-relevant applications and expanded the objective to achieving assurance that all of a users access is appropriate, we have a whole lot more information for managers to review, and not all of it is directly associated with their specific job. This has created what I call the Wheres Waldo approach to access assurance. We are putting a ton of information in front of a business user and sending them on a hunt for the bad stuff  not unlike looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack, or the Waldo in the crowd.

Sure, theres been progress over time around making access certifications more manageable, especially with the shift years ago to defining roles into which users can be grouped. It imposes less of a burden if a business user only has to make one decision instead of 20, to be sure. But when you consider that in an organization of 100,000 people, there may be tens of thousands of roles, reviews can still require a tough, time-consuming effortone that can take a toll on business users. Faced with the challenge of sifting through a mountain of data to identify and flag issues, reviewers may end up being less thorough than they should be.

Of course, nobody goes into access certifications intending to make a decision thats going to put the entire organization at risk. But thats exactly what can happenin fact, Id say its almost inevitablewhen the process asks so much of business users who already have far more to do than time in which to do it. The careful examination of data that leads to confidently stating that everything is right gives way to a more cursory look that may instead end with less confidently noting that everything looks right and giving it a rubber stamp of approval.

The remedy for the risk lies in finding ways to make it faster and easier for business users to review access certifications accurately and efficiently.

The transformative power of data science, analytics and automation

Theres only so much that can be done with roles to reduce the amount of access data your business users must review and certify. As the number of users continues to proliferate and the status of their access privileges grows ever more complex, it becomes less and less useful to look at the problem through the lens of how much individuals can or cannot do. Youll always run up against the limitations of human capabilitiesnot to mention the limited supply of patience people have. All the while, as the demands grow to the point of seeming insurmountable, and reviewers respond by letting more and more things fall through the cracks, the security risk that ensues will just continue to grow.

Its time to step back and see the situation in a different way, with a view to how technology can be brought to bear on the problem. Data science, analytics and automation thus become indispensable tools in the quest for better security through more accurate and efficient access certification reviews. Today, its possible to use these tools to automatically isolate high-risk and low-risk access so that reviewers can quickly focus on potential problem areas (or to just as quickly turn their attention away from areas where theres very little risk).

For example, what if access certification reviews begin with high-risk issues already flagged, drawing to the reviewers attention to any clear compliance violation, for example, or to instances of a user having access to a highly critical application? And conversely, what if low-risk areas are similarly indicated, so that the reviewer knows theres little or no need to spend a lot of time combing through them? These are the first steps to providing more focus to reviews. But I contend we can go further.

Data science, analytics and automation can make it possible to identify and address access certification issues at a speed that transcends human limitations. Bringing that capability to access certifications applies the same principle thats increasingly at work in fraud detection and cyber threat detection where sheer numbers can overwhelm manual efforts. For example:

In fraud detection, its necessary to analyze billions of credit card transactions in search of a few fraudulent ones. Validating each and every transaction is simply not possible; there will never be enough staffor enough timeto do it in a timely manner. But data analytics can be used to identify irregular spending patterns and other activities that signal potential problems. Then, fraud analysts can focus their efforts on those problem areas.

In threat detection, the volume of cyber threats today makes it impractical for security analysts to look into every threat coming into an organization. But they can use technology to spot patterns indicative of problems. For example, suspicious activity on the network in and of itself may not amount to anything, but if its accompanied by malicious behavior on the laptop that initiated the network traffic, that may be a different storyone that bears further investigation by the analyst team.

When we apply these same concepts to how we ensure a users access is appropriate, we change the approach from a game of Wheres Waldo to a targeted consideration of specific issues. For example, we can ask the reviewer, If your employee, Bill, is the only software developer in the company that has access to a particular production database, is that appropriate? Credit card fraud detection has already adopted this to great effect: Where you may have once been told to go through every transaction on your monthly statement to see if any seem suspicious, youre now getting a call from your card issuer asking if you really spent $35 yesterday on a train ticket to Bangladesh.

Data science opens up all kinds of new possibilities for helping organizations automate the access certification process. Armed with a variety of data science models to identify issues or patterns that need to be examined with additional context, organizations can uncover more effective approaches to finding the Waldos. A continuous feedback loop of nope, not a Waldo or yep, definitely a Waldo! can lead to data science techniques becoming more refined and detection systems getting smarter, much in the same way fraud detection has evolved so successfully over time.

As more robust data science models make their way into access governance processes and technology, we will still have to satisfy our compliance objectives. But, that technology ultimately holds the promise of a more effective way to achieve access assurance. At the end of the day, thats what really matters: reducing the security risk that unchecked inappropriate access creates.
The recent controversy over Hack Back, not to be confused with Back-Hack, was largely fueled by proposed but failed legislation in the State of Georgia. The spate of articles and opinion pieces arguing against the emotionally satisfying, but dangerous strategy largely hung their shields on the impossibility of getting attribution right.

Its true that attackers are very good at hiding their tracks and stepping over stones making it near impossible to reach their actual source location. But there are methods and technologies that can help reveal these adversaries more accurately. Ive personally been involved in determining attribution and holding hackers accountable based on decades of my own research.

A ransomware case that went badly for the attacker

A large telecom company experienced a ransomware attack that seemingly utilized portions of the NSA leaked malware. There was no guessing that an incident occurred; the attacker demanded a ransom. In this all too familiar ongoing scenario that continues to plague large enterprises, incident response teams well understand whats next: Management must decide whether or not to pay the ransom, but also they must identify the means and method of entry allowing the attackers to execute the ransomware malware to prevent future attacks.

The CISO was surely unhappy about how the perpetrator entered the telecom companys well-defended network. Fortunately, the attack had not targeted business critical data due to its well-managed backup systems. Post-attack forensics determined that the adversary had penetrated the organization through a vulnerable set-top box.

Nonetheless, the CISO was not amused by the attempt to hold his companys data hostage, and those deep emotions convinced him to identify and pursue the perpetrator. In other words, he was pissed.

Tor and VPNs can be pierced

In order to receive the ransom, in bitcoin of course, communication between attacker and target was conducted via the typical Tor chat protocol. The attacker was clearly feeling quite protected and proceeded to conduct his business without fear of being caught.

The typical conversation ensued, with the perpetrator demanding his bitcoin and the victim offering to pay. However, while the targeted company claimed that they had paid the bitcoin ransom, in actuality, they didnt. Instead, the clever CISO used advanced deception technology and composed a bogus bitcoin payment page to provide evidence to the attacker payment had been made. The attacker received the confirmation page over Tor and proceeded to open and review the document on his phone. The phony document, which was embedded with a sensor to convey geofencing and telemetry details upon the opening of the document, quietly signaled and the attackers identity was readily revealed by his phone service provider. Bingo. Tor had been pierced. The attackers identity had been uncovered.

Attribution via geofencing and telemetry

Incident response should be a well-planned activity of security staff within modern enterprises. It is hard to know exactly when an incident has occurred and who the perpetrator is, however. Suspicions are aroused by various monitored indicators of network and host activities, but in other cases, such as the real ransomware attack described above, external indicators provide clear-cut evidence that something is amiss. The attacker told the victim.

Another example of a threat I personally helped to resolve was a stock tampering case that demonstrated a financial fraud attack. In this scenario, the indicator was sensed from public sources arousing suspicions that lead an institution to investigate whether they had a rogue insider illegally benefiting from inside knowledge of an impending acquisition. It was clear that the insider was leaking and manipulating news about the target company to affect its market valuation. Strategic placement of deceptive documents with sensors, containing information about the target company, was strategically placed in various file shares. The documents were later opened externally at the home of the alleged inside attacker, surfacing his identity and providing proof for law enforcement. The FBI did its duty.

Whenever incident response teams need to delve deep into data to identify a perpetrator, often the data at hand isnt sufficient, only their tools and methods are revealed. A great deal of experience and inference is necessary to accurately resolve the incident, but rarely is attribution solved with evidence. Thats when sensor technology can be a game changer. Strategically placed deceptive documents with embedded sensors that entice an attacker can easily lead to the perpetrator. Better yet, the telemetry provided by the signals can not only resolve who done it, with evidentiary material appropriate for legal consequences, but can isolate the source of the offense, in cases the attacker has left behind malware that grants later access again.

Deception used as active defense is a new tool in the cat and mouse game between attacker and defender. Attackers beware. Securing your identity is no longer a guarantee.
Job relocation is all about change and Crown World Mobility is changing with the times.

The Danbury-based mobility company recently launched a rebranding effort that includes different colors, a revamped website, new senior leadership structure and renewed commitment to making life simpler in a stressful time for its clients.

Our new branding, value propositions and website reflect the direction our business is headed, while our new products and senior team structure are aligned to market shifts, Curt Smith, group vice president at Crown World Mobility, said. All these changes are steps on our journey towards creating and delivering the highest possible value for clients and customers.

The companys new blue and coral color scheme has been rolled out across the companys 101 offices in 53 countries. Smith said the importance of the change in colors pales in comparison to the new customer service and sales goals, but it does often provide the first impression of the company.

The new website, which also reflects the companys new color scheme, better reflects who we are in the marketplace and where we are going in the future.

Crown World Mobility employs 52 people in Danbury, where it competes in the competitive mobility industry with the likes of Cartus, one of Danburys largest employers.

The rebranding and other changes come on the heels of Crown World Mobilitys acquisition of Time Relocation, which significantly boosted the companys technological expertise. The move added a cloud-based technology platform to Crowns global service network.

It was the perfect time to bring it all together, Smith said from the companys Old Ridgebury Road office.

Crown will soon launch its online lump sum management tool, which gives employers greater financial transparency and offers relocating employees more flexibility and control over a move.

Lisa Mendelsohn, regional director and head of business development in North America, said the company is responding to the changing landscape of relocations with creative solutions. More than in the past, mobility companies must handle changing social values such as same-sex marriage, multigenerational family units and disorders such as depression as they relate to international relocations and immigration laws.

An employee with depression needing temporary housing would likely be placed in a communal or group setting rather than a hotel, which can be lonely and isolating, she said. We have a creative response to health and well-being, she said. Relocating is stressful. Its a new job, new boss, new home, new schools. How do we simplify the process?

Mendelsohn said Crown World Mobility gives each client a single point person to contact for help, regardless of the topic.

Its alive, but its evolved and adapted, Smith said. Its a creative space; thats the great part about mobility. Its a fun space to be in.

Crown World Mobility is a division of the Crown Worldwide Group, which is headquartered in Hong Kong. The 53-year-old company moved from Brookfield to Danbury in 2013.

Crown has a long and impressive history in the mobility industry and is uniquely placed to leverage the benefits of being part of a global family of businesses, Norah Franchetti, group vice president of marketing, said. It was important to us to recognize our heritage while signaling to the market our vision for the future.

The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
It was called Kika smartphone messaging application that allowed people to trade stories and pornography involving young boys in sexual situations.

Now Robert Dudukovich,24, of Wakeman, Ohio, the accused chat group manager, has been indicted, arrested and being transported to Connecticut to stand charges.

The indictment assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Meyer in New Haven accuses Dudukovich of five counts of distribution child pornography and one count of aiding and abetting the transportation of child pornography. Each charges carries a mandatory minimum five-year prison term.

He was arrested by federal agents in Berlin Heights, Ohio and ordered detained by a federal magistrate in Toledo pending his being brought to Connecticut by federal marshals.

The indictment alleges that between July 10, 2017 and October 4, 2017, Dudukovich managed the chat group which was a forum for members to discuss sexual interest in underage boys as well as trade child pornography. It accuses Dudukovich of providing images and videos of child pornography to a person in Connecticut.

.The child pornography included videos of a minor engaged in sexual acts with another minor and one showing a minor and an adult engaged in sexual acts.

The indictment also charges Dudukovich with sharing his Dropbox account with members. A Dropbox is an application that allows people to exchange materials on the internet through uploads and downloads.

U.S. Attorney John Bull Durham commended the U.S. Attorneys office and agents in Ohio for helping in the investigation with is part of the U.S. Department of Justices Project Safe Childhood Initiative.

Durham urged residents who suspect child explotation to contact the tip line at www.cybertipline.com.
Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

NORWALK  With temperatures expected to be in the 90s on Thursday, 11 Norwalk Public Schools without air conditioning will dismiss students early.

There will be a two-hour early dismissal at Nathan Hale, Ponus, Roton, West Rocks, Cranbury, Naramake, Kendall, Rowayton, Silvermine, Tracey and Wolfpit.
Editors note: This story was originally published on Sept. 5 at 1:30 p.m. and was updated Sept. 6 at 12:32 p.m. Click here for Entrepreneur's full coverage of PlantLab.

Adam Zucker, CEO of PlantLab, a plant-based culinary school formerly owned by celebrity chef Matthew Kenney, faces 35 felony charges after his Aug. 21 arrest.

The felonies, outlined in a complaint for an arrest warrant filed by the Superior Court of the State of California, were all allegedly committed by Zucker while he was at a previous job: executive vice president of licensing at Artissimo Designs, a ready-to-hang wall art company. Between January 2011 and July 2015, Zucker allegedly embezzled about $2.4 million, and between April 2012 and July 2015, he allegedly laundered close to $1.9 million. He also allegedly filed false personal income tax returns for the years 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

"When Artissimo discovered Mr. Zucker's wrongdoing, Artissimo reported the matter to the police," said Roger G. Jones, an attorney representing the company.

The complaint is dated June 13, 2018 -- more than two months before Zuckers arrest -- and signed by both the district attorney and the investigator, Brandon Browning. The court recommended Zuckers bail be set at $790,000.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Consumer Affairs in July opened an investigation into Zucker's company, PlantLab.

Following a consumer complaint, the Bureau became aware that PlantLab was operating an unapproved education institution, said Matt Woodcheke, public information officer at the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Woodcheke recommended PlantLab students reach out to the Bureaus Office of Student Assistance and Relief to see what options are available to them online or by calling toll-free (888) 370-7589. Those affected students are significant in number: One Facebook group, PlantLab Scam, has 230 members and counting.

On Aug. 29, PlantLab emailed customers to say CEO Adam Zucker -- a former colleague of Kenney and the sole owner of the company -- had been unreachable since Aug. 21, the same day he was arrested. All courses at all locations are canceled until further notice, the company stated, calling Zucker the only person solely responsible for all finances and location payments.

Related: CEO of Culinary School Who 'Disappeared' Appears to Have Spent a Week in Jail

Zucker forwarded an email to Entrepreneur that he said he sent to employees on Wednesday apologizing for his silence -- and explaining why PlantLab completely imploded.

It all seems to boil down to one simple thing: There wasnt enough money, and he wrote that he spent what funds the company did have to bandage problems rather than fix them effectively. He wrote that due to growing financial setbacks such as high weekly expenses and overhead, as well as the need for more capital, he took on soaring debts -- including a number of merchant cash advances (MCA), which offer fast cash in exchange for a percentage of future sales and are typically accompanied by high interest rates. According to Zucker, those debited portions of sales eventually totaled more than $20,000 per day at one point.

Between June and August, Zucker wrote, he took loans from his parents, brother-in-law and friends in New York and Los Angeles totaling $470,000. I have no ability to pay [them] back at this point, he wrote. This is all in addition to the money which was loaned to the company from investors.

But PlantLabs financial woes werent contained within the company. The hundreds of students who paid for plant-based cooking courses such as Raw Desserts and Essentials of Superfoods are now out thousands of dollars with no promise of a refund.

Natalie Golba, an on-site student at PlantLabs Venice location, said she prepaid for three courses and was in the middle of the second when the company emailed students saying courses were discontinued. To get a discount, Golba paid $10,000 in advance for the courses instead of the retail value of $17,000. I paid Adam cash and never got the receipt, which was strange, she said. I wrote to Adam, asked him to give it back  but he didnt reply."

Another student, who asked to remain anonymous due to a potential forthcoming lawsuit, said she was a student from the Matthew Kenney Cuisine era and has yet to complete the third course she prepaid for. I was never informed when the company changed ownership, nor were any terms and conditions sent to me about this, she said. Ive tried unsuccessfully to reach PlantLab about setting up my Level III course.  I was thinking about a career change  [but] the whole experience left both me and a colleague with such a bad impression.

One student-to-be from Croatia, Dijana Sinovcic, said she had booked three courses at PlantLabs Los Angeles location starting in Jan. 2019. She said she invested the majority of her savings in the tuition -- which cost her almost $10,000 -- and transferred her current business to her partner since she had planned to not be in Croatia.

In an interview with Entrepreneur on Thursday, Zucker said not being able to refund students immediately is killing him. I dont have a dollar to my name, he said. Im doing everything possible to make it right by them.

One former employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions, worked with Zucker during his entire time at Matthew Kenney Cuisine and a few months after he bought PlantLab. The employee said working under Zucker raised red flags -- such as his emphasis on bringing in money fast and a requirement for employees to be available 24/7, as well as his seeming lack of experience in culinary education -- but since no one seemed aware that Zucker was the sole owner of PlantLab, employees werent concerned at the time.

It just became a very, very chaotic workplace, and now I know its because he was ... worrying that he was going to be locked up, said the employee, who left a few months after Zucker purchased PlantLab.

Former PlantLab employee Shannon Bronson said she resigned from her position Friday after several days of the most stress weve ever felt.

Our CEO, Adam Zucker, seemingly disappeared for a week but was actually in jail for multiple charges of money laundering, embezzlement and tax evasion from previous employers, Bronson wrote on Instagram. You can imagine our shock when suddenly he went missing and none of the rents at our academies had been paid, amongst so, so many other terrifying discoveries. He was the only person in charge of the companys money management, and now we can see why.

On social media, Bronson wrote that employees were forced to stop operating in a matter of days and the company fell apart quickly. She wrote that she could have never imagined Zucker was capable of this behavior.

I have never experienced such a sense of betrayal, manipulation and insanity in my life, she wrote. To all the people hurt in the trail of his mess, Im so very sorry. We are in the same boat and we feel for you.

In his Wednesday email to employees, Zucker wrote that he was searching for a company or person who would take over PlantLab, re-hire employees and cure student issues.

I would not be involved, he wrote.

This story is developing and may be updated.

Related:

CEO of Culinary School PlantLab Charged With Embezzling $2.4 Million

CEO of Culinary School Who 'Disappeared' Appears to Have Spent a Week in Jail

The CEO of a Culinary School Is Missing. Students Are Now on the Hook for Thousands Paid in Tuition.



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Germany Promotes Cybersecurity Research

Germany has created announced a new agency to fund research on cybersecurity and to end its reliance on digital technologies from the United States, China and other countries.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Reuters that Germany needed new tools to become a top player in cyber security and shore up European security and independence.

"It is our joint goal for Germany to take a leading role in cyber security on an international level," Seehofer told a news conference with Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (pictured).

"We have to acknowledge we're lagging behind, and when one is lagging, one needs completely new approaches."

The agency is a joint interior and defence ministry project.

Germany, like many other countries, faces a daily barrage of cyber attacks on its government and industry computer networks. However, the opposition Greens criticised the project. "This agency wouldn't increase our information technology security, but further endanger it," said Greens lawmaker Konstantin von Notz.

The agency's work on offensive capabilities would undermine Germany's diplomatic efforts to limit the use of cyber weapons internationally, he said. "As a state based on the rule of law, we can only lose a cyber politics arms race with states like China, North Korea or Russia," he added, calling for "scarce resources" to be focused on hardening vulnerable systems.

Germany and other European countries also worry about their dependence on U.S. technologies. This follows revelations in 2012 by U.S. NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden of a massive spying network, as well as the U.S. Patriot Act which gave the U.S. government broad powers to compel companies to provide data.

"As a federal government we cannot stand idly by when the use of sensitive technology with high security relevance are controlled by other governments. We must secure and expand such key technologies of our digital infrastructure," Seehofer said.

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Last week, the annual RBI report came as a verdict on one of the defining acts of the Narendra Modi government  demonetisation  and the great Indian money count that followed. The results of extinguishing 86 per cent of Indias currency, belatedly announced after 22 months, we now know, are underwhelming.

Over 99 per cent of the Rs 15.3 lakh crore worth of cancelled bank notes are back in the banking system.

Till the government establishes otherwise, there is no black money, since all the money came back. We know that this is not true. At that time, there was talk of Rs 3 lakh crore not coming back, which would have been a windfall for the central government. Now the government has set itself up for the humongous task of discovering how much of this money in the banking system was black money.

What Prime Minister Modi did not bargain for is the ingenuity of the Indian mind and the venality of the banking system. This is the time to evaluate whether his audacious, some say reckless, act benefitted the country or not.

India Today cover story, Demon in the Detail, for September 17, 2018.

The RBI report reopened old wounds and brought back memories of the trauma the Indian economy was subjected to on November 8, 2016, with heartbreaking stories of personal hardship, endless queues outside banks, jobs disappearing, especially in agriculture and the informal sector where most of India is employed.

The government is fortunate that Indians, particularly the deprived, have a high threshold of suffering. In any other cash-dominated economy, such a severe measure would have triggered riots.

At the time of the announcement of demonetisation, three objectives were declaredeliminating black money, detecting fake currency and blocking the funding of terrorism. The proverbial killing of many birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, the birds are still flying. The alleged black money is now supposedly in the banks, but is yet to be identified; since all the money came back, the existence of fake currency is a mystery. There seems to be no reduction in terrorism, and there is more money in circulation than before, making digitisation claims quite hollow.

To be fair to PM Modi, since he was swept into office in 2014 on the promise of good governance and a crackdown on corruption, he has made a concerted effort to combat the long-standing menace of black money. It may seem tempting to dismiss demonetisation as a capricious act but people who have known the prime minister intimately tell me that nothing he does is ever unplanned. His actions may seem random, but later you figure they were all part of a larger plan. And so it was with demonetisation. He constituted a Special Investigation Team, introduced the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act to curb black money, renegotiated tax treaties and information exchange agreements with tax havens like Cyprus, Singapore and Mauritius to prevent money from being stashed overseas and floated an income declaration scheme to channelise black money back into the system. Demonetisation was to have delivered the coup de grace to the black money monster.

Also, we must not forget that Modi is a politician. Besides all the economic justifications for this action, demonetisation was also a political act. A signal that he was going after the ill-gotten gains of the rich for the benefit of the poor. It worked for a while, as was evident in the massive victory in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections four months later.

In the multiple schemes launched by the government, it recovered Rs 44,000 crore of black money, and heightened tax compliance. A very commendable effort. But was the pain worth the gain? The jury is still out on that.

Our cover story, 'Demon in the Detail', put together by Deputy Editor MG Arun and Senior Editor Shweta Punj, looks at the road ahead after demonetisation and the war against black money. We also have a panel of five economists experts weighing in on this issue.

Now it is dawning on everyone that the war against illegal money is a long process and not episodic. Now that all the dust has settled on the issue, a silver lining has emerged. The direct tax payer base has increased from 40 million to 67.5 million.

India is notorious for its non-compliance on paying taxes. Can you imagine, we have only about 60,000 individuals with a gross income of over Rs 1 crore? Considering the conspicuous consumption one sees all around, there is still a lot of work the government has to do to make an honest nation of us. No other government in the past has made such a determined effort to target black money. The basic flaw in the government's approach is that all its efforts are towards reducing the supply of black money; it has done precious little to reduce the demand for black money by the corrupt. It can only be done by living up to the promise of minimum government, which the NDA government has not delivered. No wonder the new black money is back.

The government is also on the trail of extremely high value deposits in 1.8 million bank accounts made soon after November 2016. Income tax notices have been sent to over 300,000 persons who had deposited over Rs 10 lakh in their bank accounts but had not filed their returns. The government needs to deploy Artificial Intelligence-based tools to track the money trails to these high-value deposits and identify black money. It needs to do this without terrorising people or slowing down the economy. In other words, gain without causing any more pain.

In the end, like most changes in India, we might just blunder into brilliance, eventually.

(India Today Editor-in-Chief's note for cover story, Demon in the Detail; September 17, 2018.)

Also read: How much more proof do we need that demonetisation was unnecessary?
The much awaited and talked about US-India 2+2 strategic dialogue will now be held on September 6, when US Secretaries of State and Defence meet their Indian counterparts Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman. This will be the first such dialogue between the two countries after two postponements  and it would be prudent not to go overboard with ones expectations.

India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (L). US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R). (Photo: Reuters)

This meeting is at a time when there is considerable churn in the geo-politics of the region.

As the US seeks an honourable and early exit from Afghanistan, intelligence representatives from four countries with whom US relations are at low-ebb for various reasons  Russia, Iran, China and Pakistan  met in Pakistan in the first week of July. The agenda included possible policies in Afghanistan post-US withdrawal.

All the four countries have had independent links with the Taliban as they prepare for this American withdrawal. The Russians are giving the Americans additional moments of anxiety with their largest ever tri-wing three-nation military exercise since the collapse of the USSR with China and Mongolia. The signalling to American strategists, through Vostok 2018 scheduled in mid-September is obvious. It is an indication of a new level in the Russia-China geo-political understanding.

The geo-political message to the Americans is very clear  as it should be to India.

The Chinese in Kabul. (Photo: Reuters)

Americans have another related worry in the Indo-Pacific. Until the turn of the century, US military presence compared to the Chinese was overwhelmingly in Americas favour. This equation began to change in the last two decades and by 2017, the number of Chinese combat aircraft, naval vessels and missiles had begun to exceed that of the Americans in the western Pacific. American strategists now predict that by 2025, while the American presence may remain unchanged, Chinese military deployments will be such that its military capabilities will extend to the second island chain  this only confirms the American fear that the Chinese seek to replace the US as the primary power in Asia, undermine the US-led alliance systems and US credibility.

The National Defence Authorisation Act 2019 would require America's Executive branch to prepare a whole of government strategy while dealing with China. The intention is to safeguard US interests against Chinese industrial acquisitions, political influence and regional and global military capabilities, and that these should be with congressional committees by March 1, 2019  this is what would be uppermost in the visitors minds when they meet their Indian hosts.

Indians remains concerned about growing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean littoral as China continues with its debt-trap diplomacy. The news that the Chinese were developing the worlds new electromagnetic surface to surface rocket, that give the PLA military advantage in high altitude regions along the Himalayas and Tibet, would not be lost on Indian military planners. The Chinese scientists assert that the PHL-03 multiple launch rocket system will have a range of 650km. This disclosure comes just ahead of the India-US bilateral dialogue.

Meanwhile, China is serious about opening alternative sea routes to Europe. Chinese scientists have established an unmanned ice station in the Arctic Ocean as an observation post for ocean fluxes, sea ice and the atmosphere. This is ahead of the plans to open a sea route from Shanghai to Rotterdam taking advantage of climate changes. This would reduce the present 20800-kilometer route via the Suez by 8000km and two weeks.

Getting Nearer: Shanghai to Rotterdam will soon be two weeks closer to each other. (Photo: Hanjin Shipping)

The Danish shipping company AP Moller-Maersk Group will be sending its first container ship by end-August. North America, Europe and East Asia would eventually have new connectivity and Russia will be a key littoral. Big powers concerned with world domination would be factoring this into their calculations.

Our Americans visitors will surely be talking about terrorism and various military, trade and economic aspects of Indo-US relations, but they will be laying stress on the future Indian role in the Indo-Pacific region. They will want India to provide support and stability to the free and open order in the Indo-Pacific. The hope is that this would force China to divert its forces more thinly from the western sphere to the eastern regions.

The Line Between Us: An Indian soldier stands against his Chinese counterpart. (Photo: Indiatoday.in)

Even assuming that Chinese tolerance of enhanced Indo-US military cooperation may have become higher, it is doubtful if this can be taken as a certainty. The Doklam military standoff had indicated that there were still quite a few problematic issues that could be escalated by China, should it want to test India again. Indian strategists would also be aware that while the US may want to improve Indian military capabilities discreetly, it is not going to get directly involved in any operations with India.

The US must also understand that Indian security interests are to its east and west and that the Indian Ocean is now going to be the new security frontier with an increasing Chinese presence. By simply concentrating on the South China Sea, the US is losing valuable space to China elsewhere.

The US-India-Japan Malabar Exercise was held earlier this year. (Photo: Reuters)

Other than that, the implications of CAATSA on Indias relations with Iran and Russia will presumably be discussed. The understandable Indian concern would be how far would CAATSA affect India-US defence and security cooperation and even though waivers might be available; this does add an uncertainty to the relationship.

The US has been keen that India should sign the three foundational agreements to enable enhanced defence cooperation; this is most certainly going to be an issue that will be discussed. The three accords  Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)  are fundamental to any US military cooperation but have clauses that make Indians apprehensive that their security interests would be at risk.

Although the first two have been modified to suit Indian reservations, the US is likely to insist on the original agreements.

This will have to be resolved to mutual satisfaction.

Today, resident nations from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean and from the Suez to the Sea of Japan jostle for power and control in Asia. There is one non-resident player. Can it triumph over the other players? Surely, this thought will feature strongly in the minds of all four leaders when they meet shortly.

Also read: Jalaluddin Haqqani is dead - but the Haqqani Network of terrorism is alive
Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Wednesday announced the recall of Prius hybrid vehicles in India to inspect faulty engine wire harness that can cause fire, as part of a global recall by its parent firm.

The company is implementing this recall in India to inspect engine wire harness and correct, if required, Prius vehicles manufactured between June 2015 to May 2018, the company said in a statement.

Toyota dealers will inform the affected customers soon. Currently ten vehicles may be affected in India, it added.

Globally, Toyota Motor announced recall of over a million units of its Prius and C-HR compact crossover vehicles due to risk of fire because of faulty engine wire harness.

About 1.03 million vehicles built between June 2015 and May 2018 will be recalled for safety checks, the Toyota said. The affected models include Prius, Prius PHV and C-HR.
A fall in the number of deep sea organisms illustrates the adverse impact of mining our oceans. This ruthless exploitation must end

Oceans are the lifeblood of planet Earth and humankind. They flow over nearly three-quarters of our planet and hold 97 per cent of the planets water. They produce more than half of the oxygen in the atmosphere and absorb most of the carbon from it. About half of the worlds population lives within the coastal zone, and ocean-based businesses contribute more than $500 billion to the worlds economy. With credentials such as these, oceans of the world need to be treated with utmost care. Sadly, this is not the case. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation report, oceans are already filled with about 165 million tonnes of plastic, and it is estimated that by 2050, the weight of plastic floating in the oceans of the world will far outweigh the combined weight of fishes in it. To make matters worse, the prospect of deep-sea mining for precious metals, gas and petroleum is emerging as a serious threat.

The sea below 200 metres depth accounts for 95 per cent of the volume of the ocean, making it the largest habitat for life on Earth. Though it is perpetually cold, generally dark and subject to extreme pressures, the deep-sea contains a wealth of unique and unusual species, habitats and ecosystems. It also contains vast sources of mineral resources, some of them in unique or highly enriched concentrations. Attempts to recover these resources during the 1970s and 1980s were impaired by legal uncertainties and technical constraints, along with metal prices that did not justify the enormous investments required. Today, legal uncertainties have been largely resolved  marine mining and environmental monitoring technology have advanced rapidly. This has led to a renewed vigour with which ocean prospecting for its wealth has begun in right earnest.

Given the gold rush of sorts for the wealth of the oceans, the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) explicitly laid down the rules and regulations for harnessing the ocean wealth. UNCLOS states that the ocean wealth within territorial water of a country is to be managed by the said country but those useful deposits beyond the territorial water are to be cultivated and extracted for the benefit of the entire mankind. UNCLOS also clearly mandates that ocean mining will keep environmental safety on priority. But as it usually happens, the mere presence of such laws have not ensured that the sea ecology today is safe  instead, the ocean prospecting commercial companies across the world are indulging in illegal practices by exploiting the loopholes in regulations. The fact that oceans are too large to monitor does not help matters either.

In order to improve the policing of mining activities, international bodies, such as the United Nations, would do better to first commission required studies that can record the biodiversity, species richness and abundance besides biomass and habitat mapping. These aspects, along with a study of the connectivity and life cycles of local species, temporal dynamics of deep-sea ecosystems, and ecotoxicology associated with the exposure to re-suspended metals and materials, will help understand as to how and what impact a proposed mining operation will have in a specific part of the deep ocean bed. Moreover, a detailed study of underwater currents is also necessary to gauge the possible adverse impact of a deep-sea mining operation in adjoining areas.

Closer home, India too is waking up to the benefits of deep-sea mining. The country, through an agreement with the International Seabed Authority (ISA), has established the right to mine polymetallic nodules present over 750,000 sq km in the seabed in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB), which can help India improve the availability of nickel, copper, cobalt and manganese. But this is where the face-off with the environment occurs. The scientific community admits that it is difficult to pick an environment-friendly technology and to predict the disturbances mining and related activities would cause to the seabed. The likely impacts of deep-sea mining would be on the organisms in the seabed from where the nodules would be mined.

Apart from the baseline study as prescribed by the ISA, the National Institute of Oceanography scientists studied macrofauna in the CIOB after simulating a disturbance. The Indian Deep-sea Environment Experiment (INDEX) was conducted at 5,300m depth. The pre-disturbance study showed 65 per cent bristle worms and 32 per cent crustaceans (fauna with a shell covering their bodies), followed by other groups. The post-disturbance study carried out after two months showed 27 per cent bristle worms and 28 per cent crustaceans. This fall in ocean floor organisms numbers is enough to illustrate the adverse impact of deep-sea mining.

There is an urgent need to protect the fragile ocean ecology from the oncoming deluge of deep-sea mining projects that may hit the CIOB very soon. The Government must act proactively and ensure that strict ground rules are established for ocean prospecting and mining. In addition to this, there must be an establishment of protected areas and reserves besides practising mutually exclusive mining strategies that seek to leave large, adjoining areas undisturbed by direct mining. The Government must also ensure that the mining companies use the latest mining equipment that reduces environmental damage footprint. Measures such as these will preserve the sanctity of our oceans and ensure avoidance of ruthless exploitation for nature reserves.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)
Women seem to have been the main focus of the master artists creativity. His representations depict the dynamic of their changing relationship with a male-dominated environment

KG Subramanyan, who left for the hereafter in 2016 at the age of 92, was an artist working with multiple media, besides being a scholar, teacher and intellectual who also wrote verse, sometimes reflecting a deep angst and, more often, with his tongue in his cheek and wit  sometimes acerbic  on his sleeve. His fame, as is widely known, rests on his art which constituted a massive, varied and evolving corpus  drawings, paintings, terracotta sculptures  reflecting his deep insights into the human condition under an over-arching moral universe marked by an eternal conflict between benevolent and malevolent forces, which also raged within individuals.

His art mirrored not only the states of vulnerability, helplessness, submission and defeat  as well as those of strength, rebelliousness, determination and triumph  into which the conflict led human beings, but the latters search for pleasure, joy and happiness distilled from events of quotidian life. In sharp contrast to the puritanical abhorrence of the human body, he depicted it in its diverse manifestations from the beautiful to the ugly as well as its many postures induced by emotions within, which were also reflected in facial countenances, particularly the expression in the eyes.

One sees all this in his artwork featuring in the exhibition titled Women Seen and Remembered: Drawings by KG Subramanyam (1953-2016) staged by Art Heritage and spread out in two spaces  Shridharani Gallery and Art Heritage  at the Triveni Kala Sangam in Delhi. Curated and designed by Amal Allana, director of Art Heritage, the exhibition comprises approximately 250 works from the Seagull Foundation for the Arts and The Alkazi Collection of Art. Of these, the ones from the former will go back to it at the end of the show.

The exhibition has a special significance in terms of Subramanyans work as women seemed to have been the main focus of his creativity, accounting for more than 50 per cent of his drawings and sketches. Understandably, his perception and representation of them have been evolving, a phenomenon clearly discernible in the chronologically-arranged exhibits spread over roughly six decades  which also depict the dynamics of their changing relationship with their male-dominated environment. Thus, from the pliant, submissive and domesticated beings depicted through the slumped and drooping postures of their bodies in the 1950s, they are transformed in the 1970s into an unabashedly flirtatious individuals aware of their selves and proudly displaying their blossoming sensuality with scarcely-concealed sexual undertones.

One sees another change in the 1980s and 1990s when women appear wearing, or preparing to wear, masks. One wonders whether it was to meet on even terms men who are also seen wearing masks. Or were these meant to be devices to show to different people the aspects of ones self that one wanted to show them? The tendency is global and extends to the deeper exercise of changing ones face itself. It will be interesting to recall here the following lines from TS Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrok: There will be time, there will be time/ To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;/ There will be time to murder and create,/ And time for all the works and days of hands/ That lift and drop a question on your plate..

The idea of preparing a face or wearing a mask to meet faces and masks indicates an autonomy of intent and signifies a certain coming of age, a certain desire and ability to negotiate with the world on ones own terms. Post-2000, the woman is depicted as a shaper of event, destinies and discourse. She is Durga the goddess with 10 arms, each holding a weapon, who slays Mahishasura, the Buffalo Demon. Durga, is also a manifestation of Parvati, wife of Lord Siva, who also appears in other forms such as Uma, Gauri, Bhairavi, Ambika and Kali, the latter an awe-inspiring presence in black in the Hindu pantheon who rules over Time, Change, Power and Destruction.

Subramanyan showed women as having the same strengths and attributes as goddesses by depicting them in close proximity of the latter. Viewing the progressive unfolding of his presentation of women and their growing self-awareness, assertiveness and consciousness of their sensuality, one wonders whether this was a result of his encounter with the movement for gender justice and womens bodily integrity that emerged and grew in strength over the same period. This writer has not encountered any writing on the subject. He must, however, have been familiar at least with its broad contours  given his focus on women and responsiveness to the social and political currents of his time. The latter aspect of his concerns was manifest in the display of his political works in the exhibition Seeking a Poetry of the Real (also curated by Amal Allana) by Art Heritage in collaboration with The Seagull Foundation for the Arts in 2017, the 40th anniversary year of the founding of Art Heritage in Delhi in 1977 by Ebrahim and Roshen Alkazi.

Taken together, the two exhibitions provide an informed and enlightening view of the works of a master creator whose passing has left a void that will continue to be deeply felt.

(The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)
Indias industrial development after Independence was designed to be driven by growth of the public sector. Prior to Independence, sectors such as railways, post and telegraph services and ordnance factories were entirely under Government control and constituted the bulk of public sector business. Yet, the manner in which these functioned then was quite different from what has evolved in recent decades. The Indian Railways, for instance, was a highly professional organisation with decision-making in the hands of competent and well-trained executives, which is still very much the case today. But in terms of future directions and major financial powers, the role of the executive has been curtailed over time. Significantly, on matters other than those involving broad policy, earlier there was no interference from above in respect of operational and management issues.

However, particularly since the 1970s, there has been a growing interference in the functioning of the Indian Railways, the state electricity boards as well as other public sector organisations, which were seen essentially as milch cows for the benefit of the politicians and the establishment in general. The result is that these organisations have become overstaffed with a decline in the calibre of employees and a reduction in the quality of human resources. The public sector has become a convenient place for providing employment to large number of people who are followers or constituents of those in power. This is one of the chronic problems ailing Air India as well, due to which the airline has been unable to attract any offers in response to the recent effort at privatisation.

The case of Air India is particularly pathetic. This was one of the finest airlines in the world and had a remarkable head start over several others which are thriving today, such as Emirates, Lufthansa and even Singapore Airlines. Among many factors on account of which this move failed is that the retention of 24 per cent of stake in the hands of the Government of India scared away potential investors who were concerned at the possibility of interference by the Government.

But the main drawback to an enthusiastic response was the pathetic state of the financial state of Air India. Any potential investor would have been saddled with a huge debt burden, a large number of permanent staff who are perhaps of questionable value to the organisation and a decline in Air Indias share in the domestic market, partly as an outcome of the ill-conceived merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. Any passenger for whom Air India was the airline of choice in the 1980s, as in the case of this writer, would feel sad at flying the national carrier now. The class of service on board is nowhere near what it used to be.

The state of the aircraft and its interior are shabby, and even the cuisine served in every class, including business class, has declined. On a recent flight from New York to Delhi, happily, the punctuality at takeoff was perfect. But curiously what used to be a cabin only for business class now incorporates a row of first class, which was empty. No doubt this innovation must have been carried out to ensure that politicians and senior bureaucrats do not have to travel in the ignominy of humble business class. It was not long ago that politicians, both in and out of power, as well as bureaucrats of the rank of Joint Secretary and above, were routinely upgraded to first class along with their families.

Unfortunately, India has not allowed the public sector to reach the levels of excellence which would serve the country and the public well. The result has been a record of recurrent losses, an absence of innovation and vision which are the defining qualities of a successful business enterprise. Typically, it is much too often that the Government, official designated to serve on the board of a public sector enterprise, has the last word in decision-making, far above that of the chairman of the board. The entire body language and dynamics in the boardroom reflect that reality.

If we were to study the functioning of public enterprise in other countries, where success is evident, the relationship between the Government and the enterprise is distinctly different from what is evident in India. It is for this reason that organisations like, Electricite de France (EDF) and the Societe Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF), the French National Railways, are shining examples of outstanding professionalism, world-class innovation and overall performance, which have been the pride of France and an emblem of economic success over a long time.

Significantly, in India too, there have been periods of notable success of specific public sector organisations but this was essentially the result of competent and influential leaders, such as V Krishnamurthy of BHEL and Maruti, Mantosh Sondhi of the Bokaro Steel Plant, Dr Verghese Kurien of Amul and Dr NB Prasad of ONGC. These were industrial managers and captains of enterprises who would not allow any undue interference in the organisations they headed.

Even more impressive than the two above-mentioned public sector organisations in France is the case of a developing country initiative in Brazil, which goes by the name of Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer), which is now a world-class producer of aircraft and aeronautical equipment. Embraer was created in 1969, and by contrast, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited was established through the visionary initiative of Walchand Hirachand in 1940 in association with the Government of Mysore and one-third participation of the Government of India. In 1963 the latter was established as a totally Government-owned company, and the rest, as they say, is history.

It is often said that business should not be the business of the Government. But given the large investments that we have in the public sector in India, a new dynamic is essential for defining the nexus between the Government and the public sector, by which accountability to Parliament and the people is not diluted. And it should be carried out in a manner that ensures innovation and success in the market are not compromised for any public sector enterprise. Is this an issue that perhaps Parliament needs to debate on the basis of enlightened analysis and global experiences? Even for privatisation of the public sector, its dynamism and success in the market are essential.

(The writer is former chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2002-15)
We must not read too much into Pakistans proposal for conflict resolution in Kashmir. Instead of chasing a chimera, New Delhi should concentrate on countering the threat that Islamabad poses

There is nothing to get excited over the reported statement by Pakistans Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari, that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Government was preparing a proposal for resolving the Kashmir conflict and that it would be ready in a week. Without providing any details of the proposal, she has stated that it would be circulated among all stakeholders and presented to Pakistans Cabinet. The latter is unlikely to reject it. Director-General of Pakistans Institute of Strategic Studies, before assuming her present office, she is known to be close to the Pakistan Army. Hence, any proposal, drafted within her knowledge, is unlikely to contain anything that the Generals disapprove of. The Cabinet knows this as well as the fact that the military has the final say in all matters relating to defence, foreign policy and relations with India. It also knows the price that civilian Governments pay if they buck the Generals. In any case, the question of any defiance of the Generals is unlikely to arise here because it is the military which has rigged the parliamentary elections, held on July 25, 2018, and installed Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Government in power.

Herein lies the first hurdle. Any proposal blessed by the Pakistan Army would have to rest on two givens. First, Kashmir is the core issue in India-Pakistan relations, which cannot be normalised without a solution to it. Second, a solution acceptable to it must mean  whatever the language used  India handing over at least the Kashmir Valley to it. On its part, India does not regard Kashmir as the core issue in ties. It is cross-border terrorism and an end to it as well as bringing to justice those masterminding the terror attack on Mumbai that lasted from November 26 to 29, 2008, and killed 166 people and nine terrorists. The tenth, Ajmal Khan, was caught and hanged.

Pakistan has done precious little against the lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT), a terrorist organisation banned by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia and Australia, which had planned and executed the attack. Islamabads formal banning of it is clearly a joke as it continues to enjoy protection of the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate. Indeed, the political party established by it, the Milli Muslim league, contested the July parliamentary elections in Pakistan. It is another matter that it performed miserably. Pakistans prosecution of Zaki-ur Rehman lakhvi, the man who planned and implemented the November 26, 2008, attack on behalf of the leT from the blueprint to the implementation stage, was clearly conducted as a sham and he was finally released from jail on bail on April 10, 2015. He remains at large, as does Azam Cheema, the mastermind behind the serial train blasts in Mumbai on July 7, 2006, and other operations in India until he ceased to be operationally active about four months before 26/11, reportedly because of diabetes.

As to the core issue, India cannot hand over Kashmir not just because it is an integral part of the country but for strategic reasons. Pakistans annexation of Kashmir would be the first step towards the realisation of the most important goal of its strategic doctrine  Indias balkanisation. That the latter is the goal becomes clear to anyone who reads the book, India: A Study in Profile, by lt-Col Javed Hassan of the Pakistani Army, who retired as a lieutenant-General. Representing a study conducted for the Pakistani Armys Faculty of Research and Doctrinal Studies, Command and Staff College, Quetta, it was distributed by the Services Book Club, Rawalpindi. Neither of these could have happened without official sanction from the highest level, which, in turn indicated that it articulated  or was at least in sync with  the official doctrine.

The book states, India was hostage to a centrifugal rather than a centripetal tradition. Stating that this country had a historical inability to exist as a unified state, lt-Col Hassan identified Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and six north-eastern States (wonder why he left one of the seven sisters out) as being completely alienated from mainstream India. Husain Haqqani, who refers to the book in his well-known work Pakistan: Between Mosque And Military, writes that Hassan felt that with some encouragement, the alienated parts of India could become centres of insurgencies that would, at best, dismember India, and, at [the] least weaken Indias ability to seek regional domination for years to come.

lt-Col Hassans book was published in 1990. Pakistans assistance to separatist and secessionist elements in India began much earlier. As B Raman pointed out in his book, Terrorist State as a Frontline Ally, this was was initially the outcome of an assessment made by the Pakistani intelligence community in the early 1950s that keeping India destabilised and its military preoccupied with internal security duties would be one way of neutralising, at little cost, the superiority of the Indian armed forces over their Pakistani counterpart. Its proxy war against India dates back to the 1950s and 1960s when it started training and arming the Naga and Mizo hostiles. It suspended it after the humiliating defeat of its Army in 1971 and started it again  this time in Punjab  after General Zia-ul-Haq seized power in 1977.

letting Pakistan have a role in Kashmir would deprive India of the mountain ranges that now constitute its first line of defence against that country along the loC in Kashmir and the international border in Jammu. This would enable Pakistan to bring its tanks across the mountains to the new border along the plains of Jammu, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, cutting off Indias links with ladakh and making it possible for it to launch a three-pronged armoured attack against India, the other two being from the lahore border and through the deserts of Rajasthan at a place like Jaisalmer. Even if a war does not occur, infiltration of terrorists to the rest of India to ignite Hindu-Muslim tensions and stoke regional ethnic or linguistic fires and/or commit acts of sabotage, would be very difficult to stop.

Clearly, there can be no question of handing over Kashmir or even diluting Indias sovereignty over it. Since this would be unacceptable to Pakistans Generals, it is doubtful whether the talks would even start. Instead of wasting time in preparing briefs over it, New Delhi must focus on how to foil Islamabads sinister designs.

(The writer is Consultant Editor, The Pioneer, and an author)
With PAAS convener Hardik Patels heath continued to deteriorate, the BJP-led Gujarat Government fist time reacted on the fast agitation of the youngster since August 25. In the past 11 days, Hardik has lost 20 kg weight as he is surviving only on water. Medical experts are worrying about possibility of Kidney infection. Despite the fact adamant Patel is firm on his demand of reservation for Patidar community in government jobs and educational institutions under OBC category as well as waiver in farmers debt.

In a press conference on Tuesday senior Gujarat Minister Saurabh Patel claimed that Patidar quota agitation was inspired by Opposition Congress party. Those who are paying visit to the PAAS convener are either belonging to Congress party or anti-BJP elements. It shows that the quota stir is politically motivated. Already the state government has established a commission and board for the economically weaker sections in non-reserved category, said the Minister. He however urged the PAAS leaders to allow doctors to conduct medical check-up on Hardik saying that the state government is worried about his health and a fully-equipped ambulance  ICU on Wheels deployed outside Hardiks house. He thanked people of Patidar community for maintaining peace in the state.

Meanwhile six of the top religious organizations of Patel community mediated between PAAS and the state government and convened an urgent meeting with ministers Kaushik Patel, Saurabh Patel, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Pradeepsinh Jadeja. The leaders of religious organization became active after PAAS supporters request to persuade Hardik to end his ongoing fast agitation as his health continued to deteriorate.
Two days after a major bridge collapse in Kolkata killing three persons and injuring about 26 others, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked the BJP for maligning her Government and Bengal ignoring similar instances in the States ruled by them.

Banerjee who held an urgent meeting to take stock of the dilapidating bridges of the State and asked the police to clear the underbellies of all such bridges from encroachment questioned the destructive mindset of some people who instead of extending hands of cooperation take pleasure in criticising others.

There are some people who condemn others by holding media trial. I am not ready to reply to their queries, Banerjee told the media after the meeting.

Ask these people to first raise questions on the bridge collapses in Varanasi and Maharashtra before poking their nose here, Banerjee said when asked to respond to allegations leveled by the opposition leaders that despite repeated warning by the experts the Government took no step to repair the bridge.

There is a constant effort to malign Bengal whenever there is any incident. I want to ask you that why are you so anti-Bengali? Why do you always try to malign Bengal? Banerjee shot back when asked to comment on the statements made by the BJP leadership.

Laying credence to a preliminary report that blamed the Metro Railways for not taking adequate care while constructing a bridge adjacent to the collapsed flyover causing the damage to the 50-year old structure the Government has asked them to stop work till the inquiry report determining the cause of the collapse of the bridge comes, the Chief Minister said.

Banerjee on Thursday constituted a team headed by the Chief Secretary to determine the reasons behind the collapse of the bridge. The report will be submitted in a weeks time. The Chief Minister also asked the police to ban all the 20-wheeler trucks plying in Kolkata and damaging the old bridges and roads.

She said the smaller trucks are needed for reaching essential commodities. The bigger ones with 20-wheels are all nuisance and cause heavy damage to the bridges and roads. We cannot allow them to run freely from now on. I have asked the police to stop those vehicles from plying in the city.

The Chief Minister also constituted a Bridge Monitoring cell that would audit and inspect the health of the older bridges and submit reports on their state of health. Bengal has over the past a few years seen at least four bridge collapses the latest happening as late as on Tuesday noon.
Shutdown call by upper castes & OBC against draconian provisions gets low response elsewhere

Bharat Bandh called by some upper caste and OBC outfits on Thursday got massive response in the poll-bound Hindi heartland States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan as well as politically crucial States of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. But the shutdown had lukewarm impact elsewhere in the country.

Nearly 50 outfits had called the one-day bandh to protest against the amendment last month to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The amendment Bill passed by Parliament had nullified the safeguards ordered by the Supreme Court against arrests without a preliminary enquiry under the SC/ST law.

Incidentally in Varanasi, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modis Parliamentary constituency, the bandh call received an overwhelming response with majority of shops remaining closed.

Trains were stopped and highways blocked briefly in Bihar while shops downed shutters in some northern States to protest against the recent amendment to the SC/ST Act. Shops, schools and other commercial establishments were closed in parts of Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan appealed to the people saying the State is an island of peace and no one should try to disrupt the harmony, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the bandh has no meaning.

Six policemen were hurt when they confronted protesters blocking traffic in UPs Ballia district. In Agra too, protesters blocked traffic and shops remained shut. But the bandh was largely peaceful in the State.

However, a report from Ballia said BJP MLA from Bairia, Surendra Singh, came out openly in support of the bandh.

Upper caste people made me the MLA and not Muslims and Dalits. I am ready to sacrifice for the upper caste. If my upper caste supporters ask me I can also resign (from my seat) for their sake, Singh said.

Some bandh supporters had heated arguments with another BJP MLA, Anand Swarup Shukla from Ballia Sadar, who refused to back them. Ballia Superintendent of Police Sriparna Ganguly said some people resorted to brick-batting in which six policemen were injured. Normal life was also affected in Agra.

Adityanath stated that the BJP Government is committed towards the welfare of people and development. We never play politics of caste and religion. The law is to protect the downtrodden. The Government will ensure that it will not be misused, Adityanath told reporters in Gonda.

There were scattered incidents of violence, mainly in Bihar, where bandh supporters stormed Patnas Rajendra Nagar terminus and disrupted the movement of trains for about 30 minutes. Trains were briefly disrupted in Rajgir also as commercial establishments remained closed in many parts of Bihar.

Shops and commercial establishments remained largely closed in Bihars capital Patna, but banks and Government offices functioned normally. Protesters gathered before the Bihar BJP headquarters, raising slogans over the betrayal by the party. Some of them also headed towards the office of the Janata Dal (United), a BJP ally.

The bandh supporters attacked Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, MP in Muzaffarpur and former Minister and JD(U) legislator Shyam Rajak in Begusarai. Yadav who was going to Madhubani was attacked near Khabra on the outskirts of Muzaffarpur with bricks and spears. The independent MP from Madhepura alleged it was a conspiracy to eliminate him. All the vehicles following him came under heavy brickbatting and their screens were smashed. While narrating the incident to the media Yadav broke down and said it was only the luck that he was alive.

Rajak, a national secretary of the JD(U) and prominent Dalit face of the party, said his car was attacked in Begusarai and his bodyguard was injured. Later, he went to Balia and registered a case with the police about attack on him.

Congress MLA Siddharatha Sharma was stopped by bandh enforcers near Naubatpur in rural Patna. When the muscle-flexing legislator and his men tried to get away the locals stopped and there were verbal duel between them. Sensing the angry mood of the bandh supporters the MLA retreated hastily.

A police officer was injured during clash between supporters of bandh and the police party. ASP Sanjiv Kumar has rushed to Vena village to control the rampaging crowd where stones were hurled at him. A profusely bleeding cop was rushed to hospital where his condition was stated to be stable.

In Ara, police resorted to lathicharge at several places. At Jagdeo Nagar, the police were attacked by protesters and in retaliation policemen chased the attackers.

The bandh call evoked a strong response in Rajasthan where many shops and businesses, schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Thursday. Shops were shut in Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and other districts in the State.

Most private schools and petrol pumps remained closed in Madhya Pradesh while markets and business establishments in parts of the State were shut. Police said the bandh was observed in a peaceful manner.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathans national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of the upper castes and Other Backward Class participated in the bandh in Madhya Pradesh. He claimed the bandh was effective in almost the entire State, particularly in Katni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas, Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua, Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagar and Ujjain.

In Punjab and Haryana, there was little response to the bandh with people keeping their businesses open in most areas, reports said. But in Punjabs Phagwara shops and commercial establishments remained shut.
TRS chief confident of elections in Nov

Ending month of speculation and suspense, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday recommended the dissolution of the Assembly, paving the way for an early election in the State.

The announcement came just after Chandrasekhar Rao held a brief State Cabinet meeting that passed a one-line resolution for the Assembly dissolution. After the meeting at his official residence, the CM drove straight to the Raj Bhavan and submitted the resolution to Governor ESL Narasimhan. Accepting the recommendation, the Governor asked KCR to continue as the caretaker CM.

The decision to dissolve the Telangana Legislative Assembly has come into effect with Legislature Secretary Narasimha Charyulu issuing a gazette notification.

KCR later called on Chief Electoral Officer Rajath Kumar and formally handed him over the notification informing him about the dissolution.

A confident and gung-ho KCR later declared at a Press conference that he expects the fresh elections to 119-member Assembly will be held in November, along with a few other States and the results will be announced in the first week of December.

Giving the reasons for opting for early polls, at least nine months before they were due, KCR said, We decided to go to the people now to put an end to political fragility in the State caused by senseless, baseless, mindless and meaningless allegations of Opposition.

He said the Oppositions baseless allegations of corruption in drinking water and irrigation projects are impacting the development of the State and creating confusion.

With this curtains were drawn on the first Legislative Assembly of Telangana, the youngest State of India. The first Government of the State, headed by KCR, had taken oath on June 2, 2014.

KCR ruled out any confusion on when the election will be held. There is no need for any confusion. I kept this to myself but the fact is that before the decision to dissolve the Assembly was taken we discussed every possibility with the Chief Election Commissioner and the other election commissioners, he said.

The Chief Minister hoped the process of the elections will start in the first week of October and polling will be held in November.

KCR said there would be no restrictions on the working of his Government henceforth. There is nothing like care-taker Government in the Constitution. A Government is a Government. It is only a moral obligation and I know my limits. Accordingly we will work, the CM said.

Releasing the list of 105 candidates of Telangana Rashtra Samiti, KCR exuded confidence that the party will return to power with a minimum of 100 seats. I have full confidence and trust in the people that they will vote TRS back to power to continue the steady growth and development of Telangana, he said. People of Telangana have seen me and my work over the past 20 years. They have seen what we have done in the past four years, he said, pointing out that in the last four years despite being a new State Telangana created a record by achieving GSDP growth rate of 17.17 per cent and in the first five months of current financial year growth rate of 21.96 per cent. No other State in the country can even touch us, he said.

These figures were issued by the Central Government which is not run by our friendly party, he added.

He said if there was corruption or misrule how such growth would have been possible. In acknowledgement of our work The Economic Times has given me the award of the Reformer of Year. Telangana was given 40 awards and received international acclaim for its achievements, KCR said.

He said an unprecedented peace prevailed in the State as there was not a single communal riot, no fake encounter, no protest or fight by farmers for seeds or fertilisers, no illicit liquor dens. Crime rate was down and the women were safe and secure.

He said welfare programmes undertaken by his Government were necessary to undo the damage suffered by Telangana over the last 50 years rule by Andhras.

Rejecting the allegations of the Opposition, he said, Why fight in Hyderabad. Let us go to the people. Let them decide. If we have not done our work they will reject us, the Chief Minister said.

In the list of TRS candidates, only two sitting members Babu Mohan from Andole and Odelu from Chennur were denied tickets. KCR said the candidates for the remaining 14 seats will also be announced in a week of 10 days.

KCR said he was confident of a second term because of the good work done by his Government over the last four years. We have not only fulfilled all the promises made in our manifesto but also implemented 76 other decisions including financial assistance for the marriage of poor girls of all castes and communities without any demand from the people, the CM said.

He cautioned the people against letting the State slipping into the hands of corrupt and inefficient people who had no idea of the needs of the State. Those making allegations against me were partner in the Governments over the last 50 years and they did nothing for the State and its people, he said.

Lashing out at the Congress, he said, Congress is a curse and number one enemy of Telangana State. He recalled that it was the Pandit Nehru Government which forcefully merged existing State of Telangana and during the Indira Gandhi rule hundreds of Telangana youth were killed for demanding separate State.

He also targeted the Telugu Desam Party as Andhra party and said by trying to join hands with the TDP, the Congress was again trying to take Telangana into the slavery of Andhra. He also called the Congress a Delhi party and warned the people against the slavery of Delhi Congress Sultanate.

Targeting Rahul Gandhi he called him biggest buffoon in the country and said his visits to the State will further benefit the TRS.

He rejected the criticism that the TRS was getting close to the BJP or it will have an alliance with the BJP. There will be no alliance and the State will have triangular contest, KCR said.

He admitted that the MIM was a friendly party but there could be a friendly contest between the two parties in the elections. Giving the reason for treating the MIM as a friendly party he recalled that soon after his Government was formed in the State there were attempts from Delhi to destablilise it. Asaduddin Owaisi called me from Delhi and alerted me and unilaterally and voluntarily announced his full support to our Government. We thank him for this, he said. What is wrong in treating MIM as a friendly party, he asked.
No pvt firm involved in Govt-to-Govt deal, reiterates FinMin

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday termed Congress president Rahul Gandhis allegations in Rafale deal as ignoramus, saying other Congress leaders are also parroting the allegations to satisfy the ego of an ill-informed gentleman.

Addressing the media on Wednesday evening after the Cabinet meeting, Jaitley reiterated that the price of the Rafale Jet negotiated by the NDA is nine per cent lesser than the UPAs deal and claimed that it is 20 per cent lesser considering weapon-to-weapon attached to the jet.

This is a Government-to-Government deal and no private party is involved. All 36 planes straight away come from France and not even a screw is fitted in India. It is the foreign supplier prerogative to engage their Indian partners. Many Indian private firms will benefit as we wanted the state-of-the-art technology of foreign players are shared here. Be it Tata, Mahindra and even HAL, they all will get work from foreign players. It is the Congress style that buys from abroad without technology transfer. They are the ones who took bribes in Defence deals which is well documented in the case of Bofors, Jaitley said countering the allegations raised by the Congress.

Slamming Rahul Gandhi without naming him, Jaitley added, What can we say when the gentleman from the dynasty is ignorant of the fact and repeating the same thing. It is proved that in dynastic parties ignorance is contagious. The party leaders have no options but to satisfy the ego of the ill-informed gentleman. Let the contagious problem remain with the Congress. Leaders like Abshishek Singhvi and all are repeating what he says.

Earlier in the morning, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra briefed the Union Council of Ministers on the fighter aircraft deal with France in a bid to provide the leaders with facts to counter the allegations being levelled against it. Sources said the NSA and Mitra National made a detailed presentation on various aspects of the deal in the meeting, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours.

The Ministers were informed that it was a deal between two Governments involving no private party, leaving little scope for corruption.

The security brass also highlighted the aircrafts capability which would strengthen the Indian Air Force and make the fighter jets an asset for it. The presentation in the meeting also underscores Prime Minister Narendra Modis efforts to take all his allies, who are represented in the council of ministers, on board as the Government works to counter the Opposition on the issue with the Lok Sabha election being less than eight months away.
The Supreme Court on Thursday took strong exception to the statement of a senior police officer on the arrest of five rights activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, saying he had cast aspersions on the top court.

The court also extended its earlier order saying the rights activists  Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha  would remain under house arrest till September 12, when it will take up the plea filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others in the case.

A visibly angry Justice DY Chandrachud, who along with Justice AM Khanwilkar was part of a Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, referred to the statements made to the media by an Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune and said he was casting aspersions on the apex court by saying that it should not have entertained the plea.

I watched the Press briefing by the Assistant Commissioner, Pune, which insinuated that the Supreme Court should not have intervened at this stage. He has no business saying that and casting aspersions on the Supreme Court Judges, Justice Chandrachud said.

Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,representing Maharashtra Government, immediately apologised for the action of the police officer.

Tell him we have taken it very seriously ... You (law officer) must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we dont want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong, the judge said.

Considering the submissions of the law officer that Thapar and others have no locus to file the plea, the Bench asked the petitioners to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case.

In a criminal investigation, can a third party enter, the Bench asked.

Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Thapar and others, said they were not third parties and the issue was larger.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the arrested activists have consented that they can be represented by the petitioners and moreover, they can also be allowed to become parties to the litigation here.

At the outset, Mehta referred to the reply of the Maharashtra Police and several judgements and said the petition filed by Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala, was not maintainable as they are strangers to the issue in question.

He said the accused have been represented by lawyers at various courts and the present petitioners cannot seek remedy and issuance of writ on their behalf as such procedures are unknown to the criminal law.

The law officer said there was enough evidence including the materials taken from the activists computers and other sources which belied the perception of the petitioners about the arrested accused.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Tushar Damgude who had filed the FIR in the Koregaon-Bhima violence, opposed the plea of Thapar and said the plea against the arrest could have been raised in the magistrates court by the affected parties.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising raised the issue of the arrest of an activist in the matter six months ago.

The Bench fixed the matter for further hearing on September 12.

Earlier, the Maharashtra Government had filed its response to the plea claiming the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI (Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views.

The States response had come in the backdrop of the apex court, while ordering the house arrest of the five activists on August 29, categorically stating that dissent is the safety valve of democracy.

Prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested on August 28 from Hyderabad, while activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad in Haryana and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from New Delhi.

The Maharashtra Police had arrested the five activists in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- Elgaar Parishad -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.

The court had questioned the State polices move to arrest these activists nine months after the incident and said all of them were reputed citizens and stifling the dissent was not good.

The plea by Thapar and others has sought an independent probe into the arrests and their immediate release.
2 nations discuss H1b visa, NSG entry; Pompeo says will work out ways to avert sanction over Russia deal

Reaffirming their commitment to fight the scourge of terrorism, India and the US on Thursday urged Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and bring to justice perpetrators of acts of terrorism, especially in Mumbai, Uri and Pathankot.

Making this assertion during the maiden 2+2 dialogue here between External Affairs and Defence Ministers of India and the US respectively, the two countries also signed the long awaited Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) enabling the Indian armed forces to access encrypted technology for various weapon platforms, including aircraft from the US. The two sides also agreed to hold the first-ever tri-service joint exercise on the East Coast of India next year.

Among other issues, the contentious H1b visa and Indias bid to enter Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) also came up. Further enhancing growing strategic partnership, the two countries also decided to set up hotlines between the External and Defence Ministers of two countries.

The path-breaking 2+2 dialogue was held between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts Michael Pompeo and James Mattis respectively. Both the sides discussed the entire range of strategic issues concerning the two nations, growing defence ties, cross-border terrorism and further boosting interaction between the two militaries.

Later talking to the American media here, Pompeo said the US will work out ways to avoid slapping sanction on India over the Russian defence deal as the US does not want to hurt its strategic partner.

Issuing a terse warning to Pakistan, the Ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries, a joint statement said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said.

Addressing a joint Press conference, Swaraj said the India-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose.

We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack, they said.

Sitharaman said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the persistent threat of terrorism and other shared security challenges. The Ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

The Ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba,

Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates, it said.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

She also said the two countries also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail adding India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, the Indian External Affairs Minister said.

Reviewing the security situation in the Indian sub-continent, Swaraj said the efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan Government-controlled reconciliation process came up for discussion.

Her US counterpart Pompeo termed the COMCASA agreement a milestone in the ties between two countries and Sitharaman said the pact will enhance Indias defence capability and preparedness.

The COMCASA will facilitate India to obtain critical defence technologies from the US, and access critical communication network to ensure interoperability among the US and the Indian armed forces.

It will also allow the installation of high-security US communication equipment on defence platforms being sourced from the US.

The encrypted systems will allow the Indian forces to fully exploit the capabilities of aircraft like C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft besides P-8 I long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft procured from the US in the last few years.

The pact could not be inked in the past due to concerns in India that it will allow the US to listen into Indian secure communication channels.

Elaborating upon the COMCASA pact, officials later said New Delhi negotiated an India specific agreement building on the generic text. Specific provisions have been incorporated to safeguard our interests and data cannot be shared, they said adding the text of COMCASA is confidential but legal arrangements are there.

The pact comes into force immediately and is valid for 10 years and we have ensured that we have full access to the relevant equipment and there will be no disruptions, they said and asserted this is an enabling agreement and does not commit India to any acquisitions.

Meanwhile, Swaraj said the dialogue reflected the desire of leadership of the two countries to further elevate the bilateral strategic communication on cross-cutting defence and security issues.

The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects Indias robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest, she said.

On the H1B visa issue which has raised concerns amongst Indian professionals working in the US, Swaraj said she sought Pompeos support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship, Swaraj said.

As regards giving a fillip to military to military ties, India and the US announced a new tri-service exercise to begin next year. Officials stated that this will be an amphibious exercise Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise. We have decided for the first time to carry out a tri services exercise on the Eastern Coast with US in 2019, Sitharaman said.

The two Defence Ministers of India and US also announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defense industry cooperation and collaboration.

India and the US have signed the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) years ago and allows sharing of classified information from US Government and American companies with Indian Government and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) but not with Indian private companies.

The ISA is required to enable this and particularly important as India opens up defence manufacturing to the private sector in a big way.

To further defence innovation, a Memorandum of Intent was signed between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization - Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX) which will look into joint projects for co-production and co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
The Delhi Police arrested three members of notorious 'Tillu' gang after a brief encounter in national Capital's Alipur area in the early hours of Wednesday. The three have been identified as Manjit (23), Nitish (21), residents of Narela area while Mahesh (25) hails from Haryana.

Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said that they got a specific input that the accused Manjeet, involved in a murder of their rivalry 'Gogi' gang's Arman in the area of Narela, would be coming to Qutub Garh bus stop on Tuesday night following which a trap was laid and he was apprehended. During interrogation, he told the police that he had come to meet his associates, Nitish and Mahesh, and acting on his information a trap was laid and about 5.05 am a white-colour scooter, coming from the GT Karnal Road, was flagged down, said the DCP

Two suspceted gang members, who were riding the scooter, tried to escape and opened fire when the police chased them. The police fired back and in the process one of the two received injury in his right leg while the other, named Mahesh, was apprehended without injury. Two rounds were fired by the accused and in retaliation, the police team fired four rounds, said Yadav.

No police officer was injured since they were wearing bullet proof jackets. The injured gangster has been shifted to Raja Harishchandra Hospital where he is undergoing treatment, said DCP.

During interrogation the accused revealed that in order to establish supremacy in long standing gang war between Gogi and Tillu gang, both the gangs are recruiting new associates following which the accused were searching for new associates. They all are involved in extortion at the behest of their gang leaders. Last week, all the three accused persons went to Gannaur in Haryana to extend threat to a businessman.

However, the businessman was not present in his shop, said DCP adding that the police have recovered three country made pistols from their possession and further investigation is going on.
To mark the occasion of Teachers Day, the birth anniversary of first Vice President of India Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, 37 teachers of state were felicitated with State Honours in a function held at Raj Bhawan on Wednesday.

Chhattisgarh State Assembly Speaker Gaurishankar Agrawal was the Chief Guest of the function and State Minister School Education, Kedar Kashyap presided over the function. .

The felicitated teachers include Dr Padumlal Punnalal Bakshi Memorial Award to Ramkumar Verma, Durg, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Memorial Award to Sima Shrivastava, Raipur, and Dr Mukutdhar Pandey Memorial Award to Narendra Kumar Tiwari, Bilaspur, and Dr Baldev Prasad Mishra Memorial Award to Nilima Thakur, Durg.

The programme was commenced with condolence over the demise of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and State Governor Balramji Das Tandon.

Later, addressing the function, Chief Guest Agrawal thanked the teachers for their invaluable contribution towards nation building and said that the felicitation inspires the teachers to give their best.

Agrawal also declared that the felicitation honorarium has been doubled from the next year. For Primary school, it has been raised from Rs 10000 to Rs 20000, Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 for middle school, Rs 20000 to Rs 30000 for high school and from Rs 25000 to Rs 50000 for the higher secondary school, he informed.

State Minister for School Education, Kedar Kashyap greeting the teachers on Teachers Day threw light in the function about efforts of his department for enhancement of education in the State
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the BJP will face the wrath of the poor for deliberately cancelling ration cards in Delhi and warned of strict action against officers who followed the Centre's orders.

Kejriwal's reaction came after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Gulab Singh tweeted a video which showed a woman from Matiala constituency pleading with Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal urging him to provide her a ration card - which was cancelled - so that she could feed her two children.

Sharing the tweet, Kejriwal said: The BJP will face the heat from the poor for pressurizing the officers to deliberately cancel ration cards. Strict action should be taken against the officers who illegally followed BJP's orders.

On Sunday, the Delhi Government ordered the restoration of 2.53 lakh ration cards in the national Capital and warned officers that they would be personally responsible for starvation deaths of eligible beneficiaries.

Between July and August, the Delhi Government claimed that over 2.50 lakh ration cards were cancelled allegedly by Delhi's Food Commissioner despite strong objections by Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Amit Shah would once again visit Chhattisgarh during the last week of September.

During his visit, Shah would chair BJPs crucial Core Group Meeting where discussions would be held to finalize the candidates for the upcoming assembly polls. BJP sources informed that the BJP Chief would be on a visit of the state on September 29. During his visit, Shah would also address a meeting of Shakti Kendra where a gathering of 25,000 people is expected.

He would also motivate and energize the Shakti Kendras and will guide them on the duties to be performed for the upcoming elections.

During his visit, Shah would also inaugurate an auditorium at State BJP office Ekatma Parisar, sources informed.
Obviously to gain political mileage for his party, BJP State in-charge Arun Singh on Wednesday met the striking Block Grant (BG) teachers at their dharna site at PMG Square and said it is shameful for the State Government that the teachers are forced to hold an agitation on the streets braving the incessant rains on an auspicious occasion like the Teachers Day.

Singh alleged that the State Government is fully responsible for this situation. He further said the BJP always gives respect to the teachers. The protesting teachers demands are fully justified and the saffron party full supports those demands. Due to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaiks misrule the people of the State have lost faith on the State Government. Not only teachers but Government employees, doctors, nurses, Anganwadi and ASHA Workers are taking to the streets for fulfillment of their justified demands.
The State Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution for creation of an Odisha Legislative Council (OLC) through a voting amid strong protests and walkouts by members of Opposition parties, Congress and BJP.

The State is developing rapidly. To make the process still faster, more thoughts and intellectuality are needed; and a State Legislative Council will help in this regard, said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik after the resolution was passed.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh had moved a motion on creation of an OLC in the House and intended it to be discussed and passed unanimously.

He said a committee headed by Minister Dr Nrusingha Sahoo had studied functioning of SLCs and interacted with their Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons and members in four States, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Bihar, and submitted a report to the Chief Minister recommending establishment of a SLC in Odisha. The proposal has already been approved by the State Cabinet.

He said, A State Legislative Council is needed for strengthening the lawmaking system, furthering good governance and, after all, for peoples welfare.

He informed that aminimum of 40 members or one-third of the number of MLAs are required for running of the proposed Legislative Council.

Accordingly, the proposed OLC would have 49 members and they would comprise 16 members to be elected by MLAs, 16 members to be elected by ZP, Panchayat Samiti and ULB representatives, four to be elected by collegiums of graduates, four to be elected by a collegiums of secondary and higher secondary teachers and the rest nine members to be nominated by the Governor from the fields of literature, science, art, cooperation and social sector.

Presently, the OLC can operate in the Sardal Patel Hall (Old Assembly) located in the capital city. Similarly, members of both the Houses (OLA and OLC) can be addressed by the Governor in the large Assembly conference hall, Arukh said. He said Rs 35 crore would be spent per year for running the OLC.

However, Congress and BJP members opposed the move, saying the Legislative Council would be a rehabilitation Centre for ruling party politicians only.

How many intellectuals have sent to the Rajya Sabha on behalf of the BJD? Only film actors have been sent. When the State is burdened with a loan over Rs 76,000 crore and hospitals lack doctors and schools lack teachers, the proposal for an OLC is not acceptable, said Opposition Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati.

Dissatisfied at the Ministers reply, Congress and BJP members staged walkouts. The resolution was passed though a voting participated by 104 ruling party members.

As per norms, the resolution will be sent to the Parliament for its adoption and the President for its final approval.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland will visit Delhi's Mohalla Clinics on Friday, the Delhi Government said on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's media advisor Nagendar Sharma said the delegation, which will visit Delhi Government run clinics, will comprise members from The Elders, an independent group of global leaders working together for peace and human rights. Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain will accompany the delegates.

The delegates have been in touch with the Health Minister for a long time. They had also written to Kejriwal appreciating the infrastructure and services provided by Mohalla Clinics in the city, Sharma said.

The Mohalla Clinics are a flagship project of Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) where medicines, diagnostic tests and consultation are provided free of cost.The Delhi Government says 187 Mohalla Clinics are now operational in the national capital and sites have been identified to set up another 426. The AAP says it wants to open a total of 1,000 Mohalla Clinics soon.
Traffic movement went haywire on Jaiprakash Narayan Setu Mango bridge, connecting NH-33 and Mango to city, for over two hours as bandh supporters squatted on the bridge for nearly an hour.

Members of the Savarna Samaj, Jamshedpur unit along with Jharkhand Brahman Shakti Sangh including several women squatted on the bridge at around 10 am disrupting traffic movement on the 800 meter bridge. The agitation was part of the pan-India bandh call in protest against the Parliament passing an amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that overrode a Supreme Court order diluting it.

I had an urgent meeting at my office in Sakchi. Usually, it takes only 10 minutes and I started well before 10 am with hopes to reach my office in time, but the traffic jam delay everything. I reached office after 12 noon, said a Mango resident.

Jamshedpur DSP traffic, Shivender Singh said that the agitators had earlier squatted near the Mango end of the bridge and when we told them to vacate the spot requesting them to consider the plight of the commuters. But the protestors said that they want to be arrested by Sakchi police and moved towards Sakchi end of the Mango bridge and again started the agitation.

Sakchi police station in-charge, Madan Sharma said that the agitators have been arrested and were later released in the evening under PR bond from the Sakchi thana.

Meanwhile, president of Jharkhand Brahman Shakti Sangh, Pawan Pandey said that their agitation was part of the pan-India bandh call in protest against the Parliament passing an amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act that overrode a Supreme Court order diluting it.

On August 9, Rajya Sabha unanimously passed the amendments to the SC/ST Act brought by the ruling government in the monsoon session of Parliament. The amendments include: The bill rules out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs. No preliminary inquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law would not be subject to any approval No preliminary inquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law.
A tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Bio-Technology Department, Government of India, Agriculture and Biotechnology Department, Government of Chhattisgarh and Indira Gandhi Agriculture University, Raipur, for establishment of Bio-tech Incubation Centre as part of the Bio-Technology Park on Wednesday.

Chhattisgarh Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Brijmohan Agrawal, IGAU Vice Chancellor Dr S K Patel and Bio-Technology department secretary Anup Kumar Shrivastava were present.

The agreement was signed by Chhattisgarh Bio-Technology Promotion Society Chief Executive Officer Dr Girish Chandel, IGAU Director Research Services Dr R.K. Vajpayee and for Central government, Bio-Technology department nodal officer Dr Nitin Jain.

Speaking on the occasion, Agriculture Minister Brijmohan said that with establishment of Bio-technology Park in state would expedite the promotion of bio-technology. He said that with incubation centre, it would get technical help from University. As bio-technology is linked to human life so its importance would never diminsh. It would also open new avenues in state including job opportunities.

Vice Chancellor Dr Patil said that the commercial use of bio-technology would also be developed. He said that it would also bring industries related to bio-technology in the park and help in promotion of research work. It would also help in creating technical human resources along with capacity building.

Agriculture department secretary Anup Shrivastava said that in selected states only bio-technology sector has made good progress. A strong work plan would be made for state in this sector.
BJD MP Pinaki Misra on Wednesday met the Election Commission of India (ECI) in New Delhi and urged for early elections in Odisha.

In a letter submitted to the ECI, Misra said, In the event any decision is taken by Central Government to pre-pone Lok Sabha elections before they are scheduled to be held in 2019, we would request you to make adequate preparations to hold elections to the Odisha Assembly simultaneously.

Speaking to mediapersons after the meeting, Misra said while the Centre is planning to hold simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and 11 State Assemblies, Odisha must be included in the one nation, one poll proposal.

He said separate elections would cost around Rs 1,000 crore to the State exchequer which a developing State like Odisha cannot afford whereas the expenditure is shared by the Centre and a State Government in case of simultaneous elections.

Misra further said early poll would help avoid a long spell of model code period that affects developmental works of the State Government.

The ECI assured that the partys proposals would be considered favourably, said Misra.

Notably, Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Odisha are due in April 2019. The ECI has been holding simultaneous elections in Odisha since 2004.
Sitting in the corner of the back seat of a van, a 21-year-old petite woman, rescued by KI Nepal NGO's New Delhi representative Naveen Joshi, is on her way back to her home in Nepal. She is one of the two lucky girls who has been taken back to Nepal. Three minor boys who were trafficked for doing menial jobs, were rescued too along with them.

Trafficked to Delhi to be taken abroad, the 21-year-old told The Pioneer that she has been in Delhi for around a month now. "I have a son back home, he is disabled and I needed money for his surgery. That is how I got in touch with Saroj, who turned out to be a dalal (trafficker). My aunt knew Saroj and he promised to get me a good job in Saudi and for which I didn't had to pay anything." With tears in her eyes, she lamented that all her dreams have come to an end.

When asked if she knew she was being trafficked, she told The Pioneer that she has heard about it in the news but didn't expect it would happen to her. "My aunt knew him and gave me his contact. There were three of us; we stayed with Saroj's wife in Chirag Delhi. It was a flat and there were 6-7 Nepali girls already living there. Some of them were there for months. The three of us ran away when we realised what was happening and went to Gurugram to my aunt's house. We started working as domestic help but since I can't speak Hindi, I had to stop working."

The story is the same with most of the women, men and children who are being trafficked from Nepal. Poverty and the hope for a better future becomes the feeding ground for traffickers, says Naveen .

According to the UNICEF (2001), around 12,000 girls are trafficked to India every year. According to National Human Rights Commission report 2014, around 29,000 people were trafficked or attempted to be trafficked. KI Nepal NGO representative states that there is no proper data available on the total amount of people trafficked.

Delhi is a transit point for women, men and children from Nepal being trafficked within the city and the country as well as abroad, Naveen stated. "There are 26 border checkpoints between Nepal and India but there are many illegal ones. KI Nepal staffs are present in 10 gates and if they see anything suspicious they intervene."

"The girls are usually brought one by one, in pairs and rarely more than three at a time. This is done to fool the guards and NGO staffs at the border. They would tell them that they are going to a relative's house in India or for medical reasons. They are then brought to Delhi and kept in small rooms in a flat or hotel. The traffickers provide them with food, shelter, and WiFi as it is not traceable."

"The girls are then provided with transport fare and fake 'No Objection Certificate (NOC)' which is necessary if they want to travel from a second country to a third. The Nepal embassy in Delhi doesn't provide NOCs so they forge the travel documents and even the pay slip. The traffickers also take their passport. The risk involved is numerous," Naveen stated.

According to data received from the Delhi Police 5 Nepali citizens were rescued in Delhi from trafficking in 2016 and 7 were rescued in 2017. In the first three months of the year 3 Nepali citizens were rescued. In July 24, Delhi Commission for Women with the Delhi Police on receiving a tip-off from KI Nepal was able to rescue 16 Nepali women from Munirka.

Following the rescue, DCW were also successful in rescuing 18 girls with Varanasi Police on July 31. Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal also tweeted on August 1, "The DCW received tip off and rescued 39 Nepali girls from Hotel Hriday Inn, Paharganj. Raid lasted the entire night and assistance was provided by the Delhi Police. Entire hotel had only trafficked Nepali girls who were being sent to Gulf countries. Huge trafficking racket busted!"

According to the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior citizen Nepal's trafficking report (2017) out of the 311 rescued from trafficking, around 67 cases or 12 per cent were from prostitution. The highest percentage of cases 40 per cent or 125 citizens were rescued from forced labour. Cases of forced marriage were 6%or 21 cases. Cases of rescue of sold victims were also registered with 36 cases in 2016-2017. 19 cases were of victims fooled in the pretext of receiving a higher salary and the remaining 43 cases were unidentified.

KI Nepal New Delhi Representative Naveen Joshi adds that the rescuees are usually not aware that they were being trafficked. They get tricked into believing that they will get employment abroad, but in most cases it doesn't end well. He also adds that his NGO has launched awareness programs in Nepal but haven't been able to reach remote areas and believes that the government should be doing more.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan while addressing the Madhya Pradesh Niji Chikitsak Mahapanchayat 2018 of Non-Allopathic Doctors here on Tuesday, announced for starting two-year diploma and one year certificate course for them under the Medical Education Department. Along with this, he also made announcement for formation of Jan Swasthya Board and formation of a committee under the Chairmanship of Health Minister.

Chouhan said that the Jan Swasthya Board will solve the problems of Non-Allopathic doctors.

They will get themselves registered in Para Medical Council. He further mentioned that it will be taken into consideration that they should be authorized to write allopathic prescription.

A committee will be constituted under the Chairmanship of Public Health Minister.

This committee will give suggestions to make their profession more respectable.

He clearly stated that everything possible in their interest will be done.

A statutory framework should be prepared for non-allopathic methods. Keeping in view the shortage of doctors, a thought should be given to use services of non-allopathic doctors.

Besides, Chouhan mentioned that native (Desi) medical methods have their own importance.

They should be saved. Desi medical methods provide complete treatment.

He stated that the trend of allopathy constantly enhanced over the period of time.

This method is progressing because of continuous research and the native medical methods lagged behind.

Efforts should be made to make it more effective and useful by conducting research in these methods.

Chouhan said that common man have complete trust in doctors.

The contribution of non-allopathic doctors is significant in building new Madhya Pradesh.

The role of non-allopathic doctors will be important to further strengthen medical services of the state.
Chief Minister Raghubar Das invited Chinese investors to invest in the uptapped food processing sector in Jharkhand while calling their attention to cultural richness of the State in terms of Lord Buddha.

On the fourth day of his China visit the CM was at Hennan of China on Wednesday where the delegation led by him met Secretary of Communist Party of China of the province Wang Guoshang. Indian soil has signatures of Hiuen Tsang and Fa Hien who visited India from Henan. Jharkhands Itkhori is the place from where Lord Buddha started his spiritual journey. We expect better relations with Henan, said the CM.

He also apprised the Secretary during the bilateral talk about Global Agricultural and Food Summit slated to take place on November 29-30 this year in Ranchi where several companies from world over are participating. The CM extended invitation to Wang Guoshang to attend the summit.

Wang Guoshang referring to three meetings between the heads of both the countries taken in recent past said that diplomacy between India and China is presenting new dimensions to the world and the present visit of Jharkhand Government delegation is due to that. He highlighted Henans progress where modern transport system is in place for its over 10 crore population along with ports, cultural heritage points and historic places. The province has done well in terms of agriculture, commerce, food processing and information technology which can be vital for Jharkhand as well, he added.

Wang Guoshang also praised ease of doing performance of Jharkhand and termed it as a State full with potential. Ministers Neelkanth Singh Munda, CP Singh and Amar Kumar Bauri along with Development Commissioner DK Tiwari and Principal Secretary of the CM Sunil Kumar Barnwal are on the trip.
Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Thursday visited the food processing unit of the Sanquan Company located in Zhengzhou City with the delegation, where he stressed on policies and possibilities in the sector back home in front of the Chinese representatives.

Chen Zemin, chairman of the company informed about different facilities of his plant, food processing, packaging and quality testing in sync with National Standard Quality parameters and packaging meeting the export standards including of vegetables. The company has seven plants all over China and about 10,000 people work over there. Turnover of this company is about 10 billion Yuan or roughly Rs 10,000 crore.

The Chief Minister informed the Chairman of the Company about the possibility of production of vegetables and food processing in Jharkhand and also about the Food Processing Policy and the facilities provided by the State Government for the industries.

Apart from this he invited the Chairman to Jharkhand to understand and explore these possibilities during the Global Agriculture and Food Summit to be held on November 29-30. During the summit interaction of local companies of Jharkhand can take place with global players including investment and transfer of technology. In Jharkhand this area can get maximum investment. In the coming days, Jharkhand will become India's largest food processing hub, said the CM.

Chen Zemin on his part assured that he will study the Indian market and the possibilities of food processing in Jharkhand and will definitely take further action. He also looked curious about mass level vegetable production in Jharkhand which can be processed.

The talks took place in a positive environment and there is a possibility that the Food Processing Industry can be promoted in Jharkhand. Local companies of Jharkhand can get better technology benefits. The Chief Minister has been emphasizing that the companies in China who export more and who are processing food products, how their investments can be increased in Jharkhand.

The CM along with three of his Cabinet colleagues namely Neelkanth Singh Munda, CP Singh and Amar Kumar Bauri and senior officials Development Commissioner DK Tiwari and his Principal Secretary Sunil Kumar Barnwal is on five day tour of China starting September 1.
The court of additional judicial commissioner in Ranchi on Wednesday sentenced three persons to seven years rigorous imprisonment in connection with illegal liquor trade.

The judge SP Dubey had on August 31 convicted them under section 52 (A) of Jharkhand Excise Act 2015. The convicted persons are Indrabhan Thapa, Gautam Thapa and Umesh Gurung.

While delivering the sentence the AJC also imposed a fine of one lakh rupees each on the convicts with the direction that they would have to undergo simple imprisonment of two more years for default in payment.

The court also sentenced them to one month imprisonment under section 273 of IPC.

It may be stated here two youths had died after consuming spurious liquor in Ranchi in September 2017. Police teams were formed to carry out raids against illegal sale of liquor in the city. A team raided the shop and house of Indrabhan Thapa and recovered large quantity of liquor from the place. Thapa could not provide relevant papers regarding his possession. He said that he purchased it from one Tarun Das.

Based on information police also raided the house of Umesh Gurung who said that he was involved in illegal sale of liquor form the house of Gautam Thapa. The police had registered a FIR (190/17) with the Doranda police station in this connection.
A special session of the Chhattisgarh Assembly has been convened on September 11 and 12 this year.

A notification regarding the same was issued on Wednesday by the State Assembly Secretariat.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Secretary, Chandrashekhar Gangrade informed The Pioneer that the session will have two sittings.

Notably, the Chhattisgarh government had earlier announced of providing Rs 300 bonus per quintal of paddy on Minimum Support Price (MSP).The distribution of bonus is to commence from November 1, 2018.

The bonus would put an additional burden of around Rs 2400 crore on the Exchequer . An approval from the State Assembly would be required as a procedure to distribute bonus.
 "Decarceration Strategies: How 5 States Achieved Substantial Prison Population Reductions" | Main | ACLU Campaign for Smart Justice launches "Smart Justice 50-State Blueprints" 

After Kim Kardashian West talked Prez Donald Trump to commute the life sentence of a drug offenders (basics here), I am inclined to call her a leading force in modern criminal justice reform. And now, as detailed in this CNN piece, headlined "Kim Kardashian at White House for clemency review session," she is back at the White House preaching the need for systemic reform:

Kim Kardashian West arrived at the White House on Wednesday to discuss sentencing reform and clemency issues with White House officials, two White House officials told CNN. The reality TV star and entrepreneur was not expected to meet with President Donald Trump, one White House official said, though the plans could change.

Kardashian West, who successfully lobbied Trump earlier this summer to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a nonviolent drug offender serving a life sentence, returned to the White House on Wednesday for a listening session on clemency issues with White House officials, including the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

"Today at the White House, members of the administration are hosting a listening session about the clemency process. The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review," deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

Kardashian West was just one of several prison reform advocates and legal activists at the White House for the listening session on Wednesday, including Van Jones, a CNN political commentator and former adviser to President Barack Obama; Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society; Mark Holden, the general counsel of Koch Industries and Jessica Jackson Sloan, a human rights attorney and prison reform advocate.

Other attendees include Rachel Barkow, Brittany Barnett, Alex Gudich, Shon Hopwood, Paul Larkin, Mark Osler and Kevin Sharp, a former federal judge....

Trump's exercise of that clemency power has so far been on a case-by-case basis and frequently animated by personal loyalty or personal advocacy efforts. The White House is now seeking to create a regular review process for clemency review.

Kardashian West has signaled in recent days that she is taking up another case, appearing on the podcast "Wrongful Conviction" to say that she is now working on the case of Chris Young, who is serving a life sentence related to a drug case due to a mandatory minimum prison sentence.
The Uttarakhand chief commissioner of income tax (CCIT), Pramod Kumar Gupta said that in his new role as the chief commissioner of income tax (Exemption) in the national capital, he will also keep an eye on the various Trusts and such bodies functioning in Dehradun and elsewhere in Uttarakhand. Gupta said this while interacting with the media before moving on to his new posting in Delhi.

Addressing the media persons, Gupta said that Trusts are a major front through which black money is routed globally. Stating that there is a need for keeping a sharp eye on trusts, he said that the post of CCIT (Exemption) is of considerable importance when it comes to States like Uttarakhand. He said, There are total 92 chief commissioners of income tax in India and of these only the CCIT (Exemption) has all-India jurisdiction. After joining my new post in Delhi, I will also keep an eye on the trusts in Uttarakhand. Dehradun is known to be a hub of education and such prominent schools are run by trusts.

Regarding the national highway 74 land compensation scam, he said that at present the State Government was investigating into the corruption angle in the case. We have been communicating with the superintendent of police (Vigilance) and were told that at present the officials suspected of involvement in the scam are being investigated.

When the investigators secure concrete evidence, they will pass it on to us in about three months so that we may do the needful if required under the Income Tax Act, he said.

Referring to the activities of the department during his one year tenure in the State, Gupta said that the main focus of the department is to increase tax base and revenue.

As on August 31 last year the tax collected was Rs 1752.70 crore which had increased to Rs 2497.90 crore as on August 31 this year, registering an increase of about 42 per cent. Similarly, income tax assessees in the State were 517940 on March 31, 2017 with the number increasing to 768213 as on March 31, 2018, registering an increase of about 48 per cent.

Additionally, with tax payers being encouraged to file e-returns, the e-filed returns which were 67,313 as on July 31, 2017 increased to 3,14,718 as on July 31, 2018, registering an increase of about 367 per cent.
The monsoon session of Haryana Assembly commencing on Friday is set to be a stormy affair with opposition partiesIndian National Lok Dal and Congressset to corner the ruling BJP led State Government on the issues of deteriorating law and order situation, Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, de-notification of Dadupur Nalvi irrigation project, government employees protest among others.

The short session of Haryana Assembly would prove to be an acid test for the ruling BJP as it would be hard pressed to explain its position on farmers issues including SYL canal, Dadupur Nalvi irrigation project and non-implementation of Swaminathan report.

Leader of opposition in Haryana Assembly and INLDs senior leader Abhay Chautala on Friday said that the party will move eight adjournment motion and atleast six calling attention motion in the monsoon session.

The party will move adjournment motion on issues of deteriorating law and order situation and increase in crime against women and girls, SYL canal, Dadupur Nalvi project, GST impact on traders, non-implementation of Swaminathan report, e-trading affecting farmers among other issues, Chautala said while talking to the mediapersons here.

Launching a scathing attack on the Haryana Government, the INLD leader said that the government employees are suffering due to anti-employee policies of BJP. Enforcing ESMA was not enough for the government, as the roadways employees were beaten and arrested during their protest on Wednesday. We will seek governments reply on the issues of employees, who are forced to protest every now and then, he added.

Stating that the INLD has called for Haryana Bandh on September 8, Chautala said that the party will raise the issue of non-completion of SYL canal on the floor of House.

Even after the directions of Supreme Court for completion of SYL canal, the BJP led Central and Haryana Governments have failed to take any step in this regard in last almost two years, he added.

The INLD will also demand discussion on issues including declining standard of education and health facilities in Haryana, problem of stray animals, death of cattle in gaushalas, illegal mining, failure of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao in the state.

Both INLD and Congress have also decided to stall house proceedings on the issues of farmers if the government does not debate on it on the floor of House.

On the other hand, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said that the party will raise the issues of deteriorating law and order situation, farmers problems, shortage of water and electricity, non-completion of SYL canal, scrapped Dadupur Nalvi irrigation project, problems of government employees during the session.

Hooda has convened a meeting of party MLAs at his residence here on Friday morning to chalk out a strategy to corner the State Government during the monsoon session.

The State Assembly is also likely to witness heated debate over the registration of an FIR recently against Congress President Rahul Gandhis brother-in-law Robert Vadra, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and realtors including DLF for their alleged involvement in a land scam worth Rs 5,000 crore in Gurugram in the year 2008.

While the Congress MLAs have alleged that the registration of FIR was politically motivated, INLDs Abhay Chautala has alleged that the BJP is trying to shield the former CM.

An FIR into the land case was registered after four years. The BJP government should transfer the case to the CBI for a fair investigation. The INLD will raise this issue in the State Assembly, Chautala said.

A tentative programme of three days assembly session on September 7, 10, 11 have been issued by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha. The Business Advisory Committee of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha will take the final call on this on Friday.

The monsoon session was to earlier begin on August 17 but was postponed due to the death of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

During the monsoon session, the Manohar Lal Khattar Government is likely to blunt the opposition attack by talking about its achievements in the past four years of BJP regime in Haryana and the steps it has taken for the welfare of various sections of the society.

Haryana Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Krishan Kumar Bedi said that the party is ready to take on the opposition and the government is hopeful that the session would be productive.
A day-long strike call given by Haryana roadways unions fizzled out on Wednesday as scores of their union leaders were detained in pre-dawn action at several depots and authorities managed to ply state-run buses on several routes.

Minor clashes were reported between striking employees and police, which used mild force at a few places to control the protesters. Police lathicharge was reported at Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa while roadways employees were detained in Hisar, Sonipat and other districts to foil protests.

The employees also sat on dharnas at Fatehabad, Jind, Hisar, Ambala, Tohana, Sirsa, and Panchkula.

The officials claimed that the bus services across the state remained normal.

Bus services were, however, affected for some time at a few bus stands and depots in Haryana.

The Haryana Government had on August 30 imposed the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) to prevent the one-day strike from taking place. The strike was called against the State Governments decision to hire more than 700 private buses to ply outside and within the state.

Even as the striking roadways staff said they are opposed to the proposed privatisation of public transport services, the Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar has denied any such move.

As per the Transport Department, Haryana roadways have been able to cater to only 12.5 lakh of the about 33 lakh daily commuters.

Meanwhile, Sarv Karamchari Sangh Haryana and Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh have condemned police action on protesting employees.

Sarbat Punia, leader of Haryana Roadways Workers Union said that the union leaders and other employees detained by the police should be released without any condition and cases registered against them should be withdrawn.

The employees under the banner of Sarv Karamchari Sangh Haryana and Haryana Karamchari Mahasangh will hold statewide protest on September 6 against police action on protesting employees of roadways, he added.

The police had rounded up several employees, including union leaders, at the depots to foil protests in the state. Prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were imposed at some places to prevent the assembly of more than four people.

Police said several roadways employees were detained for defying these orders.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties have lashed out at Haryana Government over its alleged failure to resolve the issues of government employees.

Ashok Arora, INLDs state president asked the State Government to hold talks with the roadways employees to resolve their long pending demands while Ashok Tanwar, Congress state chief termed the Haryana Government as anti-employee.

Criticizing the government, Haryana AAP unit chief Naveen Jaihind said that today, the roadways employees are forced to protest due to the anti-employee policies of the BJP. The government employees will give a befitting reply to the current regime in 2019 polls, he added.
nThe State Assembly witnessed adjournment twice on the second day of the Monsoon Session on Wednesday as the Congress and BJP Members protested against rise in petrol and diesel prices and the State Governments apathetic attitude towards Block Grant teachers, respectively.

As the House met for the day, the Congress members rushed into the Well of the House and shouted slogans against the Union Government over skyrocketing fuel prices. The BJP members stood at their seats and demanded early fulfillment of teachers demands. Salepur MLA Prakash Behera was sitting on a dharna demanding NAC status for Salepur.

Unable to run the proceedings, Speaker Pradeep Kumar Amat adjourned the House till 11.30 am. When the House reassembled, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra held both the Union Government and the State Government responsible for unbearable rise in petrol and diesel prices. When crude oil per barrel was availed at Rs 147 in 2008, the petro price per litre was Rs 45 only. It is very disappointing that the petrol price is now Rs 75 when the crude oil per barrel is Rs 75 in the international market. While the Union Government has cast a blind eye to protect common peoples interest, the State Government is only shedding crocodiles tears and not cutting State tax on petrol and diesel, lamented Mishra.

Besides, Mishra slammed the State Government for not fulfilling teachers genuine demands. He demanded that the Government hold talks with teachers and fulfil their demands soon. Mishra too supported party MLA Beheras demand and urged the Speaker to ask the Government to fulfil his genuine demand at the earliest. Behera withdrew his dharna on Mishras advice.

The Congress members again rushed to the Well and shouted slogans. The Speaker adjourned the House at 11.44 am till 12.30 pm.
In order to maintain transparency and consistency in de-notifying the acquired land and to regulate the procedure of such de-notification, Haryana Government has decided to frame a policy for return of un-utilized land under the provisions of Section 101 A of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Haryana Amendment) Act, 2017.

A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of State Cabinet held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Manohar Lal here on Wednesday evening.

The policy will provide for the procedure to de-notify the land, return of un-utilized Land, other activities under the provisions of Section 101 A of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (Haryana Amendment) Act, 2017 to the landowners, said Haryana Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Krishan Kumar Bedi while briefing the mediapersons about the cabinet meeting.

The State Government had in August issued notification for denotification of about 830 acres land acquired for the Dadupur Nalvi irrigation scheme. Even after getting an amendment incorporated in the new land acquisition law, the government was finding it difficult to implement the decision to return the land to its owners.

The district level sub-committee constituted will while examining the 'opinion' of the acquiring department consider issues like if the acquired land has become non-viable land or non-essential land, extent of payment of compensation among other. A ministerial sub-committee will also be constituted to decide on the matter placed before it. The report of the ministerial sub-committee will be put up for consideration and decision by the cabinet at the earliest possible, the Minister said.

Bedi said that the original owner or owners or their legal heirs will return the compensation excluding solatium paid to them along with simple interest payable on deposits from the date of receipt of compensation by them till the date of return of compensation by depositing the same in the designated account as specified in the order before taking possession of the land.

Direct elections to mayor Haryana Cabinet has given approval to conduct elections of Mayors of Municipal Corporations in the state directly by the voters.

At present, there are 10 Municipal Corporations in the state which have been constituted from time to time as per population criteria of three lakh and above. Therefore, keeping in view of the recommendation of State Election Commission, it has been decided to conduct elections of Mayors of Municipal Corporations in the state directly by the eligible voters, Bedi said.
Doon given additional charge of HPA IG

Chandigarh: Haryana Government has given additional charge of Haryana Police Academy Madhuban IG to, IGP (Modernization) HS Doon with immediate effect during the leave period of Dr CS Rao.

Chief engineers directed to monitor schemes

Chandigarh: Haryana Minister of State for Public Health Engineering Banwari Lal on Thursday directed all chief engineers of the department to personally monitor the schemes to ensure that benefits reach the people. The Minister, presiding over a review meeting of various schemes being run by the department with senior officers, also directed the officers to give report of ongoing works to avoid any problem in future.

Central Bank felicitated teachers

Chandigarh: Representatives of more than 350 branches of Central Bank of India from Chandigarh Zone (north region) visited the schools in their respective areas and honoured the teachers by presenting a book and flowers as a mark of respect. Banks field general manager, Chandigarh Zone, Vijay V Murar said that Teachers Day is an opportunity to convey our wishes to all our teachers, who have given impeccable contribution in shaping us. He also felicitated Subhashish Hajra, the music teacher of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya.

Rules amended for bar association elections

Chandigarh: To curb the irregularities and malpractices in the election of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, a Committee was constituted consisting of senior advocates to amend the existing rules. The said Committee drafted the rules on the pattern of Supreme Court Bar Association election rules which were placed before the General House of the High Court Bar Association. As per the new rules, outside members have been debarred to participate in the election process and only actively practising advocate in the High Court will be allowed to cast their votes. No member shall be allowed to cast his or her vote, who is enrolled after October 31 of every year, with a rider that too will have to show his appearance on eight dates in cases, in previous year.

JW Marriott launches microbrewery in 5-star

Chandigarh: Opening its doors to the freshest and most satisfying brews in the Tricity, JW Marriott Chandigarh is now coming up with 35 Brewhouse, the regions first microbrewery in a five-star property, in its premises. 35 Brewhouse has been conceptualised as a destination that is much more than a brewery, where you could not only have beer, but also brew rich experiences, said JW Marriott Chandigarh general manager Dilpreet Singh Bindra.
Synd 30 for below 30 yrs officials held

Bhopal: To make aware of important aspects of banking and their role in development of banks, Synd 30 for officials below 30 years of age was organized at Syndicate Banks Regional office on Tuesday. At the occasion General Manager K Jayakumar Syndicate Bank, Deputy General Manager N Swaminathan and Regional Manager Bhopal Kulwinder Singh and Deputy Regional Manager Bhagchand Mahawar addressed and share important points with the participants.

Teachers felicitated by senior officials of bank

Bhopal: On the occasion of Teachers Day teachers at SOS Village at Khajuri Kalan were felicitated by Regional General Manager Office and circle office of Allahabad bank. The Regional General Manager MN Patel said that model teacher is constructor of ideal society and in the shastra teacher are compared with god and considered even greater than god. Deputy Regional Manager of Bhopal circle SSP Roy said that most of the branched of Allahabad bank have bank accounts of teachers and are provided with all schemes and plans. The bank is dedicated to provide them better service. Deputy General Manager, Regional General Manager Office RP Toshniwal said that for teachers shared different schemes, loan details and other facilities. Assistant General Manager BK Pathak said that bank is with teachers and support and help in their development and provided details of Net banking and mobile banking.

Awareness drive on nutrition organised

Bhopal: As part of Nutrition Campaign to create awareness on the issue of nutrition UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh in partnership with ANSH Happiness Society and Department of Women and Child Development is organising a social media meet on the nutrition campaign on Thursday in Bhopal wherein young people who are active on social media and have following of their handles will be participating in it. It is to spread the key message of Poshan Abhiyan on facebook, twitter, you tube, instagram and quora and whatsapp etc, informed Anil Gulati, Communication Specialist, UNICEF, MP. September is nutrition month so is time to spread the reach of nutrition campaign. In the meet it is expected that around 40-50 social media champions from Bhopal, will be joining in and they will be addressed by Michael Juma, Chief UNICEF, Madhya Pradesh, Anil Gulati, Communication Specialist UNICEF.

J&K to implement MPs poll innovations

Bhopal: Jammu-Kashmir has decided to implement various innovations made by the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission in the Urban Development Election. They have taken the decision to use IT from taking the affidavit related to name directive along with economic offenses to making provision of NOTA and from declaring name directive to election results after a discussion with the State Election Commissioner. It may be noted that State Election Commissioner Jammu-Kashmir Shaleen Kabra had expected guidance and experiences from Madhya Pradesh in the proposed election of urban bodies and panchayats in his state. State Election Commissioner had sent Additional Secretary Legislative Pradeep Shukla and Senior Consultant IT Deepak Nema to Jammu-Kashmir with complete information.

Usha given National Teachers Award 2017

Bhopal: Usha Khare of Madhya Pradesh has been honoured with National Teachers Award 2017 in New Delhi on Wednesday. The Vice President Venkaiah Naidu presented this award at a programme held at Vigyan Bhavan. Usha Khare received a citation letter, trophy and cash reward of Rs 50,000 in the form of award. The Union Minister for Human Resources Development Prakash Javadekar and Union Minister of State Upendra Kushwaha were present on the occasion. Usha Khare, who has been honoured with the award, is discharging her duties as Principal of the Government Higher Secondary School-Jahangirabad, Bhopal. An e-library has been established by her and has ensured enrollment of girls in the school. Her efforts were also praised by the Prime Minister. The awardees for this years National Teachers Award have been selected under the new revised policy. The selection process has ensured greater transparency and has acknowledged the teaching innovations undertaken by teachers.

Teachers Day celebrated at Sagar Public School

Bhopal: Students of Sagar Public School celebrated Teachers Day with zeal and zest. There was an excitement in the school atmosphere which was quite contagious. Students at Ratibad, Rohit Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Saket Nagar presented special assembly on Teachers Day celebrating the birth anniversary of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. They highlighted the great teacher and presented a skit highlighting his life and thoughts about his ideology and fascination about education. Students wished their teachers and offered tilak followed by various cultural programmes of melodious song, poems, speeches that mesmerized everyone. The sterling performances of the students included Saraswati Vandana, Folksong, foot tapping dance and a well-conceived skit highlighting the importance of teachers in Students' lives followed by games with many prizes. On the occasion of Teacher's Day a felicitation ceremony was organised at both the campuses of SISTec (Gandhi Nagar and Ratibad).
Six policemen were injured and the protesters stopped a train in Kanpur, during the Bharat Bandh against the SC/ST Act that evoked mixed response on Thursday.

The call for Bharat Bandh was given by some upper caste organisations in protest against the recent amendments to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by Parliament to overturn a Supreme Court judgement.

Barring minor clashes at some places, life was by-and-large normal despite the bandh.

Reports from districts across the state said that life remained normal and all educational institutions, essential services remained unaffected and majority of business establishments also opened around noon on Thursday.

Minor clashes were reported from Ballia, Agra and Kanpur where protesters had arguments with the members of law enforcing agencies. However, the cops caned the trouble-makers and chased them away.

In Kanpur, the protesters stopped an intercity train at Panki railway station, but fled when the GRP and RPF personnel reached the spot.

A heavy police force was deployed in Gorakhpur, where the protesters blocked the Gorakhpur-Varansi national highway for three hours, affecting traffic movement.

In Sonebhadra district, the bandh had a good response, with minor incidents between the protestors and shopkeepers being reported from some places.

About 50 protesters were taken into custody after a clash in Robertsganj town, in which a young girl suffered minor burns, according to sub-divisional magistrate Sadab Alam.

A report from Ballia said that BJP MLA from Bairia, Surendra Singh, came out openly in support of the bandh.

Upper-caste people made me MLA and not Muslims and Dalits. I am ready to sacrifice for the upper caste. If my upper caste supporters ask me I can also resign (from my seat) for their sake, Singh said.

Some bandh supporters had heated arguments with BJP MLA Anand Swarup Shukla from Ballia Sadar, who refused to back them. Ballia district police chief Sriparna Ganguly said some people resorted to brick-batting in which six policemen were injured.

Normal life was affected in Agra where shops in main markets remained shut and agitators in several parts of the city blocked traffic. The administration deployed additional security forces to prevent any untoward incidents. At one place, the police resorted to lathicharge after some protesters tried to damage a bus. Various lawyers association which announced support to the bandh also organised meeting and attacked the BJP government for introducing the revised SC/ST Act which they said would only result in harassment of the upper caste members.

In Lucknow, advocates staged a protest at Mohanlalganj tehsil office.

Protesters burnt the effigy of the government in Kushinagar, whereas students staged protest at Sant Vinoba Bhave Degree College in Deoria and submitted a memorandum at the district magistrates office.

In Etah, the protesters gheraoed the house of MLA from Jalesar, Sanjeev Diwakar, who had to call the police.

The Supreme Court had on March 20 ruled out immediate arrests under the SC/ST Act and suggested a preliminary inquiry to ensure the allegations were not frivolous and to avoid the false implication of innocent persons. It also held that a government official could not be prosecuted under the SC/ST Act without the sanction of the appointing authority.

This decision had triggered nationwide protests by Dalit organisations, forcing the Centre to amend the SC/ST Act during the monsoon session of Parliament to overrule the apex court order.
Even as the State Government on Thursday warned of stripping the striking Block Grant (BG) teachers of their salaries when they are not working and their institutions are shut, the latter seemed in no mood to relent.

Higher Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra warned that since there is provision of no pay for no work, it may well apply to the striking agitating teachers, obviously with an intention to dissuade the thousands of teachers from their prolonged agitation, which reached its 22nd day on Thursday in the latest phase.

Odisha School and College Teachers and Employees United Forum (OSCTEUF) leader Prakash Mohanty told that they gheraoed all the 147 MLAs on Thursday and apprise them of their concerns. He told that all MLAs, including the BJDs, have expressed their solidarity with the problems of the teachers.

Mohanty told that the opposition Congress and BJP have promised to raise the Block Grant teachers problems in the House on Friday through an adjournment motion for a threadbare discussion on the issue.

Meanwhile, about 4,000 schools and 1,500 colleges across the State remained closed as per the call of the United Forum. The teachers, who are still squatting on the Lower PMG in hundreds after having observed the Teachers Day as a Black day on September 5, are also planning to gherao the MLAs on Friday and subsequently take the agitation to the panchayat level.
Frustrated after several failed attempts to find any suitable player and sustainable model for plying city buses in capital Ranchi, the Government is now going to try for a better luck. Instead of Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) the Urban Development Department has decided to rope in Ranchi Smart City Corporation Limited; the firm working under Smart City Mission.

The decision has come following the RMCs latest attempt to invite any operator for running city buses in Ranchi yielded no result hence bringing the whole effort to provide public transportation system for the residents back to square one.

The Department has decided to hand over the task to find operator for operating city bus service in Ranchi to Smart City Corporation itself. This is because we have found that the RMC is unable to handle it despite going for rounds of tendering process time and again, said Ajoy Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary with the Department on Wednesday.

He also discussed with consultants coming to a summit oragnised by the Department over suitable model to operate buses in the city. We can go for a mix of GCC Hybrid model and pay per kilometer model for the operators here. Also different models can be worked out for different routes of Ranchi depending on their viability and suitability, said the official during an investors meet for development of city bus stands on PPP in cities of Jharkhand.

This apart the Department is looking for overall revamp of transport system for selected cities and town of the State; 10 at present on the PPP mode. Under the plan private players would be roped in to develop existing bus stands located at Dhanbad, Mango (East Singhbhum), Chaibasa (West Singhbhum), Giridih, Phusro (Bokaro), Medininagar (Palamu), Dumka, Godda, Simdega and Gumla along with three inter-state bus terminuses at Ranchi, Dhanbad and Deoghar.

The Department invited bids and prepared DPR for these projects but we got no response whatsoever. We want to know why this happening is and why no investor is looking forward to come and invest in transportation sector in Jharkhand. We already have policy for urban transportation and are even open to rectify it if there are some discouraging factors into it for the investors. Also we should first go for bigger cities like Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur in the first phase and then look for the others, said Ajoy Kumar Singh.

He also stressed over replicating good experiences from Gujarat, Maharashtra and other places here where PPP model into public transportation have done well and are being run successfully. Some investors attending the summit indicated towards higher circle rate the developer needs to pay before developing the existing facilities and issues related to land for the cold response.
 Federal district court finds Louisiana LWOP sentence for low-level recidivist unconstitutionally excessive under Eighth Amendment (and local DA will not appeal to Fifth Circuit) | Main | Can Kimme bring "REAL systemic change" to the clemency process? She is with all the right folks at the White House. 

The title of this post is the title of this new 50-page report by The Sentencing Project. Here is the start of its executive summary:

From 1980 until its peak in 2009, the total federal and state prison population of the United States climbed from about 330,000 to more than 1.6 million  a nearly 400% increase  while the total general population of the country grew by only 36%, and the crime rate fell by 42%. The catalyst of this prison expansion was policy changes that prioritized getting tough on crime.

The national prison population began a gradual descent after 2009, lessening by nearly 113,000 (6%) from 2009 through 2016. Several factors contributed to this decline: ongoing decreases in crime rates leading to fewer felony convictions; scaling back war on drugs policies; increased interest in evidence-based approaches to sentencing and reentry; and growing concerns about the fiscal cost of corrections and its impact on other state priorities. The state of California alone was responsible for 36% of the overall population decline, a function of a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring its overcrowded prison system to be unconstitutional and subsequent legislative responses to reduce the use of state incarceration.

Despite the decline, the overall pace of change is quite modest. A recent analysis documents that at the rate of change from 2009 to 2016 it will take 75 years to reduce the prison population by half. And while 42 states have experienced declines from their peak prison populations, 20 of these declines are less than 5%, while 8 states are still experiencing rising populations.

To aid policymakers and criminal justice officials in achieving substantial prison population reductions, this report examines the experience of five states  Connecticut, Michigan, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and South Carolina  that have achieved prison population reductions of 14-25%. This produced a cumulative total of 23,646 fewer people in prison with no adverse effects on public safety. (While a handful of other states have also experienced significant population reductions  including California, New York, and New Jersey  these have been examined in other publications, and so are not addressed here.

The five states highlighted in this report are geographically and politically diverse and have all enacted a range of shifts in policy and practice to produce these outcomes. All five were engaged in the Justice Reinvestment Initiative process, spearheaded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Council on State Governments, which was designed to work with stakeholders to respond to the driving forces of prison expansion in each state and to develop strategies for change in policy and practice.

This report seeks to inform stakeholders in other states of the range of policy options available to them for significantly reducing their prison population. While we provide some assessment of the political environment which contributed to these changes, we do not go into great detail in this area since stakeholders will need to make their own determinations of strategy based on the particularities of their state. We note, though, that the leaders of reform varied among states, and emerged among governors, legislators, criminal justice officials, and advocacy organizations, often benefiting from media coverage and editorial support.

The prison population reductions in these five states were achieved through data-driven policy reforms that pursued bipartisan consensus. Changes were advanced in the areas of risk and needs assessment, community supervision, alternatives to incarceration, sentencing and sanctions, prison release mechanisms, prisoner reentry and community reintegration.

Five key strategies and practices that were employed in these states are summarized below, followed by extensive reviews for each of the five states.
Not more than 5 per cent of the total research done in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) seeks approval from the varsity's Institutional Ethics Review Board (IERB). Failing which, the premier varsity is producing all types of research including the ones whose findings might create disharmony in the society and may even evoke feelings that are antagonistic to the national integration.

Having certificate from IERB which evaluates a research on ethical parameters is not mandatory, moreover, there is a general apprehension among the faculty and students that going to IERB might unduly delay the approval and fate of their research might hang in peril. A JNU official said that IERB evaluates not more than 100 researches in a year while the varsity produces more than 2500 research papers.

IERB board is of diverse nature having experts from various fields onboard. Lawyers and experts from the field of philosophy, literature, life-sciences, social-sciences and others constitute the board. IERB evaluates a research on four basic parameters that includes originality of research, its maleficence, beneficence and independence.

A member of IERB board said that the parameter of maleficence is to check whether or not there is any malicious purpose or wrong intent behind the research and its findings. While beneficence helps in indentifying whether or not a particular research is done with the purpose of benefitting the researcher. The originality ensures that only those research works which are not plagiarized or are not just cut, copy and paste should be given certificate of approval, he said.

The parameter of independence is to detect whether the research is done under some undue influence or under persuasion or not, the member added.

Recently, the research work of a senior professor on sensitive topics like Muslims in Delhi and Tribals in Chhattisgarh were found inappropriate to get the IERD nod or approval.

JNU Professor Amita Singh, member secretary of IERB said that board approval or certificate should be made mandatory for all the research work in JNU. She said that the board usually evaluates a research within 10-15 days of receiving the proposal and there is no delay. She also rued shortage of fund as the main reason behind not inviting experts from outstation in the board.

Another member said that though less than 5 percent of researchers seek IERB certification, many Professors from different schools in JNU and who in normal course doesn't suggest students for IERB certification, didn't hesitate to seek IERB approval if required.

In many cases, IERB approval is a must and even the teachers who generally discourage students in approaching IERB, seek approval sometimes, said the member.
The Giridih (Ahilayapur) Police on Thursday busted a gang allegedly involved in online frauds by arresting its five members. All the five persons are educated young men who had allegedly been running a fake customer care centre in Giridih  a platform used by the accused to pose as verification agents of banks .They used to allegedly steal the database of bank account holders from the unauthorized online shopping websites and then indentify their targets, said DySP, Giridih Sandeep Suman.

According to the Dy SP (Cyber Crime) the accused were identified as Chhoti Mandal, Bajrangi Mandal, Rupesh Kumar Mandal, Kamta Mandal, and Ajay Mandal -- all residents at Chamlitti village of Ahilayapur locality of Giridih district. In their mid-20s, the accused used to make fake verification calls to people posing as staffers of a customer care centre to get the details of their debit and credit cards, added Dy SP .

Disclosing the modus operandi of the accused, the SP Giridih SK Jha said that the accused used to call the debit and credit card holders on the pretext of solving various technical problems related to the cards or telling them that their cards could be blocked if they did not share their details, SP said.

Police recovered 11 mobiles and 14 SIM cards from the possession of the accused. The Dy SP, Sandeep Suman and other police officials urged people not to give their details to those posing as bank employees or any agents.

Police sources claimed to have busted a gang of cyber criminals, after getting s tip-off of Giridih SP, when the police team led by Dy SP , Sandeep Suman alongwith Officer In-Charge raided the place while all cyber criminals who were sitting near village pond and have been trying to cheating innocent bank customers on .While seeing the police team criminals started fleeing .After long chesses police arrested five of them.
PNS n

The High Court of Uttarakhand has directed the Central Government to provide adequate assistance to Uttarakhand for controlling dengue. Further, the court has directed the State Government to increase the number of hospitals for treatment of dengue patients in the State. In every Government hospital, separate wards should be established for the treatment of dengue patients, the court further directed the State Government.

The high court issued these directions while hearing on a public interest litigation filed by Dehradun resident Rohit Dhyani. The petitioner had stated that there are no separate wards in hospitals and the number of beds is inadequate for facilitating the treatment of dengue patients. In response to this, the state government had informed the court that in 2016, a total of 2146 dengue patients had been found in the state. Dengue kit and medicines are available in all hospitals of the state under the Central Governments national vectore borne disease control programme. The State Government had further stated that the Central Government had named seven hospitals in the state as sentinels. These hospitals are to monitor dengue and test for dengue free of cost. These hospitals include the Government Doon Medical College hospital, Jolly Grant hospital, the government medical college and base hospital in Haldwani, Srinagar medical college hospital, district hospital in Rudrapur and the Coronation hospital in Dehradun.
Seven pilgrims were feared dead when a boat capsized mid-stream in the Saryu river in Ayodhya on Wednesday morning.

Two pilgrims on the ill-fated boat were rescued by the local residents.

The police rushed to the spot on getting information about the mishap and pressed the services of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) drivers to search the missing pilgrims.

Officials confirmed that they had recovered three bodies of the missing pilgrims.

Reports said that the pilgrims were enjoying a boat ride in the Saryu near Kachcha ghat. As the river has swollen during the last few days due to heavy rains, their boats capsized because of the fast current.

While the boatman swam safely to the bank and raised an alarm, the other none persons on the boat were swept away by the current. Some locals managed to rescue two of the victims but the remaining seven were feared dead.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief at the death of the pilgrims in Saryu and announced ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased.

The Chief Minister also directed the Faizabad district authorities to step up efforts to trace the remaining pilgrims who drowned in the boat mishap. He also directed the authorities of all districts of the state to take preventive measures against such incidents.

In a separate incident reported from Pratapgarh, two cousins drowned in a pond in Udaypur area while taking a bath in it, the police said on Wednesday.

Raahil (20) and Ismail (20) slipped into deep waters and drowned while bathing in the pond on Tuesday. Their bodies were fished out with the help of locals and sent for autopsy.
The Himachal Cabinet on Wednesday decided to start Van Samridhi Jan Samridhi scheme to ensure economic returns to the rural households engaged in collecting and selling of non-timber forest produce including medicinal plants and improving post harvest handling, value addition and marketing.

The Cabinet, under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur also gave its nod to transfer 112-04 bighas of land belonging to Animal Husbandry department at Muhal Kothipura in Bilaspur district to Health department, Government of India for setting up of All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The Cabinet accorded its approval to establish Independent Quality Control Check Squad/Flying Squad and Third Party Quality Control System in HPPWD as per guidelines fixed for National Quality Monitors by the Government of India.

It also gave its approval to fill up 40 posts of Assistant Professors /equivalent on contract basis in Chaudhary Sarvan Kumar H.P. Agriculture University, Palampur in district Kangra.

The Cabinet gave nod to fill up four posts of Company Commander and six posts of Havildar Instructor/Quarter Master Havildar in Home Guards and Civil Defence Department on contract basis. It also decided to upgrade Civil Hospital Thural in district Kangra to 100 bedded Hospital along-with creation of 29 posts of different categories.

The Cabinet approved to create and fill up posts of different categories in Himachal Pradesh Swasthya Bima Yojna Society to properly run the Society.

It also decided to amend Himachal Pradesh Press Correspondents Accreditation and Recognition Rules, 2016 to facilitate the correspondents.

The Cabinet accorded its approval to enhance the authorized share capital of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. Shimla from Rs. 2000 crore to Rs. 2500 crore.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to upgrade veterinary hospital Garli in Kangra district to Sub Divisional Veterinary hospital by creating requisite posts.
A laptop thief active in Delhi Metro has been apprehended by the metro unit of the Delhi Police. The accused Raqib Ahmad (32), a resident of Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir would arrive in Delhi regularly to steal laptops and then return to Srinagar to supply the stolen goods.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Metro) Deepak Gauri revealed that a team of Special staff from the Metro Unit under the supervision of Inspector Ram Mehar have arrested a thief Raqib Ahmad who frequented Delhi from Srinagar and stayed for 20-25 days at a stretch in different hotels in Paharganj and was apprehended from Nitin Hotel Paharganj.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that for the past three years since 2016, he has stolen almost 20-15 laptops per year. He had recently also delivered a bulk of laptops to a client in Srinagar. Six cases of theft in metro have been solved with his arrest. Working as a thief for the past nine years, the accused stated that he targeted crowded areas like food courts in metro stations, railway stations, bus stands and more. He would target customers busy with talking or other activities and steal their laptops, DCP stated.
The Bhopal Branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India organized a Teacher's Day programme for CA students. The theme of the programme was My Principal, My Guru, My Strength.

The programme was inaugurated by CA Abhishek Gupta, Chairman of the Bhopal Branch. CA Anup Shrivastava, CICASA Chairman Bhopal branch has given the welcome address and explains about the importance of Teachers day.

CA Khemisha Soni, Central council member has expresses views on the importance of relationship Guru and Shisya. CA Nilesh Gupta, CICASA Chairman of Central India Regional Council of ICAI also address the students.

The programme conducted by Priyanka Rijhwani, Secretary of, CISACA Bhopal branch. During the programme CA S. Krishnan also address the students and express his views on the three years of articleship and the relationship between CA principal and students has become Guru (Teacher) and shishya (student). In these years students have learned and gained lot of professional & practical knowledge and know about the CA profession.

The Board of Studies of ICAI will be celebrating Teachers Day on September 5, 2018 in a big way across the country to build a strong Teacher and Student relationship amongst the Principal and his/ her Articled Student. Principal is the most important teacher as mentor for CA Student.

The Principal not only acquaints Articles with the practical side of the CA Training but hand holds him/her in each step of his professional career. On this occasion an Essay competition and Poetry competition has also been organised. About 25 students has participated in the competition. The branch level winners will participate at the National level Competition to be held at New Delhi.

CA Mayank Agarwal, Vice Chairman of the branch along with the CICASA Managing Committee member Shubham Rai, Yashi Gupta, Palak Maheshwari and Shobhit Jain and Ragini Agarwal also participated in the programme. In the program CA members and students CA participated in large numbers.
Traffic was hit in the national Capital on Wednesday due to a farmers' rally, which saw thousands of people converging at Ramlila Maidan via major arterial roads in Central and Lutyens' Delhi, police said. Organised by Left-wing farmers' and workers' outfits, the Mazdoor Kishan Sangharsh Rally, began from Ramlila Maidan and culminated on Parliament Street.

The organisers claimed that nearly 1.5 lakh people from at least 23 States participated in the march, preparation for which had started several months ago. The protest threw traffic out of gear in parts of Delhi.

Sansad Marg, Janpath and KG Marg were closed for movement of vehicles, leading to congestion on alternate routes taken by motorists, a senior police officer said.

The rally started around 9.30 am, when it was raining, and ended at 4 pm, which meant that traffic was affected on roads in the national capital through the day. Traffic was affected on Ashoka Road and Baba Kharag Singh Marg, the officer said.

Traffic diversions were put in place around Delhi Gate, Paharganj Chowk, Minto Road, Barakhamba Road, KG Marg, Janpath and Copernicus Marg.

Commuters had a tough time negotiating their way in Lutyens' Delhi. They were stuck on alternative routes like Panchkuian Road, Minto Road, DDU Marg, ITO, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Tolstoy Marg, etc. Connaught Place was choked as farmers walked from Ramlila Maidan towards Parliament Street via Ranjeet Singh flyover, which led to traffic congestion on adjoining roads.
Multiple agencies in the district have launched a concerted implementation of ways and means to tackle water-logging and other problems in the city. District Administration, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Police Department have connected with an internal WhatsApp number to share water-logging, traffic jams, garbage and other related issues on the group to resolve the problem.

The different agencies have prepared a detailed action plan to resolve traffic, water logging and other issues so that the resident of the city could not face traffic mess during the rain.

It may be recalled that on August 28, the city was plagued by a massive traffic jam and water logging at different locations due to lack of coordination between various departments.

The district administration working with the NHAI and GMDA to ensure all water pumps are in working condition so that they can be used in emergencies, Deputy Commissioner, Vinay Pratap Singh, said.

Meanwhile, Gurugram Police has decided to deploy more traffic personnel at busy junctions to share traffic updates and other issues with the multiple agencies during rain and peak hours.

We have deployed additional police personnel at major traffic junctions on the city road to avoid any traffic mess. On August 28 the commuters had faced four hours jam due to water logging in the vicinity of Hero Honda Chowk.

The issued along with water-logging photos we had shared with the concerned authority. Once the agency resolves the water logging problem at Hero Honda Chowk the commuters will not face jam on the stretch, said Sandeep Malik, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), who has been entrusted with additional charge of traffic police.

We will make all required efforts during the rain and peak hours traffic so that the commuters on Delhi-Gurugram Expressway and residents didn't face any problem related with the traffic jams. To ensure the smooth traffic in the city traffic police will be deployed 24x7 at water-logging prone sites in shifts, ACP Malik said.

Meanwhile, Gurugram Police have identified 24 points within the city which could be vulnerable to heavy traffic jams. These points are Shankar Chowk, Atlas Chowk, Iffco Chowk, Signature Tower, Sector-31, Jharsa Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk, Vatika Chowk, Subhash Chowk, Bata Chowk, Atul Kataria Chowk, Huda City Centre, Hanuman Chowk, Ghata More, Kherki Daula toll plaza, Rampura Chowk, IMT Chowk in Manesar, Panchgaon Chowk, Bilaspur Chowk, Kapriwas, Himgiri Chowk sector-10, Ambedkar Chowk in Sohna and Jamalpur in Pataudi.
India and the US Thursday inked a long-negotiated pact under which critical and encrypted defence technologies will be provided to the Indian military by the Americans, officials said here.

The 'Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA)' was signed after the first two-plus-two talks External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

The COMCASA will facilitate India to obtain critical defence technologies from the US, and access critical communication network to ensure interoperability among the US and the Indian armed forces.

It will also allow the installation of high-security US communication equipment on defence platforms being sourced from the US, officials said.
This well-established Blog is worth visiting on a regular basis for a wealth of information of interest to Armenian nationals and to the Armenian Diaspora world-wide. Although it has a particular role in promoting international recognition of the Genocide, the Blog encompasses much more and includes many articles of general appeal to all those concerned with Armenian affairs. Much of the content is difficult or impossible to find elsewhere and the long list of links provided gives easy access to a plethora of material on social, political, religious, educational and cultural matters, and many news items from around the world.




Normal life in Bihar was affected on Thursday due to a nationwide shutdown called by dozens of upper caste groups to protest against the amended SC/ST Act, police said.

Trains were forcibly halted, railway tracks, national and state highways were blocked in Bihar as upper caste communities forced the shutdown, disrupting rail and road traffic for hours and stranding thousands of passengers at different railway stations and bus stands.

Hundreds of people from the upper caste communities took to streets across the state early in the day to protest against The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and rail traffic in Patna, Gaya, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Madhubni, Bhojpur, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nawada and Bhagalour districts.

In Patna, supporters of the Sawarn Sena and Sawarn Morcha activists surrounded Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in protest against the SC/ST Act. They shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and threatened to intensify their protest against the central government.

The agitators also staged a protest in front of the ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) office. The JD-U is an ally of the BJP.

Schools and colleges, markets and business centres remained closed in several towns in Bihar.

At different places across the state, angry protesters raised slogans against Modi and the central government and demanded reservation for the poor among the upper castes in jobs and educational institutions.

The protest was called by over two dozen groups including the Sawarn Sena and the Bhumihar-Brahmin Ekta Manch on the social media.

Security has been tightened in the state with additional forces deployed at sensitive places.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has termed the protest as anti-Dalit and anti-reservation. While JD-U said the protest was against the Constitution.

The BJP leaders maintained a total silence over the protest.

Bharat Bandh: Normal life hit in MP



Bhopal: Normal life was partially affected in several parts of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday as several organistations staged protests as part of a countrywide agitation against the SC/ST Amendment Act.

Shops and business establishments remained shut in several areas. Vechicular movement was also affected. Petrol pumps were also closed in the state capital and other areas. Security has been beefed up and 35 areas are put on high alert, police said.

The administration has imposed prohibitive orders under section 144 of Crpc in Chhatarpur, Shivpuri, Bhind, Ashoknagar, Guna, Gwalior and Katni, sources said.

Several organisations have given a call for a 'Bharat Bandh' against the amendement of Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Gwalior-Chambal region had witnessed large-scale violence on April 2 during the Bharat Bandh called by scheduled caste groups in which four people were killed.
Island nation Mauritius is expecting about 89,000 Indian tourists this year and several Indian movie makers to take advantage of its expense rebate scheme for shooting there, said a top official of Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority (MTPA) here on Monday.

He said one the latest Indian movie projects to be shot in Mauritius is Ram Yug based on epic Ramayana directed by Kunal Kohli. Curiously, a major portion of Ramayana epic happened in another island nation Sri lanka.

"We offer 30 per cent rebate on expenses incurred in Mauritius by a movie producer for shooting the film in our nation," Arvind Bundhun, Director, MTPA told IANS.

He said there is a steady growth in Indian tourists to Mauritius and this year about 89,000 Indian tourists are expected to visit the island nation.

"We are looking at the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), honeymooners, high net worth people and wedding segments from India. The number of Indian tourists to visit Mauritius is expected to touch 1,20,000 by 2020," Bundhun added.

last year, about 86,000 Indians visited Mauritius.

He said a pharmaceutical company and an insurance company will be having their conference in Mauritius with several hundreds of people participating in it.

According to Bundhun, the dip in Chinese tourists to Mauritius is being offset by tourists from other countries.

Comparing the tourists from India with that from Europe Bundhun said: "Indian tourists if they come on seven nights stay would go out to see various places for six nights. On the other hand, a European tourist would stay put in his hotel for six nights and venture out only on one night."

He also said the hotels in Mauritius have now tuned their offering to Indian habits like eating the breakfast a bit late in the morning.

Meanwhile the Mauritius High Commissioner to India Jagdishwar Goburdhun who was present at the MTPA roadshow here told IANS the bilateral trade between India and his nation is growing.

He said Mauritius is happy with India for supporting its resolution on the Chagos island in the United Nations last year and added that the island nation is not tilting towards China.

last year Mauritius brought a resolution in the UN to refer the dispute with the UK over Chagos island to International Court of Justice. Ninety four countries voted in favour and 15 countries opposed the resolution.

Goburdhun said Mauritius does not want its land to be a military base for any nation.
The largest Russian airline, Aeroflot, is planning to add more connections between India and Russia beyond its Delhi-Moscow route. Kidisyuk Sergey, its General Manager for India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, discusses details with Ankita Saxena

Aeroflot recently celebrated its 60 years of regular air service between the Indian and Russian capitals. The airline started its India operations with one weekly flight from Delhi to Moscow. In view of the increase in demand and interest among the Indian travellers for Russia, the airline increased its frequency in the spring of 2016 to two daily flights between Delhi and Moscow.

Kidisyuk Sergey explains that an average of 500 seats is available on the two daily flights between Delhi and Moscow. He said, During the summer time, the traffic from India to Russia is significantly higher. Indian travellers are showing more and more interest in our product and prefer Aeroflot to not just to fly between the two capitals but also beyond Moscow to a larger network of international destinations of our airline.

Given its size and potential as well as positive legacy of bilateral ties with Russia, India remains a priority market for Russia's largest airline. Sergey elaborates, Taking into consideration that India is a huge country and the demand is growing, we shall consider beginning operations to new destinations in India soon. Currently we do not have any code-share agreements with the Indian carriers but we have partnered with Air India and Jet Airways. We are looking at collaborating with our new interline partner Vistara as well. The general manager pointed out that the airline is working with renowned Indian travel agencies and has a big agency network.

It is important to note that Aeroflots fleet is one of the youngest in the world with an average age of the fleet at four years. The fleet consists of Airbus A320, B737, Airbus A330, B777 and Sukhoi SuperJets-100 aircraft. As of August 1, Aeroflot includes 245 passenger aircraft. The year 2017 was a record-setting one for the Moscow-Delhi route where the airline carried almost 290,000 passengers, a 50 per cent year-on-year increase.

The Moscow-Delhi route is strategically important for Aeroflot as it aims to further grow transit traffic between Europe and Asia. Sergey added, Passengers choose Russia's leading airline to travel from Delhi to destinations in Russia and Europe. Among Aeroflot's competitive advantages are our competitive fares, high-quality service and convenient transit via the airlines hub at Moscows Sheremetyevo airport. The Aeroflot transit passengers connecting between India and Europe enjoy the shortest air-time and award-winning service.
Petitioners Ritu Dalmia, Aman Nath, Navtej Johar and activist Aakash Aggarwal talk to Team Viva about their day of joy and freedom from the tag of being criminals

With the historic ruling by the Supreme Court of India scrapping section 377, it put the country at par with other progressive nations that recognise love as it is, regardless of the sex of the partners.

The petitioners and allies rejoiced the decriminalising of gay sex and the sensitivity with which the judgement was given.

Ritu Dalmia, who was one of the petitioners, said she had put an alarm for 5.30 am in the morning since she was in the UK. A celebrity chef and owner of the niche restaurant chain Diva, Dalmia identifies as lesbian.

When I put the petition there was just anger and the feeling that one has to do something. I am a very optimistic person. The hope was there but I never thought the judgement would be this way because this hasnt been just about striking it down but the judgment was so progressive and so sensitive. This is something one did not expect. I am really proud of our judiciary system today, she said. She added that it had nothing to do with the position of the petitioners, which includes LaLit hotels scion Keshav Suri, Bharatanatyam dancer Navtej Singh Johar, co-founder and co-chairman of the Neemrana Hotels chain Aman Nath and other noted individuals.

I think it had nothing to do with the faces and names of the petitioners. The real work was done by the legal team, who fought this case amazingly. The judges were sensitive, intelligent and intellectuals. Were a functional democracy and the whole law was absurd and a bit of a joke. When you read this judgment you get your faith back in the system, she said.

With the legal system on their side, they community is ready to gear up to fight the social stigma, which too will be a long journey.

It will be easy now to do counselling, workshops and activities so that there is awareness because it is legal now. The identity crisis which the community was facing is gone. We can begin addressing the issues. The next step could be allowing adoption.

There are many underprivileged children in the country and the government should be open towards adoption to LGBT community. Kids will get homes, said Jewellery designer Aakash K Aggarwal, who identifies as homosexual.

Nath believes that with the judgement India has flushed out an outdated law after 160 years by a government that people call conservative. India is just returning to its open, progressive morality. Finally, the love of mankind will be legal in India, he said.

And then there was Johar, who sounded teary even during the phone call. Were all so overwhelmed right now. I just want to say that it was a great judgment. Were overjoyed with it. It restored our faith in the Constitution and the Judiciary. I think right now is the time to celebrate. Its really a wonderful thing and were grateful to the judges for delivering such a judgement. I still dont know how the celebration will be. Were just digesting it right now. It will take a while to process this, said Johar.

The relief was palpable in their voices, about the progressive direction the country is going to and that for the future generations, who no longer have to fight and hide.

Im happy and relived for the coming generations. It was a long fight. This the beginning. Now comes the responsibility. The LGBT community has to stand up as the best human race.

We have to be equal in our responsibility and be proactive towards our country and the Constitution. We are the generation and the face of the youth which wanted a change and got it too. The generation before ours kept quiet and lived in closet. The coming generation will be relieved, said Aggarwal. He also congratulated the Modi government, even though they kept their silence.
Damascus: Irans foreign minister said at the start of a visit to Damascus on Monday that terrorists must be purged from Syrias Idlib and the entire northwestern province returned to government control.

Mohammad Javad Zarifs comments in Damascus were reported by Irans semi-official Fars news agency and came as Syrian forces and their allies are preparing for an assault on Idlib, the last opposition stronghold in the country.

Syrias territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process, and the refugees should return to their homes, Zarif said.

He met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who is just back from a visit to Moscow. The visit comes days before the leaders of Iran, Turkey, and Russia are expected to meet in Iran to discuss the situation in Idlib.

President Donald Trump on Monday sent a tweet warning Assad and his allies against a reckless attack on Idlib province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Dont let that happen! Trump said.

During their meeting Assad and Zarif discussed the agenda of the summit in Iran.
The following companies are subsidiares of Banco Santander: 2 & 3 Triton Limited, A & L CF (Guernsey) Limited (f), A & L CF June (2) Limited, A & L CF June (3) Limited, A & L CF March (5) Limited, A & L CF September (4) Limited, AFB SAM Holdings S.L., ALIL Services Limited (b), AN (123) Limited, ANITCO Limited, Abbey Business Services (India) Private Limited, Abbey Covered Bonds (LM) Limited, Abbey National, Abbey National Beta Investments Limited, Abbey National Business Office Equipment Leasing Limited, Abbey National International Limited, Abbey National Nominees Limited, Abbey National PLP (UK) Limited, Abbey National Property Investments, Abbey National Treasury Services Investments Limited, Abbey National Treasury Services Overseas Holdings, Abbey National UK Investments, Abbey Stockbrokers (Nominees) Limited, Abbey Stockbrokers Limited, Ablasa Participaciones S.L., Administracion de Bancos Latinoamericanos Santander S.L., Aduro S.A., Aevis Europa S.L., Afisa S.A., Albert., Aljardi SGPS Lda., Alliance & Leicester, Alliance & Leicester Cash Solutions Limited, Alliance & Leicester Commercial Bank Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (Derivatives) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments (No.2) Limited, Alliance & Leicester Investments Limited, Alliance & Leicester Limited, Alliance & Leicester Personal Finance Limited, Altamira Santander Real Estate S.A., Alternative Leasing FIL, Amazonia Trade Limited, Amherst Pierpont, Andaluza de Inversiones S.A., Aquanima Brasil Ltda., Aquanima Chile S.A., Aquanima Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Aquanima S.A., Arcaz - Sociedade Imobiliaria Portuguesa Lda., Argenline S.A. (b), Asto Digital Limited, Athena Corporation Limited, Atual - Fundo de Invest Multimercado Credito Privado Investimento no Exterior, Atual Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos e Meios Digitais S.A., Autodescuento S.L., Autohaus24 GmbH, Auttar HUT Processamento de Dados Ltda., Aviacion Antares A.I.E., Aviacion Britanica A.I.E., Aviacion Centaurus A.I.E., Aviacion Comillas S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Intercontinental A.I.E., Aviacion Laredo S.L., Aviacion Oyambre S.L. Unipersonal, Aviacion Real A.I.E., Aviacion Santillana S.L., Aviacion Suances S.L., Aviacion Triton A.I.E., Aymore Credito Financiamento e Investimento S.A., BEN Beneficios e Servicos S.A., BRS Investments S.A., BZW Bank, Banca PSA Italia S.p.A., Banco Bandepe S.A., Banco Madesant - Sociedade Unipessoal S.A., Banco PSA Finance Brasil S.A., Banco Popular, Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 100740, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso 2002114, Banco Santander (Mexico) S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico como Fiduciaria del Fideicomiso GFSSLPT, Banco Santander - Chile, Banco Santander Consumer Portugal S.A., Banco Santander International, Banco Santander International SA, Banco Santander Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Banco Santander Peru S.A., Banco Santander Rio S.A., Banco Santander S.A., Banco Santander Totta S.A., Banco Santander de Negocios Colombia S.A., Banco de Albacete S.A., Bansa Santander S.A., CCAP Auto Lease Ltd., Canyon Multifamily Impact Fund IV LLC, Capital Street Delaware LP, Capital Street Holdings LLC, Capital Street REIT Holdings LLC, Capital Street S.A., Carfax (Guernsey) Limited (f), Carfinco Financial Group, Carfinco Financial Group Inc., Carfinco Inc., Casa de Bolsa Santander S.A. de C.V. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Cater Allen Holdings Limited, Cater Allen International Limited, Cater Allen Limited, Cater Allen Lloyd's Holdings Limited, Cater Allen Syndicate Management Limited, Centro de Capacitacion Santander A.C., Certidesa S.L., Chrysler Capital Auto Funding I LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Funding II LLC, Chrysler Capital Auto Receivables LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 2 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding 4 LLC, Chrysler Capital Master Auto Receivables Funding LLC, Cobranza Amigable S.A.P.I. de C.V., Community Development and Affordable Housing Fund LLC (g), Compagnie Generale de Credit Aux Particuliers - Credipar S.A., Compagnie Pour la Location de Vehicules - CLV, Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Argentina S.A., Comunidad Laboral Trabajando Iberica S.L. Unipersonal en liquidacion (b), Consulteam Consultores de Gestao Lda., Consumer Lending Receivables LLC, Crawfall S.A. (b), Cantabra de Inversiones S.A., Cantabro Catalana de Inversiones S.A., Darep Designated Activity Company, Decarome S.A.P.I. de C.V., Deva Capital Advisory Company S.L., Deva Capital Holding Company S.L., Deva Capital Investment Company S.L., Deva Capital Management Company S.L., Deva Capital Servicer Company S.L., Digital Procurement Holdings N.V., Diners Club Spain S.A., Direccion Estratega S.C., Dirgenfin S.L. en liquidacion (b), Ebury, El Corte Ingles, Elavon Mexico, Electrolyser S.A. de C.V., Entidad de Desarrollo a la Pequena y Micro Empresa Santander Consumo Peru S.A., Erestone S.A.S., Esfera Fidelidade S.A., Evidence Previdencia S.A., Financeira El Corte Ingles Portugal S.F.C. S.A., Financiera El Corte Ingles E.F.C. S.A., Finsantusa S.L. Unipersonal, First National Motor Business Limited, First National Motor Contracts Limited, First National Motor Facilities Limited, First National Motor Finance Limited, First National Motor Leasing Limited, First National Motor plc, First National Tricity Finance Limited, Fondos Santander S.A. Administradora de Fondos de Inversion (en liquidacion) (b), Fortensky Trading Ltd., Fosse Funding (No.1) Limited, Fosse Master Issuer plc, Fosse Trustee (UK) Limited, GTS El Centro Equity Holdings LLC, GTS El Centro Project Holdings LLC, Gamma Sociedade Financeira de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Gesban Mexico Servicios Administrativos Globales S.A. de C.V., Gesban Santander Servicios Profesionales Contables Limitada, Gesban Servicios Administrativos Globales S.L., Gesban UK Limited, Gestion de Instalaciones Fotovoltaicas S.L. Unipersonal, Gestion de Inversiones JILT S.A., Gestora de Procesos S.A. en liquidacion (b), Getnet Adquirencia e Servicos para Meios de Pagamento S.A., Global Vosgos S.L. Unipersonal, Grupo Empresarial Santander S.L., Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico S.A. de C.V., Grupo Financiero Santander SAB de CV, Guaranty Car S.A. Unipersonal, HQ Mobile Limited, Hispamer Renting S.A. Unipersonal, Holbah II Limited, Holbah Santander S.L. Unipersonal, Holmes Funding Limited, Holmes Master Issuer plc, Holmes Trustees Limited, Hyundai Capital Bank Europe GmbH, Iberica de Compras Corporativas S.L., Independence Community Bank Corp., Insurance Funding Solutions Limited, Interfinance Holanda B.V., Inversiones Capital Global S.A. Unipersonal, Inversiones Maritimas del Mediterraneo S.A., Isla de los Buques S.A., Klare Corredora de Seguros S.A., Landcompany 2020 S.L., Langton Funding (No.1) Limited, Langton Mortgages Trustee (UK) Limited, Langton Securities (2008-1) plc, Langton Securities (2010-1) PLC, Langton Securities (2010-2) PLC, Laparanza S.A., Liquidity Limited, Luri 1 S.A. en liquidacion (b) (e), Luri 6 S.A. Unipersonal, Master Red Europa S.L., Mata Alta S.L., Merciver S.L., Mercury TFS, Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.A. de C.V., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.L., Mercury Trade Finance Solutions S.p.A., Moneybit S.L., Mortgage Engine Limited, Motor 2016-1 PLC, Motor 2017-1 PLC, Mouro Capital I LP, Multiplica SpA, NW Services CO., Naviera Mirambel S.L., Naviera Trans Gas A.I.E., Naviera Trans Iron S.L., Naviera Trans Ore A.I.E., Naviera Trans Wind S.L. (b), Naviera Transcantabrica S.L., Naviera Transchem S.L. Unipersonal, NeoAuto S.A.C., Norbest AS, Novimovest  Fundo de Investimento Imobiliario, Open Bank Argentina S.A., Open Bank S.A., Open Digital Market S.L., Open Digital Services S.L., Operadora de Carteras Gamma S.A.P.I. de C.V., Optimal Investment Services SA, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland Euro Fund, Optimal Multiadvisors Ireland Plc / Optimal Strategic US Equity Ireland US Dollar Fund, PBE Companies LLC, PECOH Limited, PI Distribuidora de Titulos e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., PSA Bank Deutschland GmbH, PSA Banque France, PSA Finance UK Limited, PSA Financial Services Nederland B.V., PSA Financial Services Spain E.F.C. S.A., PSA Renting Italia S.p.A., PagoFX Europe S.A., PagoFX HoldCo S.L., PagoFX UK Ltd, PagoNxt Merchant Solutions S.L., PagoNxt S.L., Parasant SA, Patagon.com, Pereda Gestion S.A., Pingham International S.A., Popular Spain Holding de Inversiones S.L.U., Portal Universia Argentina S.A., Portal Universia Portugal Prestacao de Servicos de Informatica S.A., Prime 16  Fundo de Investimentos Imobiliario, Punta Lima LLC, Punta Lima Wind Farm LLC, Retop S.A., Return Capital Servicos de Recuperacao de Creditos S.A., Return Gestao de Recursos S.A., Riobank International (Uruguay) SAIFE (b), Rojo Entretenimento S.A., SAM Asset Management S.A. de C.V. Sociedad Operadora de Fondos de Inversion, SAM Investment Holdings S.L., SAM UK Investment Holdings Limited (b), SANB Promotora de Vendas e Cobranca Ltda., SCF Eastside Locks GP Limited, SDMX Superdigital S.A. de C.V., SMPS Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A de C.V, Sancap Investimentos e Participacoes S.A., Santander (CF Trustee Property Nominee) Limited, Santander (UK) Group Pension Schemes Trustees Limited, Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 1 S.A., Santander Ahorro Inmobiliario 2 S.A., Santander Alternatives SICAV RAIF, Santander Asesorias Financieras Limitada, Santander Asset Finance (December) Limited, Santander Asset Finance plc, Santander Asset Management - S.G.O.I.C. S.A., Santander Asset Management Chile S.A., Santander Asset Management LLC, Santander Asset Management Luxembourg S.A., Santander Asset Management S.A. Administradora General de Fondos, Santander Asset Management S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Asset Management UK Holdings Limited, Santander Asset Management UK Limited, Santander Back-Offices Globales Mayoristas S.A., Santander Banca de Inversion Colombia S.A.S., Santander Bank & Trust Ltd., Santander Bank National Association, Santander Bank Polska S.A., Santander Brasil Administradora de Consorcio Ltda., Santander Brasil Gestao de Recursos Ltda., Santander Brasil Tecnologia S.A., Santander Capital Desarrollo SGEIC S.A. Unipersonal, Santander Capital Structuring S.A. de C.V., Santander Capitalizacao S.A., Santander Cards Ireland Limited, Santander Cards Limited, Santander Cards UK Limited, Santander Chile Holding S.A., Santander Consulting (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Santander Consumer (UK) plc, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2013-B3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L4 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2018-L5 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2019-L3 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-B1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L1 LLC, Santander Consumer Auto Receivables Funding 2020-L2 LLC, Santander Consumer Bank, Santander Consumer Bank AG, Santander Consumer Bank GmbH, Santander Consumer Bank S.A., Santander Consumer Bank S.p.A., Santander Consumer Banque S.A., Santander Consumer Credit Services Limited, Santander Consumer Finance Benelux B.V., Santander Consumer Finance Global Services S.L., Santander Consumer Finance Oy, Santander Consumer Finance S.A., Santander Consumer Finance Schweiz AG, Santander Consumer Financial Solutions Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Finanse Sp. z o.o. (b), Santander Consumer Holding Austria GmbH, Santander Consumer Holding GmbH, Santander Consumer International Puerto Rico LLC, Santander Consumer Leasing GmbH, Santander Consumer Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.L., Santander Consumer Multirent Sp. z o.o., Santander Consumer Operations Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Receivables 10 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 11 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 3 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables 7 LLC, Santander Consumer Receivables Funding LLC, Santander Consumer Renting S.L., Santander Consumer S.A., Santander Consumer S.A.S., Santander Consumer Services GmbH, Santander Consumer Services S.A., Santander Consumer Technology Services GmbH, Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., Santander Consumer USA Inc., Santander Consumo S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Corredora de Seguros Limitada, Santander Corredores de Bolsa Limitada, Santander Corretora de Cambio e Valores Mobiliarios S.A., Santander Corretora de Seguros Investimentos e Servicos S.A., Santander Customer Voice S.A., Santander Digital Assets S.L., Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC, Santander Equity Investments Limited, Santander Espana Merchant Services Entidad de Pago S.L. Unipersonal, Santander Espana Servicios Legales y de Cumplimiento S.L., Santander Estates Limited, Santander F24 S.A., Santander Facility Management Espana S.L., Santander Factoring S.A., Santander Factoring Sp. z o.o., Santander Factoring y Confirming S.A. E.F.C., Santander Finance 2012-1 LLC, Santander Financial Exchanges Limited, Santander Financial Services Inc., Santander Financial Services plc, Santander Finanse Sp. z o.o., Santander Fintech Holdings S.L., Santander Fintech Limited, Santander Fundo de Investimento SBAC Referenciado di Credito Privado, Santander Gestion de Recaudacion y Cobranzas Ltda., Santander Global Consumer Finance Limited, Santander Global Facilities S.A. de C.V., Santander Global Facilities S.L., Santander Global Operations S.A., Santander Global Services S.A. (b), Santander Global Sport S.A., Santander Global Technology Brasil Ltda., Santander Global Technology Chile Limitada, Santander Global Technology S.L., Santander Global Trade Platform Solutions S.L., Santander Guarantee Company, Santander Holding Imobiliaria S.A., Santander Holding Internacional S.A., Santander Holdings USA Inc., Santander ISA Managers Limited, Santander Inclusion Financiera S.A. de C.V. S.O.F.O.M. E.R. Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, Santander Insurance Agency U.S. LLC, Santander Insurance Services UK Limited, Santander Intermediacion Correduria de Seguros S.A., Santander International Products Plc. (d), Santander Inversiones S.A., Santander Investment Bank Limited, Santander Investment Chile Limitada, Santander Investment I S.A., Santander Investment S.A., Santander Investment Securities Inc., Santander Investments GP 1 S.a.r.l., Santander Inwestycje Sp. z o.o., Santander Lease S.A. E.F.C., Santander Leasing LLC, Santander Leasing S.A., Santander Leasing S.A. Arrendamento Mercantil, Santander Lending Limited, Santander Mediacion Operador de Banca-Seguros Vinculado S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Operations S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Services S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions S.A., Santander Merchant Platform Solutions Uruguay S.A., Santander Merchant Platform SolucoesTecnologicas Brasil Ltda., Santander Merchant S.A., Santander Mortgage Holdings Limited, Santander Paraty Qif PLC, Santander Pensiones S.A. E.G.F.P., Santander Pensoes - Sociedade Gestora de Fundos de Pensoes S.A., Santander Private Banking Gestion S.A. S.G.I.I.C., Santander Private Banking UK Limited, Santander Private Banking s.p.a. in Liquidazione (b), Santander Private Real Estate Advisory & Management S.A., Santander Private Real Estate Advisory S.A., Santander Real Estate S.A., Santander Retail Auto Lease Funding LLC, Santander Rio Asset Management Gerente de Fondos Comunes de Inversion S.A., Santander Rio Trust S.A., Santander Rio Valores S.A., Santander S.A. Sociedad Securitizadora, Santander Secretariat Services Limited, Santander Securities LLC, Santander Seguros y Reaseguros Compania Aseguradora S.A., Santander Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., Santander Servicios Especializados S.A. de C.V., Santander Technology USA LLC, Santander Tecnologia e Inovacao Ltda., Santander Tecnologia Argentina S.A., Santander Tecnologia Espana S.L.U., Santander Tecnologia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Santander Totta SGPS S.A., Santander Totta Seguros Companhia de Seguros de Vida S.A., Santander Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych S.A., Santander Trade Services Limited, Santander UK Group Holdings plc, Santander UK Investments, Santander UK Operations Limited, Santander UK Plc, Santander UK Technology Limited, Santander Wealth Management International SA, Santander de Titulizacion S.G.F.T. S.A., Santusa Holding S.L., Services and Promotions Delaware Corp., Services and Promotions Miami LLC, Servicio de Alarmas Controladas por Ordenador S.A., Servicios de Cobranza Recuperacion y Seguimiento S.A. De C.V., Sheppards Moneybrokers Limited, Shiloh III Wind Project LLC, Sociedad Integral de Valoraciones Automatizadas S.A., Sociedad Operadora de Tarjetas de Pago Santander Getnet Chile S.A., Socur S.A., Sol Orchard Imperial 1 LLC, Solarlaser Limited, Sovereign Community Development Company, Sovereign Delaware Investment Corporation, Sovereign Lease Holdings LLC, Sovereign REIT Holdings Inc., Sovereign Spirit Limited (f), Sterrebeeck B.V., Suleyado 2003 S.L. Unipersonal, Summer Empreendimentos Ltda., Super Pagamentos e Administracao de Meios Eletronicos S.A., Superdigital Argentina S.A.U., Superdigital Colombia S.A.S., Superdigital Holding Company S.L., Superdigital Peru S.A.C., Suzuki Servicios Financieros S.L., Swesant SA, TIMFin S.p.A., TOPSAM S.A de C.V., Taxagest Sociedade Gestora de Participacoes Sociais S.A., Teatinos Siglo XXI Inversiones S.A., The Alliance & Leicester Corporation Limited, The Best Specialty Coffee S.L. Unipersonal, Time Retail Finance Limited (b), Tonopah Solar I LLC, Toque Fale Servicos de Telemarketing Ltda., Tornquist Asesores de Seguros S.A. (b), Totta (Ireland) PLC, Totta Urbe - Empresa de Administracao e Construcoes S.A., Trabajando.com Mexico S.A. de C.V. en liquidacion (b), Trabajando.com Peru S.A.C., Trans Rotor Limited (b), Transolver Finance EFC S.A., Tresmares Growth Fund Santander SCR S.A., Tresmares Santander Direct Lending SICC S.A., Tuttle and Son Limited, Universia Brasil S.A., Universia Chile S.A., Universia Colombia S.A.S., Universia Espana Red de Universidades S.A., Universia Holding S.L., Universia Mexico S.A. de C.V., Universia Peru S.A., Universia Uruguay S.A., Uro Property Holdings SOCIMI S.A., WIM Servicios Corporativos S.A. de C.V., WTW Shipping Designated Activity Company, Wallcesa S.A., Wave Holdco S.L., Waypoint Insurance Group Inc., and Wirecard (Technological Assets).
21 minutes ago

Bees, sheep, crops: Solar developers tout multiple benefits

MONTICELLO, Minnesota (AP)  Silflower was among native plants that blanketed the vast North American prairie until settlers developed farms and cities. Nowadays confined largely to roadsides and ditches, the long-stemmed cousin of the sunflower may be poised for a comeback, thanks to solar energy. Researchers are growing silflower at nine solar installations in the Minneapolis area, testing its potential as an oilseed crop.

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Vietnams gold medals included two in bricklaying, one in wall and floor tiling, two in CNC maintenance, one in information network cabling and one in IT software solutions for business.



Nguyen Thi Doan won the Best of Nation Award, which was presented to 10 outstanding competitors from each country.

The biennial competition saw the participation of 331 competitors from the 10 ASEAN member countries. It featured 26 occupations, the largest number of occupations in the 12 editions so far. One of the two new occupations at the event was Internet of Thing.

Singapore will host the 13th ASEAN Skills competition in 2020.

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CIBT Education Group Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as an education and student housing investment company in Canada and China. The company engages in education, media communications, and real estate development businesses. It offers accredited programs, which include general English, college pathway, business English, medical English, English language test preparation, vacation English, online English, TESOL teacher training, automotive technical training, business management, customer service, English teacher preparation, and accounting, as well as junior and high school preparation programs for overseas study, and other career/vocational training; and interpreting and translation for Koreans and online English teacher training. The company also provides private career and technical training diplomas and certificates in health care, tourism, hospitality, business, administrative, technical trades, and international studies; and English as a Second Language, and accounting programs in China. In addition, it recruits international students and on-ground concierge services for various kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, universities, and colleges in North America; and offers web design and advertising services to the real estate industry. Further, the company invests in, develops, and manages education related real estate projects, such as student hotels, serviced apartments, and education super centers in Canada, as well as develops and manages real estate projects for technology workers and working professionals. The company was formerly known as Capital Alliance Group Inc. and changed its name to CIBT Education Group Inc. in November 2007. CIBT Education Group Inc. was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme provides financial services in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and France. The company offers retail banking services, including deposits and loans, vehicles and asset management, corporate finance, insurance, payments, investment, and online brokerage and financial information services; Internet, mobile, telephone, and service platforms; and online banking to individual and professional customers, businesses, non-profit associations and local authorities under the Societe Generale, CrAdit du Nord, and Boursorama Banque brands. It also provides international retail banking and financial services, comprising of deposit and loan products; consumer finance and car finance; mortgage facilities; corporate and investment banking; infrastructure, renewable energies, and agribusiness financing; life, retirement savings, and personal protection insurance products; vehicle leasing and fleet management services; and vendor and equipment finance services to corporate and individual customers. In addition, the company offers capital market services, such as fixed income and currencies, equities, and securities services; mergers and acquisitions, advisory and other corporate finance advisory services, and corporate banking and investment banking, as well as capital raising solutions for debt or equity, financial engineering, and hedging for issuers; transaction and payment services, comprising of cash management, trade finance, cash clearing and correspondent banking, supply chain finance, and foreign exchange services; and export finance, aircraft finance, shipping finance, real estate finance, and structured solutions and leasing. Further, it provides financial engineering and wealth management solutions; structured products, hedge funds, mutual funds, private equity funds and real estate investment solutions; and asset management solutions. SociAtA GAnArale SociAtA anonyme was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products. It offers a range of cigarettes, fine cut and smokeless tobacco, papers, and cigars; and next generation product (NGP) portfolio, such as e-vapour products, as well as oral nicotine and heated tobacco products. The company sells its products under various brands, including Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS, West, L&B, Bastos, Fine, Winston, News, Parker & Simpson, blu, Kool, Horizon, Jade, Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo Y Julieta, Backwoods, Skruf, Golden Virginia, Rizla, and Knox in approximately 160 countries worldwide. It also provides logistics services that include the distribution of tobacco and NGP products for tobacco and NGP product manufacturers; and various non-tobacco and NGP products and services. In addition, the company is involved in the management of a golf course; marketing of papers; restaurant business; distribution of pharmaceuticals, POS software, and published materials and other products; printing and publishing activities; and provision of long haul transportation, industrial parcel and express delivery, advertising, and support management services. Further, it owns the trademarks; and retails its products. The company was formerly known as Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and changed its name to Imperial Brands PLC in February 2016. Imperial Brands PLC was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Bristol, the United Kingdom.

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And one would not be far from the truth; every year, Vietnams 27 million pigs generate emissions equivalent to around 4.3 million tons of CO2, with strong smells and negative effects on human health. Not only that, just like carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are greenhouse gases that also contribute to air pollution and global warming. Though data on the total impact of emissions from breeding is still unavailable, research conducted at specific municipals has yielded dire results: household-scale breeders generate 18 times more ammonia than permitted, while large commercial breeders generate 21 times more.



What many do not know, is that these pernicious emissions could be used to generate electricity.



"Up to now, Vietnam has not had a comprehensive mechanism for supporting the development of renewable energy, aside from the subsidies for wind power and waste-generated electricity, approved in 2011 and 2014 respectively," Tran Van Khai, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Biogas Association (VBA), wrote in a biogas energy report from 2014. "Biogas energy is an attractive investment, if we have appropriate policies for it. "



Khai declared in an interview, "I am very frustrated about the delay in biomass energy development in Vietnam. Everything is so slow.

Four years after his report was published, and Vietnam still has only five biomass plants, operating in Gia Lai, Phu Yen, An Giang and Tuyen Quang, with a total capacity of 205 MW. None of them utilizes animal excretion. Among these five, the An Khe, Gia Lai biomass power plant, which uses bagasse from An Khe sugar factory, is the most effective, according to GreenID, the coordinating agency for Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance. Tran Dinh Sinh, Deputy Director of GreenID, stated that the biomass power plant reserves 25MW of its generated electricity for internal uses and loads 85MW onto the national grid.

Vietnam only uses about 40 percent of its biomass to generate energy, mostly in the form of heat, not electricity, despite the fact that the government-approved Electricity Master Plan VII aimed to produce 500MW of biomass electricity by 2020. "The policies were not coupled with real initiatives, so the pace of development has so far been disappointing, " Khai said.



But before this issue is further examined, there are some clarifications that need to be made. What is biomass energy, and why is it considered a renewable source of electricity?



According to the BIOMASS Develop & Go Green, a handbook created by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), Vietnam Energy Association (VEA) and the Vietnam Center for Energy Development (VESC), biomass is "organic matter derived from plants and created through photosynthesis [...] that can be considered as energy because of the solar power stored in the chemical bonds of organic matter "

The handbook went on to divide biomass into three categories: wood residues, including roots, bark, sawdust, and leftover construction wood; agricultural wastes such as straw, bagasse, post-harvest maize, cassava and rice husks; and finally, animal excretion. These products can be converted into energy using one of these four different methods - drying, compressing, heat treatment and anaerobic digestion - with the last two methods most commonly used in electricity production. According to Sinh, thermal treatment happens in plants that consist of boilers, steam turbines and generators, much like coal-fired power plants."

However, unlike coal, biomass-generated electricity is considered renewable because its ultimate source comes from the sun, and most biomass can be regrown in a relatively short amount of time. If appropriately operated, the whole system is also 100 percent carbon neutral.

The sad reality is that organic waste that could have been used to generate electricity is now being burned in the open air, or indiscriminately dumped into canals. Just the 9,000 tons of solid waste per day in HCMC can generate about 1 billion KWH of electricity over the span of a year. Emissions from the ten leading Vietnamese pig breeding corporations are enough to produce 100MWH per year, but instead, they are being discharged into the sky.

Not counting energy derivable from single-purpose energy plants, the total amount of energy stored in biomass waste in Vietnam is equivalent to 26.7 million tons of oil, enough to power 3 million households for ten years. "The potential for generating electricity from waste is huge; we should make use of them to increase a land areas economic efficiency, reduce environmental pollution, and create employment in rural provinces," Associate Professor Bui Xuan An, VBAs spokesperson, said.

Contrary to popular belief, biomass technology, like many renewables, is not a new technology, having been developed and applied in Vietnam since the 1960s. However, most of it was used in small-scale family stoves to generate heat for cooking. Generating electricity has similarly been restricted in scale, as most projects are the products of ESCO-plant owner joint ventures, meant to supplement grid electricity for individual firms consumption only, not contribute to it.

"Many livestock enterprises also [invest in biogas production] to meet their own internal needs," said Bui Xuan An. "But even when they produce more than their own demand, they cannot sell the surplus to anyone or connect it to the national grid because the State has very strict regulations about this. Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), a state-owned enterprise, is the only company able to buy and distribute electricity. EVN has not yet decided to purchase electricity from biogas; hence, millions of cubic meters of energy are simply released into the air, An bemoaned.

Under GreenID and WWFs Optimal Sustainable Energy Development scenario, by 2050 Vietnam will be able to supply 100% of its electricity need using renewable energy, of which 10% will be biomass. "This scenario, however, does not take into account other issues such as lack of funding and legislative support," Sinh said. "We also did not account for the limitations of the national grid." MOITs Renewable Energy Development Project to 2030, with a vision to 2050, meanwhile, employs a much more modest figure of 43 percent.

As of now, around 38 percent of Vietnams energy is being generated from renewables, mostly hydroelectricity; the rest of the countrys energy demands are met by coal-fired power plants. Experts concur that in order for Vietnam to meet its renewable energy objectives, major institutional changes need to be made to facilitate the transition. I think the 2020 goals can be reached tight, the 2030 goals will heavily depend on an improvement of the frame conditions, said Philip Thiemann, Senior Renewable Energy Advisor at the German Institute of Energy (GIZ) in Vietnam.

In comparison with traditional fossil fuels, biomass electricity does require larger, more expensive storage, conversion and distribution systems. For an investment on this scale, the price of electricity set by the government is too low; biomass co-generation is currently bought at 5,8 US cents / KWH, while straw and rice husk products bring in 7,4 cents / KWH. "We do not yet have subsidies to promote biomass energy or adequate regulation within the legal framework; there is simply no support mechanisms at all, Khai said. This is a major factor that drives away foreign investors.

Doctor of Science Do Ngoc Quynh, a specialist at VBA, maintained that the reason behind this lull is the governments lack of enthusiasm about biomass energy. To them, the high production costs renders the renewable source much less lucrative than coal, which is demonstrably cheaper when long-term environmental costs are not considered. "Policymakers do know about the harmful effects of coal-fired power stations, yet still decide to turn a blind eye to pursue their personal interests and those of lobbying groups, most notably the monopoly, EVN, " Quynh said.

Professor An concurred, Environmental scientists believe that this lack of support [...] does not stem from concerns about economic efficiency, much less so the environment and human health. It is firmly rooted in the benefits of groups associated coal technology and the 80-100 million tons of coal imported per year. "

He used the case of solar energy development as an example. "The state decided to buy solar power (Decision 11 and Communique 16), but so far, MOIT has not decided on the tax rate for solar electricity, so investors do not feel secure enough to further develop their projects. Meanwhile, the decision and communique will expire in one year," explained An. "While all domestic and international analyses show that renewable energy development is sustainable for the environment, the economy and a society at large, our country focuses on the development of coal power. Why?"

Currently, VBA and VSEA continue to seek for opportunities to cooperate with MOIT and influence government policy in these regards. External support and counseling has also been provided by other states, most notably the Netherlands, through the SNV project for small household biogas, and Germany, through the GIZ/MOIT advisory group. We have been focusing on creating strong coordination and alignment with other donors, energy efficiency, and smart grids, said Philip Thiemann from GIZ.

Currently, unbankable Power Purchase Agreements lead to high financing costs, lack of know how, lack of transparency, as well as long and complicated administrative process for Renewable Energy permits, Thiemann commented. All these issues are of structural nature.

In order for the renewable energy market in Vietnam to become more attractive, it is imperative therefore that the government implements support mechanisms, including recognizing renewable energy project owners as special investors who can enjoy beneficial prices for land use, tax and loans, as well as receive high Feed in Tariffs (FiT). They should also be granted priority in terms of connecting to the national grid. More importantly, however, EVNs monopoly-derived power needs to be weakened; if more companies can purchase electricity, the market will become more competitive, thus attracting investors.

But institutionalized lobbying aside, An also emphasized the importance of multimedia channels introducing new technologies to the people, especially those in more rural areas where plant waste is generated.

At present, not many are aware of biomass energy, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as its role in reducing the damage of fossil fuels. Hue Thao, a resident of Tan An, Long An, shared, "In my community, some people have heard about about renewable energy but few are interested, maybe because it does not appear often on multimedia channels." Thao himself, when asked about the concept of biomass energy, said that he had only been exposed to news about biofuels. "It is known that these products are made from cassava and other additives, which should be environmentally friendly, but because there is not much information on them we have not tried using them.

In order for Vietnam to become the regional leader in renewables and turn WWF and GreenIDs vision into reality, there must be more concentrated effort from within the country to change people's views. Professor Bui Xuan An concluded, "In order to change the situation, public awareness campaigns have to go hand in hand with legislative advocacy."

By Hoang Mai
The following companies are subsidiares of Quaker Chemical: AC Products Inc., Applied Surface Concepts Holdings Ltd. , Binol AB, Binol Biosafe OY, Commonwealth Oil Corporation, DA Stuart India Private Limited, DA Stuart Shanghai Co, ECLI Products LLC, EFHCO LLC, Engineered Custom Lubricants, Engineered Custom Lubricants GmbH, Epmar Corporation, G.W. Smith and Sons, GH Holdings Inc., GHG Lubricants Holdings Limited, GHGL London Ltd., GHI Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Global Houghton Ltd., Houghton (Shanghai) Specialty Industrial Fluids Co. Ltd, Houghton Argentina S.A., Houghton Asia Pacific Co. Limited, Houghton Australia Pty. Ltd., Houghton Benelux BV, Houghton CZ s.r.o, Houghton Canada Inc., Houghton Denmark AS, Houghton Deutschland GmbH, Houghton Europe BV, Houghton Holdings Limited, Houghton Iberica S.A. , Houghton International, Houghton International Inc., Houghton Italia S.p.A., Houghton Japan Co. Ltd., Houghton Kimya Sanayi AS, Houghton Magyarorszag Kft, Houghton Mexico S.A. de C.V., Houghton Oil (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd., Houghton Polska Sp. Zo.o., Houghton Romania S.R.L., Houghton S.A.S., Houghton Sverige AB, Houghton Taiwan Co. Limited, Houghton Technical Corp., Houghton Ukraine ToV, Houghton do Brazil Ltda., Houghton plc, Internationale Metall Impragnier GmbH, Lubricor Inc, Lubricor Inc., Lubricor Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Lubricor USA Inc., MIH Acquisition Company LLC, MX Systems International Ltd, Maldaner GmbH, NP Coil Dexter Industries, New Houghton Brazil Inc., Norman Hay Engineering Ltd., QH Chemical Limited, QH Europe BV, QH Holdings Limited, QH International Limited, Quaker (Thailand) Ltd., Quaker Australia Holdings Pty. Limited, Quaker Chemical (Australasia) Pty. Limited, Quaker Chemical (China) Co. Ltd., Quaker Chemical B.V., Quaker Chemical CV, Quaker Chemical Canada Holdings Inc., Quaker Chemical Canada Limited, Quaker Chemical Europe B.V., Quaker Chemical Holdings South Africa (Pty) Limited, Quaker Chemical India Private Limited, Quaker Chemical Industria e Comercio Ltda., Quaker Chemical Investment Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Quaker Chemical Limited, Quaker Chemical MEA FZE, Quaker Chemical Operacoes Ltda., Quaker Chemical Participacoes Ltda., Quaker Chemical S.A., Quaker Chemical S.r.l., Quaker Chemical Services EURL, Quaker Chemical South Africa (Pty.) Limited, Quaker China Holdings B.V., Quaker Denmark ApS, Quaker Houghton (Finco) Ltd., Quaker Houghton Holdings Limited, Quaker Houghton Holdings Ltd., Quaker Houghton International LP, Quaker Houghton Ltd., Quaker International Holdings LLC, Quaker Italia S.r.l., Quaker Russia B.V., Quaker Sales Europe BV, Quaker Shanghai Trading Company Limited, Quaker Spain Holding SLU, Quaker Specialty Chemicals (UK) Limited, SB Decking Inc., SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts (UK) Ltd, SIFCO Applied Surface Concepts LLC, SIFCO Concepts Sarl, SIFCO Concepts Sweden, Sterr & Eder Industrieservice GmbH, Summit Lubricants Inc, Summit Lubricants Inc., Surface Technology (Coventry) Ltd, Surface Technology (Dalian) Co Ltd, Surface Technology (East Kilbride) Ltd., Surface Technology (Leeds) Ltd, Surface Technology Aberdeen Ltd, Surface Technology Australia, Surface Technology Holdings Ltd., TecniQuimia Mexicana, Tecniquimia Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Thai Houghton 1993 Co. Ltd., Ultraseal Asia Limited, Ultraseal Chongqing Limited, Ultraseal Germany GmbH, Ultraseal International Group Ltd, Ultraseal Machinery Dongguan Ltd, Ultraseal Shanghai Limited, Ultraseal USA Inc., Unitek Servicios De Asesoria Especializad S.A de C.V., Verkol S.A.U., Verkol SAU, Wallover Enterprises Inc., Wallover Oil Company Incorporated, Wallover Oil Hamilton Inc., and Wuhan Quaker Technology Co. Ltd.
Bank Hapoalim BM engages in the provision of private and corporate banking services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, Corporate, and International Activities. The Retail Activity segment operates in Private Banking, Small Businesses, and Housing Loans. Private Banking provides a range of banking services and financial products, including investment advisory services. Small Businesses provides a variety of banking services to business customers. Housing Loans is providing credit services for housing to customers of retail activity. The Corporate Activity segment operates in Commercial and Business sectors. Business sector provides financial services to large corporations in Israel and abroad. The International Activity segment operates in Financial Management and Adjustments. Financial Management is responsible for the management of the bank's sources and uses, for the bank's nostro activity, for the activity of the transaction rooms (foreign currency and securities), for provident fund management companies services and for the provision of operating services to financial asset managers, and securities management services for all bank customers. Adjustments includ

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The following companies are subsidiares of Pentair: Aplex Industries Inc., Aqua Membranes Inc. , Aquion, Aquion (Xi'an) Water Treatment Equipment Co. Ltd., Aquion Hong Kong Limited, Aquion Inc., Be the Change Labs Inc., Bylin Engineered Systems Inc, Century Mfg. Co., Chansuba Pumps Private Limited , Clean Process Technologies, ClearWater Tech L.L.C., ETE Coliban Pty Limited, Enviro Water Solutions LLC, Epps Ltd., Erico Global, Everpure Japan Kabushiki Kaisha, FARADYNE Motors (Suzhou) Co. Ltd , Faradyne Motors LLC , FilterSoft LLC, Fleck Controls Inc., Goyen Controls Co. Pty. Limited, Goyen Valve LLC, Greenspan Environmental Technology Pty Ltd, Haffmans B.V., Haffmans North America Inc., Hawley Group Canada Limited, Holding Nijhuis Pompen B.V., Hypro EU Limited, Infinite Water Solutions Private Limited, Jung Pumpen GmbH, Ken's Beverage, Lincoln Automotive Company, MECAIR S.r.L., McNeil (Ohio) Corporation, Milperra Developments Pty Limited, Mobile Pool Builder Inc., Moraine Properties LLC, Nano Terra Inc., Nijhuis Pompen B.V., Nuheat, PES Pty Ltd, PFAM Inc., PTG Accessories Corp., Panthro Acquisition Co., Pelican Holding Corporation, Pentair (NZ) Limited, Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems Inc., Pentair Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pentair Canada Inc., Pentair Clean Process Technologies India Private Limited, Pentair Denmark Holding ApS, Pentair Environmental Systems Limited, Pentair Epsilon Limited, Pentair Federal Pump LLC, Pentair Filtration Sales & Service Company LLC, Pentair Filtration Solutions LLC, Pentair Finance Group GmbH, Pentair Finance Holding GmbH, Pentair Finance S.a.r.l., Pentair Flow Control International Pty Limited, Pentair Flow Services AG, Pentair Flow Technologies LLC, Pentair Flow Technologies Pacific Pty Ltd, Pentair Flow Technologies de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Pentair France SARL, Pentair Germany GmbH, Pentair Global Holdings B.V., Pentair Global S.a.r.l., Pentair Group (Thailand) Limited , Pentair Holdings Inc., Pentair Holdings S.a.r.l., Pentair Housing Inc., Pentair Housing LP, Pentair Inc., Pentair International (UK) Ltd, Pentair International Holding S.a.r.l., Pentair International Sarl, Pentair Investments Switzerland GmbH, Pentair Ireland Limited, Pentair Janus Holding LLC, Pentair Janus Holdings, Pentair Kenya Limited, Pentair Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Pentair Management Company, Pentair Manufacturing Belgium BV, Pentair Manufacturing Italy S.r.L., Pentair Middle East FZE, Pentair Nanosoft US Holdings LLC, Pentair Netherlands Euro Finance B.V., Pentair Netherlands Finance B.V., Pentair Netherlands Holding B.V., Pentair Pacific Rim (Water) Limited, Pentair Pacific Rim Limited, Pentair Philippines Inc., Pentair Residential Filtration LLC, Pentair Sales LLC, Pentair Services France S.A.S., Pentair Sudmo GmbH, Pentair Tamimi LLC, Pentair Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Pentair Transport Inc., Pentair Tubing Limited, Pentair UK Group Limited, Pentair UK Holdings Limited, Pentair US LLC 1, Pentair US LLC 2, Pentair US LP, Pentair Valves & Controls del Uruguay S.A., Pentair Water (Suzhou) Company Ltd., Pentair Water Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pentair Water Australia Pty Ltd, Pentair Water Belgium BV, Pentair Water Brazil LLC, Pentair Water France SAS, Pentair Water Group Inc., Pentair Water Holdings LLC, Pentair Water India Private Limited, Pentair Water Italy S.r.l., Pentair Water LLC, Pentair Water Latinamerica S.A., Pentair Water Operations Australia Pty Ltd, Pentair Water Polska Sp.zoo, Pentair Water Pool and Spa Inc., Pentair Water Proces Technologie Holding B.V., Pentair Water Process Technology B.V., Pentair Water Purification Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Pentair Water Spain S.L., Pentair Water Treatment (OH) Company, Pentair Water Treatment Company, Pentair Water Treatment Private Limited, Pentair Water do Brasil Ltda., Pentair Water-Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Penwald Insurance Company, Pigeon Point Systems Inc., Plymouth Products Inc., Porous Media Corp., Procam Controls Inc., Rocean, Seneca Enterprises Co., Sta-Rite Industries LLC, Sta-Rite de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Sta-Rite de Puerto Rico Inc., Surface Logix LLC, Tupelo Real Estate LLC, Tyco Flow Control, Union Engineering (NingBo) Co. Ltd., Union Engineering A/S, Union Engineering Holding II A/S, Union Engineering Holding LLC, Union Engineering Latam Ltda, Union Engineering North America LLC, Urban Organics Pentair Group LLC, Urban Organics Schmidt Real Estate Group LLC, Urban Organics St. Paul LLC, Voltea Ltd., Water Ingenuity Holdings Corp., Webster Electric Company LLC, Wicor Industries (Australia) Pty. Ltd., and X-Flow B.V..
The following companies are subsidiares of EnerSys: ABSL Power Solutions Inc., ABSL Power Solutions Ltd., Acumuladores Industriales EnerSys SA, Alpha Alternative Energy Inc., Alpha Broadband Services Inc., Alpha Innovations Industria e Comercio de Produtos Eletronicos Ltda., Alpha Innovations Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Alpha Mexico Network Power S.A. de C.V., Alpha Tech Energy Solutions India Private Limited, Alpha Technical Services Ltd., Alpha Technologies Ltd., Alpha Technologies Pty. Ltd., Alpha Technologies Services Inc., Alphatec Technologies (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Argus Research Ltd., Batterias Hawker de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Battery Power International Pte Ltd., Coppervale Enterprises Inc., DCPM Engineering Sdn Bhd, EH Batterien AG, EH Europe GmbH, EH Global Holdings GmbH, EH Swiss Holdings GmbH, ENAS Industrial Batteries Morocco Sarl, EnerSys (Chaozhou) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (China) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (Chongqing) Huada Batteries Company Limited, EnerSys (Jiangsu) Huada Batteries Company Limited (94.7%) *, EnerSys (Luxembourg) Finance Sarl, EnerSys (Yangzhou) Huada Batteries Co. Ltd., EnerSys A/S, EnerSys AB, EnerSys AD, EnerSys AE, EnerSys AS, EnerSys Advanced Systems Inc., EnerSys Argentina S.A., EnerSys Asia Limited, EnerSys Australia Pty Ltd., EnerSys BV, EnerSys BVBA, EnerSys Battery Private Limited, EnerSys Brasil Ltda., EnerSys Bulgaria EOOD, EnerSys Canada Inc., EnerSys Capital Inc., EnerSys Cayman Euro L.P., EnerSys Cayman Holdings L.P., EnerSys Cayman Inc., EnerSys Delaware Inc., EnerSys Delaware LLC I, EnerSys Delaware LLC II, EnerSys Delaware LLC III, EnerSys Delaware LLC IV, EnerSys Delaware LLC V, EnerSys Energy Products Inc., EnerSys Europe Oy, EnerSys European Holding Co., EnerSys GmbH, EnerSys Holdings (Luxembourg) Sarl, EnerSys Holdings UK Ltd., EnerSys Hungaria Kft., EnerSys India Batteries Private Ltd., EnerSys JSC, EnerSys LLC, EnerSys Ltd., EnerSys Malaysia Sdn Bhd, EnerSys Mexico Holdings LLC, EnerSys Mexico Management LLC, EnerSys Participacoes Ltda., EnerSys Reserve Power Pte. Ltd., EnerSys S.r.l., EnerSys SARL, EnerSys SNC, EnerSys South East Asia Pte. Ltd., EnerSys de Mexico II S de R.L. de CV, EnerSys de Mexico S de R.L. de CV, EnerSys s.r.o., EnerSys sp. z o.o., EnerSystem Chile Ltda., Enersys Aku Sanaya Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Esfinco LLC, Hawker GmbH, Hawker Power Systems Inc., Hawker Powersource Inc., Hawker Systems GmbH & Co. KG., ICS Industries Pty Ltd, ICS Industries Pty Ltd., ICS Sheet Metal Pty Ltd., Industrial Battery Holding Ltda., International Communication Shelters Australasia Pty Ltd., Lancord Pty Ltd., Lenmic Pty Ltd., MIB Energy Sdn Bhd, N Holding AB, National Infrastructure Pty Ltd., National Infrastructure Services Pty Ltd., NaviSemi Energy Pte Ltd., NaviSemi Inc., New Pacifico Realty Inc., NorthStar Battery Company LLC, NorthStar Battery Company LLC, NorthStar Battery DMCC, Outback Power Technologies Inc., Powercom (NSW) Pty Ltd., Powersonic S de R.L. de CV, Purcell Systems, Purcell Systems Inc., Purcell Systems International AB, Quallion LLC, Riverfront Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Shenzhen Huada Power Supply Mechanical & Electrical Co. Ltd. , SiteTel Shanghai Co Ltd., SiteTel Sweden AB, Telecomponents & Supply (Hong Kong) Ltd., The Enser Corporation, UTS Holdings Sdn Bhd, UTS Technology (JB) Sdn Bhd, UTS Technology (PG) Sdn Bhd, YCI Inc., and Yecoltd S. de R.L. de CV.
The following companies are subsidiares of Quest Diagnostics: AmeriPath, AmeriPath Cincinnati Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Cleveland Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Consolidated Labs Inc. (FL), AmeriPath Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Hospital Services Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Indianapolis PC (IN), AmeriPath Kentucky Inc. (KY), AmeriPath Lubbock 5.01(A) Corporation (TX), AmeriPath New York LLC (DE), AmeriPath Texas Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Tucson Inc. (AZ), American Medical Laboratories, American Medical Laboratories Incorporated (DE), Associated Clinical Laboratories L.P. (PA), Associated Clinical Laboratories of Pennsylvania L.L.C. (PA), Athena Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics, Blueprint Genetics FZ-LLC (UAE), Blueprint Genetics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics Oy (Finland), California Laboratory Associates, Cape Cod Healthcare - Business, Celera, ClearPoint Diagnostic, Clearpoint Diagnostic Laboratories LLC (TX), Cleveland HeartLab, Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (DE), Clinical Laboratory Partners, Colorado Pathology Consultants P.C. (CO), ConVerge Diagnostic Services, Consolidated DermPath Inc. (DE), DFW 5.01(a) Corporation (TX), DGXWMT JV LLC (DE), Dermatopathology of Wisconsin S.C. (WI), Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma LLC (OK), Diagnostic Pathology Services Inc. (OK), Diagnostic Reference Services Inc. (MD), ExamOne Canada Inc. (New Brunswick), ExamOne LLC (DE), ExamOne World Wide Inc. (PA), ExamOne World Wide of NJ Inc. (NJ), Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue, Hoffman M.D. Associated Pathologists Chartered (NV), Institute for Dermatopathology Inc. (PA), Isabella Street Urban Renewal LLC (NJ), Kailash B. Sharma M.D. Inc. (GA), Kilpatrick Pathology P.A. (NC), LabOne, LabOne LLC (MO), LabOne of Ohio Inc. (DE), Laboratorio de Analisis Biomedicos S.A. (Mexico), Lancet Labs, MACL, Med Fusion LLC (TX), Med fusion, MedPlus, Mid America Clinical Laboratories LLC (IN), Nomad Massachusetts Inc. (MA), Nuclear Medicine and Pathology Associates (GA), Ocmulgee Medical Pathology Association Inc. (GA), Pathology Building Partnership (MD) (gen. ptnrshp.), PeaceHealth Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories PLLC (WA), Q Squared Solutions Holdings LLC (DE), Q Squared Solutions Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (China), Quest Diagnostics Brasil Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Domestic Holder LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics HTAS India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Health & Wellness LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Incorporated (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (MD), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NV), Quest Diagnostics India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Infectious Disease Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics International Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics International LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Investments LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Ireland Limited (Ireland), Quest Diagnostics LLC (CT), Quest Diagnostics LLC (IL), Quest Diagnostics LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Mexico Holding Company Trust (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Mexico S de RL de CV (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute (CA), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute Inc. (VA), Quest Diagnostics Receivables Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics TB LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Terracotta LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Venture LLC (PA), Quest Diagnostics Ventures LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics do Brasil Ltda. (Brazil), Quest Diagnostics of Pennsylvania Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics of Puerto Rico Inc. (PR), Quest HealthConnect LLC (CA), ReproSource, Reprosource Fertility Diagnostics Inc. (MA), Solstas Lab Partners, Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC (AZ), Specialty Laboratories Inc. (CA), Summit Health, UMass Memorial Medical Center - Anatomic Pathology Outreach Laboratory Business, Unilab Corporation, and Unilab Corporation (DE).
ConocoPhillips engages in the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas on a worldwide basis. It operates through the following geographical segments: Alaska; Lower 48; Canada; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Other International. The Alaska segment primarily explores for produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Lower 48 segment consists of operations in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment is comprised of oil sands development in the Athabasca Region of northeastern Alberta and a liquids-rich unconventional play in western Canada. The Europe, Middle East and North Africa segment consists of operations and exploration activities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Libya. The Asia Pacific segment has explorations and product operations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. The Other International segment handles exploration activities in Columbia and Argentina. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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(CNN) A group of protesters bearing a message as stark as their red and white costumes are opposing Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearings.

They stood in silence Tuesday, the first day of the hearings, lining the walkways and atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, their austere silhouettes evoking the dystopian persecution portrayed in the novel-turned-Emmy-award-winning Hulu drama "The Handmaid's Tale."

The group's restrained method was a sharp contrast to other scenes going on throughout the Senate side of Capitol Hill. Police arrested 70 people by the end of the day for "unlawful demonstration activities."

Inside the hearing, protesters shouted out, and Democrats immediately demanded the hearing be stalled until thousands of documents from Kavanaugh's time as a Bush-era White House lawyer are reviewed.

The silent protest was organized by the liberal advocacy group, Demand Justice, which has long opposed Donald Trump's pick to fill the vacancy left by retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The protestors' costumes resembled the dress of the "handmaids," who in the television show are forced into sexual servitude under the totalitarian government that has taken over part of the United States. Their reproductive rights are stripped completely away.

Although he has vowed to uphold the Constitution and be impartial, many fear Kavanaugh, in this lifelong position, could tilt the American legal system to the right for an entire generation.

If confirmed, Kavanaugh would replace Kennedy, who as a frequent swing vote on the bench often sided with liberal justices on issues like affirmative action, LGBT rights and abortion.

Senators are especially likely to grill Kavanaugh on his dissent from a ruling by the DC Circuit last October that an undocumented immigrant teen was entitled to seek an abortion.

He wrote that the high court has "held that the government may further those interests so long as it does not impose an undue burden on a woman seeking an abortion."

He said the majority opinion was "based on a constitutional principle as novel as it is wrong: a new right for unlawful immigrant minors in US government detention to obtain immediate abortion on demand."

Protesters dressed in long red capes and white "wings"-- headdresses that keep their eyes focused on the ground -- have become a more and more frequent appearance not only in the United States but across the globe as a symbol for women's rights.

Protesters dressed like handmaids during Vice President Mike Pence's visits to Philadelphia and Denver. In July, demonstrators in Poland wore the outfits during Donald Trump's visit. Women in both Ireland and Argentina have also donned the capes and hats to promote abortion rights.

The woman behind the costumes in the hit show is Ane Crabtree. She also designed costumes for the television shows "Westworld," Masters of Sex" and "Pan Am," and says the fact that women are using her creations in protest is a huge honor.

"To know that women are able to express themselves wholly and separately and be inspired is absolutely bigger than me, and bigger than any expectation I would have thought could come of this kind of career and work," she says.
ADLER is one of Germany's leading residential property companies with a focus on affordable housing. Its portfolio is primarily located in A- or on the outskirts of A- large and growing conurbations in northern, eastern and western Germany and has considerable upside potential in terms of revaluation gains, vacancy reduction and rent uplifts. All of the Group's properties and business operations are located in Germany, and benefit from the high employment in the German economy in general and also favourable real estate market dynamics in German A'B cities'. The Group's residential portfolio has been built up over the past five years by acquiring individual portfolios or shares in property holding companies.

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Superior Energy Services, Inc. engages in the provision of oilfield services and equipment. It operates through the following segments: Drilling Products & Services, Onshore Completion & Workover Services, Production Services and Technical Solutions. The Drilling Products and Services segment provides downhole drilling tools and surface rentals. The Onshore Completion and Workover Services segment offers pressure pumping, fluid management and workover services. The Production Services segment gives intervention services. The Technical Solutions segment involves in the products and services that address customer-specific needs with applications, which typically require engineering, manufacturing or project planning. The company was founded by Terence E. Hall in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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The following companies are subsidiares of CIT Group: 1143986 Ontario Limited, 1244771 Ontario Limited, 3918041 Canada Inc., 544211 Alberta Ltd., 555565 Alberta Ltd., 555566 Alberta Ltd., Baliardo Limited, C.I.T. Leasing Corporation, C2 Aviation Capital LLC, CBG LJB 21 LLC, CCERU Finance LP, CFHE Funding Company LLC, CIT Aerospace (Australia) Pty Ltd, CIT Aerospace Asia Pte Ltd., CIT Aerospace Belgium Sprl, CIT Aerospace Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, CIT Aerospace Holdings (France) SAS, CIT Aerospace International, CIT Aerospace International (Aruba) A.V.V., CIT Aerospace International (Australia) Pty Ltd., CIT Aerospace International (Bermuda) Limited, CIT Aerospace International (France) Sarl, CIT Aerospace International Leasing II, CIT Aerospace LLC, CIT Aerospace Sweden AB, CIT Asset Management LLC, CIT Aviation Finance I (France) Sarl, CIT Aviation Finance I (Ireland) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance I (UK) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance I Ltd., CIT Aviation Finance II (France) Sarl, CIT Aviation Finance II (Ireland) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance II (UK) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance II Ltd., CIT Aviation Finance III Ltd., CIT Bank N.A., CIT CBK Funding Company LLC, CIT CBK Funding Inc., CIT CLO Holding Corporation, CIT CLO I Blocker Inc., CIT CLO I LLC, CIT CLO I Ltd., CIT Canada Finance LP, CIT Canada Finance ULC, CIT Capital Aviation (UK) Limited, CIT Capital Finance (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Capital Securities LLC, CIT Capital USA Inc., CIT Cayman Coconut Palm Leasing Ltd., CIT Cayman Sandy Keys Leasing Ltd., CIT Communications Finance Corporation, CIT Credit Group USA Inc., CIT Equipment Finance (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT FSC Eighteen Ltd., CIT FSC Nineteen Ltd., CIT Finance & Leasing (Tianjin) Corporation, CIT Finance & Leasing Corporation, CIT Finance LLC, CIT Financial (Alberta) ULC / Services Financiers CIT (Alberta) ULC, CIT Financial (Barbados) SRL, CIT Financial (Hong Kong) Limited, CIT Financial II (Barbados) Srl, CIT Financial Ltd./Services Financiers CIT Ltee., CIT Financial USA Inc., CIT Funding (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Funding Company LLC, CIT Funding LLC, CIT Funds LLC, CIT Group (Hungary) Financial Servicing Limited Liability Company "under voluntary dissolution", CIT Group (NFL) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Group (NJ) LLC, CIT Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd (In Members' Voluntary Liquidation), CIT Group (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Group Finance (Ireland), CIT Group Holding (Germany) GmbH i.L., CIT Group Holdings (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Group Holdings B.V., CIT Group Inc., CIT Group Italy Srl in liquidazione, CIT Group SF Holding Co. Inc., CIT Healthcare LLC, CIT Holdings (Barbados) SRL, CIT Holdings B.V., CIT Holdings Canada ULC, CIT Home Lending Securitization Company LLC, CIT Insurance Agency Inc., CIT Leasing (Bermuda) Ltd., CIT Leasing (Germany) GmbH i.L., CIT Lending Services Corporation, CIT Lending Services Corporation (Illinois), CIT Loan Corporation, CIT Malaysia One Inc., CIT Maritime Leasing LLC, CIT Mezzanine Partners of Canada Limited, CIT Millbury Inc., CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) SAS, CIT Rail LLC, CIT Railcar Funding Company LLC, CIT Small Business Lending Corporation, CIT Strategic Finance Inc., CIT TRS Funding B.V., CIT TRS Holdings B.V., CIT TRS Subsidiary B.V., CIT Technology Financing Services Inc., CIT Trade Finance Funding Company LLC, CIT Transportation Holdings B.V., CRE CT 21 OTHER LLC, CRE CT 27 OTHER LLC, CRE FFBC LLC, CRE LJ 21 OTHER LLC, CRE LJ 27 OTHER LLC, CRE LJ 4800 Riverside LLC, CRE LJ CA 2 LLC, CRE LJ CA LLC, CRE LJ CP ESCONDIDO LLC, CRE LJ TX LLC, Canadian Income Partners I Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners II Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners III Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners IV Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners V Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners VI Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners VII Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners VIII Limited Partnership, Capita Corporation, Capital Direct Group Inc., Centennial Aviation (Bermuda) 1 Ltd., Centennial Aviation (France) 1 SARL, Centennial Aviation (France) 2 SARL, Centennial Aviation (Ireland) 7 Limited, Direct Capital Corporation, Direct Capital Funding III Company LLC, Direct Capital Funding V LLC, Education Loan Servicing Corporation, Emerald Funding (Netherlands) C.V., Emerald Holdings C.V., Financial Freedom Acquisition LLC, IMV 11 PALM LLC, INDYMAC VENTURE LLC, Jessica Leasing Designated Activity Company, MEX CIT SERVICIOS S. de R.L. de C.V., Madeleine Leasing Designation Activity Company, Memphis Peaking Power LLC, Millennium Leasing Company I LLC, Millennium Leasing Company II LLC, NACCO (U.K.) Limited, NACCO GmbH, NACCO Rail Ireland Limited, NACCO S.A.S, Nacco Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Newcourt Financial Espana S.A., North Romeo Storage Corporation, ONEWEST VENTURES HOLDINGS LLC, OWB REO LLC, OneWest Bank N.A, OneWest Investments II LLC, OneWest Investments LLC, OneWest Resources LLC, PL Servicing LLC, Rita Leasing Designated Activity Company, The CIT GP Corporation III, The CIT Group Securitization Corporation II, The CIT Group/Business Credit Inc., The CIT Group/Commercial Services Inc., The CIT Group/Corporate Aviation Inc., The CIT Group/Equipment Financing Inc., The CIT Group/Equity Investments Inc., The Capita Corporation do Brasil Ltda, The Equipment Insurance Company, and Worrell Capital Limited.
Drax Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and supply of electricity in the United Kingdom. The company operates through three segments: Generation, Customers, and, Pellet Production. It produces low carbon and renewable electricity; and provides system support services to the electricity grid. The company owns and operates Drax Power Station that produces electricity from biomass and coal with an installed capacity of 3,906 megawatts (MW) located in Selby, North Yorkshire; Cruachan Power Station, a pumped hydro storage station, with an installed capacity of 440 MW located in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland; and Lanark and Galloway hydro-electric power stations with an installed capacity of 126 MW located in southwest Scotland. It also owns and operates combined cycle gas turbine power stations, including Damhead Creek power station with an installed capacity of 805 MW; Rye House power station with an installed capacity of 715 MW; Shoreham power station with an installed capacity of 420 MW; and Blackburn power station with an installed capacity of 60 MW located in England. In addition, the company owns and operates Daldowie fuel plant that processes sludge from a wastewater treatment plant and converts it into dry and low-odour fuel pellets. Further, it manufactures and sells compressed wood pellets for use in electricity production; supplies and manages electricity and gas for large industrial and commercial sector customers, as well as small businesses; and provides debt recovery services. Drax Group plc was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Selby, the United Kingdom.

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First BanCorp (Puerto Rico) is a holding company, which engages in the provision of personal, commercial, and corporate banking services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Commercial and Corporate Banking, Consumer (Retail) Banking, Mortgage Banking, Treasury and Investments, United States Operations, and Virgin Islands Operations. The Commercial and Corporate Banking segment consists of the company's lending and other services for large customers represented by specialized and middle-market clients and the public sector. The Consumer (Retail) Banking segment includes consumer lending and deposit-taking activities conducted mainly through FirstBank's branch network in Puerto Rico. The Mortgage Banking segment focuses on the origination, sale, and servicing of a variety of residential mortgage loan products and related hedging activities. The Treasury and Investments segment deals with treasury and investment management functions. The United States Operations segment represents all banking activities conducted by FirstBank on the United States mainland. The Virgin Islands Operations segment includes all banking activities conducted by FirstBank in

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Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 433,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 98,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,233 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,048,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 572,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 67,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 270,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Xerox: A B S Digital Limited, Acorn Business Machines (Holmfirth) Limited, Alloy Acquisitions Corp. LLC, Altodigital Networks, Altodigital Networks Limited, American Photocopy Equipment Company of Pittsburgh LLC, Amici, Arena Group, Arena Group Holdings Limited, Arena Group Limited, Arizona Office Technologies Inc., B 2 Business Systems Limited, Back2Business Limited, Bessemer Insurance Limited, Bessemer Trust Limited, Boise Office Equipment Inc., Bright Ceramic Technologies Inc., Bunch CareSolutions, Business Systems (North Wales) Limited, CPAS Systems, CREDITEX - Aluguer de Equipamentos S.A., CTX Business Solutions Inc., Capitol Office Solutions LLC, CareAR Holdings LLC, CareAR Inc., Carolina Office Systems Inc., Carr Business Systems Inc., Chicago Office Technology Group Inc., ComDoc Inc., Concept Group, Concept Group Limited, Connecticut Business Systems LLC, Consilience Software, Continua Limited, Continua Sanctum Limited, Conway Technology Group LLC, Copyrite Business Solutions (Holdings) Limited, Copyrite Business Solutions Limited, Copytrend Limited, Criterion IT Limited, Customer Value Group, Dahill Office Technology Corporation, Digitex, Digitex Canada Inc., Docucentric Holdings Limited, Document Systems, Document Systems, Eastern Managed Print Network LLC, Elan Marketing Inc., Electronic Systems Inc., Fovia (Innovation) Limited, G-Five Inc., GDP Technologies Inc., Global Imaging Systems, Global PR Corporation, Groupe CT, Gyricon LLC, Healthy Communities Institute, Heritage Business Systems Inc., ITEC Group, Image Technology Specialists Inc., ImageQuest Inc., Imagetek Office Systems, Impika, Impika SAS, Inland Business Machines Inc., Institute for Research on Learning, Integrity One Technologies Inc., Intrepid Learning, Invoco Group, Irish Business Systems, LRI LLC, LaserNetworks, LaserNetworks Inc., Lateral Data, Learn Something, Lewan & Associates Inc., Limited Liability Company Xerox (C.I.S.), M & S Reprographics Limited, MRC Smart Technology Solutions Inc., MT Business Holdings Inc., MT Business Technologies Inc., MWB Copy Products Inc., Mail A Doc Limited, Merizon Group Incorporated, Michigan Office Solutions Inc., Minnesota Office Technology Group Inc., Mitral Systems Limited, Mr. Copy Inc., Nemo (AKS) Limited, NewField IT, NewField Information Technology LLC, NewField Information Technology Limited, Northeast Office Systems LLC, Osprey Business Systems Limited, PARC China Holdings Inc., Pacific Services and Development Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Platinum Digital Print Solutions Limited, Precision Copier Service Inc., Quality Business Systems Inc., Quilver Business Services Limited, R. K. Dixon Company, RRXH Limited, RRXIL Limited, RRXO Limited, RSA Medical, Rabbit Copiers Inc., Reflex Digital Solutions (UK) Limited, Reprographics Egypt Limited, Saxon Business Systems Inc., Smart Data Consulting, SoCal Office Technologies Inc., Stem Networks Limited, Stewart Business Systems LLC, Stewart of Alabama Inc., StrataCare, Talegen Holdings Inc., Tektronix - color printing, Text Comm Limited (in receivership), The Xerox (UK) Trust, The Xerox Foundation, Time Business Systems Limited, Triton Business Finance Limited, Una-Stem Limited, Veenman B.V., Veenman Financial Services B.V., WDS, WaterWare Internet Services, XC Asia LLC, XC Global Trading B.V., XC Trading Hong Kong Limited, XC Trading Japan G.K., XC Trading Korea YH, XC Trading Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., XC Trading Shenzhen Co. Ltd., XC Trading Singapore Pte Ltd., XEROX CZECH REPUBLIC s r.o., XESystems Foreign Sales Corporation, XFS Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, XHC Acquisition Corp., XMPie, XMPie Inc., XMPie Ltd., XRI Limited, XRO Limited, Xerox (Europe) Limited, Xerox (Ireland) Limited, Xerox (Nederland) BV, Xerox (Romania) Echipmante Si Servici S.A., Xerox (UK) Limited, Xerox (Ukraine) Ltd LLC, Xerox A/S, Xerox AG, Xerox AS, Xerox Argentina Industrial y Comercial S.A., Xerox Austria GmbH, Xerox Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Equipment Limited, Xerox Business Services Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Solutions Inc., Xerox Business Solutions Southeast LLC, Xerox Buro Araclari Servis ve Ticaret Ltd. Sti, Xerox Canada Inc., Xerox Canada Ltd., Xerox Canada N.S. ULC, Xerox Capital (Europe) Limited, Xerox Capital LLC, Xerox Computer Services Limited, Xerox Comercio e Industria Ltda, Xerox Corporation, Xerox DNHC LLC, Xerox Dienstleistungsgesellschaft GmbH, Xerox Distributor Operations Limited, Xerox Egypt S.A.E., Xerox Equipment Limited, Xerox Equipment UK Limited, Xerox Espana S.A.U., Xerox Exports Limited, Xerox Finance AG, Xerox Finance Leasing S.A.E., Xerox Finance Limited, Xerox Financial Services B.V., Xerox Financial Services Belux NV, Xerox Financial Services Canada Ltd., Xerox Financial Services Danmark A/S, Xerox Financial Services Finland Oy, Xerox Financial Services LLC, Xerox Financial Services Norway AS, Xerox Financial Services SAS, Xerox Financial Services Sverige AB, Xerox Foreign Holdings LLC, Xerox Foreign Sales Corporation, Xerox GmbH, Xerox Health Care LLC, Xerox Hellas AEE, Xerox Holding Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Holdings (Ireland) Limited, Xerox Holdings Inc., Xerox Hungary Trading Limited, Xerox IBS Limited, Xerox IBS NI Limited, Xerox India Limited, Xerox International Joint Marketing Inc., Xerox Investments Europe B.V., Xerox Israel Ltd., Xerox Italia Rental Services Srl, Xerox Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Xerox Latinamerican Holdings Inc., Xerox Leasing Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Leasing GmbH, Xerox Limited, Xerox Luxembourg SA, Xerox Mailing Systems Limited, Xerox Manufacturing (Nederland) B.V., Xerox Maroc S.A., Xerox Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Xerox Middle East Investments (Bermuda) Limited, Xerox N.V., Xerox Overseas Holdings Limited, Xerox Overseas Inc., Xerox Oy, Xerox Pensions Limited, Xerox Polska Sp. z o. o, Xerox Portugal Equipamentos de Escritorio Limitada, Xerox Products Limited, Xerox Products UK Limited, Xerox Professional Services Limited, Xerox Realty Corporation, Xerox Renting S.A.U., Xerox Reprographische Services GmbH, Xerox S.A.S., Xerox S.p.A., Xerox Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, Xerox Servicios Compartidos Guatemala y Compani Limitada, Xerox Servicos e Participacoes Ltda, Xerox Shared Services Romania SRL, Xerox Sverige AB, Xerox Technology Services India LLP, Xerox Technology Services SAS, Xerox Telebusiness GmbH, Xerox Trading Enterprises Limited, Xerox Trinidad Limited, Xerox UK Holdings Limited, Xerox XHB Limited, Xerox XIB Limited, Xerox Xf Holdings (Ireland) DAC, Xerox de Chile S.A., Xerox del Ecuador S.A., Xerox del Peru S.A., Zeno Office Solutions, Zeno Office Solutions Inc., Zoom Imaging Solutions Inc., and inVentiv Patient Access Solutions.
Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a liner shipping company worldwide. Its vessel and container fleets are used for the transportation of general and special cargo, various dangerous goods, and coffee, as well as reefer cargo covering pharmaceuticals. The company also offers bilateral EDI, a directly connected electronic data interchange; operates an e-commerce portal that provides real-time access to transport data, as well as services to manage customer's supply chain data and connect to their carriers through one interface, and mobile app that allows to manage shipping process; and provides e-mail, security information and verified gross mass services. In addition, it provides container transportation services. As of June 10, 2021, the company fleet comprised 241 container ships with a total capacity of 1.7 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU); and a container capacity of approximately 2.8 million TEU. Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.

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Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and creditor and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its field sales force, advice centers, and online, as well as through independent insurance advisors and affinity relationships. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset, cash management, transaction banking, and treasury services to institutional clients; correspondent banking and trade finance services for financial institutions; and short-term funding and liquidity management services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, governments, and central banks. Royal Bank of Canada has a strategic partnership with Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Canada to support the needs of Canada's medical specialists. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Living Gospel Equality Now: Loving in the Heart of God: Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




The Hershey Co. engages in the manufacture and market of chocolate and sugar confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America; and International and Other. The North America segment is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada. The International and Other segment is the combination of all other operating segments which are not individually material, including those geographic regions where the company operates outside of North America. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, and Kisses. The company was founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894 and is headquartered in Hershey, PA.

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The following companies are subsidiares of American 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..
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..
Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG provides commercial real estate and public investment finance products. Its commercial real estate financing activities include financing instruments, such as financing investment projects, development finance, cross-border portfolio financing, investment bridge finance facilities, standby/backup facilities, and derivatives. The company primarily finances offices, retail, and logistic real estate companies, as well as residential properties targeting real estate companies, institutional investors, real estate funds, and medium-sized and regionally orientated clients. It is also involved in the public investment financing activities, such as financing for public sector facilities, municipal and residential buildings, utilities, infrastructure, medical and geriatric care facilities, and administration and insurance facilities. In addition, the company operates a digital platform for public sector borrowers and institutional investors under the CAPVERIANT name. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG has offices in four locations in Eschborn, DAsseldorf, Hamburg, and Berlin in Germany; and five locations in London, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, and New York City. The company was formerly known as Hypo Real Estate Bank AG and changed its name to Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG in June 2009. Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG is headquartered in Garching, Germany.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Lloyds Banking Group: A G Finance Ltd, A.C.L. Ltd, ACL Autolease Holdings Ltd, ADF No.1 Pty Ltd, Addison Social Housing Holdings Ltd, Alex Lawrie Factors Ltd, Alex. Lawrie Receivables Financing Ltd, Amberdate Ltd, Anglo Scottish Utilities Partnership 1, Aquilus Ltd, Automobile Association Personal Finance Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services 2 Ltd, BOS (Ireland) Property Services Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 2) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland) No. 3) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages (Scotland)) Ltd, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 1 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 2 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 3 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 4 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 5 plc, BOS (Shared Appreciation Mortgages) No. 6 plc, BOS (USA) Fund Investments Inc., BOS (USA) Inc., BOS Edinburgh No 1 Ltd, BOS Mistral Ltd, BOS Personal Lending Ltd, BOSSAF Rail Ltd, Bank of Scotland (B G S) Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland (Stanlife) London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Branch Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Central Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Edinburgh Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Equipment Finance Ltd, Bank of Scotland Foundation, Bank of Scotland LNG Leasing (No 1) Ltd, Bank of Scotland London Nominees Ltd, Bank of Scotland Nominees (Unit Trusts) Ltd, Bank of Scotland P.E.P. 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Nominees Ltd, Lloyds Bank Subsidiaries Ltd, Lloyds Bank Trustee Services Ltd, Lloyds Bank plc, Lloyds Banking Group Pensions Trustees Ltd, Lloyds Capital GP Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Properties Ltd, Lloyds Commercial Property Investments Ltd, Lloyds Corporate Services (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Ltd, Lloyds Engine Capital (No.1) U.S LLC, Lloyds Far East S.A.R.L., Lloyds General Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Group Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Holdings (Jersey) Ltd, Lloyds Hypotheken B.V., Lloyds Industrial Leasing Ltd, Lloyds International Pty Ltd, Lloyds Investment Bonds Ltd, Lloyds Investment Fund Managers Ltd, Lloyds Investment Securities No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Leasing (North Sea Transport) Ltd1, Lloyds Leasing Developments Ltd, Lloyds Nominees (Guernsey) Ltd, Lloyds Offshore Global Services Private Ltd, Lloyds Plant Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Portfolio Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Premises Investments Ltd, Lloyds Project Leasing Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 3 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No. 4 Ltd, Lloyds Property Investment Company No.5 Ltd, Lloyds Secretaries Ltd, Lloyds Securities Inc., Lloyds TSB Pacific Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Asset Rentals Ltd, Lloyds UDT Hiring Ltd, Lloyds UDT Leasing Ltd, Lloyds UDT Ltd, Lloyds Your Tomorrow Trustee Ltd, Loans.co.uk Ltd, London Taxi Finance Ltd, London Uberior (L.A.S. Group) Nominees Ltd, Lotus Finance Ltd, MBNA, MBNA Direct Ltd, MBNA Europe Finance Ltd, MBNA Europe Holdings Ltd, MBNA General Foundation, MBNA Global Services Ltd, MBNA Indian Services Private Ltd, MBNA Ltd, MBNA R & L S.A.R.L., MBNA Receivables Ltd, Mainsearch Company Ltd, Maritime Leasing (No. 19) Ltd, Membership Services Finance Ltd, Mitre Street Funding S.A.R.L., Molineux RMBS 2016-1 plc, Molineux RMBS Holdings Ltd, Moor Lane Holdings Ltd, NFU Mutual Finance Ltd, NWS Trust Ltd, Nominees (Jersey) Ltd, Nordic Leasing Ltd, Ocean Leasing (July) Ltd, Oystercatcher Nominees Ltd, Oystercatcher Residential Ltd, PIPS Asset Investments Ltd, Pacific Leasing Ltd, Penarth Asset Securitisation Holdings Ltd, Penarth Funding 1 Ltd, Penarth Funding 2 Ltd, Penarth Master Issuer plc, Penarth Receivables Trustee Ltd, Pensions Management (S.W.F.) Ltd, Peony Eastern Leasing Ltd, Peony Leasing Ltd, Peony Western Leasing Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 1) Ltd, Permanent Funding (No. 2) Ltd, Permanent Holdings Ltd, Permanent Master Issuer plc, Permanent Mortgages Trustee Ltd, Permanent PECOH Holdings Ltd, Permanent PECOH Ltd, Perry Nominees Ltd, Prestonfield Investments Ltd, Proton Finance Ltd, R.F. Spencer And Company Ltd, Ranelagh Nominees Ltd, Retail Revival (Burgess Hill) Investments Ltd, SARL Coliseum, SARL Hiram, SAS Compagnie Fonciere De France, SCI Astoria Invest, SCI De LHorloge, SCI Equinoxe, SCI Rambuteau CFF, SW Funding plc, SW No.1 Ltd, SWAMF (GP) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (1) Ltd, SWAMF Nominee (2) Ltd, Saint Michel Holding Company No1, Saint Michel Investment Property, Saint Witz 2 Holding Company No1, Saint Witz 2 Investment Property, Salisbury II Securities 2016 Ltd, Salisbury II-A Securities 2017 Ltd, Salisbury III Securities 2019 DAC, Salisbury Securities 2015 Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 Holdings Ltd, Sandown 2012-2 plc, Sandown Gold 2012-1 Holdings Ltd, Sandown Gold 2012-1 plc, Savban Leasing Ltd, Scotland International Finance B.V., Scottish Widows Administration Services (Nominees) Ltd, Scottish Widows Administration Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Annuities Ltd, Scottish Widows Auto Enrolment Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Europe, Scottish Widows Financial Services Holdings, Scottish Widows Group Ltd, Scottish Widows Industrial Properties Europe B.V., Scottish Widows Ltd, Scottish Widows Pension Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Property Management Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth (ACD) Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Personal Wealth Ltd, Scottish Widows Schroder Wealth Holdings Ltd, Scottish Widows Services Ltd, Scottish Widows Trustees Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Funds Ltd, Scottish Widows Unit Trust Managers Ltd, Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society, Seabreeze Leasing Ltd, Seaspirit Leasing Ltd, Share Dealing Nominees Ltd, Shogun Finance Ltd, Silentdale Ltd, St Andrews Group Ltd, St Andrews Insurance plc, St Andrews Life Assurance plc, St. Marys Court Investments, Standard Property Investment (1987) Ltd, Standard Property Investment Ltd, Sussex County Homes Ltd, Suzuki Financial Services Ltd, Swan Funding 2 Ltd, Syon Securities 2019 DAC, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation Plc, The British Linen Company Ltd, The Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland, The Mortgage Business plc, Thistle Financing Holdings Ltd, Thistle Investments (AMC) Ltd, Thistle Investments (ERM) Ltd, Thistle Leasing, Three Copthall Avenue Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (10) Ltd, Tower Hill Property Investments (7) Ltd, Tranquility Leasing Ltd, Trinity Financing plc, UDT Budget Leasing Ltd, UDT Sales Finance Ltd, Uberior (Moorfield) Ltd, Uberior Co-Investments Ltd, Uberior ENA Ltd, Uberior Equity Ltd, Uberior Europe Ltd, Uberior Fund Investments Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments (No.2) Ltd, Uberior Infrastructure Investments Ltd, Uberior Investments Ltd, Uberior Nominees Ltd, Uberior Trading Ltd, Uberior Trustees Ltd, Uberior Ventures Australia Pty Ltd, Uberior Ventures Ltd, United Dominions Leasing Ltd, United Dominions Trust Ltd, Universe The CMI Global Network Fund, Upsaala Ltd, Vine Street IX LP, WCS Ltd, Ward Nominees (Abingdon) Ltd, Ward Nominees (Birmingham) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees (Bristol) Ltd 1, Ward Nominees Ltd 1, Waverley  Fund II Investor LLC, Waverley  Fund III Investor LLC, Waymark Asset Investments Ltd, West Craigs Ltd, Wetherby II Securities 2018 DAC, Wetherby III Securities 2019 DAC, Wetherby Securities 2017 Ltd, Wood Street Leasing Ltd, and Zurich Insurance Group - UK Workplace Pensions and Savings Business.
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. is an early-stage contract research company, which provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and academic institutions. It operates through the following segments: Research Models & Services, Discovery & Safety Assessment and Manufacturing Support. The Research Models & Services segment comprises of the production and sale of research models, and also offers services designed to support its client's use of research models in screening non-clinical drug candidates. The Discovery & Safety Assessment segment offers discovery and safety assessment services, both regulated and non-regulated, in which it include both in vivo and in vitro studies, supporting laboratory services, and strategic preclinical consulting and program management to support product development. The Manufacturing Support segment provides endotoxin and microbial detection, avian vaccine and biologics testing solutions. The company was founded by Henry L. Foster in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, MA.

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Melrose Industries PLC engages in the aerospace, automotive, powder metallurgy, air management, and other industrial businesses in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. Its Aerospace segment provides airframe and engine structures, and electrical interconnection systems for the aerospace industry in civil airframe and defense platforms. The company's Automotive segment designs, develops, manufactures, and integrates driveline technologies; and epowertrains and intelligent all-wheel drive systems. Its Powder Metallurgy segment offers precision automotive components and components for industrial and consumer applications; metal powder for powder metallurgy; and additive manufacturing parts for prototypes. The company's Nortek Air Management segment manufactures and sells ventilation products for the professional remodeling and replacement, residential new construction, and consumer DIY markets. This segment also manufactures and sells split-system and packaged air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, air handlers, and parts for the residential replacement and new construction markets; and custom designed and engineered products and systems for non-residential applications. Its Other Industrial segment provides turbo generators, transformers, and switchgears; develops and manufactures security, home automation, and access control technologies for the residential and commercial markets; and designs, manufactures, and distributes ergonomic products for use in a various working, learning, and healthcare environments. The company was formerly known as New Melrose Industries PLC and changed its name to Melrose Industries PLC in November 2015. Melrose Industries PLC was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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Wall Street analysts have given iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Novan, Inc., a clinical development-stage biotechnology company, provides nitric oxide-based therapies to treat dermatological and oncovirus-mediated diseases. Its clinical stage dermatology drug candidates include SB204, a topical monotherapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris; SB206, a topical anti-viral gel for the treatment of viral skin infections; SB208, a topical broad-spectrum anti-fungal gel for the treatment of fungal infections of the skin and nails, including athlete's foot and fungal nail infections; and SB414, a topical cream-based gel product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The company also develops SB207, an anti-viral product candidate for the treatment of external genital warts; WH602, a nitric oxide-containing intravaginal gel to treat high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV); WH504, a non-gel formulation product candidate to treat high-risk HPV; and SB019 for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Novan, Inc. has a license agreement with Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; and a strategic alliance with Orion Corporation. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina.

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Wall Street analysts have given Gramercy Property 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 Gramercy Property Trust wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
NASA's mobile launcher (ML) atop crawler-transporter 2 arrives at Launch Pad 39B on Aug. 31, 2018, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The ML will undergo a fit check, followed by several days of systems testing. The 380-foot-tall mobile launcher is equipped with the crew access arm and several umbilicals that will provide power, environmental control, pneumatics, communication and electrical connections to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft. Exploration Ground Systems is preparing the ground systems necessary to launch SLS and Orion on Exploration Mission-1, missions to the Moon and on to Mars.

KSC-20180831-PH_JBP02_0001 Photo credit: NASA/Jamie Peer Larger image

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The following companies are subsidiares of Rite Aid: 1515 West State Street Boise Idaho LLC, 1740 Associates LLC, 4042 Warrensville Center RoadWarrensville Ohio Inc., 5277 Associates Inc., 5600 Superior Properties Inc., Advance Benefits LLC, Apex Drug Stores Inc., Ascend Health Technology LLC, Bartell Drugs, Broadview and WallingsBroadview Heights Ohio Inc., Design Rx Holdings LLC, Design Rx LLC, Design Rxclusives LLC, Drug Palace Inc., EDC Drug Stores Inc., Eckerd Corporation, Edgehill Drugs, Elixir Insurance Company, Elixir Pharmacy LLC, Elixir Rx Options LLC, Elixir Rx Solutions LLC, Elixir Rx Solutions LLC, Elixir Rx Solutions of Nevada LLC, Elixir Savings LLC, Envision Pharmaceutical, Envision Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, EnvisionRx Puerto Rico Inc., First Florida Insurers of Tampa LLC, GDF Inc., Genovese Drug Stores Inc., Gettysburg and Hoover-Dayton Ohio LLC, Grand River & Fenkell LLC, Harco, Harco Inc., Health Dialog, Health Dialog Services Corporation, Hunter Lane LLC, ILG  90 B Avenue Lake Oswego LLC, JCG (PJC) USA LLC, JCG Holdings (USA) Inc., K&B Alabama Corporation, K&B Incorporated, K&B Industries, K&B Louisiana Corporation, K&B Mississippi Corporation, K&B Services Incorporated, K&B Tennessee Corporation, K&B Texas Corporation, LMW  90B Avenue Lake Oswego Inc., Lakehurst and Broadway Corporation, Laker Software LLC, Maxi Drug Inc., Maxi Drug North Inc., Maxi Drug South L.P., Maxi Green Inc., Munson & Andrews LLC, Name Rite LLC, P.J.C. Distribution Inc., P.J.C. Realty Co. Inc., PCS Health Systems, PDS-1 Michigan Inc., PJC Lease Holdings Inc., PJC Manchester Realty LLC, PJC Peterborough Realty LLC, PJC Realty MA Inc., PJC Revere Realty LLC, PJC Special Realty Holdings Inc., PJC of Massachusetts Inc., PJC of Rhode Island Inc., PJC of Vermont Inc., Perry Distributors Inc., Perry Drug Stores Inc., RCMH LLC, RDS Detroit Inc., READs Inc., RediClinic, RediClinic Associates Inc., RediClinic LLC, RediClinic US LLC, RediClinic of DC LLC, RediClinic of DE LLC, RediClinic of Dallas Forth-Worth LLC, RediClinic of MD LLC, RediClinic of PA LLC, RediClinic of VA LLC, Richfield Road  Flint Michigan LLC, Rite Aid Drug Palace Inc., Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Corp., Rite Aid Hdqtrs. Funding Inc., Rite Aid Lease Management Company, Rite Aid Online Store Inc., Rite Aid Payroll Management Inc., Rite Aid Realty Corp., Rite Aid Rome Distribution Center Inc., Rite Aid Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Rite Aid Transport Inc., Rite Aid of Connecticut Inc., Rite Aid of Delaware Inc., Rite Aid of Georgia Inc., Rite Aid of Indiana Inc., Rite Aid of Kentucky Inc., Rite Aid of Maine Inc., Rite Aid of Maryland Inc., Rite Aid of Michigan Inc., Rite Aid of New Hampshire Inc., Rite Aid of New Jersey Inc., Rite Aid of New York Inc., Rite Aid of North Carolina Inc., Rite Aid of Ohio Inc., Rite Aid of Pennsylvania LLC, Rite Aid of South Carolina Inc., Rite Aid of Tennessee Inc., Rite Aid of Vermont Inc., Rite Aid of Virginia Inc., Rite Aid of Washington D.C. Inc., Rite Aid of West Virginia Inc., Rite Investments Corp., Rite Investments Corp. LLC, Rx Choice Inc., Rx Initiatives LLC, Rx USA Inc., The Bartell Drug Company, The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) USA Inc., The Lane Drug Company, Thrift Drug Inc., Thrifty Corporation, and Thrifty PayLess Inc..
SEACOR Holdings Inc. engages in transportation and logistics, risk management consultancy, and other businesses in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services, Inland Transportation & Logistics Services, Witt O'Brien's, and Other segments. The Ocean Transportation & Logistics Services segment owns and operates a fleet of bulk transportation, port and infrastructure, and logistics assets. It operates carriers for the United States coastwise for trade of crude oil, petroleum, and chemical products; and dry bulk vessels. This segment provides deep-sea vessels docking, ocean towing, and oil terminal support and bunkering services; liner, short-sea, rail car, and project cargo transportation and logistics solutions; door-to-door solutions; and technical ship management services, as well as operates pure car/truck carriers. The Inland Transportation & Logistics Services segment offers river transportation equipment for moving agricultural and industrial commodities and containers, and petroleum products; and owns and operates multi-modal terminal locations. It also provides management services related to barge and towboat operations. The Witt O'Brien's segment provides crisis and emergency management services for the public and private sectors. It serves markets in the areas of critical national infrastructure, including government, energy, transportation, healthcare, and education. The Other segment designs, develops, and maintains alternative energy and power solutions; and offers liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas fuel supply and logistics to commercial, industrial, agricultural, and transportation customers. This segment also engages in the selling, storage, and maintenance of aviation; agricultural commodity trading and logistics businesses; and trading and merchandising of sugar and other commodities. SEACOR Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

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In this edition of Horse Highlight, Post Time with Mike and Mike has teamed up with New Vocations to feature the beautiful 2010 Somebeachsomewhere colt Camvault, who was donated by Wendy Cameron.

Cameron bred and raised Camvault, who she adored dearly.

Camvault was perhaps one of the best-bred colts we have bred and foaled at our farm, said Cameron. He is definitely our largest foal and is absolutely the best looking foal/horse we have owned. I say one of the best-bred because we have his full brother, Cammikey, who was very successful racing for us. Cam resembles more of his dam, Always Cam, and Vault looks more like his sire, Somebeachsomewhere.

When breeding a horse, the best part about it is naming the foal. Camvault has a meaning behind his name, as Cameron took the time to explain.

Camvault originates from our familys origin of the Cam name. The original Cam was named Cambev after our companys original name, Cameron Beverages. Later our company was named Cameron Coca-Cola. Vault was a popular Coca-Cola brand at the time, so Camvault was born, it also happened to be my mothers favourite soft drink, and she names our foals.

Starting into his two-year-old year Camvault had a few setbacks. He struggled with some health issues when he began training as a yearling. He had stifle surgery as a two-year-old at Ohio State University, where they placed screws in his stifles; he raced with no issues after that.

He was very fortunate to have Dr. Alicia Bertone and had a very successful outcome, Cameron stated. He trained back and began racing as a three-year-old. Unfortunately, his size, conformation, and strength did not overcome his nervousness on the track.

When all was said and done, Camvault had a short racing career, as he made just 12 pari-mutuel starts and banked roughly $15,000 in purse earnings.



Camvault (Photo courtesy SF Johnson)

We decided to retire him and take him home, Cameron explained. I continued to work with him at our farm with aqua treading, lunging, and daily turnout. In addition, he spent five months with Julie Allison learning to be a riding horse.

Cameron is not only passionate about Camvault, but every horse that comes into her care, as she wants nothing but the best for them on and off the racetrack. It was a difficult decision for us to part with Vault, said Cameron, however, he matured a great deal not being on the track and we felt he needed a more productive life and hopefully someone who can give him a wonderful home.

He seems to really like riding a lot. He is a little pushy on the ground and needed a reminder in manners, but now is doing excellent. He will make a fantastic show or trail horse, stated Winnie Nemeth, the Standardbred program director for New Vocations. "It was great that Cameron saw the benefit to continue training Camvault as a riding horse to help him excel in his next career. This will be essential in helping him find the perfect adopter.

Camvault will be soon posted for adoption, as he is part of New Vocations Back to School special. Originally, the adoption fee would be $800, but through the end of September, parties that are interested in taking advantage of the promo will get $200 off. Be sure to visit www.newvocations.org and check out all of the amazing athletes that are up for adoption. Remember, make your next horse an ex-racehorse!

(With files from 'Post Time')
Wall Street analysts have given iShares Core MSCI 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 Core MSCI Europe ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Suncor Energy Inc. operates as an integrated energy company. The company primarily focuses on developing petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; explores, acquires, develops, produces, transports, refines, and markets crude oil in Canada and internationally; markets petroleum and petrochemical products under the Petro-Canada name primarily in Canada. It operates in Oil Sands; Exploration and Production; Refining and Marketing; and Corporate and Eliminations segments. The Oil Sands segment recovers bitumen from mining and in situ operations, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, or blends the bitumen with diluent for direct sale to market. The Exploration and Production segment is involved in offshore operations off the east coast of Canada and in the North Sea; and operating onshore assets in Libya and Syria. The Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil and intermediate feedstock into various petroleum and petrochemical products; and markets refined petroleum products to retail, commercial, and industrial customers through its other retail sellers. The Corporate and Eliminations segment operates four wind farm operations in Ontario and Western Canada. The company also markets and trades in crude oil, natural gas, byproducts, refined products, and power. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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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 following companies are subsidiares of TransUnion: Accupost Corporation, AppLock Limited, Auditz, Autolocator (Pty) Ltd., Beheer en Beleggingsmaatchapij Stivaco B.V., CIFIN S.A.S, [email protected] plc, Callcredit Data Solutions Limited, Callcredit Information, Callcredit Lead Generation Limited, Callcredit Marketing Ltd., Callcredit Public Sector Limited, Callcredit Spain S.L.U, Centro de Informacion y Estudios Estrategicos Empresariales S.A., Centro de Operaciones Servicios de Informacion Estrategica S.A., CheckMend Ltd., Coactiva Limited, Collection Africa Ltd., Confirma Sistemas de Informacion S.L., Credit Bureau of Carmel & Pebble Beach Inc., Credit Information Services Limited, Credit Information Systems Company Limited, Credit Reference Bureau (Holdings) Limited, Credit Reference Bureau Africa (Pty) Ltd., Credit Reference Bureau Africa Ltd., Credit Reporting Services Limited, Credit Retriever LLC, Crivo, Crown Acquisition BidCo Ltd., Crown Acquisition Consumer Ltd., Crown Acquisition MidCo Ltd., Crown Acquisition MidCo. 2 Ltd., Crown Acquisition TopCo. Ltd., DMWSL 617 Ltd., DMWSL 618 Ltd., DMWSL 619 Ltd., DMWSL 620 Ltd., DataLink Services, Datalink Services Inc., Decision Systems Inc., DecisionMetrics Limited, Diversified Data Development Corporation, Drivers History Inc., Drivers History Information Sales LLC, FT Holdings Inc., FactorTrust, FactorTrust Inc., GMAP Japan KK, GMAP Marketing Consulting Shangahi Co. Ltd, Healthcare Payment Specialists, INSDEC LLC, IS Resources Inc., Immobilise.com Limited, L2C Inc., L2C Inc., Link Marketing Inc., Link2credit Inc., Moussoro Participacoes Ltda., RTech, RTech Healthcare Revenue Technologies Inc., Recipero, Recipero Inc., Recipero Limited, Regional Data Systems Limited, RentPort, Rubixis, Rubixis Inc., Rubixis Technologies Private Limited, STS Vail Beheeren Administracion S. DE. R.L. DE C.V., Servicios y Asesoria S CO BC SA de CV, Signal, Soluciones de Informatica de Centroamerica (SICE) S.A., Source USA Insurance Agency Inc., Tenant ID Limited, Title Insurance Services Corporation, Trans Union Central America S.A., Trans Union Chile S.A., Trans Union Content Solutions LLC, Trans Union Costa Rica S.A., Trans Union Guatemala S.A., Trans Union Honduras-Buro de Credito S.A., Trans Union International Inc., Trans Union LLC, Trans Union Nicaragua S.A., Trans Union Real Estate Services Inc., Trans Union Software Services Private Limited, Trans Union de Puerto Rico Inc., Trans Union of Canada Inc., TransUnion (Mauritius) Limited, TransUnion (Proprietary) Ltd., TransUnion Africa (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Africa Holdings (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Analytic and Decision Services (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Asia Ltd., TransUnion Auto Information Solutions (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Baltics UAB, TransUnion Brasil Sistemas em Informatica Ltda., TransUnion CIBIL Limited, TransUnion Colombia Ltda., TransUnion Consumer Solutions LLC, TransUnion Credit Bureau (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Credit Bureau Namibia (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Data Solutions LLC, TransUnion Digital LLC, TransUnion El Salvador S.A. de C.V., TransUnion Exchange LLC, TransUnion Financing Corporation, TransUnion Global Holdings LLC, TransUnion Global Holdings LP, TransUnion Global Technology Center LLP, TransUnion Healthcare Inc., TransUnion Holding Cyprus Ltd., TransUnion ITC (Pty) Ltd., TransUnion Information Group Limited, TransUnion Information Services Limited, TransUnion Information Solutions Inc., TransUnion Information Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., TransUnion Intelligence LLC, TransUnion Interactive Inc., TransUnion Intermediate Holdings Inc., TransUnion International Holdings LLC, TransUnion International UK Limited, TransUnion Kenya Limited, TransUnion Limited, TransUnion Ltd., TransUnion Marketing Solutions Inc., TransUnion Netherlands I B.V., TransUnion Netherlands II B.V., TransUnion Rental Screening Solutions Inc., TransUnion Reverse Exchange S de R.L. de C.V., TransUnion Risk Advisory Inc., TransUnion Risk and Alternative Data Solutions Inc., TransUnion Rwanda Limited, TransUnion S.A., TransUnion Soluciones de Informacion Chile SA, TransUnion Soluciones de Informacion S de R.L de C.V., TransUnion Teledata LLC, TransUnion UK Holdings Ltd., Tru Optik, TruSignal, TruSignal Inc., TrueLink, Trustev, Trustev Limited, Vail Holdings UK Ltd., Vail Systemen Groep B.V., Verifacts LLC, Visionary Systems Inc., Worthknowing Inc., eBureau, eBureau LLC, iovation Inc., iovation Ltd., and process benchmarking limited.
Rick Zeron will head to Tioga Downs this Friday (Sept. 7), as he has picked up a catch drive aboard one of the sports top trotting mares.

Zeron and the Luc Blais-trained Dream Together will lead a field of seven in the $40,000 fourth leg of the Miss Versatility, which will feature the lone division.

The last time that the four-year-old daughter of Muscle Hill raced at Tioga was on August 12 for the $141,000 Joie De Vie, which she went on to capture by a head in 1:53.1.



Dream Together, pictured winning the Joie De Vie at Tioga Downs (Photo courtesy Fred Brown)

The Joie De Vie had been promoted as the first matchup between trotting heavyweights Hannelore Hanover and Ariana G. Dream Together, who is owned by the Determination stable of Montreal, Que., made a late charge in the Joie De Vie for driver Bob McClure and upset her high profile rivals.

Dream Together (Post 3) has been installed as the 5-2 morning line favourite for her Friday tilt, which has been carded as Race 7 (approximate post time 8:03 p.m.). Her toughest competition could come from the Ake Svanstedt-trained Ice Attraction (to be driven by Simon Allard), who has been pegged as the second choice on the morning line at odds of 7-2.

The rest of the field will include Celebrity Ruth (Jim Meittinis, 4-1), NF Happenstance (Jack Parker Jr., 9-2), Caprice Hill (Mike Simons, 5-1), Pink Pistol (Aaron Byron, 8-1) and The Erm (Charlie Norris, 10-1).

Tiogas 13-race Friday card will get underway with a first-race post time of 6:15 p.m.

(With files from Tioga Downs)
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..
WEX Inc. provides financial technology services in North America, the Asia Pacific, and Europe. It operates through three segments: Fleet Solutions, Travel and Corporate Solutions, and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions. The Fleet Solutions segment offers fleet vehicle payment processing services. Its services include customer, account activation, and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; premium fleet services; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions with access to web-based data analytics platform that offers insights to fleet managers; and ancillary services and tools to fleets to manage expenses and capital requirements. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government vehicle fleet customers with small, medium, and large fleets, as well as with over-the-road and long haul fleets; and indirectly through co-branded and private label relationships. The Travel and Corporate Solutions segment provides payment processing solutions for payment and transaction monitoring needs. Its products include virtual cards that are used for transactions where no card is presented and that require pre-authorization; and prepaid and gift card products that enables secure payment and financial management solutions with single card options, access to open or closed loop redemption, load limits, and with various expirations. This segment markets its products directly and indirectly to commercial and government organizations. The Health and Employee Benefit Solutions segment offers healthcare payment products and software-as-a-service consumer directed platforms for healthcare market, as well as payroll related and employee benefit products in Brazil. The company was formerly known as Wright Express Corporation and changed its name to WEX Inc. in October 2012. WEX Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Portland, Maine.

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In a show of appreciation, a South Bay art educator and his students have made artwork gifts of gratitude for city and school board leaders from the beach cities of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo.
A recent Bombay High Court verdict dated 27 July, 2018 which charged a doctor couple of medical negligence under IPC, Section 304(A), has had a negative impact on the tele-consultation industry, with many doctors mis-interpreting the judgment deeming tele-consultation as illegal. However, the fact is that the tele-consultation industry which serves more than 10 million patients annually cannot be deemed illegal overnight.

The issue under consideration by the Court was Prescription without diagnosis and hence resulting in death of the patient amounts to criminal negligence on the part of the doctors. The ratio decidendi as laid down by the Bombay High Court in this case can be comprehended to mean that prescription without diagnosis would amount to culpable negligence, which the Court affirmatively decided. The court also mentioned The medicines were administered on telephonic instructions without even enquiring about the symptoms or nature of the pain suffered by the patient.

However, the Court does not say medicines ought not to have been administered at all over the telephone. The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette & Ethics) Regulations, 2002 (the Code of Ethics) laid down by the MCI, prescribes standards of professional conduct, etiquette and ethics for registered medical practitioners. There is nothing in this Code of Ethics that prohibits the online practice of medicine and there is no other law in India that prohibits online medical consultations or prescribes the manner of communication between a medical practitioner and a patient.

According to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in the absence of any legal provision that prohibits online medical consultations or prescribes the manner of communication between medical practitioners and patients, there is no illegality in providing medical consultations online in India subject however, to compliance with all other laws that may be applicable, including the MCI Act, The Code of Ethics and other laws that may be applicable to activities involved in the process, such as the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 that deals with the issuance of prescriptions.

In a press note, the industry body, which represents the digital industry including healthtech startups, has said that as long as the medical practitioners undertake due care and employ reasonable means for diagnosis, the different ways undertaken by the medical practitioner for such consultation is not the relevant question which the Court addressed and adjudicated in this case.

Unfortunately, post this verdict, some within the medical fraternity have unfairly condemned tele-consultations, declaring them illegal and unethical. Incorrect interpretation of the case is doing rounds on social media, which has created a sense of panic among doctors who have previously helped thousands of patients from their hand-held device. With doctors now being wary of connecting with patients online, it is unfortunate that millions of patients are losing out on basic healthcare services due to such knee jerk reactions.

Prashant Tandon, Co-Chairman of IAMAI Health Tech Committee and Founder and CEO, 1MG said: At IAMAI, we believe it is a national imperative that we find innovative solutions to improve access to healthcare and develop a healthcare model that serves the society well. In this journey, we believe technology solutions can bring significant value to both patients and the doctors. We are keen to collaborate and engage with Indian Medical Association to co-create the right model, with adequate checks and balances that enables this mission.

It is a well-known fact that there is shortage of doctors in India which hampers healthcare in India. The shortage of doctors in India is estimated at approx. 5 lakhs. Most specialist doctors are employed in the private sector, mostly limited to Metro and Tier 1 cities. This makes government the largest provider of healthcare services in Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and further down. Apart from the shortage, there are also distribution problems. There is a 10 fold difference in doctor distribution between Delhi and Bihar. Today, doctors are present where the patient is not and this gap will widen as more doctors get added. According to IAMAI, the key to address the doctor shortage and improve primary healthcare is to leverage technology and go Digital.

The above map shared by a popular doctor tele-consultation platform demonstrates the potential of internet in its truest form. Right from Jammu and Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Kutch to the eastern border have paid and consulted an MD doctor from their phone using an internet connection. Whats more interesting is that unlike other internet businesses, tele-consultation platforms are largely used by people from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns where access to specialist doctors is difficult. Even in metros, patients tele-consult doctors due to its outright convenience and cost effectiveness. There are also instances where patients have preferred tele-consultation over physical visits due to privacy  especially in areas of female health, skin diseases, sexology, weight management and mental wellness.

From an impact point of view, the top 10 tele-consultation platforms in the country put together impact over 10 million patients annually with a CAGR of more than 20%. Over 10000 doctors from various specialities are KYCed and trained meticulously to serve patients from their phone on these platforms.

Given the limited spread of healthcare services in our country, it is important to acknowledge the potential of internet in strengthening the primary healthcare fabric. To this effect, IAMAI believes that suggesting a blanket tele-consultation ban on the basis of few instances is not healthy and also goes against the spirit of law. While there are challenges, collective efforts should be made to address them.

Technuter.com News Service
As Dalhousie welcomes students to campus for the fall academic term, the university is once again teaming up with local police to ensure a safe and respectful environment on campus and in surrounding neighbourhoods.

Whats different about the partnership this year, though, is an additional increase in police presence in designated areas surrounding Dal campus in September  a month earlier than usual.

The enhanced Dalhousie Designated Police Patrol  a Halifax Regional Police patrol funded by Dalhousie that focuses on neighbourhoods around the university  kicked off this past Saturday and will run the first full week of the term and on Friday and Saturday evenings for the remainder of the month. The service then continues Thursday through Saturday in October, Fridays and Saturdays in November, and on select dates in the winter term.

We remain committed to working closely with local police to ensure we are a good neighbour to those who live near our campuses, says Jake MacIsaac, assistant director with Dals Security Services.

The additional Dal-focused police presence in September supplements Halifax Regional Polices own Operation Fall Back, an annual patrol that targets neighbourhoods near the citys south-end universities. Fall Back also launched last Saturday and runs the first full week of September and Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for the remainder of the month.

Officers on patrol focus on problem areas, responding to complaints from neighbours and students alike about liquor offences, noise, mischief and other public-safety issues that impact quality of life for local residents.

We believe this years additional patrols, together with Operation Fall Back, will help ensure an even safer and more respectful atmosphere for those living in areas near students, says Constable Robin Sherwood, community liaison officer for Halifax's south end.

Security on campus, any time



Safety and security remains a priority on campus as well, says MacIsaac.

The universitys Security Services team patrols all three Halifax campuses and the Agricultural Campus in Truro, responding to calls and investigating suspicious behaviour as needed any time of day.

Individuals facing serious security issue or witnessing a worrying situation on campus can contact Security Services directly by calling the campus emergencies line (902-494-4109 in Halifax, 902-893-4190 in Truro) with their own device or by activating one of the many BlueLight security stations located around Dals campuses. When activated, a station automatically lights up, dials Security Services on a loud speakerphone, and beams its location to the security team.

Less urgent concerns should be relayed using the general phone line (902-494-6400 in Halifax, 902-893-4190 in Truro), by email (security@dal.ca) or in person. Individuals are also encouraged to visit the Community Outreach Office located in the high-traffic corridor on the lower floor of the Life Sciences Centre on Dals Studley Campus (room 204) if they are seeking confidential supports, resources and services from Dal and community partners such as HRP.

Safety through prevention



Another way to reach Dal Security is through the DalSafe app  but the app does a whole lot more than that.

MacIsaac recommends DalSafe as a mobile safety and security resource packed with useful information and features. It includes a safety toolbox, a campus map, Mobile BlueLight (a mobile version of the service with optional location sharing), and easy access to various emergency and non-emergency contacts. And new this year is a chat feature for those times when it is easier to text with an operator than to make a phone call.

DalSafe also includes easy access to Tiger Patrol, the free evening-ride service offered to students, faculty and staff during the academic year. A valid Dal ID card is required.

MacIsaac also recommends all students, faculty and staff sign up for Dal Alert, the universitys integrated messaging service used to broadcast important information in the event of campus hazards such as chemical spills, fires, or accidents or closures and cancellations due to weather or other conditions.

Visit Security Services online for more information. DalSafe is available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry platforms.
The Rebecca Cohn was packed Wednesday night as close to a thousand people absorbed the accrued wisdom of Senator Murray Sinclair, who chaired the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) from 2009 until its landmark 2015 report on the racialized, cultural, sexual and physical abuse of 150,000 Indigenous children from the 1880s until 1996.

Murrays address was part of Dal 200s Belong Forum series, in which internationally recognized thinkers, trailblazers and change-makers wrestle with the question: What would it take to create a world where we all feel we truly belong?

Sinclair said true belonging means there are people around you who will help you when you need it  and you, in turn, will help them.

Reconciliation, will mutually benefit both of us, he said, speaking to both Indigenous peoples and settlers. But we have a lot of history to overcome. For a long time now, Indigenous people have not felt like they belong in the same circles as the rest of Canada because the history of our relationship has been about rejection.

This rejection was perhaps most visibly manifested in the form of residential schools, with the federal government taking children from where they felt they belonged, and forcing them somewhere that didnt want them.

Sinclair said the anger Indigenous people feel as a result of centuries of colonization has been taken out on Indigenous family members and communities, resulting in the highest suicide rates anywhere, medical problems related to poor self-care, and violence in the form of gangs, drugs and alcoholism.

And then on top of all of that is the fact that theyre being criminalized, theyre being sent to jail, theyre losing their children to the child welfare system at even higher rates than the residential schools took their children away.

Watch: Archived livestream of Senator Sinclair's Belong Forum



Talk of reconciliation



Though Sinclairs humour was frequently on display throughout the evening  including cute anecdotes about his precocious grandaughter  there was no question there was a heavyness in the air as Sinclair and other guests on-stage discussed the legacy of Canadas residential schools.

In her opening prayer, Elder Jane Abram of Millbrook First Nation voice broke slightly as she acknowledged the survivors of residential schools, including those who have since passed. To those who have gone on to the spirit world, I pray you will find the happiness you longed for.

Naiomi Metallic of Listuguj First Nation, the Chancellors Chair in Aboriginal Law and Policy at Schulich School of Law, introduced Sinclair. She paraphrased from A Tale of Two Cities, saying this year has been the best and worst of times for Indigenous People, that witnessing two separate high-profile acquittals, of the men who killed Colten Boushie and Tina Fontaine, highlights the continued crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.

But there is hope, provided in part by the work of the TRC, she said. There is no question that reconciliation is a lens through which many conversations we are having today is filtered  and I dont think this would be happening if it were not for the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its commissioners  as well as all the residential school survivors who had the courage to seek justice.

A dialogue for change



Sinclair discussed a fascinating paradox: that the greatest hope for change is education, but at the same time, Education has been a primary tool of assimilation, and  continues to be. This is because children are still taught from the misguided and inaccurate perspective that a superior race of people settled and civilized this nation.

And so, he said, We need to change the way we think, talk and act. Schools need to help students address four fundamental questions: Where do I come from? Where am I going? Who am I? And why am I here?

If we dont address this fundamental assumption of racial and cultural superiority, along with all the negative stereotypes about Indigenous people that our children are exposed to in media and conversation, Sinclair said well be having the same conversations for many more years. And that will mean Indigenous people will continue to feel they dont belong, will continue to be angry, and their communities will continue to suffer the same problems.

Calls to action



In a backstage interview with Dal News  following his post-lecture Q&A, hosted by journalist Tom Murphy of CBC News (a Dal 200 sponsor)  Sinclair said he has been impressed by the progress hes seen so far regarding the 94 Calls to Action in the TRCs final report.

We recognized that waiting for government to act was going to be a process of frustration, he said. The commission was strategic in directing its calls to action more broadly  to communities, cities, churches, schools and other institutions and workplaces, and to the leaders of these places.

Sinclair has been heartened that cities have declared months of reconciliation, and leaders have made commitments to include Indigenous people in the work they do. Halifax for example has their treaty celebration day in recognition of the 1763 treaty.

The Government of Canada, he said, has been slow to act, as have some provinces. But weve seen curriculum changes in some provinces. And churches, he said, outside of the Catholic Church, have also been very engaged in the reconciliation process.

As an educational institution, Sinclair would like to see Dalhousie be a resource for Indigenous children living in Halifax, building on current outreach initiatves to become an even more welcoming space for Indigenous youth.

They should have a chance to come to the university and see it as welcoming to them, he said. They could be invited to use university resources such as the gym or computers, for example. He also calls for engaging with Indigenous leaders about their decision-making process.

Watch: Archived livestream of Senator Sinclair's Belong Forum
Dalhousies dental community is eagerly awaiting the grand opening of the new dental clinic this September. Thanks to many generous donors, including Nobel Biocare, the new clinic will provide students and faculty with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, and improve the level of patient care.

We have had a wonderful working relationship with Nobel Biocare for over two decades," says Dr. Ben Davis, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry. "They are leaders in the field of implant solutions and have always provided us with unrivalled service."



Nobel Biocares recent gift to the new clinic will help to position the Faculty as one of Canadas leading dental schools. Students will gain access to leading technology and equipment to maximize their learning experience while in school. Alumni and other oral healthcare professionals who return to Dal for continuing education will also benefit from the faculty having this impressive range of new capabilities.

We are extremely grateful for Nobel Biocares generous support of our clinic renewal and their gifts will allow our students, faculty, staff and patients, access to top-quality technology and products, continues Davis.

New technology



This gift provides the Faculty of Dentistry with a new dental cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner, cutting edge LS3 Procera scanner, NobelClinician treatment planning software and other in-kind contributions to support the Facultys outreach work. The licenses will allow students to access innovative software to support their treatment plans for patients. The new CBCT scanner is an invaluable piece of equipment for students and faculty who provide implant procedures for their patients. The technology will help students gain more knowledge and hands-on learning with dental implants.

Continuing our strong commitment to educating the next generation of dental professionals, we are extremely proud of this new collaboration and long-term relationship with Dalhousies Faculty of Dentistry, says Hans Geiselhoringer, president of Nobel Biocare.

The relationship between Nobel Biocare and the Faculty of Dentistry dates back to the early 1990s when Dr. Doug Chaytor (DDS59) implemented the initial implant dentistry elective program. The program has since grown in volume such that all students in the DDS program now get pre-clinical and clinical experience for patients requiring implant fixture placement and restoration of the implant fixtures. Implant dentistry has become a core component of patient treatment at Dalhousie with the Faculty placing close to 300 implants over the past year by both grad and oral surgery residents.

Nobel Biocare has taken the time to facilitate implant education. They have given us the digital tools to create treatment plans and provide safe and effective surgical care, says Dr. Kale Wudrich, a senior periodontics graduate resident at Dal. This offers an important learning opportunity for students and residents, while having a positive impact on patient care and experience.

Supporting students



In addition to providing innovative products and solutions, Nobel Biocare has been instrumental in supporting students with their studies. They provide support for residents in the General Practice Residency, Graduate Periodontal, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery programs. The company helps students stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and advancements in dental implants. They present workshops and provide hands-on training for faculty, students, staff, and lab technicians. Topics range from digital dentistry to more hands-on surgical restorative sessions.

Its been an exciting journey getting to this point and we are positive that utilizing the solutions from Nobel Biocare will ensure that patients and clinicians are having a world-class experience, adds Cory Sears, regional sales manager of Nobel Biocare Canada. With leading digital scanning technologies and the companys family of implants, the learning experience will be able to reach new levels and continue to be at the highest possible standard in dentistry.

Nobel Biocare has been and continues to be the number one supporter of the implant dentistry program at Dalhousie, says Dr. Gorman Doyle, a full-time faculty member and division head of Implant Dentistry at the Faculty of Dentistry.
Microsoft India announced the availability of Microsoft Indian language Speech Corpus, offering speech training and test data for Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati. This is the largest publicly available Indian language speech dataset which includes audio and corresponding transcripts. It is aimed at helping researchers and academia build Indian language speech recognition for all applications where speech is used. This Indian language Speech Corpus content is provided by Microsoft Research Open Data initiative, a collection of free datasets from Microsoft Research to advance state-of-the-art research in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and domain-specific sciences.

Today, there is a scarcity of adequate digital data for text, speech and linguistic resources  which are imperative in building large machine learning models for many vernacular languages across the world. Moreover, the differences in enunciation, accent, diction, and slang across various regions in India are very subtle. As a result of these complexities, development of accurate digital tools in Indian languages has been slow. Microsoft is working to address this lack of data and catalyze the development of machine learning based models that can help in building systems for low resource languages, thus enabling the ecosystem of researchers, academia and tech companies working on India language models and to accelerate the needs of Indian users. The launch of Microsoft Indian Language Speech Corpus is a part of this effort.

Sundar Srinivasan, General Manager, Artificial Intelligence & Research, Microsoft India, said, We believe Indias increasing digital literacy needs to be supported by a multi-lingual digital world. Microsoft Indian Language Speech Corpus is an extension of our on-going efforts to reduce language barriers and empower Indians to harness the full potential of the Internet. Using our technology expertise, we want to accelerate innovation in voice-based computing for India by supporting researchers and academia.

Microsofts Indian Language Speech Corpus was tested at Interspeech 2018, the worlds largest and most comprehensive conference on the science and technology of spoken language processing. In a Low Resource Speech Recognition Challenge, participants used data from Microsoft Indian language speech corpus to build Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems. They were able to create high quality speech recognition models using this data, thus validating the efficacy of the Corpus.

Microsoft has been working with Indian languages for over two decades since the launch of Project Bhasha in 1998, allowing users to input localized text easily and quickly using the Indian Language Input tool. With the help of AI and Deep Neural Networks, Microsoft is working on improving real-time language translation for Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and now expanding it to real-time language translation for Telugu. Microsoft also recently announced support for email addresses in multiple Indian languages across most of its email apps and services. Also, as part of the latest Windows update, Microsoft added Tamil 99 virtual keyboard to Windows 10. Through its global Local Language Program (LLP), Microsoft provides people access to technology in their native language. This includes Language Interface Packs for Indian languages like Hindi, Kannada, Bengali, Malayalam, amongst others.

Technuter.com News Service
Auto industry body SIAM on Thursday asked the government for long-term policy for promoting electric mobility in the country, saying absence of such guidelines is not helpful to the industry to plan future investments.

New Delhi: Auto industry body SIAM on Thursday asked the government for long-term policy for promoting electric mobility in the country, saying absence of such guidelines is not helpful to the industry to plan future investments.

The auto industry body also sought lower taxation for the vertical in order to help it realise its true potential.

Speaking at the annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), outgoing president of the body Abhay Firodia regretted the government's decision to stay away from framing an electric vehicle (EV) policy.

"After the earlier significant announcement favouring large-scale electrification of vehicles in the country, in an unexpected way, the government came out and stated that it will not be issuing a formal policy promoting EVs, but rather rake specific actions to enable proliferation if EVs in the country," Firodia said.

At the request of the government, SIAM had proposed policy measures for 40 per cent electrification by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2047, he added.

"However, the government stepped away from laying down a long-term approach, and... this is not very helpful for the industry. Laying down clear objectives will help the industry prepare for future investments," Firodia said.

EVs cannot be just out in the market, they require infrastructure and a complete ecosystem, he added.

"I therefore see it more as a challenge for transformation, which needs to be gradual." Sudden moves could disrupt (the industry) and such disruption can seriously hamper Make in India aspirations, Firodia said.

He added that in 2011 too, the industry had submitted a proposal to bring policy for electric mobility.

"I just want to emphasise that the industry does not oppose EVs... I can assure you that the industry will not be found wanting in delivering competitive and technically viable EVs if there is a clear policy that addresses consumers... and also the manufacturers," Firodia noted.

He added that implementation of goods and services tax (GST) was a watershed moment which the auto industry was looking forward to for a long time.

"The GST rate of 28 per cent along with cess of 15 per cent was in line with expectations of the industry and was widely welcomed by the auto industry. However, soon after, the GST on passenger vehicles (PVs) was increased upwards in September last year to around the same level which was there in the pre-GST regime," Firodia said.

This dented the confidence of the auto industry, he added.

"The industry seeks stable policy environment and change in the mindset (of consumers) where vehicles are not to be considered as luxury goods akin to sin goods and they don't need to be shunned," Firodia said.

"Vehicles are important for the progress a country and growth of the economy. Therefore, due recognition needs to be there by moderating taxes on vehicles," he added.

Firodia said that average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of the industry is about 10 per cent, but the overall GST on PVs ranges from 28 to 50 per cent.

"If we include state taxes, the overall taxation in some states goes up to 70 per cent," he added.

"This... is not a rational level of tax at about five times the EBITDA of the industry and is in contrast to some developed nations. It should be like Europe and Japan where taxation is in the range of 17-20 per cent," Firodia said.

The very high proportion of tax does not allow the industry to grow to its full potential, he added.

"The industry had the potential to do much more if our policies had allowed it to grow in a more favourable regime," Firodia said.

He said India had poor penetration of vehicles as compared to other countries.

Stating the auto industry as the leading contributor of taxes to the government, Firodia also sought a single ministry to take care of auto industry issues.

He also sought a long-term policy roadmap so that the industry could plan accordingly.

Firodia said that the industry is the process of investing around Rs 1 lakh crore for upgradation to BSVI emission norms.

Once the country moves to BSVI norms, there should not be "fuel-based discrimination".

Responding to the demand from the auto industry, Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said there was a need to plan for transition with least disruption to the industry.

"We can't go about it by putting together an assortment of policies across different departments.. It has got to be a unified and convergent view, not just within the government but within the society, which includes all the stakeholders like state governments, " he said.

For example Karnataka has announced its own electric vehicle policy, Kumar said adding that it is for the centre and Niti Aayog to make sure that these policies are in convergence and not inconsistent.
Hyderabad: Canadas JAMP Pharma on Thursday said that the the company will set up a centre of excellence for R&D and manufacturing and will invest around Rs 250 crore.

The centre will come up in the Genome Valley cluster here, is expected to generate 2,000 direct jobs over the next 24 months, according to the statement.

Telangana IT and industries minister K.T. Rama Rao assured of complete support from the Telangana government.

Meanwhile, Hyderabad-based biotech firm GeneSys Biologics announced the inauguration of its state-of-the-art biotechnology manufacturing facility in the Genome Valley.
The Hindi remake of the Telugu blockbuster Arjun Reddy starring Shahid Kapoor in the title role has been making news ever since it was announced. Everyone had been speculating about who the leading lady opposite Shahid would be. It was never officially announced but it was widely reported that the Student Of The Year 2 heroine Tara Sutaria was signed for the project.

However, it is now confirmed that Tara, who will make her debut with SOTY 2, isnt a part of the film anymore.

So what happened? When Tara signed the Arjun Reddy remake, it was agreed upon that it would be her second release after SOTY 2. But things changed when SOTY 2 was postponed by six months. It was earlier slated to release in November 2018.

But last month, the release date of the Punit Malhotra movie also starring Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday, was changed to May 2019. This meant that the Arjun Reddy remake would have to release not earlier than June-July 2019.

Eventually, the makers of the film and Taras managers amicably decided to part ways because of the delay caused. It is for this reason that the makers of the Arjun Reddy remake decided to let go of Tara and look for another actress. They have finalised a couple of options and will be announcing the name in the next few days, a source exclusively informed Deccan Chronicle.
The Ministry of Defence recently gave a standing ovation to JP Dutta's Paltan at the special screening which was held for them. This was done since the plot revolves around the lives of some unknown heroes of the Indian army.

The film was highly appreciated by India's Ministry of Defence as the story reveals the true incidents from the lesser known battle of 1967 war at the Sikkim border.

JP Dutta is known for his films showcasing the army's on-field action in the most realistic way and for this he had been invited by the Ministry of Defence for the third time to make a film on the iconic event in the history of Indian Armed Forces.

With Paltan, JP Dutta is yet to reveal India's victory over China in 1967 which has not been talked about much.

JP Dutta who has earlier delivered war films showcasing Indo-Pak wars will now be presenting the lesser known battle between India and China that took place at Nathu La in 1967.

Apart from this, here are some real life incidents related to the movie which will make you watch it:

1. 1967 real war heroes helped J P Dutta to recreate the sets of Paltan

While talking about his encounter with the real-life soldiers, JP Dutta shared, "I met all the officers with the help of their respective battalions. The commanding officer of the battalion gives me the contact and then I started my research. Attar Singh came on our sets and he pointed out and zeroed in on the feature that was closest to Nathula".

He further added, "They live in Delhi and Jaipur respectively. I have met their families and interacted with them very closely".

JP Dutta who almost took a year for the research shared, "It took me close to a year. I started getting in touch with the heroes and their families and then I got my facts right to keep it as real as I possibly can for cinema".

2. Filmmaker JP Dutta roped in 300 army personnel for Paltan war scenes!

Recollecting the incident, JP Dutta shared, "The movie focuses on the action and existential angst that our soldiers faced during the war time. Who better than the real army officers themselves to showcase the true emotions? The ministry of defense was very supportive throughout the making and to shoot with real army men as part of our own crew helped us a lot. In no time, they all gelled with us and even helped the actors get into the skin of their characters. From training them to hold the real guns properly to aping army character traits, the real army personnel helped us and I am hugely grateful to them.

3. Arjun Rampal's personal trainer accompanied him to Ladakh during the shoot of Paltan

During the shoot of war sequence in the rocky terrain of Ladakh, fitness freak Arjun Rampal did not miss a single chance to indulge in his body regime. To keep himself fit everyday early morning the actor used to jog 4 km.

As Arjun Rampal's reel life character demanded rigorous workouts, every morning his fitness trainer did the same to the actor.

Along with his personal trainer, real-life soldiers at the border area gave Arjun Rampal and other actors intense military training to get into the skin of a soldier's character.

4. JP Dutta visited families of 1967 war soldiers before shooting Paltan

JP Dutta visited the families to understand their nuances and the difficulties they went through during the war period and post that.

He explained that trying to recreate those times today to shoot required a lot of research and meeting the families was a part of the research.

5. Real soldiers inspired JP Dutta's Paltan characters

The lead characters are all based on real-life soldiers who fought in 1967. Arjun Rampal plays the role of Col. Rai Singh, who was commanding a unit at the border outpost at Nathu La when the Chinese attacked.

Gurmeet Choudhary plays Captain Prithvi Singh Dagar who was detailed as the Officer in charge of a party ordered to strengthen the wire laying party opposite South shoulder at Nathula.

Harshwardhan Rane plays Major Harbhajan Singh who bayoneted three Chinese soldiers and then moved forward to silence their light machine gun, which was firing on the Indian troops, by throwing a hand grenade.

Sonu Sood, on his part, has stepped into the shoes of Major Bishan Singh, who comes from a traditional Rajput family with an Army background. In April/May 1967, Singh was responsible for taking over the front line to hold Nathu La Pass, and he carried out detailed reconnaissance with the necessary personnel. At about 5am one morning, Chinese troops opened fire on Indian soldiers exposed in the open, causing casualties.

The real Bishan Singh is all praises for the makers. It felt great to watch the trailer of Paltan. JP Dutta has displayed his sharp intellect and skill of translating real-life battle sequences onto the screen beautifully. Such war movies inspire our nations youngsters to join the army and serve the nation. A lot of research has been done to bring to light the real facts, which marked a turning point in the history of the Indian Army after the debacle of 1962, he says.

Director JP Dutta added, Most of my films are based on the army and the real-life clashes that took place. Paltan came to me as a story I didnt know, and I wondered why it had not been told till now. It was difficult to dramatise and make it as masaledaar as possible, but I preferred to forego that and stay as true to events as possible.
Shahid and Mira Kapoor had shared picture of daughter Misha as big sister to announce news that theyre expecting second time.

Mumbai: Actor Shahid Kapoor and wife Mira Rajput welcomed their second child, a baby boy, on Wednesday.

Also read: Shahid Kapoor has the cutest way to announce that hes ready for second child

Mira, who was admitted at the Hinduja Hospital in suburban Mumbai, delivered a baby boy, sources said.

The couple got married in 2015 and they have a two-year-old daughter, Misha, who recently celebrated her second birthday.

Also read: Shahid and Mira are enjoying few days before second child enters family, heres proof

On the work front, Shahid will be seen next in 'Batti Gul Meter Chalu' that releases on September 21.
Filmmaker duo Raj and D.K., who are currently basking in the success of their horror-comedy Stree, are reportedly keen to begin work on their next project  a sequel to Go Goa Gone. And they cant stop gushing about actor Saif Ali Khan, whom theyve worked with in the past. Saif is the most versatile actor I know.

His comic timing is just crazy. We share the same sense of humour, and he gets it just right, says Raj, adding, He is up for wacky stuff, so its exciting to work with him. The entire Go Goa Gone gang is excited to get back into that world.

The 2013 film Go Goa Gone was a zombie comedy that told the story of three friends  Hardik (Kunal Kemmu), Luv (Vir Das) and Bunny (Anand Tiwari)  whose dream holiday in Goa turns into a nightmare. Saif Ali Khan played a prominent role in the film, and the filmmakers are hoping to give him a complete makeover for the sequel.

We have a couple of ideas in mind and we would love to give Saif a cool new look in this film, says D.K. The film is expected to go on floors in March 2019.

Meanwhile, the filmmakers are thrilled that Stree has been doing so well. Stree was very close to our hearts. While writing the film, we didnt know how it would turn out. I am glad that people are liking it and waiting for a sequel, D.K. says.
The campaign seems him appearing next to the words "Kick the Meat Habit. Go Vegan."

Mumbai: He left the audience in awe with his exceptional action stunts in the 2017 hit film Commando 2, and now, Vidyut Jammwal shows off his chiselled body, which he attributes to his vegan lifestyle and workout routine, in a hot new print campaign for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.

The campaign seems him appearing next to the words "Kick the Meat Habit. Go Vegan." The ad campaign is being released during India's National Nutrition Week (17 September).

Vegans are vegetarians who eat only fully plant-derived foods (leaving those derived from animals  such as milk and eggs, which are stolen from exploited cows and chickens, respectively  off their plates). The ad was shot by ace photographer Haider Khan.

"When people ask me where I get my protein from, I tell them [I get it from] exactly [the same place that] herbivorous animals like elephants, horses, and rhinos do: plants," says Jammwal. "Being vegan helps me keep fit. I love the way I feel."

PETA India notes that the dairy industry is the primary supplier of animals to the beef industry in India and that male calves, who are considered worthless by the dairy industry, are typically abandoned and left to starve or slaughtered for beef.

Female calves endure the same abuse as their mothers  including being chained and raped using crude instruments for artificial insemination and experiencing the heartbreak of watching their calves being taken away from them shortly after birth. PETA India's eyewitness investigation of the country's dairy industry also documented that animals are routinely kicked and struck, denied veterinary care, and forced to stand and lie amidst piles of their own faeces.

Furthermore, a PETA India's video expose "Glass Walls", showed most chickens used for their eggs are confined to a space that's smaller than an A4 sheet of paper and parts of their beaks are cut off with a hot blade to prevent them from pecking at each other out of frustration. Once their bodies wear out and they're no longer considered useful for egg production, they're sent to the slaughterhouse, where they're killed in full view of their companions.

In addition to sparing the lives of many animals each year, people who eat vegan reduce their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. And because of the disastrous environmental effects of the meat, egg, and dairy industries, the United Nations has concluded that a global shift towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change.

Jammwal joins a growing list of vegan celebrities  including Kangana Ranaut, Sonam Kapoor, Joaquin Phoenix, Pamela Anderson, Jacqueline Fernandez, Mallika Sherawat, Ayesha Takia, Monica Dogra, and Bryan Adams, to name just a few.
With Ram Kadam's remarks triggering an 'outrage', the MNS and NCP Wednesday likened him to demon king Ravan for making the anti-women remark. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Mumbai: The Maharashtra BJP accused the Opposition Wednesday of being less concerned about the people's issues and instead fuelling the controversy over its lawmaker Ram Kadam's anti-women remarks, even as ally Shiv Sena demanded strict action against the legislator.

The BJP MLA on Monday night bragged to young men that he would "kidnap" a girl they like, if she rejects their proposal, but had later expressed regrets over his remarks made at a "Dahi Handi" event in his Ghatkopar assembly constituency.

Read: Will kidnap the girl you like: Mumbai BJP MLA brags to youngsters in video

With Ram Kadam's remarks triggering an "outrage", the MNS and NCP Wednesday likened him to demon king Ravan for making the anti-women remark.

Also Read: Mumbai BJP MLA Ram Kadam faces backlash, labeled 'Ravan' for anti-women remark

BJP state spokesperson Madhav Bhandari played down Kadam's remark, saying as the MLA has expressed regret over it, the matter is over.

"After Kadam regretted his comments, the chapter is over for the party now. He has tweeted about it, so there is no need to comment on it," Bhandari said.

Asked about the Opposition slamming the MLA and targeting the BJP, he said, "The opposition parties are not concerned about the 'real issues' of the state. They do not want to take any stand over issues that matter, hence they are continuing their tirade against Kadam."

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party is an ally of the BJP at the centre and in Maharashtra, however, dared Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to show "courage" and take action the MLA.

Mocking the Union government's "beti bachaao - beti padhao" slogan, Thackeray said the Maharashtra BJP has launched a "beti bhagao" campaign.

He said no party should give a ticket to Kadam for making such a "snide remark" against women.

"Has the BJP started a 'beti bhagao' campaign?" he asked. "No party should give him a ticket in the forthcoming elections. Strict action should be taken against Kadam for insulting our mothers and sisters. The Chief Minister should show courage and take action against him," Thackeray told reporters.

He said the BJP had taken action against (BJP-backed MLC) Prashant Paricharak and (former Ahmednagar deputy mayor) Shripad Chindam in the past for making derogatory comments, and the same should be followed in Kadam's case.

The Maharashtra opposition parties earlier likened Kadam to demon king Ravan over his remarks.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena put up posters depicting Kadam as Ravan outside Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' residence and in Ghatkopar.

Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Nawab Malik said the BJP's "Ravan-like" face was out and its legislator would be called "Ravan Kadam" till he apologises.

Women members of the Indian Youth Congress burnt Kadam's effigy and also thrashed it with footwear in Indapur town of Maharashtra's Pune district. Kadam, who is heard making the comments in a video clip, has said his comments were distorted.

"I only repeated a sentence made by one of the persons standing in the crowd... It was not my sentence. The clip which has gone viral is only of 40 seconds. However, later I had said mothers, sisters and daughters in all households are 'Lakshmi' who need to be respected," he said late Tuesday.

"Yet, if I have hurt sentiments, I express regret," the MLA said.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents bouquet to US Secretary of Defence James Mattis on his arrival in Delhi, to attend India's first ever '2+2 Dialogue' between the two nations. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi/ Washington: US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday said that he is ready to discuss "anything" during the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue and anticipates that the issue of the purchase of S-400 Russian missile system would be brought up by the Indian delegation.

Jim Mattis and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to hold the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue with their Indian counterparts Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The focus of the dialogue will be to deepen strategic ties and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran

"Certainly, the S-400s will probably be brought up. I anticipate it'll be brought up by India, by the way," Mattis told reporters travelling with him to India.

The two-plus-two dialogue is scheduled for September 6 and 7.

Asserting that India and the US will have a very transparent dialogue, Matttis said it is a dialogue between two co-equal and sovereign nations.

"We will discuss anything that they bring up, and certainly, there'll be issues we bring up," he said.

Responding to questions on India's decision to buy S-400 Russian missile defense system, Mattis told reporters that freedom meant that at times, nations did not agree with each other.

"That doesn't mean we can't be partners. That doesn't mean we don't respect the sovereignty of those nations. So I'm sure it will come up there, but it's right that I not speak here before I've even heard their point. So first, I want to listen to my counterpart," he said.

Jim Mattis said India and the US had been discussing how they can communicate back and forth more openly.

"Because of the sensitivity of some of the technology, we have to know that when we share this with another like-minded nation, that we can keep it secure, just like we do when the Navy talks to the US Army. It no different," he said.

"You maintain security over this kind of technology. We'll be talking to them about this. There's been a lot of work done by our staffs. They have their own processes for approval of something like this. We have ours. No two nations have exactly the same authority levels or organisations that have to check off - check the box, and also, we'll see where each other's at on that," he said.

The response indicated that the two countries are still a few steps behind in signing the key foundational agreements including the one on communications, he said.

"I think that we're pretty much there already, on the American side. We'll see where they're at. Our staff's been meeting, and once we get that put in place, that does give us the opportunity to share some of the sensitive technology," Mattis said.
State Law Commission Chairman, Dr S.R. Nayak inaugurating the Teachers Day celebration at Holy Angels High School, Hampinagar on Wednesday. School Chairman T. Purushotham, Prinicipal P. Lokesh, Director P. Chandramohan and Circulation Head of Deccan Chronicle, Vishwanath R. are also seen

Bengaluru: Teachers from different schools and colleges in the city acquired centre-stage at different events and programmes organised at various levels as part of Teachers' Day celebrations.

While 31 teachers from government schools across the state were felicitated during a special event organised by the department of Primary and Secondary Education at Vidhana Soudha, the Department of Higher Education organised a celebration on a grand scale after 17 years, according to officials.

However, some attendees of the event expressed their displeasure as the event at Jnanajyothi Auditorium was delayed for almost two hours from the scheduled time of 9.45 am.

In another such event held at Korategere in Tumakuru, Deputy Chief Minister Dr G. Parameshwar announced that the best teacher from each taluk of the city would be rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 25,000.

"Block Development Officers would be in-charge to identify the best contributors," he said after felicitating teachers on the occasion.

Special celebrations of the day arranged by Holy Angel's High School, Hampinagar saw teachers and students perform cultural events on stage making the occasion colourful.

While Chairman of Law Commission of Karnataka Dr 'Nadoja' S.R. Nayak addressed the students on the special occasion, Circulations Head of Deccan Chronicle Bengaluru Vishwanath R., Chairman of Holy Angel's High School T. Purushotham, Prinicipal P. Lokesh and Director of the institution P. Chandramohan were also present. During the event more than 60 senior teachers were felicitated.

Students and the management of Trio Tots, Sahakara Nagar surprised their teachers by inviting the latter's families to the special event. While teachers were asked to assemble at the school auditorium under the pretext of a training session, the special entry of their family members in school was a moment of pleasant surprise for them, explained Naveen K.M, MD of the institution.

"Encouraging students to learn more and move towards success requires a lot of hard work and dedication. Hence Teacher's Day is the occasion to make every teacher feel special and appreciate their hard work. Events like this not only help in building a strong and healthy relationship between the family members and the teachers, but also promote happiness at the workplace," he said.
Protesters stopped trains in Bihars Darbhanga and Munger and high alert was issued in 35 districts of Madhya Pradesh. (Photo: ANI)

Bhopal: Security has been stepped up and school closed in some states in view of Bharat Bandh called by some groups on Thursday against the amendment to the SC/ST Act.

Protesters stopped trains in Bihars Darbhanga and Munger and high alert was issued in 35 districts of Madhya Pradesh. Thirty-four companies of security forces and 5000 security personnel were deployed and Section 144 was imposed in several districts of the state as a precautionary measure.

Protests were also reported from several places in Uttar Pradesh.

We have decided to shut petrol pumps from 10 am to 2 pm tomorrow due to security reasons as some organizations have given a call for bandh, Madhya Pradesh Petrol Pump Owners Association president Ajay Singh told PTI on Wednesday.

Police have tightened security across the state in view of ongoing protests against the amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) Makrand Deuskar said orders prohibiting gathering of people in large numbers have been imposed.

The administration in most of the districts have clamped prohibitive orders under CrPC section 144 in view of the bandh on September 6, he said.

Thirty-four companies of the special armed force of police have been deployed in various districts, he said.

Jabalpur district collector Chhavi Bharadwaj has written to the state home department, seeking suspension of Internet services in the district till 6 pm on Thursday.

Bhopal: High alert issued in 35 districts across the state in view of #BharatBandh against amendments in SC/ST Act. 34 companies of security forces and 5000 security personnel deployed. Section 144 imposed in several districts. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/OLcRV9pjxy  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

District Education Officer in Bhind has ordered that schools in the district will remain closed.

Meanwhile, protests against the amendment to the SC/ST Act continued in the state Wednesday.

Protesters showed black flags to former Union minister and senior BJP leader Prahlad Patel at Tikamgarh when he was addressing the partys OBC workers.

Slogans were shouted by protesters outside the venue of BJPs OBC cells meeting in Gwalior.

After the Supreme Court diluted the provision of mandatory arrests under the SC/ST Act, sparking protests by Dalit organisations, the Union government brought an amendment in the monsoon session of Parliament to override the apex courts order.

Gwalior-Chambal region, considered a sensitive area, had witnessed large-scale violence on April 2 this year during the Bharat Bandh called by Dalit groups.

Now, upper caste organisations are protesting against the amendment.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathans national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs would participate in the Bharat Bandh against the amendment.
Chennai: The multi-crore gutka scam haunting the AIADMK government took a dramatic turn, albeit not unexpected, on Wednesday as the CBI investigators raided multiple premises, including those belonging to state health minister C Vijayabaskar, DGP TK Rajendran, retired DGP S George and former dairy minister BV Ramanna, in various locations in Tamil Nadu and other states.

The raids at about 35 places began early morning at about seven and went on till late evening. CBI sleuths were seen leaving the raided places with bags, presumably containing 'incriminating' documents and other evidence.

The CBI headquarters in Delhi issued a brief statement in the evening saying that 'searches' were carried out by its officers "at around 35 locations including Chennai, Thiruvallur, Tuticorin, Pondicherry, Bangalore, Mumbai & Guntur in an on-going investigation relating to Gutka scam case".

CBI said the raids were at the "residential premises of the Promoters/ Directors of the Company and other public servants including officials of Sales Tax Department, Customs & Central Excise, Food Safety & Drug Administration Department and jurisdictional Police officials". The probe agency did not identify the 'public servants' and police officials.

Leader of Opposition and DMK president MK Stalin called the raids a "shame on Tamil Nadu" and demanded that Governor Banwarilal Purohit dismiss Minister Vijayabaskar and DGP Rajendran if they do not quit voluntarily. It was a petition from his party's legislator J Anbazhagan to the Madras high court that had triggered the CBI probe as the court in April this year ordered that the 'lackadaisical' investigation into the scam by the state crime branch be transferred to the CBI.

Indicating he was in mood to quit, minister Vijayabaskar issued a stinging statement in the evening claiming innocence and swearing he would defeat the conspiracy of his detractors through political and legal ways.

Sources said DGP Rajendran called on Chief Minister K Palaniswami at the latter's residence in the evening and briefed him about the raid at his premises and possibly the overall impact on the government, politically and otherwise.

Barring the media releases from the CBI, minister Vijayabaskar and DMK chief Stalin, there has not been any official responses from any quarters on the sensational raids on Wednesday, which many see as a significant development in the scam that had come to light following CBI raids on July 8 last year on the residences, offices and godown of a pan masala and gutka manufacturer named Madhava Rao.

Entries in his diary indicated huge bribes paid to several people, including minister Vijayabaskar and the two police officers Rajendran and George, in order to carry on the gutka trade in Tamil Nadu, despite the ban on the tobacco substance that had been banned in TN in 2013.

Sources said thanks to the political and police patronage, the gutka trade thrived in Tamil Nadu with over 30,000 sellers in just Chennai region alone. While the police enforcement officials proudly proclaimed seizure of about 120 tonnes since 2013 in Chennai, it is said the actual quantity in active circulation could be at least ten times that much. It was also stated that only about 25 officers were in charge of monitoring the prevention wing and some of them had enjoyed hefty bribes, even as high as Rs 35 lakhs a month.

And so that leaves the CBI holding a heavy file, dusty and dirty, which may take a long time to arrive at its next logical halt, the court of law.
New Delhi: Homosexuality is not a crime, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said Thursday, while maintaining that it does not support same-sex marriage as it was "not natural".

The comments came on a day the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of Section 377, which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

"Like the Supreme Court's verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime," RSS 'prachar pramukh' Arun Kumar said in a statement. 'Prachar pramukh' is the designated spokesperson of the Sangh.

However, he maintained the Sangh's old stand and said gay marriage and such relationships were not "compatible with nature". "These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship."

He claimed that Indian society "traditionally does not recognise" such relations. Humans usually learn from experiences, so this topic needs to be discussed and handled at the social and psychological level, Kumar added.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a joint press conference after the India-US 2 + 2 Dialogue in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: India and the US on Thursday asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border terror strikes, including those on Mumbai, Pathankot and Uri.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters," a joint statement issued after the talks said. "The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said. Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new "qualitative edge and purpose".

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the "persistent threat of terrorism" and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

"We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us," she said.

Swaraj said the efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process were also discussed.
Earlier in the day, Swaraj and Sitharaman held separate meetings with Pompeo and Mattis respectively. (Photo: MEA | Twitter)

New Delhi: India and the US Thursday held the first edition of the twice-deferred two-plus-two talks, covering entire expanse of the bilateral ties and looking to further expand their global strategic cooperation, including in the Indo-Pacific region.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the talks with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

In her opening remarks, Swaraj said she was confident that the outcome of the talks will help unleash the untapped potential of the relationship between the two nations and further elevate the level of engagement. She said there has been significant progress in all key areas of cooperation between the two countries.

In his remarks, Pompeo said both sides should continue to ensure freedom of the seas and work towards peaceful resolutions of maritime disputes. He also stressed promoting market-based economics and good governance.

"Our two nations are united by shared values of democracy, respect for individual rights and a shared commitment to freedom," he said.

Earlier in the day, Swaraj and Sitharaman held separate meetings with Pompeo and Mattis respectively.

Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were discussed during the meetings.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar called the meeting between Swaraj and Pompeo a "productive" engagement. He said the two sides took stock of "impressive strides" in the bilateral relationship and discussed steps to take the relationship to an "even higher trajectory".

Both Pompeo and Mattis arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for the inaugural Indo-US two-plus-two talks which was finalised during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington last year. In a special gesture, Swaraj received Secretary Pompeo at the airport here yesterday while Sitharaman welcomed Secretary Mattis, reflecting the importance India attaches to their visit here.

The officials said the focus of the two-plus-two talks will be to deepen global strategic partnership between the two countries and resolve differences over India's defence engagement with Russia and crude oil import from Iran. The two sides may also deliberate on a proposed pact on encrypted defence technologies and on ways to boost counter terror cooperation.
The ED has identified Bhansali as the 'second-in-command' in the Firestar Group after Nirav Modi. (Photo: File | PTI)

New Delhi: Interpol has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Mihir R Bhansali, a close confidante and senior executive of absconding billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi, in connection with the alleged USD 2 billion PNB money-laundering case, officials said on Thursday.

The notice, which acts as an international arrest warrant, states Bhansali (40) is required by Indian probe agencies on charges of "money laundering".

The RCN against Mihir Rashmi Bhansali, CEO of Nirav Modi's jewellery firm in the US, Firestar International, was requested by the Enforcement Directorate, they said. The ED wants him to join the investigation in order to take the probe in the case forward, they added. It had told the global police body that Bhansali was "likely" to visit the US, the UK, Hong Kong, China or the UAE.

In its RCN issued against a fugitive, the Interpol asks its 192 member countries to arrest or detain the person if spotted in their countries after which extradition or deportation proceedings can begin.

The ED has identified Bhansali as the "second-in-command" in the Firestar Group after Nirav Modi, and that "he was actively involved in the diversion and laundering of the funds received from the alleged fraudulently issued PNB LOUs (Letters of Undertaking).

"Bhansali was instrumental in rotation and diversion of the proceeds of crime generated in this case," an official privy to the probe said. ED's investigation found that with the help of other officials of the Firestar Group, Bhansali "inducted dummy partners in Solar Exports, Stellar Diamond and Diamond R US (Modi's firms in whose names LOUs were issued)."

"He was instrumental in formation of overseas dummy companies in Hong Kong and Dubai, and employees/ex-employees of the Firestar Group were sent as dummy directors/owners in these entities at his directions," the agency charged Bhansali.

The ED, as part of its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), found that a "secure internal email communication system was developed at Bhansali's insistence and its server was deliberately kept in Dubai."

"Fund transfer, rotation of goods, melting of metal, dismantling of jewellery and low quality jewellery production with high-value declaration were done on his instructions," the agency charged.

The ED alleged that after the PNB fraud came to light, Bhansali "along with Nehal Modi (Nirav Modi's brother), took 50 kg gold and substantial cash from Dubai, and directed dummy directors not to reveal his name before the authorities."

It is alleged that the businessman is also a director in few of the dummy companies which are "controlled" by Nirav Modi and are based in the British Virgin Islands. Bhansali is also said to have purchased a USD 7 million worth property in the US "from the funds believed to be generated from the alleged PNB scam".

Sometime back, a similar Interpol notice was issued against Nirav Modi even as India is seeking his extradition from the UK.

The case pertains to cheating the state-run Punjab National Bank through fraudulent issuance of Letters of Undertaking and Foreign Letters of Credit worth over USD 2 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore) by Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, both absconding since the first week of January.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, assisting the court as an amicus curiae, told a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta that the media was running 'parallel trial' in sub-judice matters and the court should frame guidelines on how to report the cases of crime against women. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: There is a need to strike a balance between the freedom of the press and the right of a victim to have fair trial in cases of crime against women, the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, assisting the court as an amicus curiae, told a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta that the media was running "parallel trial" in sub-judice matters and the court should frame guidelines on how to report the cases of crime against women.

Jaising also claimed that the police was leaking information to the media even before filing charges before a competent court, which amounted to interference in the administration of justice.

"Touchstone of the question is whether it is interference in administration of justice. It is one thing to report court proceeding. It is another thing to run a parallel trial. Running parallel trial in sub-judice matters is interference in the administration of justice," she said.

She referred to the sensational Kathua gangrape and murder case and said that even before the charges was filed in the court, the media pronounced the decision that some of the accused were innocent and not guilty of the offences.

An eight-year old girl, belonging to a minority nomadic community, was allegedly gangraped and murdered in Kathua in the Jammu region on January 10. Her body was found in the same area a week later.

During the arguments, Jaising referred to the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which deals with disclosure of identity of victims of such offences and the procedure to be followed by the media in reporting these cases, as also the Contempt of Courts Act.

After the amicus concluded her arguments, Additional Solicitor General Pinky Anand, appearing for the centre, said she needed some time to respond to the submissions, following which the bench posted it for hearing on September 11.

Anand said the Press Council of India also have some guidelines on media reporting.

Jaising told the bench that there was no need to give guardian the right to give consent for disclosing the names of victims of sexual assaults in cases of minors and disabled.

The bench observed that if the kin of such victims say that they have no objection if the name is disclosed, then it cannot be prohibited but it should not become a means to make money.

"It cannot be that they (kin) will say 'I will give you exclusive right to disclose the name first'. This is unfortunate. We cannot be oblivious to it," the bench said.

Jaising also made it clear that there should not be an "absolute taboo" on the disclosure of the names of such victims.

The amicus said she was not at all against "accurate" reporting of court proceedings by the press, but parallel media trial cannot be allowed.

She said an accused was not supposed to know the evidence against him even before filing of charges against him, but the police was leaking information to the media prior to this.

Jaising said in the recent case in which several activists were arrested in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence case, the Bombay High Court had reprimanded the police for leaking letters recovered during the probe to the press.

"Pronouncing someone as guilty or not guilty is the function of the court and not the media," she said, adding that victims also have right to privacy.

The bench also heard arguments on the reporting of in-camera proceedings in the court.

The court had earlier agreed to examine the provisions of law which provide curbs and balances for the media in reporting incidents of sexual assault, including that of minors, after a complaint that there have been "regular violation" of such provisions.

Jaising had earlier said that a balance of rights of such victims and that of the media to report such incidents was required, and the top court should interpret Section 228-A of IPC (dealing with disclosure of identity of victims of sexual offences) and provision 23 of the POCSO Act which deals with the procedure to be followed by media along with the Contempt of Courts Act.

The issue had cropped up when the court was hearing a batch of petitions filed after the December 16, 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder incident in Delhi to support the initiatives on women's safety across the country.
Jayalalithaa had died on December 5, 2016 after being treated in Apollo hospital for 75 days for various ailments. (Photo: File | PTI)

Chennai: The Justice A Arumughaswamy Commission of Inquiry, probing the death of late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, on Thursday warned the Apollo Hospital of legal consequences if it failed to depute its doctors to appear before the panel.

In a letter to the hospital chairman Dr Prathap C Reddy, the panel, whose extended tenure ends next month, noted that in previous hearings some of the doctors, summoned, had not appeared before it had been condoned.

"Depute the doctors and technician before this commission without raising any technical objections, remembering that your hospital has received several crores of rupees towards treatment charges (of Jayalalithaa)," it said.

The panel directed cardiologist Dr Sai Sathish, Consultants, Dr C Vignesh and Dr D Ravi Varma to appear before it on September 11, respiratory medicine specialist Dr Babu K Abraham and technician Madivannan on Sept 12 and chief physiotherapist, Raj Prassanna on September 10.

"...if you fail to depute the doctors and technician, law will take its own course against you and other directors," the letter, a copy of which is made available to the media, said.

The one-man commission, headed by retired Madras High Court judge A Arumughaswamy, pointed out that the doctors were directed to appear only in a phased manner.

It has so far examined a number of witnesses, including over ten doctors, retired and serving government officials and police officers.

Last month, three AIIMS-Delhi doctors, who had periodically examined Jayalalithaa during her hospitalisation, appeared before the panel.

Jayalalithaa had died on December 5, 2016 after being treated in the hospital for 75 days for various ailments.

In September 2017, the state government had constituted the probe panel under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, mandating it to inquire into the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's hospitalisation on September 22, 2016, and treatment provided by the hospital till her demise.

The commission, whose term has been twice extended since then, had invited all those having "personal knowledge and direct acquaintance" to furnish information related to her.

Several persons, including present Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and his followers, had earlier raised suspicions about the circumstances leading to Jayalalithaa's death.
The bench also asked petitioner Romila Thapar and others to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with the violence in Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.

"You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we don't want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong," the bench told ASG Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Maharashtra government.

The bench also asked petitioner Romila Thapar and others to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case. Meanwhile, Tushar Mehta told the bench that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing investigation.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 12.

The Maharashtra government had on Wednesday told the apex court that the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI (Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views.

The state police had filed the affidavit in response to a plea of historian Romila Thapar and four others, challenging the arrest of the five activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, and claimed that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

Also Read: Not dissenters, activists planned to ambush security forces: cops tell SC

While prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from Delhi.

The raids were carried out as part of a probe into an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year, which had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village in Pune district of Maharashtra.
New Delhi: The gay community has the same right in India as any ordinary citizen, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday -- ending a draconian British-era law that criminalised gay sex and heralding a new, bright era for gay rights in the country.

In a unanimous decision, the five-judge bench -- led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra -- decriminalised a part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that banned consensual gay sex, holding out promise of a new dawn in personal liberty.

The constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalises consensual unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

While reading the verdict, CJI Misra observed that the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community has the same rights as of any ordinary citizen of India. He said respect for each others rights, and respect for others is supreme humanity. Criminalising gay sex is irrational and indefensible, he said.

"No one can escape from their individualism. Society is now better for individualism. In the present case, our deliberations will be on various spectrums," CJI Misra said before reading out the verdict. "Sustenance of identity is the pyramid of life," CJI Misra added.

The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 of the IPC as being violative of the right to equality and the right to live with dignity.

In four separate but concurring judgements, the top court set aside its 2013 verdict in the Suresh Kaushal case which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex. The bench said the other aspects of Section 377 of the IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force.

Any kind of sexual activity with animals shall remain penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC, the bench said. Dealing with a clutch of petitions, the court held that section 377 of IPC was used as a weapon to harass members of the LGBTQ community, resulting in discrimination, with Justice Indu Malhotra in her separate judgement saying that history owes an apology to the community for denying them their rights and compelling them to live a life of fear.

The Supreme Court had in 2013 restored Section 377, a British-era law that bans gay sex. It had overturned a landmark judgement by the Delhi High court in 2009 which had ruled that consenting intercourse between two adults was not illegal.

After the 2013 verdict, five high-profile petitioners  Bharatnatyam dancer Navtej Johar, documentary filmmaker Sunil Mehra, restaurateur Ritu Dalmia, hotelier and historian Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur  challenged it and became the human faces of this battle.

Before their entry, the battle was fought since the early nineties by NGOs, the Naz Foundation being one of them.

Also Read: 1861-2018: Section 377, a sorry British-era law that dies to give hope

The top court said the LGBTQ community possesses same human and fundamental rights as other citizens.

CJI Misra, who wrote the judgement for himself and Justice Khanwilkar, said the denial of self expression was akin to inviting death. The other three judges have written their separate concurring verdicts. The bench said courts must protect the dignity of an individual as right to live with dignity is recognised as fundamental right. It termed sexual orientation as a biological phenomenon and held that any discrimination on this ground was violative of fundamental rights.

In so far as consensual unnatural sexual act in private is concerned, it is neither harmful nor contagious to society, the bench said. Justice Nariman asked the government and the media to give wide publicity to the verdict so that the LGBTQ community does not face any further discrimination. Justice Chandrachud, while reading out the operative portion of his verdict, said the members of LGBTQ community were targeted and exploited due to Section 377 of IPC.

The members of this community have constitutional rights like that of any other citizen, he said. Observing that the Constitution nurtured dissent as a safety valve of the society, he said, We cannot change the history but can pave a way for better future.

Justice Chandrachud also said due to Section 377, the LGBTQ members were forced to live in hiding and as second class citizens, while the others used to enjoy the right of sexual orientation. He said the denial of right to sexual orientation was akin to denial of right to privacy and the society cannot dictate sexual relationship between consenting adults as it was a private affair.

The apex court also said India was a signatory of international treaties on rights of LGBTQ and it was obligatory to adhere to them. The bench also said that homosexuality was not a mental disorder but a completely natural condition.

While reserving the verdict on July 17 this year, the bench of CJI Dipak Misra had brushed aside as "far-fetched" the arguments from opponents of decriminalisation of Section 377 that it could also legalise incest, group sex and sodomy.

The top court had also said, "no one should have to live in fear because of their sexuality."

The five petitioners had argued that Section 377 violates rights principles enshrined in the constitution, like equality before law, no discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and freedom of speech and expression.

The Supreme Court had in 2013 cancelled a Delhi High Court order that had decriminalised homosexuality by overturning the outdated law and said it was the job of Parliament to decide on scrapping laws.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code bans carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal.

Gay sex is punishable by up to 10 years in jail under the 1861 law. Prosecution under Section 377 is, however, not common, but activists complain that authorities use the law to harass or scare gay people.
New Delhi: Following the culmination of the 2+2 Dialogue at the Foreign and Defence Ministerial level, India and the United States on Thursday inked the crucial defence Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) which will facilitate the obtaining by India of critical defence technologies from the US, access to critical communication networks installed on American defence platforms and reportedly pave the way for the sale of hi-tech armed drones to India.

After the dialogue between external affairs minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Jim Mattis, the two countries also decided to carry out a massive tri-service exercise next year off Indias eastern coast, with New Delhi deciding to enhance its interactions with the United States militarys Central Command. It was also decided to establish hotlines of communication between the two Indian ministers and their respective American counterparts.

In another development of huge significance, the two countries also called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries., adding that they called on Islamabad to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist attacks. New Delhi also said it supports President Trumps South Asia Policy and that his call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with it.

New Delhi also raised the H1B visa issue, with Ms. Swaraj asking the US to keep the trust of Indians in their belief that it would not do anything against their interests. The issue of import of Iranian oil and Russian arms like the S-400 was also discussed, with New Delhi putting across its case forcefully to Washi-ngton and hoping for waivers in both cases.

"It's a case in progress," sources said, indicating that New Delhi was working towards receiving the waivers from Washington to escape sanctions in both cases. The Indo-Pacific region and China's role in the region was also discussed. The two countries also "agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest". Ms. Swaraj said, "Overall, I am highly satisfied with our conversation today". The American dignitaries also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who "congratulated" them and the concerned Indian ministers on the "fruitful and productive" talks.

The next edition of the Dialogue will be held next year in the United States. "The signing of the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) today will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India's defence preparedness," Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. An Indo-US Joint Statement released, stated, "They welcomed the signing of a Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will facilitate access to advanced defense systems and enable India to optimally utilise its existing U.S.- origin platforms."

The Defence Minister further said, "We are also putting in place an enabling framework for closer cooperation between our defence forces. The signing of the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 and the Helicopter Operations from Ships Other Than Aircraft Carriers (HOSTAC) earlier this year were important steps in this direction." Mr. Pompeo described the signing of the COMCASA as a "a major step forward in our collaboration and cooperation". Ms. Sitharaman said, "To enhance our synergies in this area, we have decided to carry out, for the first time, a tri-Services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019."

She further said, "Defence cooperation has emerged as the most significant dimension of our strategic partnership and as a key driver of our overall bilateral relationship. The momentum in our defence partnership has imbued a tremendous positive energy that has elevated India-US relations to unprecedented heights." In what is being seen as a significant statement, given the Chinese military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region, she added, "Maritime Security has been a focus area of our cooperation. To deepen our ties in this area, we will expand our interactions on Maritime Domain Awareness."

The two countries also discussed Pakistan-based terrorism in detail and named Islamabad in this regard, which is being seen as a huge setback for Pakistan.. The Joint Statement said, "... they (India and US) called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries. On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross- border terrorist attacks. The Ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-

Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates." Ms. Swaraj also said, "We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack. We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us."

On the H1B visa--a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialised fields---India mounted pressure on the US, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj saying, "Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a balanced and sensitive approach to the H1B visa regime. Any change in it will have an (adverse) impact on the relationship for our relationship. I have mentioned this to Secretary Pompeo that on the basis of the friendship which exists between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi, Indians believe that America will not work against their interest. I have requested him to maintain the trust of Indians."

On civilian nuclear energy cooperation, the Joint Statement said, "Both sides looked forward to full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India."
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh assembly on Thursday paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who died recently. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recalled his association with the depa-rted leader and termed Vajpayee as a visionary having high values. A resolution paying tributes to Vajpayee was adopted by the Assembly.

On the occasion, Mr Naidu mentioned how Vajpayee, despite being the PM, heeded his suggestions, though he was the Chief Minister of a state. He had given suggestions on introducing the golden quadrilateral project that changed the face of highways of the country and also in selecting missile man A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the President of India.

Many other members of the House also praised Vajpayees yeomen services to the nation.

Mr Naidu said that Vajpayee stood in support of the late NTR during infamous August crisis and had flown down to Hyderabad from Delhi during such testing times.

When I went to Malay-sia during the 90s I was surprised to see six and eight-lane roads for a population of just 2 crore. I thought, why cant we have such roads for 100 crore population in India. After I returned I shared my thoughts with the then PM Vajpayee who readily agreed to my suggestions and launched the golden quadrilateral project. Such was Vajpayees humility that he was always ready to accept proposals and suggestions from others, he said and added, I was in Tuni when I got a phone call from Vajpayee informing me that Alexanders name was being considered for post of the President which I opposed, and then later, I suggested the name of APJ Abdul Kalam. Vajpayee took a day and finalised Kalam. Abdul Kalam also wrote in his book how he got a phone call from me asking him to accept the proposal by Vajpayee on nominating Kalams name for the Presidents post.

TD MLA from Hindupur, actor Nandamuri Balakr-ishna, recalled how Vajpayee had inaugurated a small 40-bed Basavat-arakam cancer hospital.

He added that Vajpayee readily agreed to inaugurate the hospital due to his special bond with his father, late N.T. Rama Rao.
New Delhi: The Congress has decided to call a nationwide bandh on Monday, September 10 over the issue of rising fuel prices. Announcing the decision of the party communications, incharge Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala said, The Congress party has decided that we will be giving a call for Bharat Bandh on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive VAT in the state.

Congress has also asked other opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government. Mr Surjewala said the Congress will also demand petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the GST so that the common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief. At the time of the GST roll out the Congress had demanded that the fuel prices should be brought under the ambit of GST.

The Congress on its Twitter handle has put out videos of senior BJP leaders who when in opposition were targeting the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the rising prices of fuel during the tenure of the UPA. The Congress aims to build a narrative around the price rise in a manner similar to what the BJP had done before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has also asked its frontal organisations to gear up for the nationwide agitation.

The surge in fuel prices is largely attributed to the rise in crude oil prices and high excise duty in the country. The recent slump in the rupee has also lifted the import cost of crude oil, subsequently affecting the fuel prices. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that there was no need for a knee-jerk reaction to the rising prices of global crude oil
On its official Twitter handle, the Congress said, "We join the people of India & the LGBTIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. (Representational image)

New Delhi: Agreeing with the Supreme Courts views, the RSS on Thursday said it also does not consider homosexuality a crime but maintained that it does not support same-sex marriage as it is "not natural".

The Congress hailed as "momentous" the top courts verdict decriminalising consensual gay sex and termed it as an important step towards a liberal and tolerant society.

RSS prachar pramukh Arun Kumar, in a statement , said, "Like the Supreme Courts verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime." Mr Kumar, however, reiterated the Sanghs old stand that gay marriages and such relationships are not "compatible with nature".

"These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationships," Mr Kumar said.

The RSS claimed that Indian society "traditionally does not recognise" such relations. "Humans usually learn from experiences, so this topic needs to be discussed and handled at the social and psychological level."

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the age-old colonial law was an anachronism in todays modern times and the verdict restores the fundamental rights and negates discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 is momentous. An age-old colonial law, that was an anachronism in today's modern times, ends, restoring the fundamental rights and negating discrimination based on sexual orientation. Its an important step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society," he said in a tweet.

On its official Twitter handle, the Congress said, "We join the people of India & the LGBTIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society."

Earlier, tthe apex court noted that India is a signatory of international treaties on rights of LGBT and it was obligatory to adhere to them.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao presents the resolution of the council of ministers recommending the dissolution of the Telangana Legislative Assembly to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Thursday. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: The BJP leaders on Thursday met Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan in the wake of dissolution of Legislative Assembly. BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, MLAs G. Kishan Reddy, C. Ramachandra Reddy were among those who met the governor. They urged the governor to ensure that the caretaker state government led by TRS does not misuse power for political gains in elections.

They brought to the notice of governor that the TRS government had grossly misused power in organising the public meeting at Kongara Kalan on city outskirts recently. They complained that all buses in state including that of private educational institutions and TSRTC were pressed into service for transporting people from districts for the meeting by grossly misusing the power.

Mr Kishan Reddy said the Central government should control the caretaker government during elections as there is a danger of TRS leaders trying to misuse revenue, police departments for their political gains.
He said a financial crunch had led to the closure of many colleges. We will intensify our protest if the state government does not increase the tuition fee and release the reimbursement and scholarships as soon as possible. (Representional Image)

Hyderabad: The tuition fee in private junior colleges has not been increased for four years. For the first year, students have to pay Rs 1,760 per annum and for the second year, Rs 1,940. According to private college managements, the fee is negligible.

The colleges want the fee enhanced and paid by the state government. The absence of a fee hike has been leading to a severe financial crisis for the colleges that only gets worse by the delay in fee reimbursements and scholarships.

The Telangana Private Junior Colleges Managements Association alleged that corporate junior colleges were collecting lakhs of fees from students, but they were forced to charge nominal tuition fees.

Honorary president of the Association, G. Satish said, It has been four years since the state government hiked the tuition fee for the intermediate course, which is why we are demanding a hike by at least 10 per cent.

He said a financial crunch had led to the closure of many colleges. We will intensify our protest if the state government does not increase the tuition fee and release the reimbursement and scholarships as soon as possible.

Co-convenor, Intermediate Joint Action Committee (JAC), Narender Reddy said, The undivided AP government had promised to hike 10 per cent tuition fee every year but since the formation of Telangana, the government has not implemented it. The Intermediate Board is doing injustice to private colleges whereas corporate colleges are collecting up to Rs 4 lakh. We demand an increase of up to Rs 25,000 for science streams and Rs 15,000 for commerce and arts streams.

I-JAC president Madhusudhan Reddy said private colleges should be allowed to hike fee by 10 per cent every year. The govt has to keep a check on colleges to ensure they are following the fee norms, he said.

Convenor, KG to PG Education, G. Satish said the colleges had expected a lot from the government but did not receive anything. Till the last date we waited for our demands to be fulfilled, but the government has let us down. We will not sit silently.
Hyderabad: Ending weeks of speculation and anxiety, Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan dissolved the first Telangana state Assembly eight months ahead of its full term on Thursday. Issuing a gazette notification to the effect, he asked CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his Council of Ministers to continue as a caretaker government.

Earlier, Mr Rao chaired a Cabinet meeting which passed a one-line resolution requesting the Governor to dissolve the Assembly. After the Cabinet meeting, which lasted four minutes, Mr Rao went to Raj Bhavan and presented the resolution to the Governor during a 20-minute meeting. After the Governor accepted the resolution, Raj Bhavan issued the gazette notification within minutes on dissolution of the Assembly.

Raj Bhavan also communicated the dissolution of the House to the Assembly Secretariat and the Election Commission. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary S.K. Joshi issued a notification on Mr Rao and his Cabinet continuing in a caretaker capacity. The caretaker government will continue till the new government is formed or for six months, whichever is earlier.

The TRS government was formed on June 2, 2014, the appointed day of Telangana state and was in office for four years, three months and four days. If the Assembly elections are not conducted within six months of dissolution of the Assembly, Presidents rule will be imposed. Mr Rao explained to the Governor why he had taken a decision to dissolve the Assembly now. Unless the House was dissolved by September 22, it would not be possible for the Election Commission to hold the Assembly elections along with the four other states.

What it said: In exercise of the powers conferred by Clause (2) (b) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, E.S.L. Narasimhan, Governor of Telangana, on the advice of the Council of Ministers, do hereby dissolve the First Legislative Assembly of Telangana state with effect from the date of this Notification.

Gazette notification on dissolution of Assembly:

In consequence of the notification issued vide G.O. MS No. 46 Legislature Secretariat dated September 6, 2018, dissolving the Telangana state Legislative Assembly with immediate effect, the Governor of Telangana hereby authorises the Chief Minister, Sri K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and his colleagues in the council of ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government.

After K. Chandrasekhar rao presented the resolution of the Council of Ministers recommending the dissolution of the First Legislative Assembly of Telangana state. The Governor while accepting the recommendation of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, has requested K. Chandrasekhar Rao and his Council of Ministers to continue in office as a caretaker government. Sri K. Chandrasekhar Rao has agreed to this request.

How it unfolded:

1 pm: Cabinet passes a one-sentence resolution requesting the Governor to dissolve the Assembly

1.30 pm: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao goes to Raj Bhavan along with his Cabinet colleagues, hands over resolution to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan. He asks Mr Rao to continue in a caretaker capacity

2.02 pm: KCR leaves Raj Bhavan

Raj Bhavan issues gazette notification dissolving TS Assembly, sends to Election Commission, Assembly Secretariat and others TS Chief Secretary issues notification on caretaker government
KOZHIKODE: Rather than rats, stray dogs and cattle which are more close to human beings spread epidemics like leptospirosis (rat fever), says experts. Domestic animals have been immediate carriers of all epidemics in flood-hit regions and it is better to be careful while handling your pets.

Eminent physician Dr K.P. Aravindan of Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, told DC that it is high time we should think seriously on either eliminating or rehabilitating the stray dog population. Not only strays, cattle also spreads such diseases. In case of leptospirosis not only rats but when infected strays and cattle urinate in waterlogged spots, a person crisscrossing the area can be infected with the disease, he added. If it is strays in Kerala, it is cattle in cow-belt states that spread the epidemics, he pointed out.

The high density of stray population in the city was proved by the recent stray census conducted by the experts of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU) and the municipal corporation which confirmed that city streets have more than 13,000 strays. Though the city corporation had announced immediate launch of the Animal Birth Control Project, it is yet to materialise.

Corporation health officer Dr R.S. Gopakumar told DC that the corporation is on with an all-round campaign among the public on the precautions to be taken to resist the spread of leptospirosis. Sufficient stock of Doxycycline, the preventive medicine has been ensured. Most butchers in the city who are prone to the disease, were directed through the butchers association to take Doxycycline tablets as a preventive measure, he added. A team of 20 doctors from the Union Health Ministry are helping us in organising camps and conducting preventive measures, he pointed out.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday said Assembly elections would be held in November and the new government would be in place in December. He said he had personally spoken to Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat and two election commissioners and had got a specific assurance from them on holding elections in November along with the four other states, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. Mr Rao expressed confidence that the TRS would win over 100 seats. Even if all other parties join hands, they cant defeat the TRS as all surveys indicate that it would get over 50 per cent votes in the 100-plus seats.

According to the Supreme Court judgement on Gujarat, elections should be held within six months of the dissolution of the Assembly. The Constitution does not mention about conducting the elections after the dissolution of the Assembly. But the statute says that by-elections should be conducted within six months if any seat falls vacant. I have done a thorough exercise on elections before dissolving the House. Do you expect me to take such an important decision lightly? I have personally spoken to Election Commission officials. Chief secretary S.K. Joshi and TS government chief adviser Rajiv Sharma had discussions with them. We have explained our readiness for polls along with the four other states. There is no scope for any confusion on holding early polls, Mr Rao said.

As far as I know, the election notification will be issued in the first week of October, the elections will be held in November and results will be out in the first week of December. Elections to all states will be held in a single phase barring Madhya Pradesh, where two phases are being planned. Mr Rao lashed out at AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for obstructing the projects in Telangana state and the proposed tie-up between the TD and the Congress for the Assembly polls.

Chandrababu is anti-Telangana to the core. He writes letters to Centre and files cases in the Supreme Court against our irrigation projects. If the Congress joins hands with the TD, it will not retain even deposits. Our surveys revealed that TD has the support of not even 0.1 or 0.2 per cent voters in Telangana state, Mr Rao added. The Supreme Court said that the clause on conducting by-elections should be taken as the benchmark for conducting elections after the Assembly is dissolved.

Going by this, the Election Commission has to conduct the Telangana state Assembly elections before February. The final electoral rolls will be published on January 4, 2019, as per the EC schedule. If it wants to conduct the Assembly elections before January, it will take into consideration the voters list of January 1, 2018. Voters who enrolled after January 1 this year may not have the opportunity to vote in this election.
Vijayawada: The Cabinet decided to sanction Rs 97.95 crore to meet operational expenses of the International Institute of Digital Technologies (IIDT) in Tirupati.

The IIDT will now be a non-profit company under Section 8 of the Compan-ies Act. It will introduce new programmes from 2019 academic year.

The intake of students will be 250 per annum to increase to 400 by 2021.

Representatives of top companies like CISCO, General Electric, Citi Bank and Mind Tree will act as mentors of IIDT.

This institute has been established to produce en-gineers and next generati-on entrepreneurs in 2017 with courses in business analytics and cyber security.
Lucknow: A campaign called Mission Modi Again is being launched in 350 Lok Sabha constituencies by an organisation of the same name. Former BJP MP Ram Vilas Vedanti will lead the Mission Modi Again and the organisations working president Ram Gopal Kaka said the campaign would begin from October 24.

A three-day anushthan (ritual) will be held in Ayodhya before the mission begins. All prominent saints and seers will flag off the campaign. The Mission Modi Again campaign will continue for 108 days and will tour Lok Sabha constituencies in eight states  Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, said Mr Kaka.

The maximum number of six to eight meetings in the campaign will be held in Varanasi, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modis parliamentary constituency. Jagadguru Rambhadr-acharya, Swami Vasude-vanand Saraswati and other prominent saints and seers will address these meetings in which they will underline the need for giving Mr Modi another term in government. The saints will also highlight the work done by the Modi government and the qualitative difference brought at the ground level.

The state head of the campaign, Raghaveshwar Das, said that 108 vehicles would be a part of the campaign where over 500 people will participate. We will also hold anushthan in every constituency where we travel and pray for the success of the BJP in the elections, he said. This will be the first time that saints will be campaigning for the Prime Minister, in particular, and the BJP, in general. Till now, the saints and seers have extended their support and conferred their blessings on the BJP but have avoided actually campaigning for the party.

Talking to this correspondent, one of the seers said, We have taken the decision to campaign this time because of the manner in which all parties are attacking the Prime Minister and the BJP. We feel that it is time for us to come out and campaign or forces that protect Hindutva. Political observers, meanwhile, feel that this campaign by saints will, once again, push development on the backburner and communalise the campaign. The campaign is an attempt to polarise voters on communal lines and this is what the BJP wants, said a senior journalist.
Hyderabad: With the Supreme Court posting the judgment on the arrest of five human rights activists, including Virasam leader Varavara Rao, on September 12, security at the writers house would continue until that date. Teams of policemen from Pune and Hyderabad guard the apartment to prevent Rao from exiting the house and also to avoid others from meeting him.

Around 20 police personnel from Gandhinagar, Musheerabad and Chikkadpally were posted at the Siddamshettys Hima Sai Heights in Gandhinagar, where Varavara Rao was being detained at his flat no 419, following a direction by the apex court. Besides that, a team of police from Pune also continues to guard the house of Rao.

Central zone (Hyderabad) deputy commissioner of police P. Viswa Prasad said, The court has postponed the judgment on the case (Bhima  Koregaon violence case) to next week. Till further court orders, the security personnel will be present at his house as he has been ordered to be placed under house arrest.

On August 28, policemen from Vishrambaug police station in Pune city conducted searches at four places in the city, including the flat of Rao, two journalists and his son-in-law, a professor at EFLU (English and Foreign Languages University) in OU. Rao was arrested in connection with the Bhima  Koregaon violence case, with the Maharashtra police alleging that he was part of a group that planned to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
New Delhi: On Thursday a three judge bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.M. Khanwilkar and D.Y. Chandrachud at the outset pulled up the Pune police for briefing the media about the arrests of five rights activists  who were taken into custody by the Maharashtra police in connection with the Bima Koregaon violence. Justice Chandrachud in particular took exception to the Pune Police for making insinuations against the Supreme Court in the case relating to the arrests.

The judge expressing his anguish told additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, I watched the press briefing by the assistant commissioner, Pune, which insinuated that the Supreme Court should not have intervened at this state. He has no business saying that and casting aspersions on the Supreme Court judges....

Tushar Mehta apologised to the Court for the action of the Pune police. Both Mr. Mehta and senior counsel Harish Salve questioned the locus of the petitioners and also said that the matter should not be before the Supreme Court, as it will set a wrong precedent of allowing strangers to come to the Court on behalf of accused persons. Senior counsel Indira Jaising urged the court that Pune Police be injuncted from going to the press and holding briefings. She said, Everyday they are releasing a letter. Yesterday they released a letter which was shown by a new channel.
"Everyone is beautiful in their own way, regardless of weight, race, colour or shape, 20-year-old Sara Iftekhar told the media when questioned about her choice to wear the headscarf. Iftekhar, a law student, is set to become the first contestant in the Miss England beauty pageant to wear a headscarf while competing. Iftekhar is not a newcomer to the world of beauty pageants; in the past she won the Miss Popularity round of the Miss Yorkshire beauty pageant.

As is the case with anything to do with headscarves and Muslim women, Iftekhars choice and the visible manner in which it is projected has become the subject of many hot takes and discussions in the British press. Young British Muslim women like Iftekhar are welcoming her choice, mainly for two reasons. First, it does away with the myth that Muslim women who wear the headscarf are forced to do so, making the garment a symbol of submission. Second, in increasing the public visibility of the headscarf by wearing it on the stage of a beauty pageant, Iftekhar is making a claim on inclusion and the fact that British Muslim women, including those who choose to cover their hair, are an indelible and visible part of the British social fabric.

A third, less articulated reason can be gleaned from Iftekhars own statement: the fact that women who wear the headscarf have as much a claim to beauty as anyone else. In this last sense, the (would-be) beauty queen who wears the headscarf is not just a symbol of visibility but also an articulation that women with covered hair, discarded as dowdy by some, can also be fashionable and beautiful. This last premise follows the line of arguments that have emerged after models wearing headscarves appeared in New York Fashion Week.

Just as designers making clothing for Muslim women are alleging that the covered woman can be beautiful and visible, pageant contestants with headscarves say that covering their hair does not detract from their beauty and even adds to it. A woman in a headscarf who is not showing her hair, or most of her hair (Iftekhar wears a headscarf that covers only the back portion of her hair), is not ugly or oppressed or a victim  but rather an emblem of choice and even a beauty icon.

All of this would be readily acceptable were it not for the fact that this particular contest is a beauty pageant. As many have recently noted (following the excision of the swimsuit portion of the Miss America pageant, for instance) pageants themselves are relics from a pre-feminist and gendered past. The parading around of women that is ubiquitous in all of these competitions, the judgments and point allotments based on largely (some quasi-intellectual aspects have been added to address this critique) physical characteristics, is one of the most anti-feminist objectifications of the female form today.

Given this, it seems bizarre or at least futile to make such a realm the basis of contestation regarding standards of beauty and acceptability. If anything, the embrace of pageants by women wearing headscarves suggests that even while feminist choice may be exercised in choosing to wear a headscarf, it is set aside while choosing to participate in a gendered competition that judges women based on their looks.

Once upon a time, the choice of wearing the headscarf was justified on spiritual and faith-based grounds, centrally on the premise that wearing such a garment was an example of modesty, of choosing to be less visible or flaunting ones looks. Obviously, that is not the case anymore; the increasing and pointed efforts of fashion designers who are pushing creations that are not only extremely expensive, but that are given to being not modest but beautiful is one example of this. Another is the embrace of competitions like beauty pageants, whose goal is to attract attention and to be acclaimed for beauty.

In sum, Iftekhars participation represents just how the headscarf has evolved from a spiritual basis of modesty and equanimity to a symbol of political identity directed to gain visibility, acceptance and attention. The increasingly popular premise that women who wear a headscarf can do anything has expanded in a way that has largely nullified the premise of modesty. There may be something to celebrate in this; Muslim women confronted with the demand and requirement to wear headscarves by societies and cultures that have equated a piece of cloth with moral goodness, have put it on and also moved on. The consequence is an evolution of the headscarf in which its original connotations matter no more and the feminist choice behind it is far more central than its religious meaning.

Women competing in beauty pageants wearing headscarves are symbolic of just how much ideas of femininity, empowerment and beauty have changed in the last decade. Beauty pageants justify themselves on the basis that the women participating are choosing to be there, and hence not slaves to the gendered and anti-feminist aspects. Similarly, many Muslim women in Western societies also point out that there is no coercion or pressure involved in their decision to wear headscarves.

Underlying either and both are essential and evolving notions of choice, which becomes the operative term with beauty in pageants and modesty in headscarves, demoted to a secondary or at best minimal role. Whether or not one agrees or celebrates this evolution, beauty pageants and headscarves as indicators of a feminist exercise of will are, of course, a matter of choice.

By arrangement with Dawn

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The sense of relief and happiness felt by the LGBT community over Thursdays verdict by the Supreme Court Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that same-gender relationships in privacy does not fall foul of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. There are legal dimensions to the issue that need to be considered with care and a sense of responsibility. As of now, Section 377 stays but it protects same-gender couples from police and social harassment.

The simplified version that homosexuality has been decriminalised and that Section 377 has been quashed is both right and inaccurate. The euphemism that the section has been read down is nearer the truth. It is necessary to remember that Section 377 remains on the statute book, but it cannot be used by the law enforcement authorities and social vigilantes to harass same sex couples as they have done all these years. It also means that Section 377 will be used to protect vulnerable children, a problem that the liberal progressives pretend does not exist. That is why the court was insistent on how the law will not apply to consenting individuals over what they do in privacy.

The court, it seems, has rightly taken the strictly legal and constitutional view that the fundamental right to life includes sexual rights and the right to privacy. It is an unexceptionable view, which would be praised as a progressive view from what many would have considered the conservative bastion. It is interesting to recall the judgment of the United States Supreme Court on the issue of same-sex marriages has taken a cautious view. Chief Justice John Roberts, a known conservative, had said that it was not for the court to set the social agenda.

It should be inferred that the Supreme Courts Thursday verdict is not taking a position on homosexuality. What it is saying is that legal penalties cannot be laid on individuals for their sexual preferences because they infringe on fundamental rights. CJI Misras view that popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights is the crux of the legal argument. The courts plea against removing prejudice, however, falls beyond the legal ambit of the issue.

Juvenile liberals must rein in their saturnalian tendencies because it is a serious matter for those involved  the LGBT community and the rest of society. Each would have to come to terms with the other, and respect each other. This will take time to become the norm, and this will require serious thinking from everyone on how to accept this diversity. It is possible to maintain social harmony if differences are recognised and respected, and agitprop strategies are avoided. A majority of the LGBT community are aware of this delicate social balance, and if left to themselves they will work it out. The irrepressible immaturity of progressive liberals should not be taken as the yardstick for the issue at hand.

Society is conservative, and it moves at its own pace. At the same time, society is adept at accepting changes because that is how societies survive and thrive. The enthusiasm of the crusaders for the rights of the LGBT community is to be appreciated and they should keep at it in their own way. But it would be better for all if they realise that even as they had won the space for their point of view, they may have to leave space for other views within the confines of the law.

The sexual mores of a society cannot be legislated, nor can they be shaped by judicial verdicts. As society adjusts to its new and evolving norms, the issues they throw up will need appropriate legislation and appropriate judicial interpretation; and then the appropriate jurisprudence will emerge. The clash between the new and old is the norm and it should be allowed to play out. Any attempt to silence and intimidate contrary opinions will not be helpful. This is the lesson that conservatives must learn from this  that you cannot suppress things which you do not agree with.

The LGBT community would want to rightly press on with the logical implications, leading to issues of gay marriage, adoption and inheritance. And the courts will have to apply their mind to each of the issues and deliver verdicts which defend and protect the constitutional rights of these individuals. And these questions are not going to be sorted out in a jiffy, which is what the simple-hearted liberals would want.

There is also the need to accept the reality that the issue of homosexuality is not an ideological one, where the enlightened liberals stand up for the LGBT rights and the right-wing reactionaries are opposed to it. The sexual preference questions are spread across the political, social and religious spectrum. And each of these sections will have to face up to it in their own way. The Christian Protestant churches in Europe and America are slowly coming to terms with it. The Roman Catholic Church is still struggling with it. Homosexuality is prevalent in Muslim societies across the world, and the struggle is still on. In Asian societies, from India to Japan, sexual mores, though conservative, are also pluralistic. In India, the problem was the colonial law. Orthodox Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, Confucians and Shintoists have no stated position on the matter. This does not mean that there is no prejudice.

It is unreasonable to expect that the tone of the debate between the opposing sides will remain rational and civilised. There will be invective and disinformation. The Supreme Courts verdict has clarified the basic issue that individuals have an inalienable right to their own sexual preferences and in a liberal democratic society governed by rule of law, the LGBT community cant be shunned, ostracised and denied their civic rights. This is as big a victory for the LGBT community as the courts judgment on triple talaq was for Muslim women. The Supreme Court has stumped its liberal critics time and again. The verdict on Section 377 is one of them.
A young research scholar studying in Canada has been granted bail by a magistrate in Tamil Nadu after being charged with causing nuisance on a flight by shouting slogans. Seated near the president of the BJPs Tamil Nadu unit, the woman, Lois Sophia, seems to have vented her anger on a fascist BJP government and was later engaged in an argument at Thoothukudi airport. She may have acted irresponsibly in making such a remark inappropriately in a public space and should have been admonished rather then dragged to the police and put in judicial remand for 15 days. What the action thrust upon the police by a formal complaint shows is a growing climate of intolerance to any sort of criticism of the ruling party. The question is where we are heading as a free country if the merest sign of protest is throttled in this manner.

As citizens of a democracy, it is the right of people to be able to criticise anyone, a political party or even a religion, provided it is done within accepted norms of public behaviour and doesnt amount to a vituperative attack on an individual. The politician, Tamilisai Soundararajan, could have laughed it off or, even if she wished to make an issue of it, there were ways to take it up than with this kind of extreme aggression. A tolerance of different viewpoints should be part of our democratic culture. Tensions of the moment ahead of crucial national elections should not be allowed to obstruct the acceptance of different political persuasions. There must be space for the expression of dissent without fear of being branded as an opponent of the government or denounced as a terrorist waging war against the State.

The instance of intolerance in TN cant be seen in isolation as it is happening in a chain of events, including the action against activists on the premise that they are sympathisers of Maoists. If they are active collaborators of enemies of the State, the facts must be put in front of the judiciary and criminal culpability proved in court. The persecution of anyone seen as an opponent of government policies, however misplaced their points of view may be, has become the new normal, particularly in Tamil Nadu, which was rent asunder by the police opening fire and killing 15 protesters recently in the face of a focused agitation against a copper smelter factory. Similar actions in earlier cases amounting to persecution of a writer, a cartoonist and a student activist suggest a pattern of intolerance of anyone voicing dissent. It is the people in power who need to show tolerance towards political dissenters too.

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Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra was wise to stick to convention in recommending the name of Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the seniormost judge after the CJI himself, as the next leader of the judiciary. The judicial system will breathe a sigh of relief.

Somewhat unsteady right through this year as a result of several actions of the CJI that gave rise to fears in legal and judicial circles that Justice Misra was too solicitous of the sensitivities of the establishment in key matters, the institution of judiciary in India could have suffered shocks if the CJI ignored convention. After Justice Gogoi chose to be among the four top SC judges in January this year to address an unheard-of press conference to question the CJIs style of functioning, few were willing to take for granted that the CJI would abide by convention and recommend as his successor the next senior man who had been a critic.

The main source of dissatisfaction of the complaining judges was that the CJI, using his position as Master of the Roster, was ignoring the most senior judges of the court and assigning a chosen few colleagues to hear matters where the ruling establishment appeared to have a close interest.

Mr Misra rode the storm, not giving quarter to his detractor colleagues. If distortions have indeed occurred in the judiciary on account of the CJIs omissions and commissions, it remains to be seen how Justice Gogoi effects course-correction in his 13-month tenure, that begins October 3.

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India can consider itself a modern society now even if it takes more time for the ruling to sink in and all sections of society begin to accept in a wholesome way that sexual preferences differ from individual to individual.

In a truly historic verdict, the Supreme Court has ruled that consensual gay sex is no longer a criminal offence in India. A tyrannical colonial-era law on the statute book for 157 years, including in independent India for 71 years, refused to acknowledge that differences exist in sexual orientation. The right of consenting adults of the same sex to intercourse was a criminal offence. The striking down of parts of Section 377, in a unanimous verdict, is a truly liberating moment for those with a sexual orientation that may be different from the one between male and female in more traditional sex, which subsumed the reproductive process.

The Chief Justices words  I am what I am. So take me as I am  rang clear and true on what was a red-letter day for a large section of people with different sexual orientation as well as those of indeterminate sex among the LGBTQI community and who have been discriminated against for just that reason.

Constitutional morality must not be interpreted literally, the judges said. The old law punished carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal. Ostracised sections of society can now live without fear. Its a matter of individual identity, and violence and even stigma against those who dont conform to the majoritys mores, and are considered straight, is a violation of human rights.

India can consider itself a modern society now even if it takes more time for the ruling to sink in and all sections of society begin to accept in a wholesome way that sexual preferences differ from individual to individual. Same-sex relationships had been badly affected by rigid and systematic discrimination with gays also subjected to police harassment. Given the liberty to be open about their sexual preferences and orientation, such people can also freely seek medical help, if indeed such help is needed.

Sexual orientation is natural and people have no control over it, a part of the judgment read. This has been so historically, as made out from epics and ancient texts. To have regressed then into accepting a British law and perpetuating discrimination in the land of the Kama Sutra was unnecessary. Further, a landmark order decriminalising gay sex was passed by the Delhi High Court in 2009, later overturned in the Supreme Court in 2013.

The changing times have at last been recognised by the highest court too. The judges cannot change history, but they have given a future for those with a sexual orientation that does not fall under the male-female category. It is also logical that any kind of sexual activity with animals remains a penal offence under the same section. In this defining moment, what becomes clear is that the State, which has no business in bedrooms of citizens, cannot rule over private lives.
One year after Congress president Rahul Gandhi started repositioning his public image, what does he have to show in the balance sheet? To get some perspective on the benchmark, project rebranding-the-scion, aka Pappu, kicked off around the time that the BJP stumbled for the first time after the peak scaled during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The dampener was occasioned in Gujarat in August 2017 during the Rajya Sabha elections when party president Amit Shahs Operation Defeat Ahmed Patel came unstuck.

Despite this setback to the ruling partys presiding duo in their home state, Mr Gandhi still faced a formidable challenge in the race to grab prime media space and secure popular approval. His Berkeley interlocution was rivalled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his showcasing of the civilisational worldview at an event in the heart of the Indian capital to mark 125 years following Swami Vivekanadas watershed talk in Chicago in 1893.

If nuances are set aside and a detailed perusal made of what the challenger has achieved in the past one year, the most striking conclusion is that the Congress president is less of a bumbler than he was projected as. Instead, the BJP leadership sees Mr Gandhi as serious challenger and credible alternative to Prime Minister Modi.

This explains the qualitative shift in the nature of criticism against the Congress chief. The BJP troll army on the social media and its TV shouting brigade, undeniably of zero calibre compared to its party spokepersons of yore, continue belittling Mr Gandhi. But, barring the naamdaar barb which Mr Modi keeps repeating in the hope of arousing peoples sentiments against dynastic politics, credible BJP leaders, in government or the organisation, are more substantive in their criticism.

Going by the first responses to the two contrasting speeches of Mr Gandhi and Mr Modi last September, the former exhibited greater confidence not just compared to his track record but even when juxtaposed with pre-scripted events of the Prime Minister. In fact, most of Mr Modis public events have appeared little different from the few rare media interactions that Dr Manmohan Singh had during the decade he was in office. For all his chutzpah and capacity to take the bull by its horns, the Prime Minister has not been open to spontaneous questions and supplementary queries.

Mr Gandhi, in contrast, from his speeches in the United States to the latest in England, displayed comfort with unprompted questioning and demonstrated a gift of the gab and a capacity for repartee. He has successfully pedalled some lines of criticism  for instance, that this government is both the harbinger and sustaining agent of hatred whereas the Congress is wedded to the politics of love. However, if this becomes the focal point  or at least the primary facet  of Mr Gandhis bid for power, as it appears at the moment, the Congress president risks addressing only the electorally miniscule middle class intelligentsia whose role as opinion makers remains grossly over-estimated.

In his post-Pappu innings, Mr Gandhis emphasis has been on securing the backing of a section of anti-BJP intellectual elite which swears by liberalism and radicalism of various shades, a throwback to the tactics used by his grandmother Indira Gandhi in the late 1960s and early 1970s during her battles with the Syndicate.

However, the Congress chief must recognise that although it is important to enlist this group and the diaspora, besides making a mark on the social media, this must be backed by the peoples support on the ground. It is necessary to go beyond the primary concern of the intelligentsia  the besiegement of minds and ideological assaults by the troika, comprising the State, ruling party and unaccountable foot soldiers who lead violent assaults.

The Congress president must not be perceived as a unifocal leader, who is concerned only with the ideological, not the material. Social disharmony may be a cause of worry, but eventually people will vote because their daily necessities are not being met. Consequently, his interventions must raise issues that are agitating the minds of people  farmers distress, scarcity of jobs, womens insecurity, students woes over high fees and poor academic standards of institutions, inadequate health infrastructure and, of course, rising prices.

The Congress president, as well as other Opposition leaders, must understand that there has been little change in peoples anxieties on these set of issues between 2014 and now. It will be important to understand how Mr Modi converted this sentiment as not just negativity towards the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, but also into a positive endorsement of Mr Modi himself.

In 2014, he generated hope by marketing a dream. Mr Modi made people optimistic about their future while raising fears at the prospect of the UPAs return to power. He was a dream seller in a world at a time when the re-election of the Congress-led coalition would be nothing but a continuation of a nightmare. Once people began considering that Mr Modi was an agent of change with the capacity to speed up growth and development, stagnating in the incumbents regime, all structural opposition within his own fraternity disappeared. Mr Modi, it must be remembered, was not the choice of the Sangh Parivar or the BJP leadership, but his anointment was forced by a cadre which made it amply clear that for once the individual was more important than the institution.

It is nice to be a good person with a benign face. But rarely have jolly good fellows won elections. The mass quotient and canniness of Rahul Gandhis electoral campaign has to increase. He has made the point, rather contentiously among support within the intelligentsia, that he is as good a Hindu as Mr Modi, but heading off to pilgrimages and taking temple breaks repeatedly will not get the Congress any additional votes.

Elections are hunting grounds and for that it is necessary to sully ones teeth, although it is not necessary to lower the bar as has been done by other dramatis personae since 2014.
Amazon.com Inc founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has entered the American political arena with a $10 million contribution to a nonpartisan campaign fund dedicated to electing military veterans to Congress, the fund said on Wednesday.

Bezos, along with his wife, MacKenzie, made the donation to the one-year-old super PAC as Americans prepare to vote in Nov. 6 congressional elections that are seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump.

Ellen Zeng, political director for the With Honor fund, confirmed the donation, saying it was the largest they have received this year. Zeng said the fund aims to split its spending equally between Democrats and Republicans. Super PACs are political funds that must operate separately from political campaigns but can raise and spend unlimited money.

Representatives for Bezos and Amazon could not be reached for comment on the contribution, which did not yet appear on the US Federal Election Commission database.

Rye Barcott, who served in the Marines, founded the group, which focuses on candidacies for the US House of Representatives. He told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story Wednesday, that Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos shared the funds apolitical goal of building a cross-partisan coalition willing to work across party lines.

Bezos parents, Miguel and Jacklyn, gave more than $1 million earlier this year to the same group, according to the FEC database.

Novembers election will decide if Trumps fellow Republicans maintain their hold on the House and Senate and can keep pressing his agenda. Democrats need to pick up 23 seats to take a majority in the House, and two to take control of the Senate. With control of one or both chambers, Democrats could not just stymie that agenda but increase scrutiny of the president and his Cabinet through congressional investigations.

According to the fund, nearly 200 veterans are seeking US House seats this year. It has so far endorsed 33 of them on its website, including Democrats Amy McGrath of Kentucky, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania as well as Republicans Lynne Blankenbeker of New Hampshire, Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin.

Those with its backing have pledged to meet with someone from a different political party monthly and to co-sponsor legislation with a legislator from another party at least yearly, according to the groups website.

That promise contrasts with an increasingly polarized electorate and fierce partisan battles over immigration, health care, guns, race and social justice issues, and other matters.

Trump has repeatedly slammed Amazon over the online retail giants collection of sales taxes and shipping rates via the US Postal Service. Trump has also frequently criticized the Washington Post, which Bezos owns separately from Amazon, as well as Bezos himself. The two men met last year at the White House along with other tech CEOs.

In January, Bezos and his wife donated $33 million to a scholarship program for young so-called Dreamer immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

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Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said in his prepared remarks that a relatively small number of bad-faith actors were able to game Twitter to have an outsized impact.

Shares of Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc fell on Wednesday as their top executives testified before the US Congress, defending the companies against what lawmakers see as a failure to combat continuing foreign efforts to influence US politics.

Facebook fell 1.6 percent and Twitter 5.2 percent. Shares of other tech companies, including Alphabet and Snap, were also down.

Twitter does not have the broad number of revenue drivers that Facebook has as far as messenger and Instagram, nor does it have the development infrastructure for new applications the way Facebook does, so thats why it is selling off more, Tigress Financial Partners analyst Ivan Feinseth said.

Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey said in his prepared remarks that a relatively small number of bad-faith actors were able to game Twitter to have an outsized impact.

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg acknowledged to the Senate Intelligence Committee that the company was too slow to respond to Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 US election and general American political discourse, but insisted it is doing better.

Prior to the hearing, President Donald Trump in an interview with the Daily Caller accused social media companies of interfering in the US mid-term elections in November, without appearing to offer any evidence.

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Referring to companies such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, Trump, a Republican, told the Daily Caller in an interview conducted on Tuesday I think they already have interfered in the Nov. 6 election. (Representional Image)

US President Donald Trump accused social media companies of interfering with the upcoming congressional elections, without appearing to offer any evidence, in an interview published on Wednesday ahead of congressional testimonies from top social media executives.

Referring to companies such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, Trump, a Republican, told the Daily Caller in an interview conducted on Tuesday I think they already have interfered in the Nov. 6 election.

The report gave no other details.

Trumps accusation added to recent charges he and Republican lawmakers have made of political bias against conservatives by social media companies and search engines.

The true interference in the last election was that  if you look at all, virtually all of those companies are super liberal companies in favor of Hillary Clinton, he said, referring to his Democratic opponent in the 2016 presidential election.

Google and other tech companies have denied political bias.

Republican lawmakers may raise issues of political bias in Wednesdays hearing in the Senate Intelligence Committee, where Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey will testify.

The executives are expected to defend their companies against what lawmakers see as a failure to combat foreign efforts to influence US politics.

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 campaign with the aim of tilting the election in Trumps favor, a finding that Moscow has denied.

The United States also has said foreign entities continue to attempt to sow discord in the US political system.

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Trump last week issued a warning to Google, Facebook and Twitter to 'be careful' but stopped short of calling for regulation. (Photo: File)

Washington: The US Justice Department said Wednesday it would probe social media giants over concerns over competition and "stifling the free exchange of ideas."

The announcement comes days after President Donald Trump accused big technology firms of censoring and suppressing conservative voices, allegations strongly denied by the companies.

A Justice Department statement said Attorney General Jeff Sessions "has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms."

The brief statement, which came at the conclusion of a Senate hearing including top executives of Facebook and Twitter, offered no clues on whether officials were considering an antitrust investigation or some form of regulatory action.

Tech industry analysts say there is little evidence internet firms are filtering content for political reasons, but that the companies would have constitutional protections against any government effort to regulate their algorithms.

On Tuesday, Federal Communications chairman Ajit Pai said Silicon Valley firms to provide more transparency about how they operate, raising the possibility of tougher regulations for technology firms.

"We need to seriously think about whether the time has come for these companies to abide by new transparency obligations," Pai said in a blog post.

Pai offered no specific proposals, but appeared to echo concerns raised by Trump, who claimed tech firms may be biased against conservatives.

"Consumers interact with these digital platforms on a daily basis. We get our news from them. We interact with our family and friends on them," Pai wrote.

Trump last week issued a warning to Google, Facebook and Twitter to "be careful" but stopped short of calling for regulation.

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey rejected any suggestion of political bias in comments prepared for a House of Representatives hearing Wednesday.

"Twitter does not use political ideology to make any decisions, whether related to ranking content on our service or how we enforce our rules," Dorsey said in his written testimony.

"We believe strongly in being impartial, and we strive to enforce our rules impartially."

Google and Facebook have made similar points.

Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said the intent of the statement was not clear but that the statement was worrisome.

"Social media platforms have the right to determine what types of legal speech they will permit on their platforms," Castro told AFP.

"The federal government should not use the threat of law enforcement to limit companies from exercising this right. In particular, law enforcement should not threaten social media companies with unfounded investigations for booting white nationalists like Richard Spencer off their platforms."
US President Donald Trump with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their summit.

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump and his secretary of state sent out mixed messages on North Korea on Thursday, with the US President praising Kim Jong Un, but Mike Pom-peo saying Pyongyang still had enormous work to do.

The difference in tone will add to concerns about US foreign policy since Trump took office last year, with Pompeos predecessor Rex Tille-rson having quit in March after being repeatedly undermined by the President.

Trump, almost three months after meeting his North Korean counterpart in Singapore and securing a commitment to denuclearise, on Thur-sday praised Kim for reportedly expressing faith in him.

Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!, Trump wrote on Twitter.

Kim had earlier on Thursday restated his commitment to denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

The North Korean leader emphasised that his trust in Trump remains unchanged, said South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who met with Kim and delivered a letter from South Koreas President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday.

Kim expressed his intention to work closely with the US to achieve denuclearisation, Chung added.

Pompeo, however, struck a more sober note while speaking to reporters in India welcoming Pyongyangs decision to not stage nuclear or missile tests since June, but saying Kim still had much to do.

North Korea is the only country that has commitments under UNSC resolutions, Pompeo told reporters. We will continue to work with them to deliver... on the UNSC resolutions, he said.
Military cooperation between India and USA is a key driver in the bilateral strategic partnership between the two nations, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Thursday.

As Secretary (James) Mattis and I agreed during our brief interaction this morning, defence cooperation has one of the most significant dimensions of our relationship. It is now a key driver of our strategic partnership. India-US cooperation and the field of defence reflects the growing maturity of our partnership, Sitharaman said at the maiden 2+2 dialogue with the top US leadership.

The Defence Minister asked American companies to take part in the two defence corridors that the central government has set up in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

With the announcement of the US designating India as a major defence partner and the recent decision to elevate India to STA-1 (Strategic Trade Authorisation-1) status for export of advanced US items were hopeful that defence industry cooperation can also move forward and faster in terms of the other dimensions of the defence partnership, Sitharaman said.

India has introduced major reforms to promote defence manufacturing including the establishment of defence manufacturing corridor. I invite US companies to become active partners in this segment, she said. Transfer of critical technologies is one of the main agenda of the first 2+2 dialogue between India and USA.

On joint training exercises between the two armed forces, Sitharaman said, With each step that brings our defence forces, security entity to each other we add to the growing layers of mutual trust and confidence. Today Indias defence forces carry out more training and joint exercises with the United States than with any other partner.

We have acquired advanced defence platforms from the US. Were partners in building defence capabilities in the broadest sense of the terms. India-US cooperation and the field of defence reflects the growing maturity of our partnership, she added.
A non-local labourer, who was critically injured in a shootout between militants and security forces in Hajidarpora village of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Wednesday morning, succumbed to injuries.

Police said 17-year-old Arjun Kumar, a resident of Baraily, Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, received a fatal bullet injury when militants attacked the army's 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) patrolling party in Hajidarpora, Pulwama, 34 km from here.

Kumar was shifted to the super-speciality SKIMS hospital in Srinagar, but he succumbed to his injuries, the police added.

The slain was working as a labourer at a brick kiln in the district.

Following the attack, security forces along with the additional reinforcements launched searches in the area to nab the attackers.



In the backdrop of increasing incidents of attacks on police and political workers, security forces had Monday launched a major coordinated offensive against militants in nearly 20 villages of Pulwama district.

According to a report compiled by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the number of listed militants in Kashmir has crossed 300 for the first time in nearly a decade.

Last year, 126 locals picked up guns - which was the highest number since 2010 and this year till August over 130 have joined the militant ranks, the report reveals.

Of the listed 327 militants, it says, 181 are active in the volatile south Kashmir districts. Most of the locals joining militancy belong to four south Kashmir districts of Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag. The militant handlers are using social media to reach out the Internet-savvy youth of the Valley with their jihad obligation message, a senior police officer said.
India and United States on Thursday signed an agreement to provide the armed forces of the two countries greater access to secure military communication network of each other.

New Delhi and Washington D.C. also agreed to hold a joint war drill off the eastern coast of India in 2019, involving the armies, navies and air forces of the two nations.

The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held the first India-America 2+2 dialogue with the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and Secretary of Defence, James N Mattis, in New Delhi.

The COMCASA, which was signed by Sitharaman and Mattis, will facilitate access to advanced defense systems and enable India to optimally utilize its existing military hardware sourced from the US, according to a joint statement issued after the 2+2 dialogue. It is one of the three foundational pacts, which Washington D.C. has since long been nudging New Delhi to sign, promising that they would make it easier for India to access advanced defence technologies from the US.

The first such pact India signed with the US was the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement or the LEMOA. It was inked in 2016 by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his counterpart US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter. The LEMOA made it obligatory for both India and the US to support each other's aircraft, ships and personnel with logistics, fuel and spares. The third in the series of the proposed pacts is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geo-spatial ties, which is yet to be signed.

The erstwhile Congress-led Government in New Delhi resisted pressure from the US to sign the three agreements, ostensibly due to concerns that they would severely compromise the strategic autonomy of India. The negotiations between India and the US over the agreements, however, gained momentum after the BJP-led Government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in New Delhi.

Sitharaman told journalist after the 2+2 dialogue on Thursday that the COMCASA would enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance its defence preparedness. Mattis echoed her and said that the landmark agreement would deepen military-to-military cooperation and enhance US ability to share with India the most defence technologies and thus making both the nations stronger.

India and the US on Thursday also agreed to set up hotlines for speedy communications between the offices of External Affairs Minister and US Secretary of State as well as between the offices of Defence Minister and US Secretary of Defence.

A Memorandum of Intent between Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) of the US and the Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX) was inked just on the eve of the 2+2 dialogue.

The parleys on Thursday also saw both sides agreeing to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA), which would support closer defense industry cooperation and collaboration between India and the US.

The 2+2 dialogue is a new format of diplomatic engagement between India and the US. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Donald Trump had agreed on the new format of engagement when they had met in Washington D.C. in June 2017.

Pompeo and Mattis arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to take part in what is being termed as biggest diplomatic engagement between India and the US of the current year. Pompeo had a brief visit to Islamabad before flying to New Delhi. Mattis, however, flew to New Delhi directly from Washington D.C.

The US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening.
The Information & Broadcasting ministrys advisory to private television channels to stop using the term Dalit and instead use Scheduled Castes has no sound rationale and is difficult to comprehend. The ministry has stated that the constitutional term Scheduled Caste or its translations may be used in compliance with a Bombay high court order on the matter. This statement does not convincingly make out a case for changing the nomenclature which is in use for decades. The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court had issued a directive in June to consider using the term Scheduled Caste in place of Dalits, and the government had told its departments, its own media and state governments to comply with it. But it has now been extended to private channels. The advisory has met with opposition not only from the channels but also from Dalit groups and organisations.

When the government refers to Scheduled Caste as a constitutional term, it can only mean that the word finds mention in the Constitution. It does not at all mean that the use of Dalit is unconstitutional. The word Dalit has found acceptability among those whom it refers to and their organisations and has been used by them to denote themselves. It is a word loaded with meanings and connotations and has empowered them. It came into currency during the Dalit assertion movements of the 1960s and 70s and has since been in common use. There is nothing derogatory or insulting about it. If a community wants to call and describe itself in a particular way, why should the court or the government want to change it? The government for some reason left out print media from the scope of its advisory. There is opposition to the advisory from many members of the News Broadcasters Association. There are also practical problems, like how to leave out the word Dalit from the replays of past footages or from the speeches, etc., of politicians and others which are reported live.

The Modi government has been on the defensive in matters regarding Dalits. Dalit communities and their leaders and organisations have expressed unhappiness with the government and protested many times over various issues. There have been many cases of ill-treatment and oppression of Dalits by people and groups supporting the government. By a nomenclature change, the government may be trying to send a positive message to Dalits. But it also conveys the message that the word Dalit, which gives pride and a sense of identity to Dalits, is a bad word for the government. Words have meanings, and they cannot be changed easily. The bid to change the nomenclature is one more misstep towards Dalits that will boomerang on the government.
For the residents of Malnad region, a rare disease has crippled them, both figuratively and literally. The disease is so rare outside this region that it has been named after the village in Shivamogga district where it was first discovered in 1974. It is called Handigodu Syndrome. It has also been noted in residents of Chikkamagaluru. While the causative factor has not been found yet, it has been reported in people who consume meat and in members of the Scheduled Caste community. There is as yet no cure for it.

In Shivamogga districts Sagara region, 320 cases of Handigodu Syndrome have been recorded till now; 52 in Thirthahalli, 16 in Soraba and 21 in Hosanagara. Nearly 500 cases have been recorded in Chikkamagaluru. However, no new cases have been seen in the last 10 years.

The cause of this disease is not known, but the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Kanpur, suspects that it is either hereditary or due to environmental factors, says Dr Vasudev, an orthopaedic surgeon. The affected person has lower back pain, joint pain, and difficulty in walking, sitting or standing.

The government has provided a Handigodu mobile unit, and Dr Vasudev has a team working on it every month, providing free door-to-door treatment. Patients are also likely to witness swelling in the hips and knee joints, which can be seen as early as 25 years of age. The syndrome is of following types: dwarfism, handicap. A person can suffer from both handicap and dwarfism. There can also be deformation of the limbs. While most patients are women, a higher mortality rate has been noted in men.

Rajendra Bandhagadhe is a victim of Handigodu Syndrome. I am 54 and I have been suffering from this for the last 25 years. I was normal like others, I used to work as a coolie, now my condition is such that my wife is working and taking care of our family. Every month, we get treated by the Handigodu mobile unit. They give us iron tablets and diclofenac painkiller, but it is only for temporary relief, there is no permanent cure. Not only me, my mother and her sister also suffer from this, Bandhagadhe says.

Omkar Chikkabedagunjji, another patient, revealed his daily struggles. I am suffering from the disease for 16 years. My legs and hand joints are deformed. I dont have a job. I am from a poor family but I have no option but to stay at home. The government is providing us pension of Rs 1,400 now in view of my disability, but I cannot manage the family with this amount. This pain kills me every day. I can neither live nor die.

Vedashree is just 24 years old, but this debilitating syndrome has already impacted her life in many ways. I was affected by this disease when I was nine. My brother Subramanaiah, who is 28, also suffers from it since childhood. I am 24 and nobody is willing to marry me. My mother is upset that both her children are suffering from this disease.

Handigodu Syndrome was first noticed by H M Chandrashekar after people started complaining about unusual body pain in the villages of Shivamogga. He took the issue to the government and supported the people who were affected.

I was the one who brought this syndrome to the notice of the government, says the activist. We fought for the pension for these people. I am 80 years old, and I am still trying my best to fix their problems.

We collected about 300 blood samples for research and figured out that the reason for it is in the genes, says Dr Venugopal, a scientist at Mysore Anthropology Centre. But we have to find out the type of genes and how it is being transferred. For that, we need to collect tissue samples from the people. We dont know when are we going to start this, but it will be soon.

Government support

The government has built a hostel for children suffering from the disease in Handigodu village in Sagara taluk, Shivamogga. The children are being given nutritious food, medicine and education as well as free medical treatments and physiotherapy. A special identification card has been given to all people affected by the disease.

Shivappa Hodagatte, another patient, says, I broke down when I was diagnosed with this disease and told that it has no cure and that I will have to suffer pain all my life. I have lost all hope. I feel like I am living my life in hell. I am on the bed all the time. I need someone to support me even when I am taking bath. That is when I feel most hopeless.

The victims of Handigodu Syndrome and their families are now seeking answers. They want to know why this disease is so widespread in this region, but virtually unknown outside it. They want the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Kanpur, to break its silence and answer their questions and tell them if there is a cure or ever will be.

The ICMR has conducted research on the disease twice. The people of the region are also requesting the government to provide some kind of employment for those suffering from it. Will the government do something about it?

(The writer is a member of The NewsCart, a Bengaluru-based media startup)
India's first manned space mission, Gaganyaan, now has a French connection. Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the French space agency, CNES, on Thursday signed an agreement to collaborate and formed a working group for the ambitious project.

As part of this deal, Isro will get access to space hospital facilities in Toulouse, France. The two agencies will share their expertise in astronaut health monitoring, space medicine, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, according to CNES president, Jean-Yves Le Gall.

The Indo-French working group, announced at the Bengaluru Space Expo launch here, follows the commitment made by French President Emmanuel Macron during his State visit to India earlier, this year. Under the Gaganyaan mission, three Indians are to be sent to space before 2022.

Future Indian astronauts could now be trained at the specialised centres in France such as the CADMOS Centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic. Gall said the agreement will also entail the exchange of specialised personnel.

Isro has proposed to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts. The Indo-French collaboration is already active in critical areas of climate monitoring. On the agenda are a fleet of satellites focused on research and operational applications and innovation.

The two agencies have also proposed to extend their collaboration to projects on Mars, Venus and asteroids. CNES, said Gall, would share with Isro its experience gained through the first French spaceflight to Thomas Pesquet's Proxima mission. The French agency would also learn from Isro's innovative developments in the area of crew transport.
Very often, newspapers contribute effectively to drawing room conversations, mainly by helping them be less laconic and more urgent and focused. There was one such article recently on government schools. It captured the current views of classrooms beautifully, traversing from single teacher schools to under-resourced primary schools to multi-tasking teachers. (In fact, can teachers be anything else but multitasking?)

If I could be so bold as to shine some hope into this conversation, government schools are in the unique position of having all the right impetus to improve. They have good teachers on their rolls. They have multi-age classrooms and, in the rest of the world, new pedagogy says that this is what all classrooms should be.

Common wisdom says that if schools do not change at all, then they are actually sliding backwards. Schools should change if they want to survive, more so for our government ones.

And yet, governments are standing on the edge of this decision, wondering if they should change. Meanwhile, in the country, students are leaving free education at public school classrooms in droves, forcing many government schools to shut down. This will put more teachers out of their jobs, and this is the last thing we need. Teachers are already in short supply, and nudging them out of their jobs is extremely counter-productive.

Needless to say, it is the education of the children at the bottom of the pyramid that will suffer. If education suffers, civic sense of the adults of the future will be impacted. Cities will sink in the urban filth that will gather around them, but more importantly, people will tend not to be educated into maintaining a strong democratic government in place. The wrong people could get elected. With really poor teaching, the government will not be able to generate jobs because they will not have workers of skill. It is clear that governments that are ineffectual in delivering education will eventually fall. Why is it that this obvious path of a downward spiral not apparent to everyone in government circles?

Let us now assume that the government actually begins to see that they have to change the education of their states. What then? Let us look at the logistics of the solution. The style of education that is used in schools today was introduced about 200 years ago. Let us start by assuming, against our better senses, that this is a good way to teach students in these times.

A further look into the solution throws up some disturbing numbers. India has about 400 million students to be taught. Let us assume that we are going to need about 10 million classrooms, if we stuff 40 students in each classroom. Each classroom will, or should, have a teacher. This generates a need of about 10 million teachers.

At least 10 million teachers need professors of education and pedagogy and child psychology and history and physics and so on. If we can have 100 teachers per year, studying with one professor, we need 100,000 professors to educate the educators. Clearly, the logistics that we use today do not work in the face of these numbers.

This calls for a change of vision. If we bring in an intelligent technology, this huge training problem moves to a place that smells like a great solution. Every teacher can use technology in classrooms as an aide, and learn about how a certain lesson structure solves a learning problem for one student while helping another student have a learning moment. Every student in the classroom is captivated and captivated students learn. Was this not what learning spaces were designed for? Why have we cut out the teacher from being a learner in the same classroom where she teaches other students to learn? This can be a truly exciting place to be in.

Notice, however, that this is a package of two things, a process and a person working together. The technology is the accelerator of the process, but the teacher is the everything else. After all, all the learning moments in all our lives come from people. Yes, enabled by some activities like experiments and music, or discussions and planning. But the teacher is the song, the colour, the plan, the dance, the hope and the joy.

(The author is with Meghshala Trust, Bengaluru)
I just returned from Dayton, Ohio. While there I was watching the nightly news and to my surprise the newscaster said the number one problem in the Dayton Public School System is reading. Later the newscaster reported that many families are leaving the public school system to go to charter and private schools due to the lack of students getting a quality education. I was surprised because I didnt realize that the problems in public education were so widespread. When I heard this I began to think of Chester and it soon dawned upon me all the challenges we have here are located in every major city in the United States. Unfortunately, the same academic problems in Chester are common in most public schools. Additionally, the environments these children come out of are similar, too.

When I was growing up I remember my parents telling me to get a good education and everything will be alright. Well, I believed that and I did get a good education (I have my Masters Degree in Divinity and attended the University of Cincinnati). However, I grew up in a different time period. I came from a two-parent home. Also, I didnt live in a drug- and gang-infested community. My home environment and community environment reflected more people and signs of success than failure. So that truism that said, study hard, get a good education, and everything would work out, was true for the most part because of my immediate environment. Yes, there were some exceptions. But for the most part getting a good education was a great building block, if not a cornerstone, for preparing us for the future. However, those statements today may be generally true, but not true in every situation, particularly in Chester-like communities. In order to see the many facets of where we get our education, we have to look at all the teachers that pour into our lives. Let me explain.

There are five major teachers we learn from. These teachers give us a good or bad education. One educational source is at home. We learn from our parent(s). The other educational source is our peers. Our friends and associates give us another form of education. We also learn obviously, from our school teachers. Those who believe in God, have our churches or mosques that educate us. But one of the most impactful educators we have is right where we live. Our neighborhoods and our communities can play a significant role in what we learn and the shaping of our psyche, and consequently, how we behave. For example, when you live in a single-parent home where your mother has dropped out of school because she was pregnant with you, and she is on welfare and she lives in an environment where most of your friends come from, then you have a group of individuals who have the same teachers and are being educated alike. That is, they see the crime, unemployment, homelessness, the selling of drugs and large sums of money being made from selling drugs, and they also see gang activity and other negative community activities that communicate a very, very, dangerous message. The message they are receiving from these teachers in the community, is that formal education is not that important. After all, no one they know seems to have a good job as a result of getting a good education. If they see someone they went to school with having a good job, its few and far between. They get to school, take their books out of their locker, head for their homeroom, and go to their first-class period and they hear their teacher say, all you have to do is study hard, get a good education, and you will be successful. Some of them are sitting there with more than$500 in one pocket from last nights sell, and they hear you say, just get a good education and everything will be OK. We know that education is good and necessary. But for some of our students they are saying, for who?

Lets face it, most of our students dont see the value of getting a good education, particularly in poverty-stricken to low-income communities. There are too many other educators in those environments that are saying just the opposite. The teacher of Crack Cocaine 101 has many students in his class. The teacher of Basic Violence is another growing neighborhood class. The Teacher of Gun Use has just run out of class space. The class on Robbery 101 just graduated 200 students.

These are the teachers we are fighting with in our communities and more. Therefore, we need some classes of our own. Classes besides math, reading, science and other important basics. We need courses that will capture the mindsets of our youth and inspire them to want to learn. We need classes that will lead them to value and appreciate academics, despite their environments. We need courses where students can use their imaginations to see life beyond their immediate educators, like the one on How to Use and Sell Drugs. Why tell them to learn math or how to read, if they have no inspiration to learn?

This is where we must start to give our students an opportunity to make the most of their lives educationally. We must develop courses that engage their minds to want to learn and want to read. The times have changed. Our educational culture has changed, particularly in our poorer, distressed neighborhoods. They need not only good teachers, they need a form of education where they see the value of education beyond their environments. They need creative courses that inspire learning and an authentic valuing of the educational process. We are at a point in history where we can no longer tell our kids to just get a good education and work hard without giving them something that creates in the human spirit a willingness and desire to learn. Lets stop The Fallacy of Getting an Good Education.

Richard C. Dalton is a pastor and founder of the Joshua Project in St. Louis, Mo. The Rev. Dalton previously worked with community groups in the city of Chester.
SALT LAKE CITY  The View kicked off its 22nd season on Tuesday and brought a new co-host with it  Abby Huntsman.

Im living my dream, she told Good Morning America after her first episode ended on Tuesday.

Huntsman previously worked as a co-host for Fox and Friends Weekend. Rumors suggested for months that she would move to The View, becoming one of the shows few conservative voices.

Huntsman  daughter of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who now serves as the U.S. ambassador to Russia  said she wont likely be in agreement with fans of The View.

Huntsman, 32, said she was nervous and excited to join the show. But, she said, the minute I sat down, I couldnt have felt more comfortable.

She said shes received some solid advice from her co-hosts, who include Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Joy Behar and Meghan McCain.

Be you, she said. "That's the advice Joy gave me, Sunny gave me, my dad gave me. If you go on that show and just be you, even if people disagree with you, they know it's coming from a genuine place.

"My nerves are about how divided this country is right now and this show hits on a lot of hot-button issues," she said. "(They) aren't easy to talk about with your husband, let alone a national audience.  We are all as a country quick to judge and point fingers, and I hope I can help change that."

Watch Huntsmans debut as a co-host below.

Huntsmans debut got off to a fast start as The View hosts debated Nikes decision to use Colin Kaepernick in its advertisement,according to Toofab.

Huntsman said backlash over the decision could escalate.

"I think they're going to do more than just burn sneakers though. You have to remember, this is an issue that divides this country almost more than anything else that we've talked about in the past year," she said.

The hosts debated Huntsmans claim, talking about how African-Americans feel about the Kaepernick issue.

"What I worry about, is if you are on the side of feeling it's disrespectful to kneel during the anthem, that somehow you're racist, or somehow you're not in favor of bettering this country and finding equality and common ground," she said. "I think there's a better way to talk about it as Americans to say, how can we make progress?"
SALT LAKE CITY  The Rev. Talitha Arnold's father died by suicide when she was 2. From that moment on, her family couldn't ignore mental health concerns, even if their faith community did.

"The first time I heard the words 'mental illness' and 'suicide' spoken in church was when I spoke them as a young pastor," she said.

Social stigma and fear have long prevented difficult conversations about suicide in houses of worship, just as they do in workplaces or coffee shops. But the failure of faith leaders to address this topic has much larger consequences, said the Rev. Arnold, senior minister of the United Church of Santa Fe in New Mexico.

"When the church is silent, it feels like God is silent, too. When the church can't deal with mental illness issues or suicide, it feels like God can't either," she said.

The Rev. Arnold has been working to end the silence around suicide for nearly 35 years, and she's thankful for the growing number of faith leaders willing to join her in this effort. Hundreds of religious communities will take part in the National Weekend of Prayer for Faith, Hope and Life from Sept. 7-9, praying for people affected by suicide and preaching on mental illness.

"We're saying, 'Don't worry about being perfect. This is an issue. Let's talk about it,'" said the Rev. Logan Wolf, lead pastor of CrossPoint Church in Utah.

Even just saying the word 'suicide' from the pulpit can help save lives, said Melinda Moore, co-chairwoman of the Faith Communities Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention and a lead organizer of the prayer weekend.

"Faith leaders are in a position to demonstrate leadership. They can show the entire community what can be done in terms of preventing suicide and addressing the needs of those who are suffering," she said.

Natural gift

Like the Rev. Arnold, Moore understands the pain of attending a church that doesn't handle your loss well. Her husband died by suicide in 1996, and her Catholic community struggled to help her heal.

"In my faith community, there was no capacity to provide the kind of support I needed," said Moore, an assistant professor of psychology at Eastern Kentucky University.

However, her faith was still an important refuge. She worshipped and prayed, turning her sorrow over to God.

"I went to Mass every week and suffered with Jesus on the cross. That contributed to my early healing," she said.

The experience helped Moore recognize that houses of worship play a role in suicide prevention whether or not they acknowledge it. Faith communities nurture social connections and a sense of worthiness, which are important resources for people dealing with mental illness.

"Faith communities and faith leaders are in a perfect position to not only comfort the mourners and honor the individual who died, but also prevent future suicides," said Moore.

Suicide rates are on the rise across the country, prompting policymakers, researchers and other community leaders to put more resources into solving the crisis. In 2016, nearly 45,000 lives were lost to suicide in the U.S., according to a recent fact sheet published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was an increase from 2014 CDC data showing nearly 43,000 deaths by suicide.

One of the goals of the National Weekend of Prayer for Faith, Hope and Life is to enable religious groups to be more intentional about how they address mental health concerns. The event website offers tips on responding to someone experiencing suicidal thoughts, printable handouts with information on suicide prevention and worship resources.

"As we bow our heads, we give thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us by thou bounteous hands. We ask for help for those that struggle with mental health or substance abuse issues. We also ask to comfort those that battle with feelings of hopelessness, depression and suicidal thoughts," reads a sample prayer written by Greg Hudnall, a mental health advocate and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Rev. Wolf would have benefitted from such a website four years ago, when he first got interested in speaking about Utah's suicide rates. His seminary education hadn't prepared him to navigate complicated conversations about mental health, so he was willing to learn from anyone who had time to answer his questions.

"There was a learning curve in terms of how to talk about it in a helpful way," he said.

Only 41 percent of Protestant pastors have received formal training in suicide prevention, according to a 2017 LifeWay Research survey on suicide and the church. Just 30 percent "strongly agree" their church is equipped to assist someone who is threatening to take his or her own life.

Sin and shame

As the Rev. Wolf and others noted, there are a number of roadblocks keeping faith communities from meaningfully addressing suicide and mental health. Pastors are rarely trained on these subjects. It's hard to overcome the social stigma. People don't want to say the wrong thing.

Another problem is that suicide is a theologically thorny issue. For centuries, many of the world's religions taught that suicide was an unforgivable sin, and that's only started to change in the past few decades, said the Rev. Robin Craig, pastor of Independence Presbyterian Church in Independence, Ohio.

"People are grounded in the old idea that suicide is a sin, that people who die of suicide will go to hell and that nothing can be done," she said, noting that she knows people whose pastors wouldn't perform funerals for this reason.

In the past, faith groups emphasized the teaching that your life belongs to God and that it's up to God to determine when it ends. Today, it's more common for religious communities to recognize and try to address the mental health issues that can lead to suicide.

"World religions have become more sympathetic and nuanced in their understanding," The Conversation reported in June. Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus have all established extensive outreach programs to those who suffer from suicidal thoughts," the article noted.

As part of its outreach, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has published a series of articles and videos aimed at suicide prevention and ministering to church members who have lost a loved one.

Society, as a whole, has adopted a kinder approach to suicide over the last 20 to 30 years, the Rev. Craig said. People may still feel awkward discussing suicide, but they rarely seek to shame people who have suffered a loss.

"We're much more aware today of suicide as a consequence of mental health issue," she said. "Just as we would not say that someone who dies of cancer or heart disease is condemned, we don't say that about someone who died by suicide."

Praying about suicide

The Rev. Arnold first preached about suicide in 1984, and it was kind of an accident. She had been assigned to speak on Bible stories about Jesus healing the sick, so she reread the Gospel of Mark and told herself she'd write her sermon about the first healing that took place.

When she got to the first healing story, she slammed her Bible shut. The story was about Jesus healing a man with an unclean spirit, a phrase that refers to mental illness.

"I was thinking, 'This really isn't funny,'" the Rev. Arnold said.

But she persevered and was glad she did. After that worship service in 1984, congregants surrounded her, wanting to talk about their own mental health concerns or mourn lost loved ones.

"If Jesus focused on people with (mental illnesses), then those of us in Christian churches who seek to follow him need to focus on that, as well," she said.

A similar spirit guides the other faith leaders who will participate in the National Weekend of Prayer for Faith, Hope and Life. They feel called by their religious texts to serve anyone who is suffering, even if that service is uncomfortable or awkward.

"I want people to realize that this is a safe place to open up and share their struggles," the Rev. Wolf said.

During CrossPoint's worship services on Sunday, Sept. 9, he or a member of his staff will introduce the special event and speak about why it's important to discuss suicide in faith communities. They'll invite attendees to reflect on the people they know who are dealing with mental illness.

"We may do a moment of silence or break into smaller groups of five or six where people can mention the name of a family member or friend," the Rev. Wolf said.

Prayer weekend organizers don't want participants to feel obligated to follow a certain script, Moore said. They should do what works for them, as long as it fights stigma and provides hope.

"There should be three elements in these prayers: that pain is real, that you're not alone and that there is hope," she said.

Faith leaders will never have all the answers about suicide or mental health challenges, said the Rev. Craig, who lost a son to suicide 10 years ago. But they can do a better job comforting the people asking questions.

"If you're looking for answers, church is difficult," she said. "On the other hand, church is where we declare God's love for all people, people broken by mental illness and people who are grieving."
EPHRAIM  Two public meetings are planned Sept. 12 on the campuses of Snow College to elicit public input on the qualities and experience sought in the next president of Snow College.

The meetings, hosted by the presidential search committee, will be conducted from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Noyes Building on the Ephraim campus and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Sorensen Administration Building on Snow College's Richfield campus.

People unable to attend the meetings can comment at snow.edu/presidentialsearch.

Input from these meetings will help the search committee write a position announcement, the advertisement used to recruit candidates.

Once the position announcement is finalized, the presidential search committee will recruit candidates, screen applications and conduct interviews with potential finalists. Next, the committee will announce the names of three to five finalists to the board of regents, likely in early 2019.

The 22-member Snow College presidential search committee is jointly led by Mark Stoddard, a member of the Utah State Board of Regents, and Scott Bushnell, Snow College board of trustees chairman. The committee includes regents, trustees, faculty, staff, students, administration, alumni and community members. It also includes representation from each of Snow College's campuses.

In May, Snow College President Gary L. Carlston announced his plans to retire in early 2019 after five years as president.

Snow College's Richfield campus primarily offers applied technology programs while its residential campus in Ephraim offers a wide array of associate degree programs and a limited number of bachelor's degree programs.

Founded in 1888, Snow College serves students from 36 states and 38 foreign countries. In 2017, the college's headcount was 5,563.
SALT LAKE CITY  A newly published Utah Policy poll suggests support for medical marijuana legalization has recently slipped among the state's voters, though a majority still support it.

When asked whether they "support or oppose legalizing doctor-recommended use of marijuana for certain diseases and pain relief," 64 percent of respondents said they favored it, with 33 percent against it, Utah Policy reported.

The survey, conducted by Dan Jones & Associates among likely voters, was for the most part carried out after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and various other community groups and state lawmakers teamed up to urge voters to reject the state's medical marijuana ballot initiative in November.

The coalition made its announcement urging voter opposition to Proposition 2 on Aug. 23, and the poll was conducted from Aug. 22 through Aug. 31.

Overall support for medical marijuana legalization was down significantly compared to its previous poll, published in May, which showed support at 73 percent. Three other polls published by Utah Policy in the past 12 months also showed support hovering between 73 and 76 percent.

In the new poll published Tuesday, 43 percent of all respondents were strongly in support of medical marijuana legalization, while 23 percent were strongly against it. Two percent of respondents said they didn't know their position.

Support among Latter-day Saints who described themselves as "very active" dropped from 59 percent to 45 percent compared to the previous Utah Policy poll, while opposition in that group jumped from 38 percent to 52 percent.

On Aug. 23, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints emailed its members in Utah warning the initiative to allow medical marijuana posed "a serious threat to health and public safety, especially for our youth and young adults, by making marijuana generally available with few controls."

But the church "does not object to the medicinal use of marijuana, if doctor-prescribed, in dosage form, from a licensed pharmacy," Elder Jack N. Gerard, a General Authority Seventy with the church, told reporters at the time.

The Utah Episcopal Diocese and Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake also voiced their opposition to the initiative at the Aug. 23 news conference.

Advocates supporting the initiative responded that Proposition 2's opponents were not offering realistic alternatives. The ballot initiative campaign, called the Utah Patients Coalition, has also argued that the measure includes strict provisions preventing unapproved uses of marijuana.

Support for medical marijuana also dropped significantly among self-described Republicans, from 60 percent to 49 percent. Support among Democrat respondents ticked up slightly from 95 percent to 97 percent, while independents' support fell from 77 percent to 71 percent.

Support among Protestant respondents ticked up two points to 89 percent, and jumped nine points among Catholics to 93 percent.

The new poll was conducted with 809 likely Utah voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percent.

Advocates file complaint

Also this week, the Utah Patients Coalition submitted a complaint to the Elections Division of Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox's office, alleging an opposition group is violating Utah law with dishonest advertising against the initiative.

The group cites messages it calls "a radio ad and telephone poll making demonstrably false claims" about the initiative put forth by Drug Safe Utah, a political issues committee that formed earlier this year to organize opposition to the legalization measure.

"For example, (Drug Safe Utah's) radio ad claims that 'Prop 2 is actually about recreational use and not medical," the complaint states. "However, the Utah Medical Cannabis Act is a strictly medical program requiring physician-approved treatment for a specific list of medical conditions. Nowhere in the law does it provide for recreational use of cannabis."

Utah Patients Coalition Director DJ Schanz said in a statement that "Utah deserves an honest and public debate on this important issue."

"Deceiving the public with half-truths and falsehoods undermines public discourse and trust," Schanz said. "We call on Drug Safe Utah and its coalition members to engage in a thoughtful and trustworthy debate, one based on facts and truth.

The complaint asks for "a cease-and-desist order prohibiting (Drug Safe Utah) from making false statements to Utah voters as required by Utah law." It also asks the lieutenant governor's office to "publicly sanction" Drug Safe Utah "for its untruthful activities."

The lieutenant governor's office confirmed it has received the elections complaint and is reviewing it.

Drug Safe Utah said in a prepared response that it "stands by its public statements and ads."

"Proposition 2, which was drafted in part by the marijuana industry, contains none of the traditional safeguards of medical practice; instead it makes recreational marijuana easily accessible," the organization said in a statement.

Drug Safe Utah's statement adds that "unlike prescribed medicines, there is no dosage, no physician follow-up required, no disclosure of risks. This creates an environment for recreational marijuana to flourish."
SALT LAKE CITY  An attorney for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the probability is poor for settling a Colorado woman's lawsuit in which she alleges the church hid the sexual misconduct of a former Missionary Training Center president who she claims raped her.

A federal magistrate judge scheduled a 13-day jury trial to start July 13, 2020, in a order agreed upon by both sides Wednesday.

The order also notes that mediation and arbitration are not likely. The parties, however, will re-evaluate the case for settlement or alternative dispute resolution in May 2019.

Last month, a federal judge dismissed McKenna Denson's lawsuit against Joseph Bishop because her claims had expired under the statute of limitations. Denson alleges Bishop raped her while she was a missionary at the MTC in 1984. Bishop has denied the accusation.

The judge also dismissed three of her four claims against the church. Her final remaining claim is that the church allegedly hid Bishop's predatory sexual behavior. The judge ruled that the statute of limitations on that allegation did not begin until she confronted him in December 2017 and learned of the alleged concealment.

Lawyers for the church deny that allegation in a court filing last week. They also argue Denson's claims are barred by the statute of limitations, the long delay in asserting her claims and the First Amendment.

This past Sunday, Denson stood up during a fast-and-testimony church meeting in Chandler, Arizona, to record and publicly restate her allegation against Bishop in his home congregation.

The church responded Tuesday, expressing disappointment that Denson had disrupted the worship service.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Health officials are warning parents of students at all public schools in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain of a possible outbreak of a highly contagious gastrointestinal illness in the community

An illness that might be norovirus, which is "spread by infected people or contaminated food and water," has been reported at several schools in the Alpine School District, officials said.

According to the Utah County Health Department, the virus commonly causes diarrhea and vomiting and can affect anyone. The health department said it has recently received dozens of reports of illness that could be norovirus.

Kimberly Bird, assistant to the superintendent for Alpine School District, said the district will take extra precautions to help prevent further spread of the illness.

"We've got really great chemicals that we use in the cleaning of our schools on a regular basis, but we will notify all of our custodians about this particular virus that's highly contagious," Bird said.

Health officials are asking parents of children who show symptoms of the illness to keep them out of school for 72 hours until "after vomiting and diarrhea have ended."

If a child's sibling experiences similar symptoms, officials ask that parents keep them home from school as well.

Symptoms of the illness also include nausea, headache, low fever and stomach cramps, officials said.

According to the health department, symptoms usually appear within one to two days of exposure, but can show up earlier.

"Persons with norovirus usually recover within two to three days without serious or long-term health effects. Even though the virus is easy to spread, serious illness rarely occurs," officials said.

Norovirus can be contracted by "touching the same surface that the ill person has come in contact with, and even by breathing in the fumes from vomit," officials said.

Those with the virus should not prepare food for others, officials added, but should wear gloves if they must do so.

There are no vaccines or specific treatments for the illness. Ways to prevent the infection include cleaning surfaces "immediately after an episode of the illness" with a bleach-based cleaner and washing clothes or linens contaminated with stool or vomit, health officials said.

Cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, are also increasing in Utah County, according to a news release from Utah County Health Department. And with school back in session, the department expects more cases of the cough.

"The number of cases at this point in the year is almost double that of the same timeframe in 2017," the release states.

This year, according to the health department, the county has so far seen 65 cases of the cough as compared to 49 in all of 2017.

Pertussis causes cold symptoms including runny nose and "an irritating cough," the department said, and can be life-threatening for small children.

For adults, it can last for weeks, officials said.

"Regardless of the cough intensity, pertussis can be spread to others, including unimmunized infants, who are at such high risk, especially those who have not yet been immunized," said Dr. David Flinders, medical director for the Utah County Health Department.

"Since this can be life-threatening in small children, it is very important for those experiencing symptoms to go to their healthcare provider to be diagnosed and receive treatment," he said.

Officials say that vaccination is the "best prevention" against the virus. Teenagers and adults can take a booster vaccine, officials said, as childhood vaccination or having the illness as a child will not prevent a teenager or adult from getting it again.

Contributing: Ladd Egan
SALT LAKE CITY  Criminal charges were filed Wednesday against a Taylorsville man accused of brutally torturing and kidnapping his roommate.

The man handcuffed the victim and nailed his genitals into a board, threatening to shoot him if he moved, according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court.

Jason Dee Maughn, 45, was charged Wednesday with aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, first-degree felonies; plus mayhem and aggravated assault, second-degree felonies.

On Aug. 30, Maughn got into an argument with his roommate. During the argument, Maughn allegedly held a shotgun to the other man's head and made him sit in a chair. The victim was then handcuffed to the chair and told he "could either be taken to the desert and killed or Maughn would drive a nail into" the man's genitalia, the charges state.

The man "chose to have the nail," investigators wrote.

A two-by-four was placed under the victim and "a tool resembling an ice pick" was driven through his penis and into the wood with a "rusty hammer," charging documents state.

"Maughn stated if (the man) fought, he would shoot him," according to the charges.

The ice pick was pulled out after a few seconds, Maughn then uncuffed the man and told him to leave after allowing him to get a bandage, the charges state. The alleged victim went to the hospital the next day.

Maughn was reportedly angry because he believed that the roommate had assaulted a woman, but investigators have been unable to verify that story, said Unified Police Sgt. Melody Gray.

Officers have not been able to locate Maughn. A $250,000 warrant was issued Wednesday for his arrest.
FARMINGTON  Pelicans, hummingbirds and even a turkey vulture were spotted Wednesday morning as nature guide Billy Fenimore took birdwatchers young and old down a nature trail at Farmington Bay's newest wildlife facility.

"We're so lucky to live in Utah, where you can come out here and see all the waterfowl birds, then go up in the mountains and see the raptors and the songbirds," Reece Stein said following a walk through the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Wildlife Education Center, which opened to the public Wednesday.

Spencer F. Eccles, chairman and CEO of the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, cut the ribbon in front of local politicians, businesspeople, philanthropists, state employees, as well as birdwatchers and their families.

"All wildlife enthusiasts can come here and get something out of it," said Nicaela Haig, Division of Wildlife Resources programs specialist over education and events at the center. "No matter which way you enjoy wildlife, there is something for you out here."

Haig also highlighted the accessibility of the center  1.5 miles due west of Farmington High School  and that there is no entrance fee.

Eccles and other community members addressed the crowd prior to the ribbon-cutting, speaking on the importance of wildlife and conservation and thanking all those involved in making the new facility happen. DWR Director Mike Fowlks and Rep. Steve Handy, R-Layton, specifically credited former director Greg Sheehan with the idea for the new center and getting the process going.

Owls, a bald eagle, a small kestrel, two snakes and a salamander were also brought to the event by HawkWatch International, the Ogden Nature Center and the Hogle Zoo.

Reece and Marianne Stein wanted to see what the new facility looked like after regularly coming to the much smaller building previously on the site.

"We love the Great Salt Lake. What a fantastic resource we have out here for birds," Reece Stein said. "We come out here all the time to see the herons, especially in the spring when they've got babies."

The Steins said they have traveled to the world's best birdwatching destinations, but they also take advantage of the nearby resources. "We're so close to so much  you have to take advantage of it."

Budding birdwatchers Wyatt Fowlks, Bridger Fowlks and Shelby Warner  the DWR director's grandchildren  loved seeing the raptors brought to the grand opening. Bridger also loved seeing a few hummingbirds on a guided tour before the event.

Fenimore, the center's director, said he is eager to host field trips and other learning opportunities for children. The L.S. Skaggs Wetland Discovery Classroom opens directly onto the wetlands, which Fenimore said will be great for kids to get hands-on learning experiences.

He also hinted at a possible weekly or biweekly event called "Birding with Billy."

The Eccles Wildlife Education Center is open Tuesday-Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. It is closed Sundays, Mondays and holidays. There is also a one mile walking trail on the site, which will be open during daylight hours.

Haig added that the center will be taking reservations online for field trips later this fall at wildlife.utah.gov/education-center.

The center will host a volunteer job fair Saturday from 1-3 p.m. for those interested in helping.
CEDAR CITY  Three wildlife biologists and a KSL-TV photojournalist are taking antibiotics after a potential exposure to the plague.

The biologists handled dead prairie dogs in southern Utah that later tested positive for the plague  the same plague that killed millions in Europe in the Middle Ages. A doctor familiar with the disease says antibiotics have nearly eliminated plague among humans.

However, it's still widespread and problematic in prairie dog colonies in Utah, which is what raised the concerns.

Twelve days ago, a wildlife biologist with the Bureau of Land Management found three dead prairie dogs in a colony in Iron County. "He placed the prairie dogs in the back of a truck, drove to our Cedar City office, and two DWR biologists at the office went ahead and put the prairie dogs in plastic bags, sealed them up," said Mark Hadley, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources spokesman.

They sent them to a diagnostic lab in Spanish Fork to find out what killed the prairie dogs. Six days later they got the results. "That indicated that these prairie dogs had died from the plague," Hadley said.

As a preventative measure, the three biologists who handled the dead prairie dogs were put on antibiotics.

"Even though the health professionals said you don't need to be concerned about anybody getting sick, we wanted to make sure that everybody had the information," Hadley.

On Aug. 29, one day before lab results came back with the plague results, biologists with the division captured prairie dogs, gave them a quick health checkup and then fitted them with GPS collars that will provide continuous data about the animals and their locations. The same truck used to transport the dead prairie dogs was also used for the capture and collar operation.

The biologists hope the collars will give them insights into the prairie dogs' behavior. They'll then use the data to improve management efforts.

KSL photojournalist Marc Weaver covered the story and received a call from the DWR last Friday, along with two other journalists.

"I was not physically in the truck, but I was right off to the side," Weaver said. "I was stunned. I didn't know what to think. All of these wild thoughts started going through my mind."

He was arriving at the hospital for the birth of his first grandchild when the call came. "I didn't know what to do," Weaver said.

A conversation with the chief medical officer of the Southwest Utah Department eased his fears.

"Told me basically that I was at minimal risk," Weaver said. "If I wanted to completely play it safe that I should go to an InstaCare and get some antibiotics."

He did.

"I just couldn't go into that family birthing center having that in the back of my mind. I had to do something."

The medical director told Weaver he is likely out of the window of exposure.

"I've been doing this for 33 years now, and I think I've encountered everything," Weaver said. "I've never had a brush with the plague before."
COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS  The Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team on Wednesday arrested a man who set himself on fire inside a Kaysville gas station in April, injuring police officers who helped him.

The team announced on Twitter that Tyler Ray Ivison, 26, had been arrested in Cottonwood Heights. No additional information was released.

Ivison, of South Ogden, was charged in August in 2nd District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony; four counts of assault against a police officer, a second-degree felony; criminal mischief, a third-degree felony; and assault, a class A misdemeanor.

On April 5, Ivison went to a Chevron Top Stop in Kaysville, 320 W. 200 North, "purchased a gas can, filled it with gas, then went into the bathroom of that business and poured the gasoline all over him and over the floor of the business," according to charging documents.

Police at the time said Ivison was suicidal.

Four Kaysville officers, who had already been called to the scene after Ivison locked himself in the bathroom, were nearby when Ivison lit himself on fire quickly tried to extinguish the flames while also getting themselves away from the flames.

Two of the officers who went to Ivison's aid suffered burns and two others were treated for smoke inhalation.

Ivison was also seriously burned during the incident and was flown by medical helicopter to the Burn Center at the University of Utah. While the helicopter was attempting to land at the hospital, Ivison escaped from his restraints and "began violently kicking the helicopter's window and door" trying to escape, charges state.

As nurses attempted to restrain Ivison, he grabbed the face of one nurse and tore her cheek, according to the charges.
SALT LAKE CITY  Heres a look at the news for Sept. 6.

Our morning headlines:

A new poll suggests that support for medical marijuana has dropped within the Beehive State, but a majority still support it. Read more.

Utah County Health Department officials are warning of a possible norovirus outbreak in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain public schools. Read more.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Wednesday that it will use emails and texts to alert new missionaries when their mission calls are ready. Read more.

BYU is celebrating its stone cold sober ranking with a new chocolate milk flavor. Read more.

One man is dead from a gunshot wound after leading police on a chase near Pioneer Park in Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Read more.

Our most popular:

Around the web:

Other national headlines:
SALT LAKE CITY  A documented gang member who Salt Lake police are "very familiar with" was arrested early Thursday after police say he rammed one of their vehicles and tried to run over an officer.

Valentine James Malaki, 25, of Salt Lake City, was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault on a police officer and fleeing, as well as having outstanding warrants, said Salt Lake police detective Robert Ungricht.

The series of events began just after 2 a.m. while gang detectives were out looking for another person, he said. During their search, they spotted a white SUV with stolen license plates near an apartment complex about 2000 South and 200 East, Ungricht said.

When Malaki and a woman walked up to the SUV to get in, two officers drove up to them and got out of their police car to talk to them.

As the officers approached Malaki, "he threw the SUV in reverse and rammed one of our police cruisers. And then he actually swerved and tried to run over one of our officers," Ungricht said. "They could tell he was definitely trying to run over the officer."

The SUV sped away and a short pursuit ensued. The SUV stopped at the Park Place apartments, 731 S. 300 East. Malaki ran inside one of the units. Officers stopped the woman he was with as she tried to walk away, Ungricht said. The woman confirmed the identity of Malaki to investigators and told them which unit he was likely in.

Knowing his history, Salt Lake police called out their SWAT team to serve a warrant on the apartment to get Malaki. After no one answered the door, SWAT team members broke down the door, found Malaki and arrested him without further incident, Ungricht said. There were other people in the apartment but they were not arrested.

Ungricht did not immediately know how they were acquainted with Malaki or why no one answered the door when police knocked.

Court records show Malaki was charged in July with felony drug possession. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Aug. 23 when he failed to show up for court. In 2017 he was convicted of theft by receiving stolen property. A warrant was issued for his arrest on March 29 for failing to comply with his probation in that case, according to court records.
SALT LAKE CITY  For Springville dance duo Charity Anderson and Andres Penate, it all came down to .7 points on Wednesday night.

Going into the World of Dance Divisional Finals round, the 18-year-old dancers still held the record of being the only ones to earn a combined perfect score.

Coming out of last nights round crowned the Junior Division champions, the Utah dancers remain the only ones with a perfect score to their name. Although they earned one of their lower scores last night  a still impressive 93  the score was just enough to get them to next weeks World Final.

Last week, the duos main obstacle was overcoming the feeling they had to live up to that perfect score. The dancers obstacle last night was much more painful  literally: Anderson had to leap across the stage with a broken toe.

A clip aired before the duos performance showed how Anderson broke a toe on her left foot  her dominant foot  just four days before the Divisional Finals performance.

I didnt even want to think about jumping out of this competition because weve come so far, Anderson said in the clip.

So instead of backing out, the dancer used those four days to adjust to her right foot being the dominant one. Wednesday nights performance saw her walking out on stage in a bandaged foot.

This is a fight to the death right now, thats what this is, judge Ne-Yo said before the pair launched into their rhythmic, leap-filled dance to Halseys Castle.

Upon finishing the routine, Anderson quickly gained even more respect from the judges, who commented on her bandaged foot and learned she was pushing through the pain and performing with a broken toe.

That makes what just happened that much better for me, Ne-Yo said.

Jennifer Lopez called the duos routine amazing, and the pairs combined score of 93 put them just .7 points above hip-hop fusion duo Sean and Kaycee. Unfortunately for World of Dance fans in Utah, the Springville duos high score means that American Fork dancer Jaxon Willard is also going home.

Willard earned a combined score of 87.8 for his stirring routine to Johnny Manuels Blind Faith. After finishing his dance, the contemporary dance soloist told the judges the routine was about self-discovery.

Im just trying to figure out who I am as a person, Willard said. As long as I rely on blind faith, I know its going to be OK.

The judges only had words of encouragement for the young dancer.

Beyond this show, beyond dance, beyond anything, you are enough and you always have been, Utah native and judge Derek Hough told Willard. Im really proud of you and I think youre a phenomenal dancer.

Jaxon, Im proud of the confidence that you found in yourself, Ne-Yo said as the dancer learned his ride on World of Dance was over. I thank you for allowing us to be a part of that.

Anderson and Penate compete Wednesday, Sept. 12, against the three other division finalists for a shot at the $1 million prize.

The performance of your lives for a million dollars  so no pressure, Hough joked with them.

The NBC show's finale will air Wednesday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. MDT.
SALT LAKE CITY  Fire officials in Utah and Wyoming continued Thursday to collect and share information regarding a suspected serial arsonist believed to have started several fires along I-80 earlier this week.

On Monday, fire crews responded to nearly a dozen wildfires from Tooele to Rock Springs, Wyoming. Each fire started within a short time of the previous fire as the alleged arsonist moved east along I-80.

Based in part on the timing and undisclosed evidence collected at some of the fire scenes, authorities believe the incidents may all be connected.

In Utah, the first fire was reported near the Tooele-Salt Lake County border at 12:14 p.m.

Jason Curry, public information officer for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, said small fires were then reported at:

 12:18 p.m., near Saltair

 12:23 p.m., near 7200 West

 12:28 p.m., near I-215

 1:26 p.m., near the Echo turnoff

 Between 1:28 p.m. and 1:50 p.m., near Echo Reservoir

In a prepared statement, Sweetwater County Fire Warden Mike Bournazian said the Sweetwater County Fire Department, Sweetwater County Fire District 1 and the Bureau of Land Management responded to five fires on Monday along I-80 from the Superior turnoff, about 16 miles east of Rock Springs, to the town of Wamsutter, about 50 miles east.

The entire matter is under investigation, and were working to coordinate our efforts with Utahs, he said.

Evanston Fire Capt. Tim Overy said his department responded to one of those fires in the Lyman area shortly after the fire near Echo Reservoir was reported. Evidence collected at that scene coincided with evidence found at some of the Utah locations, he said. The fire was small and put out quickly.

Most of the fires on Monday were quickly extinguished. The Tervels Fire, northeast of Coalville, Summit County, has burned about 530 acres and was nearly 50 percent contained as of Thursday.

Fire officials declined to speculate on how the fires were started or discuss what kind of common evidence was collected at the different fire locations. The Associated Press reported that "investigators suspect the cause is somebody throwing something flammable out of a moving car."
RIVERTON  Intermountain Riverton Hospital's 10th annual Community Health Fair will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13, at the hospital, 3741 W. 12600 South.

The free event, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon, will include screenings for cholesterol, balance, diabetes and hearing, as well as skin and blood pressure checks. Those who want their cholesterol checked should not have any food for 12 hours before the screening. Drinking water and taking medications is OK.

There will also be information booths; firetruck, police cruiser and ambulance tours; and family friendly activities, including an interactive operating room for kids.

In addition, the fair will offer drive-thru flu shots for the entire family. There is no cost for those with SelectHealth insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. Otherwise the cost is $39 for each shot. Credit cards and others forms of insurance will be accepted inside the hospital at the outpatient pharmacy.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

Periods of rain. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Periods of rain. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
SALT LAKE CITY  Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., now the U.S. ambassador to Russia, said Thursday he's not the anonymous senior Trump administration official who wrote a New York Times op-ed highly critical of the president.

"Come to find, when youre serving as the U.S. envoy in Moscow, youre an easy target on all sides. Anything sent out by me would have carried my name. An early political lesson I learned: Never send an anonymous op-ed," Huntsman said.

His statement was tweeted by embassy spokeswoman Andrea Kalan after the Daily Mail posted a story quoting an unnamed U.S. State Department lawyer suggesting Huntsman could be the op-ed's author.

"I could see it being Huntsman," the British tabloid quoted the lawyer as saying Thursday. "Some of it fits, and he's the kind of guy who would see it as his duty to undermine the boss for a greater good."

The tabloid said the lawyer "emphasized that there's no hard evidence to point to the diplomat. But like the op-ed's writer, Huntsman 'worshipped at (John) McCain's feet' and considered him 'the best example of an honorable guy in the Senate."

The New York Times op-ed is titled, "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," and states that many senior officials "are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations." The Times says it knows the identity of the senior official.

It uses the president's reluctance to expel Russian spies as punishment for the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain as an example of how those around Trump "knew better," calling their actions "the work of the steady state."

The op-ed, published online Wednesday and in Thursday's print edition, cites McCain as "a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue." The Arizona senator died of brain cancer and was honored in ceremonies last week.

Huntsman, who returned to the United States from Moscow to attend funeral services for McCain in Washington last Saturday, told the Deseret News that aside from his father, McCain was his greatest mentor.

"It was the highest honor to associate with him. He was a mentor in many ways. Country first and bipartisanship were deeply ingrained due to his influence," Huntsman said of McCain, a longtime friend.

The Russian embassy tweet included a retweet of a statement from White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, telling reporters who want to know the identity of "the gutless loser" who wrote the op-ed to call the "failing" New York Times.

"The media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump," Sanders said.

Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, slammed the op-ed.

The author of this op-ed is a liar while pretending to fill an office and complete a duty that they are clearly not willing to do. The American people elected Donald Trump as our president and they should be trusted," Stewart said in a statement.

"I don't believe this type of behavior is good for our country. This nameless op-ed is an act of cowardice and plays into the hands of those who wish to further divide us," he said.

Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, also took issue with the op-ed being unsigned but suggested he took some inspiration from it.

"Anytime something is authored by an anonymous source, regardless of party affiliation, it gives me some pause. It is difficult for me to weigh the seriousness of these claims without first knowing who is making them," Curtis said in a statement.

He said he does "strongly agree with their statement that 'the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans."

Curtis said he is "recommitting as a representative of Utah to be that kind of leader."

Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, said she was "deeply concerned about the content in the New York Times op-ed, as well as by the fact that the New York Times published the work of an anonymous source."

She called for restoring the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government.

"The chaos represented by the op-ed is exactly why Ive been shouting from the rooftops that we need to adhere to Article 1 principles, restrict the powers of the White House and leave legislating to Congress," Love said.

Utahns are likely to have a "mixed response" to the op-ed, said Jason Perry, head of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics, with supporters dismissing it as "just more fake news from someone not even willing to put their name" on it.

Perry said the op-ed notes what it terms "bright spots" from the administration, including "effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military" that are important to many Utahns, along with conservative appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"There are some of those key issues that if they remain strong, people are willing to overlook a lot, even in Utah," he said, limiting the effect of the op-ed as well as Bob Woodward's new book, "Fear," about the Trump administration.

"I would not say that this op-ed or the Bob Woodward book would have no impact. It will have some impact," Perry said. "Mostly, it goes back to the pile of evidence people opposed to the administration have put together."

In the end, Perry said, no one will come out of the controversy looking very good.

"This is not a great reflection of what we are as a country," he said. "The allegations, whether they are true or not, are creating discord. Our elected officials, I think, have a responsiblity to try to bring more people together."

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jenny Wilson said she cant fathom Trump winning a second term because America cant take it anymore.

I think this administration is just in complete disarray. I think that we cant do anything to govern until change is made, the Salt Lake County councilwoman said.

Wilson said she doesnt think the op-ed is made up. She said theres enough evidence from Trumps unfiltered tweets and alarming and derogatory statements to show that.

Its clear to me its a true account of whats happening, she said.

On whether it would affect Trumps ability to govern, Wilson said, I think he is what impacts his ability to govern, or lack thereof, going forward.

Wilson said she'd like to hear how her Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, would "straddle" the issues raised by the op-ed.

Romney declined to comment, according to his campaign spokeswoman, MJ Henshaw.

Utah House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, called the op-ed unprecedented in the nations history in terms of the president and presidential power.

Its really alarming to me that we have people that close to the president who are knowingly and intentionally deceiving him, taking action that is designed to obfuscate and to impede and not being honest with him, King said.

What youre dealing with here is a civil war, within not just the executive branch, within the office of the presidency in a way that reveals a lot of troubling things," he said. "I dont care if youre a Trump supporter or a Trump hater."

Utah State University journalism professor Tom Terry said while he opposes the use of anonymous sources on principle, "there are extraordinary cases that may warrant it," to ensure the public has access to critical information.

"The New York Times knew it was going to get a lot of heat, but I guess in this case, I would support them doing it," Terry said of taking what he termed a "pretty extraordinary step" for a newspaper.

"Do I think it was, from a journalistic point of view, fulfilling the purposes of the First Amendment? I think they did the right thing," he said.

"Specifically, creating an informed populace."
WEST VALLEY CITY  Democrat Jenny Wilson has a lot of ground to make up in the U.S. Senate race against Republican Mitt Romney with just two months to go until Election Day and early voting starting in mid-October.

Wilson called a UtahPolicy.com poll released Thursday showing her trailing 55 percent to 29 percent "incredibly good news" because it has Romney "falling" and her "surging" compared to previous surveys. She said her campaign is calling voters every night and knocking on doors on Saturdays.

"What we probably need is a little more time. We're going to make up for that by taking our 18-hour days and maybe making them 19- or 20-hour days," she said.

A Utah Debate Commission poll that came out Wednesday has Romney with whopping 40-point lead over Wilson, 58-18.

Wilson held a news conference Thursday at a park next to the Jordan River Parkway Trail to tout her bipartisan work on Wasatch Front recreation areas, something she said Utah's all-GOP congressional delegation has neglected. She and Sandy City Councilman Chris McCandless created the Jordan River Commission to enhance and protect the river corridor.

McCandless, a Republican, said he has stood and continues to stand with Wilson on numerous issues.

"It's not about whose party we all belong to. It's about the American party and how we need to work together," he said, adding he has a Wilson sign in his yard and would do whatever he could to get her elected.

Wilson said she's frustrated with the federal government's unwillingness to address local recreational needs, including more funding for Utah's five national parks. She said the country needs a new generation of leaders to bring about change, including having a Democrat represent Utah.

"The federal government needs to step up. Our six-member delegation needs to put this at the front of their agenda, get something done. If we have balance in our delegation, we're going to make that change," she said.

The "pingpong challenge" over the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments is a failure of the state's Republican congressional delegation, Wilson said.

Wilson opposes President Donald Trump's order reducing the size of those monuments.

"I think it's in the best interest of Utah to maintain the pre-existing boundaries prior to Trump's election," she said.

Romney applauded Trump shrinking the two monuments and has said he would work to prevent "excessive" land grabs by presidents and federal bureaucrats. He also favors a rewrite of the Antiquities Act  the federal law that grants presidential authority to designate national monuments  to require state approval.
SALT LAKE CITY  Because of extremely high demand over the summer, Best Friends Animal Society says it is in critical need of donations of dry cat food for its pet food pantry.

Any size donation is appreciated, and food can be dropped off at Best Friends Pet Adoption Center, 2005 S. 1100 East.

So far this fiscal year, Best Friends says it has distributed 44,200 pounds of dry cat food and 34,400 pounds of dry dog food. The pantry has also distributed an additional 20,000 cans of pet food.

The pet food pantry provides high-quality pet food to the pets of low-income residents. To receive pet food from the pantry, Utah residents must show proof of low-income (food stamp card, Medicaid card or proof of participation in a low-income assistance program).

Due to high demand, qualifying low-income Utah residents who have pets may receive pet food once per quarter. Pantry hours are by request only.
SALT LAKE CITY  For the first time since 2005, Utah housing authorities will receive funding to provide additional "housing choice vouchers" to people with disabilities.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a total of $1.1 million to housing authorities throughout Utah to help people with disabilities to pay for housing, the department announced this week.

The program  Section 811 Mainstream Housing Choice Voucher Program  is limited to low-income, "non-elderly" disabled individuals between 18-62 years old, and is intended to reduce and prevent institutionalization and homelessness.

"A lot of times in the past, people have been forced to live in certain areas or institutions because of their disabilities," said HUD spokeswoman Christine Baumann. "This gives them more choice, allows them to choose their housing and still get the services they need. Vouchers are a great way to prevent homelessness, a way to intervene before it becomes a problem."

The funding will provide vouchers to 166 recipients, who can renew them each year as long as they are eligible, Baumann said. Recipients will pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, and the rest will be covered by the vouchers. They are able to choose from a number of private housing options, as long as the landlords accept the vouchers.

Housing authorities usually have waiting lists for the voucher program, Baumann added.

Baumann said the purpose of the program is to "make sure people aren't forced into living in places that might not be ideal for them."

Public housing agencies across the country will receive a total of $98.5 million in vouchers for the program, providing assistance to 12,000 people, the department announced Tuesday.

The Ogden Housing Authority will receive $147,787 in the form of 28 vouchers. Salt Lake County will receive 50 vouchers for $393,948. Salt Lake City will receive 35 vouchers for $270,833. Utah County will receive 28 vouchers for $200,495. Cedar City will receive 25 vouchers for $87,129.

In 2005, Baumann said, the program funded vouchers in Logan, Beaver and Cedar City.

"HUD is committed to making sure people with disabilities have a decent, safe and affordable place to call home," Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson said in the announcement. "Working closely with our local partners, we help residents with disabilities live independently and fully enjoy the use of their homes."
Ranbir Kapoor And Alia Bhatt Host President Ram Nath Kovind On The Sets Of Brahmastra In Bulgaria

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt had a surprise guest at the Sofia sets of the upcoming film Brahmastra in Bulgaria. President Ram Nath Kovind dropped in to meet the cast and crew of the Ayan Mukerji film along with Bulgarias President Rumen Radev .

The Presidents official Instagram handle shared two pictures and wrote: President Kovind and President Radev dropped in at the studio in Sofia where the Hindi film Brahmastra is being made. The Presidents met the Indo-Bulgarian crew and chatted about cinema as a business and cultural link between the two countries @aliaabhatt.

#PresidentKovind and President Radev dropped in at the studio in Sofia where the Hindi film Brahmastra is being made. The Presidents met the Indo-Bulgarian crew and chatted about cinema as a business and cultural link between the two countries pic.twitter.com/8ApZq1gEJA  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 5, 2018

President Kovind is on a three-day state visit of Europe.

President Kovind and Bulgarian president interacted with the lead cast, director and Indo-European crew and enquired about cultural ties and business. The team has been stationed in that country for close to a month now. Ranbir and Ayan have been sharing pictures of other cast members on Instagram and sharing their lives with their fans. Though, Ranbir has been clicking the pictures mentioned, many of them are shared by his girlfriend Alia. In fact, the first feelers of a budding romance between the two come from the time the Brahmastra team was stationed in Israel for the films shoot. Some time back Amitabh Bachchan and Telugu superstar Nagarjuna were also present in Bulgaria for the shoots.

Meanwhile, the film which is said to be a supernatural thriller, is a trilogy produced by Karan Johar. The film has already completed two schedules of shooting.

On work front, both Alia and Ranbir remain as busy as ever--while she has her hands full with films like Kalank and Takht, both Karan Johar presentations, Ranbir has Shamshera with YRF.

On their relationship front, while much was speculated for a long time, in a GQ interview in May, Ranbir set the record straight by declaring that he was indeed in a relationship with Alia but because it was in its early, he didnt want to speak much. Alia has, however, not spoken about it clear terms. However, she have the backing of almost all who matter. Rishi Kapoor had recently told the press that with regard to Alia Ranbir likes her, Neetu likes her, I like her... get it?

Ranbir, speaking to Hindustan Times, had said, I have always believed that marriage is something that will happen naturally. It cant be like, Okay, I am 35 now, so its time to get married. It should come to you and your partner naturally and you should both feel, This is the right phase. Now, we should take this relationship to the next level. But abhi aisi koi baat nai hai. I havent decided on marriage yet.
Shahid Kapoor Welcomes His Second Child And It's A Boy; Celebrations On The Cards For The Kapoor Family

Actor Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput have been blessed with a baby boy. The couple has welcomed a new member to their family.

It was at Hinduja Hospital in a Mumbai suburb that Mira Rajput delivered a baby boy. A famous journalist confirmed the news on Twitter. The adorable duo Shahid and Mira had earlier announced her pregnancy in the most adorable way on social media. They had shared a photo of daughter Misha Kapoor with 'Big Sister' written next to it.

Bela Rajput, Miras mother was clicked in all her excitement and frenzy just after she had visited herr beloved daughter and was exiting from the hospital just a few hours ago. Shahid Kapoor's mother Neelima Azim and brother Ishaan Khatter also visited the couple at the hospital.

Shahid and Mira are extremely happy with the birth of their second child. Shahid Kapoor's fans also congratulated the couple on the birth of their son. Shahid Kapoor had said yesterday at the promotions of his film Batti Gul Meter Chalu that he is expecting a call at any moment as Mira Rajput is due this week.

Take a look -
Thai operator dtac could launch a legal challenge against the countrys regulator if it is prevented from using the 850MHz spectrum band following the expiration of its concession with CAT Telecom on 15th September.

dtac has asked the NBTC (National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission) for indefinite permission to continue delivering services over the 2G spectrum while it transfers its customers onto different networks, in line with the terms of its concession with CAT.

However, the Bangkok Post reports that this is unlikely to be granted, as the regulator could be accused of giving preferential treatment to dtac by its main rivals AIS and True Move. This could result in either of them filing lawsuits of their own against NBTC.

In July this year, the NBTC offered dtac an extension to its concession on the condition that it lodged a bid in the upcoming 900MHz spectrum auction; however, dtac declined the proposal, which resulted in the NBTC scrapping the sale as no other operators were keen to bid.

All of dtacs 21 million subscribers could have their service interrupted if the operator is prevented from using its 850MHz network, as it uses the spectrum to enable roaming onto rival networks. The operator  Thailands third largest  delivers services to around 380,000 subscribers on its 850MHz network.

The only two blocks of spectrum sold in Thailands recent sale of 4G spectrum were acquired by dtac and market leader AIS. Both operators paid THB12.5 billion ($375 million) for a 10MHz block of 1.8MHz spectrum.
Xiaomi has begun the process of transferring Indian customer data to cloud servers housed within the country.

The Chinese device manufacturer confirmed that user data generated across all of its services available in India will be migrated onto domestic Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure infrastructure by year-end. This includes data related to its e-commerce platform.

Data generated since 1st July this year is already being stored locally, while Xiaomis backlog of Indian user data will be transferred from AWS servers located in Singapore and the US, with the process expected to complete by the middle of September.

Xiaomi India MD Manu Jain said: We are taking one more step towards user data security and privacy by bringing our cloud services to India for all local data needs. With the data stored locally and encrypted end to end, users will be able to enjoy greater access speeds.

The move was prompted following stipulations made in Indias new data protection law, which is currently being finalised by the government, that call for all data generated within India to be stored locally. This requirement will also be extended to the e-commerce and digital payments industries.

Xiaomi will be keen to comply as India becomes increasingly important to its bottom line. Q2 2018 was the vendors best ever in India, with 9.9 million devices sold - a 106% year-on-year increase in shipments, according to Canalys. This brings it level with Samsung, which sold the same number of handsets over the quarter.
Google has announced a new, bery useful search engine named Dataset Search for scientists, data journalists and essentially anyone that relies on datasets for their work. The new search engine is said to enable easy access to the thousands of data repositories on the internet, providing access to millions of datasets that also contains information from local and national governments around the world. The new will work in the same manner as Google Scholar, which is the companys dedicated search engine for academic studies and reports. Google states in its blog post, Dataset Search lets you find datasets wherever theyre hosted, whether its a publisher's site, a digital library, or an author's personal web page.

In order to create the new Dataset search engine, Google developed guidelines for dataset providers to describe their Meta data in a way that Google and other search engines can better understand and serve online. Stating an overview of the guidelines, Natasha Noy, a Research Scientist at Google AI, says, These guidelines include salient information about datasets: who created the dataset, when it was published, how the data was collected, what the terms are for using the data, etc. We then collect and link this information, analyze where different versions of the same dataset might be, and find publications that may be describing or discussing the dataset.

Google's Dataset search works in multiple languages and the company will soon add support for more languages. Google has also encouraged all large and small dataset providers to adopt to the open standard set by Schema.org so that maximum datasets can be crawled by the search engine. One will be able to find references to most datasets in environmental and social sciences, along with data from other sources like the government and news organizations like ProPublica.
Tampering with benchmarks isnt something new. A few manufacturers in the past have been caught doing it. It is nice to see a benchmark mathematically represent real world usage, but lets face it, with the number of manufacturers optimising their devices for benchmarks, it is hard to derive real world performance from them. In the recent past when we at Digit get smartphones under embargo to review, benchmark access on these devices is blocked. We would like to believe that it is because these manufacturers dont want their devices to be revealed through benchmark listings, but I guess thats innocent wishful thinking. In a conversation with AnandTech Huawei official confirmed that it is using benchmark detection software to display the best possible results on the smartphone. The company says it is doing this to stay relevant to its competitors.

To quote AnandTech, A single benchmark number, stated Huaweis team, does not show the full experience. We also discussed the validity of the current set of benchmarks, and the need for standardized benchmarks. Dr. Wang expressed his preference for a standardized benchmark that is more like the user experience, and they want to be a part of any movement towards such a benchmark, Dr Wang Chenglu is the President of Software at Huaweis Consumer Business Group.

During the interaction, the Chinese smartphone maker has said that it has been working with industry partners for over a year. This is to find the best tests that closely represents a real-world user experience. Dr. Wang also expresses that in relation to gaming benchmarking that others do the same testing, get high scores, and Huawei cannot stay silent.

It is nice to see Huawei admitting to AnandTech that it is using benchmark detectors to stay relevant when compared to the competition, but there need to be some work done from the benchmark software makers to counter the tactics used by manufacturers. We have already seen the faking of camera samples by a lot of manufacturers, so it is hard to rely on the information given during a press briefing when a product is launched. Even if a manufacturer wants to tout some incredible capabilities of a smartphone, wolf has been cried too many times for us to take the information at face value.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 11:31PM

by Sean McGovern

The end of summer is an annual tragedy, but at least it means that you don't have to go to the cinema just for the air conditioning. With Venice ongoing and TIFF beginning tomorrow (Chris & Nathaniel are already on the ground), Film Festival Season (and by extension, Awards Season!) is well and truly upon us. Arrving in early October for the 62nd time is the London Film Festival, the biggest one on my calendar and the one closest to my house. Amongst the glitzy galas and special presentations is a stellar programme and not just because I played a small part in programming the shorts this year.

Something that excites me in particular is the impressive lineup of the films in the Documentary Competition. And since I haven't got to see them yet, join in my excitement in a preview of some the titles, some of which are opening soon in the USA...

BISBEE '17 (dir. Robert Greene, USA) [Glenn's Review]

[Opening today in NYC] From the director of Kate Plays Christine, Robert Greene investigates the mysterious tragedy of a small American mining town, which one hundred years previously, had 1200 migrant workers rounded up and left to die in the desert...

DREAM AWAY (dirs. Marouan Omara, Johanna Domke; Germany-Egypt-Qatar)

A hybrid documentary set in the formerly popular Egyptian holiday destination of Sharm El Sheikh, which examines a country living well in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Holiday workers hang around, DJs play to empty clubs. And the workers reveal their feelings to a monkey that travels around by truck?

THE RAFT (dir. Marcus Lindeen, Sweden)

The story of a 1970s social experiment, referred to with some salacious dismissal as "The Sex Raft." Five men and six women drifted across the Atlantic for three months, where only women would occupy the positions of power and decision-making onboard. If social engineering is your thing (and it may be mine) then this one will definitely pique your interest.

PUTIN'S WITNESSES (dir. Vitaly Mansky, Latvia-Switzerland-Czech Republic)

A very me documentary. Rare footage from the 1999 Russian election campaign, as Boris Yeltsin makes his way out and a relatively unknown former KGB agent named Vladimir Putin becomes Prime Minister. Featuring interviews and personal testaments from the people who watched Putin's ascendance, as well as reflections from the director on this time of tremendous change and the then-unknown consequences.

WHAT YOU GONNA DO WHEN THE WORLD'S ON FIRE? (dir. Roberto Minervini, Italy-USA-France)

Timely, relevant and painfully familiar story of a community in pain, following the killing of unarmed black man Alton Sterling at the hands of two white police officers. Director Minervini focuses his lens on members of Sterling's community, united in their anger, processing a tragedy that repeats over and over in contemporary America.

The BFI London Film Festival runs from October 11-21 Have a look at the full line-up of titles in the Documentary Competition.
The Xiaomi Poco F1 (review) has a nasty surprise. Despite having a Full HD display, it doesnt let you stream high definition content over Netflix or Amazon Prime. The information came in last week when a blog called Android Pure noticed Netflix videos dont have the HD sign on top of the content it presents in that quality. The story, unfortunately, is not a new one. It was similar to what was found in the OnePlus 5 and 5T last year. The problem gets further compounded because the fix isnt as simple as sending a new OTA update. OnePlus had to recall the units back to apply the required certification to allow HD streaming. Upon investigating, it became clear that most (if not all) Xiaomi devices cannot play HD content from these streaming services. The Mi Mix 2, the Mi A2, the Redmi Note 5 Pro, the Mi 5, even though all of them have the displays to support full HD videos. What is the issue then?

Understanding Widevine DRM standards

The underlying issue here is a lack of certification. Turns out, Netflix and other streaming sites rely on a Digital Rights Management (DRM) encryption scheme made by Google themselves called Widevine. This is to prevent piracy and unauthorised distribution of the content. It is one of industrys oldest DRM standards and is estimated to have been installed in around 4 billion devices. Widevine enforces the standards through three levels  L1, L2 and L3. In order to stream Netflix or Amazon Prime content in HD, a smartphone needs the L1 certification.

Widevine uses a combination of CENC encryption, adaptive streaming quality and licensing key exchange to protect the content from being pirated. In order to meet the L1 standards, the device has to do all that within the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) of the processor. All Cortex-A based chipsets have this in the name of TrustZone that creates the necessary hardware separation allowing Android to create a TEE for DRM. L2 requires only the licensing key exchange to happen within the trusted zone and not the video processing. While L3 is certified to devices that either doesn't have a TEE or when everything is done outside the secure layer.

Interestingly, there is no license fee to implement the technology. Google gives away the certification for free. As a result, it's not cost-cutting that prevented Poco from getting the L1 certificate.

Hardware makers need to pass a certification process that includes multiple legal agreements, software libraries, and testing to verify support to third parties. In fact, it's a streamlined process as almost all chipsets have the required technology to implement it. It's unclear why Xiaomi doesn't have L1 certification on all their devices.

However, since the L1 certification requires the trusted environment to be activated, it cannot be fixed via an OTA update. Thats why OnePlus had to recall the devices. In case of Poco, well we dont have an answer and neither does Poco or Xiaomi. We reached out to the company (Xiaomi and Poco) with a detailed questionnaire and they refused to comment in an official capacity.

Interestingly, its not just the Poco F1 that cant stream content in high definition. Turns out, all the Xiaomi devices we looked into didnt meet the required standards. The list of devices we tested are as follows:

Smartphone Price Widevine L1 certificate Widevine L3 certificate Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Rs 10,999  Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro Rs 16,399  Xiaomi Mi A2 Rs 16,999  Xiaomi Mi A1 Rs 14,999  Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 Rs 28,999  Xiaomi Mi Max 2 Rs 14,999  Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro Rs 10,999  Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 Rs 14,999  Asus Zenfone 5z Rs 29,999  Honor 9N Rs 11,999  Honor Play Rs 19,999  Honor 10 Rs 32,999  Huawei Nova 3i Rs 20,990  Huawei P20 Lite Rs 19,999  LG G7 ThinQ Rs 39,990  OnePlus 6 Rs 34,999 

None of these devices have the required certification. Furthermore, most other Honor phones also didnt meet the necessary standards. The Honor Play, Honor 9N, Honor 10, and the Honor 9 Lite also didnt have the L1 certificate. This means, its not just Xiaomi thats locking out HD streaming experience, its other OEMs too. That said, phones likes the Nokia 6.1 Plus, Asus Zenfone 5z, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, LG G7+ ThinQ and the OnePlus 6 all had the required certification. Even Huaweis P20 Lite and the Nova 3i has the ability to stream HD content.

What could be the case for this fragmentation?

I learnt that when the devices were conceptualised, Xiaomi didnt consider the fact that people would demand the ability to stream HD content. Which is why the company didnt spend resources to do the necessary implementation and testing to meet Widevines L1 standards. This isnt an official response and is based on a conversation I had with a Xiaomi employee at the sidelines of Wednesdays Redmi 6 series launch in New Delhi. Frankly, it seems like Xiaomi is misleading its users. On one hand, the company is making devices with full HD resolution displays, but on the other hand, users are prevented from making full use of it.

Even while reviewing these devices, we took for granted that since a phone has a high-resolution display, it will automatically stream content in that resolution, which is why it went unnoticed during our testing for so long.

The fact of the matter is that as a consumer, youre losing out. Despite having a display that supports high-resolution content, OEMs are not allowing you to watch them over the internet. In a country like India which is undergoing a bandwidth and content boom, it certainly raises a lot of eyebrows. Thanks to Reliance Jio, high-speed data is more affordable than ever and streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime are pouring money to grab a larger share of the mobile-first market. In such a situation, can the countrys number 1 brand afford to devoid its users of something they paid for?

Whether Xiaomi will issue a fix is not known as of now. Even without the required certification, the Poco F1 and most other Xiaomi devices are considered good value for money for the features and the hardware they offer. Unless youre going to rely solely on your phone for your streaming needs, the absent certification shouldnt be a deterrent in buying the phone. The Poco F1, with all its weaknesses and issues, is still the cheapest Snapdragon 845-powered phone and is a beast when it comes to gaming.
The rumoured Nokia 9 is said to be one of the most anticipated smartphones to launch in 2018. Previous reports have tipped at 41MP triple camera setup on the back of the phone but a new image of the alleged Nokia 9 has surfaced on the internet apparently flaunting a 5-camera setup on the back panel. The image was leaked by Slashleaks and shows a device with six camera-like cutouts and Nokia branding on the back panel of the smartphone.

Several follow-up reports have claimed that out of the six cut-outs, five are for the cameras, of which three feature Carl Zeiss optics. Not much is known about the other two cameras. The sixth cut-out is said to be for the LED flash. Also, there is an Android One branding at the bottom of the back panel.

Back in April, Slashleaks leaked the alleged specifications of the rumoured Nokia 9 along with an image of the phone. At that time, the image that was leaked showed three rear cameras similar to the Huawei P20 Pro. As per the older report, the Nokia 9 could be equipped with a 41MP primary wide-angle camera, a 20MP secondary telephoto lens and a 9.7MP monochrome camera with ZEISS optics. The main camera could come with 4x optical zoom support and an LED flash, and the device might feature a 21MP sensor on the front.

In January, however, a report claimed that it will be the Nokia 10 that will carry a penta-lens camera setup. The report noted that the Nokia 10 will go into mass production by mid-2018, but will be unveiled in the first half of 2019. It was also speculated that the company will showcase a prototype of the penta lens smartphone at MWC 2018 and launch it at IFA 2018, however that did not happen. We will have to wait until the company officially announces any development in this space.

Photo Courtesy: SlashLeaks
US, India seal military communications pact

India and the United States today signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that, both countries said, will facilitate access to advanced defence systems and enable India to optimally utilise its existing US-origin platforms.

The pact was signed after the first round of their 2+2 bilateral talks between US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The ministers also announced their readiness to begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support closer defence industry cooperation and collaboration.

Recognising their rapidly growing military-to-military ties, the two countries committed to the creation of a new, tri-services exercise and to further increase personnel exchanges between the two militaries and defence organisations.

India and the United States also agreed to open a hotline between their foreign heads. The momentum in our defence partnership has imbued a tremendous positive energy that has elevated India-U.S. relations to unprecedented heights, Sitharaman said.

The ministers reviewed the recent growth of bilateral engagements in support of maritime security and maritime domain awareness and committed to expand cooperation. Toward that end, the ministers committed to start exchanges between the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy, underscoring the importance of deepening their maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean.

Acknowledging the unique role of technology in the India-US defence partnership, the ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continue to encourage and prioritise co-production and co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) and to pursue other avenues of defense innovation cooperation. In this regard, they welcomed the conclusion of a memorandum of intent between the US Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organisation  Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX).

Welcoming the expansion of bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation, the ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters. They committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and FATF. They reaffirmed their support for a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.

The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region and called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries. On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri and other cross-border terrorist attacks.

The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates. The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber-attacks.

The two countries have drawn closer in recent years, seeking ways to counter-balance Chinas spreading influence across Asia, notably in Pakistan, Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Before coming to India, Pompeo held talks in Islamabad with Pakistans new government and generals, aiming to smooth over tensions after President Donald Trump took a tough new line towards Pakistan over longstanding accusations it is not doing enough to root out Afghan Taliban fighters on its territory.

The presence of US troops in Afghanistan has heightened US sensitivity to the rivalry between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Washington and New Delhi share concerns over Pakistan-based anti-Western and anti-Indian Islamist militant groups.

The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) had been stalled for years because of Indias concerns that it would open up its communications network to the US military.

Indo-Pacific and beyond

The ministers reviewed cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, noting that the common principles for the region articulated in the India-US Joint Statement of June 2017 have been further amplified by President Donald Trump at Danang, Vietnam on 10 November 2017 and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue on 1 June 2018. Both sides committed to work together and in concert with other partners toward advancing a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, based on recognition of ASEAN centrality and on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law, good governance, free and fair trade, and freedom of navigation and overflight.

Noting the importance of infrastructure and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region, both sides emphasised the need to work collectively with other partner countries to support transparent, responsible and sustainable debt financing practices in infrastructure development.

The ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable, prosperous, and peaceful Afghanistan. The two sides expressed support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. The United States acknowledged Indias longstanding and ongoing contributions of economic assistance to Afghanistan and also welcomed Indias enhanced role in Afghanistans development and stabilization.

India welcomed the recent US-North Korea summit. The two sides pledged to work together to counter North Koreas weapons of mass destruction programmes and to hold accountable those countries that have supported them.

The United States welcomed Indias accession to the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement, and the Missile Technology Control Regime and reiterated its full support for Indias immediate accession to the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Experts believe the signing of the COMCASA agreement could also reduce the chances of the United States imposing sanctions on India for looking to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.

The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, under which any country engaged with its defence and intelligence sectors could face secondary US sanctions.

However, a new defence bill proposes giving the US president authority to grant waivers when national security interests are at stake.

Joseph Felter, deputy assistant secretary of defence for South and Southeast Asia, said the issue of a potential S-400 purchase by India did not come up during talks. Later, Pompeo told reporters the United States was not seeking to punish India for its proposed purchase.

The United States is also pushing countries to halt oil imports from Iran after Trump withdrew from a 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers that was intended to stall Tehrans developing nuclear capabilities.

India is Irans top oil buyer after China, and it is seeking a waiver from the United States.

Ahead of the talks in New Delhi, a senior US State Department official said the United States was engaged in very detailed conversations with India over Washingtons request to completely stop Indias oil imports from Iran.

Were asking all of our partners, not just India, to reduce to zero oil imports from Iran and so Im confident that will be part of our conversation with India, the official told reporters accompanying Pompeo.

People-to-people ties

The ministers recognised the importance and the potential for increasing bilateral trade, investment, innovation and job creation in both countries. Both sides committed to further expanding and balancing the trade and economic partnership consistent with their leaders 2017 joint statement, including by facilitating trade, improving market access, and addressing issues of interest to both sides. In this regard, both sides welcomed the ongoing exchanges between the ministry of commerce of India and the office of the United States trade representative and hoped for mutually acceptable outcomes.

Both sides looked forward to full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India.

Observing the strong ties of family, education and business and the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation that unite their people, the ministers highlighted the unmatched people-to-people ties between their countries and recognised the benefits to both nations and the world from these ties, including the free flow of ideas and collaboration in health, space, oceans and other areas of science and technology.

The next 2+2 meeting is to be held in the United States in 2019.
Farmers' march on Delhi as opposition targets Modi

Thousands of farmers and labourers staged protest against what they called the anti-people policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modis government in New Delhi on Wednesday as opposition parties stepped up anti-government shows ahead of key elections.

They are protesting a fall in commodity prices that have fallen from record highs amidst stagnant wages, even as rising fuel prices continue to dent Modis popularity.

Opposition is trying to whip up discontent in rural areas, which home to about two-thirds of Indias 1.3 billion population, in order to secure a majority in the coming elections and deny Modi a second term.

Protesters, wearing red caps and waving red flags, marched towards Parliament Street in the heart of the capital, blocking traffic in many parts of central Delhi.

Modis policies are generally seen in rural areas as promoting jobless growth as the government has failed to deliver on the election promise of millions of new jobs for the young.

Opposition is now clinging to that vow as they try to win over the rural votes, especially with elections due in three major states this year.

The opposition-sponsored protesters are demanding more jobs, better wages, better prices for farm produce, end to privatisation, a halt to labour law changes, among others, as the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which led the protest near parliament, said in a Tweet.

Only an alliance of Indias working class and its peasants could help defeat a fascistic onslaught, said one of the partys leaders, Surjya Kanta Mishra.

The Congress party said it supported the fight back by farmers and that it is with other opposition parties in taking on the prime minister.

Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Twitter that the government was putting farmers first and working on initiatives such as easy credit to help meet Modis target of doubling their income by 2022.

The government had in July sharply hiked support prices for summer crops, including rice, after low, single-digit hikes during the previous few years.

Wednesdays protesters, who arrived in buses and trains from far off places across the nation, seemed not to agree with governments efforts.
Supreme Court makes homosexuality legal

The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment partially struck down Section 377 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) that criminalised homosexuality.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court today unanimously pronounced the verdict striking down part Section 377 of the 158-year-old law which criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra comprising Rohinton Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra pronounced the verdict.

While pronouncing the verdict, CJI Misra said, "Sans identity the name only remains a plain factor. Emphasis is laid on the identity of a person. The sustenance of identity is the pillar of life."

"I am what I am so take me as I am. No one can escape who they are, said CJI.

Calling the Section 377 irrational and arbitrary, the CJI also said that the LGBTQ community enjoys same rights as other citizens under the Constitution.

The apex court also said that the judgment will be considered in all pending prosecutions.

"Denial of self-expression is like death. Social morality cannot violate the rights of even one single individual. Sexual orientation is natural and people have no control on it," Misra added.

He also said that any discrimination on basis of sexual orientation amounts to a violation of fundamental rights.

The apex court, however, said other aspects of Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children shall remain in force.

Justice Nariman in his concurring judgements said that homosexuality was not a mental disorder or a disease.

"Persons who are homosexual have a fundamental right to live with dignity," Nariman said.

"Centre must give wide publicity of its verdict to put to end the social stigma associated with homosexuality," he added.

Saying that individual liberty is the soul of the constitution, Justice DY Chandrachud observed, "Section 377 is a colonial legacy and it continued in the law book even after independence."

Justice Indu Malhotra, in her judgement, said, "LGBT deserves protection of law and not punishment."

"Society owes an apology to the LGBTQ community for the years of stigma imposed on them and being denied equal rights," she added.

The apex court also said that the above verdict is just the first step in decriminalising the Section 377.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional.

The issue was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001.

The Delhi High Court had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal".

This high court judgement was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals, including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

India now is among the group of countries that includes as Australia, The Netherlands, US, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Portugal, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, France, Brazil, England, Scotland, Finland, Luxembourg, Ireland, Greenland, Columbia, New Zealand, Germany and Malta, where gay sex is legal.
Greener growth could add $26 trn to world economy by 2030: report

Concerted action supporting greener growth and policies to combat climate change could make the world richer by at least $26 trillion by 2030, according to a study released on Wednesday.

A major report released by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate finds that we are significantly under-estimating the benefits of cleaner, climate-smart growth. Bold climate action could deliver at least $26 trillion in economic benefits through to 2030, compared with business-as-usual.

The findings are in stark contrast with claims made by entrenched interests that a shift away from fossil fuels will undermine growth.

Chances are that disruptive growth will undermine the fossil fuel industry and a whole lot of industries attuned to the fossil fuel industry. The combustion engine that currently drives automobiles would be the first calamity in a wholesale shift to renewable fuels, mainly electricity.

The report finds that over the last decade there has been tremendous technological and market progress driving the shift to a new climate economy. There are real benefits to be seen in terms of new jobs, economic savings, competitiveness and market opportunities, and improved wellbeing for people worldwide. Momentum is building behind this shift by a wide range of cities, governments, businesses, investors and others around the world, but it is not yet fast enough, says the report.

We are at a unique use it or lose it moment, said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria and co-chair of the Global Commission. Policy makers should take their feet off the brakes, send a clear signal that the new growth story is here and that it comes with exciting economic and market opportunities - $26 trillion and a more sustainable planet are on offer, if we act decisively now.

Unlocking the Inclusive Growth Story of the 21st Century was presented to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday at a global launch at UN headquarters in New York City. The report arrives just one week before the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco.

The momentum from businesses, states, cities, investors and citizens is now unstoppable, not least because those taking bold climate action are already seeing tangible benefits, said Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever and co-chair of the Global Commission. But if we are to unlock the full benefits of this new low carbon growth opportunity and avoid runaway climate change, economic and financial leaders in both government and the private sector need to do even more, and fast.

The Report highlights opportunities in five key economic systems  energy, cities, food and land use, water, and industry. It demonstrates that ambitious action across these systems could deliver net economic gains compared with business-as-usual and:

Generate over 65 million new low-carbon jobs in 2030, equivalent to today's entire workforces of the UK and Egypt combined;

Avoid over 700,000 premature deaths from air pollution in 2030; and

Generate, through just subsidy reform and carbon pricing, an estimated $2.8 trillion in government revenues per year in 2030 - equivalent to the total GDP of India today - funds that can be used to invest in other public priorities or reduce distorting taxes.

We can now see that this new growth story embodies very powerful dynamics: innovation, learning-by-doing, and economies of scale. Further, it offers us the very attractive combination of cities where we can move, breathe, and be productive; sustainable infrastructure that is not only clean and efficient, but also withstands increasingly frequent and severe climate extremes; and ecosystems that are more productive, robust, and resilient, said Lord Nicholas Stern, I G Patel Professor of Economics and Government at the LSE and co-chair of the Global Commission. Current economic models fail to capture both the powerful dynamics and the very attractive qualities of new technologies and structures. Thus we know we are grossly underestimating the benefits of this new growth story. And further, it becomes ever more clear that the risks of the damage from climate change are immense and tipping points and irreversibilities getting ever closer.

The Global Commission calls on governments, business, and finance leaders to urgently prioritise actions on four fronts over the next 2-3 years:

Ramp up efforts on carbon pricing and move to mandatory disclosure of climate-related financial risks;

Accelerate investment in sustainable infrastructure;

Harness the power of the private sector and unleash innovation; and

Build a people-centred approach that shares the gains equitably and ensures that the transition is just.

The purpose of this Report is to demonstrate how to accelerate the shift to this new growth path, said Helen Mountford, Programme Director of the New Climate Economy and lead author of the report. It lays out the benefits of doing so, the challenges ahead, and the clear accelerators or actions that can be taken to fully reap the rewards of stronger, cleaner, and more equitable growth.

This is more than just a report. It is a manifesto for how we can turn better growth and a better climate into reality. It is time we decisively legislate, innovate, govern, and invest our way to a fairer, safer, more sustainable world, said former President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, honorary chair of the Commission.

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate, and its flagship project the New Climate Economy, were set up to help governments, businesses and society make better-informed decisions on how to achieve economic prosperity and development while also addressing climate change.
Donegal members of the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) have launched an anti-drugs awareness campaign in partnership with An Garda Siochana.

The new campaign will see posters appearing in all VFI pubs in the county alerting the public to the use of illegal drugs.

The poster provides a Garda phone number to call if customers see any suspicious behaviour.

According to VFI Donegal Chairman Martin Gibbons, the consumption of illegal drugs is an ongoing problem.

Safe

He said: We want our pubs to be as safe and welcoming as possible for our customers but unfortunately we have a significant issue with people using illegal drugs. The new campaign is designed to inform customers that we have a zero-tolerance policy towards drug taking in our pubs and if they spot any suspicious activity they should phone the number on the poster.

Mr. Gibbons added: This Garda campaign has the full support of publicans and were delighted to be facilitating the posters in our pubs.

Donegal pubs are famous for their hospitality and we want to ensure that continues to be the case. The message this campaign sends out is clear - there is no welcome for drug taking in our pubs.

The Garda confidential phone number is: 087 067 5529
All that is good about Donegal food will be showcased at a special event in Harveys Point next week when some of the most talented chefs in Donegal, food suppliers and trade representatives will be joined by guest food writers and bloggers at the first ever Donegal Signature Dish event.

Fresh Local Produce

The event which is being hosted by Donegal County Council in association with Donegal Tourism is about celebrating Donegal food and fresh local produce and is a great opportunity to promote Donegal food and people who champion it  chefs, restaurants, suppliers and artisan producers.

Signature dishes

Restaurants across the county were invited earlier this year and encouraged to submit their signature dishes, which would then undergo a selection to form a menu for the event. The dishes had to consist of Donegal sourced ingredients and feature on the current or seasonal menu.

Ten dishes

The final tasting menu is a balanced selection of ten dishes from around the county; those dishes will be served on the night and each chef will also have an opportunity to share the story behind the dish with the audience.

The Head of Tourism Unit, Donegal County Council, Barney Mc Laughlin said: "We are delighted that the chefs in the county have risen to the challenge to participate in this exciting event. This is not a competition but an opportunity to showcase the best that the county has to offer; its about working together to promote quality food in Donegal and send a message out to our local people, guests and visitors that Donegal does food well. We are delighted to be joined on the night by food writers, bloggers, well-known chefs and local representatives from the food sector who are among the invited guests.

Host

Well known Donegal Chef and the new owner of the Foyle Hotel in Moville Brian McDermott will be the guest host for the evening and the following chefs will be cooking their dishes on the night and represent their establishments:

Chef Gary McPeake - McGrorys Hotel, Culdaff

Chef Christopher Molloy - Lemon Tree Restaurant, Letterkenny

Chef Anthony Armstrong  Nesbitt Arms Hotel, Ardara

Chefs Chris McMenamin and Colin McKee  Harveys Point Hotel, Donegal Town

Chef Paul Brady  Castle Grove Country House, Letterkenny

Chef Marco Letterese  The Olde Castle Bar, Donegal Town

Chef Ian Orr  Browns on the Green, Letterkenny

Chef Brian McMonagle  Arnolds Hotel, Dunfanaghy

Chef Karl Murtagh  The Silver Tassie Hotel & Spa, Letterkenny

Chefs Joe & Brenda OHora  Benny & Co, Ballybofey
However, the sales numbers of various models is a bit low this time when we take the list of best-selling cars in July 2018. This is primarily due to the heavy floods which recently occurred in Kerala.

That said, here are the top-selling cars of August 2018!

Rank Model Sales Figures 1 Maruti Alto 22237 2 Maruti Dzire

21990 3 Maruti Swift 19115 4 Maruti Baleno 17713 5 Maruti WagonR 13658 6 Maruti Vitara Brezza 13271 7 Hyundai Grand i10 11489 8 Hyundai Elite i20 11475 9 Hyundai Creta 10394 10 Honda Amaze 9644

You can click on the respective headlines to know more about each car.

The Maruti Alto has always been a big seller in the Indian automotive market and shares its roots with the legendary Maruti 800. The Alto is one of the best budget hatchbacks on the market and features all the basic essentials on the inside. The Maruti Alto is also available with a 1.0-litre engine and is dubbed as the Alto K10. The car has been on the market for more than 15 years and still remains as a favourite across the country.

The Maruti Dzire is the most popular compact-sedan on the market right now. Sales for the new Dzire is going strong in both passenger and taxi segment (as the Dzire Tour). The new Maruti Dzire comes with enough features put together in an elegant package. Based on the new Maruti Swift, the Dzire is available in both petrol and diesel formats, mated to either a 5-speed manual or an automatic transmission.

The Maruti Swift is a good-looking car and is titled as the most loved hatchback in India'. The Swift is currently in its third iteration and features a lot of new updates and improvements over the previous models. The new Maruti Swift also features an automatic transmission for the first time, in both petrol and diesel variants. Compared to its compact-sedan cousin  Dzire  the Swift offers a sportier interior design.

The Maruti Baleno is a premium hatchback offering from the Indian company and is sold exclusively through Maruti's Nexa outlets. Aimed to be a global model, the Maruti Baleno has got a well-put dashboard and lots of space on the inside. The Baleno is also available in performance-focussed RS format. The Baleno RS comes with a 1.0-litre Boosterjet petrol engine and some sporty styling bits.

The Maruti WagonR is a popular choice in urban areas due to its compact horizontal dimensions. The unique tall boy' design makes the WagonR an ideal for choice for taller individuals looking forward to buying a small car. The WagonR has been on the market since a long time ago and comes with all the basic features you would expect. The new WagonR Stingray features projector headlamps too.

The Maruti Vitara Brezza, being a sub-four-metre compact-SUV, does the job of a hatchback and a soft off-roader really well. The Maruti Brezza is currently available only in a diesel format though chances of getting a petrol variant soon are not bleak. The Maruti Brezza can also be opted with an AMT gearbox and this particular variant accounts to a good proportion of the overall sales figure.

The Hyundai Grand i10 is a good offering in the sub-six-lakh category of cars on the Indian market. In Hyundai's product portfolio, the Grand i10 perfectly fills the gap between the entry-level Eon and the premium Elite i20. The car has gone through one facelift and is a nice-looking product. The latest Hyundai Grand i10 offers a lot of features on the inside and the new LED DRLs on the exterior adds more character to the car.

The Hyundai Elite i20 is a premium hatchback from the South Korean automotive brand in India. The latest Elite i20 was launched at Auto Expo 2018 and it brought along some much-needed updates to the older model. The Elite i20 features Hyundai's Fluidic design approach and is a good-looking car overall. The original Hyundai i20  successor to the old Getz  is one of the first cars in India to popularise the premium hatchback segment.

The Hyundai Creta, yet another Korean product on the list, is currently in its second iteration. The facelifted Creta brings both cosmetic and equipment updates when compared to the old model while also being available in three engine choices: 1.4-litre diesel, 1.6-litre diesel and 1.6-litre petrol. The new Hyundai Creta showcases a design in line with the other products from the brand and is one of the best-looking SUVs on the market.

The Honda Amaze got a complete overhaul recently and is a strong player in the compact-sedan market. The Amaze comes in both petrol and diesel engine formats (both good performers) while the option for a 7-step CVT is also available. In fact, the Honda Amaze i-DTEC is the first and only car in India to come with a diesel-CVT combo. Though the aesthetics of the Honda Amaze is questionable, the new model offers better interior space than the previous model.

Verdict

Maruti Suzuki has always been at the very forefront when it comes to clocking high sales and will always be like that in the months to come. It is a herculean task for other manufacturers to overtake Maruti in sales but Hyundai seems to be catching up consistently. On the other hand, Honda Cars India is also getting into the picture.
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Business is booming for local husband and wife Tom and Nicola Grills. The former hedge fund manager and primary school teacher respectively, launched their product, Sixling Gin a mere two weeks ago and it is already being stocked behind 21 bars across the town. It's all down to the passion, dedication and hard graft the Dundalk duo have put in to launch their exciting new business venture.

We couldn't have gotten off to a better start. The reaction has been so positive. Dundalk people really get behind local products and want to see you do well, said Tom.

And this slick-looking gin isn't just creating a buzz locally. The pair have also received interest from further afield. Tom adds: We've had calls from Germany and Sweden. And some off licenses in Dublin too.

The business is a totally new venture for the pair. Tom explains: We moved to London in 2011. Spirits were becoming really huge over there and gin was a big thing. When we moved back to Ireland in 2015, we could see the market was beginning to catch up here.

At that time Tom took a job working in finance in Dublin and Nicola continued teaching. With their business idea still rattling around at the back of their heads, the pair decided to travel to a distillery in Holland.

Nicola recalls: We learned how you would start your own business distilling gin. When we got back home we spent months and months perfecting our recipe. The gin that we are bottling now is the 22nd iteration.

We were working away on the project in our spare time. It was hard to juggle it all but it was so interesting and exciting.

When Tom was made redundant from his job in Dublin we just thought it's now or never, so we decided to go for it.

Some of the establishments where Sixling is being stocked across Dundalk

And all of their hard work seems to have paid off. The resulting product is made from cloudberry - a fruit in the same family as blackberries and raspberries. The cloudberry is no longer native to Ireland, so Sixling import the unique ingredient from Sweden.

Nicola describes the berry as having a deliciously bitter, tart taste, which is mixed with other flavours to give Sixling gin a lovely, fruity, herbal finish.

The product, which is Ireland's only cloudberry gin is now brewed just outside of Dundalk in Tenure and is made using elderflower from the Cooley mountains. Tom added: We want to expand with a folio of spirit brands nationwide and then abroad.

We'd like to grow the business as much as we can. But we will always be based in Dundalk - we'd like to employ local people eventually.

Keep an eye on www.facebook.com/grillsspirits/ for Sixling Gin gift packs which will be available to buy online just in time for Christmas.
The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is organising a public meeting on Brexit, on Tuesday 18 September 2018 in the Crown Plaza Hotel, Dundalk form 7.00 pm to 9.00pm.

The meeting will be chaired by the President of Dundalk Institute of Technology, Doctor Michael Mulvey. The guest speakers will be Pat Leahy, Political Editor, The Irish Times, Susan Mitchell, Health Editor, Sunday Business Post and Sinead Ryan, Personal Finance Correspondent, Irish Independent.

Brexit is already, and will increasingly become, a major issue for the island to Ireland. This especially true to border communities, say ILCU, and for people and places dependent to cross-border and British/Irish trade.

Cuchullain Credit union being situated on the border area is already well aware of this reality, according to ILCU. Inevitably, they say, people affected by Brexit will turn to Cuchullain Credit Union for support when in difficulty.

The meeting is intend to inform Cuchullain Credit Union members and members of the general public. It is a means, say the ILCU, to help give leadership in the community. It will offer expertise from the invited guests and invite questions from the audience.

Cuchullain Credit Union are encouraging its members to attend and bring friends and neighbours, all are welcome regardless of whether you are a member of Cuchullain Credit Union or not.
"In the last 4 years 30% of the Defence Forces' overall strength has left the force, 77% of which were early retirements", Louth TD Peter Fitzpatrick revealed to the Dundalk Democrat today.

Deputy Fitzpatrick went on to say, "I am calling on the government to improve pay and conditions and restore allowances.

"We are losing highly skilled and trained personnel on a daily basis. It is worrying that recruitment is not happening at the pace of which it should.

"When we lose experienced personnel it has damaging effects on our Defence Forces ability to carry out their role of defending of our State, making contributions to overseas peace support operations and adding to European defence.

Deputy Fitzpatrick continued:

"I have seen the work they do first hand and the effect this can have on their families when I attended the Aiken Barracks in Dundalk with my colleague Minister Paul Kehoe TD to pay tribute to the members of the 112th Infantry Battalion, who were leaving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

"These men and women are a credit to our country and further afield for their peace keeping duties. They can leave for 6 months at a time leaving young families behind. They need to be rewarded and appreciated for their hard work.

"The Defence Forces are the lowest paid of all public servants with a starting private earning just 27k a year including allowances and a recruit earning just 14k a year.

"A survey carried out found that 84.12% of serving personnel earn below the average public service wage. A large volume of Defence Forces personnel depend on Family Income Supplement to get by.

"Any member who joined the defence force after 2011 have reduced pay scales, while their actual date of recruitment will determine their specific occupational pension terms", Deputy Fitzpatrick said.

Concluding Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick stated, "As an ex-solider myself, I am in support of full pay restoration to pre-2008 levels for the Irish Defence Force."
This week was a big week for small businesses. An Israeli tech company prepared to get ASX listed, an Australian inventor spoke about creating luxury mittens and there was no return to business tax cuts.

Dynamic Business has chosen the top snippets of the week.

Israeli tech company plans to get ASX listed

Israeli technology startup Security Matters is planning to list on the ASX via an initial public offering (IPO) on 13 September 2018 at an indicative market cap of AUD $18.5-$20 million.

Security Matters is transforming brand liability, authentication, tracking and proactive quality assurance with its technology that permanently and irrevocably marks any object in solid, liquid or gas form.

Meet the Australian inventor creating luxury mittens

When Fiona Theodoropoulos was growing up, Turkish exfoliating mitts were the norm. It was only when she was an adult that she realised that most of the world didnt know about the power of deep exfoliation, and she set out to change this.

No return to business cuts

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says tax cuts for big businesses wont be revisited, but cuts for smaller businesses could be accelerated.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the shelving of the tax cuts after they were blocked by the Senate, but his successor Scott Morrison has yet to signal his approach.

Have a great week!
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says tax cuts for big businesses wont be revisited, but cuts for smaller businesses could be accelerated.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced the shelving of the tax cuts after they were blocked by the Senate, but his successor Scott Morrison has yet to signal his approach.

Weve made it very clear those big company tax cuts, weve left those behind, Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

What we are focusing on are those businesses that are up to $50 million in turnover.

The treasurer said progressively cutting the tax rate for smaller businesses from 30 per cent to 25 per cent, which was due to happen by 2027, could happen faster.

We will look at how we can accelerate this and provide the support to those businesses, Frydenberg said.

The tax rate for businesses with turnovers up to $50 million is currently 27.5 per cent, and it will stay that way if Labor is elected.

Bill Shorten was planning to roll the tax cuts back, but now says a Labor government will keep the 27.5 per cent rate in place and wont drop it to 25 per cent.

If the NSW Government can fast track their payment policy, first to 20 days by the end of this year and then to five days, every level of government can and should do the same, Kate Carnell, The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO), said.

Last year ASBFEO, in partnership with the Small Business Commissioners in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, and the Council of Small Business Australia, conducted an inquiry into payment times and practices in Australia.

The inquiry found late payments and extended payment terms is a big issue for small businesses, and that governments have a key role in leading by example.

With AAP.


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Hackers cracked into a wide array of voting equipment Def Con's Voting Village, an event held Friday at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Last year, conference goers hacked five machines and an e-poll book of registered voters. This year, in addition to voting machines, tabulators and smart card readers were available for hacking.

Websites weren't off limits, either. An 11-year-old hacked into a replica of the Florida secretary of state's office site in 10 minutes and changed the results there. In real life, such an attack might create confusion, but it would not effect the actual vote tally of an election.

Election stakeholders last year were caught by surprise by the hacking frenzy at the Voting Village, but they were prepared for it this time around.

One of the largest providers of election equipment in the United States, ES&S, sent an email to its customers advising them that it was highly unlikely that any hacker would be able to get the physical access to a voting machine that a Def Con attendee could get at the conference.

Significant Threat

The National Association of Secretaries of State, which represents local officials overseeing elections in the states, expressed similar sentiments, arguing that the unlimited physical access Def Con attendees got to voting machines, many no longer in use, did not replicate real-world election conditions.

However, the weaknesses Def Con hackers exposed should not be ignored, security experts warned.

"These hacks pose a tremendously significant threat to election systems," said John Cassidy, CEO of Alexandria, Virginia-based King & Union, maker of a cybersecurity analysis collaboration platform.

"They illustrate just how poorly security has been considered in many of these systems," he told the E-Commerce Times.

While the Def Con hacks required manual access to the voting machines, it is highly likely hackers already know of other vulnerabilities that do not require that kind of access, Cassidy said.

More Than Machines

"Def Con demonstrates how vulnerable the system is," remarked Avivah Litan, a security analyst at Gartner, a research and advisory company based in Stamford, Connecticut.

"It's just amazing the country is so lax at responding to this. We don't have any national response that's meaningful," she told the E-Commerce Times. "Hacking elections has become a partisan issue."

As the 11-year-old's hack illustrated, more than voting machines are at risk.

"There are many different attack vectors," Litan said. "It's the tabulation systems, the absentee balloting systems and the system management systems."

Making matters worse is the lack of central control over voting systems.

"Even when weaknesses are exposed, the only people who can fix them are at the local level," Litan explained. "The Feds don't have any jurisdiction, and local people won't let anyone into their systems because of partisan concerns."

Lax Cyber Hygiene

Although the focus on election meddling has been at the national level, local elections might be better targets for foreign hackers, observed Major General Earl Matthews, USAF (Ret.), chief strategy officer of Verodin, a McLean, Virginia-based maker of a platform for measuring cybersecurity effectiveness.

An attack on a presidential election is a high-impact event, but it has a low likelihood of success, he told the E-Commerce Times. That contrasts with hacking a local election, where the impact would be lower, but the likelihood of success would be higher.

"While not highlighted in the media as much as national election attacks, influencing local, state and congressional elections will be valuable to attackers," Matthews said. "Those attacks are more likely to succeed without being noticed."

The cyber hygiene surrounding electronic voting machines hasn't changed drastically in more than a decade.

"The good guys and bad guys alike have had plenty of time to discover, and potentially exploit, vulnerabilities in the systems and processes underlying democracy around the world," Matthews noted.

Halfhearted Security

Despite proven vulnerabilities and a demonstrative lack of security, manufacturers and officials have not improved electronic voting systems, according to Matthews.

The combination of "a lack of basic security processes, such as penetration testing and security-by-design, and comprehensive physical access controls has resulted in halfhearted security, which enables an attack," he said.

"Voting machines become easier to compromise as vulnerabilities are discovered and left unpatched," Matthews continued, "and most of the time the concern doesn't arise until election time, and then it's too late to remedy."

The security of the election infrastructure needs the same attention that protection of the nation's critical infrastructure has been getting, maintained Eddie Habibi, CEO of PAS, a provider of security software for industrial control systems, based in Houston, Texas.

"Similar attention must be given to election voting machines to ensure every vote counts, and it counts only once," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"The confidence of the voting public in our western democracy is essential to our confidence in the government and in the rule of law," Habibi continued. "To that end, voting machines should be considered essential systems and be proactively protected against any kind of attack, domestic or foreign."

Return to Paper

Because of the difficulties of ensuring the security of electronic voting devices, there has been a call from some quarters to return to paper ballots.

"Paper ballots have first-degree integrity because they can be manually recounted and depend on a trusted chain of custody," Matthews said, but a paper ballot system offers challenges of its own.

"This is still not perfect," he added, "as there have been numerous reported cases of election officials altering ballots, removing ballot boxes, or otherwise compromising the paper trail."

Voter registration lists stored on computer systems also must be protected, Gartner's Litan added.

"Everyone who is entitled to vote should be able to vote, and there should be no tinkering with the registration databases," she said. "We already know the Russians are in those databases and may be stealing identities to cast fake votes, or deleting people from the rolls."

A return to total paper balloting would not be a wise move, however, according to Mounir Hahad, head of the threat lab for Juniper Networks based in Sunnyvale, California.

"We don't want to wipe decades of progress," he told the E-Commerce Times, "because we're choosing not to handle security risks properly."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.




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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday announced the National Risk Management Center, part of a new effort to combat cyberthreats to the nation.

The new agency's mission will be to defend the U.S.' critical infrastructure through greater cooperation between the public and private sectors.

The center will bring together government experts and industry partners to work out ways that the government can support the partners. The idea is to create a single point of access to all government resources that can be used to defend against cyberthreats.

"I occasionally still hear of companies and state and locals that call 911 when they believe they've been under a cyberattack," said DHS Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen at a National Cybersecurity Summit held in New York City on Tuesday.

"The best thing to do will be to call this center," she continued. The center will provide organizations under cyberattack with what they need to repel, mitigate and root out adversaries from their systems.

Solving Puzzles

The center also will be a place for forging strategies against threats.

"Having the private sector with us will enable us to take a piece of threat data to determine what puzzle it belongs to and then to determine how to fit it into the puzzle," Nielsen said.

Through that approach, "we can see the trend, we can see the thread, we can see the purpose, perhaps, of the attack, but certainly the implications and effects," she explained.

"The private sector also knows its operational environment better than we will ever know in government," added Nielsen, "so we will look to their expertise to help us to understand how the pieces fit together."

The power of information sharing already has been seen in initiatives like the Cybersecurity Risk Information Sharing Program in the U.S. Department of Energy, Secretary Rick Perry noted in a panel discussion at the summit.

It was due to that close collaboration that the department was able to identify a very dramatic event last year about Russian intrusions into our energy systems, he observed.

"Had we not had this close working relationship with our private sector partners, it would most likely gone unfounded," he said.

Cyber Firehouse

Underpinning the creation of the National Risk Management Center is the recognition that cybersecurity defense is a team sport, observed Brad Medairy, a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, an international technology consulting company headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

"It requires a partnership of the whole of government and the whole of industry to address it," he told TechNewsWorld.

The new center is an extension of capabilities the DHS has been developing to protect the nation's critical infrastructure, noted James Barnett, head of the cybersecurity practice at Venable, a law firm in Washington, D.C.

"Secretary Nielsen would certainly want to announce this now with the recent revelation of Russian hackers into the controls of several American companies that make up the energy grid," Barnett, a former Navy Rear Admiral, told TechNewsWorld.

The federal government already has an information-sharing center in place -- the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center -- but the new center appears to be a different kind of animal.

"NCCIC has been more of a coordinating and information sharing effort -- the government will collate and provide you with information to help yourself," Barnett explained. "It sounds like NRMC is one step closer to a cyber firehouse, where DHS will actually provide direct assistance."

Actionable Information

One frequent complaint from the private sector is that the quality of information from the government is poor. The new center could change that.

"As conceived, NRMC will focus and organize the federal government's efforts to provide the private sector operating critical infrastructure with actionable threat data," Barnett said. "This would be more than just a malware warning or patch. It sounds like DHS is willing to provide deeper information on threats, to include supply chain threats."

For validating the supply chain and procurement process, the center is an essential step forward, said Ray DeMeo, chief operating officer of Virsec, an applications security company in San Jose, California.

"This initiative wisely prioritizes actionable threat data, a critical gap in today's Industrial Control System threat environment," he told TechNewsWorld. Z,pz. "Threat actors have a significant lead time ahead of responders -- often weeks or months," DeMeo pointed out. "With more actionable threat data, our human intervention can focus beyond immediate triage to higher-order efforts. Who are the attackers? What is their methodology?"

Sophisticated Threats

Public-private cybersecurity partnerships are nothing new, but the private sector may be coming to this latest vehicle with a different attitude.

"It's recognizing that the threats are getting more sophisticated and more complex," said Matt Olsen, president of IronNet Cybersecurity, a Fulton, Maryland, maker of a suite of cybersecurity technologies.

"There's also a fundamental recognition that companies can't go it alone against the most sophisticated threat actors out there, particularly nation-states like Russia and China," Olsen, a former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told TechNewsWorld.

In order for partnerships to work, the partners must trust each other. That's proven to be a challenge in the cybersecurity arena in the past, and it could be a barrier to the new center gaining momentum.

"Will the center bring government and industry together to provide solutions, or is this going to be another layer of bureaucratic influence on industry?" wondered Emily Miller, director of national security and critical infrastructure programs at Mocana, a Sunnyvale, California-based company that focuses on embedded system security for industrial control systems and the Internet of Things.

"Is it going to come up with unfunded mandates? Is it going to create baselines that industry has to comply with that do not provide actual security? Those are the questions the industry is going to have in mind when they think about what is the goal of the National Risk Management Center," Miller told TechNewsWorld.

Show Me the Money

Achieving private sector trust will be a challenge, acknowledged Venable's Barnett.

Howver, "DHS has positioned itself in the cyberworld as a resource and facilitator, not a regulator. Establishing NRMC is a positive step in organizing the government's assistance, if it is well resourced," he noted.

"The success of the new effort will depend on whether the government is able to provide NRMC with the money, expertise and capacity to meet its objectives, and how well it is accepted by the critical infrastructure private sector," Barnett said.

Everyone needs to be talking less and doing more to reduce cyber-risk, suggested Ed Cabrera, chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro, a Tokyo-based maker of enterprise cybersecurity solutions.

"We have been espousing the need for better public-private partnerships for the better part of 15 years, but we have failed to execute," he told TechNewsWorld.

"The blame cannot be solely laid at the feet of government," Cabrera said. "We in industry have our role and responsibility to work hand-in-hand with government and each other to eliminate cyberthreats, and reduce technical and systemic vulnerabilities."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.




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Jon Ferrara is the founder and CEO of Nimble, a social sales and marketing CRM company based in Santa Monica, California.

Nimble helps companies identify the right people for their businesses, with the goal of turning conversations into measurable outcomes. Its vision is to make the job of all customer-facing team members easier and more effective.

In this exclusive interview, Ferrara offers his insights on the latest developments and trends in CRM.







Jon Ferrara CEO Nimble

CRM Buyer: Why is social context important in CRM?

Jon Ferrara: The reality of relationships is that people buy from people they like, know and trust. In the old days, before we ever engaged in selling, we made a connection by looking at books, things on the shelves, that kind of thing. Today, we're doing that more and more electronically.

Social is the perfect way to know more about somebody, and that's actually your job. You should do that before every call -- you should prep by getting to know someone. Social context helps you do that.

CRM Buyer: What's the most useful kind of social context?

Ferrara: People connect through family, friends, food, fun and fellowship. If you find a place of connectivity, you can share that with the person.

For instance, I had a meeting with someone, and before that meeting, I learned that he was an assistant scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts. Anyone who has done that knows it's an important experience. Knowing that about him gave us instant camaraderie.

In many cases in business people put up walls, and you have to earn their trust. LinkedIn is like walking into my lobby. You'll learn about my business persona and know more about another human being. But people buy from people, not from businesses. This is what Dale Carnegie taught, and today we're just doing it in a new way, in the digital era.

Another example is today, before you meet with someone, you typically google them. That's you working for your CRM, and it's a waste of time.

Most people work for their CRM -- it doesn't work for them. That's the biggest cause of failure for CRM. Even when you do google someone, things change, and that information might be old. Your CRM should work for you and work with you wherever you're working.

CRM Buyer: Why is mobile connectivity important for CRM?

Ferrara: It's not just the mobile phone. Most CRM is not really designed for relationships, but for reporting. If they aren't forced to use CRM, most people wouldn't.

When I think of mobile, I think of portability. You enrich it with email data, and have a plug-in on your browser so you can use it wherever you are. That gives you contacts and insights. Who are they and what is their business? If you have contacts and insights, you'll be more connected.

The ability to have that mobile context wherever you are gives you the insights you need to make connections. Your CRM should work for you. That is the future of CRM. You don't have to go to it to use it. Instead, it will go anywhere you are, where you are connecting and engaging.

CRM Buyer: What role does artificial intelligence play in CRM? How is that role evolving?

Ferrara: You need to enrich the data and then use AI to surface opportunities and engagement. Most people have thousands of connections, and you need AI to listen to signals and surface the ones that matter, and then you need a nudge on your shoulder to follow through and connect and reconnect with people.

AI is like a second brain that helps you follow through and stay in touch with the right people at the right time and the right place.

CRM Buyer: What's the key to effectively enriching data?

Ferrara: You need to be able to take any disparate piece of information and derive additional information. Most sales people are googling people and then logging that information into their CRM. Even if they do that, however, the data changes so rapidly that it decays.

We use dozens of external databases on a business and personal level to enable connections and engagement. The age of cold calling has transitioned from "bag 'em and tag 'em" to establishing yourself as a trusted advisor, and to do that you need to use content to inspire and educate.

CRM Buyer: Why are automatic updates important in managing a CRM system?

Ferrara: People change, and companies change. One of the biggest struggles that salespeople have is creating records and updating records.

If you can take away the mundane things that computers should be doing, it will free the sales reps up for things that only they can do, like logging a note or scheduling a task or connecting on social in a relevant and authentic way. That's what computers are for. They were designed to automate all of this.

CRM Buyer: How is CRM changing? What's in the future for it?

Ferrara: One of the biggest causes of CRM failure is that businesses just give it to their salespeople. It is not just for salespeople. It should be used by everybody in the company.

The first step to success is to have a unified relationship platform that's cross-departmental. Today you have sales, marketing, customer service, accounting -- and Nimble can co-exist with those by unifying contacts and working back inside them, as well. It can be used across departments, so you can see the history of interactions.

CRM is going to evolve to be a company-wide relationship record, and in the future it will be used by all the different team members. It will evolve to become a platform that works with you in any place you are engaging. That will cause it to be used more often.

A lot of people see CRM as a beast and a burden that they have to nurture and feed, but imagine if it actually helped that business' people and the people they're connecting to.

CRM will evolve to be used by outside constituencies as well. Most companies have CRM for salespeople, but other departments use spreadsheets. That's really problematic. CRM will evolve from being a platform used just by salespeople to become a platform used by the entire team.

Vivian Wagner has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2008. Her main areas of focus are technology, business, CRM, e-commerce, privacy, security, arts, culture and diversity. She has extensive experience reporting on business and technology for a variety of outlets, including The Atlantic, The Establishment and O, The Oprah Magazine. She holds a PhD in English with a specialty in modern American literature and culture. She received a first-place feature reporting award from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists. Email Vivian.


When it comes to ranking school quality, one high-profile markeracademic achievementtakes center stage. How much students actually learn, whether they complete their K-12 education, and how states stack up against each other can offer a rough proxy for how well the nations public school system is doing its job.

This latest release of Education Weeks K-12 Achievement Index, updated since January with the most-recent federal data, paints a mixed portrait of middling grades nationally, consistently high achievement among some states, a handful of stragglers mired in poor performance, and continued struggles to close the achievement gap between higher- and lower-income students.

Picking the yardsticks for student achievement can be a subjective task and one that various analysts and policymakers approach differently. The Education Week Research Center uses a basket of 18 indicators in all, with a strong emphasis on data such as test scores and graduation rates that are comparable across states.

So how do the nation and the states stack up on this updated tally of student achievementand whats the deeper picture that emerges from the rich stream of data that goes into those scores?

This fresh analysis shows the nation earning a C on the K-12 Achievement Index. That grade signals modest progress over the past decade. In 2008, the first year the current version of the K-12 Achievement Index was published, the nation received a 69.4. The 2018 score is 72.7. To score well on the index, a state typically demonstrates strong academic performance, combined with improvements over time, and progress toward narrowing poverty-based achievement gaps.

K-12 achievement scores lag behind other key metrics in the Quality Counts report, like school funding and the cradle-to-career pathways in the Chance for Success Index.

K-12 achievement scores lag behind the grades on the report cards other key metrics

Source: Education Week Research Center, 2018.

Enlarge chart.

Results are uneven across the 50 states and the District of Columbia but generally reflect mediocre achievement. Massachusetts, the top-ranked state for the past 11 years, again leads the nation, with a B-plus (88.0). New Jersey receives the only B (84.7). Virginia gets the only B-minus (79.8).

On the other end of the spectrum, Louisiana (60.9) and New Mexico (61.5) receive the nations lowest grades at D-minus. As has long been the case, Northeastern states typically score the highest while Southern and Southwestern states score the lowest.

Rating the States

K-12 achievement is rated using a best-in-class approach. The top state gets 100 points, serving as the benchmark for the remaining states, which receive points in proportion to their distance from the national leader.

The scores rely heavily on math and reading National Assessment of Educational Progress results, which are released every other year. The 2017 data collection marked the first administration of those NAEP subjects on tablet computers. The transition from a paper to a digitally-based test administration caused the U.S. Department of Education to postpone the release of results until earlier this year. That, in turn, delayed the update of the K-12 Achievement scores so the January installment of Quality Counts included results for the index from 2016.

Other elements of this index include Advanced Placement exam scores and high school graduation rates, as measured by the adjusted cohort rates released by the federal Education Department.

This year, Education Week started using adjusted cohort graduation rates, since the federal government stopped producing averaged freshman graduation-rate data previously included in the index. The adjusted cohort rates use student-level data to track the percent of 9th graders earning a diploma within four years, while the averaged freshman graduation rates relied on enrollment data to calculate estimates. The adjusted cohort rates were first available in all 50 states for 2013-14, meaning that grades for improvement trends now cover a shorter time period than in previous report cards.

Results for the indexs three individual dimensions of achievement indicate that states fare relatively better on outcomes related to equity (a grade of B, 84.4, for the nation as a whole) than they do for current performance or improvement over time (with average grades of D-plus, 69.0, and C-minus, 69.7, respectively). Only one stateMassachusetts, which ranked first in K-12 achievementconsistently places in the top 10 across all three elements of the index.

K-12 Achievement Index: See Where the States Land

Source: Education Week Research Center, 2018.

Enlarge chart.

Inside the Academic Scores

A deeper dive into the updated rankings of current academic performance on the Quality Counts index includes:

 The percent of students scoring at the proficient level or higher on NAEP reading and math in grades 4 and 8;

 The high school graduation rate;

 The number of AP scores of 3 or higher (out of a possible 5) for every 100 public high school students.

The top-achieving state in this category is Massachusetts (96.1), which earned an A. New Jersey is next, with a 90.8 and an A-minus. At the other end of the achievement continuum, three statesLouisiana, Mississippi, and New Mexicoscore below 50 and receive grades of F.

More students are proficient in math than in reading. Nationwide, about 40 percent of 4th graders are proficient in math, and only 35 percent are proficient in reading.

Massachusetts scores the highest in both 4th grade subjects. Like the rest of the nation, it still skews higher in math than in reading. That pattern also holds true for bottom-ranked states such as New Mexico and Louisiana.

4th Graders Scoring Better in Math vs. Reading

Source: Education Week Research Center, 2018.

Enlarge chart.

While students are more likely to be proficient in math than reading in every state, Minnesota (13.5), Texas (12.5), and North Dakota (11.7) have the largest performance gaps between math and reading. Reading gaps are narrower in Northeastern states including Connecticut (2.8), Vermont (0.7), and New York (0.5).

Equity

Grades in the equity category are based on gaps in test scores between poor and nonpoor students on NAEP. Since 2003, income-based achievement gaps have widened in 3 out of 4 states. Delaware (95.6) and New York (93.4) earn the only solid A grades in the equity category. They are followed by seven states posting A-minuses: Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming. The District of Columbia receives the only F (50.0).

Overall State Grades Catch up on how the nation and states fared on a broad range of K-12 categories, including school finance, as reported in this years first installment of Quality Counts, published Jan. 17.

Poor students lag behind their more-affluent peers in every state. The equity component of the K-12 Index examines both poverty-based achievement gaps and progress in closing those gaps. With the exception of Massachusetts, 3 of the other 4 top-ranked statesNew Jersey, Virginia, and Marylandfare well on current levels of achievement and improvements over time but poorly on equity.

New Jersey finishes second on current achievement and second on gains over time. Yet the state ranks 31st on achievement disparities between poor and nonpoor students. By contrast, Florida, which finishes fourth in the nation overall, ranks 20th for current achievement but places in the top five for both annual improvement and equity.

The equity gap has increased in Maine, Ohio, Nevada, and North Dakota. Some states have seen equity gains, as wellmost notably, Massachusetts and Tennessee. In fact, back in 2008, the poverty gap was wider in Massachusetts than it was in the District of Columbia, which has the largest current disparities. Now, the opposite is the case.

K-12 Poverty Gap: Performance gap between low-income and more affluent students

Back in 2008, the poverty gap was wider in Massachusetts than it was in D.C., which has the largest current disparities. Now, the opposite is the case.

Source: Education Week Research Center, 2018.

Enlarge chart.

Performance Over Time

Despite its poor equity rating, the District of Columbia earns the nations highest grade for gains over time, an A-minus (91.2). Delaware, Montana, and North Dakota receive the lowest grades, Fs. Thirty-four states earn D-plus or below.

Still, improvements in the K-12 measures have occurred over time. These improvements include NAEP outcomes, high school graduation rates, and AP testing outcomes.

Not only are more students proficient in mathematics than in reading, scores have also improved at a higher rate in math since 2003. Average scale scores in 4th grade math have improved by 5.2 points while reading improved by 4.4. Likewise, 8th grade math scores improved by 5.8 points while reading improved by 4.0.

The largest growth is in Advanced Placement scores. Since 2000, the share of high AP test scores in grades 11-12 more than doubled, to 31.6 per 100 students. States that have made the greatest improvement include Maryland, growing an impressive 42.9 points, followed by neighboring Virginia, which increased by 32.5. Maryland leads the nation with 57.2 passing scores for every 100 students. The lowest-ranking state for this measure is Mississippi, with only 6 passing scores per 100 students.

Improvements in High AP Scores

Since 2000 the rate of high AP scores has more than doubled. Maryland has improved the most whereas, Mississippi gained the least. See how your state compares below.

Source: Education Week Research Center, 2018.

Enlarge chart.

A Decade of Change

The last decade has seen a lot of change in K-12 rankings, with largely positive results. Overall, more than two-thirds of states posted increases in their index scores. Those with the greatest improvements include Arizona (+9.0), the District of Columbia (+8.8), and West Virginia (+8.5). At the same time, some states saw meaningful declines, including Vermont (-6.2), North Dakota (-5.7), and Maryland (-4.8).

K-12 Index Scores: How Scores have changed over time, by state

States with the greatest improvements include Arizona (+9.0), the District of Columbia (+8.8), and West Virginia (+8.5). However, some states saw meaningful declines including Vermont (-6.2), North Dakota (-5.7), and Maryland (-4.8).

Source: Education Week Research Center, 2018.

Enlarge chart.

In 2008, West Virginia and the District of Columbia were in the bottom threereceiving overall scores of 58.1 and 57.7, respectively. Both jurisdictions ranked just below Louisianas score of 60.3. Although West Virginia and the District of Columbia have increased their scores substantially, Louisiana has improved by just a fraction of a point. The state is now ranked last. Only Massachusetts has shown a consistent ability to both score at the top and improve over time.
The reinsurance company Munich Re takes over the IoT company Relayr. The aim is to combine industrial IoT engineering and insurance services in the future.

Munich Re will acquire 100 percent of Relay through its group company Hartford Steam Boiler (HSB).The enterprise value of Relayr has been set at USD 300 million. The fast-growing company provides comprehensive solutions for the digital transformation of industries and aims to support Munich Re's IoT strategy by developing IoT solutions for clients.

Relayr will continue to operate independently and maintain its dynamic corporate culture to drive innovation and attract IoT talent. "The Internet of Things already influences our world and has the potential to fundamentally change traditional primary insurance and reinsurance. It enables new business models and services and brings new competitors to the market," said Torsten Jeworrek, Member of Munich Re's Board of Management. "This acquisition clearly follows our strategy: We combine Relayr's own risk knowledge, data analysis capabilities, and financial strength with Relayr's technological expertise. On this basis we want to develop new ideas for the future of trade and industry."

Relayr has been working with HSB and Munich Re since 2016. The merger will enable Relayr to further expand its financial and insurance offering. At the same time the StartUp can fall back on the large customer base of the group and thus use the technical expertise for company growth.

Josef Brunner, CEO of Relayr: "We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with Munich Re/HSB in order to jointly advance digitization in trade and industry. We support companies in successfully shaping the upheaval and asserting themselves on their market. The combination of our companies underlines the importance of contributing to our customers' business success with forward-looking technologies and high-performance financial and insurance solutions".

Relayr offers a wide range of services for industrial companies who want to digitize their business; from the initial consultation on the right technology to support during implementation and support during ongoing operations. For example, the company has developed a platform with which companies can connect old and new versions of hardware and software, as well as read and analyze data from machines and devices. This makes it possible, for example, to recognize when a machine would probably fail and prevent the failure by appropriate maintenance. Relayr's IoT solutions enable companies to gain business-critical data with which they can improve their processes and thus their profitability. Since the beginning of the cooperation with HSB in 2016, Relayr's offering has been supplemented by financial and insurance components.

The transaction is expected to be completed within the next four to six weeks, once the relevant regulatory authorities have given their approval.




New Consultant Breast Surgeon for Noble's Hospital



Noble's Hospital

A new consultant in breast surgery will begin her post at Noble's Hospital later this month.



Miss Adamantia (Ada) Chrysafi begins work at the hospital from 17th September, for an initial period of six months, with the possibility that this may be extended.

She replaces the current consultant, Mr Rana Nadeem, who is set to leave the role at the end of September.

This allows a two-week handover period, making sure that there is no interruption to treatments or ongoing care for any patients.

Adamantia Chrysafi was trained in Athens, coming to the UK in 2011. She took Clinical Fellowships at St Marys Hospital in London as well as University College Hospital and the Nightingale Centre in Manchester.

Minister for Health and Social Care, David Ashford MHK, said: We are extremely pleased to welcome Miss Chrysafi to Nobles. Her background and experience all confirm that she will provide a first class service to her patients on the Island. I would like also to thank Mr Nadeem for all the work he has done. The detailed handover to Miss Chrysafi will ensure that continuity and consistency of care will remain unaffected.
Rally Adventure to raise funds for Hospice & Rebecca House



Voirrey Kennaugh (Left) and Georgie Shelley (Right)

Two friends will begin a gruelling four-day rally today as part of a challenge to raise money for two Island charities.

Georgie Shelley and Voirrey Kennaugh are travelling across eight countries as part of the James Bond Swiss Run - Fireball Rally.

Journeying more than 2,500 miles across France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Italy, Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, the pair will enjoy some of James Bonds most iconic locations including the Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant as seen in the sixth Bond-film - On Her Majestys Secret Service - and the Goldeneye Dam.



Georgie said: As I work and volunteer at Hospice Isle of Man, I am aware of the great care that it provides and the difference it makes to both patients and families. It has inspired me to do something a bit different to raise money for the charity.



I am also doing this challenge in memory of my father Stanley Shelley, who loved and appreciated cars, especially classics  Id like to think he would have enjoyed taking part in this event himself.

The pair are raising money for Hospice Isle of Man and Rebecca House.
Dan Sayle - Awake and talking

Manx rider Dan Sayle is reported to be awake and talking following his accident during the Classic TT last month.

On social media, Dan's partner Kirree said: "Dan is awake, although very drowsy we had our first proper conversation".

The Sulby man was transferred to the UK for assessment on head, chest and spinal injuries following a crash at Ballaspur during the opening lap of the lightweight race.
2018-09-06

Maeci

GREECE - Sparkle Greeces Data Center is the Countrys first to obtain ISO 14001:2015 certification for its environmental management system

Sparkle, the TIM Groups international services division listed among the worlds first ten operators, announced that its Greek subsidiary has obtained the ISO 14001:2015 certification, making it the Countrys first data center to obtain ISO certification for its environmental management system.

The ISO 14001:2015 certification acknowledges that Sparkle Greece has successfully implemented a management system that limits the environmental hazards of its business activities, assuring greater environmental protection for the companys employees and for all the other parties involved.

The certification applies to all aspects of Sparkles activities, products and services in Greece, including the quality excellence of its services, its customer satisfaction and environmental protection; it was awarded following an independent audit that confirmed the companys compliance with the internationally recognised standard and goes to add on to the ISO 9001:2015, 27001:2013 and PCI-DSS certificates already obtained by the company.

The new certification once again confirms Sparkles commitment to environmental sustainability, which it recently revealed by adopting high energy-efficiency lithium ion batteries for the UPS system of its Data Center in Istanbul.

Sparkle is leader in Greece in the IP, Data, Cloud, Data Center, Mobile and Voice service sector and the absolute leader in Colocation services through its data centers in Metamorphosis and Koropi (Athens), and in Chania.
2018-09-06

Maeci

The third annual meeting of the Joint Development Cooperation Committee was held at the Farnesina today. The meeting was opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Enzo Moavero Milanesi, and chaired by the Deputy Foreign Minister with a portfolio for cooperation, Emanuela Del Re.

The Committee was called to decide on the contributions to be allocated to organisations and specialised agencies and on bilateral contributions for a total of more than 83 million Euros (83,253,790.00 Euros).

More specifically, the meeting approved 9 interventions in favour of African Countries (Guinea Conakry, Egypt, Mozambique, Tunisia and Sudan in addition to a regional intervention) worth more than 56 million Euros; 6 interventions in Middle Eastern Countries (Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria) worth approximately 9 million Euros; 1 intervention in Asia (Pakistan) worth 1 million Euros; 3 interventions in Latin America (Colombia, El Salvador, Bolivia) worth approximately 10 million Euros; and 1 call for tenders for global citizenship education worth 7 million Euros.

A report was presented at the meeting to illustrate the comprehensive framework of interventions liable to be financed under Art. 8 of Law 125/2014, with concessional loans granted from a fund set up at the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

The meeting also analysed a Delegated Cooperation report on the performance and results achieved in the cooperation programmes assigned by the European Commission to the Directorate General for Development Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry from 2013 to date. The funding involved a comprehensive multiyear portfolio of 144.7 million euros spread on 14 programmes in 11 Countries, placing Italy in the shortlist of topmost Member States delivering European cooperation projects and the third-ranking Country assigned EU funds from the Valletta Trust Fund for projects aimed at tackling the deep-set causes of migration in Sub-Saharan Africa and Libya. At the same time, Italy confirms to also be engaged in the Middle East, as proven by its interventions in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, as well as in Latin America, thanks to the approval of projects in Colombia, El Salvador and Bolivia.
The "Robat" is a fully autonomous terrestrial robot with bat-like qualities that uses echolocation to move through novel environments while mapping them based only on sound. It was developed at Tel Aviv University.

Bats use echolocation to map novel environments, navigating them by emitting sound then extracting information from the echoes reflected by objects in their surroundings. Many theories have been proposed to explain how bats harness sonar in order to navigate, but few attempts have been made to build a robot that mimics a bat's abilities.

A TAU study about the invention was published today in PLOS Computational Biology.

TAU graduate student Itamar Eliakim developed a robot that uses a biological bat-like approach, emitting sound and analyzing the returning echoes to generate a map of space. Prof. Yossi Yovel of TAU's Department of Zoology and Dr. Gabor Kosa of TAU's School of Mechanical Engineering serve as Mr. Eliakim's advisors.

"Our Robat is the first fully autonomous, bat-like biorobot that moves through a novel environment while mapping it solely based on echo information. This information delineates the borders of objects and the free paths between them," says Eliakim. "We've been able to demonstrate the great potential of using sound in future robotic applications."

The Robat is equipped with an ultrasonic speaker that produces frequency-modulated chirps at a rate typically used by bats, as well as two ultrasonic microphones that serve as the robot's ears. It classifies the borders and shapes of the objects it encounters with an artificial neural network, creating a rich, accurate map of its environment while avoiding obstacles. For example, when reaching a dead end, the robot uses its classification abilities to determine whether it is blocked by a wall or by a plant through which it could pass.

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Funding for the research was provided partially by the Israel Ministry of Science, Technology and Space.

See the Robat in action in this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzGGuzvYSH8.

American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. TAU is ranked ninth in the world, and first in Israel, for producing start-up founders of billion-dollar companies, an achievement that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,500 US patents have been filed by Tel Aviv University researchers -- ranking TAU #1 in Israel, #10 outside of the US and #43 in the world.
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Jacqueline Chen, a distinguished member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, has been recognized with an Achievement Award from the Society of Women Engineers for her impact on the engineering community and the society.

This award is the highest honor given by the society and recognizes outstanding technical contributions for at least 20 years in engineering.

The award also recognizes Chen's continuing dedication to the society's mission -- striving to highlight the impact and importance of women in engineering across the globe, leading by example and demonstrating that a career in engineering can be a fulfilling, rewarding pursuit for women of any background.

Chen will accept the award at the society's annual conference, WE18, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Oct. 19, during the formal awards banquet.

"I am honored to be recognized by the Society of Women Engineers for my research on computational simulation of turbulent reacting flows with complex chemistry," said Chen, who has spent her entire career working at Sandia's world-renowned Combustion Research Facility. "I appreciate the work that SWE does to continue to highlight the importance of STEM and the impact the society has on the future generation of women engineers." STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Chris Shaddix, Chen's manager, nominated her for outstanding technical achievements, a prodigious technical publication record and extensive professional leadership activities in the engineering profession.

Chen's research has led to a deep understanding of the complex interactions of fluid flow and chemistry in flames, as revealed by some of the largest computational simulations ever performed, using some of the world's largest supercomputers. She has been elected to the most prominent advisory panels in the nation associated with both combustion research and scientific computing research and will be inducted to the National Academy of Engineering in September. Chen regularly gives plenary and keynote talks and has been interviewed many times by the news media and other public communications associated with these fields.

According to the Web of Science, Chen has published more than 135 papers -- mostly in top research journals. Her papers received more than 580 citations in 2017 alone.

Chen's research has focused on elucidating the combined influence of chemical reactions and fluid flow on combustion processes. She has developed a unique computer code to calculate the properties of turbulent fluid flow and flames. This code scales effortlessly across the hundreds of thousands of processors present in supercomputers. Chen has devoted her career to a type of calculation called direct numerical simulation. DNS is the most accurate approach possible for modeling flames and turbulent flows because it fully resolves all relevant spatial and temporal scales of the flow and its associated chemical reactions.

"The men and women recognized have broken boundaries in their careers and personal lives," said Penny Wirsing, president of SWE. "They are leaders paving the way to empower and inspire future women engineers across the globe."

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Chen's full bio can be found here.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. Sandia Labs has major research and development responsibilities in nuclear deterrence, global security, defense, energy technologies and economic competitiveness, with main facilities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Livermore, California.
Nestor J. Zaluzec, a senior scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, has been named an inaugural Fellow in the Legends Class of the Microanalysis Society, an award that recognizes his contributions to advanced microscopy and microanalysis.

Over the course of his ongoing career at Argonne, Zaluzec has pioneered advanced techniques and instrumentation for state-of-the-art electron microscopy, which uses beams of electrons to see very small samples. The Microanalysis Society recognized Zaluzec for outstanding leadership and sustained contributions to advanced analytical electron microscopy, including development of scanning confocal electron microscopy, as well as his work on combining spectrometry with electron diffraction.

The advances in microscopy or microanalysis, or the study of samples that cannot be seen by the human eye, have evolved from simply studying the chemical makeup of a microscopic sample to seeking an understanding of how the material behaves.

"In order to understand and actually move forward in today's technologically demanding society, what we have to do is more than simply look at a material's structure; rather, we have to fully characterize it," Zaluzec said. "We have to understand the relationship between morphology; crystallography; and elemental, chemical and electronic structure and we have to integrate this information so that we can unravel the synergistic relationship of a material's macroscopic properties to its atomic structure."

Zaluzec described how microanalysis has evolved over the course of the past 50 years. "In the 1960s, we were working on the basics, operating at the micrometer scale  we were merely dreaming of the ability to achieve single-atom resolution," he said. "Now, we have the capability to not only resolve but also analyze materials at the picometer scale, and the view we have today at the atomic scale is fascinating."

Argonne's work in microanalysis has advanced because the laboratory consistently pushes the frontiers of science by incorporating different approaches that employ a wide array of probes to study and explore materials, Zaluzec said.

The future of microanalysis, according to Zaluzec, lies in what scientists refer to as "multimodal and multidimensional" techniques, as well as new and novel detectors  which can be combined in different ways to study a material. At Argonne, combining X-ray microscopy, optical microscopy and electron microscopy provides one example of this approach. Through this combination, Argonne enables scientists to capture a comprehensive range of information about the constituent phases and individual atoms within a sample.

"One analytical technique or one analytical instrument is no longer enough to answer all of today's questions," Zaluzec said. "We need correlative approaches that integrate and amalgamate our experimental studies in order to unravel and comprehend the complex interactions found in modern systems."

The evolution of microanalysis at Argonne has also begun to expand into even more challenging areas, involving what scientists call "soft matter." This realm includes organic/inorganic heterostructures, membranes and polymers; hybrid/smart nanostructures; as well as a host of biologically inspired systems  from single macromolecules to inter/intracellular processes. This work coincides with Argonne's continuing work in conventional "hard matter," like metals, ceramics and semiconductors.

"What we need is a way to figure out how all these materials, their defects and their interfaces interact; we truly want to understand material relationships," Zaluzec said.

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Zaluzec's induction was announced August 6 during the annual meeting of the Microanalysis Society in Baltimore, Maryland.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation's first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America's scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit the Office of Science website.
Silence in the concert hall. The conductor raises the baton and the strings begin. They play the first four bars of Mozart's "A Little Night Music". All together they play a single melody, which is probably one of the best known in the music world. Then the voices divide. Different string instruments play separate melodies and the "Little Night Music" thus becomes a complex work of art. Scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research in Gottingen and Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences in Tehran, Iran, recently discovered in a study with rhesus monkeys that nerve cells assume the role of musicians in visual perception in our brain. Usually many cells are active together (synchronously) when they process simple stimuli from our environment. The researchers were able to show that visual attention desynchronizes these nerve cells' activity and thus enables more complex information processing. Such insights into the neural mechanisms of attention in the healthy state may provide evidence of mechanisms underlying neuronal diseases such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism (BMC Biology).

Neuroscientists Moein Esghaei, Mohammad Reza Daliri and Stefan Treue measured the activity of individual neurons in the visual cortex of rhesus monkeys. Using very thin microelectrodes this painless technique allows to study the activity of a large number of neurons, while the animals actively perform a perception task. The activity of these nerve cell populations can be measured as continuous fluctuating signals over a broad frequency spectrum in the extracellular spaces. This is called local field potential. The pulses generated by the individual cells (action potentials) are coupled to these field potentials.

Using novel signal processing techniques, the scientists discovered that the instantaneous state of the fluctuating population activity plays a critical role in determining how independent each neuron is from its neighbors. They found that attention makes the neuronal activity more independent of the fluctuations. "Attention decouples neurons from each other, allowing individual neurons to fire more independent and therefore enrich the stimulus representation, just as playing different parts and melodies allows an orchestra to play more complex music," explains Stefan Treue, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Gottingen and head of the Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at the German Primate Center.

The detailed knowledge of how the brain of rhesus monkeys enables attention and other complex cognitive functions allows conclusions to be drawn about the processes in the human brain. The synchronized activity of neurons plays a critical role for the perception of humans and other primates. Understanding how exactly this synchrony is controlled, not only helps better understand the underlying neural correlates of conscious perception, but also may enable us to gain a better understanding of physiological deficits underlying disorders that involve attention control and perception, such as ADHD, Autism and Schizophrenia.

"Our results open a new understanding of how information processing in the local neural circuits of the primate brain is controlled," said Moein Esghaei, first author of the study. "In future studies we will investigate how neural fluctuations are generated to control individual neurons."

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Contact and suggestion for editors

Prof. Dr. Stefan Treue

Phone: +49 (0) 551 3851-118

Email: streue@dpz.eu

Dr. Moein Esghaei

Phone: +49 (0) 551 3851-344

Email: aesghaei@dpz.eu

Dr. Sylvia Siersleben (Public Relations)

Phone: +49 (0) 551 3851 163

Email: ssiersleben@dpz.eu

Printable pictures are available in our media library. The press release is also available on our website. We kindly request a specimen copy in case of publication.

The German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research conducts biological and biomedical research on and with primates in the fields of infection research, neuroscience and primate biology. The DPZ maintains four field stations in the tropics and is the reference and service center for all aspects of primate research. The DPZ is one of 93 research and infrastructure facilities of the Leibniz Association.
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961), one of the giants of contemporary science, considered "entanglement" the most interesting property in quantum mechanics. In his view, it was this phenomenon that truly distinguished the quantum world from the classical world.

Entanglement occurs when groups of particles or waves are created or interact in such a way that the quantum state of each particle or wave cannot be described independently of the others, however far apart they are.

Experiments performed at the University of Sao Paulo's Physics Institute (IF-USP) in Brazil have succeeded in entangling six light waves generated by a simple laser light source known as an optical parametric oscillator.

Articles about these experiments have been published in Physical Review Letters ("Hexapartite entanglement in an above-threshold optical parametric oscillator") and Physical Review A ("Exploring six modes of an optical parametric oscillator"). The experiments are highlighted in a special news feature posted to the publications' website.

"Our platform is capable of generating a massive entanglement of many optical modes with different but well-defined frequencies, as if connecting the nodes of a large network. The quantum states thus produced can be controlled by a single parameter: the power of the external laser that pumps the system," said Marcelo Martinelli, one of the coordinators of the experiments.

Martinelli is a professor at IF-USP and the principal investigator for the Thematic Project "Exploring quantum information with atoms, crystals and chips" funded by Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP. The experiments were performed under the aegis of this Thematic Project.

"Entanglement is a property that involves quantum correlations between distinct systems," Martinelli said. "These correlations are a major asset that can make quantum computers superior to traditional electronic computers in performing tasks such as simulations or prime number factoring, a critical operation for data security in today's world. For this reason, the creation of systems with multiple entangled components is an important challenge in implementing the ideas of quantum information theory."

Faster processing

In previous research, the IF-USP team entangled two and three modes with the optical parametric oscillator. Their latest experiments have doubled the space available for information to be encoded.

This idea is easier to understand through an analogy. The classical bit (binary digit) is a two-state system that can be in only one state at any given time - either zero or one. This is the basis of binary logic. The qubit (quantum bit) can represent a one, a zero or any quantum superposition of these two states, so it can encode more information than a classical bit.

Entanglement corresponds to the nonlocal correlation of several qubits. Nonlocality is an intrinsic characteristic of nature and one of the key differences between quantum physics and classical physics, which recognizes only local correlations.

Martinelli explained how this general principle is demonstrated in the experiments in question. "A laser supplies all the energy for the process," said the coordinator for the FAPESP Thematic Project. "The light beam produced by this laser hits a crystal and generates two other fields, which maintain the characteristics of the laser: intense monochrome light with well-defined frequencies. The system therefore now consists of three intense fields. Each intense field couples a pair of extremely weak fields, so that the six fields are coupled to the main field. The correlations between them are stronger than the correlations that are feasible if independent lasers are used."

The device that generates the entangled states - the optical parametric oscillator - consists of a small crystal between two mirrors. The crystal is 1 cm long, and the distance between the mirrors is less than 5 cm. However, because cooling is a necessary condition for the process, the crystal and mirrors are placed inside an aluminum box in a vacuum to avoid condensation and to prevent the system from freezing.

The information that can be encoded by a single wave is limited by the uncertainty principle. In this case, the wave amplitude and phase behave as analogues of particle position and velocity, the variables considered by Werner Heisenberg (1901-76) in formulating the principle.

"With entanglement, part of the information in each particular wave is lost, but the global information in the system is preserved, in a shared form," Martinelli said. "Sharing means that when we observe a single wave, we're informed about the other five at the same time. Each beam goes to a detector, and this distribution of the information into independent units boosts the processing speed."

The six waves comprise a set. When information is obtained from one wave, information is obtained on the entire system. When one is changed, the entire system is changed.

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About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en.
The number of diagnoses of systemic lupus erythematodes (SLE) has tripled over the past 45 years - due in part to improved diagnostic methods. Lupus is a systemic inflammatory disease which can affect several organs; most frequently the kidneys, skin, brain and the heart. Involvement of the heart is important as it determines these patients' outcome, yet as it carries on silently for a long time, it may go undetected and untreated for a long time.

Heart involvement in lupus: disguised symptoms

This problematic situation has several causes. First, the natural course of lupus-caused heart disease often has few or no symptoms - this 'subclinical course' represents a major challenge for doctors to recognize it. It also affects mostly young, and predominantly female patients, for whom heart disease is not usual in the first place. Moreover, if symptoms occur, they are not classical symptoms of heart disease, such as angina. More commonly, symptoms are 'atypical': in other words, they do not explicitly indicate heart disease. Examples of symptoms are tiredness, dyspnoea, or sharp pain of the chest wall. Lupus patients are also frequently overwhelmed by symptoms in other organ systems, especially the kidneys, which are significantly more pronounced. This results in focus unintentionally being taken away from the heart during diagnosis and treatment. Ultimately, a small percentage of patients develops heart failure, which is often resistant to therapy.

Study allows non-invasive diagnosis

A study by the University Hospital Frankfurt in collaboration with partners from London and Tubingen has shown that imaging with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) can improve detection of subclinical cardiac injury in lupus patients. The study was published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, the top journal in the field of rheumatology, whose specialists most frequently look after patients with lupus. In the present study, the authors demonstrated that inflammation of heart muscle and the vessels is the defining underlying pathophysiological mechanism of heart injury and impairment in lupus patients, and not, as previously assumed, as a result of the accelerated atherosclerotic blockage of the coronary blood vessels. The research team developed and validated an imaging signature of disease presence and activity of involvement. Thus, they have shown that heart inflammation can be detected and monitored in a non-invasive way without radiation using CMR imaging. Furthermore, CMR imaging can help to adjust the anti-inflammatory treatment to treat the heart involvement directly.

Potential for paradigm change

The study has significant potential for a real change in the clinical care of heart involvement in patients with lupus: away from the less sensitive, highly invasive and radiation-intensive methods toward patient-friendly and secure diagnostic approaches, which are non-invasive, radiation-free, and aside from the baseline investigation, also largely free from contrast agents. The new diagnostic method informs the treating physicians accurately about the disease presence, stage and severity, and gauges the treatment response.

Course of the study

Ninety-two patients with lupus were examined using the CMR imaging; 78 healthy individuals served as a control group. This multicentre and multidisciplinary study was headed by Dr Valentina Puntmann from the Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imagery (Goethe CVI) at the University Hospital Frankfurt and builds on a decade-long record of investigation into cardiac inflammation by non-invasive imaging in systemic inflammatory diseases. In addition to the Goethe CVI, University Hospital Frankfurt's Rheumatology, Cardiology and Radiology were also involved.

Successful Imaging

The heart muscle, its volume, and function were examined in all participants using CMR imaging. Various other blood values, such as troponin and NT-proBNP, which serve as biomarkers for heart impairment, were also examined. These markers were raised in 81 percent of lupus patients, but only in eight percent to a degree we usually see in the course of a heart attack. However, CMR imaging was able to point towards the presence of relevant inflammation of heart muscle much more frequently, making it more suited to detect inflammation, even if the blood tests remain only mildly raised. In addition, changes to the clinical activity can be more quickly detected using the imaging than with blood values, as these may remain raised for weeks on end. There are no disadvantages to CMR, as no invasive procedures or radiation are involved.

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Publication:

Winau, Lea et al. (2018): High-sensitive troponin is associated with subclinical imaging biosignature of inflammatory cardiovascular involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus. In: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2018-213661.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30077990"

Further information: Dr. Valentina Puntmann, Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging (Goethe CVI), University Hospital Frankfurt, Tel + 49 69 63 01 - 86 76 0,E-Mail: valentina.puntmann@kgu.de, http://www.cardiac-imaging.org/valentina-puntmann.html

Stabsstelle Recht, Offentlichkeits- und Pressearbeit,University Hospital Frankfurt, Tel +49 69 63 01 - 64 44, Fax + 49 69 63 01 - 83 22 2, E-Mail; Recht-Presse@kgu.de, http://www.kgu.de

About the Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging (Goethe CVI)

The Institute for Experimental and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging at the University Hospital of Frankfurt was founded in 2014 as a newly established department for dedicated clinical research in cardiovascular imaging. This was made possible by an extensive support from the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research . The research aims include developing, validating and translating novel imaging modalities into clinical cardiac management to support treatment of heart disease. In addition to several multicentre clinical studies (including MRInform, International T1 Outcome Study, DecipherHFpEF and TrueTypeCKD), the Institute provides clinical and scientific training in cardiovascular imaging and clinical research. In the interdisciplinary collaboration with the Department of Cardiology and Radiology at the Frankfurt University Hospital, we offer high-end service of cardiac imaging (cardiac MRI and cardiac CT) supporting treatment of ischemic heart disease, heart failure and inflammatory cardiomyopathies, including rheumatological conditions diseases, chronic infections, chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity and chronic kidney disease.

Current news about science, teaching, and society in GOETHE-UNI online

Goethe University is a research-oriented university in the European financial centre Frankfurt The university was founded in 1914 through private funding, primarily from Jewish sponsors, and has since produced pioneering achievements in the areas of social sciences, sociology and economics, medicine, quantum physics, brain research, and labour law. It gained a unique level of autonomy on 1 January 2008 by returning to its historic roots as a "foundation university". Today, it is among the top ten in external funding and among the top three largest universities in Germany, with three clusters of excellence in medicine, life sciences and the humanities. Together with the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Mainz, it acts as a partner of the inter-state strategic Rhine-Main University Alliance. Internet: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Consumers can go to Google, Yelp and Facebook for crowdsourced insight about the experiences they'll have at a hospital, but they shouldn't expect foolproof guidance on the quality of care they will receive, according to new Indiana University research.

Researchers Victoria Perez and Seth Freedman of IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs compared social media ratings offered by patients with the extensive data available through the federal government's "Hospital Compare" website.

Their key findings:

On patient experience -- food, friendliness, amenities -- the Google, Yelp and Facebook ratings most often aligned with hospitals that are highly ranked by Hospital Compare for patient experience based on surveys.

On quality of care and safety as measured on Hospital Compare, the Google, Yelp and Facebook ratings were not as accurate. In fact, 20 percent of the hospitals rated "best" within a local market on social media were rated "worst" in that market by Hospital Compare on patient health outcomes.

"Our results indicate that crowdsourced ratings reflect measures of quality most easily observed, which is not all that matters in health care," Perez said. "While crowdsourced sites may provide similar information to the government's patient experience surveys, they are not a substitute for measures of clinical quality or patient safety."

The researchers acknowledge that finding that information can be a challenge. Their research highlights shortcomings with the Hospital Compare scores and a need to communicate clinical quality more clearly to patients. Of the 57 Hospital Compare metrics, patients must wade through 46 to determine clinical quality and safety. Many may not apply to the specific condition for which they are seeking care.

"For patients broadly interested in the dimensions of clinical quality and safety, our research shows the need for better tools to help patients search for hospitals that meet their clinical needs," Freedman said.

While the Hospital Compare ratings have been available since 2005, only recently has it been possible to make a comparison with crowdsourcing sites. Because of the rapid growth of social media, 90 percent of hospitals now show up on Hospital Compare and on the crowdsourced sites.

"Our study establishes how the 'best' and 'worst' rankings in a hospital market depend on where a patient goes for information," Perez said. "While 5-star ratings are easy to understand, our research shows patients should think twice before using it as a single source of information for a life-changing decision about hospital care."

An in-depth article about the research, "Do Crowdsourced Hospital Ratings Coincide with Hospital Compare Measures of Clinical and Nonclinical Quality?" was published in the peer-reviewed journal Health Services Research.

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An international research group improved perovskite solar cells efficiency by using materials with better light absorption properties. For the first time, researchers used silicon nanoparticles. Such nanoparticles can trap light of a broad range of wavelengths near the cell active layer. The particles themselves don't absorb light and don't interact with other elements of the battery, thus maintaining its stability. The research was published in Advanced Optical Materials.

Perovskite solar cells have become very popular over the last few years. This hybrid material allows scientists to create inexpensive, efficient, and easy to use solar cells. The only problem is that the thickness of a perovskite layer should not exceed several hundred nanometers, but at the same time a thin perovskite absorbs less amount of incident photons from the Sun.

For this reason, scientists had to find a way to enhance light harvesting properties of the absorbing perovskite layer without increasing its thickness. To do this, scientists use metal nanoparticles. Such particles allow for better light absorption due to surface plasmon excitation but have significant drawbacks. For example, they absorb some energy themselves, thus heating up and damaging the battery. Scientists from ITMO University, in collaboration with colleagues from St. Petersburg State University, Italy and the USA, proposed using silicon nanoparticles to solve these problems.

"Dielectric particles don't absorb light, so they don't heat up. They are chemically inert and don't affect the stability of the battery. Besides, being highly resonant, such particles can absorb more light of a wide range of wavelengths. Due to special layout characteristics, they don't damage the structure of the cells. These advantages allowed us to enhance cells efficiency up to almost 19%. So far, this is the best known result for this particular perovskite material with incorporated nanoparticles," shares Aleksandra Furasova, a postgraduate student at ITMO's Faculty of Physics and Engineering.

According to the scientists, this is the first research on using silicon nanoparticles for enhancing light harvesting properties of the absorbing upper layer. Silicon nanoparticles have already surpassed plasmonic ones. The scientists hope that a deeper study of the interaction between nanoparticles and light, as well as their application in perovskite solar cells will lead to even better results.

"In our research, we used MAPbI3 perovskite, which allowed us to study in detail how resonant silicon nanoparticles affect perovskites solar cells. Now we can further try to use such particles for other types of perovskites with increased efficiency and stability. Apart from that, the nanoparticles themselves can be modified in order to enhance their optical and transport properties. It is important to note that silicon nanoparticles are very inexpensive and easy to produce. Therefore, this method can be easily incorporated in the process of solar cells production," commented Sergey Makarov, head of ITMO's Laboratory of Hybrid Nanophotonics and Optoelectronics.

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Reference:

"Resonant Silicon Nanoparticles for Enhanced Light Harvesting in Halide Perovskite Solar Cells". Aleksandra Furasova et al.

Advanced Optical Materials, 30 August 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.201800576
Our immune system is working every day to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and parasites, but it can also detect when our own cells are damaged.

Research led by Lancaster University has now discovered how skin cells alert the immune system, when their DNA is damaged in the absence of infection. This DNA damage can come from a variety of sources, such as the sun's UV rays, chemical agents like cigarette smoke, or from genotoxic drugs used in chemotherapy.

There have been few studies carried out on the immediate effects of DNA damage on the immune response, and fewer still on the role that skin cells could play in this response. Skin is our primary barrier against the outside world, and is constantly exposed to viruses and bacteria, but also to UV light and environmental toxins.

The study, published in Molecular Cell, found that DNA damage can lead to an immune response similar to that observed during viral infection.

The scientists damaged the DNA in skin cells using the chemotherapy drug Etoposide, and found that the damage was detected by some of the proteins in the cell that also recognise DNA from viruses. The damaged skin cells produced immune messenger molecules such as interferons and other cytokines that usually alert the body to infections. While this response required many components of our anti-viral defences, it activated them in a different way, making use of the proteins that are responsible for repairing our DNA after damage.

Using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology, researchers were able to modify skin cells to delete certain immune genes and determine their role in this pathway. Specifically, they focused on components of the DNA sensing pathway that our cells deploy to detect viruses. Our cells use the protein cGAS to recognise virus DNA in the cytoplasm. cGAS then activates the immune adaptor STING (STimulator of INterferon Genes), which switches on an anti-viral immune response. The scientists found that STING could be activated in a different way after DNA damage, even when cGAS was absent. This involved a DNA binding protein in the nucleus, IFI16, which could activate STING with help from DNA repair factors.

Lead author Dr. Leonie Unterholzner from Lancaster University said: "We have discovered a new way in which our cells can switch on an immune response in the skin. It is possible that our immune cells use this alarm system to detect damaged skin cells, and prevents them from becoming cancerous. This is a very exciting first step, but much more work needs to be done to find out how this discovery may be used for medical applications, for instance in cancer immunotherapy."

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The research was led by Lancaster University with funding from the Medical Research Council and North West Cancer Research, and collaboration from the University of St. Andrews, Trinity College Dublin, and Aarhus University.
In 1938, an ambitious young Texas congressman named Lyndon Johnson voted for a bill called the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established the minimum wage. Most of Johnson's Democratic Party colleagues joined him.

In 1947, however, Johnson, now a seasoned representative, voted for another bill, the Taft-Hartley Act, which limited the power of labor unions. Passing through a Republican-controlled congress with the help of Southern Democrats, the Taft-Hartley Act helped put the brakes on years of progressive momentum established by the Democratic Party.

"It was an incredibly consequential shift that basically set the limits of the New Deal," says MIT political scientist Devin Caughey. "It was a critical turning point in American political development."

It's fair to say Johnson -- later the 36th president of the U.S. -- was inconsistent with regard to the interests of labor, as well as his own party. But why? For what reason would a popular Democratic Party politician, in a region controlled by the Democrats, have to zigzag on policy matters? This was the famous "solid South" of the mid-20th century, after all.

To Caughey, there is a clear explanation for why Johnson, and many of his Southern colleagues, reversed course: public pressure. In 1947, Johnson was on the eve of his first U.S. Senate campaign in Texas (which he barely won), and he moved back toward the right politically to help his chances. The strategy seemed necessary because Southern politics had shifted over the previous decade. In the 1930s, the region supported economically progressive legislation, but by the 1940s, much of the South had soured on the New Deal.

"The consequences of this transformation were momentous at the time and continue to reverberate today," Caughey writes in his new book, "The Unsolid South: Mass Politics and National Representation in a One-Party Enclave," published this month by Princeton University Press.

As the title suggests, Caughey believes the supposedly "solid South" was not a unitary bloc: Battles within the Democratic Party in the region served as a proxy for national battles between the two major parties.

"Even though there was no partisan competition in the South, there was intraparty competition," Caughey says, noting that "once members of Congress were elected, they would divide in ways that aligned either with the Democrats or Republicans nationally."

But while other interpretations of the Democratic Party in the South at the time depict it as being controlled by elites who ignored the masses, Caughey contends that Southern politicians backed away from their party's program because voters would not have kept electing them otherwise.

"What really hasn't been looked at is the connection between mass politics and public opinion, on the one hand, and congressional behavior, on the other," Caughey says.

Caughey is well-positioned to offer this kind of analysis. Along with his colleague Christopher Warshaw (formerly of MIT, now of George Washington University), and with the aid of student researchers from MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), Caughey has helped build a massive and unique database of policy decisions and public opinion, spanning the years 1936-2014, which he draws on in his analysis.

Those data have led him to conclude that while one-party domination meant Southern politics were not especially responsive to public opinion at the state level, the two-party competition nationally, between Democrats and Republicans, meant that at the federal level, Southern members of Congress had to heed public opinion. Without doing so, they would lose in Democratic Party primaries to politicians who were more aligned with their constituencies.

"A lot of Democratic Party primary contests in the South were often on the kinds of issues that divided Democrats and Republicans nationally, about the role of government, how high taxes should be, and other classic New Deal issues," Caughey says.

Of course, as Caughey details in the book, any discussion about public opinion in the South in this era comes with a huge qualification: Segregation prevented almost all African-Americans from voting, so the public opinion that swayed politicians was strictly white public opinion.

"A large chunk of the population was disenfranchised," Caughey says. "The distinctive regime in the South for most of the first part of the 20th century featured both disenfranchisement and a lack of party competition."

The issue of racial relations, Caughey notes, also strongly informs the South's reversal regarding the New Deal. In the 1930s, much of the South supported the New Deal in large part because it brought jobs and infrastructure to what was the country's most economically lagging region.

White Southerners thus benefitted greatly from the early stages of New Deal legislation. But the emerging, proposed New Deal legislation of the 1940s did not so obviously favor white Southerners specifically. Indeed, an extension of economically progressive legislation may well have dealt a major setback to segregation.

"Part of it was the growing fear that the New Deal state posed a potential and maybe actual threat to Jim Crow in the South," Caughey says. "So racial fears came to the fore."

At the same time, Southerners were already more resistant to unions than people in other regions; the extent to which the New Deal might help organized labor also fed Southern antipathy toward economically liberal politicians. As Caughey notes in the book, by 1944, 81 percent of white Southerners stated they would oppose a candidate supported by the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), as opposed to 61 percent in the rest of the country.

As Caughey discusses in the book, the South's turn against the New Deal is just one of two major reversals the region witnessed in the 20th century. The other was its even more famous flip away from the Democrats after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 -- signed by, yes, President Lyndon Johnson -- to the point where the region is now heavily controlled by the Republican Party.

The current dynamics, Caughey writes, still "exhibit an extraordinary degree of ideological and partisan polarization by race." For his part, Caughey adds, he would like the book to open up avenues for further research about conditions of one-party domination in politics, something he affirms in the book's conclusion: "My hope is the questions raised in this book will spur other scholars to pursue a broader research agenda on representation and democracy in one-party settings around the world."

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Related links

ARCHIVE: People power http://news.mit.edu/2018/state-level-policy-responsive-public-opinion-0511

ARCHIVE: Primary factors http://news.mit.edu/2016/presidential-primary-factors-0525

ARCHIVE: Mapping the history of U.S. state politics http://news.mit.edu/2015/map-history-us-state-politics-1202
The area of stronger storms in Hurricane Norman have expanded over the last several day in infrared NASA imagery as the storm intensified. Stronger thunderstorms circled Norman's center in a thicker ring on Sept. 6 when NASA's Terra satellite passed over the hurricane.

On Sept. 6, Major Hurricane Norman was east of the Hawaiian Islands and tracking toward the west-northwest. Although there are no coastal warnings or watches in effect, NOAA's Central Pacific Hurricane Center noted "Interests in the main Hawaiian Islands should monitor the progress of Norman over the next couple of days."

Infrared satellite data at 4:25 a.m. EDT (0825 UTC) on Sept. 6, from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Terra satellite showed coldest cloud top temperatures in Norman completely circled the eye in a very wide band. On Sept 4, the MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite showed a band of strong storms that circled the center was much thinner. As Norman intensified, the stronger storms expanded further out from the eye. That powerful band of thunderstorms showed coldest cloud tops had temperatures near minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius). NASA research has found that cloud top temperatures that cold have the capability to generate heavy rainfall.

At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 UTC) on Sept. 6 (11 p.m. HST on Sept. 5), the center of Hurricane Norman was located near latitude 20.3 degrees north and longitude 149.8 degrees west. Norman is moving toward the west-northwest near 8 mph. This motion is expected to continue tonight, followed by a turn toward the northwest on Thursday. Norman is forecast to continue to move toward the northwest on Friday and Saturday, and along the forecast track, the center of Norman is expected to pass 200 to 300 miles to the northeast of the main Hawaiian Islands.

Maximum sustained winds are near 120 mph (195 kph) with higher gusts. Norman is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Weakening is expected over the next couple of days.

CPHC noted that "large swells generated by Norman will continue to build across the Hawaiian Islands through Thursday. Large and potentially dangerous surf is expected along east facing shores through at least Thursday night, Sept. 6."

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For updates on Norman, visit: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/
Wednesday, 5 September 2018: Researchers at RCSI, Stanford University and Oregon Health Sciences University have discovered a marker which can help determine which asthma patients are likely to benefit from a new treatment which targets inflammatory cells called Eosinophils. The research, which was funded through a Health Research Board Clinician Scientist Award, has today been published in Science Translational Medicine.

Asthma is a common clinical condition characterized by airway obstruction, inflammation, and hyper responsiveness. It affects approximately 470,000 people in Ireland. Symptoms such as bronchoconstriction and cough range from mild intermittent to severe persistent. Some patients, despite good treatment, remain troubled by the symptoms of their condition.

According to Professor Richard Costello, Department of Medicine, RCSI, "The novel treatments now available for asthma present a new challenge for clinicians. It is important that we are able to identify which patient will benefit from these treatments. Our research set out to determine if there were any particular markers which would help us to understand which patients had a particular form of asthma and would respond well to new treatments".

Professor Costello explained that in eosinophilic asthma, the most common form of asthma, inflammatory cells (eosinophils) in the airway alter nerve function and make the condition worse.

"We identified that inflammatory cells, in particular, eosinophils, promote airway nerve growth in patients with asthma. These observations provide a unique insight into a fundamental mechanism of how the inflammation caused by asthma causes people to experience the symptoms of asthma such as coughing and breathlessness", said Professor Costello.

"Our research means that we now know which markers to look for in a patient with severe asthma. A patient with markers which show they have this particular form of asthma is likely to respond well to these new treatments".

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RCSI is an international not-for-profit health sciences institution, founded in 1784, with its headquarters in Dublin. It is focused on education and research to drive improvements in human health worldwide. It is ranked among the top 250 (top 2%) of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings (2018) and its research is ranked first in Ireland for citations. It is a signatory of the Athena SWAN Charter.
Grant Lipman, MD, an emergency medicine physician at Stanford Medicine, was running through the brown hills behind the campus a few years ago during a severe drought when he came across a 3-foot-long rattlesnake lying by the trail. When a colleague mentioned he'd experienced a similar rattlesnake sighting, Lipman got to thinking.

"I wondered if there are more snakebites during droughts," said Lipman, clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at the Stanford School of Medicine, who routinely treats patients with venomous snakebites.

Lipman launched a study with a team of researchers to investigate the question. What they found defies conventional wisdom: The number of snakebites actually decreases after a drought but goes up after periods of rainy weather. The study also reported that the increase in weather extremes caused by climate change has a direct influence on snakebite incidence in California. This could be useful to help guide public health measures, such as determining the best allocation of antivenom supplies, the study said.

Lipman shares lead authorship with Caleb Phillips, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of computer science at the University of Colorado-Boulder. The senior author is Derrick Lung, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco. The study will be published Sept. 5 in Clinical Toxicology.

Little scientific evidence links drought to an increase in snakebites, and yet everyone seems to believe there's a connection, including emergency medicine providers, since that's what they're taught during training, Lipman said. A quick Internet search of headlines from the popular press quickly confirmed this: "Deadly Snakebites Set to Skyrocket During Record-breaking Drought," reads one in 2018 in the Daily Mail. Another, "Snakes Cross Paths with Humans in Bay Area Due to Drought," was reported on ABCNews.com in 2015. The prevailing theory goes that snakes wander further to forage for food during times of drought, plus they are simply more active in warmer weather.

"We set out to prove that, yes, there are more snakebites during high drought time especially since that's what we were taught," Lipman said.

20 years of snakebite data

In fact, what they found was the exact opposite. The researchers collected and examined 20 years of snakebite data from every phone call made to the California Poison Control System from 1997 to 2017. Details included the date and time of the bite; the patient's age and sex; where the bite occurred on the body; call site; treatment; and medical outcomes. Cases were also grouped by the callers' ZIP codes to one of California's 58 counties.

A total of 5,365 snakebites were reported, all of them from rattlesnakes. Five deaths were reported over the 20-year period. The median age of the patients was 37. They were most likely to be male, and the bites most often occurred at home in the backyard. The majority of bites occurred during the spring or summer and in counties dominated by shrub or scrub growth. Mariposa County topped the list with the most bites at 96 bites per 1 million people. In Santa Clara County, where Stanford is located, there were 4 bites per 1 million people.

"The most common comment I usually hear from snakebite victims in the emergency room is: 'I was just minding my own business,'" Lipman said. "Usually, though, it's the snakes that were minding their own business, having a nice nap. It's people who tend to disturb them."

'More food, more snakes, more snakebites'

The study found that snakebite incidence decreased 10 percent following a drought but increased by 10 percent following high levels of precipitation. The researchers developed their own theory that an increase in rain results in more shrub growth and, with that, an increase in rodents, the snakes' primary food source.

"More food, more snakes, more snakebites," Lipman said. "But that's just our theory."

After accounting for seasonal trends, researchers observed that precipitation was a strong predictor of snakebites. The numbers of bites peaked following the heavy precipitation years of 2006 and 2011, the study found.

"While we were writing this up, we were seeing all these catastrophic weather events around the world," Lipman said. "Massive droughts, powerful hurricanes and floods. We were seeing this global climate change, and we started looking at the recent worst California drought followed by the state's highest precipitation levels on record."

By looking at reports of the wettest and driest years during the 20-year period, researchers saw quite visible comparative trends across the state in all 58 counties. After adjusting for population, the researchers found that the incidence of snakebite fell during two periods of extreme drought between 2002-05 and from 2007-10. From 2015-16, the most severe drought on record in California, the number of snakebites reached their nadir, the study said.

As weather grows increasingly extreme, it grows ever more important to know when to be prepared for perhaps increasingly high incidences of snakebites, Lipman said.

"We can predict a big snakebite season because of prior wet winters and have antivenom in places where there are a lot of hikers or trail runners," Lipman said. "It's important information for people who work and play in California."

Reminding outdoorsy Californians of snakebite-prevention practices is also helpful, particularly when risks of snakebites might be high, Lipman said. Such practices include staying at least two snake-lengths away from rattlesnakes, which can strike fast. Lipman noted that because snakes don't have ears, stomping on the ground works best to scare them away, and that antivenom is effective (but expensive) and needs to be administered quickly to snakebite victims with signs of poisoning.

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Print media contact: Tracie White at (650) 723-7628 (traciew@stanford.edu)

Broadcast media contact: Margarita Gallardo at (650) 723-7897 (mjgallardo@stanford.edu)

Researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder, UCSF and St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California, contributed to the study.

Stanford's Department of Emergency Medicine also supported the work.

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu.
A new approach that distills deluges of genetic data and patient health records has identified a set of telltale patterns that can predict a person's risk for a common, and often fatal, cardiovascular disease, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Although the method, which uses a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning, has so far only been used to predict the likelihood of this particular condition -- called abdominal aortic aneurysm, or AAA -- it's proof that such an approach could decipher the molecular nuances that put people at risk for just about any complex genetic disease.

"Right now, genome sequencing is starting to make its mark," said Michael Snyder, PhD, professor and chair of genetics at Stanford. "It's being used a lot in cancer, or to solve mystery diseases. But there's still a big open question: How much can we use it for predicting disease risk?"

It turns out, quite a bit.

Typically, researchers and health care providers use genetic testing to look for DNA sequences that may correspond to an increased risk for a particular illness. Mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, for instance, may signal an increased risk of breast cancer. But the method that Snyder and his colleagues developed doesn't work like that. It's not looking for one standout gene or mutation; it's looking for a slew of complex mutational patterns, and how those genetic errors play into a person's health and risk for disease.

The method seeks to identify any likely disease-causing culprits in an "agnostic" manner, meaning that it combs through an onslaught of genetic information from patients with AAA, looking for commonalities. This, Snyder said, is the key to unraveling any number of genetic diseases. It's not often the case that one, two or even a handful of genes take sole responsibility for a condition. Far more likely is that it's a whole bunch of them. The idea is that it takes a village to cause a disease, and by using this new method, those villagers can be identified.

The study will be published Sept. 6 in Cell. Snyder and Philip Tsao, PhD, professor of medicine, share senior authorship. Instructor Jingjing Li, PhD; research manager Cuiping Pan, PhD; and postdoctoral scholar Sai Zhang, PhD, are the lead authors.

Often diagnosed at death

AAA afflicts upward of 3 million people every year and is the 10th-leading killer in the United States. Patients with AAA have an enlarged aorta, the main artery of the body, which slowly balloons over time until, in the worst of cases, it ruptures. To make matters worse, these types of aneurysms rarely show symptoms. So in many cases, the condition silently escalates, which is in part what makes it so dangerous.

Yet AAA is pretty amenable to behavioral change. Things like smoking and high blood pressure intensify the condition, while higher levels of HDL, or "good" cholesterol, help decrease the risk. So, if people know they are at risk early on, they can ideally adjust their lifestyle to avoid exacerbation or onset altogether.

"What's important to note about AAA is that it's irreversible, so once your aorta starts enlarging, it's not like you can un-enlarge it. And typically, the disease is discovered when the aorta bursts, and by that time it's 90 percent lethal," said Snyder, the Stanford W. Ascherman, MD, FACS, Professor in Genetics. "So here's this irreversible disease, no way to predict it. No one has ever set up a predictive test for it and, just from a genome sequence, we found that we could actually predict with about 70 percent accuracy who is at high risk for AAA." When other details from electronic patient records were added, like whether a patient smoked and his or her cholesterol levels, accuracy increased to 80 percent, Snyder said.

The method Snyder and his team devised relies on an algorithm they call the Hierarchical Estimate From Agnostic Learning, or HEAL, which analyzed genomic data from 268 patients with AAA and scanned the mass of information for any genes that were found to be mutated across the population. The algorithm identified 60 genes that were hypermutated in the AAA patients. Some genes played roles in blood-vessel function and aneurysm development -- a nod to HEAL's accuracy -- but others, more surprisingly, were associated with regulation of immune function, revealing that the mutational landscape of this disease is complex, involving niches of physiology that weren't necessarily expected.

The team further confirmed their findings using HEAL in a control group, double-checking that the AAA-related mutational patterns were not seen among 133 healthy individuals. And indeed, there was no significant overlap.

"HEAL could, therefore, uncover new research directions and potential therapeutic targets for devastating diseases such as AAA" said Tsao, who is also the director of the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Epidemiology Research and Information Center for Genomics.

Any disease with a genetic component

The key, Snyder said, is that the findings were entirely unbiased. The researchers didn't say, "We think gene X, Y and Z might play a role in AAA." They fed the genetic information into HEAL and asked if there were genes or sets of genes that were enriched for mutation. "We let machine learning figure it out, and that's something that, to our knowledge, has never been done before," Snyder said.

Even for diseases that have these big "red flag" genomic markers, HEAL could offer a leg up, Snyder said. "For example, in familiar cases like breast cancer, for which we know of specific 'culprit' genes, you have to remember that these genes -- BRCA1, BRCA2 and a couple others -- only explain about 30 percent of the genetics of the disease," Snyder said. "That means 70 percent is still unexplained. There are probably multiple genes and mutations involved, and that's where we think HEAL may kick in big time."

In their next phase of work, Snyder and his group are looking into using HEAL to detect the elusive genetic underpinnings of preterm birth and autism.

"I see a future in which everyone will be born with their genome sequenced, or shortly thereafter," Snyder said. "Both your single-gene and your complex disease risk will be used to predict your overall disease risk, and then you can take action based on that information."

The work is an example of Stanford Medicine's focus on precision health, the goal of which is to anticipate and prevent disease in the healthy and precisely diagnose and treat disease in the ill.

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Other Stanford authors of the study are Joshua Spin, MD, PhD, clinical assistant professor of cardiovascular medicine; life science research assistant Alicia Deng; professor of medicine Lawrence Leung, MD; and Ronald Dalman, MD, professor of vascular surgery.

Snyder and Tsao are members of Stanford Bio-X and the Stanford Child Health Research Center. Snyder is also a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute and the Stanford Neurosciences Institute. Snyder and Tsao are members of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.

The research was funded by National Institutes of Health (grants CEGS 5P50HG00773504, 1P50HL083800, 1R01HL101388, 1R01HL122939 and S10OD020141), the University of California and the Veterans Affairs Office of Research and Development.

Stanford's Department of Genetics also supported the work.

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu.

Print media contact: Hanae Armitage at (650) 725-5376 (harmitag@stanford.edu)

Broadcast media contact: Margarita Gallardo at (650) 723-7897 (mjgallardo@stanford.edu)
TORONTO, September 6, 2018 - Foods high in unsaturated fats may protect against cardiovascular disease, and new research published today in Nature Communications has uncovered why.

Apolipoprotein A-IV, known as ApoA-IV, is a plasma protein. Levels of ApoA-IV increase after the digestion of foods, particularly foods high in unsaturated fats, such as olive oil. Higher levels of ApoA-IV in the blood have been reported to be associated with lower rates of cardiovascular disease.

New research from the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science (KRCBS) of St. Michael's Hospital demonstrates that ApoA-IV is an inhibitory factor for platelets, which are small blood cells that play a key role in multiple diseases, particularly in bleeding and cardiovascular diseases.

These new findings suggest that ApoA-IV is a blocker of platelet surface glycoproteins GPIIbIIIa (also named integrin II3). Integrin II3 is a platelet receptor that is necessary for platelets to clump together in the blood (called platelet aggregation). Platelet aggregation can cause vessel occlusion that blocks blood flow, leading to thrombosis, which is the most common cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.

"Platelet aggregation can save lives, because it can stop bleeding in damaged vessels," said Dr. Heyu Ni, Platform Director for Hematology, Cancer and Immunological Diseases at the KRCBS, who is the principal investigator of this study. "But we usually don't want platelets to block blood flow in the vessels. This is thrombosis, and if vessel occlusion occurs in the heart or brain, it can cause heart attack, stroke or death."

Platelets bind together with a series of connectors. For one platelet to bond to another, the platelet receptor integrin II3 first binds to fibrinogen - an abundant protein that bridges platelets in blood - and fibrinogen molecules then bind another integrin II3 on a second platelet. Then fibrinogen and likely also other proteins allow many platelets to bind one another, leading to platelet aggregation.

Examining both lab models and humans, Dr. Ni, who is also a scientist at Canadian Blood Services Centre for Innovation, and his team have shown that ApoA-IV can link to the integrin II3 and block fibrinogen binding, decreasing platelet aggregation in a vessel. The ApoA-IV protein can also change its shape to accommodate increased blood flow, and become more effective to protect vessels from complete blockage.

"This is the first study to link ApoA-IV with platelets and thrombosis," Dr. Ni said. "With this work, we have also explained why higher levels of ApoA-IV can slow down plaque build-up in blood vessels, known as atherosclerosis, because this process is also related to platelet function."

The researchers also examined ApoA-IV's interaction with food. After every meal, platelets are stimulated, which makes it easier for them to bond together or bond to white blood cells. ApoA-IV increases in circulating blood almost immediately after meals containing unsaturated fats and decreases platelet hyperactivity and bonding, thus reducing the inflammation after meals and the risk of heart attack and stroke.

The study also found that ApoA-IV has its own circadian rhythm. It is most active overnight and least active in the morning.

"Mother Nature wants us to sleep well," Dr. Ni said. "So we are protected by this protein while we sleep, and most likely to experience a cardiovascular event after waking up in the morning."

Dr. Ni and his team are excited about these findings because they show that foods with high unsaturated fats, along with appropriate sleep patterns, create the perfect combination for the protein ApoA-IV to play a positive role in reducing the chances of cardiovascular disease in the form of atherosclerosis, heart attack, or stroke.

This new knowledge has many potential applications, Dr. Ni explained. Future studies will focus on better understanding this protein and how to harness its protective potential to build therapies targeted at cardiovascular disease and other diseases that arise from platelet activation and aggregation.

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About St. Michael's Hospital

St. Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 29 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, care of the homeless and global health are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Centre, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

St. Michael's Hospital with Providence Healthcare and St. Joseph's Health Centre now operate under one corporate entity as of August 1, 2017. United, the three organizations serve patients, residents and clients across the full spectrum of care, spanning primary care, secondary community care, tertiary and quaternary care services to post-acute through rehabilitation, palliative care and long-term care, while investing in world-class research and education.

Media contact

Ana Gajic

Senior Communications Advisor, Research

St. Michael's Hospital

Phone: 416-864-5960 or 416 458 0629

Gajica@smh.ca
Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have identified intrinsic cell properties that influence the fate of neural stem cells, affecting what type of brain cell they will form: neurons, astrocytes, or oligodendrocytes. This discovery could give scientists a new way to predict or control the fate of stem cells, improving their use in transplantation therapies.

Published today in Stem Cell Reports, the study was led by Lisa A. Flanagan, PhD, an associate professor of neurology at UCI School of Medicine, and revealed that neural stem cells differing in fate potential expressed distinct patterns of sugars on the cell surface. These sugars contribute to neural stem cell membrane electrical properties and ultimately cell fate. "Stem cells hold great promise for treating disease, but it can be difficult to tell what a stem cell will become after it has been transplanted," said Flanagan. "We can transplant the same number of stem cells in one patient as in another, but the outcomes will be significantly different if the transplanted cells in the first patient become neurons and those in the second patient become astrocytes. With this new discovery, we will be able to predict what a neural stem cell will become and possibly direct cell fate, which will greatly enhance the success of stem cell transplant therapies for a wide variety of diseases."

In research initially published in 2008, Flanagan and colleagues discovered a new way to identify and sort neural stem cells that have different fates by using cell electrical properties. They now build on these findings by showing that differences in cell surface sugars are the reason that the cells have different electrical properties.

In this study, researchers examined several pathways that add sugars to cells and found one that differed between cells that make neurons and those making astrocytes. They stimulated this pathway in neural stem cells, changed cell electrical properties, and caused them to make more astrocytes and fewer neurons, showing that cell surface sugars can control fate. The pathway is active in cells grown for transplants and in cells of the developing brain, so this pathway may also control how neural stem cells form neurons and astrocytes when the brain is being formed during development.

The team is now testing whether modifying this pathway changes how cells behave in transplants or how the developing brain is formed. They are focusing on the machinery inside the cell that adds the sugars in the first place, to see how the process is regulated. They also are finding that particular proteins on the cell surface are changed by this pathway, which will help to uncover how the sugars are telling stem cells which type of cell to form. The long-term goal of these studies is to find ways to improve the effectiveness of stem cell transplants to treat injury and disease.

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The work was supported by the National Science Foundation, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

bout the UCI School of Medicine

Each year, the UCI School of Medicine educates more than 400 medical students, as well as 200 doctoral and master's students. More than 600 residents and fellows are trained at UC Irvine Medical Center and affiliated institutions. The UCI School of Medicine offers an MD degree, a dual MD/PhD medical scientist training program, PhDs and master's degrees in anatomy and neurobiology, biomedical sciences, genetic counseling, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, pathology, pharmacology, physiology and biophysics, and translational sciences. Medical students also may pursue an MD/MBA program, a combined MD/Master's in Public Health or a dual MD/master's program called the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). UCI School of Medicine is accredited by Liaison Committee on Medical Accreditation (LCME), and ranks among the top 50 nationwide for research. For more information, visit: som.uci.edu.

About the University of California, Irvine

Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. Located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities, UCI is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu.
A tiny neuro-controller created by researchers at the University of Connecticut could provide more precise control of futuristic biobots, such as cyborg cockroaches that are already being tested for use in search and rescue missions inside collapsed buildings.

Scientists have spent the better part of the past decade exploring ways to tether live insects to miniaturized computer hardware so they can manipulate an insect's movement. Such possibilities are of interest to the U.S. Department of Defense, search and rescue teams, and others.

Success has been limited and numerous technological challenges continue to exist. This is mainly due to the tremendous difficulty building robotic systems at such small scale and the challenge interfacing electronic hardware with the insect's biological nerve tissue to initiate movement.

The neuro-controller micocircuit developed at UConn is part of a tiny electronic 'backpack' that can be attached to the insect with its wires connected to the insect's antennae lobes. By sending slight electrical charges to neural tissue in either the insect's left or right antenna lobe, operators can trick the insect into thinking it has detected an obstacle, causing it to move in another direction. A charge sent to the right antenna makes a cockroach move left. Likewise, a charge to the left antenna makes it move right.

While similar control systems for insects already exist, what makes UConn's controller unique is the degree to which operators can stimulate an insect's antennae lobes using four-channel microcircuitry. The system also provides real-time feedback of the insect's neural-muscular response to stimuli. That level of detail makes it easier to monitor and control movement, a long sought-after advantage in the micro robotic insect community.

"The use of insects as platforms for small robots has an incredible number of useful applications from search and rescue to national defense," says Abhishek Dutta, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UConn, who developed the circuit along with an undergraduate researcher in his lab, Evan Faulkner. "We believe our microcircuit provides a more sophisticated and reliable control system that brings us one step closer to real world implementation of this technology."

The controller's value comes in the form of an advanced 9-axis inertial measurement unit inside the UConn device that tracks an insect's linear and rotational acceleration, identifies its compass heading, and detects the ambient temperature surrounding the creature. The latter feature is important, the scientists say, because tests have shown that ambient temperature can have an impact on how some insect hosts perform.

The information gathered by the microcircuit is transmitted to the operator via a tiny Bluetooth antenna on the device. The signal can be easily detected by an ordinary cellphone. As the insect's heading, acceleration, and other data comes in, operators can extrapolate the insect's trajectory, adjust the antennae stimuli accordingly, send the appropriate electrical impulses to the insect remotely, and steer it in a desired direction.

To test the new controller, Dutta, an expert in control system optimization and cyber-physical systems, attached the device to a Madagascar hissing cockroach in his lab. The tests showed the cockroach moving left when its right antenna lobe was stimulated and moving right when the left one received a small electrical charge.

One interesting tidbit the researchers noticed was that the intensity of the roach's movements left or right in response to artificial stimulation decreased after the initial stimulus. So if the roach made a hard left after the first electronic pulse hit its right antenna lobe, its left turn was less dramatic with each subsequent pulse to that lobe.

Dutta and Faulkner plan to conduct additional research to refine the system.

The research is being presented at the Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience in Philadelphia on Sept. 6, 2018.

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PHILADELPHIA (September 6, 2018) - Childhood obesity is a serious public health concern that can have a profound impact on children's health and well-being. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely to have obesity compared to their peers with typical development, data show. Until recently, little has been known about why children with ASD are at increased risk for developing obesity.

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), which examined early life risk factors for obesity among children with ASD, developmental delays or disorders, and children from the general population, is among the first to show that children with ASD had the highest frequency of rapid weight gain during the first six months of life, which may put them at increased risk for childhood obesity. The study has been published online in the journal Autism.

"Healthy growth patterns during infancy, in particular, may carry special importance for children at increased risk for an ASD diagnosis, including high-risk populations such as former premature infants, younger siblings of children with ASD, children with genetic disorders that predispose to ASD and others," said Tanja Kral, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences and lead author of the study.

The study also showed that mothers across all groups with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity were almost 2.5 times more likely to have a child with overweight or obesity at ages 2-5 than other mothers. The risk for childhood obesity across all groups was also 1.5 times greater for mothers who exceeded the recommendations for weight gain during pregnancy.

"Helping mothers achieve a healthy pre-pregnancy weight and adequate gestational weight gain and fostering healthy growth during infancy represent important targets for all children," explained Kral.

The findings of this research may shed light into possible mechanisms underlying the increased obesity risk in children with ASD and offer targets for early intervention.

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Co-authors of the study include Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin, PhD, MPH, Viola MacInnes/Independence Professor of Nursing, Jesse Chittams, MS, Aleda Thompson, MS, Lisa Young, MPH, and Susan E. Levy, MD, MPH, all of the University of Pennsylvania; Chyrise B. Bradley, MA and Julie L. Daniels, PhD, both of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Carolyn G. DiGuiseppi, MD, MPH, PhD and Susan L. Johnson, PhD, both of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Juhi Pandey, PhD, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Neloufar Rahai, MPH, New York University; AnnJosette Ramirez, Thomas Jefferson University; Laura A. Schieve, PhD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Gayle Windham, PhD, California Department of Public Health; and Whitney York, Drexel University.

This study was supported by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Cooperative Agreement Numbers U10DD000180 (Colorado Department of Public Health); U10DD000181 (Kaiser Foundation Research Institute); U10DD000182 (University of Pennsylvania); U10DD000183 (Johns Hopkins University); U10DD000184 (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill); and U10DD000498 (Michigan State University).

About the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is one of the world's leading schools of nursing. For the second year in a row, it is ranked the #1 nursing school in the world by QS University, and has four graduate programs ranked number one by U.S. News & World Report, the most of any school in the United States. Penn Nursing is currently ranked # 1 in funding from the National Institutes of Health, among other schools of nursing. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & YouTube.
Experts at the University of Stirling have shed new light on the impact of habitat fragmentation on migrant birds.

Scientists used audio technology to analyse the behaviour of willow warblers, after spring migration, in 23 woodland patches across Scotland and England. While the patches were of a similar size, the landscapes in which they were located had differing amounts of available habitat.

Significantly, the study found that migrant male willow warblers arrived earlier in woodland patches when there was less habitat in the surrounding landscape, within a 2km radius.

The team also found that an individual's decision to remain in a patch after initial colonisation depended on patch quality, as measured by vegetation characteristics. In particular, birds preferred to stay in woodlands with a relatively open understorey, also known as undergrowth.

Robin Whytock, of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, led the work as part of his PhD alongside colleagues at the University, Professor Kirsty Park, Dr Elisa Fuentes-Montemayor and co-supervisor Dr Kevin Watts at Forest Research.

"Habitat fragmentation and loss has changed how animals move through landscapes and use the remaining habitat," Dr Whytock said. "Whether an animal colonises a fragmented habitat patch - for example, a small woodland - depends on a variety of factors, including the content of the surrounding landscape and the quality of the patch itself.

"This study gives a valuable insight into how habitat fragmentation affects the behaviour of even very mobile species, such as migrant birds.

"Our results support prior research in aquatic study systems that have looked at colonisation of artificial reefs and ponds - and, as far as we know, this is the first time that the patterns observed in our study have been observed over such large spatial scales and with such a highly mobile species."

The scientists conducted the study in spring 2016 to focus on the spring migration of the willow warbler, which migrates bi-annually between northern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa.

They combined the latest bio-acoustic technology - which recorded the first song dates of male willow warblers - with Stirling's unique Woodland Creation and Ecological Networks (WrEN) project to test how the amount of habitat in a regional landscape affects colonisation timing of isolated woodland patches.

On analysing the audio data, the team found first song dates were on average five days earlier in patches with five percent woodland cover in the landscape, when compared to patches with around 30 percent cover.

Dr Whytock added: "These findings are particularly interesting when you consider that previous research has suggested this species benefits from large expanses of woodland during migration. Therefore, it's surprising that individuals should choose to settle earlier in isolated woodlands."

He said further work is now required to examine whether this has consequences for the survival and reproduction of willow warblers.

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Forest Research and Natural England collaborated with Stirling on the research, Context-dependent colonisation of terrestrial habitat 'islands' by a long-distance migrant bird, which is published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Dr Whytock was funded by the IAPETUS Doctoral Training Partnership via the Natural Environment Research Council, the National Forest Company and Forest Research.

The WrEN project is funded by the University of Stirling, Natural England, Forestry Commission, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the National Forest Company, Forest Research, the Woodland Trust and Tarmac Ltd.
A doctoral student in biology at The University of Texas at Arlington has received a prestigious grant to fund her research in genetic variation in whiptail lizards.

Kathleen Currie, a third-year doctoral student, was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship Program grant by the National Science Foundation. The award will support her research, which focuses on genetic variation and its impact on the microbiome, using whiptail lizards (genus Aspidoscelis) as the study system.

"What makes this system unique, and the perfect system for my research, is the presence of both sexually and asexually reproducing species living in sympatry," she said.

In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another.

"By examining and comparing these sympatric species, we are hoping to gain a better understanding of the role host genetic variation has in the composition of their microbiomes," Currie said.

The grant includes a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, which is paid to the institution. Currie said that she learned she had won the award through an email from NSF over the summer.

"I got the email right after waking up, so I was pretty disoriented," she recounted. "I took a screenshot and sent it in our lab group message and asked if it meant what I thought it meant, because I didn't believe it. Even though it still doesn't quite feel real yet, I am immensely grateful to NSF for this opportunity and am excited for what the next few years hold."

Matt Fujita, associate professor of biology and Currie's faculty advisor, said he is thrilled to see Currie's hard work pay off with the GRFP award.

"Kathleen has completely earned this award on her own," Fujita said. "She supported herself through her education as an undergraduate at UTA and continues her academic excellence as a graduate student.

"The GRFP will provide her the flexibility to make sure she reaches her research goals but also attain new ones that may not have been possible if she had to teach for an entire semester. I am excited to see the opportunities that open up for Kathleen via this award."

Currie grew up in Euless and graduated from Colleyville Heritage High School. Her interest in biology - and science in general - began in her childhood, she said.

"My favorite classes growing up were always science classes, and I loved to go outside and look for whatever critters I could find," she said.

After high school she attended Tarrant County College before transferring to UTA in 2012.

"While I didn't know quite what I wanted to do in the long run when I initially came to UTA, I knew I wanted to major in biology," Currie said. "I took biological anthropology my first semester here, and realized that I really enjoyed learning about genetics and evolution."

A year later, she took a genetics course taught by Fujita and, after hearing him talk about his research, realized it was what she wanted to do. After class one day, she asked Fujita if he had any space in his lab for an undergraduate. He did, and Currie was on her way to entering the field of evolutionary genetics.

Currie graduated in 2015 with a bachelor's in science in Biology. She spent the next year working as an academic advisor in the Department of Biology, and then started as a doctoral student in Fujita's lab in the fall of 2016. In the two years since, she has worked as a graduate teaching assistant in human anatomy and physiology courses in addition to conducting research on her dissertation project.

Some species of these whiptail lizards are all-female and reproduce by parthenogenesis, a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization. They live in desert grasslands. For her research, Currie has visited West Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado to collect lizard samples.

"It can be a real challenge to catch them because they're so fast and agile," Currie said.

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The NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees at accredited United States institutions.
The University of Texas at El Paso, with a consortium of more than 40 other institutions and organizations from the public and private sector, is at the forefront of a national effort to increase the number of Hispanic students who participate in computing.

The work will be led by Ann Gates, Ph.D., professor and chair of UTEP's Department of Computer Science, who recently was named a recipient of a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant worth $9,900,000. Gates is one of a number of collaborators from UTEP who work with counterparts at other institutions and organizations to make up the Computing Alliance of Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI).

CAHSI will serve as the lead partner in a collaboration through NSF's Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) program. NSF INCLUDES is a comprehensive effort to enhance U.S. leadership in science and engineering discovery and innovation by proactively seeking and effectively developing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent from all sectors and groups.

The alliance's vision is to ensure Hispanics comprise 20 percent of graduates in computing disciplines, nationally, by 2030.

"We are grateful and pleased to be a part of this NSF initiative," Gates said. "NSF INCLUDES recognizes the importance of inclusion and equity as a means of advancing discovery. We cannot advance research unless we are inclusive in who contributes to research efforts. We are now poised to help further diversify the workforce. Our efforts will lead to innovation because we're involving students and faculty who provide unique perspectives to solve problems that require computing and technology knowledge. Perspectives can be based on gender, ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, and other life experiences."

CAHSI's goals align with the five characteristics of an INCLUDES Alliance Program for achieving impact and fostering collaboration - vision; partnerships; goals and metrics; leadership and communication; and the potential for expansion, sustainability, and scale. The national alliance will establish regional hubs throughout the country that will incorporate diverse stakeholders from two-year colleges, four-year universities, K-12 stakeholders, nonprofits, industry, governmental agencies, as well as students, faculty and staff who work with students in computing fields.

UTEP will work to organize support systems within these hubs - which currently include collaborators in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Texas - that can address major issues with students and help them succeed in computing.

"The introduction of CAHSI INCLUDES means those of us who are passionate about student success and having a more diverse tech industry have the ability to work more directly with students," said Andrea Tirres, interdisciplinary network manager within UTEP's Office of Research and Sponsored Projects. "We are also partnering with administrators and tech leaders to really visualize what a long-term impact means for our communities and to act in a purposeful and informed way. There are a lot of differences in how we approach solving problems. What has remained constant with UTEP and what has remained constant with CAHSI is that we continue to expand and create pathways with administrators and with stakeholders to make our communities better."

One of those relationships has been fostered with a nearby external collaborator who is readily familiar with the challenges that are unique to the region surrounding UTEP.

"We have so many similarities," said Enrico Pontelli, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, of the similarities shared by NMSU and UTEP as well as all other institutions that are part of the CAHSI INCLUDES initiative. "It's not just the students and the region. We have a lot of shared interests, in terms of research, education and outreach, and we are all striving toward the same goal - empowering Hispanic students to succeed in the field of computing. We are good friends. We are kind of like a big family. We get together, we're happy to work together, we share ideas. The nice thing about CAHSI is the continued sharing of ideas. We explore one practice, it works, and we share it with UTEP and the other institutions. And vice versa. It's not a competition, it's about working together."

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The cloud forests of Honduras can seem like an otherworldly place, where the trees are thick with life that takes in water straight from the air around it, and the soundscape is littered with the calls of animals singing back and forth.

Otherworldly, yes, but scientists have found that the cloud forests are not immune to very down-to-earth problems of climate change and deforestation. A 10-year study of bird populations in Cusuco National Park, Honduras, shows that the peak of bird diversity in this mountainous park is moving higher in elevation. Additional land protection, unfortunately, may not be enough to reverse the trend, driven in part by globally rising temperatures. The study is published in Biotropica.

"A lot of these species are specialized to these mountain ranges," says study lead author Monte Neate-Clegg, a doctoral student at the University of Utah, "and they don't have a lot of options as to where to go should things go wrong."

Find images from Cusuco here.

Heads in the clouds

A cloud forest is an ecosystem that derives much of its moisture from water vapor in the surrounding air. Due to elevation and climate conditions, these forests are fed directly by clouds. Nothing ever dries, Neate-Clegg says.

"Cloud forests are pretty special," he says. "The tropics hold most of the world's biodiversity to begin with, and then the mountain slopes hold the greatest biodiversity within the tropics." For example, he adds, Cusuco National Park is the home to at least six amphibian species that are known nowhere else on Earth. The park also supports species large and small-from jaguars to hummingbirds.

Such specialized environments are at high risk for drastic alteration due to climate change,however. Scientists, including U professor and study co-author Cagan Sekercioglu, predicted that rising temperatures and changes in precipitation would cause species, particularly birds, to shift to higher elevations, shrinking their habitat and boosting the risk of extinction.

That, the authors found, is exactly what's happening.

Trouble in paradise

Neate-Clegg and his colleagues, including researchers from the UK and Belgium, examined a ten-year dataset of bird species counts in Cusuco National Park. The counts were conducted starting in 2006 by Operation Wallacea, a conservation organization. Few long-term studies like this have been undertaken in the tropics, Neate-Clegg says, with a significant data gap in Central America. "I wanted to plug this geographic gap," he says.

They found most species moving upslope, at an average of 23 feet (7 m) per year. Beyond species-specific changes in elevation, though, the researchers focused on bird diversity along the mountain slopes.

"By looking across all species we could show that the diversity was increasing at higher elevations and decreasing at lower elevations," Neate-Clegg says.

Losing ground

The authors turned their attention toward discriminating the likely causative factors for such a shift. One factor is the continuing development and deforestation within the park.

"Every year we go back and resurvey, and transects that were forested the previous year are suddenly cut down," Neate-Clegg says. "They are encroaching year on year." The terrain's status as a national park, he says, doesn't seem to be much of a deterrent for those seeking to expand agricultural land.

But habitat loss is not the only factor. Comparing forested study plots, the authors concluded that changes to the local climate were responsible for the upward shift as well.

Increased land protection would help give the birds more stable habitats, Neate-Clegg says, especially protections that encompass as much elevation as possible. But, as the paper grimly states, "Increased protection is unlikely to mitigate the effects of climate change."

Find this release and photos here.

Find the full study here.

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Steven Poelzing, an associate professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, has received a new five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

The grant will fund Poelzing's research into a heart mutation, known as a gain-of-function mutation, that can lead to sudden cardiac death and other heart conditions.

"It's a less common mutation, but more lethal," said Poelzing, who is also an associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in Virginia Tech's College of Engineering. "With this mutation, the channels between the heart cells remain active when they shouldn't."

This specific mutation is concealed through puberty, and only becomes obvious after critical events in adolescence or early adulthood, such as unexplained fainting, seizures, or near drownings, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The mutation frequently underlies Long QT syndrome, which can be inherited or acquired. On an electrocardiogram reading, the length of time it takes for a heartbeat to drop from the peak to the baseline is referred to as QT. A long QT indicates an out-of-rhythm heartbeat.

"Something happens to cardiac cells during the maturation process that unmasks this mutation and makes it a dangerous problem," Poelzing said. "If we can figure it out, we might be able to re-mask the mutation and keep the heart functioning properly."

Heart cells communicate through channels called gap junctions. In childhood, cardiac cells are oval shaped, with gap junctions equally spaced around their borders. Adults have larger, brick-like cells with their gap junctions concentrated on the ends.

Poelzing, along with other researchers in the VTCRI Center for Heart and Regenerative Medicine, has found there is more to the story of conduction than cell size and gap junction location, though. There's a parallel process of conduction called ephaptic coupling that doesn't appear to rely on the direct channels of gap junctions to keep the heart in rhythm.

"It's the difference between a cable and a spark," Poelzing said. "Gap junctions allow direct communication, yet a person can lose 50 percent of them and not see a change in the electrical propagation properties of their heart. We discovered another mechanism of communication that helps maintain conduction even when gap junctions are lost."

Sodium is crucial for the spark, according to Poelzing. The ephaptic coupling mechanism allows electrical current to jump the space between cardiac cells, even when the direct channel - the gap junction - isn't working well or is even completely gone. Poelzing suspects that saline with different concentrations of sodium, potassium, and calcium can modulate the spark to help normalize conduction in different cardiac diseases.

"Salt water is a lifeline -- often the first thing done for a patient in a hospital is give her a saline solution," Poelzing said. "A different ratio of sodium in the saline may modulate cardiac conduction differently depending on the composition of the heart cells."

That's the subject of Poelzing's first NHLBI grant. In that project, he focuses on how sodium affects conduction through both ephaptic coupling and gap junctions.

With his latest NIHLB grant, Poelzing is studying how mutated sodium channels can become over-activated causing major problems for the heart.

In both cases, problems can arise from miscommunication in the space between the cells and through the sodium channels acting as gatekeepers through the cellular membranes--especially if the channels have a gain-of-function mutation.

"One cell activates, and the sodium channels begin to drain the sodium ions from the space between them. The downstream channel wants to equalize, so it starts draining, too," Poelzing said. "We end up with two large conducting channels continuously draining sodium out of the same space."

In some mutated sodium channels, this over-activation can equalize to a point where the heart can function normally. Ephaptic coupling allows sodium to continue to seep from between cells, so it can empty in a way that allows a relatively regular beat.

That's not always the case, though.

"Sodium boosting can be great, in some circumstances," Poelzing said. "However, for people with this type of Long QT Syndrome, it could be catastrophic."

When one channel opens, the reservoir of the cell needs to have some sodium to be stable. But if ephaptic coupling increases the intake of sodium, the flow goes for too long and the channels can't reset.

"The channels between the heart cells remain active, and the heart never relaxes. It triggers another contraction across the muscle," Poelzing said. "The typical check and balance of cardiac conduction disappears, and the cells become competitive when they should be working together."

Each heartbeat triggers another in self-perpetuating waves, forcing the individual cells of the heart to work literally to death. By understanding how the mutation triggers the sodium channels to continue draining while ephaptic coupling works to regulate sodium, the researchers may be able to target the levels of sodium so that even with the mutation, the channels may be able to reset and give the cells a chance to rest.

"It's one small part of a very complicated system, but we might be able to make the sodium channels behave correctly and that could reduce arrhythmias in people with gain-of-function diseases, such as heart failure," Poelzing said. "Our hope is that our research will start to inform physicians on new strategies to prevent sudden cardiac death."

###
Virginia Tech researcher, Meryl Mims, is the co-principal investigator on one of the first large-scale coordinated ecology research projects to study what happens to streams as they dry across the United States.

Mims, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science, received a new grant from the MacroSystems Biology program of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant is budgeted for $3.04 million across five universities with $452,000 coming to the Mims lab at Virginia Tech.

The Mims Lab will examine macroinvertebrate, or bug, communities in 10 regions across the southern United States to make connections among climate and biological factors in intermittent, or not continuously flowing, streams, a little-studied area of freshwater ecology.

According to the NSF MacroSystems Biology program, "The ecological significance of intermittent streams, which are controlled by large-scale climate fluctuations and colonized by aquatic life under wet conditions, will likely grow as the global environment changes and human demand for water increases."

The project involves an exciting collaboration among research groups with diverse expertise from the University of Oklahoma; University of California, Berkeley; Northern Arizona University; University of Louisiana at Lafayette; and University of Arizona.

"This research will give us new insight into the ecology of intermittent streams. We hope to understand how stream drying affects the function of stream ecosystems and the response of organisms. By looking at streams across the country, we can develop and test a large-scale framework to analyze environmental changes," said Mims, affiliated faculty member of the Fralin Life Science Institute and Global Change Center. Mims, a freshwater ecologist and conservation biologist, investigates how species' traits and environmental attributes interact to influence community and the population structure of aquatic organisms. Her lab's research integrates the fields of population, community, and landscape ecology; the overarching goal of her research is to uncover, understand, and predict the differential responses of aquatic species to a changing landscape and climate.

"We use a suite of approaches, including population genetics, spatial and landscape ecology, traits-based inference, and multivariate statistical tools to look for patterns across species and patterns of response to environmental change," said Mims.

For this grant, Mims is leading population genetic and genomic studies of 15 species across the study sites, as well as serving as the coordinator for field research at two of the 10 study regions, one in Northern Virginia and the other in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. It will be the Mims lab's first major focus on the research of macroinvertebrates, applying their genetic and genomic tools to understand population dynamics in intermittent streams. In addition to contributing to the overall goals of the project, work by the Mims lab will help advance the emerging field of comparative landscape genetics, which seeks to understand how the genetics of populations are influenced by the landscape and environment, and whether and how they differ among species. Stream in Tennessee

Mims and her lab will study streams such as this one in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, in addition to sites across the southern United States. "Population and landscape genetics inform our basic understanding of the movement, population size, and patterns of diversity of organisms - and how they are influenced by their environment. Both also help inform management and conservation of species," said Mims.

University of Oklahoma professor Daniel C. Allen is the lead principal investigator of the study and conducts field research at sites in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. "For decades, we have studied the ecology of streams that always have flowing water while largely ignoring those that do not, but only 40 percent of U.S. streams always flow. This large, new project will be one of the first to study both the 40 percent of U.S. streams that always flow as well as the 60 percent of streams that dry or stop flowing. In doing so, we hope to change the way we think about streams," said Allen, a professor in the Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences. The study will include field research that takes place at 100 sites across the United States in 10 different ecological regions. Most of these sites are currently included in the NSF-funded National Ecological Observatory Network, or NEON, that monitors water chemistry, invertebrates, fish, algae, and nutrients in their research as well, providing an opportunity for the new stream project to integrate with NEON. The study sites will span coastal northern California to coastal Virginia in the north and southern Georgia to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona in the south. "These projects leverage NSF investments in biological infrastructure to study how organisms and ecosystems respond to environmental changes from local to continental scales," said Joanne Tornow, NSF acting assistant director for biological sciences. "Most of these projects use data from NEON to address long-standing questions that could not be addressed even five years ago without access to standardized, replicated, publicly available ecological data from ecosystems across North America."

Researchers at all sites will follow NEON sampling protocols to produce NEON-compatible data. In each region, some of the stream study sites will always flow, while others will not, and the investigators will research the effects of stream drying on the different ecosystems in varied climates. Mims and her colleagues will focus on macroinvertebrates to study how drying influences what species survive, how population and communities (e.g., multiple species occurring at the same site) are connected, and how these effects may vary across the different climates of the southern half of the United States. A smartphone application for mapping wet and dry reaches of streams and rivers will be developed for researchers and citizen scientists by Benjamin L. Ruddell and a team of Northern Arizona University researchers. Michael T. Bogan, University of Arizona, is an expert taxonomist and will identify invertebrates collected during the research and conduct field research in Arizona. Albert Ruhi, UC Berkeley, will use his analytic expertise to determine spatial patterns of invertebrate communities and conduct field research in California. Katie H. Costigan, UL at Lafayette, is a geomorphologist and hydrologist and will lead the field hydrology component of the study and conduct field research in Mississippi and Georgia.

###

For more information about this project, contact Mims at mims@vt.edu.

Contact: Kristin Rose | krisrose@vt.edu | 540-231-6614

Image: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/content/vtnews_vt_edu/en/articles/2018/08/82918-Fralin-Mims-NSF-grant.img.jpg

Caption: Meryl Mims, an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, studies the effects of drying streams.

Online Link: https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2018/08/82918-Fralin-Mims-NSF-grant
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Facebook recently released its fourth research report titled Eliminating friction in travel path to purchase under its programme Zero Friction Future, exclusively for the Indian travel industry. Pulkit Trivedi, Director, Facebook India, spoke to us on how brands can leverage the platform of Facebook and thereby have a huge impact in influencing travellers purchase journey. Speaking on the implications of a mobile-savvy consumer behaviour on businesses, he said that brands will need to re-orient themselves in order to change the consumer experience, given the context of a hyper-connected online world today, where 70% of the internet traffic in India engages in video.



Watch the video here or read the edited excerpts below:







Why should a travel brand use Facebook advertising for a frictionless consumer experience?



Travel is a high investment category both monetarily and emotionally. With India getting more smartphone savvy, it has dislodged plenty of traditional mediums in a consumer journey from the stage of awareness to purchase. In this journey we believe advocacy plays a critical role to influence a customers decision. There are two clear vectors as to how travel is bought on Facebook, one being the element of personalisation and the other regarding its relevance.



When brands partner with us for advertising, they can very well figure out which part of the traffic came from Facebook and that which opted out. They can then choose to re-target those users who dropped out using our platform and encourage them to re-engage. So brands are able to see huge reach through the medium of Facebook.



How is Facebook looking at creating a highly personalised booking experience for consumers so that travel brands too benefit out of it?



Travel is getting more mobile dependent and Facebook as an app is heavily used by consumers on their mobile phones. Hence, we are able to offer significant reach to businesses and brands. We are a people-based marketing company, which helps our users stay updated about relevant products in the market through this very medium. As per our Global Web Index report, 2/5 users on Facebook actually discover a new product through mobile ads. Thirdly, Facebooks travel intent signals helps it to categorise users into different cohorts, thereby making it a meaningful and engaging platform for its users. Lastly, consumers can also personalise and sequentialise a message on Facebook. It is important for businesses to engage with users in the pre-trip stage, during the trip and post trip-stage and this engagement is carried out in a sequence on Facebook.



With Facebook's association, how can brands start getting hotels to even the playing field between desktop and mobile, enabling travellers get access to competitive rates earlier in the search process compared to aggregator sites?



The install base of desktop is 60 million in India, which isnt growing at a high rate. 75% of all online commerce happening in India is on mobile and a major part of it is through mobile apps. ASPs of what people are buying on mobile vs purchase being made on desktops is in equilibrium today. However, with the consumer journey being very fragmented, users can have various touch points.



When brands deploy an ad on Facebook, our team wants to help them measure the RoI Vs every single dollar spent on the ad. For example, while working with MakeMyTrip, we witnessed 50% lower cost per booking on mobile app than any other channel, which is very meaningful to brands. In our mobile optimised campaign on Facebook we also saw a 5x increase in app installs for GoIbibo.



How is Facebook helping brands/travel companies organise themselves for digital success?



Firstly, through projects under our Zero Friction Future programme, we want to stimulate the industry to think of mobile and digital adoption. Mobile is at the centre of influencing so many billion dollars of revenue and the biggest disparity today is between the percentage of time spent on mobile Vs the percentage of money spent on mobile. Our spends on mobile be it ad or otherwise in building assets on cell phones is minuscule, hence the need of a mobile-centric strategy, which further adds to the digital success of brands. We want to help businesses by leveraging the reach of Facebook, such that brands build the right creative strategy for our platform. The biggest friction here is caused by offline media where ads are static and not interactive and immersive enough. Facebook can help brands adopt a creative strategy which is engaging enough as users consume video or content on a 5 inch screen very differently from that of a 42 inch screen. We want to work closely with marketers to help them improvise.



Concerning hotels, how do you think brands should plug the trust issues to prevent dropouts of aware consumers?



Unlike airlines, for hotels one doesnt have a single uniform brand experience to connect with. In this case, to increase the trust factor in our consumers we adapt ourselves to sequential messaging. Based on the positioning of the user within the funnel we sequentialise our message and accordingly make a pitch. For e.g. If I know theres a trust factor associated with low cost hotels in India, I will treat this as a category building challenge and convince users with the most trusted best-in-class experience for this particular price. On the other hand if one drops out of the funnel, a powerful way is to re-engage or re-target users.



Coming to air travel, what is the best way to engage young consumers (18-24 years), given their short attention span?



62% of consumers who buy travel on Facebook are millennials who cant be ignored. Some of the insights narrate that millennials do not pay attention to ads. Now, this means traditional medium is not the right way to catch their attention. As they spend more time on digital, the right way to go about this is to improvise on the creative assets that a brand has. While TV might have its own role to play, there are brands who have built several dollars without any participation of this traditional medium. We believe theres every opportunity to start building a brand right here vs a TV-only brand. 70% of internet traffic in India is actually video. We believe, as we speak to millennials, that theres every opportunity to start building a brand right here vs a TV.



How can Facebook offer a frictionless consumer experience to those living in tier 2-3 cities, given that their behaviour is different?



The tier 2-3 cities are also embracing smartphones now. Their first screen on the internet is a smartphone, however the behaviour is different as they need more hand-holding to make the final purchase. They need to be told that it is a brand that they can trust. They also need hand-holding when it comes to various payment options at the intent or purchase stage. As per industry reports, the spend per household by 2020 on hotels will get close to about Rs. 1300 crore which thereby means that a lot of tier-2 consumers will resort to booking online and hence move away from traditional travel agents in the near future. Hence, we are emphasising on creating a seamless mobile experience starting with developing the mobile UX.

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It's summer--time to grab a delicious book for a great summer adventure. It's one of my favorite practices. A novel can lead you on obscure adventures into new lands and loves, biographies will give you a multitude of facts you never knew about a fascinating person and self-help books can literally transform your life by giving you new perspectives and healing advice.

Reading evokes creativity, imagination, curiosity, and many emotions that change the brain and body. There is nothing in this world like reading a good book.

Facts About Reading

Reading also offers tangible benefits for your health. Researchers have discovered these healing effects of reading.

1) Longevity. A Yale School of Public Health study showed adults who read more than 3.5 hours a week are almost 25 percent less likely to die over the next 12 years.

2) Reading reduces stress. Researchers at The University of Sussex in the United Kingdom reported reading reduced stress levels by 68 percent. Another researcher found their patients who read just 6 minutes had lower heart rates.

3) Reading helps you sleep. Reading a book before bed prepares your brain and body for sleep. A nightly reading ritual relaxes the mind, body and soul inviting you into a peaceful, deep sleep.

4) Reading makes you smarter. Reading increases your vocabulary and makes you more social. Reading increases your child's IQ while also creating more self-confidence.

5) Reading slows cognitive decline. Researchers at Rush University discovered that reading may slow cognitive decline and also help with Alzheimer's disease. They also found people who do stimulating activities such as reading, early and late in life, were less likely to show lesions, plaques and tangles in the brain which result in less evidence of dementia.
Note: This is a full Taste Test review, with a star rating based on multiple visits.

There are places in San Antonio people love because theyve been here forever. And there are places people love for the food. You get both at Garcias Mexican Food.

The forever part, that ones easy. Garcias was founded in 1962 by the late Julio Garcia and his wife, Yolanda. Its still a family enterprise, and a busy Friday found their son John Garcia working the floor with son Andrew Garcia behind the stoves, his daughter Yolanda on the register and son Joseph doing a little of everything.

The food part, that ones harder, because where do you start? Enchiladas, tacos, brisket, fideo?

Ill start with one of San Antonios perfect plates, the No. 5 Mexican Dinner. Its two cheese enchiladas rolled in red corn tortillas under a blanket of brown chili gravy and melted American cheese with rice and beans.

Now Playing: There are places in San Antonio people love because they've been here forever. And there are places people love for the food. You get both at Garcia's Mexican Food. Video: San Antonio Express-News

Basic enough, but somehow it tastes better in the middle of a diner no bigger than a one-bedroom apartment, where you have to wait in line and talk to strangers before a seat opens up. Its that way every day at Garcias, and somehow they keep it friendly, familial even, with a staff that carries water, coffee and straws like triage nurses at a field hospital.

Garcias Mexican Food **  842 Fredericksburg Road, 210-735-4525, Facebook: Garcia's Mexican Food Quick bite: Family-owned Tex-Mex diner in business since 1962 Hit: Brisket, cheese enchiladas, breakfast tacos Miss: T-bone steak, tamales Hours: 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; closed first Monday of each month Price range: Appetizers, $1.75-$12.95; entrees, $5.25-$17.95; tacos, $1.79-$3.69; breakfast, $2.95-$9.95. Alcohol: None **** Superior. Can compete nationally. *** Excellent. One of the best restaurants in the city. ** Very good. A standout restaurant of its kind. * Good. A restaurant that we recommend. (no stars) We cannot recommend this restaurant at this time. Express-News dining critics pay for all meals. See More Collapse

On ExpressNews.com: Review: Burgerteca all sound and fury, signifying nada

The line forms for brisket, too, smoked with oak on a massive pit from Pereras Metal Works. Id put Garcias black-gold brisket against brisket from the best barbecue shops in town. They put it in tacos, on a barbecue sandwich, on nachos, on a plate of its own with guacamole salad.

Its a jack of all trades, and a master of all of them.

Brisket tacos put real meaning behind the idea of Tex-Mex. Thick slices of velvet brisket with a rippling balance of fat and lean honored the Texas aesthetic, and the fresh flour tortillas and chopped jalapeno salsa paid their respects to Mexico.

That same brisket helped Garcias defy the clump-and-dump school of nacho construction, becoming part of nachos built one by one, each chip a canvas of beans, melted cheese, guacamole and chopped beef. With a link of smoked sausage on a white picnic bun with pickles and onions, Garcias brisket anchors one of the citys best barbecue sandwiches.

Between the brisket, sausage and an off-menu smoked pork loin taco, Garcias could pivot to full-time barbecue tomorrow and rank among the citys Top 10. But wed miss out on so much.

Wed miss out on breakfast, for starters. Open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Garcias is a destination event for breakfast tacos, built on flour tortillas with a layered flake like country biscuits. Potato and chorizo balanced grease, starch and spice. Machacado delivered the deep umami funk of dry-aged beef.

Bean and cheese is a reliable barometer of any shops taco game, and Garcias bean and cheese was a player. My server insisted on a taco with smoked sausage, beans and pico de gallo sauteed a la mexicana. For taco neophytes, that kind of sausage is just called country, in all its porky marbled majesty.

Hot mess might come to mind for chilaquiles at Garcias. In the most positive sense. Starting with scrambled eggs, mild ranchera sauce and a crumble of tortilla chips, they got better with every upgrade. First, a layer of melted cheese. Then, a side of fall-apart carne guisada in salty Sunday gravy. Breakfast, dressed for excess.

Related: San Antonios Top 25 Taco Places

For better or worse, excess is an option across the menu. For better, the tampiquena plate put a juicy, medium-rare club steak alongside rice, beans, a cheese enchilada, guacamole salad and crispy beef taco in a freshly fried shell. For worse, Garcias made the toughest, driest T-bone steak Ive ever ordered, a trainwreck with rice and beans for $17.95.

If theres such a thing as modest excess, its the No. 1 Mexican Dinner. Cheese enchiladas, a tamal, rice, beans and a crispy taco. Add chile con carne, and its a pumped-up version of the No. 5. But Garcias hard, lumpy tamales arent its best work, and the upcharged con carne isnt the same as the chili gravy for the soul.

Some of Garcias best work is simple work, like grilled bone-in pork chops rubbed with salt and pepper or chile con queso with a healthy orange glow or a Wednesday special of green chile pork fideo with beans.

For those reasons and more, Ill hit Garcias when Im off the clock. Ill point visitors and writers and family there. I will stand in line. I will talk to strangers. I will sit wherever they plant me, whether its a barstool at the counter or back by the paintings of a man and his rooster.

Ill order a No. 5 and a brisket taco. And Ill hope forever lasts a little while longer.

msutter@express-news.net | Twitter: @fedmanwalking
LONDON  In March, when British detectives began their investigation into the poisoning of Sergei V. Skripal, the former Russian spy, they had little to work with but mounds of CCTV footage. Heads bent over their desktop computers, they began the unglamorous work of poring through it, looking for an assassin.

Britain is one of the most heavily surveilled nations on Earth, with an estimated one surveillance camera per 11 citizens. It has cutting-edge technology for visually identifying criminals, and software so sensitive it can scan an airport for a tattoo or a pinkie ring. And then there is that team of genetically gifted humans known as super-recognizers.

On Wednesday, the authorities announced that the effort had paid off: Two Russian intelligence officers had been charged with attempted murder, the first criminal charges in a case that has driven a deep wedge between Russia and the West.

Investigators released a cache of evidence, including security camera images that captured the progress of the two men from an Aeroflot flight to the scene of the crime, and from there back to Moscow. They also released photographs of the delicate perfume bottle that was used to carry a weapons-grade nerve agent, known as Novichok, to the quiet English city of Salisbury, where the attack took place.

In the days leading up to the March 4 poisoning, the same two Russian men kept popping up on cameras.

Its almost impossible in this country to hide, almost impossible, said John Bayliss, who retired from the Government Communications Headquarters, Britains electronic intelligence agency, in 2010. And with the new software they have, you can tell the person by the way they walk, or a ring they wear, or a watch they wear. It becomes even harder.

The investigation into the Skripal poisoning, known as Operation Wedana, will stand as a high-profile test of an investigative technique Britain has pioneered: accumulating mounds of visual data and sifting through it.

Neil Basu, Britains top counterterrorism police official, broke months of silence in a hastily convened Scotland Yard news conference Wednesday, taking the unusual step of stripping journalists of their electronic devices to keep the news under wraps until arrest warrants for the two men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, had been issued. Two hours later, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that British intelligence services had identified the men as officers in the GRU, Russias military intelligence service.

Russian officials responded witheringly, declaring in a Foreign Ministry statement that we decisively reject these insinuations.

It is impossible to ignore the fact that both British and American colleagues act according to the same scheme: Without bothering themselves to produce any evidence, they announce a list of some Russian agents in order to justify London and Washingtons witch hunt, said Maria Zakharova, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

Bayliss said that all along, investigators have been acutely aware that the suspects would be protected in Russia and never tried, though Interpol red notices and domestic and European arrest warrants were issued

There are a lot of people who would sort of give up on it, because whats the point? he said. Theyre in Russia, were not going to get them back. But the thing is, once youve got it to that point, that means those people cant leave Russia.

Beyond that, Bayliss said, there is a satisfaction of getting to the truth, to be able to prove to the Western world that the Russians did this.

The day of the attack, Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found barely conscious on a bench beside the Avon River. (They both recovered, but months later, two Britons, Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, fell ill after being exposed to the poison. Sturgess died.)

In the days that followed the Skripal attack, investigators began by collecting 11,000 hours of video from ports, train stations, shop windows, car dashboards and the roadways around Skripals house.

Before searching for a needle, investigators said wryly, they first had to build their own haystack.

The investigation drew on some of Scotland Yards most storied assets, like its Super-Recognizer Unit. Its officers are selected for their superior ability to remember faces  the opposite of prosopagnosia, also known as face-blindness.

They dont concentrate on the obvious: the graying hair or the mustache or the glasses, the units founder, Mick Neville, told Sky News last week. They look at the eyes, the mouth, the ears  the things that dont change. They can recognize a face from the tiniest glimpse of part of it.

In cases such as the Skripal investigation, which begin with an enormous pool of potential suspects, super-recognizers can help by singling out people who seem to move suspiciously, experts say. Local police officers are often brought in to help them eliminate bystanders, like small-time drug dealers, who may also appear suspicious.

Those results were then overlaid with passport data for Russians who left the country shortly after the poisoning, bringing the pool of suspects down to a manageable number. The police were able to cross-reference suspects in other ways, mapping mobile phone and bank card use, for example.

Its a bit like a funnel, the top of the funnel has a vast amount going in, and by the time the liquid comes out at the bottom, it narrows down to a tiny stream, Bayliss said.

Investigators had one bit of luck: Heavy snow fell through the weekend of the attack, reducing the number of people on the streets.

A big breakthrough took place nearly two months after the Skripals were poisoned, when the police arrived at the City Stay Hotel in East London, where the two suspects had spent the two nights before the attack. Officers took samples from the room where the two men had stayed, and sent them for laboratory testing. Two of them showed trace contamination for the nerve agent used in the attack.

On Wednesday, as news of the charges spread, neighbors peered curiously at the building, which had smeared windows and dingy artificial grass.

I just got a shiver, a cold shiver, said Debbie Weekes, 47, who lives nearby. Its just shocking, Im at a loss for words. You never know whos around.

Some wondered why they had not received a warning in May, when the police found the nerve agent traces in the hotel.

Obviously we dont feel safe, said Shehan Ravindranath, 43, the manager of a supermarket across the street. We can only take protection if we know about it.

In Salisbury, though, the announcement about the charges was greeted with relief. Matthew Dean, the head of Salisburys City Council and owner of a local pub, the Duke of York, said he hoped it would put to rest conspiracy theories circulating about the crime.

This is a piece of closure, he said.

Ceri Hurford-Jones, the managing director of Salisburys local radio station, saluted investigators for their sheer skill in getting a grip on this, and finding out who these people were.

It may not have been the stuff of action films, but Hurford-Jones did see something impressive about the whole thing.

Its methodical, plodding, he said. But, you know, thats the only way you can do these things. There is a bit of Englishness in it.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
For the first time, San Antonios Diez y Seis de Septiembre and the Hispanic Heritage Month kickoff will feature three signature events combined into one big weekend celebration Sept. 15-16.

Merging the events will provide an opportunity during the 300th anniversary year of San Antonios founding to participate in a more-than-200-year tradition of celebrating Mexicos independence from Spain, and experience the culture and traditions of Mexico, officials said in a release.

On Sept. 15, the 37th annual Dieciseis de Septiembre Parade and Celebration is set for noon to 9:30 p.m. at Plaza Guadalupe, 1327 Guadalupe St. The parade will begin at 7 p.m. at the plaza and end at Market Square, where parade-goers can join a newly combined El Grito ceremony and Fiestas Patrias. El Grito San Antonio will begin at 6 p.m. on the Santa Rosa Street stage. Fiestas Patrias will take place 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and continue Sept. 16, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. All three events will be free.

READ ALSO: San Antonios Hispanic military heritage

Celebrating these Diez y Seis events together at the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month provides a cultural and educational experience for the residents and visitors of our city, City Councilman Roberto Trevino, honorary Diez y Seis Commission chairman, said in a statement.

The most important date in the Mexican civic calendar is the commemoration of the Mexican Independence on Sept. 15. In every town in Mexico, as well as in every city where there is an embassy or consulate, our history, culture and traditions are celebrated in El Grito, said Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, consul general of Mexico in San Antonio. As a result of our strong ties with San Antonio, as well as the presence of millions of residents of Mexican origin in this region, our Fiestas Patrias are destined to be one of the most prominent in the United States.

The 2018 Diez y Seis de Septiembre events calendar is available at all San Antonio Public Library branch locations, and online at www.GetCreativeSanAntonio.com. This years commemoration features a diverse program of events running through October, including dance and musical performances, festivals and lectures.

Scott Huddleston is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
Richard Kimball was about to deliver what he described as a vile attack on his opponent for Arizonas U.S. Senate seat at a debate in 1986 when he had a change of heart that inspired the organization he co-founded: Vote Smart.

The attack, Kimball said, involved his opponents personal life, a desperate attempt at seizing momentum for his foundering campaign. At the last commercial break of the debate, his knees trembling, Kimball ditched the attack plan and instead tried to explain to voters how they  the politicians  were manipulating them.

Facts have become unimportant to most people, Kimball said before a presentation Wednesday to students at the University of the Incarnate Word. Its easier to engage someone emotionally than intellectually, he said.

Vote Smarts mission is to give voters a factual self-defense system against hype, spin and invective from candidates and politicians. It creates free, accessible portfolios on politicians and candidates based on data such as their votes, public remarks, campaign donations and support from key interest groups.

Kimballs opponent in that 1986 race, the late Sen. John McCain, ultimately would join the board of Vote Smart, along with politicians from across the political spectrum: former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and Sens. Barry Goldwater and George McGovern, among others. Kimball said a person cant get on the board without a political opponent, which helps keep Vote Smart nonpartisan.

Lydia Andrade, who chairs UIWs government and international affairs department, said the current political climate has piqued students interests.

The most inexperienced voter  this political environment is cracking through, is catching their attention in a way that a midterm in the past might not have, Andrade said.

Kimball has been traveling the country giving speeches, offering a grim view of modern politics and voter distrust of news media, along with a few tools he hopes might help. He has been to 20 states over the past year and will visit 13 more on the Eastern Seaboard before the Nov. 6 elections, he said.

On the organizations website, votesmart.org, voters can access free resources, including profiles about candidates for president, Congress, governor, legislatures and a few city councils. The organization recently launched what amounts to a matchmaking service: Users may input their ZIP code and stances on several issues, and the organization will give them candidates they might like based on their public records.

The hope is that voters can make more informed choices when theyre armed with organized facts. Kimball calls it the most difficult dilemma of our time.

Its very easy to make a lie entertaining, he said. Its very easy to excite people with fear.

Dylan McGuinness covers county government and local politics for the Express-News. Reach him at dylan.mcguinness@express-news.net and follow him on Twitter @DylMcGuinness.
A lawyer for DACA recipient and activist Sergio Mapache Salazar, whose immigration benefits were not renewed, told a judge Wednesday that his client will seek voluntary departure to Mexico instead of being deported.

During a hearing in San Antonio, Salazars lead attorney Javier Maldonado told Immigration Judge Justin Adams that Salazar admits he was out of immigration status, but that he would seek to introduce evidence supporting Salazars intent to leave on his own.

Being detained is very difficult for an 18/19-year-old, Maldonado said after the hearing. By seeking voluntary departure, he would be back in Mexico soon.

Voluntary departure can protect Salazar, 18, from the harsh consequences of an order of removal or deportation, which could bar him from returning to the U.S. for several years  even permanently, according to Maldonado. Voluntary departure, among other benefits, buys a person more time to take care of affairs before leaving and does not automatically bar a person from the United States for a set number of years.

RELATED: Mom of tot who died after being held in immigrant detention center files $40 million claim

Angel Olivera, a prosecuting immigration attorney with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, opposed the request, citing a 21-page motion the government filed that contains allegations that Salazar posted threats against law enforcement on social media.

The respondent has engaged in conduct that is undesirable, Olivera said. He has incited violence.

Salazar was born in Mexico and has lived in the United States since his parents brought him here when he was 2. He had been living legally in the United States as a recipient of temporary legal immigration status under the controversial Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative. He is a graduate of Roosevelt High School and aspires to make films, according to the advocacy organization Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES.

RAICES had filed for a renewal of his DACA status, but it was denied. Salazar was arrested on Aug. 3 and has been jailed in Laredo as the feds seek to deport him. Salazars arrest came as he left a camp outside an ICE office on the North Side, where he and others had been protesting ICE and the Trump Administrations crackdown on immigrants that included the now-abandoned practice of separating undocumented parents from their children at the border.

RAICES and supporters have painted Salzar as coming under attack because he called for the elimination of ICE, but ICE says he was arrested for violating immigration law.

Olivera cited screen grabs from what officials contend was Salazars Twitter account, @babycrusty61, as part of evidence to show why Salazar should not be here. That Twitter account had been private, and has since been taken down.

Adams scheduled a hearing for Sept. 14 to hear evidence and testimony in the matter.

Guillermo Contreras covers federal court and immigration news in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
Nearly two years after announcing a partnership for treating cancer patients in San Antonio, leaders from UT Health San Antonio and MD Anderson Cancer Center said the collaborations groundwork now is in place.

Its now got to a point that its ready to launch. The ship is ready to sail, said William Henrich, president of UTHSA, during a roundtable discussion at the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center on Wednesday morning. Now were ready to, in essence, take the wraps off and to increase the aperture of the organization for receiving patients with cancer from around the area.

Health leaders from both health institutions who attended the oncology panel touted the renamed center as an opportunity for San Antonio cancer patients to receive the best possible care and participate in clinical trials, all while remaining close to home.

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They said the rapid population growth in San Antonio and the surrounding area lent greater urgency to bolstering the regions cancer care options.

First announced in late 2016, the affiliation brought UTHSA into the fold of the Houston-based MD Andersons network of cancer-treating institutions and promised to increase the number of patients the San Antonio center could accommodate. In addition to allowing UTHSA access to the renowned cancer centers clinical trials, standards, research and protocols, the partnership yielded a funding boost from the University of Texas System.

Since then, Henrich said, UTHSA has focused on improving communication between the two institutions and building the infrastructure for the center, including recruiting clinicians, investigators, nurses and other personnel.

Ruben Mesa, director of the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, joked that while the organization has a long name, its mission is simple:to decrease the burden of cancer for the people of San Antonio and South Texas.

In doing so, the center has plans to focus efforts on cancers that have higher incidences or poorer outcomes in the region and among Hispanic populations, such as liver, cervical and endometrial cancers, Mesa said. He added that the center hopes to boost preventative measures, such as addressing the low rates of children in Bexar County vaccinated against human papillomavirus, which can lead to cervical and other cancers.

READ ALSO: Surgeons path leads from the operating room to the UT system and the Ford Foundation

This center is deeply about this community, Mesa said.

Peter Pisters, president of MD Anderson, said he viewed the partnership as a pathway to create a statewide clinical trials network. MD Anderson operates one of the most robust programs for cancer clinical trials worldwide, and administrators said San Antonios center would likely be part of them in the near future.

With the high number of cancer drugs entering clinical trials, patients should be encouraged to participate in trials, which could lead to quicker discovery of breakthrough treatments, Pisters said.

Patients in San Antonio will have access to health care professionals with expertise in both common and uncommon cancers, Henrich said, as well as an emphasis on screening and prevention.

Were endeavoring to meet both of those goals, to provide cancer care that is close to home, that is leading edge and doesnt compromise, and to get the outcomes that you expect from the very best places in the world, Henrich said.

Lauren Caruba covers several school districts, charter schools and private universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | lcaruba@express-news.net | Twitter: @LaurenCaruba
As San Antonio nears the end of its tricentennial year, organizers are trying not to let the weather forecast dash weekend plans for the third annual World Heritage Festival at the historic missions.

The festival spotlights the Mission San Antonio de Valero, which became the Alamo, and four other missions that make up the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Texas. The events highlight the missionary-led Native American communities that formed along the river under Spanish rule in the 1700s.

And we make sure we do it at each one of our missions, because every one tells a special story, City Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran, whose district includes those four missions, said at a news conference Wednesday at the Alamo.

Because of a strong chance of storms, officials have had to shorten what was to have been a five-day festival, Wednesday through Sunday. They canceled Thursdays Sunset Picnic at San Juan Farm and will reschedule Fridays Restored by Light event at Mission San Jose to a date to be determined. The events Saturday and Sunday remain unchanged.

Viagran recalled being part of a local delegation in Bonn, Germany, in 2015, when an international panel agreed the missions possess outstanding universal value  putting them on par with other heritage sites such as the Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty. The San Antonio Conservation Society had launched the missions site nomination nine years earlier.

World Heritage Festival *Free event Saturday Tour de las Misiones Bike Ride: Mission Park Pavilions, 6030 Padre Drive; 8 a.m. Tour de las Misiones 5K and 10K Run & Walk: Mission Park Pavilions; 8 a.m. *Mission Pachanga: Mission Park Pavilions; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. *Threads of Time: Spinning, Weaving and Dyeing at the Missions: Mission Espada, 10040 Espada Road; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday *Celebratory Mass: Mission Concepcion, 807 Mission Road; noon. Visit worldheritagefestival.org for more information. See More Collapse

Councilman Roberto Trevino and Alamo CEO Doug McDonald touted a plan to overhaul Alamo Plaza as the next major project, following up on structural renovations at the other missions and hike-bike trails and habitat restoration on the San Antonio River Mission Reach, to honor the citys roots.

We have an opportunity to do something thats absolutely transformational for this community that I think is going to have a positive impact on everybody who loves history and who loves culture, McDonald said.

Ramon Vasquez IV, who helped open the news conference with a traditional Native American dance, said he and other descendants of San Antonios early indigenous people will never forget Mission San Antonio de Valero.

When we teach our heritage and culture to our children, were always going to continue to tell them to never forget who they are, never forget where they come from, he said.

Scott Huddleston is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
Fire union officials and a handful of allies took a victory lap on Wednesday, celebrating their legal triumph a day after the Texas Supreme Court rejected a request to consider invalidating the upcoming charter-amendment election.

At every level, judges denied a push from the Secure San Antonios Future political action committee to block the Nov. 6 election on three controversial charter amendments. The PAC, led by political consultant Christian Archer, sued over how the union paid for its petition campaign, which led to the calling of the election.

Chris Steele, president of the San Antonio Professional Fire Fighters Association, framed the victory as a win for the public, a solid punch in the gut of special interests, power brokers and out-of-control politicians hellbent on keeping democracy from voters.

(On Tuesday), the people won and corruption lost," he said, opening a 23-minute press conference at the union hall. On Nov. 6, the people will have the chance to make all the changes needed to take back City Hall. On Election Day, you can tell the mayor and the city manager and special interest  this is our city, and they will run it as we the people see fit.

Steele talked about his unions defeat of big-money power brokers hell-bent on not allowing citizens to vote through their dark and devious legal maneuvers.

Archer, who spent the afternoon fielding phone calls about the unions press conference, fired back.

Chris Steele is the definition of corruption and special interest. Hes been caught lying over and over and over again, Archer said. He knows it. We know it.

The unions press conference, he said, was a gigantic distraction from the truth and the devastating consequences these propositions woulds have on generations of San Antonians.

Taking the gloves off fully, Archer continued, citing a recent column by Brian Chasnoff, who wrote that a decade ago, Steele told City Manager Sheryl Sculley in a meeting that you need to know when you deal with me that I lie.

In Brian Chasnoffs column, he was quoted as saying, Im not afraid of lying about anything, he said. Its the one thing for sure we can believe Chris Steele on.

The three proposed amendments would: cap the salary of future city managers and place term limits on them; lower the threshold for signatures on referendum petitions, increase the amount of time allowed for gathering them and remove prohibitions against overturning utility rates, tax levies and appropriations; and give the union sole discretion to declare an impasse on contract negotiations and force the city into binding arbitration, removing its right to seek relief in the court system.

Opponents say the measures would wreak havoc on municipal governance, endanger fiscal stability and likely lead to a costly downgrading of the citys AAA bond rating.

Its also clearly an attack on Sculley and her tenure here.

The PAC based its lawsuit on a series of stories in the San Antonio Express-News, which reported that the fire union had failed to disclose its spending on the petition campaign. After the newspaper identified the failure, the union erroneously amended campaign finance reports filed by its own political action committee before ultimately filing paperwork declaring that the union itself  not its PAC  had spent $510,000 on the petition campaign and Facebook advertisements.

At the heart of the lawsuit is whether a labor organization in Texas may spend union dues on political activity.

Archer and the PACs attorney, Mikal Watts, maintain that they cant.

Cris Feldman, the Houston attorney representing the fire union, says they can.

Feldman said that the Secure San Antonios Future PAC argued that the union was hiding money and noted that a column by Gilbert Garcia in a February edition of the newspaper said as much.

But they somehow had some crazy conspiracy theory. They were looking for the second man on the grassy knoll in some kind of conspiracy theory worthy of Oliver Stone to suggest that there was some kind of dark money, he said. The courts did not accept their crazy conspiracy theory, and the courts did not accept their theory that unions cannot participate in ballot measures.

The courts rejected that flatly. Unions and corporations have every right to participate in ballot-measure elections, he said. They rejected the argument advanced by Secure San Antonios Future that somehow this union needs to sit on the sidelines and not participate.

Feldman also said that regardless of how the lawsuit ends up, hell seek to hold the group accountable for the costs of litigation.

Ill tell you this much: Whether they dismiss it or not, were going to hold them fully responsible for every penny they have cost the fire union in this matter.

Archer said the rulings in the lawsuit, so far, have been specific to a request for a temporary restraining order to block the election because it was the result of alleged illegal spending. The merits of the case, he said, have not been argued.

This is nothing but lies and distractions from the truth, he said of the fire union press conference. You broke the story on how they lied, cheated and tried to manipulate the system. And they got caught. The only thing that happened in a court of law is they refused to grant a temporary restraining order. Cris Feldman is nothing but Chris Steeles attack puppy, and I wouldnt trust anything that he says.

Responding to questions during the press conference, Steele walked back his position on the proposed city manager amendment. In February, when he rolled out the amendments, he acknowledged during a press conference that the amendment would not apply to Sculley, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the year.

On Wednesday, Steele said he expected City Hall to listen to the will of the voters, meaning that he expects Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the City Council to remove Sculley from her position if the amendment passes.

She has served as the city manager since 2005 and is earning a base salary of $475,000 this year.

Josh Baugh is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbaugh@express-news.net | Twitter: @jbaugh
Matthew Busch, For The San Antonio Express-News / For The San Antonio Express-News

This week, local Democrats received an exultant text message touting the Bexar Dems HQ Grand Opening on Wednesday at a new location on the East Side.

Join us and Lets Get the Party Started !!! wrote Manuel Medina, the former party chair who was ousted earlier this year.

The problem: The BCDP itself hasnt authorized a new headquarters or any funds to pay for it, as required by party rules. The BCDP chair, Monica Alcantara, made this clear in an email Wednesday to party officials. (The party is currently headquartered on the Northwest Side off Interstate 10.)

The County Executive Committee has not been consulted with regarding this office, nor has it approved a lease or budget for this office, Alcantara wrote. Therefore, the office that is being opened on the East Side has not been authorized by and has no affiliation with the Bexar County Democratic Party.

READ ALSO: Student activist seeks voluntary departure instead of deportation

Democrats would be forgiven for believing otherwise. After all, Bexar County Democratic Party EASTSIDE HQ Grand Opening is listed on the partys official calendar.

Unfortunately, thats a glaring illustration of how Alcantara has been compromised as chair. Since ousting Medina in May, she remains outnumbered and outflanked by the former leaders loyalists  a rambunctious faction of party officials known informally as Manuelistas.

BCDP secretary Garrett Mormando, for instance, is a staunch Medina ally who refuses to give anyone else access to the partys Google calendar.

The secretary has sole access to the calendar, Alcantara told me.

(Mormando did not return a message seeking comment.)

On Wednesday, a few hours before its grand opening, I dropped by the partys new quasi-headquarters.

A flier touting the evenings event identified the building in the 1200 block of South W.W. White Road as the BCDPs get-out-the-vote campaign headquarters. At this point, though, it would be more accurate to call it a splinter group.

Inside, I found BCDP precinct chairs Juan Hernandez and Alana Bell, who at various points offered conflicting explanations for how the new headquarters was being funded.

Initially, Hernandez said the buildings owner was allowing them to occupy the space with the expectation that they would pay him later.

READ ALSO: Fire union clutches victory

Were going month by month, he said. Were trying to get funding.

Later, Bell told me, Were not looking for funds. We went in with our own personal funding.

Bell said she opened the location because the party was neglecting the East Side, a historically African American section of the city.

Our community has suffered so long, she said. We have 80,000 sleeping voters in this area right now.

She grew more heated when I mentioned Alcantaras assertion that the new headquarters was unauthorized.

Theyre coming in and nitpicking about the process because for whatever reason the black vote does not count, Bell said. I feel like Monica failed me and all the black people in the community.

Alcantara said shes merely concerned about a breach in party rules.

I am supportive if the group as a whole wants to open an East Side office or a West Side office, as long as proper procedure is followed, she told me. All Im asking is we all work together and we follow the proper procedures and protocol.

Its a simple request  but one that unfriendly forces are making increasingly difficult.

After insisting she was not affiliated with the former party chair, Bell acknowledged that Medina had a hand in opening the new headquarters.

Ive got to give Manuel some credit, Bell said, because he did walk us through what we needed to do.
Services between Serbia and Canada are expected to resume next year with both sides working on the introduction of flights between Belgrade and Toronto. The Serbian Minister for Construction, Transport and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlovic, and the Canadian Ambassador to Serbia, Kati Csaba, met recently to discuss the future flights. "I would be delighted to see a nonstop service between Belgrade and Toronto, and we are ready to support this initiative whichever way we can. Air Serbia has postponed its plans the launch nonstop flights until 2019, due to various factors. Once these plans go ahead, I think it will significantly contribute to business and tourism cooperation. With the large Serbian diaspora in Canada, there should be lots of potential passengers", Ms Csaba said earlier.





In a statement, the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade confirmed there were no longer any bureaucratic obstacles for the resumption of flights between the two countries. "The Air Transport Agreement between Canada and Serbia was signed on May 21, 2018. However, the Agreement has been in administrative effect since 2006. The Agreement regulates the provision of air service between Canada and Serbia by designated airlines. We believe this is an important step in facilitating business, tourism and people-to-people contacts between our two countries", the Embassy said. Ms Csaba noted, "People of Serbian origin have been migrating to Canada for decades, so the Serbian diaspora includes second and third generation Canadians, as well as recent arrivals. According to our most recent census in 2016, there are almost 100.000 ethnic Serbs in Canada".





Late last year, Air Serbia noted, "We are working on a complete analysis and we are seriously considering all aspects. A final decision on the potential introduction of a new transcontinental service will be made in the coming period. It is a complex project which takes several months and does not depend solely on us, but also on regulatory authorities since all procedures must be harmonised with the laws and regulations of the country we fly to". At the time, the two countries had still not put into effect their bilateral Air Transport Agreement. Flights between Serbia and Canada were last operated a decade ago by leisure carrier Skyservice, which has since gone bankrupt. During the 1970s and 1980s, JAT Yugoslav Airlines maintained services from Belgrade to Toronto and Montreal. Belgrade Airport recently said it hopes "to soon make announcements regarding the introduction of nonstop services to several unserved destinations", among which it cited a point in Canada.
STAMFORD  After deliberations that amounted to nine hours, and twice went late into the night, the Board of Representatives approved a contract to fix the historic, dilapidated West Main Street bridge.

The vote Tuesday night was 21-19.

The debate, which goes back nearly two decades, was marked by dissonance - car bridge vs. walk bridge; downtown vs. West Side; preserving history vs. building new; moving quickly to restore the failing bridge vs. holding off to pursue funds for a rebuild.

But contention ended in compromise, and the board approved a $2 million contract that pauses after the first phase, in which the contractor - for a maximum of $98,000 - will have 100 days to evaluate the 1888 bridge and estimate the cost of repairing it to preserve its historic character and accommodate pedestrians and light emergency vehicles.

If city officials approve the estimate, the contractor, Wengell, McDonnell & Costello, will move on to the second phase and complete the design for no more than $457,300. After that, construction will go out for bids and the work is to be finished in two years.

Despite the deal, both sides felt let down.

Im happy with the outcome. Im disappointed with the debate, said Arthur Selkowitz, chairman of the Mill River Collaborative, the nonprofit group that is working with the city on a multimillion-dollar renovation of Mill River Park, which sits between downtown and the West Side. We were trying to help.

The 130-year-old bridge, one of the few vestiges of city history left downtown, is in the park, and the collaborative offered city government a $2 million grant it received from the state if the city will repair it for pedestrians only, in keeping with the character of the greenway being created through central Stamford. The group also wants to preserve the rare bridge, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mayor David Martins administration agreed, saying there is little other money available to fix the bridge, which the city engineer said could wash away in the next storm.

But little consideration was given to an old promise to the West Side that car traffic on the 125-foot iron bridge would return, said Rep. Rodney Pratt, D-9.

Im very disappointed, Pratt said. The West Side was cheated out of a choice. It was walking bridge or no bridge.

Cars crossed the bridge between the neighborhoods until 16 years ago, when state transportation officials determined it was unsafe for traffic. During that time, the downtown underwent a significant revitalization. The West Side is seeking to do the same.

Pratt said that, before Tuesdays vote, collaborative and administration officials lobbied city representatives to support the pedestrian-only contract. There was no pressure for a vehicle bridge, which would bring traffic to the small businesses along Stillwater Avenue and up into the West Side, Pratt said.

If this were North Stamford and we had lawyers to represent us, this wouldnt have happened, he said, a reference to a successful fight by North Stamford residents to block a large fitness complex.

Dividing signs

Hours of debate, an extended public hearing, and multiple petitions convinced representatives they should push for contract revisions that would contain costs, give the city an opt-out, and allow for ambulances and police cars to use the bridge during emergencies.

But representatives didnt get the revised contract until hours before the meeting, Pratt said.

There was no time to read it, he said. I dont know how you do city business like this.

During Tuesdays 3 -hour meeting in the boards legislative chambers, the air conditioning not working, residents reflected the division on the board. At 10:45 p.m., they were fanning themselves with signs reading, No to the contract. Others held posters that said, Keep the West Main Street bridge safe for walkers, and We support a pedestrian bridge.

Representatives went around and around, as they did during a six-hour committee meeting last week.

Rep. Eric Morson, D-13, said his concern is that the bridges rate of decay is increasing exponentially.

We need to move forward now, Morson said. If theres a disaster, well never be able to justify not taking action.

Rep. Charles Pia Jr., R-18, said the failure to reach consensus has created years of inaction.

We cant be obstructive. Perfect will never happen  were never going to get total agreement, Pia said. We have to get the project done before there is no project to be had because the bridge could collapse.

But Rep. Marion McGarry, D-12, questioned the rush to action.

I think the real reason is that (some) dont want the West Side to come downtown, McGarry said. The rich are building a park and they are trying to keep black and Latino people from coming downtown.

Park not dark

Rep. David Watkins, R-1, said Mill River is not a dark entity.

Its a city park that is used increasingly by our residents, Watkins said.

Rep. Bradley Michelson, R-1, said its time for the debate to end.

We need a functioning bridge. Its unsafe, Michelson said. Lets be the board that finally gets this done.

They did. But feelings remain.

The whole debate was unfortunate because we all want the same thing - an improved connection between downtown and the West Side, Selkowitz said. We are a forward-thinking city, and forward-thinking cities are looking to convert car streets to pedestrian streets because it helps business.

The collaborative has raised $22 million in private donations and $6 million in grants for the renovation, he said. The city provides a third of the parks operating budget each year, most recently $640,000, he said. The collaborative also gets 50 percent of the incremental tax increases that result when the value of properties surrounding the park are enhanced by development or renovations.

He notified the state Bond Commission Wednesday that the collaborative will spend the grant on restoring the bridge for pedestrian use, Selkowitz said.

Pratt said he has to accept it.

I think its a shame, but I can take a punch. Im not going to wither away, he said.

He will work with Transportation Bureau Chief Jim Travers on ideas for improving Mill River Street, Smith Street and West Side intersections, Pratt said.

Im optimistic, he said.

acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296.
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.

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Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Thailand 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 Thailand ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
China Hydroelectric Corporation is a developer, owner and operator of small hydroelectric power projects in China. The projects are located in Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Sichuan. As of December 31, 2012, wholly owns 22 operating hydroelectric power projects and have controlling interests in three operating hydroelectric power projects. In March 2012, the Company sold 100% of the Yuanping hydroelectric power project. In April 2013, the Company sold the Yuheng hydroelectric power project, a 30 megawatt (MW) project located in Fujian province. In July 2014, the Company announced that it has completed the merger with CPT Wyndham Sub Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CPT Wyndham Holdings Ltd.

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by Anthony Cervino | Ravens Correspondent | Wed, Sep 5th 2:02pm EDT

The Steelers Depot is reporting RB Le'Veon Bell could miss "several weeks" of football activities due to his holdout. (Alex Kozora on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact:

On a morning spot on Sirius XM Radio, Bell's agent, Adisa Bakari is hinting that the elite running back could sit out for the unforeseen future. While being asked if Bell would sit out for the entire year or just up until Week 10, Bakari replied, we'll know "when we find out." In Bell's absence, be ready to employ James Conner in all fantasy formats. Conner is expected to draw a similar workload to Bell, though the results are yet to be learned.
by Jody Smith | Wed, Sep 5th 8:29pm EDT

Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, who is still recovering from a shoulder injury, has been ruled out for Philadelphia's Week 1 home contest against the Atlanta Falcons. QB Carson Wentz (knee), and WR Mack Hollins (groin) will also miss the opener. (Ian Rapoport via Twitter)

Fantasy Impact:

This news was expected as Jeffery is listed as week-to-week. It's been widely speculated that Jeffery will miss at least the first two games of the year as he tries to get back up to speed. Jeffery was limited all of last season and held to his lowest receiving yardage output since his rookie campaign. If he can get fully healthy, Jeffery can be a solid WR2/3, but until that happens, he's simply a bench stash.
Several friends called me within just a few hours of one another last week, each telling me of a great column idea.

The news that grabbed attention centered around an Illinois mother. Police had been summoned because someone had reported the mother to Child Protective Services for allowing her 8-year-old daughter to walk the family dog around the block alone.

I had first heard this account that morning on the news, so I understood the reaction of friends. As one reporter said, with an exasperated look, Are you kidding me? My parents would still be in prison if you can get in trouble for that!

Go outside

Most of us can relate to his reaction, as we were sent out the door in the morning and spent the majority of our summer childhood exploring outdoors.

Go outside! most of us heard, and away we went.

There might have been good-hearted intent by the neighbor who reported this, but the mother insists she can see her child for nearly all of that walk, it is a safe neighborhood and it is the only time her daughter is unsupervised. Each child, each situation, and each neighborhood is obviously very different. I have thought of my great-nephew, who by 8 could have been mistaken for a young teen. And perhaps this little girl looked much younger, the neighbors concern for her genuine, but it seems there could have been a better way to have handled all of this.

This says so much about what we are becoming.

The great outdoors was once a big part of the life of a child. Being under the big blue sky was once a safe and welcoming place to be, where neighbors knew one another and helped look after all the children who scampered about in their neighborhood.

Now, for good reason, we are fearful for our children. But, surely the answer is not to run inside and stay away from each other while dialing up the law.

Neighbors are now strangers to one another in so many cases, which does nothing to help solve this problem.

Lucky

Rarely a day goes by that I dont realize how lucky we were to have grown up when we did. We really knew no fear, and it seems our parents lived by a whole different set of rules than the parents of today.

This happy-go-lucky attitude applied to more than just outdoor exploration. While my big sisters rolled around in the big back seat of the family car, I was forced to sit close to my parents just because I was the young one.

This was the case in every car of families we knew. When coming to a stop, the straight arm of the Mom popped out automatically to keep the little one safe, a very different measurement of safety than in todays world.

It seems utterly crazy to us now. Foreign thinking, to hear there were no seat belts.

The first car seats were really just booster seats in hopes of keeping a child upright, but made in such a way that safety issues were not addressed at all.

We certainly werent very old when we explored the neighborhood and the creeks and swamps, our bikes the ticket to freedom.

We worked with livestock, and many of our chores revolved around various pieces of farm equipment. We were taught a healthy respect for all of it. My parents were sticklers on safety, going over and over just how easily a child could be hurt if rules were not obeyed.

But, they didnt hover over us. They counted on all of us to have the good sense they had pounded in to us every step along the way.

The big kids were fully expected to look after the little ones, no excuses allowed. Still, we were lucky. Angels were watching over us, many times. There were no broken bones or worse.

There are only good memories of exploring our world, a lovely world that sadly no longer exists for most American children.
The Trump administrations good cop/bad cop approach to U.S. trade policy was on full display Aug. 27 when President Donald Trump, the bad cop that day, announced a very incomplete NAFTA trade deal  fueled by his heavy use of tariffs  that pointedly excluded Canada.

(NAFTA, or Nafta, is the North American Free Trade Agreement now under renegotiation between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.)

That days good cop was U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue who explained how the first half of the White Houses allocated $12 billion in trade mitigation funds will be distributed to U.S. farmers clobbered by global blowback to, yes, those same White House tariffs.

For now, thats the White Houses double-barreled trade policy: At one meeting, tariffs are the stick to whack a stubborn negotiating partner back to the bargaining table while at a second meeting, taxpayer money is the juicy carrot to keep U.S. farmers from rejecting the administrations market-cracking tariff policy.

So far, however, the administrations carrot-and-stick tariff use has delivered more trouble than good for both the president and farmers.

About those payments

For example, after Perdue announced the tariff payment scheme Aug. 27, silence fell over farm country as farmers and farm groups analyzed the crops affected, payment rates, income limits, and market impact.

That silence soon gave way to views that ranged from lukewarm  Well, ah, OK to the more heated Youre kidding me.

The lukewarm groups included cotton growers who, calculates the farmdocDAILY group at the University of Illinois, have experienced increased prices but are rewarded with relatively large payment rates.

Better yet are sorghum growers who receive a payment rate that is more than four times as large as the estimated price decline from May to August, the period the payments are meant to mitigate.

How did these crops end up with comparatively better deals than other commodities like corn or milk? The U.S. Department of Agricultures two-paragraph explanation, attached to its 23-page final rule, offers little insight.

Farm leaders representing commodities mostly stiffed by the White Houses mitigation checks quickly spotted these discrepancies and publicly filed their complaints.

Oklahoman Jimmie Musick, president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, pointed out to Perdue that the 14 cents per bushel payment rate promised wheat growers poorly reflects the reality that all farmers are being harmed by tariffs.

And, he added, The long-term solution is to end the trade war.

Kevin Skunes, a North Dakota farmer serving as National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president, was more blunt.

Unfortunately, this plan provides virtually no relief to corn farmers, he said after learning that initial payments to corn growers will be a miserly 1 cent per bushel, or about $96 million for tariff losses NCGA estimates to be more than $6 billion.

Perdue was Buddha-like toward the reviews: serenely silent.

Uncertainty

Some of the administrations biggest backers, however, were not quite as meditative. Many, like the Wall Street Journal, had a hard time finding one kernel of anything to praise in the presidents underlying, no-Canada-NAFTA move.

Were glad to see Mr. Trump step back from the suicide of NAFTA withdrawal, noted the Journals lead editorial Aug. 28, but on the public evidence so far, his new deal is worse.

And thats the case, it noted, even if Canada jumps into the Mexican-U.S. not-yet-done deal, a move that remains uncertain at deadline.

Londons Financial Times had an equally tough, more international judgment of Trumps incomplete NAFTA deal: The best that can be said about the Mexican-U.S. deal that excluded Canada is that it is meaningless. It is emphatically not a positive development for Nafta, or for the quality of trade policymaking in the U.S. and beyond.

If either analysis is only partly correct, U.S. farmers have every right to howl over the administrations mitigation payment schemes and, so far anyway, its very counterproductive carrot-and-stick tariff policy.

Especially now with emerging proof that its going to be a big harvest and a long, carrot-filled winter.
HARRISBURG, Pa.  Ten million dollars in tax credits are available to help Pennsylvania farmers implement best management practices to prevent water pollution or purchase conservation equipment through 2018-19 Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program tax credits.

Farmers may receive tax credits of up to $150,000 per agricultural operation for 50 to 75 percent of a projects cost. The most common projects approved are for no-till planting and precision ag equipment, waste storage facilities, conservation plans, Nutrient Management Plans, and protecting animal heavy use areas like barnyards.

Cover crops and riparian stream buffers are also common REAP-eligible practices.

REAP can be used in conjunction with other funding sources such as the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) or the Chesapeake Bay Program to help install BMPs.

For projects that include the proposed purchase of equipment, the equipment must be delivered by June 30, 2019.

For projects involving the implementation of structural BMPs, all BMPs and BMP components must be complete by June 30, 2020, to be eligible.

Applications

REAP applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The only eligibility requirement is that producers must be in compliance with the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law.

The 2018-19 REAP application packet, as well as other information about REAP, is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Agricultures website, agriculture.pa.gov, or by contacting Joel Semke at 717-705-4032 or jsemke@pa.gov.

About the program

The program is administered by Pennsylvanias State Conservation Commission, which provides support and oversight to the states 66 county conservation districts.

Since the program began in 2007, REAP has awarded tax credits to more than 5,200 projects totaling more than $76 million. The improvements have kept nearly 5 million pounds of nitrogen, nearly 200,000 pounds of phosphorus, and more than 200,000 tons of sediment.
ATHENS, Ohio  The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio, in collaboration with state and county officials and private supporters, recently dedicated the Adam-Amanda Mental Health Rehabilitation Center in Athens.

The $1.25-million, 16-bed facility at 7990 Dairy Lane near the Ohio University campus was created for patients discharged from the nearby Appalachian Behavioral Healthcare hospital who require longer-term residential treatment of 60 days or more.

The facility will be operated by Hopewell Health Center in cooperation with the Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board and NAMI Ohio.

Speaking at the Aug. 25 dedication were Dan and Marsha Knapp, parents of Adam Knapp, and Becky Baker, mother of Amanda Baker.

Adam and Amanda, for whom the center is named, lost their lives due to mental illness only days after being released from inpatient psychiatric facilities and after multiple attempts to receive longer-term care.

The center will bring hope to those have very little hope left, Dan Knapp said.

Becky Baker said she hopes the new center will help achieve her daughters dream to change the world one act of kindness at a time.

Partnership

Dr. Mark Hurst, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, stressed the center is the result of the collaboration between state and local agencies, families and individuals.

It is going to help us have fewer Adam and Amandas. When we get to zero well know weve done something, Hurst said.

Terry Russell, NAMI Ohio executive director, came up with the idea for the rehabilitation center just three years ago. He spearheaded the drive to raise $1.25 million, including money from the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, Attorney General Mike DeWines office and his personal family foundation, the Stow (Ohio) High School Class of 1998, Adams graduating class, and many others.
MILLERSBURG, Ohio  On Aug. 8, the West Holmes FFA officer team created a booth for Kids Day at the Holmes County Fair at Harvest Ridge. The purpose of the booth was to help kids learn the proper nutrients and minerals a plant needs to grow.

Visitors had the option to choose from a variety of plants to grow. Those seeds included flowers, corn, squash, pumpkin, spinach and mystery seeds. There were seven nutrients they needed.

A blue bead stood for water, a clear bead stood for air, an orange bead represented the sun. A pink bead represented phosphorous, which helps the plant grow healthy roots.

The black bead represented soil, and the purple bead represented potassium. The children went through the line and grabbed one orbee bead out of each bucket and put it into a plastic bag. The officers explained to the kids what the plant needed to successfully grow and how the plants would use the nutrients.



WEST SALEM, Ohio  The National FFA Organization awarded a $1,000 Ed Johnson Memorial Scholarship to Cody Tegtmeier, of the Northwestern FFA. Cody plans to use the funds to pursue an agribusiness and applied economics degree at Ohio State University in Columbus.

Also, the Fastline Media Group awarded Austen Wood a $1,000 scholarship. Austen plans to use the funds from this scholarship to pursue an agribusiness degree from Ohio State University-ATI.

These two scholarships are among the 1,829 awarded through the National FFA Organization scholarship program this year. Currently, there are 114 sponsors the contribute more than $2.5 million to support scholarships for students.



UTICA, Ohio  The final summer activity the Utica FFA participated in was the Hartford fair. Members showed woodwork, concrete, electric and other projects in the FFA barn. The chapter received 140 As and 12 Bs, as well as five best of shows.

Trina Orr and Rachel Dickson had best of shows in the agriscience division. Seth Blake and Shaeley Warner had best of show in the ag ed display division. Shaeley Warner also received best of show for her grain crop.

Several students also showed livestock projects. Seth Blake competed in Super Showman and won the event. The chapter also participated in, and won, the annual FFA Challenge at the fair. The FFA challenge is held at the natural resources area and all chapters who exhibit at the Hartford Fair are invited to participate. Chapters had to race a recycled boat, bean bag toss, canoe race, canoe tug of war and take a natural resources test.
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Vivergo Fuels Ltd has confirmed it will cease production due to a difficult trading environment.

The company, which sources from 900 farms, also blamed delays in the implementation of E10 in the UK.

Vivergo Fuels proposed cessation of production is the 30 September.

Mark Chesworth, Managing Director of Vivergo Fuels Ltd said he is extremely disappointed.

We have created a highly skilled and world-class business that had the opportunity to be part of a British sustainable biofuels industry, he said

But sadly, the Governments lack of pace over the past decade to introduce E10 has further undermined our ability to operate.

My employees are my number one concern at this time and we have entered into consultation with them.

Mr Chesworth added: I would like to take this opportunity to thank our workforce, past and present partners, growers and customers for their support since the creation of our plant in 2007.

Vivergo Fuels formed in 2007. The business was started as a Joint Venture between AB Sugar, BP and Du Pont  to help deliver a sustainable and significant portion of the UKs forecast biofuel demand.

Vivergo Fuels plant is the UKs largest and Europes second largest producer of bioethanol, a low-carbon renewable transport fuel which is blended with petrol.

The bioethanol plant can product up to 420 million litres of bioethanol and the bioethanol is made from 1.1 million tonnes of feed wheat, sourced from nearly 900 farms mostly across the East and North Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire regions.

It is also the countrys largest single production site for animal feed, delivering 500,000 tonnes of high protein feed to over 800 farms across the UK.
A 'no-deal' Brexit risks creating a dangerous two-tier food system between rich and poor, a major new report by a think-tank has warned.

The less well-off in society will be forced to accept lower food standards, research by ResPublica has found.

In its report 'Coming Home to Roost: The British Poultry Industry After Brexit', the think-tank sets out three scenarios: Evolution (retaining the status quo), Trade Liberalisation (which would see tariffs removed) and Fortress UK, where WTO trade tariffs would be imposed on products from the EU.

The report, sponsored by the British Poultry Council, identifies the main economic, societal and environmental risks to the poultry meat industry in the event of three potential Brexit scenarios.

At present, the UK is the fourth-largest poultry meat producer in the EU, and it is about 60 per cent self-sufficient.

The carcase balance, or import-export balance, with the EU is an important issue for the poultry meat industry with regard to Brexit.

UK consumers prefer to eat breast meat, rather than dark cuts like wings, legs and thighs, which means that UK producers have to export surplus dark meat to maximise revenue.

The profitability of the sector therefore revolves around finding a market for 75 per cent of the bird that is left over after removing the breasts.

Approximately 70 per cent of our dark meat exports are to the EU, and the majority of the poultry meat that is imported into the UK comes from the European Union. Maintaining the future relationship is therefore key to the sector, the think-tank said.

'Two-tier food system'

The report goes on to argue that a deal which maintains the status quo would best protect the consumer, due to shared welfare, environmental and sustainability standards.

However, in the event of no deal there is a real danger of a reduction in food standards and affordability.

The report says: The UK could increasingly become a country divided by its consumption of food. When the increased costs of production are passed on to consumers through higher prices, lower-income consumers may be left unable to afford fresh British chicken, instead having to rely on cheaper, lower standard meat imports from countries like Brazil and Thailand.

This could create a two-tier food system, where only the wealthy can afford to eat fresh home-reared high standard chicken."

It continues: It is reported that senior Government advisors have made plans to suspend food controls if there are any delays to imports of perishable foods at our borders. This cannot be allowed to happen. The Government must work with policymakers to create a clause that ensures all future imports meet UK standards

'Chlorinated chicken'

Of particular concern for the think-tank is what might happen to standards should the UK turn to non-EU countries for their poultry meat.

They worry about chlorinated chicken from the US and inferior standards of production in other countries, which British consumers are unwilling to accept.

 In particular, it is a legal requirement in the US to wash or spray poultry carcases with chlorine dioxide before being offered for sale, to reduce bacterial contamination. This process was banned in the EU in 1997 due to concerns surrounding hygiene and the fact it would go against the farm to fork model prized by British consumers, the report adds.

The WHO has highlighted widespread and continued use of antibiotics in countries like Thailand, while in the UK overall antibiotic use fell by 82 per cent between 2012-17.

Joe Cowen, who authored the report added: Antibiotic use is endemic in Thailand, while Brazil, another major exporter of chicken has significantly lower standard than the UK.

Recently we saw 20 factories shut down over night, due to poor practices. Crashing out of the EU without a deal, means we would lose much of the EU external infrastructure that allows us to monitor and inspect the food we eat and how it is prepared.

Mr Cowen said: While its possible to construct our own regulatory system, given the glacial pace of the Government around all elements of Brexit, it seems unlikely that this would happen before we are due to leave next March, exposing consumers to food produced to lower standards.

'Fortress UK'

ResPublica warns that under a Fortress UK or no deal scenario, labour costs in the sector could rise by up to a half as the industry is heavily reliant on skilled EU workers.

Phillip Blond, Director of ResPublica commented: If the Government is serious about making Brexit work, then it is essential that the UK finds a workable trade deal with our EU partners.

If it fails then we risk creating a dangerous two tier system, where the rich will be able to afford the increased cost of production necessary to maintain the highest standard, while those on low incomes will have little choice but to accept poultry with inferior standards.

The report concludes by urging the Government to do more to support the industry, such as encouraging schools and hospitals to promote higher standards by buying British poultry.

It also urges the Government to help educate consumers to eat the whole carcase as currently consumers prefer white meat, which accounts for just a quarter of the available meat on a bird.

'Food is a special case'

The British Poultry Council has also warned that Brexit poses "unprecedented" economic, social and environmental challenges to British food production and supply.

British Poultry Council Chief Executive, Richard Griffiths said "food is a special case" and should be treated as a "national security issue".

Government must ensure that British food, and the quality it represents, stays affordable and available for all. If we cannot support our own production, then there will emerge a two-tier food system with the average citizen forced to rely on lower standard imports, Mr Griffiths said.

As the UKs largest livestock sector, we are keen to work together with Government to help solve the conundrum of frictionless trade with Europe, be that on regulatory alignment, the use of technology to facilitate crossing of borders, or the future of where labour is going to come from.

He added: We are calling on the Government to develop a robust transition plan to ensure we have access to the workers we need and to avoid any disruption in the smooth movement of perishable products across the EU.
A union has warned farmers against a new convincing "ghosting" scam which has left one farming business thousands of pounds out of pocket.

An Ayrshire farmer recently fell victim to ghosting. He had agreed to buy a new machine from a machinery dealer and was negotiating, through phone calls and emails, a finance agreement with the bank.

Half way through the negotiation, the contact at the bank replied to the email conversation with "revised" account details.

The convincing email still bore the electronic signature of the bank with all the usual fraud warnings, telephone numbers and logos attached.

The farmer duly sent the money to this account believing everything to be in order.

Shortly afterwards, the farmer received a phone call from the dealer chasing up the payment on the machine.

When the farmer contacted the bank, they informed him that they had been unable to complete the transaction as he had suddenly stopped replying to emails half way through the conversation.

'Ghosting'

This type of scam is referred to as "ghosting" where the scammer has hacked an email account, removed the banker from the conversation and started mimicking emails from the bank.

The bank involved has launched an investigation into this in conjunction with Police Scotland's fraud team.

The farmer involved, who remains anonymous said: Please be vigilant folks. Even in hindsight, and having reviewed the emails, the only indication that an intruder had taken over the email conversation with the bank was a very slight change in writing style - something that we simply assumed was a banker typing in a hurry.

It was a very convincing scam that has stung us, leaving us several thousand pounds out of pocket and no guarantee that we're getting it back.

NFU Scotland has warned farmers that scammers are becoming "increasingly devious" when it comes targeting businesses, and ghosting scams in Scotland serve as a reminder to "be alert at all times".
A food safety watchdog has confirmed that one-fifth of meat samples tested in 2017 contained DNA from animals that werent listed on the label.

Among products testing positive for undeclared meat were dishes from three supermarkets and convenience stores, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) said.

A BBC Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the watchdog revealed that out of 665 results from England, Wales and Northern Ireland collected, 145 were partly or wholly made up of unspecified meat.

Results came from hundreds of businesses, including restaurants, convenience stores and supermarkets.

It showed that some samples contained DNA from as many as four different animals, while others contained no trace of the meat that appeared on the product's label.

Meat labelled as lamb was most likely to contain traces of other animals' DNA, followed by beef and goat.

Cow DNA was the most commonly-found contaminant, followed by pig, chicken, sheep and turkey.

An FSA spokesman told the BBC that it was up to the relevant local authorities to lead individual investigations and take "appropriate action" such as prosecutions.
High quality British farm produce will take the centre stage in Hong Kong at one of Asia's leading food exhibitions.

Meat and dairy products from Britain will be heading to Hong Kong next month, which is seen as a key target market in the region for exporting British products into the food service sector.

The Restaurant and Bar Hong Kong (RBHK) show, which attracts thousands of visitors from the food service sector, will be attended by British exporters.

Held at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, the three-day show is the key event in the food and beverage business calendar for keeping updated with the latest products, trends and developments.

Five British exporters will attend to showcase premium pork, beef and lamb as well as sausages, ham and bacon.

And for the first time, AHDB Dairy will exhibit a selection of speciality cheeses from Britain.

AHDBs Head of Asia Pacific, Jonathan Eckley said: This trade show is always very well attended and represents a fantastic opportunity for our producers to showcase premium meat products from Britain on a global platform.

Asia is a key focus for our red meat exports and despite a challenging first-half of the year, AHDB remains committed to driving further demand for our world-class products to this all-important market.
Schools can now submit their applications for the chance to become a farm for the day as a UK-wide competition for children commences.

The NFU competition aims to get primary school children engaging with key topics such as science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) by designing and creating their own food and farming products.

Fifty school children and their teachers who took part in the pilot project will attend the launch of the competition at Birminghams ThinkTank Museum.

Here, they will take on the challenge of creating their own tractor of the future, designing and preparing a seasonal snack to take home and designing an environment for a flock of 100 laying hens.

NFU President Minette Batters will officially open the competition. She said: Farmvention brings real life farming situations into the classroom and its fantastic to see so many young people getting involved.

Food and farming is inextricably linked to STEM subjects and the NFUs competition offers a rare chance for children to put this learning into practice in a new and exciting way.

Mrs Batters added: As an industry it is important to us that children know about where their food comes from. Farmvention is a fantastic opportunity to develop their education and problem solving skills at the same time as learning about food production and the challenges farmers face every day.

Finalists will be invited to present their designs at the House of Commons during British Science and Engineering Week, where the winning school will be announced.

Applications close on 21 December 2018.
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Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which regards consensual intercourse between same sex people as unnatural and criminal, has been partially struck down by the Supreme Court today. In 2009, the Delhi High Court had decriminalised sex between consulting adults of the same gender, however, in 2013, this judgment was set aside by the apex court. But today, in a historic win for the community, Section 377 was decriminalised, giving the LGBTQ community and humanity in general, a reason to rejoice.A five-judge bench led by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and comprising Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra took this unanimous decision today, after the apex court concluded that courts needed to make a decision without waiting for anyone (including the majoritarian government), if it was something that violates ones fundamental rights.CJI Dipak Misra said, Section 377 is irrational, arbitrary and incomprehensible as it fetters the right to equality for LGBT communityLGBT community possesses same equality as other citizens." Justice Khanwilkar and CJI Misra said, "Social morality cannot violate the rights of even one single individual.LGBT have a fundamental right to live with dignity, such groups are entitled to protection of law, said Justice Nariman.The judgment is a landmark win, leaving behind a 158-year-old colonial law. The times, surely are changing!
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Margarita With A StrawKalki Koechlins portrayal of a character with cerebral palsy, who eventually figures out her sexuality was highly appreciated. She played a lesbian,who falls in love with Sayani Guptas character. The emotions displayed in the film, directed by Shonali Bose, were real and tangible.FireThis 1996 release starring Nandita Das and Shabana Azmi was way ahead of its time. Deepa Mehta wove an emotional story about two women, who find solace in each other, after being neglected by their husbands. The film faced a lot of criticism from radical groups when it released. Perhaps, it was ahead of its times.Bombay TalkiesThe short story directed by Karan Johar, in the anthology Bombay Talkies, is titled Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh. It stars Rani Mukerji, Randeep Hooda and Saqib Saleem and depicted the complications that come by hiding ones sexual preferences. Rani is left broken when she discovers that her husband, Randeep, is indulging in physical intimacy with another man.Kapoor & SonsProbably the title of the first commercial film ever, to portray a gay character sensitively, should be given to this film directed by Shakun Batra. Fawad Khans intense character manifested a dignity, which Hindi cinemas mocked gay characters lacked. His battle with himself and his family to come out of the closet was presented with the perfect amount of compassion.PadmaavatRanveer Singh essayed the character of tyrant Alauddin Khilji with utmost perfection in the film. However, in his personal life, the ruler was said to be bisexual and the film shows a full-fledged scene as well as a song that is dedicated to the relationship he shared with slave Malik Kafur. Jim Sarbh, as Kafur, beautifully showcased a helpless lover, ready to do anything for his master.
TV hottie Mrunal Thakur is looking forward to big happenings in her career. Her horizons are widening with two mega projects ready for release. One is the indie film Love Sonia. The other is the Hrithik Roshan starrer Super 30, directed by Vikas Bahl. Love Sonia, directed by Tabrez Noorani, is releasing on September 14. The film has been co-produced by David Womark. The indie film deals with human trafficking and Mrunal is playing the title role of Sonia along with acclaimed actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Freida Pinto, Demi Moore, Rajkummar Rao and Richa Chadda.Talking about her transition from television to films, Mrunal said, I believe in evolution. When you take up a job, you always have promotion on your mind. You want to reach at the level of the CEO. I too started like that. I started with TV, which was like a ladder. Mujhe bada banna hai. I want to be known for my acting. If I can play a chirpy girl, that is Bulbul in Kumkum Bhagya then people should also appreciate me as an actor, who can do intense roles. Thats why I did Love Sonia, she says. I want to be a versatile actor. I treat every opportunity as a golden one. Im an actor and I work in several mediums. Today what matters the most is content, she maintains. Mrunal started her acting career with Khamoshiyan (2012) on Star Plus. Then she did another show, Har Yug Mein Aayega Ek Arjun. After that Mrunal went into Marathi films and did acclaimed movies like Hello Nandan, Vitti Dandu and Surajya. She also participated in Nach Baliye 7. Mrunal considers Love Sonia as her indie film debut. Director Tabrez Noorani was inspired to make Love Sonia after he was introduced to human trafficking in Los Angeles in 2003, when some girls were apparently found in a shipping container from China.Mrunals big Bollywood debut film will be Vikas Bahls Super 30. Its a biopic on the life of renowned mathematician Anand Kumar. Incidentally, Super 30 is a programme in Patna, in which Anand Kumar tutors 30 students from economically weak background for IIT-JEE entrance exams. Superstar Hrithik Roshan is playing the mathematician in the film. Mrunal recalls her first meeting with Hrithik, I thought hed behave like a star but hes so down-to-earth. We had a normal conversation. But when you see him on camera, you feel, Wow! Im working with the Greek god. Sometimes I was like, Mrunal! Wake up, hes Hrithik Roshan but you have to focus on your work, she smiles. The future sure looks happy for her.
#ranam interval

Prithvi shines in stylish avatar isha talwar play a mature role and rahman as badie is good

Good screenplay

Good 1st half..it has all elements of action love

Waiting for second half  Th@l@p@thy sarkar (@Kiran1834959643) September 6, 2018

Tweet Regarding The First Half

Here is an interval report regarding the first half of Ranam. Going by the tweet, the first half of the film is indeed a good one with some powerful performances from the lead actors.

#Ranam #RanamDay interval..

Really superb style of film making..Bgm..Music.. Cinematography..#PrithviRaj stylish waiting for second half...  Visakh Vijayan (@VisakhLionheart) September 6, 2018

Another Good Report

Here is another tweet in connection with the first half of the film. According to the tweet, Ranam's first half is a superb one with the stylish film-making fetching big praises.

RANAM 1st Half



Direction & Camera Song & Bgm 



Slow Pace With Electrifying Scenes. Glimpse Of Good Old Action Hero.



Interval Scene 



So Far... So Good...

Waiting For Second Half #Ranam @PrithviOfficial @Poffactio  Mohammed Suhail (@Suhu_lionheart) September 6, 2018

Great Reports Continue To Come In

Well, it seems like the first half of the movie is indeed a superb one. The above tweet regarding the first half of the movie has praises for the direction, camera, songs & BGM.

#Ranam First Half



 Overall below avg.

 BGM , Locations , Costumes are only the positive.

 Story wise heavily disappointed.

 Decent acting by all.

 Nothing impressed as hyped.  Rahul Shaji Rj (@Rahulrj_offl) September 6, 2018

Another Report

Here is another tweet regarding the first half of Ranam. The tweet suggests that the initial average is not upto the mark but praises are there for the acting, BGM, locations and costumes.

Nothing more to say, dear @PrithviOfficial , our RAJU yettan you had the key role in this success. And of course director #Nirmal the show was in your hand and @actorrahman as always hats off for your performance. #Jakes_Bejoy I loved your the title song made by you

team #Ranam  JEES SEBASTIAN (@jeeskonnackal) September 6, 2018

A Perfect Film?

The above tweet in connection with Ranam has praoises Prithviraj and Rahaman's performances and the making style of Nirmal Sahadev, the director.

#Ranam is one of those movies that Malayalam cinema must remember, same old story for sure. The way its made? Its just brilliant. Great sound. Amazing music and @PrithviOfficial owned the show! #IshaTalwar has also proved her metal as an actress and not an eye candy for once.  Alex George Verghese (@oleggs_) September 6, 2018

Brilliant Making

Here is another positive report regarding Ranam. According to the tweet, Ranam has a brilliant making. There are praises for the performances of Prithviraj and Rahman.
Ragini Khanna seems to have learned a lot from her teachers. Yesterday was celebrated as Teacher's Day and on this occasion, many television actors thanked their gurus for inspiring them. But, you would be surprised to learn about Ragini's teachers, who played a major role in her life! While talking to Times Of India, the television actress said that heartbreaks and empty pockets have been her greatest gurus! She also used the opportunity to thank her mother.

She said, "I'll start with my mother as she's my first teacher. Mom taught me to deal with everybody with patience and empathy. She's extremely kind-hearted and she also taught me to deal with failures. She's my sounding board for everything."

Ragini also spoke about her teachers from school. Remembering her childhood days, she said, "I cannot forget my Indian classical singing teacher and my dance teachers. I went to R N Shah High School, Juhu, and I have a school group comprising classmates that I have known since first grade. We all often remember our teachers. I have also made a visit as a guest at annual functions at my school. It's always nice to go back and meet the staff as the school brings back old memories."

"Some of my teachers have left and gone to other schools and have also called me to visit their schools as chief guest, which has been a proud moment for me. I have to also say that my directors, co-actors and gym trainers have also taught me a lot," she further added.

The actress who has established herself successfully in the industry said, "But more than all of the above, I want to thank my biggest teacher - my failures as well as empty pockets and heartbreaks, as there are no bigger teachers than these two."

Also Read - Rubina Dilaik Celebrates As Shakti Completes 600 Episodes
Mouni Quotes A Whopping Sum For A Project!

According to DNA report, "Mouni has become wary of the pay being offered to Hina Khan for Ekta Kapoor's Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2. Mouni was offered a pretty big web series for which she quoted a whopping sum of Rs 3 Lakhs per episode as her fee."

Hina Khan Offered Rs 2.5 Lakhs For Kasautii!

Apparently, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai actress, Hina, has been offered a sum of Rs 2.5 Lakhs per episode for playing Komolika on Kasautii reboot. It is being said that if everything goes well, the Bigg Boss 11 finalist might start shooting for the show from October 2018.

Mouni Feels She Is A Bigger Star Now!

Mouni, who has bagged a hit with her Bollywood debut Gold, feels that she is a bigger star and hence, her remuneration should be more. Apparently, when the makers of the web series couldn't accommodate Mouni's fee, the actress declined to be a part of the project!

Naagin Actress Bollywood Projects

On the work front, Mouni has signed three Bollywood projects - Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt starrer Brahmastra, John Abraham's RAW and Rajkummar Rao's Made in China.

Kasautii Zindagi Kay

Coming back to the much-awaited show, Kasautii Zindagi Kay, a few days ago, Ekta Kapoor released the promo featuring Erica Fernandes and Parth Samthaan as the new Anurag and Prerna. It has Shahrukh Khan as a narrator. It is being said that Komolika's introduction too will be unique. Recently, a report suggested that Hina Khan will be giving a unique twist to Komolika's signature tune. Apparently, she will be humming the tune herself!

Hina Is Putting All Efforts To Impress The Viewers!

It is also being said that she will be making an impression with her range of earrings on the show. There were also reports that Hina wants her entry to be perfect and grand. Hence, she is putting all her efforts to stun the audience!
LONDON, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The call for improved education and diagnosis of heart valve disease comes following the results of a new survey of 12,820 people over the age of 60 in 11 European countries

Only 3.8% of people know what aortic stenosis is, one of the most common forms of heart valve disease, despite it affecting approximately 2.7 million over 65s in Europe [1] , [2]

Levels of concern for heart valve disease are very low (2.1%) compared to cancer (28.8%) even though annual mortality of severe aortic stenosis is higher than most cancers [ 1 ] , [3] , [4]

Only 46% of people regularly had their heart checked with a stethoscope which is the first step to detecting the condition, with only 24.06% of women having their heart checked at every visit compared to (30.2%) of males[1]

A new survey of 12,820 over 60s across Europe indicates that low levels of awareness of heart valve disease may prevent elderly people from seeking diagnosis and treatment.[1] The results from the survey, published in Clinical Research in Cardiology, coincide with the first ever European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day taking place in six countries on 8 September 2018. The campaign calls for action to improve awareness, early diagnosis and treatment across Europe.

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The findings, which consider the results alongside those of an awareness survey conducted two years ago, indicate more people are familiar with heart valve disease in general yet, alarmingly, understanding of aortic stenosis, the most common form of heart valve disease affecting between 2-7% of people over the age of 65 has decreased.[5] Only 3.8% of survey respondents could correctly identify this form of heart valve disease compared to 7.21% in 2015.[1] In addition, almost two fifths of respondents (38.1%) were unaware of treatment options for heart valve disease.[1] This is despite the fact that approximately 2.7 million people over 65 years of age are thought to suffer from aortic stenosis in Europe, a number only set to increase due to Europe's ageing population.[2]

As levels of understanding remain low, so too do levels of concern for heart valve disease among Europeans. Despite a slight increase over the last two years (2015:1.7% vs 2017:2.1%), levels of concern are particularly low when compared to cancer (28.8%) or Alzheimer's disease (20.9%).[1] This is despite annual mortality of severe aortic stenosis being considerably higher than most cancers.[3],[4] This lack of understanding and concern for heart valve disease may prevent elderly people from seeking diagnosis and treatment.

"Results from this awareness study shows superficial knowledge of heart valve disease has increased but surprisingly people are still not sufficiently informed about heart valve disease and therefore show little concern for the condition," Professor Helge Mollmann, lead author and Cardiologist, St.-Johannes-Hospital, Dortmund, Germany comments. "Treating heart valve disease can return people to a good quality of life and normal life expectancy, so it is extremely important to educate and inform people on the condition."

Heart valve disease is a common, but treatable, heart condition where the heart valves no longer work properly. When the valves are diseased it can rapidly affect the pumping action of blood around the body. Symptoms of heart valve disease include chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, difficulty exercising and fainting and it can lead to sudden death.[6] However, many patients do not suffer severe or visible symptoms, or put their symptoms down to the natural ageing process, making diagnosis difficult.[6] It is important to diagnose early as, if severe aortic stenosis is left untreated, half of those patients will die within two years of developing symptoms.[7]

The survey revealed that respondents are most likely to report chest pain followed by chest tightness but nearly a fifth of respondents (19.8%) were unlikely to mention shortness of breath to their GP despite it being a common symptom of heart valve disease.[1]

Results indicate there continues to be discrepancy between the regularity with which men and women have stethoscope checks, with only 24.06% of women having their heart checked at every visit compared to (30.2%) of males.[1] This puts women at higher risk of receiving a late diagnosis as using a stethoscope to listen for a characteristic heart 'murmur' is the first step to identifying a problem with the heart valves.[8]

Additionally, the survey found that stethoscope use, although improved in recent years, remains infrequent. Fewer people now rarely or never undergo auscultation (2015: 54.2% vs. 2017: 50.6%, p<0.001) and more Europeans currently have their hearts listened to by a doctor at every visit than two years previously (2015:24.2% vs. 2017:27.2%; p<0.001) However, the majority (54.1%) of people aged 60 or older are still not checked regularly.[1]

"The population itself must be aware of heart valve disease in order to initiate the first step in effective diagnosis - noticing symptoms," commented Professor Helge Mollmann. "The 8thSeptember 2018, is a monumental dayas it marks the first ever European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day, a day focused on four key aspects to improve diagnosis and access to treatment across Europe. The results of this survey clearly showimportance ofhaving a day dedicated to improving understanding of heart valve disease and also highlight the urgent need for doctors to keep using their stethoscope, which is the key to diagnosis."

Encouragingly, although there is relatively low awareness and understanding of heart valve disease and potential treatment options, after receiving more information about the condition, survey respondents cited heart valve disease as a condition they wish to be checked for. Blood pressure was the condition most respondents wanted to be checked for regularly by GPs, with heart valve disease coming in a close second.[1]

There is an urgent need for improved awareness of heart valve disease and its effective treatments amongst patients and doctors in order to ensure a fully informed population who understand their symptoms and report them to their doctor. The primary treatment is heart valve replacement, either via open-heart surgery or a minimally invasive procedure such as a Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI). Treatment can alleviate symptoms, prolong a patient's life span and improve health and quality of life.[9]

Using a stethoscope to listen to the heart is one of the simplest steps that doctors can take towards diagnosis. Implementing regular heart health checks for heart valve disease after the age of 65 would increase regular stethoscope checks, thereby supporting early diagnosis of heart valve disease, which is key to improving outcomes.

About Heart Valve Disease

Heart valve disease is the name given to any malfunction or abnormality of one or more of the heart's four valves, affecting the blood flow through the heart. The condition is usually caused by wear, disease or damage of the heart valve(s).[10]

About Aortic Stenosis

Aortic stenosis, a form of heart valve disease, is most often due to age-related degeneration or hardening (calcification) of the aortic valve, leading to progressive narrowing (stenosis) - changes which compromise valve function and impair normal blood flow through the heart.[11]

About the Survey

In 2015, a heart health awareness survey was conducted amongst people over 60 years old across Europe. The surveys aimed to assess levels of awareness and concern regarding heart valve disease amongst the general population over 60. The latest survey aimed to evaluate whether awareness and knowledge among the general over 60s population regarding different diseases, including heart valve disease has changed and questioned 12,820 people over the age of 60 across 11 European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Ireland and the UK. The survey was funded by Edwards Lifesciences.

About European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day

The first European Heart Valve Disease Awareness Day takes place on the 8 September 2018 and has as it's theme 'The Power of Positive Ageing' which aims to improve diagnosis, treatment and management of heart valve disease in Europe. It seeks to do this via its '4A Action Plan' which calls for improved awareness, the implementation of annual stethoscope checks, national heart valve disease guidelines and equal access to treatments. The project is supported by a group of European patient societies including; Alliance du Cur in France, Cuore Italia in Italy, Heart Valve Voice in the UK, AEPOVAC in Spain, Croi from Ireland, and Hart Volgers in the Netherlands. For more information, please visit: https://heartvalveday.eu/

References

1. Mollmann, H & Gaede, L et al. Heart Valve Disease Awareness Survey 2017: what did we achieve since 2015? Clinical Research in Cardiology. June 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00392-018-1312-5

2. (US data) Go AS, et al; on behalf of the American Heart Association Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart disease and stroke statistics-2014 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation.2014;129:e28-e292; Stewart BF, et al. Clinical factors associated with calcific Aortic Valve Disease. Cardiovascular Health Study. J Am Coll Cardiol. Mar 1 1997;29(3):630-634; Nkomo V et al. Burden of valvular heart disease: a population-based study. Lancet. 2006;368:1005-11

(Numbers extrapolated to the EU based on over 65s population of 133, 587, 927 in 2017: https://www.populationpyramid.net/europe/2017/)

3. National Cancer Institute. SEER Cancer Stat Fact Sheets. Seercancergov. Available at: http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/. Accessed 23 March 2016

4. New Heart Valve. Aortic Stenosis Facts: Data on file, Edwards Lifesciences LLC. Analysis courtesy of Murat Tuczu, MD, Cleveland Clinic. Available at: https://newheartvalve.com/hcp/about-aortic-stenosis/ Accessed June 2018

5. Spaccarotella C et al. Pathophysiology of aortic stenosis and approach to treatment with percutaneous valve implantation. Circulation Journal. 2011;75:11-19

6. Bupa Heart Valve Disease Information Available at https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information%20/directory/h/heart-valve-disease Accessed June 2018

7. Leon M, Smith C, Mack M, et al. Transcatheter aortic-valve implantation for aortic stenosis in patients who cannot undergo surgery. N Engl J Med. 2010;363(17):1597-1607

8. Heart Valve Voice, Diagnosis of Heart Valve Disease. Available at https://www.heartvalvevoice.com/heart-valve-disease/diagnosis Accessed June 2018

9. Heart Valve Voice. Giving a voice to those with Heart Valve Disease. A Heart Valve Voice White Paper. 2015. Available at: https://www.heartvalvevoice.com/application/files/6714/6005/9042/White_paper.pdf Accessed June 2018

10. British Heart Foundation: Heart Valve Disease. Available at: https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/heart-valve-disease. Accessed September 2017

11. Patient.co.uk. Available at: http://patient.info/health/aortic-stenosis-leaflet. Accessed September 2017
- Open up the upper, middle and lower stream to create an innovative supporting ecological circle for the lighting industry

ZHONGSHAN, China, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The 22ndChina (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair (GILF) will be held concurrently with the Guzhen Lighting Manufacturing Expo in Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre from October 22 to 26, 2018. The fair builds a diversified platform through the linkage between exhibition and megastores, adding new impetus to the field of mechanical equipment and ancillary services in the lighting industry of Guzhen.

With the mid-stream products as the mainstay, the fair also covers the upstream and downstream of the lighting industry chain, such as machinery equipment, hardware, accessories/components, 3D printing, raw materials, design in the upstream, and circulation, finance, commerce and trade in the downstream. Following are features of some machinery manufacturing and supporting service enterprises:

Zhongshan Xinhe Electronic Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Xinhe): 14 years of industry accumulation

Xinhe mainly produces automatic production equipment for LED lamps and automatic production equipment for household appliances. Under the guidance of innovative thinking, the intelligent production line of LED bulbs developed by Xinhe realizes automatic feeding, welding, assembly and real-time detection of the whole process, improving the production efficiency and ensuring quality stability. Zhongshan manufacturers can enjoy government subsidies in accordance with relevant regulations when purchasing automation products in Xinhe.

This year, Xinhe will introduce all kinds of automatic screw machine products on the basis of LED automatic production line, which are super cost-effective and highly competitive and can be used by almost all manufacturing companies.

Foshan Juli CNC Machinery Technology Co., Ltd. (Juli): Concentration is the key to success

Juli mainly produces various types of CNC spinning automation machine and CNC lathe automation machine, which are suitable for mobile lighting, commercial lighting, automotive industry, military, home appliances and other industries.

Pacesetter M&E Technology: High-end power brand solution provider

Pacesetter is a comprehensive group company specializing in application development, system integration and product sales of automation technology. The main products are: Taiwan MEAN WELL power, Taiwan Delta automation products, Taiwan HUST CNC control system, Taiwan HIWIN linear guide screw, America CREE light source, MAXIC Technology Corporation drive IC, etc. Pacesetter mainly launches MEAN WELL power at this exhibition.

Zhongshan Bangle Automation Equipment Co., Ltd. (BL): Obtain recognition with integrity and quality

BL is an automation equipment manufacturing enterprise integrating R&D, production, sales and service. The company, with complete and scientific quality management system, has many years of experience in the research and development, production and after-sales work of automation equipment. It will display dispensing equipment at the exhibition.

SF cross-border Express: Help brands "sell" to the world

In the next 10 years, the demand for the global lighting market is growing. Cross-border e-commerce orders in the lighting industry have shown explosive growth in recent years. SF cross-border express delivery has been deployed in 53 countries and regions overseas, and has established branches in 10+ countries to provide quality services for lighting brands.

At this exhibition, SF Express will provide an end-to-end full supply chain solution. Meanwhile, it will also set up overseas operation hubs for overseas operation centers opened by enterprises all over the world. The diversified storage modes of bonded duty-paid warehouses complement each other, providing customers with e-commerce full-chain supply chain services. SF overseas warehouse services cover 28 EU countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Norway and other e-commerce developing countries.

Tel: +86-760-2235-3188

Website: www.denggle.com

Facebook: @guzhenlightingfair

Contact: Karmen.Wu@glexpo.com.cn

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- War Eagle Mining Company Inc.(TSXV - WAR) ("War Eagle" or the "Company") announced today that at the Company's Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders (the "Meeting") held on September 5, 2018, all agenda items and proposals put forward by the Board of Directors, as further described in the Company's information circular dated August 1, 2018, were approved, including the following:

Setting the number of directors of the Company until the next annual general meeting at four; Daniele Spethmann, Paul Carroll , Malcolm Burke and Peter Winnell were re-elected to the Board of Directors; Re-appointment of Crowe MacKay LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants (" Crowe MacKay "), as auditors for the Company for the ensuing financial year and the Director's right to fix the remuneration to be paid to Crowe MacKay ; Re-approval of the Company's rolling 10% Stock Option Plan; To change the name of the Company to "Warrior Gold Inc."; and To adopt new Articles for the Company.

About War Eagle Mining Company

War Eagle is a TSX Venture Exchange listed company focused on the exploration of mineral resource properties in northern Ontario, Canada, with a focus on gold deposits. The Company's Goodfish Kirana Project is a 10 km long by 3 km wide land package with numerous historical gold showings and significant structural breaks that has been under-explored with modern technology, providing an exciting and unique discovery opportunity. The Goodfish Patents are located within the significant land position held by the Company located in the Kirkland Lake Gold Camp five kilometers from the center of the Town of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada.

This news release was prepared by management of War Eagle, which takes full responsibility for its contents as it relates to War Eagle.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. The forward-looking statements are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the Company. Although War Eagle believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because War Eagle can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. In addition to other risks that may affect the forward-looking statements in this press release are those set out in the Company's management discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations for the year ended March 31, 2018and the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, which are available at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and War Eagle undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

CONTACT: Daniele Spethmann, P.Geo, President & CEO, War Eagle Mining Company Inc., (647) 344-3433, dspethmann@wareaglemining.com; Malcolm Burke, Director, War Eagle Mining Company, (604) 220-2000, mburke@wareaglemining.com; Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer, War Eagle Mining Company, (647) 964 0292, info@wareaglemining.com
Teva announce digital initiatives to empower patients living with migraine and physicians by addressing the unmet need for independent, trustworthy and reliable online health information revealed in new research

Recent research commissioned1 by Teva Pharmaceuticals has shown that patients, especially those with chronic conditions, have a significant need for online information but they question the reliability of some sources.1

Today, Teva in Europe announced a series of partnerships and initiatives aimed at directly addressing this unmet need. The first, a partnership with Healint, the developer of the Migraine Buddy platform, will provide real-world evidence about the many issues and outcomes experienced by migraine patients in Europe. These statistical insights produced by Healint on their platform are based on the contributions of patients, who opt-in to share about their condition anonymously for the purpose of increased migraine awareness, and research. This patient-reported evidence with an unprecedented scale will support the generation of educational and supportive content for doctors, neurologists, health specialists and individuals looking to enhance their understanding of migraine.

Recent research in the professional field highlights the growing interest by medical professionals in digital assets to support their continuous education needs and day-to-day work. A 2017 DRG Digital report found that millennial physicians are more reliant on digital sources of information spending as much as three hours consulting external digital resources including websites for healthcare professionals. They source online medical journals and medical reference sites far more frequently than their older peers.2

To address this professional need Teva is working with Migraine Trust International Symposium (MTIS) to create engaging online interviews with leaders in the field of neurology including Professor of Neurology at King's College London and Medical Trustee of The Migraine Trust, Peter J. Goadsby on the subject of 'Recent advances in headache neuroimaging'. These videos and content will be made available through the MTIS website for UK delegates and on NeurologyBytes.com for non-UK delegates.

Neurology Bytes is a European Healthcare Professional portal initiated by Teva Europe that hosts a variety of educational content that complements the busy schedule of a neurologist and addresses the unmet need for reliable and trustworthy information.

CEO and Co-Founder of Healint, Francois Cadiou commends Teva's efforts to provide independently reviewed information to support healthcare professionals in becoming more knowledgeable about migraine. "Our collaboration with Teva aims to support healthcare professionals to understand migraine patients better, so that they can obtain the most effective care plan faster. We at Healint are happy to support this transformative initiative with the unique data analysis carried out on the Healint platform. This fact-based information and our collaboration with Teva provides significant benefits to the entire migraine community."

Professor of Neurology at King's College London and Medical Trustee of The Migraine Trust, Peter J. Goadsby MD PhD stated: "Migraine is a complex condition which requires broader disease awareness in order for patients to communicate effectively about their condition. Patients often need to be their own advocates given the significant amount of patient information doctors require to diagnose and treat their conditions. I welcome Teva's initiatives which aim to support both the patient and the medical community through reliable and trustworthy information. I hope this initiative creates a better dialogue between patients and their doctors so they can determine the best course of treatment for this debilitating condition."

Teva Head of Digital, Timothy White said: "Teva is committed to empowering patients and professionals around the world through their health journey, especially those living with or treating chronic conditions such as migraine, by providing high quality medicines as well as tools based on human insights. Our partnerships with MTIS and Healint as well as the growth of our Neurologybytes.com platform demonstrate the practical ways of how we are bringing the vision to life."

-ENDS-

About the Research

The research (2018) found:

7 in 10 people (73%) in the UK have a chronic condition and online resources continue to be sought with over half (58%) of UK respondents with chronic conditions claiming to have searched for information on a weekly or monthly basis 1

People living with chronic conditions were more likely to search for health information online on a weekly or monthly basis (58%) compared to those without chronic conditions (44%) 1

The biggest issue that the UK faces in relation to online health information is understanding if it is trustworthy and reliable 1

Search engines are the most popular online source of health information but not the most trusted. For example, in the UK, the NHS Choices website is the most trusted source of information with 3 out of 4 (75%) of respondents stating they trust the site to have quality and dependable information1

About Migraine

Migraine is an unpredictable neurological condition with symptoms such as severe head pain and physical impairment that can impact quality of life and productivity.3 There are two clinical manifestations of migraine chronic, where patients suffer 15 or more headache days per month, and episodic, where patients have 14 or less headache days per month.4 With more than 1 billion people affected worldwide, migraine is the third most prevalent illness in the world.3

References

1. Edelman Intelligence 2018. Teva Brand Research UK information

2. Meet the Millennial Physicians Young, Mobile, and Harder to Reach. DRG Digital. Available at: https://www.drgdigital.com/drg-digital-innovation-blog/meet-the-millennial-physicians-young-mobile-and-harder-to-reach. Accessed 31.08.18

3. Migraine Research Foundation, Migraine Facts. Available at: http://migraineresearchfoundation.org/about-migraine/migraine-facts/. Accessed 31.08.18

4. Adapted from American Migraine Foundation. Available at: https://americanmigrainefoundation.org/understanding-migraine/chronic-migraine/. Accessed 31.08.18

About Teva

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) is a global leader in generic medicines, with innovative treatments in select areas, including CNS, pain and respiratory. We deliver high-quality generic products and medicines in nearly every therapeutic area to address unmet patient needs. We have an established presence in generics, specialty, OTC and API, building on more than a century-old legacy, with a fully integrated R&D function, strong operational base and global infrastructure and scale. We strive to act in a socially and environmentally responsible way. Headquartered in Israel, with production and research facilities around the globe, we employ 45,000 professionals, committed to improving the lives of millions of patients. Learn more at www.tevapharm.com.

About Healint

Healint helps the one billion people who suffer from migraine and other neurological conditions and is the developer of the world's largest migraine tracking and research platform Migraine Buddy. With more than one million registered users and 100 million migraine days tracked on the platform, Migraine Buddy is the most popular condition-specific app in the world, and a Top 10 medical app in the USA and Europe. Using deep analytics and machine learning, Healint generates real-world evidence for patients, physicians, and researchers to improve treatment outcomes and expedite clinical trials. Healint collaborates with the world's leading scientists to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and lives of patients suffering from multiple neurological conditions. For more information, visit: www.healint.com.

Date of Preparation: September 2018 Ref: UK/CPE/18/0065

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180905005871/en/

Contacts:

Teva Pharmaceuticals

Fiona Cohen

+ 31 6 2008 2545

Fiona.Cohen@Tevaeu.com

or

Healint

Susanna Hasenoehrl

susanna@healint.com

+65 8657 9176
Stop by booth B1 at the Euskalduna Conference Centre for a hands-on experience using the next-generation of the popular Omnyx Dynamyx digital pathology software.

Bilbao, Spain, Sept. 06, 2018Europe, Ltd. announced today that it will be an active participant at the upcoming European Congress of Pathologyat the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Inspirata has become a catalyst for growth in the rapidly evolving digital pathology market. The company's novel solution-as-a-service approach combined with its recent acquisition of the Omnyx best-of-breed digital pathology software, Dynamyx, means Inspirata is backed by more than a decade of innovation, a global install base and unparalleled industry thought leadership.

ECP attendees will be able to participate in live demos of the Dynamyx software, which features a bi-directional interface to the LIMS for instant access to patient information, gives pathologists advanced tools that promote collaboration, boosts efficiency and helps accelerate transformative care for patients. Supporting remote viewing to help with workload balancing, rapid quality assurance and second opinions, as well as molecular pathology test ordering and reporting, etc., Dynamyx empowers pathologists to spend less time searching for information and more time rendering a more accurate and rapid diagnoses.

In addition to in-booth software demonstrations, Inspirata will host Professor Rainer Grobholz, who leads the pathology department of the Government Hospital of Kantonsspital Aarau, located in Aarau in Switzerland. Professor Grobholz has been an early adopter of the Omnyx digital pathology solution and will be on hand Monday morning from 9:45-10:15 September 10th to provide testimonial accounts of the use cases his department has employed since adopting the solution in 2013.

"The Dynamyx software has helped us meet the demands of ever-increasing caseloads and dealing with the increasing shortage of pathologists," says Professor Grobholz. "It provides a unique viewing experience not possible with glass slides and includes efficiency-enhancing tools that save us time by auto aligning the same area across multiple stains and minimizing the time it takes to pan and zoom so we can quickly navigate to tissue sections."

About European Congress of Pathology

The European Society of Pathology and the Spanish Society of Pathology are the co-organizers of the 30th European Congress of Pathology(ECP 2018) in Bilbao, Spain being held September 8-12 at the Euskalduna Conference Centre next to the river Nervion. Pathologists and scientists from all over the world attend the annual event to be updated on all aspects of diagnostic and molecular pathology. The 2018 event marks ECP's 30th anniversary. The theme for the event is "Pathology: Path to Precision medicine." It will highlight pathology as the cornerstone of precision medicine and underline the central role of the pathologist in the multidisciplinary teams that guide patient management in the 21st century.

About Inspirata, Inc.

Inspirata, Inc. provides oncology diagnostics workflow solutions that span digital pathology; diagnostic and predictive assays; and precision medicine. It also offers cancer informatics workflows that, in combination with its Natural Language Processingor contact info@inspirata.com.

Attachment
Press release 06.09.2018





Half-year results 2018

Solid operating performance delivering 10.1% margin

Revenues: 1,373m (+18.5% reported and +5.2% economic growth vs. H1 2017)

Operating margin: 138.5m (+28.8% vs. H1 2017)

10.1% operating margin, +80 bps vs. H1 2017

Adjusted net income at 57.5m, +2.2% vs. H1 2017

Free Cash Flow at -225m mostly impacted by Aricent's transaction and working capital variation, not reflective of full year expectation

External investigation confirms Aricent forgery is an isolated event

Commenting on the Group's H1 2018 results, Altran Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dominique Cerutti declared: "Altran posted a solid operating performance in H1 while completing a key transformative deal. In what was a very busy semester, we recorded growth across our geographies and particularly in Altran US operations which was a key management objective. We announced mid-July an incident within Aricent, and following the external investigation, the forgery is confirmed to be an isolated event. The integration of Aricent is well on track, we have launched a targeted action plan early July to restore Aricent's margin to its previous profile by year end. Our team is fully focused on top line growth, profit expansion and enhanced cash conversion."

Results

(in m) H1 2018 H1 2017 % Revenues 1,372.7 1,158.0 +18.5% Operating margin 138.5 107.5 +28.8% % of Revenues 10.1% 9.3% Other expenses (69.9) (16.0) Thereof amortization of intangibles arising from business combinations (26.4) (2.2) Thereof restructuring costs (14.8) (7.3) Thereof acquisition and integration costs (27.5) (2.6) Operating income 68.6 91.5 -25.0% Net financial expenses (53.8) (14.1) Income tax (5.0) (23.1) Share of net income of associates (0.2) Net income before discontinued operations 9.8 54.1 -81.9% Net income from discontinued operations (0.2) 0.6 Non-controlling interests (0.1) Net income (Group share) 9.5 54.7 -82.6% Adjusted net income (Group share)[1] 57.5 56.2 +2.2%

The performance of the Group reflects the contribution of Aricent starting 20 March 2018. H2 2018 will be the first reporting period including the full contribution of Aricent. All reported figures fully reflect the implementation of IFRS15. Financial statements for H1 2017 have been restated accordingly.

Altran reported robust H1 2018 revenues of 1,372.7m vs 1,158.0m in H1 2017 (up 18.5%), representing organic growth of 5.0% and economic growth of 5.2%.

The Group's operating margin amounted to 138.5m, up 28.8% compared to H1 2017, reflecting the growth of the business and the contribution of Aricent.

Aricent contributed 162 million revenues over the period, starting 20 March 2018, and 27.4 million in operating margin, or 16.9%.

Group netfinancial expenses came in at 53.8m, compared to 14.1m in H1 2017 when the Company's debt was much lower. H1 2018 is impacted by 23.9m of one-off costs and penalties related to early debt repayments linked to the implementation of the new financing structure for Altran.

Adjusted net income increased by 2.2%, to 57.5m compared with 56.2m in H1 2017. On a reported basis, net income for the period was 9.5m, reflecting the various Aricent acquisition-related items.

Detailed analysis of revenues

France: economic growth +4.3%. Net hiring accelerated in the second quarter and should further benefit from an ambitious recruitment campaign in Q2 and Q3.



Europe: economic growth +5.7%. Economic growth in the region is strongly accelerating compared to H1 2017. In Germany, the Group's priority remains the profit turnaround as revenue growth is now sustained. Iberia and Italy remain on a high growth path and business trends in those geographies are excellent. Belgium & the Netherlands are improving in Q2. The UK posted a solid and strengthening performance, particularly remarkable in the context of Brexit. Scandinavia and Switzerland have returned to growth.



Americas: economic growth +9.7%. The region has achieved double-digit growth in H1 following our successful integration efforts.

Cash and debt

At the end of H1 2018, the Group's Free Cash Flow came in at -225m, vs. -14m at end-June 2017 (H1 2017 normalized for a 35m invoicing shift was -49m). This significant difference is due to cash outflows related to Aricent's acquisition, new cash items induced by Aricent and working capital variation. The H1 2018 Free Cash flow level is not reflective of the Free Cash Flow expected for the full year.

The Group's net debt came in at 1,698m in H1 2018, versus 351m at end-December 2017 This reflects the set up of the new financial structure of the Group including the acquisition-related debt and rights issue. This translates into a c.4.2x leverage ratio end of H1, which is consistent with our deleveraging pattern.

At the end of H1 2018, the Group had available cash of 208m, vs. 373m at end-December 2017, after the 61m dividend payment.

Aricent incident

On 13 July 2018, we announced a pre-acquisition forgery discovered at Aricent. $10m of forged purchase orders were booked at Aricent between Q3 2017 and Q1 2018. This was the act of one individual affecting one client only.

As a consequence, Aricent's margin was reassessed from the previously communicated 18.3% margin (LTM September 2017) to 15.6% (LTM June 2018), taking into account:

the reversal of the profit linked to the $10m of forged purchase orders; and

in the context of this inflated profit, misguided spending decisions and accelerated investments which have not yet materialized in expected growth.

An external investigation was immediately launched after the discovery of the incident; it has confirmed that the forgery was an isolated event.

An action plan was implemented as early as July to restore Aricent's margin profile to previously communicated levels, and we foresee this targeted action plan to bear expected fruits by year end.

We also initiated a complete overhaul of Aricent's internal controls to bring them to the highest standards.

The Company's counsels will advise on the next legal steps and provide the Board of Directors with recommendations.

Outlook

Altran presented during its Capital Market Day on 28 June 2018 its new mid-term strategic plan. The deployment of The High Road, Altran 2022 strategic plan is expected to achieve in 2022:

Revenues: c.4.0 billion at constant perimeter

Operating Margin: c.14.5% of Revenues

Free cash Flow (incl. financing costs): c.9% of Revenues

Leverage ratio: below 1.5x

Earnings per Share: x2 (vs. reported 2017 of 0.68/share)

The Group will deploy its capital in a balanced way between shareholder value creation, reinvestment in the business, and taxes and financial commitments is anticipated. The Group's financial policy will prioritize deleveraging, with the objective to be below 2.5x in 2020.

Additional information

Altran's Board of Directors met on 5 September 2018 to review the H1 2018 financial statements. The Statutory Auditors have performed a limited review of the Group's H1 2018 and H1 2017 financial data.

The Group's Interim financial report is available on the Company website www.altran.com (http://www.altran.com).

Financial calendar

26 October 2018: Q3 2018 revenues

28 February 2019: Full year 2018 results

Glossary

Operating margin is made up of the difference between the Revenues and the net operating expenses

Organic growth is the reported growth restated for the impact of perimeter and change effects

Economic growth is the organic growth restated for the variation in the number of working days

Free Cash Flow: Operating margin + D&A + non-cash P&L - non-recurring items cash impact +/- WCC - Capex - net interest and financial expense paid - tax paid





A conference call for investors will be held on

Thursday 6 September at 9:00 am Paris time (CET)

Telephone numbers: +33172727403 or +442071943759

Confirmation Code: 23940721#

About Altran

Altran ranks as the undisputed global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), following its acquisition of Aricent. The company offers clients an unmatched value proposition to address their transformation and innovation needs. Altran works alongside its clients, from initial concept through industrialization, to invent the products and services of tomorrow. For over 30 years, the company has provided expertise in aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, finance, life sciences, railway and telecommunications. The Aricent acquisition extends this leadership to semiconductors, digital experience and design innovation. Combined, Altran and Aricent generated revenues of 2.9 billion in 2017, with some 45,000 employees in more than 30 countries.

www.altran.com

Contacts

Stephanie Bia

Group Vice-President Investor Relations

Tel: + 33 (0)1 46 41 72 01

stephanie.bia@altran.com (mailto:stephanie.bia@altran.com)

Marine Boulot

Group Vice-President Communications

Tel: + 33 (0)1 46 41 71 73

marine.boulot@altran.com (mailto:marine.boulot@altran.com)

Follow us on Twitter: @Altran

DISCLAIMER

This press release contains forward-looking statements (as defined in the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, as amended) based upon current management expectations. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors (including, risks relating to: government legislation affecting our businesses; competition; our ability to manage rapid technological change in the industries in which we compete; litigation risks, labour issues; unanticipated costs from disposals or restructuring) may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, projected or implied in or by the forward-looking statements. Many of the factors that will determine our future results are beyond our ability to control or predict. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and, therefore, actual results may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which reflect our views only as of the date of this presentation. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



[1] Adjusted for non-cash PPA expenses arising from the Aricent acquisition, acquisition fees, insurance premium, one-offs related to the Group refinancing, integration costs, net of tax impacts.

PR - H1 2018 Results - EN - 6 September (http://hugin.info/143397/R/2214562/864301.pdf)



This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: ALTRAN TECHNOLOGIES via Globenewswire


ATLANTA, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF THAT JURISDICTION.

THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A POSSIBLE OFFER UNDER RULE 2.4 OF THE CITY CODE ON TAKEOVERS AND MERGERS (THE "CITY CODE" OR THE "CODE"). THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT AN ANNOUNCEMENT OF A FIRM INTENTION TO MAKE AN OFFER UNDER RULE 2.7 OF THE CITY CODE (A "FIRM OFFER") AND THERE CAN BE NO CERTAINTY THAT A FIRM OFFER WILL BE MADE, EVEN IF THE PRE-CONDITION (AS DEFINED BELOW) IS SATISFIED.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF REGULATION (EU) NO 596/2014 ("MAR"). UPON THE PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT, THE INSIDE INFORMATION IS NOW CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOR THE PURPOSES OF MAR.

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. ("CatchMark" or the "Company") announces that it has made an approach to the Board of Phaunos (the "Phaunos Board") regarding a possible offer by CatchMark for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Phaunos (the "Possible Offer").

Key terms of the Possible Offer

The Possible Offer values each ordinary share in the capital of Phaunos (a "Phaunos Share") at US$0.57 (the "Possible Offer Value") to be paid in new shares of common stock of CatchMark (the "New CatchMark Common Shares"). As of 5 September 2018 (being the latest practicable date prior to the date of this announcement (the "Announcement"), the Possible Offer Value implied an exchange ratio of 0.046 of a New CatchMark Common Share for each Phaunos Share (the "Securities Exchange Ratio").

The announcement of any Firm Offer is subject to the section headed "Pre-condition and reservations" set out below. There can be no certainty that a Firm Offer will be made, even if the Pre-condition (as defined below) is satisfied.

Strategic rationale for the Possible Offer

The Board of CatchMark (the "CatchMark Board") believes that a Firm Offer, if made, would provide Phaunos Shareholders with an attractive premium to the closing Phaunos Share price of $0.50 as at 5 September 2018, together with meaningful participation in future potential value creation over time in an enlarged CatchMark group.

If consummated, a Firm Offer would, at current stock prices, be accretive to CatchMark's cash available for distribution ("CAD"), improve credit metrics by deleveraging the Company, and result in a company with an $850 million equity value and a $1.3 billion enterprise value.

In addition to these benefits, the CatchMark Board believes that there would be an opportunity to extract cost synergies from eliminating the overlap in costs between CatchMark and Phaunos.

Pre-condition and reservations

The announcement of any Firm Offer is subject to (i) Phaunos' interest in the Matariki Forestry Group (the "Matariki Interest") not having been disposed of or transferred (including, without limitation, pursuant to the acquisition notice served by Rayonier Canterbury LLC ("Rayonier") on Phaunos (as announced by Phaunos on 28 August 2018)) or mortgaged or charged, nor having had any security interest created over it, nor otherwise ceasing to be available to Phaunos; and (ii) the legal proceedings initiated by Rayonier in respect of the Matariki Interest announced by Phaunos on 28 August 2018, and any other legal proceedings associated or connected therewith (whether in existence as at the date of this Announcement or that may be initiated hereafter), having been settled, withdrawn or otherwise resolved to CatchMark's satisfaction (the "Pre-condition").

CatchMark reserves the right to waive the Pre-condition. However, there can be no certainty that a Firm Offer will ultimately be made, even if the Pre-condition is satisfied.

Pursuant to Rule 2.5 of the Code, CatchMark reserves the right to introduce other forms of consideration and/or to vary the form of the consideration to be paid pursuant to any Firm Offer, if made, referred to in this Announcement.

CatchMark reserves the right to reduce or set aside the Possible Offer Value and/or at any time to make a Firm Offer on less favourable terms in the following circumstances:

a) with the recommendation or consent of the Phaunos Board; b) if a third party announces a firm intention to make an offer for Phaunos pursuant to Rule 2.7 of the City Code (other than the firm offer made by Stafford Capital Partners Limited); c) following the announcement by Phaunos of a "whitewash" transaction pursuant to the City Code; or d) Phaunos announces, declares, pays or makes a dividend or any other distribution to its shareholders (in which case the consideration payable under any Firm Offer will be adjusted by the amount of the dividend or distribution).

The Securities Exchange Ratio referred to in this Announcement is the exchange ratio of New CatchMark Common Shares to Phaunos Shares as at 5 September 2018, based on the Possible Offer Value of $0.57 per Phaunos Share, and is provided for information purposes only. The actual Securities Exchange Ratio is dependent on the price of CatchMark's shares of common stock at the time of announcement of any Firm Offer, if made.

In accordance with Rule 2.6(d) of the City Code, CatchMark is required (except with the consent of the Panel), by not later than 5.00 p.m. (UK time) on 22 September 2018, either to announce a firm intention to make an offer in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the City Code or to announce that it does not intend to make an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the City Code applies.

If CatchMark announces that it does not intend to make an offer for Phaunos, CatchMark and any person(s) acting in concert with it will, except with the consent of the Panel, be bound by the restrictions contained in Rule 2.8 of the City Code for six months from the date of such announcement.

A further announcement will be made in due course.

The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of CatchMark is Jerry Barag, Chief Executive Officer.

In accordance with Rule 26.1 of the Code, a copy of this announcement will be available at www.catchmark.com by not later than 12 noon (UK time) on 7 September 2018. The content of the website referred to in this Announcement is not incorporated into and does not form part of this Announcement.

This Announcement is not intended to, and does not, constitute, represent or form part of any offer, invitation or solicitation of an offer to purchase, otherwise acquire, subscribe for, sell or otherwise dispose of, any securities whether pursuant to this Announcement or otherwise.

The distribution of this Announcement in jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom may be restricted by law or regulation and therefore any person who comes into possession of this Announcement should inform themselves about, and comply with, such restrictions. Any failure to comply with such restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws or regulations of any such relevant jurisdiction.

Sources and Bases

Unless otherwise stated in this Announcement:

a) CAD accretion:

The value attributed to CatchMark's 2017 CAD is $22,938,000, as disclosed by CatchMark in its Company Overview Presentation Update August 10, 2018. The value attributed to Phaunos's 2017 CAD is $18,933,000 per the Phaunos Timber Fund Limited Annual Report & Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, which is comprised of Phaunos Consolidated CAD of $2,700,000, Matariki Forestry Group CAD of $15,678,000, and Aurora Forestal Limited CAD of $555,000. The analysis assumes that 100 per cent. of Phaunos shareholders accept the Possible Offer and that 22,890,030 New CatchMark Common Shares are issued. The analysis excludes the impact of transaction fees incurred by CatchMark in relation to the Possible Offer.

b) Improved credit metrics:

The value attributed to CatchMark's debt and cash balance is $468.6 million and $21.3 million respectively, as of 31 July 2018, as disclosed by CatchMark in its Form 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. CatchMark's equity market capitalisation is assumed to increase by $284,065,272, calculated by multiplying the Possible Offer Value by the Phaunos Shares outstanding.

About CatchMark

CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. (NYSE: CTT) is a self-administered and self-managed, publicly-traded timberland REIT that strives to deliver superior risk-adjusted returns for all stakeholders through disciplined acquisitions, sustainable harvests, and well-timed real estate sales. Headquartered in Atlanta and focused exclusively on timberland ownership and management, CatchMark began operations in 2007 and owns interests in approximately 1.6 million acres of timberlands located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. For more information, visit www.catchmark.com.

Rule 2.9 Information

In accordance with Rule 2.9 of the Code, CatchMark confirms that, as at the date of this Announcement, it has issued share capital consisting of 49,116,093 shares of common stock of $0.01 par value each. There are no shares of common stock held in treasury. The shares of common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The International Securities Identification Number (ISIN) of the shares of common stock is US14912Y2028.

Dealing disclosure requirements

Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified.

An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure.

Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in one per cent. or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s), save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 p.m. (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing.

If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3 of the City Code.

Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4 of the City Code).

Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure.

Cautionary notes regarding forward-looking statements

This Announcement, oral statements made regarding the Possible Offer, and other information published by CatchMark contain statements which are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of the management of CatchMark about future events, and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement include, among others, statements relating to the potential exposure of Phaunos to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions.

Although CatchMark believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, CatchMark can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements should therefore be construed in the light of such factors. All forward-looking statements contained in this Announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary notes contained or referred to in this section, and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

Neither CatchMark nor any of its associates or directors, officers or advisers, provides any representation, assurance or guarantee that the occurrence of the events expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements in this Announcement will actually occur.

Other than in accordance with its legal or regulatory obligations, CatchMark is under no obligation, and CatchMark expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

No statement in this Announcement is intended as a profit forecast or profit estimate.

Important Notice

Daiwa Corporate Advisory Limited ("DC Advisory"), which is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority, is acting as joint financial adviser exclusively for CatchMark and no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than CatchMark for providing the protections afforded to clients of DC Advisory, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement. Neither DC Advisory nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract or in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of DC Advisory in connection with this Announcement, any statement contained therein or otherwise.

DCS Advisory LLC ("DCS Advisory"), which is a broker-dealer that is registered in the United States of America with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, is acting as joint financial adviser exclusively for CatchMark and no one else in connection with the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not regard any other person as its client in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement and will not be responsible to anyone other than CatchMark with respect to any services afforded to clients of DCS Advisory, nor for providing advice in relation to the matters referred to in this Announcement. Neither DCS Advisory nor any of its subsidiaries, branches or affiliates owes or accepts any duty, liability or responsibility whatsoever (whether direct or indirect, whether in contract or in tort, under statute or otherwise) to any person who is not a client of DCS Advisory in connection with this Announcement, any statement contained therein or otherwise.
MILAN, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Giorgio Armani Beauty, the Official Beauty Sponsor of the 75thVenice International Film Festival, is pleased to officially announce its new beauty faces who appeared on last weekend's red carpets.



(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/739571/Giorgio_Armani_Beauty_Logo.jpg )



Chinese actress Elaine Zhong (???), modelsBarbara Palvin, Sara Sampaio, Madisin Rian and Greta Ferro all embody the Giorgio Armani brand, with their different types of femininity and their modernity.

Through unique innovative products, the Giorgio Armani beauty's makeup and skincare lines allow women to enhance their natural beauty, to be the best of themselves, revealing rather than transforming.

These five women will be enriching the brand's collective next to Academy Award winner actress Cate Blanchett, who has been announced earlier this year Giorgio Armani beauty very first Global Beauty Ambassador. Cate Blanchett has been the face of the Si fragrance since its creation in 2013. Within this new role, she is embodying makeup and skincare as well.

Elaine Zhong, also known as ZHONG Chuxi (???), is a Chinese award winning actress best known for her the critically acclaimed block buster Youth (2017). She is a performing arts graduate from the prestigious Shanghai Theater Academy. Today she is a leading figure for the new generation of Chinese cinema. Elaine Zhong's powerful beauty and distinguished features transmit the core values of natural elegance and authenticity.

Barbara Palvin has been the face of ACQUA DI GIOIA since 2014 and has recently become involved in the brand's global development program Acqua for Life. Her vibrant beauty, joyful free spirit and dedication to the brand's values make Barbara Palvin the perfect addition to the beauty universe. This young Hungarian supermodel has already covered some of the world's biggest magazines and walked the runway at Fashion Weeks in London, Milan, and Paris.

Sara Sampaio is a Portuguese-born model living in New York City who has been part of the brand's SI PASSIONE fragrance campaign earlier this year, next to Cate Blanchett and along with Adwoa Aboah. She has appeared on the covers of the most prestigious fashion publications, and has also become a modern-day catwalk icon. Relentlessly positive with a contagious smile, her joie de vivre bursts out from within. In June 2016, she teamed up with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to support the fight for homeless animals.

Madisin Rian is a New York based fashion model, emerging on prestigious brands' catwalks. Earlier this year, she has collaborated on the brands' Neo Nude campaign, bringing a vibrant energy and incredible beauty. Open minded, Madisin Rian is an avid traveler with a penchant for exploring the world alongside her family.

The Italian model and actress Greta Ferro played a role in Una Giacca (A Jacket), the short film created for the first edition of the Armani/Laboratorio project.

The new beauty campaigns featuring these new faces will start to kick off as of September 2018.

Photo and video assets available for download here.

Giorgio Armani beauty - simplicity, natural elegance and authenticity - For 18 years, Giorgio Armani beauty has been delivering beautifully textured make-up - some of which created directly backstage at the brand's fashion shows - , skincare formulated from the most pioneering science. Inspired by women, created to reveal - rather than hide - their natural beauty, it is renowned for several iconic products: Eyes to Kill mascara and Eye Tint, Lip Maestro and Ecstasy Shine, Power Fabric and Luminous Silk foundation as well as Crema Nera and Armani Prima skincare. The brand is also renowned for its men and women fragrance collections among which Acqua Di Gio, Si and SI PASSIONE as well as for its haute couture range Armani Prive.

Contact: Martin BREBAN, International PR & Influence Communication Director, GIORGIO ARMANI FRAGRANCES & BEAUTY
6 September 2018

Augmentum Fintech plc

Augmentum Fintech plc announces 5.3 million investment in Monese

Augmentum Fintech plc (LSE: AUGM) ("Augmentum" or the "Company"), one of Europe's leading fintech venture capital investors, announces an investment of 5.3 million in UK based fast-growing mobile-only current account provider Monese.

Augmentum is participating in this 46 million Series B fundraising alongside Kinnevik, PayPal and Avios, all of whom are investing in Monese for the first time.

Monese (www.monese.com) launched in September 2015 as the first mobile-only current account in the UK and serves the increasingly mobile European labour market. The majority of its nearly 600,000 customers use Monese as their primary bank account, with 75% of all incoming funds being regular salary payments.

The new funds are being raised by Monese for product development and international expansion, including building-out both the London and Tallinn offices, as well as opening a new office in Portugal as a base for development across Southern Europe.

Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, said: "We look for firms that can disrupt and take market share, and not only is Monese able to do that, it is also able to move fast. Launched only four years ago it is already active in 20 countries which demonstrates the demand for its product from the increasingly mobile European workforce. We believe that this is a market which will continue to grow".



Ends



For further information, please contact:

Augmentum

Tim Levene

Richard Matthews

Nigel Szembel info@augmentum.vc

+44 20 3961 5420

+44 (0)7802 362088 Fidante Capital

Tom Skinner

Nick Donovan +44 (0)20 7832 0900 Newgate Communications

Bob Huxford

Robin Tozer augmentum@newgatecomms.com

+44 (0)20 3757 6867

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on Market Abuse. Upon the publication of this announcement, this information is considered to be in the public domain.

Notes

About Augmentum Fintech plc:

Augmentum Fintech plc is one of Europe's leading venture capital investors focusing exclusively on the fintech sector. Augmentum invests in fast growing fintech businesses that are disrupting the banking, insurance, asset management and wider financial services sectors. Augmentum is the only listed fintech-focused venture capital firm in the UK, having launched on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in 2018, giving businesses access to patient capital and support, unrestricted by conventional fund timelines.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Netcore Solutions announced that B Infinite implemented its Smartech Marketing Automation Cloud to help them better manage customer engagements.

B Infinite expects Netcore's Smartech will deliver higher campaign ROI through targeted, personalized communication leading to increased customer engagement.

Highlights

Cross-Channel Management & Unified View - The primary benefit of implementing the Smartech marketing automation cloud at B Infinite is its ability to manage and measure cross-channel customer communication. This will allow B Infinite to not only engage customers across channels through a single platform, but it will also provide them with a unified view of customer interactions across channels.

The primary benefit of implementing the Smartech marketing automation cloud at B Infinite is its ability to manage and measure cross-channel customer communication. This will allow B Infinite to not only engage customers across channels through a single platform, but it will also provide them with a unified view of customer interactions across channels. Customer-Journeys and Customer Engagement - With a unified view of customers and ability to engage across channels, B Infinite aims to reach their goal of delivering the 'The Right Message at the Right Time' and on the right channel based on customer profile and behaviour. Plus do this efficiently through automation and pre-mapped customer journeys.

With a unified view of customers and ability to engage across channels, B Infinite aims to reach their goal of delivering the 'The Right Message at the Right Time' and on the right channel based on customer profile and behaviour. Plus do this efficiently through automation and pre-mapped customer journeys. Ease of Use - One of the important positives for B Infinite was the user-friendly nature of the Smartech UI. The UI coupled with responsive templates and drag and drop features would help speed of deployment and adoption.

One of the important positives for B Infinite was the user-friendly nature of the Smartech UI. The UI coupled with responsive templates and drag and drop features would help speed of deployment and adoption. Expert Support - The value-added support from Netcore's marketing technologists will help enhance the partnership team with best practices, content optimization, and consulting on customer journey workflows.

Speaking about the implementation Grace Pak, General Manager, BLoyalty Sdn. Bhd. B Infinite, said, "By partnering with Netcore, our customer engagement has become more sophisticated and intimate while delivering improved marketing ROI. Smartech is a marketer's dream come through."

Netcore's Senior Vice President, International Business, Saket Jha said, "Working with B Infinite is like working with many brands at once. B Infinite's diverse range of customer engagements helps us prove Smartech's capabilities and is an excellent next step for Netcore in the South East Asia market. We are excited to work with them and continuously deliver value to enhance their marketing outreach."

About B Infinite

B Infinite is a premier multi-partner loyalty program in Malaysia. Through this platform, we help partners to manage customer relationship, increase sales and attract new customers using data driven insights to understand customer behaviour and create one-to-one conversation.

Members can earn BPoints within this eco-system of over 80 merchant partners nationwide. They can EARN BPoints and use it AS CASH to REDEEM their favourite items at over 4,000 locations e.g. Starbucks, Caltex, Tealive, Kenny Rogers Roasters, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and many e-comm marketplace like Lazada, Shopee, 11thStreet and more.

For more information on B Infinite check their website https://www.binfinite.com.my.

About Netcore Solutions

Netcore, a global Marketing Technology Company that offers solutions for enterprises that redefine Digital Marketing. The first and leading Marketing Automation, Analytics and AI/ ML solutions provider in India, Netcore was established in 1997 by Mr. Rajesh Jain, an Internet pioneer. Netcore's Digital Marketing suite also includes Promotional and Transactional Email Marketing and Mobile Marketing.

Netcore serves a strong base of brands creating 10+ Billion Customer Connects monthly and handles 30+ Billion Events a month. Headquartered in Mumbai, India, Netcore has offices in SEA, MEA, UK, and USA with an employee base of 500+ spread across 11 strategic locations.

For more information about Netcore visit https://netcore.in/ and for more information about Smartech visit http://www.netcoresmartech.com.

Contact Details

Yash Asher

yash.asher@netcore.co.in

+91-22-6662-8131


LONDON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybereason, creators of the leading cybersecurity AI Hunting Platform, today announced that V12 Retail Finance, one of the leading retail finance providers, is now a customer.

V12 Retail Finance provides retail point of sale finance for more than 2,000 retailers in the UK through its innovative online platform. It has seen significant growth over the past 5 years, expanding its Cardiff based workforce from 30 to 220 staff and growing approved loans to almost 750m in the last 12 months.

"Cybereason's unique, innovative and easy-to-use solution is unlike others on the market and its innovative approach is one of the biggest reasons why we chose to use its AI Hunting Platform," said Matt Hatton, IT Director at V12 Retail Finance. "Our employees, customers and partners are connecting multiple devices from disparate locations to our network making it a challenge to protect our business. Cybereason is the only company we spoke to that has the ability to meet our security challenges as we continue our rapid growth."

"V12 Retail Finance has joined our growing list of international customers and we couldn't be happier as we continue our EMEA expansion," said Sam Schofield, Regional Vice President, Cybereason. "V12 sees the value in our award-winning AI Hunting Platform and our ability to stop increasingly sophisticated threat actors. Relying on yesterday's technologies will not get the job done, and we're excited to see our approach and perseverance recognized by V12."

Cybereason is one of the fastest growing technology companies in the world. Founded in 2012 by Div and co-founders Yossi Naar and Yonatan Striem-Amit, Cybereason has exploded from a three-person team to more than 350 employees globally.

About Cybereason

Cybereason, creators of the leading cybersecurity data analytics platform, gives the advantage back to the defender through a completely new approach to cybersecurity. Cybereason offers endpoint detection and response (EDR), next-generation antivirus (NGAV), and active monitoring services, all powered by its proprietary data analytics platform. The Cybereason suite of products provides unmatched visibility, increases analyst efficiency and effectiveness, and reduces security risk. Cybereason is privately held, having raised $189 million from top-tier VCs, and is headquartered in Boston, with offices in London, Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

Learn more: https://www.cybereason.com/

Follow us: Blog |Twitter |Facebook

Media Contact

Bill Keeler

Director, Public Relations

Cybereason

bill.keeler@cybereason.com

(929) 259-3261
LONDON, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

After three years at London's ExCeL, Helitech International - Europe's largest event for the rotorcraft industry - has announced that the 2019 edition of the show will move to Farnborough International's recently launched permanent structure for exhibitions.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/740011/Farnborough_International.jpg )



(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/740012/Farnborough_International_Helitech.jpg )



The purpose built 12,500sqm multi-functional venue - which is 35 mins by train from London Waterloo and 30 minutes from London's Heathrow Airport - will provide exhibitors with enhanced facilities to showcase their latest solutions. The move follows feedback from both exhibitors and visitors who wanted an airfield location venue that would facilitate technology displays and live product demonstrations.

The airfield will enable exhibitors to offer test flights to potential and new customers, with Helitech International confirming that landing fees will be subsided for all exhibitors and visitors to maximise the potential of the new airfield location.

Michael Watton, Venue Director, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre says: "Farnborough is internationally recognised for its role at centre of the aerospace industry, we're thrilled to welcome Helitech International to our new Exhibition and Conference Centre.

"Rotorcraft fascinates and excites in equal measure, there is no better backdrop to showcase the best, the latest and the most innovative helicopters than here at the birthplace of British aviation, with a great venue that will enable the industry to meet, do business and grow."

Tim Fauchon, CEO, British Helicopter Association (BHA) added: "The British Helicopter Association welcomes the move of Helitech International to Farnborough to showcase the capabilities of the European helicopter industry and offer the industry a great venue - and airfield - to demonstrate the latest technologies and innovation. We look forward to joining rotorcraft professionals at the new venue in 2019."

Speaking about the change of venue, Teresa Heitor, event manager, Helitech International, said: "We're very excited to announce that Helitech International will move to Farnborough's new exhibition hall in 2019. This follows customer feedback for a venue that will facilitate new business partnerships and enable our exhibitors to showcase their technologies.

"Farnborough International has a long history, rich in pioneering heritage and presenting cutting-edge innovations. We're looking forward to welcoming the very best of the rotorcraft industry to our new UK home next year, where they will find facilities better suited to our industry requirements."

Helitech International currently takes place alternately in London and Amsterdam, where it will return this October from 16-18 October 2018 at the RAI Amsterdam Exhibition and Convention Centre. For more information, visit: http://www.helitechinternational.com/
Support for Foundation Reflects Percona's Continuing Support of the Open Source Database Community Across a Range of Database Technologies

RALEIGH, N.C., Sept. 06, 2018, the company that delivers enterprise-class MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, and other open source database solutions and services, today announced it has become a Bronze Sponsor of the MariaDB Foundation . The sponsorship furthers Percona's mission to be an unbiased champion of the open source database community and help customers avoid vendor lock-in by supporting them across a range of database technologies and deployment strategies.



Open source is an essential part of business strategy, with organizations deploying different open source databases in their production environments to meet various application requirements. Mixed environments can create new and interesting issues for businesses looking to deploy business-critical applications, whether they are on-premises, in the cloud or in hybrid environments. MariaDB, which is used by approximately 40 percent of Percona's customers, remains a popular choice among enterprises.

Percona, which has participated in the MariaDB community for many years, has an advanced understanding of MariaDB's unique features, performance and capabilities, and can support MariaDB installations whether on-premises, in the cloud, or using Amazon RDS. At Percona, MariaDB Support is provided 24x7x365 by some of the world's top MariaDB experts who have helped thousands of customers resolve nearly every conceivable MariaDB issue, including deploying scale-out and high-availability solutions, such as ProxySQL, MariaDB with Galera Cluster, MHA, and more. With Percona, organizations can increase uptime, reduce costs and obtain increased ROI for their MariaDB installations.

Percona's ongoing commitment to the open source database community is reflected in several ways, including hosting the Percona Live Open Source Database Conference , participating in meet-ups and webinars, and partnering with other key players in the open source database arena, including AWS, Google, Mesosphere and Microsoft. Sponsorship of the MariaDB Foundation will help the Foundation support continuity and open collaboration in the MariaDB ecosystem, drive adoption, and serve an ever-growing community of users and developers.

Quotes

Otto Kekalainen, CEO, MariaDB Foundation

"The MariaDB Foundation is all about advancing open source, and Percona has a stellar track record of utilizing open source strategies and solutions for the benefit of its customers. We welcome Percona as a Bronze-level sponsor."

Peter Zaitsev, Co-founder and CEO of Percona

"We are committed to supporting customers using the range of open source database platforms, including MariaDB. We look forward to collaborating with the members of the Foundation's expanding ecosystem to find new ways to serve the many MariaDB users and developers who look to Percona to help them optimize their deployments."

Company Information

Press Contact

Brigit Valencia

For Percona



About Percona

With more than 3,000 customers worldwide, Percona is the only company that delivers enterprise-class solutions for MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL across traditional and cloud-based platforms. The company provides Software , Support , Consulting , and Managed Services to large, well-known global brands such as Cisco Systems, Time Warner Cable, Alcatel-Lucent, Rent the Runway and the BBC, as well as smaller enterprises looking to maximize application performance while streamlining database efficiencies. Well established as thought leaders, Percona experts author content for the Percona Database Performance Blog and the Percona Live Open Source Database Conferences draw attendees and expert technical speakers from around the world. For more information, visit www.percona.com .

Percona is a registered trademark of Percona LLC. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document are the sole property of their respective owners.




Starkes Wachstum, wichtige Branchenauszeichnungen sowie neue Produkt- und Serviceinnovationen unterstreichen die marktfuhrende Position von GridGain

Foster City Kalifornien/Munchen, Feb. 04, 2019, Anbieter von In-Memory-Computing-Losungen auf Basis von Apache Ignite, ist auch 2018 weiter gewachsen. Insbesondere war ein 200-prozentiges Wachstum bei Neukunden gegenuber dem Vorjahr zu verzeichnen. Zahlreiche Branchenauszeichnungen, wichtige Produkt- und Serviceinnovationen sowie steigende Teilnehmerzahlen bei den In-Memory Computing Summits belegen ebenfalls die starke Position von GridGain im Bereich von In-Memory Computing.

Erneut starkes Wachstum

Die Zahl der Neukunden verdreifachte sich 2018 gegenuber dem Vorjahr. Fuhrende Unternehmen aus den Bereichen Finanzdienstleistungen, Fintech, E-Commerce, Einzelhandel, Online-Reisedienstleistungen, webbasierte Online-Services, Telekommunikation, Transport und Gesundheitswesen wurden als Kunden dazugewonnen. Die jahrlich wiederkehrenden Umsatze (Annual Recurring Revenues) stiegen im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um 113 Prozent, bedingt durch Neukunden sowie Wachstum bei bestehenden Kunden weltweit. Zudem baute GridGain seine globale Prasenz in Westeuropa, Nordamerika und im asiatisch-pazifischen Raum aus und erweiterte sein Fuhrungsteam um Tim Carley als Managing Director, EMEA.

"Auch 2018 hat die weltweite Nutzung von GridGain In-Memory-Computing-Losungen rasant zugenommen", sagt Abe Kleinfeld, President und CEO von GridGain. "Immer mehr Unternehmen entscheiden sich fur unsere Losungen, um im Zuge der digitalen Transformation ihre datenintensiven Anwendungen zu beschleunigen und skalierbarer zu machen. Unsere Kunden kommen aus immer unterschiedlicheren Branchen, wie beispielsweise dem Finanzsektor, E-Commerce und Einzelhandel, Telekommunikation, Transport, Fintech, Healthcare und vielen anderen. In der Diskussion um schnelle Datenverarbeitung wird In-Memory Computing auch 2019 eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Dazu bieten wir weiterhin zahlreiche Innovationen, Losungen, Services und Know-How, also alles was Unternehmen brauchen, um erfolgreich die Transformation ihrer Infrastrukturen zu steuern und dadurch fur neue Geschaftsfelder zu offnen."

Neue Produkte und Services 2018

GridGain hat 2018 zahlreiche neue Produkte und Services eingefuhrt. Beispielsweise integrierte GridGain in seine Professional Edition 2.7 TensorFlowfur verbessertes Training von Deep-Learning-Modellen. Version 2.7 bietet zudem eine optimierte Usability, inklusive erweitertem Support fur Thin Clients und Transparent Data Encryption im Ruhezustand fur hohere Sicherheit. Zusammen sorgen die Features dafur, dass die GridGain In-Memory-Computing-Plattform fur immer mehr Anwendungsfalle einfacher zu nutzen ist. Anwender konnen beispielsweise dank hoher Leistung und massiver Skalierbarkeit ein Echtzeit-Continuous-Learning-Modell fur Initiativen zur digitalen Transformation oder Omnichannel-Kundenansprache implementieren.

Die im April 2018 eingefuhrte GridGain Professional Edition 2.4Version integrierte ein Continuous Learning Framework mit maschinellem Lernen und einem mehrschichtigen neuronalem Perzeptron (Multilayer Percepton/MLP)-Netzwerk. Damit konnen Unternehmen ihre Betriebsdaten mit maschinellen und Deep-Learning-Algorithmen in Echtzeit auswerten , selbst wenn diese im Petabyte-Bereich liegen. GridGain Professional Edition 2.4 verbesserte auch die Performance von Apache Spark durch die Einfuhrung einer API fur Apache Spark DataFrames, die den bestehenden Support fur Spark RDDs erweitert.

Daruber hinaus launchte Grid Gain die Beta Version der GridGain Cloud. Die GridGain Cloud stellt die einzige In-Memory Cache-as-a-Service-Losung dar, die ihren Nutzern schnell einen verteilten In-Memory-Cache bereitstellt und Zugriff uber ANSI-99 SQL, Key-Value oder REST APIs ermoglicht. Das Ergebnis ist eine In-Memory-Computing-Performance in der Cloud, die massiv skalierbar ist und innerhalb weniger Minuten fur Caching-Anwendungen eingesetzt werden kann.

GridGains In-Memory-Computing-Platform ist zudem im Oracle Cloud Marketplaceerhaltlich und voll kompatibel mit der Infrastruktur der Oracle Cloud. Durch die Verfugbarkeit von GridGain im Oracle Cloud Marketplace konnen potenzielle Kunden sicher sein, dass GridGain in der Oracle Cloud Infrastruktur ohne Kompatibilitatsprobleme eingesetzt werden kann. Zudem kann GridGain auch On-Premise, in jeder offentlichen oder privaten Cloud sowie in hybriden Umgebungen implementiert werden.

Auerdem wurde der GridGain Konnector fur Apache Kafka von Confluentzertifiziert. Der Konnektor ist in der GridGain Enterprise und Ultimate Version erhaltlich und ermoglicht die native Integration zwischen GridGain und Kafka. Nutzer von GridGain konnen so die Daten-Streaming-Moglichkeiten von Kafka nutzen, um leistungsstarke Systeme zu entwickeln, die riesige Menge an Daten mit In-Memory-Geschwindigkeiten und -Skalierbarkeit aufnehmen, verarbeiten und analysieren konnen.

In-Memory Computing Expertenwissen

Der zweite jahrlich stattfindende In-Memory Computing Summit Europefand im Juni 2018 im Park Plaza Victoria in London statt. Mehr als 300 Teilnehmer von 190 Organisationen aus 22 Landern nahmen an Keynotes und Breakout-Session zu einer breiten Auswahl an Themen rund um In-Memory Computing teil. Sprecher vor Ort waren unter anderem von 451 Research, CG Consultancy, FSB Technology, ScaleOut Software, der Storage Networking Industry Association.

Bereits zum vierten Mal fand der jahrliche In-Memory Computing Summit North Americaim Oktober 2018 im Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport statt. Knapp 450 Teilnehmer auf der Konferenz interessierten sich fur Keynotes und Breakout-Sessions von Sprechern von American Airlines, ING Belgium, Intel Corp., Oracle, Salesforce.com, Huawei, SNIA, Wellington Management, GridGain Systems und vielen weiteren.

GridGain half auch 2018 Unternehmen weltweit dabei, zu verstehen, wie In-Memory Computing die Geschwindigkeits- und Skalierungsanforderungen moderner, datenintensiver Anwendungen erfullt. Das Unternehmen nahm 2018 an Dutzenden von Branchenkonferenzen teil, veranstaltete uber 30 Webinare und Workshops und organisierte oder stellte Referenten fur mehr als 100 Meetups auf der ganzen Welt.

Zahlreiche Branchenauszeichnungen

Zudem wurde GridGain mit zahlreichen Branchenawards ausgezeichnet. Beispielsweise wurde GridGain in die Deloitte Technology Fast 500Liste auf Platz 77 aufgenommen. In der 2018 Inc. 5000 Listebelegte GridGain Platz 158 und steigerte sich im Vergleich zur letztjahrigen Platzierung um 29 Platze.

Uber GridGain Systems

GridGain Systems revolutioniert den Echtzeit-Datenzugriff und die Datenverarbeitung, indem es eine In-Memory-Computing-Plattform auf Basis von Apache Ignite anbietet. GridGain-Losungen werden von globalen Unternehmen in den Bereichen Finanzen, Software, E-Commerce, Einzelhandel, Online-Business-Services, Gesundheitswesen, Telekommunikation und anderen wichtigen Branchen eingesetzt. Dazu gehoren Kunden wie ING, Sberbank, Finastra, IHS Markit, Workday und Huawei. GridGain bietet eine bislang nie dagewesene Geschwindigkeit und massive Skalierbarkeit fur Legacy- und Greenfield-Anwendungen. Die auf einem verteilten Cluster von Commodity-Servern installierte GridGain-Software kann sich zwischen den Anwendungs- und Datenschichten

KONTAKT:

HBI GmbH

Simon Herrmann / Christian Fabricius

gridgain@hbi.de

Tel: +49 (0) 89 99 38 87 -33/-31

GridGain is a trademark or registered trademark of GridGain Systems, Inc. Apache, Apache Hadoop, Hadoop, Apache Ignite, Ignite, Apache Spark, and Spark, are trademarks of The Apache Software Foundation. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
Company Deploys Digital Radio Systems in Ibiza, Malaga-Costa del Sol, Alicante-Elche and 13 Greek Islands

High season of summer tourism brings millions of air travelers to the sunny beaches of Spain and Greece

Motorola Solutions is deploying new digital radio communications systems across Mediterranean airports for improved safety and coordination

The high season of summer holidays brings millions of tourists out to the sunny Mediterranean basin. With the increase of air travelers and heightened security measures, airports are under immense pressure to move passengers through terminals and onto their flights in the most efficient and safest way possible. Under this framework, Motorola Solutions is deploying state-of-the-art radio communications systems across the Mediterranean for improved security and efficiency.

Airports around the world work hard to achieve flawless, precise coordination and provide the best passenger experience. For this matter, it is essential to optimize information and resource allocation, which requires reliable communication solutions. Motorola Solutions' portfolio of devices offers complete flexibility to enable a smart airport: from TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) to DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) two-way radios to Industrial IoT for remote monitoring.

Motorola Solutions has already deployed a new MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus Multi-Site DMR system across 13 airports in Greece. This was achieved following a well coordinated preparation process, resulting in a quick transition to the new digital radio system in less than two hours at airports in Aktion, Chania, Kavala, Corfu, Kos, Mytilene, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos.

In Spain, the airports of Ibiza, Malaga-Costa del Sol and Alicante-Elche will benefit from Motorola Solutions' public safety-grade DIMETRA TETRA systems. These new systems will help increase travelers' safety as well as the efficiency of ground operations. The advanced radio systems will bring enhanced voice and data communications to ground staff, security personnel, maintenance and operations teams.

Phil Jefferson, vice president Western Europe and North Africa at Motorola Solutions, said the company is seeing growth in airports' interest for advanced critical communications systems. "Airports across Europe have long been traditional users of our reliable radio communication solutions. Growing numbers of passengers in airports across the region means security and quality of service becomes a more challenging task. With advanced mission-critical radio systems, airport staff are better equipped to provide a safe and smooth travel experience for passengers."

About Motorola Solutions

Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) creates mission-critical communications solutions, including devices, networks, services, software and video, that help public safety and commercial customers build safer cities and thriving communities. For ongoing news, visit www.motorolasolutions.com/newsroom or subscribe to a news feed.

MOTOROLA, MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS and the Stylized M Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Motorola Trademark Holdings, LLC and are used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2018 Motorola Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005019/en/

Contacts:

Media contact

Maor Aharoni

Motorola Solutions

Mobile: +972 (0)54 7723032

maor.aharoni@motorolasolutions.com
Supporting growth development in the UK and US markets

ByBox, specialists in smart locker technology and field service solutions, today announced a strategic investment from Francisco Partners that values ByBox at 221 million. The private equity firm backs ambitious technology-enabled businesses and will support ByBox's expansion of its UK infrastructure and global deployment of its 'Konnect' app-locker solution.

"ByBox is a great company with a clear and increasingly critical proposition. Its success comes down to great leadership, outstanding customer service and relentless development of its solutions. Listening closely to customers and really understanding market trends has made ByBox an extremely investible business," remarked Deep Shah, co-president, Francisco Partners.

Working with Francisco Partners will enable ByBox to accelerate the deployment of its ground-breaking app-locker technology both in the UK and across key global markets. ByBox's app-lockers systematically address the core challenges of the field service supply chain. This should be welcome news to ByBox's customers, who grapple constantly with how to permanently extinguish unnecessary costs.

Petri Oksanen, partner, Francisco Partners commented, "We're excited to help ByBox support its existing UK customer base with new offerings, accelerate its international expansion and penetrate new industries. Our growth experience will complement ByBox's inventive nature and intelligent solution set in continuing to drive real customer value into the global field service market."

The transaction marks an exit for LDC, a mid-market private equity investor. LDC originally provided 37.5 million of development capital in 2016. In the last two years the business has grown significantly and doubled in value.

"LDC are insightful and supportive investors who have worked closely with the ByBox team to formulate and execute a successful strategy. The next phase of this strategy is characterised by ongoing investment in our UK business as well as driving our international expansion. FP have a tremendous track record and will be ideal partners to help us deliver this growth," commented Stuart Miller, co-founder and CEO of ByBox.

"ByBox is a great example of a company with a winning combination of innovative problem-solving technology and fantastic customer service. Under the impeccable leadership of Stuart and his team, ByBox has grown to become a real market leader in its field, two years ahead of plan," said Alastair Weinel, investment director at LDC in the South. "Together, we've generated significant value and have opened the door for even further expansion. We know this ambitious management team isn't finished yet and wish the team every success in the next phase of their journey."

"The world is increasingly dependent on technology. When the tech fails, the world stops working. So field service has never been more critical which is why everybody at ByBox is so excited to be an increasingly critical part of the future solution set. The backing from FP allows us to go faster and to deliver the next phase of our ambition for our customers," concluded Miller.

Note to editors: Images available on request.

About ByBox

Established since 2000, ByBox has led the field service market with innovative supply chain solutions to keep the world working. With hundreds of customers across the globe, ByBox simplifies supply chains, improving security, reducing transport costs, increasing visibility and improving technician efficiency.

Headquartered out of the UK, with offices in Burlington, Massachusetts, our solutions pair innovative technology and software with physical lockers, helping companies operate with less inventory while reducing cost.

We ensure that parts are in the right place at the right time.

For more information, please visit: www.bybox.com

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global private equity firm that specializes in investments in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 18 years ago, Francisco Partners has raised over $14 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 200 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. The firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential.

For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com

About LDC:

LDC is the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

LDC backs ambitious management teams from UK-based companies seeking up to 100m of equity for management buy-outs, institutional buy-outs or development capital transactions.

LDC has a portfolio of 90 businesses across the UK which collectively generates 5.5bn of revenues and employs in excess of 32,000 people.

LDC invests in a broad range of sectors and has particular experience in Construction Property, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Retail Consumer, TMT, Travel Leisure and Support Services.

LDC has committed to invest 1.2bn in UK mid-market businesses over the next three years.

Over the last three years (2014-16), LDC has invested over 1bn of equity and generated exit proceeds of more than 2bn.

LDC is the leading private equity company in the UK mid-market. Recent transactions include investments with FC Business Intelligence, Neilson Active Holidays, Linley Simpson, NBS, Right Choice Insurance Brokers, Asset Solutions Group, Mandata, Paladone, Precision Micro and Duncan Todd.

LDC has a UK regional network with offices in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Manchester, Nottingham and Reading.

For further information, visit www.ldc.co.uk/pressrelease

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005136/en/

Contacts:

ByBox:

Limelight PR

Matthew Watkins, +44 (0) 207 927 8100

Matthew.Watkins@limelightpr.co.uk

or

Francisco Partners:

Zeno Group

John Moore, +1 215-657-4971

john.moore@zenogroup.com

or

LDC:

City Press

Rebecca Hart, +44 (0)203 773 9543

Rebecca.Hart@citypress.co.uk
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
On board the TikTok boat, the leading platform for creating short video has formalized its European launch with a shower of new features and an emphasis on creation and eco-responsible fashion.

TikTok, the go-to destination for the creating and viewing short-term mobile videos, has arrived in the global capital of fashion: Paris. The worldwide phenomenon held its first event on Tuesday September 4 during a unique night on the Seine. With its "80's vs 2080 theme, TikTok took its community on a creative and innovative adventure, like its platform. The brand also welcomed today's most creative influencers to celebrate the arrival of the new TikTok platform, born from the union with the Musical.ly app, and has thus unveiled application's new innovative features and technological innovations of the application, such as "reaction" function that allows users to react directly to their friends' videos.

TikTok: a new groundbreaking upgrade

A global platform now present in more than 150 countries and regions, TikTok was one of the most downloaded applications in the world in early 20181. The latest update, which incorporates the best of both applications, has allowed TikTok to creatively connect its community in a multicultural environment. The newly upgraded platform, offers greater capabilities for video creation and allows creators to enjoy the opportunity to reach a bigger and more diverse global audience. By providing an intuitive, creative and personalized visualization experience, TikTok enables its community to create and discover tomorrow's trends

Chenyi Qiu, Director of TikTok Operations in West Europe, said: "The rebranding of TikTok in Europe marks a new milestone for us! Through this event we wish to celebrate the diversity of our platform and thus put creativity in the spotlight in different sectors. That is why we approach the theme of sustainable fashion with our community. "

TikTok inspires the best creators and influencers

For the launch of the new TikTok platform in France, the application paid tribute to the creativity of its community by organizing original workshops. To make this moment a memorable evening, TikTok partnered with the best, and invited creators from different horizons: fashion, music, dance, makeup, ...

Claire Dartigues, fashion designer and finalist of the 2017 Redress Award, gave a workshop on the importance of sustainable fashion. Claire also inspired her audience by showing them how to create a unique and original outfit entirely made of recyclable materials. During another workshop, TikTok's influencers and creators unveiled the breadth of their creativity and shared their best tips for creating innovative and creative videos.

Much more than just videos!

With the help of many influencers including Youtuber Shera Kerienski and influencer Estelle Fitz, the app unveiled many of the application's new features. TikTok presented the "reaction" function which allows the user to react directly to their friends' videos on their phone. This innovative technology allows users to interact with videos by integrating their reactions into the content they are viewing. The platform also unveiled its new interactive filters made possible by artificial intelligence, allowing users to apply filters to their entire body and trigger new special effects. Rachel Ward, famous influencer from TikTok, said: "TikTok is a great app because it gave me the courage to be myself and have fun the community is supportive, friendly and diverse."

About TikTok

TikTok is a destination for short-form mobile videos. Our mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge, and moments that matter, directly from the mobile phone. TikTok enables everyone to be a creator and encourages users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos. TikTok is based in Los Angeles, with global offices in London, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Jakarta, Mumbai, and Moscow. In early 2018, TikTok was one of the most downloaded apps in the world. TikTok is available worldwide for iOS and Android. Visit tiktok.com.

1 Sensor tower, 1Q report

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005390/en/

Contacts:

Agence Burson Cohn&Wolfe

Giulia Goodwin Charlotte Durand

tiktokfr@cohnwolfe.com

+33 (0)1 56 03 13 83 +33 (0)6 28 79 11 40

+33 1 56 03 13 66
LONDON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb today announced that Mike Berry will serve as Head of Surety for Europe. His appointment is effective immediately.

Mike, who previously served as Head of Surety for the UK & Ireland, will be responsible for the performance, strategy and profitable growth of Chubb's surety business in Continental Europe in addition to that in the UK & Ireland. His European surety team is based in Chubb locations in the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Italy, France and the UK. Through its extensive global network, Chubb provides a broad array of surety bonds and guarantees to its European clients both within the region and abroad.

Under Mike's leadership, Chubb's surety business in the UK & Ireland has performed strongly since he joined in 2015. Previously, Mike spent 27 years working in various roles at Euler Hermes and predecessor companies. Mike will continue to be based in London reporting to Bruce Cliff, EVP and Head of International Surety, and to Adrian Matthews, COO Continental Europe, Chubb.

Replacing Mike as head of Surety for the UK & Ireland is Jamal Griffith. Prior to his new role, Jamal, who has been with Chubb since 2010, was Senior Surety Underwriter in London. Jamal, who will report to Mike Berry and to Mark Roberts, CUO for P&C in the UK & Ireland, began as a surety underwriter at AIG in 2001.

Bruce Cliff, EVP and Head of International Surety, said:

"I have worked with Mike for several years and see him as a talented leader, uniquely positioned to take our existing, successful European surety business to a new level. His broad market knowledge, underwriting expertise and collaborative approach will materially benefit our clients, producers and colleagues.

"Jamal's promotion as head of UK & Ireland surety is a natural result of his many years of proving to be one of the best surety underwriters in the market - one who also possesses a strategic outlook. I am very proud to have them both taking leadership roles on our team."

About Chubb

Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com/uk

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - Tidal Royalty Corp. (CSE: RLTY.U) (OTC Pink: TDRYF) ("Tidal Royalty"), a leading provider of royalty financing to licensed U.S. cannabis operators, is pleased to announce it has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") agreement on August 29, 2018 with a California-based licensed operator ("Palm Desert Cannabis Company") to finance a new cannabis manufacturing and distribution facility in Palm Desert.

The Palm Desert Cannabis Company is led by a seasoned management team with experience across cultivation, manufacturing (including extraction) and retail distribution. The company currently has presence throughout California and holds entitlements for facilities in both Northern and Southern California. The Palm Desert Cannabis Company's products are distributed through a network of dispensaries under their own brands, as well as multiple retail brand partnerships.

Pursuant to the LOI, Tidal Royalty will provide the Palm Desert Cannabis Company with US$5 million to finance the build-out of the Palm Desert facility. In return, the Palm Desert Cannabis Company will pay Tidal Royalty the equivalent of 10% of all net sales generated by the Palm Desert operations in California initially and, once certain payments thresholds are met, 5% in perpetuity thereafter, along with 2,000,000 common share purchase options (representing approximately 5% of the share capital of the Palm Desert Cannabis Company).

"We are very excited by this opportunity," said Paul Rosen, CEO & Chairman of Tidal Royalty. "The combination of existing operations, brand partnerships and the strategic foresight of this management team gives us great confidence that, with Tidal Royalty's capital, they will expand their market share. California is one of the largest cannabis markets in the world and we are excited by the prospect of adding the strength of this group to our portfolio."

With a population of 40MM, the state of California has the potential for its adult-use cannabis market to be one of the largest in the world. California legalized adult-use cannabis on January 1, 2018, and the market is expected to grow to US$3 billion by the end of the year, according to Marijuana Business Daily.

The LOI includes an exclusivity period during which the Palm Desert Cannabis Company will not negotiate with any other party. Closing of the transaction contemplated by the LOI is subject to, among other things, the satisfactory completion of Tidal Royalty's diligence investigation, which is currently underway. Tidal Royalty expects to announce further particulars in respect to the contemplated transaction with the Palm Desert Cannabis Company upon the execution of a definitive agreement between the parties and the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.

To date, Tidal Royalty has consummated royalty transactions relating to operators licensed in Florida and Arizona, which operators intend to pursue licenses in Massachusetts, and has entered into letters of intent with licensed cannabis operators in California, Nevada, and Illinois. In addition, Tidal Royalty is in the process of evaluating multiple additional opportunities across the U.S., including in New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Michigan. Tidal Royalty intends to provide further information on the opportunities it is evaluating when the respective parties reach an agreement and execute letters of intent.

About Tidal Royalty

Tidal Royalty provides royalty financing to the U.S. regulated cannabis industry. Led by an executive team with extensive industry experience in Canada and the U.S., Tidal Royalty provides operators with the funding they need to grow their business. Operators benefit from non-dilutive capital and investors get top-line access to a diversified portfolio of companies that will form the future of this transformative industry.

For further information, please contact:

Tidal Royalty Corp.

Terry Taouss, President

Email: terry@tidalroyalty.com

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking information contained in this new release is not based on historical facts but instead is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management. Forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to: the ability to enter into definitive documentation in respect of letters of intent currently entered into by Tidal Royalty, the ability of Tidal Royalty to enter into additional letters of intent and associated definitive documentation with current or further proposed investee companies, the closing of a transaction in respect of which definitive documents have been executed, the operating and financial performance, including planned expansions, of any investee company to be funded by Tidal Royalty from time to time and the ability of Tidal Royalty to generate revenue or realize profit through royalty agreements or equity investments with any future investee companies. In addition, this news release contains forward-looking statements attributed to third-party sources, the accuracy of which has not been independently verified by Tidal Royalty. Forward-looking information contained herein is based on the opinions and reasonable assumptions and estimates of management as at the date hereof and is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Tidal Royalty, that could cause actual events or results of Tidal Royalty to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Such factors include: U.S. regulatory landscape and enforcement related to cannabis, including political risks and risks relating to regulatory change, risks relating to anti-money laundering laws and regulation, other governmental and environmental regulation, public opinion and perception of the cannabis industry, risks related to the enforceability of contracts, the requirement by Tidal Royalty to obtain additional financing, the limited operating history of Tidal Royalty, timeliness of government approvals for granting of permits and licences needed by any future investee companies, including licences to cultivate cannabis, the actual operating and financial performance of any future investee company, competition and other risks affecting Tidal Royalty in particular and the U.S. cannabis industry generally, and the risk factors effecting Tidal Royalty disclosed in the listing statement of Tidal Royalty available at www.sedar.com. Because of such risks, uncertainties and other factors, investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information contained herein. Tidal Royalty is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law. The foregoing statements expressly qualify the forward-looking information contained herein. This release does not constitute an offer for sale of, nor a solicitation for offers to buy, any securities in the United States.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
PUNE, India, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report on the "Concrete Surface Retarders Market by Raw Material (Organic Agents and Inorganic Agents), Type (Water-based and Solvent-based), Application (Residential and Commercial), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific) - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is projected to grow from USD 72.7 million in 2018 to USD 89.4 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 4.2% between 2018 and 2023. Increase in urban population, demand for green buildings, and growth in infrastructure and industrialization are the main growth drivers of the Concrete Surface Retarders Market. Other factors, such as increasing disposable income of people in developing countries and changing preferences of end-users for aesthetically appealing buildings also drive the market's growth.

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Browse 83 market data Tables and 31 Figures spread through 121 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Concrete Surface Retarders Market"

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The organic agents segment is projected to gain maximum traction during the forecast period.

Based on raw material, the organic agents segment is estimated to dominate the market in 2018 and is also projected to grow at a higher rate than the inorganic agents segment over the next five years. The main factors attributed to the dominance and higher growth rate of organic agents include their wide range of applications in vertical & horizontal concrete surfaces and cost benefits as compared to inorganic agents.

Get PDF Brochure:https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=250702299

The water-based segment is projected to gain maximum traction during the forecast period.

Based on type, the water-based segment is estimated to dominate the market in 2018, and this trend is projected to continue during the forecast period. Water-based retarders are eco-friendly, non-hazardous, and odorless. The usage of these retarders is also supported by various regional regulatory bodies due to their lower VOC content as compared to the solvent-based retarders. Water-based retarders can be safely applied on outdoor and low ventilation areas.

The commercial segment is estimated to dominate the market, in terms of value, through 2023.

Based on application, the commercial segment is estimated to dominate the market in 2018 and is also projected to grow at a higher rate than the residential segment during the forecast period, in terms of both value and volume. The growth of the commercial segment can be attributed to rapid industrialization and rising public & private investments for infrastructure development in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and South America. Concrete surface retarders are widely used in commercial applications, such as bridge decks, sidewalks, curbs, ramps, facade cladding, and concrete segment joints.

The European region accounted for the largest share of the Concrete Surface Retarders Market.

Europe contributes a major share to the global Concrete Surface Retarders Market. Factors such as increasing new residential construction activities, growing demand for green building structures, and supportive government initiatives are expected to drive the market for concrete surface retarders in Europe. Increasing demand for new residential units in urban areas, coupled with subsequent private and public sector investments in residential and infrastructural construction projects, is also expected to create growth opportunities for the Concrete Surface Retarders Market in the region.

The global Concrete Surface Retarders Market is dominated by players such as Sika (Switzerland), BASF (Germany), MAPEI (Italy), GCP Applied Technologies (US), CEMEX (Mexico), W. R. Meadows (US), The Euclid Chemical Company (US), RussTech (US), Fosroc (UAE), and Parchem Construction Supplies (Australia).

Know more aboutConcrete Surface Retarders Market:

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Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

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Additional C$78 million to be received concurrently from Zijin Mining; CITIC Metal and Zijin Mining will purchase their Ivanhoe Mines shares at C$3.68 per share; Upon closing, Ivanhoe will have cash of approximately C$850 million

Beijing, China--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - Robert Friedland, Executive Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF), and Lars-Eric Johansson, Chief Executive Officer, announced today that the private placement transaction with CITIC Metal Co., Ltd. (CITIC Metal) announced on June 11, 2018, now has received all necessary recordals and registration with Chinese government regulatory agencies and the transaction is scheduled to close on September 19, 2018.

Upon closing, Ivanhoe will receive gross proceeds of C$723 million (approximately US$549 million) from CITIC Metal and will issue 196,602,037 common shares to CITIC Metal through a private placement at a price of C$3.68 per share. CITIC Metal will then own approximately 19.5% of Ivanhoe Mines' issued and outstanding common shares. Mr. Friedland will become the second largest Ivanhoe Mines shareholder, with an ownership stake of approximately 17%.

Approximately C$133 million of the C$723 million owing from CITIC Metal will be used to repay an interim loan of US$100 million from CITIC Metal Group Limited that was received on August 9, 2018, but never used, resulting in a net cash payment by CITIC Metal of C$591 million. With the repayment of the interim loan in full, the limited-recourse guarantee and share pledge by Mr. Friedland securing Ivanhoe Mines' obligation under the loan facility will be eliminated.

Zijin exercises anti-dilution rights at C$3.68 per share to raise an additional C$78 million

Ivanhoe's joint-venture partner at the Kamoa-Kakula Project, Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd., has exercised its existing anti-dilution rights, which will yield additional proceeds to Ivanhoe of C$78 million (approximately US$59 million). These funds will be received concurrently with the CITIC Metal private placement. The exercise by Zijin of its anti-dilution rights also was at a price of C$3.68 per share and will result in Zijin having a 9.7% ownership stake in Ivanhoe Mines, its ownership level prior to the completion of the CITIC Metal strategic investment.

With the receipt of the combined proceeds of more than C$800 million (approximately US$608 million) from CITIC Metal and Zijin, and the repayment of the interim loan, Ivanhoe will have cash and cash equivalents of approximately C$850 million (US$645 million) and no significant debt.

Ivanhoe intends to use the funds to continue to advance its exploration and development activities at the Kamoa-Kakula, Platreef and Kipushi projects on current accelerated timetables.

About CITIC Metal and CITIC Limited

CITIC Metal Co., Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Limited. As CITIC Limited's arm in the business of resources and energy, CITIC Metal specializes in the importation and distribution of copper, zinc, platinum-group metals, niobium products, iron ore, coal, and non-ferrous metals, export of silver, trading of steel products, and investments in metals and mining projects. CITIC Metal's major mining investments include a 15% ownership in the Las Bambas copper project in Peru and leading a Chinese consortium in acquiring a 15% ownership in the Brazil-based niobium producer CBMM.

CITIC Limited (SEHK:267) is China's largest conglomerate, with total assets of more than US$900 billion. Among its diverse global businesses, CITIC Limited focuses primarily on financial services, resources and energy, manufacturing, engineering contracting and real estate. CITIC Limited enjoys leading market positions in sectors well matched to China's economy. CITIC's rich history, diverse platform and strong corporate culture across all businesses ensure that CITIC Limited is unrivalled in capturing opportunities arising in China.

CITIC Limited is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, where it is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. CITIC Group Corporation, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, owns 58% of CITIC Limited.

About Ivanhoe Mines

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa: the development of new mines at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Platreef platinum-palladium-nickel-copper-gold discovery in South Africa; and the extensive redevelopment and upgrading of the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.

Information contacts

Investors

Bill Trenaman +1.604.331.9834

Media

North America: Bob Williamson +1.604.512.4856

South Africa: Jeremy Michaels +27.82.772.1122

Cautionary statement on forward-looking information

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.

Such statements include without limitation: (i) all statements regarding the timing and completion of the planned private placement of 196,602,037 common shares to CITIC Metal at a price of C$3.68 per share for gross proceeds to Ivanhoe of approximately C$723 million; (ii) statements regarding the timing and completion of the issuance of anti-dilution shares to Zijin Mining for proceeds of C$78 million; and (iii) statements regarding Ivanhoe Mines intention to use the proceeds from the private placement to advance the company's projects in Southern Africa - Kamoa-Kakula, Platreef and Kipushi.

Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the company's MD&A, as well as the inability to obtain regulatory approvals in a timely manner; the potential for unknown or unexpected events to cause contractual conditions to not be satisfied; unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the company believes are reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

The company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth in the "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in the company's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2017 and its Annual Information Form.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - Appia Energy Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I.F) (FSE: A0I.MU) (FSE: A0I.BE) (the "Company" or "Appia) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a group of contiguous mineral claims by staking in northern Saskatchewan. The new property, named the Oldman property (the "Property"), surrounds the Company's Alces Lake property and comprises 15 mineral claims totalling 12,816 hectares (31,669 acres) in size, expanding the Alces Lake Rare Earth Element Project area to 14,334 hectares (35,420 acres).

The Property was staked along geological and geophysical continuity with the Alces Lake high-grade critical rare earth outcrops. In particular, the Property hosts the Oldman River monazite occurrence, located 6.6 km south-southwest of the Alces Lake monazite-rich outcrops, was discovered in 1955 and shares numerous geological similarities with the Alces Lake outcrops ie; up to 20% visible monazite at surface with monazite crystals measuring between 0.2 and 1.0 mm in diameter, and all hosted by a band of massive, coarse-grained biotite and pegmatite. Visible monazite mineralization occurs as localized clusters traced over a strike length of between 400 m and 500 m.

The Oldman River monazite occurrence was never assayed historically for rare earth elements ("REE") but did return a partial analysis of 5.4 wt% Th and 0.263 wt% U. Thorium ("Th") is part of the crystal structure of monazite and can be used as a proxy for REE concentration, depending on elemental ratios for specific monazite occurrences. For example, the highest Th concentration from samples at Alces Lake returned 5.3 wt% Th and 52.3 wt% Total Rare Earth Oxide.

Mr. James Sykes, VP Exploration and Development for Appia comments, "This is an exciting time for the Company as we continue to explore the Alces Lake property. Rare earth element mineral occurrences continue to be exposed at surface at Alces Lake (see Company News Release dated August 2, 2018), and the strategic staking of the Oldman property solidifies additional high-grade rare earth element assets for the Company."

The thorium and uranium values reported herein are historic laboratory assay results prior to NI 43-101 disclosure standards and may or may not be viewed as reliable. References to the Oldman River monazite occurrence was extracted from Normand, C (2014): Rare Earths in Saskatchewan: Mineralization Types, Settings, and Distributions; Saskatchewan Ministry of the Economy, Sask. Geological Survey, Rep. 264.

As reported in the Company's news release on August 2, 2018, nine zones of surface mineralization have been uncovered in the Alces Lake Project area, with channel samples taken and sent to the assay lab, with assay results still pending. Drilling into the zones is currently underway and will continue through the Month of September, with results to be reported as assays become available.

About Appia

Appia is a Canadian publicly-traded company in the uranium and rare earth element sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements ("REE") and uranium on the Alces Lake and Oldman properties, as well as prospecting for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin area on its Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 63,980 hectares (158,098 acres) in Saskatchewan.

The Company also has NI 43-101 compliant resources of 8.0 million lbs U 3 O 8 and 47.7 million lbs Total REE Indicated and 20.1 million lbs U 3 O 8 and 133.2 million lbs Total REE Inferred in the Teasdale Zone plus 27.6 million lbs U 3 O 8 Inferred in the Banana Lake Zone in the historic mining camp of Elliot Lake in Ontario (previously reported in the Company's news release dated August 14, 2013). The resources are largely unconstrained along strike and down dip.

Appia's technical team is directed by James Sykes, who has had direct and indirect involvement with over 450 million lbs. U 3 O 8 being discovered in five deposits in the Athabasca Basin.

Appia currently has 58.4 million common shares outstanding, 76.6 million shares fully diluted.

The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Thomas Skimming, P.Eng, a Director of Appia, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward- looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Tom Drivas, President, CEO and Director: (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) appia@appiaenergy.ca

James Sykes, VP Exploration & Development, (tel) 306-221-8717, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) jsykes@uraniumgeologist.com

Frank van de Water, Chief Financial Officer and Director, (tel) 416-546-2707, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) fvandewater@rogers.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - iCo Therapeutics ("iCo" or the "Company") (TSXV: ICO) (OTCQB: ICOTF), today announced additional positive pharmacokinetic data from its recent Phase 1 study of its Oral Amphotericin B (Oral Amp B) candidate. Previously the Company reported that Oral Amp B achieved a median Cmax of 28 ng/mL and AUC0-inf of 1030 hr*ng/mL at the lowest dose of Oral Amphotericin B of 100 mg, demonstrating superiority of area under the concentration time curve from time zero to infinity, when compared to published 200 mg, 400 mg and 800 mg oral cochleate formulation data by the closest competitor. Today iCo reported a median AUC0-inf of 2029 hr*ng/mL at the 400 mg dose of Oral Amphotericin B, representing an approximate doubling of the critical AUC0-inf measure at an increased dose. The Company intends to study both the 100 mg and 400 mg dose in the next clinical study. In its Phase 1 study 100 mg, 200 mg, 400 mg and 800 mg doses were studied.

Stated Dr. Peter Hnik "The prolonged plasma half-life and increased AUC as a function of dose suggests that the oral Amphotericin B formulation has a long circulation time which may result in the ability of the formulation to increase Amphotericin B tissue concentrations within infected tissues without the associated GI, liver and kidney toxicity".

iCo Therapeutics also announced it will be featured as a presenting company at the 20th Annual Rodman & Renshaw Global Investment Conference, sponsored by H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC. The conference is being held on September 4-6, 2018 at the St. Regis New York Hotel in New York City. iCo Therapeutics Management will provide an overview of the Company's business during the live presentation.

If you are an institutional investor, and would like to attend the Company's presentation, please click on the following link (www.rodmanevents.com) to register for the conference. Once your registration is confirmed, you will be prompted to log into the conference website to request a one-on-one meeting with the Company.

Event: 20th Annual Rodman & Renshaw Global Investment Conference, sponsored by H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC

Date: September 4-6, 2018

Time: 3:50 PM - 4:15 PM (Eastern Time)

Location: Louis XVI A (Second Floor); St. Regis New York Hotel in New York City

Additionally the presentation, including graphical 100 mg and 400 mg data, will be posted on the Company's website: www.icotherapeutics.com immediately after the presentation.

About iCo Therapeutics

iCo Therapeutics identifies existing development stage assets for use in underserved ocular and infectious diseases. Such assets may exhibit utility in non-ophthalmic conditions outside the Company's core focus areas and if so the Company will seek to capture further value via partnerships, such as its partnership with Immune Pharmaceuticals, which is in several Phase 2 studies involving iCo-008. iCo shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ICO" and on the OTCQB under the symbol "ICOTF".

For more information, visit the Company website at: www.icotherapeutics.com.

No regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the content of this press release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulatory Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "goal," "seek," "believe," "project," "estimate," "suggest", "expect," "strategy," "future," "likely," "may," "should," "will," and similar references to future periods. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward-looking statements are based on iCo's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to iCo and relate to, among other things, anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory developments, market acceptance and future commitments, including statements relating to the potential implications of data from the Phase 1 study for iCo-019, and intentions regarding future clinical trials. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based only on information currently available to iCo and speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by iCo in its public securities filings and on its website, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. In evaluating forward-looking statements, readers should consider the risk factors set out herein and in the Company's Annual Information Form dated July 23, 2018, a copy of which is available under ICo's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and as otherwise disclosed in the Company's filings under its profile on SEDAR from time to time. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and iCo disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Andrew Rae, CEO

778-772-7775

rae@icotherapeutics.com
docQbot combines AI and HotDocs' document assembly technology to help international companies do business with Chinese entities

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HotDocs (https://www.hotdocs.com/?utm_source=globenewswire&utm_campaign=hotdocs&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_content=docqbotpartnership), an AbacusNext (https://www.abacusnext.com/?utm_source=globenewswire&utm_campaign=hotdocs&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_content=docqbotpartnership) product and the global leader in document automation software, today announced its partnership with legal services provider, docQbot (Beijing docQbot Huiwen Data Technology Co., Ltd, a sister company of China Going Global Think-tank ("CGGT")). HotDocs' industry leading document automation technology will power docQbot's recently launched bilingual contract drafting tool designed to aid organizations conducting international business with Chinese entities.



Currently in beta release, docQbot's online contract service offers twenty fully automated, intelligent, contract templates. Each bilingual template can in many cases create hundreds of thousands or even millions of contract variations in both English and Chinese. docQbot also is working with top law firms around the world to localize the base templates to support business transactions in more than 100 countries.

Templates available through the docQbot platform were designed by legal experts with a deep understanding of the Chinese market and the complexities associated with business negotiations. Gary Eunson, International Sales Director at AbacusNext, stated, "This docQbot solution is unique in that it combines artificial intelligence with HotDocs document automation technology to support the creation of multi-language documents in a very innovative way. This specialized consumer-facing application is the first of its kind and expands on the possibilities of what's possible with document automation technology within the global marketplace. Businesses that tap into this contract generation tool will find that it simplifies so many of their challenges associated with complex international trade agreements."

The contract generation tool is ideally suited for organizations conducting business with Chinese entities associated with outbound investments and foreign trade transactions. The easy-to-use interface makes it possible for legal professionals to quickly generate high-quality business contracts suited to early stage negotiations. Contracts can be created in as little as 10-15 minutes.

Mary Bai, co-founder and CEO of docQbot and CGGT, stated, "CGGT is very excited to team up with its sister company, docQbot, and with HotDocs to provide this unique legal AI solution to help both Chinese outbound investors and foreign trade companies avoid common problems and achieve more success in their cross-border deals. The docQbot tool makes it simple and easy to do contracts the right way. It is fast and low cost."

docQbot also understands that most business contracts require additional expert counsel to address the unique aspects of each business arrangement. As such, docQbot can draw upon its close relationships with law firms in more than 100 countries to provide users with legal advice reaching beyond the scope of the docQbot tool. This allows Chinese and foreign trade companies to access in-country expertise needed to successfully conduct business internationally.

About HotDocs

HotDocs is the global industry leader in document automation technology, with customers in 60 countries and over one million users. Document automation enables a vast reduction in time spent in the production of high volume, repeat documentation such as lending packages, credit documentation, and client on-boarding. Widely used within the banking, insurance, legal, government, and corporate sectors, HotDocs software helps to increase accuracy, reduce cost, eliminate risk, and improve efficiency in the generation of complex, or simple, repeat documentation.

For more information, visit www.hotdocs.com (http://www.hotdocs.com/) or connect with HotDocs on its blog (http://www.hotdocs.com/blog), and on Twitter (https://twitter.com/HotDocsGroup), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company-beta/803840/) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/hotdocs).

About AbacusNext

As the largest Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) provider for the professional services sector, AbacusNext helps legal and accounting professionals achieve ultimate success and peace of mind through the delivery of a complete suite of compliance-ready technology solutions designed to support a secure and cloud-enabled practice at a cost they can afford. Its portfolio of turnkey solutions includes hardware, software, and infrastructure on a pay-as-you-go model; Practice Management, Client Resource Management (CRM), Payment Processing, Email, Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS), and Managed IT.

For more information, visit www.abacusnext.com (http://www.abacusnext.com) or connect with AbacusNext on its blog (http://www.abacusnext.com/blog), and on Twitter (https://twitter.com/Abacus_Next), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/abacus-data-systems) or Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/abacuslaw/).

About docQbot and CGGT

CGGT operates the China Going Global Think-tank platform, which provides Chinese enterprises with professional information and reports on outbound investment, covering strategy, finance, accounting, valuation, law, risk management, human resources, tax, and data and brand management. The docQbot solution is designed to help Chinese companies avoid common problems and achieve a greater level of success in both ODI and foreign trade transactions. All contracts are available in English and/or Chinese versions and are being localized for use in up to 100 countries and territories around the world. Just answer a few simple questions, and docQbot can produce a high-quality dual-language draft contract customized for your transaction in just a few minutes! Moreover, if you need offline support from qualified legal advisors, you will also be able to draw upon docQbot's extensive network of leading lawyers across China and around the world. To learn more about docQbot and CGGT, visit www.cggthinktank.com (http://www.cggthinktank.com) and www.docqbot.com/en (http://www.docqbot.com/en).
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - StrikePoint Gold Inc. (TSXV: SKP) (OTCQB: STKXF) is pleased to announce the discovery of a new high-grade gold and silver vein system at their Colossus target on the Golden-Oly Project, Yukon Territory.

The Helios Vein

The Helios Vein is a new discovery on the western edge of the Colossus Target, which has so far been traced for 600 meters along a roughly north-south strike. The polymetallic vein is composed of quartz-arsenopyrite infilling factures that have formed in the carapace of the Colossus granodiorite intrusion.

A total of twenty-two samples were collected from the vein, with grades ranging from 1.005 to 37.5 grams per tonne gold and trace to 1150 grams per tonne silver. The highest grade silver sample also returned a value of 2.94% copper, although this is seen as being anomalous. Helios is a series of parallel sheeted polymetallic quartz veins that hosts massive sulfides and sulfosalts, including pyrite and arsenopyrite, with a collective vein width at surface ranging from thirty centimeters to five meters.

These types of high-grade polymetallic veins form in the contact zone between the intrusive and country rock contact. The mudstone surrounding the intrusion provides carbon to the mineral-rich hydrothermal fluids which results in a redox reaction and triggers the sulphide formation, which in turn traps the gold and silver. The vein occupies arcuate fracture systems the parallel the intrusions, and so it is possible that additional veins exist around the intrusion.

Drilling at Colossus targeted the carapace of the intrusive body to see if mineralization persists at depth. The first results are expected in September.

The Zeus Target

The Zeus target is a 'sister' intrusion that lies approximately 7-kilometers to the south of Colossus and represents another of the "Seven Wonders" targets. This intrusion is partially exposed, and our prospecting team has discovered quartz-vein material like that seen in the Helios Vein. To date a 60-meter strike length has been observed, with grab sample assays returned from 1.355 to 4.06 grams per tonne gold and from trace to 43.6 grams per tonne silver.

The field team will continue to work on this new prospect, as well as others in the Seven Wonders Trend, to collect more data. Similar mineralization and grade in veins to date do help to firm up the notion that at least two of the Seven Wonders targets (Colossus and Zeus) are geologically similar.

The Seven Wonders

This collection of three properties, now collectively termed the "Seven Wonders" exhibited high levels of exploration potential during the 2017 season. The core of the 78-km long trend contains seven buried or partially exhumed intrusions that appear to be copper-rich in the west and becoming more gold-dominated in the east.

Highlights from the 2017 program include:

Surface grab samples at PDM returned grades of up to 9.8g/t gold, 2.8% copper and 245g/t silver in 2017.

Samples collected from an area of sheeted veins within intrusive material with visible copper mineralization, including native copper.

Historical samples up to 19g/t gold occur about 2 kilometers northeast of the Babylon intrusive along an untested gossanous ridgeline.

The Colossus target on the Golden-Oly property returned assays up to 10.65g/t gold, 364g/t silver and 0.52% copper.

Airborne geophysics shows seven of these buried intrusions along a west-southwest to east-northeast bearing.

About StrikePoint Gold

StrikePoint Gold is a well-financed gold exploration and development company. The company controls a portfolio of gold properties in the Yukon and throughout Canada.

The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Andy Randell, P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of StrikePoint Gold. Mr. Randell is a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101.

For further information please visit our website: www.strikepointgold.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD of STRIKEPOINT GOLD INC.

Shawn Khunkhun

CEO and Director

For more information, contact:

Shawn Khunkhun

604-602-1440

sk@strikepointgold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
TORONTO, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Fairmont Loves Film Event Series launches with Gia Coppola as Film Ambassador and retrospective photographic exhibits in Toronto, London and Shanghai

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is delighted to introduce the Fairmont Loves Film event series, comprised of pop-up events and a retrospective photo exhibit officially premiering at Fairmont Royal York during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and later traveling to London and Shanghai; and a partnership with film director and screenwriter Gia Coppola in the new role of Film Ambassador and Curator for Fairmont Loves Film. To celebrate this exciting program, Fairmont has also partnered with TIFF as the Official Gala Program Sponsor throughout the duration of the world-renowned festival.

Ms. Coppola, who is known for her exceptional films including Palo Alto which she wrote and directed, got her start making short films for a friend's fashion label. She is also a fine art and fashion photographer, and has worked with labels such as Opening Ceremony, Zac Posen and Gucci. Gia grew up on film sets, often experiencing memorable moments in Fairmont hotels while traveling.

To celebrate the launch of Fairmont Loves Film, another young artist, Cuba Tornado Scott, has created a short film exploring Fairmont's historic connections to the world of cinema and the attachment to the brand's legendary hotels. Like Ms. Coppola, Ms. Scott heralds a new generation in the film world, as a descendent of her grandfather, director Ridley Scott; her uncle, director Tony Scott and her parents: music video director Jake Scott and producer Rhea Scott.

"We are thrilled to welcome Gia as the Ambassador of Fairmont Loves Film and honored to work with Cuba to launch this exciting event series. These young talented women bring a fascinating perspective to the evolution of film and the timeless appeal of Fairmont hotels,"said Sharon Cohen, Vice President, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. "Fairmont enjoys a strong connection to cinema that is shared across generations and includes unforgettable personal moments, along with movie-making history at some of our most celebrated and awe-inspiring properties."

In the video created by Ms. Scott, the audience is introduced to the Fairmont Loves Film project through the lens of a woman whose vivid memories revive the spirit of cinema within Fairmont. The creation of cinema and Fairmont become inescapably intertwined, the sense of luxurious comfort and whimsical wonder connect through a narrative arc between the contemporary and the classic. The film delivers a sense of curiosity and longing to know more about the experiences these characters had within the walls of Fairmont hotels, and builds a desire to witness new versions of those experiences.

"I've always admired the collaborative history that the Fairmont hotels and movies share," said Gia Coppola. "It's exciting and an honor for me to help celebrate the relationship between movies and travel."

Added Xavier Louyot, Senior Vice President, Brand Content, Fairmont and AccorHotels Luxury Brands, "This campaign is a perfect example of the creative and experiential programming that we seek to develop for our guests and luxury properties. This series connects guests to Fairmont on so many levels, weaving the history and glamour of film with our iconic and cinematic hotels."

Images and video from these films, along with several others, will be showcased in a special Fairmont Loves Film visual exhibit beginning in early September at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto and later this year at The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel in London and at Shanghai's Fairmont Peace Hotel in early 2019. In addition to the exhibitions, Fairmont will also host a special pop up event at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, home of world cinematic premieres and gala programs during TIFF, running from September 6 - September 16, 2018.

"Fairmont hotels have been the site or setting of countless Hollywood blockbusters and legendary films," continued Ms. Cohen. "When filmmakers and directors want to portray luxury accommodations that truly represent their destinations, they often focus their cameras on Fairmont. Many film buffs will know that Home Alone 2 (1992); and North By Northwest (1959) were filmed at The Plaza, but guests may not realize that Fairmont Hotels & Resorts across the globe have also had starring roles in such classic films as JFK (1991), Dr. Zhivago (1965), and The Great Gatsby (2013) to name but a few. For more than a century, we've done our best to meet and exceed the expectations of all our guests, including filmmakers."

Some of Fairmont's most famous film credits go to the following camera-ready hotels:

Fairmont Royal York, Toronto

Not only is the hotel is one of the hottest shooting venues in Toronto - it hosts nearly 20 film projects each year - but it is the only hotel in the city to employ a full-time Film Concierge, who is also involved in the planning and organization of select galas for the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie Cinderella Man (2005), a three-time Oscar-nominee starring Russell Crowe, was filmed on location here, as was Molly's Game (2017), starring Kevin Costner, Idris Elba and Jessica Chastain. Directed by Academy Award-winner Aaron Sorkin, the hotel provided numerous locations for the film and crew, including a room modelled in the style of The Plaza, where Molly Bloom, the real-life woman who inspired the movie, would set her poker games. A further sampling of Fairmont Royal York's casting sheet includes: The Killing Fields (1984); Serendipity (2000); The Tuxedo (2001); Where the Truth Lies (2005); Hollywood Land (2006); Take the Lead (2006); Red (2010) Chloe (2009); RoboCop (2014); Miss Sloane (2016); Spotlight (2015).

The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, London

It was at The Savoy where Vivien Leigh met future husband Laurence Olivier, where Elizabeth Taylor spent her honeymoon with Nicky Hilton, and where Charlie Chaplin returned to his homeland. It has also been a favorite filming spot for movies such as The Big Sleep (1978); The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981); Notting Hill (1999); Bright Young Things (2003); Gambit (2012); Mortdecai (2015); Goodbye Christopher Robin (2018); and All the Money in the World (2018). What's more, the hotel is also known to host numerous stars attending the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards.

Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai

The famous Jazz Bar at Fairmont Peace Hotel and its legendary Old Jazz Band were captured in a documentary film by German producer Uli Gaulke called 'As Time Goes By' which premiered in the Toronto and Shanghai International Film Festivals in June 2013. Other films shot on location in the art deco styled interiors of the hotel include: Empire of the Sun (1987); The Last Aristocrats (1989); Shanghai Triad (1995); The White Countess (2005); The Silent War (2012); Tiny Times 3 (2014); and Lan Xin Theatre (2018).

Fairmont San Francisco

Ever since Alfred Hitchcock chose to shoot his favorite San Francisco hotel for his classic film Vertigo (1958), starring Jimmy Stewart, Fairmont San Francisco has become a silver screen icon. The classic Hitchcock thriller established the hotel's appeal as a film location and it went onto star in films such as The Towering Inferno (1974) and Sudden Impact (1983), but one of its most memorable movie close ups was when Sean Connery demanded a luxe suite at the property in The Rock (1996). More recently, the hotel had a featuring role in The Intern (2015) with Roberto De Niro, Anne Hathaway and Rene Russo.

The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, New York

Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock were onsite at New York's Grand Dame, The Plaza, to film key parts of the 1959 classic North by Northwest - the first time a crew, director and cast assembled onsite to make a picture. Before then, movies were shot almost entirely on Hollywood soundstages and rarely on location. The Plaza has provided the location for other motion pictures as well, including Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961); Barefoot In The Park (1967); Funny Girl (1968); The Great Gatsby (1971); Plaza Suite (1971); The Way We Were (1973); Francis Ford Coppola's film, The Cotton Club (1984), starring Richard Gere, Diane Lane and Gregory Hines; Home Alone 2 (1992); Scent Of A Woman (1992); Sleepless in Seattle (1993); Almost Famous (2000); The Great Gatsby (2013), and many more.

Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston

No hotel is more famous for the Hollywood wedding than Fairmont Copley Plaza. In one year the location was the shoot for two movie weddings - My Best Friend's Girl (2008) and - Bride Wars (2008) - starring Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway. In Bride Wars, the Boston ballroom stood in for The Plaza in New York - the ballrooms are quite similar and were designed by the same architect. Other movies filmed on location here include: The Firm (1993); Next Stop Wonderland (1998); The Company Men (2010); Zookeeper (2011); American Hustle (2013); The Forger (2014); Live by Night (2017); and The Equalizer 2 (2018).

About Fairmont

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is where occasions are celebrated and history is made. Landmark hotels with unrivalled presence, authentic experiences and unforgettable moments have attracted visitors to Fairmont and its destinations since 1907. The Plaza in New York City, The Savoy in London, Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont Banff Springs and Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai are but a few of these iconic luxury hotels, forever linked to the special places where they reside. Famous for its engaging service, grand public spaces, locally inspired cuisine and celebrated bars and lounges, Fairmont promises a special brand of thoughtful luxury that will be remembered long after any visit. With a worldwide portfolio of more than 75 hotels, Fairmont also takes great pride in its deep community roots and leadership in sustainability. Fairmont is part of AccorHotels, a world-leading travel and lifestyle group which invites travelers to feel welcome at more than 4,500 hotels, resorts and residences, along with some 10,000 of the finest private homes around the globe.

fairmont.com,accorhotels.com

Press contacts: Line Crieloue, Senior PR Manager, Luxury Brands AccorHotels, line.crieloue@accor.com, +33-1-45-38-18-11
CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2018 / In a new interview with DCEBrief, DNotes Global, Inc. CEO Alan Yong stressed the importance of ensuring that the cryptocurrency industry works to comply with existing government regulations. He specifically addressed the controversy surrounding initial coin offerings and suggested that the industry must change the way it uses that fundraising tool if it wants to avoid additional regulations to rein in ICO excesses.

Yong, whose company recently launched its first round of fundraising through Reg. D 506 (c), praised initial coin offerings as a truly innovative and inclusive way for companies to raise capital. "I believe that they are perhaps one of the most efficient means of capital formation we've ever seen," he said. "The ICO's ability to enable virtually anyone in the world to invest in a project can conceivably provide greater access to opportunity for more people than any other form of investor fundraising."

He noted, however, that ICOs represent new challenges for regulators tasked with protecting consumers and maintaining fair markets. Yong recounted the Depression-era origins of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that regulatory body's mandate to safeguard markets against the type of unregulated recklessness that helped lead to economic collapse in the late 1920s.

Mr. Yong drew parallels between the current state of the cryptocurrency industry and the early days of the internet boom, noting that regulators sometimes need time to adjust to new technologies and "determine how to deal with new and changing dynamics." He was confident, however, that "regulation must be considered a given" since the SEC has a clear mandate to protect consumers and investors while securing fair markets and regulatory compliance.

When asked whether he believed that the government would eventually intervene to address the regulatory issues facing ICOs, Yong suggested that it was inevitable. "The only question is whether their intervention continues to be a more benign form of monitoring and guidance, with enforcement actions for bad actors," he said, "or a more invasive approach that involves new, onerous regulations that could potentially stifle innovation and growth."

The DNotes Global CEO then explained why his company chose to forgo an initial coin offering and instead opted for a more traditional, regulated capital formation strategy. He stressed that regulatory compliance was a key concern for the company, suggesting that ongoing questions about the regulatory status of ICOs deterred him from considering that fundraising option at this time.

Yong's company believes that its experience with the Reg. D 506 (c) fundraising path will be invaluable as DNotes Global's long-term plans for NextGen VC come into focus. He plans to use that experience to help other fintech startups develop strategies for capital formation that satisfy regulator's expectations. He predicted that many of today's crypto and blockchain-related startups will invariably fail, but that there will be many that succeed.

"There are some great people with great ideas in this industry, and those ideas have the potential to transform our world," he said. "Our vision for NextGen VC includes partnerships with those innovators. When we identify companies that possess vision similar to ours, we want to work with them to help them succeed."

Yong was optimistic that ICOs could be part of that path to success, but only if they adapt to satisfy the SEC and regulators around the world. "ICOs are too effective to just abandon them altogether," he said. "But they will need to be properly registered to avoid running into problems with the regulators."

About DNotes and Alan Yong:

DNotes co-founder Alan Yong is a well-regarded visionary who established Dauphin Technology in 1988. He is the author of the book, "Improve Your Odds: The Four Pillars of Business Success and is well-regarded as a "thought leader" in the cryptocurrency industry."

DNotes is a digital currency noted for its consistent and reliable growth, and innovative initiatives that actively engage women, young people, small businesses, workers, and others - effectively inviting the world to participate in the digital currency revolution.

To read the full interview: https://dcebrief.com/in-interview-alan-yong-addresses-icos-nextgen-vc-and-regulatory-compliance/

To view the DNotes white paper, please visit: https://dnotesglobal.com/white-paper/

For more information please visit: http://dnotescoin.com

Media contact

Name: Alan Yong

Email: media@dnotesglobal.com

SOURCE: DNotes Global, Inc.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - Southern Silver Exploration Corp. (TSXV: SSV) ("Southern Silver") reported today assay results from initial drilling on its 12,000 metre 2018 core drilling program on the Cerro Las Minitas project, Durango State, Mexico which included a thick interval of strongly silver-enriched sulphide mineralization in drill hole 18CLM-110.

Highlights for drill hole 18CLM-110 include:

an 18.9m down hole interval (15.1m est. True Thickness) averaging 260g/t Ag, 0.18% Cu, 0.9% Pb and 0.1% Zn (317g/t AgEq; 8.9% ZnEq) including a higher grade 5.5m interval (4.4m est. TT) averaging 598g/t Ag, 0.4% Cu, 2.1% Pb and 0.1% Zn (720g/t AgEq; 20.3% ZnEq).

The drill hole intersected an up dip projection of the Skarn Front deposit which will complement the current block model and establishes continuity between previously reported mineralized intervals in hole 13CLM-066 (9.3 metres averaging 9.4g/t Ag, 0.13% Cu and 13% Zn - 487g/t AgEq; 13.8% ZnEq; see NR-10-13, July 16, 2013) and hole 15CLM-081 (16.8 metres averaging 136g/t Ag, 0.5% Cu, 0.3% Pb and 4.5% Zn - 361g/t AgEq; 10.2% ZnEq; see NR-14-15, December 1, 2015). Furthermore, the mineralization in CLM-110 is more strongly silver enriched than the previously reported holes from this part of the deposit, reflecting a broad metal zonation within the Skarn Front which is only partially resolved.

Drilling also successfully tested extensions of mineralization in the Las Victorias zone returning heavily disseminated to semi-massive sulphide intervals in drill holes:

18CLM-107 with 0.9 metres (0.6m Est. TT) averaging 79g/t Ag, 0.4g/t Au, 1.2% Cu, 0.1% Pb and 14.1% Zn (733g/t AgEq; 20.7% ZnEq), and

18CLM-109 with 2.7 metres (2.0m Est. TT) averaging 88g/t Ag, 0.3g/t Au, 0.2% Cu, 1.1% Pb, 2.6% Zn (257g/t AgEq, 7.3% ZnEq)

This recent drilling continues to extend mineralization for over 100 metres laterally to the southeast in the Las Victorias zone which remains open down-plunge for further drill testing.





Figure 1: Drill hole locations, Area of the Cerro, Cerro Las Minitas project



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/5344/38503_a1536185609136_3.jpg

Exploration has now started in the North Skarn area where drilling is targeting shallow offsets of mineralization in the historic Santo Nino mine and deeper testing up dip and laterally of previously reported high grade mineralization in drill holes 15CLM-023A (8.4m down hole of 143g/t Ag, 0.26% Cu, 1.2% Pb and 6.2% Zn - 437g/t Ag Eq; 12.3% ZnEq; see NR-12-15, October 29, 2015) and 11CLM-006 (3.7m down hole of 184g/t Ag, 1.95% Cu, 0.3% Pb, 18.4% Zn - 1056g/t AgEq; 29.8% ZnEq; see NR-06-11, June 13, 2011) as well as several historic holes drilled by Noranda from the early 2000's.

Drill hole 18CLM-111 was completed to a depth of 654 metres and drill hole 18CLM-112 is in progress. Assays are pending.

Cerro Las Minitas Project

Approximately 4,500 metres of drilling has been completed of an anticipated 12,000 core hole 2018 exploration program. Drilling continues with one drill focused on systematic resource expansion in the Area of the Cerro which contains the existing Mineral Resource Estimate and the second drill rig focused on new Ag-Au epithermal vein targets in the recently staked CLM West claim group. The company continues refining CLM West drill targets through surface sampling and VLF-EM surveys over specific target areas.

The Cerro Las Minitas project as of January 8th, 2018 contains an estimated Indicated Resource, at a 175g/t AgEq cut-off, of 33.6Mozs silver and 319Mlbs of lead and 813Mlbs zinc (116.1Mozs AgEq; 1.69Blbs ZnEq) and an estimated Inferred Resource of 20.7Mozs silver, 131Mlbs lead and 870Mlbs zinc (92.7Mozs AgEq; 1.35Blbs ZnEq).(1)

Pre-development studies on the project continue with further refinement of the metallurgical characterization of the mineralized zones initially reported in May 2018 and preliminary mine design and engineering studies.

Table 1: Select Summary Assays from 2018 Exploration on Cerro Las Minitas



Hole # From

(m) To

(m) Interval

(m) Est. Tr. Thck.

(m) Ag

(g/t) Au

(g/t) Cu

(%) Pb

(%) Zn

(%) AgEq

(g/t) ZnEq

(%) 18CLM-110 450.0 468.9 18.9 15.1 260 0.05 0.2 0.9 0.1 317 8.9 inc. 450.0 462.3 12.3 9.8 377 0.05 0.2 1.2 0.1 451 12.7 inc. 450.0 455.5 5.5 4.4 598 0.07 0.4 2.1 0.1 720 20.3 18CLM-107 100.9 102.1 1.1 0.7 55 0.67 0.0 1.9 0.3 180 5.1

353.8 354.6 0.9 0.6 79 0.37 1.2 0.1 14.1 733 20.7 18CLM-108 434.5 435.2 0.7 0.5 98 0.21 0.0 3.7 0.9 273 7.7

444.7 446.4 1.7 1.2 56 0.04 0.0 2.4 0.5 161 4.5

461.3 462.2 0.9 0.6 143 0.03 0.2 1.0 0.4 212 6.0 18CLM-109 250.9 253.6 2.7 2.0 88 0.27 0.2 1.1 2.6 257 7.3

Analyzed by FA/AA for gold and ICP-AES by ALS Laboratories, North Vancouver, BC. Silver (>100ppm), copper, lead and zinc (>1%) overlimits assayed by ore grade ICP analysis, High silver overlimits (>1500g/t Ag) and gold overlimits (>10g/t Au) re-assayed with FA-Grav. High Pb (>20%) and Zn (>30%) overlimits assayed by titration. AgEq and ZnEq were calculated using average metal prices of: US$18.2/oz silver, US$1240/oz gold, US$2.8/lbs copper and US$0.91/lbs lead and US$0.94/lbs zinc. AgEq and ZnEq calculations did not account for relative metallurgical recoveries of the metals. Ore-grade composites calculated using a 80g/t AgEq cut-off and <20% internal dilution, except where noted; anomalous intercepts calculated using a 10g/t AgEq cut-off.

Drilling continues at CLM West with one drill rig. Two holes totalling 734 metres tested beneath vein exposures in the northern Creston Del Oro claim but did not intersect significant veins at depth. Elevated As and Sb were noted in some select intervals but no significant precious metal values were returned.

Drilling is now focused on several gravel covered targets areas identified through geochemical float sampling and surface geophysics where two additional holes have been completed for a total of 629 metres. Assays are pending.

The Cerro Las Minitas project operates on a joint venture basis by Southern Silver at a 40% interest and Electrum Global Holdings LP at a 60% interest. Southern Silver is operator of the project. Since formation of the Joint Venture in September, 2017, the partners have approved over US$3.5 Million in exploration on the project.

About Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

Southern Silver Exploration Corp. is a precious metals exploration and development company with a focus on the discovery of economic mineral deposits in north-central Mexico and the southern USA. Our specific emphasis is the Cerro Las Minitas silver-lead-zinc project located in the heart of Mexico's Faja de Plata, which hosts multiple mineral deposits such as Penasquito, San Martin, Naica, Los Gatos and Pitarrilla. We have assembled a team of highly experienced technical, operational and transactional professionals to support our exploration efforts in developing, along with our partner, Electrum Global Holdings LP, the Cerro Las Minitas project into a premier silver-lead-zinc mine.

The Company engages in the acquisition, exploration and development either directly or through joint-venture relationships in mineral properties in major jurisdictions. Our property portfolio also includes the Oro porphyry copper-gold project located in southern New Mexico, USA. The Oro property consists of patented land, State leases and BLM located mineral claims which cover a highly prospective quartz-sericite-pyrite alteration zone, interpreted to overlie an unexposed porphyry centre and distal sediment-hosted, oxide-gold target.

The 2018 Cerro Las Minitas Resource Estimate was prepared following CIM definitions for classification of Mineral Resources. Resources are constrained using mainly geological constraints and approximate 10g/t AgEq grade shells. The block models are comprised of an array of blocks measuring 10m x 2m x 10m, with grades for Au, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn and AgEq values interpolated using ID2 weighting. The models identified at a 175g/t AgEq cut-off, an indicated resource of 10,135,000 tonnes averaging 102g/t Ag, 0.1g/t Au, 1.4% Pb, 3.6% Zn and 0.15% Cu and a cumulative inferred resource of 8,685,000 tonnes averaging 74g/t Ag, 0.04g/t Au, 0.7% Pb, 4.5% Zn and 0.15% Cu. Mineral Resource cut-offs are estimated using an average long-term price of $16/oz silver, $1,200/oz gold, $2.75/lb Cu, $1.00/lb lead and $1.10/lb zinc and metal recoveries of 82% silver, 86% lead 80% copper and 80% zinc. AgEq calculations did not account for relative metallurgical recoveries of the metals. All prices are stated in $USD. Mineral Resources are conceptual in nature and as such do not have demonstrated economic viability.



The current Resource Estimate was prepared by Garth Kirkham, P.Geo. of Kirkham Geosciences Ltd. who is the Independent Qualified Person responsible for presentation and review of the Mineral Resource Estimate.

Robert Macdonald, MSc. P.Geo, is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and responsible for the supervision of the exploration on the Cerro Las Minitas Project and for the preparation of the technical information in this disclosure.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Lawrence Page"

Lawrence Page, Q.C.

President & Director, Southern Silver Exploration Corp.

For further information, please visit Southern Silver's website at southernsilverexploration.com or contact us at 604.641.2759 or by email at ir@mnxltd.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include the timing and receipt of government and regulatory approvals, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Southern Silver Exploration Corp. does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - Xtra-Gold Resources Corp. (TSX: XTG) (OTCQB: XTGRF) announces that, further to its news release of August 14, 2018, the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") has approved amendments to the terms of 1,250,000 common share purchase warrants at exercise price of $0.50 per common share (the "2016 Warrants") as follows:

- the expiry date has been extended to February 25, 2020

The 2016 Warrants were originally issued pursuant to a non-brokered private placement closed on May 25, 2016.

The above amendment was approved by TSX on September 4, 2018.

About Xtra-Gold Resources Corp.

Xtra-Gold is a gold exploration company with a significant land position in the Kibi greenstone belt ("Kibi Gold Belt") located in Ghana, West Africa. Our main assets comprise of 5 mining leases totaling 55,905 acres.

Forward-Looking Statements

The TSX does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements". These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward- looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of the Company's mineral properties, and the Company's financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contact Information

For further information please contact:

James Longshore

Chief Executive Officer

Tel.: 416-628-2881

E-mail: info@xtragold.com

Website: www.xtragold.com

NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR THROUGH U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES

- 2 -
Chelverton UK Dividend Trust PLC

LEI: 213800DAF47EJ2HT4P78

Board Succession

The Board of Chelverton Small Companies Dividend Trust PLC (the "Company") announces that, as part of its board succession planning, Mr David Harris retired as a Director at the Annual General Meeting held on 6 September 2018. Lord Lamont, the Chairman, thanks him for all his contributions to the board over the years and wishes him well for the future.

The Board are pleased to announce that Mr Andrew Watkins has been appointed to the Board as David Harris's successor and joined the Board after the Annual General Meeting. Andrew has a wealth of experience in the investment trust industry across many sectors since early 1990s.

He has over 25 years' experience in various senior roles with Invesco Perpetual, Jupiter and Flemings and has served as an NED on the Board of an asset management company and the KI Financials Master Fund a Hedge Fund-of-Funds. He is currently a Non-executive Director of F&C UK High Income Trust Plc and Chairman of Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust Plc.

In accordance with paragraphs 9.6.13 (1) to (6) of the Listing Rules, it is confirmed that there are no additional details to be disclosed in relation to Mr Watkins.

For further information please contact:

Chelverton UK Dividend Trust PLC

William van Heesewijk

Chelverton Asset Management

+44 20 7222 8989

Stockdale Securities Limited

Robert Finlay / Owen Matthews

+44 20 7601 6115
VALLEY COTTAGE, New York, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Sodium Metabisulphite Market: Overview

A new decadal study presented by top research firm Future Market Insights studies the demand patterns, trends, and growth scenario of the global sodium metabisulphite market during the period 2018 - 2028. The report focuses on the key applications of sodium metabisulphite across different end-use industries and throws light on the various factors impacting growth in sales of sodium metabisulphite during the period of study. Market projections reveal revenue from the sales of sodium metabisulphite to reach a value of US$ 266.5 Mn by 2028, up from an estimated US$ 159.1 Mn by 2018 end. This is reflective of a CAGR of 5.3% during the aforesaid timeline.

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Food & Beverages Industry to Project Sustained Demand for Sodium Metabisulphite; Mining to Emerge Lucrative End-use Sector in the Coming Years

Sodium metabisulphite is predominantly used in the food and beverages industry as a preservative in dried food products and to enhance the shelf life of fruit juices. However, Future Market Insights predicts demand for industrial grade sodium metabisulphite from the mining and water treatment sectors to surge in the near future. In the mining industry, sodium metabisulphite finds application as a reducing agent to remove cyanide.

Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents and Figures: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1157

Sodium metabisulphite is also used in water treatment as an anti-chlor agent to remove chlorine and heavy metals from water prior to releasing it into natural sources. The textile industry utilises sodium metabisulphite as a bleach to brighten fabric and remove stains and it is also used in the paper and pulp industry as a bleaching agent. These wide applications of sodium metabisulphite have boosted demand across industries, upping revenue in the global market for sodium metabisulphite as a result.

Revenue from the Sales of Sodium Metabisulphite to Receive a Fillip Owing to Burgeoning Demand Across Industries

An increasing demand from the food and beverages industry is a key revenue growth driver for the global sodium metabisulphite market. Besides application as a preservative and to improve product shelf life, sodium metabisulphite is used as a dough softener in bakery products. Sodium metabisulphite finds application in the mining industry for cyanide detoxification in gold mining and also as a source of sulphur dioxide for the destruction of cyanide in the process of commercial gold cyanidation. Over the years, several stringent laws have been imposed on gold extraction plants to completely eliminate cyanide and metal cyanide complexes before final discharge into the environment. This has increased the adoption of sodium metabisulphite in the mining industry.

Preview Analysis Global Sodium Metabisulphite Market Segmentation: By Grade - Food Grade, Industrial/Technical Grade; By End Use Industry - Food and Beverage, Photography and Films, Water Treatment, Mining, Textile, Paper and Pulp, Chemical,Others :https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sodium-metabisulfite-market

As an anti-chlor agent, sodium metabisulphite removes chlorine from water and is extensively used in municipal and industrial water treatment facilities. With declining availability of fresh sources of water, rising levels of water pollution, and climatic changes, governments and global environment protection associations have implemented stringent regulations to conserve existing water resources and reduce water pollution. This has led to an increase in demand for sodium metabisulphite used in the chemical processing of water.

Manufacturers of Sodium Metabisulphite to Expand Production Capacity to Meet Rising Demand from End-use Industries

Rapidly growing demand from the mining and water treatment industries has pushed manufacturers of sodium metabisulphite to increase their production capacity to meet product requirements from multiple industries. A key trend being observed in the global sodium metabisulphite market is the increase in dependence on imports from China. China is the leading producer and consumer of sodium metabisulphite given the easy availability of raw material in the country and presence of a large number of local manufacturers of sodium metabisulphite. Companies functional in the global sodium metabisulphite market find it convenient to import sodium metabisulphite at reduced prices from Chinese manufacturers. This is further expected to boost revenue growth in the global sodium metabisulphite market in the near future.

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More from FMI's Chemicals & Materials Market Intelligence:

Cold Rolling Oils/Lubricants Market Segmentation By Product Type - Synthetic, Semi-Synthetic, Mineral Based; Material Type - Steel, Copper, Aluminum, Others (Titanium, etc.): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/cold-rolling-oils-lubricants-market

Segmentation By Product Type - Synthetic, Semi-Synthetic, Mineral Based; Material Type - Steel, Copper, Aluminum, Others (Titanium, etc.): https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/cold-rolling-oils-lubricants-market Pharma Grade Sodium Bicarbonate Market Segmentation By Application - API, Excipients, Antacids, Haemodialysis, Tablet Coating, Toothpaste, Others; Grade- Fine, Coarse: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/pharma-grade-sodium-bicarbonate-market

Segmentation By Application - API, Excipients, Antacids, Haemodialysis, Tablet Coating, Toothpaste, Others; Grade- Fine, Coarse: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/pharma-grade-sodium-bicarbonate-market Industrial Pipe Insulation Materials Market Segmentation By Material Type - Fiberglass, Mineral Wool, Cellular Glass, Polyurethane, Polystyrene, Others; Product Type - Prefabricated, Rolls & Batts Spray ; End Use - Chemical, Food & Beverages, Oil & Gas, Power, Metal, Manufacturing, Other Industrial: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/industrial-pipe-insulation-materials-market

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BROOKVALE, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2018 / Over the years Cloud computing has steadily emerged to be the go-to platform for performing mission-critical processes. Reports from BVP suggest that the cloud services market will exceed the $500 billion market Cap by 2020.

Cloud computing was initially introduced as a way to help business leverage on extensive computing power without breaking the bank. This has not been the case as several could companies charge a premium for accessing their services.

Widespread business adoption of the cloud is still hindered as CIO's demand more accountability, security, and reliability from cloud services providers if they are to migrate their applications on to the cloud.

While the possibilities for cloud are endless, many recent reports have suggested that almost 30% of the cloud servers are underutilized.

Blockchain and Cloud Computing

Blockchain would be a solution to many of the shortcomings of the cloud. Blockchain integration promises to improve business adoption of cloud platforms. Companies would get much-needed data security and will be helped by reduced costs. Decentralization would also allow for better transparency.

The heterogeneous cloud platform powered by blockchain

Leveraging on Blockchain, Unchainet aims to connect underutilized server systems with businesses in need of computing power.

Unchainet's software application can be used by anyone looking to share their computing infrastructure on the cloud. Unchainet's network would include, data centers, individual providers, crypto miners, and other participants thus creating a heterogeneous and decentralized computing infrastructure. Businesses and individual users can use the cloud marketplace to get instant access to cloud computing services. Users can also migrate from their existing platforms into Unchainet's application platform. Unchainet's cloud marketplace aims to disrupt the cloud computing industry and compete with the likes of AWS and Microsoft.

Unchainet is built on the blockchain, which has several advantages including transparency, data security, fast transaction speeds, and reduced prices. Apart from all this, Unchainet's QoS chain would also enable real-time network monitoring and quality control. Powering all this is the UNET Security token, which will be utilized for all purchases in Unchainet's cloud marketplace.

The UNET Security Token

The UNET token is an ERC-20 based Cryptocurrency which will primarily be used to acquire cloud computing services. Users can also opt for spot purchases using the UNET token where they instant access to required computing power.

The UNET token also facilitates access to big data processing, website hosting, machine learning, server app hosting on the Unchainet platform.

UNET tokens can be purchased by using popular digital assets like bitcoin or USD using the Unchainet client platform. The token can also be used for P2P transactions, for facilitating micropayments and can be traded on exchanges.

The UNET token sale has already commenced with its value set at 0.23 USD. 200 million UNET tokens will get issued from which 134 million will be made available through the token sale.

Conclusion

By offering a decentralized cloud infrastructure, Unchainet will make cloud computing accessible to individuals and startups while existing businesses can secure data ownership through its blockchain. It also gives miners and other providers a seamless way to transfer their unused processing power to the needed individuals.

Finally, the UNET token facilitates purchases in the Unchainet marketplace to bring down transaction computing costs and will also provide access to various platforms and services in the marketplace while simultaneously working as a micropayments solution.

Media Contact:

Name: Joey Jones

Company: https://www.unchainet.com/

Phone: 1-512-800-0645

Email: joey@unchainet.com

SOURCE: Unchainet
A.M. Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to "a+" from "a" and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) of MAPFRE GLOBAL RISKS, Compania Internacional de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A.(MGR) (Spain). MGR is a subsidiary of MAPFRE S.A. (MAPFRE), the non-operating holding company of the MAPFRE group. The outlooks of these Credit Ratings (ratings) remain stable.

The ratings reflect MGR's balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorises as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also factor in MGR's strategic importance to the MAPFRE group, as its key contributor of premium revenue and earnings to the group. MGR is the group's internal specialist for complex, industrial risks, and is strongly integrated within the MAPFRE group.

The Long-Term ICR upgrade reflects MAPFRE's improved credit rating fundamentals, characterised by a very strong balance sheet, a strong operating performance, with solid earnings from its Spanish insurance and global reinsurance operations, and a favourable business profile. The sustained improvement in Spain's macroeconomic conditions over recent years has also influenced the group's rating fundamentals positively.

MGR's balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation being at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), despite significant intragroup holdings, which incur high capital charges within the model. MGR benefits from good organic capital generation, with its shareholder having demonstrated a willingness to support the company by foregoing dividends in recent years. A.M. Best's assessment also considers the high concentration within the investment portfolio to intercompany investments, as well as the company's relatively high dependence on reinsurance due to its business model, which incorporates a number of fronting arrangements for captives.

The operating performance assessment factors in MGR's strong historical performance up to 2016, which is offset partially by a recent increase in the volatility of underwriting results as the company continues to expand internationally. Technical performance in 2017 was impacted adversely by a significant increase in the level of both catastrophe and large losses, generating a combined ratio of 135.2%, as calculated by A.M. Best. An extensive review of the company's portfolio was performed subsequently to assist management in taking adequate corrective actions. As at half-year 2018, the company's results have seen a recovery due to a relatively benign loss environment during the period.

MGR's business profile is supported by a strong brand awareness, a recognised expertise, and long-standing relationships with clients. The restructuring of MGR, which is expected to be complete by January 2019, will see MGR's insurance and reinsurance business transferred to MAPFRE Espana, Compania de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A. and MAPFRE RE, Compania de Reaseguros, S.A., respectively. MGR will continue managing the relationship with policyholders and be responsible for technical aspects, including underwriting large risk business and claims management on behalf of the group. A.M. Best will continue to monitor the restructuring and its impact on MAPFRE's rated subsidiaries closely.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best press releases, please view Guide for Media Proper Use of Best's Credit Ratings and A.M. Best Rating Action Press Releases

A.M. Best is a global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information

Copyright 2018 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005630/en/

Contacts:

A.M. Best

Jessica Botelho, CA

Financial Analyst

+44 20 7397 0310

jessica.botelho@ambest.com

or

Ghislain Le Cam, CFA, FRM

Director, Analytics

+44 20 7397 0268

ghislain.lecam@ambest.com

or

Christopher Sharkey

Manager, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

or

Jim Peavy

Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644

james.peavy@ambest.com
PALM BEACH, Florida, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

MarketNewsUpdates.com News Commentary

Recent data extracted by Technavio estimates the global CBD market will grow at a CAGR of 31% through 2022, continuing the industry's trend as one of the more consistent sectors in the area of growth. As of 2017, the market was valued north of $200 billion with a significant portion of the growth due in large part to increasing adoption among mainstream consumers. Other significant factors influencing the growth include product diversification by industry leaders, as well as a turn of the tide in the realm of regulation and legalization. An extract of Cannabis, CBD has proven its versatility for a wide variety of uses and there is no denying its enormous popularity that has emerged in a short period of time. Active cannabis companies in the markets this week include Integrated Cannabis Company, Inc. (CSE:ICAN) (OTC:ICNAF), Valens GroWorks Corp. (CSE:VGW), Namaste Technologies Inc. (OTC:NXTTF) (TSX-V:N), Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. (CSE:GLH) (OTC:GLDFF), Centric Health Corporation (TSX:CHH) (OTC:CHHHF).

Integrated Cannabis Company, Inc. (CSE:ICAN) (OTCQB:ICNAF) BREAKING NEWS:Integrated Cannabis Company is pleased to provide a corporate update. Commercial Stage Products: X-SPRAYS - The Company's X-SPRAYS product line consists of eight market ready orally ingested spray products that are highly effective for overall health and well-being as well as general lifestyle. Four products are available infused with hemp-based cannabidiol (CBD) and four products are formulated without a cannabidiol (CBD) infusion. The state of the art formulations are free from artificial flavours, artificial colours, sugar, starch, wheat, soy, gluten, eggs, salt and dairy. The sprays contain natural fruit and/or herbal flavours and are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The products are highly bioavailable such that the active ingredients in the sprays are already fully dissolved, so the vitamins and minerals do not need to be further broken down once swallowed, but are immediately available for use by the body.

The X-SPRAYS product line is packaged in precise, metered dose and convenient spray tubes including a child-resistant version, both of which easily fit into a purse or pocket and are ideal for travel. The container protects the liquid from light and air, ensuring the quality and shelf life of the ingredients. The full product offering is listed below in Table 1.0.

Product Name Product Description / Use CBD Stress relief, pain management Sleep with CBD Sleep aid, non habit forming Focus Mental clarity Relief General relief Sleep Sleep aid, non-habit forming Recover Anti-hangover Energy Energy boost Libido Aphrodisiac, enhance sexual vitality

X-SPRAYS Test Marketing - Online sales of the X-SPRAYS were initiated in late 2017 and have continued up to the present. These sales have been encouraging, considering the previously limited marketing budget, and the Company has seen numerous repeat customer orders which demonstrates product uptake and consumer affinity for the X-SPRAYS.

In addition to Internet sales, the Company has test marketed selected products in two Medical Marijuana dispensaries in Colorado. These sales began in February 2018 and continue. Proceeds from these sales have been reinvested in Colorado marketing initiatives. The Company has learned, however, that marketing combined with in-store promotions can generate minimum sales in excess of 1 product per day in the retail environment. While this number is insignificant from a revenue perspective on a small scale retail distribution, it becomes significant when considering retail distribution outlets in the hundreds of locations. A single product selling only one unit per day in 100 stores could generate wholesale revenue in excess of tens of thousands of dollars per day. The Company has four products that are CBD infused, four non-CBD infused and a soon to be launched line of THC products that will have multiple SKU's. With market testing complete, X-SPRAYS plans to roll out additional brick and mortar distribution throughout dispensaries, vape stores, gas stations, and convenience stores across the country. Read this and more news for ICAN athttp://www.marketnewsupdates.com/news/ican.html

Other recent developments in the cannabis industry include:



Valens GroWorks Corp. (CNQ:VGW.CN), a multi-licensed, vertically integrated provider of cannabis products and services utilizing proprietary extraction processes recently announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Colombian-based licensed producer Eticann S.A.S. Zomac ("Eticann") for: > the Company to purchase cannabis materials from Eticann; > the exclusive right for the Company to provide extraction services for Eticann's premium cannabis oil product offerings; > the provision of extraction service expertise to Eticann for toll processing services in Colombia and surrounding markets; and > Option to purchase up to 50% of Eticann's issued and outstanding shares.



Namaste Technologies Inc. (OTCQB:NXTTF) (TSX-V:N.V) came to a close up 7.68% on Wednesday with a volume north of 4.5 million. The company recently announced it has achieved a 300% month-on-month growth rate in its Canadian marketplace, in comparison with August of 2017, and 50% growth globally. In the month of August of 2018, the Company generated $1.65M in revenue which represents a 50% increase in revenue in comparison with August of 2017 after consideration of the loss of revenue due to Namaste divesting its US assets that were incorporated into its 2017 sales. The Company has also achieved over 300% growth on its Canadian websites, which now includes over 17,000 customers. The Company has been focused on developing its Canadian market by enhancing its e-commerce platform and focusing on organic growth through content production, search-engine optimization ("SEO") and in implementation of its proprietary AI technology through the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Findify AB ("Findify" or "Findify.io"). With increased competition in the Canadian market, Namaste is pleased to have achieved such significant growth in a key market for the Company.



Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. (CNQ:GLH.CN) (OTCQB:GLDFF) recently announced it signed a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire a combined cultivation, production and retail license in Northern California, dubbed a "Sweet 16" license. It is one of only 16 licenses of its kind issued by the City of San Jose that allows the holder to operate in a vertically integrated fashion. "We are excited to introduce our brands and competencies to the 5th largest economy in the world. This is a natural progression given that we operate in the neighboring states of Oregon and Nevada. As part of an announcement we made August 13, 2018, we launched into the California market with our signing of the definitive agreement to purchase the assets of Tahoe Hydroponics Company, LLC and 11T Corp., which involves the acquisition of a ~28,800 ft2 facility under development in Sacramento, California. Adding production and retail licenses complements our entry into California in a meaningful way. The approval of this single, multi-faceted license is expected to swiftly position us for this market. In anticipation of this development, my team has been working diligently on a wholesale and retail deployment plan, supported by investments in production and supply chain that we expect will generate revenues in a relatively short period of time from the date of closing," said William Simpson, CEO of Golden Leaf.



Centric Health Corporation (TSX:CHH.TO) (OTCPK:CHHHF) recently announced it has entered into multi-year supply and service agreements with Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy Growth") (NYSE:CGC) (TSX:WEED) for the provision of medical cannabis. Under the agreements, Canopy Growth will be the preferred education partner and supplier of choice of medical cannabis primarily through its Spectrum Cannabis brand to Centric Health and the seniors that it serves both in long-term care and retirement residences, as well as seniors living in the community. Spectrum Cannabis and Centric Health will work collaboratively to educate Centric Health's clinical pharmacists, as well as other healthcare partners, residents and seniors and their families, on the benefits and potential applications of medical cannabis. Centric Health's clinical pharmacists are in an ideal position to provide guidance on the safe use of medical cannabis as they are specially trained in geriatric medicine. Many seniors face significant barriers when it comes to access and knowledge around the benefits of medical cannabis but with the support of trained pharmacists and educators, the seniors that Centric Health serves and those living within the community will have the ability to receive assessments and on-going support from a pharmacist to ensure the highest degree of safety and efficacy. Centric Health's unwavering commitment to quality care and resident outcomes through their existing pharmacy operations and focused strategy of expanding service offerings to seniors in the community makes for an ideal long-term strategic partnership.



DISCLAIMER: MarketNewsUpdates.com (MNU) is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. MNU is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. MNU and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. MNU's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. MNU is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed MNU has been compensated twenty five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Integrated Cannabis Company, Inc. by a non-affiliated third party. MNU HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.



This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MNU undertakes no obligation to update such statements.





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PUNE, India, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new market research report "Structural Heart Devices Market by Product (Heart Valve Devices (Transcatheter and Surgical), Occluders and Delivery Systems, Annuloplasty Rings, and Accessories), Procedure (Replacement and Repair) - Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is projected to reach USD 15.08 billion by 2023 from USD 9.28 billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 10.2%.

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Browse 106 market data Tables and 34 Figures spread through 144 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Structural Heart Devices Market"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/structural-heart-device-market-161123753.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

The key factors driving the growth of this market are the rising prevalence of structural heart diseases, regulatory approvals of new and advanced structural heart devices, favorable reimbursement scenario, and increasing awareness about structural heart diseases.

The heart valve devices segment is expected to account for the largest share of the market, by product, in 2018

On the basis of products, the Structural Heart Devices Market is segmented into heart valve devices, occluders and delivery systems, annuloplasty rings, other devices, and accessories. The heart valve devices segment is further subdivided into transcatheter heart valves and surgical heart valves. The heart valve devices segment is expected to account for the largest market share in 2018. The growing number of transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures performed across the globe, the efficacy and durability of these products, and the growing number of regulatory approvals for heart valve devices are some of the key factors supporting the growth of this product segment.

By procedure, the replacement procedures segment is expected to command the largest share of the market in 2018

On the basis of procedure, the market has been broadly segmented into replacement procedures and repair procedures. The replacement procedures segment is further segmented into TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve replacement) procedures and SAVR (surgical aortic valve replacement) procedures, while the repair procedures segment is subdivided into closure procedures, annuloplasty, valvuloplasty, and TMVR procedures. The replacement procedures segment is expected to account for the largest share of the Structural Heart Devices Market in 2018. This can be attributed to the long-term durability of these procedures and the widespread preference for transcatheter replacement.

Ask for PDF Brochure:https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=161123753

North America to dominate the Structural Heart Devices Market in 2018

North America is expected to account for the largest share of the Structural Heart Devices Market in 2018, followed by Europe. The large share of North America in the global market is attributed to factors such as the rising prevalence of structural heart diseases, favorable reimbursement scenario for structural heart procedures and devices, technological advancements, and development of innovative devices.

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (US), Medtronic plc (Ireland), Abbott (US), Boston Scientific Corporation (US), and LivaNova plc (UK) are the key players in the Structural Heart Devices Market. The other players in this market are CryoLife, Inc. (US), Micro Interventional Devices, Inc. (US), Braile Biomedica (Brazil), Lepu Medical Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (China), and TTK Healthcare Limited (India).

Know more about the Structural Heart Devices Market:

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/structural-heart-device-market-161123753.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.



Contact:

Mr. Shelly Singh

MarketsandMarkets INC.

630 Dundee Road

Suite 430

Northbrook, IL 60062

USA: +1-888-600-6441

Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com



Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/structural-heart-device-market.asp

Connect with us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets
Globe Capital Limited - New Subsidiary and Change of Adviser

Globe Capital Ltd

("Globe Capital or the "Company)

6 September 2018

New subsidiary and Change of Corporate Adviser

Globe Capital Limited is pleased to announce the setup of a new office in Business Bay, Dubai. The company has also set up a new subsidiary; Vogel Marketing Services FZE in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. The company will promote companies from the UK and EU within the gulf region.

David Barnett will be the sole director of Vogel.

Globe is also pleased to announce the appointment of First Sentinel Corporate Finance as the Company's new Corporate Advisor.



The Directors of the company accept responsibility for this announcement.

David Barnett

Chairman

Globe Capital Ltd

Tel +1-855-280-6793

E-mail: admin@globecapitalltd.com

NEX Corporate Adviser:

Brian Stockbridge

First Sentinel Corporate Finance

Suite 12A

55 Park Lane

Mayfair, London

W1K 1NA

Tel +44 (0) 207 183 7405

E-mail: Brian@first-sentinel.com
Paris, 6 September 2018 - 18:00

Coface announces the signature of an agreement to acquire PKZ, the credit insurance subsidiary of SID Bank

Coface announces today that it has signed a binding agreement with SID Bank, a Slovenian public bank, to acquire 100% of PKZ capital, a credit insurance subsidiary of SID Bank.

Created by SID Bank in 2005, PKZ is the market leader in credit insurance in Slovenia, with a strong market share. In 2017, the company recorded 15.1m of gross written premiums on an export business focused portfolio.

The acquisition of PKZ by Coface is subject to usual regulatory approvals which are expected to be issued in the coming months.

Coface expects a slightly positive impact on its earnings per share in 2019 and a neutral impact on its solvency ratio.

Declan Daly, CEO Central Europe region commented:

"This acquisition will strengthen our footprint in Central Europe and will improve the service we provide to our customers in this region. PKZ benefits from solid market shares and we count on the contribution of its teams, who will join our regional platform to continue its development."

Xavier Durand, CEO of Coface, added:

"This acquisition is perfectly aligned with Coface's strategy. We are strengthening our presence in a strategic and growing region. This agreement demonstrates Coface's ability to grow selectively and to allocate capital efficiently, in line with the objectives of our Fit to Win strategic plan."

CONTACTS







MEDIA RELATIONS







Monica COULL

T. +33 (0)1 49 02 25 01

monica,coull@coface,com (mailto:monica.coull@coface.com)







ANALYSTS / INVESTORS







Thomas JACQUET

T. +33 (0)1 49 02 12 58

thomas,jacquet@coface,com (mailto:thomas.jacquet@coface.com)







Ana Cecilia URIBE ARCE DE BREANT

T. +33 (0)1 49 02 22 40

anacecilia.uribearce@coface,com (mailto:anacecilia.uribearce@coface,com)





FINANCIAL CALENDAR 2018 (subject to change)

9M-2018 results: 24 October 2018, after market close

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

This press release, as well as COFACE SA's integral regulatory information, can be found on the Group's website: http://www.coface.com/Investors (http://www.coface.com/Investors)

For regulated information on Alternative Performance Measures (APM)

please refer to our Interim Financial Report for S1-2018 and our 2017 Registration Document.

Coface: for trade - Building business together

70 years of experience and the most finely meshed international network have made Coface a reference in credit insurance, risk management and the global economy. With the ambition to become the most agile, global trade credit insurance partner in the industry, Coface's experts work to the beat of the world economy, supporting 50,000 clients in building successful, growing and dynamic businesses. The Group's services and solutions protect and help companies take credit decisions to improve their ability to sell on both their domestic and export markets. In 2017, Coface employed ~4,100 people and registered turnover of

1.4 billion.

www,coface,com (http://www.coface.com)

COFACE SA is quoted in Compartment A of Euronext Paris

Code ISIN : FR0010667147 / Mnemonique : COFA

DISCLAIMER - Certain declarations featured in this press release may contain forecasts that notably relate to future events, trends, projects or targets. By nature, these forecasts include identified or unidentified risks and uncertainties, and may be affected by many factors likely to give rise to a significant discrepancy between the real results and those stated in these declarations. Please refer to chapter 5 "Main risk factors and their management within the Group" of the Coface Group's 2017 Registration Document filed with AMF on 5 April 2018 under the number No. D.18-0267 in order to obtain a description of certain major factors, risks and uncertainties likely to influence the Coface Group's businesses. The Coface Group disclaims any intention or obligation to publish an update of these forecasts, or provide new information on future events or any other circumstance.

COFACE SA announces the signature of an agreement to acquire PKZ (http://hugin.info/161449/R/2214513/864263.pdf)



This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Coface SA via Globenewswire


In accordance with article L233-8 of commercial law, Wavestone informs its shareholders that as of August 2018, its capital was composed of 5,049,123 shares representing 7,919,948 voting rights according to article 223-11 of the AMF.

In addition, and in compliance with the adoption of Resolution 17 at the combined ordinary and extraordinary shareholders' general meeting of July 26, 2018, the division by 4 of the par value of Wavestone's shares has been effective since September 4, 2018. The 5,049,123 previous shares (ISIN Code: FR0004036036), with a par value of 0.10 have been replaced by 20,196,492 new shares (ISIN Code: FR0013357621) with a par value of 0.025. Total share capital remains unchanged at 504,912.30.

About Wavestone

In a world where understanding transformation is the key to success, Wavestone's ambition is to provide its clients with advice that is unique in the market, enlightening and guiding them in their most strategic decisions.

Wavestone draws on some 2,800 employees in eight countries. It is a leading independent player in European consulting, and the number one in France.

Wavestone is listed on Euronext, Paris, and is eligible for the PEA-PME (a French investment instrument that encourages individuals to invest in smaller and intermediate-sized firms). Wavestone is recognized as a Great Place to Work.

Wavestone

Pascal IMBERT

Chief Executive Officer

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00

Sarah LAMIGEON

Communications Director

Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 03 20 00 Actus

Financial news

Mathieu OMNES

Analyst & investor relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92

Nicolas BOUCHEZ

Press relations

Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 74

------------------------



 Copyright Actusnews Wire

Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free

Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-54878-wavestone_declaration-amf_060918-en.pdf
Signature of a new services agreement on breast cancer with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai

This program's objective is to define the clinical positioning strategy of Eisai new compounds

In 2018, orders generated for Oncodesign may exceed 700 k with the Tsukuba (JP) and Andover (US) research sites

Regulatory News:

ONCODESIGN (Paris:ALONC) (ALONC FR0011766229), a biopharmaceutical group specialized in precision medicine, announced that it is furthering its cooperation with the Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai Co., Ltd. ("Eisai") with the signing of a new services agreement.

This services agreement aims to evaluate the anti-tumor efficacy of Eisai new compounds, alone or in combination with standards of care, on a panel of Patient-Derived Xenografts (PDX) of breast cancer developed specifically by Oncodesign between 2012 and 2017. The methodology used in these preclinical pharmacology studies is based on the Single Mouse Trial (SMT) format, where each preclinical subject represents one patient receiving different treatments. The program will include a total of over 200 investigational arms. The results will help position the use of these new compounds during early clinical phases in sub-populations of patients selected on histological and genetic biomarkers determined jointly with Oncodesign.

"We are pleased to continue this services cooperation with Eisai," said Fabrice Viviani, Head of the Experimentation Division at Oncodesign. "For over ten years, we leveraged the competencies of our pharmacology, translational and sophisticated model development (Chi-mice technology), and pharmaco-imaging teams to evaluate the preclinical efficacy of new compounds generated by Eisai. We also discovered new clinically relevant biomarkers to examine rapidly and reliably groups of patients likely to respond to commercially available treatments."

"We are very committed to our research relations with the Japanese pharmaceutical industry, with whom we have been working for several years on programs based on mutual trust and innovation, " added Philippe Genne, Chairman and CEO of Oncodesign. "This new agreement is part of the international business development strategy of Oncodesign, in line with our objectives to conclude new services agreements over the medium- to long-term."

Oncodesign and Eisai expect to publish shortly the results of previous joint scientific work on the demonstration of the early efficacy of eribulin mesylate on breast tumors of different histological types. This work, conducted with the breast cancer PDX collection developed by Oncodesign, helped characterize genetic biomarkers of the response to treatment.

For over 15 years, Oncodesign maintained a strong cooperation generating many innovations with Japanese biotech and pharmaceutical companies. The first applications in preclinical pharmaco-imaging, the first models of human immune system, and a collection of extremely well substantiated PDXs were developed and implemented by Oncodesign for Japanese clients.

In addition, Oncodesign will hold a conference on the new holistic approaches to cancer drug discovery using PDXs, on October 19th, 2018, during the 6th Annual Hamamatsu Forum in Osaka (Japan).

About ONCODESIGN: www.oncodesign.com

Founded over 20 years ago by Dr Philippe Genne, the Company's CEO and Chairman, Oncodesign is a biopharma company dedicated to the precision medicine. With its unique experience acquired by working with more than 600 clients, including the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, along with its comprehensive technological platform combining state-of-the-art medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, regulated bioanalysis and medical imaging, Oncodesign is able to predict and identify, at a very early stage, each molecule's therapeutic usefulness and potential to become an effective drug. Applied to kinase inhibitors, which represent a market estimated at over $46 billion in 2016 and accounting for almost 25% of the pharmaceutical industry's R&D expenditure, Oncodesign's technology has already enabled the targeting of several promising molecules with substantial therapeutic potential, in oncology and elsewhere, along with partnerships with pharmaceutical groups such as Bristol-Myers Squibb and UCB. Oncodesign is based in Dijon, France, in the heart of the town's university and hospital hub, and within the Paris-Saclay cluster, Oncodesign has 227 employees and subsidiaries in Canada and the USA.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005447/en/

Contacts:

Oncodesign

Philippe Genne

Chairman and CEO

Tel.: +33 (0)3 80 78 82 60

investisseurs@oncodesign.com

or

NewCap

Investor & Media Relations

Mathilde Bohin Arthur Rouille

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 98 52

oncodesign@newcap.eu
BURLINGTON, ON / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2018 / MEMEX Inc. ("MEMEX" or the "Company") (TSX-V: OEE) is proud to announce that it will be showcasing and demonstrating its latest release of MERLIN Tempus Enterprise Edition (EE) at the International Manufacturing Technology show (IMTS) 2018, being held at McCormick Place in Chicago. The show runs from September 10th through the 15th, and MEMEX will be located at booth 133368.

Developed utilizing the latest technology (HTML5, .NET, RESTful API's), MERLIN Tempus' real-time data collection capabilities can capture machine-generated information and real-time sensor data including alarm states, feed and speed rate overrides, as well as various other green-light metrics. This data can then be contextualized in a wide array of easy-to-read visual dashboards and KPI reports.

Tempus provides for easy navigation and has many enhanced features useful to production personnel, engineers, operators and managers for shop floor production operations, including role-based dashboards, Op-Step management functionality, priority and alternate machine routings, asset management, traceability, event manager pan and zoom, analytics, and advanced data source conditioning. The 'enterprise edition' allows for all this plus, with its new durable gateway architecture, allows for multi-plant operations across time zones. The EE also offers bi-directional communication to virtually all ERP systems.

"The 5-steps to success in Data-Driven Manufacturing are: Connect - Visualize - Analyze - Optimize - Monetize. MERLIN Tempus allows manufacturers to take control of this process and optimize operational efficiency at a whole new level.", says David McPhail, CEO & President, MEMEX Inc., "This release of MERLIN is the most scalable and powerful plant monitoring software in the Company's history."

About MEMEX Inc.:

Established in 1992, MEMEX grew to be an industry leader in Industry Internet of Things (IIoT) through the development of MERLIN Tempus, an award-winning platform that delivers real-time, tangible increases in manufacturing productivity. MEMEX is on the leading edge of industry trends in computing power, machine connectivity, industry standards, advanced software technology, and manufacturing domain expertise.

Our persistent pursuit of innovative IIoT solutions led to a comprehensive understanding of the challenges manufacturers face. We made it our mission to, "successfully transform factories of today into factories of the future." As the global leader in Machine to Machine (M2M) connectivity solutions, our hardware and software products create unparalleled visibility at all levels, from "Shop-Floor-to-Top-Floor."

The MERLIN Tempus Suite provides effective quantification and management of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) by revealing hidden capacity using real-time objective data. Further, it offers sustainable benefits that enable world class OEE such as reducing costs, incorporating strategies for continuous LEAN improvement, and boosting bottom line financial performance. For more information, please visit: www.MemexOEE.com

For inquiries please contact:

Sean Peasgood, Investor Relations

647-977-9264

sean@sophiccapital.com

Rashi Rathore, Marketing Manager 905-635-1540 investor.relations@memexOEE.com David McPhail, President & CEO 905-635-1540 investor.relations@memexOEE.com

SOURCE: MEMEX Inc.
Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - BluMetric Environmental Inc. (TSXV: BLM) is pleased to announce the award of a new $1.76 million contract from the Government of Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) for 90 Day Sustainment Kits required to sustain the Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Units (ROWPU) for the Canadian Armed Forces. Work on this contract starts immediately with delivery expected by March 2019.

The ROWPU is considered a mission critical system, as it supports all Canadian Armed Forces troops, and civilians in disaster relief, and therefore must have a guaranteed high reliability state.

"Our 90-Day Sustainment Kits provide necessary ROWPU equipment contingencies to the Canadian Armed Forces, increasing operational confidence in remote areas. BluMetric's technical capabilities, agility and responsiveness make us an ideal fit for this type of work and we are honoured to be involved in such a critical function," said Scott MacFabe, CEO of BluMetric. "We are proud to continue providing economical and highly effective water purification solutions to the Canadian military."

About BluMetric Environmental Inc.

BluMetric Environmental Inc. is a publicly traded environmental consulting and engineered treatment systems company with expertise across disciplines and technologies that allow for the design and delivery of elegant solutions to environmental challenges. Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, BluMetric's team of industry experts serves clients in Canada, the United States, and Central America.

For more information, please visit www.BluMetric.ca, or contact:

Scott MacFabe, CEO

BluMetric Environmental Inc.

Tel: 613.839.3053 x 242

Email: smacfabe@blumetric.ca

Vivian Karaiskos, CFO

BluMetric Environmental Inc.

Tel: 613.839.3053 x 240

Email: vkaraiskos@blumetric.ca

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release, including those relating to the Company's discussions of contractual agreements, future products, opportunities, cost initiatives, strategies, and other statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future events. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the

TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
Advisors announced on eve of Global Climate Action Summit

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A powerful group of international leaders including former U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the first U.S. EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus, actor and activist Leonardo DiCaprio, former President of Finland Tarja Halonen, Secretary of the Smithsonian David J. Skorton, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, television writer and producer Norman Lear, Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn, co-founder of EarthEcho International Philippe Cousteau, Senior Fellow at the Woods Hole Research Center Rafe Pomerance, film producer Stacey Sher, United Nations Foundation CEO Kathy Calvin, founder and managing partner of DBL Partners Nancy Pfund, actor and activist Ed Begley Jr. and Indian actor and producer Anil Kapoor have been named to Earth Day Network's official Global Advisory Committee for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 enlisted 20 million Americans and is credited with launching the modern environmental movement. It led to passage of landmark environmental laws including the Clean Air, Clear Water and Endangered Species Acts. Many countries soon adopted similar laws.

Earth Day is now recognized as the planet's largest civic event. The UN chose Earth Day 2016 to sign the Paris climate agreement.

"Despite past successes, progress has slowed, climate change impacts continue to grow and our adversaries have become better financed," said Earth Day Network president Kathleen Rogers. "We find ourselves today in a world facing global threats that demand a unified global response."

Rogers added, "For Earth Day 2020, we will build a new generation of environmentalist activists, engaging millions of people worldwide. Our 2020 Global Advisory Committee will inspire and guide our work."

"I am honored to be part of this effort to use the benefits of technology to build a global environment movement," said Lisa Jackson, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

"I'm pleased to join this global advisory committee and believe that Earth Day 2020 will inspire a new generation of environmentalists. I particularly look forward to working with EDN on Earth Challenge 2020, one of the largest citizen science projects in the world," said Philippe Cousteau, co-founder of Earth Echo International.

Growing out of the first Earth Day, Earth Day Network (EDN) is the world's largest recruiter to the environmental movement.

Learn more at www.earthday.org

Email: communications@earthday.com

Phone: (202) 518-0044

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/679773/Earth_Day_Network_Logo.jpg
Maharashtra has also been investing to help the logistics sector

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Wednesday said he wants to make the state a logistics hub of the country to tap the growing investments in the sector following the introduction of GST. The entire country has been integrated to become a single market place now and logistics is the fastest growing sector in the country, Fadnavis said at an USIBC event here.

"We have also been investing to help the logistics sector and I want Maharashtra to be the logistics hub of India," he said.

He said 60 percent of the state's hinterland is now connected with the country's largest container port Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust located in the Mumbai metropolitan region.

The state is also creating three dry ports at Wardha, Nashik and Jalna, from where farmers and other exporters will be able to directly send goods that shall ship out from JNPT, he said.

The chief minister said the state is also constructing the country's longest expressway, a 700-km road connecting its capital with Nagpur, which will also aid the logistics sector.

Urging investors to invest in the state, Fadnavis also said the state is at the forefront of the digital economy.

He said there is an abundant supply of human capital through educational sector concentration in places like Pune, that makes Maharashtra a leader in the new economy.

Fadnavis said US-India trade ties are essential because of geopolitical realities in the world and also because of the shared values of freedom and democracy between the two countries.
According to Tata Communications' study based on inputs from 120 global business leaders, Artificial Intelligence will diversify human thinking rather than replace it.

New Delhi: Contrary to popular belief, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have a "positive impact" on workplaces as it would create new job roles besides enhancing employee engagement and decision-making, a report said on Thursday.

According to a Tata Communications' study based on inputs from 120 global business leaders, AI will diversify human thinking rather than replace it.

As per the study, 90 percent leaders agree that cognitive diversity is important for management, while 75 percent respondents expect AI to create new roles for their employees, and 93 percent believe that AI will enhance decision-making.

"While AI will replace some tasks, it will also create new ways of working, new jobs and new roles in companies. AI will also help people, as well as organisations, become more productive. It's not man vs machine, rather man and machine working together," Tata Communications CEO and MD Vinod Kumar told PTI.

The report further noted that AI has the potential to assess each employee's skills and innovation priorities, and suggest activities to spark creative thinking throughout the organisational hierarchy. This can democratise the creative process and increase engagement of all workers.

AI will also free employees from most tedious repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus more on communication and innovation.

"Work will move from being task-based to strategic, enabling workers to enhance their curiosity and creative thinking," it added.

According to Professor Ken Goldberg, a leading AI researcher at UC Berkeley, there is fear now that AI will surpass human thinking and that machines are superior to humans.

But, it is important to keep in mind that while machines do certain things very well, there are many things that they are not very good at, like the nuances of communications, understanding, empathy, and creativity, he said.

"Robots and AI are not going to take away this creative, insightful, empathetic aspect of almost every job," Goldberg noted.

Tata Communications had partnered with Goldberg for the survey.

The study also included 15 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, executives and thought leaders.
The Reserve Bank had in June 2017 directed IDBI Bank, lead lender of Lanco Infratech, to initiate insolvency proceedings for the company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

New Delhi: Leading stock exchange BSE Thursday said trading in the equity shares of Lanco Infratech will be suspended from 14 September, following commencement of liquidation proceedings.

The move comes after the Hyderabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), on 27 August, ordered the liquidation of the company, and appointed resolution professional Savan Godiavala as the liquidator.

The bench ordered the liquidation of the company after the committee of creditors rejected the revised resolution plan submitted by Thriveni Earthmovers, a Tamil Nadu-based infra and mining firm.

"Hence, to avoid market complications, trading in the equity shares of Lanco Infratech Ltd will be suspended with effect from 14 September, 2018," BSE said in a circular.

The Reserve Bank had in June 2017 directed IDBI Bank, lead lender of Lanco Infratech, to initiate insolvency proceedings for the company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The company, among 12 firms identified by the RBI with high debt for proceedings under IBC, owes over Rs 44,000 crore to the IDBI Bank-led lenders consortium.
Shivinder Singh, the younger of the Singh siblings, who were synonymous with each other for decades, sued Malvinder for 'oppression and mismanagement' of their companies.

New Delhi: Former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh has alleged that his elder brother Malvinder forged his wife's signature, perpetrated illegal financial transactions and led the company into an unsustainable debt trap.

In a petition filed before the New Delhi-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the younger of the Singh siblings, who were synonymous with each other for decades, sued Malvinder for "oppression and mismanagement" of their companies.

The petition, which is likely to come up for hearing Thursday, charges Malvinder, 45, and former chairman of Religare Enterprises Ltd Sunil Godhwani of putting the company in a debt trap and acting prejudicially to the interest of its creditors and shareholders.

Malvinder "forged the signatures" of Aditi Singh, Shivinder's wife, in the documents of RHC Holdings Pvt Ltd, which along with Oscar Investments Ltd jointly-owned financial services firm Religare Enterprises Ltd and hospital chain Fortis Healthcare Ltd, it said.

Malvinder and Godhwani "used their respective positions to perpetrate or cause others to perpetrate illegal financial transactions and various acts of mismanagement by and through RHC, leading to massive losses to RHC and its subsidiaries, and a depletion of the wealth," the petition said. Their mismanagement put the company "into an unsustainable debt trap," it said.

Shivinder, whose public shareholding along with that of his elder brother was seized by lenders, besides being probed for illegal withdrawal of funds from Fortis Healthcare, wanted NCLT to remove Malvinder and reconstitute the board of RHC.

He asked NCLT to declare that Malvinder and Godhwani caused grave prejudice to the interest of the company by acting in "collusion with each other".

He also requested NCLT to "direct Malvinder Mohan Singh and Respondent No. 4 (Sunil Godhwani) to restitute the undue gains made by themselves which lead to losses being suffered by the petitioners and RHC Holdings".

Shivinder has also petitioned NCLT to direct Malvinder and Godhwani to "restitute and restore the wealth of RHC Holdings which got eroded due to their unlawful actions" and disclose "their assets, bank accounts and net worth".

The petition filed through law firm RRG & Associates also asked NCLT to direct Malvinder "to return the funds unlawfully taken from Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises".

When contacted, RRG & Associates Managing Partner Ranjana Roy Gawai refused to comment, saying the "matter is subjudice and proprietary demands that we should await the outcome..."

Malvinder Singh could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

Shivinder also requested NCLT to direct Malvinder and Godhwani "not to alienate any interest in any asset anywhere so that recoveries can be effected against them".

While seeking interim relief, Shivinder has sought an injunction "to maintain status quo as on filing of the present Petition" over the shareholding of RHC Holdings till the time of disposal of the matter.

He has also sought "status quo to be maintained on board of directors" of RHC Holdings in his petition filed under section 241, 241 and 244 of the Companies Act, 2013.

In his 43-page petition, Shivinder alleged that signature of his wife Aditi Singh, who had held the post of managing director of RHC Holdings, was forged.

"There are also instances of the petitioner No 3 (Aditi Singh) being shown as present for a board meeting when she was in fact abroad. A resolution of the board of the company dated 25 September 2014, demonstrates the presence of petitioner No 3 in the board meeting, while in fact she was out of the country from 24 September 2014, till 28 September 2014... ," he said.

Shivinder further said: "Aditi Singh mere held the post of managing director on paper and had no role to play in the day to day workings of the company...has always been a homemaker who played no part in the functioning of RHC Holdings."

RHC Holding Pvt Ltd is a non-banking financial company owned by the families of Singh brothers. Currently, Malvinder Singh is the managing director of the firm.
We have decided to exempt EVs and all vehicles including autorickshaws, buses, taxis run on alternative fuel like ethanol, biodiesel, CNG, methanol and biofuel, from permit requirements, Nitin Gadkari said.

New Delhi: The government has decided to exempt electric vehicles (EVs) and automobiles run on alternative fuel from permit requirements in a bid to boost such vehicles in the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Thursday.

Urging automakers to focus in this direction, the minister said demand for EVs could also be created by mandating cab aggregators like Ola and Uber to induct a certain percentage of such vehicles in their fleet.

"We have decided to exempt EVs and all vehicles including autorickshaws, buses, taxis run on alternative fuel like ethanol, biodiesel, CNG, methanol and biofuel, from permit requirements.

"We have taken the decision to make these permit-free," the transport minister said addressing the SIAM annual convention here.

He said the states have agreed to abide by it as the recommendations came from a Group of Ministers of states, headed by Rajasthan Transport Minister Yunus Khan.

Urging automakers to come forward to tap the opportunity of EV production, Gadkari ruled out any financial incentive.

"With GST at 12 percent on EVs, I don't think there is any further need for subsidy. ... we need to think innovatively to bring in that environment. My ministry has prepared a detailed report to raise production of EVs through non-fiscal initiatives in the next five years," Gadkari said clarifying that the subsidy was not mandatory.

His statement comes amid government's efforts to promote eco-friendly vehicles through Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India scheme, which was launched in 2015.

The second phase of FAME India scheme will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7 September.

According to official sources, FAME II offers incentives for mass adoption of EVs with an outlay of Rs 5,500 crore.

Gadkari also said the ministry has done away with the requirement of local testing for initially bringing EVs into India for sale.

"This will be available for a limited number of pieces in the domestic market and if the customers' response is positive then these companies can start making the vehicles in India," he said.

The minister also suggested automakers to diversify into water transport.

"Why don't you diversify. From Allahabad to Varanasi we are maintaining a draft of 1.5 metre. Fifteen crore people will be gathering at Kumbha Mela. You come and run 500-600 seater catamarans. I will give you all permissions in eight days," the minister said.

He said the multimodal hub at Varanasi will be inaugurated soon and 60 river ports offered vast opportunities to automobile makers.

Gadkari also announced that steps will be taken to do away with the requirement of speed governors saying that better highways were there and speed was not the only reason behind accidents.

He also announced that the government will soon ensure two-wheeler taxis everywhere barring metro cities for single passengers, which in turn would generate employment.

On biofuel, Gadkari said its production can cut on huge Rs 30,000 crore aviation fuel imports.

Indigenous production of biofuel is not only import substitute but is cost-effective and checks pollution, he added.
Jet Airways, in which UAE national carrier Etihad holds 24 percent stake, is facing acute cash crunch after posting two back-to-back quarterly losses this year

Mumbai: With Jet Airways delaying salaries of its pilots and engineers for the second consecutive month amid a severe financial crunch, its pilots have warned the management of "non-cooperation" over default on payments.

The Naresh Goyal-promoted private airline, in which UAE national carrier Etihad holds 24 percent stake, is facing acute cash crunch after posting two back-to-back quarterly losses this year.

While its losses stood at Rs 1,036 crore in the March quarter, the losses jumped to Rs 1,300 crore RPT crore in the subsequent June quarter of the current fiscal.

"Withholding salaries, that too without prior notice, is a serious matter and the management will bear sole responsibility for any repercussions," Jet Airways' pilots

said in a communication to the management earlier this week.

"We would like to advise that failure to address the above points and not paying the salaries on time would lead to non-cooperation by pilots," they warned.

Response to a query sent to Jet Airways on this was awaited.

Significantly, Jet Airways had delayed payment of July salaries to its staff earlier.

It had proposed an up to 25 per cent cut in salaries of its employees in late June but was forced to defer the plan following opposition from its pilots' union - National Aviator's Guild (NAG) - and engineers.

"(Earlier) it was agreed that, henceforth, salaries would be paid on time and, if there were to be a delay, the same would be communicated to the pilots well in time," the pilots said.

"We are deeply disappointed over both these conditions being violated by the management and the pilot body would be sure to share our disappointment," they said.

The pilots had written to airline chief executive Vinay Dube late last month expressing their displeasure over the "unnecessary" increase in expenditure in the recent times.

In the fresh letter, they have also demanded that "all unnecessary positions and committees/ groups created in the last three months be dissolved with immediate effect and the hiring of the expensive expats (vis-a-vis domestic pilots) be stopped forthwith."

"We trust you will treat the above with the urgency it deserves and take immediate steps to resolve the situation," they said in the communication.
The courts order came after it was informed by the counsel for Malvinder, who was present in the court, that his 45 lakh equity shares in Religare Healthcare Pvt Ltd were sold in Singapore in April.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed former Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd promoter Malvinder Singh to deposit with it 3.5 million Singapore dollars, which he obtained by selling his shares in a company in violation of the courts direction.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher said undoubtedly there had been disobedience of the courts previous directions by Malvinder, who along with his brother Shivinder Singh, was directed not to sell the assets. The courts order came after it was informed by the counsel for Malvinder, who was present in the court, that his 45 lakh equity shares in Religare Healthcare Pvt Ltd were sold in Singapore in April. The counsel said Malvinder had received 3.5 million Singapore dollars by selling the shares and the amount was used by him and his brother to pay EMIs of an apartment in Singapore to avoid default.

The court was hearing a petition of Japanese pharma major Daiichi Sankyo, which had sought execution of the Rs 3,500 crore Singapore tribunal arbitral award won by it in April 2016. Daiichis counsel contended that Malvinder was in contempt of the courts February 19 directions by which the two brothers were directed to maintain status quo on the assets they had disclosed during the case. The court had restrained the brothers and 12 others from selling or transferring their shares or any movable or immovable property as disclosed by them before the high court earlier.

Taking note of the breach of directions passed by it, the judge said: Undoubtedly there had been disobedience of the directions of the court. For the moment respondent 1 (Malvinder) is directed to deposit the money received by him upon sale of these shares with the registry of this court.

The court, during an over two-hour-long hearing, directed that the amount be deposited within four weeks. On being informed that the local commissioner, appointed by the court, had sold shares of the Singh brothers in listed companies, the judge said that Rs 9.2 crore received from the sale should be released to Daiichi. The court, however, asked Daiichi to file an affidavit stating that if orders were passed in future to re-deposit the money, the company will comply.

The court turned down the plea of several private banks, including Yes Bank and Axis Bank, to whom Singhs owned money, that some amount be released to them also since the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) had passed the attachment order in their favour.

The high court had on 10 August restrained the Singh brothers from operating their bank accounts in India or abroad and selling any property. It had directed the brothers and their firms RHC Holding Pvt Ltd and Oscar Investments Ltd to disclose the bank account details. The court had also recorded on oath the statements of the brothers in which they were asked various questions ranging from number of bank accounts in India and abroad, their balances, properties, sculptures and assets.

A Singapore tribunal had in April 2016 passed the award in Daiichis favour, holding that the brothers had concealed information that their company was facing probe by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice, while selling shares. The high court on 31 January upheld the international arbitral award passed in the favour of Daiichi, and paved the way for enforcement of the 2016 tribunal award against the brothers who had sold their shares in Ranbaxy to Daiichi in 2008 for Rs 9,576 crore. Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd later acquired the company from Daiichi.

Daiichi then moved the high court, seeking direction to the brothers to take steps towards paying its Rs 3,500 crore arbitration award, including depositing the amount. It had also urged the court to attach their assets, which could be used to recover the award.

On 16 February, the Supreme Court had dismissed Singh brothers appeal against the high court verdict upholding the international arbitral award. Singh brothers counsel had argued that the award granted consequential damages, which were beyond the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal and the award cannot be enforced under the provision of the Arbitration Act. They had claimed that Daiichi was fully aware of all facts and still chose to retain Ranbaxys shares, instead of terminating the agreement and returning them.

On Tuesday, Shivinder Singh filed a case of oppression against his brother Malvinder Singh and family friend Sunil Godhwani for systematically undermining the interests of Fortis Healthcare Ltd and related firms. I have filed a case against Malvinder and Sunil Godhwani in NCLT the for oppression and mismanagement of RHC Holding, Religare and Fortis, Shivinder said in a three-page document.
NCLAT has now given four-weeks time to Tata to file reply and two weeks-time to Mistry for filing rejoinder, if any.

New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) Wednesday extended the hearing of the Tata-Mistry matter to 31 October, as Tata Group sought some more time to file their replies.

Earlier on 24 August, while passing an interim order the appellate tribunal had asked Tatas to file their reply within 10 days and directed to list the matter on September 24 for next hearing.

The time to file reply was ending on Thursday, following which Tata side approached NCLAT for extension to file their replies.

NCLAT has now given four-weeks time to Tata to file reply and two weeks-time to Mistry for filing rejoinder, if any.

Now, both petitions filed by ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry and the investments firm Cyrus Investments will come for hearing on 31 October.

Last week, Cyrus P Mistry had moved NCLAT in his personal capacity, requesting the appellate tribunal to set aside the impugned order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal on 9 July.

On August 29, NCLAT had admitted Mistry's petition and issued notices. It had said the petition would be heard together with petitions filed by his family's investment firms, challenging the removal as well as conversion of Tata Sons into a private company from a public limited firm.

Earlier, on 24 August, NCLAT passed an order over the petitions filed by the investments firm of Mistry family and directed Tata Sons not to force the companies to sell their shares in the Tata group firm.

The appellate tribunal had also admitted the petitions of Mistry's family-run firms.

The Mistry camp had challenged the July 9 order of the Mumbai bench of the NCLT which dismissed their pleas against his removal as Tata Sons chairman, as also the allegations of rampant misconduct on part of Ratan Tata and the company's Board.
By Trend





The National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) signed an agreement on cooperation worth $50 million.

The agreement envisages cooperation with Afreximbank in trade finance, as well as the opening of credit lines to finance the export of goods and services from Egypt and other African countries to Uzbekistan, National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan said Sept. 5.

According to the message, the signed agreement will strengthen bilateral cooperation and promote the development of trade and investment ties of Uzbekistan with Egypt and African countries.

Presently, Uzbekistan mainly exports textile products, food, transport and tourism services, while Egypt exports pharmaceutical products, agricultural products, household chemicals.
A two-member bench headed by NCLT President Justice M M Kumar issued notices to Malvinder Singh, Sunil Godhwani and others after Shivinder Singh's petition over alleged 'oppression and mismanagement' of RHC Holdings.

New Delhi: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday issued notices to Malvinder Mohan Singh, ex-Religare chief Sunil Godhwani and others, and also directed to maintain status quo over the shareholdings and composition of RHC Holdings board after the plea of younger brother Shivinder Singh.

The tribunal also allowed both parties Shivinder Singh and his wife Aditi Singh and other party Malvinder Singh to inspect documents and take photocopies of the records of RHC Holdings.

A two-member bench headed by NCLT President Justice M M Kumar issued notices to Malvinder, Godhwani and others after Shivinder's petition over alleged "oppression and mismanagement" of RHC Holdings.

"We allow both parties to access, examine records. They can also take photocopies in accordance with law," the tribunal said.

The tribunal also directed Malvinder Singh and other respondents to file their replies within 10 days and sought rejoinder from Shivinder Singh in two weeks.

The NCLT has posted the matter on 9 October for next hearing.

Former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh had moved NCLT to remove his elder brother Malvinder from the board of RHC Holdings alleging "blatant acts of mismanagement" by him and also asked to reconstitute the board of the company.

Shivinder in his petition filed before the NCLT had alleged "illegal and unlawful manipulation of records" of RHC Holdings including forging of signature of his wife Aditi Singh, while asking the NCLT to declare that Malvinder and ex-Religare chief Sunil Godhwani caused grave prejudice to the interest of the company by acting in "collusion with each other".

The younger brother had also requested the tribunal to allow him or his authorised representatives to inspect the statutory records of RHC Holdings and taking copies thereof.

He had prayed to "reconstitute the Board of Directors of Respondent No. 1 company (RHC Holdings) in exclusion of Respondent No. 2 (Malvinder Mohan Singh) and/or his officer, agent, servant or representative".

Shivinder has also requested NCLT to "direct Malvinder Mohan Singh and Respondent No. 4 (Sunil Godhwani) to restitute the undue gains made by themselves which lead to losses being suffered by the petitioners and RHC Holdings".

Shivinder Singh has also prayed NCLT to direct Malvinder Singh and Sunil Godhwani to "restitute and restore the wealth of RHC Holdings which got eroded due to their unlawful actions" and disclose "their assets, bank accounts and net worth".

The petition filed through law firm RRG & Associates also asked NCLT to direct Malvinder "to return the funds unlawfully taken from Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises".

Shivinder also requested NCLT to direct Malvinder and Godhwani "not to alienate any interest in any asset anywhere so that recoveries can be effected against them".

While seeking interim relief, Shivinder had sought an injunction "to maintain status quo as on filing of the present Petition" over the shareholding of RHC Holdings till the time of disposal of the matter.

He also sought "status quo to be maintained on board of directors" of RHC Holdings in his petition filed under section 241, 241 and 244 of the Companies Act, 2013.

In his 43-page-long petition, Shivinder also alleged that signature of his wife Aditi Singh, who had held the post of managing director of RHC Holdings, was forged.

"There are also instances of the petitioner No 3 (Aditi Singh) being shown as present for a board meeting when she was in fact abroad. A resolution of the board of the company dated September 25, 2014 demonstrates the presence of petitioner No 3 in the board meeting, while in fact she was out of country from September 24, 2014, till September 28, 2014... ," he said.

Shivinder further said: "Aditi Singh mere held the post of managing director on paper and had no role to play in the day to day workings of the company...has always been a home maker who played no part in the functioning of RHC Holdings."

RHC Holding Pvt Ltd is a non-banking financial company owned by the families of Singh Brothers. Currently, Malvinder Singh is managing director of the firm.
The 131-year-old Sandoz unit was hurt by price pressure in the United States, prompting Novartis Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan to sell the Sandoz unit.

Novartis AG said on Thursday it would sell the dermatology and generic US oral solids portfolios of Sandoz US to Indias Aurobindo Pharma Ltd for $900 million, as the Swiss drugmaker looks to focus on higher growth areas.

The deal also includes about 300 products and additional development projects of Sandoz and an additional $100 million in performance-based payments, Novartis said.

The 131-year-old Sandoz unit was hurt by price pressure in the United States, prompting Novartis Chief Executive Officer Vas Narasimhan to sell the Sandoz unit.

He has so far said Sandoz businesses elsewhere remain core parts of Novartis. Narasimhan is also keeping Sandoz biosimilars business - less-expensive near copies of complex biological medicines whose patents have expired - on hopes that rising demand from cash-strapped governments and insurers seeking to contain costs will help Sandoz boost its margins.

Novartis had earlier this year expressed its intention to sell the Sandoz unit after reporting disappointing sales to form the unit.

Through this transaction, we are refocusing our business but also striving to ensure continuity of supply of important long-used generic medicines for patients and customers in the US, said Richard Francis, Sandoz chief executive.

Following the transaction, the Sandoz US portfolio will continue to be substantial, and will include biosimilars, value-added medicines and complex generics such as injectables, respiratory and ophthalmics, the company said.

Overall the transaction will position Aurobindo as the 2nd largest dermatology player and the 2nd largest generics company in the US by prescriptions, said N Govindarajan, Managing Director of Aurobindo Pharma.

As part of the transaction, Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc, a unit of the Hyderabad, India-based company, will acquire the plants in Wilson, North Carolina, as well as Hicksville and Melville, New York, Novartis said.

About 750 employees, as well as the field representatives for the PharmaDerm branded dermatology business, are expected to transfer to Aurobindo upon closing, Novartis said.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had restricted the three directors from drawing more than Rs 1 lakh a month

The Supreme Court, last month, reportedly offered a temporary reprieve to three former independent directors of Nirav Modi-led Firestar International, giving them access to their bank accounts, a media report said.

Suresh Senapathy, Gautam Mukkavilli and Sanjay Rishi, the three former independent directors for Firestar were restrained from accessing their bank accounts as part of an ongoing investigation in the Punjab National Bank fraud (PNB).

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had restricted the three directors from drawing more than Rs 1 lakh a month.

Its been six months and still the investigation is far from over. So, we dont know what will be the outcome after more FIRs (first information reports) are filed. For now, the Supreme Court has stayed the NCLAT order, a lawyer of one of the independent directors was quoted as saying by Mint.

In July, the NCLAT set aside an NCLT order giving a reprieve to five independent directors of Nirav Modi-led Firestar International and paved the way for the government to attach their assets to recover dues related to the PNB fraud case.

The other two directors are Sujal Shah and Gopal Krishnan Nair.

Allowing the government's appeal, the tribunal set aside the NCLT Mumbai order observing that they had exposure with the PNB and are found to be beneficiaries of the fraud, and without waiting for the report of the SFIO it was not open to exonerate some of the respondents.

"Though it was brought to the notice of the Tribunal that the respondent Companies, individuals including existing and erstwhile Directors, partners, trustees, beneficiaries and their associates or subsidiaries and firms had exposure with the PNB and are prima facie found to be beneficiaries of the fraud.. without waiting for the report of the SFIO it was not open to the Tribunal to exonerate some of the Respondents from the charges," the NCLAT said.

Billionaire Modi, his uncle Mehul Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after the scam came to light in January following a complaint by the PNB that they had allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The Enforcement Directors (ED) registered the money laundering case against Modi, his firms and others on the basis of a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR.

With inputs from PTI
Reports suggest that Air India is currently in debt to the tune of Rs. 500 billion, and reported a loss of Rs. 57.6 billion in March last year.

Qatar Airways has reportedly expressed interest in financially-strained national passenger carrier Air India, provided that the airline comes without the 'baggage', a media report said.

Look, it is not the debt thats the baggage  it is the other functions that Air India carries out such as ground handling, engineering and things like that are. We would be interested only in the airline, Qatar Airways group CEO Akbar Al Baker was quoted as saying by The Economic Times.

Baker also said that Qatar Airways would be interested in Air India if it had a strong partner.

The latest development comes two days after Air India was assured of Rs 2,100 crore from the Centre in the form of guaranteed borrowing.

On 29 August, sources quoted a civil aviation official informing a parliamentary panel that the disinvestment of financially-strained national passenger carrier Air India would not happen in the near future.

"They don't have any plans in the near future as they don't have any buyers," said a member of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture who was present at a panel meeting attended by Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey.

The Central government had invited Expression of Interest on 28 March for disinvestment of Air India, including its shareholding interest in Air India Express Ltd and Air India SATS. But it received no response till 31 May, the closing day.

On 22 August, a senior finance ministry official said that the government plans to transfer the debt and non-core assets of the loss-making carrier to a special purpose vehicle (SPV).

The proposal is expected to financially revive the debt-ridden airline through the sale of its non-core assets.

In March this year, the Centre had appointed Ernst & Young LLP India (EY) as its transaction advisor for advising and managing the proposed strategic disinvestment of the national carrier by way of transfer of management control and sale of 76 per cent equity share capital of the airlines held by the government.

Reports suggest that Air India is currently in debt to the tune of Rs. 500 billion, and reported a loss of Rs. 57.6 billion in March last year.

With inputs from agencies
By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.

By Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was not yet ready to come to an agreement over trade disputes with China but he said talks would continue.

The world's two largest economies have slapped tariffs on $50 billion of each other's goods in a tit-for-tat trade war, and Trump is considering imposing tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese imports.

"We've done very well in negotiations with China but we're not prepared to make the deal that they'd like to make," Trump told reporters at the White House without elaborating on the details.

"We'll continue to talk to China. I have great respect for (Chinese) President Xi (Jinping)," Trump said. "But right now we just can't make that deal."

Washington has demanded Beijing improve market access and intellectual property protections for U.S. companies, cut industrial subsidies and slash a $375 billion trade gap.

China has accused the Trump administration of applying hardline tactics and has called for more talks.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The 2+2 Dialogue and its outcome make it clear that India and the US have found a certain rhythm in their dealing.

After months of delay, the high profile 2+2 Dialogue between India and the US has finally taken place in New Delhi on Thursday. The meeting comes at a much important time  Pakistans new government, Talibans renewed violence in Afghanistan and American sanctions on Iran and Russia  had sparked many speculations within the Indian strategic community on what would be on the discussion agenda. With a meeting duration of only a few hours, both sides as expected tried to cover as much ground as possible to discuss issues of mutual interest. But here are the key takeaways:

 Despite the cacophony of Donald Trump administration about India and the world in general, progress in India-US relations remains a function of how its respective bureaucracies perceive the partnership. It is remarkable to note that even as 2+2 dialogue between the defence and foreign ministers was getting postponed, both sides kept up their regular consultative dialogues on intelligence sharing, homeland security, cyber security to name a few.

 The signing of the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) indicates that the Indian military has shed its reservations on sharing sensitive tactical communications with the US. More importantly, the Indian military is unlikely to demonstrate such level of comfort with any other foreign military. What this means is that for a third country  meaning Russia or China  it will appear that India is now firmly in the US camp. This perception will shape their approach towards India.

 The US has shown a steady readiness and commitment to put in place processes  bringing in new legislation, modifying domestic frameworks for technology sharing, enabling Indian entry into multilateral export control regimes etc. -- to ensure that India gets access to the state of the art defence technology. The imperative is now on India to demonstrate its commitment by expediting its own processes to leverage US commitment. The bureaucratic delays will only harm the US commitment.

 The US has given India a waiver from the Russian sanctions, through the National Defense Authorization Act for its purchase of S400 missile defence system, despite considerable anti-Russia sentiments in the US security establishment and polity. But this waiver comes with expectations. Beyond the S400 system, it would be unrealistic to expect that the US will continue to look away Indias defence purchases from other countries, especially from countries hostile to the US.

 India-Pakistan hyphenation is again a reality, much to the dislike of New Delhi but a work of New Delhi's own. While certainly legitimate for India to raise Pakistan's perfidy at every available international forum -- from G20 to BRICS to UN, it also acts to keep India tied firmly in an equation with Pakistan. The joint statement issued after the 2+2 Dialogue and Secretary Pompeo's trip to Islamabad, before arriving in India affirms this reality.

 India and US' disagreements on Iran, Pakistan, Russia etc. are a reality no doubt. But it also indicates that these disagreements are coming to fire because both sides have maintained a dialogue on these issues.

The 2+2 Dialogue and its outcome make it clear that India and the US have found a certain rhythm in their dealing. India may like to emphasise this relationship as a partnership between the equals, but unless New Delhi is ready to demonstrate and act on its commitments, it will be difficult to fend off the perception that it remains the junior partner, unwilling to do burden sharing  much like the NATO.

The current outlook of the relationship may give an impression that India-US ties remain transactional. But the sense of shared values and a fundamentally cordial nature of the relationship unlike China where border dispute and security competition makes it adversarial or Russia which makes no bones about its disdain for a West led order  means that India and US can carve out a unique but flexible partnership, which is quite unlike what the US has had with its allies. This flexibility especially would work well, when the US alliance system itself is under strain.
The country has been dormant in responding to a crisis of democracy that has intensified in Tamil Nadu over the past few months.

By Aashika Ravi

The Bhima Koregaon raids that took place ten days ago have made every Indian, from urban Naxal to Sanghi troll, question the meaning of the word democracy. For media outlets across the country like The Wire, The Hindu and The Times of India who condemned the governments intolerant stance on dissent, breathing room for freedom of speech and expression is the essence of a democracy.

Our idea of democracy was again tested on 4 September when Lois Sophia, a research scholar studying in Canada, was arrested at the Thoothukudi airport for shouting an anti-BJP slogan at the Tamil Nadu BJP chief, Tamilisai Soundararajan, who was travelling in the same flight.

While on board the flight, Sophia apparently shouted Fascist BJP Government down down! and according to Soundararajan, continued while following her till the arrivals gate. She and Sophia got into a heated argument, after which Soundararajan filed a complaint with the airport police and Sophia was arrested by the police under IPC Sections 505 (statements conducing to public mischief), 290 (public nuisance) and Section 75 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act, and sent to 15 days of judicial custody by a magistrate.

In light of this, Manu Sebastian detailed the nature of a magistrates role, and how he/she must verify that the accusation is well-founded and not act like a post-office, mechanically forwarding the accused to the police custody by accepting the police version. Sophia has since got unconditional bail but not before the incident triggered a social media storm about freedom of speech. (The irony of this whole situation is best summed up in this sadly funny tweet.)

Many people defended the decision, saying there is a certain decorum to be followed in an aircraft and at an airport, and Sophias behaviour was not in line with that. But based on The Indian Express reporting, Soundararajans police complaint seems to have come from a place of intolerance. No innocent girl will use that word (fascist). I questioned her. She replied that she has the right to freedom of expression. She shouted that slogan and used the word fascist, raising her fist and all. I thought I shouldnt ignore a terrorist, so I filed a petition, Soundararajan said.

While the Bhima Koregaon raids got extensive nationwide coverage and rightly so, Sophias arrest has the recent outrage over freedom of speech to thank for not going unnoticed. For the longest time, BJP had been to Tamil Nadu politics what Vivek Agnihotri is to Maoists (or anyone really): irrelevant. That is not true anymore. But in any case, those who care about democratic processes should pay attention to Tamil Nadu even though it does not neatly fit a 'sickular vs bhakt' or 'bhakt vs Urban Naxal' playoff.

Instead, the country has been dormant in responding to a crisis of democracy that has intensified in Tamil Nadu over the past few months. (Aside: what if we told you that there are 18 orphan constituencies in the state without representatives in the Assembly for four straight sessions and that the Opposition is pushing a floor-test because they suspect the ruling party isnt in the majority?)

Lets briefly decipher the mess of state violence, caste politics and cronyism that has been plaguing the residents of Tamil Nadu.

If we go back to May, just 3 months ago, we had the protests in Thoothukudi against mining company Vedantas Sterlite plant. Vedanta has always had a dicey reputation when it comes to environmental and humans rights regulations. If you only want to read about this particular plant and problems residents have had since it was established 20 years ago, read this Quartz report.

The most recent round of protests began in February when Vedanta announced plans to expand the facility and add another unit which in subsequent months led to thousands of residents protesting, more than 50 trade associations calling for a shutdown and at least 12,000 shops shutting down.

After 99 days of peaceful protesting, protests turned violent on 22 May, the 100th day, and police opened fire, killing at least 12. Thousands of protesters had organised a march to the District Collectors office when police lathicharged people and then opened fired. In a submission to the Madras High Court, the Director General of Police claimed that violence erupted at five different locations, forcing the police to use firearms at four of those places and resort to lathicharge alone in the fifth.

It is useful to read journalist Jeya Rani because she contextualises the complex relationship that state violence has had with Dalits, tribals and minority communities in Tamil Nadu and how the police are never held accountable. Of the Sterlite protest too, she discusses how due procedure was flouted in police response to the protest. During the protests, horrifying videos of police telling a dying man to stop acting and declaring that at least one (protester) should die were posted by The News Minute.

Procedures have been laid down in police manuals on how to handle a public protest. The police should fire tear gas, resort to lathicharge and then water cannon before opening fire. The police is meant to issue a warning over loudspeakers before opening fire. If the protest continues to be violent, the police is meant to open fire by firing at or below the knees of people and not by targeting their faces and chests. The government instead chose to unleash extreme violence on the protesters in Thoothukudi. The police did not adhere to any procedure and used snipers to shoot protesters. The government now says that shooting was unavoidable since the protests were infiltrated by anti-social elements, Jeya writes.

She goes on to cite previous instances of state violence in Tamil Nadu and how governments always have a script ready. The state pretends to bring about peace by imposing its violence on public protest. Afterwards, it wraps everything up inside a judicial commission and hopes the issue will go away. To this day, no judicial commission constituted to enquire into state atrocities has ever stood by the people. It has only served the purpose of protecting the police and giving a clean chit to them.

That was in May. But as recently as 9 August, the Tamil Nadu government has made arrests in the Sterlite case, notably of activist Thirumurugan Gandhi. On the grounds of sedition, no less. Gandhi had brought up the Thoothukudi firing in a United Nations Human Rights Council and was returning when he was arrested from Bangalore International Airport.

Less than a month after the Thoothukudi firing, the government was back to its favourite pastime, this time to contain the growing dissent against the Salem Chennai Expressway project, a Rs 10,000-crore highway proposed to connect Salem and Chennai. Protests had intensified due to forceful acquisition of farmers land by the government made possible by legal loopholes.

On 18 June, activist Piyush Manush was arrested under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot); 189 (threat of injury to public servant); 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) IPC and 7 (1) Criminal Law Amendment Act and sent to Salem Central Jail. The next day, they arrested student activist Valarmathi whose bail application was rejected twice until she was finally released on 6 July, over two weeks later and over 20 other people, some of whom belonged to the All India Kisan Sabha and were eventually released on 9 July.

In July, we spoke to policy researcher and analyst Manasi Karthik who shed light on the numerous environmental and procedural violations committed by the government in undertaking the project, including loopholes that allowed for land acquisition, licenses issued in retrospect and petitioners finding it difficult to establish locus standi. The governments behind the scenes liaisons with industries had led to crackdowns on anyone who dared to question them.

We now have a government that is not only willing to turn a blind eye to flagrant violations by industries but actually take up arms against its own people to aid and abet the unfettered power enjoyed by a select group of industries, she said.

As of 4 September, in a huge setback for the protesters, the Madras High Court has quashed a petition by NGO Poovulagin Nanbargal challenging the constitutionality of the land acquisition for the Salem Chennai Expressway project.

While the Bhima Koregaon riots and subsequent raids have all strains of communalism and ideologies clashing violently, from Hindutva bhakts to liberals and suspected Maoists, the situation in Tamil Nadu is vastly different. Here, its less communalism, and more capitalism that dictates free speech. An incestuous relationship between the state government and foreign industrialists has led to what Karthik calls a cocktail of corruption and cronyism which means large scale displacement of the poor and the silencing of anyone who tries to represent them.

But its also similar in the way that Dalits, tribals and the lower castes are the ones who suffer the most from state violence and that ultimately, both Tamil Nadus reckless industrialisation and the Centres intolerance will have the same consequence  death of democracy as we know it.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online women's magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in itself has seen several recent challenges since the 1990s in the Indian legal system (and similarly in other countries that contain the same criminal code, such as Singapore)

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code in itself has seen several recent challenges since the 1990s in the Indian legal system (and similarly in other countries that contain the same criminal code, such as Singapore). However, its fundamental religious bias and the origins of terms such as unnatural offences, or what was meant by that within the precedent system, has not been sufficiently discussed. The wording of the law, under unnatural offences and with terminology such as against the order of nature, points to the necessity of the historical record in understanding what Macaulay and the Law Commission took as implicit in its four-lined condemnation of alternative sexualities on the subcontinent.

Given that same-sex sexual activity had not previously been penalised in 72 countries where Macaulays law is now in effect, precedent for this was only established on importing it from a religious and aristocratic 16th Century English context. Thus it is imperative to ask after the origins of such precedent. Investigating Henry VIIIs laws reveal that neither sodomy nor buggery were clearly defined. Henry VIIIs Buggery Act of 1533, as it later came to be known, was repealed and replaced in England by the Offences Against the Person Act of 1828 and later 1861.

The 19th Century acts retained the 16th Century terminology but dispensed with the sanctimonious piety, although the law retained a few terms (abominable, buggery, mankind or with any animal) that hint at its religious origins. Buggery, like bestiality, fell on a spectrum of sexual acts deemed abominable by European and English ecclesiastical (religious) courts, revealing how Christian beliefs governed English societys world views.

Irrespective of the absence of a substantial definition of Buggery, given the range of sexual practices that could be incriminated under it, and the fact that this criminalisation stemmed from Christian moral codes, Lord Macaulay, head of the first Law Commission tasked with drafting a criminal code for India, instituted an unnatural offences clause into the colonial governments criminal code, termed the Indian Penal Code. Known as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, this law draws on the terminology and precedent of the English legal system. Section 377 of the IPC states:

"Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offence described in this section.

It is not necessary to prove that the act was against the will or without the consent of the person upon whom the offence is committed. If that person is consenting, both are guilty of the offence."

Renaissance scholars note that sodomy include(d) copulation between Satan and humans and between Christians and infidels . . .. However buggery emerges from Christian doctrine of aestheticism which condemned all non-procreative sex. The term derives from the French word bougre, referencing the Cathars sect, who condemned procreation and were thus accused of promoting non-procreative sexual acts.

While the Buggery Act relies clearly on spiritual authority to condemn a whole range of unnamed practices in the 16th Century, the Offences Against the Person Act passed nearly three hundred years later in 1828 and 1861 retains the 16th Century terminology, without the religious undertones. In the 1861 Act, the earlier Buggery Act was codified under 'unnatural offences' (Section 15 of the 1828 Act and Section 61 of the 1861 Act). It is this that Macaulay ported over under the guise of precedent essential to a supposedly modern legal system.

This brief history highlights the religious nature of sections of the criminal code of not just the secular and democratic country of India, but also the commonwealth countries of Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Maldives, and Jamaica, as well as the 30-odd other countries for which the Indian Penal Code provides a model for anti-sodomy laws. Not only does the systemic presence of Christian law underwrite the criminal code of a democratic secular nation which does not presume to swear by the religion, it also forms fundamental aspects of declared religious states such as Pakistan where the state religion certainly is not Christianity.

Article was first published on Love Camden on 18 September 2017, as 'Homosexuality and Criminalisation in India: The Arts Fight Back'

Follow all the LIVE updates from the Supreme Court Section 377 verdict here
A Cabinet meeting was called to brief the union ministers on various aspects of the Rafale fighter jet deal between India and France to counter the Opposition and its attacks.

A day after a petition seeking stay on the India-France Rafale deal was listed by the Supreme Court, the Narendra Modi government held a Cabinet on Thursday to provide leaders with facts to counter allegations levelled against it.

A senior government functionary said National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Secretary, Defence Production, Ajay Kumar highlighted various aspects of the deal in the meeting, which lasted more than two-and-a-half hours, reported PTI.

The ministers were informed that it was a deal between two governments which involved no private party, leaving little scope for corruption. In the meeting, the aircraft's capability was highlighted, which would strengthen the Indian Air Force and make the fighter jets an asset for it.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was directly listed in the petition as the first respondent. The Opposition has increased its attacks on the Rafale deal against the government in order to corner the government ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, refused to get into the details of what transpired in the meeting and took a dig at Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi over the fighter jet deal. Responding to a question, he said, "Congress has proved that in a dynastic party, ignorance is contagious, if one lacks information, all are ignorant."

Jaitley said questioning the deal is the biggest ignorance. He said a basic aircraft is of "no use" as it can only fly the pilot. He said the cost escalation and currency variations between 2007 and 2016 have to be considered in calculating the cost of the Rafale jet. He also pointed out that a weaponised jet is 20 percent cheaper after the negotiations and since it is a government-to-government deal, no private party or a Public Sector Undertaking is involved.

"The 36 jets will come in a fly away condition and not even a bolt will be fitted here... during UPA (rule), they did not believe in transfer of technology but preferred to buy (hardware) from foreign buyers...," he said.

The presentation in the meeting also underscored Modi's efforts to take all his allies, who are represented in the council of ministers, on board, as the government works to counter the Opposition on the issue in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections which are less than eight months away.

The presentation was made before the ministers and BJP leaders, who will reach out to the people all across the country on the achievements of the government under a week-long campaign. Separate presentations were also made on the government's ambitious 'Ayushman Bharat' mission, a health insurance cover for the poor, and 'Swachh Bharat'

Opposition parties led by the Congress have been attacking the Modi government over the deal, alleging that it was struck at an exorbitant price and benefited an Indian businessman at the cost of the government-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The charges have been denied by the government.
Hundreds of people from the upper caste communities took to the streets as part of the countywide agitation against The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Protests erupted in many states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar affecting normal life.

Hundreds of people from upper caste communities took to the streets as part of the countywide agitation against The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Protests were carried out across many states including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar, affecting normal life.

Shops and business establishments remained shut in several areas in Madhya Pradesh with 35 areas being put on high alert. Vehicular movement was also affected in the state. Petrol pumps were also closed in the state capital and other areas.

"Forces have been divided judiciously across districts in Bhopal. It has been peaceful until now. Nobody can force anyone to be a part of the bandh," police said. A high alert has been issued in 35 districts across the state in the wake of the bandh. As many as 34 companies of security forces and 5,000 security personnel have been deployed in various districts. Section 144 has also been imposed in several districts of the state while drones are also being used for surveillance in Gwalior.

All schools and colleges in Gwalior also remained closed. Speaking to ANI, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Narottam Bhargavi said, "Lot of security forces deployed. We are fully ready to face any kind of situation. Section 144 imposed at several places. It is very peaceful at present."

About 35 organisations have called for a bandh in the state. The government has imposed Section 144 in Satna, Bhind, Shivpuri, Gwalior and other districts.

In Bihar, trains were forcibly halted, railway tracks, national and state highways were blocked as upper caste communities forced the shutdown, disrupting rail and road traffic for hours and stranding thousands of passengers at different railway stations and bus stands.

The protesters burned tyres, blocked roads and rail traffic in Patna, Gaya, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Madhubni, Bhojpur, Lakhisarai, Sheikhpura, Nawada and Bhagalour districts.

In Patna, supporters of the Sawarn Sena and Sawarn Morcha activists surrounded Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in protest against the SC/ST Act. They shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and threatened to intensify their protest against the central government. The agitators also staged a protest in front of the ruling Janata Dal-United [JD(U)] office. The JD(U) is an ally of the BJP.

Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has termed the protest as anti-Dalit and anti-reservation. While JD-U said the protest was against the Constitution.

The Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018 was passed in Lok Sabha on 6 August. The Congress has alleged that the Centre passed the Bill keeping in mind 2019 Lok Sabha elections
The number of business licences issued in the UAE by the end of August, increased to 532,000, a growth of 9 per cent over the end of 2017, a media report said.



Abu Dhabi and Dubai accounted for around 85 per cent of the licenses issued by the end of August, namely 453,000, reported Emirates news agency Wam, citing Ministry of Economy's statistics



Dubai came first with 249,000 licenses, comprising 46.8 per cent of the total licenses issued by other departments of economic development across the country.



The World Bank's Ease of Doing Business report revealed last year that the UAE is ranked 21st globally and came on top of Arab countries for the fifth year in a row.



In terms of legal status, limited liability companies come first in terms of the number of licensed firms, 170,066 companies, followed by individual companies, 72,807, then foreign companies, 2,141, single-member limited liability company,1,869, Gulf companies, 894, with the rest of licenses distributed among other stock, and private companies.



In Abu Dhabi, a total of 77,406 licenses have been issued, including 25,460 for limited liability companies,17,942 for company branches and the rest for single-member limited liability companies as well as stock and private and other types of firms.



In Sharjah, a total of 51,998 licenses were issued for individual companies, 23,178 for limited liability companies and the rest for other types of firms.
The savarna (upper caste) section of the society is visibly angry with the ruling BJP government in Madhya Pradesh.

The savarna (upper caste) section of the society is visibly angry with the ruling BJP government in Madhya Pradesh and its effect is visible on ground. While agitation is in full force across a large number of districts, the Bharat bandh against the amendments in the SC/ST Act, called mostly by members of the savarnas, has received support from the trading community in the state.

Considering the volatile situation in Madhya Pradesh due to the Bharat bandh and the angst amongst people against the amendments, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan needs to go slow on his OBC (Other Backward Classes) consolidation through OBC mahakumbh (OBC conclave) scheduled on 10 September.

In a bid to win over 52 percent of the OBC vote bank in the state, the Chouhan government started a six-series OBC conclave, which began in Sagar on 5 May.

But Chouhans experiment prior to the upcoming Assembly election by the year end may lead to an imminent danger of getting the bulk of Hindu votes comprising savarnas and banias divided over caste-based reservation.

When it comes to reservation, the OBCs have been benefited the most in Madhya Pradesh. The three BJP chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh since 2003  Uma Bharti, Babulal Gaur and Chouhan  belong to OBC.

Chouhan has emerged as the biggest OBC leader in the state, as he continues to be chief minister for 13 long years.

On the backdrop of todays Bharat bandh, Chouhan needs to introspect how far he can push his plan for OBC consolidation.

A large number of protesters in Bhopal, who have painted their faces half-black and half-white besides demanding that amendments to Supreme Courts directive on SC/ST Act not be made, have also demanded that reservation be given on the basis of economic status of the person.

First and foremost, the Supreme Court directive on SC/ST Act shouldnt be changed. Second, were not against reservation. But it should be available to every economically weaker person from any class and caste. There are poor among Brahmins, Kayasths and other communities, who need reservation. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhans attempt to appease the OBCs will alienate the core vote-bank of BJP ie savarnas and banias. The Dalits cast their votes to Bahujan Samaj Party only and the BJP wont benefit, no matter how hard it tries, Parikshit Saxena, one of the protesters from Bhopal, told Firstpost.

The trade bodies in Bhopal, Indore and other districts have voluntarily supported the bandh.

Todays bandh has been successful. The business and trading establishments voluntarily supported the bandh. Our only demand is that the government shouldnt implement the old SC/ST Act and follow what SC said. A person shouldnt be arrested merely on the basis of a complaint made by an SC or ST person. Proper investigation should first be initiated, Navneet Agarwal, regional general secretary, Akhil Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal, told Firstpost.

Digvijaya Singhs Dalit agenda

In 2002, during the last phase of the 10 years of Congress rule in Madhya Pradesh, the then chief minister Digvijaya Singh came up with his Dalit agenda. The objective was to win over the Dalit vote bank ahead of the Assembly election (2003) through a multi-pronged strategy. A Dalit conference was held in Bhopal, which charted out an economic agenda for transforming the socio-economic conditions of the section and empowering them through panchayat raj institution.

However, the election results narrated a different story altogether. Despite national publicity of the much-talked about agenda, Congress lost miserably to the BJP, and the latter has been in power for the last 15 years.

Digvijaya Singhs Dalit agenda ultimately didnt work. The voters he had aimed for didnt vote for Congress. The present chief minister is on the same path. In an attempt to appease the OBCs and SCs, the chief minister would antagonise the core vote bank of the BJP. Shivraj Singh is walking on a slippery rope. The SCs always vote for the BSP, barring exceptions. If Congress enters into a pre-poll alliance with the BSP in the state, the ruling BJP will face a tough time. The chief minister needs to learn from the mistake that Digvijaya Singh made in 2002, a senior bureaucrat told Firstpost on condition of anonymity.

Intel-based high alert

Madhya Pradesh is already sitting on a volcano, as the state had witnessed two major violent incidents of mass agitation  one at Mandsaur district in 2017 and the other during the Bharat bandh called by Dalit groups on 2 April this year.

In both the cases, besides large-scale damages to public and private properties, there had been loss of lives.

Considering these two previous incidents, the state government has issued high alert in 35 districts. For safety and security of public property and people, besides regular police force, additional 34 companies of armed police force and 5,000 jawans have been deployed in the sensitive and volatile regions of the state. Section 144 has been imposed across the state.

In order to prevent circulation of provocative and objectionable messages through social media, especially on WhatsApp, Jabalpur district administration has blocked internet services from 8 pm on 5 September to 6 pm on 6 September.

Security has been beefed up in one of the most sensitive regions of the state  Gwalior-Chambal region, with 34 Assembly seats. This region has high concentration of SCs.

According to state intelligence sources, the administration has received inputs of possible violence during the bandh.

Special arrangements have been made to check mob violence by deploying additional armed police forces in sensitive districts. The state has already witnessed large-scale mob violence, massive destruction of public properties and loss of lives during farmers agitation at Mandsaur district in 2017 and Bharat bandh called by the Dalit groups on 2 April. The administration will continue to monitor the security measures even after the Bandh ends, a state intelligence department source said.
Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said that about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs would participate in the Bharat bandh against the amendments in SC/ST Act.

Security in Madhya Pradesh was beefed up in various parts of the state ahead of the call for a 'Bharat bandh' on Thursday, announced by several minority rights organisations, against the amendment to the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said that about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs would participate in the Bharat bandh against the amendments in SC/ST Act. "We will protest peacefully on 6 September. Through this protest, we will demand withdrawal of this black law. All the sections except SC/ST are affected due to this amendment. We will also write letters to all MPs of the country," Sharma had said earlier.

During the Monsoon Session of Parliament in August, the Parliament had passed a bill to overturn a Supreme Court order concerning certain safeguards against arrest under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe law, with the Rajya Sabha unanimously adopting it amid din on 9 August. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, which was passed by the Rajya Sabha by a voice vote, had got the nod of the Lok Sabha on 6 August.

The Supreme Court, on 20 March, had diluted the stringent provisions for arrests under the Act, to make sure there were no "false implications". The two-judge bench of Justices AK Goel and UU Lalit had said that there were "instances of abuse" of the Act for various reasons.

The Supreme Court's decision saw widespread protests across the country from SC/ST organisations in April, resulting in violence and the death of at least eleven people.

Section 144 imposed

The Madhya Pradesh administration has imposed prohibitive orders under CrPC in four districts - Morena, Shivpuri and Bhind, all three in Gwalior-Chambal region, as well as in Ashok Nagar district in view of the proposed bandh.

Gwalior-Chambal region, one of the sensitive areas, had witnessed a large-scale violence on 2 April this year during the 'Bharat bandh' called by Dalit groups. Makrand Deuskar, Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) told reporters on Tuesday, "Police headquarters have alerted all the superintendents of police in view of proposed bandh on 6 September."

He said the police force allotted to the districts on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami on Monday, would continue to remain deployed. Madhya Pradesh has witnessed protests against the ruling party leaders at various places in the past few days. "In view of proposed Bharat bandh on 6 September, the prohibitive orders under CrPC Section 144 have been imposed in the district," Bhind District Collector Ashish Gupta said in a press note.

"It is necessary to impose Section 144 this time as the law and order situation in the district was disturbed on 2 April this year when some organisations had given the call of 'Bharat bandh'," he said. The collectors in Shivpuri and Morena districts have also imposed prohibitive orders under CrPC Section 144.

Security tightened across Madhya Pradesh; schools shut in Bhind

Thirty-four companies of the special armed force of police have been deployed in various districts, IGP (Intelligence) Makrand Deuskar said. Madhya Pradesh Petrol Pump Owners Association president Ajay Singh told PTI that petrol pumps will be shut on Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm due to security reasons over the bandh call.

Jabalpur district collector Chhavi Bharadwaj also wrote to the state home department, seeking suspension of Internet services in the district till 6 pm on Thursday. As of now, no formal order has been passed in this regard, and internet services will be suspended as and when required.

The District Education Officer in Bhind has also ordered that schools in the district will remain closed.

Protests have been going on against the amendments in SC/ST bill in parts of the state for the past one week. The protesters staged a demonstration outside the bungalows of Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar at Gwalior and Member of Parliament (MP) Bhagirath Prasad at Bhind. The protesters also staged a demonstration at Higher Education Minister Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya's bungalow at Gwalior.

Upper caste groups protest amendment

Following the amendment to the SC/ST Act, upper caste groups have begun targetting elected representatives over the issue. BJP MP Riti Pathak told protesters who surrounded her vehicle in Biohari on Monday to "bring a sword and slit my throat".

I tried to reason with them for half-an-hour. I told them I was not the only person voting, my presence or absence would have made no difference (to the passage of the Bill), but they continued to argue, Pathak told The Indian Express.

The protests, taking place ahead of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, are likely to impact campaigning by various political parties in the state.

On Monday, a video showing what seemed like footwear flung close to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while he was addressing a Jan Ashirwad Yatra rally, went viral. Police officials said the incident was being probed.

On Wednesday, protesters showed black flags to former Union minister and senior BJP leader Prahlad Patel at Tikamgarh when he was addressing the party's OBC workers. Slogans were shouted by protesters outside the venue of BJP's OBC cell's meeting in Gwalior.

Gwalior-Chambal region, considered a sensitive area, had witnessed large-scale violence on 2 April this year during the Bharat bandh called by Dalit groups.

With inputs from agencies
The Supreme Court hearing of Romila Thapar's petition in favour of the five activists arrested in relation to the Bhima Koregaon violence on Thursday was adjourned till 12 September.

The Supreme Court hearing of Romila Thapar's petition in favour of the five activists arrested in relation to the Bhima Koregaon violence on Thursday has been adjourned till 12 September.

The apex court's order of house arrest for the activists was extended till the next hearing on 12 September. On 30 August, the Supreme Court had observed that "dissent is the safety valve of democracy" and directed that the activists  Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao  be kept under house arrest.

"Dissent is the safety valve of democracy and if you don't allow these safety valves, it will burst," a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said.

During the hearing on Thursday, the Supreme Court responded sharply to the statements made by ACP of the Pune Police, saying that he cast aspersions on the ability of the Supreme Court. Bar and Bench reported that Justice DY Chandrachud said to Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta, that the ACP "insinuated" that the apex court "should not have intervened" in the current stage of the case. "He has no business saying that," Chandrachud said.

The court also directed the Maharashtra government to instruct the state police to be more responsible in dealing with the matter when it is being heard by the court. The Leaflet reported that Mehta, appearing for the government, apologised to the court on behalf of the police for having commented on the issue in a press conference while it was still sub judice.

The government, presenting its case, said that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the investigation in the case. According to Live Law, Mehta opposed the Thapar's petition and said that "third parties" don't have the right to file a petition in an on-going investigation. He added that there were "serious" charges against the arrested activists.

In response, the Supreme Court questioned Abhishek Singhvi, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, about whether a third party can intervene in a criminal case.

On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government had told the Supreme Court that the five rights activists were arrested due to the evidence linking them with the banned CPI (Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views. The police said there was sufficient evidence to "dispel" the claim that they were arrested for their dissenting views.

With inputs from PTI
The Congress will organise a nationwide shutdown on 10 September over rising fuel prices, party leaders announced Thursday and asked other Opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government.

New Delhi: The Congress will organise a nationwide shutdown on 10 September over rising fuel prices, party leaders announced Thursday and asked other Opposition parties and civil society groups to join their protest against the government.

The common man was bearing the brunt of the escalating prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said.

"The Congress party has decided that we will be giving a call for Bharat Bandh on 10 September, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive VAT in the state," he told reporters.

Surjewala said the Congress will also demand that petrol and diesel be brought within the ambit of the GST so that the "common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief".

The Congress has also urged Opposition parties to join the protest, he said. "We also call upon other societal groups, NGOs... to join this people's movement," he said.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the age-old colonial law was an anachronism in today's modern times and the verdict restores the fundamental rights and negates discrimination based on sexual orientation.

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday hailed as "momentous" the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising consensual gay sex and termed it as an important step forward towards a liberal and tolerant society.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the age-old colonial law was an anachronism in today's modern times and the verdict restores the fundamental rights and negates discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 is momentous.

"An age-old colonial law, that was an anachronism in today's modern times, ends restoring the fundamental rights and negating discrimination based on sexual orientation. It's an important step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society," he said on Twitter.

On its official Twitter handle, the Congress said, "We join the people of India and the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive and decisive verdict from the Supreme Court and hope this is the beginning of a more equal and inclusive society."

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality.

The Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.
The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on Thursday its much-awaited verdict on a clutch of petitions seeking decriminalisation of a 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual gay sex.

SC verdict on Section 377 likely today

The Supreme Court is likely to pronounce on Thursday its much-awaited verdict on a clutch of petitions seeking amendment in Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual gay sex. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had reserved its verdict on 17 July after hearing various stakeholders for four days, including gay rights activists. The apex court had asserted that courts cannot wait for a "majoritarian government" to decide on enacting, amending or striking down a law if it violates fundamental rights. It had made clear that it may not strike down the law completely and deal with it to the extent it relates to consensual acts between two adults.

Upper caste groups to protest against SC/ST Act in Madhya Pradesh

Security has been stepped up, school holiday has been declared in one district, and petrol pumps will remain closed across Madhya Pradesh on Thursday in view of 'Bharat Bandh' called by some groups against the amendment to the SC/ST Act.

The Madhya Pradesh Police has tightened security across the state in view of ongoing protests against the amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) Makrand Deuskar said orders prohibiting the gathering of people in large numbers have been imposed. Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathan's national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs would participate in the Bharat Bandh against the amendment.

KCR to decide on Telangana Assembly dissolution today, decision will pave way for early elections

The Telangana Cabinet is likely to meet in Hyderabad on Thursday, the second time in five days, amid indications that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao may take a call on the dissolution of the state Assembly to pave the way for early elections. Sources in the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) Wednesday claimed the government has more-or-less made up its mind on the dissolution of the Assembly, whose term ends next year. The Assembly elections in Telangana are originally scheduled to be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls next year, but the chief minister sees an advantage for TRS in delinking the two polls.

Supreme Court to hear plea challenging arrest of activists in Bhima Koregaon violence

Days after five activists were arrested over alleged links to Maoists in connection to the Bhima-Koregaon violence, the Supreme Court on Thursday, will hear the plea challenging their arrest. The apex court on 29 August had issued a notice to the Maharashtra Government and ordered that the five accused activists be under house arrest till 6 September. Maharashtra Police had arrested the five left-wing activists  Sudha Bhardwaj, Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira  on 28 August.

India-US 2+2 dialogue today

India and US aim to solidify their strategic partnership in the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue on Thursday with a focus on boosting military ties and ironing out differences over India's defence and trade engagement with Iran and Russia.US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and US secretary of defence James Mattis, who arrived on Wednesday evening for the dialogue with their counterparts Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj and Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman, will head their respective teams for the talks. Speaking to the travelling US media, Pompeo on Wednesday had said that issues like India buying Russian missile defence system and Iranian oil export to India will "certainly come up, but I don't think they'll be the primary focus of what it is we're trying to accomplish here".

Battered rupee's fall continues

The rupees unabated fall continued for the sixth straight session on Wednesday, hitting yet another closing low of 71.75, down 17 paise against the US currency as surging oil prices and weak trend in emerging market currencies weighed on sentiments. Intra-day, the domestic unit plummeted to a historic low of 71.97 a dollar before finding some respite, staging some recovery towards the tail-end. The battered currency has lost 165 paise in the last six trading sessions. However, the Reserve Bank swung into action to put a floor under the sliding currency and stave off a full-blown meltdown.

Facebook, Twitter face US Senate

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey faced several questions from members of the US Senate Intelligence Committee. Members of the Senate questioned the executives on Facebook's and Twitter's failure to respond to respond to foreign interference in the US election process. The two executives were supposed to be joined by a senior executive from Google, but Google could not or would not make one of its senior executives available for the hearing, much to the dismay of the committee. Sandberg and Dorsey both acknowledged failings on the part of their respective companies and attempted to defend their subsequent actions. They also had to defend against allegations of inherent political bias of their respective platforms and explain the steps that were being taken to handle such unwanted interference.

Dilip Kumar hospitalised due to chest infection

Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, 95, was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday due to a chest infection, but he is recuperating. The actor is at the Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre in Bandra. Faisal Farooqui, who tweets on behalf of the actor, gave a health update on the ailing actor via Twitter. "Saab has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital as he was bit uneasy due to a chest infection. He is recuperating. Requesting your duas and prayers," Farooqui tweeted.
Among the commonly-known facts about the JEE Main are that it will be a computer-based test, and will be held twice a year.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has started the registration process for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2019, in its new avatar, from 1 September. The JEE Main I is scheduled from 6 to 20 January, 2019, for candidates seeking admissions to undergraduate programmes in the NITs (National Institutes of Technology), IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology), IIITs (Indian Institute of Information Technology), and other CFTIs (Central Funded Technical Institutes) across the country.

Among the commonly-known facts about the exam are that it will be a computer-based test, and will be held twice a year. A new piece of information is that the actual marks scored by students will not be used for ranking purposes. Instead, a new normalisation procedure  using percentile scores  will set the basis for the merit list that will be declared on 30 April, 2019.

Some Relevant New Changes in JEE Main 2019

- The age restriction has been removed. However, only students who have passed their Class XII in 2017 or 2018, or are appearing for it in 2019 are eligible to appear for the exam.

- The NTA has set up 2,697 test practice centres, where students can prepare for the exam on computers free of charge. Registrations are on for these preparation sessions.

- 1.5 lakh common service centres have been set up across the country where the students can choose to get assistance for filling the JEE Main application form, downloading the admit card, checking the result, and more. The services are provided at a nominal fee.

1. Test Slots to be allotted randomly to students

JEE Main 2019 will be held in multiple sessions over a period of two weeks. The slots will be randomly allotted by the NTA to ensure that each session gets equal number of examinees. The details will be mentioned on the NTA website on 5 October, 2018.

2. What is normalisation and why is it being used for JEE Main?

According to the NTA, each student appearing for the exam will get a different set of questions. This means that a student may get a difficult paper or an easy one. So, it is imperative that a certain amount of equivalence will be ensured while calculating the scores. This is where normalisation comes in. Normalisation is the process where the raw scores are converted to percentile scores using a predetermined formula.

3. The actual JEE Main 2019 normalisation process:

Since the exam will be held in multiple sessions, percentile scores will be calculated based on number of applicants who have scored equal to or less than a particular candidate as compared to the number of students writing the exam in the session. The formula used will be

4. Session-wise calculation of percentile scores and result declaration:

The formula given below will be used to calculate the percentile scores for each subject (Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry) and the total percentile score for each session respectively. To avoid bunching effect and reduce tie-breaking, the percentile scores will be calculated up to 7 decimal places. Result declared will be the percentile scores for the exam. In the image, T1, M1, P1, C1 are raw scores of the candidate.

Highest raw score and percentile score?

Since the calculation is based session wise, all the candidates with the highest raw scores will have normalised percentile score of 100 for their respective sessions.

In case of a tie?

When two or more candidates obtain equal percentile scores, then a tie-breaking will be based on the following:

- Percentile score in Mathematics.

- Percentile score in Physics.

- Percentile score in Chemistry.

- Date of birth  the older candidate will get the higher rank.

If the tie is still unresolved, the same rank will be given to the candidates.

4. Result compilation for both the JEE Main attempts:

The results will be declared on two dates  31 January (JEE Main I) and 30 April (JEE Main II). These will be the percentile scores of the candidates in each subject and total percentile score as well.

5. JEE Main All India Ranks

The rank list for JEE Main will be declared on 30 April, 2019 tentatively, after the compilation of the percentile scores of the exams held in January and April. The highest of the two percentile scores from both the attempts of the candidates will be considered. For candidates who have attempted only one of the exams, the percentile score of that attempt will be considered for the All India rank of JEE Main 2019.

What about JEE Main Paper II (for BArch and BPlan)?

The exam will be held in just one shift for both attempts and thus there will be no normalisation involved. The rank list will be based on the raw scores of the candidates, and the inter-se merit guidelines also havent changed from the previous years. Here also, the highest from the two scores will be considered for candidates who will attempt them both.

Have any queries or doubts? Head over to the Q&A section of Careers360 and post them for answers. All the Best!
Terming Section 377 as 'manifestly arbitrary' when it comes to consensual sex between adults, Chief Justice Dipak Misra, reading on behalf of himself and Justice AM Khanwilkar, said that sexual orientation is part of one's Freedom of Self Expression and 'denial of self expression is akin to inviting death'

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra made some insightful comments while decriminalising consensual gay relationship in a landmark verdict announced on Thursday.

Terming Section 377 as "manifestly arbitrary" when it comes to consensual sex between adults, Misra, reading on behalf of himself and Justice AM Khanwilkar in the landmark verdict said that sexual orientation is part of one's Freedom of Self Expression and "denial of self-expression is akin to inviting death".

The "autonomy, intimacy and identity of an individual are to be protected", the CJI said, adding that "LGBTQ community has the same fundamental rights as citizens. Equality. Respect for individual choice is the basis of liberty."

"Consensual sex has been targeted under Section 377 resulting in discrimination. And it's violative of Article 14," he said, stating that "talking about the importance of individual identity with dignity, individual autonomy and equality for all without discrimination are cardinal corners of our Constitution".

Recognising the struggle of the LGBTQ community, Misra said, "The determination and hope that has allowed them (LGBTs) 'to look for the rainbow in every cloud'."

He said that life with dignity is a recognised right. "In the same vein, at the core of identity, lies self determination," he added while citing the Supreme Court verdict in the NALSA versus Union of India case, which recognised the third gender.

Quoting British musician John Miles, Misra said, "No one can escape from their individuality. One defines oneself."

Stating that majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitution rights, Misra said, "The concept of constitutional morality urges the organs of the State including the judiciary to protect heterogeneity and prevent imposition of popular perception on the minority. The Fundamental Rights of even a single individual cannot be infringed upon."

The CJI also emphasised on the role of courts while giving judgments on issues that deal with rights of a minority section which has been subject to historical discrimination while also stressing on the importance transformative Constitution.

"The role of courts are more important when rights affected are of a minority subject to historical discrimination," he said, adding, that the interpretation of the Constitution should not be literal. "It should reflect intent and purpose, in consonance with changing times," he added.

"Majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights. Majoritarianism in constitutionally is untenable. Constitution is a dynamic document, having the primary objective of establishing a dynamic and inclusive society. We have to vanquish prejudice, embrace inclusion, and ensure equal rights."

Misra also said that "rights should evolve with the evolution of the society".

The issue of Section 377 was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001. The Delhi High Court had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal".

This high court judgment was overturned in 2013 by the Supreme Court (Suresh Kumar Koushal vs Naz Foundation case) which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

Misra was also critical of the 2013 Supreme Court verdict stating views such as that "LGBTQ is a minuscule part of the population" and the "mere scope of abuse" of Section 377 were constitutionally impermissible.

"Privacy is a fundamental right under Puttawamy case. Mention of discordant note recognising that the logic of miniscule population is incorrect... Progressive interpretation of constitution and progressive realization of rights. Koushal is incorrect," he said.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which crimiminalises unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

The bench, which also comprised Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 as being violative of right to equality.

The top court, in four separate but concurring judgements, set aside its own verdict in the Suresh Kaushal case.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The apex court, however, said other aspects of Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children shall remain in force.

The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional.

The current writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals, including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

In a concurring judgment, Chandrachud said decriminalisation of Section 377 is of course necessary, but it's just the first step. "Human sexuality cannot be defined narrowly. the LGBTQI peoples have a right to equality of protection under the Constitution. Discrimination against LGBTQI is unconstitutional.

"Constitutional morality will prevail. Society cannot dictate sexuality of an individual. State has no business to intrude into these personal matters. Section 377 is unconstitutional to the extent it penalises consensual sex between two adults."

Stressing that homosexuality is not a mental disorder, Nariman concurred with Misra's opinion, and stressed the need for the Union government to broadcast the constitutional rights of homsexuals in regular intervals to reduce and eliminate stigma surrounding homosexuality while also suggesting periodic sensitisation lessons for the police.
On Thursday, India and the US held the inaugural edition of their long-awaited 2+2 dialogue, featuring External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts, Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis respectively

On Thursday, India and the US held the inaugural edition of their long-awaited 2+2 dialogue, featuring External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts, Mike Pompeo and Jim Mattis respectively. The following is the full text of Swaraj's remarks delivered upon the culmination of discussions:

Secretary of State Mr. Pompeo,

Secretary of Defense Mr. Mattis,

My Cabinet colleague Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman,

Ladies and gentlemen of the media,

We have just concluded our talks in the first-ever 2+2 Dialogue between India and the United States. As you know, this new dialogue format was decided by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in their first meeting in Washington DC in June 2017.

It reflects our leaders desire to further elevate our bilateral strategic communication on cross-cutting defence and security issues. This is the first visit abroad by Secretary Pompeo and Secretary Mattis together. This is also Secretary Pompeos first visit to India in his current capacity and my very first meeting with him.

Naturally we had a lot to discuss. Prior to the 2+2 dialogue, I had a bilateral meeting with Secretary Pompeo this morning, where we reviewed the direction of our bilateral relations in recent months and exchanged views on a number of regional issues of shared concern.

The recent decision by the United States to put India in the list of countries eigible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects Indias robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest.

An important element of our strategic partnership is the rapidly growing trade and investment ties. Faster growth in these areas and deeper people-to-people connections are a force for our strategic partnership.

Rapidly growing economies is giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement which supports development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth. The United States is emerging as a supplier of energy to India. We recognized and supported efforts made by the two sides to address trade-related issues on both sides and to make trade balanced and mutually beneficial.

I sought Secretary Pompeos support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship.

In the discussion of the four Ministers at the 2+2 dialogue, we noticed a growing convergence of views between our countries, among others on the Indo-Pacific. Our respective approaches towards this concept have been outlined by our leaders  by President Trump at the APEC meeting last year and by Prime Minister Modi at the Shangri-La Dialogue this summer. We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing.

We welcomed the United States interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region as they complement our own efforts. We agreed to strengthen our bilateral cooperation as well as cooperation with other partners in the region to achieve common goals in connectivity and infrastructure.

Our counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose. We recognized the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security. We have agreed to deepen our cooperation in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force.

We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognized the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack.

We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us. We discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the United States in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process, that brings together all ethnic groups and political formation in the country.

We had productive exchange on other regional issues as well.

Overall, I am highly satisfied with our conversation today. The 2+2 meeting has helped shared efforts of both sides to promote a whole-of-government approach for our strategic priorities. India and the United States, as the largest and the oldest democracies, each pursuing its independent foreign policy, have many shared global objectives. As equal partners in cooperation, our two countries can benefit not only our two peoples but also become a factor for peace and stability in the wider world.

We have agreed to closely monitor the implementation of the decisions taken today. Secretary Pompeo and I decided to remain in touch regularly through the new hotline between the Foreign Ministers that we will establish.

Thank You.

Disclaimer: The Minister of External Affairs' speech was delivered in Hindi. This is an approximate translation of the speech.

The entire text has been taken exactly as posted by the official website of the Ministry of External Affairs and has not been edited by Firstpost
In June this year, the Gujarat High Court handed over the case to the CID and asked it to complete the probe in three months.

Palanpur: A court at Palanpur in Gujarat on Thursday rejected the Gujarat Police's plea seeking remand of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in connection with a 22-year-old case of alleged planting of drugs to arrest a man.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police had arrested Bhatt and then inspector of Palanpur police station IB Vyas on Wednesday.

The CID produced them before Additional Judicial Magistrate VR Charan, seeking their 14-day custody.

Arguing against the grant of custody, defence lawyers pointed out that it was a 22-year-old case, and a petition related to the matter was pending before the Supreme Court.

After hearing the arguments, the magistrate rejected the CID's demand, and sent both the accused in judicial custody at Palanpur sub-jail.

Bhatt was Banaskantha district superintendent of police in 1996.

According to the CID, the Banaskantha police arrested Sumersingh Rajpurohit, a lawyer, in 1996 on the charges of possessing around one kilogram of opium. Police claimed that the drug was found in a hotel room rented by Rajpurohit at Palanpur.

But later a probe revealed that Rajpurohit was falsely implicated by the police in a bid to compel him to vacate a disputed property at Pali, his hometown in Rajasthan.

In June this year, the Gujarat High Court handed over the case to the CID and asked it to complete the probe in three months.

After arresting Bhatt on Wednesday, CID officials had claimed that the former IPS officer and others allegedly hatched the conspiracy to arrest Rajpurohit by planting drugs on him, so as to force him to vacate the disputed property.

Bhatt, who has often criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the 2002 Gujarat riots, was sacked by the Union home ministry in August 2015 for "unauthorised absence" from service.
King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), the largest privately-funded new city in the world, has awarded a SR32.8 million ($8.74 million) contract to Creet Contracting Company for development of necessary infrastructure over a sprawling 836,000 sq m area within the development.



Set up in 2004, the Jeddah-based Creet Contracting is a specialist in the field of industrial, high-end commercial, residential complex, hotels and electro-mechanical projects covering stages from development, feasibility, design, engineering, project management to the execution and turnkey handing over.



The scope of work includes construction of roads/highways; stormwater drainage network and electrical power infrastructure besides potable/irrigation and firefighting water and sewerage network; treated sewage effluent and the telecommunications network, said a statement from master developer Emaar, The Economic City (EEC).



A Tadawul-listed real estate development and management company, EEC's focus is the planning and development of KAEC, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
According to a government order, Vaid has been placed at the disposal of the General Administration Department for further posting as state transport commissioner.

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday ordered the transfer of Director General of Police (DGP) Shesh Paul Vaid.

According to a government order, Vaid's services have been placed at the disposal of the General Administration Department for further posting as state transport commissioner. DGP (Prisons) Dilbag Singh will hold the additional charge of DGP "till a regular arrangement is made", it said.

The appointment and transfer order comes just two days after Abdul Gani Mir was replaced as Additional Director General of CID by B Srinivas.

Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was appointed as the Director General of Police in December, 2016. He is due to retire in October next year.

Singh, who has been made the in-charge Director General of Police, is a 1987-batch officer. He was made the head of the prison department in March after the infamous of escape of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Naved Jhatt while the latter was on a routine health check-up at a city hospital in February.

Singh, during his tenure as Director General of Prisons, streamlined many things, including the removal of hardened terrorists from Kashmir jails.

He will have a regular appointment only after his name is cleared by the UPSC.

Some more orders are likely to come, in which Arun Chaudhury is likely to be appointed as the Director General of Prisons and S J M Gilani as the Additional Director General of the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police.

The development also comes a week after militants abducted at least eight relatives of policemen. The kidnapped kin were released on Friday.
Several districts across Madhya Pradesh observed a complete shutdown on Thursday, 6 September, in support of protests called by various upper caste outfits

Indore: Several districts across Madhya Pradesh observed a complete shutdown on Thursday, 6 September, in support of protests called by various upper caste outfits against the amendments to the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act passed in Parliament in July 2018.

As per the amendments made by the apex court, which is the primary driving force behind the bandh, unlike earlier, an initial inquiry will not be conducted before registering an FIR against the accused, and the officer on duty does not need to take prior approval from his/her superior before arresting a perpetrator. Moreover, Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not apply in these cases.

As a response to this, a bandh was called by upper caste outfits like SAPAKS, Rajput Karni Sena and others. In districts across Madhya Pradesh, schools, petrol pumps, colleges and markets remained shut. The businesses that remained opened were asked to down their shutters by noon. Residents in Ratlam said that they were unable to get even a cup of tea due to the strike.

To prevent a situation like the violent clashes that broke out during Aprils maha bandh organised by the Scheduled Castes, Section 144 was imposed across various districts in Madhya Pradesh. Further, to maintain harmony and ensure a peaceful protest, a large police force was deployed across the state, and various agencies like SAF and home guards were also called in. Security had been beefed up, and over 5,000 personnel from 34 security agencies were deployed across 35 districts.

In order to make sure that no objectionable and provocative messages could be circulated during the bandh, the Jabalpur district magistrate sent a notice that 2G, 3G and 4G mobile network services in the district will be barred from 8 p.m. on 5 September, till 6 pm on 6 September.

We had deployed a force of 500 police officials to keep a tab on the activities in the city since 5 a.m. We had also identified some sensitive spots to make sure that no anti-social activities take place in the area, Indores DIG Harinarayanachari Mishra said. Nothing unusual took place in the area and all officials were alert throughout the day, he added.

In Bhind, however, stray stone-pelting incidents took place in the afternoon. Sources said that police officials were attacked by a mob in front of the Nagar Palika.

Some individuals from the Ghasoi village in the Suwasra tehsil of Mandsaur set afire an effigy of chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to protest against reservation. They were then asked to leave the spot by police officials.

Gwalior also observed a strict bandh due to the agitation announced by the Savarna Samaj, a major upper caste group. Over 1,500 policemen have been deployed in the area. District police force, STF, SAF and QRT teams were on constant alert while combing through sensitive regions for anti-social elements. Over 120 police mobile vans with 210 policemen scanned through the entire city, and the Gwalior Police installed 40 cameras to scan sensitive pockets. Over 615 CCTVs and four drones helped the police keep a vigil across the city. The security measures are expected to continue through Friday.

Senior police officials said that it was because of the attentiveness of the police officials that clashes and unnecessary incidents were averted in various areas.

Bhind SP Rudolf Alwares and ASP Gurukaran Singh took to the streets with their forces and kept a tab on the situation in the district. They warned about strict consequences and police actions against people who are found to disturb peace and harmony.

Similarly, Neemuch police officials also took out a flag march in the area as a demonstration of strength.

Incessant rains in some parts of Mandsaur, Neemuch and outer Indore did not stop people in the region from protesting against reservation.

SAPAKS members in Bhind wore black T-shirts with the tagline Hum Hain Mai Ke Laal, mocking the chief ministers earlier statement that translated to no mother has given birth to a child who could change the law. Slogans were raised, bike rallies organised, and masses gathered in processions against Chouhan. They submitted a memorandum to senior officials in Mandsaur, asking them to give it to the president, and were dispersed by the police after warnings. They also carried out a rally at Gandhi Square in the area.

Not much activity was witnessed in Indore, but a rally was held from Marimata square to Rajwada, to protest against reservation. The people who participated in the rally were mostly Brahmins.

(The authors are freelance writers and members of 101Reporters.com)
BJP MLA Ram Kadam's statements telling youngsters he would 'kidnap' a girl he likes even if she rejects their proposal, also received major criticism from the Shiv Sena.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) has issued a notice to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Kadam for telling youngsters he would "kidnap" a girl they like, and sought his response within eight days.

The MLA, who apologised for his controversial remarks on Thursday, had made the comments at a dahi handi event in his suburban Ghatkopar assembly constituency Monday night.

The state women's commission took suo motu cognisance of the legislator's remarks based on various reports and issued a notice to him Wednesday. "We have issued a notice to Kadam and asked him to present his side within a period of eight days," MSCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said.

Meanwhile, Kadam apologised for his remarks which "hurt the sentiments of women". Kadam took to Twitter to make his statement. "By doctoring my statements, my political rivals created an atmosphere which has hurt the sentiments of our mothers and sisters. I have already expressed regret over my comments and (I am) once again tendering an apology to all my mothers and sisters," Kadam tweeted in Marathi.

He had expressed regret on Wednesday over his remarks, which triggered an outrage, and issued a video message on social media, saying, "I have very high regard for women. Without giving any explanation about the video clip (of his controversial remarks), I express my regret."

Claiming that his comments were distorted, Kadam said, "A (conveniently) edited video clip of my Ghatkopar event is being widely circulated but I am not going to make any comments about it."

The Shiv Sena, which is an ally of the ruling BJP at the Centre and in Maharashtra, as well as the Opposition parties in Maharashtra, on Wednesday raised their pitch for action against Kadam and likened him to demon king Ravan.

The Opposition warned that it would not allow transaction of business during the winter session of the state legislature if no action is taken against the MLA. BJP state spokesperson Madhav Bhandari, however, had played down Kadam's remark, saying as the MLA has expressed regret, the matter is over.
The body was identified as that of Goutam Mondal (45), a labourer hailing from Murshidabad district, who was missing along with another labourer Pranab Dey since the accident on Tuesday, he said. Mondal was working as a cook in the extension of the Metro rail project going on adjacent to the Majerhat Bridge, he said.

Kolkata: One more body was recovered Thursday from the debris of the collapsed Majerhat Bridge in the southern part of the city, taking the toll in the incident to three, a police official said.

The body was identified as that of Goutam Mondal (45), a labourer hailing from Murshidabad district, who was missing along with another labourer Pranab Dey since the accident on Tuesday, he said. Mondal was working as a cook in the extension of the Metro rail project going on adjacent to the Majerhat Bridge, he said.

The area near the site had been dug up for the project and construction material is strewn all over the place. The other deceased, whose body was recovered Wednesday was identified as Soumen Bag. Of the 24 injured, 11 were discharged Wednesday and 13 are currently under treatment in different hospitals, he said.

After Mondal's body was found, NDRF personnel left the spot, while State Disaster Management Department personnel continued their rescue work at the accident site with cranes, earth movers and drilling machines. "We are closing our operations as it seems there is nobody stuck inside," an official of the NDRF said.

The state government has constituted a committee under chief secretary Malay De to investigate the cause of the collapse. The bridge in Alipore area runs over the Majerhat Railway station and connects the city centre with the heavily populated Behala, vast areas of the south-west suburbs and neighbouring South 24 Parganas district.

With the Diamond Harbour Road being closed and less number of buses plying, thousands of commuters were stuck in huge traffic jams since morning. "We have diverted vehicles to and from the city through various other roads," an officer of Kolkata Police traffic department said. The police lodged a suo motu case against unknown persons in connection with their involvement in the collapse.

This is the third bridge collapse in the city since 2013. An under-construction flyover collapsed in the crowded Burrabazar area, the wholesale business hub of the city, on 31 March, 2016, claiming 26 lives. On 4 March, 2013, a road bridge collapsed in Ultadanga area in the northern part of the city. There was no casualty.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who rushed back to the city from Darjeeling Hills Wednesday, will hold an emergency meeting with the PWD and other departments and the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) in connection with collapse of the bridge.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) suspects that Amol Kale, who is the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh's homicide, is also the mastermind behind rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder.

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken Amol Kale, the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case, in its custody in connection with its probe in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder case, an official said on Thursday.

The CBI suspects that Kale is also the mastermind of Dabholkar's killing, he said.

Kale, who was arrested in May this year by the Karnataka Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with Lankesh's killing, will be produce before a court in Maharashtra's Pune district on Thursday, he said.

Dabholkar was killed in Pune on 20 August, 2013, while Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence at Bengaluru in Karnataka on 5 September, 2017.

The official claimed that during Kale's interrogation, his alleged role in Dabholkar's killing also came to light. Kale and Sachin Andure, the alleged main shooter in Dabholkar's killing, had met in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district and also stayed there in a lodge, he said.

During his stay in Aurangabad, Kale gave a pistol to Andure and it was passed to the latter's brother-in-law Shubham Surale, the official said. The pistol was found in August at Surale's friend Rohit Rege's residence in Aurangabad during raids by the CBI and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

The seized pistol was sent to a forensic science lab for analysis and the ballistic report is yet to be known, he said.

The CBI wants to interrogate Kale to find out about his alleged role in the Dabholkar case and in this connection, the probe agency Wednesday took his custody from a prison in Bengaluru, he said.

During the course of investigation, the CBI is likely to confront Sharad Kalaskar, the other alleged shooter in the Dabholkar case, with Kale, and two others arrested in Lankesh's murder case  Amit Digvekar and Rajesh Bangera, another official said.

The agency had claimed earlier that Digvekar and Bangera were also involved in the Dabholkar murder conspiracy. It had arrested the duo in the Dabholkar case last week.

Kalaskar was arrested last month by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with an alleged conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state. The ATS had claimed that during interrogation, Kalaskar revealed that he and Sachin Andure were involved in the Dabholkar murder, following which it tipped off the CBI which then arrested Andure.

The CBI took Kalaskar's custody from the ATS on Monday.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud of the Supreme Court considered the submissions of lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma seeking a stay on the India-France Rafale deal.

The Supreme Court has agreed to list the petition filed by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma seeking a stay on the India-France Rafale fighter jet deal, reports have said.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud considered the submissions of Advocate ML Sharma that his plea be listed for urgent hearing. According to reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named as the first respondent in the petition.

In his PIL, Sharma alleged discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought a stay on it.

As the heat is on #Rafale and the cabinet briefing has been hurriedly called for at 8.30, this is how the #PIL against #Rafale deal is listed in the #SupremeCourt. The #PrimeMinister has been named personally as the first respondent. pic.twitter.com/UEyPR81EPC  Utkarsh Anand (@utkarsh_aanand) September 5, 2018

According to CNN-News18, the petition alleges that the agreement between India and France for the Rafale fighter jets involved corruption and the cancellation of the older tender without reason and the new deal not being approved by Parliament, suggests conspiracy. The petition seeks an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) monitored by the Supreme Court. The petition also seeks that till the completion of investigation by the SIT, the agreement be rejected.

The Opposition has dubbed the fighter jet deal between India and France as the Rafale Scam and has demanded a joint parliamentary probe to investigate the agreement. The Congress and BJP have been waging a war words over the deal.

In April 2015, Narendra Modi had announced emergency off-the-shelf purchase of 36 Rafale jets in Paris for Rs 1,670.7 crore per aircraft.

With inputs from PTI.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has directed the Kerala police chief to investigate the allegation of sexual abuse made by a woman leader of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) against P Sasi.

Thiruvananthapuram: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has directed the Kerala police chief to investigate the allegation of sexual abuse made by a woman leader of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) against P Sasi, a CPM legislator.

The commission has also directed DGP Loknath Behera to apprise it about the action taken in the matter and ensure speedy delivery of justice.

The panel also stated that it was "deeply disturbed" by the alleged conduct of MLA P Sasi.

The complainant, a leader of DYFI, youth wing of CPM, had levelled the charges against the Shornur MLA, following which the party's state unit began a probe.

The NCW action assumes significance as it comes in the backdrop of the state women's commission making it clear that it cannot suo motu register a case against the MLA as the complaint had been filed before the party.

Industries Minister EP Jayarajan had also stated that such a complaint was not before the government.

In a series of tweets from the Twitter handle of the commission, the NCW said it has written to the director general of police and state police chief, Kerala giving directions that the matter be investigated.

"NCW has also directed him to apprise the commission about the action taken in the matter and ensure speedy delivery of justice to the victim," the NCW said.

The commission was 'deeply disturbed' by such alleged conduct on part of the elected representative, another tweet said.

The NCW took cognizance of various media reports published on 5 September, 2018, according to which a woman leader has accused the Shoranur MLA of sexual assault at the party office in Manarcaud of Palakkad, in Kerala, read another tweet.

President of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee MM Hassan on Thursday demanded the government dissolve the state women's commission as it was a "mute spectator" and was of no use even to women members of the CPM.

Jayarajan had on Wednesday said the complaint had not come up before the government and that it was a party matter.

Commission chairperson MC Josephine had said a suo motu case cannot be registered as the complaint had been forwarded to the party.

"It (the complaint) has not come to us. You should ask the party secretary," Jayarajan, presiding over cabinet meetings in the absence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is now in the USA for treatment, said in Thiruvananthapuram.

Josephine had said if the Marxist party has received such a complaint, the party has its own way of dealing with it. "This is not a new thing. From the time CPI(M) came into being, there have been certain ways for it to handle such issues," said Josephine.

Stepping up pressure against the CPM, BJP's youth wing had taken out a march to the MLA's residence at Kulikkiliyad in Palakkad district yesterday and burnt his effigy in the state capital. The protesters demanded Sasi's resignation.

They also wanted a case be registered against him. Workers of BJP and Kerala Students Union, the student wing of the Congress, had also filed separate complaints with the DGP seeking a probe into the case.

The CPM, heading the ruling LDF alliance, had initiated the investigation after the DYFI woman leader sent a complaint to its central leadership last month, alleging that the MLA had attempted to sexually abuse her.

BJP's state unit president PS Sreedharan Pillai alleged that the CPM leadership had tried to hush up the matter, while party MP V Muraleedharan said the women's commission had become a 'mute spectator'.

Congress leader K Muraleedharan, also attacked the marxist party, saying it had 'double standards' while dealing with such issues.

"When allegations of sexual misconduct were made against a Congress MLA, the government registered a case and put him in jail. Here the party says it has its own ways to deal with the serious charges. People want to know the stand of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the issue," he said on Wednesday.

The woman had sent the complaint to CPM politburo member Brinda Karat on 14 August and e-mailed a copy of it to party general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

The accused MLA has described the complaint as a "well planned conspiracy" to malign his reputation.
After dealing with ownership issues of the paper, which involved Gauri Lankeshs family members, the team decided to launch an online version of the tabloid titled Naanu Gauri, but could not get it registered, as the Registrar of Newspapers for India rejected the title.

The Bengaluru Central University's auditorium was already bustling with people and policemen in khaki uniforms as Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had just attended an event commemorating Teacher's Day on Wednesday. As the clock struck one, scores of people flooded into the same auditorium -- to commemorate journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot outside her home on 5 September, 2017. People from all walks of life were in the room -- activists, journalists, students, and friends.

"It is a very difficult day for us. This is the day we lost Gauri. I remember the day she took on the role. She slipped into it so beautifully," said VS Sridhar, a member of the Gauri Memorial Trust, addressing the people in the auditorium.

She fought for communal harmony in the country, he said, emphasising that more than a journalist, she was an activist as she always tried to give a voice to the rights of those who needed to be represented.

In an attempt to draw a positive narrative to the day when Gauri was assassinated, her namesake tabloid was given a second chance  relaunched as Nyaya Patha, which translates to 'The path of justice'.

Wednesday's cover story focussed on Gauri's role in building the Gauri Lankesh Patrike and her plans for the future. The paper carried other stories that focussed on subjects like violence, freedom of expression, the state of the governance, the death of MM Kalburgi, and demonetisation, among other shorter pieces.

Vaasu HV, a member of the editorial team, said, "Since the intention of people who killed Gauri was to silence her, we have decided to never let that silence set in."

Recalling the first time he came across Gauri when she joined her father's paper  Lankesh Patrike  Vaasu said, "Initially when we realised that she was going to be taking control of the paper, we were unhappy. I even stopped buying the Lankesh Patrike, but she really proved herself by embracing the role." He was initially dismissive because he never thought an English writing journalist would be able to handle a Kannada tabloid, but, she proved everyone wrong, said Vaasu.

The road to resurrection wasn't rosy

The tabloid faced several hindrances after Gauri's death. Vaasu said that their office was seized by the police on 6 September last year, a day after her murder, but that did not deter them from working towards their goal of releasing a special edition commemorating their editor. The last edition of the paper that Gauri had worked on was released on 12 September, 2017 and was aptly titled Nanna Davi Adaguvudilla, which meant 'My voice cannot be silenced'.

After dealing with ownership issues of the paper, which involved Gauris family members, the team decided to launch an online version of the tabloid titled Naanu Gauri, but could not get it registered, as the RNI (Registrar of Newspapers for India) rejected the title. However, the spirited team continued to publish pieces online and in tabloid form, the latter being available only for private circulation.

Vaasu asserted that the idea of going online was already discussed in June, 2017, when Gauri was still alive. The Naanu Gauri website was launched in April, 2018. He said that they had initially thought of launching the website on her birthday in January, but couldnt. However, they celebrated her birthday as a day of resistance and emphasised the plurality of the nation. People close to Gauri and others who identify with and support her work gathered together to discuss what Gauri stood for.

Girish Thalikatte, another journalist in the seven-member editorial team, was quick on his feet as he was actively involved in the event premises. He had been working with Gauri since she took charge of the Kannada tabloid. The aspirations and intentions of the paper remain the same as before, he said when asked about the tone that the new paper would embody.

Vaasu added, that this time, however, they would focus on the youth, as this is what Gauri had planned for the paper. He said that they would focus less on district-wise reports and focus more on issues of the people. The team also plans to extend their online operations and explore different ways to reach the audience.

The team constantly struggled with the RNI to settle on a name for the tabloid. It was at this time that Ashok Murthy, an activist and journalist from Sagara, Karnataka, decided to provide the already registered title of his paper  Nyaya Patha  which was discontinued two years ago. The papers ownership would be shifted to the Gauri Media Trust in two months time and a formal deliberation would be made on the editor, said Vaasu. The Gauri Media Trust also plans on providing fellowships to journalists in the future.

A news website and a weekly tabloid

Now, Naanu Gauri would continue as a news website that would be updated on a daily basis, along with a print edition for private circulation. Nyaya Pratha, on the other hand, would be a weekly tabloid, explained Vaasu.

He said that the support from people all over has been massive and overwhelming. Naanu Gauri has had 104 people contributing in 21 issues of the weekly paper which was started in April this year. In total, we have over 500 writers, Vaasu said.

Siddharth Varadarajan, the founding editor of The Wire who was present at the relaunch, said, "Last year when we met under very tragic circumstances, we took an important decision to carry on the work she had started. This becomes very relevant now. In light of recent events, the voices of those who speak against oppression are silenced in every which way." Varadarajan also emphasised on the challenges that freedom of speech faces in the present socio-political climate addressing the recent arrest of journalists and human rights activists.

Indu Krishna, a documentary filmmaker, was also one of the people who attended the event. Admitting that she did not know Gauri directly, but believed in what the journalist stood for, Krishna emphasised the freedom of speech and dissent, and how it is being curbed in the country. The things that Gauri stood for becoming very relevant in these dangerous times, she said.

The investigation into Gauris murder has led the Karnataka and Maharashtra Police to arrest several suspects related to Right-wing Hindu groups and unearth links with past killings of other activists -- Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare in Maharashtra and MM Kalburgi in Dharwad, Karnataka.

The author is a Bengaluru-based freelance writer and a member of 101reporters.com.
ABout the Rafale deal, Shakti Singh Gohil said Congress workers would tour the country and expose the corrupt Rafale deal.

Kota: Calling Rafale deal the grandmother of all corruption, Congress spokesperson Shakti Singh Gohil has said the culture of crony capitalism has become part of the Narendra Modi government's DNA. Speaking to media persons during his one-day visit to Kota on Sunday, Gohil said Congress workers would tour the country and expose the corrupt Rafale deal.

How the price of Rafale aircraft shot up by 300 percent during Modi's tenure from Rs 526 crore to Rs 1,670 crore, Gohil asked. He alleged the entire deal reeks of gross mismanagement.

"It is said Modi does not accept less than crores. He is the master in safe corruption," Gohil alleged. He said that for the first time three defence ministers have been in office in four years. "Arun Jaitley and Manohar Parrikar escaped the corruption charge in Rafale deal. Nirmala (Sitharaman), being politically naive, is now being made the scapegoat," Gohil alleged.

BJP carried out a campaign against the Congress, alleging corruption in the Bofors deal, however no evidence was found against Rajiv Gandhi, he said. A group of committees should discuss and negotiate when such deals are being made, leaving no chance for corruption, he explained.

If the Modi government is sure of the Rafale deal, why doesnt it constitute a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) as demanded by Congress national president Rahul Gandhi, Gohil asked.
Reacting to the apex court's order directing the Tamil Nadu governor to consider the mercy petition of AG Perarivalan, one of the seven life convicts in the case, state Law Minister CV Shanmugam said the government wanted to release all of them.

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday said it stood for release of all seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and would take a decision after going through the Supreme Court's order on a plea by one of them.

Reacting to the apex court's order directing the Tamil Nadu governor to consider the mercy petition of AG Perarivalan, one of the seven life convicts in the case, state Law Minister CV Shanmugam said the government wanted to release all of them.

"It is the stand and desire of late Amma (Jayalalithaa) that all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case should be released," he told reporters.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami will take a decision after a thorough study of the Supreme Court's judgment and consultations with legal experts, he said.

Perarivalan's mother Arputhammal expressed joy over the ruling and appealed to the state government to take steps for the expeditious release of her son and six others as well.

A bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Naveen Sinha and KM Joseph disposed of the Centre's petition regarding a Tamil Nadu government's proposal for the release of the convicts.

The Centre had on 10 August told the apex court that it does not concur with the Tamil Nadu government's proposal to release the seven convicts, saying remission of their sentence will set a "dangerous precedent" and have "international ramifications".

Perarivalan, 47, had told the apex court that no decision had been taken as yet on his mercy petition filed before the Tamil Nadu Governor on 30 December, 2015 seeking remission or pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Welcoming the court order, DMK president MK Stalin said a Cabinet meeting should be convened and a resolution adopted facilitating the release of all the seven convicts.

Noting that late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi had appealed for their release several times, he said "All of them should be released immediately."

Advocate Prabhu who represented the case in Supreme Court told PTI over phone that the release contemplated was under Article 161 of the Constitution wherein either consultation or concurrence of the Central government was not necessary.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief Su Thirunavukkarasar, however, struck a different note. When asked if he welcomed the court ruling, he said, "no," but added that "let it happen according to law."

"The death of Rajiv Gandhi on Tamil Nadu soil is still a wound in the hearts of the people," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Thirunavukkarasar, however, said party president Rahul Gandhi had made it clear that he did not hold any grudge against anyone.

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss, MP, too urged the government to immediately release the seven convicts.

He said the Centre should not come in the way of the convicts' release by filing new petitions against it, he said.

Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on 21 May, 1991 at Sriperumbudur near Chennai by an LTTE woman suicide bomber, Dhanu, at an election rally. Fourteen others, including Dhanu herself, were also killed.
Orascom Construction, a leading global engineering and construction contractor in the region, said its net income attributable to shareholders increased 113.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2018 to $50.6 million compared to $23.7 million for the same period last year.



Announcing the results for the first six months of the year, the Egyptian group said its consolidated profit surged to $87 million from $58.8 million a year ago.



However, the revenue plunged to $750.1 million in the second quarter from $947.2 million last year, while the consolidated revenue fell to $1.5 billion for the first six months compared to $2.02 billion last year.



Orsacom Construction pointed out that of the revenue, 64 per cent of total share came from the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, while the US operations accounted for the balance during both periods.



The decline in revenue compared to last year is mainly attributable to the completion of the two large chemical plants in the US. Consolidated ebitda during Q2 2018 and H1 2018 were in-line with the same periods last year, while ebitda margin improved to 6.9 per cent and 7.5 per cent in Q2 2018 and H1 2018, respectively, said the company statement.



The Mena business reported healthy performance during the year, generating ebitda margins of 12.2 per cent and 12.1 per cent in Q2 2018 and H1 2018, respectively, it added.



The Orascom Groups net cash position was maintained at $79 million as of 30 June 2018 compared to $173.5 million as of December 31, 2017.

Meanwhile the total equity increased 8.2 per cent to $435.6 million compared to the level last year.



On the perfomance, Orsacom Construction CEO Osama Bishai said: "Our second quarter results demonstrate our steady progress throughout the year as we generated a healthy bottom line while achieving operational milestones and maintaining our backlog. We are also pleased to have paid out a dividend of $30 million to shareholders in July."



"In Egypt, we are diversified across all major construction segments and continue to be an integral player in the development of the countrys infrastructure and new cities. We also maintain our leadership in water-related projects and have been progressing in both execution and business development as we see several projects the pipeline," remarked Bishai.



"We recently completed a 150,000 cu m /day water desalination plant ahead of schedule and are executing a second facility of the same size. Work has also started on Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Firstpost reached out to several members of the LGBTQ community for their reaction to the Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

Editor's note: Firstpost reached out to several members of the LGBTQ community for their reaction to the Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Kumam Davidson is an independent journalist and a social media advocate for gender justice, he tries to fuse liberal, feminist and queer thoughts in his writings. He is also writing a doctoral thesis on the intersection between violence and urbanistion in the case of Karachi. He is also the co-creator of The Chinky Homo Project.

Its 11:30 am, so my father is grumbling why lunch hasn't been laid out for him on the dining table. He has just returned from his usual late morning stroll in the city and brings scraps of news from here and there. He announces to everyone in the kitchen that there are two marriages to attend later in the evening. He then turns to my mother, who is busy checking the piles of white dhotis and pumyats, and tells her, Make sure the dhotis and pumyats are washed and ironed.

She grumbles and replies in a sharp tone, Yes, I know! My sister signals to me that the curry is ready and I immediately lock the screen of my phone where I'm watching the live stream of the news regarding the Supreme Court's verdict on Section 377 (the volume is almost muted). I start serving lunch for everyone.

I can hear slogans from the rally on the street against Manipur University's suspension of students and teachers' associations. My father switches on the TV after he hears the slogans. On channel ISTV, the correspondent is reporting live from the university gate about the statewide protest.

Fifteen minutes later, I unlock my phone. As soon as I open Facebook, the updates come thick and fast: 377 scrapped, homosexuality decriminalised in India. I immediately type a euphoric Facebook update on the Supreme Courts judgment. A minute later, I get a WhatsApp notification. It's a message from a school friend: 377 se keino? (what is 377?).

At that moment, the long-awaited euphoria subsides and I go to the terrace to smoke a cigarette. I wonder what to tell him.

Then, it slowly dawns on me: I don't know what to say.

I open Facebook again. The scope of celebrations in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Guwahati are astounding. I examine myself: sulking and wondering what to tell my friend. There are no easy answers. Worse, I no longer feel a sense of connect to the massive jubilation of the people in the cities. I light another cigarette, take long puffs and watch the never-ending rally in the street.

After sitting on the terrace and smoking two cigarettes, my mind begins to wander. In 2012, I went to my first LGBTQ meet put together by the then Queer Campus Delhi (now defunct) at the Alliance Francaise in Connaught Place. Fifteen people turned up: mostly gay boys and a few lesbians. We introduced ourselves: which, back then, was both awkward and exciting. Following my first participation in a LGBTQ meet, over the next few years, I went to various other meets and events by the same group and others, though my participation was mostly limited to the initial interactions. I never attended the after parties that occurred at the homes of those that turned up.

In retrospect, that marked the beginning of inclusivity and exclusivity conflict in my coming out journey as a queer person in Delhi. For a few years, I happened to be the only person from the North East in all such meets. I made some friends from Delhi: I met them for lunches and coffee once in a while, but no such association lasted. For a long time, I didnt understand why such a sense of alienation marked my experience. That was also the time when occasional protests and rallies were held to protest discrimination faced by people of the North East in Delhi-NCR. I attended such protests and chanted slogans in solidarity with my people.

After I came out, some Facebook friends stopped following me. With the communication ending, it became harder and harder for me to gain a sense of belonging with people from my state and region or the people in Delhi. Meanwhile, the partial associations through work, meets and protests continued. The question of belongingness became a major source of anxiety for me in the past few years: which runs against the egalitarian ethos of queer solidarity, diversity and inclusivity. The sense of alienation continued in Delhi and trying to keep a close association with the community in Delhi didn't shape up well.

Coming out seemed to open new layers of alienation, especially from the people of my region, and I internalised a sense of rejection as well.

A few months ago, both me and a close Meitei friend from Imphalwho lives in Delhirealised we had similar concerns regarding the sense of alienation both in Delhi and back home. We exchanged thoughts, poured out our emotions and thought about the issue extensively but found no clear answers. And as time passed by, we just carried on with our lives and our activism.

Then, out of the blue, earlier this year, In Plainspeak magazine of Talking about Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI) invited the public to send articles on the theme Home and Sexuality. My friend and I quickly penned our thoughts and sent an article titled: Do queer migrants from the northeast find Indian cities alienating or empowering? After several drafts, we found that it became a very pertinent piece for us because we were able to lay out our anxieties and conflicting thoughts on belongingness:

In the case of a northeastern queer migrating to another city for opportunities and livelihood, the racial othering, cultural subordination, and the eroticisation and exoticisation of the northeastern body represents a curious case where it is rather tricky to draw a line between alienation and celebration. Often, reclaiming the desirability quotient and the exoticised versions of the bodies of the people of the North East, which are fetishised as an object of fantasy becomes the most obvious and primary ground for the process of self-assertion and determination, but it doesnt signify a divergence from the narrative of Chinky. In any case, the victimhood remains. By victimhood, we mean a certain loss of power and not being able to represent and influence public opinion of oneself and ones own community. Therein lies the complex case of the Chinky homo.

Following the publication of the article, responses from the community and further collaboration with TARSHI led to the founding of The Chinky Homo Project, a queer anthology of North East India, which at the moment, is in digital format. From the initial years of coming out till now, it has been a long journey: one filled with confusion, euphoric moments, anxieties, fear but also laughter and love. And even today, sitting on the dining table with my parents, I still wonder how much relevance Section 377 has on my life and dignity.

The Supreme Court ruling on Section 377 is indeed a historic moment. Nevertheless, I wonder how much relevance it has on LGBTQIA+ and citizens who live in the nooks and corners of India.

Being a Meitei from a far-off town in Manipur who's living in Delhi, even after all these years there's still a sense of estrangement.

And good or bad, people from diverse cultural, racial, linguistic, caste, class and regional backgrounds came together to fight for the cause on many occasions. Now, what's the future of the movement? Is the case of the northeastern queer, with its baggage of racial, class and regional alienation in Indian cities, going to be acknowledged?

These thoughts occupy my mind today as I sit on the terrace of my small town, far away from Delhi, where the judgment was announced. I get on YouTube and websites of local media to see if there are any reports on today's historic judgment. To my anguish, I find none. I fling my phone aside and take out another cigarette (my third). But before I can light it, my father calls out to me from the stairs, Give my shoes for a good polish.
Section 377 was never the end of the journey but always the first step in demanding respect. That journey remains.

This revolution was televised.

I watched on TV as friends of mine huddled together in a cafe in Kolkata as the verdict on Section 377 came out. They had come with rainbow flags and hope but until the last minute, there was an air of nervous expectation as if they were waiting for board examination results to come out.

Until it happened I had been blase and cynical, I felt I had been there and done that. Id written so much copy about it, said my piece and said it again.

Section 377, we told ourselves, was outdated anyway. It had not prevented us from living, loving and marching. Gay life is stubborn. It exists despite a Section 377. I was over the angst. I was done with the coming out stories.

But when the news finally came, I felt a lump in my throat. I am what I am said the judge. This simple truth is something profound, something so many of us have struggled with all our lives, trying desperately to be what we are not, to fit into boxes that we were never meant to inhabit. We can say we are proud. We can say we are out. We can say we are comfortable. We can say our families support us. But somewhere we all bear the scars of coming to terms with being different.

On television I saw friends, tough activists suddenly tear up on camera. Someone talked about calling her mother who said she had never considered her a criminal anyway. Someone talked about getting calls from friends scattered all over the country. Congratulations they said. I wonder what we are being congratulated for. I didn't do anything. Except try to be what I am. Imperfectly. But I tried.

But it has been the longest examination of our lives for so many of us. And while we think 377 does not really affect our daily lives, it does matter to hear our lives affirmed by the highest court of the land, the same one that had once tossed LGBT Indians aside as a 'minuscule minority' in 2013 when it let Section 377 stand.

In many ways perhaps that 2013 verdict, a slap in the face as it was, was necessary to remind us that rights do not come easy. Until then it felt like some lawyers and activists would ensure it happened while the rest could party and plan gay tourism. English language media was anyway overwhelmingly pro-LGBT. 2013 burst that bubble. And it made people aware how vulnerable rights can be when left to the whim of majoritarianism.

That is what Chief Justice Dipak Misra reminded us today when he said "Majoritarian views and popular majority cannot dictate constitutional rights." And that is a view that extends far beyond the LGBT population of India.

In the days to come, we will analyse the fine print of four judgements from four justices, what they said, what they did not say, how far the ambit runs, what got left out, what doors were opened, which ones were left shut. Section 377 was never the end of the journey but always the first step in demanding respect. That journey remains. De-criminalising gay sex does not mean getting rid of discrimination. And for thousands of LGBT Indians in small towns and villages, Section 377 does not even figure in their daily struggle to survive.

But for now, for so many Indians, its time to pause and rejoice because we get too few opportunities to do that. Its time to remember that a Supreme Court judge said, "History owes an apology to members of LGBT community and their family members for ostracisation and persecution they face because of societys ignorance."

Whether that apology comes or not, it matters deeply and profoundly to have it acknowledged. I am one of the luckier ones, loved, supported, sane. I have friends who did not make it. But none of us came through unscathed. Some of us just learned to disguise our scars better with better accessories.

Already the Bollywood stars are tweeting, Karan Johar says "FINALLY!.. The country gets its oxygen back." Perhaps finally one of them will find the strength to also say "I am gay." We will look for the celebrity voices and the celebrity petitioners to fill our news shows.

But let's never forget this. This was done by ordinary people who dared to say that change could happen against all odds. This did not happen in two years or five. It happened because young men and women came together in cafes, in parks, in dingy offices. It happened because Indian engineers in Silicon Valley printed and photocopied the world's first LGBT South Asian newsletter in their office after hours just with hope in their hearts.

That first issue was like a note in a bottle put out to sea in the hope that someone would find it. It happened because a young advocate from Kolkata, who died too young, pushed for a little pink citizens report called Less Than Gay in the early 90s when the issue was not Lutyens-chic. It happened because of the lesbians who committed suicide in Kerala. It happened because a man training to be a monk at Ramakrishna Mission decided that he would be open about his sexuality, Section 377 be damned. It happened because of a young filmmaker who filmed himself coming out on camera to his mother. And it happened because of his mother who joined the voices against 377 in court after he died much too young in an accident. And it happened because of my Maharashtrian friend from San Jose who married his Vietnamese boyfriend in India because he wanted to be married just like everyone else.

It took much too long but eventually, it did happen. And for now, thats enough. Tomorrow there will be other battles.

When I set down to write this MS Word said Roy_377.doc already exists. Do you want to replace it?

I checked it. It was the copy I had written when it was recriminalized in 2013.

Yes, I replied. It was time to replace it.

I am what I am.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomed the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising the act of consensual sex between individuals identifying as homosexuals. However, the commission's Asia Pacific Director Frederick Rawski said: Even a landmark decision by the Indian Supreme Court cannot alone end the discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.'

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I have been out and about for a long time now. I was among the youngest TV show hosts who was openly gay. Back then, I was scared and worried about the backlash because of my sexual orientation. But I had amazing allies who helped me through those trying years. Over the years, the mindset has changed and its time indeed that Section 377 was scrapped. Its not even an Indian construct! It is a Victorian relic, and reflects a colonial mindset. Section 377 should have left when the British left our country, it should have ended with the end of their oppressive and inhumane rule. Section 377 has now been thrown in the bin  which is where it belongs. It violated the fundamental rights of millions of Indians  rights the Constitution promises all the citizens of this great country.

Model, actor and equal rights activist Sushant Dighvikar  who was Mr Gay India in 2014  spoke with Firstpost in light of the Supreme Courts ruling on Section 377. Edited excerpts: What has the journey to this moment, as the SC pronounces its ruling on Sec 377, felt like  for you, personally, and for queer Indians and allies?

They werent the easiest. The 2009 judgment was a breath of fresh air and we soaked it all in. And then in 2013, our brief moment of triumph was taken away from us. They tried to push us back inside the closet. But I guess it was too late our fight got stronger and harder and today we welcome the SCs verdict.

One also thinks of the 2009 Delhi HC ruling, which had felt like such a landmark at the time  only to be overturned by the SC in 2013. What did those intervening years feel like?

(What we appreciate is that) there have been so many supporters of equal rights for the LGBTQ community, from even outside the community. Straight allies have been with us all through our fight for equality. We are going through a revolution and I think we deserve to be heard and respected.

Filmmaker and producer Karan Johar took to Twitter soon after it became clear that the Supreme Court is most likely to strike down the anti-LGBT Section 377 of the IPC and said, "Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"

The Supreme Court noted that Decriminalisation is but the first step."The Constitution envisages much more." Justice DY Chandrachud said, "LGBTs victim of Victorian morality. Constitutional morality and not Societal morality should be the driving force for deciding validity of Section 377."

"Consensual sex between two adults has been decriminalised but this in no way takes away the vulnerabilities of transpersons, for instance those on the roads doing sex work or begging. I would kike to talk about three points. The court is silent about civil rights like surrogacy rights, marriage rights and property rights. This is still a grey area. Secondly, there is both the Trans Bill and anti-trafficking bill which criminalizes the community. Does this judgment mean that members of the community who are sex workers are safe? Thirdly, it decriminalizes same sex relationships but what about crime and violence faced by the community within their families? There is so much intimate partner violence within the community. Does this law protect the community from intimate partner violence? Will transpersons be able to complain against this form of violence? Or does it go against them? After the coming of the Nalsa judgment, weve been regularly following up with the local authorities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh regarding the violence faced by the community. It has worked as a source of pressure as this has helped us in our collectivization. But still, the inclusivity that we expected at the level of policy and laws hasnt happened. The sensitization within professional spaces across the spectrum hasnt happened too. Sonia, a hijra transwoman from Hyderabad faced an acid attack and it took us three years to claim her compensation. The authorities wanted to physically verify if she is a transwoman, inspite of the Nalsa judgment. That brings us back to our core argument that acknowledgment of a right means nothing. It is a good beginning but on the ground we face these difficulties every day. The push for inclusiveness using this right will have to be led by the community itself, the government has never proactively taken steps in this regard."

"A lot of effort has gone into this judgment, I am thankful to all those who have made this possible. But realistically speaking, the judgments of the Supreme Court has little to do with the manner in which it transforms into rights or as to how society functions. The Dalit and Adivasi community has led struggles for inclusivity and policies reflecting affirmative action but their reality is a different question altogether. We live in times where the ruling government isnt sensitive to peoples struggles or choices. How far will governments really try to incorporate policies which translate into something tangible for the community? Section 377 has been struck down but I dont see any connection between this and the lived realities of transwomen. We still wont be overnight granted access to the basic necessities of life that weve been struggling for. This section has been used as a tool to oppress transwomen for the longest time by foisting false cases on them. Now instead of that, theyll use other sections. There are so many loopholes in the legal system. Theyll foist cases of theft, smuggling and other similar crimes to continue this reduction of our existence to that of criminals, like theyve been doing for a while. Tara died in front of a Police Station in Chennai less than a year back. The police says she immolated herself but they took a video of her doing this. Who is to be blamed here? In front of a Police station if a woman burnt herself and isnt stopped, that means the authorities still dont view as they should. As the Nalsa judgment tells them to view us. I am 58 now and in my experience, in spite of everything that we take out campaigns for, there is so much that needs to change at the level of just perspective towards the community."

Transperson Speaks: SC judgments has little to do with the manner in which it transforms into rights or as to how society functions

"I am so thankful to the Supreme Court for this historic judgement, so thankful to India for finally giving us our rights. But most importantly, I'm so thankful to all the allies who have stood with us over the years lending us support and giving a voice to our struggle."

Filmmaker, festival director of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival and a petitioner in the Section 377 case Sridhar Rangayan told Firstpost that the only way to describe this was with one word  Epic. 

The verdict will not change the mindset in a day, and the real task will actually begin now as the LGBTQ community becomes part of the mainstream. When there is a monumental change in the way society lives, challenges will arise but only through dialogue and discussion can the two opposing views start seeing each other's point of view.

Speaking to reporters outside the Supreme Court, ecstatic group of people for whom the verdict changes the way they live, said that the verdict is not a magic lamp. "The community should keep this in mind that things won't change overnight."

"Public understanding of the sexuality of the community is very complicated. There are so many myths and curiosity around our sexuality but there is a hesitation to understand this and also reluctance. Though we had the NALSA judgment talking about rights of the community, it left the question of sexuality open. The Police has always used this as a weapon against transwomen. Violation of their bodily rights by the State could never be viewed as sexual assault or as sexual harassment. Post-Nalsa, though authorities have been pretending to be inclusive, they always seemed to reduce identity of transwomen to sex work and the illegality of sex. Weve had umpteen conversations about why transwomen need to take to sex work but Section 377 was being used against sex workers from the community. Section 377 has affected the trans community the most and Im glad that this section being struck down will help in this regard."

Transman and independent researcher from Karnataka Sunil Mohan told Firstpost that the major drawback was while conducting sensitization programs for the Police and authorities from the government is on the question of sexuality of the trans community. This judgment has rightfully upheld the point that sexuality should be decided on the basis of constitutional morality and not otherwise.

The activist, who took charge as the principal in 2015, had resigned the following year, citing non-cooperation from teaching, non-teaching staff and students of her college. Her resignation, however, was not accepted by the state education department and she resumed office in January, 2017.

"I have been fighting for my rights since 2001. I have seen many highs and lows but never gave up," Bandyopadhyay, the principal of Krishnanagar Women's College said. "Today, for the past half an hour, I have been getting innumerable congratulatory calls. It is like a new era and a new dawn for all of us associated with the movement," she added. She however, said that she did not think that the verdict would overnight change the attitude of people with patriarchal mindsets towards the transgender community. But, she said that, "With the apex court judgment,the society at large will begin to look at LGBTQ community, including transgenders, in a more positive way. We have come half way, there is still a long road ahead."

Hailing the Supreme Court's landmark judgement, Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the country's first transgender college principal, told PTI that it was a "new dawn" for members of the LGBTQ community and activists. The judgment would enable every community member to claim his/her rightful place in the society, she said.

The RSS has put out a statement saying that it does not believe that homosexuality is a criminal offence but its not natural. "The Indian society did not accept such relations and this issue needs a social and psychological solution," it said.

'Justice for all, freedom for all, freedom to choose, freedom to be. This is India,' says actor Ritesh Deshmukh

"The next step would be exploring how we can file for equal civil rights, laws against discrimination based on gender and sexuality, civil partnership rights and adoption rights."

"I was considered a criminal from the day I was born until today just because of my sexual orientation was different from the people. Today is a huge day and I'm no more a criminal. For the first time, I'm breathing in a free India. The British left us 71 years ago, but the law still ruled us. Finally we've gotten independence from the law.

Ankit Bhuptani, head of the Mumbai branch of Gay and Lesbian Vaishnava Association said, "It is a day of celebration, extremely happy. The law now says not just homosexuals, but even heterosexuals can indulge in oral and anal sex. The impact of the judgment is going to be huge because earlier we could not ask for civil rights, adoption rights and marriage equality and we were considered as criminals. Today, we're no more criminals, we can go ahead and think of marriage equality and so on.

Reacting to the Supreme Court verdict on Section 377, English-language fortnightly Milli Gazette said that it was a "step towards self-destruction". The newspaper describes itself as the "Indian Muslims' Leading English Newspaper",

On homosexuality and religion, he said, "Our biggest obstacle now is to get religious groups to accept us. 80 percent of the country is under some religion or the other. If religious leaders stop saying the crap they say about us constantly and start understanding that we just want to co-exist alongside them, I think we'd have penetrated most of the country in a much much more effective manner."

Romal L Singh, 32, is a Bengaluru-based LGBT/human rights activist and identifies openly as gay. Speaking on the Centre to carry out sensitisation of police forces etc, he said, "Even if the government doesn't do it, we will do it. We would love for the Centre and state governments to do it, but even if they don't take the reading down that seriously, its not like the movement ends. The movement is not over. For those of us working, our job is not done, this is just the first step. Now that the court is on our side, we will go ahead and sensitise people. We will barge into public service offices and say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you about who we are, so that you know how to treat us.' And we won't be scared because we are not criminals anymore. We can finally have that conversation without constantly fearful of being arrested."

In his judgment, Justice RF Nariman said that Parliament in the Mental Healthcare Act has already recognised non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

"While we celebrate this victory, we must acknowledge that we have a long road ahead to make India truly LGBTQ-inclusive. Civil society needs to come together to convert the intent of the Supreme Court verdict to action. The real work starts now. I feel the corporate world is the grounds on which the next victories for equal rights will be won. A lot of companies are progressive and want to promote equality at work but had erroneously believed that Section 377 made inclusive policies illegal. With today's verdict many more corporates will come out in support. To translate it into action, it would mean the conscious introduction of anti-discrimination policies, same-sex partner benefits, adoption leave, inclusive health insurance, gender transition policies, and so on. At the Culture Lab, we are presently working on a paper on Transgender inclusion at the workplace, which will have steps provided to be replicated in other corporates. I am ecstatic that the first breakthrough has been provided in the highest court of law in India and excited about the road ahead. Today, we all celebrate.

Parmesh Shahani, Head, Godrej India Culture Lab told Firstpost: When I wrote my book back in 2008, the queer movement in India was on the cusp of change and we had the landmark Delhi High Court judgement 2009. I could have never imagined the rollercoaster ride that lay ahead with the resurgence of Section 377 in 2013. But today has alleviated all that. Its not just the verdict but the language used by the honourable judges. We have come a long way and never has the rate of change been as fast as it has over the past two years. What we are seeing is the culmination of a very long struggle by individuals and collectives who have pledged to create a free and equal India for its queer citizens.

"I think gay men will benefit most out of this. Theyve been hiding their sexuality behind closed doors till now, from here on they can be open about it, as theyve been demanding. I don't think it will change much for my community."

"Now, instead of 377, the police will say that 'this transwoman stole a ring from her client', or 'that transwoman publicly created nuisance'. These cases wont stop with one judgment. Just a few days back, an educated woman studying in Canada was arrested for talking against the government. Everybody opposed this and she got bail within a day only because she was educated. Would the same happen with the false cases against transwomen? Will people rally against the authorities in such cases too? I dont think so. But our association had a lot of difficulties to discuss sexuality of the community, striking down Section 377 will make it easier.

Kiruba, secretary at the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association  the first association of transwomen in Tamil Nadu  said,"Section 377 has been used to foist false cases on transwomen in the past, I agree. But transwomen also have a role in this. Let me be very frank. Even now, if they keep sex to their families and their house, there wont be a problem. But if they indulge in illegal activities, like if they take up sex work, do you think the police wont arrest them? It is true that they turn to sex work because they dont have other livelihood options. Also, now, complaints that individuals make to the police about harassment by transwomen may not lead to a Section 377 case. But the police will still file cases of fraud, theft, public nuisance, etc. Clients go to police to complain many times too.

"That is why we started this struggle against this Section. I remember a case where Pandian, a transwoman was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police under Section 377. She was sexually tortured in custody on an everyday basis. Not being able to tolerate this, she immolated herself in front of the police station. There was nothing in the ambit of the Indian Penal Code to recognize the brutalities faced by her. We followed up her case till the Supreme Court but ultimately it fell flat. Nothing came out if it. Many leaders have emerged over the years to further this struggle and I am glad that the present generation of leaders have made today's judgment possible for the community."

Noorie, India's longest PL-HIV (person living with HIV), said, "There is a clarity about Section 377 in society now. Facing cruel atrocities back in the day, weve been fighting this Section since 1993. The brutalities by the police used to be horrible in those days. This was a time when there was absolutely zero acceptance for transwomen. They would pick up transwomen according to their whim and torture them in custody. What they would do is foist petty cases on us like theft, ganja smuggling but also this section which was non-bailable. This started becoming a pattern. Any transwomen they would find would be beaten up, abused, and thrown into jail with this Section against her. She would remain in jail and be abused every day.

"After this, state governments and the central government cannot keep us out of the purview of policy level inclusion and will have to go beyond superficial steps. They will have to consider us a political bloc more seriously. These governments have shown concern towards us no doubt, it is clear from the Bills being discussed in the Lok Sabha like the Trans Bill. The Karnataka government brought about a policy in September 2017 for discussion. But at the level of implementation, I dont see much progress. But with this historic judgment, I feel like we can use this a source of pressure to force governments to act. Now this judgment, read with Nalsa judgment, will be a really strong weapon for us. But it is on the community to use it in this manner, to our advantage."

Somya, transgender activist and politician, has contested from Gandhinagar Constituency in the Karnataka Legislative elections as the BSP candidate. He said, "This judgment has been made possible because of the collective struggle of LGBTIQ+ movement. It is upsetting that as this is happening, there are still so many groups who continue to oppose us. But I am not going to spend my time worrying about them or reacting to them. This is a time for celebration.

Even a landmark decision by the Indian Supreme Court cannot alone end the discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is time for the Indian Parliament to conduct wide-ranging review of existing legal framework, repeal discriminatory laws, and address other gaps in the law that prevent LGBT persons from fully exercising their rights, Rawski added.

The commission's Asia Pacific Director Frederick Rawski said: This judgment will not only have an impact in India. Its influence should extend across the world. The ICJ hopes that it will provide an impetus for other countries, especially those of the Commonwealth of Nations, to revoke similar provisions that criminalise consensual sexual relations."

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomed the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising the act of consensual sex between individuals identifying as homosexuals. In a statement, the commission said, "This long-awaited judgment testifies to the work of activists and lawyers in India, who have shown the potential of the law to affirm human rights and equality."

"The remarkable victory today is a milestone in the three decade old struggle by the LGBTI community and their allies in India, she added. However, the LGBTI community's struggle for their rights including marriage, adoption and inheritance will continue, Basu said.

The judgment closes the door on a dark chapter of Indian history. It marks a new era of equality for millions of people in India," said Asmita Basu, Programmes Director, Amnesty International India.

On homosexuality and religion, he said, "Our biggest obstacle now is to get religious groups to accept us. 80 percent of the country is under some religion or the other. If religious leaders stop saying the crap they say about us constantly and start understanding that we just want to co-exist alongside them, I think we'd have penetrated most of the country in a much much more effective manner."

Romal L Singh, 32, is a Bengaluru-based LGBT/human rights activist and identifies openly as gay. Speaking on the Centre to carry out sensitisation of police forces etc, he said, "Even if the government doesn't do it, we will do it. We would love for the Centre and state governments to do it, but even if they don't take the reading down that seriously, its not like the movement ends. The movement is not over. For those of us working, our job is not done, this is just the first step. Now that the court is on our side, we will go ahead and sensitise people. We will barge into public service offices and say, 'Hey, we want to talk to you about who we are, so that you know how to treat us.' And we won't be scared because we are not criminals anymore. We can finally have that conversation without constantly fearful of being arrested."

Key bit in J Nariman's judgement - he says that Parliament in the Mental Healthcare Act has already recognised non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation: pic.twitter.com/fNyTiU3w78

In his judgment, Justice RF Nariman said that Parliament in the Mental Healthcare Act has already recognised non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

"While we celebrate this victory, we must acknowledge that we have a long road ahead to make India truly LGBTQ-inclusive. Civil society needs to come together to convert the intent of the Supreme Court verdict to action. The real work starts now. I feel the corporate world is the grounds on which the next victories for equal rights will be won. A lot of companies are progressive and want to promote equality at work but had erroneously believed that Section 377 made inclusive policies illegal. With today's verdict many more corporates will come out in support. To translate it into action, it would mean the conscious introduction of anti-discrimination policies, same-sex partner benefits, adoption leave, inclusive health insurance, gender transition policies, and so on. At the Culture Lab, we are presently working on a paper on Transgender inclusion at the workplace, which will have steps provided to be replicated in other corporates. I am ecstatic that the first breakthrough has been provided in the highest court of law in India and excited about the road ahead. Today, we all celebrate.

Parmesh Shahani, Head, Godrej India Culture Lab told Firstpost: When I wrote my book back in 2008, the queer movement in India was on the cusp of change and we had the landmark Delhi High Court judgement 2009. I could have never imagined the rollercoaster ride that lay ahead with the resurgence of Section 377 in 2013. But today has alleviated all that. Its not just the verdict but the language used by the honourable judges. We have come a long way and never has the rate of change been as fast as it has over the past two years. What we are seeing is the culmination of a very long struggle by individuals and collectives who have pledged to create a free and equal India for its queer citizens.

"I think gay men will benefit most out of this. Theyve been hiding their sexuality behind closed doors till now, from here on they can be open about it, as theyve been demanding. I don't think it will change much for my community."

"Now, instead of 377, the police will say that 'this transwoman stole a ring from her client', or 'that transwoman publicly created nuisance'. These cases wont stop with one judgment. Just a few days back, an educated woman studying in Canada was arrested for talking against the government. Everybody opposed this and she got bail within a day only because she was educated. Would the same happen with the false cases against transwomen? Will people rally against the authorities in such cases too? I dont think so. But our association had a lot of difficulties to discuss sexuality of the community, striking down Section 377 will make it easier.

Kiruba, secretary at the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association  the first association of transwomen in Tamil Nadu  said,"Section 377 has been used to foist false cases on transwomen in the past, I agree. But transwomen also have a role in this. Let me be very frank. Even now, if they keep sex to their families and their house, there wont be a problem. But if they indulge in illegal activities, like if they take up sex work, do you think the police wont arrest them? It is true that they turn to sex work because they dont have other livelihood options. Also, now, complaints that individuals make to the police about harassment by transwomen may not lead to a Section 377 case. But the police will still file cases of fraud, theft, public nuisance, etc. Clients go to police to complain many times too.

"That is why we started this struggle against this Section. I remember a case where Pandian, a transwoman was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police under Section 377. She was sexually tortured in custody on an everyday basis. Not being able to tolerate this, she immolated herself in front of the police station. There was nothing in the ambit of the Indian Penal Code to recognize the brutalities faced by her. We followed up her case till the Supreme Court but ultimately it fell flat. Nothing came out if it. Many leaders have emerged over the years to further this struggle and I am glad that the present generation of leaders have made today's judgment possible for the community."

Noorie, India's longest PL-HIV (person living with HIV), said, "There is a clarity about Section 377 in society now. Facing cruel atrocities back in the day, weve been fighting this Section since 1993. The brutalities by the police used to be horrible in those days. This was a time when there was absolutely zero acceptance for transwomen. They would pick up transwomen according to their whim and torture them in custody. What they would do is foist petty cases on us like theft, ganja smuggling but also this section which was non-bailable. This started becoming a pattern. Any transwomen they would find would be beaten up, abused, and thrown into jail with this Section against her. She would remain in jail and be abused every day.

"After this, state governments and the central government cannot keep us out of the purview of policy level inclusion and will have to go beyond superficial steps. They will have to consider us a political bloc more seriously. These governments have shown concern towards us no doubt, it is clear from the Bills being discussed in the Lok Sabha like the Trans Bill. The Karnataka government brought about a policy in September 2017 for discussion. But at the level of implementation, I dont see much progress. But with this historic judgment, I feel like we can use this a source of pressure to force governments to act. Now this judgment, read with Nalsa judgment, will be a really strong weapon for us. But it is on the community to use it in this manner, to our advantage."

Somya, transgender activist and politician, has contested from Gandhinagar Constituency in the Karnataka Legislative elections as the BSP candidate. He said, "This judgment has been made possible because of the collective struggle of LGBTIQ+ movement. It is upsetting that as this is happening, there are still so many groups who continue to oppose us. But I am not going to spend my time worrying about them or reacting to them. This is a time for celebration.

Even a landmark decision by the Indian Supreme Court cannot alone end the discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is time for the Indian Parliament to conduct wide-ranging review of existing legal framework, repeal discriminatory laws, and address other gaps in the law that prevent LGBT persons from fully exercising their rights, Rawski added.

The commission's Asia Pacific Director Frederick Rawski said: This judgment will not only have an impact in India. Its influence should extend across the world. The ICJ hopes that it will provide an impetus for other countries, especially those of the Commonwealth of Nations, to revoke similar provisions that criminalise consensual sexual relations."

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomed the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising the act of consensual sex between individuals identifying as homosexuals. In a statement, the commission said, "This long-awaited judgment testifies to the work of activists and lawyers in India, who have shown the potential of the law to affirm human rights and equality."

The judgement closes the door on a dark chapter of Indian history. It marks a new era of equality for millions of people in India. The remarkable victory today is a milestone in the 3 decade old struggle by the LGBTI community and their allies in India. https://t.co/fO0M52HLtd

"The remarkable victory today is a milestone in the three decade old struggle by the LGBTI community and their allies in India, she added. However, the LGBTI community's struggle for their rights including marriage, adoption and inheritance will continue, Basu said.

The judgment closes the door on a dark chapter of Indian history. It marks a new era of equality for millions of people in India," said Asmita Basu, Programmes Director, Amnesty International India.

Section 377 Reactions LATEST Updates: The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomed the Supreme Court verdict decriminalising the act of consensual sex between individuals identifying as homosexuals. However, the commission's Asia Pacific Director Frederick Rawski said: Even a landmark decision by the Indian Supreme Court cannot alone end the discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is time for the Indian Parliament to conduct wide-ranging review of existing legal framework, repeal discriminatory laws, and address other gaps in the law that prevent LGBT persons from fully exercising their rights."

Kiruba, secretary at the Tamil Nadu Aravanigal Association  the first association of transwomen in Tamil Nadu  told Firstpost that the transwomen who indulge in illegal activities, like if taking up sex work, will continue to face harassment from the police and their clients. "Complaints that individuals make to the police about harassment by transwomen may not lead to a Section 377 case. But the police will still file cases of fraud, theft, public nuisance, etc." they said.

A transgender activist from Calcutta, Raina Roy, told Firstpost, "People have been calling Section 377 gay law or homosexuality law for the longest time when in fact it does not pertain to the sexual behavior of just this group of people." She said that, personally for her, it is a big win as a transwomen in Calcutta as she has been working against this Section for the longest time.

While majority of the nation is cheering Supreme Court verdict by decriminalising Section 377, transpersons are not very excited over the verdict. Transman and independent researcher from Karnataka Sunil Mohan told Firstpost that the major drawback was while conducting sensitization programs for the Police and authorities from the government is on the question of sexuality of the trans community. This judgment has rightfully upheld the point that sexuality should be decided on the basis of constitutional morality and not otherwise.

Author of 'The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story' and 'A Life in Trans activism' Revathi told Firstpost, "A lot of effort has gone into this judgment, I am thankful to all those who have made this possible. But realistically speaking, the judgments of the Supreme Court has little to do with the manner in which it transforms into rights or as to how society functions. The Dalit and Adivasi community has led struggles for inclusivity and policies reflecting affirmative action but their reality is a different question altogether. We live in times where the ruling government isnt sensitive to peoples struggles or choices. How far will governments really try to incorporate policies which translate into something tangible for the community? Section 377 has been struck down but I dont see any connection between this and the lived realities of transwomen."

Filmmaker and producer Karan Johar took to Twitter soon after it became clear that the Supreme Court is most likely to strike down the anti-LGBT Section 377 of the IPC and said, "Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"

Supreme Court's landmark ruling has been hailed by people from all walks of the society. Homosexuality is not an offence in India and it is not a mental disorder, five Supreme Court judges declared in a spectacular leap for gay rights in the country and a rainbow moment in its history. The Supreme Court overruled its own 2013 decision and partially struck down Section 377, a controversial British-era law that banned consensual gay sex. The ban is irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary, the judges said. "Take me as I am," said Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, toasting gay pride.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court Thursday unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex. In a strongly-worded order, the court said that Section 377 of IPC was weapon to harass members of LGBT community, resulting in discrimination.

SC terms part of IPC's Section 377, which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary. The Supreme Court also said that other aspects of Section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children remain in force. Section 377 of IPC was weapon to harass members of LGBT community, resulting in discrimination. Any kind of sexual activity with animals shall remain penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC, the Supreme Court noted.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra termed the part of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which crimiminalises unnatural sex as irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

The bench, which also comprised Justices R F Nariman, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra, struck down Section 377 as being violative of right to equality.

The top court, in four separate but concurring judgements, set aside its own verdict in the Suresh Kaushal case. Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The apex court, however, said other aspects of Section 377 of IPC dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children shall remain in force. The historic judgement came on a batch of writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs.

They had sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring Section 377 illegal and unconstitutional. The issue was first raised by the NGO, Naaz Foundation, which approached the Delhi High Court in 2001. The Delhi High Curt had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal".

This high court judgement was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending. The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals, including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.
The Supreme Court order on Section 377 was widely welcomed and celebrated by activists, Bollywood celebrities, and some political parties.

The Supreme Court order on Thursday decriminalising consensual sex between individuals belonging to the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) community was widely welcomed and celebrated by activists, Bollywood celebrities, and some from the political spectrum. However, there was also a section which did not readily accept the verdict.

Activist Anjali Nazia said the Supreme Court had paved way for bigger judgements ahead.

"We were granted a basic human right today and we can't express just how happy we are," Nazia told PTI.

Describing the verdict as a landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said it would be help them in their quest for equality. "It is a start. We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the country's first transgender college principal, said it was a "new dawn" for members of the LGBTQ community and activists.

Taking to Twitter, film director Hansal Mehta, who made "Aligarh" on life of an Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras who had faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a "new beginning".

A new beginning. The law is gone. The Supreme Court has done what parliament failed to do. Now its time for attitudes to change. Lets rejoice but let us also reflect. This is a new beginning. #Sec377verdict https://t.co/2HQqIY7vUB  Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) September 6, 2018

The verdict is clear. Two consenting adults irrespective of sex, religion, cast and gender cannot be rendered criminals by the law. We as a society need to understand this before bringing bestiality, paedophiles etc as a counter to todays landmark judgement. #Sec377Verdict  Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) September 6, 2018

Filmmaker Karan Johar also hailed the verdict and said it is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights.

Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!  pic.twitter.com/ZOXwKmKDp5  Karan Johar (@karanjohar) September 6, 2018

Actor Sonam Kapoor said she has tears of joy for the LGBTQI community and "one day there won't be any labels and we will all live in utopia."

Crying tears of joy for the lgbtqi community. One day there wont be any labels and we will all live in utopia. pic.twitter.com/veQe1S92FD  Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) September 6, 2018

This is the india I want to live in. Not one filled with hate, bigotry,sexism homophobia and intolerance. THIS is the India I love.    Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) September 6, 2018

Actor Swara Bhaskar said the verdict showed that popular morality cannot suppress constitutional rights.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said it does not consider homosexuality a crime, as declared by the Supreme Court verdict, but it does not support same-sex marriage as such relationships are not "compatible with nature". "Like the Supreme Court's verdict, we also do not consider this (homosexuality) as a crime... These relationships are not natural, so we do not support this kind of relationship."," RSS spokesperson Arun Kumar said in a statement. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy called homosexuality a "genetic disorder", and hoped that next government will move a 7-judge bench to set aside the 5-judge bench order.

It is the American game. Soon there will be gay bars here where homosexuals can go. HIV will spread. So, after looking at the consequences I hope the next Govt will move a 7 judge bench to set aside this 5 judge bench order: Subramanian Swamy,BJP MP on #Section377 pic.twitter.com/htFxVXUlXz  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Calling the change "historic", LGBT activist Ankit Gupta of the Mumbai-based NGO Humsafar Trust told PTI the fight for equality continues and there is still a long way to go for it Another activist with the Humsafar Trust said the change has come after 18 years of suffering and what the community has gone through in these 18 years could not be expressed in words. "Tomorrow, when we wake up, we would be able to look in the mirror and not see ourselves as second class citizens or criminals," he said. The Congress also put out a Twitter post welcoming the judgment.

We welcome the Supreme Courts landmark #377Verdict. We have always believed that this has been a long time coming & we celebrate it with our friends in the LGBTQAI + community. Equality won today!#Section377 pic.twitter.com/EaCz5zTIy9  Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2018

Expressing his happiness, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the judgment "shamed" BJP MPs who had opposed him on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018

In a video message, Tharoor also said, "To my mind, the government has no place in our bedrooms. What the court has done today is to express faith in our democracy in the constitutional freedoms that our people have long been granted."

It's been a great day for the country & for equality, it's been a historic day & a day of celebration. Dr. @ShashiTharoor shares his joy & pride in the Supreme Court #377Verdict #Section377 pic.twitter.com/sjQhodgPMP  Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2018

The United Nations also lauded the Supreme Court and said the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBTI persons. It also hoped the ruling will be the first step towards guaranteeing the full range of fundamental rights to LGBTQI persons. Sexual orientation and gender expression form an integral part of an individual's identity the world over, and violence, stigma and discrimination based on these attributes constitute an "egregious" violation of human rights, it said. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said in a tweet:

Discrimination and prejudice are always "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary", as Chief Justice Misra says. I welcome today's decision by India's highest court #LoveWins  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 6, 2018

Feminist activist Rituparna Borah called the verdict a stepping stone. "But there are issues like police violence, right to adoption and marriage that still stay," she told PTI.

LGBT activist and writer Aniruddha Mahale told Firstpost: "As the country celebrates the win (time to rainBOW down to the Supreme Court for this one), we need to understand one integral thing. The struggle might be finally over, but the battle for inclusion has just begun. Heres paving the way for many more remarkable judgments, to hope, to freedom, and most importantly, to love."

With inputs from PTI
Section 377 verdict LIVE updates: A Supreme Court constitution bench on Thursday pronounced a unanimous verdict scrapping Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises unnatural sex. Chief Justice Dipak Misra noted that majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights.

Section 377 verdict LATEST updates: The RSS has put out a statement saying that it does not believe that homosexuality is a criminal offence but its not natural. "The Indian society did not accept such relations and this issue needs a social and psycological solution," it said.

"Human instinct to love has been constrained. Section 377 is based on deep-rooted gender stereotypes. It is a majoritarian impulse to subjugate a sexual minority to live in silence," the Supreme Court said in its ruling.

A Supreme Court constitution bench on Thursday pronounced a unanimous verdict scrapping Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalises unnatural sex. Chief Justice Dipak Misra noted that majoritarian views and popular morality cannot dictate constitutional rights.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and comprising Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chadrachud and Indu Malhotra had reserved its verdict on July 17 after hearing various stakeholders, including LGBTQIA+ rights activists, over four days.

Here are the main conclusions made by the Supreme Court:

1. NALSA - rights recognized including life with dignity. In the same vein, at the core of identity, lies self determination.

2. Suresh Koushal overturned Naz foundation by taking the ground that LGBTQ is a miniscule part of the population and mere scope of abuse. Such a view is constitutionally impermissible

3. The role of Courts are more important when rights affected are of a minority subject to historical discrimination.

4. Transformative Constitution- interpretation should not be literal. Should reflect intent and purpose, in consonance with changing times.

5. Constitutional morality urges the organs of the State including judiciary to protect heterogeneity and prevent imposition of popular perception on the minority. The fundamental rights of even a single individual cannot be infridged upon

The five-judge Constitution bench has assembled in court and the judgment will be read out shortly. The majority ruling will decide whether the constitutional validity of section 377 of the IPC can be upheld.

"The society never has nor will it accept the LGBTQ community. We will not let the "social fabric of the nation be destroyed," said Ajay Gautam, founder, Hum Hindu said ahead of the Supreme Court's ruling.

The Supreme Court's NALSA and Right To Privacy judgments were some landmark moments in the fight against homosexuality. While the former led the law to recognise the trans communities' right to chose their own gender, it opened a debate for homosexuals to have the right to chose their sexual orientation. Similarly, with the Supreme Court ratifying the Right To Privacy, consensual private intercourse could be argued to be a private matter of an individual.

Latest reports have said that the Supreme Court verdict will be delayed at least by 30 minutes. CNN-News18 reported that the verdict is expected at around 11.15 am instead of 10.30 because of the full court reference in memory of two senior advocates.

The Supreme Court will pronounce its much-awaited verdict on a clutch of petitions seeking decriminalisation of a 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual gay sex. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had reserved its verdict on 17 July after hearing various stakeholders for four days, including gay rights activists.

Various surveys and medical reports have highlighted that sodomy in prison cells and sexual assault of men is commoner than we would like to think. If the Supreme Court strikes down the Section 377, it may even open up debate for legal recourse for male sexual assault victim, apart from restoring the dignity and rights of gay couples.

The legal battle against the archaic Section 377 first started in 1994 when the AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA), a human rights activist group, filed a public interest petition in the Delhi High Court challenging the constitutional validity of Section 377. Twenty-four years later, the Supreme Court has indicated that it may do away with the criminality clause against consenting adults.

Four of five judges  CJI Dipak Misra, Justices RF Nariman, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra  have authored separate judgments while Justice Khanwilakar has chosen to concur with one of the judges.

The Supreme Court had attached importance to the consent of individuals on matters of sexual intercourse and sexuality. In a previous hearing, the constitutional bench had indicated that the court will uphold the concept of consent of individuals in its decision.

"We are solely on consensual acts between man-man, man-woman. Consent is the fulcrum here. You cannot impose your sexual orientation on others without their consent," the top court had said.

The Supreme Court will pronounce its much-awaited verdict on a clutch of petitions seeking decriminalisation of a 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual gay sex.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had reserved its verdict on 17 July after hearing various stakeholders for four days, including gay rights activists.

Besides the CJI, the bench also comprised Justices RF Nariman, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra.

The apex court had asserted that courts cannot wait for a "majoritarian government" to decide on enacting, amending or striking down a law if it violates fundamental rights.

It had made clear that it may not strike down the law completely and deal with it to the extent it relates to consensual acts between two adults.

"If Section 377 of the IPC goes away entirely, there will be anarchy. We are solely on consensual acts between man-man, man-woman. Consent is the fulcrum here. You cannot impose your sexual orientation on others without their consent," the top court had said while allaying apprehensions of those opposed to the decriminalisation of the penal provision.

"We would not wait for the majoritarian government to enact, amend or not to enact any law to deal with violations of fundamental rights," the bench had said while reserving its verdict.

Section 377 refers to 'unnatural offences' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine.

The Centre, which had initially sought adjournment for filing its response to the petitions, had later left to the wisdom of the court the issue of legality of the penal provision on the aspects of criminalising consensual unnatural sex between two consenting adults.

It had said that the other aspects of the penal provision dealing with minors and animals should be allowed to remain in the statute book.

The apex court heard the writ petitions filed by dancer Navtej Jauhar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hoteliers Aman Nath and Keshav Suri and business executive Ayesha Kapur and 20 former and current students of the IITs. They have sought decriminalisation of consensual sex between two consenting adults of the same sex by declaring section 377 of IPC as illegal and unconstitutional.

The issue was first raised by NGO Naaz Foundation, which had in 2001 approached the Delhi High Court which had in 2009 decriminalised sex between consenting adults of the same gender by holding the penal provision as "illegal".

This high court judgement was overturned in 2013 by the apex court which also dismissed the review plea against which the curative petitions were filed which are pending.

The top court had commenced hearing on the fresh writ petitions challenging re-criminalisation of consensual gay sex between two adults, rejecting the Centre's plea seeking postponement of the proceedings by four weeks.

At the outset of the hearing, the five-judge bench on 10 July had made it clear that it was not going into the curative petitions and would adjudicate on the fresh writ petitions in the matter.

The writ petitions were opposed by Apostolic Alliance of Churches and Utkal Christian Association and some other NGOs and individuals including Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

Kaushal had also challenged the 2009 verdict of the high court in the apex court which had restored Section 377 of IPC.
During the hearing of the case, Hindu, Muslim and Christian groups were among litigants who supported Section 377 of the IPC.

The Supreme Court's verdict on Thursday decriminalising homosexuality has been met with mixed reactions from conservative elements of society. While some expressed support in relatively half-hearted terms, others strongly disagreed.

Hindu, Muslim and Christian groupsincluding Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha, a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Raza Academy, Utkal Christian Council and the Apostolic Churches Alliance were among litigants in the apex court who opposed the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, took a swipe at those contending that Section 377 violated fundamental rights:

The Supreme Court refused to strike down that part of Section 377 IPC which made sex with animals a crime. Does this interfere with fundamental rights too?  Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 6, 2018

In an interview to News18, Swamy further said, "The decision of a two-judge bench has been overturned by a five-judge bench. If this freedom leads to excesses, including paedophilia, gay bars, increase in HIV cases, etc, we can have a seven-judge bench to overturn this. There is no finality to the Supreme Court's judgment today."

Swamy's comments on the issue on Thursday, while more extreme than many others, are something of a climb-down from his earlier remarks, including terming homosexuality as a "danger to national security."

The newspaper Milli Gazettea publication which describes itself as "Indian Muslims' leading English newspaper since January 2000"described the apex court verdict as a "a step towards self-destruction."

The RSS seemed to support the verdict, but with a caveat. In a statement issued Thursday, the RSS said, "Like the Supreme Court verdict, we also don't consider this (homosexuality) a crime. Same-sex marriages and relations are not in consonance with nature, and so we do not support such relations. Traditionally, Indian society has not supported such relations. Ordinarily, people learn from experience, and so this issue needs to handled at a social and psychological level."

This statement is similar to what Dattatreya Hosabale, the organisation's joint general secretary, said in 2016: "Homosexuality is not a crime, but (is a) socially immoral act in our society. No need to punish, but to be treated as a psychological case." However, he further added, "Gay marriage is institutionalisation of homosexuality. It should be prohibited."

On the other hand, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was more effusive, "Letting go of obsolete laws, keeping up with a scientific temper and honouring peoples choices has strengthened our democracy." However, he courted controversy in November, when he said at an event at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) that same-sex relations are a 'tendency' and are not 'permanent.'

In response to a question by a student speaking about ill-treatment by his loved ones due to his sexual orientation, he had said, "This is your tendency now. Just acknowledge it and accept it, and know that this tendency is not a permanent thing. It may change."

Gay sex among consenting adults is not a criminal offence, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday, holding that part of a 158-year-old colonial law that criminalised it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity.

The top court decriminalised part of the Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises consensual gay sex, saying it was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary. A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra unanimously held that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community possess the same constitutional rights as other citizens of the country.

It termed sexual orientation as a "biological phenomenon" and "natural" and held that any discrimination on this ground was violative of the fundamental rights.

With inputs from PTI
While the 2009 judgment should be lauded for ensuring the inclusiveness, it is Thursdays judgment by the highest court of the land that established individual liberty as the bulwark of democracy and made the widest possible interpretation of morality and freedom.

Supreme Court of India on Thursday, with a stroke of a judgment restored inclusiveness by decriminalising part of Section 377 that made consensual sex between consenting homosexuals a crime.

The judgment was appreciated and hailed by the LGBTQ rights activists and all the sections supporting them. The victory was achieved after a decade-long legal battle which saw a win, a defeat and finally a lasting victory.

The SC judgment apart from safeguarding the rights of LGBTQ community also highlights the fact that Indian Constitution is indeed a living document and not a static treaty as evident from the fact that Section 377 initially was decriminalised in 2009 by the Delhi High Court, the judgment that was set aside by a division bench of the Supreme Court in 2013, which in turn was set aside by the larger constitution bench on Thursday.

While the 2009 judgment should be lauded for ensuring the inclusiveness, it is Thursdays judgment by the highest court of the land that established individual liberty as the bulwark of democracy and made the widest possible interpretation of morality and freedom.

On 2 July, 2009 while declaring Section 377 IPC, insofar it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private as violative of Articles 21, 14 and 15 of the Constitution Delhi High Court observed, If there is one constitutional tenet that can be said to be underlying theme of the Indian Constitution, it is that of 'inclusiveness.

It added, This Court believes that Indian Constitution reflects this value deeply ingrained in Indian society, nurtured over several generations. The inclusiveness that Indian society traditionally displayed, literally in every aspect of life, is manifest in recognising a role in society for everyone. Those perceived by the majority as 'deviants' or 'different' are not on that score excluded or ostracized.

It further added, Where society can display inclusiveness and understanding, such persons can be assured of a life of dignity and nondiscrimination. This was the 'spirit behind the Resolution' of which Nehru spoke so passionately. In our view, Indian Constitutional law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconceptions of who the LGBTQs are. It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster the dignity of every individual.

The judgment delivered by a bench headed by then chief justice of Delhi High Court justice AP Shah was lauded by the LGBTQ community and supporters of gay rights. However, in the normal course, the judgment of the Delhi High Court was challenged and the apex court in 2013, while setting aside the high court judgment held that Section 377 IPC does not suffer from the vice of unconstitutionality and the declaration made by the Division Bench of the High court is legally unsustainable.

Setting aside the Delhi High Court judgment the SC stated, In its anxiety to protect the so-called rights of LGBTQ persons and to declare that Section 377 IPC violates the right to privacy, autonomy and dignity, the High Court has extensively relied upon the judgments of other jurisdictions. Though these judgments shed considerable light on various aspects of this right and are informative in relation to the plight of sexual minorities, we feel that they cannot be applied blindfolded for deciding the constitutionality of the law enacted by the Indian legislature.

While delivering the judgment the Supreme Court left it to the elected representatives to decide whether it wants the section that criminalises the consensual sexual activity of adults in private, to stay in operation or bring in necessary amendments to abolish it.

The court held, While parting with the case, we would like to make it clear that this Court has merely pronounced on the correctness of the view taken by the Delhi High Court on the constitutionality of Section 377 IPC and found that the said section does not suffer from any constitutional infirmity. Notwithstanding this verdict, the competent legislature shall be free to consider the desirability and propriety of deleting Section 377 IPC from the statute book or amend the same as per the suggestion made by the Attorney General.

Five years from then the legislature failed to take up the responsibility and once again it was the judiciary that rose to the occasion. A five-judge constitutional bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, hearing a clutch of petitions challenging Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) once again reaffirmed the Delhi High Court judgment of 2009 by decriminalising consensual adult sex in private.

The court while delivering a judgment observed, Section 377 IPC, so far as it criminalises even consensual sexual acts between competent adults, fails to make a distinction between non-consensual and consensual sexual acts of competent adults in private space which are neither harmful nor contagious to the society. Section 377 IPC subjects the LGBTQ community to societal pariah and dereliction and is, therefore, manifestly arbitrary, for it has become an odious weapon for the harassment of the LGBTQ community by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment.

It added, An examination of Section 377 IPC on the anvil of Article 19(1)(a) reveals that it amounts to an unreasonable restriction, for public decency and morality cannot be amplified beyond a rational or logical limit and cannot be accepted as reasonable grounds for curbing the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and choice of the LGBTQ community. Consensual carnal intercourse among adults, be it homosexual or heterosexual, in private space, does not in any way harm the public decency or morality. Therefore, Section 377 IPC in its present form violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

It is worth remembering what (just a day before enactment of the Indian Constitution) BR Ambedkar said in the constituent assembly. He said, I feel, however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot. The working of a Constitution does not depend wholly upon the nature of the Constitution.

By delivering this judgment and establishing the rights of LGBTQ community it can be safely said that the basic spirit of the Constitution, at least in this respect, was well guarded by the judiciary.
India on Thursday became the 26th country in the world to decriminalise homosexuality as the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code to be unconstitutional to the extent that it criminalises consensual sexual acts.

India on Thursday became the 26th country in the world to decriminalise homosexuality as the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code to be unconstitutional to the extent that it criminalises consensual sexual acts between adults, whether homosexual or heterosexual.

The five-judge constitution bench of the apex court decriminalised part of Section 377 which criminalises consensual unnatural sex.

Delivering four separate but concurring judgments, the Supreme Court set aside its 2013 verdict which had re-criminalised consensual unnatural sex.

'Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality'

Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar, who wrote the main 166-page judgment, held that Section 377 had become an "odious weapon" to harass the LGBTQ community which was made a "societal pariah" by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment.

The CJI held that Section 377 in its present form violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, which deals with freedom of speech and expression.

"Individual has sovereignty over his or her body and can surrender autonomy wilfully to another individual and their intimacy in privacy is a matter of their choice and such concept of identity is not only sacred but is also in recognition of the quintessential facet of humanity in a person's nature," the verdict said.

It also said that "consensual carnal intercourse among adults, be it homosexual or heterosexual, in private space, does not in any way harm the public decency or morality. Therefore, Section 377 IPC in its present form violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution."

The respect for individual choice is the "very essence" of liberty and criminalising carnal intercourse under Section 377 is "irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary", it categorically stated.

"Section 377 of IPC subjects the LGBT community to societal pariah and dereliction and is, therefore, manifestly arbitrary, for it has become an odious weapon for the harassment of the LGBT community by subjecting them to discrimination and unequal treatment. Therefore...Section 377 of IPC is liable to be partially struck down for being violative of Article 14 of the Constitution," it said.

"It is true that the principle of choice can never be absolute under a liberal Constitution and the law restricts one individual's choice to prevent harm or injury to others," it said, adding that sexual orientation was one of the many biological phenomena which is natural and inherent in an individual.

"Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality and it is only constitutional morality that can be allowed to permeate into the Rule of Law. The veil of social morality cannot be used to violate fundamental rights of even a single individual, for the foundation of constitutional morality rests upon the recognition of diversity that pervades the society," it said, adding that the right to live with dignity has been recognised as a human right internationally and the courts must strive to protect," it also said.

'History owes apology to LGBTQ community'

History owes an apology to the members of the LGBTQ community and their families for the delay in providing redressal for the "ignominy" and "ostracism" they have faced through the centuries, Justice Indu Malhotra said.

Justice Malhotra, who wrote a separate concurring judgment decriminalising consensual gay sex, said the members of this community were compelled to live under the fear of reprisal and persecution which occurred due to the ignorance of the majority to recognise that homosexuality is a "completely natural" condition which is part of a range of human sexuality.

Such persons deserve to live a life unshackled from the shadow of being 'unapprehended felons', the judge said.

"History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution," Justice Malhotra said in her 50-page verdict.

"This was on account of the ignorance of the majority to recognise that homosexuality is a completely natural condition, part of a range of human sexuality. The mis-application of this provision denied them the fundamental right to equality guaranteed by Article 14," she said.

Justice Malhotra said "reading down of Section 377 is necessary to exclude consensual sexual relationships between adults, whether of the same sex or otherwise, in private, so as to remove the vagueness of the provision to the extent it is inconsistent with Part III of the Constitution."

'Constitution neither demands conformity nor contemplates mainstreaming of culture'

Justice DY Chandrachud in his judgment observed that denial of right to sexual orientation was akin to denial of right to privacy.

He said that Section 377 had consigned a group of citizens to "the margins", due to which the members of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) community were relegated to the anguish of being "closeted identities".

"Sexual and gender based minorities cannot live in fear, if the Constitution has to have a meaning for them on even terms," Justice Chandrachud said, adding, "sexual orientation has become a target for exploitation, if not blackmail, in a networked and digital age".

"It is difficult to right the wrongs of history. But we can certainly set the course for the future. That we can do by saying, as I propose to say in this case, that lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders have a constitutional right to equal citizenship in all its manifestations," he said.

Writing a 181-page verdict, Justice Chandrachud said the human instinct to love was "caged" by constraining the physical manifestation of their sexuality because of the colonial law.

Stressing that "individual liberty is its soul", he said that choosing of a partner, ability to find fulfilment in sexual intimacies and not to be subjected to discriminatory behaviour, were intrinsic to the constitutional protection of sexual orientation.

"A hundred and fifty eight years is too long a period for the LGBT community to suffer the indignities of denial. That it has taken 68 years even after the advent of the Constitution is a sobering reminder of the unfinished task which lies ahead. It is also a time to invoke the transformative power of the Constitution," he said.

He said the Constitution neither demands conformity, nor contemplates the main-streaming of culture as it "nurtures dissent as the safety valve for societal conflict".

'Fundamental rights chapter like the north star in the universe of constitutionalism'

Justice RF Nariman in his judgment said that Section 377 was the product of the Victorian-era morality which was long gone and there was no reason to continue with it especially when it enforces Victorian mores upon the citizenry of India.

"We find that Section 377, in penalizing consensual gay sex, is manifestly arbitrary. Given modern psychiatric studies and legislation which recognizes that gay persons and transgenders are not persons suffering from mental disorder and cannot therefore be penalized, the Section must be held to be a provision which is capricious and irrational," Justice Nariman said.

He also said that constitutional morality always trumps any imposition of a particular view of social morality by changing majoritarian regimes.

He said the apex court is the custodian of fundamental rights which are beyond the reach of majoritarian governments.

"The very purpose of the fundamental rights chapter in the Constitution of India is to withdraw the subject of liberty and dignity of the individual and place such subject beyond the reach of majoritarian governments so that constitutional morality can be applied by this Court to give effect to the rights, among others, of 'discrete and insular' minorities."

"One such minority has knocked on the doors of this Court as this Court is the custodian of the fundamental rights of citizens. These fundamental rights do not depend upon the outcome of elections. And, it is not left to majoritarian governments to prescribe what shall be orthodox in matters concerning social morality," Justice Nariman said.

He said "fundamental rights chapter is like the north star in the universe of constitutionalism" in India.

Activists welcome judgment but not all happy with it

The verdict was widely welcomed and celebrated by activists, Bollywood celebrities, and some from the political spectrum. However, there was also a section which did not readily accept the verdict.

Activist Anjali Nazia said the Supreme Court had paved way for bigger judgments ahead. "We were granted a basic human right today and we can't express just how happy we are," Nazia told PTI.

Describing the verdict as a landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said it would be help them in their quest for equality. "It is a start. We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

Manabi Bandyopadhyay, the country's first transgender college principal, said it was a "new dawn" for members of the LGBTQ community and activists.

Taking to Twitter, film director Hansal Mehta, who made "Aligarh" on the life of Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras, who faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a "new beginning".

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on the other hand, said that even though it does not consider homosexuality a crime, it does not support same-sex marriage as such relationships are not "compatible with nature".

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy called homosexuality a "genetic disorder", and hoped that next government will move a 7-judge bench to set aside the 5-judge bench order.

With inputs from PTI
Ashok is perhaps the first Indian homosexual to step out of the closet even though he had confessed to it, and had sought comfort to mentally come to terms with it with a spell in a monastery

In the winter of 1984, I had come down from Ahmedabad to cover the BJP's National Council meeting in Pune. The late Pramod Mahajan had taken me to the press room set up by the party to facilitate the media's work in covering the event. At random, and because he was the first person we came across, Mahajan introduced me to Ashok Row Kavi.

The introduction was merely by name and the newspapers for which we worked. Ashok extended it by saying, "I am gay". There was no reason for this, but from what he said today on TV soon after the Supreme Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, society has to be educated to accept not just the judgment but also issues stemming from the verdict.

Ashok spoke of gay marriages, the right to adoption and inheritance, and now, it strikes me that what came as a surprise self-introduction was his campaign from then itself. The key point he always made to this enduring monogamous heterosexual was to accept him for what homosexuals are. He was not ashamed of being gay.

This fellow journalist is perhaps the first Indian homosexual to step out of the closet even though he had confessed to it, and had sought comfort to mentally come to terms with it with a spell in a monastery. Once he decided he was what he was, he started on the long journey to what happened on Thursday with help and coordination from others in the LGBT community.

This is no bid to belittle any contribution from the innumerable people from the LGBT community and their sympathisers. I personally know no other homosexuals. No one else has told me he or she was one. I am sharing what I know about one of the heroes of a day that saw the court speaking its mind about how the legislature did nothing in decades to bring the growing community into the mainstream.

Ashok had the habit of naming many big names in private conversations as being gay. They included actors, lawyers, judges and big names in business and academia that would shock me because those from the list I knew gave no indication of being homosexual. "Thats the point," he would emphasise, "That is the fear of the law and the society."

One does not know if those he mentioned will now step out of the closet, but that would be their private decision. There is no reason to either expect or demand that they do so, for that is their choice, as sexual orientation itself is a very private issue. It may take time for the significance of the decriminalisation of homosexuality to sink in.

The fear of ostracism, of course, could linger because we in India don't respect the law as much as we need to. Ashok came out of the closet long ago. I recall him visiting me at home one day when I had another stay-in guest, an eminent person of Indian origin who was a senior scientist in the US. There too, Ashok, added to my introduction of him, saying, "I am gay."

Apart from this campaign to seek a judicial reading down of the archaic law, Ashok set up a magazine, Dost, to help the community quietly bond. He was the founder of the Humsafar Trust that functioned as an NGO and counselled the gay community on HIV and AIDS issues, ran intervention programmes, and everything else that took the movement forward.
Love seems to be the 'common' ingredient in royal marriages involving non-royals While the world celebrates Princess Mako giving up her royal status to be with the one she loves, here are some more examples where love triumphed over social status, titles and 'the ways of the world'
Future of The Fjords, a revolutionary all-electric passenger vessel, has won the Ship of the Year 2018 award at SMM, an international maritime trade fair, being held in Hamburg, Germany.



The four-day event will run until September 7.



The win marks the second time in three years that owner The Fjords, together with shipyard Brdrene Aa, has secured the title, with sister ship Vision of The Fjords taking the prize in 2016, said a statement from the company.



Although both vessels share the same energy efficient carbon fibre hull, Future of The Fjords was seen by awards organiser Skipsrevyen, its readers and expert judging panel as marking a major leap forward in sustainable transport, both on the water and, potentially, on land, it said.



Rolf A Sandvik, chief executive officer, The Fjords, said: We are proud to receive this accolade and excited about what it means for ourselves, our stakeholders and the wider transport industry.



Both Vision and Future were designed to showcase and protect the unique Norwegian UNESCO World Heritage listed landscape they sail through  delivering an optimal passenger experience, whereby visitors can become at one with nature, without impacting upon it, he said.



Sandvik continued: However, while Vision with its hybrid solution marked the start of that journey, Future a true zero emission, silent running vessel, really signals the fulfilment of our dream.



Wed like to thank everyone thats worked with us on this project  including our owners Flam AS and Fjord1 ASA, key suppliers Westcon, Servogear AS, Aurland Harbour KF, state run low emission solutions supporter Enova, and energy supplier Aurland Energiverk  for making the dream come true, he added.



Future of The Fjords is the worlds first all-electric carbon fibre vessel, but this wasnt the only deciding factor in elevating the vessel above fellow award nominees Antarctic Endurance, a krill harvesting ship owned by Aker Biomarine, and Ponants expedition cruise ship Le Laperouse.



The revolutionary power dock charging solution was also key to the win, as Sandvik explains:

Due to the limited local grid capability in our port of Gudvangen we could only access a charging capacity of 1.2MWh, just half of what the vessel requires.



So we, together with Brdrene Aa, in collaboration with our project partners, had to think a little differently to achieve our aims. Together we came up with the idea of a floating 2.4MWh battery bank contained in a 40m long glass fibre composite body. This could simply and slowly top up capacity from the grid through the day without the need for disruptive and expensive power surges, he said.



Then we started to think about how else we could utilise the structure. Could we use it to take on black water from the vessels too, so we didnt have to dump sewage directly into the fjords like other passenger vessels? In this way we could make Future truly zero emissions, both to air and to water. And it didnt stop there. We ended up fitting the dock with a 40 m3 diesel tank for Vision, alongside storage room for on-board consumables, allowing the vessels to maximise passenger capacity. Its a one of a kind piece of floating infrastructure, with potential far beyond this project, he added.



The Fjords and Brdrene Aa now believe the dock can be used as a widespread enabler for green transport on land. The idea is that anywhere theres an electric ferry, often remote rural locations with limited grid capacity, power docks can be used to charge electric cars, buses and other transport modes. In this way they could form cost effective, efficient and easy to install local power hubs, changing the way communities move, it said.



Sandvik said: As such this project, and this win, is about more than just one ship, its about the future.



We firmly believe it has the potential to make waves right across the globe. Its great to see that others, including the award jury, see those possibilities too, he concluded.



Future of The Fjords launched in May and will now make around 700 round-trip voyages a year, silently sailing between Norways Flam and Gudvangen, with the highlight of the trip the stunning UNESCO listed Nryfjord.



Both Vision and Future offer panoramic views from inside, while enabling all passengers, including those of limited mobility, to climb over them outside. In recognition of this accessibility, the design received the Norwegian Centre for Design and Architecture (DOGA) Universal Design Transport award 2017, as well as the overall 2017 DOGA Innovation prize, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Amid the SC ruling on Sec 377, Devdutt Pattanaiks book on how Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism affirm the dignity of queer individuals makes for a timely read

Editor's note: As the Supreme Court of India scrapped portions of Section 377 on 6 September 2018, Devdutt Pattanaiks I am Divine So Are You: How Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism Affirm the Dignity of Queer Identities and Sexualities (HarperCollins India) makes for a timely read. In this chapter from the book, Pattanaik asks  How have karmic faiths been used to be hostile to the queer? This excerpt was originally published on 13 July and is being reproduced now to coincide with the ruling.

***

In hermit traditions of the Karmic faiths, sensuality is seen as causing bondage to the sea of materiality and entrapping man in the endless cycle of rebirths. Sex is seen as polluting and only the celibate man (sanyasi) and the chaste woman (sati) are considered pure and holy. And so an identity based on sexuality draws much criticism.

That is why in Vinaya Pitaka, the code of conduct for Buddhist monks, it is explicitly stated that the queer pandaka should not be ordained. Rules extend to women who dress like men, or do not behave like women, which we can take to mean lesbians. Jain rejection of homosexuality also stems from its preference for the monastic lifestyle. Anti-queer comments on homosexual behaviour in the Manusmriti are more concerned with caste pollution than the sexual act itself. People involved in non-vaginal (ayoni) sex are told to perform purification rites, such as bathing with clothes on or fasting. More severe purification is recommended for heterosexual adultery and rape.

Karmic faiths believe that the living owe their life to their ancestors and so have to repay this debt (pitr-rina) by marrying and producing children. This is a key rite of passage (sanskara). This is a major reason for opposing same-sex relationships, which are seen as essentially sterile and non-procreative. Sikhism states nothing against queer genders or sexuality but values marriage and the householders life.

The following are ideas based on Karmic faiths that can be used to affirm the dignity of queer people:

1. There is no concept of Judgement Day in any Karmic faith. God is no judge. There is no such thing as eternal damnation for anyone, which includes queer people.

2. Nature/God is infinite (ananta). Infinity has no boundaries (rekha), no divisions (khanda). It is fluid, like a river. It includes the queer. The human mind is finite and limited and so cannot understand everything. We have to accept even that which makes no sense to us, with love for and faith in the infinite.

3. Our body, our personality and our sexuality are outcomes of their karmic burden. They are therefore natural. Wisdom lies in accepting them as such rather than fighting them.

4. Knowledge helps us accommodate the queer in society. Every society has to change its rules as per the needs of geography (sthana), history (kala) and people (patra). In the past, women were seen as inferior to men, Dalits as inferior to Brahmins, and queers as inferior to straight people. But this is considered unacceptable in modern times. We have to change with the times.

5. We have to think in practical terms:

a. How to include the queer in our family?

b. Who will take care of the queer when he/she is old?

c. How will the queer take care of old parents when they grow old?

d. How will the queer take the family name forward?

6. Problems with the queer are the same problems we face with young men and women who are increasingly choosing career over family, singlehood over marriage, divorce over staying together, and preferring to have only one child. Old religious practices are being abandoned and new ways are emerging as boys and girls marry across religions, languages, castes and communities. This adjustment is no different from adjusting with queer people.

7. Queer people can get married, for marriage is between souls (atma) that have no gender. We give too much value to the body (sharira) that can be male, female or queer.

8. No matter what our body (male, female, queer), no matter what our social status (rich/poor, educated/uneducated, married/unmarried, business/service), every human being has to cope with loneliness, sense of invalidation, and feelings of frustration and abandonment. This is universal for all creatures. Wisdom lies in helping people cope with this.

9. God is within us (jiva-atma) and others (para-atma). Through the other (para-atma) we can realise the infinite divine (param-atma). Hence the Upanishadic maxims: there is divinity within me (aham brahmasmi) and in you as well (tat tvam asi). To discover love and appreciation for the world as it is, not the way we want it to be, is wisdom. Discover God  that is wisdom and love  within you by being more generous and accepting of the queer in you and around you.

10. Everything in the eternal faiths (sanatana dharma) has a way out (upaay), nothing is fixed, provided we have open hearts, expanded minds, and are willing to adjust. We must take into account that Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism are not homogeneous. They comprise numerous sects and communities. Yet the overarching and fundamental wisdom that is common to all Karmic faiths makes ample room to accommodate the queer with innovative solutions.

As far as the state and sexuality are concerned, there is confusion. As mentioned earlier, India has deep and historic comfort with transgenders, although they continue to be on the margins of society. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, openly advocated transgender rights in August 2016. Indeed, at a grand festival in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh in June 2016, the government provided transgenders (known locally as kinnara) separate toilets. Contrast this with debates on transgender toilets in the United States and the rise of trans-phobic feminists.

Notably, in Abrahamic religions, God is avowedly masculine and so are most of his prominent prophets. There are tales of homoerotic love, like that between David and Jonathan, son of Saul, and the highlight of the discourse on sexuality dwells on the cities of Sodom and Gommorah destroyed by God for their queer and sensual proclivities.

While the third gender is acknowledged, the rest of the queer spectrum continues to be invisibilised. Thus in India, while transgenders enjoy full civic and human rights, homosexual unions continue to be criminalised under unnatural sex laws. This homophobia can be traced to influences of conservative Christian and Islamic frameworks and to Hindu supremacists trying to reframe Hinduism along Abrahamic lines.

Therefore, it is important to emphasise the fundamental liberalism that lies at the core of Karmic faiths and articulate the strains of beliefs that affirm the dignity of queer expressions: Buddhism advocates a deep sense of shared compassion for the queer and encourages a sense of identity that is authentic and liberated from social and illusory constructions. Jainism advocates non-violence and radical scepticism and, as a result, avoids rushing to judgement about queer realities. Sikhism strongly advocates equality among genders and persons. And Hinduism celebrates diversity, which includes the queer in all of its manifestations.

Devdutt Pattanaik writes, illustrates and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has written more than 30 books and is a public speaker, leadership coach and management theorist.
Amit Shah was speaking after flagging off the second phase of pre-electoral drive of Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh to reach out to voters from Kurrubhat village near Dongargarh in Rajnandgaon district.

Dongargarh (Chhattisgarh): BJP president Amit Shah on Wednesday attacked Rahul Gandhi, saying instead of demanding an account of work done by Narendra Modi government in the last four years, the Congress president should answer why development did not reach the masses during the "six-decade rule of his family".

Addressing a rally at Kurrubhat village, Shah set a target of winning 65 of total 90 seats for the BJP in the upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly polls and said the Opposition will not be able to defeat the BJP as it is as difficult as "lifting the leg of Angad".

Angad, the son of monkey king Bali, is a mythological character from Ramayana. He had challenged those in demon king Ravana's court to lift his leg, but none had succeeded.

Shah was speaking after flagging off the second phase of pre-electoral drive of Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh to reach out to voters from Kurrubhat village near Dongargarh in Rajnandgaon district. The yatra was renamed in the memory of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

While the first phase of the yatra had covered 5,000 kilometres across 55 Assembly constituencies, the second phase is expected to cover about 6,000 kilometres.

Shah, who was addressing the rally at Pragyagiri ground in Kurrubhat village, claimed Rahul Gandhi had no right to question the Modi government and slammed the performance of previous Congress governments.

"His (Gandhi) government was in power for 60 years but why electricity did not reach villages.... Why farmers did not get better MSP.... Why benefits of other welfare schemes did not reach masses?

"People of the country want to know the account of 60 years of rule from you," the BJP chief said.

"We don't need to answer you. You don't have the right to ask this question," he said.

Before the launch of the mass outreach campaign, Shah and Singh paid obeisance at Maa Bamleshwari temple in Dongargarh.

Shah also slammed Rahul Gandhi for criticising Raman Singh over the purchase of smart phones for the Sanchar Kranti Scheme (SKY) in Chhattisgarh.

SKY, launched in July this year, is expected to benefit 45 lakh women belonging to poor families and five lakh college students who will be given smartphones.

Shah said, "I was listening to speech of 'Shehzada' (prince) of the Congress. He was asking Modiji's account of the work done during the last four years. Why was he even asking this question?"

"The people of the country wanted to know from Rahul the account of work done during your four-generation rule," he said.

Referring to the alleged coal allocation scam that had surfaced under the previous Congress-led UPA government, Shah said the Congress is a "coal mine thief which committed irregularities in the coal block allocations".

"Rahul baba during his recent visit to Chhattisgarh, was asking why the Raman Singh government did not purchase mobile phones from BHEL under the SKY scheme. BHEL does not manufacture phones and Rahul does not even know that and he is asking for the hisab (account)," he said.

Recalling the contribution of Vajpayee in the formation of Chhattisgarh, Shah said, "Atal ji had founded Chhattisgarh state and Raman Singh has developed it as per his dreams".

The state was formed on 1 November, 2000.

Assembly polls are slated to be held in Chhattisgarh along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram later this year.

Shah also praised Raman Singh for naming the upcoming new state capital of Chhattisgarh as "Atal Nagar".

He appealed to people to elect the Singh government for the fourth term in upcoming polls for building "new Chhattisgarh by 2025".

"Chhattisgarh was considered as a 'bimaru' state before the BJP came to power (15 years ago). But now it is counted among the developed states," the BJP chief said.

"The BJP has continued its winning spree in various states under the leadership of Narendra Modi who has been working to safeguard the country. Raman Singh has developed Chhattisgarh in a similar manner," he said.

Shah said Modi as prime minister gave a befitting reply to Pakistan by ordering surgical strikes across the LoC after the Uri attack (in 2016).

"That time it was neither the rule of the Congress nor Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. It was Narendra Modi who took the decision (of surgical strike)," he said, adding that ceasefire violations by Pakistan were rampant before the BJP took over.

In his address, Raman Singh said his government had prepared a draft of the Atal Vision Document for the creation of New Chhattisgarh by 2025.

"We have vowed to double the GSDP (gross state domestic product) of Chhattisgarh when it would be celebrating its silver jubilee in 2025. We want to double the income of farmers. It is the right of every citizen to access quality medical facilities and internet connection," the chief minister said.

He said the Atal Memorial will be constructed at Atal Nagar on a five-acre plot. Soil for the memorial will be collected from every village and religious place in Chhattisgarh. After offering prayers at Maa Bamleshwari temple, Shah collected soil from the site.
The Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP of bribing voters with state funds through its 'free smartphone' scheme in Rajasthan and insulting the legacy of Rajput king Maharana Pratap by naming it after him

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday accused the BJP of bribing voters with state funds through its 'free smartphone' scheme in Rajasthan and insulting the legacy of Rajput king Maharana Pratap and his close aide Bhamashah by naming it after name. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged that weeks before the Model Code of Conduct comes into force, the Vasundhara Raje government is spending people's money to lure voters in the state.

The BJP government in Rajasthan has announced providing free smartphones with Internet connectivity, under the Bhamashah Digital Parivar Yojana' to families covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in the state. As per government records, 1.64 crore families with 6.08 crore members are enrolled with 'Bhamashah' scheme and of these 1.03 crore families are entitled to receive benefits under the NFSA.

"The BJP is using public money to collectively bribe the people of Rajasthan. It is offering mobile phones as an 'electoral lollipop' with tax payers' money to garner votes," Singhvi alleged. There is nothing wrong in making manifesto promises but spending people's money to offer an 'electoral bribe' is an offence, he told reporters. The Congress leader claimed it is being done at a time when chief minister Raje and her BJP government are facing rejection from people of the state. "The BJP-led Vasundhara Raje government is using people's money from the state treasury for self-promotion. "It was widely reported how BJP used people's money to further political goals by spending Rs 1 crore on chief minister Vasundhara Raje's 'Gaurav Yatra' from 4-10 August just in the Udaipur division itself," he told reporters.

Singhvi said Representation of the People Act, 1951 clearly lays down the laws of the land in this aspect and explicitly defines the term 'bribery'. This offering of BJP by distributing mobile phones just before the elections is "collective bribery" of "monumental proportions", he said. "On behalf of the people of Rajasthan, Congress party wants to ask why the Vasundhara Raje government woke up after 56 months of slumber, just before the elections to give away mobile phones? "Does it not want to hide its monumental failures?" Singhvi said, alleging the Modi Government and the BJP-ruled states are indulging in "mindless freebies" in the last lap of their terms. "Why is the BJP insulting the legacy of the great Bhamashahji, who was also the treasuryin-charge of Mewar.... He was known for his astuteness in finances- yet the BJP is hurting the treasury by this mindless electoral bribery and insulting his legacy," he said. Asked if the party will move the Election Commission, Singhvi said, "We have many options.... We have power to use all these alternatives.... Our main purpose is to awaken the public."
Ending weeks of speculation, the Telangana government recommended the dissolution of the state assembly on Thursday.

The Congress on Thursday attacked Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on his decision to dissolve the state Assembly, alleging that he has an understanding with the BJP.

The statement was made by Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a party leader from West Bengal, reports have said.

The chief minister must have received assurances from the NDA," he said.

Sravan Dasoju, the chief spokesperson of the Congress' Telangana unit also expressed a similar view, alleging that there was a 'dubious pact' between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rao.

"The state was formed after so much of struggle and sacrifices. People had so many hopes of development, farm issues being addressed and empoloyment generation but all these promises have not been fulfilled," he said.

Ending weeks of speculation, the Telangana government recommended the dissolution of the state assembly on Thursday.

A resolution recommending the dissolution of the House was adopted at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday afternoon.

With inputs from PTI
Rahul Gandhi seems to be convinced that his aggressive stance combined with bluff and bluster would make a winning combination and ultimately propel him as an alternative to Narendra Modi.

Demagoguery is elemental to politics. But the use of lies, rather patent lies, as an instrument of politics, is a new trend. In the age of social media lies peddled with confidence acquire features of truth for the masses.

This manipulation of social psychology through patent lies is called as gaslighting. This term was used by a US writer named Armenda Carpenter while discussing the politics of US president Donald Trump. In May I wrote about how Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been gaslighting India incessantly. Of late, he has turned gaslighting into a fine art. He is trotting the globe with an air of machismo and describing India as the worst place on earth in the regime of Narendra Modi which situation could be reversed only if the prime minister is removed.

There might be genuine reasons for his Modi-centric rant. But his brazenness of playing around with facts and presenting falsehood as truth falls into the exact pattern of manipulating peoples behaviour through deception and falsehood. There is indeed a method in his madness. Take, for instance, his attempt to project the Rafale deal as corruption. One of the reasons he has ascribed corruption to this project is the fact that Reliance Group has no prior experience in defence manufacturing. Rahul tends to forget, or deliberately push to the recesses of his memory, certain other equally well-known facts that are not to his convenience. Like the fact that this is not the first time the Reliance Group has won a project in an industry it has no background in.

Back in the remotely-controlled regime of Manmohan Singh, this same group was awarded gigantic infrastructure development contracts in Delhi and Mumbai. The Rs 6,000 crore Delhi Metro Airport Express line was awarded to the Reliance Group under the PPP (public private partnership) model in January 2008. It was meant to be commissioned in August 2010 in time for the Commonwealth Games (October of that year) but missed the deadline repeatedly before it was partly inaugurated in February 2011. Even after that, it was beset with problems. Meant to run at 135 kmph (other metro lines run at 80 kmph maximum speed), it had to drop down to 50 kmph due to technical faults. The line had to stop operations for six months in July 2012 to rectify structural errors. Six months after it resumed operations, Reliance walked out of the project citing irrecoverable losses (due to the shut down), forcing Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (the public sector partner) to take over operations.

A year earlier, in 2007, the Reliance Group was awarded the contract for Mumbai Metro 1 and Mumbai Metro 2 lines under the PPP arrangement. Metro 1, at an estimated cost of Rs 4,600 crore, was inaugurated in June 2014 after missing several deadlines and Metro 2, at a cost of about Rs 18,000 crore in 2017, is still under construction. Neither metro construction had involved a private player before this nor had the Reliance Group any background in rail construction. It has now become one of the major operators in that space winning many contracts in the other Mumbai Metro projects.

Rahul's second major line of attack on the Modi government with regards to the Rafale deal is that the Reliance Group was drowning in debt of nearly Rs 40,000 crore at the time it partnered with Rafale. This, according to him, was a give away from the government. While the jury is still out on that, it is instructive to note how Rahul pans Modi without realising that his reference to the groups debt crisis is nothing but an indictment of the Manmohan government and his loan profligacy, aptly called "phone-banking" by Modi while retracing the bad loans crisis that has crippled India's banks.

Yet, Rahul continues his attack as if he is insulated from the sins of the UPA government.

Take another instance of his fulmination abroad in which he accused the Modi government of subverting the judiciary. He carefully avoided any reference to his own partys crude attempt to stage a coup in the Supreme Court by initiating the impeachment of the Chief Justice of India. That was the highest level of intimidation of the highest judicial officer of the country, in the 70-year history of the Supreme Court. That the move came out a cropper is no thanks to Rahul or his party, but its intent was unmistakable and ever-lasting. It was the most brazen attempt at the subversion of the judiciary. Disturbingly, this attack came from the main Opposition party, whose job it is to resist attacks on the independence of the Supreme Court from the government of the day.

In Indira Gandhis time seniority in the Supreme Court was upended to make the judiciary pliant to the political executive. But nothing of that sort has happened in the last four years as exemplified recently by the nomination of rebel judge Ranjan Gogoi as the next Chief Justice of India. He calls demonetisation the biggest scam in India and explains it in a rather curious way. He says that in demonetisation the government took away poor peoples money and replenished the coffers of rich industrialists by writing off their loans. This is a unique formulation, as close to the truth as the North Pole is to the South. It also completely disregards the UPA government's own immense contribution of the bad loans mess. It is quite akin to the apocryphal story of Indian politics in which an opposition leader mounted an attack on the ruling party for a string of bad crops. He claimed that the government had built dams and power plants that were extracting the electricity from the water and making it impotent for agriculture. Absurd as that is, such formulations often resonate with the population. That's perhaps why Rahul can't stop himself from coming up with his own version of Goebbel's truth every day.

He compares the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to the Muslim Brotherhood. In his perception, both are guided by intolerance and violence to attain their ultimate goal of establishing a theocratic social and political order, no matter what facts bear out. He forgets, of course, that his father and prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, had explained away the worst riots of post Independence India saying "when a big tree falls (Indira Gandhi's assassination), the ground is bound to shake (killing and maiming of thousands of Sikhs). Of course, as the honorable P Chidambaram recently said, Rahul was just a school boy and he should be spared the burden of carrying the cross on behalf of his father or the Congress party. Rahul also forgets that it was Rajiv Gandhi  not the RSS or Narendra Modi  who had the locks of the temple inside the Babri mosque opened in 1986. Here, too, he can take refuge in Chidambaram's inventive excuse, Rahul was still a school boy.

But what about 1989 when Rahul was a strapping young college-goer? Would he care to recall that that year, his father  swamped by corruption scandals and a looming defeat in the upcoming elections  had launched his 1989 election campaign from Ayodhya promising to usher in Ram Rajya after laying the foundation for a temple at the disputed site?

Now that he is 48 what is his comprehension of the events after Indira's assassination? To claim, as he did, that the Congress party was not involved in this dark chapter of independent India  after the judicial proceedings against several party leaders and apparent half-hearted apologies from the top leadership  is not only utterly unconvincing but reflects total callousness and insensitiveness on his part. Even if he was too young to comprehend politics then, who has he been taking his contemporary history of India and the Congress party from? Hopefully not from Uncle Chidambaram.

Rahuls political conduct falls into a consistent pattern. He seems to be convinced that his aggressive stance combined with bluff and bluster would make a winning combination and ultimately propel him as an alternative to Modi. He is momentarily successful to the extent that he is occupying peoples mind-space through media coverage. Rahul's utterances are not random. It all seems to be a part of a carefully crafted strategy to ape international trends of being economical with the truth and peddling blatant falsehoods with hubris.

But he still lacks the recognition of a credible agent of change. The reason is not far to seek. With a non-existent organisational network, the Congress has been moving about like a rudderless ship. Its attempt to forge a coalition through regional forces is bound to strengthen regional parties more than the Congress. Rahuls own brand of Hindutva (visiting temples, now going on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage) is not only anachronistic with the new Hindutva captured by the Sangh Parivar but also anomalous with the partys pronounced left-leaning ideological underpinnings.

Demagoguery, not falsehood, has a place in politics only when there is a sense of drift and the welling up of peoples anger against the rulers  as was the case in 1977 against Indira Gandhi or in 1989 against Rajiv or 2014 against Sonia-Rahul-Manmohan. Modi is neither losing peoples trust nor is he ceding ground to adversaries. In such a setting, Rahul has no doubt embarked on a foolhardy political expedition.
Ram Kadam apologised, but also claimed that his political rivals 'doctored' the remarks.

Mumbai: Continuing its attack on BJP MLA Ram Kadam over his "will kidnap the girl a boy likes" remark, the Opposition in Maharashtra Thursday called for his dismissal as a lawmaker, saying his apology would not suffice. The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil also questioned Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's "silence" over the issue.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said his party would continue to protest in front of the police station in suburban Ghatkopar, Kadam's constituency, till an FIR is registered against him.

"What he said is unforgivable. He thought of apologising three days after the comment. He should have been immediately arrested. The chief minister is still silent... Kadam should be dismissed from the House," Vikhe-Patil told reporters.

Malik said Kadam should be arrested immediately. The Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) has issued a notice to Kadam over his remark, seeking his response within eight days.

At a Dahi Handi event in his Assembly constituency Monday night, the BJP MLA had told youngsters that they can tell him if they like a girl and he will "kidnap" her for them even if she rejects their proposal.

He later apologised, but also claimed that his political rivals "doctored" the remarks.
Telangana's caretaker chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday said that Gandhi was 'the biggest buffoon in the country'.

In a scathing attack on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Telangana's caretaker chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday said that Gandhi was "the biggest buffoon in the country".

"Everyone knows that Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in the country. The whole country saw how he went to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hugged him in the Parliament...He is a property for us, the more he comes (to Telangana), the more seats we will win," Rao said at a press conference.

"Rahul Gandhi inherited the legacy of Congress's Delhi sultanate," Rao further said.

In response, Congress called Rao a "buffoon" too and said that "this is the end of an era of a dictator who is more dangerous than Hitler."

Rao's remarks against the Congress chief came on a day when the Telangana Assembly was dissolved by the governor on recommendation by the state cabinet.

Governor ESL Narasimhan accepted a resolution of the cabinet recommending dissolution of the Assembly. He asked Rao and his council of ministers to continue in office as caretaker government.

Ending the suspense, the state cabinet passed a resolution for dissolution of the Assembly at the meeting held at Pragati Bhavan, the official residence of the chief minister.

Immediately after the cabinet meet that lasted for less than half hour, Rao drove to Raj Bhavan to meet the governor.

For the last few weeks, Rao had been giving strong indications of going for early polls.

Political observers say the TRS is keen for early elections as the party believes that simultaneous elections to Assembly and Lok Sabha may not help it properly highlight welfare and developmental works undertaken during the last four years.

Rao will formally launch the TRS election campaign with a public meeting at Husnabad in Siddipet district on Friday.

Christened 'Prajala Aasirwada Sabha', this will be the first of 100 public meetings planned by TRS over the next 50 days.

With inputs from IANS
The Rajasthan High Court has held that no government events should be organised on the sidelines of chief minister Vasundhara Raje's 'Gaurav Yatra', now on in the poll-bound state.

Jaipur: The Rajasthan High Court has held that no government events should be organised on the sidelines of chief minister Vasundhara Raje's 'Gaurav Yatra', now on in the poll-bound state.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog made clear Wednesday that no event for which funds are disbursed by the state government will be held along the yatra route on the day it passes through. The 58-day BJP yatra across the state, where assembly polls will be held later this year, was launched by party president Amit Shah on 4 August. The court order clarified that no government function can be held enroute by halting the yatra for a while, and then starting again. The order came on a PIL filed by advocate Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma.

Reacting to the court order, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Madan Lal Saini said it has already been made clear that the party and the government events are separate. The government has spent money only on government-related programmes, he said. He added that the party will abide by the directions of the court.

Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the details of misuse of the taxpayer's money during the yatra should be disclosed. He said the money should be returned to the exchequer. Bharat Vahini Party state president and former BJP leader Ghanshyam Tiwari said the verdict was a moral defeat for the ruling party. He said those who had issued orders to use government resources for the yatra have no right to remain on their posts.

Madan Lal Saini said the next phase of the yatra will begin on Thursday in Bikaner division. Earlier, Rajasthan's Parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore said, We are examining the high court order. He said the yatra has received a good response, creating nervousness among Congress leaders.
Amrita Rajput

Facebooks chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitters CEO Jack Dorsey appeared on 5 September in the US Congress to defend their respective companies from doubts over their preparedness to combat foreign interference to influence US politics.

This comes just one year after both Sandberg and Dorsey, told the same panel that Russia had interfered during the 2016 US elections by using inauthentic accounts to send misleading political messages.

While Sandberg and Dorsey did okay, their promises werent enough for us to believe that tech giants are going to see an overhaul in their systems, or if they are really going to be regulated by lawmakers.

Google, on the other hand, simply did not show up.

Lets take a quick look at what happened.

Facebook and Twitter acknowledged that they were slow to act and ill prepared

Lawmakers are now, more than ever asking these companies to assure that the tech space has taken adequate measures and is prepared for the midterm elections that are approaching.

Senator Richard Burr, who is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who opened the hearing said that they have learned about how vulnerable social media is to corruption and misuse. The very worst examples of this are absolutely chilling and a threat to our democracy."

While both Facebook and Twitter argued strongly that they had taken steps to clean up their platforms before the 2018 elections approach, they did acknowledge that they were slow to act and ill-prepared in the past.

Sandberg said in a statement, We were too slow to spot this and too slow to act. That's on us. This interference was completely unacceptable. It violated the values of our company and of the country we love."

Dorsey, on the other hand, said, We found ourselves unprepared and ill-equipped for the immensity of the problems we've acknowledged. Abuse, harassment, troll armies, propaganda through bots and human coordination, disinformation campaigns and divisive filter bubbles -- that's not a healthy public square."

Can US lawmakers really figure out constructive ways to aid social media companies solve such complex problems?

From the kind of questions that the Senate posed, it looks like they might, after all, have ways in which they can help these companies. While most questions were posed pointing towards the companies efforts to keep Russia and Iran from meddling with elections, what was interesting was that the senators asked companies things like, were they American enough and how much money was made by the companies due to Russian efforts in 2016.

For those unaware, Iran has been responsible for a big disinformation operation on Facebook which targeted thousands of people around the world. Facebook then stopped stealth misinformation campaigns from Iran and also Russia, shutting down accounts as part of its battle against fake news ahead of elections in the United States and elsewhere.

Nothing much came out of the hearing, the promises were half-baked

Facebook and Twitter assured that they are working hard to filter foreign interference that sows discord in America especially during elections, but thats about it. They pledged to protect their respective platforms against manipulation but did not explain ways that they will do so.

Sandberg said that Facebook will fight the problem with new technology and manpower. "We are even more determined than our adversaries, and we will continue to fight back," she said. She stressed that Facebook is working towards hiring more people to review content and is also investing more heavily in artificial intelligence that can spot fake accounts.

Dorsey, holding his phone throughout the meeting, tweeted some of his opening statement to the Senate.

Abuse, harassment, troll armies, propaganda through bots and human coordination, misinformation campaigns, and divisive filter bubblesthats not a healthy public square. Worse, a relatively small number of bad-faith actors were able to game Twitter to have an outsized impact.  jack (@jack) September 5, 2018

He added that the platform is planning to label automated accounts or bots. He did say that It's really a question of the implementation, but we are interested in it, and we are going to do something along those lines, which is not very convincing.

While the questions aimed at the companies were important and necessary, from the entire hearing we cannot gather much about what the companies are actually going to about the misinformation on their platforms. In fact, in the scheme of things, it looks like if something really going to happen in terms of regulating Facebook and Twitter, it is going to happen on the back end. It is not going to happen in public.

Google did not bother joining the hearing

Google decided to pass on the chance to defend itself. It simply did not show up at the hearing. Its empty chair might just intensify the pressure against the company from lawmakers.

The Panel had earlier refused Googles offer to send its legal and policy Chief Kent Walker. It however accepted company CEO Sundar Pichai.

Im deeply disappointed that Google  one of the most influential digital platforms in the world  chose not to send its own top corporate leadership to engage this committee, said Senator Mark Warner.

Googles absence, especially just two months away from the mid-term elections, does not show well on the companys part. It is glaring and disappointing for many, given the companys size and its influence. The move might have just put the company to further scrutiny than before.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio said the company might have skipped the hearing because it was arrogant.

What now?

Social media platforms will now face questions from the Department of Justice (DOJ) over allegations of political bias, an issue flagged by US President Donald Trump. The meeting will take place on 25 September, and concerns that social media platforms are intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas will be discussed.

The statement was released by the DOJ on 5 September, however, it does not explicitly mention Facebook and Twitter. It neither known which state attorneys general would attend.
Indo-Asian News Service

To help researchers and academia build Indian language speech recognition for all applications where speech is used, Microsoft India on Thursday launched its Indian language "Speech Corpus", offering speech training and test data for Telugu, Tamil and Gujarati.

This is the largest publicly available Indian language speech dataset which includes audio and corresponding transcripts, Microsoft said in a statement.

This Indian language "Speech Corpus" content is provided by Microsoft Research Open Data initiative, a collection of free datasets from Microsoft Research to advance research in areas such as natural language processing, computer vision, and domain-specific sciences.

"Microsoft Indian Language Speech Corpus is an extension of our on-going efforts to reduce language barriers and empower Indians to harness the full potential of the Internet," said Sundar Srinivasan, General Manager, Artificial Intelligence and Research, Microsoft India.

"Using our technology expertise, we want to accelerate innovation in voice-based computing for India by supporting researchers and academia," Srinivasan said.

Microsoft's Indian Language Speech Corpus was tested at Interspeech 2018 conference in Hyderabad this month.

In a Low Resource Speech Recognition Challenge, participants used data from Microsoft Indian language speech corpus to build Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) systems.

They were able to create high quality speech recognition models using this data, thus validating the efficacy of the Corpus, Microsoft said.

Microsoft has been working with Indian languages for over two decades since the launch of Project Bhasha in 1998, allowing users to input localised text easily and quickly using the Indian Language Input tool.
ABB, a leading technology company, said its new shore-to-ship technology minimises environmental impact and secures reliable electricity to Her Majestys Naval Base (HMNB) Portsmouth in the UK.



The naval base in Portsmouth is spread over 150 hectares, with 10 km of waterfront, and is home to almost two-thirds of the Royal Navys surface fleet, including frigates, vessels, the Fishery Protection Squadron and the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, said a statement from the company.



Now BAE systems, the contractor responsible for the dockyard electrical systems, is installing ABBs new shore-to-ship power solution to energise high power consumption vessels in a pioneering project, it said.



Port operators in different parts of the world are adopting shore-to-ship power connections that enable berthed vessels to shut down their diesel engines and plug in to the port-side network to power their onboard loads. This offers a number of benefits, including saving fuel costs, cutting emissions and reducing the impact of noise and vibration on the local environment, it added.



Previously, frequency conversion in the power supply at Portsmouth was carried out by rotary frequency converters (RFCs) - complex mechanical systems that combine motors, generators, drives and ancillary regulation and control equipment. As the RFCs in Portsmouth were nearing the end of their service life, BAE Systems turned to ABB for new solid-state power electronics technology.



ABB responded by developing a new solution based on medium voltage static frequency conversion (SFC) technology. Unlike the RFC, the SFC has no moving parts, apart from its cooling fans, ensuring a high level of reliability with minimum maintenance requirements.



Lower costs per MVA, proven technology and higher SFC efficiency (over 98 per cent) allow a clear reduction in the total cost of ownership for end users, allowing savings of up to 25 per cent.



ABB is supplying the SFC as part of a complete package including a dry-type 11 kilovolt (kV) to 6.6 kV transformer and control equipment to interface with the dockyards electrical management system. The project is scheduled for completion in 2019.



Patrick Fragman, head of ABBs grid integration business, a part of the companys power grids division, said: Providing Portsmouth Navy Base with a state-of-the-art shore-to-ship power solution will help enhance overall efficiency while minimizing environmental impact.



This project is another example of our commitment to sustainable transportation and reinforces our position as a partner of `choice for a stronger, smarter and greener grid, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Indo-Asian News Service

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space telescope has woken up from yet another slumber and begun collecting science data again, the US space agency has said.

It began collecting science data on 29 August for its 19th observation campaign.

"After being roused from sleep mode, the spacecraft's configuration has been modified due to the unusual behaviour exhibited by one of the thrusters," NASA said in a statement on 6 September.

"Preliminary indications are that the telescope's pointing performance may be somewhat degraded. It remains unclear how much fuel remains; NASA continues to monitor the health and performance of the spacecraft," it added.

In July, NASA placed the spacecraft, with 2,650 confirmed planets, in a hibernation-like state in preparation to download the science data collected in its latest observation campaign.

On August 3, Kepler successfully began downloading its store of science data from its Campaign 18 and then went into sleep mode after downloading Campaign 18 data on August 24.

Launched in 2009, the Kepler mission is specifically designed to survey our region of the Milky Way galaxy to discover hundreds of Earth-sized and smaller planets in or near the habitable zone and determine the fraction of the hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy that might have such planets.

Among other findings, recently 24 new planet discoveries were made using data from the 10th observation campaign, adding to the spacecraft's growing bounty of 2,650 confirmed planets.

The Kepler space telescope, which is now 94 million miles away from Earth, has survived many potential knock-outs during its nine years in flight, from mechanical failures to being blasted by cosmic rays.

NASA in April launched another planet-hunting spacecraft, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (Tess).

After the Kepler space telescope, Tess is the second spacecraft which will search for planets outside our solar system, including those that could support life.
Reuters

The US Department of Justice and state attorneys general will meet this month to discuss concerns that social media platforms are intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas, the department said on Wednesday.

Its statement did not name Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, whose executives testified in Congress on Wednesday, but the firms have been harshly criticized by President Donald Trump and some of his fellow Republicans for what they see as an effort to repress conservative voices.

The companies deny any such bias.

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions convened the meeting, set for 25 September, to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms, Justice Department spokesman Devin OMalley said.

It was not known which state attorneys general would attend. Representatives for the attorneys general in New York, Connecticut and Iowa said that they had not been contacted.

Shares of social media companies slipped on Wednesday as the executives met skeptical lawmakers, with Twitter off 6.1 percent and Facebook around 2.3 percent lower in late afternoon trading. Shares of Google parent Alphabet Inc. sank about 1 percent.

In the morning, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter Chief Executive Jack Dorsey testified at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on efforts to counteract foreign efforts to influence US elections and political discourse.

The Senate panel has been examining reported Russian efforts to influence US public opinion throughout Trumps presidency, after US intelligence agencies concluded that entities backed by the Kremlin had sought to boost his chances of winning the White House in 2016.

Sandberg and Dorsey said the companies had stepped up efforts to fight such influence operations, but lawmakers said there was far more to be done and suggested Congress might have to take legislative action.

Clearly, this problem is not going away. Im not even sure its trending in the right direction, said Senator Richard Burr, the committees Republican chairman.

Senator Mark Warner, the committees top Democrat said, Im skeptical that, ultimately, youll be able to truly address this challenge on your own. Congress is going to have to take action here.

Legislation addressing the use of social media for political disinformation could resemble a bill passed earlier this yearand signed into law by Trumpthat made it easier for state prosecutors and sex-trafficking victims to sue social media companies, advertisers and others who failed to keep exploitative material off their sites.

Committee members also criticized Google for refusing to send top executives to testify at the Senate hearing, with just weeks before the 6 November congressional elections.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio said the company might have skipped the hearing because it was arrogant.

Bias allegations

Dorsey then testified at a House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing focused on the bias issue.

Representative Greg Walden, the committees Republican chairman, said Twitter had made mistakes that, he said, minimized Republicans presence on the social media site, a practice conservatives have labelled shadow banning.

Multiple members of Congress and the chairwoman of the Republican Party have seen their Twitter presences temporarily minimized in recent months, due to what you have claimed was a mistake in the algorithm, he said.

Dorsey denied any deliberate attempt to target conservatives, or promote liberals, during more than four hours of questioning.

Recently we failed our intended impartiality. Our algorithms were unfairly filtering 6,00,000 accounts, including some members of Congress, from our search auto-complete and latest results. We fixed it, he said.

Ahead of Wednesdays hearings, Trump, without offering evidence, accused social media companies of interfering in the November elections, telling the Daily Caller conservative website that social media firms are super liberal.

Trump was quoted as saying in the interview on Tuesday that I think they already have interfered.

Democratic House committee members accused Republicans of calling the hearing for political reasons, noting that Trump had featured accusations of bias in fundraising letters. The mid-terms will decide whether Republicans will keep their majorities in the House and Senate.

Over the past weeks, President Trump and many Republicans have peddled conspiracy theories about Twitter and other social media platforms to whip up their base and fundraise, said Representative Frank Pallone, the committees top Democrat.

Wednesdays hearings were attended by conspiracy theorists known as Trump supporters, who have dealt with bans on social media.

The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who was temporarily suspended from Twitter, sat in the front row of the Senate hearing, and interrupted Rubio.

The House hearing was interrupted by Laura Loomer, a conspiracy theorist who has been banned from major social media sites. She shouted that Dorsey was lying, accusing him of banning conservatives and saying Twitter was going to help Democrats steal the November elections.

Loomer was removed from the room as Republican Representative Billy Long used the droning cadence of his former career as an auctioneer to drown her out.
tech2 News Staff

A long-standing dream of space enthusiasts and a favourite among sci-fi writers will come a step closer to realisation next week: It is the concept of a toggling elevator in space. A Japanese team working to develop a "space elevator" will conduct its first trial on 11 September, blasting off a miniature version on satellites to test the technology.

The test equipment, produced by researchers at Shizuoka University, will hitch a ride on an H-2B rocket's Vehicle Number 7 being launched by Japan's space agency from southern island of Tanegashima next week.

The test involves a miniature elevator stand-in  a box just six centimetres (2.4 inches) long, three centimetres wide, and three centimetres high. If all goes well, it will provide proof of concept by moving along a 10-metre cable suspended in space between two mini satellites that will keep it taut.

The mini-elevator will travel along the cable from a container in one of the satellites. "It's going to be the world's first experiment to test elevator movement in space," a university spokesman told AFP. The movement of the motorised "elevator" box will be monitored with cameras in the satellites.

It is still, however, a far cry from the ultimate beam-me-up goals of the project, which builds on a long history of space elevator dreams.

The idea was first proposed in 1895 by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky after he saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and was revisited nearly a century later in a novel by Arthur C Clarke.

But technical barriers have always kept plans stuck at the conceptual stage.

In theory, a space elevator will include a cable tethered to the Earth, preferably somewhere near the equator where weather patterns are non-violent. NASA's David Smitherman explained that such an elevator system requires the center of mass be in geostationary orbit, some 35,785 kilometers above Earths equator. Another advantage of an equitorial base site is that they align properly with geostationary orbits.

"The cable is basically in orbit around the Earth," Smitherman says. "Four to six 'elevator tracks' would extend up the sides of the tower and cable structure going to platforms at different levels. These tracks would allow electromagnetic vehicles to travel at speeds reaching thousands of kilometers-per-hour," the NASA report explains.

In theory, a space elevator is highly plausible, Yoji Ishikawa, who leads the current research team in Japan, told The Mainichi. He believes space travel may become something popular in the future if they accomplish their goals.

The report points out that should a space elevator ever actually be realised, people could travel to the International Space Station without using a launch vehicle, and transport supplies to the orbiting station at low cost. Supplies such as panels for solar power generation and materials for space research could also be transported at an exponentially lower cost to orbiting stations and probes. For now, however, those benefits remain far into the future.

But if there is a country which can indeed put the elevator in space, it is perhaps Japan. Even in the face of multiple technical challenges, Japanese investors have not turned away from the project. "In Japan, the space elevator is practically a part of the national psyche due in part to a deep expertise by Japanese researchers in the fields of robotics and carbon nanotube technology, starting with the 1991 discovery of carbon nanotubes by Japanese researcher Sumio Iijima," The Smithsonian had quoted science writer Michelle Donahue in 2016.

Japanese construction firm Obayashi, which is collaborating with the Shizuoka university project, is also exploring other ways to build its own space elevator to put tourists in space in 2050. The company has said it could use carbon nanotube technology, which is more than 20 times stronger than steel, to build a lift shaft 96,000 kilometres above the Earth.

With all these developments in the field, one thing is for sure: even the skeptics are watching.

With inputs from Agence France-Presse
The Associated Press

A parachute system that's designed to land spacecraft on Mars will be tested this week off Virginia's coast.

Friday's scheduled launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore will be the third test of the parachute system.

NASA said in a press release that the system is designed for spacecraft descending onto the Red Planet from supersonic speeds.

A similar parachute was used in 2012 to land NASA's Mars Science Laboratory. The agency is hoping to make improvements to the system with the tests in Virginia.

The rocket carrying the parachute system is expected to reach an altitude of 32 miles (51.5 kilometers). It is expected to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean about 40 miles from Wallops Island.
Agence France-Presse

Companies should be doing more to protect the world's oceans, including combatting plastic waste pollution, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest, said on Wednesday.

"The ocean is a vital part of the biosphere and an important part of the global economy," said Yngve Slyngstad, the head of the fund valued at 8.66 trillion kroner (890 billion euros, $1.03 trillion).

"We expect companies to manage the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable use of the oceans," he added.

A heavyweight on the global finance scene, the Government Pension Fund Global published a document outlining what it expects from the 9,000 companies in which it holds stakes.

Among other things, it urged them to integrate environmental ideas into their business strategies, suggesting for example that plastics producers plan a transition to a "circular economy" frugal in raw materials, and that fisheries companies incorporate forecasts on future stocks in their planning.

The recommendations apply to companies active at sea  shipping, fisheries, fish farms  as well as others on land whose activities may affect the oceans, such as distribution and plastics industries and agriculture, the fund said.

The fund has in the past laid out its expectations on other issues, including better efforts in water management, anti-corruption, human rights and tax transparency, judging that bad practices in these fields can ultimately hurt companies' profitability.

On Wednesday, the fund also published a document reviewing its support of the United Nations sustainable development goals.

"Our most important contribution is to strengthen governance, improve performance and promote sustainable business practices," Slyngstad said.

In addition to its expectations based purely on financial considerations, the fund also follows ethical guidelines that bar it from investing in, among other things, companies that commit serious human rights violations, manufacture nuclear or "particularly inhumane" weapons, or those in the coal and tobacco industries.
British public opinion on the Brexit is still deeply split, according to a survey on Wednesday, indicating only a slight increase in support for remaining a member of the European Union despite growing pessimism about the outcome of negotiations.

London: British public opinion on the Brexit is still deeply split, according to a survey on Wednesday, indicating only a slight increase in support for remaining a member of the European Union despite growing pessimism about the outcome of negotiations.

Britain is due to leave the EU on 29 March, 2019 but has yet to secure an exit agreement to define future relations with Brussels and manage the economic impact of ending over four decades of integration with the world's largest trading bloc.

Polling showed 59 percent of voters would now vote to remain in the bloc, versus 41 percent who would vote to leave. The findings were published in an academic-led report on Wednesday by research bodies NatCen and The UK in a Changing Europe.

That is the highest recorded support for 'remain' in a series of five such surveys since the 2016 referendum and a large reversal of the actual 52-48 percent vote to leave. But the author of the report, polling expert John Curtice, added a note of caution, saying that their panel of interviewees reported they had voted 53 percent in favour of remain in the original vote  a higher proportion than the actual vote.

"Nevertheless, this still means that there has apparently been a six-point swing from Leave to Remain, larger than that registered by any of our previous rounds of interviewing, and a figure that would seemingly point to a 54 percent (Remain) vote in any second referendum held now," Curtice said in the report. The government has ruled out holding a second referendum.

The survey interviewed 2,048 subjects between 7 June and 8 July. That means the survey does not fully reflect any change in opinion brought about by the publication of Prime Minister Theresa May's negotiating strategy, published in early July.

That negotiating strategy has split May's party at every level and drawn heavy criticism from both Brexit supporters and those who want to retain close ties to the EU. Nevertheless, the poll shows voters thought the negotiations were going badly even before the publication of May's so-called Chequers plan.

"Both Remain and Leave supporters have become markedly more critical of how both the UK government - especially - and the EU - somewhat less so - have been handling the negotiations," Curtice said. "They have also become markedly more pessimistic about how good a deal Britain will get."

Curtice said the results of the polling showed that the most influential factor over whether voters will support the conclusion of the negotiations is their perception of its economic effect rather than the details of any deal.
British police revealed images of the two men they said had flown to Britain for a weekend in March to kill former spy Sergei Skripal with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.

Skripals daughter Yulia and a police officer who attended the scene also fell ill in the case, which has caused the biggest East-West diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War. A woman later died from Novichok poisoning after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle which police believe had been used to smuggle the nerve agent into Britain.

British authorities identified the suspects as Russian nationals travelling on genuine passports under the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. Prime minister Theresa May told parliament the government had concluded they were officers in Russias military intelligence service, the GRU.

The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, so this was not a rogue operation, May said. It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state.

Skripal, himself a former GRU officer who betrayed dozens of agents to Britains MI6 foreign spy service, was found unconscious with Yulia on a public bench in the southern English city of Salisbury on 4 March.

Police released security camera images of the two suspects and outlined a three-day mission that took them from Moscow to London to Salisbury, where they sprayed poison on Skripals door before flying back to Moscow hours later.

The Russian charge daffaires in London was summoned to the Foreign Office to be told Britain wanted those responsible to be brought to justice. However, Moscow, which has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack, said the names meant nothing.

We have heard or seen two names, these names mean nothing to me personally, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow. I dont understand why this was done and what sort of signal the British side is sending.

Britain and dozens of other countries have kicked out scores of Russian diplomats over the incident, and Moscow has responded tit-for-tat with an identical number of expulsions. The affair has worsened Russian relations with the West, already under strain over Ukraine, Syria and other issues.

Mays spokesman said May had briefed US President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening. The US Ambassador to Britain Woody Johnson said on Twitter the United States stood with Britain in holding Russia accountable for its act of aggression. Britain will update the UN Security Council at a meeting on Thursday.

Remarkably Sophisticated

The remarkably sophisticated attack appeared to be a clear assassination attempt, said Neil Basu, head of UK counter-terrorism policing. He described an investigation which involved 250 detectives and analysis of some 11,000 hours of video.

According to police, the suspects, both around 40 years old, flew to London from Moscow on 2 March. They spent two nights in an east London hotel, making two-day trips to Salisbury, the first for reconnaissance, the second to kill Skripal. They flew out on 4 March, hours after the Skripals were found unconscious.

Security cameras filmed the suspects near Skripals house, and traces of Novichok were found in their London hotel room.

The Russians were charged with conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal and with the attempted murder of Skripal, his daughter and police officer Nick Bailey. They are also charged with illegal use and possession of a chemical weapon.

A European arrest warrant has been issued for them, but prosecutors said Britain would not ask Moscow to extradite Russian citizens because Russias constitution forbids it. Basu said the Skripals were making a good recovery.

A woman near Salisbury, Dawn Sturgess, died in July and her partner Charlie Rowley fell ill after Rowley found a counterfeit bottle of Nina Ricci perfume in a charity collection box and brought it home. It contained Novichok. Basu said police had no doubt the events were linked and were discussing charges over the Sturgess and Rowley case with prosecutors.

The Skripal case has been likened by British politicians to the murder of Russian dissident ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with a rare radioactive isotope in a London hotel in 2006. Britain charged two Russians with his murder but both remain in Russia, and one later won a seat in parliament.

May said the Litvinenko case showed there was no point to demanding the Skripal suspects extradition. But should either of these individuals ever again travel outside Russia, we will take every possible step to detain them, to extradite them and to bring them to face justice here in the United Kingdom.
Dominic Raab, Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union denied claims

London: Britain's Brexit minister rejected claims on Wednesday that the government's EU withdrawal plan was "dead" after opposition in Brussels, Paris and by MPs on all sides at home.

Dominic Raab dismissed as "grumbles" the criticism of the so-called Chequers plan from the European Union's negotiator Michel Barnier. "We are not going to roll over just because there is some traction static on what we think is not just a good deal for the UK but a good deal for the EU," he told a committee of MPs.

He added: "Of course, in a negotiation one side will try and resist certain aspects of it that they are uncomfortable with." Raab is due back in Brussels on Thursday for talks with Barnier, after the Frenchman told a German newspaper at the weekend that he "strongly opposes the British proposal".

Barnier tweeted on Wednesday that he was "looking forward" to "finding common ground".

However, pro-European opposition lawmaker Stephen Kinnock said Barnier had told him and other British MPs during a visit to Brussels on Monday that the Chequers plan "was dead".

The plan envisages Britain leaving the EU's single market but staying in a free trade area through a customs deal and common rulebook with the EU.

It has drawn criticism from all sides in Britain for leaving the country half in, half out of the bloc.

Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday her plan was "dead, already ripped apart by her own MPs".

Eurosceptic Conservative MP Bill Cash, like Kinnock a member of the committee which grilled Raab on Wednesday, said it should be "put out of its misery".

Some Brexit supporters are now pushing for a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU after Brexit, which Barnier has previously raised as an alternative.

However, Raab said the EU offer would involve accepting a back-up plan to avoid a hard border in Ireland, which risked splitting Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom.

He said that the government's plan was "by far the most plausible and credible" one.

Britain and the EU aim to agree a deal by a summit next month, but acknowledge the timetable may slip until November.

The divisions in parliament have raised fears however there will be no deal at all agreed before Brexit on 29 March.

French Europe Minister Nathalie Loiseau insisted the EU would not change its rules to accommodate Britain after Brexit. "We will not redefine our basic principles because the UK doesn't want to belong to the European Union any more," she told the London Evening Standard newspaper. "We have described our priorities and they are not subject to negotiation." While a future trade deal must be "a special one", it "cannot divide the single market", she added.

Citing the discord in the British parliament, she said there was an "obvious question mark" over whether the British parliament would be ready to ratify May's proposals.

"We want a good deal  but not at the detriment of the EU27," she added.
Besides meeting his Pakistani counterpart, Wang is likely to meet Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and president-elect Arif Alvi and discuss the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and bilateral issues.

Beijing: China's top diplomat and foreign minister Wang Yi will pay a three-day official visit to Pakistan from Friday. This will be the first high-level visit by any Chinese official to Pakistan after the country elected a new government led by Imran Khan.

"At the invitation of Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, China's State Councillor and foreign minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Pakistan from 7 to 9 September," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said here.

Besides meeting his Pakistani counterpart, Wang is likely to meet Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan and president-elect Arif Alvi and discuss the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and bilateral issues. "He will also meet the main leaders of Pakistani side and exchange views on bilateral relations, regional as well as international issues of mutual interest," Hua said.

"China and Pakistan are all-weather, strategic and cooperative partners. Our bilateral ties have been developing at sound momentum. "We have seen frequent high-level exchanges and political cooperation is also moving forward and there are rich outcomes from the CPEC," the spokesperson said.

Wang's visit came after US secretary Mike Pompeo's flying visit to Pakistan. Pompeo met Qureshi and Khan before heading to India for a maiden strategic and defence dialogue. Pompeo and Khan pledged to reset the bilateral ties that have sunk to a new a low, especially after Washington, scrapped $300 million of military aid to Islamabad, saying Pakistan did not use the fund to fight terrorism.

India will keenly watch Wang's visit. The CPEC is one of the pesky issues between Beijing and New Delhi as its planned route cuts through the disputed Kashmir held by Pakistan and claimed by India.

A commentary in Pakistani daily Dawn said "recent global and regional developments, including India's intensifying alliance with the US to contain China, has created a compulsion for Pakistan and China to further intensify their military and economic relationship".
Behind the present day backlash on H-1B visas are cold, hard numbers that say the H-1B cost advantage has vanished, especially if you add the cost of nuisance value which comes bundled with the H-1B process

On weekends, software engineer Raj, 43, can be spotted dancing a wild version of salsa with his outsize group of mostly Hispanic friends in sunny Jacksonville, Florida. Raj, single, hails from Bengaluru in India and lives alone in a sprawling house he bought recently in Florida. Ask him about the H1B visa and he pauses for a moment before answering, like reaching for a distant memory, not entirely pleasant. Ask me about salsa dancing! Ill tell you all you want to know! he squeals over the phone. Its almost Friday night, his excitement is palpable.

Raj came here in the early 2000s on an H1B visa and has stayed in the same job role for years because he likes it that way".

"Thats all I want to do  code. I dont want to do administrative stuff, I dont want to be kicked upstairs, Im going to stay put in this role  thats what I do best, he says.

Raj got his US permanent residency (Green Card) in the Obama years and soon moved from the railroad company he worked for in the American Midwest to sunny Florida. Here too, hes stayed with another railroad company  not for him the fancy, new age firms of the East or West Coast. Things are much worse now, I see it around me... thankfully, Im out of it," he says of H1B workers in the IT industry.

In what way? this reporter asks.

You know the usual  an H1B without a green card reports to an H1B whos got his green card so its a different kind of abuse, its a lot of work and theres no way you can push back as a foreign worker in a foreign country. Now that things have gotten tougher under the new administration, the new crop of H-1B workers in America are getting jammed from both sides," he chuckles, trying to make light of the H1B boilerplate.

Thats how it is, he continues. It wasnt very different for me but it wasnt this bad. Also, because Im single, the policy stuff affects me much less," he explains.

Others with families or for spouses on dependent visas have more colourful terms to describe life in America on an H1B or as an H4 dependent  a nightmare, disaster, messy are all too common.

Cato Institute, a think tank, estimates that at current rates of visa issuances, the bulk of Indians who have applied for permanent residency will have to wait 151 years for a green card. Unless the law changes, they will have died or left by that point.

The influx

Raj is one of 34 million lawful immigrants in the United States. Many, like Raj, live and work here after getting their Green Card and the others are here on legally valid student and work permits. Broadly, there are five categories of lawful admission categories: diversity visas, refugees, and family sponsored immigrants, employment based and other.

H-1B is one of the many employment-based visas granted by the US and accounts for 25 percent of temporary employment visas issued as per 2016 data. Its useful here to juxtapose a comparative reference point from family migration  this the most common way people gain green cards accounting for nearly 70 percent of the more than 1 million people who get green cards annually.

The pushback

Multiple proposals have been drumming up the need to move what Donald Trump calls Americas broken immigration process to a points-based system that allows only the best and the brightest. Under the Trump administration, this battle cry has finally got its place in the sun. Although the primary target of attack is family-based chain immigration, the bad press from that piece is hurting people on all the other lawful visa categories.

Immigration attorneys scoff at the idea of merit-based immigration in the way the Trump administration is fashioning it: If this goes though, only Olympic athletes and Nobel prize winners will be able to enter America," says Cyrus Mehta, a New York-based attorney.

The pile-up

Within the H1B category, the numbers really jump out at anyone skimming through the data. In a basket of more than 21 countries, Indian and Chinese H1B workers grab nearly ~75 percent if not more of initial H1B visas (first timers) and close to 90 percent of whats called continuing employment via H1B extensions. At a high level, the stance across the triage of employee, employer and government is fairly clear. Employers, especially the big tech firms want to protect their pool of H1B workers because it gives them cost and often competitive advantage; employees are coming in because the H1B continues to exist and the government is saying this entire framework is stacked against the American worker, depressing the average wage and exploited the definition of specialty worker.

So, when one hears reports of "substantial increase" in denial of H1B visa petitions of Indians, it also mirrors the patterns of approval numbers where Indians corner the lions share of visas granted. Both in absolute and relative terms, the India numbers tend to trend higher.

Problematic definitions

An H-1B temporary worker is an alien admitted to the United States to perform services in a specialty occupation is the strict definition in the Immigration Act of 1990 which opened the floodgates for foreign workers after the restrictionist policies adopted by the US in 1965. This one sentence has many keywords that are crucial to the current situation: temporary worker, alien and specialty occupation are the three that stand out for a variety of reasons.

The temporariness of an H1B worker can vary depending on project start and end dates, the employers business outlook in the US and whether the H1B worker files for permanent residency. Take Kiran, for instance. He works with a leading Indian IT giant and has been seconded to an investment bank in New York. His H1B is valid till October 2019 but his project may end earlier; he and his wife arent raising the stakes in America. Well file for extension if theres a project. If its rejected, we leave. Were not getting into this mess of waiting for green cards and just ruining the best part of our lives, they said.

Back in Jacksonville, Raj's experience in coding makes him specialised. His company values his work but many like him are getting asked for additional justification on what makes them "specialised". Lawyers are scrambling to rise up to the challenge as USCIS puts H-1B workers through the wringer like it's never done before.

"You're either under-qualified or they reject you as overqualified. The intention seems fairly clear  they want us out," says Madhu, a storage specialist who says "my bags are packed" for later this year. Where will he go? "Canada or back home but I'm not waiting here for my extension." Madhu's H1B times out this fall.

The H1B time stamp

The story of the H1B began when the first millennials were born or merely toddlers. In the nearly three decades since the H-1B became a thing, this visa has offered a wide variation of the American experience based on date of entry into the US. Nalini came here in 1991 on a business visitors visa, her employer petitioned for an H1B when the visas sheen was still new; shes now a citizen and her kids are working at Google and MIT. Some like Nalini almost dont relate to the skewering the same H-1B is facing in the last two years. Weve moved beyond all that; the kids of the H-1Bs are the ones doing fabulous work in technology, the nature of the H1B is such that people will always complain, insists Girish, a techie with JP Morgan in New York City. Thats the thing with these migration journeys; once you cross over to the other side, your goalposts change although the pain points remain for those who are dealing with it.

The rebellion

Rashi Bhatnagar, almost a poster girl for dependents of H1B visas, has a very different story to tell. Its been a nightmare, its the kind of experience that can break a person from the inside. For years we just had to sit back and watch people all around us utilise their skills and earn but we couldnt just because we arrived on an H-4 visa, she says about the years before H-4 visa holders were allowed to work  a rule thats on the verge of being revoked by the Trump government. Around 90 per cent of H-1B spouses affected are wives; 10 per cent are husbands.

Bhatnagars counsel to starry-eyed H1B/ H4 rookies: Please don't come on a dependent visa if you have plans of a longer term stay in the United States. It will take at least a 100 years to get a green card for Indian nationals under the most common employment based categories. The H4 work permit regulation is in jeopardy and more H-1B extensions are getting denied than ever before.

Nalini, Rashi, Raj, Girish, Kiran  all those quoted in this story and others we have spoken to have arrived in the US at different times since 1990. The anxiety among those who have arrived around the time of the financial crash is of the most gnawing quality  especially the subset which have come here as family units. Many women the reporter spoke with are unanimous in their view that one way or the other, its best the government makes the sunset clause very clear. Some companies have already begun doing that  where employees sent on an H-1B must return to base camp after a 3 or 6 year period.

Enough of this drama, let companies or the government make it clear where each stakeholder gets off and thats fine. Waiting without end is killing us, say H4 visa holders. H1B workers are more careful with their outpouring because theres an economic underpinning to their American domicile. In their case though, the government is ending the ambiguity with three weapons: the request for evidence (RFE), notice to appear before an immigration judge and outright denials without a notice of intent to deny (NOID).

This is the other wall that America is building, RFE by RFE; its not a physical construct but far more potent and swift than the real one along the Mexico border.

And just like that, the cost advantage disappeared

Behind the backlash are cold, hard numbers that say the H1B cost advantage has vanished although technology firms  the most active users of the H1B programme  are threatening to move work overseas if they cannot bring people to the US or worse, bring them in and then have them yanked away.

In 2000-2001, the rate for a junior programmer sitting in Bengaluru or Hyderabad was between $19 and $23 an hour offshore. Today that rate card for offshore is between ~$37 and $42 per hour. In the last half decade or so, Cognizant and TCS in particular got their 'near-shoring' act together within the US and Mexico in less pricey locations where theyre offering the same junior developer at around the same $45 per hour rates, so the differential between Bengaluru and say, Texas is almost nil if you add the cost of nuisance value which comes bundled with the H1B process.

The Cognizant CFO said it best in an earning call: On a like-on-like basis, in terms of the onsite cost, if we are hiring people with the same skill sets  a local worker versus someone who comes on an H1B visa, there really is no significant cost difference when you consider the cost of wages and relocation, etc, versus the compensation we are paying And with the H1B visa, you have to remember that there is a prevailing wage that sets the salaries and those are set at market rate, so there is no significant difference as you shift the workforce. The real issue to find the right talent. If we can find the talent here or in Europe, we go there. As for the issue of moving work offshore, if we dont find the talent here, then the issue there too is about finding talent.
Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the emirate's dedicated entity for culture, arts, heritage and literature, successfully concluded its 2018 annual summer camp, organised by Dubai Public Library under the theme Our Summer is Art & Culture.



The summer camp featured a wide variety of educational activities, placing a special focus on creativity and innovation to ensure thrilling times for participating children.



Saeed Al Nabouda, acting director general at Dubai Culture, and Dr Salah Al Qassim, advisor of Dubai Culture, visited the camp, which saw a turnout of around 700 students. The programme welcomed children aged 6-12, and offered its activities in both Arabic and English; to ensure maximum benefit for all students.



Focusing on creativity, innovation, reading and science, the camp incorporated specialised workshops on robotics and various reading workshops, as well as a 3D-printing course and courses on scientific research and personal skills development, such as rhetoric, critical thinking and teamwork. The workshops were held across Dubai Public Library branches in Al Twar, Al Rashidiya, Al Mankhool, Umm Suqeim, Hatta and Hor Al Anz.



Al Nabouda, said: This year's programme has achieved many goals, including encouraging children to invest their school holiday time in practising productive activities, equipping them with new life skills that help in acquiring knowledge. Aiming to realise the Librarys vision and its objectives as an ideal environment for enriching culture, science and knowledge, the camp offered children an opportunity to learn about the real role of Dubai Public Library, and ways to best employ its services throughout the year.



Dr Salah Al Qassim, added: We are very pleased with the success of this year's programme, which, thanks to the preparations carried out by our staff, exceeded our expectations in terms number of visitors. The programmes success was evident in the huge turnout, the positive feedback of students and parents.



The summer camp is part of Dubai Public Library's Dubai Reads programme, which through its 7 initiatives, aims to promote reading in the community and draw children to the world of books at an early age. This comes as a product of Dubai Culture's belief in the vital role that public libraries play in transforming the Emirati community into a hive of readers by providing best practice paradigms to spread the culture of reading across the community. The authority strives to make a strong long-lasting impact on children and parents, presenting books as the most effective knowledge-acquisition tool in their present and future lives.



This was the first time I participated in the Dubai Public Library Summer Camp, and having learnt a great deal from it and met many new friends, it will certainly be on my calendar in upcoming years, said student Abdul Rahim Abdullah Al Shehhi.



Every year, some of my classmates and I participate in the summer camp as it offers unique activities within an enjoyable learning environment that cannot be found anywhere else, said student Fatima Ali Al Suwaidi. Across the camps various events, the trainers and instructors demonstrate great attentiveness and keenness to provide all that is useful in our studies and our lives in general.



The Dubai Public Library network includes eight libraries for adults and another seven for children, some of which featuring multipurpose halls, classrooms and exhibition spaces. All branches of the Dubai Public Library are connected via computer systems, establishing close links with other modern libraries, and providing access to vast sources of information on a diversity of topics in both Arabic and English. - TradeArabia News Service
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Eritrea and Djibouti have agreed to normalise ties following a regional meeting, ministers said on Thursday, a decade after a border spat led to brief military clashes.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Eritrea and Djibouti have agreed to normalise ties following a regional meeting, ministers said on Thursday, a decade after a border spat led to brief military clashes.

"After a long period of separation, Eritrea and Djibouti have agreed to restore ties," Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu said on his Facebook page.

(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; editing by John Stonestreet)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The ISRO mission is significant, as it would make India one of the four countries in the world, after Russia, the US and China, to launch a manned space flight.

Bengaluru: India and France announced on Thursday a working group for Gaganyaan, the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) first manned mission, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Independence Day. The announcement was made at the sixth edition of Bengaluru Space Expo, by French space agency president Jean-Yves Le Gall.

India plans to send three humans to space before 2022.

The ISRO mission is significant, as it would make India one of the four countries in the world, after Russia, the US and China, to launch a manned space flight. ISRO and Centro Nacional de Estudios Espaciales (CNES), the French space agency, will be combining their expertise in fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene systems, Gall said.

Engineering teams have already begun discussions, and it is envisioned that infrastructure such as the CADMOS centre for development of microgravity applications and space operations or the MEDES space clinic will be used for training of future Indian astronauts, as well as the exchange of specialist personnel, Gall said. ISRO plans to conduct experiments on microgravity through its astronauts.

French-Indian space cooperation spans in areas of climate monitoring, with a fleet of joint satellites devoted to research and operational applications, innovation, through a joint technical group tasked with inventing the launch vehicles of the future. The two also have plans to work on Mars, Venus and asteroids.

Gall said, "CNES is especially proud to be working on this endeavour alongside ISRO to share the experience it has acquired from the first French human spaceflights to Thomas Pesquet's Proxima mission, and to hone our own expertise by learning from ISRO's innovative developments in the field of crew transport.
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of planning to 'abuse' the presidency of the U.N. Security Council to criticise Tehran, Washington's arch-foe

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday of planning to "abuse" the presidency of the U.N. Security Council to criticise Tehran, Washington's arch-foe.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said on Tuesday that Trump would chair a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran this month to spotlight its "violations of international law" during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.

"He plans to abuse presidency of SC (Security Council) to divert a session ... to blame Iran for horrors US & clients have unleashed across M.E. (Middle East) #chutzpah," Zarif wrote in his tweet.

Trump in May withdrew from Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers which is aimed at stalling Tehrans nuclear capabilities in return for lifting some sanctions, and ordered the reimposition of U.S. sanctions suspended under the deal.

European powers have been scrambling to salvage the accord, but the spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said Tehran would relaunch its nuclear programme at a higher level than previously if the nuclear agreement collapsed.

"We are far more advanced than at the time of agreeing to the nuclear deal," spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by the state broadcaster IRIB.

"And we will never be able to return to the previous level of nuclear activity if we go out to the next, but we will step into more advanced levels," Kamalvandi said.

Tehran has also warned that it might quit a treaty designed to stop the spread of nuclear weapons if the agreement is abandoned.

In Washington, Trump said on Wednesday he remained open to the possibility of talks between Washington and Tehran, but said Iran was in turmoil and struggling to survive.

The United States, which holds the Security Council presidency for September, has unsuccessfully pushed the council to call out Iran. Haley has regularly attacked Iran, accusing it of meddling in the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Haley said on Tuesday that Trump was chairing the Security Council meeting "to address Irans violations of international law and the general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region."

"There's only one UNSC resolution on Iran. .@realDonaldTrump is violating it & bullying others to do same," Zarif wrote on Twitter.

Iran is still subject to a U.N. arms embargo and other restrictions contained in the resolution, which enshrines the nuclear deal.

In February, Russia vetoed a U.S.-led bid for the Security Council to call out Tehran for failing to prevent its weapons from falling into the hands of Yemens Houthi group, a charge Tehran denies.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by William Maclean and Leslie Adler)

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By Ali Sawafta and Daniela Desantis JERUSALEM/ASUNCION (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay on Wednesday, hours after the Latin American nation's new government announced it would move its embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem. Paraguay's decision was a blow to Israel's efforts to achieve external recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, which appeared to have gained some traction this year with the United States, Guatemala and Paraguay opening embassies there.

By Ali Sawafta and Daniela Desantis

JERUSALEM/ASUNCION (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay on Wednesday, hours after the Latin American nation's new government announced it would move its embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem.

Paraguay's decision was a blow to Israel's efforts to achieve external recognition of Jerusalem as its capital, which appeared to have gained some traction this year with the United States, Guatemala and Paraguay opening embassies there. Most countries do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city and say its final status should be set in peace talks.

Paraguay's foreign minister called Israel's reaction "disproportionate." Paraguay President Mario Abdo defended his decision as part of an effort to support "broad, lasting and just peace" among Israelis and Palestinians.

"Paraguay is a country of principles," Abdo said on Twitter.

Abdo took office last month and belongs to the same conservative party as his predecessor Horacio Cartes, who inaugurated Paraguay's new embassy in Jerusalem in May.

The Palestinians said their foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, met Abdo two weeks ago and hailed Paraguay's change of mind as "a new Palestinian diplomatic achievement."

"Minister Maliki exerted a big effort during his meeting with the new president who instructed his foreign minister to arrange the issue," the Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Israel acted swiftly after the news broke and a statement in English from the Prime Minister's office said: "Israel views with utmost gravity the extraordinary decision by Paraguay which will cloud bilateral relations."

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector that it annexed after the 1967 war, as its capital.

But the Palestinians, with broad international backing, want East Jerusalem for the capital of a future state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. Negotiations between the two sides broke down in 2014.

In December, U.S. President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital, reversing decades of U.S. policy and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies. The United States opened a new embassy in Jerusalem on May 14. Guatemala and then Paraguay opened embassies there afterward.

Netanyahu has attempted to persuade other countries to follow their lead.

On Wednesday while meeting Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Netanyahu said: "I appreciate your decision to open an honorary consulate in Jerusalem, and I hope, I hope, I hope it's the first step towards establishing the Bulgarian embassy in Jerusalem."

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Daniela Desantis; Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza; Writing by Ori Lewis and Mitra Taj; Editing by William Maclean and Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Mike Pompeo told journalists travelling with him that the United States would work with India on its planned purchase of a Russian missile and air-defense system known as the S-400.

New Delhi: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that talks were ongoing on whether to grant waivers for India from US sanctions on Russia and Iran as he made it clear that Washington's intention is not to "penalise great strategic partners like India." Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis held the first 2+2 Dialogue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to bolster the strategic ties with India and step up defence and security collaboration.

Pompeo told journalists travelling with him that the United States would work with India on its planned purchase of a Russian missile and air-defense system known as the S-400. India is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf missile air defence systems from Russia for around $4.5 billion. The purchase will violate sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) instituted by Congress on arms purchases from Russia, but lawmakers have allowed the possibility of a presidential waiver.

"There's been no decision made. But I will share that we do understand the history, right, of India's relationship with Russia and legacy systems. Our effort here, too, is not to penalise great strategic partners like India, a major defence partner. "The sanctions aren't intended to adversely impact countries like India. They are intended to be a  have an impact on the sanctioned country, which is Russia," the secretary of state said.

"And so we'll work our way through the waiver decision as the days and weeks proceed, and we'll do that alongside our partner, India, as well," he said. He said the US was working to impose CAATSA Section 231 in a way that is appropriate and lawful and to exercise that waiver authority only where it makes sense. "And we as a team, the national security team, will work on that, and as we continue to have these conversations with India about that, I think come to an outcome that makes sense for each of our two countries," he said.

On the issue of India's oil imports from Iran, Pompeo said, "We have told the Indians consistently, as we have told every nation, that on 4 November the sanctions with respect to Iranian crude oil will be enforced. "We will consider waivers where appropriate, but that it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed."

The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by 4 November or face sanctions, making it clear that there would be no waivers to anyone.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil during April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal).

"So we'll work with the Indians. We committed that we would do that. Many countries are in a place where they  it takes a little bit of time to unwind, and we'll work with them, I am sure, to find an outcome that makes sense," the top US diplomat said.

"And from whence they purchase the other crude oil, we're happy to see if it's American products that are able to deliver for them. I think that'd be a great outcome. But our mission set is to make sure that Iran doesn't engage in malign behaviour with wealth that comes from countries around the world, thus the purpose of the sanctions," he said.

On the difference with India on the issue of trade, Pompeo said, the US wanted it to be "very straightforward, free, fair and reciprocal." "We want the trade balance, the trade deficit that the United States has in its trade with India, to be rectified. "They have made some progress on that, and we thank them for that. They're going to buy more energy products from the United States. They're going to purchase more aircraft from the United States. We truly do appreciate that. But the gap will remain, and so we are urging them to do all that they can to narrow that gap," he said.

At the same time, he said it was important that the trade barriers that are there, places that American companies' and American workers' products can't be sold here, be reduced. "And so very consistent what President Trump is seeking all around the world are the things we talked about with our Indian counterparts here today," Pompeo said in response to a question.

India-US bilateral trade is estimated at around $74.5 billion. India has a surplus of $23 billion in trade with the US, and Washington wants to reduce it by forcing New Delhi to buy more American products. New Delhi is also concerned over recent US move to increase tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from countries China and India.
In a press conference, Nauru president Baron Waqa said that not only are they demanding an apology from China, they will also take up the issue with the UN.

Yaren: Nauru's president has demanded that China apologise for a top diplomat's "crazy" behaviour at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), and lashed out at Beijing's "arrogant" presence in the region. "They're not our friends. They just need us for their own purposes," President Baron Waqa told reporters.

"Sorry, but I have to be strong on this because no one is to come and dictate things to us." This year's annual Pacific summit, which wraps up in Nauru on Thursday, has been one of the most contentious in the event's 49-year history.

The usual discussions about climate change have been overshadowed by the host's row with China and its treatment of asylum-seekers held on the island under a deal with Australia. The diplomatic spat pits Nauru  with a population of 11,000 and an area of just 21 square kilometres  against the Asian superpower.

It erupted on Tuesday when the head of China's delegation Du Qiwen attempted to address a meeting but Waqa refused to let him speak until island leaders had finished. The Chinese delegation then stormed out, with Du reportedly striding around the room to emphasise his displeasure before leaving.

"Would he behave like that in front of his own president? I doubt it," Waqa said at a press conference late Wednesday. "He disrespected the Pacific, the forum island leaders and other ministers who have come to join us in our territory. Are you kidding? Look at him, he's a nobody. He's not even a minister and he's demanding to be recognised and to speak before the prime minister of Tuvalu. Is he crazy?" he asked.

Waqa, whose country backs Taiwan over arch-rival China in the battle for diplomatic recognition, had already angered Beijing before the summit began in a row over visas. The exchange with Du highlighted sensitivities over Beijing's rising influence in the Pacific, where China provided an estimated $1.78 billion in aid to island nations between 2006-16.

"We're seeing a lot of big countries coming in and sometimes buying their way through the Pacific, some are extremely aggressive, even to the point that they tread all over us," Waqa said. "From this forum, all leaders (now) know how arrogant some of these people are."

He said such behaviour merited an apology from Beijing. "We won't just seek an apology, we'll even take it up to the UN," he said. "Not only that, I will mention it at the UN and every international meeting."

China has shown no sign of backing down, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying Wednesday that Nauru violated forum regulations "and staged a bad farce".

China does not belong to the PIF but is one of 18 countries that attends the leaders' summit as a "dialogue partner" for discussions with member nations. Beijing and Taipei have vied for diplomatic influence in the Pacific for decades, with both sides offering aid and support to small island states in return for recognition. Taiwan paid for much of the infrastructure used at the Nauru PIF and there could be similar tensions at next year's event in Tuvalu, which also recognises Taipei.

China sees Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary, even though the island views itself as a sovereign nation and is a self-ruling democracy.Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have boosted their foreign aid programs in the Pacific to counter Chinese influence in a region they regard as their backyard.
By Hyonhee Shin and Susan Heavey SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for denuclearisation, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would 'get it done together'

By Hyonhee Shin and Susan Heavey

SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea's Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for denuclearisation, aiming for the end of U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would "get it done together".

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss "practical measures" towards denuclearisation, Moon's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said a day after meeting Kim.

The summit could provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearisation between North Korea and the United States, after Trump cancelled a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month citing lack of progress.

Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was "unchanged" and that he wanted denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and an end to hostile relations with the United States before Trump's first term in office ends in early 2021, Chung said.

But there was no indication that Kim had offered concrete steps toward giving up his nuclear arsenal, something some U.S. officials have said privately they doubt he is willing to do.

"He particularly emphasised that he has never said anything negative about President Trump," Chung said.

Trump welcomed Kim's remarks in a trademark Tweet.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!" Trump wrote.

Trump had previously hailed his landmark June 12 summit with Kim as a success and said the North Korean nuclear threat was over, despite little evidence to back that assertion.

In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear programme if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.

U.S. officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearisation or other key terms such as "verifiable" and "irreversible", and has insisted the United States must first agree to simultaneous steps to reduce economic pressure.

Some analysts suggested Kim was flattering Trump in hopes of dividing the president from advisers who have advocated a tougher U.S. stand.

"Kim just owns Trump. He knows his mark," Vipin Narang, a political scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who specializes in nuclear issues, said in a message on Twitter.

'ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF WORK TO DO'

Pompeo, visiting New Delhi, said there was a long road ahead and "an enormous amount of work to do" on the denuclearisation process.

He visited Pyongyang in July, after which North Korea accused him of making "unilateral and gangster-like demands for denuclearisation".

Asked about U.S. intelligence that North Korea was still advancing its weapons programmes, Pompeo noted Pyongyang had ceased its nuclear tests and test-firing missiles, which he said was a "good thing."

"But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make this strategic shift that we've talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues," Pompeo said.

The State Department later said Pompeo was sending his newly appointed North Korea envoy, Stephen Biegun, to South Korea, China and Japan from Sept. 10-15.

Signalling that Washington's concerns extend beyond Pyongyang's nuclear program, the U.S. government on Thursday filed criminal charges and imposed sanctions against an alleged North Korean hacker over the 2014 cyber attack on Sony Corp. and other "malign cyber activities."

Moon's national security adviser Chung said Kim had stressed the need for the United States to reciprocate North Korea's initial moves, which have included dismantling a nuclear test site and a missile engine facility.

"We support progress in inter-Korean relations and President Moons statements that such progress must go hand-in-hand with denuclearization," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC) said when asked for comment on the meeting.

North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim told the South's envoys that his "fixed stand" was to turn the Korean peninsula into "a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat".

Chung said Kim showed "frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearise, and asked us to convey his message to the United States".

"He said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith," Chung said. "He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures toward denuclearisation if action is taken in response to the North's preemptive steps."

U.S. officials have previously said they have already made conciliatory gestures, such as halting joint military exercises with South Korea.

During his meeting with Kim, Chung delivered a message from Trump and will relay comments from Kim to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moon's spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters. Chung later spoke to Bolton and gave him a "comprehensive report," the NSC official said.

Trump spoke to Moon on the evening before Chung's trip and asked Moon to act as "chief negotiator" between Washington and Pyongyang, the spokesman said.

WHAT HAPPENS FIRST?

Kim and Trump held an unprecedented summit in Singapore in June, in which the North Korean leader made a broad, vague commitment to work toward denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. But negotiations have made little progress, while signs North Korea has maintained work on its weapons have emerged.

Under discussion is whether denuclearisation or declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning U.S.-led U.N. forces, including South Korea, are technically still at war with the North.

"The United States shouldn't delay any further an end-of-war declaration, which the U.S. president promised at the Singapore summit," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial.

U.S. officials have said such a declaration could weaken North Korea's incentive for denuclearisation, and create uncertainty about the purpose of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the three-year war.

"Looks like Kim is trying to wash away worries that talks could stall or fail, knowing well that Washington is losing patience," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

(Additional reporting by Cynthia Kim and Joyce Lee in SEOUL, Matt Spetalnick, John Walcott, Susan Heavey, Lesley Wroughton and Christopher Bing in WASHINGTON and Phil Stewart in NEW DELHI; Writing by Soyoung Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
In a stern response to Pakistan raking up the Kashmir Issue at High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace in the UN General Assembly, Indian diplomat Srinivas Prasad asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India.

United Nations: Pakistan's focus for decades has been to undermine India's territorial integrity through the "explicit use of terrorism" as a state policy, New Delhi said in a stern response after Islamabad raked up the Kashmir issue at the UN.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi yet again raised the issue of Kashmir while addressing the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace in the UN General Assembly Wednesday.

She said "foreign occupation and the denial of fundamental rights including the right to self-determination exacerbate the sense of injustice among the occupied and the oppressed".

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in the pain and suffering" of the people in Kashmir and Palestine, she said, citing the recent report on Kashmir issued by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Minister in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Srinivas Prasad said that a culture of peace is not just an abstract value or principle to be discussed and extolled in conferences, but needs to be actively built into global relationships between and among nation states. "It rests on good neighborliness and a respect for the territory and the governing systems and principles of other states," he said.

In a stern response, Prasad said it is ironic that Pakistan, "whose focus over the decades has been the undermining of India's territorial integrity through the explicit use of terrorism as a state policy has chosen to use this platform to yet again claim Indian territory under the guise of a supposed concern for 'justice and self-determination' by quoting a report that not a single member state had asked for or has supported".

He asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India. "As a democracy, India has always abided by the choices of the people and will not allow this freedom to be undermined by terrorism and extremism," he said. Prasad further said that one of India's enduring principles has been Vasudheva Kutumbakam' or the concept that the world is one family'.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said a "non-violent revolution is not a programme of seizure of power. It is a programme of transformation of relationships".

"From the Vedic age in the distant past to the great teachers Mahavira and Buddha to Gandhiji, India's message has always been about the need of a Culture of Peace. It is may be due to this heritage of a Culture of Peace that has made India, home to the harmonious blending of different cultures and religions," Prasad said.

He said that India is the birthplace of Lord Buddha as well as home to the second largest Muslim community in the world. "We are deeply conscious and proud of this heritage and our commitment therefore, to a Culture of Peace is natural and automatic," Prasad added.
By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration have been working from within to frustrate parts of his agenda to protect the country from his worst impulses, an anonymous Trump official wrote in a column published by the New York Times on Wednesday. In the piece, the official described 'early whispers' among members of Trump's Cabinet to take steps to remove him as president, but added they decided against it to avoid a constitutional crisis

By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many senior officials in President Donald Trump's administration have been working from within to frustrate parts of his agenda to protect the country from his worst impulses, an anonymous Trump official wrote in a column published by the New York Times on Wednesday.

In the piece, the official described "early whispers" among members of Trump's Cabinet to take steps to remove him as president, but added they decided against it to avoid a constitutional crisis.

The official wrote that the root of the problem was that Trump is amoral and not moored to any discernible principles that guide his decision-making.

"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room," the author wrote.

Asked about the column during a White House event, Trump called it a "gutless editorial," bashed the New York Times as "failing," and ticked off economic achievements that he said were proof of his leadership.

Staring into the cameras, he said: "Nobody is going to come close to beating me in 2020 because of what we've done."

The Times took what it called the rare step of publishing an opinion column by the official under an agreement to keep the author's name secret. It said the senior administration official's job would be jeopardized by its disclosure.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders issued a statement calling the author a coward and demanding the person resign.

The article further fuelled accusations by critics that Trump was unstable and unfit for the presidency, and seemed likely to resurrect talk among some Democrats about potentially impeaching the president should they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in November elections.

25TH AMENDMENT

There was an immediate guessing game in Washington about who wrote the article and whether it came from someone within the White House or in another government agency.

The opinion piece followed publication on Tuesday of the first excerpts from a book by famed Watergate reporter Bob Woodward describing chaos in the White House.

Woodward reported that Defence Secretary James Mattis rejected a recommendation from Trump for the U.S. military to kill Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to excerpts published by the Washington Post.

Mattis dismissed the book as "a uniquely Washington brand of literature," and Trump has called it "total fiction."

In the Times piece, the official wrote: "Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president.

"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  its over," the author added.

Under the 25th Amendment, adopted in 1967, the vice president and a majority of either Cabinet officials or "such other body as Congress may by law provide" may declare in writing that the president "is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office."

It has never been used to strip a president from power and would be a complicated process.

"We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous," the writer said. "But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic," the author wrote.

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Howard Goller and Peter Cooney)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The UK blamed Russia for the 4 March attack, sparking furious denials. In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind.

London: British security minister Ben Wallace said on Thursday that Russian president Vladimir Putin had "ultimate" responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England in March.

London accused two members of Russian military intelligence of using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern English city of Salisbury.

Asked if Putin had a responsibility, Wallace said: "Ultimately he does, in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence."

He told BBC radio: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without a doubt not rogue." He added, "It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office."

Britain has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the 4 March attack, sparking furious denials. In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind. The United States also imposed fresh sanctions over the attack.

The Skripals survived the poisoning but remnants of Novichok found in a fake perfume bottle were picked up by a local man weeks later and given to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died.

British prosecutors said on Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon. They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.
Honeywell, a global software-industrial leader, today organised a technology symposium in Kuwait in support of the countrys long-term vision to drive sustainable development and build smarter cities.



The Honeywell Technology Symposium 2018 was held under the theme Experience the IoT Evolution in Kuwaits Future Smart Buildings, at the Radisson Blu Hotel.



The event brought together building owners and operators from key industries, as well as thought leaders, end users and sector stakeholders.



Attendees discussed the latest technologies, business trends and Internet of Things (IoT) innovations driving the adoption of smart buildings and smart cities in Kuwait and around the world, said a statement from Honeywell.



The symposium also outlined the evolution of digital transformation in Kuwait, with a focus on the significant impact data analytics, IoT and cloud solutions have on the development of buildings, cities and real estate projects, it added.



Honeywell's President (Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon) George Bou Mitri said: Kuwait is modernising its national infrastructure and focusing on smart city developments under the ambitious Kuwait National Development Plan 2035.



Driven by these initiatives, buildings are becoming increasingly online and connected, presenting building owners and operators with an unparalleled opportunity to harness the power of the IoT and realise previously unobtainable levels of safety, productivity and efficiency, stated Mitri.



Through this symposium we are demonstrating how Kuwaits building owners and operators can capitalise on the IoT revolution to meet their objectives, and underscoring our commitment to supporting the country as it embarks on transforming its national infrastructure through cutting-edge innovation, he added.



During the symposium Honeywell's top officials showcased key solutions which are making buildings smarter and more connected across several industry verticals, including healthcare, airports and premium commercial facilities.



Spending on the technologies that enable smart city initiatives is forecasted to reach $1.26 billion for the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region in 2018. Security and energy efficiency were also high on the agenda, in line with the Kuwaiti governments objective to ensure greater safety and sustainability across industries, it said.



Paolo Cervini, president for Honeywell Building Solutions, Middle East, Russia, Turkey and Africa, added: Our customers in Kuwait and across the region are highly innovative, and are focused on becoming even more data-driven.



They are looking for ways to not only generate more data from their buildings, but turn that data into business insight that helps them drive safety, productivity and efficiency improvements, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The statement comes a day after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo met Pakistan's new prime minister Imran Khan and pressed him to take 'sustained and decisive measures' against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

The United States (US) shares India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed roam free, despite the reward the US has placed on his head for his role in terror activities, a senior state department official said Thursday.

The statement comes a day after US secretary of state Mike Pompeo met Pakistan's new prime minister Imran Khan and pressed him to take "sustained and decisive measures" against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

This was the US' first high-level dialogue with Pakistan since Khan assumed office after the 25 July elections, and comes days after the US cut $300 million in military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups active on its soil.

Talking to the media persons travelling with Pompeo in New Delhi, the official, who chose not to be identified, said: "We've worked closely with India over the last year to have both a counter-terrorism dialogue as well as a dialogue on designations".

The official said that counter-terrorism is obviously another shared interest with India. "We are coming up on the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai bombing.

"Obviously, we share India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai bombing at-large, despite the reward that's on his head and despite his very known role in helping to facilitate that attack," the official said.

Asked about his concern over the presence of militants on the Pakistani side, the official said that America shares India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence. "I'm confident that there'll be a conversation on counter-terrorism cooperation, and we share India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence. With respect to India-Pakistan relations, we welcome efforts by both countries to speak with one another and to engage one another," the official said.

The official said that there has been a Director General of Military Operations channel that has been used over the last several months. "We saw a commitment by the countries, I believe in early June, a commitment by Pakistan to reduce levels of violence along the Line of Control. I think there's been a reduction in the historic levels, but it's certainly not the level of reduction that we need to see. I can't comment on the Secretary's meetings on Wednesday, but as an ongoing element of our conversation with Pakistan is the need to end all support for terrorist proxies whether on the eastern border or the western border," the senior state department official said.

The Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD), led by Saeed, was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. Saeed also carries a $10 million American bounty on his head for his role in terror activities.

The JuD is a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group that carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attack.

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to re-investigate the Mumbai terror attack case and also demanded the trial of Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, in the light of the evidence it had provided to Islamabad.

Ten Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed 166 people, including American nationals, and wounded dozens in Mumbai in November 2008. Nine of the attackers were killed by police, while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught and executed after a court found him guilty and handed a death sentence.
For the second time in less than a year, Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) has given the green light to a new natural gas pipeline project, this time making a final investment decision on the Permian Highway Pipeline. In doing so, the company is adding a bit more clarity to its growth prospects, which dimmed earlier this year after it sold the Trans Mountain Pipeline and its controversial expansion project to the Government of Canada. While the company hasn't yet replaced what it lost by jettisoning that project, it's working fast to lessen the blow.

Details on the latest project

Kinder Morgan initially unveiled the Permian Highway Pipeline project in late June, announcing that it signed a letter of intent with private equity-backed EagleClaw Midstream and Apache (NASDAQ:APA) to develop another new gas pipeline out of the Permian Basin. That project got a big boost of confidence last month when ExxonMobil's XTO Energy subsidiary signed on to be an anchor shipper. The partners would go on to secure additional shippers for nearly all the pipeline's remaining capacity, which allowed them to officially sanction the project this week.

Kinder Morgan and EagleClaw expect to invest about $2 billion in building the 430-mile pipeline that will move up to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Permian to the Texas Gulf Coast. The companies anticipate that it will enter service in late 2020, as long as they receive all the required regulatory approvals. That time frame is about one year after the planned completion date of Kinder Morgan's Gulf Coast Express gas pipeline.

Kinder Morgan and EagleClaw each currently own 50% stakes in the Permian Highway Pipeline and will, therefore, fund half of the construction costs going forward. However, Apache has the option to buy a 33% interest in the pipeline from those partners, which it has assigned to its new midstream company Altus Midstream. Other major shippers in the line have options to buy stakes, too. If all option holders exercise their rights, Kinder Morgan's interest will fall to 27%, which would give the company more cash that it could reinvest into other expansion projects.

A $400 billion opportunity up ahead

With the addition of the Permian Highway Pipeline project to its backlog, Kinder Morgan now has more than $7 billion of expansions underway. While that's well below the roughly $12 billion backlog it had at its analyst day earlier in the year due to the sale of Trans Mountain, the company is beginning to replace that lost growth. In its current estimation, it believes it can secure enough new projects to invest about $2 billion to $3 billion per year.

Driving that view is the fact that the energy industry needs to spend more than $400 billion to support the growth of the natural gas market in North America over the next 20 years. The company sees five major drivers of this growth:

Pipeline to move natural gas from the Marcellus shale to demand centers in the South.

Natural gas storage to support renewable power generation and LNG exports.

Demand-related infrastructure to support the growth of the Permian Basin.

Additional pipelines to transport gas for LNG exports.

Infrastructure to support the rebirth of the Haynesville shale.

The company plans to remain disciplined as it pursues these new opportunities, focusing on investing to earn good returns rather than growing for the sake of growth. Kinder Morgan noted earlier this year that a $2 billion annual capital investment at the low end of its return hurdle rate could generate $300 million in annual EBITDA, which represents a 4% yearly growth rate. Meanwhile, investing at the top end or above its range and at a higher rate of return would generate even faster growth. Add to that the potential for the company to resume making acquisitions, and Kinder Morgan could deliver meaningful growth in the coming years.

Getting ready to start growing again

Kinder Morgan's growth engine stalled out in recent years due to the impact of recent asset sales and the oil market downturn. However, the company expects to return to a growth mode this year and has a clear path to continue driving earnings and cash flow higher over the next few years given the increasing number of projects now in its backlog. While its near-term growth wont be as fast as once anticipated, now that it no longer has Trans Mountain, the company has a massive opportunity in front of it that should fuel solid growth rates in the decades to come.
In 2017, oil companies in the United States produced an average of 9.3 million barrels of oil per day (BPD). Not only was that the nation's highest level in 50 years, but it put America in a virtual tie with Saudi Arabia as the second-largest oil producing country in the world behind Russia. At the current pace, America's oil output in 2018 will smash the record set in 1970, and the U.S. could overtake Russia as the global oil leader.

Fueling America's oil and gas resurgence has been the torrent of new production from seven key regions: the Anadarko Basin (including the STACK shale play), Appalachia (including the Marcellus and Utica shale), Bakken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara, Haynesville, and the Permian Basin in West Texas. Drillers have been able to tap these resource-rich regions by using a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to access the oil and gas trapped within tight rock formations such as shale. Among the biggest beneficiaries of America's oil boom has been the country's largest oil stocks:

Biggest Oil Stocks in the U.S. Market Capitalization Dividend Yield ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) $344.6 billion 4.03% Chevron (NYSE:CVX) $233.7 billion 3.66% ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) $81.9 billion 1.63% EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) $70.8 billion 0.60% Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) $63.2 billion 3.76%

What is an oil company?

Before we drill down into these specific companies, it's important for investors to know a few basics about the oil and gas industry. The term oil company can broadly refer to any company involved in the oil market, whether it produces oil from wells, transports it by pipelines, or refines it into gasoline. However, when most investors think about an oil company or oil stocks, they typically mean an exploration and production (E&P) company, which, as the name suggests, explores for and produces oil from onshore or offshore wells.

There are two types of E&P companies: independent E&Ps (which only drill for and produce oil) and integrated oil companies that not only produce oil but also operate midstream assets like pipelines and downstream assets like refineries and chemical plants.

The "big" oil companies, which refer to the seven largest in the world, all tend to be integrated oil companies. For a deeper dive into the oil patch, be sure to check out this article for everything you need to know about investing in oil.

With that primer out of the way, here's a closer look at the five biggest oil stocks in the U.S. as well as what the future holds for these oil giants.

ExxonMobil: A big oil giant

ExxonMobil is the largest publicly traded oil stock in the world today. In 2017, the U.S.-based integrated oil and gas company produced 2.3 million BPD of oil and other liquids -- supplying more than 2% of the world's total -- while its overall output totaled about 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D), which includes oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). Like most big oil companies, Exxon pumps oil and gas around the world and currently has an active presence in 38 countries.

Drilling down into Exxon's growth drivers

Last year, ExxonMobil produced 514,000 BPD on its home turf, from places like the Permian Basin, Alaska, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Bakken shale of North Dakota. However, the Permian Basin is one of the big keys to Exxon's future. While the company only produced about 129,000 BPD from the region in 2017, it expects output to skyrocket in the coming years. Driving that forecast was its acquisition of another roughly 275,000 acres of land in the heart of the Basin last year for more than $5.6 billion.

Those deals more than tripled Exxon's Permian resource base, which currently totals more than 9.5 billion BOE. That oil-rich position leads Exxon to believe it can grow its production from the Permian fivefold by 2025. While there are some near-term concerns about whether the Permian can grow as fast as oil companies anticipate due to pipeline constraints, ExxonMobil has been working with pipeline companies to ensure it has market access for its production. Because of that, there's less risk that Exxon might miss the mark on its ambitious expansion plan.

While the Permian is Exxon's main growth engine in the U.S., it's not the company's only growth driver. The oil giant also plans to start up 25 major projects around the world over the next several years, which will help add 1 million BOE/D, or by about 25%, to its output by 2025. One of the other key drivers is Guyana, located to the west of Venezuela, where Exxon and its partners have now made nine offshore discoveries that contain more than 4 billion BOE of resources. Exxon is currently planning a three-phase development, which it expects will produce more than 500,000 BPD in the future. However, the oil giant now believes that it could build at least two more phases, which would boost output up to more than 750,000 BPD.

A plan to grow value

Exxon anticipates that the growth from the Permian, offshore Guyana, and elsewhere -- including its refining and chemical operations -- will more than double earnings and cash flow by 2025, assuming no major change in oil and gas prices. This outlook implies that Exxon's stock price could trend upward along with the company's profitability and more than double in the next seven years, assuming investors value its earnings the same way they do now.

Investors could do even better than that if we take the company's high-yielding dividend, which it has increased for the last 35 years, into account. Furthermore, there is a possibility that Exxon could restart its share buyback program. If Exxon can do all that, then America's biggest oil stock could fuel big-time gains for investors in the coming years.

Chevron: A U.S.-focused oil giant

Like ExxonMobil, Chevron is an integrated oil company with operations around the world. In 2017, the company produced 2.7 million BOE/D from the following countries:

Country % of Chevron's Production in 2017 United States 25% Kazakhstan 15.2% Australia 9.4% Nigeria 9.4% Thailand 8.8% Indonesia 6% Angola 6% Bangladesh 4.1% Canada 3.5% All others 12.8%

Of that production, about 63% was oil, or approximately 1.7 million BPD, with 30% of it coming from the U.S., mainly from the Gulf of Mexico, California, and the Permian Basin. In fact, the California-based oil company is the largest oil and gas producer in the Golden State. However, like Exxon, Chevron's future is in the Permian Basin because it's one of the largest landholders in this oil-soaked region at roughly 2.2 million acres.

Dual fuels in the U.S.

Chevron has already produced 5 billion barrels from the Permian since it set up shop there in the early 1920s. However, its best days appear to lie ahead. While the company's output from the region averaged only around 200,000 BOE/D last year -- which was in the top five -- it expects production to hit more than 650,000 BOE/D by 2022 as it works to unlock the 11.2 billion BOE of resources still underneath its land in the region.

In addition to the Permian, Chevron remains active in the Gulf of Mexico where it produces from several offshore platforms, including a handful of new production facilities online brought online in recent years. While it takes more time and money to develop offshore resources, these facilities tend to produce at steadier rates than onshore wells. That's why the company is working on additional expansion projects and has new developments in the pipeline. Add to that the fact that it continues finding oil in the region -- including recently uncovering one of the largest oil discoveries in the Gulf in the past decade -- and Chevron has a bright future in the region.

A different strategy with the same goal

One thing that separates Chevron from ExxonMobil is their long-term strategies. While Exxon has an ambitious investment plan to increase output by 25% over the next seven years, Chevron's focus is on generating cash flow. Chevron CEO Michael Wirth told the Financial Times in mid-2018 that he wants the company to be able to cover its dividend with free cash flow at $50 oil. As a result, Chevron plans to stress controlling its costs and stick to a strict budget rather than pursuing growth for the sake of growth. So, the company won't increase production as fast as it could in the coming years, instead prioritizing generating free cash flow that it can use to expand the dividend and buy back stock. However, while that approach will yield a lower production growth rate, it could still enable Chevron to grow shareholder value at a healthy clip in the coming years.

ConocoPhillips: The king of the E&Ps

ConocoPhillips is the world's largest independent exploration and production (E&P) company, which means it makes all its money producing oil and gas as opposed to being integrated like Exxon and Chevron, which also operate downstream facilities such as refineries. However, while ConocoPhillips lacks that diversification, it boasts strong geographical diversity -- which can reduce the risk that a regional issue such as pipeline constraints or a natural disaster will significantly impact its operations -- since it currently pumps oil and gas from 17 nations. In 2017, the company's worldwide operations produced an average of 1.4 million BOE/D, though about 37% of that output came from the U.S.

A diversified U.S. portfolio

The largest contributor of ConocoPhillips' U.S. output is Alaska, where it's the largest oil and gas producer. Last year, the company pumped 182,000 BOE/D from the state, accounting for 36% of its U.S. output. Alaska will be even more important to the company in 2018 because it announced two transactions to acquire additional interests in two of the fields it operates in the region, which, along with a recently finished expansion project, should boost its production in the state up to around 250,000 BOE/D. That's part of the company's bold bet on Alaska, which also includes a multibillion-dollar development program that could increase its output to more than 300,000 BOE/D in the next decade.

However, as important as Alaska is to ConocoPhillips both now and in the future, it's not the company's biggest growth driver in the country. Instead, the oil giant's positions in three of the biggest oil-rich shale regions -- Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, and Bakken -- will lead the way in the coming years. After producing about 220,000 BOE/D from those three shale plays last year, ConocoPhillips expects output to nearly double to 400,000 BOE/D by 2020. While the company plans to keep production in the Bakken flat, it expects output in the Eagle Ford and Permian to grow at a 25% and 60% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), respectively, through 2020.

A differentiated plan to create value

Increasing production is only one piece of ConocoPhillips' strategy to create long-term value for investors. The company's primary aim is to grow its highest-margin production so that cash flow will expand at an even faster pace. Because of that, the oil giant's plan to grow production at a 5% CAGR through 2020 should fuel a 10% CAGR in cash flow. That would provide the company with the money to continue increasing its dividend and buy back more stock. In fact, in mid-2018, ConocoPhillips announced that because it achieved its debt reduction target well ahead of schedule, it would boost its share buyback authorization up to $15 billion, which is enough to retire about 20% of its outstanding shares. That needle-moving buyback has the potential to drive ConocoPhillips' stock even higher in the coming years.

EOG Resources: (Almost) nothing but shale

EOG Resources is one of the largest independent E&P companies in the country. However, while it does have operations in Trinidad, the U.K., and China, the U.S. is by far its most important region. In 2017, EOG Resources produced 608,900 BOE/D, with more than 90% of that output coming from the U.S. Meanwhile, 99.5% of the company's 335,000 BPD of oil production came from the States.

EOG Resources currently produces oil from four main regions:

The Eagle Ford: 157,000 BPD in 2017

The Permian Basin: 91,000 BPD in 2017

The Rocky Mountain Area (including the Bakken as well as the DJ Basin and Powder River Basin): 66,000 BPD in 2017

The Mid-Continent (including the STACK shale play of Oklahoma): 2,000 BPD in 2017

Drilling for returns, not just oil

Aside from its near sole focus on U.S. shale plays, another thing that sets EOG Resources apart from most other oil stocks is that it drills for returns above all else. In February 2016, EOG Resources unveiled its premium drilling strategy, which is a focus on drilling wells that meet a high hurdle of producing a 30% after-tax return at $40 a barrel. As a result, the company can deliver fast-paced production growth at lower oil prices, with it currently able to expand its U.S. oil output at a 15% CAGR on the cash flows supplied by $50 oil and at a 25% CAGR at $60 oil.

Another benefit of EOG's aim to drill for returns over growing output is that it's on pace to produce significant free cash flow at higher oil prices since it won't accelerate its drilling pace if that will impact returns. In 2018, for example, the company can produce more than $1.5 billion in free cash at $60 oil.

Growing shareholder value above all else

The shale giant has a twofold strategy for that excess cash. First, it intends on increasing its low-yielding dividend at a more than 19% CAGR going forward. In addition to that, EOG plans to retire debt as it matures over the next four years, which would see it pay off $3 billion by 2021, nearly halving it from last year's level.

EOG's combination of high-return production growth, high-octane dividend increases, and steady de-leveraging of its balance sheet have the potential to fuel significant gains for investors in the coming years.

Occidental Petroleum: A different kind of integrated oil company

Occidental Petroleum is an integrated oil company with operations in the U.S., Latin America, and the Middle East. In 2017, the company produced 602,000 BOE/D, with slightly more than half of that output coming from the U.S. Occidental is a bit different than most other integrated oil companies in that it doesn't own any refineries. Instead, it has a chemical business and some midstream assets, though it recently cashed in on some of its Permian infrastructure.

The Permian with a twist

Nearly all of Occidental's U.S. production comes from the Permian Basin, where it's one of the largest operators and producers, accounting for about 9% of the region's oil output. However, what's unique about the company's Permian position is that 57% of its oil production comes by using enhanced oil recovery (EOR) to coax more oil out of legacy fields. Occidental primarily does this by injecting carbon dioxide that it produces from other regions of the country into older oil reservoirs to increase the underground pressure so that more oil flows out. Each year, the company pumps more than 950 million cubic feet of carbon dioxide into oil reservoirs, making it one of the EOR leaders not only in the Permian but globally. The oil giant has a large inventory of EOR projects that it expects to develop over the next two decades depending on market conditions, which should keep its EOR output at a relatively steady pace.

In addition to EOR, Occidental has started tapping into the vast shale resources underneath its acreage position in recent years, producing 141,000 BOE/D from its Permian Resources division last year. The company has identified nearly 12,000 drilling locations, with many highly economical at less than $60 a barrel, providing the company with a significant growth driver in the coming years. Occidental aims to get its shale production within its Permian Resources division up to an average of between 220,000 to 244,000 BOE/D by the end of 2018, which would be 45% higher than the rate it produced at the end of 2017.

A low-cost oil stock

That fast-paced growth from the Permian is a key part of Occidental's plan to lower its companywide oil breakeven level to $40 a barrel, which means the company can generate enough cash at that oil price to fund its high-yielding dividend and maintain its current production rate. By hitting that breakeven point, Occidental would then be able to grow total production at a 5% to 8% annual rate with the cash flows it can generate at $50 a barrel while producing ample free cash if oil is above that level, giving it the money to buy back shares. It's all part of Occidental's balanced plan to grow shareholder value in the coming years even if oil prices take another tumble.

The biggest oil stocks still have plenty of fuel in the tank

All five of these large U.S. oil stocks share one commonality: a prime position in the oil-rich, low-cost Permian Basin. That's crucial because it gives them the fuel to grow at a healthy rate in the coming years even if oil prices take a hit. Consequently, the five biggest oil stocks in the country should continue to grow larger in the coming years, not only in production volumes but in value, which positions them to enrich their investors.
Borouge, a joint venture of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and Borealis of Austria, has signed an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with Marie Tecnimont Group for its fifth polypropylene (PP5) plant in Ruwais, a media report said.



This will grow Borouges polypropylene capacity by 25 per cent to 2.24 million tonnes per year (t/y) and unlock new opportunities to reinforce local industries, reported Emirates news agency Wam.



With a nameplate capacity of 480,000 t/y, the new PP5 plant will be integrated with the existing Borouge 3 plant in Ruwais and will be expected to come on stream in Q3 2021.



Enabled by Borealis proprietary Borstar technology, Borouges PP5 plant will play an important role in helping Adnoc deliver against its downstream strategy announced in the recent Downstream Investment Forum, held in May 2018, with the aim to significantly expand its refining and petrochemical operations  through the creation of the worlds largest integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Ruwais  undertake highly targeted overseas investments to secure greater market access, and increase Adnocs, and its subsidiaries, range and volume of high-value downstream products.



Building the PP5 plant in Ruwais significantly contributes to achieving Borouges ambition of growing the polymers production capacity by 11 per cent to reach 5 million tonnes per year which is effectively linked to the growth ambitions of both Adnoc and Borealis to grow polymers production capacity.



The PP5 plant will become the tenth Borstar plant in Ruwais that contributes to ensuring global supply of creative polypropylene products based on the partnership between Adnoc and Borealis. The Ruwais-based plant will help Borouge expand its product portfolio and deliver leading solutions to its customers across the globe, especially in the packaging industry.
British Swim School Makes Bigger Splash In Florida

Water Safety and Survival School Welcomes New Fort Lauderdale Location

September 06, 2018 // Franchising.com // Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. - British Swim School, best known for its education of water safety as an essential survival skill amongst a fun and gentle environment, has continued its nationwide expansion with a newly-opened pool location in the city of Fort Lauderdale, where the brand is headquartered.

This now-open addition marks the second British Swim School franchise for husband and wife duo, Eli and Jenifer Rivera. The couple's first location is in Coral Springs, and attribute their inspiration to become involved with British Swim School after their eldest son was enrolled in lessons. Along with running both Florida schools, the Riveras are part of the Broward Water Smart program, which was developed within their community to help reduce the number of drownings. Additionally, they are hoping to collaborate in the future with the local fire departments, hospitals and schools to generate awareness of the life-saving services British Swim School offers.

We started our Coral Springs location because we felt it was a great family environment, said Jenifer Rivera , British Swim School franchisee. Our transition to Fort Lauderdale was inspired by the lack of swim programs on the east side of town. Over the years we've learned how many people who've had to travel west to our schools, and figured there was no better time than the present to move our programs east and save even more lives.

British Swim School offers a two-step curriculum teaching children and adults of all ages, some as young as three months, water safety and survival skills, along with swimming skill development. While parental supervision is always the number one safety measure, research shows that participation in formal swim programs, such as those offered by British Swim School, can reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent among children who are most at risk for deaths caused by drowning.

The British Swim School franchise concept operates a unique water safety program with teaching methods that serve as a trademark for the brand. The company offers lessons out of multiple national fitness chains and hotel pools year-round, based on the premise that children progress at different rates. Each child, regardless of age, is placed in their correct skill level and will have certain achievable objectives. British Swim School operates in nearly 200 schools in 21 states within the U.S., and holds nearly 17,000 lessons per week nationally, and conducted nearly 600,000 swimming lessons in 2017.

This British Swim School location is at LA Fitness, which is at 6501 North Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309. For more information about the Fort Lauderdale school, visit https://britishswimschool.com/fortlauderdale/pools/la-fitness-fort-lauderdale/.

About British Swim School

For over 35 years, British Swim School has been dedicated to teaching water survival skills to children as young as three months old. CEO Rita Goldberg founded British Swim School in 1981 and developed the unique and highly effective teaching methods that are a recognized trademark of the brand. Headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., British Swim School currently operates out of nearly 200 schools within 21 states, and is developing an international presence with locations in Turkey and Canada. The organization holds around 17,000 lessons per week nationally, and conducted nearly 600,000 swimming lessons in 2017. British Swim School has been ranked in Entrepreneurs Franchise 500, Top 50 New Franchises, and the Top 10 Types of Franchises to Watch in 2015. For more information about British Swim School, visit www.britishswimschool.com, and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BritishSwimSchools.

Media Contact:

Jordan Massanari

Konnect Agency

O: 213.225.4436

jmassanari@konnectagency.com

SOURCE British Swim School

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UAE-based Mubadala Petroleum, Gazprom Neft and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have announced the completion of a transaction establishing a joint venture to develop oil fields in the Tomsk and Omsk regions of Western Siberia.



Further to an agreement announced on May 24, 2018, Gazprom Neft has now completed its sale of a 49-per cent interest in Gazpromneft-Vostok LLC, operator of 13 fields, to Mubadala Petroleum and RDIF.



Following the completion of this transaction Gazprom Neft now holds a 51-per cent interest in the joint venture, with Mubadala Petroleum and RDIF holding 44 per cent and five per cent equity, respectively. Gazpromneft-Vostok remains a subsidiary of Gazprom Neft, and will continue to operate the fields.



The Gazpromneft-Vostok joint venture represents Mubadala Petroleums first investment in the Russian oil and gas sector.



The partners will determine the long-term strategy of the joint-venture, focusing on efficiency in exploration and production activities at the fields as well as at pre-Jurassic hydrocarbon deposits.



Alexander Dyukov, CEO, Gazprom Neft, said: This first investment by one of the largest oil and gas companies in the UAE, Mubadala Petroleum, in a Russian asset is certainly a landmark event for the industry.



Through our partnership with Mubadala Petroleum and RDIF we will not only be focusing on improving the current business performance of Gazpromneft-Vostok, but will also be looking for new opportunities to develop it further.



One promising area for joint work here being developing technologies for the profitable development of pre-Jurassic hydrocarbon resources in the Tomsk Region. We see Mubadala Petroleum and RDIF as strategic partners, and expect to deliver mutually beneficial results from combining our financial and technological resources, he added.



Dr Bakheet Al Katheeri, CEO, Mubadala Petroleum, said: "The acquisition of a 44-per cent interest in the Gazpromneft-Vostok joint venture is another important step in Mubadala Petroleums drive for sustainable and profitable growth, marking our entry into Russia and adding valuable oil production to our existing portfolio.



Partnering with Gazprom Neft, a leading Russian operator, and RDIF will not only provide us with significant co-investment opportunities, but will also further develop our own oil and gas expertise and capabilities, as well as exploration and production technologies.



Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said: "We welcome Mubadala Petroleums first investment in Russia. We expect this transaction to become the basis for further investments by the consortium created by RDIF, Mubadala Petroleum and Gazprom Neft. Participation of Mubadala Petroleum in the consortium will bring funds, experience and expertise of our Middle East partner to the Russian oil and gas sector.



Gazprom Neft is a vertically integrated oil company, primarily involved in oil and gas exploration and production, refining, and the production and sale of oil products. The Companys subsidiaries include more than 70 oil production, refining and retail businesses, located throughout Russia, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and other countries.



Gazpromneft-Vostok has been active in hydrocarbon production in the Tomsk and Omsk regions since 2005, as operator of a group of oil and gas fields located in the region and whose future production potential derives mainly from pre-Jurassic deposits.



Mubadala Petroleum is an international upstream oil and gas exploration and production company, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company. Mubadala Petroleum manages assets and operations now spanning 10 countries, with its geographic focus primarily on the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Russia.



The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) is Russia's sovereign wealth fund established in 2011 to make equity co-investments, primarily in Russia, alongside reputable international financial and strategic investors. RDIF acts as a catalyst for direct investment in the Russian economy.  TradeArabia News Service
All passengers have disembarked from flight EK 203 flying from Dubai, UAE to JFK International Airport in New York, Emirates Airlines said in a statement, adding they were screened by the local health authorities prior to disembarkation.

Several passengers and crew complained of feeling sick during the 14-hour overnight flight. The flight, with 521 passengers on board, touched down shortly after 9 am local time on Wednesday and was immediately surrounded by dozens of ambulances and other emergency vehicles as anxious passengers waited to be evaluated by health officials.

New York City health officials said they obtained respiratory samples from the patients and their symptoms look like influenza.

"Emirates can confirm that all passengers have disembarked from flight EK 203. All passengers were screened by the local health authorities prior to disembarkation and three passengers and seven crew were transferred to the hospital for further medical care and evaluation. Nine passengers underwent additional medical screening at the site near the aircraft and were released afterwards, state-run news agency Wam reported, citing the Emirates statement.

The rest of the passengers were allowed to leave and clear customs. Our crew and onground staff extended our full cooperation with the authorities during the onboard screenings and the aircraft has now been handed back to Emirates, the airline statement said.

Due to the delay with the inbound flight, the return flight EK204 from JFK to Dubai will be delayed by approximately 3 hours. Passengers with connecting flights in Dubai who are impacted by the delay will be assisted with re-bookings by our local ground staff.

We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority."

Eric Phillips, spokesman for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, said it appeared that some of the ill passengers had come from Makkah, which is experiencing a flu outbreak. Health officials are processing tests now to determine the cause. Symptoms still pointing to the flu, he tweeted.
Marriott International has announced that its branded residential portfolio is expected to grow by more than 70 per cent in four years as both consumers and residential real estate developers seek homes affiliated with its brands.



Marriott is the largest branded residential company in the lodging industry. With nearly 90 branded residential projects already open, the company has a pipeline of more than 60 additional signed and approved projects in locations ranging from resort destinations to gateway cities. In 2017 alone, the company signed 13 branded residential projects  setting an annual record. From gateway cities to emerging markets, Marriott's brands are flourishing where high-value real estate buyers work and play.



Marriott also continues to see growth opportunities for branded residences across the Middle East and Africa. The company currently operates three branded residential properties in the region and is on track to more than double its residential portfolio with eight projects scheduled to open by 2022.



"As the number of residential condominium buyers grows globally, Marriott International's well-known brands are ready to welcome them 'home' and deliver a distinct experience," said Tony Capuano, executive vice president and Global chief development officer, Marriott International. "We are excited to work with world-class developers to help them deliver highly desirable and successful branded residences to market."



Consumer demand fuels growth

Fuelling demand for branded residences is a confluence of consumer trends such as evolving demographics worldwide and an elevated desire to live in walkable, mixed-use communities with a rich offering of amenities and services. For buyers, owning a residence bearing one of Marriott International's luxury brands also means greater assurance that they will have quality services at the ready such as concierge assistance, housekeeping, in-room dining, spa and fitness facilities.



"Residential developers know that we are not just involved with creating a beautiful luxury residential project with a compelling list of amenities and services," said Capuano. "We're also laser-focused on creating dynamic communities where people can enjoy a convenient lifestyle and personalise their experiences  just as they do in our hotels, which is why Marriott International expects growth in this segment to continue."



Branded residences are usually part of larger, mixed-use developments that include a hotel of the same brand. But increasingly, Marriott International is seeing an uptick in signings for residential-only projects that do not involve an adjoining hotel. In May, for example, construction began on the St. Regis brand's first residential-only project in Rye, New York, and in July, Marriott International signed a contract for a second St. Regis residential-only tower in Boston.



Luxury brands lead the way

Underscoring the demand for the luxury lifestyle, Marriott International's Ritz-Carlton brand continues to be the company's most popular for branded residences with 35 projects open and 15 in the pipeline. St. Regis is gaining momentum with 12 open and 12 in the pipeline. By 2022, about 70 per cent of the company's branded residential properties are expected to involve one of Marriott International's luxury brands.



Future growth data, however, shows that this segment isn't just for luxury seekers anymore. About 30 per cent of Marriott International's branded residential pipeline features premium, non-luxury brands such as Marriott Hotels, Sheraton, Westin and Autograph Collection.



Demand for branded residences spans the world

With most open branded residential projects located in the US, the company also currently operates residential projects in 17 other countries and territories and is expanding its international portfolio. By 2022, Marriott International expects to have open branded residential projects in nearly 40 countries and territories.



The company plans to open 19 branded residential projects in nine countries in 2018 and 2019, including:

 Jordan: 79 St. Regis-branded residential units located in the heart of Amman's central business district and shopping area opened in July, alongside the new St. Regis Amman hotel expected to open early next year

 Mexico: 21 branded residential units at The Solaz, A Luxury Collection Resort, in Los Cabos, Mexico, along with the 128-room hotel, expected to open this month

 US: A residential-only Ritz-Carlton project with 211 luxury residences in South Florida's Sunny Isles Beach, expected to open next year



The company opened its first branded residences in 2000 under the Ritz-Carlton brand and has been expanding ever since, especially after Marriott acquired Starwood Hotels and Resorts along with its St. Regis and W brands. Since the Starwood transaction closed in 2016, Marriott International has signed nine branded residential projects involving legacy Starwood brands such as St. Regis, W and Sheraton. - TradeArabia News Service
"The entire hagiographic saga of the warrior prince that has been woven around McCain by those in the media and the political world that want to use him to demonstrate the deficiency of those qualities in Donald Trump is little more than a work of fiction. John McCain was a monster, betraying his country while a prisoner in Hanoi and then his former comrades-in-arms after the war ended. From Vietnam he learned nothing, saying I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.

McCain subsequently embraced every war that came his way while also promoting regime change and doing his best to start new wars in places where America had no interests. Think Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Somalia and Syria just for starters. A prosperous Libya was bombed into anarchy and is now ruled by gangs who have reopened slave markets. McCain was also an opportunist par excellence, parlaying his dubious war record into a political career and at the same time ditching a first wife whom he considered a liability to marry the daughter of a multi-millionaire Arizona beer distributor to finance his personal ambitions." Giraldi



-----------

With only a couple of minor quibbles I totally agree with Phil Geraldi on this. 1- All pilots bomb civilian targets as well as strictly military ones. It is in their DNA to do so. 2- I must have been with a truly saintly breed of American soldier in VN. I never heard anyone call the Vietnamese "gooks." Maybe that was a habit in the sea services. "Dinks," "Zips," yes but not "Gooks." pl

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/09/06/american-warmongering-and-opportunism-on-parade.html
By TwoCircles.net reporter

On a long weekend, observed as Labor Day in America, when most people have travel plans. A number of community members turned up just outside Boston to listen to noted Indian journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani and show their support for community news organization TwoCircles.net also known as TCN.

Support TwoCircles



Community leader and TCN Board of Patron member Syed Ali Rizvi welcomed everyone and talked about the importance of TCN. He thanked TCN for its work, because of which issues came to light and actions followed. I strongly feel that all of us should extend ANY possible assistance and ensure that India, a nation that has always committed to democracy, liberty, and diversity, continues to live up to its ideals of equality and justice for everyone.

Ali Rizvi encouraged everyone to come together, My philosophy has been  we can achieve a lot if we work together as a TEAM. I love the quote -It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit, he said.

Arfa Khanum, who has worked as anchor with NDTV and Rajya Sabha TV before joining the non-profit The Wire, spoke on the topic of Hindu Nationalism: Engineering the Politics of Exclusion. Ms. Sherwani who has recently reported from Muslims and Dalit villages of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh said that Hindu Rashtra project is taking place one village at a time.

On the basis of social practices Muslims are indistinguishable from Hindus in most villages, argued Arfa Khanum Sherwani but the politics of Hindutva is promoting divisions rather than highlighting our similarities. Much of what is happening at the rural level is going unreported.

Arfa Khanum who is in the US to represent India in the Senior Journalist Seminar organized by East West Center of Hawaii asked the audience that the time to live in our shells is over, we have to make alliances with like-minded individuals, Dalits, tribals, farmers, laborers. This is the only way forward.

Arfa appreciated the work that TwoCircles.net has been doing for the last 12 years and said that the importance of this work is now more than ever.

Kashif-ul-Huda, the founder of TwoCircles.net and the current president of TwoCircles, Inc. talked about the evolution of TCN over the years, with just reporting on Indian Muslims issues to covering Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized sections of the Indian society.

Kashif said TCN is the only news organization that has a Dalit woman as its editor. Valli Karunakaran became the Executive Editor of TCN in November 2017. Under her leadership the depth of Dalit stories has continue to increase as well as involvement of Muslim women as staff and contributors.

Kashif encouraged community members to come forward and become financial supporters of this non-profit new organization. Seven new people put their name forward to join the organizations Board of Patrons. Turkish Airlines that partially sponsored the event gave away one ticket that was won by Homaira Naseem. The ticket is valid for one year for one-time travel from the US to any place in the world where Turkish Airlines flies.

TCN co-produced short movie The Suspect which was directed by Nitin Neera Chandra was also shown as part of the program. The event ended with fundraising appeals by TCN directors Rizwan Manzer and Paul Malachi.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Does the quality of Georgian wine increase and how the export affects it - GeorgianJournal
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.
Nokia 9 image leak shows 5-lens camera at the rear News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Nokia 9 to arrive with a penta-lens camera at its rear, claim the reports.

Nokia 9 is the highly anticipated flagship smartphone from HMD Global expected to be launched later this year. We have seen quite a number of leaks showing the details of this smartphone. But the latest leak shows a crazy camera setup that we have not seen before. However, we have come across rumors regarding the use of such a camera module on an upcoming Nokia smartphone.

As per a leaked Baidu image (deleted now) via Slashleaks, the Nokia 9 might arrive with six cutouts at the rear panel. Of these, three cutouts will be for the Zeiss-branded sensors and one will be for the flash. There is no clarity on the two cutouts for now. These cutouts will be placed at the rear in an odd manner, suggests the leaked image and this makes us doubt if it is legit.

Alleged Nokia 9 camera layout leaks

The leaked image shows hexagon-shaped cutouts that are spread across the center of the rear panel. The sensors at the right and left at the bottom and one at the center will be Zeiss-branded, suggests the report. And, the one at the top right is said to be the flash. There are mysterious sensors at the top and bottom and their functionality remain unknown.

Other details of the smartphone

The rear of the Nokia 9 appears to be made of glass suggesting that it could be support wireless charging. And, there is an Android One branding at the rear. This is not a surprise as the smartphones launched by HMD Global this year belong to the Android One program and will get the Android 9 Pie update quickly.

Mid-2018 launch reportedly canceled

From the earlier reports, HMD Global reportedly called off the mid-2018 launch of the Nokia 9 due to the major issues related to the camera. And, this leaked image shows the kind of trouble that the company might have experienced. We even came across rumors regarding a smartphone called Nokia 10 alleged to feature a penta-lens camera. And, there were claims that the Nokia 9 could be launched with the moniker Nokia A1 Plus at the IFA 2018 though the same did not turn fruitful.

Best Mobiles in India

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Route Mobile forays into RCS A2P business messaging space News oi-Priyanka Route Mobile has also announced its partnership with Idea Cellular to manage the international A2P SMS traffic in India.

Route Mobile a leading global cloud-communications platform service provider to enterprises, over-the-top ("OTT") players and mobile network operators have announced strengthens its offering into Google's Early Access Program for Rich Communication Services (RCS) business messaging.

"We are thrilled to bring RCS to our customers in India and across the globe. RCS offers enriched messaging experience and scalability; which will augment our product portfolio thereby making our offerings more robust. Brands today have been looking for a more holistic mobile communication solution apart from traditional messaging. With Google's RCS, we now have one. Joining Google's Early Access Program means a lot to us, and in turn, to our customers who will certainly benefit from it immensely," Rajdipkumar Gupta, Managing Director & Group Chief Executive Officer, Route Mobile Limited said.

RCS on Android helps brands to deliver more advanced experiences to users.

It allows brands to send interactive, useful and effective messages to its customers, like images of their products, GIFs, videos, location to the nearest point of sale (POS) and even allow customers to browse and buy products/pay without leaving the messaging app.

For those who are not aware, the company has also announced its partnership with Idea Cellular to manage the international A2P SMS traffic in India.

Under this partnership Route Mobile will integrate a multi-leveled SMS firewall solution for Idea Cellular, to secure its international traffic channels.

The firewall will ensure that the brand's International A2P SMS traffic enters Idea's (India) network via authorized A2P SMS gateways. The international traffic includes messages originating internationally and terminating domestically and will be filtered as per mutually identified and agreed to security terms.

Best Mobiles in India

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Moscow accuses London of 'manipulating information' in nerve agent case

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 01:55PM

Russia has accused the United Kingdom of "manipulating information" concerning a nerve agent attack in March on a former spy in the city of Salisbury after the British authorities charged two Russians.

"The names published by the media, like their photographs, mean nothing to us," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.

British police named Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov as the main suspects in the attempted murder of Russia's former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with Novichok.

According to the UK authorities, the names were likely to be aliases.

"We once again call on the British side to switch from public accusations and manipulating information to practical cooperation through law enforcement agencies," Zakharova said in televised remarks.

Alexander Shulgin, Russia's permanent representative at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), also denounced the UK statement as a "provocation."

"Right from the start we said that Russia has nothing to do with what happened in Salisbury," Shulgin told Russian state television.

The UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would not request their extradition "as the Russian constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals." However, it said it obtained a European arrest warrant for the two men.

The pair reportedly faces charges of conspiracy to murder Skripal, his daughter and police officer Nick Bailey.

Britain summons Russia's charge d'affaires

Later on Wednesday, Britain also summoned Russia's charge d'affaires in London, Russia's RIA news agency said.

Back on March 4, the British authorities announced that Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, had been hospitalized since they had been found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center in Salisbury.

Days later, they also announced that both victims had been exposed to Novichok, accusing Moscow of carrying out the attack yet declining the Kremlin's request for a sample of the chemical agent.

The Kremlin has vehemently rejected any involvement, saying the substance could have originated from the countries studying Novichok, including the UK itself, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Sweden. Moscow has already described the whole bunch of claims as a "circus show" hosted by the British authorities.

The UK reported another attack on a British couple with the same nerve agent in the nearby town of Amesbury. One of the two citizens, Dawn Sturgess, died in July. Russia strongly rejected the idea that Moscow could have been behind the poisoning incident.

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U.K. Charges Russians In Novichok Case, May Says 'Not a Rogue Operation'

RFE/RL September 05, 2018

Britain has announced charges against two Russian men they believe poisoned former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a deadly nerve agent, alleging they were military intelligence officers acting with approval from "a senior level of the Russian state."

In a statement on September 5, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that it was "clearly in the public interest to charge" the Russians, Aleksandr Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, with crimes including attempted murder and the use of a chemical weapon .

Police issued photographs of the suspects, while Russia continued to deny involvement.

Prosecutors "have considered the evidence and have concluded there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction," it said.

Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament that based on the intelligence gathered so far, "the government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and the CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU."

"This was also not a rogue operation. "It was almost certainly approved outside the GRU, at a senior level of the Russian state," May said.

The poisoning of Skripal, a former GRU officer, may have been meant "to give a message to those Russians who were living elsewhere who had been involved in matters relating to the Russian state," May said. "But it is up to the Russians to explain what happened in Salisbury."

Britain requested an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council in light of the charges, with British Ambassador Karen Pierce saying it would likely take place on September 6.

Meanwhile, Russian news media reported that Britain's ambassador to Russia, Laurie Bristow, met with Russian Foreign Ministry official Igor Neverov in Moscow to discuss the matter, without providing details.

A senior British police official, Neil Basu, called the charges "the most significant moment so far in what has been one of the most complex and intensive investigations we have undertaken in counterterrorism policing."

The CPS said that a European arrest warrant had been issued for the two Russians but that Britain would not seek their extradition, suggesting it would be fruitless to do so.

"We will not be applying to Russia for the extradition of these men as the Russian Constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals," said Sue Hemming, director of legal services at the CPS.

Britain's Metropolitan Police said the men, both about 40, flew from Moscow to London on Russian passports two days before the Skripals were poisoned on March 4.

"It is likely that they were traveling under aliases and that these are not their real names," the police said, asking anyone who knows the suspects or saw them in Britain to contact the authorities.

Sergei Skripal, a former double agent who was sent west in a 2010 spy swap, and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a bench in the English city of Salisbury that afternoon.

They were both in critical condition and spent several weeks in the hospital, but were later released and "thankfully are now making a good recovery," Basu said.

British officials say they were poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade chemical weapon that was developed in the Soviet Union, and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin's government for the attack.

Russia denies involvement, and a diplomatic dispute over the case has led to sanctions and the expulsion of more than 150 Russian diplomats from two dozen Western countries.

The poisoning has further damaged already severely strained relations between Russia and the West, and has been a cause for solidarity at a time when Western officials say Moscow is seeking to cause rifts in relations between Western countries.

Speaking ahead of the British announcement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov again denied any Russian role in the poisoning, saying that Russia has no new information about it because Britain has refused to share case files.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on September 5 that the names and photographs released by British authorities "say nothing" to Moscow.

Russia's envoy to the world's chemical weapons watchdog, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said that Moscow believes the British announcement was a "provocation."

"We said right away that Russia had nothing to do with the Salisbury incident," Aleksandr Shulgin told Russian state media.

British police detailed the movements of the two suspects and provided multiple CCTV images showing them at airports, train stations, and the streets of London and Salisbury.

According to police, the men arrived in London on an Aeroflot flight from Moscow on March 2. The following day, they took a train from London to Salisbury, where they spent less than two hours walking the streets before returning to London. Police said that trip to Salisbury was a reconnaissance of the city. On March 4, they left their London hotel in the morning and made another trip to Salisbury.

CCTV footage showed they were near Skripal's house and the police said they believe the two suspects contaminated the front door with Novichok. The suspects left Salisbury in the afternoon, returned to London, and flew back to Moscow on an Aeroflot flight shortly before the midnight on the same day.

In addition to conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal, the Russians are charged with the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and Nick Bailey, a police officer who fell ill after going to Skripal's home after the attack; the use and possession of Novichok in violation of a British law on chemical weapons and toxic substances; and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Yulia Skripal and to Bailey.

Sergei Skripal, 67, a former colonel in the GRU who also served in the Foreign Ministry, was convicted of treason in 2006 by a Russian court that found him guilty of spying for Britain. He was released from prison in 2010 and sent to the West in a high-profile Cold War-style spy exchange, and he lived in Salisbury at the time of the poisoning. His daughter Yulia, 34, was visiting from Russia.

On June 30, two people collapsed in a house in Amesbury, near Salisbury where the Skripals were poisoned with Novichok. Dawn Sturgess died in the hospital in July, while her partner, Charlie Rowley, later recovered. Police said they were exposed after handling what they believed to be perfume.

On September 4, the OPCW said laboratory tests showed that Sturgess's death was caused by the same substance that poisoned Skripal and his daughter.

However, it was not possible to conclude whether the nerve agent used in the May and June incidents was from the same batch, the OPCW said.

British police "have now linked the attack on the Skripals and the events in Amesbury which affected Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley. It now forms one investigation," the September 5 police statement said. "We do not believe Dawn and Charlie were deliberately targeted, but became victims as a result of the recklessness in which such a toxic nerve agent was disposed of."

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, Sky News, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/uk-prosecutors- have-sufficient-evidence-to-charge-two-russians- in-skripal-case/29473177.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Estonia Arrests Army Officer, His Father On Suspicion Of Spying For Russia

September 05, 2018

An Estonian Army officer and his father have been arrested on suspicion of treason and spying for Russia, authorities say.

Estonia's State Prosecutor's Office and the Internal Security Service said in a joint statement on September 5 that Deniss Metsavas and Pjotr Volin were arrested two days earlier.

Metsavas, 38, and his 65-year-old father are suspected of passing Estonian state secrets and other classified information to the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, since 2013.

Metsavas has served with the armed forces since 1998 in various positions including a mission with NATO troops in Afghanistan.

He became an army major in 2015.

Volin served in the KGB Border Troops during the Soviet-era.

According local media, the two men received Estonian citizenship in the 1990s. "It is clear that it was Metsavas who had access to classified information in the first place but the forwarding of classified information and bringing it to the GRU was committed by both individuals," prosecutor Inna Ombler told reporters.

The commander of the Estonian armed forces, General Riho Terras, said Metsavas was a "traitor" who caused significant damage to the small Baltic nation and its NATO allies.

"Damage has been done, a wound has been inflicted on the defense capability of Estonia," he said.

Occupied by the Soviet Union during World War II, Estonia gained independence in the Soviet collapse and is now a member of NATO and the European Union.

The former Soviet republic has witnessed several high-profile spy cases involving Russia since its independence in 1991.

In February, the two neighbors swapped two convicted spies after both men received presidential pardons, Estonian authorities said.

With reporting by AP, Delfi, and Baltija.eu

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/estonia-arrests -army-officer-his-father-on-suspicion-of -spying-for-russia/29473872.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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May's Statement on Skripal Case Unacceptable - Russian Foreign Ministry

Sputnik News

20:08 05.09.2018(updated 21:58 05.09.2018)

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement, commenting on UK Prime Minister Theresa May's speech concerning new data on the Skripal case that she delivered to Parliament earlier in the day.

Moscow believes UK Prime Minister Theresa May's statement on the Skripal affair is unacceptable, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

"British Prime Minister Theresa May's speech in the British Parliament on September 5 on the so-called 'Skripal affair' and the incident of poisoning two British subjects in Amesbury has an absolutely unacceptable tone, and contains a number of categorical accusations against the Russian Federation and our two citizens We strongly reject these insinuations," the statement published on the ministry's website said.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, London's attempts to "juggle" chemical weapons convention provisions have no future.

The ministry's statement comes after the UK Crown Prosecution Service said that it had sufficient evidence to charge two Russian nationals, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, with regard to the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

The same day, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that the govenment had concluded the two individuals named by the police and CPS were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU.

Commenting on the statements, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office said it was determined to cooperate with UK law enforcement agencies on the case involving the attempted murder of Russian citizen Yulia Skripal and receive evidence of possible involvement of Russian citizens.

On March 4, Sergei and Yulila Skripal were hospitalized as a result of a nerve agent poisoning. They were subsequently discharged by June. The current whereabouts of the father and daughter have been unknown, while the Russian embassy suggested that the Skripals could have been manipulated.

 Sputnik

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May Claims 2 Suspects in Skripal Poisoning Are Officers of Russian Intelligence

Sputnik News

14:59 05.09.2018(updated 16:23 05.09.2018)

"We were right to say in March the Russian state was responsible," said the UK Prime Minister Theresa May, addressing the Parliament on Wednesday with an update on the Salisbury incident.

"Based on the body of intelligence, the government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and CPS are officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU. GRU is a highly disciplined organization with a well-established chain of command," Mrs. May told the parliament.

She added that "this was not a rogue operation."

"It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level of the Russian state."

Mrs. May recalled the outcome of the Salisbury investigation, details of which have been released earlier during the day by the Crown Prosecution Service.

She called Salisbury and Amesbury incidents a "poisoning and sickening act."

Mrs. May listed a number of measures Britain took since March 2018, including the introduction of a new power at the UK border to detain people to determine their engagement in "hostile state activity" and expulsion of Russian diplomats from the UK.

The PM then went on to call for a collective effort in tackling Russian intelligence agency.

"The actions of GRU are a threat to all our allies and to all our citizens. And on the basis of what we've learned in the Salisbury investigation and what we know about this organization more broadly, we must now step up our collective efforts specifically against the GRU," she said.

"The Russian state needs to explain what happened in Salisbury," the UK PM also said, addressing the parliament.

The leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn said in response to the PM's statement that Britain's "response as a country must be guided by the rule of law, support for international agreements and respect for human rights."

The infamous former Foreign Minister Boris Johnson addressed his fellow MPs, criticizing Mr. Corbyn for failing to condemn the "involvement of the Russian state at the highest level in the Salisbury poisonings."

Answering the questions by MPs, Mrs. May alleged that the nerve agent incidents were probably a message to other Russians living overseas.

"I suspect that they wanted to give a message to those Russians who were living elsewhere who had been involved in matters relating to the Russian state," May told parliament. "But it is up to the Russians to explain what happened in Salisbury."

Salisbury, Amesbury Incidents

UK prosecutors announced on August 5 they have charged two Russian men  identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  with the nerve agent poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Britain won't be applying for extradition of the two men, "as the Russian Constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals."

Sergei and Yulila Skripal were hospitalized due to a nerve agent poisoning on March 4, 2018. They were subsequently discharged by June. Their current whereabouts of the father and daughter have been unknown, while the Russian embassy suggested that the Skripals could have been manipulated.

British nationals Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley were reported infected by the same nerve agent in Amesbury. Ms. Sturgess died in the hospital on 8 July.

Moscow, in its turn, has strongly denied any involvement in either incident, denying all allegations as groundless. Russia offered the UK its assistance in the Skripal investigation. Within a month of the alleged poisoning, Russia's proposal for a joint investigation into the incident was voted down at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international chemical weapons watchdog.

 Sputnik

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British PM: Skripals' Attackers Were Russian Military Agents

By VOA News September 05, 2018

Two active members of Russian military intelligence were sent to Britain in March to poison a former spy, Britain's prime minister told Parliament on Wednesday after prosecutors charged two Russian nationals with conspiracy and attempted murder.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were hospitalized after being found collapsed on a bench outside a shopping mall in the southern British city of Salisbury. Investigators determined they were sickened by a Soviet-designed nerve agent called Novichok.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the two assassins were officers of the GRU intelligence service and that their actions were almost certainly approved "at a senior level of the Russian state.''

"This was not a rogue operation,'' she told lawmakers after police released photos of the suspects as they traveled through London and Salisbury before flying back to Moscow from Heathrow Airport on the evening of March 4, hours after the Skripals were poisoned.

Sue Hemming, director of Legal Services at the Crown Prosecution Service, said Wednesday that there was sufficient evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with using Novichok in violation of chemical weapons law; conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal; and the attempted murder of both Skripals and a British police officer who was also poisoned.

While Britain has blamed Russia for the attack since early in the investigation, Russia has repeatedly and strongly denied any involvement.

Russian officials said they did not recognize the suspects. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the names and images of Petrov and Boshirov "say nothing to us.''

Hemming said Britain would not be asking Russia to extradite the men because that country's constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals. But she said a European Arrest Warrant had been issued in case they traveled to any participating nations.

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Idaho Guard conducts warfighter exercise, prepares for 2020

By 2nd Lt. Crystal Farris September 5, 2018

Boise, Idaho -- The Idaho Army National Guard's 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team conducted a warfighter exercise, August 8 to 18, in the Idaho National Guard's Orchard Combat Training Center that prepared its command and staff teams for follow-on operations.

The warfighter exercise was part of the brigade's four-year sustainment readiness requirement leading into its National Training Center rotation in 2019 and its available-year in 2020, when the organization could deploy.

"This staff development is critical," said Lt. Col. Eric Orcutt, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team executive officer. "In order for us to be successful at NTC, the staff must be able to build clear and concise orders that can be published in a timely manner."

Brigade and battalion staff had the opportunity to train in their war fighting capacities, including developing quality operational orders, while command teams had the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of their staff and processes within each command post.

"The brigade and battalion staff showed a willingness to learn and grow from many challenges they faced throughout the exercise," said Col. Scott Sheridan, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team commander. "Their tremendous efforts will prove beneficial to the brigade going forward and in its available year."

Representatives from all seven of the brigade's units attended, including the 1-163rd Combined Arms Battalion from Montana, the 1-221st Armored Reconnaissance Squadron from Nevada and the 3-116th Combined Arms Battalion from Oregon.

It was the first time since 2015 that brigade and battalion staff from all four states trained together.

"It's hard to get all of the brigade in one place at the same time," said Orcutt. "This was a great opportunity to get each state and their command posts operating and functioning with the brigade staff."

Brigade and battalion staff will convene together once more for a Leadership Training Program at Fort Irwin California in November. There they will develop an operational order for the brigade's NTC rotation, which will also be at Fort Irwin.

During the 28-day NTC rotation, the brigade as a whole will use practices developed during its warfighter exercise and a two-week eXportable Combat Training Capability rotation it completed in June to conduct staff and unit-maneuver operations.

The exercise will be the brigade's final year-three training requirement to validate the organization's readiness for real-world missions the following year.

"NTC is a culminating event for us," said Orcutt. "The end state is that we are trained and ready to respond to whatever call the nation requires of us in our available year."

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency September 05, 2018

Remarks by Lieutenant General Charles Hooper

Q: We were told in the pre-briefings that the arms trade with India has gone from, like, $0 in 2008 to 20 -- to $15 billion this year, and it could bump up to three billion -- another $3 billion by next year.

Broadly, what are some of the categories that would bump up the $3 billion?

LT. GEN. CHARLES HOOPER: Well first of all, my name is Lieutenant General Charlie Hooper and I'm the director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

And as you know, my agency's responsible for a number of things: foreign military sales, defense institution building, excess defense articles among those.

There are four values that govern our relationship with -- with India, and our relationship with all our partners. And those four values are transparency, responsiveness, integrity and commitment.

And what I mean by those four values are -- transparency means that we share all the information that we have with our partners to allow them to make an informed decision on the types of capabilities that they would want.

And we're very confident that, when given all of the information that they need, they'll choose American systems and American services.

The second is responsiveness. We believe in being very responsive. As the secretary said, he's in constant contact with his counterpart and I'm in constant contact with my India counterpart, the director general for Acquisition.

Every time I see him, I provide him with a spreadsheet that updates all of our -- the status of all of our systems. And we have discussions on how we can better strengthen the partnership.

Integrity is a very important one. And I think integrity is a value that separates the U.S. approach to security cooperation, perhaps from some of the other approaches from some of our partners.

And that integrity means, quite simply, our books are always open. We don't charge one penny more than we have to for the finest systems and the finest services in the world. The books are always open, and we can account for every penny that our partners spend.

And the last value is commitment. Commitment not only to provide goods and services at the point of sale, but commitment to strengthen a long-term relationship over time.

And we found that when we follow those four values with our Indian partners, it helps to support, to strengthen -- strengthen that relationship.

So, Tony, back to your question again.

Q: The -- going from $15 billion to potentially $18 billion over the next year or two, what are some of those lingering sales that may bump it up $3 billion?

GEN. HOOPER: Well as -- as you know, Tony, we don't -- we don't talk about future sales or sales that have not been notified to Congress.

But I'm quite confident that the -- the platforms, the capabilities and the services that the United States has to offer India -- and as you know, India is a large importer of defense equipment and services -- are competitive with any systems in the world.

So whether it's the aerospace domain, land systems or maritime systems, all of our systems are extraordinarily competitive, and I'm sure. will suit India's needs now and into the future.

Q: One follow-up on the F-16 coproduction issue that's been lingering for a couple years, can you bring us up to speed on where that stands?

GEN. HOOPER: Well that's probably a question better -- better directed towards our Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment, Ms. Lord. She has responsibility for those types of issues. And they could probably answer that question much better than I could.

Q: One other thing. Is there any -- are there any potential sales you're going to be discussing on this trip? Even though you can't tell us which ones. Will that -- is that part of the menu?

GEN. HOOPER: As a -- as a practice, Tony, as you know, we don't discuss future events and future operations. The boss just talked about that. We don't discuss what's going to happen in the future.

What I can say is, I expect some very fruitful discussions. And that all of our systems are the best in the world, and I'm sure are very competitive to suit and meet the requirements of our Indian partners.

Q: General, what specific system? Have you talked about the armed Guardian drones for India? Is that something that's come up in conversations?

Because if the COMCASA is signed, that would open the door for that potentially being sold.

GEN. HOOPER: We're discussing many, many systems that I think will suit the needs. State-of-the-art systems that we have and we can provide our Indian partners, that no one else can.

Q: Any specific one, though?

GEN. HOOPER: As I said, we're going to discuss many things. And I -- I wouldn't want to anticipate or pre-stage what might be a subject of attention. We'll discuss many things and many systems.

Q: OK. Can I also ask about the process of selling to India? Because their bureaucracy is legendary, and it does take sometimes decades.

Have you see that change over the past few months or years? In terms of the expectations, do you see that changing? Because at times, it's been quite a long struggle to sell weapons to India just because of the bureaucracy that they have.

GEN. HOOPER: Well, as I mentioned before, those -- those two first values that I mentioned, we found that transparency and responsiveness helps a great deal towards raising the level of awareness on both sides, exchanging information.

And we find that exchanging information and being responsive -- reciprocally responsive -- helps to speed up the process. Because we've discovered that if everybody has all the information that they need, and if we're responsive in providing that information, it helps to better inform their internal processes and our internal processes as well.

And that's merely one factor that can help to accelerate the process of working together.

Q: This question is not specifically to India, but it relates to India. Are you putting extra effort into developing alternatives for Russian legacy systems, given the CAATSA sanctions? Is there a new urgency to kind of come up with alternative packages for a lot of these allies that continue to purchase Russian legacy systems?

GEN. HOOPER: Well I will tell you that we have a full range of capabilities and systems that we think suits need -- suit the needs of our Indian partners and all of our partners.

Once again, by providing all of the information available, we hope to help them to make decisions that American systems would be, perhaps, the best systems that they'd be looking for.

All countries have the opportunity to make their own sovereign decisions, but I would tell you we place extraordinary effort in meeting the needs of all of our partners.

Q: Like any commander, any agency, your resources are constrained. Are you reallocating additional resources to developing alternatives to Russian legacy systems for a variety of countries?

GEN. HOOPER: Well as you know, the president in April approved a conventional arms transfer -- a change to our conventional arms transfer policy. We're in the process now of working to implement that.

And the main objective behind that is to make U.S. goods and services more readily available to all of our partners.

We're confident that when our partners take a look at the capabilities that we're offering as opposed to whatever capabilities they previously been committed to, that our capabilities will stand head and shoulders -- U.S. capabilities -- will stand head and shoulders above all of them and will become the selection of choice, and we will become their partner of choice.

So, I think the answer to your question is, as a part of our entire approach to conventional arms transfer -- which is where our focus is right now, in implementing our new policy, we are focused on making sure that U.S. systems are more competitive than any systems available, and are compelling enough, perhaps, to make some countries change their focus from their previous and legacy partner of choice to the United States.

Q: What, in your opinion, is some of the benefits of the (inaudible) agreement? If it, how does it affect your job?

GEN. HOOPER: Well, the secretary just -- just talked about that and answered that same question. What I will tell you is, as -- as we all know, in an information-based age of warfare, our center of gravity for systems is moving from kinetics and mechanics to technology.

These types of agreements allow us to secure that technology, and to put into place provisions that will protect the technology while simultaneously allowing us to share our state-of-the-art capabilities with our partners.

Q: I don't think you can answer this, but I thought I'd ask anyway. U.S. officials have talked about, you know, if  if India moves ahead with the purchase of the S-400, that would limit future cooperation and interoperability, things like that. Could you expound on that at all? I mean, what are, in general, what are some of the limitations?

GEN. HOOPER: Well, the secretary's already answered that question. We can't possibly speculate on what might or might not happen. I'll leave those deliberations to our State Department colleagues and others. Our focus and my focus continues to be to support the number two priority in our National Defense Strategy, which is strengthening our alliances and attracting new partners.

Q: On India, do you have a rapid acquisition cell set up to work with their request? We had heard that it was the only one -- the only country in -- in our alliances that your organization has a rapid acquisition cell to process requests.

GEN. HOOPER: We work comprehensively to improve the flash-to-bang time. That is the time between the identification of a requirement and a fulfillment of a capability to -- to a country. When you talk about priorities and -- and -- and allocating resources, we're focused on making our process writ large more efficient and effective, so that it meets all the needs of our partners, our major partners and all of our partners.

Q: For these --- sorry -- for these sales announced so far to India, since you've been in, can you tell us a little bit about what that appetite has shown India has to buy from the U.S., and you know, why you've been particularly pleased about these new sales?

GEN. HOOPER: Well I can talk about one sale that we're already very well aware of. As you know, India acquired the C-17 transport aircraft. India has one of the largest fleets of C-17s, second only to the United States.

The Indian Air Force seems very pleased with the capability that the C-17 provides, and if we use that as a data point of -- of how readily acceptable U.S. systems are for the Indian Air Force, I think it portends very well for a very positive trajectory as we move forward.

STAFF: We also have the Abraham missile. We -- we sold that a number of years ago.

GEN. HOOPER: Well, well a number -- there are a number of systems that we sold our Indian counterparts that they're very pleased with. And so as I said, I see that -- that satisfaction with America as a partner of choice portending well for a continued strengthening of the relationship.

Q: Does it allow the Indian aircraft such as the C-17's, C-130Js to better interface with American aircraft, because now it will have encrypted technology?

GEN. HOOPER: Well not to talk about one particular platform, but as the secretary said,these types of agreements will allow communication between our systems and their systems internally within the Indian Air Force. It will allow a level of communication that will allow us to be both interoperable, allow them to fight better as a joint force and allow them to work better with us as an interoperable force.

Q: And if I could ask, I'm not an acquisitions guy, but it seems that the Syrian civil war has been an advertising campaign for Russian hardware. And their message seems to be "Don't go with American technology, it's expensive, it's fragile, the maintenance costs will kill you.

Russian technology is good enough, buy some Kalibr cruise missiles." How do you counter that message in the developing world, in -- in countries that are buying military hardware like Algeria, India and -- and elsewhere?

GEN. HOOPER: I'll go back to those four values that I articulated earlier in my statement that separate us from our counterparts. First of all, the transparency piece, the fact that all of the information that you need to know about the U.S. foreign military sales system is online.

You can go to dsca.mil right now and find out anything you want to know about our system. Number two is the responsiveness, OK? We're going to be there not only to service the equipment, but we're going to be there past the point of sale in a communication to build a relationship.

Because fundamentally the systems that we're providing, while the best in the world, are the basis for a relationship, an alliance, a partnership in this particular case. The third is integrity. Our system is deliberate and it's incorruptible, OK?

And when you're trying to justify to your civilian leadership, your legislators, your peoples these expenditures are funds, the ability to open the books and account for every penny becomes important. I think that's a distinction between us and others.

Finally is commitment. We're going to be with you past the point of sale because we're not interested in merely selling things, and I -- I would bring your attention to the fact that that number two priority in the NDS is not "sell stuff."

That number two priority is -- is strengthen alliances and attract new partners, and that's what we're in the business of doing. So those four values separate us from all of our other potential competitors and I think make us the -- will make us and do make us the partner of choice for security cooperation worldwide, OK?

Q: Can I ask you about the F-35 and potential new partnerships around the F-35 beyond the -- beyond the legacy partners and then the Israel, Japan, Korea? What -- was it -- as you look over the waterfront, many horizons, what is the F-35's future in terms of gaining attention from new partners that haven't been previously interested?

GEN. HOOPER: Well certainly the F-35 represents and is an example of our state of the art capability. I would tell you that it's always difficult to speak to the future, and I don't want to speak to the future and speculate.

But certainly there's an understanding that this is the state of our -- state of the art capability, and we'll just have to see how deliberations go with respect to its availability worldwide.

Q: But specifically, are you getting price and availability requests from members -- from other nations who hadn't previously been interested.

GEN. HOOPER: Once again, there are a lot of people -- there are a lot of nations that show interest in all of our state of the art capabilities.

Q: Fair enough.

Q: Obviously there's a lot of attention on Turkey and the F-35 program and S400. The Secretary's been tasked by Congress with kind of doing an assessment of the U.S. relationship with Turkey and looking at this and other issues.

Are you playing a role in that assessment? Are you kind of providing information is -- about the relationship with Turkey and the effects it could have on the F-35 program if they're -- if they're rejected from it?

GEN. HOOPER: Once again I could not possibly amplify what the secretary's already said about our relationship with Turkey. Turkey is a NATO ally, they've been a consortium partner in the F-35 and I'll leave it to others to determine how the course of our relationship will go.

As the secretary said, we'll just have to see how that goes.

STAFF: We've got one more question.

Q: So the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has their interest in the THAAD batteries. I'm wondering, can you give us an update as to where that is and have they signed any paperwork to accept the batteries or where is that at?

GEN. HOOPER: That's a very good question. We continue to work every day with our Saudi colleagues to help them to work towards finalizing this issue. Our Saudi colleagues are -- are -- are very good to work with.

We're working through them, this is a very large case, very important for the United States and Saudi Arabia and I'm very optimistic that we're going to move forward very positively to make sure that we can provide them with this very important capability.

Q: Can you elaborate on the costs and the breadth of what they're interested in for that?

GEN. HOOPER: I'll tell you what, I don't have those figures right in my head and I don't want to speak incorrectly ...

STAFF: (Inaudible)

GEN. HOOPER: ... yeah, and so I'll be more than happy to provide that to Ms. White and get you an answer on that.



Q: Can I ask you one other -- there's a (inaudible) question on Congress and the waivers that your agency has given over the years to some of the richest and national -- Middle East countries. You know the issue. GAO came out with a report, billions of dollars of discounts basically to Saudi Arabia and others.

And there's legislation now that even -- bipartisan legislation to tighten the process. Can you give us a sense of what you're doing to review your process for granting waivers to reimbursing the United States Treasury for sunk R&D that the customers should be give -- paying for?

GEN. HOOPER: A couple of things. What Tony's referring to is something we call non-recurring costs, and these are -- what non-recurring costs are, there's two categories. This is money that was invested in order to prepare for the production of a weapons system or money that was invested in order to prepare for the production of a weapons system, or money that was invested in the research and development.

There are three conditions under which we can refund a portion of that money. The first one is if the economies of scale are advantageous to the United States. So let me give you an example.

A few months back in -- in the fall, there was an issue where we were negotiating with several countries, several of our partners, about the refurbishment of M-1 Abrams tanks. Included in this was the refurbishment of U.S. M-1 A-1 tanks. And so in order to provide an incentive for those countries to agree in a timely fashion, which lowered the cost of refurbishment of our own U.S. Army tanks, we were able to provide an incentive that was able to close the deal, which lowered the cost of refurbishment for our tanks. So that's the first one.

The second exception is in the interest of NATO or major -- of non-NATO ally or partner interoperability, OK? So the fundamental basis of our strengthening alliances and partnerships is, we believe, is having U.S. equipment at the core of that. Why? Because U.S. equipment serves as the basis for a common view of the world and an opportunity to break bread together, to educate our officers together, in addition to using the best equipment in the world. So if we can offer an incentive to make U.S. equipment the strong foundation for our alliances and partnerships in a very competitive world, then certainly, we should take advantage of every opportunity we have.

The third issue where we can provide these waiver is -- is in the potential loss of a sale. Ladies and gentlemen, we're in a very, very competitive market here, and while we provide a total-package approach -- we talked about commitment, the transparency, the integrity -- there are partners for whom price point is very important. So the extent to which we can provide some type of incentive to ensure that we grasp a sale, OK, that's -- might have gone to somebody else, we will do that. Now, why are these sales important? The administration has clearly stated, and I think you would all agree that strengthening our defense industrial base is important. Economic security is security.

So if we can secure a sale, create those jobs back home and get another close partner, an alliance partner by providing this incentive, then perhaps we should do so. The process is -- is very thorough. It's not only the Department of Defense or DSCA. The State Department, as well). And as you know about that GAO study, Tony, the only -- one of the only recommendations they made, they said that we were fully within the law. One of the only recommendations they made is that we find ways to streamline the process. So we review them very carefully, each and every one very carefully.

But anything that provides us with an edge and allows us to achieve our goals in a very competitive market is something that we think is worthy of pursuing, and worthy of studying. OK?

Thank you all.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1620710/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis September 05, 2018

Media Availability by Secretary Mattis En Route to India

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: What we'll probably do here is, we'll talk for a little bit. I'll say some words on the record. We'll switch over to some Q&A on the record, and then once you wear me out or I wear you out -- whichever comes first -- we'll go off the record. So.

You OK with that?

Q: Sounds great.

SEC. MATTIS: All right. (inaudible). Yeah, I know it's a little cramped in here but it's quieter here than if we do it back in your space.

First -- well you're going to be standing there for a while, Ryan. You know?

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: Maybe we can -- yeah, you want to come up here, Ryan? Is that easier for you, if you're not (inaudible) over?

I was just talking to Idrees (Ali) here for a minute, and he said I probably had a more exciting day than you, yesterday in San Diego. San Diego's a great Navy town, as you know. It's a -- it's a town that -- for some reason, our re-enlistment rates go up when the sailors and Marines are stationed near San Diego. So you probably saw why.

But I did spend yesterday out with one of our task groups that was going through training. And for all of you who've had a weekend off in August, or maybe a little vacation with your family, I would just point out that the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines on active operations overseas, and certainly in training, have been quite busy while your families and you were enjoying any breaks.

The group that I met out here -- I flew out about 60 miles off the coast -- is a U.S. Navy task group. I linked up with them and visited several of the ships. They're on Day 27, to give you an idea of the unrelenting training schedule that this group of ships and sailors have been on.

And on Day 27, they were going through very complex operations, which was what I wanted to watch. Very complex, very challenging, very demanding operations. I got to go out and listen to the commanders and get their appreciation of how they're doing.

I talked to some of their sailors, some of the young folks on the ships. And -- and just get a good flavor for it, get a finger feel for it. Not reading reports in the Pentagon, but -- but actually talking to the people doing it.

So it was a very -- as always, when you get down to the very, very competent and unselfish young people who do this for our country -- all volunteers, young men and women who look right past any hot political rhetoric and sign up.

Very high spirits, 27 unrelenting days. At times it goes around the clock, 24 hours a day, flight ops and exercises, defensive, strike, all that put together.

So it was very -- very educational for me. We're now headed across the Pacific, of course, to visit India. This will be my second visit to India as secretary of defense. Obviously, I've been there before.

And it's also a continuing dialogue between our nation's leaders. In my case, I have met with Prime Minister Modi twice, once in New Delhi and once in Shangri-La.

I was also present for the discussions in the White House with Prime Minister Modi. And what we see is a continuing growth of the consultations between us. It's on a very firm foundation.

I do have to say, I'm going to India at a difficult time for India. They've just -- I think for any of us who have watched the floods that hit India up in Karala, it was the worst flooding there in over a century. People's lives were lost.

But the Indian military's performance was very effective. It obviously earned them a lot of appreciation from the people of India. But we know it was a tough time.

And for the families that have paid -- have lost people, I mean, just on a human basis -- that will be in the back of our minds, of course, when we're going through the discussions there.

Because when a country goes through something like that, it's not over at the moment the flooding stops, of course.

But my visit is a firm indicator of what we see as India's place among our most strategic, and I would even call them "consequential" emerging partners.

And not just in the Indo-Pacific Region, but in the world, as India steps up to its legitimate role as they see it in the community of nations.

During Prime Minister Modi's visit to the White House last year, the president, President Trump, said -- and I quote here  "The friendship between the U.S. and India is built on shared values."

We all know those values are based on democratic values, and that's what we see in the world's two largest democracies that exist. We don't have to create those values, (inaudible) those values exist. This is not an opportunity we are creating, it's an opportunity that is resident in the two countries' politics.

I think it's no more evident than -- than our respective founding documents. The Indian constitution and our constitution both start with the words, "We the people."

And it says something about the way democracies count heads; they don't beat heads. That is what sets us apart for like-minded nations, nations that are democracies and for shared -- what I would call just and responsive governments.

Our nations share more than just democracy, of course. We share a steadfast commitment to a safe and a secure, a prosperous and, especially, a free Indo-Pacific.

Free of terrorism and freedom for each nation to make sovereign decisions on their own, based on their own interests.

This is underpinned by our steadfast commitment to the rule of law, the freedom of navigation, freedom from coercion for all nations no matter their size or the age of their independence.

And as the world's largest democracy, we see India as taking on a greater regional and global responsibility, a stabilizing force.

So we are coming -- Secretary Pompeo and I -- are coming to New Delhi for the continued consultations. And I believe we will be reaffirming much of our shared vision for the region, alongside our Indian counterparts, Minister Swaraj and Minister Sitharaman, during this first two-plus-two meeting between the U.S. and India at the ministerial level.

There had been scheduled meetings before, scheduling challenges on both sides have interrupted those schedules. We did not cancel them; we simply kept postponing them until we could find a mutually convenient time. The normal give and take in -- in the tempo of the offices that we and our counterparts occupy.

In the two-plus-two, we look forward to discussing diplomatic and security issues, of course. That's our portfolios. And my  and for my part, we'll certainly be looking at how do we counter terrorism, increasing defense innovation. In both countries, I might add, they have a strong technological bent in India, so this two-way street, not a one-way. And we are all, of course, looking for how can we enhance stability in South Asia? And I would point out that creating greater maritime security, considering the ocean that the Indian subcontinent faces, that will be something that is in the best interest of all the nations of the world that want to increase prosperity and the free trafficking of goods.

Secretary Pompeo and I will also meet with Prime Minister Modi and National Security Advisor Devol to reinforce our appreciation for India's role in that regional and global security framework, and thank Prime Minister Modi for his personal leadership in enhancing U.S.-India relations. We look forward to discussing our respective visions for further strengthening this relationship. Relationships don't stay the same, ever. They get stronger, or they get weaker. You pay attention, or you lose attention. So we are there to pay attention. We do not take the relationship for granted, and we'll be working to strengthen that. It is a steady relationship with honest discussions built on common ground that we share as democracies, but it's ground that provides a firm foundation for our future relationship, a foundation that can take any perturbations in stride without -- without alarm.

That said, we also recognize that we stand at a unique moment in history. Specifically, we recognize the opportunity to grow the U.S.-India strategic partnership, to deepen our security relationships, broaden the friendships and ensure a more safe, secure, prosperous and free Indo-Pacific region.

So that, I hope, gives you some of the framing ideas of why we're going there, what it is we intend to discuss, who we're talking with and really, I have not mentioned the number of phone calls between my counterpart and me. They're -- they're relatively frequent. When either of us has an issue, or when either of us just wants to make sure we're aligned, it's -- I would say it's a very transparent relationship I have with -- with my counterpart.

So I think that's enough on -- for me to talk, here. We'll take some of the -- some of your questions now. Idrees.

Q: So sir, before we go to Asia, if I could just quickly ask about Syria.

SEC. MATTIS: Syria, ok.

Q: Yeah. I mean, over the past few weeks, the Russians have talked, or accused the United States of using, you know, the talk about chemical weapons to strike Syria and (inaudible) assets. And then, CENTCOM has talked about the Russian disinformation campaign going on in Syria, and sort of that.

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: If you could talk a bit about that, and how you see that developing, and how concerning that is.

SEC. MATTIS: Thanks for bringing that -- I should have brought that up in -- in -- in my opening remarks.

We have zero intelligence that shows the opposition has any chemical capability. We -- we have not seen it used in Syria. There were some attempts, of course, by ISIS to use it in Iraq. Those attempts were very sophomoric; basically, generally failures. You know, a -- a grenade with some kind of mustard agent in it or something, but nothing on the lines of what the White Helmets and the United Nations have seen exposed by the -- the Assad regime's violation of the chemical -- the prohibition on chemical weapons.

So when we start hearing stories about this, and we have fairly good penetration of many of the opposition groups, and certainly, we have a history now of how many years of a tragic war that did not have to happen, but for Assad, did not have to happen; but for Russia's regrettable vetoes in the United Nations, did not have to happen but for the Iranian's support of Assad's murders. We have seen the repeated use in this fight by the Assad regime.

So we have made very clear that by putting out innuendo, that somehow any chemical weapon use coming up in the future could be ascribed to the opposition, well, we want to see the data. And right now, we have data -- not just American data, not just U.S. data, but international data -- that the Assad regime has done this before, and we are watching very closely for this. We cannot see anything that indicates the opposition has that capability.

Q: Do you see any indications that the Assad regime is getting ready to use chemical weapons in (inaudible).

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, I -- I'd prefer not to answer that right now, Idrees. I would -- I think the best answer to that is: we are very alert.

Q: India question? A couple -- a couple of Indian questions. Hanging over this -- the summit is the question of India's purchase of the S-400, which has caused great concern in -- by Turkey, obviously. What is your level of concern about that purchase? Will you be bringing it up, and is there a potential that the United States could sanction India if they don't back off the purchase?

SEC. MATTIS: Certainly, the S-400s will probably be brought up. I anticipate it'll be brought up by India, by the way. Again, we have a very transparent dialogue. It's a dialogue between two coequal nations, sovereign nations, and we'll discuss anything that they bring up, and certainly, there'll be issues we bring up.

I want you to remember that freedom means that at times, nations don't agree with each other. That doesn't mean we can't be partners. That doesn't mean we don't respect the sovereignty of those nations. So I'm sure it will come up there, but it's right that I not speak here before I've even heard their point. So first, I want to listen to my counterpart.

Q: I'd like to ask you about an Indian modernization question. You just saw one of America's strongest carrier battle groups with the greatest technology, one would argue, on Earth. What are some of the modernization benefits that India would receive from the United States, as this relationships (sic) deepens? And you may be signing that -- that security, that communication security agreement.

SEC. MATTIS: Say that last part again for me?

Q: And the -- the benefits that may accrue if you -- if that long -- that security -- communications security agreement gets signed.

SEC. MATTIS: Oh, I got you now, yeah. We have been discussing how we can more openly communicate back and forth. Because of the sensitivity of some of the technology, as you rightfully described right there, we have to know that when we share this with another like-minded nation, that we can keep it secure, just like we do when the Navy talks to the U.S. Army. It -- it's no different. You maintain security over this kind of technology.

So we'll be talking to them about this. There's been a lot of work done by our staffs. They have their own processes for approval of something like this. We have ours. No two nations have exactly the same authority levels or organizations that have to check off -- check the box, and also, we'll see where each other's at on that. I think that we're pretty much there already, on the American side. We'll see where they're at. Our staff's been meeting, and once we get that put in place, that does give us the opportunity to share some of the sensitive technology you were referring -- you were alluding to.



Q: One example? Of sensitive technology that you can...

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: No, no. It's sensitive so I -- I don't talk about it. But...

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: Mr. Secretary, well, one of our readers was interested in knowing: Are you concerned that as the economy heats up, the U.S. Army is going to have to lower standards in order to meet its recruiting goals?

SEC. MATTIS: Interesting question. You know, if we'd go back to when we went to the all-volunteer force, we knew we'd be competing. We compete in -- in terms of, can we get young people to come into the military and go to college afterwards?

Some go straight into college so we try to bring them in to other programs that we have, ROTC being one.

But the bottom line is that in this competitive world, we're always competing for the high quality that, so far, we've been able to maintain. With some years where it -- it dipped down in terms of quality and all, which is really the focus of your point.

There's a reason why young -- young people at age 18 have to still sign up for the selective service. We always assumed when we went to war -- matter of fact, that was the assumption when we went to the all-volunteer force, that conscription would go back into play.

We've not done it during this very long war. And yet so far, the quality standards have not dropped. You know, at this point -- and I speak to my own time in the SecDef job.

In fact, the Army, as you're probably aware, has actually raised its -- tightened up some of its standards over the last, I'd say, three or four months. I -- I'm not quite sure of the time frame, but recently.

So we're going to be looking at it, but we have no doubt that as the economy improves, we have more competition. It's that simple. So we'll have to adjust our recruiting in order to maintain the quality standards. But it will be a challenge, I think.

Q: Are you tracking the progress of integrating women into Army and Marine Corps infantry units? If so, are you satisfied with the progress?

SEC. MATTIS: It is probably too early to talk about progress because the numbers are so small. I think you need a larger cohort before you can evaluate something like that.

You can if -- make broad assessments based on very few -- very, very few numbers.

Yeah?

Q: Thanks, Mr. Secretary.

Can -- on Afghanistan, can you give us a sense of the magnitude and scope of the threat that you see from ISIS? And how your strategy towards the Taliban feeds into that.

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah. Very interesting question.

A year ago, we had assessed that it would be the level of -- of combat between ISIS and the Taliban. I think that would have been crossed off by some people as wishful thinking.

Our intelligence people warned us a year ago, this is probably going to turn into a stiff fight between the Taliban and ISIS. And the reason for this is, they are ideologically opposed in some fundamental ways.

So what we see now is some pretty hard fighting going on between those groups in certain locations.

Now it's not everywhere, but remember ISIS is isolated in certain provinces. It's not -- it has nowhere near the breadth of reach of the Taliban.

So we are still trying to -- remember, the fourth "R: in our "four-R strategy" is reconciliation. We are still believers that there is a way forward for the Taliban to reconcile in an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned reconciliation process.

We do expect that we and the international community will support the Afghan government in this, in all ways. And that neighboring countries will.

But ISIS, we do not see that being a reconciliation issue. And as strange as it might sound, here we both view -- both the Taliban and the NATO alliance supporting the Afghan government -- view ISIS in the same light.

So we would see that this fighting will probably continue between them, and we will continue to hit ISIS hard.

Q: Do you need the Taliban to help you to defeat ISIS and...

SEC. MATTIS: Say that again?

Q: Do you need the Taliban to help you to defeat ISIS?

SEC. MATTIS: Do we need the Taliban? I think what we need the Taliban to do is to recognize that if they live by the Afghan constitution, they can still get their say.

If they can run on their -- their policies, they don't need to be setting off bombs. If they'll stop using bombs and if they'll break with al Qaeda and ISIS, which clearly is going on, you see this move toward a potential reconciliation with Taliban.

And that, I think, is what we need, is the reconciliation where they rejoin their own people, the Afghan government. And that in itself is what helps to defeat the ISIS, that -- that political accommodation will turn into a security reality that's much harder on ISIS.

Yeah?

Q: Mr. Secretary, what's your current assessment -- or what's your -- sorry, what's your current assessment of the ISI in Pakistan's support of the Haqqani network?

And can you tell us, do you have any, like, read of -- or -- can you share with us any -- any feeling about why they announced -- the Taliban announced Haqqani's death yesterday?

SEC. MATTIS: On your second question, no. I saw their -- their acknowledgement of it. We're -- we -- as you know, we've been -- we keep a very close eye on Haqqani. And we have our own views on it. Right now I'm not satisfied that I'm firm on how -- why they -- why they announced it when they did.

As far as the ISI, let me just say that Pakistan has a new government, against the odds of some skeptics. There was a peaceful transition of power. Government's being put together.

As you know, Sec. Pompeo is going in there and we do expect that Pakistan will be part of the community of nations that give no haven to terrorism. I mean, that's what we expect of all nations in the world. And so that's where we're at on it.

ISI is part of the Pakistan military. The Pakistan military is part of the Pakistan government. So, that's where it lies.

Q: Are -- are you -- are you suggesting you're taking a wait-and-see approach under the new government? To see, before you make any public assessment of their support or not, to the...

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: I'm going to see Sec. Pompeo when we get into New Delhi. He's coming in out of -- out of Islamabad, and I'll talk with him at that point.

But right now, I don't want to talk publicly when I'm not sure where the ball lies. I don't want to talk about a week ago, a year ago. I want to see where the ball lies today. So that -- that's where I'm at right now.

Yes?

Q: How much do you concern the Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean? And then what is the...

SEC. MATTIS: Say that again?

Q: How much -- how much concern do you have about the Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean? And also how do you hope to enhance the maritime cooperation with India in terms of, you know, the threat of the China?

SEC. MATTIS: Well, on India -- the question has to do with India and China. India and China share a border, you know, share borderlands. Of course there's going to be a relationship there, and in terms of having a stable, you know, security situation, I think that's in the best interests of -- of peace and stability in South Asia. But at the same time, I would just say that that in no way conflicts with us and India, or us and China having stable relationships. It's all part of how nations need to try to get along. It's why it's in the founding charter of the United Nations' charter, why it was set up. So I think this is -- this is all healthy, but we've got to find a way to have productive relationships between all -- these large nations, especially.

Q: Can I ask you, on the pushing for the quad corporation, which consists of the U.S., Japan, the Australia and India. So could you tell me the significance of the -- the role which could be played by Japan to push forward that framework?

SEC. MATTIS: The quad  your  his question is about the quad framework. This is Japan and Australia, India, the United States. And from our perspective, just take a look at what is the common -- the common ground there. They're all four democracies, OK? They're all four vibrant democracies. They will have their own interests, but as a result, we think because they're governments, really, again, of the people, then we can work with them.

And so we will continue to strengthen, I believe, the quad framework. We'll have to see where nations are willing to do so. Some may be willing to do so in -- in certain areas of maritime domain awareness, for example, or -- or exercising together. And that's why we go -- why we consult with each other. That's why once in a while, we get together, whether it be at Shangri-La or us coming to New Delhi now. So we'll have to explore this. I do see an increasing willingness on the parts of -- of the quad nations to work together to explore new opportunities, and we're wide open to that.

Yes, go ahead.

Q: Similar to India, Turkey's also interested in procuring the S-400 system, and now...

SEC. MATTIS: Who?

Q: Turkey.

SEC. MATTIS: Turkey, yeah.

Q: And so now that's put their F-35 jets in a sort of limbo. So how do we essentially maintain the strategic or partnerships, but...

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: ... at the same time, amid them wanting Russian systems?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, it's a good question. Turkey is a NATO ally. The F-35 program is still ongoing. They've put a lot of money into it themselves. We are going through this current issue between us, and we are engaged in, I would call it, frequent, right now, very frequent, discussions at very high levels to try to sort this out. So I can't give you a good answer right now, but I believe that on both sides, people -- I believe there is sincerity on both sides to try to work this out. And so we're -- we're engaged in it right now, and I -- you know, I need to work with them directly on this, as does Secretary Pompeo and others on our side.

Yeah, OK, let's go off the record...

Q: Can I ask you more on-- on Afghanistan, the narrative this week has been "Scott" -- Austin Miller's taking over as new commander.

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: What are some of the new...

SEC. MATTIS: One thing, one thing to remember his predecessor, Gen. Nicholson, has been there over two-and-a-half years. There -- that's a long time for a general be in a combat zone, responsible day-in, day-out for it. So the first plan is make  is a degree of gratitude we in the Department of Defense, we in the executive branch, and I know in Congress feel for his leadership.

Gen. Miller has been wounded twice in this war. He has fought in Afghanistan. He's fought in Iraq. He was embraced by the NATO coalition. It was not a hard sell. They were -- they were very welcoming. Not one dissenting concern. And remember, he commands a lot of people where other nations are putting their young people on the line, too. So yeah, he -- he's in place. Now go ahead with your question.

Q: What new challenges does he face, in terms of trying to pull together reconciliation between -- that -- that the prior eight or nine commanders didn't face? Or is a lot of it going to be continuity? Nothing...

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: What's changed, in terms of the nature of challenges now, that he's going to have to grapple with?

SEC. MATTIS: I wouldn't make it either/or, Tony. I think that what you're -- you're seeing here is after the initial takedown of al-Qaeda, and Taliban's refusal stop fighting, or to break with al-Qaeda, and the war's shifted differently, and soon we had 140,000 coalition, probably 100,000, around that, U.S., and 40,000 from total, I think it was about 40 nations at that time; went up to -- no, 50 nations, excuse me. We then -- we began a phase of where we are coming out. We -- you know when that started. The West Point speech may have plussed us up, but in the same speech was the statement, "In 18 months, we're coming out." So at that point, we were coming down.

When we came into office, we did an evaluation, and here is where you find the answer to your question. And we decided to realign our forces almost totally to the mentoring job; to reinforce those, but only based on a regional appreciation. So that was signed in, although several nations, confident that we would -- that was going to be our strategy, they began reinforcing us as early as June. By August, when the president signed the South Asia strategy, we then got around, between June and, I'd say, two months ago, around 800 more non-U.S. troops. We also sent in several thousand more U.S. troops, and we now, at the latest summit, came up with over 1,000 non-U.S. coalition troops, and they -- 50 nations had dropped to 39 during our pullout time; has rebuilt to 41, the two being United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

And so now what we're doing is we have several hundred thousand Afghan troops who are doing the fighting, and all you have to do is look at the casualties the Afghans are taking, versus what the NATO, the contributing force they're (inaudible), and you see who's doing the fighting. We're in the field. We're mentoring, that sort of thing.

So what has changed is you have seen a cease-fire initiated by the Afghan government that the Taliban, I think, had little choice but to respect part of it, because their young guys were coming into the cease-fire regardless. You see the -- the continued operations. It is now routine where we never, before a year ago, saw all six corps conducting offensive operations at the same time. That has now become routine. Not even - I don't even tell you about it; it's not newsworthy. It has become the norm.

Still hard fighting. But right now, we have more indications that reconciliation is no longer just a shimmer out there, no longer just a mirage. It now has some framework, there's some open lines of communication. So I think that is the difference. The steadfast nature of a nation reinforcing are going to stay, the Afghan Army fighting now continually on an offensive basis. Certainly still vulnerable and isolated outposts, that sort of thing. Or if the enemy masses covertly into a city and then sets off bombs, those are, I think principally done, to give a sense of doom in the information sphere. They're not militarily significant other than the tragedy of killing innocent women and children, which our adversaries seem to take a certain amount of pride in.

But right now, there are a lot more indications that reconciliation now reinforced by the State Department has put additional staff into the embassy with that sole effort. You're seeing this now pick up traction. So that's the way I'd see it, characterize the difference that we see now, along with several hundred thousand Afghan forces, are better trained, better equipped, and have NATO mentors out in the field with them.

OK, now we'll go off the record.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1620715/

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Allies reaffirm support for Georgia in NATO-Georgia Commission

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

05 Sep. 2018

The NATO-Georgia Commission met at NATO Headquarters on Wednesday (5 September 2018) to discuss the situation on the ground in the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and ongoing efforts to pursue peace. The meeting also coincided with the tenth anniversary of the NATO-Georgia Commission, which first met on 15 September 2008.

During the meeting, NATO Allies exchanged views with the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, and Deputy Foreign Minister, David Dondua. Allies reaffirmed their full support for Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and condemned Russia's recognition of the Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions of Georgia as independent. They also praised Georgia's efforts to pursue peaceful conflict resolution in the context of the Geneva International Discussions.

Ahead of the meeting, State Minister Tsikhelashvili and Deputy Foreign Minister Dondua met with NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller. The Deputy Secretary General reiterated NATO's political and practical support to Georgia and welcomed Georgia's substantial contributions to international security.

The Alliance works closely with Georgia, including through the NATO-Georgia Joint Training Centre near Tbilisi. In 2019, broad Allied participation is expected in a joint NATO-Georgia military exercise. The NATO-Georgia Commission also continues to play a central role in deepening political dialogue and enhancing practical cooperation between Georgia and NATO.

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Saudi prevents Houthis from attending Geneva talks

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 06:24PM

Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement says the Saudi regime, which imposes restrictions on Yemen's airspace, has banned its delegation from flying to attend peace talks brokered by the United Nations in Geneva.

According to Yemen's al-Masirah television network, the UN could not "secure authorization" from the Saudi-led coalition.

The office of the UN special envoy for Yemen did not respond to media request for comment.

Representatives from Yemen's running government, which is allied to the popular Houthi movement, and the country's former regime, backed by Saudi Arabia, are to participate in the talks in the Swiss city on Thursday.

Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy, will be supervising the talks and is likely to shuttle between the two sides as face-to-face meetings between them are unlikely.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday on the eve of the talks, Griffiths said the upcoming "consultations" between the conflicting parties in Geneva offered a "flickering signal of hope."

"The people of Yemen ... are desperately in need of a signal of hope. We would like to think that the work we will do together in these next days will begin to send a flickering signal of hope to them."

The UN official also said the talks would begin by trying to build trust between the two parties and substance will come later.

The former Yemeni government resigned in 2015 as the country was experiencing political turmoil.

The head of that government, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, fled to Riyadh after resignation. There, he encouraged Saudi plans to launch attacks on Yemen, where the Houthi movement had taken over state matters in the absence of a functioning government.

A Saudi-backed coalition soon invaded Yemen in an attempt to reinstall the former Riyadh-friendly officials to power despite their resignation.

Thousands have been killed in the Saudi-led invasion, and the country has been pushed close to the edge of famine. A cholera outbreak, resulting from the devastation of Yemen's health infrastructure, has also claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Police injure 8 protesters in Hadi-held areas in southern Yemen

In a separate development, police on Wednesday shot and injured eight people who took part in protests in southern Yemen, which is largely controlled by pro-Hadi militants, against the rising cost of living, according to eyewitnesses and a security official.

Hundreds of people were protested in Mukalla, the provincial capital of Hadramawt, tearing down pictures of officials in the Saudi-led coalition, eyewitnesses said.

Clashes reportedly erupted between the demonstrators and the security forces.

A security official in Hadramawt said eight people were injured by police.

A strike in Seyoun, the second largest city in Hadramawt, also entered its third day. Shops were shuttered and ex-government offices closed temporarily.

Southern Yemen has witnessed mass protests against the rising cost of living since Sunday.

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Paraguay to move embassy in Jerusalem al-Quds back to Tel Aviv

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 05:57PM

Paraguay says it will move its embassy in Israel back to Tel Aviv, reversing a May decision by former President Horacio Cartes to move the diplomatic site to Jerusalem al-Quds.

Luis Alberto Castiglioni, the South American country's foreign minister, made the announcement during a press briefing in the capital Asuncion on Wednesday.

"Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East," the top Paraguayan diplomat said.

Cartes had traveled to Israel to inaugurate the new embassy in May. His successor Mario Abdo, also a member of the conservative Colorado party, took office last month.

Palestinians had at the time condemned Paraguay for relocating its embassy to the holy city.

Paraguay had been among the first countries that agreed to transfer its embassy after US President Donald Trump on December 6 recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as Israel's "capital" in December, infuriating widespread international condemnation.

The move by Trump received negative reaction from almost all of Washington's allies, including the European Union, Britain, Germany and France.

In the hours leading up to the inauguration on May 14, Israeli troops engaged in clashes with Palestinians taking part in mass protests on the Gaza border. According to Gaza health officials, at least 58 Palestinians were shot dead and hundreds wounded by Israeli snipers who are positioned along the fence, facing the protesters.

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US Defense Giant Lockheed Martin Moving F-16 Wing Production to India

Sputnik News

13:08 05.09.2018(updated 20:18 05.09.2018)

Lockheed Martin and India's TASL had earlier agreed to move the entire manufacturing base of the F-16 Block 70 to India in anticipation of a sizable order for the fighter jet by the Indian armed forces. However, with India stalling the purchase, the JV has now settled for manufacturing only the wings.

American firm Lockheed Martin has teamed up with India's Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) to produce the wings for all future orders of F-16 fighter jets in India.

Lockheed officials have insisted that the planned manufacturing of the F-16 wings in India is not contingent on India selecting the F-16 for the air force.

"Building F-16 wings in India is a natural next step that builds on our successful partnerships with Tata on the C-130J [Super Hercules airlifter] and S-92 [helicopter]," Vivek Lall, vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics said, as quoted by PTI.

The Indian firm Tata Advanced Systems is expected to take at least two years to demonstrate the manufacturing capability for the wings at a facility in Hyderabad. Presently, Lockheed Martin is struggling to keep its production line open in the absence of a major order for the single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft.

Earlier this year, a Maryland based firm had signed an initial contract worth $1.2 billion for 16 units of the F-16 Block 70 for the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The order is expected to provide a cushion to the American firm to keep open its production line for the next three to five years.

"Lockheed is reportedly hopeful (about) selling 200 more, but  by the time TASL starts production and then fulfills the requirement of the Indian Air Force, the order pipeline would've completely dried up. From a light fighter, the F-16 has now become a medium fighter, limiting the scope for upgrades," Vijainder K Thakur, a defense analyst, and retired air force squadron leader said.

Earlier this year, Rick Groesch, regional vice president of international business development at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics had stressed that Lockheed sees multiple opportunities, with demand from approximately 200 aircraft originating in Central Europe, the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and South America.

 Sputnik

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Remarks With Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford

Remarks

Michael R. Pompeo

Secretary of State

PAF Base Nur Khan

Islamabad, Pakistan

September 5, 2018

SECRETARY POMPEO: (In progress) well as General Bajwa in a number of settings. We talked about their new government, the opportunity to reset the relationship between our two countries across a broad spectrum  economic, business, and commercial, the work that we all know that we need to do to try and develop a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan, which benefits certainly Afghanistan but also the United States and Pakistan. And I'm hopeful that the foundation that we laid today will set the conditions for continued success as we start to move forward.

GENERAL DUNFORD: And my job was to help support the Secretary as he  as he sought to reset the relationship. When we talked to General Bajwa on the military-to-military level, we agreed that  we listened to the prime minister very carefully, we listened to the Secretary very carefully. Their objectives were very consistent between the Secretary and the prime minister, and General Bajwa and I agreed that we will leverage the military-to-military relationship to support the Secretary and the prime minister, and more importantly, President Trump's South Asia strategy.

MS NAUERT: Take a couple of questions.

QUESTION: Did you get any firm commitments from the Pakistanis that would potentially merit the resumption of military security assistance? Do you think they are a reliable partner going forward?

SECRETARY POMPEO: So we've still got a long way to go, lots more discussion to be had, but the relationship military to military is one that has remained in a place where some of the other relationships haven't, frankly. They've still continued to have relationships, worked on lots of projects that are important together, and I hope we can use that as one of the foundational elements as well.

QUESTION: Will the GLOCs continue to stay open? Did the Pakistanis raise the issue of GLOC access?

GENERAL DUNFORD: We don't  we don't have any reason to indicate that our cooperation in keeping the GLOCs open is going to change. That's --

MS NAUERT: Let's do a last question.

QUESTION: Was there any kind of U.S. warning of increased punitive action that financially sanctions against certain Pakistani individuals delivered during these talks that  if they don't change their behavior, there's next steps?

SECRETARY POMPEO: We made clear to them that  and they agreed  it's time for us to begin to deliver on our joint commitments, right. So we've had lots of times where we've talked and made agreements, but we haven't been able to actually execute those. And so there was broad agreement between myself and Foreign Minister Qureshi, as well as with the prime minister, that we need to begin to do things that will begin to actually, on the ground, deliver outcomes so that we can begin to build confidence and trust between the two countries. That was the focus of the gathering.

MS NAUERT: All right. Thanks, everybody. Thank you.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thanks.

QUESTION: Thanks for doing this.

SECRETARY POMPEO: Thanks, everybody.

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Major UN push for peace to end Yemen's 'hot war' begins in Geneva

5 September 2018 - Efforts are under way to bring a "flickering signal of hope" to war-weary civilians in Yemen with UN-organised consultations between the Government and the Houthi opposition in Geneva set to begin, the UN's Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, said on Wednesday.

"The time has come to begin a new process, to relaunch a process which will lead to a resolution to this conflict, which has so tragically marked the life of so many Yemenis and continues to do so," he told journalists.

Speaking at UN Headquarters in the Swiss city, the veteran diplomat noted that it had been "two years; two years too long" since the belligerents had last met to discuss a peaceful end to the brutal conflict, whose roots date back to uprisings in 2011.

"This is quite a hot war, as you well know better than me, and a lot of bad things happen in a hot war and that's not been absent in the last weeks," Mr Griffiths said. "So, to come to the table and to talk to your opponents, requires quite a lot of courage and quite a lot of confidence that it is worth it."

Fighting in Yemen escalated in March 2015, when an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily at the request of Yemen's President against "Houthi-Saleh" opposition forces  a reference to the now deceased former Yemeni President, Ali Abdallah Saleh.

Since then, thousands of civilians have died and around eight million are on the brink of famine, UN humanitarian agencies report. According to UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, 76 youngsters have been killed in the war-torn country in July and August alone.

Although he was reluctant to share details of the agenda for the Geneva Consultations on Yemen, the Special Envoy explained that the aim of these meetings was "to lay the groundwork" for formal negotiations to be held at a future date. He added that the initial focus should be on building confidence between the parties.

By way of an example, Mr. Griffiths explained that the mass cholera vaccination programme carried out in Hudaydah governorate in recent weeks, had been shown to deliver "tangible benefits" to the people of Yemen.

Other trust-building measures will be explored in coming days, he added, including the issue of prisoner release "at scale" - something that both sides had been keen to see happen.

"What I think we can do this week, for example, assuming that the parties would agree to this, is agree on a way to do it togetherExchanges of prisoners obviously depends on cooperation, but it's been remarkable how strongly the feeling has been conveyed to me that this must happen, and this must happen at scale."

Asked about possible interference in the consultative process by other regional powers, Mr. Griffiths said he was guided by UN Security Council resolutions on Yemen.

Earlier in the day in New York, the UN Security Council members expressed their "full support" for the consultations to bring about a political settlement.

"There can only be a political solution to the conflict in Yemen," the members of the Council said in a Press Statement, which reiterated their call for full implementation of Security Council resolutions and statements, including Resolution 2216 of 2015.

Back in Geneva, the UN Special Envoy insisted that the politics of Yemen was a matter for the Yemenis and the Council's resolutions all pointed "in the direction of the reconstitution of the Yemeni state, based on an inclusive political settlement".

"These are Yemeni-Yemeni discussions," he said. "Yemenis need to resolve their differences in order to build their nation. It's not for other countries to determine for them, their future."

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US Releases Aid to Egypt Amid Human Rights Concerns

By Fatiha Belfakir September 05, 2018

The Trump administration is justifying the release of hundreds of millions of dollars in additional military aid to Egypt, citing the country's progress over the last year in counterterrorism efforts and some improvements in its human rights record.

A State Department official told VOA the United States has worked closely with the Egyptian government over the last year to further strengthen bilateral ties in support of common security and counterterrorism goals.

"The secretary signed the national security waiver that allows for the obligation of an additional $195 million in FY 2017 Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Egypt, as well as the certification that allows for the obligation of $1 billion in FY 2018 FMF for Egypt," the official told VOA on Tuesday.

"We continue to support Egypt in combating terrorism and in encouraging steps toward inclusive economic growth and good governance," the State Department official added.

The announcement follows the administration's decision in July to release another $195 million in military aid for fiscal year 2016 to Cairo, which had been previously withheld over allegations of human rights violations by Egypt's government.

"Recognizing steps Egypt has taken over the last year in response to specific U.S. concerns, and in the spirit of our efforts to further strengthen this partnership, the administration has decided to allow Egypt to use the remaining $195 million in FY 2016 FMF for military procurements," a U.S. official told VOA at the time.

But Washington acknowledges Cairo needs to continue to improve its human rights record.

"We have serious concerns about the human rights situation in Egypt," a U.S. official told VOA on Tuesday.

The country has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months by rights groups, who allege Egyptian authorities are targeting political dissidents under the guise of security.

"The Egyptian regime used its fight on terrorism to crack down on peaceful opposition and to shut down the public sphere completely," Amr Magdi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told VOA.

And in recent years, authorities in Egypt have arrested dozens of members of both domestic and foreign nongovernmental organizations.

"We will continue to make clear the need for progress in addressing them, including fully resolving 2013 NGO convictions and addressing our concerns about the NGO law," the State Department official noted.

Some analysts charge that the Egyptian government has not done much and that the release of aid gives the wrong signal.

"Releasing the aid gives the Egyptian government carte blanche to continue with its crackdown, and perhaps even take it a step further," Amr Kotb, advocacy director at Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle Eastern Policy, told VOA.

Kotb added that the U.S. has the ability to be a force that promotes fundamental freedoms and rights and that it should continue to play that role.

A senior Egyptian official, who spoke to VOA on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to media, said that the release of aid to Egypt is about more than money.

"The aid was just a small portion. The relation between Egypt and U.S. is more than money," the official said, noting the U.S. and Egypt need one another to fight terrorism in the region.

The Egyptian official said his government has been working on adjusting laws that regulate NGOs in the country, and a decision about the matter would be announced soon.

NGO crackdown

In 2013, Egypt's crackdown on nongovernmental organizations in the country, including several American NGO workers, prompted the Obama administration to withhold military aid to the country.

That year, a Cairo court convicted 43 NGO workers, including several Americans, over allegations of receiving foreign funding and sowing internal unrest in the country.

Nancy Okail, the Egypt country director of Freedom House, a U.S.-based nongovernment organization working for democracy around the world, was one of those indicted.

"Most of the leadership of civil society organizations that we know of and are most established are either being prosecuted, or they are banned from traveling and having their assets frozen," Okail said.

"I was charged with operating an office without license and for receiving funding from foreign government," she told VOA.

Imad Ad-Dean Ahmad, from the U.S.-based research group Minaret of Freedom Institute, believes canceling aid might not be as effective as many would like it to be in encouraging improvement in Egypt's record.

"I am not sure to what degree it can be an effective tool in establishing human rights in Egypt. There hasn't been any changes in Egyptian policy toward human rights of its citizens," Ahmad said.

Security or rights?

Egypt has long been viewed by the U.S. as a stabilizing force in the region. After Israel, the country is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid and has received nearly $80 billion in military and economic assistance over the past three decades.

"Egypt was always looked on as a country providing stability and also to try to keep peace between Israel and Egypt," Robert Goldman, professor of international humanitarian law at the American University School of Law, told VOA.

Goldman added that for that reason, the Obama administration was put in a very difficult position to withhold the aid for Egypt in 2013.

But Daniel Benaim, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, believes Washington should not put aside the issue of human rights and democracy as it works with Egypt on the counterterrorism front.

"The U.S. should continue to forcefully raise issues of democracy and human rights because they matter to Egypt's future and should matter to the kinds of sustainable partnerships America should want," Benaim said.

Nike Ching at the State Department contributed to this report.

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Remarks by President Trump and Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of the State of Kuwait at Expanded Bilateral Meeting

September 5, 2018

Cabinet Room

2:23 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. This is a working group with representatives of the Amir and Kuwait, and they're working on some very large transactions for the United States. And they've had that relationship in trade, but we're also talking about other things such as Qatar and  coming back into the fold with UAE and, as you know, Saudi Arabia. That's been going on for a long time.

And we're discussing that, along with many other situations. We are talking very much about Syria, Yemen. We are talking about Iran and the fact that they have not behaved well over the last number of years. No matter where I go in the Middle East, I see Iran is behind it. So we just can't let that happen. But we've had some very good discussions.

Right now, we're going to be talking about terrorism, we're going to be talking about trade. And please be very, very careful  we have the Amir sitting here, and you have a lot of media right behind you, so you don't have to look at them, but I do. (Laughter.) You're very lucky. You're very lucky. I'd rather be in your position. (Laughter).

But it's an honor to have you. And thank you very much for being with us.

Thank you everybody. Thank you very much for being here. Okay, thank you very much, everybody.

Q Mr. President, sir, will you speak with the Special Counsel, sir?

Q Mr. President, any comment on the trade deals that you're trying to work out here?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think we're going to have a very big trade deal. We have many, many trade deals. Are you talking about with Canada or with  which trade deal are you talking about?

Q Any one you want to talk about.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We're dealing on many, many trade deals.

Q How about the one with South Korea, sir?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: One of the trade deals we talk about always and constantly is with Kuwait and, generally, the Middle East.

But we're really, right now, in very intense negotiations, I would say would be the word  "intense"  with Canada. We'll see how it works out. And if doesn't work out, that's going to be fine for the country, for our country. It won't be fine for Canada.

But we love Canada. They're our next-door neighbor. We've had a great relationship with them for many, many years. But look, Canada has done very well with this relationship. And the United States, from an economic standpoint  if you look at the tariffs that were put on our dairy products, and you look at the walls that were built up, in terms of barriers  we have tremendous trade barriers, and we have not been treated fairly.

So I think they will treat us fairly. I think we've come a long way toward them treating us fairly. But we're meeting right now with Canada. And over the next day or two we'll see what happens.

We've already made a deal with Mexico, as you know. We're doing some other things with Mexico. I think that'll be very interesting. But the relationship is very good. I spoke with the new President, and I think that relationship is going to be really, really, very good.

So thank you all very much. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Q On trade, sir  on trade, sir  Mr. President, on trade with South Korea, did you want to pull out of that? On trade with South Korea.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: We have a deal with South Korea.

Q Of course. Right.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I read another phony thing in the book about a trade deal that certain people didn't want me to look at. We've made a deal with South Korea. It may be signed during the United Nations conference in a couple of weeks.

The deal is done. It's been done with South Korea for a long time. It's been done for about two months. And we'll do a ceremonial signing over the next very short period of time.

But that was another thing in the book that was just totally false. I mean, there was no  it was actually a very reasonable deal and a fairly easy deal to make. It was a horrible deal to start off with for the United States. It was made by somebody that I happened to be running against at the time. And she made a deal that took a lot of jobs out of the United States, and we're making a deal that's going to bring a lot of jobs to the United States.

But I've concluded the deal in South Korea, which is the deal that was referred to. And I think it's going to be a great deal. Hopefully it's a great deal for them, but it's going to be a fair deal for us. Very, very big improvement over what we had, because what we had was unacceptable.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Q Have you kept your promise to appoint judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think what's happening is, on that subject and on other subjects, it's very interesting to watch. And I look forward to listening to Judge Kavanaugh discuss it. And I really think that  I have to say, and as I've just said a little while ago, I think Brett Kavanaugh has really conducted himself in an incredibly positive manner. Great intellect. Great talent. A great judge. And I would suspect he will be approved very quickly after we're finished with the hearing.

Thank you very much everybody. Thank you. Thank you.

END

2:29 P.M. EDT

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Remarks by President Trump and Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of the State of Kuwait Before Bilateral Meeting

September 5, 2018

Oval Office

1:53 P.M. EDT

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much, everybody. We have a very special friend of mine, the Amir of Kuwait. And we've had a long relationship, and especially over the last year and a half. Things have worked out very well between our countries. We practice large-scale trade together, investment together, and also, I think very importantly, terrorism and the fight against terrorism. And Kuwait has been a great partner.

And we especially respect the Amir. He is something that  really, very special. He's very special in the region. Highly respected by everybody. And we appreciate your friendship.

Thank you very much.

AMIR AL-SABAH: (As interpreted.) Thank you, Mr. President, and how much, really, I am very happy to meet with you for the third time in almost one year. This (inaudible) proved that the bilateral relation between Kuwait and the United States of America, and between us as persons (inaudible) very good relations  to remain to be a good relation.

There is a mutual trust between both of us. Therefore, thank you, Mr. President, for your warm welcome. This visit comes at the continuation of the profound and strategic relations between our two countries, and the significant progress they are witnessing, which we are always interested in consolidating it and promoting it. In this connection, I commend the unwavering commitment of the United States to the security and stability of our region as it had demonstrated in its leadership of the international coalition that liberated my country.

In this context of pursuing and consolidating our bilateral relations, we shall concentrate our efforts to the feat of trade and increased investment, along with our cooperation in the military, energy, and education fields.

I'm pleased to invite United States corporations to participate in the development and efforts, such are projects in the State of Kuwait, and to invest therein according to the Kuwait laws and regulations attractive to investments.

I'm pleased to  we will also discuss means of cooperation to resolve the crisis in the Gulf region, and look forward with hope that an end to this crisis will be reached. Our meeting with His Excellency, the President, coincides with the resumption of the discussions between the two parties in the conflict in Yemen led by the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Yemen, which we have both called for and have been embraced by Kuwait with a view to put an end to this destructive conflict and its destabilizing effects on the security and stability of the countries in our region.

We, alongside the entire world, are looking forward to see the discussions yield their desired results. We will also review our achievements under our sole partnership with the international coalition to combat terrorism as well as issues of mutual interest.

For most of them is the Palestinian issue and its developments. And the latest political developments in the international and regional arena, in this respect, I find it incumbent upon myself to pay a tribute to the positive role and the great and appreciated force that the United States exerts to achieve peace and stability in our region and the world.

Thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. And I have to say that Kuwait has made tremendous investments in the United States, and they're buying a lot of equipment and a lot of military equipment in particular, which we encourage. That's jobs for the United States. Nobody makes jets, fighters, and all of the different components better than the United States. We're way advanced over anybody. And that advancement has really been enhanced over the last short period of time. We've given them great incentive. But we appreciate the big purchases that you've been making. And frankly, we're working very hard to bring some stability into the Middle East.

Yemen is a tragic situation. When you look, there's so many tragic areas in the Middle East. It's a very hard  it's a very hard thing. It's a very complex jigsaw puzzle. But we're making big strides.

Iran is a very much different place from when I first took office. Iran is in turmoil right now. They're in total turmoil. When I took office, it was just a question of how long until they took over the entire Middle East. Now they are just worrying about their own survival as a country. We'll see what happens with Iran. Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me. I will always be available. But it doesn't matter one way or the other. We'll see what happens.

But Iran is a much different place than when I took over the presidency. I can say that for a lot of countries around the world. The United States is stronger now than ever before. We have the highest stock market that we've ever had. If you invested in the stock market, on average we're up over 45 percent on the various markets. You have to be quite happy about that. But I view it differently; I view it as jobs, I view it as a strong economy. I view it as record-setting unemployment. We have unemployment that are at the lowest levels that we've ever had. And in particular, with certain groups  African American, Asian, Hispanic  they're the lowest levels in the history of our country.

So we've been doing very well, and we appreciate the big investments and the confidence that you have in the United States.

Thank you very much.

AMIR AL-SABAH: I wish you good luck.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Q Mr. President, are you happy with the Kavanaugh hearings, sir?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I'm happy with the Kavanaugh hearings. I watched today for a little while. I saw some incredible answers to very complex questions. He's an outstanding intellect. He's an outstanding judge. He was born for the position. I heard, as long as 10 years ago, people were saying he should be a Supreme Court judge. I didn't know him at the time, but I was hearing from a lot of people, friends of mine from Washington and other places, saying that Brett Kavanaugh should be a Supreme Court judge someday. And I'm honored that I gave him the chance.

I've watched his remarks. I've watched his performance. I've watched his statements. And honestly, they've been totally brilliant. I think that the other side is grasping at straws. And really, the other side should embrace him because you're never going to find better in terms of talent or intellect than what you have in Brett Kavanaugh.

Q Is Bob Woodward a liar, sir? Sir, do you believe Bob Woodward is lying, sir? Is Bob Woodward lying?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, yeah, sure. He's lying. Sure.

Q Do you believe Bob Woodward is 

PRESIDENT TRUMP: The book? You mean on the book?

Q Yes, sir.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: The book means nothing. It's a work of fiction. Already, General Mattis has come out very, very strongly. And I think you know General Mattis; he does what he wants to do. He's a very independent guy. He was insulted by the remarks that were attributed to him. And he came out with a very strong statement  I assume you read it; I hope you read it  last night.

General John Kelly, the same exact thing. He saw it. He was insulted by what they said. He's right here. He's insulted by  he couldn't believe what they said. And he put out a very, very strong statement. And many others. And other statements are coming out.

The book is a work of fiction. If you look back at Woodward's past, he had the same problem with other Presidents. He likes to get publicity. He sells some books.

But we have done more as an administration than any other administration in already less than two years. It's incredible. We will soon be approaching two years.

But there's no administration, probably  and even you folks have generally acknowledged this  that has done more work, when you look at tax cuts, regulation cuts, Supreme Court justices, the court system generally, and so much more. Even if you look at the healthcare programs that we're passing, and all of the things we've done. We're saving Social Security. The Democrats will destroy social security. We're saving Medicare. The Democrats want to destroy Medicare. If you look at what they're doing, they're going to destroy Medicare. And we will save it. We will keep it going. We're making it stronger. We're making Social Security stronger. We're making our whole country stronger. So all you have to do is look at the achievements.

But I was very honored when, without my even knowing about it, statements were put out by General Kelly, by General Mattis  highly respected people by everybody, including yourselves. And the book is a work of fiction. It's a  really, if you look at it, it was put out to interfere, in my opinion, at this time, with the Kavanaugh hearings, which I don't think it's done, because so many people have come out against it. So many who have been written about said, "I never said that." Rudy Giuliani is another one. He's very insulted by the book and what was stated in the book.

So we run  we do run a strong White House. There's no question about it. And we are doing things that nobody else has ever been able to do. And our country is stronger now than it's ever been. And in a very short period of time, $700 billion being spent on the military. The next year, 716  $716 billion. We will actually be far stronger than we've ever been. And that's what we need it to be.

Thank you all very much.

Q (Inaudible) the future of the bilateral relations between the two countries?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Oh, we have a great relationship. First of all, I have a great personal relationship with the Amir. And Kuwait is a place that I've known for a long time. I have many friends that live in Kuwait  and they live, frankly, in Washington and New York, mostly  that I know, and I've known them for a long time. Very, very fine people.

Our relationship and our bilateral relationship is very, very powerful. Very strong. And they view us as a place where they've done very well, and they like to invest their money in the United States, and we like that.

Q (Inaudible) a trade deal with Canada?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So, Canada is meeting with us right now, as we speak. We have to make a fair deal with Canada. As you know, they charge tariffs of 300 percent on dairy products, which a lot of people never understood. They have walls up against us doing business in Canada, and yet they come and do business with us, and we can't let that happen.

Look, we have a very strong position, and we are the one that people want to come in and take advantage of. They've been taking advantage of, along with  and I'm not blaming Canada; I love Canada. I love the people of Canada. But they and other countries have been taking advantage of the United States for many years. And this is a President that has stopped it.

We've made a deal with Mexico, and Mexico has been terrific to deal with, including their new President, who I spoke with. And I think we're going to have a very good relationship with Mexico going forward.

And the deal is a much more fair deal between the United States and Mexico because NAFTA goes down as one of the worst trade deals in the history of our country. It emptied out millions of jobs. It emptied out factories and plants all over the United States. And it was a very unfair deal and a very foolish deal, and in fact, you could say a very stupid deal for the United States to make.

We are straightening out these horrible trade deals. As you know, we had 4.1 GDP. It was just raised to 4.2. Nobody thought that was possible.

When the trade deals are fixed and made fair, GDP will go even higher, and potentially much higher than that. And if you go back to election and go back to campaigning, nobody ever would have said that was possible, except me and maybe a few others that believe in me.

Thank you all very much.

Q Would you like to meet Rouhani at the U.N.? Would you like to meet Rouhani at the U.N.? Would you like to meet the President of Iran at the U.N.?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: It's possible. Anything is possible. Anything is possible. But we'll see.

Q Are you going to get involved in solving the Gulf Crisis? It's been a year since you've been 

Q And also about Syria 

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Say it? What?

Q (Inaudible) ask you about Syria.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: What? North Korea?

Q No, no, no. Gulf crisis. Syria. When President Assad challenges you, if he 

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Did you say Syria?

Q Yes, if he attacks Idlib.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think it's a very sad situation in Idlib and the province  what's going on there. It's being surrounded, and they feel they have 35,000 of their enemy there. And yet, you have 3 million people living there.

And I just tell you that they will hopefully be very, very judicious and careful, because the world is watching. That cannot be a slaughter. If it's a slaughter, the world is going to get very, very angry, and the United States is going to get very angry, too. Okay?

Q So you're not going to allow it to happen.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I am watching that very closely. So it's surrounded right now  the province  and it's surrounded by a lot of people with a lot of weapons. And these are innocent people. You have 3 million, at least, innocent people there. And you have to be very, very careful. And the world is watching, and the United States is watching very closely.

Thank you very much, everybody.

Q (Inaudible) the assassination of President Assad, as Woodward says in his book?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: What?

Q Did you suggest the assassination of President Assad?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Not at all. No, the book is fiction. I heard somewhere where they said the assassination of President Assad by the United States. Never even discussed. The book is total fiction, just like he wrote in the past about other Presidents. You look at what he said about President Bush, what he said about President Obama. Big, scandalous thing. Big  it lasts for about a day.

No, that was never even contemplated, nor would it be contemplated. And it should not have been written about in the book. It's just more fiction. The book is total fiction. Okay?

Q Will you sue, sir?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Thank you very much.

END

2:13 P.M. EDT

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Saudi military base comes under attack by Yemen missile

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Sept 6, IRNA -- Yemeni Army's missile unit fired a ballistic missile at a military base in south of Saudi Arabia.

According to Almasirah news website, the missile was of Badr 1 type but Saudi media outlet claimed that Saudi Arabian Army's air defense system intercepted the missile over Najran.

Late on Tuesday, Yemeni Army's missile unit also targeted Aramco oil refinery in Jizan, south of Saudi Arabia.

In addition to Aramco oil facility, an industrial township in Jizan came under attack by the Yemeni missile unit.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government of Hadi back to power and crushing the country's Houthi Ansarullah movement.

Some 15,000 Yemenis have been killed and thousands more injured since the onset of the Saudi-led aggression.

The assaults of the Saudi-led coalition forces have failed to stop the Yemenis from resisting the aggression. Recently, the Yemeni army unveiled its home-made underground missile launching pads.

8072**1396

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State Department Terrorist Designation of Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM)

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 5, 2018

The Department of State has designated Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The Department has also designated JNIM as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under section 1(b) of Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.

Today's designations seek to deny JNIM the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences, all of JNIM's property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with JNIM. It is a crime to knowingly provide, or to attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to JNIM.

JNIM has described itself as al-Qaida's official branch in Mali, and it has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks and kidnappings since it was formed in March 2017. JNIM carried out the June 2017 attack at a resort frequented by Westerners outside of Bamako, Mali; several deadly attacks on Malian troops; and the large-scale coordinated attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on March 2, 2018. JNIM is led by Iyad ag Ghaly, a U.S.-designated SDGT.

The Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Ambassador Nathan A. Sales, noted that "Al-Qaida and its affiliates like JNIM remain deadly threats to the United States and our allies. These designations are part of our continuing efforts to squeeze al-Qaida's finances, denying it the resources it needs to carry out attacks."

Today's designations notify the U.S. public and the international community that JNIM is a terrorist organization. Terrorist designations expose and isolate entities and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments.

A list of State Department-designated FTOs and SDGTs is available here: http://www.state.gov/j/ct/list/index.htm.

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The Netherlands - Patriot Recapitalization (RECAP)

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 18-32

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2018 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Netherlands of four (4) Netherlands Patriot Fire Units for an estimated cost of $105 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Netherlands has requested Recapitalization (RECAP) of four (4) Netherlands Patriot Fire Units. RECAP includes Radar Sets (RS), Radar Digital Processors (RDP), Engagement Control Stations (ECS), Information and Coordination Central (ICC), Modem Man Stations (MMS), Launching Stations, and Post Deployment Build (PDB)-8 upgrades along with parts, tools, technical and engineering assistance, support services, testing, and other related elements of logistics and program support, which will produce fire units at the Configuration 3+ capability. The total estimated program cost is $105 million.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally, which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the European region.

This sale improves the Netherlands' capability to meet current and future enemy threats. The Netherlands will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats, and provide direct support to coalition and security cooperation efforts. The Netherlands will have no difficulty absorbing this upgraded equipment and support into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

U.S. Government personnel will conduct the RECAP at Letterkenny Army Depot. The purchaser typically requests offsets. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to the Netherlands.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

-30-

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Bahrain in Talks With Russia to Send Astronauts Into Space - Russian Embassy

Sputnik News

19:50 05.09.2018(updated 19:54 05.09.2018)

DOHA (Sputnik)  The Bahrain Space Science Agency (NSSA) is engaged in talks with Russia on sending its astronauts to space, but no specific agreements have been reached yet, the Russian embassy in Manama told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"The representatives of the Bahrain Space Science Agency attended a spacecraft launch at Baikonur this year, where they discussed with the Russian side the prospects for possible cooperation, specifically in training and sending the first Bahraini astronaut into orbit. But no specific agreements have been reached yet, no documents on the issue have been signed," the embassy spokesperson said.

The NSSA was launched in 2014.

Last July, the agency announced the launch of its Space Team program which seeks to recruit 10 people who would become Bahrain's first group of space science and technology specialists. The group is set to undergo 24-month training, which will be held both on the kingdom's territory and abroad.

The development of the Bahraini space program comes amid the United Arab Emirates' announcement that it had picked its first two astronauts who would go to the International Space Station (ISS). According to the Russian Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Center, the two UAE nationals are already undergoing a training in Russia.

In August, Russian space agency Roscosmos said it was engaged in negotiations on cooperation with Gulf states. The agency noted a short-term mission for a UAE citizen to the ISS had been agreed while a long-term mission for a UAE astronaut and short-term flight for a Bahraini national had been under discussion.

 Sputnik

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China Carried Out Several Dozen Hypersonic Arms Tests - US Missile Defense Chief

Sputnik News

08:24 05.09.2018

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  China has moved ahead of the United States with several dozen successful hypersonic missile tests that Washington cannot ignore, Missile Defense Agency commander Lieutenant General Samuel Greaves said on Tuesday.

"The Chinese have now done several dozen successful hypersonic (missile) tests we just cannot (ignore)," Greaves told a meeting held by the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.

Under Secretary of Defense for Management and Engineering Michael Griffin agreed that China had carried out dozens of successful tests and noted that Russia was successfully developing hypersonic systems too.

"Hypersonic missiles [are] being developed by both China and Russia. We are concerned about both  When they have done dozens of tests we have not done that is a concern," he said.

Griffin also noted that both Russia and China had pushed ahead with operationalizing research on hypersonic weapons systems.

 Sputnik

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Xi's special representative to visit DPRK

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 07:49, September 05, 2018

China's top legislator Li Zhanshu will head a delegation to visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday as a special representative of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president.

The announcement was made by a spokesperson of the CPC Central Committee's International Department in Beijing Tuesday.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, will also attend activities to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK, said the spokesperson in a press release.

Li was invited by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government, said the spokesperson.

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US, India Hold Meeting with 2 Sticking Points

By William Gallo September 05, 2018

The United States and India will try to expand already close defense ties when senior leaders from both countries meet for their first "two plus two" dialogue Thursday in New Delhi.

The world's two largest democracies, the United States and India, have a lot in common, including a desire to contain China. But the United States takes issue with India buying oil from Iran and its planned acquisition of a Russian missile defense system.

On his way to India, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed he will discuss the Russian missile defense system, but said shared values will allow the two countries to handle any "perturbations in stride, without alarm."

"Freedom means that at times nations don't agree with each other. That doesn't mean we can't be partners. That doesn't mean we don't respect the sovereignty of other nations," said Mattis.

While India does not recognize unilateral U.S. sanctions and has bristled at what it considers U.S. restraints on its historically neutral stance in world affairs, U.S. and Indian officials have described the relationship as extremely close.

"What we see is a continuing growth of the consultations between us. It's on a very firm foundation," Mattis said.

The talks will also include U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Indian Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Russian missile system

Last week, the Pentagon threatened to impose sanctions on India if it purchases the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system. The deal, estimated at around $6 billion, would violate U.S. sanctions placed on Russia last year in response to Moscow's "destabilizing" activities globally.

While the Trump administration could extend a sanctions waiver to India there's no guarantee that will happen, the Pentagon's top Asia policy official, Randall Schriver, said last week.

"We would have very significant concerns if India pursued major new [Russian] platforms and systems," Schriver said.

Most of India's weapons are Russian-made, a legacy of India's Cold War relationship with the Soviet Union.

While U.S. officials say they understand India's need to keep defense ties with Russia in order to maintain those weapons, they aim to convince India to buy more U.S. weapons in the future.

The United States is currently India's second-largest weapons supplier.

Iranian oil

U.S. officials are signaling more flexibility on India's purchase of Iranian crude oil.

Starting November 4, any country buying Iranian oil could face financial penalties under sanctions reinstated after the United States unilaterally pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.

But a senior State Department official said sanctions would be imposed on a "case-by-case" basis.

It's not clear what that means in India's case, but under the Obama administration India received a sanctions waiver, as long as it substantially reduced its Iranian oil purchases.

India, the second-largest buyer of Iranian oil, will almost certainly not agree to go to zero imports, says Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution.

"They don't want to break ties with Iran, and going to zero would do that," said Madan.

"It goes back to a fundamental concern India has about the U.S. sanctions regime constraining its options in terms of how to operate in the world, who to buy from," she adds.

COMCASA deal 'pretty much there'

But the meeting could yield progress on a long-negotiated deal to share sensitive defense equipment. Known as COMCASA it would pave the way for greater collaboration on encrypted defense technology.

Indian media have reported the language of a COMCASA deal has been finalized, and Mattis has indicated they are close.

"I think that we're pretty much there already on the American side. We'll see where they're at," said Mattis.

India is already designated as a Major U.S. Defense Partner, allowing it to more easily receive American defense technology. This year, India has also been designated a Strategic Trade Authorization-1 country, a status comparable to that of NATO allies.

India could also agree to work more closely on Afghanistan, where the United States has been at war for 17 years. But India's arch rival, Pakistan, is opposed to Indian military involvement in the conflict.

The "two plus two" meeting had been planned for last April, but was postponed after the departure of former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. It was delayed a second time after Pompeo left in June on a last-minute trip to North Korea.

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Iranian Army 'more professional' than before: Comdr

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Sept 5, IRNA -- In the new frame, the army of Iran has changed into 'an agile and professional force', said the commander of the ground force of the Iranian army on Wednesday.

'The ground force of the army has passed the traditional and classic phase and changed into a mobile, aggressive, and rapid reaction force,' said Brigadier-General Kioumars Heydari.

General Heydari added that upon the order of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei the forces are now divided into two groups: Special rapid reaction forces and mobile aggressive forces.

The Ground Force of the Iranian Army, alongside the rest of the Armed Forces of the country, is totally ready to annihilate any invader in any scale in a very short time, he added.

'We bravely tell our friedly countries that they can count on us and consider the Iranian Army Ground Force as the power of the Islamic World.'

'We warn the enemies that the Iranian Army and other branches of Armed Forces have reached a level of power that can provide and protect the country's security anywhere in the world. They should know that we will stand up to any bullying more authoritatively than them, he said.

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Zarif blasts Trump for seeking to hijack UNSC session to hit out at Iran

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 05:49PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has blasted US President Donald Trump for attempting to hijack an upcoming United Nations Security Council meeting during the annual gathering of world leaders to turn it to an anti-Iran event.

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Zarif said Trump is seeking to "abuse" the presidency of the Security Council to divert a session, which has been devoted to Palestine for decades in a bid to blame Iran for horrors the United States and its clients have unleashed across the Middle East.

Zarif said the US had already violated the only UNSC resolution on Iran, referring to Resolution 2231 that endorses the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers-- the US, the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany.

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who assumed the Presidency of the Security Council for the month of September, said Tuesday that Trump was going to chair a meeting of the 15-nation body on Iran on September 26, where he would discuss Iran's "violations of international law."

Trump pulled the US out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in May, claiming the agreement was ineffective as it failed to halt Iran's nuclear activities and its development of ballistic missiles.

The US leader also alleged that the JCPOA had placed no limits on Iran's activities to influence conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and other parts of the Middle East.

Since its withdrawal from the JCPOA, Washington has sought to build up international pressure on Iran by re-instating Washington's unilateral sanctions that were removed under the deal.

The first round of the sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic's trade in US dollars, gold and other precious metals as well as its automotive sector came into effect on August 7. The remaining sanctions to be re-imposed on November 5 relate to Iran's oil exports.

Iran has rejected Trump's claims about the JCPOA, saying it would continue to implement the deal in Washington's absence. Other signatories have also reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement.

Tehran has also defended its right to develop missile deterrence as part of its national defense doctrine while also helping its neighbors maintain their stability amid military and political interventions by the US and other Western powers.

Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the UNSC meeting should focus on the implementation of the JCPOA.

"We very much hope that there will be views voiced in connection with the US withdrawal," he told the council.

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Japan talking 'tenaciously' to US on Iran oil imports

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 09:29AM

Japan says it is pressing the US for exemptions from new sanctions to continue oil imports from Iran.

"In any case, the government intends to have talks with the US tenaciously in order to continue Iranian crude oil imports," Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Hiroshige Seko said.

Japanese officials have said they need Iranian oil and have cited exemption from US sanctions as among their highest priorities for the country's energy industry.

Refiners have rushed to take cargoes before US sanctions come into effect in November. In July, Japan lifted more than 183,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil, raising imports for the third consecutive month year on year.

According to METI data released Friday, Iran was Japan's fifth largest crude supplier in July, accounting for 6.3% of imports.

Japanese refiners, however, are worried about punitive US measures if they maintain their Iranian oil imports and expecting guidance from the government.

Seko, however, said the country's refiners need to make their own decisions as to whether import oil from Iran.

Platts quoted an Idemitsu Kosan spokesman as saying that the refiner has yet to decide on its Iranian oil policy. The company, he said, is still carefully monitoring the progress of the bilateral talks between Japan and the US.

Cosmo Oil also said it has yet to make a final decision on its Iranian crude oil policy but it does not plan to load any crude oil from Iran in October.

The sanctions specifically targeting Iran's oil industry take effect Nov. 4. President Donald Trump has said the US wanted to bring Iran's oil exports down to zero.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that no oil would pass through the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf if Iranian exports were blocked.

Washington is trying to stop Iran's petrochemical, steel and copper exports, and to disrupt its ports and shipping services.

Rouhani said on Tuesday Iran is facing a "psychological and economic war in which oil, gas and petrochemical industries are at the forefront of confronting the ill-wishers."

"At the forefront of this war are the sectors that bear the burden of the economy, of which most important are oil, gas and petrochemicals, because when the enemy wants to boycott us, it pinpoints oil, gas and petrochemicals," he said.

Moving Kharg terminal to Jask

Rouhani said Iran has started moving its main export terminal in Kharg on the Persian Gulf to Jask in the Sea of Oman.

Speaking during the inauguration of three petrochemical projects, Rouhani said Iran must streamline oil shipments and use terminals outside the Persian Gulf.

"This is very important for me and a strategic issue. A large part of our oil sales should be moved from Kharg to Jask and the work has started and God willing, it will be completed in the twelfth government," he said, referring to his tenure.

The Strait of Hormuz, which sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, provides the only maritime passage from the Persian Gulf to open seas.

The waterway is a strategic artery linking Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond, through which a third of the world's sea-borne oil passes every day.

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Europe should pay price for standing against US on Iran deal: Araqchi

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 09:07AM

A senior Iranian nuclear negotiator says Europe needs to bear the cost of standing up to US sanctions and other pressure tactics in order to keep the 2015 nuclear agreement with Tehran alive following Washington's unilateral pullout.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi pointed to the ongoing efforts by Tehran's partners to save the deal and said, "That Europeans stand against the US politically and for Iran's sake would not come about at a low price."

He admitted, though, that given the US saber rattling, it will not be an easy task for Europeans to find practical mechanisms for meeting Iran's conditions and keeping the country in the deal.

US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the Iran deal despite objections from the other signatories, re-imposing the anti-Iran sanctions which were lifted under the agreement, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Washington has threatened punitive measures against European firms doing business with Tehran should they fail to leave the Iranian market in compliance with its bans.

Tehran has said it will stay in the deal only if it is provided with "practical guarantees" that its economic dividends of the deal will remain intact.

In turn, the European signatories have pledged to attempt to protect their business links with Iran in the face of US pressure.

They are now working to finalize an economic package to meet Iran's conditions for remaining in the JCPOA.

Araqchi further warned that the Islamic Republic would withdraw from the nuclear deal if the Europeans fail by November 4 to design a mechanism to safeguard Iran's main interests in the accord, including oil sales and banking payments. That is the date when the second round of US sanctions against Iran will snap back.

If the European states fail to put these mechanisms in action until that time, "it is natural that remaining in the JCPOA would be fruitless," the official stated.

"They are aware that should they fail to provide guarantees and find a solution, we will not remain in the JCPOA," he added, it only makes sense for Iran to stay in the deal as long as it can continue selling its oil.\

He also echoed recent remarks by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei that Iran will leave the nuclear accord if it fails to serve its interests.

"The JCPOA has economic, political and international benefits for us and we would remain in it until these interests are preserved," the Leader pointed out.

Iran has lodged a complaint with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over Washington's move to re-impose the sanctions.

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Russia, Iran Hit Back At U.S. Efforts To Pressure Tehran At UN Security Council

RFE/RL September 05, 2018

Russia and Iran criticized a U.S. announcement that President Donald Trump will chair a UN Security Council meeting on Iran this month as part of efforts to step up pressure on Tehran for what Washington called its "violations of international law."

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on September 5 said Washington was "mistaken" if it believes it can use the forum to win other council members over to its way of thinking after it pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions against the country.

While saying the September 26 session would be a good opportunity to discuss the situation, Ryabkov added that "the Americans won't have an easy walk at this meeting."

"They are mistaken if they think that they can use the UN rostrum as a forum for starting again to rally and, so to speak, organize everyone under their banners," he was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Trump was "violating" UN resolutions and "bullying others to do the same."

He charged that the U.S. president plans to "abuse" the Security Council presidency "to blame Iran for horrors US & clients have unleashed across" the Middle East.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley late on September 4 announced that Trump would chair the UN meeting as the United States assumed the rotating presidency of the Security Council.

Haley and Trump have repeatedly attacked Iran, accusing it of meddling in the wars in Syria and Yemen and violating the spirit of its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, which Trump abandoned in May.

Russia, China, and U.S. allies Britain, France, and Germany have vowed to remain part of the 2015 deal that provided Tehran with relief from some sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

Haley told reporters at the UN that Trump decided to chair the council meeting during the annual gathering of world leaders in New York so he could "address Iran's violations of international law and the general instability Iran sows throughout the entire Middle East region."

"President Trump is very adamant that we have to start making sure that Iran is falling in line with international order," said Haley, who accused Iran of "supporting terrorism" around the world.

"If you continue to look at the ballistic-missile testing that they are doing, if you continue to look at the sales of weapons we see with the Huthis in Yemen -- these are all violations of Security Council resolutions," she said. "These are all threats to the region, and these are all things that the international community needs to talk about."

Iran is subject to a UN arms embargo and other restrictions imposed by the council, and Washington has repeatedly alleged that it is violating the embargo by providing arms to its allies in Yemen.

Iran has denied supporting terrorism or supplying weapons to Yemen's Huthi rebels, and it has adamantly rejected U.S. demands that it stop making and testing ballistic missiles, which Tehran maintains are needed for its defense.

Rohani is expected to address the assembly one day ahead of the meeting, on September 25. Haley said the United States would not object to Rohani speaking at the meeting.

Haley denied the United States, by seeking to galvanize international pressure on Iran, was seeking "regime change." She claimed the U.S. effort was aimed at supporting the desires of the "Iranian people."

"We are going to stand with the Iranian people. They have every right to be heard in their government and they have every right to change it," she said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an appearance on Russia's Channel One TV early on September 5 lambasted the U.S. stance on Iran, calling it "unrealistic" in light of Iran's long history and large population, state-run news agency TASS reported.

"The U.S. has a defiant attitude to Iran, accusing it of all deadly sins and demanding that Iran leave any country, except for Iran itself, and stop even exerting political influence on its neighbors and other regional states. I think this is an unprofessional and unrealistic approach. It cannot prevail. How can a state with its traditions that go back centuries and 75 million people be locked in its borders?" Lavrov was reported as saying.

In February, Russia vetoed a U.S.-led effort in the council to reprimand Iran for failing to prevent its weapons from falling into the hands of Yemen's Huthi rebels, a charge which Tehran denies.

Meanwhile, Interfax reported on September 5 that Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks on September 7 with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and President Hassan Rohani on Tehran's nuclear program, the situation in Syria, and other issues.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-chair-un- security-council-meeting-september-26-highlight -grievances-with-iran/29472533.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Tel Aviv carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria in last two years, Israel admits

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 12:42AM

A senior Israeli official says the Tel Aviv regime has launched hundreds of strikes against various targets inside conflict-plagued Syria in the last two years.

"Only just now it was published -- in the name of military sources, so I can quote it too -- that in the last two years Israel has taken military action more than 200 times within Syria itself," Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz told a conference hosted by the IDC Herzliya college on Tuesday.

Katz claimed that most of the targets belonged to Iran, adding, "Understand the significance of this matter in terms of preserving the red line, preventing the things that Iran has done, is doing and is trying to do against Israel from Syria."

Israel began carrying out military strikes in Syria in 2013.

Damascus and Tehran have repeatedly rejected Israeli claims that Iran has military bases in Syria. Iran has been offering military advisory support to Syria at the request of the Damascus government, enabling its army to speed up its gains on various fronts against terror outfits.

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami was in Damascus last week and signed an agreement on defense and technical cooperation designed to ensure the continued presence and participation of Iran in Syria's reconstruction.

In a meeting with his Syrian counterpart, General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub, in Damascus on August 26, Hatami warned of extra-regional countries' plots to sow discord in Syria and vowed the Islamic Republic's full support for the war-ravaged country in a bid to preserve its territorial integrity and improve its stability.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Syrian counterpart Walid al-Muallem in a meeting in Damascus on Monday that the Islamic Republic will continue to support Syria in its fight against terrorist groups.

The top Iranian and Syrian diplomats also discussed regional issues and the latest developments in Syria, including the return of displaced people to their homeland.

Muallem hailed Iran's support for his country in the battle against terrorist groups and called on Tehran to continue its cooperation with Damascus in this regard.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

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Interview: Israel Will Seek To 'Destroy' Any Iranian Military Presence In Syria

RFE/RL's Radio Farda, Current Time TV September 05, 2018

Israel's defense chief has warned that his country will seek to "destroy any Iranian military presence" in Syria, where Tehran has intervened to prop up its ally President Bashar al-Assad in a war that has lasted more than seven-years.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke in interviews with RFE/RL's Radio Farda and Current Time TV on September 4 in Tel Aviv.

Israel has alleged that Iran plans to establish a permanent, broad military foothold in Syria, including advanced missile factories as well as air and naval bases. Tehran rejects the claim.

Israeli has carried out dozens of air strikes in Syria targeting suspected arms and troop movements by Iran and its proxy forces, including the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hizballah.

"We don't want to see Iran turning Syria into its outpost against Israel," Lieberman told Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

"We will try to destroy any Iranian military presence on Syrian territory, be it an air base, a naval base, a missile production factory, or the Shi'ite militias that they are bringing there from Pakistan, Iraq, and all of the Middle East," he said.

Like Russia, Iran has backed Assad in the Syrian conflict and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has played a crucial role on the ground.

The IRGC has recruited tens of thousands of Shi'ite fighters from the region to fight in Syria. More than 1,000 Iranians, including senior members of the elite IRGC, have been killed in Syria since 2012, according to Reuters.

Miltiary Cooperation Agreement

Iranian officials say their military presence in Syria is at the invitation of the Damascus government and they have no immediate plans to withdraw.

Last week, Iran's defense minister travelled to Damascus and signed an agreement on military cooperation between the two countries.

Lieberman told Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper on August 31 that Iran was reducing the scale of its military activities in Syria, attributing this to Israeli military intervention and an economic crisis gripping Tehran as U.S. sanctions are reinstated.

In the interview with Radio Farda, Lieberman said Tehran had adopted a "different approach" in Syria, although he did not reveal any specifics.

"They have adopted some other patterns of behavior in Syria because they understand that we are monitoring, we are watching, and we have all the political will and determination to prevent their desire to turn Syria into their forward base against Israel [from being fulfilled]," he said.

"They are careful and they understand that they have too many challenges," he added.

Israeli military strikes against Iranian targets in Syria have been mostly ignored by Russia, Damascus's backer, and Israel has attempted to persuade Moscow to pressure Tehran to withdraw its forces from Syria.

Lieberman said Israel was in constant dialogue with Moscow.

"It's [in the] Russian interest to keep stability in Syria," he said, adding that Iran's activities were jeopardizing Moscow's efforts.

'Series Of Steps'

The United States has also urged Moscow to help end Iran's military presence in the war-ravaged country.

Washington supports rebels fighting against Assad's government.

After meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Security Council, White House national security adviser John Bolton said in Geneva on August 23 that the two had discussed a "series of steps" that would lead to the removal of Iran's military presence in Syria.

Before the meeting, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the U.S. insistence on the withdrawal of Iranian forces is a "reflection of the dominating aspiration in Washington to dictate to everyone else their own beliefs about what is good and what is bad."

Calls by Israel and the United States for Iran to pull out its forces in Syria have come as the conflict has turned heavily in Assad's favor, with rebel forces being routed in many parts of the country.

Syrian pro-government forces are preparing to launch an assault on the northwestern province of Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold.

The war in Syria has killed hundreds of thousands of people and uprooted millions since it began with a government crackdown on protesters in March 2011.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/interview-israel- will-seek-to-destroy-any-iranian-military- presence-in-syria/29473661.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Army Ready for Any War Scenario Amid Watchdog's Gloomy Report - IDF Chief

Sputnik News

15:12 05.09.2018

Israel's commander-in-chief commended the IDF's capacity in a letter to members of the government and parliament. This apparently came in response to a report by the IDF watchdog, which claimed that manpower cuts had undermined the military's efficiency.

Gadi Eisenkot, chief of general staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told lawmakers that the military was ready for any scenario in case a war unfolds. "The IDF is at a high level of preparedness and readiness for war with regard to any threat scenario," he wrote in a letter to members of the security cabinet and the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and defense, seen by The Times of Israel.

In the letter, which was attached to a classified report, he also praised Israel's "intelligence and aerial superiority, ground capabilities and abundant operational experience, which is tested daily at all the theaters of war."

His statement came just months after Yitzhak Brick, an IDF ombudsman, warned that the military was potentially unprepared for the following war. In an annual report released in late June, he cited an acute shortage of doctors and psychiatrists, as well as the negative effect of cost-cutting measures on the morale of young officers and non-commissioned officers.

He blamed these flaws on the 2015 five-year strategy, dubbed Gideon, which reduced the number of career soldiers to less than 40,000, dissolved some units and formed others in a bid to streamline the military.

Also in 2015, the compulsory military service was reduced by three months for men. According to Brick's report, when coupled with manpower cuts, this caused the remaining officers to do more to make up the difference, which resulted in burnout and loss of motivation.

 Sputnik

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U.S., Pakistani Leaders Agree to Reset Relationship

Sept. 5, 2018

By Jim Garamone

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held talks with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad today to reset the relationship between the two countries.

Pompeo and Dunford met with new Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Mehmood Qureshi and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa.

"We talked abut their new government and the opportunity to reset the relationship between our two countries across a broad spectrum: economic, business, commercial -- the work that we all need to do to try to develop a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan," Pompeo told reporters here.

Pompeo and Dunford stopped here on their way to the "Two-Plus-Two" talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi. It was the most senior meeting between the representatives of the U.S. government and Pakistan's new government.

Dunford supported the secretary in his efforts to reset the relationship.

Consistent Objectives

"When we talked to General Bajwa on a military-to-military level, we listened to the prime minister very carefully [and] we listened to the secretary very carefully. The objectives were very consistent between the secretary and prime minister," Dunford said. "General Bajwa and I agreed that we will leverage the military-to-military relationship for the secretary and prime minister and, more importantly, for President Trump's South Asia Strategy."

When President Donald J. Trump announced the South Asia Strategy, Pakistan had a large role to play. "The president's South Asia strategy was pretty clearly articulated in 2017, and the expectations that we have that Pakistan will cooperate in bringing the Taliban to  an Afghan-owned, Afghan-led peace process is pretty clear as well," Dunford said during an earlier discussion with reporters traveling with him. "I think our bilateral relationship moving forward is very much going to be informed by the degree of cooperation from Pakistan in doing it."

Pakistan has a unique role in dealing with the Taliban, who operate in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. In announcing the strategy last year, Trump said that Pakistan "often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence and terror."

He called on Pakistan to stop providing safe havens for terrorists who rest and refit for actions in Afghanistan and elsewhere. "Pakistan has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists," the president said at the time.

Actions Must Back Up Words

Pakistani leaders have been fully briefed on the South Asia Strategy. "On the surface, they say they want to cooperate," Dunford said earlier. "On the surface, they say they recognize that a peaceful solution in Afghanistan is the right approach. On the surface, they say they support an Afghan-owned, Afghan-led peace process. So what we are looking for is the actions to back that up.

"What we want to see: The Taliban at the peace table dealing with Afghans," he continued. "And we believe the Pakistanis play a unique role in bringing the Taliban to the peace process."

U.S. officials also believe Pakistan can have an effect on the Haqqani network, which has been a thorn in the side of coalition and Afghan government efforts in eastern Afghanistan for years. "We also believe the Pakistanis play a unique role in Haqqani's behavior and the threats we have seen to NATO/allied forces, coalition forces and Afghan forces," Dunford said.

Following the discussions, Pompeo said the military-to-military relationship underpins the move to reset the U.S.-Pakistani relationship. There will be more discussions ahead, and there must be more results, he said.

"The relationship -- military-to-military -- is one that has remained in a place where some of the other relationships haven't, frankly. They still continued to have relations, worked on projects that are important together, and I hope we can use that as one of the foundational elements, as well."

The bottom line with the talks is that the Pakistanis "agreed it is time to deliver on our joint commitments," Pompeo said.

"We've had lots of time where we've talked and made agreements, but we haven't been able to actually execute those," he said. "So there was broad agreement  that we need to begin to do things on the ground that will deliver outcomes so we can begin to build confidence and trust between the two countries."

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Pak PM Imran, Pompeo discuss aid suspension, Afghan peace

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Sept 5, IRNA -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Prime Minister Imran Khan discussed Afghan peace process and blockage of $300 million in Coalition Support Fund (CSF) among other matters of mutual interest during a meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, local media reported.

Pompeo, who along with US Joint Chief of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford had arrived on an official visit to Pakistan earlier in the day, was accompanied by other senior officials during the meeting. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa also attended the meeting.

Following the meeting, Pompeo had left for India, where the US delegation is scheduled to hold a more elaborate round of talks.

Pompeo also held a delegation level meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Foreign Office earlier in the day.

The two sides discussed bilateral, regional and international issues, FO Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said in Tweet. "FM Qureshi underscores the need to reset bilateral ties on basis of mutual trust and respect. Safeguarding Pakistan's national interests will remain supreme priority," he added.

Earlier, while talking to media representatives on board his Pakistan-bound flight, Pompeo had said he was visiting Pakistan to reset bilateral relations.

"First stop Pakistan; a new leader there. I wanted to get out there at the beginning of his [Khan's] time in an effort to reset the relationship between the two countries,' he said.

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On trip to Pakistan, US secretary of state seeks 'reset' in strained ties

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 02:24PM

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has met with Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, hoping to reset relations that were strained over the war in Afghanistan and a range of other issues.

Local Pakistani media said the meeting on Wednesday was to be mainly about the prospects of a negotiated end to the war.

Khan is a fierce critic of Washington's policies in the region.

In Islamabad, Pompeo also met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said talks were held on "bilateral, regional and international issues."

"Foreign Minister Qureshi underscores the need to reset bilateral ties on the basis of mutual trust and respect," the spokesman said on Twitter, posting a picture of the meeting between Pompeo and Qureshi.

Pompeo was also expected to meet with Pakistan's army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa, before flying to India, Pakistan's neighbor and bitter foe.

The former CIA director, making his first visit as the top US diplomat to the wayward ally whose support is vital in the Afghan conflict, said he was hoping to "reset the relationship" with Pakistan.

On the plane from the United States, Pompeo told reporters, "There are a lot of challenges between our two nations for sure but we're hopeful that with the new leadership that we can find common ground and we can begin to work on some of our shared problems together."

US Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is also on a visit to Pakistan said President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy set clear expectations for Pakistan, including help to push the Taliban militant group to a peace process in neighboring Afghanistan.

The meetings come against the backdrop of tense ties between Washington and Islamabad as well as the US military aid cuts over Pakistan's alleged reluctance to crack down on militants sheltering on its territory. Pakistan says the cuts are unwarranted as it incurs expenses in fighting militants who pose a danger to US troops in Afghanistan.

In August last year, Trump denounced Islamabad for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos."

"We can no longer be silent about Pakistan's safe havens for terrorist organisations, the Taliban and other groups that pose a threat to the region and beyond," Trump said in a major speech outlining the US policy on Afghanistan,

In a series of tweets, Imran Khan then argued that "the US blames Pakistan again for its deeply flawed and failed Afghan policy stretching over a decade."

Pompeo also confirmed that Zalmay Khalilzad, a high-profile former US ambassador to Kabul, Baghdad and the United Nations, would be appointed to lead peace efforts in Afghanistan.

Zahid Hussain, a defense analyst and author of two books on militancy in the region, said the appointment of Khalilzad as a special adviser on reconciliation in Afghanistan could complicate his job. "He has been very critical of Pakistan in the past and his appointment will not help move things forward."

Successive US governments have criticized Pakistan for links with the Taliban militants and for harboring slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Senior civilian and military officials in Islamabad have frequently said the US government is making Pakistan a scapegoat to cover Washington's failure in Afghanistan.

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Secretary Pompeo's Meetings in Pakistan

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

September 5, 2018

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:

Secretary Michael R. Pompeo met today in Islamabad, Pakistan with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, and other civilian and military leadership. He was accompanied by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. Congratulating the Prime Minister on the formation of his government, the Secretary welcomed the further strengthening of civilian institutions. Secretary Pompeo also highlighted the importance of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, and underscored areas of shared interest, such as the expansion of two-way trade and commercial ties.

While meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Secretary Pompeo discussed the potential for the United States and Pakistan to work together to advance joint priorities, including regional peace and stability. He also emphasized the value of strong people-to-people ties between our nations, built on decades of cultural and educational exchanges.

During his meeting with Pakistani Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, Secretary Pompeo welcomed the smooth transition of power to a new civilian government, stressing the importance of strong democratic institutions. Secretary Pompeo also expressed hope for deeper counter terrorism cooperation between our nations.

In all of his meetings, Secretary Pompeo emphasized the important role Pakistan could play in bringing about a negotiated peace in Afghanistan, and conveyed the need for Pakistan to take sustained and decisive measures against terrorists and militants threatening regional peace and stability.



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Pompeo Holds Talks in Pakistan on Resetting Troubled Ties

By Ayaz Gul September 05, 2018

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held meetings Wednesday with leaders of Pakistan's newly elected government, where the two sides agreed to make efforts to reset troubled bilateral relations to jointly push peace in Afghanistan.

The relationship between Washington and Islamabad, officially allies in fighting terrorism, has plunged to its lowest point in the past year over allegations Pakistan has covertly enabled the Taliban insurgency to sustain the conflict in the neighboring country.

Pompeo, also accompanied by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford, held delegation-level talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The U.S. delegation later held separate meetings with Prime Minister Imran Khan and General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the Pakistan military chief.

The top American diplomat sounded cautiously optimistic about the outcome of his meetings.

"We talked about their new government, the opportunity to reset the relationship between our two countries across a broad spectrum  economic, business, and commercial," Pompeo told reporters at the end of his meetings.

The discussions, however, appeared to have focused mainly on the crisis in Afghanistan and Pakistan's "important role" to help end it.

"We all know that we need to try and develop a peaceful resolution in Afghanistan, which benefits certainly Afghanistan, but also the United States and Pakistan," Pompeo said. "And I'm hopeful that the foundation that we laid today will set the conditions for continued success as we start to move forward," Pompeo told reporters before departing for neighboring India.

For his part, Foreign Minister Qureshi said the U.S. delegation brought a "message of willingness to move forward" and described the discussions as cordial and positive.

"An atmosphere has emerged after today's meeting to reset our bilateral relations, and the impasse is broken,'" the foreign minister told a news conference late Wednesday. Qureshi said Secretary Pompeo also invited him to the U.S. for furthering the bilateral engagement.

Relations between Pakistan and the U.S. suffered a critical blow last year when President Donald Trump unveiled his new strategy to try to break the stalemate in the war with the Afghan Taliban.

Trump accused Pakistan of playing a double game, by covertly supporting the insurgency, charges Islamabad rejected as an attempt to coverup for U.S. military failures in ending the Afghan conflict.

The tensions have led to suspension of all U.S. military assistance to Pakistan since the start of the year, bringing mutual engagements to "almost non-existent" until Wednesday.

Pakistan consistently denies it is providing havens for the insurgents. It has also been pressing Washington to find a negotiated end to the conflict. The government in Islamabad says the use of military force has failed to achieve the objective and instead encouraged terrorism in the region, allowing the Taliban to capture more Afghan territory in the process.

Qureshi said that in Wednesday's interactions with Pompeo and his team, the U.S. side conveyed its readiness to engage with the Taliban to promote a political solution to the Afghan war.

"That's where you see America and Pakistan have a convergence of views, and I think we can move forward on this," he noted.

Just days before Pompeo visited Pakistan, the Pentagon announced it had decided to scrap $300 million in military aid to Pakistan, citing the country's lack of cooperation with Trump's South Asia strategy.

Islamabad swiftly dismissed the assertions, saying the money was not U.S. aid but reimbursements for expenses incurred by Pakistan using its own resources to fight regional terrorism in support of Washington's counterterrorism efforts.

The United States has now withheld $800 million from its so-called Coalition Support Funds since the start of the year. A U.S. military training program for Pakistani officers also has been terminated and civilian financial assistance to Islamabad has dropped to "zero," according to officials.

Despite persistent diplomatic tensions, analysts rule out a total breakdown of U.S.-Pakistan ties. They note that Washington's military mission in landlocked Afghanistan heavily depends on ground and air lines of communications through Pakistan for ferrying key supplies to about 23,000 U.S. and NATO forces deployed in the neighboring country for training and advising Afghan forces battling the Taliban.

While speaking to reporters Wednesday, General Dunford dismissed concerns that Pakistan intended to block the supply lines because of suspension in mutual engagements. He said the U.S. military-to-military cooperation with the South Asian ally has remained in place despite diplomatic tensions.

"We don't have any reason to indicate that our cooperation in keeping the GLOCs [ground lines of communications] open is going to change," Dunford replied when asked whether the Pakistani side raised the issue during the dialogue.

Afghan and U.S. officials have pressed Islamabad to use force against leaders and fighters of the Taliban allegedly sheltering in Pakistan to push them to engage in peace talks with the Kabul government.

Pakistani officials maintain the insurgents have gone back to the other side of the border in the wake of counterterrorism operations. Islamabad says it is ready to make all possible efforts and use its "limited" influence on the Taliban to encourage an Afghan peace dialogue.

The Pakistan military has ruled out the possibility of launching operations against "residual" Taliban insurgents it suspects are sheltering among nearly 3 million Afghan refugees Pakistan still hosts.

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South Korean officials in North to arrange new summit

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 07:57AM

North Korea has received a high-ranking South Korean presidential delegation in Pyongyang for talks to arrange another inter-Korean summit this month, as talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled over disagreements on denuclearization.

The five-member delegation, led by South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoy Chung Eui-yong, arrived in the North's capital on Wednesday.

Chung said he planned to discuss ways to "completely denuclearize" the Korean Peninsula and establish "lasting peace."

This is the same team that brokered a summit between the North's leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore in July.

It is not yet clear whether the South Korean delegation will meet Kim before flying back to the South later on Wednesday.

The delegates held a 20-minute meeting with senior North Korean officials Kim Yong-chol  who has been negotiating with the United States on nuclear issues  and Ri Son-gwon, the chairman of the North's agency that handles inter-Korean affairs, at Pyongyang's Koryo hotel.

According to Moon's office, the South Korean president on Tuesday held a 50-minute telephone conversation with his American counterpart, during which Trump said he would be waiting for the South Korean envoy to bring good news from Pyongyang.

Trump has also expressed his hope for the success of the next inter-Korean summit.

Earlier, the US president had cited a lack of progress in talks with the North to cancel a visit by his point man for the North Korea dossier, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Specifics have been scarce about the South Korean delegation's visit to the North, and some observers have been speculating about its purpose.

"The envoy (Chung) is believed to be carrying a proposal that Kim give a firm commitment to presenting a list of nuclear weapons and fissile materials demanded by the US in return for a declaration of the end of the Korean War," Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies was quoted by AFP as saying.

Trump and Kim made a broad agreement on denuclearization at the Singapore summit in June, but sanctions meant to punish Pyongyang for its nuclear and missile programs still remain in place.

Those talks are now stalled due to disagreements between the two sides, with Pyongyang accusing the US of obstructing inter-Korean talks as well.

The leaders of the two Koreas first met at a historic summit at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone back in April. They held a second meeting in May.

The US joined that diplomacy only later, including with the Trump-Kim summit.

While inter-Korean engagement has been proceeding more successfully, US-North Korean talks have stalled.

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Russian Officials Warn Google Not To 'Meddle' In Elections By Hosting Navalny Videos

RFE/RL September 05, 2018

Russian officials say they have warned U.S. Internet giant Google against "meddling" in local elections scheduled for this weekend by allowing Kremlin foe Aleksei Navalny to post videos calling for mass protests on YouTube.

Representatives of Russia's election commission, the Prosecutor-General's Office, and the state Internet watchdog discussed their grievances against Google, which owns YouTube, during a meeting of Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, on September 4.

The officials alleged that Navalny uses YouTube to disseminate information that is "illegal" in Russia, and warned that Google may be prosecuted if it does not act to stop this.

Navalny has used his YouTube channel to urge Russians to protest against deeply unpopular pension reforms on September 9, the same day that several Russian regions and Moscow are scheduled to elect regional and local officials.

Central Election Commission member Aleksandr Klyukin said the commission sent an official letter to Larry Page, the CEO of Google's parent company, Alphabet, regarding Navalny's use of YouTube.

"We informed Google that such events on election day will lead to massive violation of the law" because political campaigning is banned on election day, he said.

"Meddling by a foreign company in our election is not permitted," he said.

Klyukin in his remarks suggested that Google was being used as a tool to influence elections by the U.S. government, though Google is not owned or controlled by the government.

The warning to Google by Russian officials comes at a time when the United States has imposed sanctions on the Russian government over allegations that it "meddled" in U.S. elections.

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has also charged several Russian intelligence officials with hacking and leaking Democratic Party documents in what he alleges was a conspiracy to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A Google spokeswoman declined to comment on the "meddling" accusations, but said the company "reviews all valid requests from government institutions."

Navalny associate Leonid Volkov said that the upcoming protest action won't violate election laws since its aim is not to campaign for a particular candidate.

YouTube is "the only channel to inform the masses," Volkov wrote on Facebook, adding, "All levels of the Russian government...have been ordered to block the protest by any means necessary."

Ahead of the planned demonstrations, Navalny was sentenced to 30 days in jail for helping to organize an unsanctioned street rally in Moscow in January.

Vadim Subbotin, the deputy chief of Russia's Internet watchdog, Roskomnadzor, alleged that YouTube "acts as a link in the chain for propaganda of antisocial behavior during Russian elections."

"Over 40" YouTube channels "constantly call for violating Russian law," he said.

If Google fails to respond to official complaints, this will be seen as "de facto direct intervention in Russia's domestic affairs," he charged.

Aleksei Zhafyarov of the Prosecutor-General's Office said it had sent an official warning to Google over the "inadmissibility" of violating Russian election law.

"This is a rather serious measure, after which they can be called to account" including via criminal prosecution, he said.

With reporting by AFP, TASS, and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-officials-warn-google-not-meddle-in-elections-hosting-navalny-videos-youtube/29472527.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Erdogan warns against missile strikes during upcoming Idlib liberation operation

Iran Press TV

Wed Sep 5, 2018 07:01AM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned against missile strikes during an upcoming military campaign by the Syrian army to liberate Idlib Province, the last major militant stronghold in the Arab country.

Erdogan told reporters on Wednesday that a possible large-scale military action in Idlib would lead to a new wave of refugees toward Turkey.

"The situation in Idlib is crucial for Turkey. A ruthless process has been going on there. ... God forbid, if this area is hailed by missiles there would be a serious massacre," Erdogan was quoted as saying by Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News.

With the help of Iran, Russia and Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement, the Syrian army is preparing for the Idlib operation, a strategically-important region which shares a border with Turkey and is also close to the coastal Latakia Province.

Idlib also hosts Turkish-backed militants fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Erdogan stressed that a positive outcome is expected from the upcoming Syria summit in Iran.

"We will carry this issue to a positive point with the Tehran summit, which is a continuation of Astana," he said.

The presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey, the countries acting as the guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria, will meet in Tehran on Friday for a third summit seeking an end to the crisis gripping the Arab country.

'Manbij roadmap not going forward'

Additionally, the Turkish president touched on the situation in Syria's northern city of Manbij, complaining that a recently-agreed roadmap between Ankara and Washington on the city, which is controlled by US-backed Kurdish militants, is not proceeding as agreed.

"We are not at an ideal point (about Manbij). Unfortunately the agreement made is not going forward in the same direction as the initial discussions," he said.

Back in June, Turkey and the US agreed on joint patrols in Manbij to clear the area of Washington-backed Kurdish militants, which Turkey views as terrorists linked to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party militant group.

In a relevant development on Tuesday, Syria's Reconciliation Minister Ali Haidar emphasized that the country's Kurdish-held northeast will not be given special treatment and will be dealt with in the same way as other parts of the war-torn state.

"We cannot give any Syrian province something which differentiates it from other provinces or ethnicities, or (allow it) any situation which strikes at the idea that Syria is one country and one society," he said in an interview with Russia's Arabic-language Sputnik news agency.

With the Syrian government focused on crushing foreign-backed militants and Takfiri terrorists, Kurdish militants carved out a de facto autonomous region in the country's north and northeast which was later occupied by US troops, raising fears that they might be aiming to partition the country.

The developments have raised serious concerns in Ankara and turned into a source of tensions between Turkey and the US, its NATO ally.

The Damascus government now controls more than two-thirds of Syria and is determined to reassert its authority over Kurdish-controlled regions.

"The solution to the problem now is for the Kurdish groups dealing with America to turn their backs on this and turn to the Syrian state," Haidar added.

'Turkey follows rule of law on pastor case'

Furthermore, the Turkish president referred to the case of detained American pastor Andrew Brunson and said that Ankara cannot fulfill "unlawful requests" by the US regarding the issue.

Erdogan noted that Turkey followed the rule of law and that Washington would not be able to make progress in the case by using threats.

The two sides are entangled in a dispute over Ankara's imprisonment of the evangelical Christian pastor. He has been accused of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Gulen movement, which Turkey blames for the 2016 failed military coup.

The US has called for Brunson's release and taken a series of punitive measures against Turkey over the pastor's detainment.

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Warnings of Disruption as Britain Prepares for Possible 'No-Deal Brexit'

By Henry Ridgwell September 05, 2018

Britain risks considerable disruption to many aspects of its economy and society, including trade, transport, health care and citizens' rights, if it crashes out of the European Union next March without a deal, according to a report into the risks of a so-called "no-deal Brexit."

The research from Kings College London's "UK in a Changing Europe" program focuses on the short-term risks to Britain from a no-deal scenario, though it also cautions that there will be longer-term negative effects on the British economy.

The warnings come as British lawmakers returned from a six-week summer break Tuesday to growing uncertainty over Britain's future relations with the EU, and continued speculation that Prime Minister Theresa May could face a leadership battle as the pressure mounts.

No withdrawal agreement

A withdrawal agreement with Brussels has yet to be worked out, raising the prospect of a chaotic "cliff-edge" Brexit. Report co-author Professor Jonathan Portes said such a result would be in the interest of neither party.

"But there are these big obstacles. The first is that of the Irish border, where at the moment, the position of the EU 27 (member states) is that there has to be a Northern Ireland-specific backstop legally written into the withdrawal agreement that ensures no hard border and carving out that special position for Northern Ireland where it remains to some extent intimately linked with the EU."

However, such a special arrangement for Northern Ireland is unacceptable to many MPs, who fear it could ultimately split the United Kingdom.

Many lawmakers also don't want to pay the estimated $50 billion divorce bill to Europe  money that is owed for existing commitments  without the guarantee of a future trade deal. But including such a guarantee in the withdrawal agreement is fraught with difficulty.

The complications are the natural result of 45 years of British EU membership, Portes said.

"The rules, regulations, law, policies and regulatory aspects of the EU have become fundamentally embedded in whole swaths of the UK's social and economic infrastructure. So, it's not just about trade. There are all sorts of other things that would come to a grinding halt on March 30 if we crashed out without any deal at all."

The report warns trade with the EU would face immediate disruption, with potential food and medicine shortages. Safety certification for British aircraft would be invalid, possibly grounding flights. The rights of British citizens living in the EU would be thrown into doubt.

Brexit report

Reporting to parliament Tuesday on Britain's progress in talks with Brussels, Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Dominic Raab said a no-deal Brexit remains unlikely.

"Our approach acknowledges that there are some risks to a no-deal scenario and demonstrates that we are taking the action to avoid, to minimize and to mitigate these potential risks so we are equipped to manage any short-term disruption. And while it's not what we want, a no-deal scenario would bring some countervailing opportunities. We would be able to lower tariffs and negotiate and bring into effect new free-trade deals straightaway," Raab told lawmakers.

Some European governments are resisting offering any concessions to Britain, Portes said.

"There certainly is a view among some in Europe, certainly in France and Germany and the (EU) Commission, that any sort of deal that appears to allow the UK to pick and choose, the cherry-pick, to 'have its cake and eat it' would indeed encourage disintegrationist and populist forces elsewhere in Europe."

The political battles were mirrored on the high seas in recent days as British and French fishermen clashed in the English Channel. France has warned it may send in its navy to police the dispute. Fishing rights are another battleground in the long list of issues yet to be resolved.

Britain's exit is due to be discussed at an EU heads of state meeting scheduled later this month in Austria.

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Iran has given Europe until November 5 to deliver the practical mechanisms to buy oil from Iran and save the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), or Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, said Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, on September 4. As Radio Farda writes in the article Iran Sets November Deadline For Europe, the second batch of U.S. sanctions re-imposed on Iran mainly targets its banking system and oil exports. It is expected to be implemented on November 4, a day before the deadline Tehran has set for Europe.

Speaking to state-run Channel 4 TV, Araghchi insisted that the Iranian side has made it clear to the Europeans they will have to provide the country with their practical mechanisms to translate their political statements into action before the new batch of sanctions takes effect in November.

In response to a question regarding concerns that exist in Iran about Europeans unwillingness to take practical steps to resist U.S. sanctions after its withdrawal from JCPOA, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said that our talks with Europe are tight and intense, but we believe we should separate their political positions from the practical steps that they want to offer," state-run Mehr News Agency (MNA) reported.

Meanwhile, Araghchi admitted that the Europeans have not taken practical steps to implement JCPOA, stressing that Iran has not solely relied on the talks with them since there is always the possibility that they might be killing time.

Responding to a question about the exit of European companies from Irans market, Araghchi said those companies are private companies that have left Iran based on their own cost and benefit analyses. He also maintained that the talks with Europeans are only focused on the implementation of JCPOA and Irans missile program has never been on the agenda.

On August 29, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared any negotiations with U.S. representatives forbidden," while insisting that President Hassan Rouhanis government should not rely on Europe for tackling its economic problems.

Iran's authorities have repeatedly said that they expect the European Union to guarantee purchasing Iranian oil and provide facilities for Tehran's financial transactions.

Nevertheless, Iranian oil exports to the EU, nearly 740,000 barrels per day last March, dropped to 387,000 barrels per day in August.

On May 8, U.S. President Donald Trump declared the United States withdrawal from JCPOA) and the reimposition of sanctions. Immediately after the first batch of U.S. sanctions came into effect on August 6, giant European companies including France's supermajor oil and gas company Frances Total and carmaker Renault suspended plans to invest in Iran. Days later, Air France, British Airways, and Dutch KLM announced that they were going to suspend their flights to Iran.

A second batch of U.S sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector and central bank are to be re-imposed on November 4, while many analysts have described it as a crushing blow to Irans already faltering economy. Araghchi tried to downplay the impact of the second batch of sanctions. "We will not witness more intensified sanctions than what has been imposed so far by Americans on November 4," he said on Tuesday evening in his interview with Iranian state TV IRIB 4. Americans are now executing the most amount of sanctions against Iran. They are going from one company to another, from one country to another, or even they go from an individual to another to force them into cutting off cooperation with Iran, MNA cited Araghchi as saying.
KCR Forces Opposition To Go Alert

The dissolution of the state assembly by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi government headed by K Chandrasekhar Rao forced the opposition parties to wake from their slumber and get into action mode.

The opposition parties, however, are still not keen on going to polls so early. Though the Congress party says it is ready to face the assembly elections whenever they are held, it wondered why the TRS is going in for early elections without showing valid reason.

It is nothing but arrogance of the chief minister. By going in for early polls, he has indirectly admitted that his party would lose the elections, if they are held as per the schedule in April, AICC general secretary in-charge of Telangana affairs R C Khuntia said.

He pointed out that there would be no development if the model code of conduct comes into force for the assembly shortly. Since this is the caretaker government, it cannot take up any new works.

Within a couple months of the completion of the assembly elections, there will be another model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections. And the people will suffer, Khuntia said.

Telangana PCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy said there was no meaning in KCRs reasoning for going for the polls.

If his government is really doing so well for the people, why should he blame the opposition criticism for his decision to dissolve the assembly? The fact is that he has not fulfilled many of his major promises made before 2014. He is afraid of peoples backlash. Whatever he is now claiming are blatant lies, he said.

Telangana BJP leaders, too, are gearing up to face the early elections to the state assembly.

We are ready to face the elections. There is absolutely no worry, state BJP president Dr K Laxman said.

He said KCR could not give proper reasoning for dissolving the assembly for early elections, Laxman sought to know why KCR had gone back from his earlier stand of holding simultaneous elections to the assembly and Parliament.

Obviously, he is scared of growing anti-incumbency, he said.

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So far, the president's aggressive policies have had little impact on the trade numbers

The U.S. trade deficit widened for the second straight month in July, reaching the highest level since February, as imports hit an all-time high. The deficit in goods with China and the European Union set records. CBC News writes in the article U.S. trade gap hits record with China and EU, that the deficit rose despite efforts by President Donald Trump to bring it down by renegotiating trade agreements and imposing taxes on imports.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday the deficit in goods and services -- the difference between what America sells and what it buys from other countries -- rose to $50.1 billion in July from $45.7 billion in June. Exports slipped 1 percent to $211.1 billion. Imports increased 0.9 percent to a record $261.2 billion on increased purchases of trucks and computers.

The U.S. has already slapped tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods in a dispute over Beijing's aggressive efforts to challenge American technological dominance. The Trump administration is taxing imported steel and aluminum and may target auto imports next, causing a rift with the EU. Mr. Trump also has threatened to exclude Canada from a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement.

So far, the president's aggressive policies have had little impact on the trade numbers. The goods deficit with China rose 10 percent in July to a record $36.8 billion. The gap with the EU shot up 50 percent to a record $17.6 billion and with Canada nearly 58 percent to $3.1 billion. The July deficit with Mexico, though, plunged 25 percent to $5.5 billion.

So far this year, the trade deficit is up 7 percent from January-July 2017.

Mr. Trump views trade deficits as a sign of economic weakness, caused by bad trade deals and abusive behavior by America's trading partners.

Mainstream economists blame persistent U.S. trade deficits on an economic reality that can't be changed much by trade policy: Americans spend more than they produce, and imports fill the gap. The strong U.S. economy is also encouraging Americans to buy more foreign products.

In July, the U.S. ran a deficit of $73.1 billion in goods such as cars and machinery, but it recorded a surplus of more than $23 billon in services such as education and banking.
The United State's rift with its NATO ally Turkey is "madness" and smart people are currently investing in Turkish assets, Jim Rogers, one of the world's best-known investment gurus, said Wednesday. As Daily Sabah writes in the article Investment guru Rogers: US rift with Turkey madness, time to invest in Turkish assets, "It is madness. I have no idea why America is doing this. Turkey has been a long-term ally of the U.S. and NATO. [...] In my view, it is hurting America in the long run. And we will hurt ourselves more than we hurt anyone," Rogers  the co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros in the 1970's and currently the CEO and Chairman of Rogers Holdings  told Anadolu Agency (AA) in a phone interview.

Turkey and the U.S. are currently experiencing rocky relations following Washington's imposition of sanctions over the detention of Andrew Brunson, a U.S parson who is under house arrest in Turkey over terrorism charges. "Throughout history sanctions had very rarely had much of an effect for the long term. Eventually, markets have always figured out a way, [to] get around sanctions. Some people would call [it a] black market, some people call it a parallel market, some people call it a smart market," Rogers added. "In my view sanctions are pretty much a waste of time. They cause a lot of effort. Because people try to enforce them. Other people try to avoid them. So a few politicians sound smart for a while but basically, sanctions are a waste of time, energy and money."

Smart people are buying Turkish assets now

Noting that investors might benefit from the opportunities Turkish assets currently present, Rogers said, "I have been noticing normally [...] when something like this happens you take advantage of it by buying. It's usually an opportunity to buy things. If you are smart enough to do it, it comes out very well, two years, 5 years later."

Responding to a question on whether he would consider investing in Turkish assets at the moment, Rogers said, "I have not done anything yet. Just because I have been traveling a lot. But, I certainly see what is happening. I would probably be buying Turkish assets now. Normally smart people are buying now."

Stressing global economic powers in the world shifted from the West's advanced economies to the East's emerging economies, Rogers said, "What America has been doing recently [is] making China great again. China, Russia and Iran and now Turkey are getting closer and closer together. This cannot be good for America. I mean I am an American citizen. But I see Russia, China, Iran, Turkey are getting closer and closer." "That cannot be good for Russia, could be good for China, for Turkey, but it cannot be good for America. I go to a Moscow airport now it is full of Chinese people. Five years ago, there were no Chinese people. You go to the Red Square now, it is full of Chinese people. I am sure it will be full of Russians and Chinese in Istanbul soon. The Chinese have a lot of money these days. America has a lot of debt."

'Next bear market to be the worst in my lifetime'

Noting that U.S. stocks have enjoyed the longest bull markets in recent years while U.S. debt has skyrocketed since the financial crisis in 2008 until now, Rogers warned, "Americans have not had financial problems for 10 years now. America's debt is building up and we are making enemies in many countries. When the next bear market comes it's going to be the worst in my lifetime. The debt is building up. It has been overdue. Some countries will not trade with us. So, in the end, the next bear market will be the worst in my lifetime."
China intends to increase import of natural gas from Russia and Kazakhstan in the near future, an official from China's National Energy Administration (NEA) said Thursday, UrduPoint reported.

"In 2017, China imported 94.6 billion cubic meters of natural gas, including via the Central Asian gaspipeline and theChinaMyanmar gas pipeline from Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Myanmar. Imports from Russia and Kazakhstan will be increased in the near future," NEA official said, as quoted by the China News Service.

He added that the number of countries supplying liquefied natural gas (LNG) into China reached 22, thus the diversification of suppliers became relatively high.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic have held a one-on-one meeting, Trend reports.

The presidents hailed the successful development of relations between Azerbaijan and Croatia in political, economic, humanitarian and other spheres.

The importance of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's official visit to Croatia was emphasized in terms of the further strengthening of relations between the two countries.

Other bilateral issues of mutual interest were also discussed during the meeting.

Following their one-on-one meeting, Ilham Aliyev and Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic held a meeting in an expanded format with the participation of delegations.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press

Walgreens will begin selling the Auvi-Q auto-injector that administers epinephrine to those suffering allergic reactions, amid continued shortages of EpiPen injectors.

Walgreens becomes the first retail pharmacy nationally to carry Auvi-Q which is manufactured by Richmond, Va.-based Kaleo, with the drug designed to treat anaphylaxis allergic reaction that can occur upon exposure to peanuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, soy, wheat, insect bites, latex and medication, among other allergens.
GREENWICH  First Selectman Peter Tesei is calling for a full accounting from Eversource Energy after thousands endured several hours without power on two separate occassions during this weeks heat wave.

Tesei said he has not been told the cause of the power outages, the first of which hit at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Discussions with the utility have been ongoing, Tesei said, but he encouraged residents affected by the power failures to contact the state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority so a complaint file can be created.

Tesei said he is hoping to get answers from Eversource about the reasons for the extended outages within the next two business weeks.

Its important for us to know what is the cause and if its because of (electricity) distribution, what further steps are they going to take, Tesei said on Thursday after a Board of Selectmen meeting. They will tell you theyve made some improvements to distribution but we want to see it.

More than 11,000 customers in Greenwich lost power Tuesday night. Electricity was not fully restored until after midnight. Underground lines near the Prospect Street substation suffered damage prior to the outages, but Eversource officials do not know what caused the damage.

On Wednesday, a downed line on Old Mill Road caused outages for thousands along the western Greenwich border with New York.

Were still making repairs to some parts of the system in Greenwich, Eversource Spokesman Mitch Gross said on Thursday. Once we complete them, well look into what damaged the underground cables and caused the line to come down on Old Mill Road.

Greenwich police were kept busy during the outages.

When power goes out, and traffic lights are out, our officers go to the intersection, said police spokesman Lt. John Slusarz.

The Police Department was also deluged by calls regarding burglar alarms tripped by the loss of power.

According to Tesei, the town customer service representative fielded numerous phone calls (Wednesday) with people expressing frustration with the lack of reliability.

Tesei suggested people contact PURA at pura.information@ct.gov or 1-800-382-4586.

He said he has filed an official complaint with PURA on behalf of the town.

My complaint was about the reliability of the distribution system and wanting to see some reporting as to all of their various incidents, because there were multiple ones, Tesei said. There were wires down on Old Mill Road, well what brought the wires down? There were fires in underground manholes on Bruce Park Drive. What was the nature of that?

Gross said the smoke people saw from the manholes on Bruce Park Drive were due to the underground line problem.

We have been communicating non-stop with Mr. Tesei and understand his need for answers, Gross said. Once causes are determined, we will be meeting as soon as possible with him as well as the towns emergency management team to review each of the issues and our findings.

Additionally, Tesei said it gave him concern that Eversource brought in generators to help restore service to commercial businesses in Western Greenwich, such as Bimbo Bakeries, because it indicates the power company expects failures to happen again. Tesei said he wasnt criticizing Eversource for bringing in the generators, and called it a smart thing to do, but said to him it means there is an ongoing problem.

We need to know what is the problem, why are we having the problem and what are they going to do to provide a sustainable solution, Tesei said. Thats the discussion we have to have.

Gross said the businesses require extremely large amounts of power to function, far above what typical businesses or homes use.

The generators were made available to keep them up and running, while reducing demand on the system while we made repairs, Gross said. We are committed to doing what is needed to make sure what happened Tuesday and Wednesday does not become a regular problem.

The outages came at a time when Eversource is seeking to build a new substation in town on Railroad Avenue. It would become the sixth one in Greenwich along with the existing substations in the Mianus area, Prospect Street, North Greenwich, Byram and Cos Cob.

The new substation would connect to the Cos Cob station. Eversource has argued it is necessary to handle the demand for electricity in Greenwich and create more reliability for the system.

The town has challenged the Connecticut Siting Councils ruling that the substation can go forward. Discussions between the town and the utility over the substation are ongoing.

We really want to be able to understand if in fact this is a generation issue, which is what their (substation) project is about versus a distribution issue, which is what we have contended needs attention as well, Tesei said on Thursday. Thats all the circuitry and switches. People have said that you had a lot of people coming back on line after Labor Day and the system was juiced up and the heats up so thats likely the cause. Maybe. Im not in a position to doubt them but Im also in a position to say Im not convinced. I want a fuller accounting of this so we understand what the electrical infrastructure condition is.

Robert Marchant contributed to this story.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
NEW HAVEN, Conn.  Sarcasm doesnt appear to be covered in the citys ordinances.

Duc Nguyen, disgusted with people allowing their dogs to urinate against his flower pot in front of his restaurant, put a sign in his window hoping to catch the attention of the errant dog walkers.

ATTN: DOG OWNERS

THIS IS A PAY-PER-PEE PRIVATE FLOWER POT

(Pay inside or leave your address and well kindly return the favor)

His security camera caught an image of one walker and a peeing pup, which he also put in the window of Ducs Place, a small Vietnamese restaurant on Orange Street that he opened two years ago.

No dog walkers responded, only Honda Smith, the public space enforcement officer with the Public Works Department, who on Tuesday presented him with a citation for a $250 fine for allegedly creating a public nuisance.

She said he was violating two ordinances:

Section 18-20 reads: Whenever the director of public works shall have a notice of a public nuisance in said city, if the same be in any public streets, square, or grounds or in or upon any flat, slip, quay, dock or public landing, he shall cause the same to be abated or removed at once.

The second ordinance cited was from Section 27-31 under Nuisances.

Nuisances on streets. No person shall commit any nuisance in any street in the city. This shall include but not be limited to any impediment, obstruction or interference with the free flow of movement within the public right of way. Any violation of this section shall constitute an infraction, and upon conviction, shall result in a fine of up to $100, or an amount up to the maximum allowed under state statute, for each day that the violation continues. Such person shall be required to abate the violation.

Nguyen said he was never going to charge anyone.

The whole thing is preposterous. If anyone read that whole thing, they would know it was preposterous, Nguyen said of the message in general and the ending, in particular, when he said he would repay the dog walker in kind.

It was a joke, Nguyen said.

Humor was the only way I could bring attention to the issue, Nguyen said. This is a private flower pot. It is not a place where your dog can pee and poo and whatever. I think that is like defacing property. It was a take on Pay for View, PayPal.

In a video of the encounter posted by Nguyen, Smith tells him she was responding to several complaints by New Haven residents.

How am I creating a nuisance? Nguyen asked.

By putting that sign up there, Smith said. You cannot charge people to pay to pee.

The restaurant owner said it was the dogs creating the nuisance, not him. He said he actually did not charge anyone anything.

Why dont you enforce the laws about people walking their dogs, peeing everywhere? he asked. She said she does when she encounters that. Smith said the last time was two weeks ago.

This dog is everywhere. Every night, every day, Nguyen complained, telling her he has to keep cleaning the sidewalk daily.

Smith also told him it was illegal to videotape anyone, unless they were coming onto his property.

They are breaking the law, Nguyen responded, referring to owners who do not curb their dogs.

The law that is being broken is what you are doing. ... You have pee to pay, she said holding up the sign. You cannot charge people to pee to pay. ... This lady here you are telling her to come in here to pay for her dog. Smith was referring to the woman caught on Nguyens security camera.

I said come in and talk to us, Nguyen said. Smith said you cannot post someones name. Nguyen said he didnt use her name because he doesnt know her.

Nguyen was told he has 10 days to appeal the citation.

Frustrated as to why he was being fined, he asked again for a clarification.

You have a pee pot that is sitting out here, its a health hazard, Smith said.

It is not a pee pot. It is a flower pot, Nguyen said, raising his voice.

How do I recoup my cleaning fee, the time I put in to clean it? he asked.

That is something that you have to figure out, Smith said.

The sign was down Wednesday and Nguyen, who will appeal, said the dogs peeing outside the restaurant was unsanitary. He said he put the flowers out there to beautify the area.

I just want people to have some sort of civility. Just to have respect for other people. There is no excuse for my dog has to go, he said. That is not true. You look at the video. People intentionally (have their) dogs do their business there.

He said the walkers should take their dogs around their own apartments. Why do you have to walk to someone elses property? he asked.

Nguyen, who worked for years as a genetic scientist before opening the restaurant, took swipes of the urine around the flower pot to match the dogs in question in case he got pushback. The samples are in his car.

The restaurant owner said he was upset with the city. They dont make it easy for any business, he said. After reading the regulations, he said they were not clear.

Nguyen said he opened the restaurant because he loves to cook. After this encounter, he thought he might go back to science.
Every entrepreneurs journey starts with a story, whether an account of overcoming adversity or an anecdotal moment of inspiration found in an unlikely situation. When one digs deeper, he or she discovers that these stories have one common thread: courage.

My entrepreneurial journey began when I took a leap of faith to launch my own public relations brand. Mustering the courage to dive into the unknown wasnt necessarily a new thing for me. I immigrated to the U.S. as a young Nepali woman to begin my higher education. To do this, I had to leave behind a family and a country torn by civil war. Looking back, I realize that this scary experience fifteen years ago prepared me for my entrepreneurial journey today. I learned that informed, calculated risks coupled with grit is the necessary combination to achieve.

How do you know if being an entrepreneur is right for you? To find out if being an entrepreneur is the right fit for you, consider these five questions:

1. Why do I want to be an entrepreneur?

Each entrepreneurs journey is unique, even though there are certain qualities, personality traits, and values that entrepreneurs share. Therefore, the answer to this question varies greatly from person to person. Is it wealth? Independence? Social recognition? Legacy? A combination of these? Something else entirely? Take some time and answer it for yourself.

In 2003, when I was age 19, I emigrated from Kathmandu -- a city of about one million -- to Hesston, Kansas, a town of approximately 3,800 people. Before then, I had never heard of tornadoes, The Wizard of Oz, corn dogs or Mennonites. By the time I completed my higher education and found some success in the corporate world, I was fully integrated into American culture. But I felt like my career growth was limited. I knew deep down that if I did not take the risks now I would regret it later.

I finally collected enough courage to leave my stable (but unsatisfying) corporate job to explore the unknown and scary world of entrepreneurship. I told myself: If I was brave enough to emigrate from Nepal as a young woman, I can find the chutzpah to start my own brand and leave a footprint -- a legacy -- that is of value to me.

Most people have taken risks in life, taken leaps of faith in one way or another. These earlier experiences can help you find the inspiration needed to build a business from the ground up. Remember that time in the past when you were bold and dreamt big? When you jumped off a cliff and built your wings on the way down? Become that daring, audacious version of yourself again.

Related: 6 Genuine Reasons Why People Become Entrepreneurs

2. What is your story?

Everyone loves a good story. As an entrepreneur, knowing your story helps you establish your brand credibility. Being authentic and genuine about the adversity you experienced helps you connect to your audience and build your brands reputation.

Consider the former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi. She has shared the story of her journey as a young girl from India who came to the U.S. in the 1970s to pursue her higher education. She has discussed the barriers she faced as a minority woman in the boardroom, connecting herself to women in business like herself, minorities in the US and the female workforce as a whole.

Related: The World-Changing Power of Sharing Your Story

3. What are your values?

Knowing your core values and what you stand for as an individual can help define your brand. Our values give us a sense of purpose and direction, and can eventually function as an anchor for your business. What values lay at the foundation of your brand? Is it giving back to the community? Empowering others? Influencing the younger generation? Cultivating creativity? Something entirely different?

Related: A Case Study in Why Core Values Are Crucially Important

4. Are you comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable?

Entrepreneurs must be willing to step out of their comfort zones. Many entrepreneurs share stories about how this idea motivates them to learn new ways of doing things and welcome challenges. Once you embrace the notion that being uncomfortable is okay, you can move past your anxiety and diversify your experiences.

Before I took that leap of faith in starting my own brand, I spent a few uncomfortable months deliberating the idea of quitting my day job and starting out on my own. The idea itself was anxiety-provoking to the point of losing sleep. Eventually, however, I learned that being uncomfortable is a temporary part of the entrepreneurial journey that leads to personal growth. Being uncomfortable, paradoxically, can be a good thing in the world of entrepreneurship. After this realization, I was able to tackle my goals with renewed energy. The vision for my brand became clear.

As Arianna Huffington puts it, "Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it, the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me."

Related: Fearlessness, Courage and Capital: What's Needed to Fuel the Next Stage of Growth for Women Entrepreneurs

5. What do you want to leave behind?

This question is more about the end than the beginning. For me, taking the entrepreneurial journey was about leaving behind a legacy, a footprint.

We often think of a legacy as something grand. To me, it is simply the notion of making decisions and choices that my future self will be proud of. When I embarked on my journey as an entrepreneur, I asked myself: What is it that I want from this experience? What is the end goal? I thought through this question and came to the realization that social recognition and the financial aspect were smaller pieces of the puzzle. The big piece for me was empowering women who immigrated to the U.S. with a dream.

Lastly, know that entrepreneurs must have a healthy relationship with failure. Failure is an option-- its how we learn and improve. This process takes time, patience and, above all, courage. As Michael Jordan said, I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I cant accept not trying.

Related:

Sustainable Fashion Is The New Trend

The 5 Most Important Questions to Consider Before Beginning Your Entrepreneurial Journey

Here's What Investors Look for in Student Start-up Founders



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Irans parliament speaker expects final decision on Idlib to be made at Tehran summit.

"I do hope that at the summit in Tehran, in which Mr. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will take part, he will be able to reach the final agreement with his counterparts on the events taking place in Idlib," Ali Larijani said at a bilateral meeting with Speaker of Russias State Duma (lower house of parliament) Vyacheslav Volodin on Thursday, TASS reports.

"Today, the global community has recognized that Iran and Russia had accomplished a lot in the fight against terrorism," the Majlis speaker added. "Now that we are talking to each other, terrorism is on the verge of its last breath in Syria."

According to Larijani, cooperation between Russia and Iran in recent years "has had a substantial impact on the developments in the region." In his view, that was the reason why "such countries as the United States begin to exert pressure on both Iran and Russia."

Larijani also thanked Russia for "efforts to reach agreements on the nuclear deal." "You are well aware of the fact that the Americans made every effort to destroy that agreement. I believe that, if there are no joint efforts, the deal will not survive," he added.
Google's Pixel 3 and especially the Pixel 3 XL have been leaking like crazy lately, so you may have been wondering when they're going to finally become official.

Wonder no more. The date is October 9. The announcement will take place in New York City this time, unlike past Google events that were held closer to its home in Mountain View, California. The time you need to remember is 11 AM ET. The company will provide a live video stream on YouTube, and we'll be sure to embed that in a post on that day.

The phones will come with the Snapdragon 845 chipset, a single rear camera, dual front cameras, Qi wireless charging, and glass backs. The Pixel 3 XL will have a big and tall notch alongside a not-insignificant chin, while the smaller Pixel 3 will boast a more symmetrical design. The much rumored Pixel Watch isn't going to be making an appearance.

Via
Benchmarks results have been driving the smartphone industry for quite some time. Manufacturers try to impress customers and each other with higher and higher results, leading to tampering with the outcome in order to look favorable in the eyes of the users.

In a conversation at IFA 2018 in Berlin with Anandtech, Huawei official confirmed that the manufacturer is using benchmark detection software to deliver the best possible results, only because it wants to stay relevant to its competitors.

Dr. Wang Chenglu, President of Software at Huaweis Consumer Business Group and two reporters from the fellow tech media discussed the need of standardized benchmarks since Huawei gave the argument that tests today move away from real-life usage and do not represent the full experience.

While both sides have partners in the benchmark community and work closely with industry insiders, Wang said that others do the same testing, get high scores, and Huawei cannot stay silent.

TSince vendors in China rely on unrealistic numbers to promote their phones, Huawei tries to keep up with posting its own similarly half-baked results.

Huawei promised to the tech reporters that in the future benchmark data will be verified by third parties. The next big unveiling of the Shenzhen-based manufacturer is the Mate 20 announcement on October 16. We will follow closely the event and will report how Huawei will address the misleading benchmarks issue.

Source
First Vice President of Azerbaijan, first lady of the republic, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Mehriban Aliyeva, is doing a lot for her country and Russian-Azerbaijani relations, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Science, Education and Culture Committee, Liliya Gumerova, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

"When she was appointed First Vice President of Azerbaijan, many people called me and asked my opinion about this, and I said that I saw this as a good sign. She is our friend, her name is famous and respected at the international level for her work on humanitarian cooperation. Projects in the field of health and culture, everything related to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation are of great importance not only for Russia and Azerbaijan, but for the entire international community. Mehriban Aliyeva is a great leader and a woman, as well as a faithful companion of the leader of Azerbaijan," senator said.

Liliya Gumerova praised humanitarian contacts between Russia and Azerbaijan. "Our cooperation is at a very good stage. We develop a number of projects supported by our countries. When we were in Azerbaijan during the presidential elections, we visited Russian schools, they had modern, huge buildings, built with the support of Azerbaijani leadership," she noted.

"There's a great demand for teachers who speak Russian in the country. And they teach not just Russian language, but also other subjects in Russian. Traditionally, Russian schools in Azerbaijan are considered extremely good," she stressed.

"I'm very fond of Azerbaijan. All projects of our cooperation with Azerbaijan, starting from variety of events and ending with exchanges in the field of classical music, are very important. Every year there are more and more projects," she concluded.
Motorola unveiled the P30 and P30 Note for the Chinese market but it didn't mention the P30 Play we've seen mentioned in a listing while the devices we're still in the rumor mill.

But today, a product page for the Motorola P30 Play briefly went online and was subsequently pulled down. It was online just enough time for the details to become public knowledge, however.

The Motorola P30 Play will be powered by a Snapdragon 625 chipset with 4GB of RAM. It will have a 5.88-inch 720x1520px IPS LCD (with a notch), 64GB of expandable storage and a 3,000mAh battery.

Camera-wise the P30 Play will carry a 13MP f/2.0 + 2MP f/2.4 main camera on the back and an 8MP f/2.2 selfie snapper on the front. All sensors will be backed by AI enhancement such as smart beauty, night scene, background blur (portrait mode) and more.



Motorola P30 Play

There's a fingerprint scanner underneath the dual main camera and it will be embedded into the Motorola logo. The Motorola P30 Play will run Android 8.0 with Lenovo's ZUI 4.0 on top.



Motorola P30 Play

While there is no specific launch date just yet, the product page did disclose the price of the Moto P30 Play - it will come in a single 4GB/64GB configuration and will command a CNY 1.899/240 price tag.

Source (subsequently removed) | Via




Haiti - Politic : 5,578 Haitians disreputable, deported from the USA to Haiti





Following the regular resumption of deportations by the Obama administration in September 2016 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18700-haiti-flash-usa-resumption-of-regular-deportations-to-haiti.html of Haitians convicted of a serious crime or who pose a threat to national security, the United States deported 5,578 Haitians in Haiti in 2017, 18 times more than in 2016 when 310 Haitians had been deported.



The dramatic rise in evictions coincided with a 203 per cent increase in the number of Haitian arrivals to the US southern border in 2016, which has since declined significantly with the drastic measures introduced by the Trump administration.



Note that these deportations do not affect Haitians who are in the United States under temporary protection status (TPS), except in criminal cases.



Moreover, in January 2018 the number of Haitians in the country decreased further after the decision of the Homeland Security to remove their eligibility for temporary agricultural and seasonal visas in the United States.



The notice, issued under the Trump administration, states that the recipients of these visas "have historically demonstrated high levels of fraud and abuse and a high rate of overstaying" and that the inclusion of Haiti for these visas "is no longer in the U.S. interest".



This change came one week after Trump was held insulting remarks towards Haiti and other countries of the world https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23314-haiti-politic-official-reaction-of-the-haitian-senate-on-the-words-of-trump.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23259-haiti-flash-haitian-government-s-reaction-to-president-trump-s-remarks.html and a few months after Donald Trump ordered that the TPS be canceled for Haitians, whose the deadline is July 22, 2019 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22759-haiti-flash-tps-more-than-50-000-haitians-will-have-to-leave-the-usa.html .



In addition, the Trump Administration issued a policy change in January 2017 that has broadened the scope of immigration priorities, said Randy Capps, Director of Research for the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). This change puts an end to prosecutors' discretion to prioritize the deportation of the most serious criminals.



Recall that according to a census analysis carried out by the MPI, the Haitian population in the United States has increased steadily since the 1980s and tripled between 1990 and 2015. The United States has the largest Haitian diaspora in the world, Florida and New York is home to the largest communities.



Haitian deportation data for the year 2018 are not yet available.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23314-haiti-politic-official-reaction-of-the-haitian-senate-on-the-words-of-trump.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23259-haiti-flash-haitian-government-s-reaction-to-president-trump-s-remarks.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22759-haiti-flash-tps-more-than-50-000-haitians-will-have-to-leave-the-usa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18700-haiti-flash-usa-resumption-of-regular-deportations-to-haiti.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Environment : Community leaders engage in the protection of Morne l'Hopital





Tuesday to Canape-Vert, Sonia Orisme, the West Departmental Director (DDO) of the Ministry of the Environment in the presence of several Communal Section Administration Boards (CASEC), Administration of Communal Sections (ASEC) and Ministry officials proceeded the launch of a series of training sessions for the benefit of and more than 150 heads of organizations, platforms and community leaders living at Morne l'Hopital. The objective is to sensitize these actors to protect the site going from Jalousie to Mariani.



In her speech, Sonia Orisme explained that the protection of Morne l'Hopital, water tower of the metropolitan area, very vulnerable because of harmful citizen actions, must go through the training and awareness of the population on the values of this rich environment. According to her "this two-day training will lead to 5 days of awareness of the population living Morne Hospital. Soil conservation at Debussy, tree planting at Marchand and door-to-door eco-citizen behavior are among other activities planned for the 5 days."



She affirmed that the environmental education of the Haitian population must be a priority for all organizations and groups working for the development of the country concluding "Thus, the DDO, through its roadmap, wants to train, raise awareness, plant seedlings and protect watersheds in order to safeguard national biodiversity, particularly in the department of the West."



wants to train, raise awareness, plant seedlings and protect watersheds in order to safeguard national biodiversity, particularly in the department of the West. "



The community leaders were very satisfied with this initiative stating, "This training is very important because we have an untrained population that does not really know how to manage its environment. After this training, we will retransmit our assets to the community, in order to help manage the Morne Hospital which is deteriorating day by day [...]" concluding "Thus, we will be able to reach our goal is to work on the rehabilitation of the environment of the zone."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2018/09/05 | Source

On the latest episode of the SBS drama "Your Honor", Han Kang-ho (Yoon Si-yoon) and Song So-eun (Lee Yoo-young) kissed.

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Han Kang-ho met his twin brother Han Soo-ho (Yoon Si-yoon). He said something nasty to Han Kang-ho who was pretending to be him, a judge, and they even got into a fist fight.

Han Kang-ho and Han Soo-ho blamed each other for their broken lives and Han Soo-ho said, "Snap out of it. It's not all yours just because you have it".

Han Kang-ho asked Han Soo-ho, "What am I then?" and Han Soo-ho said, "I am a person and you're a bug. Get it?" Han Kang-ho was shocked and left.

Han Kang-ho found Song So-eun. He said, "It's like you're my gravity. I shouldn't like you, but I can't hide it".

Song So-eun liked him too, but she was a probationary judicial officer and he was a judge so she decided to hide it.

Han Kang-ho added, "You're a good person and I'm not. It doesn't matter if I'm a judge and you're a probationary officer".

Song So-eun got up and walked up to Han Kang-ho. She kissed him on the forehead and he kissed her.
Published on 2018/09/06 | Source

Idol, the new single by boy band BTS debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the fourth single by the K-pop boy band to appear on the U.S.-based music chart.

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The track follows earlier BTS hits like "DNA", "MIC Drop" and "Fake Love" onto the chart.

Rapper Psy's "Gangnam Style" entered the chart at No. 64 in 2012 and climbed to No. 2, where it stayed for seven weeks.

According to Billboard, Idol was played 2.44 million times on streaming sites in the first week after its release. Its music video, featuring American rapper Nicki Minaj, garnered 56.26 million views within 24 hours of its release on YouTube. It broke the previous record set by Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" (43.2 million views).

Idol also reached No. 21 on the U.K. Singles Chart, surpassing the band's own previous record of No. 42 with their song "Fake Love".

BTS's success on global charts is largely thanks to their worldwide fan base, called "the Army". They are famous for calling radio stations across the U.S. to request the band's latest release.

"In My Feelings" by Canadian rapper Drake has topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks in a row.
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Fast geschafft Erlauben Sie handelsblatt.com Ihnen Benachrichtigungen zu schicken. Dies konnen Sie in der Meldung Ihres Browsers bestatigen.
Montana FWP

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wants to remind hunters and all outdoor enthusiasts to be good stewards of the land and respect both private and public property. A press release says that the FWP Region 6 Advisory Committee raised the need for more public outreach.

Every hunting season, there are reports of vandalizing of Block Management Area boxes, hunters driving off road, illegal trespassing, hunters being shot over, littering, and livestock being shot.

Some things that hunters and outdoor enthusiasts should be aware of include dont litter, leave gates as you find them, know your target and beyond, be aware of fire danger at all times and use precautions, avoid driving on muddy roads, ask permission to hunt on private land, know where youre located and report violations.

Also remember that fall is a very busy time for landowners, as cattle and other livestock are being moved from their summer and fall pastures and are often brought near the home site for winter feeding and care.
Ask yourself, does your organization have a clear people strategy? Do your people know the companys commitment to them? Is there a culture of openness and trust?

As a leader, Gena believes its important to question yourself too. Are you communicating a compelling organizational purpose? Do you personally model your organizational values consistently and recognize others when they see them in action?? Are you communicating to your employees as regularly as you could be?

After some introspection, then you have to listen, she quipped. You need to have a real honest conversation with your employees. Dig a little deeper, uncover their aspirations, their worries and, ultimately, how you as their leader can help.

It may seem like pure talk but measuring the ROI on engagement will quell any doubts youve grown. Engaged employees are five times less likely to leave the company, with actively involved workers willing to go the extra mile for their brand, their managers and their colleagues.

Put a plan in place and act on that plan, added Gena. Mutually agree on how youre going to support them, and then act on it. From my perspective, a leader must excel at communicating, listening and recognizing great work consistently. Sometimes employees feel like theyre not actually making an impact on the business, so let them know how their involvement is making a tangible difference.
Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman ironically said that the militants of the Nusra Front terrorist group (banned in Russia) might see the recent statement of US President Donald Trump about the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib as a gesture of support, UrduPoint reported.

"Apparently, Nusra Front and other 'moderates' should find a new lease of life after hearing that news," Maria Zakharova said on Facebook.
Sinn Fein has come in for stinging criticism due to its unclear position on the Special Criminal Court (SCC).

Fianna Fail justice spokesperson Jim O'Callaghan has accused the rival party of being "out of touch" with the devastating impact of gangland crime if it still doesn't support the existence of the court.

Sinn Fein has previously called for the abolition of the non-jury court, which holds the trials of terrorists and gangsters.

However, recent remarks by Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald have added confusion.

She welcomed the conviction in the SCC of gangland murderer Freddie Thompson and said Sinn Fein "support all of the courts" when challenged on whether her party still wants to scrap it.

However, she voiced concerns over due process and said there needs to be a discussion with the judiciary and other stakeholders about non-jury courts.

Mr O'Callaghan said her remarks weren't very clear.

"I still don't know from her comments whether Sinn Fein is in favour of or opposed to the Special Criminal Court," he said.

He argued Sinn Fein has refused to accept the existence of the SCC as it would "conflict with its deeply misleading narrative of what happened during the Troubles in Ireland".

Trauma

He said such acceptance by Sinn Fein would mean acknowledging "members of the Provisional IRA were legitimately imprisoned for murder and other criminal acts".

Mr O'Callaghan said if Sinn Fein has changed its policy on the SCC he would welcome it.

"If there is no change in policy then Sinn Fein is out of touch with the trauma gangland crime has heaped on communities like Dublin's north inner city," he said.
Emer Cannon with her daughter Zoe Whitford (3) who died after an alleged incident at the familys Shankill home

A woman was yesterday charged in court with the murder of her three-year-old daughter in south Dublin.

Emer Cannon (42) was charged at Bray District Court with the murder of her toddler daughter Zoe Whitford after an alleged incident at their home in Aubrey Grove, Shankill, on February 10.

The brief hearing at the Co Wicklow courtroom heard evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Ms Cannon by Garda Declan Hartley.

Judge David Kennedy remanded her in further custody and the case was adjourned to the same court in Bray next week.

Assault

The prosecution is expected to provide a book of evidence in the case at some stage next month, with the matter then being sent forward to the Central Criminal Court for trial.

Zoe was placed on life support at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, after emergency services were called to the family home at about 4.15pm on February 10.

She died three days later at the south Dublin hospital after her life support was withdrawn in the intensive care unit.

On February 11, Ms Cannon was brought before a special sitting of Bray District Court where she was charged with assault causing harm.

She had been detained under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Shankill Garda Station. This charge was upgraded to murder yesterday and Ms Cannon made no application for bail at the court hearing.

In May, an adjourned inquest into Zoe's death heard that the toddler died after she suffered a reduced supply of oxygen to her brain.

At the opening of the inquest at Dublin Coroner's Court, Zoe's father William Whitford said in his deposition that he formally identified her body following her death at Our Lady's Children's Hospital.

A post-mortem was conducted jointly by State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy and hospital pathologist Dr Maureen O'Sullivan.

The cause of death was recorded as cerebral hypoxia, which involves a reduced supply of oxygen to the brain.

Det Insp Martin Creighton, of Dun Laoghaire Garda Station, sought an adjournment of the inquest for six months because a criminal investigation was ongoing.

Altar

There were heartbreaking scenes at Zoe's funeral at St Anne's Church in Shankill as her small white coffin was carried to the altar to the sound of Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven.

Before requiem mass, Zoe's father addressed mourners from the altar and made a special mention of her mother, Ms Cannon.

Zoe had helped others live through organ donation, her funeral heard.
A discreet garda presence is expected at Fingal Cemetery in Balgriffin on Sunday when family and friends of slain terror chief Alan Ryan will gather for a wreath-laying ceremony.

No-one has ever been charged with the Real IRA figure's murder, which was one of the most high-profile gangland killings in the State's history.

Gardai believe that Ryan's murder in 2012 was organised by the 'Mr Big' crime gang after months of tension between the mob and Ryan's dissident republican faction.

Ryan was shot dead as he walked with friends in Grange Lodge Avenue, Clongriffin, north Dublin, on the afternoon of September 3, 2012.

Ryan's paramilitary-style funeral was interpreted as a show of force by the Real IRA and sparked huge controversy.

In September 2013, his grave was desecrated, heightening tensions ahead of a memorial march to mark the first anniversary of his murder, which ultimately passed off peacefully.

The Herald previously revealed that an IRA gang had a car ready to be used to kill the Coolock gangster who is suspected of organising the murder, but the plot has never been put into action.

Graffiti

In 2014, blood-red graffiti reading "Alan Ryan rot in hell" was daubed on the Holy Trinity Church in Donaghmede.

The garda investigation into Ryan's murder is still active and it is understood that a file is almost ready to be sent to the DPP.

At the latest adjourned inquest hearing into the case, David Thompson, the solicitor representing Ryan's family, said it was "simply unacceptable" that it had taken gardai so long to complete the file.

At the time of his murder, Ryan was a major target for the garda's Special Detective Unit.

He was jailed for four years in 2001 for his role in a dissident republican training camp in Co Meath in 1999.

Ryan was also given a separate three-year prison sentence after being caught with a gun at his north Dublin home in 1998.

Ryan appeared before Dublin District Court in May 2011 where he and some of his closest associates were charged with threatening and making demands on a publican, ordering him to stop trading within 24 hours.

By the time that it came for those charges to be dealt with, Ryan was dead and the case against the other co-accused later collapsed.

It was also in May 2011 that Ryan was involved in tense protests during Queen Elizabeth's historic visit to Dublin.
The summer of 2018 will go down as one of the hottest and driest on record.

Ireland experienced weather conditions not seen for more than two decades across the country, and record temperatures were set in a number of different areas.

June delivered temperatures higher than 30C in some places, which brought about prolonged drought conditions last experienced in 1995.

Met Eireann said it was the warmest summer in Dublin since 2006, as the capital enjoyed lengthy spells of glorious sunshine.

The unusually hot weather continued into July and saw the introduction of a hosepipe ban.

Water restrictions were also introduced, placing this summer alongside some of the hottest ever experienced in Ireland.

While the summer of 2006 also saw extremely high temperatures, it did not experience the drought conditions seen recently. Similar hot conditions prevailed during the same three months in 1973 and 1983, revealing a pattern of severe heatwave conditions developing once a decade.

Tom Murphy, a climatologist with Met Eireann, attributed the "exceptionally dry and widespread drought conditions" to the record-breaking temperatures.

"The highest temperature recorded last year was 28.5C in Phoenix Park, so there's a difference in the 32C recorded in Shannon this year," Mr Murphy said.

"The summer of 2018 was exceptionally dry, with widespread drought conditions for much of June and July.

Extreme

"Heatwaves prevailed at the end of June going into July and soil moisture deficits were exceptionally high, particularly in the south-east.

"We've seen record-breaking temperatures at Shannon Airport, and Cork Airport reported its driest summer since the records started in 1962."

Temperature stations across the country recorded some of the highest temperatures ever witnessed in Ireland. They all experienced higher than average readings.

The three days up to June 29 saw temperatures rise above 30C in Clare, Tipperary, Roscommon, Galway and Mayo.

Shannon Airport recorded its highest maximum temperature this summer at 32C, the highest ever at the site since it was set up in 1941.

However, while the sunny days delighted children and families on their summer holidays, it wasn't welcomed by everyone.

The extreme hot weather caused chaos for farmers, who struggled to feed their animals and keep their livestock cool.

As air temperatures were rising, rainfall levels fell well below averages for the time of year.

Some parts of the country experienced just a third of their normal amount of rainfall.

Gurteen, Co Tipperary, recorded just 35pc of normal rainfall for the month of July.

In Dublin, the combined rainfall recorded for June and July was the lowest level since records began in 1850.

Just 28pc of the normal rainfall levels fell in the capital.

While June and July proved to be the hottest months of the year, the warm weather continued into August despite wetter than average conditions in the north.

This has been attributed, for the most part, to the remnants of post-cyclone Ernesto.
Vogue Williams gave birth to a baby boy in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The presenter and her husband Spencer Matthews welcomed their first son together at 3:55am in London.

Spencer announced the news to Hello magazine, saying the new arrival, who came into the world weighing 9lbs, was "beautiful" just like new mum Vogue (32).

The Made in Chelsea star (30) confirmed that mother and baby were doing well after the birth.

Glimpse

However, the proud dad didn't reveal the baby's name, which is set to be announced by Hello at a later date, according to a spokesperson for Vogue.

Bookies have tipped that Michael and Freddie will be favourites with the couple, at 2/1 and 3/1 respectively, with royal names Harry and William also in the mix due to the couple's connection with the royals.

Spencer's brother James is married to Pippa Middleton, the sister of Prince William's wife Kate. Hugo, the name of one of Spencer's best pals, is also a popular choice.

"Our son arrived this morning and both mother and baby are doing well," said Spencer.

"I'm so proud of Vogue and we both feel truly blessed to welcome baby Matthews into the world. He's beautiful, just like his mother!"

Taking to social media, Vogue shared the first glimpse of her baby boy with the world.

"This morning at 3.55am, we welcomed our son into a quiet London hospital," she said, posting a cute snap of her touching her little one's tiny feet.

"He is beautiful and healthy. We feel truly blessed."

The couple's bundle of joy arrived late, with Vogue revealing earlier in the week she had passed her due date.

Smitten Vogue thanked Spencer for his support during her pregnancy and said he had been "amazing".

"Overdue means a slightly grumpy wife who tends to fall asleep quite a few times a day! He's keeping me happy and being a great support... you're the best," she wrote.

Delightful

The new parents tied the knot earlier this summer, marking the special occasion with an intimate and private wedding party at the Matthews's family estate in Scotland.

Glam Vogue kept things Irish, wearing a Paul Costelloe design for her big day.

"She's a great girl, good fun. She's delightful to dress and has a good sense of taste," the designer told the Herald earlier this week.

"It was all done very quickly. We dashed around to her apartment near Battersea one evening.

"We just walked into her bedroom and put it on and we went, 'Yeah, this is showbusiness - got it right'."
North Koreas Kim Jong-un vowed he wants to give up nuclear weapons by the end of Donald Trumps first term, offering a potential timeline for denuclearization, a top South Korean official said after visiting Pyongyang, RT reports.

The North Korean leader wants to denuclearize and end long-standing hostility between Pyongyang and Washington by the time Donald Trumps first term expires in early 2021, Chung Eui-yong, South Koreas national security adviser, revealed on Thursday after meeting with Kim Jong-un.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the closure of Israels embassy in Paraguay, his office said, after the South American country announced Wednesday it was moving its mission back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem, Business Recorder reports.

The prime minister has asked the foreign ministry to close the Israeli embassy in Paraguay, the statement said, adding Paraguays decision had cast a shadow on relations between the two countries.
The Hunter Museum will present The Hunter Invitational IV, an exhibition that highlights artwork being created in the region. The Hunter began the Invitational exhibition series in 2007 to recognize and promote noteworthy artwork from the area, while engaging in a dialogue about how artmaking here mirrors that of the national scene.

This fourth iteration of the Invitational features the work of Amanda Brazier, Tara Hamilton, Mindy Herrin, Charles Ladson, Sisavanh Phouthavong, John Douglas Powers, Andrew Scott Ross, and Vadis Turner.

Whether emerging or established, each artist in the exhibition expands the boundaries of their chosen mediums through innovative approaches, techniques, and subjects. The artists were chosen over the course of a year, as Chief Curator Nandini Makrandi visited numerous studios around east and middle Tennessee, north Georgia and north Alabama.

The exhibition will showcase new works and give visitors an opportunity in the discovery of artists from their own communities. The Hunter Invitational IV opens Friday, Sept. 21. The opening reception and exhibit preview on Thursday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. will allow museum guests the opportunity to meet all the artists.

Below is a quick snapshot and review of each of the artists. To learn more about them and view images of their work, visit www.huntermuseum.org/hunter-invitational-2018.

Hailing from Chattanooga, Amanda Brazier mixes her own paints from pigments processed from the soils near her home, creating rhythmic paintings that consider mans interactions with his environment.



Tara Hamilton, a comic book and digital artist from Chattanooga, is currently working with writer Alison Burke on an ongoing comic book series, ARRO, set in a post-apocalyptic North America.

Mindy Herrin is a metalwork artist and sculptor whose intricate works incorporate figures and images inspired by nature. Through her work, she explores themes of growth, fertility, disease, and preservation. She is from Johnson City, Tn.

From Macon, Ga., Charles Ladson creates paintings featuring unusual juxtapositions of textures, colors, and shadows to suggest unspoken stories.

Sisavanh Phouthavong, a painter from Murfreesboro, Tn., explores issues of migration while seeking to raise awareness about the history of the Vietnam War-era bombing in Laos.

Sculptor John Douglas Powers juxtaposes solid, tangible materials with the ephemerality of movement, sound and time in his kinetic sculptures. His inspirations range from classical mythology and Buddhist philosophy to technology, music and geometry. Hes from Knoxville.

Andrew Scott Ross is an installation artist from Johnson City, Tn., who uses his work to investigate how our perception of objects, as well as historical and cultural references, are shaped by museum experiences.

Vadis Turner, from Nashville, works with discarded fabrics and other materials to build painted wall sculptures that challenge feminine stereotypes.






Russian President Vladimir Putin and Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei will hold a meeting in Tehran on Friday, the Kremlins top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said, Tasnim news agency reported.

The meeting would take place on the sidelines of an upcoming summit of the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey on Syria.

Tehran will become a platform for bilateral talks. We are planning three bilateral meetings for our president - with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as separate talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Along with this, there will be a bilateral meeting with Turkish President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan, Ushakov said, according to the Tass news agency.
16 year-old male in Provo ICU after being struck by a vehicle while in crosswalk

A 16 year-old male is recuperating in the intensive care unit of a Provo hospital after being hit by a vehicle while he was in a crosswalk Tuesday. The Police Department received a call around 7:21 a.m. that the male had be struck by another vehicle driven by a female, 42, who was driving her daughter to school. The boy is a foreign exchange student from Spain and was on his way to Timpview High School, according to Sgt. Nick Dupaix, police spokesman. He was at the intersection of 3460 N. Canyon Road. She hit him in the crosswalk, there were no stop lights and it was still ...
Elvira Nabiullina, hairman of the Russian Central Bank, said that overwhelming number of banks with weak credit history were removed from the market.

"Overwhelming number of weak banks were removed from the banking market," TASS quoted her as saying. "This measure will help development of healthy competition."

In addition, she noted that the number of large credit institutions in the banking sector and banks that receive state assistance is quite high, which has an impact on competition. "Of course, this worries some of those in the banking sector," Nabiullina noted. At the same time, she added that development of technologies increases competition in the banking sector.

Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank, Vasily Pozdyshev, said that massive revoking of licenses in the Russian banking sector is coming to an end. "Massive phase of revoking is slowly coming to an end. We're approaching the stage of financial rehabilitation in the banking sector," Pozdyshev stressed.

Professor at the department of the stock market and investments at the Higher School of Economics, Alexander Abramov, sain in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza that results of this "clean-up" are pretty ambiguous.

"There are less banks, the most risky banks were eliminated from the market, either reorganized or liquidated. Overall, it's a positive thing, but it's necessary to understand that saying that banking system has become stronger and that it's ready for serious economic problems is impossible right now. We have to see how will current system work in real economy under new conditions. We can't be too optimistic," he said.

Professor of the RANEPA faculty of Finance, Money Circulation and Credit, Yuri Yudenkov, drew attention to the most important negative outcome of this "clean up". "Over 500 banks lost their licenses, including many small provincial banks. In other words, the regional banking system was almost destroyed. By closing regional banks, the Central Bank deprived regions of access to loans and some services. Sberbank expands as much as it possibly can, but it can't cope with current situation," he noted.
How many COVID tests do you think Meritus has done? Here's the answer
Turkey is in the process of constructing a site for a Russian missile system despite warnings from the United States to not buy the platform, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of an intelligence report covering the subject, CNBC reported.

The assessment, published a month ago, included satellite imagery of a concrete launch facility as well as bunkers, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new construction fits the pattern for Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile system, the source indicated.

Last year, Ankara signed an agreement with Moscow for S-400 missiles, a deal reportedly worth $2.5 billion.
Turkey and Germany will work intensely to strengthen bilateral ties and prevent the escalation of conflicts in Syria's Idlib region, foreign ministers of the two countries stressed in Ankara, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he has discussed with his German counterpart Heiko Maas steps to improve and restore relations, as well as the latest developments in Syria's Idlib region.

Cavusoglu said the bombing of Idlib was wrong and had serious risk, adding that Ankara was going to prevent such attacks happen again on the Friday's Turkey-Russia-Iran summit in Tehran.

"We are making intense efforts with Germany to normalize and strengthen bilateral ties," the minister added.

For his part, Mass retaliated the important of German-Turkish relations, and expressed positive stance for Turkey's effort on Syrian issues.

"Turkey is right in its concerns over Idlib, we will work together with Turkey to prevent escalation in Syria's Idlib region," Mass said.
The White House is actively discussing possible replacements for Defense Secretary James Mattis, CNBC writes citing a report published in The Washington Post on Wednesday.

The newspaper reported that discussions about who would succeed the top Donald Trump administration official predated reports this week that Mattis had insulted the president's intelligence. One senior administration official told the paper, however, that "speculation about who replaces Mattis is now more real than ever."
All parties of the Swedish parliament opposed construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline through the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Spokeswoman of the head of the EU committee, Karin Enstrem, said the EU should intervene in this process, Sveriges Radio reports. According to deputies, Nord Stream 2 won't be able to resolve the problem of energy security, but will harm the environment.

Some parliamentarians accused Russia of violating international law in Georgia, Ukraine and Crimea. They don't want Russia to build anything near Swedish coast.

In order to stop construction of this gas pipeline, Swedish authorities plan to increase production of electricity from renewable sources, Interfax reports. This way they want to reduce percentage of natural gas consumption. In addition, they are promoting a bill that will ban the Nord Stream-2 construction in the European Parliament.

Deputy director of energy policy of the Institute of Energy and Finances, Alexey Belogoriev, said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaz that Sweden's hesitation in approval of the Nord Stream 2 ban is understandable. "Over the past several years its position on this project was pretty much the same, since Sweden is not economically interested in this project, both as consumer and in any other role. Its government doesn't participate in this project in any way," he noted.

"Its decisions are dictated by purely geopolitical, not even interests, but concepts that exist within the Swedish political elite," he said, adding that it will be impossible for Sweden to damage the Gazprom project that has already begun.

The senior research fellow at the European Research Centre of the International Relations Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Olenchenko, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, explained this protest of the Swedish parliament was initiated by the American lobby. "Unfortunately, like Denmark, they don't defend their own interests, they defend interests of the United States, which would like to supply its LNG to the European markets. In this case, Swedes most likely reacted to the appeal of their American allies," he believes.
New Delhi: The United States and India held talks to deepen political and security ties on Thursday, signing a crucial agreement on military communications that could lead to increased US arms sales to New Delhi.

The Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (Comcasa) was signed in Delhi after the first 2+2 talks between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman with US secretary of state Michael R Pompeo and defence secretary James Mattis. Earlier Swaraj and Pompeo had held bilateral talks.

Comcasa, which will allow the militaries of the two countries to securely communicate with each other, had been stalled for years because of Indias concerns that it would open up its communications network to the US military.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj expressed satisfaction over the agenda of the inaugural dialogue while Sitharaman said that the momentum in the bilateral defence partnership has imbued a tremendous positive energy that has elevated India-US relations to unprecedented heights.

In todays meeting, we reaffirmed to cooperate in every possible way to ensure peace, prosperity and development, the defence matter added, as per news agency ANI.

Pompeo said the accord was a major step forward that officials have previously said would allow the US to transfer high-tech equipment such as armed surveillance drones. New Delhi has been seeking the drones to monitor the Indian Ocean where China, a close ally of Pakistan, has been making repeated forays in recent years, reported Reuters.

Experts believe the signing of the agreement could also reduce the chances of the United States imposing sanctions on India for looking to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.

India and the United States also agreed to open a hotline between their foreign and defence chiefs and hold joint exercises involving the air force, navy and the army off the eastern Indian coast in 2019.

The two sides also discussed other key issues, including cross-border terrorism, Indias bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and contentious H-1B visa issue.

At the press conference, Swaraj said that the dialogue reflected the desire of leadership of the two countries to further elevate the bilateral strategic communication on cross-cutting defence and security issues.

The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects Indias robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest.

About her bilateral meeting with Pompeo before the 2+2 dialogue, she said they reviewed the direction of the Indo-US relations in recent months and exchanged views on a number of regional issues of shared concern, reported PTI.

Terming the rapidly growing trade and investment ties as an important element of bilateral relationship, Swaraj said this growth is giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement which supports development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth.

I sought Secretary Pompeos support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H-1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship, Swaraj said.

She also noted that there was a growing convergence of views, including on the Indo-Pacific, during the discussion among the four ministers.

We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing, the minister said, adding India welcomed the US interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region as they complement our own efforts.

Asserting that counterterrorism cooperation between India and the US has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose, Swaraj said they have agreed to deepen ties in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force.

We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the US. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the US alike. On the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognized the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack, Swaraj said.

India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, she added.

The two sides also discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process in the country.
As the news of Shahid Kapoor and his pretty wife Mira Rajput becoming parents for the second time came out, a host of Bollywood stars took to social media to congratulate the proud parents. The couple, who already daughter Misha together, were blessed with a baby boy on September 5.

Among those who was the first to wish them was actor Alia Bhatt. The Brahmastra actor shared an Instagram story, congratulating the new parents. She wrote: Congratulations, my loves! The picture also mentioned Its a boy. Alia is currently in Bulgaria, with the rest of the Brahmastra cast and crew.

Alia Bhatt was among the first to wish the happy couple.

Preity Zinta, who currently lives in the US, sent in her wishes early. She wrote: Congratulations @shahidkapoor & Mira on the new addition to the family ?? So Happy for both of you . Loads of love, happiness and diapers ?? always... Ting ! #babyboy #Happiness #Love.

Congratulations @shahidkapoor & Mira on the new addition to the family  So Happy for both of you . Loads of love, happiness and diapers  always... Ting ! #babyboy #Happiness #Love  Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) September 5, 2018

Actor Ashish Chowdhry too was delighted to hear the news. He wrote: Oyyyeeee... Congratulations my bro @shahidkapoor and #MiraRajput for such amazing family planning!! #Mishas gonna love her baby brother.. Elder sisters are the best.. My love to your beautiful lil family.. God bless.. Enjoy the riot.

Oyyyeeee... Congratulations my bro @shahidkapoor and #MiraRajput for such amazing family planning!! #Misha's gonna love her baby brother.. Elder sisters are the best.. My love to your beautiful lil' family.. God bless.. Enjoy the riot!!!  Ashish Chowdhry (@AshishChowdhry) September 5, 2018

Pragya Yadav, wife of Kedarnath director Abhishek Kapoor, too congratulated the couple. She wrote on Instagram: Biggest congratulations to all of you!!! ?? My darling Mira its been a beautiful journey and Im so happy I got to share it with you, its been special! love love and more love @mira.kapoor #itsaboy #bumpbuddies #love #kapoors.

She also shared a picture of Mira and herself, showing off their baby bumps. Pragya too gave birth to her second child recently.

Meanwhile, the family of Shahid Kapoor including his mother Neelima Azim and half brother, Ishaan Khatter, visited the couple late on Wednesday. Ishaan, who adores his elder brother Shahid looked happy and anxious as he escorted his mother to the hospital. Earlier in the day, Miras mother too was spotted leaving the hospital.

Shahid Kapoors younger brother Ishaan Khatter visits the hospital with his mother Neelima Azim. (Viral Bhayani)

Mira Rajputs mother leaves the hospital on Wednesday. (Viral Bhayani)

Shahid, who married Mira in 2015, in a recent interview to Mid Day, mentioned that while in the case of his elder child Misha, he was off work for several months, in case of his second child, despite his best efforts, he just couldnt do much. During Mishas birth [in 2016], I took a couple of months off. This time too, I was negotiating to take a month-long break, but things didnt work out. I will get only a week off from work. It is too short a duration, but such are the circumstances.

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Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt had a surprise guest at the Sofia sets of the upcoming film Brahmastra in Bulgaria. President Ram Nath Kovind dropped in to meet the cast and crew of the Ayan Mukerji film along with Bulgarias President Rumen Radev .

The Presidents official Instagram handle shared two pictures and wrote: President Kovind and President Radev dropped in at the studio in Sofia where the Hindi film Brahmastra is being made. The Presidents met the Indo-Bulgarian crew and chatted about cinema as a business and cultural link between the two countries @aliaabhatt.

#PresidentKovind and President Radev dropped in at the studio in Sofia where the Hindi film Brahmastra is being made. The Presidents met the Indo-Bulgarian crew and chatted about cinema as a business and cultural link between the two countries pic.twitter.com/8ApZq1gEJA  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) September 5, 2018

President Kovind is on a three-day state visit of Europe.

President Kovind and Bulgarian president interacted with the lead cast, director and Indo-European crew and enquired about cultural ties and business. The team has been stationed in that country for close to a month now. Ranbir and Ayan have been sharing pictures of other cast members on Instagram and sharing their lives with their fans. Though, Ranbir has been clicking the pictures mentioned, many of them are shared by his girlfriend Alia. In fact, the first feelers of a budding romance between the two come from the time the Brahmastra team was stationed in Israel for the films shoot. Some time back Amitabh Bachchan and Telugu superstar Nagarjuna were also present in Bulgaria for the shoots.

Meanwhile, the film which is said to be a supernatural thriller, is a trilogy produced by Karan Johar. The film has already completed two schedules of shooting.

On work front, both Alia and Ranbir remain as busy as ever--while she has her hands full with films like Kalank and Takht, both Karan Johar presentations, Ranbir has Shamshera with YRF.

On their relationship front, while much was speculated for a long time, in a GQ interview in May, Ranbir set the record straight by declaring that he was indeed in a relationship with Alia but because it was in its early, he didnt want to speak much. Alia has, however, not spoken about it clear terms. However, she have the backing of almost all who matter. Rishi Kapoor had recently told the press that with regard to Alia Ranbir likes her, Neetu likes her, I like her... get it?

Ranbir, speaking to Hindustan Times, had said, I have always believed that marriage is something that will happen naturally. It cant be like, Okay, I am 35 now, so its time to get married. It should come to you and your partner naturally and you should both feel, This is the right phase. Now, we should take this relationship to the next level. But abhi aisi koi baat nai hai. I havent decided on marriage yet.

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As the entire country celebrates the Supreme Courts decision on Section 377, decriminalising gay sex, actor Soha Ali Khan has also sent out a message of hope. She posted an adorable picture of her daughter Inaaya with a beautiful message on Instagram.

In the picture, Inaaya is seen crawling through a colourful tunnel and with a big smile on her face. There is light at the end of the tunnel!!! #freedom, she captioned the photo. She also posted a picture of herself holding Inaaya in her arms as they enjoy a sunny day from their vacation in Maldives. First times, she captioned the photo. Check them out:

Soha is enjoying a beautiful holiday with husband Kunal Kemmu and her brother Saif Ali Khan, sister-in-law Kareena Kapoor Khan and their son Taimur. Soha has posted several amazing pictures of the family from the trip. The pictures show them enjoying a peaceful swim with the babies, Kareena and Saif posing together, Inaaya and Taimur in a colouring session and more.

Poonam Damania, Kareenas personal stylist and friend, shared a new set of pictures from Kareenas vacation on Instagram on Wednesday. My diva killing it in Maldives...major missing... love you my bebo #kareenakapoorkhan, she captioned the photos. Kareena is seen wearing a frilly white top and distressed blue denims. She is also carrying a big basket bag that bears the word Mrs on it.

We also saw Saif show off his goofy side as they left for the vacation. As the party made an early morning landing in Maldives, Taimur was seen sleeping in the arms of his nanny as Saif made a face for the camera. In another photo, Kareena and Saif are beaming at the camera as Taimur sits next to his parents.

Kareena will soon begin work on Karan Johars period drama Takht, and a comedy Good News with Akshay Kumar. Saif has already begun shooting for his next film, Hunter, in which he plays a Naga Sadhu. His look from the film recently went viral.

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The Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday warned health department officials that criminal cases would be registered against officers if any lapses are found.

All the officers here, please do not force us to take strict action. If medicines are not available, then we will go to any length. Then, we will register criminal cases against the officers. I am warning the officers who keep sitting on files, said Kejriwal.

The CM made the comments during a review meeting of the AAP governments pet project  the mohalla clinics.

In his first year in office, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain had promised that the government will open 1,000 mohalla clinics in Delhi; one in a radius of every five km.

But the government has succeeded in opening just 180 clinics so far, most in a rented accommodation rather than the portacabins as initially planned.

Earlier, officers from the public works department had received flak from the CM after a visit to three of the 400 sites finalised for new mohalla clinics that had been found to be not feasible.

The push comes as the Elders, an organisation of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, is likely to visit the clinics, which they said could be replicated in other states to implement universal health coverage.
Delhi will be the first city in India to roll out hydrogen-enriched CNG (HCNG) buses for public transport next year onwards.

The Delhi government has tied up with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a public sector undertaking, to induct 50 HCNG-fuelled buses on a trial basis to help study the technology and its infrastructure requirements.

In this project, IOCL plans to test the performance of buses and reduction in emissions by mixing 18-20% of hydrogen to CNG (compressed natural gas) in every bus. The best thing about HCNG is that it does not require any modification of the engine or retrofitment. Only some calibration is required in the bus. Whatever work is needed will be done at the depot. HCNG will reduce carbon emission by up to 20% in each of the 50 CNG bus, said transport commissioner Varsha Joshi.

The IOCL, on Wednesday, conveyed to the Delhi government that it would use the Rajghat depot for the trials, work for which is set to begin by the end of this month.

According to SSV Kumar, director of reserach and development of IOCL, the move will be significant as this will be the second major transformation to a cleaner fuel for Delhis state-run buses after the almost overnight shift to CNG in 2002.

Until now, we have been doing trials with two buses in Faridabad. Soon, we will begin HCNG trials on 50 CNG buses of the Delhi government. Our assessment says that HCNG buses also give 3-4% fuel economy improvement compared to a CNG bus. While they reduce carbon footprint, there is no reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions, Kumar said.

Preliminary assessment by the company has revealed that the cost escalation for shifting to HCNG buses will be about 72 paise per kilometre, which it hopes would break-even once the technology is used on a large scale.

To convert all of Delhis existing 5,500 CNG bus fleet to this fuel, Kumar said, the government will require 400 tonnes of HCNG on a daily basis and 48 compact steam methane reforming (SMR) units. An SMR is the unit that produces hydrogen for the HCNG fuel.

We have already finalised the design of the compact SMR unit. At the depot, the pump will just have another section of HCNG fuel, apart from the CNG to dispense the fuel into the bus. We would need six months to set up the depot and then trial will begin, Kumar said.

On July 2, the Supreme Court had asked the Delhi government to explore the feasibility of introducing zero emission and cost effective hydrogen-run public transport buses instead of procuring electric buses for the city.
Citing the scarcity of water, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has proposed to reduce the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for residential areas from 400  as approved in 2013  to 200 in its land-pooling policy that has been hanging fire for five years.

The amendments to Delhis master plan proposed by the agency will be tabled on Friday at a DDA meeting, which will be chaired by lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal. The land policy will, in turn, bring down the number of dwelling units a developer can construct in urban extensions.

Under the so-called land-pooling scheme, land parcels owned by individuals or groups will be consolidated and developed in a planned manner. The policy is aimed at ensuring planned development in the city and meeting its growing housing demand.

Scarcity of water is cited as one of the main concerns by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) while recommending a reduced FAR, said a DDA official aware of the development.

FAR is the ratio of a buildings total floor area to the size of the land on which it is constructed.

The policy has been changed to ensure that planned developed can happen in urban extensions. DDA will now act as a facilitator, prepare layouts for development plans and develop civic infrastructure along with other service providers, the official added.

Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Vijender Gupta, who is also a DDA member, said, Failure of the Delhi government to ensure adequate supply of water to the city has compelled DDA to restrict FAR to 200. It is a serious setback to the central governments efforts to provide affordable housing to 20 lakh families.

Last year, the agency had roped in NIUA to review the policy notified in 2013 in order to make it implementable. It recommended major changes in the policy based on the ground situation and the availability of resources, among other factors.

Under the revised policy, a developer will get 60% of the total pooled land, of which 53% will be used for residential, 5% for commercial and 2% for public and semi-public facilities. DDA and other service providers will get 40% of the land for developing civic infrastructure.

Land will be developed on the basis of sectors as delineated in the Zonal Development Plan. DDA officials say a sector will be considered for land pooling once 70% contiguous land is available.

DDA placed the new policy in public domain in January this year. In July, it held a public hearing where farmers, builders and other stakeholders raised their concerns regarding FAR and external development charges, among other issues.

Environment activists say that the policy implementation should be the subject to the availability of water.

New development projects shouldnt be allowed if DJB (Delhi Jal Board) can supply water. There are several areas in the city which dont get regular supply of water. Despite being a planned area, Dwarka residents faced serious water problems for years, said environment activist Diwan Singh.
It takes courage to oppose an injustice  whether committed by a law, the police, the state, your community or, indeed, your own family. It takes courage to oppose in the face of criminal persecution, and to continue to oppose despite persecution. In times when whom you pray to, what you eat, what you wear, and who you love are fraught issues, the tales of the courageous inspire us. Whether it is of jailed activist lawyers who argue for the rights of the dispossessed adivasi or a jailed doctor who spends out of his own pocket to save the lives of babies running out of oxygen; the lone policeman who protects a Muslim man from being beaten by a mob or a transman who fights the ignorance of officials to get an identity document in his chosen gender.

Courage against injustice played an important role in the fight against Section 377. Asserting ones most private, deeply-held sense of self in the face of opprobrium from family, peers or community is a bit like death, because large parts of you find no sustenance to live. To live, in spite of this, is courage of another degree. The Supreme Court on July 11 was schooled on the courage it took each lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Indian to survive in light of its 2013 judgment upholding their criminalisation. How strongly must we love knowing that we are unconvicted felons under Section 377? asked Menaka Guruswamy, an advocate for the petitioners before the court.

A constitution bench of the Supreme Court of India on Thursday unanimously ruled that Section 377, a colonial era law that criminalised consensual same sex intercourse, was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary. The Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, said, Denial of self-expression is akin to inviting death. Justice Indu Malhotra, the lone woman judge in the five-judge bench, said, History owes an apology to those people persecuted by Section 377.

These words are a balm, not just because they are being uttered by a bench of the highest court of the land that hears matters of Constitutional importance, but because these words strike at the heart of the matter: that a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person has had to face persecution that has not only been relentless but is such an everyday occurrence for so many queer people. Several are bullied in school; several drop out. Several must face the ignominy of hiding their relationships; several are subjected to rapes that supposed tocorrect them. And several must necessarily face the trauma that emerges from loving families that feel compelled to treat them as invisible. The great Indian family, buttressed by tradition and culture, visits the worst sort of violence upon LGBT persons because its sustained message to them is that only part of them is acceptable.

In its 493-page judgment written by the eminent judges, the apex court had acknowledged that there is a problem in the way LGBT persons are treated in society. It tells queer people that they have been right all along, and that their fight has been a vital and important one. It gives them an anchor where no other authority has  in no less than the Constitution of India and the vision of Dr BR Ambedkar, who fought for the primacy of constitutional morality over social morality, for the safety of the individual over the wrath of the mob. It is manifest in the CJIs argument, when he said, Societal morality cannot trump constitutional morality. Societal morality cannot overturn the fundamental rights of even a single person.

On the ground, things will not change immediately. Families will expect queer people to stay silent about their sexuality and relationships, and make them the receptacle of shame that they themselves carry; peers will continue to bully and assault LGBT persons; harassment, and violence will continue to occur, especially to those belonging to marginalised identities such as Dalit, adivasi, and women. Many will echo the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which said on Thursday that while homosexuality should not be criminalised, same sex marriage is unnatural.

The word unnatural will always be a signifier that adduces to the LGBT person. But if the long legal battle and the courage of queer people and communities are anything to go by, this fight for equal rights will not end. It will grow even stronger, now that even the apex court has said that there is no going back.
The adventures of Ed and Lorraine Warren have inspired several horror films, from The Amityville Horror to the Conjuring series. And this week we will see the first chapter of the blockbuster series, The Nun. Although the film isnt based on a true story - at least not in the way that the first two Conjuring movies were - it will serve as a sort of origin story for the demonic entity that haunted Lorraine in the Conjuring 2.

The plot follows a priest and a novice who are sent to Romania by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun. The nun was seemingly haunted by a demonic entity named Valak, the same entity that haunted Lorraine Warren in the second Conjuring film, which she, of course, claims really happened.

When we made Conjuring 2, people really loved the nun character, says director-producer James Wan in a featurette released for the film. With The Nun were going right back to where it all began, says Corin Hardy, director of the film.

While doing press rounds for Conjuring 2, Wan said, From talking to Lorraine in passing, she mentioned a spectral entity that has haunted her in her house. And its this swirling tornado vortex with this hooded figure in there.

And now, several reports - from Mirror and Bustle - have dug up the origins of Valak, or Volak, or Valu. According to the Lesser Key of Solomon, a book on demonology that was first compiled in the 17th century, and has been updated since, Valak is one of the Seventy-Two Demons.

The edition collated by infamous occultist Alistair Crowley describes Valak as thus: The Sixty-second Spirit is Volac, or Valak, or Valu. He is a President Mighty and Great, and appereth like a Child with Angels Wings, riding on a Two-headed Dragon. His Office is to give True Answers of Hidden Treasures, and to tell where Serpents may be seen. The which he will bring unto the Exorciser without any Force or Strength being by him employed. He governeth 38 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is thus.

Hollywood films have often depicted demons, be it the legendary Pazuzu in The Exorcist, Baal in The Rite or Legion, Belial, and Lucifer in the Exorcism of Emily Rose.

The Nun has been scheduled for a September 7 release. It stars Demian Bichir, Taissa Farmiga and Jonas Bloquet.

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As many as 20 bridges in the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah are weak and unsafe as they are beyond their expiry dates, Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday, announcing a ban on long trucks with 10 and 20 wheels on such bridges.

She said the bridges and flyovers such as Santragachi (Howrah), Ultadanga, Sealdah, Belgachia and Dhakuria are working past their expiry dates.

Civil engineers said by expiry date, the chief minister probably meant design life that is usually 50 years for bridges. This period is calculated taking into account historic data such as earthquakes and wind speed and load projections such as rise in vehicular traffic.

In a bid to prolong the lives of these structures and ensure public safety, the chief minister said the government are banning the movement of extra-long and heavy vehicles on them. These dont serve any purpose, she said.

She also said that police will strictly prevent the overloading of trucks. When nine tonnes is the limit, some are plying with 15 tonnes of goods. I have asked the police to stop this practice that also put bridges under avoidable stress, she said.

The chief minister also said the bridges that have become weak were not made during their tenure. Some of these were made during the rule of the CPI(M). Some were made even before them, `she added.

On the specific point of the Majerhat bridge, a section of which collapsed on September 4 killing three persons, she said she has set up a 10-member investigative committee led by chief secretary Malay De to inquire into the incident.

The only technical person in the body is a retired chief engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD). The body is supposed to submit its report at the shortest possible time, possibly within seven-eight days.

A bridge inspection and monitoring cell would also be set up, the members of which will be selected by the chief secretary.

Banerjee repeated her claim that the construction work of metro rail near the Majerhat bridge affected the structure, and said a preliminary report by the chief engineer of PWD already indicated it.

We have decided to stop the work till the inquiry report is submitted, said the chief minister, who also said that she cannot pinpoint the reason for the Majerhat accident till the report is submitted.

However, a September 4 resport signed by A K Roy, chief project manager, Rail Vikas Nigam Limited said, There has (been) no relationship of metro construction with this mid span failure of RCC girder of the ROB (road over-bridge). In fact, condition of pillars on both ends are a clear indication of this.

Though the chief minister claimed the Majerhat bridge was built by Kolkata Port, its spokesperson issued a statement that they dont have any records to that effect.

Opposition parties attacked Banerjee over her comments on the cause of the bridge collapse.

The chief minister is unnecessarily shifting the blame on Metro Rail for the bridge collapse, something that all experts have ruled out, said Bharatiya Janata Party Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh.

Governments change. But that does not mean the incumbent will not continue maintenance of structures erected by earlier rulers. These are excuses by the chief minister to conceal the flaws of her own government, said Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee member and MLA Sujan Chakrabarty.
Union minister of state for social justice and head of one of the factions of Republican Party of India, Ramdas Athawale on Thursday reiterated that he would file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the order of the Bombay high court banning use of term Dalit in official works and also in media.

Athawale, who was in Nagpur asserted that there was nothing wrong with the word Dalit and he didnt think it was derogatory. All it connotes the condition of those deprived of education, social status and justice. My supporters called me and opposed the high court verdict banning the use of term Dalit. I will go for an appeal to the apex court in this regard soon, said Athawale.

The RPI leader said that the word was in use for a long time and several organisations, like Dalit Panther, Dalit Sena adopted it because no one found it objectionable. He also pointed that petitioner Pankaj Meshram who filed the case in high court bench in Nagpur was a Buddhist. But every Scheduled Castes person may not necessarily be Buddhists.

According to him, the term Harijan coined by Mahatma Gandhi was laudable but faced public opposition as a Harijan was treated as outcast and even a Hari part did not ensure entry into Hindu temples or use of common water source or stop discrimination. So what is needed is change of mindset of the higher castes, there is nothing in the word, he remarked.

On Tuesday, the Union ministry of information and broadcasting had told the media to refrain from using the nomenclature Dalit and, instead, use only the Constitutional term, Scheduled Caste.

Rajendra Gavai, chief of another faction of Republican Party of India welcomed the decision of the court to ban the word of Dalit in media and government work. I would respect the court order and not show any dissent, he further said.

On the Bharat Bandh called by upper castes in north India in protest against the restoration of stringent provisions of the Prevention of Atrocities (against SC/ST) Act 1989, the union minister ruled out any dilution of the law. As a minister of social welfare, I will take all possible measures against misuse of the Act but there is no way any provision of the Act could be revoked, Athawale said.
The Bharat Bandh called by various upper caste organisations on Thursday to protest the restoration of the stringent provisions of the SC/ST act passed off without any major incident of violence though normal life was hit in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan amid sporadic clashes in various places.

In Bihar, the protesters tried to block road and railway traffic while in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, markets were closed in certain towns.

Police had been put on high alert in these states as there was widespread violence during the Bharat Bandh called by the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe organisations in April to protest against the Supreme Court ruling, introducing a mechanism to register cases on complaints of discrimination and abuse filed by the SC and STs.

Several organisations representing upper castes have been protesting since Parliament passed a law to nullify the SC order and called for a shutdown on Thursday.

Normal life was hit in various parts of Bihar and train services were briefly affected in the state capital and Rajgir town.

Supporters of the shutdown, owing allegiance to several less-known organisations, staged a demonstration in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state headquarters raising slogans against the betrayal by the very party we have been voting for. There were also reports of blockades from several districts of the state, police said, but no untoward incident was reported.

In Uttar Pradesh, six policemen were injured in the agitation called by some upper-caste groups, but life remained largely normal across the state.

In Ballia, legislators of the ruling BJP came out in open to support the bandh. Upper caste people made me the MLA and not Muslims and Dalits. If my upper-caste supporters ask me, I can also resign (from my seat) for their sake, Bairia legislator Surendra Singh said.

In Madhya Pradesh, the bandh passed off peacefully in the state without any major incident of violence even though the markets, schools and colleges remaining closed in most of the big cities and towns, said inspector general (intelligence) Makrand Deouskar.

In Ujjain, there was there was minor clash between two groups while in Shahdol district, police averted a clash between two opposing groups. In Rewa, police carried out a cane charge to disperse a violent crowd. An attempt was made by some people to stop buses and trains from plying in Jabalpur, but it was foiled by the police.

In Rajasthan, the bandh had an impact in several places with shops closed, educational institutions declaring a holiday and public transport off the roads. There were some incidents of clashes between the two opposing groups and in some places, few people were taken into preventive custody, police said.
Thousands of protesters took to streets on Thursday and burned tyres and effigies, blocked roads and stopped trains in several states as they enforced a country-wide shutdown against the amendment to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Reports of violence emerged from several parts of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as the protests against the SC/ST act spread to Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Schools and shops remained closed in several cities, including Kota, Ajmer and Lucknow, and petrol pump owners kept their establishment shut.

Protesters stopped trains in Bihars Darbhanga and Munger and demonstrated in Patnas Rajendra Nagar Terminal railway station. They also set tyres on fire in Mokama.

A high alert was issued in 35 districts of Madhya Pradesh, where the sensitive Gwalior-Chambal region had witnessed large-scale violence on April 2 this year during the Bharat Bandh called by Dalit groups. Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in all districts of the state and internet services were also stopped in a few districts.

Officials said 34 companies of the special armed force of police and 5,000 security personnel have been deployed in various districts.

The administration in most of the districts have clamped prohibitive orders under CrPC section 144 in view of the bandh on September 6, inspector general of police (intelligence) Makrand Deuskar said.

Bhopal: High alert issued in 35 districts across the state in view of #BharatBandh against amendments in SC/ST Act. 34 companies of security forces and 5000 security personnel deployed. Section 144 imposed in several districts. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/OLcRV9pjxy  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

The shutdown has been called by 35 outfits linked to the upper caste communities to protest against the recent amendment to the act. Brahma Samagam Sawarna Jankalyan Sangathans national president Dharmendra Sharma said about 150 organisations of upper castes and OBCs would participate in the Bharat Bandh against the amendment.

The Rajya Sabha in August passed the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018, which seeks to overturn a Supreme Court order that struck down the provision for the immediate arrest of those booked under the act. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill.

The amendment will in effect nullify the Supreme Court judgment pronounced on March 20. The judgment had diluted the SC/ST act to state that immediate arrest of an accused under this law would no longer be mandatory. The arrest was to follow a preliminary enquiry by the probing agency or the police.

Soon after the judgment was pronounced, various Dalit groups launched a nationwide agitation. Now, upper caste organisations are protesting against the amendment.

(With ANI inputs)
The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu came under fire from the opposition DMK on Thursday after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested five people including two government officials in connection with the multi-crore rupee gutkha scam.

A CBI court in Chennai has remanded the accused to the judicial custody till September 20.

The arrests came after massive search operations by CBI at 35 places in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. On Wednesday, the CBI aided the houses of Tamil Nadu health minister C Vijaya Bhaskar, Director General of Police TK Rajendran, and former Chennai city police commissioner S George.

The three gutkha manufacturers arrested on Thursday are A V Madhava Rao, Srinivasa Rao and Uma Shankar Gupta who are also promoters of the Jayam group, which manufactures MDM Gutkha in Chennai.

The CBI also arrested Senthil Murugan, food safety officer, Tamil Nadu and N K Pandiyan, superintendent of central excise department, said a CBI spokesperson.

The agency also seized various documents from the places which were raided. Though search operations were completed in most places by Wednesday night, the CBI continued the raids for the second day at the residence of former Chennai city police commissioner S George.

The CBI also sealed the house of police inspector Sambath Kumar at Royapuram near Chennai on Thursday. Sambath is currently serving in Aarumuganeri of Tuticorin district. Earlier, he worked as an inspector in Puzhal police station near Chennai till 2017.

During a raid conducted in July 2016, the Income Tax officials had said that Madhava Rao one of the Gutkha manufacturer was involved in tax evasion of Rs 250 crores.

A dairy seized from a godown of Madhava Rao in Red Hills, Chennai, had revealed that he allegedly paid Rs.39.91 crores as kickbacks to the health minister, former Chennai Police commissioners and other government officials to allow the sale of gutkha which has been banned in the state in 2013.

Though Minister Vijaya Bhaskar claimed that he was not involved in any wrong doing, the opposition DMK has urged chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to sack the minister and the DGP.

Since the CBI has raided the houses of Vijaya Bhaskar and DGP Rajendran, both should resign from their current positions. If needed, the CBI should arrest both, DMK president M K Stalin said.

Meanwhile, political analysts say that the CBI raids may not be completely above board.

Union governments in the past have used CBI for political gains. So, one cannot say the current search operations are independent, said A Kumaresan, a senior journalist and political analyst.

But Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan refuted allegations that the Centre was using the CBI to threaten the state government. CBI is doing its duty without any interference. We dont have any role in these raids, Radhakrishnan said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said consensual gay sex is a legal right in its much-awaited verdict on a clutch of petitions seeking decriminalisation of a 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.

A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had reserved its verdict on July 17 after hearing various stakeholders for four days, including gay rights activists.

HT takes a look at six of the 35 petitioners before the top court:

Gautam Yadav, 27, is a Delhi-based programme officer with the NGO Humsafar Trust. His petition talks about the bullying that he faced in school, which forced him to drop out at 15. In 2015, he was a victim to threats of extortion based on his sexual orientation, and continues to face ridicule from his relatives for not being married, despite being in a committed relationship. At 19, he learnt he is HIV-positive and speaks publicly of living as a homosexual man with HIV. I filed the petition because I wanted to highlight the issues which I went through and bring them to the notice of the nation, he said.

Ritu Dalmia, 45, Delhi-based chef who identifies as lesbian, is the owner of restaurant chain Diva, which has won several food awards. She was born in Kolkata, and moved to London to open a fine-dining restaurant in her early 20s. She returned to India in 1999. She filed the petition after the Supreme Court reversed the Delhi high courts judgment on Section 377, reinstating the law that criminalised adult consensual same sex relations. When you yourself file this petition, youre declaring yourself to be a criminal. It makes you vulnerable. But, I realised that if I didnt do something about it, then I had no right to complain about it.

Keshav Suri, 33, executive director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality group, which owns The Lalit hotel, filed a petition earlier this year. The Lalit is also one of the 83 global companies that support the United Nations Standards of Conduct for Business, which was released in October 2017. Suri said it was the shooting in Pulse in Orlando [a nightclub in Florida where a June 2016 shooting left 49 people dead, many of whom were gay] that was his personal and professional awakening. As per World Bank estimates, discrimination against LGBT community costs the country billions of dollars. Its time to stop ignoring this. Its counter-productive for any country concerned about its growth.

Urvi, 21, is a research intern at the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay and hails from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh. Urvi, who uses a different name in the petition, is a transgender woman and has struggled with poverty since childhood. She lost her father early and her mother brought up the family on her own income. Section 377 doesnt let people express themselves, and leads to stigma. If Section 377 is abolished, it can help future generations accept themselves, says Urvi, who has received two prestigious national science fellowships, and was recently accepted in a masters programme in Germany.

Arif Jafar, 47, is the founder of NGO Bharosa Trust in Lucknow. He was arrested in July 2001 under Section 377 and was in jail for 47 days, a period where he says he was abused, tortured and humiliated. 17 years later, the case drags on and Jafar says he has faced stigma and ostracisation because he chose to come out as a gay man. The petitioners sole motivation in approaching this honble court is his wish that no other person should suffer what he had to suffer on account of a discriminatory law i.e. Section 377, IPC and that fellow LGBT citizens can live with the freedom, dignity and respect that they are entitled to, his petition read.

Akkai Padmashali, 32, is a transgender rights activist and a recipient of the Karnataka governments Rajyotsava Award. She filed a petition in the Supreme Court against Section 377 in 2016 along with two other transgender women, saying their right to privacy was being curbed under the law. Padmashali has been at the forefront of documenting and protesting the impact of the law on transgender people, including in curbing their mobility, harassment and abuse. I cannot rest until Section 377 is kicked out. Who are the police to tell me whats unnatural? Who is the society to stigmatise my sexual relationship? As the worlds largest democracy, we cannot accept this regressive law, she said.
In partnership with the National Park Service, Eastern National invites the public to join them at the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center for a book signing with author David A. Powell on Saturday, Sept. 15 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. as they commemorate the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga. Mr. Powells most recent release is "Decisions at Chickamauga: the Twenty-Four Critical Decisions that Defined the Battle."



Review of the book:

Decisions at Chickamauga: Rather than looking into the narrative history of the battle, this work displays the why decisions were made, by examining the options that were available. General Braxton Bragg, commander of the Confederate Army, and General William Stark Rosecrans, Commander of the Union Army, were faced with great challenges that ultimately turned the tide for the confederacy. This book reveals the critical decisions based on information given as circumstances changed throughout the course of the battle. These critical decisions would ultimately determine the battles outcome.



About the author:

David A. Powells additional works include The Maps of Chickamauga, Failure in the Saddle, Chickamauga Campaign: a Mad Irregular Battle, Chickamauga Campaign: Glory or the Grave, Chickamauga Campaign: A Barren Victory. And Battle Above the Clouds, which places its focus on the Campaign for Chattanooga and Ringgold Gap, was released in the fall of 2017. Powell is a 1983 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute with a B.A. in history. He resides in Chicago where he works at CBS Messenger, a family business, and regularly leads tours at Chickamauga Battlefield.



"Join us and meet author David A Powell. The purchase of your signed copy of Decisions at Chickamauga and other store items provides funding for National Parks. Thank you for supporting Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park," officials said.
The Congress in Telangana indicated on Thursday that it was not against forging an alliance with Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party, which could take a call on the possible alliance in a couple of days.

In the wake of fast-paced political developments in Telangana, where chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao dissolved the state assembly amid a buzz of early elections, leaders of the TDP rushed to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh for talks with party chief Naidu

Amid growing speculations, Telangana Congress spokesperson Sravan Dasoju said, We are not averse to joining hands with any democratic force or party, including the TDP, to pull down the KCR government.

Andhra CM Naidu, an ally-turned-rival of the Bharatiya Janata Party, will have a meeting with Telangana TDP leaders in Hyderabad on September 8, according to news agency Press Trust of India. We will decide on alliances after that, TDP general secretary E Peddi Reddy told reporters.

In the 2014 Telangana state elections, the TDP, which has formed in 1982 with an anti-Congress stand, was in alliance with the BJP. It had won 15 seats in the 119-member Telangana assembly, but 12 of its MLAs later defected to Raos Telangana Rashtra Samiti, while another joined the Congress.

During the TDPs annual conclave Mahanadu in May, Naidu announced his party would emerge as a decisive force in Telangana. The TDP, though primarily an Andhra-based party, still has a considerable vote bank in Telangana, especially in areas such as Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Karimnagar and Khammam districts, where people from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have settled down.

With the TDPs help, the Congress will look to tap the support of the Seemandhra settlers in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, which account for nearly 24 assembly seats.

A TDP source said, Both parties (the Congress and the TDP) are expected to strike a deal on September 8, when Naidu will be in Hyderabad to attend the 10th day ceremony of his brother-in-law and former MP Nandamuri Harikrishna, who died in a road accident in Nalgonda recently.

A Congress leader who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy had held talks with state TDP president L Ramana and others in the presence of senior leaders in Hyderabad on Wednesday night. The talks remained inconclusive, he said.

Of late there have been indications that the TDP might be moving closer to the Congress after severing ties with the National Democratic Alliance government at the Centre.

Naidu attended the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, an event that was attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi.

Naidus party supported the Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman election. The Congress, for its part, supported the TDP in its no-confidence motion against the government in the last monsoon session.

Reacting to the talk of the TDP-Congress alliance, TRS president and CM Rao said it would be shameful on the part of both the parties to join hands with the sole objective of defeating him.

The TDP has absolutely no presence in the state now. The Congress will be the biggest loser if it allies with the TDP, as the people are aware how the TDP government in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was creating hurdles to the projects of Telangana. How can the Telangana Congress have an alliance with an Andhra party like TDP? he asked.
Celebrations broke out across India minutes after the Supreme Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, effectively decriminalising homosexuality, as activists and LGBT people welcomed a verdict that affirmed their right as citizens.

Members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community had gathered in various cities and outside the Supreme Court in Delhi since early Thursday morning, waiting for a judgment that was reserved after hearings in June.

Read: Gay sex among consenting adults is not an offence, rules SC

The pain and fear ends today. We are independent. We are equal. India got a new independence today, said Himanshu Aggarwal, a queer rights activist from Delhi.

The top court in 2013 had struck down a 2009 Delhi high court judgment that read down Section 377. But activists said Thursdays judgments - especially the section where the court talks about the right to live with dignity - had touched a chord with everyone. This is a great moment for everyone and the culmination of a lot of struggle, said an activist from Chennai who requested to not be named since she is not out to her family.

Read: The 6 petitioners who championed decriminalising Section 377

But despite the celebration, some indicated that the fight for LGBT rights had just begun. Pavan Dhall, an activist from Kolkata who has been a part of the queer movement for two decades, said the feeling was sinking in.

But it is also true that the fight for civil rights remains. This decriminalisation is important but wider rights for the community as citizens is something we will fight for, said Dhall.
US secretary of defense James Mattis has said that he expects India to bring up the issue of Russian S-400 air defence systems at the 2+2 talks but he wants to hear the Indian side first.

Certainly, the S-400s will probably be brought up. I anticipate itll be brought up by India, by the way. Again, we have a very transparent dialogue. Its a dialogue between two coequal nations, sovereign nations, and well discuss anything that they bring up, and certainly, therell be issues we bring up.

I want you to remember that freedom means that at times, nations dont agree with each other. That doesnt mean we cant be partners. That doesnt mean we dont respect the sovereignty of those nations. So Im sure it will come up there, but its right that I not speak here before Ive even heard their point. So first, I want to listen to my counterpart, he said.

Underscoring the importance of the relationship ahead of the 2+2 meeting, he told reporters on the way to India, India was among among consequential emerging partners of the United States.

At the ministerial, he added, he and he looks forward, along with secretary of state Mike Pompeo, to discussing diplomatic and security issues, of course. Thats our portfolios. And my  and for my part, well certainly be looking at how do we counter terrorism, increasing defense innovation.

In both countries, I might add, they have a strong technological bent in India, so this two-way street, not a one-way. And we are all, of course, looking for how can we enhance stability in South Asia? And I would point out that creating greater maritime security, considering the ocean that the Indian subcontinent faces, that will be something that is in the best interest of all the nations of the world that want to increase prosperity and the free trafficking of goods, he added.
A historic judgement and some memorable words from the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court which read down Section 377 on Thursday, finally took a step towards meeting the long-standing demands of the countrys LGBTQ community and human rights activists.

The judges quoted from iconic philosophers like Wolfgang von Goethe, and cited the relationship between author Oscar Wilde and his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, criticising the archaic laws based on a conservative notion of morality to stand for love, individual freedom, privacy and a human beings right to live with dignity, thus pronouncing the verdict which decriminalises sex between consenting homosexual adults.

Here are excerpts from what each judge said in the historic verdict:

CJI Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar

Not for nothing, the German thinker, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, had said, I am what I am, so take me as I am and similarly, Arthur Schopenhauer had pronounced, No one can escape from their individuality. The emphasis on the unique being of an individual is the salt of his/her life. Denial of self-expression is inviting death. Irreplaceability of individuality and identity is grant of respect to self. This realisation is ones signature and self-determined design. One defines oneself. That is the glorious form of individuality.

We must recognise that the concept of identity which has a constitutional tenability cannot be pigeonholed singularly to ones orientation as it may keep the individual choice at bay.

Our Constitution is a living and organic document capable of expansion with the changing needs and demands of the society. The courts must commemorate that it is the Constitution and its golden principles to which they bear their foremost allegiance and they must robe themselves with the armoury of progressive and pragmatic interpretation to combat the evils of inequality and injustice that try to creep into the society. The role of the courts gains more importance when the rights which are affected belong to a class of persons or a minority group who have been deprived of their basic rights since time immemorial.

Sexual orientation is one of the many biological phenomena which is natural and inherent in an individual and is controlled by neurological and biological factors. The science of sexuality has theorized that an individual exerts little or no control over who he/she gets attracted to. Any discrimination on the basis of ones sexual orientation would entail a violation of the fundamental right of freedom of expression

Our Constitution has been perceived to be transformative in the sense that the interpretation of its provisions should not be limited to the mere literal meaning of its words; instead they ought to be given a meaningful construction which is reflective of their intent and purpose in consonance with changing times.

Consensual carnal intercourse among adults, be it homosexual or heterosexual, in private space, does not in any way harm the public decency or morality. Therefore, Section 377 IPC in its present form violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Section 377 IPC, so far as it penalises any consensual sexual relationship between two adults, be it homosexuals (man and a man), heterosexuals (man and a woman) or lesbians (woman and a woman), cannot be regarded as constitutional.

Justice RF Nariman

The love that dare not speak its name is how the love that exists between same-sex couples was described by Lord Alfred Douglas, the lover of Oscar Wilde, in his poem Two Loves published in 1894 .

A recent enactment, namely the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, throws a great deal of light on recent parliamentary legislative understanding and acceptance of constitutional values as reflected by this Courts judgments. This definition throws to the winds all earlier misconceptions of mental illness including the fact that same-sex couples who indulge in anal sex are persons with mental illness. At one point of time, the thinking in Victorian England and early on in America was that homosexuality was to be considered a mental disorder.

The present definition of mental illness in the 2017 parliamentary statute makes it clear that homosexuality is not considered to be a mental illness. This is a major advance in our law which has been recognised by Parliament itself.

Given our judgment in Puttaswamy (supra), in particular, the right of every citizen of India to live with dignity and the right to privacy including the right to make intimate choices regarding the manner in which such individual wishes to live being protected by Articles 14, 19 and 21, it is clear that Section 377, insofar as it applies to same-sex consenting adults, demeans them by having them prosecuted instead of understanding their sexual orientation and attempting to correct centuries of the stigma associated with such persons.

The Union of India, seeing the writing on the wall, has filed an affidavit in which it has not opposed the petitioners but left the matter to the wisdom of this court.

We are afraid that, given the march of events in constitutional law by this court, and parliamentary recognition of the plight of such persons in certain provisions of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, it will not be open for a constitutional court to substitute societal morality with constitutional morality, as has been stated by us.

Morality and criminality are not co-extensive -- sin is not punishable on earth by courts set up by the State but elsewhere; crime alone is punishable on earth. To confuse the one with the other is what causes the death knell of Section 377, insofar as it applies to consenting homosexual adults.

We may conclude by stating that persons who are homosexual have a fundamental right to live with dignity, which, in the larger framework of the Preamble of India, will assure the cardinal constitutional value of fraternity that has been discussed in some of our judgments. We further declare that such groups are entitled to the protection of equal laws, and are entitled to be treated in society as human beings without any stigma attached to any of them.

Justice DY Chandrachud

The choice of a partner, the desire for personal intimacy and the yearning to find love and fulfilment in human relationships have a universal appeal, straddling age and time. In protecting consensual intimacies, the Constitution adopts a simple principle: the state has no business to intrude into these personal matters. Nor can societal notions of heteronormativity regulate constitutional liberties based on sexual orientation.

The LGBTQ community has been a victim of the pre-dominant (Victorian) morality which prevailed at the time when the Indian Penal Code was drafted and enacted. Therefore, we are inclined to observe that it is constitutional morality, and not mainstream views about sexual morality, which should be the driving factor in determining the validity of Section 377.

LGBT individuals living under the threats of conformity grounded in cultural morality have been denied a basic human existence. They have been stereotyped and prejudiced. Constitutional morality requires this court not to turn a blind eye to their right to an equal participation of citizenship and an equal enjoyment of living. Constitutional morality requires that this court must act as a counter majoritarian institution which discharges the responsibility of protecting constitutionally entrenched rights, regardless of what the majority may believe. Constitutional morality must turn into a habit of citizens.

Sexual orientation is integral to the identity of the members of the LGBT communities. It is intrinsic to their dignity, inseparable from their autonomy and at the heart of their privacy. Section 377 is founded on moral notions which are an anathema to a constitutional order in which liberty must trump over stereotypes and prevail over the mainstreaming of culture. Our Constitution, above all, is an essay in the acceptance of diversity. It is founded on a vision of an inclusive society which accommodates plural ways of life.

Sexual and gender-based minorities cannot live in fear, if the Constitution has to have meaning for them on even terms. In its quest for equality and the equal protection of the law, the Constitution guarantees an equal citizenship. In de-criminalising such conduct, the values of the Constitution assure to the LGBT community the ability to lead a life of freedom from fear and to find fulfilment in intimate choices.

A 150 years is too long a period for the LGBT community to suffer the indignities of denial. That it has taken 68 years even after the advent of the Constitution is a sobering reminder of the unfinished task which lies ahead. The importance of this case lies in telling us that reverberations of how we address social conflict in our times will travel far beyond the narrow alleys in which they are explored.

Members of the LGBT community are entitled to the full range of constitutional rights; The choice of whom to partner, the ability to find fulfilment in sexual intimacies and the right not to be subjected to discriminatory behaviour are intrinsic to the constitutional protection of sexual orientation; Members of the LGBT community are entitled to the benefit of an equal citizenship... and to the equal protection of law.

Justice Indu Malhotra

Whilst a great deal of scientific research has examined possible genetic, hormonal, developmental, psychological, social and cultural influences on sexual orientation, no findings have conclusively linked sexual orientation to any one particular factor or factors. It is believed that ones sexuality is the result of a complex interplay between nature and nurture. Sexual orientation is an innate attribute of ones identity, and cannot be altered. Sexual orientation is not a matter of choice. It manifests in early adolescence.

Homosexuality is a natural variant of human sexuality. A persons sexual orientation is intrinsic to their being. It is connected with their individuality, and identity. A classification which discriminates between persons based on their innate nature, would be violative of their fundamental rights, and cannot withstand the test of constitutional morality.

Section 377 insofar as it criminalises consensual sexual acts between adults in private, is not based on any sound or rational principle, since the basis of criminalisation is the sexual orientation of a person, over which one has little or no choice.

Further, the phrase carnal intercourse against the order of nature in Section 377 as a determining principle in a penal provision, is too open-ended, giving way to the scope for misuse against members of the LGBT community. Thus, apart from not satisfying the twin-test under Article 14, Section 377 is also manifestly arbitrary, and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.

Sexual orientation is innate to a human being. It is an important attribute of ones personality and identity. Homosexuality and bisexuality are natural variants of human sexuality. LGBT persons have little or no choice over their sexual orientation. LGBT persons, like other heterosexual persons, are entitled to their privacy, and the right to lead a dignified existence, without fear of persecution. They are entitled to complete autonomy over the most intimate decisions relating to their personal life, including the choice of their partners. Such choices must be protected under Article 21. The right to life and liberty would encompass the right to sexual autonomy, and freedom of expression.

The right to privacy is not simply the right to be let alone, and has travelled far beyond that initial concept. It now incorporates the ideas of spatial privacy, and decisional privacy or privacy of choice. It extends to the right to make fundamental personal choices, including those relating to intimate sexual conduct, without unwarranted State interference. Section 377 affects the private sphere of the lives of LGBT persons. It takes away the decisional autonomy of LGBT persons to make choices consistent with their sexual orientation, which would further a dignified existence and a meaningful life as a full person.

History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution. This was on account of the ignorance of the majority to recognise that homosexuality is a completely natural condition, part of a range of human sexuality.

The LGBT persons deserve to live a life unshackled from the shadow of being unapprehended felons.
The Union health ministry, which has previously backed decriminalising homosexuality and said Section 377 acted as an impediment in making high-risk groups such as men-having-sex-with-men (MSM) come forward to access services, said on Thursday it is expecting a rise in the number of people seeking support.

From our earlier experience between 2009 and 2013, when homosexuality was decriminalised, more invisible people had come out to seek targeted services that the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) had provided for high-risk groups. After it was criminalised, we found all those people went underground. However, we are hopeful more of these people will now be in a position to seek our support as there will be no fear of criminal action against them, said Alok Saxena, joint secretary, NACO.

The top court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalised specific sexual acts between adults. Activists working to fight HIV/AIDS in India also felt the verdict will have a far-reaching impact.

Now people will be more comfortable in not just accessing services but also openly talking about related issues. Right now everything is being brushed under the carpet. Todays judgment was pretty comprehensive as it talked about homosexuality not being a disease, mental health, right to privacy etc, said Anjali Gopalan, founder, Naz foundation.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman held talks with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday for the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue, which is set to see the two sides deepening their military and security ties.

In her opening remarks, Swaraj said she was confident that the outcome of the talks will help unleash the untapped potential of the relationship between the two nations and further elevate the level of engagement.

She said there has been significant progress in all key areas of cooperation between the two countries.

In his remarks, Pompeo said both sides should continue to ensure freedom of the seas and work towards peaceful resolutions of maritime disputes.

He also stressed promoting market-based economics and good governance.

Our two nations are united by shared values of democracy, respect for individual rights and a shared commitment to freedom, he said.

Earlier in the day, Swaraj and Sitharaman held separate meetings with Pompeo and Mattis respectively.

Official sources said a number of key bilateral issues were discussed during the meetings.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar called the meeting between Swaraj and Pompeo a productive engagement.

He said the two sides took stock of impressive strides in the bilateral relationship and discussed steps to take the relationship to an even higher trajectory.

On the agenda

In their discussions, India is expected to urge the United States to take a lenient view on its purchase of S-400 Triumph air defence missile systems from Russia, Indias biggest defence partner and one of its most trusted allies, and oil imports from Iran.

Speaking to the travelling US media, secretary of state Pompeo said that issues like India buying Russian missile defence system and Iranian oil export will certainly come up, but I dont think theyll be the primary focus of what it is we are trying to accomplish here.

India, which is aware that the US is unlikely to give it a blanket waiver for arms deals with Russia, is hoping the country will give one for the purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missiles, thereby giving it immunity from a 2017 US law that requires the US president to penalise countries that have significant transaction with Russias defence sector.

We hope that they understand that India has a strategic partnership with other countries too, said an official.

Defence minister Sitharaman said in July that India and Russia are close to concluding the S-400 deal and that New Delhi would go forward with the deal, adding that the new US law isnt binding on it.

Indian officials have subsequently told their US counterparts that they have been diversifying the countrys defence purchases. The government recently approved a $2-billion government-to-government deal for the purchase of 24 naval helicopters from US firm Lockheed. Turkey, a NATO ally of the US, is also planning to buy the S-400 air defence system.

India is also in discussions with the US on the import of Iran crude, which falls afoul of the sanctions imposed by America on the West Asian nation. The person cited above said 83% of Indias total oil requirement is met by import, and that of this, 24% comes from Iran. It is an important issue for us. Iran is a major source of crude import for us. We will take a decision free from external pressures, the person said.

The focus of the meeting itself will be on the two countries working together in the Indo-Pacific region. Despite declared intentions, the contours of the Indo-Pacific cooperation between the two sides under the Trump administration is yet to be known.

Indias global strategic partnership with the United States has overcome the hesitations of history and continues to deepen across the extraordinary breadth of our relationship. It has assumed a new significance in the changing world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said at the Shangri La dialogue in Singapore recently.

The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), a foundational defence pact which is expected to be signed soon, would also be a key highlight of the meeting. It aims to give a legal framework for the transfer of highly sensitive communication security equipment from the US to India that would streamline and facilitate interoperability between their armed forces.

COMCASA is one of the three foundational agreements for a seamless military relationship between the two sides. India had signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in August 2016, which provides for the military of each country. The third one in Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) is yet to gather steam.

(With PTI inputs)
India has decided to cancel a visa in perpetuity for people of Indian origin of some relatives and friends of the Indian American couple awaiting trial in the US for the murder of Sherin Mathews, their three-year-old child adopted from Bihar.

The government has cited national security concerns as the reason and the impact of the case on relations with a foreign power, the United States, for this precipitate but seemingly unprecedented action.

Manoj N Abraham and Nissy T Abraham, an Indian American friends of the Mathews family, were among the first to receive a notice of cancellation of the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), which they have challenged in Delhi high court.

Others on the cancellation list include Sherins adoptive parents, Wesley and Sini Mathews, who are both in jail awaiting trial, and the parents of Wesley, according to a note sent to the counsel for the ministry of external affairs by the consulate general of India in Houston, Texas, in response to the lawsuit.

The decision to revoke the OCI cards of Manoj N Abraham and Missy T Abraham will be communicated to them at the earliest, the note, a copy of which is in the possession of Hindustan Times, said. They will also be informed that the Consulate will recommend that their names will be recommended for insertion in the BlackList maintained by the Government of India at the earliest, it added.

The note also makes clear that the action followed instructions from the government of India to look into the matter. Indian-origin foreigners can apply for regular India travel visas if they dont have OCI cards, either because they never applied or had theirs revoked. But the BlackList, a more severe action, prevents them from being issued simple visas to travel to India, severing their links to their country of origin physically, and for good.

Sherin Mathews, who was named Saraswati by her birth parents in Bihar and was adopted by Wesley and Sini in 2016, was found dead near the familys home in Richardson, Texas, on October 22, 2017, two weeks after her family reported her missing.

Wesley first told the police that his daughter had gone missing from outside the house where he had made her stand as punishment for not finishing her milk. She wasnt there when he went back for her, he had contended. He changed his story subsequently and told investigators the child died in his arms after he tried to force-feed her  physically assisted (her)  in drinking the milk.

The three-year-old girl began to choke. She was coughing and her breathing slowed. Eventually, Wesley Mathews no longer felt a pulse on the child and believed she had died, the police had said in their report.

But instead of calling for medical help or police, Wesley is alleged to have put the child in the back of the familys SUV along with a trash bag, drove a mile to a nearby culvert and left the body there. The family called the police four hours later, and the couple failed to explain the delay.

Wesley is charged with murder and his wife Sini, who had exhibited stunning insensitivity during questioning asking investigators if she will be free from questioning at the end of the day to attend a baby shower party for a friend, for accessory to the crime.

The case drew international attention at the time and India sought the utmost attention on the case given the heart-rending details of a three-year-old killed allegedly by her adoptive father as her mother slept in another room and did not seem concerned enough when told of it.

The Indian consulate in Houston conducted its own inquiries, not to be confused for or with those carried out by local law enforcement authorities, and as one official pointed out in a background discussion, something had to be done, this couldnt go unpunished.

It has come to the knowledge of the Consulate through diplomatic and privileged sources that Manoj Abraham and Nissy T Abraham have been in close contact with the adoptive parents of Sherin Mathews before, during and after the murder, the consulate note said explaining the unique action.

But during an interview at the consulate, Abraham  did not cooperate in providing information which could have helped the Consulate General of India or the Government of India to find out more about the circumstances of the murder, according to the note.
India and the US signed a foundational defence partnership agreement on Thursday, signalling the deepening of a relationship that has warmed over the past few months, with the Americans previously allowing India to import key defence equipment and technologies, even creating a mechanism for a waiver for the country from a law that effectively prohibits arms imports from Russia, and the two countries moving closer to a rapprochement on the trade front.

The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (Comcasa) was signed by India and the United States on Thursday at the inaugural two-plus-two dialogue between their foreign and defence ministers. The two countries also agreed on several other measures to step up defence and security ties.

Comcasa, delayed for years as New Delhi bargained hard for getting its concerns addressed before inking the sensitive pact that would effectively mean opening up its military communications network to the US military, comes into force with immediate effect and will be valid for 10 years. The India-specific Comcasa has in-built safeguards to secure Indias national interests with complete access to equipment to make sure there is no disruption, said two officials familiar with the details of the agreement.

One of the officials cited above said on condition of anonymity that it was an enabling agreement and did not commit India to future military acquisitions from the US. He also added that Indian military data could not be shared by the US with a third party without consent.

The agreement was signed after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman held three sessions of talks with their US counterparts, US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and defence secretary Jim Mattis.

Comcasa aims to give a legal framework for the transfer of highly sensitive communication security equipment from the US to India that will streamline and facilitate interoperability between their armed forces. It is one of the three foundational agreements for a seamless military relationship between the two sides. India had signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in August 2016. Customised for India again, this agreement gives the two countries access to named military infrastructure in the other country for logistics support including refuelling. The third agreement is the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) , which, once signed, will allow the US to share sensitive data with India. Work is yet to begin on the third agreement.

The (leaders) welcomed the signing of a Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that will facilitate access to advanced defence systems and enable India to optimally utilise its existing US-origin platforms, read a joint statement issued after the meeting.

Defence cooperation has emerged as the most significant dimension of our bilateral relationship, Sitharaman said, summing up the mood after two sides also agreed to hold the first tri-services exercises next year, and announced that they would begin negotiations on an Industrial Security Annex (ISA) that would support a closer cooperation and collaboration between their defence industries.

Strategic affairs expert C Uday Bhaskar said the signing of Comcasa was a significant punctuation in the bilateral defence cooperation framework.

This protocol has immediate operational implications, being able to exploit the US-supplied platforms to optimum capability and long-term possibilities by way of technology cooperation or perhaps transfer. It is instructive to recall that the first defence cooperation agreement was signed in June 2005 and it has taken India 13-plus years to reach this stage. Team Modi is to be commended for overcoming the political diffidence of early years.

Pompeo described Comcasa as a major step forward.

The joint statement amply reflected the growing synergy in defence ties between the two countries.

Recognising their rapidly growing military-to-military ties, the two sides committed to the creation of a new tri-services exercise and to further increase personnel exchanges between the two militaries and defence organisations, the joint statement said.

The ministers reviewed the recent growth of bilateral engagements in support of maritime security and maritime domain awareness, and in a bid to expand maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean, agreed to start exchanges between the US Naval Forces Central Command (Navcent) and the Indian Navy.

The momentum in our defence partnership has imbued a tremendous positive energy that has elevated India-US relations to unprecedented heights, Sitharaman said.

Though Russia remains the biggest defence partner of India, the US has become Indias second-largest arms supplier; the two countries have closed $15 billion worth of deals in the last decade. The meeting also saw the two sides agreeing to step up their counter terrorism cooperation.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj termed the growing trade and investment ties as an important element of bilateral relationship.

This growth is giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement which supports development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth.

Swaraj also made a strong pitch to address visa issues. I sought Secretary Pompeos support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship, Swaraj said.

The two sides agreed to set up a hotline between the external affairs minister and the secretary of state.

India and the US also discussed the Indo-Pacific, where Chinas footprint is growing.

We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing, Swaraj said, adding that India welcomed the USs interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region as they complement our own efforts.

The two sides have agreed to deepen ties in international forums such as the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force. They also discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process.

The US will host the next edition of the dialogue.

Some experts said India hasnt got as much as the US has from the agreement.

The US side got what it wanted -- Indias signature on Comcasa. But what did India get? Trumps Iran sanctions and other actions have increased Indias oil-import bill and depreciated the rupee, said strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellany.

His reference is to US sanctions on imports from Iran -- an important oil supplier to India. Indian officials were hoping to discuss the issue during the two-plus-two dialogue. While it didnt figure in the statement, the two countries did discuss the issue.
The United States and India held talks to deepen political and security ties on Thursday, signing a crucial agreement on military communications that could lead to increased US arms sales to New Delhi.

The Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (Comcasa) was signed in Delhi after the first 2+2 talks between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman with US secretary of state Michael R Pompeo and defence secretary James Mattis. Earlier Swaraj and Pompeo had held bilateral talks.

Comcasa, which will allow the militaries of the two countries to securely communicate with each other, had been stalled for years because of Indias concerns that it would open up its communications network to the US military.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj expressed satisfaction over the agenda of the inaugural dialogue while Sitharaman said that the momentum in the bilateral defence partnership has imbued a tremendous positive energy that has elevated India-US relations to unprecedented heights.

In todays meeting, we reaffirmed to cooperate in every possible way to ensure peace, prosperity and development, the defence matter added, as per news agency ANI.

Pompeo said the accord was a major step forward that officials have previously said would allow the US to transfer high-tech equipment such as armed surveillance drones. New Delhi has been seeking the drones to monitor the Indian Ocean where China, a close ally of Pakistan, has been making repeated forays in recent years, reported Reuters.

Experts believe the signing of the agreement could also reduce the chances of the United States imposing sanctions on India for looking to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.

India and the United States also agreed to open a hotline between their foreign and defence chiefs and hold joint exercises involving the air force, navy and the army off the eastern Indian coast in 2019.

The two sides also discussed other key issues, including cross-border terrorism, Indias bid for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and contentious H-1B visa issue.

At the press conference, Swaraj said that the dialogue reflected the desire of leadership of the two countries to further elevate the bilateral strategic communication on cross-cutting defence and security issues.

The recent decision by the US to put India in the list of countries eligible for Strategic Trade Authorization Tier-I License Exemption reflects Indias robust and responsible export control policies. In our meeting today, we also agreed to work together to secure Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group at the earliest.

About her bilateral meeting with Pompeo before the 2+2 dialogue, she said they reviewed the direction of the Indo-US relations in recent months and exchanged views on a number of regional issues of shared concern, reported PTI.

Terming the rapidly growing trade and investment ties as an important element of bilateral relationship, Swaraj said this growth is giving rise to new opportunities and a basis for more intense economic engagement which supports development of manufacturing, promotes knowledge and innovation, creates jobs and provides critical resources for growth.

I sought Secretary Pompeos support to nurture our people-to-people links. Specifically, I conveyed our expectation for a non-discriminatory and predictable approach to the H-1B visa regime, given its high impact on innovation, competitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all of which are a vital source of strength for our relationship, Swaraj said.

She also noted that there was a growing convergence of views, including on the Indo-Pacific, during the discussion among the four ministers.

We see the Indo-Pacific as a free, open and inclusive concept, with ASEAN centrality at the core and defined by a common rules-based order that both our countries are pursuing, the minister said, adding India welcomed the US interest in expanding its economic footprint in the region as they complement our own efforts.

Asserting that counterterrorism cooperation between India and the US has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose, Swaraj said they have agreed to deepen ties in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force.

We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the US. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the US alike. On the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognized the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack, Swaraj said.

India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, she added.

The two sides also discussed the ongoing efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process in the country.
The Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalised gay sex, reading down a British-era law that penalises people for their sexual orientation.

A five judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, gave the verdict, in a big win for the LGBTQ community.

Here are the top quotes from the SC verdict:

1. Not for nothing the great German thinker said..I am what I am, so take me as I am.

2. Identity is pivotal to ones name. In Constitution, emphasis is laid on individual recognition. Privacy of human beings constitutes the cardinal rule of our Constitution .

3. LGBT possess equal rights as other citizens.

4. Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violates fundamental rights.

5.Constitution is a living organic document, pragmatic interpretation has to be given to combat rigorous inequality and injustice.

6. Social morality cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual; constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality.

7. Section 377 fails to make distinction between consensual and non-consensual acts ..It had become a weapon for the harassment for LGBT and subject them to discrimination.

8. LGBTs have a fundamental right to live with dignity, such groups are entitled to protection of law.

9. To deny members of LGBT community the full expression of right to sexual orientation is to deny them right under Constitution, is denial to right to privacy .

10. History owes apology to the LGBT community. They were made to live a life full of fear.
Kashmirs endemic fish  Snowtrout or Schizothorax  is vanishing, fisheries biologists say and blame the introduction of exotic species and growing pollution for it.

Experts say exotics like Common Carp and Trout, which were introduced in 1956 and 1900, have been thriving at Schizothoraxs cost.

Schizothorax fish were found in abundance in snow-fed lakes, rivers, wetlands and canals until 30 years back. They have elongated and subcylindrical fleshy bodies and are known to be tastier and free of diseases. Their presence in water bodies would indicate that they were pollution free.

Experts say over half of Schizothoraxs 12 species have disappeared. The Dal Lake has some Snowtrout presence while they are no longer found in polluted water bodies like Srinagars Khushalsar Lake.

Biologist Jakob Heckel, who visited Kashmir in 1838, reported 16 fish species that he considered were new and wrote about them in his book Fische Aus Caschmir.

Srinagars Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST)s fisheries department head Masood ul Hassan Balkhi said 12 of the species Heckels discovered were found to be those of Schizothorax. He said researchers and the fishermen are now able to find only five of them. ...the five species, still found in waters, are also in danger, Balkhi said.

Zeba, who has been selling fish in Srinagar for decades, said most of her catch is Common Carp. She had managed to catch just a single Schizothorax fish last week.

SKAUSTs fisheries resource management department head Faroz Ahmad Bhat said their research in 2005 found 15% of the total catch to be Schizothorax while 68% was Common Carp.

In 2015, Schizothoraxs numbers reduced to 10%. Bhat said the biomass of the species has also been decreasing. One of them would grow as much as a healthy human child. Fisheries department joint director Mohammad Amin Mir said their priority has been overall fish production.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao came under fire from the opposition Congress and the BJP on Thursday for his decision to dissolve the assembly nine months ahead of the completion of its term.

Within a couple of hours of the dissolution of the assembly, the Congress which had 13 seats in the last assembly, declared that it was ready to face the assembly elections whenever they are held. However, it questioned the propriety of going in for early elections without any proper rhyme or reason.

Raos Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) had swept to power in June 2014 winning 63 seats in the 119-member House. The partys tally later went up to 90 due to defection of MLAs from the Congress, the TDP, the YSR Congress and the CPI, besides two independents.

It only shows the dictatorial mentality of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. By going in for early polls, he has indirectly admitted that his party would lose the elections, if they are held as per the schedule in April, AICC general secretary in-charge of Telangana affairs R C Khuntia said.

The development in Telangana will come to a grinding halt for several months from now. There will be model code of conduct once the election schedule is announced in the state. A couple months after the assembly elections, there would be another model code of conduct once the Lok Sabha elections are announced. And the people will suffer, Khuntia said.

Telangana PCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy said there was no meaning in KCRs reasoning for going for the polls. If his government is really doing so well for the people, why should he blame the opposition criticism for his decision to dissolve the assembly? The fact is that he has not fulfilled many of his major promises made before 2014. He is afraid of peoples backlash. Whatever he is now claiming are blatant lies, he said.

The PCC chief has been holding a series of meetings with his party office bearers for the last two days to work out the election strategy in the wake of the talk of early elections. On Wednesday, he came out with a mini manifesto making several promises to the people including waiver of crop loans up to Rs 2 lakh in one go, payment of Rs 2 lakh subsidy for weaker section housing, free power supply to SCs and STs up to 200 units a month, free supply of six gas cylinders to all families under below poverty line, distribution of bicycles to girls studying seventh class to Intermediate free of cost etc.

Reddy also announced that the party would kick off its poll campaign with a massive public meeting at Nizamabad or Karimnagar. We are planning to invite UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the meeting. The schedule would be finalised in a day or two, he said.

Meanwhile, Telangana BJP leaders, too, are gearing up to face the early elections to the state assembly. We are ready to face the elections. There is absolutely no worry, state BJP president Dr K Laxman said.

Stating that KCR could not give proper reasoning for dissolving the assembly for early elections, Laxman sought to know why KCR had gone back from his earlier stand of holding simultaneous elections to the assembly and Parliament. Obviously, he is scared of growing anti-incumbency, he said.

The BJP leaders are planning to meet the Governor to demand imposition of Presidents Rule in the state in view of the dissolution of the assembly. They are apprehensive that the TRS might misuse the power in the elections.

BJP national president Amit Shah, who had a brief meeting with local BJP leaders at Hyderabad airport during his transit stop a couple of days ago, assured them that he would take personal responsibility of steering the party in the ensuing elections. He is expected to make a whirl wind tour of Telangana later this month, a party leader said.

The BJP had won only five seats in the last assembly elections.
Activists from the LGBTQ community in Kolkata on Thursday recalled the first pride walk of the country with just a handful of participants against Section 377 in the city 19 years ago as India celebrated the Supreme Courts verdict decriminalising homosexuality.

The 15 people walked from Park Circus grounds to Esplanade, a distance of about 6km, wearing yellow t-shirts and blue trousers on July 2, 1999. They were holding aloft just a few handwritten posters.

It was around 2-2:30 in the afternoon. We walked for barely an hour, Pawan Dhall, one of the pioneers of the same sex rights movement in Kolkata, recalled.

From the 15 participants, the walk has now grown into a highly-publicised gathering of thousands of people that is now known as the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk (KRPF).

Last year, the number of participants crossed a few thousands. Several people who are not from the community participated in the walk to express solidarity, said Dhall, founder of Varta Trust, which runs Indias first LGBTQ health and legal helpline portal, Reach Out.

Now, tableaux are taken out and dances held during the walks. When the walk started in 1999, there was no requirement for police permission but over the years as the crowd has grown, seeking permission from the police has become mandatory. The route for the pride walk is also fixed after taking advice from the police.

The top court said gay sex among consenting adults is not an offence after hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality. In four separate but concurring verdicts, the five judges of the top court ruled that the section failed to make a distinction between consensual and non-consensual acts.

As a legal professional, I feel that this is the second Independence of all Indian citizens, and not just from the people from the community, from a draconian law that carried the baggage of colonial legacy, Kaushik Gupta, a Calcutta High Court lawyer who takes part in these walks regularly, said.
Army chief General Bipin Rawat said on Wednesday that if Pakistan stops cross border terrorism, India will have no hesitation in extending its hand of friendship to it.

Responding to a question on how Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra displayed sportsman spirit when he bowed his head and shook hands with Pakistans bronze medallist Arshad Nadeem during the medal distribution ceremony at the recently-concluded Asian Games in Indonesia, Rawat reiterated Indias position by asking Pakistan to stop sponsoring terror from across the border.

Let Pakistan take the initiative first by stopping cross border terror. If they manage to stop terrorism from their side, we will act like Neeraj Chopra, Rawat told reporters on the sidelines of a felicitation ceremony for the Army athletes here.

The 20-year-old Chopra, who clinched the gold in the mens javelin throw event at the Asiad, won millions of hearts when he bowed his head and shook hands with Arshad, to which the bronze medallist Pakistani reciprocated promptly in kind.

On being asked about the current situation in the Kashmir valley, since the implementation of Presidents rule in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir, Rawat was optimistic that the situation will improve.

I can say this with conviction that their families have realised that terrorism isnt the best way forward. The mothers want their sons to return to the right track and if the trend continues, I am sure we can find a way for peace to return in the valley, he said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
The National Conferences threat to boycott panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir unless the Centre and state government clear their stand on Article 35A of the Constitution evoked sharp response from the All J&K Panchayat Conference (AJKPC ) on Thursday which criticised mainstream parties for politicising the upcoming elections.

The AJKPC said former panches and sarpanches will take a decision about participation in the polls only after all the mainstream parties clarify their stand.

On Wednesday, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said that party will boycott the polls unless Centre and the state government clear stand on the Article 35A, which provides special rights to the states citizens. The Congress and the PDP leaders are also meeting to chalk out whether to participate or not in these elections. The Political Affairs Committee of PDP headed by former J&K chief minister and the PDP president Mehbooba Mufti is meeting Thursday evening to decide the strategy about the polls.

A senior PDP leader who did not wish to be named, said that many leaders and workers of the party have been insisting on boycotting these elections as the situation on the ground was not feasible and majority of workers were against these polls.

Whether National Conference, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Congress or the BJP, the leaders of all these mainstream parties have politicised the panchayat and local body elections as they were never interested in empowering the intuitions on the grassroot level, Shafiq Mir, AJKPC president told Hindustan Times.

AJKPC is the only organisation of former panchayat members of the state. The tenure of some 4,000 sarpanchs and over 29,000 panchs in the state ended last year.

Mir said that if these parties, especially the NC, PDP and Congress are serious then their members should resign their assembly and parliamentary seats. These all parties are playing politics over this issue. They are not resigning or boycotting the places where laws are being made but making institutions, which are meant for welfare of villages, controversial. 

Mir had termed these polls as non-political elections and said that everybody was concerned about Article 35A , including former panches and sarpanches because it was a crucial law for the state, but the mainstream political parties were using it to serve their own interests. The mainstream parties including the ruling party at the Centre have made these elections a big issue and we also need to devise the strategy about this. The elections are no longer a non-political issue.

The AJKPC will meet to take the decision whether to take part in these elections or not after the mainstream parties make their stand clear. We are adopting a wait and watch policy.

The Jammu and Kashmir government had announced the schedule for its municipal and panchayat polls last week. The polls are scheduled to start on October 1 and will conclude in the first week of November. The decision was taken by the state administrative council (SAC), which met under the chairmanship of governor Satya Pal Malik last Friday. Preparations for the elections have been on ever since the state came under governors rule on June 20.

Militants and separatist Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik have called for a boycott of the local bodies polls in Jammu and Kashmir, saying peoples participation in the elections are propagated as a verdict in Indias favour.

Mir said that while they respect the decision of separatist organisation, they were surprised with mainstream politicians. This has become very sensitive issue.

Hizb-ul-Mujahideens militant commander Riyaz Naikoo has also threatened likely candidates to get shrouds as well when they fill the election forms in a bid to scuttle the elections through fear.
Rescue workers found another body on Thursday morning from the debris of the collapsed 50-year-old Majerhat bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata, officials said, taking the death toll in the accident to three.

There was no official confirmation on the identity of the body but the family of Gautam Mondal, a Metro rail construction worker, claimed that it was his. Mondal was cooking under the bridge when the accident happened.

Police had confirmed the death of 21-year-old Soumen Bag, a resident of Silpara in Behala, and said 19 others, including two women, were injured after a portion of the bridge collapsed on Tuesday. The body of Pranab Dey, a construction worker from Murshidabad district, was found from under the rubble on Wednesday evening.

Two of the injured, who are admitted to Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial (SSKM) Hospital and Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI), are stated to be in a critical condition.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will hold an emergency meeting t the state secretariat at 3:30pm to discuss the mishap. On Wednesday evening, she said the area felt big tremors due to the construction work of the Metro rail, though she stopped short of saying that it was the reason for the mishap.

The West Bengal Public Works Departments (PWD) Alipore division is in charge of the bridge.
The police heaved a sigh of relief after nine more convicts in the Mirchpur case were arrested on Tuesday late night. They were produced before the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that released them under the provision of undergone as the convicted persons had already undergone judicial custody after they were arrested following the violence.

The convicts who were produced before the court were identified as Jogender, Sonu, Jagdish, Rajender, Roshan, Sattu, Pradeep, Balwan and Jasbir alias Leelu.

Nine of the 12 convicts who were granted life imprisonment are still absconding.

The case pertains to April 21, 2010 incident that took place in Mirchpur village as a group of villagers belonging to upper caste had allegedly torched over a dozen houses belonging to Dalits, in which 17-year-old physically-challenged girl and her aged father Tara Chand were charred to death.

The trigger for the mayhem was said to be a dispute between upper caste men and a Dalit man over a barking dog. Mirchpur police post in-charge Ranbir Singh and Narnaund police station SHO Sadhu Ram took the accused to Delhi High Court and produced them before the court.

Ranbir said, We have arrested nine accused with the help of the elders of the village and produced them before the court. The court released them under the provision of undergone. The convicts also submitted their fine in the court.

SHO Narnaund said for the remaining 21 accused, the police have formed six teams to arrest them. However, the high court extended the date of the arrest of the accused from September 5 to September 20.

The Delhi High Court had convicted 33 persons in the case and sentenced 12 to life imprisonment. Out of them, three are in jail. Those convicted under life imprisonment were identified as Pawan, Kulwinder, Karanveer, Pradeep, Rajpal, Pradeep, Ranbir, Jogel, Sanjay, Satyawaan, Ramphal and Rajender.

What happened earlier

On Monday, the police had met village elders of the Jat community to exhort them to give up those convicted in the case.

As the first high courts deadline for the convicts to surrender ended on September 1, the court had issued arrest warrants against them and directed the Haryana Police to nab the convicts before September 5.

A Dalit resident of the village, requesting anonymity said, Earlier, all those convicted could be seen in the village, but soon after the verdict came out, all of them disappeared.

He further said that over 40 Dalit children have fled the village since the incident, fearing for their lives.

Though the village is constantly under police supervision, yet the Dalit families are not free from fear, he added.

Sources in the village said almost all the convicts are the only breadwinners of their families and they may move the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Courts verdict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled his December 2015 peace overture to Islamabad before dignitaries including Secretary of Defence James Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and General Joseph Dunford, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff who called on him for 45 minutes. The US delegation was in India for the two-plus-two dialogue between Mattis and Pompeo and their Indian counterparts, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, and met the Prime Minister for around 45-minutes.

Pompeo conveyed to India that Pakistan has been told to take action against pan-Islamic terrorist group and not just talk; Pompeo spent a few hours in Pakistan before arriving in India on Wednesday and had a get-tough-on-terror message for the countrys new Prime Minister Imran Khan.

India and the US signed a foundational defence partnership agreement during the dialogue and also agreed on several other measures to boost defence ties. Prime Minister Modi is believed to have personally reviewed several aspects of the dialogue with all principals on the eve of the talks.

Hindustan Times learns that contrary to what was expected, the issue of a possible visit by US President Donald Trump to India early next year was not taken up during the meeting but that PM Modi asked the visiting dignitaries to convey his greetings to their President. He fondly recalled his interactions with President Trump and told the US delegation that both Swaraj and Sitharaman were very happy with the outcome of the visit.

The visiting team did not raise the issue of the waiver to the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CATSAA) that would facilitate Indias plan to purchase S-400 missile systems from Russia. Only macro issues were discussed, a senior South Block official said on condition of anonymity. There is a CATSAA waiver by President Trump. We will discuss the issue when the acquisition is finalized, said a senior South Block official.

The Indian side, however, briefed the team on its legacy relationship with Iran for oil purchases and the effort being made to reduce the imports. The Indian side also explained the importance of Chahbahar port in stabilizing Afghanistan. Both Pompeo and Mattis said that US will work with India on how to sort out the two issues with Iran, both of which could see India fall afoul of US sanctions against the West Asian nation.
With an eye on D-day, next years Lok Sabha elections, the government has decided to celebrate special days as part of an attempt to showcase its victories and achievements, reinforce its nationalist credentials, and tug at the heart-strings of voters.

For starters, the government will celebrate September 28 as Surgical Strike Day, two years after troops from Indian army crossed the Line of Control that day and destroyed militant camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, according to two people familiar with the development.

On Surgical Strike Day, all ministers and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs have been directed to go to their constituencies to organise events such as mobilising NCC cadets and honouring former and serving soldiers living or posted in the area, said a senior government official who asked not to be named.

This was discussed after the Cabinet meeting concluded last week and the plan was finalised, a second person in the government said.

The government has also drawn up an elaborate plan to mark one month of the death of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Kavyanjali Diwas on September 16, followed by weeklong events under the aegis of Ayushman Bharat Diwas between September 17, which is Prime Minister Narendra Modis birthday, and September 25, the birth anniversary of party ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay.

For Kavyanjali Diwas, ministers and BJP MPs have been told to hold poetry events in their constituencies in which poems written by Vajpayee poems will be recited, the second person added.

The armys surgical strikes in the early hours of September 29, 2016 was a response to an attack on an army base in Kashmirs Uri on September 18 in which 19 soldiers were killed. India blames the attack on militants who crossed over from Pakistani territory.

The governments move to celebrate Surgical Strike Day is significant in the run up to the 2019 general elections; it has been showcasing the surgical strike as an embodiment of its resolve to do whatever it takes when it comes to national security.

In the period between September 17 and September 25 medial camps will be put up in slums and awareness campaigns will be carried out about the governments flagship programme.

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Rajya Sabha member and BJPs national vice president said: These events inspire younger generations, enlightens and educates them about the great work of our national heroes. Sardar Patel belonged to the nation. To pay homage to him by unveiling his statue is a brilliant idea. Also, what is wrong in recalling the courageous action of our soldier? If we as citizens of this country dont do it, who will? It is unfortunate that national heroes and persons of pride are being given a petty partisan colour by the opposition.

The round of celebrations and commemorations will conclude on October 31, Sardar Patels birth anniversary, which has been celebrated as National Unity Day since 2014. To mark the day, PM Modi will unveil a 182-metre tall statue of Sardar Patel on the banks of Narmada.

Experts on security and strategic affairs say this is not surprising. This happened in the aftermath of 1971, in the war for Bangladesh; and later in the 1999 Kargil war, although this is the first time that the public narrative about a covert military operation has been packaged in the manner by the government  and the electoral benefits that may accrue cannot be overlooked, said C Uday Bhaskar, director, Society for Policy Studies.

He added that it is astute politics.  Some of these celebrations such as recalling Atalji, reminding a younger generation about the excesses of the emergency or encouraging yoga  they will also serve to burnish the image of the BJP and the government.
Telangana chief minister and Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrashekhar Rao ruled out any electoral alliance with the BJP while he went hammer and tongs at the Congress shortly after dissolving the state assembly nine months ahead of schedule on Thursday.

While keeping his distance from the BJP, Rao underlined that TRS would be a friendly party of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, though not a political ally. We may have friendly contest in the constituencies where MIM fields its candidates. That has been our stand right from the beginning, he said.

Quashing speculations of any possible alliance with the BJP, KCR, as Rao is called, said, It is true that we have been maintaining cordial relations with the NDA government at the Centre. But that is only on government-to-government basis.

KCRs two meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August had fuelled speculation of an electoral alliance between the TRS and the BJP. But KCR shot down any possibility of such a partnership.

Ours is a secular party and there is no way we can join hands with the BJP. Even BJP president Amit Shah also said there was no chance of allying with the TRS which is MIM-friendly, he said.

Earlier in the day, KCR dissolved the assembly almost nine months ahead of the completion of its actual term in a tactical gambit to enable holding of early assembly elections in the state. The state cabinet, which met at Raos camp office at Begumpet at around 1.15 pm, passed a one-line resolution seeking dissolution of the assembly.

Later, the chief minister drove straight to Raj Bhavan to meet Governor E S L Narasimhan and submitted the copy of the cabinet resolution on dissolution of the state assembly. The Governor accepted the resolution immediately and asked KCR and his cabinet colleagues to continue as caretaker government till the next government is formed.

Despite ruling out an alliance with the BJP, the TRS chief reserved his fire for the Congress. At a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, the partys state headquarters, KCR said he had decided to sacrifice his tenure nine months in advance because of growing attacks on his government from the opposition parties.

There is a political fragility in the state now. The opposition parties, particularly the Congress party, have been making serious allegations against me and my government without any basis and evidence, he said.

Rao completely avoided criticising the BJP and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling the party Telanganas enemy number 1 and its president Rahul Gandhi the biggest buffoon in the country.

Everybody knows Rahul Gandhi. He is the biggest buffoon in the country. Whole country has seen in the open assembly (Lok Sabha) how he went to Narendra Modi and hugged him....the way he was winking, Rao said.

He pointed out that the Opposition parties were moving courts to stall the developmental programmes initiated by my government, holding round-table conferences spread canards against the irrigation projects and making allegations of corruption in every programme.

All this is only to demoralise us and discourage us from going ahead in the path of development. That is precisely why we have decided to dissolve the assembly and seek fresh mandate from the people so the wheels of progress can continue to roll on and there will be no more hindrance to the development and welfare for another five years, KCR said.

He hoped that the elections to the Telangana assembly would be held in November along with four other states  Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram and the results would be declared in December. I spoke to the Election Commission authorities who confirmed the schedule, he said.

KCR announced the list of 105 candidates in the 119-member state assembly to be fielded for the next elections. We have denied tickets to only two sitting MLAs and kept in abeyance the candidatures of five others. In the remaining seven seats, we shall finalise the candidates very soon, he said.
Officials in charge of conservation of Odishas Chilika, Asias largest brackishwater lake, have advised against starting the proposed sea plane facility there, citing the legal restrictions and the economic and ecological problems it would cause.

In June, the Airports Authority of India announced plans of starting water aerodromes and amphibious aircraft operation in Chilika lake and Sabarmati river of Gujarat.

In a letter to the state government, Chilika Development Authoritys chief executive Sushanta Nanda said that the provisions of the Wetland Conservation and Managent Rules, 2017 prohibit conversion for non-wetland uses. Chilika lake is a designated wetland site of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

The proposal would also harm the livelihood of the local population, he said.

Nanda said the lake yields around 14000 tonnes of fish every year providing livelihood to 2 lakh fishermen from 158 primary fishing cooperative societies. The sound and vibration during take-off and landing is likely to adversely affect the breeding of the prized M Cephalus prawn, he added.

The Irrawady dolphins are highly sensitive to sound and their breeding may suffer due to high decibel sound due to the seaplanes. Besides, the operational and airworthiness requirements for seaplane operation issued by the DGCA (directorate general of civil aviation) stipulates that the floating platform will not be selected in fishing grounds due to bird hazards. With one million birds congregating in the lake, there will be serous bird hazards for the operation of the sea planes as they (birds) are likely to be sucked to their engines, threatening the life of the passengers, he wrote in his letter.

The issue has taken political overtones after senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his optimism that the project would soon come about, but came under attack from the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders.

BJD MLA Sanjay Das Burma said Chilika is a rare place in the world in terms of its virtue of ecological diversity. The proposed plan can pose a threat to the ecology of the areas and such a plan should be withdrawn at the earliest citing, he said. Another BJD MLA Rajendra Sahu said since more than 250 types of migratory birds fly to Chilika in winters, the sea plane facility can potentially harm this.
Political parties and leading politicians took to Twitter to welcome the Supreme Courts landmark verdict decriminalising homosexuality on Thursday.

Celebrations broke out across the country as LGBT groups brought out rallies, having anxiously waited for the verdict.

We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society, the Congress tweeted. The party also tweeted a photograph captioned Pride, not prejudice.

While no member of the cabinet or ministers of state commented on the verdict, Gaurav Bhatia, the national spokesperson of the BJP, welcomed the verdict.

Historic Judgment by the Honble Supreme Court. An archaic 156 year old #Section377 makes way for Fundamental Rights of LGBT community, he tweeted.

A senior BJP functionary, who spoke off the record, said decriminalising sex between two consenting adults of the same gender was alright but the government would oppose any demand to legalise marriages between them.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who had sought to bring a private members bill to decriminalize homosexuality, said in a tweet: So pleased to learn that the Supreme Court has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377 & on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity & constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.

In March 2016, the Lok Sabha voted against Tharoors attempt to introduce a private members bill for decriminalising homosexuality. Tharoors The Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Bill, 2016 had sought to amend Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that makes homosexuality an offence.

KC Tyagi of the JD(U) said revolutionary changes were taking place in society and, therefore, he respects the verdict doing away with a key clause in Section 377 that went against LGBT rights.

DMK leader Kanimozhi tweeted, Choices and decisions of our lives should not be judged. Congratulations to the Supreme Court!

Court shuns prejudice, embraces liberty, said Congress leader Kapil Sibal.
Malgonda Patil, 27, was riding his scooter in Madgaon, Goa, when a bomb he was carrying went off. He was killed instantly. As was his friend Yogesh Naik. His cousin, Rudra Patil, was accused in the blast, although nothing much came of it; he went on the run. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) launched a hunt for him but the trail went cold

That was in 2009.

In September 2015, a special investigation team (SIT) of the Maharashtra police started looking for Patil again after it arrested Sameer Gaikwad for the killing of communist leader Govind Pansare in Mumbai in February that year. The police claimed at the time that Gaikwad and Patil were friends, had started a mobile phone shop together in 2009, in Sangli, Maharashtra.

Around the same time, the Karnataka police and the NIA were also looking for Patil  for his involvement in the killing of academic MM Kalburgi in Dharwad, Karnataka, in August that year. In October, the police found a body in the Belgavi region, between Karnataka and Maharashtra, that they initially suspected was Patils. That was proved wrong.

Patil remains at large and not much has been heard of him since; its almost as if he dropped off the map.

Patil is from a small village 80 km from Sangli. The last time the extended Patil family saw their sons, Malgonda and Rudra, was in 2009. Malgondas father Shivgonda, a 62-year-old farmer claims his son was a member of the Sanatan Sanstha.

The last time I saw him was before he went to Sanatan Sansthas Goa Ashram, a few months before his death. I sent him to Sangli at the age of 16 to study, and I recall that he joined the Sanatan Sanstha. We did not anticipate this would happen.

Gaikwad and Patil are also members of the Sanatan Sanstha according to the police. Even Naik, the other person killed in the scooter blast in 2009 was a member of the Sanstha, they have claimed.

The Sanstha itself has denied that any of these people are or were its full-time members although it says they may have participated in some of its religious programmes.

All the allegations against Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti are baseless...Sanatan Sanstha has no connection with these killings. Due to propaganda by the Communist Party, the misunderstanding about us has been created, said Chetan Rajhans, national spokesperson of the organisation.

Thats echoed by Gaikwaid, who has been out on bail since 2017, and now lives at his home in Sangli. I have continued my association with the Sanatan Sanstha. I regularly visit the Sansthas ashram in Sangli to meditate, like I used to before I was arrested.

Still, after Gaikwads arrest, the Sanatan Sanstha itself appealed to lawyers to take up his case in court, and as many as 31 lawyers came forward to fight the case, according to the Sansthas website.

Sameer Patwardhan, who is the defence lawyer for Gaikwad, Bharat Kurne, Rajesh Bangera, Amit Degwekar (arrested in connection with the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh), and Virendra Tawde and Sachin Andure (arrested in connection with the murder of Narendra Dabholkar), said he was confident the charges will be dropped.

In the case Sameer Gaikwad, there is improvement going on day-by-day. I am sure all charges against him will be dissolved. In the case of Virendra Tawde, he has already got bail in connection with Govind Pansares case, but not in connection with Narendra Dabholkar case. But there is no evidence to prove he is guilty, he said.

I am a follower of the Sanstha as well, even though I am not a full time Sadhak. I like their ideology, and believe in it.

And soon after he received bail, the Sanstha said on its website, Fight given for Samir Gaikwad is like a light-house showing direction to Hindutvavadis. There is a fight between righteousness and unrighteousness.

Little is known of the Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu spiritual organization founded in 1999 by Jayant Athavale, although its name has been toted out by investigators over the past few years in cases involving the killing of people perceived to be against the Hindutva philosophy. Its a list that includes the killing of Kalburgi and Pansare, but also rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013 and journalist Gauri Lankesh in 2017. All the killings have happened in Karnataka and Maharashtra. Much of the coverage of the Sanstha has been based in informal police briefings and case files. There is little that has been proved in a court of law.

Earlier this week, the Karnataka polices special investigation team looking into the murder of Lankesh said it has forensic evidence to show that Parashuram Waghmare, who has already been arrested, was the person who shot and killed the journalist. Waghmare was arrested in June. The Karnataka SIT has said Waghmare was in touch with Amol Kale, whom it has sought to present as one of the masterminds behind the killing. Kale, it has said, is a member of the Hindu Janajagruthi Samiti (HJS) and is also associated with the Sanatan Sanstha.

Indeed, it would seem as if Lankeshs killing, and the investigation into it provided vital clues that, if police and federal investigative teams are to be believed, have helped crack all four killings.

Soon after Lankeshs killing, the Karnataka SIT claimed the weapon used was the same used to kill Kalburgi. Subsequent investigations by the SIT pointed to a group of people in Maharashtra. There are reports that this information came from Kales interrogation. The information was passed on to the Maharashtra polices Anti Terrorism Squad, which, on August 9, arrested Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar and Sudhanva Gondhalekar. It also seized weapons and bombs.

A Maharashtra police officer who asked not to be identified said:, Karnataka SIT shared information with Maharashtra ATS on 10 persons closely linked to Kale.

While interrogating the people it arrested, the Maharashtra ATS came across the name of Sachin Andure, who was also subsequently arrested. The ATS claims Kalaskar and Andure are Dabholkars killers. It also claims both belong to the Sanatan Sanstha, a claim the organization has denied, saying that while they may have participated in its activities, they are not its members.

There could be some substance to this. The Karnataka SIT has previously said that its investigations have pointed to the presence of a shadowy organization that draws its membership from people who have been associated with the Sanatah Sanstha and the HJS. It has arrested eight such individuals, from areas around Sangli, Kolhapur, and Belgavi.

A senior Maharashtra police officer who asked not to be identified seconded this. Some arrested accused have links to multiple Hindutva organizations at the same time, while those co-accused with him are part of other organizations. It has led us to believe there is an intersection where these groups overlap.

Fertile ground

From Sangli in Western Maharashtra to Belgavi (earlier Belgaum) in Karnataka, the land is lush and fertile. The average farmer here is better off that his counterpart in most other areas of Maharashtra.

According to the Maharashtra and Karnataka police there are at least 20 to 25 prominent Hindu right wing groups in the belt between Sangli and Belgavi, with a large following of devoted Hindus. To be sure, many of these organizations say they are purely spiritual ones, and most of their followers are simply religious people.

Omkar Shukla, a Miraj based-activist, whose community hall is frequently rented for such programs said, There are 15 to 18 big groups in this region, and many small ones, which follow the Hindutva ideology. While the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti are prominent in Sangli and Miraj, the Sriram Sena is prominent in Belgavi.

Members of these groups overlap, and are borrowed by other groups to organise large religious programmess and festivals.

Kiran Pol, 37, a seeker or Sadhak -- the Sanatan Sanstha given name for its followers -- started off by being a member of the Rashtriya Swayamseval Sangh. I then joined Shivpratisthan Hindustan, and later became a Sadhak, he says. Pol lives in a Tasgaon, about 25 kilometers from Sangli. He is a well-to-do farmer, and owns a business exporting grapes from his farm in Tasgaon.

Pol said, We are well to do farmers, but I was unhappy and worried about my life. The Sanatan Sansthas teachings taught me to lead a happy life. These are basic teachings of Hinduism, that we miss out on.

But theres another, more activist side to these organizations, sometimes led by the belief that Hindus are being persecuted.

For instance, on September 1, the Hindu Janajagriti Samiti, planned a protest in Belgavi following the arrest of one of its members, Bharat Kurne in the Lankesh killing case. It was denied police permission, after a prominent Muslim group applied for permission to protest in the same area at the same time. Kurne too is represented by Patwardhan.

Hrishikesh Gurjar, Belgavi district coordinator of HJS, who planned to lead the protest said, There is a strong wave against Hindus. All arrests made by the police recently are Hindus. We need to unite and fight this oppression of Hindus. There have been over 60 communal riots in Belgavi over the past two decades, which is proof of our oppression.

The entire mission of the Sanatan Sanstha is being carried out on the constitutional path. No agitation is held without prior permission of competent authorities, no vandalism is practised, no stone pelting, Bandhs are not observed... violence was never, is never and will never find any place in the mission of the Sanatan Sanstha, Rajhans said.
The Sanatan Sanstha has been on the radar of investigating agencies after the arrest of several people with alleged ties to the organisation in connection with the 2013 murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune. But Chetan Rajhans, national spokesperson of the Sanatan Sanstha, tells Eeshanpriya MS that the organisation is non-violent and is being maligned. Edited excerpts:

Sanatan Sanstha and its sister organisations such as Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) are being accused of conspiring to kill rationalists. What is your stand?

The Sanatan Sanstha is an organisation engaged in propagation of spirituality, and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti unites Hindus. Both the organisations are separate, but since they are like-minded, they work together.

All the allegations against Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti are baseless. When Dabholakar was killed, then chief minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, made a statement, even before the investigation could start, that elements having an attitude of Nathuram (assassin of Mahatma Gandhi) were behind the killing. He thus misled the direction of the investigation itself. At that time, we had written to the police about who could be the likely murderers of Dabholkar. We maintained other aspects should also be investigated behind his killing.

We had also given some leads to the police in the case of the killing of Comrade Pansare. He was leading a movement to abolish toll tax in Kolhapur city; he was handling several issues through many workers unions. Unfortunately, police neglected the leads provided by Sanatan Sanstha. Same is the situation in the case of Gauri Lankeshs killing. Her brother had expressed the strong possibility of a Maoist hand in the killing. Sanatan Sanstha has no connection with these killings. Due to propaganda by the Communist Party, the misunderstanding about us has been created.

While you have said that those arrested or under probe have nothing to do with Sanathan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, several individuals including Amit Degwekar, Amol Kale, Sudhanva Gondhalekar, Vaibhav Raut and Samir Gaikwad have been linked to either of the organisations. How do you explain this?

Vaibhav Raut and Sudhanva Gondhalekar are not seekers of Sanatan Sanstha. Raut is an activist of Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti (Nalasopara). Gondhalekar was earlier active in Shree Shivpratishthan Hindusthan. Amol Kale was active in HJS 10 years ago. Amit Degavekar used to visit the ashram to distribute copies of the daily Sanatan Prabhat. Similarly, Samir Gaikwad used to participate in the exhibition-seva of Sanatans holy texts. All these individuals were arrested by the police under the pressure by progressive elements. There is no basis for these arrests.

There have been demands for a ban on Sanatan Sanstha. The Maharashtra government had even sent such recommendations to the Centre in 2011 and 2015. What is your reaction to this?

The Congress leaders, progressive organisations and anti-Dharma elements are demanding a ban on Sanatan Sanstha. When Congress was in power in the state and Centre in 2011, a proposal to impose a ban on Sanatan Sanstha was submitted to the Centre. Later, the Home ministry that belonged to the Congress reported that a ban could not be imposed. This goes to prove it was a pathetic attempt to prove Hindu terrorism. Since the Sanatan Sanstha is strongly raising a voice for establishing a Hindu Nation, the Sanstha along with its seekers are on the radar.

There is a pending petition in Bombay high court that claims Sanatan Sanstha uses Ericksonian Hypnosis on its seekers to undertake violent activities. How do you respond?

Sanatan Sanstha teaches spirituality. You can ask any hypnotherapist whether is it possible to hypnotise anybody and make him commit a crime. Many hypnotherapists have confirmed that nobody can be hypnotised against his wish and cannot be made to commit any evil deed. Therefore, such false things are spread only to defame Sanatan Sanstha.

Do you think the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led governments in the state and at the Centre are unfairly targeting you ?

The BJP is not targeting us, but a few Congress leaders and administrative officers with anti-Dharma attitude are definitely assisting our opposition.

Tell us about the funding of your organisation.

Most missions of the Sanatan Sanstha are run on donations. The Sansthas seekers donate a part of their monthly income. There are many well-wishers of the Sanstha who do not perform spiritual practice but subscribe to its ideology. Grain merchants donate grain, cloth merchants donate clothes; seekers also donate their old but usable household furniture, clothes, articles. Every year during Guru Purnima, seekers of the Sanstha go door to door and collect donations.

Your organisation is a spiritual one and promotes religion. Do you justify any kind of violence to achieve your objectives?

The entire mission of Sanatan Sanstha is being carried out on the constitutional path. No agitation is held without prior permission of competent authorities, no vandalism is practised, no stone pelting, bandhs are not observed. Only activities like submitting representations, lodging complaints, etc. within the provisions of Constitution are undertaken. Therefore, Sanatan Sanstha definitely holds Indian Constitution in respect. Violence was never, is never and will never find any place in the mission of Sanatan Sanstha, which believes in working in a constitutional manner.
The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till September 12 the house arrest of five prominent activists who were picked up by the Pune Police recently over alleged links to Maoists. The police action has been condemned by opposition leaders and other public figures as an attack on civil rights.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra also criticised remarks by Punes assistant commissioner of police of Pune over the arrests.

You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we dont want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong, the bench told additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Maharashtra government.

The apex court bench told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials more responsible on matters pending before the court.

The activists were earlier placed under house arrest till September 6 and not sent to jail on the Supreme Courts order after a petition asked the court to order an independent probe into the Bhima Koregaon violence earlier this year. The arrests were part of an investigation into violence in Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra on January 1 during the bicentennial celebration of a British-era war.

Dissent is the safety valve of democracy... the pressure cooker will burst if you dont allow the safety valves, the court had observed in the previous hearing, questioning the arrest of the activists nearly nine months after the violence.

On Thursday, Mehta told the top court that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing police investigation. The Maharashtra government told the SC on Wednesday that the activists were arrested because evidence linked them with the banned CPI (Maoist) group, and not because of their dissenting views.

The Bombay high court also criticised the Maharashtra Police machinery on Thursday for releasing information to the media about sensitive cases, saying such over-enthusiasm could be fatal.

The courts remarks came as petitions were being heard on seeking court supervision in probes being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the killings of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare.

The bench vital information was being leaked to the media by investigating agencies.

Referring to the press conference of senior IPS officer Parambir Singh along with Pune Police officials last Friday on the arrests of the activists, the HC said: There is so much hue and cry about this media briefing and disclosures made.

During the press conference, Singh had read out letters purportedly exchanged between the arrested activists. He said the police had conclusive proof to link Left-wing activists arrested in June and last month to Maoists.

(With inputs from PTI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered inspector general of Meerut range to supervise the investigation into the Hapur lynching case in which one person was killed by a mob for his alleged involvement in cow-slaughter.

A bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra issued the direction after it was presented with a status report by Uttar Pradeshs additional advocate general Aishwarya Bhatti.

Bhatti produced the sealed cover envelope while the court was hearing a petition filed by Samaiuddin  who was injured in the brutal attack  seeking transfer of the probe to an independent investigation team.

The investigation in the case will be carried on under the direct supervision of the IG of Meerut range, the bench ordered, fixing the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

The IG of Meerut range was also ordered to act in accordance with the Apex courts July 17 judgement that issued a slew of preventive measures for states to stop incidents of mob lynching. The SC verdict then states that if a police officer or an officer of the district administration fails to fulfill his duty then it will be considered as an act of deliberate negligence.

Bhatti told the court that in the case of Hapur, the concerned station house officer (SHO) was transferred. The change was made after a complaint was received from Samaiuddin on August 14. A deputy nodal officer and nodal officer, appointed in accordance to the SC verdict, are also monitoring the investigation, besides the IG, Meerut range.

Samaiuddins advocate Vrinda Grover, however, argued against the state and asserted that the police had failed to arrest the people named by her client. I am the survivor. I am seeking a transfer of investigation to an SIT. I have been in hospital for two months. The police are yet to arrest those whom I have named, Grover submitted on behalf of her cliet.

Bhatti said out of 11 persons, 10 had been arrested. Proceedings against one absconding person has been initiated. Also, the police have approached the higher court against bail granted to one of the accused, which is likely to be heard on September 14. She assured the court that the investigation would be complete within 60 days.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said gay sex among consenting adults is not an offence after hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises homosexuality.

The five-judge constitution bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra had reserved the verdict on July 17 on the conclusion of arguments.

The verdict assumes significance as in the earlier round of litigation in 2013 the Supreme Court had reversed the Delhi high court ruling decriminalising homosexuality or same sex relationship,

The law

Section 377 of IPC  which came into force in 1862  defines unnatural offences. It says, Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Delhi HC legalises homosexuality

The Delhi high court had in July 2009 de-criminalised consensual homosexual acts in private by declaring as unconstitutional a part of Section 377 of IPC that criminalises unnatural sex, saying the section denies a gay person a right to full personhood

SC re-criminalises homosexuality

The Supreme Court chose to reverse the verdict in December 2013. Upholding the constitutional validity of Section 377 IPC, an SC bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi (since retired), put the ball in the Parliaments court, saying it was for the legislature to take a call on the desirability of the controversial provision.

Homosexuality a taboo

Homosexuality is considered a taboo in a largely conservative Indian society which appears to be divided on the controversial issue. Freedom loving people (not necessarily belonging to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender or LGBT community) want homosexuality de-criminalised but many still consider it a deviant behaviour and not merely a question of ones sexual orientation or preference.

Implications for heterosexuals

The case has implications for heterosexuals also, as consensual sexual acts of adults such as oral and anal sex in private are currently treated as unnatural and punishable under Section 377 IPC.

Emerging political consensus

Successive governments have defended the archaic Section 377 IPC which is based on 19th century Victorian morality. But the intense debate in the society and the media appears to have forced the political class to change its stance.

After eluding it for years, political consensus is building on the issue. The BJP which had supported the Supreme Courts verdict upholding Section 377 IPC now appears to support the Delhi high court de-criminalising consensual homosexual acts in private.

When millions of people world over are having alternative sexual preferences, it is too late in the day to propound a view that they should be jailed. The Delhi high courts view appears more acceptable, senior BJP leader and finance minister Arun Jaitley had said in November last year, expressing his personal opinion.

Jaitleys view was supported by senior Congress leader P Chidambaram. Even otherwise, Congress has openly supported legalising homosexuality. Aam Admi Party and Communist Party of India-Marxist are also said to be in support of declaring Section 377 unconstitutional.

SC verdict on transgenders

In its landmark April 2014 verdict, hailed by gender rights activists, the top court directed the government to declare transgenders a third gender and include them in the OBC quota. Underlining the need to bring them into the mainstream, it said they should have all rights under law, including marriage, adoption, divorce, succession and inheritance.

PM Narendra Modi on transgenders

In November 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had regretted the deplorable condition of transgenders in Indian society and said governments needed to change their outlook.? We need to amend and make new laws for transgenders, he had said at the foundation day celebration of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The NDA government has prepared a draft law recognising the rights of transgenders with a view to ensure they are not discriminated against. All these developments allude to the change in the mindset of the top court and the government.

International developments

There have been many positive developments in favour of LGBT community on the international front. In May 2015, Ireland legalised same-sex marriage. The country which had decriminalized homosexuality in 1993 became the first country to allow same sex marriage a national level by popular vote.

In June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriages were legal. Near home, Nepal legalised homosexuality in 2007 and the new Constitution of the country too gives many rights to the LGBT community.

France, UK, Canada, United States, Australia and Brazil have de-criminalised homosexuality. Other countries like Belgium, Brazil, Canada,France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal,South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay allow either same sex marriage or a civil union.

India currently stands with a host of countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Mauritania, Qatar and Pakistan which criminalises homosexuality.

Child abuse and Section 377

Many child rights activists had criticised the Delhi HC verdict de-criminalising homosexuality on the ground that Section 377 was needed to be on the statute book to tackle cases of child abuse. However, the enactment of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 has removed the need to use Section 377 in child sexual abuse cases. POCSO is more child-friendly and much more stringent.

Law and morality

Those against legalising gay sex argue that it is against the moral values of the society. However, activists arguing for it say what is forbidden in religion need not be prohibited in law. They argue that morality cannot be a ground to restrict the fundamental rights of citizens. A legal wrong is necessarily a moral wrong but vice versa is not correct. A moral wrong becomes a legal wrong only when its consequences are for society and not just the person/s committing it.
In 1884, an unusual case came up in the then colonial Allahabad high court. For months, the police had been tailing a person named Khairati on the suspicion that he was a eunuch after being tipped off that on a visit to his ancestral village, he was found dancing and singing dressed as a woman.

The police arrested him on the suspicion that he was a habitual sodomite and subjected him to a medical examination, which recorded that the examinee showed the characteristic mark of a catamite (a Victorian term for a man kept for homosexual desires) and noted that the anal orifice was shaped like a trumpet.

He was prosecuted under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, becoming the first recorded case under the law and set the ground for numerous similar convictions in colonial India stemming from suspicion, rumours and anonymous tip-offs.

One hundred and thirty four years later, India finally repealed the colonial law that criminalised same-sex relationships. The four concurring judgments touches upon the fundamental rights of LGBT people to live with dignity, get access to healthcare, and how constitutionalism trumped majoritarian morality.

But what is unlikely to change is the social life of sexuality, which ensured Khairatis walk, voice and gait marked him as a criminal to the police, and which continues to inscribe deviance on to the bodies of people who look, or talk, or walk differently. It doesnt take a law to do that; the mere presence of prejudice is enough, which is why transgender people are booked under a variety of laws, including those against assembly in public and beggary, and not just Section 377.

This public-ness of how we inhabit our sexuality, and gender, is key to understanding how the law affects LGBT people, and who among us are marked as subjects that the law recognises  simply put, it is not just the letter of the law, but its social life that hinges on who looks like a criminal and who the police thinks, like Khairati, is likely to be one.

As long as the focus remains narrowly on the letter of the law, and not on broader civil rights, its benefits are likely to accrue to a few  those who can then claim respectability and not be affected by the social life of the law. But for queer people who do not draw power from multiple social locations, who dont look and feel respectable, or those who cannot enter the regimen of privacy and private spaces, the mere repeal is likely to mean little.

This is not a new scenario. Anti-sodomy laws have been repealed across the world in the past 40 years, and the trajectory is pretty uniform: a move towards the right to marriage, and inheritance. But this period has also seen increasingly white LGBT folk dissociate from the rest of the community, and cash in on the race and class capital their social locations provided. Indeed, the black and indigenous queer activists have complained how LGBT activism in the West has come to be increasingly defined by white suburban morality, whose respectability criterion has no place for deviants who look like Khairati.

This focus on the personal (marriage, love) and not the structural (education, employment, health) has proved devastating for the more marginalised within the LGBT spectrum. 2017 was the deadliest year for transgender people in the United States, and almost two-thirds of the victims killed were non-white. In the United Kingdom, a June 2017 study found more than half of all transgender students in schools had tried to commit suicide, clearly underlining that progressive legislation had done little to erase prejudice against the most vulnerable.

The experience with transgender rights advocacy in India holds out a few lessons. When the Supreme Court recognised third gender in 2014, it was widely lauded but a subsequent battle for rights and protections has been uphill. The moment trans rights activists moved from the private sphere to the public, and demanded reservation, protection and anti-discrimination statutes in jobs, education and public places, their efforts were scuttled. But the community recognised that their fount of oppression doesnt lie inside the house, or in themselves, but in the streets, classrooms and offices  and, for that, they are still fighting.

In the twilight of Section 377, this struggle is an important reminder of what the law can do, and what it has no power over. Now that the law has finally recognised queerness, it is crucial we look at fights not just in the courtrooms for marriage, but in the classrooms, and streets, for dignity. Only then can we hope to prevent a repeat of 1884.
In a first major action after the CBI lodged FIRs in the Rs 1,900-crore Srijan scam, the income-tax (I-T) department on Thursday carried out search operations at 15 places in Bihar, including the house of deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modis cousin and business establishments located in a Bhagalpur mall.

I-T searches were also carried at business establishments owned by Bhagalpur BJP leader Bipin Sharma and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party leader Dipak Kumar Verma.

A Patna district police official said I-T sleuths searched Rekha Modis residence in the state capital as part of the scam related to the siphoning of government funds. The I-T teams also searched other business establishments in Patna, Purnia and Bhagalpur.

A team of the I-T department searched Rekha Modis residence  a flat in Saraswati Apartment in SP Verma road area. The team conducted searches in connection with the Srijan scam, the official added. The search continued till late evening.

An Income Tax official said that so far a 500-page document had been seized during the search operations.

These raids were carried out at those establishments who were the beneficiaries of Srijan scam, said the I-T official. Papers related to land deals, bank accounts and locker details were also found, he added.

The Srijan Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited has been identified as the main beneficiary of fraudulent transfer of more than Rs 1,900-crore government fund to this NGOs accounts in connivance with district officials and bankers. A CBI probe into the scam, which first surfaced in Bhagalpur district, is already underway.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar had on August 18, 2017 recommended a CBI probe into the scam after RJD chief Lalu Prasad accused him of murdering democracy.

The NGO used to provide vocational training to women in Bhagalpur and its office is located in Sabour block of Bhagalpur district.

In August last year, the CBI registered more than 18 cases related to the scam.

One of the allegations levelled against Rekha Modi, a social activist, is that her name figured as one of the beneficiaries of the government funds transferred fraudulently to the account(s) of the NGO between 2008 and 2017 at Bhagalpur.

Records available with the special investigative team, set up by the Bihar Police to investigate the scam on orders of the chief minister, also show that diamond jewellery worth Rs 14 crore was bought directly with funds from Srijan and given to the wives and children of many bureaucrats and politicians.

Rekha Modi was directly identified as a beneficiary by the owner of the jewellery store whom the investigators approached for details.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) claimed she was related to BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who has denied any links with Rekha Modi.

Rekha Modi is my distant cousin. I dont have any business or financial connection with her. She is involved in many criminal and civil cases with her brother. In one of such case she has dragged my name also. I have not met her in last 10 yrs, the deputy CM tweeted on Thursday.

Leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav called this search an eyewash to save Sushil Modi.

I-T sleuths also carried out searches at business establishments and houses of suspected beneficiaries of the scam at Bhagalpur. The teams searched shops and residential premises of suspected beneficiaries, including businessmen PK Ghosh, and Kishore Ghosh.

The search operation was also carried out at business an establishment owned by Kishore Ghosh of Bhagalpur at Bhatta Bazar and at a showroom of an apparel retailer at Chitravani Road in Purnia.

Both the business establishment are said to be owned by Srijan beneficiaries.
Its no longer a crime to be a homosexual in India. The Supreme Court on Thursday partially struck down the 157-year-old British-era law that penalises consensual gay sex between adults, declaring that an individuals sexual orientation is a matter of privacy and also an essential facet of ones dignity. The LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community possesses the same human, fundamental and constitutional rights as other citizens, the court said.

A Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was arbitrary and unconstitutional to the extent that it punishes consensual intercourse between adults irrespective of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

SC held that section 377 infringed upon the fundamental rights of LGBTQ persons, who ought to be treated equally before the law, enjoy dignity and freedom of expression and not face discrimination. While reading his judgment, Misra said, I am what I am. So take me as I am. No one can escape their individuality.

In four separate but concurring judgments, the apex court ruled that societal morality cannot violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual. Constitutional morality cannot be martyred at the altar of societal morality, the bench said.

The judgement came on a batch of petitions filed by 34 individual petitioners belonging to the LGBTQ community, interventions filed by NGO Naz Foundation, parents of queer persons and Voices Against 377, a collective of human rights groups, among others. This was the first time LGBTQ persons filed writ petitions to challenge section 377s constitutional validity.

Petitioners included Navtej Singh Johar, a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee, chef and restaurateur Ritu Dalmia, transgender woman activist Akkai Padmashali, hotelier Keshav Suri, activists Arif Jafar and Ashok Row Kavi, and a clutch of IITians from an all-India alumni group Pravritti.

Justice Indu Malhotra, who is the lone woman judge of the five-judge Constitution Bench, said, Sexual orientation is an innate attribute of ones identity, and cannot be altered. Sexual orientation is not a matter of choice. Homosexuality is a natural variant of human sexuality.

History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries, she added.

Clearing the air on the issue of pending cases under section 377, the judgment says, Reading down of Section 377 shall not, however, lead to the reopening of any concluded prosecutions, but can certainly be relied upon in all pending matters whether they are at the trial, appellate, or revisional stages.

Non-consensual intercourse and bestiality remains an offence under section 377.

SC overruled its own 2013 verdict that had set aside a Delhi High Court judgment reading down section 377 IPC decriminalizing same sex intercourse. The bench said that the judgment was a retrograde step and denied progressive realization of rights.

During the court hearings, the ruling government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party chose not to take a stand in the matter, leaving it to the courts wisdom. The government counsel, however, asked the court not to expand the scope of the petition to include civil liberties such as marriage or inheritance right.

However, in his judgment, Justice DY Chandrachud said, This case involves much more than merely decriminalising certain conduct which has been proscribed by a colonial law. The case is about an aspiration to realise constitutional rights. But decriminalisation is a first step.

Activists viewed this as opening the possibility of further constitutional demands by the community for equal rights.

Writing for himself and Justice AM Khanwilkar, CJI Misra said, A union under the Constitution does not mean union of marriage but also companionship, be it physical, mental, sexual or emotional.

With its judgement the top court also rejected the plea made by religious institutions from all backgrounds to retain section 377.

Hotelier Keshav Suri, one of the petitioners in the case, was overjoyed after the pronouncement. Present in the packed courtroom with his partner, Suri told HT: I am extremely delighted. I am no longer illegal. I do not need to live in shadows any more. I can live freely and hopefully my marriage would also be treated legal soon. I will continue to work for it.

Petitioner Ritu Dalmia said, I want to salute the panel of judges for delivering such an articulate, intelligent and sensitive judgment. (I feel) a sense of relief and more than that, a sense of hope.

Advocate Manoj V George, who represented the Apostolic Churches Alliance opposing the writing down of the law, attacked the government for not taking a stand on the issue. The Centre failed to defend the law. It outsourced it for judicial legislation. This will open a Pandoras box, George said.

Like the Supreme Court, we also do not consider this [homosexuality] to be a crime. But same sex marriages are not compatible with norms of the nature, so we do not support such relations, said a spokesperson for RSS, the parent organization of the ruling BJP.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the Supreme Court verdict momentous. He posted on Twitter, An age-old colonial law, that was an anachronism in todays modern times, ends restoring the fundamental rights & negating discrimination based on sexual orientation. Its an imp step forward towards a liberal, tolerant society.

Petitioner Sunil Mehra said, If equality of LGBT persons is now a fundamental right, then right to marry, bequeath property, share insurance (medical and life) are all part of this. Were asking for rights, respect and dignity, and it is unconstitutional and impudent to deny that. I am astounded people who say that we cannot get these rights.

The bench ruled resoundingly in favour of constitutional morality over social majoritarianism. The archaic law is a weapon in the hands of the majority to seclude, exploit and harass the LGBT community. Such a law, the judges said, cannot be preserved.

CJI Misra said: Sexual acts cannot be viewed from the lens of social morality or that of traditional precepts wherein sexual acts were considered only for the purpose of procreation.

Justice Rohinton Nariman asked the government to take measures to ensure the judgement is given wide publicity through the public media and initiate programs to reduce and finally eliminate the stigma. Government officials, in particular police officials, be given periodic sensitization and awareness training of the plight of LGBT community.

Justices Nariman, Chandrachud and Malhotra, pointed out how section 377 affected the access of the LGBT community to health-care facilities. This, they said, results in serious health issues, including depression and suicidal tendencies. Justice Nariman referred to the newly notified Mental Healthcare of 2017 in which Parliament, he said, makes it clear that homosexuality is not a mental illness. This is a major advance in our law, said Justice Nariman, adding: Parliament is also alive to privacy interests and the fact that persons of the same-sex who cohabit with each other are entitled to equal treatment.

The judgment also does away with a dichotomy in the criminal law. While the rape law permits consensual penetrative acts, section 377 makes the same acts of penetration punishable irrespective of consent.

Section 377, which treats consensual sexual acts by adults of the same sex as an offence and provides for life in prison, is modelled on Britains Buggery Act of 1533 and had survived in Indias statue book, after it was introduced in 1861. In April, at a meeting of the heads of the Commonwealth governments, UK Prime Minister Theresa May expressed regret for introducing homophobic laws in former colonies.

The Delhi high court decriminalised consensual same-sex intercourse in 2009, but four years later, the SC reversed the order on grounds that section 377 was not unconstitutional, and the LGBT community members formed a minuscule minority.

In 2016, SC, however, agreed to hear a petition by five prominent members of the LGBT community -- Bharatnatyam dancer Navtej Johar, culture expert Aman Nath, restaurateurs Ritu Dalmia and Ayesha Kapur and journalist Sunil Mehra, challenging the constitutionality of section 377. This was followed by a clutch of six petitions, and the hearings took place in July.

(Inputs from Dhamini Ratnam)
Rising Ganga and incessant rains have claimed 14 lives and caused widespread havoc in Kanpur region since Tuesday night . Five people were killed in separate incidents of house collapse in Unnao, four died in Hardoi, two in Kanpur, one each in Etawah and Fatehpur. A child died in Kannauj after falling in an overflowing drain.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will visit flood-affected Bhagwant Nagar in Unnao on Thursday. He will be accompanied by assembly speaker and MLA from Bahgwant Nagar, Hriday Narayan Dixit. The CM will land in Buxar in the morning, said ADM Unnao Prabhu Dayal.

A biker rides across a flooded street after the water level in River Ganges crossed the danger mark following heavy rainfall at Daraganj area, in Allahabad, Wednesday, September 5, 2018. (PTI)

The Ganga is flowing above the danger mark in Unnao, Kanpur and Fatehpur. Its tributaries were equally furious in Kannauj and Farrukhabad where hundreds of villages have been affected. The administration has sealed the Farrukhabad-Badayun road.

Continuous downpour has aggravated the situation further in all these districts. Kanpur alone received 103 mm rainfall in eight hours since Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The water level of Pandu river in South Kanpur and Chambal in Etawah has been rising sharply. The rising water has submerged about 2,000 bighas of land. The exodus of people has registered a sharp increase in Kanpur, Fatehpur and Unnao where at least 8, 000 people have moved out.
A joint statement issued by India and the US after the two-plus-two talks in New Delhi on September 6, mentions Pakistan twice in the context of cross border terrorist attacks, and even refers to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, raising the hope that Trump administration will walk the talk on ramping up diplomatic pressure on Indias neighbour to rein in terrorist outfits.

The two-plus-two dialogue between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Secretary of Defence James N Mattis saw the two countries strongly urging Pakistan to take various measures to stop cross border terrorism. India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, Swaraj said.

The mention of cross-border terrorist attacks in the joint statement further buttressed Indias position that Pakistan continues to use its territory to aid and abet terrorist attacks against India. The joint statement mentioned Pakistan twice, urging the country to act against terrorist outfits that target India; a similar statement in 2016 had mentioned the neighbour only once.

The sides also decided to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists, the joint statement issued after the meeting said.

The counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the US has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose. We have agreed to deepen ties in international forums like the United Nations and the Financial Action Task Force, Sushma Swaraj said.

The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries. On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist attacks, said the joint statement.

The 26/11 terrorist attacks in Mumbai killed 166 people including six Americans. The two sides also expressed satisfaction over the working of the a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists launched in 2017.This is aimed at strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who met Pakistans new Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday ahead of landing in India for the dialogue pressed him to take sustained and decisive measures against terrorists threatening regional peace and stability.

Pompeos statement came days after the US cancelled $300 million in military aid to Islamabad for failing to rein in the terror groups operating from its soil.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman will host their US counterparts, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis for the inaugural two plus dialogue in Delhi on Thursday.

The two plus two is a high level dialogue mechanism between the foreign ministers and defence ministries of the two countries that befits their strategic partnership. This is the highest level institutionalized mechanism for discussions between the two countries that have robust ties over a broad sweep of issues with 40 odd government-level working groups. It is aimed at addressing issues of concerns, charting a new course in ties and coordinating positions on broader regional issues such as the Indo-pacific strategy.

Why 2+2 two format?

The two plus two dialogue replaces the strategic commercial dialogue that was being held between the foreign and commerce ministers of the two sides. Its a coincidence that Nirmala Sitharaman who took part in the last edition of the strategic commercial dialogue in 2016 as the commerce minister of the country is the Indian co-chair of the two plus two dialogue in her present avatar as the defence minister along with Swaraj.

The US has two plus two dialogue with Japan and Australia. Almost a similar dialogue mechanism has been put in place between China and the US after their Mar-a-Lago summit between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jingping in April 2017. On its part India has a two plus two dialogue at the level of foreign and defence secretaries between India and Japan.

The significance

The India-US ties have come a long way overcoming the hesitations of history to be touted as one of defining partnership of 21st century as President Barack Obama had termed it. Under Trump administration, the ties are moving in the desired direction, amidst concerns over differences over trade issues, purported streamlining of work visas and the US sanctions on Russia and Iran affecting Indias defence purchase and oil import respectively. However, the foundational strength of the ties remains intact and the two plus two dialogue is set to open a new path in the relationship. But The Trump administrations recent decision to elevate India to the the STA-1 status (Strategic Trade Authorization-1) is seen as a deserving acknowledgement of the growing synergy between countries on strategic issues. It also gives a stamp of approval that Indias Indias export control regimes conforms to the global non-proliferation benchmarks.

Key issues, subjects

The two plus two dialogue reviews the entire gamut of bilateral relationship ranging from defence ties to trade ties to counter-terrorism cooperation and devising ways achieve the ambitious target of $500 billion bilateral trade volume target by 2025.

COMCASA: (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) is a foundational defence pact which is expected to signed soon would be a key highlight of the meeting.

It aims to give a legal framework for the transfer of highly sensitive communication security equipment from the US to India that would streamline and facilitate interoperability between their armed forces. COMCASA is one of the three foundational agreements for a seamless military relationship between the two sides. India had signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in August 2016. It provides for the military of each country. The third one in Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA) is yet to gather much steam

S 400: New Delhi is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf missile air defence systems from Russia for around $4.5 billion and sought exemption for it from the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act that seeks to prevent such purchases.

Import of oil from Iran: India is also seeking leniency on the import of oil from Iran after the Trump administration has decided to put sanctions on Tehran after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear deal. Some 83 per cent of Indias oil needs are met through imports and Iran accounts for 24 per cent of this. The US is urging the countries to bring down the oil import from Iran t zero, which India finds too difficult to meet.

Counter terrorism: Two sides are set to strengthen their counter-terrorism cooperation.
The United States and India are engaged in very detailed conversations over Washingtons request to completely stop Indias oil imports from Iran, a senior US State Department official told reporters on Thursday.

Were asking all of our partners, not just India, to reduce to zero oil imports from Iran and so Im confident that will be part of our conversation with India, the official said ahead of high-level talks between the foreign and defence heads of India and the United States.

There are very detailed conversations taking place between the US and India on just the technical issues related to going to zero and those conversations will continue.

Indias is a big buyer of oil from Iran, a target of US sanctions.
The collapse of the Majerhat bridge has triggered concern in the landlocked country of Nepal that is dependent on Kolkata Port for all its imports through the sea route.

We are worried. Almost all of Nepals imports are routed through this port. The collapse of the bridge is definitely going to impact movement of goods. I have expressed my concern to the chairman and traffic manager of the port. They are holding meetings on how to minimise the impact to the traffic, said Eaknarayan Aryal, consul general of Nepal based in Kolkata.

Read: Kolkata flyover collapse: PWD issued tenders for painting while bridges condition deteriorated

Aryal, who has been the consul general since 2016, visited the disaster site on Wednesday morning.

The bridge is part of the arterial Diamond Harbour Road through which some of the trucks carrying goods in and out of the port move. It is clear that the road will be closed to traffic for a prolonged period.

Every day as many as 1,300 trucks enter and exit the Kolkata Dock Complex, an unspecified part of which moved through the Majerhat bridge.

Read: My car began sinking: Survivor describes the moment Kolkata bridge collapsed

Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has dealt with 80,000 containers only for Nepal in 2017-18. This is supposed to go up to 1 lakh this year. There may be some problem in the movement of traffic. However, we are working with the police and local administration to find alternative routes, said the spokesperson of KoPT.

KoPT is the nearest port for Nepal that imports edible oil, electronic goods, cars, sugar, general items of everyday use through Kolkata port. Most of the goods is transported through Bihar and crosses the border at Birganj.

Nepal also exports some vegetable, forest produce and handicrafts that goes through Kolkata port.

Read: Majerhat bridge collapse: Third body recovered from debris in Kolkata

Much of our cargo to Nepal goes through the rail route. On an average, we send a train load of goods to Nepal every day. Fortunately, any part of the bridge did not fall on the rail tracks and rail services are running now normally, said the KoPT spokesperson.

Many trucks going to Kolkata port use Hyde Road that have no connection with Majerhat bridge. However, the pressure on this road is expected to increase overnight due to many people using that route.
In more trouble for BJPs Ghatkopar MLA, Ram Kadam, the Maharashtra State Commission for Women (MSCW) on Thursday issued a notice asking him to clarify his stand on his kidnap girls remark in eight days.

During a dahi handi event earlier this week, Kadam was seen saying in a video that he would kidnap girls to marry them off to men who they had rejected. The video was widely shared, and both Kadam and his party have been criticised by opposition parties and activists for the statement.While the BJP has officially not take any action against him, party leader Shaina NC publicly criticized him for his remarks on Thursday.

The state womens commissions chairperson, Vijaya Rahatkar, said they have sought a clarification from Kadam on new stories about his statement. The media has reported about controversial remarks made by MLA Ram Kadam during a dahi handi festival. The commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the stories. The legislator has been sent a notice seeking clarification in eight days, Rahatkar said.

The MSCWs action comes a day after Kadam publicly apologised for his remarks, which he maintains were taken out of context. Rahatkar did not specify what kind of action would be taken against Kadam if his reply is not satisfactory.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Shaina NC came out openly against Kadam on Thursday. I was quite shocked and I will say it quite openly, she said at an event in Delhi, and added, There was a legislator from our own political party who was talking about kidnapping girls and it shocked me. She said she was speaking as a woman leader, not the BJP spokesperson.

It shocked me for two reasons. One is, women in India are viewed sometimes as only an object. Its time we demystify this kind of image of women and realise that , on one hand you talk about Saraswati, Durga and Lakshmi you pray and worship women, and on the other you think you can go out and abuse her and get away,the BJP leader said.

So far, other BJP leaders have remained tightlipped about Kadams remarks.

While there were speculations that Kadam would be removed as the partys spokesperson, there was no official announcement from the party till late on Thursday.

A group of activists from the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a students organisation affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) staged a protest against Kadam in his constituency (Ghatkopar). Meanwhile, the Mumbai Dahi Handi coordination committee has decided to boycott his event from next year. Bala Padelkar, the chief of the coordination committee, said no govinda pathak will participate in the dahi handi festival Kadam holds.

The Opposition continued to attack the BJP MLA. Opposition leader in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, threatened to stall proceedings in the legislature unless action was taken against Kadam, and the NCP demanded his removal as MLA by bringing a resolution against him in the state Assembly.

Nawab Malik, NCPs chief spokesperson, said, Kadam should booked for outraging the modesty of women and should also be expelled from the MLA position, like it was done while suspending BJPs Prashant Paricharak as MLC.

In March, 2017, Paricharak had joked during an election campaign that soldiers posted at the borders distribute sweets when their babies are born, even though they have not gone home in a year.

A former Congress minister, Subodh Saoji, from the Buldhana district of Vidarbha, also made a controversial statement by declaring a cash prize of 5 lakh for bringing the tongue of the BJP MLA.

Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut demanded Kadams suspension. A motion to suspend Ram Kadam should be moved by all political parties in the Assembly, because Kadams statement is an insult to all women, Raut said. He added that if the BJP gives importance to womens issues and their security, then they will take action against Kadam.

Meanwhile, Kadam again apologized for his remarks on Twitter. I was quoted out of context by my political opponents. I have repeatedly apologised for the same as it has hurt feelings of my mothers and sisters. With respect to all of them, I am again apologising for it.
A delegation of nine legislators from the state, including one who had resigned over the Maratha agitation earlier this year, is on a three-nation tour to United Kingdom, Netherlands and France  the third such tour of lawmakers in the past year-and-a-half. The state legislature has estimated to have spent more than 75 lakh on these tours.

The 9-member delegation is led by Congress legislator and the head of the Public Accounts Committee, Gopaldas Agarwal. They began their tour on September 4, and will go on till September 12.

Abdul Sattar, the Congress MLA from Aurangabad who had resigned in July, in support of the Maratha agitation, is also part of the tour. So are Bhausaheb Kamble and Nitesh Rane (both Congress),Rajesh Tope (NCP), Rajendra Patni (BJP), Satyajit Patil, Shambhuraje Desai and Ajay Chaudhari (all Shiv Sena), and two other officers. Agarwal and Sattar were also accompanied by their wives. The speaker is yet to taken a decision on Sattars resignation. Eight of the 10 lawmakers are members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Maharashtra legislature.

On Wednesday, the delegation visited the House of Lords and House of Commons in the United Kingdom, and held meetings with the presiding officers. The delegation also met the members of the PAC of the UK Parliament on Thursday. The delegation will visit Parliaments in Netherlands and France over next four days.

This is the first time the Maharashtra PAC is visiting any other country in its history of 58 years, Agarwal said. The PAC has saved thousands of crores of rupees in the past four years. After all, the exchange of ideas between two systems and parliamentary bodies help us upgrade our system and development.

An official from the finance department said the tour was being coordinated by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), the parliamentary body which gets a budgetary allocation from the state government. The per person expenditure is about 3.75 lakh, of which a third is being borne by participants. This means the CPA is spending about 25 lakh on the tour, the same amount it spent on the two earlier tours, the official said. The cost of participation of the officials is taken care of entirely by the CPA, while the legislators bear the cost of their wives participation.

However, questions are already being raised about spending taxpayers money on foreign tours.

After criticism and hooliganism by a couple of legislators on a tour in 2009, the legislature had decided to suspend all tours. It was after continuous demand by legislators that these tours resumed last year. Since then, the government has spent more than 75 lakh on three such tours. There are no reports submitted, or policy chalked out on the experience of the tours, said an official from the legislature.

Citizen activists, too, slammed the legislators for the tour. The question here is, do the legislators have the understanding and capability to pay back in terms of contribution to development or formation of policy, said James John, coordinator, NGO Agni. The lawmakers spend money on these tours for their enjoyment, and not for the betterment of the state. It is out of the feeling that we are not accountable to anybody.

Agarwal,however, said there was no question of expenditure, and that the outcome of these tours cannot be counted in terms of money.

Agarwal said it was only after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis intervention that the tours got clearance from the External Affairs Ministry, just minutes before the flight took off.

In may 2017, a 16-member delegation, led by legislative council chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar, toured Australia, New Zealand and Singapore for 16 days. After that, a 14-member delegation visited cities in China for 10 days in January this year.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has identified seven municipal corporations and more than hundred municipal councils across the state that are not complying with waste management guidelines.

Five days after the Supreme Court (SC) passed an order directing Maharashtra to ban construction activity, as the state is yet to frame a solid waste management (SWM) policy, MPCB said Akola, Amravati, Dhule, Kolhapur, Malegaon, Sangli, and Ahmednagar municipal corporations were not treating their solid waste according to rules. These municipal corporations accounted for more than 60% of the waste that is not dealt with according to rules. Of the 235 municipal urban local bodies, around 106, or 45%, were not treating waste properly.

Time-and-again the board has directed these corporations to implement short-term and long-term measures but they have not complied, said P Anbalagan, member secretary, MPCB. Processing is poor as these corporations and councils are slow to adopt new measures and technologies. A lot of work needs to be done to improve the present scenario.

Anbalagan said in some cities, the compostable waste  food and other organic wastes  lies at source for two to three days. This leads to decomposition and health issues. The idea is to collect this waste on the same day itself, said Anbalagan.

Of the approximately 1,42,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated every day in India, 21,950 tonnes per day (TPD) is generated from Maharashtra (15%), the highest in the country, as per data from the central government. While the state claims to collect the entire waste it generates, it currently treats only 6,973 TPD, or 32%, of the waste.

MPCB said municipal corporations of big cities such as Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbi, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Solapur, where action plans had been drafted, are following SWM guidelines. We accept there were issues, but based on various judgments, including the recent one by SC, things are improving. Three years ago we were treating minimal waste, but since then there has been significant improvement. Even at corporations of smaller cities, detailed project reports (DPR) have been approved for SWM and tendering activity for rolling out technologies is ongoing, he said.

Experts said there is a need for both administrative and political will to resolve the waste management crisis. Maharashtra implemented the plastic ban, which was a step in the right direction. However, we are yet to see its results. Political will is for the state to highlight issues and solutions through detailed policy decisions, while administrative will [for municipalities] is to ensure the staff, infrastructure, funds are available to cover every guideline under the SWM rules. The issue currently lies at the municipal level, where there is a laxity in capacity, which needs to be improved, said Swati Singh Sambyal, programme manager, environmental governance (municipal solid waste), Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi.

A day after the SC order, MPCB had constituted a technical advisory committee for effective implementation of SWM rules. The committee will be implementing a per capita waste generation and management model for each municipal body accounting for expenditure to transport waste, door-to-door collection, number of people, vehicles required etc., how to setup waste processing units at ward levels and landfills, said Anbalagan.
Two days after the Jammu Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) seized 22kg of heroin in Jammu and Kashmirs Kathua and arrested four persons, the bureau on Thursday recovered another haul of 38kg of the contraband from Lachipura in Kathua tehsil.

The NCB had arrested Bashir Ahmed, Wasim Mohammed and Feroz Ahmed, all residents of Handwara in J&K on September 4 when they were on their way to deliver the contraband consignment in Jalandhar to Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran.

During interrogation, one of the arrested accused revealed that another consignment of heroin, which was also to be supplied in Punjab, was hidden in the courtyard of his house in Lachipura. A bureau team from Jammu on Wednesday raided the place and recovered 38.070kg of heroin from the accuseds house.

With this, the NCB has seized 60kg of heroin in back-to-back raids in three days, the biggest drug haul this year.

It is a big seizure by the NCB. The total consignment was of 60kg, out which 22kg was seized on Tuesday. The rest 38kg too was meant for Jalandhar, Jammu zone NCB superintendent KP Tiwari said.

To a question whether the contraband has made its way from Afghanistan via Pakistan into north Kashmir, Tiwari said: Its origin was Afghanistan as we also found Afghan currency with the contraband.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of NCB laid a checkpoint at Pali Morh on September 4 and intercepted a car in which the three smugglers were travelling from Handwara in north Kashmir to Jalandhar.

The contraband was hidden in a cavity in the car. The NCB arrested all three smugglers with 22.145 kg of heroin.

The NCB then took the accused in transit remand and met the receiver of the consignment Paramjeet of Tarn Taran, in Jalandhar. Paramjeet was arrested and the NCB recovered 17.5 lakh from his possession.

A case under NDPS Act was registered against the accused.

On Tuesday, NCB zonal director Virender Yadav didnt rule out the possibility of the drug money being used for funding terror. To date, I have no evidence to prove its link (seizure of contraband) to terror funding. The investigation is on in other cases and we will also probe the terror funding angle, Yadav said on Tuesday.
Indian traders have offered to donate land near the integrated check-post (ICP) at Attari-Wagah border for setting up a rail-linked inland container depot (ICD) to boost bilateral trade.

The offers come as the Indian Railways have failed to find appropriate land in Amritsar for setting up ICD, a dry port.

Our border traders are ready to purchase land near ICP, which is the most suitable place to set up ICD. I will impress upon railways minister Piyush Goyal and commerce minister Suresh Prabhu to accept the traders offer, Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik said while speaking at a business conclave organised by the ICP Chamber of Commerce here on Wednesday.

Talking to HT, ICP Chamber of Commerce president Mohit Khanna said, We are ready to purchase land near the ICP, which we will donate to the Indian Railways to build ICD.

The ICD will provide hassle-free service for import and export of containerised cargo from Attari to Pakistan and vice versa.

Divisional railway manager (DRM), Ferozepur division, Vivek Kumar said, About six months ago, we had a representation from Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), a public sector undertaking under the railways ministry, for setting up ICD in Amritsar. We tried to find a suitable land for ICD from Amritsar to Attari, but in vain. Now, we will get directions from our ministry to resolve the issue as early as possible.

Once the ICD comes up near ICP, we can tie transport containers from India to Pakistan and vice versa with the Samjhauta Express or goods trains, he said.

At present, thousands of trucks of rice from Punjab and neighbouring states reach Ludhiana every month, which then go all the way to Kandla and Jamnagar ports in Gujarat for export to Pakistan. This entails a very high logistics cost. Attari ICP manager Anurag Tripathi said, Containerisation of the ICP will solve many problems of Indian importers and exporters, besides, promoting the bilateral trade.

Truck scanner

Meanwhile, Khanna said within two months, all trucks from Pakistan entering India via the Attari-Wagah border will be scanned by the countrys first full-body truck scanner. The scanner, measuring 32ft x 15ft, is being installed at the Attari ICP by the Land Port Authority of India (LPAI).

For strengthening the security at the ICP, Rs 5 crore has been spent to install high-definition night vision cameras, he said.

Construction of new sheds for storing export and import material at the ICP is also underway. Besides, 50 lakh-sq ft concrete floor is also being constructed at the ICP, he added.
The Pima Air & Space Museum near Tucson, Arizona has just taken delivery of British Aerospace Sea Harrier FA2 ZH810. The airframe arrived at the museums main workshop for refurbishment yesterday.

ZH810 flew in Britains Fleet Air Arm, and was almost the last of the breed off the British Aerospace assembly line at Dunsfold; the final example being ZH813, which the Royal Navy accepted in January, 1999. ZH810 flew with the Fleet Air Arms Sea Harrier training unit, 899 Squadron, based at RNAS Yeovilton, but had only a brief military career. Dramatic budget cuts to the British Armed Forces resulted in the premature retirement of the Royal Navys entire Sea Harrier fleet in 2006. The British Ministry of Defense sold on the bulk of the surviving airframes to Everett Aero, based now at former RAF Station Bentwaters near Ipswich in Suffolk, England. Here the airframes resided inside the companys hangars, interestingly the same Hardened Air Shelters last occupied by A-10s of the U.S. Air Forces 81st Tactical Fighter Wing up until the bases closure in 1993. Being inside these hangars kept the aircraft out of the wet British climate, and has preserved the aircraft in good condition. In the ensuing years, Everett has sold on most of their Sea Harriers to museums and private individuals, with the most famous of these being Art Nalls beautiful FA2 XZ439, the worlds only privately owned and operated Sea Harrier. The legendary former US Marine Corps Harrier pilot has displayed XZ439 at air shows in the U.S.A. for the past decade, where she continues to thrill audiences to this day.

ZH810 now sits alongside former RAF Harrier GR.5 ZD353 in Pimas workshop. ZD353 arrived at Pima in March, 2017, and the restoration team has finally had the chance to re-assemble her. They began stripping the GR.5s weatherworn exterior in recent days in preparation for repainting her. Once complete, the two jump-jets will join the museums four other Harrier airframes.

Pima now has the following Harrier variants on hand

Hawker Siddeley XV-6A Kestrel 64-18264

Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.3 XV804

McDonnell Douglas AV-8C Harrier Bu.159241

McDonnell Douglas TAV-8A Harrier Bu.159382

British Aerospace Harrier GR.5 ZD353

British Aerospace Sea Harrier FA.2 ZH810

Outside of missing an AV-8B and perhaps a Hawker Siddeley P.1127, these airframes make up practically the entire lineage of significant Harrier variants, making Pima the only place on earth where it is possible to see such a lineup. It seems only a matter of time before Pima acquires an AV-8B as the Marine Corps active fleet winds down upon the introduction of the F-35B to full operational status. A P.1127 may be more difficult to come by though. Regardless, bravo to Pima for such foresight in assembling such an impressive lineup of important aviation technology and heritage!

For an in-depth look at Art Nalls and his magnificent Sea Harrier, please be sure to check out Warbird Digest Issue #79 which features a marvelous piece by Stephen Chapis, complete with dramatic and exclusive air-to-air photos of XZ439.
Over 15,000 students will vote on Thursday to elect the four office-bearers of the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) amid allegations that the authorities failed to act against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarhti Parishad (ABVP) for poll code violations.

There are a total of 21 candidates vying for the posts of president, vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary, with six in the fray for the top post, including a girl candidate from the Students for Society (SFS).

Meanwhile, 43,000 students will also elect their representatives in the student councils of nine colleges in the city. However, student parties are fearing a low turnout this year, as in the past one week the varsity has hardly been open due to holidays.

Main contenders

PU and its colleges draw students from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, hence its results are keenly watched by political parties. It has assumed more importance this year in view of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. However, unlike the past, the student parties have focused largely on student-centric issues in their campaigns (see box).

Key issues Hostel for all, no curfew hours for girls. Senate representation. Regulation of fee hike. Hygienic food in mess and student centre. Action on faculty shortage, teachers evaluation system.

Electioneering has largely remained peaceful this year barring protests held on Tuesday night after campaign ended. The protests were against the ABVP panel participating in two events on the campus, held allegedly to garner votes, after the 5pm campaigning deadline.

Among the main contenders, the National Students Union of India (NSUI), which won three seats last year including the president, is pitted against the Student Organisation of India (SOI) alliance and Students for Society, a left-leaning organisation.

Last year, its candidate, also a girl like this year, came close second, losing by only 611 votes. The SOI, student wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal, could not win a single while the PUSU alliance grabbed the joint secretarys post. The ABVP, which is the student wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, has never been a major player on the campus.

Presidential candidates and alliances

1. Amandeep Singh (PSU (L))

2. Kanupriya (SFS)

3. Anuj Singh (NSUI)

4. Ravinder Bir Singh (PUSU+HPSU Nishant Kaushal group+GBSO)

5. Iqbalpreet Prince (SOI+ISA+HPSU+HIMSU+PPSO+PFS)

6. Ashish Rana (ABVP+SFPU)

Highlights Polling begins at 9:30 am Polling ends at 11 am Results at 9 pm 162 polling booths

Restrictions in place

1. Students should enter the campus by 9 am

2. They should carry their identity cards to vote

3. If the card has not been issued, they should carry a letter certified by their department.

4. Gate no. 1, 2 and 3 will remain open till 12:30 pm. Gate no. 1 will be closed between 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm, while the other two will remain partially closed.

5. No outsider will be allowed till 4:30 pm.
The factional feud in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has reached overseas with several Punjabi non-resident Indians (NRIs) associated with the party taking on the central leadership over its decision to dissolve all its organisational units outside the country.

A number of former NRI office-bearers of AAP units in the US, Canada, New Zealand, Italy, Spain, Germany and some other countries, on Wednesday, severed their ties with the AAP for disbanding the overseas units. They have thrown in their lot with the partys rebel Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira and his group.

AAP adopted use-and-throw policy

Like other political parties, the AAP has also adopted a use-and-throw policy. No one initiated a dialogue or informed the NRIs about breaking up of the overseas organisational structure, reads a joint signed statement that 43 former office-bearers of party chapters in these countries have issued.

Announcing the snapping of ties, these office-bearers, mostly from the US, accused the partys national leadership of dissolving all NRI chapters through a generic email and a group WhatsApp message. They added that this was just the way Khaira was removed from the post of the leader of opposition (LoP) in the state assembly in Punjab six weeks ago.

We had sent an email to the party on March 26, 2018, that we will like to directly work with the Punjab leadership. It responded that any attempt to bypass the process for this will be treated as anti-party activity and suitable action will be necessitated, they said. Reddy had been appointed to the post last month.

Punjabis mainstay of NRI support base

The AAP, born out of an anti-corruption crusade that social activist Anna Hazare started, had found traction among NRIs in a dozen countries worldwide from the outset. Punjabis had emerged as mainstay of their support base.

They not only generously contributed funds to the fledgling party, but also gave a huge fillip to its campaign by making lakhs of calls to voters during elections in Delhi, Punjab and Goa.

All units worked hard. Many units raised more than $200,000. People used to stay awake all night to make calls for votes, said the former office-bearers in a statement. About 15-20% of the partys election funds came from volunteers abroad.

In the ongoing fight for control of the state unit in Punjab, both pro-Delhi leaders and the Khaira faction made efforts to keep the NRIs on their side. Many of them have openly backed the dissident camp by supporting their

rallies in Bathinda and other districts. We will continue to support them, said the former office-bearers. Of the 20 AAP legislators in Punjab, eight are with the dissident camp that staged a revolt against the partys central leadership after Khaira was removed as the LoP.

Revamp needed before LS, Delhi polls

AAP overseas convener Prithvi Reddy, who was appointed last month, said the organisational structure was being revamped in the larger interest of the party.

The party took the decision on Saturday in consultation with the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) on my recommendation. We have got feedback from 60,000 volunteers and most of them favoured the revamp, he told HT.

He added that the party had a loosely organised structure that needed to be fixed before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the Delhi polls in 2020 to be followed by Punjab polls in 2022.

On the ongoing factional feud and Punjabi NRIs strong reaction to dissolution, he said: I am minimally involved in Punjab. The decision is based on what is correct, not who is correct. We are a new party and there may be disagreements, but we need to build it for the long run. Anyone can read it (disbanding) the way they want. We are a party that is much beyond Punjab.

Reddy said he would travel to these countries to meet party volunteers and the new organisational set-up would be announced in a couple of months.

Reacting to the NRIs statement, Khaira said Punjabis abroad had been mainly supporting Kejriwal, but the party assumed a dictatorial stance, instead of listening to them.

The Delhi leadership showed no democratic values while dealing with the Punjabi diaspora. These people had supported the AAP with huge amount of funds, but the party refused to listen to their grievances. Their grouses are genuine and they are on the right path, he said.
Tollywood actor Payel Chakraborty was found dead in a hotel room here on Wednesday evening. According to local media reports, she had checked into the hotel in the citys Church Road area on Tuesday. The police have started investigation in the matter, with a Times of India report saying that suicide is suspected.

The report said that the actor was supposed to leave for Gangtok in the morning but when she did not open her hotel door, the police were called. Meanwhile, her family members have reached Siliguri District Hospital to collect her body.

#WestBengal: Bengali actor Payel Chakraborty was found dead in a hotel room in Siliguri last evening; Police investigation underway. pic.twitter.com/HvDzALbsf2  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2018

Chakrabortys father Prabir Guha has stated that she was suffering from mental stress. The ToI report said that she recently got divorced and is survived by her son.

Payel was seen in television shows and movies like Ek Masher Sahitya Series, Chokher Tara Tui and Goenda Ginni. She was also a part of Dev-starrer Cockpit.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The protagonist of black comedy, Dying to Survive, a movie about smuggling of cheap cancer drugs from India to China, has been ranked number one in a new social responsibility list of celebrities compiled by Chinese government-funded institutes.

Chinese celebrity Jackie Chan, who is well-known in India and is more popular than many, figured in the 40s. Famous actress Fan Bingbing, one of Chinas and East Asias most recognisable faces, ranked the lowest among 100 celebrities who were part of the list.

The social responsibility assessment  the first of its kind for celebrities in China  was jointly carried out by the prestigious Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the influential Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

The celebrities were evaluated on three criteria  professional work, charitable work, and integrity  based on information collected from media reports published in the past year, news website, the Sixth Tone reported.

High scores were given to celebrities who emerged as relatively strong role models as opposed to celebrities who were mired in controversies or not known for philanthropy.

Xu Zheng, the star of this summers hit black comedy Dying to Survive, ranked No. 1 on the social responsibility list, followed by beloved boy band TFBoys, the report said.

Dying to Survive, besides doing unexpectedly good business, also moved critics and audience like for ...reflecting the struggles of cancer patients in attaining affordable medication.

The TFBoys trio has won over fans with their philanthropy work as well as their catchy tunes.

Xu has directed and acted in other popular movies, which have also been critically appreciated.

Zhang Hongzhong, BNUs communications professor who headed the project, told Sixth Tone that the report marks the first time celebrities have been evaluated in terms of social responsibility.

It was a thorough evaluation of a celebritys personality. Fan, for one, fared worst despite her massive popularity is because she is believed to be under investigation for tax evasion and reports have claimed that she is barred from leaving China.

Zhang told the website said that despite Fans charitable acts, the recent scandal hurt her overall score. Other big names such as Chan and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Zhang Ziyi ranked 42nd and 48th, respectively.
Chinas Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Pakistan Friday to hold talks with the countrys new leadership to consolidate cooperation and elevate the all-weather bilateral strategic partnership.

This is the first high-level visit by a Chinese official to Islamabad since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections.

The visit by Wang, who is also designated as the State Councillor which makes him the top diplomat of China, comes two days after that of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo met new Prime Minister Khan and pressed him to take sustained and decisive measures against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

Announcing Wangs visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media that besides holding talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he would also meet top leaders of the new Pakistan government and exchange views on bilateral ties, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

This is the first high-level visit between the two sides after the establishment of the new government in Pakistan. We hope that through the visit the two sides could consolidate our traditional friendship, all-round cooperation and elevate China-Pakistan all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership, she said when asked about Chinas expectations from the visit from September 7-9.

China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and cooperative partners. We are good neighbours, good friends and good brothers. Our bilateral ties have been developing with sound momentum. We have frequent high-level exchanges, practical cooperation moving forward and rich outcomes from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), she said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Pakistans newly-elected President Arif Alvi, saying the strategic significance of the bilateral ties is more prominent under the current circumstances and both sides should support each other more staunchly.

Wangs visit also comes amidst reports of unease in Beijing over how the new PTI government would approach over USD 50 billion Chinese investments in various projects under the CPEC connecting Chinas Muslim-majority Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Pakistan.

Khan in the past criticised former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the lack of transparency and corruption in the CPEC projects.

Newly-appointed Finance Minister Asad Umar has promised to bring about transparency to the CPEC projects whose details remained closely guarded secrets.

India has protested to China over the CPEC, which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Britain introduced laws in its colonies criminalising same-sex relations, but it was not until 1967 that it lifted the legal opprobrium at home, and in 2013 it granted a royal pardon to gay mathematics genius Alan Turing, who committed suicide in 1954.

Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure during the April Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to tender an apology on Britains behalf for introducing the homophobic laws in former colonies, but limited herself to expressing deep regret.

Until the Supreme Courts ruling on Thursday, India was among more than 30 countries in the Commonwealth where same-sex relations face criminal charges. Section 377 was introduced in India in 1862 following recommendations of the first law commission chaired by Thomas B Macaulay.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown issued an unequivocal apology to Turing in 2009 and Queen Elizabeth granted the royal pardon to the iconic mathematician, who committed suicide after undergoing chemical castration for being gay when homosexuality was a criminal offence in Britain. Turing, considered to be the father of modern computer science, was convicted of gross indecency in 1952 after he admitted to a sexual relationship with a man.

Gay rights activist Peter Tatchell described the Indian Supreme Courts ruling as historic but added that ending the ban on homosexuality is just a start.
A gunman opened fire inside a bank in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning, killing at least three people and wounding others before being shot and killed by police, authorities said.

The shooter began firing inside a loading dock at the Fifth Third Bank near Fountain Square, police said, before entering the lobby where he exchanged fire with law enforcement.

He was actively shooting innocent victims, it appears, and our officers were able to kill him and stop the threat very quickly, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley told a news conference.

The citys police chief, Eliot Isaac, said he could not confirm local media reports that the gunman was a disgruntled employee of the bank, and said he had no information that the victims were targeted. No police officers were hurt, Isaac said.

Witnesses said more than a dozen shots were fired.

Ebony Ginyard, who works at a Dunkin Donuts in Fountain Square, said she and other workers and customers dropped to the floor when the shooting started. She said the gunman was so close that she could smell the gunpowder as he fired.

All he had to is look over the counter at us and we would have been shot, Ginyard told reporters.

One onlooker, Leonard Cain, told the newspaper he had been about to enter the bank when someone warned him about the shooting. Cain said he then saw a woman also walking into the bank, and that people tried to get her attention, but she was wearing headphones and did not hear them.

She walked in the door and he shot her, Cain told The Enquirer, adding that he heard up to 15 shots fired.

The Enquirer said some customers were hiding inside a bathroom at the bank, and that one gunshot victim was found inside a nearby ice cream shop.

Another witness, Michael Richardson, who works in the Fifth Third Bank building, told the newspaper he was outside smoking a cigarette when he heard gunshots.

I looked behind me and saw the guy  he shot and then he shot again. After that I started running, he told the Enquirer.

Isaac told reporters the gunmans weapon was recovered, but did not say what type of firearm he used.

A spokeswoman for the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said three men and one woman were treated there for gunshot wounds. Two of them died, one is in critical condition, and one was in serious condition, the spokeswoman said.

The area around the bank was closed to pedestrians after the shooting. Police said people inside the 30-story Fifth Third Centre skyscraper were being held in place but would be able to leave the building soon.

This is not normal, and it shouldnt be viewed as normal, the mayor told reporters, adding that the United States is the only industrialised nation with frequent active shooting incidents. We as a country have to deal with it, Cranley said.

City councilman PG Sittenfeld said it was a sick and tragic way to begin the day. The scourge of gun violence leaves only loss, Sittenfeld wrote on Twitter.
India and the US Thursday asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border terror strikes, including those on Mumbai, Pathankot and Uri.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue in Delhi, during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters, a joint statement issued after the talks said.

The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries, it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new qualitative edge and purpose.

We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international communitys scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike.

In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack, she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the persistent threat of terrorism and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates, it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trumps South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us, she said.

Swaraj said the efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process were also discussed.
Baselworld, which touts itself as the worlds biggest watch and jewellery fair, has had a rough couple of weeks. It started when Nick Hayek, chief executive of Baselworlds biggest customer, Swiss watchmaking giant Swatch Group, announced he will bring the SFr50m spent annually at the fair somewhere else in 2019.

MCH Group, an exhibitions organiser and landlord thats Baselworlds parent company, swiftly issued a response contradicting some of what Mr Hayek had said  and within three days its chief executive resigned, ending a 19-year career at the group. And just last week MCH Group said it would likely report a loss running into the three-digit millions for the current year.

A cigar-chomping billionaire, Mr Hayek is hardly a champion of the people, but his merciless action struck a chord. The travails of Baselworld and MCH Group have not elicited much sympathy. Already in March 2018, the founder of Revolution magazine Wei Koh penned an editorial slamming the event. While a handful of sceptics pointed out that Baselworld was an easy target, having no commercial leverage over any watch publication, Mr Kohs article rang true, becoming widely read and quietly applauded within the watch industry.

Those who have not been to Baselworld might struggle to grasp the innately unappealing nature of the fair, which is an event everyone in the watch industry has to attend. While Basel itself is visually attractive in the manner a medieval European town is, visiting the city for Baselworld mostly feels like several days of extortion, which to be fair is not wholly the fault of Baselworld or MCH.

Hotel rates  and even the best are distinctly average hotels  rise to four or five times the norm, while being subject to seven- or ten-day minimum stays. Even the menus in restaurants are replaced with higher priced fair menus.

Add to that the general lack of public infrastructure to serve large numbers of visitors, and even the distance from an international airport (which is Zurich, a one-hour train ride away). And some visitors even complain of the occasional encounter with a racist or xenophobic local. But alas it is a must, so everyone draws a deep breath, and journeys to Basel in March.

Imagine  oh, imagine  what it would be like if Baselworld were to take place, say, in Hong Kong?

The territory is served by an enormous and remarkably efficient international airport thats just 20 minutes from the city centre by train. And just two subway stations away from the city centre is an expansive convention and exhibition hall, the very place where Watches&Wonders (W&W) took place until it was aborted and moved to Miami last year.

W&W in Hong Kong failed because it was catered to consumers but ran straight into the anti-corruption campaign in mainland China. Baselworld, in contrast, is a trade fair. Already the Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, which caters mainly to components suppliers and lower end brands, had 20,000 visitors and 800 exhibitors last year.

Though W&W took place only twice, it offered ample proof Hong Kong (or any other big, first world city for that matter) excels where it needs to. Hong Kong is full of hotels, ranging from good to great. So many, in fact, that even during the peak season rates inch up by about 20% to 40%. Even at the high end of increment, one can stay in the magnificent Mandarin Oriental for less than the Swissotel Le Plaza during Baselworld.

And then there is the food, of which there is a bewildering array on offer, of any cuisine and price. Local Hong Kong eateries are delicious and cheap, but the city also has an impressive list of fancy, and occasionally overrated, restaurants that Michelin inspectors highly approve of. Some even have a dramatic, sweeping view of Victoria Harbour, unlike Basel where the prices are dramatic and service sweeping. Despite Hong Kong being one of the most mercantile places on Earth, prices in restaurants are refreshingly unchanging.

Infrastructure, accommodation and food aside, theres the simple fact that most of the worlds luxury watches are sold in Asia, or to Asians. Just five countries  Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore and South Korea  accounted for 36% of Swiss watch exports in 2017, according to statistics published by the trade body Federation of Swiss Watch Industry (FHS).

And for the year to July 2018, with the uptick in Chinese demand for watches, that proportion grew to 41%. Throw in the watches purchased by Asian tourists all around the world, and the number is around 60% to 70% the total, perhaps even more.

But Hong Kongs advantages also apply to several other cities around Asia, and minus proximity to customers, to cities on other continents. Little imagination is needed to think of Singapore, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, and Dubai.

What would it take for paradise to become reality? Not God, but Rolex, Patek Philippe, the watch and jewellery brands of LVMH, and of course the Swatch Group.

Consequently, it will never happen. Baselworld is a century-old event, and Swiss watchmakers love traditions. Plus they are rarely enthusiastic collaborators. Rolex, the biggest single watch brand, already made it known to retailers at Baselworld 2017 that it was there to stay.

Hope rarely triumphs over experience but one can still dream. But the reality is despite being battered, Baselworld will survive. Rejoice O restauranteurs and innkeepers of Basel!
Relegated to the basement, silenced by the imam and barred from the front door, some Muslim women have had enough of male domination at the mosque and are setting up their own.

From Copenhagen to Los Angeles, a handful of female mosques now cater to Muslim women who want their own place of worship, just as men have had through the ages.

It is possible to change a narrative that has been patriarchal for centuries, Sherin Khankan, founder of Europes first womens mosque, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Her first-floor mosque - adjacent to a clothes shop - is invisible from the busy Danish shopping street below. But behind its anonymous, grey door, a quiet revolution is brewing.

For the past two years, women have been leading prayers, delivering sermons and running Copenhagens Mariam Mosque - though Khankan says she is not challenging the Koran, just rewriting a male-dominated way of worship.

We can do that by promoting and disseminating new narratives, with a focus on gender equality. Its not a reform. Were going back to the essence of Islam, she said, draping a red floral shawl across her shoulder.

Although men and women are allowed to meet and pray during the week at Mariam Mosque, the mosques monthly, collective Friday prayers are for women only, said 43-year-old Khankan.

With a tiny prayer room and simple decor of candles, cushions and rugs, the mosque has about 150 worshippers. It was set up by Khankan with the support of Femimam, a group of female Muslim spiritual leaders in Denmark.

OVERLOOKED

Muslim womens groups and researchers say there is a lack of female Islamic leaders and dearth of worship spaces for women, since most mosques are gender-segregated and men dominate the main prayer rooms.

So, after 15 years in the making, Mariam Mosque joined a handful of female-friendly mosques, including two in Los Angeles, another in the German city of Berlin - which welcomes men and women to Friday prayers - and a new build slated for the northern English city of Bradford, where there are plans to build Britains first women-led mosque by 2020.

Women-only mosques have existed for hundreds of years in China, where women have had a long tradition of leading prayers.

Director of Britains Muslim Womens Council Bana Gora, who is spearheading the Bradford project, said mosques had overlooked women and girls for years.

This picture taken in 2016 shows Sherin Khankan of Denmarka, the female-led mosque posing for a photo in Copenhagen, Denmark. (AFP)

She said some women have had to pray in basements of mosques, or use back entrances where there are safety concerns such as a lack of lighting or security.

Where do women congregate to talk about issues in society? You need a dedicated space where women can convene and talk to people who can help them, and we simply do not have those spaces anywhere, she said in a telephone interview.

Its about women claiming their space in a mosque - theres nothing wrong with that. I can see this catapulting across different faiths as well over time, said Gora.

ISOLATED

Khankan said the presence of fellow women in a mosque, as well as access to female spiritual leaders, meant women might feel comfortable seeking help for sensitive issues like inter-faith marriage or domestic violence.

And for the 200 or so women in Denmark who wear a face veil, their world has grown smaller after a ban on niqab veils and body-length burqas in public spaces, said Khankan.

Denmarks parliament enacted the ban in May, joining France and some other European Union countries to uphold what some politicians say are secular and democratic values.

The justice ministry said the ban would focus on women forced by their families to wear veils.

If a woman is isolated and forced to wear a burqa or the niqab, by criminalising it, you will isolate her even more, because she might not be able to go out, said Khankan, who also runs a domestic violence support group, Exit Circle.

Its important to fight for any womens right to wear the hijab or not, to wear the niqab or not - if its her own choice and her own free will, she said.

THE FUTURE

Khankan said she hopes to see a new generation of female Islamic scholars and worship leaders, or imam - a title normally given to men, which Khankan has proudly claimed.

We are faced with patriarchal structures which we have normalised for decades. As long as they are alive and they are not challenged, we have a problem, said Khankan.

We have to state that women are the future of Islam. We have to make it possible for women to have the same possibilities as men, she added.

The Koran does not directly address whether women can lead congregational prayer, according to many traditional Islamic scholars.

Some argue the Prophet Mohammad gave permission to women to lead any kind of prayer, while others say that he meant to restrict women to leading prayer at home.

Still, many traditionalists do not believe a man should hear a womans voice in prayer.

But Giulia Liberatore, who is researching female Islamic scholars at the University of Edinburgh, said seeing women reach positions of power in Islam will have positive effects.

If women see other women striving for the highest form of scholarship, they will start seeing themselves as someone who can do that as well, she said.
North and South Korea have agreed to hold a summit in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 to discuss practical measures toward the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, a senior South Korean official said on Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reconfirmed his determination to completely denuclearise the peninsula, and expressed his willingness for close cooperation with South Korea and the United States in that regard, the Souths national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters a day after meeting Kim in Pyongyang.

Kim told South Korean officials that his faith in U.S. President Donald Trump remains unchanged and he wanted to realise denuclearisation and end long-standing hostile relations between the two countries during Trumps first term, Chung said.

Chairman Kim ... expressed frustration over the doubt shown by some parts of the international society about his will, Chung said.

North Korea has been preemptively carrying out measures needed for denuclearisation, and Kim said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent Chung and other envoys to the North Korean capital on Wednesday to set the timing and agenda for the third inter-Korean summit this year, and to break the impasse in talks between Washington and Pyongyang over dismantling the Norths nuclear programme.

Kim and Trump held a watershed summit in June in Singapore and pledged to work toward denuclearisation of the peninsula.

But their nuclear talks have since been on shaky ground, with both parties accusing each other of not meeting their commitments quick enough, especially after Trump called off U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos trip to North Korea last month.
Little Ali begged his father to let him and his brothers go on a class trip in northern Yemen this summer. None of them would come home alive.

Weeks after the August 9 bombing of a school bus in the Yemeni province of Saada, the boys father is still in shock after having to bury his three young children.

They waved to me from the bus, and I said go with God, said Zaid Tayyeb at his home in Dahyan in Saada province, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Huthis bordering Saudi Arabia.

Tayyeb had refused to send them on the Muslim youth camp trip earlier in the summer, fearing for their safety in Yemens deadly conflict between the Huthi rebels and a government backed by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

But following his childrens pleas, he relented and allowed them to board the bus after another group of students returned safely after taking the same route.

When I woke up that morning, they were all dressed in their new clothes. So I asked them what was going on, acting like I had no idea where they were going, Tayyeb told AFP.

They laughed and reminded me that the faithful never lie. That I had promised to let them go on the (Koranic studies) class trip after they got top marks.

They hugged me tight, got on the bus and waved to me as it pulled away. I turned and walked maybe 100 or 150 metres when the bus was hit.

Tayyeb turned and ran back towards the bus.

There was smoke and debris everywhere. I grabbed the first body I could reach. It was face down on the ground, he said.

It was my son. Ahmed, who was 10 years old.

On the wall of the familys living room hang pictures of each child: Ahmed, his little brother Ali, 9, and 13-year-old Youssef.

Each photograph is accompanied by the date of their death -- Martyred on 9/8/2018 in the massacre of children in Dahyan.

Tayyebs only surviving son, five-year-old Mohammed, stands under his big brothers pictures, wearing rebel military garb tailored to his tiny frame.

He was too young to take the class trip.

Collateral damage

According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, 40 children were killed and 56 wounded in the air strike which was carried out by the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Huthis.

Coalition commanders have admitted a small number of mistakes and said the strike had caused collateral damage, but there has been no public disciplinary action or changes to the rules of engagement.

The rebels accuse the coalition of knowingly targeting children. The coalition says there was a legitimate target -- but a mistake in timing.

The incident sparked a wave of international anger and the United Nations Security Council has called for a credible and transparent investigation.

Following the Dahyan attack, UN officials accused the coalition of being behind twin air strikes on August 23 which killed at least 26 children south of the rebel-held port city of Hodeida.

The coalition said on Thursday that its investigation into those strikes had found there might have been collateral damage and civilian casualties.

Both parties in the Yemen conflict stand accused of failing to protect civilians. The Saudi-led coalition last year landed on a UN blacklist for the killing and maiming of children.

The Huthis are accused of using human shields and recruiting child soldiers.

The UN childrens agency (UNICEF) has long highlighted the plight of minors in Yemen, where the organisation says 2,200 children have been killed in the conflict.

Since Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in March 2015, some 10,000 people have been killed in the war which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

For Tayyeb, the loss of his three children leaves a wound that will never heal.

They were intelligent, polite, wise beyond their years. And now theyre in heaven.
Now Open

6 September 2018

The Luxury Collection, part of Marriott International, Inc., today announced the opening of Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos. Perched on a coveted 34 acres overlooking the Sea of Cortez, Solaz Resort offers travelers a restorative, wholly transformative experience in the heart of Baja California Sur. Located midway between the bustling vacation city of Cabo San Lucas and the quaint historic town of San Jose del Cabo, the 128-room beachfront oasis is The Luxury Collection's first hotel on the beautiful Baja California peninsula.

From design to cuisine, immersive adventures to spacious accommodations, Solaz Resort pays tribute to its Baja home, celebrating the magnificent natural landscapes and exquisite cultural marvels that are the region's signatures. Solaz Resort has collaborated with the very best in locally grown talent, including Mexican architects, artists and chefs, to ensure a truly captivating experience rooted in authenticity.

"A top resort destination, Los Cabos is rich in culture and acts a gateway for our Global Explorers to connect with the indigenous offerings of Mexico." said Anthony Ingham, Global Brand Leader, The Luxury Collection. "The Luxury Collection's guests seek destinations with enriching qualities and there is a magnetic attraction to this Baja oasis. As the seventh Luxury Collection hotel in Mexico, Solaz Resort showcases the brand's commitment to expanding its footprint and enhancing its offerings for discerning travelers to the destination."

Sophisticated Accommodations

Each masterfully designed guest room and suite at Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos features a private entrance and patio, contemporary furnishings and original art. Further setting the mood, Bluetooth technology offers touchscreen remote control access to the curtains, lighting and music. Unobstructed views of the sea blur the lines between indoors and outdoors, with a natural flow from each room to its private terrace.

Architectural Marvels

Guests of Solaz Resort will at once notice the striking architecture, which seamlessly blends the destination's unique landscape, where the desert meets the sea. Springing from the fertile imagination of renowned Mexican architectural firm Sordo Madaleno, the resort's cascading terraces mix desert vegetation with quarry stone, granite, marble and wood. Celebrating the distinctive endemic landscape of Baja, Solaz Resort features a sustainable lush "dry jungle" featuring only endemic flora.

Mexican Art Immersion

Celebrating art at every turn, The Luxury Collection's Solaz Resort features original works throughout the property  all masterfully created by famed Mexican artist Cesar Lopez-Negrete, who travelled throughout Baja for years studying the region's land, water, history and folklore. El Gabinete "Del Barco" is the resort's indigenous gallery, showcasing rare regional artifacts such as a 43-foot-long whale skeleton and a historical map collection.

Authentic Experiences and Adventures

Solaz Resort offers an array of bespoke, exclusive experiences designed to bring guests closer to the soul of Baja. Take a private helicopter trip to explore the rare cave paintings of Baja. Swim alongside whale sharks, gentle giants who can grow up to 33 feet long. Learn about the region's deep culinary heritage during a cooking class. Enjoy a breathtaking night under the desert stars, soaking in crystal clear visions of the cosmos. Can't decide what to do? No problem - each room will have a dedicated Artisan butler who will help curate these one-of-a-kind, luxury adventures.
Appointment

6 September 2018

Today The Duniway, A Hilton Hotel announces the appointment of Ryan Kunzer to General Manager. With over six years of General Manager experience, Kunzer is responsible for devising all capital expenditures including revenue management, team building and delivering a business strategy to increase quality and efficiency of overall operations. Kunzer's enthusiastic and result-oriented approach provides effective leadership with a focus on innovation, increased revenues and creating an unsurpassable luxury guest experience, to support the nearly two-year-old property in the heart of downtown Portland.

Prior to his role at The Duniway, Kunzer spent 14 years at Kimpton Hotels in both Portland and Chicago. As General Manager for Hotel Monaco Portland, Kunzer led several initiatives to support the local community and the hotel's staff, landing him a score of 91 on the Employee Opinion Survey, a five-point increase from the year prior. Kunzer also acted as the General Manager for RiverPlace Hotel in Portland, during which time he managed an extensive renovation, a rebrand of the property and two ownership changes. Kunzer plans to continue these efforts at The Duniway offering a "Run with the GM" program, providing an opportunity for team building among the property's staff. It is Kunzer's passion for both people and excellence that have earned him continued success as a General Manager.
Supplier News

5 September 2018

When Oroville Dam's main and emergency spillways were damaged in February 2017, it prompted the evacuation of more than 180,000 people living downstream along the Feather River in Oroville, Calif. Among the evacuees were some of the 520 employees of the Feather Falls Casino, Lodge & Brewing Co. During this crisis, property managers, including Human Resources Director Rhonda Turner, had no way of communicating with staff - the majority of whom do not have a work email address. It was critical for management to determine if employees needed assistance, to explain the property's attendance and absence policies, and to see who could work pre-scheduled shifts and who could not due to relocation.

To improve on the company's crisis communication plan, Turner set out to find much-needed technology that engaged employees and allowed them to communicate during an emergency. In June 2018, Feather Falls Casino, Lodge & Brewing Co. implemented Beekeeper, the " Most Innovative Technology of 2018 ," and the " People's Choice " for engaging hospitality workers who don't sit behind a desk and don't have access to work email.

"There's nothing like a natural disaster to expose communication flaws," Turner said. "When this incident happened, we realized that we had no way of notifying our employees about what was happening. We couldn't reach out to see if anyone needed help, if they had pets needing rescuing, or if they just needed a place to stay. All outlets, including the Casino, Lodge and Brewing Co., remained opened. Most of our employees don't sit in front of a computer; they're busy serving guests. While we have bulletin boards on the premises, we needed a more consistent and efficient way to reach the bulk of our employees in real time. It was an ineffective way to operate, and it left our employees feeling disconnected, especially those working the swing and graveyard shifts. We needed a fairer way to engage everyone, regardless of what shift they work.

"Several months passed, but my passion for Beekeeper never waned," Turner said. "I needed a miracle to get the solution . . . and I actually got one. Upon returning from an industry convention, our Director of Hospitality Mark Grover and the Front Office Manager Scott Nash couldn't wait to tell me about an amazing solution they discovered that could solve all our communication problems; they were talking about Beekeeper. Unaware that I had already demoed the system, we now had three associates advocating for Beekeeper. We presented General Manager Ed Gilbert with the following reasons why Feather Falls Casino, Lodge & Brewing Co. needed Beekeeper."

Beekeeper enables the property to:

Be transparent and inclusive - everyone gets the same information no matter what shift they work or what department they work in. Be interactive and encourage collaboration - information sharing and ideas. Empower employees - gives them a voice. Provide two-way dialogue between employees and management. Engage with employees who don't have computer access or email. Push out emergency information. Eliminate bulletin boards and posters in break rooms throughout the property. Recognize employees, get team feedback, share our successes, and acknowledge successes of others. Share information quickly and easily, including policy and safety information, and set read receipts. Send targeted information or messages to predefined groups or departments. Receive analytics and business intelligence to gauge the effectiveness of what we are doing. Onboard employees and send welcome messages to introduce new employees. Pin important documents for employees to access.

Buzzing on Beekeeper

Since going live, 89% of users are active on Beekeeper daily, Turner said. Feather Falls Casino created a group stream called "Casino Connect" that encourages two-way communication for anything that employees and managers want to post. Individual streams were also activated, enabling departments to post schedules, accolades for jobs well done, news about the hotel or department and more. Employees with flip phones or who have no way of downloading the app can view communication streams on TV monitors in break rooms.

"The feedback from employees has been amazing," Turner said. "We use Beekeeper to keep everyone informed about everything, whether we're posting pictures of new slot machines and posting discussions about new casino games that we are rolling out that week or detailing employee ticket giveaways and announcing employee events, awards or birthdays. We've even started a new video challenge called 'Meet the Hive in Five' where one department makes a video featuring an employee who answers five questions about himself or herself. Then that department challenges another department to do the same. It's a fun, social way to get to know employees better. This is just one of many ways that Beekeeper is making everyone feel part of the Feather Falls family."

"We are so happy that employees at the Feather Falls Casino, Lodge & Brewing Co. are fully engaged with Beekeeper," said Corey McCarthy, Beekeeper VP of Global Marketing. "We often see it takes a high profile incident to discover the need for our product.

"When employees are connected, it makes them feel part of a unified family," McCarthy said. "This is so important for employee morale and delivering superior guest service. For employees to be truly happy, they need to have a voice. They also need to be recognized among their peers and rewarded for doing a great job. This ultimately creates loyalty, and it drives job retention. We are grateful that Rhonda Turner didn't give up on her dream to implement Beekeeper . . . she fought the good fight for the betterment of Feather Falls employees, and today, everyone is reaping the rewards."
Supplier News

6 September 2018

Toronto, ON, CA - September 6th, 2018 - Leonardo Hotels has partnered with Leonardo Worldwide to optimize and enhance hotel image distribution across all online channels. As a global hospitality leader, Leonardo Worldwide will manage the images for the Leonardo Hotels brand portfolio on travel websites and GDS's.

The global hotel chain, Leonardo Hotels, currently operates more than 190 hotels in Europe, UK and Israel with a presence in more than 100 destinations. The brand focuses on individuality and each hotel property offers its guests innovative design, stylish interiors and a harmonious color concept.

With the Leonardo Worldwide's VScape Content Management Platform, Leonardo Hotels benefits from their technology and expertise to organize and manage hotel digital content in an efficient and automated manner to ensure all hotels are presented consistently and accurately on all booking channels. Leonardo's technology automates the sourcing, processing and delivery of hotel images to the key channels that Leonardo Hotels' relies on most to generate bookings and revenue.

"We are extremely delighted to announce our partnership with Leonardo Worldwide to streamline, monitor and provide third-party booking channels with high quality digital content. With their expertise in the hospitality industry, the Leonardo Hotels brand portfolio will certainly benefit from the partnership to boost bookings and drive revenue. It also helps our hotels to ensure that customers are always up-to-date with fresh content" said Yoram Biton, Managing Director of Leonardo Hotels in Central Europe.

"At Leonardo, the combination of our technology and strong relationships with channels give us the capability to not only deliver content, but also ensure that the content we deliver is accurate, up-to-date, and as our customers expect it to appear online. This is the value that we provide hotel chains like Leonardo Hotels," said Mark Charlinski, CRO, Leonardo.

About Leonardo

Leonardo helps hotels attract more bookings and revenue and contributes to better travel experiences by making it easier for guests to select the hotels that meet their needs and expectations. Leonardo's technology platform lets hotels, hotel chains and management companies showcase their properties and amenities across the web to drive more bookings and revenue. Leonardo has been a hospitality market leader for 20 years and has engaged partnerships with global hotel chains, leading travel websites and thousands of hotel properties. For more information about Leonardo, visit leonardo.com.

About Leonardo Hotels

The Fattal Hotel Group is one of the fastest growing hotel chains in Europe and Israel. It operates 190+ hotels with 36,000+ rooms in 100+ destinations.

As Israel's market leader, the group stands for innovation and dynamic growth in the hotel industry. It was founded in 1998 by David Fattal and the group has been active in the European market since 2006. A core attribute of the company philosophy is that all acquired hotel properties are also managed and operated by the group.

In Europe, the Fattal Hotel Group is represented by the European division Leonardo Hotels. The portfolio of Leonardo Hotels comprises 150+ hotels with 28,000+ rooms in 85+ destinations. The brand portfolio consists of: Leonardo Hotels, Leonardo Royal Hotels, Leonardo Boutique Hotels and NYX Hotels by Leonardo Hotels along with the recently acquired Jurys Inn (UK + Ireland) and Apollo Hotels (The Netherlands) hotel portfolio.

The company credo feeling good is discernible in all activities of the Fattal Hotel Group: high quality standards, personal and individual service, supported by the commitment of 13,000 employees, to stylish interior design with unique ambience and regional flair. Thereby, creating an emotional hotel-guest relationship complemented with a 100% feel-good factor.

The Fattal Hotel Group is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).

Media Contact

Julie Ford

[email protected]

1-877-593-6634
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As another summer comes to an end across Europe, a new era begins for the global hotel industrys leading cloud platform, SiteMinder, with the appointment of Marco Rosso, a hospitality and e-commerce passionate who joins the company as SiteMinders new country manager for Spain.

As another summer comes to an end across Europe, a new era begins for the global hotel industrys leading cloud platform, SiteMinder, with the appointment of Marco Rosso, a hospitality and e-commerce passionate who joins the company as SiteMinders new country manager for Spain.

The appointment sees Marco take over a market where SiteMinder has dominated the hotel technology industry for nearly a decade, securing deals with some of the countrys largest hotel chains as well as thousands of independent, boutique and family-run hotel businesses which received more than 1.5 million reservations worth over 600 million in hotel revenue this summer.

Marco says his top priority is to ensure hotels realise how best to capitalise on technology to win more guests and open a future where keeping up with the digital world, while benefiting from a growing revenue stream, is simple.

While this past summer saw a number of travellers opt for other destinations over spending time under the Marbella and Ibiza sun, Spain remains the third most visited tourist destination in the world and its potential is undeniable. Where some may see this trend as troubling, I see a chance for Spanish hotels to explore new strategies and the technologies that will enable them to reach different types of guests from new parts of the world, says Mr Rosso.

Born into a long line of hoteliers where hospitality and tourism were not only the family business but a way of life, Marco began his career at hotels and travel companies before bringing his expertise to Triptease in 2015, where he helped to expand the SaaS companys presence across Europe. As the country manager for SiteMinder in Spain, Marco inherits an established market where SiteMinder is now a significant contributor to the total online revenue generated by hotels in the country.

According to Marco, the journey is only beginning as more hotels become hungry for innovation and success.

We live in a digital world and Spanish hoteliers are increasingly aware of the importance of how their hotel brand is positioned to the market. Many hotels still operate with a complicated online reservations process, but there is a real opportunity to change that with the right tools in place, Mr Rosso says.

Marcos appointment comes as SiteMinder continues its rapid expansion globally and the former head of Spain, Mateus Coelho, leads SiteMinder in Brazil and Portugal  the two other markets he has led for more than two years  on a more dedicated basis.

Media contact

Maria Cricchiola

+61 410 233 735

media@siteminder.com

About SiteMinder

As the leading cloud platform for hotels, SiteMinder allows hotels to attract, reach and convert guests across the globe. We serve hotels of all sizes with award-winning solutions for independents and groups alike, wherever they are in the world.

SiteMinders products include The Channel Manager, the industrys leading online distribution platform; TheBookingButton, a wholly-branded booking engine for direct bookings via the web, mobile or social; Canvas, the intelligent website creator for independent hoteliers; Prophet, the real-time market intelligence solution that takes the guesswork out of pricing rooms; and GDS by SiteMinder, a single-point of entry to a six-figure network of travel agents and the worlds major global distribution systems. With more than 30,000 hotel customers and 600 of the industrys top connectivity providers as our partners, today we have presence in more than 160 countries on six continents. For more information, visit www.siteminder.com.

Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe

 2021 Hotel News Resource
Two hospitality technology organizations to work together to cross-promote education and resources

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) and Hospitality Technology Next Generation (HTNG) announced during Hospitality Upgrade's Annual CIO Summit that they established a partnership geared toward strengthening the progression of the technology in the hospitality industry. The agreement is based on both organizations' desire to use each group's complementary strengths and resources to advance technology in the hospitality and travel industries.

"For years, HFTP and HTNG have worked in parallel in support of the hospitality technology industry," said HFTP CEO Frank Wolfe. "Each organization has made great progress toward bringing the community together to establish education, standards, best practices and resources. Recognizing that working closer together would better serve the industry, the leadership of HTNG and HFTP has formed this partnership."

The two organizations are member-based nonprofits which draw from their volunteers' extensive knowledge bases to develop and present educational opportunities, industry standards, best practices and other resources. Through this agreement, HFTP and HTNG will cross-promote the programs of each organization to maximize the benefits and impacts of these efforts.

"HTNG and HFTP have played important roles in advancing technology in the hospitality and travel industry. With similar, but complementary missions, this partnership will bring the organizations closer together and codify the informal cooperation that has existed since HTNG's founding 16 years ago," said Mike Blake, CEO of HTNG.

The partnership establishes a corresponding presence within each organization's events and activities. The groups will promote each other's events on online calendar listings and news sites; as well as support each group's programs, including HFTP certifications and the HTNG Workgroups. Also, both HFTP and HTNG will invite leadership representatives from the other organization to participate in events, programs and advisory councils.

One of the first things the two organizations have agreed to do is to resurrect the Hospitality Technology Strategic Initiatives Council, co-founded by HFTP and HTNG in 2009. The council was composed of senior-level, industry leaders and related hospitality/travel associations to discuss pressing industry needs as they relate to hospitality technology. The council will work to identify industry initiatives and will determine the best possible home for these initiatives to reduce duplication efforts.

About HFTP

Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP) is a global nonprofit hospitality association, headquartered in Austin, Texas, USA, that uniquely understands the industry"s problems. HFTP has members and stakeholders across the globe. HFTP assists its members in finding solutions to industry problems more efficiently than any organization via its expert networks, research, conferences such as HITEC SM and certification programs. HFTP also owns the world's only hospitality specific search engine, PineappleSearch.com. HFTP is recognized as the spokes group for the finance and technology segment of the hospitality. For more information about HFTP, e- mail membership@hftp.org .

Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe

 2021 Hotel News Resource
With the reveal of Colin Kaepernick's new "Just Do It" campaign with Nike, a mixed reaction was bound to ensue. Disregarding those who do not have an opinion on the matter, you're either ecstatic about the news or livid. After the initial glee of Kaep's supporters had slightly worn off, videos started to appear showing men and women burning their Nike gear, no longer willing to support the company after the ad was released. While the frustration is understandable, the extremes that people are willing to take in situations like these are scary. With Donald Trump choosing to attack the brand over the new campaign, 2 Chainz believes that we're in for some terrifying times in the future because of this.

The Atlanta rapper spoke to his fans on social media, noting that it was extremely brave of Nike to release the video but that the repercussions are bound to be on the horizon. "I'm going to make this prediction," started Tity Boi, continuing, "although what Nike did was brave, it's gonna start a race war and a purge. It's gonna happen." Chainz explains that his mindset in thinking so is because people will stop policing events over political differences on where Nike stands. He believes that there will be events with no police presence and, in his words, "Shit gon' go down and people ain't gon' come see about you." He ends the train of thought by exclaiming that he hopes he's wrong and for the sake of the country, we do too.

Where do you stand on Nike's Colin Kaepernick ad and do you think 2 Chainz has a point here?
If you're in Toronto and had plans to attend the Canadian premiere of Monsters and Men with high hopes of seeing Drake present the film since he's credited as executive producer, then we're here with not the best news since Drizzy had to, unfortunately, drop out.

Monsters and Men is a project very close to Drakes heart but due to scheduling commitments on his current tour he unfortunately will not be unable to attend, a statement read, via The Toronto Star. He wishes the film the utmost success and feels strongly about its ability to positively inspire dialogue.

The film is a drama about police violence that follows a Brooklyn community turned upside down after the shooting of a Black man by an officer. The project has already been successfully recognized since winning a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Drake linked with filmmakers in a partnership to bring more attention to the film using his popularity.
Crooked, having been an integral member of Slaughterhouse, has a deeper understanding of the group dynamic. Such knowledge extends to their label, Shady Records, as well as relationships with Paul Rosenberg and Eminem. After Joe Budden essentially put Eminem's character on blast, including his business acumen, Crook took to Instagram Live to address the heated episode of Joey's podcast.

Before diving in, he explains that Joe Budden's harsh criticism of Revival was missing context, as the public weren't privy to some of the closed-door disagreements between Budden and Em. While Crooked believes that the pair should have communicated like adults, he feels as if Joe allowed his feelings to color his opinions. "There was something else behind that critique, and that was my only thing," explains Crooked, cigar in hand. "I don't have no problem with people having an opinion, that's crazy...But when I saw what he said about Em's music, I knew there was something else there." He concludes his train of thought by saying "you can't bring hostilities or frustrations into your critique of the man's music."

He dives into the podcast, explaining that he "enjoyed it," dubbing it a "very entertaining podcast." "I'm glad that he admitted he already felt a certain way about Em," says Crooked. "So you bringing your feelings into your critique of Revival, you might not have liked it, true indeed. But we all know you kinda went over the line, you know what I'm saying? Especially questioning his integrity, saying, you know, 'he's using the plight of the black man in America or the black lives matter movement to ride a wave.'" Crook explains that Joe's critique of Em's lack of content was somewhat hypocritical, given that "Untouchable" was indeed "content Em."

"I feel like I freed everybody to tell the truth when I left the group," says Crooked. "People were zipped up about it." For more from Crooked, including his invitation to Joe Budden, check out the full video below.
Elise Amendola/AP

Coffee shops not only offer a boost to the sleep-deprived, they also portend a bump in home prices.

A Harvard Business School study analyzed Yelp and Census data to find that the arrival of a new coffee shop is associated with a 0.5 percent increase in housing prices in that ZIP code that year.
Offshore oil production is showing signs of a turnaround as crude prices rise and operations become more efficient, giving energy companies in Houston and elsewhere the confidence to resume deepwater projects stalled during the oil bust.

The sectors recovery, which has lagged the broader industry rebound, is concentrated in regions including Scandinavia, West Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America, where new discoveries and lower costs of of production have piqued the interest of companies looking to make money outside of shale, according to a recent analysis by research firm IHS Markit. Regardless of location, a global offshore renaissance would solidify the recovery of Houstons oil and gas industry and further strengthen an economy already propped up by the shale boom in West Texas.

Houston is the center of the worlds offshore drilling sector, where leading global companies including Transocean, TechnipFMC and Diamond Offshore Drilling maintain major operations and employ thousands.

This the last stage of the recovery, said Patrick Jankowski, senior economist with the Greater Houston Partnership. When you start to see activity in this sector, you know the bust is over.

SOLD: Gulf lease sale generates $178 million

IHS Markit anticipates that demand for mobile offshore drilling rigs, which include jack-ups floating rigs, will grow by 15 percent through 2020, driven largely by activity in international waters. The firm expects demand will average 521 rigs in 2020, up from 453 this year.

Oil companies also have made several discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico recently, but the recovery there is expected to progress more slowly as domestic producers focus on more accessible and lower-cost shale basins in West Texas and elsewhere. Onshore projects require less time and money to complete than those developed in ocean waters thousands of feet deep, which has made them particularly attractive to U.S. oil and gas companies under pressure from investors to spend less and deliver higher profits.

Usually the activity starts in the Gulf and spreads out around the world, West said. This time, its the opposite.

The oil and gas industry in general recovered slowly from the recent oil bust, which in less than two years drove prices from more than $100 a barrel to $26 a barrel in early 2016. Only in the last year or so have companies begun to report consistent profits as prices pushed above $60 a barrel. Much of those profits have come from the Permian Basin in West Texas, which accounts for about half the nations active drilling rigs and nearly one-third of U.S. production.

Even as shale drillers returned to profitability, offshore drillers continued to file for bankruptcy to shed billions in debt acquired before the last boom went bust. The sector is also consolidating as bigger stronger players buy weaker, smaller ones.

The offshore sector has been one of the last remaining drags on the Houston economy, which is adding jobs at the fastest pace in four years. Houstons energy services companies, many of them concentrating on North American shale drilling, have added 3,000 jobs over the past year, but the exploration and production sector, which in Houston largely employs engineers, geologists and other professionals who help develop offshore and other oil and gas fields, is still shedding jobs, losing another 1,500 over the past year, according to the Labor Department.

EMPLOYMENT: Houston job growth picks up

But now, with the U.S. benchmark for crude hanging around $70 a barrel, and many offshore operators cutting production costs, the outlook for the sector is much improved, analysts said. Ian Macpherson, senior energy analyst at investment research firm Piper Jaffray & Co., said the offshore industry is on track to have its first profitable year since the bust in 2019.

Were still bouncing along the bottom in terms of activity, he said, but theres little debate the direction from here is positive.

In a bet on the sectors comeback, Transocean on Tuesday agreed to spend $2.7 billion to buy rival Ocean Rig, sealing its rank as the world's largest offshore drilling contractor and giving it a greater foothold in promising areas including Brazil, Norway and West Africa. CEO Jeremy Thigpen, speaking Wednesday at a Barclays energy conference, said he believes the recovery is already well underway.

We are far more bullish on the recovery than we have been historically, he said. We're seeing new contract awards across all of our customer bases.

The North Sea has proven especially resilient, particularly in the waters off of Norway. Christian Brown, president of the oil and gas division for Canadian engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin, said that there is widespread consensus among his customers that oil is trading well above the cost of drilling there.

He expects the sectors momentum to build as oil prices rise.

Youre starting to see customers, particularly the international oil companies and the independents, building some capacity offshore because they believe the market will be there for bigger developments, he said.

The Gulf of Mexico also is seeing signs of life, despite a marked decline in drilling activity in the years since crude oil topped out at $100 a barrel four years ago. Only 16 drilling rigs operate there, down from 63 in the summer of 2014, according to the Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes.

OFFSHORE PURCHASE: Transocean buying Ocean rig

But a recent Royal Dutch Shell, however, recently launched its multibillion-dollar Appomattox platform in the Norphlet region of the Gulf. Its the companys first major deepwater project after the bust.

The company earlier this year joined Chevron, BP and Frances Total in announcing deepwater discoveries in the Gulf. Smaller companies including Talos Energy and Fieldwood Energy are also expanding there.

katherine.blunt@chron.com
Unilev Management Corp. and Azrieli Group have started a multimillion dollar renovation project at One and Three Riverway office buildings. Ziegler Cooper Architects, Walter P Moore and Endurance Builders are working on the project. CBRE leases the buildings, which total 880,000 square feet.

The Howard Hughes Corp. has acquired two vacant office buildings next to its Hughes Landing development in The Woodlands. The four- and six-story buildings, totaling 257,025 square feet, were purchased along with land for an additional office building, for $53 million, the company said. Completed in 2002 and 2012, the buildings had been owned and occupied by the seller.
So, youve decided to leave the house and take in a little culture in person rather than via a screen.

Once you reach your activity of choice  a symphony concert, a museum exhibit, a play  there are a few rules to keep in mind.

You shouldnt clap willy-nilly during a classical music performance. You (mostly) cant touch works of art. You cant continue the conversation you were having when you walked in to the theater after the lights dim. And, no matter how much you may want to preserve what youre seeing for yourself or your pals on social media, you cant take flash photos at live performances.

READ ALSO: Task force releases strategic plan for the San Antonio Symphony

There are some very good reasons for all of that, some having to do with safety and some simply having to do with making sure that everyone  not just you  is having a good time.

Its about helping to foster that space where everybody can enjoy whats going on, said Troy Peters, music director for Youth Orchestras of San Antonio.

Here the why behind some of the rules:

Why cant I reach out and touch the artwork?

Because your hands  even if you just scrubbed them  have oils that could damage the work. Keep in mind, it wouldnt just be your undoubtedly immaculate fingers touching the piece  it could be hundreds or thousands of fingers involved, creating wear and tear. Museum professionals dont touch things with their bare hands, either  they wear gloves.

But keep your eyes open. Some artists intend for their work to be touched. Signs generally let you know when thats the case.

Why cant I clap whenever I am moved to do so at a classical music concert?

Technically, you can, though doing so may make you the target of hostile glares and even shushing. You just probably shouldnt.

That rule didnt start with composers, said Peters, noting that Mozart wrote of seeking applause between movements and Brahms wrote to a friend of his disappointment over the lack of applause during one of his works.

The applause guideline  which calls for a response at the end of a symphonic work and silence between movements  is believed to have started in Germany early in the 20th century, and it swiftly took hold worldwide.

The idea behind it was that a multi-movement piece like a symphony has very often a kind of a larger story that connects the different parts, so that without that applause, the audience could stay in the narrative, Peters said. It has become tradition, and theres a whole bunch of us who think its a little ridiculous that its an absolute rule. There are some moments where the music ends so exuberantly that you want to clap. But if I start clapping, I would get shushed.

READ ALSO: The Other Side of the Alamo digs into the historic sites story

Fear of the shush isnt the only reason he follows the guideline, though.

I dont want to disturb or bother other concertgoers, and since some people have lived with this (rule) their whole lives and really cherish that tradition, I dont want to rain on their parade, either, he said.

Why cant I take my seat if Im a few minutes late?

Some shows  The Lion King comes to mind  have elaborate opening scenes that simply dont work if the actors have to accommodate the movements of latecomers. So, in those cases, those who turn up after the show has started have to cool their heels in the lobby for a bit.

In other instances, the theater may wait until theres a scene transition before admitting those who arrive late in hopes of minimizing the distraction for the actors and for those in the audience.

Because the unexpected can happen, its a good idea to get to whatever youre going to a little early. Some theaters have art exhibits in the lobby; some have bars where folks can grab a pre-show beverage.

Why cant I sing along?

Because its annoying. The folks around you did not pay to listen to your interpretation of the toreadors song in Carmen or Dont Cry for Me, Argentina at Evita.

I was in a concert once in Montreal where Renee Fleming was singing. and there was a gentleman in front of me singing along he was louder than she was, Peters said. That was a little bit frustrating.

There are exceptions here, too. At some musicals, like Mamma Mia!, audiences are encouraged to sing along and may be invited to dance in the aisles, too. If the invitation is extended, the audience is welcome to join in that way. (Side note: That should not be seen as a license to gab during the non-musical scenes.)

Why cant I touch things on the set during intermission?

This is a classic look with your eyes, not with your hands scenario. Props are placed where they are for good reason, and you, as a member of the audience, are probably not privy to why that is.

Sometimes, actors have mapped out lines and movements to correspond with where things are on the set. If an object isnt where its supposed to be, it can be discombobulating, impacting the performance.

READ ALSO: San Antonio artist sets Guinness record for tiny paintings

There are so many spinning parts, said Kelly Hilliard Roush, executive and artistic director for Classic Theatre. If this one thing is moved, its amazing what it can throw off.

Its weird that it needs to be said, but apparently it does: Dont climb on parts of the set, either. During Classics staging of You Cant Take it With You last season, a patron stepped onto an ottoman and broke it.

Why cant I take a flash photo or gaze at my device at a play?

The flash no-no is a safety thing. Actors can be blinded by those little flashes, and can stumble. There are stories, Roush said, of actors tumbling over the lip of the stage, seriously injuring themselves.

The light from a screen  or the clickety-click-click as you text  can distract those around you, tugging their attention away from whats happening onstage.

You go into a dark space and experience this moment in time, Roush said. If someone is on their phone, its hard for all of us to be present.

Thats pretty much what all of the rules boil down to: Be mindful of those around you, and make sure that you arent doing anything that means that someone else is having a lousy time.

dlmartin@express-news.net | @DeborahMartinEN

Deborah Martin is an arts writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | dlmartin@express-news.net | Twitter: @DeborahMartinEN
Virtuosity and generosity meet Sunday when more than 20 of Houstons performing arts groups and artists combine talents in their best lets-put-on-a-show mode.

Reunite-Reunir consists of several programs timed back-to-back in two theaters of the Midtown Arts and Theater Center Houston, otherwise known as MATCH. All of the artists and crew  even the piano tuner  are donating their time to raise funds for the Texas Civil Rights Project, which provides free legal services to families separated at the U.S. border as a result of zero-tolerance immigration policies.

They labeled luggage better than they did the children, said choreographer Jane Weiner, who led the effort to produce the show. A long-time arts educator who works with children of all ages, she felt helpless watching news coverage of the crisis this summer. Seeing online fundraisers that others organized to help didnt help her sleep at night.

Nothing is as immediate or compelling as live performance by passionate artists; Weiner knows this from years of organizing other events to benefit causes, including assistance programs for people with breast cancer and AIDS.

This is something in our own backyard  and there still may be more than 500 children separated from their parents. Not good. Every day theyre apart, its harder to reconnect them, she said. I know immigration is tender in this community, and a comprehensive program needs to come into place. But this is not the solution.

Reunite-Reunir: A Benefit Performance for Separated Families When: 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday Where: MATCH, 3400 Main Details: $50 for one performance, $100 for both shows; exascivilrightsproject.org/reunite See More Collapse

Chuck Still and Brian Walker, the executive director and production manager at MATCH, embraced this years project, which grew into a festival of sorts, with food trucks, art and performances in the MATCH courtyard areas as well.

Some of the major groups who signed on for Reunite-Reunir also donated performances for last years quickly-organized and terrific Houston Strong relief performance by residents of the citys Theater District  including Houston Ballet, the Alley Theatre and Houston Grand Opera.

Houston Ballet principal dancer Karina Gonzalez, a native of Venezuela who gave birth to her first child in May, didnt hesitate to join this years show, either. Shell perform with fellow principal Connor Walsh.

Also giving their all will be Colombian Folkloric Ballet, Da Camera, Houston Boychoir, Kam Franklin, Karen Stokes Dance, Mercury, METdance, Mildreds Umbrella Theater Company, NobleMotion Dance, Outspoken Bean, Stages Repertory Theatre and WindSync.

Theyre performing with no on-site rehearsal. Its ready-made, like an open-mike situation, Weiner said. A pair of fast-on-their-feet emcees will lead each show: actor-director Justin Doran, actress Carolyn Johnson, Houston Ballet soloist Harper Watters and Susan Blair of Art Saves Lives. David Deveau and Tiffany Schrepferman donated lighting services.

The event is organized into four, 60-minute shows across two MATCH theaters, with donations priced at $50 (one show) to $100 (two shows).

The performers hope to raise more than $50,000 for the cause. Videographer Ben Doyle will live-stream the performances, which can be watched online for a $20 donation.
Sam Young knew what was at stake from the beginning  when he began to question certain practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The 65-year-old Sugar Land resident was forewarned that he could be excommunicated for crusading against the churchs policy of allowing bishops to meet with children one-on-one to discuss topics regarding their faith and personal behavior. Young, who served for five years as a bishop, has been pushing for reforms to the routine meetings after learning that some of the questions bishops asked were sexually explicit.

Protecting children is more important than my membership in the church, he said this week. Im not going to shut up. That would be immoral on my part.

The warnings were not unfounded. Young has been summoned to a rare excommunication hearing set for Sunday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Sugar Land.

He is now preparing to challenge the charge and remain in the Mormon church, in which he has been a lifelong active member. In addition to serving as a bishop, he has been a bishopric counselor, a ward mission leader, stake activities director and a seminary teacher.

This is my church, he said. Its been my church my entire life. My community is in the church. My wife is in the church. My children are in the church. My grandchildren are in the church.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officials would not comment on the case but spokesman Eric Hawkins provided a statement: Because of the personal nature of church disciplinary matters and to respect the privacy of those involved, the church does not provide information about the proceedings. Church discipline is administered by local leaders who are familiar with the individual and his or her circumstances.

The churchs website outlines its discipline process, explaining that doctrine promotes members growing and bettering themselves by following Jesus Christs example.

Central to that process is freedom of choice, which shapes who we are, the site reads. Inevitably, as we make choices, we also make mistakes.

Some missteps are corrected through repentance, while others require more serious action.

The purpose of church discipline is not to punish but to facilitate full repentance and fellowship for a person who has made serious mistakes, the site continues.

The church considers Youngs case apostasy, or as it explains, the repeated, clear and open public opposition to the church, its leaders and its doctrine.

More Information For information, visit protectldschildren.org. To read the church's full statements, visit www.mormonnewsroom.org. For information about the church's discipline process, visit www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-discipline. See More Collapse

An apostate, however, is far from what Young would consider himself.

He simply wants the church to reconsider its policy regarding interviews that take place between Mormon youth and church officials, he explained.

The past few months have been a journey for Young, one that he never expected to take. Hes only known for about a year that the interviews included sexual questions like if the child masturbated or has been sexually active.

He started asking around to learn more, even reaching out to his own daughters. Then countless church members shared stories with him and several agreed to let Young post what they wrote on his website, ProtectLDSChildren.org. Many of the stories talk about how the interviews led to feelings of shame, guilt, self-loathing and even suicide.

There are thousands of kids whose childhoods were destroyed, Young said.

He started petitions to end the meetings and collected 58,000 signatures.

Young recently completed a 23-day hunger strike at Temple Square in Salt Lake City to raise awareness of the issue.

I was asking the apostles to come down and meet with the people who were harmed by the policy, to meet people who were concerned, he said. But no one ever showed up. They ignored me.

The fast started on July 27. Two days later, the church issued a statement about the interviews, stating that steps were taken to improve the interactions.

Church leaders at every level  from Sams local bishop and stake president to a recent conversation with a general authority  have met with him to express love, to listen and to counsel with him, the statement read. They have received and reviewed his materials and understand clearly his viewpoint. Further meetings with him are not necessary to clarify his position on this matter.

At the end of August, Young received the notification for his excommunication proceedings. The letter said he would be able to call witnesses to testify on his behalf. The church will take about 15 minutes to make its charges, and Young will have 45 minutes to respond. He expects a decision to be made Sunday following the hearing.

My hope is that you will choose to change your course and to return to the covenant path, the letter concluded.

Young said his emotions went from angry to disappointed. I was just trying to protect our kids, he said.

The church did change its guidelines for interviews in March, stating, If the person being interviewed desires, another adult may be invited to participate in the interview. Leaders should avoid all circumstances that could be misunderstood.

Young said the change wasnt enough  and places children in charge of deciding whether or not a parent is present in the interviews. He added that the new policy does not address the issue of sexually explicit questions.

Kate Kelly can sympathize with Youngs case. She was excommunicated from the Mormon church in 2014, after advocating for the ordination of women to the priesthood. Like Young, Kelly said she was disciplined for a thought crime.

Its not anything you did, its what you thought and voiced publically, she said. You can think whatever you want, but you cant say it out loud.

Kelly, who lives in New York, felt assured that the church would come around on her case, until talking to Janice Allred, another Mormon feminist who was excommunicated.

I said, I think theyre going to do the right thing, Kelly recalled. She patted me on the head and said, Thats what I thought too.

Kelly said excommunication is a heart-breaking experience.

Still, she advises Young, Put your faith in yourself and your cause. You know why youre doing this. You knew what the risks were. And you decided its worth it.

In advance of his hearing, Young and a handful of supporters held a press conference Thursday in front of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints building in Sugar Land.

Young said one of the hardest parts of the excommunication has been watching friends who are still members of the church not stand up for him. Most of Youngs supporters on Thursday were former church members who had left for various reasons.

One of those supporters was Susan Watts, who said the church is just trying to disavow a person who has hurt the institutions image.

Its unjust. He doesnt deserve to be excommunicated, Watts said. But I think the church has an agenda, and theyre going to do it because they want to be rid of him.

Garth Ogzewalla, another former church member, said Young has been fair with the church but isnt getting that fairness in return.

I think that the church is really losing out, because hes a visionary as far as Im concerned, Ogzewalla said. It seems like a lot of the excommunications are about people who are vocal and public about anything that isnt accepted as the standard culture. To anybody who stands out, its a real issue.

Steve Catts, who is still a member of the church, stressed the gravity of being excommunicated  that in many peoples eyes, not being in standing with the church means you are stripped of eternal salvation. Catts said the scandal and excommunication is forcing him to question his faith.

The shame is that the church doesnt want people to speak out against the institution, he said. The church is very much about protecting the institution more than it is about protecting the members.

Katy resident Jacqueline Vance was overcome with emotion as she stood by the side of the road, holding a sign that read sexual shaming is cruel. Vance, who is considering leaving the church, said elders had asked her questions about her sexuality, making her think she was living in sin for much of her young adult life.

For the longest time I hated myself, Vance said. I believed every word they said.

Samantha Ketterer contributed to this report.
David was officially diagnosed with early onset dementia on the morning of July 5, 2017. He died on the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2018, from a heart attack, caused, I have little doubt, by his increasing dementia.

He had turned 57 just two weeks before.

We met the day after Christmas in 1988.

I've spent nearly half my life with him. When we met, he was at Columbia University, completing work on his doctorate in molecular biology. When we moved to New Orleans shortly after he received his degree, we had vague thoughts of opening a B&B. Instead, he went back to school to get his law degree at Loyola and launched his career as an IP attorney specializing in biotech. When we moved to Houston, his career took off. We bought a house in the Heights. We made friends.

We subscribed to the HGO. He sold me on his love of opera, though he was never able to convince me that Wagner was worth the time and effort. We subscribed to the Houston Symphony. I sold him on the works of Brahms, whom he had always thought was too heavy and ponderous.

He was never able to sell me on country music. Or on bluegrass. Especially bluegrass.

We subscribed to the Alley Theater. And to Da Camera. And to Chamber Music Houston. We had cats and dogs. We ate out. A lot.

And we travelled. We went to Morocco. We went to India. Twice. We went to Nepal and Vietnam and Korea and Mali and Burkina Faso. We went to Ethiopia and Egypt. We went to Russia and China. We went to Borneo and the Philippines. We went to Papua New Guinea. We went to Rio and Buenos Aires.

It was exciting to explore the world's cultures. And since our interests so neatly coincided, traveling together was, for the most part, a joy.

And then we went to Burma. Already signs of something going wrong were evident  occasional bouts of confusion that were difficult to handle in a foreign country, periods where I thought he was having issues with his meds that, looking back at now, seem to be warning signs of what was to come.

Except for one trip to visit his brother in Fort Worth shortly after he was diagnosed, it was our last trip together.

With the exception of a trip to Italy with friends from his law firm, we never went to Europe. David always said that we could do that when were older; now was the time to go to the more exotic places, the trips that would be more difficult to do as we aged.

I'll be doing those on my own now.

And there was a whole raft of illnesses, both physical and mental. Years of agonizing back pain that finally ended with two days of surgery.

Courtesy

He could be difficult. Very difficult. Even in the best of times. But even in the worst of times, he kept his sense of humor.

And his abiding interest in the world around him.

And his uncanny ability to focus on his work until his dementia hit hard, including writing and then revising for a second edition a 1000-page opus on U.S. patent law.

He loved "Monty Python" and "Laverne & Shirley." He loved "The Far Side" cartoons. And "Bewitched." And Joni Mitchell. And film noir, which we would watch every Sunday morning on TCM as his illness worsened.

He loved Obama. And he loathed Trump. Even during his time in Mexico, as the dementia descended, he followed the news as best he could and continually expressed outrage about what was happening in Washington.

He loved his friends and family. And me.

And it was to me that the call came that Saturday afternoon telling me that he had died. I was surprised, but at the same time not: over the last few weeks his condition had rapidly declined to the point where, I was told, he would mostly be sitting in silence looking out at the lake, his silence interrupted only by bursts of words that made no sense.

I think he was ready to go.

And I'm relieved that his suffering has ended.

He will be missed.

Dennis Abrams writes restaurant reviews, journalism and children's books.

Get the Gray Matters newsletter. Even in the worst of times, it keeps its sense of humor.
The hearings for President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee are partisan, dramatic and so fitting for this political moment. A lot is on the line for both sides. Republicans want to put Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court before the November midterm elections. Democrats don't want the court to cement its 5-4 conservative majority, especially when this Supreme Court could play a big role in the Russian election interference investigation.

Here are five early takeaways from day two of several days of hearings:

1. Trump is making Kavanaugh's life significantly harder

Kavanaugh was already coming into this hearing with a difficult task: convince Congress that he isn't a lackey Supreme Court pick for a president who has repeatedly flouted the rule of law.

Now Playing: Judge Brett Kavanaugh declined to answer two questions from Democratic senators related to presidential investigations during his confirmation hearing - if a president should comply with a subpoena and if he has the ability to self-pardon. Video: Time

The day before the hearings began, Trump gave Kavanaugh's critics fresh ammunition. The president tweeted that the Justice Department shouldn't have prosecuted Republican members of Congress so close to the midterm elections. Trump's Republican critics, like Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., read those tweets out loud during Tuesday's opening statements and warned Kavanaugh he'd be asked about them.

"That is why a lot of people are concerned about his administration," Flake said, adding, "I, too, am concerned."

Kavanaugh is expected to get questions on this later in Wednesday's hearing, and he knew it. He set out right away to buffer himself by asserting he believes a good judge is independent of political pressure: "If you walk into my courtroom and you have the better legal arguments, you will win," he said repeatedly.

2. Kavanaugh backed away from his written views that a president shouldn't face criminal investigation

Kavanaugh is a conservative judge - some scholars have argued he is one of the most conservative federal judges. But his writings that have most alarmed Democrats and some Republicans came in a 2009 Minnesota Law Review, where he argued that criminal investigations and lawsuits against the president are "time-consuming and distracting" and ultimately don't serve the public good.

Coming from a lawyer who was a key player investigating Bill Clinton, the about face was perplexing. And it's a concerning position to some senators who know this Supreme Court could decide whether Trump has to sit down with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III for an interview.

More for you Trump suggests protesting should be illegal

On Wednesday, Kavanaugh backed away from that expansive view of executive power by arguing he was just spitballing about how to protect a president from unnecessary and distracting lawsuits. His writings that investigations are a distraction were just ideas, he said, not his actual constitutional philosophy. He had just come from the Bush White House, where he watched a president wage war while trying to protect America from future Sept. 11, 2001-style terrorist attacks.

"After September 11, I thought very deeply about the presidency, and I thought very deeply about the independent counsel experience, and I thought about how those things interacted," he said. " . . . So I proposed some ideas for Congress to consider. They were not my constitutional views."

Whether that's enough to assuage concerned Democrats and some Republicans is to be determined. But it's notable Kavanaugh backed away from some of his most controversial writings on presidential power.

3. On every other hot-button issue, Kavanaugh took the say-nothing style that Justice Gorsuch perfected

In his confirmation hearing last year, Justice Neil Gorsuch wouldn't even share his opinion on the Second Amendment.

Kavanaugh took much the same approach. He wouldn't say whether a sitting president could be subpoenaed (something Mueller threatened to do to Trump and could end up at the Supreme Court). He would only give his opinion on court cases that had been decided decades ago. He said that the 1970s case legalizing abortion, Roe v. Wade, is "settled law." (That language on abortion appears to have won over some on-the-fence Republican senators, but Kavanaugh did leave room for him to uphold increasingly restrictive abortion laws in the states.)

Ever the polished politician, Kavanaugh took time to explain why he was dodging all these "how would you rule on. . .?" questions: "My personal beliefs are not relevant to how I decide cases," he said. He even cited times when justices appointed by Democratic presidents dodged answering how they'd rule in hot-button issues during their confirmation hearings.

4. Kavanaugh's background in politics is both helpful and a hindrance

Kavanaugh is a clear, direct speaker who can tailor his words to whether he's talking to a critic or a supporter. He's fully aware of the political pressure cooker his confirmation hearing is taking place in.

"I want to reassure everyone that I base my decisions on the law but I do so on the awareness of the facts and awareness of the real-world consequences," he said, speaking directly to the father of a Parkland, Florida, shooting victim in the audience. "And I have not lived in a bubble."

Kavanaugh's political background comes from being a top aide and lawyer in the George W. Bush White House. And that means he's been asked to answer for some of that White House's most controversial decisions - torture, detention, the Iraq War, Bush staffers who resigned over hacking of Senate Democrats' emails.

Kavanaugh says he didn't have any knowing involvement in the email scandal. And he says he did not help set up or give legal advice for the Bush-era enhanced interrogation techniques that Congress later banned, a point of contention for Democrats who believe he did play a role.

But we may not fully know the extent of Kavanaugh's advisory role during the post-9/11 era, given Republicans haven't requested records from his time as Bush's staff secretary, a gatekeeper position that allowed him to determine which proposals made their way to the president.

5. This hearing is a manifestation of the Trump era

The Kavanaugh hearings are a perfect manifestation of the hyperpartisan era we're in right now. Democrats tried to stop the hearing before it got started, arguing it was "tainted." Republicans accused Democrats of contempt of court and protesters of "mob rule." An unusually high amount of protesters - 70 or so arrested on the first day - led Capitol Police to just stop admitting the public into these hearings, a rare thing to do.

Much of this drama can be traced directly back to who's in the White House. Democrats have accused Republicans and Trump of "hiding" Kavanaugh's past to get a friendly face for Trump on the Supreme Court. Some Republicans argued that democracy is broken because Democrats want to reflexively oppose Trump. "What is wrong with our country?" said Sen. Lindsey Graham,R-S.C., at one point Wednesday.

Kavanaugh's nomination will likely scrape by on a purely party-line vote, both in committee and possibly the full Senate, bearing out that this hearing is everything that has come to define politics in the Trump era.
The third time Rodney Blair began to wade into Harvey floodwaters to reach his ruined house in the days after the storm, he was stopped by law enforcement.

Excuse me sir, an officer warned, I advise you to not enter the water without proper protection.

Blair was taken aback. No one had said anything before. He was wearing shorts, a T-shirt and swim shoes, the same thing he had worn the two other times when he spent hours in the three feet of foul, blackened water inside his west Houston home.

Until that moment, it didnt occur to him to fear what could be lurking in the stew.

It was gross, but beyond that I didnt think about toxicity, he said.

Now, a year later, its hard to get the thought out of his mind.

Every time you get sick you wonder, his wife, Donni, reminds him. You say, I feel like there is something wrong with me. 

So the couple and their 11-year-old son, Raymond, have joined the scores of flood victims across the region now being studied and tallied as researchers scramble to grasp the potentially immense health toll Harvey exacted.

Get counted To get more information on the wristband study, email harveystudy@bcm.com or go to one of two free upcoming community events: East Houston: Thursday, Sept. 13, from 3 p.m.-6 p.m., at East Houston Civic Club, 7418 E Houston Road, 77028. Baytown: Sunday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at Holy Family Catholic Church, 7122 Whiting Rock Drive, Baytown, 77521. To register for the Hurricane Harvey Registry, go harveyregistry.rice.edu To get more information on Harvey environmental health and safety related issues, go to www.swcoeh.org/harvey. See More Collapse

While it could be years, if not decades, to know the final prognoses, some of the early evidence is troubling.

New findings by Rice University researchers show the stagnant water inside some flooded homes carried indications of antibiotic-resistant bacteria up to 250 times higher than even the floodwater outside. The same markers for the bacteria were found in the sediment left behind weeks after the water receded.

The significance of the discovery is that such bacteria could lead to infections more difficult to treat, said Lauren Stadler, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice and lead investigator for the study.

There is mounting evidence that these floodwaters, especially inside homes, present a real risk, Stadler said last week.

Bacteria and more

Researchers trudged into the storm to capture samples as the rain fell last August and then for weeks afterward.

High levels of E. coli were found in the Buffalo and Brays bayous which ultimately spilled into neighborhoods.

In flooded homes it can be hard to isolate where contaminants come from. Sewage trapped in bathroom pipes, medicines in cabinets, cleaning supplies under sinks, and chemicals in garages all mix together with floodwater to form a toxic brew.

But the Houston region also poses another unique threat. Harveys flooding pried loose soil and chemicals from 13 Superfund sites and spread chemical seepage from the areas vast oil and gas industry.

RELATED: Silent SpillsIn Houston and beyond Harveys spills leave a toxic legacy

We dont know over someones life what that will do, especially in children, said Melissa Bondy, professor in epidemiology and population sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. Bondy is among those now studying people exposed to chemical-laced water or Harvey-tainted air.

Ive never done disaster research before, she said. But we all live in this area. We felt a responsibility to the community to understand what is going on.

Researching Harvey health

At Houstons Baylor College of Medicine there are now three separate Harvey health projects under way.

One, led by Bondy and co-sponsored by the UTHealth School of Public Health and Oregon State University, gives flood victims high-tech rubber wristbands to wear for one week. The bracelets capture and measure chemicals excreted from the skin, giving researchers a peek at what is happening within. The wristbands are then returned to researchers in Oregon who will compile the findings.

Participants also swab the inside of their nose, spit into cups, and give fecal samples to identify and measure bacteria and fungi in their bodies. The first phase of the study, conducted just after the storm, had 173 final participants. Those results have not yet been released. A repeat phase began Aug. 26 to check for possible health risks, new or lasting.

The Blairs are part of the study. They didnt know about the first phase of Baylors testing, but were eager to sign up for the second.

I feel like knowledge is power, said Donni Blair.

Pregnancy and asthma

Simultaneously, another study is going on at the medical school to look at how contamination and stress from Harvey affected pregnant women and their babies.

Dr. Kjersti Aagaard, professor and vice chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Childrens Hospital, is currently compiling pregnancy data from more than 600 women touched in some way by Harvey to measure the bacteria and fungi in their bodies to see if it was altered from toxic exposures.

Aagaard, whose specialty is maternal fetal medicine, was already working on a pregnancy study when Harvey hit and said she is now able to create a broader baseline. Ultimately, she said, her study may shed light on whether Harvey contributed to pre-term births or other complications in mothers and their children.

She hopes to have results by early 2019.

A third research project is studying the impact of Harvey on African-Americans who suffer from asthma. A broader asthma study, led by Winifred J. Hamilton, director of environmental health service at Baylors medical school, was nearly complete when the storm struck. New questions were created and now researchers can compare results from before and after the storm to gauge whether peoples conditions worsened, Hamilton said. About 75 people are participating in the new phase of the asthma study.

Even those whose homes did not flood are part of the extended research because many people were still exposed to toxins, especially if they volunteered to help in flooded neighborhoods. Preliminary results of the asthma study are also expected next year.

Hidden ailments

Beyond the medical community, Houstons Episcopal Health and Kaiser Family Foundation released a survey of 1,651 adults across 24 storm-affected Texas counties gauging recovery progress and attitudes at the one-year mark. It was the second survey conducted, the first at about three months after the storm.

About three in 10 people reported declines in their mental health since Harvey and one in six said someone in their household has a health condition that is new or worsening. Problems most reported were stress, asthma, sleeping problems, depression, rashes and other skin infections, headaches and allergies.

RELATED: Dont say its over. A year later, Harvey recovery remains uneven with many still struggling

A spokesman for Episcopal Health Foundation said there is no current plan for additional surveys but no decision has been made.

And therein lies the problem in reckoning disaster. Sometimes the most serious health problems can stay hidden for years, long after initial studies are complete.

So in April, the Hurricane Harvey Registry was launched. The registry, a joint venture of Rice University, the Houston Health Department and the Environmental Defense Fund, will collect and maintain information from those affected by the storm, including health impacts. The effort has since grown to include Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, as well as support from the private sector.

The goal is to track people over their lifetimes, said Elena Craft, an Austin-based senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund.

So far about 1,700 people have joined the free registry at https://harveyregistry.rice.edu and the hope is to reach 5,000 by the end of 2019, she said.

The Houston registry is modeled after one formed following the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, considered the largest in the country.

Health tracking is only truly meaningful if done over long periods of time, Craft said.

Consider the staggering increase of cancers reported as the years pass since the 9/11 attacks, mostly among first responders who worked amid the toxic dust and debris.

In 2012, after the first year that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched its own 9/11 health tracking program, there were 222 certified cancer cases recorded. By the end of July 2018 it was 10,247.

A new normal

A year has now passed since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made a fateful decision to release water from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs.

The row of stately brick houses along Sea Smoke Lane had never flooded before but was suddenly in the waters path. For 14 days, filthy water baked in the late summer heat inside the Blairs home which sits between the two reservoirs. When the water finally receded, multicolor speckles of mold began to appear on the walls like thrown confetti.

The couple set to work, sifting through the wreckage and demolishing what could not be saved. Gone were the shorts and T-shirts, replaced by protective coveralls, heavy gloves and respirators donated by a church. Still, the suits were not waterproof and brackish water and silt often found their skin, which, now in retrospect, is worrisome for the couple.

Volunteers descended from across the region and the country to flooded areas to help and then vanished. At the Blairs house chunks of drywall the consistency of putty were pulled down. A pyramid of rancid debris formed at the curb. Most everyone on the block had one.

Over the next two months fans and dehumidifiers blew nonstop, airing out the shell of their first floor. The water-logged studs were soaked in anti-mold spray. Insulation was pulled from the attic; the plumbing and electrical wiring replaced. By Christmas the family moved back into a construction zone.

To this day the family lives on the second floor and the garage has become their kitchen. Chips and soup cans share shelf space with bleach and drywall primer. Without flood insurance their savings and retirement accounts are now gone and repairs have stalled.

Were stuck, the couple says. The Federal Emergency Management Agency cut them a check for $33,000 which they called a blessing. But replacement cabinets in the kitchen, bathrooms and pantry alone cost $30,000, eating up the relief check in one gulp.

When it rains a terrible smell still rises from the foundation. Its like standing in a Port-a-potty and adding battery acid, Donni Blair says.

Her husband sometimes has terrible headaches. Her son has a cough and congestion that will not clear. She has bouts of wheezing she says were never there before. Most irksome, though, are the odd memory lapses she said shes been having.

Other people who flooded say they, too, have spells of absent-mindedness. They joke and call it flood brain. Donni figures it is just the stress of it all.

Researchers, however, say that one of the long-lasting health impacts can be cognitive.

Donni wants to stay positive, though. She does not believe the health study will uncover anything bad. Instead, she hopes it will do the opposite and offer reassurance that they will be fine. Someday soon.

jenny.deam@chron.com

twitter.com/jenny_deam
Harris County Public Health officials are targeting childhood lead poisoning, creating a program they hope will prevent further cases, agency officials said this week.

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program is already working with 40 children with elevated blood lead levels and expect more, the agency said in an email Wednesday. They plan to create a database to track and monitor cases throughout the county.

The announcement of the new program comes as cities across the country are dealing with lead-contaminated water, including Detroit, where school officials have shut down drinking fountains after elevated levels of lead or copper were detected. School children instead will drink from coolers or drink bottled water. School districts in Portland, Oregon and Baltimore took similar measures after high lead levels were detected there.

The Houston Independent School District also resorted to using water bottles for some schools in 2017 when testing, spurred by the water contamination crisis in Flint, Mich., showed high lead levels here. HISD's website now includes information about lead testing at its schools.

Nathalie Cardona, the program's coordinator, said the main goal is to reduce lead poisoning in Harris County, bring community awareness and educate families.

"We don't want to see an incident like Flint happening to our community," she said.

In addition to raising awareness of the dangers of lead poisoning, the county health department's program also monitors cases of children who are already impacted and provides medical providers recommendations on testing. The program is offering lead testing at two WIC clinics, on Antoine and Shaver.

Most families affected by lead poisoning are low-income, the health department said.

"Many families aren't aware of the dangers of lead poisoning. They don't know this can affect their child's cognitive development," Dr. Umair A. Shah, executive director for Harris County Public Health, said in a news release. "That's why this program is so important. We want to bring more awareness to the issue in Harris County."

The state's Department of State Health Services reported 1,016 children had elevated blood lead levels in 2016, the health department noted.

According to the health department officials, children 6 and younger are at the highest risk for lead poisoning.

Children are often exposed to lead by eating pieces of chipped lead paint, which is usually found in homes built before 1978. A similar case occurred in Washington when a 3-year-old boy's lead tests returned positive after getting chipped paint in his mouth.

Cardona said she encourages all children at that age to be screened for lead poisoning at least once, especially in an older house.

Lead is also found in products from overseas such as jewelry, toys, pottery, spices and cosmetics, the health department said.

Lead poisoning can be detrimental to a child's growth, and can impact brain development and speech. At times, there are no symptoms.
I was taught that We the People defined our constitutional right as American citizens. That throughout the whole of the United States, and most specifically within our day-to-day lives, those three words, by design, are to give us the individual right to have a voice in that which we deem will improve, enhance, protect, and preserve our communities. We the People defines a country focused on the fair and just needs of all its people, giving citizens the rightful power to support the political candidates of their choice to attain and maintain those goals.

However, in 2010 legislation was passed to give corporations the right to donate large sums of money to political candidates for the sole purpose of legalizing the act of bribery within the election process in the United States. Therefore, the political candidates, should they be elected into office, would be heavily compelled to do the bidding on issues that would promote those corporate initiatives and industries. Furthermore, Super Pacs have emerged, which are collective clusters of corporate organizations that pool their monies, increasing the size of donations given to political constituents and candidates.

We the People have been quietly robbed of our constitutional power to elect a candidate who pledges to be our voice. That power is now in the hands of big corporations who supply the money for larger-than-life advertising tactics such as commercials and billboards.

However, not all political candidates stoke their campaign funding with hefty donations from corporations or Super Pacs. I encourage you to seek out those candidates and support them.

In the 3rd Congressional District, Danielle Mitchell is running a grassroots campaign supported by people like you and me.

Let us join together to thwart this unfair power given to Corporate agents, and make our votes count again.

Jil Smith

Rockwood

* * *

Ms. Smith, I had never heard of the candidate you are supporting before reading your post in Chattanoogan.com. I did notice you failed to state your candidates political party.

When I looked at your candidates website I read about justice, the environment, net neutrality and the usual generalities and platitudes about education with which I am very familiar. I had to dig deeply into the website to find some endorsements to discover your candidate was a Democrat. Why is this fact not in a prominent place on her website and why didnt you state this in your post?

These days its very important to know the political party a candidate represents especially when they run for Congress.

Ralph Miller

* * *

Mr. Miller,

Is it more important to know a candidate's party affiliation who is running for Congress or know what they believe? It seems pretty easy to me to read or listen to candidates to find out if they have views that you find acceptable. If all you're looking for is a R or D to make your choice, you're lazy.

Party is part of it but all of us should do are due diligence to find out what they stand for. People throw out buzz words - liberal, conservative, Christian, progressive, business man, socialist, and T.V. gives us all the answers in 30 seconds.

A person's actions and the way they live says a lot more about them and how they will act in the future. You choose, elections do matter for the few that decide to take the time to vote.

Al Hargis






Chris Covatta, Stringer / Getty Images

The campaign of Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, says an "impostor" was behind a text message that surfaced Wednesday asking voters to help people who are in the country illegally cast ballots.

"Hi, it's Patsy here w/ Beto for Texas," reads the text, which was circulating on social media. "Our records indicate that you're a supporter. We are in search of volunteers to help transport undocumented immigrants to polling booths so that they will be able vote. Would you be able to support this grassroots effort?"
AUSTIN  Thousands of additional children will soon be eligible for special education services after state officials eliminated an illegal cap that artificially tamped down Texas special education rolls for a decade.

But even if the state fully funds the estimated $3 billion cost of providing that extra instruction, educators say one big question remains: Where will schools find up to 9,000 new special education teachers?

Schools already have a hard time recruiting special education teachers, so much so that the state offers incentives such as student loan forgiveness programs. But those incentives arent enough to meet the demand, leaving schools across the state struggling every year to find enough teachers to provide specialized services to students. Now as the number of students needing extra services is expected to rise dramatically, finding educators will be even more difficult, state education officials and advocacy groups say.

Nationally, we do not have enough special education teachers in the country, said Penny Schwinn, the Texas Education Agencys deputy commissioner for academics. Texas is no different. We have shortages at the local level and in almost every state, and that's because it's a very high needs field. It's a very challenging job.

A 2016 Houston Chronicle investigation and a subsequent federal audit found that the Texas Education Agency illegally set an 8.5 percent benchmark that was a de facto cap on the number of students receiving special education services. The cap was in place for more than a decade, and was well below the national average of 13 percent.

READ MORE: Houston Chronicles "Denied" investigation into a special ed cap

In eliminating that cap, state officials estimate that it will cost the state up to $3.3 billion to provide special education to more than 150,000 additional students by 2021  about a 30 percent increase. The Legislature also needs to find $50 million more to provide compensatory services to students who were wrongly denied special education services in the past.

It has to happen

In the 2017-18 school year, there were 32,000 teachers serving nearly 500,000 special education students, about one teacher for every 16 special education students. Since state and federal law requires special education students to spend as much time as possible in a regular classroom, many of these teachers are not dedicated special education teachers.

If the state were to keep its current teacher-to-student ratio, Texas would need to hire more than 9,000 teachers by 2021 to keep up with the estimated increase in special education students.

Kristin McGuire, the director of governmental relations of the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education, said meeting staffing demands remains an open question, but it has to happen.

Our members always find a way to make it happen, but I have no idea how itll happen. We are already in a shortage, McGuire said. Even with the money, I dont know where we are going to find the teachers. Right now what districts are going to have to do, as they always do, is look at their staffing models and adjust.

State hopes to boost retention

TEA and the Department of Education have already declared a teacher shortage in special education. Several statewide studies show special education teachers leave the profession or take other jobs at higher rates compared to other subjects. That leaves districts having to find replacements, often opting to hire educators without all the state-required certifications. In the 2016-17 school year, about 15 percent of all special education teachers were not certified.

IN DEPTH: Texas needs to find up to $3.3 billion to bring special education services up to national standards

The state also has shortages in teachers of high school math, high school career and technical education and English as a second language.

As part of its plan to boost special education services, TEA is awarding grants to schools that need staff to meet requests for new special education evaluations. But Schwinn could not say how exactly the state will find more special education teachers, and instead said the agency is establishing policy forums to discuss how to incentivize and retain teachers.

We havent established a fail-safe to ensure we have enough teachers in that area, Schwinn said. It is something that we are actively considering and talking about.
Theres an unwarranted mean spirit about the Trump administration thats un-American. You can see it in how the White House allowed toddlers who were brought into the country illegally to be separated from their parents. You can also see it in how the administration seems hell-bent on discarding rules designed to protect people from the same unscrupulous manipulators of banking laws who 10 years ago birthed the recession.

President Trump has shown utter contempt for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the post-recession federal agency created to protect borrowers from wolves in the lending industry. In November, Trump named White House budget director Mick Mulvaney to head the CFPB. Mulvaney subsequently told CFPB employees they were being too aggressive and froze a new rule cracking down on predatory lenders.

Created in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB under Mulvaney has become a shell of itself . He has put the success of banks and financial trade groups above the interest of consumers. He has replaced veteran CFPB staff with people who think more like him, including Kathy Kraninger, a mid-level executive at the Office of Management and Budget chosen by Trump to succeed Mulvaney at the CFPB.

Kraningers nomination was approved Aug. 23 by the Senate Banking Committee in a 13-12 party-line vote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who came up with the CFPB idea while teaching law at Harvard, says Democrats hope to block Kraningers appointment by focusing on her lack of experience in financial regulation. Being the minority party, however, likely means the Democrats can only delay the inevitable.

That prospect has disheartened CFPB staffers such as Seth Frotman, who recently resigned as the agencys top student loan official. The bureaus new political leadership has repeatedly undercut and undermined career CFPB staff working to secure relief for consumers, said Frotman in his resignation letter. Their actions will affect millions of student borrowers.

The bad news for college students doesnt stop there. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is dismantling Obama administration guidelines that forgave the debt of students who took out loans to attend colleges that failed to deliver on educational promises. DeVos has proposed new rules that would put the onus on students to prove the colleges knowingly deceived them.

DeVos proposal was described by National Student Legal Defense Network director Aaron Ament as a giveaway to predatory for-profit colleges and a stunning show of indifference toward students working to better their lives. Indifference has become the operative word for the White House when it comes to protecting consumers from conniving lenders.

This is no time for the Education Department to turn its back on college students saddled with huge debts and diplomas that too often arent worth the paper theyre written on. Student loan debt hit $1.5 trillion this year, making it bigger than credit card debt or auto loan debt. Texas ranks second nationally in student loan debt, with obligations totaling $92.5 billion. Only Californias debt is higher at $120 billion.

Yet, under Mulvaneys leadership the CFPB has been turned into a toothless watchdog that rouses no fear with its bark or its bite. That trend undoubtedly will continue when Kraninger takes Mulvaneys place. In fact, the payday loan industry is so sure of that it has asked for a stay of its lawsuit challenging tougher lending rules imposed during the Obama era. The Trump administration is saving it the trouble of pursuing the court case.

What kind of presidency is this that consistently favors money lenders over American consumers and goes out of its way to dismantle systems put in place to ensure fairness? This White House  in taking for granted the faithful support it receives from Americans who have the most to lose from such policies  is pledging its allegiance to a creed said to be the slogan of another master of deception, P.T. Barnum: Theres a sucker born every minute.
Donald Trumps first tweet on Africa as president of the United States wasnt true.

This is a fact: The South African Government is not seizing or expropriating land and farms.

This is what the president tweeted on Aug. 22:

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 the land from white farmers. @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews

By directing foreign policy via tweets based on what he saw on Tucker Carlsons show on Fox News, the president undermines the U.S. State Departments own intelligence, damages the United States reputation globally, and destabilizes policy discussions taking place in South Africa.

The day after Trumps tweet, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation released a statement saying: President Trumps tweet serves only to polarize debate on this sensitive and crucial matter.

Land reform is a major issue in South Africa. Under Nelson Mandelas presidency a new constitution enshrined the right to property in the Bill of Rights. Expropriation can only take place under eminent domain for public use, as is the case in the United States. Farm land has been purchased by the state under a willing-seller, willing buyer policy, but the program has not been successful because of difficulties in assessing fair market rates.

In 2016, the South African parliament passed a bill allowing the state to determine fair prices for the expropriation of agricultural land, but the bill has not been implemented. Discussions are currently underway for a constitutional amendment to allow the state to appropriate land for redistribution without compensation, but land owners could legally challenge appropriations in court.

Meanwhile, the State Departments own Country Reports on Human Rights Practices confirms the rule of law in South Africa: South Africa is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which constitutional power is shared among the executive, judiciary, and parliament branches.

But on his show Carlson rejects these facts and refused to believe a statement that he claimed came from the State Department:

We are aware of these reports and have been following this issue very closely for some time. South Africa is a strong democracy with resilient institutions, including a free press and an independent judiciary. South Africans are grappling with the difficult issue of land reform through an open process including public hearings, broad-based consultations, and active civil society engagement. President Ramaphosa has pledged that the land reform process will follow the rule of law and its implementation will not adversely affect economic growth, agricultural production, or food security.

The day after Trumps tweet the Washington Post quoted this statement in full and contacted the State Department to confirm its authenticity. They refused to comment. During Thursdays State Department press briefing, Heather Nauert refused to refute or correct the presidents untruth. Instead she backtracked by saying land reform was a point of discussion between the President and Secretary of State. The State Departments refusal to correct the presidents lie damages American diplomacy.

Fact. There is no large scale killing of farmers.

The State Departments 2017 Human Rights Report does not support these claims. Statistics on violence against farmers in South Africa do not differentiate on the basis of race or status. There is no means to statistically determine whether acts of violence on farms are committed by or against farm owners or workers or perpetrated by outsiders. The 2015 South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) report stated: Violent crime within farming communities is not isolated to specific geographical regions within South Africa, nor any specific socioeconomic group, nor any specific race. Yes, white farmers are among those who have been killed and assaulted. Violence against farmers and farm dwellers of all races, ages, and genders is a priority concern of the South African police.

Trumps tweet ignores the historical reality of the massive racial imbalance of agricultural land ownership in South Africa stemming from colonization and apartheid. The South African Human Rights Commission Equality Report 2017/2018 stated that Of the farm and agricultural land holdings owned by private individuals, Black South Africans directly own a mere 4 percent of rural land, while the White population group owns 72 percent of such land. Population statistics from 2015 estimate that black South Africans comprise 80.48% and whites 8.25% of the almost 55 million population. Since the end of apartheid the South African government has concentrated on laws that protect the rights of farm workers and their families to decent wages and living conditions, access to health care, and education for their children. These huge social issues are a historical legacy of racial discrimination.

Misinformation spread by President Trump has been debunked by the reputable media, disproven by State Department intelligence, and disavowed by the South African government. Will Secretary of State Pompeo call the president on his lie?

Ward is the editor of the Journal of World History and an associate professor of history at Rice University.
Romel Tamez has never worked for a union, and neither has anyone in his family.

But the 22-year-old is helping push an organizing effort in Houston, where he's a warehouse agent for a United Airlines catering unit. About 2,700 United employees, including 800 in Houston, will start voting this month on whether to join the Unite Here union.

It's not really a hard sell, said Tamez, who earns $11.80 an hour and was scheduled to work all three days over the Labor Day weekend. It's apparent there are problems.

The catering workers want improvements in safety, job protection, pay and benefits. And unions have a track record of delivering on those.

In most occupations, union membership translates into higher pay. Union workers are more likely to be offered medical coverage, retirement plans, life insurance and paid sick days. They often have more job security, thanks to seniority rules and outsourcing restrictions.

The rub is that union jobs are relatively rare, especially in Texas. Fewer than 5 percent of workers in the state are union members, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationwide, the union rate is twice as high. And it's higher still in many states, including New York, California, Illinois and Ohio.

Union opponents are quick to note that those states often lag in job growth while low-union states are big job creators.

The share of workers in unions has been declining for decades. But there are signs of a revival, from teacher protests in several conservative states to Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejecting a right-to-work law last month. Even Texas added 81,000 union members last year, the highest gain in at least three decades.

Public attitudes also appear to be shifting. In a spring survey by the Pew Research Center, a majority of Americans said the decline in labor unions over the past 20 years has been mostly bad for working people. And 55 percent had a favorable opinion of unions.

Young people were the most ardent supporters. Among 18- to 29-year-olds, 68 percent hada favorable view, Pew said. Just 46 percentviewed corporations favorably.

Tamez said that young workers are concerned about income inequality, stagnating wages and the rising costs of health care. That's opened the door forthe union pitch.

Times are changing and unions aren't being viewed as something negative anymore, Tamez said. When you look at all these low-paying jobs, it seems obviousthey're related to the decline of unions and the labor movement in general.

One study concluded that the unions' decline contributed to a decline in real wages for nonunion workers, too. But many fast-growingstates, such as Texas, Florida and North Carolina, have low rates of union membership. They also have right-to-work laws that make it tougher to organize.

The trade-off between broader economic growth and unions' higher pay and benefits has long been debated. It's also part of the discussion of the hollowing out of the middle class.

There are many, many pieces to that puzzle, said Michael Davis, who teaches economics at SMU's Cox School of Business.

As the labor market tightens, more workers have bargaining power, he said. They'll want to capitalize on it, especially in low-paying service jobs.

You can ask for a pay raise, but unions are much more valuable in negotiating complex benefits, Davis said. If someone wants health insurance, it's hard to negotiate that one on one.

---

2018 The Dallas Morning News

Visit The Dallas Morning News at www.dallasnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Caci franchise network collectively has over 400 team members, 388 of whom are women.

Beginning with the companys head office, staff who are victims of family violence will receive 10 days paid leave as part of a wider family violence policy.

Moreover, Caci clinics sister company, Skinsmiths, will adopt the policy later this year in the UK where there is currently no similar legislation.

Anna Campbell, Cacis Global CEO, said the company is committed to being part of the solution, not a spectator.

As an employer in a business predominantly made up of women, this is an important issue to step into, not away from, said Campbell.
Pacific Press via Getty Images SUPREME COURT, NEW DELHI, INDIA - 2016/02/02: Members of the LGBT community Show Victory Sign outside Indias Supreme Court, Indias top court agreed February 2 to review a law outlawing gay sex, sparking hope among campaigners that the legislation dating back to the 19th century will eventually be overturned in the worlds biggest democracy in new Delhi. (Photo by Wasim Sarvar/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

EDITOR'S NOTE: On 6 September 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised Section 377 in a historic unanimous verdict. Even as reactions poured in from across the political spectrum, the BJP did not break its silence. At the time of republishing this piece, the party's official handle was tweeting about the Swachh Bharat Andolan. The article has been republished to offer our readers a perspective on the party's position on the matter.

Now that the Supreme Court has made up its mind about reopening the issue of Section 377, will the government have to do the same? In the wake of the court decision to have a five-judge Bench examine Section 377 afresh, television anchor Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted "No BJP leader was available to speak on SC on Section 377 today; many other party netas too reluctant to take a stand. Says it all, no?"

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It does. The BJP seems to have entered a Don't Ask Don't Tell closet in the wake of the court decision. But as the issue heads to a five-judge bench it too will need to come out of the closet. A curative petition going before a five-judge bench, the first time such a petition has gone before a constitution bench, shows that the court takes the issue very seriously. That's going to make the government's silence sound very loud indeed.

The problem with the BJP is that Section 377 falls dead bang in the middle of the conflict between the party's aspiration and reality. The Narendra Modi-led government aspires to present an image of India as a modern liberal democracy to the rest of the world, a beacon of hope in the region, a bastion against illiberal forces.

That is why the party has reacted strongly and indignantly to what it sees as a defamation campaign by the award-wapsi intellectuals that posits that intolerance is on the rise in Acchey Din India. Section 377 flies in the face of the very idea of such a modern liberal democracy. And if a government chooses to actively fight to keep it in place, as opposed to passively let it remain on the books, it risks a severe blow to its international image.

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When the UN voted on whether it should treat employees with same-sex spouses on par with employees with opposite-sex spouses, India found itself on the same side of the issue as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Russia and China. That must have stung. India could have chosen to abstain but it did not.

"The problem with the BJP is that Section 377 falls dead bang in the middle of the conflict between the party's aspiration and the party's reality."

But the ground reality is the BJP's foot-soldiers, including much of its Internet troll-brigade thinks homosexuality has no place in its vision of sanskari Bharat. Dr. Subramanian Swamy, for example, goes after homosexuality with as much vigour as he goes after Sonia Gandhi and has said "homos" are genetically handicapped.

In short the party has an LGBT problem. It's damned if it does and damned if it does not. Rajnath Singh is on the record as saying his party "unambiguously" endorses Section 377 because "homosexuality is a criminal act and cannot be supported". Arun Jaitley has said: "When millions of people the world over are having alternative sexual preferences, it is too late in the day to propound the view that they should be jailed."

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One is the Home Minister, one is the Finance Minister. Which one should we take more seriously? This seems like a dharam-sankat at the heart of power. Until this court decision either could hide behind the "personal opinion" figleaf. But now the personal will rapidly become the political and the party will be under more pressure to take a stand one way or the other. When a furore erupted over the Supreme Court recriminalizing Section 377, Modi had chosen to say absolutely nothing about it. That silence too will become harder to keep up.

If the BJP had spine it could seize the bull by the horns and see this as an opportunity. Ram Madhav of the RSS already made waves by saying while he did not want to glorify homosexuality, it was debatable whether it should be considered criminal.

Commentator Rupa Subramanya has tweeted "Of all people, Hindus shouldn't oppose scrapping Section 377." She says it's an issue that which would actually be "in line with our civilizational values" that Hindu nationalists in power could take ownership of if they had the vision to do that. An editorial in Mint points out "The religious texts of Hinduism, contrary to the claims of some reactionary elements, are not just open to homosexuality but even treat gender as a fluid concept."

The Muslim and Christian groups supporting Section 377 in court are perfectly in synch with their religious beliefs. Hindu groups do not have to follow suit. This could be an opportunity for the government to hammer home the point that Section 377 is in fact a leftover from the Victorian legacy of the British Raj.

One is the Home Minister, one is the Finance Minister. Which one should we take more seriously? This seems like a dharam-sankat at the heart of power.

The BJP is not unique in twisting in the wind when it comes to Section 377. When Shashi Tharoor tried to introduce a private member's bill in parliament, most of his colleagues across the aisles either ran away from it or shouted it down. It went down 71-24 with MPs shouting "NO NO". When the Supreme Court recriminalized gay sex Rahul Gandhi said who one has sex with is a matter of personal freedom. But the Congress-led UPA has had its own U-turns. In 2008 the Home Ministry had endorsed Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra when he said "homosexuality is a social vice" and decriminalizing it could cause "a breach of peace."

The Ministry of Health supported decriminalization and ultimately Veerappa Moily, the Law Minister agreed that Section 377 could be outdated. It was a long and winding road but eventually the party arrived somewhere closer to consensus and the top leadership spoke up.

The BJP is now the party in power and it needs to traverse this long and winding road itself. Some members clearly hope that the court will do its job and make it unnecessary for the party to stick its neck out on the issue. When Tharoor introduced his bill, or tried to do so, the BJP's Nishikant Dubey said he was opposing the bill not because of "any religion, Vedas or Puranas but because of the Supreme Court judgement." That shows the BJP was happy to hide behind the court. Now the court has decided to step up to the issue, the BJP will have to decide what to do.

It could take the easy way out and say the matter is sub judice and it will abide by the decision of the highest court. That would be a lost opportunity for the BJP to project itself as a modern party with a difference but perhaps it would not be a bad thing for those trying to fight Section 377 to keep politics out of it.

Sometimes discretion is the better part of valour.

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IATA World Air Transport Statistics Released

Translation:

Nuevo record de pasajeros aereos en 2017



Montreal  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced industry performance statistics for 2017. Worldwide annual air passenger numbers exceeded four billion for the first time, supported by a broad-based improvement in global economic conditions and lower average airfares. At the same time, airlines connected a record number of cities worldwide, providing regular services to over 20,000 city pairs* in 2017, more than double the level of 1995. Such increases in direct services improve the industrys efficiency by cutting costs and saving time for both travelers and shippers alike.

This information is included in the recently released 62nd Edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), the yearbook of the airline industrys performance.

In 2000, the average citizen flew just once every 43 months. In 2017, the figure was once every 22 months. Flying has never been more accessible. And this is liberating people to explore more of our planet for work, leisure and education. Aviation is the business of freedom, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO.

Highlights of the 2017 airline industry performance:

Passenger

System-wide, airlines carried 4.1 billion passengers on scheduled services, an increase of 7.3% over 2016, representing an additional 280 million trips by air.

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers. The regional rankings (based on total passengers carried on scheduled services by airlines registered in that region) are:

1. Asia-Pacific 36.3% market share (1.5 billion passengers, an increase of 10.6% compared to the regions passengers in 2016)

2. Europe 26.3% market share (1.1 billion passengers, up 8.2% over 2016)

3. North America 23% market share (941.8 million, up 3.2% over 2016)

4. Latin America 7% market share (286.1 million, up 4.1% over 2016)

5. Middle East 5.3% market share (216.1 million, an increase of 4.6% over 2016)

6. Africa 2.2% market share (88.5 million, up 6.6% over 2016).

1. Asia-Pacific 36.3% market share (1.5 billion passengers, an increase of 10.6% compared to the regions passengers in 2016) 2. Europe 26.3% market share (1.1 billion passengers, up 8.2% over 2016) 3. North America 23% market share (941.8 million, up 3.2% over 2016) 4. Latin America 7% market share (286.1 million, up 4.1% over 2016) 5. Middle East 5.3% market share (216.1 million, an increase of 4.6% over 2016) 6. Africa 2.2% market share (88.5 million, up 6.6% over 2016). The top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passenger kilometers flown, were:

1. American Airlines (324 billion)

2. Delta Air Lines (316.3 billion)

3. United Airlines (311 billion)

4. Emirates Airline (289 billion)

5. Southwest Airlines (207.7 billion)

1. American Airlines (324 billion) 2. Delta Air Lines (316.3 billion) 3. United Airlines (311 billion) 4. Emirates Airline (289 billion) 5. Southwest Airlines (207.7 billion) The top five international/regional passenger airport-pairs** were all within the Asia-Pacific region, again this year:

1. Hong Kong-Taipei Taoyuan (5.4 million, up 1.8% from 2016)

2. Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta-Singapore (3.3 million, up 0.8% from 2016)

3. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi-Hong Kong (3.1 million, increase of 3.5% from 2016)

4. Kuala LumpurSingapore (2.8 million, down. 0.3% from 2016)

5. Hong Kong-Seoul Incheon (2.7 million, down 2.2% from 2016)



1. Hong Kong-Taipei Taoyuan (5.4 million, up 1.8% from 2016) 2. Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta-Singapore (3.3 million, up 0.8% from 2016) 3. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi-Hong Kong (3.1 million, increase of 3.5% from 2016) 4. Kuala LumpurSingapore (2.8 million, down. 0.3% from 2016) 5. Hong Kong-Seoul Incheon (2.7 million, down 2.2% from 2016) The top five domestic passenger airport-pairs** were also all in the Asia-Pacific region:

1. Jeju-Seoul Gimpo (13.5 million, up 14.8% over 2016)

2. Melbourne Tullamarine-Sydney (7.8 million, up 0.4% from 2016)

3. Fukuoka-Tokyo Haneda (7.6 million, an increase of 6.1% from 2016)

4. Sapporo-Tokyo Haneda (7.4 million, up 4.6% from 2016)

5. Beijing Capital-Shanghai Hongqiao (6.4 million, up 1.9% from 2016)

1. Jeju-Seoul Gimpo (13.5 million, up 14.8% over 2016) 2. Melbourne Tullamarine-Sydney (7.8 million, up 0.4% from 2016) 3. Fukuoka-Tokyo Haneda (7.6 million, an increase of 6.1% from 2016) 4. Sapporo-Tokyo Haneda (7.4 million, up 4.6% from 2016) 5. Beijing Capital-Shanghai Hongqiao (6.4 million, up 1.9% from 2016) One of the interesting recent additions to the WATS report is the ranking of passenger traffic by nationality, for international and domestic travel. (Nationality refers to the passengers citizenship as opposed to the country of residence.)

1. United States of America (632 million, representing 18.6% of all passengers)

2. Peoples Republic of China (555 million or 16.3% of all passengers)

3. India (161.5 million or 4.7% of all passengers)

4. United Kingdom (147 million or 4.3% of all passengers)

5. Germany (114.4 million or 3.4% of all passengers)

Cargo

Globally, cargo markets showed a 9.9% expansion in freight and mail tonne kilometers (FTKs). This outstripped a capacity increase of 5.3% increasing freight load factor by 2.1%.

The top five airlines ranked by scheduled freight tonne kilometers flown were:

1. Federal Express (16.9 billion)

2. Emirates (12.7 billion)

3. United Parcel Service (11.9 billion)

4. Qatar Airways (11 billion)

5. Cathay Pacific Airways (10.8 billion)

Airline Alliances

Star Alliance maintained its position as the largest airline alliance in 2017 with 22% of total scheduled traffic (in RPKs), followed by SkyTeam (19%) and oneworld (16%).



The complete 62nd WATS is available for purchase on IATAs website at www.iata.org/wats.



For more information, please contact:

Corporate Communications

Tel: +41 22 770 2967

Email: corpcomms@iata.org



Notes for Editors:

*City pairs are counted unidirectionally and only for aircraft with more than 19 seats and at least one flight frequency on average per week. Connectivity can also be calculated by routes which now total more than 55,000. Routes are based on airport (not city) pairs and are counted bi-directionally, regardless of aircraft size and flight frequency.

**Airport pairs are counted bi-directionally on an origin-destination basis, including traffic that may have had intermediate connections
Page Content



Montreal and Ponta Delgada, Portugal, 5 September 2018  Continued enhancements to the record-breaking safety of flight in Europe will be crucial to ensuring the sustainability of aviation growth in the region, declared ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu in her opening remarks at the 67th Special Meeting of the Directors General of Civil Aviation for the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC).

Taking note of the trend of improvement on the safety records, Dr. Liu highlighted that steadily increasing flight and passenger volumes will generate significant challenges and the air transport growth must be effectively managed by civil aviation stakeholders to meet those challenges."Ground handling and runway operations remain two of Europe's more important accident risk categories," Dr. Liu highlighted, noting that a range of new implementation and improvement initiatives through the ICAO-led collaborative Runway Safety Programme have been produced to address this global challenge. "In regard to accident and incident investigation, while not a major concern, it is presently the area with the lowest average compliance rating in this region, and is therefore in need of some prioritization. We must also acknowledge the fact that technical staff qualifications and training has been identified as the number one issue impacting European States' overall safety oversight capacities more generally."

Addressing these implementation gaps will be key to ensuring the achievement of a truly effective and Global Aviation Safety Plan-compliant Safety Management System (SMS) in the region. This requires the implementation of State Safety Programmes, in alignment with the guidance set forth under the GASP and the deployment of adequate resources.

On this last point, Dr. Liu stressed ICAO's commitment to ensuring that the full value of contributions to the Organization's budget is delivered to States in order to support their developmental efforts, and the crucial importance of enhancing these contributions. "Efficiency and effectiveness are key underlying values supporting the design and conduct of the important regional programmes and responses we're collaborating on today," she said. "Extra-budgetary resources are also becoming increasingly important to how effectively ICAO serves its Member States, and while we have established a more solid foundation to support these activities, I will continue to advocate for additional regular programme budgetary resources to support our key objectives".

She also highlighted the pivotal and enhanced role of ICAO's Regional Offices in terms of supporting the implementation of the international civil aviation network's imperatives at the global, regional and State level, notably as a result of the improved resourcing of these offices that has been achieved under her leadership.

Dr. Liu's mission to Portugal took place from 27 August to 1 September 2018. During her visit, she also conducted bilateral meetings with Ms. Ana Paula Zacarias, Secretary of State for European Affairs of the Portuguese Government, with Members of the Board of NAV Portugal, and officials of the Regional Government of the Azores.

The meetings focused on important aviation matters such as airport and airspace capacity, aviation safety and security issues, the environment, the role of international civil aviation as an enabler for sustainable economic development, the implementation of the air services agreements and internal and national procedures, the ICAO budget, and the role of Portugal in the region.

The Portuguese Officials will report the outcomes of the meetings to the Government of Portugal in order to address the most important challenges and proposals at stake.

Resources for Editors

About ICAO

A specialized agency of the United Nations, ICAO was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency, capacity and environmental protection, amongst many other priorities. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 192 Member States.

ECAC Member States

Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

ICAO's Europe and North Atlantic Regional Office

ICAO's No Country Left Behind initiative

Contacts

Anthony Philbin

Chief, Communications

aphilbin@icao.int

+1 514-954-8220

+1 438-402-8886 (mobile)

Twitter: @ICAO

William Raillant-Clark

Communications Officer

wraillantclark@icao.int

+1 514-954-6705

+1 514-409-0705 (mobile)

Twitter: @wraillantclark

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/raillantclark/
European Parliament MEPs to evaluate benefits of fisheries agreement in Western Sahara

by Safaa Kasraoui

September 04,2018 | Source: MWN

Members of the European Parliament have started a working visit to Morocco to evaluate the benefits of the fisheries agreements in Moroccos southern provinces.



Arriving in Morocco on Sunday, September 2, the deputies from the Committee on International Trade (INTA) aim to see the situation on the ground.



The delegation consists of Patricia Lalonde, a member of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe; Tiziana Beghin, a member of the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy Group; and Heidi Hautala, a member of group of the Greens/European Free Alliance.



The list also includes David Martin of the Social Democrats Group.



During their stay in Dakhla and Laayoune in Western Sahara, the deputies will meet representatives of public authorities and NGOs.



The chairman of the Moroccan-European Union Joint Parliamentary Committee, Abderrahim Atmoun, welcomed the visit, expressing hopes that the next stage of voting on the two agreements, agricultural and fisheries, will tend to maintain the strong ties binding the two parties extending to all other areas of cooperation, including the political, technical and cultural as well as the security, according to a statement from the committee.



Morocco and the EU agreed to a new fisheries deal following months-long rounds of negotiations.



The deal allows European fishing ships to fish in Moroccan waters for financial compensation.



The deal was finalized on July 24, in Rabat, with Moroccan officials. Authorities anticipate that the agreement constitutes a brand new step and new spirit in strategic Morocco-EU relations.

Instead of the 80 million that Rabat requested, the EU agreed to pay 52 million for fishing privileges. The amount is higher than the 42 million in the previous deal.



The previous deal expired on July 14. Rabat and Brussels failed to reach an agreement due to compensation negotiations.



The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decreed in February that the fisheries agreement between the two parties is valid insofar as it is not applicable to Western Sahara or to its adjacent waters.



Moroccan officials, however, were firm that they would not renew if Western Sahara were not included in the agreement.



In response to the verdict, Moroccan Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch said that the ECJ did not consult with the populations in the southern provinces, because the agreements [signed between Morocco and the EU] favored the region.



He said, If an agreement is reached within the framework of national sovereignty, which is a red line, [Morocco then] will negotiate with the Europeans.



In light of Moroccos conditions and the ECJs not having authority over trade agreements, the EU agreed to include Western Sahara waters in the agreement.

 Morocco World News

Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture.
Stunning victory for Indigenous Nations as Canada halts Trans Mountain pipeline expansion

by Lorraine Chow

August 30,2018 | Source: EcoWatch

A Canadian court "quashed" approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on Thursday, a major setback for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose government agreed to purchase the controversial project from Kinder Morgan for $4.5 billion Canadian dollars (U.S. $3.5 billion) in May.



It's a stunning victory for Indigenous groups and environmentalists opposed to the project, which is designed to nearly triple the amount of tar sands transported from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia.



The Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the National Energy Board's reviewas explained by the Canadian Press"was so flawed that the federal government could not rely on it as a basis for its decision to approve the expansion."



The project has been at the center of widespread protests from environmental groups and First Nations ever since November 2016, when Trudeau approved a $7.4 billion expansion of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline that would increase the transport of Alberta tar sands oil from the current 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day and increase tanker traffic nearly seven-fold through the Burrard Inlet.



Specifically, the court said it was an "unjustifiable failure" that the National Energy Board did not consider the environmental impacts of the increased tanker traffic.



The court additionally concluded that the government "fell well short" with properly consulting with the Indigenous groups involved in the case, including the Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish on British Columbia's south coast.



The ruling will force the National Energy Board to redo its review of the pipeline and the government to restart consultations with the Indigenous groups. It also means that the construction that has already began in central Alberta must cease.



In effect, the court has halted the 1,150-kilometer project indefinitely and it will remain in "legal limbo until the energy regulator and the government reassess their approvals to satisfy the court's demands," CBC wrote about today's decision.



Notably, the decision was made the same day Kinder Morgan's shareholders voted to approve the $4.5 billion sale to Canada, which means the country owns a proposed pipeline project that could be subject to years of further review, the publication pointed out.



The court's judgment could be appealed a final time to the Supreme Court of Canada.



The Minister of Finance Bill Morneau said that the government has received the ruling and will review the decision.

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
Fukushima fisheries group opposes release of tritium-tainted water into sea

August 30,2018 | Source: The Japan Times

The head of a fisheries industry group in Fukushima Prefecture expressed opposition on Thursday to the idea of releasing water containing radioactive tritium from a crippled nuclear plant in the prefecture into the ocean.



The tritium-tainted water is from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which was damaged heavily in the powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.



At a time when harmful rumors are still circulating in Japan and some countries continue to restrict imports (of Fukushima goods), releasing the tainted water into the sea will inevitably deliver a fatal blow to the Fukushima fishery industry, Tetsu Nozaki, who leads the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations, said.



His remarks came during a public hearing held by a subcommittee of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in the Fukushima town of Tomioka.



The hearing was for the canvassing of opinions on how to deal with the tritium-tainted water. Releasing it into the sea has been proposed as one option. Similar hearings will be held in the city of Koriyama, Fukushima, and Tokyo on Friday.



Using special equipment, Tepco is lowering the radiation levels in contaminated water at the plant, but the device cannot remove tritium.



While the processed water is kept in tanks within the premises of the nuclear power station, the amount of tainted water continues to increase as the plants damaged reactors need to be cooled continuously. Tepco is about to run out of suitable sites to construct new storage tanks, according to the government.



Discussions on ways to deal with the tritium-contaminated water are underway at the subcommittee of the government agency.



In a June 2016 report, an expert panel of the agency said that releasing the polluted water into the sea after it is diluted with fresh water would be relatively cheap and time-efficient.

 THE JAPAN TIMES LTD.

Theme(s): Fisheries Resources.
Effect of climate change on global fishery by 2050 to be discussed at GFF 2018

September 05,2018 | Source: TASS

According to forecasts by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), climate change in the world will result in a significant redistribution of the main industry bodies by 2050 and this will affect the activities of major fishing companies and the economies of the world fishing powers.



The report Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture. Synthesis of current knowledge, adaptation and mitigation options was drawn up with the participation of over a hundred scientists and includes both new research and a unique synthesis of the latest scientific information.



The FAO estimates that the fishing production potential in the 200-mile exclusive economic zones to which each coastal country has special rights might fall by an average of 12%.



The biggest drop is expected in the zones of tropical countries, mainly in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. At higher latitudes, the potential catch will most likely rise. At the same time, even in the regions where the greatest harm will be inflicted, the catch will go up if the countries take appropriate adaptive measures and apply effective methods for fishery management.



The changes at the catch level will take place partially as a result of a change in the fish habitat. Such cases are already being noted in the north-east and north-west Atlantic for some types of tuna. Changes in the structure of the tuna distribution and migration might affect substantially the national incomes of countries that depend on the given industry, especially small developing island states of the Pacific region. As such shifts occur, new agreements will be needed between countries.



Experts note the risks in the fishery sphere, too. The most vulnerable countries in the area of production of freshwater aquaculture are Vietnam, Bangladesh, Laos and China and in the area of marine aquaculture  Norway and Chile, this being a result of the scale of their fish-breeding systems in the sea and their dependence on certain types of salmon.



According to the FAO, the climate change problem could be resolved: a number of the reports studies on the topic are devoted to adaptation measures. If the recommendations are followed, the consequences might be reduced to a minimum.



The global fishery development scenarios, including by region, are to be discussed at the 2nd Global Fishery Forum on 1315 September in St Petersburg. The key topic of the event this year is Global fishing activities 2050: resources, markets, technologies. Under the business programme, an international conference Issues of commercial straddling stocks fishing activities is planned, as well as a roundtable Resources. Industry professionals will discuss the key risks for global fishery and aquaculture and the role of international co-operation in regulating and maintaining bioresources in the long term. The discussants will also assess the interest of business in long-term partnership with science for sustaining water bioresources.



The participants in the events will include Prof. Suam Kim of Pukyong University, President of the North Pacific Anadromous Fisheries Commission (NPAFC) and Executive Director of the organization Vladimir Radchenko, Director of the Alibaba Group John Michael Evans, head of the Stock Control Administration of Japans Fishing Agency Koya Takasi, head of the Centre for International Fishery Co-operation FGBNU VNIRO Vladimir Belyaev, President of the European of Fish Processors and Traders Association (AIPCE-EP) Guss Pastor and other speakers.



The Second Global Fishery Forum & Seafood Expo will take place in St Petersburg from 13 through 15 September at the Expoforum convention and exhibition complex. The events organizer is the Federal Fishery Agency and the Forum operators if the Roscongress Foundation.

 TASS

Theme(s): Others.
Te Ohu Kaimoana committed to represent Maori interests at UN

September 05,2018 | Source: Scoop

Te Ohu Kaimoana Chairman Jamie Tuuta travelled to New York on Monday (3 September 2018) as a member of the New Zealand delegation that will participate in discussions on a new international agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ). The international community is discussing ways in which marine biodiversity in international waters should be managed in the future. Te Ohu Kaimoana considers that matauranga Maori and ensuring that Maori rights are protected will form a fundamental part of that korero.



Te Ohu Kaimoana has previously discussed BBNJ with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT), including the ways in which Maori are able to contribute to New Zealands participation at the United Nations (UN) on this matter. The Right Honourable Winston Peters, Minister of Foreign Affairs has since made a seat available on the New Zealand delegation for Te Ohu Kaimoana.



The UN General Assembly agreed Resolution 72/249 in December 2017 to convene an international conference to develop an agreement on BBNJ under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS enables coastal states to manage fisheries resources within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). It also provides for management benefits to extend to straddling stocks. In the Aotearoa context, this applies to fisheries like Orange Roughy off the West Coast of the South Island (ORH 7A).



BBNJ is an emerging global issue that Te Ohu Kaimoana considers could once again have an impact on the marine environment generally and Iwi rights and interests. At a meeting arranged at the United Nations by Pew Environment Group in 2015, The Right Honourable John Key gave the then US Secretary of State, John Kerry, an undertaking to create the 600,000sq km no-take marine protected area outside of the Kermadec Island Marine Reserve. This undertaking was in conflict with hard-fought Maori fishing rights owned by all Iwi in that part of Aotearoa's EEZ. The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary issue clearly demonstrated to Maori and Te Ohu Kaimoana that events which have their genesis overseas can adversely affect Maori rights and interests in Aotearoa.



There will be two more conferences in 2019 and a fourth session is scheduled for 2020. Te Ohu Kaimoana intends to provide Iwi with a presentation and/or workshop on this issue later this year or in the first of quarter of next year. Te Ohu Kaimoana expects that it will take some time before the full extent and reach of this new agreement will be known.



About Te Ohu Kaimoana:

Te Ohu Kaimoana was established through the Maori Fisheries Act 2004, and works to advance Maori interests in the marine environment, including customary fisheries, commercial fisheries and aquaculture as well as providing policy and fisheries management advice to iwi and the wider Maori community.

 Scoop Media

Theme(s): Communities and Organisations.
UK, French fishing reps meet to avert fresh scallop clashes

September 05,2018 | Source: AFP

British and French fishing groups will hold talks Wednesday to avert new clashes between their vessels, after tensions flared last week in scallop-rich waters near Normandy and as Brexit looms on the horizon.



The meeting in London, facilitated and attended by government officials from both sides, will see scallop industry leaders discuss access to stocks of the pricey delicacy in the Seine Bay.



"We're going to have to work on this, because this situation cannot continue," French Agriculture Minister Stephane Travert told CNews television on Tuesday.



"We can't have clashes like this," he said, calling for the "sustainable and efficient management of scallop stocks".



Tensions boiled over last Tuesday when five British vessels sparred with dozens of French boats in the sensitive area, with video footage showing fishermen from both sides ramming each other.



The latest skirmish in the long-running so-called "Scallops Wars" has led to France placing its navy on standby to deal with any further confrontations.



It comes as Britain prepares to leave the European Union -- and its common fisheries policy which sets catch quotas and other restrictions for member states -- next March.



With British fishermen heavy backers of Brexit, "we must recognise that tensions are reviving," added Travert, who warned the industry should not be used as a bargaining chip between London and Brussels.



"We want a global accord, and do not want to see fishing treated separately, because fishing should not be a variable for adjusting Brexit," he said.



Last week's clashes around 12 nautical miles off the French coast were the most serious in years of wrangling over the area's scallops.



French fishermen are incensed that British boats are accessing the fertile waters, while their government limits fishing there to between October and May to allow stocks to replenish.



Deals struck previously exempted British boats less than 15 metres (50 feet) long from the restrictions, a loophole French fishermen want to see closed and which led to deadlock in reaching an agreement this year.



"It has always been planned with the English that we manage the scallops together but there's been an increase in their fishing," said Normandy fishing chief Dimitri Rogoff.



The latest British government statistics show a marked drop in recent years in overall scallop landings by UK vessels, from 58,100 tonnes in 2012 to 38,900 tonnes in 2016.



But Rogoff added the Seine Bay was an "essential" area for the French which must be protected.



"We will not move an iota," he told AFP on Tuesday, predicting his negotiating entourage would be "intransigent" in the talks.



"All of the (UK) flotilla must be bound by the agreements.



"I offer them peace: we share together and there are no more dramas," Rogoff added.



His British counterpart Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, was equally bullish.



"We hope to strike a deal but that would be down to the French, because they have rejected the terms we've had in previous years," he said.



Park called demands for a blanket summer ban in the Seine Bay on all boats "a separate discussion" that the French were now making "a central issue".



"If that's what they're trying to achieve, they have to come to the table with some interesting ideas for how to balance that equation," he added.



"You can't have one side giving up everything."



Wednesday's meeting, to be held at a British government building, will feature three industry representatives and government officials from France, including its fisheries director, according to Rogoff.



On the British side, the head of the South Western Fish Producers Organisation, will join Park around the negotiating table.



A spokeswoman for Britain's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs confirmed UK officials would also be present but declined to comment further on the talks.

 2018 AFP

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
Imperial Valley News Center

Governor and First Lady Honor Staff Sgt. Diobanjo S. Sanagustin

Sacramento, California - On behalf of all Californians, Governor Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown honor Staff Sgt. Diobanjo S. Sanagustin, who bravely gave his life in service to our state and nation. The Governor and First Lady extend their deepest condolences to his family and friends at this difficult time.

In memorial, Governor Brown ordered that flags be flown at half-staff over the State Capitol. Staff Sgt. Sanagustin's family will receive a letter of condolence from the Governor.

Staff Sgt. Diobanjo S. Sanagustin, 32, of National City, California died September 4 from injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. The incident is under investigation.

Staff Sgt. Sanagustin was assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.

Staff Sgt. Sanagustin was supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel.
Imperial Valley News Center

Three Hand-raised Wallaby Joeys Are Hopping Out on Their Own at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Escondido, California - At the San Diego Zoo Safari Park this morning, three female red-necked wallaby joeys were on the moveexcitedly zipping around their new home at the Safari Parks newest exhibit, Walkabout Australia. The almost 11-month-old trio: Laura, Thelma and Tatum, have finally settled into their grassy habitat at Walkabout Australia after weeks of commuting back and forth from their previous home at the Ione and Paul Harter Animal Care Center, as staff slowly introduced them to the habitat and the animals that already reside there. Animal care staff said the young wallabies, which were hand raised, are now doing well in their new home. They are fitting in well with the adult kangaroos and wallabies that share their habitat, and the joeys are displaying natural behaviors and individual personalities.

Laura, the largest of the three, tends to be the most independent and adventuresome, said Bree Barney, keeper at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Tatum, the smallest, is typically the most affectionate, and likes to stay close to keepers or in her pouch; while Thelma is an excellent companion to both girls, but seems to share a special bond with Tatum.

The joeys currently stand over 20 inches tall and weigh between 9 and 13 pounds each. When full grown, wallaby females can weigh between 26 and 35 pounds and reach a length of up to 3 feet from head to tail. Animal care staff continues to bottle-feed the trio three times a day, but will be gradually reducing the amount until they are completely weaned by the end of October.

Wallabies are members of the kangaroo family and are found primarily in Australia and on nearby islands. While red-necked wallabies are listed as a species of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, ongoing threats include habitat loss and lack of resources, specifically water, due to continued regional drought.

Guests visiting the Safari Park can see the wallaby joeys in Walkabout Australiaan immersive, interactive experience that allows guests to discover the wildlife and habitats of the Land Down Under, and learn how Australias one-of-a-kind species interact with humans who share their world. Walkabout Australia provides guests a unique opportunity for up-close animal interactions with wallabies, kangaroos and various birds. The experience is similar to those offered by zoos in Australia, which is a key part of their work to engage local communities in species preservation.

Bringing species back from the brink of extinction is the goal of San Diego Zoo Global. As a leader in conservation, the work of San Diego Zoo Global includes on-site wildlife conservation efforts (representing both plants and animals) at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, and San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, as well as international field programs on six continents. The work of these entities is made accessible to children through the San Diego Zoo Kids network, reaching out through the internet and in childrens hospitals nationwide. The work of San Diego Zoo Global is made possible by the San Diego Zoo Global Wildlife Conservancy and is supported in part by the Foundation of San Diego Zoo Global.
Saratoga Doctor Sentenced To More Than Five Years In Prison For Health Care Fraud

San Jose, California - Vilasini Ganesh was sentenced to 63 months in prison for health care fraud and making false statements related to a health care benefits program, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Lucy H. Koh, U.S. District Judge.

Ganesh, 47, and her husband Gregory Belcher, 56, both of Saratoga, Calif., were convicted of the charges on December 15, 2017, after an eight-week trial. The evidence at trial demonstrated Ganesh submitted a series of false medical claims related to the family medical practice she owned, Campbell Medical Group in Saratoga. For example, Ganesh submitted claims for days when a patient had not been seen by the provider and claims for patients who had been seen by a physician provider who no longer was affiliated with her practice. Additionally, Ganesh billed insurers with claims that certain patients were seen twelve to fifteen times in a single month.

On July 13, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Ganesh and Belcher, charging them with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1349; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1956(h); multiple counts health care fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1347 and 2; and making a false statement relating to health care matters, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1035. The jury convicted Belcher of one count of health care fraud and convicted Ganesh of five counts of health care fraud and five counts of making false statements. The jury acquitted defendants of the remaining counts.

During Ganeshs sentencing hearing, Judge Koh stated that Ganesh obstructed justice by misrepresenting her understanding of the legal system, the amount of money she was paid by insurers, and whether she understood that it was improper to upcharge when submitting claims to insurers. Judge Koh also found that Ganesh had abused a position of trust by submitting the false claims. In addition to the prison term, Judge Koh sentenced Ganesh to a 3-year term of supervised release and ordered the defendant to pay restitution in the amount of $344,916.20. Ganesh will begin serving the prison sentence on November 1, 2018.

On April 4, 2018, Judge Koh sentenced Belcher to a year and a day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Delahunty and Jeff Nedrow are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Susan Kreider and Nina Burney Williams. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Federal Indictment Targets Inglewood-Based Street Gang that Used Strip Mall Storefront to Cook and Distribute Crack Cocaine

Los Angeles, California - Authorities have arrested 10 members and associates of an Inglewood-based street gang on federal narcotics-trafficking and firearms charges contained in a grand jury indictment that outlines how the defendants obtained cocaine, used a purported convenience store to convert it into crack cocaine, and distributed the drugs on the streets of Inglewood and South Los Angeles.

The indictment targets the leadership and key members of the 92 Osage Legend Crips (OLC), a violent street gang that allegedly manufactured and distributed crack cocaine from the Stop and Shop Market in a strip mall on South Prairie Avenue. After cooking and packaging the crack cocaine at the Stop and Shop, members of the drug-trafficking conspiracy allegedly delivered drugs to customers at various locations, including at a U.S. VETS office and the Social Security office in Inglewood.

Various defendants charged in this case, some of them previously convicted felons, allegedly possessed firearms in relation to their drug-trafficking activities. The street gang members and their associates used violence and intimidation, including firearms, to maintain and expand their drug-dealing territory, to protect themselves, their drugs, and their drug proceeds from rival gangs and drug-dealing organizations, and to collect payment from drug customers, according to the indictment.

The indictment charges 15 defendants, 10 of whom were arrested last night and this morning. Out of the remaining five defendants, one was already in state custody, and four are currently fugitives.

The 16-count indictment charges all 15 defendants in a conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine. The indictment also charges various defendants with maintaining a drug-involved premises; possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of crack cocaine; possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime; and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Street gangs use violence and intimidation as tools to control narcotics trafficking in their territory, said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. We are committed to making significant improvements in our communities by targeting gangs that bring the dual scourges of drugs and violence into neighborhoods.

This multi-year investigation began in partnership with the Inglewood Police Department following a spike in violence in the city involving the Osage Legend Crips and indications that the gang had evolved from a local street gang to an organized criminal enterprise, said Paul Delacourt, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBIs Los Angeles Field Office. The FBI and our local partners will continue to target the most violent gangs whose members hijack Los Angeles neighborhoods in furtherance of their illegal narcotics sales and criminal interests.

The lead defendants in the indictment  Glen Dwight Love, also known as Big Luck, 46, of Pasadena; Deshay Lewann King, also known as Shay Bone, 45, of South Los Angeles; and Wiley Venoy Ivory II, also known as Slim, 38, an Inglewood resident who was already in state custody on unrelated charges  ran the Stop and Shop, which from the exterior appeared to be a convenience store, but in reality was nothing more than a drug processing and storage facility. According to the indictment, several defendants discussed attempting to make the shop look like an actual retail store and getting window signs to tell drug customers and co-conspirators when to avoid going into the shop.

Various members of the conspiracy allegedly sold crack cocaine by driving in and around Inglewood, making stops at regular locations where street-level customers knew they could find dealers. Many of the gangs narcotics sales were for small amounts, but the indictment discusses a series of larger transactions, some involving ounce quantities of crack cocaine. Intercepted communications during the investigation revealed members of the conspiracy discussing a transaction involving four kilograms of cocaine.

The defendants taken into custody since last night are scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

If they were to be convicted, each of the defendants would face decades in federal prison. The conspiracy count alone carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life without parole.

The investigation targeting the OLC was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Inglewood Police Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the Violent and Organized Crime Section.
25 Ms-13 Gang Members Arrested In Mendota And Los Angeles

Fresno, California - As part of a multi-agency operation, 25 individuals associated with Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) were arrested in California on federal and state charges in connection with their gang activities, including assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering and conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Additionally, two federal indictments were unsealed today: one charging two MS-13 gang members with kidnapping and murder in aid of racketeering and another charging three MS-13 gang members with conspiracy and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott, Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division Brian Benczkowski, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBIs Sacramento Field Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin, Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, and Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims.

The investigation leading to last weeks arrests began after reports that MS-13 had established a presence in Fresno County. The investigation centered in and around the City of Mendota, a Central Valley town 35 miles west of Fresno. Investigators found evidence of broad criminal activity, including murder, assault, firearms possession and drug trafficking activity.

MS-13 is a brutal transnational criminal organization that has wreaked havoc in communities across the United States, said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. The gang engages in indiscriminate and senseless acts of violence, as demonstrated by the charges announced today, which allege murder, attempted murder, and drug trafficking in the State of California. Dismantling MS-13 and other violent gangs that terrorize our streets will remain a top priority of the Department of Justice. Todays announcement is the result of comprehensive and coordinated federal, state, and local law enforcement action, and I commend the Eastern District of California and all of our partners for their hard work on this case. It is precisely this kind of coordinated effort that allows us to most effectively protect our communities and hold MS-13 members accountable for their heinous crimes.

U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott stated, The operation leading to todays arrests reflects the incredible teamwork between our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and our shared commitment to keeping our communities safe from violent criminal gangs like MS-13. This investigation had a strong impact not only in Fresno County, but across the state and country as we were able to provide information and leads to law enforcement in Los Angeles, Nevada, Texas, New York, and elsewhere to help prevent and solve serious crimes, including murder. Criminal enterprises like MS-13 will not be tolerated in any of our towns, no matter how small.

When you terrorize communities, you must pay the price, said Attorney General Becerra. Todays announced operation will lead to the vigorous prosecution and, I believe, conviction of violent criminal gang members. Operation Blue Inferno is a successful display of the dedication and hard work of our combined law enforcement personnel. We will continue working alongside our federal and local law enforcement partners to ensure safety and security for every California family.

Fresno County District Attorney Smittcamp stated: Operation Blue Inferno is an example of what happens when law enforcement agencies from the federal, state and local levels work together to eradicate criminal street gangs. MS 13s cell in Fresno County is now destroyed, and we will continue to work together to keep them out of our communities. The Fresno County District Attorneys Office is proud to have been an essential part of Operation Blue Inferno and is grateful to all our law enforcement partners who made these arrests possible.

Fresno County Sheriff Mims stated: This multi-agency operation will result in the disruption of MS-13 activity across the Nation. I appreciate the cooperation of all agencies involved to work together to help dismantle this extremely violent transnational gang. I am confident that our work will restore a stronger sense of safety for people living in the communities these gang members have been terrorizing.

The FBI is committed to aggressively investigating and disrupting gang activity. Through the Safe Streets Task Force and the Transnational Anti-Gang Initiative, the FBI leverages resources to target MS-13  the first and only street gang to be designated by the United States government as a transnational criminal organization  by focusing on the gangs structure and leadership, said Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI Sacramento Field Office. To ensure success, the FBI it committed to working in close cooperation with federal, state, local and foreign law enforcements partners to coordinate operations and share information.

Global criminal organizations like the MS-13 strike fear into our local communities here in the United States by committing violent and often brutal crimes in our backyards; but by all levels of law enforcement working together, their vicious and dangerous acts will not go unpunished, said Ryan L. Spradlin, HSI Special Agent in Charge for northern California and northern Nevada. While transnational gangs may have tentacles that reach globally, Homeland Security Investigations does as well and is wellequipped to intercept these threats to our national security.

The first federal charges filed as a result of the investigation were filed in January but were not unsealed until now. That indictment alleges that on December 18, 2017, two MS-13 gang members operating out of Mendota  Israel Rivas Gomez and John Doe (aka Marcos Castro)  kidnapped and murdered a man in Fresno County in furtherance of MS-13s criminal gang enterprise. Another indictment filed in April and unsealed now alleges that on May 5, 2017, Luis Reynaldo Reyes Castillo and Nilson Israel Reyes Mendoza committed an assault with dangerous weapons for the purpose of maintaining MS-13s presence in the community and to gain status within MS-13.

Several other MS-13 gang members were arrested today based on a complaint filed this week. The complaint charges 16 individuals affiliated with MS-13 in Fresno County with various crimes, including two separate, gang-related assaults and drug trafficking activity to support the gangs activity. Those documents allege that on August 12, 2018, Lorenzo Amador, along with two others, stabbed a rival gang member in the back at an intersection in Mendota. The victim was transported to the hospital, underwent surgery, and survived. Court documents also allege that on May 14, 2018, Denis Barrera-Palma, Ever Membreno, and Edgar Torres-Amador participated in a gang-related assault of a man walking near an elementary school, in which one gang member beat the victim with a metal pipe.

Additionally, the complaint alleges that between May 2017 and August 2018, 16 members of the MS-13 enterprise participated in a drug trafficking conspiracy in both Fresno County and Los Angeles. These defendants allegedly obtained, sold, and profited from streetlevel drug dealing, and used the proceeds to further MS-13s criminal objectives.

As part of this operation, 19 federal and four state search warrants were served in Mendota, Kerman, and Los Angeles. Guns, knives, and machetes were found and seized as a result of these searches. Additionally, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation conducted searches of 37 cells in 11 state prisons in California on individuals related to this investigation. Among the items seized in the prisons were cellphones, drugs and weapons.

The investigation was conducted by the California Department of Justice and California Highway Patrol Special Operations Unit, the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium (MAGEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Fresno County District Attorneys Office, the Fresno County Sheriffs Office, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Special Services Unit (SSU). The CHP Special Operations Unit is a collaborative investigative effort between the California Department of Justice and California Highway Patrol that provides statewide enforcement to combat violent career criminals, gangs, and organized crime groups, along with intrastate drug traffickers.

Assisting in the arrests were the U.S. Marshals Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Clovis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Sanchez, Kathleen A. Servatius, Ross Pearson, Angela Scott; Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey from the Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Organized Crime and Gang Section; and Fresno County Senior Deputy District Attorney Dennis Lewis are handling the prosecutions.

The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
New contenders to direct Bond 25 are officially emerging.

Producers are reportedly rushing to find a replacement for Danny Boyle who left the project over creative differences, leaving the fate of the project in the balance.

According to Variety, MGM and Eon are targeting two new filmmakers: Bart Layton ad SJ Clarkson.

Layton first won acclaim with documentary film The Imposter back in 2012. His new film, heist thriller American Animals, is released in the UK this week.

Clarkson was recently announced as the first female director in Star Trek history. She will oversee the fourth film in the rebooted franchise, which recently saw actors Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth drop out over salary disputes.

Another contender is Yann Demange who was in the running ahead of Boyles appointment. Working in the 71 filmmakers favour this time around is the fact his latest film, White Boy Rick  which stars Matthew McConaughey  is now ready to be screened for producers.

Bond 25 was scheduled to begin shooting in December, however, its delay was seemingly confirmed after it was announced Daniel Craig would head up a new independent drama from Star Wars director Rian Johnson. Despite this, it's reported that the production shouldnt interfere with what is expected to be Craigs final outing.

The best films of 2018 (so far) Show all 17 1 /17 The best films of 2018 (so far) The best films of 2018 (so far) The Guardians From its slow-burning beginning, The Guardians develops into an epic melodrama. Its a wartime story in which, for a change, the men are relegated to supporting roles. It follows in a tradition of French rural family sagas like Jean De Florette or Manon Des Sources. The landscapes and the changing seasons play as much of a part in the story as the main characters. The best films of 2018 (so far) Dark River Dark River offers little such consolation. It has some lyrical and delicate moments but the mood is generally overwhelmingly bleak and lugubrious. Incest and abuse dont leave much space for any comic interludes. This is a powerful film with a grinding intensity about it. Light relief it isnt but Dark River still has quite an impact. Alamy The best films of 2018 (so far) Zama Late on in Argentinean director Lucrecia Martels startling, highly original new feature, Zama, a character who has just had both his arms cut off, is advised to shove your stumps in the sand  if you dont bleed out, youll survive. Its a grisly, darkly humorous moment in a film that continually surprises us with both its brutality and its lyricism. The Match Factory The best films of 2018 (so far) The Breadwinner The most dispiriting aspect of this otherwise enrapturing Oscar-nominated animated feature is that its storyline still seems so current. The film depicts an Afghan society in which women dont have a face. It is set during the Taliban rule, which lasted from the mid-1990s until late 2001, but this doesnt feel like a period piece. Seventeen years after the Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan following the US invasion, the plight of women in the country appears hardly to have improved. GKIDS The best films of 2018 (so far) BlacKkKlansman Spike Lees work sometimes risks sensory overload. He fires off so many different ideas and storytelling styles that audiences can become bamboozled by his scattergun approach. BlacKkKlansman is one of his very best films because the digressions are as entertaining as ever but dont get in the way of the main story. AP The best films of 2018 (so far) Early Man Much of the pleasure in Aardman films has always lain in their gently ironic, Alan Bennett-like humour. They take very exotic characters and subject matter but then deal with them in a matter-of-fact fashion. They make a virtue out of their own relative modesty. Early Man isnt the flashiest animated feature that youll see this year but it is certainly the most likeable. The best films of 2018 (so far) Isle of Dogs Like all of Wes Andersons work, Isle Of Dogs is very stylised, very offbeat and characterised by its extremely dry and often ironic humour. This Japanese-set stop-motion fable is also gorgeous to look at  packed full of intricate visual detail. It deals with some weighty themes (ethnic cleansing, fascism and corruption) but does so in an idiosyncratic fashion. The best films of 2018 (so far) Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri Writer-director Martin McDonagh has a host of award-winning plays behind him but his movies havent always lived up to his stage work. This one certainly does. It shares some of the dark and nihilistic humour found in McDonaghs previous film, Seven Psychopaths. The best films of 2018 (so far) A Quiet Place In an era of wearisome poltergeist movies, haunted house stories and torture porn, A Quiet Place is a refreshingly pared-down and very original affair. Director John Krasinski relies on editing, sound effects and off-screen action to crank up the tension. We do see the creatures from time to time, sometimes even in extreme closeup. They are very grotesque, bigger versions of the polyp-like succubus which exploded out of John Hurts stomach in Alien. However, the most terrifying moments here come when the humans are waiting for them to appear, desperately hoping that they wont. Paramount Pictures The best films of 2018 (so far) Lady Bird Lady Bird is one of the best American coming-of-age films since Barry Levinsons Diner. Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, it offers an utterly winning mix of humour, poignancy and sharp-eyed social observation. Gerwig approaches her subject matter with the same tenderness and affectionate irony with which the adolescent Lady Bird regards Sacramento. Gerwig also shows Lady Birds heroism as the young heroine strives against the odds to become the very best version of herself she can be. A24 The best films of 2018 (so far) Phantom Thread If Phantom Thread is indeed Daniel Day-Lewiss final film as an actor, he is going out on a wondrously bizarre note. This must be the oddest film in his career, one in which he gives a typically commanding but very idiosyncratic performance. Almost everything here is jarring  but generally in a very positive way. The best films of 2018 (so far) First Reformed It is not so long ago that Paul Schrader seemed to be giving up on cinema. The American writer-director (whose credits include Taxi Driver, American Gigolo and Affliction) had taken to making movies like the sour Hollywood satire The Canyons with Lindsay Lohan and the cartoonishly violent Dog Eat Dog, shot cheaply, aimed at a VOD audience. The former had a montage of closed-down movie theatres. In interviews, Schrader struck a gloomy note about the future of the industry. This is why First Reformed is so refreshing. This is not just Schraders best film in a very long while. It is also a re-affirmation of the directors belief in the medium. Rex The best films of 2018 (so far) The Happy Prince Oscar Wilde goes to ruin in Rupert Everetts debut feature as director. Everett also wrote and stars in the film, giving a grandstanding performance as the Irish writer at the end of his life, after his release from prison, where he has been doing hard labour for gross indecency. This is a moving and surprising biopic that squeezes out every last drop of pathos from its subject matter. BBC Films The best films of 2018 (so far) Black Panther Black Panther is not only one of the most entertaining recent superhero films but has an intelligence and a political dimension that such inchoate offerings as Suicide Squad and Justice League completely lacked. It is an action movie which touches on Pan-Africanism and which owes as much to Malcolm X as it does to Batman or Captain America. Marvel Studios/Disney The best films of 2018 (so far) Sicilian Ghost Story Sicilian Ghost Story is a genre-bending affair that combines elements of teen romance, gothic psycho-drama and political thriller. It is loosely based on a true story of a boy called Giuseppe Di Matteo whose father, an ex-member of the Sicilian Mafia, turned grass against his erstwhile associates. The Mafia responded by kidnapping Giuseppe and keeping him in captivity for nearly 800 days. Altitude The best films of 2018 (so far) First Man First Man is all about understated heroism. Its affecting precisely because Armstrong (played with quiet intensity by Ryan Gosling) doesnt feel the continual need to boast about his mission. The film is a tearjerker but a very subtle one. AP The best films of 2018 (so far) Dogman Dogman is one of the best Italian films of recent times, a modern day neo realist fable that bears comparison with the great work of Fellini, Rossellini, De Sica et al. Its main character, the dog groomer Marcello (Marcello Fonte), is a wonderful creation: loveable, vulnerable, seedy and comic all at the same time. Curzon Artificial Eye

Boyle is said to have quit the project after a run-in regarding the casting of two key characters. Its unclear what will happen with the film's script which he co-wrote with his Trainspotting collaborator, John Hodge.

Heres a rundown of who we think should be tapped to direct Bond 25.
Melting glaciers could be triggering a ripple effect of natural disasters that culminates in massive tsunamis, according to new research.

Ice provides support for rocky slopes, and as temperatures rise and this ice retreats it is increasing the risk of hazardous landslides.

This problem is likely to be exacerbated along the icy coastlines of Greenland, Patagonia and Norway, where huge chunks of rock smashing into the water can create towering waves. Similar events have already taken place.

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One slope that collapsed on Alaskas Tyndall Glacier in 2015 sent 180 million tonnes of rock into the neighbouring fjord.

This resulted in a tsunami with a wave runup  the extent to which the water rushes up the surrounding coast  nearly 200m high - one of the highest ever recorded.

Such events pose a threat that extends far beyond the normal range of a mere landslide.

While the Tyndall landslide covered an area over a mile from its original source, a new study has revealed the tsunamis devastation stretched more than 12 miles.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

A team led by Alaska-based researcher Dr Bretwood Higman collected data from the site of the 2015 tsunami, using traces left by the event to assess how serious it had been.

Deposits of wood fragments, soil and rock up to several metres thick formed a distinctive footprint that the scientists say could be used to assess this emerging problem.

In their research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the authors described the importance of monitoring these events in order to understand and prepare for them in the future.

The landslide and tsunami predicated by glacial retreat at Taan Fiord represents a hazard occasioned by climate change. More such landslides are likely to occur as mountain glaciers continue to shrink and alpine permafrost thaws, they wrote.

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These landslides can more often be expected to produce tsunamis as water bodies grow and extend landward, closer to steep mountain slopes.

While many of the locations in which these tsunamis are likely to take place are remote, they are increasingly serving as magnets for tourists and developers.

Landslide-triggered tsunamis are particularly worrying for residents of polar regions and have already proved deadly.

In 2017 a landslide in a Greenland fjord created a massive wave that killed four people in the tiny settlement of Nuugaatsiaq, almost 20 miles away.

Earlier this year the Greenlandic village of Innaarsuit was put on high alert and forced to evacuate as an enormous iceberg drifted into its vicinity, prompting fears it would break up and cause a tsunami.
Installing massive fields of wind turbines or solar panels in the Sahara desert could turn parts of the arid landscape green, according to a new study.

Scientists have predicted that shifts in the local environment triggered by these structures could bring rain to the desert and improve conditions in some of the worlds most inhospitable regions.

It is generally agreed that universal renewable energy will be essential to curb carbon emissions from fossil fuels and avoid catastrophic climate change.

However, when deployed on the kind of massive scales required to power the world, these developments could have unintended consequences.

Scientists predict that when sufficiently large arrays of wind turbines and solar panels are installed, their presence could change the reflectivity of the land and movement of air currents.

Wind farms mix warmer air from above with cooler currents lower down, and solar panels prevent sunlight from being reflected back into the atmosphere.

These effects have the potential to change local climate, and as climate change is the very thing renewable energy is meant to avoid, there is a need to understand the implications of this phenomenon.

10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke  filled with the carbon that is driving climate change  drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan

We want to investigate if we build such large wind and solar farms in the Sahara that can provide enough clean energy to meet all human energy demand, what their impact on regional climate would be, Dr Yan Li from the University of Illinois told The Independent.

Dr Li and his team used a simulation to predict the impact of massive renewable energy projects in the Sahara and the neighbouring Sahel.

In principle, this area would be ideally placed to house such a project, as it is sparsely populated and well placed to supply the growing energy demands of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The researchers found that, when installed on a large enough scale, both wind and solar infrastructure would trigger feedback loops that bring more rainfall and promote the growth of vegetation in the desert.

In a region that is already feeling the effects of global warming as the Sahara desert creeps further into the fertile lands bordering it, the scientists say the net effect would be surprisingly positive.

Precipitation increases predicted by our model would lead to substantial improvements of rainfed agriculture in the region, and vegetation increases would lead to the growth in production of livestock, said Dr Safa Motesharrei, a University of Maryland systems scientist and a lead author of the Science paper discussing these findings.

The Sahara, the Sahel and the Middle East include some of the driest regions in the world, while experiencing high growth of population and poverty.

 Ethiopia opens largest wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa

Our study has major implications for addressing the intertwined sustainability challenges of the energy-water-food nexus in this region.

Large-scale renewable energy projects are already underway across parts of North Africa and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabias announcement of a $200 billion investment in solar power.

The researchers concluded that if deployed effectively, renewable energy sources could be used not only to clean up the regions electricity supply but to push back against the spread of deserts caused by global warming.

I believe the increasing adoption of renewable energy can save the humanity from climate change, said Dr Li.
We live in an era of confirmed, near-universal, consumer tech, where our devices seldom leave our hands, sweatshirts come with built-in headphone pockets and our sneakers can track our heart rate.

So it isnt just tech companies designing cases for your computer. Everyone from the most high-end designers to bargain, internet retailers are making bags outfitted for tech, and these our are picks for the best. At a range of price-points and designs, they all share a design built to carry your laptop in safety and fashion.

1. ProCase - Sleeve Case Bag: $17.99, Amazon

If youre in need of a simple, inexpensive laptop case with cute details, ProCases Sleeve Bag is a good bet. Its slim enough to fit inside a larger tote and with handle and second pocket for chords and keys, its also workable as a casual stand-alone bag. We promise you wont find a better case under $20.

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2. LOIOL - Multi-Function Laptop Bag: $29.99, Etsy

This multi-function laptop bag from Etsy retailer LOIOL is a similar, slightly larger case that includes a handle as well as extra compartments to store your phone, external hard drive, and other needs, whether for work or travel.

Made of soft and sturdy environmentally-friendly felt, the bag can perfectly protect your stylish, portable device from dust, dirt, accidental scratches and bumps, absorbing shocks to keep your device safe. It is slim and lightweight to carry, and smooth to slide the case into your backpack, briefcase or other bag.

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3. Everlane - The Modern Snap Backpack: $68, Everlane

Everlane is a great retailer for reasonably-priced basics, from jeans to T-shirts to backpacks. The Modern Snap Backpack is very roomy and includes an interior, padded compartment that fits a 15 inch laptop. With a 19-liter capacity, theres also plenty of room for your other needs, be they your lunch, school books, or an extra outfit for the gym.

Buy now

4. Herschel - H-445 Tote: $99.99, Herschel

It feels like backpacks define certain social subsets in the same way as a pair of shoes are known to make man. Herschel has the low-key hipster vibe very down - especially with this minimalist, camouflage tote.

Defined by an oversized and unstructured design with reinforced seat belt-webbing carry handles, it offers ample storage for laptops, water bottles, and the likes to meet all your carrying needs.

Buy now

5. Clare V - Messenger Navy Lamba: $415, Clare V

Clare V started with the perfect laptop casespecifically, a search for one. It was founder Clare Vivier's frustration at the absence of stylish computer sleeves while she was working as a television journalist in 2006 that inspired her to design a collection of playful leather bags and tech pouches.

Manufactured start-to-finish in LA with a natural waxed finish that wears well over time, this messenger is a classic, irresistible mix of Parisian influence and everyday functionality.

Buy now

6. Rebecca Minkoff - Bree Top Zip Satchel: $345, Rebecca Minkoff

Another high-end pick, this time from New York designer Rebecca Minkoff, whose statement handbags with a distinctly downtown vibe are perfect for toting work essentials in fashion.

The Bree Top Zip Satchel is large enough for a 13-inch laptop, with an interior pocket designed for that purpose, and includes compartments for your other essentials. It also features a detachable leather strap that can be replaced for a more relaxed vibe.

Buy now

7. Madewell - The Leather Laptop Case: $88, Madewell

Madewell has quickly become a go-to for straightforward, minimalist staples at a reasonable price. A subsidiary of J Crew since 2006, Madewell is thriving in a market where brick-and-mortar retailers are falling behind.

Their Leather Laptop Case is consistent with the brands ethos of well-made, durable basics. Made of semi vegetable-tanned leather with a softly-worn waxed finish that deepens into a distinctive patina, it wears well over time and will keep your laptop looking good.

Buy now

8. Lo And Sons - Seville Tote: $428, Lo and Sons

Lo and Sons bags are built to travel light without compromising functionality and style. The stylish, leather Seville tote is designed to carry 15" and 13" laptops and features a soft touch shell for easy attachment to your suitcase handle while breezing through airport security, and interchangeable leather styles to wear when you land.

The totes exterior shells can be swapped for others, and it comes fully assembled with an inner bag, leather shell, and a complimentary soft touch shell. Additional shells are available for purchase separately.

Buy now

The Verdict: Laptop Bags

If youre in the market for a simple, inexpensive sleeve usable as a stand-alone piece or to throw in a larger bag, the Procase Sleeve is a great buy. For something a bit more business ready, Madewells Leather Laptop Case is chic, durable, and hits a reasonable price point.

For statement bags you can carry to work, we recommend the bags by Clare V and Rebecca Minkoff, which are both fashion forward and will earn you loads of compliments.

IndyBest product reviews are unbiased, independent advice you can trust. On some occasions, we earn revenue if you click the links and buy the products, but we never allow this to bias our coverage. The reviews are compiled through a mix of expert opinion and real-world testing.
Jordan is struggling to cope with millions of refugees and cannot deal with a new influx from Syria, officials and aid workers have warned, amid unprecedented funding shortfalls that are threatening to jeopardise essential support given by the United Nations and charities.

Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi warned visiting American officials on Tuesday that Jordan has taken in close to 1.3 million refugees from Syria and has already spent more than $10bn (7.7bn) in hosting them.

He told US special representative for Syria engagement James Jeffrey of the huge burdens the country was bearing at time when its capabilities are already limited because of domestic economic troubles.

The Kingdom has repeatedly warned it had exceeded its capacity to host refugees from Syria and last week said it could take no more. Jordanian officials are now backing Syrians voluntarily returning home to their war-torn country, which is controversial.

But the pressure was ratcheted up this week when Washington announced it was slashing all funding to the UNs Palestinian refugee programme (Unrwa).

Jordan is also home to more than 2 million of the over 5 million Palestinian refugees registered with Unrwa, whose biggest donor last year was the US.

Aid agencies warned that without the support of UN programmes and charities, Jordan would not be able to cope with multiple refugee communities. Aside from a substantial Syrian and Palestinian refugee community, Jordan is also home to over 66,000 refugees from Iraq, according to UN statistics.

The influx of Syrian refugees has had a huge impact on Jordanian service delivery  which was already strained for its own population, said Alessia Mortada, of War Child, an NGO that provides education and mental health services to thousands of Syrian refugee children, their parents and care givers in Jordan.

The majority of Syrian refugees in Jordan live in urban host communities and in poverty: over 85 per cent live below the poverty line. However, there are still five refugee camps in the country and an additional 16,000 living in irregular tented communities on private land where they lack basic hygiene and sanitation.

Ms Mortada said that with no money and scant opportunities to secure official documents or permits to move around Jordan, many refugees were stuck in a vicious cycle.

If it wasnt for the NGOs or the UN, the Jordanians alone would not to be able to provide vital services such as medical care, education, in refugee camps, let alone in host communities Alessia Mortada, War Child

If it wasnt for the NGOs or the UN, the Jordanians alone would not to be able to provide vital services such as medical care, education, in refugee camps, let alone in host communities, she added.

Ms Mortada added that the US decision to slash over $300m of $365m funding promised for Unrwa this year, would have a significant knock on effect on Jordan in general.

The US, which has called Unrwa irredeemably flawed, was last year its biggest donor.

Jordan, a staunch US ally, is one of the countries worst affected by the Syria crisis, shouldering a massive refugee influx on top of the Palestinian refugees it already houses.

At the start of the Syrian war, Jordan allowed hundreds of thousands of refugees to cross the border on foot. After imposing selective admission in 2012, they effectively closed their borders two years ago citing security fears.

 The Independent launches the #LearnToLive campaign

Earlier this summer some 60,000 Syrians sought shelter near the border with Jordan from a brutal regime onslaught on the then-rebel held Deraa province. The country still refused to answer pleas to open its borders even when fleeing families, unable to escape, were shelled near the border fences.

Despite these measures, the numbers in Jordan are still huge. According to the UN, refugees amount for nearly 10 per cent of Jordans population, placing massive pressure on overstretched resources at one of the most difficult economic periods in the countrys history.

Jordans King Abdullah was forced to replace his prime minister in June to defuse the largest protests in years which erupted amid an austerity drive, as the country tried to meet the demands of a much-needed International Monetary Fund loan.

A hike in sales taxes, the abolition of bread subsidies and proposed new income legislation hit the poorest, prompting the rare rallies. Unemployment rose to 18.7 per cent this week.

And so with the Syrian war dragging into its eighth year, and little hope for the speedy return of refugees, there is little Jordan can do.

Aid agencies and charities are now struggling to plug the gap, amid donor fatigue and assumptions that there is no longer an emergency humanitarian response needed.

There needs to be a long-term plan. People cannot return home, it is not safe. A crisis in funding is not helping at all, Ms Mortada said.
Burberry has announced that its going to stop destroying clothes that its deemed as unsaleable and will no longer manufacture products using real fur.

The announcement comes following the huge backlash that the designer brand received in July, when it was revealed that it had burned 28.6 million of clothes and cosmetics in the past year to protect its brand.

In a statement released on its website, Burberry explains that the decision to stop disposing of surplus clothes without delay is part of a new strategy put into place last year to become a more environmentally conscious brand.

This commitment builds on the goals that we set last year as part of our five-year responsibility agenda and is supported by our new strategy, which is helping tackle the causes of waste, the statement reads.

We already reuse, repair, donate or recycle unsaleable products and we will continue to expand these efforts.

Burberry has destroyed more than 90 million worth of products over the past five years, with the total amount of incinerated stock increasing annually.

Marco Gobbetti, chief executive officer of Burberry, explains that sustainability is a significant element of the brands ethos, which is why theyre implementing the changes.

Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible, he says.

This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success.

We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products.

In 2017, it was reported that the Burberry Foundation had awarded a grant of 3 million to the Royal College of Art to establish the Burberry Material Futures Research Group, an organisation with the aim of creating new, sustainable materials.

Furthermore, in May the designer brand was named a core partner of the Make Fashion Circular Initiative, which strives to reduce waste in the fashion industry.

Wendy Higgins, director of international media at Humane Society International UK, has expressed her happiness over Burberrys decision to stop using real fur.

HSI first met with Burberry almost a decade ago to urge the brand to drop fur, so we are delighted that this iconic British fashion giant is finally going fur free, she says.

 Burberry burns 2.8 m of clothes and cosmetics to protect its brand

Most British consumers dont want anything to do with the cruelty of fur and so this is absolutely the right decision by this quintessentially British brand.

Burberry is very wise to be ending its association with fur and it joins the ranks of an ever increasing number of top designers like Gucci, Michael Kors, DKNY and Versace, who have also realised that real fur has no future in fashion.

Earlier this year, MPs claimed that Brexit will allow the UK to have a greater degree of control over the sale of real fur in high street shops thatd been labelled as fake.
Starbucks has opened a cafe in Mexico City that will hire exclusively elderly staff.

The coffee chain has been working with the National Institute for the Elderly since 2011 in order to launch an initiative that offers senior citizens more employment opportunities.

This particular branch, which is based in the Colonia del Valle neighbourhood, has taken on 14 people between the ages of 50 and 66 as part of the programme thus far.

Shifts will be capped at six-and-a-half hours and employees will be entitled to medical insurance for major expenses.

They will also be given two days off each week and will be trained by younger employees until they feel confident enough to go it alone.

The cafe will operate much like any other normal Starbucks with the exception of minor adjustments made to the stores layout - such as lowered shelves - to reduce the risk of employees injuring themselves.

It took us two years to land the best scheme to contribute to the elderly community in Mexico, explains Christian Gurria, CEO of Starbucks Mexico.

Opening the doors of our stores to senior baristas was not a goal, it was an act of congruence with the inclusion philosophy of Starbucks, he told Mexican news agency Notimex.

Its becoming more difficult to employ people over 40 years of age, but the need to keep elderly people in work exists.

If the opportunity is there Im happy to help.

This particular branch is frequently visited by young people and students and the aim is to encourage interactions between them and the elderly staff.

Gurria added that he hopes to expand Starbucks elderly employment initiative by hiring at least 120 senior citizens in Mexican branches by the end of 2019.
Cryptocurrency markets are showing no signs of recovery after a spectacular price crash caused bitcoin to lose almost $1,000 of its value in the space of just 24 hours.

Even bigger losses were felt by bitcoin's rivals, including ethereum, ripple and bitcoin cash, as cryptocurrency analysts struggle to explain the sudden downturn.

One popular theory among market analysts is that the price crash was a result of Goldman Sachs abandoning plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk. However, some suggest that this might not tell the whole story.

Most people will assume the price correction is a result of Goldman Sachs announcing it wont be opening a cryptocurrency trading desk this year," Phillip Nunn, chief executive officer at Wealth Chain Capital, told The Independent.

"Although this is likely to be a contributing factor, I believe that the real reason is that since the advent of bitcoin futures in early 2018, we are now seeing massive market manipulation and suppression by whales and experienced futures traders."

Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins  the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices Lazlo Hanyecz Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin Screenshot Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The fall of MtGox The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures What goes up... Bitcoin price crashes spectacularly, losing half of its value in a matter of days Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin plunges The cryptocurrency eventually bottoms out below $4,000 in 2019 before slowly rebuilding momentum to outperform more traditional assets Getty Images

The lack of market regulation means that a powerful group of traders is able to act with impunity, said David Drake, founder and chairman at LDJ Capital.

He told The Independent that he expected the downward trend to continue until a bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) was introduced by a regulator like the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

"Right now there are no rules on manipulations and with groups/people manipulating the markets are doing so because they can without fear of consequence," he said. "Hopefully, that will change with the SEC and FINRA supervision over the next year."

The price of bitcoin plummeted by several hundred dollars on Wednesday morning, triggering a market-wide crash for cryptocurrencies (CoinMarketCap)

Other experts have pointed to the fact that trading volumes increased despite the price dropping, suggesting a mass sell-off.

According to Shidan Gouran, CEO of Global Blockchain Technologies Corp, this could be because the one-year anniversary of bitcoin's 2017 boom is approaching. This means some of the early investors may be wanting to sell their holdings while they are still ahead.

"Many investors are possibly cashing out as a combined result of impatience and a desire to break even" Mr Gouran told The Independent. "Also, with many of bitcoins investors being young adults, it is possible that a good percentage of them are in college, and the beginning of the school year prompted a need for cash  thus forcing them to sell some of their bitcoin."

Bitcoin's price crash preceded a market-wide meltdown for cryptocurrencies (Getty Images/iStockphoto) (Getty)

Another possible explanation for the price crash is a bitcoin wallet that has been laying dormant since 2014. In that time, the value of its contents have risen alongside bitcoin's fortunes and it is now worth around $1 billion.

It is not clear who owns the wallet, with speculation in cryptocurrency forums suggesting that it may belong to Dread Pirate Roberts, the pseudonymous creator of the Silk Road drug market place on the dark web. Other theories claim the funds may have passed through the notorious MtGox exchange.

Whoever controls the wallet seems ready to cash in, as some of its contents are being moved onto various exchanges.

"There is now a big sell off happening which negatively impacts the price," Mr Isaacs said. "This will continue to happen until the market is more established."

Yet despite the current state of the market, Mr Isaacs remains confident about bitcoin's longer term prospects. Even its current trading price of around $6,500  down from around $20,000 last December  is still higher than its market value at this time last year.

"Ultimately its a positive as larger investors and institutions are beginning to operate in cryptocurrency," he said. "The market should stabilise in the run up to 2019 and I predict bitcoin will comfortably be over $10,000 by Christmas.
The UK is refusing to table a new plan for a Northern Ireland border backstop in Brexit talks  raising the prospect of disastrous no-deal as the negotiating deadline looms.

Frustrated EU officials are complaining that the UK is even making it harder for them to come up with their own new plan to break the deadlock, by dragging its feet on releasing data relating to existing checks on the border.

The Northern Ireland backstop is the biggest issue preventing withdrawal agreement from being signed  a state of affairs that would see the UK crash out of the block potentially causing chaos.

Brussels and Ireland have both said they would not accept a withdrawal agreement without a backstop in it to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland under any circumstances.

Theresa May flat-out rejected the EU proposal to keep Northern Ireland in the EU customs territory months ago, warning that no British prime minister could agree to it  but there has since been little progress on coming up with an alternative.

British officials in Brussels confirmed to The Independent again on Thursday that there were no immediate plans to publish a new white paper or other plan for a backstop, despite the EU request for a new proposal.

The British position is to offer a temporary customs arrangement from early June coupled with the Chequers proposals  meaning there is no need for a backstop. But EU has said this plan would not prevent a hard border and that other proposals are needed.

British officials say they want to prevent a hard border by negotiating a future relationship that removes the need for checks  but the prime ministers Chequers plan has been all-but rejected by the European Commission.

For months there have been reports around Brussels that the commission is working on tweaking its own backstop proposal to de-dramatise it and make it more palatable to the UK, but new plans have yet to materialise.

The British government sees keeping Northern Ireland in the customs union as a thread to British sovereignty, and the Democratic Unionist Party which props up Theresa Mays minority government has said it will not accept different treatment for Northern Ireland.

But Brussels officials familiar with negotiations say that the commissions plans to come up with an alternative backstop have been slow because the UK has not yet provided data about checks which already take place on the border, which the commission believes might help it come up with a new proposal.

Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An abandoned shop is seen in Mullan, Co Monaghan. The building was home to four families who left during the Troubles. The town was largely abandoned after the hard border was put in place during the conflict. Mullan has seen some regeneration in recent years, but faces an uncertain future with Brexit on the horizon Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A defaced Welcome to Northern Ireland sign stands on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Mervyn Johnson owns a garage in the border town of Pettigo, which straddles the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh. Ive been here since 1956, it was a bit of a problem for a few years. My premises has been blown up about six or seven times, we just kept building and starting again, Johnson said laughing. We just got used to it [the hard border] really but now that its gone, we wouldn't like it back again Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Farmer Gordon Crocketts Coshquin farm straddles both Derry/Londonderry in the North and Donegal in the Republic. At the minute there is no real problem, you can cross the border as free as you want. We could cross it six or eight times a day, said Crockett. If there was any sort of obstruction it would slow down our work every day Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures John Murphy flies the European flag outside his home near the border village of Forkhill, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Potter Brenda McGinn stands outside her Mullan, Co Monaghan, studio  the former Jas Boylan shoe factory which was the main employer in the area until it shut down due to the Troubles. When I came back, this would have been somewhere you would have driven through and have been quite sad. It was a decrepit looking village, said McGinn, whose Busy Bee Ceramics is one of a handful of enterprises restoring life to the community. Now this is a revitalised, old hidden village Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Union Flag colours painted on kerbstones and bus-stops along the border village of Newbuildings, Co Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Grass reflected in Lattone Lough, which is split by the border between Cavan and Fermanagh, seen from near Ballinacor, Northern Ireland Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Donegalman David McClintock sits in the Border Cafe in the village of Muff, which straddles Donegal and Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An old Irish phone box stands alongside a bus stop in the border town of Glaslough, Co Monaghan Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Billboards are viewed from inside a disused customs hut in Carrickcarnon, Co Down, on the border with Co Louth in the Republic Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Seamus McQuaid takes packages that locals on the Irish side of the border have delivered to his business, McQuaid Auto-Parts, to save money on postal fees, near the Co Fermanagh village of Newtownbutler. I live in the south but the business is in the North, said McQaid. "I wholesale into the Republic of Ireland so if theres duty, Ill have to set up a company 200 yards up the road to sell to my customers. Ill have to bring the same product in through Dublin instead of Belfast Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A disused Great Northern Railway line and station that was for customs and excise on the border town of Glenfarne, Co Leitrim Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Alice Mullen, from Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, does her shopping at a former customs post on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh. Id be very worried if it was a hard border, I remember when people were divided. I would be very afraid of the threat to the peace process, it was a dreadful time to live through. Even to go to mass on a Sunday, youd have to go through checkpoints. It is terribly stressful, said Mullen. All those barricades and boundaries were pulled down. I see it as a huge big exercise of trust and I do believe everyone breathed a sigh of relief Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A bus stop and red post box stand in the border town of Jonesborough, Co Armagh Reuters

One frustrated Brussels official said: While also refusing to table their own version of a backstop, the UK is refusing to hand over the data.

But British officials say they will be handing over the data in due course and are not refusing to do so.

The deadline for a withdrawal agreement to be signed is October/November, with other issues like data protection regulations, as well as the recognition of protected product names are also yet to be settled.

The chancellor today warned that there would likely be further austerity cuts in the event of a no-deal, while trade experts have warned of a massive hit to the British economy and queues of lorries at ports.
NHS consultants from black, Asian, and minority ethnic backgrounds (BAME) are paid less than their white colleagues, according to a review which unions say highlights the unacceptable barriers and discrimination in the health service.

Analysis of NHS pay data, published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, shows that basic pay for senior white doctors is 4.9 per cent higher than for BAME doctors on average.

This amounts to an extra 4,644 per year for white consultants, according to the analysis by Professor John Appleby, chief economist of the Nuffield Trust think tank who authored the piece.

In May, the government commissioned the president of the Royal College of Physicians, Jane Dacre, to review the 15 per cent pay gap between male and female doctors in the NHS.

While ethnicity is also a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act, only gender pay differences are reported and this may mean inequitable pay differences between white and BAME doctors are missed, Professor Appleby writes.

The NHS is one of the largest employers in the world with 1.2 million employees. In England, BAME staff made up 20 per cent of the total NHS workforce compared to around 15 per cent of the public who said they are from a BAME background in the 2011 census.

The analysis used basic doctor pay data for NHS hospitals from December 2017 and found the ethnicity pay gap is small for most medical grades.

Among speciality grade doctors, who have at least four years experience but are not in training to become consultants, BAME doctors are paid 1 per cent more than white doctors.

However, consultants are the most senior and highest earning members of frontline NHS staff.

Median pay differences were found between all ethnicities. White consultants earn 3.5 per cent more than black consultants, around 4.9 per cent more than Asian doctors, and 6.1 per cent more than those of mixed heritage.

These findings are likely to be down to a number of factors, including the way NHS pay progression increases as doctors spend longer in post which may explain some  but not all  of the difference.

NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Show all 18 1 /18 NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, addresses demonstrators following the march AFP/Getty NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Reuters NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images

Professor Appleby writes: White consultants tend to be older, and if age is taken as a proxy for experience, and experience is positively linked to remuneration, then we would expect to see some difference in pay.

However, there will be other explanations too  some warranted, others not so much. These, as with the gender pay gap, are worth investigating further."

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the British Medical Association, said: This BMJ study confirms that BAME doctors continue to face unacceptable barriers, penalties and discrimination in the NHS.

It cannot be right that in 21st-century Britain there are such wide gaps in pay between white and BAME doctors in senior posts when, irrespective of their background, they hold positions to deliver the same care to patients."

He said that this was not an isolated case, and that the 7 per cent of NHS managers from non-white backgrounds are also at greater risk of harassment, bullying, and complaints.
The NHS cancels up to one in seven major surgeries on the day the patient is due to go under the knife, according to a one-week snapshot study on how staff and bed shortages are driving up waiting lists.

Increasing rates of last minute cancellations are compounding patient stress and creating extra costs for the health service, the researchers from the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA) and University College London (UCL) warn.

Some UK estimates have said just one in every 100 operations is cancelled, but that figure also includes minor and day case operations where patients will not need a bed to recuperate.

Recommended Hospitals to use private sector in bid to tackle waiting list backlog

The latest snapshot, from a single week in spring 2017 where thousands of staff took steps to record detailed reasons for cancellations, shows that patients waiting for bigger operations involving an overnight stay are cancelled much more frequently.

Of these patients, 10 per cent have been cancelled once before, while patients waiting for riskier operations where they are likely to require a critical care bed to recover were also more likely to be cancelled on, the data shows.

This is partly down to the UK having fewer hospital beds than many other comparable high and middle income countries, and being in the midst of a staffing crisis with 100,000 posts currently advertised in England alone.

In response doctors are forced to prioritise emergency and time-sensitive surgeries  including cancer operations and births  meaning longer waits for those who are less urgent.

NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Show all 18 1 /18 NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, addresses demonstrators following the march AFP/Getty NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary Reuters NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary EPA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary REUTERS NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary PA NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images NHS at 70: demonstration and celebration march to mark anniversary AFP/Getty Images

Last minute cancellations of surgery affect the health and welfare of tens of thousands of patients in the UK every year, said Professor Ramani Moonesinghe, who led the study published in the British Journal of Anaesthetics.

It is positive that clinicians appear to appropriately prioritise the most urgent cases; however, it is clear that capacity issues, in particular resulting from competition for inpatient beds with emergency admissions, and the requirement for critical care after high risk surgery, substantially influence the risk of last minute surgical cancellation.

Their study is published in the wake of a record winter crisis where in the first three months of 2018, 25,475 operations were cancelled on the day they were scheduled to take place in England alone  the highest since records began.

This is despite hospitals being told to pre-emptively cancel thousands of non-urgent operations to minimise same-day cancellations and focus resources on urgent cases.

For their research the RCA and UCL compiled data from an unparalleled 93 per cent of hospitals in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and built a seven-day snap shot of surgeries that took place between 21 and 27 March.

It shows that of 26,171 inpatient operations, where a patient will require a bed to recover, there were 3,724 patients cancelled or postponed on the day their surgery was scheduled  13.9 per cent.

Of these 28 per cent of the cancellations were recorded as medically justified, for example where patients were too unwell to be operated on.

One in 120 were cancelled directly because of a lack of beds, and the remainder were due to a mix of staff shortages, a lack of theatre capacity, equipment failure or logistical problems.

The authors said there are no easy answers for addressing this, and that each trust should look at the local data in the report and identify areas that are causing the biggest issues.

Cancelling and rescheduling an operation is not only stressful for patients, but a complete waste of hospital resources  it is awful for a patient to have their operation cancelled twice, said Professor Cliff Shearman, vice-president of the Royal College of Surgeons.

The situation is getting worse, he added. Half a million patients are now waiting longer than 18 weeks and they are more likely to have their operation cancelled.

NHS England disputed the extrapolation of a one-week snapshot across a whole year, and said far fewer patients are rescheduled when all operations  including minor outpatient procedures  are included.

A spokesperson said: Only a tiny minority of operations  just one in 100  is cancelled on the day, and this report provides only a selective, limited snapshot of surgery in England, where the NHS is funding more routine operations and more people are undergoing treatment than the year before.
Apparently, I am BAME. This places me as a contender for The Guardians BAME awards or the Jhalak prize, both aimed at BAME writers like myself. Ah, BAME  this acronym, which means black, Asian and minority ethnic, joins many other appellations offered over the decades (not all of them very nice), painstaking attempts to address the complexities of a multicultural society. But isnt it, despite its best intentions, rather limiting?

As a child in Zambia, I was a mwenye, if the speaker wished to be disparaging (its an unflattering term that I wont translate). In most contexts my family was Indian, while we regarded ourselves as Keralites (being Indian was secondary). Back in Kerala, if denoted by religion, we were proud to be Syrian Christians, members of a Catholic congregation predating the arrival of Islam in India, formed by the disciple Doubting Thomas. Of course this meant we were a cut above those Latin Christians who had converted centuries after to curry favour with their Portuguese colonisers.

Later, as a teenager in a new Zimbabwe, I was once again Indian and, in a Harare which had been segregated under the Rhodesians, my family should thus have lived in the suburb of Belvedere, which was the Indian zone, rather than as we did on the edge of the coloured (mixed race) Braeside. I resisted these tortuous preoccupations with skin tones and bloodlines  and by my late teens, inspired by the rising tide which was turning against apartheid in South Africa, I was resolutely, in my eyes, black.

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But when I arrived in the UK, I was suddenly Asian  defined by a great continent, of which my home state in India was a mere slender slip of a thing. I was properly foreign, with a student visa stamped in my Indian passport, but my proficiency in English led many to believe I was British Asian, alongside an assumption that I was second generation British, well versed in both Withnail and I and the career of reggae DJ Apache Indian, and full of fond memories of that incredible summer of 1976. I have done my homework since, as you can see.

I returned to Africa as a young woman, and when living and working in Mozambique, I was a monye  another disparaging term, not dissimilar to mwenye, but this sobriquet was seasoned with the erroneous assumptions of being Muslim and wealthy. Then, on to the tiny island of Bioko, part of Equatorial Guinea, where I was memorably known as la chica blanca  the white girl. Oh yes, and in Spain some years later, I was declared a hindou, the religious divisions that beset my homeland refreshingly ignored. Reader, an identity crisis in the making.

The journey so far

But, actually not. For, observers often overlook the ID and the ego: your own innate understanding of yourself. Are we swayed so much by what others call us? Probably not. Despite my nomadic childhood, my peripatetic young adulthood, my membership of a wider diaspora, angst over love affairs and migrations and appearance and employment, if Im honest, Ive always known myself: as impulsive, restless, often inept, but well-intentioned. Despite all the assumptions made in the geographical/religious/social names I have been given, these qualities best define who I am.

Does the B in BAME reference the Windrush generation or the recently arrived Somali, or neither, or both? (Getty)

The journey I have taken to arrive at the roles I currently have  wife, mother, writer, teacher  baffles many people. My first novel (roundly rejected, then published independently) juxtaposes a young womans passionate love affair in Mozambique with her arranged marriage in the US. My second, published as my debut by Polygon, follows a widowers return to India after 30 years in London. My most recent, The Inheritance, features an affair between a young student and an older lecturer, the latter born in Zimbabwe-then-Rhodesia.

As a writer, if I tap into my experiences of geographical dislocations and multilingual communities, the literary industry and reviewers often locate the story as one of identity crises, of a quest to belong, in which I give a compelling insight into what it means to be rootless, with characters torn between the culture of their parents and that of the society in which they grew up. All true. But not the whole story and not a unique story by any means  instead, one that is shared by millions over a shifting, transient world, including readers of fiction. To a lot of us, the mobility and code-switching and reinvention are rather normal. What informs my sense of self? Whom I love, my children, the opinions and advice of the people who are important in my life.

BAME at a glance

It feels churlish to question BAME. But, if identifying a misrepresented or underrepresented minority, then why not just minority? The writer and historian Paul Gilroy, in his book There Aint No Black in the Union Jack, has already queried the imploded, narcissistic obsession with the minutiae of ethnicity. Why the splintering and separation? Does the B in BAME reference the Windrush generation or the recently arrived Somali, or neither, or both?

Are we in danger of engendering a hierarchy by stealth, so some minorities are considered more minority than others? As a British Asian (holding a British passport now, I have become one) I cannot claim to have the same experiences and reception as a Briton with Nigerian origins. But I might well share some of her experiences if she is a woman (like me), if she is a writer (like me), or if she is as scared of her teenage daughter as I am.

And if we take the A  what constitutes a (British) Asian? Not all of us emanate from the Punjab or Gujarat or Bangladesh, or made a prolonged stopover in east Africa. Not all of our parents arrived in the UK in the 1960s or 1970s. Not all of us live in a large, dense community, or speak its language  or even wish to. Not all of us dance bhangra or admire Bollywood. Our families may not all have served in or near the Raj and we may not have a strong memory of or feelings about partition.

Disappointed? You might well be, so embedded are the discourses surrounding British Asians. A discourse which can blind an A in BAME to the heterogeneity and diversity within  and which is perpetuated sometimes by these individuals themselves. I once watched on television a very well known British Asian comic whose punchline centred on the unlikelihood of finding an Indian at a Catholic school. The laughter from the audience only served to show how little they knew of the millions of Indians who are Catholic. But, more depressingly  neither it seemed, buying into the discourse, did the comic.

To note, the aforementioned Jhalak prize is the Hindi-Urdu word for glance. Considering it is open to all BAME writers, the Bs and the MEs alongside the As, perhaps this is not the most inclusive title?

Perhaps rather than trying to solve issues about diversity by making diversity more explicit and more fractured at the expense of cohesion, we should simply acknowledge that it is, frankly, impossible to categorise a creature as self-reflective and self-concerned as a human being.

Sheena Kalayil is a senior language tutor at the University Language Centre at the University of Manchester. This article first appeared on The Conversation
It seems unlikely that several hundred tonnes of marble from Mount Pentelicus near Athens could have a significant role to play in Brexit. But, following a letter from the Greek government to Jeremy Wright, the culture secretary, that is exactly what is now happening. Lydia Koniordou, Wrights Greek counterpart, has asked for dialogue with Britain over the antique sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles.

Brought to Britain in the early 1800s by Lord Elgin, the artworks  more properly known as the Parthenon Sculptures  have aroused excitement and controversy ever since. They first went on display in London in 1807, then from 1817 they reached an international audience from a new home in the British Museum. Everyone from Canova to Rodin declared them to be among the most exceptional sculptures ever made. Over two centuries later, they remain one of the British Museum's most popular displays.

Not everyone was happy that Elgin shipped the sculptures to Britain. Lord Byron famously lamented: Dull is the eye that will not weep to see / Thy walls defaced, thy mouldering shrines removed / By British hands. But few put his panegyric into context. Byron was a Romantic, who wanted the monumental art of ancient Greek civilisation to crumble poetically as decayed vestiges of lost perfection. He was also making a one-off point rather than speaking from principle, as he personally imported Greek antiquities to Britain and sold them privately.

Nevertheless, Byron's mixed attitudes towards ancient Greece express some of the challenges inherent in questions of cultural heritage, which often see a feverish mix of emotion and romance meet a hard wall of reality.

For me, the Parthenon Sculptures raise some of the biggest questions of cultural property, ownership and where works of art belong, explains Mary Beard, professor of classics at Cambridge,

The timing of Greeces recent letter could not be more significant. Theresa May's beleaguered strategy to deliver Brexit will ultimately require the consent of all 27 EU members. That means individual rounds of diplomacy with each country. Greece is taking the opportunity  quite understandably  to probe for a possible quid pro quo, which it hopes will include the Parthenon Sculptures.

There have been similar requests from Greece in the past, notably in a campaign by former Greek culture minister Melina Mercouri in the 1980s. However, consecutive British governments have consistently rejected all such requests, although an unexpected door was opened in June when Jeremy Corbyn announced that any government led by him would make it a policy to give the sculptures to Greece.

The Acropolis was once home to the Parthenon Sculptures (Getty)

Corbyn's statement was based on his conviction that the sculptures belong to Greece. He referred to them as stolen and looted by Britain. Many share this view, including members of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, or BCRPM  one of the key groups formed in the UK to press for the sculptures to be given to Greece.

The British government's view goes back to 1816, when a UK Parliamentary Select Committee interviewed witnesses  including Elgin  who had been in Athens at the time, and concluded that Elgin had obtained all necessary permissions from the Ottoman authorities in Athens to remove the sculptures and transport them to England. The Select Committee then voted, 82 to 30, to acquire the sculptures for the nation, before presenting them to the British Museum for public display, scholarship, enlightenment and enjoyment.

In many circles, however, there are misgivings about Britain claiming ownership over antiquities that manifestly were not made in Britain. This feeling is tinged with even more awkwardness as the sculptures were acquired during the age of Empire: a period not known for its cultural sensitivity.

However, these are generalities. The Parthenon Sculptures have a well-documented and unique history which sheds important light on the controversy.

Figure of a river god, one of the controversial Elgin Marbles (The Trustees of the British Museum)

Around 480BC, Athens was entering its Golden Age. It had finally seen off Persia, and the philosophers and playwrights we revere as the founders of western civilisation were starting to tread its sun-hardened streets.

Lord Elgin brought the sculptures to Britain over the course of 10 years

Pericles, the citys leader from around 461BC, decided to mark the citys new influence and affluence with a vast building project. One of its highlights was to be a magnificent new temple to Athena the Maiden (Parthenos) built on the Acropolis, the city's highest hill. To ensure the temple was the envy of all, Pericles commissioned one of the citys sculptors, Pheidias, to decorate the sacred building with a scheme of sculpture that would transport visitors from earth up onto Mount Olympus itself.

The artisans in Pheidiass workshop hacked and smoothed the white marble until eventually the pieces  once vividly painted  were hoisted up onto the great temple. Onlookers were agog, and anyone looking at the sculptures today will know why. The bodies throb with life. The skin appears warm and real to the touch. The gossamer drapery flows as if in natural motion. And the drama of the scenes is charged with an ethereal tension and electricity that is almost unparalleled in art. There are few major sculptors in the last two hundred years who have not looked on them and felt cowed.

Once the classical world of mercurial gods and goddesses faded and the era of Christianity dawned, the sculptures began to suffer. Around AD500, the citizens of Athens defaced many and hacked off others in order to convert the Parthenon into a church. This systematic iconoclasm was the single largest act of destruction in the sculptures' history. Further damage occurred in 1687 when an invading Venetian force bombarded the Acropolis with mortars and scored a direct hit on the Parthenon, which was being used by the ruling Ottomans as an explosives store.

The Ottomans  who had conquered Athens in 1456  are a key player in what was to happen next. In 1799, Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin, was appointed Britains ambassador to the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire at Constantinople. According to some sources, inspired to allow the people and artists of Europe to enjoy the wonders of ancient Greek art, Elgin spent his own money on commissioning artists and sculptors to draw, paint and take casts of the Parthenon Sculptures and other statuary and stonework in Athens.

When Elgin's men arrived in Athens, they found the Ottomans had turned the Acropolis into a military garrison, and soldiers were using the sculptures on the Parthenon for firearms target practice, and hacking bits off to sell to the growing throngs of tourists on the Grand Tour. By this time the Parthenon had only around half of the sculptures that Pheidias originally placed there, with many in poor condition. Mary Beard explains: The Acropolis was then a rather sordid Turkish military base, and it would have been easy to convince oneself  rightly or wrongly  that the sculpture was better off out of there.

Elgins men then began overseeing the removal of the sculptures. Over the course of 10 years, they used local labourers to take down around half of the sculptures on the building (a quarter of the originals), which Elgin shipped back to Britain.

Those 10 years, 1800-10, lie at the heart of the whole Elgin controversy. Opinions divide. Some say Elgin was a hero and conservator who saved the sculptures for the world. Others, like Paul Cartledge, professor of Greek Culture emeritus at Cambridge, differ: I believe, he says, Elgin had purely self-aggrandising reasons for seeking to acquire  for himself and his own personal display  as many of the Marbles as he could.

The 1816 UK Parliamentary select committee concluded otherwise. After examining witnesses and records, it noted that in 1801 Elgin had obtained a firman  an Ottoman legal permit  which, according to a translation shown to them, permitted Elgin to make drawings, create casts and take away any pieces of stone with inscriptions or figures.

The BCRPM and other reunificationists stress that Parliament did not see the original firman, and so the permit's specific terms remain unknown. Moreover, they say, even the translated version does not explicitly envisage the wholesale removal of so much sculpture. Elgin was, they say, guilty of mission creep.

The Parthenon at the time was part of a Turkish garrison, with the sculptures used as target practice (Getty)

Whichever view is right, another angle to the question is that Elgin, as ambassador, had the power of the British state behind him. Britain had just defeated Napoleon, who was also an enemy of the Ottomans. Britain was therefore in good odour at the Ottoman court, and Elgin was in a position to ask for favours. Elgin, Paul Cartledge believes, certainly unquestionably exploited the fraught international situation c. 1800, whereby Britain was the enemy of the Ottoman Sultan's (French) enemy and therefore the Sultan's friend.

Those who view Elgin in a more kindly light point to the fact all this removal work was not done covertly or surreptitiously. It was carried out over a period of 10 years, in broad daylight, in central Athens, using hundreds of Greek labourers, under the noses of the authorities, and was even revalidated by a second firman in 1810 when the work was complete and French diplomats tried to hold up the last shipment (the French were hoping that they might get some of the sculptures for the Louvre).

This leads to one of the central disagreements in the whole debate. Greece  aided by allies, including Britain and British philhellenes who had been inspired by seeing the Parthenon Sculptures in London  overthrew the Ottomans in 1832 and restored Greek government. The BCRPM therefore asks how the Ottomans can have given Elgin valid authority to remove the sculptures when they were an illegitimate occupying power.

However, the lawyers dont see it this way. When the Greek government instructed Amal Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson to advise them in 2014, the Syriza government eventually decided that the route to gaining the sculptures was political and diplomatic rather than legal. This came as a surprise to no one. In 1985, Professor John Henry Merryman of Stanford Law School, a leading authority on cultural property, examined the case for restitution and concluded that the modern state of Greece had no legal, moral, or ethical claim to the sculptures.

Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece Show all 9 1 /9 Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece This golden death mask was discovered in the ruins of ancient Mycenae in 1876 by Heinrich Schliemann after he went looking for the palace of Agamemnon, a central figure in the Trojan War. It has since dated the mask to an even earlier period Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece This extraordinary bronze sculpture, known as the Artemision Jockey, dates from around 140BC Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece This incredibly life-like bronze statue of the Roman Emperor Augustus has been dated at between 12BC and 10BC, partly because he wears a ring showing he had become Pontifex Maximus, a title he assumed in 12BC Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece A scene from a battle in the Trojan War in black-figure technique. The scene, from Homers the Iliad, probably shows fighting around the body of Patroklos, whose death moved Achilles to rejoin the fighting in decisive fashion Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece A gravestone from about 425BC showing a woman called Ampharete with her grandchild. I hold here the beloved child of my daughter, which I held on my knees when we were alive and saw the light of the sun, and now, dead, I hold it dead, a carving on the stone says Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece The Parthenon Temple in Athens was built in the fifth century BC to replace an early structure destroyed by the Persian army in 480BC. It was decorated with sculptures showing Olympian gods, giants, Amazons, a fight between Centaurs and human Lapiths, what is believed to have been a religious procession in honour of the goddess Athena, and other scenes Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece Figures known as caryatids on the porch of the Erechtheion, another temple on the Acropolis in Athens. Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece A Centaur and a human in a fight scene taken from the Parthenon temple by Lord Elgin in the early 1800s and now on display in the British Museum. The figures heads are in Athens Ian Johnston Archaeological treasures of ancient Greece A wall painting from a house in Akrotiri, Santorini, which was covered with ash from a volcanic eruption in about 1,500BC. It shows swallows swooping among clusters of red lillies Ian Johnston

One of the reasons for this is that by the time Elgins men arrived in Athens in 1800, the Ottomans had ruled Greece for almost 350 years. Countries are forever changing hands, and the Ottomans were, in fact and law, the internationally recognised government of the day. Who else, many ask, should or could Elgin have requested for permission to remove the sculptures to safety?

When Elgin got back to Britain, he was suffering from catastrophic debt. He estimated he had spent around 73,600 (around 3.5m in todays money) bringing the sculptures to Britain. Parliament offered him 35,000 for the lot, which he accepted. The sculptures went to the British Museum. It is a myth that Elgin profited hugely from 'getting' the marbles, Mary Beard explains. His wife walked out, and he faced bankruptcy, which prompted the sale to the government. Elgin moved to France, where he died, broken and bankrupt.

Once on display in London, the sculptures caused a sensation and started waves of fashion for Greek art and civilisation. The marbles in London were a vital catalyst for 19th-century Europe's passion for Greek culture, explains Dr Greg Sullivan, a leading sculpture historian. The marbles got into the bloodstream of contemporary 19th-century art. If you attended the Royal Academy art schools or the Derby Mechanics Institute, or if you visited Oxford, Cambridge or Wisbech art galleries, you would be greeted with copies of the statues or casts from the Parthenon frieze.

Flaxman, Westmacott, Gibson, Chantrey. Leighton and Alma-Tadema all acknowledged their influence. It demonstrates how passion for European culture has been a key part of Britishness for centuries, Plaster casts by the British artists Westmacott and Brucciani were given or sold all over Europe to courts and art schools in Germany, Italy, Spain and elsewhere, accelerating the passion for Hellenic civilization. Hennings miniature relief copies of the frieze were sold and pirated in Paris, Rome, Munich and Vienna.

The sculptures Elgin left in Athens did not fare well. Pollution from the oil refinery at nearby Eleusis eroded many into furry vestiges of their former glories, and a restoration from 1895-1933 by Nicholaos Balanos stapled the sculptures with iron bars which expanded, shattering sections of marble. Fortunately, the casts commissioned by Elgin preserved the details of these sculptures, and have enabled replicas to be made. The British Museum also came in for criticism for an overly abrasive cleaning program in the late 1930s, when it was fashionable to make antique sculptures gleam bright white. However, it was nothing that was not being done at the time to artefacts all over the world, including in Greece. The British Museum subsequently conducted a full investigation, held a conference, and published all results.

Looking at all the evidence, Mary Beard concludes: We must not turn a blind eye to all the problems here, but we should put them in their historical context, without whitewashing or demonising Elgin.

The Greek government sought advice from lawyers Amal Clooney and Geoffrey Robertson over the Elgin Marbles (Getty)

The Elgin Marbles controversy does not, of course, begin and end with Elgin and the wording of his permits. A broader question  which is an increasingly important one  transcends the legal technicalities and asks whether an increasingly culturally sensitive world should be engaging in a general amnesty of cultural artefacts.

It is now a real question whether museums should  as a moral act  send objects to the places they were made. There can be strong arguments in favour. Some were looted in war. Some would bring tourism to their home regions. Some have ongoing cultural meaning. To me, the legality of the matter is the least important thing, says Paul Cartledge. We don't actually know what the Sultan's firman actually permitted Elgin to do. The most important thing is to see what remains of the sculptures  from the British Museum and elsewhere  reunified where they properly can be best appreciated, in the New Acropolis Museum of Athens.

However, against this view is the inevitable sense of loss the world would feel if its principal museums were emptied out. These great encyclopaedic or universal museums  largely products of the age of Enlightenment  offer a unique opportunity for everyone to experience the interrelationship of all things. In these museums' vast collections  in Paris, Berlin, St Petersburg, London, Athens and elsewhere  visitors gaze into other cultures, not just into a reflection of their own. They are museums of humanity.

Dr Tiffany Jenkins, expert in museums and cultural property, sees strong reasons for artefacts remaining spread around the globe. The question we should ask is, where is best for the object, in terms of truth, access and preservation? The present situation  where half the remaining sculptures are in Athens and the rest are in London  is a good one. It means the marbles can be seen and understood both in Athens, in the Acropolis Museum close to where they were created, and in London, where they are placed within a universal collection of artefacts from multiple human civilisations. It is a powerful alternative vision to the idea of restitution, aimed at promoting a wider appreciation of the sculptures. Jenkins continues: Like time machines, these museums provide historical context and cross-cultural insight.

The idea of returning objects to their place of origin can also be a challenge if history has moved on. Greece, for instance, did not exist when Pheidias made the sculptures. The Parthenon was a resolutely Athenian project, with the temple used as a treasury for protection money Athens collected from the other Greek city states in the Delian League. Dr James Campbell, fellow in art history and architecture at Cambridge, notes: It is worth remembering that the Parthenon itself was built on the proceeds of war and taxation and came to be seen by many parts of the Greek world as a symbol of Athenian oppression. It was filled with goods stolen and looted from other cultures. The Delian League evoked such resentment that it prompted a civil war in which Sparta supplanted Athens as most influential power in the region. So although Greece is unarguably the place where the sculptures were made, they were never a symbol of Greek unity, ancient or modern.

Throughout history, goods have passed across borders and moved from one place to another. Much art fits into this category, Campbell continues. Our galleries are full of Italian Masters, Dutch landscapes, French Impressionists. No one is suggesting that every Italian Master belongs to the Italian government. Why, then, do we think the Elgin Marbles belong to the Greek government? Or indeed that the Elgin marbles should be swapped for a better Brexit deal?

The sculptures have been housed in the British Museum since 1817 (AFP/Getty)

Allied to the question of geographical heritage is yet another, more philosophical, perspective. It asks what an object is, and whether an artefact can have more than one identity or tell more than one story. Seen this way, Pheidias's carvings are simultaneously the Parthenon Sculptures and the Elgin Marbles, and who is to say that both stories should not be told?

Dr Tiffany Jenkins elaborates further. The sculptures have been discarded as well as venerated, seen as historical documents as well as artworks. In the early 19th-century, the Royal Academician Ozias Humphrey, thought them a mass of ruins. Most recently at the British Museum they were the centrepiece of a superb exhibition that shed light on the sculpture of Auguste Rodin.

The future of the Parthenon Sculptures is undeniably a decision for Parliament. The British Museum is governed by statute and has no power to give away objects in its collection unless they are duplicates or unfit for retention. Museums also have little interest in the heated and politicised aspects to these debates. On a day-to-day level, museum curators in London, Athens and around the world share with each other and with the public their research, knowledge and an overwhelming love for the objects they care for.

However, as the recent Greek overture for negotiations shows, one day Parliament may be called upon to make a decision in the case of the sculptures, and perhaps that day will be soon. But the complex, multidimensional questions raised by the Parthenon Sculptures will need to be appreciated in all their shades and nuances. It will simply not do, as Corbyn has done, to fire from the hip and label them as stolen property. Neither can the consequences for universal museums be brushed aside, as if the Parthenon Sculptures go, there will inevitably be calls for a mass resettlement of holdings from across the world.

Today, most school children do not learn Greek, says James Campbell. Perhaps the sad reason we are even contemplating giving the contents of the British Museum to the current Greek government is that so few British people understand what the Elgin Marbles are, or care.

Any decision on the future of the Parthenon Sculptures should be a reasoned and responsible one. It is unarguable that more people have seen and fallen in love with Greek sculpture and ancient Greece in the free-to-enter British Museum than in the museum in Athens. The sculptures future must be assessed for the good of the world. The Elgin Marbles do not belong to the Conservative Party, and they must not be reduced to a cheap chip in the chaotic poker game of Brexit.

Dr Dominic Selwood is a historian and barrister. He is the author of Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers: The History You Werent Taught in School.

The author expresses his deep thanks to Professor Mary Beard (author of The Parthenon), Professor Paul Cartledge (author of The Cambridge History of Ancient Greece), Dr Tiffany Jenkins (author of Keeping Their Marbles), Dr James Campbell (author of The Library: A World History) and Dr Greg Sullivan (author and editor of the Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain 1660-1851) for being interviewed for this piece.

@DominicSelwood
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Sep. 04, 2018 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 04, 2018 | 05:14 PM | PADUCAH, KY

A Kevil man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly pointed a gun at a cab driver.



The Paducah Police Department responded at 12:30 am to the parking lot of Auto Zone on Jackson Street. A Blue Dot Taxi driver told officers he pulled over after a woman in his cab vomited in the car. The driver said he told the man and woman to get out and pay their fare, but the man pulled a gun and pointed it at him - once in the car, and once after they were outside.



The cab driver told police the man, identified as Shane A. Roeller, racked the slide on the gun twice but no rounds came out, so he believed the gun was not loaded.



When an officer arrived, he ordered Roeller to his knees and found the 9mm pistol in the back waistband of his pants. Police say there was no magazine in the gun and no bullet in the chamber, but there were four rounds in Roeller's pocket.



Police say Roeller's speech was slurred and he smelled strongly of alcohol. He was arrested for public intoxication, carrying a concealed weapon, and theft of services. He was taken to McCracken County Jail.
When the first communist tank charged through the gates of the Independence Palace in Saigon, it fell to Bui Tin, a journalist in the North Vietnamese army, to break the news: the revolution had arrived. Although it had taken the tanks longer than expected (the unit had to stop and ask for directions to the palace), the Vietnam War had come to an end.

Tin was a reporter, not a soldier, but he was still a colonel, the highest-ranking officer on the scene. For reasons of authority and seniority, the commander of the tank unit insisted that he, and no one else, accept the surrender of the last president of South Vietnam.

And so it was Colonel Tin who strolled into the palaces second-floor salon a few minutes after 11am on 30 April 1975, where the countrys president  a hefty general named Duong Van Big Minh  told him he had been waiting since morning to transfer power.

There is no question of your transferring power, Tin said, according to journalist AJ Langguths book, published in 2000, Our Vietnam: The War 1954-1975. Your power has crumbled. You cannot give up what you do not have.

You have nothing to fear he added, as gunfire sounded outside. Between Vietnamese, there are no victors and no vanquished. Only the Americans have been beaten. If you are patriots, consider this a moment of joy. The war for our country is over.

For Tin, the charismatic son of a government minister, the episode marked the culmination of three decades of wartime sacrifice and unusual good fortune. Striding onto the historical stage at pivotal moments  the battle of Dien Bien Phu, the creation of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the 1978 invasion of Cambodia  he eventually became a leading opponent of the state he helped build, settling in France to broadcast an anti-communist petition that reportedly reached three million Vietnamese.

He died aged 90 in a suburb of Paris.

Although his family had helped administer the country during French colonial rule, Tin and his father were early backers of the nationalist Viet Minh movement led by Ho Chi Minh, whom the son went on to protect as a member of the communist leaders personal guard.

Born in the northern city of Nam Dinh in the late Twenties, he joined the Communist Party aged 19. In a memoir, Following Ho Chi Minh (1995), he recalled that he swore an oath under the light of an oil lamp always to be loyal to the idea of liberating the people and the whole of mankind  I equated joining the party with patriotism and gaining independence. A life full of activity, yet simple, beckoned; it would be bright and glorious without a ripple of concern discernible in the future.

Less than a decade later, Tin was wounded during a French airstrike at Dien Bien Phu. The battle resulted in a 1954 ceasefire that gave Vietnam its independence from France and split the country in two, setting the stage for a 20-year conflict with the American-backed South Vietnamese government.

Tin said he helped plan the deployment of northern troops into South Vietnam in the early 1960s, when he ventured down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the years before it was widened into a jungle superhighway for communist troops and supplies.

But he found that he was more suited to communications than combat, and he worked as a reporter and military spokesman amid negotiations over prisoners of war and a ceasefire agreement. In March 1973, when the last US combat troops boarded a plane and departed Vietnam, Tin was there on the Saigon airstrip to bid them farewell.

This is an historic day, he said, after handing a goodbye package that included Ho Chi Minh postcards and a bamboo scroll to one of the last remaining US soldiers. It is the first time in 100 years that there are no foreign troops on the soil of Vietnam.

Tin went on to serve as deputy editor in chief at both Quan Doi Nhan Dan (Peoples Army) the army newspaper, and Nhan Dan (The People), the Vietnamese Pravda. The latter effectively made him a deputy minister, said political scientist Tuong Vu, author of Vietnams Communist Revolution, although Tin was unable to convince the countrys political leaders of his more liberal ideas on how to rebuild a unified Vietnam.

As he had in Saigon, he accompanied Vietnamese tanks during the invasion of Phnom Penh, which followed Cambodian incursions into Vietnam. But he failed to convince the countrys military and political leaders to quickly end the war, arguing that Cambodias fate should be left to the international community.

Similarly he was unsuccessful in advising against collectivisation programmes in South Vietnam and against re-education efforts that forced an estimated 300,000 South Vietnamese officials, soldiers and supporters into prison camps.

As a journalist in the North Vietnamese army, Tin broke the news that the revolution had arrived (Chan Troi Moi Media)

By 1990, he had become fed up with the countrys politics. When the French communist newspaper LHumanite invited him to Paris, he bought a plane ticket and embarked on a new life as a dissident, delivering what he called a petition from a single, ordinary citizen  a multipart, pro-democracy radio broadcast on the BBC Word Service Vietnamese service.

Bureaucracy, irresponsibility, egoism, corruption and fraud are becoming entrenched under an insolent reign of privileges and prerogatives, he said in one broadcast. In 1991, he wrote in a newspaper column: The tragic irony of this situation is that the Communists have finished what Americas military machine only partly did during the war. They have crushed Vietnam, thereby squandering the achievement for which a million of our troops and countless numbers of civilians sacrificed their lives.

His broadcasts and memoirs  which included details on the closely guarded private lives of Ho and other communist leaders  created a sensation in Hanoi, Vu said.

His defection and revelations struck a heavy blow at the domestic legitimacy of the party, he added, and was one of the main reasons the party decided to release a huge collection of party documents in the following decade to prove its accomplishments and to justify its continuing rule.

Soon after arriving in Paris, Tin told The New York Times he planned to stay for only a few months. But the Vietnamese government interrogated his wife and children, he said, and expelled him from the Communist Party. He never made it home, fearing for his safety.

Survivors include his wife, Le Thi Kim Chung of Hanoi; two children; four siblings; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

In addition to criticising the communist regime in Vietnam, Tin called for greater understanding and assistance from the countrys former adversaries, including the US.

When the Senate held hearings in 1991 on servicemen missing in action during the Vietnam War, he was among the star witnesses from Vietnam, testifying that no American POWs remained in the country.

I am a soldier for 37 years, he said in his testimony. I have experienced pain and sadness of seeing my comrades disappear without any information about their tragic end. In Vietnam, there are 200,000 missing in action, and we have never found their remains. In my own family, two out of five are still missing. Being a soldier and also a member of an MIA family, I would like to take the opportunity to share the sadness and pain of the American POW and MIA families.

He concluded his testimony with an embrace of one John McCain, a retired Navy aviator who had been shot down during the war, tortured and imprisoned for nearly six years. Tin said he had met McCain, briefly, while doing research for a book about American POWs.

Bui Tin, Vietnamese soldier and writer, born 29 December 1927, died 11 August 2018

 Washington Post
Powerful winds from the dawn of the universe have been detected by scientists for the first time - 12 billion light years away from Earth.

Travelling at 500 miles per second, astronomers think these gusts of cosmic gas are instrumental in controlling the emergence of stars and the galaxies they are part of.

Galaxies are complicated, messy beasts, and we think outflows and winds are critical pieces to how they form and evolve, regulating their ability to grow, explained University of Texas at Austin astronomer Dr Justin Spilker, who led the research.

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Using observations from the ALMA observatory in northern Chile, Dr Spilker and his colleagues were able to detect traces of these winds from a time shortly after the Big Bang, when the universe was only one billion years old.

Galaxies such as our own, the Milky Way, have a history of relatively slow, controlled star birth, with about one new star emerging every year.

However, thousands of stars can emerge in the same space of time in starburst galaxies.

These will rapidly consume the gas reservoir they rely on to form new stars, so their lifespans tend to be relatively short.

The ALMA observatory, aided by a gravitational lens, imaged the outflow, or wind, from a galaxy seen when the universe was only one billion years old.The circular, double-lobe shape of the distant galaxy is due to the distortion caused by the cosmic magnifying effect of an intervening galaxy. (ALMA/J. Spilker/S. Dagnello)

Galaxies avoid this early death when they eject vast quantities of gas early on, slowing down the rate of star formation and producing galactic winds.

These astronomical weather patterns can be seen in nearby galaxies using conventional X-ray and radio techniques from Earth.

However, identifying them in the farthest reaches of the universe, which provides insight into its early years, is far harder.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

ALMA was able to pin down the effect in the galaxy known as SPT2319-55 using gravitational lensing, the process by which gravity bends light and in doing so magnifies events that would otherwise be impossible to observe using existing technology.

This technique has previously allowed scientists to identify planets far beyond the Milky Way for the first time.

In their distant galaxy, the team was able to detect large amounts of cold gas flowing outwards from the ancient galaxy at approximately the same rate as new stars are forming.

So far, we have only observed one galaxy at such a remarkable cosmic distance, but wed like to know if winds like these are also present in other galaxies to see just how common they are, said Dr Spilker.

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If they occur in basically every galaxy, we know that molecular winds are both ubiquitous and also a really common way for galaxies to self-regulate their growth.

As gas is ejected away from the galaxies themselves, it will either drift out into the wider universe or gradually rain back down into the galaxy and form stars in a feedback loop.

The winds likely form either as supernovas within the galaxies explode or due to the effects of supermassive black holes releasing bursts of energy.
A cleaner who stole 53,000-worth of emergency relief intended for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire has been jailed.

Antonio Gouveia, 33, stayed in a 155-per-night central London hotel for 289 days and took cash handouts and food allowances by claiming to be a former resident of the tower.

Gouveia claimed he was living in a flat with a woman in her eighties on the night of the fire, which killed 72 people.

To find out the name of his supposed landlady, Gouveia went to a post depot and asked whether any letters had come for flat 42 of the tower.

He discovered Hermine Harris lived at the address as the postal worker leafed through the envelopes.

He wracked up a 44,795 hotel bill at the Cumberland Hotel, Marylebone, paid for with funding for Grenfell survivors. He also accepted cash and a free laptop.

Gouveia admitted two counts of fraud by false representation between June 20 and April 5 at his first appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court.

The Portuguese national was the 11th person to be charged with fraud following the blaze.

Jailing him for three years and two months on Thursday, Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: Most people reacted with horror and dismay, and feelings of deep sympathy and profound concern for the survivors, and those others most directly affected.

Many did what they could to help in a spontaneous outpouring of generosity and compassion.

Your response was different  you decided to use the situation to your personal advantage, to enrich yourself dishonestly by plundering the public funds put aside to assist genuine victims of that disaster in their hour of need.

The Portuguese national was the 11th person to be charged with fraud following the blaze.

Mary Van Woodenberg, for Gouveia, said the father of two had been sleeping rough for eight months before the disaster.

He had been so terrified falling behind on child support and losing visiting rights to his children he had sacrificed the roof over his head in order to provide for them, she said.

Hes not a hardened criminal or a man who did this for financial gain, but a desperate man who did this out of necessity, she said.

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Show all 18 1 /18 Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 ReutersGrenfell Tower Inquiry/Reuters Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Hallway in flat 16, leading to the kitchen where the fire started Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Living room in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Toilet in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Living room in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom 2 of flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/Reuters Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Bedroom 2 of flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/Reuters Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began The kitchen from flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Kitchen in flat 16 where the fire started Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Door to flat 16 from the lobby on floor 4 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Living room in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA Grenfell Tower Inquiry: photos of inside the flat where fire began Hallway in flat 16 Grenfell Tower Inquiry/PA

Judge Curtis-Raleigh said: You were homeless. Sadly, homelessness is a fact of life for many, but few indeed would contemplate stooping as low as you have by acting in this way.

Ms Harris  the woman whom Gouveia claimed to live with  described his actions as pouring salt on the wounds" of the disaster.

Edward Daffarn, a representative of survivors through the Grenfell Action Group, said: Every time the word fraud and Grenfell are seen together, the collective feelings of the general public turn in a negative fashion towards our community.

The actions of a few criminals paint our community in a negative light and deflect away from the real issues that we need to deal with.

Press Association contributed to this report
Girls are being pressured to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) in British playgrounds, a survivor has warned amid an international crackdown on the practice.

Dr Leyla Hussein, who underwent the procedure when she was seven years old in Somalia, said pressure was being put on children by their peers as well as relatives.

Some of my clients are 19-year-old girls who were children or were born in this country, and they will say they were pressured in a playground in a school in London to go and have it done, she added, urging people in affected communities to confront the idea of FGM as a tradition.

We really have to be forceful in protecting children, and unfortunately I will be upsetting people but I personally don't care if I'm going to upset some community leader.we cannot tiptoe around it.

Officers and social workers have been stationed at British and American airports, and on the Eurostar this week as part of a transatlantic operation to prevent families taking children abroad for FGM and help survivors.

An estimated 500 people were spoken to at Heathrow Airport on Thursday alone after arriving on flights from countries where the practice is prevalent, and similar operations are taking place at Gatwick, Manchester and Luton.

The operation, codenamed Limelight, has also been carried out at New York's JFK Airiport after American authorities signed a proclamation of interagency support for FGM investigations with the UK.

 Operation Limelight: The FGM unit operating in Heathrow Airport to intercept families taking their children to be mutiliated

Signatories including the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), Metropolitan Police, Border Force, Crown Prosecution Service, British Transport Police, FBI, and the US Department of Homeland Security.

Officials hope to enhance their understanding of FGM and improve the law enforcement response by sharing intelligence on travel patterns, trends and live cases.

Leethen Bartholomew, head of the National FGM Centre, said the crime must be recognised as child abuse and a human rights violation.

Our work with law enforcement agencies on Operation Limelight, both from the UK and the US, is raising awareness that this practice is illegal in the UK and that it is against the law to take a girl overseas to be cut, he added.

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Our focus is engaging with passengers travelling to and from countries where this crime is carried out. By talking to them we hope to educate families as well as highlighting the support available to those who may be at risk.

We hope the high profile nature of the operation will dissuade anyone who may be considering having FGM carried out.

The Independent attended a previous Operation Limelight sweep at Heathrow in January, when a survivor who underwent FGM in Sierra Leone was among the air passengers stopped.

It was painful, so painful, there was blood everywhere, she recalled. There were other people watching in the room. They were singing their own songs. They were happy when they were cutting me.

She said her family believed FGM was decency, adding: When youre with your man you are clean if you do that, thats the mentality.

At least 16,265 women and girls living in the UK have told doctors they have FGM, but officials believe the figure is only the tip of the iceberg, as the practice remains widely unreported.

NHS figures show that almost 4,500 women and girls came forward for the first time in the year to March, although the procedure may have been carried out years before and most cases abroad.

According to the World Health Organisation, the percentage of women who have undergone the procedure in some countries is as high as 96 per cent, with the highest rates including Somalia, Guinea, Egypt and Sudan.

FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Show all 12 1 /12 FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl cries after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM The traditional practice of circumcision within the Pokot tribe is a rite of passage that marks the transition to womanhood and is a requirement for all girls before they marry Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls are encouraged to leave their hut and make their way to a place where they will take off their clothes and wash during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised in a tribal ritual in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls, draped in animal skins, sit on rocks during their circumcision ceremony REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman performs a circumcision on a girl REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot woman holds a razor blade after performing a circumcision on four girls REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl bleeds onto a rock after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl is smeared with a white paint after being circumcised REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM More than a quarter of girls and women in Kenya have undergone genital cutting, according to United Nations data REUTERS FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM A Pokot girl, covered in animal skins, walks to a place where she will rest after being circumcised Reuters FGM tribal circumcision ceremony in Baringo County Kenya FGM Pokot girls covered with animal skins squat on rocks after being stripped naked and washed during their circumcision rite in a village about 80 kilometres from the town of Marigat in Baringo County REUTERS

FGM, which refers to any procedure that intentionally alters female genital organs for non-medical reasons, has been illegal in the UK since 1985 and the law was strengthened in 2003 to prevent girls travelling to undergo FGM abroad.

But there have not yet been any successful convictions in Britain, with two prosecutions under specific FGM laws and a child cruelty case related to FGM resulting in acquittals.

Dr Hussein said education was key to detection, adding that although she moved to the UK aged 12, she did not know the procedure was wrong until years later.

Why wasn't that information at my GP, at my school?" she asked. Why didn't my midwife ask me about this? Why didn't anyone bring this up with me? That's the real problem.

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Dr Hussein, who founded the Dahlia Project to help other survivors, called for health and education professionals to help fight against FGM by reporting any evidence they come across to police.

As well as prosecuting people for FGM, British authorities also use court-issued protection orders to prevent potential victims from being taken abroad.

Despite mounting awareness, the national police lead on the issue said intelligence on the practice was woeful, while prosecutions were frustrated by FGM happening abroad and victims being unwilling to give evidence against relatives.

Commander Ivan Balhatchet, of the NPCC, appealed to the public, support groups and those who work with children to pass information to police.

He said it would be naive to think cutting was not happening in the UK but, due to a lack of information could not say to what extent, adding: Our intelligence picture is quite frankly woeful.

We don't know what's happening even though we know this child abuse and abuse against women and girls is taking place. It needs to improve and we've all got a responsibility to do that.

Commander Balhatchet said no religion, culture or tradition should be allowed to mitigate or make an excuse for such appalling crimes and called for more funding to help efforts to stop it.

While he said preventing the crime happening at all and ensuring victims are taken care of is the priority for police, he admitted: For the UK not having any successful prosecutions is unacceptable to me as the national lead."

Additional reporting by PA
Philip Hammond has admitted telling ministers to prepare to make cuts if the UK crashes out of the EU with no agreement, after Operation Yellowhammer was revealed.

The chancellor said ministers would have no choice but to refocus government priorities, to head off the economic damage from a no-deal Brexit.

In no-deal circumstances, we would have to refocus government priorities so that government was concentrated on the circumstances that we found ourselves in, he said.

The admission came after a secret Treasury document  entitled Operation Yellowhammer  was photographed, revealing the need for internal reprioritisation of departmental spending.

Mr Hammond has previously warned of a near-8 per cent hit to GDP from a no-deal Brexit, which would blow an 80bn hole in the public finances.

The concession opens up the prospect of austerity continuing into the next decade, despite growing pressure  including from some Tory MPs  to turn the spending taps back on.

It also threatens to reignite the Conservative Partys civil war over Brexit, after Mr Hammond was accused of a fresh Project Fear when he last warned against a no-deal departure.

And, if the UK does crash out with no agreement, it would appear to blow a hole in Theresa Mays much-disputed claim that a Brexit dividend can help deliver her promised 20bn boost to the NHS.

Mr Hammonds comments came after the government was embarrassed by the latest example of someone  thought to be John Glen, a Treasury minister  being photographed carrying an internal document.

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

As well as revealing the codename Operation Yellowhammer, it appeared to acknowledge questions about rail access to the EU after a no-deal Brexit.

The paper said the Treasury would need to maintain confidence in the event of contingency plans being triggered  particularly important for financial services.

And it exposed that planning is being overseen by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, which is usually responsible for coping with emergencies such as floods and disease outbreaks.

Ben Bradshaw, a Labour MP and supporter of the Peoples Vote campaign, seized on the controversy, saying: We now know the government is preparing for Brexit in the same way theyd approach catastrophes like flooding, a disease outbreak or a terrorist attack. This is not what anyone voted for in 2016.

Questioned by the BBC on a visit to Glasgow, Mr Hammond denied that cuts would be necessary to prepare for the risk of crashing out next year, after an extra 1.5bn was set aside for departments.

But he pointed, instead, to what happens after a no-deal departure, saying: What were beginning to discuss is now part of long term contingency planning.

The chancellor added: Let me reiterate again that is not the outcome we are expecting and its not the outcome were seeking.

The prime ministers spokesman played down oversight by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, insisting it was routine for any significant event  including major sporting events in the UK.

And he said the codename Operation Yellowhammer had been generated at random  after it was pointed out that the birds song is said to have a rhythm like a little bit of bread and no cheese.

The spokesman declined to be drawn on the questions surrounding rail access to the EU, ahead of the publication of further no-deal technical notices  as early as next week.

Asked if a no-deal Brexit would have consequences for cross-Channel rail, he said: We are preparing for all potential scenarios across all sectors.

And asked if the Channel Tunnel rail link would definitely remain open, he replied: I have no reason to think otherwise, whatsoever.
Poorer people will be forced to eat low-quality foreign meat if the UK crashes out of the EU because of soaring domestic prices, ministers have been warned.

A new study warns of a two-tier food system after a no-deal Brexit  where only the wealthy are able to afford fresh British chicken.

A no-deal Fortress UK departure from the EU would see labour and wage costs soar by up to 50 per cent and also threatens the values which UK consumers hold, it concludes.

Fears have repeatedly been raised about chlorine washed chicken from the US, a practice banned by the EU in 1997  and are echoed in the report by the ResPublica think tank.

But Joe Cowen, the reports author, added: Antibiotic use is endemic in Thailand, while Brazil, another major exporter of chicken, has significantly lower standard than the UK. Recently we saw 20 factories shut down over night, due to poor practices.

Crashing out of the EU without a deal, means we would lose much of the EU external infrastructure that allows us to monitor and inspect the food we eat and how it is prepared.

 Taxpayers will have to foot some of the bill for stockpiling medicines in case of no deal Brexit, says Matt Hancock

Meanwhile, the disruption from a no-deal Brexit would force farmers to pass on significantly higher production costs to shoppers, the report warned.

Lower-income consumers may be left unable to afford fresh British chicken, instead having to rely on cheaper, lower standard meat imports from countries outside the EU, it said.

This could create a two-tier food system, where only the wealthy can afford to eat fresh home-reared chicken.

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

It comes after Dominic Raab admitted in July the government must ensure "there is adequate food supply" in the event Britain and the EU fail to agree a deal.

The Brexit secretary confirmed the government was making extraordinary plans to stockpile food in case the negotiations fail. He told MPs the task would be overseen by industry, rather than Whitehall.

The governments own figures show that 30 per cent of food imports came from the EU in 2016. The next highest figure is 5 per cent  from Africa  with 49 per cent produced domestically, in the UK.

The ResPublica report pointed out that, although the UK is the fourth-largest poultry meat producer in the EU, being 60 per cent self-sufficient, that statistic hid the looming problem.

British meat-eaters prefer chicken breasts, which meant UK producers sought to export the 75 per cent of the bird that is left over, including dark cuts like wings, legs and thighs.

Approximately 70 per cent of our dark meat exports are to the EU and the majority of the poultry meat that is imported into the UK comes from the European Union, it said.

The warning over meat prices came the same day the health secretary admitted taxpayers will have to foot the bill for stockpiling NHS medicines in preparation for a no-deal Brexit.

Matt Hancock revealed he was talking to the pharmaceutical industry about what extra costs the government should cover for the task of building up supplies.

He also said he was planning to switch supply from land to air for short-life medicines  although that would appear to depend on a scrambled aviation agreement with the EU.
Taxpayers will have to foot the bill for stockpiling NHS medicines to prepare for crashing out of the EU without a deal, the health secretary has said.

Matt Hancock revealed he was talking to the pharmaceutical industry about what extra costs the government should cover for the task of building up supplies.

He also said he was planning to switch supply from land to air for short-life medicines  although that would appear to depend on a scrambled aviation agreement with the EU.

However, Mr Hancock insisted there was no cause for alarm, saying: I am confident that, if everybody does what they need to do, then we can have an unhindered flow of medicines, even in the event of no-deal Brexit.

The response from drug companies  who have been asked to do the stockpiling  had been very good, he added.

Last month, the UK BioIndustry Association, warned that request, to ensure an additional six weeks supply, was a massive challenge for the industry.

Under the plans, hospitals, GPs and community pharmacies do not need to stockpile medicines and nor will doctors write longer prescriptions. Patients have also been advised that they do not need to store additional medicines at home.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Hancock was asked if the government would pay the bill for extra costs, such as refrigeration.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

We wont pay for the drugs themselves, because they will be sold on into the NHS, so we are not going to pay for them twice, he replied.

But we are talking to the pharmaceutical industry about the extra cost that they might have to incur in that eventuality. Of course, I hope it doesnt come to that.

Mr Hancock insisted the talks were going positively in terms of getting the deal that we want, despite the EU rejecting the heart of Theresa Mays Chequers plan.

But Tom Brake, a Liberal Democrat supporter of the Peoples Vote campaign, seized on the admission, saying: Ministers have gone from promising sunlit uplands to admitting that taxpayers may have to foot the bill for stockpiling vital medical supplies.

This dystopian vision of Brexit Britain is not what anyone voted for in 2016. People wanted a stronger NHS, not a health service on its knees, at risk of running out of medicine, equipment and staff.

Last month, Steve Bates, the head of the BioIndustry Association, pledged to be prepared for a scenario industry really does not want, but added: We should be under no illusions that this will be easy.

The plan to fly in supplies of short-life medicines will be threatened if there is a no-deal Brexit unless a specific aviation deal can be struck.

Falling back on World Trade Organisation rules will not grant the UK air traffic control rights if it leaves the EU without an overall agreement, the government has been warned.

Therefore, leaving the EUs Single Aviation Market next March without a replacement arrangement would strip most UK-based airlines of their operating licences for the 27 countries.
A secret Treasury document has raised questions about rail access to the EU after a no-deal Brexit.

The document  snapped as it was carried into a Whitehall meeting  also reveals that Philip Hammonds department has codenamed its contingency planning Operation Yellowhammer.

It warns that government departments will have to make cuts to prepare for crashing out of the EU, saying: Their first call should be internal reprioritisation.

And it acknowledges the need to maintain confidence in the event of contingency plans being triggered  particularly important for financial services.

Operation Yellowhammer is being overseen by the Civil Contingencies Secretariat, which is usually responsible for coping with emergencies such as floods and disease outbreaks.

The document was photographed just hours after the health secretary admitted that taxpayers would have to foot the bill for stockpiling NHS medicines in a no-deal Brexit.

A Treasury spokesman refused to be drawn on the paper, saying: We don't comment on leaked documents.

The yellowhammer is a bird with a bright yellow head, a brown back streaked with black and chestnut rump, often seen perched on top of a hedge or bush, singing.

Intriguingly for critics of a no-deal Brexit, its song is said to have a rhythm like a little bit of bread and no cheese.

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

There were suggestions that John Glen  a Treasury minister  rather than a civil servant, had been carrying the document when it was snapped.

Only half of one page has been photographed and only some of the words can be made out.

It states that the Civil Contingencies Secretariat held a two-day workshop last week to review departments plan, assumptions, interdependencies and next steps

The Treasurys objectives are listed as effective communications architecture to ensure confidence is maintained if Britain crashes out of the EU.

There will be a need to explain that departments should be raising Yellowhammer costs through the normal channels  through their spending terms for in-year pressures, and in their bids for 19/20 Brexit allocations for spending in that year, adding: Their first call should be internal reprioritisation.

It then refers to the need for consistent planning assumptions in a sentence that moves on to rail access to the EU.

The Treasury will also remind departments of the need to consider the financial.....commercial firms that play a role in their contingency plans.

Owen Smith, a Labour supporter of the anti-Brexit Best for Britain campaign, said: Operation Yellowhammer is the latest proof that Brexit will be a colossal act of economic self harm for the country. It's the political equivalent of dismembering yourself.

And Ben Bradshaw, who backs the Peoples Vote campaign, said: We now know the government is preparing for Brexit in the same way theyd approach catastrophes like flooding, a disease outbreak or a terrorist attack. This is not what anyone voted for in 2016.
Theresa May has been warned today that the measure she hopes will bring to justice the Russian spies blamed for the Salisbury poisonings is set to be lost after Brexit.

The European Union is on course to reject the prime ministers call for a unique deal to preserve existing security cooperation, including through the European Arrest Warrant (EAW), a study concludes.

The alarm is raised the day after Ms May announced an arrest warrant had been obtained to seize the Moscow intelligence officers suspected of being behind the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The UK extradites more than 150 suspects a year from other EU countries and sends back around 1,100  compared with less than 60 before the EAW was introduced.

Now the report, by the Institute for Government (IfG) think tank, has warned the EU is offering only a slightly better security deal than with other non-EU countries  far short of Ms Mays dream of a deep and special partnership.

A deal based on precedent would be better than no deal at all, but it would still be damaging, its report said.

The countries with the closest security cooperation with the EU, including Norway and Switzerland, do not have access to all EU databases, cannot participate fully in the operations of Europol, the EUs police agency, and have more complicated extradition arrangements with the EU.

Without the EAW, the extradition of foreign criminals would be slower and more bureaucratic, with suspects enjoying more procedural rights, the IfG said.

Police chiefs in Northern Ireland, who treasured the EAW, feared a return to the almost toxic relationship with Dublin during the Troubles, which meant extraditions could take years.

The gloomy conclusions come after Amber Rudd, the former home secretary, warned Ms May, in the Commons, that any loss of security cooperation would be completely unacceptable to the people of the UK.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

And they come despite the prime minister effectively abandoning her refusal to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) after Brexit, one major obstacle to a security deal.

The white paper that followed the Chequers deal accepted the sole competence of the ECJ in interpreting EU rules, the IfG noted  prompting Michel Barnier, the EUs Brexit negotiator, to speak more warmly of a security deal.

However, weak data protection rules remained a huge stumbling block, with the ECJ having twice struck down the UKs handling of personal data.

This years Data Protection Act could also cause problems, the report said, partly because it removed data protection rights for any investigations relating to immigration probes.

Tim Durrant, the IfGs senior researcher, warned: Both sides will have to move to avoid a serious reduction in cooperation which would only benefit criminals.

Naming the Salisbury suspects on Wednesday, the prime minister told MPs: We have obtained a European Arrest Warrant and will shortly issue an Interpol red notice.

Should either of these individuals ever again travel outside Russia, we will take every possible step to detain them, to extradite them and to bring them to face justice here in the United Kingdom.

Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman, said: The UKs access to the European Arrest Warrant will be critical in bringing these men to justice. But the arrest warrant is now in jeopardy as a result of Brexit.
Chicago did not sleep after Laquan McDonald died in October 2014, when police officer Jason Van Dyke unloaded 16 bullets into the 17-year-old.

The shooting led to months of protests, with calls for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign. The public was angry about being kept from viewing dash cam footage showing the teenagers killing. The police superintendent was fired, as the mayor  who barely sustained the damage to his political career  vowed swift changes and citywide reform.

Now, Chicago is bracing for the aftershock of Mr Laquans shooting, arriving in the form of a murder trial for the officer involved in his death.

The ramifications of any possible outcome in Mr Van Dykes trial could prove historic for a city beset with difficulties.

Police officers facing trials for shootings deaths is a rarity in America, and even fewer are ever convicted. Just 35 per cent of the 80 officers charged with murder or manslaughter between 2005 and April 2017 were convicted for those on-duty shootings, while there are nearly 1,000 police shootings a year, according to a report published by Bowling Green State Universitys criminal justice faculty.

In recent years, the acquittals of white police officers involved in the shooting deaths of black men have led to enormous nationwide protests.

Demonstators link arms in solidarity as they protest the shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white policeman and the citys handling of the case in the downtown shopping district of Chicago, Illinois, 27 November 2015. (Reuters)

When a jury found officer Jeronimo Yanez not guilty of second-degree manslaughter in the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile, thousands took to the streets for massive, mostly peaceful demonstrations across Minnesota.

Scores of protestors in Baltimore also responded to the acquittals of multiple officers involved in the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. The lack of convictions felt like business as usual in America to some of those demonstrators, including activist Duane Shorty Davis, who told the New York Times as the verdicts were announced: Youre not going to convict nobody for killing a black man in America, whether it be in New York or Chicago, Philadelphia or Baltimore.

Nearly 22 hours before jury selection was poised to begin this week, the two-term incumbent mayor of Chicago announced he would not seek re-election  after reportedly already having raised over $10m for his campaign.

 Mayor Rahm Emanuel after weekend of violence in Chicago

Mr Emanuel has struggled to reign in deadly gun violence across Chicago, appearing exasperated in one press conference after at least 66 people were shot in a single weekend last month, leaving 12 dead.

Somebody knows who did it, he said. These individuals out here in the street need to stop pulling the trigger  where is the accountability for them?

Meanwhile, Eddie Johnson, the new police superintendent, has also sought to repair a deeply fractured trust between officers and the communities they serve with varying success. In the same August press conference, Mr Johnson acknowledged Chicagos police department could be doing better while calling on residents to put down the guns.

Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Show all 7 1 /7 Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police officers clash with protesters after police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Charlotte Police officers were searching the apartment complex for a suspect with an outstanding warrant when they gunned down Scott. The victim was not the person they were originally trying to find REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte The shooting occurred at 4 pm on 20 September, a day after police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, released video showing the shooting death of Terence Crutcher by one of their officers REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Scott reportedly exited his vehicle at his apartment complex, but got back inside when he saw officers. The police report said Scott then re-emerged from his vehicle armed with a firearm and posed an imminent deadly threat to the officers REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police officers wearing riot gear block a road during protests REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Police identified two-year veteran Brentley Vinson as the officer who fired the shots. A law enforcement source told WBTV that Mr Vinson is African American REUTERS Police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott sparks riots in Charlotte Protesters demonstrate in front of police officers REUTERS

Protestors are expected to rally outside the courthouse each day of the trial. Mr Van Dyke, who has plead not guilty and is currently free on bond, is on unpaid leave from the police department while facing 16 counts of aggravated battery and six counts of first-degree murder. He is the first Chicago officer to be charged with first-degree murder since 1980.

Jury selection begins Wednesday, with the questionnaire used to select potential jurors remaining under seal.

In court filings, the officer said the teenager was lunging at him while ignoring orders to drop a knife, swinging the knife in an aggressive, exaggerated manner. His account was corroborated by his partner and four other officers.

I might be looking at the possibility of spending the rest of my life in prison for doing my job as I was trained as a Chicago police officer, Mr Van Dyke said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.

Still, it remains unclear how a jury might view the grainy dash cam footage showing Mr McDonalds death. If found guilty of first-degree murder, Mr Van Dyke will likely spend the rest of his life in jail. If acquitted, its possible Chicago could soon see a similar reaction to the outcomes of trials in Baltimore, Minnesota and across the country.
Several sick passengers at the Philadelphia airport prompted the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to hold 250 people for medical examination.

The passengers were on American Airlines flights arriving from Paris and Munich and reported flu-like symptoms like coughing, fever, or vomiting akin to the passengers on an Emirates flight at JFK International airport in New York just one day before.

Airport spokesperson Diane Gerace said in a statement: "As a precaution, all passengers on the two flightstotaling about 250 plus crewwere held for a medical review and the CDC was notified. CDC, the Philadelphia Health Department, and Philadelphia Fire Department personnel performed medical evaluations and assessments. The passengersexcept for the 12 affectedare in the process of being released."

The CDC said in a statement to The Independent: "CDC and Philadelphia public health officers worked with [medical and airport] officials to evaluate and test the ill passengers for influenza and other respiratory illnesses. 12 passengers from the two flights reported sore throat and cough; none were identified with fever. None of the passengers are severely ill, and they will be released and informed of test results in 24 hours. Passengers from the two flights who were not ill continued with their travel plans. We will have more information as test results are confirmed."

American Airlines spokesperson Leslie Scott said neither of the crews had called the airport prior to landing to alert them to ill passengers.

At this time no other Philadelphia flights have been affected, the spokesperson confirmed.

 Vanilla Ice posts video of quaratined JFK flight

It is unclear if the passengers were allowed to leave the plane in order to undergo medical examination or what exactly was affecting them.

At least 19 passengers and crew on the Emirates flight from Dubai to New York were confirmed as ill after landing. Three passengers and seven crew members from that flight were treated at a local hospital.

Of the 500 people on the Dubai flight, 106 had reported some sort of symptoms. All underwent respiratory tests at JFK.

New York City acting Health Commissioner Dr Oxiris Barbot had told reporters at the time what affected passengers was "probably influenza".

At least one passenger on the Dubai flight told CNN several people had been exhibiting symptoms before boarding the nonstop flight in the United Arab Emirates. She had asked flight attendants for a mask and commented "they should never had been allowed to board."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The Emirates plane, a double-deck Airbus 380, was taken to a location away from the terminal so emergency officials could evaluate the situation, according to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials.

Caution had likely been exercised over concerns of a disease first identified in 2012, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers). Approximately 440 people died from Mers - also known as camel flu - between 2012 and 2015, according to the World Health Organisation.

In December 2017, the US federal government lifted a three-year ban on funding the development of three diseases: Mers, influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars).

Lifting the ban helps scientists "develop strategies and effective countermeasures against rapidly evolving pathogens that pose a threat to public health, National Institutes of Healths Director Francis Collins said at the time.

Agencies contributed to this report
The Trump administration said is preparing to circumvent limits on the government's ability to hold minors in immigration jails by withdrawing from the Flores Settlement Agreement, the federal consent decree that has shaped detention standards for underage migrants since 1997.

The manoeuvre is almost certain to land the administration back in court, where US District Court Judge Dolly Gee, who oversees the agreement, has rejected attempts to extend the amount of time migrant children can be held with their parents beyond the current limit of 20 days.

But under changes proposed on Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services, the administration said it would issue new regulations that "satisfy the basic purpose" of the Flores settlement and ensure migrant children "are treated with dignity, respect and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors."

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"Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the Department's ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country," said DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, in a statement. "This rule addresses one of the primary pull factors for illegal immigration and allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress."

The proposal sets up a new immigration battle in court and comes less than three months after the Trump administration's short-lived attempt to halt an increase in illegal migration by separating children from parents who entered unlawfully. The practice was widely condemned and forced the administration to reverse course and regroup.

Thursday's proposed changes amount to the administration's new attempt to eliminate what it views as major obstacles to effective immigration enforcement. Homeland Security officials say the limits on detaining families have effectively sent a message to would-be migrants that any parent who brings a child can expect to be quickly released from custody after entering the country illegally.

The changes proposed by the administration would allow US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to expand its family detention facilities in order to keep parents and children together in custody for lengthier periods. ICE currently has three such facilities, which it calls "family residential centres," with a combined capacity of about 3,500 beds.

But those facilities are almost always full, and the limitations on child detention under the Flores settlement have been a disincentive to build more. The settlement also mandates that children can only be held in licensed facilities and the government has struggled to find states willing to do so.

While states typically license child-care facilities, none currently issues licenses to family detention centres.

According to the changes proposed on Thursday, the government will ensure new detention facilities meet current standards, "as evaluated by a third-party entity engaged by ICE." The announcement does not indicate who the third party would be.

Homeland Security officials say that will ensure that those families, many of whom are Central Americans seeking asylum, appear in immigration court.

Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Show all 14 1 /14 Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Immigrant children, many of whom are separated form their parents, are housed in Texas' tent city Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A two-year-old Honduran asylum seeker cries as her mother is searched and detained near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Undocumented migrants ride on the top of a freight train referred to as the beast, or La Bestia Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border A cage inside a US Customs and Border Protection detention facility in Texas Reuters Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy All new agents must complete a months-long training course at the New Mexico facility before assuming their posts at Border Patrol stations, mostly along the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence A group of young men walk along the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border fence in a remote area of the Sonoran Desert Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence in the US Man looks through US-Mexico border fence into the US in Tijuana, Mexico Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US-Mexico border fence US Border Patrol agent Sal De Leon stands near a section of the US-Mexico border fence while stopping on patrol on in La Joya, Texas Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border US Border Patrol Academy US Border Patrol instructor yells at trainees after their initial arrival to the academy Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Memorial service in Guatemala Families attend a memorial service for two boys who were kidnapped and killed in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala. Crime drives emigration from Guatemala to the United States, as families seek refuge from the danger Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Arrests on the border Undocumented immigrants comfort each other after being caught by Border Patrol agents near the US-Mexico border Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Detention holding facility A boy from Honduras watches a movie at a detention facility run by the US Border Patrol Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican farm workers Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, Colorado Getty Undocumented immigration across the US-Mexico border Mexican family in Arizona A Mexican immigrant family sits in the living room of their rented home in Tuscon, Arizona. The family that Arizona's new tough immigrant law had created a climate of fear in the immigrant community. Getty

The Trump administration said Thursday's proposed changes would also "formalise" the way Health and Human Services cares for migrant children in its custody. The agency oversees a network of about 100 shelters for underage migrants who arrive without a parent or who have been separated. But in recent months allegations of mistreatment and sexual abuse at several shelters have emerged and HHS has been sharply criticised for not keeping better track of children after they are released to family members or other approved "sponsors."

The administration's plans to lift limits on child detention is likely to trigger new legal challenges and could revive still-simmering anger over the Trump administration's separation of 2,600 migrant children from their parents under a border crackdown this spring. As of last week, more than 500 children were still in federal custody without their parents.

The 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement resulted from a class-action lawsuit over the treatment of migrant children in federal custody.

The proposed regulations would not take effect immediately. Publishing them in the Federal Register triggers a 60-day period for public comments. Then, advocates say, the Flores counsel who represents all migrant children in federal custody would have 45 days to challenge those regulations in court.

The proposal comes weeks after the Trump administration failed to obtain permission to detain children for unspecified periods of time from Judge Gee in Los Angeles.

Justice Department lawyers had asked for permission to detain children and parents together until their cases are adjudicated, a process that can take months.

In July, Ms Gee sharply rebuked the Justice Department's request, calling it "a cynical attempt, on an ex parte basis, to shift responsibility to the judiciary for over 20 years of congressional inaction and ill-considered executive action that have led to the current stalemate."

Advocates say the Trump administration has the authority to create regulations to replace the court agreement, but they worry that officials will ignore the substantive protections in its quest to deport immigrants.

In August, the mother of a Guatemalan toddler filed a claim alleging the little girl died in May as a result of negligent medical care while detained with hundreds of other families in Texas.

"The Trump administration is seeking to expand its power to jail families for longer in worse conditions and lock up children indefinitely in unlicensed and inhumane facilities," said Ai-jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, in a news conference last month.

"We're talking about an administration that intentionally and forcibly separated children from their parents knowing the torment and trauma that that would cause and we're now allowing them to set a new standard ... of care for immigrant children."

The Washington Post
Photographs of Donald Trump's inauguration were edited to make the crowds look larger after an intervention from the president, according to newly-released documents.

Photos were edited by a government photographer, after Mr Trump complained about initial images indicating his crowd was smaller than that of predecessor Barack Obama's first swearing-in.

The documents were obtained by The Guardian through a Freedom of Information Act request to the inspector general of the US Interior Department and appeared to confirm previous reports about calls the president made his first day in office.

Recommended Justice Department drops charges against 129 inauguration protesters

Mr Trump reportedly shared an "early-morning" phone call in January 2017 with Michael Reynolds, the acting director of the National Park Service (NPS), to complain about the photographs he had seen from the government agency.

The photos, which had already circulated across social media, showed his inaugural crowd from the day before not reaching even nearly as far as that of Mr Obama's.

The new White House had spent the large part of Mr Trump's first day in office falsely claiming his inauguration was the most-viewed in history, with the largest audience in attendance in Washington.

Despite numerous inauguration crowd sizes appearing larger than Mr Trumps, the administration pressed on, with the documents revealing that former White House press secretary Sean Spicer repeatedly called NPS throughout the day "in pursuit of the more flattering photographs".

The scene of Donald Trump's inauguration as US President on January 20 2017 (L) and Barack Obama's first swearing in ceremony in 2009 (Reuters (L) Getty (R))

Eventually, a government photographer associated with NPS edited pictures from the inauguration to crop out areas that had not been filled by audience members. The documents did not reveal whether or not the NPS or another government entity has released those edited photos to the public.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A previous inspector generals report published in June 2017 made no mention of the presidents direct involvement in the controversy, which garnered national headlines for several weeks.

Mr Trump complained about "a lot of empty areas" he had seen from his inauguration in photos released by NPS, according to one communications official whose name had been redacted from the newly-released files.

That official reportedly told investigators "she got the impression that President Trump wanted to see pictures that appeared to depict more spectators in the crowd."

Trump Inauguration protests around the World Show all 14 1 /14 Trump Inauguration protests around the World Trump Inauguration protests around the World Activists from Greenpeace display a message reading "Mr President, walls divide. Build Bridges!" along the Berlin wall in Berlin on January 20, 2017 to coincide with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United State Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World An activist holds up a sign at the "We Stand United" rally on the eve of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration outside Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York on January 19, 2017 in New York Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Protesters burn a U.S. flag and a mock flag with pictures of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump outside the U.S. embassy in metro Manila, Philippines Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Filipino protestors hold placcards during a protest rally in front of the US embassy in Manila, Philippines, 20 January 2017. On the eve of President-elect Donald Trump's inaguration as the 45th president of the United States, Filipinos and Fil-Americans held a protest in front of the US embassy in Manila to denounce the incoming US president. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Hong Kong police officers and security guards look on as an anarchist protester belonging to the Disrupt J20 movement sits after using a heavy duty D-lock and motorcycle lock to chain himself to a railing at the entrance gate to the Consulate General of the United States of America in Hong Kong to protest the inauguration of United States President-elect Donald Trump, Hong Kong, China, 20 January 2017. Two activists were arrested and taken away by Hong Kong police during the demonstration. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A banner is unfurled on London's Tower Bridge, organised by Bridges Not Walls - a partnership between grassroots activists and campaigners working on a range of issues, formed in the wake of Donald Trump's election, which aims to build bridges to a world free from hatred and oppression. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Protesters chain themselves to an entry point prior at the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, DC, U.S. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Bridges Not Walls banner dropped from Molenbeek bridge in Brussels, Belgium, 20 January 2017, in an Greenpeace action part of protests Wolrd protest in solidarity with people in the US, the day Donald Trump sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A woman holds an anti-U.S. President-elect Donald Trump placard during a rally in Tokyo, Japan, Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A Palestinian protester holds a placard during a demonstration against the construction of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and against US President-elect Donald Trump, on January 20, 2017, near the settlement of Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Banners on North Bridge in Edinburgh as part of the Bridges Not Walls protest against US President Donald Trump on the day of his inauguration Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World Russian artist Vasily Slonov (L) and his assistant carry a life-sized cutout, which is an artwork created by Slonov and titled "Siberian Inauguration", before its presentation on the occasion of the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, in a street in Krasnoyarsk, Russia Getty Trump Inauguration protests around the World A woman holds a banner during a march to thank outgoing President Barack Obama and reject US President-elect Donald Trump before his inauguration at a park in Tokyo, Japan, 20 January 2017. EPA Trump Inauguration protests around the World Palestinian demonstrators protesting this week against a promise by Donald Trump to re-locate the US embassy to Jerusalem Reuters

The NPS photographer also told investigators he was asked to edit a few more of his inauguration photos from an unidentified official, though it remains unclear where exactly that request had originated.

Mr Spicer was asking NPS officials for photos that accurately represented the inauguration crowd size, according to another person whose name was redacted  a statement that official interpreted as "a request for NPS to provide photographs in which it appeared the inauguration crowd filled the majority of the space in the photograph," which, of course, did not exist.
US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh once questioned whether the landmark decision affirming women's right to abortion access was the settled law of the land, according to leaked emails.

Mr Kavanaugh, Donald Trumps pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, questioned the underpinnings of the case  Roe v Wade  as a lawyer for former President George W Bushs White House.

His comments came in an email suggesting changes to an op-ed article that read, in part: It is widely accepted by legal scholars across the board that Roe v Wade and its progeny are the settled law of the land.

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I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so, Mr Kavanaugh wrote in response, according to emails obtained by the New York Times.

Mr Kavanaugh's opinion on Roe v Wade has been one of the defining issues of his confirmation hearing, as womens rights advocates fear the conservative judge could tip the balance of the court against the landmark 1973 ruling.

 Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh delivers opening statement

Mr Kavanaugh has so far refused to say whether he would support overturning the decision, saying only that it is an important precedent that has been reaffirmed many times.

The judge was similarly evasive when Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein questioned him about the emails during his hearing on Thursday, saying he was only referring to the views of other legal scholars.

"I think [the op-ed] was overstating something about legal scholars, and Im always concerned about accuracy," Mr Kavanaugh said.

Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London Women's rights demonstrators hold placards and shout slogans during the Time's Up rally at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street in London. Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London The Time's Up initiative was launched at the start of January 2018 as a response to the #MeToo movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Berlin Women's March in Berlin. EPA Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London The Time's Up Women's March marks the one year anniversary of the first Women's March in London and in 2018 it is inspired by the Time's Up movement against sexual abuse. Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Paris Women hold a banner reading "still feminist" with the Eiffel tower in background on the Trocadero esplanade in Paris. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London Protesters hold up placards at the Women's March in central London. Rex Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Paris A demonstator hold signs on the Trocadero esplanade in Paris during a women's march organised as part of global protests. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures London Chanting Times Up in the cold rain - On the anniversary of the Women's March on London. Rex Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Thousands of people gather holding protest signs on Central Park West. EPA Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Demonstrators take part in the Women's March in Manhattan Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Chicago A woman holds a sign during the Second Annual Womens March in Chicago AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather near Central Park before the beginning of the Women's March in New York Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington Supporters gather during the Women's March in Washington AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York The crowd lines up near Central Park Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Chicago Demostrators attend the Second Annual Womens March in Chicago AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Thousands hold signs and rally while attending the Womens March in New York Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather near Central Park before the beginning of the Women's March in New York Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the second annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People hold signs up during the women's march Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Philadelphia Oscar Janicki, 6, participates in the Second Annual Women's March in Philadelphia Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Philadelphia Crowds gather to participate in the Second Annual Women's March in Philadelphia Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the second annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York Women pose as they attend the second annual National Womens March in New York City AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the second annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather prior to the second annual National Womens March in New York City AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People take part in the Women's March in Manhattan Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People gather the second annual National Womens March AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Washington People participate in the Second Annual Women's March in Washington Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome A woman holds a banner reading "Womwn united will never be defeated" during Rome Resists demonstration part of the Women's March in downtown. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome Italian actress Asia Argento (3rdL) attends the Rome Resists demonstration part of the Women's March in downtown Rome. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome The Women's March Rome, designed to show solidarity for the protection of civil and social rights, women's rights and the environment included Italian actress Asia Argento, one of the first women to accuse US film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. AFP/Getty Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Zurich A US citizen holds a poster on the anniversary of the inauguration of President Trump apologising to the world on behalf of her country, in Zurich, Switzerland. A year after millions of people took to the streets across the US and countries around the world, women's marches are being held in lots of cities this weekend. EPA Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures New York People take part in the Women's March in Manhattan Reuters Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome A woman holds a banner reading "The rising of the women means rising of us all" during Rome Resists demonstration. AFP/Getty Images Women's March 2018 across the world: in pictures Rome A woman lifts her fist while holding a banner reading "Hear our voice" during Rome Resists demonstration. AFP/Getty

The email was met with outcry from womens rights organisations  many of which have been organising against the nominee for months, out of fear that he would threaten reproductive rights.

"Donald Trump promised to nominate anti-choice justices. These documents show that he fulfilled that promise. Brett Kavanaugh is a clear threat to Roe v Wade, said Stephanie Schriock, president of womens political organisation EMILY's List, in a statement.

Others were more concerned that the email, and hundreds like it, were being kept from the general public. A lawyer for the Bush administration turned over thousands of Mr Kavanaughs emails on Monday, but deemed them committee confidential, meaning they could not be published or even discussed during the confirmation hearing.

Its documents like these that show who Brett Kavanaugh really is. The fact Senate majority leaders are refusing to release this info is astounding, Planned Parenthood Action Fund tweeted. The public deserves transparency.
A Democratic senator has pressed ahead with this threat to release emails that purportedly link Donald Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court to racial profiling, after saying he was prepared to knowingly break the rules of the US senate.

I am right now, before your process is finished, going to release the email about racial profiling, and I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate, said Cory Booker, as senators quizzed judge Brett Kavanaugh for a second day.

Later, Mr Booker released approximately 12 pages of emails tied to discussions Mr Kavanaugh had on racial inequality while working for the George Bush White House.

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ABC News said the move by Mr Booker came as Democrats complained that documents were still being withheld. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican, said Democrats who had protested that some documents were not available had an opportunity to make their complaints beforehand but waited to do it publicly to delay the hearing.

The documents in question were not classified, it said, but are marked committee confidential, meaning members of the committee have access to them but they were not released to the public. Mr Grassley hasd reportedly designated as many as 141,000 pages of documents from Kavanaughs record as committee confidential.

Mr Bookers threat to break senate rules resulted in Republican John Cornyn of Texas, accusing Mr Booker of conduct unbecoming of a senator.

Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the senate or of confidentiality of the documents that we are privy to, Mr Cornyn said of Mr Booker, who is considered a possible Democratic contender for president in 2020.

Mr Booker said one email from Mr Kavanaugh, written while he was working with Mr Bush and which had not been made available to the public, showed the nominee was sympathetic to racial profiling by police.

 Supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh snubs handshake from father of slain Parkland student

The document in dispute was a 2002 email with the subject line racial profiling that included internal White House discussions about whether airport security and other law enforcement should strive for a race-neutral system in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.

In one of the emails, Mr Kavanaugh referred to a possible interim policy and wrote: The people (such as you and I) who generally favour effective security measures that are race-neutral DO need to grapple - and grapple now  with the interim question of what to do before a truly effective and comprehensive race-neutral system is implemented. On Wednesday, Mr Booker had questioned Mr Kavanaugh about his use of the term naked racial set-aside, and said he would make public documents backing up that assertion.

Shortly after Mr Booker acted, Mr Grassley's staff released a bulk of new emails, previously marked committee confidential. that had been cleared for public release.

Some speculated whether Mr Booker's may have been playing for the cameras. The Hill said a spokesman for the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Mr Booker was not breaking any confidentiality rules.

Restrictions were waived before 4.00am this morning and made ready for release, he said.

On Wednesday, three progressive groups  Demand Justice, MoveOn and NARAL Pro-Choice America  urged Democrats to go around Mr Grassley and release more records related to Mr Kavanaugh record as a judge. For the last 12 years he has served as appeals court judge in Washington DC, considered the second most important court other than the Supreme Court.

Chairman Grassley must not shield Judge Kavanaugh from evidence that Kavanaugh perjured himself in previous confirmation hearings, or any other documents or evidence relevant to his ability to serve on the highest court for a lifetime appointment, said the statement. Democrats know that nothing in the Senate Standing Rules or Judiciary Committee Rules grants Grassley sole authority to designate documents committee confidential or prohibit their public release.

Meanwhile, Mr Kavanaugh, raised questions as a White House aide more than a decade ago about whether the 1973 high court ruling legalising abortion was settled in law, the New York Times reported on Thursday, citing more leaked emails.

The Times said an unknown person provided several confidential emails to the newspaper late on Wednesday relating to Mr Kavanaughs work in the White House under Mr Bush. A lawyer for Bush previously turned over thousands of documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee that the Republican-led panel deemed committee confidential.

Democrats and progressives believe if Mr Kavanaugh is confirmed, he would cement the courts conservative bias and would support the overturning of the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade, which guarantees a womans right to a legal abortion.
Jeff Sessions has scheduled a meeting with a number of state attorneys general to address concerns on whether social media platforms censor speech and the free exchange of ideas.

The US Justice Departments spokesman Devin OMalley said the USs top legal and law enforcement official plans to discuss the influence of social media platforms with state attorneys general later this month.

The attorney general has convened a meeting with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms, he said.

The announcement comes after Facebook and Twitter top executives testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday morning, addressing criticism that their online platforms failed to combat foreign interference in US elections.

During the hearing, members of Congress also addressed concerns of bias on social media, and whether conservative speech has been censored or excluded from platforms. It is a claim Donald Trump has routinely touted; the US president alleged in a tweet last week that Google search results for Trump News were rigged by National left-wing media.

Google and others are suppressing voices of Conservatives and hiding information and news that is good, he wrote on Twitter. They are controlling what we can [and] cannot see. This is a very serious situation-will be addressed!

 Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey delivers opening statement at Tech senate hearing and live tweets

Facebook and Twitter, though, have been widely criticised for its censorship guidelines from people of all backgrounds and perspectives.

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Last year, civil rights groups sent Facebook a letter charging that its platform disproportionately censored Facebook users of colour, while allowing hate speech from white supremacists.

According to leaked documents on Facebooks policies, first published by VICEs Motherboard in June, the tech giant makes a distinction between white nationalists and white supremacists. Facebook allows praise of white nationalism as an ideology but not ideas of or the use of the term white supremacy.
India's Supreme Court has ruled to decriminalise gay sex, in an historic and unanimous verdict handed down by a five-judge panel that will have a profound impact both here in India and across the world.

The courtroom in Delhi was overflowing with LGBT+ activists who have battled for 20 years for this moment, and a cheer erupted as word came from inside that consensual sex between adults of any gender was no longer deemed a crime.

Until now, gay sex had been punishable by up to 10 years in prison under Section 377 of the Indian constitution, a relic of the Victorian-era laws imposed by the British Empire. It outlawed sexual activities against the order of nature and was interpreted by police and courts as referring to homosexuality.

Celebrating under a sweltering sun on the lawns outside the courtroom, LGBT+ activists said they were finally free from a law that, though rarely enforced, was the foundation for systemic discrimination and harassment of gay Indians.

Reading out his judgment on the case, the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said interpreting Section 377 to criminalise gay sex was irrational, arbitrary and indefensible.

Recommended India on brink of biggest gay rights victory since independence

Any consensual sexual relationship between two consenting adults  homosexuals, heterosexuals or lesbians  cannot be said to be unconstitutional, Mr Misra said.

Scenes of celebration were broadcast on TV and social media from Mumbai, Chennai and other cities across India, as Mr Misra observed that members of the LGBT+ community must have the same rights as any other citizen.

Anjali Gopalan, the founder of the Naz Foundation charity that has been instrumental to the fight against Section 377, told The Independent outside court it was wonderful news.

They have opened the door to discussing rights. They have apologised to the gay community, and they have said copies of the judgment will be handed to every police station. It is the best judgment we could have hoped for, she said.

 Security guards beat woman at LGBT+ event in China

Bismaya, an activist with the Delhi branch of Impulse, an LGBT+ advocacy group, told The Independent. Im so happy, its overwhelming. I cried when we heard the news.

Im gay and Im not afraid of that. Its something I used to say, but now for the first time I have the legal backing. Finally, the law is going to protect me.

Its great for me but its also a great day for the whole of India. Acceptance in wider society will take time, because we cannot expect change overnight.

It has been a battle for two decades for this judgment. If now we get full acceptance in a couple of years, that would be great.

The Indian government had left Thursdays decision up to the Supreme Court, saying it would neither fight nor directly support the five lead petitioners asking for Section 377 to be reconsidered.

Legal experts interpreted that as implicit backing for the movement, which started in the courts in 2001 with a legal challenge to the Delhi High Court from Ms Gopalans Naz Foundation.

In 2009, the High Court declared the ban on gay sex to be unconstitutional. But that judgment was overturned by a small panel of the Supreme Court, which said amending or repealing the law should be left to Parliament.

We have finally got justice, said Ashok Row Kavi, LGBT+ rights activist and founder of Humsafar Trust, outside the court.

Its great for me, but its also a great day for the whole of India  Bismaya, LGBT+ activist (Adam Withnall, The Independent)

The government had asked the Supreme Court to keep strictly to the issue of decriminalisation in its judgment, wary of opening up a whole new debate on the matter of equal marriage in what remains a very conservative society.

But activists and the petitioners themselves had asked the judges to go further. It is not only about decriminalising but recognising our fundamental rights, said Akhilesh Godi, one of the petitioners in the case.

Today they celebrated a judgment which included not just decriminalisation and an apology, but also recommendations for workshops in schools and police stations across India to try and change public perceptions.

Bhuvan, an activist working to improve gay rights in the workplace, said the judges had been beautiful, adding there was still a long journey ahead to social acceptance for gay people across the country.

We live in metropolises, he said. People in smaller cities might not even hear about this, likewise people who are not in the upper castes. It needs to percolate down to the ground  but I think all the activists here are pretty gung ho about taking this forward.

When he came out in 2012, Bhuvan said, he did not feel India was a country where I can really be myself.

Now the day has come, 6 September 2018, when finally we are able to breathe free, he told The Independent. We are first-class citizens of our country, not illegal in the eyes of the law.

Its better late than never.

India was just one of a number of Commonwealth countries that still used colonial-era laws to prosecute and punish gay people. Mukul Rohatgi, the former attorney general of India who led the case on behalf of the petitioners, asked why India in the 21st century continued to tolerate Victorian models of behaviour from the 1860s.

Paul Dillane, director of the international LGBT+ rights charity The Kaleidoscope Trust, said the ruling had truly global repercussions for the 70 other countries in the world where laws continue to criminalise consensual same-sex acts. Experts say India will now be used as a case study in legal battles brought by LGBT+ activists in other places.

Thanks to all that fought for this, braving the worst sort of prejudice, said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director for Human Rights Watch. This is a good day for human rights.
In the city of Kandy, located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka, recent attacks against Muslims by Sinhala Buddhist militants have raised fears of increased communal violence. Social media images have shown the scale of damage to Muslim neighbourhoods, with arson attacks and vandalism of Muslim-owned stores and mosques. In response the government declared a 10-day state of emergency for the first time since the end of the civil war era.

What is clear is that the recent violence is not random or isolated. Just before these current attacks, there had been an earlier attack on a mosque and Muslim businesses in the south-eastern town of Ampara.

Hardline Buddhist groups use of social media clearly showed that these attacks were carefully planned drawing in Buddhist militants from surrounding areas.

Since the Sri Lankan civil war ended in 2009, an increasing religious divide has grown, with a rise of such militant Buddhist groups, such as Bodu Bala Sena. Tapping into longstanding insecurities that the Sinhalese and Buddhist nature of the country is under threat, these groups present Islam and Muslims as a religious, cultural and economic threat to the country. Such militant groups then use social media spaces to play on these fears, fuel tensions, and encourage, incite and plan violence.

While Sri Lankas Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has temporarily blocked or restricted access to Facebook and other social media services this week, to curb ongoing anti-Muslim rhetoric, this is not an ideal solution given its wider ramifications for free speech.

Hardline Buddhist groups are strengthened in their actions by a culture of impunity where they are not held accountable for any hate speech or violence. Even leaving side the current crisis, it is striking what little the Sri Lankan coalition government has actually done to hold people accountable for acts of violence against Muslim communities. Long-term approaches dealing with communal tensions seem thin on the ground.

There is an urgent need for a strong response from the Sri Lankan government that ensures perpetrators of violence are held accountable for their actions. A relatively small number of militant Buddhist groups are having a disproportionate impact on local communities. If the government does not take a stronger stance  enforcing hate speech laws and arresting and prosecuting those responsible  there is a strong chance that increasingly we will see more targeted violence against Muslim communities and further communal conflict.

Champa Patel is head of the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House
The US and India signed a military cooperation deal on Thursday that has been more than a decade in the making, an unexpected and substantial development that American officials hailed as a breakthrough but which raised questions about what India was getting in return.

The deal will see India joint a select group of fewer than 30 countries that have agreed to align their military communications systems with Americas.

Nirmala Sitharaman, Indias defence minister, said the deal elevated India-US relations to unprecedented heights. General Mattis said the breakthrough made their alliance one of the most consequential in the region and in the world.

The US has been pushing for the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (Comcasa) for many years, saying it will allow American manufacturers to sell high-tech equipment such as armed surveillance drones into the Indian market.

India has previously said it wants such drones to monitor Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean - but baulked at the idea of potentially opening up its communications network to the US military.

For its part, India hailed an agreement from the US to begin negotiations on another deal that would allow Indian defence manufacturers to bid for projects building weapons with sophisticated US technology.

That would be a big step for Narendra Modis Make in India policy, which seeks international investment to strengthen the countrys manufacturing sector.

In other developments, the two countries also agreed to open a hotline between their foreign ministries and hold joint exercises - the first involving all three military branches in the air force, navy and the army - off the eastern Indian coast in 2019.

Gopalan Balachandran, distinguished fellow at the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, told The Independent: Comcasa has been on the table for at least the last 10 years, so this is a significant breakthrough - at least as far as the United States is concerned.

How far it is significant for India remains to be seen. They have secured a memorandum of understanding only. We still dont know what made the Indian government decide this was now a good deal, after holding out for so many years.

One factor may have been the way Donald Trump has ramped up diplomatic pressure on India's main regional rivals, Pakistan and China - earning him plenty of goodwill in Delhi in the process.

Mr Pompeo held a meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday with Pakistan's new prime minister, Imran Khan, hours after it was revealed that the US had cut $300m in aid payments to Pakistan over its alleged failure to combat militant groups.

India supports President Trumps South Asia policy, said Indias foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj. In her opening remarks on Thursday. [Trumps] call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us.

At the same time, the Comcasa deal will also give the US a good excuse to look the other way over Indias efforts to buy an S-400 air defence system from Russia, which would violate US sanctions against Moscow.

Asked about that deal, which had been framed as a major sticking point ahead of the 2+2 summit, Mr Mattis told reporters on his way to India: Freedom means that at times nations don't agree with each other. That doesn't mean we can't be partners. That doesn't mean we don't respect the sovereignty of those nations.

India is also seeking some flexibility from the US on its Iran sanctions. Delhi has been holding productive trade talks with Tehran in recent months, particularly on oil purchases, even as President Trump has insisted that any country working with Iran will have no business from the US.

Ahead of the Delhi talks, a senior US State Department official told the Reuters news agency the US was engaged in "very detailed conversations" with India over the Iran issue.

"We're asking all of our partners, not just India, to reduce to zero oil imports from Iran, and so I'm confident that will be part of our conversation with India," the official said.
Senator Joan Freeman has secured a nomination to stand in the upcoming Irish presidential election.

The election has been called for 26 October, and will see the current President Michael D Higgins seek a second term, while facing competition from Sinn Fein candidate Liadh Ni Riada, and a few potential independents.

Who is Joan Freeman?

Joan Freeman is a psychologist from Dublin who is best known for Pieta House, a suicide intervention charity she established in 2006. There are 13 centres around Ireland which provide free services for people in suicidal distress or engaging in self-harm.

From this, she launched an annual event called Darkness Into Light, in which participants walk or run for 5km as dawn breaks, to raise funds for suicide prevention. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken part, and the event now takes place in the US, Australia and New Zealand.

In 2015, she also developed Solace House in New York, to serve Irish citizens in the US.

In 2016, Freeman became an independent Senator in the Irish Seanad, after being nominated by Taoiseach Enda Kenny. She helped form Irelands first Committee on the Future of Mental Healthcare, and also chairs it.

She is married and has four children.

What does she stand for?

Ms Freeman wants to use the office of president to draw attention to mental health issues, and generate more national discussion around the problem. She has also promised to hold a summit on the issue.

Speaking in Carlow in August, she told local councillors, I am accused of being a one-trick pony, but that trick is very big.

Ms Freeman has revealed she voted No in the referendum on repealing the eighth amendment, but would be happy to sign the bill into law as president.

Nevertheless, attention has been drawn to her links to the pro-life movement, including her sister Theresa Lowe and her niece Maria Steen, who argued publicly for a No vote.

Ms Freeman has suggested the current term of seven years for an Irish president should be reduced to five.

What are her chances of winning?

Ms Freeman has secured her nomination to be on the ballot paper after winning the support of the required four country councils. These were Cork, Fingal, Galway County and Galway City.

It has been pointed out that she is relatively inexperienced in politics, having only been a senator for two years. She has also never contested an election, having been put in the Seanad by appointment from the Taoiseach.

However, she has proved fairly affable in her campaign so far, and her mental health initiative is certainly one which strikes a chord with modern Ireland.

It has also been suggested that she could represent a slightly more conservative element on the ballot paper, when compared with the famously left wing incumbent Michael D Higgins, and Liadh Ni Riada, who comes from a similar side of the political spectrum.

It is highly unlikely Ms Freeman will win the election, but the exact level of her success will depend on how many independents make the final line up
British investigators helped to disrupt a gang smuggling refugees across the Mediterranean, the National Crime Agency has said.

The group is believed to have charged refugees up to 5,000 (4,500) to be trafficked across the sea from Egypt to the Greek island of Crete.

They would then be transported on journeys across Europe and sometimes into the UK.

 Donald Trump attacks Angela Merkel for giving sanctuary to refugees

Six suspected gang members aged between 23 and 49 were arrested during a series of raids in Crete on Monday, the NCA said.

The network is said to have shown little regard for the safety of the refugees and is suspected of being responsible for circumstances leading to 60 people being rescued off the coast of Crete in an unseaworthy vessel in May.

The NCA, which leads people-smuggling task force Invigor, said the men faced prosecution in Greece for allegedly arranging accommodation and transportation of refugees, while providing them with false documents.

Members of a linked group were arrested in March last year when more than 100 refugees were found being held in caves and abandoned farm buildings, according to the NCA.

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The kind of people-smuggling networks we see operating in the Mediterranean represent a huge risk to the lives of those they transport, Chris Hogben, the head of Invigor, said.

These criminal gangs treat migrants as a commodity to be profited out of  they dont care about keeping them in horrendous conditions or using completely unsuitable or unseaworthy vessels to move them hundreds of miles across the sea.
Moscow has angrily rejected British accusations of top-level state involvement in the poisoning of a double agent in Salisbury.

Even the suggestion that the Kremlin could have been involved was "unacceptable," said Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "Neither the highest level, nor any lower ranks nor any official representatives had anything to do with the events in Salisbury."

On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May indicated that the operation to administer a nerve agent at the home of double agent Sergei Skripal was led by military intelligence, known commonly as GRU. It was, she said, "almost certainly approved ... at a senior level of the Russian state."

"This was ... not a rogue operation," she added.

 Salisbury attack: Two Russian spies named as suspects in novichok poisoning case

On Thursday, security minister Ben Wallace went further, identifying Russian president Vladimir Putin as the man ultimately responsible for the attack.

I dont think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isnt in control of his state, he told BBC Radio Four. Of course hes responsible, hes leader of the state.

Mr Peskov said that in order for Russia to take any measures to investigate the identities of the two men, the UK would need to send an official request to Moscow.

The spokesman seemed already to be aware of the official British position that it saw "no sense" in issuing an official warrant. In a statement on Wednesday, the Crown Prosecution Service said it would not be applying for extradition, citing a history of non-cooperation following similar requests.

"If they don't see any sense  we can only regret this," said Mr Peskov.
In 2001 Richard Reid, the terrorist known as the shoe bomber, tried to murder everyone on board a Paris-to-Miami flight by detonating explosives fashioned into his footwear. Happily, he failed. Since then, X-raying shoes has become part of the security procedure at airports worldwide.

As a result the range of nasty substances deposited on the trays used at airport security now embraces whatever has been picked up on the travellers shoes  of which discarded chewing gum is merely the least unpleasant.

Travel is all about exposing yourself to new experiences. But before you have even left the ground, you are exposed to a wide range of pathogens (organisms that spread disease).

The results, just published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases under the catchy title of Deposition of respiratory virus pathogens on frequently touched surfaces at airports, provides a clinical assessment of the threats that await after check-in.

The scientists looked specifically at how contaminated surfaces transmit flu and similar viruses; other nasties, such as norovirus, no doubt follow the same pattern.

Parents may be alarmed that the highest incidence, with two out of three samples showing evidence of a virus, was on a plastic toy dog in the childrens playground. But close behind, with half the samples containing viruses you really dont want to catch, were the plastic trays at the security checkpoint.

The near-ubiquitous use of these trays is a relatively new phenomenon. In the olden days, when I worked in security at Gatwick, your bag trundled through the X-ray scanner on its own. But in an age when laptops and, often, shoes need to be checked separately, trays are the way to keep airport security queues moving.

Of the surfaces tested, plastic security screening trays appeared to pose the highest potential risk, and handling these is almost inevitable for all embarking passengers, concluded the study.

Each security tray is rapidly recycled and potentially touched by several hundred passengers per day.

Travellers who acquire respiratory ailments during their journeys often blame poor air circulation on board aircraft for their illness. But the research shows a strong possibility that they picked it up right at the start of the journey.

The research is aimed at recognising hot spots for contact transmission risk  which could be vital during the next pandemic. But passengers have their part to play by not travelling when they are ill.

This week an Emirates flight from Dubai was temporarily quarantined when it arrived at New York JFK because some passengers reported feeling ill. On the One Mile At A Time blog, one online comment from Larry In NYC read, alarmingly: Will be on that flight with my family on Saturday  and two of them have been running a temperature and coughing (bacterial bronchitis they picked up from the third family member before we left home).

Quite rightly, cabin crew are told not to fly when they are suffering from contagious conditions. Airlines should also make it easy (and free) to postpone flights when passengers present medical evidence of the threat they pose to other travellers.

The best way not to become contagious yourself, of course, is not to get ill in the first place. No doubt you are meticulous about personal hygiene in normal life. But in the highly pressurised environment of an airport, it may be that you go straight from security to sit down and eat a meal.

Should you meet me in an airport security queue, I may be cheerfully stacking the plastic trays to speed the flow of passengers (and, in the case of Gatwick, to assist my ex-colleagues). But as soon as I am airside, I will go straight to wash my hands in the obsessive manner of Lady Macbeth.

By bringing the people of the world together, aviation inadvertently combines their various malaises in a terrifying microbial cocktail.

The other airport hotspot? After reading the survey I learned why you should always use contactless payment when paying at a pharmacy.

Both rhinovirus and coronavirus OC43 were detected in the same sample from buttons of the payment terminal at the pharmacy, said the researchers.

It does not take Sherlockian powers of deduction to work out that many of the people paying for stuff at pharmacies are unwell. Remember that when youre queueing to pay for those now-essential wet wipes.
The Musee dOrsay in Paris has been voted the worlds best museum.

The art museum, in an old railway station on the Seine, is most-loved for its huge collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art.

It came out top in the latest TripAdvisor Travellers Choice awards for museums around the world. The review and booking platform calculated the winners based on quantity and quality of reviews and ratings over a 12-month period.

Museums in New York took second and third place, with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum coming in second, followed by the city's landmark Metropolitan Museum of Art. Londons British Museum came fourth; and rounding off the top five was Madrids Prado National Museum.

Here's the full list:

Musee d'Orsay  Paris, France

The Musee d'Orsay is housed in a former railway station on the left bank of the Seine (Getty Images)

This Parisian art gallery is housed in the former Orsay railway station, which was built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Its well-known for its collection of impressionist art and Old Masters, including those of Paul Cezanne, Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir.

Entry fee: 14. musee-orsay.fr/en

The National 9/11 Museum and Memorial  New York City, New York

The reflective pool of the 9/11 Memorial in Downtown New York (Getty Images)

This powerful museum in downtown New York commemorates the people who died in the 9/11 terror attacks. The museum, on the site of the former World Trade Center, tells the story of the attacks through displays, archives and artifacts. The memorial pool outside, inscribed with the names of everybody who died in the attack, is free; but the museum itself requires a ticket (and likely advance booking as there are long queues).

Entry fee: $24. 911memorial.org

The Metropolitan Museum of Art  New York City, New York

The Met Museum of Art also has a hidden rooftop that looks across Central Park (AlexPro9500/iStock)

This landmark art gallery on New Yorks Museum Mile has more than 5,000 years of art from across the world in its location on Fifth Avenue.

Entry fee $25. metmuseum.org

The British Museum  London, United Kingdom

The entrance of the British Museum is as impressive as the artifacts within (PicsFactory/iStock)

The UKs best museum was founded in 1753, the first public museum in the world. It houses a number of antiquities, books, manuscripts and ethnographic material, including some high-profile pieces like the Rosetta Stone. Today it welcomes more than six million visitors.

Entry fee: free. britishmuseum.org

Prado National Museum  Madrid, Spain

Established in 1819, the Prado is considered the best collection of Spanish art and one of the world's finest collections of European art (SeanPavonePhoto/Getty Images)

Madrids premier art gallery houses work from some of Spains best painters such as Goya and Velasquez as well as a number of other masterpieces.

Entry fee: 15. museodelprado.es/en

Acropolis Museum  Athens, Greece

More than two million people visit the Acropolis Museum each year (Lefteris_/Getty Images)

This archaeological museum in Greece is focused on the findings from the Acropolis, which includes artifacts from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.

Entry fee: 5. theacropolismuseum.gr/en

Louvre Museum  Paris, France

Chinese-American architect IM Pei designed the modern pyramid entrance to the Louvre Museum (roman_slavik/Getty Images)

It would take years to see everything in the Louvre, Paris most well-known art museum. Its most famous painting is probably Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa, although theres an impressive selection of Italian Renaissance art too.

Entry fee: 15 at the museum, 17 online. louvre.fr/en

The National WWII Museum  New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans' National WWII museum was founded in 2000 (Getty)

The American experience of the Second World War is explored in this glass and concrete museum in New Orleans. Exhibits include a 4D film, war aircraft and permanent galleries examining the US contribution to the war.

Entry fee: $28. nationalww2museum.org

National Museum of Anthropology  Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology is the most visited museum in Mexico (Getty ) (Getty)

A national museum of Mexico, the National Museum of Anthropology includes significant archaeological and anthropological artifacts from Mexicos pre-Columbian heritage, such as the Stone of the Sun (or the Aztec calendar stone) and the Aztec Xochipilli statue.

Entry fee: 70 Mexican pesos. mna.inah.gob.mx

War Remnants Museum  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Artifacts within the War Remnants Museum include a US army helicopter (xuanhuongho/Getty Images)

The Vietnam War is examined at this powerful museum in Ho Chi Minh City, through often disturbing images and objects including a guillotine, brought to Vietnam by the French.

Entry fee: 40,000 Vietnamese dong. warremnantsmuseum.com
It was time to go back to school for many children in the UK this week  although Scottish schools have been hard at work for two weeks already. A good time to think about how different life must be for children in refugee camps and conflict zones around the world.

That is why The Independent is launching a campaign called Learn to Live to encourage schools in the UK to twin with schools in parts of the world affected by war, in the belief that both sides could learn a great deal from each other.

Many schools already have contacts or exchange programmes with schools in other countries, often linked with learning French or German. These are valuable initiatives, and The Independent is committed to the virtues of learning languages, in spite of the recent sharp decline in numbers taking modern foreign language GCSEs. But we hope to challenge schools to go further and to engage with pupils in more difficult circumstances, facing problems that are hard for most British people to imagine.

As we report on Thursday, the aid organisations trying to deliver education to young people in the vast refugee camps in the Jordanian desert near the Syrian border are doing heroic work. We hope that, by learning about how these millions of refugees live and about the causes of the conflicts that lead to such vast movements of people, the next generation of young British people can be even better informed and even more internationally minded than the ones that went before.

And with the support of an informed public here, organisations such as War Child, the charity set up to protect the rights of children caught up in war, can help young people in Jordan and elsewhere fulfil their potential.

Our report from the Zaatari refugee camp in northern Jordan finds pupils who want to be human rights lawyers, doctors, teachers and mechanical engineers. They are part of our future too.

As a young and optimistic news organisation, The Independent firmly believes in the promise of progress and in the possibilities of technology. With instant video communication, students in Britain can engage with those in the Middle East, Africa or Bangladesh in ways that have hitherto not been possible.

If your school, or your childrens school, would like to get involved, The Independent and the Evening Standard are working with War Child to help make these connections. Teachers and pupils can look at the charitys website for inspiration and lesson plans. We also encourage schools to sign up to Connecting Classrooms, a twinning programme run by the British Council with the Department for International Development.

We look forward to hearing about and learning from your stories.
Sweden is famous the world over for its pioneering work on gay rights, the environment, peace building, gender equality and humanitarian work. The far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) party, on the other hand, represent the polar opposite. Sceptical about climate change, pushing traditional gender roles and with a vision of zero immigration or refugees, it looks set to be kingmaker after this Sundays Swedish election.

Ulf Kristersson, the likely prime minister in waiting from the conservative Moderate Party, is in a weak position. With his party risking eclipse by SD, he will likely end up being a fig leaf for the far-right upstarts, reliant on their support to keep him in power due to his own ideological dislike of the Social Democrats.

 Donald Trump on Sweden immigration 'problem': 'I was proved to be right'

The politically vulnerable Kristersson has tried to cast himself as a maverick in the campaign who can grab Sweden by the scruff of the neck and sort out its problems, but this has failed to stop his party haemorrhaging votes to SD, which is expected to take home about 18 per cent of the vote. Behind his photoshopped election posters though, there are precious few concrete proposals to solve Swedens longstanding problems, and relying on the far-right is unlikely to change that.

SD was founded in the late 1980s as one of several fringe fascist parties competing for a handful of votes. Since the turn of the millennium, it has steadily grown and rebranded itself, changing its logo from a fascist flaming torch to a more conventional flower and playing on charismatic head Jimmie Akessons restrained leadership, supported by three ultra-loyal friends from his time at university, together dubbed the gang of four. Under their guidance, the party has gone from laughable outsiders marching in uniforms, to a polished political operation that has made inroads into the Swedish electoral system and emboldened Islamophobic and far-right voices across the country.

This week, the Swedish newspaper Expressen revealed that active and former neo-Nazis were standing as candidates for SD, despite the party claiming to have purged itself of any Nazi sympathisers. One of the other members of the gang of four, deputy parliamentary speaker Bjorn Soder, said as recently as this summer that he did not believe Jews or people with indigenous Arctic Sami heritage could be Swedish. Akesson has also previously hosted Nigel Farage and several ethno-nationalist leaders from eastern Europe at an alternative Nobel Prize ceremony where guests sipped champagne at Stockholms elite Grand Hotel.

For the past four years Sweden has had a weak but ambitious coalition between the Social Democrats and the Green Party, negotiating with the socialist Left Party and the Moderates and other two liberal parties to reach deals. The problem now is that even if the current leftist government increases its vote, the SD will likely only vote for a Moderate-led government because it realises Kristersson will be a weak prime minister who they can easily influence. This is compounded by historical antipathy towards the left by Swedens centrist parties, who would find it difficult to work with the Social Democrats and have their eye on lucrative ministerial posts in any deal.

Much has also been made of the Social Democrats  once the undeniable kings of Swedish politics  sinking to 25 per cent in the polls. This is compensated for to an extent by a resurgent Left party that is hoovering up young voters and has actually increased in popularity more than SD over the past four years. SD voters do not necessarily see the world in the same terms as the party leaders either.

A recent study by Swedish researchers has suggested its success stems from fallout from the global financial crisis in 2008 and the long term impact of the last conservative governments welfare reform programme that left large parts of the population in a precarious state. Sweden has not suddenly got more racist, but a carefully executed SD plan has succeeded in carving out territory in the vacuum left by welfare cuts and social alienation.

A glimpse of what could happen in the next few years comes from neighbouring Denmark, where an almost identical situation has led to a conservative government propped up by the nationalist Danish Peoples Party. Under its influence Denmark has just slashed funding for public service journalism and introduced draconian immigration rules alongside increased Euroscepticism and tax cuts for the wealthy.

Kristersson may well end up as Swedens next prime minister, but behind him, Akesson and his gang of four would be the ones pulling the strings. For the progressive and tolerant Sweden the world has come to know, it would represent the end of an era, and the fall of what to Swedes and foreigners alike has often seemed an impregnable bastion of European progress.
Wars are dodgy things to predict. And the vast plain below the battlefield of Idlib  not to mention the Syrian artillery battery of four 130mm guns on the heights of Mount Akrad pointing at the hot fields and deserted villages held by the Islamists to the east  bake under the white sun in silence. In the dank tributary canals of the river below, herds of black-and-white cows stand beneath the trees. A little towards the main road, Syrian soldiers rest under the bushes. A clutch of T-72 tanks are parked, hull down in the earth, beneath the branches.

Is that it, I ask myself, as I drive north towards the much-signposted town of Jisr al-Chougour? Its still in the hands of Nusrah, but only 10 miles away  you grow used to wars in which the road signs constantly point you to locations on the wrong side of front lines  and the idea that this ancient countryside with its old stone houses and the green drift of the Orontes is about to become the site of the last and final battle of the Syrian war seems strangely out of place.

Are the Syrians going to pour forth from the basin of the Orontes  Strabo and Dionysuss Orontes, the Asi river in Arabic  and lay waste to the province of Idlib which has long been the dumping ground for Syrias enemies, the Nusrah fighters and Isis and the other jihadis who refused to give up when they evacuated the big Syrian cities?

The Islamists sent a silver-painted drone over the Syrian lines a few hours before I arrived, brought down by rifle fire. Painted on the wing by Nusrah were the words: If you receive this message, there is worse to come and it was signed Tariq bin Ziad from Andalusia. It had three tiny rockets strapped to the wings. Tariq bin Ziad was the 8th century Umayyad conqueror of Spanish Andalusia. Yes, history lies heavily on you in these parts.

 Syrian Army convoy heads to Idlib frontline for as forces gather for battle against militants

But back to the present. Is this really about to be the Berlin 45 of this vast tragedy? The scene of unprecedented human loss, as the UN fears? The massacre of which Erdogan warns? The wreckless advance into Idlib of which Trump roars? The final lancing of the abscess of terrorism of which Sergei Lavrov talks  in full Israel-speak, I might add, for that is the language Israel uses about Hamas in Gaza? Lavrov has become quite a terrorist expert as we head towards this particular armageddon  always supposing armageddon actually happens.

I guess you have to be a bit of a detective when you drive around these roads and laneways and up into the foothills where General Jihad Sultans guns are dug in behind their earth revetments. The Islamists must have drone-photographed these mountainsides many times (and so must US satellites) and the Russians know them perfectly well because they are Syrias allies. These guns are not for show. They fired this very morning after rockets were reportedly aimed at the Syrians. But where were the legions of ground troops, the massed armour for the great advance? Plenty of villagers close behind the Syrian lines, sitting in coffee shops, driving cattle into the fields, hanging out washing on fences.

Hours after I left Jourine, a spray of rockets and missiles were fired by Islamist rebels onto the Syrian front lines, exploding across the town. The attack was short  the second in a week  and clearly intended to provoke the Syrian army. Since the usual suspects  the armed opposition in Jisr al-Chougour  cant be arrested, they can, I suppose, expect the usual shellfire.

Beneath photos of Putin and Assad, General Jihad Sultan (foreground). Photo: Nelofer Pazira (Nelofer Pazira)

One of the first things I notice in General Sultans office  he holds the title of commander of the Idlib security committee, although we are still (just) in the province of Hama rather than in the province of Idlib  are two large photographs above his desk of Presidents Bashar al-Assad and Vladimir Putin. Two equally large Syrian and Russian flags flank the coloured portraits. This may not be a joint Russian-Syrian operation on the ground  I saw one Russian military police vehicle on my whole drive up from Hama  but in the air it surely will be, if it happens. General Sultan, who was a tank lieutenant at the Lebanese battle of Sultan Yakoub during the 1982 Israeli invasion, talks of our Russian friends, and insists to me that from zero hour, it will take me seven days to be inside Jisr al-Shugour.

The town was evacuated under fire by the Syrian army in 2015, its soldiers shot down by Nusrah firing squads beside the Orontes while their comrades fought their way out with as many civilians as could flee. Nusrah also killed families  there is no doubt about this particular bloodbath (it was a retreat) at the time; I interviewed the wounded survivors myself  and it may have been the catalyst for Russias arrival in support of the Assad regime a few months later. So this little town, which I can actually see through the heat haze with binoculars, has scores to settle.

General Sultan, a short-haired pointy-headed man who has been in the Orontes basin for three years, claims he has many helpers in Idlib province who send him information about opposition fighters and weapons. He produces a mobile phone. One of them sent me this picture, he says. It shows a number of men erecting what appears to be a large iron gallows, apparently in the town of Maarat el-Numan, now held by Nusrah, though fought over many times, bombed by Syrians and Russians and bathed, too, in the blood of history. In this town, the Crusaders themselves wrote of how, travelling down from Antioch (Antakya), they were starving and forced to eat the bodies of their Muslim Saracen opponents.

And  yes, one has to keep saying this  back to the present. Above a group of General Sultans officers, who are tapping away on black laptops, is a laminated operations map of the entire peninsula of opposition territory as it bulges down the Orontes, detailed and, of course, in Arabic, dozens of Syrian and Nusrah positions marked off along the front lines.

Syria is coloured red. Nusrah and its allies are marked in black. Moving around these lines  and up northwest of Lattakia and southwest of Aleppo  are Syrias top generals, including the ruthless commander whom every Syrian calls The Tiger; and there is one-legged General Saleh, victim of a landmine east of Aleppo, and the general whose men call him Caesar after his battle with Isis east of Hama last year.

But these commanders dont go in for head-on attacks. Their proven tactics are the old salami routine of nipping off a bit of territory here, straightening a front line there, gobbling up a village or two after the opposition have fled. Could the last big battle of Idlib turn out to be a rather slower affair than the worlds politicians  and editors  imagine?

A Syrian soldier stands guard over a Russian-made 130mm gun on the heights of Mount Akrad, northern Syria. Photo: Nelofer Pazira

Plenty of time for Russian-Turkish talks, Russian-American talks, lots of hours of local reconciliation meetings between Syrian opposition fighters and the Syrian army  with the Russians present, for this is just what happened so many times in Homs and Damascus and Deraa. In Deraa, indeed, there are today villages nominally under government control, yet still patrolled by armed non-government forces with government acquiescence under a complex ceasefire agreement.

But where will all the fighters, who have sworn never to surrender, go to next? This is the question. When they surrendered their bastions in the big Syrian cities, they were all bussed to the Islamist dustbin of Idlib. There is a land corridor between Idlib and the Turkish frontier  and there are Turkish military de-escalation posts inside Idlib  the 12 scarcely twelve miles from General Sultans headquarters. The Syrians can stay but the foreigners must leave, Sultan insists  this is the standard line  but who will take the foreigners back? I doubt if Vladimir Putin, staring down from the wall in Sultans office with those pale blue, unsmiling eyes, is going to welcome the Chechens back to Chechenya. Nor Turkmenistan the Turkmens. Nor Uzbekistan the Uzbeks. What of them and those others who decide to fight on amid the civilians of Idlib?

So this doesnt mean that Idlib will end with a whimper. The bowl of sky above Jisr el-Chougour was empty when I looked across the plains of the Orontes but a day earlier, there had been several Syrian air raids. The opposition claimed 10 civilians dead  they rarely mention militia casualties  but there are also families of government soldiers among the tens of thousands of civilians in Idlib province. General Sultans thesis  and you can stare across at the grey, battered and empty villages on the Nusrah side of the line and search in vain for a single human being  is that foreign Islamist fighters have put their own families in Jisr el-Chugour, a dangerous undertaking for the opposition, if true.

He talks very freely about the soldiers who deserted the Syrian army in the early days of the war  and of how many returned to the ranks. He speaks of the poverty which drove men to join the opposition. Then by 2015, they realised theirs was not a fight for democracy and human rights. And our friends from the Russian Federation supported us with suitable weapons as Syria fought on.

He agrees that the Syrian army was trained to fight in hills  for the final battle for Israeli-occupied Golan, rather than the final battle for Nusrah-held Idlib. And Idlib is obviously in the opposite direction to Golan, as he agrees. Golan is therefore presumably still to come.

And that is another story.
It was encouraging to see Tony Blair smiling with the far-right Matteo Salvini, Italian Interior Minister and Federal Secretary of the Northern League in Italy, after a meeting he said was friendly and positive.

Blair has always been a fan of the centre ground, which is why he befriends and advises such famous centrists as Colonel Gadaffi, President Assad, the government in Azerbaijan and now Salvini. He has no time for the extreme ones, as they could never win seats in areas like Nuneaton.

Salvini ordered a census of the countrys Roma population, using the same laws established by Mussolini in the 1930s, and said anyone who isn't Italian will be deported, adding that he unfortunately wont be able to deport the Italian Roma. These are the sort of people a Labour leader should be mates with, not those awful characters Jeremy Corbyn hangs about with, who say rude things about ethnic groups.

This is why some people demand a new party of "the centre", that follows the values of Blair and can win support in areas Corbyn never could. Before last years general election, these people said: Its all very well winning support in the Labour heartlands, but Corbyn has to win in Canterbury and Sussex. After the election they said: Its all very well winning more votes in Canterbury and Sussex than Blair got in 1997, but he has to do better in the Labour heartlands.

If Corbyn had won in both, Stephen Kinnock would say, "thats all very well, but he has to win amongst marsupials. And his standing in the wallaby community is shocking. If Jeremy cant do more to reach out to kangaroos hell never win an election, so while I have immense respect for him, for the good of the party, he should set himself on fire.

Tony Blair and Matteo Salvini meet at the latter's official ministerial residence in Rome (Matteo Salvini/Twitter)

This new party is something the country is crying out for, said businessman Simon Franks, who promised that he would fund it.

This was clear from the first leadership election that Corbyn won. The candidate Blair backed, Liz Kendall, won 4 per cent of the vote. If supporters of this new party were working in a research department, theyd say: "This chocolate bar was approved by 52 per cent, so instead lets market the other one, made of beef dripping with cactus spikes, as it's preferred by 4 per cent. People are crying out for it."

In Scotland in 2015, where Labour was run by supporters of Blair such as Jim Murphy, Labour fell from 36 seats in the Scottish parliament to just one. In Germany, Greece and Spain, support for parties that governed "from the centre", with Blairs support, have collapsed  in Greeces case down to just 5 per cent of the vote.

And Hillary Clinton managed to lose to a man who pulled that old election-winning trick of boasting: I grab women by their pussies. This must be because around the world, people arrive at the polls and cry out "party of the centre" all day, leaving themselves no time to vote.

Blairs reason for being in the centre was that we have to be realistic. That's now cleverly been updated to "we have to be so realistic, we deny the reality".

Maybe their problem  and they may need to look into this, as its complicated  is that things can change. Perhaps, things that were popular once arent popular any more. For example, millions of people today love Ed Sheeran, but if he made up stories as an excuse to invade Iraq, his sales might dip somewhat. The public can be fickle bastards.

Or maybe this is wrong. Maybe a new centre party would thrive by proposing to do all the things that were popular 20 or 30 years ago. It would storm to power by promising schools made of asbestos, and Sunny Delight. Its leaders could be Lance Armstrong or Rolf Harris.

One problem that supporters of this new party have is they dont appear to have any ideas  other than that they hate Jeremy Corbyn. If they were asked, what are your views on Tudor architecture?, theyd say: "Its clear from the opinion polls that Jeremy Corbyns attitude towards the arches at Hampton Court Palace is deeply offensive to the Tudor community. Thats why I will be joining Cardinal Wolsey in a demonstration across Jeremys allotment tonight to stamp on his beetroot."

Last week, supporters of the new party met formally for the first time, and in this meeting "one executive, Adam Knight, split and left with his staff, according to The Times. So that is an achievement, to have no policies and still manage to split over which no policies to adopt.

The response to the banking crash that seems to be winning support across the West, is a nationalistic one, from characters such as Trump, Boris Johnson and Salvini. In opposition to that are those who propose redressing inequality, such as Bernie Sanders and Corbyn. Maybe these people are the new centre, whereas the old centre has a novel method of opposing fascism, which is to smile with it and tell everyone it was friendly and positive and a refreshing change from people who are extreme.
Work in progress: Tetrarchs Moxy Hotel at Sackville Place is just one of a number of developments taking place as part of the regeneration of Dublins north city

The extension of the Luas green line to Dublin's northside has brought more shoppers to four of the main shopping streets north of the Liffey but some of the southside shopping streets have seen declines in consumer numbers.

This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from the latest footfall figures compiled for We Are Dublin Town, the business improvement organisation which is funded by local businesses and which promotes key areas of the city centre for consumers and businesses.

During the first eight months of the year, following the introduction of the Luas extension, the Henry Street and Mary Street shopping district saw a 4pc increase in footfall to around 600,000 pedestrians per week bringing the amount of people on the street to an annual level of more than 24 million.

An even bigger upsurge of 17.5pc was seen in footfall on Talbot Street which connects Henry and O'Connell streets to the busy Connolly Station and Busaras with its national bus links. But Talbot St was coming from a lower base with annual footfall of only about 10 million.

In contrast, as more commuters remained on board Luas at St Stephen's Green, the busy Grafton Street, which has annual footfall of about 35 million, suffered a 5.5pc drop in pedestrians compared to the same period in 2017. Neighbouring South William St, which has become a hive for trendy bars and restaurants, also saw a slightly smaller 3.5pc dip compared to the same period in 2017.

Richard Guiney, chief executive of We Are Dublin Town (WEDT) says that the extension of the Luas was a key factor affecting Grafton and South William streets as before the extension, southside commuters who worked in the northside and other city centre areas got off at the St Stephen's Green terminus and many walked through Grafton and South William streets. Now those commuters are taking the Luas to Dawson, Westmoreland or O'Connell streets.

However Mr Guiney traces Grafton Street's declining footfall back even before the Luas extension to August 2015 when the bus gate was introduced and this prevented private cars from driving westwards to College Green and south to Nassau Street after certain hours.

"Since then some drivers have been put off travelling to the city centre because of the perception that it's difficult to get parking," he adds.

Yet another factor has been online shopping. Mr Guiney says that overall footfall figures for Dublin city centre suggest a 2.5pc decline for the first eight months of the year. He says this is in line with trends recorded by Springboard, the organisation which uses cameras to record pedestrian footfall on city streets in Ireland and abroad. Over the same period UK city shopping streets saw declines of over 4pc.

In contrast to Grafton Street, nearby South Great George's Street which is in an area known as the Creative Quarter, saw an increase of 1.5pc in the numbers of pedestrians.

"This is also a slower growth rate after double digit growth in recent years following the much improved food and beverage offer in the area," Mr Guiney says.

Another factor that may have affected Dublin footfall during spring was the bad weather as borne out by shopping centre giant Hammerson. It blamed Storm Emma for a 3pc drop during the first half of this year at Dundrum Town Centre, the Ilac Centre as well as the Pavilions in Swords, where it is joint owner.

Mr Guiney points out that the shopping aspect of each street can differ a lot. "Henry Street and Mary Street are destinations where most of the pedestrians go to shop. In contrast a much higher portion of Grafton Street pedestrians are transiting the street to other areas such as Trinity College or Dublin's main office district in Dublin 2," he adds.

The increased northside footfall should boost the confidence of developers in rejuvenating key but long vacant O'Connell Street sites such as The Carlton owned by Hammerson, and Clerys, which is expected to be purchased by firms linked to the family of Belfast-born property investor, Paddy McKillen.

It may also accelerate debate around the possible redevelopment of the GPO and spur Irish Life to convert more of its Marlboro Street properties to retail.

Talbot Street appears to have benefitted most from the Luas extension but it remains to be seen if this will be reflected in more shoppers and improved retail, food and beverage outlets. At present it is dominated by homeware, knick-knack shops, food outlets and traditional stores some of which are losing out to suburban retail parks and online retailers.

While Talbot Street has always been known as the street connecting O'Connell Street's pedestrians to national transport links, it now appears that more travellers who alight from their DART and national rail and bus services are walking through the street to take the Luas at Marlboro Street or O'Connell Street. Meanwhile increased numbers of northsiders from Cabra and Phibsboro alight at Marlboro Street and opt for the same route.

The two streets also look set to benefit from new hotel developments. Tetrarch, owner of the Marker and CityWest hotels, is progressing building work for its new 158-bedroom Moxy budget hotel at Sackville Place and also facing the Luas stop at Marlboro Street.

On Talbot Street itself, Noel and Clare Tynan are expected to proceed with their plans to convert the former Guineys department store into a five storey, 44-bedroom hotel extension next to their existing business at Le Bon Crubeen and The Celt Pub.

The presence of Mike Ashley's Sport Direct on pedestrianised North Earl Street should also help draw the crowds.

Footfall should also increase following development of new hostels catering for hundreds of students at the nearby Gardiner Street. In addition the completion of Dublin's north docklands regeneration, which is now well underway, may also add to the pedestrian numbers

However Dublin City Council will also need to make Talbot Street more pedestrian friendly if it is to enhance the northside shopping experience.
My column last week on the State's inability to build significant numbers of social and affordable housing saw an unprecedented response. I was contacted by county councillors, developers, estate agents and various professionals. There was a strong common denominator to the feedback - bureaucracy is the biggest problem. With the housing crisis dominating the headlines, it's worth looking at some of the related issues.

Dublin local authorities (at least) own huge amounts of land, much of it zoned and suitable for housing. Councillors who contacted me expressed frustration at the local authority procurement processes, which are preventing building. They also said that despite the allocations of public funding to build houses, the funds are insufficient. For example, Dublin City Council's funding allocation for 2017 for construction projects was 44.6m. That's enough to build 200-250 houses, but there are 20,510 people on the Council's housing list.

Local authorities also have the ability to build at relatively low cost. A recent Department of Public Expenditure and Reform review of housing policy noted that local authorities can build dwellings at a net cost of 130,000, excluding site cost and a developer's margin, and circular inter-departmental costs such as Vat and planning levies.

So local authorities have the land - and the ability to build at reasonable prices. As architect Mel Reynolds puts it, the local authorities also have the power to re-zone land in four to five months and can grant themselves a Part Eight planning permission in 16 weeks. Local authorities could be using agricultural land they already own and re-zoning it residential - and they have the planners and designers to design housing schemes, which could be reproduced in different areas.

Once schemes are designed and planning granted, councils should then license out plots of land to private sector developers, or co-operatives, who are funded off-balance sheet.

Where there are infrastructural deficits, the local authorities can also access the LIHAF (Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund) funding of 250m, which was made available last year.

Into the mix now comes the new National Land Development Agency, which is to have sweeping powers of compulsory purchase in order to create development sites around the country. The agency will be charged with identifying sites for acquisition, including State-owned lands, and private lands some of which are being re-zoned for housing.

Certainly a central body is needed to buy out disparate ownerships and create large, viable sites, but the local authorities have this power already - and haven't been using it. The new agency may bring some focus but I fear that it is just another layer of bureaucracy on top of a dysfunctional system.

Slane Castle Brewing Up a Storm

Many of Ireland's historic castles have been maintained by embracing conversion to commercial uses and I was amazed at the level of activity at Slane Castle, Co Meath, on a visit there last week. The castle, on an estate of 1,500 acres, was damaged by a fire in 1991 and Lord Henry Mount Charles restored it, funded by a series of rock concerts.

Commercial activity at the castle, home to the Conyngham family since 1703, has expanded further, with the recent addition of a whiskey distillery, which has seen a 45m investment, in a joint-venture with US brewer, Brown-Forman Beverages. A series of stables and outbuildings have been beautifully converted into the distillery, a bar and retail showrooms. It's a stunning restoration job.

Visitors can also tour the castle. Alex Conyngham, son of Lord Mount Charles, told me that their restaurant hosts 1,000 guests every week. The castle, with 10 bedrooms, can be hired for weddings and corporate events.

info@paulmcneive.com
There will be no scaling back the ambitious expansionary targets set out for the agri-food sector in Food Wise 2025, a senior Government minister has stated.

"Agriculture is critical to the Irish economy. We will make sure that it continues to be protected," Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan told a farm event.

"Any review of the sector will have to be carefully conducted in conjunction with industry and the farm organisations," .

Minister Flanagan said the government is intent on "protecting the broader agri-food sector from further shocks", given the challenges already coming its way from Brexit.

Event

The Minister was speaking at the IFA's Smart Farming event, on Joe Deverell's farm in Offaly last Friday, where he stood in for Climate Action Minister Denis Naughten.

Last week, Minister Naughten stated that the Government's plan to address climate change is expected to be radically revised in the coming months.

Agriculture accounts for more than 30pc of Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Food Wise 2025 envisages a 60pc increase in agricultural production and 85pc increase in exports. This is closely linked to other ambitious targets for the agri-food sector.

Meanwhile, IFA president Joe Healy says farmers are demonstrating their desire and willingness to embrace the sustainability agenda.

"Despite average farm incomes being just over 31,000, we are prepared to continue to invest to safeguard the environmental integrity of our businesses," he told the Smart Farming event.

Mr Healy said that over 200,000 carbon assessments have been carried out through Bord Bia's Origin Green programme, with 90pc of Ireland's beef exports now participating in a carbon footprinting programme and 100pc of milk produce entering a carbon auditing cycle.

Low-input

In addition, over 40pc of all farmers are participating in the Green Low Carbon Agri Environment Scheme, GLAS.

The actions already taken under this programme include the establishment of 240,000ha of carbon sequestering low-input permanent pasture, fencing of 13,000km of water- courses and the establishment of 360km of arable grass margins.

"Given such progress, there is a strong rationale for the re-opening of GLAS to new entrants," Mr Healy asserted.

However, despite farmers' best endeavours, big challenges remain, according to the IFA leader. "The future sustainable growth of the sector is intrinsically linked to support for farm incomes and policies that encourage investment at farm level," he said.
Fine Gael Senator Michelle Mulhern said greater consideration should be given to farmers.

Any measures to reverse failures to reach climate change targets should consider rural-proofing an Oireachtas committee has heard.

At a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee for Climate Change, members raised concerns that farmers will be unfairly impacted by some of the recommendations outlined in the citizens assembly report pubished in April.

Fine Gael Senator Michelle Mulhern said greater consideration should be given to farmers.

I would say in a general sense the farmers would feel there wasnt enough consideration given to them, she said.

I am concerned in relation to the farming community. There was quite a negative reaction from a lot of farmers and a lot of farming organisations, and to be honest I dont blame them, Ms Mulhern added.

The idea for them that theyre going to get another carbon tax slapped upon them is very daunting.

In the Citizens Assembly Report 89pc of members recommended a tax on greenhouse emissions from agriculture while 80pc said they would support a move to higher taxes on carbon intensive activities.

Independent Donegal TD Thomas Pringle suggested the committee should propose measures to rural-proof any actions taken to reduce emissions from private vehicles.

Its not feasible for people living in Donegal to go for public transport because there is none.

The reduction of traffic in Dublin is more feasible because you have public transport there whereas the people in Donegal out of necessity have to travel and have to use private transport because there is not public transport, Mr Pringle said.

Meanwhile, the committee also heard that Met Eireann could play a greater role in informing the public of the effects of climate change.

I think their broadcasts would provide an excellent platform for updates on climate change and encouragement on climate action, said Offaly TD Majella Corcoran Kennedy

We saw the invaluable service Met Eireann provided during Storm Ophelia, Storm Emma and even during the recent heatwave.

I met with Met Eireann and Minister Naughten last year to discuss this proposal and I hope it will be progressed soon.
AIB chief financial offer Mark Bourke will leave the bank next year. Photo: El Keegan Photography

AIB chief financial offer Mark Bourke will leave the bank next year, the company announced today.

The bank said Mr Bourke had told the board of his intention to step down from his role and as a director of the group. He'll leave in early 2019 following completion of his notice period.

Mr Bourke was CEO at listed financial services group IFG for eight years, before opting to take a substantial pay cut to join state-owned AIB - where a 500,000-a-year salary cap applies - in April 2014. Since then he's played a key role at the bank, including in relation to the majority state owner lender's re-flotation on the stock market last year.

His departure is likely to revive concerns raised by AIB's management about the pay cap.

The Government, as majority owner, crushed an AIB proposal for a deferred bonus scheme in April, despite AIB CEO Bernard Byrne warning the bank had suffered "very high turnover rates for senior positions".
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has published a 'road map' of actions Ireland is taking to cut down on corporate tax avoidance, but insisted it won't drive away foreign direct investment (FDI).

The road map sets out legislative actions to bring Irish rules in line with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) drive to tackle large-scale tax avoidance by multinationals and the European Union's Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive.

The changes won't affect Ireland's corporate tax rate, Mr Donohoe said.

"We are standing robustly behind the continued maintenance of the 12.5pc tax rate and our ability to be able to set that."

The minister outlined tax changes undertaken here since Ireland signed up to the OECD's so-called base erosion and profit shifting (Beps) targets in 2015.

However, Ireland continues to be dogged by claims about its tax regime - notably including the European Commission's Apple tax ruling - which found the tech giant had been under-taxed to the tune of 13bn.

Although that ruling is being appealed by Apple and by Ireland, the Government commissioned economist Seamus Coffey, of University College Cork, to prepare a wide-ranging report on the Irish corporation tax regime in its wake.

It has fed into proposed changes - including new legislation next year on transfer pricing - the complex structures used by multinationals to value services and goods traded between subsidiaries that can have massive taxation implications.

A significant part of the EU's Apple tax investigation focused on how Irish tax officials treated transfer-pricing arrangements within the corporation.

Yesterday's road map doesn't say how transfer-pricing rules here will change, but said there will be a consultation period with industry and others ahead of new rules being proposed.

The Government will also consider the potential impacts of moving to a territorial tax regime here, something the US did this year as part of Donald Trump's major corporation tax shake-up.

Most OECD members have territorial tax regimes, so that tax is charged only on profits made in the country, but the reality is complicated by the location of profit-generating activities and intellectual properties and international tax treaties.

"Tax rules need to continue evolve to match the modern world, and that evolution can best take place through international agreement at the OECD and the Beps Inclusive Framework," Mr Donohoe said.

He noted that a report by the OECD has highlighted falling corporate tax rates as a global trend. Later this week, Mr Donohoe and his fellow EU finance ministers will discuss European Commission proposals to levy a new tax on companies' digital turnover.

EU governments broadly agree that taxation should capture more digital economy profits, but are split on how and when to act. France and Italy, which claim to have lost millions of euro of tax revenue due to digital giants' profit-shifting, want action at EU level this year.

Ireland opposes pressing ahead with taxes that will hit big employers here, including Facebook and Google, and wants consensus from the larger OECD membership, including the US, by 2020.
There was a sharp rise in activity in the services sector in August.

The improvement was driven by strong client demand, according to the latest Services Purchases Managers Index (PMI) from Investec.

Headline PMI increased to 58.0, having fallen to a four-month low of 57.4 in July. Any reading over 50 is deemed growth.

The rate of expansion in new export business slowed to a five-month low during the month. However, this index also pointed towards strong levels of growth, with some panellists reporting higher order volumes from clients in the UK. Companies responded to increased demand by adding to headcounts at the fastest pace seen so far this year.

Rising new business resulted in a further accumulation of backlogs of work during August, although the pace at which outstanding business increased eased.

Turing to margins, and input costs rose sharply, which panellists attributed to higher staff and fuel costs. In response, service providers raised their selling prices to the greatest extent since March.

Looking ahead, while there has been a slowdown in expected levels of business in 12 months' time, the level remains consistent with strong optimism, the PMI showed.

More than 44pc of panellists foresee a rise in activity over the coming year, against 6pc who expect a decline. Optimism is again greatest in the tech, media and telecoms (TMT) sector.

"This week's PMI releases suggest that the rate of growth in activity across much of Ireland's private sector remains strong," Philip O'Sullivan, economist with Investec, said.
Appeal: IAPI president and Publicis director Jimmy Murphy said advertising must lead Irish business by being at the vanguard of diversity and inclusion. Photo: Jason Clarke Photography

As Ireland's advertising industry continues to morph, the body charged with the task of reacting proactively to the changes plans to tackle what's euphemistically termed "the challenges" - a polite word for problems - that face adland. The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) has just set up a think tank comprising some of the industry's heaviest hitters.

The elephant in the agency is still tech and how adland can best get to grips with giving clients the latest in digital, while campaigning for the wow factor spawned by good old-fashioned insights, ideas and traditional media. IAPI president and Publicis director Jimmy Murphy has spoken out on what changes adland needs to make.

While addressing a recent International Women's Day seminar, Murphy said advertising must lead Irish business by being at the vanguard of diversity and inclusion. While advertising was once a haven for non-traditional people where differences were a plus, it now lags behind the seismic changes now evident in Irish society.

Last year, Dynamo's deputy MD, Charlotte Barker and Fiona Field, deputy MD at Mediaworks, joined the IAPI board, bringing its female members to five out of 11. The last IAPI census showed that 52pc of staff in IAPI member agencies were female, but women only held one of five senior roles.

Paid maternity leave was a problem for many years, but has greatly improved. Undoubtedly, IAPI's top initiative has been Adfx, which Tania Banotti did so much to nurture during her time as the institute's CEO. What started out as adland's way of being accountable and justifying budgets, graduated into valued learnings for clients.

The last IAPI census showed that only six per cent of the 1,800 or so people in adland are over the age of 51. It's partly down to the number of people who left the business during the recession and didn't return. But Murphy believes there's an unconscious bias at play. Data analysis is an in-demand skill, but when it comes to hiring, adland lost out to other sectors.

Among those charged with shaping IAPI's future with a new mission statement are Core's Alan Cox; Ray Sheerin, Chemistry; Jill Byrne, Rothco; Dentsu Aegis's Liam McDonnell; Jason Nebenzahl, PHD; and Jonathan Forrest, In the Company of Huskies. Former McConnells MD and UCD lecturer John Fanning is also lending his considerable expertise.

The winners of Adfx 2018 will be announced in the RDS on Thursday, September 27.

The awarding of the rebranding of Limerick to M&C Saatchi prompted a generous amount of media coverage. RTE Radio 1's 'Drivetime' show latched on to the London agency's ties with Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party campaigns. Irish Independent political writer and Limerick man John Dowling compared the rebrand to Guinness Light, and its 'They said it could never be done' slogan, to which some observers added " and they were right".

While M&C Saatchi has a recent history of handling major brand campaigns for destinations worldwide, some Irish branding agencies may feel a little hard done by in not being offered a shot at the contract.

As expected, Liberty Global has gone with Richard Branson's distinctive Virgin Media red in bidding farewell to TV3's purple patch in rolling out Virgin Media TV. Publicis and Mindshare combined to create an out of home campaign over three cycles.

An in-house team at Virgin TV produced channel idents and bumpers, plus a feature-length promo with stars superimposed on well-known landmarks.

Lifeforce wholefood is to sponsor this weekend's Vitality Expo in Dublin's RDS. The event is presented by Health Stores Ireland and INM Events, with 160 exhibitors showcasing products. Speakers include British nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville and Sunday Independent health and wellness columnist Alison Canavan.

And finally... Diageo is rolling out a new draught and canned lager called Carlsberg Unfiltered. Marketing manager Alan McAleenan says the brand extension is a cloudy pilsner with the filtration removed during brewing to enhance taste. Will we soon see TV ads with Carlsberg ambassador Mads Mikkelsen return in his armchair in a Danish woodland setting, explaining what unfiltered means? Probably.
Actor/director Alan Autrys latest film Victory by Submission comes to Ringgold to aid Habitat for Humanity of Catoosa County, Boynton Lions Club of Ringgold and the Share America Foundation, Inc.

We are extremely excited to partner with producers to help provide funds for our next Habitat house, said Penny Mahon, Habitat for Humanity of Catoosa County executive director.

The organizations will host the Chattanooga premiere on Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. at Ringgold High School Auditorium, 29 Tiger Tr.

Partnership is the key to this event, all of us our working together to make a difference in the lives of those we serve, for the Lions, we will be able to help Catoosans see better, said President Tom Rector.

Mr. Autry, best known as Bubba Skinner on TVs In the Heat of the Night and most recently on Hart of Dixie, assembled the cast. Other stars include Brett Prieto, Lee Majors, Eric Roberts, Fred Williamson and actress Rachel Hendrix of October Baby.

His former co-star Randall Franks, Officer Randy Goode of In the Heat of the Night, who is the Share America Foundation president, will host the premiere.

The event will help Share America encourage youth in Appalachian music through scholarships, he said.

Mr. Autry said the film is about love, mercy, redemption and restoration of relationships. He said it touches on real life struggles, from PTSD to alcoholism.

"There is pain and brokenness in this story but ultimately it's the story of triumph through faith, Mr. Autry said. Its about a young fighter who has a burning desire to be a champion but before he can become a true champion - Gods champion. He has to defeat the toughest opponent of his life  himself. I can relate to that and I know a lot of other folks can too.

Mr. Autry cast actor Brett Prieto in the role as his estranged son who is a new husband and aspiring fighter.

"Blood, sweat and tears went into this thing," Mr. Prieto said.

Mr. Prieto, who is also a former police officer, said he's fulfilling a life-long dream.

Rounding out the all-star cast are legendary actors Lee Majors, Fred Williamson and Academy Award Nominee Eric Roberts.

The Six Million Dollar Man Mr. Majors character paints the right path for Mr. Autrys character.

The world today is in a bad place, Mr. Majors said. There is a lot of darkness out there and a lot of hate. These kinds of pictures need to get out especially one like this. It involves a sport that a lot of people like and yet to see a faith-based movie set in that genre is really good. If you are longing for something in life go to it and check it out."

Though the story follows family relationships between father and son, brothers, a love story between a husband and wife, Mr. Autry said its the backdrop that is unusual.

It is based in the world of MMA - Mixed Martial Arts (a metaphor for the dark violent, seductive world that we live in)," said Mr. Autry. "There is a term in that world where you get an opponent in a leg hold or an arm bar and they tap out. Basically, they give up. Therefore, they win a victory by submission. However, we know as Christians, that, has a whole different meaning when we submit ourselves to Gods will.

That is when we receive our greatest victory, he said. When we tap out to our own desires and give control of our lives to God. Allowing Christ to live within us - living a life of submission. Thats the double meaning there.

Mr. Autry said the movie took nearly three years to make, filming throughout Fresno, Clovis and Madera, Ca

Mr. Autry said he was thankful for the stars who believed in the project and came together to create it.

Actor Fred Williamson joked that he has three rules for movies in which he appears. "You can't kill me. I have to win my fights and I get the girl at the end of the movie if I want. That's in my contract," he said. Mr. Autry told Mr. Williamson, with a straight face, Well Hammer, two out of three aint bad. But Brett gets the girl in this one.

Claude and Deborah Poisson of Church First Films Ministry have taken great joy in using the proceeds from the movie Victory by Submission to contribute financially toward everything from new youth centers to local FCAs. They said they are blessed to witness God use the film as a beacon of His light. They look forward to attaining the goal of giving $1 million to partnering churches and schools prior to a theatrical release.

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased in advance at Catoosa Habitat (Community Bank), 4914 Battlefield Pkwy. Ringgold. No concessions will be available at the event. For more information, visit events at www.CatoosaHabitat.org or call (706) 861-5858.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy is supportive of tax breaks for landlords to incentivise longer leases.

Fianna Fail is to include the proposal to incentivise landlords with a tax rebate for signing a five or 10-year lease in its Budget negotiations, which began yesterday.

As revealed by the Irish Independent, the party is expected to include the scheme in its suite of measures on housing, expected to make up a central part of its Budget demands.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar promised to examine the idea but warned there will be no "quick fix" on housing. "Fianna Fail made a suggestion in relation to incentivising landlords. We'll certainly examine that. What I don't see is any party coming forward with a quick fix, because there isn't one. We need to be honest with the public about that," he said.

Mr Murphy said he had already suggested an incentive scheme to Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe. He and Cabinet colleague Katherine Zappone, the Children's Minister, wrote to Mr Donohoe on the issue before the Dail recess.

Details of how the scheme might work have not yet been determined, or how much of a rebate would be on offer and for what leases.

In a veiled swipe, Mr Murphy said that ahead of the Budget there will be people "competing to take ownership" of good ideas. Speaking on Newstalk, Mr Murphy said the Government "absolutely needs to find a way whereby we have longer- term leases". The country need to develop a mature rental sector, which we have never had before, he said.

Mr Murphy acknowledged there must be a balance of rights for owners who must retain the right to sell a property or hand it over to a family member who may need it.

Meanwhile, Mr Murphy has threatened to strip local authorities of their housing responsibilities if they do not meet strict new homelessness targets.

He wrote to the chief executives of every Dublin city and county council warning he will invoke legal powers that allow him to intervene in local authority housing policy if they do not house more homeless families. In the letter, Mr Murphy said he would "intervene directly" using powers under the Housing Act if the councils did not act more urgently on the homelessness crisis.

The unprecedented move would see senior officials from the Department of Housing seconded to local authorities to oversee homelessness policy. The development would be hugely embarrassing for local authority chief executives and would be a major escalation in the Government's response to the housing crisis.

The minister set out new targets for each local authority, including housing more rough sleepers and delivering extra accommodation for homeless families. The chief executives have to set out their plans by Wednesday and deliver on the objectives by end of the year.
Target: Credentials for online exchanges and trading platforms are stolen and sold on criminal forums

At the height of the California Gold Rush in the 1840s and 50s, fraudsters devised various methods to deceive individuals hoping to strike it rich, including selling synthetic gold deposits or fake mines of no real value.

These days cybercriminals are defrauding those working with cryptocurrencies through account takeovers, mining fraud and scams against initial coin offerings (ICOs).

When individuals want to purchase and trade cryptocurrency, they create online accounts and wallets on exchanges and trading platforms.

Cybercriminals steal credentials for these sites through phishing emails and scam pages, before selling access to these accounts on criminal forums and paste sites. Credential stuffing tools, which automatically inject large lists of username and password combinations into login pages until a match is found, are also widely used to break into trading platforms and exchanges directly.

The recent controversy over John McAfee's claims that his BitFi cryptocurrency wallet is completely secure is an excellent example of how researchers are trying to discourage users from being overconfident. 'Unhackable' wallets is a claim made by many storage platforms that have found out to their cost that nothing is ever perfectly secure.

For organisations, particularly, your infrastructure is also at risk as it can be commandeered by cybercriminals looking to 'mine' coins themselves.

Mining is the process by which users validate cryptocurrency transactions, and miners receive digital coins as a reward for performing this activity.

This is an example of a Proof of Work model. With this incentive, attackers can infect and co-opt your computer into a botnet.

Alternatively, they can hijack your browser and processing power to mine (known as cryptojacking). Cloud services such as Amazon WorkSpaces (AWS) are particularly attractive, and attackers will take advantage of unauthenticated AWS instances or those with weak or leaked credentials.

Looking to the future, many cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum are moving towards a Proof of Stake or Proof of Value model, which looks at the amount of coins and age of the stake in order to validate transactions.

As these models are far less resource intensive, this will make the theft of computing resources for mining far less attractive, which will likely orient criminals back to targeting individual accounts, wallets and platforms directly.

Those looking to launch or invest in new cryptocurrencies should also be wary of ICO scams.

ICOs are a means of crowdfunding cryptocurrencies, but there have been countless examples where criminals have diverted investments by swapping the address into which payments are made for one controlled by the attacker.

Fraudsters will even create entirely fictitious cryptocurrencies and perform exit scams. Some use social media groups - known as 'pump and dump' channels - on platforms such as Telegram and Discord to spread news and inflate the price of lesser-known coins and make a profit.

There are several drivers behind the rise in cryptocurrency fraud. These include:

 Accessibility - Advances in technology and the wide availability of tools facilitate this type of fraud, often lowering the barrier of entry for less sophisticated cybercriminals.

 Anonymity - Cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology offer a level of anonymity that also emboldens fraudsters. Currencies like Monero have better privacy features relative to their older cryptocurrency counterparts, which has in part made it increasingly popular on criminal markets and in money laundering operations.

 Popularity and hype - Criminals will always follow the money, looking to take advantage of whatever is most popular and most lucrative.

 Reputation - The popularity of cryptocurrencies among high-net-worth individuals, the roll-out of cryptocurrency-backed prepaid cards and plans for private banks to provide cryptocurrency services gives them greater legitimacy and makes them more attractive to investors. If their reputation increases, they will become more prevalent, increasing the number of targets for fraudsters.

 Opportunity - The sheer number of new altcoins, exchanges and coin offerings means that fraudsters have a wealth of potential targets. The new gold rush has created many millionaires - these new, less-experienced, internet savvy entrepreneurs are a target themselves, with criminals looking to defraud, steal from or extort these individuals.

 Regulation - In a regulated market such fraud would be illegal, and the threat of law enforcement action would probably deter many, although not all, criminals. Moreover, exchanges and ICO projects would be under more pressure to improve their security practices as they would face serious consequences for facilitating a breach. Nevertheless, criminals will continue to take risks regardless of the potential legal ramifications, regulatory implementation will likely be uneven, and it may also deter would-be investors and drive down the value of cryptocurrencies.

 Security - Weak password practices enable account takeovers, misconfiguring cloud services facilitates cryptojacking, and failure to patch and update effectively means attackers can continue to exploit known vulnerabilities to deliver cryptomining malware.

What is clear is that one of the major contributing factors to cryptocurrency fraud is the opportunity provided through poor security practices. There are several measures that organisations can take, including:

 Authenticating cloud services like AWS to prevent cryptojacking. Replacing factory-default credentials with unique and strong passwords to prevent Internet of Things devices from being incorporated into botnets.

 Enforcing strong password security rules and multi-factor authentication across your organisations.

 Patching known vulnerabilities being used to deliver crypto miners. Vulnerabilities in Apache Struts (CVE-2017-5638) and DotNetNuke (CVE-2017-9822) servers have been used to download Monero miners. These miners have also been delivered by exploiting patched vulnerabilities in the popular Apache CouchDB open source database (CVE-2017-12635 and CVE-2017-12636).

 Having a reputable adblocker in place.

 Checking phishing databases and more specialist cryptocurrency fraud sites such as the Ethereum Scam Database before using any sites that you are unfamiliar with.

Despite their volatility, looming regulation measures and the projected adoption of cryptocurrency in both online and physical transactions, cryptocurrency fraud is here to stay.

However, with better security practices both on an individual and organisational level, you can mitigate the risk of cryptocurrency fraud while remaining an active user.

James Chappell is co-founder and chief innovation officer at Digital Shadows. He is a speaker at Dublin Information Sec 2018 - Ireland's cybersecurity conference - on October 15 at Dublin's RDS. For tickets and more information click here independent.ie/infosec18
Meetup: By running events using our own system we can get a feel for what our customers need. Stock image

It's time for another investor update. If you're a regular reader, consider yourself an honorary investor in voxgig - you are investing your time reading about my startup after all. We've discussed investor updates previously. The idea is that you send out a detailed monthly or quarterly information sheet to the investors in your company explaining, with numbers, how things are going. You get a taste of these updates in this column on a semi-regular basis and with as much information as I can safely share.

An investor update has seven sections: The Basics; The Numbers; The Team; The News; The Problems; The Money; The Ask. Let's jump right in.

The Basics: We're a Software-as-a-Service event management platform that reduces the manual labour cost of running conferences by providing modern collaboration tools for organisers, speakers, sponsors and attendees.

That last sentence is our new 'elevator pitch' (as developed in last week's article). Our value proposition for stakeholders in the event industry is that we increase the effectiveness of events as a sales channel for sponsors and exhibitors by reducing the inefficiencies and inaccuracies of measuring the return on investing in events as part of your marketing mix. Our customers reach us directly by signing up on our website, and using it for each event that they organise, attend, speak at, or sponsor.

We're running a series of private trials to validate the value proposition with some of the key stakeholders.

In fact we've just completed our first trial - a 'call-for-papers proposal review process'. We had all of six users on our system. Woohoo!

On a more serious, and insomnia-inducing note, we're now aiming for late January for our public launch. That's when we'll open our doors to the public and you're finally be able to register and take the system for a spin.

The Numbers: we have one completed trial about to move to phase two; two trials about to start, and two more in planning. We aiming for seven active trials by year-end.

Our newsletter for conference speakers continues to grow, and we can now reliably add about 400 subscribers a month.

Monthly growth numbers (which we read as a proxy for underlying interest in our platform) since launch in September 2017, are: 45, 133, 192, 431, 668, 815, 1,231, 1,521, 2,167, 2,493, 2,935, 3,652. (Note that these numbers are changed from the previous report as slow readers may open the newsletter weeks after publication).

Our stretch goal is 10,000 subscribers by year-end, and we'll be using a new podcast and increased social and content marketing to push for this.

The Team: now five employees and five contractors. Startups are dynamic workplaces and you will tend to use a lot of contractors in the early days to make up for gaps in the team.

One thing we have focused on is knowledge transfer - getting more experienced contractors to design and build systems for less experienced permanent staff to execute.

A good example would be our LinkedIn outreach campaign for newsletter subscribers.

We are hiring. We need a junior software developer, and marketing person who understands the Software-as-a-Service model. It's tough our there at the moment -there are loads of high-quality jobs at great companies and startups, so we're going to have figure out how to use our remote-working and family-friendly culture to find people who might not fit in elsewhere.

The News: we're working on the next design iteration of the website. The design of the Minimal Viable Product website was intentionally quick and dirty. Now we need to give it a professional polish. This is not a re-branding - we already did that once and it was painful enough (remember good old 'metsitaba'?). We're very happy with our logo and colours.

No, this is about using a great contract designer to take things to the next level and provide us with a 'design language' that we can use to provide a great user experience.

Our two monthly meetups, EventProfs Dublin, and Microservices Dublin, are both back in gear after the Summer. Microservices Dublin last week had 49 attendees, which is pretty good going for a hard-core tech meetup.

EventProfs Dublin will be on September 13 (search for us on meetup.com) and we're looking forward to growing the attendance even higher. We run meetups because you have to 'eat your own dog food' - by running events using our own system, we feel the pain of our customers.

We are also planning to relaunch the EventProfs meetup in London in October - watch this space.

And there are three other launches coming up: on September 26 I'm launching my book about microservices (our tech platform) in Hodges Figgis - that should help with recruiting software developers.

Our Podcast will launch in the first week of October (sound editing is underway), and we'll be starting a new newsletter for event organisers in October. So not much sleep.

The Problems: finding software developers is the big one, and I don't think that's going away anytime soon. We are using contractors, but that is expensive.

In general it's not great not to be building the technical team, and the only reason we're not hurting too much on execution is my own technical background.

I can continue to perform the CTO role, but eventually this issue will need to be fixed. This is a burning fire, but as I've said before, sometimes you've got to live with them in a startup. The important thing is to know that they are there.

The other problem that we have is a lack of formal goal definition for the team.

This is a tricky one. In the first year of a startup, there is so much uncertainty that goals can be counterproductive.

If your goals are based on false hypotheses about the business, you're go full steam into a brick wall.

But a business and team does need goals to drive delivery and execution. We're now at the point where a formal Objectives and Key-Results (OKRs) style structure is becoming necessary.

I will write more on that later in the year once we've come up with a structure.

The Money: we are about to start raising a seed round. Yes, it's finally time. We have enough validation now to justify asking investors to put their money into voxgig. That means we need a pitch deck, so I'm going to spend the next few weeks talking about building and delivering pitch decks. It's an essential part of the startup skill set.

The Ask: how can you help? Come to our events!

Richard Rodger is the founder of voxgig. He is a former co-founder of Nearform, a technology consultancy in Waterford.
A total of 250 directly employed and contracted pilots were balloted on the deal that was brokered after talks at Dublin Airport. Photo: REUTERS

The threat of more strikes at Ryanair has lifted as Irish-based pilots overwhelmingly backed a deal to end a bitter row.

The budget airline's board is now expected to withdraw a threat to cut 300 pilot and cabin crew jobs this winter when it meets shortly.

In a statement, Ryanair said it would ask the board to reconsider its decision to move six aircraft to Poland.

Mediator Kieran Mulvey, who chaired talks on the deal, said he expected the board to withdraw letters of protective notice that were issued to staff.

The pilots mounted pickets during five strikes since July, culminating in a stoppage with colleagues in four other countries on the same day last month.

The pilots had demanded a better system to allocate holidays and decide who was selected for base transfers and promotions.

They wanted this to be based on seniority, or length of time in their job.

Most of their demands on seniority were achieved, but there were compromises on flexibility of base transfers.

The Irish Air Line Pilots' Association (Ialpa) said 100pc of the pilots who voted were in favour of the agreement.

A total of 250 directly employed and contracted pilots were balloted on the deal that was brokered after talks at Dublin Airport.

An Ialpa spokesperson said the result showed pilots saw the deal as the "first step" towards fairness. He said it would help the airline recruit and retain pilots.

Spokesman Captain Joe May said its members fully respected Ryanair's operational model, but no longer accepted its "highly problematic" employment model.

He said pilots in Ryanair had found a unified voice, after decades of "declining terms and conditions".

Mediator Mr Mulvey said: "In the light of this decision, I now anticipate and expect that the board of Ryanair will lift and withdraw the letters of protective notices issued to employees."

"I wish to welcome the decision by Forsa/Ialpa to accept the terms of the mediated agreement with Ryanair.

"I believe this marks a significant landmark in the context of the recent positive engagement between the parties which led to this agreement on key aspects of the working conditions and terms of employment of pilot grades in the Republic."

He said the agreement allowed him to have a continued oversight role, and he hoped the parties use this.

Ryanair welcomed the ballot result. "We will now bring this agreement to our board and will ask them to reconsider their decision to rebase six aircraft away from Dublin this winter," it said in a statement.
European shares traded lower on Wednesday as trade tensions and growing worries about emerging market currencies cut investor appetite for risky assets. (stock picture)

European shares traded lower on Wednesday as trade tensions and growing worries about emerging market currencies cut investor appetite for risky assets.

Near the close, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.9pc, with losses spread across industry sectors and trading centres despite data showing that eurozone business activity accelerated slightly in August.

A rare glimmer of optimism lifted Italy's banks, buoyed by deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini saying that Rome would "try to be good" with respect to European Union budget rules.

Rating agency Scope also issued a note saying that while "volatile politics have reignited fears around Italian banks", there has been progress on non-performing loans.

In Ireland, the Iseq Overall Index was trading almost 0.6pc lower shortly before the close, at 6,717.98. Its decline was more modest that that experienced by indices across most of the rest of Europe.

Movers included shares in hotel group Dalata, which shed 4.2pc to 6.58, adding to declines the previous day when it released strong first half results.

Shares in Ryanair were down 1.3pc at 13.59 near the close, as the airline came under pressure to address its board composition, including its long-standing chairman, David Bonderman.

There were few advancers, and those that did eked out small gains.

The UK's FTSE-100 was down 1.2pc as the close neared. Germany's DAX was 1.3pc lower while France's CAC-40 was down 1.4pc.

British betting company William Hill jumped 4.6pc after it signed a 25-year sports-betting partnership with casino operator Eldorado Resorts, which investors see as a major step in its US expansion.

Corporate announcements also triggered strong swings yesterday, most notably in French pharmaceutical group BioMerieux, which was up 5.8pc near the close after better than expected first-half results and a raised 2018 outlook.

The biggest faller was Denmark's Ambu whose shares sank 11pc after reports of a shareholder selling his stock at a discount. Snuff and cigar maker Swedish Match fell 3.6pc after an institutional investor sold a stake of 4.3 million shares at a discount.
The Famine - it's the ground zero of Irish history, an event so traumatically cataclysmic that for a century afterwards, people barely spoke of it. That slow catalogue of lingering death and unimaginable suffering is so grim that film-makers have avoided the subject like the plague, and when director Lance Daly started shooting Black 47, he soon realised why.

"We got into week two and I was like, oh my God, what have I done? I've signed up to this and now I have to do it, but how am I going to get it finished?" His film, a swaggering epic that uses the Famine as a heart-rending backdrop to a tale of betrayal and revenge, stars Australian actor James Frecheville as Martin Feeney, an Irish Ranger who returns home to Connemara after service overseas with the British Army to discover his homestead destroyed, his family scattered or dead.

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Intent on revenge, he goes in search of the landlords and judges who persecuted his kin. Meanwhile, a former British Army colleague called Hannah (Hugo Weaving) has been ordered to hunt Feeney down. It works wonderfully well, and the adventure story provides an oblique way in to the bigger story of the Famine.

"I think this was a really smart way of addressing the subject," Daly says, "and the producer Macdara Kelleher had spent a long time developing this script in various forms before I got involved.

"This is the first ever film about the Famine, isn't it? And when you think about it, maybe the genre route was the only way to go. I mean, do you want to make a film that's just about suffering, about people watching their children starve and families lying dead in their homes? Do you want to watch it, do you want to make it, do you want to be someone who tries to dramatise that? You had to tackle it in a less direct way."

Lance and his producers were determined, as much as possible, to get the details right. "From the time I signed on till when we started shooting, I read maybe seven or eight books on the Famine, but I also had an assistant who was reading, we had a military historian, a political historian, an art historian, and we had the Quinnipiac Famine Museum in Canada, which is the biggest visual archive - they have every newspaper cutting from the time, they've every image, all the paintings. So we had all that and I think we did everything we conceivably could. The historians have been very positive about it."

Like a lot of Irish people, Lance's understanding of the subject was hazy before he started researching it. "I think it's vague for everybody: we all have this basic idea that there was a dependence on the potato crop and the crop failed, that's about as far as it goes. And internationally, people say, 'Oh yeah, there was a famine in 1840-something', and there's this idea that the Paddies were all a bit thick and a bit lazy, and they depended on the spud and it backfired.

"And then in Ireland, there's this other narrative where people say there was food and they exported it and there was a genocide plot, but when you begin to delve into it, it's just so much more complicated than that. There are so many different ways to look at it, but it's great to see how fired up everybody is: if you look at the YouTube trailer for the film, the arguments after it are just endless."

Shooting the film was hard. "When we were making it, I began to wonder was it cursed because we were trying to make a movie about the Famine! I haven't actually said this to anyone before, but it really did feel like that. I got pretty beat up by the whole process, and I remember doing the last shot in Connemara, and my wife had come down, so we went to Leenane and got out of the car and the sun was going down and I actually felt this tangible weight lift off my shoulders.

"I felt like I'd been carrying this, and I don't know if it was just that the film was so hard: period detail, the weather, ensemble cast, resources, horses, action, two languages, kids - it's like all the boxes that would tell you this is going to be a tricky shoot, they were all ticked."

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A strong supporting cast includes Stephen Rea, who's brilliant as a wily western peasant, Sarah Greene, Moe Dunford, Barry Keoghan and Jim Broadbent, who plays Lord Kilmichael, a liverish landlord who refers to the Gaelic tongue as "that aboriginal gibberish" and dreams of a time when "a Gaelic Irishman will be as rare a sight as a Red Indian in Manhattan".

"It was Jim who wanted his character to be completely irredeemable. I was more sympathetic and he was like, 'No, he's a total p***k', he sort of made a judgement about it, which actually worked very well in the end."

Daly was one of a new generation of filmmakers who emerged in the mid-2000s determined to move beyond the stodgy, word-heavy traditions of Irish cinema. In films like Kisses (2008), he used visual lyricism and cinematic storytelling to great effect, but before Black 47, he was at a crossroads. "I had a few years where I hadn't made a film because I wasn't sure what the right thing to do was - I'd sort of lost my way a little bit.

"Black 47 is very different from my early stuff, but it felt right. It excited me again, and I've definitely got a clear line to a couple of projects, and I've kind of found a new route I want to go in, which is action, you know, it's a lot of fun, and something that isn't really done in Irish cinema and I enjoy it. I'm really interested in the whole visual side of things as well."

Black 47, meanwhile, has already opened in Ireland, and opens in the UK and America on September 28. One imagines it should be of huge interest in the US, because there are so many people there whose stories begin with the Famine.

"It's just getting them to hear about the film that's hard - it's such a big place: it's guaranteed a hundred screens over there for its opening, though, so that's good. Everybody always goes on about the diaspora, and you hear there are 40 million Irish Americans. Well if this doesn't find that audience, given its subject, I don't know what will!"
Rachel Allen, at the Kennedy afternoon tea party as part of the Kennedy Summer School at the JFK Memorial park and arboretum in Wexford. Photo: Damien Eagers

Rachel Allen, at the Kennedy afternoon tea party as part of the Kennedy Summer School at the JFK Memorial park and arboretum in Wexford. Photo: Damien Eagers

Rachel Allen, at the Kennedy afternoon tea party as part of the Kennedy Summer School at the JFK Memorial park and arboretum in Wexford. Photo: Damien Eagers

It was a case of tea and sympathy when Rachel Allen turned out in Co Wexford for the annual Kennedy Summer School.

In a difficult week for the celebrity chef and mother of three, she baked for 200 people at the popular Kennedy Afternoon tea party at the JFK Arboretum outside New Ross.

Earlier this week, Rachel and her husband Isaac issued a statement arising from the questioning of their 18-year-old son, Joshua, after a 30,000 cannabis seizure.

Earlier today, she was not answering questions from the media, and her husband, who is also her business manager, told reporters: We have issued a statement. We have said what we said.

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He said they did not want to comment any further, but added they are carrying on regardless,

Before going on stage to talk to the audience, Rachel was seen chatting to Brendan Grace in the food preparation area and the big-hearted entertainer, who was a special guest at the event, put his arm around her.

While introducing Rachel for the an hour-long question and answer session with MC Sean Connick, the former Fianna Fail TD who is chief executive of the John F Kennedy Trust, he called a big round of applause in support of Rachel Allen.

Then, while the 15 a head guests tucked into her baking delights, including vanilla buns, fruit cake, lemon cake, and scones, she chatted about her culinary career from the day she walked into Ballymaloe House to do a cookery course 28 years ago.

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It was there that she met her husband, son of another celebrity chef, Darina Allen, and grandson of Myrtle Allen, Michelin award winning chef who put Ballymaloe on the culinary map.

In their statement this week, the Allens said they were devastated that their son had been arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana with intent to supply them to others.

They said he had admitted his guilt immediately, a file had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and, when formally charged, would be pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

The statement added: "Our son is eighteen years old, has never been in trouble with the Gardai, and has made a huge mistake, which will have profound consequences for him."

"We do not in any way condone his actions, in fact, we utterly condemn them, but it is not for us to condemn him."

"We must now try to look after our son and our family, the best way we can."

"We would ask that the legal process would be allowed to proceed to deal with this matter, without interference, and that we would be allowed to deal with this, like any other parents, in a similar position."

The summer school is a festival of Irish and American history, culture and politics and the tea party is a nod to the afternoon tea served to former US president John F Kennedy at his ancestral home in nearby Dunganstown , on his visit to Ireland in 1963.
Gardai are seeking to arrest a number of people based outside of Ireland in relation to the murder of Eddie Hutch.

Mr Hutch (58) died of gunshot wounds to the head after he was shot dead at his home at Poplar Row, Ballybough, Dublin 3 on February 8 2016.

Gardai have completed 1,203 actions in relation to the ongoing investigation, Dublin Coroners Court heard. Two relatives of Mr Hutch sat in the public gallery as Inspector Aidan Flanagan applied for a twelve month adjournment of the inquest.

Insp Flanagan told the coroner that 493 statements had been taken to date and gardai have made nine arrests.

We have completed 1,203 investigative tasks in relation to this case. There are still a number of tasks to be completed. There are a number of arrests yet to be made, some of whom reside outside the jurisdiction, he said.

The inquest was previously opened and adjourned after a brother of the deceased, John Hutch, gave evidence of the identification of Mr Hutch's body.

John Hutch told how he attended the Dublin city morgue to identify his brothers body on February 10 2016.

I was shown my brother Eddie in the morgue. I am 100 per cent certain its my brother, he said in his deposition.

The inquest was further adjourned last March for six months following a garda application as the investigation continued.

A post-mortem examination carried out by State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy confirmed the cause of death as gunshot wounds to the head.

Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane asked family members if twelve months was agreeable to them and they said it was. The coroner offered her condolences to the family and granted the application, adjourning the inquest until September 3 2019.
The High Court has blocked Minister for Health Simon Harriss direction for an inquiry into patient health and welfare at the National Maternity Hospital following the tragic death of a young woman during surgery for an ectopic pregnancy in 2016.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan said it was irrational and unreasonable for the Minister to direct such an investigation into what happened at the National Maternity Hospital when such practices being investigated existed, without his intervention, in many other hospitals across the health service.

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The judge found that the Minister, before ordering his inquiry, had not properly considered the findings and recommendations of three other reports --- those of the Coronors Inquest, an internal NMH inquiry and a further Health Service Executive probe.

These followed the death of Ms Malak Thawley, 34, who died when her aorta was accidentally torn by a doctor during investigative treatment relating to a suspected pregnancy outside the womb.

The National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street had legally challenged the Ministers direction to the Health Information and Quality Authority and asked for it to be quashed.

Judge Meenan said the Minister had responsibility for the safety and welfare of patients using services provided by various health institutions including the hospital and must have believed on reasonable grounds that there was a serious risk to patients at the NMH.

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He said the far reaching implications of this were self-evident for patients, those who referred patients and for the medical and nursing and midwifery staff and somewhat surprisingly for a Minister took six months to file a statement of opposition to the judicial review of his decision being sought by the hospital.

The judge said there had been lengthy exchanges of correspondence to and meetings with the Minister involving Caoimhe Haughey, of C.M. Haughey Solicitors who acted for Mr Alan Thawley, husband of the late Ms Thawley.

Judge Meenan found that the Minister, through his officials, had not carried out any investigation of his own but claimed to rely upon the NMH and HSE reports and evidence at the inquest. It was clear to the court that the findings, recommendations and conclusions of these reports had not been properly considered.

The Minister and his officials had stated on numerous occasions that the Ministers proposed inquiry would be a learning exercise since the practices being inquired into were practised across the health system.

The judge found that the grounds relied upon by the Minister in his statement of opposition the High Court challenge had not been supported by the relevant Reports, correspondence or evidence given during the High Court hearing.

He said the object of the Ministers proposed investigation must be to eliminate a risk rather than to be a learning exercise and it was irrational and unreasonable for the Minister to direct such an inquiry.

Judge Meenan quashed the decision of the Minister to order his inquiry and said there was agreement between the hospital and the Minister on the need for a further review.

The judge adjourned the proceedings until October 9 and told barrister Donal McGuinness, for the Minister, and Hayley ODonnell, counsel for the hospital, that he would deal with the matter of costs at that time.
A MAN has been sent for trial accused of threatening gardai with an angle grinder when they came to investigate damage to a motorway toll gantry.

Tony Rochford (49) allegedly brandished the angle grinder, told gardai: the time for talking is over, switched it on and ran it aggressively in front of them.

Officers were responding to allegations that Mr Rochford had caused damage to a gantrys entry gate at the M50 in west Dublin.

He had a book of evidence served on him when he appeared in Blanchardstown District Court today.

Mr Rochford, of Steeple Manor, Trim Co Meath, is accused of having an angle grinder intended to cause injury. The charge alleges that he was found in a confrontational state and when gardai intervened, he threatened them with the tool, attempting to strike a garda with it.

He is also charged with offensive conduct by threatening a garda with an angle grinder, breach of the peace, and causing criminal damage to the E-flow toll gantry entry gate.

The offences are alleged to have happened on May 3, 2018

Judge David McHugh previously ruled the case was too serious to be dealt with at district court level.

When it came back before the court today, a State solicitor said a book of evidence had been served on the accused and the DPP was consenting to the case being returned for trial to the next sittings of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Judge McHugh gave Mr Rochford the formal warning that he must provide any alibi details to the prosecution within 14 days.

The accused, wearing a blue zip-up top and blue jeans, put on a pair of reading glasses before thumbing through the book of evidence when it was handed to him.

Judge McHugh granted free legal aid following an application by defence solicitor Evan Moore. He sent the defendant forward to appear in the circuit court on October 26.

Previously, Garda Sergeant Geraldine McManigan said gardai were called to the M50 northbound toll bridge in Dublin 15 after security reported that damage had been caused to the gate.

It was alleged the accused was standing at the back of his vehicle and had attempted to gain entry to the gantry by cutting the locking mechanism on the entry gate.

When gardai spoke to him, he replied: the time for talking is over, Sgt McManigan said.

He had an angle grinder in his hand and when one of the gardai tried to take it from him he became aggressive, she continued.

It was alleged Mr Rochford switched on the angle grinder and ran it in an aggressive manner, brandishing it about recklessly while it was active. One of the gardai drew his baton and struck the angle grinder with it, to no avail, the court heard.

The accused was eventually apprehended and arrested. The value of the damage caused to the gate was between 500 and 1,000.
A 42-year-old woman was yesterday charged with the murder of her three-year-old daughter in south Dublin.

Emer Cannon was charged at Bray District Court with the murder of her daughter Zoe after an alleged incident at their home in Aubrey Grove, Shankill, south Dublin, on Saturday, February 10 last.

The Co Wicklow court heard evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Ms Cannon by Garda Declan Hartley. Judge David Kennedy remanded her in further custody and the case was adjourned to next week.

The prosecution is expected to provide a book of evidence and the case is then expected to be sent forward to the Central Criminal Court for trial.

Zoe Whitford (3) was placed on life support in Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, on February 10.

She died three days later at the south Dublin hospital after her life support system was withdrawn.

On February 11, Ms Cannon was brought before a special sitting of Bray District Court where she was charged with assault causing harm.

This was upgraded to murder yesterday and Ms Cannon made no application for bail.

In May an adjourned inquest into Zoe's death heard she died after suffering a reduced supply of oxygen to the brain.

A post-mortem examination was conducted jointly by State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy and pathologist at Crumlin hospital Dr Maureen O'Sullivan. The cause of death was recorded as cerebral hypoxia, which involves a reduced supply of oxygen to the brain.
A WOMAN was yesterday charged in court with the murder of her three-year-old daughter in south Dublin.

Emer Cannon (42) was charged at Bray District Court with the murder of her toddler daughter Zoe Whitford after an alleged incident at their home in Aubrey Grove, Shankill, on February 10.

The brief hearing at the Co Wicklow courtroom heard evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of Ms Cannon by Garda Declan Hartley.

Judge David Kennedy remanded her in further custody and the case was adjourned to the same court in Bray next week.

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The prosecution is expected to provide a book of evidence in the case at some stage next month, with the matter then being sent forward to the Central Criminal Court for trial.

Zoe was placed on life support at Our Ladys Childrens Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, after emergency services were called to the family home at about 4.15pm on February 10.

She died three days later at the south Dublin hospital after her life support was withdrawn in the intensive care unit.

On February 11, Ms Cannon was brought before a special sitting of Bray District Court where she was charged with assault causing harm.

She had been detained under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Shankill Garda Station.

This charge was upgraded to murder yesterday and Ms Cannon made no application for bail at the court hearing.

In May, an adjourned inquest into Zoes death heard that the toddler died after she suffered a reduced supply of oxygen to her brain.

At the opening of the inquest at Dublin Coroners Court, Zoes father William Whitford said in his deposition that he formally identified her body following her death at Our Ladys Childrens Hospital.

A post-mortem was conducted jointly by State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy and hospital pathologist Dr Maureen OSullivan.

The cause of death was recorded as cerebral hypoxia, which involves a reduced supply of oxygen to the brain.

Det Insp Martin Creighton, of Dun Laoghaire Garda Station, sought an adjournment of the inquest for six months because a criminal investigation was ongoing.
Patients in a hospital psychiatric unit did not have access to their bedrooms under 10pm at night due to staff shortages, an inspectors report has revealed.

The conditions were found in St Catherines Ward in St. Finbarrs Hospital,Cork when inspected by the Mental Health Commission.

Chief inspector Dr Susan Finnerty described it as a restrictive practice which did not support or respect the autonomy of the patient.

The inspector issued five inspection reports which raise concerns in relation to risk management, consent to treatment, individual care plans, premises and staffing.

She said: I am pleased to note that three of the approved centres showed significant improvement in compliance and there has been considerable hard work by the staff to achieve this. However, we have identified two critical risks in two separate approved centres, one relating to risk management and the other relating to consent of treatment.

There are several regulations that consistently emerge as non-compliant in our reports, and they feature again here including the regulation on individual care plans (ICP).

ICPs should be the basis on which mental health care is provided to an individual. They are designed to give a complete picture of each persons care plan which describe the levels of support and treatment required in line with his/her needs and it is developed by the multi-disciplinary team. When a person has an incomplete plan, we cannot be sure they are receiving the best standard of care. 

Bloomfield Hospital in Dublin was non-compliant with a critical risk rating in relation to consent to treatment.

Having inspected ten clinical files discrepancies were found in relation to the completion of Form 17, a statutory form which must be completed when administering medicine to an involuntary patient for more than three months.

Two of the forms did not include details of the discussion with the patient in relation to the effects of the medications, including any risks and benefits.

One form included details of the discussion with the patient which addressed the benefits of medications but did not include medication risks. In three forms confirmation of the assessment of the patients ability to understand the nature, purpose, and likely effects of the medications was not documented.

In four forms there was not documented evidence that the responsible consultant psychiatrist had undertaken a capacity assessment or equivalent, and in a fifth form there had been no documented patients consent to receiving treatment in place for nearly three months.
Mother Tracy says her son Carlos (5) was "in tears" waiting for the school bus last week

A young boy (5) with autism has been unable to start back in school because he has yet to receive his place on the school bus despite the term starting last Thursday, his mother has claimed.

Tanya Neeson, from Mulhuddart in Dublin, said her son Carlos was left in tears after being unable to return to school for his first week as they are yet to receive a spot on a Bus Eireann school bus.

A pupil at St Pauls Special School in Beaumont, Tanya says that Carlos has been unable to attend school yet as the family rely on the bus to take him there.

Im a single mum and I dont drive, we have no other options. It could be January by the time he starts school at this stage, Tanya told Independent.ie.

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Ive two other children in schools nearby that have to be collected and I wouldnt make it out to Beaumont in time to pick up Carlos too. It could involve four buses a day and a two and a half hour journey each way.

Tanya said Carlos had been looking forward to starting back in school all summer and was heartbroken when he couldnt return with his peers last week.

Hes absolutely devastated, the only thing hes been looking forward to is school, she said.

He sees the bus going by every morning, one day he tried to run after it. My heart is breaking for him, he got up last Tuesday, put his uniform on and cried for two hours when he found out he couldnt go.

During his first year at St Pauls, Carlos got the bus to and from school, as well as to get to a different Dublin school that he attended last year.

Over the past week, Tanya says she has been trying to get a response from Bus Eireann and the Department of Education as to why her son's name is not on the list and has also noticed a difference in her sons behaviour.

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Whatsapp The young boy has used the bus service for the last two years, mum Tracy says.

No one has been able to make contact with them, all they need to do is put his name on a list but we havent heard anything.

Hes missing out on school time, its causing behaviour issues Ive never seen before. Hes frustrated and taking it on me because he doesnt understand why he cant go.

Bus Eireann confirmed that as St Paul's is a special needs school, all applications are made through the Department of Education and Skills.

"While Bus Eireann do not generally comment on individual cases I can confirm that we currently have no record of any application from the aforementioned pupil on file," a Bus Eireann spokesperson told Independent.ie.

"Applications for mainstream transport are made via Bus Eireann and applications for Special Needs transport are made via the Department of Education & Skills."

According to the Department of Education, children are eligible for the transport scheme under the following criteria:

- If they have special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability in accordance with the designation of high and low incidence disability set out in Department of Education and Skills (DES) Circular 02/05

- And they are attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class/special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet their special educational needs

Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO).

A spokesperson for the Department of Education told Independent.ie that "it is the policy of the Department not to comment on individual cases."
Child killer John Clifford is unlawfully at large after failing to return to Maghaberry Prison

An on-the-run child killer has been spotted at a Northern Ireland train station.

John Clifford remains unlawfully at large after failing to return to Maghaberry Prison on Sunday.

Clifford (56) had been released to attend an appointment but failed to return. His offences include murder, indecent assaults and cruelty to children.

He was last seen using a distinctive three-wheel mobility scooter with the registration plate EXZ4974, which has since been found.

Police in an update in their appeal to help trace him said they believe he was spotted boarding a train at Lanyon Place Station - formerly Central Station - on Sunday just after 1pm.

He was wearing a dark-coloured beanie-style hat, with glasses and a dark heavy coat and was carrying a dark-coloured backpack. He is 1.75m tall with green eyes and fair hair. He is of medium build with a fresh complexion.

Detective Inspector Michael McDonnell said: I would like to thank those members of the public who have contacted us with information.

"I would again appeal to anyone who may have seen him, or who may have information about his whereabouts to contact us immediately on 101.

I would also appeal directly to John to hand himself in.

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Prison Service said: The Prison Service remains focused on returning him to custody and we would ask anyone with information to contact the PSNI.

Clifford was originally jailed in 1989 for murdering his niece Sue Ellen.

He raped and strangled the eight-year-old, before leaving her on a deserted railway line in 1988.

He was freed in 2005 but thrown back behind bars in 2007 for breaching the terms of his probation.

In 2010, the family of his victim spoke publicly about their fears that Clifford would kill again.

Sue Ellen's sister Deborah Adair said at the time: "Mark my words, he will rape or murder another child. John Clifford is pure evil."

"That man destroyed my family - he didn't only murder my sister Sue Ellen, he was responsible for the suicide of my mummy." It was also reported that at the time of the murder Clifford was under death threat from loyalist paramilitaries.
Pope Francis at the closing Mass at the World Meeting of Families at Phoenix Park in Dublin. Photo: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

An Irish priest claimed that many of his parishioners are angry at RTEs imbalanced coverage of the papal visit.

Fr Finian Connaughton, from Co Meath, wrote an open letter on the reaction of parishioners to the media coverage when Pope Francis visited Ireland in August, taking to the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) website to encourage other members to challenge RTE.

Can I suggest, through the ACP website, that it is now time to challenge RTE; this time in relation to their coverage of the World Meeting of Families that included the visit of Pope Francis, the priest said.

So many parishioners are disturbed and angry about it and ask if there is nothing we can do about it? One of my friends has begun a one-man campaign by refusing to pay his TV licence.

When one reflects on the power of withholding rents, charges, etc., and the power of boycott, from our history one would have to say that he has a valid point. Imagine if enough people had the guts to join him.

Among the instances of bias and misrepresentation Fr Connaughton claims that RTE depicted are archive items that were broadcasted in the lead up to the visit, that had a damaging effect on priests and other members of the church.

He claims that researchers located people and priests that are well known to wield a permanent axe against the church for chat-line programmes.

He added that the Pope was given zero credit for his merits among the coverage, and that panels on discussion programmes were imbalanced.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Salvatorian Army Majors Jill and Stuart Dicker who came to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Pope Francis arriving at Knock Shrine with Fr Richard Gibbons and Archbishop Neary. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th AUgust 2018 Nicola Boymanda and Renatha Rugarabamu from Tanzania who came to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Harry Lloyd from Ballyshannon reads up on the Papal visit ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney Anne Marie Walshe meets the papal macsot in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Pilgrims arrive in the Phoenix Park ahead of the Papal mass. Picture; Gerry Mooney Lily Gallagher, Mary Nugent and Anne Hughes from Drogheda ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney anne New and Leslie Mullen ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney Bernie Meleady, Mary and Eamon Sweeney from Letterkenny ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney Donal and Catherine Kavanagh from Leixlip ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney People take a break on their way to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Pilgrims arrive in the Phoenix Park ahead of the Papal mass. Picture; Gerry Mooney Ellen Watkins (11) from Jersey ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney Ellen Watkins (11) from Jersey ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney Sean (5), Aoibhe (8) and Conor Holland (7) from Ballyhooly Co. Cork ahead of the Papal mass in the Phoenix Park. Picture; Gerry Mooney People make thier way along Benburb Street to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Nicola Boymanda and Renatha Rugarabamu from Tanzania who came to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Ramiro and Ana DAraujo from Angola who came to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 People make thier way along Benburb Street to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Delfina and Edward Masika from Tanzania who came to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 Shauneen Mckernan, Amelia McGeehan, Patricia Mcgeehan, Claire McVey, Blaithin McFlynn and Noelle McVey who came to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park. Photo: Tony Gavin 26/8/2018 / Facebook

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The Drumconrath parish priest concluded that members of the church often feel like Father Teds and criticised the inclusion of a comedian during RTEs coverage.

He said: On a final point concerning imbalance on panels; for me the ultimate insult was the inclusion of a comedian on the analysis of that wonderful Croke Park experience on Saturday night.

As church, as people, we are all seen as Fr. Teds; good to laugh at, and dont forget that in RTE parlance the words priest and paedophile, cleric and abuse always go hand in hand.

Are we priests happy to see our profession, vocation, however we name what we do, ridiculed day after day and say nothing about it? Our silence is deafening and dangerous.

I hope these few lines are seen as some attempt to redress the imbalance and keep some kind of flag flying for a team several goals down and struggling.

In response to the letter, a spokesperson for RTE told Independent.ie that "RTE's coverage of the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland was balanced and fair and, as host broadcaster for domestic and international audiences, thorough and complete, providing almost 18 hours of continuous live coverage.

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Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 26/08/2018 Pope Francis passes Knock Basilica as he visited Knock Shrine as part of the World Meeting of Families. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM Pilgrims listen to Pope Francis address the crowd at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 26/08/2018 Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he visited Knock Shrine as part of the World Meeting of Families. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM 26/08/2018 Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he visited Knock Shrine as part of the World Meeting of Families. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM Pilgrims listen to Pope Francis address the crowd at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 26/08/2018 Cleonagh and Declan Sweeney, from Raheen, Limerick with their children from left to right, Cathal, 9, Amy, 7, Katelyn, 4, and Donnacha, 10 at Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM Young girls waving flags as Pope Francis arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 26/08/2018 A young girl waves a flag as pope Francis visited Knock Shrine as part of the World Meeting of Families. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM Pope Francis delivers an address to the crowd at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis cape blows over his head during a windy spell as he delivers his speech at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis arrives at the Apparition Chapel at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets addresses the crowd at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis addresses the crowd as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Empty seats as Pope Francis addresses the crowd after he arrived at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Declan Ganley arriving at Knock Shrine to see Pope Francis. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Declan Ganley arriving at Knock Shrine to see Pope Francis. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Empty seats as Pope Francis addresses the crowd after he arrived at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis delivers an address to the crowd at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Gardai pictured waiting to say goodbye to OPope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis leaves Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Members of Pope Francis Entourage board the Plane at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis greets pilgrims as he arrives at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pope Francis speaks to the audience during his visit to Knock, Ireland August 26, 2018. Vatican Media/Handout Pope Francis arrives at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Pope Francis arrives at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez REFILE - CORRECTING BYLINE Pope Francis leads the Angelus at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Pope Francis leads the Angelus at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Pope Francis greets children after arriving in Knock, Ireland August 26, 2018. Vatican Media/Handout Pope Francis lays a wreath at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland August 26, 2018. Vatican Media/Handout Pope Francis lights a candle at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland August 26, 2018. Vatican Media/Handout Pope Francis leads the Angelus at the Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Pope Francis during a visit to Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo to view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pope Francis during a visit to Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo to view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pope Francis greets school children after arriving at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis greets school children after arriving at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis greets school children after arriving at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis greets school children after arriving at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis arrives for his visit to Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo to view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pope Francis is presented with flowers by Saoirse McCarthy, 11, from St. Patrick's National School, Cloonlyon, Co. Mayo as he arrives at Ireland West Airport, Knock, County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. WMOF18/Maxwell Photography/PA Wire Pope Francis greets Knock School Children at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN The Popes Plane arrives at Ireland West Airport, Knock. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis is kissed by Mary McCarthy at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN The Popes Plane arrives at Ireland West Airport, Knock. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Schoolchildren from St. Patricks National School, Cloonlyon wait to greet Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis with Minister for Rural Affairs Michael Ring greets Clergy at Ireland West Airport, Knock. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Michael Ring, Minister for Rural Affairs with Catherine Hynes (wife of MAyo Co, Manager) and Blackie Gavin, Lord MAyor, Castlebar at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN The Popes Plane pictured arriving at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis carefully makes his way down the steps from his plane at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis greets Knock School Children at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock today. PIC COLIN ORIORDAN Pope Francis is greeted by a delegation of clergy and representatives from Ireland West Airport as he arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis is greeted by a delegation of clergy and representatives from Ireland West Airport as he arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis is greeted by a delegation of clergy and representatives from Ireland West Airport as he arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire The plane carrying Pope Francis arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire The plane carrying Pope Francis arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis is greeted by a delegation of clergy and representatives from Ireland West Airport as he arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire The plane carrying Pope Francis arrives at the airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire People wait in the rain ahead of a visit of Pope Francis to Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pope Francis as he arrives at Ireland West Airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis blesses schoolchildren as he arrives at Ireland West Airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis as he arrives at Ireland West Airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pope Francis blesses schoolchildren as he arrives at Ireland West Airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire The plane carrying Pope Francis arrives at Ireland West Airport in Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire The faithful wait ahead of a visit of Pope Francis to Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez The faithful wait in the rain ahead of a visit of Pope Francis to Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Schoolchildren wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Ireland West Airport, Knock in County Mayo, as part of his visit to Ireland. Yui Mok/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire The faithful wait in the rain ahead of a visit of Pope Francis to Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez The faithful wait in the rain ahead of a visit of Pope Francis to Knock Shrine in Knock, Ireland, August 26, 2018. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez Pilgrims wait for the arrival of Pope Francis at Knock Holy Shrine, in County Mayo where he will view the Apparition Chapel and to give the Angelus address, as part of his visit to Ireland. Niall Carson/PA Wire 26/08/2018 Liam Hughes, from Athlone at Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM 26/08/2018 Annemarie and Aaron Ward from Tuam with their children from left to right Destiny, Santana and Martin pictured at Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM 26/08/2018 Holly, 8 and Paddy, 6, Hunt from Knock pictured outside Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM 26/08/2018 Holly, 8 and Paddy, 6, Hunt from Knock pictured outside Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Rev Thomas Harrington from Cork arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims and children arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 Pilgrims including Dominic Dunleavy from Tuam arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 26/08/2018 Annemarie and Aaron Ward from Tuam with their children from left to right Destiny, Santana and Martin pictured at Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM 26/08/2018 People wait in the rain at Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM 26/08/2018 People wait in the rain at Knock Shrine for the visit of Pope Francis. Pic credit; Damien Eagers / INM Pilgrims arriving to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine. Pic Steve Humphreys 26th August 2018 / Facebook

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"RTE's own audience research shows that almost 88 per cent of the audience felt the tone of RTE's coverage was appropriate, with 89pc saying it was important that RTE covered the visit. The majority of the audience felt that RTE offered a proper range of perspectives on the visit.

"RTE covered issues around clerical sex abuse in advance of the visit, including three highly significant statements by leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland dealing directly with the issue of abuse in this country.

"Pope Francis also addressed this issue extensively during his visit, including a long meeting with survivors and a plea for forgiveness for the Church failures in this regard at the Papal Mass in the Phoenix Park."
Detectives investigating a 30,000 drug seizure which led to Rachel Allen's son being arrested do not believe there are direct organised crime links to the bust.

Last week, Joshua Allen (18) was arrested and quizzed following a controlled delivery of cannabis to him in the Shanagarry area of Cork.

A significant investigation into the drug seizure is under way, and gardai are liaising with US postal and police services.

The package, which was intercepted at the Portlaoise mail centre, originated from the US.

Officials at the centre had become very suspicious of the parcel which bore a US postmark and was stamped 'clothing'.

Detectives from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) are assisting Revenue and east Cork gardai.

A source told the Irish Independent there was nothing to suggest the 30,000 shipment had any direct organised crime links.

"It would have been purchased for a third less than the street value of 30,000, and in the early stages of the investigation there are no obvious organised crime links to the drugs," the source said.

On Monday, Ms Allen released a statement in which she said her son Joshua would be pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity.

The celebrity chef is scheduled to host a tea party with Brendan Grace at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross, Co Wexford, today.

A spokeswoman for the event yesterday said that Ms Allen would attend as expected.

Joshua was arrested and quizzed under drug trafficking legislation, but released without charge.

A file will be sent to the DPP at a later date and charges will be considered.

In the statement, Ms Allen said that her son had never been in trouble with gardai before.

"We are absolutely devastated at this turn of events," she said.

"Our son is 18 years old, has never been in trouble with gardai, and has made a huge mistake, which will have profound consequences for him.

"We do not in any way condone his actions, in fact we utterly condemn them, but it is not for us to condemn him.

"We must now try to look after our son and our family, the best way we can.

"We would ask that the legal process would be allowed to proceed to deal with this matter, without interference, and that we would be allowed to deal with this, like any other parents in a similar position."
Role playing theatre games, creative writing with crayons and a workshop on how drama can be used in politics are all part of the schedule at the Fine Gael think-in.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his government colleagues will gather in the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) this evening for two hour bonding session.

Ministers, TDs and senators will be split up into three separate groups for the team building exercises which are being run by some of the universitys senior academics and graduates.

The first group will work with staff members from the O'Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance. This will involve what has been described to some TDs as a voice and movement workshop. There will also be a creative writing element to workshop which will draw on the work of the Galway born stage actress Siobhan McKenna. The late Ms McKenna is best known for her work on the Irish stage during the 1950s and 1960s but also landed roles in Hollywood movies such as Doctor Zhivago.

The second group will take part in a theatre game called Two Truths which was created by NUIG graduate Sarah Hoover.

The Galway Theatre Festival described Ms Hoovers creation as agame-theatre event that lets players collectively decide the direction Ireland should go for the next ten years.

Drawing on the simple game two truths and a lie (where one person tells the other three truths, one of which is a lie), Two Truths asks us to question our own beliefs, and what they are based on.

"A playful and thought-provoking experience that mixes role-play, theatre, politics, debate, and colouring crayons, it adds.

The final group will learn how drama can be used to effect social change and create political movements.

It will draw on a recent project by NUIG graduates on sexual consent among university students and the impact it had on their third level education.
The Islandman: Taoiseach Leo Varadkar meets the pupils of Colaiste Naomh Eoin in Inis Meain on the Aran Islands. Photo: Tony Gavin

Time and again, Leo Varadkar insists he does not want an election. He's almost indignant at a suggestion that events of recent days are all part of a cunning plan to cause one.

The letter sent to Micheal Martin was actually penned by the Taoiseach himself.

"They're always better when I write them myself," he laughs while preparing to sit down for an interview with the Irish Independent.

But Mr Martin didn't see any funny side. The Fianna Fail leader has already made it clear that he won't even talk about a new confidence and supply agreement until after Budget 2019.

The tax cuts, pension increases, infrastructure investment, childcare funding and ramping up of house construction proposed by the Taoiseach have been dismissed as the kite-flying efforts of somebody working on a manifesto.

It's an accusation that gets Mr Varadkar very animated: "Why can't they accept it? If it's in the interests of the Irish public? If it's a good policy platform? If they agree with all of the content, why not accept it? It's not a manifesto for an election, which would be a five-year plan. This is what we'd like to do if we can have an extension to 2020."

It's all lining up to be a long two months of political games, as both sides tip-toe around the cliff edge.

Fianna Fail says business as usual will continue until all elements of the Budget are passed, which is likely to happen in November or December - but that "eleventh hour" approach won't wash with Fine Gael.

"It's about removing uncertainty of a snap election for the Government and the Opposition. It's September now so what he [Micheal Martin] is saying is that this Government could end in eight weeks' time, potentially before we have a withdrawal agreement on Brexit finalised," says Mr Varadkar.

Asked if he believes Mr Martin is stringing him along, Mr Varadkar replies: "Maybe that's his strategy. I don't know. I'm being upfront here. I'm not playing games."

His thinking goes even deeper than just what is contained in the letter.

Mr Varadkar also reveals that if he is able to stay on as Taoiseach he'll reshuffle his Cabinet next summer.

"The natural time to do a reshuffle in the course of the Government would be after the local and European elections next May. In the normal cycle of politics, that's generally when it happens."

Read more: Varadkar and Martin exchange letters as Taoiseach seeks deal with Fianna Fail for 2020 election

Two members of Cabinet who are likely to survive are the ministers who seem to be continually in the eye of a storm: Eoghan Murphy and Simon Harris.

Was it a mistake to appoint the two youngest and most inexperienced ministers to housing and health?

"They may be the youngest but I think they are also among the most capable. Once upon a time I was the youngest in the cabinet and I think it's a good thing that there are now people in the Cabinet who are younger than me," Mr Varadkar argues. "It's right to challenge people who are young and able with difficult briefs. I don't think any reasonable person holds either Simon Harris or Eoghan Murphy individually accountable for everything that goes wrong in either the health service or housing."

Mr Murphy is facing a no-confidence motion when the Dail resumes, but his boss is not stressed by the prospect.

As for keeping the Independent members of the Government on board until summer 2020, Mr Varadkar has already met with Denis Naughten, Shane Ross and Katherine Zappone. By his account, they seem positive.

But, perhaps taking no chances, he's going to give Finian McGrath and John Halligan a free ride if they take part in protests against the visit of Donald Trump.

"If they want to take part in protests, I'll understand that. That's just part of the diversity of the government that we have. It's not a bad thing sometimes that they bring these perspectives to the table."

Back in 2017, Mr Varadkar said he was "not sure what purpose" a visit by the US president would serve. He claims not to remember the comment.

"I'm not really sure what I meant by that there is certainly a purpose in it," he says now.

"America is a close friend and ally, but relations are not as close as they used to be," Mr Varadkar adds, citing a desire to discuss the real impact of Brexit with Mr Trump.

Of course, unless Fine Gael and Fianna Fail sort out a new deal, Mr Trump's arrival could coincide with a November election.
A DEAL resolving the Irish border crux can be achieved if Britain makes the necessary compromises, Irish EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has said.

But Mr Hogan also warns that British Conservatives failure to allow Prime Minister, Theresa May, to take a more pragmatic stance seriously risks a no deal outcome to the EU-UK Brexit talks which would damage all sides, especially Ireland.

The EU Agriculture Commissioner says the Britain has engaged in a recurring cycle of silly behaviour since the outcome of the Brexit referendum in June 2016. He says every time Prime Minister May courageously tried to make real compromises with the EU factions inside her own party prevented her.

In a hard-hitting speech to be delivered today ((FRI)), Mr Hogan is scathingly critical of some of the ultra-Brexiteers  including Jacob Rees Mogg and Boris Johnson - whom he compares with US President Trump. He castigates President Trump saying he resembles a cattle dealer who takes a short-term view of the world and fails to make sustainable deals which can benefit all involved.

Hard-driven bargains are no foundation for long-term relations, he says of President Trumps flawed approach to global trade deals.

Commissioner Hogan will tell the Kennedy Summer School in Wexford that the EUs long-standing policy of doing fair and honest trade deals across the globe is paying dividends. Partners across the globe are lining up at our door to conclude trade agreements with us, he says.

Mr Hogan says that this year alone the EU has done trade deals with Canada and Japan. In the near future similar deals will be done with Mexico, the South American countries Mercosur grouping, Australia and New Zealand.

The EU Commissioner said the current of EU-UK talks signalled a Brexit deal close to the one recently concluded between the European Union and Canada. This would require a back-stop style agreement on the Irish border to ensure it remains invisible as it is at present.

Mr Hogan said he believed this is possible if the UK takes a more practical approach to the talks. More generally, he said he is optimistic that mainstream politicians can triumph over populists in both the EU and the US.
Ireland is becoming more diverse, with the bulk of population growth over the last decade made up of ethnic groups other than 'white Irish'.

An analysis of census data from 2006 and 2016 reveals that while the number of people who classified themselves as 'white Irish' rose by almost 210,000 over the decade, those who referred to themselves as belonging to other ethnic groups increased by more than 250,000.

It also reveals that Clara, in Co Offaly, is the town where the largest bulk of the population refers to themselves as 'white Irish'. While 82.18pc of the population class themselves as being part of this ethnic group, it rises to more than 90pc in eight towns including Clara, Kill and Derrinturn, in Co Kildare, Lifford and Convoy, in Co Donegal, Fethard in Co Tipperary, Castlecomer-Donaguile in Co Kilkenny, and Newport in Co Mayo.

The most diverse town in the State is Ballyhaunis, in Co Mayo, where just 38.54pc of the population describe themselves as 'white Irish', followed by Edgeworthstown in Co Longford (51.41pc).

The figures are based on census returns from 2006 and 2016. Householders self-describe their ethnic background, with four main categories - white, which includes the subsets of Irish, Irish Traveller and other white background; black, which includes African or any other black background; Asian or Asian Irish, which includes Chinese or any other Asian background; and 'other'.

The data has been broken down to settlement level of 50 dwellings or more by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Expand Close Future: Pippa Woolnough called for proactive diversity recognition / Facebook

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Whatsapp Future: Pippa Woolnough called for proactive diversity recognition

The returns show that 535,475 non-Irish nationals from 200 different countries were living here in April 2016 when the census was taken. The highest increase in absolute numbers since 2006 was in 'white other', which would include people from EU accession states. Some 9.53pc of the population fall into this category, and numbers rose by 54.55pc over the decade.

It is followed by 'Asian', up 46,375. This cohort represents 2.1pc of the population. Another 1.38pc identify as black, up 46pc. Some 1.51pc are classed as 'other', up 24,165, while just 0.66pc of the population identifies as 'white Irish Traveller', up 8,618 or 38.5pc.

The Immigrant Council of Ireland said Ireland was seen as a destination country, with people arriving on visas, critical skills work permits, as EU residents and refugees, but the country was "not preparing for diversity".

"One in eight people is from a migrant background. One of the talismans we have, the Rose of Tralee, is African Irish and I don't think we're used to hearing that," communications and advocacy manager Pippa Woolnough said.

"Just three from 949 councillors are from a migrant background. Only one in 240 gardai is from migrant backgrounds.

"That's not representative of the communities they represent. Ireland is diverse and if we're not being proactive and recognising that diversity and celebrating it, there is a danger we will walk into segregation and tension which we see in our nearest neighbours."

The data shows Cork is the most 'white Irish' city while Galway has the highest proportion of white Irish Traveller and people of black ethnicity.

How Ireland is becoming more diverse

WHITE IRISH

82.18pc of the population classify themselves as 'white Irish', up 5.73pc or 209,027.

Clara, in Co Offaly, is the 'most' white Irish town, with 92.1pc falling into this category. In eight towns, 90pc of the population fall into this category. The others are Kill and Derrinturn, in Co Kildare; Lifford and Convoy, in Co Donegal;Castlecomer-Doneguile, in Co Kilkenny; Newport, in Co Mayo and Fethard, in Co Tipperary.

The lowest percentage is Ballyhaunis, in Co Mayo, at 38.54pc.

WHITE OTHER

9.53pc are 'white other', up 157,686 or 54.55pc.

Monaghan, at 28.4pc, has the highest percentage, followed by Ballyhaunis (27.5pc), Ballymahon, in Co Longford, at 26.11pc and Saggart, in Dublin, at 25.56pc.

WHITE IRISH TRAVELLER

0.66pc are 'white Irish Traveller', up 8,618 or 38.5pc.

The highest proportion is in Bunclody-Carrickduff (Carlow/Wexford), at just over 11pc. This is followed by Abbeyfeale, in Co Limerick (10.72pc), Tuam (8.33pc), Ballinasloe (7.75pc) and Longford at 7.32pc. The percentage fell in 23 towns and rose in 120.

ASIAN

Some 2.1pc classify themselves as 'Asian', up 88pc, or 46,375.

The highest percentage is in Ballyhaunis at 13.47pc, followed by Ballaghaderreen, in Co Roscommon, at 12.12pc, Saggart, in Dublin, at 8.71pc, Edgeworthstown, in Co Longford, at 6.88pc, and 5.56pc in Cavan.

The lowest percentage is in Fethard, in Co Tipperary, at just 0.13pc.

The Asian population dropped in four places - Ballyshannon, Co Donegal (down 13pc), Dingle (down 14.3pc), Enniskerry (down almost 35pc) and Abbeyfeale, in Co Limerick (down 71.43pc).

BLACK

1.38pc classed themselves as 'black', up 46pc, or 20,321.

Balbriggan, in Co Dublin, has the highest proportion of black inhabitants, at 11pc, up 151pc, or by 1,426. This is followed by Carrigtwohill, in Co Cork, at just over 6pc, Edgeworthstown, in Co Longford, at 5.6pc, Balrothery, in north Dublin, at 5.5pc, and Longford at 5.5pc.

The highest increase was Newcastle, Co Dublin, at 3,300pc, up 99 people.

OTHER
A fisherman got more than he bargained for last weekend when he ended up with a large shark on the end of his rod just off the Wexford coast.

Sergeys Zamahajeus had been fishing for cod near Hook Head on Sunday evening when he suddenly felt a bite on the line.

Assuming it was a large fish, a friend decided to capture the big catch on video.

However, after more than two minutes of trying to reel it in, they soon realised it wasn't a cod on the end of the line.

"They were in shock, they couldn't believe it," a friend of Cerjegs told Independent.ie.

"One of the lads was saying to bring it on to the boat but Cerjegs said if that thing's coming on the boat, I'm getting into the water."

He released it back into the water before heading back to shore.

John McKeown, who works with Marine Specialists Ltd in Co Wexford, said it was a tope shark, which tend to frequent waters in schools.

Tope are medium-sized shallow water sharks. They range in colour from bluish to grey dorsally to white underneath and are similar to the blue shark species, which grabbed headlines this week.

Robert Malcolmson (40), from Belfast, was sea angling with a group of friends off the Cork coast when a blue shark they were landing turned on the line and bit his lower arm.

He received a four-inch gash to his arm, but due to its depth he started to bleed profusely and became dizzy.

A specialist in marine ecosystems and sharks at the Marine Institute in Galway sought to reassure the public that this was a "freak incident".

Blue sharks are quite frequent in Irish waters, its a freak incident really and it illustrates what can happen when youre working with a wild animal, Dr Maurice Clarke told Independent.ie.

This species are a regular visitor to Irish waters in the summertime when water temperatures are just right, above 15C.

Its nothing new, theyve always been coming to Ireland in the summer months. I would put peoples mind at rest by saying theyre an oceanic shark, they dont come in shore, there hasnt been any reports of an attack - although strictly speaking this wasnt an attack in the sense that the shark had been caught by anglers."

During the summer, a marine expert at the University of Southampton warned new types of sharks could be heading to Irish waters as a result of warming seas.

A new study revealed 10 species of sharks currently found in warmer parts of the world, such as hammerheads and blacktip sharks, may be swimming in British and Irish seas within 30 years as the climate changes.

Dr Ken Collins, who carried out the research said: "Though while the potential number of shark species around the UK may increase in the next few decades, the overall number of sharks, especially the larger ones, will fall as a result of over-fishing, plastic waste and climate change."
I grew up in a city called Hangzhou, on the campus village of Zhejiang University there.

Back then it wasn't very central. When I was small, behind the apartment block I grew up in was a rice paddy field. That was my playground, running around with my friends. I grew up in the university environment, but decided to go abroad to explore another country and learn some English. In this I was supported by my parents.

Ireland wanted to explore the international student market and had an exhibition in my city. At that point, the only thing I had heard about Ireland was the bombing in Northern Ireland, and that they spoke English. When I came over, my parents' friends would ask whether it was safe over here.

It was on June 15, 2002, when I arrived. I was in a language school for a year in Dublin and lived with a lovely host family.

Through conversation with them and in school, my English improved a lot. After eight or nine months, I did my English exam and got enough points for DIT.

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I started a business management course. At that point, in 2003, I think I was the only international student in my faculty, but computer science and accountancy would have had many Chinese students. Very quickly I had a group of classmates who I hung around with all the time. They were all Irish; from Sligo, Kells, Dublin and other places.

One day in 2003, I was on College Green and I looked around and half the people I saw walking around were Asian or Chinese. I was at the beginning of the first wave of international students, at a time when Ireland was going through a severe labour shortage. I remember friends telling me they were approached on the street asking were they looking for work.

While in college, for a while I worked in Neary's bar off Grafton Street and later in a nightclub as well. You'd see cultural people and celebrities, I really enjoyed it.

I know other Chinese people had difficulties and would have got abusive words, but it never happened to me. One Irish friend said they would hear people on the bus shouting "Look, a ni**er". It's rare I hear it now, but racism still happens.

Yesterday I was getting off the Luas and talking to my parents on the phone in Chinese, and across the road a young guy shouted what language was I speaking, and told me to go home. But I recognised that person was vulnerable himself. He didn't look like he was in a normal state of mind.

I met my Irish husband while in college. A few months ago, I was at traffic lights in the car with my seven-year old daughter, and she suddenly started crying hysterically. It turns out the passenger in the car parked next to us made slit eyes and a pig nose at her. She said it was because she was Chinese. That has impacted on her a lot. It is still very upsetting for her.

I tried accountancy as a career for a short while, then realised it wasn't for me. I decided to stay at home with our children. After a while, I got upset about being at home all the time. I knew I was privileged because I didn't have to worry about finance and I had a stable home, but I realised through social media that quite a lot of Chinese people in Ireland were in various difficult situations.

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The Chinese community in general isn't great at reaching out to local migrant supports.

I decided I wanted to explore what channels could we go through to make changes. I work with Places of Sanctuary Ireland and run a network of support groups for migrants to feel welcome in society.

It's about bringing communities together. I've also joined the Social Democrats and am involved with advocacy in migrant political participation.

A lot has changed. When I first came over, Ireland was very mono-cultural.

People I know from other countries would say Dublin was the whitest European capital city they had ever seen. Now there's diversity from all over the world. Immigrants mostly are very fond of Irish people, and talk about how inspiring civil societies are.

During the Repeal the Eighth campaign, many immigrants, including myself, got involved on both sides. I think it is because Ireland is our home now and we care for it.

I try to visit my parents in China once a year, but these days I find myself thinking differently from folks at home.
A male restaurant boss sacked a waitress on the spot after a customer posting a negative comment on TripAdvisor complaining that "the red-haired waitress was abrupt".

The woman, who also worked 'front of house' at the restaurant, sued for unfair dismissal and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has upheld her claim and ordered the restaurant to pay her 2,000 compensation.

The restaurant boss told the WRC he accepted the waitress's version of events around the dismissal but that he also received two other complaints from customers and, in addition, received about 20 complaints from other members of staff about their colleague.

The boss accepted at the WRC that he did not inform the waitress of these other complaints when sacking her.

In a hard-hitting ruling, WRC adjudication officer Maire Mulcahy said the use of the TripAdvisor comment and 20 alleged complaints "is not far short of mob rule in the workplace" when the waitress was not offered the opportunity to examine their truthfulness.

Ms Mulcahy said the comment on TripAdvisor which the restaurant used as reason to dismiss her "is very far removed" from the concept of 'substantial grounds' to warrant a dismissal as required by the Unfair Dismissal Act.

The adjudication officer said: "There was no disciplinary procedure in the workplace. There was no process. No advance notice, no examination of the alleged complaints, no opportunity to be accompanied at the meeting which resulted in her dismissal or right of appeal was afforded to the complainant."

The waitress told the WRC she believed the real reason she was dismissed was because of the support she offered her boss's partner in the break-up of that relationship.

The WRC report said the restaurant boss had apologised to the waitress for his behaviour.
The family of a young boy who was born "perfect" in their eyes but was soon rushed to Temple Street hospital where he stayed for five months have shared their story online.

Ruadhan Kerins was born on his parents wedding anniversary before Christmas in 2015- but the day after he was born, medical staff began to realise that something was wrong.

"It was the perfect day, everything seemed to be perfect. And then, on day two, everything started to go wrong," mum Ciara said in an emotional video tribute.

"I didnt know what she was doing at first, but it turned out she was checking his sugars," said Ruadhan's father Alan, a former Galway dual player.

We are honoured to share wonderful Ruadhan Kerins' story, who was treated here when he was just a tiny baby. This video is part of our 'Living Proof' series, highlighting the impact that donations have on the lives of children in Temple Street https://t.co/jJPDIxmfzC @alankerins  Temple Street (@Temple_Street) September 5, 2018

"Then she turned to us in panic and said, This baby has to go to intensive care."

Ruadhan was diagnosed with 'hyperinsulinism, which means his pancreas was producing dangerous levels of insulin. He remained in Temple Street hospital for five months, something that his parents found difficult to see.

"We didnt know much about the illness, so we just said wed try and be his mum and dad," Ciara said.

"We just said we were going to stop going in and asking about the illness, they look after that and we just try and emotionally support him."

Shortly after, the family found out that Ruadhan required specialist surgery in Manchester to remove almost 95pc of his pancreas.

The worried parents said they "broke into tears" when the doctor told them they only had to remove 3pc in the end.

Expand Close The young boy was diagnosed with 'hyperinsulinism, which means his pancreas was producing dangerous levels of insulin. / Facebook

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Whatsapp The young boy was diagnosed with 'hyperinsulinism, which means his pancreas was producing dangerous levels of insulin.

"We got a miracle in the end, we could smile again," Ciara said.

"I remember one special day, the first day we could hold him ourselves without anything. It was a massive day for him, for us."

Alan and Ciara have now paid tribute to Temple Street, praising the staff for the love he received while in their care almost three years ago.

Temple Street was home for us, and the love and the care he got there oozes out of him," said Ciara.

"It's in his smile and his character. Words cant describe how grateful we are to them for what they have done for Ruadhan  for saving his life."
I'm kicking off my first column with the ultimate fish pie. I made this last week for supper at home with my friends Fiona Leahy (Queen of tablescaping) and Sally Greene (Queen of theatre, who produced the Billy Elliot musical) - we cosied up in my coach house in Highbury and filled our souls with fish pie.

To save time, the filling can be made the night before, then just whip up the rosti topping on the day. This recipe can be doubled and tripled.

The most important thing is to make sure you source good-quality fish. My favourite fishmonger in London is Bourne's Seafood in Highbury Barn. If you ever pay a visit to Bourne's, make sure you down a few Carlingford Irish rock oysters while they prepare your fish. They taste like the Atlantic Ocean.

I like to serve my fish pie with grilled purple sprouting broccoli or asparagus. A lovely wine to accompany this dish would be Champteloup Chardonnay from the Loire Valley - it has a delicious creamy texture and a mineral backbone, which complements the smoked haddock perfectly.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Serves 2

ingredients

450g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled

50g mature cheddar cheese

250g smoked haddock fillets, skinless

250g salmon fillets, skinless

400ml milk

1 shallot, cut in half

1 bay leaf

1 tsp black peppercorns

50g flour

50g butter, softened

2 tsps Dijon mustard

2 tbsps fresh dill

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 large raw prawns, in their shells

25g butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6 and grate the raw potatoes with the larger part of a box grater and pop them into a bowl of cold water to stop them from going brown. Grate the cheddar using the same side of the grater and set aside in a bowl.

2. Place the smoked haddock and the salmon in a saucepan, pour over the milk and drop in the onion, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cook over a low heat for five minutes then drain, holding on to the milk but discarding the shallot, bay leaf and peppercorns. Then add the fish to the roasting tray.

3. Melt 50g of butter in a saucepan then stir in the flour and cook for five minutes to make a roux. Add the milk that you poached the fish in as well as the mustard and whisk until the sauce is smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, add in half the dill and pour over the fish.

4. Drain the potatoes and pat dry with a clean tea towel until they are completely dry. Mix them in a bowl with the grated cheddar, the rest of the dill and sea salt and scatter them over the fish and the sauce. Tuck the raw prawns around the pie so

that the face of the prawns is facing up and the rest of the body of the prawns is tucked in the pie.

5. Brush the melted butter over the potatoes on top of the pie to ensure the top gets really crispy. Bake for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus attends the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepts Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 'Veep' onstage during the 69th Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theatre on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. / AFP PHOTO / Frederic J. Brown

Julia Louis-Dreyfus feels like a "different" person after beating breast cancer.

The 'Veep' actress underwent successful surgery earlier this year after revealing a year ago that she had received the life-changing diagnosis, and says she is "grateful" to have made it out the other side.

In an interview with InStyle magazine, she said: "I do feel different, but I cant quite articulate how.

"Ive come out the other side of this, and Im still not exactly sure how to define the difference other than to say Im grateful, of course. But its more than that. Its bigger."

Expand Close Julia Louis Dreyfus with husband Brad Hall in Ireland. Picture: Instagram / Facebook

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She went on to praise her husband Brad Hall for his unwavering support, saying: "I dont know how to identify that except to say that you have to find someone you respect and trust. I still really like hanging out with him, and hes been a wonderful father and a wonderful husband. Hes a good man. I really admire him as a person."

The 57-year-old comedienne completed chemotherapy in January, and updated her fans to let her know she was pleased with her progress and is feeling good.

She shared a glamorous professional picture of herself on Instagram, and wrote: "Hoorah! Great doctors, great results, feeling happy and ready to rock after surgery.

"Hey cancer, 'F**k you!' Here's my first post-op photo."

When she announced her diagnosis last September, the star admitted she was grateful to have "fantastic" insurance and a supportive network as she knows other people are not so lucky.

She tweeted at the time: "1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I'm the one.

Expand Close Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus attends the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus attends the 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 20, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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"The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality."

When the former 'Seinfeld' star celebrated the end of her treatment, she shared a video of her two sons, Henry, 26, and Charlie, 21 - whom she has with husband Brad Hull - dancing and lip syncing to Michael Jackson's hit single 'Beat It', which they'd made to lift her spirits.

She captioned the video: "My beauty boys @henryhallmusic @charlie_hall made this for me today, my last day of chemotherapy. Pretty swell, right? Ain't they sweet? (sic)"
While some mysteries take years to solve, some only take seconds, as was the case when an apparently unmanned truck crossed a parking lot and collided with another vehicle.

The explanation? The dog left inside the truck is thought to have nudged it into drive while reaching for a tasty snack on the dashboard  heres Paul Shearn from Hancock County, Kentucky, to tell you more.

Paul, 37, a youth pastor at Christ Community Church of Owensboro, had vacated the truck to buy some burgers for a Labour Day fishing and camping trip. He left the vehicle running, in park and the air conditioning on full blast for Elvis the dog while he did so.

However, upon coming out of the store, Paul saw his truck had crossed four or five parking spaces before nudging into the side of someone elses car.

How the car was moved is still a mystery. I know that I put it in park! Paul told the Press Association.

I actually had forgotten something and turned around to get it out of the truck. I wouldve for sure noticed the truck moving at that point.

I told Elvis not to do anything stupid or get the cops called on us. Well he actually did both!

Thankfully the damage was minor  Pauls truck was unscathed while the other car sustained minor damage to the drivers side rear panel  and now Elvis appears to be the talk of the town.

Since the accident Elvis has become something of a rock star! said Paul. Its mind-blowing how much attention this has received.

Let that be a lesson to any dog owners out there: keep your bacon grease off the dashboard. Here ends this public service announcement.
A leading presidential candidate in Brazil is undergoing surgery after being stabbed during a campaign event.

Officials said Jair Bolsonaro was in stable condition, though his son said he had suffered severe blood loss.

Numerous videos on social media showed Mr Bolsonaro, whose far-right platform includes cracking down on crime in Latin Americas largest nation, being stabbed with a knife to the lower part of his stomach.

At the moment of the attack, Mr Bolsonaro was on the shoulders of a supporter looking out at the crowd and giving a thumbs up with his left hand.

After the attack, he is seen flinching and then goes out of view. Other videos show supporters carrying him to a car.

Expand Close Mr Bolsonaro is taken on the shoulders of a supporter moments before being stabbed during a campaign rally (Antonio Scorza/Agencia O Globo via AP) / Facebook

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Police spokesman Flavio Santiago confirmed to The Associated Press Mr Bolsonaro had been stabbed and his attacker was arrested.

Mr Santiago said Mr Bolsonaro was taken to a hospital in Juiz de Fora, a city about 125 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, and was in good condition.

Mr Santiago said the attacker was identified as Adelio Bispo de Oliveira.

He said the suspect was beaten badly by Mr Bolsonaro supporters after the attack.

The man was arrested in 2013 for another assault, police said.

In a statement, the hospital attending to Mr Bolsonaro said he was in surgery but did not elaborate.

Mr Bolsonaros son, Flavio Bolsonaro, initially posted on Twitter the injury was superficial and his father was fine.

However, an hour later he posted another tweet saying the wound was worse than we thought.

Infelizmente foi mais grave que esperavamos. A perfuracao atingiu parte do figado, do pulmao e da alca do intestino. Perdeu muito sangue, chegou no hospital com pressao de 10/3, quase morto... Seu estado agora parece estabilizado. Orem, por favor!  Flavio Bolsonaro (@FlavioBolsonaro) September 6, 2018

Flavio said the puncture had hit parts of his fathers liver, lung and intestines and he lost a lot of blood.

He arrived at the hospital almost dead, Flavio wrote. His condition now seems stabilised. Please pray.

A statement from federal police said the candidate had bodyguards.

In the videos, Mr Bolsonaro does not appear to be wearing a protective vest. Such measures are rare for candidates in Brazil.

This episode is sad, President Michel Temer told reporters in Brasilia. We wont have a rule of law if we have intolerance.

Mr Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is second in the polls to jailed ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been barred from running but continues to appeal.

Despite being a congressman since 1991, Mr Bolsonaro is running as an outsider ready to upend the establishment.

While he has a strong following, Mr Bolsonaro is also a deeply polarising figure. He has been fined, and even faced charges, for derogatory statements toward women, blacks and gays.

He speaks nostalgically about the countrys 1964-1985 military dictatorship and has promised to fill his government with current and former military leaders.

His vice presidential running mate is a retired general.

Earlier this week, Mr Bolsonaro said during a campaign event he would like to shoot corrupt members of the leftist Workers Party, which made da Silva its candidate.

The comment prompted an immediate rebuke from the attorney general, who asked Mr Bolsonaro to explain that comment.

Other candidates quickly denounced the stabbing.

Politics is done through dialogue and by convincing, never with hate, tweeted Gerado Alckmin, former governor of Sao Paulo who has focused negative ads on Mr Bolsonaro.

Politica se faz com dialogo e convencimento, jamais com odio. Qualquer ato de violencia e deploravel. Esperamos que a investigacao sobre o ataque ao deputado Jair Bolsonaro seja rapida, e a punicao, exemplar.  Geraldo Alckmin (@geraldoalckmin) September 6, 2018

Fernando Haddad, who is expected to take da Silvas place on the Workers Party ticket, called the attack absurd and regrettable.

The attack comes at a time of increasingly heated rhetoric, and sometimes violence, related to campaigns and candidates.

In March, while da Silva was on a campaign tour in southern Brazil before his imprisonment, gunshots hit buses in his caravan.

No one was hurt and da Silva, who is in jail on a corruption conviction, was not in the vehicles hit.

Also in March Marielle Franco, a black councilwoman in Rio de Janeiro, was shot to death along with her driver after attending an event on empowering black women.

It was not immediately clear how the attack on Mr Bolsonaro might reshape a presidential race very much in the air with the front-runner, da Silva, in jail.

In many ways, the incident feeds Mr Bolsonaros narrative that Brazil is in chaos and needs a strong hand to steady it.

Its likely that Bolsonaro will use the attack to argue his opponents are desperate, that they had no other way to stop him, said Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiros state university.
Attack: The suspects, believed to be travelling as Alexander Petrov (left) and Ruslan Boshirov. Photo credit: Metropolitan Police/PA Wir

Two Russian nationals have been named as suspects in connection with the Salisbury poisonings in England.

There is sufficient evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with offences including conspiracy to murder over the Novichok attack on ex-Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March, Scotland Yard and the Crown Prosecution Service have said.

Neil Basu, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said it is likely the suspects were travelling under aliases and Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names. The pair are believed to be aged around 40.

The announcement will deepen the rift between Britain and Russia after the nerve agent attack sparked a wave of diplomatic expulsions by the UK and its allies.

British authorities are understood to believe several Russians were involved in the attempted murders, which also led to 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess becoming an indirect casualty of the poisoning.

A small amount of Novichok is thought to have been used in liquid form to target the Skripals in March.

In July, a source with knowledge of the investigation claimed two suspects had been identified and had left Britain after the attack.

It is understood the suspected perpetrators were identified through CCTV footage that was cross-checked with border entry data.

The UK Government has insisted it is "highly likely" Russia was behind the attack, but Moscow has repeatedly denied responsibility.

Ms Sturgess died in July, with authorities believing she and boyfriend Charlie Rowley picked up a discarded vial containing the substance. The pair fell ill on June 30 in Amesbury, near Salisbury. Mr Rowley remains seriously ill in hospital. Police believe it is linked to the poisoning of the Skripals, who were discovered slumped on a bench on March 4 and have since been discharged from hospital.

Independent investigators have confirmed the nerve agent used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal was the same toxic chemical that killed Dawn Sturgess three months later.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OCPW) said it had confirmed the UK's findings, which concluded in July the substance used in Amesbury was Novichok.

Ms Sturgess, a mother of three, died eight days later having never regained consciousness. It is believed they were exposed to a military grade nerve agent from a perfume bottle discarded by those responsible for the attack on the Skripals.

The OPCW said: "The results of the analysis by the OPCW-designated laboratories of environmental and biomedical samples collected by the OPCW team confirm the findings of the United Kingdom relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that intoxicated two individuals in Amesbury and resulted in one fatality.

"The toxic chemical compound displays the same toxic properties of a nerve agent.

"It is also the same toxic chemical that was found in the biomedical and environmental samples relating to the poisoning of Mr Sergei Skripal, Ms Yulia Skripal, and Mr Nicholas Bailey on March 4 in Salisbury."

Six months on from the attack in Salisbury, Russia has reiterated its belief that the UK is flouting international law by apparently keeping the pair from having contact with embassy officials.

A statement released by the Russian Embassy referred to the circumstances of the March attack as "obscure" and accused British authorities of keeping the Skripals in isolation ever since their release from hospital.

It said: "They remain out of the public eye at an unknown location, unable to communicate freely with their relatives, friends, journalists or Russian officials, deprived of the freedom of movement."

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Indians celebrate after the countrys top court struck down the controversial law (Altaf Qadri/AP)

Indias supreme court has struck down a law from the colonial era that made gay sex punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

In a unanimous decision, five Supreme Court justices ruled the law was a weapon used to harass members of the gay community and resulted in discrimination.

After the ruling, opponents of the law danced and waved flags outside the court.

We feel as equal citizens now, activist Shashi Bhushan said. What happens in our bedroom is left to us.

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Whatsapp An activist wears a badge protesting against section 377 of the law (Rafiq Maqbool/AP)

The law  known as Section 377  held that intercourse between members of the same sex was against the order of nature.

The five petitioners who challenged the law said it was discriminatory and led to gay people living in fear of being harassed and prosecuted by police.

Arvind Datar, the attorney for the petitioners, argued in court that the penal provision was unconstitutional because it provides for the prosecution and sentencing of consenting adults.

A New Delhi High Court in 2009 declared Section 377 unconstitutional but that decision was overturned in a ruling by three Supreme Court justices in 2013 on the grounds that amending or repealing the law should be left to Parliament.

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However, lawmakers failed to take action and in July the government told the Supreme Court to give a ruling in the case.

Over the past decade, gay people have gained a degree of acceptance in parts of deeply conservative India, especially in big cities.

Some high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with gay issues but being gay is still seen as shameful in much of the country.

Karan Johar, a Bollywood producer and director, said Thursdays verdict was history in the making.

So proud today! Decriminalizing homosexuality and abolishing section 377 is a huge thumb up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back! he wrote on Twitter.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom in April (Korea Summit Press/AP)

Kim Jong Un has reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the suspension of all future long-range missile tests and said he had faith to continue working with US president Donald Trump, South Korean officials said.

Mr Kim also reportedly expressed frustration with outside scepticism about his nuclear disarmament intentions and demanded that his goodwill measures be met in kind.

The trove of Kim comments were filtered through his propaganda specialists in Pyongyang and the South Korean government, which is keen on keeping engagement alive, and they comes amid a growing stand-off with the United States on how to proceed with diplomacy meant to settle a nuclear dispute that had many fearing war last year.

Only hours earlier, a South Korean delegation returned from talks with Mr Kim where they set up a summit on September 18-20 in Pyongyang between Mr Kim and South Korean president Moon Jae-in, their third meeting since April.

Each statement reportedly made by Mr Kim will be parsed for clues about the future of the nuclear diplomacy.

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His reported commitment to a nuclear-free Korea, for instance, was not new information  Mr Kim has repeatedly declared similar intentions before  but it allows hopes to rise that negotiators can get back on track after the recriminations that followed Mr Kims meeting in June with Mr Trump in Singapore.

The impasse between North Korea and the United States, with neither side seemingly willing to make any substantive move, has generated widespread scepticism over Mr Trumps claims that Mr Kim will really dismantle his nuclear weapons programme.

Chairman Kim Jong Un has made it clear several times that he is firmly committed to denuclearise, and he expressed frustration over scepticism in the international community over his commitment, Chung Eui-yong, Mr Moons national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, told reporters on Seoul on Thursday.

He said hes pre-emptively taken steps necessary for denuclearisation and wants to see these goodwill measures being met with goodwill measures.

Mr Chung reported Mr Kim as saying that work to dismantle the only engine-test site in the country means a complete suspension of future long-range ballistic missile tests.

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Mr Kim also said an end-of-war declaration that Seoul and Pyongyang have been pushing Washington to sign off on would not weaken the US-South Korean alliance or lead to the withdrawal of the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea to prevent North Korean attack, according to Mr Chung.

The summit later this month between Mr Kim and Mr Moon, the driving force behind the current diplomacy, will be a crucial indicator of whether larger nuclear negotiations with the United States will proceed.

Mr Moon is seen as eager to keep the diplomacy alive in part so that he can advance his ambitious engagement plans with the North, which would need US backing to succeed.

The inter-Korean summit comes on the eve of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York at the end of September, but Seoul said on Thursday that it was unlikely Mr Kim would attend.

Seoul has indicated an interest in Mr Kim and Mr Trump meeting in New York, and Mr Trump, who is facing growing domestic turmoil, has hinted that another summit could happen.

While pushing ahead with summits and inter-Korean engagement, Seoul is trying to persuade Washington and Pyongyang to proceed with peace and denuclearisation processes at the same time so they can overcome a growing dispute over the sequencing of the diplomacy.

Seoul and Pyongyang both want a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War.

Expand Close Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore, in June (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore, in June (Evan Vucci/AP)

US officials have insisted that a peace declaration, which many see as a precursor to the North eventually calling for the removal of all US troops from the Korean Peninsula, cannot come before North Korea takes more concrete action toward abandoning its nuclear weapons.

Such steps may include providing an account of the components of its nuclear programme, allowing outside inspections and giving up a certain number of its nuclear weapons during the early stages of the negotiations.

The Korean War ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula technically still at war.

Mr Moon has made an end-of-war declaration an important premise of his peace agenda with North Korea.

While an end-of-war declaration would not imply a legally binding peace treaty, experts say it could create political momentum that would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions toward a peace regime, diplomatic recognition, economic benefits and security concessions.

The two past inter-Korean summits in April and May removed war fears and initiated a global diplomatic push that culminated with the meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump in June.

But Mr Moon faces tougher challenges heading into his third meeting with Mr Kim, with the stalemate in nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington raising fundamental questions about Mr Kims supposed willingness to abandon his nuclear weapons.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un still has faith in US president Donald Trumps commitment to ending their nations hostile relations, South Korean officials said.

However, Mr Kim is also said to be frustrated by questions about his willingness to denuclearise and wants his goodwill measures to be met in kind.

The North Korean leaders comments, including his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and the suspension of all future long-range missile tests, were relayed by top South Korean security officials returning from meeting him in Pyongyang.

Expand Close South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong speaks at the presidential Blue House in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong speaks at the presidential Blue House in Seoul (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Even in their indirect form, each statement will be closely examined for clues about Mr Kims mindset as North Korea and the US move forward with efforts to resolve a nuclear stand-off that just a year ago many feared could lead to war.

Some of his reported comments were reiterations of past stances, but there will be keen interest in whether they push negotiators back to diplomacy after recriminations that followed the two leaders June summit.

Since then, neither side has seemed willing to make a substantive move, leading to scepticism over Mr Trumps claims that Mr Kim will really dismantle his nuclear weapons programme.

Expand Close Kim Jong Un meets with South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong in Pyongyang (South Korea Presidential Blue House/Yonhap via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Kim Jong Un meets with South Korean National Security Director Chung Eui-yong in Pyongyang (South Korea Presidential Blue House/Yonhap via AP)

Recent satellite photos have indicated Mr Kims weapons factories are still operating to produce fissile materials to make nuclear weapons.

South Korean officials said they forwarded a message from the US leader to Mr Kim during their meeting and would send a separate message from Mr Kim to Mr Trump later on Thursday. The officials would not discuss the content of the messages.

Chung Eui-yong, Mr Moons national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, said Mr Kim told him that he still had faith in Mr Trump despite diplomatic setbacks.

He said the North Korean leader emphasised that he has not once talked negatively about Mr Trump to anyone, including his closest advisers.

Expand Close Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore, in June (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Donald Trump met with Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island, in Singapore, in June (Evan Vucci/AP)

The US president responded by tweeting: Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims unwavering faith in President Trump. Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!

Mr Chung reported that Mr Kim said he wishes for North Korea and the US to put an end to their seven decades of hostile relations before the end of Mr Trumps first term.

The North Korean leader told Mr Chung that work to dismantle the only missile engine test site in North Korea means a complete suspension of future long-range ballistic missile tests.

Mr Kim said he would take more active measures toward denuclearisation if his moves are met with corresponding goodwill measures.
An explosive wildfire has closed down a large section of a major California road only weeks after a nearby blaze that killed eight people.

The Delta Fire erupted on Wednesday afternoon and within hours had burned nearly eight square miles of timber and brush on both sides of Interstate 5 near the Oregon border.

The blaze was caused by people, fire officials said, but they did not indicate whether it was arson or an accident.

Whatever occurred here was probably pretty ugly for a while.Brandon Vaccaro

Lorry drivers abandoned their vehicles as flames roared up hillsides. In a video, a passenger in a vehicle screams: Oh my God, I want to go! as trees burst into flames and sheets of fire were seen on either side of the road.

About 17 lorries were abandoned and at least four caught fire, a fire service spokesman said.

US Forest Service workers helped the driver of one burning truck to safety and other truckers and firefighters assisted other motorists.

Theres vehicles scattered all over, Brandon Vaccaro, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said. Whatever occurred here was probably pretty ugly for a while.

About 45 miles of the I-5 were closed in both directions. The blaze also delayed Amtraks Coast Starlight service between Sacramento and Oregon.

Scattered rural homes and cabins in and around the forest were under evacuation orders, from the community Lakehead north to the Siskiyou County line, the fire service spokesman said.

The fire was showing critical behaviour  burning fiercely and moving rapidly  but was still far away from any large towns, he added.

The city of Dunsmuir, with about 1,500 people, was about 15 miles from the fire. Residents were issued an evacuation warning, urging them to be prepared to leave if the fire threatened.

A nearby fire in the Redding area burned about 1,100 homes and killed eight people last month. It was only fully contained last week.
Syrian and allied Russian forces are preparing for an assault on the last-remaining rebel stronghold of Idlib.

The United Nations has warned that an all-out offensive on the province, where as many as three million people are trapped, could lead to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country.

The UN is hoping a last-minute summit between the major world powers that back opposing sides in the conflict can reach a political agreement that could at least limit the number of civilian casualties.

However, a barrage of Russian air strikes on Tuesday suggested they were in no mood for compromise.

Idlib is a province in northwestern Syria and is now the last-remaining territory controlled by the Syrian opposition.

President Bashar al-Assad has repeatedly said he will retake "every inch" of Syria, including Idlib.

Mr Assad's forces have already seized the cities of Homs, Hama and Aleppo, as well as Eastern Ghouta, Deraa and parts of the Golan Heights over the last seven years.

Idlib has become something of a holding pen for rebel fighters, activists, journalists and others, who were sent to the province from other parts of the country after refusing to reconcile with the government.

An estimated three million people - half of them displaced from other parts of Syria - live in the province and it is expected an offensive there would be the deadliest yet in the war. Idlib is important because it is the final rebel stronghold. A defeat in Idlib would signal the end of the opposition to Mr Assad and the death of the revolution.

Idlib is also strategically important because of its position close to the Turkish border, and because of the highway that runs through it that connects Mr Assad's heartland in Latakia to the west and Syria's second city of Aleppo to the south.

Mr Assad is keen to show he is in charge and he is there to stay. His position would be solidified by a "victory" in Idlib.

Idlib is controlled by a complex patchwork of different rebel groups. There are an estimated 30,000-40,000 fighters in Idlib, 10,000 of which are members of formerly Isil-linked Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy for the global coalition against Isil, recently called Idlib province "the largest al-Qa'ida safe haven since 9/11".

Russia had urged Turkey, which funds and supports more moderate elements of the opposition, to rid Idlib of its most extreme elements. This, however, has proved virtually impossible.

An offensive is expected now within the coming days, with Syrian troops massed around Idlib and Russian ships in place in the Mediterranean.

Western diplomats have told the 'Daily Telegraph' they expect an offensive to retake Idlib to take several months.

This is for a number of reasons: quite simply there is nowhere left for thousands of rebel fighters to go now that all other opposition territory has been retaken by government forces.

Rebels in other areas agreed deals which saw them bussed to Idlib rather than surrender.

Thousands are foreign fighters, including Chechen, Chinese Uighurs and Europeans, who will not be able to reconcile with the government and will most likely fight to the death.

The US and Turkey, the opposition's main backers, now see an assault as inevitable, but will be looking to limit the scope of any operation and its potential fallout.

This is a particular priority for Turkey, which has closed its border with Syria to stop the flow of refugees.

An assault on Idlib could send hundreds of thousands more its way, a burden that already refugee-saturated Turkey could not bear.

UN officials say as many as 800,000 people could be displaced and that the already high number of people in need of aid could increase dramatically.

Many of these are already living in tents and camp settlements near the border.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Elon Musk has escalated his feud with the British caver involved in July's rescue of a group of young Thai footballers, whom he had previously accused of being a paedophile.

Vernon Unsworth (63) angered the technology billionaire when he derided his offer of sending a mini-submarine to help in the rescue, pointing out it was not a workable solution.

Mr Musk responded with a baseless attack in a now-deleted tweet, calling Mr Unsworth a "paedo guy". He issued an apology, and said he had tweeted "in anger".

Last week he reignited the controversy by mocking Mr Unsworth for not following up on his threat to take legal action. It later emerged Mr Unsworth's lawyers had in fact sent Mr Musk a letter on August 6, informing him of their intention to sue for the "false and defamatory statements".

Buzzfeed published emails Mr Musk sent last week, in which he launched another unfounded attack on Mr Unsworth and swore at a journalist who has covered the dispute.

"I suggest that you call people you know in Thailand, find out what's actually going on and stop defending child rapists, you f***ing a******," Mr Musk wrote.

He has offered no evidence to support his claims.

Mr Unsworth's lawyer, Lin Wood, denied the latest accusation, writing in a statement: "Elon Musk can tweet his vindictive and vicious lie about Mr Unsworth a hundred times and it will still be a lie."
Bob Woodward, a US Navy veteran, was 29 years old and just months into a reporting job at the 'Washington Post' when he got the tip that would change his life, and America, forever.

The tip was to do with a burglary at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex in Washington. He teamed up with Carl Bernstein, a fellow 'Post' reporter, and so began a long trail which ultimately led them all the way to corruption at the top of Richard Nixon's White House. Woodward and Bernstein - or 'Woodstein' - became the most heralded US investigative journalists ever, and the 'Washington Post' won a 1973 Pulitzer Prize.

The reporters gave full details of how they got there in their book 'All the President's Men', including Woodward's clandestine meetings with his source 'Deep Throat', and the source's exhortations to "follow the money".

The book was later made into a Hollywood film, starring Robert Redford as Woodward.

Since the 1970s, Woodward has hardly rested, writing another 17 books, including ones on Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, all of which had co-operation from the White House.

The relentless and methodical reporting that has underpinned his work since Watergate has only got more intense with age. He has harvested a level of detail on the workings of various White House administrations that no other writer can match.

For 'Fear' - his 448-page magnum opus on Donald Trump - Woodward, now 75, spent nearly two years talking to key figures in the administration. "It's going to be killer. Everyone talked with Woodward," one former Trump official said before publication.

Mr Trump himself expressed frustration that he himself was not interviewed, and complained to Mr Woodward about it in a phone call in August.

"I broke my spear on it trying to get to you," Mr Woodward told the president. He also informed Mr Trump that the book would be a "tough look at your administration - and you". Mr Trump replied: "Sounds like this is going to be a bad one."
Defiant: Donald Trump at a meeting with sheriffs from across the US at the White House. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump insisted yesterday he was the "exact opposite" of Bob Woodward's portrayal of him in a new book, as he railed against America's libel laws in a familiar attack on press freedom.

The president complained on Twitter about the book, 'Fear: Trump in the White House', as his administration was forced on to the defensive amid reports officials had struggled to get hold of a copy for hours after news broke of its extraordinary content.

It claims John Kelly, White House chief of staff, disparaged Mr Trump as an "idiot" and suggested the presidency was in "crazytown".

Jim Mattis, the defence secretary, reportedly told associates that the president had the understanding of a "fifth or sixth-grader".

Both men denied having said any such thing and a string of other figures lined up to offer their own denials, including Rudy Giuliani and former members of Mr Trump's legal team. But the broader account of a White House careening towards what Mr Woodward described as a "nervous breakdown" chimes with previous accounts of an administration in crisis.

The White House blamed the depiction on disgruntled former employees.

Expand Close U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp U.S. Secretary of Defence James Mattis. Photo: Reuters

For his part, Mr Trump, who declined to be interviewed for the book, has tried to discredit the writer and suggested laws should be tightened.

"Isn't it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost?" he wrote on Twitter.

"Don't know why Washington politicians don't change libel laws?"

Yet the White House response will confirm some perceptions of dysfunction.

Members of Donald Trump's cabinet were so worried by the president's erratic, impulsive behaviour they discussed using extreme constitutional measures to remove him from power, according to a senior official in his administration.

The 25th amendment is designed to be used in the case of an incapacitated commander-in-chief.

However, an explosive account published in the New York Times reveals that senior figures considered deploying it to oust the president.

"Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president," writes the anonymous author, described as a "senior administration official" by the paper.

"But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis."

Instead, a cabal of senior figures is now working to thwart the president's more "misguided impulses" or "worst inclinations according to the account.

The arrival of Mr Woodward's book meanwhile, due for publication next Tuesday, had been anticipated for weeks and he followed his own, familiar timetable in releasing its contents to the 'Washington Post' in advance. Still, the administration appeared caught off guard.

Philip Rucker, the 'Post' White House bureau chief, said the denials focused on only a small number of specific incidents.

"They are not litigating very many details of the reporting and there's a feeling inside that the president is really upset about this - verging on paranoia - that he's very bothered about what's been said about him to Woodward," he told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe'.

The book also says presidential aides removed sensitive documents from Mr Trump's desk to keep him from making impulsive decisions.

And it describes the president's growing rage at the Russia investigation that has cast a shadow over his White House since his inauguration.

At one point, his lawyer subjects him to a practice interview during which he reportedly contradicted himself and lied, triggering a 30-minute rant from the president.

Current and former White House officials estimate that nearly all their colleagues co-operated with the veteran journalist, whose reporting helped end Richard Nixon's presidency. Rich Galen, a veteran Republican strategist, said the contents may not have that sort of impact but could affect November's midterm elections.

Mr Trump said yesterday that defence secretary Mattis will remain in his job, a day after a report, denied by Mr Mattis, that he had made disparaging remarks about the president.

Asked by reporters at the White House whether he was considering replacing Mr Mattis, Mr Trump said: "He'll stay right there. We're very happy with him. We're having a lot of victories." ( Daily Telegraph, London)
Johnny Bobbitt Jr., left, Kate McClure, right, and Mark D'Amico pose at a Citgo station in Philadelphia (Elizabeth Robertson/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

The lawyer for Johnny Bobbitt, a homeless man whose generosity to a woman in Philadelphia sparked an online fundraising campaign amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, claims that money is gone.

Chris Fallon has claimed he learned the cash raised for his client Mr Bobbitt had been depleted, during a call with lawyers for couple Kate McClure and Mark DAmico.

Shocked. Shocked, Mr Fallon said. They raised this money to help Johnny Bobbitt get money for food.

The couple's attorney, Ernest Badway, told The Independent that they had no comment at this time.

Expand Close Bobbitt worries D'Amico and McClure have mismanaged a large part of the donations raised for him on GoFundMe (David Swanson /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Bobbitt worries D'Amico and McClure have mismanaged a large part of the donations raised for him on GoFundMe (David Swanson /The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)

Last autumn, Ms McClure had set up a GoFundMe page for Mr Bobbitt after he helped her when she ran out of fuel on a highway exit ramp one night.

Mr Bobbitt walked to a gas station and used his last $20 (17) to buy Ms McClure petrol since she did not have cash on her at the time.

After Ms McClure and her boyfriend Mark DAmico shared the story of Mr Bobbitts generosity on a GoFundMe page, more than 14,000 people donated to help Mr Bobbitt, who had previously served in the Marine Corps. More than $400,000 (345,000) had been raised for him.

But the couples relationship with Mr Bobbitt had soured as Mr Bobbitt later sued Ms McClure and Mr DAmico, alleging they were of mismanaging and withholding the donations raised for him. The couple has repeatedly denied misusing any of the money.

GoFundMe released the following statement: "We are working with law enforcement officials to ensure Johnny receives all of the funds raised on his behalf.

"While we assist law enforcement with their ongoing investigation, GoFundMe is also working with Johnny's legal team to ensure he's receiving support while the remaining funds are being recovered. GoFundMe has given $20,000 (18,000) to a bank account created by Johnny's legal team to provide assistance during the investigation."

The fundraising platform also stated that in the "rare case" funds are misused, "donors and beneficiaries are protected" by GoFundMe.

In the GoFundMe Post for Mr Bobbitt, Ms McClure had guaranteed donors that the money raised would go towards buying Mr Bobbitt a home and his dream truck, a 1999 Ford Ranger.

The post also noted that the couple planned to set up two trusts in Mr Bobbitts name  one giving him the ability to collect a small salary every year and the other a retirement trust.

But Mr Fallon alleged the couple has not delivered on those promises. The couple had purchased Mr Bobbitt a camper, which was parked on land Ms McClures family owns in Florence, New Jersey.

Mr Bobbitts story gained widespread attention again when news spread he became homeless again after the couple allegedly told him he had to leave the property in June.

Mr Fallon has claimed that his client had only received $75,000 (65,000) of the money raised, which included the purchase of the camper and a truck, which he said was purchased in the couples name.

Mr Bobbitt told ABC that he had to ask the couple for everything when he wanted access to the funds raised for him.

During an appearance on NBCs show Megyn Kelly Today last week, Ms McClure and Mr DAmico claimed they did not give Mr Bobbitt large sums of money in fear he would buy drugs.

They alleged that Mr Bobbitt mostly spent $25,000 (22,000) on drugs in a span of 13 days.

Every dollar he ever touched was used for drugs, Mr DAmico charged to NBC.

Mr Bobbitts other attorney Jacqueline Promislo told CNN those claims were absolutely incorrect.

Mr Bobbitt has also accused the couple of spending the donations on various trips and other purchases for their personal use. Mr DAmico has publicly admitted to using $500 (430) of the money in a casino but said it was with Mr Bobbitts consent and that he has since repaid him.

The couple claimed they had not spent any of the donation money on themselves; they also told NBC they estimated Mr Bobbitt had well over $150,000 (129,000) left.

Mr DAmico charged that Mr Bobbitt had spent a lot of money on legal fees, court costs, the camper and by sending money to his family.

A New Jersey judge in the case had ordered the couple transfer the money into an escrow account and hire an accountant to review financial records within 10 days, the Associated Press reported.
Computer programmer accused of working at the behest of the North Korean government who was charged (FBI/AP)

The US justice department has charged a computer programmer working on behalf of the North Korean government with the hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014.

The programmer, identified as Park Jin Hyok, was also charged over the massive Wannacry ransomware attack last year and an 81 million dollar (62 million) theft from a bank in Bangladesh.

Assistant US attorney general John Demers said it was one of the most complex cyber criminal investigations ever conducted by the department.

The US government, having previously said North Korea was responsible for the 2014 Sony Hack, believes he was working for a hacking organisation sponsored by the country.

The 2014 attack led to the release of a trove of sensitive personal information about Sony employees including Social Security numbers, financial records, salary information, as well as embarrassing emails among top executives.

Expand Close Brad Pitt film Fury was one of those leaked (Ben Birchall/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Brad Pitt film Fury was one of those leaked (Ben Birchall/PA)

It included four yet-to-be released Sony films, among them Annie and one that was in theatres, the Brad Pitt film Fury, and cost the company tens of millions of dollars.

The FBI had long suspected North Korea was also behind the last years WannaCry cyberattack, which used malware to scramble data at hospitals, factories, government agencies, banks and other businesses across the globe.

This was one of the most complex and longest cyberinvestigations the department has taken, said John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security.

US officials believe the Sony hack was retribution for The Interview a comedy film that starred Seth Rogen and James Franco and centred on a plot to assassinate North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un.

Sony cancelled the theatrical release of the film amid threats to moviegoers but released it online through YouTube and other sites.

A Sony spokeswoman declined to comment and attempts to reach the alleged hacker were unsuccessful.

Among the emails released in the hack was an exchange between Amy Pascal, then co-chairman of the studio, and The Social Network producer Scott Rudin where they joked about what might be then-President Barack Obamas favourite movies, listing 12 Years a Slave and films by black comedian Kevin Hart.

The pair apologised with Ms Pascal leaving her job months later.

Expand Close Assistant US attorney general John Demers said it was one of the most complex cyber criminal investigations ever conducted by the department (Damian Dovarganes/PA) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Assistant US attorney general John Demers said it was one of the most complex cyber criminal investigations ever conducted by the department (Damian Dovarganes/PA)

In addition to targeting Sony, hackers sent spear-phishing emails to employees at AMC Theaters, which had planned to screen the movie, and to a British company producing a fictional television series about a scientist taken prisoner in North Korea, authorities said.

The hackers used the same aliases and accounts from the Sony attack when they sent spear-phishing emails to several US defence contractors, including Lockheed Martin, and others in South Korea, officials said.

The criminal complaint alleges the hackers committed several attacks from 2014 until 2018. The investigation is continuing.

Cybersecurity experts have said portions of the WannaCry programme used the same code as malware previously distributed by the hacker collective known as the Lazarus Group, which is believed to be responsible for the Sony hack.

The indictment said Park was on a team of programmers employed an organisation called Chosun Expo that operated out of Dalian, China, and the FBI described as a government front company.

A North Korea-registered website bearing that companys name described Chosun Expo as the countrys first internet company, saying it was established in 2002 and employed 20 young graduates from institutions including Kim Il Sung University, Kimcheon Industrial University and Pyongyang Art University.

A 2015 version of the companys website said it focused on gaming, gambling, e-payments and image recognition software.

It looked in many ways like a typical tech company, boasting of its pioneering IT talent and customer satisfaction.

By July 2016 internet archival records show the company dropped the reference to North Korea from its home page.

Some time later, the site vanished from the web.

Emails sent to Chosun Expos generic email address and to the websites original registrant, whose name was given as Won Sun Chol, went unreturned.

Expand Close The WannaCry ransomware virus affected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide (FBI/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp The WannaCry ransomware virus affected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide (FBI/AP)

It is the first time the Justice Department has brought criminal charges against a hacker said to be from North Korea.

In recent years the department has charged hackers from China, Iran and Russia in hopes of publicly shaming other countries for sponsoring cyber attacks on US corporations.

In 2014 the Obama administration charged five Chinese military hackers with a series of digital break-ins at American companies and last year the Justice Department charged Russian hackers with an intrusion at Yahoo Inc.

The Treasury Department also added Park Jin Hyoks name to their sanction list, which prohibits banks that do business in the US from providing accounts to him or Chosun Expo.

It is unlikely he will be extradited because the US has no formal relations with North Korea and the North Korean government was not notified about the charges.
Rescuers are searching for survivors and trying to restore power after a powerful earthquake hit the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

At least seven people are known to have died after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck at 3.08am.

Video cameras showed cities going dark as the quake disabled power systems, leaving nearly three million households on the island without electricity.

The islands only nuclear power plant, which was offline, switched to a back-up generator to keep its spent fuel cool, and nuclear regulators said there was no sign of abnormal radiation.

Expand Close Police search for missing people at the site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido (Kyodo News via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Police search for missing people at the site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido (Kyodo News via AP)

Japans Meteorological Agency said the quakes epicentre was 24 miles deep but it still wreaked havoc across much of the relatively sparsely inhabited island.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that seven people had been confirmed dead.

Rescuers were using shovels to sift through the tons of soil, rocks and timber in hopes of finding survivors in the town of Atsuma, where steep mountainsides collapsed, crushing homes and farm buildings.

Disaster officials in Hokkaido said about 30 people were unaccounted for.

Expand Close Houses were destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan (Kyodo News via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Houses were destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan (Kyodo News via AP)

Airports and many roads on the island were closed and trains were halted due to power outages.

Japan is used to dealing with disasters but the last few months have brought a string of calamities.

The quake came shortly after a typhoon that triggered heavy flooding in western Japan, leaving the main airport near Osaka and Kobe closed after a tanker rammed a bridge connecting the facility to the mainland.

The summer also brought devastating floods from torrential rains in Hiroshima and deadly hot temperatures across the country.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that up to 25,000 troops and other personnel would be dispatched to Hokkaido to help with rescue operations.

Expand Close People line up outside a supermarket to buy supplies after an earthquake, in Biei town, Hokkaido (Mika Takeda via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp People line up outside a supermarket to buy supplies after an earthquake, in Biei town, Hokkaido (Mika Takeda via AP)

In the prefectural capital of Sapporo, a city of 1.9 million, the quake ruptured roads and damaged houses. A mudslide left several cars half buried.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko told reporters that the extensive power outage was caused by an emergency shutdown of the main thermal power plant at Tomato Atsuma that supplies half of Hokkaidos electricity.

The hope had been to get power back up within hours and some electricity was gradually being restored. However, damage to generators at the Tomato Atsuma plant meant that the restoration of power could take more than a week, Mr Seko said.

He said utilities were starting up several other thermal and hydroelectric plants but even with those stopgap supplies thousands would still be without power for some time.

In the meantime, authorities sent power-generator vehicles to hospitals and other locations.

Reacting quickly to the disaster, troops deployed water tanker trucks in Sapporo, where residents were collecting bottles to tide them over until electricity and tap water supplies come back online. The city hall announced it had set up charging stations to help residents charge their mobile phones.
A senior Trump administration official has claimed to be part of a group of people working diligently from within to impede the presidents worst inclinations in an unsigned opinion piece published in The New York Times.

Donald Trump said it was a gutless editorial and really a disgrace, and his press secretary called on the official to resign.

Mr Trump later tweeted, TREASON? and in an extraordinary move demanded that if the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

The writer, claiming to be part of the resistance to Mr Trump but not from the left, said, Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

The newspaper described the author of the column only as a senior official in the Trump administration.

It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room, the author continued.

We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do whats right even when Donald Trump wont.

A defiant Mr Trump, appearing at an unrelated event at the White House, lashed out at the Times for publishing the op-ed.

Expand Close President Donald Trump lashed out at the New York Times for publishing the op-ed (Susan Walsh/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp President Donald Trump lashed out at the New York Times for publishing the op-ed (Susan Walsh/AP)

They dont like Donald Trump and I dont like them, he said of the newspaper. The op-ed pages of the newspaper are managed separately from its news department.

The essay immediately triggered a wild guessing game as to the authors identity on social media, in newsrooms and inside the West Wing, where officials were blindsided by its publication.

In a blistering statement, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders accused the author of choosing to deceive the president by remaining in the administration.

He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people, she said. The coward should do the right thing and resign.

Ms Sanders also called on the Times to issue an apology for publishing the piece, calling it a pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request to elaborate on Mr Trumps call for the writer to be turned over to the government or the unsupported national security ground of his demand.

To White House officials, the ultimatum appeared to play into the very concerns about the presidents impulses raised by the essays author.

Mr Trump has demanded that aides identify the leaker, according to two people familiar with the matter, though it was not yet clear how they might go about doing so.

A House Of Cards-style plot twist in an already over-the-top administration, Trump allies and political insiders scrambled late on Wednesday to unmask the writer.

The text was pulled apart for clues:

 The writer is identified as an administration official; does that mean a person who works outside the White House?

 The references to Russia and the late Senator John McCain  do they suggest someone working in national security?

 Does the writing style sound like someone who worked at a think tank?

 In a tweet, the Times used the pronoun he to refer to the writer; does that rule out all women?

The newspaper later said the tweet referring to he had been drafted by someone who is not aware of the authors identity, including the gender, so the use of he was an error.

Hotly debated on Twitter was the authors use of the word lodestar, which pops up frequently in speeches by vice president Mike Pence. Others argued that the word lodestar could have been included to throw people off.

Former administration official Omarosa Manigault Newman tweeted that clues about the writers identity were in her recently released tell-all book, offering a page number: 330.

The reality star writes on that page: many in this silent army are in his party, his administration, and even in his own family.

I give clues to who from inside 45s WH wrote the @nytimes Op-Ed on page ((330)) of Unhinged.#SilentArmy #PrayForTheBear pic.twitter.com/VT3fqIBHi0  Omarosa (@OMAROSA) September 5, 2018

The anonymous author wrote in the Times that where Mr Trump has had successes, they have come despite  not because of  the presidents leadership style, which is impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective.

They were published a day after the release of details from an explosive new book by longtime journalist Bob Woodward that laid bare concerns among the highest echelon of Trump aides about the presidents judgment.

The writer of the Times op-ed said Trump aides are aware of the presidents faults and many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations. I would know. I am one of them.

The writer also alleged there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment because of the instability witnessed in the president.

The 25th Amendment allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

It requires that the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet back relieving the president.

Expand Close A copy of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office (National Archives via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A copy of the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president to take over if the commander in chief is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office (National Archives via AP)

The writer added: This isnt the work of the so-called deep state. Its the work of the steady state.

The internet was abuzz with speculation on who wrote the column, which veered in tone between a hostage note and a reassurance to Americans that, as the writer put it, there are adults in the room.

So basically: Times reporters now must try to unearth the identity of an author that our colleagues in Opinion have sworn to protect with anonymity? https://t.co/wj2nKmDHz9  Jodi Kantor (@jodikantor) September 5, 2018

The decision was in the purview of James Bennet, editorial page editor, and James Dao, op-ed editor, with publisher AG Sulzberger weighing in, a Times spokeswoman said.

The newspapers executive editor, Dean Baquet, was not involved because the news pages are his responsibility, and the column appeared in the Times opinion section.

That led to a Times reporter, Jodi Kantor, tweeting that Times reporters must now try to unearth the identity of an author that our colleagues in Opinion have sworn to protect with anonymity?

Mr Dao told a Times reporter that the piece was submitted last week through an intermediary, and anonymity was not granted until editors were confident in the writers identity.

We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers, the newspaper said.
In China, a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) is a limited liability company (LLC) formed solely by one or more foreign investor(s) with no mandatory requirements to have a domestic partner.

The flexibility afforded to a WFOE through Chinese policies makes it a popular form of foreign investment in China.

Foreign investors increasingly believe that Chinas economic and legal development make it unnecessary to over-rely on guidance from a local partner.

Many factors make the establishment of WFOEs attractive in China, especially for businesses engaged in manufacturing or trade.

These include:

100 percent foreign ownership and control;

Security guaranteed to technology and intellectual property rights;

Ability to develop own internal structure;

Capacity to retain organizational culture even on foreign land;

Access to Chinas large market; and

The ability to repatriate funds to holding company.

Under Indian law, foreign investors are able to establish wholly-owned subsidiary companies (WOS) in the form of private limited companies if they operate in sectors that permit 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI).

WOS in India work in a similar manner to Chinese WFOEs, with a few key distinctions. The specifications for establishing a wholly-owned subsidiary in India can be found here and for establishing a WFOE in China can be found here.

Regulation of foreign-owned companies in India, China

In India, both 100 percent foreign-owned private limited companies and joint venture companies are governed by the same regulations. The Companies Act, 2013, regulates joint ventures (JVs) and wholly-owned subsidiaries in India.

In China, too, JVs and WFOEs are subject to the same general laws, such as the Company Law, 2013 and the Measures of Record-Filing for Establishment and Change of FIEs. However, there are other specific measures regulating each type of legal entity as well.

For example, a corporate JV in China, whether it is a limited liability company or a joint-stock limited company, is subject to Company Law, 2013. In addition, corporate JVs with foreign investments must also comply with the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures Law and the Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures Law.

Different types of WFOEs have different registration criteria depending on their area of operation and category of industry. Some entities need pre-approval before setting up, trading WFOEs need to register with the customs department, manufacturing WFOEs need to pass an environmental impact report, among others. This is similar to the regulatory landscape in India.

The specifications for establishing joint ventures in India are discussed here.

Securing approvals for FDI in India

Foreign investment in India is regulated under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), and is allowed under two different routes  the automatic and the government approval routes. (See the Consolidated FDI Policy published in August 2017 here. This has been amended in January 2018, which can be seen here.)

In both India and China, the scope of the business  the companys intended activities  dictate the need to establish either a 100 percent foreign ownership or the requirement of additional national investors.

For example, any sector in India that attracts an equity cap or falls under the 49 percent government approval route for FDI needs an Indian investor to be involved within the business.

A business eligible for 100 percent automatic FDI requires no prior approval.

Setting up in India versus China

Setting up a private limited company / wholly-owned subsidiary in India differs substantially from the WFOE set-up in China.

The standard setting up process in India is known as the automatic route, which involves a comparatively easy establishment process.

Under this route, 100 percent investment is allowed in certain sectors, as per the Master Directions issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

For these sectors, no specific approval is required prior to setting up the entity, making the establishment process quite simple.

The investors are only required to notify the RBI within 30 days of the receipt of inward remittances and file the required documents with that office within 60 days of the issuance of shares to foreign investors.

For sectors that fall under the approval route, sectoral investment caps are defined, and investment requires government approval.

In this case, there is a separate set of procedures to be followed.

Among other things, the company must obtain approval for investment from respective ministries or administrative departments through the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

To improve the ease of doing business in India, the Indian government now allows 100 percent automatic FDI in most sectors.

In China, more industries are being opened up to FDI, such as the automotive and insurance sectors. The country released its latest Negative List in July 2018 reducing the restrictive measures from 63 to 48, and for a Negative List for Free Trade Zones, where restrictions were brought down from 95 to 45.

Major industries that are highly restricted because of FDI caps or other laws or practices in China include finance, telecommunications, education, healthcare, internet businesses, and any industry engaged in the extraction or processing of natural resources.

In India, the FDI regime is more liberal.

In its foreign investment policy released in January 2018, the government allowed 100 percent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading and construction development sectors besides introducing relaxations for investing in power exchanges and the medical devices sector.

As mentioned earlier, most sectors in India allow 100 percent foreign investment without the need for specific government approval.

Industries were FDI restrictions apply include mining, defense, petroleum refining, broadcasting services, print media, and air transport services. However, even in these sectors, investments beyond regulated caps can be made after securing government approval.

Difference in organizational requirements

Foreign investors interested in setting up a WFOE in China or a WOS in India must follow the governments organization structure guidelines. However, distinctions exist here as well.

A WFOE set-up requires an executive director or board of directors, at least one supervisor, and a general manager.

The Indian WOS, on the other hand, must have a minimum of two directors and between two and 200 shareholders. A shareholder can be another legal entity, such as a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), whereas directorship is held only by individuals.

As in the case of China, the amount of paid-up capital required should be a financial exercise to determine the business start up and cash flow needs. For a WOS in India, there is a minimum share capital requirement of INR 100,000 (approximately US$1,500). This has been relaxed under the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015.

Taxation of WFOE versus WOS

India does not charge a tax on profit repatriation whereas China levies a 10 percent tax on the value of repatriated funds. Additionally, Chinas labor welfare costs are higher.

However, it is also important to note that domestic companies in India are liable to pay dividend distribution tax, levied at 16.995 percent of dividend payout, which is deducted from their reserve or surplus.

Foreign investors whose countries have double tax avoidance agreements (DTAAs) with India will need to calculate their respective tax liability according to the terms of the respective DTAA.

Editors Note: This article was originally published in August 2012 and has been updated to include the latest developments.
After a long wait, the new teaser of House Of Cards finally season is here. The show is a political thriller based in Washington D.C and is the story of Congressman Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey).

However, after their 5 successful seasons, sexual allegations were charged against the lead actor Kevin Spacey. It all started in October 2017 when Spacey was accused by actor Anthony Rapp of making a sexual advance toward him when Rapp was 14.

Shortly after that, numerous people came forward and alleged that Spacey had sexually harassed or assaulted them.

Due to the uproar, Netflix cut all ties with him, even shelved his film Gore and removed him from the cast of the last season of House of Cards. Yes, the new teaser of House Of Cards shows Frank Underwood dead. Check it out.

You should have known. pic.twitter.com/UFGplyDSY1  House of Cards (@HouseofCards) September 5, 2018

However, people on Twitter are heartbroken with Kevin's exit. Take a look at the reactions.

This is bullshit, there's no House of Cards without Frank Underwood  HorseBye (@HorseBye) September 5, 2018

RIP Frank Underwood.

House of Cards won't be the same without you.  Serious Bants  (@Xcel_101) September 5, 2018

House of cards without Frank is not house of cards. The series is over!  Meu nome nao e Jonny (@H3lloPeople) September 5, 2018

the only good thing about house of cards was calling him "frank cards"  Eleanor Robertson (@marrowing) September 6, 2018

I was just talking about the serie. I think it's a bit stupid to erase a character in this way, expecially the main one, the one that started everything. That's doesn't mean that he needed to stay and carry on with his career after what he has done.  Joan of Arctic (@insideicecream) September 5, 2018

Francis J. Underwood (Kevin Spacey) is House of Cards. Without him, this serie is nothing... RIP President  #HouseOfCards  SirDoe (@SirDoe_) September 5, 2018

The show premieres in November.
Family vacations are always special and for Taimur Ali Khan and Inaaya Naumi Kemmu, these days are all about sunshine, happiness and beach vibes. Soha Ali Khan and Saif Ali Khan are currently in the Maldives with their families and the pictures that are being shared prove that they are indeed having a great time.

Just a few days ago, Soha took to Instagram to share an adorable picture of tiny-tots Taimur and Inaaya.

Kunal Kemmu, who loves to click pictures is the unofficial photographer on this trip as he is sharing day-to-day updates from the Maldives.

These pictures will make you want to go on a vacation too. Have a look at these pictures.
Theres no denying to the fact that nepotism exists in all fields including Bollywood. The wave of nepotism that has taken over the industry is refusing to go away. It has just brought up the issue that persisted from a very long time to the limelight.

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Cut to, Rajkummar Rao, a self-made star who worked hard to achieve recognition in the industry. Dibakar Banerjees film Love Sex Aur Dhokha to his recent horror-comedy film Stree, he has proved his mettle as an actor time and again. In an interview with Pinkvilla, he was asked if he has ever been replaced by a star kid. Heres what he said.

fullhdwallpaper.net

I dont know star kid or not but once it has happened that I was replaced with someone. But I didnt take it personally. I thought something better is waiting for me ahead. I am quite an optimist that way. I think very positive about life and everything.

fullhdwallpaper.net

Earlier, in an interview with PTI, Rajkummar Rao had admitted that favouritism prevails in the industry.

Favoritism is there of course, it is present everywhere, so it is fine. But my only concern is when because of favoritism I have to see non-talented people in films. That is a problem for me. I want to see talent on screen. I dont care where they come from or which family they belong to. There are actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, they are such talented people working in the film industry.

Rajkummar Rao is currently basking in the success of horror comedy film Stree, which released on Aug 31.
If you belong to that 1 per cent of the Indian population that does not like chaat, this is not something for you. But it should be. Because anyone and everyone who lives and breathes in India, simply cannot ignore the charms of its scrumptious street food.



And while most dishes have a defined style, history and taste, the effortless and totally uncomplicated chaat remains undefined. And therein lies its beauty. Chaat, can be anything you want it to be?

screengrab

But how do we define chaat?

Trying to define chaat just one way when you have so many types--paani puri, sev puri, papdi chaat, aaloo chaat, aaloo tikki, fruit chaat, tamatar chaat--can be quite the task. And leave it to Indians and their juggad to make a chaat out of anything, where each version outdoes the other. But what is chaat? Fret not, chaat fiends. We've done our research and have all the answers. Some places say that anything with curd, chutney and spices can be called chaat. Yet others say it is basically a mixture of a number of ingredients.

Screengrab

And how did our favourite chaat come to be?

There are stories that tell us that chaat originated from Delhi, Chandni Chowk. When Shahjahan built Shahjahanabad, now Purani Dilli, his doctors invented chaat. Why? This was because Shahjahanabad was on the banks of the Yamuna river and the hard water of the river was making everyone sick. The royal doctors decalred that the only way to combat this was to make the food spicier and deep-fried. And, so, our favourite chaat came to be.

Join Kubbra Sait and Indiatimes as we discover India's flavourful history with #IndiaOnAPlate:
A green corridor created in peak hours helped transport a harvested heart from Civil Hospital in Asarwa to a private hospital in Sola area of the city for a transplant covering a distance of 12km in 14 minutes on Wednesday. The journey from the Civil Hospital to the private hospital in Sola usually takes 30 to 40 minutes.

Health24/Representational Image

The donated heart was to be transferred within minimum time. Traffic police along with local police made this possible, and the vehicle carrying the donated heart travelled 12km on Wednesday in 14 minutes, between 7.57pm and 8.11pm, said DCP traffic (West), Sanjay Kharat.

It happened when the roads were busiest with peak hour traffic, said Kharat.

Sources in the private hospital said that the heart was donated by one Asankhya Mathur which was supposed to be given to Liladhar Vyas, who was suffering with a critical cardiac disease.
Unlike those working away from their hometown, who catch the first train back home on weekends, meet the techie who devotes his off days to teach poor kids.

Rahul Mehra, an engineer who works in Tikamgarh, makes a trip to Bhopal every weekend. It's a school in Durga Nagar slums that draws him to the city. Four years ago, Rahul, who was a student at MANIT, used to volunteer to teach poor kids of the slum at the school started by Rajya Shiksha Kendra.

BCCL/Representational Image

Now, all thanks to Rahul's untiring efforts, out of the seven schools that the Kendra had started , only the one in Durga Nagar is still functional. Operating under an iron shade, 25 kids from the slum sit, read, paint, play and learn new things at this school.

"I never thought that I would stay connected with these children for so long. But, I saw talent in these kids," says Rahul.

"We started with daily classes, including two days for sports, that includes chess. Now, once a fortnight, a quiz is conducted. Out of the 30 students, some attend government schools. Others, who don't , have now learnt to read and write ," says Rahul, who spends Rs8,000 every month for stationery and honorarium of a teacher at the school.

BCCL/Representational Image

Most of the volunteers, after completing their studies, got busy with jobs, recalls Rahul. "My parents, who live in Narsinghgarh, scold me as on weekends I do not visit them. The smiling faces of children act as stress busters for me. Seeing them, I get charged up. I just want to keep this school going," says Rahul, adding "I see in some of them our future IAS officers."
NASA wants to take humans to the Moon, not just for a revisit but also to establish it as a forward base to access the rest of the solar system. To do that, they need to first establish a forward base to get to the Moon, and thats what The Gateway is.

Images courtesy: NASA

The US space agency is attempting to convince Congress and the White House to allow it to build the proposed station in the 2020s. They want it to be a like a port of call for spacecraft on their way out from Earth, whether the destination is the Moon or even beyond.

Over the last three years, NASA has been crafting and refining its plans for the Gateway, and especially solidifying a case to present to lawmakers for funding the project. So far, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine and Vice President Mike Pence have both endorsed it.

Theres no other architecture that Ive been presented with, given the current budgets we have, that enables all of what we want to do, Bridenstine told ArsTechnica. And so I came to the conclusion that the Gateway is the right approach. Even most aerospace contractors are onboard, given that NASA has offered six different contracts to build the Gateways habitat module. In addition, they intend to partner with private space agencies like SpaceX to deliver cargo and other goods and services for the station.

Make no mistake, its a highly ambitious and expensive project. The Gateway is expected to cost well upwards of $10 billion to build. If it goes through though, the station is expected to be ready by 2025, allowing NASA to make jump offs from it to the Moon, Mars, and even large asteroids. Most importantly though, it would finally give the agencys giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft something to do.

These two spacecraft were built by aerospace firms for NASA for close to $20 billion, but theyre still not powerful enough to go to either the Lunar or Martian surface. A halfway point between the Earth and Moon would instead allow them to launch with smaller fuel stores and then stock up at the Gateway.

Its still a work in progress, but you never know. In another five or more years, astronauts could be camly stepping out of their rocket hatches and into a station floating above the Moon right below.
Subhash Chandra Kundu's name and Institute of Physics in Basirhat, Westbengal are really well known. Now in his 70s, he has been teaching science to students from underprivileged sections of the society, for free.

Facebook/Institute of Physics/ Subha CSC Service

Despite setbacks, his motive to serve the poor and needy has been derailed. His students come from families who cannot afford college or tuition fees. However, his students have not just won the battle against poverty, but also now teach at prestigious institutions like the IITs and St Xaviers College in Calcutta.

As a teacher at Basirhat High School - before setting up this institute - Kundu offered tuitions to students for free. With the help of contributions from former student donors, his institute has grown over the past three decades, with two floors comprising two classrooms and four laboratories with instruments bought on loan, or donated.

Facebook/Institute of Physics/ Subha CSC Service

According to The Telegraph, it was his time in the Naxalite movement that inspired him to act on this social cause. The Telegraph quoted him saying, "My biggest takeaway from the movement was being infused with the spirit to serve. After being released from the Dum Dum correctional centre in 1974, I decided to pursue a mission not through the path of armed revolution but by spreading science education among the poor."

A decade ago due to a cerebral stroke, he was partially paralysed. However, his work has not been affected by this. In fact, he has been even more active - organising exhibitions and quizzes across the district. He encourages students to participate in these to generate interest in the sciences among the people.
In India, families plagued by financial problems, more often than not pull their kids out of school. To help children of these families, this Gujarat teacher has come up with a unique initiative.

Meet, Gopalkrishna Patel, the principal of Nava Nadisar Primary School in Godhra, who is breaking stereotypes like nobody's business and inspiring thousands with his dedication.

Twitter

To emphasise the importance of schooling, Patel decided to take the school assembly to various neighbourhoods of his Godhra village.

Speaking to The Times of India, he said, Once a week, we go to a neighbourhood in the village with the school students and hold an assembly there. The assembly is an open event and the residents of the locality, as well as parents of children, can come and witness.

He calls it the Mohalla Prarthana Sabha and in it parents, as well as children who have dropped out of school take part. 30-35 students have taken admission in his school since this initiative started five years ago.

This is a primary govt school-Nava Nadisar Parathamik Shala in Godhara, #Gujarat, also "Masti Ki Pathashala"

Blog-https://t.co/36QZiaK5os pic.twitter.com/P3n7HNv1qi  Kumar Manish (@kumarmanish9) 20 February 2017

Our approach is that of first understanding the students and then teaching them, Patel told TOI. In 2017, Rakesh Patel, a teacher from the school, was selected for the National Award to Teachers.
A driver involved in the 2009 hit-and-run death of six-year-old Lisa Xavier has been extradited from Guatemala, where he fled to after the incident. (tribute.com photo)
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\Automated Border Control Market Size\

Automated Border Control Market, by Solution Type (ABC eGate, ABC Kiosk), by Component (Hardware, Software, Services), by Application (Airport, Land port, Seaport)  Forecast 2023.

Market Highlights:

Market Research Future (MRFR) asserts in its detailed report that the global automated border control market is set to expand at CAGR of 16% through the forecast period (2017-2023). This expansion can be attributed to the rising awareness about security issues, enhanced convenience of travelers, and rising tourism. Automated border gates are computerized self-service barriers operated by border forces located at immigration check points, at arrival halls, providing smoother and faster passenger flow, and reduced frustrations. These gates can be installed at all major arriving halls of airports and seaports.

With the rapid adoption of automation and Internet of Things (IoT), it is vital to adapt to such technologies to be prepared for future challenges. The recent trend in the market is use of kiosks at the border. Airports are investing in kiosks that efficiently handles the large number of passengers. Presently, large number of kiosks provide services in airports worldwide and airports persist to invest in them. Automated border control promotes faster immigration to passengers within shorter time duration.

Request a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4662

Major Key Players

HID Global (U.S.),

Atos Corporation (France),

Cognitec Systems (Germany),

Magnetic Autocontrol GmbH (Germany),

and Modi Modular Digits GmbH (Germany) and many more.

Segmentation

The automated border control market is segmented into solution, component, and application.

However, threat of identity theft challenges the growth of automated border control market. On the other hand, stricter automated border control regulations are being established worldwide, for instance, the Advance Passenger Information Bill is going to be shared between Cayman Islands authorities in the United States (U.S) and international partners, which will facilitate swifter information between both the borders. Given security concerns regarding drug traffickers, criminal deportees, identity thieves, and prohibited immigrants, this bill will provide border control authorities with greater capacity to assess a passengers risk profile and potential threat level. Many such government initiatives around the world boost the automated border control market growth.

Segmentation:

By solution, the market is segmented into ABC eGate and ABC Kiosk which differ by the process they follow. The eGate market has witnessed growth due to rising security concerns and better traveler convenience during border crossing process. For instance, nine new automated passport control eGates have been installed at Copenhagen Airport that makes use of facial recognition technology. Another example is Vision Box, an Australian based company that has implemented automated border control technology at the busiest airports like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Darwin and many more. At present, there are 83 eGates installed and over 10 MN passengers have been successfully screened through them.

By component, the market is segmented into hardware, software, and services. The automated border control software is a highly popular choice among governments worldwide, particularly facial recognition technology. Factors like frequent terrorist attacks, need for better national security, identity thefts, and increasing number of illegal immigrants traveling across borders with ease has given rise to governments opting for this software, which identifies individuals by comparing their face against a database of known faces.

By application, there is airport, land port, and seaport. Factors that drive the automated border control market at seaports are increasing security threats in coastal areas, need to simplify communication between border sharing parties, and counteracting terrorist activities. For instance, Libya has recently signed an agreement with Niger, Chad, and Sudan to secure the joint sea border against human and weapons smuggling. This move will help control and secure Libyas sea borders and will also strengthen cooperation on joint border control by making use of automated border control technology at their sea ports.

Regional Analysis

Geographically, the automated border control market is segmented into Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World (RoW).

Among all regions, Europe dominates the automated border control market due to many automation companies in this region flourishing and possess strong technical base. Technological advancements in the region are on the rise, for instance, airports in Europe such as Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (France), and Frankfurt Airport (Germany) are already equipped with automated border control gates. Also, major government initiatives and launch of new projects to enhance customer experience, simplification of border crossing process, and increasing security measures leave a positive impact on the automated border control market in this region.

Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automated-border-control-market-4662

Intended Audience

Border Security Control

Immigration Department

End Users

Government Representatives

Technical Developers

Research Firms

IT Enablers

About Market Research Future:

At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.

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Website: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automated-border-control-market-4662
What do such growth prospects and pressures mean for the reinsurance industry? Ludwig described M&A as both opportunity and risk for reinsurers but said of late, it has translated more into opportunity for the global firm.

In the M&A space, there are several opportunities that spin out for us. For example, if a client is acquiring another company, they may be looking for protection on the acquired book. Perhaps in due diligence they spotted a few things they didnt quite like or were a bit nervous about, or maybe they just want that extra bit of protection against any potential surprises that crop up two-years into a deal. There are opportunities to cap the potential reserve development with a retrospective transaction, Ludwig told Insurance Business.

However, there are some risks for reinsurers in the consolidation boom. Acquirers buying a platform theyre not all that familiar with  with a new type of risk or a different type of portfolio  often let the existing reinsurance stay in place for a while until they find their feet. They readjust over time, which is where Munich Re sees potential risk longer-term.

Ludwig explained: You can have a scenario where initially not that much changes after an M&A transaction, but over time the acquirer looks to consolidate the reinsurance program from a capital management perspective. They might choose not to buy some of the reinsurance coverage we offer, but rather look at other types of aggregate coverage to protect against the odd large event or collection of smaller events that stack up and eat into earnings in a given year. As companies become bigger through inorganic growth, the nature of their purchase changes.

As a global reinsurer with a large balance sheet and deep underwriting knowledge, Munich Re is a strong supporter of clients trying to achieve growth either organically or inorganically, Ludwig stated.

A lot of our clients are looking to accelerate their growth organically by introducing new products, expanding into new segments and introducing new underwriting teams, Ludwig added. Organic growth often entails surplus capital strain, which is hard at a time when ratings are pretty critical, especially in the commercial segment. As firms look to grow and accelerate their plans, they will need reinsurance relief  and that translates into nice opportunities for us.
QBE ANZO chief executive officer Vivek Bhatia said Costigan brings deep experience in personal lines, finance, operations and strategy to the team.

He also brings a strong leadership brand, with fresh thinking and a lot of energy that will translate well into the business and our people, he noted. His appointment reflects the commitment we have at QBE to strengthen our position in personal lines in our home markets.

Costigan, meanwhile, said: QBE is an iconic brand and Im inspired by the vision that Pat Regan, Group CEO, and Vivek Bhatia, CEO ANZO, have for the company. Its great to be joining at such a pivotal time.

QBE ANZO also appointed Chris Killourhy as chief financial officer, having held the role in an interim capacity since Inder Singhs move to Group CFO in April last year.

Eleanor Debelle, previously interim executive general manager, consumer & retail partnerships, has been brought in to serve as the new chief HR officer, ANZO.

Finally, QBE ANZO also hired Renee Roberts as chief operating officer in June, while Fiona Hayes-St Clair was appointed chief strategy officer in July.

Frank, Renee and Fiona are outstanding additions to the talent we are fostering within the organisation, and Im confident that together we have the capabilities and expertise across our ANZO leadership team to deliver on our 2018 priorities and beyond, Bhatia added.
Windon will create and lead customer-driven strategies for both prospective and existing client and broker channels in the region, a release said. She will also work with other Allianz units worldwide to identify best practices and develop shared go-to-market strategies to enhance Allianzs overall client experience.

She most recently served as global customer experience director for AGCS in Munich. In this role, she is credited for the award-winning AGCS Global Customer Experience program True Customer Centricity  a program created in 2015 that spans 22 countries that sought to establish a consistent global approach to addressing client and broker needs.

Before joining Allianz, Windon was serving Zurich Insurance Group as director of strategic growth initiatives. She began her insurance career at Aon, where she held various positions of increasing responsibility for almost 10 years.

Allisons proven track record as the architect and leader of world-class customer experience initiatives will prove invaluable as we strive toward surpassing our growth goals in 2018, said AGCS North American head of sales Rani Christie. Her position further demonstrates Allianzs investment in our True Customer Centricity ethos and culture, and I look forward to working with Allison to bring this initiative to life.

Windon received her Bachelors degree in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond (Virginia). She also has an MBA focusing on Marketing and Strategy from The University of Chicago.
A release said that McCoys appointment is part of Locktons long-term growth and succession plan for its Mountain West operations. The insurance broker had recently promoted Kevin Cummings as president of the Arizona office and Leo Tokar as president of Mountain West employee benefits operations.

McCoy succeeds Chuck McDaniel, who previously served as Lockton Mountain West CEO for more than 20 years. Following his decision to step down, McDaniel will continue in his business development and client advisory role as an executive vice president.

Chuck McDaniel, COO Mark Bundy and our Mountain West Associates have done a tremendous job of delivering results for Lockton clients. They have positioned us as a leading insurance broker not just in Denver, but throughout the region, commented Lockton president and CEO Ron Lockton. We are excited about our opportunities for continued expansion under Tates leadership. Tate has earned the respect of our clients, associates and community leaders while helping drive tremendous business growth.

McCoy was most recently an executive vice-president with Lockton and has been with the company for 22 years. In that role, he was responsible for new business development and has advised clients on risk management, employee benefits and insurance issues. He has been identified as a leading expert in complex real estate risks like multifamily housing, self-storage as well as industrial, and has experience in private equity, construction and manufacturing. He also serves on the boards of Colorado Open Lands and Colorado Academy.
Rounding out the top five are Berkshire Hathaway, a leap from the fifth spot, Hannover Re, and SCOR.

The nearly $10 billion reinsurance agreement between Berkshire Hathaways National Indemnity Co. and American International Group Inc. primarily drove Berkshire Hathaways jump in the ranking, noted the global rating agency and information provider with a unique focus on the insurance industry.

Although the agreement between the two companies was finalized in January 2016, it was not accounted for until first-quarter 2017, it explained. Despite dropping in the ranking, Hannover Ruck SE and SCOR SE experienced year-over-year double-digit gross premiums written growth.

Meanwhile QBE Insurance Group and W.R. Berkley Corporation fell by 14 and seven places, respectively, in what A.M. Best described as the most notable downward movements in the 2018 ranking.

The amount of gross premiums written by the top 10 in A.M. Bests ranking reinforces the sentiment that the industrys largest reinsurers continue to house disproportionately sizeable amounts of risk, despite cedants efforts to diversify their reinsurance panels and spread out their counterparty risk, commented senior director Robert DeRose.

On Sunday A.M. Best will be hosting its annual Reinsurance Market Briefing at this years Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Larry is a well-known member of our community who has worked in the customer service industry for many years, said Bell Insurance Solutions owner JR Bell. We are excited to have him as the newest addition to our team of insurance experts.

Bell Insurance Solutions, founded in 2016, specializes in business, life, home and auto insurance. It is a member of VIAA, an alliance of more than 100 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Illinois.

VIAA, founded in 2006, generates more than $165 million in written premium. It is the regional founding member for the Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance (SIAA), a $7.4 billion national alliance.
She will be responsible for leading XL Catlins go to market strategies and activities in the region. Hans will also coordinate with brokers and clients in the southeast to address their multi-line P&C and specialty insurance needs.

Hans joins XL Catlin from Zurich North America, where she was most recently serving as vice-president and senior broker relationship leader. She has over 25 years of industry experience, having worked for companies such as AIG, United Agents Insurance Company and Crawford & Company. Hans is a graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University.

Weve been on a strong course for growth in our southeast region and were excited to have Kim join the team to help continue our momentum, Peretti commented. The regions strong business climate has been a source of growth for our clients and brokers throughout the region and were eager to help them seize the new business opportunities available to them. Given XL Catlins broad portfolio of insurance coverages, were well equipped to handle the multi-line insurance needs of a wide variety of industries.

Kims impressive business development and account management experience, along with her strong regional relationships, will be invaluable to our brokers and clients, as she helps them tap into all that XL Catlin has to offer, Peretti added.
The parents of a Penn State University student who died after a night of hazing and drinking have settled with the national organization of the fraternity he was pledging, their lawyer said.

The amount for which Jim and Evelyn Piazza, the parents of the late 19-year-old Tim Piazza, settled with Beta Theta Pi is undisclosed, family attorney Thomas Kline said.

Beta Theta Pi has also agreed to a 17-point program that makes chapters safer and penalizes groups for hazing, he said, reforms that will help establish a baseline for the new norm of fraternity life.

Beta Theta Pi is focused on adopting accountability measures, national leaders of the fraternity said.

Piazza, a 19-year-old engineering student from Lebanon, New Jersey, participated in a series of drinking stations the night of Feb. 2, 2017, as well as a basement event involving rapid consumption of alcohol.

The houses elaborate video security system recorded him stumbling to a couch on the first floor before falling down the steps. He was carried back upstairs, and spent the night in evident pain, most of it on the couch as fraternity brothers took ineffective and even harmful steps to address his condition.

After he was found unconscious in the basement the next morning, it took his friends about 40 minutes to summon an ambulance, and he later died at a hospital.

Medical experts say he suffered a fractured skull and shattered spleen, and his blood-alcohol level has been estimated to have peaked at three or four times the legal limit for driving.

A judge dismissed the most serious charges filed in Piazzas death.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A growing number of countries can hack into private computer networks and install malicious software to sabotage another countrys infrastructure, Germanys domestic spy chief said on Tuesday.

China, Russia and other countries continued to try to break into German companies computers to steal industrial information, Hans-Georg Maassen, head of the BfV domestic intelligence agency, told a security conference.

But intelligence officials are increasingly worried about so-called cyber bombs that could be planted in the network of an unsuspecting company and detonated later.

In the case of China, Russia, we clearly see measures like espionage, but it could also be sabotage with the goal of attacking companies in Germany  infrastructure firms in the widest sense  at some future point, Maassen said. That is a scenario that we view with concern.

Cyber experts warn that Germany  with its high level of technology expertise  is a particularly attractive target for cyber attackers of all kinds, including state actors.

A company could be oblivious to a cyber attack that had been used to plant malware, Maassen said. Such a cyber bomb could then shut down power networks, for example, perhaps during a time of geopolitical tension.

He said such attacks could come from a range of countries. In its annual report, the agency cited rapid strides in Irans cyber capabilities, although it did not specifically spell out concerns about such sleeper attacks.

Germany is worried that China is also trying to gain dominant positions in technology sectors by taking stakes in the German firms, Maassen said.

That is a political project on which the government is spending a lot of money, not just to invest, but to buy information for its own technical progress, or to gain a position in specific areas that will make it impossible for others to continue developments there, he said.

Torsten Becker, managing director of BOGEN Electronic, a German robotics supplier that also sells to China, said his firm had rebuffed repeated takeover attempts by Chinese firms, and had also seen its products duplicated in the Chinese market.

BOGEN had stopped hiring Chinese engineers or interns, and was taking increased measures to protect its know-how, but Becker said Chinese rivals benefited from government support that gave them advantages in the global market.

Burkhard Even, who heads the BfVs counterespionage unit, told the conference the amount of know-how ceded to Chinese through takeovers in the past two years already exceeded the damage from espionage.

He said there was a very clear connection between cyber attacks and takeover bids, with many companies often targeted in cyber attacks before any M&A activity.

Germany and other European Union states are overhauling their investment rules to protect sensitive technologies from Chinese takeovers. In December, the BfV also warned about efforts by China to use fake LinkedIn accounts to recruit German business executives and researchers as spies.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by Larry King, Douglas Busvine and David Stamp)

Topics Cyber China Germany
Bell Insurance Solutions in Collinsville, Illinois, has hired Larry Massey as its newest sales producer.

In this position, Massey will generate leads and develop new business. He also will offer clients a variety of solutions for their insurance and risk management needs.

Prior to joining Bell Insurance Solutions, Massey worked in numerous business service-related industries including as a certified pharmacy technician for 18 years. He served two four-year terms as a Stookey Township Trustee.

Bell Insurance Solutions is a full-service insurance agency that specializes in business, life, home and auto insurance. The company was founded in 2016 by owner JR Bell, who has been in the insurance industry since 2008.

Bell Insurance Solutions is a member of Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), a cohesive family of over 100 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Illinois.

Source: Bell Insurance Solutions

Topics Illinois


After the first charity stop in Kg. Pugi Sabah, Jessy Lais Charity Honeymoon embarks on its second leg today to Medan, Indonesia.

Due to frequent business visits to Indonesia recently, Dato Sri Jessy Lai has learned that there are many rural, poor villages that are underdeveloped due to their isolated locations. Medan is the capital of Sumatra. With a population of more than 2 million, its the third largest city in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya. Yet in this huge city, there are small, underdeveloped villages like Marelan, which Lai visited. It is one of the poorest villages in Medan. Marelan has poor sanitaion facilities, is isolated geographically, and lacks education opportunities due to poverty. It is in dire need of developmental help.

Several months ago, when Lai has listed Marelan as one of the stops on her charity trip, the Monspace team got in touch with the mayor of Medan DRS.H.T.Dzulmi Eldin to understand and address the situation. The village was not in good condition when the team arrived. The whole place is located on a swamp, causing huge inconvenience to villagers, and poses many sanitation concerns. Our mission here, besides to donate necessities, is also to provide medical aid. The team donated large amounts of rice, sugar, milk, and food to villagers. we also provided free medical health checks.

We are also planning to station volunteers in Marelan to continue assisting the villagers. The government of Medan had a simple but meaningful welcoming ceremony for us. Among the people present were the mayor of Medan, the Trade Minister, social workers, and leaders of the community. The team is grateful to be able to visit Medan and provide help to these villagers. We hope their quality of lives improve in the near future.

After Medan, the Jessy Lai Charity Honeymoon Trip will be collaborating with Unicef in its next stop to visit rural villages in Philippines and Vietnam, providing developmental aid. For updates about the Jessy Lai Charity Honeymoon Trip, follow Monspaces official channels like Facebook, WeChat, and Instagram. Life inspiring life.

Media Contact

Company Name: MONSPACE MULTINATIONAL CORP

Contact Person: PR DEPARTMENT

Email: Send Email

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The federal governments chief watchdog slammed the Federal Emergency Management Agencys response to the hurricane that killed thousands of people in Puerto Rico last year, saying it was unprepared and failed to deploy enough qualified staff.

The U.S. Government Accountability Offices report issued Tuesday said FEMA struggled with a record year for disasters on the mainland and Puerto Rico. Overall, the agency failed to adequately house disaster victims, distribute financial assistance in a timely fashion or do enough to prevent fraud.

For instance, scammers implemented a well-organized and coordinated identity theft fraud scheme in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and California that hadnt shown up following previous disasters, according to the report.

The reports criticism was especially pointed when it came to Hurricane Marias strike on Puerto Rico last September.

They were not prepared to respond to an event like that, said Chris Currie, the lead author of the report. They were having a lot of trouble getting people there. And not just people, but qualified people.

A report by George Washington University commissioned by Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello and released last week found that 2,975 people on the island died as a result of the storm. Other estimates have ranged as high as 5,000, but Rossello said the GWU figures would be used as the official tally.

President Donald Trump said last week that his administration did a fantastic job in Puerto Rico after Maria devastated the island.

The GAO report acknowledged factors outside of FEMAs control that contributed to the poor response, including the islands distance 1,000 miles from the U.S. mainland, its outdated infrastructure and the limited local preparedness for a major hurricane.

But the response was also hindered by FEMAs lack of adequately trained staff  including those who speak Spanish  the report found.

FEMA did not have enough bilingual employees to communicate with local residents or translate documents, the GAO wrote, which resulted in further delays while staff were reshuffled from other disasters to Puerto Rico.

Even the fitness of those personnel was a problem. According to FEMAs leadership, some of the personnel sent to the island werent physically able to handle the extreme environment.

The report described an agency stretched beyond its resources by an unprecedented sequence of storms and wildfires. Its staffing was down by about a third before Hurricane Harvey hit Texas  which was followed in rapid succession by Hurricane Irma striking Florida and then Maria.

At the height of the deployments, in October, more than half of FEMA staff were serving in a capacity for which they werent designated as qualified.

By the time Maria hit Puerto Rico, they were down to the bottom of the barrel, Currie said on a call with reporters.

Wildfires

The ripple effect eventually reached California. FEMA encountered initial delays in deploying personnel to the wildfires there last year because a majority of its workforce was already dispatched to support hurricane recovery efforts, according to the report.

It could take years for FEMA to dole out funding for long-term projects to rebuild storm-damaged infrastructure and other facilities. That is on top of $1.5 billion FEMA had obligated in public assistance grants to three states and two territories recovering from Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Administrative challenges in awarding those public assistance grants were tied to delays in removing debris, though the GAO highlighted bright spots where local and federal officials collaborated to overcome the problems. For instance, in Texas, officials arranged to have military personnel help move debris when they encountered problems.

In response to the GAOs findings, the Department of Homeland Security, which includes FEMA, said the agency is constantly reviewing its program delivery, decision-making processes, and response efforts to ensure that it can improve, minimize errors, and better serve survivors.

In July, FEMA released its own report on its response to last years disasters, and the policy changes the agency was making as a result. Tuesdays report said its too soon to assess the adequacy of these actions as part of this review and whether the actions will have the intended impact.

In a press conference Tuesday, Rossello said there were joint initiatives underway with FEMA to ensure a better response to a future hurricane. But he said its unreasonable to expect a drastic change in the islands preparedness so long as Puerto Rico isnt a state.

Puerto Rico is a territory whose residents are U.S. citizens by birth but lack voting representation in Congress. We have to address the root of the problem, Rossello said.

Since the start of his political career, Rossello has repeatedly pushed for Puerto Rico to become the 51st state, and he addressed the matter directly with Trump at a lunch with other governors earlier this year.

But as Trump himself has acknowledged, political realities are likely to prevent that from happening anytime soon: Puerto Ricans tend to support Democrats.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Trends Texas USA Wildfire Hurricane FEMA
A Republican-led lawsuit seeking to nullify Obamacare will be spotlighted in court in the final months of congressional election campaigns, giving Democrats political fodder and sending GOP candidates in competitive races looking for cover.

Oral arguments seeking to block the health-care law are set for Wednesday in federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, in a case that Texas and 19 other Republican-led states brought against the federal government.

The Trump administrations Justice Department has taken the unusual step of siding with Texas  instead of defending the federal law  in the states bid to persuade a judge that various aspects of the Affordable Care Act should be tossed out, including protecting people with pre-existing medical conditions.

The arguments come at a difficult time for Republicans as they try to defend their control of the House and Senate in the November elections while many Democrats make health care a central issue in their campaigns. The court case will help them to put GOP candidates in competitive races on the defensive.

Supporting the lawsuit would put GOP candidates at odds with many voters who want pre-existing conditions covered, while opposing it would alienate conservatives who want the Democratic law undone.

Uniting Democrats

It may be a gift for Democrats, who enjoy an advantage on the handling of health care in surveys after repeated efforts by GOP lawmakers to repeal the 2010 law. Preserving the provision that guarantees coverage for pre-existing conditions unites Democrats across the political spectrum.

The fact that this lawsuit is taking place in September means that the GOPs health-care agenda  the way theyre trying to increase premiums and cut coverage for preexisting conditions  will be front and center for voters minds, said David Bergstein, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

A spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee didnt return messages seeking comment.

To gain a House majority, Democrats need to flip 23 seats, a prospect that independent analysts say is within reach. The party will have a tougher time gaining two seats to control the Senate, where Democrats have 26 seats to defend, compared with just eight for Republicans.

The lawsuit has become an issue in the West Virginia Senate race, where incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin is in a tight race with Republican Patrick Morrisey in a state that Trump won in 2016. Manchin has aired a TV ad connecting Morrisey to the lawsuit, with testimonials from West Virginians with illnesses.

In another close Senate race in Missouri, the Democratic group Majority Forward is running a spot against Republican candidate Josh Hawley, for backing the Texas lawsuit as state attorney general. Hawley is challenging Senator Claire McCaskill in another state carried by Trump.

In the House, Democratic candidates in competitive races are highlighting support for pre-existing condition rules, including Aftab Pureval in Ohio and Josh Harder in California. Tyler Law, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said the party intends to highlight the lawsuit in competitive districts.

Health Poll

An Aug. 23-28 survey released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation found that three in four Americans said its very important that Obamacares protections for pre-existing conditions remain law, including majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans and independents. Yet some GOP strategists said the Democrats strategy would backfire.

Its a massive gamble on the part of the Democrats to highlight the Affordable Care Act in Republican leaning states like Missouri, said Brad Todd, a GOP strategist with clients in House and Senate races. Its going to blow up. Obamacare is still a winning issue for us.

Todd said the Affordable Care Acts consumer protections may be popular but that full Affordable Care Act doesnt need to remain in place to preserve them. Voters believe you can fix the preexisting condition protections and get rid of the rest of Obamacare, he said.

Guy Cecil, who leads the Democratic super-political action committee Priorities USA, said the group will likely highlight the lawsuit in its upcoming ad campaigns aimed at winning seats in the election.

Ever since Republicans came close to repealing the Affordable Care Act, health care has consistently ranked as a top issue in every survey and exit poll, Cecil said in an email.

Staying Quiet

But while Republican lawmakers sided with previous lawsuits that would have overturned or weakened Obamacare, many are neither endorsing nor denouncing this one. Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee, declined to say when asked if he supports the Texas suit.

The complaint alleges that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional after Congress last year zeroed out the tax penalty for not complying with the requirement to buy insurance. The challengers argue that because the individual mandate was a core component of the original law, the rest of it should be declared unconstitutional. The Wednesday arguments will be over the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction.

The legal argument is clever, but ultimately baseless in principle and an extreme long-shot as a practical matter, said Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University who helped craft a Republican-backed lawsuit that wouldve weakened Obamacare, but failed at the Supreme Court in 2015.

In an attempt at damage control, 10 Senate Republicans  including Nevadas Dean Heller, the most endangered GOP senator on the 2018 ballot  have offered legislation that would reinstate protections for pre-existing conditions if the lawsuit is successful. The bill contains carve-outs that would make those regulations weaker than they are under current law, said Larry Levitt, a health policy expert with the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

With the uncertainty of the outcome in the upcoming Texas v. United States case, this legislation is needed now more than ever to give Alaskans, and all Americans, the certainty they need that protections for those with pre-existing conditions will remain intact, said Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted against her partys push to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said the legislation doesnt go far enough in protecting sick people because it fails to reinstate ACA rules that require a minimum package of benefits in most insurance policies.

The case is Texas v. U.S., 4:18-cv-00167, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas (Fort Worth).

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits Texas Legislation Politics
Tropical Depression Gordon moved north on Thursday, threatening central U.S. states with heavy rain, while Hurricane Florence churned toward Bermuda, packing maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour (185 kph), forecasters said.

Some parts of northwest Mississippi and much of Arkansas could receive up to seven inches (18 cm) of rain, totals that could reach up to 10 inches through Saturday in some areas, raising the risk of flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm, which left flooded streets in Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi, has caused minimal property damage since it made landfall late on Tuesday. A two-year-old girl was killed, however, when a tree fell on a mobile home in Pensacola, Florida, authorities said.

Hillarie Jones, manager at Bobs Downtown Diner in Mobile, Alabama, said she shut down the restaurant on Wednesday but that luckily the storm did no damage to the business.

The reason why we closed yesterday was so our employees wouldnt have to travel to work during the storm, Jones said.

As of Thursday morning, fewer than 1,000 homes and businesses remained without power, according to PowerOutages.us, as utility companies restored service for tens of thousands of customers across the region.

Energy companies and port operators along the Gulf Coast worked to resume normal operations after Gordon shut 9 percent of the regions oil and natural gas production.

Oil prices fell about 1 percent on Wednesday, after fears about the storm eased.

Tracking Toward Bermuda

In the Atlantic Ocean, Hurricane Florence, a Category 3 storm on a five-step scale, headed for Bermuda, forecast to affect the islands surf by Friday. It was too early to say whether the storm would hit land, the NHC said.

Swells generated by Florence will begin to affect Bermuda on Friday and will reach portions of the U.S. East Coast over the weekend, the NHC said. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Florence, the first major hurricane of the Atlantic season, was 1,170 miles (1,885 km) east-southeast of Bermuda on Thursday morning.

Florence is expected to weaken but remain a strong hurricane for the next several days, the NHC said.

(Reporting by Kathy Finn; additional reporting by Gina Cherelus in New York, Brendan OBrien in Milwaukee, Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Lisa Shumaker, Dale Hudson and Larry King)

Topics Hurricane Bermuda
South Carolinas highest court has ruled a womans driving under the influence charge shouldnt be dismissed because her car crashed a few feet outside the city whose officer detained her.

Jennifer Lynn Alexander was found inside her still running car in a ditch on U.S. Highway 176 in July 2013 by a Goose Creek police officer.

The highway was in Goose Creek city limits, but the ditch was not, which is not an unusual situation in South Carolina, with the states strict laws on annexation creating dozens of islands and doughnut holes of unincorporated land surrounded by cities.

The officer suspected Alexander was drunk, so he asked her to turn off her car and stay put while state troopers responded, according to court records reviewed by The Post and Courier of Charleston .

Alexanders lawyers successfully argued to a magistrate that the Goose Creek officer didnt have the authority to detain her because she was not in their jurisdiction, even if it was only to wait for someone with jurisdiction to arrive.

The state Court of Appeals agreed, but the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the ruling in August, and lawyers for the state called it a very important decision.

The factual scenario where officers are outside their jurisdiction is a common occurrence, said Marc Gore, a lawyer for the Department of Public Safety. We needed the law to be clear on when their jurisdiction is there and when its not there so we know how to proceed with cases like this.

The Supreme Court justices sided with the argument that a police officer cant just drive away when summoned for help because something could have happened like the woman walking into traffic and Goose Creek would have been responsible.

To be clear, jurisdictional boundaries mean something and  an officer (usually) has no authority to act in his official capacity beyond his jurisdiction. However, (the law) provides a narrow exception to the general rule when an officer is summoned for help, Justice John Kittredge wrote in the courts opinion.

Alexanders lawyer Henry Schlein said he still thinks the law doesnt allow officers to detain people outside their jurisdiction for any reason. But I bow to the wisdom of the Supreme Court, he said.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation South Carolina
Roy Moore, the former U.S. Senate candidate from Alabama, on Wednesday filed a $95 million defamation lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen, claiming he was duped into appearing on the British comedians Showtime series Who Is America? and falsely portrayed as a sex offender.

Moore, a Republican and former chief justice of Alabamas Supreme Court, also sued Showtime and its parent CBS Corp. for defamation, and accused all three defendants of fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Baron Cohens representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A Showtime spokeswoman said the network does not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit arose from a July 29 broadcast where Baron Cohen, disguised as fictional Israeli anti-terrorism expert Erran Morad, interviewed Moore and demonstrated a supposed pedophile detector that beeped when waved near him.

Moore, 71, whose wife Kayla is also a plaintiff, said he had been lured to Washington, D.C. on the pretense he would receive an award for his support of Israel, and would not have met Baron Cohen had he known what was planned.

After the beep, he told Baron Cohen: I support Israel. I dont support this kind of stuff, and walked out.

This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender  has severely harmed Judge Moores reputation and caused him, Mrs. Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause plaintiffs financial damage, the complaint said.

Running in heavily Republican Alabama, Moore lost his Senate race last December to Democrat Doug Jones after being accused of sexual misconduct toward female teenagers while in his 30s. Moore has denied wrongdoing.

The lawsuit was filed in the Washington, D.C. federal court.

Larry Klayman, a conservative lawyer representing Moore, in a statement called his client a man of great faith, morality and intellect, and said the defendants will be held legally accountable for Baron Cohens conduct.

Baron Cohen, 46, is known for portraying characters like Ali G, Bruno and Borat Sagdiyev whose interactions with people, who do not realize they are serving as foils, often result in their revealing more of themselves than they realize.

His sketches have gotten him in legal hot water before, including when two former college fraternity students claimed they were duped while drunk into appearing in his 2006 film Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That case was dismissed in 2007.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Jill Serjeant in Los Angeles; Editing by Susan Thomas and Marguerita Choy)

Topics Lawsuits Alabama
Cost savings in the California workers compensation system from reforms made five years ago are far more massive than projected, according to David Lanier, secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Lanier on Thursday said that $1.3 billion in annual savings have been realized since sweeping workers comp reforms went into effect in 2013.

In 2012, when the reforms were being pushed through the state Legislature to the governors desk, it was estimated annual savings would be roughly $200 million a year.

Lanier was speaking at the annual CWC & Risk Conference in Dana Point, a four-day event that included topics ranging from claims subrogation to workplace violence to cyber to the states new drug formulary.

Before the passage of workers comp reform with Senate Bill 863, wage replacement rates were under 60 percent, costs in the system were out of control and rates employers were paying were continually on the rise.

Now wage replacement rates are around 80 percent, systemic costs are down dramatically and the rates charged to employers have been going down, he said.

We have the longest stretch of sustainability and stability in our $22.5 billion system since the early 90s, Lanier said.

The state has seen eight consecutive drops in the workers comp pure premium benchmark. The Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California last month submitted an advisory pure premium rate filing lower than last years approved rate to the California Insurance Commissioner.

The advisory pure premium rates proposed to be effective Jan. 1, 2019 average $1.70 per $100 of payroll. This indicated average pure premium rate is $0.08, or 4.5 percent, less than the average approved July 1, 2018 advisory pure premium rate of $1.78 and $0.43, or 20 percent, less than the corresponding industry average filed pure premium rate of $2.13 as of July 1, 2018.

SB 863 brought a number of changes to the system, including the establishment of an independent medical review process, a revamping of the lien process and other cost-cutting measures.

The IMR process, which is part of dispute resolution, has helped to dramatically decrease costs and time spent, Lanier said.

A dispute resolution typically took nine to 12 months on average.

Now were looking at nine to 12 days, he said.

He also lauded subsequent laws that have been passed to address provider fraud and to further curtail liens as having reduced frictional costs in the system.

A large share of those costs come from drugs, and efforts to monitor provider subscribing.

A panel titled, Exploring the Impact of New CA WC Formulary and SB 1160, focused on pharmaceutical costs in workers comp.

The panelists were Raymond Meister, executive director of the California Department of Workers Compensation, Dr. Rajiv Das, medical director of risk management for Albertsons, Rena David, senior vice president of research and operations for the California Workers Compensation Institute, and Dr. Douglas Benner, medical director for Marriott International.

Das talked about a study of data he completed that compared subscribing in the workers comp system before and after the state initiated the new drug formulary at the beginning of the year when Assembly Bill 1124, which mandated the adoption of an evidence-based formulary for medications prescribed to California injured workers, went into effect.

He looked at opioids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-coagulants and topical NSAIDs.

You can see that theres a general overall trend downward in opioids, he said.

However, these prescriptions arent being replaced with other pain-fighting drugs, he noted.

The number of prescriptions for anticonvulsants, such Lyrica and Topamax, actually fell 7 percent over all. The number of prescriptions for NSAIDs, such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen, fell 21 percent. Topical NSAIDs went up only slightly by 4 percent.

From my perspective, youd think theyd try other stuff to help with the pain, he said. I think theres other factors involved in why people take these medications long-term and its not just for relief of pain.

David gave CWCI figures that also reflect a drop in opioid prescribing in workers comp.

In 2008, 32 percent of the pharmacy prescriptions were for opioids. In 2017 it was down to 20 percent.

And I think for 2018 it will be down even further, David said.

She believes public awareness of the opioid crisis is helping, as well as the states utilization review and IMR process.

Related:

Topics California Workers' Compensation Drugs
It sounds like a good assignment for a master of business administration class: Which master of business administration (MBA) programs offer the best return on investment (ROI)?

The question isnt just academic. Obtaining an MBA generally takes two years, attending full-time. Unless you receive financial aid (and many students do), tuition and fees can easily run you $40,000 to $50,000 a year at most schools, far more at the top private ones. Room and board can add another $15,000 to $20,000 or more per year. All told, you could be looking at a cost of $150,000 and up. And dont forget the opportunity cost of the money you would have earned if youd spent those two years working instead of studying.

Key Takeaways A master of business administration (MBA) is a two-year graduate degree focused on business and investment.

MBAs are expensive, possibly costing $150,000 or more depending on the school.

The cost of an MBA does not take into consideration the opportunity cost of not working a job while you obtain your degree.

Most MBA graduates confirm the degree is worth it, leading to better quality jobs and better-paid jobs.

When deciding on an MBA program, it helps to look at the return on investment (ROI); the salary obtained from a job once graduating compared to the cost of the program.

If the graduates from two schools earn the same salary then the lower-cost school is the better value.

ROI when comparing schools does not take into consideration the prestige and alumni networks of higher caliber schools.

Fortunately, an MBA is often worth the investment, at least in the opinion of men and women who have one. When asked, Knowing what you know now, would you still have pursued a graduate management education? a mere 7% of current MBA holders said they definitely or probably wouldnt have gone for the degree, according to the nonprofit Graduate Management Admission Councils 2018 Alumni Perspectives Survey.

But some MBA programs pay off better and faster than others. Thats where the return on investment comes in.

Calculating and Comparing ROI

The long-term ROI of MBA programs is difficult to measure, as is comparing one college to the next. While anecdotal evidence suggests that an MBA from a prestigious school like Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton will take someone further in their career than one from Podunk U., many other factors come into play, including the particular industry and, most importantly, the individual.

Short-term ROI is another matter, however. One common way to look at it is to compare tuition costs to average starting salaries, often referred to as the value-added ratio. If two schools graduates earn roughly the same amount, the school with the lower tuition is presumably the better deal.

More recently, another measure has come into vogue: comparing average starting salaries and the amount of debt students had to take on to earn their degrees. The advantage of this approach is that it takes into account costs other than tuition; the disadvantage is that it represents only students who borrowed to pay for their programs rather than the entire universe of MBA grads.

One Studys Top Rankings

U.S. News & World Report published a list on May 13, 2020, of what it called the 38 MBAs With the Highest Return for Grads Earning $100,000-Plus. The data is from 2019 and the salary figures include any signing bonuses and reflect what students were earning within three months of graduation.

The school with the highest return, for example, was the University of Massachusetts-Amherst's Isenberg School of Management, with an average salary and bonus of $131,388 and average debt of $18,328, for a salary-to-debt ratio of 7.2 to 1. In second place was the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida, with an average salary and bonus of $126,162, average debt of $23,176, and a salary-to-debt ratio of 5.4 to 1.

The other eight, in order of highest to lowest salary-to-debt ratio, were:

The Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia The University of Wisconsin-Madison The W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University The University of Texas-Dallas The Foster School of Business at the University of Washington The Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College The Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University The Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University

Short-term ROI isnt everything, of course, especially if things like prestige, connections, or a powerful alumni network are important to you. In the U.S. News & World Report's best business school rankings for 2021, eight of its ROI winners made the top 20.

The University of Washingtons Foster School Harvard University The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas The University of Virginia The Haas School of Business at the University of Berkeley Stanford University Yale University The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina

Do It Yourself

If you want to do your own ROI research, you can generally obtain tuition and living-cost information on the b-schools websites (search by the school name + cost of attendance). Those figures wont take financial aid into account, so if you think you might be eligible for either need-based or merit-based assistance, a quick call to the schools financial aid offices could be worth your time.

Remember that some types of financial aid are better than others. Grants and fellowships, which dont have to be repaid, will reduce your bill, while loans just stretch your payments over a longer period (and incur interest as well).

Calculating ROI using starting salaries does not take into consideration future salaries that might be higher if one attended higher-ranked schools. However, after a few years in the workplace, it is experience and talent that make more of a difference.

If you dont already have a good idea of starting salaries for MBAs in your chosen field, check one of the major job sites for current openings and what they pay.

Once you have all that information, you can compute your own salary-to-debt ratio for each school. Even if you arent planning to borrow, that can be a good benchmark for comparison.

You can also take it a step further and create a more personalized ROI for yourself. Start by subtracting your current (pre-MBA) salary from your likely MBA salary, then divide the total cost of your degree by the result. Doing that will give you an idea of how many months or years your MBA will take to pay for itself, which might be useful to know if youre still deciding whether or not to go for one.

The Bottom Line

An MBA degree is a serious investment that can easily run you $150,000 or more, not including lost wages. Unless a generous employer is footing the bill, one of the many factors youll want to consider in choosing a school is the return on investment (ROI) for your degree.

If youll be taking on debt to finance your education, calculating the ROI for each school on your list can help you determine how long it will take you to pay off that debt, given your likely starting salary after getting the degree.
By Eamon Quinn

The Governments proposals to bolster defences against an international onslaught on the Irish tax regime may inadvertently entangle SMEs, according to a leading tax expert.

Brian Keegan, director of public policy at Chartered Accountants Ireland, told the Irish Examiner he was concerned the latest proposals from Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe on transfer pricing will entrap SMEs, when the principal target of international reforms is the amount of tax paid by multinationals.

Mr Keegan first raised his concerns a year ago, following the publication of a report by economist Seamus Coffey for the Department of Finance on changes required to bolster the tax regime.

Mr Keegan said proposals regarding SMEs and transfer pricing were still there in a 40-page report the department published yesterday on ways for Ireland to implement anti-tax avoidance directives and act on the recommendations of Mr Coffeys review.

Presenting the report, entitled Irelands Corporation Tax Roadmap, Mr Donohoe said the measures would be phased in over the next two finance bills to make sure the tax regime is robust at a time of unprecedented change to global tax systems.

He said the plans take account of reforms promoted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the EU, amid the huge US corporation tax cuts ushered in by president Donald Trump this year.

The Irish Government and I are certain that criticism can best be countered by demonstrating what we have done, what we are doing, and what we will do over the next couple of years to agree and implement robust new international tax standards, said Mr Donohoe.

Following the European Commissions 2016 the 2016 EU Commission ruling that Ireland collect at least 13bn in back taxes from Apple, the country has been at the forefront of world media headlines claiming claims it facilitates aggressive or sweetheart tax deals with multinationals.

Previous finance ministers started the process of phasing out tax arrangements hugely beneficial to multinationals such as the double Irish.

Mr Donohoe, however, said the country has not got our due credit in the past for reforming tax codes in line with OECD and EU directives.

He said Ireland would maintain its strong opposition to EU proposals to levy a 3% digital tax on some of the largest online giants, and suggested the Government had garnered increased support from Nordic and Baltic countries for the fightback.

The proposal advanced earlier this year by tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici envisages levying a 3% tax on turnover of large digital firms.

The proposal has been criticised by many analysts who say it would be better for the EU to develop a proper digital tax with international agreement.

Mr Donohoe reiterated plans to inject 500m next year into a so-called rainy day fund.

Any large increases in corporation tax revenues would not go to fund additional spending and the Government is not planning on the basis that corporation tax revenues would run far ahead of other tax heads, he said.

Central Bank governor Philip Lane yesterday warned policymakers about relying on surging corporation tax revenues to fund spending, saying some part of these revenues should be categorised as a windfall.
Hollywood actor Burt Reynolds has died at the age of 82.

The star of films such as Deliverance, Smokey and the Bandit and Boogie Nights died at Jupiter Medical Centre in Jupiter, Florida, a community just north of West Palm Beach.
The Eighth Annual University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Dr. Richard Gruetzemacher Constitution Day Lecture Series will be held Wednesday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m. in the UC Auditorium.

It is sponsored by the UTC Center for Reflective Citizenship and The College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies.

The topic will be Patriot Sage: Why We Need George Washington Today by Gary L. Gregg, Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville and director of the McConnell Center.

The public is invited and refreshments will be served.

"By almost unanimous consent, George Washington was known as the greatest man of his age," said Dr. Gregg. "He defeated an empire and pulled together a nation. He saved the Republic from a military coup, presided over the Constitutional Convention and became our first president. We might recall the outlines of his great career and a few anecdotes of his accomplishments, but few today remember the core lessons that helped George Washington win a war and bring together a disparate people into one nation. Washingtons life and career offer vital lessons for our own age of challenge and division."

In 2004, the U.S. Congress passed bipartisan legislation authorizing Sept. 17, the date in 1787 that delegates to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention signed the U.S. Constitution, as an official holiday. In 2005, the U.S. Department of Education authorized that any educational institution receiving federal funds should host educational activities during the week of the Constitutions birthday.

Past UTC Constitution Day lectures have featured nationally and internationally known scholars and teachers: Josiah Bunting, James Ceaser, Bradley Birzer, Michael Federici, Wilfred McClay, Richard Gamble, and David Bobb. The general public, the UTC community, and educators and students from a variety of schools and colleges in the region are cordially invited to attend.

Gary L. Gregg, Ph.D., holds the Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville and is Director of the McConnell Center. He is the author or editor of 10 books including The Presidential Republic: Executive Representation and Deliberative Democracy, Patriot Sage: George Washington and the American Political Tradition (with Matthew Spalding) and Securing Democracy: Why We Have an Electoral College. He has also published two novels for young adults under the series title The Remnant Chronicles: The Sporran and The Iona Conspiracy. He has appeared on numerous national and international television programs, radio programs, and in periodicals including The New York Times. Among his most recent accomplishments was pioneering a new Strategic Broadening Seminar for the United States Army. Each year he serves as Lead Faculty and Director for this innovative thirty-day immersion program for mid-career officers and later career NCOs.

For other information about the event, including reserved seating for groups and individuals, please contact Jeffrey Melnik, edast@utc.edu, 425-2118 or Calli Bianchi, crc@utc.edu, 425-5603.

In 2018, the lecture series title was changed to honor the life of Dr. Richard Gruetzemacher and his love of history and civic education. For further information about the Richard Gruetzemacher Constitution Day Lecture Fund, please visit: https://www.utc.edu/center-reflective-citizenship/rgfund.php.






Placement and Strategic Alliance at Tennant Creek

Perth, Sep 6, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Emmerson ( ASX:ERM ) ( OTCMKTS:EMMRF ) secures Strategic Alliance with TRL Tennant Creek Pty Ltd (a subsidiary of Territory Resources Ltd) (TTY) that includes a Mining and Exploration Joint Venture covering the Southern Project Area (SPA) at Tennant Creek.- Accelerated Mining and Gold Production- Completion of Strategic Alliance with Territory Resources for Tennant Creek- $2m Placement at 56.8% premiumHighlights- TTY to subscribe for A$2m of new Emmerson shares priced at A$0.1035 a share, a 56.82% premium to the last traded price (completed within Emmerson's placement capacity under Listing Rule 7.1).- Emmerson has sold its mothballed Warrego Mill to TTY, with TTY committing to construction of a modern 300,000tpa Carbon in Pulp mill on the site.- Mining and Exploration Joint Venture over the SPA at Tennant Creek aims to accelerate the discovery of new deposits and/or extensions to the existing mines for processing at the new mill:o Emmerson to receive a 12% and 6% gross revenue (less refining costs) royalty of all gold produced for the life of the Edna Beryl and Chariot mines respectively.o Emmerson to receive a 25% profit share from any other mine developed within the SPA (other than Edna Beryl and Chariot) in exchange for TTY developing, mining and processing the gold at its cost.o Ore from the SPA, Edna Beryl and Chariot to be given priority processing by TTY at the new mill on an agreed "cost plus" basis.o TTY to fund A$5m of exploration over five years across the SPA to earn a 75% interest in the SPA.- Emmerson to retain 100% ownership of the majority of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (circa 75% of the existing tenement package), including the recently announced Mauretania gold and Jasper Hills gold-copper-cobalt projects, plus the high-grade Edna Beryl Gold Mine.Emmerson's Managing Director; Mr Rob Bills commented:"This Strategic Alliance is transformational for Emmerson and the wider Tennant Creek Region. We welcome Territory Resources as a new shareholder and partner following the formalisation of our Strategic Alliance.For Emmerson shareholders, it provides a low-risk pathway to commercial production from our smaller mines and importantly will generate funding for ongoing exploration programs in the Northern Territory and New South Wales. The A$5 million earn-in funding being provided by TTY for the Southern Project Area will further build the pipeline of mining projects to feed the new milling facility under construction by TTY.This Strategic Alliance and milling facility will see the re-establishment of Tennant Creek as an integrated exploration, mining, and processing hub - thus realising Emmerson's long-held vision and that of the NT Government. Construction work on this important regional facility has commenced with the first production scheduled for late 2018/early 2019.The structure of the Mining and Processing Agreement will see Emmerson receive a 25% profit share from the mining operations except for Edna Beryl and Chariot, where Emmerson will be entitled to a portion of the gold dore produced (12% and 6% respectively).Emmerson will continue to apply its expertise as exploration manager across the entire Tennant Creek project, including the 100% owned Northern Project Area which hosts the promising Edna Beryl Gold Mine, Mauretania gold and Jasper Hills gold-copper-cobalt projects."Territory Resources Chairman Mr Yuzheng Xie commented:"TTY's investment in Tennant Creek and Emmerson Resources is what we believe will be a long-term involvement with the company and the region both of which we consider to be highly prospective. The long history of profitable gold production from the Tennant Creek Mineral Field is well known. The Exploration and Mining JVs aim, with support from traditional owners, local stakeholders and government, to build on this long history. The combination of Emmerson's tenement package and exploration expertise with TTY's mining and processing experience just makes sense. Together we have the potential to unlock significant value and provide opportunities throughout the region."The Mayor of the Barkly and Tennant Creek, Mr Steve Edgington commented:"This a great outcome for the Tennant Creek region with the construction of the central milling facility and mining likely to generate 20-30 new employment opportunities. Providing this venture between Emmerson Resources and Territory Resources is successful, the economic future for our region looks very promising and realises our Council's vision of re-establishing Tennant Creek as a major mining and services centre in the NT."Strategic Alliance with Territory Resources (see figure 1 in link below)Emmerson is pleased to advise it has finalised a Strategic Alliance with TRL Tennant Creek Pty Ltd (a subsidiary Territory Resources Ltd) (TTY), including a Mining and Exploration Joint Venture covering Emmerson's Southern Project Area (SPA) at Tennant Creek. The SPA represents approximately 25% of Emmerson's total Tennant Creek landholding.The three components of this alliance will facilitate the construction of a modern 300,000tpa Carbon in Pulp (CIP) mill; fast-track the development of Emmerson's small mining projects and; provide substantial funding for exploration within the SPA.TTY Investment in EmmersonAs part of the Strategic Alliance, TTY has subscribed for 19,323,671 Emmerson shares priced at A$0.1035 a share, representing a 56.82% premium to the last traded price. The investment will raise A$2 million (in 2 tranches of A$1 million each) to support Emmerson's ongoing exploration activities in both the NT and NSW, provide general working capital and importantly align the interests of both companies.Following the placement, TTY will hold approximately 4.55% of Emmerson shares on issue. An Appendix 3B reflecting the issue of new shares under the placement will be released separately.These shares will be issued within Emmerson's existing placement capacity under Listing Rule 7.1.Warrego Mill SaleEmmerson has entered into a binding agreement to sell its mothballed Warrego Mill and Mining Lease 30888 (together, the Warrego Sale) to TTY in exchange for TTY building a 300,000tpa CIP processing facility on the site. See ASX announcement 31 May 2018.The modular nature of the processing facility under construction means TTY expects the plant to be in operation by the end of 2018/early 2019, subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals.Recently, Emmerson received formal approval for the extinguishment of the Rehabilitation Agreement associated with the Warrego and other historical mines. This approval not only satisfies the conditions of the Warrego Sale to TTY, triggering a further payment, but is a very positive step in establishing a commercially viable, integrated mining and processing hub in Tennant Creek. This has been facilitated by the 2017 NT legislative changes that provide for rehabilitation under the newly established environmental security bonds.Accelerated Mining and ProcessingTTY is an experienced mining and processing operator with a successful track record at other sites around Australia.Emmerson and TTY have negotiated profit share and gold royalty agreements pertaining to the development and mining of Emmerson's portfolio of potential mining projects within the SPA under a Mining Joint Venture Agreement. Mine planning and scheduling by TTY are well underway, with a number of both open cut and underground mines planned concurrently.The proposed activity schedule under the SPA Mining Joint Venture Agreement includes the following projects: (see table in link below)Emmerson confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information set out above or the material assumptions or technical parameters underpinning these estimates, which continue to apply and have not materially changed.The other projects are considered Exploration Targets(see Note below) and add a further 160,000 - 180,000oz of gold at an estimated grade of 15 - 20g/t gold (based on historical reports). This excludes any additional ounces added from the planned near mine exploration programs. This Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. It must be noted that there has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.Under the terms of the agreement with TTY, Emmerson will receive a 25% profit share from any mine within the SPA, other than Edna Beryl and Chariot (where Emmerson will receive a gross revenue (less refining costs) royalty of 12% and 6% respectively of the gold produced).TTY will receive a 75% share of profits in exchange for them undertaking all of the planning, funding, development and operation of the mines. At this stage, Emmerson's 25% portion of the profit share cannot be determined until the mining, processing, and recoveries can be better ascertained for each individual mining project.Earn-in and JVAs part of the Strategic Alliance, TTY has entered into an earn-in and joint venture over Emmerson's SPA (see Figure 1 in link below). Historically, the southern area contains the highest gold endowment of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field and hosts the notable historical deposits of Nobles Nob, Juno, Peko, and Eldorado.Under the terms of the earn-in, TTY will contribute A$5m over 5 years to earn a 75% equity interest in the SPA. After the earn-in phase, a Joint Venture can be formed whereby Emmerson can elect to either maintain its equity position in the SPA by contributing 25% to the exploration programs, dilute or convert to a royalty.During the earn-in, Emmerson will be the operator and manager and will apply its systematic, science-based exploration that has been successful in other parts of the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (see figure 2 in link below). Emmerson will be paid a fee by TTY for this service. Both parties will work collaboratively under an Exploration Management Committee aimed at identifying additional resources to feed the new Warrego Mill.Emmerson retains 100% control of its Tennant Creek Project outside of the SPA (collectively called the Northern Project Area (NPA)), equating to approximately 75% of the entire project area wholly owned by Emmerson. The NPA will continue to be advanced by Emmerson on a standalone basis and includes the high-grade Mauretania gold and Jasper Hills gold-copper-cobalt prospects.Conclusion and Next StepsEmmerson is pleased to have concluded the Strategic Alliance with TTY, including securing a A$2 million investment from TTY at a significant premium to the prevailing market price.Subject to the receipt of requisite approvals, TTY has commenced refurbishment of the Warrego Mill and anticipates commissioning by the end of 2018 or early 2019.Exploration within the SPA is expected to begin within the coming weeks with surface drilling targeted at pre-development drilling and extending the gold resources around the small mines.Exploration in Emmerson's 100% owned NPA is awaiting ground clearance of drill pads at Jasper Hills and finalisation of drill targets from the recently flown airborne geophysical survey.About Territory ResourcesTerritory Resources Limited (TTY) explores, mines, rails iron ore and exports out of the Darwin Port in Northern Territory Australia. The company primarily holds an interest in the Frances Creek mine, located to the south of Darwin, Northern Territory. The Company also has interests in the Mt Bundey project and the Yarram project both located in Northern Territory. The Company was incorporated in 2002 and is based in West Perth, Australia. As of February 28, 2018, TTY operates as a subsidiary of Gold Valley Holdings Pty Ltd. TTY is currently expanding its operations into gold projects in the NT, including advancing the +300koz gold project at Nobles Nob and Juno mines in Tennant Creek. TTY is a major shareholder in Maroon Gold, which recently purchased the Black Jack gold processing facility in Charters Towers.Note: Refer to Cautionary/Forward-looking Statement on page 7 in link belowTo view tables and figures, please visit:To view Mining the Territory Presentation, please visit:About Emmerson Resources Limited

Emmerson Resources Limited (ASX:ERM) (FRA:42E) recently commenced exploration on new gold-copper projects in NSW, identified (with our strategic alliance partner Kenex Limited) from the application of 2D and 3D predictive targeting models  aimed at increasing the probability of discovery. The highly prospective Macquarie Arc in NSW hosts >80Mozs gold and >13Mt copper with these resources heavily weighted to areas of outcrop or limited cover. Emmerson's five exploration projects contain many attributes of the known deposits within the Macquarie Arc but remain under explored due to historical impediments, including an overlying cover (plus farmlands) and a lack of exploration focus. Kadungle is a JV with Aurelia Metals covering 43km2 adjacent to Emmerson's Fifield project.

In addition, Emmerson is exploring the Tennant Creek Mineral Field (TCMF), one of Australia's highest-grade gold and copper fields producing over 5.5 Mozs of gold and 470,000 tonnes of copper from deposits including Warrego, White Devil, Orlando, Gecko, Chariot and Golden Forty. These high-grade deposits are highly valuable exploration targets, and to date discoveries include high-grade gold at Edna Beryl and Mauretania, plus copper-gold at Goanna and Monitor. These are the first discoveries in the TCMF for over a decade.
By Stephen Cadogan

The tough financial situation on EU farms due to drought has led the Arla dairy co-ops board to propose paying out its entire 2018 net profit to its 11,200 dairy farmer members in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

All these countries were affected by summer drought.

The payment will be worth about 278m (307m).

As a farmer-owned dairy company, we care deeply about the livelihood of our farmers, and we recognise that this summers drought in Europe has been extraordinary, said the chairman of Arla Foods, Jan Toft Nrgaard.

We are proposing that extraordinary measures be taken in this situation, and the Board is satisfied with the positive development of the companys balance sheet, which makes this proposal possible.

Arla CEO Peder Tuborgh said: Our balance sheet has improved significantly over the last few years, and the strength of our balance sheet makes room for this extraordinary initiative, while still maintaining our investment plans for the continued future growth of the company.

Suppliers to Arla and other processors endured a year in which pasture productivity was estimated to be at one of its lowest ever levels in large parts of central and northern Europe (including Ireland), and north-eastern France, due to drought damage.

One of the repercussions for Irish farmers is that imported feeds are likely to be more expensive, due to low EU crop yields and high demand levels.

The EUs crop monitor service forecasts green maize (fodder maize) yield 10% below the five-year average.

Non-irrigated maize crops in the most affected regions started to wilt before significant cob development.

Yield forecasts for EU cereals have been revised downwards for the fourth month in a row.

The current forecasts are below the five-year average for soft wheat (4.5% below), spring barley (4.3% below) and rye (14% below).

For sugar beet and potatoes, the EU yield forecast is also below the five-year average, by 5.2% and 6.6% respectively.

However, the yield forecast for grain maize is still above the five-year average, due to good crop performance in south-eastern Europe.

And the forecast for sunflower crops is well above the five-year average, and pasture productivity was above average in Spain, southern and western France, Italy, Austria, Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria.

High prices for imported fodder will make it more important for Irish farmers to grow extra autumn grass.

The good news for farmers is that the economics of using nitrogen fertiliser to grow extra grass this autumn are much improved, according to Teagasc.

Advisers have pointed out that the value of autumn grass will this year rise closer to 15-20c/kg of dry matter than the standard 11c, in line with the higher cost and reduced availability of feeds other than grass in the 2018-19 fodder crisis.

In addition, advisers say that soil temperatures are about three degrees higher than normal, which should increase the response to nitrogen fertiliser, provided it gets an opportunity to work (it will need rain to wash it into the soil).

The best economic responses will be achieved on silage ground and on reseeded land.

In normal years, the value of autumn grass is only about 11c/kg of dry matter.

The average cost of a kilogram of nitrogen (CAN) is about 1. Therefore, the breakeven growth response is 9-10kg of grass dry matter per kilogram of N applied.

Normally, using nitrogen fertiliser was a breakeven proposition even in early October, until nitrates regulations made it mandatory to cease spreading fertiliser from mid-September.

In addition to the much improved economics of autumn nitrogen in 2018, an extension of the deadline for spreading fertiliser has been granted by Agriculture Minister Michael Creed.

The deadline has been extended for chemical fertiliser from mid-September to the end of September.

The closed period for slurry will not commence until October 31, instead of the normal October 15..
Disease-free Irish pigs could become very valuable, if African swine fever continues to spread globally, writes Stephen Cadogan.

Unfortunately, many Irish pig farmers may have gone out of business before they can capitalise.

Their lack of profitability in 2018 is well proven by Teagasc assessments, but they havent got a significant price rise from the pigmeat factories since mid-January, even while the average EU pig price has advanced from about 1.35 per kg in mid-January to 1.50.

Meanwhile, Irish processors have achieved pig meat exports at a record level for the first six months, 8% up on 2017, reaching 144,800 tonnes.

But, down on the farm, production costs are rising due to weather-disrupted harvests of the grain crops needed for pigs.

Sources in the UK say costs are now the highest in four years.

Pig farmers here say a pig feed price increase taking effect last weekend added between 4c/kg and 8c/kg to the cost of production.

But that is only the latest setback in falling profitability which has led to a number of pig units closing down, according to IFA, and some others cutting back due to their deteriorating financial situation.

IFA says even the most efficient pig farmers have been losing significant money, and do not have reserves left to support a loss-making enterprise for much longer.

Some of them must almost be hoping for nature to intervene in the form of the spreading African swine fever which is likely to bring Chinas pork industry to a temporary standstill, as pig movement from outbreak areas has been banned.

The disease isnt harmful to humans but is almost always fatal for pigs, and China is the worlds top consumer and producer of pork.

If millions of Chinese pigs have to be slaughtered to stop the spread of the virus, rising prices and imports in China could help Irish farmers get the price rise they have been clamouring for.

This seems to happening already, with pork prices up more than 7% in China since the first swine fever outbreak.

But farmers here depend on processors to pass back rising export prices to them.

IFA Pigs Committee Chairman Tom Hogan has called on Agriculture Minister Michael Creed to call an emergency meeting of all stakeholders in the sector immediately, to decide on positive actions to help save Irelands third largest agricultural sector.

Hopefully, the relentless march of African swine fever will help to convince the Minister and the industry that our pig farmers should be helped.

Its not beyond the bounds of possibility that African swine fever can be kept out of our island, while it advances across the rest of the world.

In the UK, Zoe Davies, chief executive of the National Pig Association, fears it could make a sudden jump into the UK, because many of their farm workers are from eastern Europe, where the disease is spreading.

She said if anything got in, wed kiss goodbye to our export market.

She said the prevailing attitude across the industry is its not a matter of if its going to happen, its when its going to happen. It could be a couple of months, it could be 10 years.

The UK government this week said the risk of African swine fever entering Britain has risen from low to medium.

Over the summer, Romania recorded nearly 800 outbreaks of swine fever, including one last week that resulted in the culling of 140,000 animals.

And Bulgaria on Friday announced its first outbreak, at a farm near the border with Romania.

Since January 2014, it has been spreading in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Hungary.

Denmarks National Veterinary Institute has estimated that an outbreak could cost the country up to 1.3 billion.

In 1957, swine fever cropped up in Portugal, reportedly in airline food waste fed to pigs near Lisbon. It spread to Spain and France and wasnt eradicated until the 1990s.
By Niall Murray, Education Correspondent

The possibility of a strike ballot by 70,000 teachers to push for restoration of pay equality remains a possibility ahead of next months budget.

With barely a month to go before Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe finalises his 2019 spending plans, unions have complained about the slow progress on reaching a pay deal between public service workers and the Government to put to their members.

At their respective conferences in April, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, Irish National Teachers Organisation, and Teachers Union of Ireland passed identical motions mandating ballots for industrial action up to and including strikes if a deal was not reached to put all teachers on the same pay as those who started in the job before 2011.

It was expected at Easter that a vote would take place when schools return from summer holidays, but discussions have been slower than expected.

They began in April between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and all public sector unions on the differential pay for entrants to the public service from 2011.

A report from Mr Donohoe in March estimated the annual cost of one measure to move them closer to their colleagues pay would cost around 200m a year, 59m of it to change salary scales of the more than 16,000 teachers who entered the profession after 2010.

The continued hiring of teachers for several years while public sector recruitment restrictions were in place in other area makes it a major issue for the teacher unions.

While some of the gap has been closed, teacher unions say changes to allowances and other pay elements leave lower-paid teachers disproportionately worse off than other public servants relative to longer-serving colleagues.

It is expected that talks will continue in the coming weeks but they have focused on issues across the public service to date, rather than separate sectoral discussions around, for example, health or education staff.

The presidents of the three teacher unions met this week and yesterday issued a joint statement denouncing the delay in reaching a deal in the ongoing talks.

They said that whatever emerges from the talks will be put to ballots of their members. They also reaffirmed the commitment to a campaign of industrial action in the event of continuing failure by the Government to resolve the unequal pay issue.

It is unlikely, even if a deal were reached between the Government and public service unions in the next week, that any ballot would be finalised before a budget in the second week of October.

There could be time, should talks be concluded later this month, for unions to issue ballot papers before budget day with recommendations from their respective executive committees on whether to back industrial action.
By Juno McEnroe and Stephen Rogers

Disagreement over pay for health and social care workers threatens to overshadow the Coalitions budget preparations.

A row erupted at the Cabinet this week over why judges are getting salary top ups and nurses are in line for special allowances but employees in those sectors are being denied restoration of pay.

Section 39 workers are threatening to strike this month. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was confronted by Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath over the workers pay cut during the crash.

Section 39 employees are not public servants, but their employers are grant-aided by the HSE to provide services mainly in the health and social services sectors. Traditionally their pay has been linked to rates in the public service.

The row comes as the Government and Fianna Fail, which supports it in power, commenced tense Budget talks yesterday. At least 800m in extra money next year is being divided up between services and tax measures.

Cabinet sources confirmed that Mr McGrath pushed his Fine Gael colleagues to agree to pay restoration for section 39 workers.

The 13,000 workers are preparing for industrial action up to strike after talks on pay restoration recently collapsed at the Workplace Relations Commission.

While they experienced the cuts implemented in the recession years, there has so far been no sign of them securing the newly-agreed increases secured by trade unions for their public sector members.

Mr McGrath wants the restoration of pay for section 39 workers addressed as part of spending considerations for the coming year.

He took a strong line, there was a big row, a Cabinet source said, describing the exchange between Mr McGrath and Mr Donohoe.

The disabilities minister was said to be particularly incensed that the Cabinet this week agreed on pay restoration for judges, in line with rolling back emergency pay cuts introduced in the crash.

New levels for judges appointed prior to 2012 have increased the chief justices salary to 247,443 and the High Court president to 229,896 while a Supreme Court judge will get paid 215,860. Cabinet also received a report recommending that nurses allowances are increased by 20%.

Mr Donohoe says section 39 workers pay is a health matter but also told reporters this week that efforts were ongoing to resolve the pay concerns at the WRC. If strikes go ahead, this will impact on vulnerable users in health and social care in HSE-funded groups, such as Rehab. Section 39 employers want to restore pay but they cannot without more funding.

The standoff between Mr McGrath and Fine Gael ministers comes as budget talks begin.

Fianna Fail wants affordable housing, reductions in hospital waiting lists, and social welfare increases while Fine Gael wants more cuts to the USC for workers and big capital projects.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said his offer for talks to renew the confidence and supply deal with Fianna Fail was open.

Fine Gael wants the support pact talks with the opposition party before the budget. He denied trying to orchestrate a snap general election. Speaking yesterday, he said: I would like to set a date for an election in the summer of 2020 to give us political stability, to remove any uncertainty about when an election may or may not be held.

But speaking going into budget talks in Dublin, Fianna Fails Michael McGrath signalled why his party will not negotiate any new deal yet: Our overall assessment of the confidence and supply agreement will be somewhat influenced of course by the outcome of this budget.
Criminals on both sides of the border could benefit from the increased difficulty, post-Brexit, of EU and British law enforcement agencies in locating and extraditing them, Britains national police body has said.

The warning follows serious concerns expressed by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris regarding Britains removal from EU criminal justice treaties and its impact on police-to-police cooperation between An Garda Siochana and the PSNI.

These treaties cover a wide range of areas, including European arrest warrants, mutual assistance, joint investigation teams, and co-operation in Europol, the EU police agency, as well as access to various criminal and security databases.

Britains National Crime Agency (NCA) said Brexit will be a key driver of uncertainty in the next five years.

In its National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2018 report, the NCA said criminal gangs were opportunistic in relation to exploiting borders.

We expect that many will strive to take advantage of the opportunities that Brexit might present, for example from the design and implementation of a new UK customs system or from increased challenges for EU and UK law enforcement in locating and extraditing international fugitives if the UK were to lose enforcement or intelligence sharing tools, said the report.

At his first press conference on Tuesday, Mr Harris said one of his primary concerns in relation to Brexit was police to police cooperation and how it will now work with the PSNI.

Regrettably, with Brexit, many of the criminal justice co-operation treaties in Europe will fall away and the UK will no longer be a member of those, he said.

The former PSNI deputy chief constable said police agencies had done well out of those various treaties.

They have been very effective in terms of sharing information and intelligence with others in joint operations, he said.

Mr Harris said police-to-police co-operation was something he would focus on to make sure the country could be as best placed as we can for Brexit.

No matter what type of border, soft or hard, a border is there and the European treaties that we would rely on in the criminal justice sphere no longer exist and thats a problem, he said.

Mr Harris said organised crime might wish to focus on differences in tariffs between one jurisdiction and the other.

The NCA report said there was a significant interaction between gangs on both sides of the border and that a recent analysis found that almost half of gangs known to the PSNI had strong links and associations with organised crime groups in the Republic.

It said many gangs in the North imported drugs from the Republic, often concealed in legitimate goods, via haulage companies, courier networks and personal cars/vans and by public transport.

The latter form of transport was particularly prevalent in heroin imports from Dublin.

It said gangs were involved in the smuggling of contraband and counterfeit goods, with oil and tobacco fraud continuing to be a major concern.

It said mobile burglary gangs operated on both sides of the border, that they were ready to engage in violence, and that victims or anyone who disturbed their activities (including law enforcement) were at risk.

The NCA said more than 20% of gangs in the North had direct links with paramilitary [both loyalist and republican] organisations.

It added that these gangs were involved in a wide range of criminal activity, including drug-dealing, contraband goods (primarily cigarettes), extortion, protection rackets, and money- laundering.
Fianna Fail TD Eamon O Cuiv has officially ruled himself out of the presidential election race, saying he never had any intention of seeking a nomination if Michael D Higgins decided to run for a second term.

Speaking as 10 potential candidates sought the backing of Galway city council and just 24 hours after Independent senator Padraig O Ceidigh also ruled himself out of contention, Mr O Cuiv confirmed he is backing out and will not enter the contest.

Last month, it emerged that Mr O Cuiv had ignored the view of party leader Micheal Martin and met with a number of councillors who wanted him to be Fianna Fail's presidential candidate.

However, asked about the controversy and his subsequent month-long silence on Galway Bay FM, Mr O Cuiv said he will not be entering the already crowded contest and never seriously considered the move.

"The councillors did meet with me at the end of July, and it was at their request.

"They asked me to meet them and I will be writing back to them, to the councillors, as a courtesy, but I never indicated I was standing," Mr O Cuiv told The Keith Finnegan Show.

"I had a discussion with the councillors, they know the tenor of that conversation, and it was at their request that I had that discussion.

"I said I would come back to them at the beginning of September. I think the circumstances are very clear now, and I've a letter drafted that I will be sending them [the councillors] in the next day to say so," he said, adding:

"I couldn't believe how much publicity you could get by not doing anything."

The decision by Mr O Cuiv to back out of mooted plans to enter the presidential race will be seen as a welcome relief to Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, whose decision not to run a candidate is likely to be raised at the party's pre-Dail think-in next week.

However, the unofficial support a series of councillors and some national politicians privately gave to Mr O Cuiv's rumoured run has again underlined the ongoing divisions between some section of Fianna Fail's grassroots and the party's hierarchy.

Meanwhile, 10 potential presidential candidates sought the support of Galway county council on Thursday afternoon in the latest stage of the race to win nominations to enter the contest.

The pitches came as one of the candidates, journalist Gemma O'Doherty, hit out at the fact potential runners have to attend a number of councils on the same day.

President Michael D Higgins' next public appearance will be at the Kennedy summer school in Wexford on Saturday.


Northern Territory's Lithium Valley Presentation

Adelaide, Sep 6, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Core Exploration Ltd ( ASX:CXO ) provides the Company's latest presentation at Mining the Territory Conference.BACKGROUND- Core Exploration Ltd ( ASX:CXO ) is an Australian resources company.- The Finniss Lithium Project includes one of Australia's highest grade lithium resources.- Project Process:o Mine spodumene pegmatite ("lithium rich granite")o Processing of the mined material on site using Dense Media Separation (DMS) to produce benign concentrateo No chemicals used in the processing - only watero Truck concentrate ("gravel") to Darwin Port for export to AsiaFINNISS LITHIUM PROJECTPotentially best logistics chain to Asia of any Australian lithium project- One of Australia's highest grade lithium resources- Grants is close to grid power, gas and rail infrastructure- 88km haul route to Darwin Port is on all NT Government roads licenced for road trains (Bitumen all the way).- Large area -500km2 of tenements including over 100 historic pegmatite occurrences and MLs- Widespread high grade spodumene drill intersections at multiple prospects- Existing and new large pegmatite targets to be tested- Easy trucking distance by sealed road to Darwin PortTo view the full presentation, please visit:About Core Lithium Ltd

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX:CXO) is an emerging lithium producer focused on development of its Finniss Project near Darwin in the Northern Territory. Core owns 100% of Finniss, a major developing project that lies close to existing infrastructure such as the Darwin Port, grid power, gas and rail infrastructure.

The Finniss Project covers a 500km2 tenement holding and 25 historic pegmatite mines. The project area is about 80km from Darwin Port. Exploration work has generated a near term development timeline, with feasibility studies to be completed over the course of 2018 ahead of receipt of approvals in early 2019 and planned first production during 2019.

An aggressive exploration program is under way, which has confirmed the high quality prospectivity across much of the Finniss Project area. Core's stated ambition is to upgrade Finniss' resource base to fast-track commercialisation options.
Dublin Fire Brigade said a person became trapped in a flat in Dublin's city centre after a moped caught fire that was blocking the front door early this morning.

The incident happened at Hardwicke Street flats in Phibsborough at around 3am.
Gardai in Dublin are appealing for help in tracing the whereabouts of a missing 17-year-old.

Jason Collins was last seen on Eden Quay in Dublin 1 on Monday, September 3.
Latest: The Government plans to establish a new Land Development Agency to tackle the ongoing housing crisis.

At the Fine Gael think in Galway this afternoon, the Taoiseach said the new agency will be handed 1.25bn to build social and affordable homes.

Leo Varadkar says the proposal marks a "step change" in the Government's approach to the housing market.

He believes the move will eventually be seen as being as important as the establishment of the ESB, Aer Lingus or the IDA.

Digital Desk

Housing Minister threatens to take powers from local authorities

By Elaine Loughlin, in Galway

The Housing Minister has threatened to take powers away from local authorities if they do not ramp up the provision of emergency and social housing.

Hitting out at a number of local authorities, Eoghan Murphy said he would be "calling out" those who have not done enough to tackle the housing and homeless crisis.

Speaking at the Fine Gael think-in in Galway this evening, Mr Murphy said he understands that people are frustrated and are being hurt badly by the crisis and is now ready to invoke emergency powers to deal with a lack of action in some areas.

"I wrote to local authorities yesterday, certain local authorities, to tell them that there are changes that they need to make immediately and if they don't I will have recourse to emergency powers within my Department to step in and take control of some of those functions so that I can be sure that working with the best people possible that we can get those families out of emergency accommodation and get them into homes."

The latest figures show that there were almost 10,000 people living in hotels, B&Bs and emergency hubs in July.

Mr Murphy added: "There are certain local authorities which have not put in place family hubs when they have a large number of families that are self-accommodating. We know that family hubs are the appropriate first response, not hotels."

Mr Murphy said he would be dealing "directly" with local authorities who are still failing to tackle the crisis.

"There are powers available to me under the Housing Acts to be able to do that."

Housing Minister @MurphyEoghan has written to some local authorities threatening to remove powers from them if they do not ramp up housing supply #iestaff pic.twitter.com/YWfZLedOtm  Elaine Loughlin (@Elaine_Loughlin) September 6, 2018

He said he hoped each of the 31 local authorities around the country would now act quickly adding that progress has been too slow in some areas.

"It's my responsibility to make sure that things happen, the buck does stop with me and it is my entire focus.

"I have got to work with local authorities to make sure that they do this and if they don't do this themselves I do have recourse to actually step in and either appoint a person of bringing a function back into the Department to make sure that is happening in that area," he said.

Groups call for Government action on housing ahead of pre-budget protest

Latest: A leading homeless campaigner has said removing the Housing Minister will not solve the crisis.

A number of groups including the Peter McVerry Trust and the Union of Students in Ireland have joined an umbrella campaign against the housing crisis.

Raise the Roof for Housing is calling on people to join a rally outside Leinster House on October 3 ahead of the budget.

Fr Peter McVerry

Father Peter McVerry said that it is Government policy that needs to change and not ministers.

"Eoghan Murphy is only the mouthpiece for Government policy and it's Government policy that has to change.

"I think we have to continue telling the Government that as far as anyone can see their policies aren't working.

"Really it's a question for me of when will the Emperor come to realise that the Emperor doesn't have any clothes."

Students make up a large portion of the so-called 'hidden homeless' population with many sleeping on friends' couches or commuting long distances.

They said they are sick of being taken advantage of by the Government.

Michelle Byrne from the USI said they are sick of it.

Packed room today at the launch of the #RaiseTheRoof rally. Students are standing up and saying #RaiseTheRoof, not the rents! #RaiseTheRoof quite literally, build them! Lets #RaiseTheRoof on Leinster House on Oct 3rd. Take action so we dont become #LockedOut of education! pic.twitter.com/801EHHtKgc  Union of Students in Ireland (@TheUSI) September 6, 2018

"Students Unions have told us about people presenting already that they can't find or afford accommodation, people are going to be sleeping on couches.

"They don't see themselves as homeless because they're not technically on the street.

"We're sick of being taken advantage of by the Government. We haven't seen any increases in support, we have the second highest fees in Europe and now this accommodation crisis."

Digital Desk

Varadkar rejects claim Fine Gael does not care about homeless

Earlier: The Taoiseach has admitted that the housing crisis facing the country is a deep problem for the government.

Leo Varadkar said that the number of people in emergency accommodation is moving in the wrong direction, adding that there is no quick fix to solving the growing problem.

He rejected claims that Fine Gael does not care about homeless people, adding that the housing problems arise from the last financial crash.

The party has been heavily criticised for its failure to tackle to the problem, with the latest figures showing that there are 9,891 homeless people living in Ireland.

Speaking at Fine Gaels Parliamentary Party in Galway, Mr Varadkar said: I dont think the rise in the number of people in emergency accommodation can be described as progress, its evident to everyone that we are still going in the wrong direction when it comes to emergency accommodation.

Were no means in denial about that, but it is something we are working on  and just like the unemployment crisis or the economic crisis, it can take time for policies to work and for people to see results in their lives  but it is something we are determined to do, and we can see progress in other areas.

The housing crisis will form part of the discussions at the two-day event.

The Fine Gael Think In event takes place before the Dail returns later this month.

Mr Varadkar said he understands why people are sceptical that his party can solve the problem, but added that there are no quick-fix solutions.

(Yui Mok/PA)

The truth is there is no quick fix and I think the vast majority of people do understand that. This is a housing crisis, housing shortage that has been emerging for a very long time.

People who think there is some quick fix solution, they are not telling the public the truth.

He said the number of rough sleepers is down by 40%, adding that the government has built 4,4000 new home in the last three months.

- Press Association
Trade unions, housing advocates, and community and campaign groups have come together to call for a radical shift in housing policy.

They are part of the Raise the Roof initiative to build more public housing, end evictions into homelessness, and establish a legal right to housing.

Supporters include Fr Peter McVerry, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the National Homeless and Housing Coalition, the Union of Students in Ireland, and the National Womens Council of Ireland (NWCI).

The initiative will be launched at a press conference in Dublin today during which housing advocates will call for support for a special rally on October 3, organised by ICTU.

The rally is intended to draw attention to an opposition party motion on housing that is scheduled to be debated in the Dail on the same day.

The motion is backed by Sinn Fein, People Before Profit, the Labour Party, Solidarity, Social Democrats, Green Party, and Independent4Change.

ICTU president Sheila Nunan said the housing crisis is an issue for everyone.

It is now almost impossible for workers, young families, and students to secure decent, afford- able accommodation and this has put intolerable pressure on living standards across all sectors, said Ms Nunan.

We need to see a dramatic increase in the supply of quality, affordable public housing. Housing is a human right and should not be the plaything of speculators.

Fr McVerry asked when will the emperor finally realise that he had no clothes.

Homeless figures are up, house prices are up, and the fact that government policy has failed is staring us all in the face, he said.

The old refrain from the Government that it needs more time does not wash anymore, said the campaigner.

We need to see a dramatic change in policy to resolve this worsening crisis, said Fr McVerry.

Orla OConnor, director of the NWCI, said the housing crisis is also a womens issue, with Irelands rate of female homelessness now double that of other European countries.
The former chairman of Independent News and Media (INM), Leslie Buckley, has said he will fight any accusations levelled against him arising out of investigations into the companys affairs.

INM is expected to accept the appointment of High Court inspectors to probe a series of scandals at the company when it returns to the court today.

On Monday, Mr Justice Peter Kelly approved an application by the companies regulator, the ODCE, to appoint inspectors but he postponed making the final order until today to allow INM to consider whether to lodge an appeal. It is thought an appeal is unlikely.

Mr Buckley is among those whose actions at the firm has been questioned by the ODCE and in Mr Justice Kellys 76-page ruling.

Through his membership of the board and his close association with biggest INM shareholder Denis OBrien, Mr Buckley is implicated in a number of alleged corporate governance breaches, including a major data breach, an attempt to pay money to an external OBrien-owned company for work not carried out and an attempt to persuade INM to pay over the odds to acquire OBriens Newstalk radio station.

In a statement issued on his behalf yesterday, Mr Buckley said: I note the decision of Mr Justice Kelly, President of the High Court, to appoint inspectors to Independent News & Media plc.

I welcome the opportunity to vindicate my good name through the inspection process. As previously stated, I intend to robustly defend myself against each and every allegation. I continue to reserve my position.

Mr Buckley stood down from the board in March this year, six months after the data breach emerged and a year and a half after the companys former chief executive, Robert Pitt, made a protected disclosure about the attempted Newstalk deal and other issues.

In May, INM began legal proceedings against him, and in the companys response to issues raised in court by the ODCE, it claimed Mr Buckley acted alone without the boards knowledge. However, the inspectors could make life uncomfortable for numerous former and serving board members as Mr Justice Kelly has questioned the actions of the board collectively in responding to issues brought to its attention.

In his ruling, he said Mr Buckley only had authority to act because of his position as chairman of the board. He also backed the ODCE in its criticisms of how the board arranged for two internal reviews into the various issues.

In one instance, the board asked a senior counsel to conduct an independent review but set terms of reference too narrow for the review to be effective.

The board also commissioned consultants Deloitte to review the data breach  which involved spying on the emails of journalists, lawyers and external consultants  but, said Mr Justice Kelly: The Deloitte report was conducted without any input from the company to which the data was sent and without any independent verification of what they were told by reference to either emails or documents.

Even to this day it is not clear whether the data removed and taken out of the country was copied and, if so, if the copies were retained by those responsible for or benefitting from the interrogation. These matters do not appear to have been addressed in the report commissioned by the company from Deloittes and a further report sought from Deloittes has not yet been completed. Many questions remain concerning this whole affair.

Deloitte was asked to respond to the rulings contents yesterday but said it cannot comment on client matters.

If the appointment of the inspectors is signed off on officially today, they are expected to get to work without delay. Two inspectors have been named to lead the investigation, senior counsel Sean Gillane and British corporate lawyer Richard Fleck.
An elderly woman died in a house fire sparked by a coal fire in her kitchen, an inquest in Cork heard today.

Mary Moynihan, 89, a leading figure in the Irish Deaf community and who pioneered the use of Irish Sign Language (ISL), died in the blaze at her home on the Model Farm Road in Cork city, on November 6 last.

Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn, returned a verdict of accidental death after hearing details of the tragic case.

The inquest was told that Ms Moynihan, who was deaf and single, lived alone and independently thanks to the help and support of family and a HSE home help worker.

Home help Aileen Coughlan said she called to Ms Moynihan every morning, lunchtime and evening, seven days a week.

She called to Ms Moynihan's home at around 10.30am on November 6 last and did some jobs around the house.

She told the coroner that Ms Moynihan loved the heat from a fire and that the fire in the kitchen was lighting.

But she said she noticed that Ms Moynihan, who walked with the aid of a frame, seemed a bit tired. Ms Coughlan called to the house again at lunchtime and left at 2pm.

One of Ms Moynihan's nephews, Declan Donovan, who also called to the house regularly, said he arrived between 6.30pm and 7pm.

He said his aunt complained of the cold and he put some extra coal and briquettes on the fire, before replacing the fire guard.

"Everybody put the fire guard up," he said.

He left around 7pm as Ms Moynihan settled down to watch Nationwide on TV.

Ms Coughlan said she returned at 9pm to help Ms Moynihan to bed but when she opened the back door, she was met with a wall of smoke and raised the alarm. She said she heard banging from inside the house.

Third officer with Cork City Fire Brigade, Victor Shine, said they got the call at 9.25pm and were on the scene by 9.30pm.

He said when they arrived, flames were shooting through the kitchen window, which meant the fire had been ablaze for some time.

He also said the building's corrugated steel roof contributed to heat retention inside the property.

Firefighters brought the fire under control quickly and Ms Moynihan's badly burned body was found lying in the kitchen. Death was pronounced at the scene later.

Investigating Garda, Darren Suffin, said a report by forensic crime scene investigator, Garda Stephen Dennehy, found no evidence of forced entry at the house.

His report established that the seat of the fire was located in a fuel storage area to the left of the fireplace in the kitchen, where timber blocks and briquettes were stored.

He said he was satisfied that this was a tragic accidental fire.

A post mortem examination confirmed the cause of death was smoke inhalation due to a house fire.

Mr Comyn described it as a tragic case, but he praised Ms Moynihan's relatives and Ms Coughlan for ensuring that she was able to live independently at home right until her death.

Sgt Fergus Twomey extended his sympathies to the family, who thanked firefighters and gardai for their professionalism and kindness on the night.

Mr Donovan said his aunt, although frail, was still very involved socially, and was even planning to meet friends the next day.

"She was involved in her younger life with older deaf people and when she got old, younger people came to visit her in her house. Nothing held her back. She had a great life," Mr Donovan said.

Poignantly, the ISL which Ms Moynihan used for most of her life was formally recognised as a minority language just weeks after her death.

Chairman of the Cork Deaf Club, Graham O'Shea, said Ms Moynihan had a strong character, and she was great company.

"She also had a marvellous sense of humour. She was a great storyteller and had many experiences to recount about her life as a deaf woman growing up in 1940s/50s Ireland," he said.

She was much loved by her extended family, and by all of us in the Deaf community, especially here in Cork. She will be sorely missed.
One of the most influential authors of her generation has encouraged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy to spend a day volunteering in a homeless shelter.

Award-winning author and columnist Louise ONeill, whose book Asking For It challenged society to confront rape culture and issues of consent, said spending time on the frontline of Irelands homeless crisis could challenge our political leaders to approach the homeless crisis differently.

Once you are exposed to that, to how dark some of these places can be and how lonely it can be inside there, I think you would realise how pressing this issue is and that its something that needs to be addressed urgently, said ONeill.

In a powerful keynote address at the launch of Cork Simons 2017 annual report yesterday, Ms ONeill spoke of how her time volunteering with Cork Simon at Christmas over several years in her twenties changed her perception of homelessness, and made her realise that homelessness can happen to anyone, as a result of trauma, bereavement, the loss of a job, or just bad luck.

Speaking afterwards, she said: When you realise that any one of us is vulnerable to becoming homeless, it becomes apparent that this is an issue that, as a society, we have to collectively work together to eradicate.

I volunteered in India when I was 21 and obviously the scale of homelessness there is enormous.

But in a country as small as Ireland, its still something that could be tackled if politicians just decided it was an issue they were going to put to the top of the agenda, which is something that as society we all need to urge them to do.

She also criticised recent rhetoric, particularly online, in relation to the homeless, and cited that case of mother of seven Margaret Cash, 28, who was forced to sleep with some of her children on the floor of a garda station.

ONeill said people jumped to conclusions and cast aspersions on her life decisions as if it were a national sport.

Shouldnt our first response have been alarm? she said. Shouldnt we have been more concerned about the safety of her children rather than speculating about the whereabouts of their father?

Homelessness is an issue we must work together to eliminate. Because until all of us are safe and protected then none of us are.


Shareholder Letter - Retraction of Peer Comparison

Sydney, Sep 6, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - On 31 August 2018 Mustang Resources Limited ( ASX:MUS ) ( OTCMKTS:MTTGF ) ("Mustang", the "Company") issued a shareholder letter entitled "Mustang to be renamed "New Energy Minerals Ltd to reflect its focus on the world-class Caula Vanadium-Graphite Project".Following discussions with the ASX, Mustang hereby retracts the peer comparison information contained in the shareholder letter.Retracted Statements;On pages 2 and 3 of the shareholder letter, information was provided in the form of peer comparisons with other African graphite companies. The peer comparisons compared the JORC Measured Resources, Flake sizes and Grades of different African focused graphite companies, based on published results from peer companies noted in the shareholder letter.The peer comparison in respect of Resources only compared the Resource in the Measured Resource category (highest degree of geological confidence) and did not include Inferred Resources nor Indicated Resources, nor did it demonstrate if any of the Indicated or Measured Resources have been converted to a Reserve.Accordingly, African Graphite Companies Peer Comparison - Table 1 on page 2 and the reference to it are retracted.African Graphite Peer Comparison - Figure 1 on page 3 and the reference to it are retracted.Accordingly, investors should not rely on the retracted information as a basis for an investment decision in relation to Mustang's shares.About New Energy Minerals Ltd

New Energy Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXE) (FRA:GGY) is an ASX listed junior mining company, that recently announced the divestment of the Company's Caula vanadium - graphite project and the Montepuez Ruby project in Mozambique.
Irelands medicines watchdog is at a sensitive stage of its contingency planning for Brexit, Health Minister Simon Harris has said.

Mr Harris said the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) is planning for a number of different scenarios, including a no deal.

He was very confident that HPRA, together with the HSE, would ensure that Irish people could continue to access critical medicines after Brexit.

Obviously, he said, a transition agreement allowing for a decent period of time would assist in that.

I do believe there will be an agreement, but I take the point that we have to prepare for all scenarios, including a no-deal scenario, whilst expecting there will be a deal, he said.

Mr Harris said the Government and the HPRA are working extraordinarily hard on preparing for all scenarios, as he opened the International Conference of Drug Regulatory Authorities (ICDRA) in Dublin yesterday.

The HPRA is at a sensitive stage of its contingency planning for all of those scenarios including a no-deal Brexit, he said.

There are 500 delegates from more than 94 countries attending the week-long ICDRA to discuss how cross-country collaboration can be improved to ensure faster access for patients to new medicines.

One of the speakers, Emer Cooke, head of regulation of medicines and other health technologies at the World Health Organisation (WHO), said contraband medicines is one of their big challenges.

The WHO global surveillance and monitoring system has received more than 1,500 reports of suspected substandard and falsified medicines from 106 member states since 2013.

Of the cases reported, 42% were from the African region, 21% from the European region, 21% from the Americas, and 16% from the rest of the world.

Ms Cooke said they estimated that more than 10% of all medical products are contraband and the cost to society is in excess of 860m.

And we reckon those figures are grossly underestimated, she said.

There are rogue actors. People will always find a way to cheat the system but if we can raise awareness, if we can train regulators, if we can improve the laboratory systems, I think we can do a lot better.

Ms Cooke said the WHO is piloting an app in Tanzania and Indonesia whereby someone can take a photograph of a medical product and then check it against a database.

It is a problem everywhere but a strong regulatory system can catch it better, she said.

Ms Cooke said a good regulatory system gives people confidence that the medical products they need and use are safe and would work as intended.

Ms Cooke said the WHO, by promoting reliance and collaboration among national regulators, is helping countries increase access to quality essential health products.

With WHO support, countries are improving regulatory preparedness for public health emergencies by building the necessary plans and tools to react quickly when an emergency arises, she said

HPRA CEO Lorraine Nolan, said the authority had doubled its staffing in the last 10 years and had invested significantly in its enforcement strategy.

Dr Nolan said the number of illicit medicines seized by the authority increased from 675,000 in 2016 to more than 1m last year.
By Gordon Deegan

A pre-school manager, who claimed that her professional reputation has been destroyed over false accusations concerning a baby-feeding incident, has been awarded 10,000 for her unfair constructive dismissal.

In the case, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ordered the pre-school operator to pay the woman 10,000 over her constructive unfair dismissal and for breaching her rights over the transfer of business.

The WRC ruling discloses that a serious incident occurred at the pre-school last year resulting in the death of an infant and the manager was absent from work to November 8 last as a result of being severely traumatised by what occurred.

Subsequent to the tragedy of the infant death, the ownership of the pre-school changed hands last August while the creche manager was absent due to illness and she found that the new owner was now acting as manager on her return to work last November.

The former manager said on her return that she had been demoted to the role of cleaner/child-carer and put to work in the baby room.

On November 23, the pre-school operator issued the woman with a letter accusing her of heavy-handed physical force in the manner in which she fed a baby and suspended her on full pay pending an investigation.

The pre-school subsequently issued the woman with a final written warning and the woman said that this had destroyed her professional reputation which was gained over 16 years.

The worker said that she had no other option but to resign her position on December 15 with the organisation.

In the case, WRC Adjudication Officer, David Mullis has ordered the pre-school operator to pay the woman 3,000 for the constructive unfair dismissal and 7,000 for the womans rights being breached over the transfer of the business.

Mr Mullis said that the worker had understandably lost faith in her employer as she repeatedly said that she felt she was being set up for dismissal with the final written warning being merely a step on the way.

Mr Mullis also based his ruling on the basis on which the woman had lost her position within the organisation upon her return to work.

Mr Mullis said that the worker had been humiliated in front of employees over whom she had had a supervisory role.

On the feeding incident, the woman told the WRC: To prevent the child from hitting the feeding spoon and sending food flying, I laid my hand across the baby to make it easier to feed. With 17 years experience and qualified to Level 6 in Childcare, this would be the normal thing to do to ensure the child is fed.

The woman said that she felt bullied and intimidated as a result of the employers attitude towards her over the incident. She reported that her boss shouted at her: I am the boss. Can I not say anything to you? If I put you in the baby room you will cry.

The employer told the WRC that she didnt shout and the interaction was good-humoured.

Mr Mullis said that the woman had asked a person qualified in childcare, to review the CCTV footage of the feeding incident and received a report that was highly complimentary to her for the way she dealt with the distressed child on the day and the methods she used to ensure feeding was accomplished.
President Michael D Higgins is expected to make a statement outlining his campaign intentions when his nomination papers for the race for the park are submitted later this month.

His decision to hold off revealing whether or not he will publicly campaign to win a second seven-year term as president will leave presidential hopefuls in the dark as they battle it out to get on the ballot paper.

Senator Padraig O Ceidigh announced yesterday he will not enter the race, warning it will be a real dog fight and that he thinks Mr Higgins will still be in Aras an Uachtarain after the October 26 vote.

Speaking to Newstalk radio, the Aer Arann founder explained why he would not challenge the incumbent.

Im not going to go. That was a really tough call for me. The main reason for that is quite frankly, I dont think Id win it. If Im going to go Im going to win,

Anything I ever do in life, I go to win. Im very much an entrepreneur, I assess risk, the fact that the President Michael D Higgins is at 50% in the polls, everybody else is lower than 15%, which is broadly coming back to me.

Thats a real dog fight, it would be really, really difficult, he said.

As things stand now, I think Michael D will be President next November when he meets Trump.

Even if the President dropped 30%, hes still going to get 550,000-600,000 first preferences. The other factor in it is that Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour are supporting Michael D Higgins, thats from 65% of the voting population.

The Galway politician said that running would be an expensive enterprise, also adding that Mr Higgins is known by every person in the country.

Michael D does not have to put up posters, at 8, 10 or 12 each, everybody knows Michael D Higgins.

Meanwhile, the Irish Examiner has learnt that President Higgins is to hold off on making any statement about his campaign or clarifying how he will go about seeking reelection while serving until later this month.

Nomination papers do not have to be lodged until September 26, by which time the president will have nominated himself for a second term, as per the rules.

Sources familiar with the presidents position have confirmed he will make a statement on the same day as those nomination paper are submitted to the Customs House in Dublin.

Elsewhere, Labour party staff and officials will also meet tomorrow and discuss how the party will campaign for Mr Higgins as well as what kind of resources will be put behind his campaign.

Potential candidates continue to seek the support of councils for a nomination. Joan Freeman, a senator, and the 2011 race runner-up Sean Gallagher both appealed to Roscommon County councillors yesterday, for one of the four council votes needed.

Businessman Gavin Duffy and Ms Freeman have been backed by Meath and Cork City councils respectively. Mr Duffy spoke to Louth councillors last night. Cork County will meet tomorrow, as will Clare, while Galway City will hear from candidates today. At least six council meetings are scheduled for Monday.
By Niall Murray

The health and education effects experienced by the children of mental health patients are to be addressed directly with families by professionals to try to fill a gap in related services.

The issue is the focus of a HSE-funded research programme to promote a think family care delivery agenda.

Prof Sinead McGilloway, of Maynooth Universitys centre for mental health and community research, said international research shows 20%-25% of children have a parent with mental health difficulties.

She said they are among the most vulnerable hidden groups in society, but that the important topic has been neglected.

Children of parents with mental health difficulties are at risk of poor mental and physical health, impaired social relationships, and low levels of educational attainment, said Prof McGilloway.

She is principal investigator of the Primera programme (promoting research and innovation in mental health services for children and families) at Maynooth University, working with researchers Mairead Furlong and Christine Mulligan. Their centre will work with HSE-funded mental health services in eight locations, four Tusla services, and one St John of God service, which will begin recruiting families next month.

Balancing the needs of a parent recovering from mental ill health with those of their children is challenging, said Prof McGilloway. A masterclass was held yesterday, with leading family mental health expert Dr Adrian Falkov, for people and groups interested in the issue. Prof McGilloway said this is the start of a long-overdue conversation.

Through services involved in the project, including social workers, family therapists, and psychologists, six to eight family talk sessions will be organised.

This is about evidence-based intervention. They will help children understand the impact on them of their parents mental health difficulty, but it will also help parents to understand that effect, she said.

It is hoped to facilitate communication and build resilience in families around their health, with potential for wider use of the approach in the public health services if the kind of outcomes emerge from the interventions that researchers expect.

This is the first time any project of this kind has been conducted in Ireland. Were trying to block the gap around family mental health, said Prof McGilloway. An awful lot of mental health professionals are doing extra work on the ground, but were trying to put a structured intervention in place.

Meanwhile, a survey suggests nearly a third of second-level and college students believe their parents are quite or very stressed in the context of them going back to, or getting through, school or college.

The issue is connected to varying levels of stress by over 90% of the 270 parents in the survey for the makers of the Zenflore food supplement with a stress-relieving friendly bacteria.

Ted Dinan, professor of psychiatry at University College Cork and academic partner to the company, said leaving everyday stress unmanaged can lead to health problems. The survey shows the reality that day-to-day stress has a real impact, to include feelings of worry, sleep disruption, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating.
Rent freezes should be considered as part of a radical new approach to preventing the flow of people into homelessness, the head of Cork Simon said.

Charity director Dermot Kavanagh has also called for a complete review of the Governments Rebuilding Ireland strategy, and a massive ramp-up of investment in the building of social housing, as he admitted mounting frustration over the slow delivery of the strategy.

We accepted at the height of the crisis that it would take some years to deliver solutions, but we are still talking about it being another two or three years before delivery really starts to take place, he said.

And it really seems that the horizon is always moving further and further away and, to be perfectly frank, thats quite frustrating.

Mr Kavanagh was speaking after the launch of Cork Simons 2017 annual report, which he said makes for grim reading.

The report shows a record 1,403 people turned to Cork Simon for help last year  an 18% increase in 12 months and the highest in the charitys 46-year history.

It shows that an average of 19 people slept rough in the city every night last year, that the number of long-term homeless increased by 10%, that presentations to the charitys day centre increased by 10%, and that the number of people depending on its soup run was up 14%, with almost a third of those in private rented accommodation and on the very edge of homelessness.

The surge in demand for services led to Cork Simon increasing its emergency bed capacity by continuing its winter shelter initiative right into this year and by opening its day service for rough sleepers on Saturdays.

Mr Kavanagh said that while the various home- less agencies broadly welcomed the publication of Rebuilding Ireland, it should be revisited.

He said the State invested in social housing in the 1950s right through to the 1980s, and that needs to happen again.

However, a substantial increase in the level of State investment in social housing, from 7% to the European average of around 20%, is needed to ensure the required 10,000 units are delivered, and not the target of 2,500.

If we had that kind of social housing safety net, we wouldnt have the crisis we have now, he said. We need to go back to the future and solve it the way we did before. It is more than possible.

But there needs to be a much stronger focus on developing preventative measures.

The area of rent certainty needs to be revisited and strengthened, and the rights of tenants need to be strengthened.

He said that while Cork was buffered to some extent from the worst of the housing crisis, that buffer is now almost gone, with affordable houses virtually non-existent in the commuter towns, and just a handful of properties available to rent within HAP limits.

He said politicians need to change tack on policy.

Its like turning a ship around, said Mr Kavanagh. Maybe there is a need to shift the direction in a more radical way than whats been envisaged so far.

We need to orientate our efforts towards those stuck in long-term homelessness. If we house them, that will take pressure off the shelters, and will transform peoples lives. We really have to see delivery, but prevention is core.

The annual report shows the charity supported 171 people into housing last year, helped 206 people into training, and helped 58 people into employment. It also extended the opening hours of its day care centre to Saturdays.
By Tom Tuite

A Teenage boy has been granted bail after being charged with false imprisonment and sexual assault of a female in Tallaght in Dublin.

The boy, aged 17, who was accompanied to his hearing at the Dublin Childrens Court by his mother and his solicitor Kevin Tunney had surrendered himself to gardai after an arrest warrant was issued.

Garda Kieran Kilcoyne told the Dublin Childrens Court he arrested the teen in Tallaght today.

The boy is accused of sexual assault and false imprisonment on a date in March 2016, when he was aged 15.

The court heard he was taking part in an educational course and wanted to go on to university.

Setting bail, Judge John OConnor warned the teen he cannot have any contact with the complainant or witnesses.

The boy who cannot be named for legal reasons was ordered to appear again later this month for a hearing to decide on the issue of jurisdiction  whether the case would remain in the juvenile court or go to the circuit court which has tougher sentencing powers.

The defence is entitled to make submissions under Section 75 of the Children Act.

This allows the boys lawyer cite age and maturity of the defendant as well as any other relevant factors in setting out grounds pleading for a serious case to remain in the Childrens Court.

The youth, who did not address the court, has not yet indicated how he will plead and his solicitor was granted an order for disclosure of prosecution evidence.
By Liam Heylin

A man trespassed in what was supposed to be secure area of a Cork girls secondary school and spoke in a sexual and suggestive way to two students.

Cork District Court heard yesterday that Tadhg Hopkins got into the prestigious, private Scoil Mhuire on Sidney Place, Wellington Rd, by walking in after someone with a pass card.

The man entered Scoil Mhuire by walking in after somebody with a pass card. Picture: Denis Scannell

The 40-year-old, of halting site Nashs Boreen, Fairhill, pleaded guilty to two charges.

One states that he trespassed at the school on June 6 without reasonable excuse in such a manner as caused or was likely to cause fear in another person.

The second charge states that Hopkins intentionally engaged in offensive conduct of a sexual nature.

Inspector Brian ODonovan said the Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment at Cork Circuit Criminal Court unless there was a plea of guilty.

The inspector outlined the allegations in the case so that Judge Olann Kelleher could decide if he would accept jurisdiction to deal with the case.

Detective Sgt Kieran OSullivan said that at 1.40pm on June 6 the defendant entered Scoil Mhuire girls school.

The location was secure but he got into a secure area by walking in after a person who had a pass card to gain access, he said.

He followed behind people who were entering. He later spoke to two girls and it is alleged the content of the conversation was sexual and suggestive.

Judge Olann Kelleher accepted jurisdiction to deal with the case at Cork District Court. On that being done, defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said the accused was entering a plea of guilty to both charges.

Judge Kelleher said the two students had a right to give evidence of the impact of the offences on them. The judge said they could appear in court or give written victim impact statements. Det Sgt OSullivan said they would give written statements.

Sentencing of Hopkins was adjourned for a week for those statements to be prepared and he was remanded in custody. It is not alleged that there was any physical contact between the accused and the two students.
Nearly half of Ireland's teens say that peer violence at school affects their studies.

That is just one of the findings contained in a new UNICEF report, which analysed survey responses from more than 3,000 Irish teenagers.

It found that fights and bullying disrupt education for 44% of 13- to 15-year-olds while more than one in four of the same age group were bullied in the past couple of months.

UNICEF Ireland executive director, Peter Power, said: "Education is fundamental in a child's life and every child should feel safe and secure at school.

"Our new report shows that 44% of students in Ireland aged 13 to 15 report either being bullied or being involved in physical fights with their peers.

"This must be addressed - violence is not a lesson any child needs to learn.

"Experiencing violence has serious effects on a childs well-being, and in the long-term it can lead to depression, anxiety and even suicide.

"No child should go into school fearing violence."

Some 28% of students aged 13 to 15 report they have been bullied at school at least once in the past couple of months - while 27% reported having been involved in a physical fight at least once in the past 12 months.

Across the world, half of students aged 13 to 15 - around 150 million - report having experienced peer-to-peer violence in and around school, according to the 'An Everyday Lesson: #ENDviolence in Schools' report.

The report outlines a variety of ways students face violence in and around the classroom.

According to the latest available data from UNICEF, slightly more than one-in-three students aged 13-15 globally experience bullying, and roughly the same proportion are involved in physical fights.

Three in 10 students in 39 industrialised countries admit to bullying peers.

In 2017, there were 396 documented or verified attacks on schools in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 26 on schools in South Sudan, 67 attacks in the Syrian Arab Republic and 20 attacks in Yemen.

Nearly 720 million school-aged children live in countries where corporal punishment at school is not fully prohibited.

While girls and boys are equally at risk of bullying, girls are more likely to become victims of psychological forms of bullying - and boys are more at risk of physical violence and threats.

The report also notes that violence involving weapons in schools - such as knives and guns - continues to claim lives.

It says that in an increasingly digital world, bullies are disseminating violent, hurtful and humiliating content with the tap of a key.

The report is based on UNICEF analysis of data from 122 countries with data from the HBSC and GSHS surveys, covering 51% of the global population of children aged 13 to 15 years.

Irish data was sourced through the HBSC survey conducted during 2013 and 2014.


Drilling to Commence Early October at Cauchari Lithium Project

ASX:ORE

Brisbane, Sep 6, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Argentine-focused lithium exploration and project development company Lake Resources NL ( ASX:LKE ) is pleased to confirm that following recent positive discussions with relevant authorities in Argentina this week, drill hole locations have now been determined for the upcoming drill program at the 100%-owned Cauchari Lithium Brine Project, (see Figure 1, 2 in link below).- Drilling is anticipated to show a likely extension of the high grade lithium brine sequence from adjoining world-class lithium resources based on recent seismic lines.- Drill locations chosen - up to four holes to be drilled.The initial plan is to drill three holes, with a possible fourth hole, to depths of 400 metres. Drilling is anticipated to show a likely extension to the high grade lithium brines in adjacent properties (see Figures 1,2 in link below), and work is likely to commence in early October, barring any unforeseen delays.Third party drill results on the adjoining project include 600mg/L lithium with high flow rates and 470mg/L close to the lease boundary (*2). Based on recent seismic lines, Lake expects these high grade lithium brines to extend into its leases and brine bearing sediments are estimated to extend to 300-400 metres deep, based on the interpretation of the seismic line completed by Lake.Lake's Cauchari Lithium Brine Project adjoins the proven Cauchari lithium brine projects of SQM/Lithium Americas (soon to be Gangfeng/Lithium Americas), with an indicated resource of 8.7 Mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) and an additional measured resource of 3 Mt LCE, and the Cauchari resource of Orocobre/Advantage Lithium with an inferred resource of 3.0 Mt LCE (*1), which is in the process of being upgraded to measured and indicated classification. Lake originally secured the 18,000 hectare Olaroz-Cauchari leases in early 2016 and is the only ASX junior exploration company with a large lease portfolio in this world class lithium brine province.CommentsManaging Director Steve Promnitz said: "Discussions with relevant authorities in Argentina this week support the commencement of drilling early next month."This is a material development for Lake given the Cauchari leases show an extension from the adjoining proven lithium brine project which aims to be in production in two years. We will be drilling approximately 400-500 metres away from nearby high grade results which we aim to repeat. Lake is the only junior exploration company with such highly prospective and large exploration projects in Olaroz-Cauchari, and successful drilling will add materially to the value of our assets here."We are also working hard to deliver a maiden resource estimate for Kachi very soon. Interest in this project from offtake partners is very high."We also note recent reports by the Argentine Government with respect to temporary changes to export taxes, and we confirm that they have no impact on Lake. It is business as usual for us in Argentina with all projects advancing to plan."Footnotes:(*1): The Cauchari project resource estimates of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) are from SQM/Lithium Americas (11.8 Mt LCE) and Orocobre/Advantage Lithium (3.0 Mt LCE). Lithium Americas Corp ( TSE:LAC ) updated their Cauchari indicated resource estimate of 8.7 Mt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 570 mg/L lithium with an additional measured resource of 3 Mt LCE at 630 mg/L lithium in a release dated 18 June 2012 and 24 July 2012 prepared by their Qualified Persons Mark King, Roger Kelley and Daron Abbey, as defined in the NI 43-101 technical report. Orocobre/Advantage Lithium announced their updated Cauchari inferred resource estimate of 3 Mt of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 450 mg/L lithium, dated 29 June 2018 on the TSX (AAL:TSX-V) and dated 2 July 2018 on the ASX ( ASX:ORE ), prepared by Mr Frits Reidel, a "Qualified Person" as defined in the NI 43-101 technical report.(*2): Drill results released by Orocobre ( ASX:ORE ) from their market releases on the ASX on 18 April 2018 and 29 June 2018.(*3): from Reidel & Ehren, 2018, dated 29 June 2018 on the TSX (AAL:TSX-V) and dated 2 July 2018 on the ASX (To view figures, please visit:About Lake Resources NL

Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) (OTCMKTS:LLKKF) is a clean lithium developer utilising clean, direct extraction technology for the development of sustainable, high purity lithium from its flagship Kachi Project, as well as three other lithium brine projects in Argentina. The projects are in a prime location within the Lithium Triangle, where 40% of the world's lithium is produced at the lowest cost.



This method will enable Lake Resources to be an efficient, responsibly-sourced, environmentally friendly and cost competitive supplier of high-purity lithium, which is readily scalable, and in demand from Tier 1 electric vehicle makers and battery makers.
The bass player from The Specials has put his spin on classic characters from the Beano, writes Ed Power.

One of the most rock n roll comics of all time deserves a rock n roll anniversary to match.

Which is why the publishers of the Beano commissioned Specials bassist Horace Panter to produce a series of art pieces celebrating 80 years of Dennis the Menace, Gnasher the Dog, Minnie the Minx and chums.

The Beano was ubiquitous in everyones childhoods, says Panter from his art studio in Coventry,the city from which The Specials emerged in the late 1970s with their political, often polemical, mix of punk, reggae and urban angst.

This project was a collision of two of my favourite things  arts and comics. It was a labour of love.

The Beano exhibition, which opens at Dublins Ebow Gallery on Thursday after an acclaimed tour of the UK to mark the 2017 anniversary of the publication, is high concept with a vengeance.

Drawing on four decades of experience as a visual artist  a career he pursued in parallel with his music Panter has transposed the comics best loved characters into famous pop-art pieces.

So we see Lord Snooty rendered in the style of Roy Lichtenstein, Minnie the Minx redone as a Warhol screen-print (the technique Warhol applied to images of Elvis and Marilyn Monroe) and Dennis and trusty fleabag Gnasher plunging into a pool  a cap-doff towards David Hockneys swimming pool paintings.

Pop art was to the art world as punk was to the music business, says Panter.

Before that you had the abstract expressionists like Rothko and Jackson Pollock  people doing these huge emotive paintings about doom and ecstasy and tragedy.

And then along comes Andy Warhol with a soup can. In music you had the new Yes triple album and Emerson Lake and Palmer. And along comes The Ramones and The Sex Pistols and they blow everything out of the water. Thats why I like pop art.

The Beano was quite punk rock itself, he agrees. Published first on July 30, 1937, at the height of its popularity it was selling nearly 2m copies a week (the current total stands at around 30,000).

Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, the Bash Street Kids and the rest would become part of the background noise of our childhoods.

Dennis, who appeared in 1951, already wearing his black and red stripped jumper was a proto-Bart Simpson, a bad boy who couldnt keep out of mischief.

Just as revolutionary was Minnie the Minx, whose miscreant behaviour was seen as striking a blow for equality  proving that girls could be just as out of control as boys. In the 50s this was deeply subversive.

Yet lately the magazine has moved away from celebrating rebellious behaviour  with Dennis the Menace last year rebranded as plain old Dennis.

Todays Dennis is a flawed hero, a 10-year-old boy who fears nothing and sometimes gets into trouble as a result, said the publisher. He makes mistakes just like any other person but his mistakes only make him more determined to succeed.

But for Panter the characters are still clearly subversive figures  which is why he chose to give them a pop-art makeover.

I quite liked the idea of Dennis and Minnie going to Warhols Factory [studio] and creating havoc. Thats where it came from.

Art and pop have always gone hand in hand for Panter, who joined The Specials after moving to Coventry to study fine art. In his second year at Lanchester Polytechnic, he met Jerry Dammers, with whom he would form the iconic band.

He never lost his passion for the visual arts. The first time The Specials went to New York in 1980 he toured the galleries while his bandmates toured the clubs and bars.

The story I tell is that they went night clubbing and I was to bed early so I could get up the next morning and visit the Guggenheim. Ive used The Specials and travelling the world to see some fantastic art.

New York in 1980 still had some of the rough-at-the-edges energy that had drawn Andy Warhol and his peers to the city.

Horace Panter, on left, with the rest of The Specials, on the cover of their first album. Panter maintained his love of the visual arts even through touring.

It was pretty gritty the first time we visited, recalls Panter. However the reality doesnt really set in for a couple of days because it feels exactly like being in a movie. Then you start to wonder, why is everyone snarling at me? Well actually thats what they do.

Panter is a life-long Americanophile and had immersed himself in Kerouac and the blues and Robert Greenfields writings about The Rolling Stones; early adventures in the US. There were obvious parallels with Coventry  a declining industrial centre which had a lot in common with the rustbelt cities of the American Midwest.

By the time The Specials came along all the industry had beendismantled, he says. Thats what was happening to British industry in the 70s.

The Specials music was evocative of a specific time and place  a British provincial town at a time of spiralling unemployment and building racial tensions. Simply by being mixed race and singing about the devastation all around  one of their biggest hits, Ghost Town, mourns the hollowing out of Coventry  they stood for something bigger than themselves.

Forty years later, its worth asking if Panter sees history as repeating itself. Again Britain is in a period of strife  and again there is a sense that musicians should be the ones to articulate the dread many people feel.

Hes not so sure, however, if we really are living through the late 70s again.

The world has changed in so many ways and the Britain that produce The Specials is gone forever.

Most of the major cities have had a lot of money thrown at them, he says.

EU money  may they live forever. People have technology, theres been a lot of immigration. The idea that you could talk to people across the world on a screen  back then it would have seemed like science fiction. Everyone would have gone, crikey.

Beano  The Exhibition opens at Ebow Gallery Dublin today.
A documentary to be broadcast tonight tells the stories of the Palestinian people living under blockade and military occupation, writes Helen OCallaghan.

She is a young girl, no more than 10, in a blue sundress, her hair in a ponytail held with a white bobbin. She is calm, respectful, silent, as she helps hold up a wooden board on which are displayed five photos  photos of her relatives killed in Gaza in 2014 during the Israeli military offensive.

She is literally holding the memories of her dead and she features in This Is Palestine, a powerful documentary fronted by Riverdance director John McColgan in association with Trocaire, which airs tonight on TG4.

The documentary, produced and directed by McColgan with his brother Gerry, reveals the reality of life for millions of Palestinians living under occupation and blockade.

Filmed in Jerusalem, Hebron and Gaza, it features interviews with parents whose children were killed in the 2014 Gaza offensive, as well as people who have lost land and freedom of movement due to military occupation of the West Bank.

I had done as much research as I could but nothing prepares you for what you see on the ground, what you see in relation to human rights abuse and the devastation of the Palestinian people, says McColgan.

Until you look into the faces of people who have been abused and who have been through so much  when Gaza was bombed 2,500 Palestinians were killed  when you sit with them and hear the horrors they have had to heal from, it touches you deeply and you cant forget.

What also touched him to the core was the peoples dignified portrayal of their devastating losses.

I was struck by the dignity, integrity and stoicism of a lot of the Palestinian people, particularly in the women who hold society together. They tell their story in a very neutral way, eloquently, calmly, and you can see the deep sadness.

McColgan is referring to people like Layla Al-Helou, who lost her daughter in the Gaza onslaught. Describing that night, she says:

My daughter had been calling me all night to see how we were. I told her not to worry and that we were fine. She kept calling me until five minutes before three. Then the calls stopped. I kept calling her and her phone would ring but she didnt answer. My son looked out the window and saw their house had become a pile of rubble.

McColgan is also referring to women like Khaldea Al Selak El Shaja, who lost three children that night  two little boys and the youngest a girl, aged eight, five and three. The week after they were killed, Khaldea tried to go to Shifa Hospital to say goodbye to them. I had lost my senses, she says.

Afterwards, she and her husband received an apology  they had been targeted by mistake.

When we tried to pursue it legally, they changed their story and said the young ones were firing rockets at them. Does it make sense that those kids would know how to fire rockets? Khaldea asks.

And then there is Talal Mahmoud Al-Hebu, whose brother died, along with his children. The losses are so great, the grief so unspeakable that Talal pauses, takes some moments to contain this vast emotion before saying: What can I say? This is our lot.

McColgan says he went there hoping to be fair and balanced.

But when you see such blatant human rights abuse and disregard for international law, its impossible to be neutral.

In the West Bank, he met a Bedouin leader whose home  a shack of corrugated tin  has been repeatedly demolished since the 1970s by Israeli forces.

Mohamed Salim Mousa Kaabneeh describes how his home had been raided two years earlier, with soldiers kicking in the door, letting off shot grenades, pointing machine guns at the family, how his then 12-year-old son was so traumatised he lost the power of speech that night and has not talked since.

Wanting to hear the other side, McColgan interviewed the head of press at the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs.

He was very plausible, very smooth. They have a fantastic level of PR spokespeople. He was well used to being asked any question. He had quite a strong, very eloquent point of view  thats his job. Some of [his answers] were quite blatantly lies. How did McColgan feel, faced with this sophisticated PR machine?

I had a feeling of helplessness, of the absolute power of Netanyahu. Israeli people dont know much about Palestine and dont care.

Amid all the tragedy, the documentary also features very brave Israeli activists who are working for peace. Theres a glimmer of hope in the voices of these activists, says McColgan. Among this brave vocal minority is Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights.

Speaking about the land confiscations and demolition of Palestinian homes, he says:

This is wrong. This is occupation. As a rabbi and from my Jewish tradition, I know this is an abuse of human rights and a violation of international law.

Another powerful voice is that of Yehuda Shaul, co-founder of Breaking the Silence, an organisation of former Israeli soldiers who are campaigning against the occupation of Palestinian land.

In the documentary, Yehuda describes the orders he was expected to follow.

The orders were to disrupt Palestinian lives in any way possible.

"You would choose a random house. The officer leading the patrol would bump [break] into the house, wake up the family, men on one side, women on the other, search the house, throw some shot grenades, knock on some other doors, make some noise, invade another family  thats how you passed your 10pm-6am shift.

The turning point for Yehuda came when, based outside Bethlehem, he was able to see myself in the mirror.

He says between 2004 and 2017, 1,100 soldiers broke their silence after seeing themselves in the mirror.

Speaking to Irish Examiner this week, McColgan says he has received news that two weeks ago Yehuda was beaten up on the street by Israeli settlers while Israeli soldiers watched.

What he and his brother encountered during their travels through the West Bank and Gaza left McColgan very despondent. Its hard to see hope in such a situation.

Greetings all, This Is Palestine documentary will air on TG4 on Thursday September 6th at 22.30pm with a repeat on Thursday 11th September at 24.55am. Very proud of my brothers, John and Gerard, involvement in the making of this excellent documentary. Please spread the word  Patricia McColgan (@Patricia086) August 29, 2018

In the documentary, Sligo nun Sr Bridget Tighe  who works with a partner of Trocaire for Gazas women  says people are traumatised. The children are traumatised. Six-year-olds have been through three wars. What future have they?

Having recognised Jerusalem as Israels capital, President Donald Trump moved the US embassy there from Tel Aviv in May. More recently came news that the US is ending decades of funding for the UN agency that helps Palestinian refugees, a week after cutting bilateral US aid for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. The move cuts nearly $300m of planned support.

The UN says within a month, Palestinian children wont have enough funding to go to school, says McColgan, adding that Trocaire will lobby the Irish Government to up their contribution of 6m a year to the area. The German government has committed to increase their contribution, all in a bid to make up the shortfall.

McColgan believes talk of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is gone now with Trumps cutting of aid and the US embassy move. Palestinians see Trump as doing Israeli bidding. But you have to have hope, he says.

In the middle of the Troubles, Northern Ireland would have seemed hopeless. I would like to imagine there will be some breakthrough in the coming years that will bring peace but I dont see it happening under Trump.

This Is Palestine airs at 10.30pm tonight on TG4 with a repeat on Tuesday, September 11 at 12.55am.

To donate to Trocaires work in Gaza/with Palestinians click here.
Baltimore Village, Co Cork;

Tel: 028-20572

While her eyes invariably glaze over whenever I mount the soapbox, Me Ol Doll (MOD) becomes positively narcoleptic when I commence waffling about the nosebag, hearing little or nothing, writes Joe Namee.

Thus she arrives at The Mews somehow anticipating a knock-off hipster joint banging out drinks in jam jars, food on old bin lids, with special discounts for the profoundly bearded. Indeed she gushes surprise for several minutes, absorbing this sleek take on elemental: bare stone walls, bright white low wooden-beamed ceilings, conservatory and the Zen simplicity of Rohan Reilly prints throughout  swish, yet entirely of its place in charming Baltimore by the sea.

Sherkin Island Oyster and Wild Salmon (from Sally Barnes) arrive as amuses bouche: pureed oyster emulsion, seaweed shortbread, fermented kohlrabi, packing oomph, a briny depth charge; julienned chip of exquisite oily salmon atop crisp, dried, pungent cod skin seems ethereal in comparison. Brown Lemony Brown Crab on warmed boxty pancake hums with gentle anise from sweet cicely, but MOD remains to be impressed.

That changes with Langoustine Wasabi, pillowy muffin wearing carpaccio of sweet raw langoustine, peppery wasabi emulsion and coriander flowers. Id eat that for breakfast, dinner and tea, she says. Every day. Forever.

Tomatoes (from Vincent Collins) is a medley of one of summers finest fruits, augmented with creamy whipped Macroom buffalo ricotta, onion, basil and borage flowers; we mop tart juices with the previous course of lovely sourdough, polished rustic crust, seemingly hewn from mahogany.

Cod, Seaweeds, Mussels features superbly steamed pearlescent cod, pronounced saltiness revealed as intentional when paired with foamy mussel sauce and mayonnaise, seasoning sublimely calibrated to absorb saline excess. A smorgasbord of sea plants (weeds, an impossibly mean-spirited descriptor for such glorious oceanic bounty) offer multiple riffs on the marine melody: sea purslanes green apple, rock samphires salty crunch, lemon-infused sea spaghetti and demure gossamer crisp of dehydrated sea lettuce startling with its gustatory honk  Neptunes morning breath, but in a good way.

Mushroom, Pine, Lemon Balm is broth, fermented mushroom and dried slivers of shiitake uniting to suggest hazelnuts, a savoury woodland Nutella  apparently not, but the alchemy of flavour is undeniable.

While a white Burgundy (Domaine Andre Bonhomme, Vire Clesse 2016) has served superbly, I order a glass of Pinot Noir (Chauvenet-Chopin, Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru, 2014) specifically to tackle the locally-reared quacker in Skeaghanore Duck, Beetroot, Potato. Its elegant muscularity cuts through fat and ducks liver sauce while soft fruit notes echo blackberries and beetroot accompanying tender pink meat. Steamed Orlas are baptised in melting Gloun Cross Farm Butter and, whatever about dying for Ireland, Id happily do it for more of these magnificent spuds.

MODs meat-free alternative turns out to be a charred quarter of crisp white cabbage served with several variations of  cabbage! This includes pickled red cabbage and a freshly-juiced verdant cabbage sauce. If that reads like an old stereotype of Irish culinary limitations, it is in fact delightful: loose, playful, yet immaculately balanced, hinting at more intriguing directions should chef Ahmet Dede loosen stays on his controlled culinary precision.

Whipped Milleens, paired with tart sweet loganberries, and a custard of toffee-ish five-year-old Coolea in a melt-in-your-mouth short pastry case are quasi-desserts, both technical triumphs, in every respect, but if you believe, as I do, that you cant improve on the perfection of Irish farmhouse cheeses, it suggests an Instagram filter on the Sistine chapel. Cleansing Dill, Sorrel granita is a restraint on sweeter excesses of Elderflower sorbet while Strawberries, Meadowsweet, Rose hits its marks even if Dave Bushbys divine berries arent quite at their early season champagne peak.

Writing about a recent Michelin-starred meal in France, I said, if international standards are  as Michelin dubiously claim  absolutely equal, then I could rattle off several Irish restaurants also meriting a star. The Mews was close to top of my list. James Ellis and Robert Collender are consummately talented restaurateurs with chef Dede delivering superbly their hyper-locavore immersion in the terroir of west Corks land, shores and seas. It is also a pleasure to note truly exceptional service.

Granted, it operates in a (thoroughly justifiable) price range that is more special treat than weekly habit but tonight is money well spent, an undoubted highlight of this years dining to date. And, having spied West Cork Beard Oil in the mens bathroom, its also a teensy weensy bit hipster after all.
As the dust settles from the Popes visit and children head back to school, it's time for more parents to have the courage of their convictions and opt out of the charade that is communion and confirmation. Otherwise, we will never achieve a secular Ireland, suggests Susan O'Shea.

HANDS up if you were one of the thousands who felt deeply uncomfortable during the Pope's visit. Angry that the State was still doffing its cap to the leader of a Church rocked by clerical abuse scandals; thats anti-women, anti-homosexual, medieval in its teachings.

Hands up if you welcome all the vast change and liberalisation that has happened since 1979, but wish there was greater separation between Church and State. And hands up if your child will be making their communion or confirmation this year, or in the next few years. See where I'm going with this one?

Between the 130,000-plus people who flocked to the Phoenix Park, and the thousands more who celebrated the Papal visit at home, and those who showed their opposition by standing in silence with the Magdalene laundry survivors on Sean McDermott St, is Middle Ireland.

And while Middle Ireland felt sorry for the victims of clerical sex abuse, and anger at their treatment, and muttered under their breath about the cost of visit, it largely went about its business, and will continue to do so. But now is the time for this majority to take a good, hard, honest look at ourselves and decide what kind of country we really want to live in.

Are we happy to allow the Church continue to wield an undue influence on our children's lives through the school system, or do we want to see one where religion is solely a private affair, and completely separate from the State?

A country where the schools are run on a secular basis, and if children or their parents wish to take the sacraments, they do so outside of school hours.

After all, the taxpayer, not the Church, pays for these schools. Are we happy to continue with the hypocrisy that happens every May, when Church, and teachers, and parents collude in a great big lie, when we pretend we are still Catholic Ireland, and march our expensively-clad children up the aisle to take a sacrament we dont believe in and then out to the sunshine and the bouncy castle, and a quick thanks that its all over until the confirmation?

Defenders of the faith will point to the 2016 Census, when 78% (3.7m people) declared themselves 'Catholic' and claim the majority are happy to have their children undergo religious instruction in school and that communion is an integral part of that.

But the outcome of the abortion referendum, and the same-sex marriage poll before that, the empty confessionals and the near deserted churches, and even the low attendance in Phoenix Park last week, paint a much more accurate picture of how Catholic a country we really are.

Aside from funerals, the only time churches in this country are full are those four Saturdays in May, when families pack them to the rafters for all the wrong reasons. I have friends who never darken the door of a Church, but who defend their children making their communion by saying its easier to go along with it, their grandparents would be gutted, they will feel left out, its a harmless event, just few prayers, a nice day for the family.

Its easier to go along with a lot of things, that doesnt make them right, and do we really want to encourage a follow the herd mentality in our kids?

Is it not better to let them decide when they are old enough to really understand original sin and transubstantiation whether they want in or out?

Their grandparents are not their parents; you are, and they will get over it. Yes, the kids will feel left out - mine certainly did, when they heard talk of parties, and money, Xboxes, even trips away. But they, like the grandparents, got over, it, and we explained we didnt want them taking part in something that we didnt believe in, and we werent prepared to pretend.

And as for its just a few prayers ask yourself this. Do you really believe that your eight-year-old is capable of sin and needs absolution? Admit it, that whole confessing their sins to an elderly priest just didnt sit right with you, did it? Are you happy to accept that when they take communion, that they are consuming the body of Christ, not some symbol? That is transubstantiation after all, a central tenet of Catholic doctrine.

Defenders of the faith will also argue that everyone now has a choice - you can send your child to a non-denominational school such as an Educate Together. But the situation on the ground is much different.

In my hometown of Fermoy, an Educate Together is only opening this September, after a decade-long attempt to get if off the ground. My children had no option, therefore, but attend a faith school, where they sit still when prayers are being said, read when religion is being taught, and go to other classrooms when their own classmates are going to the church to prepare for communion and confirmation.

In February 2017 Education Minister Richard Bruton announced plans to divest or reconfigure Catholic Church patronage from primary schools but progress has been virtually non-existent, with only about 10 schools divested to date. So outside the main urban centres, there is no choice.

Currently around 94% of the countrys 2,800 primary schools remain under church control. The Catholic Church is still the only show in town when it comes to primary education. Richard Bruton seems intent on making progress, with a target of 150 schools to be reconfigured but so did his predecessor Ruairi Quinn, who tried and failed.

The Church is a tough opponent, as the abuse victims and Magdalene laundry survivors will testify. Its only pressure from parents that will force change in the end.

As a nation weve been courageous and shown the Church the red card in recent years by voting yes to divorce, then same-sex marriage, and most recently abortion. We may even re-elect an atheist president on October 26.

So its time to show the Church the red card now in terms of its control of education, and a first step in that is saying no to communion.
Asia New Thai Law for Forest-Dwellers Does Not Give Ownership Rights, Activists Say

Environmental activists protest in front of the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok, Thailand, where the Bangkok Climate Change Conference took place on Tuesday. / REUTERS

BANGKOKThai campaigners have criticized a pilot program that allows villagers to live in the forest as long as they care for the environment, arguing that it does not give land tenure security.

More than 50,000 residents of 22 villages who live in the forests of the northern province of Loei will not be evicted or penalized if they agree to protect the forest under the newly launched Land Allocation scheme, officials said.

Conditions include reserving a fifth of the land for planting trees, and reducing their use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, said environment minister Surasak Karnjanarat.

Only communities with a proven track record of protecting the forest will be allowed to stay, Surasak told reporters.

This is a new approach to community managementvillagers and officials must work together to protect the forest. Forcing them from the forest is not the right decision, he said.

Indigenous and local communities own more than half the worlds land under customary rights. Yet they only have secure legal rights to 10 percent, according to Washington D.C.-based advocacy group Rights and Resources Initiative.

Thailands campaigners have long called for amending the 1961 National Park Act to protect villagers and indigenous people from being evicted from land they consider theirs by birthright, because of disputes over ownership.

Campaigners say evictions have risen since the military government passed a forest reclamation order in 2014, which authorities say is essential for conservation.

The Forest Allocation scheme does not grant ownership rights, so there is no security of tenure, said Wiron Ruchichaiwat, a community organizer in Loei province.

We have always cared for the forest. Now, we have to prove we have always lived here, and do what the officials ask us to do  and even then there is no guarantee we will not be evicted, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday.

Instead, the government should give us a collective title.

Officials have delayed granting collective titling, say campaigners who led street protests earlier this year, demanding rights to forest dwellers and an end to industrial projects on farmland.

Thailands Cabinet has passed a draft Community Forest Bill which also encourages public participation in managing forests.

More than 3 million families could benefit from the program, which will cover more than 2.5 million hectares (9,653 sq miles) of land, officials said.

But it only covers reserve forests, and not national parks, from where villagers are being evicted, campaigners say.
Burma Court Hears from Kachin Protesters Accused of Defaming Military

Ethnic Kachin stage a protest in Myitkyina on May 3 calling on the government to evacuate IDPs trapped by fighting in Kachin State. / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy

CHIANG MAI, Thailand  Myitkyina Township Court on Thursday started hearing from three Kachin civilians charged with defamation against the Myanmar Military (or Tatmadaw).

On May 8, Lieutenant-Colonel Myo Min Oo from the Tatmadaws Northern Command filed criminal defamation complaints under Article 500 of the Penal Code against three Kachin civilians, Lum Zawng, 29; Zau Jat, 41; and Nang Pu, 47, for statements they made at an April 30 press conference and at a peaceful protest they participated in on April 30 and May 1.

The three were charged on Monday.

Fighting broke out on April 11 between the government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), displacing more than 6,000 people in Tanai, Injangyang, Mogaung and Hpakant townships in Kachin State. IDPs who fled from their homes in Tanai Township were trapped by the fighting, as the Tatmadaw would not allow them to travel to downtown Tanai. A group of Kachin youth staged a series of protests urging the government and Tatmadaw to help save the civilians trapped by the fighting.

After more than three months of cross-examining the prosecution witnesses, the judge accepted the charges this week.

Doi Bu, the lawyer for Nang Pu, told The Irrawaddy that the court heard from all three defendants on Thursday, adding that defense witnesses would be heard from on Sept. 10.

Nang Pu is the director of the Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, Zau Jat is the chair of the Kachin National Social Development Association, and Lum Zawng is a lawyer. Lum Zawng and another youth leader were fined 30,000 kyats each for violating Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law in May.

We have no personal problems with the plaintiff and my client and others defendants did not intend to harm the Tatmadaw in this case. They just relayed the accounts of civilians who faced troubles on the ground, the lawyer said.

The defendants all said their actions were only aimed at facilitating the rescue of thousands of trapped civilian IDPs. During their protest, more than 3,000 local Kachin marched against the ongoing clashes between the Tatmadaw and the KIA.

The defamation charge carries a maximum of two years imprisonment and a fine, but allows bail.

The lawyer said the defendants hoped for the best, but were also prepared to face any negative outcome.

The defense plans to call more than 20 witnesses. Daw Doi Bu said her client would not seek help from the higher courts, so that the trial process could be expedited more quickly. After the Tatmadaw filed the lawsuits, lawyers for the other defendants filed appeals with the Kachin State Supreme Court. Daw Doi Bu said that once these were accepted they had delayed the proceedings.
Burma Huge Haul of Detonators Found in Truck in Northern Shan State

Some of the detonators seized from a truck in northern Shan States Kyaukme Township on Tuesday. / Facebook
Burma Minister Warns Many More Dams at Risk of Bursting

The dam on Swa Creek burst last last month causing serious flooding in nearby Yedashay Township, Bago Region. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAWUnion Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, U Aung Thu, has warned the public of possible dam breaks.

Speaking to reporters in Naypyitaw on Wednesday, the minister said that currently, the spillways of 57 dams across the country are submerged, warning of the likelihood of incidents similar to the bursting of the spillway of the dam on Swar Creek in Bago Region which resulted in the flooding of dozens of villages in Taungoo District in late August.

The burst of the Swar Dam spillway was totally unexpected, said the minister.

The dam was on the to-inspect list. We were about to inspect it. We were not worried about it, but it happened and so Id like to warn that it can happen again in unexpected places, he told reporters.

At that time, the ministry was in fact worried about Kyi Ohn Kyi Wa Dam, he said. The water level was around 35 feet above the danger level in that dam, while the water level in Swar Dam was less than 10 feet above its danger level, he added.

The ministry spends over 50 million kyats yearly on conducting regular maintenance works on all the dams across the country, he said, but the climate is unpredictable. The ministrys deputy permanent secretary U Myo Tint Tun told The Irrawaddy that the burst was due to unusual rainfall.

No new dam has been built under the new government, said the minister.

A local of Swar Township, who had to flee for his life after the dam break, told The Irrawaddy that many now have concerns about the dam breaking in future rainy seasons, and have planned to move away from there.

I had no time to bring along my belongings and fled empty-handed. In case we will have to flee again, it would be better to move to another place away from the dam, he told The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity.

The Lower House Agriculture, Irrigation and Rural Development Committee has not summoned the Irrigation Department to explain the breach of Swar Dam, said Lower House lawmaker U Tin Tun Naing who grilled the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation about the dam burst during Mondays session of the Union Parliament.

Myanmar lacks X-ray technology for inspecting the inner parts of the dams to assess their strength. Moreover, the country experienced 36 earthquakes and tremors this year, which might have an impact on the dams, said U Aung Thu.

The agriculture ministry has now assigned staff members at each dam across the country with the responsibility of directly and immediately phoning the locals of villages around the dam areas in case of possible dam breach in the future.

The Swar Creek dam was built in 1999 under the military regime and came into service in 2001.

While there have been criticisms about the structure of the dam which burst, U Aung Thu said, nobody should be blamed for this.

Myanmar is lacking in technology and can only build two types of dam systems, he said.

It is important to maintain and repair the dams as necessary in order to prevent [future disasters]. It is also important that people have awareness, said the minister.

According to statistics issued by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement on Aug. 31, seven people were killed, three are still missing and more than 5,000 residents of Yedashe, Taunggu, Oktwin and Kyauk Gyi townships in Taungoo District were affected by flooding of the Sittaung River after the bursting of the dam.

The minister said that his ministry will also help farmers to re-plant paddy on 609 acres of paddy fields inundated by the flooding.
Drilling returned large visible high grade graphite & vanadium-mica intersections



Feasibility Study Drilling Completed at Caula Vanadium-Graphite Project

Sydney, Sep 6, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mustang Resources Ltd ("Mustang", the "Company") ( ASX:MUS ) ( FRA:GGY ) ( OTCMKTS:MTTGF ) is pleased to announce that the feasibility study drilling program at its flagship Caula Vanadium-Graphite project in Mozambique has been successfully completed ahead of schedule. A total of 3,025m of diamond (DD) drilling and 1,130m of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling over 34 holes have been completed for a total of 4,155m, with the core and chips currently being cut and sampled on site.Highlights- The feasibility study drilling program on the Caula Vanadium-Graphite Project in Northern Mozambique has been completed ahead of schedule- 3,025m of diamond drilling and 1,130m of reverse-circulation drilling within 34 holes has been successfully completed- Drilling returned futher large visible high-grade graphite and roscoelite (vanadium mica) with graphite and roscoelite mica mineralisation intersected in all 34 holes- Visible intersections of graphite and roscoelite (vanadium mica) confirm the extension of the current deposit boundaries to the East, West and South- Mineralisation has now been defined over a 850m strike length (from 540m previously) and estimated 430m wide true thickness (from 230m previously)- Caula hosts a JORC (Measured) mica-hosted vanadium resource of 22Mt @ 0.37% V2O5 (0.2% cut-off) for 81,600 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide and within the same deposit, a JORC (Measured) graphite deposit of 21.9 Mt @ 13.4% TGC (8% cut-off) for 2,933,100 tonnes of contained graphite- The Scoping Study is well advanced with results to be released by 5 October 2018, followed by an expected Resource upgrade and feasibility studies in Q4-2018 and Q1-2019- Phase 1 trial mining and pilot plant processing is on track for mid-2019, to provide early cashflow from both graphite and vanadium- Mustang to change its name to 'New Energy Minerals' ( ASX:NXE ) (subject to shareholder approval at 2 October 2018 EGM)- The name change reflects the Company's new focus on critical commodities for the lithium and vanadium battery markets, next generation steel and fire- resistant building materialsThe drilling campaign has been extremely successful and has already delivered the following results:1. Extension of the existing Caula Vanadium and Graphite deposit boundaries to the East, West and South2. Additional large intersections of visible graphite and vanadium-bearing mica3. Additional core samples for feasibility level metallurgical testing programs4. Geological and geotechnical samples for feasibility level tests5. Underpinning of feasibility studies for the Caula projectThe success of the drilling program has resulted in extensions of the existing resource boundaries with visually high grade coarse (large flake) graphite and vanadium-micas being intersected and logged in amongst others MODD 029, 042 and 043 (see Figures 1 and 3 in link below). Furthermore, graphite and roscoelite mineralisation has been intersected in all 34 holes drilled (see Figure 3 in link below). These results clearly confirm the expansion potential of the existing resource and open-endedness of the Caula vanadium-graphite deposit.In the immediate vicinity of the Caula discovery, vanadium-graphite mineralisation has now been defined over a 850m strike length (from 540m previously, open-ended to the south) and this mineralisation is up to 430m wide estimated true thickness (from 230m previously).Caula Scoping Study Progress and Phase 1 trial mining & processingThe Scoping Study being undertaken by independent engineering company Bara International ("Bara") is well advanced and the Company expects the study to be completed with the results announced between 24 September and 5 October 2018. As announced in July 2018, Bara is currently modelling a two-phased development for Caula, based on the JORC Measured Resource for both graphite and vanadium.As previously announced(see Note 1 below), the Company is still on track to generate its first cashflow from Caula in H2-2019, with the implementation of a Phase 1 trial mining and processing operation, the scale and economics of which will be defined in the Scoping Study.Mustang Managing Director Dr. Bernard Olivier commented "It is Mustang's view that Caula represents a unique opportunity for the supply of two critical raw materials (graphite & vanadium) which are needed for the storage of energy (lithium-ion batteries & vanadium redox flow batteries), next generation building materials (expandable graphite) and earthquake resistant steel-rebar (vanadium as alloy)."As such, the Company is committed to fast-tracking this project and will therefore be running a number of workflows concurrently to ensure the fast & effective development of this world-class project, with first cashflow from Phase 1 trial mining & processing targeted for H2-2019."The pending Scoping Study Report is expected to be a major step towards achieving this milestone. We believe that the Scoping Study will clearly demonstrate the exceptional potential and economic value of the Caula project. The Mustang team, with their 15 years of experience in building mining projects in Africa, will continue to work hard to deliver value for our shareholders. I furthermore wish to thank our team for safely and professionally concluding the feasibility study drilling campaign well ahead of schedule."The next 6 to 12 months should be a period of intensive activity for Mustang (to be renamed to "New Energy Minerals" subject to shareholder approval) with the Company focusing on delivering the following key outputs:1. The Caula Scoping Study currently underway which is targeted for completion in late September 2018.2. Preliminary vanadium metallurgical work at Nagrom Laboratories in Perth.3. ~5,000m of feasibility study drilling at Caula to deliver a further resource upgrade, as well as samples for geotechnical testing and further metallurgical testing in Perth and China.(see Note 2 below)4. The change of the Company's name and brand to "New Energy Minerals Ltd" (subject to shareholder approval) and associated change in Company logo and corporate colours.5. The concurrent 1:10 consolidation of the Company's issued Shares followed by an investor roadshow in the UK and Europe and attendance at the 121 Investor Conference in Hong Kong.6. Engagement and negotiations with proposed strategic project partners and off-takers in Asia, Europe and North America.7. Feasibility studies for the Caula project.8. Mining Concessions, permitting and approvals from the Government of Mozambique.9. Phase 1 trial mining and pilot plant construction and commissioning at Caula.Notes:1 Refer to the Company's ASX Announcements dated 21 March 20182 Refer to the Company's ASX Announcement dated 8 August 2018To view tables and figures, please visit:About New Energy Minerals Ltd

New Energy Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXE) (FRA:GGY) is an ASX listed junior mining company, that recently announced the divestment of the Company's Caula vanadium - graphite project and the Montepuez Ruby project in Mozambique.
News Myanmar Official says Totally Underestimated Economic Impact of Rohingya Crisis

International phone company advertisements are seen along Latha Street in Yangon on August 8, 2018. / Reuters

SINGAPOREA Myanmar foreign investment official said on Wednesday he totally underestimated the economic damage of the Rohingya crisis, adding that the outcry over the jailing of two Reuters reporters would also have some impact on his countrys reputation.

Asked at an investor forum in Singapore what impact the crisis had on Myanmars economy and investment, the director general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), which promotes private sector development and investment, said previously the government had been able to control outbreaks of communal tension.

But the crisis in Rakhine State was different.

I totally underestimated, the official, U Aung Naing Oo, told the forum, referring to the impact of an eruption of violence in 2016, which snowballed in 2017.

But after two years  now you can see that FDI in Myanmar is heading down, it is declining, he said, referring to foreign direct investment, though adding that he was confident the government could stabilize the situation.

Approved foreign investment into Myanmar has fallen in 2016 and 2017, according to data issued by the DICA, which operates under the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, and last year was the lowest since 2013.

Myanmars government spokesman, U Zaw Htay, contacted by telephone, responded with a message to say he is not immediately able to take any questions.

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled from Myanmars Rakhine State into Bangladesh since a military crackdown that began a year ago after Rohingya insurgents attacked security posts.

A UN mandated fact-finding mission said last week that Myanmars military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya with genocidal intent and called for top generals to be prosecuted. Myanmar rejected the findings.

The government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for failing to speak out against the military crackdown in Rakhine, and investors have voiced concern that sanctions that long hobbled the economy for years under military rule could be reinstated over it.

In addition, the conviction this week of two Reuters journalists, Ko Wa Lone, 32, and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, 28. They were jailed for seven years on Monday after being found guilty of breaching a law on state secrets.

They denied wrongdoing and their conviction has drawn international condemnation.

The reporters were investigating a massacre of Rohingya villagers by security forces at the time of their arrest in December. The military later confirmed that a massacre had taken place and punished several soldiers.

U Aung Naing Oo, who has played a major role in drafting business laws, said the reporters case had attracted widespread media coverage and their treatment would be a factor Western businesses would consider when making investment decisions.

Not only the international community but also some of the local communities are not happy with the decision so therefore that will have some impact on our reputation, he told Reuters on the sidelines of the forum.
September 6, 2018



POCATELLO  Idaho State University biological sciences professor Ernest Keeley, associate professor Janet Loxterman and affiliate faculty Kitty Griswold, and geosciences professor Paul Link have contributed to the new book Cutthroat Trout: Evolutionary Biology and Taxonomy.

The 362-page book was published by the American Fisheries Society this month. It was edited by Patrick Trotter, Peter Bisson, Luke Shultz and Brett Roper. Cutthroat Trout, an important western North American fish species, has experienced a serious decline in its populations. Data collected from new molecular taxonomy methods reveals greater diversity in Cutthroat Trout than was previously detected, and a need to better understand the distribution of Cutthroat Trout diversity and abundance.

The Western Division of the American Fisheries Society had a special workshop in 2015 to consider different viewpoints, examine different interpretations of the evidence, and, if considered necessary, offer a new, revised classification of Cutthroat Trout, according to the American Fisheries Society website.

We participated in the workshop and panel that led to this book, and co-authored several chapters, said Loxterman, assistant chair of the ISU biological sciences. And the need for the revision of cutthroat taxonomy, and hence this book, was partially spawned by a paper Ernest Keeley and I published several years ago.

The link to that story is https://bmcevolbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2148-12-38.

The book, which brings together the latest available evidence for Cutthroat Trout evolutionary history and current levels of genetic diversity, confirms the need for a revised classification of Cutthroat Trout.

The new book is of potential interest to people with interests in the fields of taxonomy, systematics, evolutionary biology and genetics, phylogenetics, molecular biology and genetics, and to fisheries biologists and managers at all levels. The book also describes the diversity of Cutthroat Trout in Idaho, including many of areas around Pocatello.

Link and Keeley contributed to the books chapter titled: Geologic Constraints on SnakeColumbia River Drainage Changes and the Associated Evolutionary Diversification of Cutthroat Trout over the Past 17 Million Years.

Keeley and Loxterman contributed to the books chapters: The Phylogeography of Westslope Cutthroat Trout and Describing, and Preserving the Diversity of Cutthroat Trout in the Yellowstone River, Snake River, and Bonneville Basin.

In addition, Griswold and Keeley contributed to the chapter: Diversity of Coastal Cutthroat Trout across Their Distributional Range."

For more information on the new book visit https://fisheries.org/bookstore/all-titles/special-publications/51036p/.

Photo information: Top, Ernest Keeley; middle, Janet Loxterman; bottom, Paul Link.
Ericsson is expanding its end-to-end 5G platform by adding new hardware and software products to the Ericsson Radio System portfolio, which it says further enhances the agility and speed with which communication service providers can roll out their 5G networks.

The expansion of Ericssons 5G platform comes as the company announced it is launching its RAN Compute portfolio in response to what it says is service providers need for greater flexibility in the deployment of Radio Access Network (RAN) software and hardware functions.

RAN Compute is an architecture that allows service providers to flexibly distribute RAN functions  such as beamforming and radio control  where needed to fine-tune use case performance while also lowering total cost of ownership.

Ericsson says the RAN Compute portfolio includes all the current basebands in addition to four new RAN Compute products that provide up to three times the capacity of current basebands.

Two new RAN Compute Basebands enable service providers to deploy RAN functions centrally, or at the radio site, while two new RAN Compute Radio Processors enable RAN functions to be placed closer to the radio for enhanced mobile broadband, ultra-low latency applications while reducing site footprint.

Emilio Romeo, managing director, Ericsson Australia & New Zealand, says: With todays announcement we are expanding our end-to-end 5G platform by launching new hardware and software that will support our customers to enable 5G, providing enhanced speed and agility that is required for future networks.

Ericssons June 2018 Mobility Report claims that by the end of 2023, more than 20% of mobile data traffic worldwide is expected to be carried by 5G networks  or 1.5 times more than the total 4G/3G/2G traffic today.

After many years of work with standards and technology, 5G is moving from a buzzword to reality, offering significant potential for operators as it becomes increasingly integral to industrial businesses. In Australia, with the introduction of 5G, telecom operators can look to generate a 48% incremental revenue by 2026, Romeo says.

Through our collaborative efforts with our customers and partners, we will ensure Australia remains at the forefront of technology leadership, supported by our global 5G portfolio that is enabling early movers to move quickly towards commercialization of their 5G networks.

Ericsson has also announced it is launching its new Ericsson Spectrum Sharing software, expanding the versatility of Ericsson Radio System for 5G deployments.

According to Ericsson, this gives service providers a greater opportunity to turn on 5G and speed up network coverage, with spectrum sharing enabling a smooth and fast network migration through simultaneous and dynamic support of 4G and 5G within the same spectrum band using the Ericsson Radio System, once operators are ready to make the transition.

Ericsson says the new functionality can be implemented through a remote software installation on its Radio System radios shipped since 2015.

This capability will allow communication service providers to deliver nationwide 5G coverage with a much more flexible spectrum migration strategy  removing the need for dedicating existing 4G spectrum assets to 5G statically, which would negatively impact 4G performance. The solution is Ericssons innovative approach based on the 3GPP Rel 15 standard and simplifies adoption by 5G device manufacturers, Ericsson notes.

Asha Keddy, Intel vice-president and general manager of Next Generation and Standards, says: Intel is fully supportive of Ericssons spectrum-sharing efforts to further enhance user experience as wireless networks across the world transition to 5G NR. At a broader level, this is very synergistic with our modem strategy as well. Intel is actively collaborating across the ecosystem to enable a more flexible and powerful feature set in solutions across device, cloud, and network.

Ericsson says that to make it easier to deploy 5G in high-spectrum bands to boost capacity within urban areas, it is aligning its transport network products to meet the capacity and aesthetics with the Street Macro radios.
Australian-listed satellite company Sky and Space Global has signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Cendrawasih Teknologi Nusantara to provide the Indonesian company with nanosatellite connectivity services.

The UK-based Sky and Space (ASX:SAS) says the agreement will enable CTN to offer the services to its individual and small business customers throughout Indonesia.

A successful collaboration with CTN will provide SAS with initial access to the fast-growing Indonesian market, says Meir Moalem, managing director and chief executive of SAS.

CTN is an Indonesian based provider of data connectivity services via satellite for the cellular, banking, plantation, farming, oil and gas and government sectors of the countrys economy. CTN also provides data connectivity to institutions and retail customers throughout Indonesia.

Sky and Space says that with a population of over 260 million spread out over thousands of islands, Indonesia is an ideal market for its nanosatellite technology, with Moalem noting that the agreement with CTN will enable the company to leverage and expand its existing connectivity services across the entire Asia Pacific region.

In addition to the MoU in Indonesia, SAS announced it has also signed a binding MoU with Surinamese ISP Foundation Busie Suriname.

Foundation Busie Suriname was granted an ISP licence in 2016 by the Telecoms Authority Suriname and is based in rural Suriname, South America. Sky and Space claims that due to the geographic location and number of inhabitants outside large cities, Internet and online connectivity services are unreliable and expensive.

Sky and Space says the binding MoU formalises the commercial and technical cooperation between SAS and FBS and marks the commencement of discussions for the provision of affordable and reliable connectivity services to the country.

The agreement is also the first of its kind to be signed with a connectivity provider in the region and SAS says it validates the SAS nano-satellite narrowband connectivity platform and signifies market trust in the company and its technological capabilities.

On the agreement in Suriname, Moalem said: "After a successful demonstration in Guyana last month, I am pleased to announce we have secured an agreement with a Surinamese local Internet provider. This further validates the capabilities of our network and nano-satellites and I look forward to where the discussions lead. We continue to explore and build our relationships within the South American region and I am confident we will be able to secure many more agreements of this kind in the coming years."

SAS claims it is the first company to successfully use narrowband connectivity provided by nanosatellites to deliver a voice call, text messaging and financial transactions capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional communications providers  and the launch of the first batch of nanosatellites remains on track for 2019.
Jerome Corsi, a prominent conspiracy theorist with ties to Roger Stone, was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury Friday as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, according to Corsi's attorney.

But Corsi's appearance was postponed after he met with Mueller's investigators for hours Thursday afternoon for a voluntary interview ahead of his scheduled grand jury appearance. His attorney, David Gray, would not comment on what Corsi was asked about during his voluntary interview or why the grand jury appearance was postponed. It may be rescheduled for a later date, he said.

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"We are going to be fully cooperative. We have nothing to hide," Gray told CNN when the news of the subpoena was first reported by The New York Times earlier this week. "While we believe the focus will be on his communications with Roger Stone, that is an assumption."

Corsi had been one of the latest in a string of Stone associates to be summoned by Mueller's team. Randy Credico, a comedian who's another former associate of Stone's, was also slated to appear before the grand jury Friday and did so.

Stone, a longtime political adviser to President Donald Trump, attracted scrutiny in 2016 after claiming to have a back channel to WikiLeaks and appearing to predict that the site would release damaging information related to Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign. Stone has since said he had no contact with Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks. Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies concluded that Russian intelligence had hacked Democratic targets and used WikiLeaks to spread that material online.

In summer 2016, Stone tweeted that it would soon be "Podesta's time in the barrel," which was later seen as an indication Stone may have had advance warning that then-Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's hacked emails would soon be public.

In March 2017, Corsi -- the former DC bureau chief for the fringe website InfoWars -- wrote a piece explaining that he had been the source for the seemingly prescient tweet by Stone. In his article, Corsi wrote that his own research had inspired Stone's tweet.

Stone has since said he was referring to both DC lobbyist Tony Podesta and then-Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, and their business dealings.

Corsi, a birther who reportedly helped fuel Trump's long-held belief that former President Barack Obama wasn't born in the US, first came up in the Mueller probe through another associate, Ted Malloch. Malloch -- a professor, author and Trump ally -- said FBI agents had questioned him about topics including Corsi, Stone and WikiLeaks as part of the Mueller investigation, according to an interview Malloch did with NBC News.

Gray, Corsi's attorney, said his client had no communication with Assange, WikiLeaks or Guccifer 2.0, the online persona that US intelligence says was controlled by Russian hackers..

"There's nothing that even hits of any criminal liability on his part," Gray said of Corsi.

While Mueller's investigators appear to be circling Stone, Stone said he still has not been contacted by the special counsel. He has said he had no prior knowledge of the hacked emails and was not involved in any collusion efforts related to the 2016 campaign.
The Australian Computer Society has instituted an endowed scholarship at Charles Darwin University to support Indigenous achievement in IT studies.

The announcement was made at Uluru on Wednesday and attended by representatives from ACS, the university and Chanston Paech, a member of the legislative assembly.

ACS President Yohan Ramasundara said in a statement: The purpose of this initiative is to showcase Indigenous achievement in IT with a view towards inspiring other Indigenous students into tech careers.

"There are some really exciting Indigenous companies delivering technology-related products and services, and we really wanted to do our part in contributing to growing the ecosystem, and enabling indigenous talent to take their skills, products and services to a global market.

The scholarship is an annual one funded by the interest generated from a capital fund and intended as in perpetuity.

Paech said, I would certainly encourage those studying at Charles Darwin University in the IT fields to look at this and apply for it now and into the future."

Dr Jamal El Den, senior research fellow and head of IT at Charles Darwin University, said, We are really excited that ACS has made this commitment, which is the first of its kind in IT at Charles Darwin University.

"The scholarship will be awarded based on academic merit and demonstrated passion for pursuing a career in the field on Information Technology and will be jointly determined by the managers of the Trust and the College of Engineering, IT and the Environment.

Ramasundara added, Our vision is for Australia to be a world leader in technology talent that fosters innovation and creates new forms of value. This scholarship initiative supports that vision.
The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index reports that "parcel shipping generated A$9.2 billion in revenue last year, an increase of 6.2% over 2016.

Meanwhile, global shipping volume is set to surpass 100 billion parcels in 2020, with a stack of Australian and global stats worth reading below.

"Pitney Bowes, a global technology company that provides commerce solutions in the areas of ecommerce, shipping, mailing and data, has released its third annual Parcel Shipping Index, which revealed parcel volume in Australia grew eight% last year to 841 million parcels, up from 778 million in 2016.

"The annual report, which measures both volume and spend for business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-business and consumer consigned shipments, shows Australians receive an average of 34 parcels each year, driven by fast growth in e-commerce sales this past year."

The company says the ecommerce revolution in Australia "has contributed significantly to the strength of the parcel shipping market".

"The seamless experience provided by many online marketplaces has driven consumers expectations for convenience, price and availability of products from around the world, made possible through global ecommerce."

Key Australian highlights:

Parcel volume increase to 841 million from 778 million, increase of over 8% YOY

Parcel revenue increase to 9.2 billion from 8.6 billion, increase of over 6.2% YOY

Thirty-four parcels per capita in 2017, increase of over 6.4% YOY

The omnipresence of ecommerce has spurred a global boom industry, with parcel shipping generating $279 billion in global revenue last year, increasing 11% from 2016. In the 13 markets reviewed, the Shipping Index expects global shipping volume to surpass 100 billion parcels by 2020.

Stephen Darracott, ANZ country manager and director, Pitney Bowes, said, The parcel shipping market remains strong, with growth across all regions.

"Global ecommerce giants continue to raise the bar, resetting customer expectations when it comes to shipping. As retailers and marketplaces look to cross-border commerce to drive growth, carriers must create efficient, seamless routes to market.

"Theyre doing this by turning to technology, investing in commerce platforms, logistics hubs and fulfilment centres.

"Over the next year, we expect businesses will be undergoing a digital transformation of their mailing and shipping workflow, improving their efficiency and inbound and outbound tracking capabilities.

"Australias parcel market is expected to grow to more than 1 billion parcels a year by 2021. The parcel delivery market is seeing exponential growth backed by ease of shipping, delivery and tracking parcels domestic and internationally.

The Australiana and New Zealand market is gearing for an exponential growth as were also seeing more and more ecommerce companies looking to the shipping industry with a value proposition.

"Pitney Bowes accelerated its entry into the shipping market by introducing SendPro to Australian SMB retailers. As the competition heats up, simplified and reliable service, accelerated delivery times, and transparent and accurate tracking will be the key to success, Darracott continued.

Topline trends across the globe:

Chinas parcel volume triples that of the US: China (40.1 billion), the United States (11.9 billion), and Japan (9.6 billion) represented the top three countries for parcel shipping volume in 2017. Chinas parcel shipments represent 53% of the total shipments in the Parcel Shipping Index.

US tops shipping revenue: The US ranks highest in parcel shipping revenue at $107 billion, generating 38% of the total revenue of the 13 countries. China ($73 billion) and Japan ($25 billion) follow. The average shipping price of a parcel is $8.95 in the US, compared to $1.83 in China and $2.64 in Japan.

Chinas parcel growth continued to soar: Despite slower parcel volume growth from the previous four years, China represents the largest market in parcel volume growth at 28% YOY. India (11%) and Sweden (9%) followed.

Japanese residents receive the most packages: Japan tops per capita shipping, with 76 parcels shipped per person in 2017. The UK follows at 48 parcels shipped per person, and then Germany at 41 parcels.

About the Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index

The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index measures parcel volume and spend for business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-business and consumer consigned shipments with weight up to 31.5kg (70 pounds) across Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US.

Population data points were sourced from the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database published in October 2017. The Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index spans 13 countries and represents the parcel shipping activity of 3.7 billion people.

You can see the interactive Shipping Index map here, while the full resolution version of the infographic below can be seen here, or you can click the infographic below too.
The personal and financial details of 380,000 customers who made bookings with British Airways on its website ba.com between 21 August and 5 September have been stolen, the airline says.

The airline, which ranks eighth worldwide in terms of passenger-kilometres flown by individual carriers, said the stolen data did not include passport or travel details.

The airline said the breach had been "resolved" and "our website is working normally". No specifics were provided about the nature of the breach.

BA said was making contact with affected customers and "we advise any customers who believe they may have been affected by this incident to contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their recommended advice".

Police and other relevant authorities had been notified, BA said.

Alex Cruz, British Airways chairman and chief executive, said: We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers data very seriously.

In May last year, BA was hit by a power surge in its control centre near Heathrow and its IT systems went down, causing stoppage of global flights, according to The Guardian.

The airline could face fines over the breach under the new General Data Protection Regulations. Fines are now a maximum of 4% of global revenue, which in BA's case could be as much as 500 million.

The Guardian quoted Rob Burgess, the editor of the British frequent flyer website Head for Points, as saying: Data breaches are part and parcel of the world we now live in, and criminal activity is getting ever more sophisticated.

"Unfortunately, this is likely to be another PR disaster for British Airways, especially as it includes tickets bought in their September sale which is being widely promoted at the moment.

"But this is not the whole story. Air Canada was hacked and between 22 August and 24 August customers' passport details may have been compromised. The overlapping dates are probably a blessing as the odds are small that the same customers booked both airlines in the two day window of overlap," Randy Abrams, senior security analyst at security firm Webroot, commented.

"In the case of the Air Canada breach, customer data potentially including passport numbers and expiry date, passport country of issuance, NEXUS numbers for trusted travellers, gender, dates of birth, nationality and country of residence may have been compromised.

"In both cases, this is data that now may be available to cyber criminals to aggregate and correlate to build significantly comprehensive profiles."

Brian Contos, chief information and security officer at security instrumentation firm Verodin, said: Very simply, personal data holds value, so nefarious individuals target it.

"Why? Because, they know most organisations operate with security tools that are around 25% to 50% effective at best, thus their chances for success are high.

"You can have the best people, the best technology, and follow the best processes, but if you lack a mechanism to constantly measure and improve the efficacy of your security tools, youre simply operating under false assumptions.

"Its like driving a car without a fuel gauge and assuming that because the tank was full 250 miles ago, its still full now.

"Until organisations start focusing on validating and optimising their security tools, instead of just throwing money and resources into the next shiny, security box, or security service, with hopes that it will finally solve their issues, our data will be stolen and criminals will prosper."

Tony Jarvis, chief strategist  Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, of security firm Check Point Software, said: "Unfortunately for the general public, given the prevalence of such breaches in recent times, it is important to be aware of what actions to take should such situations occur.

"Following up with British Airways, observing any guidance they offer to affected customers, and changing account passwords are all necessary steps.

"This serves as a reminder for other companies in possession of customer data just how serious breaches can be and the priority with which security measures should be put in place to safeguard that data."
Twenty news agencies in Europe have issued a joint statement calling on Internet giants Google and Facebook to share more of their revenue with the media.

Accusing the two Silicon Valley behemoths of "plundering" news free, the heads of the agencies  including Frances' Agence-France Presse, Britain's Press Association and Germany's Deutsche Presse-Agentur  urged the European Parliament to push through an updated copyright law in order to address what was described as "a grotesque imbalance".

A column, signed by all 20 news agency chiefs, said: "The Internet giants' plundering of the news media's content and of their advertising revenue poses a threat both to consumers and to democracy," according to an AFP report.

As iTWire reported, last month the European Parliament voted against proposals to begin talks to update the copyright laws, with the parliament's plenary voting 318-278, with 31 abstentions, to reject the negotiating mandate that had been proposed by its legal affairs committee on 20 June.

The matter will next come up for a vote at the next plenary session in September.

"Can the titans of the Internet compensate the media without asking people to pay for access to the internet, as they claim they would be forced to? The answer is clearly 'yes'," the column signed by the European news agency chief said.

They claimed Facebook had reported revenue of US$40 billion in 2017 and profit of US$16 billion, while Google had made US$12.7 billion profit on sales of US$110 billion.

And the heads of the agencies said: "Who could reasonably argue that they are not in a position to make fair payment for the content they use?

"What we are really talking about is introducing a fair payment by those who have ripped off the news. For the sake of Europe's free press and democratic values, EU lawmakers should press ahead with copyright reform."

There are two provisions in the law which the agencies want to see adopted. One would make platforms like Google's YouTube legally liable for copyright violations, meaning that it would have to prevent copyrighted content from being posted without payment.

The second would create a "neighbouring right" which means newspapers, magazines and news agencies would have to be paid when Google or other websites link to their stories.
BARCELONA  Atlassians co-CEO this week apologized to HipChat and Stride users facing disruption as a result of a decision to discontinue the team chat apps.

The Australian software vendor sold the intellectual property for the chat assets to Slack in late July for an undisclosed fee; in return, Atlassian  which also owns a range of business collaboration tools including Jira, Confluence and Trello  will make a small equity investment in Slack.

The announcement came less than a year after the launch of Stride, which had been well-received but struggled to gain significant traction amid strong competition from Slack, Microsoft, Facebook and others.

Atlassian Atlassian Stride

"This was a significant decision for all of us and I can tell you it was not one we took lightly, Atlassian co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said at the companys user conference here.

Instead of continuing to invest in those products, weve decided to form an exciting partnership with Slack, a company whose products stood above the rest when it came to messaging and communication, he said.

In the long term, Im sure this is the right choice for all of our customers. But in the short term, Im not going to sugar-coat it, its bad news for some of you. If youre using HipChat or Stride, I acknowledge its very disruptive and I apologize for that. It means your teams will need to migrate your data.

Move prompted customer anger

While the decision to discontinue the products was well-received by investors, it also resulted in users taking to Atlassians community forum to publicly vent their frustration.

One Atlassian community member said at the time: This is pretty stupid. Why kill off products that many companies still use? There are some who don't want, or can't use, Slack.

This has serious real world implications for many Atlassian customers, particularly for those using HipChat on-prem[ises], said Larry Cannell, a research director at Gartner.

Co-founder Scott Farquhar said that the choice to discontinue the products was necessary to focus on other areas of growth for the business.

The decision to end-of-life a product is never an easy one, especially when we have spent hundreds of man-years building it, and I would consider  when you put the two products side by side next to each other  Stride to be a better product than Slack, Farquhar told Computerworldat Atlassian Summit.

I want to look at my staff in the eye and say you are working on stuff that has a meaningful impact in the world and  given the relative market positions of the products  even if we had the better product, we know that best product [doesnt always win].

He said theres been a mixed response from Stride and HipChat customers regarding the decision, with those already using Slack being more upbeat.

Farquhar added that customers have time to plan migrations and decide on which platform to use instead.

Hipchat Cloud and Stride will reach end-of-life by February 2019 and customers will not be able to use the two products after that. Hipchat Data Center and Server customers  some of whom may be on multi-year contracts  have a two-year window to migrate from the tool.

Migrations have already begun, said Farquhar, though he was unable to provide details on the number of customers that have begun that process. He said that theres been no demand for customers to move to a platform other than Slack, at least so far.

As part of the sale of its team chat tools, Atlassian struck a strategic partnership with Slack that will lead to more integrations between its apps. Atlassians tools integrate with a range of team chat apps already, including Microsofts Slack-rival, Teams.

We have integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams  we will continue building integrations with all of those products. But if customers say, Stride is finishing, what should we move to, we will say: Hey, we think Slack is the obvious choice.

JiraOps and OpsGenie acquisition

With the decision to exit the team chat market, Atlassian  which grew to prominence with Jira, a project management tool aimed at developers  indicated that it would bolster its focus on serving IT and technical teams.

IT operations teams often rely on a patchwork of individual products to manage incidents, saidFarquhar andJira Opsis positioned as one-stop solution.

Jira Ops is the one place you go to respond, resolve and learn from an incident, he said.

We have historically focused on software development teams, said Farquhar, noting that the company has since seen its tools adapted by a variety of enterprise users. IT is one of those critical teams and it also is an area that we have been really pulled into by our customers.

According to Gartner, the IT ops software market will be worth $38 billion by 2022.

Atlassian this week also announced its intention to acquire incident management firm OpsGenie for $295 million.
Chico, Calif.-- Like many 6th graders, Midnight Allen just loves animals.

"My little tiny dog - I love her - and to see little dogs and cats in cages and on chains, it breaks my heart. So, I really feel inclined to help them," said Allen.

One of his family friends is a volunteer with NVADG, the North Valley Animal Disaster Group of volunteers that go beyond fire lines to rescue animals left behind. The group was started in 2002 by now president and former Chico Firefighter John Maretti.

"People weren't able to get back to their homes after we set up the roadblocks, so we waned to make sure people would be able to get their animals," said NVADG President John Maretti.

During the 2008 Humboldt Fire, NVADG rescued more than 3,000 animals left behind during evacuations.

And while there have not been any significant wildfires in Butte County so far this year, the group's been helping out to the North and West.

"We've become a mutual aid as well. For the Carr Fire we sent over 75 volunteers, 1,500 hours we worked, we sent 400 animals crates up there, we worked for a week," said Maretti.

Midnight's too young to be a volunteer, but he wanted to do something. So, beginning last Summer during the Wall and Cherokee Fires, he set out to raise money through his grandmother's salon in Chico.

The idea was simple.

"This box was the thing she got me to use, so I got some stickers, pasted them on," said Allen. "It's been easy to get people here who come in to support it, they're all loving and caring people."

And it took off.

"Wow.. that's a lot of money, that's awesome," said Maretti, as the boy handed over about another hundred dollars collected this Summer.

"The first letter I got when I was told how much money I made, I was kind of blown back a little bit," said Allen.

"We spent so much money with fuel, crates this year, so every little bit helps, and this isn't just a little bit, he's actually done a pretty good job!" said Maretti.

Midnight's handed over more than $200 dollars to the group.. And he's not stopping there.

"If I can improve it, I will. If I can't, it's staying out here until the day it can't stay here anymore," said Allen.

If you want to help out, the donation box is at Mateo & Co. salon in Chico.

NVADG needs more volunteers, click here if you're interested in more information.
Cybersecurity Authority and Agricultural Advocate to Present Stevenson Lectures

Sept. 6, 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  Former White House CIO Theresa Payton and international environmental activist Vandana Shiva will visit Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University as guest speakers for the Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series during the 2018-19 academic year.

Theresa Payton



From 2006 to 2008, Payton oversaw IT operations for President George W. Bush and his staff as the first female to serve as White House Chief Information Officer. Previously, she held executive roles in banking technology at Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Currently, she serves as president and CEO of a cyber security consulting company, Fortalice Solutions, LLC and co-founder of Dark Cubed, a cyber security product company.

Beyond the corporate world, Payton stars in the CBS series Hunted, where she details new innovations in combating cyber threats and securing big data.

Payton will give her talk Hype or Reality? Your Workplace and Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning & the Internet of Things at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 29 in the Prairie Room of the Bone Student Center. Her talk will be preceded by a Q&A session with IWU and ISU students at 3 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center at Illinois Wesleyan.

Vandana Shiva

One of the Seven Most Powerful Women on the Globe according to Forbes magazine in 2010, Shiva has used her influence to challenge non-sustainable, industrial agriculture and advocate for giving local farmers power over food production and distribution.

She is the author of The Violence of the Green Revolution and Monocultures of the Mind, and has spoken at universities around the world. In 2003, Time magazine lauded her as an environmental hero for her work.

Shiva studied as a physicist at the University of Punjab before earning her Ph.D. from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1978. She later shifted to interdisciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India.

Shiva will present her lecture, The Future of Food, on Monday, April 15, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center at Illinois Wesleyan, following a 3 p.m. Q&A at Illinois State.

The Adlai E. Stevenson Memorial Lecture Series was established by a group of local civic leaders to honor the legacy of Bloomington native Adlai E. Stevenson II, former Illinois Governor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, after his passing in 1965. The events are co-hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University.

By Rachel McCarthy 21
CHICO, Calif. - A reception is planned from 6 - 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 6, at the Museum of Northern California Art in Chico to kick-off two new exhibits that will be on display until October 28.

"Silence Out Loud: Contemporary African American Portraits" features members of the Three Point Nine Art Collective, an association of African American artists, curators and writers dedicated to drawing attention to the San Francisco Bay Area's dwindling black population.

The exhibition explores non-traditional presentations of the Black image. Portraits that present abstract and conceptual works of art using a variety of materials, including neon and fabric.

As the title implies, artists in the collective are not silent about the power of art to express important issues and concerns central to African Americans.

The other exhibit is "Black and White in Black and White," a collection of large scale photographs taken by African American photographer John Johnson in Lincoln, Nebraska between 1910-1925. The collection is owned by Chicoan Doug Keister.

He acquired the 280 glass negatives at a garage sale in 1965. He stored the treasures until 1999 and did not realize the treasure he acquired until 1999.

Thanks to decades of research, many of the people and places where they were photographed have been identified.

To learn more about the history of the "Black and White in Black and White"exhibit, CLICK HERE.

You can also visit the museum website at www.monca.org.
Steven Cameron, Pensions Director at Aegon comments:As life expectancies continue to rise, finding a solution to the long term funding of adult social care is one of our countrys greatest challenges. The Government needs to put sustainable funding of social care at the very top of its agenda. Its positive that people are on average living longer, but the associated care needs come at a significant and escalating cost to both UK plc and to individuals who need care and their families. The Government needs to set out a fair deal showing how much it will pay and what individuals, based on their wealth, will be expected to fund themselves. Only then can individuals plan ahead with certainty to be able to pay their share. While Brexit may be taking up the majority of Government thinking, it cant afford to keep putting off decisions on social care funding. The delayed Green paper, now promised for the Autumn, is an opportunity to have a proper national debate, across generations, to arrive at a fair and sustainable solution. Press releases and key stats

Social Care Is the nation ready for higher taxes to fund care?

 Two thirds (68%) agree social care should be funded jointly by state and individual

 People open to the contributing more towards social care, but an income tax rise is not popular  Two thirds (68%) agree social care should be funded jointly by state and individual People open to the contributing more towards social care, but an income tax rise is not popular Retirement rebooted  taking a more flexible approach

 Across Europe, workers in the UK today are the least likely to say they expect to stop work all at once and fully retire

 Only 1 in 4 UK workers plan this, compared to half already retired who say that they stopped working all at once and entered full retirement

 The number of workers over the age of 55 has increased steadily in the UK and other OECD countries

 UK pension policy and employment laws leading the way to gradual transition into retirement  Across Europe, workers in the UK today are the least likely to say they expect to stop work all at once and fully retire Only 1 in 4 UK workers plan this, compared to half already retired who say that they stopped working all at once and entered full retirement The number of workers over the age of 55 has increased steadily in the UK and other OECD countries UK pension policy and employment laws leading the way to gradual transition into retirement Individuals resist sacrificing home to pay for care

 More than half (57%) want to exclude their property from the assets used to pay for care costs

 In all age groups around two thirds of people agree state and individuals should share care costs

 64% of people agree there should be a cap on the total amount individuals should pay towards care  More than half (57%) want to exclude their property from the assets used to pay for care costs In all age groups around two thirds of people agree state and individuals should share care costs 64% of people agree there should be a cap on the total amount individuals should pay towards care What later life might look like Will you be paying your mortgage when you turn 70?

 14% of people think they will still be paying their mortgage at age 70

 42.5% of people currently renting their home think they will still be renting at age 70  14% of people think they will still be paying their mortgage at age 70 42.5% of people currently renting their home think they will still be renting at age 70 One in four people think they'll be working at age 70

 More than one in four people (26.9%) think they will be working either full or part time at age 70

 45.8% of people believe they will still be fit and healthy enough to work if they choose to at age 70

 More than one in four people (26.9%) think they will be working either full or part time at age 70 45.8% of people believe they will still be fit and healthy enough to work if they choose to at age 70
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Amman (AFP)  Jordans King Abdullah II firmly rejects the idea of a confederation with the Palestinians in the place of a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, the royal court said Wednesday.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told activists Sunday that White House aides Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt had proposed the idea of a confederation with Jordan, one of the activists said.

Hagit Ofran of Israels Peace Now NGO reported Abbas as saying he had told the US officials, who are working on a peace plan, that he would only be interested if Israel was also part of such a confederation.

Abbass office confirmed the meeting with Israeli peace activists had taken place, but did not confirm his comments on the confederation.

Neighbouring Jordan, along with most of the international community, has long supported a two-state solution to the long-running conflict.

Every year we hear about a confederation. My question is: a confederation with whom? This is a red line for Jordan, King Abdullah said, according to a palace statement.

Jordans position is firm and steadfast: there is no alternative to the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

Any proposal outside this framework has no value.

Palestinians see the idea of a confederation as destroying their long-held dream of a state.

But some on the Israeli right see the establishment of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation as a way to avoid the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

They argue that it would also absolve Israel of any responsibility towards the 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, currently under Israeli military occupation.

The Palestinian Authority severed contact with Washington after President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December.

In response, Trump said in January he would cut aid to the Palestinians in order to push them back to the negotiating table.

The US said Friday it would cease all funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) which helps some three million needy refugees across the Middle East.

Palestinian leaders see these moves as part of an effort to liquidate their cause.

Featured Photo: AFP/File / ABBAS MOMANI. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, pictured August 2018, said that White House aides Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt had proposed the idea of a confederation with Jordan, an idea that Jordan has rejected.
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The anonymous op-ed in the New York Times Wednesday that described a White House in meltdown was not an act of courage. It was a piece of moral cowardice of the worst sort.

The writer wanted to assure us that there are adults in the room around Trump who are reining in his worst plans and quietly sabotaging his attempts to withdraw from trade deals or assassinate Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

I am not assured. The author gloated,

There are bright spots that the near-ceaseless negative coverage of the administration fails to capture: effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.

And that quote tells you everything you have to know. This author supported the tax scam passed by the GOP last February, which cut government services for most people and gave the super wealthy a huge and wholly undeserved tax cut.

The author supports deregulation of a sort that has gutted the environmental regulations that had reduced poisons in our air, soil and water. This regime is literally trying to poison babies. This guy thinks that is great.

Trump raised the US war budget to $700 bn. even though the US has no peer enemy. We spend as much on our military as the next 14 countries combined. All together, the US probably spends $1 trillion a year on military-related expenses. Military spending creates few jobs, and about half of that money is given out to private contracting firms, so that it is welfare for the rich. The money could have gone to student debt relief or rebuilding Puerto Rico. This guy thinks that the bloated military budget is an accomplishment.

The conclusion is that the more corrupt sections of the ruling US business classes are perfectly willing to use Trump to achieve their Libertarian paradise of no taxes on the rich and their praetorian paradise of a military potlatch. (The dictionary defines it this way: (among North American Indian peoples of the northwest coast) an opulent ceremonial feast at which possessions are given away or destroyed to display wealth or enhance prestige.)

While they are taking steps to reinforce inequality, harm our health and increase instability, they are mildly worried about the erratic behavior of the big orange man who brought them to Washington.

They are managing and manipulating the idiot president and achieving their fondest goals of looting the country.

The op-ed isnt treason to Trump. It reveals that the Trump administration is committing treason toward We the People.

-

Bonus video:

Nj.com: Trump says New York Times Op Ed amounts to Treason, Graham says no
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constantine Metals Resources (TSX-V:CEM) ("Constantine" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Naomi Nemeth to the newly-created position of Vice President, Investor Relations. Ms. Nemeth will be responsible for building and maintaining a comprehensive investor relations program, for communicating with both institutional and retail investors globally and for furthering the development of Constantines business and growth strategy. Ms. Nemeth will work with senior management to implement an aggressive institutional shareholder outreach program in North America and Europe, will continue Constantines ongoing outreach to valued existing and potential new retail shareholders, and will approach non-traditional potential shareholder groups to generate interest in the Constantine success and growth story.

On behalf of the board and management of Constantine, I would like to welcome Naomi to our team of professionals as we look forward to augmenting our roster of quality shareholders, highlighting our development progress in new investor markets and increasing shareholder value as we progress through our growth strategy, commented CEO Garfield MacVeigh.

Naomi Nemeth is a seasoned Investor Relations professional with more than 25 years' experience. Focused on the mining industry for the past 13 years, Ms. Nemeth has worked with companies such as Banro Corporation (gold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Coro Mining (copper in Chile), Desert Sun Mining (gold in Brazil), Wolfden Resources (exploration in Ontario), African Copper (gold in Botswana), and Continental Gold (gold in Colombia). In addition, Ms. Nemeth has held senior Investor Relations and Communications roles within the pharmaceutical industry (Biovail, MDS, Glaxo) and the financial services sector (Clarica, Manulife). Ms. Nemeth began her career as a geologist working in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Ontario and has an undergraduate degree in geology and biology from Brock University and a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Western Ontario. Ms. Nemeth will be based in Toronto.

About Constantine Metal Resources (CEM:TSX-V)

Constantine is a mineral exploration company led by an experienced and proven technical team with a focus on premier North American mining environments. The Companys flagship asset is the high grade Palmer Project located in coastal Southeast Alaska, with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 8.1 million tonnes grading 1.41% copper, 5.25% zinc, 0.32 g/t gold and 31.7 g/t silver*. An updated mineral resource estimate is underway that will include the new AG Zone discovery and form the basis of a Preliminary Economic Assessment. The Project is very accessible, just 60 kilometers by road from the year-round deep-sea port of Haines. All work is being advanced under a joint venture between Constantine (51%) and Dowa Metals & Mining Alaska Ltd. (49%), with Constantine as operator.

Constantine also controls a portfolio of high-quality, 100% owned, gold projects that the Company intends to spin out into a separate entity. These include the very high-grade Johnson Tract Au-Ag-Zn-Cu-Pb deposit, located in coastal south-central, Alaska and projects in the Timmins, Ontario gold camp that include the large, well-located Golden Mile property and the Munro Croesus Gold property, which is renowned for its exceptionally high-grade past production. Management is committed to providing shareholder value through discovery, meaningful community engagement, environmental stewardship, and responsible mineral exploration and development activities that support local jobs and businesses.

On Behalf of Constantine Metal Resources Ltd.

Garfield MacVeigh

President

For further information, please visit the Constantine Metal Resources website at www.constantinemetals.com, or contact:

Naomi Nemeth

Vice President, Investor Relations

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone: +1 604 629 2348



Or

Garfield MacVeigh, President

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phone: +1 604 629 2348

* 8.125 million tonne inferred resource grading 1.41% copper, 5.25% zinc, 0.32 g/t gold and 31.7 g/t silver. See the Company's news release date May 11, 2015 and available on www.sedar.com. Resource estimate utilizes an NSR cut-off of US$75/t with assumed metal prices of US$1200/oz for gold, US$18/oz for silver, US$2.75/lb for copper, and US$1.00/lb for zinc, and estimated metal recoveries determined from metallurgical locked cycle flotation tests. An Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality can be estimated on the basis of geological evidence and limited sampling and reasonably assumed, but not verified, geological and grade continuity. Confidence in the estimate is insufficient to allow the meaningful application of technical and economic parameters or to enable an evaluation of economic viability worthy of public disclosure.

Darwin Green, VP Exploration for Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. and a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.

Notes:

Forward looking statements: This news release includes certain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively "forward looking statements"). Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as seek, anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, "forecast", expect, "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", budget" and intend and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys planned preliminary economic assessment, potential mineralization and geological merits of the Palmer Project, the appointment of the Companys new vice-president of investor relations, and other future plans, objectives or expectations of the Company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Companys expectations include actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2018) - Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU) ("Aurania" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that further to its news releases dated June 1, June 29 and July 12, 2018, the Corporation has completed the second and final tranche of its non-brokered offering of 2,219,400 units ("Units") of the Company by way of a private placement at a price of C$2.00 per Unit for total gross proceeds of C$4,438,800 (the "Offering"). The Corporation issued an aggregate of 2,000,000 Units in the first tranche of the Offering for gross proceeds of C$4,000,000 and an additional 219,400 Units were issued in the second tranche of the Offering for gross proceeds of C$438,800.

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company ("Common Share") and one-half Common Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of C$3.00 for a period of 18 months following closing of the Offering.

The gross proceeds raised from the sale of the Units will be used by the Company for mineral exploration, which includes continuing the geochemical sampling survey and prospecting that has been successful in discovering several epithermal targets, additional geophysical surveys over specific target areas, and remote sensing, all with a focus on further defining specific drill targets, and for general working capital purposes.

In connection with the Offering, the Company paid to certain eligible finders (the "Finders") compensation consisting of a cash commission of C$158,885 and 79,442 compensation warrants. Each Finders' compensation warrant is exercisable into one Common Share at C$3.00 per Common Share for 18 months following the closing of the first tranche of the Offering. There were no compensation fees or warrants paid to Finders in connection with the second tranche of the Offering.

The Units and underlying securities are subject to a customary four month and a day hold period. The Units and underlying securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "U.S. Securities Act") or applicable state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. Persons (as defined in the U.S. Securities Act) without registration, or exemption from registration, under such laws.

About Aurania

Aurania is a junior exploration mining company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities  Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador.

Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedar.com, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-.

For further information, please contact:

Carolyn Muir

Manager  Corporate & Investor Services

Aurania Resources Ltd.

(416) 367-3200

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dr. Richard SpencerPresidentAurania Resources Ltd.(416) 367-3200

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the control of Aurania. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Aurania's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Aurania or its management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Aurania, Aurania provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, Aurania's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the corporation's portfolio, treasury, management team and enhanced capital markets profile, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, regulatory, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in Aurania's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although Aurania believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Aurania disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful, including any of the securities in the United States of America. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) unless registered under the 1933 Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (MGX or the Company) (CSE: XMG / OTCQB: MGXMF / FKT: 1MG) is pleased to announce the engagement of Erich Schnake, former Chilean Mining Ministry Undersecretary, to its South American management team. Mr. Schnake will provide legal and regulatory support to advance the Companys efforts in navigating Chilean regulatory permitting frameworks in order to obtain production permits.

Mr. Schnake has more than a decade of experience working within the Chilean mining and energy sector. Most recently, he held the title of Chilean Mining Industry Undersecretary, where he was responsible for internal administration within the government body while coordinating with public stakeholders to develop and implement new policies. During his tenure, Mr. Schnake prepared and negotiated numerous government regulations and amendments for the mining sector, including the Special Lithium Operation Contract signed between the government of Chile and Salar de Maricunga SpA, a subsidiary of Codelco, to develop a lithium exploitation project. Prior to his role with the Chilean government, Mr. Schnake acted as advisor to both the General Secretariat of the Presidency as well as Tripontis Ltda., where he designed and drafted contract documents and procedures for Codelco, CMDI Collahuasi, Antofagasta Minerals S.A., and Cementos Bio Bio. He has also held roles at numerous law firms throughout Chile. Mr. Schnake holds a Master(c) in Public Policies from the Universidad de Chile, a Master in Environmental Law from the University of Sydney and a Diploma in Public Policies from the Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago.

Rapid Lithium Brine Extraction Technology

MGX has developed a rapid lithium extraction technology eliminating or greatly reducing the physical footprint and investment in large, multi-phase, lake sized, lined evaporation ponds, as well as enhancing the quality of extraction and recovery across a complex range of brines as compared with traditional solar evaporation. This technology is applicable to petrolithium (oil and gas wastewater), natural brine, and other brine sources such as lithium-rich mine and industrial plant wastewater. The technology was recently chosen as winner of the Base and Specialty Metals Industry Leadership Award at the 2018 S&P Global Platts Global Metals Awards, held in London in May (see press release dated May 18, 2018).

About MGX Minerals

MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Initial Results include 2.61 meters of 1,263 g/t Silver and 8.82 meters of 306 g/t Silver

VANCOUVER, Sept. 6, 2018 /CNW/ - IMPACT Silver Corp. ("IMPACT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the discovery of a new mineralized shoot on the Lipton vein in the Guadalupe mine. The new Lipton Norte Zone was discovered during an underground drill program which was designed to test the northern extension of the near vertical vein system. To date the new zone has been drilled over a length of 120m and vertical distance of 80m. The well mineralized shoot remains open in all directions. Results from the recent drilling are as follows:

HOLE No. FROM

(m) TO (m) INTERVAL

(m) TRUE_WIDTH

(m) SILVER

ppm GOLD

ppm LEAD

% ZINC

% LG-UG01-01 181.50 182.50 1.00 0.64 245 0.10 0.17 0.62 LG-UG01-02 199.25 210.25 11.00 10.57 201 0.13 0.20 0.55 including 205.90 210.25 4.35 4.18 381 0.09 0.42 1.17 LG-UG01-03 231.00 240.35 9.35 7.74 466 0.13 0.56 1.13 including 231.00 234.15 3.15 2.61 1,263 0.26 1.61 3.23 LG-UG01-04 224.95 235.00 10.05 8.82 306 0.11 0.25 0.51 LG-UG01-05 210.15 213.35 3.20 2.87 135 0.13 0.45 1.22 LG-UG01-06 25.30 26.95 1.65 1.53 240 0.04 0.67 2.57 LG-UG01-06 204.35 207.40 3.40 2.87 308 0.19 0.27 0.43 LG-UG01-07 224.65 227.00 2.35 2.02 206 0.50 0.16 0.33

The area was initially targeted during an exhaustive compilation of the Guadalupe mine workings into IMPACT's comprehensive GIS database of the large 357km2 land package. The geology team discovered evidence of additional high-grade silver potential in this area and allocated drilling in 2018's brownfield exploration plans.

The Guadalupe mine has an operating shaft and is located just beside the Guadalupe 535 tonne per day processing plant; two factors which minimize mining and trucking costs. The Company is pleased to see exploration results are significantly higher grade than recent mill head grade and plans to mine mineral from this newly discovered zone in coming quarters to increase revenue per tonne as well as carry out additional brownfields exploration elsewhere in the Guadalupe mine.

Historical production from the Guadalupe Mine was first recorded in 1529 and produced an estimated 9,000,000 ounces of silver between 1967 and 1982 from five veins on six levels to a depth of 270m below surface. Throughout the centuries, as mining technologies allowed greater depths to be mined and better recovery techniques were developed the economic silver grades dropped. Fluctuations in the price of silver, revolutions and economic downturns resulted in many shutdowns and re-openings but Guadalupe has always managed to recover and continue to produce silver and wealth for investors and the local communities.

Wojtek Jakubowski, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43101, approved the technical content of this news release.

About IMPACT Silver:

IMPACT Silver Corp. is a successful silver explorer-producer with two processing plants on adjacent districts within its 100% owned mineral concessions covering 357km2 in central Mexico with excellent infrastructure and labor force. Over the past twelve years over 8.1 Moz of Silver has been produced, generating revenues of $168 million, with no long-term debt. In the historic Royal Mines of Zacualpan Silver District three underground silver mines feed the central 535 TPD Guadalupe processing plant. To the south, in the Mamatla District the Capire processing plant is currently rated at 200 tpd, but is expandable. It is adjacent to an open pit silver mine with a NI-43-101 compliant resource of over 4.5 Moz Silver, 48 million lbs Zinc and 21 million lbs Lead that is awaiting higher silver prices to be restarted. Additional information about IMPACT and its operations can be found on the Company website at www.IMPACTSilver.com.

On behalf of IMPACT Silver Corp.

"Frederick W. Davidson"

President & CEO

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This IMPACT News Release may contain certain "forward-looking" statements and information relating to IMPACT that is based on the beliefs of IMPACT management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to IMPACT management. Such statements reflect the current risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including but not limited to, without limitations, exploration and development risks, expenditure and financing requirements, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events. Should any one or more risks or uncertainties materialize or change, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and forward-looking statements may vary materially from those described herein. IMPACT does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

The Company's decision to place a mine into production, expand a mine, make other production related decisions or otherwise carry out mining and processing operations, is largely based on internal non-public Company data and reports based on exploration, development and mining work by the Company's geologists and engineers. The results of this work are evident in the discovery and building of multiple mines for the Company and in the track record of mineral production and financial returns of the Company since 2006. Under NI43101 the Company is required to disclose that it has not based its production decisions on NI43101compliant mineral resource or reserve estimates, preliminary economic assessments or feasibility studies, and historically such projects have increased uncertainty and risk of failure.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evolving Gold Corp. (CSE: EVG) (FSE: EV7) (OTCB: EVOGF) (the Company or EVG) announces that it has executed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Bocana Resources Ltd. (Bocana), a private company with mineral property interests in South America.

The acquisition of Bocana will constitute a fundamental change for EVG under CSE policies; and consequently:

EVG has halted trading of its common shares on the CSE. Unless the transaction with Bocana fails to close, the Company does not expect its shares will resume trading again until the transaction has been accepted by the CSE; and



EVG may be required to call a special meeting of its shareholders to approve the acquisition.

In conjunction with the acquisition of Bocana, and as conditions to closing:

EVG will consolidate its 15,722,378 currently issued and outstanding common shares on a 3 to 2 basis, to have approximately 10,481,585 common shares outstanding and will continue under the Canada Business Corporations Act;



Certain EVG management contracts and compensation agreements with directors and officers will be cancelled;



EVGs Board of Directors will resign and be replaced with representatives nominated by Bocana; and new management will be appointed;



Bocana will complete a non-brokered private placement to raise up to $1,200,000 through the issuance of up to 12,000,000 units at $0.10 per Unit (the Bocana Offering). Each Unit will be comprised of one Bocana common share and one-half of one Bocana share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.25 for 24 months. The proceeds of the private placement will be used towards anticipated costs of the transaction with EVG, the settlement of certain of Bocanas debts, and a proposed work program on properties that Bocana is currently negotiating with certain governmental entities in South America;



Bocana will reduce its debt to $600,000 which debt will bear interest at 3% per year and be payable on the earlier of 24 months or the date that $4,000,000 in debt or equity is raised;



all outstanding stock options in the capital of EVG will continue for the balance of their term (as adjusted for the consolidation);



EVG will obtain all necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals. EVG expects to call a special meeting of its shareholders as soon as it has received prospectus level disclosure from Bocana regarding it, its mineral properties and its management. Full details of the transactions will be set out in the information circular pertaining to such meeting and will be posted on SEDAR;



EVG will change its name to Trillion Minerals Corporation; and



EVG and Bocana will enter into a definitive formal agreement (share exchange agreement, plan of arrangement, amalgamation or such other form of agreement as may be determined); with closing thereunder to occur by November 30, 2018.

New Directors and Officers

After closing the transaction, the Company expects to appoint the following officers and directors:

Daniel Kunz - Executive Chairman & Director

Senior mining engineer and MBA with more than 35 years of experience in engineering, mine operations, management, accounting, and finance. Mr. Kunz was Director and President of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, and was part of the team that discovered the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold deposit in Mongolia. During his seven-year tenure, the market capitalization value of Ivanhoe Mines increased from $400 million to $4.4 billion. He was a founder of and served as CEO and President of MK Gold Company, a mine owner, producer and mining contractor. He was CEO & President of Jinshan Gold Mines during the construction and a Director during startup of the CSH Mine in China. He founded and for 10 years was CEO of US$110 million U.S. Geothermal, Inc.

Tim Turner  President and Director

Currently is President and CEO of Bocana Investments, S.A., an investment vehicle that has reviewed, invested in and worked on several mining opportunities in South America. Mr. Turner has a BBA in Petroleum Land Management from the University of Texas at Austin and has over 37 years of varied oil, gas and mineral development experience including complex joint venture agreements; business partner operations and negotiating legal agreements involving acquisitions, joint operating agreements and the disposition of assets.

Tim Barry  Independent Director

Currently President & CEO of Silver Bull Resources - exploring a zinc/silver project in Mexico. Mr. Barry has over 19 years of exploration and management experience and has worked as a Consulting Geologist and manager on projects in Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Mongolia and West and Central Africa. Mr. Barry currently serves as a director for Sanatana Resources Inc. Mr. Barry is a Chartered Professional Geologist (CPAusIMM). Mr. Barry holds a BSc in Geology from the University of Otago in New Zealand.

Charles E. Jenkins, BA, CPA, CGA - Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Jenkins will stay with the Company in his current role as Chief Financial Officer.

Peter Parsley  Vice President - Senior Geologist

Senior Geologist with over 32 years of experience in field exploration, drilling, sampling, logging, mine permitting, development, compliance and mine disturbance reclamation. Experience includes gold deposits in North America, Africa, Asia, and South America. He has a Masters Degree in Geology, is a registered Professional Geologist, and has been working with Daniel Kunz & Associates from Boise, Idaho for the last 4 years.

Other directors will be added prior to the resumption of trading, and will be disclosed in subsequent news releases.



Terms of the Agreement

Pursuant to the LOI, EVG will issue post-consolidated common shares, on a one-for-one basis, to acquire all outstanding shares of Bocana. Following closing of the Bocana Offering (assuming it is fully subscribed), Bocana will have 66,500,000 shares outstanding. In accordance with CSE policies, EVG shares held by new principals (officers, directors, control persons) will be subject to escrow, to be released as to 10% on closing, with an additional 15% released every six months thereafter over 36 months.



About Bocanas South American Prospects

Bocana, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, currently holds and anticipates securing a 100% interest in several new mineral concessions in South America. These concessions are currently being negotiated and finalized with the respective governmental and regulatory entities that issue these agreements. Full disclosure of Bocanas mineral property interests will be provided upon settlement of all concessions.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

EVOLVING GOLD CORP.

R. Bruce Duncan

President, CEO and Director

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Investor Relations:

Tel: 604.685.6375

TF: 866.604.3864

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect managements current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. There is no assurance EVG will be successful in negotiating and closing a definitive agreement with Bocana on the terms as outlined above, or at all. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Azincourt Energy Corp. (Azincourt or the Company) (TSX.V: AAZ, OTC: AZURF) is pleased to announce it has entered into a definitive property option agreement with 1177865 B.C. Ltd. (the Optionor), pursuant to which it has been granted the option (the Option) to acquire a series of three uranium-lithium exploration projects located in the Picotani volcanic field in Carabaya and San Antanio De Putina Provinces, Puno Region, in southeastern Peru (collectively, the Projects).

The Projects cover a combined area of 7,400 hectares of prospective exploration targets for volcanic hosted supergene/surficial uranium and lithium on the Picotani Plateau (or mesata in Spanish). The land package consists of the Escalera project comprised of six concessions totaling 5,500 hectares, the Lituania concession covering 899.97 hectares, and the Condorlit concession covering 999.97 hectares.

Surface rock samples obtained in 2017 from the Escalera project were processed by ALS Minerals, in Lima, Peru, and returned values of up to 3,560 ppm uranium and 153 ppm lithium. Historical rock samples taken from the Escalera concessions have yielded values up to 6,812 ppm uranium*.

The Macusani-Crucero-Picotani Volcanic Fields have been of interest for uranium exploration since the 1980s. A 1981 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency** examined the Macusani-Crucero-Picotani area and concluded the large Crucero to Picotani basin, although having less well exposed occurrences may have more potential. Isolated outcrops of the volcanic sequence around the rim of the basin may have been available both during sedimentation and later basin evolution, leading to the accumulation of significant deposits.

Regional geological settings show uranium mineralization occurs in felsic volcanics forming part of the Tertiary-Quarternary volcanic belt, which extends from the Quenamari and Picotani mesetas in southeastern Peru to Bolivia, where it encompasses the Sevaruyo and Charazani uranium districts and on into Chile and northwestern Argentina***.

The projects are accessible year-round via paved/dirt road access, with a national airport only 130km to the south.

Were pleased to add these three projects to our portfolio, the preliminary sample numbers are very encouraging, said president & CEO, Alex Klenman. The Macusani-Crucero-Picotani area is emerging as an important uranium district, in addition to the recent lithium discoveries also made in the area. We have been interested in getting a foothold in the area for some time. The uranium sector is clearly gearing up and we feel the timing on this is excellent. With this addition, and our East Preston and Patterson Lake North projects in the Athabasca, we feel we are well positioned for what is potentially ahead in this space, continued Mr. Klenman.

The Company will now plan and implement a mapping and sampling program at the concessions to help formulate a longer-term exploration strategy. In addition, the Company is continuing to evaluate other potential additions to its project portfolio in Peru and elsewhere.

Terms

Pursuant to terms of the Option, the Company can acquire the Projects by completing a series of cash payments and share issuances, and incurring certain expenditures on the Projects, as follows:

Cash

Payments Common

Shares Exploration

Expenditures On the grant of the Option $100,000 4,000,000 Nil Within 12 months $150,000 1,000,000 $250,000 Within 24 months $250,000 1,000,000 $500,000 Within 36 months $350,000 1,000,000 $1,000,000 Within 48 months Nil Nil $1,500,000

Following completion of these requirements, the Company will hold a one-hundred percent (100%) interest in the Projects, subject to a 1.5% net smelter returns royalty on commercial production from the Projects.

All securities issued in connection with the Option will be subject to a four-month-and-one-day statutory hold period. The Option remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. In connection with the grant of the Option, a cash fee of $103,000 is owing by the Company to an arms-length party who assisted with the introduction of transaction. The fee is payable over the term of the Option, as payments and share issuances are made by the Company.

Figure 1  Project Location Map





* While the Company considers sampling results from the Escalera concession to be accurate, readers are cautioned that a Qualified Person has been unable to verify the laboratory involved in the analysis of these samples, and no documentation was available regarding quality control procedures utilized in the analysis.

** IUREP Orientation Phase Mission Report, PERU, Donald L. Hetland, Uisdean McL. Michie, August-October 1981

*** Uranium Deposits of the World, USA and Latin America, Franz J. Dahlkamp, 2010

Qualified Person

The technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Warren Robb P.Geo, an independent Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Azincourt Energy Corp.

Azincourt Energy is a Canadian-based resource company specializing in the strategic acquisition, exploration and development of alternative energy/fuel projects, including uranium, lithium, and other critical clean energy elements. The Company is currently active at its joint venture East Preston and Patterson Lake North uranium projects in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada, and its lithium exploration projects in the Winnipeg River Pegmatite Field, Manitoba, Canada.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF AZINCOURT ENERGY CORP.

Alex Klenman

Alex Klenman, President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release includes forward-looking statements, including forecasts, estimates, expectations and objectives for future operations that are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of Azincourt. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information represents managements best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially.

For further information please contact:

Alex Klenman, President & CEO

Tel: 604-638-8063

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Azincourt Energy Corp.

1430  800 West Pender Street

Vancouver, BC V6C 2V6

www.azincourtenergy.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Balmoral Resources Ltd. (Balmoral or the Company) (TSX: BAR; OTCQX: BALMF) announced today that it has staked an additional 697 claim units in the Lumby Lake greenstone belt in Ontario (Figure 1). The newly acquired claims increase Balmorals holdings in the belt by more than 16x, making it the dominant land holder. The staking includes the acquisition of two new properties  Goblin and Ghost. The expanded land position (Figure 2 and Figure 3) covers all or portions of at least 21 mapped and interpreted ultramafic volcanic and intrusive bodies, only one of which has ever been drill tested.

The recent discovery of magmatic nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide mineralization on the Gargoyle Property enhances the potential for the extensive suite of ultramafic rocks in the Lumby Lake belt to source additional nickel sulphide discoveries. This in an area with obvious logistical advantages to most of the current nickel sulphide focused exploration efforts globally, said Darin Wagner, President and CEO of Balmoral Resources. We are very excited to be the first mover in this belt following the discoveries and to have secured the vast majority of the prospective ultramafic sequence.

Figure 2 shows the expanded Gargoyle Property land position, the recent nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide discoveries, airborne geophysical anomalies based on available government airborne data, and the known extent of ultramafic rocks in this segment of the Lumby Lake belt. Several of the ultramafic units are spatially associated with airborne EM conductors which have not been drill tested, including a series of strong EM anomalies immediately west of the recent discoveries on the original Gargoyle Property (see Balmoral NR 18-10, August 27th, 2018).

The Goblin Property (see Figure 3), located 11 kilometres west of the Gargoyle Property, covers an ultramafic intrusion in an area which was not covered by the aforementioned government airborne survey. The two properties are separated by a large felsic intrusion and appear to represent similar stratigraphic levels within the Lumby Lake belt. Similarly the Ghost Property to the south covers an untested mafic/ultramafic intrusion.

The Lumby Lake belt is one of the oldest known, and most primitive volcanic sequences in the Superior Province. It is similar in age range to the Kambalda nickel camp in Australia which hosts numerous active and historic nickel sulphide mines. Like the Kambalda camp, the Lumby Lake belt features numerous komatiitic volcanic and intrusive sequences intimately intermixed with sulphide-bearing exhalative sedimentary units, which provide an ideal sulphur source for the formation of nickel sulphide mineralization. As with the Companys Grasset deposit and the nickel sulphide deposits in similar host rocks in the Timmins, Ontario region, these primitive ultramafic sequences have the potential to host both high-grade underground and larger tonnage, open-pit nickel sulphide deposits with associated copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium, gold and silver.

Exploration Plans

Balmoral has contracted Geotech Ltd. of Aurora, Ontario to conduct a detailed airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey of the Gargoyle and Goblin Properties with their latest generation VTEM Plus system. The survey is anticipated to commence in October. Following completion of the survey, and weather permitting, the Company will begin a program of prospecting and detailed mapping targeting the ultramafic units within the sequence this fall. This will be followed by ground based geophysical work during the winter of 2018-2019 in preparation for initial drill testing.

Mr. Darin Wagner (M.Sc.; P.Geo. B.C., Ontario), the President and CEO of the Company, is the non-independent qualified person for the technical disclosure contained in this news release. Mr. Wagner has reviewed and approved of the technical information contained within this.

About Balmoral Resources Ltd.  www.balmoralresources.com

Balmoral is a well-funded, multiple award winning, Canadian-focused exploration company currently focused on the identification, exploration and evaluation of nickel and gold opportunities in the prolific greenstone sequences of Ontario and Quebec. Balmoral controls the largest nickel sulphide deposit in the Abitibi greenstone belt  the Grasset nickel-copper-cobalt PGE system  which remains open for expansion. As well, Balmoral controls over 750 square kilometres of the Detour Gold Trend, adjacent to the multi-million ounce Detour Lake gold deposit. Employing a drill focused exploration style in two of the worlds preeminent mining jurisdictions, Balmoral is following an established formula with a goal of maximizing shareholder value through the discovery and definition of high-grade, Canadian mineral assets.

On behalf of the board of directors of

BALMORAL RESOURCES LTD.

Darin Wagner

President and CEO

For further information contact: John Foulkes, Vice-President, Corporate Development

Tel: +1 (604) 638-5815 / Toll Free: +1 (877) 838-3664

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including statements regarding the anticipated content, commencement, duration and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the visual continuity of certain mineralized intervals, the potentially open nature of the mineralized zones on the property and the potential for future discoveries of additional mineralization on the property are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believes, expects, anticipates, intends, estimate, postulate and similar expressions or are those which, by their nature, refer to future events. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include those related to weather, equipment and staff availability; performance of third parties; timing of receipt of assay results from third party analytical facilities; risks related to the exploration stage of the Companys projects; market fluctuations in prices for securities of exploration stage companies and in commodity prices; and uncertainties about the availability of additional financing; risks related to the Companys ability to identify one or more economic deposits on the properties, and variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located on the properties; risks related to the Companys ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities on the properties; and risks related to the Companys ability to produce minerals from the properties successfully or profitably. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. All of the Companys public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the latest technical reports filed with respect to the Companys mineral properties.

This news release contains information with respect to adjacent or similar mineral properties in respect of which the Company has no interest or rights to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that the Company has no interest in or right to acquire any interest in any such properties, and that mineral deposits on adjacent or similar properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Companys properties.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
Im going to talk a little bit about the exemption process in New York, which is a little unique in that it is highly exercised  .Theres been a ton of litigation here in New York. Ive brought multiple cases, and there was lawyer before me named James Filenbaum, who brought a very important case called Sharon Levy v. Northport .

Im going to talk to you a little bit about the school exemption process . What that means is, if youre a parent, and you do not want to vaccinate your child, and you want them to go to a public school,  If your child is not vaccinated, you cannot participate in these programs unless you get an exemption.

I represent about 10,000 families right now. Weve been very successful. Ive brought about a hundred law suits in vaccine court for vaccine injuries, civil rights cases involving religious exemptions. Im a litigator, and Ive cut my teeth. Im here to help

I knew about the constitutional issues involving parental rights I didnt know how big it is and how hard it would beand it has been hard. Its been very, very hard, but rewarding. 

To be honest with you, I didnt at the time know very much about autism and vaccine injury.

Right out of the gate I was flooded with requests from parents seeking religious exemptions to vaccination.

Ive been an attorney for fifteen years. The minute I got out of law school, I hung up my shingle, and I was looking at constitutional issues, First Amendment issues, religious freedom things that were very important to me personally.

By Anne Dachel Welcome to a two part Skype talk with New York attorney Patricia Finn. Patricia explains her work in vaccine court representing children injured by vaccines, and she advises parents seeking a religious or medical vaccine exemption in New York State.

[The judges] decision in Sharon Levy changed the complexion of how one obtains a religious exemption throughout the country, even though it was a New York case.

Judge Wexler basically said thatthe statutes used to say you had to be a member of a religion  in those religions, there are specific tenets about not defiling blood and using prayer for healing over medication.

That was a very important case because after that ruling by Judge Wexler, you no longer had to be a Christian Scientist What you had to do was to have sincerely held religious beliefs contrary to the practice of vaccinating.

And therein lies the rub.

There are about 20 states in which you can get a philosophical exemption for vaccines. In those states you basically sign a formand you get a vaccination waiver.

In three states, California, W. Virginia, and Mississippi, you can only get a medical exemption. And if youre in one of those states, its unfortunate because, as you know, our good friend Dr. [Bob] Sears had given a medical exemption and he was prosecuted by the medical board for doing that. 

The reason Im telling you that is, the medical exemptions, theyre not easy to get, and doctors do not want to give them.

In New York you have to have a specific contra indication to a specific vaccine. What that means is, your doctor just cant write a note and say, this child has autism and therefore should not be vaccinated. You would never get that approved.

The medical exemption would have to say something like, this child has a yeast allergy or an egg allergy and theres egg embryo in the vaccine and therefore you cant get that vaccine. And it has to be renewed. 

They are possible, and I have done them. 

The bulk of what I do, and why New York is so unique, we really exercised the statute.

Theres been a lot of lawsuits, Judge Wexlers decision 1983 is pivotal in redefining what constitutes religious exemption. 

After that I brought a couple of cases, and at first we were very successful, and then came the H1N1 issue here in New York where we were again successful.

After that it seemed there was a change in the tide here, and it just became harder all around.

New York is also unique in that we have the New York State Vaccine Coalition here, headed up by John Gilmore a bang up lobbyist.  He is up there in Albany all time. 

If youre in a state looking to organize the way have here in New York, you should really take a cue from John Gilmore

Weve been really aggressive here in New York in protecting the religious exemption. And the reason thats important, because I think what happened in California is that because there was a philosophical exemption in that state, people were just easily obtaining the exemption, unlike here in New York where we were fighting all the time.

New York requires a religion test, and were the only state that does that.

What that means is you actually go in and explain to school officials why your religious beliefs are contrary to vaccinating.

Its unconstitutional to do that. I think it is. We havent really seen too much litigation turn out favorably. I had challenged this statute as unconstitutional, and the Second Circuit, the highest court here in New York, said, no. That it was constitutional.It was constitutional because it allowed for a medical or religious exemption.

So my question is this: if youre being arbitrarily denied a religious exemption because some school official thinks that your beliefs are personal and not religious enough,  If the statute is constitutional as written, its unconstitutional as its being applied. And thats the role that I play.

People come to me to assist them in preparing statements of belief. In New York the education regulations require that a parent give a written statement setting forth their religious beliefs contrary to vaccinating. And its not easy to write.

Some people are very eloquent. Some people can freely quote Scripture. Others are just as religious, but maybe they dont go to church, or maybe they dont go to their temple or whatever. But it doesnt make them any less God-fearing or any less religious.

And then the next step, which is another complication, [is that] youre required to explain how your religionmeans you cant vaccinate. So typically what Ive done, I guide people through their thought process. I give them questionnaires and I have them fill them out and answer the questions that I know the school officials are going to ask. From their own words I help them put together this statement that answers the questions. 

I do think there is a lot of prejudice that people think that those who dont vaccinate are possibly causing risk to others.

Here in New York City we have evidence that the city was using a quota for granting exemptions. What that means is that say youre at a school that has a particularly high level of exemptions, and you apply kind of late in the year, if those allocated exemptions have already been given out, youre out of luck. 

They pick apart these statements. They look for anything that contradicts it.

So in New York City we uncovered evidence that they were using a quota. Thats unconstitutional. If youre denying people an exemption based on a quota, then you have a problem. 

The other thing that weve uncovered here in New York, in New York City in particular, is that school officials are using a questionnaire. The questionnaire asks five questions. But they dont ask, when was the last time that you vaccinated. They dont ask if you vaccinated and then stopped. Yet, they turn you down for precisely not answering that question. So theyre using a flawed algorithm. 

I dont necessarily object to the use of an algorithm in determining religious sincerity because if its properly prepared, it would yield the correct results. But in New York City what theyre doing is theyre asking you five questions and then theyre denying you for not answering questions they didnt ask. 

Its very important that when you draft your statement of beliefs, that its in your own words, that you explain your Scripture or your quotesyou have to really relate it to how it applies to vaccinating. Most of the people that I work with their objection is that the disease in the vaccine, when injected into the blood, defiles the blood. There are prohibitions in the Bible from comingling animal and human blood,  and that doesnt necessarily limit the exemption to vaccines derived from human fetal cells. 



Thats another thing Ive noticed parents have gotten trapped on. They might raise this abortion issue with respect to vaccines, and then the school will turn them down and say theres only one vaccinethat has human fetal cells.

The point I want to make, and you really need to understand when youre doing the exemption, is that if youre objecting to all vaccines, you really need to be clear about it.

If youre objecting to the process and the ingredients in a vaccine, you have to be very clear.

Theres been a lot of really unethical history in the practice of vaccinating. A lot of the vaccines and the experiments began in Germany during the war, and the experiments were done on prisoners in concentration camps. 

Those doctors that were tried in the Nuremburg Trials, a lot of them were let out of prison right away and they were relocated here in New York, New Jersey, and West Virginia where youll find Merck, Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur. So the history of the process of vaccinating is very, very troubling.

Theres also stories about the rubella vaccine. I was told there was a facility here in New York where disabled people were at, and three women were impregnated, infected with rubella and forced to abort. Thats where that line of rubella comes from.

You may have a very ethical objection to the way a vaccine is manufactured, and that is something you might want to include in your religious exemption statement.

What I would recommend that a person do when someone is looking to get a religious objection to a vaccine, first check your states public health law. Ill post on this. Answer the questions that they want to know. How does your religion lead to your objection to vaccines. Is it the defilement of the blood? Is it the injection of the disease into a healthy body?

Jesus, when he ministered in Mark chapter 2, verse 7, talks about only the sick needing a doctor, not the healthy. A lot of Christians interpret that to mean theres a big difference between treating a sick body and using a prophylactic vaccine. Thats a very important point. 

I have had the privilege of representing probably ten thousand families, and weve been highly successful in getting exemptions.

The breath of the religious practices that Ive been exposed to its just amazing.

What I have noticed in all of them, at the end of the day, its all about love,its about respect for yourself and respect for others. Some people believe that those directives, those principles are divine, that they come from God or a higher power, Allah. Whatever your spiritual guide is

This whole process is to me so incredibly unconstitutional I really dont agree with it. I think its very dangerous in the United States of America that you are forced to explain your religious beliefs to someone who knows nothing about you or your religion. 

So when youre preparing your statement, which generally in New York would precede an interview, you want to make sure your statement is answering all the questions that they want answered. You also need to know that theyre not asking you the questions that they want answered, and I think thats subterfuge.

I feel very fortunate that I get to counsel young parents ...on what Ive learned in this job that God has given me and to help guide them on a path by which omits autism, vaccine injuries, learning disabilities, handicaps that are definitely coming from vaccines. 

To me, this explosion of autism, regardless of the courts rulings in vaccine court, one hundred percent [of] these autism injuries are linked to vaccines. Now the question is, can you prove it, and I think we can.

Were outside of vaccine court right now. I have a very important case, one of the autism petitioners, he of course was denied compensation He lives here in New York. Hes an adult now. We brought a case on his behalf looking to get a deposition of Dr. [William] Thompson and Dr. [Julie] Gerberding and a ruling and damages as to why Merck does not list autism as a side effect for the MMR vaccine.

Ive been trying to negotiate with Merck and FDA during the lawsuit to get them to modify the vaccine insert to add these potential side effects. For Dr. Gerberding to be held accountable for what she knows about the research done in the Atlanta autism study. What happened to those results?

While she was at CDC, Dr. Gerberding had immunity. She is now an employee at Merck raking in millions of dollars, and yethas not disclosed what it is that she knows about the link between vaccines and autism. 

[During a CNN interview] she basically restated Hannah Polings diagnosis. Hannah Poling was compensated for vaccine-induced autism Her doctor, Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, diagnosed and gave an expert report in Hannahs case saying that Hannahs autism had been vaccine-induced caused by a metabolic overload and vaccine-induced fever.

Dr. Gerberding went on CNNand said she had not seen Hannah Polings case. She went on and she described nearly verbatim the diagnosis of Dr. Zimmerman in Hannah Polings case. Instead of saying metabolic overload, she said cellular deficitsame thing. That means the brain is not able to handle the vaccine.

She also talked about a fever. She said we know sometimes kids get a high fever. Well, thats what Dr. Zimmerman said. He said Hannahs autism was caused by the metabolic overload in a vaccine-induced fever. Hannah received something like nine vaccines on one visit in July of 2000.

[This] is really infuriating because in June of 2000 the researchers from CDC and Merck and scientists from all around the world met at Simpsonwood Conference Center outside of Atlanta and they discussed Dr. [Thomas] Verstraetens study correlating thimerosal with autism or brain damage. And nothing was done.

The transcripts are telling. [At] the conclusion of that hearing, the lead doctor said, Lets keep this information out of less responsible hands. And a month later, Hannah Poling got nine vaccines and regressed into autism.

A month after that, my client was vaccinated.and he regressed into autism. Had their parents known about the findings that the researchers hid at Simpsonwood two months earlier, its possible they would have avoided that injury.

The reason Im telling you all this is to give you a flavor for what I do. 

Im on the litigation side in the injuries, and Im litigation side in the exemptions.Everybodys telling me everything. Im constantly getting information, and its coming from everywhere. At the end of the day were a handful of people, and yet, we are so powerful and so effective that I think were about to make a very great change and hopefully stop this epidemic of childhood vaccine injuries.

The bottom line is when these children are maturing, and they are maturing now, we as a society are not going to be able to pay for it. How can you run a country when half the boys are autistic or unable to hold a job down? 

[In ancient Rome] the aristocracy was becoming infertile and they were shrinking in numbers People were getting very, very sick. 

There were some scholars out there who said it was actually lead poisoning. The aristocracy was using lead in their makeup and their wine canisters and their pots and pans. And they were lining the aqueducts with lead piping.

It lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages that followed where people were living a lower standard, a lower quality of life. I think at the time if anyone had realized that it was the lead, they would have stopped it. 

[Regarding the vaccine-autism link]

People have financial incentives or they cant believe it that maybe they were wrong. Look at what Dr. William Thompson said He said he cant live with himself because he knows when he sees families with autistic children that he is part of the problem. He said that after admitting that he and his colleagues had destroyed evidence linking the MMR vaccine to autism.

Fortunately, according to Dr. Thompson, he has that evidence. He kept it. It certainly wasnt in what was published, and I want to know what Dr. Gerberding knows. Its time for her to be called to the table and explain.



Its up in the air right. If the judge allows me to proceed, I can tell you Im going to get those depositions, and Im going to be able to prove what happened in that autism study. Maybe itll be a wakeup call and people will realize that the vaccines are really causing more harm than good. Its time that we get together and we do something about it.

You can follow me on Patricia Finn, Im known as the Good Health Lawyer. Im on Facebook, Twitter, InstaGram. I have videos on Youtube. You can go to my website.

Its best to reach me by email because Im completely overwhelmed inquiries from parents of vaccine injured children and people seeking religious exemptions or help with medical exemptions. 

I want to be part of the solution.  If you have a [vaccine exemption] form and are worried about it, send it to me. Ill look at it, and I can give you a general response.

Here is another interview I did with Patricia back in 2016.
JUSTICEINFO.NET: Did you expect such a deluge of attacks and controversy when the Commission on individual liberties and equality published its report on June 12?

SLIM LAGHMANI: We expected that it would provoke reactions because our report tackles taboo subjects on which Tunisians are still divided, such as the death penalty, homosexuality, equal inheritance rights for men and women. But we are surprised by the divisive nature of the debate. It seems that people are either for or against the Commissions proposals, with hardly any nuanced positions. That means the issue has immediately been seen as ideological, rather than judicial and pertaining to human rights. Once the issue is placed on an ideological level, there can easily be abusive overreaction. People are not even discussing the content, but rather personifying our work, calling it the report of Bochra Belhaj Hamida [president of Colibe], who has become the target of attacks, sometimes quite vile.

The arguments of your critics include the question of timing. Is the time really right for individual freedoms and total equality of men and women when Tunisia is facing big economic, social and security challenges?

We can always wonder how opportune a big initiative like this is in the given context. I will respond with two arguments. First, clearly it was not the moment to raise such issues before the Revolution, notably individual freedoms, since all the strings of power were held by one person, former president Ben Ali who I must say did a lot for womens rights. I also recognize that he brought a big and positive change with regard to rights of children from unmarried parents, through the law of 1998, which is unique in the Arab world and deserves to be strengthened. On the other hand, in Ben Alis time, reforms were never a subject of debate. Nor for that matter in the time of Bourguiba, who alone decided how the law should be changed and to what extent. So it was not the right moment when there was no political debate. But now we have freedom of expression, debate is open and possible on all issues. In addition, there is a relative balance of political forces, which is favourable to freedom. From this point of view, it is indeed the right time for proposals such as those of Colibe.

It is indeed the right time for the proposals of Colibe.

In response to the other aspect of the question, the timing in relation to priorities, the argument would be valid if the one depended on the other or, to be more precise, if the development of the laws was likely to hinder economic growth. But that is not the case with regard to individual freedoms. I dont see how progress on individual freedoms could hinder development. I dont see how giving women equal inheritance rights would damage the improvement of economic conditions in our country, especially when it is a question of opening an economic door for women. According to statistics that I find quite shocking, women currently own only 3% of land. I dont see how allowing Tunisian women to own real estate, especially rural women, could be an obstacle to development!

You say in your reasoning that individual freedoms can ensure the success of the democratic transition. Dont the individual freedoms that Tunisia has enjoyed since the 2011 Revolution, especially since the publication of the 2014 Constitution, guarantee the continuation of this process?

The liberties that we call public, or more precisely our collective freedoms  like freedom of association or to create political parties  are different from individual freedoms, which the individual can exercise independently, or which exist to protect the individual as such. We are relatively advanced in terms of public freedoms and very much behind with regard to individual freedoms. That doesnt mean that the former is irrelevant to the transition, quite the contrary. But you cant imagine a democracy as just a set of mechanisms that are basically limited to a vote. It must also include certain values, and democracy as a system of values cannot be dissociated from the individual. Isnt the first act of democracy based on casting a vote? That is something which is done individually, secretly and freely, which implies an autonomous choice. It is a fact that we are way behind in terms of the law on individual rights, including the right to privacy, protection of private correspondence and private homes. Even more serious is the fact that the collective conscience itself has trouble admitting these rights.

We do not have a culture of respecting private space

We do not have a culture of respecting private space. On the contrary, that secret space is considered a place of suspicion and sin. And we give ourselves the right to put peoples private lives under surveillance. We even think we have a right to oversee and interfere in the affairs of others in the name of community values, whether they are dictated by customs, majority opinion or religion. Whereas a verse of the Koran which to me seems fundamental says: Do not spy on your neighbours.

Because of these compromises and ambiguities, jurist Iadh Ben Achour in his book A Revolution in the Islamic world calls the Constitution a hotchpotch. Dont ambiguities in the Constitution, whose Article 1 says that Islam is the religion of State whilst Article 2 says Tunisia is a civil State, promote divisive interpretations like those sparked by the Colibe report?

I would probably not use the same expression as Iadh Ben Achour. The question I ask is the following: Would we have got the Constitution adopted without that ambivalence, which is not only between Articles 1 and 2 but also the preface to the Basic Law and other provisions, notably referring to identity? How to explain these ambiguities? In fact, each time the authors of the Constitution were faced with immovable opposition on issues of society, identity or political governance, they chose not to surmount the contradictions but to shelve them. That allowed the text to pass, but it also allows diametrically opposed interpretations. We see all too well with the publication of our report that the Constitution has not resolved any of our cultural contradictions, but rather shelved them. The Colibe report has taken them off the shelf.

You have dedicated a lot of the report to respect of private life as an individual freedom. So why do you continue to sanction homosexuality and consider it as a crime?

In fact we presented two proposals. The first is to decriminalize homosexuality, so that it no longer be considered a legal offence. Some ill-willed people thought we were trying to legalize homosexuality  which is different from decriminalization , or even encourage gay marriage. That was never our intent. The second proposal, which indeed sparked much criticism, consisted in keeping the offence but introducing two limitations which amount to a de facto decriminalization of homosexuality. We proposed that prison sentences should be transformed into a 500 dinar fine and that anal tests be banned. This proposal was put forward in anticipation that the first one, which is favoured by our commission, would be rejected.

Why is the Ennahda Movement so mobilized against equal inheritance rights and not on the death penalty or homosexuality?

Quite simply because the inheritance issue can rally more people around the party. Its not just a religious issue, but also an economic and social issue affecting power within the family, because we know that the person who holds the wealth holds the power.

So to what extent is your project revolutionary, as many Tunisian and international human rights organizations say?

If our proposals can safeguard individual freedoms and equality, eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and children, that would seem to me a big step forward in modernizing Tunisian law. That does not mean Westernization and loss of identity as some would have it, but modernity founded on the most enlightened part of our heritage, from the rational thinking of our Muslim philosophers to the reformists innovations of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Colibe report is in line with them.

If our proposals can safeguard individual freedoms, equality and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and children that would seem to me a big step forward in modernizing Tunisian law.

We must await the time when our project is accepted, for the law seems to be in advance of reality. With a strong and vigilant civil society aware of rights and freedoms, we can move forward. Changing the law can speed up time.
Sri Lankas president should suspend military and police officers implicated in the disappearance of thousands of civilians during the islands decades-long civil war, a state watchdog said Thursday.

More than 20,000 people were allegedly abducted by security forces during the bloody conflict, which claimed over 100,000 lives before its conclusion in 2009.

The newly-established Office of Missing Persons said President Maithripala Sirisena should act to end the practice of keeping accused officers in service and allowing them to be promoted through the ranks.

Sirisena should ensure that state officials (including military and police) who are named as suspects or accused in criminal actions are suspended pending the final determination of such cases, said the OMP, which is independent of the government but has a state mandate, in a Thursday report.

A magistrate last week ordered the arrest of Sri Lankas top military officer, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, over his involvement in covering up the murder of 11 children between 2008 and 2009.

Navy intelligence officers have been accused of abducting and killing the children as part of an extortion racket.

Wijegunaratne is yet to be arrested and was not named in the report, which urged the government to expedite investigations and prosecutions over the war-time disappearances.

The OMP also called for an end to delays in reparations promised by Sirisena when he came to power in January 2015.

Set up earlier this year, the OMP can recommend compensation and clear the way for next of kin to take legal action against those responsible for the disappearance of relatives.

But the UN Human Rights Council has said Sri Lankas efforts at transitional justice are at a virtual standstill nearly a decade after the end of the civil war.

Sri Lankan forces were accused of killing up to 40,000 Tamil civilians during the final months of the conflict while defeating separatist Tamil Tiger guerrillas.

International rights groups have called for the prosecution of leading figures from the military and the Tigers, who were known for suicide bombings and the use of child soldiers.

Sirisenas predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse, who brutally crushed the Tamil movement to end the war in 2009, resisted international pressure to probe alleged war crimes.
The International Criminal Court said Thursday it had jurisdiction to probe the forced exodus of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar as a possible crime against humanity.

The ICCs pre-trial chamber decided by majority the court may exercise jurisdiction over the alleged deportations of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, the Hague-based tribunal said in a statement.

The Myanmar government on Thursday declined to comment on the announcement when contacted by AFP.

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmars northern Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh since August last year to escape a bloody military crackdown.

The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes.

In an unprecedented move in April, the ICCs chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda asked judges at the worlds only permanent war crimes court to rule whether she can investigate the deportations as a crime against humanity.

It is a legally complicated request, as Myanmar is not a signatory and member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC.

Bangladesh,however, is a signatory and Bensouda argued that should give her office jurisdiction to investigate the plight of the Rohingya.

She likened deportation to a cross-border shooting, arguing the crime is not completed until the bullet (fired in one state) strikes and kills the victim (standing in another state).
Assyrian Confederation of Europe Condemns Kurdish Occupation of Assyrian Schools in Syria

The Amal Assyrian Elementary School in Hasaka, Syria. (AINA) -- The Assyrian Confederation of Europe, which represents over 500,000 Assyrians in Europe, issued a statement condemning the Kurdish occupation of Assyrian schools in northeast Syria.

The local Kurdish government in the Hassakah province has shutdown Assyrian schools which refused to adopt the Kurdish curricula.

The following is the full statement:
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In June, a story circulated online about how Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, one of the most famous academic medical centers in the United States, and a major Harvard Medical School-affiliated institution, decided that it would take down physician portraits that were hanging in a popular and historic lecture theater.

The reason? Well, it was felt that the portraits were predominantly of white male physicians, who had been esteemed teachers and leaders of medicine over the decades. In todays environment of wanting to promote inclusiveness and diversity, it was felt that these pictures were the wrong message to send.

After this story was made public (you can read the Boston Globe article), it was widely circulated online. I, myself, learned of the story when some physicians (also from major academic centers) started sharing the story on social media, predominantly feeling proud of Brighams decision.

This story piqued my interest. As somebody who is a keen reader of history, and also a physician, it actually disappointed me on a few different levels that our collective psyche and culture is moving in this direction. Of course, as an ethnic minority and person of color myself, I am always going to be for anything that promotes a culture of diversity and mutual respect. But theres a right and a wrong way to go about progress, and the move that Brigham took, and the subsequent reaction of delight by so many educated people, surprised me a bit.

Over the years, since I was a student, I have always enjoyed walking through medical institutions and looking at the historical pictures. I find them both fascinating and also sometimes slightly amusing (especially the attire and solemn facial expressions!). I have never once felt intimidated or angry looking at a portrait, or felt like it hinders my own progress. On the contrary, I just smile at myself inside, and wonder what they would think now in todays great and highly diversified environment. My own attitude and response would be to celebrate todays more inclusive society by putting up new pictures (or statues) instead  but not tearing the old ones down. Heck, why not do something like put up a portrait of a distinguished modern-day woman physician of color, right next to them?

From a purely medical standpoint, these were fine physicians who made immense contributions to the field of medicine, many being called world pioneers in their respective fields. The education and progress of mankind has been a long and sometimes painful process. If you could find me evidence that these physicians were criminally flawed or controversial individuals, thats another matter. But if the reason for removing them is based purely on not wanting old white males hanging on the walls, with the concern that it sends the wrong message, that may be a deeply flawed way of thinking. These distinguished individuals helped build the institutions we have today, and that shouldnt be something to be ashamed about, or feel like it should be hidden away to suit our modern-day way of thinking. On the contrary, they should continue to be celebrated and revered, regardless of race or gender. Removing historical images and statues of people who have done nothing wrong, just because of concern about sensitivities, is in all actuality not too far off being the mirror image of how the Taliban thinks.

This also gets to a larger debate that we are currently grappling with in society. The history of most nations is difficult to look back upon. The trend, particularly for some of the younger generation, of wanting to judge history and historical characters by todays standards and demand perfection. Unfortunately, we wont find it in many places. Even Americas biggest hero, Abraham Lincoln, when one reads what he actually wrote, had some very controversial and odd views on societal structure and race. What other big names like Thomas Jefferson and George Washington said and did, is also well known. Such were the times until relatively recently.

This slope is a slippery one. The Pandoras box is giant. Not only would you end up having issues with almost every single older institution, and person in every country who lived more than several decades ago, but you waste an awful lot of time too. Far more productive to just celebrate todays progress and look forward instead.

Brigham, you may be a great hospital and school, but you made a disappointing call. As a temple of education, you should not be in the lets delete history camp. You should be all about acknowledging and educating, and then building bridges to a better future. You should also be familiar with the age-old adage: Those who seek to erase their history, are bound to one day repeat it.

Suneel Dhand is an internal medicine physician and author. He is the founder, DocSpeak Communications and co-founder, DocsDox. He blogs at his self-titled site, Suneel Dhand.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Recently, more than 70 people overdosed on K2 in the New Haven Green, a public park near Yale  in one day. In the chaos, multiple municipal staff and emergency services personnel ran frantically to help countless individuals who may or may not have wanted help. The day after, I biked by and saw two ambulances and police sirens. These issues are not solved in a day, and might not be for a while. At night, that park is poorly lit, and wafts of marijuana and garbage are all over the place.

In Connecticut and nationally, the immediate public response is how there could be such massive numbers of overdoses.

Lets just say Im not at all surprised. The health care system of today is not at all equipped to fully address this tragic public health problem.

Synthetic cannabinoids such as K2 are dangerous, with the National Institute of Drug Abuse and U.S. Food and Drug Administration both recently issuing health warnings about the dangers of these substances in July 2018. Several state health departments have also issued warnings about the lethal potential for these illegal drugs earlier this year.

As a psychiatrist, I have encountered countless individuals in the emergency room who come through and do not want help. What K2? I dont use that stuff. They will deny it, laugh it off, or scoff at me. They threaten to commit suicide if I dont let them stay the night, and demand extra sandwiches and clothes. These individuals have the ability to decipher their options.

If the persons thinking suddenly clears and there is no sign of physical instability, he or she can just walk out the emergency room almost minutes after presenting. In the dead of night, Ive had unconscious patients who wake up abruptly only to demand to leave. I have no choice but to discharge them home to no particular address, since none are listed.

Ill be the first to admit that substance use disorders affect an individuals ability to function and make decisions. Ive seen individuals have hallucinations and become severely violent while using K2. These arent folks who read national alerts and public health warnings. Family members often disagree with their decision to leave treatment, and plead for better solutions to help their loved one.

Yet, doctors cannot force someone to get treatment, except in extreme situations. Most states require a judge to decide about involuntary substance use treatment. The only times when Ive seen a judge commit someone in Connecticut for substance abuse is when the person could no longer make rational decisions, and had distorted brains on imaging from years of drug use. But mandated treatment rarely works. Its too little, too late.

So whats the solution? Theres nothing easy.

Lets face it. Drug use is prevalent. Death tolls are higher by the year. Connecticuts accidental overdoses were 1,038 in 2017. The numbers were 355 in 2012. Weve been a country fighting a war on drugs since 1971. Reagan pushed for a Just Say No campaign. We know how that works. People dont just say no.

Many illegal substances will stimulate the brain receptors for pleasure, which can give solace to the pain of real life. Theres little immediate incentive for an individual to say no.

There needs to be more collaborative efforts among health departments and hospitals, as well as municipal governments to address the underlying suffering and homelessness experienced by troubled individuals using K2 and similar substances.

High utilizer hot-spotting is one such approach. In the early 2000s, Jeffrey Brenner identified that a small number of individuals disproportionately spend a high percentage of health care dollars by being frequent visits of the emergency room. The qualities of these patients include substance use, mental health disorders, untreated primary care chronic conditions, homelessness, financial distress, among others. His team and other health systems are now directly bringing resources to patients, and meeting patients where they are in a non-judgmental manner to provide treatment.

Similarly, multiple groups in Connecticut and New York are exploring mobile options for people on the streets. This would allow doctors and a multidisciplinary team to move out of the traditional clinic settings and meet clients in the community to engage them. Some of my colleagues are working on a street medicine team with collaborations with the Connecticut Mental Health Center. The work is tough, and it could take multiple tries before clients actually are interested in help. But at least its a start. Unfortunately, public funding for such efforts is always tenuous.

To truly prevent catastrophic massive overdoses, the public conversation needs to shift away from being sensationalist to finding sustainable solutions.

Or just throw up ones hands and put more lights in the park.

Luming Li is a psychiatrist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The Herald reports:

A bill entrenching the Maori seats into New Zealand electoral law  requiring a 75 per cent majority of Parliament to get rid of them  has passed its first reading in Parliament because it was supported by New Zealand First, which opposes the Maori seats.

Not just opposes them. Winston said it was a bottom line to get rid of them. Nick Smith points out:

The NZ First policy to abolish the Maori seats was announced as a bottom line of the party by Winston Peters who described them as separatism, that they had had their day and had to go. Mr Peters stated in April That entrenching the Maori seats was not part and parcel of any coalition agreement and Shane Jones ruled out voting for it saying I dont know anyone in our caucus who is going to vote for the entrenchment.

Yet now the entire caucus has voted for a bill to entrench them.

They claim it is so an amendment can be made later on, seeking a referendum on the seats. But that was not their policy. Their policy was clear cut  they had to go.

Luckily the bill is doomed anyway as to entrench the seats with a 75% threshold means there has to be a 75% majority in Parliament for the bill at the committee of the whole stage. National is opposed, and hence the bill will eventually fail.

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A group of South Korean special envoys led by Chung Eui-yong, the top security adviser to President Moon Jae-in, departed for NorthKorea on Wednesday (September 5) to discuss the leaders' third summit later this month.

Chung said on Tuesday (September 4) he would deliver a letter from Moon to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un when he visits the North, without elaborating on its contents.

The planned inter-Korean summit follows Trump's cancellation of a visit to Pyongyang by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month after Pompeo received a belligerent letter from a senior North Korean official.












VAV kicked off their Meet & Live Tour in US on August 17, 2018, with their New Jersey show at White Eagle Hall! Presented by Studio PAV, the tour made stops in Jersey City, Atlanta, Dallas, and Chicago, giving US VAMPZ across the nation the chance to interact with their faves and a night of a lifetime. Here's what went down in Jersey City's White Eagle Hall, with VAV in the spotlight!

The excitement started early for many fans, who started lining up in the morning in hopes of snagging a front row spot for the concert. Prior to the concert, fans with VVIP-tier tickets were able to attend a fansign with VAV -- meaning fans could talk with the group up close as they signed an album especially for them.

Entering the intimate White Eagle Hall venue, you could already feel the love for VAV -- fans sang and danced along to VAV's hit tracks like ABC and Dance with Me. Fans cheered loudly as the lights went down, and the fanmeet started with a dance cover group performing medleys of VAV's title tracks. The stage was filled with charisma even prior to VAV appearing!

VAV started the night off by taking the White Eagle Hall stage with "Spotlight" in dashing white outfits. The audience was filled with screams and swoons -- the venue's small space allowed for lots of intimate fanservice, flirting, and eye contact with fans!

They smoothly transitioned into "Dance With Me", with the audience definitely wanting to dance with the group! Ace even held the microphone out to fans to sing along with him, grooving and full of smiles.

Following "Dance With Me" were self-introductions from the seven-member group, where St. Van, Jacob, Ayno, Ace, Baron, Ziu, and Lou greeted the audience individually. Ace's introduction in particular was special, as fans sang "Happy Birthday" and bounced balloons onto the stage for his upcoming birthday!

They then invited a translator up on the stage for the rest of the ment, discussing their experience so far in the US! Ace was so excited to finally come see US Vampz, even greeting the fans in English himself. Baron was impressed by the New York skyline, and the group enjoyed the Broadway staple, the Lion King musical!



With the US impressing the boys of VAV, the boys had to go impress their US fans by showing off their personal talents. In the spirit of the Lion King, Ziu sang a bit of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" to their fans, who went crazy over his deep vocals (and definitely felt his love). Jacob showed off his sexy dance and ended with some aegyo, not before his groupmates lovingly teased and made fun of him. Ayno spit some powerful bars and was similarly clowned! VAV's comfort level with both each other and the stage was a fun gift for fans to witness.

The ment ended with a burst of fan love in a discussion of their latest track "Spotlight" -- how the song was written about "you guys", the fans of VAV! Lou taught fans the song's signature "Ra ta ta ta ta" and asked them to sing along. Ziu loudly declared that the fans' attempt was "amazing"!





VAV then performed their reggae-inspired bop "Flower (You)", with an iconic "yoo-hoo-hoo~" hook! The song was full of lots of aegyo and skinship for their fans, and the song's dance break allowed for the group to show off their endless charisma. Their following song, "ABC (Middle of the Night)" was similarly full of fun -- the fun continued into the next portion of the night, a post-it-driven ment!

Fans were given the opportunity to write questions for VAV on post-its prior to the concert. The first post-it that VAV chose was to sing "Happy Birthday" to a celebrating fan, which they did very happily! VAV ended up singing the song a couple more times for other audience members celebrating their birthdays, with Ziu even chiming in with a cute birthday dance. The post-its continued with Baron singing a sweet song while his members hyped him up, and Ziu showing off some sexy poses while his members teased him! He even sang the iconic line from Bazzi's "Mine" -- he's so. Precious. When he. Smiles!

The next segment of the show was called "Can You Wish", where VAV brought some fans onto stage and fulfilled their wildest, VAV-filled dreams! The boys did aegyo and girl group dances, and took a group photo, forming a heart around a fan. St. Van showed off his vocal skills, singing Charlie Puth's "One Call Away" while Ayno beatboxed, then serenaded the fan chosen as his partner while holding her hand romantically... until he cracked up laughing with the other members teasing him! The male fan partnered with Ziu received a cool handshake and a freestyle rap serenade -- featuring the cutest "I love you, bro!" ever.





Ayno and Ziu then performed a special stage with "Don't Sleep", a sultry track off of Ayno's mixtape. It was the first time they showcased the song live, so they were very happy that the audience gave them such positive feedback! Ziu commented that he wants to make more music for his fans, like a mixtape track featuring Lou. The rest of the group then rejoined them on stage to perform their hit tracks "Give It to Me" and "She's Mine"!

Onto more special stages! Ace performed a snippet of the classic Goblin OST "Beautiful", with the entire audience waving their arms along to his soulful vocals. Ayno sang a bit of Drake's hit "In My Feelings", getting the crowd lit, dancing, and wondering if Keke loves them. VAV also performed covers of Camila Cabello's "Havana", Zedd, Marren Morris, and Grey's "In The Middle", and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk". Each performance showcased the group's powerful vocal lines and, above all, how much fun they have; during "Uptown Funk", they even started a conga line on stage.



A treat to the VAMPZ in attendance, VAV unveiled the first live performance ever of their unreleased song "Senorita"! Their upcoming comeback shows VAV experimenting with latin music influences, while keeping their true-to-style funky beats and fun choreography. They mellowed down the excitement with a calmer song -- their emotional vocal line track, "Winter Breeze".

During their ending ment, VAV asked their fans to support their upcoming comeback with "Senorita", and expressed their gratefulness. While they're really into R&B, rap, soul, and other parts of the American musical culture, there are many Americans that love K-Pop -- this cultural exchange is something VAV treasures almost as much as they treasure their VAMPZ. VAV ended their set with their funky disco track "Gorgeous", and drove home their love for their fans with a flower-filled encore of "Spotlight".

After the concert were more fan engagement sessions, with hi-touches and group photos for fans with VVIP or VIP tickets, and the Studio PAV-exclusive Snapshot polaroids -- so many ways for fans to express their love and gratefulness to VAV after such an unforgettable night.

VAV's Meet & Live Tour in US was a definite success.

Tickets for their next event, Jung Joon-young's US Live Tour, are available now in addition to the announcement of Teen Top's Winter tour! Don't miss out on the chance to meet and interact with some of your faves.
2021 Town Election Mark Burkard, endorsed by the Republican and Conservative Parties, says he decided to get into politics after moving to Lancaster about 7  years ago. The town began selling off...

2021 Town Election Adam Dickman is seeking reelection for his seat on the Lancaster Town Board and has plenty of objectives if he wins another term. Dickman feels well-versed in the regions finer...
Basra, Sept 6: One person was killed and 25 injured, some seriously, on Wednesday as Iraqi security forces opened fire on protesters as clashes broke out in the southern city of Basra, a day after six people were killed in demonstrations over poor public services.

An AFP journalist reported gunshots and tear gas were fired by security personnel directly at demonstrators, who had gathered in their thousands outside the regional government headquarters.

The measures failed to disperse protesters, who responded by hurling Molotov cocktails and letting off fireworks at the security forces. Security forces later stopped firing in the direction of protesters and instead fired shots in the air and used tear gas.

"One demonstrator was killed and 25 others wounded, including some seriously," said Mehdi al-Tamimi, head of the government's human rights council in Basra province.

Medical sources confirmed to AFP the death of a young man. Reinforcements had been sent to Basra and concrete blocks erected to protect the government building, which for demonstrators has become a symbol of state corruption and neglect.

Basra and the surrounding province have been the focus of angry anti-government demonstrations that have rocked Iraq since early July. Residents are particularly angry over pollution of the local water supply, which has put 20,000 people in the hospital.

On Tuesday six demonstrators were killed and more than 20 wounded during the bloodiest day of clashes with security officials, a local official and medics said.

The authorities said that 30 security personnel were also wounded in the violence "by grenades and incendiary objects". Commander Jamil al-Shammari said an overnight curfew was being imposed and more security personnel deployed in the city.

The United Nations envoy to Iraq had called for "calm" in Basra ahead of Wednesday's clashes and urged the authorities "to avoid using disproportionate, lethal force against the demonstrators".

The UN's Jan Kubis also asked the government to "investigate and hold accountable those responsible for the outbreak of violence" and "do its utmost to respond to the people's rightful demands of clean water and electricity supplies".

In his weekly press conference in Baghdad on Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said he had ordered "no real bullets... to be fired, in the direction of protesters or in the air".

Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr said in a tweet ahead of the latest clashes that "vandals infiltrated" the protests. Iraq is currently in a state of political limbo.

Sadr's political bloc won the largest number of seats in national elections held in May, and he is trying to form a new government with Abadi.

The authorities have pledged to take measures to put an end to the health crisis that has ravaged the oil-rich province of Basra. Abadi announced overnight that he had met lawmakers from Basra, who are in Baghdad for the first parliamentary session since the elections. He again indicated that water pollution would be addressed, without specifying any measures.

In July, the government announced a multi-billion dollar (euro) emergency plan for southern Iraq, to revive infrastructure and services. But protesters are wary of promises made by the outgoing government, as negotiations drag on over the formation of the next administration.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Sep 6: India and the US Thursday asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border terror strikes, including those on Mumbai, Pathankot and Uri.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue here during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters," a joint statement issued after the talks said.

"The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new "qualitative edge and purpose".

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike.

"In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the "persistent threat of terrorism" and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhancing their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on the designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

"We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us," she said.

Swaraj said the efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process were also discussed.
Qatar has made official the permanent residency as an option for a limited number of foreigners who work in the country. Qatar is the first among the gulf countries to do so.

Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued a decree allowing a maximum of 100 expatriates to gain permanent residency each year. This will allow Qatari permanent residents access to a generous welfare system and commercial rights previously reserved for Qatari citizens.

To be eligible, residents born in Qatar must have lived in the country for 10 years, while those born abroad would need to have lived there 20 years, according to the decree. A passing command of the Arabic language, proof of sufficient income and sound legal standing are also required. The new permanent residency law gives priority to children born to a Qatari mother, as well as foreign nationals who have lived in the country for more than 20 years and are considered "valuable" for their skills.

Under the new law, permanent residents will be entitled to the same social security benefits as Qatar's citizens, including free healthcare, education in government schools and be allocated priority in government jobs.

Qatar's population is estimated at 2.7 million in 2018 of which Indians form the biggest group of expatriate workers at 6.5 lakhs.

As permanent residents, foreign expatriates investing in setting up a business in Qatar will no longer be required to have a Qatari citizen as their partner. The new law also allows them to own real estate in the country.

Qatars introduction of this law seems to be an effort at stemming the flight of human capital from the country since Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed ties with the country, accused it of funding terrorism and imposed an embargo. The Saud-led action deeply impacted Qatars economy with food prices sky-rocketing the first year. But since then, prices have stabilised but the hostility with its neighbours continues.

Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world with an average income of nearly $124,000 per annum and also is the worlds biggest exporter of natural gas.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 07, 2018 02:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Sep 6, 2018, 3:18pm ET

Woman sues Tesla after crashing into fire truck

The plaintiff blames Tesla's Autopilot feature, which was engaged when the car struck the back of a stationary truck.

The driver of a Tesla Model S that crashed into the back of a fire truck in Utah earlier this year has filed a lawsuit against the automaker.

Heather P. Lommatzsch had Autopilot engaged when the Model S struck the truck, which was stopped at a red light. The sedan was traveling around 60 mph before it hit the truck, resulting in a broken ankle.

Data logs suggest she had ignored repeated warnings to keep her hands on the wheel during the drive. The police report suggests she was looking down at her phone before the accident.

The lawsuit argues that Autopilot failed to work as advertised, according to Fox 13. Lawyers also claim she "attempted to brake but the brakes did not engage."

Lommatzsch is seeking at least $300,000 in damages.

"When using Autopilot, drivers are continuously reminded of their responsibility to keep their hands on the wheel and maintain control of the vehicle at all times," Tesla said in a statement. "Tesla has always been clear that Autopilot doesn't make the car impervious to all accidents."
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An ambitious plan is moving forward to turn a vacant swath of Northampton Street land into a nine-story building that features a first-floor grocery store and seven stories of apartments in Easton.

The city planning commission on Wednesday voted to recommend approval of the grocery store use for the 616-630 Northampton St. site in the city's West Ward. The proposed grocery store is considered a general merchandise use and requires approval as a special exception under the site's zoning.

Planners' 5-2 recommendation sends the special exception request to the Easton Zoning Hearing Board at its Sept. 17 meeting. The commission still needs to approve consolidating seven vacant lots into one, and plans to take that up at its Oct. 3 meeting along with final approval of the development plan itself. Wednesday night's special exception recommendation is conditioned on next month's approval of the lots' consolidation.

Dubbed Dutchtown Commons, this plan is an update to the one first proposed by Louis "Ari" Schwartz in 2010. He owned the properties that, along with 627 Pine St., comprise the 14,405-square-foot development site. On Aug. 15, he sold the properties for $1 apiece to Days Restart LLC, which lists its address as a post office box in Brooklyn, New York.

Wednesday night's planning commission review was generally favorable to the proposal, but focused on just who is behind the project and what type of grocery store is being eyed for West Ward Easton.

This is the site in the 600 block of Northampton Street in Easton proposed for development into Dutchtown Commons. It comprises seven vacant lots, including 627 Pine St. to the rear, and is home to the Lot Spot pocket park created by the former West Ward Neighborhood Partnership. (Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Commission Vice Chairman Robert Sun and member Bill Carr voted against the special exception recommendation to the zoning hearing board. The commission also voted unanimously to require additional information requested by Chairman Charles Elliott from the developer, including the site's proposed traffic patterns, a grocery store market analysis for that site, a look at noise impacts from a grocery store's compressors and other equipment and an evaluation of store delivery times and volumes.

City Councilman David O'Connell, from the audience, said the market analysis needs to take into account the type of grocery that best serves the needs of the surrounding community. He doesn't want to see a high-end store that residents can't afford to shop in.

Project investor Stuart Zelmanovitz told planners the developers have spoken to several grocery stores but named only one, Phoenix, Arizona-based Sprouts Farmers Market. No lease will be set until, or unless, the city approves the project, he said. He described the 13,479-square-foot grocery store as the anchor for the project, which also has basement and second-floor parking decks comprising 49 spaces to serve shoppers and tenants of the 39 proposed apartments. The homes would range from 750-square-foot, one-bedroom to 2,000-square-foot, two-bedroom units, with estimated rents between $1,000 and $2,000, said project architect Steven Glickman.

On the whole, the project is designed to appeal to younger professionals who might know the Lehigh Valley from their time at local colleges and universities, Zelmanovitz said.

"There is a vibrancy and we're trying to attract that," he told the commission.

Sprouts is considered a higher-end grocer, akin to Wegmans, said the commission's Carr. Esther Guzman, who lives nearby on Ferry Street and ran the defunct West Ward Neighborhood Partnership, echoed O'Connell in telling the commission the grocery store needs to cater to neighbors like her who live on a fixed income.

West Ward activist Terrance Miller said a grocery store is the No. 1 capital improvement the neighborhood needs, according to a survey he had done.

"That block desperately needs investment and for the city to be involved," Miller said.

Commissioners raised concerns about the project's parking, which provides about half of the 100 spaces the city says the property needs. That will require approval from the zoning board, as well, in addition to the project's maximum height of 98 feet, versus 70 feet permitted, and the grocery store's size exceeding the site's permitted non-residential use size of 4,000 square feet.

Resident Julie Zando-Dennis, serving on a new West Ward Neighborhood Plan committee, pictures a lot of residents walking to the store, using those two-wheeled carts that she told herself she'd never use but came to appreciate while living in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood. This is the type of development that can help bring "more income parity" to the West Ward, she said.

"Having a development of this scale and ambition is, I think, a first step," she said.

Dennis Lieb, another West Ward resident who has long fought for its future, told the commission of the project: "We could have basically a new generator of revenue in that block that springs everything else off."

Lieb knows Schwartz, the previous landowner who is behind the Dutchtown Commons project, and has been using his own Chidsey Street address to accept Schwartz's mail including tax bills, he said.

That address is also where the city sent 79 code violations for some of Schwartz's Northampton Street properties where Dutchtown Commons is proposed. Those violations are still on the books, Schwartz said Thursday morning, but are no longer applicable because he demolished the house for which they were filed.

"First of all, many of them were duplicates," Schwartz told lehighvalleylive.com. "It's a moot point and it's a matter of some bureaucracy just to get it officially off the record."

Wednesday night, the planning commission devoted some of its three-hour plan review to figuring out Schwartz's role in the project and how Zelmanovtiz, the investor, fits in. Schwartz did not attend the meeting. In addition to Glickman, the architect, the development team was represented by attorney Leo DeVito. Zelmanovitz described himself as an investor who has been involved in projects in Arizona and Philadelphia. Three or four more investors are awaiting Easton's backing for the project, he said.

"That's really what we're trying to see," Zelmanovitz said. "We're trying to make sure that this is headed in the right direction, the vision that we see."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
New Jersey officials Thursday announced the formation of a task force to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy within the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey, as well as any efforts to cover up such abuse.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal appointed former Acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino to head the task force, which will have subpoena power through a grand jury to compel testimony and demand the production of documents.

"I was deeply troubled to read the allegations contained in last month's Pennsylvania grand jury report," said Grewal. "The report revealed that sexual assaults on children, and efforts to cover up such assaults, were far more widespread in Pennsylvania than we ever thought possible. We owe it to the people of New Jersey to find out whether the same thing happened here. If it did, we will take action against those responsible."

In addition to investigating allegations of sexual abuse by clergy, Grewal said the task force will conduct a comprehensive review of existing agreements between the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey and state law enforcement.

The state also set up a new dedicated hotline to report allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. Grewal said the hotline will be staffed by trained professionals and operate on a 24/7 basis. The toll-free number is (855) 363-6548.

Separately, the New York attorney general's office on Thursday issued subpoenas to every Catholic diocese in the state, as it, too, embarked on a major investigation of sex crimes committed and covered up by Catholic priests.

The action by the two states comes in the wake of the explosive grand jury reports out of Pennsylvania, that bared the long-kept secrets of abuse within the Catholic church, documenting the monstrous details of hundreds of priests who preyed on more than 1,000 children over decades.

In Pennsylvania, the grand jury said abuse was permitted to go on despite the knowledge of many church leaders.

"Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades," said the report, which described the abuse in graphic detail.

There was the priest, for example, who raped a seven-year-old girl -- while he was visiting her in the hospital after she'd had her tonsils out. Or the priest who made a nine-year-old give him oral sex, then rinsed out the boy's mouth with holy water to purify him, the grand jury wrote.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, outraged by the flood of revelations, last month had called on state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to impanel a grand jury to investigate the decades of crimes and cover-ups in New Jersey.

He said he would also renew his effort to eliminate New Jersey's two-year statute of limitations in civil litigation involving sex abuse cases.

In July, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick resigned amid allegations he sexually abused young boys, seminarians and priests, and the $180,000 in settlements paid to two priests. McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Newark and Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C., had been earlier been removed from public ministry in June after the disclosure that he abused a teen 50 years ago while serving as a priest in New York.

McCarrick was one of the highest-ranking American leaders in the Catholic Church to be removed from ministry over sex abuse charges.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark, who heads the state's largest Catholic diocese, has said he will retain an outside firm to conduct an audit of alleged child abuse cases.

But he has not committed to a release of any findings.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A new education effort in Northampton County aims to assure college and university students they won't face criminal charges if they dial 911 for help for someone who is dangerously drunk.

That amnesty applies even if the caller is underage and also has been drinking, county District Attorney John Morganelli said Thursday. He was introducing the initiative being led by his office and the Center for Humanistic Change Inc. based in Hanover Township, Lehigh County.

It comes as students are settling in for the fall semester and exploring new-found freedoms, which often involves alcohol, Morganelli said. One year ago, Lafayette College freshman McCrae Williams died two days after suffering a head injury, following an afternoon of drinking. His friends delayed seeking medical attention for him, thinking he just needed to sleep.

"Drinking becomes part of the college atmosphere and unfortunately we see lots of harm that occurs, not just a potential death but other types of harm: over-intoxication with alcohol, alcohol poisoning, criminal behavior that would not normally happen on campuses," he said. "And we know we're never going to eliminate this but we can reduce it. We can make it less likely to happen by education. That's our goal here."

Under the new initiative, Northampton County's four higher-education institutions are providing freshmen with a reference card from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board outlining the amnesty law and what to do if they're with someone in need of help for intoxication.

This is the alcohol amnesty card being distributed to Northampton County college and university students and alcohol retailers within 5 miles of campuses in Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township and Easton, according to District Attorney John Morganelli. (Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com)

Morganelli also sent copies of the card with a letter to dozens of alcohol retailers identified by the Center for Humanistic Change as alcohol retailers within 5 miles of Lehigh University and Moravian College in Bethlehem, Northampton Community College in Bethlehem Township and Lafayette in Easton.

"Alcohol has to be purchased someplace and kids generally ... they're usually not going to drive miles and miles away," Morganelli said. "Quite frankly this information is so important because what we saw in the Lafayette case is a fear of kids, and this is very common."

Sonia Oliveria, prevention program specialist with the Center for Humanistic Change, brought the education campaign proposal to Morganelli's attention during a college alcohol summit the prosecutor held in July in Bethlehem with the presidents and other representatives of the four schools.

"What we find is that students or kids this age they're afraid to call for help because they're afraid of getting in trouble," Oliveira said during a news conference Thursday in Morganelli's office. "So people are left dead in fear of the consequences, and this protects them. So if you are under 21, and you are with someone who is overdosing, you can call for help. You are protected by law. ... Charges won't be pressed against you."

Pennsylvania offers similar protections for those who summon help in a drug overdose.

"If someone's under the influence of drugs and they're in trouble, it's the same type of amnesty," Morganelli said. "As long as you make a good faith effort to contact for purposes of medical aid even if you may be, there could be an amnesty."

Morganelli noted that this amnesty protection is at the discretion of prosecutors, but it's something he chooses to enforce: "I want to save lives," he said. It also doesn't preclude a college or university from leveling administrative consequences.

The first month and a half of freshman year is a vulnerable time for students faced with opportunities to drink, and often binge-drink, alcohol, Oliveira said.

"This is because of student expectations and social pressures at the beginning of the year," she said. "So translated this means that injuries, criminal offenses, lifelong problems with drugs and alcohol or even death can occur to the people we love. With appropriate awareness and education, these are preventable."

Arlene Lund, executive director at the Center for Humanistic Change, said the goal with the new campaign is to open up conversations with alcohol retailers, and between retailers and their customers.

"Our focus really is on having people understand what responsible drinking is if you're going to engage in drinking ... to build those life skills," she said Thursday.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Discolored water has been filling glasses, sinks and bathtubs across Phillipsburg, threatening even the laundry, town officials say.

"First and foremost, the water provided to Phillipsburg residents is safe to drink and use," said Dan Lockwood, spokesman for the town's water provider, Aqua America Inc. "We test our water each day and it meets all health and safety standards."

Lockwood responded Wednesday to concerns raised Tuesday night by town council President Bobby Fulper. He said the town is inviting Aqua to return to council Sept. 18, following a July meeting where the brownish water was discussed with the company, as well.

"It is absolutely disgusting," Fulper said of photos he has seen of the discoloration, according to a video from Tuesday's council meeting. "There is no way that I would encourage anyone to drink this water.

"There is no way -- if you have brown water, I wouldn't give it to your dogs, I wouldn't bathe your kids in it," he continued. "I've seen it firsthand destroy a load of laundry and then when the resident tried to re-wash it it didn't come clean. So something's wrong."

Fulper said he has gotten reports going back two and a half months of the discolored water flowing at more than 100 properties in Phillipsburg.

"It's been a long-term problem in town, all around town," Mayor Stephen Ellis said Wednesday. He's requesting several weeks of Aqua America's analysis to show residents the tests have been done and what they showed.

"Through water analysis, I can almost guarantee the water is safe," Ellis said. "It's just not too nice to look at with all the turbidity."

Fulper said he already requested the analysis results.

"I have attempted to ascertain as promised the water test results from Aqua and though promised them I have not received them," he said Tuesday night, according to the video from the meeting. "So that makes me highly suspect that something is wrong and that they do not want to tell us. That I have an issue with.

"I stated earlier I don't want this to be the next Flint, Michigan. I don't want to be a councilman or on a council that overlooks a serious issue when our residents need it most."

Lockwood, from Aqua America, said he could not immediately comment on Fulper's test result request.

Aqua America in mid-September plans to complete a flushing program that it believes will help to clear up the water, Lockwood said. The flushing began earlier this summer but was suspended due to high water usage.

"We have seen a recent decrease in discolored water calls, but do still experience them from time to time," Lockwood said in an email. "We are confident that our upcoming flushing program will help to alleviate these instances further."

Aqua America said that as of July it had found a potential cause for the discolored water in Phillipsburg.

"We attribute that to an increase in unauthorized fire hydrant use throughout the area," Lockwood wrote.

The company told town officials at their July meeting about the hydrant issue, and that same month sent a letter asking local towns and fire departments "for their help in discouraging unauthorized hydrant use," according to Lockwood.

"Please note that except for firefighting purposes, it is illegal to withdraw water from a fire hydrant without prior approval from Aqua New Jersey," the company said in its letter.

Phillipsburg also dealt with discolored water in April, with a potential cause identified as water line work, Aqua America said at that time.

Aqua America said Wednesday: "We encourage any customers that notice discolored water to first run their outside water spigot for several minutes until it runs clear. If that does not occur, we ask that customers please call us at 877-987-2782 so that we can investigate further."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An Offaly TD has expressed concern over the planned closures of seven post offices in Laois and Offaly.

The post offices in the area are facing closure in a new deal agreed between An Post and the postmaster's union. They include Ballinakill which has already closed and Ballybrittas in Laois, and in Offaly; Moneygall, Walsh Island, Pollough, Geashill and Mount Lucas.

Independent TD Carol Nolan is demanding that the government take action.

"Our post offices are a basic and vital part of many rural towns and villages throughout this state and it is unacceptable that the government are standing idly by when urgent action and fulfilment of their obligations is required. Rural communities have borne the brunt of too many cuts to basic services over the last few years," she said.

Deputy Nolan is calling on the Minister for Communications Denis Naughten and the government to honour the fact that a motion calling for a five year holding plan to be put in place to save post offices was passed in the Dail.

"The Minister or his government cannot shirk their responsibilities they must implement this plan as soon as possible in order to give our post offices some chance of survival," she said.

Dep Nolan stated that she had been in contact with Tom O Callaghan from the Independent Postmasters Group and that she was fully supportive of the group.

"In cases where post offices are closing due to the current uptake of redundancy packages, it is imperative that replacement contracts are offered to people in our communities who are interested in taking up the role," she said.

"Everything must be done to ensure that our post office network is protected. They offer a valuable service that we in rural Ireland cannot afford to lose. There is an onus on the government to listen to rural communities who have been ignored and neglected for too long," Dep Nolan said.
It is six years since Laois baby Karagh Cahill became cancer free, and now she is donating her beautiful long hair to help other sick children.

Karagh from Portarlington was just 12 weeks old when her parents Sarah McAuley and Keith Cahill noticed a lump on her back, in 2011. It was diagnosed as neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer.

The first-time young parents were devastated.

When she was first diagnosed, we were told she had a 30 percent chance of survival. Devastating isnt the word. When we look back, we wonder how did we even do it.

She was our first born, literally your life stops. You dont even think. Its the worst news you can ever get, its indescribable, Sarah recalls.

The tiny tot had two major surgeries, on her chest and abdomen.

This was followed a round of chemotherapy, with weekly hospital trips for blood tests and dressings.

We got the all clear six months later. Thankfully we are all here now to tell her story, said Sarah.

Below: Karagh as a baby with parents Keith and Sarah. Photo by Michael Scully.

Sarah describes her bubbly confident daughter now.

Karagh is just amazing, fully healthy and happy. She is confident and outgoing with lots of friends. She is at the top in her dancing school and gets top marks in school. She is going into first class this week at Portarlington Presentation Primary, and there is just a buzz around the house, the proud mother said.

They have two more children now, Fraya-Nicole is five, and Casey aged two and Karagh rules the roost.

Karagh who is nearly seven, gets lots of compliments for her long hair.

She never had a big cut, only a trim. People literally stop us in the street, she has thick, long amazing hair with colours you would pay for. She loves her hair, shes all about it, said her mother.

Recently Karagh made the announcement that she wanted to cut all her hair off.

She said that little girls are sick and dont have hair, and she wanted to cut it off and help them. Its a massive decision that she came to herself, Sarah said.

Karagh is aware of her early battle with cancer.

She has always understood how lucky she is. We kept in touch with families and she knows that some children who were sick like her couldnt get better. We decided then we would do it properly and make a big deal of it, said Sarah.

Karagh plans to donate 14 inches of her hair to the Rapunzel foundation who make wigs for children undergoing cancer treatment.

The family launched an online fundraiser for the charity Aoibheanns Pink Tie a fortnight ago and have already raised over 900.

They help families of children with cancer. Lots of people thankfully dont understand, but they help in a massive way with things like bills, food shopping and mortgage payments when you cant work because youre in hospital with your child.

Even now they send Karagh a Christmas gift. Whatever money we can raise to give to them, they deserve a massive thanks, Sarah said.

Dublin's GAA teams are sporting the charity's logo on jerseys this summer.

Karagh's big haircut is on Saturday September 22 in On Fleek hair salon in Portarlington. There is a collection bucket and sponsor cards in the salon already.

Meanwhile Keith and his brother Dean who are big car fans, are going to hold a Car Fun Day in Geashill GAA club, on Sunday September 9.

There will be vintage and show cars, activities for kids and a food stall. Entry is free with donations accepted.

Donate online here.
A Portlaoise school is holding a fundraiser on Friday September 7 in aid of a past pupil who has been seriously injured abroad.

Daniel Wolski, 20, from Portlaoise has been paralysed after he lost consciousness and fell from a wall while on holiday in Tenerife.

Daniel who was born in Poland but moved to Laois as a child, was flown home on Saturday September 1 after a month in intensive care. He is in Beaumont Hospital, awaiting a bed in the National Rehabilitation Hospital.

An online fundraiser started by his Portlaoise girlfriend Sara ukaszewska, is underway to pay for rehabilitation treatment, and stands at 20,000 with a target to raise of 30,000.

They both work at the Killeshin Hotel, which is also fundraising for Daniel's treatment.

Read more here.

St Marys CBS in Portlaoise will hold a non uniform day on September 7, with each student donating at least 2, while staff will donate at a coffee morning.

Maura Murphy is principal.

We, along with many other organisations in Portlaoise, are showing our support to Daniels 'Bring him home' campaign. All proceeds will go towards bringing Daniel home," she said.





Donate here.
County Kildare Chamber this morning welcomed the news that BlackRock Real Assets has joined forces with developer Michael O'Flynn to acquire the Hewlett Packard (HP) campus in Leixlip.

Allan Shine, Chief Executive of the Chamber said this morning; This news is very welcomed and further demonstrates that Kildare is the ideal location of choice for business enterprise. This high tech manufacturing complex represents an economic opportunity for large scale end-users and we welcome the news that the investors are planning immediate investment in the site.

Read also: Cork developer in bid for Kildare HP site

"There is huge potential to further expand the existing offering that the campus currently offers. Kildare has an extremely highly educated workforce and its close proximity to Dublin City, Dublin Airport and Dublin Port makes the county an ideal location to invest in.

The Irish Independent is reporting 51m will be handed over for the 195 acres site which includes nine buildings covering 1.47million square feet.

The site is currently occupied by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Celestica, MGS and Global Entserv Solutions, however a large portion of the accomodation is vacant.

The paper reports there is also 70 areas of surplus development land. It's understood the new owners are planning a complete rebrand for the campus to Liffey Business Park.

In February 2017, HP said that inkjet print done by HP Inc would be transferred to the United States and Asia, and announced 500 job cuts on February 8.

At the time long term staff at the Leixlip plant were shocked at the extent of the cuts.

HP Inc said then it planned to sell the Leixlip site including its current sub-leases.
Plans to expand the Courtyard Shopping Centre in Newbridge have been given the green light by An Bord Pleanala, however it did not alter the planning conditions set out by the council.

Treacy Courtyard Developments Limited was given the go ahead to knock down part of the development by Kildare County Council to make way for more retail units, car parking and apartments in the centre of Newbridge.

The shopping centre already includes Dealz, Benetton, TKMaxx, Eddie Rockets, OBriens off licence and Vanity Fair along with many other stores.

The developer wants to demolish Unit 1 of Block D, which is part of the block of units between Eddie Rockets and TK Maxx, to facilitate access to the courtyard so it can expand the development.

In January the council gave the go ahead, however the applicant has appealed three of the planning conditions.

The company said it has no problem constructing the link road from the Athgarvan Road to Edward Street, but it does not own all the adjoining land and can only develop the land it owns.

It also said it does not have the skills to reevaluate the Scoot traffic system and that should be done by the council. It also believes that the upgrade of the CCTVis not a necessity of the proposal.

Itn it's decision, An Bord Pleanala said; "Having regard to requirements under the Design Manual for Urban Roads and

Streets (DMURS), the coherent connection of the proposed development toexisting services and facilities, and the impact of the proposed development on traffic at junctions in the vicinity, it is considered that the conditions are appropriate and are in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area."

In deciding not to accept the inspectors recommendations with regard to two of the conditions, the board noted the condition requires a design only and not construction of the link road. It said the applicant has proposed to review and upgrade camera equipment.
It has been revealed that on Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 6pm, the famous Cannonball supercar run will come to Edenderry in Offaly for the first time.

Edenderry has been chosen to host the spectacular finish line of the supercar event after a detailed submission was sent by the newly formed Edenderry Chamber of Commerce who are planning a weekend festival around the event.

Read also: Query over Kildare airport taxiway

Spectators will get up close and personal with 190 of the finest cars on the planet, from Ferraris to Lamborghinis, and enjoy the unique festival atmosphere that Cannonball is renowned for.

Offaly has always given Cannonball a huge welcome. Over 10,000 people flocked to the Barack Obama Plaza to see the supercar spectacle in 2017 while Tullamore has also hosted the finish line of the event.

Now in its tenth year, Cannonball has raised almost 960,000 for Irish Charities and this year, proceeds will go to ISPCC Childline.

Top mark cars including McLaren, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Masseratti, Rolls Royce and Bentley worth an estimated 32million will drive through almost 1,000 kilometres of Irish open roads, before all converging on Edenderry on September 9 next year.

Spectators will enjoy an electric atmosphere featuring Las Vegas Show Girls, live music, DJs, Audionetworks Transformers and Robots, family fun, the Grid Girls, The Monster Energy JAM Truck, local entertainers and dignitaries, Cannonball official merchandise and, of course, the unmistakable roar of 190 supercars.

Cannonball is the brainchild of Kildare Businessman and AB Signs proprietor, Alan Bannon and the benefit to the Irish economy of this event is estimated at 2,567,000 per year.

With 3 National Awards and 4 nominations this year, this Supercar event shows no signs of slowing down and is now gearing up for the US in October and Europe next summer.

Bannon is also planning a Retro Cannonball next year which will feature classic cars for the first time.
A small graveyard in North Leitrim plays an unlikely role in a tale of monsters and murder dating back to the early 1700s.

While no written records of this story date back to this period a strong oral tradition has brought the story of the Dobhar-Chu - the fearsome water hound of Glenade Lough - to the modern age.

While there are small differences in the stories told in the area, they all recount the horrific murder of Grace McGloighlin in 1722.

It is her death which is recorded in relief on a worn headstone in Congbhail (Conwall) Cemetery in the townland of Drumain (Drummans) in the Glenade valley.

The stories centre on the fate of Grace McGloighlin or who was locally known by her maiden name of Connolly.

Drawing from recounting of the legend by James Roonian (born about 1870), of Sracleighreen and Owen McGowan, Ahanlish, Kinlough it is possible to recount the story of the Dobhar-Chu.

Both versions agree that Grace lived in the townland of Creevelea at the north-west corner of Glenade Lough.

One day she went to the river to wash some clothes and, failing to return that evening, her husband Terence went looking by the lough shore.

Tradition has it that he found her bloody remains with the Dobhar-Chu asleep on her breast.

James Roonian's version, recounted to Patrick Tohall in the 1940s, details how Terence returning to the house for his dagger he stole silently on the Dobhar-Chu and drove the knife into its breast. Before it died, however, it whistled to call its fellow.

Terence was forced to flee with the animal in pursuit.

The Dobhar-chu

Roonian's version says Terence was joined by a second man and realising that they could not shake it off they stopped near some old walls and drew their horses across an open door. The Dobhar-Chu rushed under the horses' legs to attack the men, but as it emerged from beneath them one of the men stabbed and killed it.

While the stories themselves could be dismissed as folklore, the fact that an actual gravestone exists, purporting to be that of a victim of the Dobhar-Chu, seems to add at least some credence to the tale.

The gravestone and the Dobhar-chu

In 1948, Patrick Tohall published a paper entitled:The Dobhar-Chu Tombstones of Glenade, Co. Leitrim (Cemetries of Congbhail and Cill-Ruisc), in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.

At the time of publication in 1948 Tohall had visited the so-called Dobhar-Chu gravestone in Conwall Cemetery on at least two occasions between 1935 and 1948.

He detailed the decredation of the stone over that 13 year period but the surface of the sandstone has suffered further wear from the elements and overzealous tourists down through the last 200 years.

The bottom corners of the headstone - which lies on the ground - have broken off and much of the lettering, visible even 70 years ago, is no longer legible.

What is still visible is the image of a strange, dog like creature - the Dobhar-Chu of legend. The paws are unusually large and the head and small ears are very much like that of an otter.

In 1948 Tohall described it noting: The head and neck are bent backward to lie flat on the animal's backbone. A human right hand, clenched and with fingers facing the spectator, is shown holding a weapon which has entered the base of the neck and reappears below the body in a short stem which suddenly enlarges to finish as a barb.

It appears a fair assumption that the slab was sculptured while the woman's death was still fresh in human memory as similar tombstones in raised lettering in this cemetery and in Cill-ruisc are characteristic of the period 1722 to 1760.

The gravestone is till there today, visible amongst the grass and set against the backdrop of the lough where this bloody tale was borne out.
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TWENTY years ago this week, the eyes of the world were focused on Limerick as the city received one of its most high-profile visitors in the shape of US president Bill Clinton.

Saturday, September 5, 1998, saw Limerick pull out all the stops to ensure the 42nd President of the United States of America (USA) received a cead mile failte.

Tens of thousands of people packed into OConnell Street in scenes reminiscent of our victorious hurlers homecoming last month  and his wide-ranging speech was beamed around the world.

The Limerick Leader ensured the Democrat politician was welcome in the city, with the front page of our flagship county edition bearing the stars-and-stripes and the headline Failte Mr President.

20 years ago today President Bill Clinton visited #Limerick! "A star spangled Limerick" from the @Limerick_Leader pic.twitter.com/3MARS0oNtQ  Limerick Council (@LimerickCouncil) September 5, 2018

Back home, President Clinton was facing removal from office over his affair with Monica Lewinsky. But he was held in high stead here, given his role in the Northern Ireland peace process.

His visit came just weeks after the Omagh atrocity  and in his speech President Clinton heavily referenced the Troubles, as well as other conflicts of the time in his speech  singling out the crises in the Balkan region of Europe, Rwanda and the Middle East.

To cheers, as a reference to the Good Friday agreement, he said: But because of what you have done in Ireland in 1998, you have made it possible for me to tell every warring, feuding hating group of people trapped in the prison of their past conflicts to look at Ireland and know there can be a better day.

Ireland was a different place. People were so shocked by Omagh, they were looking for someone to be a catalyst for change. Bill Clinton was someone with such a huge international profile. Someone coming in who could help the peace process. People respected him for that, said former Limerick Leader reporter Laura Ryan.

Laura, who now works as communications boss at Limerick council, had joined the Leader that summer after graduating from college and was a key part of this newspapers team covering the presidential visit.

As a reporter, hearing the President of the USA is coming to your city, and youre getting to work on it, it was just an unbelievable opportunity, she said, Up to then, council meetings may have been as exciting as it got!

Auctioneer Pat Kearney, who was Chamber president back in 1998, played a key role in bringing Clinton, and his wife Hillary to Shannonside.

Taking up the story this week, he said: We were told his team were investigating Ireland as to where he would speak. Brendan Woods [former Chamber secretary] and I were informed his team would be in Limerick at a hotel, on a certain day at 3pm. We went to the hotel and waited there for an hour.

When they finally met, Pat said the pair made a big sell, and in a short period of time, they agreed Mr Clinton would visit..

While the Chamber, and the City Council had their own ideas on where the President would address the crowd  favouring the courtyard outside City Hall in Merchants Quay  it was his advisors who had the final say.

One of the security officers called us into the South Court Hotel, where the headquarters were. She told us in no uncertain terms that the president would speak at OConnell and Thomas, he said in his best American accent.

This, of course, refers to the junction of OConnell Street and Thomas Street, and from there, it was a case of everyone putting on the green jersey. Bank of Ireland allowed use of its ground floor, local firms sponsored stands and sound equipment, and even businesses supplied electricity, after a power fault on the eve of Mr Clintons visit!

Conn Murray, now the chief executive of Limerick Council, was the acting city manager at the time of the visit.

He says the effort put in by council staff was 24/7, over a ten day period.

I remember former city architect Seamus Cookes work, stage design, the electrics, co-ordinating all the meetings between the departments, the agencies. his putting 400 phone-lines into Istabraq Hall. The logistics of creating City Hall as the press centre was part of it. We worked with guards from all over the country," he said.

With the visit of the leader of the free world, a staggering level of security is natural.

Laura said: We did a huge amount of colour stories around the preparations. We had a massive emphasis on the secret service. There were a lot of stories about them basically going down into manholes, going into sewers. I think the manholes had to be welded down during his visit.

It even got to the stage that the South Court Hotel, where President Clintons entourage were staying became a tourist attraction in itself, such was the interest in people seeing the secret service staff!

When Mr Clinton finally arrived  having landed in Shannon on Air Force One, and spending the night in Adare Manor  Laura added the city experienced a massive love in as stars and stripes flew proudly alongside the Irish tricolour.

I think Limerick was picked as we were going through a regeneration and an urban renewal. It was highlighted in the speech by the mayor, and by the chamber president, she explained.

In a ceremony, President Clinton was given the Freedom of the City from Mayor Joe Harrington, who this week admits he was not in favour of the award.

But it meant a lot to the President, who said: This means when I am no longer president, I can come to Limerick too, and I thank you! Now you have given me the Freedom of the City, I can call you my fellow citizens!

He also had kind words for Texan company Dell, which remains a key employer in Limerick today, and looked towards the new millennium which was under two years away.

Unlike today, Laura did not have to file copy for the Leader until 24 hours after the President had left Limerick  there was no Twitter or smartphones back in 1998!

We were able to really enjoy the day and experience it without the pressure. There was a party atmosphere. People were just so proud and excited that the president had chosen Limerick, she said.

President Clinton shook hands with many people, Laura comparing his treatment to that of a rock star.

One of the iconic images from the time was of him reaching out to six-year-old Jack Kennedy from Adare, an image which graced the front page of the Leader the following week.

Jack, now 26 and living in London, said: It was a really big deal for me. A lot of reporters were asking me name.

In fact, following the visit, Jack, then a student at the Model School, wrote to the President, as well as the American ambassador Jean Kennedy-Smith thanking then for the visit.

But there were only a select few who actually were able to get to speak to the President personally.

Mr Murray was one, and he recalled: I told him youre very welcome Mr President, and he remarked Arent you a bit young for this job?. I replied some might say that at the end of the day.

Mr Kearney also took time to give a present of a peace badge to the President, designed by local artist Una Heaton  much to the chagrin of his minder who insisted on only a brief handshake!

Much attention was focused prior to the Presidents visit on Cllr Harrington  a firebrand who was elected first citizen against the odds earlier that year.

Many focused on what he decided to wear, with calls for him to don the traditional red robe of Limerick City Council.

This debate reached ridiculous proportions. I had never worn the robes and right up to going on stage, councillors were still pressing me to do this. For some politicians, optics were more important than politics, he said.

Mayor Harrington revealed that members of his group, Peoples Democracy, urged him to step aside as first citizen and protest instead.

He felt this approach was not practical, and instead debated American foreign policy with Clinton. He was expelled from his group as a consequence.

Mr Murray  who still has the pen which President Clinton signed the Freedom treaty with  said: The feel good factor lasted so long. Its like that time again in Limerick, that sense of collaboration between the Chamber, UL, all the stakeholders and that can do attitude and energy.

For Laura, who spent three years at the Leader up to 2001, before moving to TV3, Clintons visit remains her career highlight.

Without a shadow of a doubt, it was the biggest story I ever covered. Nothing could compare with it, she concluded.
GARDAI are warning motorists to properly secure their cars and to ensure any valuables are left out of sight.

There have been a been a number of break-ins to cars across the city and county in recent days.

In one incident in recent days, a phone was taken from a parked car in the Caherdavin area which was not locked.

In a separate incident, a car which was parked at Shannon Banks, Corbally was opened by a thief and a handbag taken.

However, the culprit was confronted by a witness and gardai arrested the man a short time later having arrived at the scene.

"I have spoken before of the importance of locking your car and making sure that you dont leave any property in it. Unfortunately, some people dont heed this advice, perhaps they believe that they wont be targeted," said divisional crime prevention officer, Sergeant Ber Leetch.
THE MID-WEST became a temporary home for 150 food experts as the Irish Quality Food Awards (IQFA) relocated to Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), bringing with it food producers, retailers, experts and journalists.

Judging for this years IQFA awards, which focus on the best Irish food and drink, relocated to Limerick from Dublin, for the first time in six years.

It was the state-of-the-art facilities, teaching kitchens and laboratories that made LIT the perfect location for three weeks of rigorous judging, according to IQFA organiser Beth Treleaven.

When we looked at the facilities available at LIT they were so spacious and modern and had exactly what we needed, so it was a natural move to make LIT our new home, Ms Treleaven said. They have been a brilliant partner to work with.

The judging process at the college culminated in a networking showcase of the best produce in the region, held at the Limerick Strand Hotel and hosted by the Local Enterprise Offices of Limerick, Clare and Tipperary.

Exhibitors included Meeres Pork Products, Emerald Oils, Burren Smokehouse and Treaty City Brewing.

Retailers such as Aldi Ireland, Tesco Ireland and Urban Co-op also attended.

This annual event will help ensure that the Mid-West is now at the foreground of the national culinary picture going forward, according to Eamon Ryan, head of enterprise for the Local Enterprise Office Limerick.

It was great to partner with the Irish Quality Food Awards as the Mid-West region has an array of excellent food and drink produce making it a natural fit with the awards which are synonymous with the finest quality products, Mr Ryan said.

We are also delighted that the IQFA have chosen Limerick as their new home and we look forward to working in partnership with them again.

The IQFA are open to food producers, wholesalers, caterers and food service operators and the grocery industry.

Shortlisted products are now available on www.irishfoodawards.com.
LIMERICKS LONGEST serving Cathedral will celebrate its 850th year with a special Service of Thanksgiving on Saturday September 8.

St Marys Cathedral will celebrate its anniversary with the Thanksgiving Service, which will be the liturgical highlight of this years celebration, according to Dean of St Marys, the Very Revd Niall J. Sloane.

The Cathedral is looking forward to this special event in which we will have an opportunity to give God thanks for 850 years of Christian witness within the City and Diocese of Limerick.

Im delighted that a number of former bishops of Limerick will be joining us for the service along with public and civic representatives, he added.

Saint Marys, which was gifted to the Church by Donal Mor OBrien the last King of Thomond, has been a site of Christian worship since 1168 and it one of the oldest buildings in Limerick City.

The Thanksgiving Service on September 8 forms part of this years festivities, which have focused on celebrating and promoting the Cathedral within Limerick and beyond. The guest preacher will be the Right Revd David Chillingworth, former Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

The Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy and the Mayor of Limerick, Councillor James Collins will also participate in the Service, along with representatives from various groups within city.

The Thanksgiving Service begins at 3:30pm.

All are welcome to attend, Rev Sloane said.
MEDICAL experts and addiction prevention groups tackling Limericks heroin problem have criticised the narrow law around the restrictive distribution of the wonder-drug naloxone this week.

To mark Overdose Awareness Day, Metropolitan Mayor Cllr Daniel Butler convened an interagency talk at City Hall to discuss how opioid overdoses and addiction are being tackled in Limerick.

The talk included speeches by Cllr Butler, who is a drug education worker; GP Dr Patrick ODonnell; Sinead Carey of Novas; Rachel ODonoghue of Ana Liffey Project; Rory Keane, the regional director of the Mid-West drug and alcohol service; and former heroin user and advocate for addicts, Ger Lynch.

The special meeting on Monday highlighted the introduction of the naloxone nasal spray, which is now being piloted in Limerick.

When users consume opioids, such as methadone or heroin, they stick to receptors in the brain that control the breathing system. If opioids come into contact with too many receptors, a persons breathing can shut down.

Naloxone, when administered, removes the opioid receptors in the brain, hence saving the victim.

However, though the drug - in needle form - has been available for three years, only the drug users can be prescribed the life-saving medication.

Dr Patrick O'Donnell said it was one of the biggest challenges he faces as a GP.

The commonest question I get asked about naloxone is, why did you give it to the person who is at risk of overdose? Why didnt you give it to their partner or to their mother or father or to a person who is going to be using it [opioid] with them. And the answer is the law says I have to give it to the person who is at risk. In truth, if that person overdoses, they are not going to be able to inject themselves or use the nasal spray themselves, he said, describing the law as quite narrow.

He added that this is why training is being provided to those who are around people who are at risk of overdose.

Rachel ODonoghue, team leader of the Mid-West Ana Liffey Project at Steamboat Quay, is also calling for the drug to be made more widely accessible.

She said Ireland has the fourth highest rate of heroin overdoses in Europe.

She said Ana Liffey Project is calling for a prescription-free naloxone. She said that if an overdose were to take place, they would have to hope that the service user is carrying naloxone on their person.

Mayor Butler commended all those involved in tackling heroin addiction in Limerick city. I am delighted I can bring you here to represent that voice here.
SHORTLY after 8am Sean Hassett heard a loud bang on the normally quiet country road outside his house at Ardvarna, Lisnagry.

I knew something had happened so I ran out and saw there was a crash between a car and a bus. Kids were screaming on the bus, said Sean.

He and other neighbours did their best to comfort and help the six children on the bus, the bus driver and two injured occupants of the car.

We were trying to calm the children down and thank God I dont think anyone is very seriously hurt. At that stage it was hard to tell who was injured and who wasnt. My biggest worry was the kids and to see that the kids were OK. We were just trying to calm them down a bit, said Sean, who added that the fire service and ambulance personnel were quickly on the scene.

It was a shocking experience for everyone involved in the accident and neighbours who came upon the scene.

I was in a bit of shock myself to see this happening. You dont expect that to happen outside your front door. The bus passess this way every day. It picks the kids up down the road and brings them to school in Newport. I hope everyone recovers well, said Sean.

At lunchtime this Thursday, a spokesperson for University Hospital Limerick (UHL) confirmed that four casualties were being assessed in the emergency department and three in the paediatric department.

No patients have been admitted at this time, all are still under review and injuries are not thought to be serious at this point, said the spokesperson.

The scene of the crash has been sealed off for garda forensic collision investigators to carry out an inspection.
THE PRINCIPAL of St Marys Secondary School, Newport, said the emergency services response to a school bus crash this Thursday morning was inspirational.

Seven teenagers, the bus driver and two people in the car were rushed to University Hospital Limerick within minutes of the alarm being raised shortly after 8am.

Firefighters, drawn from the city, Cappamore and Newport had to cut the two people out of the car and assisted paramedics from the National Ambulance Service in removing pupils from the bus.

Gardai cordoned off the crash scene and used their expertise in the emergency situation.

RTC dealt with by Gardai this morning in Kilnagarif, Ahane, Co. Limerick, 10 in total are being treated for minor injuries #Arrivealive pic.twitter.com/FW4NzdCqmf  An Garda Siochana (@GardaTraffic) September 6, 2018

Kevin Cusack, principal of St Mary's Secondary School, attended the scene along with the schools guidance counsellor.

I would like to offer sincere thanks to the emergency services for the prompt and professional care they showed our students this morning. To see them in action - fire service, ambulance personnel and gardai - they are really inspirational men and women at work. They were all superb, said Mr Cusack, who is from Murroe.

He said they became aware of the incident at Ardvarna, Lisnagry, shortly after it occurred.

Immediately our thoughts were focused on the wellbeing of our students, families of the students and, of course, all involved. A number of our students, seven in total, were involved. We met with students and parents and offered support and words of comfort. We immediately initiated our critical incident policy. We notified NEPS [National Educational Psychological Service] who are on standby to offer support to our students and to families concerned. Our staff are to be commended for the way they rallied to offer support this morning and are continuing that support and are obviously very concerned about the students involved, said Mr Cusack.

A spokesperson for University Hospital Limerick said: No patients have been admitted at this time, all are still under review and injuries are not thought to be serious at this point.

Gardai at Castleconnell are investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.
Posted on: September 6, 2018 2:04 PM

Progress continues to be positive and financially we are on track  that was the message from the Chief Executive of the Lambeth Conference Company, Phil George, to members of the Anglican Consultative Councils Standing Committee as he briefed them on plans for the gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world in 2020. The first year of LC2020 planning is complete, he said. In many ways we are ahead of schedule and well positioned for the planning and preparations of the next two years.

I have a growing excitement about the Lambeth Conference and that is partly because when I talk to so many people I sense that they are growing very excited as well, he said.

Three members of the Standing Committee are members of the Lambeth Conference Design Group, established to set the programme for the event: the Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa; the Bishop of Nairobi, Joel Waweru, from the Anglican Church of Kenya; and Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.

The Lambeth Conference is one of the four Instruments of Unity of the Anglican Communion. Held roughly every 10 years, it is a gathering of the bishops of the Anglican Communion, drawn together by the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The 2020 gathering will be held between 24 July and 3 August at the University of Kent in Canterbury.

The programme will include a spiritual retreat, Bible studies, plenary sessions, teaching and seminars, and services in Canterbury Cathedral, the mother church of the Anglican Communion. The programme will also include a day of events in London.

The theme of the 2020 Conference is Gods Church for Gods World: walking, listening and witnessing together. The specific issues under discussion are being drawn up in consultation with the Anglican Communion Primates  the leaders of the 39 independent Churches that make up the Communion  at regional Primates Meetings taking place this year and next.

The regional Primates Meetings continue being very helpful in terms of gathering topics for the programme, building excitement and galvanising local support both for attendance and local fundraising, Phil George said.

Members of the Standing Committee discussed a range of issues related to the conference: including the cost and difficulties for bishops in some parts of the world in obtaining visas to enter the United Kingdom.

A website will be launched in the Autumn to replace a temporary webpage which gave initial information. This will coincide with the sending of invitations to bishops and their spouses.
A dozen lavish medieval graves holding the remains of 13 people have finally spilled their genetic secrets, now that researchers have constructed a family tree of the people buried there.

Researchers initially found the early medieval burials  which hold the bodies of 10 adults and three infants  in 1962 in the southern German city of Niederstotzingen. The contents of the graves dazzled archaeologists, who immediately got to work studying the ornate armor, bridle gear, jewelry and swords buried with the individuals. But they couldn't figure out how these people (some of whom were warriors) were related.

Now, a new genetic analysis of eight of these individuals reveals that five of them were direct relatives, but the other three were not related at all. [Photos: Medieval Skeletons Unearthed Near Saint's Tomb in England]

It's possible that some of these unrelated people were "adopted as children from another region to be trained as warriors, which was a common practice at the time," the researchers wrote in the study, which was published online yesterday (Sept. 5) in the journal Science Advances.

An ornamented double-edged sword and armor from the Longobards (also known as Lombards, a Germanic group) that archaeologists found in grave 6. (Image credit: Landesmuseum Wurttemberg, P. Frankenstein/H. Zwietasch)

Germanic tribes

The graves in question belong to the Alemanni, a group of Germanic tribes who lived in the region spanning modern-day Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria. After the Alemanni were defeated by Clovis I, the first king of the Franks, in A.D. 497, they became part of the Duchy of the Merovingian Kingdom. When this happened, the Alemanni's funerary practices changed; they began burying their households (known as familia) in richly furnished graves, called adelsgrablege.

A Byzantine helmet that was found in grave 12. (Image credit: Landesmuseum Wurttemberg, P. Frankenstein/H. Zwietasch)

This particular adelsgrablege was likely used by the same family across two generations, from about A.D. 580 to 630, the researchers said.

Even though some of the buried people weren't genetically related to the familia, the common burial suggests that they "were raised with equal regard in the familia," the researchers wrote in the study. In effect, these medieval burials indicate that both kinship and fellowship were held in equal regard, the researchers said.

The genetics analysis on the eight individuals also indicated that six of them were likely from northern and eastern Europe, while two were likely from the Mediterranean region, the researchers found. Another genetic analysis on 11 of the individuals (which included the eight already studied) revealed that they were likely male, the researchers added.

The presence of women's jewelry in one of the graves suggests that it held females at one time, but these women were likely exhumed and possibly reburied, the researchers said. Male-only burials weren't uncommon in the Merovingian Kingdom, they noted, likely because these burials were for male warriors or nobility.

These grave goods  equestrian gear with Frankish ornamentation  were found in grave 9 (Image credit: Landesmuseum Wurttemberg, P. Frankenstein/H. Zwietasch)

Among the northern and eastern European group, five were second-degree relatives, meaning they shared great grandparents. Moreover, an analysis of the strontium and oxygen isotopes in their teeth (an isotope is a variation of an element that has a different number of neutrons in its nucleus) revealed that these individuals were born locally, in Germany. But, even though they were closely related, four of the five had "culturally diverse grave goods," the researchers said.

These findings show that in Niederstotzingen, "diverse cultural affiliations could be appropriated even within the same family across just two generations," the researchers said in the study.

The study sheds light on Niederstotzingen, which is one of the most famous early medieval burial sites in Germany, said Christian Meyer, an osteo- and funerary archaeologist at OsteoARC, the OsteoArchaeological Research Center in Goslar, Germany, who was not involved in the study.

The results "prove once more that early medieval society was indeed fluid and adaptive," Meyer told Live Science in an email. "Every complex analysis that leads to significant new results should also make us re-evaluate pre-conceived notions about kinship, grave goods and overall burial rites. It is always much more complicated and nuanced than it may appear at first glance."

Original article on Live Science.
Airports across the world see tens of millions of passengers annually, so it should come as no surprise that the sprawling spaces are filled with icky pathogens of all kinds. But according to a new study from Finland, the areas in the airport that are the most germ-covered aren't the ones you're probably thinking of.

Instead, it's the plastic bins at the security checkpoints that have the most germs. (Sorry, airport bathrooms.)

In the study, researchers from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. and the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare collected air samples and swabbed common surfaces, like handrails and service counters, at Finland's Helsinki-Vantaa airport during the peak of the 2015-2016 winter season.

After taking samples from spaces that included a children's play area, buttons at a pharmacy payment station, stair handrails and the passenger side of a passport help desk, the study authors found that rhinovirus  which is responsible for the common cold  was the most frequently detected virus on passenger-accessible airport surfaces. Plastic trays used at airport security checkpoints were the worst offenders of all, with evidence of at least one respiratory virus showing up in 50 percent of the team's swabs. What's more, 1 in 4 air samples showed evidence of adenoviruses, which can cause cold symptoms as well as more severe, flu-like symptoms.

All told, evidence of respiratory viruses was found on 10 percent of frequently touched airport surfaces in passenger environments, according to the findings, which were published Aug. 29 in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases. Remarkably, however, the team found no evidence of any of the aforementioned respiratory virus pathogens on surfaces they swabbed in one of the airport's bathrooms (supporting previous research that those spaces aren't nearly as scary as you might think).

The findings raise a question: Should you try to avoid touching everything when you're in an airport? Can you get sick from coming into contact with these pathogens? The answer, it turns out, is a bit complicated.

For one, the "pathogenicity" of a germ  in other words, its ability to cause disease  must be weighed against the immune response of the person who comes into contact with it, said Philip Tierno, a professor of microbiology and pathology at the NYU Langone School of Medicine. Elderly individuals and other people with weakened immune systems, for example, have lower immune responses to germs, putting them at higher risk of getting sick. In addition, people can come into contact with pathogens either directly (by way of another person coughing, talking or sneezing) or indirectly (by way of a doorknob or luggage bin), meaning there are a myriad of ways people can become sick, particularly in spaces with a high volume of foot traffic like travel hubs.

Still, the number of people who pass through airports regularly make these places "an opportunity for illness," Tierno told Live Science.

However, there's very little data on the number of illnesses contracted at airports, Tierno noted, because people don't start experiencing symptoms the moment they come into contact with a pathogen. Instead, they enter an incubation period, which may last for several days.

So, what's the best way to avoid picking up a nasty bug the next time you fly? The study's authors recommended good, old-fashioned handwashing with soap and water. This is especially important because pat-downs at security checkpoints have been shown to potentially further expose fliers to infection. Additionally, Tierno said to ensure that any open wounds are properly safeguarded against potential exposure with appropriate dressings, and to wash your hands before and after eating and drinking. A face mask isn't a bad idea either, he added.

Originally published on Live Science.

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This newly discovered village, discovered on the Nile Delta, dates back almost 7,000 years. The remains of storage silos and the foundations of buildings can be seen in this photo.

An Egyptian village that dates back nearly 7,000 years, long before the first pharaohs rose to power, has been discovered on the Nile Delta.

It's one of the oldest villages discovered so far on the Nile Delta and will provide clues about how agriculture developed in Egypt, said the French-Egyptian archaeological team that discovered the village, in a statement released by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities.

Located in Tell el-Samara, an archaeological site about 87 miles (140 kilometers) north of Cairo, the village predates the invention of hieroglyphic writing (which did not happen until around 5,200 years ago) and the construction of the Giza pyramids (which happened around 4,500 years ago). It's not certain when Egypt was first unified, or which pharaoh unified it, but it happened by 5,200 years ago. [In Photos: Looking Inside the Great Pyramid of Giza]

The archaeologists discovered the remains of several buildings as well as numerous storage silos in the village. The silos contain a vast amount of animal bones and plant remains, Frederic Gio, the leader of the French-Egyptian team, said in the statement.

They are currently analyzing those animal bones and plants to figure out what they are and when, precisely, they date to, the archaeologists said. This information will provide clues about when and how agriculture was developed and spread throughout Egypt, Nadia Kader, head of the ministry's Central Department of Egyptian and Greco-Roman Monuments of Lower Egypt, Sinai and the Northern Coast, said in the statement.

The team is also analyzing the remains of pottery and stone tools found in the village.

The village appears to have been inhabited a long time, possibly until around 5,000 years ago, the archaeologists said. Further excavations and analysis may reveal more information on how long the village was in use and how it changed over time. Why the village was abandoned is also a mystery.

Agriculture appeared in Mesopotamia more than 10,000 years ago and was being used in the area that is now Israel (which borders Egypt) 7,000 years ago.

Originally published on Live Science.
A sensor on the Landsat-8 satellite captured this composite thermal-infrared image of the A-68 iceberg (from images snapped on July 14 and July 21, 2017), shortly after it broke free of the ice shelf.

The Delaware-size iceberg that calved off Antarctica's Larsen C ice shelf in July 2017 is on the move.

The trillion-ton chunk of ice performed a graceful northerly pivot over the course of July and August, satellite imagery reveals. Polar oceanographer Mark Brandon of the Open University in England noted the berg's rotation on his blog, Mallemaroking.

The iceberg will probably bump around in its current location near the ice shelf that calved it for at least a few months, periodically getting stuck on shallow seamounts on the ocean floor, said Theodore Scambos, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Colorado. [In Photos: Antarctica's Larsen C Ice Shelf Through Time]

"There are lots of little pinnacles that can snag an iceberg," Scambos told Live Science.

See more

Berg on the move

The iceberg, dubbed A68 by scientists, broke off the Larsen C ice shelf sometime between July 10 and July 12, 2017. Researchers had been tracking a growing crack in the ice shelf via satellite for years, so the calving event was no surprise. At around 2,240 square miles (5,800 square kilometers) in surface area, the iceberg is among the largest observed since satellite tracking began.

In May and June of 2018, the A68 iceberg bumps against the Larsen C ice shelf, splintering off a number of smaller bergs. (Image credit: Dr. A. E. Hogg, CPOM, University of Leeds)

The ability to observe the berg has made it famous beyond its actual scientific importance, Scambos said.

"We can make it kind of a daily event for people to watch and see how this massive piece of ice is on the move," he said. "I think, right now, it would be the biggest floating object on the ocean."

A GIF created by polar scientist Anna Hogg of the University of Leeds shows the calving and motion of A68 since 2017. The iceberg is currently about 27 miles (45 km) away from the Larsen ice shelf, Hogg told Live Science in an email. A68 moved little in its first year of emancipation from the ice shelf, having snagged (or "grounded") on the bottom of the Weddell Sea. In particular, Scambos said, a small seamount called the Bawden Ice Rise pinned the berg in place.

The iceberg was bumping around in place like a bobbing bath toy. It mashed into the side of the Larsen ice shelf a handful of times in the past year, Hogg said, including incidents in May and June of this year that splintered off several smaller bergs.

Sometime around July 12, 2018, A68 broke free from some of its grounding and started to swing toward the north, like a clock hand moving in reverse, Brandon wrote in a statement sent to Live Science. The iceberg has since rotated about 90 degrees.

Currents' pull

The bumps and snags of A68 are interesting to track, Scambos said, but so far, the iceberg is behaving how scientists expected. As the tides ebb and flow, the berg will surf atop them, floating closer to, and then farther from, the ice shelf in a spiraling-type path, he said.

"Eventually, no matter what, with snags and twists and bends and probably a little bit of inherent rotation  it will drift to the north," he said. [Photos: Diving Beneath Antarctica's Ross Ice Shelf]

Bergs in this region end up floating on the currents past the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, Scambos said, and finally get caught up in a current called the West Wind Drift, or Antarctic Circumpolar Current. This current will pull the berg into warmer waters, where it will break up and melt, Scambos said.

"I suspect the final breakup will happen in some summer period where there has been a lot of melting and flooding of the surface of the iceberg," Scambos said. Liquid water will flow into cracks on the berg's surface, fracturing them further and driving the ice apart from within. The final breakup could happen rapidly, Scambos said, within just a few days.

Scientifically more interesting, Scambos said, is what will happen to the seafloor that A68 leaves behind. The area from which the berg just swung free has probably not been exposed to the sky for 120,000 years, Scambos said. Because ice shelves block nutrients from reaching the ocean, the seafloor under shelves is usually nearly barren, he said. Now, that seafloor will suddenly be exposed to sunlight.

"It's sort of like the Oklahoma land rush for things that creep and crawl along the seabed that want to stake a claim," Scambos said.

Two 2019 expeditions are planned to study this phenomenon up close: one aboard the research vessel the Polarsternand another aboard the South African vessel Agulhas II, which will also search for the remnants of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance. That vessel was trapped in ice and crushed in 1915, setting the stage for an extreme survival attempt as Shackleton and his men launched a lifeboat into the same currents that now drive A68's movements through the Antarctic seas.

Original article on Live Science.
In April, a 23-year-old man broke into a New Zealand zoo to catch a squirrel monkey as a gift for his girlfriend, according to the New Zealand Herald. He didn't succeed and ended up injuring and traumatizing the monkeys.

Months later, one of the little primates is still displaying signs of stress.

Yesterday, John Owen Casford was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for a burglary charge and other unrelated violent crimes he committed throughout the summer, including several assaults on his fellow primates (humans). [Gallery: Monkey Mug Shots]

Casford who described himself as "high as a kite" at the time, entered into the zoo through an unsecured gate and bust open two padlocks to get into the monkey enclosure.

The Bolivian squirrel monkeys (Saimiri boliviensis) were all found to be in distress the next morning, and zookeepers couldn't find one of them for some time, setting off a panic that she had been stolen. She was later found hiding in the enclosure, injured and extremely frightened.

Some of the monkeys had injuries that suggested they had been grabbed, according to the Herald. One monkey had a hematoma  a collection of blood outside a blood vessel that could result from trauma  and others had scratch marks.

After pleading guilty to his burglary attempt at the zoo, Casford met with zookeepers at a Restorative Justice meeting who told him it was a blessing that he wasn't able to catch the monkeys, both for the monkeys' sake and for his, according to the Herald.

"I don't know what happened in the squirrel monkey enclosure. The squirrel monkeys know. You say you couldn't find them and I don't speak squirrel. What I know is that by daybreak all the monkeys were distressed, two of them were injured, and you had a broken leg, two fractured teeth, a sprained ankle, and bruises on your back," the judge said while addressing Casford during his sentencing, according to the Herald.

Casford said he broke his leg while jumping a fence, according to the Herald. But it is unclear if he inflicted the other damages to himself or was attacked by the monkeys in self-defense.

"All primates are wild animals and will protect themselves when threatened," Erin Ehmke, the director of research at the Duke Lemur Center told Live Science in an email. "Squirrel monkeys are small primates but can certainly inflict bites and scratches."

Laurie Kauffman, an associate professor of biology at Oklahoma City University, agreed. "This is why they should always be approached cautiously, should not be pets and why any handling of captive wild animals should be left to experts," she said.

Animal thefts are not uncommon around the world, according to the Herald. Indeed, just about a month ago, three people kidnapped and carried a gray horn shark named Miss Helen out of the San Antonio Aquarium  in a baby stroller. In March, thieves stole an alpaca named Charisma from a New Zealand property, leaving behind his blind brother who relied on him to navigate the world.

And sometimes, people don't steal animals, but feel the need to get weirdly hands-on, like an unidentified man who recently jumped a railing at the Los Angeles Zoo to slap a hippo's butt.

Originally published on Live Science.
A mummified foal that lived between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago is superbly preserved, but intact DNA may still be elusive.

A team of scientists in Siberia is hopeful that a mummified 40,000-year-old baby horse can provide critical genetic material for cloning the extinct ice-age species.

But experts told Live Science that they are skeptical that the scientists will be able to find viable DNA on the body at all, let alone overcome the enormous challenges of cloning a species that's been extinct for millennia.

Revived after millennia?

The preserved foal's body was discovered in August and was excavated from melting permafrost in the Batagaika crater in Yakutia, a region in eastern Russia. Researchers working with the frozen remains recently told The Siberian Times that they are investigating whether the remains will yield living cells that could be used to clone the ancient baby horse. [See Photos of the Perfectly Preserved Ice-Age Foal]

According to The Siberian Times, one of the scientists involved in the analysis of the mummified horse is Woo-Suk Hwang, a stem-cell researcher and cloning pioneer from South Korea. Hwang, a former professor at South Korea's Seoul National University, came under fire in 2006 for falsifying data, and was convicted three years later of bioethical violations and embezzlement, Nature reported in 2009. He now helms Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, a South Korean company that researches and performs animal cloning  primarily dogs, Live Science previously reported.

Scientists from Russia and South Korea  including Hwang  are already collaborating in an attempt to clone a woolly mammoth, and they are now exploring the possibility of extracting living cells from the preserved horse, which could potentially be used to create a clone, Hwang told The Siberian Times.

"If we find only one live cell, we can clone this ancient horse," Hwang said. "We can multiply it and get as many embryos as we need."

A mummified foal that lived between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago is superbly preserved, but intact DNA may still be elusive. (Image credit: Michil Yakovlev/The Siberian Times)

An extinct horse could prove easier to clone than a mammoth because a modern horse could serve as the embryo's surrogate, while a cloned mammoth embryo would need to be implanted in a female elephant, Hwang explained. Elephants are in the same family as extinct mammoths, but they are not close relatives  so a cloned "mammoth" would more likely be a genetically engineered elephant-mammoth hybrid, he said.

Nevertheless, cloning an extinct ice-age horse could be a step toward cloning a mammoth, as "it will help us to work out the technology," Hwang told The Siberian Times.

"Astronomical" odds

However, several scientists who were not involved with the analysis of the foal expressed doubts that it would be possible to successfully clone the mummified horse.

"Many of [the] same challenges will be faced here as with attempts to clone mammoths," Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, told Live Science in an email.

Cloning is possible only when the original animal's DNA is intact, and the majority  if not all  of the DNA in ice-age specimens is typically degraded "into tens of millions of pieces," Love Dalen, a professor of evolutionary genetics at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm, told Live Science in an email.

If enough DNA from the mummified horse's remains can be recovered, scientists might be able to construct a genome sequence by comparing the DNA of the extinct foal to the genomes of living horses, Shapiro added.

But the chance of finding an undamaged nucleus with an intact genome, or even a frozen cell that could be recovered, "is astronomical," Vincent Lynch, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago, told Live Science in an email.

"Scientists rarely say something is impossible, but it is certainly approaching it," Lynch said.

Original article on Live Science.
Posted on: September 6, 2018 3:47 PM

[WCC] Ten weeks after Pope Francis visited the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva as a pilgrim in quest of unity and peace, church leaders of different churches representing the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church are meeting in Germany this week to continue their task of walking, praying and working together.

Members of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between the Roman Catholic Church and the WCC are meeting 3-7 September near the ancient Bavarian city of Augsburg, heartland of the Reformation, and also the site of the 1999 signing of the reconciliatory Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.

The meeting, located at an ecumenical centre run by the Focolari movement and members of an Evangelical Lutheran fraternity, will discuss the challenges and opportunities presented by the papal visit to the WCC on 21 June.

WCC general secretary, the Revd Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, recalled both the joy and the responsibilities brought by the June visit: The whole day with Pope Francis was truly a sign of hope for all who want Christians to be and to act as one in Christ, said Tveit. We will not stop here. The Joint Working Group has an important task in front of it because we can do much more together for those who need us and we can show how this contributes to greater unity.

Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, spoke of the challenge facing the ecumenical movement. At the WCC, Pope Francis challenged the whole ecumenical movement to go beyond inward-looking debates and hesitancies, and not to use our differences to justify our staying apart and refusing to work together to bring the saving power of the Gospel to a broken world, he said.

Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, chairperson of the council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, reflected on the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Is Christ divided? This question of Pauls first letter to the Corinthians compelled Bedford-Strohm, in 2010, to propose that the Reformation anniversary in 2017 should become a Feast of Christ, focusing on the centrality of the Gospel of Christ and not just the Lutheran heritage.

It was a great experience to see how doors and hearts opened, friendships grew on the way, and Christians from different church traditions could celebrate together, healing memories and building new relationships. This must go on! said Bedford-Strohm.

The work ahead

The JWG, led by Orthodox Metropolitan Nifon of Targoviste in Romania and Catholic Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin in Ireland, will also continue to work on two documents highlighting ecumenical cooperation in peace-building and pastoral care of migrants and refugees.

Preparation of these texts has included cooperation with experts from the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. These offices of the Holy See are also working closely with the WCC on the preparation of a conference to be held in Rome 18-20 September on migration, xenophobia and politically motivated populism.

More than half a century on from its foundation, the JWG will also discuss the future direction of Catholic-WCC relations and review a digitalisation project to make its rich historical archives available online.

The WCC is a global fellowship that includes 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and independent churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries. The Catholic Church is not a full member, but cooperates closely with the WCC.
Laredo police said they need the community's assistance to track down a man accused of cashing forged checks.

Surveillance images released Wednesday showed him wearing what appears to be a gray shirt, khaki shorts and sunglasses. He has salt-and-pepper hair and appears to be in his 50s or 60s.
Authorities arrested four alleged drug dealers and seized 80 fighting roosters, seven dogs and a horse during a Wednesday morning SWAT raid on a Cleveland home, the San Jacinto County Sheriff's Office said in an update.

Two children found "living in squalor" were also removed from the home, Sheriff Greg Capers said in a press release. The horrendous living conditions can be seen in photos of the home, where there was no electricity and inhabitants were using buckets for a bathroom, according to the Montgomery County Police Reporter.
RICHMOND, Va. - A Richmond Circuit Court judge on Wednesday ordered independent candidate Shaun Brown removed from the ballot in Virginia's 2nd District congressional race, finding that her qualifying petition was tainted by "forgery" and "out and out fraud."

Many of those signatures were gathered by staffers working for the incumbent Republican, Scott Taylor, who is seeking a second term. Five current or former staffers for the congressman declined to answer questions in court, invoking their Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination. A separate criminal probe into the matter is ongoing; a state police investigator attended the civil hearing.

The Democratic Party of Virginia, which brought the civil suit against the State Board of Elections, submitted 41 affidavits from people who said their signatures were forged on petitions to get Brown qualified for the ballot. A handwriting expert testified Wednesday that of 377 signatures collected by Taylor's staffers, at least 146 appeared to be false.

"Those pages were riddled with forgeries," handwriting analyst Cina Wong testified.

Brown needed 1,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot; election officials said they had identified 1,193 that could be counted, pending any rulings on forgeries. The 377 collected by Taylor staffers were part of that total.

The Democratic Party had subpoenaed Taylor to appear at the hearing, charging that he wanted Brown on the ballot to siphon away votes from his Democratic challenger, retired Navy officer Elaine Luria.

But Judge Gregory Rupe granted a motion to quash Taylor's subpoena under a state law that shields sitting members of Congress from being compelled to attend civil court proceedings while the U.S. House is in session.

National Democrats have targeted Taylor's Hampton Roads-area seat as a potential pickup in their effort to regain a majority in the House of Representatives. The party was represented by Marc Elias and Aria Branch of the law firm Perkins Coie; Elias was general counsel for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016.

Brown was the Democratic nominee who was beat badly by Taylor in 2016, but she is now facing federal fraud charges on a matter unrelated to the race, and had no party support to run again this time.

She said Wednesday that she would appeal the judge's ruling, insisting that she knew nothing about efforts by Taylor's staffand that her own workers had gathered enough valid signatures.

"It's a sham," Brown said. "It's really awful."

The question of Taylor's involvement with the petition drive remained murky at Wednesday's hearing.

Lawyer Jeffrey Breit, arguing for the Democratic Party, said the affidavits signed by Taylor's staffers could be presumed, under case law, to signify that they were afraid to incriminate themselves by answering certain questions. Several had gathered in the hallway outside the courtroom and left shortly after the judge accepted their affidavits.

Each staffer's affidavit contained a specific list of questions that they would decline to answer. Some of the staffers invoked the Fifth at the prospect of answering whether Taylor himself directed them to mount the signature-gathering effort.

Luria seized on that in a statement after the judge's order, saying that Taylor "has dodged responsibility for the criminal actions of his paid staff" and calling on him to "stand up and take responsibility."

A spokesman for Taylor brushed off the issue.

"Given that the Democrat lawsuit was purely political and has now successfully excluded Shaun Brown, it's understandable that individuals would exercise their right not to testify today," Taylor spokesman Scott Weldon said via email. "Our campaign will continue to cooperate with the investigation and make no further comment while it is ongoing."

The special prosecutor conducting the criminal investigation, Roanoke city Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell, did not return a phone call seeking comment on the case. He earlier told the Virginian-Pilot newspaper that he does not expect to complete his probe until after the election.

The signatures scandal, which has unfolded with one local news bulletin after another over the past month, may cost Taylor votes in what's bound to be a very close election, said Quentin Kidd, political analyst at Christopher Newport University.

After spending a lot of time speaking to community groups around Hampton Roads, Kidd said he's heard a significant number of Republicans say the whole petition scheme has been "one step too far . . . They're not happy about it."

Luria's base, on the other hand, has been energized. It may not be enough to make the difference in a Republican-leaning district, Kidd said, "but if Taylor does lose, it will be because of a self-inflicted wound."

Democrats also argued that Brown's petitions were invalid because they contained three separate addresses for the candidate, none of which was her legal home, as required by state law.

James Ellenson, a lawyer for Brown, argued that federal law does not require a candidate to live in the congressional district they are seeking to represent, only that they live in the state. Questions about Brown's particular address, he said, were insignificant.

Ellenson also charged Democratic Party officials with discriminating against Brown, who is African American. "They are trying to disenfranchise a black woman," he said.

After about 3 hours of testimony and arguments, the judge told the lawyers for the Democrats that "I'm buying almost all of what you are selling."

Though there was confusion about just how many of the 1,000 signatures needed to qualify for the ballot might be forged, Rupe said that "I am satisfied that there are not enough."

He also termed the problem with addresses to be a "sophomoric" mistake that disqualified those petitions.

Brown said afterward that she would appeal because "there is no doubt there were enough signatures that we collected."

The clock is ticking, though. Local election officials are required by law to print the Nov. 6 ballots by Sept. 21.
U.S. safety regulators are investigating an engine failure on a Delta Air Lines jet that forced pilots to shut down the turbine and return to Atlanta shortly after takeoff.

The accident occurred Wednesday on a Boeing 757-200 bound for Orlando, Florida, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday on Twitter. Delta Flight 1418, which had 121 passengers and six crew members, landed safely and there were no injuries. The engine failure occurred at about 18,000 feet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Delta incident is at least the fourth since August 2016 in which an engine failure has allowed debris to escape. The powerplants are designed with a hardened exterior so that even in the event of a blowout, fan blades and other components can't get out and threaten fuel tanks, passengers and other sensitive aircraft structures.

Flight 1418 "experienced a maintenance issue in the right engine shortly after takeoff," Anthony Black, a Delta spokesman, said in an interview. All maintenance on the engines is performed by Delta's TechOps unit.

The Atlanta-based carrier is cooperating with the NTSB investigation, Black said.

"Once they have completed their investigation we will change the engine and the aircraft will be ready to be placed back into service," he said. Delta isn't certain how soon that will be. The 27-year-old aircraft had two PW2037 engines made by Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. Pratt didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The NTSB didn't provide further details.

The agency is also investigating several other cases in which engine failures allowed debris to escape. A woman died in an accident April 17 on a Southwest Airlines flight. The Boeing 737 lost a fan blade, which careered in front of the protective shield and tore off the front of the engine. After debris broke a window, the woman was partially sucked out of the plane.

In August 2016, a Southwest Boeing 737-700 made an emergency landing in Pensacola, Florida, after a fan blade broke off and debris struck the fuselage, wing and tail, causing the plane to lose cabin pressure. A preliminary NTSB investigation found evidence of a crack "consistent" with metal fatigue in the blade of the CFM56 engine made by CFM International, a joint venture of General Electric Co. and Safran SA. No one was injured.

Two months later, an American Airlines flight was accelerating for takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare airport when the right engine exploded, sending shrapnel through the casing and ignited leaking fuel. One wing of the Boeing 767-300 was engulfed in a fireball as passengers rushed to get off the plane. Twenty people were injured. The GE CF6-80 engine had an apparent manufacturing defect, the NTSB said later, causing a disk to break into at least four pieces.
On Tuesday night, as Ayanna Pressley was trouncing Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass., in a Democratic congressional primary and making Boston political history, Rachael Rollins was holding a celebration of her own.

The 47-year old lawyer, who ran on ending "mass incarceration" and cutting off relations between Boston and ICE, won the Democratic primary for district attorney of Suffolk County in a rout, leading her closest rival by 16 points. If Rollins defeats her independent opponent in a general election that has no GOP candidate, the county's nearly nearly 800,000 residents will have a chief prosecutor intent on re-making the criminal justice system. No more cash bail. No more civil asset forfeiture. No more racial disparity in who does and doesn't go to jail.

"I believe there are certain things we're just going to reject," Rollins said in an interview before the primary. "I think there are certain charges that I don't want to prosecute any longer. Those are overwhelmingly the charges that fall on the mentally ill, and those with substance abuse disorder."

Rollins, who spent just $230,000 on her campaign, is the latest in a string of reform-minded candidates who'll be district attorneys in deep blue cities -- places that, for years, elected Democrats who ran on "law and order" platforms. The effort to elect them, which began before the 2016 election but has accelerated, has succeeded in Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and failed in some other blue cities. But it's created a blueprint both for electing reformist DAs, and for shaping their agendas.

The first victory in the campaign came in early 2016, when George Soros plunked $300,000 into a PAC created to elect Kim Foxx as the state attorney of Cook County, Illinois. Foxx won the Democratic primary, tantamount to election in the deep blue county, proving that the investments, in races that sometimes attracted little money or attention, could work.

In 2017, a larger coalition came together behind Larry Krasner, a defense attorney running in Philadelphia after suing the city's police force 75 times. He won the Democratic primary, then the general election, despite being opposed by the city's police union and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In office, within months, Krasner put together an agenda for the DA's office designed "to end mass incarceration and bring balance back to sentencing." Among his policies: stop prosecuting people accused of marijuana possession, stop prosecuting sex workers with less than three offenses, and start requiring prosecutors to justify the cost of long-term incarceration, when they sought it.

"It's a dream come true for those of us who've been fighting our hearts out for justice reform for years," civil rights activist Shaun King wrote in The Intercept.

King had just co-founded a political PAC, Real Justice, designed to elect more Larry Krasners. With a fraction of the money sloshing around the PACs devoted to House and Senate races, King and other co-founders, like the digital organizer Becky Bond, offered a form of "distributed organizing" for reformist candidates. In many cases, those candidates were going up against incumbents or front-runners backed by police unions, by local Democratic Parties, and by the prison industry.

The early results were encouraging. In Texas's March primaries, Real Justice fell just short in a Dallas County race, but got a victory in San Antonio's Bexar County. The PAC's next big projects were in California, where four deep blue counties -- Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and San Diego -- were electing or nominating new DAs. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stumped in the state to raise awareness of the campaign; Krasner himself trekked across the country to endorse the candidates.

"When you exist as a movement of islands around the country, you need more islands," Krasner said this summer in an interview, before heading to California. "If this is a national movement, it's going to be borne out by more wins in more places, especially in big jurisdictions. So, naturally, I'm supportive of like-minded candidates."

In June, all but one candidate -- Contra Costa's Diana Becton -- went down to defeat. It was a bracing moment for the DAs campaign, as attacks that had faltered elsewhere, starting with accusations of outsiders trying to meddle in local elections, seemed to stick.

"When you talk to progressive voters, terms like 'mass incarceration' and 'the school to prison pipeline' - those are terms we all understand," said Noah Phillips, the attorney who lost in Sacramento. "They need to resonate with moderate voters, too. They will once we do the work and they understand."

The Real Justice-backed candidate in Alameda County, Pamela Price, encountered many of the same problems. Over one day in late May, The Washington Post observed her campaign, from an office where Krasner's memo was printed on the walls, to a canvass where Price knocked on doors, to a house party where a diverse crowd heard her talk about changing the criminal justice system. Asked about the incumbent's attacks on her funding, Price scoffed.

"Soros has come and leveled the playing field, and so has Real Justice," said Price. "You don't think it's fair, huh? You thought it was going to be great, to have an unfair advantage?"

But at the doors, it was clear that some voters who considered themselves liberal Democrats were unready to back a reformist DA. Price spent close to 20 minutes with one voter who had complained to the city about a nearby house that was being squatted in by drug dealers; Price could not quite convince her that focusing on treatment instead of incarceration would keep her neighborhood safe.

After the election, Price said she was surprised to see Alameda County -- anchored by the left-wing bastions of Oakland and Berkeley, and rattled by cases of police-involved shootings -- stick with the old system

"We are one of the most progressive counties in the country and we have one of the most regressive justice systems," Price said. "Soros isn't the real story. The real story is the police money that came in from across the state to stop us. The real story is who owns our criminal justice system. Mr. Soros doesn't own the system, they do."

King was also floored by the defeats. "We thought it would matter that Hillary Clinton won those counties," he said this summer. "And that didn't transfer at all to these races. Moderates and whites will band together to oppose Trump, or elect a mayor. But when it comes to criminal justice system, in some places, they vote like conservatives."

In that interview, and in a memo he wrote later in June, King suggested that the lessons of California were to start earlier and to emphasize that criminal justice reform was more fiscally responsible than the status quo -- a message that had clicked for Krasner, but not elsewhere.

By the end of summer, the DA campaign seemed to regain its footing. In Missouri's August primary, Ferguson city councilman Wesley Bell ousted St. Louis County's longtime prosecutor, in a race colored by the aftermath of Michael Brown's murder. And in the run-up to Sept. 4, the campaign for Rollins seemed to be coming together. She had a five-way primary, a compelling story, and eventually the endorsement of the Boston Globe.

"I've represented the police. I've sued the police. I've gone to drug rehab graduations, where we hope this is the one that really takes -- and then, despair," said Rollins before the election. "We need a fighter in this role, someone who's a grown-up."

Rollins' answer to the problem that had dogged defeated candidates was similar -- that prosecuting non-violent crime stretched resources that could be keeping people safe. But in Boston, the message clicked.

"The crime they see on TV is violent crime, and that's the crime I believe we need to focus on," said Rollins. "What they're not seeing is that the overwhelming resources of the DA's office are not focused on those crimes; they're focused on the property crimes, the trespassing, loitering. Well over 50-60 percent of the matters the office has focused on is crimes of addiction, crimes where the root cause is someone having a mental illness."
If privacy is truly a thing of the past, then people should at least profit off their own personal information.

That's the view of data rights advocate Brittany Kaiser, who came forth this year to testify about how former employer Cambridge Analytica improperly gathered data on millions of Facebook users. It's a perspective shared by an increasing number of online users worldwide who are waking up to the fact that Facebook's and Google's online empires are built on data they signed away without compensation.

The question is how. Facebook for example could distribute digital tokens to its 2.2 billion users in return for the intimate information used by advertisers on the social network every day, Kaiser suggests.

"Privacy doesn't exist in a post-Facebook crisis era," Kaiser said at the Bloomberg Sooner Than You Think summit in Singapore. "The digital assets that you produce every day are your own human value. You should be able to own them and you should be able to share in the monetization of that."

From a personal perspective, real ownership and control of data means having all your information -- from political leanings and product preferences to medical records -- in one place, so people can decide who gets to access it and on what terms. That could mean anything from selling it to granting limited use in exchange for a free service (such as Facebook) or keeping it completely private.

Privacy just isn't possible in the post-Facebook crisis era, Kaiser said. Yet consumers should avoid "fear-mongering" or clinging to the idea that no data is safe. As an example, she brought up the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, which came into force in May and focuses on protecting personal data. Companies now face stricter rules on consent and beefed-up fines for any data breaches. That framework is helping push the U.S. towards stricter legislation, she said.

Ultimately, it's about asserting control over your own prized possessions.

"Just like with Airbnb -- if somebody is going to come and use your physical assets, you would expect to agree a price and what they're going to do with it before you hand over the keys to your house," Kaiser said. "Why isn't it the same with your data?"
The retrial of a former Blackwater security guard convicted of first-degree murder in 2014 resulted in a hung jury Wednesday, dealing a blow to the Justice Department's long pursuit of accountability for a 2007 shooting of unarmed civilians that drew international condemnation during the Iraq War.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth of the District of Columbia declared a mistrial after a jury of seven women and five men said it was deadlocked on the 16th day of deliberations in the case of Nicholas Slatten. Slatten, 34, was accused of unleashing the first shots that set off machine-gun and grenade fire that killed or injured 31 civilians in stopped traffic at Baghdad's Nisour Square on Sept. 16, 2007.

It was the second time Slatten faced trial on murder charges in the shooting rampage that outraged diplomatic and humanitarian circles and sparked calls to end the U.S. government's use of private military forces.

Slatten will remain detained until at least Sept. 14, when Assistant U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez said prosecutors will come back to Lamberth and Slatten's defense team to say whether the government intends to try him again.

Charges were first brought against six Blackwater employees in 2008, and over the next decade their cases careened among trial and appeals courts.

Iraqi shooting survivors and relatives of victims testified in person in U.S. courts over the years of extended proceedings, including 30 in 2014 who represented the largest number of foreign witnesses to have traveled to the United States for a criminal trial, prosecutors said at the time.

The retrial jury had indicated in a note to the judge last week that it was at an impasse and asked, "Please advise." The judge sent them home for the weekend and asked them to try again to reach a verdict when they returned to court Tuesday.

Slatten's family members and his attorneys declined to comment after the mistrial.

"I commend you for your efforts," Lamberth said. "You strove to be good jurors." He added that he knew that they were disappointed at not being able to come to a unanimous decision, as were the parties in the case.

He also asked if any jurors would like to stay and answer questions from attorneys for Slatten and federal prosecutors about their deliberations, which the judge said could help determine whether a third trial will be held. All but one juror appeared to take up the offer, and huddled with attorneys behind closed doors for an hour after Lamberth's ruling.

The jurors declined to talk to a reporter.

In 2014, a jury in Washington convicted Slatten of murder and three fellow Blackwater Worldwide guards of 30 counts of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. The team was part of a convoy protecting State Department personnel,

But a federal appeals court last August ordered a new trial for Slatten, saying he should have been tried separately from a co-defendant, Paul Slough, 38, who told investigators days after the shootings that he, not Slatten, fired the first rounds in the incident.

Slatten attorney Dane Butswinkas asked jurors in closing arguments to focus on Slough's statements, saying: "What is [Slough's] incentive to make up that he shot the driver? . . . How can that not be reasonable doubt?"

Slatten, of Sparta, Tenn., had been imprisoned in Sumterville, Fla., serving a mandatory life sentence, before being moved to Virginia and the District for retrial.

Prosecutors still face resentencings of three other convicted defendants: Slough, of Keller, Texas, Evan Liberty, 36, of Rochester, New Hampshire, and Dustin Heard, 37, of Maryville, Tennessee. They had asked the court to delay the resentencing until late September, given Slatten's retrial.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit that vacated Slatten's conviction last year also set aside the 30-year terms given the defendants in 2014, saying the sentences violated a constitutional prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment."

The three men received twice the maximum punishment for manslaughter alone after being convicted of using military firearms while committing a felony, an enhanced penalty that was primarily aimed at gang members and had never been used against security contractors given military weapons by the U.S. government.

In a 2-to-1 ruling, the panel said it did not intend to minimize the carnage attributable to the men, saying "their poor judgments resulted in the deaths of many innocent people," but called for more "nuanced" penalties based on each one's wrongdoing rather than "sledgehammer" treatment.

In the long history of the Blackwater prosecution, one guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified against Slatten in both of Slatten's trials, although he also said he thought Slough fired first. Prosecutors withdrew charges against one other Blackwater convoy member, citing a lack of evidence.

A federal judge initially threw out the other indictments in 2009, saying prosecutors improperly relied on statements the guards have given State Department investigators immediately after the shooting, believing their statements would not be used in court.

A different three-judge panel of the District Circuit reversed that ruling in 2011, clearing the way for prosecutors to obtain fresh indictments against Slatten and the three others.

However, prosecutors took so long to charge Slatten that the statutory time limit for bringing a manslaughter charge had expired, an error the appeals court panel said stemmed from an errant ruling, a court found.

The Justice Department responded by charging Slatten, a former Army sniper, with first-degree murder, which has no statute of limitations but required a higher burden of proof, including premeditation, which prosecutors labored this summer to meet.

Slatten's defense also got a new boost when a key government witness - Jimmy Watson, the leader of the four-vehicle convoy who was seated next to Slatten - retreated from his previous strong, repeated testimony that he had heard Slatten fire first.

Watson, who Slatten's attorneys said suffered a brain injury in a diving accident while a Navy SEAL, appeared "a bit of a shell of himself" on the stand in the retrial, lead prosecutor T. Patrick Martin acknowledged, "looking off into the distance" and speaking in a muted tone and cadence.

But Martin asked jurors to remember "the 2013 Watson," who without hesitation and "clear as a bell" said seven times - in recorded grand jury testimony that was played at the retrial - that he heard Slatten fire first, then Slough.

"He was not the Mr. Watson of 2013. . . . You saw a different man up here, and that was unfortunate," Martin said in the government's closing arguments. "But the 2013 Watson gives you the testimony you need" to find Slatten guilty.
MOORE TOWNSHIP  Five people were injured in a two-vehicle accident that took place at the intersection of Ubly and Snover roads.

According to the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the scene around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, where a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica, driven by a 52-year-old Novi woman, was traveling west bound on Snover Road when she stopped at the stop sign of the intersection. She then drove into the intersection and collided with a 2002 Ford F-150, driven by a 19-year-old Melvin man, that was traveling south bound on Ubly Road.
LONDON - The leaders of the United States, France, Germany and Canada on Thursday endorsed Britain's assessment that a nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter in March was conducted by Russian military officers and "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian government.

The leaders urged Russia to provide a "full disclosure" of its Novichok nerve-agent program and said they would "continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories."

The joint statement was released shortly before London's and Moscow's envoys to the United Nations squared off in an emergency Security Council meeting called by Britain to brief diplomats on the investigation.

British Ambassador Karen Pierce methodically outlined evidence that she said pointed to the Kremlin's complicity in the attack, which occurred March 4 in the quiet English city of Salisbury.

Two Russians - using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - were charged Wednesday in absentia with attempting to murder Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.

Pierce acknowledged the two suspects, who flew back to Russia shortly after the attack, cannot be extradited under the Russian constitution. But she said Britain will ask Interpol to issue a red alert to pick them up if they ever leave Russian territory, so they can be tried in Britain.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia calmly twirled a pencil in his hand as Pierce, sitting five feet away, spoke. Then, with intense scorn, he denied Russian involvement in the case, which he ridiculed as "an unfounded and mendacious cocktail of facts."

Nebenzia sought to diminish the British evidence, saying it defied credulity to conclude that two Russians had smuggled Novichok to Britain in a counterfeit perfume bottle without being poisoned themselves. He questioned the authenticity of camera footage showing the Russians arriving at London's Gatwick Airport. And he dismissed the assertion that the two men worked for Russia's GRU intelligence agency, when the names they used to enter Britain are believed to be aliases.

"Nothing is surprising in this post-truth world created by our Western colleagues," he said, according to the English translation of his remarks.

He denied that Russia had ever developed or deployed Novichok and rejected the British contention that Russia has refused to cooperate, claiming instead that London had refused Moscow's offers to help.

"London needs this story for one purpose," he said. "To unleash disgusting, anti-Russian hysteria."

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley lauded the British for "staging a master class" in how to conduct an investigation.

"Now we must help our British friends find the two suspects identified and bring them to face justice in the U.K.," she said. "Better yet, why doesn't the Russian government turn these two over to British authorities?"

Sergei Skripal, a former GRU officer, was convicted in 2006 of sharing state secrets with the British. He was released to Britain in a spy swap in 2010.

May told Parliament on Wednesday that the alleged assailants were GRU agents and that the attack was "almost certainly" approved at "a senior level of the Russian state."

Britain's security minister, Ben Wallace, went further on Thursday, saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ultimately responsible for the attack. Putin is "president of the Russian Federation, and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence - that's the GRU - via his minister of defense," Wallace told the BBC.
A woman who played a crucial role in the conviction of a San Antonio attorney who forced clients, including her, to have sex with him is back in court for her new trial in the death of a pedestrian in a 2013 DWI crash.

The woman, who is not being identified because she was a victim of sexual assault, was among six women who testified at the March trial of Mark Henry Benavides. The women testified Benavides forced and coerced them into having sex with him to keep them out of jail or lessen their legal troubles.

Benavides had been representing the 30-year-old woman, who is accused of killing Charles White and injuring his wife, Priscilla. The couple were plowed into by a Toyota Corolla on June 17, 2013, the day after Father's Day.

At around 9 a.m., the couple and their son, Anthony Justin White, then 13, were walking against the flow of traffic along the shoulder of Ray Ellison Drive on the far West Side, when the Corolla, traveling north, veered into the southbound lanes near Lake Vista. The vehicle first hit Priscilla White from behind and then Charles White as their son, who was not injured, watched.

The couple was taken to San Antonio Military Medical Center where Charles White died. Priscilla White was treated for bruising to her arms and legs and later was released.

RELATED: Four pending sex cases against convicted ex-San Antonio attorney dismissed

According to court records, the woman, represented by Benavides, sought probation and agreed to a plea deal in the manslaughter case in October 2014. She ended up getting a 15-year prison sentence.

In June 2015, the woman challenged the validity of her guilty plea to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, accusing Benavides of sexual abuse. After review, the court remanded the case back to Bexar County.

The court finds that trial counsel was engaged in a coercive sexual relationship with applicant, that trial counsel had access to and control over applicants criminal case, and that trial counsel had a political, financial, and personal interest which colored his representation of applicant, the court's opinion stated. The court finds that this actual conflict of interest violated applicants Sixth Amendment right to a speedy and public trial.

In her new trial, which began Tuesday in Felony Impact Court presided by Judge Laura Parker, San Antonio police Officer Aaron Urbano told the jury Wednesday that when he arrived, the woman seemed very sleepy and couldnt walk straight.

She said she was involved in a motor vehicle crash and a pedestrian was struck, said Urbano. She admitted she was the driver and struck a male pedestrian.

He said she uttered an expletive when she heard she had killed a pedestrian.

RELATED: Records: 22 bars linked to the most DWIs in San Antonio since 2016

Urbano said the woman failed field sobriety tests and was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence. She was charged with intoxication manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance.

Before the accident, the woman had compiled a lengthy criminal history that included arrests on charges of aggravated robbery, theft and prostitution, according to court records.

Intoxication manslaughter is a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison. The defendant has applied for probation, according to court records.

In April, a Wilson County jury convicted Benavides of continuous trafficking of persons and sentenced him to 80 years in prison. The local defense lawyer was running for a state district judge seat when he was arrested on sex charges in 2015.

Benavides, who faced four other sex charges that were dismissed in May, will have to serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole. He has filed an appeal in the case.

Elizabeth Zavala is a courts and crime reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863
The campaign of Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, says an "impostor" was behind a text message that surfaced Wednesday asking voters to help people who are in the country illegally cast ballots.

"Hi, it's Patsy here w/ Beto for Texas," reads the text, which was circulating on social media. "Our records indicate that you're a supporter. We are in search of volunteers to help transport undocumented immigrants to polling booths so that they will be able vote. Would you be able to support this grassroots effort?"
Melissa Ramirez, 29, entered into eternal rest on Monday, September 3, 2018.

She was preceded in death by her brother Carlos Martin Gonzalez.

She is survived by her children, Cristina Chavez, Allan Ramirez; her mother Cristina Benavides; her sister, Erika Ramirez, and her brother Cesar Ramirez. She is also survived by other loving relatives and friends.

The family will be receiving condolences on Thursday evening, September 6, 2018 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels & Cremation Services, 719 Loring at Cortez; where a Vigil for the Deceased and Rosary will commence at 7 p.m.

READ ALSO: Woman found slain in northwest Webb County ID'd

Funeral Services will be held on Friday morning, September 7, 2018 departing at 9:40 a.m. from Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels to St. Joseph Catholic Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m.

A private cremation and Inurnment will be held at a later date.

You may express your condolences, share your favorite memories, and sign the guestbook online at: www.joejacksonfuneralchapels.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care and direction of the funeral service professionals at Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels & Cremation Services, 719 Loring at Cortez, Laredo, Texas 78040; (956)722-0001.
The town of Granard came alive to the sounds of traditional music, song and dance last weekend as the Harp Festival got underway after an absence of a number of years.

Trustee of the Granard Harp Festival Jimmy Donoghue told those gathered at the events launch in the Market House that it was an historic day for the north Longford town.

ALSO READ: Granard alive with music, song and dance as Harp Festival gets underway

The fact that Granard was the first town to ever hold a Harp Festival is something of pride and joy and the revival of this wonderful event gives us an opportunity to remember all those who have been involved, he said.

The reason it was held in Granard is because of John Dungan who was born in 1730.

He travelled to Denmark around 1755 and married Mary OConnell who came from a family of poets and musicians.

Granard has its own special place in the annals of our native music and this was commemorated by the Harp Festival of 1781.

Creative Ireland Longford Coordinator, Mary Carleton Reynolds, meanwhile added, Granard is the home of the harp, and traditional music was never stronger in this county than it is now.

She then paid tribute to the three Co Longford branches of Comhaltas Cheoltoiri Eireann whom she said had been front and centre in the organising of this years Harp Festival.

Cathaoirleach, Longford Co Council, Cllr Luie McEntire then pointed to the significance of the harp, the musical instrument synonymous with the town of Granard.

The harp has a unique connection with Granard; in 1781 the first Harp Festival in Ireland was held in the Market House here in Granard and harpers came from all over Ireland to take part, he added, before recalling the late Cannon Gilfillan's contribution to the event.

200 years later in 1981 the Festival was revived and it continued for a number of years under the guidance of Cannon Gilfillan, and indeed all those who were involved over the years have made a very valuable contribution to this community.

Meanwhile, it was a jam packed weekend for festival goers and participants alike with concerts, workshops and a busking competition to contend with.

Many of the performers are local artists and musicians and we can all be very proud of the wealth of talent that is not only here in Granard but across the entire county of Longford, added Cllr McEntire.

Granard has always been a great meeting spot for the people of this county and it is a town that has will continue to provide all of us with a lifetime of memories.
Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 06 2018

AG Launched Civil Investigation into How Catholic Church Reviewed and Potentially Covered Up Sexual Abuse; AG Also Seeking to Partner with District Attorneys on Viable Criminal Prosecutions.

New York, NY - Sept. 6, 2018 - Today, New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced a clergy abuse hotline and online complaint form through which victims and anyone with information can provide information  part of the Attorney Generals ongoing investigation into sexual abuse of children within the New York dioceses of the Catholic Church.

Victims and anyone with information about abuse can call the hotline at 1-800-771-7755 or file a complaint online at ag.ny.gov/ClergyAbuse . An investigator will review all allegations; the Attorney General and our law enforcement partners will seek to protect victims and witnesses identities.

The Attorney Generals Charities Bureau has launched a civil investigation into how the dioceses and other church entities  which are non-profit institutions  reviewed and potentially covered up allegations of extensive sexual abuse of minors.

As announced last month, the Attorney Generals Criminal Division is also seeking to partner with District Attorneys  who are the only entities that currently have the power to convene grand juries to investigate these matters  to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute any individuals who have committed criminal offenses that fall within the applicable statutes of limitations.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover ups in the dioceses. Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well  and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve, said Attorney General Underwood. I urge all victims and anyone else with information to contact our hotline. And make no mistake: the only way that justice can fully and truly be served is for the legislature to finally pass the Child Victims Act.

It is important to note that many cases of abuse may not be prosecutable given New Yorks statutes of limitations. The Attorney General has repeatedly urged the legislature to pass the Child Victims Act, which would allow all victims to file civil suits until age 50 and seek criminal charges until age 28. Under current law, victims only have until age 23 to file civil cases or seek criminal charges for most types of child sexual abuse; some of the most serious child sex crimes have no time limit on the bringing of criminal charges, but only for conduct that occurred in 2001 or later.
School & Education, Local News, Business & Finance, Community, Charity & Cause, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 06 2018

Raymond DeSimone was awarded the coveted scholarship based on his academic credentials and extracurricular activities.

Williston Park, NY - Sept. 6, 2018 - The The Nassau Suffolk Water Commissioners Association (NSWCA) has awarded its 2018 Nicholas J. Bartilucci Manhattan College Scholarship to Raymond DeSimone of Carle Place, New York . The annual scholarship is open to entering freshmen enrolled full-time in any engineering degree program at Manhattan College. Mr. DeSimone, a Carle Place High School graduate, applied for and was awarded the coveted scholarship based on his academic credentials and extracurricular activities.

NSWCA President and Westbury Water District Commissioner Vincent Abbatiello presided over the ceremony and stated, This annual scholarship honors the memory of the late Nicholas J., a towering figure in the Long Island water industry who passed away in 2016. By recognizing and enabling outstanding engineering students such as Raymond DeSimone, we continue to keep Nicks passion for engineering education a tangible reality.



(L to R): Nicholas J. Bartilucci Manhattan College Scholarship recipient Raymond DeSimone with NSWCA President and Westbury Water District Commissioner Vincent Abbatiello. Photo Credit: NSWCA

Held at Angelinas restaurant in Williston Park, NSWCA President Abbatiello acknowledged during the award presentation ceremony the involvement and assistance of NSWCA Treasurer and Carle Place Water District Commissioner Lawrence F. Zaino, Carle Place High School Principal Thomas DePaolo, and Director of Planned Giving at Manhattan College, Ms. Mary Ellen Malone for being instrumental in the scholarship award administration and selection process. DeSimones parents, Richard and Karen DeSimone, were in attendance as well along with water commissioners from all districts.

The NSWCA meeting was sponsored by Greenlawn Water District Commissioners John McLaughlin, Jim Logan and John Clark.

For Further Information: Mr. Jamie Stanco, Progressive Marketing Group, Inc. Phone: 631-756-7160. jpstanco@pmgstrategic.com

About The Scholarship

The annual Nicholas J. Bartilucci Manhattan College Scholarship is open to entering freshmen enrolled full-time in any engineering degree program at Manhattan College in Riverdale, NY. Emphasis is placed on academic credentials and extracurricular activities. Potential applicants must reside in one of the 21 NSWCA member water districts within Nassau or Suffolk County.

About Nicholas Bartilucci

Nicholas Bartilucci was not only a founding member and past President of NSWCA, but a man whose observations, experience and technical engineering expertise made him a thought leader beyond his time. His distinguished career spanned the terms of nine U.S. presidents and included 48 years of dedicated service to the Jericho Water District. As one of the industrys most respected leaders, Mr. Bartilucci, a Manhattan College graduate and engineer with virtually unparalleled waste and potable water expertise, left an indelible impression. His achievements are numerous and well documented. His steady presence, sage advice and willingness to help in every situation are well known to all in the engineering and water industries.

About The NSWCA
Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 06 2018

Drives are being hosted in honor of victims and first responders who lost their lives in tragic attacks.

New York, NY - Sept. 6, 2018 - New York Blood Center (NYBC) will host 95 blood drives across the greater New York area during the week of September 11th to honor the victims of the tragic attacks. The blood drives will help the New York Blood Center prepare for potential emergencies and ensure hospitals and patients have access to the blood they need.

In the face of unspeakable tragedy, New Yorkers came together to lend a hand and support each other, said Andrea Cefarelli, Senior Executive Director of Donor Recruitment for New York Blood Center. It is in that spirit that the New York Blood Center will be hosting close to 100 blood drives this year, commemorating the anniversary of September 11th by giving back to our communities.

Many drives are being co-hosted by first responders and families of victims looking to give back to the community. In Sayville, the local fire department is hosting their annual blood drive in honor of Firefighter Wilbur Ritter, who served as the Sayville Fire Department Blood Drive Chairperson. Ritter passed away in the line of duty in 2006, just before his first annual September 11th memorial blood drive.

For a full list of all 95 blood drives being hosted by the New York Blood Center next week, click here

It only takes one hour to donate, and a single donation can save multiple lives. Nearly 2,000 donations are needed each day in New York and New Jersey alone. Roughly one in seven hospital admissions require a blood transfusion, and supplies must be continually replenished.

In just 60 minutes, you can donate one pint of blood and Save a Life, Right Here, Right Now in your own community. About one in seven hospital admissions requires a blood transfusion, and with a limited shelf life, supplies must be continually replenished. Those in need include: cancer patients, accident, burn, or trauma victims, newborn babies and their mothers, transplant recipients, surgery patients, chronically transfused patients suffering from sickle cell disease or thalassemia, and many more.

Community members are encouraged to find time to donate blood at a NYBC donor center or convenient mobile blood drive, especially donors with O negative and B negative blood types. O negative blood donors are considered universal, and their blood type is needed most readily in trauma situations and emergency rooms across the country. B negative is a particularly rare blood type.

For more information on where to donate or how to set up your own drive, visit www.nybloodcenter.org/blood or call 1-800-933-2566.

About New York Blood Center
Local News, Crime, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: September 06 2018

Salvador Guevara-Lopez, 47, was arrested in violation of Leandras Law, cops say.

Bay Shore, NY - Sept. 6, 2018 - Suffolk County Police on Wednesday, September 5 arrested a man in Suffolk County Police on Wednesday, September 5 arrested a man in Bay Shore for driving while intoxicated with his girlfriends six-year-old son in the vehicle.

Salvador Guevara-Lopez was operating a 2003 Nissan Altima southbound in the northbound lane of Fifth Avenue near the intersection of Brook Avenue in Bay Shore when he was pulled over by a Highway Enforcement Section officer at 9:37 p.m.

Guevara-Lopez, 47, of Bay Shore was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger 15 Years or Younger (Leandras Law), and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. The child was released into the custody of his mother. The car was impounded for evidence.

Guevara-Lopez is being held overnight at the Third Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned this morning at First District Court in Central Islip
This apology comes as somewhat of a surprise, as West's previous comments on Drake weren't so apologetic, specifically his recent interview with Chicago's 107.5 WGCI Morning Show team.

"People be around your family and be in your house and this and that then they get mad about a beat and send purple demon emojis," West said last week. "I don't play like that, I don't play in that place . . . It's like, look, it ain't no beef."

Perhaps we should've been expecting this apology, as West also vowed to "one day" reconcile any issues with Drake because their voices are "just too powerful."


Burt Reynolds, star of such films as "Deliverance," "The Longest Yard" and "Smokey and the Bandit," has died. He was 82.

Reynolds died Thursday morning at Jupiter Medical in Florida, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He had suffered from heart ailments in recent years.

His filmography included "The Longest Yard," "Cannonball Run," "At Long Last Love," "Nickelodeon," "Semi-Tough," "Starting Over" and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." His television credits include "Riverboat," "Dan August" and "Evening Shade."

Popular with audiences in the 1970s, he was seldom a favorite of critics. That changed when he earned an Oscar nomination as best supporting actor in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" in 1998.

More recently, he appeared in "The Last Movie Star" and "Miami Love Affair." He had been set to appear in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Hollywood."

Reynolds was married twice, first to July Carne and later Loni Anderson. Both marriages ended in divorce.

He also had lengthy relationships with Dinah Shore and Sally Field, the latter who he referred to in recent years as the love of his life.

He is survived by a son, Quinton.
A man in Charlestown was found dead overnight on Thursday, suffering from what police describe as "undetermined traumatic injuries."

Boston Police officers responded to a call around 3:41 a.m. on Thursday for an assault in the area of 75 Alford St. in Charlestown, next to the Malden Bridge and Mystic River.

Upon arrival, Boston Police say the officers found the victim, an unidentified adult male, suffering from traumatic injuries. He was declared dead on the scene.

The death is under investigation by the Boston Police Homicide Unit. Authorities ask anyone with information to contact them.
Authorities have recovered the body of a missing 47-year-old man who was last seen scuba diving off the Rockport coast.

Lieutenant Mark Schmink and Rockport Police confirmed they recovered the body of the missing diver, tentatively identified as a 47-year-old man from Philadelphia.

Crews from across agencies, including local Rockport Police and Fire, Rockport Harbormaster, Massachusetts State Police and members of the Northeast Coast Guard conducted an overnight search for the man after he went missing sometime before 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Calls went out that the man had last been seen heading off the shores of Cathedral Avenue with a friend. The Northeast U.S. Coast Guard announced it was searching in the area off Pigeon Cove in Rockport.

The rescue search ended at some point overnight and a "recovery" search began Thursday morning. Helicopters scanned the ocean from overhead as several boats searched the waters.

The body was found around 8:30 a.m., according to Rockport Police. Authorities say the man will not be publicly identified until his family or next of kin have positively identified him.
NORTHAMPTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday it is representing a Smith College student who said police were called on her while she eating lunch on campus this summer.

The ACLU of Massachusetts said it will help Oumou Kanoute "seek a restorative justice process" after she was allegedly targeted for being black.

"The incident renewed concerns that this form of racial profiling -- victims are said to be targeted and interrogated for 'Living While Black' -- continues to pervade all spaces of American life, including college campuses," the ACLU said in a press release.

"The ACLU will help Oumou seek a restorative justice process with both individuals involved in the incident, as well as policy changes from Smith College, including new policies and training to prevent what Oumou experienced from being repeated; and further steps to address the history of Black students and the legacy of institutional racism at Smith," the ACLU said.

A college spokeswoman in an email said "an investigation is ongoing, and the college has committed to taking action based on its findings. The firm leading the investigation has not announced a timeframe."

Smith College officials said the incident "raised concerns in our community about bias and equity."

Kanoute, an undergraduate student, was working at the school over the summer. She was on her lunch break when she said a police officer arrived and asked what she was doing there.

"All I did was be black," she said in a Facebook post about the incident.

About two dozen gathered last month at City Hall to protest the incident.

Kanoute has issued a list of demands she wants the college to meet.
Braintree police are asking for helping finding a missing 15-year-old girl who ran away from DCF custody in Plymouth.

Thy Tran ran from custody on Aug. 18, police said. She may have ties to Weymouth and Boston.

Tran has brown hair and brown eyes, is 5-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs roughly 130 pounds.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police.
A teacher could potentially be fired after it was discovered he let his students play the video game "Halo" in homeroom last school year.

Heath Elementary School social studies teacher Larry Chen received a "notice of intent to terminate" from Brookline Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Bot. Chen will not be in class Thursday, the first day of classes, according to NBC10 Boston.

According to the television station, a hearing was held Wednesday to determine if Chen could resume teaching at the school, but no decision was made.

In a statement provided to NBC10 Boston, the school district said, "The 'Halo' video games were not in any way part of or connected to the sixth-grade curriculum and the Public Schools of Brookline does not endorse or condone this activity for students in school."

MassLive has reached out to Brookline Public Schools for comment.
SPRINGFIELD -- In its ongoing effort to establish clarity in the state's fledgling marijuana laws and policies, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission has been posting guidance documents on its website.

A recent one is "Guidance on Equitable Cannabis Polices for Municipalities." (see below)

"The commission is charged by state law ... with ensuring the meaningful participation in the cannabis industry of communities disproportionately affected by the enforcement of previous cannabis laws, small businesses and companies led by people of color, women, veterans and farmers," said the document posted in late July.

Cooperation between local and state officials is important to ensure the marijuana industry is fair and diverse, the document said.

The guidance documents offer explanations that pack detail without overload.

Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2016 and legalized marijuana for medical use in 2012.

Gov. Charlie Baker approved the law that legalized recreational marijuana, after months in which officials drafted regulations, July 28, 2017.

The commission has identified 29 cities and towns in Massachusetts that have been "disproportionately harmed" over the years by marijuana arrests and incarceration. These include Holyoke, Springfield, West Springfield, Amherst, Greenfield and Worcester.

The commission is giving priority in review of licensing applications to "economic empowerment" applicants who come from areas and groups that have been overly affected by marijuana arrests.

In order to be eligible for the program, someone must either have a past drug conviction or be the spouse or child of a person with a drug conviction, and must have lived in Massachusetts for the last 12 months.

Alternatively, the person could have lived in one of the 29 Massachusetts communities classified as an area of disproportionate impact for at least five years and have income below 400 percent of the federal poverty level -- $48,240 for an individual and $98,400 for a family of four.

The guidance document provides background on the recreational marijuana law and addresses questions such as:

Are caps on licenses necessary?

What license types will be allowed in the municipality?

Should a local excise tax be authorized?

How should each license type be zoned?

What municipal entity or entities will oversee the prospective licensee process?

What process will prospective licensees need to follow, and what is the timeline for that process?

How will prospective licensees be selected to move forward, and what municipal entity or entities will negotiate the host community agreement with them?

"To encourage an industry that allows for participation from various communities, the commission recommendation is to allow prospective applicants seeking each type of license to begin the process and hold a community outreach meeting, where residents could raise specific concerns," the document said.

To increase involvement in the "local control process," the commission recommends working with local media, using social media and aligning with community organizations to provide information.

The commission offered tips cities and towns can use to achieve an equitable marijuana industry, including:

allow various types of marijuana businesses

consider whether a cap on the number of marijuana businesses is necessary or if an established cap should be revisited when time has passed and more information is available

be diplomatic in crafting host community agreements: These are documents that stipulate that a marijuana company will pay a community a certain amount of money each year to cover the cost to the community of having the company there. "To allow for checks and balances, a municipality may prefer to designate one entity to oversee the selection process and another to negotiate the host community agreements."

The commission has posted other guidance documents about farmers, home cultivation, application and license fees and background checks.

Guidance Document on Municipal Equity: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission: by Mike Plaisance on Scribd
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday unveiled a bill that seeks to respond to the deaths of local police officers, killed while in pursuit of suspects with histories of alleged criminal activity.

Weymouth Sgt. Michael Chesna was allegedly shot in July with his own gun by Emanuel Lopes, a twice-arrested 20-year-old man who was due back in court after failing to appear for a drug test and violating pre-trial conditions. Lopes is also charged with fatally shooting 77-year-old Vera Adams.

Chesna's death came after Yarmouth Sgt. Sean Gannon and Auburn Police Officer Ronald Tarentino were killed in the line of duty in April 2018 and May 2016.

"The alarming frequency of these events confirms that the Commonwealth needs to do a better job of holding until trial defendants who pose a continuing danger to others," Baker wrote in a letter to state lawmakers that accompanied his bill.

Prosecutors can ask a judge to hold a defendant based on dangerousness, but there are limits.

"When courts release accused defendants on conditions designed to ensure their compliance with our laws, these conditions are too often violated with little consequence," Baker's letter said. "Police are not authorized to arrest a person who they observe violating a condition of release, and judges' authority to order someone held for violating release conditions is unreasonably circumscribed."

The legislation, called an "Act to Protect the Commonwealth from Dangerous Persons," attempts to rewrite statutes around pretrial release in state courts.

Most will still be released, pending trial, after an arrest, Baker said, but the bill hands judges stronger enforcement authority over pre-trial release conditions and provides police officers with the power to detain someone they see violating court-ordered conditions.

The bill must still make its way through the state House and state Senate before coming back to Baker's desk for a signature and becoming law.

"This legislation expands the list of offenses which can provide grounds for a dangerousness hearing, and it also follows the long-standing federal model in including a defendant's history of serious criminal convictions as grounds that may warrant a dangerousness hearing," Baker's letter notes, pointing to current law calling for judges to focus on the alleged crime in front of them and ignore criminal history.

Under his bill, police would be required to take fingerprints of all people arrested, not just for felonies.

Separately, bail commissioners and bail magistrates would also be allowed to consider a suspect's "dangerousness" when they're faced with a decision on whether to release an arrested person from a police station while court isn't in session.

The bill also "ensures that a person who a court determines is a danger or who violates his or her conditions of release is held until the time of trial or other disposition of the case, rather than being released after a defined period," Baker wrote. " A person who is so dangerous that his or her release threatens the safety of a specific victim or of the community at large does not become safe to release merely because three or four months have passed since the time of arrest."

Prosecutors would also be able to seek a dangerousness hearing "at any point," and cutting off a court-ordered GPS device would become a felony if the bill becomes law.

The bill, which closes "loopholes" in the criminal justice system, according to Baker, also calls for:

Probation departments, bail commissioners and bail magistrates would be required to notify authorities if someone out on pre-trail release commits a new offense inside or outside Massachusetts.

A court-developed text message service that would serve as a reminder to criminal defendants of upcoming court dates

A task force on what type of information should be added to criminal records for prosecutors and judges to use in release and detention decisions.

While the governor urged the state Legislature to act promptly on his bill, lawmakers have largely left the State House, meaning the legislation is unlikely to see major action until 2019.

Lightly attended informal legislative sessions occur throughout the week, with non-controversial bills getting shuttled to Baker's desk.
ROCKPORT - A diver who was swimming in the waters off the North Shore is missing.

A scuba diver came ashore at about 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, and reported his companion went missing. The two men had been swimming about 150 yards off shore, Rockport Police Lt. Mark Schmink said.

Crews have responded to the area of Cathedral Rock, located near Cathedral Avenue and Green Street, and are searching the water.

The U.S. Coast Guard is on the scene with a cutter and a helicopter and state and regional dive teams are heading to the scene to search for the diver. The Rockport Harbormaster and Rockport Fire Department are conducting an active search for the man now, Schmink said.
A handful of the marijuana businesses granted provisional licenses have informed the Cannabis Control Commission they are ready to be inspected, one of the final steps before retail sales of marijuana, approved by voters almost two years ago, can begin.

Commission chairman Steven Hoffman said Thursday that the agency is working to schedule inspections for two or three provisionally licensed businesses. Hoffman said the inspections are expected to take place "over the next week, plus or minus."

He said it's possible the commission could vote at its next meeting, Sept. 20, to issue a final license if a business passes its inspection and fulfills other requirements by then.

"The final inspection is one of the multiple number of requirements to go from provisional license -- there is payment of the fee and other things -- assuming those get turned around, I think the answer is it's quite possible," Hoffman said when asked about issuing a final license at the next commission meeting.

The chairman noted that such a vote will only take place if the commission's inspection team approves the facility and finds that it comports to the law and the agency's regulations.

"We're going to go out there and the reason we're doing the inspection is to make sure everything is in place," he said. "If they're not in place, obviously we're going to have to go back again."

The commission had hoped to launch the retail marijuana industry in Massachusetts by July 1 but did not meet that target. Since then, Hoffman and commission officials have refused to provide an updated timeline for when consumers will be able to legally buy marijuana.

On Thursday, Hoffman again declined to provide a target date and said he has been telling people stores will open in "late summer/early fall."

"I still think that's a reasonable expectation. I'm not going to be more precise than that," he told reporters. "I think once we have the final inspection scheduled for a couple of entities we can probably get a little more precise."

The commission approved six more provisional licenses on Thursday afternoon -- two for retail, two for cultivation and two for product manufacturing.

Patriot Care Corp., which already operates medical marijuana dispensaries in Boston, Lowell and Greenfield, was granted provisional licenses to sell non-medical marijuana at its locations on Industrial Avenue East in Lowell and on Legion Avenue in Greenfield.

Patriot Care was also granted a provisional license to grow between 40,001 square feet and 50,000 square feet of marijuana canopy at its current cultivation facility on Lincoln Street in Lowell. The company was also approved to manufacture marijuana products, like oils, tinctures, salves and baked goods.

Northeast Alternatives, Inc., a company that has already been provisionally approved to sell retail marijuana in Fall River, was granted provisional licenses Thursday to grow up to 5,000 square feet of marijuana canopy and to produce marijuana products at its facility on Canning Boulevard in Fall River.

Thursday's commission votes bring the total number of retail stores given provisional approval by the commission to 11. They are expected to be located in Leicester, Amesbury, Brookline, Northampton, Wareham, Plymouth, Easthampton, Salem, Fall River, Lowell and Greenfield.

The commission has issued provisional licenses for seven cultivation facilities, which combined will be allowed to grow up to 225,000 square feet of marijuana canopy at a time. Those growing facilities are to be located in Leicester, Amesbury, Franklin, Plymouth, Easthampton, Lowell and Fall River.

Some of the cultivators given preliminary approval by the commission already grow marijuana to be sold into the medical program. Last month, DPH issued guidance saying it will allow medical marijuana dispensaries to transfer some inventory to the non-medical market, as long as the department gives prior approval of the transfer.

As of Thursday, the commission had another 95 applications pending before it. Executive Director Shawn Collins said Thursday that there are 21 applications awaiting commission review, 48 that have been deemed incomplete and returned to the applicant to provide additional information and 26 for which the commission is waiting to hear back from either its background check vendor or the host community.
A second Massachusetts State Police trooper has been indicted in a massive overtime scandal that has embroiled the agency for months.

Daren DeJong, 56, who retired as news of the scandal broke allegedly stole $14,062.50 in overtime pay for hours he did not work, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

Like others who have been implicated in the scandal, Dejong is accused of writing false traffic citations that were never sent to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to make it seem as though he was working.

DeJong was indicted on one count of embezzlement from an agency receiving federal funds Thursday, according to the court filing. He is the second former Massachusetts State Police trooper to be indicted and the sixth to be implicated in the scandal.

A federal grand jury indicted former Massachusetts State Police Lt. David Wilson, 57, in August.

Both men worked for the now disbanded Troop E, which patrolled the Massachusetts Turnpike, also known as I-90.

Wilson, of Charlton, was one of the first three troopers charged in the overtime scandal, along with Gary Herman, 45, of Chester, and Paul Cesan, 50, of Southwick on June 27.

On July 2 Trooper Gregory Raftery, 47, of Westwood pleaded guilty to charges.

Suspended Trooper Kevin Sweeney was charged with embezzlement on August 17 and has agreed to plead guilty, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Six troopers have been charged in total. But investigators have indicated this is just the beginning.

More than 40 members of the Massachusetts State Police are under scrutiny, as state and local investigators examine alleged abuse of overtime shifts along the Massachusetts Turnpike.

An audit by the state police found dozens of troopers who may have been paid for overtime shifts they did not work.
Cambodia's National Assembly on Thursday confirmed Samdech Techo Hun Sen as prime minister (PM) for another five years after his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) won all parliamentary seats in a July general election.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen speaks during a visit to a garment factory in Phnom Penh on August 2, 2018. [Photo: IC]

All 125 CPP lawmakers unanimously voted for him as PM, the position that he has held since 1985.

The National Assembly also approved Hun Sen's new cabinet members for the 2018-2023 term.

According to an official schedule, the 67-year-old PM and his cabinet members will be sworn in on Thursday afternoon at the Royal Palace under the auspices of the nation's King Norodom Sihamoni.

Addressing the assembly after the vote, Hun Sen said it was another historic event for Cambodia and expressed his profound gratitude to all lawmakers for casting a vote of confidence to him and his cabinet members.

He vowed to continue maintaining the country's hard-earned peace and stability and to further develop economy and reduce poverty.

"The new government will work harder to accelerate socio-economic development in all fields and to promote the implementation of deep and broad reforms," he said.

He added that the government would give priority to governance reform so as to strengthen state institutions, to build clean administrations, and to enhance the quality of public services.

Hun Sen said the government would continue raising wages for civil servants, armed forces, and garment factory workers, and lowering the prices of water and electricity at the same time.

The PM added that the investment in human capital is also among the top priorities in the new-term government.




Failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore filed a $95 million lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen and Showtime on Wednesday, alleging he was duped into appearing on "Who Is America?" and subsequently defamed.

The Alabama Republican, who has been accused by nine women of sexual misconduct, said his reputation was severely harmed by Coehn, according to Variety.

In the lawsuit, Moore said he was lured to Washington, D.C., on the pretense of accepting an award for his support for Israel. Instead, he found himself being interviewed by "Col. Erran Morad," a Cohen character.

During the taping, Cohen waved a "pedophile detector" at Moore, which beeped, at which point Moore ended the interview.

"This false and fraudulent portrayal and mocking of Judge Moore as a sex offender, on national and international television, which was widely broadcast in this district on national television and worldwide, has severely harmed Judge Moore's reputation and caused him, Mrs. Moore, and his entire family severe emotional distress, as well as caused and will cause Plaintiffs financial damage," the lawsuit stated.

Neither Cohen or Showtime have responded to the suit.

Prior the broadcast, Cohen as Col. Erran Morad, tweeted, "Erev Tov. I was honored that ladies man Roi Moore took time away from his busy schedule of hanging round shopping malls to talk to me."
SPRINGFIELD -- City Councilor Michael Fenton is lobbying neighborhood councils throughout the city to help him block proposed regulations for marijuana retail stores, saying the new rules fail to adequately protect neighboring residents.

Fenton, in a letter sent to approximately 20 neighborhood organizations, said he has "grave concerns" about the regulations, saying they lacks buffer zones for protection of residential properties and do not require advance meetings with the affected neighborhood council.

"If these regulations receive final approval from the City Council on September 25th, I believe that our neighborhoods will be at great risk," Fenton said.

The council gave first-step approval to the regulations on Aug. 29 to allow up to 15 marijuana retail shops in the city under various limits and conditions.

City Councilors Orlando Ramos, Justin Hurst and Kateri Walsh disagreed sharply with Fenton, saying the regulations properly address the operation of the retail stores and other marijuana establishments.

Hurst, who chaired a council committee on marijuana regulations, said the council worked hard to create sound regulations over the past three months.

"it's easy to be divisive and heighten fears that naturally exist when any new industry comes to to the city, which is what appears to be Fenton's intent considering that he has been opposed to recreational marijuana from the outset," Hurst said.

Under the regulations, marijuana retails businesses must apply for a special permit from the City Council. The businesses can be located on only 58 streets in Springfield chosen by the council, and must be located within a business zone or an industrial zone.

The shops cannot be in residential zoning districts.

Fenton, however, said the regulations provide no buffer zone between the future shops and any residential building that is within a business district on the streets permitted for shops.

"There is no required setbacks from residences, no off-street parking requirements, and no guarantee of neighborhood council or civic association participation," Fenton said in a letter to the neighborhood councils and civic associations. "Our neighborhoods deserve appropriate zoning regulations for these new uses, and I need your help to fight for that."

Fenton said he will have an informational meeting for the public on the issue on Sept. 12, at 5 p.m., at the East Springfield Neighborhood Council building, 1437 Carew St., behind Pottenger School.

Ramos, who is council president, said there is nothing that prevents the council from considering a buffer area between marijuana shops and homes "on a case-by-case basis." He and some other councilors, however, said they were concerned that creating buffer zones citywide would be too limiting on potential businesses, and unnecessary.

"Even a 50-foot buffer would have wiped out 75-80 percent of the city," Ramos said.

The council majority supported the decision to limit the dispensaries to designated streets that are mostly major streets and limiting them to Business A, B and C zones and Industrial A and Industrial Park zones, he said.

He also said that parking requirements can also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

An applicant for a marijuana shop would be encouraged to meet with neighborhood groups, Ramos said.

Fenton has drafted a letter opposing the current regulations, and is asking neighborhood councils and their leaders to sign on and to speak out against the provisions.

Walsh said the city must follow the law when issuing special permits, and is doing so. She said the City Council routinely asks applicants for special permits if they have met with neighborhood councils and civic associations, "and to suggest that we would not do the same when issuing these special permits is just wrong."

The council was advised by Planning and Law officials, however, that it cannot force the applicants to meet with the neighborhood groups, Walsh said.
SPRINGFIELD -- Police Commissioner John Barbieri said he is concerned that a city councilor's proposal for the posthumous promotion of the late Lt. Robert L. Caulton will open a "Pandora's box" and would lead to others seeking the same action.

Councilor Justin Hurst, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, urged that Caulton be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain. Hurst is sponsoring a resolution that urges the promotion and states that Caulton, a black officer, was "unfairly denied" that promotion in 1992.

The nonbinding resolution is slated for consideration at the next City Council meeting Sept. 10. The resolution also proposes that the new police station planned in Springfield be named in Cauton's honor.

Barbieri said he had great respect for Caulton and his family. The promotion process must be devoid of politics, he said, although he knows there have been accusations of politics in the past.

"What I will warn you is that it is a Pandora's box," Barbieri said. "Because what you do for one, you should probably do for all."

Barbieri said there will be "numerous people throughout the ages" who were bypassed for promotion or feel there were unjust promotions. He said there will be research done, and he will keep an open mind.

"A lot of your concerns are very valid," Barbieri said. "Civil Service does not recognize diversity as a promotional advantage."

Ryan Walsh, a spokesman for the Police Department, said there were two open captain positions in 1992, and Caulton was the third highest scoring candidate on the Civil Service list, and thus was not bypassed under Civil Service.

The two captains chosen that year were Paula Meara and Peter J. Dillon. Dillon had the highest score on the Civil Service promotional examination and Meara had the second highest score, and subsequently served as chief of police.

Barbieri said he believes the department has a "pretty good track record" of promoting minority officers, and also continues a long-standing practice of hiring one minority officer for every nonminority officer.

Hurst's resolution states that Caulton in 1992, after two unsuccessful attempts, "finally scored high enough on the Captain's exam to be considered for promotion that he rightfully deserved."

However, "Lieutenant Caulton was unfairly denied his promotion even though he was more qualified than others who were promoted solely because of the race politics of his time."

There have not been posthumous promotions in the Springfield Police Department, but it has occurred in other communities, officials said. In Yarmouth earlier this year, Officer Sean M. Gannon was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant a week after being killed in the line of duty.

A 32-year member of the Springfield Police Department, Caulton retired in 1995 and died in 2003.

Hurst said the promotion is not a matter of money and would be symbolic "in righting a wrong."

Caulton's family was honored last week with the Emmett Till Award by the newsmagazine Af-Am Point of View, which is run by Hurst's parents Marjorie and Frederick Hurst. Caulton's daughter Helen R. Caulton-Harris is the city's commissioner of health and human services.

The council resolution states Robert Caulton "on his death bed had one final regret that he was never able to achieve the rank of Captain, although through no fault of his own."

Resolutions, if passed, are intended to reflect the opinion of the council, but do not constitute binding decisions.

There was no committee vote on the resolution Thursday. Councilors Adam Gomez and Kateri Walsh also attended the committee meeting at City Hall.
SPRINGFIELD -- Ivey Johnson, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court in connection with the 2016 beating death of housemate Eric Stephenson.

Her husband, Richard Page, pleaded guilty in November to voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in the case, admitting to beating Stephenson, 52, to death with a table leg on June 16, 2016.

Johnson, 55, was sentenced to two years in state prison followed by five years probation. She has 810 days credit on her sentence, so has served the full imprisonment time. She has been out on $5,000 bail since November.

Page, 59, was sentenced to 11 to 12 years in state prison followed by four years probation.

Johnson was charged as a joint venture defendant with Page, although she was not alleged to have taken part in the beating.

The killing happened at 45 Armory St., where Page, Johnson, Stephenson and a number of other people lived.

Page, at the hearing in which he pleaded guilty, said Johnson did not encourage him to fight Stephenson. Page said he took full responsibility for the death.
Lawyers are asking President Donald Trump's administration to pay for mental health treatment for kids who were separated from the parents at the U.S. border, arguing the children will suffer lifelong psychological damage at the hands of a "malicious" administration.

In a federal class-action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts late Wednesday, lawyers representing three Guatemalan children now living in Westborough with their families are seeking damages to cover mental health care.

"Defendants' conduct was intentional, wanton, malicious, reckless, callously indifferent, and oppressive, thus entitling the Plaintiffs and class members to punitive damages," lawyers wrote in the suit.

"There is no doubt that Defendants were aware of the severe psychological and emotional trauma that forcibly separating children from their parents would cause," the lawsuit states. "Not only is the likelihood of severe harm self-evident, but Defendants were informed of and warned about the likelihood of such harm directly and through many authoritative public statements by other government officials and experts in the field."

Lawyers are asking a federal judge to create a class that would encompass all of the more than 2,000 children caught up in the Republican administration's "zero tolerance policy" toward immigrants crossing the border illegally.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, unnamed immigration agents, and other federal officials are named as defendants in the lawsuit.

The practice of separating immigrant children from their parents as a way of deterring border crossings began around October 2017 and latest until June 26 when a federal judge in California ordered U.S. Immigration authorities to reunited families.

In making their case, lawyers describe the detention and separation process for three children identified only by their initials: K.O., a 9-year-old girl, and her 17-year-old brother E.O. Jr. who entered El, Paso Texas on foot with their mother in May; and C.J., an 11-year-old boy who fled Guatemala with his father, reaching the Texas border in June.

The suit details alleged abuse and mistreatment of the children at the hands of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Lawyers allege the U.S. agents screamed at the children calling them "trash" and "donkeys."

Lawyers say agents would wake 9-year-old K.O. up "to take a shower by pulling her ponytail." Her brother, E.O. Jr., was kicked in the back at least 10 times by agents who didn't believe he was 17 years old, according to the suit.

The suit details the moment L.J., the children's mother, was pried from her screaming daughter.

"K.O. grabbed L.J. from behind and said, "Mommy, don't go!" The CBP Agent had to pry K.O.'s hands off of L.J. and when he did that he yelled at K.O...," according to the suit.

"As the [Customs and Border Patrol] agent pulled K.O.'s hands off of L.J., he said to her in Spanish: 'You're going to be deported to Guatemala and we're going to adopt your daughter,'" lawyers write in the suit. "K.O. was screaming. L.J. desperately called out to K.O., telling her: 'I love you with all my heart! We are going to see each other again soon. Remember your father's phone number."

K.O. and E.O. Jr were reunited with their father, who had been living in Westborough throughout the ordeal on June 19 and their mother was released a few days later - five weeks after she had last seen or heard from her kids.

C.J., an 11-year-old boy, was separated from his father for 36 days. They had one five-minute phone call during that time and the child sobbed into the receiver the entire time, according to the suit.

K.O. remains fixed at her mother's side, afraid they will be separated again, and C.J. has night terrors, the suit alleges.

Lawyers say the children's due process rights were violated when they were not offered the opportunity to seek asylum.

The Department of Homeland Security has not commented on the suit.

Read the lawsuit below
AMHERST -- The bug that has caused defoliation of trees and blueberry bushes across coastal New England apparently has met its match: a parasitic fly introduced to affected areas by University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers.

"After 14 years of effort, we have successfully converted winter moth, a major new defoliator invading eastern New England, into a non-pest, presumably on a permanent basis," said UMass entomologist Joseph Elkinton in a press release. "I'm pleased to report that we have now saved Massachusetts residents, who have been battling defoliation on their backyard trees and blueberry crops, millions of dollars of pesticide costs now and in the future.

"We have averted what was shaping up to be another major invasion calamity for the entire United States comparable to gypsy moth," Elkinton said.

The research team led by Elkinton, George Boettner and Hannah Broadley introduced the parasitic fly known as Cyzenis albicans to areas where the winter moth had established its leaf-eating ways. The flies attacks only winter moths in an approach called biological control.

"The object of biological control is to reduce density of the invasive species to non-pest status," Elkinton said. "That is what we believe we have achieved. One of the main features of Cyzenis albicans, the parasitoid that we have released, is that it appears to be an absolute specialist. It does not prey on anything but winter moth. Other native inch worms are not attacked."

Elkinton and Boettner started the biocontrol program in 2005, collecting specimens of Cyzenis albicans, which had reduced winter moth populations in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. The UMass researchers bred the flies and released them during the spring at about two dozen sites in New England affected by winter moths. By July 2018, they had established Cyzenis albicans populations at 38 sites.

Winter moths arrived in Nova Scotia from Europe sometime before 1950, then another European invasion of the bug hit New England in the 1990s, the researchers said. Defoliation first was noticed north and south of Boston in 2003, and it spread over most of Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, southeastern Connecticut and coastal Maine over the next decade.

The caterpillars damaged trees, orchards and blueberries.

The insect is so named because adults emerge in November and breed. Eggs hatch in April and the larvae bore into trees' leaf buds. As caterpillars, they feed on leaves until dropping to the ground in late May, burrowing in soil and pupating until starting the process again in winter.

Elkinton said winter moths appear unable to survive in interior New England, including Western Massachusetts, because winters are generally colder than along the coast. But the UMass entomology team welcomes samples from residents of western New England who think they've got the pest in their trees for testing. They said new releases of the Cyzenis albicans flies can be requested.
George's Coney Island has been serving up hot dogs in Worcester for 100 years, and to celebrate, the iconic restaurant is shutting down part of Southbridge Street for a block party.

The block party on Sunday, Sept. 30, will feature giveaways, live music, kids' activities and, of course, hot dogs. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and entry is free.

"We're throwing this party as a way to give back not only to our loyal customers, but to the community who has allowed us to stay and thrive," said Kathryn Tsandikos, whose grandparents bought the business in 1927, making it the landmark that it is today.

Coney Island has been open since 1918 when it was just a lunch counter on Southbridge Street.

Katie Rozenas, regional marketing coordinator at Discover Central Massachusetts and an organizer of the event, said the party will also feature Worcester's own Wormtown beer, Table Talk pies and an ice cream truck.

"This is really geared toward bringing the community together to not only celebrate Coney Island being in business for 100 years, but Coney Island being in Worcester for 100 years and how Worcester has transformed and grown with Coney Island as a part of it," Rozenas said. "There are so many generations of people that have gone to that place, there's going to be a lot of reminiscing."
Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson is helping to launch a new website aimed at crowdfunding a Mexican border wall.

The New Bedford Standard-Times, on its website South Coast Today, reported that Hodgson was part of a group of sheriffs who met with Vice President Mike Pence and White House officials on Wednesday to talk about illegal immigration and border security.

Hodgson then announced a crowdfunding website to "build the wall" at a Capitol Hill press conference with 44 sheriffs from 35 states.

The website was created by the National Sheriffs' Association, a trade association for sheriffs.

The site urges Congress to pass legislation to secure the borders, enforce immigration laws, build a wall and upgrade technology along the U.S.-Mexico border, end local efforts to shelter immigrants without legal status, and have "zero tolerance" for "criminal aliens."

"The failure of Congress to create legitimate and comprehensive immigration reform for more than 20 years has dramatically undermined our ability to keep our communities safe," the website states. "Your donation helps us provide the resources necessary to help local law enforcement along the border take their communities' safety into their own hands."

It sends donors to a page for an "immigration reform support fund" on the National Sheriffs' Association website.

Hodgson, a Republican, has been a strong advocate for increased border security, including the building of Trump's wall. Hodgson told a New Bedford news station in April that he wanted to start a site to crowdfund the building of a border wall.

President Donald Trump made building a wall along the southern border a key campaign promise. Although he promised to make Mexico pay for the wall, he has since asked for funding from Congress, which has not given him the money he wants.

In March, Hodgson spearheaded a letter to Congress signed by 310 sheriffs, including Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald, asking for congressional action to improve border security.
In Tuesday's primary election, Ayanna Pressley, a black, female Boston city councilor, ousted 10-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Michael Capuano. Two of the highest-ranking state House members - Ways and Means Chairman Jeffrey Sanchez and Assistant Majority Leader Byron Rushing - lost their seats to political newcomers in the Democratic primary.

The anti-incumbent sentiment was not across the board: Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin held onto his seat despite a spirited challenge from Boston City Councilor Josh Zakim. But Democrats on Wednesday grappled with what the upset races mean.

Jay Gonzalez, the Democratic nominee for governor, found hope for his own uphill battle to defeat incumbent Republican Gov. Charlie Baker. "As we saw in elections last night and we've seen in elections all across this country, incumbency and money and special interests and pundits don't decide elections," Gonzalez said. "People do."

"There's a lot of energy right now, a lot of people who are not tolerating leadership that they feel is not strongly advocating for their interests and their values," Gonzalez said.

The Pressley-Capuano race received national attention. Both candidates were liberal Democrats, and demographics played a big role. Pressley said her perspective, as a black woman who was raised by a single mother in Chicago and has been a victim of sexual assault, gave her a better perspective on the needs of people in the district. Capuano drew on his record and his seniority to ask for another term.

Massachusetts Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford said Pressley "was running against him as a representative of the people in the district who are there today."

"She won because she was close to the district," Bickford said.

Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, said Pressley was able to convince people throughout the district that they had a stake in the election. "Ayanna is someone who always made it her goal to see those who are unseen, to raise the voices of those left voiceless for far too long," Healey said.

Healey rejected the term "identity politics," saying that is a term coined by the Republican Party to divide Democrats. But she said it is important that elected politicians represent the diversity of the people, in race, gender, socio-economic background and other ways.

"Absolutely, it's the case that one's circumstance, one's experience informs the lens through which they see the world," Healey said. "As a result, you have a great opportunity, a greater chance for policy and policy making that's actually going to serve people, help people and move people forward."

The House races were a blow to House Speaker Robert DeLeo, D-Winthrop, who lost two members of his leadership team. The State House News Service reported that Sanchez's opponent, Nika Elugardo, had argued that Sanchez was too beholden to DeLeo to properly represent the district.

Asked about the Rushing and Sanchez losses, DeLeo said around 15 Democratic House members faced primary challenges, and nearly all of the incumbents won.

"I think it was a good night for the Democratic House," DeLeo said. "I'm proud of our results."

DeLeo said he will meet with Elugardo. He disputed the characterization of the race as a referendum on his top-down leadership style. "For those folks who do know me, they know that I'm a consensus builder, I work on compromise," DeLeo said.

Gonzalez and Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Quentin Palfrey both said they hope the grassroots energy that led to the toppling of multiple incumbents will help them as well.

"I think we're seeing a movement all across the country that is interested in change, is interested in new voices, is interested in candidates who are willing to commit to solutions to the problems that people are feeling all across the country," Palfrey said. "And I think we're also seeing frustration with the status quo, particularly in Washington but also on Beacon Hill."
U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, praised fellow chamber Democrats Thursday for releasing confidential documents related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's time serving as White House counsel.

The Democrats, who have been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick, argued that U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, and Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, "did the right thing" by publishing the files, which included 12 pages of emails containing conversations Kavanaugh had on racial inequality and profiling.

Arguing that Americans "deserve to know" such information, Markey stressed that the Democrats "shouldn't be expelled from the Senate for their actions, they should be applauded."

.@SenBooker and Sen.@MazieHirono are doing the right thing by releasing Brett #Kavanaughs committee confidential documents. They shouldnt be expelled from the Senate for their actions, they should be applauded.



Americans deserve to know, #WhatAreTheyHiding? #StopKavanaugh  Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) September 6, 2018

Warren, who said she stands with Booker and Hirono, argued that "Republicans know how extreme Brett Kavanaugh's record is, so they're making up rules to hide it from the public."

"The American people deserve to know a SCOTUS nominee's views on issues like race and abortion," she tweeted.

Republicans know how extreme Brett Kavanaugh's record is, so they're making up rules to hide it from the public. The American people deserve to know a SCOTUS nominee's views on issues like race and abortion. I stand with @CoryBooker and @MazieHirono. https://t.co/rKXLsv8qew  Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) September 6, 2018

Booker and Hirono released the documents, which has been marked "committee confidential" and barred from being discussed or made public, late Thursday morning.

Booker posted a link to four documents, which the senator noted he had referred to during his Wednesday questioning of Kavanaugh.

Calling Kavanaugh's confirmation process "a sham," the Democrat said in a statement that "the public has a right to access documents about a Supreme Court nominee's views on issues that are profoundly important, such as race and the law."

"The fact that tens of thousands of documents revealing a Supreme Court nominee's views on key issues were deemed committee confidential and not available to the public reflects the absurdity of this process. ... This process has demonstrated an unprecedented level of secrecy and opaqueness that undermines the Senate's Constitutional duty to advice and consent," he added.

Booker argued that Kavanaugh's emails reveal "concerning views on racial profiling and affirmative action."

Hirono, meanwhile, published a document, in which Kavanaugh reportedly discussed "Treasury testimony on capital investments in Indian country," on Twitter.

"These are the docs (Republicans) don't want you to see because they show that Judge Kavanaugh wrongly believes that native Hawaiian programs are constitutionally questionable," she wrote in the tweet. "I defy anyone reading this to be able to conclude that it should be deemed confidential in any way, shape or form."

These are the docs Rs don't want you to seebecause they show that Judge Kavanaugh wrongly believes that Native Hawaiian programs are Constitutionally questionable. I defy anyone reading this to be able to conclude that it should be deemed confidential in any way, shape, or form. pic.twitter.com/yj31vDNGia  Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) September 6, 2018

Hirono, in a separate tweet, added "if you're coming after Sen. Booker for releasing this documents, count me in."

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, released a series of emails that had previously been marked "committee confidential" shortly after Booker published the documents. The files the New Jersey Democrat had made public were included in that release, according to The Hill.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry stressed this week that he's unlikely to run for public office again, but fell short of ruling out a potential 2020 White House bid during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

The former Massachusetts senator, who stopped by "The Late Show" Wednesday to promote his new book, "Every Day is Extra," offered that he has "no plans to run" for president in 2020.

"I doubt I'll run for office ever again," he continued, when pressed by Colbert.

Kerry further raised concerns about an anonymous op-ed published in the New York Times, in which an alleged senior Trump administration official suggests that White House officials are "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of (Trump's) agenda and his worst inclinations."

The former secretary of state called the piece's implications "foreboding," serious and "really scary," adding that the United States isn't supposed to have a "two track presidency."

"What it really means is we don't have a president," he said. "We have a president who's there, but he is not capable of doing the job or living up to the responsibilities."

Kerry's remarks came just days after President Donald Trump appeared to welcome the possibility of facing the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee in 2020, arguing that the field of rumored Democratic challengers will only benefit his re-election chances.

The president tweeted that he "should only be so lucky" to square-off against Kerry or any other possible Democratic candidates.

"I see that John Kerry, the father of the now terminated Iran deal, is thinking of running for president," he tweeted. "I should only be so lucky -- although the field that is currently assembling looks really good -- FOR ME!"

I see that John Kerry, the father of the now terminated Iran deal, is thinking of running for President. I should only be so lucky - although the field that is currently assembling looks really good - FOR ME!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018

Trump has further raised concerns about the legitimacy of the New York Times op-ed, questioning Wednesday whether the "so-called 'senior administration official'" really exists.

"Or is it just the failing New York Times with another phony source?" he tweeted. "If the gutless, anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for national security purposes, turn him/her over to (the) government at once!"
SUNDERLAND -- One day after prevailing in a hard-fought, seven-way Democratic primary race in the 1st Franklin House District, Sunderland resident Natalie Blais said she hopes to take a deep breath and get a little rest.

"It was a late night," she said. "Results from Huntington didn't come in until this morning."

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Blais said she was on her way to a "thank-you standout" with supporters at the corner of Routes 47 and 116 in Sunderland. "I'm so grateful to the voters and to everyone who helped with the campaign," she said.

With no Republican in sight, Blais is poised to succeed longtime Rep. Stephen Kulik, the Worthington Democrat who is retiring after 25 years on Beacon Hill. Kulik, a supporter, stopped by her North Main Street home late Tuesday, where Blais and her family were hosting a quiet election night gathering.

Asked about her plans between now and January, when a swearing-in ceremony is planned, Blais said she will continue to work at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, which she leads.

"It is an incredible organization, and I truly enjoy my job," said Blais. "I will support a smooth transition to a new executive director."

Blais said she will meet with municipal leaders to hear their concerns before heading to Boston. "And I'll continue to talk to as many voters as I can, to hold coffee hours, and be present in the district."

For instance, she said she plans to march in the 40th annual Franklin County Fair Parade on Thursday. A training for new legislators will be held at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in December, she noted.

"It will be a balancing act," she said.

Asked which committees she would serve on if given a choice, Blais said she hopes to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee.

"We need a strong voice on that committee from Western Massachusetts," she said.

Blais also mentioned the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture and the Joint Committee on Transportation, which examines infrastructure issues.

Before joining the chamber of commerce several years ago, she was a congressional aide to U.S. Rep. James McGovern and to former U.S. Rep. John Olver.

Blais was the hands-down winner in the sprawling rural district, which comprises 19 towns. She walked away with 40 percent of the vote. Her nearest rival, Francia Wisnewski of Montague, gained 16 percent. Casey Pease, of Worthington, came in a close third.

"Each of the candidates worked really hard, and ran strong campaigns," she said. "I am thankful to them and respect them enormously."

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, a Democrat, is among the 22 mayors who have endorsed Republican Gov. Charlie Baker for re-election, Baker's campaign announced Thursday.

Other Western Massachusetts mayors who support the incumbent governor include Chicopee Mayor Richard Kos, a Republican, Greenfield Mayor William Martin, an independent, West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt, an independent, Agawam Mayor William Sapelli, an independent, and Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan, a Democrat.

Sarno said in a statement that he has been proud to work with Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito "to make real progress for Springfield on local infrastructure improvements and economic growth."

"Under their leadership, state government is responsive to the perspectives and needs of local officials, especially here in Western Massachusetts," Sarno said. "They have been successful because of their ability to put politics aside and do what's best for the people."

Sullivan said Baker's administration "has put aside partisan politics and understand better than anyone the flexibility and support local leaders need to best represent our mutual constituents."

Baker, heading into the general election campaign against Democrat Jay Gonzalez, has been stressing his bipartisan credentials.

On Wednesday, Baker announced that Democratic Boston philanthropist Jack Connors will chair his re-election campaign.

The 22 mayors who endorsed Baker include Democrats, Republicans and independents.

Baker introduced a major municipal reform bill, which lawmakers passed in 2016, that updated myriad laws relating to local government. The Legislature and Baker have increased funding for local aid.

Baker said in a statement, "Since taking office, we have prioritized collaborative relationships with local leaders, to give them the tools and flexibility to help their communities grow and succeed."

The other mayors who endorsed Baker are Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo, a Democrat, Brockton Mayor Bill Carpenter, an independent, Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia, a Democrat, Fitchburg Mayor Stephen DiNatale, a Democrat, Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin, a Democrat, Amesbury Mayor Ken Gray, a Republican, Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke, a Republican, Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday, a Democrat, Weymouth Mayor Bob Hedlund, a Republican, Quincy Mayor Tom Koch, an independent, Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella, an independent, Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, a Democrat, Lowell Mayor Bill Samaras, a Democrat, Braintree Mayor Joe Sullivan, a Democrat, Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, an independent, and Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant, a Republican.
The state's highest court on Thursday unanimously upheld a ban on corporate contributions to political campaigns.

The Supreme Judicial Court, in a 32-page decision written by Chief Justice Ralph Gants, found the ban does not violate businesses' First Amendment rights, and does serve a legitimate purpose in preventing corruption.

"Both history and common sense have demonstrated that, when corporations make contributions to political candidates, there is a risk of corruption, both actual and perceived," Gants wrote.

The lawsuit was brought by Rick Green, who owns 1A Auto in Pepperell, and Michael Kane, who owns Self Storage Inc. in Ashland, against the director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the state office that enforces campaign finance laws. Green is a Republican candidate for Congress from the 3rd Congressional District.

The business owners, who are both active in the fiscally conservative Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, argued that the ban on business contributions was unconstitutional. They said the ban infringed on their rights to free speech, and also violated their right to equal protection since unions and nonprofits are not subject to the same ban.

Attorneys for the state, representing OCPF, argued the laws are necessary to prevent corruption.

A Superior Court judge upheld the current law, and the SJC agreed with the lower court.

Paul Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance," said the plaintiffs will consider appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court. "This is a major defeat for proponents of campaign finance reform," Craney said. "We are evaluating the next steps and are considering bringing this case to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Massachusetts is one of 22 states, along with the federal government, that bans corporate campaign contributions.

Congress passed a law in 1907, at the urging of President Theodore Roosevelt, banning political contributions by corporations. Massachusetts followed suit that same year.

Although businesses cannot contribute to a candidate or a candidate's PAC, they can make independent expenditures, which are not coordinated with a campaign.

Gants wrote in his decision that despite First Amendment protections for political speech, contribution limits are an "integral feature" of state and federal campaign finance laws "designed to diminish the risk of government corruption, as well as the appearance of such corruption."

In Massachusetts, where several politicians have in recent years been convicted of crimes stemming from bribery related to corporations, Gants wrote that if corporate contributions were allowed, there would be a serious threat of "quid pro quo corruption."

Gants noted that corporations can still get involved in politics by making independent expenditures or contributing to independent expenditure PACs.

Gants did not give credence to the business owners' argument that lawmakers were trying to favor labor unions over businesses.

Under state law, unions can contribute up to $15,000 to a candidate, even though individuals can only contribute up to $1,000 and businesses cannot contribute.

Gants wrote that trade associations and nonprofits are also allowed to donate, not only unions, and there is no evidence that lawmakers acted with an intent to discriminate against businesses, rather than with an intent to limit corruption.

Justice Kimberly Budd wrote a concurring opinion expanding on the importance of regulating campaign contributions in an era of high-cost campaigns.

"The campaign finance system has created incentives for representatives to act not simply with the interests of the public in mind, but instead with an eye toward balancing the interests of the donors and the public, which may at time be divergent," she wrote.

Budd wrote that the state has a legitimate interest in banning corporate contributions not only to prevent bribery but also to prevent the appearance of corruption by preserving the relationship between government representatives and their constituents.

Justice Scott Kafker, in a concurring opinion, wrote that Gants does not sufficiently address the issue of whether the law can legally distinguish between unions and corporations.

Kafker wrote that given the age of Massachusetts' law and its apparent roots in a nationwide push to reduce the influence of big business in politics, "it is difficult to discern whether the basis for the statute's differential treatment of business corporations rests on grounds considered legitimate, illegitimate or a combination of both." He noted that unions, like businesses, have also sought to circumvent campaign finance law in Massachusetts.

After an analysis of Supreme Court cases, Kafker concludes that it remains unclear how the U.S. Supreme Court will reconcile older cases that allow different treatment of unions and businesses with the 2010 Citizens United decision, which rejects that distinction with regards to independent expenditures. But for now, he wrote that the precedent set by the earlier cases allowing differential treatment still applies to direct contributions to candidates.

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, in a statement, pointed out that Massachusetts is one of only six states that prohibits employers from donating, but not unions.

"The union loophole in Massachusetts' campaign finance law is a clear violation of the constitutional rights of equal protection, free speech, and free association, preventing businesses from having the same say in that political process that unions do," said Jim Manley, a senior fellow at the Goldwater Institute, who represented Green and Kane. "We're disappointed the Court would allow such an outright ban on political speech to stand."

This story was updated with responses from the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance and Manley.
WASHINGTON - A parade of denials began in Washington on Thursday, as Vice President Mike Pence and a growing number of other senior officials asserted they were not responsible for an explosive New York Times op-ed by someone claiming to be part of a "resistance" within the Trump administration.

Amid frenzied speculation over who was hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, a spokesman for Pence forcefully denied Thursday morning that it was him. More than a half-dozen Cabinet officials followed suit, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

By lunchtime, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had taken to Twitter, chiding the media for what she called a "wild obsession" and urging citizens to call the Times opinion desk if they wanted to learn the identify of a "gutless loser."

First lady Melania Trump also weighed in on the controversy, saying in a statement that if "a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words."

Pence's office was the first to speak out on Thursday.

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen wrote in a morning tweet. "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts."

Speculation about Pence has been rampant on social media and cable television because of the op-ed writer's use of "lodestar," an archaic word that the vice president has used in multiple speeches.

While traveling in India, Pompeo told reporters: "It's not mine."

"It is sad that you have someone who would make that choice," Pompeo said. "I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave."

Pompeo blamed the publication of the op-ed on a media that he said is trying to undermine Trump, a phenomenon he called "incredibly disturbing."

Coats, meanwhile, said speculation that the op-ed was written by him or his principal deputy, Susan Gordon, is "patently false."

"From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire [intelligence community] remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best possible intelligence," Coats said in a statement.

Some pundits had suggested that Coats was a possible author in part because, at age 75, he is likely in his final government job.

Later Thursday, a spokesman for Defense Secretary Mattis said "it was not his op-ed." U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said "no" when asked if it was hers. A spokesman for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it was "laughable" that he was the author.

And a spokesman for Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she was not focused on writing "anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times."

Denials also came from the offices of CIA Director Gina Haspel, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson.

The op-ed, published online Wednesday afternoon, was written by a senior official in the Trump administration, according to the Times. It blasts Trump as morally unmoored, criticizes his "impetuous" leadership style and depicts a "two-track presidency" in which Trump acts according to his own whims while many of his top aides, in the author's words, work to thwart his "more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

In addition to painting a dire picture of Trump's decision-making process, the op-ed also states that some top administration officials discussed early in Trump's presidency whether to seek to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment.

"Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis," the op-ed says. "So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until - one way or another - it's over."

In a late-morning tweet Thursday, Sanders said "the media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop."

She accused the Times of being "the only ones complicit in this deceitful act" and provided the phone number for its opinions desk.

In a tweet earlier Thursday morning, Trump suggested that the 0p-ed was born of frustration from his political adversaries because his administration is doing well. Among other things, he cited economic trends and what he expects to be the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to a seat on the Supreme Court.

"The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don't know what to do," Trump wrote. "The Economy is booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption. Wow!"

Trump's use of the term "Declassification" appeared to be a reference to an ongoing battle between some Republican lawmakers and the Justice Department over disclosing documents related to the start of the Russia investigation. The lawmakers have contended that such documents would show wrongdoing on the part of FBI and Justice Department officials.

On Wednesday, shortly after the op-ed was published, Trump lashed out at its author, calling the piece "gutless" and demanding that the Times turn over the writer "for National Security purposes."

In a tweet Wednesday evening, Trump wrote a single word: "TREASON?"

---

The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.
Engineers at Purdue University are combining technologies to create a system for remote physicians to assist first responders, in an intuitive way. The remote physician is able to use a large touchscreen TV to point to different parts of the body and describe how to perform lifesaving procedures. The live video stream from the scene can come from a body-worn camera or some other source, such as a drone hovering overhead. The first responder at the scene simply wears an augmented reality headset and all the annotations show up within the field of view, perfectly aligned with what the remote physician wanted to annotate.

A big part of the project, of course, was being able to translate the digital annotations from one persons point of view to anothers, though the two can be looking from different heights and angles. This is done automatically and without any input from the users of the system, so both sides feel like the other side can see and understand what theyre doing.

Here is a presentation of the new system using a drone as the video link:

Via: Purdue
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Advancements in the technological aspects of CBCT dental imaging, the market has developed at an accelerated pace in the past. Dental practitioners have effectively migrated from 2D scanning and imaging systems to CBCT dental imaging due to the benefits that can be gained from its use. The practitioners by the use of CBCT imaging derive better and higher quality of data to treat dental ailments better. Rise in the level of elderly population is an important factor contributing towards the development of the market.

CBCT Dental Imaging Market  Competitive Analysis

The escalating levels of diversification in the industry, have allowed the companies to utilize many opportunities available in the industry. The market contenders are devising their blueprints for corporate strategy in a way can bring about the top outcomes for development in the current scenario, while also concurrently enhancing their products value. The continual delivery of customer value has improved the market value of the industry. The opportunity for development in the market appears to be promising through the forecast period. The capability to fuel competitive capabilities is one of the chief causes powering their efforts in this period. Moreover, the contenders are handling the competitive environment by driving the market growth factors to their advantage.The firms in this market are adapting to the state of events by implementing portfolio upgrades and maintaining financial liquidity.

The foremost competitors in the CBCT dental imaging market are FONA Dental, S.R.O., Sinclair Dental/Dentaire (Canada), SOREDEX (Finland), Vatech Networks (Republic of Korea) Gendex, Imaging Sciences International, LLC (US), JKaVo Dental GmbH (Germany), Carestream Health (US), Dentsply Sirona (US), NewTom, Planmeca OY, Prexion (US), .MORITA MFG.CORP. (Japan), and others.

CBCT Dental Imaging Market  Updates

43 new patents have been awarded to Carestream Health has been awarded from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last year for innovation in cone beam CT imaging and dental imaging being some of the key focus areas. The business also received 52 additional patents in Asian and European countries last year. Among others, the key patents included new medical image capture technologies connected to the growth of cone beam computed tomography (CT) systems designed for orthopaedic extremity imaging.

CBCT Dental Imaging Market  Segments

The segmentation of the CBCT dental imaging market in India, U.S., & Europe has been segmented into type of detector, application, end users and region. The segmentation on the basis of type of detector comprises of flat panel detector and image intensifier. The application basis of the market comprises of segments such as endodontics, dental implants, orthodontics among others. On the basis of end users segments of the market comprise of academic & research institutes, hospitals & dental clinics and others. Lastly, the regional segments of the market comprises of Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World.

CBCT Dental Imaging Market  Detailed Regional Analysis

Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World are the regions that are being studied for the CBCT dental imaging market globally. The U.S. in the North American region is the major market for CBCT Dental Imaging. A CAGR of 9.5 percent is forecasted for the U.S. market for CBCT dental imaging and is estimated to touch USD 280.9 Million in revenues by the end of the forecast period. The European region is the second largest in the market which is estimated to develop at a CAGR of 10.0 percent. India in the Asia Pacific region is estimated to be a rapidly growing region in CBCT dental imaging market.

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At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.

In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.

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Usage of computers & software in dental medicine are since the 1960s. However, since the last decade the adoption of the computer & software in the dental practices has been increasing very rapidly. The Dental Software Market is majorly driven due to the technological advancements in the dental equipment. Wide adoption of digital dental radiography systems, increasing geriatric populace and dental surgeries are fostering the market growth. Furthermore, growing dental industry with the increasing number of dental patients in upcoming year is expected to enforce dental software adoptions there by offering lucrative opportunities to the market players.

However, digital dental systems are costlier especially in developing and under developed nations which results in its restricted adoption. Also, the complexity in operating software may restrain the growth of this market.

Increasing usage of Internet is the predominant factor that influences the growth of the Global Market for Dental Software. The increasing penetration of smart phones has also been contributing to the growth of this market since the last few years. The adoption of Dental Software is anticipated to surge in small and medium enterprises over the prognosis period, owing to the increasing application of appropriate market tools to target numerous groups of customers for branding their products, solutions, and services.

Dental Software Global Market  Major Players

The prominent players in the global software market include Abeldent Inc., Dentimax LLC, Carestream Health, Inc, Ace Dental Software, Sirona Dental Systems, Inc, Consult-Pro, and Patterson Dental and many others.

Dental Software Global Market  Innovations

Kapanu, a start-up of ETH Zurich, by using Augmented Reality has developed a software virtual mirror to see the results of their upcoming surgery in real time.

The process begins with a 3D scan of the patients oral cavity. The software then taps into a database full of 3D models of naturally attractive teeth and displays different options for a new smile.

This process matches the desired set of teeth with the patients current ones, laying a virtual model over the top of a live video with the pearly whites superimposed. This enables the patient to see what their new smile would look like, and even twist and turn their head to catch it at different angles.

And the beauty of this approach, compared to preparing a cast, is the patient can try on different smiles with just a few clicks of a mouse, with the software able to alter things like the length, width and shade of the teeth. Once the patient has settled on a new smile, the data is fed into 3D modelling software and onto a machine that then produces the replacement teeth.

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Dental Software Global Market  Segmentation

The Dental Software Market can be segmented in to 6 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;

Segmentation By Type : Comprises Patient Communications Software, Treatment Planning Software, Patient Education Software, Dental Imaging Software, Dental Image Management Software, Software for Dental Instruments, Planning, Practice Management Software.

Segmentation By Application : Comprises Administration, Clinical and other.

Segmentation By Purchase : Comprises Subscription, Ownership Models among others.

Segmentation By Deployment : Comprises On-Premise Model, Web-Based/ Cloud-Based Model among other.

Segmentation By End User : Comprises Hospital, Clinic, Academic and Research Institutes among other.

Segmentation By Regions : Comprises Geographical regions  North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.

Dental Software Global Market  Regional Analysis

Talking about the country which is rapidly growing in European dental software, UK is witnessing dramatic increases use of dental software. Hospitals are funding for technology up gradation is leading the growth for this market. Software solution providers are also investing in new solutions development and dental institutes are also promoting research, these factors are playing a major role in the rapid growth of UK dental software market.

The market for dental software in other part of Europe especially in Eastern Europe is also growing significantly. Eastern Europe is known for its affordable dental treatments and patients from different European countries tend to travel to this region. Growing dental tourism in countries like Poland and Hungary is driving the growth for East European dental software market.

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Market Research Future (MRFR), estimates that the size of the global EHR-EMR Market will grow at a CAGR of 10.9% over the forecast period of 2017-2023. MRFR forecasts that the global market will increase from USD 70 billion in 2016 to USD 120 billion by the end of 2023.

Competitive Landscape:

The global EHR-EMR Market is highly competitive and is characterized by the presence of a few established players. Many new entrants are keen on entering the market, and the existing players are implementing various strategies such as partnerships, mergers, acquisition, product launches, etc. to sustain their market position. Notable players in the market include Cerner Corporation (U.S), Allscripts (U.S), General Electric Company (U.S), McKesson Corporation (U.S), Epic Systems Corporation (U.S), QSI Management, LLC (U.S), eClinicalWorks (U.S), and Greenway Health, LLC (U.S).

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The global EHR-EMR market is primarily driven by an increase in the volume of medical records which requires proper management and storage. EHR-EMR provides the advantages of better accessibility, improved communication, data aggregation, and integration. EHR-EMR also lower staffing requirements and thus reduce health care costs, also reducing the scope of human errors. It is on account of these advantages that the global EHR-EMR market is proliferating. Technological advancements in EHR-EMR technology such as Blockchain, Byod, Artificial Intelligence, Opensource fuel the growth of the market. Cloud-based solutions also provide growth opportunities. Small healthcare providers who cannot make up-front investments are opting for free and web-based services which also eliminates the need for infrastructure and maintenance. Government funding is a crucial driver of the market. Governments in various economies are funding projects to automate health record systems which induce the demand for EHR-EMR. The growth of the healthcare and life-sciences industry also reflect positively on the EHR-EMR market. On the flip side, various factors are likely to slow down the momentum for the EHR-EMR market. The growth of the market is inhibited by the economic slowdown at a global level which results in lack of capital and operational constraints. Even though both developed and developing countries exhibit high interest in automating health record, the introduction of EHR-EMR systems is obstructed by available technology which is inadequate to support the system and insufficient funds to migrate from the existing system to an electronic system. The high cost of implementing EHR-EMR system is a limiting factor to the market growth. Switching to EHR-EMR involves high costs of computers, electrical wiring and a vast amount of electricity supply. Health administrators and governments perceive the cost of implementing EHR-EMR systems very high and thus resist adoption. Additionally, lack of skilled staffs with adequate knowledge of computer and disease classification are vital issues. Other factors include resistance from medical professionals to switch to an electronic system and change their behaviors and attitudes, and lack of data processing facilities which are barriers to the implementation of EHR-EMR.

Segmentation:

The global EHR-EMR Market has been segmented on the basis of types and mode of delivery. By types, the market has been segmented into emergency care, perioperative care, mobile applications for doctors and nurses and others. By mode of delivery, the market has been segmented into on-premise and cloud-based.

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Industry Updates:

In June 2018, MTBC announced the release of a blockchain technology fused with an EHR platform. Called Hyperledger, the blockchain EHR will facilitate access of health records through smartphones. MTBC is a healthcare information technology company which provides practices with web-based solutions through its EHR platform.

Regional Analysis:

Geographically, the market spans the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Americas is dominating the global EHR-EMR market. Broad adoption of EHR-EMR, the presence of major players in the region and growth in the number of services in hospitals boost the growth of the market in the region. Europe is the second largest market after the Americas owing to growing adoption of IT in the healthcare sector for patient administration and engagement. Asia Pacific is slated to emerge as the fastest growing market due to escalated demand for software solutions in the healthcare sector and rising expenditure on healthcare facilities in the developing economies of the region. The Middle East & Africa market is expected to exhibit steady growth over the forecast period.

Table of Content

1 Report Prologue

2 Market Introduction

2.1 Definition

2.2 Scope Of The Study

2.2.1 Research Objective

2.2.2 Assumptions

2.2.3 Limitations

3 Research Methodology

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Primary Research

3.3 Secondary Research

3.4 Market Size Estimation

4 Market Dynamics

4.1 Drivers

4.2 Restrains

4.3 Opportunities

4.4 Challenges

4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators

4.6 Technology Trends & Assessment

Continued

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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, September 6, 2018

What's in a name? Everything according to Melvin Brewing Founder Jeremy Tofte. For starters, consider the name of the brewery and one of its top IPAs, Melvin, a variant of a wedgie.

Names remain one way that the company forms relationships with customers. Tofte tries to keep everything to two syllables. Many times we use funny names like 2by4, he said. When you drink too many beers it may feel like you got hit with a 2 by 4 in the morning.

Theres also a beer named Chuck Morris, which sounds like Chunk Norris. The Chuck Morris beer is named after an employee who, while brewing the beer, put in four pounds of hops rather than 4 ounces. Every beer name from the Alpine location has a story behind it, he said.

Melvin keeps about 12 beers in production, but the company has brewed hundreds in the past years. Other names include Ruckus and Heyzeus.

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Naming the beers has become a team effort, whereas in years past the brewer decided the name. In the future, some names might originate from the brewerys customers, Tofte said.

Melvin Brewing does appear in search directors such as TripAdvisor, but marketing is typically done by word of mouth. Theres a small billboard heading north on Highway 89 around Etna, Wyoming, about nine miles from the Alpine brewery. On occasion the company also hosts marketing parties, he said. As of today there has been no online advertising such as search or even mobile messaging, but as the company grows that may change, he said.

In addition to the Melvin brewery located in Alpine, there are pubs with restaurants in several towns. Tofte named the Jackson, Wyoming location Thai Me Up. The name came from a brainstorming session with his dad, who worked for distributors such as Miller Brewing Company and Hamms Brewing.

"I was brewing during the day and bartending at night, he said. At the time it was basically our friends who came into the pub. They would ask for a Melvin, and wed say 'are you sure you want a Melvin?' It was funny. Now were a large brewery with a funny name."

The location, still open today, serves Thai food and IPAs. In fact it all began in September of 2000 in Jackson in the 180-square-foot back room of the restaurant. After a few years, Tofte even tried to sell the place after failing to acquire a liquor license after several attempts. He sold it on eBay in July 2006 to surf in exotic locales, only to take it back two years later because of extenuating circumstances.

"When I took the space back over in 2008, I saw that business was not where I needed it to be, so I sold my 1978 Mercedes for $5,000 and bought a 20-gallon brew system," he said. "The rest is like a dream come true."

The dream led Tofte to a location in Bellingham, Washington. He named it Melvin Brewpub. Another location is scheduled to open in San Diego, California, some time in October.

The Alpine brewery has a pretty good story behind it. Tofte worked with the city of Alpine and the state of Wyoming to build the facility on the edge of the Palisades Reservoir. The state had a project that allowed businesses to apply for a $3 million grant.

The application process took about a year. Of the $3 million, Melvin would pay back $2.4 million during the next 15 years. The funds go back to the town of Alpine.

As part of the grant, Melvin needed to create 24 jobs for local residents within five years. The brewery created 45 jobs in two years and another 10 out-of-state jobs.
by Sara Guaglione , September 6, 2018



Marie Claire magazine is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its UK edition with an issue celebrating female empowerment, out on newsstands today.

Sustainability, career success, race and identity, friendship and feminism  these are just some of the topics we explore through the voices of remarkable women in the special birthday print edition and on our digital platforms, stated Trish Halpin, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire UK.

On the cover is the first female star of British TV series Doctor Who, Jodie Whittaker.

Dior, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Omega, Gucci, Michael Kors, Estee Lauder, Longchamp, Clinique and Land Rover are some of the advertisers featured.

This issue also marks the beginning of a year-long partnership with Hugo Boss fragrance.

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Published by TI Media, Maire Claires first issue was released in 1988. (Time Inc. UK was acquired by Epiris LLP and rebranded to TI Media in June 2018, after Time Inc. was acquired by Meredith Corp.)

Marie Claire readers have always encompassed a combination of intelligence and a passion for fashion and beauty; that mix has not altered. And while Marie Claire has been through iterations containing those two elements, it has never strayed from that, stated Justine Southall, managing director for Marie Claire UK.

She added: While a lot has changed in the world over three decades, not least in media, staying relevant after 30 years and standing the test of time has required quite a transformation.

Featured in the latest issue is a series of conversations between successful women and the women who inspired their careers, including Charlotte Olympia and Sophia Webster, Bobbi Brown and Jen Aiken, MIA and Deeyah Khan, Deborah Frances White and Aisling Bea and Mary Katranzou and Belle Leigh Smith.

Five influencers recreate iconic fashion and beauty looks from Marie Claires past in the issue as well. and Halpin travels to Ghana with her teen daughter to highlight the importance of girls' education.

To celebrate its 30th birthday, Marie Claire launched a campaign at the beginning of this year called #WomenKind, with a series of events, features, social activity and videos.

Marie Claire UK claims it reaches 5.6 million women monthly across platforms.
by Sara Guaglione , September 6, 2018



Forbes Media has created a new position to focus on mergers and acquisitions, investments and partnerships in emerging digital areas like AI, fintech and blockchain.

The goal is to accelerate digital growth and revenue for the company through these opportunities.

Taha Ahmed, a former manager at Group Nine Media, will take on the role with the title of strategic investment associate.Ahmed is also a former Goldman Sachs analyst.

With the addition of Taha, we will be developing a more robust acquisition strategy for future innovation and growth, stated Mike Federle, CEO of Forbes Media.

In February, Forbes Media acquired The Memo, a British online publication that became Forbes first full-fledged editorial team to focus on content for Europe. Forbes London office moved to a bigger space earlier this year.

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Im looking forward to working with the Forbes leadership team and our investors in Hong Kong on investment opportunities to expand the Forbes brand domestically and internationally, stated Ahmed.

Forbes Media plans to launch Benelux (the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg) and Monaco international editions.
In a study of inflammation mechanisms in the brain, researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany have identified how, as we get older, a vicious cycle of poorly regulated inflammatory responses leads to the loss of brain cells. Share on Pinterest How does chronic inflammation occur in the brain? Recently, those researchers conducted a study that investigated the mechanisms that regulate inflammation in the brain, what happens when they stop working properly, and why that may happen. The cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), they say, plays an important role in processing the rush sensation produced by cannabis. It also appears to be involved in the regulation of inflammatory reactions in the brain. If CB1 receptors fail to respond, this contributes to the development of chronic inflammation, which can eventually lead to the loss of brain cells. So reports the study paper, now published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience.

Brake signals for inflammation The researchers say that the immune response in the brain is mounted via microglial cells, a type of specialized immune cell found in the central nervous system, which includes the brain and the spinal chord. Microglia work by responding to bacteria and clearing out malfunctioning nerve cells. At the same time, they send signals to recruit other types of immune cells and trigger inflammation when needed. However, if unregulated, an inflammatory reaction in the brain can misguidedly attack and damage healthy brain tissue. We know that so-called endocannabinoids play an important role in this, explains study co-author Dr. Andras Bilkei-Gorzo. [Endocannabinoids], he goes on, are messenger substances produced by the body that act as a kind of brake signal: [t]hey prevent the inflammatory activity of the glial cells. These messenger substances act by binding to certain receptors, one of which is CB1. A second one is cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2). Microglial cells have low levels of CB2, and even less, or no, CB1, the researchers explain. Still, these immune cells will react to endocannabinoids despite this lack. However, microglial cells have virtually no CB1 and very low level of CB2 receptors. They are therefore deaf on the CB1 ear. And yet they react to the corresponding brake signals  why this is the case, has been puzzling so far. Dr. Andras Bilkei-Gorzo

Neurons that translate endocannabinoids This is precisely the riddle that Dr. Bilkei-Gorzo and colleagues set out to solve in the current study. The investigation began with the observation that there is a certain group of neurons containing a large number of CB1 receptors. The researchers worked with specially engineered mice, in which the CB1 receptors found in these neurons had been switched off. Dr. Bilkei-Gorzo says, The inflammatory activity of the microglial cells was permanently increased in these animals. However, in mice with fully functioning CB1 receptors, inflammation was regulated as usual. Based on our results, he says, we assume that CB1 receptors on neurons control the activity of microglial cells. This has led the researchers to theorize that microglial cells do not communicate with other nerve cells directly. Instead, the scientists believe, microglial cells release endocannabinoids, and these bind to the CB1 receptors found in nearby neurons. These neurons might be able to communicate with other nerve cells, and the immune response is thus indirectly regulated. However, Dr. Bilkei-Gorzo and his team explain that with age, the production of endocannabinoids progressively decreases, leading to the improper regulation of immune responses and potentially to chronic inflammation. Since the neuronal CB1 receptors are no longer sufficiently activated, the glial cells are almost constantly in inflammatory mode, says Dr. Bilkei-Gorzo. More regulatory neurons die as a result, so the immune response is less regulated and may become free-running, he adds.
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"The most critical challenge is to provide surgical expertise into the battlefield when it is most required," said Juan Wachs, Purdue's James A. and Sharon M. Tompkins Rising Star Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering, who led the project team. "Even without having highly experienced medical leaders physically co-located in the field, with this technology we can help minimize the number of casualties while maximizing treatment at the point of injury."The Purdue technique involves using augmented reality tools to connect healthcare professionals in remote areas with more experienced surgeons and physicians around the world. The AR headset worn by the mentee in the field is designed to replace current telestrator technology, which uses a separate video screen and freehand sketches to provide feedback."There is an unmet need for technology that connects healthcare mentees in rural areas with experienced mentors," said Edgar Rojas Munoz, a doctoral student in industrial engineering, who worked on the project. "The current use of a telestrator in these situations is inefficient because they require the mentee to focus on a separate screen, fail to show upcoming steps and give the mentor an incomplete picture of the ongoing procedure."The Purdue system features a transparent headset screen display that allows the mentee to see the patient in front of them, along with real-time on-screen feedback from the mentor. That mentor is at a separate location using a video monitor to see the AR feed and provide instant feedback to the field surgeon.Purdue's system uses computer vision algorithms to track and align the virtual notes and marks from the mentor with the surgical region in front of the mentee."Our technology allows trainees to remain focused on the surgical procedure and reduces the potential for errors during surgery," Munoz said.The U.S. Department of Defense supported the research as it looks to connect its medical professionals out in the field with specialists back at the bases who can provide critical guidance during procedures.The Purdue technology has gone through a round of clinical evaluation and will soon go through another one. In the next few months, the technology will be tested at a Navy base in Virginia, where mentees and mentors will experiment with a simulated battlefield.Researchers at Purdue also are working to increase the stabilization ability of the view for the mentees.Other researchers on the project include Voicu Popescu, an associate professor of computer science at Purdue; Brian Mullis and Ben Zarzaur from the Indiana University School of Medicine; and nurse researchers Kathryn Anderson and Sherri Marley from Eskenazi Health Services in Indianapolis.The technology aligns with Purdue's "giant leaps" celebrating the university's global advancements made in health, space, artificial intelligence and sustainability highlights as part of Purdue's 150th anniversary. Those are the four themes of the yearlong celebration's Ideas Festival, designed to showcase Purdue as an intellectual center solving real-world issues.The team is working with the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization on patents for the technology. The research team also is looking for partners.Source: Eurekalert
Think about your scariest memory, something that haunts you till date and gives you nightmares. Now multiply that fear 10 times and that's what it feels like to virtually be a part of 'The Conjuring' universe.

 new line cinema

Pick any movie, 'The Conjuring', 'Annabelle' or 'Annabelle: Creation'; every movie was a commercial and critical success and managed to scare the wits out of everyone, even the bravehearts. The upcoming instalment of 'The Nun' isn't going to be any different.

 new line cinema

The eerie and unsettling trailer of 'The Nun' that was released earlier has already proved that this movie will bring our worst fears on the surface. But the internet isn't bothered about it. Social media has its priorities sorted and is busy doing what it does best - churning out hilarious memes.

When most people were freaking out or appreciating the trailer and the poster, Twitter was busy turning this horror movie into a laughter riot with these memes. From Lionel Messi, Aamir Khan to Anant Ambani, 'nun' I mean none were spared.

Parking in no parking zones, can create real horror on streets! Be a responsible citizen. Avoid such #DarkestParkingHabit pic.twitter.com/P840KV3aDY  Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) September 6, 2018

Sochta hu Kya se kya

Ke woh kitne Ho gye

Masoom the Dekhte dekhte pic.twitter.com/jRJzxKRgl7   Veer  (@ClawedHumor) September 5, 2018

These the Nun memes are killing me  pic.twitter.com/nHy5KWNr1h  SZ  (@RamosHolic) September 5, 2018

Earlier, Pepsi n Coke would fight over who had better drink, and now v r competing over memes.

Aaj ki taza khabar, kon no.1 pe trend karega? Radhika Apte Netflix ya The Nun? Apne vote agle 12 sec me like share subscribe kar de.#memes @AllIndiaBakchod @TheViralFever (love u both) pic.twitter.com/nXhDJx1Bar  Grey Wala Shade (@Surabhi11460842) September 5, 2018

'The Nun' will take us back in time to a Romanian convent; where a nun was found dead in a shady nook. 'A priest with a haunted past' and 'a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows' are sent to investigate the murder by the Vatican. Together they solve the murder mystery, travel through dingy dark paths and finally come face-to-face with the demonic nun.

Directed by Corin Hardy and written by Gary Dauberman, 'The Nun' is releasing tomorrow.
Freedom can be really underrated for those who readily have it, and didn't ever have to face the horrors of captivity - literally and otherwise. Have you ever been called a criminal without having committed any crime? Have you had to lead a life of fear, shame, and guilt, for no fault of your own? Have you ever been treated as a second class citizen in your own country - your own motherland that you love and plan to stay in for the rest of your life? I have gone through all of that, just like millions of other Indians who happen to not be heterosexual. Please note, 'millions' is an understatement here, and no, it's not a 'minuscule' number - and even if it were, should justice be denied just because the number of people suffering is 'small'?

 Twitter

But all of that is about to be history now. The Supreme Court of India has decriminalized Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, according to which gay sex (among other things) was a criminal offense. I no longer am a 'criminal'. I am a gay man who finally has freedom.

 Instagram Stuti Bhattacharya

Not being emotional is hard right now, but I shall try my best to be objective about what exactly changes for me this moment onward. Has the quality, or standard of living been elevated for me? No. And YES! Let's just say I had been pushed into a ditch for no fault of my own, and now I have climbed out of it and stand with others - on equal footing (again, only legally, and not in entirety because we still can't get married like heterosexual people, but that's another topic, and let's just agree that this significant step suffices, for now). For me, and my people, that warrants a huge celebration, for the climb was steep.

I am not from a metro city, and belong to an extremely conservative family. My parents probably don't even know the full form of 'LGBT'. Of course, I am not out to them. How did you expect me to even start a conversation with them on the topic, when my opening line was going to be 'Legally, I am a criminal for being who I am'? Now, however, I can. I can finally tell them that I am in a loving, fulfilling relationship. The fact that I couldn't even share that part of my life with my parents because of a flawed piece of judgment was killing me everyday. Now, I can finally tell them that they can stop looking for a bride for me, because I already have found a groom.

The constant, unyielding fear of being harassed because of your sexuality is something I don't wish upon my worst enemies. You're always just a rumour away from being arrested, or blackmailed, or being a part of a full-blown scandal. I have been lucky enough to not face anything like that, but I have friends who have been a part of horror stories - stories of humiliation, exploitation, and abuse - purely and only because of their sexual orientation. That changes today.

 Twitter

But the battle has only begun. We're no longer criminals in the eyes of the law, but what about the society? As happy as I am today, my heart still sinks when I think about all the 'Haha' and 'Angry' reactions this story is going to receive on social media. I still have to think twice before referring to 'my boyfriend' openly. I still have to 'come out'. The assumption is still that I am different, and don't fall under the category 'normal'. I still have to plan and prepare meticulously, with a counselor handy, when I am about to tell my family about my sexual orientation, while hoping and praying hard that I still have a family post that.

But I will still celebrate. I will celebrate, because today marks the day when millions have tasted freedom for the first time in their life. Today, the efforts of all the noble souls who have been crusading for the availability of something as basic as human rights, armed only with grit and hope, have borne fruit. Today, I can hold my head high, and not be ashamed of how I was born, without being penalized for it legally. Today onward, I am no longer a criminal. Today, I am free. And it feels good. Congratulations, everyone!
From this day onwards the LGBTQ community in India shall enjoy a life that is no longer closeted or barred from enjoying the basic human rights they have had to fight for, for such a long time.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual gay sex and scrapped a century-old law from the times of the British Raj, namely Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, and gave a very vibrant section of our community a new lease of life and the hope for a better future.

 Reuters

The verdict came from the Chief Justice of India who stated that gay rights must be upheld in the country, while Justice Indu Malhotra asserted that history owes an apology to the members and parents of the LGBTQ community who have suffered at the hands of a judgemental society that has overlooked their basic rights and needs for the longest times.

The verdict stems from the very need for the whole community to lead a free life guided by the same fundamental rights that every other citizen of India enjoys in the country.

This comes as a historic win for the nation and as a sign of better days in the future, where similar structural changes in outdated laws and policies shall protect and empower communities to live freely and without any fear, but complete with pride.

 Reuters

That said, we would also like to take you through the journey of not only how this sad, almost prehistoric law came to pass in the country but also why it managed to subsist within the system until today:

1. It was during the British Raj in 1862 that Section 377 first came into being. The law decreed that whoever indulges in voluntary carnal intercourse against the order of nature, be it with a woman, man or even an animal shall be punished by law with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a period of ten years along with an imposition of fine.

 Reuters

2. Years of legal battle saw decriminalisation of consensual homosexual acts in private by the Delhi High Court in July 2009 and called Section 377 of IPC as unconstitutional, which prohibits a gay person's right to individuality.

3. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court reserved the High Court's verdict in December 2013. The then Justice G. S. Singhvi upheld the constitutional validity of Section 377 and put the responsibility of the legislature to decide on the matter.

 Reuters

4. However, 2014 brought a ray of hope for the LGBTQ community, when transgenders in the country were declared as the third gender and ordered for them to be included under the OBC quota, by the top court's order. It was also stated that they shall have equal rights under the law such as the right to marriage, adoption, inheritance and adoption.

5. The major move towards a better chance for the community happened in February 2016, when the Naz Foundation submitted a curative petition and T.S. Thakur, the then Chief Justice of India ordered for the petitions to be reviewed again by a Constitutional bench.

 Reuters

6. Cut to 2018 and in July this year, the five-member Constitutional bench began to hear petitions challenging Section 377. India began to hope that the bench would rectify the mistakes of the Supreme Court and repeal Section 377.

7. Today, on September 6th, the Constitutional bench finally gave its verdict and decriminalised gay sex. They have called for equal respect and rights for the LGBTQ community and for moving towards a better, all-encompassing and compassionate society.

 Reuters

It's been a long journey but finally, we have arrived and now we can proudly say all love is legal.
At 11:40 on Friday, 7 September, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias, will meet at the Foreign Ministry with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, following an invitation extended by Mr. Kotzias during his September 2017 visit to Riga.



The two Ministers will focus on matters of mutual interest, such as the future of Europe, the enlargement policy, the refugee/migration issue, the Eastern Partnership, and Defence and Security issues. They will also discuss recent international and regional developments.



Following their meeting, at about 13:00, the two Ministers will make joint statements to the news media.
BBC reporter demands people stop using Instagram, Facebook and their phones to look at the BBC

How do you deal with smartphone zombies? asks the Jeremy Vine show on BBC Radio 2. You mean people like Mhairi McFarlane (@MhairiMcF), who responds: Whats wrong with looking at your phone? I have 500 worth of computer in my pocket containing all my friends and the sum of human knowledge but Im supposed to prefer what, small talk with random johnnies? Not talk. Listen. Sorry. LISTEN!

The Vine shows judgemental man at large is Tim Johns who under his @timoncheese handle tweets: Here is how I spent my morning: using a megaphone to heckle members of the public for having their heads buried in their phones.

To which my response is: ever been punched?

Johns is wonderfully lacking in self awareness. He says the people with their faces buried in their phones are completely oblivious to the fact Im walking around with a big microphone. Tim, mate, theyre not. Theyve seen you. Its not the 1950s or Wrexham, when and where youd cause quite a stir. To wit, the first pedestrian (only three are recorded  and one of thems a Cabbie) he gets to speak with is an Australian woman. There will be emails home.

Johns is a middle-aged man in central London looking to annoy people minding their own business. Hes more in common with a chugger than a happening. He also has a megaphone slung from his neck to keep them safe lest they step out into the road and be killed, or not pay him a blind bit of notice. Give it up Instagram and Snapchat  real narcissists have old media credentials. Life is more important than Facebook, Johns chides one stranger. But Facebook might be more important than the BBC.

Anorak

Posted: 6th, September 2018 | In: News, Technology, TV & Radio Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
Labour updates Macpherson: hating Jews doesnt make you a racist

If you can be an unwitting racist, is Jeremy Corbyns obsession with Jews and his friendships with those who want them dead a hate crime? Is Corbyns Labour Party institutional racist? In 1999, the Macpherson Report into the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence by a racist gang and the botched police investigation left us with two legacies. First we got to know what is meant by institutional racism. Sir William Macpherson defined it:

The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin. It can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people.

And in that we got the second legacy: you could be an unwitting racist. If the injured party thinks its racist, then it is racist. Anything that happens to an Asian person, say, can be self-defined as racially motivated. Lord Macpherson demanded that police mark a crime as racist where the incident is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person, rather than their own conclusion. The result is that anything can be racially motivated if you think it is. You can have racism without racists.

If racism can be unwitting, perhaps were all racists and at some point become infected by racist thoughts? Racism was recast as no longer being about real power and police; it became subjective, a study in what lurked within individuals. The State was in the clear. Dont look at the police. Look at yourself and investigate your fibre. Racism became a moral matter. Depressing stuff, for sure. To see racism everywhere and in everyone and everything was a low view of humanity. And it stuck.

Which brings us to anti-Semitism. Labour is all for unwitting racism  but not if youre a Jew. Labour has after much agonising adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliances international standard definition of antisemitism. Try not to call Zionists  people who believe in a Jewish homeland  Nazis (a conniving slight of the lowest stripe) or label Israel a racist endeavour. Labour noted that its decision must not undermine freedom of expression on Israel or the rights of the Palestinians. Labour loves freedom of expression so much it wants to make misogyny a hate crime, punishing people for what they think.

Its odd, no, how racism has caveats when its about the worlds one Jewish state but for everything and everyone else it can be assumed. Corbyn had wanted to include a 500-word explainer to one and all  including you Jews  that it must not be regarded as anti-Semitic to describe Israel, its policies or the circumstances around its foundation as racist because of their discriminatory impact. Hes never said that about any other country. Israel is exceptional. Its backers  oh, those shadowy Zionists who run the media and the banks (whoever can they be talking about? clue: ask the Jew haters)  are uniquely barbaric. Even after the Holocaust, Jews never learn.

So Corbyn sought a definition of antisemitism that allows people to be antisemitic and get away with it. While other minorities gets to see racism in everything, Jews are not allowed to see racism in anything  even when its staring them in the face.

Anorak

Posted: 6th, September 2018 | In: Key Posts, News, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, September 5 - Forty migrants who were transferred from the Diciotti coast guard ship to a Church-run migrant centre at Rocca Di Papa south of Rome have left the centre and are missing, interior ministry sources said Wednesday.

Caritas Italiana chief Father Francsco Soddu told ANSA "it's a voluntary departure, not an escape.

"You flee a state of detention and that is not the case here, no one wants to stay in Italy, that is well-known".

Some 100 Eritrean migrants were moved to the centre last week after a standoff between Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and the EU.

They are currently being moved to dioceses across Italy who have voiced willingness to take them.

Salvini kept them aboard the Diciotti for 10 days saying they would not land until the EU agreed to take them in.

In the end Catholic bishops agreed to take 100 while Ireland and Albania said they would take 20 each.


ROME - The 8th edition of the Women and Religions conference, titled "Making the Difference", is taking place in Rome on Thursday and Friday at the Marco Besso Foundation.



The conference is an international gathering focused on dialogue and sharing among science, theology, and institutions.



Italian Senator for life Liliana Segre will give a talk that advocates against "the society of hate", addressing hate speech among young people and on social media.



Kate McElwee, of the Women's Ordination Conference, will speak about the battle for the ordination of women priests in the Catholic Church.



The landscape of academics runs from specialists in antiquity to modern times, including Professor Orly Reiner of the Weizmann Institute, an embryonic brain development researcher.



Historian Ritanna Armeni will give a talk titled "Women Can Do Everything", and journalist Leila El Houssi will lead a talk about women in Islam titled "Veiling Yourself to Not Reveal Yourself?".



A discussion about planned conflict aimed at eliminating ethnic and religious differences through ethnic rapes and population annihilation will be led by Gorana Ognjenovic and Jasna Jozelic from the Norwegian Institute for Human Rights at the University of Oslo.



They will explain how the International Court of Justice has classified and condemned those acts as crimes of war that are more invasive than weapons.



Rome's chief rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, will speak on dialogue with a talk titled "Great Man - Great Woman".



Hora Aboaf will give a talk about the multiple meanings of words and language, Italian Army Major Stefania Bonaldi will speak about her experiences in the military, and many others will come together to share across the two days of the conference.


Libyan militia says truce was broken 7th Brigade 'attacked by Daman', 2 injured

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, SEPTEMBER 6 - A violation of a ceasefire in place since Tuesday was denounced on Thursday by Libyan militia that calls itself the Seventh Brigade, Libya 24 reports.



The militia said that it had been attacked by another militia, al-Daman, and that two of its fighters had been injured. The Seventh Brigade said that it had ''been victim of the deceit of militias that took advantage of the holding of the (UN) Security Council session (on Wednesday evening) to violate the ceasefire'' .



The militia, a leading player in the nine days of clashes in the Libyan capital, added that the al-Daman militia had injured two of its fighters. (ANSAmed).




SANDUSKY  A brother and sister, accused of killing a 42-year-old woman in Sanilac County, are illegal immigrants, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Thursday.

Leobardo Torres-Castillo, 20, and Francisca Vargas-Castillo, 33, are each charged with single counts of open murder and concealing the death of an individual.

"Both are unlawfully present citizens of Mexico," stated Khaalid H. Walls, an ICE official, in an email to the Tribune. "Both individuals are currently subject to immigration detainers, which means they will be turned over to ICE at the conclusion of the criminal proceedings."

"They are here illegally," he added. "Our records indicate that they are here unlawfully."

Walls also confirmed the victim in the case, Bricia Flores-Rivera, also was illegally in the country.

The siblings are scheduled to appear Tuesday in Sanilac County District Court for a probable cause conference. A preliminary examination is set for Sept. 18.

The two were charged after authorities found Flores-Rivera dead Saturday in Buel Township. The victim's boyfriend called police and reported her missing from their home on Aitken Road in Flynn Township, which is where the defendants resided as well.

"They lived in the same home," Sanilac County Sheriff Garry Biniecki told the Tribune of the relationship between the siblings and victim.

"We're not done investigating. We've been following up on this since Saturday morning and will continue to do so," Biniecki added. "These cases take weeks and months with new information always coming out."

If convicted, the immigration process would follow the criminal case.

"If they are convicted and sentenced, they would serve the prison term and then be turned over to ICE at the full conclusion of their prison sentences," Walls stated.

The Castillos remain lodged in the Sanilac County Jail on $1 million cash bonds.
PARIS - The French foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday that it was determined to work towards the continuation of the political process and the holding of elections by the end of the year in Libya.



It noted that in so doing, it was supporting the UN Action Plan and stood at the side of its partners. The ministry added that anyone that ''seeks to hinder the political process will have to answer for its actions'', reiterating its position against that of Rome.



Italy has said that Libyans should decide when they want to vote. ''Our position is that Libyans and their institutions must decide when to hold elections. We will not set dates,'' Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero at a joint meeting between the foreign and defense committees of the two houses of parliament. He added that ''on this issue there is a sort of dialectics, inside and outside Italy. But it would be strange for the dates to be set outside'' the country. French president Emmanuel Macron also spoke to Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Serraj, who according to a statement issued by the French president's office said that ''the international community must remain unite and determined to act against all those who seek to stop of weaken the political process aiming for the holding of elections awaited by Libyans to choose their leaders.'' In the statement, France called on ''the international community, regional organizations and all friends of Libya to join forces to this end, especially as part of the high-level week at the UN General Assembly.''
This year will go down in the aviation history books as the year of the emergence of the ultra-long haul flight. A slew of them have already launched and the world's longest flight, Singapore Airlines' New York City-Singapore 19-hour non-stop, will return to the skies in October.

San Francisco International Airport is the starting and ending point to several of these super long-distance flights. The longest flight out of SFO is the non-stop to Singapore, an 8,446 mile journey flown by both Singapore and United Airlines. In the winter, the SFO>SIN flight can take nearly 17 hours and 30 minutes.

Don't miss: 6 longest air routes from SFO

With airplane journeys clocking in at 17+ hours becoming the norm because of cheaper jet fuel prices and lighter, longer-range jets, airlines are closely looking at the health effects of all that time in the air.

Both Singapore Air and Australia's Qantas Airways are going all-out to investigate  and tinker with  inflight service patterns, meals and pre-flight rituals to help passengers manage the sedentary effects of being in a cramped, dehydrating airplane cabin for the better part of a day.

Regrettably, there's not much being done in terms of providing what we all really want: more space in economy class. Instead, the carriers have forged partnerships with nutrition and wellness experts to help them find some answers. Qantas has partnered with Sydney University's Charles Perkins Centre; Singapore is working with Arizona-based wellness firm and spa operator Canyon Ranch.

"The overarching thing here is we are always looking for ways to elevate the customer travel experience on our flights, and we have noticed a new trend in well-being," said Sek Eng Lee, Singapore's regional vice president of the Americas.

On the carrier's longest flights, including its non-stop between San Francisco International Airport to Singapore, the cabin environment is being revamped to promote better sleep and fight jet-lag.

"We are adjusting the cabin lighting to how the sunrises and sunsets in accordance to the body clock," Lee explained. Passengers might see warm hues of red, orange and yellow lighting to simulate a sunset when it's bedtime aboard the carrier's Airbus A350 jets. A deep dark blue color can mimic the night sky during periods of rest and lighter colors can help passengers wake up when it's almost time to land.

Meals too are undergoing a healthy revamp to take into consideration that passengers could be confined to a seat 17+ hours. That means in-flight food with fewer carbs, lighter courses, and more ingredients that are rich in water content to fight the effects of dehydration in a dry airplane cabin- and as usual, the meals getting the most attention are only offered in business class.

Thankfully, one of the best features of newer jets like Boeing's Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 is better cabin pressure and humidity levels than older aircraft such as the ubiquitous Boeing 777, the Airbus A380 and the slowly disappearing 747.

On November 2, Singapore will launch non-stop Airbus A350 flights between Los Angeles and Singapore . Non-stop SFO-Singapore flights will increase from the current daily service to 10 flights a week starting November 28.

On Qantas' longest flight, a 9,000 mile, 17-hour and 20 minute non-stop between Perth, Australia and London, the airline is testing a "jetlag reducing menu" available to all passengers (including economy class) that includes probiotic infused juice shots, crudite, seasonal fruit platters, and a hot chocolate drink with warm milk and sleep-inducing Tryptophan in it.

Qantas began operating a 7,855 mile 15 hour, 30 minute non-stop between San Francisco and Melbourne on September 1 on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the same plane used to fly the Perth-London flight.

"Because of where Australia is situated on the globe, we've always had to push the boundaries of long-haul flying..." a Qantas spokesperson said. "We want our customers to enjoy their experience onboard, particularly on the long-haul services which have been part of our network for many years, and we're sure those flying Qantas from San Francisco to Melbourne won't be disappointed."

Qantas said its work with the University of Sydney has helped with lighting on its ultra-long haul flights to incorporate different color patterns to reflect time zones and passengers' circadian rhythms to promote sleep. The lighting sequences are used on Qantas' SFO-Melbourne flight. On its website, Qantas recommends six in-seat exercises and other health tips for long haul flights. In its newest 787's Qantas now has special storage units for water bottles to help passengers stay hydrated.

The research has also found the sweet spot to set cabin temperatures for long journeys: too hot and passengers can wake-up drenched in sweat, too cold and fliers will be shivering instead of sleeping. [We asked Qantas for the exact temperature but a spokesperson said it was "proprietary."] I generally find that US carriers keep cabins at a cooler temperature, which I prefer, than their Asian and European counterparts-- what do you think?

United Airlines tells TravelSkills it also employs a similar strategy to light aircraft cabins on long flights to simulate sunsets and sunrises. Along with the SFO-Singapore non-stop, United flies SFO-Tel Aviv (15+ hours returning to San Francisco), SFO-Sydney, Australia (15 hours to SYD), and SFO-Hong Kong (14+ hours to HKG).

"As with most of our longer flights, we also utilize the LED lighting scenes on our 777-300's and 787 Dreamliners to create optimal lighting atmospheres conducive to the time of day," said Maddie King, a spokesperson for United.

Extra snacks are catered onto longer flights to appease the mid-flight hunger pangs of passengers in both business class and economy on-request, King explained. United also provides cooler gel-pillows for business class passengers that many now swear by.

Airlines explain bookings are strong for these super long flights, strengthening the business case for them. Singapore is currently looking at new destinations to potentially serve in North America non-stop from its Changi Airport home, according to Lee, although there was nothing specific he was able to announce.

"The response has been overwhelming," Lee said of its SFO flights. "We find that to continue to meet the demand on our flights, we've got to add additional frequencies."

How do you feel about ultra-long haul flights? Would you rather be on a plane for 17+ hours, or make a stopover? How do you cope? Please leave your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

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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.
CROMWELL  A lawsuit brought by a pregnant Cromwell police officer has been settled in her favor.

Sarah Alicea, now a school resource officer, argued that the town forced her to take unpaid leave during the final four months of her pregnancy last year rather than modify her duties.

The settlement was announced late Thursday morning by the Connecticut chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Alicea in her lawsuit.

Alicea safely delivered a baby daughter, and has since resumed her job.

I spoke out to seek justice for me and my family, and to make sure no other woman police officer has to experience what I have gone through, Alicea said in a statement released by the ACLU.

When we celebrated my daughters first birthday in August, I did so knowing that Ive made the world a better place for her.

Under the settlement, the town agreed to:

Adopt a pregnancy policy by Oct. 30 that conforms with state and federal protections for pregnant workers

Inform employees of their rights to pregnancy accommodation

Establish a procedure for employees to obtain reasonable accommodations for pregnancy while they work

Reimburse Alicea for wages and paid time off benefits she lost during and immediately following her pregnancy

Thursday afternoon, Town Manager Anthony J. Salvatore issued a statement on behalf of the town regarding the settlement.

The town of Cromwell is an equal opportunity employer and has at all times acted in good faith with regards all applicable state and federal regulations as well as the collective bargaining agreement.

We are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution of this dispute with no admission of liability, which allows all parties to avoid the time and expense of litigation.

We consider this matter closed, Salvatore said.

Meanwhile, the ACLU placed the cost of the back pay for Alicea at $57,000, according to Meghan Holden, a spokeswoman for the ACLU.

Contact the reporter at jeff.mill@hearstmediact.com.
Serraj asks Macron to 'unify international position' Abide by dates agreed, Libyan PM tells French president

(ANSAmed) - CAIRO, SEPTEMBER 6 - Libyan prime minister Fayez al-Serraj has asked French president Emmanuel Macron to unify the international community's position on the Libyan crisis, including by asking all parties involved to abide by the deadlines of the political accord.



The statement was posted on the Facebook page of the prime minister's press office, which reported on the telephone call with the French president.



The text does not specify which agreement it was referring to. (ANSAmed).




The Marine Corps ordered an immediate evacuation of its mountain-warfare training center near the California-Nevada border as a nearby wildfire threatens the base.

Col. Kevin Hutchison, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, ordered all personnel to evacuate the installation on Wednesday at 1 p.m. local time, according to a Marine Corps news release.

The order came at the recommendation of the U.S. Forest Service. The mountain-warfare training center is located northwest of Bridgeport, California, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains about 20 miles from the Nevada border.

The Boot Fire has burned at least 3,000 acres in the area, according to Forest Service data. The fire has led to evacuations and road closures in the area, including sections of the Pacific Crest Trail and U.S. Highway 395.

The fire was first reported on Tuesday. It's not known what sparked the inferno.

Marines training at Bridgeport often work with pack animals, including horses and donkeys. Marine officials did not immediately respond to questions about whether the animals were also evacuated from the base on Wednesday.

The Marine Corps conducts cold-weather and mountain-survival training at the remote installation. It occupies about 46,000 acres of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Elevation there ranges from more than 6,700 to about 12,000 feet above sea level.

In July, hundreds of families were evacuated from sections of Camp Pendleton in California as fires spread there. At least 1,200 acres were burned in those wildfires.

--Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins.
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The 96th Medical Group held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the Air Force's first Invisible Wounds Center here Aug. 30.

More than 120 people attended the event and toured the new facility, including Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Dorothy A. Hogg, Air Force Brig. Gen. Evan C. Dertien, the 96th Test Wing commander, and members of the local community.

Hogg thanked everyone who helped to stand up the center and reaffirmed the Air Force's commitment to providing "trusted care" to service members.

"Standing up this facility is just the first step of many in our commitment to care for our warriors with invisible wounds," she said. "We owe these brave men and women the very best treatment possible. Today, we make good on that commitment."

The center will serve as a regional treatment center for post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, associated pain conditions and psychological injuries.

"The center is ready to treat retirees, Guard, Reserve, and active duty members from our sister services who carry the weight of invisible wounds," Hogg said. "Our goal is to eliminate barriers to care. We want to treat our service members with dignity through every phase of their recovery."

"The facility and the capabilities we are building here have the impact and the potential to change people's lives," Dertien said. "This sends the message that we can talk about invisible wounds. It's OK to ask for help. We're here for you, we're ready to serve you."

Modeled After Intrepid Spirit Centers

The Invisible Wounds Center, modeled after the best practices of the Intrepid Spirit Centers, will assemble a team of 18 specialties under one roof to provide treatment in an individually tailored, holistic and integrated fashion, using a combination of conventional and complementary therapies. Art and music therapy, yoga, acupuncture, physical and occupational therapy and mental health services will also be included in treatment.

"Having all these services under one roof, complementing each other, provides treatment and healing in ways that are only now being recognized," Hogg said. "The providers will also address physical, spiritual, mental and social well-being to further ensure positive health outcomes."

Hogg shared positive accounts from wounded warriors she met at Intrepid Spirit Centers on military installations around the country. She attributed their success to the mind-and-body approach to treatment and community involvement. She also noted patient, caregiver and family education is key component in the healing process.

"We learned the best outcomes occur when a host of people are involved in the healing process," she said. "Complete healing and reintegration requires healing the patient as well as the family."

The ceremony concluded with an announcement for the military community.

Intrepid Spirit Facility Planned

Hogg said the Defense Department recently accepted a proffer from Arnold Fisher, honorary chairman of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, to build an Intrepid Spirit Center here, making it the tenth of its kind and the first on an Air Force base. Plans for the groundbreaking are underway, and officials expect completion of the facility in 2020.

Fisher describes these facilities as "centers of hope," and adds that these center are not built by the government, but by donations from the American people, Hogg said. He finds that thought reassuring, she added, because Americans believe this is the right model to treat invisible wounds.

"Fisher is determined to continue his mission to build Intrepid Spirit Centers," Hogg said. "Today the Air Force is forever grateful to him and all the donors who will make the Intrepid Spirit Center here a reality."
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa -- A former Marine arrested last month in connection with a grisly drug-related homicide on Taiwan has ties to the nearby island of Okinawa and may have been disciplined prior to leaving the service nearly a decade ago.

Ewart Odane Bent, 30, was taken into custody Aug. 24 by Taiwanese police in the killing of Ramgahan Sanjay Ryan, a 43-year-old Canadian who was hacked to death with machetes and dismembered on the evening of Aug. 21, according to the English-language Taiwan News.

Both Bent and Ryan were English teachers who were reportedly involved with a local drug ring.

Bent served in the Marines from Dec. 6, 2006, to Aug. 7, 2009, as a cryogenics equipment operator, Marine Manpower and Reserve Affairs spokeswoman Yvonne Carlock said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes. His last duty station was on Okinawa with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 36, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. He attained the rank of private on Dec. 2, 2008.

"Bent's rank at discharge is indicative of the fact that the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps' expectations and standards," she said.

Carlock declined to release a copy of Bent's personnel file pending review, nor could she comment further because Bent was not punished through a punitive process such as a special or general court-martial.

"Due to the associated administrative processes, further details are not releasable," she said.

Bent isn't listed as having ever deployed, Carlock said. He did not receive any personal awards but was decorated with the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

'Heated disputes'

It is unclear when Bent moved to Taiwan; however, Taiwanese media have reported that he arrived at the behest of Israeli-American tattoo shop owner and former Israel Defense Forces soldier Oren Shlomo Mayer, 37. The Hong Kong-based tabloid Daily Apple described Mayer as a "drug dealer" and the "largest supplier of marijuana in northern Taiwan."

Mayer's LinkedIn page says he moved to Taiwan in 2015 after living and working at various places in California.

Bent taught at Annie's English cram school in New Taipei's Linkou District as well as two other branches in New Taipei City's Xinzhuang District, according to the Taiwan News. He reportedly slept on a couch at Mayer's tattoo shop for a time and also lived in a dormitory provided by the school.

Taiwanese media said that the victim, Ryan, became known to police after an investigation into marijuana sales led them back to him earlier this year. He was reportedly arrested with a large amount of marijuana but was released.

Bent and Mayer were also arrested in recent weeks on drug charges, the Taiwan News reported. They suspected Ryan had informed on them.

Ryan had "heated disputes" with Mayer and Bent over drugs, the Taiwan News said.

The slaying

Mayer and Bent are alleged to have ambushed Ryan while he walked his dog at a riverside park in New Taipei City.

The pair allegedly moved Ryan to a secluded area, tied him down with a chain and hacked him with the machetes, the Taiwan News said. They then severed his head and limbs with a wire saw, and the body parts were placed in white trash bags and dumped in the Xindian River.

The dog ran home and reportedly led two of Ryan's friends to his body the next day.

Police began to focus the homicide investigation on Bent because Ryan's phone showed they had argued over drugs, the Taiwan News said. Bent's phone also placed him in the area at the time of the killing.

Bent was taken to the New Taipei Public Prosecutor's Office after his arrest, but it remains unclear whether he has been officially charged in the slaying.

He had a bail hearing Aug. 26 and was not released, the English-language newspaper Taipei Times reported. His communications with the outside world are reportedly being restricted.

Bent has denied involvement in the slaying, said the Taiwan News, citing the Daily Apple.

Mayer fled to the Philippines shortly after the slaying, the report said. Taiwan has been working with the Philippine government to have him extradited.

Police also arrested Wu Hsuan, 21, a Taiwanese-Canadian man who works as a promoter for a Taipei nightclub, the Taiwan News reported. Wu allegedly colluded with Bent and Mayer in selling drugs at the club.

He admitted to police that he purchased two machetes for the men on Aug. 18 and stood lookout while they killed Ryan, the Taiwan News said. He was later released on about $10,000 bail, and his attorneys have since denied that he was present at the time of the killing.
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe has been officially named to succeed the late Sen. John McCain as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in a move that could to put the influential Committee on friendlier terms with the White House.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, announced that Inhofe would become SASC chairman. He had been serving as acting chairman since McCain went home to Arizona in December 2017 to battle glioblastoma, the terminal form of brain cancer that eventually took his life.

McConnell's action instantly made the 83-year-old Inhofe the Senate's leading voice on military and defense policy.

"Jim Inhofe filled in for Sen. McCain during a difficult year," McConnell said. "He rose to the occasion and helped lead the committee in passing crucial legislation that honored the example of his predecessor and the volunteers who defend our nation."

McConnell referred to the $717 billion "John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019," which was steered through the Senate by Inhofe and signed by Trump in August.

Inhofe, who served two years in the Army in the 1950s, has gained notoriety as one of the most outspoken deniers of climate change in Congress.

He is author of the book: "The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future" and has been an opponent of the Navy's "Green Fleet" efforts to develop biodiesel and other forms of alternative fuels for ships and planes.

There has been speculation that Inhofe would go easier on the defense industry in contrast to McCain, whose outbursts against cost overruns were legendary, but Inhofe has also lambasted the industry on big-ticket items.

At a hearing he chaired last year, McCain went after admirals and industry representatives on cost overruns for the littoral combat ship, and also cited previous cost overruns on weapons systems ranging from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to the stealthy Zumwalt-class destroyers.

"We're always talking about cost overruns, we're talking about increased costs and delays," Inhofe said. "It's not just the Navy. It's a problem, it's all over."

Inhofe, whose background is in real estate and insurance, was elected to the House in 1986 and to the Senate in 1994. He has served on the Armed Services Committees in both chambers.

When asked earlier this week about his priorities as chairman, Inhofe told reporters that he wanted to delegate more responsibility to the subcommittees, according to various media outlets.

"First of all, a lot heavier use of subcommittees," he said. He added that it was something "I've been wanting to do for a long period of time."

Inhofe last week called McCain "my hero," but also said that the former Vietnam POW and decorated Navy veteran was "partially to blame" for the bitter rift with President Donald Trump that may have led to the dispute on whether flags should be flown at half-staff in his honor until he was interred.

"Well, you know, frankly, I think that John McCain is partially to blame for that because he is very outspoken. He disagreed with the President in certain areas and wasn't too courteous about it," Inhofe told reporters, according to Stars and Stripes and other outlets. He added that both McCain and Trump were "strong-willed people."

Flags atop the White House and on all public buildings and at military bases were lowered to half staff after McCain's death on Saturday Aug. 25. By Monday morning, the White House rooftop flag had been returned to full staff.

Veterans groups and others charged that Trump was failing to show "proper respect."

By late afternoon Monday, Trump relented and the flag went back to half-staff. He also issued a proclamation allowing flags at all federal installations to be flown at half staff until McCain's interment last weekend at the U.S. Naval Academy cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland.

In one of his last statements, McCain said the defense budget bearing his name "represents an important opportunity to implement an effective approach to confront a growing array of threats."

He said the bill in combination with the National Defense Strategy "outlined a framework for identifying and prioritizing these threats," with an emphasis on building readiness to deter China and Russia.

Inhofe's first task as chairman will be to steer the NDAA through a conference committee with the House to secure full funding for the bill, which includes a 2.6 percent pay raise for the military, from House and Senate appropriators.

At the time of the NDAA's signing, Inhofe said in a statement that the bill had been passed and signed earlier in the year than it had in four decades.

"This historical significance will be lost if we fail to pass appropriations to match the authorization enacted today," he said.

"America is facing new and unprecedented threats that are different from anything we've seen before," Inhofe said in a statement following McConnell's announcement that he would take over as head of SASC. "As chairman, it will be my priority to address these threats while maintaining a staunch commitment to service members and their families, as well as continue the tradition of rigorous accountability and oversight of the Defense Department."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Two Navy fighter jets were damaged during an aerial refueling exercise off the coast of Virginia late last month, including an F-35C participating in its first round of operational tests aboard an aircraft carrier.

The F-35C was receiving fuel from an F/A-18F Super Hornet off the coast of Virginia on Aug. 23 when debris from an aerial-refueling basket was ingested into the Joint Strike Fighter jet's engine intake, said Lt. Travis Callaghan, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces.

The mishap led to engine damage for the F-35C, assigned to the California-based "Rough Riders" with Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 125. While rare, Callahan said parts of refueling baskets being sucked into an engine's intake are the most common form of non-bird foreign object or debris strikes in the Navy's tactical aviation fleet.

USNI News first reported the mishap.

The incident marked the first Class-A mishap for the Navy's carrier variant of the F-35, which means the aircraft suffered at least $2 million in damages. Damages to the Super Hornet are still being assessed, Callahan said, but it's currently classified as a Class-C mishap, putting estimated damages between $50,000 and $500,000.

One day earlier, an Air Force F-35A pilot from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida encountered an in-flight emergency. When the pilot turned back to return to base, the aircraft's nose gear collapsed following a safe landing.

There were no injuries reported in either aircraft and both landed safely. The F-35C returned to the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and the F/A-18F to Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, where it is based with the "Jolly Rogers" of VFA-103.

The incident remains under investigation, Callahan said.

About a half dozen F-35C Lightning II aircraft have been operating aboard the Lincoln for the last month. It's part of the new joint strike fighter's operational tests.

The Navy's F-35 variant, designed specifically for taking off and landing on aircraft carriers, is expected to reach initial-operational capability in February.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins.
The U.S. Army has no current plans to replace its Cold-War era AH-64 Apache, a still-lethal attack helicopter that the service plans to fly into combat for at least another three decades, according to the head of Army aviation.

"Right now, it's an incredibly capable aircraft that we know we are going to be flying well into the 40s," Maj. Gen. William Gayler, who commands the Army's Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, Alabama, told an audience Wednesday at the Association of the United States Army's Aviation Hot Topic event.

Gayler's comments on the future of the AH-64 offer a new perspective on the Army's evolving Future Vertical Lift program. FVL is the third priority under the Army's bold new modernization plan, and until now Army leaders have focused on talking about the program's goals of building a new long-range assault aircraft to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk and an armed reconnaissance aircraft -- leaving the future of the AH-64 an open question.

Senior Army leaders continually hammer away that the service's modernization vision is to begin fielding a new fleet of combat platforms and aircraft by 2028 that will replace the Cold War "Big Five:" the M1 tank, Bradley fighting vehicle, Black Hawk, Apache and Patriot air defense system.

"Does it mean you now have to have a replacement for the AH-64? I would say somewhere in the future, absolutely, 64s will no longer be in the inventory, just like [UH-1] Hueys are no longer in the inventory ... they have a lifespan," Gayler said. "But the timing of what replaces it and the affordability what replaces it has yet to be seen."

The new armed reconnaissance aircraft, or ARA, is designed to take on a burden that AH-64 has long shouldered, Gayler said.

"What that armed reconnaissance aircraft is designed to do is replace an AH-64 used as a reconnaissance and security platform in an armed reconnaissance squadron," Gayler said. "That aircraft was not designed to do that, therefore that's why we are pursuing something does it optimized for that mission."

For the long range assault aircraft, the Army selected two firms to develop demonstrators in 2014. Textron Inc.'s Bell Helicopter created the V-280 Valor, which completed its first test flight in December. Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin Corp., and Boeing Co. built the SB>1 Defiant, a medium-lift chopper based on Sikorsky's X2 coaxial design.

The FVL family will also include an advanced unmanned aerial system to deliver targeting data to long range precision fires and launch electronic attacks on enemy radar systems.

Future Vertical Lift is competing with five other modernization priorities: long-range precision fires, next-generation combat vehicle, a mobile network, air and missile defense and soldier lethality.

To be successful, Army aviation leaders have to focus on "what you can afford to do and prioritize where you have greatest need," Gayler said, pointing to the ARA and "long range assault aircraft."

"That Apache is still very, very capable ... made more capable by the armed reconnaissance aircraft that complements it and the long range assault aircraft that further enables it to be successful," Gayler said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
A handwritten or typed thank-you snail mail note may seem like an archaic relic from a past age of job-hunting, but in a world of digital noise, it will help you stand out. When done genuinely, a thank-you note can boost your career or job prospects, and create stronger relationships with your peers, mentors, and boss in the process.

Too bad three out of four job seekers dont bother sending a thank-you note after an interview, according to Accountemps survey of human resources (HR) managers. The survey found that only 24% of HR managers receive thank-you notes from applicants. Further, only 24% of those thank you notes are handwritten.

Everyone wants their work to be meaningful and recognizing coworkers, a boss, or mentors, past or present, are important to building long-term work relationships.

Thank you notes make a difference to Dino Hernandez, president of Strategic Advancement Solutions Group LLC, a non-profit fundraising consulting firm with clients in higher education and veterans charities.

As a 23+ year career higher education fundraising professional, I have had many talented individuals interview with me for a variety of positions, says Hernandez. The most memorable for me were the ones that took the extra steps to follow-up with a formal thank you note as well as check in with me during the active search process. Research has shown how important it is to thank people as it is a "powerful act of civility" but I would add that it also shows a future employer emotional intelligence, attention to detail, and the potential to be a contributing member of a team.

When writing a thank-you card, keep it simple. Write something like, Hey Mike, I really appreciate your mentorship. I learned a great deal from you and your knowledge helped me get where I am today. I just wanted you to know that you made a difference. In particular, your mentorship on conflict resolution really helped me when I was promoted and started managing my own team. Thanks!

Here are three situations when you should absolutely write a thank-you note.

1. The post-interview thank-you

If youre an active job-seeker (or aspire to be one), you need to plan your job search and interviews like an operation. In the military, thank yous are not necessary. In fact, the words Dont thank me, the government thanks me twice a month, are probably echoing through your head right now. But in the civilian world, thank-yous go a long way to helping you land that dream career. Its what the Center for Sales Strategy calls a Valid Business Reason (VBR) to reach out and connect with someone in a meaningful way.

Pro tip: While in the interview, remember to take notes for things that impress you about the company or the job. When writing the card, refer to your notes and make mention of what impressed you. This does two things: 1. It puts you top of mind with the hiring manager (or interviewer), and 2. It shows you really care about the position and are passionate about the opportunity.

2. Thanking a past (or current) mentor

Mentors are often appreciated at the moment but once youve gone on your separate paths, you shouldnt abandon that relationship. In fact, you should put a reminder on your calendar to send out an email or snail mail thank you to your mentor at least once a year or perhaps on significant dates, especially their birthday. Be sure to offer your help to them, this is a two-way street, there may be a time when your mentor may need your assistance, so offering it in advance is a great way to show your gratitude for their guidance.

3. The saved the day colleague

Weve all had those moments. Some emergency puts a critical project in danger and a co-worker swoops in and saves the day. These are opportunities for you to not only express your sincere thanks but also to extend the same offer to them for any assistance they might need in the future.

THE NEXT STEP: FIND THE RIGHT VETERAN JOB Whether you want to polish up your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area, or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. Sign up for a free Military.com membership to have job postings, guides and advice, and more delivered directly to your inbox.

-- Sean Mclain Brown can be reached at sean.brown@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @seanmclainbrown.
While the Cubs arent giving up hope that closer Brandon Morrow will make it back to the majors this year, manager Joe Maddon did not paint a terribly optimistic picture in comments to reporters including MLB.coms Carrie Muskat. Morrow has been out since mid-July with a biceps injury.

Notably, the 34-year-old hurler has yet to begin throwing from a mound. Even if hes cleared to do so in the near-term, Maddon explains, theres simply a crunch for time. As the skipper put it, there is barely enough room on the calendar for a return late this month.

Thats obviously worrisome news for a club thats trying to protect a three-game lead in the division and launch an extended postseason run. Morrow, who signed a two-year, $21MM deal in the offseason, had been in excellent form to open the year. In his first 30 2/3 frames in a Cubs uniform, he racked up 22 saves and posted a 1.47 ERA with 9.1 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9.

Whatever one may think of the Cubs replacement options when trying to protect late-game leads, the absence of Morrow greatly diminishes the overall vitality of the clubs relief unit. Of course, his long history of injury problems helps explain why the Chicago organization got such a reasonable price on a pitcher coming off of a dominant season.

At the time of the injury, the hope seemed to be that Morrow would only need a brief respite. How the Cubs weighed the uncertainy in plotting mid-season moves isnt really known. The club picked up Brandon Kintzler and Jesse Chavez, but did not land a pitcher whod clearly function as a replacement. While the former has more experience as a late-inning reliever, the latter has been far the better pitcher over the last several weeks.

Now, with the deadline to add postseason-eligible players from outside the organization already having passed, the Cubs wont be able to do anything to bolster their bullpen other than add some late-regular-season depth. Fortunately, there are a few worthwhile options still on hand. Kintzler and Chavez are still beneath Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek, and Carl Edwards Jr., on the Cubs depth chart. Each of those three righties has high-leverage experience and a sub-3.00 ERA for the 2018 season.

Perhaps its still hypothetically possible for Morrow to return in the postseason, even if hes not able to make it back before the calendar flips to October. That would be complicated by the lack of rehab outing possibilities, but certainly isnt outside the realm of possibility  particularly for an organization that recently engineered an even more dramatic postseason injury return.
Tunisia asks for release of fishermen held in Italy Charged with aiding illegal immigration, protest at embassy

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, SEPTEMBER 6 - Tunisia has officially asked Italy to immediately release six Tunisian fishermen in jail since August 29 in Agrigento on charges of aggravated aiding and abetting illegal immigration. This was declared by Tunisian Secretary of State for Migration and Tunisian Abroad, Adel Jarboui.



He added that the Tunisian government would ensure that the rights of those arrested were respected and that all necessary support will be provided. A protest to call for the fishermen's release was held on Thursday in front of the Italian embassy in Tunis by Zarzis fishermen and the NGO ''La Terre Pour Tous".



''Tunisian authorities have already named a lawyer they trust for the defense of those fishermen from Zarzis,'' Jarboui said, adding that the men arrested had simply tried to save the irregular migrants, five of whom have already been repatriated to Tunisia, while the other nine have been placed in a reception center on Lampedusa. (ANSAmed).




Ford is recalling about 2 million of its best-selling F-150 pickup trucks in North America due to an issue with the seat belt pretensioners in the front seat.

An investigation found that upon deployment, some seat belt pretensioners "can generate sparks." Ford says it is aware of 17 reports of smoke or fire in the United States, and another six known incidents in Canada.

The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker reports in a Thursday morning, Sept. 6 news release that the recall affects some 2015-2018 Ford F-150 regular cab and SuperCrew cab models.

"When sufficient sparks are present, gases exhausted inside the lower portion of the B-pillar by the pretensioners may ignite," the automaker says in the release.

"If this gas ignites, components behind the B-pillar such as insulation and carpet may subsequently catch fire."

Pretensioners are what prepares seat belts to restrain passengers in the event of a crash. The Associated Press reports the fires in affected F-150s started in a support pillar that houses the seat belts.

The recall affects 2015-2018 Ford F-150 trucks built at the Dearborn Assembly Plant between March 12, 2014 and Aug. 23, and at the Kansas City Assembly Plant between Aug. 20, 2014 and Aug. 23 of this year.

Ford specifically says there are 1,619,112 affected F-150s in the U.S., 339,884 in Canada and another 36,780 in Mexico.

The automaker's F-series has been America's top-selling model for 41 consecutive years, and the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker sold more than 2 million F-150s between 2015 and 2018.

Once owners are notified, dealers will remove insulation from the B-pillar, wiring harness tape and will apply heat-resistant tape to the carpet and insulation areas. Dealers will also modify the interior panels on the affected regular cab models free of charge.

To search active recalls, use the NHTSA's website to search your 17-character VIN at this link. VIN numbers are typically located under the driver's side windshield, or along the inside of the doors behind the seat or under the steering wheel. To sign up for NHTSA safety alerts for a specific vehicle, sign up at this link.
WYOMING - The legal battle over The Reserve at Rivertown, a large housing project that has been proposed numerous times and rejected numerous times over a period of nearly two decades, was brought to a close Tuesday, Sept. 4, when members of City Council voted 6-1 to settle a lawsuit with the Granger Group that will allow the development to move forward.

Council members' decision on Tuesday was three-fold, as they needed to approve a court order issued by Kent County's 17th Circuit Court, the rezoning of the land owned by Granger for the project and the remaining plats in the Rivertown Valley subdivision to effectively settle the lawsuit.

All together, those three items now allow Granger to move ahead with plans for The Reserve, a development that will encompass 98.4 acres of land at the southeast corner of 56th Street and Wilson Avenue. It will include construction of 175 single-family homes, 138 single-story flats, 110 townhomes and 190 luxury apartments.

Together with the Rivertown Valley planned unit development, the new PUD created by City Council's actions will encompass 187.3 acres.

The rezoning of the property and City Council's concurrent approval of a revised overall development plan for the project did not come without some conditions, which are laid out in the documents approved Tuesday.

"What we've tried to do is cross-reference all of these documents so they all contain the same provisions," City Attorney Scott Smith said. "The first item results in approval of the court order to settle the lawsuit, and the court order settling the lawsuit results in its complete dismissal against the city, it results in the City Council's approval of the overall development plan and it imposes conditions on the development pursuant to the overall development plan.

"Similarly, the proposed ordinance to rezone the property results in the rezoning of the property to PUD-1 (and) in the conditional approval of that PUD rezoning so that those same conditions that are imposed by the court order are also cross-referenced and fully laid out in the rezoning ordinance itself."

Conditions outlined in the documents call for the inclusion of increased public amenities and increased traffic calming, such as speed bumps, and dictate that the developer must encourage homeowners already living in Rivertown Valley to join a homeowner's association. All future homeowners also must be part of the association.

Smith said the conditions also address the preservation of wetlands, one of the pivotal issues residents had raised in their myriad objections to The Reserve over the last year or so.

Had the city decided against settling the lawsuit and instead continued in court, an Aug. 29 report authored by Smith and City Manager Curtis Holt said Wyoming could have been looking at legal fees up to $350,000, according to one estimate garnered by city officials.

"The outcome of a lawsuit is uncertain," Smith and Holt wrote. "Therefore, the only way to know the outcome of a lawsuit is to agree to settlement terms. The proposed Council actions give needed approvals for a development that is modified to address previously expressed concerns and requests for changes."

Their report said the revised overall development plan very slightly increased the amount of open space acreage included in the development, even though the total number of units and the overall density of the development remained the same as what was proposed in March.

"The (plan's) details for single-story flats ... have proposed building footprints, features, exterior finishes and contemplated price points that differ from the townhomes previously contemplated for that portion of the development," the report said, adding that similar changes had been made regarding the luxury apartments, as well.

At least a handful of residents were still not satisfied with Granger's plan for The Reserve, however. David Douglas, a resident of Sage River Court, said he felt the city, in moving forward with the settlement, was not listening to the residents, many of whom had voiced their displeasure with the Granger Group earlier in the year.

"The city has negotiated behind closed doors and come up with a potential agreement that addresses a few technical concerns and a few concerns of the residents," Douglas said. "It does not address the largest concern of the community: the high number of rental units.

"I don't need to tell you how often and how loudly residents have voiced their concerns about this level of density over a period of years," he said. "The proposal falls short of taking advantage of the natural features of the land (and it's) also unfair to the people in phase one who are the furthest of any current or future residents from the clubhouse that they'll have to pay for."

Among his other concerns, Douglas urged council members to sit back down at the negotiating table and seek a settlement that reduced the number of rentals included in the development by 30 to 50 percent.

Such a move by the council was not to be, as only Councilman Robert Postema voted against the documents intended to settle the lawsuit and move the project ahead.
Two Michigan residents were bitten by a rare rattlesnake in one month, an incident the Department of Natural Resources says is unusual.

On Monday, Aug. 20, Laura Bowen, 61, of Pinckney was cleaning out her garage, carrying several items in her arms, and walking toward a shed on a pathway between it and her house.

"All I felt was....my ankle was on fire," Bowen said. "It was just immediate. I took a couple steps and set down the stuff, and I turned around and it was a huge snake.

"I kind of took a couple steps towards it and it rattled. But I wasn't sure because I'd never seen a rattlesnake before."

This was an Eastern massasauga rattlesnake, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The massasauga is the state's only venomous snake and rattlesnake, according to Dan Kennedy, the DNR's endangered species coordinator.

Massasaugas are rare in Michigan and it is not common for bites to occur, according to the DNR.

After Bowen was bitten, she pulled out her cell phone to snap a few photos of the snake and called her husband, who then directed her to dial 911.

Her ankle was too swollen to walk on and she said she felt "burning pain." When she arrived at the hospital, medical staff put IVs in both of her arms, drew multiple vials of blood to check for any coagulation and injected her with antivenin, Bowen said.

Bowen spent about a week in the hospital and is currently walking with a cane.

"I came home on crutches. I couldn't put any weight on it. The swelling has gone down (and) I'm able to walk around on it," Bowen said. "My ankle is still kind of messed up ... everything is knotted but everyday, it gets a little better."

Phil Dawson, of Brooklyn, was bitten around 10:30 p.m. Aug. 7, according to the Brooklyn Exponent. He was looking for his cat in his backyard when he stepped on the snake, the paper reported.

Dawson and his wife, Abby, called 911 and he was taken by ambulance to Henry Ford Allegiance Health in Jackson, the report said.

After 20 hours, doctors determined Dawson had suffered a "dry bite" - a bite without venom - from the rattlesnake, the report said. After he was discharged, Dawson said the pain felt like a "hot ember of coal," according to the Exponent.

Since 2016, the massasauga has been considered federally-threatened, meaning it is likely or expected to become endangered. If an individual kills one, it is considered a violation of the Endangered Species Act, unless the individual feels his or her life is in danger.

The snakes are often found in open wetlands without many trees or shrubs nearby and they primarily exist in Ontario, Canada and Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Kennedy said.

The DNR, which does not keep track of snake bites, suggests anyone who encounters a massasauga rattlesnake in their yard should either call the DNR or safely remove it themselves.

But take extra precaution because the average rattlesnake is about two feet long and can strike its body about 1.5 feet, Kennedy said.

"Make sure you have a broom with a long handle. You always want to make sure you're further away from the length of the snake," Kennedy said.

The Detroit Zoo has antivenin on-hand for species living at the zoo to protect staff and pets, according to spokesperson Patricia Janeway.

"Our supply of antivenin is occasionally tapped to treat victims - both human and canine - in circumstances where a hospital or veterinary clinic is unable to acquire it," Janeway said.

Antivenin for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake or any North American species of viper is held by the Poison Control Center, she added.

The zoo has been contacted several times to treat dogs bitten by a massasauga, but the last time the zoo was needed for human treatment was for a Windsor man in 2009, Janeway said.

The Detroit Zoo hosts toxicology seminars six times a year to help local physicians, firefighters and paramedics be in a better position to treat victims of venomous bites, Janeway said.

The DNR produced a short video explaining a safe way to remove a snake:

Jackson Citizen Patriot reporter Evan Sasiela contributed to this story.
BAY CITY, MI - The Bay City Elks Lodge plans to open a new event center and club at a former gas-station site on North Henry Street after some brownfield cleanup takes place on the property.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality awarded the Bay City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority $143,000 to help pay for environmental cleanup at the site, 1400 N. Henry St.

"They (DEQ) are working on investigating it and what kind of contamination is there," said Tony Bosco, a trustee of the Bay City organization.

He said the Elks Lodge will spend about $140,000 of its own money to renovate a building at the site. It's no longer a gas station.

Bosco said the DEQ has drilled holes into the ground, pulled some samples and will remove any contamination there might be out of the soil.

A brownfield site is a piece of land that requires more time and work to clean up due to hazardous materials or chemicals either on or under the ground that take time to clean up.

Ryan Londrigan, a brownfield coordinator with the department, said the soil was contaminated by gasoline leaning from underground storage tanks and the department awarded the grant money to remove the contaminated soil and safely dispose of it at a landfill.

After the cleanup and building renovation, Bosco said the building will have a restaurant, a bar and possibly rent out some spaces as well. He added they would be able to hire one full-time employee and two to three part-time employees for the new site.

Londrigan said the DEQ also awarded three different grants to the city to help revitalize brownfield sites around Bay City. There are two other brownfield sites in Bay City that are being developed as well.

One is an apartment building located at 1113 Center Ave. The DEQ awarded $200,000 in grant money for that project.

The third site, which has not officially been awarded yet, is a former pet store on Madison Avenue and is being developed by the Bay Veterans Foundation.

The Bay City Elks Lodge is currently housed at the Lumber Barons Brewery and Restaurant. Bosco said they expect to be done and open later this year at the new location on Henry.
Sen. Bert Johnson, Jr.

Former state Sen. Bert Johnson, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to defrauding taxpayers of more than $23,000, will spend 90 days in prison.

Johnson will also remain under court-ordered supervision for two years, with the first 90 days spent in home confinement, U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman ruled. He also must complete 480 hours of community service and pay $23,000 in restitution.

"Public officials, especially those elected by the people, cannot treat the people's money as their own," U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement issued after the sentencing. "The defendant in this case treated taxpayer money as his own, to repay his personal debt. Such an egregious abuse of power will not be tolerated."

Based on the sentencing guidelines and plea agreement, Johnson, a 44-year-old Democrat from Highland Park, could have faced six months to a year in prison.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Johnson, who had access to funds from various grant programs, diverted taxpayer money to pay off a personal loan he received from Glynis Thornton in an attempt to address growing personal debts.

Johnson admitted to putting Glynis Thornton on his payroll as a "community liaison" in 2014 to pay off a $17,000 loan. Thornton then began to collect biweekly checks at a rate of $22 per hour for 30 hours per week of work that was never performed between March 2014 and January 2015, according to federal investigators.

Johnson pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program.

By late 2013, Johnson owed nearly $5,000 to University of Detroit Jesuit High School for his son's private education, and had taken on nearly $18,000 in debt for his own tuition to attend classes at the University of Detroit, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Johnson's attorneys argued Leitman should administer a lenient sentence below the guidelines because Johnson, a father of four, including two adult children, is the primary caretaker for his two youngest boys, 16 and 5, and his 65-year-old mother, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

Johnson began working in the public sector as chief of staff for state Rep. Bill McConico in 2001, for whom he continued to work until 2006, when he was elected to the seat McConico vacated in retirement.

He held the state House seat from 2007 until 2010. He was elected to the state Senate in 2010, serving from 2011 until his resignation in 2018, days after he pleaded guilty to corruption, according to the defense's sentencing memorandum.

Michigan senators earn a starting annual salary of nearly $72,000 per year, not including about $10,000 per year in per diem allotments or health and retirement compensation.

Felons convicted of a crime involving "dishonesty, deceit, fraud or a breach of the public trust" are barred from holding office in Michigan for 20 years.
Sen. Bert Johnson, Jr. entered a not-guilty plea after being indicted on federal charges.

Former state Sen. Bert Johnson "faced many pressing debts" when he arranged for a fake employee to be paid more than $23,000 in exchange for a cash loan in March 2014, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

As part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors earlier this year, Johnson, a Democrat from Highland Park who represented northeast Detroit, all five Grosse Pointe communities, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, and Highland Park in the Michigan Senate, is expected to serve between six months and a year in prison.

U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Leitman is scheduled to sentence the former politician in Detroit federal court at 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 6.

Johnson, 45, admitted in March to putting Glynis Thornton on his payroll as a "community liaison" to pay off a $17,000 personal loan she'd given Johnson. He pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to commit theft from a federally funded program.

In late 2013, Johnson was having difficulty keeping up with bills, including his son's private school tuition to attend University of Detroit Jesuit High School, for which he'd accrued nearly $5,000 in tuition debt, according to a sentencing memorandum filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit federal court.

Johnson also had an outstanding bill of more than $18,000 for classes he'd registered to take at the University of Detroit.

He began approving biweekly payments to Thornton for work she never performed at a rate of $22 per hour for 30 hours per week of supposed work, amounting to about $23,000 in taxpayer money between March 2014 and January 2015, according to investigators.

A sentencing memorandum filed on Johnson's behalf requesting leniency says he is a father of four children, including two boys, 16 and 5, for whom he is the primary caretaker, and that he also cares for his 65-year-old mother, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.

The court filing says Johnson, with a "strong sense of commitment and loyalty to his community," began working in the public sector as chief of staff for state Rep. Bill McConico in 2001, for whom he continued to work until 2006, when he was elected to the seat McConico vacated in retirement.

Johnson held the position in the state House from 2007 until 2010. He elected to the state Senate in 2010, serving from 2011 until his resignation in 2018, days after he pleaded guilty to corruption.

"Johnson will undoubtedly argue that his years of public service warrant a variance from the applicable Guideline range," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in its sentencing memo. "While he has served the public throughout his life, such claims cannot outweigh the great disservice, violations of public trust, and utter disregard to the rule of law displayed by the defendant.

"Moreover, rather than a mitigating factor, defendant Johnson's public service could be viewed as an aggravating factor because he used the knowledge of the system from his years of public service and abused the public trust and used his public office for personal gain."

Michigan senators earn a starting annual salary of nearly $72,000 per year, not including about $10,000 per year in per diem allotments or health and retirement compensation.

Upon completion of his prison sentence, Johnson could be under court supervision for up to three years. He also faces possible fines up to $250,000 and restitution of $23,133.89 to be paid to the state.

Felons convicted of a crime involving "dishonesty, deceit, fraud or a breach of the public trust" are excluded from holding office in the state for 20 years.
Hail and strong winds are possible as severe thunderstorms push through portions of three mid-Michigan counties.

The National Weather Service has issued the warning for southwestern Genesee County, northwestern Oakland County, and northeastern Livingston County until 9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5.

"At 757 PM EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located over Hartland, moving east at 40 mph," according to the warning.

The storms packing 60 mile-per-hour wind gusts, cloud-to-ground lightning, and large hail are expected to reach the Holly area around 8:15 p.m, Ortonville and Clarkston around 8:25 p.m., and Pontiac around 8:15 p.m.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Pontiac MI, Fenton MI, Milford MI until 9:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/inZVg98Ejh  NWS Detroit (@NWSDetroit) September 5, 2018

Other locations impacted by this severe thunderstorm include Keego Harbor, Waterford, Davisburg, Holly State Recreation Area, Rose Center, Sylvan Lake, Argentine, Lake Angelus, White Lake, and Tyrone Township.

Residents are advised to move into an interior room on the lowest floor of a building and away from windows.

"Torrential rainfall is occurring with this storm, and may lead to flash flooding," per the warning. "Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways."

A severe thunderstorm warning issued Wednesday evening for much of Saginaw County and southern parts of Midland and Bay counties has since expired.
ATTICA TWP., MI - A man driving erratically told police he was avoiding potholes, but police in Lapeer County arrested him on suspicion of drug possession and operating under the influence.

Lapeer County 911 received calls about a vehicle driving erratically about 2:52 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 3 on Lake Pleasant Road in Attica Township, according to a statement from the Lapeer County Sheriff's Office.

The 57-year-old man from Oakland County told police he was driving poorly because he was trying to avoid potholes, the statement said.

A sobriety test was performed and the driver was arrested on suspicion of operating under the influence of drugs, according to police.

Police found a plastic bag containing the opioid Carfentanil while arrested the man, the statement said.

Criminal charges against the man are pending.
FLINT, MI -- Police are investigating the shooting death of a man on the city's far east side as a homicide.

Officers with the Flint Police Department and Michigan State Police responded around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5 to the 3800 block of Lorraine Avenue, between Center Road and Virginia Street for an incident.

A male victim, whose age and name have not been released, was found dead inside the home. Officers consoled a woman in the back of a police cruiser that a neighbor identified as the victim's sister.

Several family members arrived roughly one hour after police were called to the scene. Police eventually untied and moved yellow crime tape put up close to the home further back.

No suspect information was immediately released. The Flint Major Crimes Unit -- consisting of Michigan State Police and Flint police detectives are investigating the incident.

Anyone with information on the homicide may contact Flint police at 810-237-6900 or report a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245) or on the P3 Tips app.
CASCADE TOWNSHIP, MI -- Little new information about a plume of toxic chemicals at Gerald R. Ford International Airport was disclosed at an invite-only meeting on PFAS contamination that's impacting the Thornapple River and nearby neighborhoods.

Although the airport began testing residential wells around its property in July, the airport would not provide details about what levels of contamination have been found, calling the data preliminary information that's being kept confidential for privacy reasons.

The non-disclosure angered several of the 150-some residents at the meeting, held Wednesday evening, Sept. 5, at the Cascade Township Library.

"I believe in privacy. But, in terms of transparency -- you picked certain wells but you won't let know what going on and how much PFAS is in those wells for privacy issues, and yet it affects all of us. Why?" asked one man near the front. "What about our lives?"

The question was posed to airport facilities director Casey Ries, but it was answered by Abigail Hendershott, district manager for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality remediation division, who stepped up to say "that's where the state comes in."

Hendershott, who has been heavily involved in the PFAS investigation in northern Kent County around Wolverine World Wide dump sites, replied that 9 of nearly 30 wells tested northeast of the airport have results back, ranging from non-detect to 11 parts per trillion (ppt).

That 11-ppt detection does not include PFOS or PFOA, the only two PFAS chemicals which have a health advisory number (70-ppt) set by the Environmental Protection Agency. That puts it into the "Total PFAS" category, where the state tracks the sum of all others PFAS compounds in any given sample.

It was the most detailed information offered at the meeting, which was not publicized, noticed or announced by either the state, Kent County, Cascade Township or the airport beforehand. Attendees said they were invited by Thornapple River neighborhood associations to hear presentations from regulators with DEQ and the Department of Health and Human Services.

A Thornapple River fish study "is on your way," Hendershott told the room, saying wild caught would be tested for PFAS from impoundments in Middleville, Cascade and Ada, and a caged fish study would be conducted at the Thornapple River mouth.

Hendershott said early well data looks "really good" and there's some speculation that a thick layer of clay at the airport may be helping contain PFAS found in soil and groundwater at a former firefighting training area on the northeast corner of the property.

In the Rockford area, "we see that PFAS tends to travel in narrower bands," she said. A plume is "going to follow the easiest route."

William Farrell, a DHHS toxicologist, followed what's been standard procedure at other state-hosted or attended PFAS meetings by elaborating at length on how the EPA derived its advisory level of 70-ppt, which he called "the concentration which the human population can be exposed to daily without deleterious health effects."

"It's protective of both short and long term exposures," Farrell said. "It's protective of sensitive populations, children, babies. It's protective of both cancer and non-cancer effects."

That EPA level is being actively challenged by activists and environmental groups with greater vigor following a draft report this summer by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) that recommends minimum risk levels for PFOS and PFOA up to 10 times lower than 70-ppt, which Michigan officials have settled on as an "action level" for "decision-making" purposes.

Farrell acknowledged that there's "all kinds of confusion" about safe PFAS levels in drinking water, showing a table with drinking water standards set by other states like Vermont, New Jersey and Minnesota, which are much lower than 70-ppt.

He said states are evaluating the same studies, but some are making "different assumptions" about how much water people drink daily. In Minnesota -- where the drinking water standard is 35-ppt for PFOA and 27-ppt for PFOS -- Farrell said "they assume you will drink more water daily than EPA or Michigan does."

Tom Bement, who lives on Little Harbor Drive near the airport, was a little perplexed by Farrell's explanation of the toxicology behind differing safety thresholds. "They're saying people in Minnesota drink double the amount of water that people in Michigan do?"

Bement was hoping to get more data about well testing in his neighborhood, even if it wasn't disclosed by address. He found some of Ries' presentation about previously published information on PFAS levels at the airport "misleading" after Ries only disclosed the total PFAS detections in groundwater when prompted to questioning.

Total PFAS near northern edge of the airport property by the railroad tracks has tested at 461-ppt. The highest combined PFOS and PFOA levels in that monitoring well sample was 54-ppt -- which was the data point Ries disclosed in his presentation.

LimnoTech map showing the surface water pathway from Ford Airport's former firefighter training area to a creek which runs through the Thornapple neighborhood and eventually drains into the Thornapple River.

When asked why the airport wouldn't simply disclose the total PFAS levels unprompted, spokesperson Tara Hernandez said state officials have only communicated concern to them about PFOS and PFOA.

"We've had these conversations with DEQ, the health department, DHHS and they've never said to us, 'these are of concern, the total PFAS," she said. "We're looking at the lifetime advisory for drinking water. That's what residents are concerned about."

Hernandez said the airport is testing residential wells "as something we've chosen to do as good stewards," not because the airport takes ownership the groundwater contamination. She suggested there may be other PFAS sources in the area to blame.

The airport's PFAS problem was likely caused by its past use of PFAS-laden AFFF firefighting foam for training and emergencies.

At the Aug. 29 airport board meeting, the airport approved $120,000 for off-site residential well testing and $1.8 million for environmental consultants and attorneys related to the contamination investigation this year.

"I wouldn't put us in the same category as Wolverine," Hernandez said. "Wolverine knows they are a source. We're working with DEQ to find out if we're a source. We found PAFS on our property, but we don't know if that PFAS is related to the groundwater flow."

The airport is doing more testing to "understand that potential."

Hernandez said the airport didn't announce the meeting because "we're here as guests." Hendershott gave a similar answer for the DEQ, which made smaller, quiet only known to select neighbors the go-to format in Algoma Township over the winter and spring as testing data revealed greater knowledge about PFAS there.

Hendershott said DEQ may organize public meetings this fall and plans to disclose more detailed Cascade well results in the future. "I anticipate we will be doing that here" as soon as DEQ quality checks the data. "It needs to be out there so everybody can see."

Hernandez said state Rep. Tom Albert, R-Lowell, invited the airport.

Mandy Bolter, Kent County commissioner, said the meeting wasn't publicized because "the river associations wanted to do it first. "We didn't know what the interest would be."

Scott Rissi of the Cascade Thornapple River Association said more data is needed to determine whether a larger, well-publicized meeting is necessary in Cascade Township.

"You saw how many unanswered questions there were and how many people were upset by that," he said. "Let's see what the information says."
A federal appeals court has turned down the state's request to stay a ruling that potentially could allow independent Christopher Graveline a spot on the November 6 ballot.

The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that it would not issue a stay on a lower court's ruling ordering the state to allow Graveline on the ballot if he turned in at least 5,000 valid signatures.

Graveline sued the Michigan Secretary of State after being denied a spot on the ballot because he didn't hit the 30,000-signature requirement for independent statewide candidates. He submitted 14,157 signatures to run as an independent for attorney general.

He's claiming state law is too burdensome for independent candidates, and U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts agreed with him, ordering the Secretary of State to allow him to resubmit a petition and let him on the ballot if he'd collected 5,000 valid signatures.

The Secretary of State appealed that ruling and asked for a stay, but it's unclear how the case will move forward as the state is rapidly approaching a Sept. 7 deadline to certify ballots. The Board of State Canvassers are expected to hear a report from the Secretary of State's office on Graveline's petition filing at its Friday meeting.

If he ends up on the November ballot, Graveline would face Democrat Dana Nessel and Republican Tom Leonard in the attorney general's race. Both Nessel and Leonard were chosen at their respective state party conventions in August.
SUGAR ISLAND - One hungry bear is a little less hungry today after he swiped a freshly-grilled burger right off a Michigan man's table.

The humorous encounter occurred around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5 when Sean Dyament was grilling up a burger on his porch at his home on Michigan's Sugar Island; a 50-square mile community located in the St. Marys River between Michigan and Ontario.

According to Dyament, who moved to the island from Detroit about two years ago, he had just completed the medium-well patty when he quickly ran inside to get some fixings.

Less than 30 seconds later, he returned to the porch where he discovered he wasn't the only island resident in the mood for some meat.

A small black bear had made its way into the porch and devoured his lunch. He left the condiments, though.

"I didn't see it or hear it at all," he said. "I kind of freaked out at first but then I realized it wasn't too big. I let him eat the burger and shooed him off. He turned and ran, stopped in my yard for a little bit and then ran off. He wasn't around for any more than two minutes."

Dyament said he yelled at the bear because he didn't want it to get the impression it could come inside. It's the first time he's encountered a bear up close on his property but reports of bear activity on Sugar Island aren't uncommon.

"I was never really worried," he said.

The same can't be said for his 100-pound Pitbull though, which ran and hid in the bathroom at first sight of the fuzzy visitor.

"He's a big softy," Dyament added.

As for lunch, he was forced to cook up another burger. This one he kept to himself.
Voters will not be able to cast a straight ticket ballot in November, federal appellate judges ruled Wednesday.

The judges voted 2-1 to essentially uphold a law banning straight-ticket voting the Michigan Legislature passed in 2016, according to court documents.

In August, U.S. District Court Gershwin Drain issued a permanent injunction on the law, claiming it unfairly discriminated against African-American voters who vote straight ticket at a higher percentage than white voters.

After Drain denied a motion to stay, or suspend, the decision, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson appealed Drain's decision with the U.S. Sixth District Court of Appeals where Judge Danny Julian Boggs and Judge Raymond Kethledge ruled against Drain.

The appellate judges granted Johnson's motion to stay, or immediately suspend, Drain's ruling so the ban would be in effect for November's election. The judges made the ruling based on the overall appeal's chance at succeeding in the process down the road.

The ruling comes just a few days before the Sept. 7 deadline when November ballots need to be finalized.

"I'm pleased with (Wednesday's) ruling from the 6th Circuit. From the beginning, we have been confident in the merits of the state's case," Johnson said in a statement. "I ... appreciate that the judges ruled before the certification of the ballot, allowing clerks to prepare the ballots on their normal schedule. It also gives my office and clerks statewide time to inform the voting public about the elimination of straight-ticket."

Drain claimed that straight-ticket voting takes less time and disallowing it would lead to longer wait times at precincts already experiencing long wait times, especially in black, urban areas. Drain determined the law banning straight-ticket voting, passed by a Republican-led Legislature, was discriminatory and sought to politically benefit the GOP.

Boggs refuted these claims, saying that the examples Drain cites in his August opinion aren't legal justification for striking down the Legislature's law.

"The alleged evils of eliminating Michigan's straight-ticket system seem unlikely to outweigh the ability of a state to make a public policy choice common across all fifty states," Boggs writes. "This makes it unlikely that the plaintiffs will prevail on the merits. The irreparable harm to voters in taking what would be at most very small additional time to register their choices, an additional time largely within the control of the voter, is very small. And the public interest in allowing states to control their own elections is quite strong, as the Constitution itself makes clear."

The Republicans who passed the law believe voters should be considering all the races on the ballot individually, including non-partisan races.

"For too long, important ballot questions and nonpartisan offices, including judges of all types, were skipped over by people who marked a straight ticket thinking they had voted their full ballot," Johnson said in her statement.

U.S. Sixth Court of Appeals Judge Bernice Bouie Donald wrote a scathing dissent of Wednesday's decision.

"...This court's conclusion, no matter how finely parsed nor eloquently written, ignores the 150 years of shameful and painful history of disenfranchisement, suppression, and dilution of African American voters and the overt and covert mechanisms used to achieve that objective," Donald wrote.

In her dissent, Donald gives a brief history of disenfranchisement of African Americans in the United States and Michigan before concluding that, "staying the district court's permanent injunction on PA 268--on the heels of an election--would likewise result in voter confusion that could, alone, impose a substantial burden on Michigan voters, particularly African-American voters."

Boggs was nominated to the Sixth Court of Appeals by President Ronald Regan, Kethledge by President George W. Bush and Donald by President Barack Obama.
WASHINGTON, DC -- Emily Donovan's voice broke as she described the chaos that toxic water contamination by PFAS chemicals known as GenX have caused in the North Carolina communities that pull drinking water from the Cape Fear River.

Her husband and numerous friends are seriously ill. Incidences of rare cancer, immune disease and serious illness in young people are on the rise around Fayetteville and Wilmington.

She prays the bottled water she sends her kids to school with lasts all day and worries that chemicals in tap water they once consumed will come back to haunt them.

"We need you to act swiftly now," a tearful Donovan said.

"We need to get these nasty toxic chemicals out of our drinking water now so nobody else suffers the way we are in North Carolina."

Donovan appeared on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Sept. 6, to call for action on toxic PFAS contamination that threatens many more than just North Carolinians. The three-plus hour Congressional hearing was the first of its type focused on contamination that's become well known in Michigan, which is also grappling with a growing problem.

Seated next to Donovan was Carol Isaacs, the head of Michigan's PFAS Action Response Team, MPART. Isaacs is coordinating the state of Michigan's government-wide probe into PFAS contamination, which has revealed thus far that more than 1.5 million people have been drinking municipal water polluted by some level of PFAS.

Isaacs, responding to a question by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, revealed that Michigan isn't testing for the GenX compounds which are polluting water in North Carolina. Michigan, Isaacs said, is using different testing methods that analyze a different list of compounds.

The revelation underscored a running theme of the day, which were recommendations made by multiple panel members that the Environmental Protection Agency needs to develop regulations for PFAS chemicals as a class, not just for individual compounds.

That request was made by Lisa Daniels, Pennsylvania's drinking water chief testifying for the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, who stressed the need for a "holistic approach" to regulation at a national level, as well as a unified message on the health risk among federal agencies like the EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thirty-eight states have found PFAS in groundwater, she said.

Sandeep Burman of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, speaking on behalf of the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials, characterized PFAS contamination as one of the most complex and challenging public health issues in recent years.

The absence of both federal drinking water standards as well as regulation under federal Superfund law is creating uncertainty for regulators and communities, he said. Testing in states like Michigan is turning up a wide range of PFAS chemicals - much more than just PFOS and PFOA, the two with an EPA health advisory level. This is forcing states to develop their own standards, if they can, and causing significant confusion among the general public.

"The ability to detect these contaminants and find them have outstripped our ability to actually offer health advice to people," Burman said. "That's the biggest conundrum states have."

The EPA was represented at the hearing by Peter Grevatt, the office of groundwater and drinking water director who has been visiting multiple states this summer as part of the agency's plan to develop a nationwide regulatory framework for PFAS by January. Michigan was left out of that nationwide forum tour, but Grevatt hinted at difficulties the agency had dealing with Michigan officials, saying, "If they have now decided they want us to come, we will."

Grevatt said EPA plans to publish draft toxicity values for GenX and PFBS -- a replacement chemical for PFOS in 3M Scotchgard -- "in the coming weeks," and said in-agency researchers are considering testing methods for detecting PFAS in things like food products.

He stopped short of committing the EPA to developing a national drinking water standard for PFAS, saying one of the actions the agency is "committed to is to consider whether we should consider maximum contaminant level for PFOA and PFOS."

In response to a question by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, Grevatt acknowledged the importance of accessing what the state of Michigan measures as 'total PFAS,' or the sum of all compounds in a given sample, saying that "we talk a lot about PFOA and PFOS, but there are many other compounds we need to focus on."

In response to a question by Rep. Fred Upton, R-St Joseph, Grevatt said the agency has no plans to reconsider the existing health advisory level for PFOS and PFOA, which has come under significant fire this summer after the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) published a draft report with PFAS risk levels which are substantially lower.

"At this time, EPA does not have any plans to change the health advisory level for PFOS and PFOA, but we will continue to watch the literature on this," he said.

Upton pressed the Department of Defense deputy assistant secretary Maureen Sullivan on why testing results at the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base were held up in Pentagon bureaucracy for months when the state of Michigan was able to respond to high levels of PFAS found in the city of Parchment water this summer in a matter of days.

Upton held a sheet with testing results showing that groundwater is contaminated with PFOS and PFOA at 76,000-ppt at the base. The testing numbers do not include the sum of all PFAS compounds that were likely found during Air National Guard sampling at the site.

"How is that open and transparent, when it came out four months after the testing?" Upton asked. Sullivan said she wasn't familiar with the local data but promised to look into it.

Isaacs reiterated Michigan's call for national standards, saying that "we need that guidance because the (Department of Defense) follows that." She mentioned that, because much contamination has been caused by firefighting foam the government requires airports to use, that the Federal Aviation Administration needs to "work with us."

"This is a national issue," she said. "States can't do it all."

Isaacs said the state of Michigan has been disappointed with the overall pace of military response to PFAS contamination, pointing out that the linear process for investigating contamination under Superfund law, or CERCLA, allows for significant delay.

"There are no timeframes for those 8 steps," polluters must follow, Issacs said. "You can remain in the investigation stage of CERCLA for a very long time."

A U.S. Senate subcommittee will hold a similar hearing on Sept. 26.
JACKSON, MI - With the fall of the Soviet Union, anti-submarine warfare became less of a priority in the United States, SeaLandAire Technologies President David Sparks said.

Sparks -- not related to William "Cap" Sparks, a partner in Sparton Corp. and builder of the Cascades -- was one of two people to start the company in 1997, breaking off from Sparton Corp. as it started moving operations out of Jackson.

But, anti-submarine warfare is "ramping up" again, Sparks said, allowing SeaLandAire to expand. Currently on Wildwood Avenue, the business plans to move into a new spot it purchased at 817 W. High St. next July.

The research and development company is investing more than $3 million into the new 23,000-square-foot headquarters, Sparks said. The company bought the former dental and medical space for $330,000 in December 2017, per city documents.

Adding five employees so far this year, SeaLandAire now has 50 employees and looks to add another 10 or so, Sparks said.

SeaLandAire's biggest client is the U.S. Navy, said Director of Engineering Brian Montague. About half of its money comes from government entities - and it all comes from outside Michigan.

"If you can imagine you have the whole world's oceans, and it's an amazing place to hide everything," Montague said. "And submarines are really good at it. It turns into a little bit of a political Battleship game."

The company's bread and butter is developing sonobuoys - remote sensors that can acquire data through underwater acoustics. Montague compares it to turning on the lights in a game of hide and seek.

"As soon as you flip this light switch on, all that goes away and it de-escalates conflict and the risk for conflict," Montague said. "The biggest strength it has is taking a person from a dangerous situation that they don't need to be in."

Sonobuoy development became the backbone for Sparton in 1956, up through the mid-1990s. The company's sonobuoys were involved in the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

While many pieces are designed to go underwater, SeaLandAire also produces sensors for unmanned ground and air vehicles - hence its name.

Employees take pride that their small business in Jackson can help inform and save lives across the world through the military, Sparks said.

Improving efficiency with warfare products, new building

When developing sonobuoys, SeaLandAire looks at cost reduction and waste reduction, Montague said. Questions like "Can we make it smaller?" and "Can we use less plastic?" are common, he said.

In building its new headquarters, SeaLandAire is asking some of the same environmental and economic questions.

SeaLandAire worked with the city of Jackson to create a Property Assessed Clean Energy program. PACE districts are meant to motivate developers to invest in energy efficiency when building.

Energy improvement options include light harvesting - where sensors adjust light levels based on how much natural light is coming in - LED bulbs, occupancy sensors, special insulation and other solar, wind and geothermal features.

"I'm all for doing everything you can to protect the environment," Montague said. "But as a business, it's a hard spot to be in, to try and understand the balance between how much to invest versus what the payback is.

"Knowing where the break-even point is super helpful."
JACKSON, MI - A Jackson County teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student nine years ago is now facing sexual misconduct charges.

Jason Cunningham, 46, was arraigned Wednesday, Sept. 5, on one felony count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a student between the age of 16 and 17, records show.

Cunningham most recently taught at Western Middle School, having been hired there in 2016. But he is alleged to have had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female student for a "lengthy period of time" in 2009, while he was a teacher in Napoleon Community Schools, Jackson County Undersheriff Chris Kuhl said.

Western School District Superintendent Mike Smajda sent a letter to school district families on Sept. 4 regarding the issue. The letter addresses accusations regarding a teacher, later identified as Cunningham, being involved in misconduct with a student at his former place of employment.

"This is a situation we take very seriously and will continue to take seriously," Smajda said.

Cunningham was at Western for two years as a music teacher. Prior to being hired at Western, he was employed in Napoleon as high school band/choir director for 15 years. Prior to Napoleon, he taught at Jackson's Hunt Elementary School.

Western began investigating allegations regarding Cunningham in early July after a parent brought the matter to the district's attention, Smajda said. Cunningham submitted a letter of resignation to the district on July 25, stating he was leaving for personal reasons.

The district notified the Jackson County Sheriff's Office of the accusations in late July, leading detectives to investigate for several weeks and eventually request charges from the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office, Kuhl said.

Cunningham turned himself into police after being notified of the charges, Kuhl said.

When a school district hires an employee, it is obligated to send out a letter to previous employers asking if there were incidents of misconduct by that employee, Smajda said.

In this case, Western sent letters to both Napoleon and JPS, Cunningham's two previous employers, he said. Both responded there were no incidents of misconduct, he said.

"This was a huge surprise to us," Napoleon Community Schools Superintendent Jim Graham said. "At no time while (Cunningham) was here were there any verbal or written complaints. No students or parents or staff brought any concerns to us."

When Cunningham resigned from Napoleon in 2016, he said it was to take the job at Western, which was closer to his home, Graham said.

"It's very disheartening. We try our hardest to protect all kids at all times," Graham said. "We are cooperating 100 percent with law enforcement on this."

Cunningham is scheduled for a preliminary examination on Sept. 19 before District Judge Michael Klaeren. He is currently free on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.

Third-degree criminal sexual conduct is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

In these instances, questions sometimes come up about revoking a person's teaching certificate, Smajda said.

Teaching certificates are issued by the state and can only be revoked by the state, he said. Revocation recommendations can be made by school districts, but they are not always acted upon, he said.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A 9/11 remembrance ceremony will be held in Bronson Park to memorialize those who died during the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon 17 years ago, and to honor first responders for their sacrifice and service.

The ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, in Bronson Park for its seventh year, said Lorence Wenke, Chair of the 9/11 Community Day of Remembrance Committee.

"We think it's important that people not forget what was done to our country, that we remember it because of the sacrifice of the victims at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania -- that we remember those 2,977 people and we remember what happened to them and to their families," Wenke said.

On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks on targets in the United States. Two hijacked planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City, one plane hit the Pentagon and another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

As the years go by, the ceremony also helps insure younger generations who do not remember when the tragedy took place on Sept. 11, 2001, Wenke said.

"We have lots of our children now -- 17, 18 years old -- who are graduating from high school who aren't aware of this happening at all and most of them don't know much about it," he said.

Wenke said it's important to remember historic moments like the 9/11 attack and to stand guard against something similar happening again.

"The job of all of us is to keep historic moments like this in the minds of ourselves and our children," he said.

9/11 Remembrance event in Bronson Park Posted by Kalamazoo Gazette on Monday, September 11, 2017

Plans for the upcoming ceremony in Bronson Park includes the laying of a wreath, a first-alarm ceremony, a rifle volley, presentation of the flag, prayers from community pastors, patriotic music and lowering of a large flag during the singing of the U.S. national anthem. It will have a focus on remembrance of victims and the sacrifices of first responders, Wenke said.

About 100-200 first responders from around the region will be standing at attention during the ceremony, he said.

"While most of us are sound asleep at night -- we hear the sirens, so we roll over and go back to sleep," Wenke said. "Our first responders jump out of bed and race to an accident and respond."

Wenke said he encourages individuals and families to join in the ceremony and spend Sept. 11 remembering the sacrifice and tragedy that surrounded the day in 2001.
PARCHMENT, MI -- Extremely high levels of toxic fluorochemicals once used to coat specialty papers produced were found at a capped landfill formerly used by paper mills in Parchment.

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson Scott Dean said Thursday, Sept. 6, that tests revealed one spot contained 11,500 parts per trillion of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, or PFOS.

The compounds are among a larger collection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances collectively called PFAS. A perfluoroalkyl polymer was a main ingredient in oil and grease-repellents used in laminated paper products produced in Parchment, a town whose name was drawn from its founding industry.

The former landfill, located in Cooper Township, is suspected to have caused high levels of contamination in nearby groundwater wells and Parchment's municipal drinking water system. People connected to Parchment's water system were provided bottled water for nearly a month before being told to drink from the tap again on Aug. 27.

Health officials link exposure to PFOS and PFOA to pregnancy-induced hypertension, liver damage, increased risk of thyroid disease, cancer and other issues.

Michigan uses a 70 ppt guideline for lifetime exposure to the two compounds, set by the EPA to determine at what level adverse health effects are anticipated to occur. Results from the landfill are more than 164 times greater than the health advisory.

Parchment, the "Paper City," was built around paper companies which manufactured products for the food industry. Crown Vantage Paper Co. was the last manufacturer to inhabit the mill site in Parchment.

Cooper Township Supervisor Jeff Sorensen said the news is frustrating.

Crown Vantage filed for bankruptcy in 2000. As part of the process of abandoning the landfill and mill site, the company had to prove that the property didn't represent an "imminent and identifiable hazard" to public health and safety.

A federal court in California found Crown Vantage met this standard, and the bankruptcy was approved in 2001. However, court documents showed soil and groundwater contamination from a solvent used in coating processes.

A 2001 DEQ consent order allowing Crown Vantage to vacate the mill and landfill, required all documents related to monitoring waste at the landfill to DEQ. Sorensen said the DEQ capped the landfill soon after.

"Excuse me for not having a lot of faith in the DEQ at this moment," he said. "The landfill (was) capped under the purview of the DEQ and they said what was in there is OK."

MDEQ and state health officials will attend a 7 p.m. Sept. 10, Cooper Township board meeting. Dean said the next step will be to identify any former owner who can be held responsible for the contamination.

"Who is there to go after?" Sorensen said. "The biggest thing I want to start working on is how do we remediate (the contamination) and contain it. I'm more concerned about protecting public health than using someone I will never get a dime out of."

Parchment City Manager Nancy Stoddard said Thursday morning she was not aware of the high levels of the contaminant discovered at the site until told by an MLive reporter.

"I don't have any reaction right now, because I haven't received anything from (the DEQ) yet."

It is not clear how long PFAS contaminated Parchment's water supply.

Last week, the Department of Environmental Quality began installing NSF-approved filters, which can remove 96 percent of PFAS compounds -- up to concentrations of 1,500 parts-per-trillion.

MDEQ established a 1-mile investigation area around Parchment's municipal well field after it was found to be heavily contaminated with PFAS. Just under 200 private wells in that area were tested and are receiving filters this week.

Private well-owners who live just outside the 1-mile study area will have bottled water delivered to their homes until the state determines they are not at risk. Residents will receive a notice in the mail and a phone call explaining how water will be delivered, starting on Sept. 6.

Lyndi Warner, a public information officer for the Kalamazoo County health department, said a hydrogeological study will help determine if residents outside the boundary are affected by PFAS.

The state health department is planning exposure assessment study will research possible health impacts on residents. A similar study announced earlier this month will focus on Kent County residents exposed to PFAS in their drinking water.

Eric Oswald, MDEQ director of the drinking water and municipal assistance division, said "extensive" monitoring will continue in homes. Additional PFAS testing will continue on a monthly basis.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Negotiations between protesters occupying city property and Kalamazoo officials hit a snag after demonstrators declined an offer to relocate their encampment.

Wednesday morning, Sept. 5, City Manager Jim Ritsema assembled a work group to find a safe location for the encampment and provide basic needs and resources. The Kalamazoo Gospel Mission extended an ill-fated offer to allow camping at a vacant field as an alternative to a city-sanctioned camp on Cedar Street.

Around 60 people are considered to be part of the demonstration, according to Ritsema. Many in that group moved their tents back into Bronson Park Wednesday and plan to occupy the site overnight.

"I don't know what I'm expecting any more," Ritsema said. "We've been trying to work with them since last Friday, in good faith, and will continue doing that."

For the time being, Ritsema said, overnight campers will not face arrest.

"We're going to take this day by day right now," he said.

Last week, the city manager was prepared to arrest demonstrators who slept overnight in their tents pitched at Bronson Park.

The City Commission is willing to decriminalize ordinances that make sleeping and camping in city parks a misdemeanor, Ritsema said. A first attempt at changing the ordinances -- a proposal which included decriminalization but also less popular language changes -- kicked off the protests on Aug. 19.

Protesters do not want to be exposed to the elements, and many have grievances with the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission. The campsite designated in Wednesday's offer has no natural shade and is located behind the Gospel Mission.

"If this is the only proposal, I think this is ridiculous," said Stuart Hamilton, one of the protesters chosen to speak on behalf of the group. "In my opinion, it's not acceptable."

Ritsema said there was a sense of urgency to provide immediate amenities to the group.

The deal still stands for those who want it. Until Oct. 5, the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission will allow outdoor camping on a vacant lot west of North Edwards Street.

"Right now, we've offered options for them to consider and what they do is their decision," Ritsema said.

A shade tent, tables and portable toilet would be brought to the site. Protesters can receive showers, meals, indoor beds, laundry and other services at the Gospel Mission and nearby Ministry with Community -- even those who had previously been barred from entry.

Service agencies will work to find shelter for people sleeping outdoors.

After two weeks of protest in the park, an agreement signed by both parties on Aug. 31 moved the camp two blocks south of Bronson Park to the exterior of a city-owned former public safety facility.

The Cedar Street site is viewed to be unsafe by protesters and the city, in part because it lacks basic amenities, has little protection from the sun and few grassy spaces to set up tents.

The city's new work group assigned the task of resolving the conflict came to the Cedar Street site to deliver the terms of the deal to the encampment. Protesters flatly declined the offer.

The protest is partway through its third week. Another meeting will be held Friday, according to city officials.

"We're working toward solutions with them," Ritsema said. "That's going to be our message right now, we want to work with these folks and address their immediate needs."

Back to Bronson Park

Hamilton said Bronson Park feels like home. He doesn't plan to leave the park, and others asked for permission to temporarily return to where the protest started.

"I am not moving, period," Hamilton said.

Ritsema said demonstrators were welcome to stay in Bronson Park until 4 p.m. Wednesday while the work group came up with other options. A storage truck rented by Kalamazoo resident Zachary Lassiter helped part of the encampment to move back into the park.

The work group acknowledged that the encampment sees itself as a family. There was an expressed desire from multiple service providers to keep them together.

However, Ritsema said, camping in Bronson Park is a fraught situation. There are no toilet facilities, showers, laundry or immediate access to food and water.

The demonstration began Aug. 19 to highlight a perceived lack of overnight shelter space in the community.

Since the protest began, the group expressed a litany of issues with the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.

Pastor Michael Brown, Gospel Mission president and CEO, said he is hearing many complaints about staff misconduct, religious discrimination and sanitation issues for the first time. Gospel Mission is investigating those issues, he said Wednesday.

"I want to make our organization better," he said.

Brown said you don't need to be Christian to use Gospel Mission services. If staff says otherwise, Brown wants to know.

Last week, people previously banned from the Gospel Mission and Ministry with Community were allowed to use those services again.

Members of the work group included city staff and representatives of various community organizations like Local Initiatives Support Coalition, the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Kalamazoo Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, Open Doors Kalamazoo and others.

Kalamazoo City Commissioner Shannon Sykes Nehring joined protesters by sleeping in Bronson Park Tuesday night after unleashing a harsh critique of her colleagues during the City Commission meeting, at which some members of the encampment spoke.

For approximately 30 minutes, the first-term commissioner offered a sprawling, and at times explicit, criticism of the city's handling of a sit-in protest. She called the City Commission "cowards" for not discussing the group's demands.

A few hours after midnight on Wednesday morning, Sykes Nehring expressed relief at getting some things off her chest. Several hours later, it was clear that she would continue to take an active role in the protest.

"When I left the meeting and walked out to the park, I was like 'Oh, what have I done?'" she said. "But I felt safer last night sleeping in that park than I have ever felt anywhere in my life. This is the best sense of family and community I've ever experienced anywhere."
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A group of homeless activists is holding the city of Kalamazoo responsible for issues that local leaders say extend beyond the influence of City Hall.

Commissioner Jack Urban was criticized on Tuesday, Sept. 4, for seeking clarity on whether it is the commission's responsibility to deliver emergency housing to homeless citizens. Pressure from the protest group has been largely directed at city officials.

Wednesday, Ritsema pulled together representatives of community service organizations, including and the county's public housing commission.

County Treasurer Mary Balkema said the city "poked the bear" by proposing ordinance changes -- which included decriminalization but also less popular language changes -- but shouldn't face the issue alone. Kalamazoo County has a range of services related to housing, substance abuse and mental health issues.

"Part of me think it takes a village," Balkema said. "Not one group or system made this, not one group can solve it. It's honestly not the city's issue alone."

Protesters are sleeping overnight in a Bronson Park tent encampment after the demonstration began on the steps of City Hall. The group holds the city responsible for providing housing and meeting its demands.

The ongoing protest violates city codes. For the time being, Ritsema said, overnight campers will not face arrest.

Kalamazoo's city manager has shown patience and empathy in dealing with the situation, said Rev. Nathan Dannison. He leads First Congregational Church adjacent to Bronson Park, which often provides sanctuary for people with no place to go.

"Jim Ritsema is doing a phenomenal job," Dannison said. "All commissioners are performing admirably in this situation. The truth is the city has taken the heat for it, but they're doing a good job."

Meanwhile, residents and downtown business owners are voicing complaints about inappropriate behavior in Bronson Park. Several letters obtained through the Freedom of Information Act show concerns about aggressive panhandling, fighting and littering around downtown.

Michigan cities can take necessary action to provide for the public health, safety and welfare. Counties have only the powers specifically delegated to them by statute.

Bronson Park, ground zero for the issue, is owned by Kalamazoo County and leased to the city. The county's mental health and substance abuse authority has an affordable housing department.

The county provides $125,00 annually to a public housing commission appointed by the Board of Commissioners. In 2015, the public housing commission convinced voters to support a 0.1-mill property tax to fund temporary housing for families with school-age children experiencing homelessness.

County Board Chair Stephanie Moore, who represents downtown Kalamazoo and the city's poorest neighborhoods, said Kalamazoo County isn't standing "shoulder-to-shoulder" with Ritsema.

"I have to commend the city," Moore said. "Not only are they taking it on, they are the only one taking some major strides in at least trying to address (homelessness). Kalamazoo County should have been running over to Ritsema's office to figure out how we can gather resources."

County Administrator Tracie Moored declined to comment on the role of Kalamazoo County in preventing homelessness. Moored said she hasn't communicated with the city about the protest.

The county board chair, who served as a Kalamazoo city commissioner from 2007-14, said there is a "black hole" in the county's safety net.

"We are rich in services; we shouldn't have a homeless person on the street if we were connecting them," Moore said. "The problem is the huge disconnect ... people are falling through the cracks."

During the last several years, hundreds of thousands of dollars in community action agency grants were left unspent. A total of $259,000 in grants meant to assist Kalamazoo County's most vulnerable citizens were unused last year.

Moore drew a direct line between the failure to spend those funds and protests in Bronson Park.

A community action agency advisory board helps distribute funds to assist poor, working class and minority citizens. It was dissolved Tuesday by the Board of Commissioners through a surprise motion introduced by Commissioner Michael Seals and passed by a 6-4 vote.

The vote turns oversight of the funds to the state. The county administrator said a nonprofit selected to distribute community action agency funds will be free of red tape that was keeping the county from spending the money.

After a full day of working on a doomed deal to move the homeless encampment, Ritsema expressed frustration that the county decided to dissolve the board.

Dannison has been active in organizing donations to the homeless encampment. He is also a member of the community action agency board. He criticized county decisions to dissolve the board and a veteran services oversight committee last fall.

"(The city is) introducing service providers but they've been dealt a rough hand," he said. "The county government needs to get its act together."

Dannison said called the county board a "bunch of personalities and egos," who are "choking off" resources to the poor.

Dannison said partners need to take a housing-first approach. For too long, the community has concentrated homeless people into the area surrounding the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission and Ministry with Community.

City Commissioners acknowledged an affordable housing shortage in Kalamazoo but also said forces causing homelessness are not unique to the area.

"I think we're at the stage now where we have to have (a) workable solution," said City Commissioner Don Cooney. "I think City Manager Ritsema is doing everything he can, but he can't do it by himself."

State Rep. Jon Hoadley said he has been watching the demonstration and considering solutions from a state perspective. He represents the city of Kalamazoo and part of Kalamazoo Township.

Hoadley said one of the common things his office deals with frustration from people on a long waiting list for housing support vouchers. He recognized that the city is having to step up in ways to which it is not accustomed.

"The city is not a direct care provider, so I think they are being asked to do a lot of diff things that have not been on their plate in the past," Hoadley said.

Balkema said another downtown shelter isn't a solution, nor is allowing a tent city.

"The best social program in America is a job," she said.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo-area residents who have outstanding misdemeanor warrants can have them addressed at an Amnesty Day.

Kalamazoo County District Court, the city of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, the Kalamazoo County prosecutor's office and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office is participating in the Amnesty Day Friday, Sept. 14.

First Congregational Church's Rev. Nathan Dannison has donated space in the church, 345 W. Michigan Ave., for sanctuary and pre-screening from 1 to 5 p.m. Residents can address their outstanding low-level non-violent misdemeanor warrants and charges with the goal of preventing incarceration. District Court will close at 6 p.m. Any case that isn't completed Sept. 14 will have a future court date set, according to a KDPS press release.

Participants interested in pre-screening at First Congregational Church should use the main entrance on West Michigan Avenue. Criminal defense attorneys will be available to help participants.

Social service agencies and other organizations will be in Bronson Park to help address Amnesty Day participants' quality of life issues. Michigan Works also has volunteered to organize employers to interview participants for potential employment opportunities.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MI -- Police have released the identity of a Schoolcraft woman who died in a Tuesday crash in St. Joseph County.

Harriett Jeanne Swartz, 81, died when her car crashed into a tree on Michigan Avenue near North Fisher Lake Road in Park Township.

Swartz was driving west on Michigan Avenue when her car drifted into the oncoming lane, then left the south side of the road, witnesses told police. The car then crashed into a large tree, sheriff's deputies said.

Police are trying to determine if she suffered a medical problem prior to the crash.
MUSKEGON HEIGHTS, MI - A memorial service has been scheduled this weekend for Dr. James Jackson, a physician, museum owner and ardent civil rights activist who died in June at the age of 86.

Dr. James Jackson poses next to a painting of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in this file photo from 2006.

The service is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at the James Jackson Museum of African American History, 7 E. Center St., in downtown Muskegon Heights. A portion of East Center Street will be closed during the commemoration.

The day also marks the anniversary of Jackson's birth, said William Muhammad, a mentee of the late museum owner and a member of the James Jackson Museum board.

Jackson died on June 26, and left behind a legacy of self-determination and community stewardship focused on making life better for the disenfranchised. He attended Wayne State University in Detroit and the Des Moines University medical school. He worked as an osteopathic physician.

Jackson moved his family to the Muskegon area in 1960. Shortly thereafter, Jackson saw rampant segregation and economic disparity, and attempted to "level the playing field" with his activism, Muhammad told MLive in a previous interview.

He also was a historian, and eventually collected so many pieces of African and African American memorabilia that he decided to open a museum. In 2006, he moved it to 7 E. Center St., across from Muskegon Heights City Hall on Peck Street.

In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make a donation or contribution to the museum can send it to The James Jackson Museum, P.O. Box 4582, Muskegon Heights, Michigan 49444.

For additional information on the memorial, call Muhammad at (231) 343-8396, or James McFadden at 215-470-2778.
SAGINAW, MI -- The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is responding to a prosecutor's claim that the Diocese has been uncooperative with an investigation into sexual assault claims that led to a no-contest plea by one of its priests on Tuesday, Sept. 4.

Though the Rev. Robert J. DeLand Jr. pleaded no contest to seven criminal charges, Saginaw County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Gaertner said during a press conference the following morning that law enforcement continues to investigate matters within the Diocese.

Without discussing particulars, Gaertner said personnel at the Michigan State Police Computer Crime Unit are still analyzing data seized during raids on two Diocese properties and the home of Bishop Joseph R. Cistone in March.

Gaertner was asked if the Diocese has been cooperative with the investigation.

"No," he replied. "I'll leave it at that. I would say that they're just generally uncooperative. We cannot rely on them for information. The police agencies have to gather it on their own."

Wednesday evening, Erin Looby Carlson, the Diocese's director of communications, emailed a press release to media outlets in response to the prosecutor's comments. The release reiterates that in April, Cistone appointed retired Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Michael J. Talbot to serve as the Diocese's delegate in independently reviewing matters of alleged sexual misconduct.

Coinciding with Talbot's appointment, the Diocese named the following five clerics who had been permanently removed from ministry due to credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors:

Stanislaus A. Bur

John E. Hammer

Richard L. Howard

Jack J. Leipert

Leonard F. Wilkuski

"The following month, in the spirit and interest of cooperation, Judge Talbot met with Saginaw County prosecutors," the Diocese's release states. "After an hour-long meeting, Judge Talbot addressed members of the media, stating: 'We have a common interest ... we have no desire to have anyone in active ministry, or any employee of the Diocese who would be endangering minors.'"

Talbot said he asked prosecutors if any other clergy members not already removed were facing any allegations. The judge also said he offered full Diocesan cooperation, with the prosecutors saying they'd take the offer to police.

"The next day, Judge Talbot received a call from the Saginaw prosecutor's office advising him that law enforcement was not interested in Judge Talbot's offer," the Diocese's release states. "The Diocese stands ready to cooperate fully with the Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office. Since Judge Talbot stepped into his role in April, neither he nor Diocesan legal counsel has been contacted by prosecutors or law enforcement asking for anything."

The Diocese declined to discuss the criminal case against DeLand until he is sentenced, though it will move forward as required under church canon law.

"While that process is underway, the restrictions placed upon Father DeLand by the Diocese in February continue -- he is prohibited from presenting himself as a priest; he cannot wear clerical attire and may not exercise any form of church ministry. He is mandated by the Diocese to meet all obligations placed upon him by the courts."

In addition to the prohibitive measures placed on DeLand, the Diocese said it similarly suspended the Rev. Ronald J. Dombrowski, 72, as a "precautionary measure" after a person told the Diocese on March 15 that Dombrowski allegedly sexually abused them when they were a minor.

The Diocese forwarded the complaint to law enforcement. No criminal charges have been filed against Dombrowski.

Dombrowski continues to be suspended from ministry, Carlson said, adding she believes his case remains under police investigation.

Background

The day before his first of several trials was to begin, DeLand appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson and pleaded no contest to all seven charges he faced -- two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving injury and single counts of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit second-degree criminal sexual conduct, gross indecency between males, selling alcohol to a minor and distributing an imitation controlled substance. The most serious is second-degree criminal sexual conduct, which is a 15-year felony that does not involve penetration and is limited to touching.

By pleading no contest, DeLand did not verbally admit to having committed any crime. Jackson had to rely on police reports and court records to enter convictions on the record.

Jackson indicated he'll sentence DeLand, who remains free on bond, to one year in jail, to be followed by five years' probation. DeLand's sentencing guidelines range from 12 to 24 months.

Police began investigating DeLand in November after the parents of a Tittabawassee Township 17-year-old male contacted them. In addition to that initial teenager, investigators subsequently learned of two other males, ages 18 and 21, who alleged DeLand had inappropriately touched or attempted to touch them.

Police arrested DeLand on Feb. 25 at his condo in Saginaw Township, after the initial teen wore a recording device during his interaction with the priest. They arrested him again on April 5 on more charges.

On March 12, attorney Todd J. Weglarz, of Southfield firm Fieger, Fieger, Kenney & Harington, filed a lawsuit against DeLand, Cistone, and the Diocese in federal court on behalf of a minor identified as John Doe and an adult representative. The suit was later moved to Saginaw County Circuit Court.

The suit alleges DeLand had groomed and molested a teenage boy and that Cistone and the Diocese are named as defendants knew of DeLand's alleged misconduct with minors but turned a blind eye to it.

DeLand had preached at several churches throughout the Great Lakes Bay Region. Most recently, he served as the Saginaw Diocese's judicial vicar and pastor of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Freeland. A judicial vicar is appointed by a diocese's bishop and oversees that diocese's judiciary.

Prior to ministering at St. Agnes, DeLand served as the priest at St. James Church, 710 Columbus Ave. in Bay City, and as the pastor of All Saints Middle and High School, beginning there around 2005. DeLand also served as the priest at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 1600 Hudson St. in Essexville.

DeLand's sentencing date is pending.
Four people, including the suspect, are dead after a gunman opened fire Thursday morning, Sept. 6 at the loading dock of a downtown Cincinnati bank.

Cincinnati police report that it received the call of a shooter in the loading dock and lobby of the Fifth Third Bank at 9:10 a.m. Five people are injured, and three of the four police officers who responded to the scene actively engaged the shooter.

@CincyPD UPDATE: active shooter/officer involved shooting incident at Fifth Third Bank at 511 Walnut Street in lobby and loading dock. Call received at 9:10am. Five victims injured, three dead. Suspect is dead. Three or four officers responded and engaged the shooter. pic.twitter.com/AlRP6wTANw  Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) September 6, 2018

@CincyPD units are still actively clearing the scene in the 500 block of Walnut St. related to the active shooter investigation. People in the immediate vicinity should remain on lockdown until further notice. Continue to follow this feed for updates. pic.twitter.com/V7IwmzPE5S  Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) September 6, 2018

--

The Associated Press reports that it's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the gunman was "actively shooting innocent victims" and that the building located in Fountain Square is a popular spot for ice scream, lunch and pastries.

A witness told a CNN affiliate that they "heard about eight gunshots" and got to the ground before police arrived to the scene.

JUST IN: Five victims, three of whom have died, following shooting in downtown Cincinnati, authorities say; suspect is deceased. https://t.co/RuJkXeDpqS pic.twitter.com/NThtDzq5bh  ABC News (@ABC) September 6, 2018
iStock/Thinkstock(MT. HOLLY, N.J.) -- New Jersey authorities have searched the home of a couple who is accused of squandering much of the more than $400,000 in donations they raised for a homeless veteran.



Both prosecutors and police confirmed that a search warrant was executed early Thursday at the residence of Kate McClure and her boyfriend, Mark D'Amico, in Florence Township.



They were once considered good Samaritans for raising the money through a GoFundMe account for Marine Corps veteran Johnny Bobbitt Jr.



"Due to the enormous public interest in this matter, I am confirming that a search warrant was executed early this morning by the Burlington County Prosecutors Office and the Florence Township Police Department at the residence of Mark D'Amico and Katelyn McClure in connection with a criminal investigation into the Johnny Bobbitt matter," Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina said in a statement.



"As of this time, there have been no charges filed," the statement continued. "Further updates will be provided as circumstances warrant."



Bobbitt, 35, captured national headlines last year after giving McClure, 28, his last $20 when her car broke down on Interstate 95 near Philadelphia.



To thank Bobbitt for his kindness, McClure subsequently created the GoFundMe account, to which more than 14,000 people donated.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Tech giant Apple has dropped plans to launch a Unified Payments Interface-based payments platform in India owing to the country's rule on data storage.

Apple's decision comes after the company held discussions with the National Payments Corporation of India, which manages the UPI platform as well as a few leading banks, reported The Economic Times quoting two people aware of the development.

Apple will not launch payments in India yet. They are waiting to see how the regulatory landscape shapes up, one of the person quoted above told the paper.

Also read  RBI seeks update on payments data storage every fortnight

In April, the Reserve Bank of India had released guidelines asking all payment system operators to ensure that data is stored only within the country, and asked them to comply with the order by October 15, 2018. This turns out to be one of Apple's major concerns.

The company also faced some technical and design hurdles related to the flow of payments on UPI. Apple wanted fingerprint as a mode of authentication for UPI payments, which did not comply with NPCI guidelines, a banker told the paper.

NPCI has prescribed that transactions can be authenticated by biometrics only when they get validated by UIDAI, the banker said, adding that NPCI does not allow biometrics collected by devices as a mode of authentication.



UPI requires customers to enter a six or four-digit number to authenticate transactions.



RBIs data localisation rule, however, seems to be one of the major hurdles for most of the multinational companies including Mastercard, Visa, Amazon, WhatsApp and PayPal to launch a UPI-based payment platform in India.

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp, as well as Amazon, are also keen on entering payments space in India through inter-bank fund transfer railroad UPI. They both, however, are waiting for more clarity on data storage from the Reserve Bank of India.

Even Google, which has similar plans, is said to be assessing the evolving situation around data localisation.

These companies may have to wait for the final decision on the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, which is being put out for consultations.

Also read  Amazons UPI payment service stuck over local data storage concerns

Apple did not reply to emailed queries sent by the paper.

In October last year, Apples senior vice-president for internet software and services Eddy Cue had told the paper that the company was looking to bring Apple Pay to the Indian market.

It is great that all of these payment mechanisms are coming out in India because it empowers people to be able to pay. What Apple Pay does is make that process easy, integrated and safe. We absolutely want to bring Apple Pay to the market here, Cue had said.

Currently, Apple Pay is available in Australia, Canada, Mainland China, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and Taiwan.
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Fortis Healthcare is focusing on strengthening governance and transparency, even as tries to restore the health of the business.

Fortis shareholders last month approved the sale of their company to Malaysias IHH Healthcare in a $1.1 billion deal. The deal is awaiting approval from Competition Commission of India (CCI).

"Our focus in the future will be on strengthening governance

and transparency and restoring the health of the business," said Ravi Rajagopal, Chairman of Fortis Healthcare in the company's latest annual report.

On IHH merger Rajagopal said the new partnership will open up new possibilities, bring in funds and chart a fresh course, thereby, placing Fortis in a far more stronger and resilient position.

Fortis also said it will appoint an external agency to undertake scrutiny of its internal controls and compliances after an investigation found systemic lapses in company's treasury operations that led former promoters, Singh, to take Rs 500 crore out of the company.

"The Board intends to appoint an external agency of repute to undertake a scrutiny of the internal controls and compliance framework in order

to strengthen processes and build a robust governance framework," the company said.

"They will also assess the additional requisite steps to be taken in

relation to the significant matters identified in the Investigation Report including, inter alia, initiating an internal enquiry," the company added.

The board also said at this juncture it was still unable to make a

determination on whether a fraud has occurred in respect of the matters covered in the investigation by the external legal firm, considering the limitations on the information available to the external legal firm and their qualifications and disclaimers as described in their Investigation Report.

Fortis board in February appointed legal firm Luthra & Luthra to carry out an independent investigation to find out if there were any lapses of the companys control procedures and governance after allegations that the erstwhile promoters took out around Rs 500 crore through inter-corporate deposits. The ICDs were placed through three companies related to erstwhile promoters.
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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The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on September 6 directed Malvinder Singh, and Sunil Godhwani, the former Chairman and Managing Director of Religare among others, to maintain status quo over the shareholdings and composition of the RHC Holdings board in a petition filed by Shivinder Singh.

The tribunal which has heard the petition filed by Shivinder alleging oppression and mismanagement of RHC, Religare and Fortis, allowed both parties, Shivinder and his wife Aditi Singh and Malvinder, to inspect the books of RHC.

NCLT has posted the matter on October 9 for next hearing.

In the 43-page petition, Shivinder alleged his brother Malvinder and Godhwani for perpetrating oppression and mismanagement and sought removal of Malvinder from the board of RHC and restitution of funds diverted by the duo.

He also demanded Malvinder and Godhwani to restore the wealth of RHC Holding which got eroded due to their alleged unlawful actions; and sought Malvinder to return the funds that were unlawfully taken from Fortis and Religare.

Shivinder in the petition distanced himself from his brother and Godhwani.

He says he just oversaw the operations of healthcare business but was never in the control of companys finances and claims he is unaware of most financial transactions.

He says he took hiatus towards that end of 2015 only for a spiritual purpose only to return later to salvage the group.

Moneycontrol saw a copy of the petition filed by Shivinder. Some of the allegations he made include:

Debt trap

Shivinder alleges Malvinder and Godhwani who were in control of the affairs at RHC Holding, Fortis and Religare from the end of 2008 onward conducted the affairs of these companies in a prejudicial and oppressive manner.

He charges the duo for pushing the RHC Holding into an "unsustainable debt trap through various acts of mismanagement." RHC is the holding company of Fortis and Religare.

The Petitioners have suffered serious impairment in their respective net-worth and unwarranted loss of reputation and credibility, he alleges.

Misappropriation of funds

Shivinder alleges that Malvinder abused his position as executive chairman at Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises by extending loans to related party companies.

He mentions a specific case of taking out of Rs 473 crore from Fortis Healthcare, to preferentially pay creditors of RHC.

He alleges that the payment had actually not helped RHC in any meaningful way and in fact, has resulted in value loss to RHC far in excess of the amount of the outstanding ICDs as it leads to erosion of RHC Holding. Shivinder claims he wasnt involved in the conception or execution of such ICDs.

He further states that ICDs became a major stumbling block in concluding the sale of Fortis Healthcare in 2017.

These resources were taken from Fortis Healthcare despite Malvinder being fully aware of the precarious financial position of the healthcare provider. This resulted in Fortis, a listed company, entering into a debt trap prejudicing the interest of its shareholders at large, Shivinder said.

The other specific case he points out is about taking out Rs 750 crore as loan issued by Religare Finvest, an NBFC subsidiary of Religare Enterprises, to RHC Holding and its subsidiary Ramchem. Shivinder says this eroded Religare Finvest capital base and the loans availed by RHC remain outstanding till date.

Forgery

Shivinder Singh also alleges Malvinder of forging signatures of his wife in the documents of the RHC.

These papers purported to and granted wide-ranging authority to officers and third parties to do various acts, including to incur large expenses and make large investments, on behalf of the Company. Petitioner No. 3 (Aditi Singh wife Shivinder) and other directors, were shown as discussing and approving the bulk of these proposals when in fact, the requisite meetings did not take place, he alleges.

In fact, Petitioner No. 3 (Aditi Singh) was usually sent a thick stack of minutes and papers to sign at her residence, with short notice along with a note to sign and return immediately with no further explanation, he laments.
Are you a machine learning engineer, application development analyst or back-end developer? If yes, you are in high-demand in upcoming job roles in India. According to a report by professional networking firm LinkedIn, technology-related roles are in high demand.

The first India edition of this report has also traced the career graphs of professionals in the top five roles to get a sense of how it has progressed over the past five years.

The top ten emerging jobs:

1. Machine Learning Engineer2. Application Development Analyst3. Back End Developer4. Full Stack Engineer5. Data Scientist6. Customer Success Manager7. Digital Marketing Specialist8. Big Data Developer9. Sales Recruiter

10. Python Developer

As a data scientist told LinkedIn, his job title didnt exist when he was a student at a university less than five years ago. People in his area of expertise were described as being into 'analytics or machine learning studies'.

The report said in these times of rapid change the human resources (HR) and talent acquisition professionals need to keep it simple. The emphasis should be on looking for employees with transferable skills which enable them to adapt to changing workforce demands.

Tech roles are in high demand, but soft skills are also key

Technology roles dominate this list, but the report also finds these roles are no longer limited to only technology companies. Today, technology jobs are in demand across sectors from pharmaceuticals to banking and retail, and companies in these industries see a high demand for talent in these roles.

For example, the role of Machine Learning Engineer has seen a 43x rate of growth in this five-year period, and the Application Development Analysts role has seen a 32x rate of growth.

However, soft skills are seen as one of the most in-demand skills and are increasingly more critical to success in this tech age.

Where are these professionals coming from? While machine learning and data scientists in the US come from academia or have a masters degree, over 50 percent of these professionals in India have a bachelors degree and are trained on the job.

Feon Ang, VP-Asia Pacific, LinkedIn Talent and Learning Solutions said, It is interesting to observe that soft skills such as relationship building and customer management are equally relevant for jobs of tomorrow.

With India set to see the youngest workforce in 2020, Ang said, recruiters and HR officers will benefit by hiring based on skills, instead of previous job titles, and upskilling should be a focus for all organisations in order to make talent future-ready.

Knowing the supply/demand balance in a city can help companies decide whether to look for talent in x city or tap into talent willing to migrate.

For instance, the explosion of data has created demand for data scientists across cities, with Mumbai and NCR witnessing maximum competition for this role. Outward bound, India is the largest supplier of data scientists and cyber security specialists to Singapore where 22 percent to all data scientists who have migrated there are from India.
With just two months left to move all their India-relevant data into the country, global data and payment companies have made representations to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking an extension of the deadline.

The banking regulator's six-month deadline for payment companies to comply with its data localisation rule ends in October.

Companies are also awaiting a clarification from RBI on whether they can continue storing information outside of India beyond October if the process isnt complete.

The central bank wants the data companies and payment facilitators including Visa, MasterCard, Google and WhatsApp to host India-relevant data within the country by bringing oversight rules on par with what is prevalent in some of the other Asian countries.

RBI reviews

For now, the RBI is taking stock of the progress on a fortnightly basis. But it is yet to issue any extension or clarification on the same.

"They've asked us for fortnightly updates on the progress, which was there as part of the circular itself," said TR Ramachandran, Group Country Manager for India and South Asia, Visa.

Is Visa on track to meet the deadline? Who knows? These are very very complex projects. As you know, the RBI circular was sometime in April, asking for compliance by October. So I think different companies are at different stages. I can't comment on specifically where we are, he said.

In April this year, RBI said all payment companies were required to keep data only within India to ensure unfettered supervisory access to data stored with these system providers.

Ramachandran said Visa works with the industry on this. Many companies have told the RBI that they will require more time, given the complexity. Different companies have different technology architectures. I think industry associations have made their presentations."

"The reality is we also have to keep data privacy and security and all those things in mind. There is a complex infrastructure..," he added.

Most of the companies have conveyed their inability to move all their data to India within the stipulated deadline.

Impact on customers and companies

This could also impact the Indian customers of these companies.

A senior private sector banker said, We have millions of customers using our debit and credit cards facilitated by the payment firms. RBI may have to clarify what happens with our customers and what we need to do.

Data localisation would come as a strong blow on the costs and additional work for foreign companies operating in India.

To set up data centres in India from scratch would incur a lot of costs and time. Also, the regulations in our home countries may not permit us because of security reasons, said one of the officials with a US-based payment firm.

However, the banker quoted above said, I think it is only fair for the size and the economy that India is. Also, there is so much hue and cry on data globally and how the internet economy is moving cross borders without checks and restrictions. Hence its only fair that the transaction data is stored locally. Because the moment it goes outside, there will be little control on how this data will be used or rather misused as in Russia and US. It is only fair to follow the law of the land in any country you operate in.

The government, however, is open to allowing companies to store their data outside the country while keeping a copy in India.

The government and companies await the green signal from RBI which is the final authority on matters related to payment systems.
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Luxury fashion brand, Burberry raised many eyebrows when it burnt unsold and unwanted stock worth 28 million ($36.68 million) in the past year. The company took this step to protect its intellectual property and avoid counterfeiting of the stock that mainly include clothes and cosmetics. Apart from Burberry, H&M and Richemont have also been incinerating their unsold products at regular intervals in a bid to fight counterfeiting.

Fashion industry thrives on creativity. Constant innovation is the mantra of survival and that is why new designs and materials are being developed almost every day to keep the consumers spoiled for choices.

Indian fashion industry is also styling itself to compete with the best labels globally. They have learnt a lot from their international counterparts in the last few years. The steps taken up by the labels such as Burberry, H&M and Richemont have made the Indian fashion industry sit back and take notice of the phenomenon called counterfeiting and work towards protecting their intellectual property.

Indian fashion industry has evolved over the years with a huge amount of innovation and hard work put in by designers. They create aesthetic designs that become fashion. They experiment a lot around fabrics to make it more comfortable for the consumers. How can technology and internet not be a player in this entire scheme of things? So, we are already looking at smart clothing, ranging from self-adjusting shirts, clothes that can change colour on wearers instructions, auto-drying jackets, shoes that can track users data, clothes with inbuilt cooling and heating mechanisms, and the list goes on.

Fashion designers spend a considerable amount of effort, resources and time to arrive at these innovations. And, some of these innovations have significant commercial implications. Which also means the risk of others copying these innovations and leaving innovators in a precarious situation.

The entire process demands a stringent ecosystem where intellectual property is protected.

Fortunately, Intellectual property (IP) laws provide that much-needed protection to these innovators. These laws ensure that innovators have exclusive rights over their innovations and can stop infringers. But, to be able to effectively stop infringement, innovators have to timely get their innovations - be it the aesthetics or technologies - registered with IP granting authorities.

Good news is that obtaining IP protection in India is much easier and faster now. In some cases, it is comparable to some of the bests in the world. This is particularly relevant in a fast-moving industry like fashion, where shelf-life of products is very short. And, with the constitution of commercial courts in several parts of the country, IP disputes are being heard in a timely manner by these specialized courts.

Having seen the exponential growth of the IP ecosystem in India, there was no better time to innovate and monetize fashion than today. Therefore, you see fashion companies like Sabyasachi Couture and Biba Appeals private limited among the top five design filers in the country, significantly more than other industries.

Indian fashion industry is intellectually driven and looks ready to protect its hard work from being copied or sold in the secondary market at cheaper prices.
Clean energy generation firm Leap Green Energy Thursday said it looks to increase its power capacity to 2 GW from existing operational 751 MW and also plans fund infusion of $300 million.

"Leap Green Energy Pvt Ltd (LGE), India's leading renewable power generation company, plans to increase its power capacity through opportunistic acquisitions and setting up green field projects," a statement said.

The company is expecting to have an installed capacity of above 2 GW by FY2020, it said. The company currently has an operational capacity of 751 MW of wind assets and 400 MW of under construction wind assets.

To meet capital requirements for expansion, the firm is planning a fund infusion to the tune of $300 million. The state electricity boards (SEBs) and various industrial and commercial corporate consumers form the prospective users of the produced power capacity, it added.

The company intends this robust expansion encouraged by growing demand. Their reported revenue was Rs 525 crore generated in the FY 2017-18 alone.

"Going forward, wind energy will be our main focus area with a few ventures into solar and hybrid energy as well. We have been very fortunate to be associated with the state of Tamil Nadu and are forecasting wind energy for the entire state with our new technology. Wind Energy has a great potential in India and we are glad to be part of its growth journey in India and across the world," said by Rajeev Karthikeyan, Founder and MD of Leap Green Energy, said in the statement.

Currently, LGE operates in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat with plans to enter more states immediately. The institutional demand for wind energy is growing and applicable across functions including malls and shopping centres, hospitals and banks among others.
Gautam Adani; $25.2 billion

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Shares of Adani Enterprises have gone ex-gas business from Thursday as the company had decided to hive off the businesses separately.

Investors will get one share of Adani Gas for every share of Adani Enterprises held.

As an effect of the split, shares of Adani Enterprises, effectively fell over 30 percent, discounting for the value of gas business. This segment will be later listed on the exchanges.

Earlier this year, the company had announced the demerger of its city gas distribution unit into Adani Gas. The spin-off will also provide financial flexibility to the business for raising capital, according to a statement by the firm in January 2018.

The company recently purchased Mumbai electricity distribution business from Reliance Infrastructure.

At 10:40 hrs Adani Enterprises was quoting at Rs 153.30, down Rs 58.90, or 27.76 percent.
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Shares of Bharat Forge were higher by 3 percent on Thursday morning as investors cheered Credit Suisses maintaining outperform rating on the stock with a target of Rs 750.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 681.95 and an intraday low of Rs 669.70.

The global research firm highlighted how the macro situation is still favourable amid strong execution by the firm as well.

With the depreciation in rupee, it reckons that companies exporting to developed markets will benefit. It also observed that 60 percent of the revenues come from exports to the US and Europe.

On the crude price movement, the brokerage expects it to benefit from bullish prices as well as oil & gas accounts for over 10 percent of revenues in the firm.

The stock gained five percent in the past one month, while in the past three days, it rose over a percent. At 10:04 hrs Bharat Forge was quoting at Rs 677.20, up Rs 13.90, or 2.10 percent, on the BSE.

The above report is compiled from information available on public platforms. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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Share price of Dilip Buildcon gained 3.7 percent intraday Thursday as company received letter of acceptance (LoA) from Northern Coalfield (NCL) worth Rs 717.45 crore (excluding GST).

The company received LoA for removal of over burden at mining project from Northern Coalfield (NCL), a subsidiary of Coal India for its Jayant OCP Project at Singrauli in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The trading window for dealing in the securities of the company by its designated employees, directors and promoters shall be closed from September 6, 2018 to September 10, 2018 (both day Inclusive).

Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company to be held on September 28, 2018.

At 14:22 hrs Dilip Buildcon was quoting at Rs 812.65, up Rs 26.75, or 3.40 percent on the BSE.

Share price increased by 40 percent in last 1 year.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
Debunking a report that claimed that there has been a fall of 4 lakh in ridership for the Delhi Metro, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister said the report was irresponsible and was falsifying facts.

He further said that not only was the Indian metro network comparable to metro systems in London and New York in terms of sustainability, efficiency and security, but it was also the lowest priced both in India and around the globe.

These are irresponsible studies that people put out without looking at the facts. Indias commitment to green and urbanisation is total, he said at CIIs 13th Sustainability Summit held in the Capital.

The Centre of Science and Environment (CSE) had on Tuesday said the Delhi Metro had received nearly 32 percent fewer passengers than it had forecast this year. The research and advocacy group attributed the performance to the fare hike.

The report is produced by people reasonably credible but they have an agenda. They have compared not an orange with an orange but an elephant with a donkey and they have ended up completely falsifying the facts, he said at the event.

He said that the Delhi Metro had not increased fares for almost nine years. The fare fixation committee decided in 2016 to carry out the fare increase in two parts  the first was in May 2017 and second part was in October 2017.

It has so happened that the ridership prior to the fare increase was 27 lakh  if the report was correct, it should have come down to 23 lakh. Today the ridership is over 29 lakh, it has obviously gone up. So where has the Metro ridership fallen?

Taking a dig at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Puri said that "if somebody wants to be 'sad', he must be sad about the fact that the other public transport, that is, the DTC which has a sanction of 11000 buses is 7000 short."



Since @ArvindKejriwal Ji & I frequently discuss these issues, we need to be careful & avoid being disingenuous with facts. A two-part hike was proposed by FFC in 2016 & implemented in May & Oct 17. It was duly approved by a Delhi Govt. representative. So what is he sad about? pic.twitter.com/qAC5kouwbP

 Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) September 6, 2018

Kejriwal on Wednesday had said that he felt 'sad' that the Delhi Metro had become unaffordable for the common man after the fare hikes. "As CM of Delhi, I feel sad that such an important means of transport has become out of reach of common man. All those who have given up Metro are now contributing to Delhi's pollution by using road-based transport," Kejriwal said.

The DMRC on Wednesday also slammed the CSE report, saying its earlier projection included Phase-3 which has not become operational as yet. Delhi Metro has called the study "misleading and not based on facts and data". "This study is conveniently comparing DMRC with select metros across the world. Why don't you compare with big metros," said DMRC MD Mangu Singh.

Singh said that there are other metros like Lucknow, Chennal and Kochi within the country that have higher fares than Delhi Metro so how can it be second most unaffordable metro in the world.

"It is seen from the report that ridership of DMRC is 27 lakh as against projected ridership of 39 lakh. The 39.5 lakhs ridership is projected after completion of Phase-3. The Phase -3 is yet to be fully made operational and stabilized. Therefore, any such comparison at this stage, is only misleading and unrealistic," Singh added.

The CSE study had said that of the nine metropolitan cities across the world where the cost for a 10-km trip is less than half-a-US dollar, the Delhi Metro remains the second-most unaffordable system in terms of percentage of income spent for using it.

As per the calculation, the study says that commuters in Delhi spend about 14 percent of their income on Metro rides that is lower only to 25 percent spent by commuters in Hanoi.
The Supreme Court on September 6 ordered a forensic audit of all 46 firms of the embattled Amrapali group and the directors assets within a period of two months to assess the extent of financial wrongdoings.

It also directed that 16 properties of the company, including commercial, be auctioned in the first round to generate funds for NBCC to start construction, sources present at the hearing said.

Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for Bank of Baroda that had initiated insolvency proceedings against Amrapali, had earlier said its forensic audit of some companies showed diversion of Rs 2,765 crore.

NBCC had proposed to the court that it can start construction on the 16 stalled projects with a capital of Rs 1,000 crore and the remaining amount of Rs 7,500 crore could be given in quarterly instalments of Rs 250 crore, legal sources said.

The next date of hearing has been fixed for September 12.

The name of the entities who would conduct the forensic audit would be finalised in a day or two and the exercise will be completed in two months, legal sources said.

"In the circumstances, we direct forensic audit of 46 companies of Amrapali Group including Jotindra Steel and Tubes Ltd. Let the forensic audit of assets of all directors including movable and immovable, their family members and related companies. Let the forensic audit be completed within two months and reports be submitted in the court," the bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit said.

The court also grilled the promoter of the firm Anil Sharma as to how his assets worth Rs 850 crore as per an affidavit filed with the Election Commission in 2014 had been reduced to Rs 67 crore (as per the affidavit filed with the Supreme Court). The court wants him to file details of how the amount has reduced from Rs 850 crore to Rs 67 crore in four years, advocate Kumar Mihir told Moneycontrol.

It sought an affidavit on the list of properties of Sharma and other directors, including their family members, within four days. Other directors have been asked to file an additional affidavit that they do not have any undisclosed assets other than those mentioned, sources said.

The court also asked Noida Authority and Greater Noida Authority to provide details of dues and charges of the additional saleable area (FAR) in Amrapali projects that are unencumbered and estimate their value to raise funds, sources said.

Homebuyers brought to the notice of the court that NBCC fees were too inflated. NBCC's charge of 10 percent of the total cost of construction which comes to Rs 774 crore for this exercise is too inflated as this is not a profit venture. Justice Lalit asked the chairman of NBCC to be reasonable and revise the fees, advocate Mihir said.

On September 4, the Supreme Court had assured state-run NBCC of funds to complete 46,575 flats of crisis-hit Amrapali Group at an estimated cost of Rs 8,500 crores and favoured a forensic audit of balance sheets of the private realtor to assess the extent of siphoning of funds by them.

Submitting its report with the Supreme Court, the governments construction arm NBCC had said they were willing to work as project management consultants in Amrapali projects but would not spend a single dime from their pocket.

It had said the funds would be arranged in phases as per the directions of the Supreme Court and deposited in an escrow account.

NBCC proposed that the projects be completed in phases within a period of six to 36 months from the date on which the requisite amounts are made available to NBCC. The completed units will be handed over to the homebuyers in phases, sources said.

NBCC has also proposed setting up an SC-appointed committee comprising a member of the judiciary, a technocrat and a bureaucrat to monitor the progress of the projects, sources said.

At the August 21 hearing, the Supreme Court had directed NBCC to undertake construction of unfinished housing projects of the embattled firm and file a comprehensive report on how it proposes to construct the housing units and the timeframe within which it plans to complete them within 30 days.
business Start, Up and Away: Archana Walavalkar and Dhimaan Shah, the personal stylists for all Indians Moneycontrols Anchal Pathak catches up with the founders of StyleCracker and asks them what it takes to make it big in the Indian fashion industry.
Chaayos

Tea cafe chain Chaayos has raised around $12 million in a fresh round of funding from investors such as SAIF Partners, Hong Kong's Integrated Capital and Singapore-based growth stage investment firm Pacatolus.



The development was first reported by The Economic Times on Thursday.



This funding comes after a long struggle by the company to raise capital. According to reports, it last raised $2 million from existing investor Tiger Global Management in October in an internal round of funding. This was seen more as a bridge round of funding.

"The company will invest in offline expansion and look to double revenue with this capital infusion," Raghav Verma, co-Founder, Chaayos, told Moneycontrol.The company has 52 outlets across the country. It ended FY18 with a revenue of around Rs 52 crore.It had been in talks to raise a fresh round of funding since early last year

The tea cafe chain was founded in November 2012 by Verma and Nitin Saluja. Earlier this year, Chaayos named Ajay Kaul, a former Chief Executive of Jubiliant FoodWorks, as Chief Adviser with an aim to step-up its expansion process.

Chaayos competes with companies such as Chai Point and Tea Trails. In April, Chai Point raised $20 million in funding in a round led by Paragon Partners.

Tea has started getting the much needed attention from multiple players in the last few years. The rise in popularity can be ascertained from the fact that even coffee chains such as Cafe Coffee Day have started offering various varieties of tea under their banner.
Representative image

Thousands of farmers and labourers paralysed New Delhi on Wednesday in a protest against what they called the anti-people policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, as opposition parties step up pressure ahead of key elections.

A sharp drop in commodity prices, stagnant wages and record fuel prices have dented Modi's popularity in rural areas home to about two-thirds of India's 1.3 billion people, and key to his hopes of winning a second term in next year's general elections.

Traffic in many parts of central Delhi came to a halt as the protesters marched towards Parliament Street in the heart of the capital. Some of them, wearing red caps and waving red flags, sat on pavements as honking vehicles moved slowly past.

"This country's farmers are very angry with the Modi government," said Karan Singh, a 58-year-old rice grower from the northern breadbasket state of Haryana, dressed in traditional white clothes.

"We're suffering losses and the government is not doing anything about it."

Modi's rural woes have been worsened by a failure to deliver on a promise of tens of millions of jobs for young people that helped him secure the largest mandate in three decades in 2014.

That vow has provided opposition parties their biggest stick to try and beat him with, in three big state elections looming this year.

"This historic rally...demanding better wages, more jobs, better prices for farm produce, end to privatisation, stopping changes in labour laws, marks a new stage in the struggle of working people," the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which led the protest near parliament, said on social network Twitter.

Only an alliance of India's working class and its peasants could help defeat a "fascistic onslaught", said one of the party's leaders, Surjya Kanta Mishra.

Congress, which ruled India for most of its independent history and lost power to Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, said it supported the "fight back" by farmers. It is banding with other opposition parties to take on the prime minister.

Federal farm minister Radha Mohan Singh said on Twitter the government was putting farmers first and working on initiatives such as easy credit to help meet Modi's target of doubling their income by 2022.

In July, the government sharply hiked state-mandated prices for summer crops, including rice, that had been raised only by low single-digit figures during Modi's first four years in office.

In June, vegetable prices jumped 10 percent in major cities after a strike by millions of farmers.

Some of Wednesday's protesters, who arrived by bus and train from across the nation, were sceptical of the government's efforts.

Asked about Modi's plans to double farmers' income, Singh, the Haryana rice cultivator, responded, "He can't, and won't, do it."
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

Pakistan's President and Prime Minister Thursday said it was imperative to find a solution to the Kashmir issue under the UN resolutions for peace in the region as they voiced their desire to promote mutual cooperation with other countries on the basis of equality.

Pakistan observes September 6 as the Defence Day to mark the anniversary of the 1965 war with India.

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in his first message on the occasion, said: "Pakistan believed in peaceful coexistence and wanted to promote mutual cooperation with all its neighbours and the entire world on equal basis".

Outgoing President Mamnoon Hussain said that people of Pakistan demonstrated unsurpassed national unity and stood by their armed forces to thwart the evil designs of the enemy.

The President and Prime Minister, in their separate messages on the occasion, emphasised that the resolution of the Kashmir issue in light of the UN resolutions is imperative for peace in the region, Radio Pakistan reported.

In his victory speech in July, Khan had said that Pakistan was ready to improve its ties with India and his government would like the leaders of the two sides to resolve all disputes, including the "core issue" of Kashmir.

In his message today, Khan appreciated the courage and professionalism of the Pakistani armed forces in eliminating militancy and terrorism, saying "no doubt their efforts for national development, strengthening of democracy and world peace were laudable".

The government, he said, would continue absolute struggle in the war against terrorism till its logical end.

The day is being celebrated across the country with the Army leading the Defence Day activities. The day dawned with 31 gun salute in the country's capital and 21 gun salute in provincial capitals.

Special prayers were offered in mosques for progress and prosperity of the country.
The Supreme Court on Thursday extended till September 12, the house arrest of five rights activists in connection with the violence in Koregaon-Bhima in Maharashtra.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra took umbrage over the statements given by the Assistant Commissioner of Police of Pune on the matter, saying he was casting aspersions on the court.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.

"You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we don't want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong," the bench told ASG Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for Maharashtra government.

The bench also asked petitioner Romila Thapar and others to satisfy it on whether a third party could intervene in a criminal case.

Meanwhile, Mehta told the bench that keeping the activists under house arrest would hamper the ongoing investigation. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on September 12.

The Maharashtra government had yesterday told the apex court that the five rights activists were arrested due to the cogent evidence linking them with the banned CPI(Maoist) and not because of their dissenting views.

The state police had filed the affidavit in response to a plea of historian Romila Thapar and four others, challenging the arrest of the five activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case, and claimed that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

While prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were nabbed from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bharadwaj from Faridabad and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from Delhi.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) condemned the remarks of BJP MLA Ram Kadam who told youngsters that he would "kidnap" a girl they like even if she rejects their proposal and sought an explanation from him.

Kadam made the comments at a 'dahi handi' event in his suburban Ghatkopar assembly constituency in Mumbai on September 3.

In a video that went viral on social media, he was seen telling the crowd, which mainly comprised the youth, that he will kidnap the girl they like, even if she says no to their proposal, and hand her over to them.

The commission took suo motu cognisance of media reports about Kadam's comments and seriously condemns such statements given by "a person occupying a responsible position in the society", an official of the NCW said.

"The commission has written to the MLA seeking an explanation in this regard at the earliest," she said.

Kadam apologised for his controversial remarks.
Will discuss anything with India during 2+2 dialogue: James Mattis

JUST IN | The New York attorney general has issued subpoenas to all Roman Catholic dioceses in New York to probe a case of sex abuse, reports AP

September 06, 2018 / 10:37 PM IST That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights.











September 06, 2018 / 10:25 PM IST JUST IN | The New York attorney general has issued subpoenas to all Roman Catholic dioceses in New York to probe a case of sex abuse, reports AP











September 06, 2018 / 07:50 PM IST











September 06, 2018 / 07:49 PM IST The state of the Majerhat Bridge was affected due to the construction of metro, as according to the primary investigation report filed by the Public Works department.











September 06, 2018 / 07:32 PM IST The state of the Majerhat Bridge was affected due to the construction of metro, as according to the primary investigation report filed by the Public Works department.











September 06, 2018 / 07:25 PM IST











September 06, 2018 / 05:20 PM IST JUST IN | Interpol issues red corner notice (RCN) against Mihir Bhansali, the CEO of Firestar International, in connection with the Nirav Modi Punjab National Bank fraud.











September 06, 2018 / 02:53 PM IST Global data, payment companies seek RBI's extension of data storage deadline Global data and payment companies have made representations to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking extension of deadline to move all their India-relevant data into the country. The banking regulator's six-month deadline for payment companies to comply with its data localisation rule ends in October but it has not yet issued a clarification on the matter. For now, the RBI is taking stock of the progress on a fortnight basis.











September 06, 2018 / 02:51 PM IST











September 06, 2018 / 02:50 PM IST India-US 2+2 dialogue: India and United States have signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA). This will help India obtain advanced defence technology.











September 06, 2018 / 01:33 PM IST BREAKING | Telangana cabinet proposes dissolution of the state assembly, according to media reports.










India Pakistan

Pakistan's focus for decades has been to undermine India's territorial integrity through the "explicit use of terrorism" as a state policy, New Delhi said in a stern response after Islamabad raked up the Kashmir issue at the UN.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi yet again raised the issue of Kashmir while addressing the High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace in the UN General Assembly Wednesday.

She said "foreign occupation and the denial of fundamental rights including the right to self-determination exacerbate the sense of injustice among the occupied and the oppressed".

"Nowhere is this more apparent than in the pain and suffering" of the people in Kashmir and Palestine, she said, citing the recent report on Kashmir issued by former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Minister in India's Permanent Mission to the UN Srinivas Prasad said that a culture of peace is not just an abstract value or principle to be discussed and extolled in conferences, but needs to be actively built into global relationships between and among nation states.

"It rests on good neighborliness and a respect for the territory and the governing systems and principles of other states," he said.

In a stern response, Prasad said it is ironic that Pakistan, "whose focus over the decades has been the undermining of India's territorial integrity through the explicit use of terrorism as a state policy has chosen to use this platform to yet again claim Indian territory under the guise of a supposed concern for 'justice and self-determination' by quoting a report that not a single member state had asked for or has supported".

He asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is and will remain an integral part of India.

"As a democracy, India has always abided by the choices of the people and will not allow this freedom to be undermined by terrorism and extremism," he said.

Prasad further said that one of India's enduring principles has been Vasudheva Kutumbakam' or the concept that the world is one family'.

Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said a "non-violent revolution is not a programme of seizure of power. It is a programme of transformation of relationships".

"From the Vedic age in the distant past to the great teachers Mahavira and Buddha to Gandhiji, India's message has always been about the need of a Culture of Peace. It is may be due to this heritage of a Culture of Peace that has made India, home to the harmonious blending of different cultures and religions," Prasad said.

He said that India is the birthplace of Lord Buddha as well as home to the second largest Muslim community in the world.
After a rigorous struggle and a long wait, the Supreme Court of India decriminalised gay sex in a landmark verdict on September 6. What followed was shared rejoicing by activists, the film fraternity and politicians.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has maintained an eerie silence over the issue. At a time when the Indian as well as international media are celebrating the historic verdict, with congratulatory messages flooding social media platforms, the BJP is tightlipped.



The Supreme Court refused to strike down that part of Section 377 IPC which made sex with animals a crime. Does this interfere with fundamental rights too?

 Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) September 6, 2018

The only exception has been BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy, who told news channels that homosexuality is a genetic flaw and that "this verdict would give rise to issues like increase in gay bars and the number of HIV cases. Stating that homosexuality cannot be treated like an alternate sexual behaviour, Swamy said, There is no finality in the Supreme Courts judgement today, and this can be overturned by a seven-judge bench." Swamy had earlier told the press that being gay is against Hindutva and it needs a cure.

However, the official handle of the BJP on Twitter (and their official page on Facebook) has remained mum on the issue and is tweeting about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The Twitter handle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also been silent on the verdict.

A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) spokesperson told the press that even though their organisation is in favour of decriminalising consensual gay sex, "same sex marriage and relationship are neither natural nor desirable, which is why we do not support such relationships".

Meanwhile, the Congress has tweeted congratulatory messages, welcoming the progressive and decisive verdict of the Supreme Court, even though Congress President Rahul Gandhi has himself not shared his thoughts yet.



We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society. #Section377 pic.twitter.com/Fh65vOn7h9  Congress (@INCIndia) September 6, 2018





So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.

 Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who had introduced a private members bill in 2015 which was killed before it could be presented in the Lok Sabha for a debate, tweeted about his vindication on the issue after the pronouncement of the verdict.

During the proceedings on the matter of the constitutional validity of Section 377 and the criminalisation of gay sex under the draconian law, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government of India, had left the decision on the wisdom of the court, taking no stand on the issue.

What have been the views of the BJP earlier?

Now quiet on the landmark judgment, some prominent faces in the BJP had earlier voiced their opinion on the constitutional validity of Section 377 which criminalised gay sex. For instance, in February 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said, "The Supreme Court should not have reversed the Delhi High Court order which decriminalised consensual sex between gay adults."

Former Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said in 2014, Everybody has human rights, and it is the governments job to protect them."

However, then BJP President Rajnath Singh, months ahead of coming into power, was quoted in December 2013 as saying, We will state (at an all-party meeting if it is called) that we support Section 377 because we believe that homosexuality is an unnatural act and cannot be supported."

In 2011, the then Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, at a convention attended by former Congress President Sonia Gandhi and a host of other Union ministers, had said homosexuality is a disease and it is unnatural.
Telangana Chief Minister and Telugu Rashtra Samithi (TRS) K Chandrashekar Rao

Telangana Chief Minister and Telugu Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao has announced dissolution of the state assembly.

The state cabinet on September 6 passed a resolution seeking dissolution of the state assembly. The recommendation was accepted by Governor ESL Narasimhan.

In the meeting that lasted just over 20 minutes, Governor Narasimhan asked Rao and the Council of Ministers to continue as a caretaker Government. Rao accepted the Governor's request.

Indias newest state had held its first assembly poll simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May 2014. The term of the current assembly was supposed to end in May 2019.

Rao had taken oath as the first Chief Minister of Telangana on June 2, 2014 and has been in office for four years and 3 months.

The dissolution would now allow the state government to seek early assembly polls, possibly at the end of this year along with state elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan.

The Election Commission (EC) would now take a call on when the election is to be held.

Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) TS Krishnamurthy told PTI earlier that there is a reasonable possibility that the poll panel would considering scheduling the Telangana election along with the other states if the House is dissolved early.

However, he said the election schedule depends on "ground realities" in the state. "If there are special difficulties, they may not be able to do. It depends on local conditions," Krishnamurthy added.

Reports had earlier suggested that the announcement would be made on September 6. The date and timings were reportedly calibrated to add up to the number six, as Rao is said to hold six as his lucky number.

On September 2, Rao had stopped short of announcing the dissolution during a mega rally in Telanganas Ranga Reddy district.

Instead, in almost an hour-long speech, Rao said the public wanted a TRS government again in the state and sought their support to continue the welfare and developmental works being undertaken by it. He also announced various schemes virtually across all sectors.

"I will take a decision (assembly dissolution) soon and then announce what I will do if TRS is elected again," he said during the rally. Rao also said the people should not become "slaves to Delhi-based parties".

Also read | Reading the political tea leaves: Why K Chandrashekar Rao wants early polls in Telangana

Preparations have begun

The 64-year-old chief minister is expected to hold a public meeting in Husnabad, Telangana on September 7.

Rao will then embark on a districts tour from Siddipet district and cover 100 assembly constituencies over 50 days thereafter.

September 7 falls in the month of Sravanam, which is considered auspicious and it is a Friday, also considered auspicious for starting any new venture.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also started preparing for the election and is likely to sound the poll bugle with a public meeting by its national president Amit Shah. Shah is expected to address a public meeting on either September 12 or 15.

In August, Rao had held two consecutive meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, fuelling speculations that TRS and BJP could forge an alliance.

When asked about the "cordial relations" between the BJP and the TRS and speculations that the two parties may ally, BJP state unit president K Laxman told PTI, "There is no question of the BJP joining hands with the TRS. Modi as a Prime Minister is doing his best for the people of Telangana, not for KCR and not for the TRS.

Days before TRS mega rally, where many expected Rao to announce early polls, Congress said that they were prepared to contest the election whenever they are held.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy had expressed confidence that the party would form the next government in Telangana winning more than 75 seats in the 119-member assembly.
Devendra Fadnavis

Sujata Anandan

Not many outside Sangli district of Maharashtra had even heard of Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide until the Bhima-Koregaon violence on January 1. In Sangli, the octogenarian is quite a well-known figure and a rabble-rouser, constantly on the radar of the local police.

There were two high-profile ministers in the previous Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra who patronised Bhide and attempted to use him to neutralise rivals in their own party  then state home minister RR Patil and minister for rural development Jayant Patil, who is now NCPs state president.

As a result of this patronage, a decade later, the Congress and, particularly the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has lost their stronghold of Sangli to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recent local body polls. The Congress and the NCP were so busy cutting each other down to size that they did not sense the ground beneath their feet shifting. But thats not all.

Bhindes Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan had a more sinister game plan as is becoming obvious from the arrests of many sadhaks (cadre) of the Sanatan Sanstha which was planning to bomb Hindu temples and Ganpati pandals near Muslim ghettos in Mumbai to escalate communal tensions.

They are linked to the killing of four rationalists  Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. For nearly five years after the murder of Dabholkar in Pune on August 20, 2013, the Maharashtra Police got nowhere in their investigations until they were pushed by their Karnataka counterparts, investigating the Lankesh murder, to round up the sadhaks based in Maharashtra and put them behind bars.

When the Maharashtra ATS looked at the Sanatan Sansthas list of targets, they were chilled to the bones to find that Mukta Dabholkar, the daughter of Narendra Dabholkar, was at the top. Also on the list was the name of NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad. Interestingly, it was the NCP leaders who had stopped the Sangli Police from neutralising Bhide in time.

Members of Bhide's organisation too are now behind bars for their part in the conspiracy to bomb Hindu temples and kill anti-Hindutva activists.

Ever since the Bhima-Koregaon incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has offered Bhide the kind of protection he was offered by Patil and even former Union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde; Shinde had failed to act on a 1,000-page dossier on this group sent to his ministry by the Maharashtra Police  perhaps because he did not want to upset the political equations in his neighbouring Solapur district.

The Congress and the NCP were both playing soft Hindutva but lost the subsequent elections. Their political brinkmanship came back to haunt them in no uncertain manner, in both political and security terms with many of their leaders being on the Sanatan Sansthas hit list.

Now the Maharashtra Police is also blown by the fact that on Sanatan Santhas hit list are many of their own exemplary officers. In fact, the Sanatan Prabhat, a newspaper published from Goa, a few years ago exhorted sadhaks to actively target the army and police saying that without eliminating them, the group was unlikely to achieve its goal of a Hindu Rashtra.

Such groups had been emboldened by the previous governments lax approach to the security threat they pose. Now it is up to the BJP government to mop up this mess because the Sanatanis are far too sinister and violent than many right-wing groups. News that they used hypnosis and psychotropic drugs on their followers shows this diabolical side.

Faced with such a tough call, Fadnavis has given the police a carte blanche to take action. Fadnavis has learnt more quickly than the Congress and NCP leaders did about the perils of playing politics with such security issues. Also, such patronage could backfire  imagine Hindu temples and Ganpati pandas being targeted by such groups under a BJP regime!

However, if Fadnavis continues to have a strange fascination for Bhide, extending protection to the rabble-rouser despite evidence that there is a line to be drawn between him and the Sanatanis, that patronage could prove more dangerous to the BJP than it did to the NCP.

Sujata Anandan is a senior journalist and author. The views expressed are personal
Telangana Chief Minister and Telugu Rashtra Samithi (TRS) K Chandrashekar Rao

Soon after recommending the dissolution of the Telangana assembly, TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao Thursday announced candidates for 105 seats and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling its president Rahul Gandhi the "biggest buffoon".

Rao, who has been asked to continue as the caretaker chief minister, also claimed the Election Commission has been consulted and that Telangana would go to polls along with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

Branding the Congress as the "biggest enemy" of Telangana, he flayed it for making "baseless, mindless and meaningless" allegations against the TRS government.

"Congress is Telangana's villain number one," he told a press conference but largely spared the BJP any criticism.

Recalling how the Congress president had hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate on the no-confidence motion and his subsequent wink, Rao said," Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in this country."

He described Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM as a "friendly party" and said the TRS will continue to work with it.

Rao, however, made it clear that the TRS would go it alone in the assembly elections and asserted it will win more than 100 of the state's 119 seats. The 120-member assembly also has a nominated member.
Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) with Governor ESL Narasimhan (Image: PTI)

Telanganas caretaker Chief Minister and Telugu Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar has said the state assembly was not dissolved for political gains, but is a sacrifice made by the party.

Speaking to the press after dissolving the assembly, Rao said, The cycle of development and economic progress should not be stalled. It should go on. I say, we have not dissolved the government for political gains. It is a sacrifice we have made.

While Rao said the decision to dissolve the assembly was not politically motivated, he said the party was confident that the election notification would be issued in October while the polls will happen in November.

The caretaker CM said these cannot be considered as early polls as election atmosphere has already gripped the country because of pending elections in four states  Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

I salute my Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), ministers and Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) for cooperating and coordinating with me, he said.

Rao said the list of 105 TRS candidates will be declared on September 6 while the remaining 14 candidates will be finalised within a week.

When asked about the possibility of the TRS allying with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the assembly polls, Rao said, "TRS is a 100 percent secular party. How can we join hands with the BJP?"

Rao also said TRS would contest the election alone but said there was "no doubt" the party is "friends with AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen)".

Development, schemes highlighted

Rao claimed the Telangana government had maintained perfect law and order situation and that the crime rate had come down.

In the five months of this financial year, no state in the country has been able to clock a 21.96 percent growth in state-owned revenue, he said.

Such growth has been possible only due to policies which were implemented with persistent and disciplined efforts. The state governments achievements have fetched international acclaim, he added.

KCR trains guns at Congress

Hitting out at the largest opposition party  Congress  Rao said the Congress rule was marked by corruption, officials going to jails and projects kept pending infinitely.

Taking a jibe at Congress, Rao claimed that his government had done way more for the state in the past four-and-half years than the Congress in the past 50 years.

Taking a jibe at Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Rao said Gandhi had "inherited the legacy of the Congress Delhi sultanate. He is the legal heir of Congress empire of Delhi. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let us not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi."

"Congress party is the number one villain of Telangana," Rao said. "Biggest enemy of the state is the Congress party," he said.

"I am asking Congress leaders to come to the ground and fight in the elections. The public will give the reply," he added.

The Election Commission (EC) is yet to take a call when the election would be held.

Also read: Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao dissolves assembly, calls for early polls

On September 6, Rao announced dissolution of the state assembly. The state cabinet passed a resolution seeking dissolution of the state assembly. The recommendation was accepted by Governor ESL Narasimhan.

In the meeting that lasted just over 20 minutes, Governor Narasimhan asked Rao and the Council of Ministers to continue as a caretaker government.

Indias newest state had held its first assembly poll simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May 2014. The term of the current assembly was supposed to end in May 2019.

The dissolution would now allow the state government to seek early assembly polls, possibly at the end of this year.
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Airtel Payments Bank customers can now make card-less cash withdrawals at select ATMs across the country using instant money transfer technology, the company said.

"IMT is the largest interoperable card-less cash ATM network in the world, built and run by Empays Payment Systems India Pvt Ltd.

"The facility is currently available for Airtel Payments Bank account holders at over 20,000 IMT enabled ATMs in India and will cover more than 100,000 ATMs by the end of this year," Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel Payments Bank has tied up with Empays to enable its savings account holders to withdraw cash using just their mobile phone through the card-less cash technology of Empays, called IMT (Instant Money Transfer).

"The technology can be used for self-withdrawal or for sending money to an intended recipient for ATM cash withdrawal," the statement said.

Over 1 lakh ATMs belonging to some of the largest banks in the country such as State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Punjab National Bank are linked to the IMT system for card-less cash withdrawals. The network is licensed by the Reserve Bank of India as a payment system and is the only one of its kind in the country.

As an introductory offer, Airtel Payments Bank has waived off Rs 25 transaction fee for the first two self-withdrawals, it added.
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Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and other car makers have welcomed the governments plans to increase the number of CNG stations by seven times to 10,000 over the next 12 years.

Speaking at the annual SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) Convention Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that come 2030 at least 10,000 CNG filling stations will be operational throughout the country.

Currently, only 1,424 stations cater to 3 million vehicles including three-wheelers, taxis and commercial cars. As most of these stations are limited to Delhi, Mumbai and Gujarat it limits the vehicles ability to move beyond these areas for lack of filling options.

While CNG is less polluting than petrol and diesel (20-30 percent lower CO2 than compared internal combustion car) it is also priced much cheaper than the two. A kilogram of CNG in Mumbai costs Rs 46 while a litre of petrol costs Rs 87. CNG is also more fuel-efficient than petrol.

Maruti Suzuki, the countrys largest car maker, has a portfolio of seven models that come with factory-fitted CNG kits. Ertiga, Dzire, Eeco, Alto, Celerio, Wagon R and Carry are available with CNG options. Till date, Maruti has sold more than 4 lakh vehicles.

Speaking to Moneycontrol earlier a senior Maruti Suzuki official had said the demand for CNG-powered cars is very high given the low cost of the fuel. But due to lower availability of filling stations resulting in long queues people tend to stay away from CNG cars, said the executive. Around 82 percent of CNG filling stations are centered in Gujarat, Delhi and Maharashtra.

With the rise in CNG footprint, it is expected that the number of CNG-powered cars will rise by more than five times to 17 million by 2030. As CNG is all domestically produced the move will save the country from heavy import bills of crude oil. On an average, each car consumes 750 litres of petrol in a year.

Because of the low availability of the fuel not many car makers have invested in fitting a CNG option in their cars. Hyundai, Indias second-biggest carmaker which has the Eon Xcent and Grand i10 powered by CNG options is the only one besides Maruti to offer CNG cars. Mahindra also offers the KUV100, TUV 300, Jeeto with CNG option.

Companies like Tata Motors (except Nano), Ford, Honda, Toyota, Renault and Nissan are yet to have CNG cars in their portfolio.

Pradhan also assured to the industry that his ministry is on schedule for the launch of the Bharat Stage VI fuel and will introduce it pan India on the agreed timeline of April 1, 2020.
Ratan Tata

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Former Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata, and now an astute investor, is believed to have earned more than twice his investment in a Coimbatore-based electric vehicle start-up.

The Chairman of Tata Trusts sold his entire equity holding in Ampere Vehicles last week to Mumbai-based small engine manufacturer Greaves Cotton. Former Infosys Executive Vice-Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan also exited Ampere simultaneously.

Tata had invested about Rs 3 crore in Ampere in his personal capacity in mid-2015. This was also the first investment by him in an automobile company.

Tata sold his stake in Ampere, earning more than two times. Most investors made similar returns. Kris (Gopalakrishnan) came into the company later, so his returns could have been lower than Tatas, a source said.

BSE-listed Greaves Cotton said it will acquire 67 percent in Ampere for Rs 77 crore, valuing the firm at Rs 115 crore. It has promised to buy a further 13 percent in Ampere for Rs 75.5 crore. Almost the entire management of Ampere has been retained by Greaves.

Ratan Tata does not comment on his personal investments. Therefore, we cannot offer you any guidance whatsoever, said a spokesperson of Tata Trusts.

Ampere will become a subsidiary of the profit-making Greaves Cotton. The latter has been independently working on electric vehicle technology. With this buyout, Ampere hopes to accelerate product and new technology development process.

Ampere will strengthen its two-wheeler play with products that will have better range and power. However, the idea would be to reduce the acquisition cost of the vehicle by way of technology innovation, the source added.

At present, Ampere manufactures one electric scooter, an electric bicycle and a load carrying three-wheeler that are mostly powered by old generation lead acid batteries.

The company is keen on developing a range of medium powered scooters that can run for more than 100 km on a full charge (from 50 km at present), but priced at more affordable levels.

Electric vehicle prices have not gone down as expected earlier because of a slowdown in the price of batteries. While range anxiety among consumers remains the top concern, the higher acquisition cost is also a major deterrent for buyers.

For instance, a lithium-ion battery powered scooter offering 100 km on a full charge is priced on par with the Honda Activa, the largest selling scooter in India. The Activa can run for 250-300 km on a full tank.

The reduction is battery prices is happening, but the pace has certainly slowed down compared to earlier years. This is because many companies around the world have jumped on the EV bandwagon, the source added.
Moneycontrol News

Air quality monitoring nanosensors have been developed by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) with funding from Intel and the department of science and technology. Currently, the team is looking for ways to integrate it with a mobile phone.

As per a report in The Times of India, field tests on these nanosensors have already begun in Bengaluru and will be conducted in Delhi soon.

The scientists have used a novel fabrication method of a four-element gas sensor array to monitor air pollutants. These pollutants are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide. This method is highly sensitive and low-cost.

The research was carried out by Navakanta Bhat, Chandra Shekhar Prajapati, Rohith Soman, SB Rudraswamy and Manjunatha Nayak.

"Last year, we first checked for carbon monoxide, but now were able to detect four major pollutants and the eventual goal is to put this technology on cell phone. Were carrying out field tests in Bengaluru and will take it to other cities like New Delhi later," Navakanta told the paper.

While the nuances of inserting this into a mobile phone are yet to be worked out, the team is also considering designing a separate handheld device as an alternative.

The size of the sensor itself is less than 1 mm and combining it with the rest of the signal processing electronics and a small display still doesnt make it more than a couple of centimetres long.
The Bharat Bandh called by over 35 organisations representing upper-caste interests on September 6 has been largely peaceful, according to reports. While normal life was affected in certain parts of the country including Madhya Pradesh and Bihar no major incidents of violence or clashes were reported.

In March, the Supreme Court had expressed concern regarding the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, stating that the act is being misused. The apex court had introduced the provision of anticipatory bail and had also ruled against automatic arrest or booking of the accused under the law.

In July, Parliament passed an amendment to the SC/ST Act that overruled the SCs order diluting it.

The protests in several states, including Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, were against these amendments.

In April, Madhya Pradesh had witnessed similar protests when groups agitating against the SC order had called for a shutdown. The agitation had soon turned violent in several districts of the state, killing four and injuring many others, including police personnel. Anticipating similar response this time around, the state government had imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 in all the districts of the state. Private schools and colleges were shut, and the local administration in Bhind, Shivpuri and Gwalior declared a holiday as a precautionary measure.

Local residents wore black clothes in protest and business establishments remained shut, said Vyapari Sangh president Mahesh Chandak.

Over 34 companies of special armed forces were deployed across the state. In Gwalior, authorities used drones for surveillance.

Meanwhile, in states like Bihar and Rajasthan, protesters forcibly stopped trains and blocked roads. Like Madhya Pradesh, markets in Bihar and Rajasthan remained shut. Although no untoward incidents were reported from the state, schools and colleges remained shut in Rajasthan, according to reports.

In Bihar, protesters staged a demonstration in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s state headquarters in Patna, protesting against betrayal by the very party we have been voting for, The Indian Express reported. Section 144 was imposed in several districts of Bihar and over 34 units of security forces were deployed across the state.

Six policemen were injured in clashes with protesters in Uttar Pradesh. Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Bairia in UP, Surendra Singh, came out in support of the bandh. "Upper-caste people made me the MLA and not Muslims and Scheduled Castes. I am ready to sacrifice for the upper caste. If my upper-caste supporters ask me, I can also resign (from my seat) for their sake," Singh said.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said while the shutdown does not have any meaning, "people have their feelings".

"In a democracy, everyone has the right to express themselves," Adityanath said.
The Netherlands | In 2001, the European nation became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriages. The then mayor of Amsterdam commemorated the landmark judgement by getting four gay couples married. Behind the pomp and splendour was a 15-year crusade in the country. Until 1973, homosexuality was considered an illness and Dutch mental health institutions offered treatment for the same. However, a surge in domestic tolerance coupled with post-World War II LGBT rights movement galvanized liberalisation and contributed to the legalisation of homosexuality. (Image: Reuters)

Germany | Prior to the Nazi era, the country was fairly tolerant towards homosexuality, albeit without a legal status. However, under Adolf Hitler's regime, thousands of homosexuals were prosecuted. Post-World War II, the Nazi extensions were repealed and gay sex was decriminalised in both East and West Germany in 1968 and 1969, respectively. Efforts by pro-gay politicians and Akademie Waldschlosschen, a national networking hub for LGBT, have transformed it into one of the most gay-friendly countries in the world. (Image: Reuters)

US | Through the 20th century, events such as the Stonewall riots, which is considered the starting point of the modern gay liberation movement, cultivated public empathy towards homosexuality. In 2003, the Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence vs Texas made sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex legal in all states across the country. (Image: Reuters)

The Republic of Ireland | Apart from being known for its brewing culture, the country has pushed for LGBT rights. From being overwhelmingly conservative, the country has transformed into an overwhelmingly liberal one, in the space of a generation. The relentless work of civil rights activist David Norris and the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform rendered gay sex a legal status by 1993. (Image: Reuters)

South Africa | Despite state opposition, several homosexual rights groups started forming in the country in late 1970s, however, most of them were divided along racial lines. Tensions between different LGBT groups extended even to politics and the underlying issue never came to the forefront. It was only in the post-apartheid era, that it came in the public eye and in 1998 South Africa finally granted legal status to gay sex between consenting adults. (Image: Reuters)

Canada | Homosexuality attained legal status in the country in 1969 when the Criminal Law Amendment Act came into force upon royal assent. Prior to this, offenders were given capital punishment, which was often changed to the death penalty. In the battle leading up to the legalisation of homosexuality, then Justice Minister and Attorney General of Canada, Pierre Trudeau famously said, "There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation." (Image: Reuters)

New Zealand | The first seeds towards liberalisation of homosexuality in the country were sown in 1972, when academician Ngahuia Te Awekotuku was denied a visitors permit to the US, on the grounds that she was homosexual. The incident gained traction nationwide and gay liberation groups started popping up in cities such as Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland. Through the 1970s, the gay movement gained eminence in the country and gay sex between consenting men attained legal status in 1986. (Image: Reuters)

Argentina | Although, homosexuality was legal since 1853, there were no civil rights laws dedicated to protecting gay people. Homosexuality was looked down upon and desperation in men was blamed to be the leading cause for people "turning gay". However, in the 1970s, after LGBT rights organisation such as Nuestro Mundo and Safo were established, the plight of homosexuals came to the forefront. Together, they represented the homosexual liberation front and by the turn of the decade, public apathy and acceptance towards homosexuals started growing. (Image: Reuters)

UK | Through the 1950s, police actively enforced laws prohibiting sexual behaviour between men, which resulted in the prosecution of over 1,069 gay men in England and Wales. Death of scientist, mathematician, and war-time code-breaker Alan Turing and imprisonment of Edward Montagu, Michael Pitt-Rivers and Peter Wildeblood sparked public outrage which eventually led to the legalisation of homosexuality in 1967 in England and Wales, and later in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Except Northern Ireland, the remaining countries have granted a similar legal structure to marriage among homosexuals. (Image: Reuters)
Insurgents killed 19 security personnel in separate assaults in Afghanistan, officials said Thursday, a day after twin bombings in Kabul killed 21 people, including two local TV reporters.

Another 89 people were wounded in Wednesday's bombings, in a Shiite neighborhood of the capital. The attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group, which has carried out a wave of bombings against minority Shiites in recent years. The Taliban denied responsibility.

Later Wednesday, suspected Taliban insurgents overran a security outpost in the northern Badghis province and then ambushed reinforcements, killing a total of 10 soldiers, according to Jamshid Shahabi, a spokesman for the governor.

In what is being described as an insider attack, a local police official in the northern Takhar province turned his weapon on his colleagues early Thursday, killing all eight. Abdul Khali Aseir, the provincial police spokesman, says the gunman escaped.

Two journalists from Afghanistan's TOLO TV were among those killed in the Kabul bombings. Samim Faramarz and Ramiz Ahmadi were "fearless" reporters who represented what is best in the country, the station said in a posting on Twitter.

"They challenged and pushed boundaries to deliver news to millions daily. . .We are devastated," it said.

The UN envoy to Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, condemned the "callous attack" in Kabul and expressed "deep concern over the heavy price paid by Afghan media, with the killing of journalists in Afghanistan being among the highest in the world."

In April, nine journalists who rushed to the scene of an explosion in Kabul were killed by a second suicide bomber. A 10th journalist was killed the same day, shot in eastern Khost province.

Both the Taliban and IS carry out near-daily attacks in Afghanistan targeting security forces and government officials, but IS also regularly targets Shiites, who it views as apostates.

In the same neighborhood where the twin bombings took place, an Islamic State suicide bomber killed 35 high school graduates last month as they sat for their university entrance exams. The dead were all teenagers.
Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif (left) and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (right) have a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing, China. (Reuters)

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Pakistan Friday to hold talks with the country's new leadership to consolidate cooperation and elevate the all-weather bilateral strategic partnership.

This is the first high-level visit by a Chinese official to Islamabad since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections.

The visit by Wang, who is also designated as the State Councillor which makes him the top diplomat of China, comes two days after that of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo met new Prime Minister Khan and pressed him to take "sustained and decisive measures" against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

Announcing Wang's visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media that besides holding talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he would also meet top leaders of the new Pakistan government and exchange views on bilateral ties, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"This is the first high-level visit between the two sides after the establishment of the new government in Pakistan. We hope that through the visit the two sides could consolidate our traditional friendship, all-round cooperation and elevate China-Pakistan all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership," she said when asked about China's expectations from the visit from September 7-9

"China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and cooperative partners. We are good neighbours, good friends and good brothers. Our bilateral ties have been developing with sound momentum. We have frequent high-level exchanges, practical cooperation moving forward and rich outcomes from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)," she said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Pakistan's newly-elected President Arif Alvi, saying the strategic significance of the bilateral ties is "more prominent under the current circumstances" and both sides should support each other "more staunchly".

Wang's visit also comes amidst reports of unease in Beijing over how the new PTI government would approach over $50 billion Chinese investments in various projects under the CPEC connecting China's Muslim-majority Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Pakistan.

Khan in the past criticised former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the lack of transparency and corruption in the CPEC projects.

Newly-appointed Finance Minister Asad Umar has promised to bring about transparency to the CPEC projects whose details remained closely guarded secrets.

India has protested to China over the CPEC, which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Moneycontrol News

Goldman Sachs is reportedly abandoning plans to launch a cryptocurrency trading desk.

As per a report in Business Insider, the decision has been made as the regulatory situation in the US, is still a grey area when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Sources said that the banking giant hasn't completely abandoned the idea, but is rather pushing the possibility lower down on its priorities list and there are chances of opening the desk sometime at a later date.

Following the report, bitcoin price fell roughly 5 percent to below $7,000 and the rest of the top five cryptocurrencies by market cap were also down by more than 12 percent.

As reported by CoinDesk in October 2017, Goldman Sachs has been considering launching a new trading operation for the past one year which would focus on bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Lloyd Blankfein, the banks CEO had tweeted in October that Goldman was "still thinking about bitcoin." "No conclusion - not endorsing/rejecting. Know that folks also were skeptical when paper money displaced gold," Blankfein mentioned at the time.

"In response to client interest in various digital products, we are exploring how best to serve them in the space. At this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering," Goldman Sachs said in a statement.

Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of crypto hedge fund BKCM, said while this doesn't have an impact on actual bitcoin trading volume short-term, the report pours cold water on long-term sentiment. "They were not a part of the ecosystem yet, but to the extent that they represent the institutional herd, this is a negative," Kelly added.
The Islamic State group will have been driven from all the territory it once controlled as a self-declared "caliphate" before the end of the year, French military chief Francois Lecointre said Thursday.

The jihadists, who conquered vast stretches of Iraq and Syria in 2014, have lost all but a pocket of land in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor province between the Euphrates river and Iraqi border, though they remain present in the Syrian desert.

Using an Arabic acronym for IS, Lecointre predicted "the end of the physical caliphate of Daesh before the end of the year, probably late autumn".

France is part of the US-led coalition that has been fighting IS since 2014 and is now supporting Kurdish and Arab fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces as they battle to oust the jihadists from their last holdout.

"Once the physical caliphate has fallen we will pose the question of how to reconfigure Operation Inherent Resolve," Lecointre said of the coalition.

Speaking to reporters, the general pledged to downscale the French troop contingent currently more than 1,000-strong "as soon as I can".

The Syrian conflict has become increasingly complex since it grew out of anti-government protests in 2011, drawing in other major powers including Russia and Turkey.
North Korea's Kim Jong Un has given his first time line for enuclearisation, aiming for the end of US President Donald Trump's first term, Seoul officials said on Thursday, prompting thanks from Trump who said they would "get it done together".

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will also meet in Pyongyang on Sept. 18-20 for a third summit and discuss "practical measures" towards denuclearisation, Moon's national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, said a day after meeting Kim.

The summit could provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearisation between North Korea and the United States, after Trump cancelled a visit to Pyongyang by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month citing lack of progress.

Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was "unchanged" and that he wanted denuclearisation and an end to hostile relations with the United States before Trump's first term in office ends in early 2021, Chung said.

"He particularly emphasised that he has never said anything negative about President Trump," Chung said.

Trump welcomed Kim's remarks in a trademark Tweet.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!" Trump wrote.

In previous, failed talks, North Korea has said it could consider giving up its nuclear programme if the United States provided security guarantees by removing troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the South and Japan.

U.S. officials involved in the latest negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining denuclearisation or other key terms such as "verifiable" and "irreversible", and has insisted the United States must first agree to simultaneous steps to reduce economic pressure.

Pompeo, visiting New Delhi, declined to discuss the next steps but said there was a long road ahead in the denuclearisation process.

Pompeo visited Pyongyang in July, after which North Korea accused him of making "unilateral and gangster-like demands for denuclearisation" while showing little interest in ending the war.

"It is the case that there is still an enormous amount of work to do," Pompeo told a news conference on Thursday.

Asked about U.S. intelligence that North Korea was still advancing its weapons programmes, Pompeo noted that Pyongyang had ceased its nuclear tests and test-firing missiles, "which we consider a good thing.

"But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make this strategic shift that we've talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues," Pompeo said.

Moon's national security adviser Chung said Kim had stressed the need for the United States to reciprocate North Korea's initial moves, which have included dismantling a nuclear test site and a missile engine facility.

The U.S. embassy in Seoul said it had no information to share on the matter.

FRUSTRATION

North Korea's official KCNA news agency said Kim told the South's envoys that his "fixed stand" was to turn the Korean peninsula into "a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat".

Chung said Kim showed "frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearise, and asked us to convey his message to the United States".

"He said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith," Chung said. "He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures toward denuclearisation if action is taken in response to the North's preemptive steps."

U.S. officials have previously said they have already made concessions, such as halting joint military exercises with South Korea.

During his meeting with Kim, Chung delivered a message from Trump and will relay comments from Kim to U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, Moon's spokesman, Kim Eui-kyeom, told reporters.

Trump spoke to Moon on the evening before Chung's trip and asked Moon to act as "chief negotiator" between Washington and Pyongyang, the spokesman said.

WHAT HAPPENS FIRST?

Kim and Trump held a landmark summit in Singapore in June, in which they agreed to work towards complete denuclearisation. But negotiations have made little progress, while signs North Korea has maintained work on its weapons have emerged.

Under discussion is whether denuclearisation or declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War should come first.

The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, meaning U.S.-led U.N. forces, including South Korea, are technically still at war with the North.

"The United States shouldn't delay any further an end-of-war declaration, which the U.S. president promised at the Singapore summit," the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial.

U.S. officials have said such a declaration could weaken North Korea's incentive for denuclearisation, and create uncertainty about the purpose of 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the three-year war.

"Looks like Kim is trying to wash away worries that talks could stall or fail, knowing well that Washington is losing patience," said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.

"Kim also made it clear that he needs some kind of proof Trump has abandoned the U.S.'s hostile policy before moving toward denuclearisation. Kim is trying to prove his sincerity."
Pakistan's top anti-graft body filed a corruption case against former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani over the misuse of authority Thursday and approved inquiries against Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, according to media reports.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi filed the case against Gilani, former information secretary Farooq, former public information officer Saleem and others, Geo TV reported.

In its notification, the NAB said that the accused ran an illegal marketing campaign for Universal Services Fund as a result of which the national exchequer suffered a loss of Rs 128 million, the channel said.

Gilani, 66, served as 18th prime minister from March 2008 until his disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court in April 2012. He currently serves as the vice-chairman of the central executive committee of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party.

On Wednesday, the NAB approved action against Defence Minister Khatak, Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar in cases of corruption, misuse of authority and assets beyond known source of income, it said.

The anti-graft body did not give details of inquiries and investigations, which were initiated against top politicians, cabinet minister and constitutional office holders, saying it could not be shared in the light of the decision of the Supreme Court.

Citing sources, The News said that the inquiry against Khattak was approved for alleged corruption and misuse of authority in illegally leasing forest land of 275 acres of land in Malam Jabba to a group of companies.

Defence Minister Khattak previously served as the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from 2013 to 2018.

The NAB approved inquiry against Durrani for his alleged involvement in illegal appoints and corruption in the construction of new building of Sindh Assembly. He is also charged with accumulating assets beyond known means of income, the paper said.
Donald Trump

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he did not discuss assassinating Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, which journalist Bob Woodward has reported in his forthcoming book about Trump's administration, according to multiple media outlets.

Trump, speaking to reporters during a visit with Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, also said that if there is a slaughter in the Idlib province of Syria, the United States will be very angry.

The Syrian military shelled Idlib, the last stronghold of active rebellion against al-Assad, on Wednesday as a war monitor said insurgents blew up a bridge in anticipation of a government offensive.
Russian President Vladimir Putin - FIFA World Cup 2018

British Security Minister Ben Wallace said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "ultimate" responsibility for a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent in England in March.

London has accused two members of Russian military intelligence for using Novichok to try to kill former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southwestern English city of Salisbury.

Asked if Putin had responsibility, Wallace said: "Ultimately he does in so far as he is the president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence, the GRU, via his ministry of defence."

He told BBC radio: "I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isn't in control of his state.... And the GRU is without doubt not rogue.

"It is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister, and through that into the Kremlin and the president's office."

Britain has previously pointed the finger at Moscow for the March 4 attack, sparking furious denials.

In the aftermath, Britain and its allies expelled dozens of Russian diplomats, prompting Russian to respond in kind. The United States also imposed fresh sanctions over the attack.

The Skripals survived the poisoning but remnants of Novichok found in a fake perfume bottle were picked up by a local man weeks later and given to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who later died.

British prosecutors said Wednesday they had enough evidence to charge Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with conspiracy to murder Skripal, attempted murder and the use of a banned chemical weapon.

They said they would not formally demand their extradition, as Russia does not extradite its citizens, but have obtained a European Arrest Warrant for the pair.
The move comes days before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in Paris, with rumours rife that Pakistan could be added to the grey list, under pressure from the United States of America and India. (Image: Reuters)

America shares India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed roam free despite the reward the US has placed on his head for his role in terror activities, a senior State Department official said Thursday.

The statement comes a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Pakistan's new Prime Minister Imran Khan and pressed him to take "sustained and decisive measures" against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability.

This was the US' first high-level dialogue with Pakistan since the new government of Prime Minister Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections and comes days after the US cancelled $300 million in military aid to Islamabad for not doing enough against terror groups active on its soil.

Talking to the media persons travelling with Pompeo in New Delhi, the official, who chose not to be identified, said: "We've worked closely with India over the last year to have both a counter-terrorism dialogue as well as a dialogue on designations".

The official said that counter-terrorism is obviously another shared interest with India. "We're coming up on the 10th anniversary of the Mumbai bombing.

"Obviously, we share India's concern that Pakistan continues to allow Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai bombing, free, at-large, despite the reward that's on his head and despite his very known role in helping to facilitate that attack," the official said.

Asked about his concern over the presence of militants on the Pakistani side, the official said that America shares India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence.

"I'm confident that there'll be a conversation on counter-terrorism cooperation, and we share India's concerns over cross-border infiltrations and violence.

"With respect to Indo-Pak relations, we welcome efforts by both countries to speak with one another and to engage one another," the official said.

The official said that there has been a Director General of Military Operations channel that has been used over the last several months.

"We saw a commitment by the countries, I believe in early June, a commitment by Pakistan to reduce levels of violence along the Line of Control. I think there's been a reduction in the historic levels, but it's certainly not the level of reduction that we need to see.

"I can't comment on the Secretary's meetings yesterday, but as an ongoing element of our conversation with Pakistan is the need to end all support for terrorist proxies whether on the eastern border or the western border," the senior State Department official said.

The Jammat-ud-Dawah (JuD), led by Saeed, was declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014. Saeed also carries a $10 million American bounty on his head for his role in terror activities.

The JuD is a front for the Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT) militant group that carried out the deadly 2008 Mumbai attack.

India has repeatedly asked Pakistan to re-investigate the Mumbai terror attack case and also demanded trial of Saeed and LeT operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi in the light of evidence it had provided to Islamabad.

Ten LeT militants killed 166 people, including American nationals, and wounded dozens in Mumbai in November 2008.
Twitter

Moneycontrol News

Facing a Congressional committee, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey told that the social media company is exploring blockchain solutions for its platform to help fight scams. As reported by Coindesk, this was in response to a question asked by California Representative Doris Matsui during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing where focus was on content moderation, user privacy protections, misinformation, and alleged bias against political conservatives on Twitter.

The question asked by Matsui was "You previously expressed interest in the broad applications of blockchain technology, including potentially in an effort to verify identity to fight misinformation and scams. What potential applications do you see for blockchain?"

To this, Dorsey replied: "First and foremost we need to start with the problems that we're trying to solve and the problems we're solving for our customers and look at all available technology in order to understand if it could help us accelerate or make those outcomes much better," adding that blockchain has untapped potential, specifically around distributed trust and distributed enforcement potentially."

Dorsey claimed that they have not gone "as deep" as they would like to, in order to understand how the technology can be applied to problems they are "facing at Twitter".
New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) has said that it received a letter from Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) asking the company to provider certain documents related with its subsidiary companies.

"(CBI requested)...to provide certain documents relating to the subsidiary companies of the Company, for preliminary enquiry in a case allegedly registered against the Company and unknown officials of Income Tax (I-T) and others," NDTV said in a regulatory filing.

Earlier in May this year, NDTV has said Dr Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika, both executive co-chairpersons of the company, received show cause notice from the Principal Commissioner of I-T for launching prosecution proceedings for assessment year 2009-10 under Section 279(1) of the I-T Act.

In March 2018, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) imposed a penalty on NDTV, its top management Dr Roy, Ms Roy, Vikram Chandra, and Anup Singh Juneja. NDTV was fined Rs10 lakh for violating disclosure norms while others were asked to pay Rs3 lakh each for breaching clause of listing agreement. This was related with a demand notice of Rs450 crore received by NDTV from the I-T department for AY2009-10, which the company failed to disclose with the public through exchanges.

Before that in February 2018, the Delhi High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by NDTV, while accepting the stand taken by the I-T Department that the Company had alternate remedy available in the form of an appeal instead of filing the petition. The case was related with a penalty of Rs436.8 crore slapped by the I-T Department on NDTV for assessment year 2009-10.

Earlier in June 2015, SEBI levied a penalty of Rs2 crore on NDTV for company's failure to disclose information about the Income Tax demand notice to the Exchanges. NDTVs failure to disclose the notice, for wider dissemination to shareholders was taken up by the regulator for action.

"The disputed amount of Rs450 crores in the tax demand is noted to be significant when compared with Rs349.77 crores of revenue of Noticee for the year ended 31 March 2014 as also the net worth of Rs365 crores as on 31 March 2014. The company has consistently posted a net loss for the past five years. The net loss in FY 2014 amounts to Rs.53.56crores. In view above, Noticee should have made voluntary disclosures to stock exchanges on an immediate and prompt basis," SEBI in an order on 4 June 2015 had said.

At 2.37pm Thursday, NDTV was trading marginally down at Rs35.30 on the BSE, while the 30-share Sensex was up at 38,236.
While a Times of India report mentioned on Wednesday that the Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) has taken a strong exception to the contention as much as $75 billion will flow out of India due to changes regulations governing foreign portfolio investors (FPI), the HR Khan Committee set up by SEBI to review the FPI rules, met against the backdrop of a sharp fall in market indices of the last few days. The market was supposedly rattled by the new rules that would be applicable to the FPIs from December, forcing them to liquidate their investments in India.

A group of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and offshore investment vehicles of financial services firms based in India had addressed the media a few days ago warning that as much as $75 billion worth of investments may be withdrawn from India by December 2018 if SEBI did not modify a circular that put restrictions on NRIs and people of Indian origin (PIOs) from investing via the FPI route.

The circular issued on 10 April 2018 had said that NRIs, PIOs and overseas vehicles set up by Indian financial services groups cannot be beneficial owners of FPIs. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the related rules, beneficial ownership means 25% ownership in a company or 15% in a trust or partnership.

Hence, the FPIs were required to provide the list of beneficial owners (BO), in a format prescribed, within six months from 10 April 2018. It also said that the existing FPI structures not in conformity with the requirement were required to change their structure or close their existing position in Indian securities market within six months from the date of the circular.

The existing FPIs or their investors identified on basis of threshold for identification of BO in accordance with Rule 9 of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, who do not conform to the requirements were required to ensure compliance within six months of the date of the circular.

All existing FPIs whose clubbed investment in equity shares of a company is in breach of the provisions of Regulation 21(7) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2014 were required to ensure compliance within six months from the date of the circular. SEBI had given market players six months to adhere to the new rules, which would have got over by 10th September. On 21st August, SEBI extended that date till 31 December 2018.

Alarmed by this, on 3rd September, a lobby of institutional investors and a top law firm advising it openly criticised the SEBI circular, describing the new rules as racial discrimination that could lead to a sell off in stocks. It said that the SEBI circular is vague, opaque, and confusing. It distrusts NRIs and resident institutional community A Nigerian can manage an FPI but not an NRI or a large Indian group, said Nandita Agarwal Parker, president of Asset Managers Roundtable of India (AMRI), an association of FPIs.

AMRI and Nishith Desai, founder of law firm Nishith Desai Associates, jointly addressed the media on Monday. We understand the governments concern over round-tripping. FPIs have no objection in disclosing who the beneficial owners are. But why restrict investments? asked Mr Desai at the press conference.

Is it right to think that the entire NRI community is facilitating money laundering? Who markets the India story to foreign investors? It is the NRIs and Indian institutions, he argued. An immediate impact of the circular (if not amended) is that from 31 December 2018, about $75 billion investment managed by overseas citizens of India (OCIs), PIOs, NRIs and resident institutions (RIs), will be disqualified from investing into India and will have to be withdrawn and liquidated within a short time frame, thereby affecting the Indian markets and the Indian currency, said an AMRI letter dated 29th August to SEBI Chairman Ajay Tyagi, copies of which were addressed to the Prime Minister and finance minister.

Of the $450 billion investments by FPIs, $75 billion is estimated to be managed by NRIs, OCIs, PIOs and regulated resident institutions and individuals.

Unfortunately, the circular was issued without any prior consultation with the stakeholders, who were not able to raise these concerns to the regulator before the circular became applicable, AMRI said in its letter, adding that the circular, which was meant to enhance know-your-customer (KYC) norms, has placed a blanket ban on investments through certain FPIs.

The Times of India article had quoted anonymous SEBI officials as saying that it would not be threatened by strong-arm tactics being employed by this group which has created a panic-like situation in the market. It is preposterous and highly irresponsible to claim that $75 billion of FPI investment will move out of the country because of SEBI circular issued in April 2018 reported the newspaper.
The blatant misuse of bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (Jan Dhan) now stands exposed through the Right to Information (RTI) Act application filed by Moneylife. This information is sadly restricted to public sector banks (PSBs). So far, United Bank of India (UBI) has disclosed a whopping 1.18 million accounts with a deposit of over Rs1 lakh in Jan Dhan accounts. There is a clear rule that such accounts cannot have a balance of more than Rs50,000 at any point of time, since the accounts were meant to bring the unbanked into the banking fold and help direct transfer of subsidies to beneficiaries.

Instead, it is clear that very weak know-your- customer (KYC) requirements seem to have turned these accounts into money-mules during the demonetisation process to launder unaccounted currency.

These accounts could be opened with a simple Aadhaar card, a job card under the NREGA scheme or just a letter issued by a Gazetted officer, with a duly attested photograph of the person. There seems to have been a rampant abuse of this leniency. The scheme also said that the accounts could remain valid only for 12 months by which time full KYC needed to be done.

It is not clear if the government has done anything in this regard. However, a report in the Business Standard on Wednesday says that 60% of Jan Dhan deposits after the note ban are under investigation. Since it will soon be two years since the government put the economy into a shock by announcing demonetisation, this is, indeed, a slow investigation.

Our RTI filings show that Union Bank of India had 323,000 Jan Dhan accounts with deposits of over Rs1 lakh, followed by Oriental Bank of Commerce with 282,000 accounts. Number of such accounts in other PSBs range between 198 (Indian Bank) to Bank of Baroda at 79,240 Jan Dhan account that have deposits of over Rs1 lakh. This is among those who have responded to the RTI query.

In terms of highest number of Jan Dhan accounts with deposits between Rs10,000 to Rs99,000, Bank of Baroda tops the list with 1.28 million accounts. It is followed by United Bank of India at 1.01 million Jan Dhan accounts. Except Andhra Bank at 65,121, all other banks, who provided the information under the RTI Act, have 117,000(Indian Bank) to 906,000 (Bank of India) accounts with a deposit between Rs10,000 and Rs99,999.

As part of a fact-finding exercise, Moneylife had filed RTI application with the department of financial services, under the Ministry of Finance, seeking information on PMJDY scheme relating to PSBs. The CPIO of the department forwarded our RTI application to all PSBs, asking them to respond us directly. Here are the questions we had asked in the RTI...

What is the maximum amount deposited till date by any account-holder/beneficiary?

The number of accounts having deposit between INR10,000 to INR99,000.

The number of accounts having deposit exceeding INR100,000.

The number of accounts, which are dormant since past two years.

As per latest data shared by PMJDY website , United Bank of India has second highest deposits in Jan Dhan accounts. United Bank has deposits of Rs8,012.02 crore from 126 million Jan Dhan account beneficiaries. State Bank of India (SBI) tops the list of total number of account beneficiaries (105.1 million) and amount deposited (Rs18,971.76 crore) in Jan Dhan accounts. Considering its size and network, for SBI these figures are not out of proportion. For United Bank, however, the number of beneficiaries and total amount deposited under Jan Dhan accounts looks completely out of proportion.

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Last month, the Indian government unveiled a policy and guidelines for remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, which will come into effect from 1 December 2018 with an aim to open up an array of opportunities in civil aviation sector in the country.

Unveiling the "Drone Regulations 1.0", civil aviation Minister, Suresh Prabhu said that these would help foster technology and innovation in the development of drones. Drones have an extensive range of applications ranging from disaster relief, aerial surveys and in agriculture to precision logistics. India's expertise in technology is characterised by its capacity to devise low-cost solutions, the minister had said.

However, till date this was not a smooth affair, especially for manufacturing drones in India. My previous article talked about how various government agencies hobbled Indian companies from testing and selling their drones for over four years by employing methods like,

1) Banned commercial use of drones;

2) Banned import of necessary parts like motors, propellers and batteries by asking Customs to block these items;

3) Stopped issuing licenses to manufacture drones. (at present about 10-20 companies have the licence and it is still the good old, license-quota raj)

After much delay, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has come out with a circular permitting use of drones subject to various regulations. You may read some details of this circular here

While one may debate about whether all the regulations are practical, at least it addresses the first item above and opens up the consumer and industrial market.

However, there is no information about the other items, namely, how will a company manufacture drones and what it would require to show for importing necessary components.

These components are not available in India partly because the market was dead and there was no reason to manufacture anything for non-existent customers.

The drone industry in the rest of the world (India does not have one) is split into four main divisions

1) Companies that develop cutting-edge flight control algorithms and electronics

2) Those that use the above to build a drone for an end application

3) Companies that use the above drones to provide inspection as a service

4) Companies that analyze data generated by the inspection (such as 3D reconstruction from aerial imagery)

Due to the prolonged delay and bottlenecks, there are almost no Tier-1 companies in India. Only some Tier-3 and Tier-4 companies. There are some Tier-2 companies operational because they have somehow managed to import some parts by working their way around the system.

Therefore, in this scenario, it would be prudent if Suresh Prabhu, the minister of commerce & industry and civil aviation, clarifies immediately on allowing manufacture and import of certain components that are not manufactured in India. Otherwise India will just be a dumping ground for Chinese drones and a personal fiefdom for a handful of cronies.

Only an open and level playing field can allow India to, hopefully, claw back some market share in the worldwide drone market that it has completely lost by tying itself with red tape

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(Srinath Mallikarjunan is founder of Unmanned Dynamics, an advanced guidance system company)
Calota glaciara din Groenlanda s-a topit cu circa 3.500 de miliarde de tone in ultimii 10 ani, provocand o crestere cu un centimetru a nivelului oceanului planetar si agravand riscurile de inundatii in lumea intreaga, potrivit unui studiu care a fost ...

Yahoo a anuntat ca serviciile sale nu vor mai fi accesibile din China continentala "ca recunoastere a dificultatilor in crestere cu care se confrunta mediul juridic si de afaceri", fiind al doilea brand tehnologic occidental care se retrage din statu ...
In our new #ARThags series of showcased indie artists, Stephen Mead creates collages of LGBTQI people, organisations and allies pre-Stonewall.

Describe your art in less than 100 words

Stephen Mead: Im a published outsider artist, writer, maker of short-collage films and sound-collage downloads. As an artist I am basically self-taught. In my early twenties, not knowing what else to do and thinking I might need some sort of structure/goal/community, I became a college art major but by the early part of my second year I was really finding it restrictive to creativity. What I do artistically is try to give a voice of emotional/spiritual expressionism to what images/themes have been welling within.

Choose 3-5 pieces you really like

I selected these images since they represent my most recent creative exploration (montages), and series, an homage to LGBTQI individuals, couples, organisations, and allies (in the context of what they were often up against), all predominantly pre-Stonewall.

Drs. Frieda Fraser and Edith Bickerton Williams, All Creatures Small and Great, Love is Lord Forsooth

Drs. Frieda Fraser and Edith Bickerton Williams were skilled women, intelligent salt-of-the-earth women, taking care of one another with a reverence and sanctity regarding nature and our four-footed friends.

Bet Van Beeren, Come Lets Meet Up at Cafe t Mandje

What a person! Bet Van Beeren ran her own cafe, a meeting ground for other LGBT folks, and her radiant spirit came through her flesh with such freshness, strength, character and love of life.

Bryher and H.D. (Annie Winifred Ellerman and Hilda Doolittle), Two hearts, Two Minds

These were women of beauty in the strong classical sense, both outside and within. Art was a shared vocation, and the two were supportive of their passions; that sort of bond cant but be admired and hoped for.

Alice French and Jane Crawford, Our Vines have such Strong Roots

Alice French and Jane Crawford were childhood friends who set up house together, sharing their lives except for Janes four year marriage. The Alice French house was a type of salon in its day, and the two women were suffragette role models.

Anton (Anna) Prinner, Becoming One with Art



I love how much strength this person must have had to be true to the authentic self, not only by attire but creating an archetypal kind of work that was profoundly humane.

What do you love to capture/reveal/explore in your art?

The spiritual/emotional core of a subject is one I gravitate to by instinct. The media have shifted over time (from pastels to watercolour pencil to oils/acrylics to mixed media/collage work, and even film/music/sound). However, with this series I am discovering a lot of echoes from my watercolours of a decade or so ago in the transparency, bleeding, and superimposition.

Some say creating art can be solitary. What do you say?

Aside from an attempt at a collaboration or two, I do much better creating in solitude. Creating in a classroom setting with a professor watching me added to bad nerves/self-consciousness and the inability to feel free. Other artists are able to do quite well/feel comfortable working around others, even in front of an audience, say at some Pleine Aire art fair. But I need a great deal of aloneness in order to go in, as if into deep meditation. As I have gotten older I have come to admit that there is at least a fraction of loneliness in this a sense of what am I doing and why when others are engaged in social pursuits/recreations. But to be true to the introvert that is core to my nature (and not necessarily easy for another to live with) I know I get more energy by doing art than by being at social gatherings like parties where I am picking up on too much information/conflicts/emotional pulling between others.

Creativity vs. cost of living  any artist tips to share?

Keep the day job. But if you are given an opportunity to make more money by doing something that will take time away from art, really ask yourself will that be short-term? Will that be good for you and your art or will you wind up with a sense of unhappiness and missing the art?

What are your thoughts on arts place in society?

Art has always had a place in society as a sort of mirror or place to reflect, and acts as a means to help us open up to one another, even if with lively debates. Unfortunately society in a political sense does not necessarily see the connectivity and value in this. Depending on countries and cultures and the context of time there will always be large swathes oblivious to how much art is within daily existence, just as there will be also be large swathes with an impetus to do art.

Any upcoming projects or things youre working on right now?

In addition to the current LGBTQI nostalgia series I keep doing one-off pieces as social comment/satire of the current political climate in America. To counteract that  because I kind of feel its toxic, odious, like I want to scrub myself in hot water afterward  I am doing another series based on valentines, incorporating the curves of lovers within the actual anatomical curves of the human heart.

Where can people find out more about you?

These are taken from my Poetry On the Line weebly page, Poetry on the Line, Stephen Mead. You can check out my published work on Amazon, my Soundcloud for free listening, my Youtube presence, my T-shirt art, and my downloadable music on CD Baby.

ARTISTS: If you would like to be featured on Mookychick, please visit our #ARThags artist submissions page.
Boogie Nights star Burt Reynolds has died, aged 82.

The Hollywood veteran, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the Paul Thomas Anderson classic, died of a reported cardiac arrest at a Florida hospital.

Reynolds rose to fame in the 1970s, starring in films Deliverance, The Longest Yard and Smokey and the Bandit.

This is breaking news - more to come.

Newshub.
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Vanguard Short-Term Bond Funds sensible portfolio construction and low price tag is a strong combination that should set up above-average risk-adjusted performance, warranting a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Silver.
Vancouvers single-family detached market has trudged all year, but as sellers adjust to new realities and lower their asking prices, buyers are noticing.

However, by no means will this market segment bear witness to the same frenzied activity it did a couple of years ago. According to Brad Henderson, president and CEO of Sothebys International Realty Canada, thats because its merely moderating.

For single-family homes, the rate of increase in price over the last couple of years has been nothing short of breathtaking, and we think the market scaling back is healthy, said Henderson. It will relieve some pressure on some of the other areas that have been quite attractive as well.

Those areas are Vancouvers suburbs, upon which many buyers, priced out of the city core, set their sights. But with downward pressure on housing, some might start moving back into Vancouver proper.

In Vancouver, as the centre becomes more expensive, its suburbs become, by default, where people find more attractive and reasonably priced homes, but that means people have to travel further away from work and further from families, explained Henderson. So as prices moderate in the centre, it allows people to come back, which will also soften prices in the markets surrounding the centre of the city.
Were always on the lookout for the next fintech hotspot for our Summit series, and Toronto fits the bill, AltFi executive director David Stevenson told BetaKit. A mixture of exciting local firms and progressive regulatory thinking has the market poised to take off.

In the past few years, Toronto and Montreals status as prime destinations for financial and intellectual capital has placed these cities at the centre of the fintech revolution.

Artificial intelligence research and development are currently among the most active areas of fintech investment, KPMG International said in a study released last month. Toronto and Montreal, along with Edmonton, are acknowledged global leaders in these disciplines

Read more: Nobul revamps portal for the needs of the next generation

KPMG reported that a combination of changing consumer outlooks and a shifting policy environment has led to a record-breaking number of fintech investment deals across Canada this year.
A Vallejo, Calif., man has pleaded guilty over his role in a mortgage and foreclosure rescue fraud scheme that cheated lenders out of approximately $10.5 million, the US Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of California announced.

Zalathiel Aguila had been charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud. He now faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

According to court documents, Aguila and co-conspirators Sergio Barrientos and Omar Anabo ran a company named Capital Access from September 2004 through February 2008.
As human resources manager for a Midland-based contracting company, Adan Gonzales has noticed a need for dedicated workers. He thinks his company, Onyx Contractors, is among several in the area that seek employees who are willing to come and stay on board.

We used to get a lot of applications coming into the office, a lot of people dropping off, Gonzales said. We dont get them anymore, so we have to go out and try to find other avenues in order to get our employees.

To expand its reach, Onyx Contractors participated in a job fair on Wednesday at the Midland County Horseshoe complex. The company joined about 100 other employers at the event, sponsored by BlueLine Rental.

The recent job fair had twice as many booths as past ones, according to Kim dela Pena, owner and general manager of Job Fairs Now, which hosted the event. Less than one hour after doors opened, she reported about 2,400 job seekers.

Among those in attendance was Demba Traore, who was searching for an entry-level position in the energy industry He said going to job fairs saves him from visiting multiple sites.

Its an amazing opportunity to meet different companies in one day, Traore said. It can be a chance to get your dream job.

Across town, Permian Basin Hiring Events on Wednesday hosted a job fair at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. More than six hours into the event, Joie Brown estimated 3,500 people had visited about 50 oil- and gas-related companies.

They need more employees, said Brown, event coordinator. A lot of businesses are growing, expanding or coming to the area.

While job fairs attract West Texans who want to advance in their careers, dela Pena said the majority of attendees at her job fair come from outside the area. She said the events connect companies with job seekers at a time when they desperately need employees.

What theyre doing is theyre creating man camps to attract people from out of town, dela Pena said. So, what we do on our end is to make sure that we push that information out beyond the Permian Basin.

One local company that has gone out of town to recruit is Trans-Tex Cementing Services, LLC. Clayton Elkins represented the company at the Horseshoe job fair in hopes of hiring at least 20 drivers and three mechanics.

He said its difficult to find people who have commercial drivers licenses and that the company is offering to cover the costs of course completion for people who have permits.

Most people arent trained, said Elkins, general manager with Trans-Tex. Theyre from out of state, and you have to provide housing, training, everything. Its a lot for a company to absorb the costs associated with hiring one driver.

Other companies have taken measures to keep employees. Onyx Contractors has increased salaries and expanded benefits, according to Gonzales. But he said its challenging to find employees who will be with the company in the long term.

If somebodys going to pay you 25 cents more, theyre going to go for 25 cents more, Gonzales said. Thats just the way it is right now.

The situation comes after the Midland metropolitan statistical area in July had the lowest unemployment rate in Texas at 2.2 percent, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram story.

In the current economic situation, Deborah Elder said job fairs provide a chance to meet candidates face-to-face and spread the word about opportunities at her CPA firm.

With the boom, theres such an influx of people that have come back to the Permian Basin, said Elder, director of human resources at Johnson, Miller & Co., during the Horseshoe event. So, the competition is really fierce when it comes to hiring and retaining employees.
AADE to host technical forum

The Permian chapter, American Association of Drilling Engineers, will hold its 2018 Technical Forum on cutter technology 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 12 at Green Tree Country Club from

The keynote speaker will be Marshall Watson with Texas Tech's Department of Engineering.

Presentations by U.S. Synthetics and Element 6 will follow. There will be eight bit companies represented at the forum, with a bit manufacturers panel closing out the event.

Company starts up Permian crude oil-by-rail terminal

A crude oil transport company has signed an agreement to start rail shipments out of its West Texas facility.

Vista Proppants and Logistics of Fort Wort signed the deal with JupiterMLP to ship crude oil by train from Vista's Pecos loading facility.

The two companies plan to ship oil by rail through 2019 and possibly into 2020, depending upon pipeline construction. Vista said it plans to ship 400,000 barrels a month, roughly 13,000 barrels a day, from its Pecos facility.

It's unclear how much oil will be transported by rail for Houston-based JupiterMLP -- which doesn't appear to operate any storage facilities but has a marketing and trading wing.

In May, the company said it had completed permitting to build a processing and export terminal at the Port of Brownsville. JupiterMLP also intends to build an offshore crude oil terminal for Very Large Crude Carriers, which are among the largest crude oil ships capable of transporting 2 million barrels of oil.

JupiterMLP says on its website that it is constructing a more-than-670-mile crude oil pipeline from West Texas to the crude oil export terminal.

Genesis Energy sells pipeline assets for $300M

Houston's Genesis Energy is selling its Powder River Basin pipeline assets in Wyoming for $300 million.

Genesis is unloading its facilities in a basin that's considered by several oil producers to be the next big emerging shale play in the country. Independent Houston producers such as EOG Resources and Anadarko Petroleum are all expanding in Wyoming.

Genesis it is selling its pipeline, rail and oil gathering assets in the Powder River Basin to Dallas-based Silver Creek Midstream, which is growing in the Wyoming region.

Genesis plans to use the cash proceeds to reduce its debt. Genesis, while primarily a pipeline business, spent more than $1.3 billion to expand into the soda ash business when it bought an alkali mining business that produces soda ash in Wyoming.

Freedom Oil & Gas commences Eagle Ford drilling program

HOUSTON -- Freedom Oil & Gas Ltd has commenced drilling on its Eagle Ford shale acreage in Dimmit County.

After successfully testing its acreage position through the drilling of six wells that achieved better than expected initial results, the company is moving forward with further horizontal well development with a continuous drilling program with a dedicated rig. Freedom has a 100 percent working interest (75 percentnet revenue interest) in its acreage.

Freedom has executed a six-month contract for a fit-for-purpose rig with Orion Drilling Co. and has the option to extend that contract for an additional six months. The first well in the on-going program commenced drilling on Aug. 26 on the Wilson pad, which is the same location where the company drilled its first two wells in 2017. Freedom plans to drill three horizontal wells on the Wilson pad, targeting the lower Eagle Ford formation, with expected lateral lengths of about 7,500 feet. These wells are the Vega 1, 2 and 3. For safety reasons, the two original Wilson wells will be shut in during drilling operations. The rig will move to another location and continue drilling after the three Vega wells are finalized.

Funding for the drilling and development program will come from the proceeds from the recent successful $18 million placement of common shares, cash on hand and operating cash flow from the currently producing wells. Additionally, Freedom is currently finalizing the establishment of a Reserves Based Lending agreement with Wells Fargo, which should be in place in September.

FIG Tree Capital Ventures announces STACK wells

DALLAS -- FIG Tree Capital Ventures, a Texas-based venture capital firm, with projects in the Oklahoma STACK and SCOOP, the Williston Basin of North Dakota and the Woodbine Eaglebine Formations of Southeast Texas, announces two more recently completed wells that are showing massive initial production.

FIG Tree partnered with Continental Resources to drill both of the wells to the Meramec Formation from the same pad located in Custer County. The Rockin Dobbin 1-23-14-11XHM had 24-hour production reach a peak rate of 216 bbls of oil and 17,796 mcf of gas. The Zettie 1-23-26XHM 24-hour production peaked at just over 100 bbls of oil and 21,049 mcf of gas.

These well results closely follow the Miller Family 1-13-24XH and Yoder 1-13-12XH, which were both operated by Continental Resources and drilled to the Meramec Formation in Custer County. The Miller Family's 24-hour production rate reached a peak of 17,589 mcf of gas and 91 bbls of oil. The Yoder's 24-hour production rate peaked at 17,135 mcf of gas and 60 bbls of oil.
It may lack the multiple benches and large initial potential of Wolfcamp wells in the Midland and Delaware basins, but the horizontal San Andres play is proving to be a steady performer.

"The San Andres has produced 55 percent of the oil in the Permian Basin. A lot of people have lost sight of that," said Lance Taylor, founder and chief executive officer of Steward Energy II.

The company was formed after he sold the first iteration of the company and its Delaware Basin holdings.

The San Andres may not replace the multiple benches of the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring, "but it's a great alternative for those who want to invest in conventional resources," Taylor said in a phone interview from his Dallas-area office. "The returns are almost the same."

ROTH Capital Partners recently issued a report on the horizontal San Andres, updating its report issued last year. The report found improved well performance, with the 20 best-performing wells in the southern end of the play rising 15 percent and the 20 best-performing wells in the northern end of the play up 30 percent over 2017 figures.

John White is a managing director and senior research analyst at ROTH Capital Partners, providing equity research coverage of the oil and gas sector.

"We have been following and researching the horizontal San Andres play since 2016," White told the Reporter-Telegram by email. "We also cover one of the few publicly traded companies in the play, Ring Energy. In our opinion, Ring Energy is one of the more successful companies in the play. For the play as a whole, our primary observation is that experienced operators have been delivering improved well performance.

"Through June 30, 2018, ranked by the average daily rate in the peak month of production, the best 20 performing wells in the southern portion of the play averaged 589 BOE per day, a 15 percent increase over the average of 512 BOE per day through June 30, 2017," White said. "In the northern portion of the play, the best 20 performing wells average 575 BOE per day, a 30 percent increase over the comparable 2017 figure of 443 BOE per day.

"The horizontal San Andres play on the Central Basin Platform and Northwest Shelf does not receive as much attention in the media as the Wolfcamp plays in the Midland and Delaware Basins. This is because the horizontal San Andres is dominated by privately owned companies whereas the Wolfcamp plays are primarily controlled by publicly traded companies," he said.

Independent consulting geologist Ted Mowers of TMG Consulting in Midland, who collaborated with White on both this report and the 2017 report, agreed with Taylor that the San Andres doesn't have the reserves or multiple benches that have companies flocking to the Midland and Delaware basins.

"But done right, it can be on par with the others," Mowers said, and estimated that if the wells are drilled and completed correctly, the reserves can be about 500 million barrels.

Mowers, who said he has studied the horizontal San Andres since about 2009, divides it into two points: the southern portion, primarily on the Central Basin Platform, and the northern portion, primarily on the Northwestern Shelf.

"They're different stratigraphies; you're going after different reservoirs," he said.

As in last year's report, operators again emphasized the variability of the reservoir.

"Different rocks require different methods of extraction," said Taylor, whose company was ranked by Roth in the top five producers in the play.

Taylor said the company has assembled a large position in the horizontal San Andres, extending from northern Gaines County north into Yoakum and Cochran counties and west into Lea County, New Mexico.

"Variable means you use your entire toolbox to drill, complete and produce the well," Taylor said.

He also said his company uses unconventional methods to produce a conventional reservoir. That variability requires different completion techniques, and stimulation varies as well, he said. That variability also means different types of scale, so operators must treat their stimulation fluids and completion fluids to avoid clogging the reservoir.

Another challenge he found was infrastructure.

"Being in an old, historic legacy field, you would think you would have infrastructure in place," Taylor said, but electrical lines and gathering lines had to be added.

The San Andres is known to produce water alongside the oil so he said operators need a robust system to handle that produced water.

Mowers said it is a popular target for enhanced recovery projects, including waterfloods.

"Even if you stimulate the well properly and get a high oil cut, you're going to produce a lot of water. You have to go into the play with your eyes open," Mowers said. "You have to handle a lot of water, either through waterflood or disposing of it."

Success requires a good understanding of the stratigraphy, knowing where the water is and having a good stimulation design, Mowers said. "You can't do one without the other."

Taylor, with his petroleum engineering background, said he enjoys problem-solving and using his education, background and experience to address the challenges the San Andres offers.

"I love the petri dish of the area and trying new things and breathing new life into these fields," he said.

He said his San Andres wells produce 12,000 barrels of oil per day and 22 million cubic feet of gas per day, and he likes where Steward is in terms of activity levels and production levels.

"This fairway of pricing, I feel, could drive returns for investors down in the $30s" for oil prices, he said.

Mowers estimates the San Andres has yielded about 12 billion of the more than 30 billion barrels of crude that have come from the Permian Basin over the last nearly 100 years.

"It's been a very prolific reservoir," he said. "It's the last great reservoir of the Permian period."

"It's a world-class reservoir. It's produced a lot of oil and still has some upside," Mowers said.

Mella McEwen is the Oil Editor and covers the latest business and energy news. You can read more from her here. |mmcewen@mrt.com|
A set of rarely-seen photos taken in the aftermath of 9/11 show the devastation wrought at the site of the Pentagon and the heroic efforts to save those still alive.

The FBI photos were first released to the public in 2011, but due to a computer glitch where they were stored, the images disappeared from public record until 2017.
The B-1 bomber that landed at Midland International Airport in May reported an engine fire and that the crew had tried to eject, according to a report from the Military Times.

The Military Times released a video that includes audio from the crew of the B-1B Lancer, called Hawk 91, and air traffic control in Midland. In the video, it is reported that on May 1, the bomber out of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene reported an engine fire and that crew members tried to eject but that the ejection seat did not fire.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called Midland the backbone of the Texas economy and said during a visit Wednesday that school finance always is a priority.

Patrick said the Senate acted on school finance the last session and passed a bill that would have created a commission to look into the way the state of Texas funds its schools. He said that bill died in the Texas House.

Seeing legislators solve the current Robin Hood system is a priority for Midlanders, as Midland ISD has made more than $180 million in recapture payments since the 2013-14 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency. District officials are forecasting Midland taxpayers will be paying more than $140 million in school finance payments over the next two school years. As a Chapter 41, or property-rich district, Midland is required to send money to Austin that is redistributed to poor districts.

Patrick reminded the media that he opposes a state income tax and is against increasing the states sales tax. He said education funding already makes up 52 percent of the state budget; health care makes up 31 percent and public safety, 11 percent.

Patrick stopped at Midland International Airport as he travels around the state to mid-size cities and rural areas ahead of the November election. Mike Collier is the Democratic Party candidate, and Kerry McKinnon is running as a Libertarian.

Patrick during his appearance acknowledged his desire to give the states teachers a $10,000 raise. He said the state needs to incentivize people to go in to education. Legislators would have to decide in the upcoming session how to pay for such an increase if its approved, he said.

Continuing with education, he said parents and the people of Texas are better informed about how schools and school districts are performing because of the new ratings system that legislators approved in the last session. He said an A through F system is better than the met standard approach, which he said didnt really tell the entire story.

Patrick, who as lieutenant governor leads the Senate, on at least two occasions mentioned how much he looks forward to working with a new speaker of the House. Current speaker, Joe Straus, is not running for re-election. Multiple Republicans already have announced publicly their intention to seek the position. Patrick said certain efforts were stopped by House leadership, and he pointed specifically to property tax reform. He again said Wednesday the state needs to step in and prevent local government entities from having the ability to raise property taxes by 6, 7 or 8 percent.

Also during his stop in Midland, Patrick talked about the oil and gas sector, its importance to the state and how critical the November election is to ensuring unwanted regulations arent put into place to weaken the industry. He said what is happening in the oil fields of West Texas is driving the Texas economy (which he said is bigger than Russias and would be the 10th largest in the world) and allowing the state to put more money into reserves.

He said it has been on his watch that more money has come into Midland for infrastructure and other needs to help with the growth taking place.
The SDRF officials said that the country-made ferryboat accidentally hit the pillars, which led to the accident.

National Disaster Response Force personnel on boats search in the Brahmaputra river after a boat capsized on the outskirts of Guwahati on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Guwahati: In a tragic incident, at least 20 persons are feared drowned in the Brahmaputra river after a country boat carrying 40 passengers capsized near the Aswaklanta temple near Guwahatis Fancy Bazar.

The mishap took place around 1.30 pm when the boat, popularly known as Bhutbhuti, developed a technical snag and subsequently collided with a pillar of an ongoing water supply project in the Brahmaputra.

The boat was moving towards Majbat, Madhayamkhanda in North Guwahati from Fancy Bazar ghat in the city.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have launched a massive search operation to rescue those missing. They, however, succeeded in recovering the bodies of a youth and a girl besides rescuing at least 12 passengers who were on the boat.

Pointing out that one of those two dead bodies is yet to be identified, the police said that the girl has been identified as 17-year-old Ankita Barua, a resident of Silasako village in North Guwahati. She was a higher secondary first-year student of Cotton University.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered a high-level probe by an additional chief secretary Jishnu Baruah into the incident.

The SDRF officials said that the country-made ferryboat accidentally hit the pillars, which led to the accident.

The Brahmaputra is in spate due to monsoon rains in the upper reaches of Arunachal Pradesh. Eyewitnesses said that they saw several passengers from the ferry trying to swim to the shore. The country-boat, which was loaded with passengers, was also carrying a motorcycle. Some of the survivors claimed that neither driver of the boat was trained nor the boat had any life jacket.

The police said that they have rescued 12 persons so far. Among those identified are Rajesh Saha (45), Piyushi Saha (4), Rinki Saha (28), Nuruddin (26), Jitumoni Das (38) and Minakhi Das (30).
Chakraborty, a resident of South Kolkata, has appeared in multiple TV soaps and web series.

The police have also found out that 38-year-old Payel Chakraborty, who recently separated from her husband, is survived by a two-year-old son. (Photo: Facebook Screengrab | Payel Chakraborty)

Siliguri: Television actor Payel Chakraborty has been found hanging in a hotel room in Siliguri, north Bengal, under mysterious circumstances, police said.

Chakraborty, a resident of South Kolkata, has appeared in multiple TV soaps and web series. "Payal was founding hanging from the ceiling of her hotel room Wednesday morning. She had checked into the hotel the evening before," Siliguri DCP Gourab Lal said.

The police have also found out that the 38-year-old actor, who recently separated from her husband, is survived by a two-year-old son, Lal said. "Prime facie, it looks like a case of suicide, but the police are not ruling out other possibilities. The body has been sent to North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem," the DCP added.

Arun Deb, an employee at the hotel, said the actor had told the staff members Tuesday night that she would be leaving for Gangtok the next day. "Chakraborty, after checking in, had categorically told the hotel officials that she did want to be disturbed in her room. She had locked the room from inside and did not order dinner," he said.

The following morning when there was no response from her despite repeated knocks on the door, the hotel contacted the police, Deb added.

The actor's family members, who arrived in Siliguri on Thursday afternoon, said they were not aware of the reasons behind her Siliguri visit.

"Payel told us she would be going to Ranchi. I am not sure what was she doing in Siliguri," her father Prabir Guha said.
The New York Times set off an international guessing game Wednesday by publishing an explosive opinion column - written by someone described only as "a senior official" in the Trump administration - that said top government officials are actively working to "frustrate" President Donald Trump's agenda and "worst inclinations."

"We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic," wrote the unnamed author. "That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

The column drew immediate and extraordinary attention from the news media and a public rebuke from the president, who called it "gutless" during a ceremony at the White House. An statement from press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the column "just another example of the liberal media's concerted effort to discredit the President." Trump later tweeted a one-word, all-caps reaction: "TREASON?"

Notably, neither he nor White House press secretary denied that it was written by someone in his administration.

It marked the second consecutive day in which Trump was on the defensive over a critical piece of writing. He spent part of Tuesday and early Wednesday on Twitter trashing a new book by author Bob Woodward, excerpts of which made claims similar to those made by the anonymous Times op-ed writer.

The Times column - headlined "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" - was unusual both because of its insider perspective and because the newspaper published it anonymously.

The article said, among other things, that there were "early whispers" among cabinet officials of invoking the 25th Amendment, a complex, never-before-used process for removing the president because he is deemed impaired and unable to fulfill his duties. The notion was rejected, wrote the author, because "no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until - one way or another - it's over."

Newspapers, and the Times in particular, rarely allow people to write opinion pieces without attaching their names. The primary issue is transparency; readers are entitled to know who is opining, so that they can more fully judge the author's motives, intentions and possible vested interests.

However, the Times has permitted it previously. It published a piece in June by a woman from El Salvador who recounted her treatment in U.S. detention; she was granted anonymity because she and her family faced gang violence in her native country, according to the Times.

In an unsigned note attached to the column, the Times said it took "the rare step" of publishing the essay at the author's request. It said his or her identity is known to the editors, but that the writer's job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. The note added: "We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers."

Times editorial-page editor James Bennet declined to provide further information about the writer's position or identity, but said the newspaper received the article before news about Woodward's book broke on Tuesday. He said the newspaper "would not have been able to publish" the article if it had not granted anonymity to its author.

"We thought it was an important perspective to get out," he said. "Our preference is not to publish anonymously and we seldom do it. The question is, do we think the piece was important enough to make an exception? We feel strongly that it was."

Among the key takeaways from the article, he said, was the writer's explanation of why he or she was working for the administration despite deep concerns about the president. "The writer believes in the president's accomplishment," said Bennet, "but is very concerned about the president's mercurial behavior."

The anonymous nature of the Times column is likely to intensify a persistent suspicion among Trump's supporters - that a "deep state" within the federal government is actively working against him and his agenda. The column suggests that the notion isn't entirely far-fetched.

"From the White House to executive branch departments and agencies, senior officials will privately admit their daily disbelief at the commander in chief's comments and actions. Most are working to insulate their operations from his whims," the column said.

In a meeting with law enforcement officials from around the country at the White House on Wednesday, Trump denounced the "failing" New York Times and the news media.

"If I weren't here, I believe the New York Times probably wouldn't exist," he said to applause from the uniformed officers. "And someday when [he's out of office], hopefully six and a half years from now, the New York Times and CNN will be out of business. There will be nothing to write."

He added that the Times published "an anonymous editorial - can you believe it? - anonymous, meaning gutless."

The anonymous column immediately raised memories of "Deep Throat," the high-ranking government source who helped Woodward in his reporting on President Nixon's Watergate crimes in 1972 and 1973. Speculation about Deep Throat's identity persisted for decades until Deep Throat himself - former FBI official Mark Felt - unmasked himself in an article in Vanity Fair in 2005.

A similar guessing game surrounded the identity of the anonymous author of "Primary Colors," a satirical, best-selling novel and movie based on Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign. The Washington Post cracked the riddle in 1996, identifying Newsweek columnist and CBS commentator Joe Klein as the book's author.
A Springfield man is in jail after police say he hit a man in the head with a hammer just after midnight Thursday in the 600 block of Brandywine Lane.

Troy L. Cota, 49, of 4939 Old Jacksonville Road was booked into the Morgan County jail at 1:57 a.m. Thursday on a charge of aggravated battery of a senior citizen. A police report did not give the age of the victim, who was treated at the scene.
You're the joker, not the two ...
The state clarified that it was committed to the protection of the fundamental rights of every citizen.

New Delhi: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday asserted in the Supreme Court that five human rights activists were arrested not for their dissent but for their active role in the conspiracy to create violence in the Bhima Koregaon incident. The state said this in its response to the petition filed by Dr Romila Thapar and others challenging the arrest of Sudha Bharadwaj, Gaut-am Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsa-lves and P. Varahara Rao.

On August 29, while entertaining the petition by Dr Romila Thapar, the court had observed dissent is the safety valve of democracy and it could not be curbed by such arrests. The court ordered their house arrest till September 6 and sought Maharas-htras reply to the writ petition challenging the arrest of five activists for their alleged Maoist links from Delhi, Faridabad, Mumbai, Thane and Hyderabad.

The state said the court was dealing with persons against whom cogent evidence had so far come on record that showed they were active members of a banned terrorist organisation, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), and were involved in not only planning and preparing for violence but were in the process of creating large-scale violence and destruction of property, resulting in chaos in society as per the agenda prepared by the CPI(Maoist). This was banned as a terrorist organisation in 2009.

Rejecting the allegation, the state said materials collected in the probe would suffice to remove any impression that political dissenters who are intellectuals were being hounded and the voice of dissent was being suppressed.

It said it would become clear they were committing and planning/preparing for a series of criminal offences in connivance with other persons. It is further said the writ petition was based on the individual perception of the petitioners on the eminence of the arrested persons, media reports and statements by activists and others condemning the arrests, not on the basis of any direct knowledge regarding incriminating facts.

The materials recovered from the laptops, pen drives, memory cards, etc of those initially accused in the FIR indicated their association with the CPI (Maoist) and reflected an ongoing sinister design of having committed and in the process of committing criminal offences having the potential of destabilsing society.

At the outset, the state submitted that the writ petition was not maintainable either under Article 32 of the Constitution or otherwise. It said when an investigation under the Code of Criminal Procedure begins either upon an FIR or a complaint and was under way, it was only the accused who can maintain proceedings before the competent courts, including constitutional courts.

The present petition is purported to have been filed by five unconnected individuals with the prayer with respect to the arrest and investigation. The petitioners, who are strangers to the offence under investigation, are also praying for bail on behalf of the persons involved.

The affidavit noted that the sum and substance of the petition was to the effect that the five persons arrested are persons of eminence (as per the perception of the petitioners), who according to the petitioners cannot commit any offence, and since the arrests are condemned by some activists and intellectuals, this court should invoke its constitutional jurisdiction and release the said five accused persons.

The state said it was unfortunate that the petitioners had not even bothered to pray that the court should at least examine the allegations against the five accused persons. The entire petition was based upon the perception of the petitioners that the arrested persons are all outstanding, well-known and well-respected human rights crusaders and, therefore, their arrest requires to be enquired into and they should be released on bail.

The state clarified that it was committed to the protection of the fundamental rights of every citizen. A mere dissenting view, difference in ideology or vehement objections to political thinking cannot be prohibited but should always be welcomed in any democratic country.

It was, however, submitted that this case was one where the five accused persons were not arrested based upon any dissenting views expressed by them or difference in political or other ideologies. The contents of materials seized clearly reflect the preparation, planning and coordination not only among the aforesaid persons but with others (subsequently arrested) to carry out violence, planned ambush/rebellion against the enemy (which is our country and its security forces).

Pleading for vacating the interim house arrest order, the state said the arrest of accused persons was also done as they were required for custodial interrogation. This was intended to prevent them from not only destroying further evidence, but also giving leads to other accused to whom the investigating agencies could have reached.
Separate presentations on the Swachchh Bharat Mission and Ayushman Bharat were also made at the meeting, the sources said.

The capabilities of the state-of-the-art fighter jets were explained in great detail to all the ministers, especially on how it would strengthen Indias defence arsenal. (Photo: Representational / AP)

New Delhi: Under attack from a combative Opposition over the Rafale fighter deal, the entire Union council of ministers is learnt to have been briefed in detail on the finer points of the issue at a meeting that was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening.

The aim behind the exercise was to make all Central ministers aware about the nature of the deal so that they could help blunt the Oppositions attacks by making people in their constituencies aware about the truth of the whole issue, and that how the Opposition was trying to mislead the common man by twisting facts.

Highly-placed sources said during the meeting that lasted over two hours, presentations were made to the council of ministers by top officials of the PMO and certain other agencies on the Rafale deal. With Lok Sabha polls just a few months away, the Narendra Modi government also wanted to convey a message of unity to its allies, and to keep them in the loop to counter any growing doubts or misunderstandings as political dynamics undergo several changes prior to the elections, the sources further added.

The main point reiterated at the meeting was that there was no involvement of any private party as it was a bilateral agreement between two governments, the sources said.

The capabilities of the state-of-the-art fighter jets were explained in great detail to all the ministers, especially on how it would strengthen Indias defence arsenal. The Opposition parties led by the Congress have been attacking the Narendra Modi government over the deal, alleging that it was struck at an exorbitant price and that it benefited an Indian businessman at the cost of the government-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. These charges have been decisively denied by the government.

Separate presentations on the Swachchh Bharat Mission and Ayushman Bharat were also made at the meeting, the sources said.
Sources said that these Mitras are to be selected from hospitals own staff.

New Delhi: With the NDA Government all set to launch its ambitious Ayushman Bharat scheme on September 25, which envisages health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh to 10 crore rural poor annually who are outside the insurance net, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed unhappiness over inadequate preparations on part of ironically several BJP-led states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Bihar towards implementation of the flagship project.

Also, as several Opposition-ruled states like Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, Telangana, Kerala and Delhi have not yet come on board towards participating in the scheme, the Prime Minister has urged them to cooperate and become part of it.

In a high level review meeting, which the Prime Minister recently undertook to oversee the preparations of the schemes launch on Jan Sangh ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyayas birth anniversary, he asked top officials of state government of poll-bound Rajasthan, as well as those of Maharashtra, Goa, Bihar (where the BJP is in alliance with the JDU) and J&K (which is currently under Presidents Rule, but where for more than two years the BJP ran a coalition government with the PDP) to make extra efforts to ensure that the scheme takes off effectively in their respective states.

Highly placed sources said that the Prime Minister was disappointed with the fact that the aforementioned BJP and its allies ruled states have not made proper preparations towards implementation of the NDA governments flagship scheme even though only a few days are left for its official launch.

He is learnt to have asked the chief secretaries of these states during the meeting that they need to take extra measures to implement scheme.

Mr Modi also asked officials from Opposition-ruled states to expedite the process of signing pacts with the Centre as soon as possible, so that Ayushman Bharat can take off.

Under Ayushman Bharat, the Union health ministry plans to hire Ayushman Mitras, who will help in identifying beneficiaries for the scheme. Sources said that these Mitras are to be selected from hospitals own staff.

The Prime Minister, sources added, emphasised on this aspect and is learnt to have directed health ministry officials to ensure that Ayushman Mitras are selected from hospitals staff only.

He is also learnt to have asked the ministry as well states officials to streamline and expedite all aspects related to Ayushman Bharat like selecting health agencies in states, identification of beneficiaries as well as empanelment of hospitals and identification as well as training of Ayushman Mitras.

In his Independence Day speech, the Prime Minister had announced that Ayushman Bharat scheme would be launched on September 25 this year.

The scheme will target poor, deprived rural families and identify occupational category of urban workers families, 8.03 crore in rural and 2.33 crore in urban areas, as per the latest SECC data. It will cover around 50 crore people. The Centre has allocated about Rs 10,000 crore for the project.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  At the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) spoke out against Kavanaughs history of carrying out a conservative, partisan agenda.

Hariis was Thursdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are her words:

I thank you, Mr. Chairman. Id like to restate my objection from earlier for the record, which is my motion to postpone this hearing. A number of comments have been made by my honored and respected colleagues. Id like to address a few of them.

One, there was some mention of a concern about Elena Kagans hearing and that the White House at the time, there was an agreement that those certain records are sensitive and should therefore not be disclosed. Its my understanding that as a point of distinction between that time and today, that those were active cases in the White House and for that reason there was an understanding and agreement that they were of a sensitive nature and should not be disclosed.

In terms of the point that has been made about playing politics and blaming the Supreme Court, I think that we have to give pause when those kinds of concerns are expressed to also think about the fact that there have been many a political campaign that has been run indicating an intention to use the United States Supreme Court as a political tool to end things like the Affordable Care Act, the Voting Rights Act, and campaign finance reform. Which makes this conversation a legitimate one in terms of a reasoned concern about whether this nominee has been nominated to fulfill a political agenda, as it relates to using that Court and the use of that Court.

As it relates to the 42,000 documents, or 42,000 pages of documents, I find it interesting that we get those documents less than 24 hours before this hearing is scheduled to begin, but it took 57 days for those documents to be vetted before we would even be given those documents. So there is some suggestion that we should be speed-readers, and read 42,000 pages of documents in about 15 hours, when it took the other side 57 days to review those same documents. So the logic at least on the math is not applying.

Now, the Chairman has requested 10% of the nominees documents. Thats 10% of 100% of his full record.

The nominees personal lawyer has only given us 7% of his documents. 7% out of 100% of the full record.

Republicans have only given 4% of these records or made them public. Thats 4% of 100% of a full record.

96% of his record is missing. 96% of his record is missing. It is reasonable, it is reasonable that we should want to review his entire record and then we can debate among us the relevance of what is in his record to his nomination, but it should not be the ability of the leadership of this committee to unilaterally make decisions about what we will and will not see in terms of its admissibility, instead of arguing about the weight of whatever is made admissible.

The late Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts called these hearings a Supreme Court nominees job interview with the American people.

And by that standard, the nominee before us is coming into his job interview with more than 90% of his background hidden.

I would think that anyone who wanted to sit on the nations highest court would be proud of their record and would want the American people to see it.

I would think that anyone privileged to be nominated to the Supreme Court of the Unites States would want to be confirmed in a process that is not under a cloud, that respects due process.

I would think that anyone nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States would want to have a hearing that is characterized by transparency and fairness and integrity and not shrouded by uncertainty and suspicion, and concealment and doubt.

We should not be moving forward with this hearing. The American people deserve better than this.

So Judge Kavanaugh, as most of us know, and I will mention to you and you have young children and I know they are very proud of you and I know you are a great parent and I applaud all that you have done in the community. And so as you know and we all know, this is a week when most students in our country go back to school.

And it occurs to me that many years ago, right around this time, I was starting kindergarten and I was in a bus, a school bus, on my way to Thousand Oaks Elementary School as part of the second class of students as busing desegregated Berkeley, California, public schools.

This was decades after the Supreme Court ruled Brown v. Board of Education that separate was inherently unequal.

And as Ive said many times, had Chief Justice Earl Warren not been on the Supreme Court of the United States, he could not have led a unanimous decision and the outcome then of that case may have been very different.

Had that decision not come down the way it did, I may not have had the opportunities that allowed me to become a lawyer or a prosecutor.

I likely would not have been elected District Attorney of San Francisco or the Attorney General of California.

And I most certainly would not be sitting here as a member of the United States Senate.

So for me, a Supreme Court seat is not only about academic issues of legal precedent or judicial philosophy. It is personal.

When we talk about our nations highest court, and the men and women who sit on it, were talking about the impact that one individual on that Court can have. Impact on people you will never meet and whose names you will never know.

Whether a person can exercise their Constitutional right to cast a ballot, that may be decided if Judge Kavanaugh sits on that Court.

Whether a woman with breast cancer can afford healthcare or is forced off lifesaving treatment.

Whether a gay or transgender worker is treated with dignity or may be treated as a second-class citizen.

Whether a young woman who got pregnant at 15 is forced to give birth or in desperation go to a back alley for an abortion.

Whether a President of the United States can be held accountable or whether hell be above the law.

All of this may come down to Judge Kavanaughs vote.

And thats whats at stake in this nomination.

And the stakes are even higher because of the moment were in, and many of us have discussed this. These are unprecedented times.

As others have already observed, less than 2 weeks ago, the Presidents personal lawyer and campaign chairman were each found guilty or pleaded guilty to 8 felonies.

The Presidents personal lawyer, under oath, declared that the President directed him to commit a federal crime.

Yet that same President is racing to appoint to a lifetime position on the highest court in our land, a court that very well may decide his legal fate.

And yes, thats essentially what confirming Judge Kavanaugh could mean.

So it is important, more important Id say than ever, that the American people have transparency and accountability with this nomination.

And thats why it is extremely disturbing that Senate Republicans have prevented this body, and most important, the American people from fully reviewing Judge Kavanaughs record, and have disregarded just about every tradition and practice that I heard so much about before I arrived in this place.

Judge Kavanaugh, when you and I met in my office, you said with respect to judicial decisions, that rushed decisions are often bad decisions.

I agree with you. I agree with you.

And when we are talking about who will sit on the Supreme Court of the United States, I believe your point couldnt be more important.

Mr. Chairman, when Judge Kavanaugh was nominated in July, he expressed his belief that A judge must be independent and must interpret the law, not make the law.

But in reviewing this nominees background, I am deeply concerned that what guides him is not independence or impartiality. Its not even ideology. I would suggest it is not even ideology.

What I believe guides him and what his record that weve been able to see shows, is what guides this nominee is partisanship.

This nominee has devoted his entire career to a conservative Republican agenda.

Helping to spearhead a partisan investigation into President Clinton.

Helping George W. Bushs legal team ensure that every vote was not counted in Bush v. Gore.

Helping to confirm partisan judges and enact partisan laws as part of the Bush White House.

And in all of these efforts, he has shown that he seeks to win at all costs, even if that means pushing the envelope.

And if we look at his record on the D.C. Circuit, and in his recent writings and statements, it is clear that the nominee has brought his political bias to the bench.

He has carried out deeply conservative, partisan agenda as a judge, favoring big business over ordinary Americans, polluters over clean air and water, and the powerful over the vulnerable.

Just last year, Judge Kavanaugh praised the dissent in Roe v. Wade and ruled against a scared, 17-year-old girl seeking to end her pregnancy.

He has disregarded the Supreme Court precedent to argue that undocumented workers werent really employees under our labor laws.

We have witnessed horrific mass shootings from Parkland to Las Vegas to Jacksonville, Florida.

Yet Judge Kavanaugh has gone further than the Supreme Court and has written that because assault weapons are in common use, assault weapons and high-capacity magazines cannot be banned under the Second Amendment.

When he was part of an Independent Counsel investigation into the Democratic president, the nominee was dogged in demanding answers.

And yet, he has since changed his tune, arguing that presidents should not be investigated or held accountable, a position that Im sure is not lost on this President.

These positions are not impartial, they are partisan.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, Judge Kavanaughs classmate, insisted before this Committee that judges are not merely politicians in robes. I fear that Judge Kavanaghs record indicates that is exactly what he may very well be.

Now, I know members of this Committee and the nominees friends and colleagues have assured us that he is devoted to his family, and supportive of his law clerks, and volunteers in his community. And I dont doubt that at all.

But thats not why we are here. Id rather that we think about this hearing, in the context of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the impact it will have on generations of Americans to come. And do we want that Court to continue a legacy of being above politics and unbiased? Or are we prepared to participate in a process that is tainted and that leaves the American public questioning the integrity of this process?

And Ill close by saying this. We have a system of justice that is symbolized by a statue of a woman holding scales. And she wears a blindfold.

Justice wears a blindfold because we have said in the United States of America, under our judicial system, justice should be blind to a persons status.

We have said that in our system of justice, justice should be blind to how much money someone has, to what you look like or who you love, to who your parents are and the language they speak.

And every Supreme Court Justice must understand and uphold that ideal.

And sir, should those cases come before you, Judge Kavanaugh, I am concerned whether you would treat every American equally or instead show allegiance to the political party and the conservative agenda that has shaped and built your career.

I am concerned your loyalty would be to the President who appointed you and not to the Constitution of the United States.

These concerns I hope you will answer during the course of this hearing. I believe the American people have a right to have these concerns. I also believe the American public has a right to full and candid answers to the questions that are presented to you during the course of this hearing. I will be paying of course very close attention to your testimony and I think you know, the American public will be paying very close attention to your testimony.

Thank you.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Sonora, CA  Although official 2018 figures are not due out for a month yet, Tuolumne Countys Superintendent of Schools is sharing news of promising enrollment trends.

The current student tally for all the local public schools, according to Superintendent Margie Bulkin, is 6,171, roughly a hundred more students than last year. Describing the uptick as very promising, keeping it real she points to enrollments within the past 20 years, when Tuolumne County had perhaps 8,100 students.

However, for the past eight years, the number has held steadily at around 6,000. We are not declining  I would say we have been stabilized around 6,100 for quite awhile, she remarks. It is so important to track enrollment because it helps us look at a lot of business and economic indicators for the countyif we were to dip below 6,000, then I would wonder what things are going on, she confides.

High School Grads Grabbing Expanded Opportunities

Pointing to a distinctly growing education trend, she enthuses that across California and perhaps across the nation, opportunities are opening improved community college access, as it is being much more recognized as a great value investment for students pursuing a job relating to higher education skills. Locally, through the recently instigated Promise Program in partnership with Columbia College, high school graduates can apply for free tuition there.

We could not be more proud in our K-12 arena to open opportunities and remove barriers, particularly through the Promise Program for which 275 seniors from last year took advantage of, Bulkin shares happily. Also, in dual enrollment, we have 215 high school seniors who are currently enrolled in college while also attending high school classesthose are really promising numbers to celebrate students opportunities for career development altogether that is almost 600 students.

She reports the Promise Program breakdown by school as follows: 275 from Sonora Union High School district; 164 from Summerville; 178 from Bret Harte High; 18 from Big Oak Flat-Groveland. Considering the overall number of graduates this past year from those school districts was 635, having 275 apply for the Promise program represents a participation rate of just over 43 percent.

Career Prep Is The Goal

The end game, she says, We want kids to be able to finish their high school career and pursue a job right out of high school  or go into a college program where they can get the skills they need for a job that they want to pursue.

For this reason, Bulkin says she is especially impressed with the current numbers of high school students taking advantage of the career pathways at Columbia College. After they graduate high school they are likely to become Promise students and take additional courses. She adds that she is also gratified to see rising numbers of those returning to complete their high school diploma studies through the countys Adult Education Consortium.

Along with being proud of the countys expanding spectrum of education opportunities, she stresses that high praise and appreciation is due to those at the center of education. What makes it all happen is this incredibly gifted, talented person called a teacher, she states earnestly.

Special Kudos, Snapshot Numbers

Especially now with back-to-school time in full swing, Bulkin says that teachers deserve special credit for the role they play in advancing their students development. To read her myMotherLode.com blog and community back-to-school message in its entirety, click here.

The Tuolumne County Office of Education reports that initial public school enrollment figures across the school districts is as follows: Belleview Elementary, up 9 to 163; Big Oak Flat-Groveland, up 12 to 299; Columbia Union Elementary, down 6 to 489; Curtis Creek Elementary, up 15 to 456; Jamestown Elementary, up 52 to 386; Sonora Elementary, steady at 478; Sonora Union, up 5 to 1,084; Soulsbyville Elementary,up 14 to 544; Summerville Elementary, up 19 to 413; Summerville Union, down 38 to 633; Twain Harte Elementary, down 19 to 247. Foothill Leadership Academy is down 25 to 113; Gold Rush Charter School, up 38 to 479. The Superintendent of Schools Education Program is up 29 to 117.

Clarke Broadcasting contacted the Calaveras County Office of Education for initial snapshot figures. It provided an overall enrollment number of 5,341, which officials note is down 120 from last year.
Yosemite National Park 2017 Barry Hance Memorial Award given to (Left to right): Chief Ranger Kevin Killian, Park Ranger Jack Hoeflich and Yosemite National Park Superintendent Michael Reynolds View Photos

Yosemite, CA  Noting their awe at a park rangers abilities, his co-workers bestow him with a prestigious award  in fact it is Yosemite National Parks highest honor awarded by peers.

Park Ranger Jack Hoeflich was given the 2017 Barry Hance Memorial Award last month in a ceremony attended by about 450 park employees, volunteers, park partners, and retirees, including several past recipients of the award. It is given to employees who exemplify the qualities and attributes of Hance, a long time park staffer who died in an avalanche while plowing the Tioga Road in 1995. Those qualities include team work, a positive attitude, concern for the public and fellow employees, public service, and a deep love for Yosemite.

Rangers who nominated Hoeflich say that he is the ranger who other rangers look at and ask, How is he so good at all that stuff? Hoeflich became a seasonal Protection Ranger in 2001 after working several seasons as a volunteer campground host and applying his advanced climbing skills to be a member of the Yosemite Search and Rescue team. He became a permanent Protection Ranger in 2005 with advanced credentials as a federal law enforcement officer, park medic, structural firefighter, wild land firefighter, technical rock rescue instructor, helicopter and swift water rescue technician and horse patroller. In 2007, he received a Department of the Interior Valor Award for his heroic actions while rescuing a gravely injured climber from the face of El Capitan.

Hoeflich took the post of Valley District Ranger in 2012. His peers call him a consummate professional in that he endeavors to be the best at whatever he does.
Kale is also the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh's killing and was arrested by the SIT in May this year.

Dabholkar was killed in Pune on August 20, 2013, while Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence at Bengaluru in Karnataka on September 5, 2017. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken Amol Kale, the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case, in its custody in connection with its probe in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar's murder case, an official said Thursday.

The CBI suspects that Kale is also the mastermind of Dabholkar's killing, he said. Kale, who was arrested in May this year by the Karnataka Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with Lankesh's killing, will be produced before a court in Maharashtra's Pune district on Thursday, he said.

Dabholkar was killed in Pune on August 20, 2013, while Lankesh was shot dead outside her residence at Bengaluru in Karnataka on September 5, 2017.

The official claimed that during Kale's interrogation, his alleged role in Dabholkar's killing also came to light. Kale and Sachin Andure, the alleged main shooter in Dabholkar's killing, had met in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district and also stayed there in a lodge, he said.

During his stay in Aurangabad, Kale gave a pistol to Andure and it was passed to the latter's brother-in-law Shubham Surale, the official said.

The pistol was found last month at Surale's friend Rohit Rege's residence in Aurangabad during raids by the CBI and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

The seized pistol was sent to a forensic science lab for analysis and the ballistic report is yet to be known, he said.

The CBI wants to interrogate Kale to find out about his alleged role in the Dabholkar case and in this connection, the probe agency Wednesday took his custody from a prison in Bengaluru, he said.

During the course of investigation, the CBI is likely to confront Sharad Kalaskar, the other alleged shooter in the Dabholkar case, with Kale, and two others arrested in Lankesh's murder case -- Amit Digvekar and Rajesh Bangera, another official said.

The agency had claimed earlier that Digvekar and Bangera were also involved in the Dabholkar murder conspiracy. It had arrested the duo in the Dabholkar case last week.

Kalaskar was arrested last month by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with an alleged conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state.

The ATS had claimed that during interrogation, Kalaskar revealed that he and Sachin Andure were involved in the Dabholkar murder, following which it tipped off the CBI which then arrested Andure. The CBI took Kalaskar's custody from the ATS on Monday.
Shelves at The Salvation Army are going bare.

The organization needs non-perishable items including: canned foods, macaroni and cheese, cereal, flour, sugar, rice, beans, instant potatoes and any groceries for the pantry.

The Salvation Army hosts a nightly dinner program Monday through Friday, too. According to an email from Director Michelle Rutherford, the organization is also in need of perishable items for that program.

Donations can be made at 615 Broadway.

There are also other ways to give. According to Rutherford, those interested can host food drives.

The Salvation Army's website shows you can also donate money, goods and clothing and airline miles.

For additional information about the organization and for details on ways to give, visit www.salvationarmytexas.org/ways-to-give/.
The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis at a joint press conference after the India-US 2 + 2 Dialogue in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: India and the US on Thursday asked Pakistan to ensure that its territory is not used to launch terror attacks and expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of cross-border terror strikes, including those on Mumbai, Pathankot and Uri.

The stern warning to Pakistan came after India and the US held their first 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi during which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held wide-ranging deliberations with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

"The ministers announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters," a joint statement issued after the talks said. "The ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," it said.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot (2016), Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, the statement said. Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said the Indo-US counter-terrorism cooperation has acquired a new "qualitative edge and purpose".

"We welcomed the recent designations of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists by the United States. They underscore the international community's scrutiny over the threat of terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which has affected India and the United States alike. In the 10th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks, we recognised the importance of justice and retribution for the masterminds behind this terrorist attack," she said.

Sitharaman, in her remarks, said India and the US were committed to work together to combat the "persistent threat of terrorism" and other shared security challenges.

The ministers committed to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and reaffirmed their support for a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism, the joint statement said.

"The ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al-Qaida, ISIS, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates," it said.

The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber attacks.

Swaraj said India recognises the value of the Terrorists Designations Dialogue established last year as well as other mechanisms to promote cooperation in counter-terrorism and homeland security.

"We also discussed the situation in South Asia in some detail. India supports President Trump's South Asia Policy. His call for Pakistan to stop its policy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds resonance with us," she said.

Swaraj said the efforts by India and the US in promoting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan government-controlled reconciliation process were also discussed.
No Yolks YouTube channel

Rivana Foods Inc., a Houston-based rice foods company, has launched Tasteful Noods, a pun-inspired campaign to promote their yolkless No Yolks egg pasta.

The campaign draws inspiration from the social media "food porn" phenomenon of people highlighting their meals' aesthetic quality through photographs.



RELATED: Minute brand rice introduces new packaging



Tasteful Noods "uses humor (and a touch of double-entendre) to demonstrate the versatility of the product and expose unlimited and delicious possibilities," the company said in a news release.
WASHINGTON  After returning from a trip to Mexico City to discuss the overhaul of the North American Free Trade Agreement, South Texas Congressman Henry Cuellar said he could not get assurances from the new ruling party there, led by leftist president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, that its leaders would sign on to a new trade deal.

Still, Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, said he was reassured after meetings with both Alfonso Romo, chief of staff to Obrador, and Ricardo Monreal, the coordinator for the Morena party in the Mexican Senate.

They didnt say, we are going to (agree to the NAFTA deal) but they did talk about jobs, Cuellar said in an interview Wednesday. One of the things they want to do is create jobs, and I think they understand trade is the way to create jobs.

Last week President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto announced they had come to terms on a new NAFTA, setting the stage for those two countries and Canada to sign a final deal before Pena Nieto leaves office Dec. 1.

But Mexicos recently elected congressional representatives took their seats Saturday, with Obradors Morena Party in majority. And there are questions whether they will go along with the deal Pena Nieto cut with Trump.

There is a strong nationalist element there, and they might not see this as favorable to Mexico, Tony Payan, director of Rice Universitys Mexico Center at the Baker Institute, said last week.

Mexico is Texass largest trading partner, making business leaders in both countries increasingly nervous as the relationship between the two countries has become volatile in recent years.

During his trip, Cuellar also met with the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who was once the richest man in the world and exchanged tough words with Obrador during the presidential campaign.

Two members of Obradors staff were present at the meeting with Slim, Cuellar said, adding the appointment of Romo, a wealthy Monterrey businessman, as chief of staff had reassured many in the Mexicos business world.

Theyre trying to send out a message, Cuellar said. (Obrador) sat down with a lot of the business leaders near the election to calm them down.
MILAN  Will the country that gave us espresso embrace the company that gave us grande Frappucinos?

Starbucks is about to find out as it opens its first store in Italy on Friday. Residents of Milan, the city whose coffee bars inspired Howard Schultzs vision for the chain decades ago, have mostly greeted the news with a shrug.

Ive tasted Starbucks coffee and Ill absolutely stick to Italian coffee, said Milan resident Giulia Brighenti as she scraped the foamy remains of her espresso at a coffee bar not far from Starbucks new Reserve Roastery.

In Italy, an espresso at a coffee bar is usually a quick morning or after-lunch ritual, downed while standing up. In many neighborhoods, cafes are on practically every corner, and Italians are on a first-name basis with their trusted barista.

That presents a challenge for Starbucks, which is hoping people will linger to drink more expensive beverages.

The company has more than 28,000 stores worldwide, but the palatial Milan location is only its third roastery. The others are in Seattle, where the company is headquartered, and Shanghai.

The cavernous former post office near the citys Duomo, or cathedral, has a heated, marble-topped coffee bar. The centerpiece is a 6.5-meter (22-foot) high bronze cask, part of the roasting process that customers can watch. And no, there are no Frappuccinos on the menu.

The company also hopes the stores cocktail bar will be an attraction. Many who work in Milan, Italys fashion and financial capital, cherish the tradition of meeting friends or colleagues for an aperitivo, or pre-dinner cocktail, often in cafes.

The company is not coming to Italy to teach people about coffee. This is where coffee was born, said Starbucks chief design officer Liz Muller. Instead, Starbucks wanted to come and bring a premium experience that is different to what people in Italy are used to.

That formula includes many different brewing techniques and a space where we want you to stay longer and relax and enjoy.

Italy is Starbucks 78th global market, and the Milan opening comes 20 years after Starbucks opened its first store in Europe, in London. The company has described the Milan store as the crown jewel of Starbucks global retail footprint and says it plans more cafes for Milan later this year.

Like Brighenti, other locals drinking more traditional espressos at the neighborhood coffee bar were skeptical.

I think the classic Italian coffee is best, said Gianluigi Manusardi. I also prefer it when I go abroad.
SACRAMENTO  Californias firefighting agency is running out of money in the midst of a disastrous and deadly fire season and needs another $234 million to make it through the middle of next year, officials said Thursday.

The request came as a new round of major wildfires erupted around the state, including a blaze near the Sacramento River in Shasta County that grew to 22,000 acres Thursday night, forcing mandatory evacuations as the flames threatened structures.

Ken Pimlott, director of the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said in a letter to legislators that the agency is down to its last $11 million after spending $432 million in July and August alone. The budget year doesnt end until June 30, 2019.

The request means the state will probably dip into budget reserves for the eighth time in 10 years to cover the cost of putting out wildfires. This is the earliest Cal Fire has ever had to ask the state for more money.

Pimlott wrote in the letter Thursday that climate change-driven extreme weather conditions continue to drive intense and large fires, leaving the agency short on cash.

Last year, the state budgeted $427 million. The fires in the North Bay and elsewhere in October, and then in Southern California in December, forced the state, local governments and the federal government to come up with another $470 million to cover costs.

H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said Cal Fires request shows the wisdom of Gov. Jerry Browns push to increase the states budget reserves. This years state spending plan included an additional $2.2 billion for unexpected expenses like wildfires and floods.

Pimlott said given new wildfires in recent days, he hopes the state will approve the emergency funding as soon as possible.

Browns office can dip into the emergency funding after notifying legislative fiscal committees.

Government firefighting budgets will be further taxed by the Delta Fire in Shasta County near Interstate 5 just north of Lakehead. Rough terrain made it difficult to contain the 300-foot flames, and low humidity spread the blaze by rates of 1 mph as it consumed mixed conifer and timber with no recent fire history, the U.S. Forest Service said.

The agency said the blaze was caused by someone, but did not provide further details.

The Shasta County Sheriffs Office issued mandatory evacuations for residents along I-5 just north of Lamoine to the Shasta-Siskiyou county line.

Elsewhere in California, the North Fire at the Emigrant Gap area of Tahoe National Forest near Interstate 80 was 17 percent contained and grew by nearly 200 acres to 1,274 acres on Thursday.

Melody Gutierrez and Sarah Ravani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez @SarRavani
KCR branded Congress as 'biggest enemy' of Telangana, flayed it for making 'baseless, mindless, meaningless' allegations against TRS govt.

Recalling how Rahul Gandhi had hugged PM Modi during debate on no-confidence motion and his subsequent wink, Rao said, 'Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in this country.' (Photo: File | ANI)

Hyderabad: Soon after recommending the dissolution of the Telangana assembly, TRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday announced candidates for 105 seats and launched a blistering attack on the Congress, calling its president Rahul Gandhi the "biggest buffoon".

Rao, who has been asked to continue as the caretaker chief minister, also claimed the Election Commission has been consulted and that Telangana would go to polls along with Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram.

Branding the Congress as the "biggest enemy" of Telangana, KCR flayed it for making "baseless, mindless and meaningless" allegations against the TRS government.

"Congress is Telangana's villain number one," he told a press conference but largely spared the BJP any criticism.

Recalling how the Congress president had hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the debate on the no-confidence motion and his subsequent wink, Rao said, "Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon in this country."

KCR also described Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM as a "friendly party" and said the TRS will continue to work with it.

Rao, however, made it clear that the TRS would go it alone in the assembly elections and asserted it will win more than 100 of the state's 119 seats. The 120-member assembly also has a nominated member.
WOODBRIDGE  The public can help celebrate the one-year anniversary of the towns only Mexican restaurant.

Las Brasas Mexican Grill, 9 Lucy St., will hold a birthday party, open to the public for free, noon-6 p.m. Sept. 9. The event will include a mariachi band, a bounce house for kids, and Mexican folkloric dance performances in the restaurants parking lot.
The newly minted junior at Liberty Preparatory School was perhaps still on summer break schedule during class last week. His teacher couldn't wake him up. Even summoning the interim principal wasn't enough to get the teenager to open his eyes.

So the Smithville, Ohio, educators called for the school resource officer, a part-time member of the local police named Maryssa Boskoski, whose idea of an impromptu alarm could cost her job and maybe even her freedom.

As a classroom full of students looked on, she reached into her holster and pulled out her department-issued Taser, according to Milwaukee NBC affiliate WTMJ. Then she removed the firing cartridge and pulled the trigger.

The ensuing electric buzz startled the student awake and stunned a northeast Ohio charter school community that felt a weapon used to subdue combative criminals shouldn't be used to rouse a drowsy student.

A Taser is a brand of electronic stun gun that fires probes that stick in a person's skin and transmit 50,000 volts of electricity, along with a painful, paralyzing shock. But if the probe-containing cartridge is removed, the Taser can arc, emitting a visible bolt of electricity, an audible buzz and a painful jolt if it touches someone.

School officials notified parents of what they deemed an inappropriate use of the stun gun in a letter that did not reveal the identity of the student.

"While on our School campus, a Smithville officer attempted to wake a sleeping student by deploying a taser near the vicinity of the student," school leaders said in a letter obtained by WTMJ. "At no time was any student in any kind of danger."

Boskoski, who is also a member of the Air Force Reserve, works part time for the Smithfield Police Department. She could not immediately be reached for comment.

But Smithfield Police Chief Howard Funk says that Boskoski was previously disciplined for a separate Taser-related incident a month ago. Funk told the news station he was "disappointed that this took place." Boskoski is on unpaid leave.

An investigation was ongoing, according to The Associated Press, and Funk said he would meet with the Smithville solicitor to see if charges should be filed. Funk did not immediately return a message from The Washington Post seeking comment.

In the previous case, Boskoski didn't remove the cartridge from her Taser before doing what officers refer to as a spark test. When she pulled the trigger, the Taser fired near another officer.

Although originally marketed as less-than-lethal alternatives to officers pulling firearms, Tasers have been linked to dozens of deaths, according to a 2015 Washington Post report:

Taser issues can be particularly thorny for school resource officers. The combative people they encounter are often children, and officers' use of force can face additional scrutiny.

For example, officers said they couldn't subdue a girl who got into a fight at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School in Pinellas Park, Florida.

Video captured by bystanders captured an officer shooting his Taser at the fleeing girl after she screamed, "Get off me!"

"Once they [students] get it in their heads that that's how they're going to be, then certainly it makes for a tough situation," a school spokesman said, according to the Kansas City Star.
FAIRFIELD  The school district is looking at changing the way it would charge for out of district students at Walter Fitzgerald High School, the towns alternative high school.

The discussion comes as another school district has indicated interest in sending a student to Walter Fitzgerald.

A lot of districts dont have alternative programs, Robert Mancusi, special education executive director, said. The students we would accept are students who can be appropriately placed in public school, whose level of need does not exceed that which can be met in a public school, that doesnt require outplacement.

Walter Fitzgerald has just been used as an in-district program, but in 2016 the school board adopted a policy change allowing students from other school districts. The tuition, paid by that school district, was set at $57,000, based on the tuition charged by Cooperative Educational Services in Trumbull.

Mancusi said they are looking at revising that to $35,000 as the base tuition, which is close to twice Fairfields per-pupil expenditure (PPE). Additional services would be billed per diem, similar to how we bill our Open Choice students, he said.

Did you do any data analysis of what the cost has been for students at the facility, board member Nick Aysseh said. I dont want to just go for a number thats twice the PPE.

Mancusi said the number was one they thought was fair, based on their experience sending Fairfield students to other districts. Though an actual anaysis of the cost to educate an out of district student has not been done, Mancusi said he was open to completing one.

I can do that, he said.

Aysseh said the proposal is a large decrease and he would like assurances that the cost would not go over the $35,000 being charged.

Thats a base tuition, Mancusi said and doesnt include additional costs of programs deemed needed by a student. Those additional costs would be billed as well.

Superintendent of Schools Toni Jones said it is important to understand the base cost but says there really is not a great formula.

We cant go and parse out what a student costs just theyre at Walter Fitzgerald, she said.

At this campus, we have a small number of students, Aysseh said. Were talking about potential students from out of town and what were going to charge. If everyone is $50,000, why $35,000.

Jones said what is offered at Walter Fitzgerald is a different type of program.

I would like to bring students in and charge tuition, Aysseh said. Its a potential revenue source.

Board member Jeffrey Peterson asked if there was a reason they are not considering charging what the market will bear.

From our experience, we think $35,000 is a fair base tuition, Mancusi said.

Chairman Phil Dwyer pointed out that for the last two years, the tuition was $57,000 and nobody took us up on it.

Mancusi told the board he would do further analysis on students costs at Walter Fitzgerald.

greilly@ctpost.com; 203-842-2585
WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats say they are troubled by new questions about Attorney General Jeff Sessions' contention that he discouraged a former Trump campaign adviser from arranging a meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, but there is anxiety on Capitol Hill that challenging Sessions now could hasten his firing and jeopardize the special counsel investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

Instead, Democrats told The Washington Post, they trust that the special counsel, Robert Mueller III, will sort out the discrepancy as part of his wide-ranging probe, which is examining whether any of Trump's associates conspired with Russians to influence the election's outcome.

"Bob Mueller is in the possession, at this point, of more evidence than either the House or the Senate," said Rep. Adam Schiff, Calif., the House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, adding that "there are other witnesses that I would bring in on this question and others that would be a higher priority for me" than Sessions.

A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.

Sessions' honesty was called into question in a court filing made last week by attorneys representing George Papadopoulos, the former campaign official who suggested Trump meet with Putin. His lawyers said Trump "nodded with approval," and Sessions "appeared to also like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it."

The statement - part of Papadopoulos' effort to reduce his sentence for lying to the FBI - challenges what Sessions told the House Judiciary Committee last year, when he said under oath that while he had "no clear recollection of the details" of that conversation, he "wanted to make clear to [Papadopoulos] that he was not authorized to represent the campaign with the Russian government or any other foreign government."

Democrats have in the past taken issue with Sessions' testimony to Congress regarding the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian government officials. But this time, there is a distinct sense among them - from leadership to the rank and file - that going after Sessions would play into the hands of the president, who consistently excoriates his attorney general's leadership of the Justice Department and his recusal from overseeing Mueller's investigation.

"There's a lot of reasons Attorney General Sessions should be concerned about his tenure in his current position. Not least of them that the president continues to publicly undermine him and question him and criticize him," said Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "My hunch is that the attorney general's tenure may be under much more imminent threat from the president's unmeasured actions than any accounting for his testimony."

Trump has dismissed Mueller's work as a "witch hunt" and suggested it should be ended. Democrats and Republicans in Congress see Sessions as key to protecting the probe, however. Should Trump fire him, any replacement would probably not be subject to the same limitations and thus retain the authority to shut down Mueller's investigation.

A handful of prominent congressional Republicans, including Reps. Mark Meadows, N.C., and Jim Jordan, Ohio, in the House, and lately Sen. Lindsey Graham, S.C., in the Senate, have even endorsed the president's desire to fire Sessions - but for most, attacking the attorney general is off-limits. When asked about the apparent contradiction between Sessions' testimony and Papadopoulos' statement, Republican lawmakers approached by The Post said they could not remember what the attorney general told Congress last year, or they questioned Papadopoulos' integrity.

"I don't know if Mr. Papadopoulos is telling the truth," said Sen. John Neely Kennedy, R-La.

The congressional committees investigating the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia were never able to interview Papadopoulos because he was one of the earliest former campaign officials caught up in Mueller's probe.

The question of Sessions' trustworthiness has long bothered Democrats, several of whom recalled that even in closed-door testimony, he refused to answer sensitive questions such as whether Trump instructed him to take actions that would hinder the Russia investigation. For months, Democrats - particularly in the House - have argued with their Republican colleagues over recalling witnesses when there are discrepancies in testimony or when new information comes to light. But with no subpoena power, Democrats have largely been stymied - and now predict that resolving the Sessions-Papadopoulos dispute will be no different.

"Obviously," said Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, "some people are lying to us because [testimony is] inconsistent. . . . It is one of several examples of where somebody had to have lied to us."
Supreme Court is likely to pronounce its verdict on pleas challenging validity of Sec 377 of IPC that criminalises gay sex.

Section 377 of IPC refers to 'unnatural offence' and says whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may be extended to 10 years, and shall also be liable to pay a fine. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalised Section Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalised gay sex.

Read: Gay sex not a crime in India: Supreme Court decriminalises Section 377

Here is what Section 377 of IPC was all about:
WASHINGTON - The Trump administration took the first official step Thursday toward withdrawing from a court agreement limiting the government's ability to hold minors in immigration jails, a move that could lead to the rapid expansion of detention facilities and more time in custody for children.

The changes proposed by the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services would attempt to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement, the federal consent decree that has shaped detention standards for underage migrants since 1997.

The maneuver is almost certain to land the administration back in court, while raising the odds that the government eventually could petition the Supreme Court to grant the expanded detention authority lower courts have denied.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee, who oversees the Flores agreement, has rejected the government's requests to extend the amount of time migrant children can be held in immigration jails beyond the limit of 20 days. The administration's new proposal does not set limits on the amount of time children could be held in detention. Rather, it seeks the authority to hold migrant children and their parents until their cases have been adjudicated, a process that could take months.

DHS officials said the change would not undermine the protections mandated by the court agreement, but instead fully implement them as a set of formal policies to ensure migrant children are treated "with dignity, respect and special concern for their particular vulnerability as minors," according to a statement.

"Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the Department's ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country," DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said, in a statement. "This rule addresses one of the primary pull factors for illegal immigration and allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress."

The proposal comes less than three months after the Trump administration's short-lived attempt to halt a surge of Central American asylum seekers by separating children from parents who entered unlawfully. The practice was widely condemned, forcing the administration to reverse course and regroup.

Peter Schey, one of the lead attorneys in the class-action suit that led to the Flores settlement, said plaintiffs were preparing to seek an injunction from Gee blocking the government's bid to overhaul child detention standards. He criticized the administration's legal position as a "Trump Catch-22" because the president has publicly advocated for rapid deportations.

"The president is telling (DHS) they must terminate the settlement," Schey said. "They tried it in court and now they're trying it through regulations. But they're in a bind, because the only way the regulations will be valid is if they're consistent with the settlement, and if they're consistent with the settlement then they won't achieve the changes the president has demanded."

"It's an awkward situation," said Schey, calling it "doomed to failure."

The changes sought by the administration would allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to expand its family detention facilities. ICE has three "family residential centers," with a combined capacity of about 3,000 beds.

But those facilities are almost always full, and court limitations on child detention have been a disincentive to build more. As illegal crossings increased this spring, the Trump administration directed the Pentagon to identify sites where new family detention centers could be added with space for up to 12,000 beds but the government has yet to construct new facilities.

The Flores settlement compels the government to hold migrant children in the least-restrictive setting possible, and mandates that those facilities are licensed. But while states typically license child-care facilities, none issue licenses to family detention centers.

According to the changes proposed Thursday, the government will ensure new detention facilities meet standards, "as evaluated by a third-party entity engaged by ICE." The announcement does not indicate who the third party would be.

DHS officials say they need to keep families in custody to ensure they appear in immigration court.

The Trump administration said Thursday's proposed changes would also adjust the way HHS cares for migrant children who arrive without a parent. The agency oversees a network of about 100 shelters for underage migrants, and in recent months, multiple allegations of mistreatment and sexual abuse have surfaced. HHS has been sharply criticized also for not keeping better track of children after they are released to family members or other approved "sponsors."

The administration's attempt to withdraw from the settlement could revive still-simmering anger over the separation of more than 2,600 migrant children from their parents during President Donald Trump's border crackdown, mostly in the spring. As of last week, nearly 500 children were still in federal custody without their parents.

The proposed regulations would not take effect immediately. Publishing them in the Federal Register triggers a 60-day period for public comments.

The proposal comes weeks after the Trump administration was denied permission to detain children for unlimited periods of time. Gee, the judge who oversees the Flores agreement, rebuked the Justice Department's request, calling it "a cynical attempt, on an ex parte basis, to shift responsibility to the judiciary for over 20 years of congressional inaction and ill-considered executive action that have led to the current stalemate."

In July, Gee ordered the appointment of an independent monitor to enhance oversight of child detention standards, citing "persistent problems" and a need to "cut through disputes over what is happening on the ground."

If Gee enjoins the government's latest attempt to modify Flores, the administration could appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but that court - regarded as one of the country's most liberal - could also be a challenging venue for the administration.

The Justice Department, which represents the government in the Flores litigation, declined to comment Thursday.

Immigrant advocates and attorneys acknowledge the government has the authority to create regulations to replace the Flores settlement, but they worry that officials will weaken substantive protections in its quest to deport more migrant families.

While keeping children in ICE's family detention centers long-term is the most striking provision in the proposed regulations, advocates say the entire 203-page proposal would have a broader effect.

For instance, the Trump administration is also seeking greater flexibility to decide when to give children snacks or whether to transfer them quickly from the austere border facilities to more family-friendly environments, as the Flores settlement requires.

The regulations would also strip unaccompanied minors of special protections under the law - such as the right to seek asylum before a trained asylum officer instead of in the more adversarial immigration courts - if they came to America to join parents who are already here.

Over the last two fiscal years, more than 40 percent of unaccompanied minors were released to their parents, according to HHS.

Advocates for immigrants condemned the proposal Thursday and vowed to fight it from taking effect.

"All of these point to a desire to keep more children in jail longer," said Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's immigrants' rights project. "You don't need to be an expert to know that the effect of putting a kid in jail with or without other family members is serious and could be a lifelong trauma."

In August, the mother of a Guatemalan toddler filed a claim alleging the little girl died in May as a result of negligent medical care while detained with hundreds of other families in Texas.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump and his aides reacted with indignation Wednesday to an unsigned opinion column from a senior official blasting the president's "amorality" and launched a frantic hunt for the author, who claims to be part of a secret "resistance" inside the government protecting the nation from its commander in chief.

The extraordinary column, published anonymously in the New York Times, surfaced one day after the first excerpts emerged from Bob Woodward's new book, in which Trump's top advisers painted a devastating portrait of the president and described a "crazytown" atmosphere inside the White House.

Taken together, they landed like a thunder clap, portraying Trump as a danger to the country that elected him and feeding the president's paranoia about who around him he can trust.

Trump reacted to the column with "volcanic" anger and was "absolutely livid" over what he considered a treasonous act of disloyalty, and told confidants he suspects the official works on national security issues or in the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with his private discussions.

Trump questioned on Twitter whether the official was a "phony source," and wrote that if "the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

In a column titled, "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," the person whom the Times identifies only as a "senior official"describes Trump's leadership style as "impetuous" and accuses him of acting recklessly "in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic."

The official writes that Cabinet members witnessed enough instability by their boss that there were "early whispers" of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office, but decided instead to avoid a constitutional crisis and work within the administration to contain him.

"Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office," the official writes.

The column, which published midafternoon Wednesday, sent tremors through the West Wing and launched a frantic guessing game. Startled aides canceled meetings and huddled behind closed doors to strategize a response. Aides were analyzing language patterns to try to discern author's identity, or at a minimum the part of the administration where the author works.

"The problem for the president is it could be so many people," said one administration official, who like many others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. "You can't rule it down to one person. Everyone is trying, but it's impossible."

The phrase, "The sleeper cells have awoken," circulated on text messages among aides and outside allies.

"It's like the horror movies when everyone realizes the call is coming from inside the house," said one former White House official in close contact with former co-workers.

The stark and anonymous warning was a breathtaking event without precedent in modern presidential history.

"For somebody within the belly of the White House to be saying there are a group of us running a resistance, making sure the president of the United States doesn't do irrational and dangerous things, it is a mind-boggling moment," historian Douglas Brinkley said.

The column added to the evolving narrative of Trump's presidency, based on daily news reporting and books like Woodward's that rely on candid accounts of anonymous administration officials.

"This is what all of us have understood to be the situation from Day One," Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters. He added, "That's why I think all of us encourage the good people around the president to stay."

Trump was the first to speak for the administration and lashed out at the Times for its decision to publish the column.

"The failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial - can you believe it? - anonymous, meaning gutless, a gutless editorial," Trump told reporters during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House.

The president went on to brag about his popularity, although nearly all public polls show that more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve of it. "Our poll numbers are great, and guess what? Nobody's going to come even close to beating me in 2020," Trump said, as the sheriffs assembled behind him burst into applause.

The president later tweeted a single word alleging a possible crime: "TREASON?"

In the Times column, the official writes about the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in heroic terms, describing him as "a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue."

This invocation angered Trump, who in his private talks with advisers and friends expressed particular dismay because he has long viewed McCain as a personal enemy, according to people familiar with the president's thinking. The column reignited Trump's frustration with last week's remembrances of McCain and the widespread adulation of his life.

The president was already feeling especially vulnerable - and a deep "sense of paranoia," in the words of one confidant - after his devastating portrayal in Woodward's book. He was upset that so many in his orbit seemed to have spoken with the veteran Washington Post investigative journalist, and had begun peppering staffers with questions about who Woodward's sources were.

Trump already felt that he had a dwindling circle of people whom he could trust, a senior administration official said. According to one Trump friend, he fretted after Wednesday's op-ed that he could trust only his children.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also denounced the opinion column in a ferociously worded statement that channeled her boss's rage and echoed some of his favorite attacks on the media.

Her statement began by invoking Trump's 2016 election victory and noting, "None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times." Sanders went on to demand that the paper apologize for what she called the "pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed," and urged the anonymous author to leave the White House.

"The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States," she said in her statement. "He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign."

There were immediate calls from Trump critics for the author to step forward and share more information with the public, including perhaps testifying before Congress, about Trump's fitness for office.

Both inside the White House and in Trump's broader orbit, aides and confidants scrambled to identify the anonymous official, windmilling in all directions; within just hours of publication, they privately offered up roughly a dozen different theories and suggested traitors.

One aide, for example, suggested a staffer seeking glory and secretly hoping to get caught, while another mused that the official was likely a low-level staffer in a peripheral agency. Others wondered aloud just what constituted a "senior official in the Trump administration."

A spokeswoman for the Times said she was unable to provide any additional clarity on how the newspaper defines a senior administration official.

Times editorial page editor James Bennet declined to provide further information about the writer's position or identity, but said the newspaper received the article before news about Woodward's book broke on Tuesday. He said the newspaper "would not have been able to publish" the article if it had not granted anonymity to its author.

"We thought it was an important perspective to get out," Bennet said. "Our preference is not to publish anonymously and we seldom do it. The question is, do we think the piece was important enough to make an exception? We feel strongly that it was."

The outing of the op-ed's author is virtually inevitable, according to forensic linguists, who work in both academia and private industry, figuring out the authors of anonymous texts in lawsuits, plagiarism cases and historical puzzles.

"We take the questioned document and compare it to known exemplars," said Robert Leonard, a linguist at Hofstra University who is often retained by defendants and prosecutors in criminal cases involving threats, plagiarism and libel.

But although many people immediately launched into amateur forensic investigations after publication of the Times piece, Leonard cautioned that "a problem with public people is that a lot of their published work is edited, so it's like mixing fingerprints or DNA. You don't always know who the real author is."

Brinkley said the most analogous example of disloyalty and advisers disregarding the president's wishes was in Richard Nixon's final year as president. He explained that Nixon would "bark crazy orders" to aides that they intentionally disregarded.

"You'd have to go back to Hans Christian Andersen, 'The Emperor Has No Clothes,' to see this syndrome where the president's reality happens to be so different from his own senior advisers," Brinkley said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Paul Farhi and Marc Fisher contributed to this report.
WESTPORT  Coleytown Middle School parents are calling on school officials to provide more accurate, transparent, and up to date information about the persistent mold problem at Coleytown.

Parents are really asking for accurate and up to date current information, Coleytown Middle School Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Co-President Lee Goldstein told the Board of Education (BOE) at its meeting in Staples High School on Sept. 4. The parents and the community members who have been particularly concerned about communication are the families with children and compromised respiratory systems, with allergies, with asthma, with autoimmune, issues, migraines, respiratory stuff. For those families and faculty members, this is an ongoing health and safety issue.

Mold has been a problem at Coleytown Middle School since remediation efforts first began at the school in August 2016, at which point school officials estimated the work would be complete by the end of the calendar year.

The engineering and architecture at Coleytown make the school particularly susceptible levels of mold growth, Superintendent Colleen Palmer said, and over the summer a failure of the schools air circulation system coupled with hot and humid weather led to the contamination of 34 Coleytown classrooms.

Before the start of school, school administrators treated the contamination by cleaning any materials that could be cleaned, removing materials that could not be cleaned, and bringing in industrial strength dehumidifiers and air scrubbers.

At the school board meeting, the night before the start of school on Aug. 28 school Chief Financial Officer Elio Longo said the only area of the school closed was the auditorium due to surface mold on the ceiling.

The day before the start of school, however, at the sixth-grade orientation on Monday, Aug. 27, all the new Coleytown students sat in the auditorium for orientation, Coleytown Middle School PTA co-President Sue Hermann told the school board.

They were all in the auditorium. A few hours later, the auditorium was closed and quarantined for mold on the ceiling, on the stage curtain, and in other places, Hermann said, adding the schools orchestra and band have been unable to practice due to the auditoriums closure and student report the schools new vinyl ceiling tiles put in to reduce mold growth have caused sound issues and make the classrooms sound like a stadium.

Parents are concerned about the schools communication with parents about the mold issue, Goldstein added, noting the Coleytown principal used to send an alert to the Coleytown community after each and every incident of mold or air quality issues in the school.

Now, all the sudden, theres a decision to batch the reports into one weekly email. Parents have no idea at any time which rooms are open and which are sealed off, which rooms have had new or newly discovered mold or leaking ceiling tiles and the like. Rumors are flying with inaccurate information, Goldstein told the BOE.

Additionally, parents would like to and have not been given, a plan for monitoring mold and other air quality issues in Coleytown.

A lot of parents have expressed concern over inadequate monitoring, Goldstein said, adding, We would really like to see a more frequent and robust measurement of the persistent problem.

Superintendent Palmer said facilities staff are working to remediate every issue related to the mold levels, including the noise coming from the new ceiling tiles.

We will revisit and make sure we have appropriate communication. We have always been totally transparent. We will continue to push out all information, Palmer said.

svaughan@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2638; @SophieCVaughan1
McKenna Denson had traveled more than 700 miles from her home in Pueblo, Colorado, to attend a Mormon Church service in Chandler, Arizona, and didn't waste time telling the congregation why.

Sunday was supposed to be a day of fasting and testimony at the church, and Denson strode up to the pulpit like any other member of the congregation. She introduced herself as a visitor, professed "great confidence and love for the savior" - and then she accused a former church leader of raping her more than 30 years ago.

Denson had apparently come to expose him before his own congregation.

"The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are covering a sexual predator that lives in your ward," she told the congregation Sunday, according to video footage of the incident. "His name is Joseph Bishop. He was the [Missionary Training Center] president in 1984 when he raped me in the basement of the MTC."

Denson, 55, had previously sued Bishop and the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in April, claiming the church failed to protect her from a known "sexual predator." Bishop has denied raping her. On Sunday, flabbergasted church officials attempted to physically remove Denson, telling her, "I need to have you sit down," and, "I'd love to talk to you afterward" as she continued her testimony.

It was not entirely clear from the video footage whether Bishop was at the church Sunday, but Denson claimed he was. She said on social media on Monday that she "looked him in the eye" as she spoke from the pulpit.

Denson first went public with her allegations in April, weeks after a leaked audiotape revealed Bishop confessing to being a "sexual predator" in a conversation with Denson. The taped conversation set off a cascade of criticism against the Mormon Church over concerns that a self-described predator was allowed access to young vulnerable women in need of counseling, which Bishop provided in his leadership role.

Though Bishop has denied raping Denson, he admitted in an interview with police last November to asking her to expose her breasts, according to a police report obtained by the Salt Lake Tribune. Denson filed the police report just after she confronted Bishop in Arizona under the guise of a writer seeking to interview him, before ultimately asking for his apology, according to the taped recording leaked by MormonLeaks, a nonprofit seeking to increase transparency within the church.

Denson accused him of tearing her blouse and pulling her skirt up and "trying to rape me" in the small basement room, according to the recording. Bishop said he did not remember doing that. But he still apologized for his conduct, describing himself as "hypocrite" who struggled with a "sexual addiction" throughout his life, he said in the recording.

Her lawsuit was dismissed against Bishop in August because the statute of limitations on the sexual assault claims had expired. A criminal investigation was closed for the same reason, said Deputy Utah County Attorney David Sturgill, the Salt Lake Tribune reported in March. At the time of the alleged rape in 1984, the legal deadline for filing such a charge was four years, he said. But the lawsuit continues against the church on allegations that it "fraudulently" represented Bishop as a safe and trustworthy priest despite knowledge of misconduct.

The video footage of Denson's public accusations against Bishop emerged Monday on YouTube, published by a group called NewNameNoah, whose intent is to take hidden cameras into Mormon services to "expose the TRUTH about what goes on inside," according to its YouTube biography.

In the video, the first man who tried to get Denson to stop talking about accusations came up behind her, asking her to sit down. "Can I talk to you afterward?" he asked.

Denson told him she would "absolutely love to" talk to him afterward - and then returned to her testimony.

"For the atonement to take place," she continued, "we have to be accountable for what we do. We don't get to -"

The man interrupted again, wrapping his arm around her and saying "I'd like to talk to you, okay?"

"Thank you, but you know what, you're in my personal space," Denson said. A second man approached her. "No," she told him. "I have more to say."

"However," she continued, resisting as the first man attempted to tug her away from the microphone, "it is really important for you to understand, in order to keep our ward safe," referring to the congregation, "in order to keep our church safe -"

Both men tried grabbing her wrists. Denson told them to "call the police." "Don't touch me," she said. "You're assaulting me."

"In order to keep the church safe, we need to hold sexual predators accountable, whether they are pedophiles or whether they are rapists like Joseph Bishop," she said.

By then, the men succeeded at ushering her off the stage, while Denson reminded them they were being recorded.

Bishop could not be reached for comment. His attorney did not immediately return requests for comment, but told the New York Times previously that Bishop "did not sexually assault" Denson, "did not have a history of sexual assault or impropriety" and "did not attempt in any way to cover up any alleged sexual misconduct."

In a statement to The Washington Post on Tuesday, Eric Hawkins, national spokesman for the Mormon Church, called Denson's actions at the Sunday service "disappointing," saying a worship service was not the appropriate venue to air her complaints.

"It is disappointing that anyone would interrupt such a worship service to bring attention to their own personal cause," he said in an email. "Recording and posting of these disruptions on social media to seek public attention and media coverage, sadly, shows an unfortunate lack of respect for others. We respectfully request those with personal grievances find other means to communicate their messages than disrupting the sanctity of a worship service."

The church has previously said that it would conduct a full investigation into Denson's allegations, which it called "deeply disturbing." In a March statement, the church said it first became aware of the allegations in 2010 after the accuser first contacted police, but could not verify the allegations at that time.

The church also said it was aware of a second woman who accused Bishop of sexual abuse but that Bishop denied those allegations as well. Citing the police report in which Bishop confessed to sexual misconduct, the church said it was "committed to bringing accountability for what has occurred."

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https://wapo.st/2wMIJ4t
The UK police revealed images of the two men they said had flown to Britain for a weekend in March.

London: Britain charged two Russians in absentia on Wednesday with the attempted murder of a former Russian spy and his daughter, and said the suspects were military intelligence officers almost certainly acting on orders from high up in the Russian state.

The British police revealed images of the two men they said had flown to Britain for a weekend in March to kill former spy Sergei Skripal with Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.

Skripals daughter Yulia and a police officer who attended the scene also fell ill in the case, which has caused the biggest East-West diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War. A woman later died from Novichok poisoning after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle which police believe had been used to smuggle the nerve agent into Britain.

British authorities identified the suspects as Russian nationals travelling on genuine passports under the aliases Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov. PM Theresa May told parliament the government had concluded they were officers in Russias military intelligence service, the GRU.

The GRU is a highly disciplined organisation with a well-established chain of command, so this was not a rogue operation, Ms May said.
A 5-judge Constitution bench of Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised Section 377 of the IPC.

A gay rights activist celebrates after SC struck down colonial-era law that makes homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison, in Mumbai. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: Celebrations broke out on Thursday as the LGBTQ community and others welcomed the Supreme Court judgment decriminalising consensual gay sex, asserting that the "historic" verdict granted them a basic human right but also acknowledging that complete equality was still some distance away.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC, which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, prompting joyous tears, hugs and dancing across the country.

Activists, members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer) community, authors and politicians welcomed the verdict -- which also said society cannot dictate a sexual relationship between consenting adults -- with many cutting cakes and unfurling the rainbow flag.

Supporters and members of LGBT community celebrate after Supreme Court decriminalises homosexuality. (Photo: AP)

LGBTQ activist Anjali Nazia said the Supreme Court had paved way for bigger judgements ahead. "We were granted a basic human right today and we can't express just how happy we are," Nazia told news agency PTI.

Describing the verdict as a landmark, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said it would help them in their quest for equality. "It is a start. We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning," Joshi said.

For many activists, this was the harbinger of better days to come.

A member of the gay community who requested anonymity said the decision was long due. "I have suffered for 10 years because of my sexuality. Hopefully things will change," he said.

People react after Supreme Court verdict which decriminalises consensual gay sex in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

According to Alliance India CEO Sonal Mehta, it is a day of victory for love and law. "We are finally not criminals and this minuscule minority has an identity now," is how gender and sexuality rights activist Arpit Bhalla put it.

The Congress also put out a Twitter post welcoming the judgement.

"We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive & decisive verdict from the Supreme Court & hope this is the beginning of a more equal & inclusive society," it said, adding intersex and asexuality to LGBTQ.

Expressing his happiness, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the judgement "shamed" BJP MPs who had opposed him on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

So pleased to learn that the SupremeCourt has ruled against criminalising sexual acts in private. This decision vindicates my stand on Section 377& on exactly the same grounds of privacy, dignity &constitutional freedoms. It shames those BJP MPs who vociferously opposed me in LS.  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2018

Writer Chetan Bhagat said India will survive and thrive only by accepting diversity. "India is a country where the culture changes every 100km. Accepting diversity has to be the core value of every Indian and frankly is the only way India will survive and thrive. Scrapping #Section377 is a step in that direction. It is a good day for India."

Saying that she was jubilant and emotional, feminist activist Rituparna Borah termed the verdict a stepping stone. "But there are issues like police violence, right to adoption and marriage that still stay," she told PTI.
(CNN)  Jevh Maravilla just wanted an order of fries, and to see more Asians on the posters at his favorite McDonald's.

After placing an order at the fast-food chain in Pearland, Texas, Maravilla noticed the store didn't have a single advertising poster that represented him or his friends.

Bothered by the lack of Asian representation at a place he goes to often, he took it upon himself to fix it. About $100 later, the local chain now has a poster of two Filipinos enjoying some Mickey D's.

"I noticed there was a blank wall at McDonald's, so I decided to make this fake poster of me and my friend," Maravilla tweeted, along with a photo of the two friends sitting by the poster.

The fake advertisement was hung up on July 13, and after 51 days, Maravilla thought it would be a good idea to share their mischief with the world. The world responded: his tweet had more than 900,000 likes and was shared over 237,000 times.

"We both can't believe how much attention this has been getting. I hope this can open the eyes to not just McDonald's, but other major companies can embrace different ethnicities," Maravilla told CNN.

Maravilla, 21, was born and raised in Texas, but his parents are immigrants from the Philippines. His friend, Christian Toledo, 25, moved to US a couple of years ago from the Philippines.

The two friends spent a month creating the poster. The most challenging part was sneaking it inside the restaurant.

Maravilla found a McDonald's uniform shirt at a thrift store for $7, drove to the restaurant, and, with the help of two friends, he managed to put it up.

"McDonald's is a worldwide corporation so we wanted to make the biggest impact if possible," said Maravilla.

And his efforts didn't go unnoticed. The local restaurant is keeping the poster up for a while.

"We take pride in highlighting diversity in every aspect of our restaurants. We applaud these students' creativity and hope to see them in our restaurants again soon," said Mariselle Quijano, who owns that particular McDonald's.

McDonald's corporate communications office told CNN it supports the franchise's response.

When asked if he had any other requests for the company, Maravilla said yes.

"Please hire me to be a poster model," he joked. "But really, representation matters!"
Pavan Dhall, an activist who has been a part of the queer movement for two decades, said the feeling was sinking in.

Gay rights activists celebrate in Mumbai on Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 that made homosexual acts which carry a masimum punishment of life term. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: Some cut cakes, others hugged each other with tears of joy and many danced their hearts out as rainbow flags, symbols of gay pride, swirled in the skies with the LGBT community breaking into impromptu jubilation on roads, in hotels and other places after the Supreme Courts historic judgment on Thursday that decriminalised consensual gay sex. Celebrities from different walks of life, authors, legal experts, students, teachers and politicians joined the celebrations of activists, who have been fighting a long-drawn battle against the colonial era law which criminalised consensual homosexual acts between two consenting adults and held it an offence punishable with life sentence.

This is a great moment for everyone and the culmination of a lot of struggle, said an activist who requested to not be named, since she is not out to her family.

While the Supreme Court hearing was in the afternoon, people from the LGBT community gathered in front of their television sets, waiting anxiously for the verdict to be announced. Tears flowed and people hugged each other spontaneously, when the judgment flashed across their television and mobile phone screens.

While the LGBT community hailed and celebrated the Supreme Court verdict, many felt that their fight may still go on as complete equality remains some distance away due to fears of police and mob violence and continuing legal obstacles to right to adoption and gay marriages.

Pavan Dhall, an activist who has been a part of the queer movement for two decades, said the feeling was sinking in.

But it is also true that the fight for civil rights remains. This decriminalisation is important but wider rights for the community as citizens is something we will fight for, said Mr Dhall.

For many activists, the apex court verdict is a harbinger of better days to come. Activist Anjali Nazia said the Supreme Court has paved way for bigger judgments ahead. We were granted a basic human right today and we cant express just how happy we are. Terming the change historic, LGBT activist Ankit Gupta of the Humsafar Trust said the fight for equality continues and there is still a long way to go for it

Another activist said, Tomorrow when we wake up we would be able to look in the mirror and not see ourselves as second class citizens or criminals.

Echoing similar sentiment, Anjan Joshi, member of the Society for People, Awareness, Care and Empowerment (SPACE), said the court verdict would help them in their quest for equality. It is a start. We know we have a long way to go in terms of right to adoption, right to marriage but it is a very welcome beginning.

Activist Arpit Bhalla said, We are finally not criminals and this minuscule minority has an identity now. Writer Chetan Bhagat said India will survive and thrive only by accepting diversity. Feeling jubilant and emotional, feminist activist Rituparna Borah called the verdict a stepping stone. But there are issues like police violence, right to adoption and marriage that still stay, the activist said.

Filmmaker Karan Johar also hailed the verdict and said it is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights. The country gets its oxygen back! he wrote on Twitter. Expressing his happiness, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said the judgment shamed BJP MPs who had opposed him on the issue in the Lok Sabha.

The United Nations also lauded the Supreme Court and said the judgment will boost efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against LGBT persons.

Film director Hansal Mehta, who made Aligarh on the life of an Aligarh Muslim University professor Ramchandra Siras who had faced discrimination for being gay, called the verdict a new beginning.

He tweeted, A new beginning. The law is gone. The Supreme Court has done what Parliament failed to do. Now its time for attitudes to change. Lets rejoice but let us also reflect.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District is investigating a confirmed case of tuberculosis in a person at Johnson High School, health officials said.

The individual is not longer on campus and will remain off until no longer infectious. He or she is in stable condition, according to a news release from Metro Health. Officials have not said whether the infected person was a student, teacher, staff member or visitor.
Google Maps

A robbery suspect is believed to be on the run in the Greater Fifth Ward, Houston police said.

Officers are on the ground and in helicopters searching for the suspect around the 1400 block of Lockwood Drive.
A 23-year-old woman was fatally stabbed late Wednesday on the West Side, police said.

The victim, Karla Cristina Ornelas, of San Antonio, was seen arguing with a man just before 10 p.m. in the 3300 block of Colima Street, authorities said.

Police responded to reports of the fight, but when they arrived they found Ornelas lying on the sidewalk, suffering from multiple stab wounds, according to preliminary information from San Antonio police.

RELATED: 'Go ahead and kill me,' armed suspect tells San Antonio police moments before they shoot him

Paramedics took her to University Hospital in critical condition. She was pronounced dead at 12:50 a.m. Thursday.

Homicide detectives are investigating the killing. No arrests had been made by Thursday morning.

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
Strikes down parts of Section 377, which criminalised consensual homosexual acts.

The court, while striking down part of the Section 377 that criminalises consensual gay sex, said it was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.(Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: In a historical and path-breaking judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday partially struck down as unconstitutional the 158-year-old colonial law  Section 377 of IPC  which criminalises consensual homosexual acts between two consenting adults. It held that homosexuality, lesbian, gay sex or un-natural sex between a man and woman is no more an offence for prosecution of the offender.

In a unanimous 493-page verdict, a five-judge Constitution Bench declared Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code unconstitutional, insofar as it criminalises consensual sexual acts of adults in private. It, however, clarified that such consent must be free consent, which is completely voluntary in nature, and devoid of any duress or coercion.

The court also said that the provisions of Section 377 would continue to govern non-consensual sexual acts against adu-lts, all acts of carnal intercourse against minors, and acts of bestiality or any kind of sexual activity with an animal.

Chief Justice Dipak Misra wrote for himself and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar. Justices Rohinton Nariman, D.Y. Chandrachud and Indu Malhotra gave concurring verdicts giving additional reasons.

The court, while striking down part of the Section 377 that criminalises consensual gay sex, said it was irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

The CJI said that criminalisation of consensual carnal intercourse, be it amongst homosexuals, heterosexuals, bi-sexuals or transgenders, hardly serves any legitimate public purpose or interest. Any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation violates fundamental rights, said CJI Misra, reading out the operative portion of the verdict in a packed courtroom.

Consensual carnal inte-rcourse among adults, be it homosexual or heterosexual, in private space, does not in any way harm the public decency or morality. Therefore, Section 377 IPC in its present form violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Consti-tution, the bench said.

The CJI said, Social morality cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of even a single individual... Constitutio-nal morality cannot be martyred at the altar of social morality.

The court said that any display of affection amongst the members of the LGBT community towards their partners in public, so long as it does not amount to indecency or has the potentiality to disturb public order, cant be bogged down by majority perception.

Terming sexual orientation as a biological phenomenon and natural, the court said, If Section 377 remains in its present form in the statute book, it will allow the harassment and exploitation of the LGBT community to prevail. We must make it clear that freedom of choice cannot be scuttled or abridged on the threat of criminal prosecution

The CJI said the very existence of Section 377 IPC criminalising transgenders casts a great stigma on an already oppressed and discriminated class of people. This stigma, oppression and prejudice has to be eradicated and the transgenders have to progress.

Justice Indu Malhotra, who wrote a separate concurring judgment, said members of the LGBT community are compelled to live under the fear of reprisal and persecution.

History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressa for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries. The members of this community were compelled to live a life full of fear of reprisal and persecution, Justice Malhotra said in her 50-page verdict.

Justice Indu Malhotra said the mere fact that the LGBT persons constitute a miniscule fraction of the countrys population couldnt be a ground to deprive them of their fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

Justice Malhotra, while over-ruling the 2011 apex court verdict upholding provisions of Section 377, said the misapplication of this provision denied them the fundamental right to equality guaranteed by Article 14.

Justice Chandrachud, in his verdict, said that by penalising sexual conduct between consenting adults, Section 377 imposes moral notions which are anachronistic to a constitutional order.

He said while ostensibly penalising acts, it impacts upon the identity of the LGBT community and denies them the benefits of a full and equal citizenship.

What makes life meaningful is love. The right that makes us human is the right to love. To criminalise the expression of that right is profoundly cruel and inhumane, said Justice Chandrachud.

Eighty-seven years after the IPC was made, India gained her liberation from a colonial past. But the legacy of first law commissions chief Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay  the offence under Section 377  has continued to exist for nearly 68 years after we gave ourselves a liberal Constitution, he said.

Section 377 exacts conformity backed by the fear of penal reprisal. There is an unbridgeable divide between the moral values on which it is based and the values of the Constitution. What separates them is liberty and dignity. We must, as a society, ask searching questions to the forms and symbols of injustice, Justice Chandrachud said.

Justice Rohinton Nariman, in his concurring opinion, rejected the contention that since Section 377 is a colonial provision, it is presumed to be constitutionally valid.

Justice Nariman held that there is no presumption of constitutionality attached to a pre-constitutional statute like Indian Penal Code.

The fact that the legislature has chosen not to amend the law, despite the 172nd Law Commission Report specifically recommending deletion of Section 377, may indicate that Parliament has not thought it proper to delete the aforesaid provision, is one more reason for not invalidating Section 377.

He said the fact that only a minuscule fraction of the countrys population constitutes lesbians and gays or transgenders, and that in the last 150 years less than 200 persons have been prosecuted for committing the offence under Section 377, is neither here nor there.

Chronology

2001 Naaz Foundation, an NGO fighting for gay rights, files PIL in Delhi HC seeking legalisation of gay sex among consenting adults.

Sep 2004 HC dismisses the PIL; Gay right activists file review petition.

Nov 3 HC dismisses review petition.

Dec Gay rights activists approach SC against the HC order.

Apr 3, 2006 SC remands the case back to HC, directs it to reconsider the matter on merit.

Oct 4 HC allows senior BJP leader B P Singhal's plea, opposing decriminalising gay sex, to be impleaded in the case.

Sept 18, 2008 Centre seeks more time to take stand on the issue after contradictory stand between Home and Health ministries over decriminalisation of homosexuality. HC refuses the plea and final arguments in the case begin.

Sept 25 Gay rights' activists contend that the government cannot infringe upon their fundamental right to equality by decriminalising homosexual acts on the ground of morality.

Sept 26 The Centre says gay sex is immoral and a reflection of a perverse mind and its decriminalisation would lead to moral degradation of society.

Oct 15 HC pulls up the Centre for relying on religious texts to justify ban on gay sex and asks it to come up with scientific reports to justify it.

Nov Govt in its written submission before HC says judiciary should refrain from interfering in the issue as it is basically for Parliament to decide.

Nov 7, 2008 HC reserves verdict on pleas filed by gay rights activists seeking decriminalisation of homosexual acts.

Jul 2, 2009 HC allows plea of gay rights activists and legalises sexual activity among consenting adults of same sex.

Jul 9 Delhi astrologer challenges HC verdict in SC. Several other pleas challenging the judgment also filed.

Feb 15, 2012 SC begins final day-to-day hearing in the case.

Feb 2, 2016 SC refers curative pleas on homosexuality to five-judge bench.

June 29, 2016 SC refers the plea of celebrities like dancer N S Jauhar and hotelier Aman Nath to a bench already seized of the matter.

Aug 24, 2017: SC declares right to privacy a fundamental right under the Constitution, also observes that "sexual orientation is an essential attribute of privacy".

Jan 8, 2018: SC agrees to reconsider its 2013 decision and refers to a larger bench the plea challenging 377 of the IPC. Later, 20 former and current students of the IITs join the fight against section 377 of IPC.

July 9: SC refuses to adjourn proposed hearing by a five-judge Constitution bench on a batch of petitions challenging its verdict that had re-criminalised consensual carnal sex between two adults.

July 10: Five-judge constitution bench commences hearing on batch of pleas.

July 11: Centre leaves it to the wisdom of SC to decide the validity of Section 377.

July 12: SC rejects demand for a referendum over constitutional validity of Section 377 saying it would not go by majority opinion.

July 17: SC reserves verdict saying that the courts cannot wait for a majoritarian government to decide on enacting, amending or striking down a law if it violates fundamental rights.

Sep 6: Constitution bench unanimously decriminalises part of Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the right to equality.
Bexar County deputies arrested the man they said killed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend at her behest early Wednesday in Converse.

James DeAngelo Johnson, 22, faces a charge of murder in the death of 24-year-old Isiah Roper. Roper's girlfriend, Enederia Cherelle Flowers, 22, is also facing a murder charge in his death. Both were booked into the Bexar County Jail.

RELATED: Deputies arrest woman in fatal shooting of boyfriend

Johnson has been remanded without bond, as he had an outstanding warrant for a burglary charge, and Flowers posted bond on Thursday and was released from jail.

According to court records, Flowers and Johnson went to Roper's home in the 6600 block of Clouds Point late Tuesday night and Flowers confronted him in the front yard while armed with a knife.

Roper's sister tackled Flowers to the ground and wrested the knife from her hands, but Flowers continued the confrontation, even as Roper tried to walk away, deputies said.

Johnson then got in a car and chased Roper down the street, authorities said. According to an arrest affidavit, Roper walked into the middle of the street in the 6800 block of Twincreek Farm and yelled at Johnson.

"What?! You are going to shoot me?" he said.

Roper's family told deputies they heard Flowers tell Johnson to shoot Roper. Johnson opened fire from the driver's seat, striking Roper once in the chest, according to the arrest affidavit.

RELATED: 24-year-old man gunned down during fight in Converse is ID'd

Flowers jumped into the car and the couple fled. Roper's family tended to him until paramedics arrived and took him to San Antonio Military Medical Center, where he died just after 4:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Authorities didn't say in the affidavit what prompted the initial confrontation.

Authorities then began a city-wide hunt for the suspects. Flowers was apprehended west of downtown San Antonio, at Martin and Colorado streets, and Johnson was found on the West Side at Hamilton and Poplar streets. Both were then booked into jail on the murder charges.

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
A capital murder suspect accused of killing a man in an ambush-style slaying in July was arrested Thursday after he was caught breaking into a vehicle on the North Side, police said.

Joel Sambrano was wanted in the fatal shooting of Roy Ponce at a home in the 2200 block of Basse Road.

On Thursday, officers responded to several reports of a group of men breaking into cars at an apartment complex on West Rampart, near North Star Mall. They came across Sambrano, who "immediately took off running," said Michelle Ramos, a spokeswoman for the San Antonio Police Department.

Officers caught up and arrested him and he later told officers he was wanted on a warrant for murder. Sambrano also had warrants for assault and drug possession.

His brother, Paul Sambrano, was arrested in connection to Ponce's death in August and identified Joel Sambrano as his younger brother and one of his accomplices, according to an arrest affidavit. A third suspect, identified only as a 16-year-old boy, has also been charged in the killing.

RELATED: SAPD: Home invaders hid in attic, then fatally shot man in his North Side house

The three suspects are accused of hiding in Ponce's home until he arrived around 11 p.m. on July 30 and then fatally shooting him. The trio fled in a gray Dodge Charger, but a police officer in the area had heard the shots and rushed to the scene in time to see the Charger speed away, authorities said.

The officer caught up with the vehicle and was able to arrest Paul Sambrano and the teenage suspect. It is unclear how Joel Sambrano was able to escape arrest.

Witnesses later told police they recognized one of the suspects as a burglar who had broken into Ponce's home the night prior to the killing. According to court records, the burglar stole keys to the home, which may have allowed the three suspects to return and lie in wait for Ponce to come home.

Paul Sambrano told police the juvenile suspect asked him to drop him off at the home to meet a girl. He said he drove around the neighborhood until he heard the gunshots and went back to the home to pick up the juvenile, who was crawling from the home.

Surveillance video obtained from nearby businesses shows Paul Sambrano driving the gray car with four other men. The car arrives to the home around 10:44 p.m., shortly before the shooting occurred, the affidavit says.

It's unclear if any other suspects are wanted in connection with Ponce's death.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
Local, state and federal agents raided several locations on the East Side on Thursday, targeting 10 people suspected of gang-related drug crime.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the San Antonio Police Department and the Department of Public Safety served several federal arrest warrants, including one for Larry Johnson, 46, who was taken into custody early Thursday at an apartment in the 3600 block of Binz-Engleman, officials said. The apartment complex is near an entrance to Joint Base San Antonio  Fort Sam Houston and the San Antonio Military Medical Center.
A San Antonio police officer shot an armed man at a West Side 7-Eleven after he told police multiple times to kill him, officials said.

The 41-year-old man was taken for surgery at University Hospital and the officer who shot him has been placed on administrative leave. Neither has been identified.

RELATED: Deputies arrest woman in fatal shooting of boyfriend

According to San Antonio police, the suspect was caught shoplifting at the 7-Eleven at Culebra Road and Zarzamora Street around 1:20 a.m.

Two police officers responded to the gas station and found the suspect in the driver's seat of a vehicle in the parking lot. One of the officers told him to get out of the car, police said.

"The driver refused to cooperate, and actually was very agitated and yelled, 'Go ahead and kill me!' numerous times to the officers," said Assistant Police Chief James Flaven.

The officer unsuccessfully used a stun gun on the man twice. The second responding officer then ran to the vehicle, looked inside and saw a gun in the man's waistband, Flaven said.

Flaven said the officers backed up, and the man tried to drive away. But before he could flee, the officer who noticed the gun opened fire, striking the man multiple times.

RELATED: Man arrested by San Antonio-area police after allegedly holding 2 against their will

Flaven said the officer, who has been with the department for one year, feared for the safety of himself and his partner. Police said the driver tried to ram a police cruiser to escape the gas station parking lot.

Paramedics took the suspect to University Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his wounds. Flaven said the officer who shot him has been placed on administrative leave.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
The City Council approved an $18.3 million contract Thursday for the construction of the controversial Hardberger Park land bridge, which is expected to be completed by the spring of 2020.

Voters approved $13 million in funding for the project in the 2017 bond program, split between the parks and streets propositions. The Hardberger Park Conservancy leveraged the bond dollars to gather an additional $10 million, including $1 million from Bexar County, $2 million from a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant, $4.2 million in private donations and $2.8 million from the conservancy.

The council approved the construction contract with an 8-1-1 vote. Councilman Greg Brockhouse cast the lone vote against funding the voter-approved project and Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran abstained. Councilman Manny Pelaez was absent.

RELATED: Photos: San Antonio's Confluence Park looks breathtaking from the sky

Since the idea of a one-of-a-kind land bridge was floated, its been met with opposition from people whove deemed it the critter bridge. Theyve objected to spending tax dollars on the a project for animals when there are so many pressing needs in San Antonio.

Officials routinely note that theres not nearly enough money in the annual budget to cover all the needs across the city.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg said just before the Thursday vote that great cities pursue not only function but also beauty and aesthetics.

When we look at Hardberger Park, whether you live on the South Side, on the North Side, the West Side or the East Side, you are one of the thousands of people who visit that park every single day, you can rest assured that your feet in that park are not just a testament to that hard work but are also proving up the point that it doesnt matter where you live in this city  you should have high-quality, healthy and equitable green space, he said.

As the District 8 councilman during the lead-up to the 2017 bond, Nirenberg said he spent ample time asking residents what they wanted in the massive program. One of the constant responses he said he received was a completion of the original vision for the bifurcated, 300-acre park: a land bridge connecting the two.

Josh Baugh is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbaugh@express-news.net | Twitter: @jbaugh
It is apparent that during the roadshows public platforms are being erected at government cost.

Jaipur: In a big setback to the Vasundhara Raje government and the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rajasthan high court has ordered that no government function should be organised during chief minister Vasundhara Rajes Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra.

No public function sponsored or financed by the state would be held during the roadshow, i.e. Gaurav Yatra, the division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice G.R. Moolchandani said while deciding the PIL filed by lawyer Vibhuti Bhushan Sharma alleging misuse of government funds and functionaries for Gaurav Yatra, which is the political programme of the BJP.

The court took exception of the fact that in the garb of tenders for government works, public funds were being spent on arrangements for the CMs public meetings during Gaurav Yatra. It is apparent that during the roadshows public platforms are being erected at government cost.

Referring the state gove-rnments submission that government functions for inaugurating projects or exhibitions to give publicity to welfare schemes of the state are being organised during the yatra, the court observed, So intermingled are the state-sponsored and state-financed programmes with the Gaurav Yatra that it would be impossible to segregate one from another.

According to the court, for a common man it was difficult to distinguish between glorification of the political party and governments achievements if the chief minister inaugurates public function during Gaurav Yatra, which is a political event.
A mourning orca whale recently carried the body of her calf for 17 days after its death  an extended funeral procession brought on by the stress of human encroachment, warming ocean temperatures and a dwindling food supply.

In a way, its easy to imagine that the natural world is staging its own wake.

Wild fires raging from California to Greece dont help assuage the despair. Nor does the fact that day zero looms in Cape Town when that city may run out of drinking water. Or that northern Europe continues to suffer from one of the longest and most excessive heat waves in modern history.

Each day, it seems that there is something new related to climate change. But how do we stop it? How do we quell climate anxiety or fight from falling into climate despair?

Simply put, more of us need hope. Hope can help us inspire real solutions and productive reactions to climate change.

Optimism needs to be distinguished from hope. Much of the optimism surrounding climate change is dominated by technological imaginaries and proposals such as geoengineering the planet through solar radiation management.

This techno-optimism is often, to quote from Vaclav Havels poem Hope, the conviction that something will turn out well. But when this impulse becomes another way of greening business as usual, it conveys an unwarranted confidence and can smack at times of a mythic belief that technology will magically solve the climate crisis.

To be clear, we do need technological innovation  but the climate crisis will not be solved by technology alone. We need to shift political and government attention away from a narrow techno-optimistic focus and toward a culture that asks deeper ethical questions about the nature of a good life and good society.

Conversations needed for the cultivation of hope differ from the blind optimism that we will find technological solutions. Whereas the latter are expert-led, elite-centered and usually top-down in implementation (and therefore with limited, if no, democratic involvement of citizens), the cultivation of radical hope in the face of climate change requires the democratic mobilization of citizens and the encouragement and support for social innovation.

Climate scientist Mike Hulme suggests that climate change is not simply a matter of what we can do to the climate. It is also what the climate can do for us in terms of providing new opportunities for social change, new forms of technological innovation, and how responses to climate change might spark paradigm shifts in terms of how we conceptualize and live the good life in the 21st century.

We can start by asking questions and educating ourselves, not just about the climate, but also about how people in the past confronted seemingly intractable problems. Learning from history can help us understand how we can have hope for the future as we grapple with dramatic changes to our environment. It can also alert us to how those changes may alter our existing social and political frameworks and their associated practices and values.

This way of thinking about the issue opens a wide vista of social innovations, behavioral change and political, cultural and economic developments beyond technology. Hope rests not on technology or despair, or even activism alone, but on an engagement with the possibilities for how a combination of real social, cultural and political change might be imagined, instigated and sustained.

Hope is more difficult than optimism, but its results are more enduring and much more amenable to democratizing visions and practices of positive future as it can help us move forward.

Proverbs 29:18 says: Where there is no vision, the people perish. In the face of climate change where it is not only the people but future generations and the nonhuman world that are threatened, a shared vision based on collective and radical hope is needed more than ever.

Not only are we the people weve been waiting for, we also already have the resources we need to make the world a better place. The question becomes: Why are we waiting?

Erika Bsumek is the Eugene C. Barker Centennial Professor in American History at the University of Texas at Austin. John Barry is a professor of green political economy at Queens University Belfast. Both created the Radical Hope Syllabus .
Gandhi had sent a special request for clearance to the ministry of external affairs.

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who is on a pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar, put out pictures of the tranquil and calm waters of the lake and said there is no hatred here.

In a tweet, Mr Gandhi said, The waters of lake Mansarovar are so gentle, tranquil and calm. They give everything and lose nothing. Anyone can drink from them. There is no hatred here. This is why we worship these waters in India. He also tweeted several pictures, including that of Rakshas Tal.

During campaigning for the Karnataka elections, the plane carrying Mr Gandhi and several others had developed a technical snag enroute to Hubbali airport in Karnataka. The plane tilted heavily to the left side and dipped steeply with violent shuddering, but soon recovered and landed safely. Soon after the incident, Mr Gandhi had announced during a rally that he wanted to undertake the pilgrimage to Kailash Mansarovar. Mr Gandhi had previously called himself a janeu-dhari (sacred thread wearing) Brahmin and a devotee of Lord Shiv during the Gujarat elections.

Mr Gandhi had sent a special request for clearance to the ministry of external affairs. He is undertaking a private tour for the yatra from China. The pilgrimage could not take place until now because of the Congress chiefs packed schedule, said leaders. Last month, he had visited Germany and London. Mr Gandhi left Delhi for the pilgrimage on August 31.

After returning from Kailash Mansarovar, he is expected to head to Madhya Pradesh to launch the Congress campaign for polls in the state due later this year. The Congress chiefs temple visits while campaigning in Gujarat and Karnataka had provoked BJP allegations of soft Hindutva. The annual Kailash pilgrimage, which draws thousands each year, will end on September 8. In 2015, just after the Uttarakhand floods, Rahul had undertaken the Kedarnath yatra on foot to once again show his Hindu credentials.
NORWALK  Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff will face a rare challenge for his leadership position from a fellow Democrat hoping to push the party in a more progressive direction.

Sen. Gary Winfield of New Haven has been gathering support for his bid to take the Senate majority leader position, which Duff has held for three years. Winfield, who is black, would be the first person of color ever elected to state Senate leadership if he is successful.

Theres a feeling that we dont always know where we are going, what is at the core of what we are doing, said Winfield in an interview Thursday. We need to be more clear about how progressive we are.

He has been calling senators, door knocking on behalf of other candidates, and raising money for the party through his PAC to build support.

Duff said Thursday that he was completely unaware of Winfields challenge and surprised because he, too, considers himself a progressive.

Duff was part of a group of Democratic leaders that announced a joint Democratic value agenda during the 2018 legislative session, which included support for earned family medical leave, a liveable wage, tuition-free community college and protecting health benefits.

Winfield said he agreed with this years agenda but that in the past a clear Democratic platform was missing.

The party as a whole, not just here but nationally, has not been talking about the issues that affect working people, he said. You look at the elections this year and the surprises weve had across the country and what is evident to me is these people are back to talking about our core issues for our party. And thats something that people who consider themselves progressives should be pushing.

The Senate Democrats will vote on their caucus leadership immediately following the November election. If Republicans seize a majority in the Senate  now tied 18-18  Winfield said hes not sure what would happen to his leadership bid.

The Senate majority leader runs the Senate floor, directing which bills should be called for debate and negotiating with the minority party on the agenda, Duff said. Only the majority leader and the Senate president pro tempore can coordinate with the campaigns of Senate Democrats and spend party money to benefit them. The combination allows the majority leader to influence both law and politics.

Duff, Norwalks five-term state senator, said he expects to keep his leadership position.

Im going to continue to work hard for the caucus and build our majority, he said. I feel very confident in the support I have within the caucus and also within the candidates and challengers that are running on the Democratic line.

Winfield has been a key voice calling for the Democratic party to become more diverse this year. Winfield at the state Democratic Convention backed newcomer Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, a Latina union organizer, for lieutenant governor after dropping his own bid for the post. With tears in his eyes, he urged the party to elect candidates of color so his young children can see the rhetoric matches the reality.

Winfield, also a union organizer, chairs the legislatures Banking and Energy and Technology Committees; Duff chaired those committees before Winfield. Both legislators were a state representative prior to his election to the state Senate.

Duff, who grew up in Norwalk, works as a realtor when not at the Capitol.

emunson@hearstmediact; Twitter: @emiliemunson
ZANU PF national chairperson Oppah Muchinguri yesterday vowed that she would doorstep President Emmerson Mnangagwa on his return from China this week to protest the politburos decision to deny national hero status to the late nationalist Kiliyon Sonke Bhebhe.

Bhebhe succumbed to renal failure at his Nyakarange Farm near Chinhoyi last Tuesday and was buried on Tuesday. He was 90.

Speaking to NewsDay after visiting the family farm to pay her condolences yesterday, Muchinguri said she would demand that the decision be revisited, saying it was an insult to just provide a State-assisted funeral to such an eminent nationalist.

Im not happy with the decision taken by the politburo. There are young people who do not know the contribution of some of the members like Bhebhe. They are too young to appreciate them, she said.

Muchinguri said she would force Bhebhes issue to be deliberated again when Mnangagwa returns, insisting that a national hero status was the only befitting honour given his

contribution to the liberation struggle.

President Mnangagwa, who knows Bhebhe more than most of us here, will have other ideas on his status. Bhebhes hero status was not conclusively dealt with, she said.

Muchinguri, however, tried to play down the rift among senior and junior Zanu PF top officials.

Chiefs Council president Chief Fortune Charumbira also expressed disappointment at governments failure to declare Bhebhe a national hero.

Addressing mourners in Chinhoyi on Tuesday, Charumbira said: It is unfortunate that some of these young people dont know the contribution of people like Bhebhe. These are true heroes.

A family member, Kizito Bhebhe, expressed disappointment by the way his uncle was treated in death.

Surely this man fought in the liberation struggle more than some who are buried at the national shrine, Kizito fumed.

Bhebhe was born at Hogo in Lower Gwelo district on May 1, 1928 and engaged in political activism at a tender age.

He joined African National Congress (ANC) in 1957 and later joined National Democratic Party when ANC was banned in January 1960.

Bhebhe was arrested in 1964 and restricted to Gonakudzingwa before being moved to Gwelo Prison in 1966, but finally joined the liberation struggle in 1977 in Zambia, where he was roped into Zapus War Council, a post he held until independence in 1980.

He is survived by his wife Alice, 12 children, 40 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

In a related matter, war veterans in Bulawayo have called on Mnangagwa to accord national hero status to the late Slayi Masuku who died last week after a short illness.

Bulawayo war veterans provincial chairperson Cephas Ncube said Masuku was one of the pioneers of the liberation struggle and an outstanding Zipra cadre.

We have considered him and we are requesting from our superiors that he should be considered for the national hero status. Masuku can be declared or given the status no matter where he is buried, he said.

Zanu PF provincial chairperson Christopher Sibanda described Masuku as an unwavering and loyal party member befitting national hero status.

I was with him and he was a devoted and determined man. He came to the front in 1968 and from that time till 1980, he was at Khami Prison. Masuku managed to study and he was a retired teacher. He fell ill and we did not know about it. He died in his late 70s and we are preparing for his hero status, he said.

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Labour day in USA 2018 is celebrated on 3rd of September every year. Labor Day in USA is a federal holiday and it is celebrated annually on the first Monday of September. Workers celebrate their contributions to the well-being, development and prosperity of the country.

Photo: discovernorthiowa.com

Source: UGC

What is Labour Day in USA?

As for the history of labor day in the USA, it is known that the holiday was established in the 19th century. The first event was dedicated to the union of tradespeople. The first parade of labor was held in New York, and in 1887 this holiday was recognized in Oregon State as an official public holiday.

Today labor day in the USA is a cultural event that has national importance.

Photo: content.time.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Public holidays in Nigeria 2017

It is important not to confuse Labor Day USA holiday and International Workers Day. These holidays were separated by President Grover Cleveland. Since 1894 Labor Day has been celebrated as a separate holiday and official public holiday for the country.

There are also alternative stories of the first celebration of this day. One version of the history says the first event was organized by the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor in September 1882. It was the first public parade of different labor organizations. See also: Happy Mother's Day wishes and messages.

Fascinating facts about Labour Day in the USA

20,000 people attended the first Labour Day parade in New York, in 1882.

Photo: zimbio.com

Source: UGC

The first parade inspired other cities to make the same celebration

Because of the accident of Chicagos Haymarket Square on May 4, 1886, government decided to make the Labor Day the main holiday for workers to avoid the events in May. See also: Hausa festivals and holidays in Nigeria.

This holiday has evolved over the years . Today this holiday is a large cultural event for a whole country, but in the beginning, it was local parade in New York.

Photo: loudhere.com

Source: UGC

Bureau of Labor Statistics claims that there were 17.7 million of union members in 1983, and 14.8 million in 2017.

The National Education Association is considered the biggest union, it has 3 million members.

This holiday also has an unofficial status of the "end of summer celebration." Many people like to take two-week vacations during this time, and many fall activities begin with the start of September.

READ ALSO: History of Democracy Day in Nigeria

Source: Legit
- President Muhammadu Buhari is making progress on his trip to China

- Garba Shehu said the president has the support of his Chinese counterpart for the Mambilla project

- The power project is expected to boost Nigeria's electricity

President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly won the support of the president of China, XI Jinping, for Nigerias plan to build the 3050 Megawatts Mambilla hydroelectric power project.

This is contained in a statement issued by Garba Shehu who is the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity on Wednesday, September 5.

The president informed his Chinese counterpart that the Mambilla project remains one of the key focuses of his administration.

President Buhari also sought additional Chinese funding for four airport terminal projects.

READ ALSO: Full list of PDP presidential aspirants and their profiles

Read the statement below:

President Muhammadu Buhari Wednesday in Beijing won the crucial support of the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, for the countrys aspiration to build the 3050 Megawatts Mambila hydroelectric power project, just as the two countries signed the agreement of $328m for the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II (NICTIB II) project.

The concessional loan agreement between Galaxy Backbone Limited and Huawei Technologies Limited (HUAWEI) was signed by Nigerias Minister of Finance Kemi Adesoun and Wang Xiaotoa, Director-General, International Development Agency, in the presence of President Muhammadu Buhari and President Xi Jinping of China.

Nigeria and China also signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).

Nigerias Minister of Foreign Affairs Geoffrey Onyeama and He Lifeng, director, Chinas National Development and Reform Commission signed the OBOR- an initiative of President Xi which focuses on improving connectivity and cooperation among multiple countries spread across the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe.

Earlier during his meeting with President Xi, the Nigerian leader, while commending the Chinese government for successfully hosting the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) solicited support for the Mambilla hydropower project.

Noting that Mambilla project remains a key priority to Nigeria, the president also sought additional Chinese funding for four airport terminal projects as well as the Abuja light rail project.

President Buhari told his Chinese counterpart that since his last visit to China in 2016, the brotherly relationship between both countries had continued to flourish.

According to the President, in the past 24 months, the Chinese Government has provided humanitarian aid to our conflict-affected areas, scholarship to Nigerian youth, military training and security support to our personnel and agricultural modernization training."

President Buhari noted that in the period under review, China had provided concessionary loans to fund critical infrastructure projects in Nigeria, adding that these interventions have positively impacted millions of Nigerians and will continue to do so for generations to come.

READ ALSO: If you detain suspect beyond 48 hours you can lose your job - IGP warns FSARS

Mr President, as we celebrate these successes, I would like to once again solicit your support for the Mambilla Hydropower Project which remains a key priority for my government. Our hope is to fund the project with concessionary loans from China as any alternative funding arrangement will adversely impact the projects viability.

We have been informed that our submission on this project is undergoing assessment by the relevant Chinese agencies. We hope with your kind intervention, this assessment will be expedited. Your Excellency, Mambilla is Nigerias equivalent of the three gorges dam. My wish is that you join me for the groundbreaking ceremony of this project in the not too distant future. President Buhari said.

On Lake Chad Basin, the President thanked China for accepting to support the international efforts to recharge the Lake.

The inclusion of this project in the FOCAC Action Plan 2019 to 2021 will go a long way in supporting our efforts to rehabilitate and resettle the conflict-impacted North East region, he said.

On people-to-people relations, President Buhari told his host that in the course of his visit, he interacted with Nigerian students and entrepreneurs living in different parts of China.

I was very pleased to hear about the positive experiences these hard working and law abiding citizens are having in their host communities. I also had the pleasure of meeting young Chinese students learning three Nigerian languages.

We must continue to support such exchange programmes to enhance our people-to-people contacts, he said.

Similarly, President Buhari noted that easy movement of citizens of both countries would complement the currency swap agreements recently signed by the central banks of both countries.

Since our last meeting two years ago, Nigeria has relaxed its visa requirements to Chinese citizens. Today, I am pleased to inform Your Excellency that Chinese citizens receive Nigerian visas in less than 48 hours.

Another measure that will improve our trade volumes will be to introduce import duty waivers on Nigerias commodity exports to China. Today, our commodities such as sesame seeds, hibiscus and cassava amongst others attract import duty in China, he said.

The Nigerian leader also lauded Chinas support for two permanent seats for Africa at the United Nations, noting that the reform of the Security Council would ensure equitable representation for the continent.

In his remarks, President Xi who commended Nigerias fight against terrorism and the progress that has been made so far, promised Chinas support in capacity building and intelligence sharing.

He also pledged 50 million Chinese Yuan support to Nigerias military, noting that Buhari is as decisive in dealing with terrorism as China.

President Xi said China would import more agricultural products from Nigeria and expressed gratitude to President Buhari on Nigerias interest to participate in the forthcoming Chinese Import Fair.

The relationship between Nigeria and China is as best as ever, especially given the deepening mutual trust. China will continue to stand with Nigeria, he said.

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On Mambilla, the Chinese leader told President Buhari: We understand how critical the project is to your country and we will take a serious look at it and ensure that it succeeds because of its social and economic benefits.

Meanwhile, at a separate meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, President Buhari reaffirmed Nigeria's commitment to expanding mutually beneficial cooperation with China.

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari purchased his form from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to enable him participate in the partys primary election ahead of the 2019 presidential election.

According to Bashir Ahmad who is the personal assistant to the president on new media, the form was purchased on behalf of the president by a group of good Nigerians.

One of the presidents support groups, the Nigerian Consolidation Ambassadors Network, bought the form on Wednesday, September 5.

Nigeria News: President Buhari's Return Will Teach Nigerians Sense | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, has sent a warning message to politicians who defect from one party to another

- He said no corrupt politician who be spared in his fight against corruption

- The EFCC boss also noted that he had never received any instruction from any quarter to stop any investigation

Acting chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has said that politicians defecting from one party to another would not be shielded from prosecution by the anti-graft agency.

Legit.ng gathered that while speaking during a parley with editors in Lagos on Wednesday, September 5, Magu said there is no hiding place for such politicians in the fight against corruption by EFCC.

The fact that a politician jumps from one party to another will not stop EFCC investigation; we dont stop investigation until it is concluded.

READ ALSO: Confusion in Benin as APC chieftain defects to PDP, places curse on anyone who goes back to APC

It is only the courts that have the powers to decide on whether to exonerate or convict any indicted politician, said the EFCC chairman.

Responding to alleged interference by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Magu said that he had never received any instruction to stop any investigation.

I am not the type youll ask to stop any investigation, Magu said.

The EFCC chairman said it had become fashionable for anyone being investigated for corruption by the commission to scream political persecution.

With the general elections fast approaching, the resistance has assumed even frightening dimension with political motives imputed to most of our activities, he said.

According to Magu, the media owes Nigeria a duty not to allow the corrupt to deploy their ill-gotten riches to corner the machinery of government.

The EFCC chief, therefore, urged the media not to lend their platforms to helping the cause of the corrupt that were shedding crocodile tears.

We must all do what is right for our country, which is ensuring that those who steal our common patrimony are brought to justice, Magu said.

According to him, the EFCC has so far revealed only about 10 per cent of the monumental corruption perpetrated in the past and urged all security agencies to prioritize anti-graft fight.

You have not seen anything yet, we have not even touched 10 per cent of corruption perpetrated in the past, he said.

The EFCC boss said banks needed to strengthen internal control and urged the Central Bank to re-appraise regulatory and ethical conduct of banks in order to win the fight against corruption.

According to him, EFCC has signed memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates and Mauritius in its efforts to recover looted assets.

He expressed concern at the state of seized assets which were rotting away at various locations across the country.

On assets recovery, Magu said EFCC had recovered a total of N106.5 billion, $1.63 million, 629,000 British Pounds and 25,575 Euros this year.

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He expressed the hope that EFCC would surpass the record of 189 convictions achieved in 2017, going by over 158 convictions secured between January and August this year. (NAN)

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was alerted on an alleged corruption act ongoing in the country by foreign contractors. The alarm was raised by the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) and Connected Development (CODE).

Top Nigeria Corruption Scandals: Joshua Dariye, Olisa Metuh and Sambo Dasuki - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng News
Ismail Yakubu who is the informant who gave police information that led to the raid of the house of Chief Edwin Clark has revealed that a taxi driver gave him the information that he passed to officers.

The Punch reports that Yakubu who is an indigene of the Federal Capital Territory claimed a taxi driver told him that a sealed vehicle in the house of the Niger Delta chieftain contained ammunition.

A two-hour search of the house of Clark however yielded nothing.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Group of good Nigerians purchase N45m presidential form for Buhari

He said: The point is that I was going to Asokoro on Monday exactly 4pm. I was called to come and receive a message at the back of ECOWAS. I took a taxi from Apo roundabout. When we were on our way, I was in front and two other passengers were in the car. I noticed that the whole street was blocked and then I began to ask questions to know what was happening.

It was then the taxi man said the street is where the Niger Delta people are living. I probed further to know why the road was blocked and rowdy. He then pointed out to me to see the truck entering the compound, the compound was House 43. The truck was a white Hilux van and it was sealed. The driver said the road was blocked because the van was trying to enter the compound.

The driver said the van was filled with ammunition. As an indigene of the FCT and hearing the information. I thought to myself that why ammunition in the FCT because residents of the FCT are peace-loving people. I said I cannot take that. I asked how sure he was and he said he was sure and that was why the whole area was blocked.

On Tuesday morning, I met Inspector Sada and I narrated what I saw. I told him that I got the information from a taxi man. I told him the address and they went there to investigate."

Legit.ng previously reported that Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, decried the raid on the Abuja home of one of Nigeria's elder statesmen, Chief Edwin Clark, by the police, and called for a thorough probe into the development.

Saraki described the incident as an unwarranted harassment of the statesman, adding that the act must not be pushed under the carpet, without the public knowing all the details, especially concerning who gave the order, who signed the police search warrant, which officers executed it and what objective it was meant to achieve.

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Meanwhile, the informant, Yakubu, who allegedly gave the police false information to conduct a search on the home of Edwin Clark, has been paraded at the police headquarters in Abuja.

Lagos Police Commissioner Parades Suspected Criminals (Nigeria News) | on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Three one-chance robbers were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge

- While being chased by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad, another jumped into the Lagoon with the gangs loot

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad have arrested three one-chance robbers in Lagos while one of them reportedly jumped into the lagoon with the gangs loot.

According to a post on their page, the suspects were arrested on the Third Mainland Bridge on Monday, September 3, after a chase by the Rapid Response Squad patrol team monitoring Iyana-Oworo.

The suspects confessed that they have been engaging in the crime for more than three months.

READ ALSO: A taxi driver gave me the information - Informant who led police to Edwin Clarks house speaks

The robbers were identified as John Akinyemi, 27; Paul Oliseh, 37 and Amos Williams, 12.

The policemen after being informed that the one-chance robbers were operating around the area, chased the bus, a Volkwagen Transporter with the registration number, AKD 562 XP to the bridge.

Robber jumps into Lagos lagoon with gangs loot

Source: Facebook

After being double crossed by the officers on the Third Mainland Bridge, the robbers abandoned their vehicle and were fleeing on foot when they were arrested.

A statement by the RRS read: "One of the robbers, who was later identified as Junior, 19, was reportedly hit by speeding vehicles twice on the bridge before jumping off into the Lagoon.

According to the leaders of the gang, John Akinyemi, there were four of us. I was in charge of calling the team to work. It was our first trip for the day. We took four passengers in Estate Bus Stop in Alapere. They were going to Oshodi. We dispossessed them and dropped them off before Iyana-Oworo one after the other.

We took their phones and money. We have been doing this for more than three months. We sell the mobile phones and jewelry, and we share the money.

One of the victims, Semiu Oluwaseun, who alerted the RRS officers immediately he was thrown out of the moving bus, said the robbers collected his phone and the sum of N500,000:00.

Another victim, Jamiu Ojuroye, who was robbed on Sunday, identified John Akinyemi as the driver of the bus he was robbed in. He noted that he was robbed on Sunday night and that the robbers team took N150,000:00 from him before threw him out of the speeding bus.

Ojuroye added that after struggling with the robbers, they poured a peppery substance on his face, took his money before throwing him off around 8p.m."

The robbers were paraded by the Lagos state commissioner of police, Imohimi Edgal, at the Command Headquarters.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some armed robbers who had been terrorising the Ipaja Ayobo area of Lagos state were apprehended by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad.

According to report, the gang which specialised in breaking into innocent peoples homes in Lagos, stole vehicles and personal belongings before selling the cars to a dealer in Onitsha.

BUSTED: Police Parade Uber Driver for Allegedly Stealing Owner's Car | on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
- Senator Bukola Saraki said he was ready to debate the APC ahead of the 2019 election

- He said the APC is scared of the possibility of his emergence as PDP's presidential candidate

- The Senate president said unfortunately, the ruling party has no say in what happens in the PDP

Senate president Bukola Saraki has claimed that the All Progressives Congress is scared of his possible emergence as presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Vanguard reports that Saraki who recently left the APC for the PDP also challenged his former party to a national debate.

In a statement on Wednesday, September 5, by his spokesperson, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki said the APC has no say in whether he emerges as PDP candidate or not.

His statement is coming following statement issued by APC spokesperson, Yekinni Nabena, that Saraki has repeatedly displayed his character as extremely selfish, deceitful, untrustworthy and unreliable. His only goal is to get to the top, stay at the top, ruin or wreck whatever he finds there or in the event of failure, collapse the system or process.

READ ALSO: Robber jumps into Lagos lagoon with gangs loot

Sarakis spokesperson said: The Senate President will not be distracted by the antics of an upstart who lives in Abuja but waits to sign press statements composed for him from Lagos. When his masters show their face, we will debate all the issues they have raised and the ones they may wish to even concoct.

Dr. Saraki does not have any credibility issues except the ones concocted by these putative demagogues to whom the Senate President has become a nightmare. One should ask, what is APCs business with an aspirant of another party?

The truth is APC is scared stiff of the possibility of a Saraki candidacy. Fortunately, they have no role in deciding that.

Meanwhile, Mr. Yekinni Nabena should know by now that many people in the media believe he is a robot and has no face. Here is an opportunity for him to come out of his hiding and come on a national television to debate all the issues he has raised with one of the aides of the Senate President.

We hope he will take up this challenge and stop behaving like a masquerade. He is free to choose any independent TV station of his choice.

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Meanwhile, some aides to federal lawmakers have threatened to drag Senate president Bukola Saraki and clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Mohammed Sani-Omolori, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies.

The Nation reports that the workers, under the aegis of National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASSLAF), are protesting the confusion trailing the alleged non-payment of their entitlements totalling more than N4 billion, which include Duty Tour Allowance (DTA), 28% salary increment, among others.

Nigeria latest news: How masked DSS gunmen stormed the National Assembly (The True Story) - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Tear gas caused stampede in Cross River, when Senator John Owan-Enoh formally declared his intention to run for governorship in 2019

- The tear gassing succeeded in causing stampede and fear, leading to many officials, supporters and others scampering for safety

- Senator Owan-Enoh appealed for calm amongst his supporters and cautioned against violence

There was stampede in Ikom, the central part of Cross River, on Wednesday, September 5, when Senator John Owan-Enoh who represents Cross River Central senatorial district in the Senate, formally declared his intention to participate in the governorship race next year, Daily Trust reports.

Legit.ng gathered that the event was held at the government secondary school premises in Ikom, where there was huge attendance of supporters, political bigwigs and enthusiasts.

READ ALSO: Robber jumps into Lagos lagoon with gangs loot

It was however, not immediately known who were responsible for the tear gassing but it succeeded in causing stampede and fear, leading to many officials, supporters and others scampering for safety.

Armed thugs from political opponents were suspected to be responsible, heightening fears of reprisal.

Hafiz Inuwa, the commissioner of police, had dissociated his men from the assault and said the perpetrators would be arrested.

Senator Owan-Enoh, addressing the huge crowd, appealed for calm amongst his supporters and cautioned against violence. He said his intention to vie for the governorship was to reposition the state industrially, economically and enhance the wellbeing of the people.

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Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will cease to exist in the state in 2019.

Al-Makura made the statement on Tuesday, June 26, when dismissing fears that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will lose the coming 2019 poll.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in comatose even though the heart is still beating, but before 2019 there will be no PDP in the Nasarawan State," he said.

Lets Talk About Salaries of Nigerian Senators | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
Didi is dreaming of becoming PM and her younger brothers are looting the state in the name of syndicate business.

Kolkata: A day after the collapse of a portion of Majerhat bridge in the West Bengal capital, a political slugfest erupted with the opposition parties on Wednesday accusing the TMC government of neglecting repair and maintenance of bridges and only painting various installations blue and white.

The Trinamul Congress, however, dubbed the allegations baseless and said the state government had taken enough steps for repair of old and new bridges, which were in a dismal condition during the Left Front rule.

A section of a 50-year-old Majerhat bridge on the arterial Diamond Harbour Road in south Kolkata collapsed Tuesday evening, snuffing out one life, trapping several people and crushing many vehicles.

Mukul Roy, a former close aide of chief minister Mamata Banejee and now a BJP leader said, Painting the city blue and white, the favourite colours of Ms Banerjee, tops the agenda of the PWD department.

The repair and maintenance of bridges took a back seat. The state government and PWD department is solely responsible for the bridge collapse. The PWD minister Arup Biswas should take the responsibility, he said.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) is dreaming of becoming prime minister and her younger brothers (TMC leaders and ministers) are looting the state in the name of syndicate business. She should keep aside her prime ministerial ambitions and pay attention to the state.

Refuting the opposition charges, state urban development minister Firhad Hakim said the state government has taken enough steps to repair old bridges which were in a dilapidated state during the Left Front rule. Undertaking beautification work in the city is nothing wrong and it doesnt mean repair of bridges has been neglected. A portion of the bridge has collapsed and it is an unfortunate incident, he said. The minister said it would be wrong to make sweeping comments on this issue to score political brownie points. The engineers are inspecting on what actually led to the incident. State Congress president Adhir Chowdhu-ry demanded the state government to make public a complete report on the bridges that are in poor condition.
- The DG of NYSC, Suleiman Kazaure, has warned corps members against night parties and travelling without permission from the appropriate quarters

- He issued the warning while addressing corps members at the NYSC orientation camp in Keffi, Nasarawa state

- Kasaure also urged them to make good use of their stay in camp to prepare themselves for the future

As part of the NYSC efforts to ensure security of all corps members across the nation, Brigadier-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, the director general of National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), has urged corps members to shun night parties and unnecessary travelling without informing the appropriate authority.

The Punch reports that Kazaure gave this warning on Thursday, September 6, in Keffi local government area of Nasarawa state while addressing corps members belonging to 2018 Batch B Stream 11.

Legit.ng gathers that 1,864 corps members were duly registered from Nasarawa, Benue and Plateau states.

Kazaure in his remarks said the scheme demands commitment and patriotism of the corps members. He also added that they should take a better advantage of skills learnt in camp to develop themselves into self-reliant individuals.

He said: "The scheme demands commitment and we will continue to initiate good policies and programmes that will improve the lives of staff and the corps members. I advise corps members to always avoid night party, unnecessary journey and indecent dressing. Ensure you conduct yourself very well and be security conscious for your safety and in the interest of development of our nation."

READ ALSO: Saraki blasts APC spokesperson, challenges him to debate

"NYSC is all about unity and national integration. I have seen the cultural display by you and it means we are doing well.You must be patriotic and dedicated to service to realise the aims and objectives of the scheme. We have a lot of programmes and you are all aware that it is no longer news that white collar jobs are difficult to get"

"Take opportunities of the programmes provided by the scheme to empower yourselves with necessary skills in order to become self reliant and to contribute your quota to national development."

In her remark, Zainab Isah, the state NYSC coordinator, thanked the director-general of the scheme for his support.

She said: "I thank you most sincerely for the complete renovation of the camps multipurpose hall for the comfort of staff and corps members as well. I also wish to humbly report to the director general that this batch of corps members has been exceptionally good."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that no fewer than 19 corp members were injured on Monday in a lone accident involving a Nissan civilian bus at Danco area of Sagamu, along Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

It was reported that the injured corp members were travelling to their places of primary assignment in Ota after the three week orientation exercise.

Top 5 Ways Not To Let NYSC Service Ruin Your Relationship | Legit.ng TV

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A display of more than 500 lorries joined with wrestlers, a circus, tug 'o-war and tractor pulling teams in entertaining thousands of visitors at the Dualla Show .

Visitors to the agricultural show at Ballyowen House and surrounding fields on Sunday, August 26 also came to see some of the best cattle and sheep livestock in Munster, top class showjumping and the popular dog show.

A beautiful handmade banner made by Dualla Craft Group greeted visitors at the main entrance and a giant Hay Bear delighted children while a performance from Cashel Brass Band signalled the start of the Show.

Highlight of the livestock show classes was the Munster Aberdeen-Angus Club Bull and Heifer Calf competition. A substantial sponsorship by Barrett Agri and Southern Fuel & Farm Supplies Ltd. attracted a quality line-up of calves.

The Junior Bull and Junior Female of the Year titles were awarded to Albert and Jennifer DeCogan of Mogeely Aberdeen-Angus herd, Castlemartyr, Co. Cork. Supreme champion of Dualla Show went to Murt Ryan from the Goldstar Herd with Goldstar Falkland. In the sheep section, David Condon was breeder champion with Charlie Boland champion reserve.

A number of farm safety related demonstrations and talks compered by Mary Newman Julian took place during the livestock show to highlight the daily risks associated with working in agriculture.

Despite overnight rain, ground conditions were perfect for the showjumping. Francis Connors just pipped Tholm Keane in the Red Mills Grand Prix by 0.2 of a second. David Rayburn was fifth while local rider Jack Ryan was sixth. Patrick Joyce won the 120 Class sponsored by Super Valu Cashel.

Meanwhile, the Dog Show attracted a wide variety of dogs. Best in Show was Jenny OMeara's Irish Wolfhound Yeats. Reserve champion was Rodge, a beautiful Irish terrier owned by Willy OMeara from Fethard. Best Puppy in Show went to Kathleen Dalton from Urlingford with Teddy, a Bernese mountain dog. Young Handler of the Year was Grace Kennedy with Bailey a Cavalier King Charles/Bichon Frise cross.

The Tipperary Truck Show attracted its biggest entry to date of 536 lorries. "We were overwhelmed by the turnout of lorries and can not thank everyone enough for attending the show from near and far to make it our best to date," said Co-organiser Daire Maher. He thanked all the volunteers who helped organise the event and their sponsors, especially TRP. Truck of the Show winner was Brendan Woods with his famous Johnny Cash Scania.

The Tractor Pulling attracted the usual large attendance, who were entertained by the biggest entry of modified tractors to date. Winner of the Modified Class was Keith Leavy from Co. Longford driving Pure Mule  a standard tractor stripped down and rebuilt using a V8 engine from a Scania truck to give it around 1000hp.

In the main marquee, Sinead Delahunty gave cooking demonstrations of her healthy food recipes using locally sourced produce such as eggs from Magners Farm Moyglass.

Thanks to an improved ticketing system there were less queues for the free circus which enthralled young and old with hour long shows that ran through the afternoon with fabulous acrobatic performances, tricks and even performing geese.

Show visitors also watched a superb display of human strength in the Tug OWar. This years perpetual trophy went to the Slievenamon Team.

Elsewhere wrestlers entertained the crowds with two semi-final matches and a ladies bout before a tag team finale in which the team of Scotty Davis, Michael May and Amy Behan eventually overcame Andy Steele (USA), Gunther Issak (Germany) and Aoife Cusack.

Show Chairman Michael DArcy thanked all the show's volunteers for the massive effort they put in to make the event a success.

He also thanked the local community and residents for their understanding and patience. and landowners PJ Maher, Richard ODwyer and John Magnier for their continued support.

Condolences

Finally, the Dualla Show Committee said it wished to extend deepest sympathies to the family of Eamonn Quinlan on his untimely passing.

"Eamonn is a huge loss to the community of Dualla where he will be remembered for his kindness, generosity and intellect.

He contributed selflessly to all parts of community life and is missed dearly," said the Committee.

View more photos from the Dualla Show in this weeks edition of The Nationalist
Clonmel Lions Club are delighted to join forces with Clonmel Riding for the Disabled in organising a sponsored walk along the newly developed Blueway river walk from Clonmel to Kilsheelan at 11am on this Sunday September 9.

The main purpose of the event is to raise both awareness and much-needed funds for this very worthy and deserving cause.

Clonmel Riding for the Disabled is a completely voluntary group, set up to provide riding lessons for children with learning and physical disabilities in a very controlled and safe environment.

It has been well established that the relationship between horse and rider has very therapeutic values, both physical and psychological.

The participating young people are all pupils of Scoil Aonghusa is Cashel. Classes are held once a week in Davern's Equestrian Centre and great credit is due to the staff and management of this facility for their very generous support for the scheme.

They are delighted to have the support and assistance of Transition Year students who in turn also find the experience invaluable.

Clonmel Riding for the Disabled are affiliated to Riding for the Disabled Ireland, but as with so many such organisations funding is 100% provided by means of their own fundraising.

Clonmel Lions Club have been privileged to support the club over many years and this years event hopes to go a long way towards defraying their costs for the coming year.

The event will start at the car park at the Gas House Bridge, Clonmel at 11am. Everybody is very welcome to join in the walk, which will finish in the village in Kilsheelan following the route of the Blueway.

Participants can walk at their own pace and can join in at any of the access points along the way, including Ferryhouse and the Anner.

Refreshments will be provided along the route and also at the end of the walk. Thanks are extended to Tesco Clonmel for their support.

Having completed the walk, participants will then be ferried back to the starting point in Clonmel. All donations on the day will be very welcome and people can also pre-sponsor by contacting any of the committee members.

The Lions Club looks forward to welcoming everyone for what will be a great opportunity to support this worthy cause and also to experience the Blueway amenity, which is such an attractive and valuable asset to South Tipperary.
Now in its ninth year, Tipperary Dance Platforms International Dance Festival has been positioning dance as a medium that is particularly suited to take a look into the turbulent matters of our time, including tradition, gender, identity, ageing and continuity.

The festival, TDP 18, will be held in various venues in Tipperary, Clonmel, Thurles and Nenagh, from October 8-14.

TDP 18 is curated around the theme of literature.

The wide-ranging and adventurous programme will include a playful dance performance for children that interacts with the dizzying words of Dr. Seuss from award-winning Canadian dance artist and educator, Holly Small, who will also reinterpret the poetry of poet Doireann Ni Ghriofa with original music by renowned composer, John Oswald.

From Spain, Mariantonia Olivers work Las Muchas (The Many) looks at dance as an empowering resource with which to embrace ageing.

Mariantonia will work with local older women in Tipperary.

Irish choreographer Liz Roche will be collaborating with videographer Luca Truffarelli, visual designer Jared Donovan, composer Ray Harman and students of the MA in Contemporary Dance Performance in Limerick.

Enjoy the wide range of performances, exhibitions, live installations, screendance and master classes in an eclectic programme, which will take place in venues, galleries, libraries and cinemas, in Tipperary, Clonmel, Thurles and Nenagh, from October 8-14.

View the full programme at www.tdp-danceplatform.ie
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrapped up a two-day visit to Skopje on Thursday (6 September 2018), which focused on the countrys path toward NATO membership. At the Brussels Summit in July, Allied leaders decided to invite the government in Skopje to begin accession talks with the Alliance, which have now begun.

The visit  the Secretary Generals second to the capital this year  marked an opportunity to highlight the benefits of NATO accession, as well as progress in the reforms undertaken by Skopje. It was also an opportunity for the authorities to brief the Secretary General on their preparations for the upcoming referendum on the historic name agreement with Greece. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Mr. Stoltenberg said: NATOs door is open, but only the people of this country can decide to walk through it. So your future is in your hands. He underlined that there would be no way for the country to join NATO without implementing the name agreement, calling it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

On Wednesday, Mr. Stoltenberg had a working dinner with Prime Minister Zaev and members of his cabinet. On Thursday, the Secretary General met with President Gjorge Ivanov, as well as the President of the Parliament, Talat Xhaferi, and the Leader of the Opposition Hristijan Mickoski. He also met with the new Committee for NATO Integration, which includes Prime Minister Zaev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Radmila Sekerinska, Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, and other ministers and senior officials.

Mr. Stoltenberg also visited Stajkovci village  where soldiers and equipment from NATOs KFOR mission helped to clear roads and move debris following devastating floods in 2016. Later, the Secretary General visited the Ilinden barracks and thanked the armed forces for their service and contributions to NATO deployments. The Secretary General also took part in a ceremony to name a street in Skopje after his father Thorvald Stoltenberg, who coordinated Norwegian assistance to the capital after a devastating earthquake in 1963.

The Secretary General is travelling from Skopje to Athens, where he will meet with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will visit Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, on Thursday 13 September, to attend the ceremony marking the change of command at the Supreme Allied Command Transformation (SACT). The Secretary General will be accompanied by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the NATO Ambassadors and the Military Committee.

At the ceremony, French Air Force General Denis Mercier will hand over command to French Air Force General Andre Lanata as the new Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. The Secretary General will make remarks to mark the occasion.

Programme

11:00 local / 15:00 GMT / 17:00 CET: Ceremony of change of command (open to press)

The event will be webstreamed live on the NATO website (TBC).

Still and video images will be available on the NATO website after the event.

Accreditation:

Media wishing to attend the event must register by Sept. 10, 22h00 CET at dawn.stankus@act.nato.int or +1-757-747-3245.

More information about the event and accreditation for media are available here

For media queries:

NATO Brussels Press Office: +32 2 707 5041

NATO ACT Norfolk Public Affairs Office: + 1 757 747 3600, pao@act.nato.int

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress, @NATODepspox and @jensstoltenberg).
Dobar Den,

Prime Minister Zaev, dear Zoran,

It is a great pleasure to be back here in Skopje and to meet with you and with your ministers and many others politicians in this beautiful country. As you know, at the NATO Summit in July, Allies invited you to start accession talks. Following the agreement with Greece on the name issue. Compromise is never easy. And both sides made difficult compromises in order to reach this historic breakthrough. And look to a brighter future. So I want to thank you, Zoran, for your leadership and for your courage.

In a few weeks time, you will hold a referendum on the name agreement. This is your decision. But it is important that you make your voices heard. So I encourage voters to turn out in strong numbers. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. To become a full member of the international community. With all the benefits that this will bring. The accession talks are underway. NATO membership is now within your grasp. This is an opportunity to consolidate peace and stability in the country and the region. To gain a seat, and an equal vote, at NATOs table. And to join the most successful Alliance in history.

NATO keeps almost one billion citizens across Europe and North America safe. So joining NATO would mean having twenty-nine other countries committed to protect you and your security. Security is also the bedrock of prosperity and economic opportunity. Since Montenegro joined the Alliance last year, foreign investment from Allied countries has doubled.

So Prime Minister, We are ready. We are ready to welcome your country as NATOs 30th member.

Once your national procedures are complete, I am confident that all Allies will ratify your accession.

Zoran, I congratulate you on the progress you have made taking this country forward. Economy is picking up and reforms have been implemented.

Including on the rule of law, security and intelligence, and the defence sector.

I encourage you to continue with these reforms.

This will make you safer, stronger, and even better able to work side-by-side with NATO Allies.

You already make important contributions to international security and early today I have met some of the troops from your country that have served the NATO missions in Afghanistan and in Irak.

So thank you for your contributions to our military operations and missions.

And you also helped to promote stability in the Western Balkans.

***

Prime Minister, we want to see your country succeed.

And we will support you.

NATOs door is open.

But only the people of this country can decide to walk through it.

So your future is in your hands.

We wait for you in NATO.

Moderator [Translated]: Dear Journalists, let's go with the questions. As we have agreed, the first question is from international media. They have agreed that the Bloomberg correspondent will ask the question on their behalf.

Question [Bloomberg]: Mr Zaev, my question is to you. You've hinted a few times recently that there are signs of Russian meddling in your domestic affairs. Do you still see such signs? Do you think Russia is working to block the implementation of the name deal? And how far do you think this can go? Thank you.

Zoran Zaev [Prime Minister of Macedonia]: So, you know that [inaudible] consensus decision since 1993 in our country, is our full membership in NATO and European Union. That was confirmed two months ago really in the new declaration in our parliament. There is no alternative for my country than full membership of NATO and also parallelly full membership of European Union. We are a small country and we are a friendly country, and our intention is to build friendship with everybody, including Russia. And I hope that our citizens will have complete freedom to choose the future, what they nominated always, in the last past 25 years, that is huge expectation and huge strategic goal for everybody here in this [inaudible] country, and that is to became full member of NATO and European Union.

Moderator [Translated]: The second question from Alsat.

Question [Alsat]: Hello. Alsat Television. Knowing the importance of the national consensus for the referendum, I would like to hear from you, Mr Stoltenberg, how was your meeting with President Ivanov and your meeting with the leader of the opposition, Mickoski, because both of them have already confirmed their position against the referendum? There are voices that you weren't warmly welcomed by Ivanov. Is it true? And what about the meeting with Mickoski? Which was your message you brought to him and what about his feedback?

Jens Stoltenberg [NATO Secretary General]: I had very good meetings with both the President and with the leader of the opposition, and I think it's important when I visit this country that I meet both with the government, the Prime Minister and the Ministers, but also with the opposition, because thats part of living in a strong democracy. And for me it's also important to listen and to understand, and to listen to their concerns and their views, and therefore I think that was important for me to meet both the President and the leader of the opposition, and also with other parliamentarians.

My message in those meetings was that this is a historic opportunity for this country. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to join the international community, to become a member of NATO, to become a member of the European Union. But to do so, you have to agree to the name agreement. There is no other way. There is no alternative path into NATO. And I say that because I understand, of course, that people in this country have a wish, or have some kind of first best alternative, to say no to the agreement and yes to joining NATO. But that alternative doesnt exist. There is no way you can join NATO without the name agreement. So therefore you can either say yes to the agreement and yes to membership, or no to the agreement but thats also no to membership. The idea that there is an alternative, where you can reject the name agreement with Greece and join NATO, is an absolute and total illusion. And I think for me, as a friend of your country, I have to be honest about this. Because I was present at the Summit in Bucharest in 2008, so I know how difficult the name issue is. And for ten years we have waited for you. We are ready, 29 Allies, including Greece, decided at the Summit to invite you, decided at the Summit to start accession talks, accession talks have started, but we will not conclude the accession talks before you implement the name agreement. I understand thats difficult, but thats the alternative, either name agreement and membership or no name agreement but then no membership.

And let me also add that I really believe that it will be a good thing for all of us to work more closely together, because security is important also for economic growth, prosperity, and we see that in Montenegro, where investments from NATO Allies have doubled since they joined the Alliance. The last thing I will say is that we can actually, if you implement the name agreement, we can sign the accession protocol this winter and then you will participate. So, we have a Defence Ministerial meeting in February and your Defence Minister can be there, sit at the table, have an equal seat together with the rest of us around that table. So, if you decide to implement the name agreement, you can start to participate in NATO meetings already the day after.

Moderator [Translated]: Tamara Garanchoska from Telma Television.

Question [Telma Television] [Translated]: A question to Prime Minister Zaev. If the census at the referendum is not met, what will be the next step of the government surrounding the agreement with Greece?

Zoran Zaev [Prime Minister of Macedonia] [Translated]: I consider myself as the greatest optimist, even when the reasons for optimisms were far lesser. As 30th September is approaching, the historic day for Macedonia, I have less and less reasons to think what if, there is no what if, I am convinced that the referendum will be successful, that the majority will vote yes, and I have no dilemmas over it. But the only thing that I want, and I would like to share this with the general public, is for us all together to stand shoulder to shoulder, to start our integration into NATO and the European Union, because it will bring economic standard for our citizens, we will keep our youth here and we will have prosperity here in our own country.

Moderator [Translated]: A colleague from the Austrian television, in the second row?

Question [Austrian Television]: [inaudible] the enlargement, what the membership of Macedonia to NATO will mean means for the security situation in the Balkans? How do you evaluate this, how it will improve the security situation in the whole Western Balkans?

Jens Stoltenberg [NATO Secretary General]: Membership will contribute to stability in the whole region and I think we have seen this over many years, that the enlargement of NATO and the enlargement of the European Union has contributed to peace and stability and prosperity all over Europe, also in the region. We have NATO members here with also in the region, with Slovenia, Croatia, Albania, but also most recently Montenegro, and I think we have to have seen every time NATO has enlarged that it has contributed to stability and prosperity. So of course, if you decide to join it's your decision. NATO will never force any country into the Alliance. It's you that have to decide, but if you decide to join, by accepting the name agreement, then it'll contribute to stability in the Western Balkans. Thats important for you. It's important also for all other NATO Allies, because when our neighbourhood is more stable we are more secure, and the best way to contribute to stability is of course to also have a stronger NATO with more members, including with your country.

Moderator [Translated]: Thank you for your attention. This is the end of the press conference.
(Natural News) Democrats continue in their attempt to turn our political process into something more like mob rule, where the mob that shouts the loudest and the angriest and is the most violent, wins the debate.

As the Senate Judiciary Committee opened its session Tuesday morning to consider whether to advance POTUS Donald Trumps most recent U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the full Senate for an up-or-down confirmation vote, Democrats on the panel and in the hearing room threw away all manner of decorum and attempted to hijack the proceedings.

Democrats are angry they dont have a majority and, thus, do not get to make decisions like which SCOTUS nominees to approve and which ones to toss back into the judicial heap.

They dont like it that a president from their party isnt in the Oval Office making judicial and SCOTUS selections.

They dont like it that their party threw away the filibuster rule for judicial nominees in 2013, when the vindictive schemer, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, decided that getting President Obamas Left-wing activists appointed to the federal bench was more important than long-standing Senate tradition.

And they sure hate the fact that Donald Trump is president and that Hillary Clinton (or anyone else) isnt.

As such, theyve decided to become the party of the mob and blow up our institutions (the FBI and Justice Department come to mind) and our system of government just because they cant win with their increasingly deranged constituency.

No sooner than Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, opened Kavanaughs hearing than he was interrupted by Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who complained that Democrats were not given access to enough of Kavanaughs prior work in government and from the federal bench and thus did not have sufficient time to pore over details of his decisions, as Breitbart News documented.

No class

That said, Democrats have been demanding access to all of Kavanaughs works, which fill dozens of boxes and are said to number more than a million documents. And in truth, the objective isnt to go over Kavanaughs work as much as it is to delay his appointment to the high court before the next session begins in October or, preferably, derail it altogether. (Related: As Left explodes over Trump SCOTUS pick Kavanaugh, lets remember that unqualified Elena Kagan was put on the court by Obama for reliable liberal vote.)

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., tried to claim that since POTUS Trump is currently under investigation for Russian collusion and obstruction by special counsel Robert Mueller, he should lose his presidential right to appoint people for judicial openings. But Republicans on the panel smacked that down, noting that President Bill Clinton was allowed to appoint Stephen Breyer to the Supreme Court when he was under investigation by then-Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.

Democrats on the panel arent interested in hearing what Kavanaugh has to say. Theyre not interested in his record because they already know what it is (hes a staunch constitutionalist and Democrats only love the Constitution when it benefits them). And they certainly arent interested in decorum or fairness. Knowing they dont have the votes to stop Kavanaughs eventual confirmation, all they were doing was playing to their perpetually outraged base, giving supports a show and pretending like they have integrity.

But the most outrageous spectacles came from the unhinged Leftists in the audience, many of whom shrieked and shouted and had to be physically removed from the hearing room by police and security.

And mind you, this egregious and classless behavior occurred in front of Kavanaughs wife and two small daughters, the latter of whom will grow up wondering if the Democratic Party has any adults in it.

The Democratic Party has devolved into a shell of its former self. The only thing Democrats care about is power, period, and theyre willing to burn our system down in order to steal it.

Read more about the pathetic nature of libtard Democrat behavior at Libtards.news.

Sources include:

TheNationalSentinel.com

Breitbart.com
The arrest comes a day after the Amboli police arrested another African peddler and seized 472 gram of cocaine worth Rs 37.76 lakh from him.

Mumbai: The Malwani police arrested three persons of African origin and seized 152-gram cocaine worth Rs 15.2 lakh. The trio was apprehended from Rathodi village area in Malad. The arrest comes a day after the Amboli police arrested another African peddler and seized 472 gram of cocaine worth Rs 37.76 lakh from him.

The accused, Chukwu Godwin (32), Chukwe Ajaha (24), and Michael Kausi (22) were apprehended from opposite Cherry Studio in Malwani area on Wednesday. They had been loitering there suspiciously, following which a team of Malwani police kept a watch on their movements and apprehended them for interrogation.

When they were checked, 152 gram cocaine worth Rs 15.20 lakh was found on them. They had kept the cocaine in small packets that were found in their pockets, said an officer of Malwani police. A team headed by inspector Ashok Badhe nabbed the accused.

The accused have been booked for possession of banned narcotics substance as per the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. They have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation, police said.

The arrest comes a day after Amboli police arrested another African origin peddler with cocaine. A team headed by assistant inspector Daya Nayak laid a trap at the Sahakar road area in Jogeshwari west. At around 12.55 am on Tuesday, they spotted Femi Olyuyanka Opayemi (29), stationed at the spot suspiciously.

The officials frisked him and found white powder which later was ascertained to be 472 gram of cocaine worth Rs 37.76 lakh.
(Natural News) A herbal complex from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) might offer a safe and natural means of restoring the hair of people who suffer from spot baldness. In an animal study, Korean researchers showed that this complex could encourage bald mice to regenerate their lost hair.

The Chinese herbal complex is made from the chameleon plant, the Korean perilla, and green tea. Each of these ingredients is a herbal remedy in their own rights. The chameleon plant (Houttuynia cordata) is called Eu-Sung-Cho in Korea and China. It is a medicinal herb that is used throughout Asia over the centuries to treat various diseases. In more recent decades, the plant was shown to protect against allergies, bacteria, cancer, inflammation, and viruses. It contains multiple phytochemicals like flavonoids and polyphenols that could account for the chameleon plants beneficial properties.

Traditional Chinese medicine prescribed oral treatment of Eu-Sung-Cho as a herbal remedy for spot baldness (alopecia areata). The chameleon plant is often combined with the Korean perilla and green tea as a tri-mix complex that promotes hair growth. Like the chameleon plant, the Korean perilla (Perilla frutescens var. acuta) sees much use as a herbal remedy for various illnesses. Its anti-allergenic, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties may explain why it is effective on remedying colds, fevers, and coughs.

The third member of the trifecta is green tea, one of the most popular drinks in Asia. A separate study by Seoul National University researchers reported that the epigallocatechin-3-gallate in green tea could spur the growth of human hair by encouraging the proliferation of dermal papilla cells while stopping cellular self-destruction. (Related: Understanding baldness: Causes, types and potential home remedies.)

A traditional Chinese herbal complex aids hair regeneration in bald mice

For the new study, the Catholic University of Korea (CUK) research team shaved mice with animal clippers and hair removal cream. They tested the chameleon plant-Korean perilla-green tea complex on these bald mice to see if they could affect hair regeneration.

Two groups of mice received 200 and 400 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) doses of the herbal complex based on TCM texts. A third group received one mg/kg of finasteride, one of the two FDA-approved medicines to treat spot baldness. All treated mice received their medications for 25 days. Researchers observed the mice for hair growth and their levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-?1. Higher levels of IGF-1 corresponded with increased growth of hair follicles, while (TGF)-?1 is linked with cell regulation, including cell apoptosis/self-destruction.

The results of their experiment showed that the herbal remedy can affect IGF-1 and TGF-?1 levels. In particular, the chameleon plant part contains the phytochemical procyanidin B-2 that can inhibit TGF-?1. There may be another chemical compound in the herbal complex that likewise affects IGF-1. The result is that the IGF-1 levels are much higher in complex-treated mice than in untreated mice, while the TGF-?1 levels are correspondingly lower.

Analysis of the chameleon plant extract uncovered quercitin, rosmarinic acid, and tannins. Quercitin reduced the effect of hair loss, rosmarinic acid can protect folliculitis and aids hair growth regeneration potential, and tannins can prevent or even treat alopecia. When compared with the finasteride treatment group, the complex0-treated mice showed slightly better IGF-1 levels and slightly lower TGF-?1 levels. It should be noted that finasteride is not recommended for use by fertile or pregnant women because it could potentially cause the malformation of external genitalia in male fetuses.

The CUK researchers concluded their study by suggesting that the TCM herbal extract of the chameleon plant, Korean perilla, and green tea contained bioactive compounds that encouraged the regeneration of hair in bald mice.

Read about more possible natural solutions to spot baldness at Cures.news.

Sources include:

Science.news

ScienceDirect.com

BMCComplementAlternMed.BioMedCentral.com

OnlineLibrary.Wiley.com
(Natural News) The very first Tesla fans, who pre-ordered their own Tesla Model S in 2013, are now running into big problems with the company. As the warranty expires on their vehicles, Tesla owners are suddenly discovering they cant get aftermarket parts or repairs. Because there is a widespread lack of service centers that deal with these contentious models, Tesla owners have been forced to fix their own cars. To make matters worse, as soon as the warranty expires, the company treats its customers like they dont own a Tesla.

Model S owner Greg Furstenwerth attests to this. He has been trying to fix his own Tesla ever since the warranty expired and the company stopped trying to help him. As one of the first people to own a Tesla in the state of Hawaii, Furstenwerth was a big fan at first. The company regularly kept in contact with him and responded to his needs. Tesla even provided roadside service if Furstenwerth had a flat tire. As an avid Tesla supporter, Furstenwerth took his electric-powered Tesla on a cross country journey to prove it can go the distance. He thought gas-powered vehicles were a thing of the past. Just a few years later, as cheap parts began to break off his Tesla, Furstenwerth realized that not many mechanics want to work on these vehicles. Their durability is something to be ashamed of. (Related: Tesla caught crippling the battery life of cars, then controlling their discharge capacity from headquarters.)

Tesla service, mechanics, and car parts hard to come by

Furstenwerth found out the hard way that only a few mechanics are able to fix the Model S. Parts are hard to come by, too, unless a scrap Model S can be salvaged. Some mechanics have to use 3-D printers to recreate parts. Once he started working on his Model S, Furstenwerth remarked that it was like a lego car. Its like putting together legos [and] taking apart legos, he said. As the original Tesla models begin to fall apart and as warranties expire, more Tesla fans are going to realize that the company doesnt care that fans got hoodwinked into buying a piece of junk. Teslas own service centers have long wait lines. Prices for timely fixes can reach up to $14,000 for minor repairs.

Furstenwerth, like other Tesla fans, realized there are no diagnostic tools and no repair manuals to go by. The company, promising to be of assistance, left one of their top supporters in the dark. After speaking out to CNBC, Furstenwerth was contacted by Tesla and rewarded for being one of the first people to pre-order the Tesla.

Tesla used to call me. Theyd tell me, hey we noticed that theres something going wrong with your car. as soon as I exceeded my warranty, the interactions all went away. I was treated like I didnt really own a Tesla, he told CNBC.

Furstenwerth is now getting repair help that is not covered under the warranty. As time goes by, more Tesla owners are going to need the same help, as their Model S breaks down. Some of the first problems with the Tesla include: leaking tail lights, failing door handles, passenger windows that fall out of place, and faulty wiring. When Furstenwerth began fixing these problems on his own, he considered destroying the car. Now he tries to help other Tesla owners fix theirs.

For updates on the latest inventions, visit Inventions.News.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

MSN.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Gilbert Levin served as the lead investigator of the Labeled Release life detection experiment that was carried out on the two Viking Landers that NASA sent to Mars in 1976. Although his instrument ultimately yielded positive results at both locations, the finding has been largely memory-holed.

In a video posted to Brighteon.com, Levin talks about how his job working for the Health Department of the State of California determining water health inspired him to create his revolutionary approach using radioactive tagging. This eventually led to him being awarded a NASA contract in 1958 to develop a method to find extraterrestrial life, and his method was used in the Viking Missions in 1976.

In the video, he details how the experiment worked. Essentially, it entailed adding a drop of specially engineered radioactive food into a small cup of soil from Mars and monitoring the air above it to look for any radioactive gas that microorganisms would breathe out if present.

Few believed this would be successful on Mars, but with the first drop of the nutrient on Martian soil, a big amount of gas came out and was present for the full week of the experiment. Similar results were seen at the other landing site 4,000 miles away.

Could it have been related to chemicals in the soil rather than microorganisms? Just in case, they had an experiment ready to figure this out. They took a duplicate sample of the same soil and heated it to 160 degrees C to kill any microorganisms  a temperature that would at least kill those known on Earth  but not so high that it would destroy any oxidizing chemicals that would give a false positive. This control was carried out more than once and replicated on Viking 1 and Viking 2, ruling out the possibility that chemicals were responsible. In addition, the active sample was held in a chamber and after a few months, nothing showed up on the test, likely indicating that the microorganisms had died.

Naysayers first said the effect must be due to ultraviolet light, but when they sent out an arm to move a rock and take a sample from underneath it, the result was the same  yet for some reason, NASA wrote it off as containing no organic matter.

For the next 37 years, NASA and other scientists have been trying to explain away Levins results, but none have succeeded, nor have they reproduced any chemical that would explain away those results in a lab or even in theory.

Since his experiment, NASA has refused to send in similar life-finding experiments and rejected his proposals to carry out additional missions. Ambiguous answers would hurt their program, he believes, saying that this is motivated by politics and not science. After all, scientists who get positive results replicate and expand them, and NASA is clearly uninterested in doing that.

If there is life on Mars, he believes it must exist throughout the universe, but NASA and the government are doing everything they can to keep this information under wraps. Recently, he told The Space Show: I am certain that NASA knows there is life on Mars adding that there is substantial and circumstantial evidence for extant microbial life on Mars.

Lots of signs point to life on Mars

There are plenty of signs to support that notion. For example, NASAs Curiosity rover discovered that methane on Mars has cyclical and seasonal spikes. With more than 90 percent of Earths atmospheric methane being created by living organisms like microbes, this is pretty solid evidence of life. Not surprisingly, team members on the Curiosity mission have already tried to explain it away, saying that water rock chemistry could be responsible.

In July, the Mars Express orbiter from the European Space Agency found an underground lake under a mile of ice toward the south pole of Mars. Although evidence of water has been seen on the planet before on a smaller scale, an underground lake it pretty hard to ignore.

In fact, Levin says that with everything we know about the planet now, it would be more surprising to prove that there isnt life on Mars than that there is life on the Red ?Planet. He said that its getting to the point where the shoe is on the other foot. Its very hard to image a sterile Mars.

Sources for this article include:

Brighteon.com

GilLevin.com

Space.com
(Natural News) Facebook just took down a post by the Ann Frank Center for violating community standards. The post in question discussed the importance of Holocaust education and contained a historical image of starving Jewish children, unclothed. An identical post was also shared via Twitter, but only one social media giant saw fit to ban history: Facebook.

The censored post by the Anne Frank Center (AFC) read, These numbers are alarming, but this is why we do what we do. Currently only 10 states mandate Holocaust and Genocide Education. How do we counter ignorance about the Holocaust with knowledge, compassion, and understanding?

These numbers are alarming, but this is why we do what we do. Currently only 10 states mandate Holocaust and Genocide Education. How do we counter ignorance about the Holocaust with knowledge, compassion, and understanding? https://t.co/1xtsNLAKEx  Anne Frank Center (@AnneFrankCenter) August 21, 2018

After Facebook removed the post from their website, serious backlash ensued. The company has since walked back on the ban, and restored the post  but not before the news of their attack on history spread far and wide. The AFC was understandably angry with Facebooks blatant censorship.

Hi @Facebook, you removed our post promoting the need for Holocaust Education for apparently violating community standards. You havent given us a reason, yet allow Holocaust Denial pages to still exist. Seems a little hypocritical? (the post was the exact same as the tweet below) https://t.co/H4bYTdEQp3  Anne Frank Center (@AnneFrankCenter) August 29, 2018

After being called out, Facebook issued an apology and stated, We dont allow nude images of children on FB, but we know this is an important image of historical significance and weve restored it. Were sorry and thank you for bringing it to our attention. Facebook did not confirm if the image was flagged by an algorithm or a person, according to Business Insider.

A spokesperson for AFC told Business Insider that the organization accepts Facebooks apology. We understand the difficulty in assessing the context of potentially controversial content. That said, it shouldnt have taken us publicly calling out Facebook to restore our post. Hopefully, Facebook can revise their protocols, the spokeswoman stated.

If Facebook is serious about its community standards it should start tackling Holocaust denial and not the organizations who are trying to educate people on discrimination, facts, and history, she continued.

In another statement, AFC admonished Facebook further:

Holocaust denial dehumanizes people. It makes thousands feel unsafe. It violates the very standards Facebook lays out for it users. Yet these hate-filled propaganda pages remain. We have written to Facebook previously offering to work with them to tackle the spread of Holocaust denial and hate on its platform and to promote education. If Facebook is serious about its community standards it should start tackling Holocaust denial and not the organizations who are trying to educate people on discrimination, facts, and history.

Facebook has consistently come under fire for sanctimoniously banning ads, videos and pages for violating community standards that are never actually articulated. Earlier this summer, a political campaign ad by California conservative Elizabeth Heng was banned by the social media behemoth for multiple violations. The video contained footage of the Cambodian genocide, which is an integral part of Hengs background  this footage is what Facebook said was offensive and too shocking.

Facebook also prohibited pro-life ads this year for being too controversial  yet Planned Parenthood is banned. If it doesnt fit the left-wings narrative, it simply wont be tolerated.

See more coverage of stories about the Lefts hypocrisy at Censored.news.

Sources for this article include:

Breitbart.com

BusinessInsider.com
(Natural News) There are conservatives who have claimed that liberalism is a form of mental disorder, and in their defense, liberals everywhere continue to prove them correct.

The Left is relentless in its pursuit to disarm the American citizenry, whether or not such an objective comports with the Constitutions Second Amendment. As proof that Leftists only value our governing document when it is politically necessary, witness their defense of free speech on college and university campuses, as well as social media, only when it is speech that supports their political, social, and cultural viewpoints.

But be that as it may, its not easy in a country that is every bit of light red, generally speaking, to do away with the destruction of a fundamental right recognized by our founders: The right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and, if need be, to put an authoritarian government back in its place.

Speaking of authoritarianism, The Mary Sue features a Leftists most recent plan to neuter the Second by banning the biggest user group of firearms: Men.

Literally.

It gets even better. The arbiter of this craziness admits she isnt even from the United States (her after-story bio says she lives in the U.K.):

While some of these men may have had mental health issues, as is often discussed in the aftermath, all of these men exemplify toxic masculinityjust think of how many of them also have a history of domestic violence. Indeed, I believe that most terror attacks are influenced in some way by it, and we are greatly underestimating the threat it still poses.

If you gather from that nonsense that all men are terrorists or at least terrorists in waiting, youre perceptive. That appears to be the general sentiment. (Related: New study angers transgenders for claiming they have at least ONE mental disorder.)

It gets better, though. Not long after that passage, the writer  who is complaining about violence caused by toxic masculinity  writes this gem:

In contrast, examples of healthy or positive masculinity are protecting the ones you love, standing up for whats right, punching Nazis, and Terry Crews.

And who might the Nazis be? Of course; anyone who supports POTUS Donald Trump. Then and only then is masculine violence okay.

Masculinity and femininity are both needed for a healthy society

The bottom line is this: The writer isnt arguing for gun control as much as shes arguing for man control (thats in quotes because thats in her story headline).

What is that supposed to mean?

What I need you guys to do, though, is look around you and notice those men who get a little too angry if they lose, who react especially negatively if a woman disagrees with themmaybe youve even noticed bruises on their girlfriend or wife. If you feel strong enough, pull them aside and have a talk, man-to-man, about their behavior, especially if you know they have access to guns.

Oh.

Thankfully, she gives us her idea of what model masculinity amounts to. Men who are worried about hurting even a fly (like her husband). Men who talk about watching The Great British Bake-Off just as giddily as they talk about sports. And, presumably, any man who never gets angry, ever, for any reason, and who shuns firearms as though they were the plague.

Fine. But lets flesh this out a bit. Anger and masculinity get men through tough moments  such as when theyre in a war zone fighting to protect our country. Bravery, when its needed, can be very masculine. When brawn is needed to get a dirty or tough job done, that often takes a lot of masculinity.

Leftist women who seek to essentially ban masculinity  to ban men  from the public square have either not thought through their objectives or are living in some fantasy world most everyone else would find mentally unstable.

Read more about Left-wing libtard behavior at Libtards.news.

Sources include:

TheMarySue.com

AltLeft.news
A crane will be brought in to inspect the cracked window on the 36th floor of the tilting Millennium Tower as officials there race to meet a Friday deadline imposed by the city to vouch for the safety of the building given the latest trouble at the troubled high-rise.

Obviously theres heightened awareness given the history of the building, said Steven Mayer, president of the Millennium Tower Homeowners Association about the crack first reported by NBC Bay Area that shattered fragile nerves at the building that is now tilting 18 inches to the northwest.

Preliminary reports are that it appears to be anomalous but we are not done yet with inspections, said Mayer, a software engineer who lives in a different part of the building but just one story above where the window failed.

Getty Images

The crane will help perform an exterior inspection of the cracks that now riddle the exterior pane of the dual paned window, Mayer said. Well know better in the next three days.

The city Department issued a citation Tuesday and gave the building until Friday to assess the cracked window and report back on what caused the failure in a window that is supposed to be able to safely handle both earthquakes and hurricanes.

Tom Miller, an attorney for the homeowners association, says any danger from the failed window has been eliminated because it is now secured with silicone sealant. The sealant is holding the pieces of glass together and theres no likelihood of any piece of glass breaking off and falling.

While the crack is at the northwest corner of the building, where it is tilting the most, that may just be a coincidence, Miller says. He says the window may have failed because of a simple construction defect, Miller says.

Were getting our first look at the cracked window in San Franciscos sinking and tilting Millennium Tower that has a lot of residents worried. They are worried because it raises more concerns about stability of the high-rise thats now leaning 18 inches. When Investigative Reporter Jaxon Van Derbeken first broke this story on Tuesday, residents inside the tower did not...

We dont know, but were going to do further investigation to find out whether its really isolated or whether this is a systemic problem in the building.

The window is expected to be replaced in two weeks. Meanwhile, San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin wants the city to bring in experts to independently assess the danger to the pedestrians hundreds of feet below.

I want to make sure we have our bases covered because this is a public safety hazard, he said Wednesday.

Jerry Dodson, an engineer and attorney living in the tower, says people in the building could use some outside help to ease their fears.

Its an alarm, and it has made people in the building nervous, he said in an interview in his 42nd floor unit. At this point we need a report from the city as to whats going on. I think with a building that is sinking, tilting and twisting, it shouldnt be a surprise to anyone that you have failures in the building.
A federal appeals court has found cities cannot criminalize homeless people for sleeping or camping in public places if there is no shelter available.

In San Francisco, the city attorney's office said elements of the ruling are already in place. Homeless advocates said the ruling opens the door to re-examine all laws affecting the homeless.

"We see it as good news because there are a myriad of laws that area really hurtful that are used toward homeless people," said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director for the Coalition on Homelessness.

Friedenbach said while so-called sit-lie ordinances are not frequently enforced in the city, other homeless laws are. In addition, shelters or centers are not a good fit for everyone, Friedenbach said.

"Sometimes the city does it right, but that's a rare occassion," she said. "We want to see in all these situations the city approaching encampments in an effective way."

The San Francisco City Attorney's Office provided the following statement:

"We're analyzing the ruling to see if it may have implications for San Francisco. Aspects of this ruling are already reflected in laws we have on the books."

The City Attorney's Office noted that voters approved the sidewalk tent ban, and before removing, the city must provide advanced written notice and offer shelter or housing placement, and no criminal sanctions.

Hadar Aviram, a UC Hastings law professor, points out the San Francisco ordinance only applies to certain places and hours, which could make the decision less relevant in the city.

"I think that the city is trying to make changes not necessarily because of this, but because the situation is untenable and we're just shooting in all directions."
They have also demanded an apology from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Mumbai: All political parties in the state came out to slam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Kadam on Wednesday following his remarks about abducting a girl on the demand of some young men during the Dahi Handi festival. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded that he be sacked and that no party should give him ticket in future. The women party workers of the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) held protests against Mr Kadam across the state. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) put up posters depicting the BJP leader as the mythical Ravan in the city. Even though Mr Kadam has apologised , the opposition is demanding that action be taken against him. They have also demanded an apology from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Reacting to the controversy, Mr Thackeray said, All political parties should unitedly condemn this statement. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should show courage and take action against him. The Sena chief also mentioned other BJP leaders, who had made similar controversial remarks. Prashant Paricharak, Sripad Chhindam, and now this. These people should be punished for their remarks. All political parties must come together and not give a ticket to any of them, said Mr Thackeray.

Opposition parties demanding action against Mr Kadam, came out on road. Congress youth workers and its women-wing activists held protests across the state. During the Jan Sangharsh Yatra in Indrapur, they burned an effigy of Mr Kadam. NCPs women wing tried to hold a protest in front of Mr Kadams office in Ghatkopar but were stopped by the police. But they raised slogans against him and the BJP. Power has gone to their heads. We want strict action against him. Women are not going to listen to such things anymore, said Chitra Wagh, chief of NCPs state womens wing. MNS workers put up posters at Ghatkopar assembly constituency, which had Mr Kadam depicted as Ravan. These posters were put up by the partys Ganesh Chukkal. Kadam has defamed the citizens of Ghatkopar.
An Israeli teenager reportedly slipped and fell of a cliff and died while taking a selfie at Yosemite National Park on Wednesday, Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed to the Times of Israel.

Israels Foreign Ministry said 18-year-old Tomer Frankfurter, a resident of Jerusalem had been found dead while hiking at the national park and his body was being brought to Israel for burial.

Frankfurter was on a two-month trip to the U.S., according to his mother. She told Israeli media that he had tried to take a selfie but slipped and fell from a height of 820 feet.

Yosemite National park officials did not immediately return calls for comment.

A hiker died in May while climbing the Half Dome peak and in June, two climbers died while trying to scale El Capitan.

Yosemite recently reopened after being closed due to wildfires in the area.
Cellphone video taken aboard an American Airlines flight from Arizona to Hawaii last week appears to show a flight attendant telling a passenger that they should urinate in a plastic bag.

The Aug. 31 flight had departed Phoenix for Kona when the lavatories malfunctioned during the flight, an American Airlines spokesman said in a statement.

A passenger, who wished to not be identified, told Phoenix NBC affiliate KPNX the cabin crew made an announcement to passengers that there was a problem with the bathrooms. The woman said only one restroom at the front of the plane was open, but that the toilet was overflowing.

What do you mean I have to pee in a bag? the woman asks the flight attendant in the video.

The flight attendant tells the woman the toilets are overflowing, and that's why bags are available: "I know, it's horrible. And guys are going in bottles."

The Fort Worth-based airline said a diaper had been flushed down one of the toilets, causing the lavatory system to malfunction. Normally a flight would redirect to a nearby airport but AA said this plane didn't because of its location.

AA said customer service agents were reaching out to all 187 passengers who had been on board the Boeing 757.

"At American, lavatories must be working properly prior to departure," an AA statement read. "If an American flight is in the air, and all lavatories become inoperative, the flight will divert to the nearest suitable airport in order for maintenance to rectify the situation. Due to the location of the aircraft, the flight continued to its intended destination. The issue was subsequently rectified upon arrival in Kona, and our flight returned to Phoenix as scheduled."
The Mexican man charged with abducting and killing an Iowa college student was known for years on the dairy farm where he worked by another name: John Budd.

The alias has emerged as Cristhian Bahena Rivera's employer, a cattle operation owned by a prominent Republican family, faces questions over whether its managers were aware of any warning signs that he was in the country illegally.

The name under which Rivera was hired and paid for the last four years was confirmed by three people with knowledge of his employment history. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information during an ongoing criminal investigation. One of the people said Rivera's work identity as John Budd appears in official government records.

The employer, Yarrabee Farms, declined to confirm or deny Rivera's work identity. Lori Chesser, an immigration employment lawyer advising the farm, said that companies cannot discriminate against workers based on how they look or how their names sound.

Farm officials have said Rivera presented an out-of-state photo identification and a Social Security number when he was hired in 2014, and they believed he was the person depicted in those documents until his arrest last month.

The farm followed legal requirements to examine the documents and determined "that they appeared genuine on their face and related to the person presenting them," Chesser said. "Questioning a name or other characteristic would violate the anti-discrimination provisions of the law."

During his four years at the farm near the small town of Brooklyn, Iowa, Rivera "was called and responded to the name he used in the hiring process," Chesser said. He lived in a trailer owned by the farm as a benefit of his employment, as do about half of its 10 workers.

The farm did not use the government's voluntary E-Verify system, which allows companies to confirm the identity and eligibility of employees to work in the U.S. Farm manager Dane Lang has apologized for a mistake in falsely claiming to have used E-Verify in an initial statement on Rivera's Aug. 21 arrest, hours after he allegedly led police to Mollie Tibbetts' body in a nearby cornfield.

It's unclear whether E-Verify would have detected any red flags with Rivera's claimed identity, but the farm has said it used a different government service to confirm that the name and Social Security number matched.

Police say Rivera followed and confronted Tibbetts while she was out for a run on July 18 and later stabbed her to death. He has been jailed on $5 million bond while awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge, which carries a sentence of life in prison. The federal government has also filed an immigration detainer, which means he would be subject to deportation proceedings if acquitted.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement declined to comment on whether the agency is investigating Yarrabee Farms, which has said that it received dozens of angry phone calls after Rivera was arrested.

Tibbetts' father, Rob Tibbetts, has urged the public not to bring his daughter's death into the divisive racial debate over immigration.

"The person who is accused of taking Mollie's life is no more a reflection of the Hispanic community as white supremacists are of all white people," he wrote in an opinion piece for the Des Moines Register.

Employers typically do not face legal consequences for hiring a worker under false documents as long as they were not involved in obtaining them and had no other obvious reason to suspect they are fraudulent, said Bob Teig, a retired federal prosecutor in Iowa.

"Absent unusual circumstances, it would be difficult to show they knew any more than what they were told," Teig said, adding that it would be "pretty racist" to assume a John Budd could not be Hispanic.

Whether anyone else knew Rivera as John Budd is unclear. The 24-year-old had a Facebook page under his real name, and his account listed many friends from the central Iowa area. He has a girlfriend and a young daughter, his former attorney has said.

Rivera had neither an Iowa-issued identification under any name nor any known criminal history or interactions with police. It's unclear who owned the car that he allegedly used to circle Tibbetts.

Rivera's former defense lawyer, Allan Richards, has accused the farm and other employers in the area of turning a "blind eye" to the reality that many of their workers are in the U.S. illegally and employed under false documents. He has said that Rivera came to the U.S. when he was around 17 and has the equivalent of a middle-school education.

Erica Johnson, an advocate who directs the American Friends Service Committee's immigration program in Iowa, said the case highlights the "precarious position" that immigrant workers and their employers face.

"We have an immigration system that doesn't account for the labor needs or economic realities of Iowa businesses and farms," she said. "So what do you do? Do you rightly not racially profile people and take the information they give you because you need workers?"
Former officials say the Trump administration dismissed an intelligence assessment last year that showed refugees did not present a significant threat to the United States, NBC News reported.

Hard-liners in the administration, which has consistently sought to exaggerate the potential security threat posed by refugees, issued their own report this year that several former officials and rights groups say misstates the evidence and inflates the threat posed by people born outside the U.S.

At a meeting in September 2017 with senior officials discussing refugee admissions, a representative from the National Counterterrorism Center came ready to present a report that analyzed the possible risks presented by refugees entering the country. But before he could discuss the report, Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand dismissed the report, saying her boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, would not be guided by its findings.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said, "If we only look at what terrorists have done in the past, we will never be able to prevent future attacksWe cannot let dangerous individuals slip through the cracks and exploit our refugee program, which is why we have implemented security enhancements that would prevent such violent individuals from reaching our shores, while still upholding our humanitarian ideals."

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
Former President Barack Obama is set to launch a political offensive designed to focus his partys energies in the midterm elections, breaking from his self-imposed political exile with a message that will draw a sharp contrast with President Donald Trump.

Since leaving the White House, Obama has taken pains to remain above the political fray  sometimes to the disappointment of his fellow Democrats whove lacked a national voice to rally behind in opposing the new administration. But even as he may not target Trump by name, "no one will come away thinking he held back or held his punches," a source close to the former president told NBC News.

Obama will preview the overarching message of the midterm push Friday with a major address in downstate Illinois, less than 100 miles from where he launched his bid for the White House more than a decade ago.

The setting itself will send a message, as Obama accepts an award for ethics in government in a region that has been a conservative stronghold.
Language detectives say the key clues to who wrote the anonymous New York Times opinion piece slamming President Donald Trump may not be the odd and glimmering "lodestar," but the itty-bitty words that people usually read right over: "I," "of" and "but."

And lodestar? That could be a red herring meant to throw sleuths off track, some experts say.

Experts use a combination of language use, statistics and computer science to help figure out who wrote documents that are anonymous or possibly plagiarized. They've even solved crimes and historical mysteries that way. Some call the field forensic linguistics, others call it stylometry or simply doing "author attribution."

The field is suddenly at center stage after an unidentified "senior administration official" wrote in the Times that he or she was part of a "resistance" movement working from within the administration to curb Trump's most dangerous impulses.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook with requests to do that analysis and I just don't have the time," says Duquesne University computer and language scientist Patrick Juola.

Robert Leonard, a Hofstra University linguistics professor who has helped solve murders by examining language, says if experts could get the right number of writing samples from officials whose identities are known, "an analysis could certainly be done."

One political scientist figures there are about 50 people in the Trump administration who fit the Times' description as a senior administration official and could be the author. The key would be to look at how they write, the words they use, what words they put next to each other, spelling, punctuation and even tenses, experts say.

"Language is a set of choices. What to say, how to say and when to say it,"Juola says. "And there's a lot of different options."

One of the favorite techniques of Juola and other experts is to look at what's called "function words." These are words people use all the time but that are hard to define because they more provide function than meaning. Some examples are "of," ''with," ''the," ''a," ''over" and "and."

"We all use them but we don't use them in the same way," Juola says. "We don't use them in the same frequency." Same goes with apostrophes and other punctuation.

For example, do you say "different from" or "different than?" asks computer science and data expert Shlomo Argamon of the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Women tend to use first- and second-person pronouns more  "I," ''me" and "you"  and more present tense, Argamon says.

Men use "the," ''of," ''this" and "that" more often, he says.

"You look for clues and you try to assess the usefulness of those clues," Argamon says. But he is less optimistic that the Trump opinion piece case will be cracked for various reasons, including the New York Times' editing for style and possible efforts to fool language detectives with words that someone else likes to use such as "lodestar." Mostly, he's pessimistic because to do a proper comparison, samples from all suspects have to be gathered and have to be similar, such as all opinion columns as opposed to novels, speeches or magazine stories.

Rachel Greenstadt at Drexel University studies when people try to throw off investigators with words they don't normally use or purposeful bad spellings. She says her first instinct is that the word "lodestar"  one Vice President Mike Pence has used several times  is "a red herring." It seems too deliberate.

"Most people are still looking for sound bite-sized features like lodestar instead of trying to get a handle on the whole picture," says Hofstra's Leonard.

Greenstadt says language analysis "could kind of contribute to the picture" of who wrote the Times' opinion pieces, but she adds "by itself, I'd be concerned to use it."

Still, with the right conditions words matter.

Juola testified in about 15 trials and handled even more cases that never made it to court. His biggest case was in 2013, when a British newspaper got a tip that the book "The Cuckoo's Calling" by Robert Galbraith was really written by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling. In about an hour, Juola fed two Rowling books, "The Cuckoo's Calling" and six other novels into his computer, analyzed the language patterns with four different systems and concluded that Rowling did it.

A couple of days later, Rowling confessed.

It was far from the first time that language use fingered the real culprit. The Unabomber's brother identified him because of of his distinctive writing style. Field pioneers helped find a kidnapper who used the unique term "devil strip" for the grassy area between the sidewalk and road. The phrase is only used in parts of Ohio.

Even in politics, words are poker tells. In 1996, the novel "Primary Colors" about a Clintonesque presidential candidate set Washington abuzz trying to figure out who was the anonymous author. An analysis by a Vassar professor and other work pointed to Newsweek's Joe Klein and he finally admitted it.

But the literary sleuthing goes back to the founding of the republic. Historians had a hard time figuring out which specific Federalist Papers were written by Alexander Hamilton and which were by James Madison. A 1963 statistical analysis figured it out: One of the many clues came down to usage of the words "while" and "whilst." Madison used "whilst"; Hamilton preferred "while."

Juola says experts in the field can generally tell introverts from extroverts, men from women, education level, age, location, almost everything but astrological sign.

"The science is very good," Juola said. "It's not quite DNA. It's actually considered by some scientists to be considered the second-most accurate form of forensic identification we have because it is so good."

AP writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
A former Massachusetts State Police trooper was indicted Thursday as part of the department's ongoing overtime abuse scandal.

A grand jury indicted 56-year-old Daren DeJong on an embezzlement charge in federal court in Boston, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling. DeJong was previously arrested on July 25.

DeJong, a member of the now-defunct Troop E, retired after allegations came to light that he and other troopers received overtime pay for hours they did not work.

The overtime hours in question were part of a department initiative to increase state police presence on Interstate 90.

According to court documents, DeJong allegedly received overtime pay for hours he either did not work at all, or shifts in which he departed one to seven hours early.

DeJong earned about $200,416 in 2016, approximately $68,000 of which was from overtime. About $14,000 of that money was for hours he did not work or did not show up for.

Troop E, which was responsible for patrolling the Mass. Pike and tunnels, was disbanded in April after 21 troopers were implicated in the overtime abuse scandal.

The case remains under investigation.
The teenage boy who was killed Wednesday after being shot outside of a high school in Providence, Rhode Island has been identified.

William Parsons, 15, died from his injuries and was described by police as an "innocent bystander."

Parsons was shot around 2 p.m. after a fight broke out near the Providence Career and Technical Academy, Classical High School, and Central High School.

The teen was rushed to Hasbro Childrens Hospital, where he died.

Police Chief Col. Hugh Clements says it appears two young men were walking together and there was an altercation before shots were fired. He says police are confident the gun, which was recovered, was never in a school.

Another teenager who went to the hospital with a non-life threatening gunshot wound is now considered a suspect and Clements says charges are expected Thursday. That teen's name hasn't been released, and police say the teen is not a student at any of the nearby high schools.

After the shooting, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued a statement saying "there is too much gun violence.

"We must work together toward commonsense solutions to make our schools and communities safer. We cant just give in to apathy or allow gun industry lobbyists to block progress or weaken public safety measures," Reed said.

Counseling was offered by the state and school to students and adults affected by the shooting.
What to Know Tyler Tessier was found dead of an apparent suicide hours before he faced trial in the killing of Laura Wallen, his pregnant girlfriend.

Wallen's family expressed anger and disappointment. "We were robbed of the trial," the 31-year-old teacher's father said.

Tessier told investigators Wallen ran away because she had a relationship with a student. Then, he said black men killed her.

A man accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in Maryland last year was found dead in his jail cell early Thursday, hours before his murder trial was set to begin.

Tyler Tessier was found dead of an apparent suicide about 5:10 a.m. Thursday, Montgomery County police said. He was found at a jail facility in Clarksburg, Maryland.

Tessier was charged in the death of 31-year-old Laura Wallen, a Howard County teacher who was 13 weeks pregnant when she was killed. Wallen was found dead Sept. 13, 2017, after being missing for nine days. Her body was discovered in a shallow grave on a farm in Damascus.

Days before a search crew found Wallen's body and Tessier was charged, Tessier spoke at a news conference with Wallen's family, holding his girlfriend's mother's hand.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Wallen's family and prosecutors expressed mixed emotions about the shocking news of Tessier's death.

"We were robbed of the trial," Wallen's father, Mark Wallen, said.

"He stood our family up for the last time today," Wallen's brother-in-law said, describing all the holidays and birthdays Tessier missed.

Montgomery County prosecutor John McCarthy called Tessier a coward and psychopath, and said he stole from Wallen's family the opportunity to hear the truth about Tessier revealed to the world.

"Today would have been a reckoning for Mr. Tessier," he said.

Wallen's mother and sister wept as they spoke about her.

Tessier had pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Allen Wolf, previously said his client had "made mistakes in his personal life" but "cared deeply" about Wallen and never would have harmed her.

On Thursday, Tessier was woken up at 4 a.m. to prepare for court, the Montgomery County Department of Correction and Rehabilitation said in a statement. He was discovered hanging in his cell at 4:55 a.m. He could not be revived. EMS crews ended resuscitation efforts shortly after 5:30 a.m.

Investigators found that Tessier left in his jail cell multiple notes suggesting he had been contemplating suicide, McCarthy said. Eventually, those notes will be released, he said. A death investigation is ongoing. There is no indication of foul play.

There was no indication that Tessier was at risk of committing suicide or needed to be placed on suicide watch, McCarthy said. On Wednesday night, he talked on a jailhouse phone call with his mother about what he would wear in court.

In an unusual move, prosecutors presented at their news conference on Thursday much of the evidence against Tessier that they would have presented at trial that same day. They showed texts he sent to the woman he was engaged to, including one sent six days before Wallen was killed saying, "I could literally kill her for what she's done." Wallen contacted Tessier's fiancee after suspecting he was having a secret relationship with another woman. Prosecutors say Tessier told the second woman that Wallen was merely stalking him.

On Sept. 2, 2017, Wallen, of Olney, texted her sister and said Tessier had taken her on an "adventure" to a farm.

"Tyler has me on an adventure in the country ... don't know why I'm here but it's for something," she wrote, court records say. Wallen sent her sister a photo of a field.

After nine days missing, Wallen's body was found in a shallow grave on a large farm in Damascus. Authorities said she had been shot in the back of the head.

While Wallen was missing, Tessier pleaded for her safe return.

"If somebody has her, please understand that you've taken away a huge person in so many people's life," he said. "I don't know where she is. I don't know. I pray that she's safe and that she comes back. That's all I care about."

Police had suspected Tessier's involvement since the investigation began, and allowed him to speak at the family's news conference as an investigation strategy, Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger previously said.

"The decision to allow him to participate in that news conference was a calculated decision made by the detectives in this case for the express purpose of hearing what he had to say. It was done with the approval and knowledge of the victim's family," Manger said.

Wallen's father exploded at Tessier after he was charged.

"He is a monster and he is a liar," Mark Wallen said. "And it was absolutely the hardest thing my wife could do would be to sit next to him and hold his hand."

Tessier later gave investigators a string of elaborate explanations for her death, court documents said. First, he said she asked him to help her disappear because she had had a relationship with a former student. Then, he said African-American men kidnapped them and killed her. Then, he said she hit her head and he then shot her.

Wallen's family said she was ready to be a mom and had posted her sonogram on her refrigerator. Police said Tessier was the father of Wallen's baby and had asked her father for permission to marry her, despite being engaged to another woman.

Police said both women knew about their past relationships with Tessier, but both believed he was dating them exclusively. According to charging documents, Wallen sent Tessier's fiancee a text message on Aug. 28, 2017, asking if the two could meet.

She was reported missing a week later. Tessier told police he last saw Wallen alive Sept. 4, 2017, but her family said they hadn't seen her since three days before that.

Wallen's father said she was expecting a baby boy who she planned to name Reid.

Wallen was a beloved social studies teacher at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland. Her students and coworkers worried when she failed to show up for the first day of school on Sept. 5.

"She was exemplary," district superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano said. "She led with her heart, care and compassion."

Tessier was not charged for the death of the fetus Wallen was carrying. Based on the age of the fetus, 13 weeks, Tessier was not chargeable under Maryland law, as the fetus was not viable independent of Wallen, prosecutors previously said.

Wallen's family pushed for a change to the law, called Laura and Reids Law. It would allow prosecutors to charge suspects with murder, regardless of an unborn childs age.

Sources had previously told News4 Tessier died at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Rockville.

CORRECTION (Sept. 6, 9:20 a.m.): An earlier version of this story said jury selection for Tessier's trial was scheduled to begin Thursday. However, jury selection took place Tuesday and Wednesday, and opening arguments were scheduled to begin Thursday.



DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELP: Anyone affected by domestic violence, including friends and family members concerned about a loved one, can receive confidential help, advice, information or crisis intervention by calling the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visiting the website thehotline.org, which offers a live chat service.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: Here is information on suicide prevention from the National Institute of Mental Health. If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting Home to 741741.
A conspiracy theorist linked to both ex-Trump aide Roger Stone and Infowars host Alex Jones has been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., Friday as part of special counsel Robert Muellers probe, his attorney David Gray said.

Jerome Corsi, who authored the books "Wheres the Birth Certificate?" and "Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump" intends to comply with the Mueller teams subpoena, Gray said.

As Gray told NBC News, Corsi expects to face questions about his relationship with Stone, who is suspected of communicating with Wikileaks and hacker Guccifer 2.0  both entities allegedly involved in releasing hacked Democratic emails obtained by Russia-linked agencies  during the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign.

Corsis name first came up in the Mueller probe in March. As first reported by NBC News, Trump ally and Corsi associate Ted Malloch was detained at Bostons Logan Airport and questioned by the FBI.

Malloch said federal agents questioned him about Stone, Corsi and WikiLeaks. Malloch said he told them he met Stone a total of three times and always with groups of people, and that Corsi had helped edit one of his books years ago.

The Corsi subpoena was first reported by the New York Times. A spokesperson for the special counsels office declined to comment.
The submarine is the second of the six Scorpene class submarines, which are to be handed over to the Indian Navy.

Mumbai: The second submarine INS Kandheri by the shipbuilder Mazgaon Dock Limited (MDL) will be commissioned in next three months, revealed the officials from the dock. The submarine is the second of the six Scorpene class submarines, which are to be handed over to the Indian Navy.

INS Kandheri is the latest and unique model with features that will enable the functions of submarine with a click of a mouse. INS Kalvari, the first submarine, was handed over to the Navy in December 2017.

Of the 600 per cent work, 520 per cent of work has been done, remaining 80 per cent of trials, dives and testings are required to be done by 2020. The second boat will be commissioned this year, while the third one (INS Karanj) will be commissioned next year, said Captain Raj-eev Lath, director (Subm-arine and Heavy Engine-ering).

The MDL possesses large workshops, which have the capacity of building 11 submarines at a time. The mentioned submarine is built with integrated technology with French Combat system and Spanish tech for rest of the platform.

The submarine is unique with features like a smart phone, any pump, valve can be moved or closed in a click. Such works initially required worker intervention, said a spokesperson from MDL. He further added, There is 60 km of cabling and 10 km of piping done in the submarine to manage everything through the control room. The work for the submarine was started in around 2008, it costs approximately `6,000 crore to build a submarine. These submarines are designed to fire torpedoes and anti-ship missiles.

INS Kandheri is upg-raded with the features that were introduced elsewhere in 2012, next the company officials stated that they plan to go wireless if more orders are received.

The Scorpene deal was signed in India in 2005 and reportedly the first submarine was supposed to be delivered in 2012.

Did you know?
Enrollment is continuing a steep decline at Southern Illinois University's Carbondale campus, with nearly 12 percent fewer students this fall semester.

The drop to 12,817 students follows enrollment declines of 7.5 percent in 2016 and 9 percent in 2017. The Southern Illinoisan reports the Carbondale enrollment is about half of its 1991 peak of 24,869 students.

The university's Edwardsville campus reported a 3.7 percent enrollment drop to 13,281 students.

The Carbondale campus saw a nearly 20 percent smaller incoming class. Chancellor Carlo Montemagno says a larger drop was projected before the SIU Foundation and the Alumni Association offered more financial support for new and returning students.

University President Randy Dunn resigned in July after criticism over his proposal to shift $5 million in state funding from the Carbondale campus to Edwardsville.
A U.S. soldier from the San Diego area has died from a non-combat related injury at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Diobanjo S. Sanagustin, 32, died Tuesday in an incident currently under investigation, the DoD said. No other details were released.

Sanagustin, of National City, was assigned to 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Carson, Colorado.

He was in Afghanistan supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel, an overseas counterterrorism mission, the DoD said.

Sanagustin was given over 20 awards throughout his service.

He served as a squad leader within the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. His commander, Lt. Col. David Uthlaut, said Sanagustin made a lasting impact on his unit and his memory will be cherished.

He joined the army in May 2007 and deployed three times  once each to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, Stars and Stripes reported.

He was originally from the Philippines and became a U.S. citizen in 2008 during a ceremony with other members of the military in Kuwait, the Associated Press reported.
The New Haven Police union has put up two digital billboard ads near the I-91 & I-95 interchange as part of their push for better pay.

The department is down more than 85 officers. Chief Anthony Campbell told NBC Connecticut the shortage is only expected to get worse by the end of the year.

Low pay, police dont stay, said Craig Miller, president of Elm City Local, quoting one of the ads.

The second digital ad says, In three years, 34 officers left New Haven for better pay or benefits.

It falls back on public safety, Miller said. We need to be fully staffed to protect the public, to perform our duties as police officers."

The starting officer salary of about $44,000 may be the lowest for law enforcement in the state, Campbell said.

When you look at our sister cities Hartford and Bridgeport, they both start out significantly more than we do," Campbell added.

After more than two years without a contract and pay increase, the New Haven Police Union and the city are headed to arbitration next month.

"I believe the billboard is true, Campbell said. This is something that we've been talking about for years, if you don't pay your officers competitively they're not going to stay."

According to Campbell, many members of his department cannot afford to live in New Haven.

"At the end of the day people are dedicated and loyal first and foremost to their families, he said. They have bills to pay."

After more retirements by the end of the year, New Haven could be down more than 130 police officers.

Members of the New Haven Police Department comprise what I believe is the best-trained and most effective law enforcement agency in Connecticut, Mayor Toni Harp (D) said in a statement. The current, binding arbitration process will yield a new contract to provide them with appropriate compensation for their efforts given the citys current ability to provide that compensation.

Earlier this summer, Harp defended handing out pay raises to her own staff.

When I heard about her staff getting raises I didn't know about this problem with the police department, but now that I know it infuriates me even more," New Haven taxpayer Kimberly Hart said.

The city is still safe with officers working overtime, Campbell said, but he added there may be a breaking point.

"It may come down to us looking at reducing the size of our department in order to increase pay," Campbell said.
Naugatuck police have found a family that previously hadn't been heard from since Aug. 11.

Police said they were first notified the family might be missing when they received a report from the Naugatuck School system. School officials said they could not locate two children, identified as 11-year-old Samantha Bravo and 14-year-old Christopher Bravo, who were enrolled last year and were last seen in June.

Naugatuck police went by the family's last known address and found the home had been sold. The parents, 43-year-old Andres Bravo and 33-year-old Jennifer Cubillos, had told family members that they were moving to Florida. Family members said they last saw the parents in late June or early July, and had heard from them by text message until around Aug 11.

The latest text messages suggested the family needed money for car insurance and were trying to return to Connecticut.

Police said all four members of the family were found safe and unharmed on Monday. The family was listed as missing through the National Crime Information Center and authorities issued Silver Alerts for the children.

Officials have not released details about where the family was found and said there is no criminal aspect to the situation.
New Haven police have arrested a school bus driver after two Wilbur Cross High School special needs students were left on the bus Thursday.

Police said the driver, 53-year-old Marilena Monroy, of New Haven, told officers said was unaware there were children still on the bus.

Police said the students on the bus were a 17-year-old girl who is non-verbal and suffers from several health disorders and a 16-year-old boy who has autism. The boy called his mother and told her he was locked in the school bus after the driver left them there.

The boys mother was able to track her sons location through his phone, drove to Woodward Avenue, found the bus and called police at 12:15 p.m.

The report says the bus wasnt running and the tinted windows were all closed, except for the drivers window, which was open slightly. The outside temperature at the time was 90 degrees, police said.

When officers opened the door, they found the children, who were alert and able to walk off the bus. Officer Francisco Ortiz located the student pickup list. Through the process of elimination, he identified the girl, drove to her home, found her father and brought him back to the bus.

She was later taken to Yale-New Haven Childrens Hospital to be further evaluated and she was released after being checked out.

Police said they viewed the bus camera system, which indicated that driver parked the bus at 11:44 a.m. and the students were inside, alone for at least a half-hour.

Ortiz called the New Haven Police Department school resource officers, who informed administrators and counselors and they responded to the scene.

The driver was not at her apartment and police called the bus company, which called the driver, who returned to the bus.

Monroy told police she drove home after she thought all the students had been dropped off, a relative picked her up and left the property. Then when her employer called her, she returned promptly.

She was charged with two counts of risk of injury to children.

The State Department of Children and Families was notified and a case opened.

Officials from the New Haven Board of Education have said there were several clear violations of protocol, committed by the driver, according to police.

New Haven Public Schools COO Will Clark confirmed that district staff, along with New Haven Police, the state Department of Children and Families and bus company staff all responded.

He said in a statement that the students were checked and appear to be OK.

Leaving the vehicle with students on it is an unacceptable breach of training and protocol. The expectation of the District is that these protocols are followed every time on every run. Anything short of that is unacceptable as a breach of the contractual duty and obligations of safety, Clark wrote.
Police in Burlington, Vt. said the person being questioned in connection with white powder scares in Hartford may also have sent a series of threatening emails to officials in Vermont.

Gary Gravelle, who police said also goes by the name Roland Prejean, was taken into custody Wednesday in New Haven on unrelated charges.

Police believe Gravelle sent a series of threatening emails to "Burlington schools, the airport, civic institutions and public officials," Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo said.

Del Pozo said in the emails Gravelle threatened "to engage in a spress of murderous violence against the community."

Police said they do not believe the threats presented an actual danger to the community and no other people are being sought at this time.

New Haven officials said bomb threats emailed to administrators of five buildings in New Haven Thursday may also be connected to the Hartford white powder threats, according to Rick Fontana, New Havens director of emergency operations.
The State Insurance Department is holding a public hearing on Wednesday about individual insurance rates through Access Health CT for 2019.

Both Athem and ConnectiCare are asking the state permission to charge more money.

Anthem wants to charge nine percent more than last year, while ConnectiCare wants to charge 13 percent more.

Both insurance companies are blaming the rising costs of healthcare and the Trump administration for the increase.

The insurance companies told the state that because the federal government is not penalizing people for not buying insurance, less money is therefore available to pay for more expensive patients.

Before President Trump was elected in 2016, these same insurance companies were asking for major rate increases of as much as 27 percent.

The public hearing starts at 10 a.m and takes place on the seventh floor at the State Insurance Department building at 153 Market Street in Hartford. If you park in the Morgan Street Garage and bring your ticket inside, you will not pay for parking, officials said.
Republican nominee for governor Bob Stefanowski made his first visit to a home with a crumbling foundation Wednesday.

Stefanowski admitted the issue had not been on his radar up until he decided to run for governor last year.

"I wasn't personally aware of it before I started running for governor, Stefanowski said. There wasn't in that part of the state a lot of press around it."

The Madison businessman traveled to the home Willington home of Tim Heim, one of the most outspoken and politically active homeowners from Eastern Connecticut with a home with a crumbling foundation.

Stefanowski made his visit to Heims home after the GOP primary, even as his primary rival David Stemerman made a visit in the weeks before the August 14 election.

Ned Lamont, the Democratic nominee for governor, made a visit to Heims home back in January, roughly four months before he won the partys endorsement.

Stefanowski, who spent his career in business with large corporations like General Electric and UBS, proposed going back to the federal government for assistance in paying for repairs and new foundations for impacted homeowners.

The presidential administrations of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump have, so far, denied the state federal funds, saying the issue did not rise to the level of a full-fledged natural disaster.

Brushing off that fact, Stefanowski said the state should try again.

"I do think if we had better relations with Washington and the state of Connecticut, we might be better prepared to get funding, he said. I think we need more testing. Maybe there is something we can do on foundations that have this mineral that haven't started to crack yet."

Heim, who has testified at the State Capitol and kept the issue top of mind for Eastern Connecticut lawmakers, said he is simply happy to have the issue take up some time on the campaign trail. He hopes whoever wins the governors race takes the issue seriously when they take office.

"Anybody can say anything in front of a camera, Heim said. It's what happens when the camera is off and it's the follow through."

Lamonts campaign provided a statement on his strategy for addressing crumbling foundations, saying, As Governor, I will bring everyone to the table to make sure we address this solution for families that are struggling now and to make sure this never happens again.

He went on to add, I will convene homeowners, banks, insurers, and representatives from the local, state and federal levels to address the crisis, support homeowners, provide property tax relief, and prohibit affected concrete from being recycled into new foundations."
The substance that prompted investigations into four white powder incidents in Hartford Wednesday was baby powder, according to Hartford fire chief Reginald Freeman.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said 51-year-old Gary Gravelle, of New Haven, is being questioned in connection with these incidents. Gravelle was arrested on a supervised release violation unrelated to this case and is in custody. Officials said no charges have been filed in connection with the white powder incidents.

Gravelle is known to federal authorities. In 2013, he was sentenced in Bridgeport federal court to 70 months in prison for mailing threatening letters and he was released from federal prison in November 2015.

One white powder incident Wednesday was at 450 Columbus Blvd., which houses the Department of Education. State troopers responded to the building at 11:04 a.m.

At the federal courthouse at 450 Main St. in Hartford, two envelopes were found containing letters and white powder, according to two state sources. Fire officials said one female was taken by ambulance to Hartford Hospital as a precaution.

A third incident occurred at 21 Oak St., a state building behind the state courthouse. Firefighters at the scene said the building was not evacuated and the incident was contained to a small area.

NBC BAY AREA

The fourth incident happened at 10 Columbus Blvd. in Hartford.

Federal officials said Thursday morning that an investigation at Motel 6 in Southington is connected, but no additional information was immediately available on how.

A white powder incident was also reported at 25 North St. in Bristol, the First Bristol Federal Credit Union building, though it is unclear if it is related or if it was the same substance.

Police said a female employee at First Bristol Credit Union discovered white powder while opening an envelope. The Bristol fire and police departments responded and the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were called.

Gov. Dannel Malloy released a statement Wednesday afternoon about the threat and response.

The Connecticut State Police was notified of a threat at the Grasso-Fauliso State Office Building and the federal courthouse in downtown Hartford and immediately responded. Special units are on site and working closely with our federal and local partners to assess the situation. The State Police will be taking every measure to protect the safety and security of personnel and visitors in the buildings and surrounding areas. We are monitoring the situation very closely and will provide further updates as the investigation progresses, Malloy said in a statement.

DEEP is supposed to test the powders. Federal officials said Thursday morning that they do not have any information to provide yet on what was in the letters.

Anyone with information that could help with the investigation is asked to call the FBI at 203-777-6311.
Pak continues to expand its nuclear arsenal with more warheads, more delivery systems and a growing fissile materials production industry.

The current estimate of 140 to 150 nuclear weapons exceeds the projection made by the US Defence Intelligence Agency in 1999 that Pakistan would have 60 to 80 warheads by 2020. (Representational Image)

Islamabad/Washington: Pakistan currently has 140 to 150 nuclear warheads and the stockpile is expected to increase to 220 to 250 by 2025 if the current trend continues, according to a latest report by authors keeping a track of the country's nukes.

The current estimate of 140 to 150 nuclear weapons exceeds the projection made by the US Defence Intelligence Agency in 1999 that Pakistan would have 60 to 80 warheads by 2020.

"We estimate that the country's stockpile could more realistically grow to 220 to 250 warheads by 2025, if the current trend continues. If that happens, it would make Pakistan the world's fifth-largest nuclear weapon state," Hans M Kristensen, Robert S Norris and Julia Diamond said in the report 'Pakistani nuclear forces 2018'.

Kristensen, the lead author, is the director of the Nuclear Information Project with the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) in Washington, DC.

Over the past decade, the US assessment of nuclear weapons security in Pakistan appears to have changed considerably from confidence to concern, particularly as a result of the introduction of tactical nuclear weapons, the report said.

"With several delivery systems in development, four plutonium production reactors, and its uranium enrichment facilities expanding, however, Pakistan has a stockpile that will likely increase further over the next 10 years," says the report.

Pakistan continues to expand its nuclear arsenal with more warheads, more delivery systems and a growing fissile materials production industry, it said.

"Analysis of a large number of commercial satellite images of Pakistani army garrisons and air force bases shows what appear to be mobile launchers and underground facilities that might be related to nuclear forces," said the report.

The authors observe that the size of the increase will depend on many factors.

Two key factors will be how many nuclear-capable launchers Pakistan plans to deploy, and how much the Indian nuclear arsenal grows.

"Speculation that Pakistan may become the world's third-largest nuclear weapon state - with a stockpile of some 350 warheads a decade from now - are, we believe, exaggerated, not least because that would require a buildup two to three times faster than the growth rate over the past two decades," the authors said.

According to the report, Pakistan is modifying its nuclear posture with new short-range nuclear-capable weapon systems to counter military threats below the strategic level.

"The efforts seek to create a full-spectrum deterrent that is designed not only to respond to nuclear attacks, but also to counter an Indian conventional incursion onto Pakistani territory," it said.

"This development has created considerable concern in other countries, including the United States, which fears that it lowers the threshold for nuclear use in a military conflict with India," the report added.
Senate Democrats mounted a last, ferocious attempt Thursday to paint Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a foe of abortion rights and a likely defender of President Donald Trump if he makes it to the high court. But their chances of blocking Trump's nominee seemed to fade away by the end of a second marathon day of testimony in his confirmation hearing.

Questioning of the 53-year-old appellate judge wound down without him revealing much about his judicial stances or making any serious mistakes that might jeopardize his confirmation. In what almost seemed like a celebration, Kavanaugh's two daughters returned to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room for the final hours of testimony, accompanied by teammates on Catholic school basketball teams their father has coached.

The hearing pivoted during the day to Roe v. Wade, the high court's landmark abortion case. The Democrats' best hope of stopping Kavanaugh  who could swing the court further the right for decades  would be branding him as a justice who might vote to overturn the ruling, attracting the votes of two Republican senators who support abortion rights.

A newly disclosed email suggested he once indicated the abortion case was not settled law, though Kavanaugh denied in the hearing that he had been expressing his personal views on the issue.

The tone in the email from 2003 contrasted with his responses to questions on Wednesday when he stressed how difficult it is to overturn precedents like Roe. In the email, Kavanaugh was reviewing a potential op-ed article in support of two judicial nominees while he was working at the George W. Bush White House. The document had been held by the committee as confidential, but was made public Thursday.

"I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so," Kavanaugh wrote, referring to justices at the time, in an email to a Republican Senate aide. The document was partially redacted.

Asked about it by the committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein of California, Kavanaugh reiterated his previous testimony that "Roe v. Wade is an important precedent of the Supreme Court."

Democrats also hammered at Kavanaugh's ability to separate himself from Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Throughout his testimony, Kavanaugh has repeatedly insisted he fully embraces the importance of judicial independence.

Campaigning in Montana Thursday night, Trump said Kavanaugh deserves bipartisan support and criticized the "anger and the meanness on the other side it's sick."

In the hearing room, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois put the focus on Trump, who Durbin said, "has shown contempt for the federal judiciary and has shown disrespect for the rule of law over and over again."

"It's in the context of the Trump presidency that we ask you these questions," Durbin said.

Kavanaugh refused to answer questions about Trump or commit to stepping aside from any case about the Russia investigation that might come to the Supreme Court. When Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut invited him to denounce Trump's criticism of federal judges, the nominee demurred.

"The way we stand up is by deciding cases and controversies independently without fear or favor," Kavanaugh said.

Earlier, he said his 12-year record as an appellate judge shows that he has not been afraid to invalidate executive branch actions. Kavanaugh said that he has made clear that a court order "that requires a president to do something or prohibits a president from doing something ... is the final word in our system."

Late Wednesday evening, Kavanaugh seemed to stumble at first when questioned by Democrat Kamala Harris of California about whom he might have spoken with at a law firm concerning the investigation into Russian election meddling. The firm in question was founded by Marc Kasowitz, who has represented Trump.

Kavanaugh eventually said he couldn't think of any such conversations but would need to see a list of the firm's lawyers. In questioning Thursday, he said more directly that he had no such conversations.

On a separate track, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Durbin have led the charge in suggesting that Kavanaugh misled them in earlier testimony, an allegation the nominee firmly denied with the enthusiastic backing of Senate Republicans.

Much of the debate among senators has focused more on the disclosure of documents than on Kavanaugh's record.

Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, along with Harris  both potential presidential candidates in 2020  said he was willing to risk fallout over releasing confidential documents about Kavanaugh's views on race. Republican John Cornyn of Texas warned him that senators could be expelled for violating confidentially rules. Democrats and Booker responded, "Bring it on."

In fact, some of the documents the Democrats wanted disclosed had been released hours earlier, in a pre-dawn disclosure approved by Bill Burck, the GOP attorney who serves as presidential records lawyer for Bush.

"We were surprised to learn about Senator Booker's histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly," Burck said by email. Booker had sought release late Wednesday, after questioning Kavanaugh on race and drawing rebuke from his colleagues for disclosing the confidential documents. They were made available after 3 a.m. Thursday.

Booker's spokeswoman said that only by raising the issue publicly was the senator able to "shame the committee into agreeing" to release the pages to the public.

The document battle stemmed from Kavanaugh's unusually long paper trail following his years in the Bush White House. The panel's process resulted in hundreds of thousands of pages of Kavanaugh's documents being withheld as confidential or kept from release under presidential privilege by the Trump White House.

Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who released more documents Thursday, stood by his handling of the issue.

"My process was fair," Grassley declared.

Protesters have repeatedly tried to interrupt the hearing, which has carried strong political overtones ahead of the November congressional elections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the protesters' "unhinged antics" as powerless to stop Trump's choice. "There's no hecklers' veto," he said.

Republicans hope to confirm Kavanaugh in time for the first day of the new Supreme Court term, Oct. 1.
Democrat William Tong, running to become Connecticuts next attorney general, says defending Connecticut from policies pushed by the Trump administration is one of the most important parts of his campaign.

He says voters are looking for someone to stand up to President Donald Trump.

They know what Donald Trump is doing in Washington is doing tremendous damage to our families and our communities and so I know Sue Hatfield doesn't want to talk about Donald Trump, she says she wants to talk about Connecticut. This is about Connecticut.

Tong is making his second attempt at statewide office. He ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate in 2012, dropping out the primary before Chris Murphy eventually won the vacant seat. Tong, who currently represents Stamford in the General Assembly, also ran an unsuccessful bid for mayor of Stamford.

Hes looking to replace George Jepsen, Connecticuts attorney general for the past eight years, who decided not to run for reelection.

Tong says his ideology has much in common with Jepsen, and his predecessor, Richard Blumenthal, saying he will be very public and vocal on issues hes advocating for, while also working behind the scenes to further causes he supports.

"I've often been asked am I more Blumenthal or am I more Jepsen, and the answer is I'm both, and I'm also my own person."

Tong faces Republican nominee Sue Hatfield in the November general election. Hatfield is a state prosecutor in Pomfret who ran away with the GOP nomination last month.

Hatfield, whos worked for the state for a year, criticized Tong last month over his qualifications to serve as attorney general, intimating that he may not meet the states qualifications for the job.

Similar rumors made their way through Democratic circles in the run up to the primary last month, and Tong beat them back once again. Tong has worked at a corporate law firm in Stamford for more than a decade, working on civil cases and other matters.

"It's just not true and it comes as no surprise that the Republican nominee is making these claims, Tong said. She's a Trump delegate and she's adopted a birther-like obsession with my qualifications. There's just no basis to it. I've answered question after question.

He would not challenge Hatfields specific qualifications to hold the office, but did say her legal experience does not put her in a position to run the office of the attorney general on day one.

Being a prosecutor, thats just not what the attorney general does and it doesn't prepare you for the job of leading a major state agency of 200 lawyers, investigators and staff and being the state's lawyer."
NBC 5 Investigates has learned passengers on four Southwest Airlines flights in Texas may have been exposed to measles in the last 16 days.



Southwest Airlines confirmed passengers on two flights in and out of Dallas Love Field are among those who may have been exposed and that they are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to notify passengers who were on the flights.



The CDC typically notifies passengers within two rows of an infected person, but with Southwest's open seating policy it's hard to know who sat where so everyone on the flights will be notified.



A passenger later diagnosed with measles flew on the following flights:

Tuesday, Aug. 21

Flight 5 from Dallas Love to Houston Hobby

Flight 9 from Houston Hobby to Harlingen

Wednesday, Aug. 22

Flight 665 from Harlingen to Houston Hobby

Flight 44 from Houston Hobby to Dallas Love

Passengers on those four flights are now being told to monitor themselves for symptoms of the measles, including fever, cough and a rash.



Measles is highly contagious and is spread through the air when people cough or sneeze.



The Dallas County Health and Human Services Department reached out to one passenger with a letter that warned "the incubation period can be up to 21 days after exposure. It is very important for you to watch for symptoms of measles through Sept. 11, 2018."



A passenger who received that letter, Monica Nicholas, told NBC 5 Investigates she is now concerned about some symptoms she has.



"Mostly, like I said, rash appeared on my legs. I did speak to the health department and explained my symptoms, so their advice was to go to the doctor. They didn't think that it may or may not be measles but they advised me to visit my physician," Nicholas said.



Southwest Airlines said their fleet is subjected to rigorous cleaning and that every aircraft uses hospital-quality HEPA air filtration in the cabin. Additionally, they have also notified employees on those flights of the situation.



Health officials said they have not seen any case yet where passengers on those flights have become infected with measles but they're asking passengers to monitor themselves closely.
A federal judge in Texas has again blocked the state from requiring abortion clinics to bury or cremate fetal remains.

The ruling Wednesday is another court defeat for Texas over an anti-abortion law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last year. Judges haven't allowed efforts to mandate fetal remain burial or let Texas ban a common second-trimester abortion procedure.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra said the requirement would put "substantial obstacles" in the path of a women's right to an abortion. He had already issued a temporary injunction against the measure earlier this year.

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling disappointing and said his office will continue to fight.
After years of debate, a nonprofit management plan for Fair Park was endorsed by the Dallas Park Board Thursday.

In a 13-2 vote, the board sent the plan to the Dallas City Council in time for including it in a new city budget this month.

Officials said city money will still be required from taxpayers, but much less than other options for operating and maintaining the park.

Its time to do something, said Park Board President Bobby Abtahi. Its time to put the park back in Fair Park and its time to take care of that neighborhood. This has been far too long. We have an opportunity to do something that our predecessors, for some reason, did not. And I think its a good day.

The resolution approved Thursday included a list of additional recommendations for City Council amendments to the plan.

It doesnt mean that the City Council is going to adopt this, said Park Board Member Bo Slaughter.

He and Member Yolanda Williams voted against the plan, complaining that the resolution did not go far enough to guarantee that neighborhoods around Fair Park would be included and protected.

I dont understand whats so hard to go back and ask them to put this in writing, Williams said.

The plan would turn operation of Fair Park over to a nonprofit group called Fair Park First. The group includes a former Dallas City Council Member, a Fair Park-area Minister and other civic leaders as board members.

The groups President, Darren James, said Fair Park First has already agreed to expand its board to 13 members to include two more Fair Park neighbors at the table.

James, who works for an architecture and planning firm, said the Park Board action Thursday was a major step forward for Fair Park.

I think its a great thing. I dont think its just a good thing. Theres an opportunity to create a 365-day a year destination, James said.

Fair Park First has partnered with Spectra, a venue operating company with other clients around the nation and around the world.

Our focus is going to be driving more and more events, a diverse mix of events that kind of appeal to everyone, said Spectra Vice President Peter Zingoni. The Park Board will be holding us accountable as well as the City Council. So were up for the challenge. We feel very confident we can make a very positive impact for Fair Park and the surrounding community.

Plans include turning existing parking lots on the edges of Fair Park into community parks that can be enjoyed by neighbors year round.

Pastor Donald Parish with True Lee Missionary Baptist Church near Fair Park is an original member of the Fair Park First Board. He said he is there to be a community representative.

Parish said surrounding neighborhoods want protection from gentrification that park improvements might bring, but at the same time hope to see vacant land around the park developed to boost the neighborhood.

I think that we are finally going to get an opportunity to have a say in whats going to happen there and I am just looking forward to it and very excited, Parish said. Were hoping to make this so iconic that developers will see this as an opportunity to come and fill up those vacant lots.

Some new homes and a new multi-family building have gone up in the area recently.

Surrounding businesses are hoping for a new influx of visitors and residents.

Micheal Liebermann with Pizza Lounge across from Fair Park said past traffic in the area has been disappointing.

Were beyond excited. Were ecstatic about privatizing. Were ecstatic about the group they chose. So finally, were poised to take a big step forward, Liebermann said.

The State Fair of Texas will remain a major tenant at Fair Park. Fair President Mitchell Glieber said the fair is willing to take a bigger role in helping the park and the neighborhood.

Theres certainly opportunity for more events to happen out here and a third-party company with the expertise of someone like Spectra could actually come out and bring contacts to the table, and marketing dollars and success to make those types of things happen here, Glieber said.

Spectra is owned by Comcast, which also owns NBC and KXAS-TV.

Fair Park Management Agreement Update
The Better Business Bureau is warning North Texans to watch out for fake checks being sent in the mail.

People across the area are losing money and it's happening more often. Several victims shared stories of how they were targeted.

One man was contacted and asked to paint a house, another to make a promotional video and Pamela Dunca was told she won the lottery.

"They said I won $5,000 and they wanted to send me a check in the mail," she told NBC 5 Responds.

The check came, she deposited it and was told she had to wire money back for fees and taxes.

That's a huge red flag.

Thousands of fake checks have been reported to the BBB this year alone.

It's enough to have the organization meeting with banks and the Federal Trade Commission. They're working together to come up with a way to help spot fake checks before people lose money.

Pamela's entire social security check went to cover the fake check she deposited. Her next two social security checks will be eaten up, too, just paying the bank back.

She had to turn to neighbors and friends just to get food to eat and pay her rent.

The Better Business Bureaus said it's working with banks trying to develop technology to help spot these fake checks as soon as you deposit them.

Even if it happens, the crooks will likely come up with another way to trick you.

So, consider yourself warned, never deposit a check for any reason if someone asks you to send them part of the money back.

NBC 5 Responds has reached out to Pamela's bank to see if it can work with her to pay the money back over time.

We will keep you posted on our efforts.
Polls released over the summer on the November race for Texas attorney general show a narrow margin between leading candidates with many voters still undecided.



According to a University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll released in June, incumbent Republican Ken Paxton was at 32 percent while Democratic nominee Justin Nelson was at 31 percent. Libertarian Michael Ray Harris stood at 6 percent. Four percent of voters polled named other candidates while 26 percent had no opinion.



In July, a statewide Texas Lyceum Poll was released showing a larger margin between the leading candidates; 35 percent of likely voters favoring Paxton and 25 percent choosing Justin Nelson. Harris had 4 percent of that poll. Of those polled, 34 percent answered "haven't thought about it" and 3 percent either didn't know or refused to answer.



Nelson, who spoke with NBC 5 this week, is trying to become attorney general in a state that hasn't elected a Democratic candidate in a statewide race since 1994.



"I am going around the state. We have been everywhere. We just finished a 12-city road trip," Nelson said.



It could be an uphill climb. Attorney General Ken Paxton won by more than 20 percentage points in 2014, but Nelson is quick to point out Paxton's legal troubles since then.



Paxton was indicted for securities fraud. The case has yet to go to trial after several delays. Paxton has said he can't talk about the case because of a gag order.



"This race is going to be integrity versus indictment," Nelson added.



Nelson has a list of goals he hopes to accomplish if elected.



"I want to fight corruption. I want to redouble our efforts to make sure that we are fighting consumer fraud. I want to fight gerrymandering. I want to redouble our efforts to make our child support system work for everyone. That is what the Texas attorney general should be doing," Nelson said.



While Nelson was in Fort Worth Wednesday, while Paxton was in Collin County Monday attending a statewide Republican rally. Paxton, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) all spoke.



"I want to thank you guys for giving me the opportunity that I have had over the last three and a half years," Paxton said Monday.



Paxton remains popular statewide. He has a relationship with the President Donald Trump, and support from Republican officeholders. NBC 5 asked Paxton if he was concerned about a blue wave.



"No, we are going to go out and we have got a great message to sell," Paxton said. "We have done a great job as a leadership team, as a legislature. I think we are doing great."
A San Diego State University student is being treated at a local hospital for meningococcal meningitis, university officials said Wednesday in a written release.

No details were given on the timing of the diagnosis for the unidentified student.

SDSU's Student Health Services is contacting those individuals who are believed to have had prolonged contact with the student. Those people are being advised to get antibiotics as a precaution, officials said.

Bacterial meningitis is spread by sharing items such as cigarettes or drinking glasses or through intimate contact such as kissing.

The bacteria are not airborne, officials said, so they do not spread like germs associated with the common cold or the flu.

Those who feel they may have been exposed and suffer from a sudden onset of symptoms including fever, headache, stiff neck, nausea and/or vomiting, should go to the hospital, health officials said.

University health officials believe the risk of infection for anyone who had direct contact with the student should expire by Friday, Sept. 14.

In 2014, a deadly form of meningitis killed one SDSU freshman and infected students at multiple colleges throughout the country.

Sara Stelzer contracted Type B meningococcal meningitis. While she had been vaccinated against meningitis, the vaccine did not cover the rare Type B bacteria.

A deadly form of meningitis that quickly claimed the life of a San Diego State University freshman is the same strain that infected students at multiple colleges throughout the country. NBC 7s Omari Fleming reports.

A student at the University of California Santa Barbara died from the B-strain.

There are currently vaccines available to prevent meningitis. The MC4 vaccines are recommended for people 11 to 18 years of age or people who are 19 to 21 years of age and living in college residence halls.

Meningococcal group B vaccines are recommended for people older than 10 years old who are considered high risk including those with certain medical conditions or those exposed during an outbreak.

Learn more about the available meningococcal vaccines through the CDC's website.

Or you can talk with someone by calling SDSU Student Health Services 8:30 am - 4:30 pm at 619-594-4325 or by calling San Diego County Public Health Services Epidemiology Division at 619-692-8499.
Sen. Kamala Harris put Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on edge with a surprise question at his confirmation hearing on whether he spoke with anyone about the investigation into Russian election meddling.

It's the only time President Donald Trump's high court pick appeared to stumble.

The California Democrat, who's considering a presidential run, pressed Kavanaugh late Wednesday as the hearing wound down to tell her who, if anyone, he's spoken to at a law firm about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into contacts between the Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

The firm in question was founded by Marc Kasowitz, who has represented Trump. Harris, a former prosecutor, did not say during the nearly eight-minute exchange why she was asking the question, but she seemed to surprise Kavanaugh.

"Have you had a conversation with anyone at that firm about that investigation?" Harris said late on the second day of Kavanaugh's confirmation hearing. "I think you're thinking of someone but you don't want to tell us."

Kavanaugh seemed perplexed at first, then said he couldn't think of any such conversations and repeatedly asked to see a list of lawyers who work at the firm. Harris said he doesn't need to see a list to recall whether he's talked to anyone at the firm in the 15 months since Mueller's probe was launched.

Judiciary Committee Republicans complained that the question was unfair. Harris was asked after the hearing whether she knows of a conversation involving Kavanaugh and the law firms.

"I have good reason to believe there was a conversation," Harris said. "Information I received was pretty reliable. I asked him a clear question, and he couldn't give a clear answer."

Mueller is probing whether Trump or any of his associates were aware of Russia's efforts to influence the election and whether Trump obstructed justice.

Harris is one of several Democrats concerned about Kavanaugh's view of whether a sitting president can be indicted.

In a footnote to a 2009 law review article, Kavanaugh wrote that "a serious constitutional question exists regarding whether a President can be criminally indicted and tried while in office."

A decade earlier, Kavanaugh wrote that the Constitution seems to dictate that "congressional investigation must take place in lieu of criminal investigation when the President is the subject of investigation, and that criminal prosecution can occur only after the President has left office."
One of the two major companies operating dockless electric scooters in Los Angeles said Wednesday it welcomes new regulations passed Tuesday by the City Council, even though it could mean thousands fewer of its devices on the streets.

The one-year pilot program adopted by the council will limit companies to 3,000 scooters at the start of the program, with additional devices allowed in "disadvantaged" communities. The pilot program will begin within 120 days, and in the interim, companies can apply for a conditional use permit for up to 3,000 devices.

Lime issued a statement saying it "welcomes the Los Angeles City Council's approval ... of new regulations allowing companies to provide enhanced mobility options for the city's residents. Both Council members [Mike] Bonin and [Bob] Blumenfield were instrumental in moving good policy through each of their committees and to the full City Council for adoption."

Lime did not include in its statement how many scooters it has in use in the city, but a representative of competing scooter company Bird told City News Service the firm has been operating about 8,000 scooters per day.

Seleta Reynolds, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, told the City Council that both Bird and Lime had made statements to the media that they are operating around 10,000 scooters in LA.

Lime was previously approved to operate a pilot program for dockless bikes in the San Pedro area.

"Lime is honored to have operated the only approved pilot program in Los Angeles, launched in 2017 under the leadership of Councilman (Joe) Buscaino, who was the first to introduce dockless mobility to LA," Lime's statement says. "In light of the council's approval, Lime will obtain a conditional use permit to allow more of its affordable e-scooters and bikes to be available for local residents to use."

David Estrada, head of government relations and public policy for Bird, told CNS before the vote on Tuesday that the cap on scooters "would be a serious cut. And the way we look at it is, it's a drastic and chaotic cut to the market of transportation people rely upon every day."

Estrada also suggested the cap could limit the company's efforts to expand into areas outside of the Westside, even though the pilot would allow for thousands of devices in disadvantaged communities.

"What we're trying to do is make sure we can provide equal access across LA," Estrada said. "The trouble with the idea of capping the number of scooters to a very low number is they're going to shrink down to the densest circle of where rides will happen, which is just West L.A. And so those parts of L.A. that really need affordable transportation don't get affordable transportation if we're capped."

The dockless Lime and Bird scooters have proliferated in Westside communities over the last year, leaving local governments scrambling with how to regulate them. The city of Beverly Hills recently banned them for six months, while Santa Monica last month created a 16-month pilot program which caps the number of scooters allowed on the streets.

The scooters work through a phone app that allows people to find and unlock the devices and drop them off anywhere they are allowed, with no docking station or kiosk required.

The LA pilot program approved that will begin within 120 days allows for controlled growth of the devices. Although companies are capped at 3,000 devices, they will have the opportunity to add up to 2,500 more devices if they are located in disadvantaged communities, and they can add an additional 5,000 in disadvantaged communities in the San Fernando Valley.

After demonstrating compliance with program requirements and meeting certain performance criteria, the LADOT can allow companies to increase their fleet size, but the program does not specify a cap on such expansion.

The council also approved a top speed of the scooters of 15 mph, which is the speed already offered by Bird and Lime.

The new regulations require companies to equip the scooters with a minimum 48-point font warning against riding on sidewalks. Companies also must maintain a 24-hour hotline and respond to improperly parked or inoperable devices within two hours, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

In the future, operators will be required to use technology that can tell if a device is parked upright. They city may also designate parking areas for the devices in high-traffic areas.
Yesterday a man died in the clashes between agents and demonstrators. The previous day there were six victims, dozens injured. The police shot rubber bullets and tear gas at the crowds. Water crisis and disservices have exacerbated the citizens. Twenty thousand people in hospital due to water pollution. Al-Sadr speaks of "infiltrated vandals" among the people in the square.

Basra (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In the clashes between citizens and security forces in Basra, southern Iraq, another demonstrator was killed (at least 25 injured, some of them seriously), after the six victims already registered on 4 September.

This is reported by the local leader of the provincial council of human rights, according to which the police opened fire against defenseless people. Some witnesses speak of bullets and tear gas at the height of man exploded by agents against several thousand demonstrators, who had gathered outside the headquarters of the regional government.

The southern Iraqi metropolis has long been hit by a severe water crisis and is the scene of street demonstrations. Citizens protest against the poor quality of public services, unemployment (10% according to official figures, but with peaks up to 60% among young people) and endemic corruption. The Basra region includes around 90% of the country's hydrocarbon resources; however, only 1% of the workforce comes from the area.

Because of the bloody protests, as early as last July the local Church had decided to suspend cultural activities and catechism, to protect faithful. At the time the local archbishop Msgr. Alnaufali Habib Jajou had warned of a possible escalation of the protest.

The UN special envoy for Iraq Jan Kubis called for "calm", inviting the authorities "to avoid a disproportionate, lethal use of force" against protesters. He also asked the magistracy to "investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the explosion of the wave of violence". The government, concludes the UN expert, must "do its best" to respond to the legitimate demands and rights of citizens.

The protests are motivated by the pollution of groundwater and drinking water, which have caused the hospitalization of at least 20 thousand people in recent weeks. Speaking on the matter the outgoing Iraqi premier Haider al-Abadi ensured that "real ammunition" would not be used. The radical Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr speaks of "infiltrated vandals" among the demonstrators.

The demonstrations that have engulfed the city show in all its reach the state of abandonment in which Bassora, in the extreme south of the country, near the border with Kuwait, and the exasperation of its inhabitants in front of the impunity of the corrupt. One thing above all: in the elections last May, the city registered one of the highest abstention rates.

The rivalries and factional struggles in Baghdad, which have paralyzed parliamentary work since the beginning of the work, the vain promises of the authorities and calls for dialogue have exacerbated the population. "I do not care to know who has the duty to do it - says Bashra resident Mehdi - what I want, simply, are the basic services".
The Los Angeles Police Department was in pursuit of a double-murder suspect in a green pickup truck in the San Fernando area Wednesday evening at approximately 5 p.m.

Eliana Moreno and Newschopper4 Alpha were over the pursuit as the pursuit vehicle was driving on the 101 Freeway near the 405 Freeway interchange. Newschopper4 Bravo was overhead at approximately 5:15 p.m.

LAPD said that the pursuit started on the 19,100 block of Delano Street in the Tarzana area.

At approximately 5:20 p.m., the pursuit vehicle switched to the southbound 405 Freeway. Traffic was almost non-existent with NBC4's Colleen Williams commenting that the empty 405 Freeway reminded her of "Carmageddon."

Due to cloud cover in the Sepulveda Pass, Newschopper Alphia had to leave the chase for a few minutes.

At approximately 5:35 p.m., Newschopper Alpha caught up with the suspect shortly after he exited the 10 Freeway at 4th Street in Santa Monica.

The pursuit continued on surface streets in downtown Santa Monica before the suspect drove up Pico Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard until he moved eastbound to West LA.

#Pursuit: Double murder suspect continues chase in Santa Monica area. Watch Live: https://t.co/Sdy3xaDNTA pic.twitter.com/ht81UN4wC5  NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) September 6, 2018

After seeming like he was heading towards the 10 Freeway and 405 Freeway interchange in West LA, the suspect turned around and went back towards the ocean on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The suspect was back in Santa Monica at approximately 5:55 p.m.

After heading down Santa Monica Boulevard, the suspect decided to take 14th Street in Santa Monica northbound until he decided to turn onto Montana Avenue eastbound.

#Pursuit: Driver and passenger are getting out of the truck after stopping in front of a Ralphs at Bundy and Wilshire. Watch Live: https://t.co/x8ov1EihNB pic.twitter.com/OWDkMug7hL  NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) September 6, 2018

Eventually, the suspect turned into a Ralphs parking lot on Wilshire Boulevard and South Bundy Drive in Brentwood. The vehicle stopped in front of the entrance of the grocery store. The driver exited the vehicle first and surrendered without further incident, followed by a passenger.

Both men were promptly taken into custody at approximately 6:10 p.m.

LAPD confirmed that the double-murder suspect was the passenger in the vehicle during the chase. The murder suspect's name was Gregorio Garcia, 39, and the murders occurred in February.

Southern Californias wild police chases: Weve all seen them, and some can take pretty unexpected turns. Watch our collection of some of the wildest moments from the most infamous, dramatic pursuits.
What to Know Infowars host Alex Jones rants in the halls of Congress just before executives of social media giants began testimony Wednesday

Sen. Marco Rubio told Jones "don't touch me again, man," after Jones patronizingly patted the Florida Republican's shoulder

Infowars boss and far-right media personality Alex Jones got a stern warning Wednesday as he heckled and patronizingly patted Sen. Marco Rubio in the halls of Congress while ranting about being banned from social media platforms.

"Don't touch me again, man," snapped Rubio after Jones pawed his shoulder while the Florida Republican was trying to answer questions from a gaggle of reporters amid a constant stream of interruptions from the unhinged conspiracy monger.

"I don't know who you are," Rubio said, after calling Jones "a dumb ass" and rolling his eyes in response to the frequent taunts aimed at him.

Jones claimed Rubio would try to get him arrested. Jones was at risk of just that after a security guard quickly removed his hand from Rubio's shoulder, warned Jones not to do it again and then alerted colleagues over a radio.

"You're not going to get arrested," Rubio said. "I'll take care of it myself."

Jones then said, "Rubio just threatened to physically take care of me."

The bizarre scene came as the Senate Intelligence Committee took testimony from top executives at several social media companies.

Jones  who has argued that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were an "inside job" and that school shootings were staged  blasted lawmakers for not seeking his own testimony to defend himself from "slanderous" accusations that have led to multiple bans online.

"The media ran a hoax and said I said things on Twitter I didn't say," Jones fumed in a tirade aired earlier live on CNBC, referring to one of the social media platforms that has yet to ban Infowars content or him.

"This is dangerous authoritarianism and they package silencing Americans who are popular and well-spoken," Jones said. "Because what I'm saying is effective, true and popular."

Over the years, Jones cultivated a rabid following among fringe political groups and internet denizens, but he has received more mainstream traction in recent years. Before his recent criticism of the president about Syria airstrikes, Jones and Donald Trump exchanged praise. Trump appeared on Jones' show in December 2015, just as the campaign for the GOP presidential nomination was heating up.

Jones on Wednesday accused the media of trying to get him removed from more platforms "so I can't respond to lies." His show was effectively banned in recent weeks by Apple, YouTube, Facebook and Spotify.

"Think about this, in America, "Jones said. "I have been unable  this is the 11th hearing which they have had in the last year and a half when I am one of the main focuses where I haven't been called to testify, when they say outrageous, slanderous things."

He took up that theme later in the morning when Rubio began speaking to a small group of journalists in a hallway.

Jones began complaining about his "deplatforming" from a number of big social media companies as Rubio gamely tried to seriously respond to reporters' questions.

"It's weird man. Who is this guy?" said Rubio, referring to Jones, who was standing immediately to his right while keeping up a steady stream of interruptions.

"And then he plays dumb," Jones sniped, arguing that Rubio did in fact know him and his Infowars show.

"That's why you didn't get elected, because you're a snake," Jones said, referring to Rubio's failed 2016 presidential campaign.

After the shoulder-patting incident, Rubio continued speaking to reporters, but then a staffer said he had to go.

"You guys can talk to this clown," the senator said, as he walked off.

Jones wasn't done.

"Go back to your bathhouse. Compromises and bathouse," Jones said.

"There goes Rubio. That little punk."

Jones' jeremiads in the hallways added to what has been a circus-like atmosphere on Capitol Hill in the past several days, where dozens of people were arrested Tuesday protesting the Senate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Jones spoke outside of the room where Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey were set to begin testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Last week, a judge in Texas rejected Jones' bid to dismiss a lawsuit accusing him of defaming the parents of victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre, which Jones has repeatedly claimed was a hoax.

This story first appeared on CNBC. More from CNBC:
What to Know Republican U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis is picking state Rep. Jeanette Nunez to be his running mate.

Nunez has represented a Miami district since 2010 and serves as speaker pro tempore.

Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum announced Chris King as his running mate.

With two months to go until Florida voters decide who will be the states next governor, both major party candidates have named their running mates for the November election

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, who won the Republican nomination in a runaway victory fueled by an endorsement from President Donald Trump, selected State Representative Jeanette Nunez of Miami for the number two spot.

The 46-year-old Nunez, who served as Speaker pro tempore and has served in the chamber since 2010, would be the first Cuban American woman to serve in the states executive branch if elected.

DeSantis announced his choice through a press release Thursday just ahead of a rally with Gov. Rick Scott, who is running for U.S. Senate. When Trump was running for president, Nunez called him a con man on Twitter. The same tweet also accused Trump of supporting the Ku Klux Klan.

Nunez told reporters Thursday that "elections are elections" and "it is what it is," adding it was no secret she was a Marco Rubio supporter during the 2016 GOP race for the presidential nomination.

Meanwhile, Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic nominee Andrew Gillum announced his selection live on his Facebook page, naming Orlando businessman - and former candidate for Governor - Chris King as his choice for the No. 2 spot.

The 39-year-old King, who campaigned as a "Christian progressive" during the primary season, finished last in the five candidate field but developed a friendship with Gillum during the election process.

His campaign was noted for his criticism of the sugar industry, a call for a tax on bullets to be used for school safety, and a proposal to abolish the death penalty.

King has never held public office and highlighted his business experience during his campaign. He is CEO of Elevation, a company that invests in and manages affordable housing for seniors.

Gillum became the first African-American nominated by a major party for Floridas top spot when he won August's primary election.
What to Know A suit filed by a former City Ballet student claims a former ballet member secretly took explicit photos and videos of her and shared them

Alexandra Waterbury filed the suit against her ex-boyfriend Chase Finlay and the City Ballet on Wednesday

Finlay resigned from the company last month after the company tried to investigate the allegations, the Times reported

A New York City Ballet member secretly took sexually explicit photos and videos of a female dancer and shared them with ballet members  in line with the out-of-control, fraternity-house atmosphere the company has fostered, a new lawsuit charges.

Alexandra Waterbury, a ballet dancer and former City Ballet student, filed the suit against her ex-boyfriend Chase Finlay, a former City Ballet dancer, and the City Ballet in State Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The suit claims the company has condoned an atmosphere where its employees, donors, principals and [affiliates] abused, degraded and mistreated alcohol, drugs and women.

Waterbury, 19, was a student at the companys School of American Ballet from 2013 to 2016, the New York Times reported. She met Finlay, who was employed as a principal at City Ballet, through the company and the two started dating, according to her lawsuit.

This past May, however, Waterbury learned Finlay had been recording and saving nude and sexually explicit photos and videos of her without her knowledge, the lawsuit claims.

Finlay texted the photos and recordings of Waterbury to two other principal dancers, according to the lawsuit. Finlay and other employees, principals and donors at City Ballet also shared sexual images and videos of other women and female ballet members with one another, the suit charges.

The suit claims that Finlay was frequently asked about his partying and alcohol use because he smelled like alcoholic beverages, but that City Ballet buried its head in the sand without pursuing the situation.

It also claims Finlay, City Ballet donors and other dancers sent degrading messages to one another about female dancers.

I bet we could tie some of them up and abuse them like farm animals, a City Ballet donor wrote to Finlay about a group of American Ballet Theater dancers, according to the suit  to which Finlay added, or like the sluts they are, the suit says.

City Ballet has also swept other instances of men physically and sexually abusing women in the company under the rug, offering carte blanche for the other male NYC ballet employees, the suit says.

This fraternity-like atmosphere permeates the ballet and its dancers and emboldens them to disregard the law and violate the basic rights of women, the suit says.

Finlay resigned from City Ballet in August after the company started questioning him about Waterburys allegations, according to the Times.

Waterburys lawsuit comes less than a year after longtime New York City Ballet leader Peter Martins retired in the midst of a sexual misconduct investigation.

Every time I see a little girl in a tutu or with her hair in a bun on her way to class, all I can think is that she should run in the other direction, because no one will protect her, like no one protected me, she told the Times.

Finlays attorney declined to comment to the Times, and City Ballets chairman said the company has no liability for the actions specified in the complaint, adding that the company has taken the appropriate disciplinary actions for the dancers involved.
What to Know A good Samaritan fought off an attacker who started to sexually assault a woman after dragging her down an alley in Brooklyn

The 27-year-old woman was walking near 90th Street and Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge when the man dragged her into an alleyway

The good Samaritan fought the man off and tied to chase him down, but he got away

A good Samaritan fought off an attacker who started to sexually assault a woman after dragging her down an alley in Brooklyn, police said.

The 27-year-old woman was walking near 90th Street and Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge around 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 25 when a male she didnt know dragged her into an alleyway, threw her to the ground and removed her clothing, the NYPD said.

As the man started to sexually assault her, a good Samaritan jumped in and fought him off, police said. The good Samaritan tried to chase after the man when he fled the scene, but he got away.

A woman who lives nearby said she witnessed the fight between the man and the good Samaritan.

I just saw two guys in the road fighting, she told News 4 New York. It was scary to hear that at night, somebody yelling, Help, help, and then the police show up.

Police are now searching for a male with a goatee who was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, black and white sneakers and dark shorts.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Dozens of school districts, mainly in New Jersey, are dismissing early Thursday as temperatures are expected to soar into the 90s across the tri-state with heat indexes reaching 100 degrees or more.

On Wednesday, several students in New Jersey were overcome by the heat and collapsed in gym class. Many school districts around the tri-state started the school year this week, but a late-summer heat wave has been wreaking havoc across the region.

Sheila Coles picked up her granddaughter during early dismissal at Fair Mount Elementary School in Hackensack, where not all rooms have air conditioning.

"First thing she said to me yesterday is, 'It's hot Nonni, it's hot,'" said Coles. "So I think this was a good decision."

At Fort Lee High School, only half the rooms have A/C, making it tough for students returning for the first day of school.

"With the oppressive heat and humidity, we thought we'd give them a break today," said superintendent Ken Rota.

The weather is supposed to be hot and humid for one more day Thursday before a strong cold front arriving later in the day brings some much needed relief.

Here's a list of the New Jersey schools announcing early dismissal Thursday and click here for further updates:

Bergen County

Fort Lee Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Hackensack Public Schools: Early release at 12:30 p.m.

Hasbrouck Heights School District: Early dismissal schedule

Lodi Public Schools: Half day session

Midland Park Public Schools: 12:30 p.m. dismissal

Norwood Public School: Early dismissal schedule

Teaneck Public Schools: Half day schedule

Tenafly Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Ramsey School District: Minimum day schedule

Waldwick School District Early dismissal schedule

Westwood Regional School District: Early dismissal schedule

Passaic County

Clifton Public Schools: Early dismissal Schedule

Hawthorne Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Paterson Public Schools: 1:10 p.m. dismissal for students

Wayne Township Schools: Minimal day schedule

Union County

Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District: Single session day

Union Township Public Schools: Half day schedule

Essex County

Belleville Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Bloomfield School District: Half day schedule

Verona Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Montclair School District: Early dismissal schedule

Hudson County

Jersey City Public Schools: School closes at 12:45 p.m.

Morris County

Hanover Park High School: Early dismissal schedule

Madison Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Montville Township Public Schools: Early dismissal schedule

Morris School District: Early dismissal schedule

Netcong Elementary School: Early dismissal schedule

Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Schools: Half day schedule for secondary schools, full day for preschool and elementary

Dover High School in Morris County is also closed Thursday because of mold. School officials tell News 4 that they believe school will resume on Friday.
What to Know Two children were bitten by sharks in separate attacks off Fire Island in July, according to officials; a tooth was taken from the boy's leg

Researchers announced DNA was used to identify that tooth, which is that of a sand tiger shark

Neither the 13-year-old boy nor the 12-year-old girl appeared to be seriously hurt in the attacks off of Atlantique Beach and Sailors Haven

A tooth taken from the leg of a boy bitten at New York's Fire Island National Seashore has been identified as that of a sand tiger shark, after a DNA comparison, researchers announced Wednesday.

Two young children are believed to have been bitten by two different sharks within minutes of each other off the coast of Fire Island. Checkey Beckford reports.

University of Florida researchers compared DNA from the tooth to a genetic dataset of sharks to determine its species. Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville, said it's the first time a shark involved in a bite has been identified using DNA.

JASON HAGER/News 4

Beaches were closed at Fire Island in mid-July after the 13-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl were bitten. Both children were treated and released from a hospital. The girl reported seeing an orange-brown fish 3 feet to 4 feet long with a dorsal fin.

Lindsay French, program manager for the shark research center, arranged for the tooth to be sent to the researchers for DNA analysis.

Naylor believes both bites were accidental, from juvenile sharks following schools of fish.

[NATL]Dr. Beach Reveals Top 10 Best Beaches in the US for 2018

"Perhaps incorrectly, I'm putting these in the bin of naive young sharks," Naylor said. "I'm sure the children who were bitten were petrified, but the sharks probably were, too."

He said sand tigers can grow up to 500 pounds (226 kilograms) but rarely bite humans. Naylor said about 70 percent of shark bites are from unidentified species, but great whites, tiger sharks and bull sharks are often assumed to be responsible because of their large size and the fact that they're involved in most of the identifiable bites. He said using DNA analysis could help identify other species responsible for anonymous bites.

[NY ONLY CANVA] 7 of America's Worst Ocean-Facing Beach Towns to Live in Are in New York and New Jersey (and One of the Best Is in Connecticut), According to WalletHub

Shark attacks in New York are rare, Naylor said, but when large schools of bait fish head for shore, predators follow and can accidentally bite people swimming in the water as they feed.

The last reported sand tiger bites near New York happened in 1988 and 1974, and the most recent attacks by unidentified species happened in 2015 and 2017, according to a shark attack file at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

[NY ONLY FLICKR] 7 Top Hamptons Beaches Ranked by Convenience, According to Thrillist

PITTSBURGH, PA  FEBRUARY 19: Roughly 100 anti-Trump protesters demonstrate peacefully in Market Square on February 19, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The protesters voiced their opposition to recent immigration orders and policy plans of newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump before marching through the streets. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Reality television star Kim Kardashian West, who successfully pushed President Donald Trump to grant a pardon for a drug offender earlier this year, returned to the White House on Wednesday for a meeting with senior aides as part of the administration's efforts on criminal justice reform.

Kardashian, who may have felt right at home with the drama-infused atmosphere in the West Wing as it grapples with the fallout from Bob Woodward's new book, participated in a listening session on clemency and prison reform with several staffers, including the president's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

"The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review," according to Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary.

Among the others in attendance were CNN commentator Van Jones, Shon Hopwood, a lawyer who served time in prison for bank robbery and Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, who has been instrumental in steering Trump's Supreme Court picks, including Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearings have begun on Capitol Hill.

But the headliner was Kardashian, who last visited the White House three months ago to press for a pardon for 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson. At the time, the reality star, dressed in black, posed for an instantly iconic  and seemingly somber  photo with Trump in the Oval Office, though there were no plans for her to meet with the president on Wednesday.

One week after Kardashian's visit, Trump granted Johnson clemency, freeing her from prison after a more than two-decade stint on drug charges.

"When I looked at Alice, I said we can't just stop with one person. We have to change the laws," Kardashian said in a statement released by #cut50, a group that looks to reduce incarceration time.

The pardon for Johnson was one of several instances where the president has used his constitutional power to pardon federal crimes. Trump in May pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza and suggested he was considering a commutation for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and a pardon for lifestyle guru Martha Stewart. He has not yet acted on either front.

"We are working to build support for prison reform, sentencing reform, and fair treatment of people coming home from prison," said Van Jones. "When you have prominent people like Kim helping voiceless people behind bars  like Chris Young who she is advocating for today  that's incredibly powerful."

Kardashian West on Tuesday told "Wrongful Conviction" podcast host Jason Flom that she's advocating for Young, who was sentenced to life without parole after being arrested for marijuana and cocaine possession.

"It's so unfair. He's 30 years old. He's been in for almost 10 years," she said.

Kardashian West later tweeted an image from the meeting, writing "It started with Ms. Alice, but looking at her and seeing the faces and learning the stories of the men and women I've met inside prisons I knew I couldn't stop at just one. It's time for REAL systemic change"

Young was one of 32 people charged by federal prosecutors in a drug trafficking investigation. Prosecutors say he was buying cocaine or crack from a major drug supplier at a gas station in December 2010. He was convicted in 2013 on drug charges and also pleaded guilty to being a felon with a gun.

Young, who was 26 at the time, received a life sentence in August 2014 from then-U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp, who has since left the bench and has very publicly opposed the mandatory minimum sentencing he had to hand down.

"What I was required to do that day was cruel and did not make us safer," Sharp tweeted in June.

Young previously had been arrested at both 18 and 19 on both felony and misdemeanor drug possessions charges. For those two arrests combined, he had been slated to serve 14 years through community corrections.

Kushner has added prison reform to his broad portfolio, though others in the administration  namely Attorney General Jeff Sessions  support the toughest possible sentences for drug and other convictions. The president's son-in-law has had an interest in prison reform since his own father, Charles Kushner, was incarcerated for 14 months after being convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering.

TMZ first reported Kardashian's Wednesday visit to the White House.
What to Know A man accused of shooting and killing an 18-year-old driver in a fit of road rage pleaded guilty to 3rd degree murder Wednesday.

David Desper of Trainer, Pennsylvania, also pleaded guilty to weapons charges in the road rage killing of 18-year-old Bianca Roberson.

Roberson, of West Chester, died on June 28, 2017 while out on a shopping trip one week before leaving for her freshman year of college.

The cries started long before the plea hearing.

Sobs and hiccups could be heard throughout the Chester County Justice Center Wednesday afternoon as the family of Bianca Roberson waited to face her killer.

David Desper, of Trainer, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and related weapons charges for a road rage killing that made national headlines.

Her mother thinks he got off too lightly.

"My baby! My baby!" Michelle Roberson cried. "He just killed her."

On the evening of June 28, 2017, Desper and Roberson played a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

The 18-year-old Roberson, of West Chester, had been out shopping one week before leaving for her freshman year of college. Investigators said she and Desper jostled for the same lane on Route 100 in West Goshen Township. But instead of letting it go, Desper pulled out a gun and shot Roberson in the left side of her head.

Roberson's car flipped off the road and Desper sped away. She died from the gunshot wound, according to the Chester County Coroner's Office.

Police said Desper, who had a history of drag-racing, fled to a friend's home in Delaware and hid for several days. After a dramatic manhunt that spanned multiple states, Desper turned himself into authorities in the early hours of July 2, 2017.

Wednesday's guilty plea came shortly before criminal proceedings were scheduled to begin. Still, emotions ran high.

The courtroom remained eerily silent as Roberson's and Desper's loved ones crowded inside. A sheriff's deputy warned both sides to remain calm and respectful.

Roberson's mother was inconsolable. She rocked back and forth as a loved one attempted to quiet her.

"I can't breathe," Michelle Roberson said while stifling cries.

Earlier in the day, the anguished mother put out a post on social media telling people to show up at the courthouse to support the family.

Desper was originally charged with first- and third-degree murder, criminal homicide, possession of an instrument of crime and reckless endangerment. He stood before the judge Wednesday in a dress shirt and pants. His voice shook and tears welled in his eyes.

"I'm nervous," he said.

As both sides approached the bench, a lawyer representing the Roberson family said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan and law enforcement officials agreed a third-degree guilty plea seemed adequate.

Michelle Roberson shook in her seat.

"No one is happy with any of this," said Christopher Miller, the Robersons' attorney. "No plea will ever bring Bianca Roberson back."

Desper now faces up to 40 years in prison for the third-degree murder charge and additional time in prison for the weapons charge. He will be sentenced in late 2018 or early 2019.
What to Know The Pennsylvania prison system is spending about $15 million to implement new policies on mail handling, visits and drone detection.

The new policies come after a spate of illnesses caused the entire system to be locked down for more than a week.

Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the 25 prisons are on track to resume normal operations next week.

The head of Pennsylvania's prison system said Thursday it is costing the state about $15 million to implement new procedures to combat drug smuggling believed to have caused dozens of staff to become sick in recent weeks.

Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said the 25 prisons are on track to resume normal operations next week.

About 50 guards and other employees have reported symptoms since the start of August that are thought to have been caused by exposure to a clear, odorless substance known as synthetic marijuana, or K-2.

Wetzel said attorney-client visits have resumed, and all visits are expected to be allowed starting Monday. The weeklong system-wide lockdown should be over early next week as well.

The prisons are expanding the use of body scanners and drone detection, and adding staff to visiting rooms.

Wetzel said about 80 percent of the department's workers have been trained on the use of protective equipment, and by the end of the day Friday all prisons should have established hazardous materials teams.

Under an emergency procurement process, the state will be sending inmate mail to be processed outside of prisons, but legal mail will be copied by staff in the presence of inmates.

The new address for non-legal mail has been posted online .

"Any time you do locks and any time you stop visits, stop mail, that's a significantly negative impact on inmates and their family members," Wetzel said.

The cluster of illnesses has been tough on staff, he said, adding to what is "already a difficult job."

Visiting room staff is being doubled and there is a 90-day ban on vending machines and photos.

The prisons chief said officials did not want to take more drastic steps, such as banning contact visits for higher risk inmates or limiting incoming mail to postcards.

"We wanted to still be able to maintain that kind of quality interaction with positive forces from the community, while at the same time improving security," he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 5)  Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said an uptrend in the country's employment rate would make higher prices of goods more tolerable to Filipino consumers.

"That's good. People I think will be more tolerant if they have jobs, tolerant of rising prices if they have jobs rather than being jobless," Diokno told reporters Wednesday.

The employment rate in July was estimated at 94.6 percent, up from 94.4 percent in July 2017, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

But it also reported the rate of price increase for basic goods and services reached a nine-year high of 6.4 percent this August.

Diokno said the higher job rate was linked to the "Build, Build, Build" program of the Duterte administration.

"In April.. I think we created something like 600,000 plus. And a big chunk of that is construction workers. So we know that with our 'Build, Build, Build' going full blast, we're going to create a lot of jobs," Diokno explained.

Among the regions with low employment are Ilocos Region (93.5 percent), Central Luzon (93.7 percent), CALABARZON (93.7 percent), Bicol Region (93.7 percent), and National Capital Region (93.9 percent).

The PSA's Labor Force Survey, however, also showed underemployment  or the number of full-time workers who seek additional hours of work  increased to 17.2 percent or an estimated 7 million workers in July 2018. That is up from 16.3 percent or about 6.5 million underemployed workers in July last year.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said government should focus on creating jobs.

"In order to meet our employment targets, government should provide an environment that is conducive to creating more and better jobs. It should prioritize policies and programs that address the issues of unutilized youth, unemployed youth, underemployment, and vulnerable workers," Pernia said in a statement Wednesday.

CNN Philippines' Ina Andolong contributed to this report.
Northern ethnic armies are fighting government forces. Peace talks can reduce armed clashes. China wants a stable border to protect its investments. The success of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is based on access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar.

Naypyidaw (AsiaNews)  China has for the first time hosted a meeting between Myanmars Peace Commission (PC) and the representatives of three armed groups from the Northern Alliance.

The Alliance includes four ethnic armies fighting the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) in regions along the countrys northern border.

Unlike other groups, the four armies have not yet signed the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA).

Acting as mediator, Sun Guoxiang, special envoy for Asian affairs in Chinas Foreign Affairs Ministry, facilitated the brief meeting in Kunming.

The government was represented by PC vice chairman U Thein Zaw and secretary U Khin Zaw Oo, both former military generals.

They met with representatives of the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA, pictured), Arakan Army (AA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDDA).

Representatives of the fourth ethnic group, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), were also present as observers.

Delegates from the United Wa State Army (UWSA) also attended. The latter also belongs to the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FNPCC) set up in April 2017.

Myanmar is strategically important for China. The success of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) hinges on access to the Indian Ocean through Myanmar.

Beijing, which supported the holding of the third session of the 21st Century Panglong Conference in July, has said it firmly opposes any attempt to undermine peace and stability along its border with Myanmar or to deliberately obstruct the countrys peace process.

Some analysts however point to Beijing's ambiguous attitude towards ethnic conflicts in northern Myanmar. The Chinese government has been particularly close to the FNPCC, especially the UWSA, with some suggesting that it is a direct or indirect source of weapons for many rebel armies.

At the same time, major investments in gas and oil, hydropower, jade and other minerals have doubtless shaped Chinas push back on international calls for accountability as details of the Myanmar militarys crimes have made headlines.

Human rights activists also accuse China of complicity in blocking humanitarian assistance to war refugees caught along the border, scene of fighting between the Myanmar military and the KIA.

A report by Fortify Rights slams both China and Myanmar for preventing international humanitarian groups from operating in areas with displaced population. China has also been accused of turning back refugees.
What to Know Charisse Stinson was arrested Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder after the body of her 2-year-old son was found in Pinellas County

Jordan Belliveau was the subject of a statewide Amber Alert after his mother told police a stranger knocked her out and her son went missing

His body was found days later in a wooded area near Lake Avenue and McMullen Road, Largo police said

A mother admitted to killing her 2-year-old son and was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder after the body of the boy who was the subject of a Florida-wide Amber Alert was found Tuesday afternoon, police officials said.

The body of Jordan Belliveau was found in a wooded area near Lake Avenue and McMullen Road, Largo police said in a news conference.

The boy's mother, 21-year-old Charisse Stinson, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, police said.

"This is a very emotional time," said Police Chief Jeff Undestad. "This was a job that took a lot of resources and teamwork."

Stinson admitted to police during a post miranda interview that her son had a serious unexplained injury to his right leg. During a moment of frustration, Stinson told police she struck Belliveau in the face with the back of her hand, which caused the back of his head to hit a wall.

After the blow to the head, the child suffered from seizures during the night, which ultimately led to his death.

Stinson then told police she took the child's body to the woods and left it there.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued an Amber Alert early Sunday after Stinson told police her son went missing.

According to police, Stinson had said a stranger offered her and her son a ride on Saturday but then knocked her unconscious. Stinson said she woke up hours later in Largo's Central Park in Pinellas County and her son was nowhere to be found.

The search for a suspect and a white Toyota Camry went on for almost three days. Officials also searched inside of trash containers for signs of the 2-year-old boy. Police even released a sketch of a suspect, who was described as a 25-year-old with brown hair, brown eyes with "dreadlocks and gold teeth."

During a press conference on Monday, Largo Police Maj. Stephen Slaughter called Stinson a "struggling single mom" as he confirmed that child protective services previously investigated the family for domestic violence.

Slaughter said Stinson and Jordan's father, Jordan Belliveau Sr., both have a "longstanding history" of domestic violence.

A July 14 police report said Belliveau Sr. was arrested for punching Stinson in the mouth. The report alleged that Belliveau Sr. brought Jordan back to Stinson to exchange custody but punched her during an altercation after Stinson told him she did not want Jordan back "yet."

Bloodied clothes and items were found inside of Stinson's apartment after a search by authorities, Slaughter confirmed Monday.

Slaughter said the previous domestic violence cases and a separate child protective services investigation were part of the missing child case.

Amid reports of child abuse, Slaughter on Tuesday clarified a previous statement he made in which he said Jordan sustained a cut that required stitches by adding that he thought Jordan had possibly fallen.

Stinson's story had been considered suspect by some, but when Slaughter was asked by WFLA Monday if she had been "100 percent truthful with investigators," he said, "I feel that she's answered all our questions so we can continue our investigation."
Corrections authorities in Ohio and Pennsylvania on Wednesday investigated inmate and staff exposure to drugs and chemicals in what appeared to be unrelated incidents that nevertheless underscored the continuing issue of contraband drugs inside the nation's prisons and jails.

In Pennsylvania, the state prisons were on a lockdown precipitated by 29 employees at 10 prisons requiring treatment in recent weeks from exposure to a yet-unidentified substance described in some cases as a liquid synthetic drug.

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced the step Wednesday, the same day that about a half-dozen staff at Somerset and Albion state prisons reported feeling ill. Symptoms include dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea and skin tingling.

In Ohio, prison guards, nurses and inmates were among the nearly 30 people treated for possible drug exposure inside Ross Correctional Institution. The incident began around 9 a.m. Wednesday when an inmate showed signs of a possible drug overdose, said patrol spokesman Lt. Robert Sellers.

As officers and medical responders arrived, a total of 28 individuals, including 23 guards, four nurses and an inmate, were treated through the administration of naloxone, a drug used to combat overdoses caused by opioids such as heroin or fentanyl, Sellers said. They were taken to Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe for evaluation.

At the hospital, Dr. Kirk Tucker said the symptoms were consistent with exposure to fentanyl. He said an inmate was unconscious and not breathing on his own when he was admitted to the hospital Wednesday but was expected to be fine.

Most other patients experienced nausea, sweating, numbness, and drowsiness. Tucker said the sickest individuals were those who responded to the inmate's bedside.

One Ohio inmate was treated at the scene and not transported. Sellers said the patrol made 300 doses of naloxone available if needed. The prison is about 44 miles (71 kilometers) south of Columbus. Agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were among those investigating with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said DEA spokesman Wade Sparks.

A mixture of heroin and fentanyl was identified as the substance in the Ohio jail, troopers said.

Fentanyl is considered several times more powerful than heroin, and has been linked to thousands of overdose deaths nationwide, sometimes on its own, but often mixed with heroin. Law enforcement officers routinely now put on gloves when responding to overdoses to avoid possible exposure.

On Thursday, the DEA plans to release a new training video covering protections that first responders should take when the presence of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, is suspected. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was to announce the video, "Fentanyl: The Real Deal," at a Washington news conference.

A total of 31 inmates were evacuated from the unit where the Ohio prison exposure occurred, and a hazmat team from the Columbus fire department was summoned to clean up the affected area.

In Ohio, contraband drugs including opioids are an ongoing issue for the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and county jails.

In May, a former milk deliveryman was accused of hiding marijuana, tobacco and cellphones inside milk cartons and smuggling them into a prison in southwest Ohio. He was sentenced to house arrest.

In September 2017, the Richland County Jail in Mansfield started operating a body scanner to detect drugs. Officials there monitored 26 opioid-related withdrawals in July 2017.

In February 2017, four inmates overdosed in two days at Pickaway Correctional Institution south of Columbus, requiring the use of CPR and doses of an anti-overdose drug as guards scrambled to revive the men.

Associated Press writer Marc Levy contributed to this report.
An El Cajon couple is mourning the loss of their 19-year-old daughter who was found dead Monday in the Arizona desert, weeks after she was reported missing.

"I've been praying this whole time that I would get the phone call that they found her and that she was alive and I could come get her and bring her home," said Kiersten Bragg.

Bragg's daughter, Kiera Bergman, was last seen on Aug. 4 leaving her home without her money, purse or car.

Her body was found Monday at 3 p.m. near State Route 85 and Hazen Road in Maricopa County.

"Were completely heartbroken as a family," her father, Chris Bragg said.

Homicide investigators had suspected foul play in Bergman's disappearance, however, no arrest has been made, Phoenix police said.

A passerby spotted the body in a rural, remote area that is a 45-minute drive from the teenager's apartment.

At a press conference in front of their home Thursday, the family said they were thankful to the bike rider who made the discovery.

"I just can't imagine anyone doing this to her, with how great of a person she was," her father said. "I'm looking forward to answers right now, I want to know who did this and why, and I want them to suffer the wrath of God."

Several cars parked on the block had special decals and window paint that read "Bring Kiera Home" and "#Justice4Kiera." The family was also seen wearing rubber wristbands with the same messages.

"Now I don't get to create any new memories," Kiera's sister Braydee Bragg said behind tears. "She doesn't get to be at my wedding and I don't get to be at hers."

Bergman, who was raised in the unincorporated area of El Cajon, had relocated to Phoenix about four months ago, her family said.

Her mother said Bergman had just turned 19 over the summer.

"She was talented and creative and she didnt deserve what happened to her," Kiersten Bragg said.

The family is now waiting to receive Kiera's body from the medical examiner's office so they can plan funeral services.

The Bragg family confirmed Thursday that the money raised through a GoFundMe page started to help raise money for search efforts will be used to fund Bergman's funeral.

"Were thankful to all the people out there who dont know us and have slipped us messages and telling us they are praying for us and thinking of us," Bergman's mother said.

Bergman sent a text message to her roommate at about 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 4. That was the last time friends or family had heard from her.
What to Know North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un is demanding "goodwill measures" as he prepares for a summit with South Korea

Kim has reportedly reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korea and expressed frustration with skepticism over that commitment

A summit between the Koreas this month will be an indicator of whether larger nuclear negotiations with the U.S. will continue

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un still has faith in U.S. President Donald Trump's commitment to ending their nations' hostile relations, but he's frustrated by questions about his willingness to denuclearize and wants his "goodwill measures" to be met in kind, South Korean officials said Thursday.

The trove of comments from Kim, including his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to the suspension of all future long-range missile tests, were relayed by top South Korean security officials returning from meeting him in Pyongyang as well as by the North's propaganda specialists.

Even in their indirect form, each statement will be parsed for clues about Kim's mindset as North Korea and the U.S. move forward with efforts to resolve a nuclear standoff that just a year ago many feared could lead to war. Some of his reported comments were reiterations of past stances, but there will be sharp interest in whether they push negotiators back to diplomacy after recriminations that followed Kim and Trump's June summit.

Since then, neither side has seemed willing to make a substantive move, leading to skepticism over Trump's claims that Kim will really dismantle his nuclear weapons program. Recent satellite photos have indicated Kim's weapons factories were still operating to produce fissile materials to make nuclear weapons.

South Korean officials said they forwarded a message from Trump to Kim during their meeting and would send a separate message from Kim to Trump later Thursday. The officials wouldn't discuss the content of the messages.

Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, said Kim told him that he still had faith in Trump despite diplomatic setbacks. He said Kim emphasized that he has not once talked negatively about Trump to anyone, including his closest advisers.

Trump responded Thursday by tweeting, "Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!"

Chung reported that Kim said he wishes for North Korea and the U.S. to put an end to their seven decades of hostile relations before the end of Trump's first term.

Kim told Chung that work to dismantle the only missile engine test site in North Korea "means a complete suspension of future long-range ballistic missile tests." Kim said he'd take "more active" measures toward denuclearization if his moves are met with corresponding goodwill measures, Chung said.

Kim, however, expressed to Chung that he was frustrated by skepticism in the international community over his commitment to denuclearization.

"He said he's pre-emptively taken steps necessary for denuclearization and wants to see these goodwill measures being met with goodwill measures," Chung said.

Kim also said an end-of-war declaration that Seoul and Pyongyang have been pushing Washington to sign off on wouldn't weaken the U.S.-South Korean alliance or lead to the withdrawal of the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to prevent North Korean attack, according to Chung.

South Korea's liberal government is keen on keeping engagement with North Korea alive. The delegation to the North announced that they had set up a summit for Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang between the North Korean leader and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, their third meeting since April.

That summit will be a crucial indicator of whether larger nuclear negotiations with the United States will proceed. Moon is seen as eager to keep the diplomacy alive in part so that he can advance his ambitious engagement plans with the North, which would need U.S. backing to succeed.

The inter-Korean summit would come just before a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York at the end of September, but Seoul said Thursday that it was unlikely Kim would attend. Seoul has indicated an interest in Kim and Trump meeting in New York, and Trump, who is facing growing domestic turmoil, has hinted that another summit could happen.

While pushing ahead with summits and inter-Korean engagement, Seoul is trying to persuade Washington and Pyongyang to proceed with peace and denuclearization processes at the same time so they can overcome a growing dispute over the sequencing of the diplomacy.

Seoul and Pyongyang both want a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice. U.S. officials have insisted that a peace declaration, which many see as a precursor to the North eventually calling for the removal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula, cannot come before North Korea takes more concrete action toward abandoning its nuclear weapons.

Such steps may include providing an account of the components of its nuclear program, allowing outside inspections and giving up a certain number of its nuclear weapons during the early stages of the negotiations.

While an end-of-war declaration wouldn't imply a legally binding peace treaty, experts say it could create political momentum that would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions toward a peace regime, diplomatic recognition, economic benefits and security concessions.

The North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Thursday said Washington must discard its "stubborn" stance that the North must denuclearize first before the United States agrees to a peace treaty. The article said the North has shown "goodwill and generosity" through actions such as returning U.S. war remains and dismantling a nuclear testing ground, but that the U.S. has failed to respond similarly.

After their June summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement about a nuclear-free peninsula without describing when and how it would occur. Post-summit nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang were rocky and quickly settled into a stalemate.

Trump called off a planned visit to North Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, citing insufficient progress in denuclearization.

Speaking Thursday in India, Pompeo said the U.S. will continue to work with North Korea to "deliver for the world" in upholding U.N. Security Council resolutions against its nuclear and missile programs, and the commitment Kim made at his June summit with Trump on denuclearization. Pompeo declined to talk about what he described as "ongoing negotiations" with the North Koreans.

"It is the case that there is still an enormous amount of work to do," Pompeo told a news conference in New Delhi. "We haven't had any nuclear tests, we haven't had any missile tests, which we consider a good thing. But the work of convincing Chairman Kim to make the strategic shift that we've talked about for a brighter future for the people of North Korea continues."

The State Department also announced Thursday that its new special envoy for North Korea policy, Stephen Biegun, would be traveling to South Korea, China and Japan next week, his first assignment since his appointment last week as point-man for diplomatic efforts with Pyongyang.

In a move that will irk North Korea, the U.S. Justice Department in Washington was preparing Thursday to announce charges against a North Korean in connection with the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014, according to a U.S. government official familiar the criminal case.

U.S. officials believed the Sony hack was retribution for "The Interview," a comedy film that starred Seth Rogen and James Franco and centered on a plot to assassinate Kim.
Failed U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore on Wednesday sued comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for defamation and emotional distress after being pranked on the actor's television show.

The lawsuit appears to be the first actually filed by one of the string of politicians who were duped and humiliated by Baron Cohen on the show "Who is America."

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuses Baron Cohen of defaming Moore and says Moore "suffered extreme emotional distress" as a result of "being falsely portrayed as a sex offender and pedophile" on the show. Moore was duped into appearing on a segment where Baron Cohen demonstrated a supposed pedophile detecting device that beeped when it came near Moore.

During last year's Senate race, Moore faced accusations that he pursued romantic and sexual relationships with teens as young as 14 when he was a prosecutor in his 30s. He has denied the misconduct allegations.

Larry Klayman, founder of the conservative group Freedom Watch, is representing Moore and his wife Kayla in the lawsuit. The complaint names CBS and Showtime as defendants in the case.

"Sasha Baron Cohen, who is not only low class but also a fraudster, will now, along with Showtime and CBS, be held accountable for his outrageous and false, fraudulent and defamatory conduct which callously did great emotional and other damage to his great man and his wife and family," Klayman said in a statement.

Representatives of Baron Cohen did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the lawsuit.

A Showtime representative wrote in an email that they do not comment on pending litigation, and to their knowledge they had not been served with the complaint.

Klayman said Moore thought he was receiving an award for supporting Israel when he agreed to appear on the show. In the segment, Baron Cohen appeared as the bushy eyebrowed faux counterterrorism instructor "Col. Erran Morad" discussing bogus military technology, including a supposed pedophile detector. The device repeatedly beeped as it got near Moore, who sat stone faced.

The lawsuit asks for $95 million in punitive and compensatory damages.

Baron Cohen's latest show, which began airing in July, has zinged several other political figures.

In one episode, former Arizona sheriff and Senate candidate Joe Arpaio argued the benefits of gun ownership to a tiny toy doughnut.

Another episode led a Georgia state representative to resign after he shouted racial slurs and exposed his rear end in a supposed anti-terrorism self-defense drill.

Baron Cohen has faced past lawsuits over similar pranks, but those actions faltered because the individuals had signed releases.

A New York judge in 2008 tossed out lawsuits brought by a driving instructor and two etiquette school teachers who said they were duped into appearing in the movie "Borat" in which Baron Cohen plays an awkward foreign journalist traveling the United States. The judge said they accepted money and signed agreements releasing the filmmakers from liability.

Moore's lawsuit suggests that he too signed a release, but contends it was fraudulently obtained.

Moore's lawyer wrote that as they trying to stop the segment from airing, "defendants CBS, Showtime and thus Cohen were informed that the release that Judge Moore had signed was obtained through fraud, and was therefore void and inoperative."

"Had Judge Moore and Mrs. Moore known that 'Erran Morad' was Defendant Cohen, Judge Moore would have never agreed to be interviewed," Moore's lawyer wrote in the lawsuit.
Introducing the District's most-talked-about baby.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced her baby daughter, Miranda Elizabeth Bowser, and spoke about motherhood in an exclusive "Today" show interview that aired Thursday morning. News4 spoke with Bowser on Wednesday about that interview and this new phase in her life.

Footage shows a little girl dressed in pink, with a full head of dark hair.

More than three months have passed since the mayor announced in May that she became a new mom through adoption, making her the first single mother to be mayor of D.C. After the announcement, Bowser was private about the adoption, never releasing a photo of the baby.

By the end of the summer, she said the time was right to share a glimpse of Miranda with the world. Bowser said she knew Hoda Kotb, another single mom with a busy schedule, was the right person to help introduce her daughter.

"Her story meant so much to me and, I know, a lot of women," Bowser said.

In Kotb's interview with Bowser, she asks about the moment Miranda was placed in Bowser's arms.

"The moment that really sticks out to me was literally looking down at Miranda and those just, those eyes looking back at me, and knowing that I was her entire world. And when I had that feeling, I knew that we would be together forever," the mayor said, grinning.

"When she looked at you, what did you see in those eyes?" Kotb asked.

"I just saw, I saw my baby girl. I had no hesitation. The feeling was that it was gonna be the two of us, and we would make it in the world," Bowser replied.

The mayor declined to answer questions about the adoption process or her relationship with Miranda's birth parents.

"I was grateful to be matched with a family, and now I have Miranda," she said.

She also declined to talk about why she wanted to become a single mom in her mid-40s.

"I think D.C. was eager to have a first daughter," she said

The mayor said that becoming a mother has helped her, as a legislator, better understand parenting. She's planning to host a summit of mayors on how to help mothers before and after childbirth.

The mayor worked a limited schedule over the summer, during the D.C. Council's recess. But that's about to end. Bowser said she has a nanny, and her parents help.
A judge sentenced a former Maryland state delegate to four years in federal prison for bribery and conspiracy, the U.S. attorney's office said.

A jury convicted Michael Lynn Vaughn, a Democrat from Bowie, of accepting $20,000 in bribes in exchange for voting "yes" on Prince George's County's Sunday liquor sales bill.

Federal prosecutors alleged he accepted cash bribes "influencing the performance of his official duties," including voting for a bill to expand alcohol sales on Sundays.

Vaughn's lawyer insisted his client accepted bundles of money believing they were campaign donations, not bribes.

Vaughn served in the House of Delegates for 14 years before resigning in January 2017 after the corruption investigation became public. He cited health reasons for his resignation.
A lot of the potential jurors said they have been following the mansion murders case as jury selection started Wednesday in the trial of Daron Wint.

Those potential jurors were asked by Judge Juliet McKenna if being familiar with the case would impact their impartiality.

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner says being such a rare occurrence makes it very memorable.

We have had, sadly, many double homicides, quite a few triple homicides, but this is one of the only quadruple homicides I can remember, he said.

Gasps were heard from the jury pool when told the trial could last two months and asked if they wouldn't be able to serve that long.

And prosecutors asked if they would trust a witness who is guilty of a crime and will receive a reduced sentence for testifying.

The jury is being selected from a pool of 80. The jury is expected to be seated by Friday, meaning the trial could start Tuesday.

Wint is charged with murder in the deaths of Savvas Savopoulos, 46; his wife, Amy, 47; their 10-year-old son, Philip, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa, 57. He is accused of holding the victims captive, extorting $40,000 and setting their Northwest Washington mansion on fire.

Wint faces life in prison without possibility for release on each murder charge. The minimum sentence is 30 years on each murder charge.
At the Pacific Islands Forum, the Chinese delegation wanted to take the floor before the other heads of state in a "disrespectful", "arrogant" and crazy" way, according to Nauru President Baron Waqa. Mainland China is trying to end diplomatic support for Taiwan. Australia and New Zealand fear Chinas colonisation of the Pacific.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Little Nauru, an island of 21 square kilometres with a population of 11,000, wants China to apologise for the "disrespectful" and "crazy" behaviour of its delegation towards the heads of state and government attending this years Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). China, like Taiwan, is a "dialogue partner" to the Forum.

According to Nauru President Baron Waqa, the head of the Chinese delegation Du Qiwen asked to take the floor to speak to all the leaders of the Pacific Islands present in a show of Beijings "arrogant" presence in the region.

Were seeing a lot of big countries coming in and sometimes buying their way through the Pacific; some are extremely aggressive, even to the point that they tread all over us, Waqa said last night

In fact, the Pacific region has long been a "diplomatic war" zone between Taipei and Beijing, which seeks to deny the rebel island all diplomatic recognition around the world.

The Forum, whose annual meeting ended today, has 18 members (pictured). Of these, only 6  Nauru, Kiribati, Palau, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu  have diplomatic ties with Taiwan; the others with mainland China.

Each receives economic help from these partners. Samoa and Fiji, Beijing's major allies, have received US$ 230 million and US$ 360 million respectively in aid and loans over the past decade. Between 2006 and 2016, China has provided an estimated US$ 1.78 billion in aid to these island nations.

To boost his countrys presence in the area, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu yesterday said that Taiwan was going to set up a US$ 2 million medical fund to help Pacific nations. Taipei also provides annual scholarships to citizens of member countries as well as agricultural and medical support.

Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have boosted their foreign aid programmes in the Pacific to counter Chinese economic colonisation.

As for President Waqas demand for an apology, China has shown no sign of backing down, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman saying on Wednesday that Nauru had violated forum regulations and staged a bad farce.
An elderly woman has died after being struck in a hit-and-run crash in Cambridge, Massachusetts on Thursday.

The crash happened around 12:30 p.m in the parking lot of the Cambridge Housing Authority building on Erie Street, according to Cambridge police. The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office said Thursday night that the driver had been arrested.

When officers arrived at the scene, they located an 80-year-old woman, who had been pushing a "wheeled walker."

Police said the victim, whose name has not been released, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Cambridge Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Several neighbors, some who knew the victim, were shocked to hear of the crash.

"She's a sweet, little old lady that lives on the third floor," said neighbor Susan Batista. "It's awful. How can somebody hit somebody and just take off? I dont get it."

Red Mitchell, who lives in the victim's building, said drivers need to be more aware when elderly are around.

"When there's a senior like that, you must always be aware of their comings and goings," Mitchell said.

The DA's office said later Thursday night that 41-year-old Ashley Monturio of Pembroke had been arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing death.

Initially, police said the victim was in a wheelchair, but then later said she was using a walker with a seat.

The investigation is ongoing.
The body of a Pennsylvania man who went missing while diving with a friend off the coast of Rockport, Massachusetts was recovered Thursday morning, according to police.

Officials received a call for a missing 47-year-old diver around 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to officials.

The diver had last been seen with his friend about 150 yards off-shore near the area of Cathedral Rock off Cathedral Avenue  a popular spot for scuba divers.

It appears the man's body was found not far from where his boat could be seen floating alone in the water on Wednesday night.

"When it's light out, and the ocean is calm they have a lot better results," said Rockport Police Lt. Mark Schmink.

The man's name has not been released pending family notification.

Local emergency crews, a dive team and the U.S. Coast Guard responded with two boats and a helicopter. Local search efforts disbanded on Wednesday night but resumed at 7 a.m. Thursday. The Coast Guard continued its search overnight.

"Last night around 5 o'clock, I heard a helicopter going over and over. So I figured something must be going on," said Rockport resident Wayne Schmalz.

Donald Blanchette, a manager for the nearby Emerson Inn, said he sees divers going into the water all the time.

"It's too bad that something like this would happen," said Blanchette. "The sea is a mysterious thing. Anything can happen down there."

Both the diver and his friend were visiting from Pennsylvania and were staying at a campground nearby, according to officials.
It was a violent night in Lynn, Massachusetts where one person was shot and one was stabbed in unrelated incidents, according to police.

Officers first responded to a call of numerous shots fired just before 1:30 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Western Avenue and Arlington Street.

At the scene, they found a 34-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest. The man was flown to Brigham and Women's in Boston.

The victims current condition was not immediately available.

No arrests have been made so far, and it's unclear what led up to the shooting.

A couple hours early, at about 11 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a call on Washington Street where a 51-year-old man was suffering from life-threatening injuries after he was stabbed in the neck. The victim is expected to survive.

Police detained a 41-year-old in connection to the stabbing.

Authorities said the two incidents were not related.

Anyone who has information on the shooting is encouraged to contact the Lynn Police Department at 781-595-2000.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is questioning an audit that said 1,905 driver's licenses were issued under the names of dead people.

The audit, conducted by the office of State Auditor Suzanne M. Bump, found that the RMV failed to properly use databases like the Social Security Administration's Death Master File to identify and deactivate licenses of people who have died and to ensure that new licenses were not issued in the name of someone who is deceased.

According to the audit, 97 percent of the licenses issued to deceased individuals were still listed as active as of January 2018.

"The failure to prevent individuals from obtaining identification under the names of deceased people creates a significant public safety risk to the Commonwealth. Fixing this problem must be a top priority for the RMV," Bump said in a statement. "Recent upgrades to the computer systems at the RMV provide it with more tools; now the agency must use them in conjunction with the data sources at its disposal to address this problem."

Baker disputed the findings, telling reporters Thursday that "everybody on the list is alive."

Jacquelyn Goddard, a spokesperson for the RMV, issued a statement saying the agency "rejects the findings" in the auditor's report, "especially the false claim that the RMV is issuing licenses to 1,900 deceased individuals who the RMV has verified are alive." She added that the audit is outdated, as it was conducted before the implementation of an entirely new software system which has improved management and tracking capabilities.

Goddard said the RMV already uses the Social Security Administration's Death Master File, in addition to records from the state Department of Public Health.

Bump also called on the RMV to improve its oversight of disability parking placards after the audit found that the agency had processed over 10,000 requests for disability parking placards from individuals who were deceased.

But Goddard said this finding is also flawed, explaining that the RMV uses death records to identify deceased individuals and has already improved its database. She said the audit's recommendation that individuals with permanent medical conditions reapply for placards every five years would be too burdensome for someone with a permanent disability.

She also said the RMV is not missing any revenue, despite a claim by the auditor that no supporting documentation could be found for over $211 million in revenue.
Thunderstorms left damage Thursday afternoon in parts of Massachusetts.

Authorities in Webster believe lightning caused a house fire on Day Lane. The fire chief says the call came in after a lightning strike.

One firefighter was injured battling that fire. The patient was taken away on a stretcher, but officials describe the injury as minor.

A house caught fire Thursday after a lightning strike in Webster, Massachusetts.

Lightning also struck a tree on Kendall Hill Road in Sterling, splintering it and knocking much of it to the ground.

Sterling Police

The National Weather Service confirmed other reports of downed trees across Massachusetts and in Rhode Island, as well as a report of lightning causing another house fire in Walpole.

Additionally, the storm brought down trees and wires in Connecticut, leading to power outages.
The change is part of a move to modernise the branch's aging fleet

TWO new fire engines have been unveiled at Newbury Fire Station following an official handover from the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (RBFA).

The engines have been brought in following a joint procurement project between Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS), Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes and Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service, which delivered the first set of fire engines to the Thames Valley last year.

The new engines have been built by Emergency One (UK) Ltd on Volvo FL 42R chassis and will replace the existing ones, based at Newbury.

This is part of RBFRSs programme to modernise its aging fleet with state-of-the-art vehicles, designed for current needs and incorporating the latest technology.

They offer a range of improved capabilities for Newburys firefighters, including:

Larger hosereels, enabling water to be delivered more quickly to extinguish fires.

Battery-powered rescue equipment, primarily for use at road traffic incidents. This is easier to carry and less bulky than hydraulic equipment, less hazardous and removes generator noise from rescue situations. The equipment is also much quicker to deploy, reducing the time to access and rescue people who are trapped and injured.

Improved mobile lighting for better visibility at the scene of an incident.

A more comfortable seating area for crews. This is especially important as firefighters are typically spending more time in the fire engine, completing prevention work such as home fire safety checks.

RBFA lead member for strategic assets and Wokingham Borough councillor Angus Ross completed the official handover on Friday by giving the keys to Newbury firefighters.

He said: I am delighted that Newbury Fire Station will be home to two of the new fire engines, following their successful introduction at four other stations last year.

Credit must go to the team that ran this joint project with our colleagues in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. They have delivered a modern, fit-for-purpose fire engine that complements our existing fleet and now allows us to deliver an improved service for the communities supported from the Newbury station.

Newbury MP Richard Benyon attended the event last week, where he was shown the new engines and how the equipment is put to use.

Station manager at Newbury Fire Station Luke Coleman said: The arrival of new fire engines at Newbury is definitely positive for the local community.

It equips our firefighters with more modern equipment to deal with a range of scenarios that they may be confronted with on a daily basis, and also improves the way we work with our Oxfordshire colleagues at the scene of incidents, as we are all working with the same specification and layout of vehicles.
by Joseph Chuong

Roll out in the territories of Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Cao Bang and ien Bien. It is feared that the use of the "red currency" could be extended to other provinces and cities of Vietnam. The expert Nguyen Xuan Nghia: "Vietnam will become 'landfill' and 'landing strip' for Beijing companies".

Hanoi (AsiaNews) - Starting from October 12th, in seven northern border provinces, it will be possible to use the Yuan, the currency of the People's Republic of China according to a circular issued by the State Bank of Vietnam on August 29.

The provision will concern residents, businessmen, banks and organizations (local or Chinese) operating in the provinces of Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Cao Bang and ien Bien. In the beginning, in these territories it was customary to use the Chinese currency in frontier trade. The provision of the regime now feeds the widespread fears that the use of the "red currency" may be extended to other provinces and cities of Vietnam, leading to an economic colonization.

Sharing the fears of many citizens, economist Nguyen Tri Hieu states: "Since the beginning of 2018, the Viet Nam ong (VND) has appreciated by 1.8% against the yuan. Importing goods from China is therefore cheaper for Hanoi. Using Chinese currency in trade is disadvantageous to the Vietnamese economy. Since China is the biggest market for the country, the depreciation of the yuan will further promote the trade deficit with China. Exports to Beijing will suffer limitations, this is damaging for Vietnam ".

Le ang Doanh reiterates that, should Chinese products dominate the Vietnamese market, "local businesses would have a hard time selling their goods in China". "This will affect Vietnam's sales, employment and revenues. These are consequences we can foresee, "says the expert.

Commenting on the government provision, the well-known Vietnamese American analyst Nguyen Xuan Nghia declares: "This is Hanoi's industrialization strategy. It will be harmful to Vietnam but will bring many benefits to China". "This plan will not only make the country a 'Chinese landfill' - he concludes - but it will also make it a 'landing strip' for Beijing companies in vast areas of the Vietnamese provinces. We are talking about strategic territories, all this is very dangerous for national security ".
ANSONIA  City taxpayers need school administrators and union leaders willing to compromise for the greater good of the city.

So said Mayor David S. Cassetti in a written statement on Thursday, a day after the state Board of Education unanimously authorized the initiation of a complaint process against the city for what it says is a failure to adequately fund its public schools.

The contention is that the city is not meeting a statutory minimum budget requirement by failing to fund the district as least as well in one fiscal year as it did in the year before. The state contends the city contribution is off by $600,000 in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 fiscal years.

Cassetti called it an unanticipated $1.8 million that places the city in a very difficult position.

Ansonia schools have received three consecutive years of significant budget increases, totaling over $4 million since 2013, Cassetti said. Ansonia taxpayers simply need the same good faith to be shown in return.

State officials say the city needs to appropriate $31,860,484 to its school system to meet its minimum budget requirement. Ansonia appropriated $31,260,484.

Whether the city acted properly in reducing the Board of Education's 2017-18 budget increase by $600,000 is before a superior court judge.

We believe this action was allowable under a new law passed last year, but that is ultimately a question of statutory interpretation for the court to decide, Cassetti said.

State law allows some districts to skirt the minimum budget requirement, but not Alliance Districts of which Ansonia is one.

Eventually the city is going to have to come up with some money, Frederick L. Dorsey, an attorney for the Ansonia school board, said. That is pretty straight forward. The MBR has been there long time. It is not like something out of blue.

Mathew Hough, a city music teacher and president of the Ansonia Federation of Teachers, said that while the mayor keeps saying that taxpayers give enough, the school district remains one of the lowest in per pupil expenditures in the state.

He keeps talking about gross mismanagement, Hough said. Where is the proof? Just because the Mayor or an alderman says it, doesn't make it true.

Hough added that teachers have come to the table to renegotiate health benefits that saved the school board nearly a million dollars.

We have accepted cuts to staff every year, Hough said. There is very simply nothing left to give.

Dorsey said city teachers are among the lowest paid in the valley and class sizes are above 30 students, even in the lower elementary grades.

Ansonias children deserve bettermuch better, Dorsey said. School administrators will not abdicate their responsibilities to the children of Ansonia.

Cassettis stance, Dorsey added, just acerbates the situation. While the state gave the district a grant to improve student outcomes, the city is attempting to pocket the money.

He called that outrageous.

The two sides met August 27 at the citys request, according to the board attorney, but neither the mayor or anyone from the board of aldermen attended.

They have no desire to settle this, Dorsey said.

The court cases and the state Board of Education complaint will run parallel to one another with one deciding if the city can reduce the school budget and the other if the city met statutory funding requirements.

Cassetti said the state board does not have the authority to interpret state law.

That role is held exclusively by the court, Cassetti said, noting a November court date. In the meantime, school administrators should give thought to whether their actions are providing the right lesson for our students.
WASHINGTON  At the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday addressed what he termed the elephant in the room: The looming legal difficulties of President Donald Trump and what role Kavanaugh might play in adjudicating them.

We are in uncharted territory, Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. It is unprecedented for a nominee to be made by a president who is an unindicted co-conspirator in a pending criminal matter.

The criminal matter is a reference to Trump former lawyer-fixer Michael Cohens guilty plea last month in which he said that before the 2016 election, he paid off women claiming sexual relationships with Trump at Trumps direction.

I would like your commitment you will recuse yourself if Trump were to come before the Supreme Court, Blumenthal told Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh demurred, saying it would be a violation of judicial independence to make commitments on hypothetical cases.

Im going to take your answer as a no, Blumenthal interrupted. Its really a yes-or-no question.

A former prosecutor known for sharp rat-a-tat questioning, Blumenthal used his 30 minute round of questioning to focus in on a variety of controversial issues including abortion, health insurance for those with pre-existing conditions and gun control.

On abortion, Blumenthal cited Kavanaughs use of the phrase abortion on demand in an appeals court opinion last year on an illegal-immigrant teenager in Texas seeking to terminate a pregnancy.

Those are code words used by the anti-choice community, Blumenthal said. He accused Kavanaugh of using the phrase in order to send a message to the Trump administration that he was an opponent of the Roe v. Wade abortion precedent, willing to overturn it in line with Trumps oft-stated promise only to appoint justices who would do so.

These were your bumper stickers, he said.

Kavanaugh replied he was not familiar with use of the words as code, and was only following the same words used by Chief Justice Warren Burger in the Roe v. Wade opinion in 1973. When asked by Blumenthal to commit to maintaining Roe v. Wade, Kavanaugh declined.

On guns, Blumenthal said he was deeply disturbed by Kavanaughs dissent in a 2011 case in which the majority upheld the District of Columbias ban on semi-automatic rifles  assault weapons.

He attacked Kavanaughs statement in the dissent that weapons in common use should be off-limits from governmental controls.

Those words come from the Supreme Courts ruling in D.C. v. Helle, which struck down D.C.s ban on handgun ownership. The decision stated for the first time that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to have a gun at home for self-protection.

In his dissent, Kavanaugh insisted that semi-automatic handguns permitted by Heller are barely distinguishable from semi-automatic rifles -- both discharge a single shot per trigger pull. Both are in common use and therefore there is no basisfor drawing a constitutional distinction between semi-automatic handguns and semi-automatic rifles.

Connecticuts assault weapons ban actually dates back to the 1990s. But the legislature beefed it up in the round of gun-control laws approved in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in 2012. Connecticut law now bans such weapons both by brand name and specific features -- a folding stock, for instance, or a pistol grip. Connecticut also bans magazines greater than 10 rounds.

Earlier Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., forced the Senate to shut down for the day by objecting to a floor motion by his Republican counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Republicans are trying to jam through, with as little scrutiny as possible, a lifetime appointment to the nations highest court, with the power to affect the lives of Americans for a generation, said Schumer on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Schumer objected to McConnells proposal to wave a rule that prevents Senate committees from hearings that go beyond two hours while the Senate is in session. After Schumer spoke up against what otherwise would have been a routine motion, the Senates top Republican then had little choice but to adjourn.

dan@hearstdc.com
Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media

Brookfield and Danbury schools will dismiss early Thursday because of the ongoing heat and problems with Brookfield schools ventilation systems.

All Danbury schools will be on a weather-related early dismissal Thursday. All after-school activities and the Extended Learning Program also are canceled.
There are about a dozen candidates running for mayor of Chicago, including Paul Vallas, Bridgeports former interim superintendent of schools.

And the race became more intense this week when Mayor Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he would not not seek re-election.

Back in Bridgeport, not everyone saw Vallas Chicago candidacy as a good thing.

Tell me what position Paul Vallas hasnt run for, Maria Pereira, a vocal Vallas opponent and a member of Bridgeports Board of Education, said Thursday. He is a perennial politician. I dont think hes truly vested in anything he does.

Residents of the Windy City will go to the polls on Feb. 26, 2019, to elect their new mayor. Should Vallas win, what would Pereira tell Chicagoans?

Move, she said.

Former Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch was more supportive of Vallas, saying the candidate would make an amazing mayor and that he has dogged determination and hes able to take on hard-set ideology.

Vallas is an education reformer who has led some of the nations most troubled school systems, including the New Orleans district after Hurricane Katrina devastated that city. In December 2011 he took on a new challenge: in Bridgeport, when the state took over the citys school district, owing to budgetary woes.

Finch, who was Bridgeports mayor then and is now executive director of the Discovery Museum, had high praise Thursday for Vallas.

Paul is a wizard with budgets  he walked into a very difficult situation here and a balanced the budget, Finch said. He has the ability to work with very different groups of people and he not afraid to tackle the status quo.

Vallas also worked on rebuilding schools in Haiti after the massive earthquake there in 2010. And it was during that effort in Haiti that former Connecticut Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor met Vallas, and soon asked him to come to Bridgeport to lead its school district during the time the state had taken it over.

Vallas, 65, had a rocky, two-year tenure in the Park City. He was never more than the interim superintendent because  according to state statutes  he lacked the proper academic credentials for the position. His critics charged that Vallas was trying to privatize the citys school district by promoting charter schools.

In June, 2013, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis ordered Vallas removed as Bridgeports superintendent over his lack of certification. The state, however, fashioned a fast-track process for Vallas to gain certification.

By November 2013, though, Vallas has mapped an exit, announcing he was leaving to run for lieutenant governor of Illinois along side Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn who subsequently lost the election.

Vallas had also run unsuccessfully for governor of Illinois in 2002. When he was Quinns running mate, the pair lost to Republican Bruce Rauner, who then tapped Vallas in 2017 to help turn around Chicago State University.

Vallas was already among the slew of 2019 Chicago mayoral candidates  more might enter the race  when Emanuel said Tuesday that he would not pursue a third four-year term.

This has been the job of a lifetime, but it is not a job for a lifetime, Emanuel said in his news conference.

He has been on a rough ride. One issue in Chicago is a mess surrounding Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who was charged with murder in the October 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. Van Dyke was caught on video shooting McDonald 16 times  but the footage was not released for more than a year.

Van Dykes trial will begin soon, and it was Emanuels decision to withhold the McDonald shooting video until after the 2015 election. The mayor released it only after a judge ordered City Hall to do so.
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 court struck parts of Section 377 of the Penal Code, which dates back to the heyday of British India. The rule punished offenders with imprisonment for up to 10 years. In 2016, 2,187 cases were filed under it.

New Delhi (AsiaNews)  In a historic decision, the Indian Supreme Court this morning ruled that sexual relations between consenting adults is no longer a crime.

After years of battles by LGBT groups in defence of gay rights, the court has now decided that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a fundamental violation of human rights.

Its decision has largely met with approval across the country. Mgr Savio Fernandes, of the archdiocese of Mumbai, notes that "The Catholic Church has never considered homosexuality a crime. Punishment against gays must cease. Everyone deserves respect and inclusion."

In their ruling, reached by a majority vote, the justices struck down those parts of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that define relations between persons of the same sex as an unnatural offence. If convicted, offenders could expect to get a 10-year jail term.

The Indian Penal Code to which the section belonged was introduced in 1861 under Indias British rulers.

The court said that other aspects of section 377 dealing with unnatural sex with animals and children would remain in force.

Although most Indians living in large cities were in favour of abolishing the anti-same-sex provision of Section 377, pockets of opposition remain among conservative religious circles and in rural areas.

A decisive step towards decriminalisation of homosexual relations came last July when the Union government announced that it would not oppose the Supreme Court on this matter.

For LGBT activists, Section 377 was a "relic" of imperial rule.

According to official data, 2,187 cases were filed in 2016 for "unnatural offences". Seven people were tried, convicted and jailed. Another 16 were acquitted.

In total, 72 countries continue to outlaw same-sex relations.
Ayanna Pressleys upset victory over a 10-term Democratic Congressman in Tuesdays Massachusetts primary means New England could be sending two black congresswomen to Washington, D.C. this year.

Jahana Hayes, who beat establishment Democrat Mary Glassman in the Connecticuts 5th District primary, says she would embrace the historic nature of the story more if the focus ever gets beyond race.

It is not just about black women  it is about all the people in our communities, where the electorate is changing, said Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year. It is not that revolutionary of an idea.

The mixed feelings are not new for Hayes, who is running for the most conservative and the most competitive Congressional seat in Connecticut.

She has earned national media attention, along with New Yorks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as the kind of underdog progressive minority candidate that Democrats are embracing in the 2018 midterm elections.

At the same time, Hayes has been fighting criticism that shes practicing identity politics since the early days of her campaign, when she said, If Congress starts to look like us, no one can stop us.

When Congress starts looking like us means all the people in our community  teachers and mothers  people who have felt left out of the political process, people who feel like Government doesnt include me, Hayes said on Wednesday. That is the message Im running on.

So when Pressley addressed a stunned city of Boston after beating Rep. Michael Capuano on Tuesday and decried constant charges being lobbed against me about identity politics, Hayes could relate.

Its not identity politics because my skin doesnt come off, Hayes said on Wednesday. I dont think (Pressley)  and I know I didnt  run on that platform, but everyone else is making that the narrative.

Race became an issue in part when it was brought up by Hayes biggest supporter, Sen. Chris Murphy, who encouraged Hayes to run. Murphy said he encouraged her, in part, because New England needed a woman of color in Congress.

A Democratic strategist said victories by progressive minority candidates are part of a movement that began before president Donald Trumps election in 2016.

What we saw in the presidential primary was a movement in the Democratic Party to move to the left with (Vermont Sen.) Bernie Sanders taking up the mantle, said Joseph Walkovich, a former state Representative and former Danbury Democratic Party chairman. Now we see in these Democratic primaries the rebellion against Trump administration policies has activated the more liberal, progressive wing to be more active.

Wins by Pressley, Hayes and Ocasio-Cortez are part of a larger wave of minority candidates winning key primaries. Black politicians in three states  Florida, Georgia and Maryland  have won the Democratic nomination for governor, for example.

Hayes is running to replace Elizabeth Esty, a three-term Democrat who dropped reelection plans after admitting she covered up an office abuse scandal.

The GOP is putting its support behind Manny Santos, a former mayor of Meriden, who is running as a Trump Republican.

Hayes said although she draws courage from minority candidates who are winning Democratic primaries and making the party more diverse and progressive, her focus is on the 5th District, which stretches from Bethel to the Massachusetts border.

I get it how the Connecticut story is backing up against a larger national story, but my focus is on the issues in my district a livable wage, making sure Medicare is a reality, and making sure our students have equitable access to education, she said.

Unlike Pressley, who faces no Republican challenger for a district once represented by John F. Kennedy, Hayes has a fight ahead.

Leading Washington, D.C. election forecasters dont think it will be much of a fight, calling a Democratic victory a solid likelihood.

Republicans say those forecasts overlook voter anger at failed Democratic policies in Connecticut.

Hayes and Santos have three debates planned in October, including one in Danbury.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342
Before he was Indiana Jones and Han Solo, actor Harrison Ford lived in a modest brick Tudor in a suburb 17 miles north of Chicago.

Fords childhood home is now on the market for the first time since 1970, listed for $399,900 with Craig Tinder of Century 21 Elm. The current owners are the second family to own the home since the Fords sold it.

Ford lived in the home during the 1950s, graduating from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, IL, before attending Ripon College in Wisconsin. He acted with a summer theater group near the resort town of Lake Geneva, WI, and then moved to Los Angeles.

RELATED VIDEO: Finding the right Realtor

Ford also had another future-celeb neighbor: Hillary Rodham Clinton, who grew up two blocks away during the '50s and '60s, according to Tinder.

Built in 1922, this fixer-upper will need a bit of TLC. No, the roof isn't caving in, nor is the plaster peeling; but its a time capsule that was last updated decades ago.

The windows and electricity and plumbing systems are original to the home, making them 96 years old.

Theres been very little updates, especially in the last 25 years, says Tinder. It has a lot of potential for the next owner to remodel it.

While this charming Tudor is listed for just under $400,000, Tinder told us recent comps in the neighborhood are in the $700,000 range.

The yard is a bit of a jungle, according to the agent, so the next occupants may want to invest in landscaping as well.

Hardwood floors under the carpeting could also give the house a new lease on life. Other projects might include finishing the 850-square-foot basement and modernizing the baths and kitchen (look at those vintage cabinets!).

Park Ridge is one of many Chicago suburbs undergoing a renaissance.

Back when Harrison Ford lived there, it was very sleepy, suburban, a dry town, says Tinder. Most of the people who are moving to Park Ridge now are coming from Chicago and still want to be close to the downtown areaboth Chicago and Park Ridges Uptown area.

Even so, it remains a family-friendly community just as it was when Ford lived here.

Most of the people who live here are either raising their families or they raised their families here and continued to stay, says Tinder.

There are three bedrooms in the home. Fords parents took the master bedroom while he took the larger of the remaining two bedrooms, and his younger brother (Terence Ford, also an actor, with roles on The Young and the Restless and Knots Landing) got the smaller. Harrison's former room also boasts a balcony.

It makes us wonder: Can you imagine standing on the balcony off of what used to be Fords bedroom?!

The post Calling All Harrison Ford Fans: His Childhood Home Is on the Market for $400K appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
Perspectives on the future of cancer research and care, including the latest on CAR T-cell therapy, Big Data management, and international partnerships, will highlight the 2018 joint annual meeting of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) and the Cancer Center Administrators Forum (CCAF), September 30  October 2, in Chicago.

In the meeting's first panel discussion, four distinguished cancer center leaders will share their insights and predictions for how academic cancer centers will evolve over the next decade. The discussion will be moderated by AACI President Stanton L. Gerson, MD, director of Case Comprehensive Cancer Center in Cleveland. Dr. Gerson will be joined by Candace S. Johnson, PhD, president and CEO of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; Michael B. Kastan, MD, PhD, executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke University Medical Center; and Steven T. Rosen, MD, provost and chief scientific officer at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Dr. Gerson will also provide an update on AACI's Network Care Initiative, including results of a survey looking at network management; standardization of care and the use of care paths; collaboration among cancer centers and community sites; employment network models; and access to clinical trials. The meeting will mark two major leadership transitions for AACI. Roy A. Jensen, MD, director of The University of Kansas Cancer Center, will become the association's new president and will introduce his presidential initiative, which aims to develop a comprehensive, cancer-specific clearinghouse of model legislation for AACI cancer centers to share with their state legislators. In addition, Barbara Duffy Stewart, MPH, will preside at her final annual meeting after 19 years as AACI's first executive director. Jennifer W. Pegher, who has served for six years at AACI as director of government relations and deputy director, will be the new executive director.

The annual meeting program includes a panel discussion on the nuts and bolts of developing a CAR T-cell therapy program, including intake and management issues, standard operating procedures, financial challenges, and regulatory requirements. Approaching cancer care from a high-tech angle, a panel moderated by Moffitt Cancer Center Director Thomas A. Sellers, MD, will convene commercial and academic players in the Big Data arena with an eye toward enhancing dialogue and developing stronger linkages that could lead to expanded information-sharing and improved patient care. With a growing number of cancer centers establishing partnerships with countries in the developing world, the AACI annual meeting will include an overview of cancer research and treatment efforts in several countries including Kenya, Malawi, and Cuba, where U.S. sanctions are creating unique collaboration challenges. Meeting attendees will also hear a report from NCI Director Norman E. Sharpless, MD, and a panel will examine revised guidelines for NCI's Cancer Center Support Grant application.

On Monday, October 1, AACI will present its first Champion for Cures Award to Richard and Susan Rogel in recognition of their $150 million gift to the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, which was renamed Rogel Cancer Center in their honor. Also on October 1, Charles M. Perou, PhD, will receive the AACI Distinguished Scientist Award. Dr. Perou, a pioneer in breast cancer research and precision medicine, will deliver a talk focused on sequencing studies for gene expression analysis, specifically, on research results showing the value of sequencing-based approaches in breast and lung cancers. The May Goldman Shaw Distinguished Professor of Molecular Oncology at UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Perou is also the faculty director of UNC Lineberger's Bioinformatics Group, co-director of its Breast Cancer Research Program, and a professor in its Genetics and Pathology & Laboratory Medicine departments.
A team of researchers from Finland and Britain have shown that over half of all the trays or security bins that the airport authorities use at the security clearance areas carry viruses that can cause respiratory infections.

It is advisable to wash ones hands after passing through the airport security clearance, say researchers. In this new study published last week in the BioMed Central Infectious Diseases, the team tested the surfaces of a sample of plastic airport security bins from Helsinki Airport. These were obtained from the airport at three different occasions during the peak flu season in 2015 and 2016. Authors from Finlands National Institute for Health and Welfare and the University of Nottingham collaborated in this study.

Image Credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock

Results revealed that of the eight samples, four contained rhinovirus or adenovirus. These viruses are responsible for colds and respiratory infections. The authors concluded that these screening trays, commonly contaminated and are surfaces from which most passengers are likely to catch harmful viruses. They write, We found the highest frequency of respiratory viruses on plastic trays used in security check areas for depositing hand-carried luggage and personal items. These boxes typically cycle with high frequency to subsequent passengers, and are typically seized with a wide palm surface area and strong grip. The risk is greater for Americans they explain because these passengers are required to empty their food and snacking items directly onto the plastic bins.

The authors have warned that these airports can be a potential risk area from where infections can spread to even pandemic proportions. Pandemics are those that affect and spread to countries located in more than one continent. They cite previous examples of the SARS outbreak in 2002 and the Ebola pandemic in 2014.

The researchers conclude from this study that all airports should provide hand sanitizers to the passengers before and after entry into each of the security checkpoints and these trays should undergo rigorous cleaning and disinfection at frequent intervals. They write, This knowledge helps in the recognition of hot spots for contact transmission risk, which could be important during an emerging pandemic threat or severe epidemic.

It is only frequent cleaning, they write, that renders the toilet seats relatively less contaminated with these viruses. They took swabs from 42 toilet seats, lids, flush buttons, door knobs and locks etc. at the airport and found that there were no viruses on them. They wrote that since passengers pay more attention to hygiene and hand washing in the washrooms, there are no respiratory viruses on these surfaces.

The team looked for viruses in the airport and noted that there was a high frequency of these cold viruses even on the buttons of the Helsinki Airport pharmacys payment terminal. Quite evidently around half of the samples tested positive for rhinovirus and human coronavirus. One in three sample swabs from the glass dividers and the desks at the passport control checkpoint tested positive for rhinovirus. Further toys at the airports childrens play area showed very high rates of contamination with these cold viruses with one toy testing 67 percent positive.

A simple solution, write the researchers, would be to wipe down these surfaces frequently with disinfectants. They explain that there are several cleaning agents, household (antibacterial) wipes and anti-viral tissues that can kill these cold viruses and even the flu virus and reduce the risk of indirect contact transmission that occurs through coming in contact with a contaminated surface.

Citation: Deposition of respiratory virus pathogens on frequently touched surfaces at airports, Niina Ikonen, Carita Savolainen-Kopra, Joanne E. Enstone, Ilpo Kulmala, Pertti Pasanen, Anniina Salmela, Satu Salo, Jonathan S. Nguyen-Van-Tam, Petri Ruutu, BMC Infectious Diseases, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-018-3150-5
Dr. Ming-Hui Zou, director of the Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine at Georgia State University, has received a four-year, $2.4 million federal grant to study cardiovascular complications in diabetes.

The grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health allows Zou to continue his research, which has been funded since 2004.

The study will investigate how high glucose promotes dysfunction of mitochondria, the cell structures that produce the energy cells need to survive. It will also explore how mitochondrial fission, or division into two or more independent structures, results in atherosclerosis, the buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls, and dysfunction of endothelial cells, which line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels.

Studies show that mitochondria play a causative role in diabetic endothelial dysfunction, though it's unclear how the mitochondria become dysfunctional.

"There's a single layer of cells in the vasculature, which is called endothelial cells. These cells are very important," Zou said. "They separate the circulating blood and the organs, so they protect the organs from damage. It's like a barrier to prevent the blood going into the tissue. We study how this type of cells would become dysfunctional or damaged.

"We are also looking at how the defense of this cell type could prevent the damage caused by diabetes or hyperglycemia, high blood sugar concentration. We found the cells have a mechanism called autophagy, or self-eating, in which they digest themselves under stress conditions. It's like an internal self-defense mechanism. We're studying how this mechanism becomes dysfunctional and how we can enhance this part of the function to protect these cells and result in increased resistance to disease conditions."
The village is home to 35 families. Its school, the "School of Tires", has 170 pupils, many from nearby areas. Other schools are too far away and the road is dangerous. Israel wants to move residents next to a garbage dumb. Two Comboni sisters describe the situation.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews)  The residents of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank are about to be evicted after Israels Supreme Court gave the green light to an order to remove them and tear down their village.

Sister Azezet Kidane and Sister Agnese Elli, who are close to the community, have been witnesses to the residents anguish. "People are anxious, said Sister Azezet, because they do not know when they [the army] will come: in a week, a day. Children are constantly tense, as soon as they hear a car, a noise from outside, they get scared. They are upset."

Sister Agnese agrees. "The people in the village cant sleep; tensions are running high. This morning, whilst we were there with some Italians, there was a constant flow of consuls, Palestinian and non-Palestinian officials and various journalists.

"The demolition order was first issued in 2009, when the school was built. People hung on for a year, then for another, until last year when the situation got worse. Since then, the children have had a very traumatic year. The teachers say that the childrens educational performance got really worse.

The village is located in the West Bank, about eight km from Jerusalem, near the Israeli settlement of Kfar Adumim and Route 1, which connects East Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley.

The village has a school, a clinic, a mosque and some houses, mostly shacks made of metal, for 35 families or about 180 people.

The school is called School of Tyres because it was built with tyres in 2009 thanks to the help of the Italian NGO Vento di Terra (Wind of Earth), the Comboni Sisters, Rabbis for human rights and other NGOs.

It has nine classes for 170 pupils, boys and girls, 35-40 from the village, whilst the others come from the surrounding areas.

For the two nuns, the Israeli government plans to move the residents to a place near al-Jabal, the hill, a garbage dumb. "It's very, very narrow. It raises the question of where the residents small herds will go.

The new site should include a prefabricated school but for residents only. So "Where will the other children go? Sister Agnese asks. For them it would mean going to school in Ramallah, Jericho . . . but they are far away, there is no school bus service, and the road is very dangerous, because it is a very busy highway."

NGOs like B'tselem have slammed the decision, because it was based on the idea that the Bedouins built without a permit when in fact it is impossible for them to get one.

The Palestinians cannot build legally and are excluded from the decision-making mechanisms that determine how their lives will look, B'tselem said.

In light of the situation, many outsiders have expressed solidarity towards the villagers, Sister Agnese and Sister Azezet said.

At present, many Israeli and Palestinian activists are here, Sister Agnese said. They have been coming for months to sleep here so that the community does not feel alone, to make them feel that they have support.
Small, New World monkeys called marmosets can mimic the sleep disturbances, changes in circadian rhythm, and cognitive impairment people with Parkinson's disease develop, according to a new study by scientists at Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

By developing an effective animal model that can emulate both the motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, scientists have a better chance of understanding the molecular mechanisms of the neuro-circuitry responsible for changes in the brain during the course of the disease. Scans like magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and analysis after dissections may lead to potential targets for new therapies for patients.

Associate Scientist Marcel Daadi, Ph.D., leader of the Regenerative Medicine and Aging Unit at the Southwest National Primate Research Center on the Texas Biomed campus, is the lead author of the study that tracked marmosets using devices around their necks similar to Fitbits humans use to track their activity and sleep. The study was published in a recent edition of the journal PLOS ONE. In the case of the tiny monkeys, investigators wanted to see if the marmosets with induced classic Parkinson's motor symptoms  like tremors  could also serve as an effective model for non-motor symptoms. In addition, scientists videotaped the animals to monitor their ability to perform certain tasks and how those abilities were impacted over time by the disease.

"Most of the early studies in Parkinson's have been conducted with rodents," Dr. Daadi explained, "but there are some complex aspects of this disease you simply cannot investigate using rodents in a way that is relevant to human patients. Nonhuman primates are critical in his aspect because we can see these symptoms clearly whether it is the dyskinesia (abnormality or impairment of voluntary movements), or the sleep disturbances that you can monitor or the fine motors skills."

Parkinson's disease affects a million people in the United States and 10 million people worldwide. With the aging population, the incidence of the neurodegenerative disorder is on the rise. 60,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's each year in the U.S. alone. The hallmark symptoms of Parkinson's include tremors, slow movements, balance problems and rigid or stiff muscles. However, non-motor symptoms including disorders of the sleep-wake cycle and problems thinking clearly can be just as difficult for patients to handle.

"This study is a great first step," Dr. Daadi stated. "More studies are needed to expand on these non-motor symptoms in marmosets in the longer-term, and perhaps, include other nonhuman primates at the SNPRC like macaques and baboons."
Researchers at RCSI, Stanford University and Oregon Health Sciences University have discovered a marker which can help determine which asthma patients are likely to benefit from a new treatment which targets inflammatory cells called Eosinophils. The research, which was funded through a Health Research Board Clinician Scientist Award, has today been published in Science Translational Medicine.

Asthma is a common clinical condition characterized by airway obstruction, inflammation, and hyper responsiveness. It affects approximately 470,000 people in Ireland. Symptoms such as bronchoconstriction and cough range from mild intermittent to severe persistent. Some patients, despite good treatment, remain troubled by the symptoms of their condition.

According to Professor Richard Costello, Department of Medicine, RCSI, "The novel treatments now available for asthma present a new challenge for clinicians. It is important that we are able to identify which patient will benefit from these treatments. Our research set out to determine if there were any particular markers which would help us to understand which patients had a particular form of asthma and would respond well to new treatments".

Professor Costello explained that in eosinophilic asthma, the most common form of asthma, inflammatory cells (eosinophils) in the airway alter nerve function and make the condition worse.

"We identified that inflammatory cells, in particular, eosinophils, promote airway nerve growth in patients with asthma. These observations provide a unique insight into a fundamental mechanism of how the inflammation caused by asthma causes people to experience the symptoms of asthma such as coughing and breathlessness", said Professor Costello.

"Our research means that we now know which markers to look for in a patient with severe asthma. A patient with markers which show they have this particular form of asthma is likely to respond well to these new treatments".
A Phase 1 clinical trial examining whether a topical cream can enhance the immune response conferred by a "pre-pandemic" influenza vaccine is underway at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Investigators are evaluating whether imiquimod cream, which is commonly used to treat genital warts and certain skin cancers, can boost the body's immune response to an H5N1 influenza vaccine. The trial is enrolling 50 healthy adults ages 18-50 years. Baylor is one of the Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units (VTEUs)--a network of clinical research sites that can rapidly enroll large volunteer cohorts to evaluate experimental vaccines against infectious diseases. The VTEUs are funded and managed by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

H5N1 is an avian influenza virus that causes severe respiratory illness in birds. In rare circumstances, humans have contracted H5N1 influenza through direct or indirect contact with infected birds, such as poultry. Infections in people can be serious and deadly--the World Health Organization reported 860 cases of H5N1 influenza, 454 of them fatal, from 2003 through July 20, 2018. H5N1 influenza currently does not spread easily from human to human. However, like all influenza viruses, the virus undergoes constant genetic changes, and it is possible that it may become more easily transmissible and cause a pandemic.

Participants in the VTEU trial will receive an H5N1 vaccine (manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, based in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania) that was designed for use in a potential pandemic. The vaccine, developed with some NIAID support, is made from an inactivated, or "killed," influenza virus. After the vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2007, it was added to the National Pre-pandemic Influenza Vaccine Stockpile.

"NIAID is pleased to support a clinical trial evaluating an innovative way to boost immune responses to a pre-pandemic vaccine," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "The Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units remain a crucial component of our pandemic influenza preparedness efforts."

Imiquimod cream activates the innate immune system--the body's immediate defense against invading pathogens. Investigators in Hong Kong recently conducted two clinical trials of imiquimod cream and seasonal inactivated influenza vaccine. One clinical trial enrolled elderly participants, and the other enrolled young adults. The imiquimod cream was generally well-tolerated, and elderly and young participants who applied the cream before vaccination generated significantly more robust immune responses than those in control groups who did not receive imiquimod.

The immune-boosting properties of imiquimod could stretch the supply of H5N1 vaccines because fewer doses would be required to achieve sufficient immunity in recipients. This would allow more people to be vaccinated in an outbreak.

Hana M. El Sahly, M.D., associate professor, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, serves as the principal investigator for the clinical trial. All trial participants will receive two intradermal doses of the H5N1 vaccine, 21 days apart. Intradermal delivery with a needle and syringe requires a precise technique of inserting the needle in the skin at a certain angle. To reduce variability, study clinicians are using a microneedle injector, the MicronJet600 (manufactured by NanoPass, based in Ness Ziona, Israel), to deliver the vaccine.

Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. One group will have Aldara (FDA-approved imiquimod cream manufactured by Valeant Pharmaceutical International, Inc., based in Laval, Canada) applied to their upper arm before each vaccination. The cream, which is supplied in single-use packets, is rubbed in so that it is fully absorbed. After waiting approximately five to 15 minutes, clinicians will then administer the vaccine to the upper arm where the cream was applied. The same process will be followed in the control group; however, instead of receiving imiquimod cream, control group participants will have a placebo aqueous cream applied in the same fashion before both vaccinations. The trial is double-blind, meaning the participants and the investigators do not know who received each type of topical cream. Study clinicians will monitor participants for any injection site reactions such as redness and swelling, or other reactions such as fever, headache or nausea. After each injection, participants must refrain from washing their arm for four to six hours.

Participants will return to the clinic at regular intervals over the course of 7 months to have blood drawn so that investigators can test samples for an immune response. After each vaccination, participants will take home a diary card to record any symptoms and medications taken at home. An independent data and safety monitoring committee will review participants' clinical and safety data at specified time points and otherwise as needed.

The first clinical trial participant was vaccinated on June 19, 2018, and investigators expect to have early study results by the end of the year. For more information, visit ClinicalTrials.gov and search identifier NCT03472976.
A new study has shown that some of the sub-strains of the bacteria that commonly live on our skin have become resistant to common infections  or in other words turned into superbugs. Infections with these strains thus could become untreatable with the antibiotics available and may turn life-threatening, warn researchers.

According to a recent UK government report, emergence of the superbugs that are resistant to the commonly used antibiotics could push humans back into the dark ages of medicine where specific antibiotics were not available for all infections. This report says that if prompt action is not taken now, up to 10 million people could die of infections by these superbugs by 2050.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. Image Credit: Tatiana Shepeleva / Shutterstock

In this latest study the team has looked at sub strains on the commonly present human pathogen called Staphylococcus aureus or staph. Staph has long since developed resistance to the bacteria Methicillin and has emerged as MRSA or Methicillin Resistant Staph aureus which has been notoriously difficult to treat. One of Staphs sub-styrains commonly lives on the skin surface. This is called Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis). Staph epidermidis is fast emerging as a cause for hospital-acquired infections. It needs to be treated with an antibiotic called vancomycin. Vancomycin is commonly combined with another antibiotic called Rifampicin for the treatment of Staph epidermidis infections.

In 2012 however a patient was admitted for a simple procedure and he acquired Staph epidermidis infection which necessitated a three month hospital stay. Dr. Jean Lee from the University of Melbourne's Department of Microbiology and her colleagues and team including her PhD supervisor Professor Ben Howden started investigating this particular case of drug resistance. The team spent the next six years trying sequence the genetic code of this stain of the bacteria. They noted that Staph epidermidis has three distinct genetic lineages. These mutations were compared globally with other strains. One in 10 countries in the UK, America and Europe showed emergence of the same mutations that could lead to these superbugs that resisted the antibiotics. For this study the team collected hundreds of Staphylococcus epidermidis isolates from 78 different medical institutions situated in 10 different countries worldwide.

According to Lee, all of these three strains of the Staph epidermidis have spread worldwide and are resistant to the commonly used antibiotics. The 2012 case was not a one-off case, she adds. In fact some of the samples of the bacteria have shown that they are resistant to the strongest last-ditch antibiotics as well. This renders their infection potentially untreatable she explains. She added that this bacteria commonly is present over the skin and can enter into the body via the medical devices that are introduced within the body such as feeding tubes, catheters, intravenous lines etc.

As of now the degree of prevalence of these strains around the world and their degree of severity of infection among patients is not explored in details, the authors explain. There is an emergence of a handful of reports that speak of Staph epidermidis resistance to antibiotics. Since these infections are commonly acquired within the intensive care when the patients immunity is low, the situation is more worrying. Professor Howden says, Catheters and other implanted devices are frequently impregnated with antibiotics as a strategy to prevent infection, however this approach may be promoting the development of resistance. Also, these infections are most prevalent in intensive care, where patients are sickest and strong antibiotics are liberally prescribed, promoting the development of additional resistance.

At present a deeper understanding of the method of spread of this superbug and prevention of the same is being sought. Professor Howden says that there needs to be an international monitoring system that would provide data on prevalence of S. epidermidis and its impact. The system would also help measure antibiotic resistance and the infections caused by this strain he said.

The research was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Microbiology.

Citation: Global spread of three multidrug-resistant lineages of Staphylococcus epidermidis, Jean Y. H. Lee, Ian R. Monk, Anders Goncalves da Silva, Torsten Seemann, Kyra Y. L. Chua, Angela Kearns, Robert Hill, Neil Woodford, Mette D. Bartels, Birgit Strommenger, Frederic Laurent, Magali Dodemont, Ariane Deplano, Robin Patel, Anders R. Larsen, Tony M. Korman, Timothy P. Stinear & Benjamin P. Howden | Nature Microbiology (2018) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-018-0230-7
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), recently executed its first master research service agreement with local medical imaging organization Desert Radiology. The agreement, which is renewable for up to four years, will provide cost-effective imaging analysis services to subjects participating in UNLV research and help generate new business for Desert Radiology.

"We're pleased to work together with UNLV to provide quality diagnostics," said Matthew Grimes, chief operating officer of Desert Radiology. "This new partnership reinforces Desert Radiology's ongoing commitment and support of the Southern Nevada community."

The partnership is currently supporting studies in the UNLV Schools of Allied Health Sciences and Medicine that require radiological imaging the campus isn't equipped to provide. One early-stage project will examine the effectiveness of a particular physical therapy regimen in children by analyzing imaging data. Desert Radiology's imaging services are anticipated to support additional studies in other UNLV colleges and schools as well.

"This new agreement furthers our efforts to build new relationships and expand UNLV's impact in the community," said Zach Miles, UNLV associate vice president for economic development. "We're excited by the promise this partnership holds with respect to fueling new research, funding, and faculty recruitment opportunities."
It is the third inter-Korean summit, after the historic meeting in Panmunjom. Commitments made with the Declaration continue. Kim Jong-un extends his hand to Trump: denuclearize by the end of his first term.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be in North Korea on September 18-20 to meet Kim Jong-un. The South Korean National Security Director and special envoy of Moon, Chung Eui-yong, announced him today at the press conference, the day after his trip to Pyongyang.

It is the third inter- Korean summit, after the historic first meeting of April 27 at the border of the demilitarized zone, where the two leaders have signed the "Panmunjon Declaration". On the basis of this, numerous detente initiatives have been launched in recent months.

Chung reiterates that the next summit will serve to carry forward the commitments made and to "discuss practical ways to establish lasting peace" in the peninsula, with particular attention to denuclearization. Among the intentions signed by the two Korean leaders is the intention to reach a definitive peace by the end of the year.

During the Seoul delegation visit, KIm Jong-un himself confirmed his "resolute commitment" to denuclearization and to peace, together with the intention to collaborate with South Korea and the United States. "[Kim] said he hopes to end 70 years of hostile relations between North Korea and the United States and achieve denuclearization by improving North-US relations by the end of [Donald] Trump's first term." His words arrive a few days after the cancellation of the visit to Pyongyang by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Everyone "knows that we are sinners", but "it is not easy" to concretely accuse ourselves of being sinners. "There are people who live by talking about others, accusing others and never thinking about themselves and when I go to confession how do I confess, like a parrot? 'Bla, blah, blah ... I did this, this ...' But does the heart touch you what you did? So often, no ".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The first step in the conversion is to accuse oneself, and "a Christian cannot accuse himself is when he is accustomed to accusing others, gossiping about others, and putting his nose in the lives of others. This is a bad sign" said Pope Francis today his homily at Mass at Casa Santa Marta.

He was inspired by the passage of the Gospel of Luke (Lk 5,1-11) in which Jesus asks Peter to be able to get on the boat and, after having preached, he invites him to cast his nets and a miracle takes place. It is an episode that reminds us of the other miraculous catch of fish, which took place after the Resurrection, when Jesus asked His disciples if they had anything to eat. In both cases, the Pope said, there is an anointing of Peter: first as a fisher of men, then as a pastor. Jesus then changes his name from Simon to Peter; and, as a good Israelite, Peter knows that a change of name signifies a change of mission. Peter felt proud because he truly loved Jesus, and this miraculous catch represents a step forward in his life.

After seeing that the nets were at the point of breaking on account of the great number of fish, Peter throws himself at Jesus feet, saying, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man. This is the first decisive step of Peter along the path of discipleship, of the disciple of Jesus, accusing himself: I am a sinner. This is Peters first step; and also the first step for each one of us, if you want to go forward in the spiritual life, in the life of Jesus, serving Jesus, following Jesus, must be this, accusing oneself: without accusing oneself you cannot walk in the Christian life.

There is a risk, however. We all know that we are sinners in a general way, but it is not easy to accuse ourselves of being sinners concretely. We are so used to saying, I am a sinner, the Pope said, but in the same way that we say, I am human, or I am an Italian citizen. But to truly accuse ourselves, on the other hand, means really feeling our own misery: to feel miserable, misery, before the Lord. Its related to feeling shame. And this is something that does not come from words, but from the heart. That is, there is a concrete experience, like that of Peter when he said to Jesus, Depart from me, a sinner. He really felt himself to be a sinner; and then he felt himself to be saved.

The salvation that Jesus brings us requires this sincere confession precisely because it it is not a cosmetic thing, that changes your looks with two brushstrokes. Rather, it transforms  but because you enter into it, you have to make room for it with a sincere confession of your own sins; and so one experiences the wonder that Peter felt.

The first step of conversion, then, is to accuse oneself with shame, and to try to experience the wonder of feeling that you are saved. We have to be converted, we must do penance, Pope Francis said, inviting the congregation to reflect on the temptation to accuse others: There are people who go through life talking about others, accusing others and never thinking of their own sins. And when I go to make my confession, how do I confess? Like a parrot? Bla, bla, bla I did this, this But are you touched at heart by what you have done? Many times, no. You go there to put on make-up, to make-yourself up a little bit in order to look beautiful. But it hasnt entered completely into your heart, because you havent left room, because you are not capable of accusing yourself.

And so that first step is also a grace: the grace of learning to accuse oneself, and not others: A sign that a person does not know, that a Christian does not know how to accuse himself is when he is accustomed to accusing others, to talking about others, to being nosy about the lives of others. And that is an ugly sign. Do I do this? Its a good question to get to the heart [of things]. Today let us ask the Lord for the grace, the grace to find ourselves face to face with Him with this wonder that His presence gives; and the grace to feel that we are sinners, but concretely, and to say with Peter: 'Depart from me, for I am a sinner'.
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Move over Hawkeye, Pizza Dog could be the real star of the MCU's newest Disney Plus series

If Marvel Studios really wants fans to love their Hawkeye show, they'll give Pizza Dog his due
Kathmandu : Former Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda, Co-Chair of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), is embarking on a three-day official visit to India from Thursday.

He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj among others.

"My visit to India and China are focussed on improving bilateral ties for gaining development and prosperity," he said.

After returning from India, Prachanda will visit China from September 15.

"We need strong support and cooperation of our neighbours for our development endeavours. To make a conducive environment for this, I am visiting India and China," he said.

After the merger of the CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist), Prachanda is sharing the post of party Chairmanship with another co-chair and Prime Minister K.P. Oli. He aims to become the Prime Minister after Oli completes the tenure.
Thiruvananthapuram : Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that he respects superstar Mohanlal for his acting and he will comment at an appropriate time about the speculation that the actor will contest the Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate.

Tharoor said this while responding to a question when taking part in a programme titled "India for Kerala" organised by the Times Network here.

The speculation flared up after media reports said that Mohanlal had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

"I respect Mohanlal as an actor. I like what he is doing... and he is doing it quite well. His lives in my constituency and I have gone there also. With regards to politics and election, I will react at the appropriate time," said Tharoor, the Congress Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram.

State BJP President P.S. Sreedharan Pillai said he will be extremely glad if Mohanlal agrees to become the party candidate.

However, a source close to the actor told IANS that Mohanlal "has practically very little idea about politics and it was only very recently he was able to differentiate between the two Communist parties -- CPI-M and the CPI -- here".

"So the question of his contesting the election cannot be even considered as a remote possibility," the source said.

Mohanlal is currently shooting for his latest film "Lucifer" in the state capital.
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Rome, Sep 5 (IANS/AKI) The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has launched a monthly podcast for radio stations around the world to let rural communities share the experiences of workers benefitting from its projects in different continents and boost "sustainable and inclusive development".

The podcasts will be produced in the language of each country visited - from Peru to Niger, Belize and Nepal - and will have a maximum length of four minutes, IFAD said.

"This podcast is intended to share with rural communities the human stories living behind each effort made to reduce poverty and promote sustainability of economic activities in rural areas," said Oscar A. Garcia, Director of IFAD's Office Independent Evaluation.

"Roots is an opportunity to learn and to allow rural communities to observe what is working well, what it is not, why, and what needs to be improved to promote a sustainable and inclusive rural development", Garcia said.

The 'Roots' podcasts will be available for free on the website of IFAD's Independent Office of Evaluation, the agency said.

--IANS/AKI

mr/
Jerusalem : Israel closed a border crossing to the Gaza Strip except for humanitarian cases on Wednesday in response to violence a day earlier.

Israeli authorities said Palestinians have caused damage to Erez crossing while protesting the US' decision to cut aid to UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Efe news reported.

"Every day approximately 1,000 Gazans enter Israel through Erez Crossing to work, study, or pray. Yesterday (Tuesday), hundreds of Gazan rioters damaged this crossing, resulting in its closure for repairs," the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement.

"Passage will be permitted for individually approved humanitarian cases," it added.

On Tuesday, Palestinian medical sources said at least three protesters were wounded by Israeli gunfire in Gaza.

The decision to cut UNRWA funding will affect services provided to nearly five million Palestinian refugees located in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.
New Delhi : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday paid glowing tributes to Kailash Mansarovar, saying there was no hatred at the holy place.

Now on the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, Gandhi tweeted: "The waters of lake Mansarovar are so gentle, tranquil and calm. They give everything and lose nothing. Anyone can drink from them. There is no hatred here. This is why we worship these waters in India."

He attached pictures of the Mansarovar lake and Kailash mountain.

"A man goes to Kailash when it calls him. I am so happy to have this opportunity and to be able to share what I see on this beautiful journey with all of you," Gandhi said.

Gandhi left on the pilgrimage on August 31.
The earth shook at 3.08 am. Power was cut. It will take a week before supplies are restored. This is strongest quake since 1996.

Sapporo (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Mother nature continues to strike Japan. A 6.7 quake hit the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido destroying houses and causing landslides. At least nine people are dead and 33 are missing.

The quake hit the southern part of the island at 3.08 am at a depth of 37 kilometres, registering a 7 on Japans 7-point quake intensity scale.

Nearly 3 million households in the prefecture were left isolated, without power. In some areas the water supply was also cut.

Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said that it will likely take more than a week for the power supply to return to a level that can meet peak demand.

Electricity was cut after the Tomatoatsuma thermal power plant, which produces nearly half of the prefecture's electricity, stopped.

The facility was damaged by the tremor and attempts to restart it failed due to an oil leak.

No abnormality has been detected in radiation levels around the areas main nuclear plant, which has been idle for a few years.

More than 120 people were hurt in areas including the prefectural capital Sapporo, and at least 2,400 people took shelter at evacuation centres.

This is the first time for a quake in Hokkaido to reach an intensity of upper 6 since the seismic scale was revised in 1996.

The earthquake is the latest in a series of natural disasters that hit the Japanese archipelago in the last few months. A few days ago, typhoon Jebi devastated the western part of the country, and torrential rains caused havoc in July.
Islamabad : Pakistan on Wednesday summoned a senior Indian diplomat over cross-border shelling which it said killed a civilian along the Line of Control (LoC) in the divided Kashmir region, officials said.



The Foreign Ministry said the Indian forces resorted to "unprovoked ceasefire violations" in the Kotkotera sector along the LoC on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal, who heads the desk of South Asia and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in the Ministry, summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner and condemned the "unprovoked ceasefire violations" by the Indian forces.

Pakistan and India had declared a ceasefire in 2003 along the LoC but both sides routinely accuse each other of violations.

Faisal told the Indian diplomat that the "deliberate targeting of civilian population areas is indeed deplorable and contrary to human dignity and international human rights and humanitarian laws.

"The ceasefire violations by India are a threat to regional peace and security and may lead to a strategic miscalculation."
The Hague : India on Wednesday told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that historical facts and legal aspects confirm that sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago has been and continues to be with Mauritius.

A release by the Indian Embassy in the Netherlands said India's position was conveyed in oral proceedings before the ICJ on a request for an advisory opinion by the UN General Assembly in the matter concerning "The Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965."

India's Ambassador Venu Rajamony said the historical survey of facts concerning colonisation and the process of decolonisation indicates that the Chagos Archipelago throughout the pre- and post-colonial era had been part of the Mauritian territory.

"These islands came under the colonial administration of the UK as part of Mauritian territory. The understanding reached in November 1965 between Mauritius and the UK for the retention of Chagos by the UK for defence purposes and return to Mauritius when no longer needed for defence purposes is also in itself evidence that Mauritius has been and continues to be the sovereign nation for the Chagos Archipelago," the release said.
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Astronomers at the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) have teamed up with Adelaide company Silentium Defence to develop a passive radar for the surveillance of objects in space.

The partnership, which was awarded funding from the Federal governments Defence Innovation Hub, will use the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio telescope to record radio waves bouncing off objects in Earths orbit. These objects can be 1000 km away and travelling at up to 8 km/s. The signals recorded by the telescope are then processed to create a passive radar. The technique is passive because the radio waves are generated by FM radio stations located around Australia, not from a radar transmitter.

Prof Steven Tingay explained that FM radio station broadcasts are carried into space and bounce off objects in orbit around the Earth. We can use the radio waves during both day and night, and when it is cloudy, so it can provide 24/7 surveillance in a way that other systems based on optical telescopes cannot, Tingay explained.

Surveillance is important to monitor valuable and strategic assets in space, and to evaluate the risk of collisions that could destroy satellites critical for communications.

The MWA radio telescope is a precursor to the $1 billion Square Kilometre Array, and is located in the Murchison region of Western Australia.
An international team of researchers believes that a virus infecting koalas could demonstrate how viruses have altered the DNA of humans and other species throughout history.

Retroviruses insert their genome into their hosts chromosome, from where they make more copies of themselves, explained Prof Paul Young of The University of Queensland. Some can also infect what are known as germline cells, which alters the host genetic code and that of all their descendants.

Retrovirus insertions in humans date back more than five million years, so its difficult to know what happened when the first interactions took place. About a decade ago, we discovered that the wild koala population was being invaded by a retrovirus, Young said. This isnt great news for the koala, but it has provided us with an opportunity to study whats happening to these retroviral genomes early in their association with a new host.

He said new retroviruses within a species could continue to replicate with disastrous consequences but, over time, their disease-causing effects usually stopped and either took on new functions or became inert junk DNA. Until now, scientists could only guess at why and how this happened, Young said.

Because the koala retrovirus is still relatively young  less than 50,000 years old  and not yet fixed in a certain location within the koala genome, scientists can monitor this early engagement between a retrovirus and its host, added Prof Joanne Meers of UQ.

This means that the koala, a species not usually associated with biomedical breakthroughs, is providing key insights into a process that has shaped 8% of the human genome, and will likely show us what happened millions of years ago when retroviruses first invaded the human genome, said Prof Alex Greenwood of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

The research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (https://goo.gl/Vk42XX).
BREWSTER - A local man was arrested on weapons charges after police said he was firing a rifle in a residential area.

Geuorgui Stoytchev, 38, of Southeast, is facing several charges including criminal possession of a fiream and reckless endangerment for the incident, which occurred on Sept. 1. Officers with the New York State Environmental Conservation Police make the arrest after residents complained of hearing shots fired near Bloomer Road.
An Ohio man has been arrested on five counts of distribution of child pornography and one count of aiding and abetting the transportation of child pornography.

Robert Dudukovich, 24, of Wakeman, Ohio, is accused of managing a chat group on Kik, a smartphone app, that provided a forum for members to communicate about their sexual interest in young boys. The forum also allowed members to share and trade child pornography primarily depicting young boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Dudukovich is accused of sharing with group members - including a person in Connecticut - images and videos of child pornography. The child pornography included videos of a minor engaged in sexual acts with another minor, and a video of a minor engaged in a sexual act with an adult.

Dudukovich is also accused of sharing a link to his Dropbox account, which contained additional images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

John H. Durham, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, said Dudukovich, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Hartford on Aug. 30.

Dudukovich was arrested Wednesday in Berlin Heights, Ohio. He appeared in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, in Toledo, and was ordered detained pending his removal to Connecticut.

If convicted, Dudukovich faces a mandatory minimum term of five years in jail and a maximum term of 20 years on each count.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justices Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
UPDATE: 9 p.m.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

The New Canaan branchs train #1778 (8:33 p.m. from Stamford to New Canaan) is canceled at Stamford. Customers will be accommodated by train #1782 (9:01 p.m. from Stamford).

The New Haven lines westbound service is seeing scattered delays up to 30 minutes. Eastbound service is seeing delays of 5 to 10 minutes.

UPDATE: 8:55 p.m.

United Illuminating is reporting 8,017 customers without power.

Bridgeport: 3,397

Derby: 2

Easton: 74

Fairfield: 830

Milford: 61

Orange: 11

Stratford: 73

Trumbull: 1,112

Eversource is reporting 8,894 customers without power.

Greenwich: 273

Stamford: 3,298

New Canaan: 1,927

Darien:18

Norwalk: 45

Wilton: 346

Westport: 342

Weston: 5

Ridgefield: 11

Newtown: 22

Monroe: 43

Oxford: 58

Seymour: 12

UPDATE: 6:15 p.m.

United Illuminating is reporting 8,690 customers without power.

Bridgeport: 495

Hamden: 1,316

Shelton: 1,831

Fairfield: 822

New Haven: 388

More News Flooded roadways, thousands without power after severe storms

Derby: 1

East Haven: 99

Easton: 74

Milford: 709

North Haven: 172

Orange: 11

Stratford: 73

Trumbull: 1,904

Eversource is reporting 12,310 customers without power.

Beacon Falls: 753

New Canaan: 2,099

Stamford: 3,868

Wilton: 344

Westport: 401

Monroe: 123

North Canaan: 34

Greenwich: 289

Oxford: 58

Weston: 38

Redding: 19

Kent: 10

Darien: 18

Newtown: 22

Seymour: 13

New Milford: 21

Ridgefield: 11

Norwalk: 22

Danbury: 17

UPDATE: 6:01 p.m.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

The Danbury branchs northbound service is delayed because of power issues near Stamford.

Train #1750 (the 5:43 p.m. from Stamford to New Canaan) is canceled at Stamford. Customers will be accommodated by train #1752 (5:59 p.m. from Stamford), which is running about 10 minutes behind schedule.

UPDATE: 6 p.m.  BRIDGEPORT

Police and fire units in Bridgeport have their hands full after a line of thunderstorms ripped through the state Thursday evening.

After responding for a tree down across the road near Fairfield and Circular avenues around 5:41 p.m., police responded to Goodcell and Main streets after one driver said the road was caving in, reports indicated. Police are setting up police tape so drivers stay away from that intersection.

Firefighters responded to 1969 Main Street where a building was struck by lightning. One firefighter told the dispatcher that the building was hit by lightning and there were bricks on the ground that were knocked off from the strike.

Fire units were also rushed to the 800 block of Lindley Street for a tree that was struck by lightning that was either smoking or on fire.

Several police units are responding to block off the area of Iranistan Avenue and State Street, an area that commonly floods during periods of heavy rain.

One officer reported there was an estimated 6 to 8 inches of rainfall flooding the intersection as of 6 p.m. He said he wasnt sure if the manhole cover was still in place.

UPDATE: 5:55 p.m.

METRO-NORTH RAILROAD

The New Canaan branch is delayed because of a downed tree near Talmadge Hill and New Canaan. This was announced at 5:28 p.m.

The New Haven line is experiencing delays of 25 to 30 minutes because of power problems in the area of Stamford and Westport. This was announced at 5:43 p.m.

UPDATE: 5:42 p.m.

Police in Bridgeport are reporting a large tree down across the road near the intersection of Circular And Fairfield avenues at 5:41 p.m. A residential fence was damaged and a house might have been slightly damaged, reports indicated.

UPDATE: 5:45 p.m.

Outages reported by United Illuminating and Eversource have significantly increased.

United Illuminating is reporting 2,675 customers without power.

Eversource is reporting 11,153 customers in the dark.

UPDATE: 5:25 p.m.

Below is a town-by-town look at whos out of power right now.

United Illuminating is reporting the following number of customers without power:

North Haven: 25

Woodbridge: 1 (which was reported before the storms hit and was expected to be restored by 5:45 p.m.)

Eversource is reporting the following number of customers without power:

Greenwich: 53

Stamford: 502

New Canaan: 311

Wilton: 336

Norwalk: 2

Westport: 26

Newtown: 22

Monroe: 37

Oxford: 57

Weston: 4

Seymour: 4

Ridgefield: 1

Danbury; 1

Bethel: 1

New Fairfield: 1

Again, not all outages shown on the energy companies outage maps were necessarily caused by the thunderstorms.

UPDATE: 5:18 p.m.

Eversource is reporting 5,104 customers without power across the state. It was unclear if all these updates across Connecticut were caused by the thunderstorms.

United Illuminating is reporting one customer in the dark in Woodbridge, but that outage was reported before the storms hit. In North Haven, 26 people have lost power since the storms hit the area.

UPDATE: 5:11 p.m.

The skies turned a nasty shade of dark gray before they opened up and let rain pour down on the state Thursday evening.

Winds and rain are picking up from Greenwich to, at least, Bridgeport. There is consistent lighting and loud thunder on the coast in Bridgeport.

Original story: 4:55 p.m.

There is a severe thunderstorm warning for southern Fairfield County until 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service said.

A severe thunderstorm was seen on radar near Ridgefield at 4:42 p.m., moving east at 15 mph.

With this warning comes the potential for 60 mph wind gusts and quarter-sized hail. Minor hail damage to cars is possible. Wind damage to trees and power lines are also a possibility.

The storm is expected to reach Norwalk around 4:50 p.m. Wilton around 5 p.m., Weston around 5:10 p.m., Westport around 5:15 p.m. and Fairfield and Trumbull around 5:30 p.m.

NWS urges residents to move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building.

Prepare immediately for large hail and damaging winds, NWS said. People outside should move immediately to shelter inside a strong building. Stay away from windows.

At 4:53 p.m., NWS said a line of strong thunderstorms is headed toward New London, Fairfield, New Haven and Middlesex counties.

With these storms, wind gusts up to 50 mph and half an inch of hail are possible.

Torrential rainfall is also occurring with these storms, and may cause localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded roadways, the weather service said. Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm. Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm.
For many years, a towering pink dinosaur greeted motorists along Route 6 just over the state line in Brewster, serving as a landmark outside of the Dinosaur Gift and Mineral Shoppe.

The statue was just as well-known as the man who built it  Ronald Januzzi, a noted Danbury mineralogist who inspired countless others to enter the field as amateurs and professionals alike. He died in March at the age of 88 and will be honored this weekend.

They werent the most accurate looking  but they really inspired people, said John Pawloski about the famous dinosaur sculptures.

Pawloski remembers visiting the museum whenever he could to see Januzzi and his collection.

Hes known Januzzi for 73 years and is helping assemble an exhibit to honor his legacy at the Danbury Mineralogical Societys annual Gem, Jewelry and Mineral Show on Saturday and Sunday at New Milford High School.

Januzzi helped create the first show more than 65 years ago.

The exhibit will include his mining helmet, photographs and documents.

He amassed a collection of tens of thousands of minerals during his decades-long career, dozens of which have been displayed at the American Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian and the Peabody Museum.

He probably had the largest and finest collection of Connecticut minerals outside of a university or major museum," Pawloski said.

Januzzi specialized in Connecticut and New York minerals, and even found local Danburite. The mineral was first discovered in Danbury in the late 1830s, but the location was lost by the end of that century. Large quantities are in Russia and Mexico, but its hard to find it where it was first found.

Its probbaly been the Holy Grail for both of us, Pawloski said. Danbury is not the prettiest Danburite in the world but the original Danbury location is what makes it fascinating.

Januzzi did most of his mining in Branchville and at Brewsters Tilly Foster quarry  at one time the deepest iron mine in the U.S.. He wrote guidebooks on the sites and became an expert on the area.

He made a tremendous contribution to the types of minerals found in both locations," Pawloski said.

Januzzi was also dedicated to preserving the history and the mines themselves, many of which were threatened by development.

Some of Januzzis samples are now at the Connecticut Museum of Mining and Mineral Science, where Pawloski is the director.

Pawloski credits Januzzi for getting him into the field.

Want to go? What: Danbury Mineralogical Society's annual Gem, Jewelry and Mineral Show Where: New Milford High School When: Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: $5 for adults; $4 for senior citizens and students $4; free for children under 12 and scouts in uniform See More Collapse

During World War II, Pawloski and his mother lived with her sister on Elm Street in Danbury, just a few doors down from Januzzi, who was the son of Tony Januzzi  a long-time Danbury barber. When Pawloski was 3, he would go to Januzzis house and watch him work.

Its where I developed my interest, Pawloski said. He was more or less my mentor for many, many years.

Pawloski started taking lessons from Januzzi when he was 6 and then joined the Danbury Mineralogical Society four years later, which Januzzi established as a teenager.

He exuded a passion and love for minerals and earth sciences, Pawloski said.

It wasnt just Pawloski who Januzzi inspired. Januzzi has encouraged countless mineralogists to take up the profession through his books, lectures, classes and especially museum shop.

Januzzi was known for teaching countless busloads of school children and scout troops at his shop about minerals and the hundreds of dinosaur tracks he collected from throughout the Connecticut valley.

The giant pink dinosaur out front did suffer some indignities over the years, as New York Times columnist William E. Geist chronicled in 1982: Serving for 27 years as the trademark of the Dinosaur Gift and Mineral Shoppe, day and night, whatever the weather, the fabric, wood and chicken wire dinosaur has been punched, kicked, lassoed, and shot at with a .38-caliber pistol, and was recently attacked repeatedly by a GMC Blazer.

As more corporate headquarters opened nearby and the area began to change, newcomers would sometimes ask Januzzi to knock down the duckbilled dino because they considered it tacky, which rankled Januzzis independent and imaginative streaks.

Januzzi sold the museum in the 1980s so he could move to Maine, where he started another museum.

Hes had a tremendous influence on hundreds and hundreds of mineral collectors in the region, Pawloski said.

Ted Johnson, a fellow mineral collector, was introduced to Januzzi in the mid-1970s after reading one of his books.

Johnson said he admires how Januzzi became an expert through his personal experience in the field and colleagues and then shared that information with others.

He was basically a self-educated educator, he said. He learned everything about the field of mineralogy on his own or with his affiliation with various universities and associations. He chose to share that knowledge with the world.
WASHINGTON, Va. - Republican Denver Riggleman accused Democrat Leslie Cockburn of living in Washington, D.C., instead of in the swath of rural Virginia that they are vying to represent in Congress, saying during a debate Wednesday night that she and her husband had claimed a homestead exemption for a house in the nation's capital.

"That drive from D.C. to the [congressional] district is a long damn way," Riggleman said during one of several heated exchanges during a two-hour debate in the quaint Rappahannock County hamlet known as "Little Washington."

Cockburn, a former "60 Minutes" producer and author, insisted that they live in Rappahannock. She then fired back at Riggleman, a former Air Force intelligence officer who with his wife owns a craft distillery outside of Charlottesville, for building a second location out of state.

"You're creating jobs - in Pennsylvania," she said.

Sponsored by the Rappahannock News and Businesses Rappahannock, the debate was the first of five scheduled between the 5th District candidates. Both are political newcomers competing for the seat being vacated by Republican freshman Rep. Thomas Garrett , who announced in May that he is an alcoholic and will step down at the end of this term to deal with it.

The two-hour forum began as a mannerly affair inside the Little Washington Theatre, set in a quaint town best known for the famed Inn at Little Washington. Former Boston Globe columnist Tom Oliphant, who lives in the county, struck a professorial tone as moderator, with his bow tie and preemptive scolding against booing or clapping.

"The idea here is to try to have a conversation for 90 minutes," he told the candidates, who were seated on stage on either side of his high-backed chair. "I'm going to lob more softballs than hardballs." At one point, he asked Cockburn for "a little word portrait of what's going on in the community right now."

Oliphant kicked things off by asking Riggleman to "pretend I'm from Mars for a minute" and describe the district to him. The Republican used the playful tone to try to defuse an attention-getting allegation that Cockburn had made back in July: that Riggleman was a devotee of "Bigfoot erotica." It was a reference to a satirical book that Riggleman wrote - before running for office - about the mating habits of Sasquatch. The claim was just weird enough to go viral.

"I would tell the Martians, first of all, Bigfoot doesn't exist and these are my new Bigfoot socks," he said, lifting one pants leg a bit. "And I would very much appreciate it if we didn't talk about that."

Cockburn did not give a nod to the Martian theme, but she talked about how she'd put 70,000 miles on her car crisscrossing a district that's larger than the state of New Jersey, stretching from the Washington exurbs to the North Carolina border.

"We all have a huge amount in common," she said.

Oliphant noted that it was unusual to see two political "rookies" in a race, even for an open seat. Riggleman made a short-lived bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination last year. This is Cockburn's first run for political office. Oliphant wanted to know what pushed them into politics.

"Did you get mad at something?" he asked. For both, the answer was yes.

For Riggleman, the impetus came from twin battles: one with the bureaucracy and liquor lobby he encountered while opening Silverback Distillery in 2014, the other with Dominion Energy, which around the same time planned to route a gas pipeline through his property.

"We felt like we were fighting this multifaceted war, and I felt like I had no power," he said.

For Cockburn, a filmmaker and journalist, it was outrage over President Trump, a sentiment she hopes will resonate in Charlottesville and other liberal enclaves in the largely rural district.

"What happened to me was Donald Trump, and the fact that we were being represented and continue to be represented by a mini-Trump," she said, referring to Garrett. "So with Donald Trump, I was really appalled by him as a woman and as a former journalist to hear him say, 'Journalists are the enemy of the people.' "

The discussion grew more heated as they got into policy differences over health care, gun control and immigration. But the harshest exchanges came as Cockburn, who grew up in California, claimed to have lived in the district longer than Riggleman, who was raised by a single mother in Manassas and spent summers in the district with his father. Cockburn said she has lived there for 11 years.

"You're talking a lot about your commitment to the 5th District where I've been three times as long as you've been," she said. "You've been here six years in the district."

Riggleman replied, "Well, ma'am, we just heard about a homestead exemption . . . for you in Washington, D.C., with your husband."

The exemption is a break on real estate taxes that applies only the owner's principal residence.

"No, that's not true," she said. "You're the last person to know, Denver, that we, like many people in this county, have a place in Washington. We've been residents here for many, many years. . . . And we pay a lot of taxes."

"In Washington, D.C.," he added.

The most recent tax bill on the couple's $2.2 million District property, at 3127 N St. NW, reads: "The homestead deduction reduced your taxes by $623.48." The bill, for $8,576.12, covers half of the 2018 tax year.

In a brief interview after the debate, Cockburn said the couple did not claim the house as their primary residence.

"We've been residents here for 11 years - vote, pay taxes, everything," she said. "It wasn't claimed."

When asked about the tax records, she suggested that District officials might have erred. "When you say, 'No homestead exemption' on your tract, often D.C. will send it back, so you have to resend it. And that's what happens to me all the time."

Garren Shipley, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, attended the debate and echoed Riggleman's claim afterward.

"The documents speak for themselves," Shipley said. "She was assessed for the taxes on that home and the bill shows that the homestead exemption is included."

He noted that Cockburn also listed the Washington address when she made a $500 campaign donation to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. Cockburn said that address was listed only because the couple has an office there.

On the topic of health care, Cockburn said she supported the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's signature health-care law. She criticized Trump for trying to "gut it."

"We have the most dysfunctional [health-care] system in the world," she said.

Riggleman said his own business has been saddled with sharply rising insurance premiums that he blamed on the ACA. He said health savings accounts and legislation that would allow insurers to sell across state lines could help make coverage more affordable.

Amid that exchange, Cockburn disputed a statistic that Riggleman had offered by saying it had come from a study funded by Charles Koch and like-minded donors, the conservative founder of Americans for Prosperity.

When Oliphant asked Riggleman about a bipartisan plan to fix the ACA rather than "junk it," Riggleman said he would listen to any practical proposal. But he also dismissed "Medicare-for-all" - a plan to extend the government health insurance program for the elderly to Americans regardless of age - as "pie in the sky."

Riggleman then pressed Cockburn on whether she supports that: "So you are for Medicare-for-all, though, Leslie?" he asked.

"I am indeed," she said. She, in turn, noted that she covers health insurance for all of her campaign workers and asked Riggleman if he did the same. He said he did not.

The candidates also tangled over guns. Riggleman said he was satisfied with current gun laws. Cockburn said the public is clamoring for tighter controls in the wake of many school shootings.

"There are a lot of angry mothers out there," Cockburn said. "They see their children having to go to school every day in fear." Cockburn said she would seek to ban large-capacity magazines and bump stocks, devices that allow semiautomatic weapons to mimic the firing speed of fully automatic ones. She said she also supported closing loopholes related to sales at gun shows and over the Internet, which allows domestic abusers to obtain weapons.

Riggleman accused Cockburn of "hyperbole" because "a felon can't own a gun anyway."

On immigration, both candidates favored measures that would help farmers get the immigrant laborers they need. Riggleman said he wants to secure the border, but also "streamline immigration policy" to make it easier for immigrant laborers to obtain special worker visas.

Cockburn called for "comprehensive immigration reform" and went on to decry family separations that spiked under Trump at the nation's border with Mexico. Riggleman has also said he opposed the separations.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  The Chinese government said its coastguard vessel was "on standby" as Philippine authorities retrieved the warship that ran aground in the West Philippine Sea.

"According to the information provided by the Chinese coastguard vessel which is on standby at the scene, the Philippine side retrieved the aground vessel and returned it to safe harbor on the early morning of September 4," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

She said the vessel has maintained "good interactions with the Philippine ships," and that the Philippine government "expressed their thanks for China's goodwill."

The Department of Foreign Affairs did not issue an official statement on the grounding of BRP Gregorio del Pilar, the Philippine Navy's flagship that was stranded last August 29 near Hasa-Hasa or Half Moon Shoal some 60 nautical miles from Palawan. The territory is being claimed by both the Philippines and China, which calls it Banyue Jiao.

READ: Authorities retrieve grounded PH Navy ship

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) earlier denied reports China would assist with the retrieval operations.

Hua, however, revealed that the two countries discussed China's assistance in the search and rescue efforts, but did not elaborate on what was agreed upon.

"After the vessel was stranded, the Philippine side immediately notified the Chinese side of the accident and the arrangement for search and rescue efforts," she said.

Malacanang on August 31 said the public should not speculate on what China would do, adding that efforts to pull the Navy frigate out were being done "with no problems from China."

Greg Poling, director of U.S.-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, earlier warned that China could bar Philippine ships from the area if it starts to get involved in efforts to retrieve the frigate.

China surveyed site of grounding incident

The Chinese government said it maintains "close communication" with the Philippines as it continues to monitor the grounding incident.

"According to our primary survey at the scene, we have not found oil slick or other consequences which may damage the environment caused by the grounding," Hua said.

The Hasa-Hasa Shoal lies within the West Philippine Sea - the smaller area of the South China Sea off the Philippines' western seaboard and within the country's 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The shoal is on the edge of the disputed Spratly archipelago, where China has raised tensions by transforming disputed reefs into islands.

The Philippines largely won a case against China before an international arbitral tribunal, whose ruling in 2012 invalidated Beijing's sweeping territorial claims in South China Sea. China has refused to acknowledge the landmark ruling and continues to claim the South China Sea in its entirety.

President Rodrigo Duterte has repeatedly said the country cannot afford to go to war against China, but he promised to bring up the arbitral ruling with the East Asian giant during his term.
By Guy Nolch

National security, not economic opportunity, may have motivated the governments new interest in a sovereign space capability.

In November 1967 Australia became the third nation, behind the USA and Russia, to build and launch a satellite on its own soil. Fifty years after the launch of the Weapons Research Establishment Satellite (WRESAT), the Australian government announced that it would provide $41 million over 4 years to establish the Australian Space Agency. At the time, Australia and Iceland were the only two OECD nations without a space agency.

In the intervening years there had been proposals for a Cape York Spaceport, but the economics didnt stack up. Nor was there the political will to support a domestic space industry. Nevertheless, a 2016 review by Asia Pacific Aerospace Consultants estimated that Australias space industry was worth around $4 billion and employs more than 10,000 people whose niche expertise contributes to international space projects. The government hopes the Australian Space Agency will help this industry triple by 2030.

The space industry is evolving away from Big Space projects such as rocket launches and space exploration to a new paradigm referred to as Space 2.0, which emphasises the small, many and cheap rather than the large, expensive and few (AS, May/June 2018, p.39). Led by the private sector, this approach to space is less onerous for a government to support, but Malcolm Davis (pp.1821) argues theres an emerging impetus for government action on a sovereign space capability  national security. Modern military forces depend heavily on the space domain, he explains before warning: China and Russia are developing a sophisticated range of counter-space capabilities focusing on US and allied satellites operating from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit.

Its not difficult to imagine that national security, and not economic opportunity, has motivated the governments new interest in a sovereign space capability. Australian security concerns being raised publicly include Chinas expansion and militarisation of the South China Sea, Chinese funding to develop the ports of South Pacific island nations, and fears that Chinese-owned telecommunications companies tendering for the development of Australias 5G network could expose the nations IT to spying.

Furthermore, Australia can no longer assume that the USA will have its back. Not only has the current US Administration been disparaging about its allies contribution to global security, it has also announced plans for a Space Force by 2020 to counter the emerging capabilities of China and Russia, which the Pentagon says are explicitly pursuing space war-fighting capabilities to neutralise US space capabilities in a time of conflict.

Anti-satellite weapons have already been tested, raising the prospect of a chain reaction of debris that could shred global satellite communications systems. Alternatively, soft-kill counter-space activities could disable, damage, jam, spoof and hack foreign satellites, offering plausible deniability that a cyberattack was instead due to a satellites failure.

In this climate its timely that Australia has reached for the stars  or at least geostationary orbit. The barriers to entry are now much lower than they once were, but the payoff in the nimble but militarised Space 2.0 era seems incalculable.

The governments initial contribution of $41 million in a global industry worth $500 billion therefore seems miscalculated  a drop in the ocean or, in this case, a speck of space dust in the vast cosmos.
MEXICO CITY - When Jimmy Morales ran for president of Guatemala three years ago, the former TV comedian's campaign slogan was "Neither corrupt, nor a thief."

One of the reasons Morales had to make honesty a central issue in his campaign was the work of an unusually powerful group of crime fighters known as the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala, or CICIG.

In the face of enormous political pressure, this United Nations-backed organization had conducted rigorous investigations of corruption at the highest levels of Guatemala's government for more than a decade. Its work helped inspire a nationwide protest movement in 2015 and led to the arrest of then-President Otto Perez Molina, then-Vice President Roxana Baldetti and many more.

For more than a year, CICIG has been investigating Morales himself, accusing him of accepting about $1 million in illegal campaign donations and earning his ire in return.

Last year, Morales tried to expel the head of CICIG, Colombian prosecutor Ivan Velasquez, but the Supreme Court blocked the move.

Over the past week, the conflict has flared up again. On Friday, Morales said he would not renew CICIG's mandate, which expires next year. The same day, Guatemalan military vehicles stood guard outside CICIG's offices and descended on a central plaza. On Tuesday, Morales ordered that Velasquez, who has led CICIG since 2013, not be allowed back in Guatemala.

"For some time now, there have been efforts to derail anti-corruption efforts in Guatemala and continued attacks against the commission and the commissioner," said Adriana Beltran, a Guatemala expert at the Washington Office on Latin America. Morales's actions, she said, are "his attempt to protect himself, given the continuing probe against him."

While Velasquez remains in the United States, the work of CICIG continues, said a spokesman, Matias Ponce. The organization, which has about 200 staff members, is also waiting for the Guatemalan government to renew work visas of CICIG's foreign staff, he said.

Apart from blocking Velasquez's entrance into Guatemala, the Morales government this year removed 25 police personnel assigned to guard CICIG, cutting its security force in half.

Morales has argued that CICIG, as a foreign body that receives U.S. funding, constitutes a violation of Guatemalan sovereignty and that Guatemala's own judicial institutions should be handling such graft cases.

CICIG works in conjunction with the Guatemalan attorney general's office in building corruption cases.

In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week, Morales said CICIG has had more than "sufficient" time over the course of its mandate to achieve its goals.

CICIG was set up in 2006 to bolster Guatemala's weak judicial institutions. At the time, impunity was rampant in the country and murders were hardly ever solved. The group, composed of investigators from around the world, used sophisticated investigative techniques, wiretapping and examination of financial records to pursue high-profile crimes. Its work became a model and inspiration in Latin America, where corruption often goes unpunished.

But CICIG has also been polarizing. Critics see it as overzealous and manipulated for political reasons. Earlier this year, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., put on hold $6 million in State Department funding to CICIG, saying he was concerned that Russia had "manipulated" the group into pushing for the prosecution of a Russian family in Guatemala.

CICIG's investigation against Morales had also been gaining steam. Last month, Velasquez, along with Guatemalan Attorney General Maria Consuelo Porras, asked the nation's Congress to strip Morales of his immunity from prosecution. A congressional commission has been formed to weigh the request.
This story originally published on Aug. 30, 2018.

Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking a closer look at how big corporations treat their workers, especially ones overseen by billionaires such as Amazon and Walmart. Here is what you need to know about the conflict between Jeff Bezoss ecommerce empire and the senator who has built his platform on issues of economic equality.

Sanderss inquiry

The senator from Vermont posted a form on his website asking Amazon employees to share their experience of working for the company, particularly if they used public assistance programs.

Sanders invoked Jeff Bezos in the explanation for why he was seeking these accounts, writing on his website, Amazon is one of the wealthiest corporations in the world, and its owner, Jeff Bezos, is the richest man on the planet, worth over $155 billion. Despite this, Bezos continues to pay many thousands of his Amazon employees wages that are so low that they are forced to depend on taxpayer-funded programs.

While Amazon encouraged its employees to to tell Senator Sanders their truth, the companys leadership also took issue with Sanderss characterization of the fulfillment center working conditions, saying that the senator was making misleading accusations.

Amazons response

In a blog post addressing the inquiry, the company claimed that Sanders had not toured a fulfillment center despite invitations to do so.

The post also included details about the companys payment and benefits package, writing that the company created more than 130,000 jobs in the last year. Sanders claims that Amazon's median U.S. salary is $28,446, despite the fact that we've made clear that this number is global and includes part-time employees," the company wrote. "In fact, the median U.S. salary for full-time Amazon employees is $34,123. We encourage anyone to compare our pay and benefits to other retailers.

The post also criticized Sanderss use of the term food stamps when referring to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), in part because the lexicon had been phased out in recent years and because those who were participating in the program included people who only worked for Amazon for a short period of time and/or chose to work part-time -- both of these groups would almost certainly qualify for SNAP.

Sanderss legislation

Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna on Sept. 5 introduced a piece of legislation called Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies, or the Stop BEZOS Act.

At the top of a press conference with Khanna, Sanders referenced Bezos, noting his net worth of $168 billion and that since the start of 2018, the Amazon founders wealth has increased by about $260 million daily, and proceeded to read from some of responses his office solicited from former and current Amazon employees who were participating in programs such as SNAP, Medicaid and subsidized housing.

Sanders said the aim of the legislation was created to have Mr. Bezos and the Walton family of Walmart and other billionaires get off of welfare and start paying their workers a living wage." He added, Specifically, this bill would establish 100 percent tax on corporations with 500 or more employees equal to the amount of federal benefits received by their low-wage workers.

Related:

What It's Really Like to Work at the World's Second $1 Trillion Company

Bernie Sanders Has Named a Bill After Jeff Bezos

Amazon Surges to $1 Trillion. 3 Things to Know Today.



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
On July 29 Israel seized a ship named Al Awda (The Return) bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza. On the final leg of the trip there were about 22 people representing 16 or 17 nationalities, Swedish, Norwegians, Americans, even Israelis, of diverse backgrounds. Most of those on board were Europeans. The cargo consisted of medical supplies to be donated to Gazans to meet the increasingly dire medical situation in Gaza.

This is not the first time an attempt has been made by international activists to deliver badly needed supplies to Gaza, which is under Israeli blockade. Gazas two million inhabitants have been living under this blockade since 2007.

Activists have tried to reach Gaza in Freedom Flotillas more than once. From 2008 through 2016, international activists sailed 31 boats to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. The most well-known challenge was the attempt by Mavi Marmara on May 22, 2010 that left nine Turks dead at the hands of Israeli naval commandos.

This time the takeover of the ship was without incident, the Israelis said. Israels navy said that it informed the passengers they were violating the legal naval blockade and that if they had humanitarian aid to deliver they could deliver it to Gaza through the port in nearby Ashdod. They were warned that if they did not turn around and persisted in attempting to go to Gaza, the ship would be seized and towed to Ashdod. And, according to Israel, this is what the Israeli navy did.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a charity umbrella group which organizes these attempts, reported it slightly differently. It wrote that the Israeli navy claimed that the ship was breaking international law and threatened that it would use any measures necessary to stop the ship.

Was Al Awda violating the legal naval blockade?

Under international law Israel, as every other country, has rights over its territorial waters. These rights extend to 12 nautical miles. Beyond that the oceans are international waters, also known as the high seas.

It is important to remember that the Al Awda bore a Norwegian flag. It was around 60 miles out of Gaza city when it was warned by the Israeli navy, boarded and ultimately seized. It was in international waters. It was not illegally crossing any internationally recognized border. The only border it was crossing was the border Israel had unilaterally set up in international waters, without any right or authority to do so.

According to the 1982 convention, each countrys sovereign territorial waters extend to a maximum of 12 nautical miles (22 km) beyond its coast. Even in this zone foreign vessels are granted the right of innocent passage. There can be nothing more innocent than carrying medical supplies to those who need them badly.

The high seas lie beyond the zones described above. The waters and airspace of this area are open to use by all countries, except for those activities prohibited by international law (e.g., the testing of nuclear weapons).

The Mavi Marmara seizure by Israel was discussed in the UN. A 2011 report to UN Human Rights Council by five independent UN rights experts states that Israels naval blockade of the Gaza Strip violates international law.

An earlier fact-finding mission named by the same UN forum to investigate the flotilla incident also found in a report that the blockade violated international law. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the blockade violates the Geneva Conventions.

It can be argued that even if Al Awda was within 12 nautical miles of Gaza, it would still not be breaking any international law, having a right under the innocent passage clause to be there. Besides, Israel says again and again that it has pulled out of Gaza and given it to the Gazans. Gaza, according to Israel, is no longer Israeli territory. If that be so, the sea abutting Gaza would be the territorial waters of Gaza, not Israel.

This is not all. Just a few days after seizing Al Awda Israel turned its attention on another Flotilla boat, a 100 percent wind-powered sailing vessel named Freedom, sailing under a Swedish flag. It was to be a gift for Palestinian fishers and was carrying a cargo of medical supplies. It was surrounded in international waters about 40 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza, was boarded and seized.

These ongoing apparently illegal hijacking of ships and acts of piracy by Israel in international waters need to be stopped. It is high time this matter is raised in the UN. These two issues must be settled once and for all.

Gulamhusein Abba is a Danbury resident and a retired journalist.
BERLIN - A resistance movement within the administration trying to derail some of President Donald Trump's most controversial policies? At a different time and in a different era, Wednesday's bombshell op-ed by an anonymous senior Trump administration official in the New York Times would have been front page news across the globe.

But in the era of Trump and after months of similar revelations, foreign commentators didn't even bother to repeat what they've been saying for more than one and a half years now: The president is unhinged and a menace to the world order.

Some did call the unsigned column "frightening" and France's two big papers both referred to it as being "explosive." A similar sentiment was echoed by social media users and journalists across the world, with one German evening news anchor describing the op-ed as a "revolt against the president by his own staff," and readers responding to a viral tweet whether now would be the best time to invade the United States.

Julia Ioffe tweeted "Says an anonymous friend, 'Man, if anyone ever wanted to invade America, now's the time.'"

But other media outlets had already moved on by Thursday morning. Here are only some stories major European media outlets featured more prominently: a possible ban on diesel cars in some cities, the world's fastest SUV breaking a record and people deciding to retire at age 40.

Danish social media users were still circulating a piece that had published a day earlier, explaining why Europe was no longer interested in learning even more details about the White House. "Another book comes with revelations about Trump - but has the world become immune?," the headline of a piece on Danish TV network TV2's website read, referring to European reactions to a book on the White House by reporter Bob Woodward.

"It is the story of a government leader apparently being described by some of his closest employees as being ignorant, unpredictable and uninterested in acquiring the necessary knowledge to execute the job as leader of the world's most powerful nation in a way that does not put the nation's security at stake ... Nevertheless, the coverage has been sparse and shallow so far," wrote TV2 commentator Mirco Reimer-Elster.

Meanwhile, German weekly Die Zeit replaced its coverage of the NYT op-ed with an extensive poll on the things Germans fear most. "Nothing worries the people of Germany more than the current U.S. president," the paper summarized. While 59 percent of Germans feared terrorism, 69 percent were afraid of Trump, according to a representative annual survey.

German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle's analysis echoed that sentiment, writing that recent revelations described an "incompetent and dangerous president." But writer Michael Knigge concluded that "the average American will likely ignore all of this."

Meanwhile, Britain's conservative Telegraph newspaper was still exploring solutions, explaining how exactly Trump could be removed from office under the 25th Amendment. In the NYT op-ed published on Wednesday, the unnamed administration official described "early whispers" of invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. Officials later decided against that option.

"The latest leaked account will heap further pressure on Mr. Trump," Britain's Telegraph predicted.

But Germany's conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wondered whether the op-ed may also play into Trump's hands. "Whenever someone will try to counter the president's impulsive reactions with sober-mindedness in the future, he or she could come under suspicion of being the 'traitor,'" the paper's author wrote in a piece with the skeptical headline: "Self-declared heroes in the White House."
By Malcolm Davis

There is a common misconception that space is a pristine global commons that sits above terrestrial geopolitical rivalries. Nothing could be further from the emerging reality.

With the establishment of Australias Space Agency in July, Australia is taking its first steps towards being a more serious participant in a rapidly growing global space sector. This is an exciting time for Australias space community, with the space agency seeking to establish civil space policy and strategy, coordinate domestic space activities, develop and grow a space industry, and more proactively engage in developing international partnerships as well as inspiring the next generation of space entrepreneurs.

The growth of a vibrant space industry is particularly important. The Australian space agency is not meant to be a mini-NASA Down Under that does everything from building rockets and satellites to directing missions in orbit. As Ive argued previously (AS, May/June 2018, p.39), instead of embracing the Space 1.0 mindset, Australias best path forward is Space 2.0, with the commercial sector taking the lead and an emphasis on deregulation rather than the dead weight of government control smothering innovation and slowing progress.

In March, the Review of Australia's Space Industry Capability (https://goo.gl/rWLVV3) set an ambitious goal for Australia to triple the size of its space industry by 2030 to AU$10$12 billion per year, and provide an additional 10,000 to 20,000 high-level jobs across Australia, while creating a sustainable and important capability for the nation in a global sector that is worth $350 billion and expanding rapidly.

While much attention is focused on civil space, we should not ignore the defence and national security aspects of the space environment. There is a common misconception that space is a pristine global commons that sits above terrestrial geopolitical rivalries  a sanctuary from military conflict. Nothing could be further from the emerging reality.

Space as a Contested Commons

Far from being an uncontested commons, space  like other military operational domains such as air, sea, land and cyberspace  is contested, congested and competitive. It is now an operational war-fighting domain in its own right, with space militarisation evolving into space weaponisation.

The reasons for development are very clear. Space is a vital centre of gravity for modern armed forces that depend on space-based command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, precision navigation and timing. As such it is becoming an important area of military operations, and space systems are now a key target for adversaries.

Our way of war is based on gaining and sustaining a military technology advantage through an assured knowledge edge over any opponent. Take that knowledge edge away and our military capabilities quickly atrophy and we are less able to fight war in the manner of our choosing. That means we can no longer exploit the use of an information advantage to ensure speed and precision in the use of force, to minimise cost in terms of military losses, and avoid needless risks to civilian populations. War becomes messier, longer and more costly as our advantages disappear, and our opponents can more readily inflict the risk of military defeat. To paraphrase Viscount Bernard Montgomery of Alamein: If we lose control of space, we lose the war and we lose it quickly.

Modern military forces depend heavily on the space domain, and the Australian Defence Force is no exception. The ADF depends on satellite communications to enable expeditionary joint operations, either independently or as part of a multinational coalition, including operations that are distant from Australia. They are heavily dependent on space-based precision navigation and timing for navigation, to support data-links that enable modern command and control, to running logistics support, and ultimately for direct targeting of precision weapons. Imaging and covert intelligence-gathering satellites provide vital eyes in the sky for essential intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks that are vital to understand the battlespace, including the actions of opposing forces, mission planning and operational analysis as military operations unfold.

The importance of space as a centre of gravity means that it is not a surprise that adversaries are developing a suite of hard-kill and soft-kill counter-space capabilities designed to threaten US and allied space capabilities prior to, or at the outset of, a future military conflict. During the Cold War both the United States and the Soviet Union experimented with anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, but never seriously deployed such capabilities. However, counter-space technology has moved on from these crude Cold War systems.

Two key reports released in April by the Secure World Foundation (https://goo.gl/1dZhpr) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (https://goo.gl/UZLzgP) provide a comprehensive overview of emerging counter-space and ASAT technology. The key message from both reports is that peer adversaries such as China and Russia are developing a sophisticated range of counter-space capabilities focusing on US and allied satellites operating from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit. These include both direct-ascent and co-orbital systems, and cover hard-kill (physical destruction) and soft-kill (disable, damage, jam, spoof and hack) capabilities. Soft-kill approaches are most important given the need to avoid the chain reaction of space debris that could accumulate from space warfare.

During the Obama Administration the emphasis was on dissuading the deployment and use of such capabilities by assuring space situational awareness (monitoring and tracking orbiting space-based objects, such as satellites and debris, using ground-based radar and optical stations). This would enable early warning and attribution of any moves towards an attack, and prevent a surprise Pearl Harbour attack emerging in space. There were also attempts to use legal mechanisms that prevent deliberate interference against another states space capabilities. In these efforts, effective space surveillance was vital to ensure that an adversary could not deny their actions.

The Obama Administrations 2010 space policy didnt advocate the development of specific offensive and defensive space control capabilities such as ASATs. It did authorise the US Department of Defense to develop capabilities, plans, and options to deter, defend against, and if necessary, defeat efforts to interfere with or attack US or allied space systems.

Even so, this approach hasnt stopped Chinese and Russian counter-space development and testing. On 11 January 2007, China destroyed one of its own satellites with a direct-ascent hard-kill ASAT. This event fundamentally changed the perception of space as a sanctuary from warfare, and subsequent Chinese development of a range of ASAT capabilities since then reinforces the perception that space is now contested.

Space Law and Space Weaponisation

Given this growing challenge, there are increasing efforts to prevent a slide towards space weaponisation. While legal approaches are at the front of these efforts, they are falling short.

A common misunderstanding is that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (OST) bans space weapons. In fact, the OST does not. Article IV of the OST declares: States Parties to the Treaty undertake not to place in orbit around the earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies, or station weapons in outer space in any other manner.

It goes on to then state that the moon and other celestial bodies shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes. The establishment of military bases, installations and fortifications, the testing of any type of weapons and the conduct of military manoeuvres on celestial bodies shall be forbidden.

The OST does not ban space weapons per se, including non-nuclear ASATs of the type now being developed by China and Russia. Other efforts to introduce international legal mechanisms towards a space weapons ban have consistently failed due to inadequate verification and monitoring measures or perceptions that such measures would not require some states to roll-back existing counter-space capabilities.

A real challenge is defining exactly what a space weapon is. Any satellite can be used as an ASAT if it can be manoeuvred to collide with another satellite, and what constitutes a counter-space attack becomes incredibly difficult. Earth-based soft-kill systems such as cyberattack could create scalable, reversible effects, and offer deniability to the aggressor. Is a satellite failure a sign of a cyberattack, or simply a fault within the satellite? If that cyberattack simply monitors information  or changes information relayed by a satellite to provide false data  can that be defined as an attack?

Cyber-attack on satellites may be one of the most insidious and challenging types of soft-kill counter-space threats likely to emerge in coming years.

Australias Role in Space Security

Given the absence of strong legal mechanisms to prevent space weaponisation, the US military is now moving quickly to respond to this challenge. It is not yet developing its own ASATs, but is seeking to strengthen deterrence in space.

A key report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies examines how deterrence in orbit might work (https://goo.gl/kbrhEB). This includes identifying threats early, and communicating likely responses to an adversary in a manner that dissuades any aggressive action, or where necessary taking defensive measures to mitigate the impact of an ASAT threat.

This means there is growing importance of space situational awareness. Greater emphasis on defending satellites, space augmentation and rapid reconstitution are also emerging as the basis of US space deterrence.

Australia already plays an important role in space situational awareness. Australia directly supports the US by operating a C-band radar and Space Surveillance Telescope at Exmouth, WA, and will provide support for the US Air Forces Space Fence radar.

Australias geographic location in the Southern Hemisphere makes it ideally suited to tracking critical orbits, including staring into geostationary orbit to monitor the activities of other states satellites. Alongside space situational awareness, Australia operates the Australian Space Operations Centre under the Combined Space Operations Initiative with its Five Eyes partners (US, UK, Canada and New Zealand).

Australias new focus on developing a space industry may also enable it to go beyond ground facilities for space situational awareness and look to develop a space segment capability that can directly strengthen US space deterrence.

A key concept being examined is space augmentation, in which the US and its allies move away from their reliance on small numbers of very complex and expensive large satellites that are inherently vulnerable to ASAT attacks, and whose loss would generate rapid and catastrophic degradation of space support to terrestrial forces. Instead, these high-end space systems would be augmented by large numbers of smaller, lower-cost, less technologically complex satellites and networked constellations of cubesats. It is much more difficult for an adversary to target and attack large numbers of small satellites and cubesat swarms than a small number of high-end exquisite satellite systems. Augmentation boosts US and allied space support, and makes it more survivable in the face of counter-space threats.

Alongside augmentation, reconstitution is another way to strengthen space deterrence. The ability to rapidly deploy constellations of small satellites and cubesat swarms to plug gaps after a counter-space attack reinforces the challenges for any adversary considering such an attack, boosting dissuasion and deterrence. The adversary therefore has to launch a larger attack that is less likely to have a lasting effect and is much more attributable, so political consequences are far greater. Counter-space weapons therefore become less usable because we practice deterrence by denial.

Whats Next for Australias Space Industry?

Australias investment in a space industry opens up the prospect for the nation to support augmentation and reconstitution missions alongside the US and other key regional allies. Australia is well-placed to develop small satellite and cubesat manufacturing and development as part of this space industry; indeed commercial companies are already developing commercial cubesats, including some for defence applications.

The establishment of a sovereign launch capability would be the next step. Indeed a survey of Australias emerging space industry suggests that there is already activity in this area. In a reconstitution scenario, Australia would maintain a ready reserve of satellites that could be launched quickly using a sovereign responsive launch capability from an Australian launch site.

Australian participation in space augmentation and reconstitution represents a step beyond support for the space situational awareness mission, and would represent an important contribution to the USAustralia strategic alliance. It is a timely policy choice to make by the Australian government, given emerging challenges in a contested space domain and a growing need for Australia to do more alongside the US and other key allies in a more uncertain strategic environment on Earth.

It is a step that the Australian Space Agency could oversee through coordination with Department of Defence, as well as through engagement with Australias space industry, recognising that establishing satellite manufacturing and development, as well as a sovereign space launch capacity, benefits not just a national security mission but also offers a significant step forward for Australia as a space power in the 21st century. With the growth of a global space sector, more participants and cheaper access to space, its becoming more competitive and more congested.

Australia is getting into space at a challenging time, and there are real opportunities to seize  but also increasing risks.
Gwyneth Paltrows controversial lifestyle and wellness company, Goop, has agreed to refund some customers who purchased its vaginal eggs and pay out $145,000 in a consumer-protection lawsuit settlement, California prosecutors announced this week.

Goop held up its jade and rose quartz eggs as a cure-all of sorts, advertising the items could balance hormones, prevent uterine prolapse, increase bladder control and prevent depression, according to a complaint filed by the California Food, Drug and Medical Device Task Force.

Women were instructed to insert the egg-shaped stones into their vagina and let them sit for various lengths of time. The complaint said none of these claims were backed by legitimate science, calling the representations false and misleading.

False claims that assure consumers of specific health outcomes can put the public at risk, said Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley, whose office is a member of the task force.

The task force is composed of 10 district attorneys offices, including Napa, Marin, Monterey, Orange, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano and Sonoma counties.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen chastised Goop for putting South Bay consumers health at risk.

We will vigilantly protect consumers against companies that promise health benefits without the support of good science  or any science, he said.

The $145,000 in civil penalties will be split among the 10 counties, said a spokeswoman for the Alameda County prosecutors office.

Goop additionally offered to refund customers the full price of eggs if they were purchased between Jan. 12, 2017, and Aug. 31, 2017. The $66 jade egg and $55 rose quartz variety are still available for purchase on the companys website, but they now claim to increase sexual energy.

The Inner Judge Flower Essence Blend, a $22 liquid that was also noted in the lawsuit, appears to have sold out. Goop currently advertises the concoction as a floral blend that assists in the clearing of guilt, shame, self-criticism and blame.

As part of the settlement, Goop is barred from making any claims about the effects of its products without scientific backing, as well as selling or manufacturing any misbranded or falsely advertised medical devices, prosecutors said.

Goop issued a statement saying that although the company believes there is an honest disagreement about these claims, the company wanted to settle this matter quickly and amicably.

The recent suit isnt the first time Goop has taken heat for claims about the effectiveness of its products.

A line of stickers promoted on the companys website last year claimed to use the same carbon material NASA uses to line space suits, a description quickly refuted by the space agency. Goop later removed the NASA reference from the stickers description.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
Connecticuts Office of Consumer Counsel of has reached a settlement with Eversource Energy that reduces the distribution rate increase the utility company was seeking from its natural gas customers.

Consumer Counsel Elin Swanson Katz announced the settlement, which reduces the proposed rate increases in each of three years of the proposed plan. The settlement agreement still must be approved by Connecticuts Public Utilities Regulatory Authority.

Eversource officials had proposed a 9.2 percent increase in natural gas distribution rates next year, followed by a 3.7 percent hike the following year and with an additional 2.9 percent added on in the final year. Under the terms of the settlement, next years distribution rate increase will be just 0.3 percent, followed by a 2.9 percent hike the following year and 2.3 percent in final year.

When Yankee Gas filed its Application proposing a $49 million distribution rate increase in just the first year of a three-year proposal ... we and many other stakeholders were very concerned, Katz said. If granted, Yankee Gas customers would have seen a dramatic increase in their bills, creating a potential rate shock and a financial hardship for Connecticut consumers. I am thus very pleased that we were able to negotiate a proposed settlement that reduces that first year request from $49 million to $1.4 million.

Mitch Gross, an Eversource spokesman, said though the company made several concessions in order to reach the agreement, officials view it as a fair settlement that reduces the increase for customers while allowing for continued investments in our system to provide safe and reliable service to our customers.

Its important to note that this settlement reflects savings from the change in the federal tax law that are already included in our electric rates and that were pleased to pass along to gas customers, Gross said. We filed the settlement with PURA today and it will now undergo a full review process, which will include public comment hearings where customers and community leaders have the opportunity to express their views.

The settlement calls for an overall reduction of $55.8 million from the amount Eversource had originally sought from its customer, according to Katz.

While we of course dont celebrate any rate increase, I am incredibly proud of the work done by my team, she said. If approved by PURA, this marginal rate increase would meet Yankees needs to provide safe and reliable service to its customers, but minimizes the impact on consumers distribution bills.

Some increase in rates is necessitated by law to pay for the substantial investments that Eversource has made, and will continue to make, in new gas pipelines and other system improvements designed to increase the reliability and resiliency of its natural gas infrastructure, she said. That includes more than $500 million of investment already spent, but not included in rates.

Katz said it has been seven years since Eversources last rate increase. The company serves approximately 232,000 gas customers in 73 communities in in its Connecticut service territory.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
Contributed

MADISON  Harpeth Rising, a trio of women that fuses elements of chamber music with folk, blues, newgrass and rock, will open the Fire In The Kitchen Concerts and Workshops season Sept. 15 with a show in the North Madison Congregational Church.

Harpeth Rising is touring in support of Against All Tides, its second album as a trio. The band features expansive three-part harmonies and refers to its music as chamberfolk.
Scientists from Australia and the United States have helped to solve the mystery underlying Jupiters coloured bands in a new study in The Astrophysical Journal (https://goo.gl/jDc9BR) on the interaction between atmospheres and magnetic fields.

Jupiter is a gaseous planet consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium. Several strong jet streams flow west to east in Jupiters atmosphere that are, in a way, similar to Earths jet streams. Clouds of ammonia at Jupiters outer atmosphere are carried along by these jet streams to form Jupiters coloured bands, which are shades of white, red, orange, brown and yellow. Until recently, little was known about what happened below Jupiters clouds.

We know a lot about the jet streams in Earths atmosphere, and the key role they play in the weather and climate, but we still have a lot to learn about Jupiters atmosphere, said co-author Dr Navid Constantinou of The Australian National University. Scientists have long debated how deep the jet streams reach beneath the surfaces of Jupiter and other gas giants, and why they do not appear in the Suns interior. Recent evidence from NASAs Juno spacecraft indicates the jet streams reach as deep as 3000 km below Jupiters clouds.

The research involved mathematical calculations for the instability that creates jet streams when magnetic fields are present, and compared theoretical predictions with results from previous computer simulations. From this the researchers concluded that Jupiters jet streams are suppressed by a strong magnetic field. The gas in the interior of Jupiter is magnetised, so we think our new theory explains why the jet streams go as deep as they do under the gas giants surface but dont go any deeper, said co-author Dr Jeffrey Parker from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The polar and subtropical jet streams in Earths atmosphere shape the climate, especially in the mid-latitudes such as in Australia, Europe and North America. Earths jet streams have a huge impact on the weather and climate by acting as a barrier and making it harder for air on either side of them to exchange properties such as heat, moisture and carbon, Constantinou said.

The jet streams on Earth are wavy and irregular, while they are much straighter on Jupiter. There are no continents and mountains below Jupiters atmosphere to obstruct the path of the jet streams, Parker added. This makes the jet streams on Jupiter simpler. By studying Jupiter, not only do we unravel the mysteries in the interior of the gas giant, but we can also use Jupiter as a laboratory for studying how atmospheric flows work in general.
HAMDEN  M-PIRE Auto Club, in conjunction with the town, will hold the first Cars & Kids Community Event this Saturday allowing children and families the chance to enjoy a car show, games, food and other delights.

The show will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Villano Park, 260 Mill Rock Road, according to a release from the town.

In case of inclement weather, it will be held Sunday.

According to the release, the event is set to feature dozens of cars and special vehicles, many from the Hamden community, throughout Connecticut and the greater tri-state area, giveaways and meal vouchers for kids, and activities offered by the Hamden Youth Services Bureau.

The Hamden Fire Department will give young people the chance to touch-a-truck, while the Hamden Police Department will be showcasing their all-terrain rescue vehicle.

Food will also be on offer from Burning Peel Pizza, Leos Dogs & Grill, and the Institute of Professional Practices Jus Chillin Icecream Cart, according to the release, and DJ Rachel will spin some tunes during the event.

The idea is to bring a car show into the inner-city, providing an opportunity to young people who might not otherwise be able to see one, Laron Strong, a member of M-PIRE Auto Club and New Haven native, said Tuesday.

It can provide a jumping-off point for their imaginations, Strong said.

We want them to be inspired, said Strong. The idea is to spark the engineering mind, spark the artistic mind, and see what the future holds.

With the car show as a hook, Strong said the club also hopes to share useful information with residents and offer kids the chance to try other activities, from screen-printing T-shirts to recording music, as part of the event  it can serve as a catalyst for more, he said.

The Youth Services Bureau is planning to share information about community resources, offer young people the chance to create art, including button-making, and help count votes, Rubino said.

Kids will vote for the best car at the event, Strong said.

Im really excited about (the event). Its the first time the townll be doing it, said Rubino. We hope its the first of many, many years.

Mayor Curt B. Leng praised the event in a statement Tuesday. Always great to see a new fun and exciting event, but most important it will bring neighbors together to enjoy one of our communities greatest parks, said Leng.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
WEST HAVEN  Former Police Department spokesman Sgt. David Tammaro, who had been on paid administrative leave since late winter, formally retired from the department this week, several sources said.

But a state police investigation said to involve his use of overtime is continuing.

Chief John Karajanis Jr., meanwhile, now is out on some sort of injury or medical leave, several police sources said. Further details were not immediately available and Karajanis did not immediately return a call for comment.

Tammaro, who was a police officer for 28 years and the police departments spokesman for several years, was suspended in late February or early March pending both an internal investigation and a state police investigation into allegations involving his use of overtime, multiple sources have said.

He could not immediately be reached for comment.

I can confirm that Tammaro retired, said Board of Police Commissioners Chairman Raymond Collins III. He submitted a letter a couple of weeks ago.

Tammaros retirement was effective Aug. 17, but it wasnt official until the Board of Police Commissioners met and accepted it Tuesday night, Collins said.

Hes got 28 years in and was eligible to retire after 20 years, Collins said.

With regard to the status of Karajanis, Collins said, I know hes out right now but ... were not really sure of the specifics on it.

I dont know if hes been diagnosed with anything, Collins said.

Deputy Chief Joseph Perno is in charge of the department in Karajanis absence. He also confirmed that Tammaros retirement was effective Aug. 17.

Police union President Detective Sean Faughnan said Tammaro has worked here for 28 years and has had 28 years of service. I guess he decided it was time to leave.

He said that as far as he knew, theres been nothing thats come out with regard to either investigation.

Nothings come back to us, Faughnan said.

Police sources have said that the internal and state police investigations appear to center on Tammaros alleged use of overtime.

State police did not immediately respond to a request for information regarding the status of the investigation involving Tammaro.

State police former spokeswoman Trooper Kelly Grant previously confirmed that state police were investigating at the request of the states attorneys office.

The internal investigation centers on whether Tammaro broke any department rules. State police are investigating whether any laws were broken, sources have said.

Several sources said that Milford States Attorney Kevin Lawlor was involved in the decision to get state police involved.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
The U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton will be getting a more reliable source of electricity, courtesy of a $5 million grant from the state that will be used to create a microgrid at the defense facility.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced the grant on Wednesday. Construction of the microgrid is expected to begin next year.

Make no mistake, climate change is having an impact on our communities, and we must take real steps now to strengthen our infrastructure, and plan for future storms and resulting power outages, Malloy said in a statement. Our state agencies, industry leaders, and Navy officials demonstrated an unrelenting commitment to collaborating in this very complex project, producing another innovative partnership between the Navy, our state, and the communities that support the base. This effort once again highlights our resolve to preserve the sub base and our historic distinction as the Submarine Capital of the world.

A microgrid is a small network of electricity users that have their own generation source. Although, a microgrid is usually attached to a centralized larger electric grid, it is able to function independently.

The states microgrid program is administered by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection The agencys commissioner Rob Klee said the creation of the microgrid at the submarine base promises to enhance the resilience of important national security infrastructure in preparation for climate change, sea level rise, and severe weather events.

Our staff will work closely with stakeholders to ensure that the Navys energy and resilience objectives are met , Klee said.

Captain Paul Whitescarver, who is the submarine bases commanding officer said having a microgrid there will enhance our power diversification, our physical and energy security, and most certainly our community collaboration.

Energy security at the submarine base has been a major concern that was identified during the Base Realignment and Closure process in 2005. State officials are hoping the creation of the microgrid on the base will improve its standing when the next round of reviews for possible facility closures occurs in 2021.

Connecticuts Office of Military Affairs had originally proposed a microgrid there in 2010, but the technical complexity of the project and the need for senior endorsement of the project by senior Naval officials slowed the process down.

Danbury-based FuelCell Energy is producing the fuel cells that will be used to generate the electricity for the microgrid. The base fuel cell park will be financed by a public-private sector long-term power purchase agreement, according to state officials.

The energy produced by the fuel cells will be sold to the community grid during periods of normal usage. But in the event of a disruption of the larger regional grid, the microgrid will divert uninterrupted electric power to the base for critical operations.

The State of Connecticut was the first state to pioneer a process to make direct investments into a federal military installation so as to improve infrastructure and enhance military value, helping improve the facilitys relative standing in the next BRAC round, which is widely expected to happen as early as 2021.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
ALBANY  Joe Repetur blew out his back while loading a patient into an ambulance 23 years ago, and has been living in pain ever since.

He tried pain pills. They didn't work. He tried different pain pills. Nothing. He tried "every opiate-based reliever you can think of," in fact, and says it wasn't until he tried marijuana that he gained any kind of relief.

But it still wasn't enough.

At the first of 15 listening sessions on marijuana being held statewide, the former EMT from Greene County told state officials and a crowd of more than 100 that any proposal to legalize marijuana in New York should guarantee residents the right to grow their own product at home.

If he had that right, he said, maybe he could grow a strain that works even better for his pain. And maybe he could actually afford it.

"I can't afford to go to the dispensary and get medication there," he said of the marijuana dispensaries that opened after New York legalized medicinal use of the drug in 2014.

At the direction of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, state health officials are hosting listening sessions around the state through the months of September and October to gather input, concerns and considerations from local community members about the potential development of a state-regulated marijuana program.

As border states have increasingly legalized the drug, or are moving in that direction, New York is taking steps to do so, as well  although it won't be until the the legislative session starts up again in January that the policy and political implications of that plan become clear. In the meantime, the first listening session, held Wednesday night at the Albany Capital Center, provided an enlightening window into how New Yorkers feel about the topic.

Only a handful of the nearly 50 comments made during the two-hour session signaled opposition to legalization. Of more concern to the crowd were the logistics and economics of legalization: Could residents grow it at home? At what age would it be legal to buy? Would small business benefit or just the big guys? Would tax revenues be reinvested in communities of color hit hard by the war on drugs? Should we even be taxing it in the first place?

"This is about racial, economic and social justice," said Lauren Manning, assistant director for the Center for Law and Justice in Albany. "There are people doing life sentences for 15 pounds of weed. Meanwhile, a bunch of white men are poised to get very rich off of the same thing our people have gone to jail for for decades."

Many in the crowd echoed arguments in favor of releasing low-level marijuana offenders from jails and prisons and expunging their records. Others expressed anger at the damage already done by marijuana criminalization.

Small business owners and advocates asked the state to consider dedicating a portion of licensing permits to lower-income entrepreneurs, rather than "big companies with big assets."

Attendees also had suggestions for tax revenues: they could be used to rebuild infrastructure, invest in mental health, train law enforcement to recognize drugged driving, and fund more research into marijuana in the first place.

Public health pros and cons were also discussed.

"I have not heard anyone talk about any potential ill effects from marijuana, and I do think there are potential ill effects," said Albany County Health Commissioner Elizabeth Whalen, citing statistics about the potential for dependence, as well as birth and hospitalization rates for babies whose mothers used marijuana during pregnancy.

A number of medical marijuana patients touted the physical relief they were able to achieve while on the drug, but all of them bemoaned the high cost of the product on the regulated market  a problem they hope will be solved by the legalization of adult, recreational use.

Dr. Roger Green, a recently retired pediatrician from Kingston, highlighted another public health benefit  namely, that a regulated product would eliminate fears of contaminated product.

As the prevalence of synthetic marijuana, and marijuana spiked with the synthetic opioid fentanyl, have grown, so too have concerns from local law enforcement. Recent federal data show that synthetic opioids are the fastest-growing drug category contributing to drug overdose deaths right now.

"I have sat face to face and eye to eye with hundreds and thousands of kids who are going to smoke no matter what," he said. "They're getting it now, but god knows what they're getting."

The next listening session will be held at 6 p.m Thursday at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury.
Editors note: This is the 40th story in the Registers Top 50 series.

NEW HAVEN  If youve ever had an X-ray  or a baby  or been cured with antibiotics or treated for cancer, HIV or AIDS, you are benefiting from clinical innovations for which important ground was broken at Yale School of Medicine and/or Yale New Haven Hospital.

The institutions might not have been called by those names at the time.

The first X-ray, for example, was taken in late 1896 at Yale College, which was affiliated with what at the time was New Haven Hospital, according to the medical school.

(Or maybe, just maybe, it was taken at Dartmouth College, depending on whose version of the disputed history you read.)

But what are now ubiquitous clinical treatments for all of those conditions, along with many innovations over the last three-quarters of a century in infant care, saw some of their earliest, groundbreaking development at Yale and Yale New Haven, according to the hospital.

While courses of treatment and expectations for survival for some of sciences most vexing diseases have changed dramatically over the years, nowhere have changes been as dramatic as in the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

Not too many years ago, an HIV or AIDS diagnosis was a death sentence.

Not any more.

And some groundbreaking, collaborative work in New Haven  involving Yale doctors and researchers, city health workers and community AIDS workers all working together over the years  played a part in that.

Dr. Gerald Friedland, former longtime director of the HIV/AIDS program at Yale  which in 1982 created the first AIDS clinic in Connecticut  arrived here in 1991 to be the first full-time AIDS Program director, after 10 years working with AIDS patients in the Bronx, according to the medical school.

At that time, people were dying of AIDS.

Now, while theres still no cure, people are living with it, said Friedland, who helped shape AIDS treatment with his pioneering epidemiological studies while leading the HIV/AIDS program from 1991-2010.

In fact, people are living long enough that the Yale HIV/AIDS Programs current director, Dr. Merceditas Santos Villanueva, who took over in 2010, said that one of her big challenges is treating her patients other conditions  conditions associated with old age.

Thats because many in the population of people living with AIDS are entering their golden years.

Treating AIDS is getting easier in that we have great treatment options now, said Villanueva, who first came to New Haven for an Infectious Diseases fellowship at Yale in the 1990s, then left for a few years to run the infectious disease program at Waterbury Hospital.

Whats harder now is that as my patients get older ... Im dealing with my patients other conditions, Villanueva said

To go in 30 years from a uniformly fatal disease to a chronic disease is amazing, Villanueva said. But its still a communicable disease.

In New Haven, which was one of the first cities in the country to have a successful needle exchange program  supported by the city, the mayor (initially then-Mayor Biagio DiLieto,) the Police Department and Yale  there has been been much progress over the years to reduce transmission of AIDS, said Friedland.

New Haven also is where one of the early AIDS drugs was developed, at Yale by Dr. William Prusoff. The drug, Zerit or D4T, was first synthesized at Yale, then developed by Bristol-Meyers to become one of the major HIV drugs, Friedland said.

Friedland, at age 79, is still working as a doctor trying to help people with HIV and AIDS in both New Haven and, for the past 16 years, in South Africa, as well.

But he has retired from his administrative responsibilities and is now a professor emeritus at the Yale School of Medicine.

Over the years, Yale has continued to develop and test new drugs in its clinical trials program, doing more than 100 studies of different HIV and AIDS medications, he said.

Yale also was an early player in providing anti-retrovirals to mothers with HIV at the time of delivery to essentially prevent the infant from getting the virus, Friedland said, pointing out that there hasnt been a baby born with HIV in New Haven in years.

New Haven also broke ground with the creation of Leeway, a skilled nursing facility on Albert Street off State Street where people with HIV who need skilled nursing care can be treated with dignity in a skilled facility, he said.

While AIDS treatment wasnt invented here, One of the things that New Haven, and also Yale New Haven Hospital ... has done, is really conduct a wonderful model, featuring a comprehensive way of care and treatment of people with HIV and at risk for HIV, Friedland said.

We established a ward, or a place in the hospital, where people with HIV would get care, he said.

New Haven also was among first in the country to have a clinic where children would get HIV care, Friedland said.

Meanwhile, the Community Healthcare Van  a big, blue bus  goes around the city providing services, including HIV care and treatment, he said.

The way that the services are organized comprehensively ... is very much something for us to be proud of, and its a model  and people learn from coming and seeing what we have done, Friedland said.

The AIDS epidemic in New Haven was one in which there were mothers and babies, as well as men, Friedland said  and he was quick to point out that it wasnt just doctors at Yale who responded.

Throughout the history of the local response to AIDS, theyve worked closely and collaboratively with staffers from some very strong community-based organizations, including AIDS Project New Haven, the AIDS Interfaith Network and Hispanos Unidos Contra el SIDA, he said.

All of that was blended together ... with comprehensiveness, with continuity, with compassion and competence, Friedland said.

AIDS Project New Haven initially was formed in 1983 in response to the spread of AIDS in the gay community. AIDS Interfaith Network, formed in 1987 by the late Elsie Cofield, initially responded to the spread of AIDS in the African-American community, and Hispanos Unidos Contra el SIDA, formed in 1987, was created to respond to the spread of AIDS in the Latino community, he said.

All were responding, during what was a scary time for many people, to the perception that not enough was being done to help underserved populations.

The first cases of AIDS were reported in Connecticut in 1981, about the same time as the initial cases in New York and San Francisco, Friedland and Villanueva wrote in a 2017 article in Connecticut Medicine.

As of 2014, 20,997 HIV/AIDS cases had been reported in Connecticut. Of Connecticuts 10,727 prevalent HIV/AIDS cases as of that time, 1,452 of them, or 13.5 percent, were New Haven residents at the time of diagnosis, the doctors wrote in the article.

And in New Haven, unlike in many larger cities in the early years of HIV and AIDS, the disease was disproportionately contracted by racial and ethnic minorities, they wrote.

Of the cases reported as of 2014, 77 percent involved people of color, with 36 percent acquiring HIV through injection drug use and 24 percent through men having sex with men, the article said.

In addition to Yale and Yale New Haven, important AIDS work is being done in clinics at Yale New Havens St. Raphael campus, the VA Connecticut Healthcare Systems West Haven Campus, the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center and the Fair Haven Clinic, said Friedland.

While the nature of the AIDS epidemic has changed, it is still an epidemic, said Villanueva.

The World Health Organization has set 90-90-90 goals to fight the epidemic, she said.

The goal is, by 2020, to have 90 percent of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, have 90 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and to have 90 percent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy have the virus suppressed.

Friedland said there have been big changes in the field over the years, which are of great value beyond just treating one disease.

This is a new event in human history. Its not just an epidemic in a biomedical sense ... but what weve learned is of great scientific, cultural value, Friedland said.

Among many other things, researchers and clinical workers have learned about accepting diversity and the importance of community in treatment, he said.

The importance of community, not just biomedical advances, is of great value, Friedland said.

In any discussion of the work thats gone on in New Haven since that first AIDS clinic was set up in 1982, I think its important to know that New Haven ... was one of about a dozen cities in the U.S. in which HIV and AIDS became the leading cause of death for young men and young women, he said.

New Haven, when I came here, there were 30-40 people (with AIDS) in the hospital on any given day, and they were all, or almost all, bound to die, Friedland said.

These days, there generally are fewer than five people being treated for AIDS in Yale New Haven Hospital on any given day, he said.

There are lots of people living with HIV, he said. But they are alive  and not in hospitals.

Outpatients are treated in the hospitals Nathan Smith Clinic.

This is why I chose to go into medicine, to work with the most vulnerable people, said Friedland, who still works in the clinic.

One of his concerns these days is that people think that HIV and AIDS has gone away ... but theres about 40 million in the world still living with HIV.

We have all the resources, but theyve had to be fought for, and theres a real concern that support will dry up and the disease will rebound, as tuberculosis has, Friedland said.

HIV has not gone away. We have an aging population of people living with HIV, and thats a symbol of our success, he said. But people with HIV, even if theyre well-treated and successful, still are vulnerable.

Long before the onset of HIV/AIDS, there were other scourges killing people  and Yale and the hospital were involved in fighting them, as well.

Its a jaw-dropping fact that before 1942, a broad range of infectious diseases conceivably could end up killing you.

Its also a fact that early in the 20th century, only cancers small and localized enough to be completely removed through surgery were curable. Years later, radiation began to be used post-surgery to control small tumor growths that were not surgically removed.

But in one year, 1942, researchers at Yale brought both penicillin, the worlds first antibiotic, or bacteria killer, and chemotherapy  two of the greatest medical innovations of the century  into use as medical treatments, according to the hospital.

Building on work pioneered in London by Dr. Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist at St. Marys Hospital who discovered penicillin, and refined by a team led by Dr. Howard Florey at Oxford University, doctors at Yale took the next important step.

In March 1942 at New Haven Hospital, they made Anne Miller the first civilian patient to be successfully treated with penicillin, according to PBS News Hour. She previously had been near death after miscarrying and developing an infection that led to blood poisoning, according to the PBS site.

The discovery of penicillin, one of the worlds first antibiotics, marks a true turning point in human history, wrote Dr. Howard Markel for the PBS News Hour in 2012.

Penicillins use as a treatment marked the point where doctors finally had a tool that could completely cure their patients of deadly infectious diseases, he wrote.

It was a game-changer during World War II, even before it was approved for civilian use.

Throughout history, one of the major killers in wars had been infection  not just battle injuries. During World War I, the death rate from bacterial pneumonia was 18 percent, while in World War II, it fell to less than 1 percent, wrote Dr. Markel, director of the Center for the History of Medicine and the George E. Wantz Distinguished Professor of the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan.

When it comes to childbirth, what is now Yale-New Haven Hospital became the first U.S. hospital to allow healthy newborns to stay in rooms with mothers in 1946. It then became the first hospital to use fetal heart monitoring in 1957, and introduced the worlds first intensive care unit for newborns in 1960, according to the hospital.

Meanwhile, chemotherapy  another life-saving treatment for one of worlds most relentless killer diseases  became a bit of a game-changer, as well.

Through work at Yale, it was added to the cancer treatment mix to destroy small tumor growths that had spread beyond the reach of surgeons and radiotherapists.
New research led by the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and The University of Adelaide has uncovered a significant hurdle for realising the potential benefits of gene editing in embryos.

The team, led by Prof Paul Thomas, investigated North American research published last year that seemed to demonstrate that gene editing in human embryos was highly effective in repairing a defective gene in a majority of the embryos. However, Thomas says their new research, published in Nature (https://goo.gl/tv4HCa), provides an alternative explanation for the apparent gene correction  rather than gene editing technology fixing small errors, much larger errors were being created. Gene editing technology is still relatively new, and part of this field of research includes understanding the flaws, which will ultimately allow us to develop the safest possible therapies for genetic conditions, Thomas said.

Australia has strict legislation restricting gene editing in human embryos, so the researchers used preclinical animal models to replicate the North American study. We looked beyond the small deletions, exploring larger areas of DNA, said the research papers first author, Dr Fatwa Adikusuma. When we searched a wider area, we found that repair of the DNA break generated by molecular scissors resulted in deletion of large stretches of DNA.

The molecular scissor technology, CRISPR-Cas9, can cut specific regions of a cells DNA, resulting in a specific edit that can correct faulty genes. However, Thomas and his colleagues found that DNA can sometimes be lost during the repair process, resulting in large deletions that would not restore function to the faulty gene.

CRISPR-Cas9 technology is very exciting, with researchers already using it to cure muscular dystrophy in mice, and a number of clinical trials are underway to test gene-editing therapies for several cancers as well as blood diseases, Thomas said. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms by which these tools work are important advancements for research and for clinical translation to treat a host of genetic diseases.
Three students at a high school in Hackensack were hospitalized Wednesday after they reporting feeling sick from the heat during an outdoor afternoon physical education class, officials said.

The Bergen Arts and Science Charter High School students were reported to be in stable condition, according to school spokeswoman Dawn Fantasia.

In light of the blistering temperatures, "physical activities were modified to stay within the shade, with water made available to the students," the spokeswoman said in a statement. "Physical education teachers were present outside to monitor the students and activities."

Despite the precautions, the students reported not feeling well and went to the school nurse, who recommended they be taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to officials.

"In abundance of caution, outdoor activities are suspended until further notice," the statement said.

According to a News12 report, the students were running laps outside as part of a test when they got sick.

"I'm not happy at all. I think whoever made this decision for the children to do this today could have put it off until Monday or Tuesday. This isn't right," parent Joe Dymarczyk told the television station.

Temperatures in the region reached the mid-90's and several area schools announced plans to close early Thursday because of the heat.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Andres Dominguez hopped the counter of a Bank of New Jersey branch in Fort Lee last January with a large kitchen knife in his right hand and got away with $44,525.

The Jan. 12, 2017 robbery far exceeded the few thousand dollars the average robber gets, and he threatened the life of a teller, court papers in his case say.

But Dominguez was not much of a bank robber in the end. He was a frequent customer of the branch on Palisade Avenue and employees quickly identified him to responding police. He was arrested the next day.

Cops also found the knife in a dumpster behind the bank, and the rubber gloves, Nike hoodie and dark wool hat that he had dropped along streets within a few blocks.

The 39-year-old Bronx, New York man was sentenced to 44 months in prison Wednesday by U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Federal authorities did not say, and court documents do not reveal, if authorities found the cash he stole from the bank.

Dominguez pleaded guilty in July of last year. He will be under federal supervision for three years after he's released from prison.

He's been free on bond since last year, and during a court proceeding reported his address as Toms River, in Ocean County.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The art room at Dumont High School is closed indefinitely after unacceptable levels of mold were found there, Superintendent Emanuele Triggiano said.

When the teacher was setting the room up last week, spots were found on furniture and other porous surfaces, he said. The first-floor art room and nearby areas were air tested on Friday and only the art room came back with elevated mold levels.

"It's not like the walls were black," Triggiano said. "There were spots on some of the furniture. Anything porous was just thrown away."

Mold can cause allergic reactions or, depending on the type of mold, can release toxins that affect the central nervous, immune, respiratory and digestive systems, according to The New Jersey Department of Health.

Details on the mold test results at Dumont High School were not immediately available. The Superintendent referred those questions to the school business administrator, who did not return a call late Wednesday afternoon.

Clean-up has begun but the fate of the classroom for this year is uncertain. Additional testing will be done.

"I would never allow anybody in there unless we had the air checked," the superintendent said.

The district is going to evaluate whether it will continue to use that space as the art room or relocate it permanently, Triggiano said, adding that, for now, art classes will be held in the Photography room.

It's unclear how much the mold issue will cost the district, he said. As of now it has spent a "couple thousand dollars."

"It's been a real hot summer and with all the rain we had and humidity," Triggiano said, could have contributed to the problem.

School officials elsewhere and a Rutgers climatologist have also blamed the wet, warm August weather for causing mold problems. Students in two Hopatcong elementary schools will start their school year on Sept. 10 instead of Sept. 6 because of mold. And three Ocean County Schools had to be scrubbed down before students could return.

"A lot of times when they clean the rooms and close them down for the summer, that might not be the best thing to do. In the future we might keep the shades up to let some sunlight in," Triggiano said.

The Dumont School District hired Karl Environmental Group to advise it and do the air testing, Triggiano said.

A representative for the company declined to comment.

Dumont High School was originally built in 1932 and has been added onto in 1961 and 2007. It serves more than 800 students living in Dumont, in Bergen County, who attend ninth through twelfth grades.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Earlier this year, A.J. Perri was hit with the largest fine ever levied by New Jersey's plumbing board.

The state said A.J. Perri violated consumer rules and it spelled out how the company should change the way it deals with customers, including ceasing to pressure consumers with heavy-handed sales tactics, according to a consent order signed by the company and authorities.

But after the order was signed in January, the Division of Consumer Affairs said it continued to receive new complaints.

The state's inquiry began after a string of complaints from customers who alleged A.J. Perri was overly aggressive in upselling services and equipment.

A.J. Perri denied any wrongdoing and was assessed a $100,000 fine.

The state said the company "repeatedly engaged in use of deception and misrepresentation" and that it "used overly-aggressive and deceitful tactics to coerce consumers, many of them senior citizens, into paying for plumbing repairs and services that were unnecessary or far exceeded what was needed."

An A.J. Perri truck parked in a Monmouth County neighborhood in August.

Since January, the state has continued to receive new reports alleging similar behavior, leading to two separate reviews by the Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers and the Office of Consumer Protection, both part of the Division of Consumer Affairs, the state said.

The plumbing board typically addresses quality-of-work issues, while the consumer protection office focuses on allegations that fall under the Consumer Fraud Act.

Consumer Affairs said at least 29 consumers have filed new complaints since the order was signed. Eleven of the complaints were for "alleged incidents" that took place after A.J. Perri signed the order, and the rest were for incidents that occurred before the order was signed, the state said.

So far, the plumbing board said, it has closed 15 of the complaints, but it wouldn't say if they were closed in favor of the company or the consumer. Fourteen others remain open and are still being reviewed by the board, the state said, while the Office of Consumer Protection is just starting to review all 29 complaints, the state said.

"The large number of complaints raises questions about A.J. Perri's business practices," said Paul Rodriguez, the agency's acting director, of the referral of complaints to the Office of Consumer Protection.

"That consent order not only held A.J. Perri accountable for its past misconduct, but it also required the company to make substantive changes to its business practices to ensure that going forward, senior citizens and other consumers are not targeted by overly-aggressive and deceitful tactics designed to coerce them into paying for plumbing repairs and services that are unnecessary or far exceed what is necessary," Rodriguez said.

A.J. Perri said it was unaware of the state's concerns because the company has been in regular contact with the state and has established a good working relationship with it. The state has only given positive feedback since the decree was signed, A.J. Perri said.

"We have not received any indication of concern or dissatisfaction from the state - in fact we have confirmed with the state that A.J. Perri has complied fully with the consent order and that no action is pending against the company - despite the statement that was provided to this reporter," the company said in a statement. "To the contrary, the state has been complimentary of our compliance."

In any case, Kevin Perri, A.J. Perri's president, said the complaints represent a tiny fraction of the company's business and that it has provided exceptional service to more than a million customers over its nearly 50-year history.

"I am deeply troubled by the Star-Ledger's irresponsible decision to sensationalize situations in which customers were dissatisfied with our service, or simply chose to do business with a different provider, and use them to paint an incomplete, inaccurate and misleading picture of our business as a whole," Perri said.

He said if a customer is dissatisfied, the company wants to know so it can make it right "consistent with our industry leading guarantees."

In a meeting with Bamboozled at A.J. Perri's Tinton Falls headquarters, general manager Jim Henkel said the company would not address specific complaints because it didn't want to "disparage a customer."

A.J. Perri provided Bamboozled with this breakdown of consumer complaints. It said its computer system only goes back to 2009.

In the meeting, company officials said "escalated complaints," which are complaints filed with authorities rather than directly with A.J. Perri, represent a very small percentage of the company's business. A.J. Perri said it tallied 34 escalated complaints in 2017, which is only 0.03213 percent of the company's 105,816 service calls, noting that the number had risen substantially after Bamboozled's columns about the company last year. It did not offer a number of complaints for 2018.

Previously, the company said, customers most often went directly to the company to give it an opportunity to address concerns rather than complain directly to authorities.

Also, during the meeting, the company said it has procedures to ensure customers know what they're buying when they hire A.J. Perri, including an additional verification process for customers who spend more than $1,000 to "make sure that customer is comfortable."

You can read Kevin Perri's entire statement here.

Here are two of the complaints filed this year.

DANGEROUS OR NOT?

On Feb. 8, Steve Linzey, 65, woke up to find his Jackson home had no heat.

He called A. J. Perri.

A technician said his unit needed new parts, Linzey detailed in a complaint to Consumer Affairs. It would cost $683.93 after a senior citizen discount, documents show.

Linzey's complaint is among those that remain open with the plumbing board.

Linzey said he thought the repair estimate was expensive, but he agreed because it was too late in the day to call another company, he said in the complaint.

Linzey said he later learned the parts cost only $5, $10 and $18.

Then on Feb. 27, 18 days after the repair, the heating system died again, he said.

A.J. Perri sent a different technician to the home, Linzey said.

The tech jiggled a part and the unit started up, he said.

Linzey said the tech noted the age of the unit and decided to do some tests.

"He sticks in a little scope, looking around. He said there were cracks and the unit is dangerous," Linzey said. The tech also said the chimney was blocked, causing a backdraft, he said.

The tech shut down the unit and offered to set up an appointment with a salesperson, saying the money paid for the first repair could be used toward the new unit, Linzey said.

Linzey said he was concerned about safety and still had no heat, but he wasn't ready to meet a salesperson. Instead, he got a recommendation from a friend, and two days later, another company inspected the unit.

The new technician said the unit was old, but it should work, Linzey said.

The tech pressed the restart button.

"The thing starts right up," Linzey said. "This guy brings out a gadget, a carbon dioxide checker, and said if I had the slightest crack in the unit it would go off."

The monitor stayed silent.

The technician also said the chimney was dirty, but there were no blockages, Linzey said.

The unit has been fine ever since, Linzey said.

He did receive the promised refund for the first unsuccessful repair, and he filed a complaint with Consumer Affairs in early April.

Bamboozled obtained a copy of Perri's response to the plumbing board about Linzey's complaint.

The company said in its second visit to the home, it found Linzey's firebox was broken, pieces of metal were at the bottom of the furnace and it recommended the unit be shut down.

Linzey declined the recommendation, Perri said, noting it stands by its diagnosis.

Linzey disputes Perri's version of events.

$18,000 OR $75?

On Jan. 11, Stephanie Martel's heating system was blowing only cold air. She called A.J. Perri.

Martel said a worker came to her Monmouth County home and told her she needed a new unit. The tech sent "an aggressive sales guy" later that day, she said.

Martel said the salesman recommended a new furnace and a new air conditioner, which Martel imagined could be accurate because the systems were 25 years old.

But that wasn't the only reason to replace the equipment, she said she was told.

"[He] told us we were likely going to have a hole blow through our unit because it is so rusted and there was mold and we could have a fire in our attic," Martel said.

When Martel expressed indecision, the salesman said he wouldn't be able to find parts to fix the current unit, she said.

Then the sales pitch accelerated.

"Every panic button to scare the homeowner was mentioned -- red flags to me -- mold, carbon monoxide, fires, rust, faulty computer board, rolling flames, broken gas cap, etc." she said.

Martel decided to call another company for a second opinion.

"$75 bucks. In. Out. Fixed," she said of the second company. "He says our unit is old, but safe and clean of mold, rust, etc."

Martel filed a complaint with Consumer Affairs on Jan. 15, and its among those that remain open with the plumbing board, the agency said.

Perri responded in writing to the plumbing board, saying it offered Martel three different options, including the option to do nothing. It did not address Martel's allegation the salesman used pressure tactics, and it said the family called a Perri competitor and received a lower estimate for a furnace replacement.

Martel disputes that, saying she never got an estimate for a new unit, but instead, the contractor she called for a second opinion said a new unit wasn't needed. It was fixed instead.

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT

Consumer Affairs said it encourages any consumer to contact the state "if they feel they have been harmed by a business or a licensee, or if they have information that a business or licensee is operating in violation of a settlement agreement."

Consumers can be file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling (800) 242-5846 (toll-free within New Jersey) or (973) 504-6200.

At A.J. Perri's request, we're also providing the company's telephone number. The company can be reached at (732) 733-2548.

Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com.

Stay informed and sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter.
The party is over at Monmouth University -- at least for the time being.

The private college in West Long Branch announced Thursday it's suspending its entire Greek life system indefinitely, citing a series of "serious conduct violations," involving hazing, alcohol, drug use and lack of academic focus, according to a letter obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Monmouth University's president, Grey Dimenna, broke the news to the campus community in the letter and referenced a negative culture "casting a long shadow over Greek life at Monmouth."

"Over the course of the past several years, Greek communities across the country have faced challenges that have often resulted in tragic situations," Dimenna wrote. "I feel it is essential for us to be proactive in this area to avoid circumstances such as we have seen at other institutions."

The move comes amid a national push to clean up Greek life, especially fraternities, following a series of student deaths related to alcohol and hazing. Earlier this week, the North-American Interfraternity Conference voted to ban hard alcohol in most fraternities across the country.

Monmouth's decision affects about 750 students in seven fraternities and nine sororities, according to the university.

University officials met with leaders of the Greek community in May to address concerns and asked students to develop a draft plan to address those issues, Dimenna wrote. The plan they submitted fell short of expectations, he added.

"This means there will be no recruitment, social, philanthropic, or any such activities within the fraternity and sorority community until we receive and approve an acceptable plan from the Greek Senate," he wrote.

Leaders of the Greek community were informed of the decision last month, according to the university.

Solutions need to come from the students, not from top-down mandates, Dimenna wrote.

"I am very confident that our Greek community will rise to this challenge and together we will develop an improved Greek community here at Monmouth," he wrote.

Staff writer Sophie Nieto-Munoz contributed to this report.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The newly swimsuit-free Miss America crowned its first two winners on Wednesday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, carrying on despite a conflict that has troubled the pageant for months.

In the first of three nights of preliminary competition at the revamped competition dubbed "Miss America 2.0," Miss Florida won a $2,000 award for talent for her classical piano performance and Miss Wisconsin won a $1,000 award for onstage interview.

Before the swimsuit competition was cut from the pageant in June, preliminary awards went to winners for talent and swimsuit. In prior years, onstage questions were part of the competition, but individual awards were not given for that portion.

Miss Florida, Taylor Tyson, 23, a pianist and graduate of Florida Atlantic University who studied political science, won the talent award for her performance of "Mephisto Waltz" by Franz Liszt.

The first night of talent competition also saw Miss New Jersey, Jaime Gialloreto, dance to Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

Tyson, who has studied piano with Vladimir Viardo, a winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, has been accepted to Stetson University's College of Law.

Miss Wisconsin, Tianna Vanderhei, 25, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, won the new onstage question segment of competition. Contestants have 20 seconds to answer each question.

The question that Vanderhei, a former multimedia journalist and fill-in TV anchor, answered was about expanding diversity on college campuses. She said everyone has the right to a college education. Noting that more needs to be done to make college affordable, she said she would tell college admissions officers to focus on applicants as a whole.

After the show, Vanderhei addressed the absence of the pageant's usual parade of swimsuits.

View this post on Instagram Miss New Jersey dancing to Aretha Franklin. @missamericanj @jaime_gialloreto #missamerica A post shared by AmyKup (@kupamy) on Sep 5, 2018 at 5:18pm PDT

"It's sad that it's gone but we understand the reasons that it's gone," she said.

Gretchen Carlson, chairwoman of the Miss America board, announced the swimsuit decision by saying that after nearly 100 years of women competing in bathing suits, the pageant would no longer be judging contestants -- she prefers to call them "candidates" -- on physical appearance.

The decision to drop the swimsuit competition has sparked controversy within the pageant community. A group of 46 representatives of state pageants has called for the resignation of Carlson and pageant CEO Regina Hopper, as have a group of 23 former Miss Americas.

Another change to the pageant is an edit to the eveningwear portion of competition. In what was formerly the domain of evening gown processions, contestants are now asked what they would like to tell America while wearing formal attire in a "red carpet"-style setup. They can wear evening gowns, but also cocktail dresses or pants.

For the first night out, most contestants stuck with evening gowns. In answering the question, each talked about their social impact initiative, formerly known as the pageant platform.

The 2019 Miss America pageant, which airs on ABC, will be broadcast from Atlantic City at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

A total of 51 contestants representing the 50 states and the District of Columbia are vying for the crown in a year of turmoil for the pageant.

In addition to the swimsuit-related troubles, Miss America 2018, Cara Mund, has accused pageant leaders, including Carlson and Hopper, of bullying and silencing her during her reign. Carlson has denied the claims, while lawyers for the pageant and the titleholder have been sparring over efforts to conduct an investigation of Mund's accusations.

The swimsuit controversy and bullying allegations come on the heels of another scandal over the former pageant CEO's leaked emails in December.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
Another Starbucks is opening in Newark -- at Penn Station.

The Board of Directors for New Jersey Transit recently approved a 10-year lease with the coffee giant for retail space inside the busy Newark train station.

It's not clear when the Seattle-based chain plans to move into the 1,050-square-foot space. The company did not immediately provide more information on the location.

Newark has three other Starbucks locations: on Broad Street, inside Newark Liberty International Airport and on the Rutgers-Newark campus.

Starbucks will pay a total of $1.7 million for the space over 10 years, agenda documents from the Board of Directors meeting on Aug. 8 show.

The company also plans to spend $750,000 on improvements to the space. The annual rent will be $150,000 with yearly increase of 2.5 percent. The station reportedly services more than 27,000 commuters every weekday.

The area around Newark Penn Station could see significant development.

Mayor Ras Baraka last fall signed a controversial proposal to to allow buildings near Penn Station to reach 12 stories, up from eight stories, in exchange for the buildings meeting certain environmental standards.

The first 12-story building under that new criteria was approved in June. The 403-unit residential building with 3,300 square-feet of retail space will sit on 28-50 McWhorter Street and 51-57 Union Street.

Mulberry Commons, a public park and commercial hub under construction, will connect downtown Newark to Penn Station and the Ironbound section of the city.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.
WEST NEW YORK  A school board member and the Democratic committee chair in this largely immigrant Hudson County town is defending himself after flyers appeared this week accusing him of "working with" U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and urging him to resign his seat.

Jonathan Castaneda, who is seeking re-election in November, has been connected to ICE because of his new job as chief of staff at the Hudson County jail, which has a contract with ICE to house immigrant detainees. The county freeholder board recently renewed the ICE contract, sparking outrage from liberal activists who say the agreement with ICE runs contrary to the values of this county that has a large immigrant population.

"To insinuate that I, of all people, am against immigrants, is truly ironic since I am the child of immigrants," Castaneda told The Jersey Journal. "I'm looking forward to running and winning this upcoming election to continue to fight for all the students of our school district, regardless of their immigration status."

The flyer includes a picture of Castaneda and images of the ICE logo and says he "has privileged information about our children and parents."

"The danger and the conflict of interest are very scary," the flyer says.

The accusation that a politician is connected to ICE is not ideal in this town of 53,000 where, Census figures show, 60 percent of the population is foreign born and 35 percent of residents are not United States citizens.

Castaneda, 29, is seeking re-election on a ticket that includes Adrienne Sires and Joseph Rodriguez. Sires' husband, Albio, is a U.S. congressman. Rodriguez's wife, Caridad, is a Hudson County freeholder.

There are six other candidates in the race for three open school board seats.

"Our community is tired of the political mongering and antics that distract from the real problems we are having in our community," Castaneda said. "Instead of smearing, (let's) work to move our community forward."

He took the chief of staff job at the jail in July, according to Hudson County View. That was after the contested Hudson County Democratic Organization chair fight won by Amy DeGise, the daughter of County Executive Tom DeGise. Castaneda was an Amy DeGise supporter.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY  Hudson County announced a plan Thursday to exit its controversial contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a stunning move that comes after months of protest by liberal activists and immigrant advocates who said the county should not do business with ICE.

The county will ask the nine-member freeholder board to vote for a measure next week that will say the ICE contract cannot go beyond 2020 without additional freeholder consent, but the goal is to end the agreement sooner, the county said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon. The current contract includes no end date.

"Just a month ago, I did not see a path that would allow us to move forward on a path to exit," County Executive Tom DeGise said in the statement. "I'm pleased that after what I have heard from state and federal leaders, I believe we have a consensus on how Hudson County can exit the contract in a responsible manner."

The announcement comes one week before the freeholder board's next regular meeting, which is expected to attract a large number of immigrant advocates opposed to the ICE contract. Sources with knowledge of the contract discussions said public pressure from the advocates led as many as three freeholders to change their minds and oppose the agreement.

The contract, first approved in the 1990s, allows the county to house immigrant detainees at its jail in Kearny. In exchange, ICE pays the county $120 per inmate daily. The contract is expected to bring the county $19 million this year. There are about 700 immigrant detainees in the jail, which now houses more immigrant detainees than inmates awaiting prosecution.

An ICE spokeswoman declined to comment.

"Over the last month the county executive, my fellow freeholders, state and federal leaders and local advocates for detainees have worked constructively to make this exit plan possible, and I am proud of the work that has been done to arrive at this point," Freeholder Chair Anthony Vainieri said in the statement. "I will urge my colleagues to support this plan because it represents a humane, reasonable approach."

The freeholder board reauthorized the agreement in a surprise vote at its July meeting, angering immigrant advocates and religious leaders and causing an intraparty rift among Hudson County Democrats. DeGise and all nine freeholders are Democrats.

With an increase in immigrant arrests under President Trump, Democrats nationwide have seized on ICE in an effort to increase their electoral prospects. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla called for the county to end the contract, as did the councils of both cities. Hoboken Councilwoman Emily Jabbour likened the contract to "blood money."

A group of activists had a pre-planned protest outside Liberty House banquet hall in Jersey City on Thursday afternoon, one that coincided with the Hudson County Democratic Organization's annual gala. One of them, the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, said he does not support DeGise's "path to exit" plan because he wants the contract ended immediately.

"We hear all sorts of promises from politicians who know that they're in a hot seat," he told The Jersey Journal. "When you say 2020 and there's this caveat that it has to have a vote by the freeholders, it all feels slimy and not sincere."

DeGise, Kaper-Dale noted, is up for re-election next year.

Brooklyn Defender Services and Bronx Defenders, which provide detained immigrants with counsel, is opposed to the exit plan entirely, saying in a statement that ending the contract "does more harm than good" because immigrants will be moved farther from their advocates, an argument the county made following the July renewal of the ICE contract.



"Certainly, reallocating revenue from the contract with ICE toward better serving people caught in the web of immigration detention, as local advocates and elected officials have called for, is worthy, but phasing out the contract itself is the wrong move," their statement says.

Freeholder Bill O'Dea, of Jersey City, opposed renewing the contract in July and has criticized the county for continuing its relationship with ICE. O'Dea called DeGise's announcement a "positive first step."

"What the Trump administration is doing and how they're doing it, it's not something that we can buy ourselves into in the long run," O'Dea said.

Amol Sinha, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey, said DeGise's plan could have a significant impact.

"I am optimistic, however I know the devil's in the details. We have yet to see what the plan actually is," Sinha said.

DeGise said his plan includes spending revenue from ICE on services for immigrant detainees. The specifics on where that money will go will be worked out in upcoming weeks, the county said.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Seventeen years after the tragic attacks on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Hudson County again will honor the lives of those lost from the horrific events that still haunt our nation today. Many Hudson County residents were lost that day and here's where you can go to pay your respects to those who perished:

New Jersey Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial

The memorial ceremony at the state 9/11 monument, the Empty Sky memorial in Liberty State Park, will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8. The Empty Sky Memorial 5K will follow in the park at 10 a.m.

Jersey City

-- The city's annual 9/11 memorial service will be held at the Jersey City 9/11 Memorial on the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway at the end of Grand Street at 8:20 a.m. on Sept. 11.

-- The annual Circle of Honor Remembrance ceremony will be held at the 9/11 Memorial Fountain in Journal Square Plaza in Jersey City at 5 p.m. on Sept. 11, weather permitting. The event will also remember prior Circle of Honor inductee Earl Morgan, the longtime Jersey Journal reporter and columnist who died in June.

-- The Red Cross will hold its fourth annual Jersey City Police and Fire 9/11 Memorial Blood Drive on Sept 11 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 2 Exchange Place, between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. A special program will be held with Jersey City, Red Cross, and Suburban Propane officials between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. All presenting donors will receive a Red Cross first aid kit.

Secaucus

A memorial service will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 11, at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center at 1379 Paterson Plank Rd.

Bayonne

A service will be held on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m., at 51 Port Terminal Blvd. near the Sept. 11 "Teardrop" memorial at Harborview Park. The event will also commemorate the six lives lost in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, including William Macko of Bayonne.

North Bergen

The annual 9/11 ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at Veterans Plaza in North Hudson James J. Braddock Park. The event recognizes all victims of the attacks, but particularly four North Bergen residents who died: Christopher Amoroso, Robert Cirri, Sal Edward Tieri and David LaMagne. The ceremony also honors Sgt. Marcos Gorra, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.

Weehawken

A service will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11, at 1300 Ave at Port Imperial.

Harrison

The town will host its 9/11 ceremony on Sept. 11, at the Harrison Library Park at 415 Harrison Ave. Refreshments will be served at the Harrison Newark Elks Lodge at 406 Harrison Ave.

West New York

A 9/11 Remembrance will be held on Sept. 11, at the town's 9/11 Memorial Fountain at Boulevard East and 60th Street at 5:30 p.m.

Union City

The city's Ceremony of Remembrance will be held at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Liberty Plaza, 30th Street and Palisade Avenue. Everyone in the community is invited to attend.

New Jersey City University

The school's Office of Veterans Affairs will host a ceremony at 9 a.m. on Sept. 11 at Raines Plaza, in front of the trees planted between the Grossnickle entrance and water fountain, to the right of the plaza entrance to Hepburn Hall.

Hoboken

Hoboken's 9/11 remembrance ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on Sept. 11 at Pier A in Hoboken, next to the PATH station on Sinatra Drive. Mayor Ravinder Bhalla and NJ Senator Bob Menendez will speak at the event and the Hoboken High School Select Chorus will sing the National Anthem.

Port Authority

The Port Authority will hold an interfaith remembrance service at St. Peter's Church, located at the corner of Barclay and Church streets in Lower Manhattan, at 2 p.m. on Sept. 11. The service will honor the 84 Port Authority employees who were killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, as well as the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The Port Authority will also fly the world's largest free-flying flag at the George Washington Bridge from 7:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.

Guttenberg

The Town of Guttenberg will be hosting its annual 9/11 Ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m. in the front of Town Hall, 6808 Park Avenue. Mayor Wayne D. Zitt, Jr. and the Town Council will be speaking.

If you have a 9/11 memorial ceremony that is not listed here, please send the information to dmosca@jjournal.com
Immigrant advocates plan to protest outside the Hudson County Democratic Party's annual gala today to bring more attention to the freeholder board's recent decision to renew the county's contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The county's leaders have been under fire from liberal activists since the freeholders, all Democrats, voted July 12 to approve the new ICE agreement, which allows federal immigration agents to house immigrant detainees at the county's jail in Kearny.

Charlie Metzger, 28, of Jersey City, intends to be at the protest. Metzger said he believes the freeholders who voted to reauthorize the ICE contract have ignored the concerns of immigrant advocates. He hopes protesters will be able to get the attention of the Democratic stars scheduled to appear at tonight's gala, including Gov. Phil Murphy.

"The progressive base is fired up about this issue and isn't going to go away quietly," he said.

The protesters intend to meet at 4:30 in the public area of Liberty State Park across from the Liberty House banquet hall, where Hudson Democrats will meet for their gala.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
U.S. Sen Bob Menendez will be the guest of honor tonight at the annual gala for Hudson County's Democratic Party, a fundraiser that comes as the party's new chair is under pressure to deliver strong turnout for Menendez's re-election bid while she grapples with rising frustration among the county's liberal voters.

The Liberty House banquet hall bash, which will also feature an appearance by Gov. Phil Murphy, comes three months after 32-year-old social studies teacher Amy DeGise was elected the party's chair and pledged to take the Hudson County Democratic Organization in a more progressive direction despite her close ties to the county's Democratic establishment. Her father, Tom, is the four-term Hudson County executive.

Some of Amy DeGise's promises -- revising the HCDO's bylaws, establishing a system that gives the party's committee members influence over what candidates get the HCDO endorsement -- are on hold for now until after November. Re-electing Menendez to a third full term is priority

No. 1, she said.

"We want to combat some of this Trump Republicanism that's going on and bring a more Democratic voice" to Washington, D.C., she said during a recent interview with The Jersey Journal. "We just want more of them at the federal level."

Menendez faces an aggressive challenger in Republican Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceutical executive who is two to six points behind Menendez in polls taken since May. Menendez last won re-election by nearly 20 points.

Liberal observers of nationwide politics have derided New Jersey's Democrats for lining up behind Menendez following his federal corruption trial, which ended in a hung jury in November. Amy DeGise said those complaints come from people who don't know Menendez, a former Union City mayor who has represented Hudson County in the state Assembly, state Senate and House of Representatives.

"If people want to take a narrative that's been put out there recently that's going to diminish his character, you don't really understand the full candidate himself and what he's stood up for himself," she said. "His record has always been strong.

His record has always defended women. His record, before it was trendy, spoke out for people of color and minorities. That's what we should be focusing on."

The split between the HCDO's leadership and the party's liberal voters has become pronounced in recent months following the all-Democratic freeholder board's surprise decision in July to renew Hudson County's contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE pays the county to house immigrant detainees in the Kearny jail.

Tom DeGise pushed for the ICE contract to be renewed and has been a staunch defender of it in the face of liberal opposition. The younger DeGise, who has said she has no problem disagreeing with her father, sides with him on the ICE issue. Immigrant advocates should focus their energy on electing Democrats to Congress in November, not attacking Hudson Democrats, she said.

"If the county were to end the policy tomorrow -- if the goal is to not detain undocumented people, would that be achieved? And it wouldn't because they would be moved from one place to another," she said.

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop has been on the outs with the HCDO, particularly since he joined with state Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack in an unsuccessful attempt to gain control of the party in June and oust Tom DeGise in 2019. Fulop is opposed to the ICE deal and has criticized Freeholder Chair Anthony Vainieri for saying the county would raise taxes if it canceled the contract. The county expects to bring in $19 million this year from ICE.

Fulop told The Jersey Journal that liberals nationwide are revolting against elected officials who "don't practice what they preach," and he thinks that could happen in Hudson County because of the ICE contract.

"The county has acknowledged in their comments that they view warehousing people as a business, which is sad and unfortunate," Fulop said in an email. "If not addressed it will have an impact in turnout in November and into next year for sure."
A 10-year-old girl walking home from a friend's house Wednesday evening was accosted by a man in a car who turned around on on Riverside Drive East to approach her and ask questions.

The girl successfully rebuffed the man's advances, and made it home, Princeton police said Thursday in a statement. Extra police patrols were added to the area as a precaution, the department said.

The incident occurred at about 5 p.m., but police did not learn about it until about 8:50 p.m., the said in a statement.

Police said the girl was walking on Prospect Street when she noticed a red sedan or coupe, possibly a "Mazda type car," with a "stock looking spoiler" on the back. It was driving south on Riverside Drive East and passed her, made a u-turn, and then came back and turned left on Prospect Avenue and stopped near her.

"Are you ok? Do you need a ride?," the man asked. The girl told the driver she was fine and did not need any assistance. He then asked, "Where are you going?" The girl did not answer, and walked home, police said.

The man left the area by making another u-turn and driving east on Prospect Avenue before turning right and traveling south on Riverside Drive East., police said.

Police described the driver as a light-skinned man about 40 to 50 years old with thinning, light brown hair who wore a yellow shirt.

Investigators labeled the incident an attempted luring. Princeton police said they reported the incident to the New Jersey State Police C.A.L.L.S (Child Attempted Luring Linkage System).

Anyone with information about the driver or incident can contact Detective Robert Allie at 609-921-2100 ext. 2123, or the department's confidential tip line at 609-688-2049.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross
Early Thursday morning, Burlington County authorities executed a search warrant at the Florence home of Mark D'Amico and Katie McClure -- the couple who raised more than $400,000 for a homeless veteran who helped out McClure when she ran out of gas in Philadelphia last year.

County prosecutors say, the couple's home was searched "in connection with a criminal investigation" into what happened to tens of thousands of dollars raised during a GoFundMe fundraiser for Johnny Bobbitt.

No one has been charged, Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina said Thursday. He did not elaborate on the case.

Authorities search home of 'GoFundMe couple' 8 Gallery: Authorities search home of 'GoFundMe couple'

Former Morris County Prosecutor and current trial attorney Bob Bianchi told NJ Advance Media that there are a few different charges D'Amico and McClure could be facing.

"There are various ways to be charged with a criminal offense if you're taking money under the guise of one thing or receiving money under false pretenses," he said.

Bianchi added that the language used on the original GoFundMe page will be extremely relevant in determining if it's a case of fraud or theft by deception.

"If the page says it's going to this homeless dude, and people donate under the guise that the money is going to him, and these people are using it for themselves, that is fraud," Bianchi said.

A once-heartwarming story turned into allegations of missing money a few weeks ago, and a civil lawsuit filed by Bobbitt alleging the couple was withholding the money raised on GoFundMe that was supposed to get him back on his feet.

After first stating there was about $200,000 left after using some to get Bobbitt a place to live and set up a bank account, during legal proceedings this week, McClure's and D'Amico's lawyers revealed there was no money left.

If prosecutors pursue a theft or theft by deception case, Bianchi said, the amount that was stolen would also determine what charges could be filed.

Anything more than $75,000 would make the crime a second-degree theft charge, compared to a third-degree charge, which carries a lesser sentence.

The Burlington County Prosecutors Office could not be reached for comment after their initial statement about the search warrant.

GoFundMe said Tuesday it deposited $20,000 in an account for Bobbitt and is working with authorities in their investigation to see that funds raised for Bobbitt reach him.

After GoFundMe collected its fees from the fundraiser, there was approximately $350,000 distributed to the couple.

Donors could receive a refund for donations if the company finds something improper, according to the company's statement, which pointed to GoFundMe's refund policy on its website.

The couple's attorney, Ernest Badway, declined to comment when reached by NJ Advance Media on Thursday.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross
#HappeningNow #NYPD Harbor & @FDNY are removing a passenger having a medical emergency on board the Carnival Horizon cruise ship in the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty. pic.twitter.com/tBQKX7olyg  NYPD Special Ops (@NYPDSpecialops) September 5, 2018

The U.S. Coast Guard worked with New York City first-responders to rescue an ailing woman from a cruise ship in New York Harbor, authorities said Wednesday.

The unidentified 74-year-old was aboard the Carnival Horizon when she began suffering chest pains about 5:45 p.m. as the ship transited south near Lower Manhattan, according to the coast guard.

The coast guard dispatched a boat to assist the FDNY and NYPD to transfer the woman from the boat to a helicopter near the Statue of Liberty, authorities said.

The woman was taken to a hospital in Manhattan, where she was reported to be in fair condition.

The Horizon is Carnival's newest cruise ship. The vessel, which launched earlier this year, carries 1,450 crew members and up to 5,070 passengers.

Police photo of the Carnival Horizon, where a passenger was rescued after suffering chest pains on Wednesday. (NYPD Special Ops)

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The 2018-19 school year is starting amid a heat wave, and that is a rough development for the many students and teachers whose classrooms lack air conditioning.

Schools are closing early Thursday, on the first day of classes, in four of New Jersey's biggest cities -- Paterson, Camden, Trenton and Jersey City.

In Jersey City, second only to Newark with 30,000 students, only about half of the classrooms have air conditioning, a district spokeswoman said. Students in the K-12 district's 40 schools are being sent home at 12:45 p.m., with temperatures forecast to reach 92 degrees by 3 p.m.

Hot-weather woes are likely to persist for many districts -- at least in the first few weeks and last weeks of the school year -- due to the cost of adding air conditioning to aging buildings.

Due to an expected heat index of over 100 degrees, all Camden City School District schools will close at 1:00 p.m.... Posted by Camden City School District on Wednesday, September 5, 2018

About a third of Jersey City's schools are at least 100 years old, district spokeswoman Maryann Dickar said.

Jersey City's school board president, Sudham Thomas, expressed frustration with having to close early on opening day.

"It's an emotional day. Teachers have been planning for this. Kids are excited to come back to school. It's important to get them back into a routine," he said, adding that parents are being inconvenienced as well.

While some newer school buildings in New Jersey are fully air-conditioned, including at least two middle schools in Jersey City, others are hit and miss.

In Belleville, where about half of the classrooms have air conditioning, students are being sent home early Thursday for a second consecutive day. Wednesday was the first day of school in Belleville, a K-12 district with nine schools and about 4,500 students.

"It's difficult to work. It's difficult to expect teachers and kids to start lessons," Belleville Superintendent Richard Tomko said.

Many other districts appear to be moving ahead unimpeded this week.

In Montville, where about 80 percent of classrooms are air-conditioned, students are returning Thursday for a third full day of classes.

Montville Superintendent Rene Rovtar said staffers are making sure students stay hydrated and are making special accommodations for any students whose health might be impacted by the heat.

"They're trying to be as flexible as they can," Rovtar said.

In some districts where air conditioning is lagging, help is at least on the horizon.

Tomko said Belleville voters in 2017 approved a $48 million referendum that will include an electrical upgrade allowing for additional air conditioning, which is a significant energy drain.

Units for additional classrooms were recently purchased, Tomko said. He said the goal is to extend air conditioning to all classrooms within three to five years.

"The beginning of the year, the end of the year, is tough," Tomko said.

The current heat wave offers a repeat of what some of the same school districts experienced near the end of the last school year.

Jersey City, Paterson and Camden all sent students home early due to the heat on June 18.

All three cities and Trenton are among 31 special-needs districts -- formerly known as Abbott districts -- where the New Jersey Schools Development Authority funds and oversees school construction projects.

We are excited about the first day of school tomorrow, September 6! We are also concerned about the extreme heat--so... Posted by The School District of Jersey City on Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Thomas, Jersey City's school board president, said the district proposed a $2 billion, long-range infrastructure improvement plan in 2013.

Simply adding air conditioning units in all classrooms is not an option, he said, because the current electrical system is not strong enough to support it.

Currently, there is no statewide push in New Jersey on air conditioning that is comparable to what is happening in New York City.

In April 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio launched a $28.75 million initiative to install air conditioning units in all city classrooms by 2022.

Nothing on that scale is happening, or even proposed, in New Jersey.

A bill that would require local school boards to adopt "temperature control guidelines and standards" was introduced in 2016 and approved in March by the Assembly Education Committee.

The bill's lead sponsor, Assemblywoman Mila M. Jasey, said among the goals is encouraging additional air conditioning.

"It's very uneven, in terms of where there's air conditioning and where there's not," Jasey, D-27th District said on Wednesday.

Referring to the heat wave, Jasey said, "I can not imagine children and staff functioning in this heat and humidity."

Yet Jasey acknowledged the financial hurdles.

"Air conditioning is not an option for everyone because of the cost," Jasey said.

The New Jersey Education Associations, one of the state's most powerful unions, is backing the bill, spokesman Steve Baker said.

"This week is a perfect example of that we need to look out for the health and safety of students and staff. You want to have optimal conditions so students can really focus on learning," Baker said.

This week's heat wave is forecast to break by Friday, when temperatures will be in a more manageable high 70s.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
New Jersey officials Thursday announced the creation of a special task force to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy within the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey, and any efforts to cover up such abuse.

The stunning move was just the latest fallout to come in the wake of the recent disclosures by a recent Pennsylvania grand jury, which graphically detailed the horrific sex abuse by priests who preyed upon children for decades, sparking a national outcry that continues to grow.

Earlier in the day, the New York attorney general's office issued subpoenas to every Catholic diocese in the state, as it, too, embarked on a major investigation of sex crimes committed and covered up by priests. The subpoenas seek documents relating to abuse allegations, payments to victims or findings from internal church investigations.

Here in New Jersey, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said he would appoint former acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert D. Laurino to head the newly formed task force, which will have subpoena power through a grand jury to compel testimony and demand the production of documents.

"I was deeply troubled to read the allegations contained in last month's Pennsylvania grand jury report," said Grewal, noting that the scathing report revealed that sexual assaults on children, and efforts to cover up such assaults, were far more widespread than was ever thought possible.

"We owe it to the people of New Jersey to find out whether the same thing happened here," he said. "If it did, we will take action against those responsible."

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal (Jeffrey Granit | NJ Advance Media file photo)

The explosive Pennsylvania grand jury report bared monstrous details of hundreds of priests who preyed on more than 1,000 children. "Priests were raping little boys and girls, and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing; they hid it all. For decades," said the report, which described in detail the criminal abuse of children.

In a separate high-profile scandal within the church that also came to light in recent months, sex abuse allegations kept hidden for years led to the resignation in July of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Newark and Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in addition to New Jersey and New York, authorities in Missouri, Illinois and other jurisdictions have also opened investigations.

In New Jersey, the special task force will bring together a team of detectives and prosecutors from county prosecutor's offices and the state Division of Criminal Justice.

The state also set up a dedicated hotline to report allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. Grewal said the hotline will be staffed by trained professionals and operate on a 24/7 basis. The toll-free number is (855) 363-6548.

The New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a statewide advocacy group, praised the attorney general's decision to take action.

"The attorney general's decision to begin an investigation into the Catholic archdioceses of New Jersey is a step in the right direction," said Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "Over the last few years, New Jersey has taken strides to create better, more affirming systems for survivors. Today's action strongly complements that."

Mark Crawford, the state director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said he has personally asked the last ten New Jersey attorney generals to investigate priest sex abuse in the Catholic Church, but had no success. The news that the state is convening a task force is long overdue, he said.

"I don't want to sound gleeful. But I'm relieved," said Crawford, a victim of priest sex abuse. "When I heard the news, I cried."

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex, who had pushed Grewal to embark on an investigation similar to that in Pennsylvania, said this was what he had long hoped to see from the state.

"I am thankful that our new attorney general has taken these steps. Every abuser and rapist needs to be exposed, and any institution or leader who enabled and covered up of these crimes against children should be exposed and held accountable," Vitale said.

The attorney general's announcement is expected to mean New Jersey's dioceses will be required to turn over their files on priest sex abuse allegations and settlements.

"As we have with local law enforcement authorities, the Diocese of Camden will be open and cooperative with the New Jersey Attorney General and will readily comply with his requests for information and documents," said Michael Walsh, a spokesman for the Diocese of Camden.

In addition to investigating allegations of sexual abuse by clergy, Grewal said the state task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of existing agreements between the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey and state law enforcement.

Those agreements grew out of a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding between the state's five dioceses, the attorney general's office, and several county prosecutors' offices, mandating policies and procedures to report potential cases of sexual abuse within their churches to law enforcement.

Patrick Brannigan, executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, said he is confident the task force will find that the New Jersey dioceses have complied with the 2002 agreement.

"We regret that in decades past, some in the Church failed in their responsibility to protect children. However, today, no institution, public or private, has done more to prevent abuse than the Catholic Church in New Jersey. We will remain vigilant to ensure a safe environment for every child we serve," Brannigan said.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at KellyHeyboerReporter on Facebook.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Investigators in Florida say they've arrested a New Jersey tourist who told greeters at a Disney World resort that al-Qaida sent him to "blow the place up."

Gregory Lazarchick (Orange County jail)

Orange County Sheriff's deputies arrested 56-year-old Gregory Lazarchick on Tuesday on a charge of making a false bomb threat. Lazarchick lives in Brick, according to public records.

An arrest report says Lazarchick made the threat on July 21 at Saratoga Springs Resort as employees were asking guests about their day, and then told them he wasn't joking.

News outlets report Lazarchick later admitted to saying something about al-Qaida when deputies spoke to him. But he said he didn't remember exactly what he said. He was remorseful and apologetic. No bomb-making materials were found in his room.

Lazarchick's sister told investigators he suffered a head injury four years ago and sometimes says inappropriate things, WFTV.com reported. She said he has not been himself since, adding that his wife died last year.

He was arrested in New Jersey on Aug. 15 and held in the Ocean County jail before being booked in Florida on Tuesday, according to MyNews13.com.

The Associated Press and NJ Advance Media staff writer Jeff Goldman contributed to this report.
Remember when President Trump's Attorney General argued that federal oversight of local police departments reduces morale among cops, and leads to increases in violent crime?

Well, so does a violent culture of reprisal in local departments, which prevents officers from reporting bad behavior, according to New Jersey's police chiefs.

The blue wall of silence is alive and well, they say. Another reason why the feds sometimes need to step in.

The New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police just warned in a legal brief of payback against officers who dared to report a fellow cop in Neptune, who had shown disturbing behavior for years and ended up murdering his ex-wife.

The names of these whistleblowers - part of an internal affairs file of more than 600 pages - must be kept hidden, the chiefs argue, or they could be targeted by peers simply because they were brave enough to speak up about Sgt. Philip T. Seidle.

They will get labeled a "rat" or "snitch," and be "subject to harsh reprisals," the brief says. As one example, the chiefs cite a New York City officer who complained about corruption and was harassed for the rest of his career: His locker was burned, his car tires slashed and he was threatened with injury.

For this reason, they are asking a judge to reconsider her decision to release Seidle's internal affairs file to the public, after the Asbury Park Press sued to reveal it.

Something is seriously wrong in police culture when cops who report bad behavior have more reason to fear than the bad apples do. Trump's AG, Jeff Sessions, dismissed the need for systemic reform of local departments, saying "law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the unacceptable deeds of a few bad actors."

But New Jersey's chiefs confirm that it is more than just a few bad actors - it is a systemic problem, a blue wall of silence that is "prevalent" nationwide and protects rogue cops.

We have every reason to believe them. One of the most comprehensive studies of the blue wall of silence, by the National Institute of Ethics in 2000, found the same thing. It surveyed 3,714 officers and academy recruits from 42 different states, and 79 percent said the code of silence is fairly common across the country.

As many as 46 percent said they had witnessed misconduct but concealed what they knew. Worst of all, 73 percent of the people pressuring these officers to keep quiet about the misconduct were leaders.

This is why the Press sued to release the internal affairs file for Seidle: The public deserves to know how he remained on the force for so long. Top brass clearly knew about his unraveling; he was the subject of 26 internal affairs reports over two decades.

Yet even when he tried to quit, he was urged to remain, and rearmed. His service weapon, confiscated twice, was returned to him - and he used it to murder the mother of his nine kids in front of their 7-year-old daughter.

Why should the same leaders now be trusted to institute reform?

The lesson extends beyond Neptune. When local departments harbor abusive officers, the feds sometimes need to step in - to protect not only the public, but good cops who fear coming forward.

Under former President Obama, they did. The Justice Department investigated dozens of departments for unlawful conduct and entered 11 consent decrees mandating reforms in cities like Chicago, Baltimore and Newark. We saw this strategy work with our own reformed State Police.

But Sessions, who views such interventions as an abuse of federal authority, denies the very existence of systemic police corruption. This only bolsters the blue wall of silence. And why should we believe him, over New Jersey's own police chiefs?

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There was a time, not so long ago, when teachers believed whipping unruly children was perfectly acceptable.

Parents often supported this outdated thinking, arguing that they'd endured the same punishments (or worse), and look how well they'd turned out.

Today we recognize that approach for what it is: savage and cruel.

But an equally severe - and ultimately ineffective and unjust - mode of punishment continues to be administrators' go-to way to deal with misbehaving students: suspend them or expel them from school.

President Barack Obama issued guidelines in 2014 advising school officials to avoid such exclusionary punishments, in large part because they fall most heavily on the shoulders of black and other minority students.

The guidelines urged educators to lessen their dependence on harsh penalties in favor of positive behavior interventions, such as counseling.

It was the right move. But perhaps not in the eyes of President Donald Trump, who never met an Obama-era policy he didn't try to shred.

Now the top law-enforcement official in New Jersey is calling on the Trump Administration to uphold those more compassionate, more equitable guidelines.

With his counterparts in nine other states and the District of Columbia, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has reached out to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"While unnecessary exclusionary school discipline harms all students," the officials said in a letter last month, "it has a profoundly disproportionate effect based on race, disability and gender, as well as sexual orientation and identity."

The letter cited sobering findings by the Government Accountability Office: Black children account for about 16 percent of students in the country, but about 39 percent of students suspended from school.

A study in 2016 indicated that black students are three times more likely to be suspended from school, and nearly twice as likely to be expelled, than their white peers.

"Black students, particularly black boys, are looked at as deviant and defiant, while white students are seen as exploring and testing boundaries," said Tynisha Jointer, a behavioral health specialist for elementary schools in Chicago.

When we expel large segments of the population, we're essentially giving up on their futures. These students are less likely to graduate from high school, and more likely to get into trouble with the law.

While some advocates of the rollback fear that tying the hands of local educators makes it harder to remove disruptive or even dangerous students from the classroom, we believe expulsion should be the absolute last resort when all other interventions have failed.

There's no word yet which way the feds will move as the new school year gets under way. But we hope they take the AGs' letter to heart.

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By Lawrence Stankovits

The Star-Ledger recently reported that lawmakers in Washington are looking to close a decades old loophole that is leading to a doctor shortage in New Jersey.

While New Jersey's Congressional delegation should be praised for their efforts to overturn the cap on Medicare-funded slots for doctors in training, it is only one of the reasons why New Jersey residents are losing access to medical doctors and surgeons.

American Medical Association data shows that between 2008 and 2016, the number of physicians who trained and then practiced in New Jersey decreased by 2.2 percent. More eye-popping is the age distribution of New Jersey doctors.

New Jersey ranks third highest in the nation for percentage of physicians over 60 and ranks second only to Montana for lowest percentage of physicians under 40. As our older physicians retire, there are fewer talented young doctors to take their place.

New Jersey is a great state and doctors really want to live here. What can we do to attract and retain them?

First, our lawmakers must ignore the noise from insurance companies and hospital conglomerates and implement changes that physicians know will make New Jersey a desirable state to practice medicine.

The New York University School of Medicine just showed us where to start. By announcing free tuition for all of its medical students, NYU has slashed a massive debt burden for medical school graduates. Starting a medical practice with $200,000 or more in educational debt is a daunting task, especially in a high cost-of-living state like New Jersey. While tuition-free medical education part of the solution, more can and should be done.

The New Jersey Loan Redemption Program permits loan forgiveness up to $120,000 for primary care physicians practicing in underserved areas. This program needs to expand to account for the rising medical school debt burden and include specialists like general surgeons whose numbers are also in decline.

However, increasing the potential supply of physicians will not solve the current physician shortage. More can be done on the business side of the medical profession to attract and retain young doctors.

The New Jersey Hospital Association recently proposed giving tax credits for new individual medical practices. Any lost payroll revenue would be offset by the economic stimulus each new physician brings to the state. This is a positive financial incentive that will lead to increased access to medical care.

Another solution for attracting more doctors to New Jersey is to allow a Medicare-rate tax credit for any emergency services provided to uninsured, indigent patients.

Unlike hospitals that operate under the "not-for-profit" label, physicians receive no tax benefit for providing charity care. A Medicare-rate tax credit would attract young physicians beginning their practices and incentivize existing physicians to provide on-call emergency coverage to our state's most vulnerable citizens.

Finally, New Jersey needs better compensation models for its practicing physicians. Out-of-network medical insurance plans previously reimbursed doctors using the market-driven FAIRHealth database.

However, the vast majority of out-of-network plans now available to New Jersey residents use the Center for Medicare Services reimbursement rates, an index that provides little financial incentive for physicians to work in New Jersey. New York and Connecticut have chosen FAIRHealth as their benchmark for out-of-network and emergency services.

If New Jersey wants to build a robust physician workforce, we cannot afford to fall behind our neighbors.

At a time when too many of our trained physicians are taking their talents elsewhere, we need to incentivize these bright young minds to open practices in New Jersey. Failure to act will hamper the quality of life not only for medical practitioners, but all New Jerseyans.

Lawrence Stankovits, MD is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Shrewsbury and Edison. He is a vice president of the New Jersey Doctor-Patient Alliance.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, getting his first opportunity to question a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, said Wednesday night he doubted Judge Brett Kavanaugh would side with minorities who have been the victim of discrimination.

"We have a long way to go," Booker, D-N.J., told Kavanaugh. "We have work to do, black folks and white folks honoring the history of a united America fighting to make us more just. The Supreme Court has a vital role in that.

"Nothing you say gives me comfort, should you get on the Supreme Court, that you will drive forward and see we have that work to do."

Kavanaugh refused on numerous occasions to say whether he believed the effort to improve opportunities for long-disadvantaged minorities, such as taking race into account in college admissions, were a "compelling government interest," or, as he once said in an email, was a "naked racial set-aside."

Instead, Kavanaugh cited Supreme Court rulings that allowed diversity to be considered a factor.

"I know what the law is now," Booker responded at one point. "I want to know what the law is going to be when you get on the court and have the ability to change those precedents."

Booker honed in on racial equality issues, concerned that Kavanaugh would join with the other conservatives on the court to roll back efforts to help minorities who long have been victims of discrimination.

He also questioned Kavanaugh's support of voter-identification laws. Such laws supposedly are designed to curb in-person voter fraud, which studies have shown is virtually non-existent but do have the effect of hindering traditionally Democratic constituencies such as minority and poor voters from casting ballots.

The Supreme Court's Republican-appointed majority already gutted the Voting Rights Act, which had passed the Senate, 98-0, and the House, 390-33, leading to a spate of voting restrictions in Republican-controlled states.

"We are at a time where states are enacting these laws all over our country, designed to disenfranchise voters," Booker said. "Your answers don't provide me comfort, as a justice of our nation's highest court, that you will fairly take into account the barriers that continue to disenfranchise minority voters."

Republicans enacted a voter-ID law in North Carolina, which Trump embraced, that the federal courts threw out because it targeted blacks "with almost surgical precision."

South Carolina's law required a pastor and veteran to spend $36 in order to get the necessary papers for the required voter ID. In the days of the now-outlawed poll tax, he would have had to pay $1 to vote, the equivalent of $30 today, Booker said.

"This isn't that much different," he said.

Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion upholding that law. He said the decision took into account that "racism still exists" and "the long march for racial equality is not over."

He said the court delayed the effective date of the law in order to see how it would work, and created a "reasonable impediment" that would allow those without voter IDs to cast ballots.

Kavanaugh also discussed his efforts to attract minority law clerks, both for his own chambers and for other judges.

"I hope it gives you confidence that I've at least done my best to understand the real world and tried through my actual decisions in the real world to apply the law fairly, and through my other role as a judge in hiring law clerks to be very proactive in trying to advance the quality for African Americans," he said.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Cory Booker on Thursday released confidential documents about U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, even though he could be expelled from the Senate for that action.

Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, was joined by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, in releasing the documents that had been declared confidential by a veteran Republican lawyer.

"I come from a long line, as all of us do as Americans, understand what that kind of civil disobedience is and I understand the consequences," Booker said.

"This is about the closest I'll have in my life to an 'I am Spartacus' moment,'" he also said.

Booker referred to the documents Thursday when he asked Kavanaugh about an email that described preferences for minorities who faced discrimination as a "naked racial set-aside." The document had been declared confidential by a veteran Republican lawyer who has represented Trump administration officials.

These are the 4 documents marked committee confidential that I brought up in my questioning of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh last night --> https://t.co/2RZkY2FS9a  Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) September 6, 2018

During the hearing on Thursday, Booker had said he would release the documents despite the consequences.

"The emails being withheld from the public have nothing to do with national security," Booker said.

Sen. @CoryBooker: "I'm knowingly violating the rules. Sen Cornyn has called me out for it. I'm saying right now that I'm releasing committee confidential documents."



Senator @JohnCornyn: "Running for president is no excuse for violating the rules of the Senate" pic.twitter.com/A2pB19ENPP  CSPAN (@cspan) September 6, 2018

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, a member of the Senate GOP leadership that disregarded legislative norms and refused to consider President Barack Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court, called Booker's threat "irresponsible and outrageous."

"No senator deserves to sit on this committee or serve in the Senate in my view if they decide to be a law unto themselves," Cornyn said.

Traditionally, the National Archives would review Kavanaugh's papers from his time in the federal courts and his tenure in President George W. Bush's White House, a process that will take until the end of next month.

Instead, Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, over Democratic objections, had Bush lawyer Bill Burck, a veteran Republican attorney who also has represented Trump administration officials go through the papers and decide which ones the panel can see, and which of those can be made public.

Papers released to the members of the committee but not allowed to be made public are considered "committee confidential."

Booker received support from his fellow Democrats.

.@maziehirono, your friends in the House are with you. The #KavanaughHearings are highly irregular. Thanks for standing up and speaking out. https://t.co/tj4GzWahMr  Rep. Donald Payne Jr (@RepDonaldPayne) September 6, 2018

Booker is mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate, and Senate Republicans see his actions as a sign that he has national aspirations.

"I don't ever plan for running for president in 2020," said U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- The Ocean County prosecutor delivered this warning to a House panel Thursday: Within five years, synthetic drugs such as fentanyl will become the drug of choice for addicts.

Testifying before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, Joseph Coronato said that such drugs are being ordered over the Internet and delivered right to the customer's door "at an alarming rate."

"Traditional drug enforcement needs to adapt to this change in distribution patterns and federal resources need to be devoted to this issue," Coronato told the panel. "The Internet ordering of illegal drugs, including fentanyl, and the delivery of that drug to your doorstep is the next storm."

Deaths in the county due to drug overdoses grew to 217 in 2016 from 106 in 2014 before declining to 174 last year. Almost two-thirds of the victims in 2017 had fentanyl in their systems, up from 10 percent in 2014.

Coronato also called for more cooperation between U.S. authorities and their counterparts in China, where much of the fentanyl is produced. In July, 110 pounds of Chinese-made fentanyl worth $1.7 million was found during a routine inspection at the Port of Philadelphia.

President Donald Trump has declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency, and Kirsten Madison assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, said the administration is working with China to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

"Bilateral cooperation has yielded concrete results, including arrests, seizures, and takedowns of clandestine labs by Chinese law enforcement," Madison said. "We continue to encourage China to use every available tool to aggressively counter the threat from illegal production and trafficking of synthetic opioids."

The hearing was called by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who chairs the subcommittee on Africa, global health, global human rights, and international organizations.

"Countless American citizens, as well as individuals in many countries, have felt the scourge of the opioid epidemic," Smith said. "The global crisis has been exacerbated by the fact that deadly fentanyl is now being exported from China. China's role in this matter must be brought to light."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
NJ Transit Police along with other first responders have used the overdose drug Narcan to save the lives of 100 people this year who were overdosing on opioids, agency officials said.

Narcan, also known as Naloxone, is a nasal spray used for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose. Statewide, close to 16,000 people in New Jersey have been successfully revived using Narcan since 2015, according to State Police data obtained by NJ Advance Media in April.

NJ Transit Police efforts are among the 9,162 uses of Narcan this year, as of July 31, according to the state Attorney General's "NJ Cares" website that lists opioid addition statistics. It said as of Aug. 26, there have been 1,970 deaths in the state where Opioid use was suspected.

"We've seen a 99-percent success rate with the use of Narcan. While that's a remarkable number it's more than just a statistic; these are lives we're saving," said New Jersey Transit Police Department Chief Christopher Trucillo in a release. "Our ultimate goal is to reduce the number of opioid-related incidents in and around our stations."

All New Jersey Transit Police Department Officers are how to use Narcan kits that are located in every New Jersey Transit Police vehicle and at select NJ Transit stations and terminals, officials said in a release.

NJ Transit Police officers also do overdose prevention work using monthly social outreach programs in Atlantic City, Trenton and Camden, run by Community Outreach Officers Gary Denamen in the department's southern district and Sean Pfeifer in the northern district. Those programs connect people considered at-risk with social services, officials said.

Last year, NJ Transit Police investigated 363 incidents involving drugs. They made 352 arrests which is a 97 percent case clearance rate, according to crime statistics obtained by NJ Advance Media.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Whatever your question, we want to answer it. Welcome to Louisianswers, where you do the asking and we do the digging. Together, we'll learn more about this funky, fun and sometimes frustrating place we call home.

Charles Ruse, a reader from central Florida asks: Was part of Louisiana once West Florida?

At first blush, the answer to this question seems simple: The Louisiana Purchase did not include any part of Florida, so that's impossible.

But not so fast.

Expecting a war to break out between Great Britain and France just after the turn of the 19th century, President Thomas Jefferson directed delegates to head to Paris in the spring of 1803 to negotiate the purchase of the vast Louisiana Territory. All it took was a cool $15 million, a price commonly referred to as one of the best deals in American history.

The land in the Louisiana Purchase was so large, in fact, that no one was exactly sure where its boundaries were at the time. The best map delegates could go on was likely one Aaron Arrowsmith made in 1802, which left much of the western half of the current United States mostly blank. Still, a few things were certain: The southern border was definitely the Gulf of Mexico, and its eastern edge was the Mississippi River and wherever that might start. Oh, and West Florida was definitely not part of the deal, despite Jefferson's hopes then that the United States could acquire it.

Two-hundred years ago, West Florida encompassed present-day East Baton Rouge, East and West Feliciana, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, as well as parts of present-day Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, all the way to the Apalachicola River a little west of Tallahassee.

Today, the area in Louisiana previously part of West Florida is still sometimes referred to as the Florida Parishes.

At any rate, the biggest wrench in Jefferson's hopes to acquire West Florida was that France didn't control it; Spain did. The 1783 Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution, had put West Florida back in the hands of Spaniards after Great Britain controlled it for a time after the French and Indian War. (Got that? West Florida was Spanish, then British, then Spanish again.)

What all of it meant was, by the time everybody in Paris was deciding how to sell off a massive tract of land in the middle of North America with boundaries nobody could really pinpoint, the people actually living in West Florida could be divided into three groups, according to KnowLA. They included those who were loyal to Spain and its fairly lax approach to managing the area, those who wanted to join up with the United States and others who hoped for (though likely had realistically low expectations for) an independent republic.

In the years immediately following the Louisiana Purchase, things got a little dicey in West Florida thanks to a failed rebellion and growing sentiment for throwing off Spanish rule, likely thanks in large part to urging from American interests.

In the end, another rebellion, this one in 1810, resulted in the Republic of West Florida, which lasted for 74 days before a military force sent in by President James Madison succeeded in annexing the territory between the Mississippi River and the Perdido River, near Pensacola. That land was then divided between Louisiana and the Mississippi Territory, later to be divided further when part of it became Alabama.

Less than a decade later, in 1819, the Adams-Onis Treaty was signed, giving the United States the rest of Florida.

Sources and for additional reading:
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
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LOS ANGELES  Steven Spielbergs publicist, the composer of the Mission: Impossible theme song, Cicely Tyson and two powerhouse producers will be celebrated at the 2018 Governors Awards, also known as the Honorary Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said late Wednesday that Oscar statuettes would be awarded to Marvin Levy, who has worked in film publicity for five decades, the last four of them with Mr. Spielberg; Lalo Schifrin, who has written scores for roughly 100 films, including Dirty Harry and The Cincinnati Kid, in addition to the Mission: Impossible tune; and Ms. Tyson, whose 91 acting credits include Fried Green Tomatoes, Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Sounder, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1973.

Mr. Levy will be the first publicist to receive an Oscar.

In addition, the academy decided to grant its Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for producing for the first time in eight years. The trophy, a bust of Thalberg, who was head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1920s and 30s, will go to Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who have worked together since 1991. (They are also married.)

Ms. Kennedy, who runs Lucasfilm, the Disney-owned Star Wars studio, is an eight-time Oscar nominee for producing films like The Color Purple and Lincoln with Mr. Spielberg. Ms. Kennedy, who got her start as Mr. Spielbergs secretary, will be the first woman to receive the Thalberg Award, which was last given to Francis Ford Coppola in 2010.
In a highly unusual move that reverberated inside the West Wing and across the media spectrum, The New York Times on Wednesday published an Op-Ed article by an unnamed administration official that called President Trump erratic and described a quiet resistance of cabinet members who had whispered about taking steps to remove him from office.

It is exceedingly rare for The Times to grant anonymity to a writer on its Op-Ed pages, and the paper could cite only a handful of previous cases. But James Dao, the papers Op-Ed editor, said in an interview that the material in the essay was important enough to the public interest to merit an exception.

This was a very strongly, clearly written piece by someone who was staking out what we felt was a very principled position that deserved an airing, Mr. Dao said.

It took less than 90 minutes from the columns publication  which prompted news channels to cut in with special reports and set off a frenzy among White House aides  for the president himself to go on live television and denounce the essay, its author and the news organization that published it.
He added that his familys financial situation was certainly middle class, or upper middle class, while living in the comfortable community in Jupiter, Fla., north of West Palm Beach. (I definitely disagree with Alexs memory, the candidate said, while noting that she was a toddler and infant for some of the time her parents were together, which probably affects my ability to remember it.)

For her part, Ms. Salazars mother backed up elements of her daughters claims, recalling at least a half-dozen visits to Colombia, and that the Colombian culture was a huge part of our family.

Ms. Salazar, 61, also said that while her children had lived in a nice house, she had sometimes struggled financially after she and her husband divorced. If I could make it look easy for my kids, I did, she said. I thought that economic hardship was not a burden that kids that were going through a divorce needed to experience.

Born into a Catholic family, Ms. Salazar said she converted to Judaism in her early 20s, and has been a part of a number of groups devoted to Jewish causes.

Ms. Salazar said her interest in Judaism is rooted in family history and their Sephardic roots in Spain, and was spurred as she was mourning her fathers death from prostate cancer in 2009, just as she was preparing to move to New York to attend Columbia.

I started to search for meaning in my fathers death, she said, adding, A lot of mysteries that I wanted to solve.

Ms. Salazars mother said that neither side of the family was Jewish, though she confirmed her late husbands family had a Sephardic background, and that Julia had been curious about it. Thats where her interest stems from, she said, noting that her daughter had traveled to Israel during college. This is not something that was invented for the purposes of this campaign.
As of this morning, the Facebook community is now officially two billion people! Facebooks chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote on his Facebook page in July 2017. Were making progress connecting the world, and now lets bring the world closer together.

It was a monumental achievement. But on Wednesday, Sheryl Sandberg, Facebooks chief operating officer, revealed a number that was almost as startling. She told the Senate Intelligence Committee that from October to last March, Facebook deleted 1.3 billion fake accounts. In other words, an alarming portion of those more than two billion users  more than the company had publicly acknowledged  were fake.

That number should prompt tough questions from Facebook users and advertisers. How many fake accounts were there before Facebook instituted this aggressive defense in 2017? What sort of sites are these  political propaganda or attempted advertising fraud? What countries do these accounts come from? How can anyone  advertisers, investors or Facebook users concerned about its role in our culture and democracy  trust the integrity of the Facebook experience?

Facebooks latest transparency report states that fake pages account for only 3 percent to 4 percent of monthly active users at any given time. How can 1.3 billion accounts account for only 3 percent to 4 percent of 2.2 billion users? The answer is that such pages are going up faster than Facebook can swat them down.
Like, um, Representative Chris Collins, the Republican who was recently indicted for insider trading. Our current elected officials had different reactions to this shocker. Some suggested that the congressional ethics system needed a good going-over. Others concluded that the entire affair was a plot by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department to deprive the Republicans of an easy win in that district.

O.K., that last one was only Donald Trump.

But about the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying industry. You do not want people representing you in Washington with one eye out for a possible future career lobbying for the businesses theyre supposed to regulate.

Take the case of former Representative Billy Tauzin, who was the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee in the early 2000s. He worked very hard to expand Medicare to include prescription drugs. (Say thank you to Billy.) He also worked very, very, very hard to make sure the government couldnt use its massive new negotiating power to bring drug prices down  the way most sane countries do. (Say what, Billy?) Then, after announcing his retirement in 2004, Tauzin became head of the drug manufacturers lobbying arm, PhRMA, at an annual salary of $2 million.

The impact of money in Washington is felt everywhere. It goes far beyond campaign contributions. The revolving door is at its center, said Warren.

If we really want to drain the swamp, this would seem like an excellent place to start. Close the revolving door and drain the swamp. (Readers have pointed out that the swamp metaphor needs revision, since swamps actually improve water quality and prevent flooding and erosion. Nominees for replacement include drain the sludge pond and clean up the Superfund site.)

But about closing the revolving door between Congress and lobbying. It would be a stupendous move that would completely change the way many members of Congress think about their careers:

O.K., Ive put in my time in Washington. Now Im gonna go home and campaign for the State Senate.

Well, the new district lines just arent going to work for me. I guess its back to running the funeral home with my sister.

Ive loved serving the people of this state for the past 20 years, but now I want to spend time with my family. No  honestly. Just my family. Were going to get in the R.V. and visit relatives in Toledo. Then theres a real big basement do-over waiting for me.
The government did not deny the report. What it did instead, in the all-to-familiar tradition of dictatorships, was to frame the reporters. The police told them they had some information to share, and when the reporters showed up, they were handed rolled-up pieces of paper. Before the reporters even had a chance to see what they got they were arrested under an old and broad British colonial secrets act prohibiting the obtaining, publishing or communicating of any official secrets that may be useful to an enemy.

In the courses of their trial, one courageous police officer summoned by the prosecution testified that a superior had ordered officers to frame the reporters, an admission that won him a year in prison . Another officer admitted that the secret documents contained nothing secret or important. No matter. The compliant judge, U Ye Lwin, sent both reporters off to prison for seven years.

The international condemnation has been swift. The president and editor in chief of Reuters, Stephen J. Adler, called on Myanmar to free the two admirable reporters imprisoned on false charges designed to silence their reporting and intimidate the press. Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, said the sentences mark a new low for press freedom and further backsliding on rights under Aung San Suu Kyis government. Vice President Mike Pence, in Twitter posts, declared himself deeply troubled at the ruling against journalists for doing their job. (This from an administration whose leader routinely brands the news media as the enemy of the people.)

None of that is likely to shame the generals who still hold most of the power in Myanmar, nor Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has consistently declined to acknowledge the injustice of the ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya, and insisted in an interview in June that the arrest and trial of the reporters was in accordance with due process. The Myanmar authorities have consistently refused to cooperate with international investigations, and their own inquiries have been sham.
The state should also consider adopting public financing of campaigns, a matching system that would take back power from well-funded special interests and make elections more competitive. Such a system has worked well, over all, for New York City.

Give Lawmakers a Raise, and Ban Outside Income

The corrosive impact of outside income on Albany was made clear when a former Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, was convicted on corruption charges. Mr. Silver steered $500,000 in state grants to a Columbia University cancer researcher in exchange for the researcher referring clients to a law firm that gave a portion of its fees to Mr. Silver.

Base pay for the Legislature starts at $79,500  a figure that essentially makes the work a part-time job. Lawmakers should be given a substantial raise to reflect the cost of living and the importance of overseeing the states roughly $170 billion budget  and in return, they should be barred from receiving any outside income. New York City did just that in 2016 for members of the City Council and some other officials , raising pay to $148,500 from $112,500. The change would help lawmakers steer clear of conflicts of interest and better serve constituents.

Create a Truly Independent Ethics Body

Unsurprisingly, Albanys efforts to police itself have gone nowhere.

Mr. Cuomo created a Moreland Commission in 2013 to investigate public corruption  and then shut it down less than a year later . Another ethics body, the State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, known as Jcope, was set up in 2011 by Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Silver and Dean Skelos, then the majority leader of the State Senate. But it was provided a woeful level of funding. And more disturbingly, its members are chosen by the very politicians who most need an independent watchdog  the governor and legislative leaders.

The governor and the Legislature need to create a truly independent ethics oversight body with real power, authorized to both investigate and enforce violations of the state ethics law.

Across the state, the needs of New Yorkers, from subways to affordable housing, are subverted by powerful interests in a culture rife with ethical rot and outright corruption. Fixing this perverse political culture demands that people show up to the polls on Sept. 13 and remind Albany that it works for them.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter (@NYTOpinion), and sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter.
The trade association that represents dozens of fraternities across the nation and around the world has voted to ban hard alcohol in the wake of a series of high-profile hazing episodes that have resulted in deaths and lawsuits, officials announced this week.

Specifically, the resolution passed by the group prohibits alcohol products above 15 percent A.B.V. from being present in any chapter facility  such as a fraternity house  or at any chapter event unless it is being sold by a licensed third party. Adults 21 and older are not exempt, officials said; beer, wine and malt beverages, which all fall below the 15 percent alcohol by volume threshold, will be allowed.

The move, announced Tuesday by the North-American Interfraternity Conference, was agreed to under a near unanimous vote at a meeting last month and is aimed at making fraternities and the more than 800 college campuses they are associated with safer, officials said.

The conference represents over 80 percent of fraternities nationwide, said Judson Horras, the groups president and chief executive. Member fraternities with their more than 6,000 chapters must put a compliant policy in place by Sept. 1, 2019.
Allison Riggs, a lawyer with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, wondered whether the subpoenas were part of the next chapter that Mr. Kobach had promised for the voter fraud effort.

This is clearly a fishing expedition that picks up where the Pence-Kobach Commission stopped, said Ms. Riggs, referring to Vice President Mike Pence, who had been chairman of the commission. Ms. Riggs added that the administration appears to be outsourcing the Commissions discredited agenda to federal prosecutors.

Nothing about it is normal, said Ms. Gupta, who is now president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. It asks for information that has nothing to do with identifying immigration violations.

To some voting rights advocates, the subpoenas recalled a long campaign by the Justice Department under President George W. Bush to find and prosecute cases of voter fraud. United States attorneys who refused or failed to devote time to the comparatively low-level voter fraud cases were dismissed under political pressure. By its end, the campaign had secured just 86 convictions, including some that were suspect, out of more than 200 million ballots that had been cast.

The Trump administration has made the idea of voter fraud a big rallying point, said Myrna Perez, the deputy director of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. Its a common refrain by political actors who find it advantageous.

She and others noted that starting a sweeping voter fraud inquiry so close to a crucial election could depress turnout, not only by naturalized immigrants who can vote legally but also by other groups who may distrust the government.

Many of the 19 people charged last month were nonwhite, Ms. Perez said, and a number said in interviews that they were unaware that they did not have the right to vote. Many of the 44 counties that received subpoenas have populations that are disproportionately poor and black.
The messages were sent by a first-time volunteer who had signed up for a shift on the campaigns texting team under a fake name and whose real identity was still being investigated, according to a campaign staffer. The campaign believes the messages reached fewer than 1,000 people, the staffer said, adding that they were the only examples of unauthorized messages the campaign had found.

Mr. Cruz and other Republicans have criticized Mr. ORourke, who stands within spitting distance of Mr. Cruz in recent statewide polls, as being weak on immigration and supporting socialist policies.

Mr. Cruzs campaign said it was not aware of the messages and denied any involvement.

Text messages have been hailed as the breakout technology of the 2018 midterms. New peer-to-peer texting apps allow campaigns to send rapid-fire text messages to voters, personalized with details like the voters name and nearest polling place, without running afoul of anti-spam regulations that prohibit unsolicited bulk messages. Candidates including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat from New York, and Andrew Gillum, who won last months Florida Democratic primary for governor, have used peer-to-peer texting apps to drive voters to the polls.

Among mass-texters, Mr. ORourke has been particularly aggressive. The campaign has used Relay, which was developed by alumni of Bernie Sanderss 2016 presidential campaign, to contact millions of Texas voters with messages urging them to donate, attend local events and pledge their support on Election Day. Progressive groups have rallied behind Mr. ORourkes texting team, which has set a goal of texting all 3.5 million cellphones contained in a statewide voter records database.
What would you say your position today is on a womans right to choose? As a judge... As a judge. As a judge, it is an important precedent of the Supreme Court. By it, I mean Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood versus Casey, been reaffirmed many times. Casey is precedent on precedent, which itself is an important factor to remember. Was U.S. v. Nixon wrongly decided? I have repeatedly called U.S. v. Nixon one of the four greatest moments in Supreme Court history. Can a sitting president be required to respond to a subpoena? As a matter of the canons of judicial independence, I cant give you an answer on that hypothetical question. Can you give us some example of cases in which you ruled against the Bush administration notwithstanding that President Bush was the one who put you on the bench? Senator, the the most prominent example is the Hamdan case. I wrote the opinion reversing his conviction, even though it was a signature prosecution of the United States, even though it was a national security case because that was the right answer under the law. And it doesnt matter who you are, where you come from, if youre right under the law you prevail. President Trump claims he has an absolute right to pardon himself. Does he? The question of self pardons is something Ive never analyzed. Its a question that Ive not written about. Its a question, therefore, thats a hypothetical question that I cant begin to answer in this context as a sitting judge. Now, when you worked at the White House, did anyone ever tell you they had a mole that provided them with secret information related to nominations? I dont recall the reference to a mole, which sounds highly specific, but certainly it is common, again, and the people behind you can probably refer to this, but its common, I think, for everyone to talk to each other. I am concerned, because there is evidence that Mr. Miranda provided you with materials that were stolen from me. And that would contradict your prior testimony.
Please raise your right hand. These are the Supreme Court confirmation hearings  This is day two.  youre probably all familiar with. Bigly. You just said bigly. Bigly. Big partisan productions  A charade and a mockery. Anything else you want to say, Judge Bork?  that dominate the headlines and the airwaves. This is how they used to be. [crickets] Yeah, there actually werent any. So how did we get from here  [crickets]  to here? Well start in 1937 with former Senator Hugo Black, whos being congratulated. Thats because hes just been confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. Hes also been outed as a former member of the Ku Klux Klan. So to explain himself, he gets on the radio. I did join the Klan. I later resigned. I never rejoined. People are not happy. Theyre basically asking: How could the Senate Judiciary Committee let this guy through? Answer: Since the first hearing back in 1873, for this guy, there were no standard ways of holding hearings for Supreme Court nominees. They didnt have to go and testify, and the hearings didnt need to be made public. The senators reviewed the nominees among themselves. But then came a couple of amendments to the Constitution. The upshot is they gave more voting power to the people. So the senators needed to start paying more attention to public opinion. And theyre paying attention when Blacks controversial confirmation drives Americans to ask: Why are these hearings private? Its a big reason why the next nominee to come along gets a public hearing. And its not just a public hearing, its the first that includes no-holds-barred questioning by the committee. Things are beginning to change. Then World War II comes, and goes. America is suddenly a superpower. Business booms, suburbs grow. The protest took the form of a boycott. And we see the beginning of the modern civil-rights era. In 1954, the court rules to end racial segregation in schools. And this marks a point where we really start to see the court using its power to shape parts of American society. That means Americans take a greater interest in who is on the court. That means even more pressure on senators to vet these candidates. Starting with the first nominee after the Brown decision, almost every nominee will have a public hearing. Now change is in full swing. I Have a Dream, the march from Selma, The Feminine Mystique. The court keeps making controversial rulings on race discrimination, gender discrimination, personal privacy. That means more public interest, more pressure on senators, more issues to parse in the hearings. So the hearings get longer. But just wait. 1981  game changer. Good evening. Sandra OConnor  First woman nominated to the Supreme Court, first nomination hearing to be televised. The longer senators talk, the more TV time they get. The more TV time they get, the more they can posture for voters watching at home. [senators talking] So the more they talk. With the cameras rolling, well see 10 out of the 12 longest hearings ever. One of those is for Robert Bork  With a negative recommendation of 9 to 5.  who famously doesnt make the cut. Now onto the aughts. Theres an 11-year gap between nominees. Meanwhile, America has become more politically divided, so has the Senate. Over and over again  Wait just a second  How many times do we do this before  Heres Chief Justice Roberts to explain what happened next. I mean, you look at two of my colleagues, Justice Scalia and Justice Ginsburg, for example. Maybe there were two or three dissenting votes between the two of them. Yep, three votes against Ginsburg in 1993. No votes against Scalia in 1986. Now you look at my more recent colleagues and the votes were, I think, strictly on party lines. Thats pretty much right. And that doesnt make any sense. And thats how we got here. Im not looking to take us back to quill pens. Very long  Nah, I just asked you where you were at on Christmas. [laughter] Always very political  So your failure to answer questions is confounding me.  very public Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Also, something else to notice: Sometimes these nominees give pretty similar answers. The right to privacy is protected under the Constitution in various ways. And it protects the right to privacy in a number of ways. In various places in the Constitution. In a variety of places in the Constitution. Its protected by the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment certainly speaks to the right of privacy. Its founded in the Fourth Amendment. The first and most obvious place is the Fourth Amendment.
AUSTIN, Tex.  A federal judge on Wednesday struck down a Texas law that would have required abortion providers and other health care facilities to bury or cremate fetal remains, the latest in a series of legal setbacks for anti-abortion activists and state Republican leaders who pushed for the law.

The Texas Legislature passed the law in 2017. It would have required hospitals, abortion clinics and other providers to arrange for the burial or cremation of fetal remains, regardless of a patients personal wishes or religious beliefs, and regardless of whether the remains were from an abortion or miscarriage.

David A. Ezra, a senior judge with the Federal District Court in Austin, issued a permanent injunction that blocks enforcement of the law, which had been set to go into effect in February. Texas abortion providers had won a temporary injunction earlier; Judge Ezra issued his final ruling on Wednesday following a five-day trial in Austin in July.

In some ways, the case was a sequel to Texas most significant courtroom battle on abortion  the three-year fight over what had been one of the toughest anti-abortion laws in the country, a battle that ended in 2016 when the United States Supreme Court tossed out two of the laws main provisions. One required clinic doctors performing abortions to obtain admitting privileges at a nearby hospital, and the other mandated that all clinics meet the same standards as hospital-style surgical centers.
LONDON  In March, when British detectives began their investigation into the poisoning of Sergei V. Skripal, the former Russian spy, they had little to work with but mounds of CCTV footage. Heads bent over their desktop computers, they began the unglamorous work of poring through it, looking for an assassin.

Britain is one of the most heavily surveilled nations on earth, with an estimated one surveillance camera per 11 citizens. It has cutting-edge technology for visually identifying criminals, and software so sensitive it can scan an airport for a tattoo or a pinkie ring. And then there is that team of genetically gifted humans known as super-recognizers.

On Wednesday, the authorities announced that the effort had paid off: Two Russian intelligence officers had been charged with attempted murder, the first criminal charges in a case that has driven a deep wedge between Russia and the West.

Investigators released a cache of evidence, including security camera images that captured the progress of the two men from an Aeroflot flight to the scene of the crime, and from there back to Moscow. They also released photographs of the delicate perfume bottle that was used to carry a weapons-grade nerve agent, known as Novichok, to the quiet English city of Salisbury where the attack took place.
Our guide to dance performances happening this weekend and in the week ahead.

CO-LAB DANCE at the Martha Graham Studio Theater (Sept. 7-8, 7:30 p.m.). Lauren Post, a member of American Ballet Theater, is the founder of this group, which according to its mission statement encourages interaction among dance peers, creating new choreography and intimate performance opportunities outside regular seasons. For it, she is producing a show  and an impressive one at that. The program features three new works by Xin Ying, of the Martha Graham Dance Company, Zhong-Jing Fang and Duncan Lyle, both of Ballet Theater. The evening is rounded out by Justin Pecks The Bright Motion, set to music by Mark Dancigers and performed by the Ballet Theater principal Isabella Boylston and the New York City Ballet principal Russell Janzen. Both performances are sold out, but you can request a spot on the standby list by clicking Contact Us on the groups website and filling out the email form.

colabdance.org

FJK DANCE at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College (Sept. 13, 7 p.m.; through Sept. 15). The Iraqi-born choreographer Fadi J. Khoury, who specializes in a blend of Argentine tango, Middle Eastern movement, classical ballet and ballroom dance, presents his company in its fifth season. Along with repertory works, the run features a new performance installation, Untold, in which spectators view sculptures and paintings inspired by Arab poetry in the theaters lobby and then enter the performance space, where the choreography is reminiscent of the shapes of Arabic calligraphy. There will also be new pieces by the guest choreographers Gary Pierce and Debbie Roshe.

615-810-2251, fjkdance.com
When Bloodlines, the Stephen Petronio Companys series that revives works of American postmodern dance, returns for its fifth season in spring, the troupe will add a third Merce Cunningham work to its repertory: Tread (1970).

Cunninghams company was dissolved, by design, in 2011; his centennial is being celebrated around the world this season. With the performance of Tread at Bloodlines, scheduled to run April 11-13 at the Skirball Center of New York University, the Petronio troupe will have the most Cunningham dances in its repertory of any American company.

Including the work in Bloodlines signals our commitment to history, Mr. Petronio said in a statement. Tread, with music by Christian Wolff and decor by Bruce Nauman (the subject of a sprawling retrospective opening at the Museum of Modern Art in October), is considered one of Cunninghams lighter works, with farcical movement and entanglements. Last season, the Petronio dancers performed another playful Cunningham piece from 1970, Signals; previously, Bloodlines had featured his 1968 RainForest.

Joining Tread next spring will be the 1970 work Coverage, by Rudy Perez, a student of Cunninghams and an often-overlooked artist of the Judson Dance Theater movement (the subject of another exhibition at MoMA, opening on Sept. 16, where the Petronio company will perform in December).
After being saved from demolition and promised to an architecture school, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Phoenix is now for sale for almost $13 million.

Zach Rawling purchased the David and Gladys Wright House for about $2.3 million in 2012, after the previous owner, a developer, announced plans to tear it down. In June 2017, Mr. Rawling donated the house to the School of Architecture at Taliesin, an institution founded by Wright in 1932 as an apprenticeship program, and wanted it to become an educational and events site..

But the donation fell apart the following year. In June 2018, Mr. Rawling and Aaron Betsky, the dean of the architecture school, posted a joint statement online announcing that the partnership had been dissolved. Fund-raising concerns were cited as the reason for the dissolution: Over the past year, we have learned that the fund-raising timetables of both parties do not lend themselves to a joint campaign, the statement said.

Mr. Rawlings donation was contingent on the school raising $7 million by the end of 2020. The joint statement said that the funds that had already been raised for the project would be donated to the school.
The cameras that Fred W. McDarrah carried  a boxy old Rolleicord, and later a battered 35-millimeter Nikon S2  werent special. Nor was he, not in his own mind. He was a bit of a square, he admitted, and an unlikely chronicler of the bohemian world he saw coming into view in Greenwich Village in the mid-1950s.

What McDarrah (1926-2007) had was a drive to document, in galleries and lofts and cafes and bars, the painters, musicians, critics, bookstore owners and Beat-era poets and writers he sensed were making a new world, one that would spark the counterculture of the 1960s. I was a groupie at heart, he wrote later. I wanted to be part of the action. My camera was my diary, my ticket of admission, my way of remembering, preserving, proving that I had been there when it all happened.

McDarrah was the first staff photographer at The Village Voice, Americas Ur-alternative weekly, founded in 1955. Hed been roommates with Dan Wolf, one of the papers founders. Wolf had seen the kinetic photographs McDarrah was taking when he wasnt at his day job in advertising on Madison Avenue.

McDarrah would go on to work for The Voice for 50 years. I wrote frequently for the paper in the late 80s and early 90s, but I met him only once. He was as unpretentious as they come. His mailbox at The Voice was marked McPhoto.
LONDON  There have been exhibitions of protest art and satire, but the British Museums I object, running through Jan. 20, tells the history of political anger somewhat differently  by tracing the history of dissent right back, not just to the 60s, or the French Revolution, but to the ancient Egyptians.

I wanted the exhibition to be as broad as possible, Ian Hislop, its curator, said while touring it recently. I wanted to be able to include every gesture from writing your own name over the kings on a Babylonian brick, to an intricate Chinese silk screen. I didnt want to restrict it to placards and badges.
Like many confident people he recounts his life as a series of epiphanies. Studying pre-med at the Tuskegee Institute he stood up in the middle of R.O.T.C. class, said, What am I doing here? and promptly transferred to Southern University in Baton Rouge so he could study art. He had a spiritual side, was guided by dreams and visions, and drawn to pieces of wood that he felt exuded mystical presences, like the tall upstate birch from which he carved the 10-foot-high Ancestral Totem of 1968, a subtly swaying stack of heads inspired by Northwest Indian art that culminates in a depiction of the artist as a llama. Before his first trip to Crete, he dreamed of a voice telling him to take his carving tools with him and sculpt a living tree into a totem, which he did. It still stands in the yard in Agia Galini, belonging to a family that became the Whittens lifelong friends.

At Southern University Mr. Whitten helped organize a civil rights protest that turned violent, which he later said changed him forever. Realizing that he might be killed if he stayed in the South, he took a Greyhound bus to New York, where his uncle was a policeman, and after his acceptance into Cooper Union he immersed himself in all the city had to offer, frequenting art bars and jazz clubs, meeting Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis and Jacob Lawrence. I had a dialogue on what I called both sides of the divide  black and white  he said in the documentary Extended Play.
Always a subtle and witty cultural commentator, Lutz Bacher lands right on the political money with this solo show, organized by Nicola Lees and Robert Snowden at 80WSE Gallery. The Long March, installed in the gallery itself, is made up of dozens of small, same-size, no-two-alike photographic images of Mao Zedong. Commercially printed in China, the series is a mass-produced exercise in personality-cult promotion. Mao, young or old, often dressed in military gray (the gallery walls are painted the same color) greets officials or chats up peasants in one staged scene after another.

Because the images are clearly advertising, its tempting to take them in at a sweep, but considering them one by one is instructive. It lets you experience the mechanics of persuasion. Visual repetition  the face, the hair, the uniform  can cast a spell. We may believe that Mao was, for much of his career, a monster, but when we see him over and over playing benign, made-for-the-camera-roles, we can lose sight of that. He becomes a legend, a star, a part of our history. He may be awful, but hes our very own awful, the awful we love to hate.
Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep  and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If youre interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox.

Enjoy Your Peanuts and Tax Cuts

This year alone weve seen the release of White House tell-alls from the writer Michael Wolff, the fired Trump aide Omarosa Manigault Newman and now the famed journalist Bob Woodward  whose new book, Fear, includes humiliating accounts of President Trumps frayed leadership. The book drew a defensive rebuke from the president on Wednesday.

Trevor Noah said this is all big news  but nearly two years into Trumps presidency, its hard for anything to surprise him. After showing a clip of an NBC reporter calling the Woodward book a bombshell, Noah said it felt more like the norm.

Obviously, all of this stuff is crazy, but at some point I think weve got to stop saying its a bombshell. I mean, Trump is just doing a lot more Trump than we thought he would. But its not a bombshell. The day it comes out that Trump secretly works out and reads Shakespeare and teaches kids how to code, thats when we can call it a bombshell.  TREVOR NOAH

Another sort-of-bombshell: On Wednesday, The New York Times published an anonymous Op-Ed article by a senior Trump administration official who wrote that people in the presidents own administration are devoted to undermining him and thwarting Mr. Trumps more misguided impulses.
The author of the forthcoming novel Transcription recoils at the idea of a literary dinner party: I would never invite writers. Theyre so competitive.

What books are on your nightstand?

The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker, which Ive just finished. A very good, very raw rendition of the Trojan War from the point of view of the women.

Circe, by Madeline Miller, which Ive just started and which in some ways seems like quite a good companion to the Barker.

A new book, Operation Columba: The Secret Pigeon Service, by Gordon Corera.

And an old book, Evidence in Camera, by Constance Babington Smith, the story of photographic evidence during World War II. The latter two are for research for a novel. (Im not writing about pigeons.)
1. It was Day 3 of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, and the issue of abortion took center stage.

A leaked email from his time in the George W. Bush administration showed Judge Kavanaugh questioning whether the Roe v. Wade decision should be regarded as settled law of the land.

Democrats, including Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, jumped on the statement, and abortion rights activists immediately raised concerns.
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A sting in the tail of Big Techs trip to Washington

Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg and Twitters Jack Dorsey appeared to sail through their hearings in Washington yesterday. Lawmakers pressed the pair on transparency, political bias, opioid ads and more. They also hinted at regulation. Congress is going to have to take action here, said Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia. The era of the Wild West in social media is coming to an end.

But there were no clear details on what that might look like, and no major bombshells emerged. (Though pressure on Google looks set to mount following its no-show.) Republicans did make one thing clear: They think social networks might be biased against conservatives.

They are not alone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revealed plans to investigate social media companies over potential censorship of political views. According to the WSJ, the Justice Department is to hold a meeting on Sept. 25 with state attorneys general to discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.
In a statement at the time, Mr. Moonves said: I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected  and abided by the principle  that no means no, and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyones career.

Shortly after the article was published, the CBS board enlisted two law firms to lead an inquiry into the claims against Mr. Moonves and the wider workplace culture at the network. The board soon after folded a separate examination of CBS News  underway since March  into the larger investigation.

The board hired Nancy Kestenbaum of Covington & Burling and Mary Jo White of Debevoise & Plimpton to conduct the inquiry. Ms. White led the Securities and Exchange Commission during the Obama administration and was previously the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ms. Kestenbaum was also a federal prosecutor with the same district. The investigation into CBS News is being led by the law firm of Proskauer Rose.

Mr. Moonves had recused himself from any matters related to the investigation, and a three-member committee  Bruce S. Gordon, Linda Griego and Robert N. Klieger  has been appointed to oversee the inquiry. The makeup of that panel reflects the fractious board itself.

Mr. Klieger, a lawyer based in Los Angeles, occupies one of three CBS board seats appointed by Ms. Redstones family company. (In addition to Mr. Klieger, Ms. Redstone and David R. Andelman, a Boston-based lawyer who has represented the Redstone family in the past, make up the Redstone familys board seats.)

On the other side is Mr. Gordon, a former Verizon executive and once head of the N.A.A.C.P., who is the lead independent director and has spearheaded settlement talks between the parties on behalf of CBS. Meetings between Ms. Redstone and Mr. Moonves had become so contentious that each had taken to bringing along witnesses. At a May meeting, Mr. Gordon acted in that role for Mr. Moonves. Ms. Griego, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor, is not seen as affiliated with either side.

Ms. Redstone commands both CBS and Viacom by owning 80 percent of voting rights, and the legal battle is being waged to water down that stake in CBS.
NAPA, Calif.  How do you make a small fortune in the wine business? Start out with a big one.

Yes, its an old joke, but that does not diminish its essential truth. To live the mythical good life as a wine producer is excruciatingly difficult, unless you start out with a lot of money, inherited vineyards or both. Particularly in California. Especially in Napa Valley.

Even so, a number of young, intrepid winemakers are demonstrating that it can be done, by working around the edges, going where few have gone before and putting in plenty of sweat equity . Some are making great wines, too.

John Lockwood of Enfield Wine Company is one of those dedicated few, finding ways to make a small amount of captivating wine in the Napa Valley area without much money and with no vineyard holdings. While many winemakers in similar positions work day jobs to support their own labels as side projects, Mr. Lockwood, 38, has gone all-in at Enfield.

He is based here in the city of Napa, but few of his wines are entitled to the Napa Valley appellation. Until recently, Mr. Lockwood never made a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, the wine for which Napa is most famous. He could not afford to buy the grapes, which he said sold last year for an average of $7,500 a ton.
Brenda Beeners family roots go back to New Orleans, and the food she grew up with  crayfish and shrimp, the bounty of the bayous and the Gulf of Mexico  did not prepare her for the day her husband announced, Im just going to eat plants now.

As the cook in the family, Ms. Beener rallied, pondered and experimented. Two decades later, she is sharing her inventions with the world as the chef of Seasoned Vegan in Harlem, a restaurant that specializes in vegan soul food and sees no contradiction between those terms, that debunks the notion of veganism as a sacrifice.

Consider Ms. Beeners take on burdock, a thistlelike weed born in Siberia and northern Europe, with a hardscrabble capacity to thrive almost anywhere. (Its prickly, obstinately clingy burrs were the template for Velcro.) On its own, the root has the approximate meatiness of mushrooms and artichokes. Here, its been pulverized, reconstituted with spices unnamed (trade secret), drenched in a meld of barbecue sauce and remoulade, and tucked into a warm, chewy pretzel bun.
While obviously the intent of our founding fathers was to establish a judicial system equal to the legislative and executive branches, the selection process for justices in the highest court was left to the other two branches, thus almost surely chosen at the whim of the executive branch with approval by the Senate. The result was obvious: that the Supreme Court under most circumstances would not consist of constitutional scholars but instead the views of the party in control during the judicial appointment with a lifetime term. Although there is no absolute proof that Supreme Court justices will be influenced only by the party dominant during the appointment, there should be a compromise. Justices should be appointed only to an initial term of eight years, more in accord with elected representatives for two years, presidents for four or eight years and senators for six years. After the initial term of eight years for the justices, they could be reappointed by the president and Senate. Does this ensure proper interpretation of the Constitution? Certainly not, but it guarantees that the Supreme Court will be in sync with society. Nelson Marans, New York

RE: HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS REMAKING THE COURTS

Jason Zengerle wrote about how the G.O.P. is carrying out a sweeping transformation of the federal judiciary.
When the director Hal Ashby is mentioned now, hes often squeezed into a cohort called New Hollywood, or as I think of it AltmanBogdanovichCoppolaFriedkinScorsese. This lineup changes depending on whos telling the story and to what revisionist or orthodox end. Members, almost always men, are added, deleted or downgraded in the footnotes. Warren Beatty plays a role, as does the upstart Steven Spielberg. Ashby  who died at 59 in 1988 and whose films include Being There  remains another constant, a mainstay in a group that stormed the old studios in the late 1960s, changing Hollywood forever. (Thats one take, anyway.)

The documentary Hal fleshes out Ashbys story, which presumably is not well known to those who believe movie history begins with those 1970s hits Jaws and Star Wars (or later), or perhaps havent dog-eared (and watched) many of the histories on New Hollywood. Yet even if you havent read Peter Biskinds Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (juicily subtitled How the Sex-Drugs-and Rock n Roll Generation Saved Hollywood), the subject may sound familiar. Whatever the books merits, its title serves as handy shorthand for an often-mythologized period, one that has become movielands own paradise lost.

The director Amy Scott resurrects this Eden in Hal, filling it with new (now seasoned) wonders, holy innocents and an abundance of snakes. Using both archival and original material, she fills in Ashbys past  born in Utah, he was a divorced father by 18  explores his greatest hits, underscores his singularity and rather too quickly glides over his later-life disappointments. She begins at the inescapable end, revving up with a visibly moved Mr. Beatty emotionally eulogizing Ashby. From there, Ms. Scott jumps deeper into Ashbys past, checks in with friends and lovers, and then marches forward in time toward his rise and fall.
The movie tells the story of an orphan, Shula (Maggie Mulubwa), who will soon share their fate after shes accused of witchcraft, as a scapegoat for not very much. Facing questions from a skeptical-looking police officer, Shula refuses to say if shes a witch. (If you were 8 or 9, would you know for sure?)

Shula eventually winds up in the care of Mr. Banda (Henry B.J. Phir), who works for a ministry of tourism and traditional beliefs and recognizes her potential for business. Soon Shula is being asked to use her ostensible powers to point out the thief in a lineup or to assure a white man, who has a vested interest and has paid them, that it will rain. Mr. Banda has a knack for deflection. When he and Shula appear on a talk show and a caller asks why she isnt in school, he responds, Thats total misuse of freedom of speech.
You have seen Peppermint before. Directed by Pierre Morel (Taken) and starring Jennifer Garner as Riley North, a hard-working suburban mom turned avenging angel, the vigilante thriller hits all the major tropes of the genre. If Hollywood diversions like Death Wish and the bizarro Face/Off are your bag, choosing to spend 90-plus minutes watching Ms. Garner return to her early action-hero roots and peel off dozens of evil men with ease might seem like a no-brainer. Yet Peppermint is a belabored exercise in lazily constructed deja vu, without the grit or stylized ham of predecessors it so baldly steals from.

During a family outing, Rileys husband and child are gunned down by members of a Latino cartel led by Diego Garcia (Juan Pablo Raba), and the killers she identifies escape punishment because of a crooked legal system. She runs away before being committed to a mental institution and spends five years globe-trotting incognito, training to become an expert fighter and gunwoman in order to seek revenge.
Ms. Marinoni has proved as wary of the political press as of the celebrity, and in a rare interview, she downplayed her involvement in the campaign. As first lady, she said, she would remain in the background too, anchoring the family while Ms. Nixon governed.

Shes been approached by folks repeatedly  not me, it was never my idea  who were excited about the prospects, Ms. Marinoni, who has no official role in the campaign, said of Ms. Nixons decision to enter the race.

As the wife of a celebrity, she said she had perfected the art of dodging attention. I now know how to step in or out of the spotlight, and I choose generally to stay out.

But spotlight or not, people who have been involved with the campaign described Ms. Marinoni as an essential force in it: corralling support, shaping strategy, even serving as a proxy of sorts for her wife during policy or tactical discussions when Ms. Nixon is on the trail.

Cynthias the candidate, and shes kind of the embodiment of what were all trying to move on a state level, said Jonathan Westin, the executive director of the nonprofit New York Communities for Change, which asked Ms. Nixon to run. But the actual putting it together  I mean, Christine has been irreplaceable.

Ms. Marinoni is a frequent presence at campaign events, marching alongside Ms. Nixon in the New York City Pride parade or collecting signatures to secure her spot on the ballot. After Ms. Nixons debate with Mr. Cuomo, Ms. Marinoni strode through the press room to make sure reporters got the story right: She kicked ass! Clearly won. Clearly won.
The sick passengers on the Emirates airline flight that landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York on Wednesday were most likely suffering from the flu and common cold, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Benjamin Haynes, the spokesman for the agency, said 11 people were taken to the hospital and tests showed the patients had influenza or other common respiratory viruses. The patients were treated at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens.

Local authorities alerted the C.D.C. about Emirates Flight 203 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, after numerous passengers complained of coughing, fevers and symptoms of gastrointestinal illness.

It was clear people were sick before they even got on the plane, so much so that I asked the stewardess for a mask, said Erin Sykes, a passenger from New York. People were coughing the whole flight, like phlegmy, really gross coughs.
One of the most precious rituals for a student in the Northeast is to peer out the window on a winter morning, witness a flurry of snow, and realize that theres no need to cram for that test  snow day!

But heat days might soon become just as regular an occurrence. With extreme temperatures blanketing towns in New Jersey, Connecticut and New York this week, schools in dozens of districts across the region where air conditioning is not always the norm closed early or canceled after-school activities.

On Thursday, as temperatures climbed above 90, more than two dozen New Jersey districts dismissed students early. Dozens of schools in Connecticut, including those in West Haven, Milford, Naugatuck, Waterbury, Bristol and Farmington, did the same. And in New York, at least two districts closed schools early, with a number of others canceling after-school sports.
Almost 20 years ago, Stanley Mieses, a writer and editor, first accompanied the guitarist Yosi Piamenta to Mansoura Pastries to buy knafeh, an Arabic dessert usually made with shredded phyllo dough. Per Mr. Piamentas instruction that day, he ordered the darker, crunchier knafeh pieces from the edges of the pan. It was some of the best knafeh hed ever tasted in New York.

Mr. Mieses, who has since moved to Queens, continues to return to the Mediterranean confectionary in Gravesend, Brooklyn, often after his regular haircuts around the corner. Although he still follows his friends advice on selecting knafeh, he will often, admittedly, go overboard in quantity.
It was after 8 a.m. on Tuesday when two of Danny Rosados clients appeared on the street, looking for him. One woman pulled up near a fire hydrant.

Park it by the pump, Mr. Rosado yelled. Ill move it. She did, and then handed him the keys to her Acura; the keychain said Best Teacher. He stuffed the keys into a black shoulder bag decorated with a small American flag sticker. Inside, there were nearly two dozen more sets of keys.

For 22 years, Mr. Rosado has been taking care of drivers alternate-side parking needs on Cheever Place, a blocklong street in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. While many of the cars he moves belong to people who live there, he also works with teachers at Public School 29, who depend on his services while school is in session.

Alternate side goes into effect on Cheever Place every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. So the Tuesday before classes started this week, Mr. Rosado, 61, was hard at work. He dashed from one corner to the other, double-parking cars to make room for street sweepers and other drivers to pass. When the no-parking rule expired at 11, Mr. Rosado moved the cars right back  unless someone swiped one of his spots, which rarely happens, he said. While double-parking is officially not legal, most police officers tend to let it slide on alternate-side days. They usually leave Mr. Rosado to do his work, he said, except for the occasional rookie cops that want to be sergeants.
Lawyers for the Uzbek man charged in the 2017 truck attack that killed eight people on a Manhattan bike path asked a judge Thursday to bar the government from seeking the death penalty, saying the decision, which ultimately rests with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, had become too politicized.

The lawyers cited Mr. Trumps emphatic tweets calling for the execution of their client, Sayfullo Saipov, and another more recent tweet that suggested political considerations should inform the Justice Departments charging decisions. They also pointed to reports that Mr. Trump had considered firing Mr. Sessions for not following his wishes.

Mr. Sessions works for President Trump and obviously wants to keep his job, Mr. Saipovs federal public defenders wrote. It defies reality, not to mention all appearances, to believe that he could make a truly independent decision as to whether Mr. Saipov should face the death penalty, knowing that a decision not to seek death would inevitably trigger a tweetstorm of ridicule and scorn from the President and might well lead to the loss of his job.

The lawyers argued, as an alternative, that the judge, Vernon S. Broderick of Federal District Court in Manhattan, should appoint an independent prosecutor to decide if the death penalty was warranted, a decision Mr. Sessions has yet to announce.
The bronco bucked across the savanna and collided with a barbed wire fence. Mr. Brock was thrown to the ground, the 700-pound stallion landing on top of him.

I was very badly injured, but the nearest doctor was 26 days away on foot, through a narrow trail in the rain forest where you couldnt take horses, Mr. Brock told the British newspaper The Independent in 2014.

Ed said, Gosh, I was on the moon and I was only three days from a doctor,  Mr. Brock recalled. Sure, I said, but for those people who lived in the Upper Amazon, and the 50 million people were now dealing with in the U.S., they might as well be on the moon for the opportunity they have to get the health care they need.

Stan Brock died on Aug. 29 at RAMs offices in Rockford, Tenn., where he had lived ascetically since he founded the nonprofit outfit in 1985. He was 82. Robert Lambert, a RAM spokesman, said the cause was complications of a stroke.

RAM began operating initially in British Guiana and then expanded to the United States in 1992, starting out with a single pickup truck that hauled a single dentists chair. It opened its first American clinic in Sneedville, Tenn., in 1992 and still runs an airborne ambulance operation in what is now the independent nation of Guyana.
MEXICO CITY  Images showing masses of people fleeing Venezuela by foot seem to increase by the minute. Every day, we hear new heart-wrenching accounts about refugees. Venezuelas crisis has become a regional problem that grows by the day.

How long is the journey by foot from Venezuela to Colombia, Ecuador or Peru? How desperate must a person be to embark on such a journey?

The flow of people out of Venezuela is one of the largest mass migrations in the history of Latin America, with more than 1.6 million people having fled the country since 2015. What has become of the Program for the Homeland, a national development plan proposed in 2012 by President Hugo Chavez whose aim was to transform Venezuela into an economic powerhouse by 2019? What once seemed a charming dream for the richest country in the region has now turned into a dismaying present.

For many years, Mr. Chavezs Bolivarian Revolution practiced a type of diplomacy based on handing out money and spreading corruption throughout the region. Now, the children of Bolivar no longer export dollars, but misery. Corruption and mass migration are intertwined and thus cannot be analyzed separately. They are different legs of the same journey.
It is a selfish attempt at justification. And it is unlikely to be effective.

That was the most common reaction around the web to the anonymous Times op-ed by a senior Trump administration official that harshly criticizes the president.

I imagine many of you have read it, given the immense size of the articles digital audience already. If you havent, the piece describes Trump as misguided, impulsive, unstable, erratic, ill-informed and anti-democratic, as well as impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective. It says that other administration officials are quietly defying him to minimize the damage he is doing to the country.

But as many other writers have pointed out, the mere act of writing the piece  which has enraged Trump  will make it harder to quietly defy him. He is less likely to trust his aides and more likely to rely on a small cadre of loyalists. Hell grow more defiant, more reckless, more anti-constitutional, and more dangerous, The Atlantics David Frum writes.

The authors real goal, many writers argued, was to justify his or her own decision to continue serving Trump. Nobody whos part of the real resistance should be celebrating this, The Los Angeles Timess Jessica Roy writes. The more honorable path, many said, was a public resignation, coupled with an honest description of the president.
As they did in cities across Western Europe, migrants tended to cluster in low-income neighborhoods; facing poor job prospects and rampant employment discrimination, they naturally turned inward. More young women have started wearing the hijab recently, Mr. Abdirahman tells me, and more young men internalize the otherness  rejected by their new society, they embrace the stereotypes imposed upon them. This can lead to a point where they reject gay rights or liberalism as white, Western ideas, and even attack firefighters because they represent the state.

As we walk around, Mr. Abdirahman, who is single and childless, confesses: When I came here in 1998, to me this place was paradise. Today, I wouldnt want my children to grow up here.

Mr. Abdirahman says he was lucky: His mother encouraged him to contribute to society and get a good education. He earned a degree in international studies in New York, then worked in Geneva and with the United States Embassy here before going to work with the chamber of commerce. Not all immigrants get the same push at home, he says; some parents discouraged their youngsters from going to the city center to mix. Sweden, he is afraid, has entered a vicious circle of immigration, segregation and growing mutual hostility.

The situation grew worse with the latest mass influx of refugees, in 2015, after which a number of suburbs became almost exclusively migrant. Considered no go areas by some Swedes, these neighborhoods are known to outsiders only from horrific headlines. What people dont get to see, Mr. Abdirahman worries, is the bus driver or the cleaning lady working themselves ragged to get their children into a university.

None of this is new, and yet the government, dominated by the traditionally strong Social Democrats and the centrist Moderate Party, did far too little. That left an opening for the Sweden Democrats, until recently a group relegated to the racist fringe of Swedish politics. In the past few years, the party has recast itself; just like the populist Alternative fur Deutschland party in Germany and the Five Star Movement in Italy, it has repositioned itself as anti-establishment and anti-immigrant. The Sweden Democrats accuses all other political actors and the media of destroying Sweden, calls for a suspension of the right to asylum and promotes an exit of Sweden from the European Union.
Mr. Trump is not alone in holding a myopic, credentialist view when it comes to a persons legal acumen; its no coincidence that every member of todays Supreme Court is a graduate of an Ivy League law school, with Ruth Bader Ginsburg the only one not to graduate from Harvard or Yale (she began at Harvard but transferred to Columbia). These are, of course, excellent law schools, and there is no denying that there are better and worse places to get a legal education. But it doesnt necessarily follow that only the Ivies can provide a top-flight legal education, or, more to the point, that a persons abilities as a lawyer are entirely defined by the three years he or she spent in law school. Professional experience and judgment matter too.

John Marshall Harlan, widely regarded as a judges judge, graduated from New York Law School. Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, earned his law degree from Howard University. Earl Warren: Berkeley. John Paul Stevens: Northwestern. The list goes on, but the point is that just because our president  and the public generally  obsesses over credentials that doesnt mean were right to do so.

In fact, one could argue that while an Ivy League school provides a wonderful education in the law, it quite often sets a person on a narrowly defined career path. On the resumes of the current Supreme Court, you find academic posts, high-level government positions, corporate law partnerships  but very little of the contact with everyday people that comes from, say, working as a trial lawyer (Sonia Sotomayor is an exception). The Ivies produce excellent trial lawyers, but generally speaking, it is schools like the University of Alabama that are producing the type of lawyers whose careers teach them to understand and practice the kind of law that impacts most Americans.

Whats more, there is something telling in Mr. Trumps sneering contempt for Southern lawyers in particular. It intersects with a general contempt for the South as an intellectually backward region and for the stereotype of the country lawyer as a backward, benighted legal mind.

That stereotype is easily refuted. More than a few graduates of Southern law schools have had highly distinguished careers in the law. Justice Hugo Black, generally considered to have been an iconic jurist and great defender of the First Amendment, earned his law degree at Alabama. So did Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr., who served on the federal court panel that issued the Montgomery bus boycott decision, which ordered public transportation to be operated on a desegregated basis. Judge Johnson also issued the injunction that permitted the Selma-to-Montgomery march to go forward under federal court protection. Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. graduated first in his class from Washington and Lees law school.
Joe Flanigan

Malibu, Calif.

To the Editor:

I am among those who think it was appropriate to publish the anonymous Op-Ed. Any serious attempt to shed light on this dangerous situation should be welcomed, and I hope it will encourage others to speak out, loudly and openly.

Nevertheless, I think the fact that the writer felt the need to act in this way is in itself an argument for the 25th Amendment. If a leader is as erratic as the writer has described, if his staff sees the need to work around him, isnt that evidence enough that he is impaired and unable to do his job?

Cecilia Martin Ford

East Hampton, N.Y.

To the Editor:

I have a problem with the anonymous opinion piece. Mr. or Ms. Anonymous and his or her friends in the administration have decided that invoking the 25th Amendment would create a constitutional crisis, so instead they have opted to do what they can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  its over .

What this article implies, if not openly states, is that the country is being run by unelected and unnamed officials  cabinet members and other appointees  who have taken it upon themselves to secretly perform policy interventions against a president they consider to be morally unfit and dangerous to the country, instead of pursuing the legal option of the 25th Amendment. This isnt resistance. This is cowardice. If their actions arent illegal, perhaps they should be. They have created the very constitutional crisis that they claim to have averted.

Laura Shapiro

Saugerties, N.Y.

To the Editor:

While I agree with many of the sentiments expressed in the anonymous Op-Ed regarding President Trump, that The New York Times would choose to publish it sets a very bad precedent journalistically, regardless of whatever editorial justifications the paper settled upon before giving it the go-ahead.

Given the extraordinarily high-profile nature of The Timess decision to run such a scathing piece, arent the floodgates now open to such unsigned attacks becoming the norm, where anyone lacking the courage of his or her convictions, and with an ax to grind, legitimate or not, can do so with the full imprimatur of national media outlets, including The Times? And, if the answer is no, wont the presidents supporters reasonably conclude that this was nothing more than an attention-grabbing, below-the-belt stunt to undermine him during a time of particular vulnerability?

Mark Godes

Chelsea, Mass.

To the Editor:

Anonymous , I dont know who you are, and Im not curious. I read your Op-Ed and it gave me small comfort. On the one hand you pat yourself on the back for being part of a nebulous resistance; with the other you state that you want the administration to succeed . You cannot have it both ways.
As the school year begins, administrators across the country will rededicate themselves to protecting the safety of their students, including taking steps to prevent the kinds of mass shootings that have become all too common. Often, these steps involve whats known as target hardening  things like adding automatic lockdown systems and hiring additional police officers.

Unfortunately, research suggests that target hardening has little to no effect on a schools safety. Such prevention efforts tend to be based on our visceral emotional reactions to the threat of violence. Worse, theyre often chosen over the approaches that have shown to be effective at reducing school violence.

Part of the problem is that when mass shootings occur at schools, many parents expect the school system to do something  anything  right now.

I understand this. About a week after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, a student at my sons high school made what administrators described as a threat-like remark in class. Fear spread among parents, demands were made, security was increased, and law enforcement was involved. I, too, was distressed and worried, and I texted my son more frequently than usual the next day.
His blind spot for the Constitution has been much on display in other ways in recent days. Asked about protests that erupted during this weeks confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Mr. Trump expressed dismay and puzzlement:

I dont know why they dont take care of a situation like that. I think its embarrassing for the country to allow protesters. You dont even know what side the protesters are on.

Someone with the presidents best interests at heart may want to explain to him that the First Amendment specifically protects political expression, no matter how befuddling some find it. Presidents do not get to outlaw speech simply because they find it distasteful.

This may seem like a familiar concept, but it is one with which Mr. Trump struggles. On the campaign trail in 2016, he argued that the protesters causing a ruckus at his rallies should be thrown into a jail and their lives ruined. I hope you arrest em and do whatever you have to do, the candidate told a crowd in Missouri. And you know what? Once that starts happening, were not going to have any more protesters, folks. No more Constitution, either.

Three weeks after his election, President-elect Trump shared his take on flag burning: Nobody should be allowed to burn the American flag  if they do, there must be consequences  perhaps loss of citizenship or year in jail! Such a move may strike some people as a bold and patriotic step toward making America great again. It was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1990.
When fire ravaged the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, most of the collections 20 million objects were destroyed. A hall that held the 12,000-year-old skeletal remains of a woman known as Luzia, the oldest human remains found in the Americas, is gone. Years of scientific research vanished.

The fire has been blamed on neglect by a corrupt Brazilian government that slashed museum administrators budgets and dawdled at installing a fire-suppression system.



Have you ever visited the museum? Please share with us your photos and videos from past trips, so that we may see what has been lost in the destruction. We plan on publishing a selection of them.
If the redevelopment of the Steinway & Sons piano store in Midtown were a song, it would be a long one, with some dramatic pauses and a bit of dissonance.

But despite the projects yearslong struggles with escalating costs, infighting and lawsuits, the developers of the sky-high condo at 111 West 57th Street hope the building will still impress potential buyers.

As my grandmother said: Good food takes time,  said Michael Stern, the managing partner at JDS Development Group. The firm has teamed up with Property Markets Group and Spruce Capital Partners on the condo, which is the latest to elbow into the elite group of high-rises along Billionaires Row.

The 60-unit tower, which overlooks Central Park near Avenue of the Americas, has certainly tried to stand out in a crowd. At 1,428 feet (or 86 stories), 111 West 57th will be one of New Yorks tallest buildings when its completed in 2019. By contrast, the office tower One World Trade Center, the citys loftiest spire, is 1,776 feet, while 432 Park Avenue, a new condo tower nearby, measures 1,396 feet, and One57, at 157 West 57th Street, is 1,004 feet.
$1.425 million | 15 Eisenhower Drive, Cresskill, N.J.

With five bedrooms, three full and two half bathrooms, as well as office and storage space, and a partially finished basement, this 3,600-square-foot house seems like all that a family would need. And the parkland next door  three acres of it  is a bonus.

Broker: Weichert, Realtors

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.
The committee had asked for a top executive to testify  either Larry Page, Googles co-founder and the chief executive of its parent company, Alphabet, or Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Google. Google instead offered its chief lawyer, Kent Walker, who it argued was better versed in the issues. That didnt fly with the committee, hence the spectacle of the empty chair.

Google has spent years building a lobbying operation in Washington, which rests on a foundation of seriousness and good will; while upstarts like Facebook reveled in their break-things disruptive style, Google positioned itself as the grown-up in the room. It also had some positive facts on its side: Googles services were far less vulnerable to Russian misinformation during the 2016 election than Facebook or Twitter. And because it does not run a social network, Google could credibly argue that it was a less important vector for propaganda and social unrest. Mr. Pichai, who is no dummy, could have persuasively made that case to lawmakers.

But in declining to participate, Google left a sour mood in the Capitol. A parade of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate hearing noted the companys absence. Many raised questions about Googles recent actions  for instance, its decision to stop working with the military on artificial intelligence projects and its exploration of a censored search engine for the Chinese market  that the company had no way of defending.

In a statement, Google said of offering up Mr. Walker: We had informed the Senate Intelligence Committee of this in late July and had understood that he would be an appropriate witness for this hearing.

Jack Dorsey of Twitter overflowed with candor.

One worry among Twitter employees was that Mr. Dorsey would bow too far toward Republican lawmakers trumped-up charges of bias against conservatives. He did not do that. What he did instead was more useful. In several answers, Mr. Dorsey explained the many ways in which Twitter had failed its users.

My notes from the hearings are full of instances in which Mr. Dorsey admitted serious flaws. I believe if you were to go to our rules today and sit down with a cup of coffee, you would not be able to understand them, he said at one point.

He also said Twitters verification system  the way it determines which users get blue check marks next to their names, signaling that they are V.I.P.s on the service  was broken and needed a lot of work. And he said that the companys system for reporting harassment asked too much of victims, and that the company took too long to take down disparaging content, like a doctored photo of Meghan McCain that made the rounds this weekend.
New followers are also crucial to Mr. Joness business hawking nutritional supplements and survival gear, which help fund his Infowars operation. Without access to mainstream social-media sites, he will increasingly be speaking to his established audience that already goes directly to Infowars.com for his shows.

Infowars did not respond to a request for comment. But Mr. Jones quickly found a way to make his anger about Twitters decision known  on Twitter.

Broadcasting on Thursday through the Periscope account of @WarRoomShow  which is the name of an online video show hosted by an Infowars colleague  Mr. Jones said: Theyre scared of us. Theyre scared of the populist movement.

He added, They know their bans of not just me but millions of other people have angered folks, so theyre moving aggressively.

Periscope is Twitters live-streaming video app. While Twitters permanent ban affects the Periscope accounts for Infowars and Mr. Jones, the company temporarily suspended @WarRoomShow after Mr. Jones appeared on its broadcast. In a tweet, the company said it would take action if other accounts are utilized in an attempt to circumvent the ban of Mr. Jones and Infowars.

A day earlier, Mr. Dorsey had testified before Congress about election interference and allegations of political bias on Twitter. At one of two hearings on Wednesday, he denied that Twitter had a bias against conservatives, an accusation that Republican lawmakers raised repeatedly during the session.

Mr. Jones was also on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, sitting in the audience during a morning session in the Senate. At one point he confronted Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, in a Senate hallway, and at another he complained about Facebook and Google.
Over all, the results indicate that people do a pretty good job of predicting their own turnout. Yes, most of the people who say theyre almost certain to vote wind up voting. But not all. And yes, most of the people who say theyre not very likely to vote dont turn out, but some do.

As a result, we dont draw a hard line between likely and unlikely voters. Everyone, in our view, has some probability of voting.

One interesting thing that complicates this analysis is that poll respondents are much likelier to vote than nonrespondents, even after controlling for everything else. In other words, if we thought you had a 10 percent chance of voting before you picked up the phone, we instantly think you have a 35 percent chance of voting the moment you agree to take a political survey. That decision alone reveals that youre really likelier to vote than your demographics and history of voting would suggest. After accounting for this phenomenon, we wind up giving a smaller bonus to unlikely voters who say theyre going to vote, simply because we dont treat them as if they were all that unlikely to vote in the first place.

Our analysis of validated turnout in prior Upshot/Siena polls indicates that our models do a much better job of predicting turnout than self-reported intention. If we think you will vote, and you say you wont, youre probably still going to vote. But there is still some value in this data: If we werent sure you were going to vote, we do care quite a bit about what you told us.

It is worth noting, however, that just because this was true in our prior polls doesnt mean it will be true in the future. Take the August special election in Ohio 12. We ran a test there in late July to work out the kinks on the infrastructure for this project. We didnt get enough respondents to complete a full poll, but for illustrative purposes, consider the way this would have all played out:

Almost certain/already voted: Even

Self-report only Balderson+1

Result: Balderson+1

What our estimate would have been Balderson+4

Midterm model only Balderson+6

Maybe it should be no surprise that self-reported turnout fared a little better in a special election than in regularly scheduled elections, where its presumably easier to model turnout using historical data.

Or maybe its a harbinger of whats going to happen this November, and our turnout models wont be as useful as theyve been in the past.

Either way, well show you all of these possibilities on our page. No matter what happens, we hope this is a transparent look into why polling works and why sometimes it does not.
Good morning.

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The legislative session is over for this year. But the shouting about at least one piece of legislation may not be.

After a succession of fierce California wildfires, lawmakers voted in the sessions final hours last week to approve Senate Bill 901, a measure aimed at protecting against future fires. But the legislation also protects Pacific Gas and Electric Company from liability for such fires, enabling it to pass the costs on to ratepayers.

Consumer advocates are calling it a bailout.

The worst thing about it is when theyre negligent, when they have violated the rules, the ratepayers pay, not the shareholders, said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network, which advocates for consumers before the California Public Utilities Commission.

The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, determined that power lines and poles and other equipment owned by Pacific Gas and Electric had been responsible for a dozen fires in Northern California last October that ravaged the wine country.
A gunman walked into a 31-story office tower in downtown Cincinnati on Thursday morning and opened fire, fatally shooting three people and injuring two others before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police officers, the authorities said.

The gunman was identified as Omar Enrique Santa Perez, 29, of North Bend, Ohio, which is about 15 miles west of Cincinnati, Chief Eliot Isaac of the Cincinnati Police Department told reporters on Thursday afternoon. He said Mr. Perez had acted alone and may have had some mental health issues.

On Friday the authorities said they still did not know the motive.

This is clearly an act of grotesque violence to innocent people and it should frighten all of us, Mayor John Cranley said. It has happened too much around this country and we as a country have got to figure out how to end it.

The authorities received calls around 9:10 a.m. about shots fired at the Fifth Third Center building, Chief Isaac said.
Newly released video from the body camera of an off-duty Cincinnati police officer shows the moments after he stunned an 11-year-old girl in the back with a Taser, an episode an internal review said violated several of the Police Departments rules.

The video shows the officer, Kevin Brown, apprehending the girl at a Kroger supermarket where he was working a security detail on Aug. 6 and taking her into an office. He asks the girl, Donesha Gowdy, about items in her backpack that he said were stolen.

This is why there arent any grocery stores in the black community, he says. Both Donesha and Officer Brown are black.

The comment violated departmental rules against racial prejudice, according to the internal review, which was also released this week. Officer Brown violated three other rules by using the stun gun in the first place, not warning Donesha that he was going to do so, and not turning on his body camera until after the fact, the review found.
WASHINGTON  Amid a chorus of warnings that the American election system is ground zero for foreign attackers, a panel of leading scholars and election experts issued a sweeping set of recommendations on Thursday for how to make elections more secure.

Several similar reports have been issued lately, but this one is different. It not only carries a blue-ribbon pedigree from the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, but it also suggests ways to address allegations of domestic voter fraud, which Republicans have leveled for years.

The report notes the significant challenges of securing elections. In 2016, Americans voted in 178,217 precincts and 116,990 polling places. Under the Constitution, each state controls its own election procedures, and officials jealously guard their authority against federal interference. The rules vary so wildly that uniform standards are almost impossible.

Still, many of the reports proposals can be applied nationwide. Here are six ways the panel says that election security can be improved:

1. Use paper ballots to establish a backup record of each vote.

Even if voter databases and other equipment arent connected to the internet, experts said, it will be hard to protect computer systems from cyber threats. As a result, they recommend that by 2020, every voting machine nationwide should generate a backup paper record of each vote. Currently, five states  Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Delaware and New Jersey  and portions of several others do not maintain a paper trail.
CHICAGO  Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald, was taken into custody by sheriffs deputies on Thursday after a judge found that he violated his bond conditions by discussing the case with journalists.

Judge Vincent Gaughans decision to increase Officer Van Dykes $1.5 million bond by $2,000 was never likely to lead to a lengthy period in jail for the accused officer; he posted bond and was released early Thursday afternoon. But the ruling, a day after the start of jury selection, served as a largely symbolic rebuke of the defense teams pretrial public relations effort in a case that has captured the attention of this city and been the subject of protests for years.

[Read more about the Laquan McDonald case and how it is affecting Chicago, here.]

Officer Van Dyke, who had been free on bond since shortly after he was charged in 2015, angered prosecutors by speaking to reporters from The Chicago Tribune and a local Fox television station despite a court order restricting pretrial publicity.

Hes trying to testify in the press without being cross-examined, a prosecutor, Joseph Cullen, said. He called the interviews, which took place last month, a defiant affront to the authority of this court.
In a law firm, that kind of work reduces billable hours, which can hurt compensation. And while it takes up time and energy and helps the organization, it often does not lead to career advancement. The report states that a lack of opportunities to take on challenging work also contributes to high attrition rates among women in law firms.

Many women said they felt they were paid less than their colleagues with similar experience. (Almost 70 percent of women of color said so, compared with 60 percent of white women and 36 percent of white men.)

And a quarter of female lawyers reported that they had experienced sexual harassment at work, including unwanted sexual comments, physical contact and romantic advances. Those episodes sometimes had career costs. About one in eight white women, and one in 10 women of color, said they had lost opportunities because they rejected sexual advances.

Among all respondents, about 70 percent said they had heard sexist comments, stories or jokes at work. And while the numbers were higher among women, lawyers of both genders felt that taking parental leave would have a negative impact on their career.

Youve got systemic barriers in place, said Ms. Mayes, who is the chief legal counsel for the New York Public Library. If you dont think a woman with children should be promoted, if the woman has children of a certain age or expects to, thats a huge impediment.

According to the latest report from the bar associations Commission on Women in the Profession, only 35 percent of active American lawyers in 2016 were women, and they earned less than their male colleagues. Of the top lawyers for Fortune 500 companies, just 26 percent were women. And while women graduate from law schools in large numbers, they made up only 32 percent of law school deans.

The report lays out methods and practices for organizations to counter bias, with an emphasis on using metrics to track and encourage fairness. They include abolishing questions about prior salary in job interviews, having boilerplate questions and policies for interviews and performance evaluations, and monitoring supervisors to ensure there are no consistent disparities by demographic group.
So I am right now, before your  before your process is finished, Im going to release the email about racial profiling. And I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate. And if Senator Cornyn believes that I violated Senate rules, I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that email right now. Is there anything in the Constitution about a right to abortion? Is anything written in the document? Senator, the Supreme Court has recognized the right to abortion since the 1973 Roe v. Wade case and it has reaffirmed it many times. But my question is, did they find a phrase in the Constitution that said that the state cannot interfere with a womans right to choose until medical viability occurs? Is that in the Constitution? The Supreme Court applying the liberty  Its a pretty simple, No its not, Senator Graham. Well, I want to be  But those words? I want to be very careful, because this is a topic on which  Now if youll just follow me, Ill let you talk. But the point is will you tell me, yes or no, is there anything in the document itself talking about limiting the states ability to protect the unborn before viability? Is there any phrase in the Constitution about abortion? The Supreme Court has found it under the liberty clause. But youre right, the specific  Well is there anything in the liberty clause talking about abortion? The liberty clause refers to liberty, but it does not have specific  Last time I checked, liberty didnt equate to abortion. The Supreme Court said it did. Given your views on Morrison versus Olson, we are obviously worried that you will feel bound by this dissent by Antonin Scalia if President Trump decides to attempt to fire the special counsel Bob Mueller. Given our concerns about your views on executive power, its important for you at this moment, please, to clarify for us the power of the presidency in this age of Donald Trump. Ive made clear in my writings that a court order that requires a president to do something, or prohibits a president from doing something, under the Constitution or laws of the United States is the final word in our system. Our separation of powers system, thats Cooper vs. Aaron.
WASHINGTON  The questioning of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh had not even begun Thursday morning when Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, threatened to release secret emails  even if it meant being expelled from the Senate.

This is about the closest Ill ever come in my life to an I am Spartacus moment, the senator declared with a flourish.

It was a made-for-television moment  albeit later mocked by Republicans as grandstanding  and for Mr. Booker, it might come in handy. He is one of three Democrats on the Judiciary Committee  the others are Senators Kamala D. Harris of California and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota  said to be contemplating presidential runs in 2020, and there is no time like a stately, nationally televised Supreme Court nomination hearing to grab the attention of the news media and amass valuable footage for future campaign commercials.

Other 2020 hopefuls, notably Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have been making their own moves this week. Ms. Gillibrand, who has positioned herself as a leading advocate for womens rights, has been appearing with womens groups to protest the nomination, calling it a clear threat to rights that women all across America hold dear.
Theres a lot of talk that the new Supreme Court, one with two Trump justices on it, might overturn Roe v. Wade. So the court cant just wake up one morning and say, were overruling Roe v. Wade. I think supporters of abortion rights are right to be nervous, but theyre maybe not exactly right about how to be nervous, what to be nervous about. Its a shorthand, sure, to say Roe v. Wade can be overruled, but thats not the only, or even the most likely, outcome. Let me take you through the possible scenarios. Lets call the first category the nuclear options. These are the most extreme and, therefore, least likely scenarios. The first one would flip Roe on its head. Roe says theres a constitutional right to abortion. The court could say the Constitution prohibits abortion in the interest of protecting fetal life. That would suggest that fetal life is like any other life, so that taking it away would be murder. So if the court were to go in that very unlikely direction, abortion would be outlawed across the nation, and women could not get abortions in the United States legally. A second nuclear option would be for the court to do away with the right to privacy established in a case called Griswold in 1965. The individual is entitled to some private sector. That right to privacy is the foundation for Roe v. Wade. If the right to privacy goes, it would do away with the basis for Roe v. Wade and, therefore, Roe v. Wade itself and flip the issue back to the states and allow states to regulate abortion as they wish. The right to privacy has been, and could be, the foundation of many rights, so I dont think its likely the court will go after the right to privacy. A second possibility, and the one everyones talking about, is the court could overrule Roe v. Wade. Protesters: Ho, ho, Roe v. Wade has got to go. Hey, hey, ho, ho. So in a post-Roe world, you still have a right to privacy. But that right to privacy does not include a constitutional right to abortion. States would be free to do what they wanted. And some advocacy groups say perhaps 22 states could make abortion illegal entirely. Thats probably not going to happen anytime soon. Protesters: Hey, hey, Roe v. Wade is here to stay. Chief Justice John Roberts is an incrementalist. He takes things step by step, and I dont think his first impulse is going to be, lets overrule Roe v. Wade when there are other ways to get from here to most of the way there. The last scenario, and the most likely one, is for the court to chip away at Roe v. Wade. The court has already upheld some restrictions on abortion. The 5 to 4 majority upheld a ban on performing abortions in public facilities. The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the nationwide ban on partial-birth abortion. Medication abortion is now effectively blocked in Arkansas. Much more severe restrictions on abortion rights are a perfectly imaginable scenario when we have a new Supreme Court. Heres how that could happen. States cannot impose an undue burden on womens right to abortion. Thats a fairly malleable standard, and it wouldnt be hard for the Supreme Court to keep it in place, but interpret it slightly differently and say states can impose such restrictions. A couple of years ago, the court heard a case from Texas. And had the court sustained the Texas law, the number of clinics in Texas would have dropped from about 40 to about 10. And that could rapidly diminish the ability of women to get abortions because the nearest abortion clinic, at a minimum, could be hundreds of miles away. Its a little hard to answer exactly what life will look like in a given state because well have a patchwork of laws. But whats for sure is that women in red states, and particularly poor women in red states, will have a much harder time getting abortions as each successive abortion restriction is sustained by a court that now has a solidly conservative majority.
WASHINGTON  It is a perfectly Washington construction  inscrutable, important-sounding, soaked in self-regard.

Senior administration official.

Could be anybody, really. Or could it? The only consensus on Thursday: It wasnt me. According to senior administration officials moved to identify themselves.

After the publication of an Op-Ed in The New York Times on Wednesday by an anonymous senior administration official  who claimed to be part of a shadow effort to protect the nation from the worst impulses of President Trump from within  a key question, aside from the still undisclosed identity of the author, emerged:

What is a senior administration official? Who counts?

Certainly cabinet secretaries would qualify, and top aides in the White House, like the chief of staff.
Has it been used before?

Since its adoption in 1967, the first three sections of the 25th Amendment have been used several times.

The first and second sections were used in 1974, when Richard M. Nixon resigned the presidency and was replaced by Gerald Ford, his vice president. Mr. Ford subsequently nominated Nelson Rockefeller to be vice president, and Mr. Rockefeller was confirmed by the House and the Senate.

Section 3, which allows presidents to temporarily shift their powers and duties to the vice president, was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985 when he underwent a brief cancer surgery. President George W. Bush also invoked the 25th Amendment in 2002 when he underwent a brief medical procedure and transferred his duties to Vice President Dick Cheney for a few hours. Mr. Bush did the same thing again in 2007.

The fourth section of the 25th Amendment  the one contemplated by the anonymous author of the essay in The Times  has never been used.

How would it actually work, if invoked now?

The first step would be for Vice President Mike Pence and a majority of the cabinet to provide a written declaration to the president pro tempore of the Senate (currently Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah) and the speaker of the House (currently Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin) that Mr. Trump is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. That would immediately strip Mr. Trump of the powers of his office and make Mr. Pence the acting president.

But the 25th Amendment would allow Mr. Trump to immediately send a written declaration of his own to Mr. Hatch and Mr. Ryan saying that he is in fact able to perform his duties. That would immediately allow him to resume his duties, unless Mr. Pence and the cabinet send another declaration to the congressional leaders within four days restating their concerns. Mr. Pence would take over again as acting president.

That declaration would require Congress to assemble within 48 hours and to vote within 21 days. If two-thirds of members of both the House and the Senate agreed that Mr. Trump was unable to continue as president, he would be stripped permanently of the position, and Mr. Pence would become president. If the vote in Congress fell short, Mr. Trump would resume his duties.
Nearly two million low-income Americans, including 469,000 households with young children, would be stripped of benefits under the House version of the farm bill being considered this week by congressional negotiators, according to an analysis by a nonpartisan research firm.

The bill, a multiyear spending measure that narrowly passed the House in June, includes a proposal to reformulate income and expense criteria for the 42 million recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Under the bill, states could remove about 8 percent of those receiving aid from the rolls, according to the research firm, Mathematica, which used data from the Agriculture Departments Food and Nutrition Service.

About 34 percent of seniors in the program, or 677,000 households, would lose benefits under the proposal, according to the study. More than one in 10 people with a disability, another 214,000 households, would also lose eligibility.
WASHINGTON  One by one, they came forward, almost as if in a virtual lineup. Not me, said the vice president. Nor me, said the secretary of state. Or me, said the attorney general.

In a spectacle that may be without precedent even for an administration that has seen many of those already, almost the entire cabinet and leadership team working for President Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to writing an extraordinary anonymous essay about plotting against him.

The unnamed author of the essay published by The New York Times was the target of a mole hunt by an infuriated president and the subject of an obsessive public guessing game that played out on television, online and in social media. While Mr. Trump and his staff lashed out at the news media, some privately wondered whether it would lead to a shake-up.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, an ally of Mr. Trumps, recommended that the president force members of his administration to take polygraph examinations, and there was at least briefly some discussion of that among advisers to the president. Another option mentioned by people close to Mr. Trump was asking senior officials to sign sworn affidavits that could be used in court if necessary. One outside adviser said the White House had a list of about 12 suspects.
WASHINGTON  Three weeks from now, in New York, President Trump will find himself in the setting he most relishes: seated at the head of a polished table, calling on those seated around him, rewarding those he likes and cutting off those who displease him.

It is not a revival of The Apprentice, or even a meeting of his cabinet. Mr. Trump will be presiding at the United Nations Security Council, a rotating role that falls to the United States this month. His star turn is prompting anxiety among people, inside and outside the administration, who worry that the president will bring reality-TV antics to the world stage.

Exercising the prerogative of the chairman, Mr. Trump plans to focus on Iran and its malign activity around the Middle East. European diplomats said they fear that this will only underscore the disunity of the West, given the unpopularity of Mr. Trumps decision to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal.

Already, the presidents choice of subject has drawn objections from Russia, which said the focus of the meeting should be entirely on the nuclear deal and Mr. Trumps exit from it, and Iran, which accused Mr. Trump of abusing his leadership of the council to vilify a single country.
Today, Mr. Pompano said, the district relies mostly on tips from students, a system that works well if there is an atmosphere of trust. It goes back to human intelligence, where kids have at least one trusted adult, he said, knowing what theyre telling them is confidential.

In a few cases, school administrators said, monitoring services have helped them identify students who appeared to be at risk of harming themselves. More rare were instances in which an imminent threat to others was thwarted. In 2015, as the first anniversary of a shooting at Florida State approached, a post expressing sympathy for the gunman and an intent to visit the campus was intercepted by Social Sentinel, the campus police chief said. The man was stopped on campus and warned to stay away. When he returned, he was arrested.

Patrick Larkin, an assistant superintendent in Burlington, Mass., said he receives alerts on his phone in real time from Social Sentinel. Nineteen out of 20 come from people who are not even his students, he said earlier this year.

Real threats, administrators said, are more often flagged by vigilant users, as was the case with the Parkland gunman, whose troubling comments on YouTube were reported to the F.B.I.

Mr. Larkin said Social Sentinel helps him sleep easier at night. And because it can track only public posts  nothing that requires a friend request  he doesnt see it as an intrusion.

My concern was, what if its some odd hour and some kid tweets something I dont see? he said.

Mr. Margolis said it is hard to demonstrate that harm has been averted. How do you measure the absence of something? he said, adding that Social Sentinels algorithms have improved in recent months.

One client, Michael Sander, the superintendent of Franklin City Schools in Ohio, said he had planned to contact the police about a Twitter message that read, Theres three seasons: summer, construction season and school shooting season. But the poster appeared to attend school in Franklin, Wis.  not Ohio.
Comrades called him Sergeant Bull. He earned six Bronze Stars, including two for valor in combat. Roadside bombs, firefights, mortar shells whistling down in the night  men he fought with say he faced them with a generous wad of tobacco in his cheek and a laconic confidence they found contagious.

If there was anyone I wanted to fight beside, it was him; there was none better, and everyone knew it, one of his commanders in Iraq, Darron Wright, wrote in a book about their 2003 deployment.

Tim Bolyard grew up on a quiet country road in the West Virginia hills, and joined the Army right after high school in 1994. He liked fishing. He liked Metallica. And he liked the Army. As he rose through the enlisted ranks, he read widely and took classes toward a college degree, according to Adam Tymensky, who served with Sergeant Major Bolyard on two deployments to Iraq.

He was constantly trying to learn, always wanting to better himself, Mr. Tymensky said. He never cut corners.

The meandering strategies of wars that have dragged on for a generation were Sergeant Major Bolyards to execute. For much of his adult life, his home was a simple military cot with a photo of his son taped to the wall.

During the invasion of Iraq, Mr. Tymensky said, their scout platoon would often go days without rest: providing security for the battalion commander during the day, and raiding houses at night to search for insurgent fighters. Wed be dead tired, but if someone needed something, he was right back up again, he said.

Combat experience made the sergeant major a demanding leader. He rarely raised his voice, men who served under him said, but he pushed them hard to be ready for the worst.
The decree was meant to be temporary until it could be codified into law. However, in announcing the proposed new rule, the administration said that it planned to change elements of the agreement that the advocates who negotiated it saw as fundamental  namely, a 20-day limit on detaining the families in immigration jails, after which they must be released unless they opt out by choice.

Today, legal loopholes significantly hinder the departments ability to appropriately detain and promptly remove family units that have no legal basis to remain in the country, said the secretary of homeland security, Kirstjen Nielsen. This rule addresses one of the primary pull factors for illegal immigration and allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress.

Peter Schey, president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, who was a leader of the legal team in the original case, said he was already preparing to challenge the government in court. He and other advocates called the announcement on Thursday a thinly veiled attempt at an end run around the courts.

The Trump administration has been whittling away at the basic rights of women and children since they came into office, said Michelle Brane, director of the migrant rights and justice program at the Womens Refugee Commission. Efforts to weaken or eliminate basic child protection standards by calling them a burden or loopholes, and eliminating their obligations for the basic care of children, is just another example of the administrations abdication of human rights.

The court has already had to to step in repeatedly to uphold these basic child welfare principles, Ms. Brane added. It is clear that the administration is incapable of holding themselves accountable.
The girl went to the police against her familys wishes, making the case public, and it has become a fiercely contested topic nationwide. She and the defendants are all from the same area, and many of their families know one another.

Her supporters created the hashtag #JeSuisKhadija (I am Khadija in French). Rights activists seized on her cause, and a petition was created to raise money for her. But others have questioned the girls character and credibility, and said that she went with the men willingly. They say that she had the tattoos before the alleged abduction, or that she tattooed herself or burned her own skin with cigarettes.

Before the first hearing, the girl, who had covered her arm with a black glove, said in an interview that she was ready to face her attackers in court.

But the confrontations started outside the courthouse, before the hearing began, when parents of the accused approached her father, some pleading loudly with him to make the case go away, others to apologize quietly  though for what, they did not make clear.

We are all neighbors, one father said. We wish this never happened.

Inside, several women wept as they saw their sons led into the courtroom in handcuffs; some relatives called out, and one mother collapsed before the police cleared the courtroom. The judge called the defendants, aged 18 to 28, into his office one by one, then sent them back to jail as the case progresses.
RIO DE JANEIRO  Representative Jair Bolsonaro, the front-runner in Brazils presidential election, was hospitalized in intensive care on Thursday night after being stabbed during a campaign event earlier in the day, according to officials.

Mr. Bolsonaro, a far-right politician, has been a divisive figure in Brazil, where he is adored by some for his tough talk and reviled by others for his diatribes against women, gays and blacks.

Mr. Bolsonaro was being carried by supporters through a throng of people in Juiz de Fora, a city in Minas Gerais State, in southeastern Brazil, when a person lunged toward him and jabbed a knife into his abdomen, according to a video of the attack shared on social media.

One of the candidates sons, Flavio Bolsonaro, said the knife pierced Mr. Bolsonaros liver, a lung and his intestinal tract. He lost a lot of blood, he said on Twitter.
The reporters last words: The area is completely terrorized. I can smell blood here, and as you can see in the pictures ...

When the phones of Mr. Faramarz and Mr. Ahmady went silent after the second explosion, the TV channels staff started a desperate search, hospital to hospital, in the hopes of finding their colleagues alive. Then the search expanded from morgue to morgue, until their bodies were found.

We found their bodies in the exact same place we found the bodies of our other colleagues two years ago, Lotfullah Najafizada, the head of the channel, said of a hospital morgue in the west of the city.

Thirteen journalists have been killed in Afghanistan this year. And in less than three years, ToloNews and its parent media company have lost 11 staff members to bombings. A minibus carrying workers home was targeted by a bombing in January 2016, killing seven.

A native of Kabul, Mr. Faramarz went to school in Turkey and earned a scholarship to study in Kazakhstan. A speaker of five languages, he was considering applying for a Fulbright scholarship for a masters degree in the United States. But he remained fiercely loyal to his homeland.

I told him that it was a very good idea and that he should not come back to Afghanistan because this country is useless, his brother, Tamim, said of the possibility of going to America. He told me: No, I should come back to Afghanistan. Our people are living in a tough situation  we dont have anything to live for here. We should do something for these people.
This ruling is hugely significant, said Meenakshi Ganguly, the South Asia director for Human Rights Watch. With restrictions on gay rights toppling in country after country, the ruling in India, the worlds second-most-populous nation, may encourage still more nations to act, she said.

Still, however historic the ruling of the court, considered a liberal counterweight to the conservative politics sweeping India, gay people here know that their landscape remains treacherous. Changing a law is one thing  changing deeply held mind-sets another. And few suggested that other major victories, like same-sex marriage, were on the near horizon.

Many Indians are extremely socially conservative, going to great lengths to arrange marriages with the right families, of the right castes. Loved ones who try to rebel are often ostracized. Countless gays have been shunned by their parents and persecuted by society.

Much of this may also be true in other parts of the world. But what made India stand out from most  at least until Thursday  was its application of an anachronistic law drawn up by British colonizers during the Victorian era and kept on the books for 150 years.

The law banned sex considered against the order of nature, and thousands of people were prosecuted under it. But for gays in India, prison was only one of the risks. The law was often used as a cudgel to intimidate, blackmail and abuse.
TOKYO  A powerful earthquake struck Japans northern island of Hokkaido on Thursday, causing millions of homes to lose power, killing at least 17 people and leaving 26 others missing after a landslide crushed multiple houses.

The quake, which toppled some small buildings and cut electricity to all three million houses on the island, came just days after the largest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years ripped through the southwest, killing 11 and closing Japans third busiest airport for several days.

In Hokkaido on Thursday, rescue workers were struggling to get to the homes crushed by a mudslide in the towns of Atsuma and Abira after the quake, which struck just after 3 a.m. Japans weather service said it had a preliminary magnitude of 6.7.
Taken at face value, Mr. Kims remarks, as relayed by the South Korean envoy, signaled that North Korea was willing to strike a denuclearization deal personally with Mr. Trump, who has been more eager to engage North Korea than any of his predecessors. They also suggested Mr. Kim could accept the rapid denuclearization the Trump administration has sought  for the right incentives.

The Singapore meeting made Mr. Trump the first sitting American president to meet with a North Korean leader. He has since boasted of his warm relationship with the dictator, who has test-launched missiles capable of reaching the continental United States and been accused of gruesome human rights abuses, including the summary executions of his uncle and other political enemies.

His administration has maintained a harder line. On Thursday, the Justice Department said it had charged a North Korean in the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures Entertainment and accused the North of a broad conspiracy that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses worldwide.

Analysts said Mr. Kim was wooing Mr. Trump in hopes of dividing him from his hard-line advisers, in order to prevent the president from returning to the threats of military action that he made last year.

Kim Jong-un is buying time, said Lee Byong-chul, a senior fellow at the Institute for Peace and Cooperation in Seoul. He probably saw that there was nothing good in provoking Trump, especially when the American president faces deepening legal trouble at home and disarray in his administration.

The Norths state-run Korean Central News Agency said Mr. Kim had reaffirmed North Koreas commitment to denuclearize during his meetings with Mr. Chung. But it fell short of saying whether Mr. Kim would take major steps toward that goal.

Mr. Kim has not offered to provide a full inventory of nuclear weapons and fissile materials, as Washington has demanded. Nor has Mr. Kim offered any detailed plan for disarmament.
NEW DELHI  The United States and India signed an agreement Thursday to pave the way for New Delhi to buy advanced American weaponry and to share sensitive military technology, strengthening their military partnership as both powers warily eye the rise of China.

Todays fruitful discussion illustrated the value of continued cooperation between the worlds two largest democracies, said Jim Mattis, the United States defense secretary, at a news conference on Thursday after the agreement was signed. We will work together for a free and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

The countries also promised to hold joint land, sea and air military exercises in India next year. In the past, they have held joint exercises outside the country.

But despite the friendly handshakes and flattering remarks exchanged as Mr. Mattis and Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, met with their counterparts in New Delhi on Wednesday and Thursday, the two countries remain deeply skeptical of each other.
The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau chief. Sign up to get it by email. Heres where to find all our Australia and New Zealand coverage.

______

Several newsletters ago, I shared 5 Things I Love About Australia (and One I Loathe) then asked all of you for your own thoughts.

Hundreds of insightful comments hit our inbox. We debated what to do with your responses, but we knew we wanted to include art. Ultimately, we decided to go with someone who could incorporate several ideas into a single experience: Ilya Milstein.

Ilya an artist from Melbourne, via Italy, who now lives in New York.

But he knows and loves Australia and he worked with our art directors in New York to create a cityscape from a selection of reader submissions. Thats the image above, but to make sure the details arent lost, readers can zoom in with a new digital format designed for immersion.
MOSCOW  Before the authorities in Britain identified Ruslan Boshirov and Aleksandr Petrov as assassins sent by the Russian government to poison a former spy living in England, men with these names traveled several times within Europe, worked in the pharmaceutical industry and kept social media profiles.

But the portraits sketched by public records and social media are very thin, and even in places where people would be expected to know them, no evidence has emerged that anyone did. British officials say the names are probably aliases.

The meager details of two lives sketched from records reported by Russian news organizations could show the real biographical information of people who just did not leave much of a trail, cases of mistaken identity, or the meticulous work of a spy agency creating a cover, a legend in espionage parlance, for agents before a mission.

British officials contend that the two men used a powerful agent known as Novichok on March 4 in an effort to assassinate Sergei V. Skripal in Salisbury, England. Mr. Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, had secretly fed information to Britain, was imprisoned in Russia and was then sent in 2010 to live in England as part of a spy swap.
Britain has accused Russia of poisoning Mr. Skripal, and on Wednesday it announced the first charges in the case, singling out two G.R.U. intelligence officers. In making their case, British investigators released security camera images tracking the two Russians to the scene of the crime, and then back to Moscow.

On Thursday, the leaders of the United States, France, Germany and others released a statement expressing full confidence in Britains assessment that the attack on Mr. Skripal had been carried out by the two officers. Speaking at the United Nations Security Council, Britains ambassador, Karen Pierce, raised the possibility of additional sanctions on Russia, which has vociferously denied any involvement in the poisoning.

The findings of the British investigation, particularly the involvement of two G.R.U. officers, suggest that the poisoning was carried out as an act of retribution by Mr. Skripals former colleagues.

But retribution for what, exactly?

Six months after the poisoning, a clear picture of the motive remains elusive. Was it a purely symbolic attack, a warning to other Russian operatives to remain loyal? Or did Mr. Skripal do something specific to anger his former comrades?

In the years after his resettlement in England, Mr. Skripal lived openly in his adopted city of Salisbury, drinking at the local pubs and grilling sausages in his yard.

But he traveled to Prague in 2012, where he spent a boozy lunch with Czech intelligence officers. And he went to the Estonian capital, Tallinn, in 2016 to brief local spies. On each of the trips, which were organized and approved by the British foreign intelligence service, MI6, he shared insights into Russian spycraft and possibly contributed information that led to the expulsion of undercover operatives.

It contributed to improving our work, said a European official with knowledge of the meetings.

Still, Spain is a special case.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  The Presidential Communications and Operations Office (PCOO) came to the defense of Assistant Secretary Margaux "Mocha" Uson during budget deliberations at the House Wednesday.

This, after Rep. Carlos Zarate questioned Uson's function in the department before the House Committee on Appropriations.

"It's undeniable na mas kilala ang PCOO dahil kay [that PCOO is more popularly known because of] Asec. Mocha," he said. "What is really the function and role of Asec. Mocha?"

Zarate pointed out Uson's viral video with a co-blogger chanting "Pepe-dede-ralismo" to refer to President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign promise of federalism. Even the President said she went overboard with her approach.

"Saan siya nakalagay rito? Who is her direct supervisor? Sino 'yung content no? Part ba talaga sa function niya na umiikot, sumasabay sa lahat ng lakad ng Presidente at mag-report?" Zarate asked PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar.

[Translation: Who does she answer to? Who is her direct supervisor, who manages her content? Is it part of her function to go around, join the President's travels and report?]

Andanar said Uson handles two shows: the Digong Diaries Special (DDS) Podcast and Good News Pilipinas.

As for her trips, Andanar said, "'Yung mga byahe po ni Presidente na kasama po si Asec. Mocha, siya po ay nire-request ng Office of the President to join the trip."

[Translation: Uson is request upon by the Office of the President to join his trips.]

Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Ana Banaag reiterated that PCOO Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy has already issued an order to mind her behavior on social media.

"Ang sinasabi lang po namin dito, hindi po kami nanonood lang sa nangyayari. Nakikinig din po kami at may ginagawa po ang aming opisina para ma-direct din po ang opisina ni Asec. Mocha. Kasi po ang mandato po ng PCOO ay magpalaganap ng magandang portrayal o imahe ng kababaihan sa taumayan through advertisements, through recording, at sa lahat ng bagay concerning communications po," she said.

[Translation: What we're saying is we don't just watch what happens. We listen and our office is doing something to direct Asec. Mocha's office. The mandate of the PCOO is to promote a decent portrayal or image of women to the public through advertisments, recordings, and forms of communication.]

Communications Undersecretary Marvin Gatpayat also said they made Uson answer complaints on Uson's controversial video through the National Public Service Hotline (8888).

"At dahil si Asec. Mocha ay isang presidential appointee at ang may administrative jurisdiction ay ang Office of the President, ito po ay dinulog namin sa opisina ng Executive Secretary para ito ay kanila ring maaksyunan," Gatpayat said.

[Translation: Because Asec. Mocha is a presidential appoointee, the Office of the President has administrative jurisdiction, so we sought the intervention of the Office of the Executive Secretary.]

Uson has been a controversial presidential appointee to the PCOO. Being a part of Duterte's presidential campaign back in 2016, she has been accused of spreading "fake news" and has been a part of a Senate hearing on misinformation.

A 'zero budget' for the controversy-laden PCOO was floated amid its other mistakes made public. In June, it referred to "Norwegia" instead of "Norway,"and then referred to late former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez as "Rogelio." It also called Senator Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian "Winston."

The PCOO has a proposed budget of 1.474 billion, 2.75 percent or 39.434 million higher than the current budget.
Our poll result is about what was expected. But remember: Its just one poll, and we talked to only 501 people. Each candidates total could easily be five points different if we polled everyone in the district. And having a small sample is only one possible source of error.

Democrats hope to beat a pro-Putin congressman in Orange County. We made 34782 calls, and 501 people spoke to us.

This survey was conducted by The New York Times Upshot and Siena College.

Hey, Im Alex Burns, a politics correspondent for The Times. Ill give you the latest reporting and intel on the midterms and take your questions from the campaign trail.

Its generally best to look at a single poll in the context of other polls:

Mr. Rohrabaher has said illegal immigration is already straining many social programs, and that Democrats like Mr. Rouda would collapse the system.

For decades, Mr. Rouda was a registered Republican , and in 2016, he donated money to the presidential hopeful John Kasich. In a recent Times article, he said, We have a Republican Party that in many ways is leaving its Republican voters.

Mr. Rohrabacher was told by the F.B.I. that the Kremlin considered him such a valuable intelligence asset that they gave him a code name . The Republican House majority leader joked that Mr. Rohrabacher was paid by the Russians.

This affluent, coastal district was one of the most reliably Republican areas of the 20th century, and Republicans still have a 10-point registration advantage. But Hillary Clinton won it by two points.

is the current representative, and hes perhaps best known for his pro-Russia views . He voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but voted against the tax reform bill. 35% favorable rating; 37% unfavorable; 28% dont know

is a lawyer and real estate businessman. In the primary season, he was the rare Democrat who was endorsed by both Our Revolution , a progressive group, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. 27% favorable rating; 15% unfavorable; 58% dont know

Each dot shows one of the 34782 calls we made.

If sampling error were the only type of error in a poll, we would expect candidates who trail by one point in a poll of 501 people to win about four out of every nine races. But this probably understates the total error by a factor of two .

One reason were doing these surveys live is so you can see the uncertainty for yourself.

As we reach more people, our poll will become more stable and the margin of sampling error will shrink. The changes in the timeline below reflect that sampling error, not real changes in the race.

Our turnout model Theres a big question on top of the standard margin of error in a poll: Who is going to vote? Its a particularly challenging question this year, since special elections have shown Democrats voting in large numbers. To estimate the likely electorate, we combine what people say about how likely they are to vote with information about how often they have voted in the past. In previous races, this approach has been more accurate than simply taking people at their word. But there are many other ways to do it. Assumptions about who is going to vote may be particularly important in this race. Our poll under different turnout scenarios Who will vote? Est. turnout Our poll result People who say they are almost certain to vote, and no one else 203k Rouda +5 The types of people who voted in 2014 208k Rohrabacher +6 Our estimate 246k Rouda +1 People whose voting history suggests they will vote, regardless of what they say 253k Rouda +1 People who say they will vote, adjusted for past levels of truthfulness 258k Rouda +2 The types of people who voted in 2016 303k Rouda +1 Every active registered voter 375k Rouda +7 In these scenarios, higher turnout tends to be better for Democrats.

The types of people we reached Even if we got turnout exactly right, the margin of error wouldnt capture all of the error in a poll. The simplest version assumes we have a perfect random sample of the voting population. We do not. People who respond to surveys are almost always too old, too white, too educated and too politically engaged to accurately represent everyone. How successful we were in reaching different kinds of voters Called Inter-

viewed Success

rate Our

responses Goal 18 to 29 3 3 0 8 8 9 1 in 37 18% 10% 30 to 64 1 4 9 6 0 2 5 7 1 in 58 51% 55% 65 and older 7 4 6 7 1 5 5 1 in 48 31% 35% Male 1 0 6 3 6 2 5 9 1 in 41 52% 47% Female 1 5 0 9 9 2 4 2 1 in 62 48% 53% White 1 6 1 1 5 3 3 5 1 in 48 67% 64% Nonwhite 7 2 5 2 1 0 8 1 in 67 22% 27% Cell 1 6 8 4 3 3 8 7 1 in 44 77%  Landline 8 8 9 2 1 1 4 1 in 78 23%  Pollsters compensate by giving more weight to respondents from under-represented groups. Here, were weighting by age, party registration, gender, likelihood of voting, race, education and region, mainly using data from voting records files compiled by L2, a nonpartisan voter file vendor. But weighting works only if you weight by the right categories and you know what the composition of the electorate will be. In 2016, many pollsters didnt weight by education and overestimated Hillary Clintons standing as a result. Here are other common ways to weight a poll: Our poll under different weighting schemes Our poll result Dont weight by party registration, like most public polls Rouda +10 Weight using census data instead of voting records, like most public polls Rouda +8 Dont weight by education, like many polls in 2016 Rouda +1 Our estimate Rouda +1 Just because one candidate leads in all of these different weighting scenarios doesnt mean much by itself. They dont represent the full range of possible weighting scenarios, let alone the full range of possible election results.
Our poll result is about what was expected. But remember: Its just one poll, and we talked to only 506 people. Each candidates total could easily be five points different if we polled everyone in the district. And having a small sample is only one possible source of error.

One of the cycles early Democratic stars is trying to unseat a Republican incumbent in a deeply conservative district. We made 29946 calls, and 506 people spoke to us.

This survey was conducted by The New York Times Upshot and Siena College.

Hey, Im Alex Burns, a politics correspondent for The Times. Ill give you the latest reporting and intel on the midterms and take your questions from the campaign trail.

Its generally best to look at a single poll in the context of other polls:

Ms. McGrath led in private polls in July but has since faced an onslaught of attack ads about her support for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and about her statements describing herself as a progressive and a feminist.

It is deeply divided between the heavily Democratic city of Lexington, which includes the University of Kentucky, and conservative, rural Bluegrass country.

The district voted for Donald J. Trump and Mitt Romney by comfortable margins, but it has strong Democratic roots. Democrats have a registration advantage, and Senator Rand Paul lost the district in his successful 2016 re-election bid.

is the current representative and a former lawyer. He voted for the tax reform bill and to repeal the Affordable Care Act. 47% favorable rating; 45% unfavorable; 9% dont know

is the first female Marine to fly in an F/A-18 in combat. She raised millions after a stirring biographical ad was widely shared last year. 51% favorable rating; 38% unfavorable; 11% dont know

Each dot shows one of the 29946 calls we made.

But sampling error is not the only type of error in a poll.

One reason were doing these surveys live is so you can see the uncertainty for yourself.

As we reach more people, our poll will become more stable and the margin of sampling error will shrink. The changes in the timeline below reflect that sampling error, not real changes in the race.

Our turnout model Theres a big question on top of the standard margin of error in a poll: Who is going to vote? Its a particularly challenging question this year, since special elections have shown Democrats voting in large numbers. To estimate the likely electorate, we combine what people say about how likely they are to vote with information about how often they have voted in the past. In previous races, this approach has been more accurate than simply taking people at their word. But there are many other ways to do it. Assumptions about who is going to vote may be particularly important in this race. Our poll under different turnout scenarios Who will vote? Est. turnout Our poll result Our estimate 219k Even People whose voting history suggests they will vote, regardless of what they say 225k Even People who say they will vote, adjusted for past levels of truthfulness 229k Barr +5 The types of people who voted in 2014 251k Barr +3 People who say they are almost certain to vote, and no one else 261k McGrath +3 The types of people who voted in 2016 308k Barr +4 Every active registered voter 482k Barr +5

The types of people we reached Even if we got turnout exactly right, the margin of error wouldnt capture all of the error in a poll. The simplest version assumes we have a perfect random sample of the voting population. We do not. People who respond to surveys are almost always too old, too white, too educated and too politically engaged to accurately represent everyone. How successful we were in reaching different kinds of voters Called Inter-

viewed Success

rate Our

responses Goal 18 to 29 2 2 9 6 2 3 1 in 100 5% 8% 30 to 64 1 8 4 7 4 3 1 7 1 in 58 63% 62% 65 and older 6 6 7 5 1 6 6 1 in 40 33% 30% Male 1 1 4 3 6 2 2 7 1 in 50 45% 46% Female 1 6 0 0 9 2 7 9 1 in 57 55% 54% White 2 3 1 2 0 4 1 3 1 in 56 82% 85% Nonwhite 2 4 6 1 5 1 1 in 48 10% 9% Cell 2 0 5 8 8 3 1 3 1 in 66 62%  Landline 6 8 5 7 1 9 3 1 in 36 38%  Pollsters compensate by giving more weight to respondents from under-represented groups. Here, were weighting by age, party and region, gender, likelihood of voting, race, education and region, mainly using data from voting records files compiled by L2, a nonpartisan voter file vendor. But weighting works only if you weight by the right categories and you know what the composition of the electorate will be. In 2016, many pollsters didnt weight by education and overestimated Hillary Clintons standing as a result. Here are other common ways to weight a poll: Our poll under different weighting schemes Our poll result Weight using census data instead of voting records, like most public polls McGrath +3 Dont weight by party registration, like most public polls McGrath +2 Dont weight by education, like many polls in 2016 McGrath +2 Our estimate Even
Members of the religious community in the municipality of Soledad, Colombia, have been voicing their dissatisfaction with the results of restoration work that left a statue of San Antonio de Padua looking like a homosexual.

The wooden statue of San Antonio de Padua, patron of Soledad, dated from the 17th century and was located din the towns main church. It had recently been badly damaged by termites, so the church commissioned an artist to have it fixed and repainted. Unfortunately, the results of the restoration didnt please parishioners, many of whom took to social media to complain that the statue looked too effeminate. Some even called it a saint of modern times, a transexual saint, because of all the makeup applied by the artist.

Photo: Juan Camilo Duque/Facebook

He is no longer the same patron that I have prayed to for the last 12 years, they applied eye shadow, blush and even gloss on his lips, he looks effeminate, one parishioner told Radio Caracol.

Infobae reports that the restoration cost just $328 which was paid by the church, but that has yet to be confirmed. One thing is for sure, the statue of San Antonio de Padua and even the child he is holding, look very different than they did before the restoration.

Juan Camilo Duque, a restoration expert from Soldad, recently posted photos of the statue of San Antonio de Padua after the recent restoration and compared them to older ones, pointing out the major differences. He claims that such antique polychrome wood sculpture can only be restored using very specific techniques, which the artist who worked on San Antonio de Padua definitely did not use.

This case brings back memories of the controversy around Ecce Homo, an oil painting by Elias Garcia Martinez, which was completely ruined by an 80-year-old amateur artist who was allowed to carry out restoration work on it.
Offaly Green Party candidate for the next General Election, Pippa Hackett, has advised caution regarding a Gas Networks Ireland proposal to develop a series of Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants countrywide.

It is proposed that some 250 of these plants will be built across the country, at a cost of several million euro each. The potential sites are not yet known, but no doubt the Midlands will have a fair share of these digestion facilities.

Anaerobic Digestion is a valuable process which extracts energy, in the form of a biogas, from biodegradable waste products such as sewage sludge, animal slurries, waste vegetation, and other compostable waste products.

Speaking today, Green Party Spokesperson on Agriculture Pippa Hackett stated: While the Green Party welcomes potential developments in renewable energy production, particularly within the agriculture sector, the pros and cons of any proposal must be considered. Although crops and pasture can be grown to feed the digesters, we feel that this is not the way to go."



The Irish agricultural sector has had a very difficult time of late, and promoting and encouraging the use of grass as a source to feed an AD facility is madness as we face into another hard winter. We are struggling to grow enough fodder to feed our farm animals each year; we do not need an additional sector to feed. It is akin to increasing the use of plastics, just so we can feed an incinerator," she added.



The idea of bringing unproductive land into production to feed an AD system may, in fact, add to the many environmental problems we are already dealing with, particularly in terms of water quality, soil degradation, and nitrous oxide emission from increased fertiliser use. In addition, many areas of unproductive land provide very valuable habitats for small animals and serve to improve biodiversity on many of our farms," Hackett commented.



The Green Party maintains that while AD is an important and valuable process, it should form part of an integrated waste management system.

"We should focus this technology on the utilising the waste products from our agricultural and other sectors, and not on using grass that is needed as a primary food source for our livestock."
Bidens move to revert to H-1B lotteries opposed by US senator

H-1B visa registration for 2022 to begin on Mar 9, lottery results to be notified by Mar 31

US court seeks status report on visas to family members of H1-B holders

US to reconsider objections to H1B visas during Trump regime

Good news for Indian IT professionals: US to conduct 2nd lottery for H-1B visa

2+2 dialogue: India urges US to take 'balanced, sensitive' view on H-1B visa issue

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 6: India on Thursday urged the US to take a "balanced and sensitive" view on the issue of proposed changes in America's H-1B visa policy, saying it could effect the people-to-people links that are crucial for energising bilateral ties.

During the first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought US Secretary of State Micheal Pompeo's support for nurturing people-to-people exchanges.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and US Defence Secretary James Mattis also took part in the talks.

Addressing a joint press conference, Swaraj said, "I have requested Secretary Pompeo to adopt a balanced and sensitive view on the issue of proposed changes in the H-1 B visa regime as this could effect the people-to-people links which are important for energising ties."

She said that in view of the friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, Indians feel the US will not do anything against their interests.

"I have asked him (Pompeo) that he should make sure that people continue to have this confidence," she said.

A joint statement issued after the talks said the ministers highlighted the unmatched people-to-people ties between their countries and recognised the benefits to both nations and the world from these ties, including the free flow of ideas and collaboration in health, space, oceans, and other areas of science and technology.

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.

Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The Trump administration is pushing for a reform of the H-1B system, saying some IT companies were abusing the US work visas to deny jobs to American workers.

The US, however, had recently extended by over five months the temporary suspension of premium processing for H1-B visas as part of its efforts to clear the backlog.

The H1-B visa has a numerical limit cap of 65,000 each fiscal year as mandated by the US Congress.

The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US master's degree or higher are exempt from the cap.

Additionally, H1-B workers who are petitioned for or employed at an institution of higher education or its affiliated or related nonprofit entities or a nonprofit research organisation or a government research organisation are not subject to this numerical cap.

In July, a report by an American non-profit body claimed that there has been a substantial increase in denial of H-1B visa petitions of Indians by the US Immigration authority as compared to people of other nationalities.

According to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), between 2007 and 2017, it received the maximum number of 2.2 million H-1B petitions from high-skilled Indians.

PTI

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 19:36 [IST]
Has 3rd wave started in India? Here's how many cases of AY.4.2 reported in country, so far

2+2 dialogue: India-US sign COMCASA agreement, discuss cross-border terror

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

New Delhi, Sep 6: India and the United States (US) on Thursday signed on the the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) agreement which will facilitate the use of high-end secured communication equipment to be installed on military platforms being sold to India.

The Comcasa was signed in Delhi after the first '2+2' talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Apart from this, discussions on several other key issues were during the '2+2' dialogue held between the two countries today. Swaraj, after the meeting, said that both countries have agreed to work together towards entry of India in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

"We welcome President Trump's policy on Afghanistan. We are working together in the fight against terror," Swaraj said.

"We welcome United States' recent designation of terrorists as a part of Lashkar-e-Taiba. These listing are based on terrorism that is flourishing in Pakistan, which has equally affected India, US and the world," she added.

The much anticipated '2+2' dialogue was held between Sushma Swaraj, Nirmala Sitharam with their US counterparts Mike Pompeo and James Mattis.

"Signing of Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) will enable India to access advanced technologies from USA..In today's meeting we reaffirmed to cooperate in every possible way to ensure peace, prosperity and development. Also pledged to continue cooperation against terrorism and other security challenges," Sitharaman said after the meeting.

['2+2' dialogue: India-US relationship has immense potential, says Sitharaman]

On Wednesday, Pompeo and Mattis arrived in the national capital on Wednesday. Reflecting the importance of the talks to be held on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj received Pompeo, while Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomed her US counterpart Jim Mattis at the Palam airport.

"We will be meeting PM Modi on how to advance relationship in the new era of growth under his leadership and President Trump. We had many productive and forward thinking conversations on our bilateral relationship and our shared future," said US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after '2+2' talks.

While Pompeo termed the 'Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA)' agreement a "milestone" in the relationship, Sitharaman asserted that the pact will enhance India's defence capability and preparedness.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said: "We will continue working together, join hands and expand India's role as a primary major defence partner, to elevate our relationship to a level to commence with our closest allies and partners."

What is COMCASA?

The Comcasa provides the legal framework for the US to part with its sensitive communication equipment and codes to enable transfer of realtime operational information. This equipment is largely used for ground-toair communication, installed US-origin military aircraft to enable best battle situation awareness. The US data link is considered the most secure communication platform, which will also allow India access to big data base of American intelligence, including real-time imagery.

It is part of a set of three military agreements that the US considers "foundational" for a functional military relationship. In August 2016, India had signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), which allows the military of each country to replenish from the other's bases. Negotiations on the third agreement, Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA), have not yet begun.
Amazon India launches Hindi version; Targets 100 million customers

India

oi-Pushyarag

New Delhi, Sep 6: In what can be called as a game changing move to the Amazon India, Amazon.com on Tuesday (Sep 6) launched a Hindi version of its mobile website and app for Android smartphones. With this, Amazon, in its own words, will address 'the next 100 million customers'.

India is a huge market for e-commerce and its potential is increasing with each passing day. Number of eshtablishments venturing into the Indian market is increasing with each day. It just seemed as if Flipkart had moved past Amazon in the field of e-commerce, thanks to flipkart's fashion units Myntra and Jabong. But now with the introduction of Hindi language, Amazon is looking at an unparallel growth in the Indian e-commerce sector.

Amazon joins the ,000,000,000,000 elite group

Amazon India also plans to venture into more regional sectors which would increase their number of customers. Earlier, Snapdeal had launched a mobile website in Hindi and Telugu in 2015 and conducted pilot runs for 12 regional languages, but the plan was shelved after six months due to lack of interest. As of now, none of the online portals such as Flipkart or Snapdeal has any regional language version of their websites.
Normal life affected in MP

Normal life was partially affected in several parts of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday as several organistations staged protests as part of a countrywide agitation against the SC/ST Amendment Act.

Shops and business establishments remained shut in several areas. Vechicular movement was also affected. Petrol pumps were also closed in the state capital and other areas. Security has been beefed up and 35 areas are put on high alert.

The administration has imposed prohibitive orders under section 144 of Crpc in Chhatarpur, Shivpuri, Bhind, Ashoknagar, Guna, Gwalior and Katni.

Bandh paralyses normal life in Bihar

Normal life was hit in various parts of Bihar Thursday and train services were briefly affected in the state capital and Rajgir town on account of a 'Bharat Bandh' call given by some groups against the recent amendments in the SC/ST Act.

The bandh supporters, owing allegiance to several nondescript organisations, staged a demonstration in front of the BJP state headquarters at Birchand Patel Marg here raising slogans against the "betrayal by the very party we have been voting for" The gate of the premises remained locked from inside.

Good response in Rajasthan

The call for 'Bharat Bandh' given by several groups against the amendments in the SC/ST Act evoked a good response in Rajasthan where many shops and business establishments, schools and other educational institutions remained closed on Thursday. The police said no untoward incident has been reported in the state so far.



Shops were shut in Jaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh, Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and other districts. Schools too remained closed in view of the bandh. Meanwhile, members of Samta Andolan Samiti, an organisation which campaigns for changes in the caste-based reservation system, alleged 'suppressive action' by the state government as the police detained their leaders

Life normal in UP

Six policemen were injured in Uttar Pradesh during a 'Bharat Bandh' called by some upper-caste groups, but life remained largely normal across the state.

Reports from districts across the state said life was by-and-large normal despite the bandh call, officials said here.

However, a report from Ballia said BJP MLA from Bairia, Surendra Singh, came out openly in support of the bandh.
Lawyer without brief is like Tendulkar without his bat on cricket ground: SC

Bhima Koregaon: House arrests to continue, SC livid with Maha cops presser

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 6: The Supreme Court has said that the house arrest of the activists allegedly sympathetic towards the naxalites would continue till September 12. Hearing on the matter would continue on September 12.

The court however took a serious view of the press conference addressed by the Maharashtra police. The court told the government of Maharashtra, " keep your officer in line. He is talking to the press and insinuating the Supreme Court is wrong. We do not want your police officers to tell us we are wrong. You are ruining peoples' reputation and casting aspersions on the court, Justice D Chandrachud who is part of the Bench said.

The Maharashtra Government had filed a counter affidavit on a plea by historian Romila Thapar and four others challenging the arrest of these activists in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence case alleged that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

Also Read | Urban naxal: Activists were planning to ambush security forces

Romila Thapar and Devki Jain, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande and Maya Daruwala had challenged the arrest of the activists by Pune Police after raids across five states on August 28.

The state police said there was sufficient evidence to "dispel" the claim that they were arrested for their dissenting views. It also questioned the locus of the petitioners, Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociologist Satish Deshpande and legal expert Maja Daruwala, and said they were "strangers" to the investigation in the matter.

Sudha Bhardwaj, P Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, and lawyers and activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy.

Also Read | Urban Naxals threat to the unity of the country; involve in illegal mining and extortion

The government said that the cogent evidence has so far shown that these persons are part of banned terrorist organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist). There has been serious criminal offences made out against them and incriminating material has also emerged, the Maharashtra government said.

The activists were not just involved in planing and preparing for violence, but were in the process of creating large scale violence, destruction of property, the reply further said.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the house arrest of all these persons. Hearing on the matter would continue on September 6.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 13:27 [IST]
Can a dead rape victim be named? SC says no harm, wants Centre to respond

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 6: The Supreme Court has sought the view of the Centre on whether the names of dead rape victims could be disclosed or not. A three judge Bench comprising Justices Madan Lokur, Deepak Gupta and S Abdul Nazeer observed that there appeared to be no prohibition if the family of the victim wanted to do so.

The Bench however decided to seek the Centre's view on the subject. Advocate Indira Jaisingh who raised the issue while dealing with a plea on the formulation of a compensation fund for victims of sexual assault and acid attacks said that no harm would be caused if the identity of a victim who is dead is revealed. The Bench said that in the case of the dead, there is no prohibition. It can be done by the next of kin, the court also observed.

The Bench said that there are two situations. One is when the media goes and finds out. This should not happen. If the next of kin of deceased, says they have no problem, then it is alright, the Bench said.

The Bench asked the government to give its views on whether the media can be allowed to report on the police investigation in cases related to crime against women.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 7:36 [IST]
Congress questions Centre as to why people in power scared of naming China

Fuel price rise: Congress calls for Bharat bandh on September 10

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, Sep 6: After Rafale jet deal, Congress has planned nationwide protests to slam the centre over high fuel.

The common man was bearing the brunt of the escalating prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said.

"The Congress party has decided that we will be giving a call for Bharat Bandh on September 10, Monday, in order to highlight the Rs 11 lakh crore fuel loot and to demand an immediate reduction in central excise duty as also excessive VAT in the state," he told reporters.

Surjewala said the Congress will also demand petrol and diesel should be brought within the ambit of the GST so that the "common man whose budget has gone haywire is provided the requisite relief".

The Congress has also urged opposition parties to join the protest, he said. "We also call upon other societal groups, NGOs... to join this people's movement," he said.
TMC delegation to meet Election Commission in Delhi today; To request for early bypolls in Bengal

EC declares bypolls to seven Rajya Sabha seats in six states

Bypoll: EC notice to Assam minister for 'give and take' remark

EC likely to discuss Telangana polls on Friday

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 6: The Election Commission (EC) is likely to discuss the issue of holding polls in Telangana, where the state cabinet has resolved to dissolve the legislative assembly, on Friday.

A senior EC official said the commission met every Tuesday and Friday to discuss a variety of issues and the matter of holding elections in the southern state may come up for discussion at the next meeting.

"Issues like festivals, examinations and weather conditions will be discussed before arriving at a final conclusion," the official said.

The term of the Telangana assembly was till June, 2019.

PTI
In 2015, US Supreme Court ruled same sex marriages were legal

In June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriages were legal. Near home, Nepal legalised homosexuality in 2007 and the new Constitution of the country too gives many rights to the LGBT community.

India Gay-Sex Ruling

India has been much slower than some other countries to allow gay people to live full and open lives, and in arguments before the court in July, lawyers for the petitioners challenging the law tried to make clear the broader issue.

Countries where gay marriage is legal

Argentina (2010)

Greenland (2015)

South Africa (2006)

Australia (2017)

Iceland (2010) Spain (2005)

Belgium (2003)

Ireland (2015)

United States (2015)

Brazil (2013)

Luxembourg (2014)

Sweden (2009)

Canada (2005)

Malta (2017)

Colombia (2016)

Uruguay (2013)

Denmark (2012)

The Netherlands (2000)

England / Wales (2013)

New Zealand (2013)

Finland (2015)

Norway (2008)

France (2013)

Portugal (2010)

Germany (2017)

Scotland (2014)

What does the law say?

Section 377 of IPC - which came into force in 1862 - defines unnatural offences. It says, "Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine."

PM Narendra Modi on transgenders

In November 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had regretted the deplorable condition of transgenders in Indian society and said governments needed to change their outlook.? "We need to amend and make new laws for transgenders," he had said at the foundation day celebration of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). The NDA government has prepared a draft law recognising the rights of transgenders with a view to ensure they are not discriminated against. All these developments allude to the change in the mindset of the top court and the government.
Nagaland to impose partial lockdown from April 30 to May 14: Here's what will stay shut and open

In flood-hit Nagaland, 3,000 people cut off: Here's how you can donate

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Kohima, Sep 6: After Kerala, The North Eastern state of Nagaland is now reeling under the effects of severe flooding and landslides.

The Chief Minister of the state, Neiphiu Rio has not only asked the government for assistance, but has also appealed to the people to donate by contributing to his CM Relief Fund.

Rio has also tweeted out three ways that people can contribute to the relief efforts.

1. Directly transferring to the following account:

A/C No. 10530527879,

IFSC: SBIN0000214

State Bank of India, Kohima Branch

2. Visiting the following website:

https://cmrelieffund.nowpay.co.in/

3. Via Paytm

Those interested in donating via Paytm can either visit https://paytm.com/helpinghand/cm-relief-fund-nagaland, or donate though the Paytm app by tapping on 'More' and selecting 'Flood Relief'.

There's users have the option of choosing to donate for CM Relief Fund (Nagaland). They can also opt to donate to the Karnataka CM Relief Fund natural Calamity (Kodagu) and the Kerala CM's Distress Relief Fund.

Nagaland requires Rs 800 crore

The Nagaland government requires around Rs 800 crore immediately for the restoration of the damages caused by landslides and flash flood during this monsoon season, a top state government official said on Monday.

Home and State Disaster Management Authority, secretary, Rovilatuo Mor said the unprecedented series of disaster in Nagaland has affected at least 13.19 per cent of the total population of the state and severely affected 48,821 families in 532 villages while an area of 5408.57 acres agricultural sector have also been impacted.

The state capital Kohima and the districts of Tuensang, Kiphire and Phek have been severely affected, he said.

The three districts of Tuensang, Kiphire and Phek were cut off from the rest of the state for about 15 days since the rains became incessant from the July 26, he said adding that about 359 locations of roads have been totally cut off sending the state into an SoS situation.

Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) and the department of Food and Civil Supplies in collaboration with the Indian Air Force made numerous sorties to these districts to airdrop essential supplies.

More than 12 killed, 3000 displaced

Because of the disaster incidents, 12 lives lost and more than 50,000 families have been displaced while properties worth crores of rupees were damaged, he informed.

With the rigorous efforts of the concerned departments, roads have been cleared to some extend and essential commodities are being reached to interior areas, including Kiphire district by road, he said.

Union Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju had arrived in Dimapur on August 5 to survey and assess the situation.

However, inclement weather did not allow him to take an aerial survey of the situation and therefore on the recommendation of the Union Minister an Inter-Ministerial Central Team is to visit Nagaland from the September 4 to 7 to make an on-the-spot assessment of the monsoon damages, the officer added.

Actor Sushant donates Rs 1.25 crore

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who contributed a huge amount of Rs 1 crore to the Kerala flood victims, has now come forward to help the victims of floods in Nagaland. On Tuesday, the actor visited the flood-ravaged state and also met the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio. Sushant donated Rs. 1.25 crore for the relief work and proved that he is a hero in real life as well. The CM shared the news on social media and also thanked the actor for his kind gesture.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 23:13 [IST]
Has 3rd wave started in India? Here's how many cases of AY.4.2 reported in country, so far

'2+2' dialogue: India-US relationship has immense potential, says Sitharaman

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

New Delhi, Sep 6: The much anticipated '2+2' dialogue between India and the United States has begun. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said India and the US are united by shared values of democracy, respect for individual rights and a shared commitment to freedom.

"Given those values India and the United States have a natural starting point..We should continue to ensure freedom of the seas, skies, uphold the peaceful resolutions of the maritime disputes, promote market based economics and good governance and prevent external economic coercion," he said during the meeting.

Eaxternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today's meeting will help unleash the untapped potential of India-US relations which will further elevate the level of partnership between the two countries.

"PM Modi and President Trump set future directions for our relationship. I am happy to note that there has been significant progress in all key areas of our relationship," Swaraj said.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the '2+2' meeting is a manifestation of vision of PM Modi and President Trump which is aimed at taking India-US relationship to a higher trajectory.

"This meeting is a reflection of tremendous focus that we have made in developing our ties over past few years. It's a strong recognition of immense potential of our bilateral partnership for benefit of our people, region and beyond," she said.

Before the '2+2' dialogue began, Sushma Swaraj and Mike Pompeo held bilateral talks in New Delhi on Thursday (September 6). In a seperate meeting, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and United States Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis also held talks.

The focus of the talks will be to deepen strategic ties between the two nations in wide range of areas including counter-terrorism, designation of International terrorist organisations and individual terrorists, sharing of information and cooperation in Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

India is also expected to apprise the US about the importance of the Rs 40,000 crore deal it is about to finalise with Russia to procure a batch of S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems. The US has been indicating that it does not want India to go ahead with the deal.

India will also try to "sensitise" the US that any cut in import of Iranian oil in compliance with the US sanctions may impact the country's overall economy as the crude oil from that country is much cheaper.

[2+2 dialogue: S-400 deal, India importing oil from Iran not primary focus of talks, says Pompeo]

Pompeo and Mattis arrived in the national capital on Wednesday. Reflecting the importance of the talks to be held on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj received Pompeo, while Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman welcomed her US counterpart Jim Mattis at the Palam airport.

[US Secretary of State Pompeo, Def Secy Mattis arrive for 2+2 talks]

Twelve officials from each side are expected to attend the talks which will be followed by a working lunch. In the afternoon, Swaraj, Sitharaman, Pompeo and Mattis will call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Rahul Gandhi is the biggest buffoon of India: KCR

India

oi-Madhuri

Hyderabad, Sep 6: Telangana is headed for early elections as Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) has dissolved the state assembly, nine months before the completion of its term.

Rao, who has been hinting at such a move for weeks, met Governor ESL Narsimhan soon after the cabinet meeting, which lasted for 15 minutes.

Addressing the media, KCR said,''We are announcing a list of 105 candidates today. We have done more than Congress''.

Also Read | Telangana: Cabinet recommends dissolution of assembly, calls for early polls

On Rahul Gandhi, KCR said that he inherited the legacy of Congress Delhi sultanate, he is the legal heir of Congress empire of Delhi. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let us not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi. Telangana ka nirnay Telangana mein hona chahiye (Telangana's fate must be decided in the state itself).

'Everyone knows what Rahul Gandhi is...the biggest buffoon in the country. Whole country has seen how he went to Mr Narendra Modi and hugged him, the way he is winking. He is a property for us, the more he comes (to Telangana) the more seats we will win,' Rao said while mocking the Congress chief.

''Development should not stop, that is why we have decided to take this decision. We are not here to just do politics and I salute my MLAs and MPs,'' he said.

Also Read | Why did KCR delink the assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Telangana

Asked whether they are going to contest the elections alone, KCR said,''''We are going to contest election alone but no doubt we are friends with MIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen).''

The caretaker CM also called Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the biggest bafoon in the Country. ''Rahul Gandhi inherited the legacy of Congress Delhi sultanate, he is the legal heir of Congress empire of Delhi. That is the reason I appeal to the people, let us not become slaves to Congress, slaves to Delhi. Telangana ka nirnay Telangana mein hona chahiye.''

He further said that before 2014 many issues were in Telangana and now the issues have been resolved. ''Before 2014 many issues were in Telangana, like bomb blasts, electricity issues, communal violence but now we are free of all this. I am asking Congress leaders to come to ground and fight in the elections and public will give the reply,'' K Chandrashekhar Rao said while addressing media.

The state cabinet, which met under the leadership of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao at his camp office at Begumpet at around 1.15 pm, passed a one-line resolution seeking dissolution of the assembly.

Also Read | Telangana assembly elections could be held in December

The Congress has said it will approach the courts and Election Commission against holding of the elections till the time revised list of voters is published.

"We will request the EC not to club the Telangana polls with the elections to four states in December and delay them so that time is available for us to ensure voters' lists are not doctored," senior Congress leader M Shashidhar Reddy had earlier told the media.
Hyderabad rape case: The rapist will be caught and killed in encounter, Telangana minister

KCRs 6 fix-ation: Why the Telangana assembly was dissolved on September 6

India

oi-Madhuri

Hyderabad, Sep 6: Six seems to be the lucky number of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) president and Telangana chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR). KCR is said to be a strong believer in numerology and vaastu while making political decisions. Today is the 6th September, and the number is lucky for him.

The decision to hold the Cabinet meeting on September 6 and decide to dissolve the Assembly is being attributed to his penchant for things astrological.

Telangana CM decided to dissolve the Assembly and seek a fresh mandate earlier than the scheduled polls in April 2019. Rao wants elections to be held along with Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in December this year.

Apart from avoiding to visit the existing state Secretariat fearing bad vaastu that could adversely affect, the chief minister had also appointed a government architect and vaastu expert to advise on designs and renovation of office and residential buildings.
Many still trapped under debris

At least 25 people were injured and many were believed to be trapped under debris when the 40-year-old bridge collapsed on Wednesday evening. The injured were rushed to local hospitals where they are receiving medical care.

Majerhat bridge, believed to be more than 40 years old

The Majerhat bridge, believed to be more than 40 years old, straddles Diamond Harbour Road and connects Central Kolkata with Behala in South Kolkata and extended parts of South 24 Parganas district. It is surrounded by the tall pillars of the construction site for the Joka-Esplanade metro route, which will connect South West Kolkata with Central Kolkata.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee announces probe

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said one more body had been found, taking the number of those killed to two. Soumen Bag, 28, who was riding pillion on a friend's scooter, had been declared dead on arrival at hospital on Tuesday. The second victim was identified as Pranab Dey, a metro rail worker. Twenty people were rescued from the site on Tuesday. The West Bengal police have filed a suo moto case against unidentified persons.
LGBT community wants the next fight to be for the adoption right

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi, Sep 6: After the historical decision of the Supreme Court on Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community started demanding other rights.

LGBT activists are saying that the next fight will be for other rights of LGBT rights and right to adopt children. A homosexual belonging to Rajpipla royal family of Gujarat crown prince Yuvraj Manvendra Singh Gohil is also thinking to adopt a child.

Executive director of Lalit Suri Hospitality Group Keshaw Suri said that the battle was not yet over.

"We will have to bring awakening in the LGBT community. We will have to drive out dogmas from the society and we will have to accept this judgment," said Suri.

He said that bringing Section 377 out of the criminal offense is a big achievement but the fight is still continuing. The number of LGBT couples will increase after this decision of the Supreme Court.

At the moment many such couple wants to adopt a child but this is not possible under the prevailing law. But this issue will be included prominently in the battle further on and change in adoption laws will be demanded.

Gohil is very enthusiastic about the adoption law who said that to further his family lineage he decided to adopt a child. Gohil says that he does not want his family lineage ends with him just because he is a homosexual therefore by adopting a child his family lineage will go on. He said that it took 25 years to win the battle.

"I don't know how long it will take to win the next battle. We will fight for the social right after legal right. I will adopt a child from the family only," said Gohil.

Chairperson of the Naj Foundation Anjali Gopalan said that the Supreme Court opened the door for civil right and it depended on the community that how it fights it battle. She said that now homosexual couple will think of adopting child after marriage but India laws don't allow this.

Anjali said that the SC ruled that the Supreme Court had given right to equality to everyone therefore everyone should get equal right.

Senior advocate Harish Salve said on this issue that the Supreme Court decided that the matter on privacy and individual freedom. It is important for everyone to respect everyone's privacy.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 20:02 [IST]
Managing both US and Russia: A tight rope walk for India

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

New Delhi, Sep 6: With the '2+2' dialogue between India and the US set to be held today, the focus, among other things, would be on what Washington has to say about India's purchase of S-400 missiles from Russia and import of crude from Iran.

While the threat of sanctions under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act looms large over India if it goes ahead purchase from Russia, New Delhi would push Washington for a waiver. On one hand India wants these missiles to strenghthen defence capabilities, but at the same time does not want to sour relations with the US.

India also does not want to irk Russia which has been an 'all weather' friend for decades. Several times in the past, India has given a clear signals that it is neither siding with US, nor does it want to irk Russia.

Also Read | S-400 missile deal: Will India be granted waiver from CAATSA?

In April this year when US launched over a 100 missiles on Syria, India neither outrightly opposed the strikes nor did it support it. India did not criticise the US like Iran did, and just said "We urge all Parties to show restraint and to avoid any further escalation in the situation". US carried out strikes claiming that Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad was developing chemical weapons, which both Syria and Russia have vehementely denied. When it comes to the part where chemical weapons are mentioned, India statement says "The alleged use of chemical weapons, if true, is deplorable."

The phrase "if true" is significant. By saying "alleged" and "If true", India has not totally endorsed US claims of chemical weapons being developed by Syria. This statement in itself is a diplomatic masterstroke wherein India has managed to give a clear signal that it is neither siding with US, nor does it want to irk Russia.

Although it may seem that India is slowly moving away from Russia for supply of defence equipment and depending more on the US, France and Israel, the ties between Moscow and New Delhi are old. India cannot do away with its dependence on Russia for help in defence supplies. Two of the most important projects - BrahMos and Sukhoi- have Russian involvement. Moreover, there are still a lot MiG fighters in IAF's fleet which need service support from Russia. Russia has in the past stood by India as a strong ally, since Nehru's times.

Also Read | '2+2' talks: India hopeful of CAATSA waiver over S-400 deal with Russia

As far the US is concerned, India Air Force is facing with the problem of depleting squadron strength. Reports suggest that India might consider a number of F-18 or F-16 fighter jets to address this problem. Recently, India had purchased Apache helicopters from the US. During PM Modi's last visit to the US, it was being speculated that India may buy Predator drones from US.

So, all in all, India needs both the US and Russia and cannot afford to irk either of them.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 10:50 [IST]
Rafale: Cost based on equipments, weapons, Ajit Dovals 150 minute presentation

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 6: In a bid to counter the opposition which has been making allegations on the Rafale deal, the top security brass briefed the Union Council of Ministers. During the 150 minute presentation made by National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, he said that the cost is based on equipment and weapons that would be integrated into the jet.

Sources said that Doval and Defence Production, Ajay Kumar highlighted various aspects of the deal in the meeting.

The ministers were told that the the deal was between two governments and involved no private party, leaving little scope for corruption.

Also Read | How to counter Opposition attack on Rafale? NSA Ajit Doval briefs Modi cabinet

The security brass also highlighted the aircraft's capability which would strengthen the Indian Air Force and make the fighter jets an asset for it. The presentation in the meeting also underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to take all his allies, who are represented in the council of ministers, on board, as the government works to counter the opposition on the issue in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections which are less than eight months away.

Opposition parties led by the Congress have been attacking the Modi government over the deal, alleging that it was struck at an exorbitant price and benefited an Indian businessman at the cost of the government-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The charges have been denied by the government.

Also Read | Rafale a beautiful aircraft, will benefit India says IAF

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while refusing to get into the details of what transpired in the meeting, took a dig at the Congress and its chief Rahul Gandhi over the fighter jet deal.

Responding to a question, he said, "Congress has proved that in a dynastic party, ignorance is contagious... if one lacks information, all are ignorant."

Jaitley said questioning the deal is the "biggest ignorance". He said a basic aircraft is of "no use" as it can only fly the pilot. He said cost escalation and currency variations between 2007 and 2016 have to be considered.

He also pointed out that a weaponised jet is 20 per cent cheaper now after the negotiations. Since it is a government-to-government deal, no private party or a PSU is involved.

"The 36 jets will come in a fly away condition and not even a bolt will be fitted here ... during UPA (rule), they did not believe in transfer of technology but preferred to buy (hardware) from foreign buyers ...," he said.

Also Read | Stay on Rafale deal: SC to hear plea next week

Referring to Bofors howitzer gun deal, he said while bribes can be taken, the weapons could not be manufactured here.

Jaitley said after increasing FDI to 49 per cent several international defence major are tying up with Indian companies to manufacture defence hardware here.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 7:54 [IST]
As cries for same sex marriages grow, government likely to put its foot down

Why was Section left to the wisdom of the court asks SC judge

How Henry VIII paved the way for Section 377 in 1533

2018: The year of the judiciary, from landmark verdicts to an unprecedented presser

19-year-old woman arrested under Section 377 for raping another woman using sex toy in Delhi

Section 377 partially struck down: Consensual same sex act in pvt not an offence

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 6: The Supreme Court has partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. In a unanimous verdict, with four different opinions a five judge Bench held that it is no longer an offence under Section 377 for LGBT community to engage in consensual sex in private.

The Bench held that consensual sex between adults in private space, which is not harmful to women or children, cannot be denied as it is a matter of individual choice.

Section 377 will not be applicable to same sex acts between homo-sexuals, hetero-sexuals and lesbians. Section 377 would however be applicable to bestiality and sexual acts without consent by one of them.

Aslo Read | Section 377 verdict: Section 377 partially struck down, consensual sex in pvt not an offence

Observations:

No one can escape from their individualism. Society is now better for individualism. In the present case, our deliberations will be on various spectrums- CJI Dipak Misra

Denial of self-expression is like death, CJI

Sustenance of identity is the pyramid of life: CJI

Section 377 is irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary

CJI says section 377 is irrational, arbitrary and incomprehensible as it fetters the right to equality for LGBT community.

LGBT community possesses same equality as other citizens.

The Suresh Koushal judgment has been overturned.

Primary objective of having a Constitutional society is to transform the society progressively; Constitutional provisions should not be interpreted in literal sense.

The view taken in the Suresh Koushal judgment is impermissible.

Social morality cannot violate the rights of even one single individual says CJI

Right to privacy as part of right life applies fully to LGBT community: CJI

Bodily autonomy is individualistic. It is a matter of choice and is part of dignity. Section 377 is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution, says CJI.

The Suresh Koushal judgment of the Supreme Court in 2013 is retrograde and rules that intimacy in private matter is a matter of choice.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 12:08 [IST]
As cries for same sex marriages grow, government likely to put its foot down

Why was Section left to the wisdom of the court asks SC judge

How Henry VIII paved the way for Section 377 in 1533

2018: The year of the judiciary, from landmark verdicts to an unprecedented presser

19-year-old woman arrested under Section 377 for raping another woman using sex toy in Delhi

Section 377 verdict: Know about Suresh Kumar Koushal vs. Naz Foundation

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

New Delhi, Sep 6: In 2013, the Supreme Court judgment dealt a big blow to gay rights activists. The apex court Bench upheld the constitutional validity of the Section 377 making gay sex an offence punishable with upto life imprisonment. The Supreme Court of India reinstated Section 377 of the IPC in Suresh Kumar Koushal and another v NAZ Foundation and others in 2013.

The Delhi High Court judgment in 2009 had decriminalized Section 377 Naz Foundation vs. Govt. of NCT of Delhi. Senior BJP leader BP Singhal, who died in October 2012, had challenged the high court verdict in the apex court, saying such acts are illegal, immoral and against the ethos of the Indian culture.

In its judgment the Supreme court bench of justices G. S. Singhvi and S. J. Mukhopadhaya stated - "In view of the above discussion, we hold that Section 377 IPC does not suffer from the vice of unconstitutionality and the declaration made by the Division Bench of the High court is legally unsustainable."

Also Read | Section 377 verdict: Know the Supreme Court Bench

What is Naz Foundation?

Naz India is a registered charitable trust, based in New Delhi. The trust ran 'Milan Project', from 2004-2008, was India's first targeted involvement program in the LGBT community.

Mainly focused on transgenders and homosexual men, the Milan Project was an attempt to serve these marginalized peoples. Safe sex education, training programs, and interventions were all provided by Naz India to help improve the lives of the LGBT community.

Also Read | India's gay prince Manvendra Singh opens his palace to LGBT people

The Milan Project was the winner of many awards, including the MTV Staying Alive Foundation Award for 2006 and 2007.

The Naz India Office and Care Home hosts regular doctor visits that are available for members of the LGBT community to attend. Naz India fights regularly for the decriminalization and de-stigmatization of the LGBT community in India.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 10:36 [IST]
As cries for same sex marriages grow, government likely to put its foot down

Why was Section left to the wisdom of the court asks SC judge

How Henry VIII paved the way for Section 377 in 1533

2018: The year of the judiciary, from landmark verdicts to an unprecedented presser

19-year-old woman arrested under Section 377 for raping another woman using sex toy in Delhi

Section 377 verdict: Petitioner Keshav Suri thanks legal fraternity

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

New Delhi, Sep 6: Hotelier Keshav Suri, one of the petitioners in the Section 377 case, expressed his gratitude towards legal fraternity for the historic verdict. After the five-judge Bench pronounced the verdict celebration broke out at Lalit Hotel, of which Keshav Suri is the Executive Director.

Keshav Suri, said, "All the lawyers and judges who have worked on this are the people to be interviewed and thanked. I am a nobody but they are the people to be thanked. It is a massive time to celebrate: Keshav Suri, Executive Director of Lalit Group of hotels and petitioner in the Section377 case."

Keshav Suri got married to his partner Cyril Feuillebois in Paris, France, on June 26, 2018. The two, who have been in a relationship for ten years, live at Suri's Vasant Vihar home in New Delhi. Feuillebois runs an organic cosmetic company out of Delhi that teams French expertise with Indian ingredients.

Also Read | 'Section 377 your time has come', said Menaka Guruswamy

In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court has partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. Observing that the section was unconstitutional the five-judge Bench held that Section 377 is irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary.

Delivering a unanimous verdict the court said Section 377 is irrational, arbitrary and incomprehensible as it fetters the right to equality for LGBT community. LGBT community possesses the same equality as other citizens, the Bench held.

Also Read | Section 377 verdict: Know the petitioners challenging criminalization of consensual sex

Ankit Gupta, LGBT activist Ankit Gupta says, "Today's SC decision is truly historic. It says that the rights which are granted by the Constitution of India are enjoyed by LGBT community as well. It is a day to celebrate. We have won the legal fight, but in society, we still have to gain victory." People react after SC verdict People react after the Supreme Court verdict which decriminalises consensual gay sex, outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, Thursday, Sept 6, 2018. A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court today, unanimously decriminalised part of the 158-year-old colonial law under Section 377 of the IPC which criminalises consensual unnatural sex, saying it violated the rights to equality. PTI Photo Ashok Row Kavi Ashok Row Kavi, LGBT rights activist and founder of Humsafar Trust on Supreme Court legalises homosexuality, says, "We have finally got justice. We are finally 'azaad in azaad Hind'." Outside Supreme Court People react after the Supreme Court verdict which decriminalises consensual gay sex, outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, Thursday, Sept 6, 2018. PTI photo People react People react after the Supreme Court verdict which decriminalises consensual gay sex, outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi, Thursday, Sept 6, 2018.
Lawyer without brief is like Tendulkar without his bat on cricket ground: SC

'Section 377 your time has come', said Menaka Guruswamy

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

New Delhi, Sep 6: The LGBT community is celebrating their independence on September 6. The British Raj era law Section 377 has been partially quashed by the five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court. As the rainbow community erupts in joy after the historic verdict, we should the person who successfully contested the de-criminalization of homosexuality in the apex court.

Also Read | Section 377 verdict: Know the petitioners challenging criminalization of consensual sex

On July 8, 2018, when the petition challenging the Section 377 was taken up by the Supreme Court, Menaka Guruswamy tweeted, " On July 8, 2018, With the Constitution in our hearts, we go to our Court, to seek to remove a colonial stain on our collective national conscience. Section 377 your time has come. See you in Court on Tuesday."

With the Constitution in our hearts, we go to our Court, to seek to remove a colonial stain on our collective national conscience. Section 377 your time has come. See you in Court on Tuesday. #section377 @chefritudalmia #iitiansagainst377 @arundhatikatju @barandbench  Menaka Guruswamy (@MenakaGuruswamy) July 8, 2018

"Section 377 is arbitrary and unconstitutional. It violates Articles 15, 19, 21 of the Constitution." Menaka Guruswamy argued in the court. "It discriminates on the basis of the gender of the partners," she added.

A day before the judgment, she shared the picture clicked with Anjali Gopalan Naz Foundation at Hyderabad Airport. Menaka tweeted, "Poetic!!! Bumped into the magnificent Anjali Gopalan Naz Foundation at Hyderabad Airport. We're all heading to Delhi for 377 judgment. Truly magic! #377 #constitution #beatingheart"

Poetic!!! Bumped into the magnificent Anjali Gopalan Naz Foundation at Hyderabad Airport. Were all heading to Delhi for 377 judgement. Truly magic! #377 #constitution #beatingheart pic.twitter.com/pBhkPjsgoo  Menaka Guruswamy (@MenakaGuruswamy) September 5, 2018

According to reports, she coaxed Mehta and Johar into adding their names to the writ petition submitted to the supreme court in 2016 "This is love that must be constitutionally recognised, and not just the sexual acts," Guruswamy was quoted as saying during a hearing earlier this year.

Aslo Read | Section 377 verdict: Know about Suresh Kumar Koushal vs. Naz Foundation

Lawyer Menaka Guruswamy, The Oxford University and Harvard law school graduate, has worked as a human rights consultant at a New York-based law firm and went on to teach at NYU's law school.

She is the daughter of Mohan Guruswamy, the head of Centre for Policy Alternatives, New Delhi. Also, he was Advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
Telangana: Cabinet recommends dissolution of assembly, calls for early polls

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Hyderabad, Sep 6: The Chief Minister of Telangana, K Chandrasekhar Rao has informed the Governor about the decision to dissolve the state assembly. Rao proceeded to meet with Governor E S L Narasimhan following a Cabinet meeting.

At the Cabinet meeting, it was resolved to dissolve the assembly. With this decision, the polls will be held as early as December 2018.

At the mega rally held earlier this week, Telangana Chief Minster, K Chandrasekhar Rao dropped sufficient hints that there could be early polls in the state. Rao had said that he was authorised by his party, the Cabinet, MLAs and MPs of the TRS to take a decision on early elections.

Telangana government: Why does KCR want an early election?

The original term of the Telangana assembly ends in May 19 and polls are held along with the Lok Sabha elections. KCR has been toying with the idea of early elections and sources say that he had brought up the topic during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent Delhi visit.

Modi had however said that any such decision would be at his own risk Observers say that KCR appears to have taken a calculated risk. He feels that the mood in the state is currently in favour of his party. He would make his intentions clear at the September 7 meeting.
Time to come out of the closet: Young India celebrates SC verdict on Section 377

India

oi-Pushyarag

Bengaluru, Sep 6: The battle was over. Love won. Supreme court in a historical verdict struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and has spread the message the being gay is okay. As thousands of members of LGBTQ community leaped in joy, India took another step forward towards becoming 'modern India'. Finally we are, as a nation, ready to accept that sexual orientation is not a mental illness and neither is being true to one's own self. The community which was brushed aside as a minority and labelled as lunatics, finally cried a joy of tear when all their struggles saw the light of just on Wednesday (Sep 6).

Speaking to Oneindia, Hadley D'souza, 25, said that the judgement was always coming. And if at all the judgement would have gone against the community, still, from his own personal experience, it would not have mattered much. " I came out open about my orientation a few years ago. Ever since not a single person, guys or girls, or from any background made me feel bad or judged me. My mom is supportive and so are the parents of my friends. Everyone treats me with the samr lovee and respect as they anyway would. People are more supportive than we actually think," he said.

Talking about the importance of the day and what it actually means to people,Meghana, taecher from Mangaluru said that "Today is independence day and I am so happy for what has happened. People have struggled and fought for this moment. People were ostracized and they lost lved ones in the process, but i am so happy, on cloud nine, that they were given the justice that they deserve." Adding to her point, Snehajaya, a writer, congratulated the LGBT community for relentlessly fighting for their rights and never giving up.

Deepika, a writer from Kodagu expressed her feelings as, "Well , I think the choice of will was already given to us when we chose this life. The universe is free and ever expanding. How can there be any right or wrong ? Its quite subjective. The judgement is an affirmation over what was already true to the human nature. We create our destiny by our choice, this was already in our right, we couldn't exercise it out of fear of law but now that the law itself supports it, the beginning of something is here."

Rumi Saikia, resident of Bengaluru, sharing her thoughts on the Supreme court judgement noted that it should not have taken so long. She said that, "I think it is a very reasonable decision and at the same time it is saddening that it took this long for the verdict to come."

Nagesh Malliyappa, a professor from Mysuru and a Human rights activist, said that though the Supreme court broke the conventional norms today, it has upheld an individual's right. Each person has his own priority and in this generation, change is the ultimate mantra.

With all the reactions pouring in, it can be said that Indians were always behind the LGBTQ community and with the support of every person, Supreme court had to refer to them as a majority. With all the good wishes rushing in, it seems like the LGBTQ community has a a clear path in front of them and instead of hiding inside the closte, it is finally time to come out of it.
Sense of desperation: Why are terrorists choosing soft targets in Jammu and Kashmir

Security review in J&K is message to Pak not to use Taliban win in Kashmir

Urban naxal: Activists were planning to ambush security forces

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Sep 6: The arrest of the five activists, alleged to be close to naxalites was not based on a dissenting view or difference in their political views and ideologies, the Maharashtra government said in its response to the Supreme Court.

The counter affidavit, filed by the Maharashtra police on a plea of historian Romila Thapar and four others challenging the arrest of these activists in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence case alleged that they were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush the security forces.

Romila Thapar and Devki Jain, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande and Maya Daruwala had challenged the arrest of the activists by Pune Police after raids across five states on August 28.

Also Read | Urban Naxals threat to the unity of the country; involve in illegal mining and extortion

The state police said there was sufficient evidence to "dispel" the claim that they were arrested for their dissenting views. It also questioned the locus of the petitioners, Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociologist Satish Deshpande and legal expert Maja Daruwala, and said they were "strangers" to the investigation in the matter.

Sudha Bhardwaj, P Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, and lawyers and activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves were arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy.

The government said that the cogent evidence has so far shown that these persons are part of banned terrorist organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist). There has been serious criminal offences made out against them and incriminating material has also emerged, the Maharashtra government said.

Also Read | Most important component of the naxal movement lies in the urban areas; Former R&AW chief

The activists were not just involved in planing and preparing for violence, but were in the process of creating large scale violence, destruction of property, the reply further said.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the house arrest of all these persons. Hearing on the matter would continue on September 6.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 7:25 [IST]
Why did KCR delink the assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Telangana

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Hyderabad, Sep 6: The Governor of Telangana has given his approval to dissolve the assembly and go in for early polls. As a result of this decision which was taken by the state cabinet, polls would not be held simultaneously in the assembly and Lok Sabha segment of Telangana.

The risk taken by KCR to dissolve an assembly of which the original term was to end on May 19 2019 was a calculated one. While he would want to focus exclusively on the two elections, he also has taken the Congress by surprise.

The big question is why does KCR want to dissolve the assembly when the next elections are a good 7 to 8 months away?

Also Read | Telangana: Cabinet recommends dissolution of assembly, calls for early polls

In 2014, despite spearheading the movement for a separate state, KCR's TRS managed to win only 63 out of the 119 seats. The Congress came second with 21 seats, while the TDP and YSR Congress party bagged 15 and 3 respectively. The Asaduddin Owaisi led AIMM and the BJP won seven and five seats respectively.

Sources close to Rao tell OneIndia that he has no doubt about retaining power. He has two things in mind-one is to win by a bigger margin this year and then solely focus on the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. This indicates that KCR would hope that the elections are held in 2018 itself.

Also Read | Telangana assembly elections could be held in December

Rao has shown keen interest in national politics over the past couple of months. He did try stitching up an alternate front, but the plan did not materialise. KCR has made it clear that he would not be part of any front that involves the Congress, which is his primary opponent in Telangana.

In recent times KCR has also shown a great deal of proximity to the BJP. He has held two back to back meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Further his party backed the BJP both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the no trust vote and the elections to the post of deputy chairman.

Rao is aware that he would be a key player, especially at a time when the BJP is not leaving any stone unturned to better its tally in South. KCR would not be part of the NDA, but is likely to back in the post election scenario.

Also Read | Telangana: KCR announces list of 105 candidates for polls, calls Rahul 'biggest buffoon' in Country

His son, K T Rama Rao says that if at all the polls are held early, it would help the party. The TRS would win both the state and Lok Sabha polls convincingly, he said. The TRS also feels that early elections would also give it sufficient time to rope in partners in 2019. Basically KCR wants the two elections to be separate affairs so that he could dedicate ample time to both.
Wont penalise great partner: Mike Pompeo on Indias Russia arms deal, Iran oil imports

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Sep 6: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that talks were ongoing on whether to grant waivers for India from US sanctions on Russia and Iran as he made it clear that Washington's intention is not to "penalise great strategic partners like India."

Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis held the first 2+2 Dialogue here with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to bolster the strategic ties with India and step up defence and security collaboration.

Pompeo told journalists travelling with him that the United States would work with India on its planned purchase of a Russian missile and air-defense system known as the S-400.

India is planning to buy five S-400 Triumf missile air defence systems from Russia for around $4.5 billion.

The purchase will violate sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) instituted by Congress on arms purchases from Russia, but lawmakers have allowed the possibility of a presidential waiver.

"There's been no decision made. But I will share that we do understand the history, right, of India's relationship with Russia and legacy systems. Our effort here, too, is not to penalise great strategic partners like India, a major defence partner.

"The sanctions aren't intended to adversely impact countries like India. They are intended to be a have an impact on the sanctioned country, which is Russia," the secretary of state said.

"And so we'll work our way through the waiver decision as the days and weeks proceed, and we'll do that alongside our partner, India, as well," he said.

He said the US was working to impose CAATSA Section 231 in a way that is appropriate and lawful and to exercise that waiver authority only where it makes sense.

"And we as a team, the national security team, will work on that, and as we continue to have these conversations with India about that, I think come to an outcome that makes sense for each of our two countries," he said.

On the issue of India's oil imports from Iran, Pompeo said, "We have told the Indians consistently, as we have told every nation, that on November 4th the sanctions with respect to Iranian crude oil will be enforced".

"We will consider waivers where appropriate, but that it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed."

The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to "zero" by November 4 or face sanctions, making it clear that there would be no waivers to anyone.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iran supplied 18.4 million tonnes of crude oil during April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal).

"So we'll work with the Indians. We committed that we would do that.

"Many countries are in a place where they it takes a little bit of time to unwind, and we'll work with them, I am sure, to find an outcome that makes sense," the top US diplomat said.

"And from whence they purchase the other crude oil, we're happy to see if it's American products that are able to deliver for them. I think that'd be a great outcome. But our mission set is to make sure that Iran doesn't engage in malign behaviour with wealth that comes from countries around the world, thus the purpose of the sanctions," he said.

On the difference with India on the issue of trade, Pompeo said, the US wanted it to be "very straightforward, free, fair and reciprocal."

"We want the trade balance, the trade deficit that the United States has in its trade with India, to be rectified.

"They have made some progress on that, and we thank them for that. They're going to buy more energy products from the United States. They're going to purchase more aircraft from the United States. We truly do appreciate that. But the gap will remain, and so we are urging them to do all that they can to narrow that gap," he said.

At the same time, he said it was important that the trade barriers that are there, places that American companies' and American workers' products can't be sold here, be reduced.

"And so very consistent what President Trump is seeking all around the world are the things we talked about with our Indian counterparts here today," Pompeo said in response to a question.

India-US bilateral trade is estimated at around $74.5 billion. India has a surplus of $23 billion in trade with the US, and Washington wants to reduce it by forcing New Delhi to buy more American products.

New Delhi is also concerned over recent US move to increase tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from countries China and India.

PTI

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 23:31 [IST]
China's foreign minister Wang Yi to visit Pakistan tomorrow

International

pti-PTI

Beijing, Sep 6: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Pakistan Friday to hold talks with the country's new leadership to consolidate cooperation and elevate the all-weather bilateral strategic partnership.

This is the first high-level visit by a Chinese official to Islamabad since the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office after the July 25 elections. The visit by Wang, who is also designated as the State Councillor which makes him the top diplomat of China, comes two days after that of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo met new Prime Minister Khan and pressed him to take "sustained and decisive measures" against terrorists threatening the regional peace and stability. Announcing Wangs visit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media that besides holding talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, he would also meet top leaders of the new Pakistan government and exchange views on bilateral ties, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

"This is the first high-level visit between the two sides after the establishment of the new government in Pakistan. We hope that through the visit the two sides could consolidate our traditional friendship, all-round cooperation and elevate China-Pakistan all-weather strategic and cooperative partnership," she said when asked about Chinas expectations from the visit from September 7-9.

"China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic and cooperative partners. We are good neighbours, good friends and good brothers. Our bilateral ties have been developing with sound momentum. We have frequent high-level exchanges, practical cooperation moving forward and rich outcomes from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)," she said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday congratulated Pakistan's newly-elected President Arif Alvi, saying the strategic significance of the bilateral ties is "more prominent under the current circumstances" and both sides should support each other "more staunchly".

Wangs visit also comes amidst reports of unease in Beijing over how the new PTI government would approach over USD 50 billion Chinese investments in various projects under the CPEC connecting Chinas Muslim-majority Xinjiang province with Gwadar port in Pakistan. Khan in the past criticised former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for the lack of transparency and corruption in the CPEC projects.

Newly-appointed Finance Minister Asad Umar has promised to bring about transparency to the CPEC projects whose details remained closely guarded secrets. India has protested to China over the CPEC, which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

PTI
Indian origin habitual prank caller sentenced to 3 years prison in Singapore

International

pti-PTI

Singapore, Sept 6: An Indian-origin Singaporean serial prank caller was sentenced to three years of imprisonment on Thursday (Sep 6) for repeatedly making nuisance calls to the police, despite being jailed for the same offence previously.

Gurcharan Singh, a 61-year-old cleaner, usually made the "999" emergency calls after drinking alcohol, the court heard. The latest incidents occurred over two days in June, with Singh making two calls on the first day and 15 on the second. On June 10, Singh called the police using a public phone at a void deck of an apartment block in Chai Chee housing estate. In one of his calls, he told the operator: "You are stupid." He also said: "I put one dynamite to the immigration house." He knew this message to be false, Deputy Public Prosecutor Daphne Lim said.

The police traced Singh's phone call location and arrested him that day, according to a Channel News Asia report. Three empty beer cans were also recovered from his possession, it said. Despite this, Singh made another 15 calls to the police, all in one day, later that month.

Singh has been reoffending since 2000, with the most recent conviction in 2016, when he was sentenced to two-year jail term, the prosecutor said. Lim asked for a jail sentence of three years and nine months, noting that Singh reoffended while out on bail and breached his remission order, which makes him liable for an enhanced jail term. "His underlying problem is alcohol use disorder," said Lim, adding that any nuisance calls made to the police deprive people in distress of timely police intervention.

District Judge Eddy Tham observed that Singh's "main issue is that of drinking" and "after drinking, the accused gets into all kinds of trouble". Singh, who was unrepresented, apologised and pleaded for a lighter sentence. However, the judge told Singh that his alcohol problem was a result of learned behaviour and his offences committed while he was in a state of intoxication were very serious, as they affected an important public service. Sentencing him to three years of imprisonment, the court also ordered an additional enhanced jail term of 66 days for breaching his remission order.

PTI
Kovind begins 2-day visit to Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir today, to celebrate Dussehra with jawans in Drass

President Kovind unveils Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Bulgaria

International

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Sofia, Sept 6: President Ram Nath Kovind and his Bugarian counterpart Rumen Radev unveiled a staue of Mahatma Gandhi at the famous South Park, located at the centre of Sofia on Thursday.

President Kovind also greeted the people of Bulgaria on the occasion of its 133rd Unification Day.

"The most cordial wishes for the nice and hospitable Bulgarians on the occasion of the unification of Bulgaria. I am glad to be in Sofia to share this Skroven moment," the President said in a tweet.

Kovind arrived here on Tuesday from Cyprus on the second leg of his three-nation visit to Europe that will also take him to the Czech Republic.

This is the first presidential visit from India to Bulgaria in 15 years.

A meaningful tribute "Grateful to the people of Bulgaria for giving Mahatma Gandhi an eternal home in Bulgaria on their National Unification Day. This is a meaningful tribute to a man who dedicated his entire life to the service of humanity," Kovind said. President Kovind gifts 'Hind Swaraj' to Bugarian President President Kovind was accompanied by Bugarian counterpart Rumen Radev. Kovind also presented a copy of Gandhi's book 'Hind Swaraj' to Radev. The Mahathma Gandhi statue was conceived and erected by eminent Bulgarian sculptor Ivan Rusev. President Kovind greets Bulgaria on its Unification Day. Earlier in the day, the President wished the people of Bulgaria on the occasion of Unification Day. "I am glad to be in Sofia to share this cherished moment," he said. September 6 commemorates the unification of Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria in 1885.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 17:30 [IST]
Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump

Thousands of terrorists might have been airlifted out of Kabul: Trump slams Biden

Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Trump

Trump thanks Kim Jong Un, says 'we will get it done together'

International

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Washington, Sep 6: US President Donald Trump praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday for reportedly saying his faith in Trump was unchanged as the North Korean leader and that Pyongyang aimed to achieve denuclearization within Trump's first term in office.

"Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims 'unwavering faith in President Trump.' Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!," Trump wrote on Twitter.

Earlier in the day, Kim Jong Un renewed his commitment to the denuclearisation of the flashpoint peninsula.

The announcement of the September 18-20 summit -- the third between the North's leader Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in this year -- comes as US efforts to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal have stalled.

The two leaders will meet in the North Korean capital to discuss "practical measures to denuclearise" the peninsula, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong told reporters.

Chung on Wednesday flew to Pyongyang where he handed over a personal letter from Moon to Kim, as Seoul seeks to kick-start the diplomacy that led to the landmark June summit between US President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader.

The two pledged to denuclearise the Korean peninsula at the Singapore meeting but no details were agreed, and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since on what that means and how it will be achieved.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 6, 2018, 17:56 [IST]
Businessman in Kolkata shot at after his car was stopped by 18 men

West Bengal Class 10, 12 exams to be held in offline mode in March, April

Bengali actress Payel Chakraborty found dead in a Siliguri hotel

Kolkata

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Kolkata, Sep 6: Bengali actress Payel Chakraborty was on Wednesday evening found dead in a hotel room in West Bengal's Siliguri.

Chakraborty, who was supposed to go to Sikkim's capital Gangtok, had checked into the hotel on Tuesday.

The reason behind her death is yet to be ascertained. The police have launched a probe into the matter. Some reports say that she might have committed suicide. Her body has been sent for post mortem.

The 36-year-old has acted in a number of television serials and films. She started in shows like "Chokher Tara Tui" and "Goenda Ginni" and had recently moved to films, said reports.

On Wednesday, the hotel staff knocked the door of her room several times. When there was no response, the staff informed the police who then broke open the door amd found Payal dead.

Chakraborty's father Prabir Guha has stated that she was suffering from mental stress. Primafacie police believe it is a case of suicide, reported DNA.

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The PNG Institute of Medical Research health surveillance systems show that Papua New Guinea still has a high child mortality rate despite attempts in the past decades to decrease it.The institutes scientific officer Rebecca Emori said child mortality continued to be a global health concern despite international and national commitments to address it. Emori said the United Nation millennium development goal had aimed to reduce child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. But PNG missed that target.In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals to end preventable death of new-borns and children under five by 2030.The PNG Government is a signatory to the commitment, Emori said. Emori said Papua New Guinea had developed a comprehensive child health policy to address child mortality issues.However, Papua New Guinea needs reliable data to track the countrys progress towards the international and national targets set, she said.Emori said the government had invested in the institutes health surveillance system, with the aim of providing data that could be used by the Government for better health planning and monitoring.In January, the Department of National Planning and Monitoring provided financial support to sustain the institutes health surveillance system.The surveillance areas we have done researches on child mortality rates were Karkar Island in Madang, Hiri in Central, Asaro in Eastern Highlands and Hides in Hela. The National/ONEPNG
By Islands Business correspondent Nic Maclellan, at the Pacific Islands Forum in NauruDespite the lack of formal endorsement from this weeks Pacific Island Forum in Nauru, Vanuatu will continue an initiative to have West Papua re-listed as a non-self-governing territory at the United Nations.Vanuatu has asked Forum member states to support a proposed resolution to the United Nations General Assembly in 2019, to recognise the right of West Papuan self-determination and relist West Papua with the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation.Forum states like Nauru, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu backed a similar initiative in 2013, which saw French Polynesia re-listed with the UN Special Committee in the face of French opposition at the UN General Assembly.Speaking to Islands Business and Pacnews in Yaren this week, Vanuatu Foreign Minister Ralph Regenvanu said: We didnt come to the Forum with the intention to have a resolution, because we know we wont get it. All we are doing is bring it to the attention of the members and ask them for their support. So far there are indications that we will get the support of the majority of Forum members.In recent years, the umbrella group United Liberation Movement of West Papua (ULMWP) has been seeking membership and support from regional and international bodies. Lora Lini, the daughter of Vanuatus first Prime Minister, the late Father Walter Lini, has been appointed as Special Envoy on Decolonisation of West Papua to the Pacific Island States.ULMWP spokesperson Jacob Rumbiak, who attended the Nauru Forum alongside ULM President Benny Wenda, said: This motion enables Pacific-island leaders to acknowledge that the conflict between Jakarta and West Papuans is an international political issue - not an internal domestic problem - that can now only be resolved with third-party negotiation (the United Nations).Within the Melanesian Spearhead Group, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have resisted the push to make the ULMWP a full member, while Vanuatu and the FLNKS have backed the idea. Former Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare was a vocal supporter of West Papuan self-determination, but under the new government of Prime Minister Rick Houenipwela, the country has taken a more measured diplomatic stand since last year.Despite this, Regenvanu said that this issue was still a matter of dialogue rather than division with other MSG and Forum members: We continue to talk with them all the time. We respect their positions. We are simply asking other Pacific states to support that resolution when it comes to the UNGA next year. We are working on putting together that resolution to the UNGA in 2019 and getting a vote of majority support.Given longstanding reservations from Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji, the Vanuatu government is looking beyond the islands region for support. Regenvanu noted that support will come from Europe, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international groupings.The Pacific will represent some of the votes, but most of the votes will come from outside the region, so we are working on all fronts to try and get those votes secured, he said. There are signs of support from the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group. We had a series of bilaterals at Lome earlier this year. Its now on the agenda of the ACP political sub-committee to discuss and hopefully come up with a resolution at the ACP in December this year  at the Council of Ministers meeting.Regenvanu noted: Were also on the agenda of the Caricom Foreign Affairs Ministers meeting and the African Union Summit. We are now approaching Latin American States and the European Union.In their final communique from Nauru, Forum leaders re-iterated their longstanding recognition of Indonesian sovereignty over West Papua (Papua), and avoided any reference to the right to self-determination: Leaders recognised the constructive engagement by Forum countries with Indonesia with respect to elections and human rights in West Papua (Papua) and to continue dialogue in an open and constructive manner.But the issue of self-determination will continue on the regional agenda. At the end of the 20-year transition under the Noumea Accord, New Caledonia will hold a referendum on self-determination on 4 November. In the case of a no vote, twoAs reported in the August edition of Islands Business magazine, a No vote in November is just a step in an ongoing process under the Noumea Accord. Daniel Goa, the official spokesperson for the Front de Liberation Nationale Kanak et Socialiste (FLNKS) saidIf people say Yes, there would be a declaration of Independence, but between four or five years there would be a transition. If however people vote No, then we will continue our struggle which has continued for more than 164 years. You must understand that the Noumea Accord makes provision for three referendums, not one. If people vote No in November, we can still call a second referendum in 2020. If people vote No again in 2020, a third referendum can be held in 2022.Parallel to this, Bougainville is also scheduled to hold a referendum on its political status, proposed for 2019, despite a lack of support for independence in the PNG Parliament.Next years Forum will be held in Tuvalu, which has provided diplomatic support for West Papua and the 2013 re-inscription of French Polynesia. The 2020 Forum will be hosted by Vanuatu, so the issue of self-determination in Melanesia will continue to be debated.SOURCE: ISLANDS BUSINESS/PACNEWS
Mana Named Latin Grammys' 2018 Person of the Year

New York - Mana will be honored as Person of the Year 2018 by the Latin Recording Academy, and Fher Olvera, lead vocalist of the influential Mexican rock band, can't help but recall its beginnings "in a little truck," as they say, chopping wood and carrying water.

"The band Mana started from way, way down," Fher told The Associated Press in an interview from his house in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. "Everything that happens in our lives as artists is a huge surprise ... so to get to this point where we're going to be 'Person of the Year' of such an important award ceremony is a big achievement. We were very inspired with the news."

Mana, winner of six Latin Grammys and four Grammys, will be recognized for its achievements and contributions to the Latin community, as well as its constant support to the preservation and protection of the environment and human rights, the Latin academy announced Wednesday.

Olvera, drummer Alex Gonzalez, guitarist Sergio Vallin and bass player Juan Calleros will be honored Nov. 14 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, where a variety of Latin stars will be performing some of the hits from Mana's repertoire, which includes Vivir Sin Aire, Cuando los Angeles Lloran and Rayando el Sol, among others.





"Mana is an iconic band with a profound social and environmental consciousness that has created captivating and vibrant music for over three decades," said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., president and CEO of the Latin Recording Academy, in a statement. "Fusing mainly funk, reggae, ska, bolero and a spectrum of Latin rhythms mixed with pure rock, Mana has created true musical anthems."

"In addition to becoming worldwide Latin music icons, their members have championed for social justice, global equality and encouraged environmental protection using the force of their melodies and lyrics, which repeatedly remind our communities of our strength, resilience and our inherent cultural value," Abaroa added.

For over 30 years, Mana has used its voice to emphasize environmental, social, political and human rights issues through its songs, concerts and, more recently, social media. In 1996, the band created the Fundacion Ecologica Selva Negra, which works to preserve endangered species, offers educational programs on the environment, and contributes and organizes community development projects. Mana has promoted the Latino vote in the U.S. and Latin American and has denounced what it deems as social injustices in countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia.

"When I'm criticized as to why I stick my nose in other countries' internal affairs, that is nonsense, because we are not countries," said Olvera, who spoke in Spanish. "We are human beings, we are people, and we must care about people. Not only within our own family or our own city or country, we have to care about the people of the world! We are all on the same boat."

He remembered that since Mana's beginnings in Guadalajara in the mid-'80s, he and his bandmates saw that rock 'n' rollers used their platform to promote a better world. "That's what John Lennon, or Bob Marley, or Bob Dylan did," Olvera said.

"Our intention has always been to give something back to our fans, to our Latin American community that has received us from the United States to Tierra del Fuego, Chile and Argentina, in an astonishing way," he said. "So we give the best we have, which is music, the lyrics that we know how to write, but we also want to use that voice to make Latinos' life in general a little better in the U.S. and the rest of the continent."

As Person of the Year, Mana joins a group of past honorees that includes Marc Anthony, Placido Domingo, Gloria Estefan, Julio Iglesias, Ricky Martin, Carlos Santana, Alejandro Sanz and Shakira.
Clearwater's United for Human Rights Center Provides Tools to Keep Your Child Safe from Social Media Predators

Safe Internet use is one of the seminars held at the Clearwater Human Rights Center

https://www.humanrights.com

CLEARWATER, FL: There is an estimated 300,000 Americans under the age of 18 lured into becoming victims of human trafficking every year. An estimated 76% of these young victims are being recruited through the internet. It is with these sobering statistics in mind that United for Human Rights Florida Chapter is offering free seminars on how to keep your child safe from predators on social media.These seminars can be scheduled at the Human Rights Center, located at 29 N. Fort Harrison Ave., or speakers can make presentations to civic groups and associations during their own regularly scheduled meetings.Parents will lock the doors of their houses, will see that their children arrive and come home from school safely, but do they know who their children are talking to on-line? Maybe not, said Sanna Heden, the Director for the Human Rights Center.The statistics are horrifying, continued Heden, Seventy-five percent of trafficked victims were at one point sold online and the average age for a teen to enter the sex trade in the US is 12 to 14 years of age. Parents need to know the warning signs so they can protect their children.Human trafficking via the internet is becoming more common. On the 28th of August, 40 adults in Lake County Florida were arrested in a child trafficking ring that was internet based.The seminars give parents and teens the signs to look for  does your teen talk about new friends they met, but they dont say who? For teens, one basic step is to keep your facebook profile private and dont friend anyone you dont know, said Heden. There is a quite a bit to learn, but this is a priceless education. We all have the right not to be enslaved or tortured; that is straight out of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.United for Human Rights utilizes the Universal Declaration as part of its educational programs and consistently works with some 60 civil and human rights groups to raise awareness of modern-day slavery. Over the past year, United for Human Rights Florida Chapter has helped educate more than 50,000 people on their human rights in the Clearwater and Tampa areas.United for Human Rights and its programs are based on principles expressed by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who in 1969 observed, "Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream."The Church of Scientology sponsors this human rights education and public information campaigns.For more information about the seminars, or to book one for your group, please call 727-467-6960.---ABOUT UNITED FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: United for Human Rights is a non-profit, non-religious, educational program dedicated to teaching the community their human rights, specifically the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to inspire them to become advocates for peace and tolerance. The United for Human Rights Florida Chapter team hosts a variety of events to combat all forms of human rights violations, and provides free educational material and seminars to educators and activists. To learn more, please go to500 Cleveland StreetClearwater, FL 33755
Tower Crane Market Forecast to Develop and Opportunity at 2023 | Favelle Favco Group, Hankook Tower Crane, Linden Comansa America, Escorts Construction Equipment Limited

Tower Crane Market

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Crystal Market Research (CMR) render to you profound details in respect to leading participants, regions, application and type of the Tower Crane Market which is estimated to encounter substantial growth over the forecast period 2014 - 2023.Industry Outlook and Trend Analysis:The Global Tower Crane Market was worth USD 6.78 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach approximately USD 9.93 billion by 2023, while registering itself at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.34% during the forecast period. Tower cranes can lift an aggregate of around 20 tons and are for the most part used for the development of elevated structure ventures. The expansion in urban foundation ventures, elevated structure undertakings, and skyscraper private condo development extends crosswise over globe to incite market development amid the conjecture time frame.Top Most Players:The leading players in the market are Favelle Favco Group, Hankook Tower Crane, Linden Comansa America, Escorts Construction Equipment Limited, Zoomlion, Sarens, Abus Kransysteme and Terex.Click to Request a Sample @Table of Contents:1.Introduction2.Executive Summary3.Market Overview4.Tower Crane Market, By End User4.1.Introduction4.2.Global Tower Crane Sales, Revenue and Market Share by End User (2014-2017)4.2.1. Global Tower Crane Sales and Sales Share by End User (2014-2017)4.2.2. Global Tower Crane Revenue and Revenue Share by End User (2014-2017)4.3.Tower Crane Market Assessment and Forecast, By End User, 2014-20234.4.Infrastructure sector4.4.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2014-2023($Million)4.5.Residential sector4.5.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2014-2023($Million)4.6.Commercial sector4.6.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2014-2023($Million)To be continued...For more information, click on the below link @Regional Outlook and Trend Analysis:Geographically, the APAC region is anticipated to encounter substantial development in the following years. Rising investments in urban infrastructure projects across countries such as India, China, and Indonesia is foreseen to augment market development in APAC amid the forecast period.The Tower Crane Market is segmented as follows-By End User: Residential sector Commercial sector Infrastructure sectorData Mining:Data is extensively collected through various secondary sources such as annual reports, investor presentations, SEC filings, and other corporate publications. We also refer trade magazines, technical journals, paid databases such as Factiva and Bloomberg, industry trade journals, scientific journals, and social media data to understand market dynamics and industry trends. Further, we also conduct primary research to understand market drivers, restraints, opportunities, challenges, and competitive scenario to build our analysis.To avail discount, please click on the link @List of Tables:Table: Tower Crane Market, By End User ($Million), 2014-2023Table: Global Tower Crane Sales and Sales Share by End User (2014-2017)Table: Global Tower Crane Revenue and Revenue Share by End User (2014-2017)Table: Infrastructure sector Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table: Residential sector Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table: Commercial sector Market, By Region ($Million), 2014-2023Table: Global Tower Crane Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions...Reason to Buy:Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Tower Crane Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.Scrutinize in-depth Global Tower Crane Market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Ask Questions to Expertise at @About Crystal Market Research:Crystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact Us:Judy304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.com
Criminal Law Practices Market Study, Synthesis and Summation 2018

Criminal Law Practices

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Criminal Law Practices Global Market Report 2018 Criminal Law is a system of laws concerned with punishment of individuals who commit crime related to traffic, public order, property and people.Top Leading Companies Mentioned are Baker & McKenzie, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, Sidley Austin, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.Pressure to control costs have forced criminal law firms to move away from traditional by-the-hour billing models to alternative billing models. The new alternative billing models include fixed, flat blended and capped fees. Many law firms are switching to alternative billing models to build long term relationships with clients and to maximize value they are offering to clients. According to a survey by the US law department, about 72.8% of fees paid to outside counsel was not based on standard hourly rates or the billable hours.Request a Sample copy of this report at:This report provides a detailed analysis of the Criminal Law Practices market with description of market sizing and growth, segmentation of market by products & services and major markets, top market players etc. The report recapitulates the factors that will be responsible for the growth in the market in the forecasted period.Essential points covered in Global Criminal Law Practices Market 2018 Research are:- What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2021? What are the key factors driving the global Criminal Law Practices market? What are the key markets trends impacting the growth of the global Criminal Law Practices market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in the global Criminal Law Practices market? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Criminal Law Practices market? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global Criminal Law Practices market?This independent 125 pages report guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. With over figures examining the Criminal Law Practices market, the report gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarket and market leaders market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2021.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with Sales, revenue, Market Share (%) and Growth Rate (%) of Criminal Law Practices in these regions, from 2013 to 2021(forecast), covering Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East And Africa.Browse Full Report at:Furthermore, the report provides a detailed analysis of the global Criminal Law Practices market with analysis of market size by value and volume. Along with this, an analysis of penetration rate and the average revenue generated per user (ARPU) in the market has also been done. The report also includes a detailed analysis of the global Criminal Law Practices market by countries, comprising of its market by value, volume, and ARPU and penetration rate.Reasons for Buying this Report: Outperform competitors using accurate up to date demand-side dynamics information. Identify growth segments for investment. Facilitate decision making on the basis of historic and forecast data and the drivers and restraints on the market. Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis. Stay abreast of the latest customer and market research findings Benchmark performance against key competitors. Develop strategies based on likely future developments. Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing. Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis Gain a global perspective on the development of the market. Report will be updated with the latest data and delivered to you within 3-5 working days of orderGet Exclusive Discount on this Report at :The research includes historic data from 2013 to 2017 and forecasts until 2021 which makes the reports an invaluable resource for industry executives, marketing, sales and product managers, consultants, analysts, and other people looking for key industry data in readily accessible documents with clearly presented tables and graphs. The report will make detailed analysis mainly on above questions and in-depth research on the development environment, market size, development trend, operation situation and future development trend of Criminal Law Practices on the basis of stating current situation of the industry in 2018 so as to make comprehensive organization and judgment on the competition situation and development trend of Criminal Law Practices Market and assist manufacturers and investment organization to better grasp the development course of Criminal Law Practices Market.About Us: MarketInsightsReports provides syndicated Market research reports to industries, organizations or even individuals with an aim of helping them in their decision making process. MarketInsightsReports has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.Contact US:Irfan Tamboli (Head of Sales)Market Insights ReportsPhone: + 1704 266 3234 | Mob: +91-750-707-8687sales@marketinsightsreports.com | irfan@marketinsightsreports.comConnect with us On:
Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market to Reach US$ 3,110.8 million in 2023

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Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market by Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, LCV, and M&HCV), by Product Type (Air-Cooled Charge Air Cooler and Liquid-Cooled Charge Air Cooler), by Position Type (Standalone CAC and Integrated CAC), by Fuel Type (Gasoline and Diesel), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2018-2023This report, from Stratview Research, studies the charge air cooler market in the automotive industry over the trend period 2012 to 2017 and the forecast period 2018 to 2023 both in terms of value and units. The report provides detailed insights into the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.Click here to read the detailed description and TOC:The Global Automotive Charge Air Cooler Market: HighlightsThe global automotive charge air cooler market is projected to offer an impressive growth opportunity and is likely to reach US$ 3,110.8 million in 2023. Organic growth in the automobile production owing to increasing disposable income and growing urbanization; strict government regulations regarding carbon emission reductions and fuel efficiency enhancements, such as CAFE Standards; and increasing penetration of turbochargers are some of the major growth drivers of charge air coolers in the automotive industry.Automotive Charge Air Cooler MarketThe automotive industry is undergoing the most potentially disruptive decade where stringent government regulations regarding carbon emission reductions and fuel efficiency enhancements are generating an enormous pressure on automakers. Automakers are unraveling it by finding distinct ways. Engine downsizing is one of the prime approaches for achieving such industry needs. It makes engine hotter but makes the engine more powerful and efficient and provides an impetuous growth in the demand for turbochargers in vehicles. This creates a need for effective cooling of charged air through charge air cooler (CAC) (also known as an intercooler).Hot air entering engine can create a higher combustion temperature, which creates a greater nitrogen oxide formation and increases thermal load on the engine and related components. Charge air cooler act as a cooling interface, which transforms hot air coming from a turbocharger or a supercharger to cool air entering combustion engine. CACs also contribute towards a reduction in turbo lag and an improvement in engine volumetric efficiency with lower engine displacement.The global automotive charge air cooler market is segmented based on the vehicle type as Passenger Car, LCV, and M&HCV. Passenger car is expected to remain the growth engine of the market during the forecast period. Higher production of cars coupled with an increased adoption of charge air cooler in gasoline engines is driving the segment.Based on the product type, the automotive charge air cooler market is segmented as Air-Cooled Charge Air Cooler (also known as Air-to-Air Charge Air Cooler) and Liquid-Cooled Charge Air Cooler (also known as Water-Cooled Charge Air Cooler). Air-cooled charge air cooler is expected to remain the dominant product type in the market during the forecast period, whereas liquid-cooled charge air cooler is likely to grow at a faster rate during the same period. Smaller packaging space with reduced duct length, reduction in pressure loss, an improvement in power and torque delivery, and an enhanced efficiency are some of the key whys and wherefores for faster growth of liquid cooled charge air cooler as compared to air-cooled charge air cooler.Another factor evoking interest towards the usage of liquid-cooled charge air cooler is its versatility. It can be adjusted in various configurations, such as remote mounting or self-contained and can be integrated into the intake manifold or supercharger housing. On the other hand, air-cooled charge air cooler is generally mounted standalone in the front of radiator only.Based on the fuel type, the market is segmented as Diesel Engine-based Charge Air Cooler and Gasoline Engine-based Charge Air Cooler. The diesel engine is expected to remain the dominant segment of the automotive charge air cooler market during the forecast period, whereas gasoline engine is expected to witness a higher growth during the same period.In terms of regions, Europe is expected to remain the largest automotive charge air cooler market during the forecast period, owing to the high penetration of diesel engine vehicles coupled with a greater penetration of turbochargers to address the strict emission norms of European Commission. North America, another considerable region, is also likely to generate a healthy demand for charge air cooler in the coming years, primarily propelled by the USA and Mexico.Asia-Pacific is likely to experience the highest growth during the same period. China and India are the growth engine of Asia-Pacifics market for charge air coolers. Both countries together accounted for more than 60% of the Asia-Pacifics market and are likely to grow at an impressive double-digit growth rate during the forecast period.The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, charge air cooler manufacturers, system suppliers, automotive OEMs, and dealers. Major automotive charge air cooler manufacturers are Calsonic Kansei Corporation, Denso Corporation, Dana Incorporated, Hanon Systems Mahle GmbH, T.RAD Co., Ltd., and Valeo Group. Development of integrated charge air coolers and formation of strategic alliances with OEMs and turbocharger suppliers are the key strategies adopted by the major players to gain a competitive edge in the market.Report FeaturesThis report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysisMarket environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porters five forces analysis, SWOT analysisMarket trend and forecast analysisMarket segment trend and forecastCompetitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunitiesEmerging trendsStrategic growth opportunities for the existing and new playersKey success factorsThe global automotive charge air cooler market is segmented into the following categories.Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market, By Vehicle Type Passenger Car (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Light Commercial Vehicle (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Medium- & Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market, By Product Type Air-Cooled Charge Air Cooler (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Liquid-Cooled Charge Air Cooler (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market, By Position Type Standalone CAC (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Integrated CAC (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market, By Fuel Type Gasoline Vehicles (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Diesel Vehicles (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Charge Air Cooler (CAC) Market, By Region North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico) Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, France, The UK, Italy, Russia, and Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific) Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Brazil, Argentina, and Others)About Stratview ResearchStratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.Category: Aerospace & DefenseStratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life2nd Floor, Crystal Tower, Telibandha, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 492001Stratview ResearchCrystal Tower, Raipur - 492001Phone No. +1-313-307-4176Email :- sales@stratviewresearch.com
Cellulose 2018 Global Market Key Players  DuPont, Honeywell International, INVISTA, FiberVisions Products, Eastman Chemical  Analysis and Forecast to 2025

Cellulose Market

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WiseGuyRerports.com Presents Global Cellulose Market Insights, Forecast to 2025 New Document to its Studies DatabaseThis report researches the worldwide Cellulose market size (value, capacity, production and consumption) in key regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (China, Japan) and other regions.This study categorizes the global Cellulose breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.Global Cellulose market size will increase to Million US$ by 2025, from Million US$ in 2017, at a CAGR of during the forecast period. In this study, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Cellulose.This report focuses on the top manufacturers' Cellulose capacity, production, value, price and market share of Cellulose in global market. The following manufacturers are covered in this report:DuPontHoneywell InternationalINVISTAFiberVisions ProductsEastman ChemicalNylstarZhejiang FulidaLenzingWeyerhaeuser CompanyDaicel CorporationCellulose Breakdown Data by TypeNatural CelluloseSynthetic CelluloseRequest For Sample Report @Cellulose Breakdown Data by ApplicationAerospace and DefenseAutomotivePaper and PulpConstructionElectrical/InsulationTextileFireproofingOthersCellulose Production Breakdown Data by RegionUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanOther RegionsThe study objectives are:To analyze and research the global Cellulose capacity, production, value, consumption, status and forecast;To focus on the key Cellulose manufacturers and study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in next few years.To 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.Complete Report Details @Table Of Contents:1 Study Coverage1.1 Cellulose Product1.2 Key Market Segments in This Study1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered1.4 Market by Type1.4.1 Global Cellulose Market Size Growth Rate by Type1.4.2 Natural Cellulose1.4.3 Synthetic Cellulose1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Cellulose Market Size Growth Rate by Application1.5.2 Aerospace and Defense1.5.3 Automotive1.5.4 Paper and Pulp1.5.5 Construction1.5.6 Electrical/Insulation1.5.7 Textile1.5.8 Fireproofing1.5.9 Others1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Executive Summary2.1 Global Cellulose Production2.1.1 Global Cellulose Revenue 2013-20252.1.2 Global Cellulose Production 2013-20252.1.3 Global Cellulose Capacity 2013-20252.1.4 Global Cellulose Marketing Pricing and Trends2.2 Cellulose Growth Rate (CAGR) 2018-20252.3 Analysis of Competitive Landscape2.3.1 Manufacturers Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)2.3.2 Key Cellulose Manufacturers2.4 Market Drivers, Trends and Issues2.5 Macroscopic Indicator2.5.1 GDP for Major Regions2.5.2 Price of Raw Materials in Dollars: Evolution.8 Manufacturers Profiles8.1 DuPont8.1.1 DuPont Company Details8.1.2 Company Description8.1.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Cellulose8.1.4 Cellulose Product Description8.1.5 SWOT Analysis8.2 Honeywell International8.2.1 Honeywell International Company Details8.2.2 Company Description8.2.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Cellulose8.2.4 Cellulose Product Description8.2.5 SWOT Analysis8.3 INVISTA8.3.1 INVISTA Company Details8.3.2 Company Description8.3.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Cellulose8.3.4 Cellulose Product Description8.3.5 SWOT Analysis8.4 FiberVisions Products8.4.1 FiberVisions Products Company Details8.4.2 Company Description8.4.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Cellulose8.4.4 Cellulose Product Description8.4.5 SWOT Analysis8.5 Eastman Chemical8.5.1 Eastman Chemical Company Details8.5.2 Company Description8.5.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Cellulose8.5.4 Cellulose Product Description8.5.5 SWOT AnalysisContinued.CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Address:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Market 2018 Share, Trend, Segmentation and Forecast to 2025

Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Industry

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Global Chemical Tanker Shipping IndustryNew Study On 2018-2025 Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Forecast Added to Wise Guy Reports DatabaseThis report focuses on the global Chemical Tanker Shipping status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Chemical Tanker Shipping development in United States, Europe and China.A chemical tanker is a type of tanker ship designed to transport chemicals in bulk.The key factor contributing to the growth of the chemical tanker shipping market is the increasing demand of chemical production.In 2017, the global Chemical Tanker Shipping market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The key players covered in this studyOdfjellStolt-NielsenIINO KAIUN KAISHATokyo MarineMISCNavig8 ChemicalsNordic Tankers...Try Sample Report @Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoOrganicInorganicVegetable Oils & FatsMarket segment by Application, split intoShip TransportOthersMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaCentral & South AmericaThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze global Chemical Tanker Shipping status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.To present the Chemical Tanker Shipping development in United States, Europe and China.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions.For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @Some Major Points from Table of content:1 Report Overview1.1 Study Scope1.2 Key Market Segments1.3 Players Covered1.4 Market Analysis by Type1.4.1 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size Growth Rate by Type (2013-2025)1.4.2 Organic1.4.3 Inorganic1.4.4 Vegetable Oils & Fats1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Share by Application (2013-2025)1.5.2 Ship Transport1.5.3 Others1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Global Growth Trends2.1 Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size2.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Growth Trends by Regions2.2.1 Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Regions (2013-2025)2.2.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)2.3 Industry Trends2.3.1 Market Top Trends2.3.2 Market Drivers2.3.3 Market Opportunities3 Market Share by Key Players3.1 Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Manufacturers3.1.1 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Revenue by Manufacturers (2013-2018)3.1.2 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Revenue Market Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)3.1.3 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)3.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players Head office and Area Served3.3 Key Players Chemical Tanker Shipping Product/Solution/Service3.4 Date of Enter into Chemical Tanker Shipping Market3.5 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans4 Breakdown Data by Type and Application4.1 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application (2013-2018)5 United States5.1 United States Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in United States5.3 United States Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type5.4 United States Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application6 Europe6.1 Europe Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)6.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in Europe6.3 Europe Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type6.4 Europe Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application7 China7.1 China Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)7.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in China7.3 China Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type7.4 China Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application8 Japan8.1 Japan Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)8.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in Japan8.3 Japan Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type8.4 Japan Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application9 Southeast Asia9.1 Southeast Asia Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)9.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in Southeast Asia9.3 Southeast Asia Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type9.4 Southeast Asia Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application10 India10.1 India Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)10.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in India10.3 India Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type10.4 India Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application11 Central & South America11.1 Central & South America Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size (2013-2018)11.2 Chemical Tanker Shipping Key Players in Central & South America11.3 Central & South America Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Type11.4 Central & South America Chemical Tanker Shipping Market Size by Application12 International Players Profiles12.1 Odfjell12.1.1 Odfjell Company Details12.1.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.1.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.1.4 Odfjell Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.1.5 Odfjell Recent Development12.2 Stolt-Nielsen12.2.1 Stolt-Nielsen Company Details12.2.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.2.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.2.4 Stolt-Nielsen Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.2.5 Stolt-Nielsen Recent Development12.3 IINO KAIUN KAISHA12.3.1 IINO KAIUN KAISHA Company Details12.3.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.3.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.3.4 IINO KAIUN KAISHA Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.3.5 IINO KAIUN KAISHA Recent Development12.4 Tokyo Marine12.4.1 Tokyo Marine Company Details12.4.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.4.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.4.4 Tokyo Marine Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.4.5 Tokyo Marine Recent Development12.5 MISC12.5.1 MISC Company Details12.5.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.5.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.5.4 MISC Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.5.5 MISC Recent Development12.6 Navig8 Chemicals12.6.1 Navig8 Chemicals Company Details12.6.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.6.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.6.4 Navig8 Chemicals Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.6.5 Navig8 Chemicals Recent Development12.7 Nordic Tankers12.7.1 Nordic Tankers Company Details12.7.2 Company Description and Business Overview12.7.3 Chemical Tanker Shipping Introduction12.7.4 Nordic Tankers Revenue in Chemical Tanker Shipping Business (2013-2018)12.7.5 Nordic Tankers Recent DevelopmentContinued..For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:
High Fructose Corn Syrup Market Globally Expected to Drive Growth through 2024

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High fructose corn syrup is used in place of sucrose in the foods and beverages industry. It is derived as a liquid sweetener from corn syrup using a process called wet milling. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) accounts for a share of 9% in the global sweeteners market.HFCS is not much different from other fructose glucose sweeteners such as honey, sucrose, and fruit juice concentrates in terms of composition or metabolism. It is generally composed of 42% to 55% fructose. HFCS exhibits better stability and works well in acidic beverages that are available in liquid state. This ensures easy transport and handling of HFCS. Also it renders the substance better miscibility than granulated sucrose.Request to view Sample Report:Fructose has emerged as a more cost-effective alternative to glucose, since it is sweeter than the latter. Owing to this attribute the use of fructose has significantly increased in food processing. However, on the flip side, calorie content of fructose is equivalent to sugar. Manufacturers operating in either the sugar or fructose industry therefore share similar concerns. Additionally, the human body metabolizes fructose in a much different way than it does glucose. Thus the consumption of HFCS is also associated with the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide.Owing to the benefits offered over granulated sucrose, the use of HFCS has proliferated across the U.S. food industry at a robust pace. Some of the benefits of using HFCS include: easy handling, easy to supply and good for stability. Corn is a reliable crop and is grown abundantly across the U.S., while the production of sucrose is limited. The U.S. therefore imports major supplies from sugar-growing countries. Thus the supply of essential commodities in the country is vulnerable to political and economic conditions prevalent in exporting nations. Also because of its liquid form HFCS is considered more stable for use in acidic beverages. Additionally, it is easier to handle, transport, and mix compared to granulated sucrose.Read Report Overview @Global high fructose corn syrup market is gaining impetus from the increasing demand for sweetener in the food and beverages industry. HFCS 42 has emerged as a good alternative to sugar and honey in food preparation for those who are trying to avoid sucrose due to its side effects. HFCS 42 constitutes approximately 42% fructose, while sugar has around 50% fructose, and the presence of fructose in honey is around 48%. This is a key factor driving the global HFCS market.However, the changing lifestyle and growing health concerns among consumers of emerging nations are limiting the markets growth to an extent. This is because high consumption of fructose is often related to the prevalence of obesity and diabetes. Hence, zero calorie sweeteners have become much popular among consumers.Nevertheless, after being granted the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status by the U.S. FDA, HFCS is widely used across the U.S. food industry mainly due to the advantages it offers over granulated sucrose.Some of the most prominent enterprises operating in the global high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) market are Cargill Inc., Archer Daniels Midland Company, INGREDION INCORPORATED, Tate & Lyle and others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Dishwashing Detergents Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2018  2025

Global Dishwashing Detergents Industry

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Global Dishwashing Detergents IndustryNew Study On 2018-2025 Dishwashing Detergents Market Global Key Player, Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Forecast Added to Wise Guy Reports DatabaseThis report researches the worldwide Dishwashing Detergents market size (value, capacity, production and consumption) in key regions like North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (China, Japan) and other regions.This study categorizes the global Dishwashing Detergents breakdown data by manufacturers, region, type and application, also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis.Try Sample Report @Dishwashing detergents are used to clean utensils in kitchen. They are manufactured from chemicals and natural ingredients such as lemon and vinegar. Dishwashing detergent is considered as a necessity item, and people of all income groups use it. The new age dishwashing detergents are eco-friendly and cause less harmful compared to the traditional products.The usage of dishwashing products can be found in both personal consumer and commercial sectors. Each sector has significant competition between corporations vying to gain stable hold in the industry. In the commercial sector, demand is dependent upon economic growth. In the personal consumer sector, demand is reliant upon the growth of populations, especially as it pertains to households that include children. Individual businesses prioritize the efficiency of their operations and their effective marketing strategies to generate profit. Smaller companies focus on providing specialized products and offering excellent customer service to specific locales. Large corporations have advantages in the market due to their economies of scale.Global Dishwashing Detergents market size will increase to xx Million US$ by 2025, from xx Million US$ in 2017, at a CAGR of xx% during the forecast period. In this study, 2017 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Dishwashing Detergents.This report focuses on the top manufacturers' Dishwashing Detergents capacity, production, value, price and market share of Dishwashing Detergents in global market. The following manufacturers are covered in this report:Procter & GambleUnileverColgate-PalmoliveChurch & DwightKaoWerner & MertzPersanMcBrideDanlindDalli GroupEcoverReckitt BenckiserSeventh GenerationSonettLemi ShineAmwayLIBY GroupNice GroupBlue MoonShanghai White Cat GroupNafineDishwashing Detergents Breakdown Data by TypeSaponificationNon-saponificationDishwashing Detergents Breakdown Data by ApplicationResidentialRestaurantDishwashing Detergents Production Breakdown Data by RegionUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanOther RegionsDishwashing Detergents Consumption Breakdown Data by RegionNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesThailandVietnamEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalyRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaGCC CountriesTurkeyEgyptSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaThe study objectives are:To analyze and research the global Dishwashing Detergents capacity, production, value, consumption, status and forecast;To focus on the key Dishwashing Detergents manufacturers and study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in next few years.To 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.For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @Some Major Points from Table of content:Global Dishwashing Detergents Market Research Report 2018-2025, by Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications1 Study Coverage1.1 Dishwashing Detergents Product1.2 Key Market Segments in This Study1.3 Key Manufacturers Covered1.4 Market by Type1.4.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Market Size Growth Rate by Type1.4.2 Saponification1.4.3 Non-saponification1.5 Market by Application1.5.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Market Size Growth Rate by Application1.5.2 Residential1.5.3 Restaurant1.6 Study Objectives1.7 Years Considered2 Executive Summary2.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Production2.1.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Revenue 2013-20252.1.2 Global Dishwashing Detergents Production 2013-20252.1.3 Global Dishwashing Detergents Capacity 2013-20252.1.4 Global Dishwashing Detergents Marketing Pricing and Trends2.2 Dishwashing Detergents Growth Rate (CAGR) 2018-20252.3 Analysis of Competitive Landscape2.3.1 Manufacturers Market Concentration Ratio (CR5 and HHI)2.3.2 Key Dishwashing Detergents Manufacturers2.4 Market Drivers, Trends and Issues2.5 Macroscopic Indicator2.5.1 GDP for Major Regions2.5.2 Price of Raw Materials in Dollars: Evolution3 Market Size by Manufacturers3.1 Dishwashing Detergents Production by Manufacturers3.1.1 Dishwashing Detergents Production by Manufacturers3.1.2 Dishwashing Detergents Production Market Share by Manufacturers3.2 Dishwashing Detergents Revenue by Manufacturers3.2.1 Dishwashing Detergents Revenue by Manufacturers (2013-2018)3.2.2 Dishwashing Detergents Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)3.3 Dishwashing Detergents Price by Manufacturers3.4 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion Plans4 Dishwashing Detergents Production by Regions4.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Production by Regions4.1.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Production Market Share by Regions4.1.2 Global Dishwashing Detergents Revenue Market Share by Regions4.2 United States4.2.1 United States Dishwashing Detergents Production4.2.2 United States Dishwashing Detergents Revenue4.2.3 Key Players in United States4.2.4 United States Dishwashing Detergents Import & Export4.3 Europe4.3.1 Europe Dishwashing Detergents Production4.3.2 Europe Dishwashing Detergents Revenue4.3.3 Key Players in Europe4.3.4 Europe Dishwashing Detergents Import & Export4.4 China4.4.1 China Dishwashing Detergents Production4.4.2 China Dishwashing Detergents Revenue4.4.3 Key Players in China4.4.4 China Dishwashing Detergents Import & Export4.5 Japan4.5.1 Japan Dishwashing Detergents Production4.5.2 Japan Dishwashing Detergents Revenue4.5.3 Key Players in Japan4.5.4 Japan Dishwashing Detergents Import & Export4.6 Other Regions4.6.1 South Korea4.6.2 India4.6.3 Southeast Asia5 Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Regions5.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Regions5.1.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Regions5.1.2 Global Dishwashing Detergents Consumption Market Share by Regions5.2 North America5.2.1 North America Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Application5.2.2 North America Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Countries5.2.3 United States5.2.4 Canada5.2.5 Mexico5.3 Europe5.3.1 Europe Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Application5.3.2 Europe Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Countries5.3.3 Germany5.3.4 France5.3.5 UK5.3.6 Italy5.3.7 Russia5.4 Asia Pacific5.4.1 Asia Pacific Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Application5.4.2 Asia Pacific Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Countries5.4.3 China5.4.4 Japan5.4.5 South Korea5.4.6 India5.4.7 Australia5.4.8 Indonesia5.4.9 Thailand5.4.10 Malaysia5.4.11 Philippines5.4.12 Vietnam5.5 Central & South America5.5.1 Central & South America Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Application5.5.2 Central & South America Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Countries5.5.3 Brazil5.6 Middle East and Africa5.6.1 Middle East and Africa Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Application5.6.2 Middle East and Africa Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Countries5.6.3 Turkey5.6.4 GCC Countries5.6.5 Egypt5.6.6 South Africa6 Market Size by Type6.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Breakdown Dada by Type6.2 Global Dishwashing Detergents Revenue by Type6.3 Dishwashing Detergents Price by Type7 Market Size by Application7.1 Overview7.2 Global Dishwashing Detergents Breakdown Dada by Application7.2.1 Global Dishwashing Detergents Consumption by Application7.2.2 Global Dishwashing Detergents Consumption Market Share by Application (2013-2018)8 Manufacturers Profiles8.1 Procter & Gamble8.1.1 Procter & Gamble Company Details8.1.2 Company Description8.1.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.1.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.1.5 SWOT Analysis8.2 Unilever8.2.1 Unilever Company Details8.2.2 Company Description8.2.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.2.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.2.5 SWOT Analysis8.3 Colgate-Palmolive8.3.1 Colgate-Palmolive Company Details8.3.2 Company Description8.3.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.3.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.3.5 SWOT Analysis8.4 Church & Dwight8.4.1 Church & Dwight Company Details8.4.2 Company Description8.4.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.4.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.4.5 SWOT Analysis8.5 Kao8.5.1 Kao Company Details8.5.2 Company Description8.5.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.5.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.5.5 SWOT Analysis8.6 Werner & Mertz8.6.1 Werner & Mertz Company Details8.6.2 Company Description8.6.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.6.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.6.5 SWOT Analysis8.7 Persan8.7.1 Persan Company Details8.7.2 Company Description8.7.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.7.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.7.5 SWOT Analysis8.8 McBrideDanlind8.8.1 McBrideDanlind Company Details8.8.2 Company Description8.8.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.8.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.8.5 SWOT Analysis8.9 Dalli Group8.9.1 Dalli Group Company Details8.9.2 Company Description8.9.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.9.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.9.5 SWOT Analysis8.10 Ecover8.10.1 Ecover Company Details8.10.2 Company Description8.10.3 Capacity, Production and Value of Dishwashing Detergents8.10.4 Dishwashing Detergents Product Description8.10.5 SWOT Analysis8.11 Reckitt Benckiser8.12 Seventh Generation8.13 Sonett8.14 Lemi Shine8.15 Amway8.16 LIBY Group8.17 Nice Group8.18 Blue Moon8.19 Shanghai White Cat Group8.20 NafineContinued..For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:
Healthcare Security Systems Market Analysis 2022: Impressively growing Latest Technology Trends with Top Manufactures and Business Opportunities

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The healthcare security system includes an overall physical security solution installed in various healthcare facilities such as the Open Publication Distribution System (OPD), assisted living facilities, outpatient care centers and hospitals. Security systems such as perimeter protection, access control systems, intercom and emergency communications, and video surveillance are specific types of healthcare security systems. Security systems play an important role in improving healthcare as much as privacy and data and resource protection are valuable to society. Patient care to protect your rights is another essential element of ethical health care.Get a Free Sample PDF Copy of Report at:Top Players:ADT Corporation (U.S.), Avigilon Corporation (Canada), Schneider Electric SE (France), Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), Allied Telesis, Inc. (U.S.), Atos SE (France), Tyco Security Products (U.S.), Seico Security Systems (U.S.), and Nedap (Netherlands).The global market for healthcare security systems is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately +8% during the forecast period, 20182023.With increasing popularity of smart technology these days, Healthcare Security Systems market have thus become prominent creators of digital information. These systems lets users to collate, collect, and analyze the generated data, which subsequently has triggered rapid development of the global market in the last few years. Ongoing industrial advancements and the persistent penetration of Internet in the remote corners of the world are also responsible for the noteworthy growth of the Global Healthcare Security Systems market. Foremost contestants are upholding the use of worthy resources and purchasing raw resources from well-known industries.Global Healthcare Security Systems Market, by Type:CCTV SystemAccess Control SystemsBiometric systemsSmart CardsChipper locksX-Ray screening systemIntrusion Detection InstrumentsThe global healthcare security systems market consists of four regions, namely, America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.Americas led the global healthcare system market during the forecast period. The predominance is attributed to the numerous medical institutions that have been forced to adopt the latest security systems in major healthcare facilities. Security risks are growing in the healthcare industry because they are often targeted at hospitals because they are easily accessible with huge infrastructure.Get Up to 40% Discount on this report:Table of Content:Healthcare Security Systems Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1: Healthcare Security Systems Market OverviewChapter 2: Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3: Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4: Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5: Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6: Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7: Healthcare Security Systems Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8: Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersInquiry more about this report at:About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact us:Mr. Sunny DenisContact No. +1-888-631-6977sales@researchnreports.comResearch N Reports
Lecithin Market Competitive Dynamics & Global Outlook 2024

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Lecithin is type of substance which is obtained from many commercial sources like egg yolks, soybeans, sunflower etc. Lecithin has application in different industries which includes food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. Lecithin is generally used because of its unique characteristics like smoothening textures of food, for dissolving powders, to repel the sticky material, for homogenizing mixtures in liquid and also it is used as an emulsifier and stabilizing agent. North America and Asia-Pacific region is the largest producer of lecithin in the world. Globally, organic and Non-GMO lecithin are in demand.Request PDF Brochure @Lecithin Market: Market SegmentationMarket of lecithin is segmented on the basis of by types, form, grade and by application. On the basis of by types, it is segmented as unrefined lecithin, refined lecithin and chemically modified lecithin. Difference between unrefined or natural lecithin is that, unrefined lecithin is extracted from the oil seeds such as soybeans, sunflower etc. and refined lecithin is unified with phospholipids, alcohol etc. On the other side, chemically modified lecithin is modified through chemical treatments. Lecithin market is segmented on the basis of forms such as liquid and powder & granule. Liquid lecithin is used in majorly in bakery & confectionery & industrial applications. Whereas powder lecithin is used in instant dry mixes, beverage premixes, etc.Lecithin market is segmented on the basis of grade such as food grade, feed grade and pharma grade. Pharma grade lecithin is used because of its functional, nutritional and therapeutic properties. Another segment is on the basis of application of lecithin which includes food and beverage, pharmaceutical industry, cosmetic, animal feed and for industrial purpose. Further the market of food and beverage is segmented into sub-segment. It is sub-segmented into bakery & confectionery, beverages, convenience foods, meat & seafood and dairy products.Request for Discount @Lecithin Market: Growth DriversMajor drivers which influence the demand of lecithin is from the food manufacturing industry as it is used as food additive and where it has usage in form of natural emulsifier, lubricant stabilizer, realizing agent and for many other purposes. On the other side, lecithin is also trending its demands from the pharmaceutical manufacturers as they use this product for treatments related to neurological conditions, liver and cholesterol effects and for cardiovascular diseases. Increasing health awareness among consumers has also leads to increase in demand of pharmaceutical as one of the product which is also used for preventive purpose as it helps in treatment of for diseases related to neurological disorder, liver, cholesterol level and also used as a therapeutic purpose.Request for Customization @Some of the major players which are operating the business in lecithin market are: Archer Daniels Midland Company, "Sodrugestvo" Group of Companies, Cargill Incorporated, Thew Arnott Group, AMERICAN LECITHIN COMPANY, Swanson Health Products, NOW Foods, Lipoid GmbH, Lucas Meyer GMBH, DuPont and Bunge Limited.ABOUT US:Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Zinc Dichloride Market Latest Report With Forecast 2015  2023

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Zinc dichloride is an inorganic salt of zinc and hydrochloric acid. It is also known as zinc (II) chloride, zinc chloride and zinc butter in the industry. It is widely utilized in the textile industry for textile processing and in the chemical industry for synthesis of chemicals. Zinc dichloride is a white or clear, odorless, hygroscopic (in anhydrous form), crystalline solid highly soluble in water and in solvents such as ethanol, glycerol, acetone and benzene. Zinc dichloride is commonly available in hydrate forms as the anhydrous form tends to crystallize in presence of moist air. Zinc dichloride is supplied in the market in industrial grade and pharmaceutical grade formulations. Zinc dichloride has high toxicity and prolonged or repeated exposure to skin and eyes or inhalation may cause damage to organs. Zinc dichloride is acutely toxic if ingested and may cause severe organ failure. Zinc dichloride releases highly corrosive gases when burned.Request PDF Brochure @Zinc dichloride is primarily used by the textile industry as a processing aid for textiles. Zinc dichloride also finds application as a processing aid in the pulp and paper industry. Zinc dichloride, in its concentrated (64%) aqueous solution dissolves starch and cellulosic materials. This property is useful for processing of textiles and paper. It is also employed by the chemical industry for the organic syntheses of alkyl chlorides as an essential ingredient of the Lucas Reagent (HCl and ZnCl2). Zinc dichloride is also used in forensic laboratories for detecting fingerprints and as an ingredient in the smoke grenades by defense forces across the world. Zinc dichloride is widely used in metallurgical fluxes for soldering with metal surfaces. A very dilute solution of zinc dichloride has been conventionally used as disinfectant and a mouth wash ingredient.Request Customization @Some of the market players include Alfa Aesar (Johnson Matthey Group), Merck Millipore, Avantor Performance Materials Inc., and Zaclon LLC. among many others.ABOUT US:Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Beverage Refrigeration Market Technology 2018 to 2024 :Electrolux, Daikin Industries, Avanti, Dover Corporation, KingsBottle, Whirlpool Corporation, Edgestar, Haier, Ford and General Electrics

Beverage Refrigeration Market

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North America beverage refrigeration market size is anticipated to surpass USD 1 billion by 2024. This can be credited to escalating consumption of refreshment drinks and technological improvements in refrigeration systems. In addition, government encouraging utilization of energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies in refrigerators.Beverage Refrigeration Market size is estimated to exceed USD 4.5 billion by 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.Escalating demand for refrigerators to store and serve drinks for social gathering and private events, is a key factor driving beverage refrigeration market growth. Ongoing technological advances to reduce the overall cooling time and consumer demand for distinctive features such as bottom freezer drawer and powerful filtered water will boost beverage refrigeration market size.Request for a sample of this research report @Increasing consumer preference for packaged drinks which are convenient to consume at home will support the product demand. According to recent statistics, the global consumption of packaged drinks was estimated more than 1.05 trillion liters in 2016 and Chinese consumption amounted to about 178.6 billion liters.Manufacturers are anticipated to invest in new product development to comply with new energy standards implemented by the regulatory bodies. Further, increasing penetration of refrigerators that employ specific features such as modifiable shelves to accommodate bottles and cans will boost product sales.Under counter beverage refrigerator was valued at over USD 1 billion in 2016. Product offering such as stainless-steel body or custom panel-ready fronts are stimulating the demand. In addition, better shelving and temperature control will support segment penetration over the forecast period.Browse Full Report @Rising demand to preserve milk in dairy shops will propel coolers demand over the projected timeframe. Diary companies are upgrading their existing capacities, and setting up cold storages along with the processing plant. This will generate the overall revenue over the forecast period.Storage beverage refrigeration estimated to register over 4% CAGR in terms of volume by 2024. Increasing demand of premium refrigerators with aesthetic features in high end restaurants, convenience stores and professional kitchens will propel industry size.Asia Pacific market holds over 20% of overall industry share in 2016. According to industry estimates, the region is anticipated to account for more than two-thirds of the global beverages consumption by 2020. The region accounts for 60% of the world population and increasing consumption will provide lucrative opportunities for manufacturers.Global beverage refrigeration market is fragmented in nature. Key industry players are Electrolux, Daikin Industries, Avanti, Dover Corporation, KingsBottle, Whirlpool Corporation, Edgestar, Haier, Ford and General Electrics. Other Industry participants are Koolatron, Coca-Cola, Danfoss, Gamko, Liebherr, Marvel, Kegco, Danby, Johnson Controls, U-line, HABCO, Allavino, Kenmore, Marvel, United Technologies Corporation and Illinois Tool Works.Make an Inquiry for purchasing this report @Technological advancement is expected to positively influence the industry size. Mergers & acquisition is anticipated to be key strategy to widen their geographical presence and improve their profitability.Partial Chapter of the Table of ContentChapter 3. Global Beverage Refrigeration Industry Insights3.1. Industry segmentation3.2. Industry landscape, 2013 - 20243.3. Industry ecosystem analysis3.3.1. Distribution channel analysis3.3.2. Profit margin trends3.3.3. Vendor matrix3.3.3.1. Role3.3.3.2. Product portfolio3.3.3.3. Global presence3.4. Technology landscape3.5. Raw material analysis3.6. Industry best practices & key buying criteria3.7. Regulatory landscape3.7.1. U.S.3.7.2. Europe3.7.3. Asia Pacific3.7.4. Latin America3.7.5. Middle East & Africa3.8. Pricing analysis3.8.1. Regional pricing3.8.1.1. North America3.8.1.2. Europe3.8.1.3. Asia Pacific3.8.1.4. Latin America3.8.1.5. MEA3.8.2. Cost structure analysisAbout Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
Automotive Active Grille Shutter (AGS) Market to Reach US$ 1078.7 million in 2023

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Automotive Active Grille Shutter (AGS) Market by Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, LCV, and M&HCV), by Shutter Vanes Type (Horizontal AGS and Vertical AGS), by Shutter Type (Visible AGS and Non-Visible AGS), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2018-2023This report, from Stratview Research, studies the global automotive active grille shutter market over the trend period 2012 to 2017 and forecast period 2018 to 2023 both in terms of value and units. The report provides detailed insights into the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.Click here to read the detailed description and TOC:The Global Automotive Active Grille Shutter (AGS) Market: HighlightsActive grille shutter is an advanced mechatronic component, which performs a key function of selectively allowing or restricting airflow with an automatic opening and closing of shutters based on real-time needs. This results in reducing aerodynamic drag to an extent and improving the fuel economy of the vehicle, thereby leading to reduced CO2 emissions. The automotive industry is very keen on adopting technologies, which lead to an improvement in fuel economy and a reduction in harmful emissions.The automotive active grille shutter market is likely to grow at an impressive double-digit rate over the next five years to reach US$ 1078.7 million in 2023. The auto industry has efficaciously been ushering in a new era of aerodynamic vehicles with a meticulous investment into advanced components that can address the changing business requirements in the most effective manner. All the major automakers have vigorously been incorporating active components in their most-renowned vehicle models with the purpose to improve the overall fuel efficiency of vehicles in order to address stringent government regulations, such as CAFE Standards and EU Commission on Carbon Emissions Reduction Targets.Active Grille Shutter MarketActive grille shutter is a key component of active aerodynamic family and has been catching the automakers attention by offering a vast list of advantages. On an average, AGS offers signification weight reduction up to 20% and improvement in aerodynamic performance up to 30% as compared to non-AGS vehicle. Today, AGS has successfully found its presence in both premium vehicle models as well as mass-produced vehicle models of almost all major automakers including Ford, GM, Toyota, BMW, Lincoln, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and Rolls Royce.The biggest factor driving the market for AGS is an incessant increase in its penetration in the automotive industry year on year as all the major automakers are incorporating this technology in their major vehicle models. One side, major automakers are working closely with the AGS suppliers in order to make their vehicle more fuel efficient, whereas another side, AGS suppliers are working hard to quickly meet automakers rising demand for a well-engineered, high-quality AGS system that helps to address fuel economy standards.AGS has a disruptive journey so far in the automotive industry and has evolved a lot with changing market needs and designs. However, to maintain the growth momentum, AGS must to adapt itself as per the new business environments including a greater incorporation of ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) electronics, such as auto-braking and auto cruise control; the development of new diesel and electric engines; and introduction of more stringent regulations regarding pedestrian protection and carbon emission reductions.Development of innovative AGS solutions is an indispensable focus area of the AGS suppliers based on the requirements of auto OEMs. The market for AGS is marked by major global automotive tier players including Rochling Automotive, Magna International Inc., and Valeo SA. Also, it is expected that the excellent growth of active grill shutters may entice other players to enter the market to tap the growth potential.The global automotive active grille shutter market is segmented based on the vehicle type as Passenger Car, LCV (Light Commercial Vehicle) and M&HCV (Medium- and Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle). A passenger car is expected to remain the growth engine of the global automotive active grille shutter market during the forecast period of 2018 to 2023. Increasing production of passenger cars coupled with increasing penetration of AGS in passenger car models is likely to elevate the demand for AGS in the passenger car segment.Based on the shutter vanes type, the automotive active grille shutter market is segmented as Horizontal Vanes and Vertical Vanes. Horizontal vane-based active grille shutter is expected to remain most dominant type in the global automotive active grille shutter market during the forecast period. Both horizontal, as well as vertical vane segments, are likely to witness healthy growth rates over the next five years.Based on the regions, Europe is expected to remain the largest automotive active grille shutter market during the forecast period. Stricter emission norms of European Commission have led to a faster adoption of active grille shutter into European vehicles. Ford Focus & Fusion, BMW 5 Series & 7 Series, Renault Twingo & Talisman, Citroen C4 Picasso, and Audi Q7 are some key European models that have active grille shutters. Asia-Pacific is likely to depict the highest growth during the forecast period with China being the key source of growth.The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, actuator suppliers, automotive active grille shutter manufacturers, automotive OEMs, and dealers, and end-users. the key raw material suppliers for automotive active grille shutter are Lanxess AG, Celanese Corporation, and BASF SE, whereas some of the major active grille shutter actuator suppliers are Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Sonceboz SA, Johnson Electric, and Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Co. KG.The key automotive active grille shutter manufacturers are Rochling Automotive, Magna International Inc., Valeo SA, SRG Global, HBPO, and Shape Corporation. The development of integrated active grille shutters and forming strategic alliances with the automakers are the key strategies adopted by the major players to gain a competitive edge in the market.Report FeaturesThis report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysisMarket environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porters five forces analysis, SWOT analysisMarket trend and forecast analysisMarket segment trend and forecastCompetitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunitiesEmerging trendsStrategic growth opportunities for the existing and new playersKey success factorsThe global automotive active grille shutter market is segmented into the following categories.Automotive Active Grille Shutter Market, By Vehicle Type Passenger Car (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Light Commercial Vehicle (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Medium- & Heavy-Duty Commercial Vehicle (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Active Grille Shutter Market, By Shutter Vanes Type Horizontal Vanes (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Vertical Vanes (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Active Grille Shutter Market, By Shutter Type Visible AGS (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW) Non-Visible AGS (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)Automotive Active Grille Shutter Market, By Region North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico) Europe (Country Analysis: Germany, The UK, Russia, and Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of Asia-Pacific) Rest of the World (Country Analysis: Brazil, Argentina, and Others)About Stratview ResearchStratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.Category: Automotive & TransportationStratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life2nd Floor, Crystal Tower, Telibandha, Raipur, Chhattisgarh 492001Stratview ResearchCrystal Tower, Raipur - 492001Phone No. +1-313-307-4176Email :- sales@stratviewresearch.com
Power Bank Market 2018 Growth, Region Wise Analysis of Top Players, Growth rate, Application and Forecasts by 2024: Xiaomi Technology, Panasonic USA, Sony, ASUS, Lenovo, LinkedIn, Intex Technologies (India) Ltd.

Power Bank Market

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There are several recent developments, product launches, joint ventures, merges and accusations by the key market players and brands who will dominate the power bank market and hence Information and Communication Technology industry for the forecast years 2017 to 2024.This report has all the company profiles for the top players and brands and along with that the report also contains a synopsis of market definition, classifications, applications and market trends, and the power bank market drivers and restrains that are derived from a well know method called SWOT analysis.Get Free Sample of Global Power Bank Market Report Visit @-:Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil among others.databridgemarketresearch.com has to offer new title Global Power Bank Market accounted for USD 8.2 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 22.3% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. This report analyzes the global power banks market in terms of type, battery type, power rating, and geographyIn 2017, the online market segment is expected to dominate the market and is expected to continue this trend till 2024.A Power Bank is a mobile charger that can be charged in advance to charge mobile phones, laptops, tablets. A power bank is a compact or handy device usually can be useful while travelling for long hours. The power bank concept came into visualization due to rapid growth in digital products. A power bank can achieve outside charging for variety of digital products. It has its wide application in smartphone, tablet, digital camera, laptop, and others. Increasing usage of smartphones and tablets may act a major driver in the growth of power bank market. On the other side, poor quality of power bank may hinder the market.Brief analysis of following points: Increased Power Consumption of Electronic Devices Decline in Price of Power Banks Increasing Usage of Smartphones and Tablets Electric Outage in Certain Countries Supporting Growth of the Power Bank Market Poor Quality of Power Banks Increasing Adoption of Wireless Charging Technology Improvement in Battery Capacity of Electronic DevicesBrowse Detailed of TOC, Inquiry and Analyst call on Global Power Bank Market Report Visit @:Top Companies Analysis:AsusTekis dominating the power bank market followed by Xiaomi and Lenovo along with others such as Anker Technology Co. Limited, Microsoft Corp., Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., Intex Technologies (India) Ltd., UNU Electronics Inc., Portronics and Century New Energy Battery Co. Ltd. among other companies.ASUSTEK:Established in 1989 and headquartered in Taiwan, China, ASUSTeK Computer Inc. is a computer hardware and consumer electronics company. The company operates its business through the following product categories such as phones, laptops & 2-in-1 PCs, tablets, motherboards, graphics cards, wearable & healthcare, desktop & all-in one PCs, display, networking, sound, home & automotive, peripheral, gaming, servers & workstations, and zenbo. ASUS has become one of the leading motherboard and gaming brand along with the top-three consumer notebook vendor.XIAOMI:Founded in 2010 and headquartered at Beijing, China. It is an electronics and software company. Xiaomi develops, designs, and commercializes mobile apps, smartphones, laptops, and other consumer electronics. The company operates its business through product categories such as notebooks, phones, mi TV, smart devices, mi power bank and charging accessories, and audio accessories. The power bank and charging accessories offers various wide ranges of portable chargers and power banks with high range of battery.Market Segmentation: Global Power Bank MarketThe global power bank market is segmented on the basis of charge capacity, product type and distribution channel. The charge capacity market is segmented into portable mobile power bank, ultra-portable mobile power bank, big charge power bank and high charge power bank. Portable mobile power bank is further sub segmented by battery size into 10000 mAh, 10000 to 15000 mAh and 15000 to 20000 mAh. Ultra-portable mobile power bank is further sub segmented by battery size into 5000 to 10000 mAh and 3000 to 5000mAh. In 2017, the portable mobile power bank segment is expected to dominate the market with a share of 51.8% and ultra-portable mobile power bank is expected to grow with the highest CAGR 23.1% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2024. On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into portable mobile power bank, laptop power bank and phone case power bank. On the basis of distribution channel, the market is classified into online market, hypermarket and mobile stores.Questions? Well Put You On The Right Path Request Analyst Call:Company Share Analysis:The report for global power bank market include detailed vendor level analysis for market shares in 2016 for Global, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and South America specifically. Also impact and development analysis of key vendors is registered in the market and factored on the basis of Vendor Positioning Grid Analysis which measures the vendors strengths and opportunities against present market challenges, measure providers ability to identify or satisfy present market needs, map providers market vision to current and upcoming market dynamics among others. The report also measures technology life line curve and market time line to analyze and do more affective investments.Table of Contents1. INTRODUCTION1.1. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY1.2. MARKET DEFINITION1.3. OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL POWER BANK MARKET1.4. CURRENCY AND PRICING1.5. LIMITATION1.6. MARKETS COVERED2. MARKET SEGMENTATION3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1. DRIVERS3.2. RESTRAINTS3.3. OPPORTUNITY3.4. CHALLENGES4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY5. PREMIUM INSIGHTS6. GLOBAL POWER BANK MARKET, BY CHARGE CAPACITY7. GLOBAL POWER BANK MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPE8. GLOBAL POWER BANK MARKET, BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL9. GLOBAL POWER BANK MARKET, BY GEOGRAPHY9.1. OVERVIEW9.2. NORTH AMERICA9.3. EUROPE9.4. ASIA-PACIFIC9.5. SOUTH AMERICA9.6. MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA10. GLOBAL POWER BANK MARKET, COMPANY LANDSCAPE11. COMPANY PROFILES11.1. XIAOMI11.2. LENOVO11.3. MICROSOFT11.4. PANASONIC CORPORATION11.5. SONY CORPORATION11.6. ADATA TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.,11.7. ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC.11.8. INTEX12. RELATED REPORTSView Detail TOC of Global Power Bank Market report Visit @Related Market Insights:Global Wireless Audio Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Wireless Audio Market By Product Type (Speaker Systems, Soundbars, Headsets, Headphones, Microphones, Others) By Technology (Bluetooth, WI-Fi, Radio Frequency, Airplay, Bluetooth +Wi-Fi, Others)By application (Home Audio, Consumer, Commercial, Automotive, Others) By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, Middle East and Africa)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024More Insights:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Polymers Market Key Players likely to hold Share 2026

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Polymers account for key share of the cosmetics & personal care industry, as they are used in diverse applications such as film formers, fixatives, rheology modifiers, associative thickeners, emulsifiers, stimuli-responsive agents, conditioners, foam stabilizers and destabilizers, skin-feel beneficial agents, and antimicrobials. The usage of polymers in cosmetics is extensive; innovative advances in polymer science and nano-science are driving the creation of scientifically sophisticated products. The inclusion of polymers in personal care and cosmetic ingredients has improved the performance of several products in terms of water resistance and other long lasting properties. A wide range of natural, organic, and synthetic polymers are employed in various cosmetic and personal care products to aid applications such as surfactants, emulsifiers, emollients, and rheology modifiers. Polymer ingredients are used in cosmetic and personal care products such as skin care, sun care, hair fixative and film former, color cosmetics, and toiletries.Read Report Overview @Natural polymers such as starch, xanthan or guar gum, carrageenan, alginates, polysaccharides, pectin, gelatin, agar, and cellulose derivatives are largely used as thickening agents. They help increase the viscosity of cosmetic products. Of late, several developments have taken place to increase the usage of natural polymers in personal care products. This has led to the development of combining hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers into block and star copolymers and thermally responsive systems.Several innovations are being carried out in the cosmetics industry in order to meet the rise in need for cosmetics. 3D makeup printing is one such innovation, which allows the creation of custom-color makeup using the Mink printer and FDA-approved polymer ingredients. However, several concerns have been raised owing to the use of synthetic polymers in personal care ingredients, as these have several negative impacts on human as well as environment health.Global polymers market for cosmetic ingredients: Key SegmentsBased on function, the polymers market for cosmetic ingredients can be segmented into film forming, gelling agents, fixatives, thickeners, emulsifiers, foam stabilizers, and conditioners. This indicates that polymers are used in a wide range of products.Based on type, the polymers market for cosmetic ingredients can be bifurcated into natural and synthetic polymers. Synthetic polymers are further sub-segmented into silicone, nylon, PVC plastic, Teflon, and bakelite. Natural polymers include rubber, amber, protein, and cellulose.Request to view Sample Report:In terms of region, the polymers market for cosmetic ingredients can be split into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific, especially China and India, and Latin America, led by Brazil and Argentina, are projected to exhibit promising growth for suppliers of ingredients. This is largely ascribed to the rapid urbanization, changing lifestyles, and increasing per capita income in these regions.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Image Sensors Market Set For Rapid Growth and Trend by 2022; Says ST Microelectronics, Sony Corporation, Canon, Inc, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation.

Image Sensor Market

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Crystal Market Research (CMR) render to you profound info in appreciate to leading participants, areas, utility and type of the Photograph Sensors Market which is predicted to come across significant increase over the forecast period 2018-2022.In order to BROWSE complete report with TOC:Industry Outlook and Trend Analysis:The global Image Sensor market was worth USD 8.45 billion in the year 2012 and is expected to reach approximately USD 23.28 billion by 2022, while registering itself at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.67% during the forecast period. The sensing devices are utilized to conquer the degradation of natural light and the quality happens when the pixel estimate is diminished. The expanding requirement for devices with smaller pixels giving high resolution with cost-efficiency approach is anticipated to fuel the market development over the estimate time frame. The market has been encountering a significant change over the most recent couple of years. The technological headways and extreme utilization of images crosswise over different applications have driven the change of picture sensors in the worldwide market. With the expanding R&D ventures, sensing equipment has turned out to be less expensive, power efficient, and smaller, offering chances to the business players. The expanding cell phone section, particularly smartphones, is expected to boost the fragment development over the figure time frame. The expanding worries for security and surveillance in parks, open squares, public squares, and malls and the expanding terrorist attacks are the central point expanding the requirement for better determination cameras for security and observation. Nonetheless, the surging requirement for digital still cameras and cell phones has brought about deficiencies in focal points and picture sensors. Moreover, the dynamic idea of semiconductor business may control the section development over the estimate time frame.Competitive Insights:Advancement, new item improvement, and redesigns alongside the incessant launch of new items will be the key development methodologies for the business players in the upcoming years. The major players in the market are ST Microelectronics, Sony Corporation, Canon, Inc, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation. Merger and acquisitions among the players is likewise thought to be one of the technique executed for building up the upgraded item in the business. For example, one of the significant business players, Sony Corporation, procured Toshiba Corporations image sensor unit in 2016.Regional Outlook and Trend Analysis:The Asia Pacific area is required to remain the key income creating locale, representing the biggest share in the following years. Positive consumer inclinations alongside the existence of an expansive number of producers in the area are a few components representing the vast offer. The area is expected to be the biggest market sooner rather than later attributable to the change from analog to digital systems. The region of Asia Pacific is foreseen to witness a noteworthy requirement, especially in China and India, in view of the accessibility of economy and in addition high-end luxury vehicles. The developing framework advancement and government activities toward security at open places in locales, for example, India are foreseen to expand the interest for industry. The legislature driven activities, for example, Make in India and Digital India, are foreseen to help the penetration of cell phones and other shopper gadgets in the locale, bringing about expanding the business request.Request here to grab the SAMPLE Report at:The Image Sensor Market is segmented as follows-By Technology: CCD and CMOSBy Application: Industrial/Defense, Automotive, Medical, Security & Surveillance, Consumer Electronics and OthersBy Region: North America: (U.S, Canada & Mexico), Europe: (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain & Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, Australia, India, South Korea, Rest of Asia-Pacific) and Rest of the World: (Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates & Others)(Early customers will receive 10% customization in this report.)Place a PURCHASE order of this report at:Technology Outlook and Trend Analysis:In 2014, the CMOS technology produced the most astounding income and is relied upon to keep up its strength over the predicted time frame inferable from its cost-effectiveness, compact nature, and low power consumption, which makes it perfect for use in different applications. It is utilized as a part of microcontrollers, static RAM, microprocessors, and other analog circuits, for example, highly integrated transceivers and data converters. The CCD technology is required to have an extensive development attributable to the high-cost and high power utilization. CCD innovation can be utilized as a part of different applications requiring an additional affectability of the electron multiplying CCD.Major ToC of Image Sensor Market:Chapter 1. Introduction1.1. Report Description1.2. Research MethodologyChapter 2. Executive Summary2.1. Key HighlightsChapter 3. Market Overview3.1. Introduction3.1.1. Market Definition3.1.2. Market Segmentation3.2. Market Dynamics3.2.1. Drivers3.2.1.1. Increasing Usage Of Image Sensors in the Automotive Sector3.2.1.2. Increasing Medical Imaging Market3.2.1.3. Rapidly Expanding Wearable Industry3.2.2. Restraints3.2.2.1. Shortage of CMOS Sensors to APAC Vendors3.2.3. Opportunities3.2.3.1. Emerging Markets to Offer Lucrative Growth OpportunitiesChapter 4. Image Sensor Market, By Technology4.1. Introduction4.2. Image Sensor Market Assessment and Forecast, By Technology, 2012-20224.3. CMOS4.3.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)4.4. CCD4.4.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)Chapter 5. Image Sensor Market, By Application5.1. Introduction5.2. The Image Sensor Market Assessment and Forecast, By Application, 2012-20225.3. Automotive5.3.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)5.4. Consumer Electronics5.4.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)5.5. Security & Surveillance5.5.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)5.6. Industrial/Defense5.6.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)5.7. Medical5.7.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)5.8. Pharmaceuticals5.8.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)5.9. Other Applications5.9.1. Market Assessment and Forecast, By Region, 2012-2022 ($Million)Read Full Table of ContentsRequest the Amazing DISCOUNT Price at:About Crystal Market Research:Crystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contacts UsJudy | 304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesE-mail: sales@crystalmarketresearch.com | Ph: +1-888-213-4282Web:
Agriculture Bactericides Market 2018 Flourishes with International Prestigious Players | Bayer CropScience AG, Syngenta AG, The Dow Chemical Company, Nufarm Limited, Etc.

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Market Overview:The amount of crop-loss due to bacteria attack is increasing rapidly, which is a great concern among the farmers and crop producers. Thus, the demand for the agriculture bactericides has increased to a great extent due to adequate disease control support along with an increase in the crop productivity. Additionally, rising demand for organic fruits, vegetables, and cereals and pulses is projected to drive the growth of the global agriculture bactericides market over the forecast period.Moreover, increasing demand for crop protectants is projected to drive the growth of the global agriculture bactericides market. The market players are responding to these new opportunities by expanding their service offerings/product lines, which has boosted the share of the agriculture bactericides in the global market. The global agriculture bactericides market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% during the forecast period, 2017-2023.Click for a Unique Sample Report @Market Forecast:Agriculture bactericides are widely used in the agricultural segment to restrict the bacterial infection on the agricultural produce by inhibiting or killing the bacteria responsible for the disease. Increasing demand for food grains coupled with shrinking cultivable land is expected to drive the demand for agriculture bactericides over the forecast period.Key Players:Some of the key players profiled in the global agriculture bactericides market: BASF SE (Germany), E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (U.S.), Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited (Japan), The Dow Chemical Company (U.S.), Bayer CropScience AG (Germany), FMC Corporation (U.S.), Syngenta AG (Switzerland), Nufarm Limited (Australia), Nippon Soda Co., Ltd. (Japan), and Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. (Israel)Intended Audience:Bactericide manufacturersFertilizer industryCrop cultivatorsRaw material suppliersTraders, importers, and exportersAccess Complete Report @Regional Analysis:The global agriculture bactericides market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and rest of the world (Row). The European region is dominating the agriculture bactericides market followed by North America. The U.K and Germany account for a higher use of agriculture bactericides for the protection of fruits and vegetables from bacteria owing to increasing awareness about the benefits of using agriculture bactericides. Additionally, high demand for organic fruits and vegetables from the farmers is considered to be a key driving factor in this region.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) market By latest emerging technologies and trends to drive market growth at a Cagr +13% by 2023

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Global Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) market is projected to grow at a CAGR of +13% by 2023. The major factor driving the growth of the market are the rising adoption of BYOD policies and increasing mobile workforce. Cloud based solutions delivers business enabling IT services rapidly and flexibly at lower cost, which also fuels the market growthThe research report analyzes the worldwide Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) market in a detailed way by clarifying the key aspects of the marketplace which are predicted to have a quantifiable influence on its developmental prospects over the forecast period. The major growth drivers, challenges, and trends influencing the market are examined at length. An intensive qualitative and quantitative data pertaining to the projected impact of these factors on markets future growth prospects are provided in the report.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Top Key Vendors in Market:BMC Software, Inc., CA Technologies, ServiceNow, Cherwell Software, LLC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, and HEAT Software USA, Inc., along with others. The report also includes key innovators in the market, such as ManageEngine (Zoho Corporation), CloudHealth Technologies, SysAid Technologies Ltd., Serena Software, Inc., and LANDesk Software, Inc.The major strategies followed by the established players for a better penetration in the worldwide Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) market additionally forms a key segment of this study. These strategies can be employed by the upcoming vendors for a better penetration in the market. The global market on Incinerator has additionally been analyzed in terms of revenue. The market dynamics which includes market drivers, challenges, opportunities, and trends have been presented coupled with their respective impact analysis. The impact analysis helps in accumulating information on the future development of the market. Also market segmentation is explained in the report.The top segments within the market have been highlighted clearly in this record for the readers to recognize in a precised way. These segments were provided by giving information on their current and expected state through the end of the forecast period. The facts presented would assist the upcoming players to gauge the investment scope within the segments and sub-segments of the global Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) market.For more Information:Table of Content:Global Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) Market Research Report 2018-2025Chapter 1: Industry OverviewChapter 2: Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) International and China Market AnalysisChapter 3: Environment Analysis of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) marketChapter 4: Analysis of Revenue by ClassificationsChapter 5: Analysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsChapter 6: Analysis of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) Revenue Market Status.Chapter 7: Analysis of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) Industry Key ManufacturersChapter 8: Sales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter 9: Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) marketChapter 10: Development Trend of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) Industry 2016-2021Chapter 11: Industry Chain Suppliers of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) with Contact InformationChapter 12: New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) marketChapter 13: Conclusion of the Global Cloud-Based IT Service Management (ITSM) Industry 2015 Market Research ReportAsk for discount@About Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Where counting on a legitimate board company for your selections will become critical. Research N Reports specializes in enterprise evaluation, marketplace forecasts and as a result getting great reports overlaying all verticals, whether be it gaining angle on modern market situations or being in advance inside the cut throat Global opposition.Contact us:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com
Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market 2018 By Products Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Stendra, Zydena and Others with Expected to Reach USD 2.95 Billion in 2023

Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market

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Worldwide Recent Trend Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market Research Report Available to MarketResearchFuture.com The Market of Erectile Dysfunction Drugs is Driven by the Number of Drugs Available in the Market and Increasing Number of Men Suffering from this Disorder Available.Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market - ScenarioInability to keep firm erection firm enough during sexual intercourse in known as erectile dysfunction. It is also known as impotence. It is a common medical disorder primarily affecting men older than 40 years of age. Stress and mental health concerns may worsen the problem of erectile dysfunction. Physical and psychological issues may also cause erectile dysfunction.There is also an increase in the competition among the major market players. Patent expiry of number of blockbuster drugs, availability of counterfeit drugs and increasing manufactures of generic drugs in the market may result in the decline of erectile dysfunction drugs market. Global market of erectile dysfunction drugs is expected to reach USD 2.95 billion in 2023 from USD 1.65 billion in 2016 with a CAGR of approximately 6.5% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Get Premium Sample Report Available @Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market - Key PlayersPfizer Inc. (U.S), Bayer AG (Germany), Eli Lily & Co. (U.S), DongA Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Apricus Biosciences Inc.(U.S), S.K. Chemicals Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Apricus Biosciences Inc. (U.S), Cristalia Produtos Quimicos Farmaceuticos Ltd. (Brazil), Dong-A Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., (South Korea), Meda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (U.S), Vivus, Inc. (U.S), and others are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the global erectile dysfunction drugs market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis.Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market  SegmentationGlobal Erectile dysfunction drugs market has been segmented on the basis of product which includes Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Stendra, Zydena and other drugs and on the basis of end users the market is segmented into Hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical companies and others.Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market - Study objectivesMain objective of this research is to provide information about erectile dysfunction drugs market, products and end users.To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next seven years of the various segments and sub-segments of the erectile dysfunction drugs market.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa.To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by products, by end users and its sub-segments.To provide overview of key players and their strategic profiling in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market.To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global erectile dysfunction drugs market.Browse Complete Report @Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market - Regional AnalysisGeographically, the regional market is segmented into America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.The Americas account for the major share of the market owing to the presence of patient population, well-developed technology, and high healthcare expenditure. According to University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, about 5 percent of men that are 40 years old have complete erectile dysfunction, and that number increases to about 15 percent of men at age 70. Mild and moderate erectile dysfunction affects approximately 10 percent of men per decade of life.Europe holds the major share of the market, which is majorly contributed by Germany, the U.K., and France. According to the UK Health Centre, 50 percent of men that smoke a pack of cigarettes a day have a higher chance of developing erectile dysfunction. Furthermore, as per a study recently presented at the European Association of Urology showed that erectile dysfunction isnt being treated very often, with only 25.4 percent of men in the being treated for the condition.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market owing to rapidly changing healthcare sector, and the presence of huge opportunities for the development of this market. However, the Middle East & Africa has the least share in the market owing to the presence of poor and slow developing countries, especially, in African region. The Middle East holds the major share of the regional market due to well-developed technology and high spending.MAJOR TABLE OF CONTENTS:1. Report Prologue2. Introduction3. Research Methodology4. Market Dynamics5. Market Factor Analysis6. Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market By Product7. Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market By End Users8. Global Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market By Region9 Competitive Landscape10 Company Profile11 Conclusion12 AppendixGet Exclusive Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Market 2018 | In-depth Study, Industry Revenue, Top Manufacturers 2025

Mobile Virtual Network Operator

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This report focuses on the global Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) development in United States, Europe and China.A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), virtual network operator (VNO), or mobile other licensed operator (MOLO), is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers.The Asia Pacific and MEA regions are projected to experience a significant growth over the forecast period. Asia Pacific regional market was valued at USD 4.62 billion in 2017. due to rapid growth of the telecom services industry in this region. Moreover, emerging economies, such as India, Vietnam, Myanmar, and China, are putting efforts in expanding and modernizing their telecommunication services. Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand, Singapore, and Philippines, are also estimated to contribute substantially to the regions expansion over the forecast period.Countries with advanced cellular networks, such as Japan, Malaysia, and Australia, are expected to play a major role in the expansion of the Asia Pacific regional market. For instance, in Japan, MVNOs offer services, such as remote management of vending machines, online gaming, M2M, and surveillance. They also provide voice-controlled services in security applications and patient monitoring in the healthcare industry. Europe and North America are projected to grow significantly over the forecast period due to favorable regulatory framework.Get Sample Copy of this Report@However, aggressive pricing strategies followed by MVNO have cannibalized growth opportunities in Europe, specifically in Spain and Austria. Countries, such as U.K., Germany, and Netherlands, are projected to have a positive impact on the regions growth over the forecast period. Data services are expected to be the key services for regional expansion. Favorable regulatory policies and active MNO support are anticipated to drive the Latin America and MEA regional markets.In 2017, the global Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during 2018-2025.The key players covered in this study: Lebara Mobile LycaMobile Talkmobile Giffgaff Poste Mobile Virgin Mobile AT&T Verizon Telefonica Lycamobile Truphone T-Mobile Citic Telecom Tracfone Wireless Japan Communications China Unicom Exetel Drillisch Telekom Data Xoom China Telecommunications Consumer Cellular KDDI Mobile TracFone Wireless Boost Mobile Tesco Mobile China MobileMarket segment by Type, the product can be split into: Reseller Service Operator Full MVNOMarket segment by Application, split into: Customer service Billing support systems Marketing Sales personnelMake an Inquiry before Buying this Report@The study objectives of this report are:To analyze global Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players.To present the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) development in United States, Europe and China.To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their development plan and strategies.To define, describe and forecast the market by product type, market and key regions.Key Points from TOC:Chapter One: Report OverviewChapter Two: Global Growth TrendsChapter Three: Market Share by Key PlayersChapter Four: Breakdown Data by Type and ApplicationChapter Five: United StatesChapter Six: EuropeChapter Seven: ChinaChapter Eight: JapanChapter Nine: Southeast AsiaChapter Ten: IndiaChapter Eleven: Central & South AmericaChapter Twelve: International Players ProfilesChapter Thirteen: Market Forecast 2018-2025Chapter Fourteen: Analyst's Viewpoints/ConclusionsChapter Fifteen: AppendixGet More Access about this Report@(Note: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.)About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Info:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email id: sales@orbisresearch.com
Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market Represent Excellent Growth 2026

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Aluminum hydroxide can be found naturally in the form of gibbsite, which is a mineral. Aluminum hydroxide can be categorized as an antacid. It is used in various industrial applications. Aluminum hydroxide is primarily employed in medical applications. It is available in the form of a white powder or granules with density of about 2.42 g per mL. It is not soluble in water. Aluminum hydroxide should be handled with care. It can cause medium irritation when exposed to air. Aluminum hydroxide is used as mordant for water purifiers, dyes, and cosmetic ingredients. It is chemically stable and nonflammable. Thus, it is an ideal material for use in flame retardants. Aluminum hydroxide is also used as feedstock in the manufacture of other aluminum compounds such as specialty calcined alumina, aluminum chloride, aluminum sulfate, sodium aluminate, zeolites, polyaluminum chloride, and aluminum nitrate.Read Report Overview @Global Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market: Drivers and RestraintsRise in demand for aluminum hydroxide in medical applications and extensive use of aluminum hydroxide in the cosmetics industry are factors augmenting the Aluminum Hydroxide Ester market. This is prompting companies to increase production of these materials. Additionally, easy availability of raw materials is anticipated to boost the demand for Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market in the near future.The global Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market is witnessing technological advancements. Companies are constantly striving to develop new and better ways to manufacture these materials. Development of new manufacturing processes of aluminum hydroxide and applications is estimated to propel the market. However, volatility in prices of raw materials is projected to hamper the market.Global Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market: Key SegmentsBased on end-use industry, the Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market can be divided into chemical, personal care, pharmaceutical, and others. The pharmaceutical segment dominates the Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market owing to the extensive use of aluminum hydroxide in oral pharmaceutical applications in emerging economies such as India and China.Request to view Sample Report:Based on geography, the Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market can be split into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is anticipated to constitute key share of the Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market during the forecast period. The Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market in Asia Pacific is estimated to expand at a significant pace owing to the rise in demand for aluminum hydroxide in the pharmaceutical industry in the region. Middle East & Africa is likely to be an attractive region of the Aluminum Hydroxide Ester Market during the forecast period due to the increase in demand for this chemical in personal care industry in the region.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Future of Battery Materials Market Bright as Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Become Increasingly Popular

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In order to support sales, sagacious companies in the global battery materials market are expending time and money to develop products that can store more energy efficiently and for a longer period of time. In keeping with the strict rules pertaining to environment protection, they are also trying to come up with less polluting materials.Sensing that high cost of battery materials, leading to expensive batteries, might deal a blow to their profitability in the long run, companies are also trying to create low cost effective materials. All such trends are expected to boost the market significantly in the next couple of years.A report by Transparency Market Research expects the battery materials market to rise at a healthy clip by registering a CAGR of 13.6% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Rising at this pace, the market which was valued at US$4,419 mn in 2016, will likely grow to the tune of US$13.70 bn by 2025.Request Sample @Booming Automotive and Consumer Goods Sector Makes Application Segment of Secondary Batteries DominantApplication-wise, the market can be split into primary batteries and secondary batteries. Of the two, the secondary batteries pulled in maximum revenue in 2016. Secondary batteries such as lithium ion, lead acid, and nickel metal hydride find use in automotive and consumer goods industries mostly. On account of the two sectors expanding at a healthy clip in the past few years, secondary batteries segment is expanding rapidly too.The various types of battery materials are anode (cadmium, lithium, graphite, lead, carbon, magnesium, etc.), cathode (lithium, manganese dioxide, manganese oxide, nickel, lithium cobalt oxide, nickel cobalt aluminum, nickel manganese cobalt, lithium ferrophosphate, etc.), electrolyte (ammonium chloride, alkali metal hydroxide, zinc carbon, sulfuric acid, etc.), binders, and others. Among them, cathode accounts for maximum share in the market. Apart from that, electrolytes and anode are other key materials that have a substantial share in the market.Request Brochure @Presence of Key Automobile Manufacturers Makes North America Dominant MarketFrom a geographical perspective, North America leads the market with maximum share. Presence of key automotive manufacturers in the region along with environmental awareness and stringent regulations pertaining to harmful vehicular emissions which is generating a solid demand for battery-powered electric vehicles in the region is proving beneficial to the market. This, in turn, is boosting the market for battery materials. The U.S. is at the forefront of driving the market in the region.In terms of growth rate, on the other hand, Asia Pacific is expected to take the lead by clocking the maximum CAGR of 16.2% during the period between 2017 and 2025. Swift pace of industrialization is mainly boosting the market in the region. China, with a large production capacity and equally high demand due to the thrust on adoption of electric vehicles to reduce pollution, is said to be primarily powering the growth in the region. By the end of the forecast period, Asia Pacific is expected to overtake Europe and North America vis-a-vis market share.Request for Customization @Some of the key players in the global market for battery materials are Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, BASF SE, FMC Corporation, Arkema SA, Cabot Corporation, Albemarle Corporation, Ube Industries Limited, Sumitomo Metal Mining Industries Limited, Asahi Kasei Corporation, and American Elements.ABOUT US:Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Construction Estimating Software Market 2023 : Global Services, Applications, Deployment Type, Regions and Opportunities

Construction Estimating Software Market

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  Construction Estimating Software Market 2023 : Global Services, Applications, Deployment Type, Regions and Opportunities.Description:-Construction Estimating Software is a type of software designed for contractors to estimate construction costs for a specific project. They designed to avoid lose revenue due to inaccurate and inefficient estimating, and save time and money at the same time.Scope of the Report:This report studies the Construction Estimating Software market status and outlook of Global and major regions, from angles of players, countries, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global market, and splits the Construction Estimating Software market by product type and applications/end industries.Types of construction estimating software are included Cloud, SaaS, Web; Installed-PC; Installed-Mobile. The key applications are: Construction Party, Intermediaries, Party A in construction industry, and others. And Construction Party was the largest application which took up about 50% of the global total in 2016.USA, China and Australia are now the key developers of construction estimating software. There are some other vendors, such as Shenjimiaosuan, Lubansoft, in China, but the Chinese market is still controlled by Glodon.UDA Technologies, Bluebeam, RedTeam, Microsoft, JBKnowledge, Takeoff Live, FastEST, Vision InfoSoft, QuoteSoft, eTakeoff, ProEst, BuildingConnected, PrioSoft, Advanced Electrical Technologies, AppliCad and Glodon are the key suppliers in the global Construction estimating software market. Top 10 took up about 54.29% of the global market in 2016. Abroad vendors took up less than 20% of the Chinese market.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThe global Construction Estimating Software market is valued at xx million USD in 2017 and is expected to reach xx million USD by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of xx% between 2017 and 2023.The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Construction Estimating Software.Europe also play important roles in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2017 and will be xx million USD in 2023, with a CAGR of xx%.Market Segment by Companies, this report coversGlodonUDA TechnologiesBluebeamRedTeamMicrosoftJBKnowledgeTakeoff LiveFastESTVision InfoSoftQuoteSofteTakeoffProEstBuildingConnectedPrioSoftAdvanced Electrical TechnologiesAppliCadMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversCloud, SaaS, WebInstalled-PCInstalled-MobileMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoParty AIntermediariesConstruction PartyComplete Report Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key Points1 Construction Estimating Software Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Construction Estimating Software1.2 Classification of Construction Estimating Software by Types1.2.1 Global Construction Estimating Software Revenue Comparison by Types (2017-2023)1.2.2 Global Construction Estimating Software Revenue Market Share by Types in 20171.2.3 Cloud, SaaS, Web1.2.4 Installed-PC1.2.5 Installed-Mobile1.3 Global Construction Estimating Software Market by Application1.3.1 Global Construction Estimating Software Market Size and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2013-2023)1.3.2 Party A1.3.3 Intermediaries1.3.4 Construction Party1.4 Global Construction Estimating Software Market by Regions1.4.1 Global Construction Estimating Software Market Size (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2023)1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico) Construction Estimating Software Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Construction Estimating Software Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) Construction Estimating Software Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.4 South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia) Construction Estimating Software Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.5 Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa) Construction Estimating Software Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.5 Global Market Size of Construction Estimating Software (2013-2023)2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Glodon2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Construction Estimating Software Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Product A2.1.2.2 Product B2.1.3 Glodon Construction Estimating Software Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 UDA Technologies2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Construction Estimating Software Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Product A2.2.2.2 Product B2.2.3 UDA Technologies Construction Estimating Software Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Bluebeam2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Construction Estimating Software Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Product A2.3.2.2 Product B2.3.3 Bluebeam Construction Estimating Software Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 RedTeam2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Construction Estimating Software Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Product A2.4.2.2 Product B2.4.3 RedTeam Construction Estimating Software Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 Microsoft2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 Construction Estimating Software Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Product A2.5.2.2 Product B2.5.3 Microsoft Construction Estimating Software Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)ContinuedFor more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Asia, Europe, and South America Anti-aging Market : Business Growth, Development Factors, Applications, and Future Prospects

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A new Transparency Market Research report states that the Asia, Europe, and South America anti-aging market was valued at US$15.3 bn in 2012 and is predicted to reach US$30.9 bn in 2020. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.30% from 2014 to 2020. The title of the report is Asia, Europe, and South America Anti-aging Market  Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014  2020.View Report:As per the report, the anti-aging market in Asia, Europe, and South America is majorly fuelled by the increasing number of baby boomers, thus increasing the demand for various methods of curbing and reversing the prominent signs of aging. The market is continuously growing and a number of products, devices, and services have entered the market in recent years due to the consistent demand to lessen the signs of aging. Amongst these, in 2013, the anti-aging products held the biggest share in the anti-aging market due to increasing awareness amongst people and the economical prices of these products.Request a Sample of the Report @On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into dermal fillers, UV absorbers, botox, anti-stretch products, anti-wrinkle products, and hair color. Amongst these, in 2013, anti-wrinkle products held the biggest share in the anti-aging products market in Asia. The anti-wrinkle product segment stood at more than US$8.1 bn in Asia in 2013. This is due to the broad range of anti-wrinkle products available in the market and the rising awareness owing to a number of promotional campaigns held in Asia. Anti-wrinkle products also held the largest share in Europe in the same year. The demand for these products is high in European countries owing to their increasing availability at economical prices.On the basis of service, the market is segmented into anti-adult acne therapy, anti-pigmentation therapy, liposuction, chemical peel, abdominoplasty, hair restoration therapy, sclerotherapy, and eyelid surgery. The anti-aging services market is expanding swiftly in Europe on account of the rising disposable income of consumers owing to ongoing recovery from the economic crisis in Europe. Within Europe, the anti-aging services market in Italy held the biggest share in 2013 owing to increasing demand for hair restoration treatments and breast augmentation. The anti-aging services market is predicted to record the highest growth rate in Spain in the forecast horizon due to the rising aging population and the increasing prevalence of obesity.Request a Brochure of the Report @On the basis of device type, the market is segmented into microdermabrasion devices, anti-cellulite treatment devices, radio frequency devices, and laser aesthetic devices. Anti-aging devices are the most prevalent in South American countries. Radiofrequency devices and laser aesthetic devices held the biggest share in South America, especially in Brazil, due to their high effectiveness and safety.Alma Laser Ltd., Allergan, Inc., Beiersdorf AG, Cynosure, Inc., Coty, Inc., LOreal SA, Valeant Pharmaceutical International, Inc., Solta Medical, Inc., and PhotoMedex, Inc., among others, are the major players dominant in the market.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
CAR-T Cell therapy market size will touch US$ 8 BN by 2028: Credence Research Inc.

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The latest market report published by Credence Research, Inc. CAR T-Cell Therapy Market - Growth, Future Prospects, Competitive Analysis, 2018 - 2026, the global CAR-T cell therapy market was valued at US$ 72.0 Mn in 2017 expanding at a CAGR of 51.1% from 2018 to 2026."Despite great progress in recent years, around 10% of children with childhood leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, still die from it, with the percentage even greater in adolescents and young adults with the disease. CAR T-cell therapy involves taking healthy T-cells from a patient's blood, genetically modifying them to target their leukemia cells and injecting them back into the circulation. The method has been shown in trials to have hugely impressive results in these children, achieving FDA-approval last year, and is now offered in a number of U.S. pediatric cancer treatment centers.""CAR T-cells are very promising and have produced really exciting early results. It's great to see companies prioritizing launches of medicines in the U.K.," said Rose Gray, Policy Manager at Cancer Research UK, the world's largest independent cancer charity.- ForbesMarket InsightsThe CAR T-cell therapy market is driven by factors such as rising prevalence of cancer, growing research in the immune-oncology, and massive funding from government health institution and pharma giants in CAR-T cell therapy development. The diagnosis of acute ALL is very ambiguous as the symptoms overlap with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. World Health Organization guidelines have postulated that acute lymphocytic leukemia can be prevented up to a certain extent by prohibiting the exposure to radiation, chemical, viral infection, cigarette smoking and prolonged exposure to gasoline and electromagnetic fields. The traditional approach adopted for the treatment of leukemia was blood transfusion to increase the count of healthy blood cells, antibiotics used to curb the spread of infection and chemotherapy to kill the leukemia cells present in the bone marrow. However, advances in the cell therapy and gene therapy has have rendered the development of oncology treatment by bodys own immune system. The FDA approved CAR T-cell therapy are Axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) and Tisagenleucel (Kymriah),). Currently CD19 antigens have been approved by USFDA for the treatment of relapsed b-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia. Whereas, there are more than 2,000 candidates in the clinical trials for different cancer indications.Browse the full report CAR T-cell Therapy Market - Growth, Future Prospects, Competitive Analysis, 2018  2026 report atCD19 antigens as CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of B cell acute lymphocytic leukemia and increasing number of children suffering with acute lymphocytic leukemia is responsible for the dominance of ALL. Geographically, North America dominated the CAR-T cell therapy market due to approval of two CAR T-cell therapy candidates in the region. Moreover, rising prevalence of relapsed acute lymphocytic leukemia and technological advancement in the screening of cancer drives the CAR T-cells therapy market. Moreover, the domicile of pharmaceutical companies pioneering in CAR-T cell therapy further increases the dominance of United States. Increasing geriatric population suffering with leukemia and government initiatives to fight cancer will result in the growth of CAR-T cell therapy in Europe and Asia Pacific. However, penetration of CAR-T cell therapy within low and middle income economies are primarily hampered owing to the unavailability of suitable healthcare infrastructure and the lack of disposable income for such premium priced therapeutic options. The major pharmaceutical players actively engaged in the CAR-T cell therapy market are Gilead Sciences, Inc., Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Immune Therapeutics, Celgene Corporation, Cellectis, Kite Pharma, Eureka Therapeutics, Juno Therapeutics, Sorrento Therapeutics and Novartis AG among others.Key Market Movements:Rising prevalence of patients suffering with relapsed b cell acute lymphocytic leukemiaProactive role adopted by regulatory agencies for the expedited approval of CAR T cell therapyPromising pipeline for CAR T-cell therapy focusing on CD22, CD30 antigens for the treatment of non-Hodgkins lymphoma and acute myeloid leukemia respectivelyHigher adoption of Immunotherapy for cancer treatment in North America and Europe contribute towards the growth of the marketPartnerships, collaboration and capital funding between pharmaceutical giants and budding biotechnology to increase research and development of immunotherapy for cancer treatmentToC:Chapter 1 Preface1.1 Report Description1.1.1 Study Purpose1.1.2 Target Audience1.1.3 USP and Key Offerings1.2 Research Scope1.3 Research Methodology1.3.1 Phase I  Secondary Research1.3.2 Phase II  Primary Research1.3.3 Phase III  Expert Panel Review1.3.4 AssumptionsChapter 2 Executive Summary2.1 Global CAR-T Cell Therapy Market Portraiture2.2 Global CAR-T Cell Therapy Market, by Indication, 2017 vs 2026 (Value %)2.3 Global CAR-T Cell Therapy Market, by Geography, 2017 vs 2026 (Value %)Chapter 3 Global CAR-T Cell Therapy Market: Dynamics and Future Outlook3.1 Overview3.2 Market Drivers3.2.1 Emerging Immuno-Oncology in Clinical Cancer Research3.2.2 Rising Prevalence of Cancer3.3 Challenges3.3.1 High Cost of CAR-T Cell Therapy3.4 Opportunities3.4.1 Mergers and Acquisition in the CAR-T Cell Therapy Market3.4.2 CAR-T Cell Therapy Beyond Cancer Treatment3.5 Attractive Investment Proposition: Global CAR-T Cell Therapy Market, by Indication, 20183.6 Competitive Analysis: Global CAR-T Cell Therapy Market, 2017........Request Sample on this research study:Latest Reports:About UsCredence Research is a worldwide market research and counseling firm that serves driving organizations, governments, non-legislative associations, and not-for-benefits. We offer our customers some assistance with making enduring enhancements to their execution and understand their most imperative objectives. Over almost a century, we've manufactured a firm extraordinarily prepared to this task.Media ContactCompany Name: Credence Research, IncContact Person: Chris Smith, Global Sales ManagerEmail: sales@credenceresearch.comPhone: +1-800-361-8290Address: 105 N 1st ST #429, SAN JOSE, CA 95103 USCity: SAN JOSEState: CaliforniaCountry: United StatesWebsite:
On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket Top key Player Analysis - Autel Intelligent Technology Corp., Ltd., Automatic Labs, AVL Ditest, Azuga, Bosch Diagnostics, CalAmp, Continental AG, Danlaw, Inc., ERM Electronic Systems LTD & More

On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket

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MarketStudyReport.com Adds New On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket 2018  2024 research report providing information and data Vehicle Type, By Component, By Application, Industry Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast spreading across 210 Pages with table and figures in it.On-board Diagnostics Aftermarket Research Report for the period of 2018-2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at a 17% CAGR to 2024.Onboard Diagnostics (OBD) aftermarket is projected to surpass USD 1.5 billion by 2024. Onboard diagnostics refers to a vehicle?s self-diagnostics and reporting capabilities. The technology facilitates the monitoring and evaluation of the vehicle?s engine and its sub-components to ensure that all components are functioning properly. Vehicle owners and the car technicians use OBD devices to gain access to a real-time status of the vehicle subsystems. A simple OBD system consists of various sensors that collect the data from various vehicle components, refine, and process this data to gain valuable insights, that further aid in the diagnosis and repair of faulty components. These systems are currently being used with telematics that enables vehicle owners to detect issues such as low performance, and heavy emissions along with the real-time driver behavior.Request a sample of this premium report at:The automotive industry uses two types of OBD hardware devices, viz., OBD scanners and OBD dongles. The scanners are more like code readers or scan tools that read codes from any vehicle equipped with OBD II. The OBD dongles are gaining more popularity among fleet managers. The dongle is a visible accessory that can be connected to the driver?s smartphone, plugged directly into the OBD II port, and can also be connected in an effortless way to a network. As these devices can be independently used and do not require any wired connection, the demand for dongles is projected to grow swiftly over the forecast timeline.The OBD aftermarket is projected to register a lucrative growth at a CAGR of over 17% between 2018 and 2024. The growth can be attributed to the factors such as an increase in vehicle production and the growing need to implement emission control norms and regulations to tackle air pollution. The significant investments made by the automotive manufacturers and the aftermarket service providers around the globe are contributing to an increasing demand for the development of connected vehicles. The rapid growth of the automobile industry has forced the manufacturers to offer more robust OBD devices, particularly for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles.North America is estimated to account for the largest share of over 40% in the global OBD aftermarket by 2024. The market growth in this region is attributed to technological advancements in the transportation infrastructure and the high penetration of the smartphones and cloud technology in the region. The extensive presence of some of the leading global auto manufacturers and suppliers is also contributing to the growing automobile industry in the region. These players have made significant investments in their manufacturing facilities and R&D departments to develop new and advanced vehicle models. For instance, in January 2018, Ford Motor Company announced that it is planning to increase investments in electric vehicles to USD 11 billion by 2022 with 40 electric and fully-hybrid vehicles in its portfolio.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:The government agencies in the region have also implemented several emission standards to minimize the pollution levels and associated health hazards. For instance, in July 2018, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced that car manufacturers have to comply with Euro 4 Emission Standards for all petrol-powered vehicles by September 2018 while diesel-powered vehicles will follow the standards from 2020. Also, in July 2018, the Chinese government released the China VI emission standard for heavy vehicles, which mandates Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF) on all heavy-duty vehicle models introduced after 2021. Such initiatives are expected to further facilitate the growing demand for OBD solutions in the region.Table of Content:Chapter 1. MethodologyChapter 2. Executive SummaryChapter 3. OBD Aftermarket Industry InsightsChapter 4. Competitive Landscape, 2017Chapter 5. OBD Aftermarket, By Vehicle TypeChapter 6. OBD Aftermarket, By ComponentChapter 7. OBD Aftermarket, By ApplicationChapter 8. OBD aftermarket, By RegionChapter 9. Company ProfilesMore Details on this Report At:About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog:
Patient Simulator: Market 2018 Segmented by Manufacturers (Laerdal Medical, CAE Healthcare, Gaumard Scientific, 3B Scientific, Simulaids) and Forecasts to 2025

Patient Simulator

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An exclusive Patient Simulator market research report created through broad primary research (inputs from industry experts, companies, and stakeholders) and secondary research, the report aims to present the analysis of Global Patient Simulator Market By Type, By Application, By Region - North America, Europe, South America, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa. The report intends to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyses the emerging trends along with major drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global Patient Simulator market. Additionally, the report also highlights market entry strategies for various companies across the globe.Patient Simulator Market Players: Laerdal Medical CAE Healthcare Gaumard Scientific 3B Scientific SimulaidsGet Sample Copy of This Report Now @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Childbirth Simulator Adult Patient Simulator Infant Simulator OtherOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including Training EducationMajor regions are as follows: North America Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaGet Exclusive Discount @Worldwide Patient Simulator Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Patient Simulator industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Patient Simulator market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Patient Simulator market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Patient Simulator players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Also, key Patient Simulator market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Patient Simulator market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.BUY NOW Full Report @Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comAbout Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Room B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China.
Global Battery Management System Market 2026: Key Players- Texas Instruments Inc., Johnson Matthey PLC., Linear Technology Corporation, vecture Inc., Elithion Inc

Battery Management System Market

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According to a new study published by Polaris Market Research the worldwide Battery Management System (BMS) Market is anticipated to reach USD 14,422 million by 2026. In 2017, the lead-acid batteries dominated the global market, in terms of revenue. North America is expected to be the leading contributor to the global market revenue during the forecast period.The rising demand of BMS from the automotive sector primarily drives the growth of this market. These systems are increasingly being adopted across various industries such as aerospace and defense, healthcare, and electronics among others. The increasing adoption of BMS in data centers, and renewable energy systems further supports the growth of this market.Request For Sample Of This Research Report @The demand for electric vehicles has increased significantly over the years owing to increasing prices of gasoline prices across the globe, which leads to increased adoption of battery management systems. The exponential growth in the prices of gasoline and diesel owing to the depleting fossil fuel reserves has encouraged consumers to switch to battery based electric vehicles. Limited availability of public electric vehicle charging infrastructure for electric vehicles had restricted the adoption of these vehicles to a certain extent in the past. However, with significant government initiatives and substantial investments, the development of public charging infrastructure has accelerated significantly. Technological advancements in components such as lithium-ion batteries, which are majorly used in electric vehicles, along with decreasing prices of the same is expected to further increase the demand of battery based electric vehicles in the market.North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017, and is expected to lead the global market throughout the forecast period. The increasing demand for alternative fuel vehicles, especially the electric-vehicles is expected to drive the growth of battery management systems in this region. The growing use of BMS in renewable energy storage systems also accelerates the adoption. Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to increasing demand for BMS from countries such as China, Japan, and India. The presence of large number of automotive manufacturers and portable device suppliers also augments the growth of this market in the region.The different types of topologies included in the report include centralized, distributed, and modular. In 2017, centralized topology accounted for the highest market share. However, during the forecast period distributed and modular topologies are expected to represent strong growth.Browse Full Research Report with Table of Content @Modular topology offer high computational power, and enhanced safety. Modular topology is also increasingly being used for various applications such as drones, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems among others.The various end-users of battery management systems include medical, automotive, telecommunication, consumer electronics, military, and others. In 2017, consumer electronics accounted for the largest share in the global market, and are estimated to grow at a substantial rate during the forecast period. The automotive segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to increasing applications, stringent government regulations regarding vehicular emissions, increasing acceptance of electric vehicles.The well-known companies profiled in the report include Texas Instruments Inc., Johnson Matthey PLC., Linear Technology Corporation, vecture Inc., Elithion Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Intersil Corporation, Nuvation Engineering, Ventec SAS, Generex Systems, and Lithium Balance A/S among others. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.Make an Inquiry for purchasing this report @About us Polaris Market ResearchPolaris Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide unmatched quality of offerings to our clients present globally. The company specializes in providing exceptional market intelligence and in-depth business research services for our clientele spread across different enterprises. We at Polaris are obliged to serve our diverse customer base present across the industries of healthcare, technology, semi-conductors and chemicals among various other industries present around the world. We strive to provide our customers with updated information on innovative technologies, high growth markets, emerging business environments and latest business-centric applications, thereby helping them always to make informed decisions and leverage new opportunities.We mainly focus on aiding our customers with substantial competitive intelligence, helping them to secure a competitive advantage in the market and accomplish sustainable growth in different market domains. Adept with a highly competent, experienced and extremely qualified team of experts comprising SMEs, analysts and consultants, we at Polaris endeavor to deliver value-added business solutions to our customers. Through dedicated qualitative and quantitative primary and secondary market research and consulting assignments, we adeptly formulate competitive strategies to address business challenges for our clients through analyzing market trends and emerging technologies.Contact us-Mr. NeelPolaris Market Research30 Wall Street8th FloorNew York City, NY 10005United StatesEmail- sales@polarismarketresearch.comFollow us- LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Global Shale Gas Market 2018 | Major Key Players  BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell Analysis And Forecast : TECHNAVIO Reports

Shale Gas Market 2018

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Description :Shale formations are fine-grained sedimentary rocks with low permeability. They might be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. Natural gas produced from shale formations is called shale gas.Technavios analysts forecast the global shale gas market to grow at a CAGR of 5.35% during the period 2018-2022.Request For sample Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global shale gas market for 2018-2022. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas APAC EMEATechnavios report, Global Shale Gas Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors BP Chevron ConocoPhillips Exxon Mobil Royal Dutch Shell StatoilMarket driver Advantages associated with shale gas For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge Technical challenges related to shale gas production For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Increasing investments in renewable energy For a full, detailed list, view our reportComplete Report Details @Table Of ContentPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPEMarket ecosystemMarket characteristicsMarket segmentation analysisPART 05: MARKET SIZINGMarket definitionMarket sizing 2017Market size and forecast 2017-2022PART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSISBargaining power of buyersBargaining power of suppliersThreat of new entrantsThreat of substitutesThreat of rivalryMarket conditionPART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USEROverviewComparison by end-userIndustrial  Market size and forecast 2017-2022Buildings  Market size and forecast 2017-2022Transportation  Market size and forecast 2017-2022Market opportunity by end-userPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPEGeographical segmentationRegional comparisonAmericas  Market size and forecast 2017-2022APAC  Market size and forecast 2017-2022EMEA  Market size and forecast 2017-2022Key leading countriesMarket opportunityContinued.About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers PreTechnavioum Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Global Humidity Indicator Cards (HIC) Market key Insights Based On Product Type, End-use and Regional Demand and Cost Structure Till 2028  Fact.MR

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With their extensive application in packaging industry of multiple sectors such as food, electronics, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic among others, the humidity indicator cards (HIC) market is expected to witness a steady demand in coming years. Manufacturers in the humidity indicator cards (HIC) market have introduced a wide range of humidity indicator cards (HIC) that enable precise humidity measurements by color change based on specific and relative humidity changes. The humidity indicator cards (HIC) present in the market are low-cost, low weight, safer, licensed and high quality. In particular, the manufacturers of electronics, automotive, military and tobacco industries that persistently prevent damage to their valuable products and equipment, highly seek affordable, durable and easy-to-read humidity indicator cards (HIC). With the presence of different types of humidity indicator cards (HIC) such as reversible, non-reversible, with different levels of indications and many others, the market for humidity indicator cards (HIC) is expected to propelled by a myriad of end-use applications.Get Free Sample Report here-Cobalt Dichloride which is extensively used in the humidity indicator cards (HIC) has been identified as a substance of concern for the environment. While manufacturers in the humidity indicator cards (HIC) have introduced Cobalt-free humidity indicator cards (HIC) and alternatives are being studied for their efficacy, the humidity indicator cards (HIC) market is expected to face challenges of adoption in the future with respect to their environment-friendly compatibility.Humidity Indicator Cards (HIC) Market: OverviewHumidity indicator card is a card impregnated with a chemical solution which changes colors to indicate the different levels of humidity with changing moisture. The chemical is cobalt chloride. Humidity indicator cards are used in several end use industries where moisture change can cause severe damage to the product. These cards indicate the change in the relative humidity. These cards have several benefits - easy to use & read, cost effective, instant visual verification of product integrity. Humidity indicator cards can be categorized as a part of active, smart & intelligent packaging. The global market for humidity indicator cards is categorized into end use industries such as food, electronics, pharmaceuticals, military applications, diagnostic & optical component packaging. The market for humidity indicator cards is expected to grow during the next ten years.Moisture sensitive devices, components or parts that needs to be protected from moisture are monitored by placing the humidity indicator card with them in a sealed container. With the help of humidity indicator card, moisture sensitive products can be protected from rust and corrosion. The humidity indicator card serves as a guide to monitoring device exposure.Humidity Indicator Cards (HIC) Market: DynamicsThe major key driver for global market for humidity indicator card is the electronics packaging industry. Humidity indicator cards are used in electronics industry to indicate the humidity levels as excessive moisture content may degrade the operational performance and cause permanent damage to the semiconductors and electronic devices.Humidity Indicator Labels have witnessed wide usage in the current scenario. This is mainly attributed to the excellent visualization of humidity levels enabled by HIC. In addition to that, Humidity Indicator Cards are cost effective, which plays a key role in increasing their preference.Despite the positive outlook, there are some factors which might hamper the growth of the global market for humidity indicator cards. First is the storage of these cards must be in sealed container in order to avoid the change in levels of humidity with moisture and second is that these cards only indicate the humidity level.To know more about the Humidity Indicator Cards (HIC) Market Trends, Visit the link -Humidity Indicator Cards (HIC) Market: SegmentationThe global market for humidity indicator cards (HIC) is segmented on the basis of level of indication and on the basis of end-use industry.On the basis of level of humidity, the humidity indicator cards (HIC) market is segmented as: One level Two level Three Level Four level More than four levelOn the basis of end-use industry, the humidity indicator cards (HIC) market is segmented as: Food Electronics Military Household Aerospace Pharmaceuticals Diagnostic & Optical component packagingHumidity Indicating Cards (HIC) Market: Regional OutlookGeographically, the global market for humidity indicating cards (HIC) is divided into seven key regions as North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APeJ), Middle East & Africa, and Japan. APEJ humidity indicator cards is expected to account for maximum market share in the global humidity indicator market. China is expected to contribute for nearly half of the global semiconductor market. The global humidity indicator market is expected to grow further on the backdrop of semiconductors market during the forecast period.Humidity Indicating Cards (HIC) Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players operating in the global humidity indicator cards (HIC) market are categorized in three tiers (revenue wise) as Tier 1 (includes players having revenue more than US$ 15 Mn)o AGM Container Controls, Inc.o Advantek, Inc. Tier 2 (includes players having revenue in between US$ 5-15 Mn)o Drytech Inc. Tier 3 (includes players having revenue less than US$ 5 Mn)o Garg Chemical Companyo Brownell Limitedo Dessicare, Inc.o Multisorb Technologies Inc.o Reel Service Ltd.o Humi Pak Sdn. Bhd.o Stream Peak International Pte Ltd.o Prestige Technology (S) Pte. Ltd.o Scientific Instrument Services, Inc.o Electronics Materials Solutions Division Static Control Productso Dou Yee Enterprises (S) Pte Ltd.o Suzhou Winwinet Import & Export Co., Ltd.o Shanghai Hengyuan Macromolecular Materials Co., Ltd.o Shenzhen Chunwang Environmental Protection Technology Co.,Ltd.Many small and regional players are expected to contribute to the global humidity indicator cards (HIC) market.This analytical research study imparts an all-inclusive assessment on the market, while propounding historical intelligence, actionable insights, and industry-validated & statistically-upheld market forecast. Verified and suitable set of assumptions and methodology has been leveraged for developing this comprehensive study. Information and analysis on key market segments incorporated in the report has been delivered in weighted chapters. A thorough analysis has been offered by the report on Market Dynamics Market Size Market Segments Demand & Supply Trends Current Issues and Challenges Companies and Competitor Landscape Value Chain TechnologyHighlights from the Report Elaborated scenario of the parent market Transformations in the market dynamics Detailed segmentation of the target market Historical, current and forecast market size based on value and volume Latest industry developments and trends Competition landscape Strategies adopted by the market players and product developments made Potential and niche segments, along with their regional analysis Unbiased analysis on performance of the market Up-to-date and must-have intelligence for the market players to enhance and sustain their competitivenessRequest TOC of this Report-About FactMRFactMR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market insights reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFactMR11140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:
Refrigerator Motors Market Estimated with Key Players like Whirlpool, GE, Emerson, Samsung, Eaton during the Forecast Period 2018-2025.

Refrigerator Motors Market Estimated with Key Players like Whirlpool, GE, Emerson, Samsung, Eaton during the Forecast Period 2018-

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UpMarketResearch offers a latest published report on Global Refrigerator Motors Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 delivering key insights and providing a competitive advantage to clients through a detailed report. The report contains 150 pages which highly exhibits on current market analysis scenario, upcoming as well as future opportunities, revenue growth, pricing and profitability. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the Refrigerator Motors global status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 2018 - 2025.Get FREE Exclusive PDF Sample Copy of This Report @Refrigerator Motors market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger & acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report.The scope of the report extends from market scenarios to comparative pricing between major players, cost and profit of the specified market regions. The numerical data is backed up by statistical tools such as SWOT analysis, BCG matrix, SCOT analysis, PESTLE analysis and so on. The statistics are represented in graphical format for a clear understanding on facts and figures.The generated report is firmly based on primary research, interviews with top executives, news sources and information insiders. Secondary research techniques are implemented for better understanding and clarity for data analysis.The report for Refrigerator Motors market industry analysis & forecast 2018-2025 is segmented into Product Segment, Application Segment & Major players.Region-wise Analysis Global Refrigerator Motors Market covers: North America Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaThe major manufacturers covered in this report Whirlpool GE Emerson Frigidaire Edgewater Parts Samsung Eaton ERP Envicool Nangjing Canatal Frigidaire SupcoRefrigerator Motors Breakdown Data by Product type Evaporator Fan Motor Condenser Fan Motor OtherRefrigerator Motors Breakdown Data by Application Commercial Household IndustrialFor more information, Visit:In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Refrigerator Motors are as follows: History Year: 2013-2017 Base Year: 2017 Estimated Year: 2018 Forecast Year 2018 to 2025The Report covers in-depth analysis as follows: Chapter 1 Refrigerator Motors Market Overview Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Refrigerator Motors Industry Chapter 3 Global Refrigerator Motors Market Competition by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Global Refrigerator Motors Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018) Chapter 5 Global Refrigerator Motors Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2013-2018) Chapter 6 Global Refrigerator Motors Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type Chapter 7 Global Refrigerator Motors Market Analysis by Application Chapter 8 Global Refrigerator Motors Manufacturers Analysis Chapter 9 Refrigerator Motors Manufacturing Cost Analysis Chapter 10 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Chapter 11 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders Chapter 12 Market Effect Factors Analysis Chapter 13 Global Refrigerator Motors Market Forecast (2018-2023)Buy report @Global Refrigerator Motors Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 report helps the clients to take business decisions and to understand strategies of major players in the industry. The report also calls for market-driven results deriving feasibility studies for client needs. UpMarketResearch ensures qualified and verifiable aspects of market data operating in the real-time scenario. The analytical studies are conducted ensuring client needs with a thorough understanding of market capacities in the real-time scenario.Key Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have a comprehensive understanding of the Global Refrigerator Motors Market Industry Analysis and Forecast 2018-2025 and its commercial landscape Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by your competitors and leading organizations To understand the future outlook and prospects for Refrigerator Motors market industry analysis and forecast 2018-2025.Customization of the Report:UpMarketResearch provides free customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities.About UpMarketResearch:UpMarketResearch () is a leading distributor of market research report with more than 800+ global clients. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined  we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Contact Info:Name: Alex MathewsEmail: Alex@upmarketresearch.comOrganization: UpMarketResearchAddress: 500 East E Street, Ontario, CA 91764, United States
Batten Disease Treatment Market Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2018-2026

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Batten disease is a rare, inherent, and fatal autosomal recessive neural disorder that begins in the childhood but may take a few years to show symptoms. Batten disease is one of the approximately 50 diseases that fall under the category of lysosome shortage disorders. The batten disease also referred as Neuronal ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs), which is a class of life-limiting genetic neurogenerative diseases that are caused due to abnormality of genes resulting in their inability to synthesize required protein. This disease is characterized by malfunctioning of body, which usually appears around the age of 2-10 with symptoms, such as seizures or gradual onset of vision problem.Request Sample Copy of this Business Report @The early signs may show subtle changes in behavior and learning, however over time, the child suffers from mental impairment, progressive loss of sight, speech and motor reactions, worsening seizures, eventually leading to blindness dementia, and finally death. These disease is diagnosed with the help of certain tests, such as blood or urine tests, skin or tissue dampening, brain scans, and imaging techniques, which includes, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The batten disease is characterized into four types as follows:Infantile NCL: more than 2 yearsLate Infantile NCL: 2-4 years (Life span of child varies between 8-12 years)Juvenile NCL: 5-8 years (Life span varies between teens to early 20s)Adult NCL: more than 40 years (Variable lifespan)European countries facing rising prevalence and incidence of batten diseaseAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Batten disease is observed in 2-4 per 100,000 live births in the United States on an average. The Batten disease although is rare but has high incidence rates in Finland, Sweden, and other parts of the Europe as compared to rest of the world. According to the Batten Disease Support and Research Association, the batten disease has often been encountered in more than one children of the same family. The Daily News and Analysis article published in June 2016 suggests that, over 20 million children in India suffer from rare diseases, having expensive treatments. This creates opportunities for the sustaining as well as upcoming market players by understanding the potential held by the global batten disease treatment market.Attempts by collaborations of research bodies for introduction to reliable treatment options for batten disease giving hopes to commonersThe batten disease treatment market is not dense on the global level, however the developed economies of North America and Europe are expected to contribute to the growth of the market. This attributes to the increasing incidence of batten disease and high prevalence rates in American as well as European countries. For instance, a joint study between Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Childrens Hospital, and Kings College London have discovered a treatment that has helped to improve the neurological symptoms in the mouse model of juvenile batten disease. This research held a novel approach of counteracting the accumulation of the cellular waste in Batten disease by acting on TFEB, which is a master transcription factor that stimulates the production of lysosomes by the cell body and directs cellular apoptosis. This has brought a ray of hope to patients and families affected by battens disease.Improper treatment facility for batten disease responsible to attract the attention of various players to enter the untapped potential batten disease treatment marketThe rising incidence of the batten disease without effective treatment option for the prevention and cure of the disease is the primary driver for batten disease market, due to which several companies are vying to enter into the untapped global batten disease treatment market. However, the lack of awareness among manufacturers and patient population as well as unavailability of treatment for this disease are greatly hampering the growth of the global batten disease treatment market.Access Table of Content (TOC) Of the Report @Although, the global batten disease treatment market is very scarce, few key players offering cell regeneration therapies and few other forms of medication include Seneb BioSciences, Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceuticals and ReGenX Biosciences LLC. The U.S. FDA has recently approved BioMarins first ever drug to treat batten disease known as Brineura in 2017.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
Agriculture Pumps 2018 Global Market Key Players  Xylem, Wastecorp, Pentair, GRUNDFOS, LSMPumper., Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL) -Analysis And Forecast To 2025

Agriculture Pumps Market 2018

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Agriculture Pumps Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Agriculture Pumps  Global Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025 To Its Research Database.Description:This report studies the global Agriculture Pumps market status and forecast, categorizes the global Agriculture Pumps market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).The global Agriculture Pumps market is valued at million US$ in 2017 and will reach million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of during 2018-2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportXylemWastecorpPentairGRUNDFOSLSMPumper.Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL)Calpeda S.p.ACat PumpsCommitment Reliability InnovationTEMCO Motor Co., Ltd.VestJet ASRequest for Sample Report @Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaWe can also provide the customized separate regional or country-level reports, for the following regions:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCentrifugal PumpMixed-Flow PumpAxial-Flow PumpOtherOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingAgricultural IrrigationDomestic WaterOtherEnquiry before Buying @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of Content:Global Agriculture Pumps Market Research Report 20181 Agriculture Pumps Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Agriculture Pumps1.2 Agriculture Pumps Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Agriculture Pumps Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Agriculture Pumps Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Centrifugal Pump1.2.4 Mixed-Flow Pump1.2.5 Axial-Flow Pump1.2.6 Other1.3 Global Agriculture Pumps Segment by Application1.3.1 Agriculture Pumps Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Agricultural Irrigation1.3.3 Domestic Water1.3.4 Other1.4 Global Agriculture Pumps Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Agriculture Pumps Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Agriculture Pumps (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Agriculture Pumps Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025).7 Global Agriculture Pumps Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Xylem7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Xylem Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Wastecorp7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Wastecorp Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Pentair7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Pentair Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 GRUNDFOS7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 GRUNDFOS Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 LSMPumper.7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 LSMPumper. Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL)7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL) Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Calpeda S.p.A7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Calpeda S.p.A Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Cat Pumps7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Cat Pumps Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Commitment Reliability Innovation7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Commitment Reliability Innovation Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 TEMCO Motor Co., Ltd.7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Agriculture Pumps Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 TEMCO Motor Co., Ltd. Agriculture Pumps Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 VestJet ASContinued..Contact US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Underwater Roboticsnning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd: Pune  411028: Maharashtra,: Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Office Printing Papers Market Share, Growth, Demand, Trends, Region Wise Analysis of Top Players and Forecasts by 2018 to 2028

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The global paper industry since the last two decades has been experiencing rapid transformation against the backdrop of printing, packaging as well as e-commerce industries growth. This industrial growth has obliged the demand for documentation and other hard copy paper work, thereby giving a push to the growth of the global office printing papers market. Expansion of transactional as well as business communication documents has led to a sharp rise in demand for office printing paper market. Advancements in quality of office printing papers is anticipated to be a key move being made by prominent manufacturing companies in their quest to hold their supremacy in the market.Besides, the capacity of mass production of the key players is also anticipated to strengthen their market position in the global office printing papers market.Request for Brochure @Office Printing Papers Market: DynamicsIncrease in the availability of technologically advanced laser as well as inkjet printers which has led to affordable color printing solutions for office applications are expected to push the demand for office printing papers in some specific end use sectors.However, according to an independent research, most of the end users, such as Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI), covering both private & public sectors have carried out successful implementation of digital operations with replacement of traditional office paper based systems. The intensification of digital technology as demonstrated by growing access to Wi-Fi and mobile data will continue to be major inhibitors for the office printing papers market. Moreover, advancements in hardware, such as mobiles, tablets, personal computers, etc., as well as the virtual storage systems will gradually reduce the demand for office printing papers.Office printing papers Market: Regional OutlookAmong regions, North America and Western Europe are mature markets for office printing papers and are thus expected to display below average growth owing to rising customer inclination towards use of electronic media across these regions. Additionally, key multinational firms / Conglomerates in United States, Germany, Italy, France, etc. prefer to outsource most of their operation to the developing economies, such as India, Vietnam, Indonesia, etc., which is projected to create fresh opportunities for the growth of office printing papers market.The Asia pacific is expected to record above-average growth in the office printing papers market due to the huge-scale investments being made through international players across the region. China which supplies approximately 30% of global printing & packaging paper is projected to be a prime market for office printing papers and will be followed by India in the Asia Pacific region.View Full Report @Global Office printing papers Market: SegmentationGlobally, the office printing papers market can be segmented on the basis of paper type, paper coat, paper size, source of paper and its end use.On the basis of office paper type, the global office printing papers market has been segmented into:Copier PapersPrinter PapersOn the basis of paper coats, the global office printing papers market has been segmented into:Coated office printing papersUncoated office printing papersOn the basis of paper size, the global office printing papers market has been segmented into:A3 size office printing papersA4 size office printing papersA5 size office printing papersA6 size office printing papersOther customized sizesOn the basis of source type, the global office printing papers market has been segmented into:Virgin PapersRecycled PapersOn the basis of end use, the global office printing papers market has been segmented into:Banking, Financial services and Insurance (BFSI)Healthcare InstitutionsEducation InstitutionsPublic InstitutionsLegal Service InstitutionsOther institutional servicesGlobal Office printing papers Market: Market ParticipantsSome of the key players operating in the global office printing papers market are:Mondi Group plcDS Smith Packaging LimitedInternational Paper CompanyWestRock CompanyKapStone Paper and Packaging CorpStora Enso OyjSonoco Products CompanySmurfit Kappa Group Plc..Georgia-Pacific LLCOji Holdings CorporationPratt Industries, Inc.Great Little Box Company Ltd.This analytical research study imparts an all-inclusive assessment on the market, while propounding historical intelligence, actionable insights, and industry-validated & statistically-upheld market forecast. Verified and suitable set of assumptions and methodology has been leveraged for developing this comprehensive study. Information and analysis on key market segments incorporated in the report has been delivered in weighted chapters. A thorough analysis has been offered by the report onAbout Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact usFact.MR353-1-6111-59311140 Rockville PikeSuite 400Rockville, MD 20852United StatesEmail: sales@factmr.comWeb:
Future of Social Broadcasting Market Region Economic Impact, Demand and Growth Research Report 2018-2025

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Social Broadcasting Market report provides useful market data related to the Social Broadcasting Market necessary to have a detailed & in-depth overview of the current market scenario. Social broadcasting is the combination of two direct platform convergences from technology, social media and live broadcasting. This combination of technology and the current ease for the average person to learn the process for creating content using this technology opens up broad possibilities for marketers, performers, production companies, and really anyone with a message that they want to have heard. The market data drafted in this report consists of key market parameters like market size, market share, key drivers, major vendors or the leading brands present in this industry, which helps to accurately judge the present competitive scenario. To enhance the understandability, the market data is supplemented with figures, pie-charts & tables for quantitative analysis of the Social Broadcasting Market.For Sample duplicate of this report:Global Social Broadcasting Market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of +11.54%. The base year considered for the study is 2018 and the forecast period considered is 2018 To 2025.Social Broadcasting offers the prospect of improving the customer interaction through various sources such as instant messaging systems, social networking sites, and mobile apps. The report on the Global Social Broadcasting Market is a complete overview of the market, covering various aspects product definition, segmentation based on various parameters, and the prevailing vendor landscape. It compiles in-depth information and research methodologies. It is also combined with relevant charts and tables to enable readers to get a better perspective of this global market. The rise in adoption of Social Broadcasting is attributable to the increase in Social Broadcasting budgets in organizations, widespread social media platforms, and increased internet penetration. Growing social media and popularity of mobile advertising with increasing number of mobile devices are main drives of the global Social Broadcasting market. Moreover, the growing adoption of DMS by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) is expected to drive the market during forecast period.The key opportunity areas in the market and the top trends impacting the development of the market have also been presented through this report. Social Broadcasting Market research is an intelligence report with meticulous efforts undertaken to study the right and valuable information. The data which has been looked upon is done considering both, the existing top players and the upcoming competitors. Business strategies of the key players and the new entering market industries are studied in detail. Well explained SWOT analysis, revenue share and contact information are shared in this report analysis.Avail discount on this report:The current growth and development patterns of this market have also been encapsulated in this study. After studying key companies, the report focuses on the startups contributing towards the growth of the market. Possible mergers and acquisitions among the startups and key organizations are identified by the report's authors in the study. As leading companies take efforts to maintain their dominance in the global Social Broadcasting market, the right way to do so is by adopting new technologies and strategies. The report highlights major technological developments and changing trends adopted by key companies over a period of time. For a stronger and more stable business outlook, the report on the global market carries key projections that can be practically studied.For more enquiry:Social Broadcasting market is segmented on the basis of various parameters. The competitive background section of the report covers the key vendors and throws light on the strategies being adopted by them for better penetration into the market. The factors which are impacting the markets growth are studied in detail. The report also presents a overall weaknesses which companies operating in the market must avoid in order to enjoy sustainable growth through the course of the forecast period. Besides this, profiles of some of the leading players operating and encouraging in the growth of the global market are included in the study. Additionally, using SWOT analysis, markets weaknesses and strengths are analyzed. It also helps the report provide insights into the opportunities and threats that these companies may face during the forecast period.Table of Content:Global Social Broadcasting Market Research Report 2018-2025Chapter 1: Industry Overview of Global Social Broadcasting MarketChapter 2: Technologies Market International and China Market AnalysisChapter 3: Environment Analysis of Global Social Broadcasting MarketChapter 4: Analysis of Revenue by ClassificationsChapter 5: Analysis of Revenue by Regions and ApplicationsChapter 6: Analysis of Technologies Market Revenue Market Status.Chapter 7: Analysis of Global Social Broadcasting Market Industry Key ManufacturersChapter 8: Sales Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter 9: Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Social Broadcasting MarketChapter 10: Development Trend of Global Social Broadcasting Market Industry 2018-2022About Research N ReportResearch N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin - 77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977,sales@researchnreports.com
Feridax (1957) Ltd is the leading name in motorcycle parts and accessories, supplying over 1000 dealerships across the UK. They are one of the latest companies to implement a web system using InterSell eCommerce and CRM software from UK based software house, Aspin. Feridax required an easy to use system for its network of dealers to place orders securely online, manage their accounts and view the latest stock. The system also 
READY FOR HALLOWEEN READY FOR HALLOWEEN  Zombies are popping out of the ground ahead of Halloween at a Henning Road residence. Oops! A Free Account is required to view this content. Please Login...

Orchard Park prepares for historic election with control of the town board on the line The path to Orchard Park embarking on one of its most significant elections in town history this year was paved with another landmark vote in 2019. In 2019, a group...

NEW RESTAURANT NEW RESTAURANT  On Oct. 13, Flaco held its grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new restaurant, located at 4211 N. Buffalo St. Flaco is owned and operated by Fattey...
Members of the Portland Asian community and their allies are asking Light Opera of Portland to stop a planned production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" at Alpenrose Dairy later this month.

An open letter to the production company, signed by well over 100 people, as well as the Portland Japanese American Citizens League and the band The Slants, is asking Light Opera of Portland, or LOoP to cancel the show.

After the production company announced the upcoming show in July, several people voiced objections to the company. "The Mikado" has been controversial, almost since the comedic opera was written in 1885, spurring protests over what critics contend are racist portrayals of Japanese characters and culture.

"I am a Japanese American who lives in Portland and I find this production inappropriate," Jenna Yokoyama wrote on Facebook. "I am also someone who walked away from the opera world many years ago because of operas and productions like this."

"Japanese Americans in this country have long fought against orientalism, trying to get those outside of our community to understand why stories like these need to simply just be put away instead of reproduced over and over again," Yokoyama wrote.

"The Mikado" was written during a time when the British were obsessed with all things Japanese, though they had little connection with the actual country. The story is set in a fictional Japanese village, peopled by characters with gibberish names meant to sound Japanese -- names like "Pitti-Sing," "Nanki Poo" and "Yum-Yum" -- who are frequently played by white actors made up to look like caricatures of Asian people, often called "yellowface."

In the last decade, as discussions about inclusive casting, cultural appropriation and racism in film, television and on stage have gone mainstream, productions of the opera have been canceled and changed after pressure from local communities.

Light Opera of Portland producer David Smith said in an interview that to address concerns, he has followed the lead of a San Francisco company called Lamplighters, who spent time consulting with Asian-American theater companies, then removed Japan from "The Mikado" altogether and set it in Italy.

Like Lamplighters, Light Opera of Portland made phonetic and spelling changes to some names. Light Opera also changed the rhythm and words in at least one song, and moved the action, but instead of Italy, to outer space.

"By setting it in outer space," Smith said, "we can take away any of the 'What culture is this? What society is this?' and go back into what is the content of the show. The show is a love story as well as a political satire."

"We do all the Gilbert and Sullivan productions," he said, when asked why they chose "The Mikado" this year. "This is one of the ones in the canon of Gilbert and Sullivan. It's the second most popular show in history for Gilbert and Sullivan and still is. It's kind of hard not to do it at some point."

The change in setting did not appease critics.

"Setting the Mikado in space does not erase the orientalism that is present in the opera's name, music, characters, or history," Yokoyama wrote on Facebook.

"I think they are trying to put a Band-Aid on this after realizing that people have hurt feelings," said Dmae Roberts, executive producer of the Theatre Diaspora project, Oregon's only Asian American/Pacific Islander theater company, and a writer for The Asian Reporter who wrote a column about the play. "And it isn't just hurt feelings. It's a wound that just won't heal without proper first air."

After comments by Yokoyama and others, Smith said he had "five to six hours of conversation with three different representatives of the Asian American community in the Portland area."

One, he said, had no issue with the production.

Another, Smith said, had some suggestions, including changes that were made to the song.

"I said great we'll do those suggestions," he said, "and then she came back and said well, 'I've gone back and looked at it again and I don't see anyway that this show can ever be done by anybody without being offensive."

The open letter continues to gather signatures from the Portland area and beyond.

"While orientalism's harm was not generally understood by non-Asians at the time, this ignorance does not erase the fact that racist and offensive attitudes were always at the foundations of The Mikado's creation," the letter reads. "Asian and Asian American communities have long bemoaned productions of The Mikado and have long been silenced by those who find upholding the British tradition of exoticizing other cultures as socially acceptable."

"We hope LOoP will recognize the changing of the story's setting to outer space does not feel less offensive," it continues, "but it is just a furthering of the idea of Asians as exotic and unworthy of being seen for their humanity."

Now, Light Opera of Portland is asking concerned community members to write down their objections to the play, so they can be printed in the program.

Roberts said this feels to her as though the company is just looking for an endorsement of the productions.

"They just didn't do the work and I honestly don't think they are ready to do this production," she said.

What can Light Opera of Portland, and other companies interested in putting on plays that have a problematic history, do, beyond picking a different play?

"Hire cultural consultants," Roberts said. "I can't say that enough."

"The Mikado" is scheduled to run Sept. 20-30 at Alpenrose Dairy. Tickets are $18.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
Adapted from a recent online discussion.

Hi, Carolyn:

Over the past week, I've discovered I have a pretty bad problem to have, followed by a very good problem to have. My fiance and partner of seven years told me on Monday that he didn't think marriage (or me!) was for him, and moved out -- two months before our wedding.

My question is: How do I tell my family and friends? The few I've told have been suuuper supportive, but I'm embarrassed by this unwanted streak of high drama in my orderly life. I'm already dreading being "oh honey"-ed over while I want to focus on getting catering deposits returned, selling our house, and not deep-diving into self-pity.

I know I'll need the support (and the Kleenex) when the crisis part of this is over, but for now, I feel like a kid who's fallen out of a tree: My first instinct is to scream "I'M FINE I'M FINE I'M FINE" because attention paid to the injury will just make it hurt worse.

Is there a script for this?

-- I'm Fine; This Is Fine

Hax: Well, if experience is any measure of what you can expect, you will radiate a please-don't-oh-honey-me-ahhhhhhh aura that people with social sensors will be able to read on you pretty quickly. So there's a chance you won't be as fussed-over as you fear.

One way to pre-empt some of the unwanted attention by the un-socially-sensored is to deputize the people you've already told to spread your news for you. That way you won't have to process everyone's initial reaction, a nice thing to cross off your list.

I'm sorry. It does sound like you're fine you're fine you're fine, though, or soon will be, even through the Kleenex phase.

Re: Broken Engagement:

Rather than saying, "I'M FINE," which people may not believe, why not try, "I'm sad but this will pass," or even, "I'm not the first person this has happened to; I'll recover," which is closer to the truth.

-- Anonymous

Dear Carolyn:

There have been many lovely things about being an only child: a close relationship with my parents, opportunities to do many "grown-up" things from a young age and the accompanying maturity, etc.

However, I am single and when my parents age and pass away, there's only me to handle it all. Only me to care for them and bear the emotional and physical burden of doing so, only me to sort through their things, and most of all: only me to remember how they were as parents. Some people can only have one child (like my parents) or only want one, but if you're on the fence about it ... give your child someone to share his or her burdens with.

-- Only

Hax: Thank you. Sibs can help you understand your parents, too, not just remember them.

But each advantage can be a potential disadvantage, too: Many people have siblings who just refuse to help with aging parents, for example. So they're alone in the burden and resentful on top of that.

And, a sibling can be a friend for life and sharer of memories ... or a source of torment from your earliest memories to the very end.

It's a wonder we ever get off fences on anything, ever.

Email Carolyn at tellme@washpost.com, follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carolyn.hax or chat with her online at 9 a.m. PT each Friday at www.washingtonpost.com.

(c) 2018, Washington Post Writers Group
Two brothers who run a Washington County tutoring business face criminal charges after authorities say one sexually abused a female student and the other gave her alcohol.

Ryan Hsu, 31, of Bethany in unincorporated Washington County, is accused of second-degree sexual abuse involving an underaged girl between March and June, according to an indictment in the case. He was arrested Aug. 16, three days after someone called police about the allegations, the sheriff's office said.

He and younger sibling Alan H. Hsu run Best in Class Education Center in Bethany, according to the sheriff's office.

Alan Hsu, 29, of Bethany, was arrested Aug. 18 on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to a minor for giving the same girl liquor that month, court documents show. He was released on his own recognizance. His older brother was released from jail after posting $1,000 bail. Both were barred from having contact with the alleged victim and other children.

Ryan Hsu was arrested August 30 on suspicion of violating his release agreement after being seen at an event children attended. He was released from jail a second time after posting $2,500 bail.

Alan Hsu asked the court to modify his release agreement to allow him to be around children for work, court records show. He typically works with children from kindergarten to 12th grade with class sizes between four and 12 students, the motion said.

Hsu said he and another adult are usually in the classroom and when he is the only adult, other employees nearby can see into the classroom, the court papers said.

"If the prohibition of all contact with minors continues, it will be impossible to continue running his business, as his involvement in the classrooms as both tutor and manager is irreplaceable for several of his tutoring centers," the motion said. "He has already had multiple days of unscheduled closures. Continued closures will be untenable of the business."

A court hearing on Alan Hsu's motion is scheduled for Monday.

State business filings show a tutoring center connected to their family has operated at the location since at least 2001. The family also used to operate a tutoring business in Lake Oswego, but that location was registered by someone else last year, according to the state records.

Molly Young of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
I read of the mass exodus of talent from OHSU's division of cardiology and subsequent dissolution of its heart transplant program with a mixture of anger and sadness ("Remaining heart transplant cardiologist announces resignation from OHSU," Aug. 29). It is a national embarrassment -- and more importantly, it harms real people in need. To lose four gifted cardiologists in as many months speaks volumes of the quality of the leadership at OHSU, not just in the cardiology department.

We the people of this state and of the medical community in general deserve better than this -- demand better than this.

I make a heartfelt appeal to the president of Oregon Health & Science University, Dr. Danny Jacobs. As he is just now walking into the political turmoil and weakness that is his senior staff, I ask him to take major steps to refocus from the top down. An academic medical center should be cutting edge with a mission of excellence. Its leadership should motivate and inspire staff and trainees, not drive them away. OHSU should provide exceptional service to the community at all times.

Charlie Phillips, Southwest Portland
A central Oregon father was arrested Wednesday on allegations he abused his twin babies, police say.

Justin Michael Viescas

Justin Michael Viescas, 26, is accused of two counts apiece of third-degree assault and first-degree criminal mistreatment, according to Prineville police. Viescas, a Prineville resident, posted bail Wednesday and was released from jail, police said.

Police said they started investigating the alleged abuse in mid-July. They said their investigation showed Viescas' twin babies had multiple fractures after examinations at Prineville and Portland hospitals. Medical providers "indicated the injuries to the children were caused by non-accidental trauma," the agency said.

The arrest came after a grand jury indictment, according to police.

Prineville police posted news of the arrest to their Facebook page Wednesday, and a user identifying himself as Viescas' brother disputed the allegations.

Police said anyone who has more information about the case can contact Detective Kathryn Bottoms at 541-447-4168 or kbottoms@prinevillepd.org.

 Jim Ryan
SALEM  A South African man flew to Oregon to face multiple sex-abuse charges that were lodged against him a quarter-century ago, the FBI said Wednesday.

The FBI, which ran a social-media campaign in South Africa to bring attention to the case, said it arranged for Clackamas County sheriff's deputies to meet the plane carrying Barrett Preston Busschau. The 43-year-old had agreed to return to the United States to face the charges.

Busschau was 18 when he was charged in 1993 with sexually molesting five girls between the ages of 10 and 15. He fled before trial.

Prosecutor Lewis Burkhart said there has been no plea agreement with Busschau. In a brief telephone interview, Burkhart acknowledged there could be challenges in prosecuting a case after 25 years.

"The passage of time creates issues with people's memory, things like that," said Burkhart, deputy district attorney for Clackamas County, near Portland. Busschau also faces charges in nearby Washington County.

The FBI months ago began targeting South African media using Facebook to display wanted posters that showed an age-adjusted image of the suspect and offering a reward of up to $10,000.

"For a quarter of a century, Barrett Busschau managed to hide half-a-world away," Renn Cannon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon, said in a statement. "Thanks to an FBI case agent's persistence, the prosecutors and partnerships stretching from Oregon to South Africa, Mr. Busschau will finally have to face these serious allegations and his accusers in court."

Busschau's U.S. attorney, Jason Short, was in a meeting and not immediately available for comment, an assistant said. Short has asked prosecutors to present names of witnesses, their recorded statements, statements the defendant made to authorities and objects the state intends to present as evidence, according to a court document.

Busschau is a South African citizen who came to the United States as a child and obtained legal permanent resident status in 1989, the FBI said.

He was released on his own recognizance after being charged. When he failed to appear, a warrant was issued for his arrest without opportunity for bail on Oct. 4, 1993.

Burkhart intends to seek justice for the victims after all these years.

"Just because someone runs doesn't mean they get away with it," Burkhart said.

-- The Associated Press
WASHINGTON  A parade of denials began in Washington on Thursday, as Vice President Mike Pence and a growing number of other senior officials asserted they were not responsible for an explosive New York Times op-ed by someone claiming to be part of a "resistance" within the Trump administration.

Amid frenzied speculation over who was hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, a spokesman for Pence forcefully denied Thursday morning that it was him. More than a half-dozen Cabinet officials followed suit, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

By lunchtime, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had taken to Twitter, chiding the media for what she called a "wild obsession" and urging citizens to call the Times opinion desk if they wanted to learn the identify of a "gutless loser."

First lady Melania Trump also weighed in on the controversy, saying in a statement that if "a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words."

Pence's office was the first to speak out on Thursday.

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen wrote in a morning tweet. "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts."

Speculation about Pence has been rampant on social media and cable television because of the op-ed writer's use of "lodestar," an archaic word that the vice president has used in multiple speeches.

While traveling in India, Pompeo told reporters: "It's not mine."

"It is sad that you have someone who would make that choice," Pompeo said. "I come from a place where if you're not in a position to execute the commander's intent, you have a singular option, that is to leave."

Pompeo blamed the publication of the op-ed on a media that he said is trying to undermine Trump, a phenomenon he called "incredibly disturbing."

Coats, meanwhile, said speculation that the op-ed was written by him or his principal deputy, Susan Gordon, is "patently false."

"From the beginning of our tenure, we have insisted that the entire [intelligence community] remain focused on our mission to provide the President and policymakers with the best possible intelligence," Coats said in a statement.

Some pundits had suggested that Coats was a possible author in part because, at age 75, he is likely in his final government job.

Later Thursday, a spokesman for Defense Secretary Mattis said "it was not his op-ed." U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said "no" when asked if it was hers. A spokesman for Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it was "laughable" that he was the author.

And a spokesman for Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said she was not focused on writing "anonymous and false opinion pieces for the New York Times."

Denials also came from the offices of CIA Director Gina Haspel, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Housing and Urban Development secretary Ben Carson.

The op-ed, published online Wednesday afternoon, was written by a senior official in the Trump administration, according to the Times. It blasts Trump as morally unmoored, criticizes his "impetuous" leadership style and depicts a "two-track presidency" in which Trump acts according to his own whims while many of his top aides, in the author's words, work to thwart his "more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

In addition to painting a dire picture of Trump's decision-making process, the op-ed also states that some top administration officials discussed early in Trump's presidency whether to seek to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment.

"Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the Cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis," the op-ed says. "So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until - one way or another - it's over."

In a late-morning tweet Thursday, Sanders said "the media's wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop."

She accused the Times of being "the only ones complicit in this deceitful act" and provided the phone number for its opinions desk.

In a tweet earlier Thursday morning, Trump suggested that the Op-ed was born of frustration from his political adversaries because his administration is doing well. Among other things, he cited economic trends and what he expects to be the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to a seat on the Supreme Court.

"The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they don't know what to do," Trump wrote. "The Economy is booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption. Wow!"

Trump's use of the term "Declassification" appeared to be a reference to an ongoing battle between some Republican lawmakers and the Justice Department over disclosing documents related to the start of the Russia investigation. The lawmakers have contended that such documents would show wrongdoing on the part of FBI and Justice Department officials.

On Wednesday, shortly after the op-ed was published, Trump lashed out at its author, calling the piece "gutless" and demanding that the Times turn over the writer "for National Security purposes."

In a tweet Wednesday evening, Trump wrote a single word: "TREASON?"

 The Washington Post
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department warned Wednesday that leading technology companies may be "intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas" and hurting competition, an ominous development for an industry already under fire from Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump and a variety of conservative critics.



The two-sentence statement, which did not elaborate on the allegation or explicitly threaten legal action, echoed tweets by Trump last week claiming that the technology industry was biased against conservatives. The White House later threatened new regulation of the search giant Google, a move that legal experts said would violate constitutional protections on free speech.



The Justice Department made its announcement at the end of a Senate hearing in which Facebook and Twitter executives faced sharp questioning on a number of subjects - including allegations that social media platforms mute conservative voices. Google offered to send an executive to the hearing, but the Senate committee rebuffed the offer because it wanted the chief executive of Google's parent company, Alphabet, to appear.

"Humans are building the algorithms. Humans make decisions about Twitter's terms of services . . . and humans can make mistakes," said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, to open the hearing.



The combination of government action, including a coming meeting between Attorney General Jeff Sessions and several state attorneys general, alarmed the technology industry. It has been playing defense for nearly two years over allegations that it failed to adequately combat the spread of phony news reports and Russian disinformation during the 2016 presidential election.





Outside legal experts, meanwhile, expressed concern that the rising political pressure over unproven allegations of bias will chill constitutionally protected speech by technology companies.



"This could be a very serious broadside against the entire Internet industry coordinated by multiple layers of government," said Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley.



The meeting with state attorneys general will "discuss a growing concern that these companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms," the Justice Department said in its statement.



It noted that government lawyers had been listening to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing "closely," though issues of bias played a relatively small role in the hearing. The subject was the focus of a later hearing Wednesday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee with only Twitter's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, appearing before the panel.

The Sessions meeting with the state attorneys general, which was planned before Wednesday's Senate hearing but not previously announced, is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 25 in Washington, according to a person familiar with the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly. Justice Department officials declined to specify which states would be represented, but the attorneys general in several states have opened investigations into technology companies in the past two years on various issues.



Sessions regularly faces withering public criticism from Trump, but he has also been one of the president's most loyal supporters, particularly on policy matters such as immigration and policing. Sessions's statement Wednesday on social media firms is another instance in which he has echoed points raised by the president.



Google, Twitter and Facebook all declined to comment in response to the Justice Department statement. All three have repeatedly denied allowing political views to shape what content appears on their platforms.



"Impartiality is our guiding principle," Twitter's Dorsey said at the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday morning.



In written testimony submitted ahead of the hearing, he cited a study by the company that concluded that tweets by Democratic and Republican lawmakers have equal reach.



Technology companies have, since 2016, been more aggressive in policing hate speech, fake accounts and disinformation campaigns by foreign governments. The removal of conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from several social media platforms last month has fueled claims that the companies are targeting conservative voices, though he was removed for violating rules against hate speech - not for the political bent of his posts - according to the companies.



The industry's conservative critics have not presented systematic evidence to bolster their claims.



Legal experts called the Justice Department's statement on Wednesday unusual and a potential threat to the First Amendment rights of technology companies, which may alter their behavior because of the implicit threat of action by federal and state investigators.



"It's not clear what they're investigating. If they're investigating companies without a clear reason, it's possible that the investigations themselves will stifle free speech," said Alex Abdo, a senior staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. "DOJ, without some clear implication of wrongdoing, should not be meddling."



The combination of legal theories put forward by the Justice Department statement also puzzled legal experts.



They said that there are legitimate issues regarding the market power of leading technology companies that may merit more government review, particularly with regard to situations in which companies are using their power in one marketplace - such as Internet searches - to gain advantage in another, such as retailing. The European Union has investigated such issues and, in July, hit Google with a $5 billion fine for bundling apps on its Android mobile operating system in a way that undermined competition.



But legal experts say the First Amendment protects against the government's directing tech companies in the dissemination of news or political opinions. They said Justice Department lawyers would struggle to mount a case that sought to limit such free-speech rights.



"They're just throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall to see if it sticks," said Heather Whitney, a doctoral candidate at New York University who wrote an influential paper this year on free speech and technology companies. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.



The Justice Department's statement came after months of threats from the president to regulate or investigate the country's technology companies over allegations of bias. In July, he accused Twitter of intentionally hiding top Republican users' tweets, pledging to "look into this discriminatory and illegal practice" without providing further details.



Then, last month, Trump claimed that Google rigged search results. One of his top advisers later suggested that the White House could soon consider new regulations. The president later appeared to backtrack from the idea.



By last week, though, Trump told Bloomberg News that technology companies including Amazon and Facebook are in a "very antitrust situation," though he said he wasn't looking to break them up. He also aired these complaints at a rally in Evansville, Indiana, telling supporters: "I've made it clear that we as a country cannot tolerate political censorship, blacklisting and rigged search results."



Earlier Wednesday, Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill focused on other issues - including key questions as to whether Facebook, Twitter and its tech peers have hardened themselves against disinformation spread by foreign powers ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.



Both Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, and Twitter CEO Dorsey defended their companies' work after Russian agents reached millions of Americans with divisive political messages during the 2016 presidential race.



"We were too slow to spot this and too slow to act. That's on us," Sandberg told the Senate Intelligence Committee. "This interference was completely unacceptable. It violated the values of our company and of the country we love."



Among those attending the hearing was Jones, who hurled insults at Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and then verbally attacked a CNN reporter in a hallway - firing off a barrage of taunts that he live-streamed. He ceased minutes before House lawmakers convened a testy hearing on allegations of anti-conservative bias, where Dorsey, the session's lone witness, sought to stress the company's political neutrality.



But Democrats sharply rebuked Republicans, including the president, for airing allegations of anti-conservative bias without presenting evidence. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the panel, described the hearing as "one more mechanism to raise money and generate outrage" on the part of Republicans.



"It appears Republicans are desperately trying to rally their base by fabricating a problem that simply doesn't exist," Pallone said.

-- The Washington Post
A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit alleging American Airlines was negligent in allowing a passenger to sexually abuse a girl who was flying alone on a plane from Texas to Portland in 2015.

The judge found that Texas law applied in this case, which bars a plaintiff from collecting punitive damages against a company for the criminal conduct of another party, in this case passenger Chad Camp, who was convicted of assault, unless the crime was "foreseeable.''

U.S. District Judge Marco A. Hernandez's ruling cancels a scheduled Oct. 9 civil trial.

The judge found that Texas law applies because American Airlines is based in Texas, the alleged assault took place over Texas airspace and at least some of the girl's injuries occurred in Texas, as American Airlines' lawyer Steven Rosen had argued.

Attorney Judy Snyder, who represented the 13-year-old girl and one of her parents, argued that Oregon law should apply. It holds that a company does have a duty to protect against risks of "foreseeable harms," including from another's criminal acts, and punitive damages can be recovered.

Camp, then 26, was headed back to Oregon on June 15, 2016, after having just finished a residential treatment program in Florida for alcohol dependency when he downed four to five mixed drinks before boarding an American Airlines plane in Dallas to Portland.

He was in a middle seat and admitted that he invaded the 13-year-old girl's space, touched her on her thigh and groin area and had inappropriate conversations with her. The girl was beside Camp in a window seat.

He pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit abusive sexual contact of a minor and indecent sexual proposal of a minor. When he was sentenced, he received credit for the 11 months that he had spent in custody, was ordered to spend at least three months in an outpatient treatment program for severe opiate addiction and alcohol abuse and placed on home detention for six months.

Once the plane was in the air, as a flight attendant was handing out snacks, she saw Camp's hand on the girl's lap in her "groin'' or "crotch'' area. She immediately demanded Camp remove his hand and moved him to the back of the plane. The girl was moved to another row, between two women.

The girl's attorney argued that the crime continued throughout the four-hour flight to Oregon and that the girl continued to suffer emotionally, physically and mentally after she later moved to Montana. Snyder also noted that at the time, the girl was living in Oregon.

The victim and her mother were seeking $2.9 million in economic damages to cover the girl's counseling and treatment for adjustment disorder with anxiety, as well punitive damages.

The judge wrote in his ruling that the airline didn't "owe a duty to plaintiff to prevent the criminal conduct of Camp." He dismissed the negligence claim with prejudice.

Even if the judge had viewed the claim under Oregon law, he said it wouldn't have stood because he didn't find evidence that the assault on the girl was "foreseeable'' by the airline. A flight attendant testified that Camp didn't appear intoxicated, hostile or dangerous. Camp's failure to initially stow his bag under the seat in front of him or put up his tray table also didn't suggest he might harm the girl seated beside him, the judge found.

Although the girl's lawyer cited three previous cases of assaults of unaccompanied children on flights, the judge said those were on different airlines over a three-year period.

"Though undeniably a serious issue for airlines today,'' Hernandez wrote that he couldn't conclude evidence would make the assault against the 13-year-old in this case foreseeable.

Read the judge's order here.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
A five-foot-high "earthen protuberance" rises above a remote Wasco County bluff over the Columbia River. A raw, beautiful spot, it's said. Distinctly Oregon.

This is McArthur Mound, the name bestowed by the Oregon Geographic Names Board after its longtime leader, Lewis L. McArthur, retired from the board shortly before his 90th birthday.

The 2006 naming of the rise was a playful honor: "an in-joke," says McArthur's daughter, Mary McArthur. "We were joking that there was no geographic feature too small to name."

But it was also a heartfelt recognition. It only seemed right that Lew McArthur's name be added, even if unofficially and whimsically, to the catalog of the state's monikers.

McArthur, who died on August 29 at 101, spent much of his life researching Oregon places and their histories, becoming, in the words of retired journalist John Terry, the "dean of Oregon geographic names."

For decades McArthur compiled and edited editions of the Oregon Historical Society's "Oregon Geographic Names," an essential reference work for historians of the region. It's a family calling: His father, Lewis A. McArthur, launched the source book in 1928.

Lewis L. McArthur

The son, a Portland native, put his historical expertise to good use, serving on the state's historic-preservation committee and the Historic Columbia River Highway State Advisory Committee. But this wasn't how he made his living. The University of California at Berkeley graduate spent some 40 years as an industrial designer for the Ray F. Becker Co.

Becker specialized in prefab service stations, but even 50 years ago McArthur foresaw the need to move beyond the internal-combustion engine. "[H]ere we are sitting on our hands when we should be exploring new modes, new fuels and perhaps smarter cars," he told The Oregonian in 1972. "But, of course, that affects the economy."

Professionally McArthur looked to the future. His heart, however, remained in the past. Throughout his life he felt a deep connection to the Pacific Northwest's history, and for good reason.

One great-grandfather, James W. Nesmith, was an Oregon pioneer and a U.S. senator in the 1860s. Another, William Pope McArthur, undertook the first U.S. government survey of "the Western Coast of the United States."

Even in an Oregon that had been settled and urbanized, Lew McArthur carried on the family's adventuring ways, becoming a dedicated mountaineer and finding his way to most of the highest peaks in North America.

McArthur loved to travel around Oregon, having first done so in his teens. Everywhere he went in the state he took note of the history, the tendrils from the past. "The whole idea of being connected to your history and the people," Mary McArthur says. "He just loved that."

Mary describes her father as a Renaissance man who embraced travel, technology and all variety of intellectual pursuit.

"He was a real role model," she says. "He instilled in us a sense of the importance of being a productive member of society, a love of the outdoors and of Oregon. He was a good, good man. An honorable man. He saw everybody for who they were."

He also saw every place for what it was as he relentlessly pursued his avocation.

McArthur discovered that the municipal name Delake, now part of Lincoln City, came about thanks to the way Finnish immigrants in the area pronounced nearby Devils Lake. And that the Harney County town of Drewsey was almost named Gouge Eye, a nod to a favored means of settling disputes during Wild West days. Locals soon settled on calling the town Drusy, the name of a prominent rancher's daughter. The stories could go on and on -- and they do in "Oregon Geographic Names."

Now McArthur's daughter has taken over the family's historical-name business. Mary McArthur is working on a new edition of "Geographic Names," though she insists there's no replacing her father.

"I'm not even close to the caliber he was," she says. "He was truly amazing."

Lewis L. McArthur is survived by his son Lewis, daughters Mary and Sarah, grandchildren Abby Larson and Doran McArthur Simpson, and companion Marie Hall. A memorial will be held in October at the Oregon Historical Society; plans for it have not yet been finalized.

-- Douglas Perry
Cleveland High School kept students inside the school for more than two hours Wednesday after someone was seen near campus with a gun.

All students were allowed to leave the Southeast Portland school by 3:15 p.m. as police officers, campus security and school administrators were stationed outside, according to a message sent to parents by Principal Ayesha Freeman.

The school was placed on lock out around 1 p.m. A witness reported seeing a person carrying a gun and walking with three or four people in the 3600 block of Southeast 28th Place, Freeman said. The procedure is designed to not let anyone into the building while there is a possible threat outside.

Portland police have not announced any arrests or injuries or arrests related to the incident.

Student athletes were escorted to buses at 2:15 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. for sport activities. Everyone else was released 45 minutes later, the principal said.

 Everton Bailey Jr.
A mother stood before a federal judge Thursday in Portland and said her son, charged with stealing nine guns from a pawnshop, amounts to "so much more than what you're reading on your little paper."

Jesse Napier, now 28, became addicted to OxyContin after a wrestling injury as a teenager and then transitioned to heroin, court records indicated. Unsure how to deal with his drug use, his parents kicked him out of their home at age 16. By 18, he was living on the street.

But Heidi Napier turned to her son, told him that she still believes in him, believes he has so much more to offer, and his family will stand by him.

Jesse Napier

"This is not normal, to be honest,'' U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown told the defendant. Usually by the time someone comes before her to be sentenced, they've burned too many bridges and have lost the support of loved ones, Brown said.

The judge told Jeff Napier to acknowledge his mother, father and sister, who were sitting in the public gallery behind him. He turned toward them, smiled and mouthed, "Thank you.''

Brown approved a negotiated seven-year sentence for Napier -- "as low a sentence as is reasonable under the circumstances,'' she said.

Given his background and the serious offense, Brown said she could argue for a higher prison term, but accepted the deal recommended by both the prosecutor and defense lawyer.

Napier's age and lengthy drug addiction problem were considered in negotiating the sentence, Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Bolstad noted in her sentencing memo.

The judge urged Napier to take advantage of counseling and courses while in prison. Napier said he intended to pursue his college degree while he remains locked up.

Napier pleaded guilty earlier this year to theft of guns from a federal firearms licensee and being a felon in possession of guns for breaking through the door of the All That Glitters pawnshop in Tigard in March 2017.

Napier and another man smashed a glass display inside and stole the guns before fleeing in a waiting late-1990s Subaru Outback driven by a third man, according to surveillance footage.

A neighbor of the pawnshop gave police a partial license plate number of the getaway car, which detectives learned had been stolen. Acting on a tip, police confronted Napier two days after the burglary. They found one of the stolen guns, a 9mm pistol, inside his backpack, as well as a small amount of heroin, according to Bolstad.

The guns stolen from the pawnshop were two Smith & Wesson 9mm handguns, a Glock .40-caliber pistol, a Springfield 40-caliber pistol, a Beretta 9mm pistol, a Colt .22-caliber pistol, a Glock .45-caliber pistol, a Beretta .40-caliber pistol and a Laser Aim .45-caliber pistol.

At the time of the theft, Napier was on supervision after convictions in Multnomah and Washington counties for delivery of heroin, theft and felon in possession of a weapon. No one else has been arrested in the pawnshop case, Bolstad said.

The judge recommended Napier serve his sentence at the federal prison in Sheridan so he can maintain contact with his family.

"It's everything to have those relationships,'' Brown told him. "If you really value the support your family's given you, you're going to come through. You've got a chance. I just hope you'll make the best of it.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
Andrew P. Hathaway

A 28-year-old man was murdered and put in a trunk of a car that was set on fire Wednesday, according to the Portland Police Bureau.

The police Thursday identified the man as Andrew P. Hathaway. His body was found inside a 2003 white Chevrolet Impala.

Portland Fire and Rescue first responded to the car fire at about 1 a.m. in the 6200 block of North Marine Drive. They then found the body while fighting the blaze.

An autopsy by the Oregon State Medical Examiner's Office determined that Hathaway was murdered.

No one has been arrested. Police are asking that anyone who saw the car or know anything about Hathaway's murder call detectives Vince Cui or Travis Law.

Cui: 503-823-0449, Vince.Cui@portlandoregon.gov

Law: 503-823-9786, Travis.Law@portlandoregon.gov

-- Molly Harbarger

mharbarger@oregonian.com

503-294-5923

@MollyHarbarger
The recent testing of an old sexual assault kit from a crime reported the day it occurred in Portland has led to the arrest of a suspect now 11 years later.

Ricky Alexander Harrison, 38, has been indicted on charges of first-degree sodomy, third-degree sodomy and two counts of second-degree sexual abuse in the alleged assault of a 15-year-old girl on Feb. 3, 2007.

The girl didn't know Harrison before she reported the alleged attack to Portland police, said Tara Gardner, a Multnomah County deputy district attorney. Gardner declined to elaborate on the circumstances.

Forensic evidence from the girl wasn't sent to a crime lab for analysis until 2016, Gardner said.

The kit was sent to a private lab, Sorenson Forensics LLC in Salt Lake City, for testing after a $1.9 million grant from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office enabled Multnomah, Marion and Lane counties to analyze thousands of kits that had languished in evidence rooms for years. The kits remained untouched by police until public pressure mounted and authorities sought grants to have the evidence tested.

Sorenson Forensics forwarded the DNA profile it was able to extract from the 2007 kit to Oregon State Police.

The state crime lab reported a match between the DNA profile from the girl's kit to Harrison's DNA profile in an offender database on Feb. 15, according to the indictment.

Harrison, who was 26 at the time, is in custody in King County, Washington, on an unrelated vehicular homicide allegation. He was arrested on May 21 in the Washington case and is being held in Seattle on $150,000 bond.

His last known address was the 2800 block of Northeast Seventh Avenue in Portland, according to the District Attorney's Office. He has prior convictions for harassment and malicious mischief in Washington and for disorderly conduct in Oregon.

No date has been set for Harrison's arraignment in Multnomah County on the new indictment.

His indictment marks the sixth prosecution in Multnomah County resulting from the testing of old sexual assault kit evidence.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and to the suspension of all future long-range missile tests, while also expressing faith in an increasingly embattled President Donald Trump's efforts to settle a nuclear impasse, South Korean officials and the North's official media said Thursday.

Kim also reportedly expressed frustration with outside skepticism about his nuclear disarmament intentions and demanded that his "goodwill measures" be met in kind.

The trove of comments from Kim was filtered through his propaganda specialists in Pyongyang and the South Korean government, which is keen on keeping engagement alive. They come amid a growing standoff with the United States on how to proceed with diplomacy meant to settle a nuclear dispute that had many fearing war last year.

Only hours earlier, a South Korean delegation returned from talks with Kim where they set up a summit for Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, their third meeting since April.

Each statement reportedly made by Kim will be parsed for clues about the future of the nuclear diplomacy. His reported commitment to a nuclear-free Korea, for instance, wasn't new information -- Kim has repeatedly declared similar intentions before -- but it allows hopes to rise that negotiators can get back on track after the recriminations that followed Kim's meeting in June with Trump in Singapore.

The impasse between North Korea and the United States, with neither side seemingly willing to make any substantive move, has generated widespread skepticism over Trump's claims that Kim will really dismantle his nuclear weapons program.

"Chairman Kim Jong Un has made it clear several times that he is firmly committed to denuclearization, and he expressed frustration over skepticism in the international community over his commitment," Chung Eui-yong, Moon's national security adviser and the head of the South Korean delegation to Pyongyang, told reporters on Seoul on Thursday. "He said he's pre-emptively taken steps necessary for denuclearization and wants to see these goodwill measures being met with goodwill measures. "

Chung reported Kim as saying that work to dismantle the only engine-test site in the country "means a complete suspension of future long-range ballistic missile tests." Kim said he'd take "more active" measures toward denuclearization if his moves are met with corresponding goodwill measures, Chung said.

Kim told Chung he still had faith in Trump despite diplomatic setbacks, and emphasized that he has not once talked negatively about Trump to anyone, including his closest advisers.

Kim also said an end-of-war declaration that Seoul and Pyongyang have been pushing Washington to sign off on wouldn't weaken the U.S.-South Korean alliance or lead to the withdrawal of the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea to prevent North Korean attack, according to Chung.

The summit later this month between Kim and Moon, the driving force behind the current diplomacy, will be a crucial indicator of whether larger nuclear negotiations with the United States will proceed.

Moon is seen as eager to keep the diplomacy alive in part so that he can advance his ambitious engagement plans with the North, which would need U.S. backing to succeed. The inter-Korean summit comes on the eve of a gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York at the end of September, but Seoul said Thursday that it was unlikely Kim would attend. Seoul has indicated an interest in Kim and Trump meeting in New York, and Trump, who is facing growing domestic turmoil, has hinted that another summit could happen.

While pushing ahead with summits and inter-Korean engagement, Seoul is trying to persuade Washington and Pyongyang to proceed with peace and denuclearization processes at the same time so they can overcome a growing dispute over the sequencing of the diplomacy.

Seoul and Pyongyang both want a declaration to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War. U.S. officials have insisted that a peace declaration, which many see as a precursor to the North eventually calling for the removal of all U.S. troops from the Korean Peninsula, cannot come before North Korea takes more concrete action toward abandoning its nuclear weapons. Such steps may include providing an account of the components of its nuclear program, allowing outside inspections and giving up a certain number of its nuclear weapons during the early stages of the negotiations.

The Korean War ended with an armistice, leaving the peninsula technically still at war. Moon has made an end-of-war declaration an important premise of his peace agenda with North Korea.

While an end-of-war declaration wouldn't imply a legally binding peace treaty, experts say it could create political momentum that would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions toward a peace regime, diplomatic recognition, economic benefits and security concessions.

After their June summit in Singapore, Trump and Kim issued a vague statement about a nuclear-free peninsula without describing when and how it would occur. Post-summit nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang were rocky and quickly settled into a stalemate.

North Korea has accused the United States of making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands for denuclearization and holding back on the end-of-war declaration.

Trump called off a planned visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month, citing insufficient progress in denuclearization.

The two past inter-Korean summits in April and May removed war fears and initiated a global diplomatic push that culminated with the meeting between Kim and Trump in June. But Moon faces tougher challenges heading into his third meeting with Kim, with the stalemate in nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington raising fundamental questions about Kim's supposed willingness to abandon his nuclear weapons.

--By Hyung-Jin Kim, Kim Tong-Hyung and Foster Klug
The Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings into Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the United States Supreme Court are fascinating, momentous -- and ongoing.

Already today, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker risked expulsion from the U.S. Senate for releasing confidential Kavanaugh emails that he insists shouldn't be protected. Republican Sen. John Cornyn warned Booker there were severe consequences for breaking Senate rules, and Booker responded: "Bring it."

Later, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham addressed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged conspiracy between the 2016 Donald Trump campaign and Russian operatives, as well as Kavanaugh's -- and former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden's -- views on whether a sitting president of the United States can be indicted.

Throughout the hearings so far, protesters have repeatedly interrupted the proceedings with chants and accusations. Many have been removed from the gallery.

Kavanaugh, nominated by President Trump, is expected to be confirmed, but he cannot afford to lose any Republican votes in the closely divided Senate.

Below you can watch the hearings live via NBC News' online feed:
Sam Huss is living his dream of playing the trumpet. The former Sanford resident began playing the instrument in fifth grade and now is employed with the Richmond Symphony in Virginia.

"I liked the sound of (the trumpet)," Huss said in a recent phone interview. "Plus my mom played it in high school and had it around the house."

Huss realized that he wanted to pursue music as a career after attending Central Michigan University's Trumpet Day event. The guest artist was Phillip Smith, who was the principal trumpet player with the New York Philharmonic at the time.

"I remember that the sound he produced, it was one of the most amazing sounds I've ever heard."

Huss worked hard learning the instrument. He practiced under the tutelage of Matthew Shephard at Meridian High School before earning a bachelor of music performance from Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

He recently graduated from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

In addition to his studies, Huss participated in a number of tournaments. One of his proudest accomplishments was winning a U.S. trumpet contest in 2013. In 2016 he placed second in the Ellsworth Smith International Trumpet Solo Competition to a trumpeter from Great Britain.

This summer Huss traveled to the East Coast to be a trumpet fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, an eight-week camp hosted by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

"Tanglewood was always the No. 1 prize for me," Huss stated, adding that the participants were "constantly surrounded by the influence" of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Huss achieved his dream of playing in an orchestra when he accepted a job to be the principal trumpet with the Richmond Symphony. For him, playing music is one of the most rewarding things to do and is grateful for the people who have supported him through the years, including Shephard, James Thompson at Eastman School of Music and Barbara Butler at Rice University.

"Always listen to people who you find better than yourself because there's always something to learn," Huss advised.
The manufacturing industry is in a state of uncertainty, according to CEO-elect Jim Fitterling of The Dow Chemical Co. and Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers.

The two manufacturing executives met with the Daily News before speaking Tuesday on a Detroit Executives Leadership Panel. They applauded the current administrations work on tax reform and self-regulation, but are cautious to whole-heartedly supporting the Trump administration with controversial tariffs and trade agreements still in limbo.

Another unknown is who will fill open manufacturing positions. There are 471,000 jobs right now in manufacturing open across the country, a number projected to grow to 2 million by 2025, said Timmons.

As Dow spins out next year, between 1,000 and 2,000 people will need to be hired around the world to keep up with the growth of the company, Fitterling said.

The skills gap and need for more people to fill open manufacturing jobs is something Dow has been facing and only expects to see more of in the future; this, compounded with the current administrations controversial trade tactics leaves people unsure of exactly how the manufacturing sector will be effected.

NAM on trade

Fitterling was named to the executive committee of the National Manufacturers Association board of directors in October 2017. The advocacy group based in Washington D.C. is the nations largest manufacturing industrial trade association and is geared to promote manufacturers growth in the economy.

This administration is trying a new tactic, but we do have to realize that the long-term consequences can be rather severe, Timmons said.

According to National Association Manufacturer surveys, Timmons said the majority of manufacturing leaders have reported they will use money they are saving from tax reforms to hire more workers or raises and benefits.

The one common thread is when tax reform passed, you could feel the positive momentum in the manufacturing sector.  Weve got some legislation passed, some certainty, Fitterling said. Then when you bring in the tariff discussion and trade discussion that brings in a level of uncertainty so that works against each other.

The hope is for a trade agreement to be reached with Canada similar to how one was made with Mexico last week.

Even if its not the perfect agreement, some kind of agreement should be made with Canada that can remove some uncertainty, Fitterling said.

I think its too early to say whether the administrations tactics and bargaining chips are effective, Timmons said.

Trade agreements need to be worked out fairly quickly for manufacturers to be able to deliver what they said they would do with tax reform and self-regulation reform, Timmons said.

Skills gap

One of the biggest challenges in manufacturing is being able to find people to fill vacant jobs.

Were having to re-tell the story of what a manufacturing job is like in the new economy and what you can work on, and what kinds of skills you have, Fitterling said. Because without doing that, most peoples ideas of what it is are outdated, they think of the old blue collar job and it doesnt really relate to what a manufacturing job is.

Community colleges are responding to the skills gap and offering more skilled trades programs, Fitterling said, and there is also the local GMCA and robotics programs.

Anything that we can do in that space you almost cant do enough of right now because we have such an imbalance, Fitterling said.

Simply exposing young people to the reality of what a modern manufacturing job looks like at a place like Dow is part of the solution, Fitterling and Timmons said. This exposure is most effective for kids before they get to high school and are more set in what kind of career path they start to pursue.

People are aging out of the workforce across the economy, Timmons said, but part of the problem also lies in society not being the best in helping young people choose what career to pursue.

When you expose young people to modern manufacturing you see them light up, Timmons said. You get excited about the possibilities.
When Wayne Austin was 10 years old, his family lived in a house that his dad bought for $2,500. When Wayne was 45 years old, he and his band were the opening act for country music stars like Marty Robbins, Faron Young and Tammy Wynette. This is the story about how that little boy grew up and the people who were a part of his life.

Wayne was born on April 26, 1941 to Claude and Jane (Wilcox) Austin in Midland. Claude and Jane had a daughter, Mary Jane, who was 2 when their son Marvin was born. He died when he was just 7 weeks old. "After my mother died, we found this box and it had new baby clothes," Wayne said. "A little rattle. A small framed photograph showed the baby in the casket." Two years after Marvin's death, Wayne was born. Claude and Jane with their two children lived with Claude's folks, Eugene and Mary Austin in their home on the corner of Sturgeon and Wackerly Roads.

Wayne attended the little one room Cady School on the corner of Sturgeon and Letts Road from kindergarten through the fourth grade. His most vivid memory from those years is the ballgame when a young girl named Sylvia Nelson hit the catcher in the mouth with her bat when she swung at the ball. The boy lost several front teeth. His other memory is that his teacher was Clara Smith and he thought she was wonderful. He paused and then said, "I was always a shy kid. I'd sit in the back row. After I began performing, people would say you're Wayne Austin? They couldn't believe that was me up there on the stage."

In 1951 Claude Austin moved his family to Huldah Street in the Goat Hill area. He remembers it as a great neighborhood. The moms would take turns taking a carload of kids to the Frolic Theatre to see a movie and then pick them up and drive them back home.

Wayne remembers the time his mother accidentally hit a skunk with the car on her way in to pick the kids up. "We were all standing out on the sidewalk in front of the Frolic and here comes my mother with the car smelling like 'skunk' and it was like the parting of the Red Sea," Wayne said. "Everybody moved away from the car." His mother leaned out the car window and said, "Come on. Get in."

He attended the McGill School, cutting through the woods every day going to school. He attended the seventh grade in the old Junior High on Grove Street. The school is no longer there, just a sign saying Grove Park. He attended Northeast for the eighth and ninth grades and then went to the new Midland Senior High on Eastlawn. "We were the first full class to graduate from there in 1959," he said.

Growing up, he listened to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio. His dad bought a Recording King guitar produced by Gibson for $9.75 from Montgomery Ward. Wayne said, "Dad would sing songs like 'May I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, Mister' and 'Wreck of the Old '97.'"

"Wreck of the Old '97" was the first country music record to sell a million copies. Frank Ferera played the guitar and Vernon Dalhart played the harmonica and sang the lyrics. A mail train nicknamed Old 97 crashed at the Stillhouse Trestle outside Danville, Virginia. An hour late, the engineer had increased the speed to 50 miles per hour to make up the lost time. Approaching the curved track spanning the Stillhouse Trestle, the engineer tried to reduce the speed and when that didn't work, he tried to reverse the wheels but they didn't lock. The locomotive and all four mail cars hit the rocky bottom of the shallow creek below. Eleven people were killed.

Another song his dad sang was "Mansion Over the Hilltop," written in 1949 but not really famous until Elvis Presley sang it. Later when Wayne began singing, those songs were always included. Wayne said, "I always ended my show with 'I Saw the Light.'"

Three weeks after graduation, he joined the Navy. "It was a hot summer day," he said. "I had my dad's car and a friend and I had gone horseback riding. In 1958 two cousins of mine joined the military. One in the Air Force and one in the Navy. They would write me letters from boot camp so I had my mind made up I was going in the service. It was summer and nothing was going on. I never told my parents. Dropped my buddy off and something just told me to go up to the Post Office building on Main Street where the recruiting offices were located. I walked down the hall, pass the Navy Recruitment guy down to the Air Force recruitment office. A sign in the window said 'I will be back in one hour.' I turned around, walked back to the Navy Recruitment office. He said, 'Can I help you?' I said, 'I want to join the Navy with one stipulation. Can you guarantee me to go to boot camp in California?'" He said yes. Three weeks later Wayne was on my way to boot camp.

Once out of boot camp, Wayne thought he would like to be a ship fitter. But two buddies he had met in boot camp suggested that they be electricians. The plan was they would get on a ship together and stay together. It didn't work out like that. "Those two guys get on the job training on a ship and I'm sent to Great Lakes, Illinois for Electricians School," Wayne said. "I didn't care for it. I took a test and flunked it. They said, 'We know you're smarter than that. You'll have to take the test over again.' I got orders to go on a ship but first I had 14 weeks of school in Charleston, South Carolina. Mine sweeping school. In the meantime I got married in November of 1959 to Karol Wuelfing. I finally got aboard a ship one year after I enlisted."

Karol was pregnant now and remained in Midland, living with her folks. After their baby daughter was born, Karol went to California in 1960 to be with Wayne. They named the baby Lynda Karol.

They weren't in California long before Wayne got orders to take a WESTPAC Cruise. Karol came back to Midland. Wayne went to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Southern Philippine Islands for a six months cruise After the six months were over, Wayne came home to take Karol and Lynda back to California. In January of 1963 they had their second daughter, Sharon. Later in 1965, their son Michael Wayne Austin was added to the family.

Now Wayne was slated for a second WESTPAC cruise in 1963. He was to be discharged in June of 1963 so he wrote a letter to San Diego. Would there be any chance of his getting out early? The reply stated that if he had less than six months to go, he could get out. He was discharged April 1963."

Wayne, Karol, Lynda and 3-month-old Sharon headed back to Midland from California. "We were driving through the mountains of Colorado and I hear a knocking in our 1957 convertible," Wayne said. "I pulled off on the side of the road. It was pitch dark in the mountains. I shut the motor off and tried to start it again. It didn't start. There we were."

(Part II will appear in two weeks.)
A Midland man has been sentenced in a meth case that involved a group of people investigated by the Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Tyler James Sinclair, 24, recently was sentenced for second-offense methamphetamine possession.

Midland County District Court Judge Michael J. Beale levied 42 days in jail with credit for time served, $1,100 fines and costs, three years probation and driver license sanctions by the state. Sinclair also is to pay $250 restitution to BAYANET.

Sinclair was one of seven people who were arrested on Dec. 6 after BAYANET detectives served search warrants at two separate homes. The first home was at 2301 N. Coleman Road, where officials found one suspect, an active one pot methamphetamine cook, three old meth cooks, and supplies to make the drug.

The suspect was interviewed and admitted to making and using the drug, an affidavit filed in the case states.

Detectives then went to the home at 5435 W. Isabella Road, where they encountered six additional people. Methamphetamine and the items to produce it were found at the home.

During interviews with the six suspects, detectives learned two of the group had been seen making methamphetamine, some admitted to using the drug and others admitted to purchasing pseudoephedrine knowing it would be used to make meth. One suspect admitted to making meth.

State records showed one suspect had bought pseudoephedrine 33 times in the last year and been blocked from buying it nine times, and another suspect bought it 22 times in the last year.

Charges in the cases range from operating or maintaining a meth lab, to possession of meth, use of meth, and delivery and manufacture of meth, and second-offense operating a meth lab.
To the editor:

President Donald Trump separated immigrant children from their families, resulting in trauma, some of the children being abused, including sexually, actually dying as a result. The United States and the world knew Trump's cruelty was an abuse of power. Midlanders, like many others across the country, protested at their courthouse, which is supposed to be a symbol of justice for the people, not a device of corporate manipulations. Trump arrogantly tried to blame his actions on other administrations.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro's name appears nowhere on the Nov. 6 general election ballot.

But that doesn't mean that the Montgomery County Democrat isn't running, in his own way, against the Republican-controlled General Assembly that will convene next week for a ridiculously short pre-election session.

In a wide-ranging conversation with the PennLive/Patriot-News Editorial Board, Shapiro, 45, pressed hard for lawmakers to adopt the four recommendations included in that blockbuster grand jury report detailing decades of child sexual abuse in Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic dioceses.

Shapiro was unambiguous in his support for the creation of a two-year "lookback" that would allow now-adult sex abuse survivors to bring claims in civil court.

And he preferred it to the creation, as some have suggested, of some kind of mediated, victims' compensation fund that would be administered by the church.

"I stand with the grand jurors. I stand with the survivors. I'm for each and every one of these four recommendations, Shapiro told the editorial board.

Let's be blunt: The pressure on the Legislature's GOP leadership to act this fall is massive. Shapiro, who's now a national name because of the report, is in the vanguard of that pressure campaign. And this is the biggest challenge they've faced since the Sandusky scandal at Penn State seven years ago.

So, for Republicans, a failure to act, particularly in the face of the national and international headlines generated by a nearly 900-page document that is horrifying in its comprehensiveness and graphic detail, would a political meltdown of the first order.

Senate Republicans are looking to safeguard at least a half-dozen seats in the Philadelphia suburbs. In the House, Democrats could flip as many as eight to 10 Republican seats.

The campaign commercials practically write themselves. And judging by the reaction of one Democratic consultant when this question was broached - they may be written already.

Yes, even if they sustain those losses, the GOP would still hold a majority in both chambers. But Democrats would, for the first time in years, have a serious voice in the process. If he wins re-election, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf would find his hand strengthened for a second term.

But away from the politics, it would also be a historic policy crack-up and a profound moral failure if lawmakers can't reach agreement on a reform bill in the 10 or so days they'll be in session before Election Day.

The way Shapiro sees it, adopting that two-year lookback, along with approving language eliminating the criminal statute of limitations for child sexual abuse and clarifying state law on the duty to report abuse, is the only way to "prevent this type of widespread abuse and cover-up from ever happening again," he said.

Eliminating the criminal statute of limitations should be a relatively easy lift.

It's the fight over the retroactive, two-year lookback on civil claims where things get really dicey. But not impossible.

Supporters of the change, including state Rep. Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat and abuse survivor, have argued that the window is justified by the special circumstances of child victimization that requires a mix of time, distance and personal healing that can vary widely from person-to-person. The language has Wolf's backing.

Opponents of the retroactive civil window have argued creating such an opening solely for survivors of child sexual abuse would be unconstitutional.

Shapiro said Wednesday he has seen no case law in Pennsylvania that supports that premise.

"Anyone who is a student of the law law, and who has looked at this carefully and studied case law and studied Supreme Court precedent carefully, should arrive at the same conclusion," he said.

One of the top Republican lawyers in the state Senate, Drew Crompton, doesn't agree with Shapiro's analysis.

"We believe there is recent [Pennsylvania] Supreme Court case law that says you can't change [the statute of limitations] after the fact," Crompton, a top aide to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said last month. "We think we're on very solid ground constitutionally."

Scarnati, who's a faithful Catholic, is a sponsor of a reform bill that's been parked in the House since February 2017 after being unanimously approved by the Senate. It's the legislative battlefield where this fall's larger fight will be waged.

The debate over constitutionality is an important one. It's critical that lawmakers get this right the first time.

But the survivors - and I've talked to them - want see their elected officials in action, fighting to the last inch on their behalf.

That might be even more important.

One survivor, Shaun Dougherty of Johnstown, even told me that it doesn't matter to him if the look-back gets knocked down on any appeal. It only matters that they believed enough to make the vote in the first place.

Think about that one for a minute. And the responsibility that comes with that kind of expectation.

It's going to be up to the faithful to figure out how to fix the church.

It's up to lawmakers to pass the best bill they possibly can. And if it gets challenged in court, that'll be the risk they have to take. It'll ultimately be up to a judge to decide whose arguments about constitutionality win the day.

During floor debate, it's pretty common to hear lawmakers urge their colleagues not to "let the perfect be the enemy of the good," when it comes to passing legislation.

This is the truest test of that axiom they'll ever face.
A couple in western Pennsylvania are accused of willfully denying their 23-month-old daughter food and water for at least 12 hours until she died strapped in a car seat.

Now, the dead child's mother, 29-year-old Andrea Dusha, has struck a plea with prosecutors Fayette County and has agreed to testify against the child's father, 34-year-old Michael Wright Jr., who faces the death penalty.

According to the Associated Press, Dusha pleaded no contest to third-degree murder, child endangerment and reckless endangerment in February 2016 death of her daughter, Lydia Wright. The plea was first reported by the Herald-Standard newspaper.

Prosecutors allege she and her then-boyfriend Michael Wright left the little girl strapped into a car seat for more than 12 hours the day of her death.

A forensic pathologist ruled the girl died of malnutrition and dehydration. Autopsy results showed the little girl weighed only 10 lbs., when a child of that age normally weighs as much as 20 lbs.

In exchange for her cooperation, Dusha will get a recommend prison sentence of 91/2 to 19 years, AP reports.

But Wright is facing a death penalty trial that will now feature the testimony of his alleged accomplice in their young daughter's torturous starvation and dehydration death.

Wright is lodged in the Fayette County Prison without bail.
Chase, a German shepherd police K-9 with the Wilkes-Barre department, was deployed to chase a burglary suspect Tuesday when the dog chomped down on the leg of a cop, instead.

As the Citizens' Voice reports, citing sources, officer Shane Smith on the leg while the officer was holding a perimeter during the search for a man who had fled the scene of the break-in.

It is the second time that Chase has bitten a police officer, and the dog has bitten four people altogether and had to be retrained as a result. Chase and another K-9 in the Wilkes-Barre department were just back from retraining when the incident occurred this week.

The fact that Chase bit officer Smith was omitted from the official police report on the incident, the Citizens Voice reports. But the newspaper cited sources with direct knowledge of the incident in reporting what happened:

Smith was holding the perimeter when another officer led Chase past him in search of the suspect. That's when the dog, for no apparent reason, bit Smith, according to one witness.

"The dog latched onto Shane Smith's leg," said the witness, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "His calf was pretty torn up."

Smith was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment, the witness said.

An updated press release police issued later Wednesday to acknowledge the bite says Smith was treated and released for a puncture wound and a cut to the leg.

Chase had just been re-trained following a series of biting incidents, the newspaper reports, adding:

The biting incidents included Chase biting suspect and latching onto a police officer's leg during an apprehension, as well as biting another man during a high-profile arrest on Public Square last summer.

In the latter case, the suspect was found not guilty of resisting and now has a pending federal civil rights lawsuit against the city alleging Chase attacked him "suddenly and without warning."

The attorney in the case, Shabrei Parker, told the Citizens Voice the latest incident shows Chase is "clearly dangerous" and that its handler, officer Joseph Homza, was inadequately trained:

"We're convinced that K-9 Chase and officer Homza were not properly trained," added Parker, of the Philadelphia law firm Mincey & Fitzpatrick, LLC. "Further, the city's allowance of the use of a dog that is clearly dangerous shows a disregard for the safety of civilians and officers alike."
If you have stepped inside a McDonald's restaurant lately, you've noticed a new way to order.

Say hello to self-ordering kiosks. The oversized screens are as much a novelty as the introduction of drive-throughs in the 1970s.

The kiosks arrive as the fast food chain has vowed to invest $3 billion in store updates and enhancements through 2020. In Pennsylvania, more than 360 restaurants will be modernized at a price tag of about $266 million.

The kiosks have already popped up at several McDonald's restaurants in the Harrisburg area. Diners can look up their favorite menu items, customize their orders and pay at the machines.

At the McDonald's on Eisenhower Boulevard in Swatara Township, general manager Jeff Schroll said he's received positive feedback since the kiosks went online late last year.

"(Customers) get to make their own choices and they are not rushed," he said.

Earlier this year, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook, hinted to USA Today the machines may be more than just a convenience.

"What we find is when people dwell more, they tend to select more," he said. "So there is a little bit of an average check boost that comes with it."

But there might be some pushback among customers. A poll by MSN showed 78 percent of diners are less inclined to go to a restaurant if it has automated self-ordering.

And while self-ordering at convenience stores such as Sheetz and Rutter's have become the norm, the McDonald's kiosks have generated negative feedback. Many say the machines will replace employees.

Easterbrook told USA Today the self-ordering kiosks are not replacing workers but a way to bring technology into the restaurants.

Schroll said it's comparable to self-checkouts at the grocery store.

"I can have one person wait on four different people at a time. Not to mention, if I'm taking four different orders, I hired more people to work in my kitchen. So, I actually increased my staffing when these went in," he said.

Have you tried the kiosks? If so, what do you think?
Nine of the 11 members of the Fortney family from Swatara Township, Dauphin County, are about to tell their story of sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest in an exclusive interview with CBS News.

READ MORE: The Fortneys say they unwittingly invited a pedophile, in the guise of an aging priest, into their big, bustling family. He would remain embedded there for the better part of a decade, abusing five of eight sisters.

Portions of the interview were set to air on today's CBS Evening News broadcast at 6:30 p.m., and an extended interview with the family was set to take place on tomorrow's CBS This Morning broadcast, which airs starting at 7 a.m.

This is the first time members of the Fortney family have spoken to the media about their long-hidden ordeal. Accusations that five of eight sisters in the family were sexually abused by Father Augustine Giella in the 1980s were finally revealed in the Pennsylvania grand jury report on sex abuse in the Catholic church across Pennsylvania.

Carolyn Fortney, now 37, is among the sisters who testified before the grand jury empaneled by Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro. She announced the family's CBS News interview on her Facebook page, writing:

"After 26 years, The Fortney Family breaks their silence! Learn how their strength and resiliency through all the heartache and betrayal has bonded them to fight for justice for all victims of child sexual abuse!"

A CBS News spokeswoman confirmed the Fortney family interview segment was scheduled to air on this evening's national news broadcast.

Carolyn Fortney testified she was just 18 months old when Giella was transferred to St. John the Evangelist Church in Swatara Township, after serving for decades in New Jersey.

Fortney told the grand jury Giella began abusing her almost immediately.

According to the grand jury report, Giella regularly collected samples of the girls' urine, pubic hair, and menstrual blood. In some instances, Giella used a device he applied to the toilet to collect some of these samples. In other instances, Giella followed the girls into the restroom, including at the church, which was later closed in the 1990s.

The Harrisburg Diocese was warned about Giella in 1987, when an aide working with a student in Harrisburg's Catholic school system told church officials about a middle school girl who said Giella routinely followed her into the restroom at the church and watched her use the toilet.

Giella retired a year after the allegation, but the diocese did nothing else until the youngest of the Fortney sisters came forward in 1992, prompting a criminal case.

As part of that investigation, police searched Giella's New Jersey home, finding pictures of girls and collections of pubic hair.

Giella was charged with child pornography and sexual abuse, but he died while awaiting trial.
The Harrisburg School District still won't provide the job title for an administrator who earns $115,000 per year, one week after PennLive formally filed a request for the information.

PennLive filed a Right to Know Law request for the job title and salary of Lisa Love last week, after she was transferred inside the district for the second time within two weeks.

Under the law, the district must respond to requests within five business days.

The district responded Wednesday asking for a 30-day extension for Love's job title and her salary.

"Because of the nature of the Request," the district letter said, "the District has determined that a response within the 5-day period set forth in the RTKL is not practicable."

The law is set up where agencies can request 30-day extensions for basically any reason.

Love had been principal of the city's main high school since 2016 and she was earning her $115,000 annual salary as recently as Aug. 10, according to previous salary information provided by the district.

But Love started the year Aug. 20 with a demotion to one of three academy director positions at the high school, after district officials announced they had discovered grading irregularities at the high school.

Love then was transferred the following week without explanation to an unbudgeted assistant principal position at Downey Elementary.

PennLive confirmed the transfer to Downey by calling the school and through a school board member, but district officials would not confirm the transfer, provide her job title or say whether her salary had been reduced commensurate with her reduced duties in her new jobs.

At that time, the office of Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney said the district could not provide Love's job title or salary, because it was a "personnel matter."

But salaries and job titles of government employees are well understood to be public record under Pennsylvania's Right to Know law. The information is considered important for taxpayers to understand how their money is being spent.

There are no exceptions in the law that would permit the withholding of the information, according to the law. Instead, under a section of the law addressing "exemptions," the law says:

"Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the release of the name, position, salary, actual compensation or other payments or expenses, employment contract, employment-related contract or agreement and length of service of a public official or an agency employee."

Melissa Melewsky, an attorney with the Pennsylvania News Media Association, said the state's Right to Know Law is clear on job titles and salaries.

"There is no question it's public record," she said.

Job transfers and salary changes must be approved by the school board but none of Love's transfers or any salary changes have been presented to the board.

This summer, the school district raised taxes by the maximum amount allowed by law and cut 50 positions including reading specialists and guidance counselors in part because of an $8 million budget deficit.

The deficit came after the district's human resources department filled 37 teacher positions that weren't budgeted in recent years and hired new teachers at wrong, and higher, pay grades, mistakes that cost $4.5 million. A district transportation supervisor also allegedly embezzled $180,000.

The school district has an annual budget of about $155 million.

RTK C. Vendel 8.28.18 Love Title by PennLive on Scribd
More than 50,000 Orrstown Bank customers had their information exposed to outsiders in an email phishing attack, according to multiple media reports.

First reported by Fox 43, the bank said Tuesday that they contacted the individuals whose information was accessible through the attack.

Public Opinion reported the company discovered the incident on July 19, when two employees were victims of an email phishing attack.

Individuals and businesses had information accessible through the email accounts, both outlets reported.

The bank security team immediate terminated the attacker's access to the accounts, reviewed all the bank systems and contacted law enforcement, according to reports.

Not all customers were affected by the breech, and the ones who were have been offered free identity and credit monitoring services for two years.

Any customer questions should be directed to an Orrstown Bank representative at 1-844-405-1027.
Two federal officers and a K-9 unit were exposed to PCP as they searched a vehicle that attempted to drive onto a military installation in York County.

Police in Fairview Township were dispatched on Aug. 31 to DLA Distribution Susquehanna at the request of DLA Police.

Ahmed M. Ali

DLA Police told responding officers a tractor trailer attempted to enter the military installation through the Normandy Drive truck entrance. During a K-9 search of the exterior of the vehicle, a K-9 unit "alerted to the truck," according to police.

DLA officers then conducted a consent search of the vehicle, and discovered drug paraphernalia and a green leafy substance in a bag.

Shortly after the search, two DLA officers and the K-9 who searched the truck experienced physical symptoms "consistent with exposure to an unknown substance," according to police.

The officers were transported to Harrisburg Hospital for treatment, and the K-9 was transported to the Rossmoyne Animal Hospital for treatment. The dog tested positive for PCP, police said.

Both officers and the K-9 were treated and released.

As a result, 33-year-old Ahmed M. Ali, of Columbus, Ohio, is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Ali was remanded to the York County Prison in lieu of $35,000 bail.
In the wake of a blistering report on clergy sex abuse, former Harrisburg Diocese bishop Kevin C. Rhoades has been accused of misconduct - possibly of a sexual nature.

The Diocese of Harrisburg on Thursday confirmed that an allegation of misconduct had recently been filed against Rhoades. Diocesan officials said they reported the allegation to PA ChildLine and the office of the Dauphin County District Attorney.

"We would stress that this is an allegation," diocesan spokesman Mike Barley said in a statement to PennLive Thursday. "We will have no further comment until the investigation of the Office of the District Attorney is concluded."

Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said his office is investigating the allegation against Rhoades. Rhoades has not been charged.

A statement to PennLive from the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., where Rhoades is now bishop said: "Bishop Rhoades adamantly denies any validity to this accusation and the insinuation of inappropriate behavior. He did nothing wrong, and is confident any investigation will bear this out."

The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind. includes the University of Notre Dame.

Chardo said the victim, a male, died in 1996 and was around the age of 18 when the alleged incident happened.

"It's early on but the victim is long dead," Chardo said. "A first hand account would not be possible."

Chardo said his office received the report last month. He said his office has seen an increase in the number of reports alleging crimes involving Catholic priests since the grand jury report was released last month.

"The report alleged that they perceived the relationship as odd," Chardo said. "But they did not witness any inappropriate conduct."

A source familiar with the information but requesting anonymity said the victim was once an inmate of the Dauphin County Prison.

Chardo said the allegation could fall within the statute of limitations.

Now 60, Rhoades was bishop in Harrisburg from 2004 to 2009 and prior to that a diocesan priest. Rhoades was the youngest bishop in the country when he was named to the Harrisburg post.

The accusation comes weeks after a grand jury report unearthed widespread clergy sex abuse and its cover-up across six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania.

Only a handful of bishops or senior church officials have faced criminal charges relating to sexual abuse or covering it up. But it's the second time in a week that a Catholic diocese in Pennsylvania has referred an accusation regarding a bishop to law enforcement.

On Wednesday, the Diocese of Pittsburgh made a report to the District Attorney of Allegheny County after receiving an allegation of sexual misconduct against then-Monsignor Anthony G. Bosco dating from the late 1960s.

Bosco was bishop of the Greensburg diocese from 1987 until his retirement in 2004. He died in 2013. The complaint alleges inappropriate touching of a nursing student while he was a chaplain and instructor at the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing.

Rhoades, a Lebanon native, worked as a priest in the Harrisburg diocese for several years before becoming bishop.

He began his tenure in the Harrisburg Diocese at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in York in 1983. Five years later, he became assistant chancellor under then-Bishop William Keeler. He was appointed pastor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in 1990 and served there until 1995, when he accepted a full-time faculty position with Mount Saint Mary's Seminary, eventually becoming rector.

In 2004, Pope John Paul II appointed him the ninth bishop of Harrisburg. He was 46 years old and the nation's youngest bishop. During his tenure, he announced that Bishop McDevitt High School would be moved out of the city of Harrisburg to Lower Paxton Township.

His departure from the Harrisburg diocese and move to Indiana caught some by surprise. Rhoades led the Harrisburg diocese for just five years, a shorter time span than most of his predecessors. He was installed in January 2010 as the ninth bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese.

Rhoades had succeeded Nicholas C. Dattilo, who served as eighth bishop of Harrisburg from 1990 until his death in 2004.

Rhoades attended the former Saint Mary's School in Lebanon and graduated from Lebanon Catholic High School in 1975.

The Diocese of Harrisburg is one of six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania included in a statewide grand jury report on clergy sex abuse. The report, released last month by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, found that more than 300 priests had for decades sexually molested more than 1,000 children, often unchecked by church officials who knew of the abuse. The report found that church officials covered-up the crimes and failed to report them to law enforcement.

Shapiro has reiterated that the investigation is ongoing and that more victims will come forward. Since the release of the report on Aug. 14, a hotline to report clergy sex abuse has received 933 calls, Shapiro said Wednesday.

Rhoades has repeatedly affirmed that he acted appropriately to protect children during his time in Harrisburg.

"During my time in Harrisburg and now in Fort Wayne-South Bend, I have upheld an unwavering commitment to child safety, closely following all policies and procedures put in place to punish those responsible for abuse," Rhoades said in a press release in August ahead of the release of the grand jury report.

"I followed all child protection policies and procedures, notified law enforcement and punished each individual as appropriate," he wrote in the statement.

Rhoades was one of the former bishops impacted by the decision of Harrisburg's current bishop, the Rev. Ronald Gainer, to remove all legacy names of predecessors from diocesan property. Gainer asserted that his predecessors dating back to 1947 had failed to protect children from predatory priests.

The grand jury report lists 45 priests from Harrisburg, although three aren't named. That is 27 fewer than the number of priests on a list the diocese released last month.

The grand jury report faulted Rhoades, along with former bishops William Keeler, Nicholas Dattilo and Gainer, for what it deems ineffective handling of reports against a predatory priest.

According to the grand jury report, Rhoades in 2006 wrote that his predecessor, Bishop Nicholas Dattilo "was personally aware" of a predator priest by the name of William Presley. The priest, who had been accused of sexual abuse while serving in the Diocese of Erie, retired to Lancaster, within the Harrisburg diocese, in 2000.

Rhoades also wrote that, "were this information to become known, especially in the light of his offers of public assistance at Mass in several parishes, great public scandal would arise within this diocese."

In August, Rhoades announced he planned to release the names of priests in his current diocese who have been accused of sexually molesting children. He explained that he made his decision in an effort to foster reconciliation and healing among victims.

The allegation against Rhoades comes amid an escalating scandal involving the Catholic Church and the Vatican with revelations of child sex crimes by priests and its cover-up by church officials.

Pope Francis most recently has been accused by a former senior church official of knowing about former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's sexual misconduct. A former archbishop of Washington, McCarrick resigned as cardinal in July after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused boys and harassed or inappropriately touched seminarians.
After being put on lockdown earlier this week after 11 staff members were sickened, the lockdown has been lifted for parts of the Allegheny County Jail.

The lockdown has been lifted for all pods with the exception of 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E, 3F, Level 6 and Level 7, according to a news release from county officials.

Segregation units 8E and 4F will resume as normal.

"Those pods released from the lockdown have been authorized for full recreation and split recreation (only half the pod at a time will be released for recreation)," said Warden Orlando Harper in the release.

Inmates in those pods will also be allowed telephone, commissary and programming privileges.

"We are continuing the search of the facility and will re-evaluate the release of the remaining pods from lockdown on an ongoing basis," Harper said. "These steps are being taken to ensure the safety and security of all those at the facility - from inmates under our control and custody, to our employees, volunteers and visitors. That safety remains our number one priority."

The 11 employees - nine corrections officers and two medical personnel - were evaluated at a hospital and released after being sickened on Sunday night. No inmates were affected.

Pennsylvania's 25 state prisons were put on lockdown last week as officials looked into a growing drug smuggling problem that is causing staff sicknesses and a growing numbers of assaults.
State lawmakers deliberated a raft of sexual harassment and misconduct legislation stemming from the #MeToo movement Thursday as the end of the legislative session nears.

The debate became heated at times amid frustration over a lack of movement to address such issues.

"It's not a surprise that those of us who've been pushing for action on this issue are frustrated and speaking publicly because 25 bills have been introduced on this topic so far this session--some by Democrats and some by Republicans--and today is the first day we're having a hearing on any of those bills," said Leanne Krueger-Braneky, a Delaware County Democrat.

Krueger-Braneky's House Bill 1965 bans non-disclosure agreements and the use of taxpayer funds to settle sexual misconduct cases involving state lawmakers. Other bills considered Thursday would expand protections for employees statewide and increase the statute of limitations for victims to file discrimination and harassment complaints.

Earlier this year, a resolution calling for a yearlong study narrowly passed the House Labor and Industry Committee. The other proposals languished without a vote.

"We have an election and then a whole new Legislature comes in next year," said Rep. John Galloway, a Bucks County Democrat and the committee's minority chair. "These bills are thrown in the trash can. They're gone. All of it is gone. All of it's done. It all starts over every two years. So this is it."

Rep. Rob Kauffman, a Franklin County Republican and the committee chair, said he'd considered cancelling Thursday's hearing altogether out of concern the issue was being politicized. He would not commit to a path to passage for the bills.

"We're going to hear from folks about their concerns and what they think is great about these legislative proposals," he said. "Once we get that feedback, then we can sit back and evaluate where we proceed from here."

Advocacy groups like the Philadelphia-based Women's Law Project have come out in favor of reforming how sexual misconduct cases are handled. But some of the proposals drew criticism from pro-business groups, such as the National Federation of Independent Business, for being over-broad and potentially onerous on small businesses that lack in-house legal teams.

Nationally, the Associated Press found that since January 2017 at least 30 state lawmakers have resigned or been expelled from office following allegations of sexual misconduct or harassment, including 24 who left since early in October 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained momentum.

Several Pennsylvania lawmakers faced allegations, although none have resigned.

Pennsylvania's Legislature is nearing the end of its 2017-18 session, with 10 or fewer voting days scheduled between now and the end of the year in each chamber.

According to the AP, six states have moved to ban the use of funds to settle sexual misconduct claims. Four others banned the use of non-disclosure agreements.

Bills considered at Thursday's committee hearing include:

HB 1965

HB 2280

HB 2282

HB 2283

HB 2284

HB 2286

HB 2475

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Wallace McKelvey may be reached at wmckelvey@pennlive.com. Follow him on Twitter @wjmckelvey. Find PennLive on Facebook.

Read the 'TAPPED OUT' special investigation of drinking water and share your comments on Facebook.
New York and New Jersey are following in Pennsylvania's footsteps and launching investigations of clergy sex abuse.

Weeks after the release of a grand jury report that found widespread child sexual abuse in Catholic churches in Pennsylvania, both New York and New Jersey on Thursday outlined their efforts and established hotlines to report abuse.

New York is moving forward with a civil investigation to determine if dioceses and other church entities covered up allegations of child sexual abuse. The New York attorney general's office is also partnering with district attorneys on possible criminal investigations.

"The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover ups in the dioceses," New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood said in a statement. "Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well - and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve."

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced the creation of a task force to investigate allegations of child sexual abuse involving priests. New Jersey prosecutors will also examine whether Catholic dioceses adhered to agreements with law enforcement to disclose allegations of abuse.

"I was deeply troubled to read the allegations contained in last month's Pennsylvania grand jury report," Grewal said in a statement.

"The report revealed that sexual assaults on children - and efforts to cover up such assaults - were far more widespread in Pennsylvania than we ever thought possible," Grewal continued. "We owe it to the people of New Jersey to find out whether the same thing happened here. If it did, we will take action against those responsible."

Attorney General Josh Shapiro told PennLive Wednesday that he has heard from more than a dozen prosecutors around the country asking about investigating clergy sex abuse.

Shapiro said some prosecutors don't possess the tools under laws in their states to pursue similar investigations. In New York, the attorney general's office can't convene grand juries; only district attorneys have that power.

Speaking with PennLive Wednesday, Shapiro said that in Pennsylvania, Catholic bishops held many documents in secret archives outlining the cover-up of abuse. He said other prosecutors should try to obtain similar records.

"If I were a law enforcement leader in another jurisdiction, I would want to get my hands on these doucments real quickly, before they weren't in the secret archives," Shapiro said.

On Thursday, Shapiro said he was heartened by the investigations being launched in New York and New Jersey.

"Our work in Pennsylvania has spurred a movement - the time for institutions to place their own interests above protecting our children is over," Shapiro said Thursday.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report found that 301 priests sexually assaulted more than 1,000 children over several decades. Church officials, including bishops, covered up reports of abuse, enabling abusers to assault more children and rob victims of their chance for justice in the courts, the grand jury found.

Nearly all the cases of abuse in Pennsylvania can't be prosecuted because they are beyond the statute of limitations. Advocates for victims want to abolish the statute of limitations. The grand jury report urged lawmakers to change the law to make that happen.

The grand jury investigated child sex abuse in six Catholic dioceses across Pennsylvania: Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, Scranton and Greensburg.

Shapiro said Pennsylvania's investigation is ongoing and calls continue pouring in on a hotline to report clergy sex abuse. The hotline had received 933 calls since the release of the grand jury report last month, Shapiro told PennLive.

The Pennsylvania clergy abuse hotline: 888-538-8541.
FLORENCE, N.J. (AP) -- Authorities said Thursday they've opened a criminal investigation and executed a search warrant at the home of a New Jersey couple who raised $400,000 online for a homeless good Samaritan who now claims they mismanaged the cash.

Burlington County Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a Facebook post he was confirming the investigation because of the "enormous public interest" in the case, though no charges have been filed.

Read more:

Authorities executed the warrant on Mark D'Amico and Katelyn McClure's home in Florence, N.J., about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, and were seen loading a BMW onto a flatbed truck, according to 6ABC.

Their attorney, Ernest Badway, has not returned phone calls seeking a response. He has earlier declined to comment.

Tow truck removes BMW from the Bordentown, NJ property of Katie McClure & Mark DAmico, where @BurlcoPros is serving a search warrant. The couple is being investigated over funds missing from a $400,000 GoFundMe account they started for homeless veteran Johnny Bobbitt @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/cxPcFBrw9P  Trang Do (@TrangDoCBS3) September 6, 2018

It's the latest news in a case that captured international headlines and at first seemed to illustrate the kindness of strangers but has since morphed into a dispute over how and who spent the cash donated online from 14,000 people.

In this Nov. 2017, file photo, Johnny Bobbitt Jr., left, Kate McClure, right, and McClure's boyfriend Mark D'Amico pose at a Citgo station in Philadelphia.

The couple are being sued by Johnny Bobbitt, who got McClure gas late one night in 2017 when she was stranded in Philadelphia. She set up a GoFundMe page for him, but the relationship soured.

Bobbitt's lawyer says he's been told all the money is gone. It's unclear what happened to it, but McClure and D'Amico have denied any wrongdoing.

INVESTIGATION UPDATE: Statement from Burlington County Prosecutor Scott A. Coffina: "Due to the enormous public... Posted by Burlington County Prosecutor's Office on Thursday, September 6, 2018

In court on Wednesday Superior Court Judge Paula Dow ordered the couple to give sworn testimony as well as turn over documents as part of the case. Bobbitt, whose attorney says he is entering a drug addiction program, will also be deposed on Monday.

Neither the couple nor Bobbitt was in court Wednesday.

Badway, the couple's attorney, declined to answer reporters' questions after Wednesday's hearing and did not immediately respond to message seeking comment Thursday. He indicated in court this week that his clients intend to claim their right not to testify, but Dow said she needed to hear from them in person.

Chris Fallon, Bobbitt's attorney, also didn't immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

The story initially led to appearances for Bobbitt and McClure on shows like Good Morning America" as well as an interview by the BBC. But a dispute over the money has since arose.

D'Amico has said Bobbitt spent $25,000 in less than two weeks last year on drugs as well as paying for overdue legal bills and sending money family.

The couple also bought Bobbitt a camper with some of the cash and parked it on land McClure's family owns in New Jersey. But Bobbitt became homeless again after D'Amico told him in June that he had to leave the property.

During a recent appearance on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" show, D'Amico told Kelly there was well over $150,000 left of the donations.

In court Wednesday, Badway said Bobbitt has gotten $200,000, but Bobbitt's lawyer said he had received about $75,000, including the camper as well as a 1999 Ford Ranger.
Multiple school districts have schools closings or dismissing early Thursday due to the anticipated high heat.

Elizabethtown School District said both Mill Road and Rheems elementary schools will remain closed.

"We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause the families of students at these two schools," an email to parents states. "This is not a decision that is made lightly but given the continued heat build up at both facilities, we are erring on the side of student and staff safety and closing down both facilities on Thursday."

Similarly, Central Dauphin School District is dismissing students from seven schools early, they said in an announcement on their website.

Students at Chambers Hill, E.H. Phillips, Linglestown Elementary, Mountain View, North Side, Paxtonia and South Side will all be dismissed at 11 a.m., according to the website.

There will be no morning or afternoon kindergarten at these schools.

Central Pennsylvania isn't the only region closing schools due to heat. The Philadelphia School District dismissed early Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the district website.
Petoskey Marching Band brings home three grand champion awards

A one year hiatus in competing didn't stop the Petoskey Marching Band from scoring first place and grand champion awards in this year's competitions.
Delaware County woman accused of double-homicide believed she was Jesus, God was talking to her
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Rachel Maddow said on Wednesday that the end is near for the Trump presidency as White House officials appear to be warning the country that the president is nuts and unfit and the senior people who work around him know it.

The MSNBC host said the stunning revelations should get the attention of Republican lawmakers who are currently in the process of ramming through a Supreme Court nominee picked by the same unfit president.

The end is near, Maddow said. Maybe in the form of the invocation of the 25th amendment by the vice president of the United States and the majority of the presidents cabinet.

Video:

Rachel Maddow said on Wednesday that Republicans should hit pause on rushing through a Supreme Court nominee and instead investigate the fact that a senior administration official thinks the president is nuts. #ctl #p2 #Maddow pic.twitter.com/cLk0X6H8n9  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) September 6, 2018

Maddow said:

Someone in the White House is trying to warn the country that the president is nuts and unfit and the senior people who work-around him know it, and the end is near. Maybe in the form of the invocation of the 25th amendment by the vice president of the United States and a majority of the presidents cabinet. If this is what it appears to be, if this is true, then, 1. Hey, this is a remarkable time for the Senate to rush ahead to try to install a nominee from this president on the Supreme Court as a lifetime appointment. 2. If theyre not too busy trying to move ahead with the presidents nominee for this lifetime appointment, then hey, maybe this is something the Congress might want to look into. As of today, a senior White House official says members of the presidents cabinet have discussed invoking the 25th amendment to remove the president from office on the basis of the fact they believe hes unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. They only held back because of worries that removing him might cause a, quote, crisis. Now, something has happened since then that has this senior administration official warning the public that even though they elected not to do this before, the public should start thinking this now as an option moving forward. That might seem like the kind of thing the Congress would want to look into.

Hearings should start immediately

Republicans continue to rush through the confirmation process for Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee, but they should really be holding immediately hearings on the presidents instability.

The fact that members of the White House cabinet may have privately discussed invoking the 25th amendment should shock every member of Congress into action.

As Maddow said on Wednesday, its not just critics who believe Trump is unfit to hold the office of the presidency. There is now a group of officials inside the White House  perhaps within the presidents own cabinet  who share that belief.

The Trump presidency is falling apart, and Wednesdays op-ed in The New York Times could spell the beginning of the end.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook.
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A senior administration official admitted that people in the White House have talked about invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump.

Of all the bombs in The New York Times op-ed, the biggest one was, Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  its over.

25th Amendment Time

The fact that anyone in the White House would discuss invoking the 25th Amendment reveals how bad it is in the Trump administration. His own people have such little confidence in him that they have seriously considered mounting an effort to have him removed from office. Republicans created this Trump mess, and the self-described stable genius is not looking very smart or stable.

The op-ed was written to sound a national alarm bell. Trump has already attacked the piece, or more accurately, The New York Times, but the point that is being made cant be missed. As long as Trump is in the White House, the country faces a threat from within. Republicans havent had the guts to stand up to Trump on the smallest of measures, so dont expect them to take any action to remove Trump.

The action is going to have to come from Democrats after they win back all or part of Congress. If America is going to be saved, it will be a Democratic Congress that possesses the courage to ride to the rescue.
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Donald Trump threw a tantrum following the publication of an op-ed in the New York Times written anonymously by a senior White House official, only proving the point the author was trying to make.

A short time after the op-ed dropped, he also took to Twitter to deliver a one-word response.

TREASON?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

But his one-word Twitter reaction to the editorial shouldnt be brushed under the rug as just another Trumpism. As NBC News Hallie Jackson pointed out on Wednesday, treason is a crime punishable by death.

In other words, the president of the United States just accused a senior member of his own administration of a crime that is punishable by execution.

Video:

.@HallieJackson says the presidents mood is volcanic following the publication of an anonymous op-ed in the New York Times. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/tcm7qcomgh  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) September 6, 2018

One person close to the White House describes the presidents mood as volcanic. I think you saw some of that reflected in what the president had to say to our own Peter Alexander earlier when Peter asked the president about this op-ed. The president calling it gutless. He tweeted out just that single word earlier during your broadcast: Treason with a question mark. And a reminder, as you know, treason of course is a crime punishable by death.

Trumps more recent tweet seemed to further elaborate on his thoughts about the man or woman who penned the editorial.

He doesnt just view the op-ed as a simple act of dissent that makes him look bad. Instead, he views it as detrimental to Americas national security. In other words, treason.

Does the so-called Senior Administration Official really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018

Trump is dangerously out of control

As Trump lashes out, whether its about former national security leaders, recently published books or an administration officials New York Times editorial, hes only proving the point his critics have repeatedly made.

In the process, he is demonstrating how ignorant and dangerous his view of government and patriotism is. He doesnt believe in Americans pledging allegiance to the flag and putting country first; he believes in Americans pledging allegiance to him.

The moment anybody refuses to give him that blind support and loyalty, he accuses them  as he did today  of committing a crime or being treasonous. He even demands that this person is turned over to the government at once!

This kind of rhetoric shouldnt get brushed aside after the latest news cycle fades. Its dangerous, because  as he becomes more desperate and unstable  its only a matter of time before he follows through on it.

Follow Sean Colarossi on Facebook.
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Never in the modern history of the presidency has a member of an administration came out in public a declared a president, unstable, unfit, and loaded with dangerous impulses to the country, but that is what happened today to Trump.

In a New York Times op-ed, a senior Trump administration official wrote:

Meetings with him veer off topic and off the rails, he engages in repetitive rants, and his impulsiveness results in half-baked, ill-informed and occasionally reckless decisions that have to be walked back.

There is literally no telling whether he might change his mind from one minute to the next, a top official complained to me recently, exasperated by an Oval Office meeting at which the president flip-flopped on a major policy decision hed made only a week earlier.

.

Given the instability many witnessed, there were early whispers within the cabinet of invoking the 25th Amendment, which would start a complex process for removing the president. But no one wanted to precipitate a constitutional crisis. So we will do what we can to steer the administration in the right direction until  one way or another  its over.

The bigger concern is not what Mr. Trump has done to the presidency but rather what we as a nation have allowed him to do to us. We have sunk low with him and allowed our discourse to be stripped of civility.

We did not allow this to happen. Republicans own Trump

The op-ed is stunning for what it confirms, but there is one point that must be made. America did not allow this to happen. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote for a reason. The majority of voters understood who Trump was and the danger that he posed.

It was the Republican Party that did this to America, and they cant pass off their weakness on the rest of the country. It was the Republican Party that rolled over for Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primary. It was Republican congressional leaders who refused to work with Obama to combat the Russian election attack, and it is Republicans who have shown the country nothing but cowardice and weakness in their failure to stand up to Trump after he took office.

Republicans made this mess, and it will be up to the voters and Democrats to save the country and clean it up.

There is a rebellion against Trump from within his own administration

Bob Woodwards book wasnt the end, but the beginning of a civil war inside the Trump administration. There are elements inside the White House that are trying to keep Trump from wrecking everything. Woodwards book launched Trump on a crazed witch hunt within his own White House. This op-ed piece should drive the president over the edge. Members of his administration arent out to get him. They are trying to save the country from ruin at the unstable hand of Donald Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook.
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Bob Woodward describes in his new book, Fear: Trump in the White House, not only a White House filled with conflict and chaos but also one with a frosty relationship between the first couple.

Woodward says that first lady Melania Trump refused to be seen on television with her husband after the embarrassing release of the Access Hollywood tape in 2016.

Melania refused to appear on TV with Trump after "Access Hollywood" tape: Woodward book https://t.co/edzr4sPA5A pic.twitter.com/bOesZF97wZ  The Hill (@thehill) September 6, 2018

Donald Trump at the time was running for president and the recording of his comments caused a stir in his campaign but did not ultimately prevent him from being elected.

According to the Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, Melania refused a request from campaign officials that she appear jointly with Donald soon after the tape was made public. These officials thought that a joint appearance with her husband would show that she was supportive and this would control the fallout of negative publicity from the recording.

But when asked the first lady replied by saying Not doing that. No way. No, no, no, according to an account of the interaction found in Woodwards new book published in The Guardian.

The infamous Access Hollywood tape was leaked several weeks before the 2016 presidential election. It shows the president bragging about the liberties that he was able to take with women because he is rich and famous. He said he would routinely kiss and grope women without their consent, and also said he would grab them by the py and they would not object because of who he is.

Following the tapes release to the public, Melania issued a statement in which she said that she found the language offensive but it did not represent the man that I know.

The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me, Melania said. This does not represent the man that I know. He has the heart and mind of a leader. I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world.

The details found in Woodwards book provides more evidence that there is a very tense relationship between the president and the first lady.

Woodwards accounts support what was written by former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman wrote in her own book that there is a difficult relationship there. She said that Melania uses fashion choices to punish her husband. According to excerpts reported by Newsweek, the former reality television star identified two of the first ladys outfits as examples: the pink pussy bow blouse she wore after the Access Hollywood tape circulated, and the I dont really care, do u? jacket she wore when traveling in Texas as the administration was heavily criticized because of its zero tolerance immigration policy that resulted in separation of thousands of children from their families.

Taken as a whole, all of her style rebellions have served the same purpose, Omarosa wrote in her book. I believe Melania uses style to punish her husband.

She also said that the first lady cannot wait for Trump to leave office so she can divorce him.
It seems like everybody in the world is commenting this morning about the New York Times op-ed written by an anonymous Trump administration official.

Even in a Washington used to scandals under the current president this editorial was a shocker. Everyone interviewed said they had never seen anything like it in their lifetimes.

The author of the op-ed piece (whose identity is known only to Times editors) claims that he or she is a member of a secret group working inside the White House to thwart the president. They say they are protecting the country from a man who is not up to the task of being president, and wouldnt want to properly perform the job even if he could.

Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough discussed the editorial on his show this morning where his guest was former CIA Director John Brennan, who just last month had his security clearance revoked by Trump.

Scarborough said that there had been plenty of leaks in the Bush and Obama administrations, but they never occurred in such a dramatic manner.

Brennan, however, said he did not think Scarboroughs analysis was correct because the editorial in the Times is not really a leak.

When his host asked Brennan, Is this a new chapter or have we seen it before? the former CIA director replied as follows:

I might will take issue with your premise. I dont think George Bush or Barack Obama said there was leaking around the clock. They were concerned about it. But the New York Times editorial to me is not a leak. It is an expression of deep concern and worry. Its certainly reflective of what people a lot of people have been saying over the last year, that Donald Trump has not fulfilled his responsibilities.

So, I think there are a lot of people within the government that are quite frustrated with the situation and are now taking extreme measures to try to reassure the American people that there are people within the administration who are trying to counter what Donald Trump is doing.

The Times editorial, published on late Wednesday, sent shockwaves through the White House and the entire country. Trump blustered about it like the crazy man he is, but there was little he or his communications staff could do other than to blindly lash out at the unknown perpetrator.

The author of the piece made clear that Trump is not fit for office, saying:

We believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic.

That is why many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trumps more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

John Brennan is right. Whats going on now is not just leaking from the White House  it is a veritable flood of information coming out that is trying to warn the United States that we have a crazy man for a president and the country is in danger unless action is taken.
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Democrats are on fire during the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh hearing.

Moments after Senator Cory Booker dropped his bombshell emails on Kavanaughs (HORRIFYING) beliefs about racial profiling, Senator Kamala Harris told reporters that she had good reason for questioning Kavanaugh about a conversation he might have had with a Kasowitz lawyer regarding the Mueller Trump Russia probe.

Manu Raju reported:

As she entered the hearing room, Sen. Kamala Harris didnt provide more details about why she questioned Kavanaugh about a conversation he may have had with a Kasowitz lawyer on Mueller probe. I have a good reason to believe there was a conversation, Harris said to us.

Asked what she was basing it off of, she said: Information that Ive received thats pretty reliable and I asked him a clear question and he couldnt give a clear answer. Has she seen any documentation of this? I cant give you more than that.

As she entered the hearing room, Sen. Kamala Harris didnt provide more details about why she questioned Kavanaugh about a conversation he may have had with a Kasowitz lawyer on Mueller probe.

I have a good reason to believe there was a conversation, Harris said to us.  Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 6, 2018

Asked what she was basing it off of, she said: Information that Ive received thats pretty reliable and I asked him a clear question and he couldnt give a clear answer. Has she seen any documentation of this? I cant give you more than that.  Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 6, 2018

During Wednesdays Senate Judiciary confirmation hearing, Harris pressed Kavanaugh on potential conversations he might have had regarding special counsel Robert Muellers investigation.

Harris asked whether or not Judge Kavanaugh had ever discussed Mueller or his investigation with anyone at the law firm founded by Trumps personal lawyer Marc Kasowitz, Kasowitz Benson & Torres.

Have you discussed Mueller or his investigation with anyone at Kasowitz Benson and Torres, the law firm founded by Marc Kasowitz, President Trumps personal lawyer? Be sure about your answer, sir, said Harris.

Kavanaugh would not give a definitive answer.

Thursday, moments after a document dump of sunlight by Senator Booker as Republicans seek to hide unprecedented levels of documents about Kavanaugh  a man nominated by a president under investigation for possibly colluding with a hostile foreign government against the United States  Harris suggests she asked this specific question for a reason.
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Remember when Trump-supporting Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter got caught stealing $250,000 from his campaign account, and then blamed his wife?

Now it turns out prosecutors say they can prove that Hunter used much of the money he stole on women he was having affairs with. Well have to wait and see if he tries to blame this on his wife also.

Its true that much of the money he took was used to benefit his wife, who also did the accounting for Hunters campaign organization. However its not true that the Congressman didnt know what his wife was doing when they were spending all that money on expensive trips, fancy restaurants, bar tabs, and even monthly grocery bills.

So now prosecutors in the case are saying that the ultra-conservative Hunter illegally used campaign money for gifts and entertaining at least five women, none of whom are his wife. Now Mrs. Hunter may really be upset that the Congressman threw her under the bus for crimes that he committed.

Both Hunter and his wife Margaret were indicted last month on more than 60 criminal charges, all connected with how they misappropriated more than $250,000 in campaign money. Details of their lavish lifestyle had previously been reported, but only now is it coming out that Representative Hunter  a big espouser of family values on his congressional website  may have been seeing other women.

Here are more details from The San Diego Union-Tribune:

The criminal indictment issued against Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, late last month alleges years of cavalier spending  luxury resorts, fine dining, tequila shots and more  all paid for with political contributions.

The 47-page document also says the five-term Republican from had personal relationships with five unnamed individuals. Hunters lawyer objected to the turn the investigation took. In an August letter to the Justice Department, defense attorney Gregory Vega argued that prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges for conduct that falls into gray areas of civil election law.

This is true even for personal indiscretions of the congressman that the prosecutors seem intent on charging, Vega wrote. The supposed reason given for including these details is that they reflect spending of campaign funds for extramarital infidelities and excessive drinking.

According to Vegas letter, prosecutors told the defense that they have pictures of indiscretions.

While there may be evidence of infidelity, irresponsibility or alcohol dependence, once properly understood, the underlying facts do not equate to criminal activity, Vega wrote.

Hunters attorney seems to be saying that all of Hunters bad behavior is not necessarily criminal and should not be discussed in the federal indictment. However, since the money used for this bad behavior was donated to Hunter in good faith by members of the public who put their trust in him, there is no doubt that the people have a right to know what he really did with the money.

Hunter can blame the Deep State and he can blame the media and he can even blame his wife but everyone knows that its nobodys fault but his own. Its only a matter of time until he wakes up and realizes his career in Congress is over. This will free up time for him to spend on rehab and in marriage counseling.
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The Daily Caller is a bizarre right-wing website that supports Donald Trump along with many conspiracy theories. Therefore it is only fitting that when the president allowed employees from the Daily Caller into the Oval Office and granted them an exclusive interview, the results would also be bizarre.

In his interview (published on the Daily Callers website) Trump once again blabbered on and on about one his favorite and theories, which is that Robert Mueller is biased against him and should resign as special counsel.

Trump believes that Mueller has a large number of significant conflicts of interest that require the special counsel to recuse himself from the investigation into Trumps web of alleged criminality and misconduct. Trump once again said that because Mueller interviewed with him for the FBI Director job (and of course didnt get it) he is a classically disgruntled employee. This presumably means we cant believe anything Mueller says.

Trump also claimed again that the special counsel had a serious business conflict with the president. Here is a partial transcript of the interview:

Trump: There were, I mean tremendous conflicts here, you know the conflicts, youve heard the conflicts.

The Daily Caller: Speaking of one which you cited, Id like to know, you said you interviewed Mueller for FBI director.

Trump: Sitting right in that chair.

The Daily Caller: What did you think during the interview?

Trump: I liked him, but I didnt give him the job?

The Daily Caller: Why?

Trump: But I had a business dispute with Mueller before that. I had a real business dispute.

Trump: And hes Comeys best friend, and I could give you 100 pictures of him and Comey hugging and kissing each other. You know, hes Comeys best friend.

So what is the business dispute that Trump was referring to?

As has been reported before, Mueller was a member of a country club which was owned by Trump, and he resigned his membership and left the club in 2011. According to the Washington Post, Mueller sent a letter requesting a dues refund in accordance with normal club practice and never heard back.

Only a bizarre mind like Donald Trumps and a bizarre website like the Daily Caller would think that this set of facts constitutes a real business dispute. In fact the charge is ridiculous because if Mueller had a serious business dispute with Trump, why would Trump consider offering him the job as FBI Director?

Trump says he believes that Mueller has a conflict of interest because he is best friends with Comey, who Trump fired as FBI Director last year. If they were really best friends it is doubtful that Mueller would have interviewed for Comeys job.

It is also doubtful that Donald Trump has 100 pictures of Bob Mueller and Jim Comey kissing each other. However, since he has friends in high places in Russian intelligence, the possibility that Donald Trump was given compromising pictures of his enemies cannot be ignored.

Could this tweet show some illicit kissing in the White House?

WOW! Trump told the Daily Caller this mornin' that he can provide "100 pictures of Comey and Mueller hugging and kissing." Here's one. No, wait! pic.twitter.com/2n9UDWxweZ  Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) September 5, 2018

Maybe what he said isnt so bizarre after all.
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After the anonymous op-ed piece appeared in the New York Times yesterday social media went wild with speculation about who its author might be. Only the Times editors know for sure, and they arent talking.

Here are our thoughts:

Because the editorial refers to the cabinet invoking the 25th amendment, it seems as if the author is not in the cabinet but is close to cabinet members.

Because it talks about morality and deregulation and tax cuts for the wealthy the author appears to be a true conservative with a strong sense of morality. This seems to rule out cabinet members and former generals or others with military backgrounds, such as John Kelly.



Why People Think Pence is the Author

The majority of people on social media seem to think that Mike Pence is the likely author of the anonymous editorial. This seems far-fetched for a straight-arrow like Pence, but it is possible for a number of reasons.

Reason One: Lodestar

The first is that the op-ed uses the unusual word lodestar and in the past Pence has often used that word. This means that either Pence wrote this op-ed or the real author knew Pence often used the word and lodestar and included the word in the editorial to make people think Pence wrote it.

People are speculating the word "lodestar" may be proof that Mike Pence wrote the scathing New York Times op-ed against Trump. https://t.co/b5YlZNfhIz  HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) September 6, 2018

Reason Two: Pence Praises Session

Just before the Times published the op-ed Pence publicly stated his support for Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Is this just a coincidence? Or did Pence write this op-ed as part of a plot to oust Trump and support Sessions.

Elizabeth Landers from CNN tweeted about this:

A rare moment: @vp stopped in the Capitol hallway to answer my Q on whether he had confidence in AG Jeff Sessions. I hold Jeff Sessions in the highest regard. I appreciate his service to the nation, he responded.  Elizabeth Landers (@ElizLanders) September 5, 2018

Reason Three: Pence Cant Be Fired

Pence is the only person in the Trump administration who cant be fired by Donald Trump, meaning that Pence wouldnt have to worry about job security if his identity is discovered.

If Pence wrote the Op-ed, then Trump can't fire him. He was elected too. Of course really by the Russians.  Brian McCarthy (@iancarty123) September 6, 2018

Reason Four: Pence Would Benefit

Mike Pence stands the most to gain if the 25th Amendment is invoked, for obvious reasons.

Just last week we published an article called Pence Thinks God Wants Him to Be President After Trump Scandals  in which we said:

Trump biographer Michael DAntonio told CNN on Tuesday that Vice President Mike Pence believes he is on a mission from God  to become president. Also, since God wants him to be president, he believes that President Trumps many scandals will be his ticket to the Oval Office.

Most people agree that eventually the identity of the author will be revealed in one way or another. In the meantime we can enjoy the speculation about who the real author might be.
Lauren Sausser is the Health & Science Editor at The Post and Courier. She also writes about health care issues in South Carolina.
Paul Bowers is an education reporter and father of three living in North Charleston. He previously worked at the Charleston City Paper, where he was twice named South Carolina Journalist of the Year in the weekly category.
Chloe Johnson covers the coastal environment and climate change for the Post and Courier. She's always looking for a good excuse to hop on a boat.
Michael Majchrowicz is a reporter covering crime and public safety. He previously wrote about courts for the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Massachusetts. A Hoosier native, he graduated from Indiana University with a degree in journalism.
Charleston, SC (29403)

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Angie Jackson covers crime and breaking news for The Post and Courier. She previously covered the same beat for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com in Michigan. When shes not reporting, Angie enjoys teaching yoga and exploring the outdoors.
LEO Pharma and Bayer announced the completion of the relevant closing conditions to allow the transfer of Bayers prescription dermatology business to LEO Pharma in the United States. Closing in all other countries is expected during the second half of 2019, subject to the fulfillment of customary closing conditions.

LEO Pharma and Bayer entered into an agreement for the acquisition of Bayers global portfolio of prescription dermatology products as announced on July 31, 2018. This includes Finacea (azelaic acid) Foam for the topical treatment of mild to moderate rosacea, a range of topical steroids and other products for the treatment of acne and fungal skin infections.

Chris Posner, President and CEO of LEO Pharma US, said: This is an exciting time for LEO Pharma in the US. Completing this acquisition enables LEO Pharma US to significantly broaden its therapeutic areas and skilled workforce, ultimately providing more treatment options for dermatology patients across the country.

Our Rx Dermatology colleagues have worked diligently to develop this business over many years, said Patrick Lockwood-Taylor, President of Bayers Consumer Health business in North America. With the closing of the transaction in the US, the business is now in the best hands for future growth and allows Bayer to focus on our core OTC business. I want to thank the Bayer and LEO teams for their great collaboration that brought us to this milestone in such a short period of time.

As announced as part of the agreement, LEO Pharma will acquire the global product rights, except for Afghanistan and Pakistan, and take over the sales and marketing organizations in 14 countries, as well as a factory in Segrate, Italy. Assuming the successful close, around 450 people will join LEO Pharma as part of this transaction.

Subject to applicable laws, LEO Pharma and Bayer will continue to work closely together with the aim of securing an effective transition of the business in the rest of the world and an uninterrupted supply of prescription dermatology treatments that patients have come to rely on and trust.
To tell this undercovered story, The Post and Courier weaves history and science into a story that captures the majesty of the Gulf Stream and the stakes as the climate warms.
Oil spills in the Gulf Stream off South Carolina could form fast-moving slicks for hundreds of miles, making cleanup nearly impossible, devastating one of the Atlantic's most important fisheries and wreaking havoc with the state's billion-dollar tourist industry, a Post and Courier analysis shows.

While spills in the Gulf Stream would travel far, spills closer to shore could ooze their way toward land, fouling beaches and marshlands anywhere from the Lowcountry to North Carolina's Outer Banks.

In what's thought to be a first for a news organization, The Post and Courier generated more than 1,000 simulations of potential spills off the East Coast.

+13 A powerful current just miles from SC is changing. It could devastate the East Coast. To tell this undercovered story, The Post and Courier weaves history and science into a story that captures the majesty of the Gulf Stream and the stakes as the climate warms.

The newspaper used a program developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that takes into account amounts of oil spilled, weather patterns and ocean currents, including the Gulf Stream.

Simulations ranged from a spill of 1,000 barrels to a worst-case scenario: the 4.9 million-barrel BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

Among the findings:

In many medium-to-large spill scenarios, the Gulf Stream is like a high-velocity pump. Spills in the powerful current would spread quickly. Within two weeks, slicks off Georgia could hit the Outer Banks and then move into deeper waters off Virginia and pivot toward Europe.

The Gulf Stream also serves as a lid  one that traps oil between the current and our coast. If spills happened within 50 miles of South Carolina  before the Gulf Stream  oil plumes could coat beaches along the tourist-driven Grand Strand. Other simulations show oil hitting the North Carolina coast around Wilmington and the Outer Banks.

Shifting winds and currents add layers of complexity to oil-spill predictions  and potential cleanup operations. In some scenarios, winds push oil ashore. In others, oil ends up in eddies that spiral miles offshore.

The newspaper's simulations come amid a heated debate about the potential risks and rewards of oil exploration along the East Coast.

The federal government had blocked exploratory work for decades. But earlier this year, the Trump administration moved to open offshore waters from Georgia to Maine. The shift generated furor in many coastal communities and has become a major campaign issue in South Carolinas 1st Congressional District race.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regulates offshore exploration, and the agency has done thick reports on potential threats to the environment. But these documents don't include simulations of how a spill in or near the Gulf Stream would play out.

"There hasnt been oil and gas activity in the Atlantic in more than 30 years, so theres been no need for any oil spill simulator studies," said John Filostrat, BOEM spokesman.

Yet the absence of such analyses is remarkable given the stakes and Gulf Stream's immense flow.

About the simulations Oil spills were simulated using GNOME software developed by NOAA. There are three main forces at work in each simulation: currents, wind, and diffusion. Currents were modeled using the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) which is produced by the Naval Oceanographic Office. Winds were modeled using the Global Forecast System (GFS) which is produced by the National Weather Service. Diffusion is a random process that occurs as oil naturally spreads out over time. It was modeled using a "random walk" process with a diffusion coefficient of 100,000 cm^2/sec. All simulations occur from July 28, 2018 to August 11, 2018 and use model data generated on August 8, 2018. These simulations show what could happen at certain locations at a certain time. They are about as accurate as a weather forecast.

Running at 2 to 5 mph, the current can transport drifting materials for thousands of miles. It's also one of the world's most important migratory highways for fish, whales and other marine life. And it flows past South Carolina's coast, a key driver of the state's $19 billion tourism industry.

To fill this gap, The Post and Courier obtained a publicly available program called GNOME, short for General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment. Federal data on weather and currents between July 28 and Aug. 11 were used in the paper's calculations. Officials with NOAA did not participate in the analysis.

The newspaper analyzed more than 1,000 hypothetical spill scenarios at different locations and with varying amounts of spilled oil. Taken together, the simulations show the Gulf Stream's tremendous effect on spills, large and small.

Spills in the heart of the current would move quickly. Within 24 hours, a spill in the Gulf Stream off Charleston would travel more than 90 miles  a pace that would pose an immense challenge for any cleanup crew.

Weather and other factors also play a huge role. Depending on their directions, wind can blow oil in and out of the Gulf Stream, simulations show.

Sizes of spills also matter. Some small-spill scenarios show slicks contained to a small area. In others, even small amounts would form long, dark spirals. In general, though, small spills, such as those involving 1,000 barrels, dissipate more quickly in the Gulf Stream while moderate and large spills would affect hundreds of miles of ocean.

The newspapers results are similar to simulations NOAA created to analyze the dangers of old shipwrecks, including some in the Gulf Stream.

In those studies, NOAA analyzed potential slicks from ships that sank with large amounts of oil aboard but have yet to leak  or even be found.

For instance, one analysis focused on the Esso Gettysburg, a tanker sunk by a German U-boat in 1943 in the Gulf Stream about 100 miles east of St. Simons, Ga. It went down with 131,000 barrels of oil and has yet to be located.

The NOAA analysis estimated that if 10 percent, or 13,200 barrels, from the shipwreck leaked into the Gulf Stream, an area the size of California  about 152,000 square miles  could potentially be affected.

Oil industry experts and federal regulators say large spills are rare. Since 1969, 44 spills larger than 10,000 barrels, or 420,000 gallons, have taken place in U.S. waters, according to NOAA data.

Experts also note that large spills have decreased over the past four decades. Smaller spills are more frequent, with about 2,600 incidents reported annually in recent years, Coast Guard data shows. Spills from tankers are more likely than those from drilling rigs.

Still, the Gulf Stream's complex and swift currents would make cleanup difficult, said Matthew Upton, president of Roffers Ocean Fishing Forecaster Service. The company studies ocean currents and weather patterns daily for fishing, researchers and oil industry clients.

Upton noted that much of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill stayed out of the Gulf of Mexicos Loop Current, which eventually connects with the Gulf Stream, so that spill was somewhat contained.

But if something happened within Gulf Stream, it would spread much more rapidly and be impossible to control."

***

For a deeper dive into the Gulf Stream and the amazing and disturbing things happening to it, visit our new special report: Into the Gulf Stream.
Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.
The Post and Courier provides a forum for our readers to share their opinions, and to hold up a mirror to our community. Publication does not imply endorsement by the newspaper; the editorial staff attempts to select a representative sample of letters because we believe its important to let our readers see the range of opinions their neighbors submit for publication.
Columbia/Myrtle Beach Managing Editor

Andy Shain runs The Post and Courier's newsrooms based in Columbia and Myrtle Beach. He was editor of Free Times and has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Charlotte, Columbia and Myrtle Beach.
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#StartupStory: Gone Digital Academy helps businesses stay ahead of the curve

Gone Digital, an agile digital marketing consultancy has recently launched the Gone Digital Academy, which offers Seta-accredited, digital marketing education to businesses, agencies and individuals.

Luke Peters, group CEO and founder of Gone Digital. We have worked in the industry for over a decade and have seen a rapid decline in the quality of skills and resources in the market, says Luke Peters, group CEO and founder of Gone Digital. Instead of complaining, we decided to do something about it and have invested in delivering knowledge and mentorship-based learning that will help upskill teams to ensure they are ahead of the curve in a fast-paced digital world.



Here, Peters elaborates more on where the idea for the academy came from, what makes it different from other educational institutions and the future plans he has for it.



What do you think has caused the decline of skills and resources in the digital marketing industry? What do you think has caused the decline of skills and resources in the digital marketing industry? We have worked in the industry for over a decade and have seen a rapid decline in the quality of skills and resources in the market, says Luke Peters, group CEO and founder of Gone Digital. Instead of complaining, we decided to do something about it and have invested in delivering knowledge and mentorship-based learning that will help upskill teams to ensure they are ahead of the curve in a fast-paced digital world.Here, Peters elaborates more on where the idea for the academy came from, what makes it different from other educational institutions and the future plans he has for it.

I am of the opinion that we need to stop the sweatshop mentality that exists and start encouraging these people back in some capacity, to add value to the businesses which will free up time for internal mentorship and growth.

In terms of education and training, what are peoples options? In terms of education and training, what are peoples options?

Theory is one thing and application is another. Attitude and passion will not be taught at a school or online. People taking these courses need to be willing to put their heads down and apply the learnt knowledge and get experience in their field to be able to add value.

Where did the idea for the academy come from? Where did the idea for the academy come from?

Who is looking for extra training more do you think  companies for their staff or individuals themselves? Who is looking for extra training more do you think  companies for their staff or individuals themselves?

Do you have any advice for young professionals entering the industry? Do you have any advice for young professionals entering the industry?

What else can you tell us about the academy? What else can you tell us about the academy?

What does Seta-accredited mean, exactly? What does Seta-accredited mean, exactly?

What makes the academy different from other institutions? What makes the academy different from other institutions?

Our practical experience in not only working with business but in building teams and solving problems for our clients on a daily basis ensures that our courses on are not just the theory of marketing but actually informed by real-world scenarios.

What are your hopes for the future of the academy? What are your hopes for the future of the academy?

Juanita Pienaar's articles About Juanita Pienaar Juanita is the editor of the marketing & media portal on the Bizcommunity website. She is also a contributing writer.

Juanita is the editor of the marketing & media portal on the Bizcommunity website. She is also a contributing writer.

What we have seen across the board is that the middle tier of skilled resources is falling out of the industry. These are the people who have 7-10 years of experience and require very little guidance and management to get the job done. They just get on with the project. But what has happened is that these people have been burnt out, jaded or decided on a new career path and have left which means that the seniors in the business are having to step in and do the 'grunt' work.The juniors who should be mentored by the seniors are left to 'sink or swim' as they have limited exposure to the seniors.There are a number of excellent schools, academies and online courses that an individual can take to upskill themselves in their field of interest. Most people think that just because they have a qualification that they are entitled to a big salary or a big title, which is certainly not the case.No one place but more of a need to help businesses and people solve a big problem and trying to make an impact on the local market.Individuals are always keen to learn more but are limited by funds. Corporates have the budgets for training but at times its not being used effectively for their teams growth or where the business is going.Be prepared to work hard. Be prepared to sweat it out and learn from all those around you. Everybody has something to teach you and every day is a learning day, so be a sponge and absorb as much as you can.The academy offers Seta-accredited, digital marketing education to businesses, agencies and individuals. Born out of the digital industry itself, it provides the necessary recognised certifications and qualifications for candidates to advance and progress within this industry.With a team that has worked with many of the top brands and agencies in South Africa, we specialise in helping clients navigate their way through the digital landscape which includes digital strategy, development, content, design, paid media, SEO and data analysis.This means that corporates and agencies who opt to send people on our courses will be eligible for rebates or BBEEE points depending on their structure. Basically, its a win-win for all parties. Business can allocate their training budget to a course that will benefit their teams and clients.Our team not only lectures but provides mentorship to people on an ongoing basis.That we are able to make a meaningful difference in the South African employment landscape. If we are able to upskill enough people and help them become more marketable and for them to find suitable employment in our sector can only lead to a better industry.For more on the Gone Digital Academy, go to the website and follow Gone Digital on Facebook Twitter and LinkedIn
MANKATO, Minn.  Southern Minnesota soybean growers and hog producers will be the biggest beneficiaries of $4.7 billion in payments from the Department of Agriculture, which is aiming to soften the blow to farm commodities hit by tariffs in the Trump administrations trade war with China.

Soybeans have been hard hit by Chinese tariffs and farmers stand to get up to $3.6 billion in assistance under the Market Facilitation Program. Another $290 million will go to hog producers, $96 million for corn and $127 million for dairy. Cotton, grain, sorghum and wheat growers will also get money.

"Every little bit helps," said Kevin Poppel, who farms near Lake Crystal and Madelia, Minn.

"From our standpoint, we can appreciate the help we can get with the commodity prices as depressed as they are. But theres the long-term concern."

That concern is growing as the trade war with China  which has pummeled soybean and corn prices  stretches out. "The longer it goes, the harder it will be to get back on track," Poppel said.

China purchases 61 percent of the total U.S. soybean exports and Minnesota shipped $1 billion worth of soybeans to China in 2016.

Soybean growers will get $1.65 per bushel in government assistance, but only half that amount is guaranteed. USDA will pay for half of the bushels farmers grow this fall and then evaluate the payment level for the other half after the end of the year.

Kent Thiesse, ag analyst at MinnStar Bank, said that if grain markets remain dismal starting next year, farmers will likely get the full $1.65 per bushel for the other half of their soybean crop; but if the market gains strength, that figure could fall.

He said if farmers get 50-60 bushels of soybeans per acre and get paid the full amount on all of them, theyd get $80 to $90 per acre from the government. "So that will help a lot."

Hog farmers will get $8 per head under the program.

Corn farmers will not see much relief, getting just 1 cent per bushel. "So on 200 bushels an acre corn, youre only talking $2 an acre and only a $1 for the first payment. So that one isnt going to have much impact on our area," Thiesse said.

The Minnesota Soybean Growers Association welcomed the financial help but urged President Trump to end the trade war.

"Right now, farmers are hurting, and this aid will allow a momentary reprieve," said association President Michael Petefish. "Unfortunately, if this trade war continues much longer, this aid package will feel less like a Band-Aid and more like a reminder of the trade relationships we lost and must rebuild."

Petefish said that in July alone, farm exports dropped 5.3 percent, the most since 2011.

According to a Purdue University study, soybean exports to China as a result of the tariffs could continue to drop dramatically in the ensuing years. The study projects that Chinas soybean imports from the U.S. will drop by 65 percent, U.S. soybean exports could fall by 37 percent and U.S. soybean production would decline by 15 percent.

When the Trump administration announced the relief program last month many Republicans complained that the administration was paying billions to respond to a problem it created. Funding for the payments comes from a Depression-era program that doesnt require a vote in Congress.

Poppel said the uncertainty about soybean markets comes as farmers begin to think about how much corn and soybeans to plant next spring.

"Going into the fall well be looking at (purchasing) fertilizer and crop rotation, and right now youre looking at significant losses with soybeans." He said its a tough call on whether to keep the corn-soybean ratio the same or plant fewer beans and more corn next year.

"Well wait as long as we can to decide."

At this point, American farmers are indicating they will likely cut back on soybean production.

The Farm Futures first survey of 2019 planting intentions showed growers plan to trim soybean seedings by 2 million acres next spring. That would take soybean acreage to 87.5 million, compared to the 89.6 million put in the ground this year, a decrease of 2.3 percent.
Design student Hannah Smith has been named the winner of the Number One Mageu Art & Soul Competition. Last month, the popular beverage brand embarked on a nationwide search for South Africa's freshest design talent. Entrants were challenged to create a highly unique design for the Number One Mageu's iconic banana packaging.

Hannah Smith's winning design.

Celebrating individual expression

The judging panel included members from The Hardy Boys (THB) creative team, creative director Kevin Parry and designer Clinton Myeni, as well as Number One Mageu senior brand manager Aamina Shaik and Durban University of Technology (DUT) lecturer Frank Kalala.They selected 10 finalists from over 100 entries and then asked the public to vote for the winner from the final 10 designs. In the spirit of competition, all finalists hustled their friends and fans to help them win the Art & Soul prize via an Instagram voting mechanic. The public voting stage was hotly contested with over 14,700 votes received in just 7 days and around 5,000 of those coming in the last 24 hours.The competition came to a close on Thursday, 30 August at RCL Foods Head Office in Durban, where the 10 finalists and Durban University of Technology (DUT) student entrants attended an Afrocentric Pop-up Gallery exhibition event where the competition winners were announced.Two of the top 10 designers, established designer Rapule Mathonsi (@puleonline) and student designer Hannah Smith (@han_selah), both from Durban, battled it out for votes until the final hour. At midnight on Wednesday both had received 2,500 votes and when voting closed just 97 votes separated them.In the end, it was Smith who secured the most votes and went home with the R10,000 prize and an internship at The Hardy Boys. "A celebration of life," is how Smith describes her design.Jazzy characters, soulful faces and a coupling of art and photography; this is a showcase of how each unique individual has their own unique, individual flavour. Just like Number One Mageu, she said.The runner-up, Mathonsi, walked away with a R5,000 prize.Number One Mageu is an iconic South African brand that has been feeding the bodies and souls of South Africans for nearly 50 years, giving them a boost when they need it most. We believe in celebrating our South African heritage and culture  more importantly celebrating the individuals who make up our culture, said Aamina Shaik, Number One Mageu senior brand manager.We celebrate individuals who are able to express themselves with their passions, whether it is through dance, music or art. This time, we decided to choose the passion for art. We wanted to give these creative, artistic souls a voice on our cartons, a chance for them to speak their minds and express their souls on this iconic piece we love  our Mageu Number 1 Banana carton.As part of its effort to nurture young South African design talent, Number One Mageu also gave DUT design students a chance to participate and have their work incorporated into their syllabus. The student whose design was voted tops turned out to also be overall winner, Hannah Smith.I cant believe I won both contests. I am really grateful for this opportunity and for all the people that supported me with their votes. I am looking forward to my internship and learning more about the Number One Mageu brand, she said.To view all the entries in the competition, check out #ArtAndSoul on Instagram or visit @numberonemageu to see the final designs.
A reported assault on two Japanese tourists Wednesday combined with previous incidents have prompted an expression of concern about crime on Guam by the island's Japanese consulate.

"We saw three incidents in one week," said Osamu Ogata, the deputy consul general of Japan.

He told The Guam Daily Post the latest incident involved a physical assault that required medical attention. He declined to discuss details, saying it is under investigation.

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The Guam Police Department had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

The Guam Visitors Bureau confirmed two tourists had been assaulted, according to a statement from GVB spokesman Josh Tyquiengco.

GVB President Nate Denight, board director Bill Nault and Japan manager June Sugawara all met with the assault victims Thursday afternoon and with officials at the Japanese consulate, Tyquiengco said.

"The GVB team offered them its support, and the bureau will be working with its partners to see if we can host them for a future visit," Tyquiengco said.

He said GVB will be increasing its Visitor Safety Officer presence in Tumon in light of recent crimes that have targeted tourists.

3 crimes in 5 days against Japanese tourists

The assault case is the third crime committed against Japanese visitors in just five days.

The first two incidents occurred over Labor Day weekend and prompted the Japanese consulate here to issue an advisory to Japanese tourists on island and to those planning to travel to Guam. The advisory cautions tourists about the recent crimes.

Ogata said the notice advised Japanese travelers to "be careful" at night on Guam. The notice said, "Please do not go out" after 10 at night or in the early hours after midnight, Ogata said.

"We tried to warn them in a neutral way," he said, "so it's not so damaging to the tourist industry of Guam."

The first incident occurred about 10 p.m. Saturday across from the Holiday Resort & Spa Guam in Tumon.

Ogata said two Japanese tourists were returning from Kmart when a car approached. A man got out and grabbed the handbag of one of the tourists, got back in the car and fled.

A similar incident occurred around 1 a.m. on Labor Day.

Three Japanese tourists were walking in an unlit area of Pale San Vitores Road between the Lotte Hotel Guam and Hotel Nikko Guam when a car approached, and a man got out and started coming toward them.

"The road is very dark," said Ogata. "These three Japanese felt something strange, or danger, and they started running, and one of them dropped their bag," he said.

When the tourists turned around and tried to retrieve the bag, the man threatened them, took the bag and fled, he said.

'A certain level of danger'

"We want to see much more Japanese tourists" come to Guam, said Ogata, but incidents like this make it difficult.

Ogata acknowledged that he is personally concerned about these incidents, but "we are diplomats."

"We don't want to damage the image of Guam and damage the tourism industry." However, he said they must protect their citizens. "That's my dilemma. We have to achieve both."

Ogata suggested that the police department take note of the times during which the incidents occurred and "enhance the security measures during the nighttime."

"We know that human resources in the police department are very limited" and "we don't want to be demanding too much," Ogata said.

"Similar cases may have happened to other tourists  Korean or Chinese," he said. "The first step is self-protection. All the tourists should be aware of a certain level of danger."
Eight soldiers, from the Guam Army National Guard's 1st-294th infantry regiment, recently completed the U.S. Army Air Assault course at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Second Lieutenant Estella Aguon, Specialist Christopher Quinlan and Private First Class Jeff Garcia, from Delta Company; 2nd Lt. Kristian Dizon, from the Field Artillery Company; Sergeant Gerard Ogo, Specialist Lief Galvez, and Private First Class Josh Mantanona, from Bravo Company; and Specialist Jesse Crisostomo, from Headquarters Headquarters Company, graduated from the U.S. Armys Air Assault Course, on Friday.

The soldiers completed a rigorous and physically-challenging 10-day course designed to prepare them for insertion, evacuation and pathfinder missions that call for the use of multipurpose transportation and assault helicopters, said Maj. Josephine Blas, Guam National Guard Public Affairs Officer.

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The course included was broken into three phases: combat assault, sling load, and rappelling.

The group of Guam soldiers completed a 12-mile rucksack march on their graduation day to earn their wings as official air assault soldiers.

Air Assault School is necessarily physically and mentally demanding, as Soldiers will be required to handle heavy equipment and perform dangerous tasks under extremely stressful conditions. Successful candidates must possess a keen eye for detail and a dedication to meticulous preparation, Blas stated.
Writer Amy Jephta shares a few thoughts with Daniel Dercksen about writing the screenplay for Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story, the tragic true story of the troubled relationship between a mother and her drug-addicted son - a relationship that eventually drove her to the edge and led to his murder.

How did you get involved with writing the screenplay for Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story?

Was it a story you could easily identify with?

What was it in the story that inspired the writing of the screenplay?

Was it an easy process from page to screen?

When you watch this film, you realise that Ellen isnt an evil, malicious person. You start to understand why she did what she did. Did you as a writer work with Ellen Pakkies?

As a playwright and screenwriter, which medium do you prefer?

How much has the film industry changed since you wrote your first screenplay?

How do you see the future for screenwriters in South Africa?

Any advice for writers who would like to get their work produced?

What do you think producers are looking for in a screenplay?

Whats next?

What do you hope audiences will get from watching Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story?

In 2007, the death of 20-year-old Abie Pakkies caused a stir in South Africa and the world. The most heart-wrenching part of the case was that the murderer was his mother, Ellen. In taking on the case, advocate Adrian Samuels was determined to prove that Ellen Pakkies had no choice. But what compelled her to stop seeking help? How does a mother become so desperate that she takes her own sons life?Told across two timelines, Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story is the harrowing account of a woman put through the penal system, tried for murder and driven by an unflinching love for her son. The film delves into the psyche of a family destroyed by drugs, in one of the most dangerous local communities. A scourge, its consequences reach far beyond the Cape Flats and highlights the systematic failure to protect the poorest of the poor.Amy Jephta is a playwright and director from Mitchells Plain in Cape Town who has worked as a mentor to community theatre groups based in KwaZulu-Natal as part of the Twist Theatre project, has formed part of the South African New Plays Writing Programme at Wits University, and has been a voice and acting lecturer at CityVarsity in Cape Town and the Woodward School for Contemporary Art in Vancouver as well as an invited lecturer at CUNY, New York.She was the first national recipient of the Baxter Theatre/TAAC Emerging Theatre Directors Bursary and is an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab in New York and walked away with the Best Script Award at the 2018 kykNET Silwerskerm Festival.I was approached by the producer, Paulo Areal, who had already begun working on the project and was still looking for a writer. I immediately said yes to the project.Yes, I instinctively connected with the story and with Ellen, the mother behind the headline. I think its because she reminded me of every mother, teacher, and aunt I have known throughout my life. I grew up on the Flats, and I think older women on the Cape Flats have something in common  a resilience, a toughness about them, but also a kind of humour and joy. I found that warmth in Ellen and immediately had a connection to her and to the story.I think the ongoing theme of a mothers love for her son  and love above all  inspired the way this story was told. It was too easy to focus on victimhood and the evil of a drug abuser. But the core of the story is a woman who loved her son (and a son who loved his mother, despite the path he chose).We had very little time to write the actual script. About six months, when a normal development process for a screenplay would ideally be around two years. So decisions were made very quickly about what to keep and what to lose. I was still working on the script a few weeks before shooting was due to begin. So the process was difficult, but most processes are. The challenge here was deciding which part of the story to keep, what to exclude, and how to frame the story.I worked very closely with her when beginning the research for the screenplay. Asking lots of questions, interviewing her, spending time with her.I think the relationship that was formed really helped deepen the empathy and characterisation that ended up in the script. When you get to know Ellen, its obvious very quickly that there was nothing malicious or evil about her. She was a woman who had to make a choice based on an impossible set of circumstances.I will always love writing for theatre, but film has become my new love. I really enjoy the flexibility, the ability to tell stories through pictures, how editing together images can tell a profound story with very few words. The difference for me is really being able to think in pictures rather than in language.So much  theres a lot more opportunity. The industry is flourishing. Producers are interested in stories that serve a wide demographic of the South African public. And our work is being recognised on international platforms. International audiences have realised we have something special to contribute to global storytelling. All those developments are very exciting to me, as a screenwriter.I think were going to see more stories that move away from the stereotypes and notions of what kind of story serves a particular demographic. For example, as much as a story like Ellen is extremely important (and it is), I also think coloured audiences are hungry for a narrative that shows the other side of pain and poverty on the Cape Flats. That shows the joy and resilience and beauty of the community. And those stories are in the pipeline.Some of it is waiting for someone to recognise you and give you a break, but at the same time, theres plenty you can do while youre waiting.My biggest advice is  read screenplays. I try to read at least one screenplay a day, every night (theyre free on the internet  just Google). I do this instead of necessarily watching films. Im more interested in seeing how the writer, as the first creator of the world, has envisioned the story. Reading screenplays exponentially improves your writing, and will set it apart from another script where the writer clearly has no grasp of form, style, and voice.Attend film festivals and meet and talk to producers  not just about your idea, but about their films and other ideas they have for projects. Much of my work has come from just listening to producers talk about what theyre excited about, and then making a contribution to that conversation and ultimately getting the job.My experience is youll have to service other peoples ideas first, to get a foot in the door, before your great screenplay idea is produced.Ive never sent out a completed screenplay that was fully my idea and was picked up wholesale by a producer, so I would not recommend writing a whole script and trying to get it sold  unless youre writing the script for yourself, with the knowledge that it will be difficult to sell.Where I have had my own ideas put into development (which only happened this year  2018), it was because I had a strong pitch  a hook, a concept, a set of characters that I know inside out, a clear idea of the tone of the film (and similar films in the genre), and an idea of who the film was aimed at.I think producers look for a fresh voice or an interesting new angle on an old story. And of course, marketability  will the film sell? Its called the movie business, after all.Im writing on several television shows: a Deon Meyer thriller which is being turned into a series for M-Net, a sci-fi series for a big network (about which I cant yet disclose details), and a sitcom for SABC.Im also developing three new films under my own production company banner, PaperJet Films, for which we just got development funding.Im also slowly being pulled back into theatre work, writing a new musical and a play.I want audiences to be moved to understanding, to empathy. I hope they walk away from the film with a new insight into how the systems of government and civil society are anti-poverty. I hope it opens a conversation about the families of drug addicts, about what they have to go through, and gives more people the bravery to reach out, support and talk to the families they know who are going through the same thing.Read more about the latest South African films here
LIMERICK  A majority of township supervisors reluctantly agreed Tuesday night to making the township responsible for plowing a traffic circle no one wants to ensure a massive 30-acre development project at the intersection of Ridge and Swamp pikes moves forward.

Called Limerick Town Center, the project calls for 308 senior living units and 160 townhomes as well as three retail buildings that have 32,000 square feet of space on the first floor, with apartments above.

Last month, the township supervisors granted preliminary site plan approval for the project, moving it one step ahead in the land development process.

In order for Montgomery County to approve the senior living portion, called Arcadia, the township needs to agree to plow snow off the roads created in the project, as well as Swamp Pike to the New Hanover Township line, Limerick Township Manager Dan Kerr told the supervisors Tuesday night.

The county would pay the township a rate-per-mile for the plowing that adds up to as much as $6,500 per year, a rate more than PennDOT pays the township to plow state roads, he said.

The county would own the roads and be responsible for their maintenance otherwise, with the exception of painting the lines on the traffic circle. That too would fall to the township, Kerr said.

The traffic circle will be created as the result of a plan to shift Swamp Pike so it meets Ridge Pike at a T-intersection with Lewis Road, eliminating the need for difficult left-turns at what is now two intersections.

It was required by PennDOT and no developer or public official has expressed a fondness for the idea at any of Limericks supervisor meetings, least of all Supervisor Ken Sperring, who runs a towing business and has plowed snow for 20 years.

That traffic circle is a disaster and trying to plow it while traffic is moving through it will be a disaster, said Sperring.

Not surprisingly, Sperring was the supervisor who refused to support the idea of the township being responsible for that particular piece of plowing. PennDOT wants the traffic circle, let them plow it, he said.

Supervisor Kara Shuler said with a township road crew, or township contractor, doing the work, it would get done more quickly and the township would have more control over it, making the roads safer for our residents during snowstorms.

Supervisors Patrick Morroney and Thomas Neafcy agreed and Kerr said he would inform the county. Supervisors Chairwoman Elaine DeWan was absent.

The agreement must still be approved by the Montgomery County Commissioners, he said.
I hope not, but theres reason for concern. This morning, the White House announced:

Members of the Administration are hosting a listening session about the clemency process. The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review.

Here is the list of those who were to participate:

INTERNAL ATTENDEES: Jared Kushner

JaRon Smith

Brooke Rollins

Chris Liddell EXTERNAL ATTENDEES: Rachel Barkow

Brittany Barnett

Alex Gudich

Mark Holden

Shon Hopwood

Van Jones

Paul Larkin

Leonard Leo

Kim Kardashian West

Mark Osler

Jessica Jackson Sloan

Judge Kevin Sharp

Ivanka Trump wasnt on the list. However, she was present. Ivanka tweeted:

Great working session today at the White House on ways to improve the clemency process with policy leaders and criminal justice reform advocates.

The accompanying picture included Van Jones. He had the biggest smile, as well he might.

Chris Hull reminds us that Jones is so far to the left he was eased out of the Obama White House. Mike Pence, among others insisted that he be fired. Yet, there was Jones today at the Trump White House advising the administration on leniency for fentanyl dealers.

Incredible.
Today, the New York Times ran on op-ed by an anonymous person it described as a senior official in the Trump administration. The title of the piece was I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration. The subtitle was I work for the president but like-minded colleagues and I have vowed to thwart parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.

I want to offer the following observations about this piece.

First, the sentiments expressed in it arent as unusual as they might seem from the melodramatic title and subtitle. Its not that unusual for White House officials to believe, and tell others including some in the media, that they are all that stands between the nation and chaos, or worse, the president would unleash if left to his own devices. Its not unusual for White House officials to create a trail (though not in published articles) distancing themselves from an administration that may fail. The Times op-ed is an example of one or both of these scenarios, albeit an extreme one.

Second, its entirely unprecedented, I believe, for a White House official to express such sentiments in an op-ed.

Third, therefore President Trumps team needs to find out who wrote this piece, even if it requires using a polygraph. Once Trump identifies the guy, he should fire him (I assume its a male).

Fourth, the op-ed is short on examples in which Trump was about to do something awful, only to be thwarted by the senior official or like-minded colleagues. By contrast, its not short on Trump successes  effective deregulation, historic tax reform, a more robust military and more.

Examples of where Trump ranted (or tweeted) about doing something awful are probably not hard to come by. But Im talking about cases where Trump actually make a potentially disastrous decision, only to reverse that decision, or have it thwarted by his staff. There may well be some, but the author doesnt provide any.

Fifth, the only case in which he attempts to do so is Russia policy. He writes:

On Russia, for instance, the president was reluctant to expel so many of Mr. Putins spies as punishment for the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain. He complained for weeks about senior staff members letting him get boxed into further confrontation with Russia, and he expressed frustration that the United States continued to impose sanctions on the country for its malign behavior. But his national security team knew better  such actions had to be taken, to hold Moscow accountable.

But the actions could only be taken by Trump (or with his sign-off). What the author has served up is neither a scoop nor an extraordinary occurrence.

Everyone knows Trump is reluctant to slide into further confrontation with Russia. Thus, it is natural, though misguided in my view, that he push back against any measure that will lead to, or deepen, such confrontation.

Fortunately, as I see it, his national security team persuaded Trump to take the actions he was reluctant to take. Thats a success story and one that reflects well on the administration.

The author never stops to ask (1) who appointed the national security team and (2) who made the final decision on expelling Russian diplomats. The answer to both questions is Donald Trump.

Sixth, the author concludes:

Senator John McCain put it best in his farewell letter. All Americans should heed his words and break free of the tribalism trap, with the high aim of uniting through our shared values and love of this great nation. We may no longer have Senator McCain. But we will always have his example  a lodestar for restoring honor to public life and our national dialogue. Mr. Trump may fear such honorable men, but we should revere them. There is a quiet resistance within the administration of people choosing to put country first. But the real difference will be made by everyday citizens rising above politics, reaching across the aisle and resolving to shed the labels in favor of a single one: Americans.

This statement is so disconnected from political reality, and to some extent from the real John McCain, that Trump shouldnt need a polygraph to determine the author. How many people can Trump have in senior positions who would write such pabulum?

There is no reaching across the aisle to unite with the vicious, increasingly socialist Democrats. They are out to destroy Trump, or any president Republicans prefer, at all costs. They are out radically to transform America.

The author, if he actually believes what he wrote in his conclusion, should be fired for that reason alone.
We have closely followed the killing of Justine Damond by Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor on July 15 last year. The case has received international attention and justly so. Noor has now been charged homicide and manslaughter charges here in state court. Noor is also the defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by Justines family here in federal court. I wrote recently about the federal lawsuit in Notes on the Damond complaint. When I spoke to the familys attorney in the case about the federal lawsuit, Bob Bennett told me that the use of deadly force in the case was the worst [hes] seen since he took his first such a case in 1980. He paused to do the arithmetic for me: Thats 38 years.

Noor has moved to dismiss the criminal charges against him with the result that the prosecutors have responded with evidence of Noors unfitness to serve as a police officer. The Star Tribune story covering the evidence comes under the understated headline Filing: Mohamed Noor raised red flags among psychiatrists, training officers. Libor Jany reports:

According to prosecutors, Noor was flagged by two psychiatrists during the pre-hiring evaluation in early 2015 after he exhibited an inability to handle the stress of regular police work and unwillingness to deal with people, according to the records. The report went on to say that Noor was more likely than other police candidates to become impatient with others over minor infractions, have trouble getting along with others, to be more demanding and have a limited social support network. They showed he reported disliking people and being around them. And yet, since Noor exhibited no signs of a major mental illness, chemical dependence or personality disorder, he was deemed psychiatrically fit to work as a cadet police officer for the Minneapolis Police Department, the filing said. Given the inconsistencies in the report, a civilian human resources employee followed up with the psychiatrist two weeks later, seeking clarification. The psychiatrist, Dr. Thomas Gratzer, stood by his recommendation.

And thats not all, of course:

Elsewhere in the filings, one training officer noted in a report that on Noors third to last training shift in the spring of 2016, he at times didnt want to take calls, instead driving in circles when he could have assigned himself to them. The calls were for simple matters, such as a road hazard or a suspicious vehicle where the caller was unsure of whether the car was occupied. In another instance, an officer noted that Noor told a 911 caller that he would follow up on a report of a possible burglar, but never did. The field training officer later said that it bothered her that Noor never bothered to check the area, because police are bound to do our due diligence on this job.

Here we come to the evening of July 15, 2017:

The documents also outlined the events leading up to the shooting, saying that Noor had gone from his off-duty job of working seven hours of security at a Wells Fargo branch to his shift, which went from 4:15 p.m. to 2:15 a.m. the following morning. Prosecutors said the shift included a report of a woman with dementia wandering at the area of 50th and Xerxes. An hour and a half later Damond would call 911 from the same location to report a woman in distress. In both cases, multiple 911 calls were made in an effort to have police arrive more quickly, and in both, the officers cleared the call in minutes without investigating further. After responding to Damonds call, Noor and his partner, Matthew Harrity, rolled down the alley with their guns drawn. They stopped at the end of the alley, when Damond apparently approached the vehicle and Noor fired his weapon. Prosecutors said there is no evidence that Noor saw Damond or tried to warn his partner that hed drawn his gun and was preparing to fire. Nor, they continued, did he attempt to tell anyone to stand back, show their hands, or identify themselves. He made no attempt to identify a threatening situation, let alone de-escalate one, the motion said. If the defendant had made an inquiry into the circumstances, he would have realized Ms. Ruszczyk was an unarmed woman who had called 911 twice to report a possible crime, and who wanted to speak to him and Officer Harrity before they drove away, having conducted only the most cursory, less-than-two-minute investigation into her calls.

The thread hanging from todays story bears on the obstacles in the path to Noors hiring that must have been removed to get a Somali officer on the force. Janys story doesnt touch on this point or allude to any such issue.

I have used the word kakistocracy to describe what this case reveals about governance in the city of Minneapolis. Todays Star Tribune story puts an exclamation point on this aspect of the case. It will cost the city dearly in the familys case. In another understated aspect of his story Jany concludes: Legal experts have said the Damond suit could produce a record payout.
We are approaching the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Oslo Accords this coming September 13. The accords of course resulted in the return of Yasser Arafat from his Tunisian exile to rule over the Arabs on the West Bank and Gaza. I think it is fair to say that they have proved to be a disaster, yet Israel has never had a public accounting for it.

Shimon Peres was the Israeli Foreign Minister who was awarded the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his involvement in the Oslo Accords. Rabin, Peres, and Yasser Arafat all shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for Oslo.

I think Oslo was a profound mistake deriving (on the Israeli side) from idealism and cynicism, but you can be sure that Peres never counted it as such. Indeed, Peres reaffirmed the wisdom of Oslo in the supposed witticism I heard him utter at his 2012 Presidential Conference in Jerusalem: In order to make peace, you have to close your eyes. You cannot make love or peace with open eyes. I am quite sure that this is a quote that will not bear comparison with At the summit true politics and strategy are one.

From the perspective of Rabin and Peres, how can the Oslo Accords be deemed cynical (as I deem them)? I think that they imported Arafat to rule over the Arabs because they counted on him to do the dirty work that Israelis would not do to pacify the West Bank and Gaza.

Indeed, Rabin said so explicitly in September 1993, when he told an Israeli paper that the beauty of empowering Arafat was that Arafat could operate bli bagatz uvli Btselem  Hebrew for without the Supreme Court and without Btselem (i.e., the new Palestinian Authority wouldnt be hampered by such niceties as due process of law and human-rights NGOs). Rabin and Peres had that right, but their belief that Arafats actions would further Israels interests in peaceful resolution of conflict was also  how to put it?  not very smart.

On the twentieth anniversary of the Oslo Accords, Michael Freund took a look back and called for repentance on the part of the Israeli architects of Oslo. By all measures, Freund wrote, Oslo was a disaster. It divided the people and land of Israel, failed to bring peace, established a hostile Palestinian entity, weakened the Jewish states deterrence posture and empowered Hamas. The Israeli architects of the Oslo Accords failed to heed Freunds call, but the Israeli public has awoken to their folly.

In Rabins case, at least, there must be some deeper explanation for the disaster. Now comes historian Efraim Karsh to ask the question that the intervening years raise in acute form: Israel 25 years after the Oslo Accords: Why did Rabin fall for them? It is the illuminating essay that leads the new issue of the Middle East Quarterly. I learn from Karshs excellent essay that Peress eyes wide shut approach to diplomacy appears to have been a motif in his thought from the beginning of the Oslo process to the end of his life.

Rabin, however, is something else. From Karsh I learn: If Peres and [Yossi] Beilins self-delusion can be partly explained, if not condoned, on ideological grounds, Rabins behavior seems nothing short of the extraordinary. Karsh adds: Unlike Beilin, he did not equate peacemaking and reconciliation with appeasement and self-flagellation; unlike Peres, he had no pipe dream of a budding New Middle East. Rather he was a quintessential representative of the activist approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict dating back to Zeev Jabotinsky and David Ben-Gurion, which upheld that peace would only follow upon Arab realization of the inability to destroy Israel by force of arms.

So what happened? This is the burden Karsh undertakes to explain in his excellent essay. Jeff Jacoby notes Karshs essay in his Boston Globe column The White House handshake that made everything worse. Jonathan Tobin has related thoughts in his JNS column 25 years of illusions about Oslo.

NOTE: Karsh is also the author of the excellent 2016 essay The Oslo disaster as well as several related books. Jeff Jacoby supplied me the Hebrew quote from Rabin that I cite above a few years back. Jeff added in the accompanying email message: I think it can be argued that that very cynicism might have led Rabin to call a halt to the Oslo appeasement once it was clear how badly it was failing. He almost certainly wouldnt have gone on to recognize Palestinian statehood or propose shared control of Jerusalem. In Rabins last speech in the Knesset, a few weeks before he was killed, he talked about the Oslo process and specified, among other things, that any final-status agreement would not include a Palestinian state, or a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, or withdrawal to the 1967 lines. Karshs essay supports Jeffs observations.
Were in the middle of a busy news week, but I dont want to overlook something President Trump tweeted on Monday. It was this:

Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff

I dont think theres any plausible way to read this tweet other than as a statement that the GOPs need to hold congressional seats should affect how the Justice Department goes about enforcing the law. Trump is publicly reprimanding the Attorney General for not taking partisan political interests into account in exercising his law enforcement obligation.

Trump isnt just attacking Jeff Sessions. Hes attacking the rule of law. His tweet is, as National Review says, a call for a noxious politicization of the Justice Department.

Its true that Justice Department policy disfavors indicting candidates within 60 days of an election in which they are standing. The so-called 60-day rule isnt written. Rather, as the DOJ inspector general explained in a report on James Comeys conduct, its a general practice that informs Department decisions.

But it couldnt inform DOJs decisions to indict Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins. These indictments were handed down more than 60 days before the election.

Even the Obama Justice Department was willing to indict leading Democrats with no apparent pushback from Obama. It indicted then-Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., an ally of Obama in Illinois politics. It also indicted Sen. Robert Menendez.

The New Jersey Senator was not facing a reelection campaign at the time. However, his indictment and subsequent trial (which resulted in a hung jury) are playing a role in his fairly tight reelection contest this year, and predictably so.

The indictments of Hunter and Collins are for serious, swampy crimes  using campaign funds ($250,000 of them) for personal use and insider trading, respectively. The charges were brought by Republican-appointed U.S. Attorneys. Well see what happens as the case moves to trial, but right now indicting the two looks like good work indeed.

Trumps tweet seems bound to make his life more difficult. As National Review says, the tweet likely will create enormous obstacles to confirming a new Attorney General when Trump finally sacks Sessions. Senators, including at least some key Republicans, will fear that the presidents nominee intends to carry out the desire of his boss to use the DOJ to advance GOP interests. Longtime Republican operative Ed Rogers makes the same point.

But the key objection lies to Trumps tweet lies in the presidents call for the corruption of law enforcement.
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It is analyzed that, the global naphthalene sulfonate market is likely to expand at a significant pace in the coming years. This growth is driven by various factors like increasing demand from and agriculture and building & construction industries. For acquiring a precise insight associated to this advancement across the naphthalene sulfonate market, a new research report titled Naphthalene Sulfonate Market-Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2018  2026, has been added to the wide database of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE). This assessment analyzes and forecast the target market at the global and regional level, together with detailed offering concerning revenue (US$ Mn) and volume (tons) during the period between 2018 and 2026.For More Information Request Free Sample on Naphthalene Sulfonate Market Report @ https://www.mrrse.com/sample/16689 Naphthalene sulfonate is utilized as a concrete additive across the building & construction industry, since it enhances the complete performance of concrete admixtures. Furthermore, it also plays an important role in the agriculture sector, as it is utilized as a primary dispersing agent. The report covers each of these factors together with other market aspects to enlighten the readers about the actual scenario prevailing in the global naphthalene sulfonate market. According to research findings, the global naphthalene sulfonate market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 3.7% during the forecast period.The report includes a detailed value chain analysis, which delivers an all-inclusive view of the global naphthalene sulfonate market. Furthermore, Porters Five Forces model is also included to assist the readers in understanding the competitive landscape present in the global market. The later section of the assessment focuses on the market segmentation based on form, end-use and application. Each of the segments are analyzed on the basis of present and future trends. Further, the regional segmentation talks about the current and expected demand for naphthalene sulfonate in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Later on, readers can access information linked to insights from market opportunities covering various stakeholders across the value chain. Also, a detailed competition landscape including key players dominating the target industry is also present to understand the level of competitiveness. Some of the key players examined in the research include names like Enaspol a.s., Kao Corporation, Giovanni Bozzetto S.p.A, GCP Applied Technologies Inc., Huntsman Corporation, Koppers Inc., Himadri Speciality Chemical Limited, Nease Co. LLC, Akzo Nobel N.V., PCC SE, BASF SE, MUHU (China) Construction Materials Company Limited and Acar Kimya VE Tekstil Sanayi Ticaret Ltd Sti.Browse Complete Detail on Naphthalene Sulfonate Market Research Report with TOC @ https://www.mrrse.com/naphthalene-sulfonate-market About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords. MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.
Eyewitness News (EWN) recently appointed media veteran, Mahlatse Mahlase, as Group Editor in Chief.

Mahlase, who will join the EWN newsroom from October 2018, has been a journalist for the past twenty years working as reporter, Africa affairs correspondent and as a political editor at various media houses in South Africa. In 2016, Mahlatse was elected chairperson of the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) and was re-elected in 2018. Mahlatse lists media freedom and the emphasis of allowing journalists to practice freely and independently as one of her primary focuses for both her role as editor and representative of the rights of journalists.We are thrilled to have Malatse join the team, her vast experience will be a huge asset to EWN. We look forward to marrying the EWN mantra of delivering balanced news to communities in an engaging way with her passion for storytelling in all formats, said Karl Gostner, Primedia Broadcasting, Chief Operating Officer.I am excited to be joining a national brand like Eyewitness News, especially at an exciting time in South Africa as we head to the 2019 elections. It is also an opportunity to return to my first love which is radio, where I cut my teeth as a young journalist. I look forward to working with the team of hardworking journalists, who are always in front of the curve in delivering breaking and accurate news, said Mahlatse Mahlase, newly appointed Group Editor in Chief, Eyewitness News.For the latest news and information from Eyewitness News visit: www.ewn.co.za
PR-Inside.com: 2018-09-06 09:04:01

Patron Appoints Matteo Busa to Lead 200-300m of Equity Investment in Italy

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Patron Capital, the pan-European institutional investor focused on property-backed investments, has appointed Matteo Busa as a Partner, leading Patrons investments in Italy.

Matteo joins from GIC, the Singapore Sovereign Wealth Fund, where he was a Vice President. He spent 10 years with GIC in total, including eight in London, where he originated and managed investment opportunities across multiple countries and asset classes, working on both the debt and equity sides of the capital structure.

Prior to GIC, Matteo spent four years working in real estate investment, at Pirelli Real Estate and then JER Partners.

Matteo will be based in London, with a primary focus on determining and implementing Patrons investment strategy for Italy. With experience across other markets and fund investment, Matteo will also support origination in other European markets and be involved in future fundraising activity.

Keith Breslauer, Managing Director of Patron Capital, said:

The Italian market is very important to us and we intend to invest at least 200-300m of our funds there. We have invested in Italy for the past 18 years and, given recent regulatory actions within the banking system, we see significant future opportunities. Matteo brings with him new relationships and new ideas that will position us well to take advantage of Italys ongoing recovery.

Matteo Busa said:

Patron has an exceptional reputation in terms of its approach, the quality of its investments, the returns it delivers and its company culture. Successful opportunistic investing requires creativity and a range of on-the-ground contacts and Im looking forward to working with the team to take advantage of the opportunities the Italian market brings, while also supporting the companys activity in other markets across Europe.

-ends-

Notes to Editors

About Patron Capital Partners

Patron represents approximately 3.4 billion of capital across several funds and related co-investments, investing in property, corporate operating entities whose value is primarily supported by property assets and distressed debt and credit related businesses.

Since it was established in 1999, Patron has invested in over 75 investments and programs involving over 65 million square feet (6 million square metres) in 16 countries, with many of these investments realised.

Investors represent a variety of sovereign wealth funds, prominent universities, major institutions, private foundations, and high net worth individuals located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The main investment adviser to the Funds is Patron Capital Advisers LLP, which is based in London, and Patron has other offices across Europe including Barcelona, Milan and Luxembourg; the group is comprised of 76 people, including a 42-person investment team.

Further information about Patron Capital is available at www.patroncapital.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180906005

Matteo Busa joins @PatronCapital as Partner to lead 200-300m of equity investment in #Italy
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Thursday said that 4.1 billion passengers were transported in 2017 compared to the 3.8 billion passengers recorded in 2016.

The information is contained in the 62nd Edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), the yearbook of the airline industrys performance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos obtained a copy of the document after it was released by IATA from Montreal, Canada.

NAN observed that the document showed that the 2017 performance represented an additional 280 million trips (7.8 per cent increase) by air compared to 2016.

It said: Worldwide annual air passenger numbers exceeded four billion for the first time.

It is supported by a broad-based improvement in global economic conditions and lower average airfares.

At the same time, airlines connected a record number of cities worldwide, providing regular services to over 20,000 city pairs in 2017, more than double the level of 1995.

Such increases in direct services improve the industrys efficiency by cutting costs and saving time for both travellers and shippers alike.

According to the document, airlines in the Asia-Pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers with 36.3 per cent market share (1.5 billion passengers).

The document also showed that Europe recorded 26.3 per cent market share (1.1 billion passengers} while North America recorded 23 per cent market share (941.8 million passengers).

It also indicated that Latin America recorded 7 per cent market share (286.1 million passengers).

Also, Middle East recorded 5.3 market share (216.1 million passengers) while Africa recorded 2.2 per cent market share (88.5 million passengers).

The document also showed that the top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passenger kilometers flown were: American Airlines (324 million) and Delta Airlines (316.3 million).

Others are the United Airlines (311 million), Emirates Airlines (289 million) and Southwest Airlines (207.7 million).

It also stated that citizens of United States of America topped the travellers chart with 632 million passengers followed by the Peoples Republic of China with 555 million passengers.

Also India had 161.5 million passengers, the United Kingdom recorded 147 million passengers and Germany had 114.4 million passengers.

The Director-General of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac, commenting on the development said, In 2,000, the average citizen flew just once every 43 months. In 2017, the figure was once every 22 months.

Flying has never been more accessible. And this is liberating people to explore more of our planet for work, leisure and education. Aviation is the business of freedom. (NAN)
A major tussle for supremacy in the Kannywood film industry has finally come to an end with Adam Zango reconciling with Ali Nuhu.

The two Kannywood giants have been entangled in squabbles that divided the industry into two factions.

Zango posted a picture on his Instagram wall kneeling before Ali Nuhu. He wrote, King Ali, I am down on bended knees, please forgive me.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnW-bDnFEIs/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Ali Nuhu, winner of the 2018, AMVCA award for best indigenous movie of the year maintained his silence as he did not respond to the post.

Both fell apart over a scandal involving Rahama Sadau in February 2015.

Rahama had accused Zango of demanding sexual favours to feature her in his movie, Duniya Makaranta.

She wrote at the time on her Instagram wall, that Declining Zangos love advances will not take me down.

However, she later apologised to Zango, who had denied the allegation. Some said Rahama Sadau was instigated by Ali Nuhu to disparage Zango.

Colleagues of the two actors confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that they stopped speaking after the Sadau incident. The two actors however settled their differences in July, 2015.

But the two actors fell out again two years after.

An ally of Ali Nuhu later told PREMIUM TIMES that Zango had always seen Ali Nuhu as a threat to his career.

The reconciliation took place in Kano before the chairman of the Kano State Censorship Board, Ismaila Afakallahu Naabba.
A South Sudanese military court on Thursday ordered the government to pay 4,000 dollars in damages to each of the five foreign aid workers raped in a 2016 hotel raid on a hotel in the capital Juba, as well as to the family of a local journalist killed in the attack.

The judge, Brig,-Gen. Knight Briano found 10 soldiers guilty of rape and murder during a rampage in the capital in 2016 and sentenced them to 14 years in prison.

The attack at the Terrain Hotel in the capital was one of the worst on foreign aid workers since South Sudan was plunged into conflict in 2013.

Eleven soldiers were on trial but one was set free due to the lack of charges against him.

The court also ordered the government to pay 51 head of cattle to the relatives of the local journalist who was killed in the raid.

The hotel owner is also due to receive compensation for the destruction and looting of his property.

The case was widely seen as a test of will by the government of President Salva Kiir to bring accountability in the military that has long drawn accusations of widespread rights violations and a culture of impunity.

Mr Briano delivered his judgment before a group of diplomats, aid workers and officials who have filled the military courtroom Thursday to hear the ruling.

The charges stem from the attacks in the Terrain Hotel in Juba in 2016, when dozens of soldiers broke into the compound, killed a local journalist and gang-raped five international aid workers while UN peacekeepers nearby did not respond to pleas for help.

(Reuters/NAN)
President Adama Barrow of The Gambia told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday that his countrys previous ties with self-ruled Taiwan had been a huge mistake.

China resumed ties with Gambia in 2016, after it ended formal relations with Taiwan, claimed by China as a wayward province with no right to diplomatic relations.

Mr Barrow who made this known during a meeting with President Xi, thanked China for all the help it had given subsequently.

Two other African countries have since followed suit, Sao Tome and Principe and Burkina Faso.

China has stepped up pressure on Taiwans remaining allies  now down to just 17, most of them poor countries in the Pacific and Central America  as it seeks to limit the democratic islands international footprint.

Meeting Xi in Beijing following this weeks China-Africa summit, Barrow told Xi that his country had been wrong to maintain relations with Taiwan.

The facts prove that Gambia previously maintaining so-called diplomatic relations with Taiwan was a huge mistake, Chinas foreign ministry cited Barrow as saying.

China has helped us improve communications, roads and transport conditions, things that in all the years gone past we wanted to do but were unable, he added.

Barrow said he believed that with Chinas cooperation, Gambia will achieve speeded-up development.

For years, China and Taiwan have tried to poach each others allies, often dangling generous aid packages in front of leaders of developing nations.

The kingdom of eSwatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is Taiwans only remaining African ally.

It has shown no desire to ditch Taipei even as China steps up efforts to woo it.

Chinas renewed diplomatic tussle with Taiwan has also dragged in the U. S.

While Washington only recognizes China, it has strong unofficial relations with Taiwan and is its main arms supplier.

In August, the U.S. attacked El Salvadors decision to abandon Taiwan in favor of China, saying the change was of grave concern and warning that China was offering economic inducements to seek domination. (Reuters/NAN)
American forces in Africa will soon escalate their war against militants in the Sahel by using armed drones to attack them, reports an American news website on global affairs.

The attacks will be launched in the coming months from new facilities which the United States Air Force is building at Agadez in central Niger, says the Washington-based Foreign Policy news service.

The U.S. military has killed al Shabaab militants in drone strikes in Somalia for some time. But Foreign Policy reports that in the Sahel, the drones have until recently been based in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, and used only to collect intelligence.

The service says the government of Niger asked the U.S. to deploy armed drones after an ambush last November in which militants claiming to be from Islamic State in the Greater Sahara killed five Nigerien and four American troops.

The deaths of American Special Forces soldiers in a little-publicised war in which they were not assigned to combat roles led to an extensive inquiry in Washington.

The inquiry found that a lack of training, proper equipment and preparation for the mission had contributed to the deaths. The 46 U.S. and Nigerien troops involved had been outnumbered three to one in show of force never previously mounted by the militant group.

(EDITORS NOTE: This report was first published by our partner, AllAfrica. We have their permission to republish).
U.S. President Donald Trump will attend a ceremony at the 9/11 memorial in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday to mark the 17th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, according to reports.

The First Lady, Melania Trump, will join the president at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, reports said.

The memorial is located where one of the four hijacked planes crashed during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Nearly 3,000 people died during the attacks.

Mr Trump observed the somber anniversary for the first time as president in 2017.

He also participated in last years 9/11 observance at the Pentagon.

(Xinhua/NAN)
The Chief Medical Director Of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Lawal Khalid, says the hospital will carry out its first open heart surgery by the end of September.

Mr Khalid, a professor, disclosed this to journalists in Zaria on Thursday, saying the exercise will be the first in northern Nigeria.

He said the surgery will be conducted in collaboration with a University in Ghana and University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu which is a national centre for open heart surgery in Nigeria.

According to him, the surgery was the culmination of several years of careful planning and upgrade of the capacity of ABUTH.

ABUTH set up a cardiothoracic centre with a state of the art facility to carry out the open heart surgery.

It will be the first time that an open heart surgery would be conducted in the northern part of the country, he said.

He further explained that as a centre of excellence for oncology treatment, the hospital is at the verge of establishing a linear treatment centre for advanced radiation treatment of cancer patients.

We are receiving between 1500 to 1800 new cases of cancer every year and we are committed to ensuring that we give our patients the best possible treatment available to mitigate their pains where we cannot cure them, he added.

On the challenges facing the hospital, Mr Khalid said the hospital lacks basic diagnostic equipment like CT scan and poor funding for overhead costs.

He however said said the management was working hard to address the challenges with the resources available.
While the presidency has kept mum on the controversial railway scholarship awarded relations of senior government officials by the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), President Muhammadu Buhari met with Nigerian students undergoing training on railway transportation in China.

The meeting held while Mr Buhari was in China for the 7th Summit of the Forum on China  Africa Cooperation (FOCAC 2018).

In a post on Twitter by the Presidency, Sunday, the training on railway transport was one of the key elements of the infrastructure partnership between both nations.

The tweet read, President @MBuhari today met with Nigerian students undergoing training on railway transportation in China. One of the key elements of the infrastructure partnership with the Chinese Govt is training / capacity-building for Nigerian professionals.

President @MBuhari today met with Nigerian students undergoing training on railway transportation in China. One of the key elements of the infrastructure partnership with the Chinese Govt is training / capacity-building for Nigerian professionals. #PMBinChina2018 #PMBAtFOCAC7 pic.twitter.com/J506qjzgdi  Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) September 2, 2018

On July 30, this newspaper reported how the CCECC had concluded the selection of successful applicants for its controversial railway scholarship.

The scholarship, which involved sponsorship of over 40 Nigerian undergraduate students in Chinese universities to study railway engineering is part of the CCECCs corporate social responsibility, having benefitted from a major railway and other construction projects across Nigeria.

Rather than make the scholarship available for all eligible Nigerian youth, the scholarship slots were simply shared among wards of select government ministers and other top public officials.

The top officials, who benefitted were identified in a document used by the construction firm, CCECC, to permit selected candidates to participate in the scholarship interview.

On June 20, at the ministry of transport which coordinated the application process, scores of young Nigerians, who travelled long distances from all over the country, besieged the ministry complex to submit applications for the scholarships.

To their amazement, authorities at the transport ministry rejected their applications, saying no such opportunities exist. The youth then protested, and at a point blocked the ministrys entrance.

To douse escalating tension by the restless youth, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Sabiu Zakari, issued a press statement dismissing claims that the Chinese firm was offering railway engineering scholarships.

What Mr Zakari did not state in his press release was that his office had shared the available scholarship slots among top government officials.

Regardless of the claim that the scholarship was false, the youth stormed the CCECC headquarters the following day, which was the scheduled date for the commencement of the interviews.

The Chinese firm was conducting interviews for about 42 shortlisted applicants in the scholarship scheme that would see successful candidates train as railway engineers in China.

On getting there, the applicants found out that, without a signed letter by a minister or permanent secretary, they were not be allowed to participate in the interview.

Only candidates who had been nominated by top officials were allowed for the interview.

In July, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Independent Corruption Practices Commission (ICPC) commenced investigations into the allegations.

Although PREMIUM TIMES cannot establish that the students visited by Mr. Buhari are the same connected youth who got their scholarships to China through the controversial process, the ICPC was told by CCECC officials that only the candidates nominated by ministers and other top officials of the Buhari administration were allowed to take part in the selection interview and made the final list.

The CCECC also told the investigators that the names of students finally selected had been submitted to the Chinese Embassy for processing, sources in the ICPC told PREMIUM TIMES.

CCECC Headquaters in Abuja.

According to sources, the CCECC was invited on Thursday, July 5. It sent its representatives and they cooperated with the investigators, the source said.

They confirmed everything you people wrote. It was exactly as you reported, a source at the agency told PREMIUM TIMES.

The CCECC officials also reportedly told the investigators they had concluded the selection process from the list which they claimed they got from the transport ministry.

The controversial railway scholarship is, however, not the only one being provided by the CCECC, which is apparently focusing on education as its CSR.

Shortly after the scandal, the CCECC and Chinese government offered more scholarships on railway transportation to university students in the country.

One of such was the award of scholarships to 30 students from the Ahmadu Bello University.
A presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has listed what he considers corruption cases in the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

Mr Abubakar, who defected from the governing All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party stated this in response to a statement by the presidency.

The presidency in a statement on Wednesday reacted to an interview Mr Abubakar granted a news media on the uncompromising stance of Mr Buhari.

President Buhari is uncompromising in the quest to restore probity and accountability to public office. He is uncompromising in cleaning the rot Nigeria was consigned into pre-2015, thus the war against corruption is being fought without fear or favour, Femi Adesina, Mr Buharis spokesperson wrote.

Mr Abubakar, in a statement by his media office, however, disagrees with the statement.

If the above is true, then why did the presidency do nothing as the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, went to court to secure a kangaroo court order to stop the Senate of the National Assembly from investigating who recalled, reinstated and double promoted Abdulrasheed Maina?

If President Buhari is uncompromising in cleaning the rot Nigeria was consigned into pre-2015 then how come the latest Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International reveals that Nigeria is more corrupt today than she was in 2015, having moved 12 steps backwards in Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index, moving from 136 in 2014 under the PDP to 148 today?

Again, we ask how uncompromising a President can be when he allows a minister accused of forgery to remain at her job?

Mr Abubakar then alleged that Mr Buhari is surrounded by officials who do not tell him the truth.

It appears that the president is surrounded by people who have become his echo chamber and are telling him what he wants to hear, otherwise no one in his right mind would call an administration that increased the price of petrol while at the same time paying more subsidy on the product than the previous government which it accused of subsidy scam, uncompromising against corruption.

It is only common sense that if the price of petrol increased by 68% from 87 per litre to 145, then the cost of fuel subsidy should also reduce, especially as the price of crude oil also reduced. However, by some strange mathematics, the Buhari administration pays a whopping 1.4 trillion on subsidy per annum according to the minister of state for petroleum. This amount is almost twice what the Jonathan administration paid and yet President Buhari accused that administration of scamming the nation.

Where is the transparency in that? No wonder the minister of state for petroleum resources revealed in a leaked memo that $25 billion worth of contracts were awarded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation under the watch of the supervising minister of petroleum, President Muhammadu Buhari.

He also made reference to the controversial $43 million found in a home in Ikoyi, Lagos. The Nigeria Intelligence Agency has claimed ownership of the money, but its former head is being prosecuted by the anti-graft agency, EFCC, for alleged fraudulent deals with the money.

More than a year after the probe panel which probed the fantastically corrupt Ikoyi apartment billions affair, nobody knows who owned the money and how $43 million in cash was housed in a government linked flat. So much for an uncompromising attitude to corruption! Mr Abubakar said.

Mr Abubakar also insisted on his stance that Mr Buhari is power-drunk.

The presidency had in its Wednesday statement took exception to such characterisation of the president.

But power drunk? No! And being a man who will not be ready to leave power without a fight? Never! Not President Buhari, who has demonstrated in many ways that he is a committed democrat, though also a retired military general. He has no apologies about that. Through a sterling military career, he served Nigeria with his heart and might, before venturing into partisan politics, Mr Adesina had written.

In his reply, Mr Abubakar said, On the issue of being power-drunk, President Buhari is his own witness against himself. It goes without saying that a president who publicly boasted that the rule of law can be suppressed against certain individuals is not only power drunk, but dictatorial.

By that statement made by President Buhari at the opening ceremony of the 58th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, Nigerians now understand why this administration continues to flout court orders. This is what happens when a president thinks he is above the law.

In conclusion, we advise the presidency to familiarise itself with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, in order to understand that the Rule of Law and the fundamental human rights of all Nigerian citizens are guaranteed by that document which the president swore to uphold on May 29, 2015.
The Cape Town and the Western Cape Convention Bureau, a division at Wesgro, is proud to announce that Cape Town has been selected to host the 2024 International Astronomical Union General Assembly.

First for Africa

A giant leap for South Africa

The 10-day event, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), can expect around 3,000 delegates with an estimated economic impact of R192m for the provinces economy.The support for the bid from not only astronomers but also industry, academic institutions and government has been phenomenal, and its success is a testament to what we can accomplish through our united efforts. For astronomers, this is like winning the bid to host a Football World Cup or the Olympics. Its time for Africa! We are excited and look forward to welcoming our colleagues from around the world to the first of hopefully many IAU General Assemblies on African soil. says Dr. Shazrene Mohamed, member of the bid committee, and astronomer at the South African Astronomical Observatory and the University of Cape Town.National Minister of Science and Technology, Kubayi-Ngubane, congratulated the bid team and commented that wins of this nature highlighted mega projects undertaken locally including the MeerKAT; Square Kilometre Array; African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network; Southern African Large Telescope, and HESS and HIRAX telescopes.Currently 99 years old, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) is comprised of professional astronomers from all over the world and seeks to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation.Patricia de Lille, the executive mayor, commented, Cape Town is proud to be the first host on African soil of this prestigious gathering of astronomers. Choosing Cape Town as the host confirms the city as the events capital of the continent. This past year the city has played host to hundreds of events, and the eight signature events contributed more than R3bn to the local economy and created more than 20,000 temporary jobs. Since 2012 the Citys events budget increased from R4m a year to over R40m a year. We look forward to growing the industry even further in the run-up to 2024.Alan Winde, minister of economic opportunities, commented, This is the first time in its history that the general assembly of the International Astronomical Union will be held in Africa so we are thrilled that this conference, the largest gathering of astronomers in the world, will take place in our province. With major astronomy projects such as the MeerKAT and the Square Kilometre Array currently being developed in the country, South Africa is taking big steps in the world of astronomy. Hosting this conference in the Western Cape will allow engagement with some of the worlds foremost minds in the field, and will also contribute to our conference and business tourism economy. We look forward to hosting the delegates in a few years time.Tim Harris, Wesgro CEO, added, "Business events, such as this conference, not only provide a significant economic impact on our local tourism economy but also helps grow the knowledge economy. The arrival of many astronomy experts in the Cape will provide an invaluable opportunity for the transfer of niche and specialised skills, connecting researchers in Africa with the rest of the global community. This, in turn, serves as a catalyst to stimulate additional trade and investment opportunities."The value of the bid has also been recognised by the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB) who supports the bid through its subvention fund. SANCBs Chief Convention Bureau Officer stated in a final comment, In recent years South Africa has played a leading role in the Astronomical sphere. Therefore the hosting of the International Astronomical Union  General Assembly in 2024 will contribute significantly to the growth of our continent.
Three Nigerian police officers have been sacked and another one suspended over the unauthorised raid of Edwin Clarks house in Abuja on Tuesday, the Force Headquarters said Thursday.

Mr Clarks home in Asokoro neighbourhood was reportedly stormed by officers in the afternoon. The officers reportedly said they were hunting for illicit weapons which the elder statesman allegedly stockpiled at his residence.

Mr Clark denied the allegations and demanded an immediate apology. Inspector-General Ibrahim Idris immediately distanced himself from the raid and sent top-level police officers, including a deputy inspector-general, to apologise to Mr Clark at his residence.

The 91-year-old said he had accepted the apology, but expressed strong doubts that the men who carried out the raid were unauthorised.

As messages of outrage and condemnation poured in on Wednesday morning, the police announced that three inspectors were already facing orderly room trial for their roles in the raid. A fourth officer, who is an assistant superintendent of police and the most-senior of the four, was queried and is now said to be on suspension, according to a statement released shortly after 2:00 p.m. by police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood.

Mr Moshood, an acting deputy police commissioner, said the informant whom the police blamed for providing false information to the officer had been charged to court. The police said the officers were misled into conducting the raid by the informant, but said they failed to carry out their due diligence before acting on the tip-off, which now backfired.

Read the full statement by the police below:

PRESS RELEASE

DISMISSAL FROM SERVICE OF THREE (3) OF THE POLICE PERSONNEL AND INTERDICTION OF THE ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE INVOLVED IN THE UNAUTHORIZED, ILLEGAL AND UNPROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT IN THE SEARCH OF ELDER STATESMAN, CHIEF EDWIN CLARKS RESIDENCE IN ASOKORO, ABUJA ON THE 4th OF SEPTEMBER, 2018.

The Inspector General of Police has approved the dismissal from the service of the Nigeria Police Force, three (3) Inspectors namely: (i) AP/No. 18858 Inspr Godwin Musa (ii) AP/No. 225812 Inspr Sada Abubakar and (iii) AP/No. 225828 Inspr Yabo Paul, and the immediate interdiction of AP. No 158460 ASP David Dominic who were involved in the unauthorized, illegal and unprofessional misconduct in the search of the residence of Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Clark in Asokoro, Abuja on 4thSeptember, 2018.

2. Ap. No. 158460 ASP David Dominic was queried and being investigated for Discreditable Conduct, Negligence of Duty and an Act unbecoming of a Police officer which constitute Serious Misconduct and if not checked can be inimical to the image of the Nigeria Police Force and violation of fundamental human rights of the Elder Statesman as provided for in the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended. The gravity of the offences against the officer is serious in nature and dismissal from service is imminent.

3. Consequently, the Inspector General of Police approved that AP. No 158460 ASP David Dominic, be on interdiction from Service pending the determination of his case by the Police Service Commission.

4. The IGP also approved and upheld the dismissal from service of (i) AP/No. 18858 Inspr Godwin Musa (ii) AP/No. 225812 Inspr Sada Abubakar and (iii) AP/No. 225828 Inspr Yabo Paul, after the trio were tried under Oath in Orderly Room Trial for Discreditable Conduct, Illegal duty, Disobedience to Lawful Order and other misconduct contrary to the Rule of Law.

5. The suspect (Informant) Ismail Yakubu from Waru Village, Apo District, Abuja, has been charged to Upper Area Court Mpape, Abuja for giving false information and telling falsehood that misled Police action.

Ag. DCP JIMOH MOSHOOD

FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

FORCE HEADQUARTERS
Nigerias Attorney General, Abubakar Malami, has questioned the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to entertain a suit seeking to stop the Senate President Bukola Sarakis removal.

Following Mr Sarakis defection from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in July, some senators and others intensified calls for his resignation and warned of a possible removal if he fails to resign willingly.

In an application brought before the court on August 27, two senators, Isa Misau and Rafiu Adebayo, asked the court to prevent any action intended to sack the senate president.

The application has 11 respondents including the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Speaking during Thursday session, Mr Malamis lawyer, Abdullahi Abubakar, informed the court about the application challenging its jurisdiction.

But the presiding judge, Nnamdi Dimgba said he would attend to the application alongside other applications on the next adjourned date, September 19.

Other respondents in the suit include the Senate, the senate president, his deputy, the senate leader, his deputy, and the minority leader.

Others are: the Clerk of the Senate, the Deputy Senate Clerk, Inspector General of Police and the State Security Service.

The APC insists Mr Saraki would be removed if he does not resign.

However, the party has only a slight majority in the 109-member Senate where two-third is required to remove a senate president.

However, another case filed by Rafiu Adebayo, one of the appellants in this matter has been adjourned till September 13.

The Senate is currently on recess while Mr Saraki is now a presidential aspirant of the PDP for next years election.
The Ondo State Government has challenged the ruling of the Court of Appeal which said earlier this year that the Freedom of Information Act is also applicable to all the 36 states of the federation, bringing the country closer to a permanent decision on a law state governors are fighting to weaken despite its popularity.

The Speaker of Ondo State House of Assembly and the Auditor-General have filed a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court, saying the Akure Division of the Court of Appeal erred when it ruled in March that the state cannot continue to deprive residents of audited government accounts following the enactment of the Freedom of Information Act.

The June 4 appeal notice, filed by lawyers at Ondo State Ministry of Justice, insisted the FoI is a federal statute and state governments, as independent federating units, cannot be subjected to its enforcement. The lawyers argued that the language of the FoI law was not in the exclusive or concurrent legislative list, which makes it a residual function for which states are allowed to exercise discretion on whether to implement or not.

The term information or freedom of information is neither in the executive legislative list nor the concurrent legislative list of the second schedule to the Constitution, the lawyers argued in their submission to the Supreme Court. The power of the federal government to make law only extends to matters or items listed in the executive legislative list or the concurrent legislative list.

Consequently, the state concluded that the FoI law is a residual matter only for which states have legislative competence to approach.

Specifically, the state said the three senior judges who decided the matter at the Court of Appeal did not understand the difference between public record and information, saying the Constitution distinguished between both.

The Nigerian Constitution defines exclusive list as areas the federal government has exclusive legislative powers. There at 68 of such items, which range from defence and foreign affairs to maritime and patents.

Concurrent legislative list includes issues that both the federal and state governments share legislative powers, ranging from health and education to road and housing. Where there is a collusion in exercising concurrent powers, the federal governments authority will supersede.

Leftover powers not specifically listed in either exclusive or concurrent legislative list are considered residual and this could include matters on traditional titles. State governments often exercise powers on issues on the residual list, and courts can intervene if there is a clash with the central government.

The lawyers also raised a string of technical objections to the decision of the Appeal Court, including an affidavit they said was not properly filed and a relief which the judges granted but which they argued was out of their purview.

The notice was filed about 10 weeks after the Court of Appeals decision, which came in a lawsuit filed by Martins Alo.

Mr Alo, a journalist and public policy expert, resident in Akure, the state capital, approached Ondo State High Court to compel state government to release its audited report from 2012 to 2014, saying he needed the information to properly access how public funds are utilised in the state.

Williams Akintoroye of the Akure Division of Ondo State High Court ruled in 2016 that Mr Alo cannot stand on the FoI law to demand how the state was using public funds, saying the law was not applicable to states and the request was not in public interest to begin with.

Mr Akintoroye also awarded a damage of N10,000 against Mr Alo, which he said must be paid to the state for wasting its time and resources by bringing the suit.

Mr Alos lawyers appealed the ruling on behalf of their client, arguing that Mr Akintoroyes judgement was faulty and that their client was acting in public interest.

The appellate court panel, which included Uzo Ndukwe-Anyanwu, Obande Ogbuinya and Ridwan Abdullahi, rejected Mr Akintoroyes ruling and agreed with the appellant that the FoI was applicable to states and it was in public interest for the state government to release its audited report.

Mr Ndukwe-Anyanwu, who wrote the unanimous opinion, said Mr Alo has a right to act on behalf of the public to obtain the information from state authorities. He also quashed the N10,000 fine imposed by the lower court.

In a democratic dispensation, such as the Nigerias, the citizens have been proclaimed the owners of sovereignty and mandates that place leaders in the saddle, Mr Ogbuinya said in his concurring opinion.

The citizens have a right to know details of expenditure of public funds generated from their taxes, the senior judge added.

Before filing the appeal notice at the Supreme Court, Ondo State authorities had declined fresh request for the release of the audited report from Mr Alos lawyers, according to documents seen by PREMIUM TIMES. The lawyers, Femi Emodamori and Co., had written to the auditor-general on May 5, asking him to comply with the Court of Appeal ruling and immediately disclose the audited account of state government as indicated in the lawsuit.

In a reminder letter on September 4, Mr Emodamori, who is the senior partner at the law firm, said the auditor-general risked contempt charges by continuing to withhold the information despite the Court of Appeal ruling.

They are put there to manage our resources and now they do not want to be accountable, Mr Alo told PREMIUM TIMES by telephone Thursday night.

Two lawyers who examined the notice of appeal at the request of PREMIUM TIMES Thursday evening said the grounds adduced by the state were too weak and may not hold at the Supreme Court.

This is a distinction without a difference, said Liborous Oshoma, a legal practitioner in Lagos. The idea that public record and public information are not synonymous is an argument that has no substance.

Mr Oshoma said the appeal was a waste of state resources, one that was unnecessary because the FoI law is one of the most progressive enactments in Nigerias recent history.

It is unnecessary use of public funds. Any government that is transparent should be willing to give information to the public, failing to do so is suspicious in itself, Mr Oshoma said. A government that is progressive would not be finding it difficult to implement a law like a FoI that would enhance development more than anything else.

The lawyer said it was baffling that the states are not objecting to the law for any faulty provisions, but only because they are afraid of the enlightenment it would engender.

They are not saying the law is not good, they are only saying it doesnt apply to them because they know citizens would be more educated on how public funds are spent, he said. The law is meant to enhance transparency and accountability, and its defeat for any reason would only drive Nigeria backwards.

Inibehe Effiong, another Lagos-based lawyer and civil liberties advocate, said Ondo State authorities did not get their argument right, and the appeal would crumble as a result.

The is no difference between public documents or public records or public information, Mr Effiong said. And in constitutional law, issues are given very liberal meanings.

The Supreme Court has not given a date for hearing on the matter, both parties in the matter told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday night. An Ondo State official told PREMIUM TIMES the state might get support from Lagos State Government when hearing commences on the matter at the Supreme Court.

Lagos State, which is perhaps the most notorious amongst the opaque states depriving residents of basic details of government operation, has continued to fight the FoI law despite being ordered to comply by its courts. Like Ondo, Lagos has also appealed judgments for it to open its books, and was recently found to be defiant of verdict of the Court of Appeal in Akure.

The case between Mr Alo and Ondo State may be the first the Supreme Court would take up on FoI, which was signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. It was not immediately clear whether appeals from other states would reach the Supreme Court before hearing starts on the one from Akure, or whether they would be consolidated if they arrive together.

Taiwo Olubodun, a lawyer at Ondo State Ministry of Justice who co-filed the appeal notice, said the state has a strong case with the argument that information or freedom of information is neither in exclusive nor concurrent legislative list.

We have a strong case, he said. He declined to take further questions, saying everybody should wait until we file our full argument when the Supreme Court opens for trial on the matter.

Still, all the lawyers agreed the law is what the court says it is, and it is always good to challenge matters in court.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday lamented the growing division in Nigeria, warning that the country risks drifting into anarchy if nothing is done quickly to curtail the division.

He said Nigeria has never been so divided as it is now and lamented that the nation is at the verge of collapse.

Mr Saraki, a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), spoke at the Government House, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State where he met the governor, David Umahi, and members of the PDP in the state.

He said he chose to begin his consultation tour in Ebonyi because of his quest for inclusiveness in governance.

He commended the state governor for his developmental strides and leadership prowess.

There is a high level of uninclusiveness in the country. We must choose leaders that have capacity to move the country forward. What you are seeing in Ebonyi is not by chance, it is because your governor has capacity and that is why you are witnessing development.

How then can you choose a man with capacity in your state without choosing also a leader with capacity at the national level?

We will fight poverty, we will fight corruption too and not do a selective corruption fight. We will develop solid minerals in Ebonyi State. We will bring private investors into the country and turn around youth involvement in governance by bringing youths to governance, he said.

Responding, Mr Umahi described Mr Saraki as a refined Nigerian and defender of democracy as well as friend to Ebonyi State.

The governor reiterated his earlier promise to return power to Abakaliki bloc in 2023 after his second term, adding that his administration remains focused on the developmental agenda.

We will handover a state that is most beautiful, best economy and richest in the country, he said.

He commended Mr Saraki for standing firm despite challenges, and urged that the National Assembly must work together to unite the country and turn around its fortunes.

He called on the Senate President to look into the costs of projects in the country to stop profligacy in execution of projects in the country.

Earlier, members of the state executive council, led by the deputy governor, Kelechi Igwe, had presented to Mr Umahi the governorship nomination form they purchased for him.
An Ikeja Magistrates Court in Lagos on Thursday remanded two commercial drivers, who allegedly killed a Bureau De Change (BDC) operator, Victor Thorpe, after robbing him of $80,000.

The accused, Monday Okoh, 50, and Johnbull Friday, 35, whose residential addresses were not provided, are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, robbery and manslaughter.

The Chief Magistrate, A.A. Fashola, who did not take the pleas of the accused, said the duo should be kept behind bars pending the advice of the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Fashola adjourned the case until November 26 for DPPs advice.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Michael Unah, told the court that the men, while armed with a locally made pistol and other offensive weapons, robbed the late Victor Thorpe of $80,000.

Mr Unah told the court that the accused committed the offences on July 27 at about 12.40 p.m. at Bonny Camp Roundabout, Victoria Island, Lagos.

According to him, the accused, while riding on a motorcycle, double-crossed the commercial bus, which the deceased boarded, went inside, snatched the money, and shot him in the chest.

He said that the late Victor Thorpe dropped his car for fear of being trailed, not knowing that the accused were already monitoring him.

The prosecutor said, Thorpe was the only one killed in the bus.

The offences contravene Sections 222, 297 (2) and 299 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The News Agency of the Nigeria (NAN) reports that that section provides life imprisonment for manslaughter, while Section 297 stipulates 21 years jail term for robbery. (NAN)
President Muhammadu Buhari has received assurances from the Joint Venture Partners assigned to construct the 3050 Megawatts Mambilla Hydro-electric Power Plant, that all processes leading to the start of work would soon be completed to pave way for the commencement of the project early next year.

At a meeting Thursday in Beijing with Lyu Ze Xiang, a professor and president of CGCC, the construction company, President Buhari asked to be briefed on time lines for the commencement of work, following his highly successful meeting with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.

The Nigerian President, who likened the Mambilla to Chinas Three Gorges Dam, said given the significance of the project to Nigerias socio-economic development, there was a need for its speedy completion.

I am very pleased with the concern you have shown for the significance of this project, he told the head of the construction giant, adding, I would like you to ensure its speedy completion.

Mr Xiang informed President Buhari that Nigerian officials and the project consultant would meet in two weeks to address the questions raised by President Xi for more detailed and updated feasibility and sustainability studies. He said a team had already been set up to work on the financing aspect.

We fully understand the importance of this project to the economic and social wellbeing of Nigeria. In two weeks, we will sit down with the parties for the economic and sustainability analysis. It would take about four weeks to conclude the update, he assured.

According to the lead contractor, pre-commencement work, would thereafter begin, dealing with access to site and putting in place the necessary support infrastructure such as power, water and transportation.

Our target is to commence the project early next year, he told Mr Buhari shortly before the Nigerian leaders departure at the conclusion of his six-day official trip to China.
The federal government on Thursday admonished the media to stop denigrating the person of President Muhammadu Buhari through their platforms.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the admonition when he paid advocacy visit to the Abuja office of the Peoples Daily newspaper to drum support for national campaign against fake news.

Mr Mohammed, who was reacting to a recent editorial published by Punch newspaper, said while the press was free to criticise the president and the administration, such criticism must not be to smear the person of the president.

There was an editorial in an otherwise respected national daily a few days ago that without any scintilla evidence, they denigrated the person of Mr President.

Make no mistake about this, the media is free to criticise any President but not to denigrate anybody.

If you have the facts, please come out. How can anybody say Mr President favoured one group than any other?

The President of a country, irrespective of the party or tribe which he comes from, is the symbol of the country.

When you denigrate him, you are denigrating yourself. We therefore want to appeal to the media organisations to desist from this.

Some of them are consumed by hatred and bitterness that they throw cautions to the winds. This is not healthy either for the media or for the country, he said.

The minister stressed that fake news was beyond publishing what was not true.

When you hide under editorial to pursue agenda which are driven largely by sentiment, emotion, vengeance and bitterness, it does not augur well for the country, he said.

Mr Mohammed said the issue of herdsmen and farmers clash in Nigeria was largely being driven by fake news.

The minister reiterated that the clash had little or nothing to do with ethnicity and religion; rather a fall out of demography, climate change and in some cases, criminality.

He urged the media to be vigorous and circumspect in looking at the issue before arriving at erroneous conclusion.

In defending the position, the minister explained: If you remember in 1960 the country population was 45 million today we are 190 million hence the struggle for scarce resources.

Lake Chad used to occupy 25,000sq km in 1963, today, the same lake has shrunk to 2500 sq km yet 35 million live from Central African Republic, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria depend on the lake.

The Lake is the natural source for their fishing, irrigation farming and water supply.

This is the tension we are seeing. It has nothing to do with religion or ethnicity.

The minister also gave the example of Zamfara State where he said the country had lost more lives to cattle rustling than those killed in Benue, Plateau, Taraba States.

He said both the rustlers and the owners of the cattle in the Zamfara were Fulanis and Muslims.

How do we input religious and ethnic motives into this? It is the duty of the media to look at this and interrogate it very seriously.

It is a pity that the purveyors of fake news have not relented. They are perfecting their strategy to de-market this administration and it is so sad that some main stream media have joined in this, he said.

Mr Mohammed also gave the recent fake report that 48 soldiers were killed as a result of Boko Haram insurgent activities.

He said even when the military had denied it vigorously, the media houses, including a respected international media organisation that published the story had not come out with any proof.

When lives are lost, the military has the obligation to inform the family of the deceased so they cannot cover up.

We should give respect to the gallant men and women in uniform who are daily sacrificing their lives for us to sleep. When you file this kind of report they are demoralised, he said.

The minister said the rise in the phenomenon of fake news was because it was difficult by naysayers to fault the Buharis administration on performance.

Whether on issues of security, infrastructure, fighting corruption, agriculture or social investment programes, we challenged anybody to a debate.

We will tell them exactly what we have done, he said.

Mr Mohammed said fake news was a global issue and each country had different approach to combating it including the UK that was contemplating legislating punitive fines on fake social media reports.

He however reiterated the position of the federal government not to coerce or censor but appeal to the sense of responsibility and patriotism of the media.

The Editor-in-Chief of the Peoples Daily, Hameed Bello, thanked the minister for the visit and gave the assurance of the medium to keep fighting against the menace of fake news.

(NAN)
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is hallucinating on its recent claims of defection.

The PDP on Wednesday in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it has concluded discussions with six governors of the APC and 27 of the governing partys members in the National Assembly to defect.

The PDP spokesperson said the planned defectors have secured the mandates of their constituents to make the move ahead of the 2019 general elections.

This claim is coming after the large defections that hit the APC in favour of the PDP about two months ago. Three state governors, a senate president, and several lawmakers defected from the APC to the PDP.

The APC in its statement Thursday said it is now clear that the PDP has assumed the role of comic relief ahead of the 2019 General Elections.

While the PDP hallucinates on APC members defection to the PDP, the APC is consolidating to go into the 2019 General Elections as a smarter, more united and stronger political fighting force.

While the PDP wallows it its cooked up tales on the state of the nation, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration-led APC administration is focused on bettering the lives of Nigerians, addressing infrastructure needs, revamping the economy, restoring our rank in the comity of progressive nations, confronting the challenges we face as a nation and generally repositioning the country in line with the Change Agenda promised Nigerians.
Nigerians at home and abroad have taken to social media to lament their experiences at the hands of commercial banks, who they accuse of exploitation.

Their concerns range from excessive deduction of bank charges for card maintenance and electronic payments to double deductions of stipulated charges.

In a campaign that began on social media last Monday, many Nigerians called for reforms of the banks.

In 2017, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced a N100 monthly maintenance fee for a naira dominated debit card in the country and also a N50 charge for other months whether the card is used or not.

The apex bank also introduced a N4, 200-per-annum charge on foreign currency denominated cards as maintenance fee and a N50 charge on every cheque leaflet obtained and used.

Earlier this year, the CBN said any bank that deducts monies illegally from a customers account for products and services would be forced to refund the money to the customer with interest. The directive was sequel to complaints by bank customers within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) over excess charges by banks through Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals and other electronic mediums.

But on Monday, a campaign tagged #Reform9jaBanks began on Twitter as a UK-based Nigerian medical doctor, Harvey Olufunmilayo, who started the campaign, lamented the state of banks in Nigeria in comparison with banks in foreign countries.

I have lived in UK a few years now and NEVER has my bank ever charged me one penny for bank transfer. Never. Not (for) once! the bank user stated.

Another Nigeria based in Qatar, Eniola @Henzyshso, stated that banks in Qatar do not charge customers for the use of ATM in any bank, while a university student, Uthman Samad, explained that the United Bank of Africa (UBA) removed double ATM card maintenance fee from his account for almost a year. According to him, the charges were being deducted on a lost ATM card which he has deactivated and renewed a year ago.

Mr Samad alleged that the banks branch manager told him that the problem emanated from the deactivation of his lost card but the bank failed to refund the questionable charges.

Another user, Emere Ogechi @EmereOgechi, a student, in a tweet explained how over N1,000 was missing in her account: Its painful!, my mum once sent me 5k on a Friday to buy a textbook, I had no ATM card yet so couldnt withdraw, they kept on debiting me all through the weekend and by Monday only #3,900 was left. You should have seen me shouting for them to close the account.

I cannot count the number of times @wemabank had made me suffer this kinda heartbreak. Even when I dont use the account for a month talk more getting alerts, they charge for sms and other frivolities, said Agbede Adekunle @AgbedeAdekunleO, another user.

Another bank user, Ife Mayowa @ifemayowa0771, stated: So I use @ZenithBank and every month I am being charged close to #165 to #200 for SMS alert. I went to tell them that I want to deactivate because I cant be paying that much. I want to stick to email.

Asides ATM and card maintenance charges, several persons also protested other unnecessary bank charges.

Jemima Osunde @Jemima Osunde, on her part, called out Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) on charges deducted over transactions made on the counter, while Olowookere Damilola, another user, complained about a N500 questionable deduction made on his account.

However, some of the banks in their reactions to the allegations directed the customers to forward them their details.

Wema Bank, replying a customer, said: Hello @AgbedeAdekunleO, We are however curious about the experience that has left you feeling this way. Please send your complaint via DM along with your account details so we could fix it.

Other banks like GTB, Access bank and Eco bank however did not respond to the allegations, despite being tagged in posts by customers.

PREMIUM TIMES efforts to get their reaction to the allegations also proved abortive Thursday.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of assembling and mobilising thugs who caused chaos at the PDP secretariat on Thursday.

There was a clash at the entrance of the PDP national secretariat in Abuja between alleged supporters of PDP and supporters of APC.

According to Channels Television, the fight resulted in a stampede as people scampered for safety. The situation was quickly prevented from escalating as police officers arrived at the scene and dispersed the crowd with tear gas.

A witness told the television station that the fight started when the PDP supporters spotted someone among them displaying a flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party told the National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, to rein in his party thugs, who the APC detailed to disrupt activities at the PDP National Secretariat.

The whole world witnessed with dismay, how APC thugs, brandishing their partys famished brooms and charms; armed with machetes and other dangerous weapons stormed our national secretariat which has become a beehive of activities and attacked and wounded our members and supporters before they were dispelled by security operatives.

The PDP had repeatedly warned against APCs proclivity for violence and unprovoked attacks, but we never imagined that their desperation for power will drive them to the insanity of attacking our national secretariat.

Intelligence report available to the PDP shows that the thugs were assembled and mobilised from the National Secretariat of the APC, part of the statement read.

The opposition party charged security agencies, who also witnessed this attack, to immediately investigate this development, arrest and prosecute all individuals and officials connected with the attack.

Effort to get the reaction of the APC spokesperson, Yekinni Nabena, were unsuccessful as his known telephone number could not be reached.

A PDP presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has however condemned the attack describing it as uncalled for and undemocratic.

He called on supporters of all political parties to show maturity and allow the democratic process to proceed unhindered in the interest of the parties and aspirants as well as the nation. He also urged his supporters to show restraint even in the face of provocation.

Mr Abubakar commended the police and other security personnel for containing the situation and protecting innocent and law abiding supporters at the venue. He advised that Nigerians should allow peace to reign in order for leadership selection process to be reliable and credible.

He also expressed optimism that with the neutral and effective conduct by the police, there is hope that Nigeria would get the 2019 elections right to the satisfaction of all Nigerians.
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A British member of parliament, Tom Brake, Thursday staged a protest outside the Nigerian High Commission in London to call for the release of Leah Sharibu, CNN reports.

Miss Sharibu was among 110 girls kidnapped February 19 by Boko Haram terrorists from Government Girls Science and Technical College (GGSTC), Dapchi in Bulabulin, Yunusari Local Government Area of Yobe State in the North-east of Nigeria.

The terrorists, however, withheld her, reportedly because she refused to renounce her Christian faith, as the Nigerian government successfully negotiated the release of majority of her fellow victims; apart from the five reported dead during the kidnap.

According to the report by CNN on Thursday, Mr Brake, a Liberal Democrat, staged a sit-in outside the Nigerian High Commission in central London to put pressure on the Nigerian government.

There cannot be a clearer example of someone whose human rights are being ignored than that of Leah who is being detained just because she has maintained her Christian faith, he said, according to the report.

Also taking part at the in the protest organised by advocacy group, Church World Service, was Reno Omokri, a former aide of former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan.

In a video he posted via his twitter handle later, Mr Omokri demanded the release of Miss Sharibu.

What we are trying to do we trying to call Rebecca Sharibu, Leahs mother. I have spoken with her earlier and i just want to speak with her again so she can tell Nigerians and people all over the world how she feels and tell people who supported this cause to help free her daughter, Mr Omokri said in the tweet.

Today is 200 days that Leah has been with Boko Haram in adduction when she should be at school. I have a daughter at the same age as Leah and it moves me to know Leah should not be in captivity with Boko Haram because she refuses to be a Muslim.

Mr Omokri called on President Muhammadu Buhari to facilitate the release of Mr Sharibu but not to use her to win electoral cheap points.

President Muhammadu Buhari, you should do everything in your power not to score political point keep her and when it is time for elections let her go now, Mr Omokri said.

Leah Sharibu

We have been praying everyday for Leah an d now we have heard an audio that she is alive, Leah should be at school and she should be at her desk not in captivity because she refuses to be a Muslim. I need everybody to join us to put pressure on the Nigerian government to get Leah back.

He condemned the terrorist group for the continuous detention of the girl, stating that the act is anti-Islam and anti-Quran.

What you are doing is wrong; it is anti-Islam, anti-Quran. Release Leah Sharibu, he said.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has challenged the Acting National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Yekini Nabena, to a debate on national issues on any national television.

Mr Saraki presented the challenge, alleging that many people in the media believe he (Mr Nabena) is a robot and does not have a face.

His statement was in reaction to another earlier released by Mr Nabena on behalf of the APC where he said Nigerians are tired of Mr Sarakis retrogressive politics and deserve no more.

He had also said Mr Sarakis presidential declaration is his tactic to deflect attention from the deluge of issues he deals with particularly ahead of the 2019 General Elections i.e. pressure to reconvene the National Assembly, a fast shifting political order in Kwara State, among others.

The APC spokesperson described the senate president as an abysmal failure and incompetent candidate of leadership as well as guilty of budget padding, among others.

A Presidential aspirant who promises to create jobs and turn around the economy at the national level, must have done so in a state he served as Governor for eight years. We challenge Saraki to give the nation his scorecard as a Kwara State, part of the statement read.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Mr Saraki said he will not be distracted by the antics of an upstart who lives in Abuja but waits to sign press statements composed for him from Lagos.

He further said he does not have any credibility issues except the ones concocted by the putative demagogues to whom he (Mr Saraki) has become a nightmare.

Meanwhile, Mr Yekinni Nabena should know by now that many people on the media believe he is a robot and has no face. Here is an opportunity for him to come out of his hiding and come on a national television to debate all the issues he has raised with one of the aides of the Senate President.

We hope he will take up this challenge and stop behaving like a masquerade. He is free to choose any independent TV station of his choice.

When his masters show their face, we will debate all the issues they have raised and the ones they may wish to even concoct, the statement said.

The lawmaker wondered what APCs business with an aspirant of another party was.

The truth is APC is scared stiff of the possibility of a Saraki candidacy. Fortunately, they have no role in deciding that.

When contacted, Mr Yekinni accepted the challenge as he asked him (Mr Saraki) to take on the leadership of the APC.

Is it his aides that will argue for him? What about himself? I am challenging him to come out and debate on national issues with the leadership of the APC.

He has declared for presidency. If he feels he knows what he will go and do there, he should come out and tell Nigerians. Its not by bringing his aides. Are they the ones running for presidency?

APC is ready to take him up on any issue. He believes that he doesnt have any issue apart from his personal and selfish interest, he said.

Mr Yekinni further stressed that the senate president doesnt care about Nigerians because if he does, he wont shut down national assembly for months.

Both the lawmaker and the opposition party have verbally attacked each other since Mr Saraki announced his exit from the APC as well as his declaration to run for the office of the president in the 2019 general election.
SKC Ogbonnia, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Party (APC), has threatened to sue over its mode of primaries for elections.

Mr Ogbonnia is one of the politicians who frowned at the APCs resolution to adopt direct primaries.

Controversy has continued to trail the resolution of the latest APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in which direct primaries for elections in the party was deliberated on and adopted.

Direct primaries involves the participation of all party members in the selection of party candidates.

Indirect primaries, on the other hand, involves delegates, who many believe are influenced by state governors. Party leaders at local levels, political appointees as well as elected officials are assigned to elect party candidates in indirect primaries.

Mr Ogbonnia told PREMIUM TIMES that he has written to the partys national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, asking it to void direct primaries.

He also said the party has two days to respond, after which he might take the matter to court.

He explained that he had written the said letter because the APC (and the press) have failed to display other opponents of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The press could have echoed the opponents of Buhari to make this thing somehow competitive but each time the press wants to write, they act like no other person exists.

Our democracy is not going to develop if we are only promoting the incumbent.

If the press were really promoting everybody, it would have been competitive  where Buharis people will be bringing out all the money theyve been piling but right now, theyre not spending any money whatsoever on the primaries because the press has determined that there is no competition.

I sent a letter to Oshiomhole to see if they can void the direct primaries because I believe at the indirect primaries, well be able to speak. Buhari will speak and I will speak and the nation will listen to two of us.

Im waiting for a response. They have two days to respond to me and if they dont respond, I may go to court. The direct primary is more democratic but if you do direct primaries for the presidential race, its not free and fair, he said.

In the letter, Mr Ogbonnia demanded that future NEC meetings before presidential primary should involve all presidential aspirants or their representatives.

He frowned at Mr Oshiomhole for not extending invitations to the two other presidential hopefuls for the last NEC meeting, besides Mr Buhari.

He also appealed to the party to reduce the nomination fees to the barest minimum so that individuals, particularly the youth and women, who aspire to run for office can afford the fees.

The presidential aspirant, who believes that the N45 million cost of nomination form was targeted at him, however, vowed to pick up his form and contest against the president.

Even though I can afford to pay the 45 million, where I have problem is, can other people afford it? Can other people really pay?

I know for a fact that the N45 million is targeted against me but Im going to pay. This is no longer democracy because its not free and fair.

We want to understand if that is a level playing ground before we know the type of resources to put into the campaign, he explained.

He also faulted the partys timetable for primaries as be argued that there was not enough time for candidates to mobilise themselves for campaign.

If you want to talk about direct primaries, will you talk about it just ten days to the election day? For 36 states? 774 local governments? Its mind-boggling.

President Muhammadu Buhari

How can you announce for primaries yesterday and say the closing date is Monday? I know how many weeks Buhari had to look for money to borrow in 2014 and now theyre giving people only three days to come up with the money.

To make matters worse, youre giving them only one week to campaign across the country. This is no longer democracy, its impunity.

Reacting, the spokesperson of the APC chairman, Simon Ebegbulem, defended the choice of direct primaries.

He said there had been complaints overtime on how governors and others influence indirect primaries.

He questioned the status of Mr Ogbonnia, stating that it is only when an aspirant gets his/her (nomination, interest) forms that he is seen as an aspirant.

Its not true, in fact this is the first time I am hearing that because majority of party members are seeking for these direct primaries because they feel that it can only throw up a popular candidate, not favourable candidate and that is the spirit of that direct primary. The party believes direct primaries will help eliminate all these unnecessary complaints.

Indirect primary, which is delegate system which has been used in the past, if you observe, the governor will sit down with some leaders, they set the delegates, they give them money and say you vote for this person and that is it. This is what people have been complaining about, that they have been marginalised.

So the party is trying to liberalise those things to give opportunity to everybody to remove the party from the hands of godfathers, he said.

He added that those kicking against it are those who feel that they are in control of the party and want to continue to hold the party in various states.

On the exorbitant cost of forms he said the high cost of organising direct primaries was a prime reason.

These direct primaries are cost (intensive) and you dont expect people to fund it. Its the party that is going to fund it and its very expensive. So the plan is whatever money they are going to get from there (the forms), they will use it. We dont want to rely on individuals to fund it.
With the figure, the nations voting population will rise to 84,271,832.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will print 16,500,192 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) and make them available for collection by citizens ahead of the 2019 general elections.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the regular meeting of the commission with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Yakubu said that for a period of 16 months, from April 27, 2017 to August 31, it registered a total of 14,551,482 new voters for its nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

He said if the figure was added to the existing register of 69,720,350 voters, it meant that the nation now had a voter population of 84,271,832.

He explained that the figure might drop slightly after the commission must have run the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

In addition to fresh registration, the Commission is also processing 769,917 requests for intra and inter-State transfers as well as 1,178,793 requests for replacement of lost, damaged or cards with misspelt names or incorrect personal details of voters as required by law.

This means that the Commission has to print a total of 16,500,192 PVCs and make them available for collection by citizens ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Already, the Commission has printed the PVCs for those registered in 2017 and delivered them to states for collection.

I can also confirm that the PVCs for 2.7 million voters registered in the first quarter of 2018 have been printed and will be delivered to the states next week.

We wish to reassure Nigerians that every registered voter will have his/her PVC available for collection before the general election.

The collection of PVCs will continue until one week to the 2019 general elections. We shall ensure that the process of collection is simplified with minimum inconvenience to citizens.

We will also ensure that information about the collection of PVCs is widely disseminated.

Already, we are partnering with telecommunication companies to send bulk text (sms) messages to citizens for the collection of their PVCs.

He added that after running the AFIS, the Commission would present a detailed analysis of the voter register, not only by state and gender, but also by age group and occupation.

Mr Yakubu appealed to Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the ongoing nationwide display of the particulars of new voters for claims and objections as required by law.

By doing so, citizens will be helping the Commission to further clean up the register and purge it of all ineligible registrants as required by Section 12 of the Electoral Act.

The Commission has consistently shared information on the voter registration exercise with Nigerians by publishing the figures as well as detailed breakdown by states and gender.

Mr Yakubu said the meeting would consider consequential steps the commission needed to take as it continues to prepare for the 2019 general elections.

He said the Commission would also consider options to fast track the distribution of the PVCs before general elections, including the devolution of collection to Ward level.

We however wish to restate the Commissions policy that no PVCs will be collected by proxy. Registered voters must endeavour to collect their cards personally.

We are working hard to ensure that no PVC goes into the wrong hands.

On the commissions preparation for the Osun State Governorship election, Mr Yakubu said all processes and activities were going according to our timetable and schedule of activities released almost a year ago.

The last major activity was the presentation of the Voters Register to each of the 48 political parties fielding candidates in the election, giving detailed information of the distribution of the 1.6 million registered voters by Local Government Areas, Wards and Polling Units.

Mr Yakubu said the Commission had been working on a multi-faceted approach to the menace of vote-buying and other sundry electoral malpractices.

We will introduce changes to the election-day administration of our polling units, in addition to the electronic tracking of our sensitive materials.

We are discussing with the security agencies on a more vigorous enforcement of the law against voter-inducement.

Furthermore, we are working with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and other stakeholders on voter education and sensitisation.

This is the third election we are conducting in Osun State since the 2015 general elections.

The first was the Ife Central State Constituency and the Osun West Senatorial District. We wish to reassure the people of Osun state that their votes will continue to count.

He assured Nigerians that the countrys elections would continue to meet the requirements of laws, processes and procedures as well as international best practice.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Army on Thursday said it killed many Boko-Haram insurgents and recovered 147 livestock in two separate operations in Jentilo and Gesada villages of Kukawa and Guzamala Local Government Areas in Borno.

Texas Chukwu, Director Army Public Relations, disclosed this in a statement in Maiduguri.

Mr Chukwu said troops of Sector 3 Operation Lafiya Dole, in conjunction with 82 Task Force Battalion, on clearance operations, killed the insurgents when they (insurgents) tried to extort money and rustle livestock belonging to the villagers.

He explained that some items recovered from them include 147 livestock and two AK47 rifles.

He said that the troops returned the livestock to the owners after proper screening and confirmation by the District Head and Civilian Joint Task Force personnel.

(NAN)
The headless body of a mobile police officer has been found around New Township Stadium along Zaria road, in Jos North Local Government Area of the state.

The body was found on Saturday but confirmed by the police on Wednesday.

The state police public relations officer, Tyopev Terna, confirmed that the headless body of a sergeant attached to Sector 1 of Operation Safe Heaven was found.

A captain in the army, Joel Olanrewaju, reported at the Laranto Police Division, that headless body of one sergeant Unana Ishaya, from Mopo 56 attached to STF sector 1, Zaria Road was found.

That the sergeant left the base on the 1st of September in the evening to go and buy suya (roasted meat) and did not return. The corpse has been deposited at the Plateau Specialist Hospital. Investigation is ongoing, the police spokesperson said.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that there was panic around the area following the discovery as police officers combed the area in search of the culprits.

An official at the Farar Gada Market, close to the scene of the incident, also confirmed the discovery.

The deceased was attached to sector 1 of Operation Safe Haven, a multi-security taskforce responsible for restoring peace in the state and the sector is based inside the township stadium. The corpse of the policeman was found behind it (stadium), he said.

Although the police did not provide much details, residents say the murder may have been perpetrated by suspected cultists.

Governor Solomon Lalong recently vowed to help strengthen the criminal justice system to ensure that crime is nipped in the bud in the state which has been crippled by violence and crimes in recent months.
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State said his administration, in the last three years, spent N1.2 billion on payment of stipends to 1,500 group of youth, known as the Youth Vanguard, in the state.

Mr Bello disclosed this at a solidarity rally organised by the youth to endorse the governors re-election bid on Thursday in Minna.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vanguard is a collection of young men and women who volunteer to handle sanitation issues and controls traffic, among other duties in the state.

The governor described the vanguard as critical stakeholders in the development of the state, hence the payment of the monthly stipends from governments coffers.

Its because of the importance of this group to the growth and development of this state that we decided to place about 1,500 of you on monthly stipends, which in the last three years have cost the government over N1.2 billion.

Let me advice that you take all you are doing very seriously; you must ensure our hospitals, clinics and restaurants are kept clean and report cases that are beyond you to the appropriate ministries for sanction.

 You should be tough and strict because you are seen as an authority by virtue of your job; make use of your positions to keep our environment clean, he urged them.

The governor urged the traffic arm of the group to ensure motorists and other road users obeyed traffic regulations, particularly within Minna metropolis to avoid loss of lives.

He also advised them to arrest motorcyclists with unregistered motorcycles operating in the town and hand them over to the appropriate authority.

He further assured the youth that government would soon enroll the volunteers into the states civil service to enable them to become permanent workers in the state.

Earlier, Abdul Musa, Leader of the Vanguard, said that the solidarity rally was to appreciate the governor for the continuous support to the members.

He added that the members would support the re-election of the governor in 2019, adding that over 24,000 members would cast their votes for the governor during the general elections.

(NAN)
Some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the North-central zone have resolved to present a consensus candidate for the 2019 presidential elections.

They said it was time for the zone to produce the next president of Nigeria as it has competent, capable and experienced aspirants that can improve the fortune of the country and her people.

According to a statement by the Director General of Bukola Saraki Presidential Campaign Organization, Wakil Mohammed, the resolution was taken at a meeting held Wednesday evening at Grand Ibro Hotel in Abuja.

While the choice of who the consensus aspirant from the zone will be is yet to be decided, the PDP leaders agreed to engage their counterparts in other geopolitical zones with a view to convincing them to support the consensus aspirants that will be produced by the North-central.

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who addressed leaders from the region, stressed that the region has been a stabilising factor in Nigeria, and from previous experience, it is clear that its leaders have the capacity and will-power to unite and develop Nigeria.

Mr Saraki also said leaders from the North-central have demonstrated great capacity to lead and that they have always performed well on national assignments.

In the last three years, we have struggled and worked to keep the legislature working for the Nigerian people. We need to now lead the country in the right direction. We must create a country that gives opportunity for people to thrive. We need good leadership.

This is because many of the problems that this country is facing is as a result of low performance capacity. We need people who can search for and find the solutions to our problems. We need somebody who can make the country grow, and I believe, that I am this person.

Nigerians need a unifier  somebody who can unite the country and grow the country. At this time, I believe that it is a presidential candidate from the North-central that can do this for Nigeria, he said.

He also called for unity among the leaders of the party.

Earlier, in his opening remarks, the North-central vice chairman of the party, Theophilus Shan, stated that the leaders are a powerful conglomerate that believes in the unity and stability of Nigeria.

We have seen how David Mark held the Senate together for eight years, in the same way that Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has shown courage, leadership and competence in stabilising the 8th Senate over the past three years  which has helped it to record significant achievements. Saraki is representing the North Central region very well, he said.

The meeting had in attendance party leaders from the region, which consisted of former governors, former and serving legislators, members of the business community and the academia.

At present, there are about 14 members of the party jostling for its presidential ticket ahead of its national convention in October.

Of the 14 aspirants, only Mr Saraki, as well as two senators, Jonah Jang and David Mark, are from the North-central.

It is, however, not clear if Messrs Mark and Jang were present at the meeting and in agreement with the resolution.

When contacted, Mr Marks spokesman, Paul Mumeh, declined comment and referred this reporter to the PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, for answers.

Mr Ologbondiyans number was, however, not available.

Also, efforts to talk to Mr Jangs spokesperson, Clinton Garuba, were unsuccessful as he too could not be reached on phone.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara State has zoned the governorship position of the party to the central zone.

Lawal M-Liman, chairman of the party in the state revealed this after the stakeholders meeting held at Government House in Gusau on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Zamfara central zone comprises four local government areas of Gusau, Bungudu, Tsafe and Maru. The zone has never produced the governor of the state since its creation.

Mr Liman said the meeting was called by the party leadership to discuss mode of primaries, zoning of governorship positions and setting up of the committee of reconciliation or consensus among the aspirants for various elective positions.

We have resolved to adopt indirect primaries to produce candidates for various positions of the party. We resolved to set up a reconciliation committee or consensus were necessary, and also resolved that the governorship candidate of the party should be produced from the central zone of the state, he said.

He thanked the stakeholders for attending the meeting. He also thanked them for their cooperation towards the development of the party,

He urged APC members in the state to remain united so that the party could retain power in the 2019 general elections.

NAN recalls that four of the aspirants, considered to be close associates of former governor and a serving senator, Ahmad Sani-Yarima, had earlier met and resolved to support any one among them who emerges as the partys governorship candidate for the 2019 election in the state.

This is coming on the heels of recent development in the state that the serving commissioner of finance in the state, Mukhtar Idris, who is also from Zamfara central is being supported by Governor Abdulaziz Yari for the governorship ticket of the party.

Meanwhile among the four aspirants that met earlier, the current deputy governor, Ibrahim Wakkala, and the speaker of the State House of Assembly, Sanusi Rikiji, are from the central zone. The commissioner of education, Muttaka Rini, is from Zamfara west zone while House of Reps member, representing Kaura-Namoda/Birnin-Magaji federal constituency, Aminu Sani-Jaji, is from the Northern zone. (NAN)
The Senator representing Kaduna Central district, Shehu Sani, has kicked against the adoption of indirect primaries by the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The state executive committee (SEC) of the party Thursday announced it has adopted the indirect primaries for selection of its candidates for the 2019 general elections.

Mr Sani attended the SEC meeting at the partys secretariat on Wednesday where the decision was taken but said he was not given a chance to speak.

Addressing journalists at the Nigerian Union of Journalists Secretariat in Kaduna shortly after the SEC made the resolution known, Mr Sani said as an aspirant, he did not agree to indirect method of conducting primary elections.

Well, adopting indirect primary is the states position and not the final say because our national headquarters requires that every states executive committees must submit a written request signed by states executive committee members, critical stakeholders as well as aspirants to various offices in the state.

So far, out of these three categories of people, the state executive committee has taken its own stand, its left for critical stakeholders and aspirants to state their own position on this matter.

And as an aspirant to the office of senator for Kaduna Central Senatorial District, I do not agree to indirect method of conducting the primaries because of obvious reasons, he said.

Part of his reasons for rejecting indirect primary, the senator said was the manner in which the state congresses were conducted.

It was conducted in such a way that certain individuals were given the opportunity to select the entire executive members from every ward and LGA in the state.

It was not free and fair so I dont think I will be doing justice to myself, to subject myself to general election under that condition.

The second aspect is that there is litigation on the conduct of the congresses and if I subject myself to an election under this condition and I am elected by illegal excos, then the whole thing will be an exercise in futility because it can be nullified by the court.

The safest, fairest and best thing is for us to throw this thing open if you are not afraid of the people that you are aspiring to represent,;subject yourself to election by them, he said.

Mr Sani added that direct primary will end moneybags politics in Nigeria.

It will end politics of godfatherism, it will end moneybags politics and will also end corruption in politics, he said.

He added that if President Muhammadu Buhari believes in direct primary, why should the state go against his interest?

APC cannot change the political landscape of Nigeria by adopting a system of cash and carry.

You pay to be elected, that must be fought if we want to instill discipline and order in our democratic system.

we must make it possible to men of honour, principles and ideas to trump up into office through a credible and transparent process.

The position taken by the party today is a request to the National Secretariat of the party. We have also made our position very clear so it is left for the national secretariat to take a position.

Myself, Senator Sani Saleh and other aspirants are all on the same page. We are for direct primary, he said.

Mr Sani lauded the effort of the national chairman of the party, Adams Oshimhole, for trying to rescue the party from total mess.

According to the senator, but for Mr Oshimhole, APC would have been in a total mess.

Mr Sani had on Wednesday led some other aspirants from the state to the national headquarters in Abuja to campaign against indirect primaries.
BUA Group on Wednesday said it was commencing core drilling in Ebonyi preparatory to establishing a cement plant in the state.

The Group Executive Director of the company, Kabiru Rabiu, announced this in Abakaliki, the state capital, when he led the management team of the firm on a visit to Governor Dave Umahi.

Mr. Rabiu expressed surprised that the state has no functional cement factory despite having enormous limestone deposit.

Limestone is the major raw material used in the production of cement.

Mr Rabiu further noted that coal, a necessary energy needed for cement production is also in abundance in the state.

He noted that the state was also strategically located for cement production.

We are planning to set up a cement plant here in Ebonyi state, the nusinessman said. The state is actually the host of the first cement plant in Nigeria, the NIGERCEM but it is quite surprising that today there is no single operational cement plant not only in Ebonyi state but in the entire eastern part of Nigeria.

We are here because the state is blessed. It has a huge deposit of limestone which is very high in quality. The state also has coal which is a necessary energy needed for cement production.

The state is strategically located; it is close to Enugu, close to Cross River State, close to the Middle Belt. I mean the local government where these deposits are located is very close to Benue, which is in the Middle Belt.

Your Excellency, when we were coming into the state, we saw a road being built with concrete (concrete road) by your administration which goes along way to show your commitment to infrastructure and we also found out about the development of the ring road which is also about 150kms and we learnt that it is going to be built by concrete.

So, naturally, the state is a market itself not only being positioned in a strategic location but also a large consumption of cement is going to be undertaken by the zone.

We are really excited about the state, about the location, about the quality and the volume of the limestone you have for cement production here in Ebonyi State.

Responding, Governor Umahi assured the group of total support by providing enabling environment for the company to operate.

He said the state was proposing a law to protect investors in the state.
Following the resignation of Gboyega Oyetola, the outgoing Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, has appointed Rasaq Salinsile as his new Chief of Staff.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr Salinsile was sworn in by Mr Aregbesola on Wednesday evening at the Government House in Osogbo.

Mr Oyetola resigned after emerging candidate of the governing All Progressives Candidate (APC) for the September 22 governorship election,

The new appointee was the secretary of the APC in the state before his appointment, He is also from the same Iwo Local Government Area as the former Secretary to the State Government and governorship candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP), Moshood Adeoti.

The governor also appointed Tunde Adedeji as the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission.

Aregbesola appoints new chief of staff

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported the resignation of Peter Babalola, former chairman of the commission, who dumped the APC for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The senator representing Ondo North Senatorial District, Ajayi Boroffice, has berated the state executive committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State for adopting indirect primaries in selecting its candidate for the 2019 general elections.

His action comes days after the senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, also opposed the use of indirect primaries by the APC in Kaduna.

On Wednesday, Mr Boroffice said he was not invited to the meeting held in Akure on Wednesday where the decision by the Ondo APC was taken.

The distinguished senator Ajayi Boroffice is not aware of the purported meeting of the All Progressives Congress that held in Akure on Wednesday. He was not invited, a statement signed by his press secretary, Kayode Fakuyi, said.

The statement noted that the decision to adopt indirect primaries for elective positions in the party in the state varies with the correct position of Ondo APC.

The only decision that can be said to be the position of the party is the decision that emanated from wide consultations and engagements with party stakeholders and aspirants, like the National leadership of APC directed, the statement further said.

Whatever decision they take is not effective. At best, it is a proposal. It is subject to approval or rejection by the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC.

As at today, the APC has adopted direct primaries for all elections in Ondo State. If primary election is conducted in Ondo State today, it will be by direct primary.

Senator Ajayi Boroffice [Photo credit: boroffice4ondo.com]

The state executive committee, while adopting indirect primaries, citied insecurity and the lack of a comprehensive membership register for the exercise.

The meeting was attended by the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; his deputy, Agboola Ajayi; Tayo Alasoadura and Yele Omogunwa, senators representing Ondo Central and Ondo South respectively; House of Assembly Speaker, Bamidele Oleyelogun and other assembly members.

The state chairman of the party, Ade Adetimehin, led members of his state working committee to the meeting.

Mr Boroffice has been having a running battle with the state governor and the party. He was accused of anti-party activities following his alleged support for the Alliance for Democracy candidate during the last governorship election.

The senator had backed the decision of the party at the national level to go for direct primaries, which he said would improve his chances of winning the partys ticket to return to the Senate.

The delegates system is preferred by governors, whose overbearing influence on the delegates has been criticised by many.
A woman identified as Kafilat Oriade has committed suicide by drinking Sniper, a popular pesticide used in homes, after allegedly catching her husband with another woman on their matrimonial bed.

The incident occurred on Wednesday evening at Ashafa Street, Isuti Road, Egan-Igando, a Lagos suburb.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the deceased, popularly known as Iya Ibadan, caught her husband, Ismaila Oriade, when she visited him after they had separated for a while due to some family feuds bordering on marital unfaithfulness.

A witness said the deceased had taken the pesticide on two separate occasions in the past but survived after a prompt intervention by the neighbours.

This time around, it was gathered that the deceased took a much larger quantity of the liquid and became unconscious. She was rushed to the nearby Crest Hospital where she was reportedly rejected by the management.

She was then taken to Vintage Hospital along same Isuti Road where she was given some injections to ease potency of the poison.

According to Motunrayo Ajenifuja, a cousin to the deceaseds husband, Vintage stopped attending to her when the doctor discovered that Iya Ibadan had first attempted murder through hanging herself.

The doctor saw marks round her neck as evidence of attempting killing herself. We took her home after many pleas with the doctor who refused treating her.

Attempts to speak with the doctor at Vintage hospital were unsuccessful as he said he was not permitted to speak with the press but admitted attending to the deceased.

When our reporter visited the house of the deceased, it was learnt that her husband had deserted the apartment on hearing about the death of his wife.

When contacted through his mobile number, he said they had long separated prior to her death then ended the conversation.

The first son of deceased, Jamiu Korede, said they wanted to get doctors report before transporting the corpse to her home town in Ibadan.
Eighteen persons who said they are former area managers of Visionscape Sanitation Solutions Ltd, Lagos, on Thursday filed a suit against the sanitation company over unlawful termination of employment without payment of their entitlements.

The suit, marked NICN/LA/462/2018, before the Lagos Division of the National Industrial Court, was filed on their behalf by their counsel, David Fadile.

The aggrieved claimants are: Olakunle Jolayemi, Parkinson Akenuwa, Elizabeth Olatunji, Damilola Owoaje, Remi Akinsuyi, Amiohu Abraham, Anthony Otagba, Ajayi Gbenga, Remi Kola-Abiola and Jane Agwuocha.

Others include: Adewale Oluwole, Oladipo Itanola, Adeyanju Olugbade, Andy Owo, Ademuyiwa Idowu, Julius Femi, Abubakar Kolapo and Borroffice Yemi.

In their statement of claim, the claimants averred that they began their careers as employees of Visionscape Sanitation Solutions Ltd effectively on April 1, 2017, in their respective local government areas of Lagos State.

They stated that during their engagement at the sanitation company, the defendant did not give them any leave or vacation, contrary to the stipulations in their job offer letters.

They said that they worked for seven days every week, including public holidays, because of the demand of their job for the purpose of achieving a cleaner Lagos being the overriding objective of their employer.

However, sometime in April, after they lodged a complaint regarding some of their due allowances, the defendant terminated their employment without due process, they said.

The aggrieved claimants are asking the court to declare that the termination of their employment was null and void, because it is contrary to Section 10 (1) of the Employee Handbook of the Employer and Labour laws of the federation.

The Section states that they are entitled to all their allowances and benefits to the sum total of N7.5 million each and N1 million, being costs of the suit.

That the claimants are still in the employment of the defendant, the defendant having not complied with the provisions in the Employers Handbook.

That the claimants are entitled to their salaries accruable to them from the date their appointment was wrongfully terminated, till when judgment would be delivered in the suit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the case has not been assigned to a judge and Visionscape has not filed their counter-affidavit.

NAN also reports that while the claimants counsel was filing the suit, some aggrieved staff were outside the courts gate with placards asking the sanitation company to pay their entitlements.

On the placards were: Visionscape, we are waste workers, dont treat us like waste.

One of the aggrieved staff, Olakunle Jolayemi, who spoke with journalists, urged the Lagos State Government to come to their aid. (NAN)
Shortly before my mother died, she asked me, If you could take a cruise anywhere in the world, where would you go? I couldnt answer her immediately. Her question had uncorked a train of thought, an internal debate that I had avoided confronting for years.

I am a veteran of the Vietnam War. Over our 17 years of marriage, my wife, Christle, had asked me about my time there, often suggesting we visit Vietnam together. How could we? Vietnam was a place I left in 1966, praying I would never have to return. But Christle sensed the deeper truthI was curious about the place; I wanted and needed to see for myself what life was like today for the people of a country that I left so torn apart by war.

My mother was greatly surprised when I told her that Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam, was where Id go if I could take a cruise anywhere in the world. She remembered what it was like when I returned to the States after the war, how the hostile reception I received at college made me feel out of place and isolated from my peers. However, unbeknown to me, she booked a cruise to Vietnam for Christle and I, and it was my turn to be surprised.

That was like her. Mom was a spontaneous sort who would bestow generous gifts unexpectedly and with pleasure. Sadly, during the time leading up to the trip, my mother died of a blood clot that formed after a fall.

Her gift took on even greater poignancy and meaning. Christle and I flew to Bangkok, where we boarded our cruise ship, Ocean Princess, bound for Vietnam. The crossing between Bangkok and Vietnam was of course familiar territory, having covered the region before on the USS Cavalier.

I was a young naval engineer serving on the Cavalier at the beginning of the war, responsible for maintaining assault boats. We were stationed in the Philippines when the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred, which ignited the conflict with America. The Cavalier was dispatched, along with 1,500 Marines on board, to Vietnam. We patrolled the region for 57 days. Still in the early years of the war in 1966, after making an assault landing at Chulai, we returned to Da Nang running personnel, equipment and supplies, with me going ashore on the assault boats, helping to maintain them during their missions to the different bases wed established.

As Ocean Princess approached Vietnam, I was getting anxious to land. I particularly wanted to see the city of Da Nang, its harbor and the neighboring China Beach recreation area. Arriving ashore, I was struck by the distinct odor of decomposing vegetation, water and cooking street food. That much remained the same as no place in the world smells like Vietnam. The city itself had grown up to a bustling hive of people; who thronged the streets and zipped through them on motorcycles. In one case, we saw an entire family and their belongings transported on one small bike.

We visited many of the places Id been 40 years beforeas well as others, like the Cu Chi tunnels built by the North Vietnamese, that I had not yet seen.

It was at the tunnels that I met a little kid of six or seven who clearly had a mental disability. She was waving at everyone and having a good time. She was with a little girl who had no hands. I knew what that meant. She was almost certainly a victim of Agent Orange, the poisonous defoliant the U.S. sprayed over the area. Besides taking so many lives during the conflict, Agent Orange embedded the region with a tendency toward cancer and genetic mutation that continues to plague the people.

In facing that girl, I was confronting the very reason I had been so wary about coming to Vietnam. You see, the USS Cavalier shipped Agent Orange to Vietnam. Early in the war, I didnt know what it was or the horror it would create. Ever since, I knew all too well of the lives it destroyed, Vietnamese and American alike.

But that little girl expressed no anger at me for what had happened to her. She approached me with a smile on her face and brightness in her eyes which struck me right in the heart.

I had other, smaller rapprochements on this journey. Leaving Vietnam, I laid a wreath at sea in remembrance of one of my friends who was killed there. On board, I befriended a lawyer, who just happened to be an organizer of the 1968 antiwar march on Washington, DC, a leader of the crowd that made me feel so alienated when I returned. Thanks to the passage of time, we were able to understand each other.

I realized my mothers gift had opened the door to many profound gifts. Through her kindness and intuition, she provided the way back to Vietnam and my healing. There, through the smiling acceptance and unspoken forgiveness of that little girl and the many other Vietnamese who welcomed me, I was able to put aside much of the guilt that had gnawed at me for so long.

My mom was gone, leaving an echoing hole in my life, but because of her, another hole had been filled.

Christle and I often talk about this cruise and how experiences like this allow us to heal and go on with peace in our hearts.

Les resides in Rogue River, Oregon and has cruised 11 times with Princess.
The Prince William Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike.

We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve.
NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AJC is deeply disappointed by Paraguay's decision to close its recently opened embassy in Jerusalem and return it to Tel Aviv.

"This diplomatic reversal is shocking," said Dina Siegel Vann, AJC Director of Latino and Latin American Affairs. "Paraguay has long been a leader among Latin American nations in advancing cooperative relations with Israel. Opening the Paraguayan Embassy in Jerusalem was indicative of that support. To suddenly reverse the historic decision less than four months later raises a number of questions, including who exerted pressure on Paraguay to do so. It cannot be a coincidence that as Paraguay announces this decision, the Palestinian Authority celebrates and declares it will open an 'embassy' in Asuncion."

On May 21, Paraguay became the third country, following the United States and Guatemala, to open its embassy in Israel's capital.

Paraguay President Horacio Cartes, who came to Israel to dedicate the new embassy, said at the ceremony that moving the embassy to Jerusalem "is just the right thing to do."

SOURCE American Jewish Committee
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beer Institute is honoring U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Rob Portman (R-OH), as well as U.S. Representatives Ken Buck (R-CO) and Scott Peters (D-CA), as the Beer Institute's "2018 Beer Champions." They were selected for their leadership in championing policies that allow brewers and beer importers to reinvest in their businesses, hire new employees and continue to innovate and create America's favorite beers.

"America's brewers and importers are pleased to honor Senators Baldwin and Portman as well as Representatives Buck and Peters. Their tireless efforts to build support for policies that enable our nation's breweries and beer importers to continue to innovate, ensuring they can quench the thirst for America's most popular alcohol beverage," said Jim McGreevy, President and CEO of the Beer Institute. "I look forward to continuing to work with Congress on issues that will allow brewers and beer importers of all sizes to create even more good-paying jobs in America."

"In Wisconsin, we have a long and proud tradition of making iconic beers that are celebrated around the world. Our brewers are an important part of our made in Wisconsin economy and our heritage," said Senator Baldwin. "I'm honored to be named the Beer Institute's 2018 Beer Champion, and I am committed to continuing my work to support America's breweries so they continue moving our economy forward and keep making great beer."

"I'm honored to be selected as one of the Beer Institute's 2018 Beer Champions. Ohio is fifth in the nation in craft beer production, and the beer industry supports 81,000 Ohio jobs. I've visited many breweries across the state, heard about the needs and challenges facing this growing industry, and tasted some of the impressive products that come from local Ohio businesses," said Senator Portman. "I introduced a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to help the brewing industry by lowering its excise tax burden, and I'm incredibly pleased with the results. Brewers throughout Ohio and across the country are reinvesting in their workers, businesses, and communitiesthe exact goal of my amendment and a strong justification for making these provisions permanent. I'll continue working to represent the interests of the Ohioans I represent and the many breweries across the Buckeye State."

"The beer industry plays an important role in Colorado's economy, creating jobs and adding value to our communities," said Representative Buck. "I'm honored to receive this award and look forward to continue fighting for policies that empower the industry to grow and operate in a free market."

"San Diego is proud to be the Craft Beer Capital of America and home to more than 130 brewhouses. We certainly know our beer and our thriving brewing industry is helping to grow our economy by creating jobs here at home and going global to reach new markets," said Representative Peters. "Congress should take San Diego's lead and eliminate barriers to competition in international markets so that brewers across the country can continue to compete and thrive."

The beer industry is generating more than 2.2 million good-paying, American jobs in a wide range of industries, including farming, manufacturing, construction, transportation and the service industry in every community in the United States. The beer industry helps create 69,000 jobs in Wisconsin, 81,000 jobs in Ohio, 68,000 jobs in Colorado and 267,000 jobs California.

The Beer Institute is a national trade association for the American brewing industry, representing brewers of all sizes, as well as beer importers and industry suppliers. First founded in 1862 as the U.S. Brewers Association, the Beer Institute is committed today to the development of sound public policy and to the values of civic duty and personal responsibility. For additional updates from the Beer Institute, visit our website, follow @BeerInstitute on Twitter, like the Beer Institute on Facebook, and follow the Beer Institute on Instagram.

SOURCE Beer Institute

Related Links

http://www.beerinstitute.org


Students smiled from ear to ear as they used their 'debit card' to withdraw play money to shop at the Inspirus back-to-school pop-up store.

Students followed the Bemiss Bulldog paw prints through the store, picking out their favorite color backpack and new school supplies along the way.

"Events like these go to the core of what we stand for at Inspirus," said Inspirus Credit Union President, Scott Adkins. "It's rewarding to know that we're fulfilling an important need, and we enjoy watching how much fun the students have as they learn to budget, purchase their new backpacks, and save their money for more items throughout the store."

More than 87 percent of the students at Bemiss Elementary School are on free and reduced lunch. For the nearly 9 out of 10 families at the school struggling to make ends meet, the cost of school supplies is an additional expense that can be burdensome.

"All of us at Bemiss are so thankful for the donation of backpacks and school supplies for our students," said Bemiss Elementary School Principal Rachel Sherwood. "Without this donation, many of our kids would arrive on the first day of school without the necessary school supplies to ensure a successful year, and we know we're going to have a great year."

Inspirus provided more than $7,000 in school supplies to students at Bemiss. All back-to-school donations from Inspirus, totaling more than $40,000, will support 22,000 students this school year.

To learn more about the ways Inspirus supports education, visit www.Facebook.com/inspirusCU.

About Inspirus Credit Union

Inspirus Credit Union (pronounced inspire-us) is where banking benefits education. Founded by a Seattle Public School teacher more than 80 years ago, Inspirus still makes giving back to education core to its mission. When members use Inspirus for their financial services, they join a community who makes an impact across the state. Nearly 80,000 member-owners share a passion for education that connects them to Inspirus and Washington classrooms. The credit union is a not-for-profit financial institution that returns earnings to members through lower loan rates, higher returns on deposit, and donates time, talents, and dollars to the communities it serves. With $1.2 billion in assets, Inspirus operates branches in Seattle, Spokane, and Lynnwood. For more information, visit inspirusCU.org.

CONTACT

Morgan Cole

Public Relations Specialist

(206) 628-5788

[email protected]

5123 E 3rd Ave., Spokane Valley, WA 99212

SOURCE Inspirus Credit Union

Related Links

https://www.inspiruscu.org


The website is housed on Zooniverse .org, the world's largest platform for online citizen science; a collaboration between the University of Oxford, Chicago's Adler Planetarium, and the broader Citizen Science Alliance. It is home to some of the internet's largest, most popular and most successful citizen science projects.

The researchers have already documented species not previously known to be found in this richly forested area, where the wildlife of East and Central Africa collide to form a diverse and unique ecosystem. The project will enhance wildlife conservation efforts in a protected region threatened by poachers.

"We've already found eight species of large mammal not previously recorded in the region," said Bucknell biology and animal behavior professor DeeAnn Reeder, who is leading the project. "They were found in an area suffering from heavy poaching that is exacerbated by conflict in the region."

Reeder and her research partners, including Laura Kurpiers, Bucknell, who designed the site, and conservationists Rob Harris, Adrian Garside, Nicolas Tubbs and Ivan de Klee of Fauna & Flora International, initially teamed with local wildlife service rangers to document and protect wildlife in the South Sudan, an effort funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The group initially set up 23 motion-sensing camera traps in January 2015 which has grown to 76 cameras in the field today.

Most of the images were captured in protected areas, as the studies are part of Fauna & Flora International's overall conservation program in the region, which began even before the country gained independence.

"The images coming out of this survey are really exciting, and will act as the essential scientific bedrock upon which effective conservation depends. South Sudan's forests still harbor many mysteries, but already the cameras are revealing just how important the region is for biodiversity," said Nicolas Tubbs, Senior Program Manager for Eastern Africa at Fauna & Flora International. "The challenge now is to process all of the information the cameras are yielding, which is why we are asking for the help of Zooniverse users to help us identify the species in the pictures. But the ongoing struggles the people of South Sudan face, whether it be food security or unrest pose a threat not only to the country's people but also its wildlife, so time is of the essence."

Images include some of eastern chimpanzees, the species the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service gave Reeder her grant to document. They have also collected images of pangolins, an endangered scaly anteater that is among the most trafficked mammals in the world; forest elephants, which represents a significant expansion in their known range; and the African golden cat, which has been threatened by deforestation and bushmeat hunting.

All in all, the cameras have captured over 425,000 images, documenting mammals, reptiles and birds.

"We want to understand the biodiversity here because it's so extraordinary," Reeder said. "We would like to show the government and global conservation partners how diverse this region is and, thus, its need for greater protection."

All images are time-stamped and can be viewed on at this site. Harnessing the collective brain power of multiple users, once 12 people agree on the specific wildlife species identification, the identification is confirmed for that set of images. Additional data such as behaviors observed and animal group size add to the richness and value of the data.

"Our species list is long, but we really want to precisely identify the specific biodiversity," Reeder said. "We are really excited about engaging citizen scientists because we know there a lot of people who care about wildlife conservation. The success of this project will be contingent on getting a lot of users."

The research team will continue to collect images from the region and will upload them onto the Zooniverse website. The species identification will be an ongoing process that could take years.

SOURCE Bucknell University

Related Links

https://www.zooniverse.org


HOUSTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CEMEX, a global building materials company, announced today the opening of the company's first admixture blending plant in the United States to provide CEMEX's nearby ready-mix plants with up to 16 different products for regular as well as high performance concrete applications.

CEMEX USA President Ignacio Madridejos and other company representatives were at the new 21,000 square-foot facility in Brooksville, Fla., Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the plant. When fully-operational, the plant will service CEMEX's nearly 160 ready mix facilities throughout its Florida and Mid-South Regions.

"This blending plant produces specialized admixtures developed by CEMEX, and therefore, enables us to create concrete mixtures that differentiate us in the marketplace," said CEMEX USA President Ignacio Madridejos. "The centralized location of the facility ensures we can deliver those unique admixtures to the facilities that need it, providing our ready-mix customers with exceptional value-added products and allowing our plants to be ready for any request."

Admixtures developed and produced include a full family of products, such as normal and high range water reducers, setting accelerators and retarders, air-entraining agents and specialty products, all blended using a state-of-the-art automated system. The products leaving the facility are loaded into totes, enabling trucks to carry up to 16 different admixtures to CEMEX ready-mix plants.

The Brooksville blending plant is the first of three CEMEX admixture plants scheduled to open in the U.S. CEMEX plans to open additional plants in Texas and California at existing sites in the coming months.

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries throughout the world. Its U.S. network includes 11 cement plants, more than 50 strategically- located distribution terminals, 50 aggregate quarries and nearly 270 ready-mix concrete plants.

SOURCE CEMEX

Related Links

http://cemexusa.com


CHICAGO, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG) will host a webcast and conference call to review its fiscal 2019 first quarter results on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at 9:30 a.m. ET. The company's news release will be issued at approximately 7:30 a.m. ET.

The live audio webcast and presentation slides will be available on conagrabrands.com/investor-relations under Events & Presentations. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-877-883-0383 for participants in the continental U.S. and 1-412-902-6506 for all other participants and using passcode 8501699. Please dial in 10 to 15 minutes prior to the call start time. Following the company's remarks, the conference call will include a question-and-answer session with the investment community.

A replay of the webcast will be available until September 27, 2019.

About Conagra Brands

Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG), headquartered in Chicago, is one of North America's leading branded food companies. Guided by an entrepreneurial spirit, Conagra Brands combines a rich heritage of making great food with a sharpened focus on innovation. The company's portfolio is evolving to satisfy people's changing food preferences. Conagra's iconic brands, such as Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip, Hunt's, Healthy Choice, Slim Jim and Orville Redenbacher's, as well as emerging brands, including Alexia, Blake's, Frontera, Duke's and Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, offer choices for every occasion. For more information, visit www.conagrabrands.com.

For more information, please contact:

MEDIA: Mike Cummins

312-549-5257

[email protected]



INVESTORS: Brian Kearney

312-549-5002

[email protected]

SOURCE Conagra Brands, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.conagrabrands.com


DALLAS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Experienced attorney Brad Jackson of the Law Offices of Brad Jackson in Dallas has earned his 15th consecutive selection among the state's best on the exclusive Texas Super Lawyers list.

Mr. Jackson, who is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, is recognized in the 2018 listing for his accomplishments in business litigation. His selection is based on nominations from other attorneys and an extensive editorial review conducted by Super Lawyers, a division of Thomson Reuters.

Last month, Mr. Jackson and fellow firm attorney Cheryl L. Mann successfully represented a group of business owners in a partnership dispute where their company's former president sought more than $1 million.

In a 15-page opinion, the 5th District Court of Appeals in Dallas affirmed an earlier summary judgment that Mr. Jackson won for the same clients, clearing them of allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, conspiracy, and misappropriation and conversion of corporate funds.

Earlier this year, Mr. Jackson and Ms. Mann successfully defended a group of seller and business broker clients in a lawsuit over the sale of an insurance agency. The plaintiffs sought more than $3 million but decided to dismiss their claims after only three days of trial. They also agreed to pay $200,000 to one of the firm's clients.

These are just two examples of the many types of cases Mr. Jackson handles for companies and individuals from all walks of life. He represents both plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal courts throughout Texas and across the U.S.

In addition to serving as lead counsel in the firm's cases, Mr. Jackson also is regularly called on by other lawyers and out-of-state clients for his advice and legal expertise. He maintains strong working relationships with lawyers and judges in North Texas and beyond.

Based in Dallas, The Law Offices of Brad Jackson provides decades of experience representing clients in Texas and across the nation. Brad Jackson is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. The firm handles practically every type of business dispute, as well as cases involving high-stakes divorce litigation, serious personal injury and wrongful death. To learn more, visit http://www.bradjackson.com.

For more information, please contact Bruce Vincent at 214-763-6226 or [email protected].

SOURCE Law Offices of Brad Jackson

Related Links

https://www.bradjackson.com


BOLOGNA, Italy, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Datalogic, a global leader in the automatic data capture and process automation markets, is proud to announce that Memor 10 mobile computer has been validated for the "Android Enterprise Recommended" program for rugged devices.

Android Enterprise Recommended is a Google-led initiative that helps businesses confidently select, deploy, and manage the Android devices and services best suited to their enterprise needs. The program gives customers confidence in their chosen device, making deployments of Android more consistent, and helping ensure their deployment is current and up to date. Google requires device manufacturers such as Datalogic to meet stringent requirements in order to be validated as a rugged Android Enterprise Recommended device.

The Android mobile operating system now powers over two billion monthly active devices around the world. The latest Datalogic offering of rugged Mobile Computers includes pocket-sized to full-alpha-keyboard hand-held or pistol grip devices, industrial PDAs, and Vehicle Mounted Computers, all available with Android technology, being the leading platform for enterprise mobility.

The first Android Enterprise Recommended device in the rugged space from Datalogic is Memor 10, part of a new family of rugged Android PDA devices, offering a slim and compact design while embedding the latest 2D barcode imaging technology for high performance scanning. The Memor 10 incorporates Datalogic's industry first wireless charging system for ultra-reliable contactless charging while still offering a one piece swappable battery. It targets Retail, Healthcare, Transportation & Logistics, and Manufacturing applications requiring a state of the art rugged Android device to automate their data collection needs.

Android Enterprise Recommended for rugged devices, means that Google has validated that the Memor 10 meets or exceeds their stringent requirements including:

Memor 10 well exceeds Android Enterprise Recommended minimum hardware requirements for rugged devices.

Datalogic offers regular Android security updates for the Memor 10 within 90 days of release from Google, for a minimum of five years. The Memor 10 also offers regular firmware updates to add features and/or improve performance for the device and its ecosystem.

Memor 10 exceeds the ingress protection requirement and achieves IP65, while attaining a drop specification of 5ft/ 1.5m repeated drops to concrete with rubber boot (4ft/ 1.2m repeated drops without boot).

repeated drops to concrete with rubber boot (4ft/ repeated drops without boot). Supports both Android zero-touch enrollment and QR code provisioning for bulk deployments, while also offering support from all the major EMM's for remote management.

Memor 10 launches with Android 8.1 and will support at least 2 additional major OS releases.

"Android Enterprise Recommended for rugged devices is a major step by Google to ensure that validated products such as Memor 10 will exceed our enterprise customer expectations. Google has now set the bar for all device manufacturers if they want to be recommended by the market leader in mobile operating systems", stated Pietro Todescato, Group Technology Officer of Datalogic.

"We're pleased to recognize the Memor 10 as part of the Android Enterprise Recommended program for rugged launch. Android Enterprise Recommended rugged devices must meet defined technical specifications and extended lifecycle support requirements that customers expect for their deployments," said David Still, Managing Director of Android Enterprise Business. "We created the Android Enterprise Recommended program to help businesses choose Android devices and services that meet their needs and make IT's job easier. We're excited that Datalogic is collaborating with us on making this a reality."

For more information please visit

www.android.com/enterprise/recommended/ and www.datalogic.com/eng/memor-10

Datalogic is a global leader in the automatic data capture and process automation markets, specialized in the designing and production of bar code readers, mobile computers, sensors for detection, measurement and safety, RFID vision and laser marking systems. Datalogic solutions help to increase the efficiency and quality of processes in the Retail, Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics and Healthcare industries, along the entire value chain.

The world's leading players in the four reference industries use Datalogic products, certain of the attention to the customer and of the quality of the products that the Group has been offering for 45 years.

Today Datalogic Group, headquartered in Bologna (Italy), employs approximately 2,900 staff worldwide, distributed in 30 countries, with manufacturing and repair facilities in the USA, Brazil, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary and Vietnam. In 2017 Datalogic had a turnover of 606 million Euro and invested over 55 million Euros in Research & Development, with an asset of more than 1,200 patents in multiple jurisdictions.

Datalogic S.p.A. is listed in the STAR segment of the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001 as DAL.MI. More information about Datalogic at www.datalogic.com.

Datalogic and the Datalogic logo are registered trademarks of Datalogic S.p.A. in many countries, including the U.S.A. and the E.U. Memor is a trademark of Datalogic S.p.A. and/or its affiliates. Android is a trademark of Google LLC.

SOURCE Datalogic

Related Links

http://www.datalogic.com


BOHEMIA, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Edge Electronics Inc., an authorized distributor of electronic components and LCD solutions for industrial, military, security, aerospace and medical applications, achieves Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS) "Elite" supplier status for excellent performance. The certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) is internationally recognized for providing unmatched engineering, inventory and customer support services to technology leaders.

The RMS Elite Suppliers Program identifies Lockheed Martin's top suppliers through evaluating quality and delivery of performance, ability to meet RMS standards and requirements, and contributions made to national defense in the RMS business area.

"Edge is built on the foundation of providing customers with the most personalized customer service in the industry - a value that allows us to be flexible and implement pipeline and inventory programs specific to Lockheed - ensuring timely deliveries of integral End-of-Life (EOL) and production status components," says Adrienne Giannone, president and CEO, Edge Electronics. "Working with Lockheed Martin has been an important opportunity for Edge to demonstrate its expertise as a value-add supplier in the industry. We look forward to future growth and success alongside Lockheed Martin."

Currently, the Edge sales and engineering teams work closely with Lockheed Martin's RMS supply chain team to provide electronic components and exceptional operational support across multiple products and programs.

For additional information, please visit www.edgeelectronics.com.

Contact:

Amanda Rivera

Phone: 631.750.2317

Email: [email protected]

About Edge Electronics Inc.

Edge Electronics Inc., based in Bohemia, New York, is a leading authorized distributor of electronic components (semiconductors, passives and interconnect), display solutions (LCDs and related products), embedded computing, storage products and MRO/industrial products. With strategically located sales offices throughout the U.S., Edge focuses on providing industrial, medical, military and commercial OEMs and contract manufacturers with the most personalized customer service in the industry, easy access to the latest technologies and fully customizable solutions that are the perfect fit for each customer's specific application and business model. Founded in 1990, Edge Electronics is a certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) that is both established and flexible, making it an invaluable supply-chain partner for any organization.

Related Links

LOCKHEED MARTIN RECOGNIZES SUPPLIERS FOR EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE

SOURCE Edge Electronics Inc.

Related Links

http://www.edgeelectronics.com


As a result of this strategic partnership, Wyoming Whiskey will immediately join Edrington Americas' nationwide distribution network. Edrington Americas will assume all sales, marketing and distribution of Wyoming Whiskey products.

Born in the Rocky Mountain West, Wyoming Whiskey is a company founded and operated out of Kirby, Wyoming, by fourth generation cattle ranchers Brad and Kate Mead and their son Sam. All whiskey production will continue in Kirby, using Wyoming grains and water from the mile-deep, limestone aquifer.

Ian Curle, Chief Executive of Edrington, said: "We're pleased to be partnering with the Mead family to bring Wyoming Whiskey into the Edrington portfolio. This deal is a further step towards becoming the world's leading premium spirits company and adds to a brilliant year in which we opened our award-winning distillery and brand home for The Macallan."

Paul Ross, Director of Super Premium for Edrington, said: "Edrington is proud to be forging a partnership with the Mead family and their outstanding American whiskey. Following our successful partnership with Tequila Partida, this is the next step in growing our portfolio of ultra-premium spirits brands."

Chris Spalding, President & CEO Edrington Americas said: "We are excited that Wyoming Whiskey is joining Edrington Americas' award-winning portfolio. American Whiskey is one of the fastest growing premium spirit categories in the USA, itself the largest premium spirits market in the world. Wyoming Whiskey holds its own against the nation's finest. The brand has been acclaimed by national spirits experts who can attest that world class whiskey is being made out on the Wyoming frontier. We are proud to be playing our part in helping more consumers discover the quality of this outstanding American Whiskey."

Brad Mead, Founder and President of Wyoming Whiskey added: "I've long admired Edrington's portfolio and its ethos of giving more. To see Wyoming Whiskey alongside The Macallan, Highland Park, and the entire line-up at Edrington Americas' headquarters in New York is just fantastic, but I know we've earned it. With Edrington, Wyoming Whiskey will be offered opportunities that we could not have achieved on our own. This partnership will allow our brand to grow without the practical limitations that we faced as a standalone distiller. It's an exciting time for us."

For further information, please contact:

Lindsay McGarvie, corporate affairs director - Global

[email protected]

+44 7836 569988

Marc Bromfeld, corporate affairs director - Americas

[email protected]

(212) 352  6040 office

About Edrington

Edrington's ambition is to become the world's leading premium spirits company. Edrington owns some of the leading Scotch whisky and rum brands in the world, including The Macallan, The Famous Grouse, Highland Park, Cutty Sark, The Glenrothes, Brugal and Snow Leopard vodka. Edrington Americas added Tequila Partida to its portfolio in 2016.

Edrington is headquartered in Scotland and employs around 3,000 people in its companies and joint venture operations worldwide, with over 70% employed overseas. The company owns its route to market in 13 countries, and operates the remainder through joint venture and third party agreements.

Edrington Americas is headquartered in New York, NY with regional offices in Chicago, Miami and Orange County.

The company's roadmap for growth is based on long term investment in its brands and its strategy to Perfect The Macallan, Transform Super Premium, Accelerate Highland Park and Energise Regional Power Brands. As part of this strategy, Edrington recently unveiled the award-winning new distillery and brand home of The Macallan in Speyside.

Edrington's principal shareholder is The Robertson Trust, which has donated over 252 million to a variety of charitable causes since 1961.

About Wyoming Whiskey

Based in Kirby, Wyoming, Wyoming Whiskey has had a simple goal: to create America's next great bourbon. The company and product is a collaboration between its partners and 97,818 square miles of Wyoming. The Mead family first came to Wyoming as ranchers in 1890 and the state defines them, and their whiskey. They use the finest corn, wheat, barley, and water from the Big Horn Basin and promote Wyoming's natural and human resources. Every drop of this bourbon is 100% Wyoming. To learn more, visit http://www.wyomingwhiskey.com.

SOURCE Edrington

Related Links

http://www.wyomingwhiskey.com


GREENFIELD, Ind., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Elanco Animal Health Incorporated, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), today announced it has launched a roadshow for the initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock.

Elanco is offering 62.9 million shares of its common stock in the IPO. The underwriters will also have a 30-day option to purchase up to 9.4 million additional shares of common stock at the IPO price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The IPO price is currently expected to be between $20.00 and $23.00 per share. Elanco expects to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ELAN."

Following the IPO, Lilly is expected to hold approximately 82.3% of Elanco (80.2% if the underwriters' overallotment option is exercised in full). The net proceeds from the IPO, net of certain amounts to be retained by Elanco, are expected to be paid to Lilly as partial consideration for the animal health businesses that Lilly is transferring to Elanco in connection with the IPO.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are joint lead book-running managers for the offering.

The offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus related to the offering may be obtained from:

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, email: [email protected], telephone: 1-866-471-2526, fax: 1-212-902-9316;

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 or by telephone at 866-803-9204 or by email at [email protected]; or

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, Second Floor, New York, New York 10014.

A registration statement relating to these securities was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.

About Elanco Animal Health

Founded in 1954, Elanco provides comprehensive products and knowledge services to improve animal health and food-animal production in more than 90 countries around the world. We value innovation, both in scientific research and daily operations, and strive to cultivate a collaborative work environment for more than 5,800 employees worldwide. Together with our customers, we are committed to raising awareness about global food security, and celebrating and supporting the human-animal bond. Our worldwide headquarters and research facilities are located in Greenfield, Indiana.

C-LLY

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations, but actual results may differ materially due to various factors. These statements relate to the offering and the use of proceeds therefrom. There are significant risks and uncertainties relating to the offering. There can be no guarantees that the IPO will be consummated on the timeline anticipated or at all or that Lilly will achieve the anticipated benefits of the IPO. Lilly's ability to consummate and achieve the anticipated benefits of the IPO may be materially affected by such factors as changes to the business, results of operation or financial condition of Elanco or Lilly, changes in the animal health or pharmaceutical industries, adverse market or macroeconomic conditions and other factors outside Lilly's control that could affect the advisability, pricing and timing of the potential IPO. For additional information about the factors that affect Lilly's and Elanco's businesses, please see its respective filings with the SEC. Each of Lilly and Elanco undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

SOURCE Elanco

Related Links

http://www.elanco.com


DUBLIN, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Luxury Apparels Market - Segmented by Product Material , End User, Distribution Channel, and Geography - Growth, Trends and Forecasts (2018 - 2023)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global luxury apparels market is expected to register a CAGR of 12.3% during the forecast period, 2018 to 2023.



Increasing communication between consumers and key players through social media platform and online retail stores is driving the sales of latest trendy luxury apparels. Rise in online transactions are supporting the market growth of luxury apparels from last few years. Consumers specific offers and attractive promotions & advertising through magazine and social media is influencing the sales of luxury apparels as nearly half of luxury apparel buying decisions are majorly inclined by what consumers see or hear from offline and online platforms.

Acceptance of Latest Fashion Trends by millennial to Drive the Luxury Apparels Market Growth

Luxury apparels are mostly considered as status symbols for individuals which is driving discretionary spending with high purchasing power of consumers. Increasing popularity of luxury apparels among millennial are driving the market growth as they are more likely to be driven by latest fashion trend than other consumers groups. Improvement in digital marketing and rise in use of digital media in developing economies for product marketing are playing key role to drive the luxury apparels market growth from last few years. For instance, popular fashion brands like Topshop, Burberry and Alexander McQueen showed their use of live streaming with the help of digital runways at the SS 2017 fashion month.

Online Channel Expected to Witness Rapid Growth

The luxury apparels market is led by e-commerce i.e. online retail stores segment as consumers are preferring the online platforms over store based retail stores. Online platforms provide more options to choose and it is convenient for consumers. Many key players in luxury apparels are focusing on marketing and selling products on both their own website and that of selected retail store or pure luxury e-retailer partners in particular countries. Marketing strategies such as involvement of celebrity for brand endorsement is helping key players to attract more consumers from different financial backgrounds. As offline retail stores have limited growth potential over online retail stores, it is likely to influence sales of luxury apparels in online retail stores in upcoming years.

North America to Dominate the Luxury Apparels Market Share

North America is likely to hold significant market share in luxury apparels industry followed by Europe region over the forecast period due to increased demand of luxury goods including luxury apparels in the region. The growing attraction of luxury lifestyle, high purchasing power, and the influence of celebrity endorsement is driving the market growth in North America. Asia-Pacific region is estimated to witness significant growth rate in upcoming years owing to improving distribution network across the region. However, value added taxes imposed on luxury apparels and footwear by governments and high dominance of key players is restraining the market growth in developing economies.

Key Developments in the Luxury Apparels Market



July 2018 : Reliance Brands has acquired 12.5% of stake in luxury apparel firm Future101 Design for USD 1.385 million . Future101 is engaged in manufacturing, distribution and sale of luxury apparels in India .

: Reliance Brands has acquired 12.5% of stake in luxury apparel firm Future101 Design for . Future101 is engaged in manufacturing, distribution and sale of luxury apparels in . Jun 2018 : Luxury women's apparel retailer Moda Operandi recently launched Moda Operandi Man, marking the first time the e-retailer has sold men's apparel. Moda Operandi Man debuted with more than 50 luxury brands, including Prada, Maison Margiela, Givenchy, Ralph Lauren , Balmain and Burberry, among others.

Key Topics Covered:



1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Scope of Study

1.2 Study Deliverables

1.3 Study Assumptions

1.4 Research Phases



2. LUXURY APPARELS MARKET INSIGHTS

2.1 Market Overview

2.2 Market Trends

2.3 Industry Attractiveness - Porter's Five Forces Analysis



3. LUXURY APPARELS MARKET DYNAMICS

3.1 Drivers

3.2 Restraints

3.3 Opportunities



4. LUXURY APPARELS MARKET SEGMENTATION

4.1 Product Materials

4.1.1 Cotton

4.1.2 Silk

4.1.3 Leather

4.1.4 Denim

4.1.5 Others

4.2 End User

4.2.1 Women

4.2.2 Men

4.2.3 Children

4.3 Distribution Channel

4.3.1 Offline

4.3.2 E-commerce

5. LUXURY APPARELS MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY



6. LUXURY APPARELS MARKET COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Most Active Companies

6.2 Market Share Analysis

6.3 Strategies Adopted by Leading Players



7. COMPANY PROFILES

7.1 Herms International S.A

7.2 Versace

7.3 Kering SA

7.4 Prada S.P.A

7.5 Dolce and Gabbana

7.6 LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.E

7.7 Burberry Group Inc.

7.8 Giorgio Armani S.P.A

7.9 Ralph Lauren Corporation

7.10 Ermenegildo Zegna

7.11 Hugo Boss A.G

7.12 Kiton

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/72f3n9/global_luxury?w=5

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has issued subpoenas to every catholic diocese in the state as part of an investigation into how the church reviewed and possibly covered up allegations of sexual abuse of minors.



Local district attorneys would potentially prosecute any alleged crimes.



The Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Rockville Centre were the subjects of previous grand jury investigations in 2002. Neither report identified priests who molested kids by name, nor did the investigations result in any charges.



The Archdiocese of New York said in a statement, "While we have not yet seen a subpoena, it is not a surprise to us that the Attorney General would look to begin a civil investigation, and she will find the Archdiocese of New York, and the other seven dioceses in the state, ready and eager to work together with her in the investigation."



"Since 2002, the archdiocese has shared with its 10 District Attorneys all information they have sought concerning allegations of sexual abuse of minors, and has established excellent working relationships with each of them," the statement continued. "Not only do we provide any information they seek, they also notify us as well when they learn of an allegation of abuse, so that, even if they cannot bring criminal charges, we might investigate and remove from ministry any cleric who has a credible and substantiated allegation of abuse. We look forward to receiving the subpoena, and working with the Attorney General."



The attorney generals office in New Jersey announced Thursday the formation of a task force to investigate Roman Catholic dioceses in that state, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said.



"Grewal has authorized the task force to present evidence to a state grand jury, including through the use of subpoenas to compel testimony and the production of documents, in addition to other investigative tools," a statement from the New Jersey attorney general's office said.



Attorney generals in both states have established hotlines for victims.



The investigations follow a grand jury report in neighboring Pennsylvania, which alleged more than 1,000 victims of clergy sexual abuse over seven decades.



"Predators in every diocese weaponized the Catholic faith and used it as a tool of their abuse, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a new conference last month. "Priests were raping little boys and girls and the men of God who were responsible for them not only did nothing, they hid it all -- for decades."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical, communications and data networking products and provider of related supply chain management and logistics services, announced that Jeff Wanner has been named District Vice President for the company's Phoenix District effective September 23, 2018.

Jeff has more than 30 years of industry experience and currently serves as Graybar's Vice President-Industrial Sales. As District Vice President, Jeff will lead Graybar's business operations in a territory that includes Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, as well as portions of Texas.

"We congratulate Jeff on his new assignment," said Regional Vice President, Dennis DeSousa. "Since joining Graybar in 2016, he has made significant contributions to our company's success. Jeff has extensive knowledge of the industry and a proven track record of leadership. I look forward to working with him to grow our business and deliver exceptional service for customers in this territory."

Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and data networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of nearly 290 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, helping its customers power, network and secure their facilities with speed, intelligence and efficiency. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.

Media Contact:

Tim Sommer

(314) 578-7672

[email protected]

SOURCE Graybar

Related Links

http://www.Graybar.com


LOS ANGELES, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In the newest rounds of grants marking its 20th anniversary, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 501(c)(3), celebrates National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month awarding Dr. Eugene Kim and Dr. Babak Moghimi of Children's Hospital Los Angeles with the Hyundai Hope Scholar and Young Investigator award, respectively,totaling $500,000 in grants. This September, 38 new doctor-researchers will receive a combined $14.1 million in grants to support novel therapeutic approaches and innovative research options in pediatric cancer. The Hyundai Hope Scholar and Young Investigator award will be officially presented to Dr. Eugene Kim and Dr. Babak Moghimi at Children's Hospital Los Angeles on Thursday, September 6th at 10:00 a.m.

Childhood cancer researchers depend heavily on private funding for groundbreaking therapies to get off the ground and to advance treatment approaches to the next phase of testing, ultimately, bringing better therapies and cures to kids with cancer. With this latest award, Children's Hospital Los Angeles has received more than $1.9 million in grants from Hope On Wheels, contributing to the organization's $145 million total lifetime giving.

"Throughout the country, talented doctors are working tirelessly to help kids fight cancer by conducting research or providing bedside care," said Scott Fink, chairman, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Board of Directors. "Our goal at Hope On Wheels is to provide these doctors with the grant funds they need to perform their lifesaving work."

"The support of the Hyundai Hope On Wheels Foundation is vital to our research at Children's Hospital Los Angeles as we work to discover and develop new treatments designed to increase survival rates and improve quality of life for children with cancer," said Alan S. Wayne, MD, director of the Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. "We are grateful for their long standing partnership."

During the event, children being treated at Children's Hospital Los Angeles who are battling cancer will participate in the program's signature Handprint Ceremony, in which they'll dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a white canvas. As "Every Handprint Tells a Story," the colorful handprints of brave pediatric cancer fighters represent their individual and collective hopes, dreams and journeys. From now through the end of September, the Hope Vehicle will travel nationwide to honor kids battling cancer, raise awareness of the disease, and inspire hope toward a cure.

Supporters are encouraged to visit the HHOW website (www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org) to view this year's grant winners along with stories of brave cancer survivors and passionate doctor-researchers. Once there, supporters may add their handprint to a wall of hope to show their support for the cause. They will also find information on additional ways to support HHOW through social media efforts and events throughout the month. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, twitter.com/HopeOnWheels or instagram.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $145 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through 835 dealerships nationwide. All new Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes a 5-year/60,000-mile fully-transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL LOS ANGELES

Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is ranked the top children's hospital in California and sixth in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of children's hospitals. Clinical care is led by physicians who are faculty members of the Keck School of Medicine of USC through an affiliation dating from 1932. The hospital also leads the largest pediatric residency training program at a freestanding children's hospital of its kind in the western United States. The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles encompasses basic, translational and clinical research conducted at CHLA. To learn more, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter, and visit our blog for families (CHLA.org/blog) and our research blog (ResearCHLABlog.org).

For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

http://www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org


CLEVELAND, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In the newest rounds of grants marking its 20th anniversary, Hyundai Hope On Wheels 501(c)(3), celebrates National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month awarding Dr. Yamilet Huerta of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital (UH Rainbow) with the $200,000 Hyundai Young Investigator grant. This September, 38 new doctor-researchers will receive a combined $14.1 million in grants to support novel therapeutic approaches and innovative research options in pediatric cancer. The Hyundai Young Investigator award will be officially presented to Dr. Yamilet Huerta at UH Rainbow on Thursday, September 6th at 10:00 a.m. Dr. Huerta's research is focused on finding a new treatment for acute myeloid leukemia by utilizing innovative immune therapies like genetically modified T cells to target specific tumor cells.

Childhood cancer researchers depend largely on private funding for groundbreaking therapies to get off the ground and to advance treatment approaches to the next phase of testing, ultimately, bringing better therapies and cures to kids with cancer. With this latest award, UH Rainbow has received more than $1.8 million in grants from Hyundai Hope On Wheels, contributing to the $145 million in the organization's total lifetime giving.

"Throughout the country, talented doctors are working tirelessly to help kids fight cancer by conducting research or providing bedside care," said Scott Fink, chairman, Hyundai Hope On Wheels Board of Directors. "Our goal at Hope On Wheels is to provide these doctors with the grant funds they need to perform their lifesaving work."

During the event, children, teens and young adults being treated at UH Rainbow for cancer and blood disorders will participate in the program's signature Handprint Ceremony, in which they'll dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on the Hope Vehicle, a white 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe. As "Every Handprint Tells a Story," the colorful handprints of brave pediatric cancer fighters represent their individual and collective hopes, dreams and journeys. From now through the end of September, the Hope Vehicle will travel nationwide to honor kids battling cancer, raise awareness of the disease, and to inspire hope toward a cure.

Supporters are encouraged to visit the HHOW website (www.HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org) to view this year's grant winners along with stories of brave cancer survivors and passionate doctor-researchers. Once there, supporters may add their handprint to a wall of hope to show their support for the cause. They will also find information on additional ways to support HHOW through social media efforts and events throughout the month. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram at facebook.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels, twitter.com/HopeOnWheels or instagram.com/HyundaiHopeOnWheels.

HYUNDAI HOPE ON WHEELS

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing life-saving research and innovative treatments for the disease. HHOW is one of the largest non-profit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country, and primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 835 U.S. dealers. Since its inception, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has awarded more than $145 million towards childhood cancer research in pursuit of a cure.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through 835 dealerships nationwide. All new Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes a 5-year/60,000-mile fully-transferable new vehicle limited warranty, Hyundai's 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain limited warranty and five years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.

For more details on Hyundai Assurance, please visit www.HyundaiAssurance.com

Please visit our media website at www.hyundainews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook

About University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital

Internationally renowned, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is a full-service children's hospital and pediatric academic medical center with experts in 16 medical divisions and 11 surgical specialties who offer nationally ranked care not available at other institutions in the region, including a center dedicated to adolescent and young adult cancer treatment and Northeast Ohio's only single-site provider of advanced maternal fetal medicine and neonatology services. As an affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center in the region, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital offers access to novel therapies, advanced technologies and clinical discoveries long before they are available nationwide. Rainbow pediatric specialists  all of whom also serve on the faculty at the School of Medicine  are engaged in today's most advanced clinical research and are widely regarded as the best in the nation  and in some specialties, the best in the world. Learn more at Rainbow.org.

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Related Links

http://www.hyundaihopeonwheels.org


VANCOUVER, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - INVICTUS MD STRATEGIES CORP. ("Invictus" or the "Company") (TSXV: GENE;OTCQX: IVITF; FRA: 8IS1) is pleased to announce that it has closed the previously disclosed $25.5 million debt financing arrangement (the "Financing") with ATB Financial ("ATB") (see press release dated August 8, 2018, for further details). The Financing will be used to accelerate the construction of its Phase 3 and Phase 4 cannabis cultivation facilities (the "Expansion Plan") at Acreage Pharms Ltd. ("Acreage Pharms"), located in West-Central Alberta. The Expansion Plan will add a total of 180,000 square feet of production capacity to Acreage Pharms. The 90,000 square foot Phase 3 expansion is well underway with over $6 million in progress payments already made for permitting, lot preparation, foundation construction and precast installation. Phase 3 has a target completion date of January 2019 with Phase 4 expected to be completed later in 2019.

To date, Acreage Pharms has secured provincial supply agreements for the upcoming adult recreational markets in both British Columbia and Alberta, and is actively pursuing supply agreements in other provinces. In preparation for legalization date, Invictus will be introducing four lifestyle-inspired cannabis brands for recreational users: Dukes, Zooey, Sterling & Hunt, and Sinister.

For more information, please visit www.invictus-md.com.

On Behalf of the Board,

Dan Kriznic

Chairman and CEO

Jessica Martin

Vice President, Public Relations and Regulatory Affairs

(604) 537-8676

About Invictus

Invictus is a global cannabis company offering a selection of products under a wide range of lifestyle brands. Our integrated sales approach is defined by five pillars of distribution including medical, recreational, international, Licensed Producer to Licensed Producer and retail.

Invictus has partnered with business leaders to convey our corporate vision, including KISS music legend and business mogul Gene Simmons as our Chief Evangelist Officer, and global branding agency Authentic Brands Group. Invictus is expanding its cultivation footprint, with two cannabis production facilities fully licensed under ACMPR in Canada and a third awaiting approval, featuring 100,000 square feet of available grow space today with 200,000 expected by the end of 2018 and 1 million by end of 2019. The Company will earmark 50 per cent of production to the medical and recreational markets, respectively. To ensure consistency in quality and supply, Invictus maintains all aspects of the growing process through its subsidiary, Future Harvest Development Ltd., a high-quality Fertilizer and Nutrients manufacturer. Invictus drives sustainable long-term shareholder value through a diversified product portfolio with over 69 Health Canada approved strains and a multifaceted distribution strategy including medical, recreational, international and retail. For more information visit www.invictus-md.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws or forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions or expectations of future performance, including the potential production capacity of Invictus, are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". Forward-looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this press release, including that Invictus will be successful in reaching its potential production capacity, its production facilities will be completed as anticipated, regulatory approval will be granted as anticipated, Invictus will reach full production capacity on the timeline anticipated by the Company, and no unforeseen construction delays will be experienced. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary, include, without limitation, Invictus will not be successful in reaching its potential production capacity, its production facilities will not be completed as anticipated, and licenses or approvals being granted on terms or timelines that are materially worse than expected by the Company. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Invictus MD Strategies
LOS GATOS, Calif., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Komodo Ultimate Fire Shield is the next generation in advanced fire prevention and containment technology made available for home owners. Komodo products are cost-effective, water based, biodegradable solutions that are non-toxic to vegetation and wildlife. The Komodo product line is available in multiple form factors for cellulosic materials, vegetation, wood, steel, foam, and textile fabric. Komodo is the latest in fire prevention and protection technology that is enabling property owners as well as county, state and federal agencies combat out of control fires by stopping the fire in its track.

K-100 Perimeter Shield and K-300 Wood Shield are available for same day shipment on Amazon.com, along with homeowner do-it-yourself kits that help neutralize treated areas against fire hazard. Eco-friendly Komodo products create buffer barriers and protected zones, shielding structures and other high value areas from rapidly expanding wildfires.

At a recent demonstration burn at Chandler Hill Winery in Defiance, MO the product's efficacy on vegetation, wood, and physical structures was proven. The burn was observed by state officials, government dignitaries, and local fire departments and provided measureable performance improvements over traditional water, gel and foam technologies. All tests proved that Komodo can be utilized as an effective active and passive retardant, where the contained fire did not burn or ignite any of the areas treated with Komodo. Joe S. of the Augusta Fire Department could not believe the product performance, and said: "It's amazing how the fire was contained and did not encroach treated areas of the dry grass and hay. I've never seen anything like that before. I'm excited about the impact that Komodo is hopefully going to have within our department and throughout the country in the future."

Komodo Ultimate Fire Shield was recognized as a Platinum Sponsor at the 2018 Northeastern Area Association of State Foresters Convention in in June 2018. The products offered regional firefighters and forestry professionals an alternative, green technology for fighting fires previously not available to first responders. Komodo is continuing to develop and provide innovative, effective solutions and to minimize losses caused by wildfire events.

For additional product information please visit https://komodo-fire-shield.com

About Green Polymer Systems:

Green Polymer Systems is a privately held corporation headquartered in Los Gatos California dedicated to manufacturing high quality, sustainable eco-friendly products for a cleaner environment. GPS manufactures, and markets advanced surface preparation, sealing, decoration, fire prevention & protection, and unique coating systems for turf, wood, and solid landscape surfaces.

SOURCE Green Polymer Systems

Related Links

http://www.komodo-fire-shield.com


LAFAYETTE, La., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LAGCOE, a nonprofit energy industry organization focused on promoting commerce and connecting people through educational programs and a technical exposition and conference, announced today it will host LAGCOE 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The move allows strategic growth for the organization and increased industry participation in the biennial expo.

"The decision to host LAGCOE 2019 in New Orleans is rooted in our mission to cultivate economic growth in the energy industry by facilitating domestic and global business development," says Greg Stutes, Chairman of LAGCOE's Board of Directors. "A significantly larger venue will accommodate more exhibitors and an even larger attendee base. This promotes growth, diversity, and develops even more connections among Louisiana's energy industry."

Making the move of LAGCOE 2019 to the city of New Orleans gives us the opportunity to reach both domestic and international audiences. Coupling with the culture and business community of New Orleans would not only attract returning companies, but expand participation opportunities from new companies as well.

The LAGCOE organization remains committed to Lafayette and South Louisiana, specifically our volunteers, sponsors, exhibitors, and partners with whom we have had relationships with for decades. The New Orleans location expands the commerce reach for Louisiana to the entire upstream and midstream sectors for both the onshore and offshore industry, which will directly impact the awareness of these companies in the global market.

Angela Cring, LAGCOE Executive Director also commented, "For the past 63 years, LAGCOE has experienced countless opportunities to promote the greater global energy industry; the move to New Orleans will only continue the momentum and benefit the future of our organization."

About LAGCOE

LAGCOE is a nonprofit energy industry organization focused on educational programs and a technical exposition & conference. LAGCOE's mission is to cultivate economic growth of the energy industry by facilitating domestic & global business development and fostering the energy workforce pipeline. LAGCOE's vision is to be a robust, sustainable community of energy companies and volunteers that promotes energy education and awareness, connects businesses with opportunities, and showcases the Gulf Coast's technical innovations to the world. LAGCOE 2019 will be held October 9-11, 2019, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Learn more at www.LAGCOE.com.

SOURCE LAGCOE

Related Links

http://www.LAGCOE.com


LONDON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Started in 2008 by Yantai Shuangta Food Co., Ltd., a former bean vermicelli company, pea protein industry in China is still at its fast expanding stage. China has become one of the biggest pea protein suppliers in the global market in recent years. Most of the pea protein producers in China are current or former bean vermicelli companies that are located in Shandong Province. Several current and potential pea protein producers are planning to expand their pea protein production in the following two years, which will support the steady growth of China's pea protein industry.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5365580



China's pea protein industry is currently at its fast expanding stage, primarily driven by the increasing overseas food industry's demand for pea protein. Unlike EU and the US, application fields of pea protein in China are narrow. Most of pea protein was consumed by health-care food industry in China, while its applications in food processing industry were still at the research and development stage. It is necessary for pea protein industry participants to keep track on the developments of both pea protein producers and end users.



China used to be one of the biggest dry pea suppliers in the world. However, starting in the 1980s, dry pea planting area in China witnessed significant decline. As a result of the domestic dry pea supply shrink, China became one of the biggest dry pea importers in the world. All of the pea protein producers in China use imported dry peas from North America for their production nowadays, importing more than 900,000 tonnes of dry peas annually since 2013.



Currently, most of the pea processing companies are former Longkou vermicelli companies. Pea protein and pea starch are produced in the same production line in these companies, and vermicelli is produced in a separated unit using pea starch. Some of the pea processing companies also produce pea fiber as a by-product. As of 2017, there were seven pea processing producers with a total pea protein capacity of 67,453t/a in China. The national total pea protein capacity will increase to 146,313 t/a by the end of 2019 when all the capacity expansion projects are put into production.



China exported over 40,000 tonnes of pea protein to more than 40 countries and regions during Nov. 2016 to Oct. 2017. Export volume of pea protein from China usually reaches its annual peak during April to July of the year, when pea protein producers are actively producing. Most of the pea protein producers will have their seasonal shutdowns in every August for one month, and the others will have theirs during Aug. to Sept. of the year. Therefore the export volume of pea protein in Aug. and Sept. 2017 decreased with the output of it. The average export price of pea protein was in an overall upward trend from Nov. 2016 to Aug. 2017, and it started to decrease with fluctuations since then.



This research aims to study the production and market of China's pea protein industry, as well as forecasts for the coming three years. This report provides detailed analysis on the elements affecting the growth of pea protein industry in China. Market drivers, restrains, opportunities and relative policies can be found in this report.



This report is based on data collected via diverse sources. The primary sources include interviews with industrial experts, key producers and key end users of pea protein. Various secondary sources include published magazines, journals, government statistics and CCM's database, etc. Data obtained from various sources have been combined and cross-checked to ensure that this report is as accurate and methodologically sound as possible.



The key market players in pea protein industry are profiled in detail along with their recent developments. Key market participants studied include Shuangta Food, Oriental Protein, and Shandong Jianyuan, etc.



Scope of the report

Region scope: China.

Time scope: primarily 2015 to 2017 unless otherwise stated.

On the basis of industrial segments: pea supply, pea protein production, pea protein exports and consumption.

On the basis of pea protein specifications: feed grade pea protein, pea protein concentrate, and pea protein isolates.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5365580



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazars USA LLP, a leading accounting, tax, and consulting firm, today announced two significant additions to its fast-growing Consulting & Advisory Practice with the admission to the partnership of Rob Kastenschmidt, who will be the new National Consulting & Advisory Practice Group Leader, and Atif Ghauri, who will be Cybersecurity Practice Leader. With long and successful track records of leadership, both Rob and Atif will be valuable additions to the firm's strategic plans and its clients across industries.

"Our Consulting & Advisory Practice is our fastest growing practice, having experienced tremendous, exponential growth over the past five years," noted Mazars USA Chairman & CEO Victor Wahba. "This has previously been in banking, healthcare, insurance, and the life sciences, but we're now seeing the same kind of need in digital assets and cybersecurity."

He continued, "As such, we're getting out ahead of client needs by building on our already substantial capabilities in these areas. The caliber of Rob and Atif's experience and leadership is going to make a major difference for the success of the companies they help. They're not only leaders in our firm, but experts in their fields."

Rob, as the new National Consulting & Advisory Practice Leader, will be based in Houston. His addition represents a major step forward for the firm as it expands the practice to a higher tier in strategic markets throughout the country.

Noted Rob, "Driven in part by ongoing regulatory changes and emerging technologies, our clients are coping with a rapidly changing business environment, which makes their ability to access our consulting services crucial across all industries. I believe that Mazars USA's insight will be critical for helping our clients achieve sustainable success and I'm excited to have a role in what I am confident will be a tremendous period of growth for this practice. I look forward to taking Mazars' Consulting & Advisory capabilities to the next level nationally."

Rob possesses over 20 years of experience providing transformational consulting offerings, maximizing client experience/loyalty and innovative go-to market strategies, he will be a significant and valued asset to Mazars. Having started his career with the Big 4, he has held many leadership roles and most recently was the Global Consulting leader for one of the largest National & International public accounting firms. Rob earned his undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin and holds many accreditations and licenses such as CPA, CMA, CFM, CRMA, and CGMA and Six-Sigma Green Belt.

Atif joins Mazars USA as the Cybersecurity Practice Leader. Most recently Atif held the position of SVP of Security for the Herjavec Group, where he was primarily responsible for revenue growth, customer engagement and service development of the firm's Managed Security Services business line. With over 15 years of experience in technology strategy, technical operations, and business development at IBM, Unisys, and Comcast, he will be additive to our clients in providing more solution-based services.

"The entire economy has changed over the past few decades and continues to be increasingly digital," said Atif. "I'm impressed with Mazars' commitment to building their capabilities in this area, from the recent formation of the Digital Asset Group, to their ongoing investment in Cybersecurity resources. The frequency and magnitude of cyber-attacks disrupting business is staggering. Businesses are facing significant financial loss, brand degradation, and compliance penalties and need a trusted advisor."

"The digital economy isn't going anywhere," added Victor Wahba. "We're committed to delivering the expertise our clients need."

Atif is located in the firm's Pennsylvania Office. He earned his undergraduate degree from Penn State University and holds a Master of Technology Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

About Mazars USA LLP

About Mazars USA

Mazars USA LLP is a high-performing accounting, tax and consulting firm with significant national presence in strategic US geographies. Since 1921, our dedicated professionals have leveraged technical industry expertise to develop customized solutions for clients, create value, and Optimize their performance. We offer a broad array of industry specialists providing services to growth-oriented enterprises and individuals. As the independent US member firm of Mazars Group, we deliver seamless access to the expertise of 20,000 professionals in 86 countries.

At local and global levels, we are proud of our value-added services, building lasting relationships with our clients and communities. For more information, visit us at www.mazarsusa.com.

For more information, contact:

Mazars USA LLP

Beth More, 732-205-2012

[email protected]

Makovsky

Ben Jaffe, 212-508-9646

[email protected]

SOURCE Mazars USA LLP

Related Links

https://mazarsusa.com


BRYN MAWR, Pa., Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nirag C. Jhala, M.D. is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the field of Pathology in recognition of his role as a Pathologist at Temple University Hospital.

With longstanding success over the past century, Temple University Hospital has spent countless hours in investing in the lives of those they serve. With their prime mission to educate those who come through their doors, the hospital specializes in Medical Education, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Anatomic Pathology and Cytology. Devoted to cultivating an environment to enhance the health and wellness of their patients, Temple University utilizes the latest innovations in medical technology to better the health and wellness of those they serve.

Having gathered over twenty nine years of experience in the field of Medicine under his belt, Dr. Nirag C. Jhala is revered for his remarkable contributions to the medical profession. Attributing his success to his motivation and mentorship, Dr. Jhala advises those going into the profession to not do so for money, but instead, "do it for the passion to be in it." Throughout his career, Dr. Jhala has attained extensive experience in the areas of Pathology, Cytology, and Laboratory Medicine.



Early in his career, Dr. Jhala attained his Medical Doctor degree from Gujarat University, in Ahmedabad in 1989. Upon attending Allegheny University Hospital in 1997, Dr. Jhala completed his Residency in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology and Fellowship in Cytopathology in 1998. Thereafter, Dr. Jhala would then go on to complete his Fellowship in Nephropathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. In 1999, Dr. Jhala attended Baylor College of Medicine where he completed his Fellowship in Gastrointestinal Tract Pathology.

To further advance his professional development, Dr. Jhala is an high-ranking and influential member of several elite organizations including the International Society of Civilization Diseases and Environment; International Academy of Cytology; American Society of Cytology; and Roger C Haggit Gastrointestinal Tract Pathology Society.



When not working, Dr. Jhala enjoys capturing photographs of landscapes and birds in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Vermont.



Dr. Jhala dedicates this recognition to his wife Darshanna, for her continuing love and support, in loving memory of his eldest brother Parag Jhala, his Dad, Chaudrakant Jhala and Mom, Tarulata Jhala, both in loving memory, and to his many good mentors over the years.



For more information, please visit https://medicine.temple.edu.



Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Painting with a Twist, the original and largest paint and sip franchise, has named the company's first-ever CEO. Joe Lewis, a seasoned franchise executive who brings more than 20 years of industry experience to the fast-growing brand, has taken over the leadership role, effective immediately. Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney, who founded the company in 2007, will step out of day-to-day operations.

Lewis was most recently Vice President and General Counsel at Smoothie King Franchises, Inc. Lewis joined Smoothie King when the brand had 39 stores and served as President, CEO, General Counsel and on the Board of Directors during his tenure. He was an integral part of the company's growth to over 950 stores globally.

"I have watched this incredible brand from afar for many years and am honored to take on the role of CEO in this next phase of leadership for Painting with a Twist," said Lewis. "As the leader in the paint and sip category, we are looking forward to strategic growth opportunities that take advantage of our talented team and nationwide scale."

Painting with a Twist has been ranked the No. 1 Paint and Sip Studio in Entrepreneur magazine's Annual Franchise 500 edition for the past five years, and the #4 best low investment franchise to buy in 2018 by Forbes. The company has more than 300 studios in 39 states. It was founded by Deano and Maloney in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a way to lift the spirits of those in the New Orleans area. Deano and Maloney will continue to support the growth of the company by keeping a visible role and supporting its charitable activities, such as Painting with a Purpose.

At Painting with a Twist studios across the country, guests come together to experience a unique 'getaway' that includes friends, paint and the option to BYOB. Led by local art instructors, guests paint on bare canvases using paint and brushes provided by the studio. There are more than 13,000 original pieces of copyrighted artwork, ranging from landscapes, abstracts and cityscapes, to creative renderings of animals, iconic buildings and florals, which have all been conceptualized and produced by Painting with a Twist art instructors. The company's charitable arm, Painting with a Purpose, raises money for local charities through monthly events at all locations.

For more information about franchise opportunities with Painting with a Twist, visit www.paintingwithatwistfranchise.com.

About Painting with a Twist

Painting with a Twist, based in the New Orleans, Louisiana metropolitan area is the leading paint-and-sip franchise with more than 300 studios in 39 states. The company maintains a strong focus on giving back to the local community, and was recently recognized by the International Franchise Association's Franchise Education & Research Foundation's Franchising Gives Back Awards. To date, Painting with a Twist has donated more than $4.8 million through its charity arm, Painting with a Purpose. As the fastest-growing franchise in the category, Painting with a Twist has been ranked the No. 1 Paint and Sip franchise as part of Entrepreneur magazine's annual Franchise 500 edition for the past five years. For more information about Painting with a Twist's franchise opportunity, visit www.paintingwithatwistfranchise.com.

Media Contact: Sara Faiwell, Fishman Public Relations, (847) 945-1300 or [email protected]

SOURCE Painting with a Twist

Related Links

https://paintingwithatwistfranchise.com


PHOENIX, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arizona School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University is pleased to announce that the Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) program was awarded a continued grant of accreditation from the American Psychological Association (APA).

APA accreditation reflects that the PsyD program, as well as its faculty, curriculum, and support systems meet the standards established by the leading professional organization. The program was reaccredited for ten years, the maximum amount of time allowed by the APA's Commission on Accreditation.

"The central goal of our Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program is to prepare graduates to become competent, valuable contributors to the field of professional psychology," said Dr. Eric Johnson, dean of the program. "A grant of continued accreditation from the APA is acknowledgment of the strength of our program and the commitment of our faculty to our students and to their profession."

The APA's Commission on Accreditation (CoA) is recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council of Higher Education Accreditation, as the national accrediting authority for professional education and training in psychology. In total, the PsyD in Clinical Psychology program within the College of Clinical Psychology at 10 Argosy University campuses holds accreditation from the APA.

The Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology program at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA). Questions related to the programs' accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation, American Psychological Association, 750 1st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002 Phone: (202) 336-5979 / Email: [email protected] Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation.

Programs, credential levels, technology, and scheduling options vary by school and are subject to change. Not all online programs are available to residents of all U.S. states. Argosy University, Phoenix, 2233 W Dunlap Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85021  2018 Argosy University. All rights reserved. Our email address is [email protected]

See http://ge.argosy.edu/programoffering/971 for program duration, tuition, fees, and other costs, median debt, salary data, alumni success, and other important info.

Media Contact

Anne Dean

714.267.7667

[email protected]

SOURCE Argosy University
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The digital publisher and marketplace platform Purch today completed the sale of its U.S.-based Business-to-Consumer business unit and all associated brands and services to Future US, Inc., a subsidiary of the publicly traded UK-based media company, Future Publishing Ltd. The sale includes the Purch brand, its consumer brand portfolio, including Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, TopTenReviews, ShopSavvy, Live Science, and Space.com, as well as Purch's yield optimization platform, RAMP and its associated licensing business. The remaining SMB portfolio will move forward as Business.com, an interactive marketplace platform that provides millions of small and medium business owners with the tools, services, and expert advice they need to help them grow their business.

Former Purch President and COO Doug Llewellyn has been named CEO of Business.com, while former Purch CEO Greg Mason will remain an advisor to the company's board.

Ralph Terkowitz of ABS Capital Partners, representing the board, said, "We appreciate Greg's stewardship of the Purch business and leadership enabling this sale of the consumer assets of Purch to Future Publishing, Ltd. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors. We look forward to working closely with Doug Llewellyn as the CEO of Business.com. Doug had the vision to identify and acquire businesses complementary to Purch to create Business.com and is the ideal person to lead this business to future successes."

Llewellyn has been leading the development of Business.com for over a year at Purch. The B2B company has grown considerably from its acquisition of BuyerZone in 2014 and the Business.com brand in 2016. It now has the opportunity to expand its service-oriented digital platform with new content, tools, services, and advice to its millions of small business members.

"We see Business.com as one of the most valuable business destinations on the Internet, the go-to resource for the almost 28 million SMBs in the United States, who arguably form the largest and most important part of the U.S. economy," Llewellyn says. "Increasingly, business owners, executives, suppliers, and entrepreneurs are coming to the Business.com brands to engage with our community of experts and to leverage our SMB-focused buying tools."

Llewellyn and his team continue to focus on expanding the marketplace of small business owners through multiple channels  an extensive portfolio of targeted business publishers, targeted online marketing, and the growth of their own premium website brands. "In today's ever-changing world, we can't rely on any one channel or platform for our success. The ability to attract and serve business owners through various means has allowed us to grow a large and profitable business, while making sure we aren't beholden to any one channel," says Llewellyn.

The new Business.com brand includes:

Business.com, since being acquired in 2016, is the trusted resource for the information, products and services small business owners need to run and grow their businesses, with an industry focus on restaurants/hospitality, construction/general contracting, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, real estate, agriculture, travel, and financial services.

BuyerZone, acquired in 2014, is a service of Business.com that connects educated buyers looking to save time and money on their important business purchases with select sellers at the time they are ready to do business.

Business News Daily, founded in 2010, is a news and information resource to help entrepreneurs build their businesses and make smart decisions about products, services and ideas.

Prior to Purch, Llewellyn was Vice President, Corporate and Business Development and Digital Media Sales for the leading online SMB community platform Manta Media, where he led partnership strategy, outreach, and digital advertising sales. That followed 12 years with CBS Interactive/CNET Networks where he held such leadership roles as Vice President and GM of the B2B portfolio of properties that includes ZDNet, TechRepublic, and SmartPlanet.

To learn more about Business.com and its owned and operated sites, please visit www.business.com.

About Business.com

Business.com is a community of small business owners and entrepreneurs who come together to launch, build and grow their businesses by sharing ideas, asking questions and offering great advice. Business.com features news, B2B product reviews, and how-to articles, as well as tools and services focused specifically on the needs of small business owners.

SOURCE Business.com

Related Links

http://Business.com


MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Redis Labs, the home of Redis and provider of Redis Enterprise, today announced its 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth and annual growth of more than 60 percent. Key to this sustained success is the mounting market demand for database platforms that offer the high performance, high availability and seamless scaling needed to power the next generation of applications.

More and more businesses are choosing Redis Enterprise as their database, including 60 percent of Fortune 10 companies and more than 30 percent of Fortune 50 companies. Recent customer wins include Bed Bath & Beyond, British Airways, Canon, CDW, Eco Bank, Thomas Cook, US Bank and Whitepages.

"The performance, flexibility, security and reliability of the Redis Enterprise platform serves as a bedrock for companies all around the world," said Ofer Bengal, CEO and co-founder of Redis Labs. "We continue to innovate our products by offering new features, capabilities and integrations that enable enterprises to build high-impact next-generation business-critical applications. 2018 has been an exceptional year for growth thus far, and we look forward to closing out the year strong."

Partnerships:

Launched a partnership with VMware to deliver fully integrated Redis Enterprise on Pivotal Container Service (PKS), VMware's premier Kubernetes offering

Kicked off a new strategic partnership with Google Cloud, co-selling Redis Enterprise on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) to major enterprises around the world

Closed a record volume of new business with partners, both in number of deals and in revenue

Expanded its global partner footprint through the addition of new partners and joint customer wins across the Americas, Europe , Asia , and Africa

, , and Continued collaboration with Intel to optimize Redis on Flash for the upcoming Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory, which will enable it to deliver more data per server at sub-millisecond performance

Product Innovations:

Strengthened Executive Team

Former Oracle executive Madhukar Kumar joined Redis Labs as vice president of product and technical marketing. He has held several leadership positions in small and large technology companies such as Zuora, HP and Liaison Technologies. More recently he ran product strategy and product marketing at Oracle for its Customer Experience (CX) products portfolio, including marketing, CRM, commerce and service.

joined as vice president of product and technical marketing. He has held several leadership positions in small and large technology companies such as Zuora, HP and Liaison Technologies. More recently he ran product strategy and product marketing at Oracle for its Customer Experience (CX) products portfolio, including marketing, CRM, commerce and service. Tal Dagan joined Redis Labs as the vice president of product management. Prior to Redis Labs , Tal worked as the head of product management at Flash Networks and as vice president of product management at Taptica.

joined as the vice president of product management. Prior to , Tal worked as the head of product management at Flash Networks and as vice president of product management at Taptica. Guy Korland joined Redis Labs as CTO of incubations. Previously, he worked as the CTO of SelfPoint, where he was responsible for building an eCommerce SaaS solution. He also worked as a CTO and vice president of research and development at other technology companies, including GigaSpaces Technologies and Shopetti.

joined as CTO of incubations. Previously, he worked as the CTO of SelfPoint, where he was responsible for building an eCommerce SaaS solution. He also worked as a CTO and vice president of research and development at other technology companies, including GigaSpaces Technologies and Shopetti. Jim Welch joined Redis Labs as the vice president of sales for the Americas. Most recently, Jim was the vice president of sales at Imperva Inc. He has also held positions at IBM and Crossbeam, where he was responsible for driving the cyber-security business across different industries.

Community Leadership

Launched Redis University, the #1 destination for Redis users and enthusiasts to learn from peers and the world's most renowned database experts. Courses began in June 2018 , and enrollment exceeded expectations.

, and enrollment exceeded expectations. Held annual RedisConf18 in San Francisco from April 24-26 , featuring more than 75 sessions and a keynote address from Redis creator Salvatore Sanfilippo . The event attracted more than 1,200 Redis users and experts from around the globe.

Accolades

Named the Most-Loved Database for the second consecutive year in Stack Overflow's Developer Survey, which included more than 100,000 responses from coders in 183 countries and dependent territories.

Named one of Th e Best Privately-Held Software Companies in 2018 by JMP Securities in its ninth annual Hot 100 list.

Ranked #8 in popularity among 300-plus databases in DB-Engines.

Named by Database Trends and Applications (DBTA) magazine to the DBTA 100a list of the top companies addressing the evolving demands for hardware, software and services.

Named one of the Bay Area's Best Places to Work by the San Francisco Business Times and the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

About Redis Labs

Modern businesses depend on the power of real-time data. With Redis Labs, organizations deliver instant experiences in a highly reliable and scalable manner. Redis Labs is the home of Redis, the world's most popular in-memory database, and the commercial provider of Redis Enterprise , which delivers superior performance, matchless reliability and unparalleled flexibility for personalization, machine learning, IoT, search, eCommerce, social and metering solutions worldwide.

Redis Labs, ranked as a leader in top analyst reports on NoSQL, in-memory databases, operational databases and database-as-a-service, is trusted by over 8,500 enterprise customers, including six Fortune 10 companies, three of the four credit-card issuers, three of the top five communication companies, three of the top five healthcare companies, six of the top eight technology companies and four of the top seven retailers.

Redis has been voted the most loved database, rated the most popular database container, #1 cloud database, and the #1 NoSQL in software stacks.

Media Contact

Emily Ashley

10Fold Communications

[email protected]

(916) 710-0950

SOURCE Redis Labs

Related Links

redislabs.com


SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sundance, a premier lifestyle retailer of women's and men's apparel, footwear, jewelry, accessories, art, and home decor, announces the opening of its newest store in Nashville, TN. This store, located in The Mall at Green Hills, will host its grand opening weekend celebration beginning on Thursday, September 6, 2018.

The Mall at Green Hills is located at 2126 Abbott Martin Road in Nashville. It is an exciting area experiencing tremendous growth in both industry and culture. Sundance CEO Matey Erdos shares, "We are excited to be joining this vibrant community, one rich in culture and artistic expression. The Sundance heritage is one of celebrating the spirit of freedom, independence and creativity. Nashville is a clear fit for the Sundance brand through our mutual appreciation for new forms of independent creative expression."

Erdos continues, "The Nashville store brings the beauty and the authenticity of the Sundance lifestyle to life. The store is highly experiential and curated with the exclusive and quality product the brand is known for. Designed with our loyal customers in mind, the store offers a sense of discovery through its distinctive shopping experience, an experience we are privileged to provide and one not commonly found in the marketplace. We are confident our loyal supporters will make it a great success."

Since 1989, Sundance has championed creativity and the arts. With a historical commitment to artisans, Sundance will donate a portion of the proceeds from the grand opening weekend to OZ Arts Nashville, a local non-profit committed to bringing world-class performances and art to Nashville, and giving ambitious local artists opportunities to work on a grand scale. Erdos remarks, "Sundance supports the mission and work of OZ Arts Nashville. We believe that everyone deserves an opportunity to experience the power of art, and to be exposed to education that empowers great artists of the future. We look forward to a longstanding relationship with OZ Arts."

The newest Sundance Store at The Mall at Green Hills is one of four stores to open across the country by the end of the year. Since 2015, Sundance has opened stores in Edina, MN, Dallas, TX, Southlake, TX, Scottsdale, AZ, Tigard, OR, San Diego, CA, Atlanta, GA, Leawood, KS, and plans to continue to expand their retail locations over the next several years. One-of-a-kind pieces and Sundance exclusive items will continue as the cornerstones for product offerings.

About Sundance

Famed actor, director, and visionary of independent filmmaking, Robert Redford founded Sundance Catalog in 1989 to promote the works of artists and craftspeople from across the country and around the world. From a small operation run out of the attic of the old Sundance Village firehouse, Sundance has grown to become one of America's preeminent lifestyle retailers. Offering a thoughtfully curated mix of unique, premium-quality women's and men's apparel and footwear, jewelry, accessories, art and home decor, Sundance elevates the traditions of authentic American heritage into a classic and creative style.

Sundance headquarters are located in Salt Lake City, UT. In addition to The Mall at Green Hills, the company's unique product selection is available through its catalog, ten other retail stores in Corte Madera, CA, Lone Tree, CO, Edina, MN, Dallas, TX, Southlake, TX, Scottsdale, AZ, Tigard, OR, San Diego, CA, Alpharetta, GA, Leawood, KS, an outlet store in Salt Lake City, UT, and website www.sundancecatalog.com.

SOURCE Sundance

Related Links

http://www.sundancecatalog.com


SAN DIEGO, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) is the only U.S. utility holding company ranked in the top 25 on the Thomson Reuters iX Global Diversity and Inclusion Index, released today.

"A focus on diversity and inclusion not only creates a respectful work environment for our employees, but it also drives our success," said G. Joyce Rowland, senior vice president and chief culture officer for Sempra Energy. "When employees have different perspectives and backgrounds, we can view issues through a broader lens, be a more responsible partner in the community and make forward-looking decisions that benefit our stakeholders."

This is the third year Thomson Reuters has released this index, which ranks the top 100 publicly traded companies using environmental, social and governance metrics to assess diversity and inclusivity in the workplace. The index evaluates companies in four key categories: diversity, inclusion, people development, and news and controversies.

Sempra Energy and its subsidiaries have a variety of programs to enhance diversity of thought and inclusivity in the workplace, including employee councils, a mentorship program, an annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit and supplier diversity programs. Jeffrey W. Martin, Sempra Energy's CEO, also has joined the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Sempra Energy includes San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Gas Co., Oncor Electric Delivery Co., Sempra LNG & Midstream, IEnova, Sempra South American Utilities and Sempra Renewables.

Sempra Energy, a San Diego-based energy services holding company with 2017 revenues of more than $11 billion, is the utility holding company with the largest U.S. customer base. The Sempra Energy companies' approximately 20,000 employees serve more than 40 million consumers worldwide.

Sempra South American Utilities, Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG & Midstream, Sempra Renewables, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utility, Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC (Oncor) and Infraestructura Energetica Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra South American Utilities, Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG & Midstream, Sempra Renewables, Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utility, Oncor and IEnova are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

SOURCE Sempra Energy

Related Links

http://www.sempra.com


SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Actuarial Foundation, well-known for its 24-year tradition of providing lifelong math education and financial literacy through its learning resources and scholarships, is proud to partner with Hartford Promise to create a unique scholarship for Hartford Promise Scholars. The Actuarial Foundation Diversity Hartford Promise Scholarship will be available beginning in 2019.

Hartford Promise is a large-scale College Scholarship Fund and Integrated College Success Program that provides Hartford students the financial resources, support services, and key relationships that lead to college success. Richard Sugarman, President of Hartford Promise, says Hartford Promise is modeled after similar programs that have developed since 2005 in many districts across the United States, including Denver, Pittsburgh, New Haven and Kalamazoo, MI. Each of these programs is based on the principle that investing in education is the most effective way to foster community, well-being and economic development. Four hundred Hartford Public High School students have become Promise Scholars in Hartford Promise's first three years of operation. In addition to the scholarship, each Hartford Promise Scholar is supported by Hartford Promise throughout college; this includes staying in touch with Promise Scholars, working closely with colleges and facilitating connections to key people, supports and services at those colleges, creating a peer-to-peer Promise Community of support, and providing resources for internships.

The Actuarial Foundation's Diversity Scholarship promotes diversity within the actuarial profession. Since 2009, the Foundation has awarded 389 Diversity Scholarships totaling $919,000. To date, over half of these recipients are in the process of taking actuarial exams. Each applicant to the Actuarial Diversity Scholarship has access to an actuarial mentor to guide them on their journey to becoming an actuary.

Starting in 2019, the Foundation will underwrite any Hartford Promise Scholarship, up to $5,000/year over four years, for any student that qualifies and wants to pursue a degree in the actuarial sciences. The Actuarial Foundation Hartford Promise Diversity Scholarship will be a last dollar scholarship, as are all Hartford Promise Scholarships. "There is a real synergy between our two organizations in our commitment and efforts to support education. We are so proud to partner with Hartford Promise and give students the access to education and the tools they need to be successful," said Jason Leppin, executive director of The Actuarial Foundation. Richard Sugarman, President of Hartford Promise agreed, saying, "Providing the highest quality education and opening all the doors of possibility for every child in our community has been a core value and longstanding priority for me. Hartford Promise offers a transformative opportunity to make the dream of higher education a reality for every Hartford student. I'm excited to partner with The Actuarial Foundation in offering this unique scholarship opportunity as we continue to build the significant, sustained promise that all our children deserve."

About The Actuarial Foundation

The Actuarial Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to changing lives through math education. Established in 1994, the mission of the Foundation is to enhance math education and financial literacy through the talents and resources of actuaries. The Foundation's vision is an educated public in pursuit of a secure financial future. For more information, please visit www.actuarialfoundation.org.

About Hartford Promise

Hartford Promise is a 501(c)(3) organization committed to strengthening Hartford's college going culture, increasing student expectations, increasing the number of Hartford students going to and graduating from college, and adding to a larger, more qualified, local work force. Hartford Promise's ambitious goals are to expand the educational opportunities for the children of Hartford, and in doing so transform the lives of Hartford students and transform the City of Hartford.

Contact: Holly Monahan

The Actuarial Foundation

Phone: (847) 706-3659

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE The Actuarial Foundation

Related Links

https://www.actuarialfoundation.org/


THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Long recognized as the digital gateway to Europe, The Netherlands has emerged as a hotbed for cybersecurity. There are now more than 400 cybersecurity companies in The Hague, the Netherlands, alone  the location of the third-annual Cyber Security Week. The conference, taking place Oct. 2-5, will bring together industry leaders from 70 countries to discuss emerging trends and innovations in cybersecurity.

The Hague's dense cybersecurity sector makes it the ideal location for Cyber Security Week. It is home to The Hague Security Delta, the world's leading security cluster, which fosters collaboration between businesses, governments and knowledge institutions. As further testament to The Hague's cybersecurity expertise, the EU European Cybercrime Centre, the European Network for Cyber Security, the NATO Cyber Security Agency, and the Cyber Security Academy are all located in the region.

"Holland, well-known as the digital gateway to Europe, is continuing to emerge as an international cybersecurity hub," said Eric van Pelt, senior project manager and IT sector specialist at the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA). "Collaborative efforts of multinationals, research institutes and the Dutch government continue to support innovation. Cyber-related companies are realizing that the Netherlands' robust renewable energy cluster provides sustainable and affordable options for data center energy, while the country's 100% digital telecommunications network powers new technologies."

To meet the demands of Holland's cybersecurity sector, the Netherlands offers technology companies specialized pockets around the country. For example, Amsterdam is home to AMS-IX, the world's leading internet exchange. Eindhoven is home to the "smartest square kilometer" in the Netherlands and specialties such as sensors and big data. Enschede boasts expertise in devices such as chips, robotics and drones, and has the largest IT research institute of the Netherlands at the University of Twente.

Today, a diverse network of 66,600 IT companies  6,100 of which are security-related  along with a robust startup ecosystem and R&D facilities make up Holland's tech and cybersecurity community. The industry encompasses a multidisciplinary combination of existing and new technologies, behavioral influence, big data, human competencies, technology, software, and hardware. The Netherlands is considered the most connected country in Europe with the continent's fastest connection speeds. Holland offers a positive business climate and a highly-skilled talent pipeline to companies joining the Dutch digital ecosystem.

NFIA helps North American companies expand to the Netherlands from its regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Toronto. To learn more, visit: investinholland.com .

SOURCE Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency

Related Links

https://investinholland.com


FAIRFIELD, Calif., Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tracey L. Fuller, BSN, MSN, RN, TNCC is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Professional Member in the field of Healthcare in recognition of her role as Director of Virtuous Healthcare Services.

With its establishment since 2016, Virtuous Healthcare is a privately held entity that specializes in all facets of the medical industry. Located in Fairfield, California Virtuous Healthcare Services is commended for their work in the medical field. Dedicated to providing eminent healthcare services and devoted to the health and wellness of their patients, the center is well versed in providing Patient Care & Nursing Education to those they serve.

Having gathered several years of experience in the healthcare industry, Tracey L. Fuller is revered for her outstanding contributions to the profession. A renowned expert in the field, throughout her career, Fuller has attained extensive experience in the areas of critical care nursing, management, and leadership.

Early in her educational career, Fuller attained her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Phoenix. Currently, Fuller is working on her DNP at Grand Canyon University.

In an effort to further advance her professional career, Fuller is an esteemed member of several organizations including the ASPN and the Emergency Nurses Association.

Charitable to various organizations, Fuller is involved in her church and on her children's school board.

When she is not working, Fuller enjoys spending time with her family.

About Continental Who's Who (CWW)

CWW has become one of the most trusted publishers around the globe, spotlighting thousands of professionals each year by their specific industries. The men and women published represent every important field of endeavor. Included are executives and officials in business, science, education, philanthropy, religion, government, the fourth estate, finance, law, engineering and numerous other fields.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vice President of Business Services for Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) Tony Amato will join a panel of experts at Smart Cities Week D.C. to discuss cultivating a thriving workforce that meets the demands of a dynamic economy. The breakout session will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

WOS' session, Training, Recruitment, and Retention for the Smart City Workforce, is part of the 2018 Smart Cities Week in Washington, D.C. Oct. 2-4. Amato will join a panel, including the State of Maryland's Secretary of Labor Kelly Schulz and Associate Professor of Management at Collat School of Business Anthony Hood, to discuss how to create a workforce that provides job opportunities for difficult-to-employ populations.

This fourth annual Smart Cities Week D.C., hosted by the Smart Cities Council and MCI, showcases the latest in digital technologies for more livable, sustainable communities. Considered to be the premier smart city conference in the United States, this year's conference highlights ground-breaking initiatives, new and improved training and retention programs, and the impact a culture of innovation can have on local economies. An estimated 1,300 participants and more than 100 speakers from around the world are expected to participate.

This year's conference theme is Collaboration: the cornerstone of the smart city. Attendees will hear about promising collaborations with local colleges, local businesses, unions and professional groups that can help cities and other jurisdictions nurture a smart city workforce through recruitment pipelines, training initiatives and more.

Other sessions bring together officials representing small cities, suburbs and rural communities who are working with the private sector to build opportunities for innovation  incubators, accelerators and vocational training programs among them.

Visit www.smartcitiesweek.com/2018-washington/ for more information and to register.

About Workforce Opportunity Services

Founded in 2005, Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit committed to developing the skills of untapped talent from underserved and veteran communities through partnerships with organizations dedicated to diversifying their workforce. Utilizing a scientifically-based model derived from research conducted at Columbia University, we recruit, educate, train, and place high-potential candidates with leading organizations around the world. To date, WOS has served 3,800+ individuals through partnerships with more than 65 corporations in 60+ locations worldwide. For more information, visit wforce.org.

About Tony Amato

Anthony Amato joined Workforce Opportunity Services (WOS) in 2011 and directs all academic operations for the organization. He designs and develops program curriculums, establishes partnerships with universities and colleges, and oversees program implementations. Previously, he was responsible for managing the WOS program at Penn State-Lehigh Valley. During his time at Penn State, Anthony provided outreach services to under-resourced communities as well as program coordinator for the entire Penn State-Lehigh Valley summer youth program.

Anthony is a graduate of Penn State with a B.S. in Organizational Leadership. He is currently pursuing an M.A. in Political Science at Lehigh University.

Additional Links

WOS on Twitter (www.twitter.com/wforceorg)

WOS on Facebook (www.facebook.com/wforceorg/)

WOS on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/workforce-opportunity-services/)

WOS on Instagram (www.instagram.com/wforceorg/)

Media Contact:

Laura Friedman

[email protected]

212-870-2241

SOURCE Workforce Opportunity Services

Related Links

http://wforce.org


25 th year anniversary of GAR's oleochemical manufacturing plant subsidiary

year anniversary of GAR's oleochemical manufacturing plant subsidiary New brand name, Sinar Mas Oleochemical, to strengthen brand recognition across the global industry

Oleochemicals is an important component in the growth and diversification of the business

MEDAN, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Agri-Resources' (GAR) oleochemical productions facility celebrates its 25th year anniversary, revealing a new brand name Sinar Mas Oleochemical.

In establishing the oleochemical business 25 years ago, Franky O. Widjaja, CEO and Chairman of Golden Agri-Resources, set the path for the company's transformation from an Indonesia plantation company to an integrated global agribusiness player with offices in eight countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia, and products selling in more than 70 countries.

"Oleochemicals have played an important part in the growth and diversification of our business. Not only are they an important part of our story, our history, but they are also indicative of our plans for the future. That future will require modernisation, embracing the digital future so the company can produce and deliver sustainably produced products to customers with faster response time at the highest level of quality," stated Jesslyne Widjaja, Director of Corporate Strategy and Business Development Golden Agri-Resources during the Sinar Mas Oleochemical 25th year anniversary dinner in Medan, Indonesia.

Palm-based oleochemicals are an important component of personal care, food & beverages, household care, oil & gas and many more products. As consumers are increasingly eco-aware and better educated about health and safety, a growing number are looking for safer, more renewable, and natural ingredients in the products they use, especially those they apply on their skin and hair. Plant-based oleochemicals are often biodegradable, an important quality as the world continues to grapple with the huge amounts of waste generated by a growing global population that ends up polluting water or land.

After 25 years of operation, the Sinar Mas Oleochemical plant operation has earned a myriad of certifications, from ISO 9000 to the recent pursuit of ISO 55000 for energy management and conservation. The company works with global and regional key customers.

"Our oleochemicals business aims to provide one-stop solutions for those looking for oleochemicals to support their own product development. Today, more than 80 percent of our products are going overseas and we want to continue to expand both our product offerings and markets in line with Pak Franky's original vision," said Madeline Tan, CEO of Sinar Mas Oleochemical.

Sinar Mas Oleochemical produces Fractionated and Distilled Fatty Acids and Glycerine, also Soap Noodles, derived from its vast plantations operated by GAR. Most of Sinar Mas Oleochemical products are exported to foreign countries, including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the United States, Europe, the Middle East and others. The rest is absorbed by the local market.

About Golden Agri-Resources

GAR is one of the leading palm oil plantation companies with a total planted area of 500,481 hectares (including plasma smallholders) as at 30 June 2018, located in Indonesia. The company operates under Sinar Mas Agribusiness and Food brand in Indonesia. It has integrated operations focused on the production of palm-based edible oil and fat.

Founded in 1996, GAR was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 1999 and has a market capitalisation of US$2.8 billion as at 30 June 2018. Flambo International Limited, an investment company, is currently GAR's largest shareholder, with a 50.35 percent stake. GAR has several subsidiaries, including PT SMART Tbk which was listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 1992.

GAR is focused on responsible palm oil production. In Indonesia, its primary activities include cultivating and harvesting of oil palm trees; processing of fresh fruit bunch into crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel; refining CPO into value-added products such as cooking oil, margarine, shortening, biodiesel and oleo-chemicals; as well as merchandising palm products throughout the world. It also has operations in China and India including a deep-sea port, oilseeds crushing plant, production capabilities for refined edible oil products as well as other food products such as noodles.

SOURCE Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR)

Related Links

https://www.smart-tbk.com/en


ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) will be hosting an informal management meeting with the investment community at its corporate headquarters in Rolling Meadows, Illinois on Thursday, September 13, from 8:00 a.m. CT until approximately 12:00 p.m. CT. During the meeting, the company's operating and financial leaders will present background information and commentary on the company's business operations and financial outlook, and will also take questions from in-person attendees.

In conjunction with this meeting, the company will broadcast a live audio webcast which can be accessed, on a listen-only basis, on the company's website at www.ajg.com/irmeeting. A replay will be available at the same link through October 17, 2018 at midnight ET.

Any information distributed during this meeting will be available on September 13, 2018 at 7:30 a.m. CT at http://www.ajg.com/September13materials. The agenda will be available at www.ajg.com/irmeeting.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company has operations in 34 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Contact:

Raymond Iardella

VP Investor Relations

(630) 285-3661/ [email protected]

SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Related Links

http://www.ajg.com


The two couples went there on August 6, 2018 after a night celebrating Davis' birthday, according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District for the Southern District of Florida.

The complaint further asserts that after the four tourists entered the restaurant, a restaurant employee subjected them to racial verbal abuse and said that they would not be served and kicked them out of the restaurant.

According to the suit, when the group went outside to wait for their Uber ride, a white female restaurant manager closed and locked the front door with clients still dining inside. The manager then blasted them through a crack in the front door with what can only be described as an improvised water cannon to scatter the four tourists away from the restaurant.

The lawsuit was brought by Miami civil rights attorney, Santiago A. Cueto of the Cueto Law Group law firm. For more information http://www.CuetoLawGroup.com

Plaintiff Breealle Holyfield expressed her disbelief over the incident stating "I can't believe it's 2018 and this is still going on. I remember growing up and seeing pictures of black protesters in the 1960s being hosed down in the streets. I thought those days were over. Has history taught us anything?"

The suit also contends that Plaintiffs called the restaurant the next day to complain and learned that an employee and store manager had been terminated as a result of their conduct.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for allegations of civil rights violations, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.

The Case is Breealle Hollyfield, Danny Johnson, Khevionna Davis and Courtney Pettigrew v. Vitori Productions, Inc. d/b/a Cheeseburger Baby, United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Case No. 1:18cv23630.

About: Cueto Law Group, P.L. is a law firm based in Miami, Florida.

Contact: Santiago A. Cueto, 305-777-0377

SOURCE Cueto Law Group, P.L.

Related Links

http://www.cuetolawgroup.com


MIAMI, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Once again, BOXYCHARM disrupts the $2 billion beauty industry by offering up a luxe upgrade to their monthly subscription box. For an additional $28.99, their beloved Charmers can expect an elevated version of their subscription every quarter, with their inaugural BoxyLuxe having just launched this September.

With their usual value proposition promising 4 to 5 full-size, brand-name items for just $21/ month, it was hard to believe BOXYCHARM would try pushing the envelope once more. In September, they launched their first ever BoxyLuxe, featuring 11 luxury cosmetic products, granting the box an impressive value of $300+ for just a fraction of the price.

This luxury upgrade is exclusive to active Charmers, already participating in their monthly subscription. With such high demand, BOXYCHARM sold out of their September BoxyLuxe in record time, with Charmers flocking to the waitlist in order to reserve their spot for the December BoxyLuxe. This means anyone interested in getting their hands on this box will want to subscribe to BOXYCHARM sooner rather than later. With brands like Tarte, MAC, BECCA, Cover FX, Juice Beauty and more in BOXYCHARM's repertoire, it's safe to say they will exceed Charmers' expectations.

About BOXYCHARM LLC:

BOXYCHARM is a monthly subscription service that offers full-sized, brand-name products with a retail value of over $100. BOXYCHARM has continuously grown their partnerships with brands since its inception in May of 2013. Last year alone, the cultivation of these partnerships granted BOXYCHARM a growth of 300%--positioning them as leaders in the beauty subscription box industry and allowing them to establish meaningful relationships with an extensive pool of top industry bloggers and influencers. In January alone, they were able to generate an Earned Media Value of $5.1 Million for their brands. BOXYCHARM was awarded the #176 spot on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. Their efforts have and continue to provide brand partners an increased social media footprint, brand awareness and sales, while offering their beloved Charmers a subscription experience like no other.

SOURCE BOXYCHARM

Related Links

http://www.boxycharm.com


HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital BlueCross chief medical officer and senior vice president of clinical solutions, Dr. Jennifer Chambers, today provided a keynote address at the Magellan Health - Leading Humanity to Healthy, Vibrant Lives conference in Lancaster. The event focused on finding solutions to the opioid epidemic, bringing together experts from the medical, healthcare, and law enforcement fields.

During the conference, Capital BlueCross awarded Compass Mark a $5,000 grant for leading addiction prevention efforts. The non-profit organization, based in Lancaster and Lebanon counties, works to prevent addiction through education, skill building, and community mobilization.

Dr. Chambers has extensive knowledge in opioid misuse disorder and the evolution of the opioid epidemic. Her background gives her unique insight into what patients, doctors, and others in healthcare are faced with when it comes to opioids.

"We need to get rid of the stigma, and recognize the medical condition that is opioid addiction," said Dr. Chambers. "As we work together, I am certain that we can make gains in better monitoring of prescriptions and prescribing practices, population health management, access to care, and treatment for opioid use disorder."

According to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Health of America Report: America's Opioid Epidemic and its Effect on the Nation's Commercially Insured, one in five Blues members has been prescribed opioids - a staggering number that can have devastating impacts. According to Dr. Chambers, dosage and duration matter when it comes to the risk of addiction.

Capital BlueCross imposed quantity limits on opioids in July 2017, resulting in a 42% reduction in opioids prescribed to Capital BlueCross members. While these are promising numbers, Dr. Chambers says there is still more work to be done.

Capital BlueCross has been a leader in fighting the opioid epidemic. Along with quantity limits, the company has taken several proactive steps to prevent opioid misuse and to help those in recovery, including:

Advocating for non-opioid pharmacological therapies first and enhanced coverages for non-pharmacological treatments for pain such as acupuncture, bio-feedback, and chiropractic care.

Continuously working to improve clinical management of opioid use and how we help our members manage pain.

Actively supporting drug take-back initiatives, including the ability to safely discard unused medications at our Capital Blue health and wellness centers.

Expanding the use of the safety and monitoring program from CVS Health, which enables pharmacists to identify and report suspected opioid misuse to a member's doctor and other prescribers. This includes alerts to prescribers and dispensers of opioids when members receive an opioid prescription from more than one prescriber, or for more than one drug class, such as the addition of benzodiazepines like Xanax.

Providing medication assisted treatment, which covers medication prescribed to help individuals overcome addiction, as a covered benefit for our members.

Partnering with experts to provide programs offering personalized support to our members dealing with chronic pain; these programs are targeted to help alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life.

Contributing $200,000 since 2014 to enable law enforcement officers in our service are to purchase naloxone, the life-saving medication that can revive a person suffering from a potentially fatal overdose.

"Pennsylvania's death rate from opioids hasn't peaked yet," said Dr. Chambers. "It's a stark reminder how everyone in healthcare has a stake in preventing opioid addiction from needlessly taking any more lives."

About Capital BlueCross

Capital BlueCross, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pa., is the leading health solutions and insurance company in Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley. A partner in the community's health for 80 years, Capital BlueCross offers health insurance products, services and technology solutions that provide peace of mind to consumers and promote health and wellness for our customers.

More than a health insurer, the company delivers innovative solutions through a family of diversified businesses that is creating a healthier future and lowering health care costs. Among these solutions are patient-focused care models, leading-edge data analytics, and digital health technologies. Additionally, Capital BlueCross is growing a network of Capital Blue health and wellness centers that provide in-person service and inspiration to help people reach their health goals. Capital BlueCross is an independent licensee of the BlueCross BlueShield Association. For more information, visit capbluecross.com.

SOURCE Capital BlueCross

Related Links

http://www.capbluecross.com


TORONTO, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. ("CellCube" or the "Company") (CSE: CUBE) (CSE: CUBE.CN) (OTCQB: CECBF) (Frankfurt: 01X) is pleased to announce the signing of a sales partnership agreement with Bettenergy Company Ltd. ("Bettenergy") for the development in Thailand of microgrid and solar plus storage applications.

Bettenergy, with headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, is a leading solution provider for renewable powered energy projects ranging from rural community microgrids to power distributed energy resource projects for the private sector. The company develops and markets projects throughout Thailand that help mitigate renewable intermittency from standalone photovoltaics deployment. Bettenergy provides solutions for overcoming power supply problems from public grids in rural and commercial and industrial segments.

"We are very proud and honoured to be authorized by CellCube as their sole sales partner in Thailand. CellCube is the leading supplier of vanadium redox flow energy storage systems with the most proven and advanced technology with over 130 installations globally. We are confident, that with support from CellCube, we will rapidly grow our business and be a trusted solution of choice for the Thailand energy Industry," said Supaporn Saengtrakulcharoen, Director of Bettenergy.

"We are delighted to start working hand-in-hand with Bettenergy in their development of sustainable renewable energy projects," states Stefan Schauss, President of CellCube. "CellCube energy storage flow technology provides the dominant solution for long-duration storage allowing 4 to 16 hours of stored energy and will substantially help to build additional resiliency in local power grids. CellCube's products match the long-lasting product life time of renewable generation assets and can provide up to a 30 year supply of stored energy without any degradation in storage capacity."

Terms

CellCube has signed an exclusivity agreement to collaborate will Bettenenergy in Thailand. Bettenergy will directly buy the CellCube energy storage system at a set supply price per project. The contract is for 12 months and can be extended based on performance.

About CellCube

CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc. (CellCube) is a Canadian public company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (symbol CUBE), the OTCBB (symbol CECBF), and the Frankfurt Exchange (Symbol 01X) focused on the fast-growing energy storage industry which is driven by the large increase in demand for renewable energy.

CellCube supplies vertically integrated energy storage systems to the power industry and recently acquired the assets of Gildemeister Energy Storage GmbH, now Enerox GmbH, the developer and manufacturer of CellCube energy storage systems. It has also acquired EnerCube Switchgear Systems (formerly Jet Power and Controls Ltd.) and Power Haz Energy Mobile Solutions Inc. (formerly HillCroft Consulting Ltd.) and has invested in an online renewable energy financing platform, Braggawatt Energy Inc.

CellCube develops, manufactures, and markets energy storage systems on the basis of vanadium redox flow technology and has over 130 project installations and a 10 year operational track record. Its highly integrated energy storage system solutions feature 99% residual energy capacity after 11,000 cycles with the focus on larger scale containerized modules. Basic building blocks consist of a 250kW unit family with 4, 6 and 8 hours variation in energy capacity.

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts which address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "aims", "potential", "goal", "objective", "prospective", and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "can", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such forward-looking statements are discussed in this news release and the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis filed at www.sedar.com. Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact:

Glenda Kelly

Investor Communication

Telephone: +1-800-882-3213

Email: [email protected]





www.cellcubeenergystorage.com

SOURCE CellCube Energy Storage Systems Inc.
These three renowned stylists brought a unique and specialized purview to six iconic Cole Haan silhouettes, through which a final collection of 16 stunning designs were created. Karla Welch, applied her design aesthetic which blends modern minimalism, structured sophistication and effortless cool in the customization and design of each silhouette to create a chic capsule featuring the Vesta pump - a favorite style that transitions seamlessly from day to night. Erin Walsh, known for bringing an elegant editor's eye to every look, used the Vesta pump as a foundation to integrate the whimsical style she's famous for. Finally, Simone Harouche, a stylist who has been credited with creating some of pop culture's most iconic looks, worked with Cole Haan to re-imagine the GrandExplre All-Terrain Hiker.

Cole Haan's Fall 2018 collection transcends the everyday, integrating both functionality and elegance, with unique details and luxe materials, including proprietary technology in their Vesta Pump heel silhouettes. The sleek yet stylish footwear supports a multifaceted and fast-moving lifestyle, similar to the ones Welch, Walsh, and Harouche lead, and will give the Cole Haan woman an elegant option of their iconic styles.

On the collaboration, Karla Welch shares, "Cole Haan was wonderful to work with- they have been completely supportive partners. I enjoy process and like being able to take on new projects from start to finish. That's very fulfilling creatively." Meanwhile, Erin Walsh notes, "working with a brand like Cole Haan was wonderfully sensical because they have this classic DNA and are loyal to their customers but are also not afraid to innovate, and for me that combination is extraordinary. It's exciting. And finding the way to tell new stories within the classics is where it gets really fun from a creative point of view."

Lastly, of the partnership with Cole Haan, Simone Harouche said, "as a stylist and costume designer, I enjoyed working with the Cole Haan team using keen attention to detail by making subtle but strong choices to re-invent these styles, especially with my GrandExplre All-Terrain Hiker."

"We were thrilled to partner with these extraordinary celebrity stylists to reimagine these styles for Fall. The unique approach and point of view each woman brought to the collaboration resulted in a robust collection of Cole Haan styles that have been reinvented for a new generation of Cole Haan female consumers," says David Maddocks, Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of Business Development.

The Cole Haan Stylist Collaboration is available on www.ColeHaan.com, Cole Haan's Rock Center store in New York City, Cole Haan's Century City store in Los Angeles and in Japan at Cole Haan Ginza and www.ColeHaan.co.jp. The women's footwear collection including 3.ZERGRAND, Vesta Pumps and GrandExplre All-Terrain Hikers, range from $170-$270.

About Cole Haan

Cole Haan LLC, with its Global Headquarters in Greenland, New Hampshire and Creative Center in New York City, is an iconic American lifestyle accessories brand and retailer of premium men's and women's footwear, handbags, leather accessories, outerwear and eyewear. Cole Haan stands for its commitment to craftsmanship, timeless style and design innovation. For more information, visit ColeHaan.com and follow @ColeHaan.

For more information, contact:

Kimry Blackwelder, Cole Haan

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Cole Haan

Related Links

http://www.colehaan.com


GOTEBORG, Sweden, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Concordia Maritime has signed a contract to charter out the P-MAX tanker Stena Provence. The contract is for one year and runs from September 2018. One again, the contractual partner is one of the world's largest oil and gas companies.

The vessel has been used by the same customer since 2014 for consecutive niche transportation of refined petroleum products, mainly in the Asia Pacific region.

"It's always pleasing to be given a renewal of confidence. This customer has a specific transport need, for which the large load capacity of our P-MAX vessels are well suited. For our part, the contract is fully in line with our efforts to concentrate employment on niche trades where the P-MAX vessels' unique properties are most beneficial," says Kim Ullman, CEO of Concordia Maritime.

This is Concordia Maritime's second contract extension in the recent period. In July, a similar contract was signed with the same customer for the P-MAX vessel Stena Paris.

"Given the weak market, we are still pleased with the level of the contract. Having part of the fleet signed to longer-term contracts is strategically important for us. Long-standing customer relationships are one of the cornerstones of our strategy," concludes Kim Ullman.

Kim Ullman

CEO

Concordia Maritime AB

Tel +46-31855003

Mobile +46-704855003

Email [email protected]

Ola Helgesson

CFO

Concordia Maritime AB

Tel +46-31-855009

Mobile +46-704-855009

Email [email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/concordia-maritime/r/contract-extension-for-p-max-tanker-stena-provence,c2609930

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/1948/2609930/904030.pdf PDF http://news.cision.com/concordia-maritime/i/stena-provence,c2481249 Stena Provence

SOURCE Concordia Maritime
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning digital marketing agency Elite SEM announced that it has acquired CPC Strategy, the San Diego-based agency known for its expertise in retail, ecommerce, and specifically the Amazon channel, where it expects to derive more than half of its revenue in 2018. The combination with CPC Strategy adds critical scale to Elite's rapidly growing Amazon practice, bolsters the depth of its expertise in search and social, and also delivers a powerful technology asset in CPC Strategy's proprietary CAPx media and bid optimization platform.

CPC Strategy, with a team of over 125 employees, works with both brands and sellers and provides services including strategy and advisory, media planning and placement, creative and content services, and data and analytics. Clients include Pfizer, Reef, Guthy Renker, The Honest Company, Hallmark, Nestle, Comvita, Riddell, Unilever's Seventh Generation, and Nutrisystem, as well as many Amazon-only sellers.

"The acquisition of CPC Strategy is our response to the escalating demand from Elite's most successful clients for strategy and execution in the Amazon marketplace, including its media offerings, creative services, and analytics, and the integration of Amazon with other performance media channels. More than a year ago we set out on a mission to find a solution at scale to meet this demand, and no alternative came close to CPC Strategy," said Zach Morrison, President, Elite SEM. "We're thrilled to welcome an outstanding team of true digital media thought leaders to the Elite partnership."

The combined entity will have approximately 500 performance media specialists, integrated media strategists, and data scientists. Both companies have a deep commitment to creating the best possible work environment, based on meritocracy, resulting in superior client service and retention. The acquisition follows Elite SEM's 'Experts Only' operating model, which maintains and develops specialization around each practice area while bringing a holistic approach to clients through Integrated Media Strategy and Marketing Science.

"For our clients and for our dedicated team members, the benefits of joining forces with one of the most respected and successful agencies in our space were very convincing. We are aligned strategically and extremely motivated to continue to build innovative solutions that drive improved client results through digital media with our new partners at Elite and also Mountaingate Capital," said Rick Backus, CEO of CPC Strategy. "Together we have one of the strongest, most experienced, and most tenured management benches in the performance marketing industry and have never been more bullish on our future."

The CPC Strategy acquisition represents Elite SEM's third acquisition since partnering with Denver-based private equity firm Mountaingate Capital in February 2017. Mountaingate has supported substantial organic investments in Elite's marketing science practice while also providing growth capital to facilitate the acquisitions of Paid Social media agency OrionCKB in November 2017 and email and CRM specialist shop Email Aptitude in May 2018.

The acquisition includes CPC Strategy's proprietary Amazon media and bid optimization platform, CAPx, which provides a substantial competitive advantage through both efficiency and efficacy gains, resulting in superior service and performance gains for their clients. While Elite SEM will continue to work with industry partners and third-party technology, this proprietary solution enables strategy and service teams to address market gaps and provide the best platform recommendation for clients.

About Elite SEM

Elite SEM is an award-winning digital marketing agency founded on Search and focused on holistic performance-driven digital marketing. Through organic growth and acquisitions of OrionCKB, Email Aptitude, and now CPC Strategy, Elite's expertise spans Paid Search, SEO, Shopping & Feed, Paid Social, Display Advertising, Amazon & Marketplaces, Affiliate Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), CRM, Email Marketing, and Creative Services  collectively supported by Integrated Media Strategy and Analytics/Marketing Science teams. From discovery through acquisition, retention, reactivation and loyalty, Elite's services span all stages of an integrated marketing strategy and through the entire customer journey allowing leading industry brands to effectively and strategically evaluate digital marketing spend and increase cross-channel performance. Clients include: Bombas, Timex, the San Antonio Spurs, U.S. Polo Assn., Adore Me, Tourneau, Tatcha, Francesca's, Einstein Bagels, Tommy Bahama, Melissa & Doug, Hugo Boss, Theory, Aaptiv, Zipcar, and Terminix.

Elite SEM has won several prestigious industry awards and accolades for both their culture and performance. Elite's commitment to people and performance has cemented their position as one of the top digital marketing agencies in North America. For more information, visit www.elitesem.com.

About CPC Strategy

CPC Strategy is a retail-focused digital marketing agency that specializes in driving performance growth on the channels that directly impact a retailer's digital bottom line. Founded in 2007, CPC executes on ad strategy and management for retailers and brands on Amazon, Google, and Facebook, and other product advertising channels. Clients include Pfizer, Reef, Nixon, Guthy Renker, Seventh Generation, and Franklin Sports. CPC Strategy has been recognized in the Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies and was also honored as a finalist in "Best Places to Work" by the San Diego Business Journal. For more information visit www.cpcstrategy.com.

SOURCE Elite SEM

Related Links

http://www.elitesem.com


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Future Farm Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "Future Farm") (CSE: FFT) (OTCQX: FFRMF) would like to take this opportunity to provide further information regarding the spin-out of 11,000,000 common shares of NexTech AR Solutions Corp. ("NexTech").

As previously announced, the effective date of the spin-out was August 31, 2018. Under the terms of the spin-out, any holder of record of Future Farm common shares as of August 30, 2018 is entitled to receive approximately 0.086145 of a NexTech common share for each common share of Future Farm held by that shareholder. No fractional NexTech shares were issued and the number of such shares issued to each eligible Future Farm shareholder was rounded up or down to the next whole number.

NexTech is seeking a listing of its common shares on the CSE. There can be no guarantee that the NexTech shares will be listed on any stock exchange.

Future Farm shareholders who are entitled to receive NexTech shares should take note of the following:

 For registered shareholders of Future Farm, Direct Registration System (DRS) Advice Statements representing the appropriate number of NexTech shares will be delivered in accordance with the delivery instructions currently on record with Future Farm's transfer agent. DRS allows registered securities to be held in electronic form without having a physical security certificate issued as evidence of ownership.

 For shareholders who hold Future Farm shares in brokerage accounts that use a nominee (such as CDS & CO or Cede & Co), the NexTech shares have been issued to the nominee. It is the nominee's responsibility to then notify broker participants as shares are to be allocated in accordance with the broker's records. The brokers are then responsible to notify non-registered shareholders of the addition of the NexTech shares to their accounts.

Future Farm shareholders should consult their brokers for specific questions regarding their holdings.

For additional information regarding the spin-out, please see the Company's information circular dated June 26, 2018 and news releases dated September 4, August 28, August 2, July 26, June 25, June 20, April 3 and January 9, 2018.

The securities referenced in this news release have not and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

For further information, contact Investor Relations at [email protected] or (888) 387-3761 x710.

On behalf of the Board,

Future Farm Technologies Inc.

William Gildea, Chairman and CEO

About NexTech AR Solutions Corp.

NexTech AR Solutions Corp. is bringing augmented reality to the cannabis market by turning 2D products into exciting 3D consumer experiences. NexTech is currently developing a proprietary and disruptive Augmented Reality (AR) advertising and education platform that uniquely engages by connecting brands and retailers through a fully immersive 3D AR experience called Native AR. NexTech is launching its ARitize app, which will host many brands' 3D objects and augmented reality experiences. NexTech believes it has the first mover advantage in pursuing the cannabis market which is the fastest growing economy in the world. NexTech also owns a large and diverse revenue generating App Portfolio that is deployed on the iTunes and Google plays store which it intends to ARitize.

About Future Farm Technologies Inc.

Future Farm is a Canadian company with holdings throughout North America including California, Massachusetts, Florida, Maine, Puerto Rico and Newfoundland. The Company's mission is to advance sustainable agriculture through production of wholesale and retail cannabis products, including hemp. As a leader in its field, Future Farm is committed to using only the highest quality processes and products. Towards this goal, the Company acquires or partners with licensed cannabis operators, and acquires or develops leading technologies in cannabis production, breeding, genetics, and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Future Farm's scalable, indoor CEA systems utilize minimal land, water and energy resources. The Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license to use a patented vertical farming technology that, when compared to traditional plant production methods, generates yields up to 10 times greater per square foot of land.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will be", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking including statements with respect to the delivery of DRS Advice statements evidencing NexTech shares. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. There is no guarantee that NexTech will be listed on a stock exchange. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable laws.

For further information, contact Investor Relations at [email protected] or (888) 387-3761 x710.

SOURCE Future Farm Technologies Inc.
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Garrett Motion Inc., the planned Honeywell spin-off of its Transportation Systems business, will host its investor conference in New York City today, led by President and Chief Executive Officer Olivier Rabiller.

As part of the conference, Rabiller and other members of the Garrett leadership team will lead presentations highlighting Garrett's market and technology leadership, world-class operations, and financial strength. Garrett's leaders will also provide interactive demonstrations of the company's cutting-edge technologies and solutions for an industry that is rapidly transforming its user experience with advanced automotive powertrains, including the development of electrified and connected vehicles.

"I am excited to update the investment community on the strong position Garrett will have in the automotive industry following our planned spin-off from Honeywell at the end of this quarter," Rabiller said. "We have positioned our brand as 'Garrett - Advancing Motion' because we have a broad portfolio of products that incorporate breakthrough technologies and best-in-class global manufacturing capabilities to grow our global market leadership amid accelerating industry tailwinds, including the emergence of electrified powertrains. We will have an attractive financial profile, and long track record of operational excellence. As a stand-alone company. Garrett will continue to be a driving force within the industry, as evidenced by our introduction of leading software solutions that monitor vehicle performance and health and offer state-of-the-art cybersecurity."

Garrett is a global leader in turbocharger technologies with a 60-year history of innovation and best-in-class engineering capabilities for a broad range of engine types across global automobile, truck and other vehicle markets. Garrett has approximately 1,400 issued and pending patents, approximately 7,500 employees, and a broad customer base that includes nearly all the world's top passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturers. Garrett's 2017 sales were approximately $3.1 billion across 160 countries.

Presentation materials and webcast information for the Garrett Investor Conference, including a replay of the webcast following the event, will be available at www.honeywell.com/investor.

It is anticipated that when-issued trading on the New York Stock Exchange in Garrett Motion Inc. common stock will begin on or about Monday, September 17. On Monday, October 1 Garrett common stock will begin regular-way trading on the NYSE under the symbol, "GTX."

Honeywell (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes, and industry; turbochargers; and performance materials. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywell.com/newsroom.

This release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that we or our management intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based upon certain assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. The forward-looking statements included in this release are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those envisaged by such forward-looking statements. We identify the principal risks and uncertainties that affect our performance in our Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For additional information with respect to Garrett and the proposed spin-off, please refer to the Form 10 Registration Statement, as it may be further amended, on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The spin-off is subject to customary conditions. This communication shall not constitute an offer of any securities for sale, nor shall there be any offer, sale or distribution of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or distribution would be unlawful prior to appropriate registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

Contacts:

MEDIA

INVESTOR RELATIONS: Michael Stoller

Garrett Motion

+1 734 392-5525

[email protected]

Mark Macaluso

Honeywell

+1 973 455-2222

[email protected]

Paul Blalock

Garrett Motion

+1 862 812-5013

[email protected]

SOURCE Honeywell

Related Links

http://www.honeywell.com


ATLANTA, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Power customers will receive the third $25 credit for the Vogtle nuclear expansion on bills this month. A total of $75 in 2018 bill credits, or $188 million overall, were approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) as part of its order to continue construction of Vogtle 3 & 4 in December 2017. Customers also received separate $25 credits in April and July. The 2018 bill credits are a direct result of parent guarantee payments for the Vogtle project from Toshiba available due to the strength of the original contract for the project and protections in place for Georgia electric customers.

Vogtle 3 & 4 are the nation's only new nuclear units under construction with new progress made every day at the construction site near Waynesboro, Georgia. Most recently, Georgia Power announced the placement of the third 1.4 million-pound steam generator for the project. Steam generators, measuring nearly 80 feet long, are heat exchangers used to convert water into steam using the heat produced in a nuclear reactor core. Four steam generators are needed for the new units with the final steam generator onsite and expected to be placed in the coming months. Watch a time-lapse video of the placement here.

To learn more about Georgia Power's commitment to safe, clean, reliable and affordable energy, including the Vogtle 3 & 4 nuclear expansion, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com.

About Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), America's premier energy company. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company's promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia's 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower), Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower) and Instagram (Instagram.com/ga_power).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this communication is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements concerning future actions related to Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4. Georgia Power cautions that there are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Georgia Power; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. The following factors, in addition to those discussed in Georgia Power's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, and subsequent securities filings, could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations as suggested by such forward-looking information: the impact of any failure to amend the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee to allow for additional borrowings; state and federal rate regulations and the impact of pending and future rate cases and negotiations; the impact of recent and future federal and state regulatory changes, as well as changes in application of existing laws and regulations; the uncertainty surrounding the recently enacted federal tax reform legislation, including implementing regulations and Internal Revenue Service interpretations, actions that may be taken in response by regulatory authorities, and its impact, if any, on the credit ratings of Georgia Power; current and future litigation or regulatory investigations, proceedings, or inquiries; available sources and costs of fuels; effects of inflation; the ability to control costs and avoid cost and schedule overruns during the development construction and operation of facilities, including Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 which include components based on new technology that is just beginning initial operation in the global nuclear industry at scale, including changes in labor costs, availability and productivity, challenges with management of contractors, subcontractors or vendors, adverse weather conditions, shortages, increased costs or inconsistent quality of equipment, materials, and labor, including any changes related to imposition of import tariffs, contractor or supplier delay, non-performance under construction, operating, or other agreements, operational readiness, including specialized operator training and required site safety programs, unforeseen engineering or design problems, start-up activities (including major equipment failure and system integration), and/or operational performance; the ability to construct facilities in accordance with the requirements of permits and licenses (including satisfaction of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements, to satisfy any environmental performance standards and the requirements of tax credits and other incentives, and to integrate facilities into the Southern Company system upon completion of construction; advances in technology; legal proceedings and regulatory approvals and actions related to Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4, including Georgia PSC approvals and NRC actions; a decision by more than 10% of the owners of Plant Vogtle Units 3 and 4 not to proceed with construction; the inherent risks involved in operating and constructing nuclear generating facilities, including environmental, health, regulatory, natural disaster, terrorism, and financial risks; interest rate fluctuations and financial market conditions and the results of financing efforts; changes in The Southern Company's or Georgia Power's credit ratings, including impacts on interest rates, access to capital markets, and collateral requirements; the impacts of any sovereign financial issues, including impacts on interest rates, access to capital markets, impacts on foreign currency exchange rates, counterparty performance, and the economy in general, as well as potential impacts on the benefits of DOE loan guarantees; and the effect of accounting pronouncements issued periodically by standard setting bodies. Georgia Power expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information.

SOURCE Georgia Power

Related Links

http://www.georgiapower.com


Approximately 500,000 homes and business currently connect to Get's fibre-based network, and more than 1 million private and business customers rely on Get's services on a daily basis. Get customers have access to one of the country's fastest broadband networks, among Norway's largest selection of digital TV channels and a separate film store with more than 6,000 rental titles. Get's broadband customers can also view TV channels on tablets and smartphones, and also remotely control their Get PVR using the TV app. The company recently introduced WIFIX, a whole-home Wi-Fi solution pioneered by AirTies.

Unlike traditional Wi-Fi, which relies on a single Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) on a home gateway/router, Get offers multiple Mesh Extenders from AirTies to create an intelligent Wi-Fi Mesh network throughout subscribers' homes to deliver fast and consistent, whole-home Internet coverage. AirTies' elegant and compact Air 4920s use AirTies' Mesh Software, which automatically "steers" consumers' devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones, game systems, smart home devices, etc.) to the best available access point, channel, and band (2.4GHz and 5GHz), based on real-time network conditions in a home. Get also relies on AirTies' Remote Manager, a cloud-based Wi-Fi optimization software suite that provides key in-home Wi-Fi performance data and analytics to improve the consumer experience. Get customers can sign up for a monthly subscription for WIFIX, which includes three Mesh Extenders.

"Our customers depend more than ever on the performance of their Wi-Fi networks, as the use of connected devices and video streaming continues to proliferate," said Gunnar Evensen, CEO of Get. "The expectations our customers have when it comes to Wi-Fi necessitate top-of-the-range products. And with our WIFIX concept we've already seen significant improvements in customer satisfaction."

"Get is at the forefront of delivering high-quality broadband across Norway, and we're proud to support them with our Managed Wi-Fi Mesh solutions," said Philippe Alcaras, CEO of AirTies. "With Get WIFIX and AirTies, consumers can get the superfast, reliable Internet they crave in every corner of the home."

Eye Networks, a reseller of high-quality network solutions to the Norwegian telecom industry, is the exclusive B2B reseller for AirTies in Norway since 2010, and starting this year also offers AirTies' Wi-Fi solutions to the Finnish, Swedish, and Danish markets. "More and more ISPs are acknowledging that the home Internet experience is wireless, and that the only way to secure good user experiences is to provide high-quality Wi-Fi with integrated management," said Jan Pedro Tumusok, CEO, Eye Networks. "We are thrilled and proud to be part of this sea-change, and to see Get and other Scandinavian ISPs at the very forefront."

With operations around the globe, AirTies provides leading international service providers with solutions to fix their subscribers' in-home Wi-Fi issues and create premium Wi-Fi services. More than 25 million homes are powered by AirTies' technologies across more than 50 service providers across 4 different continents. With AirTies, service providers can seize new opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, drive incremental revenue, and differentiate with new classes of premium Wi-Fi services.

At the upcoming IBC Show in Amsterdam, September 13-18, AirTies will be demonstrating its Managed Wi-Fi Mesh solutions on the show floor in Hall 1, Stand B21.

More information about AirTies can be found at: www.AirTies.com. Additional information about Get is available at: www.Get.no.

About AirTies

Founded in 2004, AirTies is the most widely deployed provider of Wi-Fi Mesh solutions to operators around the globe. AirTies provides service providers with Mesh extenders, set-top boxes, software, apps, and cloud-based performance monitoring capabilities that enable ISPs to provide a managed Wi-Fi Mesh solution for their subscribers. AirTies technologies are powering more than 25 million homes worldwide. AirTies' customers include: AT&T, Atlantic Broadband, Deutsche Telekom, Frontier, Orange, Midco, Singtel, Sky (SKY Q in the UK; Germany; Italy; and New Zealand), Swisscom, Vodafone, Waoo, and many other operators. More information is available at www.AirTies.com.

About Get

Get is a leading fibre-based broadband and content provider with 840 employees. Since 1969, Get has been a pioneer in the development of TV and broadband. Today, the company is characterized by its entrepreneurship, and the desire to break barriers by offering innovative and easy-to-use solutions, investing in a world-class fibre network stretching from Hammerfest in the north to Kristiansand in the south. Get uses fibre technologies that provide customers with the speed, stability and security they need  now and in the future. A total of 500,000 homes and business are currently connected to Get's fibre-based network, and more than 1 million private and business customers use our services on a daily basis. More information is available at www.Get.no.

SOURCE AirTies

Related Links

http://www.AirTies.com


DUBLIN, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Military Aerospace Coatings Market by Resin Type (Polyurethane and Epoxy), Technology (Liquid and Powder), User Type (OEM and MRO), Aircraft Type (Fixed Wing and Rotary Wing), and Region (North America, Europe, APAC) - Global Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The military aerospace coatings market is estimated to be USD 310.7 million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 390.7 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 4.69% during the forecast period.



The market is driven due to the use of military aerospace coatings by different user types, such as OEM and MRO. The high demand for military aerospace coatings for different military aircraft, such as fixed wing and rotary wing is also driving the military aerospace coatings market.



The demand for military aerospace coatings for different military aircraft is high, especially in Russia, the US, China, and India. Competition among countries to become global superpowers, empowerment of their defense sectors, and the adoption of emerging technologies and innovations are expected to drive the demand for military aerospace coatings in these industries. APAC is projected to witness strong growth over the next 5 years followed by North America and Europe.



Different types of military aerospace coatings are used in aircraft, based on the requirements and durability of products. These have distinct properties, which vary according to application requirements. Military aerospace coatings are classified based on resin types, namely, polyurethane, epoxy, and others.



Demand in the coating market is based on the demand for coat layers, such as base coat, and top coat. Generally, polyurethane is applied as a top coat and epoxy is applied as a primer. The growing demand for military aerospace coatings from the APAC and North America regions is expected to drive the market. However, government regulations and policies consume time due to the required approvals andare affecting market growth.



Military Aerospace Coatings Market



Products based on solvent-based technologies, such as those containing VOCs are affecting the environment in most countries in Europe and North America and backlogs created due to coatings, and other safety regulations are restraining the growth of the military aerospace coatings market in these regions.



Key players in the military aerospace coatings market include PPG (US), Akzo Nobel (Netherlands), Sherwin-Williams (US), Hentzen Coatings (US), Mapaero (France), 3Chem (US), Creative Coatings (US), and Qioptiq (UK).



Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



2.1 Research Data

2.2 Secondary Data

2.3 Primary Data

2.4 Market Size Estimation

2.5 Data Triangulation

2.6 Assumptions

2.7 Limitations



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



4.1 Significant Opportunities in the Military Aerospace Coatings Market

4.2 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By Resin Type

4.3 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By Resin Type and Country (2017)

4.4 Military Aerospace Coatings Market: Developed vs. Developing Countries

4.5 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By C0untry



5 Market Overview



5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Dynamics

5.2.1 Drivers

5.2.1.1 Competition Among Countries to Be A Global Superpower is Strengthening the Defense Sector

5.2.2 Restraints

5.2.2.1 Backlogs Created Due to Coating and Other Safety Regulations

5.2.3 Opportunities

5.2.3.1 Increasing Use of Nano, Chrome-Free, and Powder-Based Technologies in Military Aerospace Coatings

5.2.4 Challenges

5.2.4.1 Stringent and Time-Consuming Regulatory Policies

5.3 Porter's Five Forces Analysis

5.4 Macroeconomic Overview and Key Trends



6 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By Resin Type



6.1 Introduction

6.2 PU

6.3 Epoxy

6.4 Others

6.4.1 Acrylic

6.4.2 Silicone



7 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By Technology



7.1 Introduction

7.2 Liquid-Based Technology

7.2.1 Solvent-Based Technology

7.2.2 Water-Based Technology

7.3 Powder-Based Technology



8 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By Aircraft Type



8.1 Introduction

8.2 Fixed-Wing Aircraft

8.3 Rotary Wing Aircraft



9 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By User Type



9.1 Introduction

9.2 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)

9.3 Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO)



10 Military Aerospace Coatings Market, By Region



11 Competitive Landscape



11.1 Overview

11.2 Market Ranking

11.3 Competitive Scenario

11.3.1 Investment & Expansion

11.3.2 Merger & Acquisition

11.3.3 New Product Launch



12 Company Profiles



12.1 PPG Industries

12.2 Akzo Nobel

12.3 The Sherwin-Williams Company

12.4 Hentzen Coatings, Inc.

12.5 Mapaero

12.6 3chem

12.7 Creative Coatings

12.8 Qioptiq



For more information about this report visit

https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/n67rwd/global_military?w=5

Media Contact:

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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DUBLIN, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Robust Gas Market Growth in Indian Market: Global Interest and Value Chain Investment Gaining Momentum" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Key Questions Answered

What is the medium & long term outlook on domestic and imported gas mix and demand growth?

Why LNG suppliers need to look beyond the conventional demand drivers?

What are the LNG market creation opportunities in India and why they should be targeted?

and why they should be targeted? What activities of the Indian Government that may encourage LNG trade?

What are the realities of impending infrastructural bottlenecks and supply-chain issues?

How has the Indian LNG imports performed in the recent past?

Which are the companies targeting LNG/Gas business in India and why they are doing so?

and why they are doing so? Why is the outlook on Indian LNG market looks promising?

Target Audience



The target audience is significantly diverse and ranges from thought leadership seekers/market speculators to those looking for an independent intelligence before committing their resources or capital.

Reasons to buy

RLNG Terminal Developers - RLNG terminal developers and operators are the gate keepers of LNG/RLNG in India . New investments are being contemplated and decisions under-progress that require independent assessment of market opportunities and sustainability of demand for LNG.

. New investments are being contemplated and decisions under-progress that require independent assessment of market opportunities and sustainability of demand for LNG. LNG Importers and LNG Suppliers - The report gives a clear direction to the importers and suppliers of LNG in India . India is increasingly looking favorable as a LNG supply destination. Hence, it is crucial to fully understand the market realities and strategy to tap the potential.

. is increasingly looking favorable as a LNG supply destination. Hence, it is crucial to fully understand the market realities and strategy to tap the potential. Gas Pipeline Companies - The pipeline companies are crucial connecting agents for the supply of gas. Development of LNG market cannot happen in isolation and required parallel midstream and downstream infrastructure development.

Manufacturers - India is a unique market and the stakeholders are increasingly becoming focused on creating the market for LNG rather than sticking to conventional/isolated business interests. New products and solutions are the need of the hour to facilitate LNG market adoption, for example: cryogenic LNG storage, LCNG, LNG by truck, Long-haul LNG buses, CNG home refueling, composite CNG cylinders, etc.

is a unique market and the stakeholders are increasingly becoming focused on creating the market for LNG rather than sticking to conventional/isolated business interests. New products and solutions are the need of the hour to facilitate LNG market adoption, for example: cryogenic LNG storage, LCNG, LNG by truck, Long-haul LNG buses, CNG home refueling, composite CNG cylinders, etc. Government Agencies/Policy Makers - The report will be vital for the Government and its policy making agencies who have the mandate of achieving the end objective of making the gas market in India more robust and sustainable.

more robust and sustainable. Banks/Financing Institutions/Investors - The report provides an independent analysis of the opportunities and competitive challenges associated with LNG market development, which will be crucial in existing & future valuations and investment decisions.

Key Topics Covered:



Executive Summary

Introduction

- India's positioning on Global LNG map

positioning on Global LNG map - Changing Primary Energy Mix in India and contribution of natural gas

and contribution of natural gas - India recognizing the versatility of natural gas: Accessible, Reliable, Affordable and Clean

recognizing the versatility of natural gas: Accessible, Reliable, Affordable and Clean Government's focus

Public sector interests

Private sector interests

Relevant authorities and their roles & responsibilities

Current State of Play in Natural Gas Sector in India

- Natural Gas Pipelines: Readiness, Regional spread, Capacity and Usage

- Domestic Natural Gas supply trend

- Natural Gas Demand trend: Quantum, Growth and Drivers

- Demand-Supply Balance

- LNG Imports trend and shortfall met

Current & Evolving State of Play in RLNG Terminals in India

- Sourcing/portfolio

- Existing Capacities (and utilization) and expansion plans (and their status)

- New capacities: Proposed, Advanced planning stage, Under-construction, Completed

Affordability indexation

- Affordability basis alternate fuels

- Affordability basis cut-off tariffs

Domestic Natural Gas supply outlook: 2020-2025-2030

Assessment of Total Demand Universe of Natural Gas in India : 2020-2025-2030

: 2020-2025-2030 - Existing gas consumption level (anchor load, CGD/PNG and CNG)

- Existing capacities (refineries, fertilizer, power, etc.)

- New and Expansion capacities (refineries, fertilizer, power, etc.)

- Convertible demand from alternate fuels (FO, HSD, LPG, etc.)

Assessment of Total Unmet Demand Universe of Natural Gas in India : 2020-2025-2030

: 2020-2025-2030 Assessment of Total Unmet Demand of Natural Gas (on Pipeline Grid) in India : 2020-2025-2030

: 2020-2025-2030 Scenarios for Total Unmet LNG Demand Universe (basis RLNG terminal capacities) in India : 2020-2025-2030

: 2020-2025-2030 Scenarios for Total Balance Unmet LNG Universe (balance of contracted LNG volumes) in India : 2020-2025-2030

: 2020-2025-2030 Elasticity of Natural Gas Demand on Pipeline Grid relative to affordability in India : 2020-2025-2030

: 2020-2025-2030 - Consumer Segment wise

- State/Region wise

- Convertible demand based on different fuel types (for industrial and commercial category)

New LNG market creation opportunities

- Segmentation of new market creation opportunities in LNG in India

- Case Study of some existing innovative solutions for creating LNG market

- Highlighting possible avenues for LNG market development

Innovative products & solution avenues

Innovative supply chain avenues

Conclusion

Glossary

List of tables & figures

Annexures

Companies Mentioned



IGL

MGL

GGL

CUGL

Indian Oil

Adani

GAIL

GAIL GAS

PNGRB

MoPNG

MNGL

IMC limited

BPCL

HPCL

Gujarat Gas

GSPC

Petronet LNG

Shell

ENGIE

Qatar Gas

RASGAS

Exxon Mobil

For more information about this report visit

https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7lrpmr/india_gas_market?w=5

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716



SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Scipher Medicine, developer of a molecular technology platform that can predict if a patient will actually respond to a particular drug therapy announced today that it has completed its Series A round led by Khosla Ventures. With this investment, total funds raised by the company to date are $10 million.

Over 65% of patients prescribed the world's top 5 selling drugs don't respond to therapy. This lack of response to blockbuster drugs coupled with annual price increases are two of the largest contributors to escalating health care costs resulting in billions of dollars in wasted prescriptions and poorer health outcomes for patients.

In complex diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis and multiple sclerosis, a majority of patients cycle through several drugs for months or years without experiencing improvements. These patients are exposed to dangerous side effects and in many cases, their disease is irreversibly worsened. Physicians often have no option but to prescribe drugs based on insurance and formulary considerations rather than based on which drug will best target and treat a patient's unique disease biology. Scipher Medicine's platform addresses this challenge by ensuring patients are only prescribed therapies that will be effective for their particular disease, while identifying new drug targets for patients who will not respond to existing therapies in the market.

Scipher Medicine co-founders Dr. Joseph Loscalzo and Dr. Albert-Laszlo Barabasi have spent more than 10 years building and interpreting the map of human biology that explains how proteins expressed from the human genome interact to cause specific disease phenotypes. Scipher Medicine's groundbreaking platform interprets RNA or protein expression data from a patient's blood or tissue sample to reveal the underlying molecular process regulating the disease, generating a patient specific disease signature. Drugs are then screened to determine which therapy actually targets the disease signature in order to accurately predict patient response. The platform addresses both diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities by predicting drug response and identifying opportunities for new drug development.

"The lack of drug response is a massive burden on patients and the healthcare industry," says Samir Kaul, founding General Partner at Khosla Ventures. "We're proud to partner with Scipher Medicine to take this challenge head-on and change the status quo for how we prescribe drugs and treat patients."

Added Scipher Medicine CEO Alif Saleh: "With the completion of this financing round, we are accelerating product development and plan to announce our first product before the end of the year. Our partnership with Khosla Ventures will be instrumental in ensuring that our technology and platform is commercialized to the benefit of patients, providers and payers."

Covington Associates LLC acted as financial advisor to Scipher Medicine in its Series A financing.

About Scipher Medicine

Scipher Medicine is determined to ensure that patients are given access to drugs that work effectively  from day one. Its molecular technology platform predicts accurately whether a patient will respond to a particular therapy. For patients who don't respond to existing drugs, the platform identifies new targets that can be used to develop more effective therapies. The company's cofounders include Dr. Joseph Loscalzo, Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dr. Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, Robert Gray Dodge Professor of Network Science and a Distinguished University Professor at Northeastern University. Scipher Medicine is a privately held company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. To learn more, visit www.sciphermedicine.com.

About Khosla Ventures

Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that provides venture assistance and strategic advice to entrepreneurs working on breakthrough technologies. The firm was founded in 2004 by Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and focuses on transformative technology in consumer, enterprise, education, financial services, health, big data, agriculture/food, sustainable energy and robotics. Khosla Ventures is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. For more information about the firm's activities, please visit www.khoslaventures.com.

Contact: Katie Wohler

Telephone: 781-728-5753

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.sciphermedicine.com

SOURCE Scipher Medicine

Related Links

http://www.sciphermedicine.com


RESTON, Va., Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, today announced it was named by Black Book Market Research as the 2018 Top Health Information Technology (IT) Consultant according to polls taken by nearly 2,000 healthcare providers and organizations. The company rated highest overall for client experience and satisfaction across a variety of segments, and was ranked No. 1 in the Go-Live Support and Cerner Implementation categories.

Since 2009, Black Book has surveyed the client experience of healthcare software and services users for trends and industry insights. Black Book measures customer satisfaction across 20 consultant-centric, performance indicators such as innovation, level of advisory expertise on subject matter, scalability, engagement successes, and return on investment.

Leidos also ranked in the top 10 for other Black Book IT Consultants & Advisor categories. These include: Enterprise Resource Planning (No. 3); IT Assessment and Vendor Selection (No. 3); Revenue Cycle Management Optimization (No. 5); System-Wide Technology & Digitalization Strategy (No. 5); Epic Implementations (No. 6); Financial Strategic Planning (No. 7); Clinical Workflow Optimization (No. 9); and Value Based Care Transformation & Strategy (No. 10).

With innovative solutions that span from the research bench to the patient bedside, the Leidos Health Group provides a 360 degree approach to helping federal, military, life sciences, and hospital customers solve their most critical healthcare challenges. "Our team brings deep systems integration and healthcare IT expertise to both commercial and government customers," said Leidos Health Group President, Jon Scholl. "This recognition underscores both the breadth and value of the consulting services we provide to our hospital and health system customers."

In total, 142 consultant firms received crowd-sourced evaluations from the polls conducted Q1 to Q3 2018. The survey methodology and full listing of healthcare consultant and advisory firm rankings in each category can be found at Black Book's website: https://blackbookmarketresearch.com/it-consultants-and-advisors.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 31,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $10.17 billion for the fiscal year ended December 29, 2017. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.



Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 29, 2017, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE Leidos

Related Links

http://www.leidos.com


ROSLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GATE (Global Acceptance Transaction Engine), welcomes Mark Gerban to their company as Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Gerban brings with him over 10 years of experience in the payment industry and will be responsible for ensuring the integrated commercial success of the company worldwide.

"The next wave of payments will have a focus on the Internet of Things, and GATE's technology provides the perfect solution for making payments accessible at all times. Even when consumers do not have access to the internet in their cars, clothes, watches or other devices, they can still have secure access to their payments," says Gerban. "Leaving my prior position to join GATE was not an easy decision. But once I understood the technology and the impact it could have in the payments space, it was only natural to join."

During his time at his previous employer, Mr. Gerban led team efforts to investigate new worldwide payment solutions and partners, as well as creating new payment concepts and product features for a software store and digital businesses. Additionally, he is an EU PSD2 regulatory expert in e-commerce and retail channels.

As Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Gerban will oversee the commercial strategy and development of GATE, including taking ownership of the customer interface with GATE's product, making sure that all functions of the organization are aligned to meet its strategic commercial objectives.

"Mark is a true expert in the payments space, having worked with some of the top companies in the industry. We know he will bring extensive knowledge and experience to our team, and we're all looking forward to working with him," says Richard Foster, GATE's CEO & Co-Founder. Yosi Morik, Chairman & Co-Founder of the company, adds, "Mr. Gerban is an outstanding addition to the company and brings with him a wealth of experience. We are more than excited to have him be a part of GATE."

About GATE

GATE (Global Acceptance Transaction Engine) is the only company solving one of the most significant challenges e-wallet companies face  universal acceptance of e-wallet funds across physical, online and mobile channels  all without the need for merchant integration. By creating a unique password during each transaction, GATE's patent-pending technology provides an added layer of security during the payment process and can be used even in a connectionless environment.

GATE's technology allows e-wallet companies to bypass merchants reluctant to adopt numerous payment systems. With no customer data being exchanged at the time of payment, the potential for fraud is considerably lessened and due to GATE's authentication based technology, scalability is largely limitless.

Headquartered in the Greater New York City area, GATE began operations in 2017. For more information visit www.poweredbygate.com.

Related Links

Company Website

Company LinkedIn

SOURCE GATE

Related Links

http://www.poweredbygate.com


MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MSP-C, a Minneapolis-based content marketing agency, is thrilled to announce that the company was named the 2018 Content Marketing Agency of the Year by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). The award was presented last night in Cleveland, Ohio, during Content Marketing World, CMI's annual convention of more than 4,000 content marketing professionals from across the globe.

"Wow, the content marketing Oscar!" says MSP-C President Gary Johnson. "I've been in the industry more than 40 years and I've met a lot of incredibly talented people in the branded content business. They're uber-smart creatives, driven, entrepreneurial, idea people. It's a great place for dedicated journalists, writers, designers and digital marketers to practice their craft and America's brands are the beneficiaries. Thanks to the Content Marketing Institute for honoring our collective efforts."

Agency of the Year (100+ employees) recognitionthe highest award a content marketing agency can achieveis presented to the organization that has distinguished itself by creating content marketing strategies that serve as a showcase for the entire industry. Judges look at the agency's overall strategy, individual projectsboth print and digitaland performance throughout the past year, as well as the innovation behind consistent multiplatform publishing.

"We are so honored to have our work recognized by the world leaders in content strategy," says Erin Madsen, Vice President of Content for MSP-C. "We are a team of hardworking editors, strategists, designers and writers who love what we do. We are lucky to have the best clients anywhere and work to be the best possible partners for them. They are the reason we are here."

MSP-C was among six nominees for Agency of the Year, including Marcus Thomas LLC (Cleveland, Ohio), New Content (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Stein IAS (New York), VERB Interactive, Inc. (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) and Yesler (Seattle).

Each year, the best content marketing projects, agencies and marketers in the industry are recognized during CMI's Content Marketing Awards, the largest content marketing awards program in the world. MSP-C was also a finalist in five other categories:

Stay up-to-date on the latest content marketing trends and insights by subscribing to MSP-C's What's Next Now newsletter and following us on LinkedIn.

ABOUT MSP-C

MSP-Ca division of MSP Communicationsis an award-winning publisher and leading content marketing agency in Minneapolis with 45 years of experience in delivering smart, persuasive content across key owned, earned and paid channels. Our diverse set of clients includes market leaders in business, technology, healthcare and consumer brands, such as Delta Air Lines, General Mills, 3M, UnitedHealthcare, IBM, McKesson, Thrivent Financial and U.S. Bank. They rely on MSP-C's expertise to implement sustainable content marketing programs that can scale and integrate with their traditional marketing initiatives.

SOURCE MSP-C

Related Links

http://www.msp-c.com


JUNO BEACH, Fla., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) today announced that it has established a target for the reduction of the company's carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions rate. Since 2001, the company has reduced its CO 2 emissions rate by 52 percent, and it plans to continue this commitment by establishing a target to reduce the rate more than 65 percent by 2021.

"NextEra Energy is committed to creating a sustainable energy future and providing customers with electricity that is affordable, reliable and clean," said Jim Robo, chairman and chief executive officer of NextEra Energy. "We're one of the cleanest energy companies in America, and the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. We've been reducing emissions for decades through the development of renewable energy and modernizing our generation fleet. Through our significant investments in energy infrastructure, we're shaping how energy is produced and delivered, putting tens of thousands of Americans to work, providing significant economic benefits to the communities we serve and delivering value for our customers, employees and shareholders  all while protecting and conserving the environment."

NextEra Energy has published its annual sustainability report, which is now available on NextEraEnergy.com/Sustainability. The report includes performance-based data regarding NextEra Energy's environmental and social activities in 2017, as well as highlights the company's leadership in renewable energy and battery storage, significant investments in infrastructure, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, commitment to providing a safe and challenging workplace and focus on innovation and continuous improvement.

The annual sustainability report includes metrics and stories in the following categories:

Respecting the environment : NextEra Energy has one of the lowest emissions profiles of any electric company in North America . In 2017, NextEra Energy achieved its lowest-ever emissions rates of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO x )  rates that were substantially better than the U.S. electric sector averages. In addition, the company was recently recognized by Fortune among the top 25 companies globally that "Change the World" in recognition for its leadership in renewable energy.

: NextEra Energy has one of the lowest emissions profiles of any electric company in . In 2017, NextEra Energy achieved its lowest-ever emissions rates of carbon dioxide (CO ), sulfur dioxide (SO ) and nitrogen oxide (NO )  rates that were substantially better than the U.S. electric sector averages. In addition, the company was recently recognized by Fortune among the top 25 companies globally that "Change the World" in recognition for its leadership in renewable energy. Outstanding customer value : NextEra Energy is committed to providing its customers with clean energy that is both affordable and reliable. Since 2001, the company's investments in infrastructure have saved customers more than $9.3 billion by making its power plants more efficient, therefore using less fuel to generate electricity.

: NextEra Energy is committed to providing its customers with clean energy that is both affordable and reliable. Since 2001, the company's investments in infrastructure have saved customers more than by making its power plants more efficient, therefore using less fuel to generate electricity. Sustaining communities: As part of our Power to Care volunteer program, our employees contributed more than 88,000 hours in 2017 to their local communities through company-sponsored projects and personal volunteer time.

As part of our Power to Care volunteer program, our employees contributed more than 88,000 hours in 2017 to their local communities through company-sponsored projects and personal volunteer time. Investing in the team: NextEra Energy employees spent more than 1.1 million hours in 2017 growing their skills, completing nearly 870,000 individual training sessions throughout our NextEra University and other venues.

NextEra Energy employees spent more than 1.1 million hours in 2017 growing their skills, completing nearly 870,000 individual training sessions throughout our NextEra University and other venues. Growing shareholder value: NextEra Energy has a long-term track record of delivering value to shareholders. The company achieved a 10-year total shareholder return through Dec. 31, 2017 , of 221 percent.

In addition, NextEra Energy is participating in a voluntary industry initiative, coordinated by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), to provide investors with more uniform and consistent environmental, social, governance and sustainability data and information. The template, which is now available on NextEraEnergy.com/Investors, is the first and only industry-focused and investor-driven environmental, social and governance reporting framework.

To learn more about NextEra Energy's commitment to sustainability and to view the entire sustainability report, visit NextEraEnergy.com/Sustainability.

NextEra Energy, Inc.

NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE) is a leading clean energy company with consolidated revenues of approximately $17.2 billion, operates approximately 46,790 megawatts of net generating capacity and employs approximately 14,000 people in 33 states and Canada as of year-end 2017. Headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, NextEra Energy's principal subsidiaries are Florida Power & Light Company, which serves approximately 5 million customer accounts in Florida and is one of the largest rate-regulated electric utilities in the United States, and NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun and a world leader in battery storage. Through its subsidiaries, NextEra Energy generates clean, emissions-free electricity from eight commercial nuclear power units in Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin. A Fortune 200 company and included in the S&P 100 index, NextEra Energy has been recognized often by third parties for its efforts in sustainability, corporate responsibility, ethics and compliance, and diversity. NextEra Energy is ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry on Fortune's 2018 list of "World's Most Admired Companies" and ranked among the top 25 on Fortune's 2018 list of companies that "Change the World." For more information about NextEra Energy companies, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.

SOURCE NextEra Energy, Inc.

Related Links

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VANCOUVER, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - The not-for-profit Animal Protection group, the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC), filed for judicial review in the Federal Court. The lawsuit challenges violations of two sections of the Health of Animals Regulations (HAR) and names the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food as the respondent. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Health of Animals Act and the HAR.

"The law in regard to the live export of horses for slaughter is clear. Sections 141(8) and 142(a) of the Health of Animals Regulations say that horses over 14 hands in height (the size of a large pony) must be segregated, and horses must be able to stand in a natural position. These provisions exist to ensure the humane transport of horses, yet the CFIA consistently violates the law by allowing the overcrowding of horses and by allowing horses' heads to touch the tops of crates, when live horses are shipped by air cargo to Japan for slaughter," states the lawyer for the CHDC, Rebeka Breder.

Since 2012, the CHDC has studied conditions under which live horses are exported to Japan for human consumption. Photographic and video evidence has consistently revealed that even large draft horses have been crammed together for export purposes, sometimes as many as three or four per wooden crate, and that the ears of very tall horses have been seen to breach the netting covering the tops of crates. There is also evidence of horses dying and injuring themselves.

"This legal challenge certainly pits David against Goliath," observes Sinikka Crosland, Executive Director of CHDC. "But the CFIA is not above the law. The government has certain legal and ethical obligations, which cannot be swept under the rug."

Please consider donating to the CHDC to support this legal challenge: https://defendhorsescanada.org/product/donate-to-chdc.

SOURCE Canadian Horse Defence Coalition

Related Links

www.defendhorsescanada.org


PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Oak Street Health, a network of primary care centers providing a new model of value-based healthcare to Medicare-eligible adults, has purchased the Medicare operations of CityLife Neighborhood Clinics. Oak Street Health's rapid growth, and recent entry into the Philadelphia market, are a clear indication of the demand for a healthcare model built around quality of care, rather than quantity of visits.

Oak Street Health is now serving patients with Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans at CityLife's centers located in the Fern Rock, Lehigh Avenue, University City and Cobbs Creek neighborhoods. CityLife will continue to serve Medicaid members at its Lehigh Avenue and Cobbs Creek neighborhood locations and through its Medicaid Health Solutions Platform.

Oak Street Health's innovative care model uses a preventative approach to keep patients happy and healthy and out of the hospital. Its physicians spend twice as long with patients than the national average, contributing to a 40 percent reduction in hospital admissions. Patients also receive access to services outside of primary care, including behavioral health services, social events, transportation to and from appointments and for patients who qualify, social support services and pharmacy services.

"As we expand into Philadelphia, we identified a unique opportunity to address increasing demand for our value-based offerings," said Amyn Andharia, Regional Vice President at Oak Street Health. "We are excited to leverage CityLife's experience in Philadelphia to help us bring our patient-centric model to this market using locations and a team that local citizens already visit, know and respect. We look forward to serving the Philadelphia population to provide the highest level of care for our patients in these neighborhoods."

Oak Street Health does not anticipate any immediate changes to the day-to-day operations with the acquisition. The company expects that approximately 50 CityLife team members in the Philadelphia market, who are primarily responsible for the care of Medicare members, will be employed by Oak Street Health, and roughly a dozen team members focused on Medicaid members will remain employed by CityLife.

"We're excited to work with an organization that shares our same values and mission," said Eli Diez, Market Operations Leader for Ampersand Health, parent company of CityLife. "We look forward to sharing our deep understanding of the Philadelphia community and building on our success in the market through Oak Street Health's enhanced care model. Together, we can improve the lives of Medicare and Medicaid members in our community and provide the best healthcare experience in the market."

This acquisition comes on the heels of Oak Street Health's market entry into Philadelphia with three centers to be located at the following addresses:

5050 Parkside Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131

19131 2401 W Cheltenham Ave, Wyncote, PA 19095

19095 3621 Aramingo Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19134

With the acquisition, Oak Street Health will have seven locations in Philadelphia and 40 other locations across Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan in 2018. Oak Street Health will ultimately create hundreds of job opportunities in Philadelphia in order to provide high quality healthcare to local residents.

The locations that Oak Street Health newly obtained are located at the following addresses:

For more information about Oak Street Health, visit www.oakstreethealth.com.



About Oak Street Health

Oak Street Health is a rapidly growing company of primary care centers for adults on Medicare in medically underserved communities where there is little to no quality healthcare. Oak Street's care is based on an entirely new model that is based on value for its patients, not on volume of services. The company is accountable for its patients' health, spending more than twice as long with its patients and taking on the risks and costs of their care. Oak Street Health has been investing in communities since 2013  providing much-needed primary care for tens of thousands of people.

Media Contact:

Kyle Rall

Walker Sands Communications

312-964-9114

[email protected]

SOURCE Oak Street Health

Related Links

http://www.oakstreethealth.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of financial markets for 10,000 U.S. and global securities, today announced the lists of downgrades from its respective OTCQX and OTCQB markets and Caveat Emptor Designations for the month of August.

Downgrades from OTCQX and OTCQB  August 2018

Company Symbol Original

Market Downgraded

Market Reason Removal Date Alternative Investment

Corporation AIKO OTCQB Pink Curent Public Interest

Concern 8/1/2018 Rennova Health, Inc. RNVAW OTCQB Pink Curent Bid Price Deficiency 8/2/2018 Rennova Health, Inc. RNVA OTCQB Pink Curent Bid Price Deficiency 8/2/2018 Aurcana Corp. AUNFF OTCQB Pink Curent FINRA Trading Halt 8/6/2018 Tautachrome Inc. TTCM OTCQB Pink Curent Bid Price Deficiency 8/6/2018 Chaparral Energy Inc CHHP OTCQB Pink Curent Bid Price Deficiency 8/7/2018 Luboa Group, Inc. LBAO OTCQB Pink Curent Non-compliance with

OTCQB Standards 8/7/2018 TimefireVR Inc. TFVR OTCQB Pink Curent Bid Price Deficiency 8/7/2018 Ho Wah Genting Group

Ltd HWGG OTCQB Pink Curent Filed to Cease Reporting 8/8/2018 WeWin Group Corp. WWIN OTCQB Pink Curent Non-compliance with

OTCQB Standards 8/8/2018 Organigram Holdings, Inc. ORGIF OTCQB Pink Curent Non-compliance with

OTCQB Standards 8/9/2018 Royal Hawaiian Orchards,

L.P. NNUTU OTCQX U.S. Pink Curent Filing Delinquency 8/10/2018 Asia Equity Exchange

Group, Inc. AEEX OTCQB Pink Curent Non-compliance with

OTCQB Standards 8/10/2018 Medicenna Therapeutics

Corp. MDNAF OTCQX International OTCQB Non-compliance with

OTCQX Rules 8/13/2018 WRIT Media Group, Inc. WRIT OTCQB Pink No

Information Filing Delinquency 8/15/2018 Nami Corp. NINK OTCQB Pink Curent Non-compliance with

OTCQB Standards 8/16/2018 Nighthawk Energy plc NHEGY OTCQB Pink Curent Bankruptcy 8/16/2018 GreenBox Pos LLC GRBX OTCQB Pink Limited Public Interest

Concern 8/23/2018 Hooper Holmes, Inc. HPHWQ OTCQX U.S. Pink Curent Bankruptcy 8/28/2018 Global Smart Capital

Corp. TDXP OTCQB Pink Limited Filing Delinquency 8/31/2018 MoneyOnMobile, Inc MOMT OTCQB Pink Limited Filing Delinquency 8/31/2018

Caveat Emptor  August 2018

Company Symbol Caveat Emptor

Status Market Tier Date Save Foods, Inc. SAFO removed Pink Limited 8/6/2018 OneLife Technologies Corp. OLMM removed Pink Curent 8/14/2018 Swingplane Ventures Inc SWVI added Pink No

Information 8/22/2018 Rio Bravo Oil, Inc. RIOB added Grey Market 8/28/2018 UAN Cultural & Creative Co.,

Ltd. UCCC added Grey Market 8/28/2018 UAN Cultural & Creative Co.,

Ltd. GHBAU added Grey Market 8/28/2018 Great Wall Builders Ltd. GWBU added Grey Market 8/29/2018 IDO Security, Inc. IDOI added Grey Market 8/29/2018 PuraMed BioScience, Inc. PMBS added Grey Market 8/29/2018 Redify Group, Inc. RDFY added Grey Market 8/29/2018 Spartan Gold Ltd. SPAG added Grey Market 8/29/2018 TagLikeMe Corp. TAGG added Grey Market 8/29/2018 Rotoblock Corp. RTBC added Grey Market 8/30/2018 Safebrain Systems, Inc. SFBR added Grey Market 8/30/2018 U.S. China Mining Group,

Inc. SGZH added Grey Market 8/30/2018 Americas Wind Energy Corp. AWNE added Pink No

Information 8/31/2018 Casablanca Mining Ltd. CUAU added Pink No

Information 8/31/2018 Circa Pictures & Production

Co. International, Inc. CPPD added Pink No

Information 8/31/2018 Magnus International

Resources, Inc. MGNU added Pink No

Information 8/31/2018

About OTC Markets Group Issuer Compliance

OTC Markets Group's Washington D.C.-based Issuer Compliance team is responsible for evaluating company compliance with OTCQX and OTCQB qualifications, monitoring stock promotion and other potential public interest concerns, and working to allow issuers to provide adequate current information to the market. Through data driven disclosure processes and market activity analysis, the Issuer Compliance team promotes transparency among the 10,000 U.S. and global securities that trade on the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market, and the Pink Open Market.

Issuer Compliance is actively engaged in continuous information sharing with FINRA, the SEC, other regulators, and the exchanges.

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.

Related Links

http://www.otcmarkets.com


WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc. (NYSE American: ORM) announced today that it has entered into a Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with ZB, N.A. dba California Bank & Trust as administrative agent, swingline lender and a lender, and First Bank and Umpqua Bank as additional lenders (the "Restated Credit Agreement"). Pursuant to the Restated Credit Agreement, the lenders have agreed to continue to provide ORM with a $75.0 million secured revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility"), subject to borrowing limits determined in accordance with borrowing base calculations that depend on the underlying collateral of ORM. The Restated Credit Agreement also includes an option for ORM to increase the maximum available principal amount to up to $95.0 million, subject to one or more new or existing lenders agreeing to provide such additional loan commitments and satisfaction of other customary conditions. The Restated Credit Agreement and a new Security Agreement among the parties collectively amends and restates the prior credit facility with the lenders, and the maturity date for funds borrowed pursuant to the Restated Credit Agreement has been extended to May 15, 2020, and advances of funds are permitted until the new maturity date.

The foregoing description of the Restated Credit Agreement and related documents does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Credit Facility agreements, copies of which have been filed by ORM with the SEC as exhibits to a Current Report on Form 8-K.

About Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc.

Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., a Maryland corporation, is a specialty finance mortgage company organized to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") that focuses on the origination, investment, and management of commercial real estate mortgage loans. We provide customized, short-term acquisition and transition capital to small balance and middle-market investors that require speed and flexibility. Our primary objective is to provide investors with attractive current income and long-term shareholder value. Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc., is headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, and is externally managed and advised by Owens Financial Group, Inc.

Additional information can be found on the Company's website at www.owensmortgage.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements about Owens Realty Mortgage Inc.'s plans, strategies, and prospects are based on current information, estimates, and projections; they are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as known and unknown risks, which could cause actual results to differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, readers should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "target," "assume," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believe," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Additional information concerning these, and other risk factors is contained in the Company's most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the Company or matters attributable to the Company or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.

SOURCE Owens Realty Mortgage, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.owensmortgage.com


TYSONS, Va., Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PenFed Credit Union announced today its acquisition of the award winning, independent marketing services agency WHITE64, which has served as PenFed's marketing and advertising agency since 2014.

Under the terms of the agreement, WHITE64 will retain its name and operate as a virtually autonomous unit rather than an in-house agency. Matt White will continue serving as President of the agency. White64 will continue serving existing clients while also seeking new business in all sectors.

"Matt White and his team at WHITE64 have fueled PenFed's growth since our rebranding in 2014," said PenFed President and CEO James Schenck. "I see that value is not only for us, but for WHITE64's entire roster of clients. This acquisition is designed to empower the agency to offer its best-in-class marketing services to national, state and local clients, including other credit unions. We're thrilled to have WHITE64 officially become part of the PenFed family."

"This partnership is all about continuing to build upon the winning value proposition to our existing and new clients by being able to deliver full-service offerings and results across all media platforms in the days and years ahead," said White. "It's going to help us provide our current clients with a greater array of services while also helping us attain the scale we need to attract new clients who are seeking a full-service agency with a wide range of integrated capabilities."

White added that the acquisition will help the agency increase its competencies specifically in the increasingly important and growing areas of advanced data, research, and analytics  a move that will allow WHITE64 to fully support the future needs of new and existing clients.

Under terms of the agreement, WHITE64's entire 50-plus-member staff and C-level executive suite will remain intact, and the agency will continue to conduct business as usual as a separate limited liability company (LLC). White will continue as President, and the company's headquarters' offices will remain in their current location in Tysons, Va. White expects the agency to add staff as they expand capabilities in the areas he cited.

Over the past four years, WHITE64 has served as Agency of Record for PenFed, its largest client, offering creative and media services, helping rebrand from Pentagon Federal Credit Union to PenFed, and launching the PenFed "Great Rates Across America" campaign.

About WHITE64

WHITE64 was founded in 1964 as Nolan Duffy and White by E. James White, who had a passion for creative that delivered results. Today, we believe that every brand has a truth. First we help our clients find it. Then we help them tell it. We create believers. Our clients include, PenFed Credit Union, CFP Board, Washington Metro, Koons Automotive Group, Luray Caverns, Bio Industries, Hilton, Visit Fairfax, Wolf Trap and Navy Mutual among others. For more information, please visit us online at white64.com, Facebook and on Twitter.

About PenFed Credit Union

Established in 1935 as the War Department Credit Union, Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) is America's second-largest federal credit union, serving 1.7 million members worldwide with $23.5 billion in assets. Our mission is to help members reach their financial potential. PenFed Credit Union offers market-leading mortgages, automobile loans, credit cards, student loans, checking, certificates, and a wide range of other financial services with members' interests always in mind. We have a proud history of serving those in the Armed Forces, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Military Associations, eligible veterans and retirees, and their families. You may also qualify through membership in select organizations within our field of membership. PenFed Credit Union is federally insured by the NCUA and is an equal housing lender. To learn more about PenFed Credit Union, visit PenFed.org, like us on Facebook and follow us @PenFed on Twitter. Interested in working for PenFed? Check us out on LinkedIn. We are proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

SOURCE PenFed Credit Union

Related Links

http://www.PenFed.org


LONDON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China's paraformaldehyde (PF) industry has witnessed a fast development in the past few years. China is still a net PF importer, though its PF export volume had increased rapidly since 2009. There are still two main technologies to produce PF, namely rake drying method and spray drying method. PF industry in China is currently at its growing stage. Its capacity has been growing so rapidly that the demand growth could not catch up with it. The problem of overcapacity has become more serious in recent years. As a result, PF producers' bargaining power is becoming weaker and weaker. Meanwhile, the profit rate in PF industry is decreasing.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4936629



The domestic PF production is mainly distributed in Hebei, Shandong and Jiangsu provinces, relying on abundant supply of raw materials especially methanol and convenient transportation. As there are more and more producers, China's PF output has increased substantially, with a CAGR of 4.29% from 2015 to 2017. It reached to 262,650 tonnes in 2017, increasing by 4.10% over that of the previous year. But the speed of increase had slowed down as the environmental protection policy. With the rising domestic demand, the demand for PF is expected to keep increasing from 2018 to 2022.



In China, PF is mainly consumed in agrochemical, resin and pharmaceutical industries, etc. The agrochemical industry is the largest consumption field of PF. The PF consumption volume in agrochemicals, mainly including glyphosate, acetochlor and butachlor, was 219,230 tonnes in 2017, up by 3.16% year on year. Meanwhile, the growing resin demand from overseas market, resulting in the consumption of PF in resin industry was up by 5.99%.



This report is based on the former one finished in May 2017, focusing on the situation of China's PF industry in 2017 and Q1 2018, as well as forecasting its future development trend. The report is formulated in April 2018 and aims to disclose the latest production and market information of China's PF industry.



This market research provides detailed analysis on the elements affecting the growth of PF industry in China, as well as current and historic development of the industry. Market drivers, restraints, opportunities and relative policies can be found in this report.



The key market players in PF market are profiled in detail along with their recent developments. There are 38 active producer in 2017, include Zhenjiang LCY, Xinle Yongxing, Hengshui Yinhe, Nantong Jiangtian, etc.



Scope of the report



Region scope: China.

Time scope: 2005 to 2018, primarily 2010 to 2017.

On the basis of industrial segments: paraformaldehyde production, import, exports, and consumption.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4936629



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


LONDON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sodium gluconate industry in China was first started in the 1980s. However, the industry did not enter its fast expanding stage until 2000s. Fast expansion of sodium gluconate capacity and the lack of demand from downstream had led to overcapacity. Starting 2011, China's sodium gluconate industry has entered its structural reforming stage. During 2015 to 2017, the capacity of sodium gluconate in China reduced at a CAGR of -5.20% to 1,064,000 t/a in 2017. Both the output and consumption volume of sodium gluconate in China decreased in 2017 due to increasing market price of corn and tightening environmental regulations. Meanwhile, the ex-works price of sodium gluconate surged affecting by the increasing production cost and shrinking supply of sodium gluconate. In the coming five years, the growth of sodium gluconate industry in China will be limited by the fluctuations of corn market price and environmental regulations on sodium gluconate production. It is necessary for sodium gluconate industry participants to keep track on the changes of both the market price of corn and China's environmental regulations on commercial production.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/325008



Glucose is the essential raw material in sodium gluconate production. It is commonly commercially manufactured from corn starch in China. The market price of corn is the major influencing factor of the production cost of both corn starch and sodium gluconate. The Chinese government lowered the purchasing price of corn for temporary storage in 2015 and canceled the purchasing policy of corn in the following year due to excessive corn inventory and unreasonable high domestic market price of corn. The market price of corn started to decrease in H2 2015 and hit the periodic low in Jan. 2017. In the following year, domestic corn market price rebounded as the supply of corn decreased in result of both shrinking corn planting area and diminishing corn inventory.



Affected by the increasing price of corn and the tightening environmental regulations, the output of sodium gluconate in China dropped from 629,000 tonnes to 583,000 tonnes at a growth rate of -7.31% during 20162017. Meanwhile, the apparent consumption of sodium gluconate in China reduced by 12.73% year on year in 2017.



The export volume of sodium gluconate from China was on a continuous growth during 20122017, at a CAGR of 14.59%. China exported sodium gluconate to 89 countries and regions in 2017. India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Japan and Taiwan Province were the top five destinations of China's sodium gluconate exports by volume. In 2017, Shandong Fuyang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. continued to rank first among all Chinese sodium gluconate exporters, exporting 36,777.576 tonnes of sodium gluconate.



This research aims to study the current sodium gluconate industry and forecasts the market by the end of 2022. This market research provides detailed analysis on the factors influencing the development of sodium gluconate industry in China, as well as current and historic trend of the industry. Market drivers, restraints, opportunities and relative policies can be found in this report.



This report is based on data collected via diverse sources. The primary sources include interviews with industrial experts, key producers, key traders, key raw material suppliers and key end users of sodium gluconate. Various secondary sources include published magazines, journals, government statistics and CCM's database, etc. Data obtained from various sources have been combined and cross-checked to ensure that this report is as accurate and methodologically sound as possible.



The dynamics of key market players in sodium gluconate industry are listed in this research. Key market participants studied include Zhucheng Xingmao, Shandong Fuyang, and Xiwang Sugar, etc.



Scope of the report



Region scope: China.

Time scope: primarily 2015 to 2017 unless otherwise stated.

On the basis of industrial segments: supply and market price of corn, sodium gluconate production, sodium gluconate production technology, sodium gluconate exports and consumption.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/325008



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


Taking its name from the Old Scottish word for "Rock," the new Rauk Heavy Tumbler was developed by Icelandic designer and Norlan co-founder Sruli Recht. For whisky drinkers who prefer their spirit chilled in a heavy-bottom glass, the tumbler, weighing in at 575 grams, will delight. And for those who revel in the crafted cocktail, the tumbler features a core innovation. Inside the glass lies an array of extruded chevrons radiating from the center, which serve to provide friction points for gripping ingredients used in muddled drinks.

"The concept behind each of our products explores a different area of how different people drink whisky. Some drink it neat. Some drink it in a rocks glass. And some drink it with water," says Recht. "It's about making those different drinking experiences more intimate, more ritualistic.

Circumventing the ornamentation of traditional cut crystal, the entire surface of the tumbler, inside and out, is born in a single blinding moment of machine-pressing the molten crystal into a complex five-part mold. Within this process, the plunger forms the multi-chevron cross-shaped extrusion inside the glass. The chevrons of this specific pattern evolved through dozens of design iterations in search of an elegant and ideal form to aid in the art of cocktail making while visually reinforcing the compass shape on the underside of the glass.

Glassmaking is a form of both alchemy and art, a process often at odds with the precise digital modeling at the disposal of today's designer. While the tumbler's base is precision-modelled as a three-dimensional form allowing the glass to rest on four crystal points as though it were floating, perfecting this in mass production is a more nuanced process.

Combining the thickness of the glass bottom with this particular base, along with the desired thinness of the rim, required numerous rounds of sampling and even in production necessitates a delicate balancing act of timing and intuition during the machine-pressing process to keep the tumbler from either cracking or sinking on its feet. "Creating not just another rocks glass is about the perversion of form," says Recht. "We wanted to craft an object that excited not just the user, but us as well."

The Rauk Heavy Tumbler is sold individually and can be pre-ordered for holiday delivery through Norlan's online network.

USA  $50 USD (https://norlanglass.com/)

Canada  $65 CAD (https://ca.norlanglass.com/)

United Kingdom  48 (https://uk.norlanglass.com/)

Australia  $77 AUD (https://au.norlanglass.com/)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/norlanglass/

Instagram: @norlanglass

Twitter: @norlanglass

About Norlan

Norlan is the first venture from Serial Future Visions, Inc., a hybrid design and research studio whose mission is to investigate, conceptualize, develop, and bring to fruition products, systems, and services that are on the cusp of commercial feasibility and consumer or societal adoption. The digital native, direct-to- consumer brand launched in 2015 via Kickstarter with the Norlan Whisky Glass, exceeding the initial funding goal by 1000%. Since coming to market in mid-2016, more than 300,000 units of the Norlan Whisky Glass have been delivered into the hands of whisky lovers around the world.

Serial Future Visions, Inc. is founded by Brian Fichtner, Shane Bahng, and Sruli Recht. Sruli Recht is an internationally recognized Icelandic designer known for seamlessly blending advanced digital craft and new experimental technologies. Brian Fichtner is a design retail master who has worked with iconic NYC design emporium Moss, the Smithsonian National Design Museum, and independent arts label Ghostly International. Shane Bahng specializes in design retail and development and counts Swedish luxury brand Hastens, Italian furniture company Giorgetti, and Moss amongst those he has worked with.

SOURCE Norlan Glass
"We are honored to join the ranks again as a six-time honoree among so many accomplished companies," says Founder and CEO of Reliant Funding, Adam Stettner. "This honor marks six years in a row on the list for Reliant. Our inclusion on this esteemed list is a testament to our employees' commitment to excellence in all we do from our company culture to our dedication to helping American Small Businesses grow."

The 2018 Inc. 5000 list shows staggering growth compared with prior lists. The 2018 Inc. 5000 achieved an astounding three-year average growth of over 500 percent. The Inc. 5000's aggregate revenue was over $200 billion in 2017.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/inc5000.

"If your company is on the Inc. 5000, it's unparalleled recognition of your years of hard work and sacrifice," says Inc. editor in chief James Ledbetter.

About Reliant Funding

Headquartered in San Diego with offices in New York, Reliant Funding provides customized, short-term funding to small and mid-sized businesses nationwide. Recognized for six consecutive years by Inc. Magazine among the 5000 fastest growing privately held companies in America. For more information, please visit https://www.reliantfunding.com/.

More about Inc. and the Inc. 5000

Methodology

The 2018 Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth when comparing 2014 and 2018. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2014. They had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independentnot subsidiaries or divisions of other companiesas of December 31, 2017. (Since then, a number of companies on the list have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2014 is $100,000; the minimum for 2017 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Companies on the Inc. 500 are featured in Inc.'s September issue. They represent the top tier of the Inc. 5000, which can be found at http://www.inc.com/inc5000.

About Inc. Media

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today's innovative company builders. Inc. took home the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 2014 and 2012. The total monthly audience reach for the brand has been growing significantly, from 2,000,000 in 2010 to more than 18,000,000 today. For more information, visit www.inc.com.

The Inc. 5000 is a list of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation. Started in 1982, this prestigious list has become the hallmark of entrepreneurial success. The Inc. 5000 Conference & Awards Ceremony is an annual event that celebrates the remarkable achievements of these companies. The event also offers informative workshops, celebrated keynote speakers, and evening functions.

Media Contact

Sara Prince

[email protected]

SOURCE Reliant Funding

Related Links

http://www.reliantfunding.com


GRANVILLE, Ohio, Sept. 06, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RevLocal, the leader in personalized digital marketing, is thrilled to announce our integration with Amazon's Alexa through a long-standing partnership with Yext.

This means that all of RevLocal's clients will have their correct, complete business information submitted to Alexa, the voice assistant Amazon uses for its Echo smart speaker, allowing local consumers to easily find them.

Integration and optimization for smart speakers and voice-activated devices is nothing new for our clients, though. We've worked to optimize client listings and RevSites for voice searches for years, ensuring local consumers find our clients no matter how they're searching or browsing.

This integration with Alexa takes our previous voice search strategy to the next level, and we're thrilled to announce that this service is not only effortless for clients, but also that the service comes at no extra charge.

Aaron Boggs, RevLocal President, says local businesses must reconsider their digital marketing strategies with the rise of smart speakers.

"Today, three out of four smart speaker owners are using voice search to find local businesses. The adoption of localized voice search will only continue to grow, forcing local businesses to once again evolve their digital marketing strategies. RevLocal is passionate about helping the local business be found, be chosen and be relevant online," Aaron Boggs said.

"Rather than rely on software only, RevLocal is a relationship-based marketing platform that does the work for you and with you. It is strategic relationships like ours with Yext that allow us to bring our customers the most innovative approaches to winning the local consumer," Boggs went on to say.

We are excited to see how this advancement helps shape the future of our clients' digital marketing plans as we continue to leverage our partnerships and ensure that our clients have the best and latest strategies.

RevLocal is a digital marketing agency that specializes in local search marketing, reputation management, paid advertising and social media for local and franchise businesses of all types and sizes.

As the leader in digital marketing, RevLocal makes digital marketing efficient, effective and affordable for all. RevLocal is a Premier Google Partner and was named one of the top 50 best places to work by Inc. Magazine. For more information on the company, visit www.RevLocal.com.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE RevLocal

Related Links

http://www.RevLocal.com


McHale joins Rivian after 11 years as Director, Corporate Communications at Subaru of America, where he guided the company's communications through 11 consecutive years of record sales. During McHale's tenure, Subaru received numerous product and company awards such as the prestigious Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year three times. Prior to Subaru, McHale was Manager of Corporate Communications for BMW NA and prior to that he was Manager, Communications at MINI USA for the launch of the brand in the US in 2001. For MINI, McHale produced a series of innovative events, culminating in a North American Car of the Year (NACOTY) award.

RJ Scaringe, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rivian stated, "Michael is an outstanding addition to our team  his experience includes the launch of a new brand as well as a deep background in the adventure brands."

McHale said, "I am delighted to be working with an incredibly smart and talented group at Rivian to launch new models into the US and globally. This is a company that understands what a modern automaker needs to be, and we have a truly great path ahead of us and a compelling story to tell."

Rivian is developing an integrated portfolio of electric adventure vehicles and technologies, with manufacturing planned at its Normal, IL facility in 2020 and technology offices in Irvine and San Jose, CA. Rivian will debut its premium vehicle platform in the form of an all-new electric SUV and Pickup Truck at the LA International Auto Show in November, 2018.

McHale will direct automotive/mobility related public and media relations, corporate social media, and crisis communications and will also manage automotive trade and consumer show events to build the Rivian brand. McHale was named an Automotive News All-Star in 2015 and has a degree in Engineering from Coventry University and a Master's degree in Engineering Business Management from Warwick University, UK. McHale began his working life as an Engineer at Land Rover in the UK, progressing through a number of management roles before beginning his vocation in Communications at Land Rover UK.

About Rivian

With the introduction of its first vehicle in 2020, Rivian is advancing the shift to electric, autonomous and shared mobility. Rivian's adventure vehicles will incorporate the company's cloud-based digital architecture and advanced battery system. The company employs 450 people with vehicle design and engineering operations in Plymouth, Michigan, technology and engineering operations in San Jose and Irvine, California and manufacturing facilities in Normal, Illinois. For more information visit www.rivian.com.

SOURCE Rivian

Related Links

http://www.rivian.com


BOSTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RubrYc Therapeutics, Inc., a biotherapeutics discovery business, announced today it was selected the winner of the 2018 Xcelerate Startup Pitch Competition held September 5, 2018, as part of Biotech Week Boston.

"I am honored to be recognized amongst such a strong field of promising biotech startups from around the world," said Dr. Isaac Bright, CEO of RubrYc Therapeutics. "This award further validates the utility of our antibody discovery platform to identify high-value therapeutic candidates in oncology and autoimmune disease areas."

RubrYc Therapeutics is focused on improving drug discovery through proprietary insights into critical interactions at the drug/target interface. Using diverse chemical libraries developed and supplied by HealthTell, Inc., RubrYc is training algorithms that inform improved decision-making throughout drug discovery. The company collaborates with biotechnology companies in early drug discovery and develops its own pipeline of therapeutic antibodies.

"At RubrYc, we are excited to be off to a promising start and are looking forward to our fund raising over the coming year as we drive towards clinical development of our internal programs," said Dr. Bright.

About RubrYc Therapeutics

Founded in 2017, RubrYc Therapeutics, Inc. emerged as a biotherapeutic discovery partner of immunomics leader HealthTell, Inc. RubrYc Therapeutics is a discovery-stage therapeutic antibody business focused on addressing unmet needs in Oncology and Autoimmune Diseases. The Company was founded in 2017 and launched earlier this year with a $10M Series A Preferred financing. RubrYc has developed the Interface Discovery Engine  the operating system the Company employs to realize critical efficiency gains in drug discovery.

Contact:

Isaac J. Bright, MD

CEO

RubrYc Therapeutics, Inc.

2420 Camino Ramon

Suite 125

San Ramon, CA 94583

[email protected]

SOURCE RubrYc Therapeutics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.rubryc.com


MADISON, Wis., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Rural Mutual Insurance Company, the number one farm insurer in the state of Wisconsin, is excited to announce the offering of a new product, called Dairy Revenue Protection. This new product will allow Rural Mutual to add to their existing portfolio of products and continue to be a leader in the industry.

"We are excited about the addition of Dairy Revenue Protection to the Rural Mutual line of farm products that our agents offer," said Peter Pelizza, Executive Vice President and CEO of Rural Mutual. "This product will bring a new solution to the market for Wisconsin farmers to help them develop a comprehensive risk management strategy."

Dairy Revenue Protection, is designed to help farmers manage against unanticipated declines in revenue from milk price volatility. This new product was developed by the American Farm Bureau in collaboration with the Risk Management Association of the USDA.

"In a time of price volatility, farmers need to have access to effective risk management tools," said crop and beef farmer and Rural Mutual President Jim Holte. "Wisconsin farmers should be excited to see this new product added to Rural Mutual's existing portfolio to give them more options in their toolbox."

To learn more about Dairy Revenue Protection, please contact a Rural Mutual agent near you or go to www.RuralMutual.com/dairyrp.

About Rural Mutual Insurance

Rural Mutual Insurance Company has been protecting Wisconsin since 1934. As a Ward's 50 company, Rural Mutual provides a full line of insurance products exclusively to families, businesses and farms in Wisconsin. Since Rural Mutual does business in only one state, premiums paid here, stay here to keep Wisconsin strong. The company is headquartered in Madison and has more than 150 agents in more than 100 locations across the state. For more information about Rural Mutual Insurance, click here.

SOURCE Rural Mutual Insurance Company

Related Links

https://www.ruralmutual.com


DETROIT, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- What moves us? What guides us? What drives us? These are the overarching questions being addressed during the 11th Schaeffler Symposium held today at the Motor City Casino Hotel in Detroit.

During the symposium, the global automotive and industrial supplier is presenting its technologies for future mobility, including components and system solutions for optimizing internal combustion engine powertrains, the electrification of hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, and a new vehicle concept called the "Schaeffler Mover. More than 300 automotive professionals from automakers and suppliers plan to attend.

"Today's auto industry is transforming into a mobility industry," said Jeff Hemphill, CTO, Schaeffler Americas. "Tightening global regulations, new mobility business models and rapidly evolving technologies make designing a vehicle technology portfolio as exciting as it is challenging. This year's Symposium is the ideal forum to connect with our automaker customers during this exciting point in automotive history."

Schaeffler keeps customers informed of its comprehensive portfolio of technologies and future concepts by hosting its Symposium every four years. The 2018 event, developed as a forum for collaboration and partnership, is a full day of information sharing about 'mobility for tomorrow' topics that will be supplemented by parallel sessions focusing on transmission, engine, eMobility and chassis technology.

Session highlights include discussions about: new benefits from UniAir and cam phasing systems; Schaeffler's new eMobility systems, such as the P2 hybrid module with an integrated torque convertor; and its "Schaeffer Mover."

A new urban vehicle concept, the "Schaeffler Mover" offers a flexible and emission-free platform for a range of different vehicle concepts. All the drive and chassis components are integrated in one unit, called the "Schaeffler Intelligent Corner Module," to save space and enable vehicle maneuverability and passenger comfort. This concept is Schaeffler's answer to mobility requirements in growing metropolitan areas.

The Schaeffler Symposium has its roots in the decades-old tradition of sharing advancements and technology during symposiums held every four years in Germany, North America and Asia. This year's Detroit event builds on the 11th Global Symposium, held in Baden-Baden, Germany this April, including new developments focused on the North American market.

About Schaeffler

The Schaeffler Group is a global automotive and industrial supplier. Top quality, outstanding technology, and exceptionally innovative spirit form the basis for the continued success of the company. By delivering high-precision components and systems in engine, transmission, and chassis applications, as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications, the Schaeffler Group is already shaping "Mobility for tomorrow" to a significant degree. The technology company generated sales of approximately EUR 14 billion in 2017. With more than 92,000 employees, Schaeffler is one of the world's largest family companies and, with approximately 170 locations in over 50 countries, has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities, and sales companies.

Schaeffler is a recognized development partner for global automakers and suppliers. To serve the North American automotive market, Schaeffler operates development centers in: Troy, Mich.; Fort Mill, S.C.; Wooster, Ohio; and Puebla, Mexico. The company's 600 North American engineers and technicians, who are supported by a team of more than 6,700 global R&D engineers, drive development in the region by utilizing state-of-the-art test and measurement equipment, computational tools and CAD systems. Schaeffler Automotive has headquarters in Fort Mill and manufacturing facilities in: South Carolina; Missouri; Ohio; Ontario, Canada; Puebla and Irapuato, Mexico. For more information, please visit www.schaeffler.us.

Follow us on Twitter @schaefflergroup to get all of our latest press releases and news.

SOURCE Schaeffler

Related Links

http://www.schaeffler.us


NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Weis Markets, Inc. ("Weis" or the "Company") (NYSE: WMK). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Weis and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On September 5, 2018, Spruce Point Capital Management ("Spruce Point") published a report on Weis, asserting that "Weis is obfuscating its financial pressures with aggressive accounting and reduced disclosures that will make its recent share price performance unsustainable." The Spruce Point report noted that "Weis is currently the highest valued supermarket in the stock market, despite negative organic growth, declining gross and EBITDA margins, among the worst returns on capital in the industry, poor governance, and limited information provided by management." Among other issues, the Spruce Point report asserted that its analysis had disproved Weis's claim that its "2017 sales growth was 'primarily' from acquisitions", but instead "show[ed] that core grocery and pharmacy sales declined by 1.1%; and that Weis's April 2018 announcement of "a new $101m capex plan to invest in growth", including the opening of two new stores, "did not disclose to investors that [Weis] would close three stores, resulting in unit stores declining by 1 in 2018." Following publication of the Spruce Point report, Weis's stock price fell $2.39, or 5.18%, to close at $43.71 on September 5, 2018.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 9980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

Related Links

http://www.pomerantzlaw.com


SkyX's autonomous systems capture complex high-resolution data and deliver easy-to-understand, actionable results to global clients. The company's first-of-a-kind drones, using a variety of sensors, can gather a vast array of customized data, enabling clients to take charge of what has previously been an expensive and complex task  monitoring long-range assets like oil and gas pipelines.

According to Mark Mandelbaum, President and CEO, Almond Tree Enterprise Inc., "SkyX has shown tremendous growth since the company was founded. The company's amazing technology and continuous product innovation, coupled with its ability to assemble world-class executive and engineering teams at this early stage in the company's life cycle, is a testimony to its incredible promise and growth potential. SkyX is a true leader in the drone data revolution."

"We were highly impressed with what SkyX has been able to build with limited resources," noted Noam Edell, President, Clanton Capital Inc., who helped facilitate the partnership between Almond Tree Enterprise and SkyX. "We're very excited to see what the future holds for SkyX. With substantial financial resources in place, SkyX is in a terrific position to ramp up expansion plans. The company's technology, which has the power to impact business efficiencies and effectiveness, will also have a positive impact on the environmental landscape around the world."

"We are currently in talks with a number of big energy companies from around the globe intent on employing our services," noted Didi Horn, Founder and CEO, SkyX. "Daily requests for trials and demonstrations reinforces the tremendous promise of this new category of long-range drone-driven data services. With the Almond Tree/SkyX LP's cash infusion, we are eager to accelerate our go-to-market strategy."

Added Horn, "This announcement comes a little more than one year after Shenzhen-based Kuang-Chi Group made a significant multi-million-dollar investment in SkyX. Today, thanks to funding from Almond Tree and Kuang-Chi, we are well positioned to meet our business goals this year and for the foreseeable future."

Using a subscription-based price model, SkyX technology enables clients to reduce maintenance and monitoring costs while increasing the visibility, integrity and safety of their assets. Detecting and reporting leaks (even at night); scanning for right-of-way violations; and capturing and reporting vegetation encroachment are part of the typical mission. Further, the company's services help clients reduce emissions caused by inefficient monitoring processes; and decrease groundwater contamination thanks to increases in inspections, improved data and faster alerts.

For more information about SkyX visit https://skyx.com/.

About SkyX

SkyX is a Toronto company that builds autonomous vehicles for long-range asset monitoring and data acquisition. Besides SkyOne, the intelligent self-sufficient UAV, SkyX built the SkyX System which includes xStations an autonomous launch & recovery platform and unlimited range, and the SkyOS, a centralized fleet management command and control proprietary software. Altogether, the SkyX System provides seamless and integrated monitoring as a service.

About Almond Tree Enterprise Inc.

Almond Tree Enterprises engages in a large variety of business activities, the primary focus being real estate development and financial investments.

Almond Tree's principal operating business is its interests in Lanterra Developments, one of the largest and most prestigious condominium developer in the Toronto GTA area. Almond Tree also has significant interests in publicly traded securities and hedge funds through Almond Tree Investments Inc. and participates in a variety of private equity and venture capital investments.

SOURCE SkyX

Related Links

https://skyx.com/


SAN DIEGO, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SunPower by Stellar Solar, San Diego's oldest SunPower dealer and one of two Master Dealers in San Diego County, has won the San Diego Union Tribune Readers Poll in the category of Best Solar Company for a record sixth time. Their victory in 2018 adds to wins in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017 with second place finishes in 2012 and 2016. The achievement further solidifies SunPower by Stellar Solar as a solid choice for home and business owners who are looking to make the move to solar power.

SunPower by Stellar Solar has been voted Best Solar Company again in 2018 marking the second year in a row and sixth time in eight years. SunPower by Stellar Solar founding partners Brian Grems, Michael Powers and Kent Harle

Kent Harle, co-founder and CEO of SunPower by Stellar Solar had this to say about repeating among a large field of San Diego solar companies that entered: "When I found out that we won again this year I was thrilled  as this award continues to raise the bar higher every year for us as a company. We are far from perfect, we've made every mistake in the book, but we learn from those mistakes and they don't happen again. Twenty years in business powering San Diego home and business owners has given us the experience that not many solar installers have in San Diego. I have a team of about 80 of the best people you would ever want to work with, or have work on your home. I feel comfortable with every one of them going into a home to present homeowners with all their options. Our win this year, and the sixth time in eight years, proves, without a doubt, that we really are the best at what we do. Our sales team is the most seasoned in the industry, still focusing on educating the customer rather than high pressure tactics. Folks recognize that and we are rewarded with more homeowners going solar with us than not. If you look us up on Yelp, you will see a lot of great reviews and a few bad ones because we are human. That said, you will notice that we always try and resolve our complaints in a manner that benefits our customers. All I've ever asked of San Diego homeowners is that when they are looking at solar as a way to reduce or eliminate their electric bill, please include us in their search, I'm confident they will like our style."

SunPower by Stellar Solar (formerly Stellar Solar) is one of a select few SunPower Master Dealers that offers complete SunPower solar solutions to home and business owners, including the highest quality design and installation services. Master Dealers leverage the strength and credibility of the globally trusted SunPower brand in key geographies based on a superb knowledge of the company's technology, the local solar market, and industry best practices. Certified SunPower Master Dealers handle the entire solar energy process for customers, which can include system design, installation, maintenance, permitting, and rebate processing, as well as advise on flexible financing options. Master Dealers complete regular, in-depth training on SunPower products and services in order to provide customers with the best possible solar experience, and offer peace of mind when choosing SunPower by Stellar Solar to install the industry's most reliable solar technology.

About SunPower by Stellar Solar

SunPower by Stellar Solar is a leading California residential and commercial PV solar design and installation company, based in San Diego since 1998 with over 8,000+ installations across Southern California including notable commercial installations on The Salk Institute, US Foods, Cedars Sinai Hospital and more. Readers of the Union Tribune have voted them best solar panel company again in 2018 marking the second year in a row and sixth time in 8 years winning the award. Their 5 Star Reviews on Yelp, A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and high customer ratings on Angie's list are further testament to their standing as the leading solar provider to homes, businesses, nonprofits and faith based organizations in San Diego County. Learn more at www.stellarsolar.net

Media Contact:

David Boylan

858.395.6905

[email protected]

SOURCE SunPower by Stellar Solar

Related Links

http://www.stellarsolar.net


WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a joint statement from Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa and Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte in response to ongoing North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reform discussions taking place in Washington now between U.S. and Canadian trade representatives and the need for a trilateral agreement.

"The Teamsters are encouraged to see U.S. and Canadian representatives sitting down this week and trying to reach agreement on essential outstanding issues as part of NAFTA 2.0. Canada's inclusion in any revamped trade deal is necessary if the Teamsters are ultimately going to endorse this pact.

"Likewise, all North American nations must be included in a freight rail fix the Teamsters and our Mexican rail union brethren are demanding that would protect the jobs of some 143,000 freight rail workers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It builds off an agreement reached by the continent's railway unions two decades ago in the spirit of solidarity  that no movement of employees across borders would occur absent explicit agreement with the unions permitting it.

"The U.S. Teamsters-affiliated Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen sent a letter to President Trump in July informing him that Kansas City Southern Railway was already allowing Mexican rail workers to staff trains inside U.S. borders, in violation of federal law.

"Similarly, Teamsters Canada sent a letter to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs in late August calling on Canada to protect its rail members from companies wishing to replace them with U.S. workers. It referenced the 2015 actions of Canadian Pacific Railway as necessitating the request.

"We note that the exclusion of foreign rail crews that the Mexican government inserted in the original NAFTA is likely to survive into the replacement agreement and therefore we call on the U.S. and Canadian governments to similarly protect our freight rail crew members. These workers are members of BLET and TCRC, Teamsters all, and we expect that their existing collective bargaining agreements will be honored and their jobs will be protected from unilateral cross-border incursion under any new trilateral NAFTA replacement.

"The threat to North American rail workers is real. We urge the U.S. and Canada to make sure these workers are protected as part of a new NAFTA."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Ted Gotsch, (202) 624-6911

Christopher Monette, (514) 226-6002

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


"A lot of home services companies focus on selling to their customers instead of presenting options. This is problematic for technicians and for the bottom line," said Rodney Koop, founder and CEO of The New Flat Rate. "This seminar will teach attendees how to use menu pricing to empower their customers while boosting profits." The third of four Future of Flat Rate seminars this year, the conference has previously made stops in Atlanta and Minneapolis.

The Future of Flat Rate Pricing seminars include the following topics:

How to increase the average sales ticket and decrease callbacks

Ways to find, train and keep quality service technicians

An in-depth look at the billable hour and how to make sure your pricing structure is accurate

How showing a menu of options to customers lowers customer resistance and improves opportunities for upselling

Ways to help contractors and techs be successful without forcing them to become a typical salesperson

"We're going to cover a lot of ground that will help with the bottom line, employee retention and customer satisfaction," Koop said. "We believe business owners will find tremendous value in what we're teaching."

The Future of Flat Rate Pricing seminars are free of charge and include lunch, snacks and a post-event reception that incorporates a question and answer session with event speakers. Attendees will hear from industry experts like TNFR founder and CEO Rodney Koop and TNFR process development and advanced sales trainer, Leo Morales.

To register for The Future of Flat Rate Pricing seminars, call 706-259-8892 or visit http://www.futureofflatrate.com.

About The New Flat Rate

The New Flat Rate, Inc. pioneered the first menu pricing system for in-home service providers which has doubled and tripled the average service ticket for contractors across the United States and Canada. Targeting HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Service and Repair contractors, each market-specific edition is designed to do the bundling and upselling for technicians by providing hundreds of service, repair and equipment replacement "menus", each with up to five straightforward options consumers can choose. Voted No. 1 for two years in a row by Contracting Business, The New Flat Rate develops processes to eliminate objections and lower sales resistance for service technicians. For more information, visit http://thenewflatrate.com/ or call 706-259-8892.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE The New Flat Rate

Related Links

http://thenewflatrate.com


ALEXANDRIA, Va., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) and Amatrol, Inc. are pleased to announce the release today of their complete hands-on CPT+ Skill Boss Training and Certification program. Built upon MSSC's well-established Certified Production Technician (CPT), this new program is designed to increase the size, skills and productivity of the nation's front-line manufacturing workforce.

The centerpiece of this new program is a transformational training device, invented by Amatrol, that enables MSSC to offer hands-on training and assessment as an enhancement to its signature CPT training and certification system. "Skill Boss" is a computer-controlled machine that performs a wide variety of functions aligned with 55+ skills drawn from the MSSC's National Production Standards.

As shown in the Skill Boss Brochure, the "Skill Boss" device is portable, compact, and "classroom friendly," fitting comfortably on a standard 3' x 6' table. States Paul Perkins, President of Amatrol, "Colorful and multifaceted, Skill Boss will be more fun than a robot for many students and will encourage them to enter a career pathway in advanced manufacturing."

Adds Leo Reddy, Chair of MSSC, "Cost-effective, Skill Boss will enable many more schools who cannot afford a costly lab or tech center, to offer hands-on CPT training and testing. This includes most high schools, including those in rural and urban areas."

An industry-led nonprofit, MSSC is the leading provider of training and certification programs in the U.S. for front-line work in manufacturing and logistics. It delivers its services through a network of 2200 MSSC-trained instructors and 1400+ assessment centers, mostly at high schools and community colleges, in 49 states.

Amatrol, Inc. is the leading U.S. manufacturer of industrial education equipment and is a leading provider of world-class, computer simulation-based, interactive, multimedia eLearning. It has operations in all 50 states and in 45 countries abroad.

Press Contact: Catherine Feeney

[email protected] or 703-739-9000 ext. 2222

www.msscusa.org

Related Files

Skill Boss Brochure.PDF

MSSC Gold Standard 7.2018.pdf

SOURCE MSSC

Related Links

http://www.msscusa.org


MILAN, September 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Giorgio Armani Beauty, the Official Beauty Sponsor of the 75th Venice International Film Festival, is pleased to officially announce its new beauty faces who appeared on last weekend's red carpets.



(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/739571/Giorgio_Armani_Beauty_Logo.jpg )



Chinese actress Elaine Zhong (), models Barbara Palvin, Sara Sampaio, Madisin Rian and Greta Ferro all embody the Giorgio Armani brand, with their different types of femininity and their modernity.

Through unique innovative products, the Giorgio Armani beauty's makeup and skincare lines allow women to enhance their natural beauty, to be the best of themselves, revealing rather than transforming.

These five women will be enriching the brand's collective next to Academy Award winner actress Cate Blanchett, who has been announced earlier this year Giorgio Armani beauty very first Global Beauty Ambassador. Cate Blanchett has been the face of the Si fragrance since its creation in 2013. Within this new role, she is embodying makeup and skincare as well.

Elaine Zhong, also known as ZHONG Chuxi (), is a Chinese award winning actress best known for her the critically acclaimed block buster Youth (2017). She is a performing arts graduate from the prestigious Shanghai Theater Academy. Today she is a leading figure for the new generation of Chinese cinema. Elaine Zhong's powerful beauty and distinguished features transmit the core values of natural elegance and authenticity.

Barbara Palvin has been the face of ACQUA DI GIOIA since 2014 and has recently become involved in the brand's global development program Acqua for Life. Her vibrant beauty, joyful free spirit and dedication to the brand's values make Barbara Palvin the perfect addition to the beauty universe. This young Hungarian supermodel has already covered some of the world's biggest magazines and walked the runway at Fashion Weeks in London, Milan, and Paris.

Sara Sampaio is a Portuguese-born model living in New York City who has been part of the brand's SI PASSIONE fragrance campaign earlier this year, next to Cate Blanchett and along with Adwoa Aboah. She has appeared on the covers of the most prestigious fashion publications, and has also become a modern-day catwalk icon. Relentlessly positive with a contagious smile, her joie de vivre bursts out from within. In June 2016, she teamed up with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to support the fight for homeless animals.

Madisin Rian is a New York based fashion model, emerging on prestigious brands' catwalks. Earlier this year, she has collaborated on the brands' Neo Nude campaign, bringing a vibrant energy and incredible beauty. Open minded, Madisin Rian is an avid traveler with a penchant for exploring the world alongside her family.

The Italian model and actress Greta Ferro played a role in Una Giacca (A Jacket), the short film created for the first edition of the Armani/Laboratorio project.

The new beauty campaigns featuring these new faces will start to kick off as of September 2018.

Photo and video assets available for download here.

Giorgio Armani beauty - simplicity, natural elegance and authenticity - For 18 years, Giorgio Armani beauty has been delivering beautifully textured make-up - some of which created directly backstage at the brand's fashion shows - , skincare formulated from the most pioneering science. Inspired by women, created to reveal - rather than hide - their natural beauty, it is renowned for several iconic products: Eyes to Kill mascara and Eye Tint, Lip Maestro and Ecstasy Shine, Power Fabric and Luminous Silk foundation as well as Crema Nera and Armani Prima skincare. The brand is also renowned for its men and women fragrance collections among which Acqua Di Gio, Si and SI PASSIONE as well as for its haute couture range Armani Prive.

Contact : Martin BREBAN, International PR & Influence Communication Director, GIORGIO ARMANI FRAGRANCES & BEAUTY

SOURCE Giorgio Armani Beauty
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Italian Wine Scholar study and certification program, modeled after the industry-acclaimed French Wine Scholar program (launched in 2009), celebrates the enrollment of its 1000th student since the program's launch in 2016.

WSG has broken down the course into two manageable chunks: Unit 1 - Wines of Northern Italy & Unit 2: Wines of Central & Southern Italy. Each Italian wine region is covered with regards to history, geography, climate, topography, soils, grapes and appellations.

IWS instructors from around the world in Lugana on WSG's first educator trip to Italy in Trentino, Franciacorta and Lugana (June 2018)

A composite score of 75% on Unit 1 and Unit 2 exams is required for candidates to earn the Italian Wine Scholar title and IWS post-nominal. The program is available both in distance-learning and classroom format. Classes are held at one of the 50+ WSG approved program providers located in 20+ countries on 5 continents.

"Students are composed of wine professionals and enthusiasts, all committed students of wine, who have already completed more general wine study programs and wish to gain deeper understanding of the wines of Italy," states IWS Education Director Maurizio Broggi, "These students come from over 25 countries including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Australia, France and Italy!"

"Many have WSET level 3 under their belt and choose IWS for its depth and academic rigor as well as its regional, i.e. terroir approach. We are firm believers in the importance of approaching wine, especially from France, Italy or Spain, based on location. This brings a much more complete educational package to the table than simply studying grapes or wine styles," states Julien Camus, founder of the Wine Scholar Guild, "Place tells you so much more!"

The Italian Wine Scholar program is officially endorsed by the Italian Trade Commission and by various Italian consortia. It has also received wine industry kudos from Italian authorities including Nicholas Belfrage MW, Peter Marks MW and Jeannie Cho Lee MW and many others.

About the Wine Scholar Guild: The Wine Scholar Guild provides specialization study & certification programs for the professional development of wine industry members and committed students of wine. Fields of study include French, Italian and Spanish wines.

For more information visit our website at: www.winescholarguild.org

CONTACT: Julien Camus, President

[email protected]

+1-202-640-5466

SOURCE Wine Scholar Guild

Related Links

http://www.winescholarguild.org


CARLSBAD, Calif., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific will host a symposium featuring customer presentations that highlight the latest efforts in tumor mutation burden (TMB) standardization by its European consortium, and clinical research data focused on the application of this emerging biomarker to help guide selection of immunotherapies. The talks will take place Sept. 10 during the 30th European Congress of Pathology (ECP 2018) at the Euskalduna Conference Centre in Bilbao, Spain.

In support of its ongoing investment in this rapidly evolving field of research, Thermo Fisher is also launching a new workflow for its Oncomine Tumor Mutation Load Assay. The end-to-end solution leverages new software to provide customers more flexibility in their TMB experiment designs, while simultaneously providing sample profiling capabilities for key variants associated with published evidence across 409 cancer-related genes.

The updated workflow is a result of Thermo Fisher's ongoing collaboration in multiple, independent initiatives designed to develop standardization protocols for TMB, including one from Friends of Cancer Research in the U.S., and another by the International Quality Network for Pathology (IQN Path), which is being supported by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO).

Nicola Normanno, M.D., Director, INT-Fondazione Pascale, Department of Translational Research, Naples, who leads the IQN Path effort, will present an update on the TMB standardization efforts based on Thermo Fisher's new TMB workflow on behalf of the Immuno-Oncology Consortium during his talk, entitled: Tumor mutation burden as predictive biomarker from discovery to standardization.

Formed last year, the Immuno-Oncology Consortium brings together a prestigious group of clinical researchers from renowned institutions in Europe. Its aim is to drive adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) clinical research panels designed to help identify predictive and prognostic biomarkers associated with cancer immunotherapy.

"Development of a standardized method to characterize and assess tumor mutation burden is paramount for future application of this emerging biomarker to patient care," Dr. Normanno said. "To this end, the independent efforts being carried out by IQN Path, as well as the collaborative work with the Immuno-Oncology Consortium, are making meaningful progress toward this endeavor."

Wolfram Jochum, Ph.D., M.D., Head of the Institute of Pathology, Kantonsspital St. Gallen and Adjunct Professor of Pathology at University of Zurich, will present clinical research data that supports the rationale for future application of TMB as a biomarker to guide therapy during his talk, entitled: Tumour mutational burden and its transition towards the clinic.

The event will also feature a talk on liquid biopsy by Beatriz Bellosillo, Ph.D., Head of the Molecular Biology laboratory at Laboratori de Diagnostic Molecular, Hospital Del Mar, Barcelona. Her presentation will highlight case study data derived from Thermo Fisher's cell-free DNA assay; while Prof. Dr. Jose Luis Rodriguez Peralto, Ph.D., M.D., Head of the Pathology department, Hospital 12 de Octubre, Madrid, will discuss the advantages of bringing NGS into a pathology laboratory.

For more information on Thermo Fisher's activities at ECP 2018 (Sept. 8-12) or to learn more about its new Oncomine Tumor Mutation Load Assay, please visit the company's booth (#7) during the event, or visit the company's ECP 2018 website.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of more than $20 billion and approximately 70,000 employees globally. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics, deliver medicines to market and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands  Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services  we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive services. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Media Contact Information:

Mauricio Minotta

Thermo Fisher Scientific

+1 760 929 2456

[email protected]

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific

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DALLAS, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- William H. Chamblee, Jeffrey W. Ryan and Douglas R. Lewis, partners in the Dallas-based trial firm of Chamblee Ryan, PC, have again been honored among the state's top attorneys on the annual Texas Super Lawyers list.

This marks the 13th consecutive year that Mr. Chamblee has been honored in the category of General Litigation; Mr. Ryan has been named for 11 consecutive years in the area of Civil Litigation: Defense; and Mr. Lewis has been recognized in Personal Injury Medical Malpractice: Defense for the past five years.

Mr. Chamblee is well known for defending clients against personal injury and medical liability claims on behalf of large corporations, small companies, physicians and other professionals. He has served as lead trial counsel in 16 states, tried more than 150 cases, and obtained more than 130 dismissals and favorable jury verdicts in the course of his career.

Mr. Ryan has represented North Texas physicians in medical malpractice litigation for more than 25 years. He serves as counsel for a large Texas-based hospital system, several national trucking companies, multiple insurance companies, and a variety of small businesses and health care providers. He has tried numerous cases involving wrongful death and serious personal injury claims, as well as business and employment disputes.

Mr. Lewis has represented a wide range of health care institutions and individual providers, as well as general contractors and subcontractors in multiple jury trials involving serious injury and wrongful death. Mr. Lewis has significant experience defending national and regional trucking companies and their drivers in personal injury lawsuits.

In developing the list of Texas' top attorneys, researchers with Thomson Reuters conducted a statewide survey asking attorneys to nominate their peers for excellence in the practice of law. A blue-ribbon panel of lawyers then assisted with final selections. No more than 5 percent of Texas attorneys are named to the list each year.

The Texas Super Lawyers list is featured in the October 2018 issues of Texas Monthly and Texas Super Lawyers magazines, and is available at http://www.superlawyers.com.

Chamblee Ryan, PC, is a Dallas-based trial firm representing insurance companies, medical professionals, transportation providers, and health care institutions. Since 1998, the firm has relied on superior tactics and proven trial experience to prevail in numerous complex and significant cases. For more information, visit www.chambleeryan.com.

Media Contact:

Barry Pound

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Chamblee Ryan

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The founders of Fort Lauderdale-based Yonder Travel Insurance have created a simple way to purchase travel insurance and give back in the process.

How Yonder gives back with every travel insurance policy sold.

The travel insurance aggregation site was started with a social mission in mind.

"We will feed a hungry child for a week with every policy purchased," says Co-founder, Terry Boynton.

Co-founders Terry Boynton and Ryan Skoog recently helped deliver 170K meals to kids in Nepal and Burma and plan to continue to travel to these remote destinations as Yonder grows and as more meals are provided.

Why travel insurance to help refugees?

70% of the U.S. population believes travel insurance is just an optional fee when purchasing airfare.

"Most U.S. Citizens don't know travel insurance protects more than just the cost of your flight," says Boynton. "It will also cover your lodging and other non-refundable travel expenses if you have to cancel or return home early due to an unforeseen event. Travel insurance also provides extensive emergency medical expense and emergency evacuation coverage while traveling."

"Common confusions about what travel insurance covers is one reason why we started Yonder," says Boynton. "We want to give travelers the ability to compare and to buy travel insurance in the simplest way possible, while making a social impact."

Why use a comparison site like Yonder to purchase travel insurance?

By comparing policies from the nation's top travel insurance providers, you'll find the most comprehensive and economical policy for your trip. Since prices vary based on age and trip cost, you'll most likely find a much more affordable policy using a comparison site than purchasing directly from the provider or through your travel agent.

Travel insurance comparison site Yonder uses a unique algorithm to match three recommended travel insurance policies to your travel style. There are some policies better suited for different types of travelers. For example, a senior traveler may be more interested in coverage for a pre-existing condition and families may be more interested in a policy which includes children under 17 at no additional cost.

Run an instant quote on Yonder Travel Insurance for your next trip today!

For more information, visit insureyonder.com.

Contact:

Terry Boynton, President & Co-Founder

(855)-358-6433

[email protected]

SOURCE Yonder Travel Insurance

Related Links

http://www.insureyonder.com


WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The performance of the Trevian Finland Properties I mutual investment fund has exceeded the goals and expectations set for the fund for the first half of 2018. The size of the fund has now grown to over EUR 100 million.

Trevian Finland Properties I began operations in 2017. The fund, managed by Trevian Funds AIFM, is a special investment fund investing in Finnish real estate. The fund's policy is to invest in real estate properties providing good cash flow and development potential in Finnish growth centres.

13 properties with approximately 150 tenants have been acquired for the Trevian Finland Properties I portfolio so far. The portfolio is effectively diversified, both geographically and by industry: The tenants represent a variety of industries, from both private and public sector. The portfolio consists mainly of multi-tenant properties, the management of which is typically more challenging than single tenant properties. However, the strategy chosen offers the fund a good return.

According to Kari Kolu, CEO of Trevian Funds AIFM, the annualized net return after expenses for the first half of the year exceeds the set target of 8-10%. "The chosen investment strategy requires knowledge of local markets and suitable resources for efficient acquisition processes and asset management. We work closely with strong local partners that provide our operations with all the resources needed to manage, maintain, and lease the properties. Local co-operation in a variety of locations across Finland plays a key role in the acquisition and development processes. The original idea of fruitful local co-operation has begun to materialize even beyond expectations".

The collaboration between Trevian Funds AIFM and Mandatum Life, in which Trevian's new special investment fund becomes a part of Mandatum Life's unit-linked insurance policies, has had a positive effect on the development of the Trevian Finland Properties I fund.

Trevian Finland Properties I will release news on new acquisitions during the autumn.

For further information, please contact:

Kari Kolu

CEO

tel +358-40-544-8008

E-mail: [email protected]

Trevian Funds AIFM was established in 2017 and the company was granted a license under the AIFM Directive on 27 June 2017. The company is based on Finland's strongest property portfolio management expertise. Non-UCITS Trevian Finland Properties I is the first fund to invest in strong cash flow and development potential. www.trevianrahastot.fi/en

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/trevian/r/trevian-finland-properties-i-fund-exceeds-performance-expectations-in-the-first-half-of-2018,c2610015

The following files are available for download:

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SOURCE Trevian
LONDON, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global technology industry, today announced the addition of two more keynote speakers for its 2018 EMEA Member and Partner Conference in London this October.

Margot James, Minister of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and broadcaster and adventurer Monty Halls have been added to the conference program. They join Dex Torricke-Barton, who managed communications for some of the most influential Silicon Valley leaders and corporations of our day, as conference keynoters.

All three keynoters are scheduled to speak on the second day of the conference, Wednesday, 17 October.

"Our keynoters come from diverse backgrounds and have unique life experiences to share," said Kelly Ricker, CompTIA's executive vice president for events and education. "Attendees are certain to be entertained and inspired by these compelling speakers."

Margot James was appointed Minister of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in January 2018. Since her election as a Conservative MP for Stourbridge in May 2010, James held a series of leadership positions, including Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; Assistant Government Whip; and Parliamentary Private Secretary to Lord Green during his period as Minister for Trade and Investment.

A former Royal Marine, Monty Halls formed his own expedition company and led a group of divers to rediscover a sunken city beside the coast of India, suspected to be the cradle of civilisation. On television, he was the winner of Superhumans and has presented The Great Escapes series. Using stunning footage and pictures from his expeditions, Halls will take his audience on an incredible journey through some of the world's most inaccessible environments. He'll demonstrate how we can learn from ecosystems and local communities. Monty reveals how other animals behave under stress, how we occupy niches within our own teams  and how best to maintain objectives in an ever-changing environment.

The theme of CompTIA's 2018 EMEA Member and Partner Conference is "The Business of Technology." The conference, scheduled for 16 and 17 October, is intended for anyone involved in the business of technology; whether it's selling technology solutions or training and teaching tech skills.

Executives from technology solution provider companies, vendors, distributors, training companies, academies, and content publishers will meet for two days of discussions, learning and networking.

For training and academic partners, the conference will include a comprehensive update on CompTIA's market-leading certification program for IT professionals.

To register for the 2018 CompTIA EMEA Member and Partner Conference, or for more information, visit https://www.comptia.org/emea/home.

About CompTIA

The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $4.8 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 35 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world's economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. Visit www.comptia.org to learn more.

Contacts:

Anna Brown

AprilSix Proof (for CompTIA)

[email protected]

+44(0)20 3141 2986

Steven Ostrowski

CompTIA

[email protected]

00 1 630 678 8468

SOURCE CompTIA

Related Links

http://www.comptia.org


HARTWELL, Ga., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A new white paper discusses the prevalence of ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous (UGPIV) procedures, the challenges associated with obtaining UGPIV access, and solutions for hospitals to improve patient safety while lowering costs.

Author Nancy Moureau, RN, PhD, CRNI, CPUI, VA-BC, says that given the rise in UGPIV, the information in the white paper applies not only to vascular access specialists, but to any clinician performing ultrasound-guided peripheral or midline insertions in a variety of care settings. Dr. Moureau is an internationally recognized expert and consultant in vascular access, and the CEO of PICC Excellence.

"As a vascular access educator, I observe many clinicians using ultrasound guidance to obtain intravenous access and I've noticed there's a lot variation in technique," said Moureau. "I wanted to address the importance of maintaining a proper aseptic insertion to reduce contamination and help clinicians have a better understanding of the available options that contribute to successful and safe UGPIV procedures."

With more than 2 billion peripheral IVs sold worldwide each year, PIV insertion is the most commonly performed invasive medical procedure in hospitalized patients. According to Moureau, more than 50 percent of patients are considered to have difficult vascular access, which necessitates the use of ultrasound guidance in order to successfully achieve peripheral access and administer necessary treatments.

The benefits of UGPIV include fewer failed insertion attempts and avoiding the need for more invasive central venous access devices (CVADs) -- both of which save time and money, and contribute to greater patient satisfaction. However, there is a greater risk of contamination due to extended procedure time and the presence of the ultrasound transducer and gel in the sterile puncture area. Infection control methods, such as sterile probe covers and single-use sterile gel packets, can limit the risk of infection, but significantly increase the cost of the procedure.

"Achieving PIV access with ultrasound guidance can be very challenging. It takes more time with these challenging difficult access patients, and as the length of the procedure increases, so does the risk of contamination," said Moureau. "With the additional supplies needed in order to maintain an aseptic procedure - which is essential to minimize patient risk - UGPIV becomes very costly. For a procedure that currently has little to no reimbursement, this can have a significant economic impact on hospitals over time."

Among the solutions Moureau discusses in the white paper is a combination barrier and securement dressing that prevents the transducer and gel from coming into contact with the skin. The dressing enables a better aseptic insertion technique and lowers costs by eliminating the need for additional securement dressings, sterile gels and probe covers.

"The all-in-one barrier and securement dressing makes it possible to perform a more efficient, cost-effective procedure without sacrificing patient safety," said Moureau. "This type of technology is very important to me because it helps me do a better job, and I believe it will enable other clinicians to use ultrasound guidance to achieve successful PIV access in a way that is safer for patients overall."

About Dr. Moureau and PICC Excellence

Nancy Moureau, RN, PhD, CRNI, CPUI, VA-BC, is the owner and president of PICC Excellence, a vascular access education and training service for clinicians. She is affiliated with Greenville Memorial and University Medical Center in South Carolina, and the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research Group (AVATAR) based in Australia. Recognized as an international expert in vascular access education and training, she is widely published in the medical literature, including recent guidelines that defined appropriate indications for insertion, maintenance, and care of PICCs. PICC Excellence provides effective, easy-to-understand in-person and web-based education and training for clinicians worldwide.



For more information about PICC Excellence, visit www.piccexcellence.com.

Contact: Liz Dowling

Dowling & Dennis PR

415-388-2794

[email protected]

SOURCE PICC Excellence

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CLARKSBURG, Md., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) has awarded Robotic Research, LLC of Maryland a five-year $50 million contract for Autonomous Unmanned Systems Teaming & Collaboration (AUSTC) for the Counter-WMD Mission in challenging subterranean and other environments. The AUSTC effort builds on prior and ongoing Robotic Research, LLC Small Business Innovative Research contracts (also with ARDEC) in support of the Mobile Autonomous Counter-WMD System, Increment B (MACS-B). The MACS-B program provides various subterranean mission objectives such as mapping and reconnaissance; location and characterization of WMD materials, relay of intelligence and situational awareness to ground forces and commanders to make informed decisions in support of military operations; and autonomous teaming and collaborative operations to include unmanned ground and air vehicles.

Under the terms of the contract, Robotic Research will conduct AUSTC technical demonstrations of autonomous unmanned systems sensing technologies and design and develop new and more advanced autonomous unmanned systems sensing technologies, among other tasks. The AUSTC effort is focused on improving autonomy, 3D/4D mapping, localization, target ID, tracking, collective 3D visualization, weapons system integration of Unmanned Autonomous Systems, subterranean communications and more.

Robotic Research, LLC is an innovative minority-owned engineering and technology company that provides autonomy software and robotic technology and solutions to numerous Federal and commercial customers. It currently serves as the autonomy kit provider on the US Army's Expedient Leader Follower program for autonomous convoy operations on Oshkosh Defense PLS vehicles.

Following the award, Alberto Lacaze, President of Robotic Research, stated, "It is a great honor to expand our work for the US Army, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), and the Special Forces community on the family-of-systems for autonomous collaborative robotic teaming in support of challenging subterranean missions. The Robotic Research team shares the Army leadership's commitment to rapidly fielding effective autonomous Counter-WMD solutions for our Nation's warfighters."

The Department of Defense takes seriously the continued growth in the number and sophistication of foreign underground facilities that may house weapons of mass destruction. Programs such as AUSTC and MACS-B significantly advance autonomous unmanned systems teaming and collaboration capabilities in subterranean environments for Army and Special Forces units.

For more about Robotic Research, please see www.roboticresearch.com or call Janet Hughes at 240-631-0008. For additional information on ARDEC, please see http://www.ardec.army.mil.

SOURCE Robotic Research, LLC

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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of VISIT PHILADELPHIA today announced that following an extensive national search, Jeff Guaracino, current president and CEO of Welcome America, Inc., has been selected to lead VISIT PHILADELPHIA and its talented staff as president and CEO beginning on October 29, 2018.

VISIT PHILADELPHIAs Board of Directors named Jeff Guaracino, currently president and CEO of Welcome America, Inc., to lead VISIT PHILADELPHIA beginning on October 29, 2018. Guaracino first joined VISIT PHILADELPHIA in September 2001 and spent over a decade in leadership roles with the organization. After leaving VISIT PHILADELPHIA, he served as executive director of the Atlantic City Alliance. Guaracino will succeed Meryl Levitz, VISIT PHILADELPHIAs founding president and CEO.

VISIT PHILADELPHIA is an economic engine for Philadelphia's tourism industry, generating more than 1 million hotel room nights in Center City in 2017 alone. That same year, the Greater Philadelphia region welcomed 43.3 million people, and 88% of them were here for a leisure purpose. These visitors produced more than $11.5 billion in economic impact for the region. Visitor spending in the region supports local businesses, creates jobs, generates taxes and ultimately enhances residents' quality of life. (Sources: CBRE and Econsult Solutions, Inc.)

Guaracino has been part of VISIT PHILADELPHIA's growth since its early days. He joined the organization in September 2001 and spent more than a decade in leadership roles. In 2012, he left to serve as chief strategy and communications officer for the Atlantic City Alliance (ACA), a New Jersey-based destination marketing organization and later became that organization's executive director. In 2016, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney recruited Guaracino to serve as president and CEO of Welcome America, Inc., a non-profit organization in a public-private partnership with Philadelphia to produce citywide events.

"After an extensive search that identified top-tier national candidates, Jeff was the unanimous choice of our search committee," said Manuel N. Stamatakis, chair of VISIT PHILADELPHIA's Board of Directors. "With more than 20 years of national and international tourism industry experience, a proven track record and deep Philadelphia roots, Jeff is uniquely qualified for this position. He has built a remarkable career in destination marketing, and we are confident that Jeff's leadership will further elevate Philadelphia's stature for both U.S. and global audiences."

During his time at VISIT PHILADELPHIA, Guaracino worked on many of the organization's signature marketing campaigns, including Philly's More Fun When You Sleep Over, With Love, Philadelphia XOXO, With Art Philadelphia and Philly Homegrown. He also developed the groundbreaking marketing campaign Philadelphia  Get Your History Straight And Your Nightlife Gay.

"Jeff is passionate about Philadelphia, and I'm confident in his expertise to become the president and CEO of VISIT PHILADELPHIA," said Mayor Kenney. "This new role is a natural expansion of his longstanding enthusiasm for Philadelphia and will enable him to leverage his expertise to drive tourism to our great city."

Guaracino has built an international reputation for his work in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. He is the author of two books: Gay and Lesbian Tourism: The Essential Guide for Marketing (Elsevier, 2007) and Handbook of LGBT Tourism and Hospitality: A Guide for Business Practice (Harrington Park Press/Columbia University Press, 2017).

During his time with the ACA, Guaracino was instrumental to the success of the DO AC marketing campaign, which drove leisure visitation and non-gaming revenue to the city as it experienced increased competition from the expansion of gaming in nearby states. He also led the destination's recovery strategy after Superstorm Sandy.

Under his leadership at Welcome America, Inc., Guaracino launched a new strategic plan and rebranding campaign for Wawa Welcome America, which led to a more robust schedule, new corporate partnerships and increased event attendance. Additionally, he expanded the organization's mission to produce citywide events all year, including the annual Philly Holiday Festival.

"As a native Philadelphian, I'm excited to return to VISIT PHILADELPHIA at a time when there is so much opportunity in the tourism industry to showcase our beautiful city and region and to generate additional dollars for our economy," said Guaracino. "The work at VISIT PHILADELPHIA doesn't just bring visitors to our region, it helps make Philadelphia a more vital and better place to live and do business."

Guaracino succeeds Meryl Levitz, VISIT PHILADELPHIA's founding president and CEO, who announced in January 2018 that she planned to leave her position. Levitz spent 22 years developing VISIT PHILADELPHIA as a globally recognized industry leader in tourism marketing, cultivating an outstanding staff, changing the city's perception worldwide and developing the leisure tourism segmenta segment that did not exist strongly prior to 1997. As Levitz prepares to depart her role, one-third of Center City hotel room nights are occupied by leisure visitorsa first in Philadelphia's history. In addition, overnight leisure visits to the ve-county region have more than doubled from 7.3 million in 1997 to 15.1 million in 2017. (Sources: CBRE and Econsult Solutions, Inc.)

"I'm delighted that Jeff has been selected to lead the talented team at VISIT PHILADELPHIA," said Levitz. "Jeff's experience in destination marketing is proven, and I have the utmost confidence that with him leading our skilled staff, VISIT PHILADELPHIA will continue to produce record-breaking room nights, great stories and an outstanding quality of life and economic benefits for those who live, work and play in Philadelphia."

Guaracino's hiring reflects the organization's commitment to recruiting the best talent and being welcoming to all. VISIT PHILADELPHIA employs the same values-based processes in staff hiring as it does with its Board of Directors selection, vendor and advertising decisions and moreensuring a reflection of Philadelphia itself. The organization remains well-positioned to continue achieving its mission: building Greater Philadelphia's image, driving visitation and boosting the economy.



VISIT PHILADELPHIA is our name and our mission. As the region's official tourism marketing agency, we build Greater Philadelphia's image, drive visitation and boost the economy.

On Greater Philadelphia's official visitor website and blog, visitphilly.com and uwishunu.com, visitors can explore things to do, upcoming events, themed itineraries and hotel packages. Compelling photography and videos, interactive maps and detailed visitor information make the sites effective trip-planning tools. Along with Visit Philly social media channels, the online platforms communicate directly with consumers. Travelers can also call and stop into the Independence Visitor Center for additional information and tickets.

Tweet It: Board of Directors of @visitphilly selects Jeff Guaracino as next president & CEO: https://vstphl.ly/2NPRaTa

SOURCE VISIT PHILADELPHIA

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ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: RGRX) ("the Company" or "RegeneRx"), a clinical-stage drug development company focused on tissue protection, repair and regeneration, today announced that the recommended INN (International Nonproprietary Name) for Thymosin Beta 4 is timbetasin, as published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The term "INN" is an official name given to a new active pharmaceutical ingredient as prescribed by the WHO and is given for the classification of substances. Any drug substance that has the characteristics of "Thymosin beta 4" that will be developed as a pharmaceutical product in the future must use the name "timbetasin", a term requested by GtreeBNT. The common name, "timbetasin," was designated according to the guidelines for WHO INN naming and has a symbolic meaning that can be associated with Thymosin Beta 4.

An INN is basically given based on the structure of the compound and the mechanism of action. Registration of the INN by the WHO means that the compound has been certified and officially recognized as a global new drug substance.

This is a necessary step for the market approval and launch of a new pharmaceutical product, considered an essential step in new drug development for verification as a global product candidate, officially required by the FDA in NDA applications.

About RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (www.regenerx.com)

RegeneRx is focused on the development of novel therapeutic peptides, including Thymosin beta 4 (T4) and its constituent fragments, for tissue and organ protection, repair and regeneration. RegeneRx currently has three drug candidates in clinical development for ophthalmic, cardiac and dermal indications, three active strategic licensing agreements in the U.S., China, and Pan Asia (Korea, Japan, and Australia, among others), and has patents and patent applications covering its products in many countries throughout the world.

RegeneRx, through its U.S joint venture, ReGenTree LLC, completed patient enrollment and treatment in its second Phase 3 clinical trial (ARISE-2) in approximately 600 patients with dry eye syndrome and reported positive clinical results with no safety issues. A third Phase 3 trial (ARISE-3) is planned for the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2018. ReGenTree is also conducting a 46-patient Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with neurotrophic keratopathy (NK). Additionally, RGN-259 is being developed in patients with dry eye syndrome in Asia through RegeneRx's two Asian partnerships. RGN-259 has been designated an orphan drug in the U.S. for the treatment of NK.

RGN-352, the Company's T4-based injectable formulation, is a Phase 2-ready drug candidate designed to be administered systemically to prevent and repair cardiac damage resulting from heart attacks and central nervous system tissue disorders such as peripheral neuropathy, multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injuries such as stroke. It may also have applications in patients with severe septic shock.

RGN-137, also designated an orphan drug in the U.S., is the Company's T4-based dermal gel formulation that is being developed for epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin condition. The Company's licensee, GtreeBNT, is sponsoring a clinical trials in the U.S. and Europe and is expected to initiate an open study in 2018.

For additional information about RegeneRx please visit www.regenerx.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made under the provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that any current or future animal studies or clinical trials or joint ventures will result in future value or approved products. There can also be no assurance that the Company or its licensees will apply for an NDA in the future or that if the Company or a licensee applies for an NDA, that it will be accepted by the FDA and/or that the product candidate will be approved for marketing in the U.S. or any other country. Receipt of a WHO INN does not ensure that a drug candidate will be approved in any regulated territory. Please view these and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including those identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and subsequent quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings it makes with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements in this press release represent the Company's views only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update this information as a result of future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.regenerx.com


SHANGHAI, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WuXi AppTec congratulates its partner Hutchison MediPharma (HMP) on receiving approval of fruquintinib capsules (Elunate) for metastatic colorectal cancer from the National Medical Products Administration of China ("NMPA")  formerly the China Food and Drug Administration. Fruquintinib is an innovative medicine that has not previously been launched in China or internationally.

The approval in China was completed using a priority review and approval process, thereby maximizing the number of potential patients who can benefit from this novel cancer treatment. This is the second innovative drug approval in China supported by WuXi STA, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, since the implementation of the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) pilot program.

Colorectal cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Approximately 1.36 million new cases and nearly 700,000 deaths are reported each year globally, so the disease represents a significant global healthcare challenge. In China, the annual incidence of colorectal cancer tops 376,000 and continues to grow, and 50% of new cases will eventually develop into metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). VEGFR inhibitors play a pivotal role in tumor-related angiogenesis, cutting off the blood supply that a tumor needs to grow rapidly. Fruquintinib (HMPL-013) is a highly selective and potent small-molecule inhibitor of VEGFR 1, 2 and 3, providing a new therapeutic approach for metastatic colorectal cancer patients.

WuXi AppTec provided comprehensive support for the successful market launch of this innovative drug in China using its enabling platforms. WuXi STA, via its industry-leading process development and manufacturing technology platform and global standard quality system, supported the process optimization and process validation of its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), as well as the Elunate NDA submission and approval. In June 2018, WuXi STA's Jinshan API manufacturing site passed the pre-approval inspection by NMPA as part of the Elunate  NDA application process. WuXi STA also supported fruquintinib capsules' clinical trials in the United States. In addition, WuXi SMO, a subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, provided services from phase i to phase iii clinical research during the past six years. The entire clinical program of this product was successfully completed, with high data quality and outstanding results obtained. Results of the phase iii study were published on the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) with an impact factor of 47 points.

"We congratulate our partner Hutchison MediPharma on their tremendous achievement. This is the second innovative drug that WuXi STA provided API manufacturing for the approval and launch in China since the implementation of the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) pilot program." said Dr. Minzhang Chen, CEO of STA. "The successful development of fruquintinib is further evidence of our commitment to enabling our partners with the most outstanding capabilities and cutting-edge technologies. We support them in the quest to bring better medicines to patients and strive to fulfill WuXi's dream that 'every drug can be made and every disease can be treated'."

About WuXi AppTec

WuXi AppTec is a leading global pharmaceutical and medical device open-access capability and technology platform company with global operations. As an innovation-driven and customer-focused company, WuXi AppTec provides a broad and integrated portfolio of services to help our worldwide customers and partners shorten the discovery and development time and lower the cost of drug and medical device R&D through cost-effective and efficient solutions. With its industry-leading capabilities such as small molecule R&D and manufacturing, cell therapy and gene therapy R&D and manufacturing, and medical device testing, WuXi platform is enabling nearly 3,000 innovative collaborators from more than 30 countries to bring innovative healthcare products to patients, and to fulfill WuXi's dream that "every drug can be made and every disease can be treated." Please visit: http://www.wuxiapptec.com

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XUZHOU, China, Sept. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer, XCMG, the world-leading construction machinery manufacturer, hosted the seventh edition of its Global Excellent Operator program (the "Program"), where 90 trainees from China and six other countries participated in a series of training sessions led by industry experts and experienced instructors.

Based on the skill level and needs of each trainee, program managers have customized lesson plans that help each person master the skills necessary to succeed in a industry that is being revolutionized by advances in artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing. The program included work with three-dimensional simulations, a skills competition, mentoring sessions, operation and assembly training courses, and a visit to the smart manufacturing facility for XCMG's large-tonnage excavators to learn about the future of the construction machinery industry.

"We have been excited by the talent and drive of all of the trainees from China and other countries around the world who participated in the Program," said Li Ge, Deputy Party Secretary of XCMG. "The foundation for a successful career in the construction machinery industry is an ability to understand and adapt to the incredible changes that the era of smart manufacturing is bringing to our business. Learning about XCMG's world-class, cutting-edge manufacturing processes is the best way for them to gain the skills that they need to become future innovators and leaders."

The international trainees who participated in this year's session hailed from Pakistan, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Qatar and Mongolia. Program facilitators conducted team-building and cultural activities to introduce participants to the history, culture and folk customs of Xuzhou.

Kuwaiti Sudhi Pushkaran said, "The Program offers an opportunity to meet operators from different countries as well as learn about XCMG's transformation from traditional manufacturing to digital, networked and smart solutions."

The Program is one of 14 projects that are a part of XCMG's "For A Better Life" global public welfare campaign which has benefited more than 300 trainees worldwide since its launch in 2016.

About XCMG

XCMG is a multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company with a history of 74 years. It currently ranks sixth in the world's construction machinery industry. The company exports to more than 182 countries and regions around the world.

For more information, please visit: www.xcmg.com, or XCMG pages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Instagram.

SOURCE XCMG

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11 New Knowledge Assistant Skills : The Knowledge Assistant  Yext's conversational user interface  can now nudge Yext customers to make updates to their information, so consumers and services like Google, Alexa, Bing, Facebook, and more always have the most current data. In addition, Yext customers can now ask the Knowledge Assistant, "Show me reviews that I haven't responded to" or "How many phone calls have I received from Google?" to learn about their performance as easily as texting a friend.

: The Knowledge Assistant  Yext's conversational user interface  can now nudge Yext customers to make updates to their information, so consumers and services like Google, Alexa, Bing, Facebook, and more always have the most current data. In addition, Yext customers can now ask the Knowledge Assistant, "Show me reviews that I haven't responded to" or "How many phone calls have I received from Google?" to learn about their performance as easily as texting a friend. Publisher Suggestions on Facebook : Businesses can now view suggestions that Facebook users make to their Facebook location Pages inside the Yext dashboard, and can choose to accept or reject those suggestions.

: Businesses can now view suggestions that Facebook users make to their Facebook location Pages inside the Yext dashboard, and can choose to accept or reject those suggestions. Google User Photos : Businesses can now monitor photos that Google Maps users post from their stores or locations, directly inside the Yext dashboard. They can also see analytics, like photo views.

"The ways people look for and interact with businesses online are changing with the evolution of AI-powered services, and businesses need to take control of the facts about their brand everywhere consumers are looking," said Marc Ferrentino, Chief Strategy Officer of Yext. "Today's release is a major step forward for Digital Knowledge Management, as we continue to deepen our integrations with the world's leading AI-powered services to drive more value for our customers and give them more control than ever before."



Yext for Events, launched earlier this month, is a central source of truth for event information allowing businesses to publish, update, and measure events across the digital ecosystem. Businesses like Ben & Jerry's use Yext for Events to manage key details like event start and end times, locations, and descriptions, and create Event Pages, add them to the business's website, and publish events broadly to event discovery sites like Facebook and Eventful, as well as event ticketing platforms like Eventbrite.

For more information on the Summer '18 Product Release, visit the Summer '18 Release Notes.



About Yext

Yext (NYSE: YEXT) is the leading Digital Knowledge Management (DKM) platform. Yext's mission is to give companies control over their brand experiences across the digital universe of maps, apps, search engines, voice assistants, and other intelligent services that drive consumer discovery, decision, and action. Today, thousands of businesses including brands like Taco Bell, Rite Aid, and Steward Health Care use the Yext Knowledge Engine to manage their digital knowledge in order to boost brand engagement, drive foot traffic, and increase sales.



Yext has been named a Best Place to Work by Fortune and Great Place to Work as well as a Best Workplace for Women. Yext is headquartered in New York City with offices in Berlin, Chicago, Dallas, Geneva, London, Paris, Tyson's Corner, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.yext.com.

SOURCE Yext, Inc.

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Tehran, Sep 6 : Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said the US seeks to "abuse" the upcoming meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to blame Iran for the violation of international law.

It is US President Donald Trump who is violating the international law and is bullying others to do the same, Zarif said on Wednesday with reference to the UNSC resolution 2231 on Iran's nuclear programme, Xinhua reported.

On Tuesday, it was announced in Washington that Trump was going to chair a meeting of the UNSC on Iran on September 26.

Trump would raise the topic concerning Iran's "violations of international law" in the UNSC meeting, said US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
Washington, Sep 6 : US President Donald Trump has said it is possible for him to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at the UN.

Speaking on Wednesday before a bilateral meeting with Kuwait's visiting Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Trump said "anything is possible" regarding the meeting, Xinhua reported.

"Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me," he said. "I will always be available... we'll see what happens."

Trump said on July 30 that he is ready to meet with Rouhani without preconditions.

"I'd meet with anybody. I believe in meeting," Trump said. "They want to meet, I'll meet. Any time they want. Good for the country. Good for them. Good for us. And good for the world."

However, the US in August re-imposed sanctions on Iran that had been suspended under a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

Rouhani said in response that the Iranians would make the US "regretful" for its renewal of sanctions.

He also said that the US administration "is not trustworthy for any negotiations" after its withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal, since "negotiations with sanctions don't make sense".

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said lately that any negotiation with the US to solve the existing problems is an "obvious mistake".

US-Iranian relations have been at odds as the Trump administration left the historic Iran nuclear deal, de-legitimised its government, vowed to re-impose sanctions on the nation and pressed other nations to cut down their purchase of Iranian oil to zero.
Mumbai, Sep 6 : Actor Varun Dhawan, who visited the "Indian Idol 10" set to promote his forthcoming film, compared contestant Salman Ali to actor Salman Khan.

Salman Ali, one of the top 11 contestants on the singing reality show, takes care of his large family single-handedly, and he strives to fulfil the wishes of his parents.

Varun, who made an appearance on the show with his "Sui Dhaaga - Made In India" co-star Anushka Sharma, was mighty impressed by Salman Ali, as he was touched by his story of struggling to make ends meet, read a statement.

The actor then said: "Salman Ali is the Salman Khan of our music industry. His performance was absolutely incredible. I felt as if I was listening to a recording and not a live performance. It's said that when you do a film, you have to completely get into the character of the role.

"I have acted as a hero in multiple movies, but I would like to say that the real hero out here is Salman Ali who so lovingly takes care of his parents. I wish him all the happiness in the world and I am totally sure that he will reach the pinnacles of success. His parent's blessings and our good wishes are always with him."
Moscow, Sep 6 : British Prime Minister Theresa May's statement over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia was "absolutely unacceptable," the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.

"It contains a number of peremptory accusations against Russia and two of our citizens. We strongly reject these insinuations," the ministry said on Wednesday in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

Traces of the deadly nerve agent Novichok used in the attack have been found in a London hotel, May told MPs on Wednesday in the House of Commons.

She said in an official statement that the British police and intelligence agencies have identified two Russian nationals they believe were responsible for the attack in March in the British city of Salisbury which left Sergei and Yulia fighting for their lives.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Rossiya-1 TV channel that Britain should provide fingerprints of the suspects to Interpol as these people allegedly from Russia must have received British visas.

The poisoning case triggered a diplomatic crisis with Russia and Western countries mutually expelling a large number of diplomats.

The US has also imposed massive economic sanctions against Russia over the incident.

Russia has been denying any involvement in the case.
Washington, Sep 6 : US President Donald Trump has once again threatened to shut down the federal government over border security this time.

"If it happens it happens. If it's about border security, I'm willing to do anything," Trump told the media at the White House on Wednesday.

"If we don't protect our borders our country is not going to be a country, so if it's about border security I'm willing to do what has to be done," the president added.

The remark comes ahead of Trump's meeting with congressional leaders over the legislative agenda for the next few months, including extending funding for the federal government past a September 30 deadline, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump had earlier in late July fired off threats to shut down the government.

However, during an interview with The Daily Caller published earlier on Wednesday, Trump said he did not like the idea of government shutdowns.

"I don't see even myself or anybody else closing down the country right now," he said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan told a press conference earlier in the day that a shutdown was "not in anyone's interest, and he (Trump) knows that".

The US Congress is working on passing a series of funding packages for the new fiscal year, which begins October 1.

Trump could force a partial shutdown of the government in October if he vetoes the funding bills.

The US federal government has occasionally been shut down in the past year, mostly when Congress failed to reach a spending bill due to political infighting.
London, Sep 6 : China's bike-sharing firm Mobike has said it is pulling out of Manchester this week after losing 10 per cent of its bicycles each month due to theft and vandalism.

It has already started removing the bicycles and will transfer them to London, Oxford, Cambridge and Newcastle, where it will continue to operate.

According to a statement by Mobike on Wednesday, the company suffered "unsustainable" losses as too many of its bikes have been stolen, dumped in canals and bins, had locks hacked off, or been set on fire, Xinhua news agency reported.

Customers in Manchester should have their deposits and credit refunded in the next few days, the company added.

Two weeks ago Mobike warned that if the users in Manchester kept destroying the bikes the service would be withdrawn.

In June 2017, Manchester became Mobike's first launch outside Asia. It is also the first city to lose its Mobike privileges due to antisocial behavior, according to Steve Milton, Mobike's UK spokesman.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said a "Bharat ke Veer" Trust has been formed for providing assistance to the families of slain Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel.

The Trust is headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, and Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and former national badminton champion Pullela Gopichand are among six trustees.

The Ministry of Home Affairs took up the initiative in 2017. The success has been stupendous. It has now been formalised into a registered Trust, Rajnath Singh said in a series of tweets.

"The Trust has been created for providing a platform to all citizens to contribute and provide assistance to the families of martyred CAPF personnel," he said.

"The Ministry of Finance has given its approval to the Trust under 80(G) which means that all contributions to the Trust will be exempted under Income Tax," he added.
Washington, Sep 6 : An unnamed senior US administration official has assailed President Donald Trump's "amorality" and reckless decision-making in an op-ed and said he or she is part of a "resistance" working to thwart Trump's worst impulses.

"The dilemma -- which (Trump) does not fully grasp -- is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations," the New York Times piece read. "I would know. I am one of them."

Trump labelled the anonymous writer "gutless" and the newspaper as "phony". His press secretary said the mystery writer was a "coward" who should quit, the BBC reported.

The NYT said disclosing the name of the official, who is known to the publication, would jeopardize the official's job, and that publishing the piece anonymously was the only way to deliver an important perspective to readers.

Major newspapers almost never publish unnamed op-ed pieces. At The New York Times, it is very rare, but not entirely unprecedented, the CNN said.

The op-ed came on the heels of reports based on a damning book about Trump's presidency by veteran journalist Bob Woodward and amplified the sense that top advisers to the President have serious concerns about his conduct in office and leadership abilities.

It is likely to compound Trump's sense of paranoia that he is surrounded by advisers who may be duplicitous and untrustworthy, the CNN report added.

Trump quickly lashed out on Wednesday, dismissing the op-ed as "really a disgrace". He demanded for the name to be revealed.

"We have somebody in what I call the failing New York Times that's talking about he's part of the resistance inside the Trump administration," Trump said. "This is what we have to deal with. And you know the dishonest media ... But it's really a disgrace."

He then pivoted to his accomplishments, claiming that "nobody has done what this administration has done in terms of getting things passed and getting things through."

Trump later tweeted a pointed and unsubstantiated attack on the NYT, questioning if the author of the op-ed exists. If the author does exist, the organization should publicly identify the individual, Trump said.

"Does the so-called 'Senior Administration Official' really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?" Trump tweeted.

"If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"
Mumbai, Sep 6 : Celebrity interior designer Gauri Khan has joined hands with Pride of Cows for a limited edition bottle for the premium milk brand's seventh anniversary celebration.

The bottle brings in some hues of gold, white and black which depicts the essence of the brand.

"With an idea of creating a design that mirrors our 'Pride of Cows' strategy of providing premium milk to consumers who believe in leading a high quality life, we believe this collaboration with Gauri Khan is a perfect match," Akshali Shah, Senior Vice President, Strategy - Sales and Marketing, Parag Milk Foods Ltd., said in a statement to IANS.

Expressing her excitement, Gauri said: "Design comes with creativity and this was one of those times where I did not have to look for inspiration to wrap this white gold stunningly.

"It was a wonderful experience to design the Pride of Cows limited edition bottle. I am thrilled to be a part of their seventh anniversary celebration," she added.

The wife of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has designed the interiors of houses of many Bollywood celebrities like Karan Johar, Ranbir Kapoor, Varun Dhawan and Jacqueline Fernandez.
Varanasi, Sep 6 : A swelling Ganga river has inundated the temples on Varanasi ghats and forced cremations at the Manikarnika to be shifted to upper platforms, a Uttar Pradesh official said on Thursday.

The river rose by over two metres in the last 24-hours. The famous Ganga aarti from the boats has also been banned.

It is flowing just two metres below the danger mark at 69.91m. The Sheetla temple and Ratneshwar Mahadev temple were submerged.

The water level of Varuna river here has also increased. It has flooded the old bridge area, Konia, Kazzakpur and many other low-lying areas.

Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been pressed asked to keep a tab on the rising waters and brace for any eventuality.

An NDRF team consisting of 20-25 personnel have been posted on the Assi Ghat, Dashvashmedh Ghat and Rajghat.

Waters of the Varuna river increased due to increased monsoon activity and release of five lakh cusecs of water from the Matateela dam in Lalitpur a few days back, a district official said as rains continued to wreak havoc in many parts of Uttar Pradesh.

In the last 24 hours, 20 persons have been killed in rain-related incidents, including wall collapses, house cave-ins and lightening.

According to the office of the Relief Commissioner, three persons have died in Gonda, two in Mirzapur, one each in Meerut, Sitapur and Bahraich while three persons have died in Kushinagar, one in Unnao, two in Bijnore, one in Auraiyya, one in Jaunpur and one in Etah.

Sports minister of Uttar Pradesh, Chetan Chauhan would be visiting Farukkhabad later in the day to distribute relief and other material in the district.

He told IANS that he will be taking a boat ride to meet the marooned villagers and give them relief material, food items and medicines.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is also scheduled for an aerial survey of flood-hit districts of Barabanki, Basti, Sitapur and Gonda.

Heavy rains have been battering most parts of the state for the last 10 days, leading to flooding of many regions and water logging in major cities and towns.

There was, however, clear skies in Lucknow on Thursday, though the Met forecast two more days of heavy rains in the city and around.
Sofia, Sep 6 : Visiting Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday greeted the people of Bulgaria on the occasion of its 133rd Unification Day.

"The most cordial wishes for the nice and hospitable Bulgarians on the occasion of the unification of Bulgaria. I am glad to be in Sofia to share this Skroven moment," the President said in a tweet.

Kovind arrived here on Tuesday from Cyprus on the second leg of his three-nation visit to Europe that will also take him to the Czech Republic.

This is the first presidential visit from India to Bulgaria in 15 years.

On September 6, 1885, the Principality of Bulgaria unified with the autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Roumelia, a few years after its liberation from the Ottoman rule.
Kabul, Sep 6 : Ten insurgents, including a Taliban judge and a doctor working for the insurgent group, have been killed following an airstrike in southern Afghan province of Kandahar, official said on Thursday.

The strike was launched by Afghan Air Force in Band-e-Timur area of Maywand district in early hours of Wednesday as a group of militants tried to launch attack on a newly set up security checkpoint at the area, district chief Haji Lala told Xinhua news agency.

A militants' hijacked military armored vehicle and a weapon depot were also eliminated during the attack.

Security situation has been improving in Kandahar, the former stronghold of Taliban, over the last months, as security forces have conducted search and cordon operations across the province. But the militants attack government interests in the province from time to time.
San Francisco, Sep 6 : After Wednesday's congressional hearings, Facebook and Twitter will now face questions from the Justice Department (DOJ) over allegations of political bias, an issue flagged by US President Donald Trump.

In a meeting in September, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, along with state attorneys general, would look into whether Facebook and Twitter are "intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms", CNET reported on Wednesday.

The DOJ announced the meeting on a day when Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg appeared before the US Congress, admitting to the lawmakers that they were "too slow to act" and "ill-prepared" to tackle foreign interference on their platforms.

According to The Washington Post, Sandberg told the US Senate Intelligence Committee that they were too slow to spot this and too slow to act. "That's on us."

The social networking platforms attracted criticism for being vulnerable to Russia-linked influence campaigns.

Trump has accused Google, Facebook and Twitter of trying to "silence" conservative voices.

Appearing before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Wednesday in a hearing on online censorship of conservative opinions and misinformation activities ahead of the 2018 mid-term elections, Dorsey said Twitter will remain an "impartial" "global town square", and it does "not shadow-ban anyone based on political ideology".

"To serve the public conversation, Twitter is incentivised to keep all voices on the platform," he said.

Twitter has constantly denied the claims by Republicans that conservative accounts were shadow-banned or their opinions were censored on the platform.

Earlier in the day, Dorsey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.

Following the meeting, Twitter shares fell six per cent on Wednesday, CNBC reported.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : For Delhi's autorickshaw drivers, including 35-year old Shahbaz Khan, going to Burari Transport Authority -- the capital's biggest licensing centre -- was a nightmare without the ubiquitous tout's help. But the picture has changed dramatically after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in July.

The entry, which was earlier open to all, is now restricted. Unauthorised persons, including touts, are not allowed in the RTO.

"The entry of people is allowed after checking the vehicle or work-related documents," a government official told IANS.

People can even file complaints on the government's newly-introduced anti-tout helpline and email ID if they face any harassment in getting their work done, he said.

Kejriwal, along with Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot and other senior officials, conducted a surprise inspection of the RTO in July when he found it to be a "den of corruption".

"Earlier, we needed to go through a tout to get any work done by the officials in the RTO. But after the Chief Minister had visited the office, the entry of touts had been banned and we can now directly contact the officers for our work," Khan told IANS.

"It even took us months to get even the small work done earlier if we approached the officials without tout or any 'jugaad'," he added.

Apart from restricting the entry, the government has also other plans to improve the RTO's condition. During the visit in July, the ministers had pulled up officials for not putting anti-corruptuion measures in place.

"The government has plans to decentralise the transport authority. Currently, the load on the authority is high," Gahlot told IANS.

"The corruption was high as people used to stand for long hours to get their work done. Even for fitness certificates, there are long queues. This encourages corruption.

"If they walk in and see less crowd and can get the work done by themselves within some time, why will they pay extra money to get the work done," he asked.

However, the autorickshaw drivers need more improvement in the RTO as many feel the working style of the officers has not yet changed.

"The attitude of some officers has not yet changed. They, instead of getting the work done fast, force us to make multiple trips," said 42-year-old Shyam Yadav, also an autorickshaw driver.

"The most common excuse the officers give us is 'the computers or the internet are not working'. There should be a way to deal with such issues as well," Yadav added.

Echoing this, 52-year-old Rajesh Rao, another driver said: "The visit (by Kejriwal) has improved a lot of things. We do not earn so much that we can afford to pay extra to get our work done. It feels good when the government takes note of the issues faced by the common man. But they should also do something to change the attitude of the officers."

Gahlot said the government is working to improve the situation.

"We can make rules and change the structure. But attitudes take time to change. Slowly, with an improvement in the structure and stricter rules, the attitude of the officers will also change," Gahlot assured.

(Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in)
Agartala, Sep 6 : The Tripura Gramin Bank (TGB), which had earlier secured the fifth position amongst India's 56 regional rural banks (RRBs) in terms of its business and growth, on Thursday felicitated its 107-year-old customer.

TGB Chairman Mahendra Mohan Goswami felicitated Snehalata Shil, who is perhaps the oldest woman in Tripura, at a small function at her residence at Amlighat in southern Tripura.

"Shil, whose farmer husband died 31 years ago, has been our customer for more than 15 years. Other members of her family are also customers of the bank," Goswami told IANS.

Shil, a mother of three daughters and a son, is still active in her domestic works.

"The Gramin Bank helps us a lot by giving financial support and various banking services in many ways, not only to my family but also to the residents of my village," Shil told IANS over phone from Amlighat, 140 km south of Agartala.

The 42-year-old TGB posted a net profit of Rs 44.14 crore in the last fiscal (2017-18).

"The bank in which the central government has a 50 per cent stake, United Bank of India (UBI) 35 per cent and the Tripura government 15 per cent, has been notching up profits for the past 17 years," Chairman Goswami said.

According to the bank chief, the TGB, which topped amongst the eight regional rural banks in seven northeastern states, has been providing all modern facilities to its customers including computerised, online financial transactions and mobile banking.

The bank currently has 159 branches including 15 ultra small branches (USB) across Tripura.

The TGB grew its volume of business in the last financial year (2017-18) to Rs 8332.11 crore, which is 13.06 per cent more than the corresponding period of previous financial year (2016-17).
Mumbai, Sep 6 : The Indian rupee breached the 72 per US dollar mark for the first time on Thursday.

Around 1 p.m., the rupee traded around 72.05 per dollar, against Wednesday's closing of 71.76 per greenback.

According to analysts, the fall in the rupee is due to the Sino-US trade tensions along with high crude oil prices and outflow of foreign funds.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said external factors have caused the depreciation of the rupee.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : In a historic verdict, the Supreme Court on Thursday decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

In separate but unanimous verdicts, a five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Rohinton Nariman, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Indu Malhotra partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as unconstitutional.

The bench said it is no longer an offence for LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community to engage in consensual sex between two adults in private.

Reading out the judgment, Chief Justice Misra said attitudes and mentality have to change to accept others' identity and accept what they are, and not what they should be.

"It is the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail," said the court.

The verdict sparked celebrations in the LGBTIQ community across India even as the judgment was being read out. Many of the community members who had assembled outside the apex court jumped in joy and distributed sweets.

Chief Justice Misra said consensual sex between adults in a private space, which is not harmful to women or children, cannot be denied as it is a matter of individual choice.

Section 377 will not apply to consensual same-sex acts between homosexuals, heterosexuals, lesbians, the court said, clarifying that sexual act without consent and bestiality will continue to be an offence under section 377.

"An individual has full liberty over his or her body and his or her sexual orientation is a matter of one's choice," said the Chief Justice.

"Time to bid adieu to prejudicial perceptions deeply ingrained in social mindset. Time to empower LGBTIQ community against discrimination. They should be allowed to make their choices," he added.

In a concurring judgement, Justice Nariman said homosexuality is "not a mental disorder or disease".

He said the LGBTIQ community has an equal right to live with dignity and are entitled to equal protection of law. He directed the Centre to give wide publicity to this judgment to remove the stigma attached to homosexuality.

Justice Chandrachud said to deny the LGBTIQ community their right to sexual orientation is a denial of their citizenship and a violation of their privacy.

"They cannot be pushed into obscurity by an oppressive colonial legislation... Sexual minorities in India have lived in fear, hiding as second class citizens," said Justice Chandrachud, adding "the state has no business to intrude on such matters".

Justice Indu Malhotra said that history owes an apology to the LGBTIQ community for all that they have suffered on account of the ignorance of the majority about homosexuality.

"LGBTIQ people have a right to live unshackled from the shadow," she said.

The Supreme Court verdict, which overruled its own earlier judgment, assumes significance as in the earlier round of litigation in 2013, the top court had reversed a Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising homosexuality.

The Delhi High Court bench, headed by then Chief Justice A.P. Shah, had in July 2009 legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults by overturning the 149-year-old law -- finding it unconstitutional and a hurdle in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

In December 2013, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya in the Suresh Kumar Koushal and another vs Naz Foundation and others case, had set aside the high court's judgment and said that it was for the legislature to look into desirability of deleting section 377 of IPC.

The matter was subsequently resurrected in July 2016, when a fresh petition was filed by members of the LGBTIQ community -- dancer N.S. Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur -- which was then marked to the Constitution Bench by a Division Bench.

The reference was made on the basis of submission that it was the first time that individuals directly affected by the provision were approaching the court.

Among the petitioners are a batch of current and former students of Indian Institutes of Technology. Claiming to represent more than 350 LGBTIQ alumni, students, staff and faculty from the IITs, the petitioners said that the existence of Section 377 had caused them "mental trauma and illnesses, such as clinical depression and anxiety and relegated some of them to second-class citizenship".
KUALA LUMPUR, May 11, 2018 - Malaysian new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reacts at a press conferenec in Kuala Lumpur May 11, 2018. Mahathir Mohamad on Friday named 10 ministries whose ministers ... Image Source: IANS

: Malaysian new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reacts at a press conferenec in Kuala Lumpur May 11, 2018. Mahathir Mohamad on Friday named 10 ministries whose ... Image Source: IANS

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 6 : Malyasian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday condemned the caning of two women charged by an Islamic court for having lesbian sex and said they should have been shown compassion.

In a video posted on his official Facebook page, Mahathir said the sentence, executed in Terengganu state in northeast Malaysia on Monday, painted Islam in a poor light and did not reflect the religion's ideals of justice and compassion.

Being their first offence, the women should have been counselled, not punished, he said.

The Islamic police had arrested the two women, aged 22 and 32, in April from a car parked in a public square in Terengganu, one of the most conservative parts of the country.

In August, an Islamic court had ordered the women to be caned six times for violating the Sharia or Islamic law that forbids gay sex.

Human rights groups called the punishment cruel and unjust and described it as a setback to the rights of the LGBT community in Malaysia while warning about a rise in intolerance in the country.

Malaysia has a dual justice system, in which Islamic courts rules related to religion and family, including adultery, of the Muslim population.
Bengaluru, Sep 6 : The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict on decriminalising Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and upholding the rights of the LGBT community.

"As an advocate of ensuring equal opportunities in workspace, our bank commends the apex court's ruling against Section 377, which will ensure individuals are comfortable in their own skin," said RBS Managing Director (International Hubs) Anuranjita Kumar in a statement from Mumbai.

Earlier in the day, a five-judge bench decriminalised homosexuality, saying it was the constitutional and not social morality which will prevail.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Several prominent faces from Delhis literary circles came together at an evening of readings from French author and diplomat Nicolas Idiers novel "Nouvelle Jeunesse".

The occasion was to bid adieu to Idier as he completed his assignment as the Books and Ideas Attache' at the Institut Francais de Inde (The Book Office of the French Embassy), and was hosted by author Namita Gokhale and Priti Paul, Director Apeejay Surrendra Group.

The event at Oxford Bookstore on Wednesday evening saw a delightful discussion on Idier's experience in India and his journey as the Head of French Book Office contributing to both Indian and French publishing.

The evening also saw a discussion on "Nouvelle Jeunesse" followed by French readings of the book by Nicholas and those of the translated works by Sunit Tandon . The English translation of the book is currently in progress, and will be published by Yatra Books as "Electric Nights".

Nicolas Idier holds a PhD in Art History from Sorbonne-University.

He had been posted as a cultural diplomat at the French Embassy in China and at the French Institute in India, since 2010.
Zurich, Sep 6 : Veteran actor Donald Sutherland will be honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the 14th edition of the Zurich Film Festival.

The 83-year-old actor will also present his recently released movie "The Leisure Seeker" at the festival, reports variety.com.

Having worked in more than hundred films, Sutherland is a recipient of many prestigious awards including Emmy and Oscar.

He has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film "Citizen X" and won a Golden Globe for "Path to War".

Sutherland's recent work also includes roles in "The Hunger Games" and TV series "Trust".

The 14th edition of Zurich Film Festival will take place from September 27 to October 7.

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Rome, Sep 6 : Not all migrants are wraiths who fled war and famine in their homelands, Italy's hardline Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said, after some 50 rescued migrants vanished from a reception centre in Rocca Di Papa outside Rome.

Salvini was referring to the Italian coastguard vessel that rescued 177 migrants in August who were stranded aboard the ship for 10 days after he refused to allow them to disembark at the Sicilian port of Catania unless the European Union agreed to take most of them.

"It's the umpteenth confirmation that not all those who arrive in Italy are skeletons who escaped from war and hunger," Salvini said.

The migrants who went missing were among 100 migrants that the Catholic Church agreed to house in parishes around Italy. Ireland and Albania said they would take 20 each.

Salvini claims only a small minority of migrants are genuine refugees and asylum-seekers and has vowed to deport half a million illegal immigrants.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : As India's apex court decriminalised homosexuality in a landmark judgment here on Thursday, ace fashion designer Suneet Varma said it is a day that has restored his faith in the Indian judicial system, while Wendell Rodricks had a sigh of relief that "I am no longer a criminal", and jewellery designer Akaash K Aggrawal felt it's a sunshine moment after "long dark nights".

The Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

The verdict sparked celebrations in the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community across India. Many of the community members who had assembled outside the apex court jumped in joy and distributed sweets.

And the country's fashion industry was not behind in the celebrations.

Suneet, who married his boyfriend Rahul Arora in 2013 in New York, is overjoyed and says he can't be happier.

"To a large extent, today's verdict has kind of restored my faith in the Indian judicial system. I think the real democracy for the country will only ever be judged by the security and safety of all citizens. Considering we are proud of our country for being the largest democracy in the world, we really need to kind of live like that as well.

"Everybody -- whether it is daily workers or someone living in a palace, everybody's right should be rightly their own and which makes them feel secure and proud citizens of the country," Suneet told IANS on phone.

He says that finally calling homosexuality not an offence anymore proves that we are a nation whose faith has grown on love.

"We just celebrated Janmashtami - a festival that was all about love and freedom of choices. We are a country that celebrates all of that. The judgment allowed so many people to actually not be scared to live under darkness. It also allowed their parent to let their children make their choices of freedom without any worry about what the society will say.

"I think it's a very large step forward for India as a nation," said the master couturier.

Celebrated Goa-based designer Wendell Rodricks posted on his Facebook page: "At last, future generations of Indians are freed from the tyranny of Section 377. And at 58, I am no longer a criminal. God bless the wisdom of the Supreme Court of India. We are living through a historic time and judgment."

Aggarwal, a proud supporter of LGBT rights, says the day is about celebrating human existence and diversity.

"I completely bow down to the sacred hearing and the beautiful judgment by the Supreme Court of India which has led us now to breathe in relief, and let us hold our heads high in glory of this beautiful sunshine that we are facing our long dark nights," the designer told IANS.

"Today is a day of hope... and the faith is regained in the unity in diversity of India.... on our sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, caste, creed and what not. This is the day for the 2 million people whom the government considered as a 'minuscule minority'. We stand in solidarity and support for our brothers and sisters, friends, family, whom this nation considered as criminals. I'm queer and I'm proud," he added.

Fashion designer Rohit Verma, who was also seen in the third season of "Big Boss", says the judgment is a victory of God's creation.

"The nature is more powerful than any human and the justice now has bowed in front of it. The victory is not of any human or form. This victory is of God's creation, the Almighty who looks at all with equal eye.

"My happiness and gratitude towards the law of nature which has established itself and the gays are also considered as any other normal human beings," said the designer.

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
New Delhi, Sep 6 : India and the US on Thursday signed a long-negotiated and landmark defence agreement, COMCASA, which will enable Indian armed forces buy more military equipment from Washington and also access critical and encrypted defence technologies.

The Communications, Compatibility, Security Agreement (COMCASA) was signed as the two sides held here their first 2+2 talks between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and their US counterparts Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis.

Sushma Swaraj and Sitharaman in a joint press conference said the two sides have concluded the COMCASA pact.

"Defence came out as the single-most important aspect of our discussions today," Sitharaman said, adding COMCASA would enhance "our defence cooperation and our capabilities".

The pact guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

Indian armed forces will now also be allowed to install US-made high-security communication equipment on defence platforms sourced from America.

COMCASA is the second of the three foundational agreements needed for interoperability with the US. The two countries had earlier inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement in 2016.

However, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement remains pending.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The Supreme Court on Thursday took strong objection to the Maharashtra Police casting aspersions on its order placing five human rights activists under house arrest and told the Maharashtra government to discipline the police officers.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud adjourned the hearing on a PIL challenging the arrest of five activists to September 12 and ordered that they be kept in house arrest till then.

During the hearing, Justice Chandrachud lashed out at the Maharashtra Police for holding a press conference when the matter is pending before the court.

"You must ask your police officials to be more responsible. The matter is before us and we don't want to hear from police officials that the Supreme Court is wrong," Justice Chandrachud told Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Maharashtra government.

"I saw Assistant Police Commissioner, Pune, insinuating that the Supreme Court should not have interfered at this stage. He has no business telling that. Your are ruining the court's reputation. Casting aspertions...," Justice Chandrachud said.

"Tell him we have taken it very seriously," he added, while taking strong objection to the press conference the police held after the arrests of the five activists triggered outrage.

Mehta apologized to the court on behalf of the police.

On August 29, the apex court ordered the house arrest of activists Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonzalves.

In the media briefing, police showed documents and reiterated that a conspiracy was allegedly hatched by the five activists in connivance with the banned CPI (Maoist) "to overthrow the central government" and carry out "a Rajiv Gandhi-style assassination" to end (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi'd rule.

When counsels appearing for the petitioners urged the court to restrain police from sharing any information with the media, the bench refused to pass any order.

Mehta opposed the house arrest of the five activists, saying this could hamper the investigation.

He added that there were "serious charges" against the five.

The government denied that the activists were held for dissent and told the court that petitioners Romila Thapar and others were strangers to the case.

The bench then asked senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners, to say whether a third party can intervene in a criminal case.

Singhvi argued for an independent enquiry by a Special Investigation Team constituted by the court.

Taking a dim view of the crackdown, Justice Chandrachud had said: "Dissent is a safety valve of democracy. If it is not allowed, the pressure cooker will burst."

On Wednesday, the Maharashtra Police filed an affidavit in the apex court and said that the activists belonged to the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and were engaged in planning and executing large-scale violence.

The police urged the court to permit it to take them in its custody.
Haridwar, Sep 6 : The All World Gayatri Pariwar, a spiritual group based here, on Thursday handed a Rs 1.25 crore cheque to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund to be used in flood relief in Kerala.

Pranav Pandya and Shail Bala Pandya of the group made the donation when they met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

They also briefed the Prime Minister about the work undertaken by the spiritual group in the relief and rehabilitation of the flood disaster.
Ranchi, Sep 6 : Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das has invited Chinese investment in the food processing companies in his state and said all possible help will be extended to investors.

Das' comments came on Wednesday while visiting a food processing unit at Sanquan Foods Co Ltd, situated in Zhengzhou city of China. He was welcomed by the firm's chairman Chen Zemin and his team.

During the visit, Das briefed Zemin about the the potential of investment in Jharkhand and said: "All possible help will be extended to investors... Meetings will be organized with the local companies so that the technology could also be transferred with investment.

"Jharkhand has received investment in the food processing sector and in coming time the state will emerge as a food processing hub of India," said the Chief Minister.

Das also invited Zemin to participate in the Global Agriculture and Food Summit to be held in November in the state.

According to the press release by the state government, Zemin showed the food processing, packaging, quality testing and other aspects of the unit to the Chief Minister.

Zemin assured Das that his company would study the Indian market and assess the potential of food processing in Jharkhand.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  Should the regional trial court (RTC) not issue a warrant of arrest against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, the government would bring the issue to the Supreme Court, Chief Presidential Legal Adviser Sal Panelo said Thursday.

Panelo told CNN Philippines' On the Record they could go to the Supreme Court and ask "for the reversal of the decision of the RTC denying the motion."

Panelo spoke before unverified reports came out that Trillanes may be arrested Thursday evening or early Friday using a warrant from a court-martial. Senate President Tito Sotto, addressing the rumors, said they will block Trillanes' arrest within the Senate premises.

Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 is set to hold a hearing on the DOJ request on September 13, 9 a.m.

Another case would not be filed in another court to get an arrest warrant against Trillanes as that would be "forum shopping" according to Panelo.

When asked if Trillanes could be arrested on the strength of Proclamation Order No. 572, Panelo merely said, "That's precisely why we filed a motion in court for the issuance of an alias warrant of arrest."

Panelo said they have a "very strong case" against the Senator.

"As far as we know, the proclamation granting amnesty to Sen. Trillanes is null and void. If the argument is the case has been dismissed, the dismissal was anchored on a void proclamation, hence I do not think the dismissal will be valid," he said.

He went on to say there was no bona fide intention of the part of Trillanes to apply for amnesty.

Panelo also debunked Trillanes' claim that what was being done to him was de facto martial law, adding the fact that they filed a motion in court for the issuance of an alias warrant of arrest was proof the claim was false.

Panelo said he wants to see who signed the documents on Trillanes' amnesty. If signatory was only then-Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, that could mean another ground for nullity, he added.

However, Panelo said the President has not made any comment on the issues surrounding Trillanes, as he was busy with more pressing concerns during his official visits to Israel and Jordan.

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New Delhi, Sep 6 : Condemning the government's decision to ban e-cigarettes in the absence of scientific evidence, experts said the move is regressive.

In a statement on Thursday, the Association of Vapers India (AVI) -- an organisation that represents e-cigarettes -- said the government has failed to offer an alternative to tobacco cigarettes known to cause many diseases, including cancer and lung disease.

"The government has so far relied on an emotional appeal to persuade tobacco users to kick the habit, but never offered an alternative beyond gums and patches, which have a very low success rate," said Samrat Chowdhery, Director, AVI.

In such a scenario, "an attempt to ban e-cigarettes is regressive given that the government's stated policy is to provide wider choices to consumers for all products and services, and not restrict them," he added.

The advisory issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare last week, stated: "States/Union Territories are advised in larger public health interest, and in order to prevent the initiation of ENDS by non-smokers and youth, with special attention to vulnerable groups, to ensure that any Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) including e-Cigarettes, Heat Not-Burn devices, Vape, e-Sheesha, e-Nicotine Flavoured Hookah... are not sold (including online sale)."

However, academicians and activists have expressed concern on the advisory issued without any evidence to substantiate the decision.

Although e-cigarettes too contain nicotine like tobacco cigarettes, they do not produce tar and toxic chemicals that cause most tobacco-related deaths across the world, they argued.

"In e-cigarettes, there is huge reduction of cancer-causing elements to the tune of 90-92 per cent. The government should make a policy to give an option to the smokers to switch to e-cigarettes in its fight against cancer," said R.N. Sharan, Professor at North-Eastern Hill University in Shillong, Meghalaya.

"Vaping involves no smoke. It takes nicotine, which occurs naturally in vegetables like tomato, potato and broccoli, warms it to a vapour for use, eliminating smoke through burning tobacco," added Delhi-based Deepak Mukarji, who is using a not-for-profit advocacy platform called The Alternatives.

Moreover, worldwide 55 countries, including the UK, New Zealand, Norway and Canada, among others, have legalised sale of nicotine e-cigarettes and e-liquids as consumer goods.

These nations view vaping (inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette) as a much safer harm reduction alternative to smoking.

A report from the Royal College of Physicians stated that "the hazard to health arising from long-term vapour inhalation from the e-cigarettes available today is unlikely to exceed 5 per cent of the harm from smoking tobacco".

"An innovation that must be encouraged as a harm reduction alternative to tobacco usage. Yet sadly, misguidance and misrepresentation of facts is leading to the increased banning of a product that could save lives," Mukarji said.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Expanding their military relations, India and the United States on Thursday decided to carry out a new tri-services exercise off Indias eastern coast in 2019.

The two sides also decided to establish secure communication between their defence and external affairs ministers.

The new military exercise was announced in the joint statement issued after the inaugural India-US Ministerial 2+2 dialogue and also by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her remarks at the joint briefing which was also attended by External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and US Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis.

"Recognizing their rapidly growing military-to-military ties, the two sides committed to the creation of a new tri-services exercise and to further increase personnel exchanges between the two militaries and defence organisations," the joint statement said.

In her remarks, Sitharaman said that India's defence forces carry out extensive training and joint exercises with the US and the joint exercises have acquired greater complexity and newer dimensions, both bilaterally and in wider formats.

"To enhance our synergies in this area, we have decided to carry out, for the first time, a tri-services joint exercise with the United States off the eastern coast of India in 2019," she said.

The joint statement said the ministers reviewed the recent growth of bilateral engagements in support of maritime security and maritime domain awareness, and committed to expanding the cooperation.

They expressed commitment to start exchanges between the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and the Indian Navy, underscoring the importance of deepening their maritime cooperation in the western Indian Ocean.

The joint statement said that India and the US welcomed the launch of the 2+2 Dialogue as a reflection of the shared commitment by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump to provide a positive, forward-looking vision for the India-U.S. strategic partnership and to promote synergy in their diplomatic and security efforts.

They resolved to continue meetings in this format on an annual basis.

The ministers said India and US must continue to lead global efforts to promote peace, prosperity, and security.

The statement said the two sides were committed to work together on regional and global issues, including in bilateral, trilateral, and quadrilateral formats recognising that they are strategic partners, major and independent stakeholders in world affairs.

"The two sides further decided to establish secure communication between the Minister of External Affairs of India and the U.S. Secretary of State, and between the Minister of Defence of India and the U.S. Secretary of Defence, to help maintain regular high-level communication on emerging developments," he said.

The ministers reaffirmed the strategic importance of India's designation as a Major Defense Partner (MDP) of the US. They expressed commitment to expand the scope of India's MDP status and take mutually agreed upon steps to strengthen defence ties.

They welcomed the inclusion of India by the United States among the top tier of countries entitled to license-free exports, re-exports and transfers under License Exception Strategic Trade Authorization (STA-1).

Noting the rapid growth in bilateral defense trade and the qualitative improvement in levels of technology and equipment offered by the United States to India in recent years, they also expressed commitment to explore other means to support further expansion in two-way trade in defence items and defence manufacturing supply chain linkages.

The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continue to encourage and prioritize co-production and co-development projects through the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), and to pursue other avenues of defense innovation cooperation.

"In this regard, they welcomed the conclusion of a Memorandum of Intent between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the Indian Defence Innovation Organization - Innovation for Defence Excellence (DIO-iDEX)," the statement said.

The statement said that the next 2+2 meeting is to be held in the United States in 2019.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : India and the US on Thursday told Pakistan not to let its soil be used by terrorists to carry out cross-border terror attacks while demanding that the perpetrators of earlier terror attacks be expeditiously brought to justice.

New Delhi and Washington also committed to work together toward advancing a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

"The Ministers denounced any use of terrorist proxies in the region, and in this context, they called on Pakistan to ensure that the territory under its control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries," a joint statement issued following the first ever 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis here said.

"On the eve of the 10-year anniversary of the 26/11 Mumbai attack, they called on Pakistan to bring to justice expeditiously the perpetrators of the Mumbai, Pathankot, Uri, and other cross-border terrorist attacks," it stated.

"The Ministers welcomed the launch of a bilateral dialogue on designation of terrorists in 2017, which is strengthening cooperation and action against terrorist groups, including Al Qaeda, ISIS (IS or Islamic State), Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul Mujahideen, the Haqqani Network, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, D-Company, and their affiliates."

According to the statement, the Ministers welcomed the expansion of bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and announced their intent to increase information-sharing efforts on known or suspected terrorists and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2396 on returning foreign terrorist fighters.

While committing to enhance their ongoing cooperation in multilateral fora such as the UN and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), they reaffirmed their support for the India-initiated UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism "that will advance and strengthen the framework for global cooperation and reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism".

"The two sides further reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing and future cooperation to ensure a stable cyberspace environment and to prevent cyber-attacks," the statement said.

It also stated that the Ministers reviewed cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and noted that the common principles for the region articulated in the India-US joint statement of June 2017 have been further amplified by US President Donald Trump at Danang, Vietnam on November 10, 2017, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 1, 2018.

"Both sides committed to work together and in concert with other partners toward advancing a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, based on recognition of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) centrality and on respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, rule of law, good governance, free and fair trade, and freedom of navigation and overflight," the statement said.

"Noting the importance of infrastructure and connectivity for the Indo-Pacific region, both sides emphasised the need to work collectively with other partner countries to support transparent, responsible, and sustainable debt financing practices in infrastructure development," it stated in an apparent reference to China putting countries in the region in debt traps under its Belt and Road Initiative.

India and the US are both part of the quad revived last year, that also includes Japan and Australia, seeking to work for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

According to the statement, the Ministers also reaffirmed their shared commitment to a united, sovereign, democratic, inclusive, stable, prosperous, and peaceful Afghanistan and expressed support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process.

"The United States acknowledged India's longstanding and ongoing contributions of economic assistance to Afghanistan and also welcomed India's enhanced role in Afghanistan's development and stabilization," it stated.

While India welcomed the recent US-North Korea summit, the US welcomed India's accession to the three export control regimes - the Australia Group, the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Missile Technology Control Regime.

Washington also reiterated its support to New Delhi for its bid to become a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

China has been blocking India's bid for membership in the NSG on the ground that for a country to become a member of the 48-nation bloc, it should be a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

According to the joint statement, The Ministers recognised the importance and the potential for increasing bilateral trade, and investment and committed to further expanding and balancing the trade and economic partnership, including by facilitating trade, improving market access, and addressing issues of interest to both sides.

On the India-US civilian nuclear agreement, it stated: "Both sides looked forward to full implementation of the civil nuclear energy partnership and collaboration between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Westinghouse Electric Company for the establishment of six nuclear power plants in India."
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The following is a timeline of the LGBTIQ communitys fight against the colonial era law criminalising homosexuality:

1991: AIDS Bhedbhav Virodhi Andolan (ABVA) is first to raise its voice against Section 377 of IPC. The NGO comes out with a report about ostracism faced by the LGBTIQ community.

1994: ABVA in 1994 moves Delhi High Court challenging the legality of Section 377 after Kiran Bedi, then heading Delhi's Tihar Jail, refused to provide condoms to male inmates, saying it will encourage homosexuality. The petition is dismissed in 2001.

2001: Naz Foundation, an NGO working on sexual health and HIV/AIDS, files public interest litigation in Delhi High Court challenging Section 377 and calling for decriminalisation of homosexuality.

2004: Naz Foundation petition is dismissed. A review petition filed by it is also dismissed.

2006: Naz Foundation files special leave petition in Supreme Court which is then sent to the Delhi High Court. A host of gay rights organisations join the petition.

2009: Creating history, a Delhi High Court bench headed by then Chief Justice A.P. Shah strikes down Section 377, saying it violates fundamental right to life, liberty and equality. The bench legalised homosexual acts between consenting adults.

2009: The judgment is challenged in Supreme Court by astrologer Suresh Kumar Kaushal.

2013: In a big setback to gay rights movement, a Supreme Court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice S. Mukhopadhaya sets aside the high court ruling and recriminalises homosexuality.

2016: The matter is resurrected when a fresh petition is filed by members of LGBTIQ community: dancer N.S. Johar, journalist Sunil Mehra, chef Ritu Dalmia, hotelier Aman Nath and business executive Ayesha Kapur. This is marked to the Constitution Bench.

2018: Top hotelier Keshav Suri, who identifies himself as gay, joins the fight, moves the Supreme Court.

2018: A five-judge bench of Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra begins hearing petitions against Section 377.

Asked to reply, the Modi government leaves the decision on Section 377's constitutionality to the court's wisdom.

July 2018: Supreme Court reserves verdict.

September 2018: In a unanimous verdict, a CJI Misra-headed bench decriminalises homosexuality.
Mumbai, Sep 6 : A day after Shahid Kapoor became a father for the second time, the actor's Twitter and Instagram accounts were hacked.

A series of tweets, undersigned by Turkish hacker group Ayyildiz Tim, featured on Shahid's official Twitter page. One of the posts condemned the portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in Shahid-starrer "Padmaavat", which saw Ranveer Singh play the Delhi Sultan.

Shahid later shared an Instagram Story to clarify that his account was hacked.

He wrote: "My Instagram and Twitter have been hacked. Just got Instagram back, my team working on sorting Twitter. So please know, it's not me and avoid any interaction."

Shahid and his wife Mira were on Wednesday blessed with a son. The couple received congratulatory messages from friends, fans and family members.

The actor also took a moment to acknowledge the good wishes.

"Hey guys, thank you for the wonderful wishes," he added.

Shahid and Mira were already parents to daughter Misha, who was born in 2016.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Jerry Johnson, the editor of a recent book on queer identities and sexualities, has described the historic Supreme Court verdict on Thursday that decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults, as India's finest moment.

"The verdict today marks the finest moment in the history of Independent India -- and I make this as no tall claim -- because what the Honorable Supreme Court announced today is that even if you are only a minority of One in the world's largest democracy, you are important.

"Your rights matter. You are imbued with all the same rights accorded to every other autonomous citizen of India in virtue of being human, for sharing in the common humanity in all of us, in recognition of our universal impulse to love and to desire, and most importantly, in recognition of the historic injustice done against you that needed to be acknowledged and rectified immediately," the editor of "I Am Divine-So Are You" told IANS.

The book released to acclaim in December 2017 and recasts religion, especially Karmic faiths, as "an ally and not an adversary of queer emancipation". It attempts to chart how Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Hinduism affirm the dignity of queer identities and sexualities.

"This is a judgment that is imbued with the compassionate purpose of law and the liberal spirit of expanding the scope of individual human freedoms.

"Hence, this is India's finest moment," said Johnson.

"I Am Divine-So Are You" (HarperCollins/200 pages/Rs299) carries an elaborate introduction by noted mythologist-writer Devdutt Pattanaik. Jerry Johnson, apart from being the editor, has written the chapters on Hinduism and Buddhism and edited the chapters on Jainism and Sikhism.
Dubai, Sep 6 : A tourism delegation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will visit three Chinese cities on a roadshow, authorities said on Thursday.

The delegation will travel to China's Shanghai, Shenzhen and Kunming over five days from September 10, said the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) in an e-mailed statement.

UAE's national carrier Etihad Airways, along with hoteliers, travel agencies and tour operators will join the roadshow.

"It is very important for us to continue to increase our presence in the Chinese market and boost awareness about the many and varied products we have across the emirate, especially as we have so many new and exciting offerings," said Mubarak Al Nuaimi, Director Promotions and Overseas Offices of DCT Abu Dhabi.

China is the largest overseas market of Abu Dhabi. In 2017, 373,400 Chinese tourists visited Abu Dhabi, an increase of more than 60 per cent over 2016.

"Visiting Kunming and Shenzhen for the first time will also hopefully assist us in getting our message out to a wider audience of potential travellers," Al Nuaimi added.
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 6 : The Congress on Thursday demanded that the Kerala State Women's Commission (KSWC) be disbanded as it is of no use even to a lady party worker, who was allegedly sexually abused by a CPI-M legislator.

State Congress President M.M. Hassan in a statement issued here said that while the National Women's Commission (NWC) has suo motu started proceedings based on the allegation, the state commission is silent on it.

While the state commission has acted so swiftly in certain cases including registering suo motu cases for posting comments on social media, in this particular instance they say no case can be taken, he said "If this commission is not good enough for their own party lady, then it's better this be disbanded," Hassan added.

Earlier this week, a CPI-M woman youth leader complained to the party's central committee against Shornur legislator P.K. Sasi, after her complaint to the state leadership was not taken up.

The youth leader had also complained to politburo member Brinda Karat, who also failed to act.

The state unit took up the case only after party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday directed it to look into the matter.

While the NWC on Wednesday announced that they have started legal steps against the allegation, M.C. Josephine, Chairperson of KSWC, said that no case can be registered against the legislator as there is no complaint.

Meanwhile, to stem the opposition pointing fingers at CPI-M, party's state secretariat is meeting here on Friday to discuss the matter.

The Congress has been after CPI-M veteran V.S. Achuthanandan who has always spoken for atrocities against women. On Thursday the CPI-M leader told the media that "these things have to be studied before commenting".

Sasi, who has called this a conspiracy against him, on Friday will meet his party committee at the lower levels to discuss the issue, which till now was kept under wraps.
Mumbai, Sep 6 : Dipesh Jains "Gali Guleiyan", which releases on Friday, features the adolescent non-actor Om Singh as a victim of child abuse. Significantly, Om suffered domestic violence of the most brutal kind at the hands of his real-life father and brother until he could take it no more.

"Om ran away from home to escape the violence," revealed the Los Angeles-based young director Jain.

"I auditioned close to 2,000 kids. We had a big casting team recruited to find the child actor. Finally, we found Om at the Salaam Balak Trust in Delhi. Om is a real-life victim of child abuse who ran away from home, just like the character Idris that Om plays," Jain said.

It took a while for the child to open up.

"I got goosebumps when he told me his story. Initially, he was very shy and refused to talk. To make him comfortable, I spent two months during pre-production with him. We hung out together, had lunches, built a relationship of trust. Then he slowly started opening up and telling his story. And I began moulding my screenplay to fit his reality," Jain recounted.

The filmmaker would consult the boy to ensure Om's reality matched with the situation of the character he played.

"Om would tell me whether it was right or not. He's a brilliant kid with such a high emotional quotient. After shooting, he acquired great self-confidence. He's a total rockstar."

Jain has taken charge of Om's future.

"He's working hard. My family has offered to look after him and pay for his education. Right now he just wants to do theatre. If he's good, he will become an actor in future. He is also studying hard. He is slowly healing and getting over his past wounds. He had difficulty remembering things. But now he is in good health."

The target is to give Om the education he never had.

"The Salaam Balak Trust is associated with Lawrence School, Sanawar. I've advised Om to study hard and get into Sanawar. We are there to support him in every way possible."

Let's hope Om Singh has a future beyond the fame of his celluloid outing. Otherwise, who remembers those wonder-kids from Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay" and Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire"? And what happened to the amazing little Sunny Pawar who just a year ago was the toast of Hollywood after he stole the show from Dev Patel in "Lion"?
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Noted mythologist-writer Devdutt Pattanaik has hailed the landmark Supreme Court verdict on Thursday that decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults and hoped that the judgement will be the beginning of a larger change.

"I think this is a wonderful moment in Indian history. India has finally acknowledged that it is okay to be different. It is an opportunity for us to open ourselves to our friends who are queer and have genuine conversations about feelings that we generally don't talk of,a Pattanaik, who is known for his interpretations of ancient Indian scriptures, told IANS.

He reflected that Indian society in general has a tendency to push its youngsters into "loveless marriages", often without their will and consent.

"The worst thing in Indian society is that people are forced into loveless marriages, which ruins not just one life but also the lives of spouse and children because they live their entire life with those they are not attracted to," the 47-year-old maintained.

In this regard, he called on people to change the general perception of "those who are different" and accept them for - and as - what they are.

"Hopefully this mindset will change. This judgment is the beginning of that change," he quipped.

Pattanaik has penned about four dozen books of varying lengths but with a running theme of ancient Indian scriptures, mythology or religion.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday searched five places in Jharkhand's Jamtara town in connection with a probe into a money laundering case in which people were cheated by men posing as bank and Sebi officials.

"We carried out the searches of at least four people who have been named as accused in the FIR filed by us last month," an ED official said.

ED had taken up the probe on the request of Jharkhand Police in April. The case was registered against a group led by Santosh Yadav, Jugal Mondal and Pradeep Kumar Mondal.

The group posed as bank representatives, made calls to unsuspecting account holders and extracted personal details from them. These were used to access their bank accounts for illegal online transfer of money.

The official said the cyber banking criminal group also used wallets of different banks to purchase various items or withdraw the stolen money.

The culprits used to operate bank accounts which they had opened using the identities of other people and transferred the stolen money into them.
Canberra, Sep 6 : A 24-year-old Indian charged with "high-range" drink driving and "driving while disqualified" in Australia received a 10-month suspended sentence on Thursday.

Surya Teja Penugonda from Telangana pleaded guilty to both charges. In Parramatta local court, Magistrate Brett Shields placed him on the suspended sentence and disqualified him from driving for nine months.

Penugonda, currently living in Australia on a student visa, was also fined $750, South Coast Register newspaper reported.

The incident took place on July 8 during which Penugonda, driving a Mitsubishi 380 sedan, was pulled over by the police in south of Nowra. He was with four other people in the car.

Court papers said the police had received calls about "the manner in which a sedan was being driven on the Princes Highway at Falls Creek".

Officers spotted the vehicle about 6.26 p.m and stopped the car. Court papers said officers had witnessed the vehicle swerving between lanes and it almost collided with the nearside gutter when it came to a stop.

According to officers, Penugonda smelt strongly of intoxicating liquor, however he claimed he had nothing to drink.

Police said he was driving on an international licence and had been disqualified from driving for a minimum of 12 months after being caught "high-range" drink driving on January 6.

Penugonda was also supposed to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle. It took three attempts to successfully provide his breath test, which was positive.

The police said his eyes were bloodshot, his pupils dilated, his breathing was slow, speech was slurred and he was clumsy. He later admitted to the police that he had six glasses of wine that day.

The court ordered Penugonda to have an interlock device fitted to his vehicle for four years.
Panaji, Sep 6 : Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday returned from the US two days ahead of schedule, and headed for his private residence near here.

Parrikar, who is being treated abroad for advanced pancreatic cancer, had gone to the US on August 30, the third time in six months.

The Chief Minister arrived at the Dabolim International Airport around 5.30 p.m. and did not speak to the media gathered outside.

Parrikar's early return coincides with murmurs about the possibility of some Congress MLAs joining the ruling party ranks. The Congress has however dismissed media reports to this effect and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party's "fake news factory".

Parrikar's absence from Goa has attracted flak from the opposition that claims that governance has come to a standstill in the coastal state.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The landmark decision of decriminalising homosexuality in India by the Supreme Court on Thursday has garnered over 300,000 tweets with hashtags #Section377 and #LGBTQ in past 12 hours, the micro-blogging site said in a post.

"Over 300,000 tweets discussing #Section377 and #LGBTQ in the past 12 hours and the conversation is still on the rise! Congrats to the #LGBTQ community in India!! #LoveWins," Twitter India said in a tweet.

In a historic judgment, the top court decriminalised homosexuality by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

The verdict sparked celebrations amongst the LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, intersex and queer/questioning) community across India.

Hailing the decision, Karan Johar, Filmmaker tweeted: "Historical judgment!!!! So proud today! Decriminalising homosexuality and abolishing #Section377 is a huge thumbs up for humanity and equal rights! The country gets its oxygen back!"

Calling it "momentous", the Congress said the decision was an important step towards a liberal and tolerant society.

"We join the people of India & the LGBTQIA+ community in their victory over prejudice. We welcome the progressive and decisive verdict from the Supreme Court and hope this is the beginning of a more equal and inclusive society. #Section377," the party said in a tweet.
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot talks to press during a protest rally against Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala's decision to administer oath to BJP legislature party leader B.S. ... Image Source: IANS

New Delhi, Sep 6 : Calling the steep rise in diesel and petrol prices as 'fuel loot,' the Congress on Thursday called for a 'Bharat bandh' on September 10, saying it was in touch with other parties for their support.

The party again demanded that petrol and diesel be brought under Goods and Services Tax (GST). The government had earlier rejected the demand saying most states were opposed to it.

"Many promises were made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi before coming to power in 2014, but none were kept. When questions were raised by Congress President Rahul Gandhi about the Rafale fighter deal and Amit Shah's son, those too went unanswered," Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said at a press conference in the Capital.

"The mismanagement of economy has led to high prices. When fuel prices were rising during the UPA regime, taxes were reduced to take the burden off the people. But due to the mismanagement by the current government, the prices of petrol, diesel and gas cylinders have gone up steeply," he said.

"We decided for the Bharat Bandh call today after a meeting of all party general secretaries and the state leaders," he said, adding the party was in touch with other opposition parties for their support.

He said Congress workers would protest at petrol stations across the nation between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Later his party colleague Randeep Singh Surjewala said the "fuel loot" has resulted in the Modi government profiting Rs 11 lakh crore.

In May 2014, he said, excise duty on petrol was Rs 9 per litre while today it is Rs 19 per litre. "Similarly the excise duty on diesel in 2014 was Rs 3 and today it is around Rs 15 today.

"An RTI reply has revealed that the Modi government is selling diesel for Rs 34 per litre and petrol for Rs 37 per litre to other countries whereas in India the price is high," he alleged.

Calling it "fuel loot," the Congress leader said the diesel and petrol should have been brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"Rahul Gandhi had demanded to bring petrol and diesel under GST as this alone will give a relief to common people by Rs 10-15 per litre," he said.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) that was signed on Thursday after the first ever India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will give India access to high-end US defence technology.

COMCASA is one of the four foundational agreements that a country needs to sign to become a major defence partner of the US, the other three being General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMoA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

While India signed the GSOMIA in 2002, and the LEMoA, which gives access to both countries to designated military facilities on either side for the purpose of refuelling and replenishment, in 2016 after being made a major defence partner, the BECA, which facilitates the exchange of geospatial data, is yet to be signed.

COMCASA guarantees India access to critical US defence technologies and communication network to help the militaries of the two countries in their interoperability.

The Indian armed forces will now also be allowed to install US-made high-security communication equipment on defence platforms sourced from America.

Earlier called the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), the name was changed to COMCASA to reflect its India-specific nature.

It will enable India to optimally utilise its existing US-origin platforms like C-17, C-130 and P-81.

India was earlier using commercially available and less secure communication systems on such platforms.

COMCASA essentially provides a legal framework for transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India.
Chennai, Sep 6 : The Finance Commission would not like to penalise states that have performed well on various development parameters, a top official said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters here 15th Finance Commission Chairman N.K. Singh said its endeavour is to ensure states that are better performing to improve further while those lagging behind in development are helped to touch the national average.

He was here for deliberations with the state government.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami told the Commission that the state has serious concerns on the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission.

"I wish to reiterate that we oppose the use of 2011 population data. It would punish progressive states like Tamil Nadu which have achieved success in population control through their own efforts," Palaniswami told the Commission.

"I urge the Commission to make 'population control' one of the points for devolution, with as much weight as 'population'. I also request that for the purposes of devolution, 1971 data be adopted by the Finance Commission," he said.

Palaniswami also expressed the state government's opposition to the reference to control of expenditure on so-called populist programmes.

The Chief Minister said that the term "populist" is a subjective term which has a very fine line of difference with popular schemes.

According to Singh, West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab have said that the population data of 1971 be adopted but the Commission has no say in the formulation of its ToR.

Chief Minister Palaniswami told the Commission that Tamil Nadu's share in devolution has fallen in all recent Finance Commissions. Tamil Nadu has lost Rs 6,000 crore per annum in the 14th Finance Commission, casting a doubt on the fairness of the whole system in the mind of people.

Singh said the 15th Finance Commission will continue to be impartial to central and state governments.

Tamil Nadu is the 8th state with which the Commission is having discussions, he added.

He said the Commission's recommendations will be given by October 2019.
Bengaluru, Sep 6 : Terming the Supreme Court's verdict on Section 377 of the IPC a milestone for personal liberty, equality and principles of social justice, Swaraj India member Manohar Elavarthi on Thursday said it (ruling) had rid the country of a 158-year-old colonial legacy.

"The verdict against Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has rid the country of a 158-year-old colonial legacy of the British Raj and made the law fall in line with the Constitution," Elavarthi told IANS here.

Earlier in the day, the apex court decriminalised homosexuality between consenting adults by declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary".

As a human rights activist and founder of Sangama, a city-based organisation for sexual minorities, including individuals oppressed due to their sexual preference, Elavarthi has been fighting for the rights of the LGBTIQ community across Karnataka over the last two decades.

"Though it's time to celebrate and enjoy the moment, the fight to erase the stigma and change the society's mindset will continue. Sangama will work for mainstreaming the community and empowering them to achieve their rights," asserted Elavarthi.

As every human has equal value, Elavarthi said, criminalising the entire community for its sexual orientation and preference was a human rights violation it endured for generations.

"Criminalising consensual sex between adults violates constitutional principles of justice. Laws should confirm with constitutional morality and values. The need of the hour is to enact laws to prevent discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation," added Elavarthi.

Celebrations broke out in the city, with about 100 members of the community cheering, hugging and dancing at the Town Hall and lauding the top court's judgment.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to periodically sensitise and give awareness training to all government officials, including police officials, about the plight of people belonging to LGBTQ community.

Justice Rohinton F. Nariman, one of the five-bench judges, while decriminalising homosexuality between consenting adults, asked the Central government to ensure that this judgment is given wide publicity and initiate programmes to reduce and finally eliminate the "stigma associated" with such persons.

"We are also of the view that the Union of India shall take all measures to ensure that this judgment is given wide publicity through the public media, which includes television, radio, print and online media at regular intervals, and initiate programmes to reduce and finally eliminate the stigma associated with such persons.

"Above all, all government officials, including and in particular police officials, and other officers of the Union of India and the states, be given periodic sensitisation and awareness training of the plight of such persons in the light of the observations contained in this judgment," Justice Nariman said in a 96-page judgment.

Justice Nariman in a concurring but separate judgment said that persons who are homosexual have a "fundamental right to live with dignity".

Declaring Section 377, the penal provision which criminalised gay sex, as "manifestly arbitrary", Justice Nariman further declared that such groups are entitled to the "protection of equal laws", and are "entitled to be treated in society as human beings without any stigma being attached to any of them".

Justice Nariman made a reference to an earlier judgment of the apex court saying that the right of every citizen of India to live with dignity and the right to privacy including the "right to make intimate choices" regarding the manner in which such individual wishes to live are being protected by Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty).

"It is clear that Section 377, insofar as it applies to same-sex consenting adults, demeans them by having them prosecuted instead of understanding their sexual orientation and attempting to correct centuries of the stigma associated with such persons," he added in his separate judgment.

Justice Nariman made it clear that homosexuality was "not a mental disorder" and cannot therefore be penalised and Section 377 must be held to be a provision which is "capricious and irrational".

"Also, roping in such persons with sentences going up to life imprisonment is clearly excessive and disproportionate, as a result of which, when applied to such persons, Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution would clearly be violated."

Tracking down the history of laws on homosexuality in England, America and other countries, including India, Justice Nariman said the court said at one point of time, the thinking in Victorian England and early on in America was that homosexuality was to be considered as a mental disorder.

But, the present definition of mental illness in the 2017 Parliamentary statute makes it clear that "homosexuality is not considered to be a mental illness" and this is a major advance in our law which has been recognised by Parliament itself, Justice Nariman held.

"Mental illness shall not be determined on the basis of non-conformity with moral, social, cultural, work or political values or religious beliefs prevailing in a person's community. It is thus clear that the Parliament has unequivocally declared that the earlier stigma attached to same-sex couples, as persons who are regarded as mentally ill, has gone for good. This is another very important step forward taken by the legislature itself.

"Morality and criminality are not co-extensive -- sin is not punishable on earth by courts set up by the state but elsewhere; crime alone is punishable on earth. To confuse the one with the other is what causes the death knell of Section 377, insofar as it applies to consenting homosexual adults," the judgement added.

Justice Nariman also opined that the very purpose of the fundamental rights chapter in the Constitution of India is to "withdraw the subject of liberty and dignity of the individual and place such subject beyond the reach of majoritarian governments so that constitutional morality can be applied by this court to give effect to the rights, among others, of 'discrete and insular' minorities".

One such minority (LGBTQ) has knocked on the doors of this court as it is the custodian of the fundamental rights of citizens, said Justice Nariman, adding that these "fundamental rights do not depend upon the outcome of elections" and it is "not left to majoritarian governments to prescribe what shall be orthodox in matters concerning social morality".
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The RSS-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has promised to fight for 'same fee for same course' throughout the university and for increasing the scholarship amount meant for weaker sections, if it wins the Delhi University students polls.

"One Course One Fees: ABVP will make sure that same fee is charged throughout the university for a particular course... we would work for the increment in scholarship for SC/ST/OBC and demand to link the scholarship with price index, in line with increase in DA (Dearness Allowance)," its manifesto, which was released on Thursday, read.

It promised strict enforcement of 'Room Rent Control Act' and formation of a coordination committee of private hostel owners and landlords, to prevent exploitation of outstation students.

In line with its ideology, the student group advocated "integrity, development and conservation of traditions and culture" against -- as they are termed -- supporters of "naxals, maoists, terror groups" active "in the name of human rights".

The group said it will demand construction of a 'martyrs wall' on the campus and provision of reading material in regional languages, availability of drinking water in every college, and installation of water coolers every 200 metres on the campus.

ABVP is one of the four major student groups which is in fray for the four central panel posts of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections. Currently, the top two seats of President and Vice President are held by the Congress-affiliated National students Union of India (NSUI), and the other two of Secretary and Joint Secretary by the ABVP.

The CPI-ML-affiliated All India Students' Association (AISA) and Aam Aadmi Party-affiliated Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) have formed an alliance to counter the two main groups in the September 12 election.
London, Sep 6 : British Security Minister Ben Wallace on Thursday said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "ultimately responsible" for the deadly Salisbury nerve agent attack as a result of his firm grip on the Russian state.

Wallace told the BBC that "ultimately, of course", the Russian President was behind the poisoning. The Kremlin, which denies involvement, said it was "unacceptable" to make accusations against the leadership.

Ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned with Novichok on March 4. Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey also fell ill after responding to the incident.

The UK named two men believed to be from Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU, as the main suspects in the attack.

Wallace's remarks are the furthest the British government has gone yet in attributing direct blame to Putin for the attempt by two Russian military intelligence officers to murder Sergei and his daughter, the Guardian reported.

Britain was expected to seek to intensify diplomatic pressure on the Kremlin by laying out the case against Moscow at the UN Security Council, of which Russia is a member, on Thursday.

Police linked the attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on June 30, which led to the death of British woman Dawn Sturgess.

British Prime Minister Theresa May told the Commons on Wednesday that the suspects had entered the UK on Russian passports using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

She said the poisoning was "not a rogue operation" and was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian state.

Wallace said that the UK must use the UN meeting to "maintain the pressure, to say the behaviour we have seen is totally unacceptable".

He said Putin's government "controls, funds and directs the military intelligence", adding that nobody could say the Russian leader was "not in control of his state".

May also said Britain will push for the EU to agree to new sanctions against Russia. Ahead of the UN meeting, Australia said it was "in lock step with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account" over the "dangerous and deliberate act".

Police were asking the public for information about a suitcase seen in the CCTV image of the two suspects leaving Heathrow Airport on March 4.

In the image, Petrov can be seen pushing a hard dark-coloured wheelie suitcase with a green stripe of the size that can fit into hand luggage lockers. It does not appear that he arrived in the country with the suitcase, the BBC said.
Hyderabad, Sep 6 : Telangana is heading for early elections as the state Assembly was dissolved on Thursday by the Governor on a recommendation by the state cabinet and in a swift move the ruling TRS announced almost all candidates.

Nearly nine months before its term was to end, the Assembly was dissolved by Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, accepting a recommendation by the cabinet. He asked Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his Council of Ministers to continue in office as caretaker Government.

Immediately after the cabinet meet that lasted for less than half hour, KCR, as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief is widely known, drove to Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor and present the resolution passed by the cabinet.

The Assembly term was till May 2019 and elections in normal course would have been conducted along with the Lok Sabha polls in April-May.

Addressing the media, the TRS chief exuded confidence that Assembly elections in Telangana will be held along with those in four other states by year-end.

"As far as I know, the poll process may begin in October and get completed in November. The results may be announced in the first week of December," he said.

KCR claimed that he spoke on the issue with the Chief Election Commissioner whereas the Chief Secretary and the state government's Chief Advisor too held talks with the Election Commissioners.

KCR said "political fragility" in the state was the reason for the recommendation for early dissolution of the Assembly and early elections.

He decided to approach the people's court to curb the ever increasing political fragility and the "unlimited idiocy" of the opposition.

The TRS chief alleged that this political fragility was created by false and baseless allegations by the opposition against his government.

He defended the decision for early dissolution of the house, saying it was taken for the "bright future of Telangana".

"Let people take a call. Why should anybody else? I sacrificed my (full) term for the sake of the people of Telangana, to maintain steady growth of the state and to protect the state from bloody fragility."

He lashed out at the main opposition Congress for allegedly trying to create hurdles in the path of development.

He denied he was moving closer to the BJP. "TRS is 100 per cent secular and will remain secular."

KCR said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Chief Minister of a state.

He also said that the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(MIM) will remain a friendly party for TRS and did not rule out a friendly contest with it in some constituencies.

KCR also announced TRS candidates for 105 constituencies. He said among sitting legislators, only two were denied ticket. He said candidates for the remaining 14 constituencies will be announced soon.

KCR will formally launch the TRS election campaign with a public meeting at Husnabad in Siddipet district on Friday.

This will be the first of 100 public meetings planned by TRS over the next 50 days.

The Congress, BJP, TDP and other parties have criticised KCR's move. The BJP termed it undemocratic. Its leaders called on the Governor in the evening to request him to ensure that the caretaker government functions within the prescribed limits.

The Congress said early elections to the Assembly and subsequent polls to the Lok Sabha will hamper development process in the state.

R.C. Khuntia, who is incharge of Congress affairs in Telangana, said by going for early polls, KCR himself declared the end of KCR era. He exuded confidence that Congress will come to power in Telangana with a thumping majority.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : A man was arrested on Thursday in Delhi's Paharganj for stealing 20-25 laptops from metro commuters, mostly from Nehru Place metro station, police said.

Based on the CCTV footage and local intelligence, the Metro unit of the Delhi Police traced 32-year-old Raqib Ahmed, who hails from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to have stolen a laptop on September 3 from Nehru Place metro station. He also confessed to have stolen laptops from commuters at other metro stations like Rajiv Chowk, Jamia Nagar and Sarita Vihar.

"The accused used to operate in crowded areas like food courts of metro stations, bus stands, railway stations, college libraries and various restaurants in Delhi, Gurugram and Noida.

"The accused has been committing theft for the last nine years," Delhi Commissioner of Police -- Metro, said in a statement.

The police official said Ahmed used to stay in hotels in Paharganj for 20-25 days at a stretch during his stealing-spree and sold a bulk of these laptops to a person named Wahid in Srinagar.
Mumbai, Sep 6 : The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India announced on Thursday that it has signed an agreement with the Singapore government-owned holding company Temasek for investments of up to $400 million, "which may include future co-investments with NIIF."

A NIIF statement here said that under the agreement, Temasek will join the Indian government, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, HDFC Group, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance and Axis Bank as an investor in NIIF's Master Fund and as a shareholder in NIIF's investment management company -- National Investment and Infrastructure Ltd.

NIIF Chief Executive Sujoy Bose said: "We are delighted to have Temasek as an investor in the NIIF. Temasek is one of the most renowned institutional investors globally and will add to the roster of marquee investors backing NIIF."

The NIIF's Master Fund invests in core infrastructure sectors in the country with a focus on transportation, energy and urban infrastructure.

In October last year, NIIF signed its first investment agreement for $1 billion with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The private Indian institutional investors in NIIF include the HDFC Group, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance and Axis Bank.

The corpus of the NIIF, set up in 2015, is proposed to be Rs 40,000 crore, of which the central government has committed Rs 20,000 crore. The balance will be raised from long-term international investors like sovereign wealth funds, insurance and pension funds, as well as multilateral agencies.

Investors who have signed MoUs with the NIIF are the UAE government, RUSNANO, QIA, RDIF and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport and Urban Development, the Finance Ministry has said.

Besides, the government has signed terms for cooperation on the NIIF with the US Treasury and the UK Treasury.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : A few hours after the Supreme Court on Thursday announced its historical judgment on Section 377 by decriminalising homosexuality, members of the LGBTQ community gathered here along with their supporters to celebrate the landmark decision.

About 100 people -- mostly young -- became part of the celebrations at Jantar Mantar here on a rainy Thursday evening, singing, dancing and raising slogans of freedom. Several men wore attires which are generally considered to be feminine.

People clicked pictures with the flag, comprising six different colours, which is used to represent the diversity of the LGBTQ community.

"I could sense so much of happiness and enthusiasm when I walked in here to join the queer group in celebrating their day," Augustin Hose, who works with a production house here told IANS.

"As an ally to the people of this community, I feel a sense of relief though this is just the first step and there is a long battle ahead for other rights," he said.

He also said with the Narendra Modi-led central government in power, he was unsure whether the society will be sensitised towards the LGBTQ rights.

"With the current government in power, we can't really say if the society is sensitised and if they will now start accepting these people as a part of them."

Saatvik Singhania Rehani, an undergraduate student at Ambedkar University, expressed how "liberating" the top court's verdict was for him as a member of the LGBTQ community.

"We still don't have the legal rights to marriage and adoption but the fact that we are not criminals anymore is liberating.

"It feels like the country has come to senses and we are progressing towards a better life," the 19-year-old said, adding that he has struggled a lot in his life so far because of his sexual identity.

"I have been implicitly and also explicitly targeted because of it at various occasions, been physically abused. With this order, I can just hope that by the time I enter a workplace the degree of discrimination will be lesser," said Rehani.

A student of Lady Shri Ram College, Katyayni Sharma, a member of the community said that she and others, who joined the celebrations, were not prepared and they will have a major pride march in the coming week.

"There weren't any colours or posters because we were not prepared and also because it rained, but soon we all will gather to celebrate this epic verdict."
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that vehicles such as buses, taxis and rickshaws powered by alternate fuels such as "Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel and CNG" will be exempted from the requirement of a permit.

The Minister for Road Transport and Highways was speaking at the 58th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

"I am happy to announce that we have decided that electric vehicles and all vehicles which operate on Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel, CNG will not require a permit," Gadkari said.

According to the minister, transport ministers of all the state governments have given their unanimous support to the criteria.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Passenger airline Vistara on Thursday signed a codeshare agreement with British Airways to share around 60 Vistara-operated flights each day in India with the UK-based airline.

Under the agreement, British Airways will add its 'BA' designator code to the Vistara flights starting September 27, on the designated routes, Vistara said in a statement.

The tie-up brings into its ambit around 60 Vistara-operated flights covering 13 Indian cities, including eight new virtual British Airways destinations -- Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune, it said.

Additionally, the BA code would also be used in the Vistara flights between Mumbai and Amritsar, and Chennai and Kolkata.

"Sales under the codeshare agreement opened today on all channels and major GDS systems for flights starting September 27, 2018," the statement.

According to British Airways, as part of the new agreement, passengers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.

British Airways operates two direct flights a day from Heathrow to Mumbai, a double daily service to Delhi and a daily flight to Chennai.

The airline also flies direct to Hyderabad and Bengaluru from Terminal 5.
Rome, Sep 6 : A military operation in Libya will be the "worst possible" course of action and will lead to further instability in the turmoil-wracked country, Italy's Defence Minister Elizabetta Trenta said on Thursday.

"Military intervention in Libya would be the worst thing to do - it would create more instability," Trenta told public broadcaster Rai's 'Agora' talk show.

"If Libya implodes, the problem of migration will only get worse because Europe will not help us," Trent said.

"If we fail to stabilise Libya, (more) people will set off on sea journeys and die," she warned.

Although Libya's UN-backed Premier Fayez al-Sarraj is "the principal interlocutor" for Italy and other members of the international community, dialogue needs to take place with "everybody", she said.

Trenta will visit Libya in the next few days "possibly with another member of the cabinet", she said, declining to give a date "for security reasons".
Genova, Sep 6 : Some 49 million euros of funds can be confiscated from Italy's far-right League Party after its former leaders including party founder Umberto Bossi were convicted last year in a vast fraud case, a court in Genoa ruled on Thursday.

The Genoa review commission ordered the permanent and final seizure of all bank accounts linked to the party because the funds were unaccounted for in part ledgers.

The League is not thought to have enough reserves to pay the 48.9 million euros of funds from its accounts and businesses belonging to the party and can appeal against each single asset seizure.

League lawyers insist the party currently has only 5.5 million euros, which come from donations, and that they might take the case back to Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation. Other funds may have been shifted abroad to avoid seizure, according to judicial sources.

There were 41,868 euros of League funds deposited in banks according to the party's 2017 accounts which Adnkronos has seen. However, the 'League for Salvini' movement created by party leader Matteo Salvini had 30,431 euros of reserves.

Salvini, who is Italy's Deputy Premier and Interior Minister, on Thursday appeared unfazed by the Genoa court ruling.

"I'm not upset at all because the case concerns things that happened eight or nine years ago. It's an affair from the past," he told reporters.

"If they want to take everything from us, they can go ahead. We'll have no trouble staying in politics because the Italian people are with us."

Salvini is said to be mulling a change to the party's name to avoid the permanent seizure of its funds, according to sources close to the League.

High-ranking League member Giancarlo Giorgetti claimed last week that the confiscation of League funds would finish off the party, which currently governs Italy in coalition with the populist Five-Star Movement.

Bossi, his son Renzo and former treasurer Francesco Belsito were convicted in July 2017 of fraudulently obtaining the 49 million euros of state funds for the then Northern League.

A lower court found the trio guilty of embezzling hundreds of thousands of euros of the public funds in 2008-10 for their personal use.

The Bossis and Belsito were handed jail terms and fined and the League was ordered to repay close to 49 million euros of state financing that it had received.
Jammu, Sep 6 : Air Marshal C. Hari Kumar, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Air Command, arrived here on Thursday to take stock of current security scenario, operational and infrastructure aspects of the Air Force Station in Jammu.

Air Marshal Kumar also visited the station war memorial where he laid a wreath to pay homage to the soldier who never returned.

On his arrival, he was given a guard of honour by a contingent of Air Warriors of Air Force Station Jammu, commanded by Squadron Leader Shweta Dhiman.

Accompanied by his wife Devika Hari Kumar, who is President, Air Force Wives Welfare Association (Regional), the IAF commander was received by Air Commodore Shashi Kant Mishra, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Jammu, and Nisha Mishra, President, AFWWA (L).
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said that commercial vehicles such as buses, taxis and rickshaws powered by alternative fuels such as "Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel and CNG" will be exempted from the requirement of a permit.

The Minister for Road Transport and Highways was speaking at the 58th annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

"I am happy to announce that we have decided that electric vehicles and all vehicles which operate on Ethanol, Methanol, Bio-diesel, CNG will not require a permit," Gadkari said.

The minister told the convention that the move will open more business opportunities for the industry.

According to the minister, transport ministers of all the state governments have given their unanimous support to the criteria.

"Now, the states will implement it and there will be no need for any permits for electric auto rickshaw, buses and taxis...."

Besides, Gadkari informed the convention that the central government is going to cancel the requirement of speed governors.

"We don't need it as we are developing good roads. There is no need to limit the speed artificially," he said.

In addition, the minister asked the automobile industry to offer better engines and produce high performance vehicles.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : The Congress on Thursday condemned Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's decision to dissolve the Telangana assembly, terming it "undemocratic" and said the party was ready for early elections. It called KCR "a dictator more than Hitler" and noted that he was acting as a puppet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

AICC in-charge of Telagana Ram Chandra Khuntia said the slogan of the Congress party would be "KCR Hatao, Telangana Bachao" for the elections. He also said the Congress is not averse to having an alliance with any party other than the BJP and TRS.

"There was neither a natural calamity nor there was a short of majority in the House. This decision is totally undemocratic, with a political motive to misguide the Telangana people. We strongly condemn this undemocratic action," said Khuntia.

Telangana caretaker Chief Minister and TRS President K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday described Congress President Rahul Gandhi as the "biggest buffoon" in the country.

Replying to this Khuntia said: "He is the biggest buffoon. Only a buffoon can say that. He is a dictator more than Hitler. This is the end of the era of a dictator, who is more dangerous than Hitler. He is a chief minister who has not gone to the Secretariat for 4 years."

Nearly nine months before its term was to end, the Telangana Assembly was on Thursday dissolved by the Governor on the recommendation of the state cabinet.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said K. Chandrashekhar Rao is a stooge of the BJP and is acting as the puppet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah.
New Delhi, Sep 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday advised against use of "complex technical terms" in Hindi, saying the language instead should be spread through day-to-day conversation.

Chairing the 31st meeting of Central Hindi Committee, Modi said that educational institutions can help in leading this campaign.

"He (Modi) stressed that the Hindi language should be spread through day-to-day conversations and complex technical terms should be avoided or used negligibly for official purposes," a statement from Prime Minister's Office quoted him as saying.

"Prime Minister assured all the members that we can connect with the whole world with the help of all the Indian languages including Hindi," read the statement.

He said that Indians are proud of Tamil, one of the world's oldest, and that "all languages of the country can enrich Hindi".

The Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat, and other members of the committee participated in the meeting
Srinagar, Sep 6 : IPS officer Dilbagh Singh was on Thursday given additional charge as the Director General of Police (DGP) in Jammu and Kashmir in place of S.P. Vaid.

An official order late Thursday evening said Dilbagh Singh, an IPS officer of the 1987 batch, would be the DGP apart from holding the post of DG (Prisons).

Vaid's services have been placed at the disposal of the General Administration Department for posting as the state Transport Commissioner.
Lucknow, Sep 6 : Samajwadi party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday accused the BJP of igniting caste politics in the state and blamed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for creating the "mess."

Addressing a convention of retired Army personnel in the state capital, the 45-year-old leader said that "due to the chaos that the monk-turned-politician is presiding over", his days in power were numbered. He said Adityanath will not remain in his chair in 2019.

He claimed the sudden spurt in the caste-based conventions by the BJP, especially by deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, indicated an imminent change of guard in the state.

While he did not name Maurya, he dropped enough hints that the backward caste leader was feeling slighted as his contribution in the 2017 assembly elections was not recognised.

"After stoking communal passions, now these people are whipping up passions on the reservation issue", the former Chief Minister said.

He also exhorted retired Army men to take part in his mission to uproot the BJP from the state in 2019.

Yadav also reiterated his demand for ballot paper in place of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The BJP, meanwhile, dismiss Yadav's remarks, saying the SP leader should "take care of his family and party, which were on verge of breaking up."
Ahmedabad, Sep 6 : Patidar agitation spearhead Hardik Patel, who is on an indefinite fast since August 25, on Thursday night gave up taking water to press for the demand for reservations for his community and loan waiver for farmers.

But the Gujarat government remained unmoved despite medical reports about Patel's worsening health.

Patel's Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had served the Gujarat Government a 24-hour ultimatum to initiate talks with him over their demands. The government maintained that the agitation was sponsored by the Congress.

PAAS spokesman Manoj Panara said the ultimatum expired at 7 p.m. and the 25-year-old Patel decided to stop consuming water.

Earlier too, he had given up drinking water but was persuaded by leaders of the community after seven days of his fast as his health started deteriorating.

Panara said Hardik Patel, who took a stroll in a wheel-chair of the compound of his residence where he is fasting and met some of his supporters in the afternoon, would stop having even a drop of water and the State Government would be responsible for the consequences.

Manoj Panara came up with an allegation, though unsubstantiated, that the PAAS had "definite information" that the state government was "conspiring to kill Hardik" as a warning to all those who dared raised their voice "against the autocratic rule of the BJP".

He said the government hospital doctors, who were appointed to monitor Hardik Patel's health, had started claiming that his kidney, heart and several other organs had been "infected" but the private medical practitioners had refuted the claim.

Meanwhile, a state Congress delegation called on Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and submitted a memorandum requesting him to intervene and initiate dialogue with the PAAS to break the impasse.
Dehradun, Sep 7 : Five persons were killed and 21 others injured in Almora district of Uttarakhand on Thursday when the driver of the bus they were travelling lost control and the vehicle fell into a deep gorge, police said.

The condition of 14 injured is stated to be critical. They have been rushed to Haldwani for treatment.

The accident took place at Saingda Gadhera near Garunkhet on the Ramnagar-Badrinath road.

Officials said the accident appears to have taken place due to brake failure. The bus had 26 persons in all, including the bus driver and conductor.

The deceased include the bus conductor.

District Magistrate Nitin Singh Bhadauria and Senior superintendent of police (SSP) P Renuka Devi rushed to the spot to oversee rescue and relief, a state government official said.
Washington, Sep 7 : A gunman opened fire at a building in Cincinnati, in the US state of Ohio, killing three persons and injuring five others, officials said on Thursday.

"Five victims injured, three dead. Suspect is dead. Three or four officers responded and engaged the shooter," the Cincinnati Police Department tweeted.

The incident took place at a 30-storey building, home to the corporate headquarters for regional banker Fifth Third Bank and other businesses, Xinhua news agency reported.

Police said the gunman opened fire at the loading dock of the building and then entered the bank's lobby where he exchanged gunfire with police.

It's unclear if the gunman shot himself or was shot by officers.

The gunman was not identified, and police did not comment on the possible motive.

One of the victims died at the scene and two more died at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre, according to reports.

A spokeswoman for the medical facility said one victim remained there in critical condition and another was listed as serious. All four treated at the hospital suffered from gunshot wounds, she said.

In a statement, Fifth Third Bank offered thoughts and prayers for those caught up in the "terrible event".

The bank operates around 1,200 banking centres in 10 US states.
Mumbai, Sep 7 : Actor Ranveer Singh, who is currently busy shooting "Simmba", says he is a huge fan of actor Govinda.

"I am a huge Govinda fan. Accessories in my bedroom are arranged in the 'Raja Babu' way. All the hats, all the shoes, all the sunglasses. Govinda is an all-time great, one of the most mesmeric talents to have ever graced the scene," Ranveer said on Saavn's new show "Take 2 with Anupama and Rajeev."

He also called Govinda a genius.

"'Kill Dil' was a real trip for me. Both him and Anil Kapoor... I get the same feeling, I didn't know what was happening. (It was) Really surreal. Just to have been slapped by Govinda on-screen felt like 'life ban gayi' (life was made)," he added.

Asked when he does a film like 'Simmba' is he actually channelling these films, Ranveer said: "I might be doing it subconsciously and thats completely natural but its not like I proactively do it. I used to do a lot of prep up in my earlier days, watch performances. After working on 'Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela' with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, I stopped doing that."

Now he goes to the gym and watches some movies.

"It's like a nightcap. Like end your day after watching a film," Ranveer added.
Washington, Sep 7 : The US State Department has said special representative for North Korea issue, Stephen Biegun, will travel to the capital cities of South Korea, China and Japan on September 10-15 to discuss the denuclearization of North Korea.

Biegun "will meet with his counterparts and continue diplomatic efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim in Singapore," the State Department said in a statement on Thursday, Xinhua reported.

The current North Korea-US talks have been stuck in an impasse due to their differences in the scale of denuclearization, US sanctions, and whether to issue a war-ending declaration.

The State Department said last month that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula shall happen before the US signs a war-ending declaration with North Korea; while North Korea has argued that such a document is the first step towards peace on the peninsula, whereas Washington has said it is too early to discuss the topic.

US media reported earlier that the signing of a joint declaration to formally end the Korean War was one of the verbal agreements between US President Donald Trump and North Korea's top leader, Kim Jong-un, when they met on June 12 in Singapore.

Kim told South Korea's envoy on Wednesday that he firmly supports and will be devoted to completely removing the danger of armed conflicts and the horrors of war from the Korean Peninsula and turning it into a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from any nuclear threat.

Trump tweeted later on Thursday in response, thanking Kim for making such a statement and noting that "we will get it done together," referring to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

At the conclusion of the historic Trump-Kim summit in June, the two sides issued a joint statement, in which they agreed to improve bilateral relations and work together to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the peninsula.
GUEST OBSERVATION

Public concern about housing affordability in Australia is well documented. It would be reasonable to assume our local governments are giving the supply of affordable housing the attention it deserves. However, our national survey reveals that while its a growing concern for many local governments across the country, especially in metropolitan areas, most councils do not view the provision of affordable housing as a priority for them.

The survey results strongly suggest that local governments do not feel they have the capacity to intervene in a meaningful way.

The survey included a range of questions about local governments engagement with housing-related activities in their area. We asked about the priority given to housing issues, how important housing is relative to other council issues, and what kinds of policies and initiatives they plan to implement to help resolve the problem.

All 546 local governments in Australia were invited to participate in the survey. We received 213 responses. The majority, 72%, came from non-metropolitan areas (there are a lot more non-metropolitan local governments).

Do councils think its a problem in their area?

Almost all the metropolitan councils saw housing affordability as an issue (Figure 1). Half saw it as a very substantial or substantial issue. Only 13.5% said it was not an issue.

In contrast, only 26.6% of non-metropolitan councils responded that housing affordability is a substantial or very substantial issue.

Author provided

The responses to the question about what proportion of housing stock in the council area is affordable were remarkable (Figure 2).

Half of the metropolitan councils said only 5% of the housing in their local government area (LGA) was affordable. Three-quarters said 10% or less. Even in the non-metropolitan areas, 43% of councils said only 15% of housing was affordable.

Author provided

What are councils doing about it?

Despite recognising the problem, very few councils appear to be making the provision of affordable housing a priority. Just 13.5% of respondents from metropolitan areas and 15.5% from non-metropolitan LGAs said their councillors gave housing affordability a substantial or very substantial amount of attention (Figure 3).

Author provided

Linked to this lack of attention, few councils viewed finding ways to provide adequate affordable housing in their LGA as a priority (Figure 4). Not one metropolitan council answered to a very substantial extent. Only a quarter said to a substantial extent.

About four in ten metropolitan councils and over half of the non-metropolitan councils viewed finding ways to provide adequate affordable housing locally as a non-priority. These councils had put this on the far backburner.

Author provided

Local governments were also asked what priority had been given to housing relative to other council issues (Figure 5). Just 1.8% of respondents in metropolitan areas and 5.2% in non-metropolitan areas said housing had been given very high priority.

More encouraging was that about four in ten councils in metropolitan areas did say they had given it high priority relative to other issues. Very few non-metropolitan councils, about one in five, said housing was a high priority or very high priority relative to other issues.

Author provided

Do councils have policies, targets or strategies in place?

Fewer than half of those surveyed said they had a housing policy, housing plan or housing strategy in place (Figure 6).

Author provided

Those that reported having a formal policy said it focused on such issues as housing affordability, residential land development, population change, urban design, social and public housing, and energy efficiency.

However, our survey reveals that those policies are not perceived as being particularly extensive. Figure 7 shows just one in four local governments in metropolitan areas and 10% from non-metropolitan areas believe their councils housing policies are comprehensive to a very substantial or substantial extent.

Author provided

The data suggest that having an explicit housing affordability target was viewed as unrealistic. Only 17.3% of metropolitan councils and 10.1% of non-metropolitan councils said they had an explicit target (Figure 8).

Author provided

Whose responsibility is it to provide affordable housing?

Its noteworthy that, out of 213 councils, only one felt local government should be primarily responsible for addressing the problems associated with housing in Australia (Figure 9). The overwhelming sentiment was that state government or a combination of all levels of government should be responsible.

Author provided

The results suggest that improving housing affordability in a meaningful way is beyond the remit of local government. State and federal governments need to take the lead.

Although many councils are well aware that housing affordability is an issue in their area, they feel unable to respond in a meaningful way. An explanation for this is a unanimous view that Australias housing affordability problem is beyond the capacity of local governments to resolve. Almost all councils believe the provision of affordable housing is the responsibility of state and/or federal governments.

This is not surprising when we consider that local government accrues only 3.5% of all tax revenue. Local councils lack the fiscal capacity to develop affordable housing.

Further, state governments often override local governments efforts through the planning approvals to ensure all new developments have an affordable housing component.

Alan Morris, Research Professor, University of Technology Sydney

Catherine Davis, Research assistant, University of Technology Sydney

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Australia's most expensive home has hit the market which has reignited the optimistic obsession about a $100 million sale.

It's the Double Bay offering by the executors of the late Lady (Mary) Fairfax.

The home, Fairwater, has been in the Fairfax media dynasty family since 1901 when Sir James Oswald Fairfax paid 5,350.

The two-storey, late Victorian mansion - which was designed by architect J. Horbury Hunt for stockbroker, Francis Joseph in 1881, is set on five subdividable blocks on exclusive Seven Shillings Beach.

There will be no immediate formal website marketing for the home that dates back to 1881, but interested parties will be led through the landmark home by Christie's International agent Ken Jacobs.

Setting the benchmark, Jacobs sold the current national record setter, the neighbouring Elaine, for $71 million last year to billionaire Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar and wife Kim Jackson.

Fairfax Media has wrongly reported the listing went to Sotheby's.

Fellow Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes will no doubt be on Jacob's radar as a propsective buyer. He recently sold his Braelyn, his Centennial Park trophy, for $16.5 million.

James Packer, who sold his Vaucluse home La Mer for a record $70 million in 2016, Australia's second biggest sale, is unlikely to be interested despite offloading his Bondi triplex for $29 million earlier this year, given his desire to have a Barangaroo apartment as his bolthole for his rare trips back to Sydney.



Source: SMH 07/08/2015

The wayward $100 million price estimate was based on extrapolating the 53-metre beach frontage premium to the entire 6,900 square metre land holding, with the New South Head Road frontage clearly unlikely to warrant the Seven Shillings beachfront premium.

The SMH headline suggested $100 million while the article speculated as high as $112 million.

The Fairwater listing today has immediately triggered a fresh bout of unsourced $100 million plus speculation.

The market has been tested before, but came up wanting as Aussie John Symond's opulent Point Piper mansion, once dubbed 'Aussie Stadium', was touted as having $100 million buyer interest from China, however the Aussie Home Loans founder opted against the sale.

Phoneix Acres, in Vaucluse, sold for $65.25 million last year, having been listed with initial record setting hope.

Fairwater is the largest privately-owned harbour side landholding, spanning 11,210 sqm.

"Fairwater represents an extraordinary opportunity to acquire Australias most desirable residential holding," Jacobs said.

"The propertys appeal reflects its unquestionable position as Australias most revered and significant home.

"It is remarkable that an estate offering such rare and unrepeatable features still exists in Australia today; this opportunity will not come again.

"A revered harbour side estate of this size, 5.5 kilometres from the CBD of a major international city is rare by any standard.

"Fairwater is a world class showpiece offering unprecedented attributes of historical significance, design circa 1882 by famed architect John Horbury Hunt."

Nine years later there were additions completed in the Arts and Craft style.

No price expectation or sales date have been issued, however Jacobs will be hoping to sell it for quicker than Elaine which took three years to sell.

The house is in better condition than next door, and it has often been referred to as likely to fetch more than Elaine. Jacobs will be hoping for a quicker sale than Elaine, which took three years to sell. Fairwater is 4100 sqm larger than Elaine.

No formal price guide was ever offered on the 2013 listing of Elaine, but an absurd $100 million calculation published on its 2013 marketing debut in the Fairfax press cruelled its initially sale prospects.



Source: SMH 06/09/18

For a brief time, the property was to be gifted to the people of NSW, but this proposition was later ditched.

"What is Fairwater without the garden, it's just another big old house," she said in 1990 when faced with $350,000 annual land taxes.

By 1996 Lady Fairfax said a trust of seven was being established to oversee the estate, headed by her close friend, the former chairman of National Australia Bank, Sir Rupert Clarke.

Lady Fairfax made the announcement at the 1996 Monaco National Day celebrations but later declined to comment on her intended gift.

She had moved into Fairwater with her husband, Sir Warwick in 1969. The previous occupant was Sir Warwick's mother, Lady (Mabel) Fairfax, who died in 1965.

Fairwater is expected to attract strong overseas interest.

The state government would secured $6.94 million stamp duty on the touted $100 million sale, and if the buyer is from overseas the duty payable on the purchase will be $14.9 million given an extra $8 million foreign buyer duty.

The listing comes just weeks after the will of the late Lady Mary Fairfaxs was revealed with some suggesting it was set to remain in the famous familys possession for decades to come.

According to never before published provisions reported by The Australian, in her will the four beneficiaries are the US-based Warwick Fairfax Junior, adopted children Charles Fairfax and Anna Cleary, as well as lawyer Garth Symonds, Lady Marys son from a previous marriage.

Lady Mary's will which was written in 1999 did not include Sir Warwick's three children from his previous marriages. They were dubbed 'The Excluded Class'.

There is no explicit mention of how Fairwater is to be bequeathed in the will, although the trustees have the power of sale of all assets in the trust fund.

Three executors were selected for their expertise in commerce, the law and finance  Lady Marys long-term adviser and confidante Bruce Solomon, former top tier lawyer and barrister Jim Momsen, and former KPMG partner Peter Done.

The fourth executor is Lady Marys longstanding personal assistant Lee Thomas.

Five months after Lady Fairfax's death, the title documents were transferred to the executors of the will.

The will does outline that live-in staff members employed by Lady Mary at the time of her death can continue to live-in at Fairwater.

There was a fairly tasteless Fairfax Media article shortly after Lady Fairfax's death suggesting Sydney estate agents were circling the potential offering, though no facts were published.

Source: Domain.com.au 23/9/17
Horningsea Park, the intact early Georgian house built for Battle of Waterloo veteran and pastoralist settler Lieutenant Joshua Moore, has been listed for sale for the first time in 20 years.

The 1839 heritage-listed, convict built mansion overlooks a housing development.

It was once the rental home in the 1840s to the explorer Count Paul Strzelecki, credited as discovering and naming Mount Kosciusko.

Horningsea Park was one of Governor Lachlan Macquarie's large pastoral grants made following the establishment of Liverpool in the 1810s.

The 500 acre property was granted to Moore conditional on 50 acres being cultivated within five years.

The Moore family sold Horningsea in 1855 to clear debts from the 1840s depression.



The derelict house was classified by the National Trust of Australia in 1976, and saved from demolition after intervention from the Minister for Planning with a permanent conservation order coming in 1983.

Offers over $3 million are being sought by Ray White Macarthur agent Brendan Lappan for the 9089 square metre holding which comes with massive Bunya pines and Moreton Bay Figs.

Dr David Webster, company founder and managing director of WebIT/ListOnce and wife Samantha plus their three school age children, have called Horningsea Park House home during which they installed an extension designed by heritage architect Howard Tanner.

This article first appeared in The Sunday Telegraph.
The change in leadership of the Commonwealth Government has brought new ministers to the portfolios that are connected with important housing, homelessness, cities and urban issues.

The Hon Scott Morrison MP (Liberal Party), the Prime Minister, has engaged closely with housing issues in his previous roles as Treasurer and Minister for Social Services.

Prime Minister Morrison also has a strong background in housing issues having been National Manager, Policy and Research, of the Property Council of Australia between 1989 and 1995.

The Hon Josh Frydenberg MP (Liberal Party) is Treasurer, a role that has a large impact on the work of those in Australias housing and homelessness sector.

The Treasury oversees the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation and the Bills relating to the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, which enables the Commonwealth to provide financial assistance to the states for housing, homelessness and housing affordability matters.

Senator the Hon Bridget McKenzie (The Nationals) is the Minister for Regional Services, Local Government and Decentralisation. As part of this Ministry, Senator McKenzie sees getting people out of our congested cities and into our regions' as a core priority.

The Hon Paul Fletcher MP (Liberal Party) is the Minister for Families and Social Services. Minister Fletcher has a background in the law, economics and the communications sector. Prior to his most recent Ministerial appointment, he was Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities. The Department of Social Services delivers services such as Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the on-going National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) and the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH).

The Hon Alan Tudge MP (Liberal Party) is the Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population, the ministry that oversees the Smart Cities and City Deals programs which aim to bring all levels of government together to improve the productivity and liveability of Australian cities.

Minister Tudges background is in business, including several years with the Boston Consulting Group in Australia, Malaysia and New York, and running his own advisory business.

Senator the Hon Zed Seselja (Liberal Party), Assistant Minister for Treasury and Finance, studied Arts and Law at the Australian National University before joining the Commonwealth Public Service as a Lawyer. Previously, Senator Seselja was elected to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 2004 before resigning to stand for the Senate for the Australian Capital Territory. Senator Seseljia will support the Treasurer in a portfolio that has responsibility for the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, amongst other programs.

The Hon Sarah Henderson MP (Liberal Party), the Assistant Minister for Social Services, Housing and Disability Services, has an extensive background as a journalist and lawyer, and won a Walkley award for her coverage of the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

The inclusion of Housing in the Ministers portfolio is a welcome addition to the Governments frontbench, AHURI advised.
We've got a stellar lineup of folks coming to speak at NAVIGATE2018. We're going to talk about all sorts of interesting aspects of the industry, from risk management all the way to process validation. Past News Releases RSS Cognition Corporation...

Cognition Discusses...

Discussing Remediation at...

Cognition Corporation, a software company specializing in medical device compliance and commercialization, is releasing the agenda for its upcoming user conference.

This year NAVIGATE2018the annual conferencewill feature speakers from across life science industries discussing the latest challenges, opportunities, and approaches to regulatory compliance and quality management.

Weve got a stellar lineup of folks coming to speak at NAVIGATE2018, says David Cronin, CEO of Cognition Corporation. Were going to talk about all sorts of interesting aspects of the industry, from risk management all the way to process validation.

The list of speakers includes industry professionals from life science organizations large and small. Just some of the organizations represented at this years user conference include: Cook Medical, Nova Leah, Zimmer Biomet, Medtronic, and many more.

We already have a great keynote, with Steve McRoberts of LumiraDx coming in to discuss holistic risk management approaches, says Mr. Cronin. But all of our speakers really complement each other this yeartheir expertise and knowledge will, I think, be a great benefit for those who decide to attend.

In addition to discussing the latest topics in life science industries, several of this years speakers will talk to how Cognitions products and services are helping them meet the challenges of the ever-changing regulatory environment. Through discussions, panels, and presentations, NAVIGATE2018 attendees can see how they can benefit from what Cognition has to offer.

As well, a handful of talks will be dedicated to Cognition-specific discussions. Cognition CTO David Taylor will talk through the organizations roadmap through 2025, and Mr. Cronin will host a presentation and Q&A session about the latest happening at Cognition.

For my part at NAVIGATE2018, says Mr. Cronin, Ill be bringing our customers, prospects, and stakeholders up-to-speed on whats been happening at Cognition lately.

To register for the conference, click here. Discounted hotel rates are available for those who book nowbut hurry, space is limited.

Cognition Corporation, based in Lexington, Massachusetts, has offered solutions for product development compliance for more than fifteen years. Cognition offers the Cognition Cockpit Platform, along with engineering and validation support, and industry expertise. Thousands of users worldwide use Cognition solutions to manage their product development process and meet regulatory, performance, and-time to-market goals. For more information, visit http://www.cognition.us or call (781) 271-9300.
The technology world is moving faster than ever before, and we were determined to pursue a course that enabled us, and our agents, to respond to change and pursue innovative solutions

Alain Pinel Realtors (APR) has announced a new technology strategy that will empower its 1,400 agents to work more efficiently, leverage the power of data and better serve Northern California home buyers and sellers. Partnerships with real estate software companies known as leaders in their respective categories are the cornerstone of the strategy.

This dynamic strategy was informed by over a year of research with APR agents and is rooted in the belief that an integrated bundling of the very best applications better serves agents than a single technology suite built by a vendor or in-house by a brokerage.

As sole proprietors of their own business, agents deserve the confidence of knowing that their data and tools belong to them exclusively. We have chosen a model that gives agents flexibility and options without extra cost on their part, said Zane Burnett, Vice President of Digital Innovation & Technology at Alain Pinel.

APR has inked partnerships with the following companies:



ActivePipe: Automated email marketing with exclusive property feed integration

Adwerx: Automated, geo-targeted social and display advertising of property listings

Cloud CMA: Deep property, comparable sale and buyer reports presented in a branded format

RealScout: Collaborative home search between agents and buyers and email alerts powered by computer vision

Contactually: An intelligent CRM that automates common tasks required of agents

Several of these applications are integrated; all will be available to APR agents through a single sign-on (SSO) dashboard within the company intranet.

Building a strategy around the idea that a single company, with one software suite, can keep up with the pace of change simply doesnt make sense anymore, said Burnett. The technology world is moving faster than ever before, and we were determined to pursue a course that enabled us, and our agents, to respond to change, and pursue innovative solutions, with more agility than our competitors.

APR, founded in 1990, was among the first real estate companies in the nation to deploy desktop computers company-wide, created a groundbreaking partnership with Steve Jobs NEXT Software and launched the countrys first real estate website.

Taking the lead on technology is part of our DNA, but we also embrace a humility born from the recognition that any one real estate company, no matter how technologically adept, can satisfy the demands of a changing marketplace on its own, said Mike Hulme, APRs President. With this strategy, and with these partners, Alain Pinel Realtors is positioned to extend its leadership into a future that will require adaptability, speed and a ceaseless effort to innovate.

Ultimately, for us, technology is a means to deliver outstanding experiences for our agents and home buyers and sellers, said APR Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rainy Hake Austin. That is our core difference at Alain Pinel Realtors and this strategy serves that end.

About Alain Pinel Realtors

Alain Pinel Realtors (APR) is the largest privately owned residential real estate company in Northern California and is consistently ranked among the top 10 largest residential real estate firms in the United States based on closed-sales volume. The firm has 1,400 agents in more than 30 offices throughout Northern California. APR was founded in 1990 by Chairman and CEO Paul L. Hulme, and is based in Saratoga, Calif. Visit us at apr.com, china.apr.com, facebook.com/AlainPinelRealtors, and @AlainPinel.
The solid partnership with M2M Connectivity and Pivotel enables us to introduce our next generation technology to a region where satellite connectivity has been the right fit for decades, said David J. Goldstein, President & CEO of AssetLink Global.

AssetLink today announced a new partnership with M2M Connectivity and Pivotel for sales and support of its industry-leading AssetPack Internet of Things (IoT) satellite terminals in the Australia and New Zealand region. The AssetPack AP3 Iridium solar powered modem is ideally suited to remote tracking and sensor monitoring applications.

M2M Connectivity will be the importer and distributor of the hardware and will work closely with Pivotel to deliver off-the-shelf hardware and data solutions, making the system easy to use with minimal set-up. Customers with their own data connectivity can buy from M2M directly to enhance their own services.

AssetLinks AP3 IoT modem uses the global Iridium satellite network and provides the ability to track and manage unpowered and powered assets located in harsh, hazardous and remote regions anywhere in the world. The AP3 is a fully integrated device quickly installed on nearly any asset, and is powered by a solar-recharging battery, delivering seven to ten years of service life without ever needing a battery change.

The AP3s on-board intelligence provides a platform on which a variety of industry applications from simple tracking to advanced sensor-based and business logic use cases can be run. Device configuration and updates are performed remotely Over-The-Air (OTA) using a cloud-based user interface. With this control the user can change configuration settings, load new geofences, manage the two sensor inputs (analog or digital) and the RS485 interface to support evolving requirements in the field over its 10-year life.

More than 28,000 AssetPacks have been deployed globally to track and monitor equipment in oil and gas, transportation, agriculture, maritime, construction and military logistics applications.

The solid partnership with M2M Connectivity and Pivotel enables us to introduce our next generation technology to a region where satellite connectivity has been the right fit for decades, said David J. Goldstein, President & CEO of AssetLink Global. Now connectivity is not limited to a simple one-way beacon, or equipment with a power source. Without any cabling or power, the AP3 delivers capable, remote configurable, 10-year life with intelligent sensor capability - redefining the types of problems that can be solved with remote monitoring systems.

Daryl Chambers, Director of M2M Connectivity said, M2M is excited to be appointed as AssetLinks distribution partner for Australia and New Zealand. AssetLink provides a missing link in IoT and will allow our customers to monitor, track and control assets anywhere in the world without the need for a local connection. We see huge opportunities within sectors including smart agriculture, mining, environmental monitoring, transport, and other industrial IoT applications.

Peter Bolger, CEO of Pivotel said, The AssetPack is a tremendous addition to the satellite IOT terminal market and is set to eliminate the tedious and often logistically challenging task of changing out batteries on similar, long life, remote tracking and monitoring devices. I can see the AssetPack replacing many existing terminals used today on trailers and containers in the long haul transport industry as well as opening many new opportunities in that industry. Utilities such as telcos and power and water companies will be another important market. Pivotel itself has already benefited from the versatility of the AP3, deploying it as a remote monitoring and control tool for mobile stations.

Products are available now for sale and use in Australia and New Zealand with full RCM approval.

About M2M Connectivity

M2M Connectivity are specialist wireless solution distributor for wireless machine-to-machine (M2M) and the Internet of Things (IoT). We distribute leading wireless M2M and IoT products in Australia and New Zealand for satellite, cellular and LPWAN. We offer hardware supported by specialist satellite solution architects. In addition we provide high-level integration and engineering support from the initial stages of selecting the most suitable hardware and network through to mass roll-out of projects.

For VAR reseller and channel partnership arrangements contact M2M Connectivity for details and pricing on the AssetLink products and services.

Phone: +61 3 9696 3011

Email: info@m2mconnectivity.com.au

Web: http://www.m2mconnectivity.com.au

About Pivotel

With its headquarters in Australia, and regional offices in New Zealand and the USA, Pivotel Group is a leading international provider of satellite and mobile technology including satellite phones, satellite broadband, personal and asset trackers, docking kits, M2M connections and maritime communication. Its experienced team of engineers and application developers ensure Pivotel Group's licensed carrier network through its direct interconnection with all of the major mobile satellite operators provides the most extensive and simple to use range of satellite voice, data, personal safety and asset monitoring solutions. Pivotel Groups 4G mobile network marketed as ecoSphere extends its carrier network to deliver complementary terrestrial wireless services to rural and remote Australians.

Contact Pivotel to discuss AssetPack solution options.

Phone: 1300 882 448

Email: mail@pivotel.com.au

Web: http://www.pivotel.com.au

About AssetLink Global

AssetLink is a fast-growing technology company with long heritage in satellite-enabled hardware and IoT systems implementation, design and manufacturing. We build best in class GPS satellite, cellular tracking and sensor-interface hardware, and deliver comprehensive hardware, data services and information access to industrial, Fortune 500 and government clients worldwide. AssetLink connects enterprises with their equipment and assets, no matter how remote.

Contact AssetLink Global

Phone : 1 (406) 862-8745

Email : sales@assetlinkglobal.com

Web : http://www.assetlinkglobal.com
Attorney Timothy Starosta Why I love being a lawyer -- being a lawyer is about helping people in their stressful life moments. I also enjoy the variety of my day.

Attorney Timothy Starosta is celebrating his tenth-anniversary practicing bankruptcy law and as owner of The Starosta Law Firm. Why I love being a lawyer -- being a lawyer is about helping people in their stressful life moments. I also enjoy the variety of my day. I could spend the morning representing people paying their debts or becoming debt free, the afternoon as a dad with my kids and then the evening into the wee hours of the morning tackling esoteric legal issues arising from civil litigation, said Starosta.

Starosta earned a Bachelors degree from the University of Missouri  Kansas City while working full-time as a sales rep in the now-closed Metro North Mall. He later received his Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa College of Law in May 2008.

The mission of The Starosta Law Firm is to develop clients for life and build a friendship where they will be working towards the same goals. The Starosta Law Firm provides a broad range of exceptional legal services through personalized, thorough service that results in honest and practical solutions to the clients legal trouble, added Starosta.

Timothy was very professional. He always got back to me in a timely manner or sometimes, there was no wait at all, said client Carla D. He handled my case very efficiently. It was a great experience and I would highly recommend him to anyone.

In addition to law, Starosta is a board member of the Northland Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra is a group of professional, student and community musicians that offers free, high-quality performances to the greater Kansas City area. He has also volunteered his time as a tax preparer for low-income households. Starosta has been married 13 years to his high school sweetheart and they have two kids.

About Timothy Starosta, The Starosta Law Firm

Timothy Starosta is a member of the Missouri Bar Association, Kansas Bar Association, U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri and U.S. District Court, District of Kansas. The Starosta Law Firm focuses on bankruptcy law, including civil litigation, divorce, child support, real estate and mortgage issues, personal Injury, and workers compensation. For more information, please call 816-399-5733, or visit http://www.816attorney.com.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
The inaugural National Health Equity Hackathon will focus on creating data-driven solutions for underserved healthcare populations, see http://hacking.healthcare As HHS moves to become a more data-driven organization, hackathons like this show exactly how open data can be leveraged across multiple disciplines to make an impact on health related decisions," - Health and Human Services Chief Data Officer, Mona Siddiqui

The inaugural National Health Equity Hackathon will focus on creating data-driven solutions for underserved healthcare populations. The idea began with Health and Human Services Chief Data Officer, Mona Siddiqui, CareSet Systems CTO Fred Trotter, and Senior Director of Applied Research & Analytics at the American Hospital Association, Dr. Norma Padron during Datapalooza in Washington, DC this past April.

I approached Mona on this as I thought we could do more with open data sets, says Fred Trotter, Chief Technology Officer for CareSet Systems. CareSet works with Medicare to release Public Use Files that originate with Medicare claims data and was recently awarded first ever access to Medicare Advantage Data by CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

"Creating value from data is a journey, says Siddiqui. As HHS moves to become a more data-driven organization, hackathons like this show exactly how open data can be leveraged across multiple disciplines to make an impact on health related decisions."

The hackathon will be October 19 - 21 at Capital Factory in Austin, Texas and includes sponsorship support from the Institute for Diversity (IFD) of the American Hospital Association and CareSet Systems, with additional support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Nurses Association, Design Institute for Health at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, Innovation Learning Network, Socrata, and others.

The hackathon will focus on finding inclusive and creative ways to leverage open data, technology and data science to understand and address health equity issues. The overarching areas of focus will include: publicly available data on social determinants of health, including data on racial or gender disparities, people living with chronic illness, the frail elderly, homelessness, and data on regions affected by the opioid crisis.

Using open source datasets, and open source technologies, this weekend-long hackathon will gather multiple tech disciplines around a common goal: inclusive ways of leveraging open data to identify solutions and eliminating health disparities. Local and nationally-acclaimed mentors and data scientists will be accessible throughout the event. Attendees will self-select to a team with diverse perspectives.

The hackathon is looking for innovators in the following roles: data visualization experts, health economists, talented students, leaders in population health and health policy, coders, entrepreneurs, and other curious IT or healthcare experts.

For more information on the event, see http://hacking.healthcare

For media inquiries, contact Brian Lang at: brian@careset.com, 281-345-8022
The Discovery on Target (DOT) conference in Boston, MA, which runs from September 25th-28th is a meeting of The industrys preeminent event on novel drug targets. BellBrook Labs high throughput screening (HTS) platforms, Transcreener and AptaFluor, provide drug discovery scientists powerful tools to study these emerging targets in a quest to find new treatments for disease.

BellBrook Labs will be exhibiting at booth #405, where researchers can discover new applications for a growing suite of HTS assays. These new techniques will also be presented in three posters:

Sensitive Detection of PRMT4 Using Physiological SAM with the AptaFluor Methyltransferase Assay

Methyltransferases are the largest class of epigenetic enzymes, and several have been shown to play a causative role in cancer and other diseases. Discovering new methyltransferase inhibitors has become a major focus of drug discovery. Current detection of methyltransferase activity requires radioactive assays and/or large amounts of methyltransferase enzymes, making HTS impractical in many instances. For these reasons, BellBrook Labs developed a more sensitive, non-radioactive assay to enable robust, cost-effective screening of methyltransferase targets. This poster presentation demonstrates how the assay was used to study PRMT4, a therapeutic target that has attracted interest in the scientific community and where the AptaFluor Methyltransferase Assay allows for more streamlined study.

Development of a High Throughput Transcreener Assay to Explore the Ectonucleotidase Enzyme Family

Ectonucleotidase enzymes are showing promise as immune-oncology targets. Discovering inhibitors for ectonucleotidases has become an increasingly important area of research. Transcreener HTS assays enable robust screening and profiling of ectonucleotidases using mix-and-read assays for direct detection of nucleotide products with FP or TR-FRET readouts. In this poster presentation, BellBrook scientists will describe assay development for the ectonucleotidase CD39 and CD73 using the Transcreener platform.

The Transcreener ADP2 Assay: A Universal Kinase Assay for HTS and Lead Optimization

Kinases are one of the most highly validated target families, yet only a small fraction of the kinome has been exploited therapeutically. ADP detection enables a universal assay method that has been broadly adopted for HTS efforts targeting kinases. The Transcreener ADP2 Kinase Assay uses homogenous detection of ADP with a choice of FP, FI, or TR-FRET readouts. Other ADP detection methods rely on multiple coupled-enzyme steps that are inherently prone to interference and require time-consuming counter-screens to triage false positives. In this poster, BellBrook will provide data demonstrating advantages of the Transcreener ADP2 Kinase Assay for HTS and examples of its use in important hit-to-lead applications.

A new article will also be available at the meeting: A Guide to Measuring Drug-Target Residence Times with Biochemical Assays. During drug development initiatives, analysis of drug-target residence times can lead to improved efficacy. This 12-page guide provides technical background on concepts and techniques for use of Transcreener biochemical assays to measure drug-target residence times in a high-throughput format.

Learn more about BellBrooks HTS Assay technology at bellbrooklabs.com.

About BellBrook Labs:

BellBrook Labs is dedicated to accelerating drug discovery and biological research by providing innovative HTS solutions. BellBrooks core technology, Transcreener, is a universal, homogenous biochemical assay platform based on detection of nucleotides that makes it easy to screen thousands of different enzymes. These include validated targets like kinases and phosphodiesterases, as well as emerging targets like ATPases, GTPases, methyltransferases, and glycosyltransferases. Detection reagents from BellBrook Labs help researchers progress toward more effective therapies for cancer and other debilitating diseases.
Its an honor to win gold in this years Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year. I feel grateful to have the support of my team and customers in achieving so much success. We are looking forward to many more great years together!

SkyStem LLC, a provider of automated month-end close account reconciliation software, is proud to announce their founders gold award for the 2018 Globee Awards Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year. The gold award honors Shagun Malhotra for leading SkyStems steady growth and creating the environment that allows SkyStem's flagship solution to be consistently recognized as one of the highest rated software solutions in the industry.

Most of Ms. Malhotras career was around audit, internal controls, and consulting for Fortune 100 companies. She saw the problems that occurred with the traditional manual process of using papers, spreadsheets, binders, and the countless menial tasks accounting departments face each month during the close. Combining her accounting and audit experience, she founded SkyStem, and developed a software solution for automating month-end close and balance sheet reconciliations -- ART.

As a female entrepreneur, Ms. Malhotra is keen on giving back to the community through her work with GirlTank, Startup Chile and the New York Public Library. In addition, Ms. Malhotra also actively mentors rising professionals and aspiring entrepreneurs. SkyStem is a women majority-owned company and has previously won Female Team of the Year and Female Accomplishment of the Year.

"Its an honor to win gold in this years Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year, said Shagun Malhotra. I feel grateful to have the support of my team and customers in achieving so much success. We are looking forward to many more great years together!

The Best Woman Entrepreneur/Founder of the Year award encompasses the worlds best in leadership from every major industry in the world. More than 80 judges from a broad spectrum of industry voices from around the world participated and their average scores determined the 2018 award winners. Winners were honored in San Francisco on July 30, 2018, during the annual SVUS Red Carpet Awards Ceremony Dinner in San Francisco attended by the finalists, winners, judges and industry peers.

About the Globee Awards

Globee Awards were created to honor and generate industry-wide recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and businesses worldwide in every area. An annual industry and peers recognition program, Globee Awards honor best companies of all types and sizes in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin-America, best products, innovations, management and teams, women in business and the professions, and PR and marketing efforts from all over the world. Learn more about the Globee Awards at http://www.globeeawards.com

About SkyStem LLC

Headquartered in the heart of New York City, SkyStem delivers a powerful close and account reconciliation application for organizations seeking to streamline their financial processes. The companys flagship solution, ART, is an enterprise technology that helps CFOs and Controllers shorten the month-end close and the time to issue financials by automating balance sheet reconciliations, managing month-end tasks, and providing insightful reporting. The web-based solution streamlines and eliminates up to 90% of manual activities while strengthening internal controls and corporate governance.
Im excited to collaborate with other QualDerm-affiliated dermatologists across Tennessee to build a strong network that will ensure our patients continue to have access to high-quality dermatological care.

QualDerm Partners, a company that creates market-leading dermatology practice partnerships through affiliations and de novo development, today announced Brentwood Dermatology has joined the companys network of affiliated physician-owned practices.

Bill McDaniel, MD, a board-certified dermatologist, founded Brentwood Dermatology in 1983. The practice, which serves patients of all ages throughout the Greater Nashville area, provides general dermatology and skin cancer care as well as cosmetic procedures. The practices clinical staff includes one general dermatologist and two nurse practitioners.

Since starting Brentwood Dermatology, my goal has been to give patients the best care possible. Affiliating with QualDerm allows me to stay focused on my patients while ensuring the business side of the practice is well run, says Dr. McDaniel. Im also excited to collaborate with other QualDerm-affiliated dermatologists across Tennessee to build a strong network that will ensure our patients continue to have access to high-quality dermatological care.

Over the last year, QualDerm has expanded its presence in Tennessee. Cumberland Skin Surgery and Dermatology, which has practice locations in Hermitage and Lebanon, was QualDerms first partnership in the state. Lebanon Dermatology affiliated with QualDerm earlier in 2018. The company has a total of 32 practice locations in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, with plans to expand further this year.

Dermatology practices that partner with QualDerm have access to management support, guidance and capital for service expansion and growth. The foundation of QualDerms partnership model is maintaining physicians clinical autonomy, which ensures patient care remains at the highest levels. The companys practice management structure is organized into Regional Joint Operating Committees whose membership is made up of both physicians and business professionals. This structure allows practice management decisions to be made based on local market needs and conditions.

Were honored that Dr. McDaniel has chosen to affiliate with QualDerm, says Bill Southwick, Chief Executive Officer of QualDerm. We partner with dermatology practices that have a reputation for delivering high-quality care. Brentwood Dermatology has been doing that for decades, and we look forward to helping them expand their services even further.

About QualDerm Partners

QualDerm Partners helps top-tier dermatologists position their practices for sustainable growth and profitability. The company creates market-leading practice partnerships through affiliations and de novo development. QualDerm provides the management support, capital, and guidance for growth. Under QualDerms True Partnership(SM) model, physicians are partners, not employees, and retain their own practice brand. This doctor-driven model is designed to maintain physicians clinical autonomy and ensure the highest-quality patient care. QualDerm offers physicians tailored partnership structures to meet their needs, as well as the option to sell their practices. For more information, visit http://www.QualDerm.com.

About Brentwood Dermatology

Brentwood Dermatology was founded by Bill McDaniel, MD, in 1983. The practice provides personalized care for all types of skin conditions as well as outpatient skin surgery for benign and malignant skin lesions. Brentwood Dermatology also offers patients highly-specialized surgical, IPL, and laser procedures for treatment of cosmetic skin concerns such as wrinkles, sun damage, scars, unwanted hair, and birthmarks. The practice was recognized by Brentwood Lifestyle magazine with a Best of Brentwood Award in both 2016 and 2017. For more information, visit http://www.brentwoodderm.com.

Contact:

Andy Mitzen

QualDerm Partners

Chief Development Officer

andy.mitzen@qualderm.com

615.250.6756

Media Contact:

Nikki Cary

6 Columns Marketing Group

nikki@6Columns.com

615.500.2924
Feature cocktail experience: Nuevo Carre and the "Golden Tacos"

The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto is inviting guests to be at the heart of the Festival and experience Hollywood North this September during the Toronto International Film Festival. From Californian and Canadian inspired cocktails and menu items, to Red Carpet Ready spa treatments, Hollywood North is an ode to Canadas contributions to the film industry and the celebrity-filled excitement that is TIFF.

Following a year of planning, the hotel will unveil its most extravagant cocktail feature to date: The Nuevo Carre, an experience priced at $1500, available at Ritz Bar or DEQ Terrace & Lounge. A take on the New Orleans classic Vieux Carre (Old Square) the Nuevo Carre (New Square) adopts a Mexican flare, replacing Whiskey with Clase Azul Ultra Tequila. Served in a chilled coupe glass, the Nuevo Carre features house-made bitters, exquisite Louis XIII Cognac and will be presented in a glass dome, smoked using Canadian pecan wood and raw cacao powder. The Nuevo Carre will be accompanied by the Golden Tacos: an artistic creation featuring three house-made corn tortillas, Wagyu beef, Canadian lobster, Beluga Caviar, guajillo chili salsa, and topped with 24-karat Gold Leaf.

The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto will be the first hotel in North America to serve Black Ivory Coffee, the worlds rarest coffee. Launching during the Festival in Ritz Cafe, the tasting experience serves 2-3 guests, and is priced at $50. Black Ivory Coffee is available exclusively through select five-star hotels globally and is naturally refined by Thai elephants. The result is a very distinctive cup, which lacks bitterness and is delicate, almost tea-like in its complexity. Each purchase of Black Ivory Coffee helps to support The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation as well as the families who care for the elephants in rural Thailand.

Continuing the Hollywood theme, guests are invited to get Red Carpet Ready with a unique beauty event on September 8th at Spa My Blend by Clarins, and specialty themed treatment packages throughout the month of September. The exclusive event experience includes a targeted beauty consultation, expert makeup application, professional hairstyling, and a special gift with purchase.

Inside TOCA, enjoy a decadent array of seafood with an exclusive Pop-up Seafood Bar, featuring market fresh and raw favourites from Canadian waters. Round out your festival experience with the Hollywood North Chefs Tasting Menu and TOCAs legendary Sunday Brunch Buffet.

Throughout the festival, lobby activations including a Champagne Lobby Bar, over the top chocolate camera display, and custom makeup touch-ups by Clarins will delight guests and capture the spirit of the Festival.

Join us as we kick off the festivities on Thursday, September 6th and share your Festival memories with #RCTIFF.

For more information, please visit http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/canada/toronto/hotel-overview/calendar/tiff.html or call 416-585-2500.
Vicon Industries, Inc. (OTCQB: VCON) (Vicon), designer and manufacturer of video surveillance and access control software, hardware and components, announced today that its SN673V-B Cruiser PTZ Camera with 20X optical zoom and 1080p HD video has been deployed in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, as part of the Coastal Conservation Leagues novel project, The Pelicam. The Pelicam is a weather-resistant Vicon camera, mounted on a pole along with solar panels, battery back-up and a wireless transmission system, on an isolated strip of land within the harbor. Wray Lemke, Founder and Vice President of electronic and security services company Mount Pleasant Radio, volunteered his time to bring this project to fruition.

The Pelicams location is a popular spot for pelicans and other shore birds to build nests and raise their young because it is inaccessible to raccoons, coyotes and other natural predators. The Vicon cameras 20X optical zoom provides close-up video of the birds, allowing biologist from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the public to witness behaviors that would not normally be observable by humans. The Conservation League makes use of the cameras presets to quickly change between scenes, live-streaming on YouTube video of the most interesting wildlife on display at any given time. Video recorded to the cameras local SD card is available for DNR biologists to review and study. Andy Hollis, Data and GIS Analyst for the Conservation League, says, The quality of the new camera is great. It pans and zooms exactly as it should and its high magnification gets us in really close.

In addition to supporting the research needs of the DNR, the Pelicam is hugely popular within the community, garnering regular coverage in the local media and receiving more web traffic than any other page within the organizations website. Mr. Hollis explains, As an advocacy organization working with local and state level government to enact programs and laws to support conservation, the Pelicam is one of the most highly effective tools we have for building public awareness and enthusiasm for our mission.

Learn more about the Coastal Conservation League and visit the Pelicam live at https://coastalconservationleague.org/pelicam/. Learn more about this installation on Vicons website: http://www.vicon-security.com/pelicam. Visit Mount Pleasant Radio at http://www.mountpleasantradio.com/.

About Vicon Industries, Inc.: Vicon Industries, a designer and manufacturer of video surveillance and access control software, hardware and components, delivers security solutions that simplify all aspects of the customer experience, including system deployment, management and operation. Vicon and its leading-edge systems are trusted by a customer base that spans the globe, representing every type of industry. For more information about Vicon, please visit: http://www.vicon-security.com. ViconSimple Solutions for a Complex World.
Photo credit: Digiday Awards from Twitter It is gratifying to be recognized for the success of our conversational AI solutions for sales and marketing

Conversica, the leader in conversational AI for business, has been recognized with a Digiday Technology Award for best sales automation platform, besting worthy finalists Intercom and Certain. The Digiday awards recognize the companies, campaigns and creative that are modernizing media and marketing. Judges specifically mentioned Conversicas product innovation and notable customer success when the awards were announced yesterday in a live streamed event from New York City.

Conversica automates routine business conversations using intelligent assistants powered by artificial intelligence. The companys flagship AI Sales Assistant engages leads in a human conversation to qualify more of them for sales, freeing humans to spend more time closing business.

It is gratifying to be recognized for the success of our conversational AI solutions for sales and marketing, said Conversica CEO Alex Terry. The Digiday award judges were especially impressed with our ability to truly move the needle for our customers, which makes this win even more meaningful for our team.

Max Willens, Platforms Reporter at Digiday, said, "Marketing, advertising and media technology are among the most competitive and rapidly evolving industries out there. It's no accident that this list is filled with global behemoths as well as fast-growing startups.

Winners will be celebrated at the Digiday Awards gala, which will be held Nov. 14 at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

About the Digiday Technology Awards

Digiday, a Digiday Media brand, is the media company and community for digital media, marketing and advertising professionals. The company strives to produce the highest-quality publications, conferences and resources for the industry.

The Digiday Technology Awards, formerly known as the Signal Awards, recognize the technology bringing transparency, efficiency and effectiveness to media and marketing processes for brands, agencies and publishers. For more information, visit digiday.com/awards.

About Conversica

Conversica is the leader in conversational AI for business and the only provider of AI-driven lead engagement software for marketing and sales organizations. The flagship Conversica AI Sales Assistant helps companies find and secure customers more quickly and efficiently by automatically contacting, engaging, qualifying and following up with leads via natural, two-way conversations. Used by more than 1,000 companies worldwide, Conversicas sales assistants are built on a proven and patented AI platform integrating natural language processing (NLP), natural language generation (NLG), and machine learning (ML) capabilities and engage prospects over multiple communication channels and in multiple languages. Recognized by Gartner as a Cool Vendor, Conversica is a portfolio company of Providence Equity, Kennet Partners and Toba Capital and is headquartered in Foster City, Calif.

To learn more, visit conversica.com and follow the company on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
As a socially responsible holding company working with profitable entities demonstrating measurable positive impact, CoPeace has hired Hanan Levin as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Mr. Levin received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his MBA from University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School. As a business professional, Hanan has served as Director of Capital Markets at Bank of the West overseeing and managing the business development of capital markets and fixed income investment throughout the rocky mountain and midwest regions. In addition, he has provided investment advice and added value to institutional clients, municipalities and corporations utilizing extensive fixed income market knowledge and experience.

Hanan also founded Advanced Sustainable Technologies in Israel that utilizes proven plasma technology and operates a turnkey, scalable plasma waste management facility for corporate clients and governments. I was passionate in establishing a sustainable, yet profitable company with AST. In keeping with that model, I saw great opportunity and good synergy with CoPeace because they listen to the needs of the world and invest in people and companies with great ideas. Together, we can help those companies achieve strong financial returns while enacting profitable returns for investors, said Levin.

Attracting impact synergy between sustainability companies that share common resources is just one of the opportunities Hanan will be working on. As a holding company, CoPeace has the flexibility to represent multiple companies working together as an investment strategy to not only grow those companies, but to create a positive return that has both social and environmental impact. CoPeace is unique in that capacity by taking a different angle from the typical venture capital model of looking only at individual companies for the next unicorn.

We are extremely excited that Hanan is joining our team! Weve received a lot of positive feedback from the financial community by adding his deep, diverse skillset that will help us move to the next level. Hanan will lead the team to make sure the MATH supports our decisions and the mission, stated founder and CEO, Dr. Craig Jonas.

Socially responsible investment, or impact investing is a growing segment of the finance industry as investors address the importance of longer horizons and acknowledge the responsibility the business community has to a global society. Through financial backing, CoPeace supports a responsible free market in a way that makes the world a more inclusive, peaceful place for future generations.

For more information, contact:

CoPeace

Ph. 720.233.4215

Email contact(at)copeace.com

http://www.copeace.com
Craig Rubino said, We are excited about the next phase of PMCs evolution, and we could not have asked for a stronger or more experienced partner at this time than Crestview."

Protect My Car (PMC or the Company) today announced that funds managed by Crestview Partners (Crestview), together with members of PMCs management team, have completed the acquisition of the Company from a private investor group. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Craig Rubino, who founded PMC in 2007 and has been CEO since, will continue to lead PMC as CEO and serve as a member of the Companys Board of Directors.

Headquartered in Clearwater, FL, PMC is one of the nations leading providers of extended warranty products for vehicles, including vehicle service contracts. In 2018, for the second consecutive year, PMC earned a spot on the Tampa Bay Business Journals (TBBJ) Fast 50, which recognizes the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Tampa Bay area. The Company also placed 663 on the Inc. 5000 and was named the 2nd best place to work in Tampa Bay.

Craig Rubino said, We are excited about the next phase of PMCs evolution, and we could not have asked for a stronger or more experienced partner at this time than Crestview. Crestviews leadership team shares our vision that long-term success is rooted in delivering exceptional customer value and service, building robust strategic partnerships, establishing strong fundamentals while remaining agile and flexible and engaging employees on the front line and back end. We look forward to a mutually beneficial and rewarding relationship with Crestview for many years to come.

At Crestview, we build long-term value-added partnerships that enable businesses to unlock and achieve their full potential, commented Alex Binderow, a Partner at Crestview. Under Craigs leadership, PMC has thrived in a competitive and customer-centric environment by providing high value-added service contract products for vehicle servicing and repairs. Crestview is excited about this investment and looks forward to working with PMC to capitalize on the numerous opportunities in front of the Company.

Colonnade Securities LLC served as financial advisor to PMC and Sandler ONeill + Partners, L.P. served as financial advisor to Crestview in this transaction.

About PMC

Founded in 2008, Protect My Car is one of the leading providers of extended warranty products in the United States. The Company is based in Clearwater, Florida and serves as a vertically-integrated seller and administrator of vehicle service contracts and maintenance products that protect vehicle owners from unexpected costs of servicing, repairs and parts replacement. The Companys extended coverage plans are ideal for consumers with cars less than 10 years old and with fewer than 150,000 miles, and whose manufacturers warranties have expired or will expire soon. Consumers with vehicles older than 10 years or with more than 150,000 miles can take advantage of Protect My Cars Ambassador line of products, which include 24/7 roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement and repair bill savings of at least 50 percent. All of Protect My Cars products are offered with a Free Look trial period  if new customers are not completely satisfied, then they can contact Protect My Cars Customer Service Department within 30 days and receive a full refund of their down payment. For more information, please visit: https://protectmycar.com.

About Crestview

Founded in 2004, Crestview is a value-oriented private equity firm focused on the middle market. The firm is based in New York and manages funds with over $8 billion of aggregate capital commitments. The firm is led by a group of partners who have complementary experience and distinguished backgrounds in private equity, finance, operations and management. Crestview has senior investment professionals focused on sourcing and managing investments in each of the specialty areas of the firm: media, industrials, energy and financial services. For more information, please visit: http://www.crestview.com.
Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Attorney Suzanne Sukkar has been re-appointed to the State of Michigans Middle-Eastern American Affairs Commission by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Her term will expire in 2022.

The Middle-Eastern American Affairs Commission is comprised of 15 members whose directive is to monitor, evaluate and provide recommendations to the Governor and the states Department of Civil Rights regarding issues facing the Middle-Eastern American Community. They will also work to enhance economic opportunity, prevent discrimination, and spread awareness of Middle-Eastern American culture.

Suzanne Sukkar is a U.S. Business Immigration Attorney at the law firm of Dickinson Wright PLLC based in its Ann Arbor, Michigan office. Her practice focuses on global workforce mobility, employment-based sponsorship and visa matters, immigration audit and compliance for corporate and individual clients across a vast array of industries. Suzanne renders expert strategic and tactical counsel to a broad clientele base including visa matters for clients employees at all levels of the corporate organizational structure, from the highest level executives, to the entry-level business professional, investors, extraordinary ability workers, outstanding researchers and professors, musicians, artists and athletes, and more. She developed a niche expertise in the area of E treaty trade and investor visas, consular processing, and start-up ventures. Through strategic planning and by offering creative solutions, she has assisted with the seamless transfer of numerous workers world-wide. She is also an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Ms. Sukkars honors include being named Best Lawyers of America in Immigration Law since 2015, as well as, Super Lawyers in Immigration Law since 2012, DBusiness Top Lawyers, and Leading Lawyers 2018. In addition, she has been selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and Michigan State Bar Foundation, where membership is limited to only 1% and 5% respectively of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. In June 2015, she was appointed to the State of Michigans Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. She also serves on the Board of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. Since 2005, Ms. Sukkar has served on the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan state and regional boards and is currently a Past President. Ms. Sukkar received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from Wayne State University Law School.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 475 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas and 16 industry groups. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has 19 offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and 12 other domestic offices in Austin and El Paso, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville and Music Row, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canadian office is located in Toronto.

Dickinson Wright offers our clients a distinctive combination of superb client service, exceptional quality, value for fees, industry expertise and business acumen. As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, Dickinson Wright has built state-of-the-art, independently-verified risk management controls and security processes for our commercial transactions. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited for their expertise and experience by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk customized for Senator McCain "This is a great way to pay tribute to true war hero, public servant and American patriot. I think Senator McCain would be pleased to know that this A-4 Skyhawk, with his name on it, is being used to train United States Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Air National Guard War Fighters.

Draken International paid tribute to the late Senator McCain this week by personalizing one of their Douglas A-4 Skyhawks with the late senators name on the aircrafts fuselage. As a Navy Captain, John McCain flew Douglas A-4 Skyhawks during the Vietnam War. On his twenty-third bombing mission during Operation Rolling Thunder in October 1967, he was shot down over Hanoi and subsequently endured five and a half years as a prisoner of war.

After learning of the Senators unfortunate passing, U.S. Marine Capt. Ernesto Carlos Howard (Ret.) presented the idea of memorializing McCains name on one of the Draken A-4 Skyhawks. Draken leadership fully embraced the project. This is a great way to pay tribute to true war hero, public servant and American patriot. I think Senator McCain would be pleased to know that this A-4 Skyhawk, with his name on it, is being used to train United States Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Air National Guard War Fighters, said Jared Isaacman, CEO of Draken International.

The J. S. McCain III Draken A-4 Skyhawks first mission commences this week in Nevada at Naval Air Station Fallon, in support of the U.S. Navys Top Gun School. Draken was recently awarded a new task order to provide close air support training for the United States Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (NAWDC). Operating the only remaining fleet of Douglas A-4 Skyhawks in the United States, Draken is able to employ training ordnance with pinpoint accuracy using sophisticated avionics and highly skilled former-military pilots. This unique service results in considerable cost savings for the USN and preserves organic assets, such as the F/A-18, while still achieving necessary training.

The A-4K Skyhawks are uniquely configured to meet close air support training missions. The advanced A-4s include a modern pulse Doppler radar, counter-measures, Heads Up Display (HUD), HOTAS, inert ordinance delivery, long endurance, low operating costs, and other modern avionics that deliver advanced capabilities with military accuracy. The speed and maneuverability of the A-4 Skyhawk give the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) trainee the same real time delivery of aircraft currently operated by the U.S. Navy, similar to the F/A-18.

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk had a long and illustrious service life for both the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Fleet Composite Squadron VC-8, the Navys last operator of Skyhawk aircraft, deactivated their TA-4Js in 2003 after the closure of the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility.

For more information about Draken International, visit http://www.drakenintl.com.

About Draken International

Based in Lakeland, Florida, Draken International has set a new standard in tactical flight support. With a fleet of over 150 fighter aircraft, the company operates the largest privately-owned fleet of ex-military aircraft in the world. The aircraft are used to support various types of military training objectives around the globe, providing a tremendous cost savings over the use of traditional military fighter assets. For additional information, visit http://www.drakenintl.com.
Our New Logo Entara is about a journey to the future... [and] our promise is that every company we partner with will be prepared to face their IT future brilliantly.

Fast-growing IT managed services provider, YJT Solutions, today announced their new corporate name and brand identity, along with new business process automation services. The new name, entara, and tagline, The Smarter Way Forward, Today, Tomorrow and Beyond, reflect the companys commitment to fully support their clients IT journeys from today into the future.

The inspiration for our name came from both The Hill of Tara in Ireland, a historic high perch offering a 360 view, and the star Antares, one of the brightest stars in the sky, says entara CEO and founder, Linda Maclachlan. Entara is about a journey to the future. By leveraging emerging technology, our customized roadmap process for each client leads us from their IT environments of today, into the best-in-class platforms and process automation of tomorrow, and then, into the next-gen technologies that will define the future business world. Our promise is that every company we partner with will be prepared to face their IT future brilliantly.

In addition to renaming the 17-year old company, entara can now offer clients a fully-managed, pre-built, customizable ServiceNow platform with automated integrations to other leading toolsets. Our new entaraWorks platform will help our clients on their journey into the future by bringing simplification, organization, and automation into a powerful single system of engagement, says entara president, Pamela Diaz. Theres nothing else quite like entaraWorks in the managed services world today.

Focused on the importance of creating a technological roadmap into the future, the entara website explains each of its various IT services. Visitors are encouraged to explore the site and sign up for informational emails, newsletters, and invitations to entaras Breakfast Series at http://www.entaracorp.com.

About entara

Entara partners with strategic IT leaders to bring traction to the IT journey into the future by leveraging an IT roadmap process, a customizable ServiceNow ITSM platform, 24x7x365 Help Desk and Infrastructure Management, SD-WAN solutions, AWS and Azure expertise, business process automation, and a practical vision of the future of IT for the mid-market. Located in downtown Chicago, entara sets the new standard of IT managed services and future readiness. To learn more, visit http://www.entaracorp.com, or call 312-920-1551.
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ in downtown Frederick has completed a building project adding 8,000 square feet of new and renovated space. The ERUCC Downtown Community Room is approximately 4,000 square feet of new space and will accommodate a group of 210 at round tables and 350 theater style. The Community Room also boasts a state of the art audio-visual system with built in speakers and wi-fi capability.

The space includes a new commercial kitchen and five breakout rooms. Also added was a new nursery, staffed with a licensed childcare provider, available in the evening and weekends if a group has childcare needs.

There are also 12 parking spaces available for those renting the space and a beautifully paved and landscaped back patio if you desire a small outdoor event.

The Downtown Community Room is located at 15 West Church Street, Frederick MD 21701. Direct inquiries can be made to Amy Aguilar at 301-662-2762 or AAguilar (at) erucc (dot) org.

About the Company. ERUCC is an Open and Affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, welcoming all, respecting our rich heritage as one of Fredericks oldest downtown churches, and serving the present as a leader in social action and service to the community
I wanted to bring the nail salon business to a different level, offering something that was fresh, different and innovative, explains Tjay Nguyen, the founder of Fanalux.

They say that the retail industry is about the five Fs  food, fun, fitness, furniture and fashion. Its no mistake that Fanalux  a new mobile nail salon concept  combines two of them, covering fashion and fun, but theyve also added some Fs with fast and fresh.

I wanted to bring the nail salon business to a different level, offering something that was fresh, different and innovative, explains Tjay Nguyen, the founder of Fanalux. I was aware of the on-the-go trend in retail, but incorporating that with nail services has not been done yet. So, we wanted to tap into that business and be one of the first frontiers in the nail kiosk industry.

Nguyens foray into nail salons was inspired by friends who worked in the industry and shared their insights on everything from employees to customers, and products to sanitation issues. Nguyen didnt have a background in the business, but bolstered by what he learned from colleagues, he traveled to 36 states across the U.S. to study and learn about the nail industry so he could explore the issues it faced.

It turns out Nguyen had picked the perfect time to launch his mobile nail salon business. His unique concept was further supported by findings in KPMGs 2018 study on Global Retail Trends, which cited that customer experience is more important than ever, noting that it will overtake price and product as a key differentiator by 2020. Plus, the rise of the conscious consumer  which Nguyen was addressing through eco-friendly services and product  is being driven by millennials. KPMGs report highlights a study from Nielsen that notes 73% of millennial consumers are willing to spend more on conscious and sustainable brands. More so than any other generation, theyre driven to spend their money with companies who are eco-minded and practice sustainability, show strong ethical behavior, and offer transparency.

Even more impressive is the retail market share controlled by the beauty industry. Fung Global Retail and Technology released stats showing that beauty specialist stores grew their market share from 12% to 14.3% from 2011 to 2016 on a national level, and is "on the cusp of overtaking drugstores to become the second-biggest channel, behind supermarkets." According to CNBC, the market for beauty and personal care is valued at $465 billion globally, of which the U.S. counts $86 billion  and its expected to grow to $750 billion by 2024.

But as much as the market supported Nguyens vision for a mobile, waterless nail salon that was sterile, eco-friendly, and easily scheduled into anyones busy day, he didnt have much support from friends or family to make his dream a reality. As Nguyen puts it, People said I couldnt make it happen  that it was impossible to do a nail kiosk that was waterless, offered express service, and used technology in the form of an app for people to make bookings. On top of that, Nguyen also lacked the financial support to get his idea off the ground.

Enter the Orange County Small Business Development Center (SBDC), part of the Orange County Inland Empire SBDC Network hosted by California State University, Fullerton. Nguyen connected with consultant Katie Nguyen, who helped him through every stage of launching Fanalux. It was through his partnership with the SBDC that Nguyen got connected to Uniti Bank, who helped with financing. The SBDC also introduced Nguyen to Advanced Beauty College, where he was able to find the staff who would care for his eventual clientele. He was also able to get marketing support to help get the word out about Fanalux and its fast, high-quality service mission.

Support was one of the most important things Nguyen got from working with the SBDC. When I met Katie, she listened to all my concerns and gave me advice about the business and teamwork, along with a lot of valuable connections, he shares. They helped me save a lot of time and money by pointing me in the right direction, connecting me with the right people and valuable resources. But Katie also helped me on a personal level as well. She supported me, motivated me; she was my friend more than my consultant and gave me encouragement and strength.

And it paid off. The grand opening of Fanalux was on August 3rd, which Nguyen calls a great success, and our special day together with the SBDC. Countless customers descended on the Fanalux kiosk to experience everything from a 15-minute Manilux for $15, to a 55-minute Gel Lux Combo taking care of hands and feet for just $50. Fanalux clients can now easily book their appointments by downloading an app that allows them to select a time with 24-hours advance notice, and even use it to check in for their appointment when they arrive.

As Nguyen looks toward Fanaluxs future, hes reflecting on his time with the SBDC, which he calls a wonderful experience. And he wants everyone to know not only how valuable they were to Fanalux, but also how helpful they can be to other small business owners just like him.

Small business owners should definitely come to the SBDC for help, even if they think they dont need help, he explains. The people at the SBDC are resourceful and they have a ton of good connections that will save a lot of headaches and problems if you have their assistance.

The SBDC has played a very important role in the launch of Fanalux, Nguyen adds. We hope to expand in future locations and that the SBDC will continue to be with us on this journey.

For more information on Fanalux, and to get details on how to download the app and book an appointment, please visit fanalux.com.

For additional information about how to request a no cost, no catch appointment with the Orange County Inland Empire SBDC Network or register for an upcoming business workshop please visit: ociesmallbusiness.org or contact us at 1(800) 616-7232.

The Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Network (OCIE SBDC) offers no cost business consulting and low-cost training to current business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Our team of consultants is ready to assist in a variety of areas like: start up assistance, debt and equity funding, attracting and retaining customers, international trade and technology commercialization. For additional information contact us at 1 (800) 616-SBDC (7232) or ociesmallbusiness.org.

The OCIE SBDC Network is hosted by California State University, Fullerton and funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. All programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.
During the first half of 2018, Fides onboarded 35 new customers and extended or expanded contracts with an additional 70 clients.

Fides Treasury Services Ltd., the global leader in multi-bank connectivity and communications, today announced that during the first half of 2018 it onboarded 35 new customers and extended or expanded contracts with an additional 70 clients.

Over the past year, Fides has increased the volume of account statements it processes daily by 16.1 percent, leading to more than 210,000 end-of-day statements. The company has also increased its volume of initiated payments by 36.7 percent. Fides currently manages an annual payments volume of $4.3 trillion CHF, or approximately $4.44 trillion USD.

Net-new direct customers include Jumbo-Markt AG, Suhner (Otto Suhner AG), Whitecliff Investment Management BV, Concord Resources Ltd., Bucherer AG, Royal Reesink, Akris AG, and Gulf Company Ltd. (GAC). The company also added ten new joint customers with its TMS and ERP partners.

Customers that expanded their relationships with Fides include Trafigura, Ricola, Greif Coordination Center BVBA, Hastens, Etexco SA, Michael Kors, and Holcim Group.

More than 150 customers and partners from around the globe, including a number of new customers, attended the annual Fides Conference on Aug. 24. The full-day event, which took place near Fides headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, covered topics ranging from improving the payment services customer experience, to new ways of working in treasury, the evolution of digital finance and the future of blockchain and cross-border payments.

In addition to receiving insights into Fides product roadmap and innovation plans, attendees heard from representatives from CashForce, Credit Suisse, Ernst & Young, ION Treasury Group and Ripple. The conferences educational content closed with a panel session on Innovation, Evolution and Revolution, where these diverse presenters shared their thoughts on the radical changes taking place within the financial services industry.

During the events awards ceremony, Fides honored several partners for outstanding service. Reval was named Best TMS Provider 2017, Sage won Best ERP Provider 2017, and Credit Suisse received the award for Best Referral Partner. A number of customers new to Fides in 2017 were recognized with New Joiner awards for relationship excellence.

Building strong relationships is very important to us at Fides, said Simon Kaufmann, Fides Head, Client Relations and Marketing. Implementing customized multi-banking solutions requires teamwork, and our clients and partners deserve public recognition for all the time and effort they put in.

Fides recently launched a new web page featuring customer logos and case studies, to showcase its clients success stories and help other corporate treasurers learn how their peers are using multi-banking solutions, the challenges they have faced, and how they overcame those challenges to achieve success.

In order to provide the highest levels of customer service possible, Fides is actively hiring additional staff across multiple disciplines, including engineering, project management, and client relations. In the past few months the multi-banking solutions firm brought on senior product manager Thomas Berndt to drive the vision and strategy for the industry-leading Fides multi-banking product portfolio, and recently announced the hire of Dr. Alexander Runge as its new chief information officer.

ABOUT FIDES

Fides is the global leader in multi-bank connectivity and transaction communications.

With the industrys largest bank connectivity network, Fides helps over 3,000 active clients communicate with more than 10,000 banks globally. Our geographic reach spans 170 countries across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions.

Committed to helping corporations optimally connect and interact with their banks for over a century, Fides solutions deliver critical multi-bank account statement, payment workflow and reporting capabilities that allow treasury and finance teams to easily, accurately and securely communicate with their banks through any possible channel such as SWIFT, EBICS, SFTP or any alternative network.

Press Contact: Please email marketing(at)fides.ch for all press inquiries
Foothills Painting

Foothills Painting is the high-quality painting option when it comes to residential and commercial painting projects. Providing customers in Fort Collins with a top notch painting service as well as a strong focus on customer service, which is why the company is expanding into Wellington CO. The growth of Foothills within the Colorado region has led the company to expand the service area to include other cities around the Fort Collins area. The owners believed it was time to expand their services so that the residents in these areas would have better quality painting services. Eric Barstow, one of the owners of Foothills Painting, says, It is our goal to be the best painters in the Front Range region of Colorado. Expanding into these areas will meet the goals and provide customers with a quality painting company to meet the customer's painting needs. Since 2010, the owners of Foothills have had a vision of growing the company to expand across Colorado as well as the United States. By visiting https://foothillspatining.co customers will be able to see all of the different services areas Foothills serves. This would include other services areas in Colorado such as Superior, Thornton, Westminster, Firestone, Frederick, Berthoud, Severance, Lyons, Louisville and Brighton.

At Foothills Painting, the services offered are of the highest quality. Providing interior and exterior painting services for residents and businesses, Foothills focuses on providing experienced painters to meet the clients painting needs. These painters have years of experience and training which helps with attention to detail, attention of taking care of the home, and providing a professional painting finish. Customers of Foothills will receive a free painting estimate as well as a free color consultation. The company has chosen to set itself apart by having a color consultant on the team. This gives clients the confidence of moving forward with the colors for the painting project. The company seeks to make the customers experience professional and enjoyable. The owners focus on providing strong customer service is second to none in the region. The companys painting process begins with a walk through to determine the needs of the homeowner. Next, the company provides a thorough preparation process as well as a detailed paint job to meet the needs and expectations of the client. Following the painting service, the company will walk through with the client focused on customer satisfaction.

About Foothills Painting Company: Offering a premier residential and commercial painting, customers in the state of Colorado. Having established the National Painting Group, the owners seek to train and equip other painting professionals to have a dynamic painting company. With a mindset towards growth, the company continues to serve the vision and goals as the business expands into local service areas.

For more information, please visit Foothills website where clients will find all of the information needed to help with new painting projects.

Foothills Painting

1730 S. College Ave.,

Fort Collins, CO 80525
The Founders Achievement Award is presented to an Evansville Day School alumnus/a who has distinguished professional achievement, leadership, service to the community in which they reside, and commitment to Evansville Day School. "

Attorney Gayle Gerling Pettinga, a 1980 graduate of Evansville Day School, was recently nominated and selected to receive the Founders Achievement Award because of her ongoing support and leadership of Evansville Day School, according to information released by the school. Gerling Pettinga was chosen for her philanthropic commitments to the Evansville community and her outstanding achievements in the field of personal injury law. She joins four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist William Snyder (1977) in becoming a member of the schools prestigious Founders Society.

The Society was established in 2017 to honor the achievements of alumni of Evansville Day School. According to the schools website, The Founders Achievement Award is presented to an Evansville Day School alumnus/a who has distinguished professional achievement, leadership, service to the community in which they reside, and commitment to Evansville Day School. Nominees should demonstrate a positive impact on a local, state, national, or international level and be of high integrity and character.

Evansville Day School, a private, independent school for K-12, is located on a 40-acre campus at 3400 North Green River Road, Evansville, IN. The school was founded in 1946, beginning with only seven students, with the goal to provide a student-centered, and academically rigorous college-preparatory education. The school serves approximately 300 students presently. In 2015, the Sieboldt Innovation Lab was created as a major component of Day Schools vision of Experiential Education in the 21st Century.

The Evansville Courier & Press quotes Gerling Pettinga in a 2013 article as saying, I learned as a child that an adult who simply notices and values a child will have an amazingly positive influence on that childs life. Gerling Pettinga tells how her first-grade teacher told her the first time they met that she knew she was going to be a good student and that she hoped she would be in her class. I believed her, Gerling Pettinga said, and fulfilled her ambitions for me, and I have tried to follow her example.

In addition to her obvious achievements, it was reported that in college Gerling Pettinga interned for former Vice President Al Gore, Jr., when he was a mere congressman from Tennessee. She also admitted, I love fly-fishing. . . .The challenge of getting a trout to take your fly forces you to be patient and slow down.

About Gerling Law

For over five decades, Gerling Law has pursued justice and fair compensation for people who have been injured by someones actions or neglect, along with people who can no longer support themselves because of an illness or injury. Practice areas include personal injury, medical malpractice and Social Security disability. Gerling Law has four locations: 519 Main Street, Evansville, IN 47708; 120 East Market Street, Suite 1271, Indianapolis, IN 46204; 4965 U.S. Highway 42, Suite 1000, Louisville, KY 40222; and 2645 Frederica Street, Suite 200-A, Owensboro, KY 42301. For more information, please call (888) 437-5464, or visit http://www.gerlinglaw.com.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
We are very excited to have GroGuru participate in our event and demonstrate their innovative technology for precision irrigation monitoring.

GroGuru demonstrates its next generation wireless underground sensor technology at the Irrigation Innovation Consortium research demo and meeting today. Earlier this year, the Consortium, which is composed of five universities and five industry partners, was awarded $5 million collectively to launch a research program to increase water and energy efficiency. Fresno State and other consortium partners have also matched the grant with an additional $5 million donation to bring the total investment to $10 million over five years.

We are faced with a global crisis where there are already 800 million chronically undernourished people in the world today, and we need to increase our food production by 70 percent by the year 2050 just to keep pace with population growth, said Patrick Henry, president and CEO of GroGuru. With 70 percent of the worlds fresh water supply already being used for agriculture irrigation, we need new technologies to allow farmers to more efficiently use water, increase crop yields, and do so in a more sustainable way, while still staying in business. Initiatives like the Irrigation Innovation Consortium, innovative technologies from companies like GroGuru, and our forward-thinking farming community are essential for addressing this critical global issue.

GroGurus 100% wireless solution includes soil sensors that can transmit wirelessly when buried in the soil. This results in permanent installs of soil sensors, where they have battery life of five to ten years. There is no need to remove the soil sensors at the time of harvest and put them back later. There is also no need for farmers to modify their cultivation operations to work around the soil sensors. All of this is very desirable especially for the broad acre row crops.

We expect this collaboration of university and industry researchers will help producers and the irrigation community to continue to be more efficient in food production and water management  something the Central Valley prides itself on in being a leader nationally, says Dr. David Zoldoske, project manager for Fresno State. Our campus water and energy technology researchers and facilities can provide critical leadership in the areas of field and laboratory testing, materials, proof of concept, prototype development and value engineering. We are very excited to have GroGuru participate in our event and demonstrate their innovative technology for precision irrigation monitoring.

About GroGuru

GroGuru, Inc. is a privately held company based in San Diego, CA focused on enabling farmers to optimally use water and fertilizer with an innovative hardware-enabled Software as a Service (Saas) solution. The GroGuru solution is analogous to giving growers X-Ray vision to the water in the ground. For more information, visit the GroGuru website at http://www.groguru.com.

About Irrigation Innovation Consortium

The consortium prioritizes remote sensing and big data applications for improving water management, irrigation technology acceleration and technology transfer. The universities included in the partnership are California State University, Fresno; Colorado State University; Kansas State University; University of Nebraska and Texas A&M University. The five industry partners include Jain Irrigation, Rubicon Water, the Irrigation Association, Lindsay Corporation and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.
Cover of "Managing the Next Financial Crisis: An Assessment of Emergency Arrangements in the Major Economies"

Ten years on from the start of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, extensive reforms, including substantially more conservative capital and liquidity regulations, will help create more stable and resilient financial systems in the major economies. The reforms also provide promising new tools for resolution and restructuring. But the new prudential safeguards focus primarily on the traditional banking sector, and less on the range of other financial institutions and sources of credit that were such critical points of weakness in the global financial crisis, and central banks have a diminished ability to respond swiftly and effectively to a financial crisis of a systemic nature, the Group of Thirty (G30) said today.

The G30, a forum of leaders in international finance, today released Managing the Next Financial Crisis: An Assessment of Emergency Arrangements in the Major Economies. The report specifically addresses the following two questions: 1.) Do authorities have the tools available to fight the next financial crisis when it strikes? and 2.) What can be done now to adapt or adjust these tools to make crisis fighting more effective?

Overall, the post-crisis shift in emergency powers of governments and central banks has improved the ability to deal with failures of individual institutions and modest shocks to the financial system, but it has reduced the flexibility to deal with a systemic crisis, said Timothy Geithner, Co-Chair of the G30 Emergency Mechanisms and Authorities Working Group, President of Warburg Pincus, and former Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury. This weakness is particularly acute in the case of international contagion, and for systemic events that originate in the shadow banking system. Of greatest concern, some of the tools available to fight extreme crises, when and if they recur, have been weakened, especially in the United States.

Our biggest concerns involve complacency and migration, said Guillermo Ortiz, Co-Chair of the G30 Emergency Mechanisms and Authorities Working Group, Partner and Member of the Board at BTG Pactual, and former Governor of the Banco de Mexico. We believe that the new preventative frameworks, when fully implemented, make a crisis in the traditional, regulated banking sector less likely, but the likelihood is still not zero and never can be. Central banks in developed and emerging markets need to have the necessary tools to respond to banking crises. And it is not enough to fight the last crisis. The next financial crisis will likely come from a new source. Are our regulators prepared for the next crisis? Cyber risks are one often-cited emergent risk. The more general concern, however, is that the central banks and supervisors may not be placing enough emphasis on preparing for new types of emergent risks.

G30 Emergency Mechanism and Authorities Working Group Vice-Chair Axel Weber, Chairman of UBS Group AG and Former President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, added, While providing important new options for dealing with failing financial institutions not available during the global financial crisis (GFC), the newly developed resolution and restructuring framework remains largely untested. Even when fully implemented and working as designed, the new preventative frameworks and resolution and restructuring regimes, by themselves, may not be enough to handle all crises. These new systems need to be supplemented by a workable set of intervention tools available to the authorities to deploy in extreme or systemic crises, with appropriate accountability for their use. Since all crises are different, authorities should be equipped with the flexibility to quickly adapt in an escalating crisis, mindful of issues of political legitimacy and the need to coordinate with other government agencies. And while European central banks retain considerable emergency powers, questions remain as to the effectiveness of those mechanisms when faced with a severe broad-based crisis. 

Mr. Geithner, Dr. Ortiz, and Dr. Weber led the Steering Committee of the G30 Working Group on Emergency Mechanisms and Authorities, supported by 13 working group members. Andrew Metrick, the Janet L. Yellen Professor of Finance and Management at Yale University, served as project director. In producing the report, project staff, working under the supervision of the G30 Steering Committee, collected and evaluated empirical evidence from the GFC, and conducted approximately 30 interviews with prominent experts on the emergency tools available to policymakers in the event of a financial crisis. Interviewees included both current and former senior officials at central banks and regulatory agencies, and leaders from the legal communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia.

The report offers a discussion of conclusions and recommendations for preventing future financial crises, on the resolution and restructuring efforts that have been developed post-GFC, and on available emergency tools. It also contains appendices on major legal challenges following the GFC, an overview of resolution and restructuring regimes, central bank lending and asset purchases, and emergency powers for guarantees and capital injections.

The Group of Thirty, formally known as The Consultative Group on International Economic and Monetary Affairs, Inc. was founded in 1978. The Group of Thirty is an independent, nonprofit, international body composed of senior representatives of the public and private sectors and academia. The Group aims to deepen understanding of international economic and financial issues, to explore the international repercussions of decisions taken in the public and private sectors, and to examine the choices available to market practicioners and to policymakers. The Group is led by Jacob A. Frenkel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Chairman of the Group.

G30 Media Briefing: At 9:00am EDT on September 6, 2018, the G30 convened a live webcast press conference with Timothy Geithner, Guillermo Ortiz, Axel Weber, and Andrew Metrick. After delivering opening remarks on specific topics addressed in the G30 Managing the Next Financial Crisis report, Mr. Geithner, Dr. Ortiz, Dr. Weber, and Dr. Metrick answered journalists questions about the report. To view a replay of the webcast, please go to: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1789650/0AB686DB7E77D428DE0D8DEF0A4F2157

For more on the G30, and to download todays report, please go to http://www.group30.org
IMP is proud to bring a diverse workforce to our clients projects. Achieving and maintaining gender balance requires a commitment, even for a woman-owned firm such as ours, said Jane Stabile, President and CEO of IMP.

IMP today announced national certification as a Womens Business Enterprise (WBE) by the Center for Women & Enterprise, a regional certifying partner of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

The woman-owned and operated business was founded in 2004 by Jane Stabile, President and CEO, to streamline the implementation of trading and compliance systems. Under Ms. Stabiles leadership, IMP can count among its clients 4 of the top 10 global asset management firms in the industry.

WBENC is the largest certifier of women-owned businesses in the U.S. and a leading advocate for women business owners and entrepreneurs. Its programs and policies are designed to expand opportunities and eliminate barriers in the marketplace for women business owners. WBENC works with corporate representatives to encourage the use and expansion of Supplier Diversity programs.

IMP is proud to bring a diverse workforce to our clients projects. Achieving and maintaining gender balance requires a commitment, even for a woman-owned firm such as ours, said Jane Stabile, President and CEO of IMP. Were always looking across the organization - including areas like recruiting and team managementto uncover where we can make improvements. Were also seeing asset management firms strive for better gender balance on their boards and amongst their senior management, with many of them prioritizing their commitment to supplier diversity as a tool to actively pursue gender equality.

Kristi Feinzig, Director of IMP, commented, Jane has always shown that it doesn't matter if you are a man or woman in the capital markets business. By leading and inspiring the women in the firm to stand out in a room full of male counterparts, she has given the women in the firm the opportunity to prove that gender doesn't matter. By mentoring and encouraging the women at IMP, she has developed a culture that promotes women and men as equals.

WBENCs national standard of certification is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women.

About IMP

IMP is the industry leader in OMS implementation and compliance solutions for buy-side asset management firms. Known for their deep subject matter expertise in Trade Order Management, Compliance, Performance and Accounting Systems, IMP's consultants understand the commercial landscape and have broad, hands-on experience with the world's leading investment software products. To learn more, please visit http://www.impconsults.com or call (617) 314-7415.

About WBENC

Founded in 1997, WBENC is the nations leader in womens business development and the leading third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women, with more than 13,000 certified Womens Business Enterprises, 14 national Regional Partner Organizations, and over 300 Corporate Members. More than 1,000 corporations representing Americas most prestigious brands as well as many states, cities, and other entities accept WBENC Certification. For more information, visit http://www.wbenc.org.
30800 Telegraph Road, Bingham Farms, MI 48025 Infinity has built a solid reputation as an industry leader in building high-performance programs that go beyond their clients current revenue targets and achieve, what we have labeled, a New 100% revenue goal.

Cedar Rapids-based Infinity, Inc. announced today that they have opened the doors of their 17,000 square-foot, Class A facility in Oakland County, MI. The sales center, located within the Bingham Office Center at 30800 Telegraph in Bingham Farms, will be the new home to more than 200 Infinity employees who will support clients from across the United States, managing a variety of lead generation, customer retention, acquisition sales and account management programs. This new state-of-the-art facility reflects Infinitys commitment to excellence, and demonstrates to their rapidly growing client base how their Buyerlytics methodology leads to what Infinity calls the New 100% revenue goal.

The Class A facility has been completely renovated over the past several months to feature elegant design elements; leading-edge technology; inspirational collaboration and meeting spaces; cafeteria; green spaces; ample parking; and more. By bringing strong leadership and cross-functional teams together, the new facility will foster teamwork and encourage a more collaborative, cross-functional environment that will ultimately enhance the employee and customer experience.

Designed with energy and excellence in mind, this new facility has consciously brought Infinitys 10X philosophy and Get Customers, Keep Customers mission elements into the space while enhancing Infinitys work hard, play hard culture, as well as energizing and exciting employees to continue to meet and exceed goals.

With Tom Leidigh, Infinitys Chief Executive Officer, Founder and Owner at the helm, the company understands what it takes to build an award-winning inside sales and service agency. As a recognized leader in execution and methodologies for inside sales, Toms primary focus is on industry leadership, expansion strategies, channel relationships and new company capabilities.

Infinity has built a solid reputation as an industry leader in building high-performance programs that go beyond their clients current revenue targets and achieve, what we have labeled, a New 100% revenue goal, Leidigh states.

Infinitys strategic, data-driven, consultative approach to building out high-performance client programs leads us to understand why their tagline reads Get Customers, Keep Customers. Infinitys approach to the client relationship is one that is foundationally built on a collaborative partnership, a partnership that not only provides clients with best practices and above-average industry standards, but one built on integrity, transparency and openly sharing years of insights and experiences with clients. This approach has defined Infinity as best-in-class, and earned them recognition by a highly prominent and globally recognizable client as the Innovation Center for its program pilots and launches.

With more than 22 years in business and three US locations, today's announcement reinforces Infinity's continued investment in Michigan. This latest investment will allow Infinity to employ over 450 people in the Metro Detroit market, rivaling their state-of-the-art headquarters in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Jay Davey, Infinitys President, shares, We knew that as we began to grow we wanted to place our flagship facility in Metro Detroit, and we have found a great home in Bingham Farms. The extraordinary talent we have been able to locate in Southeastern Michigan over the last five years made this investment a no-brainer, and continues to open up diversified career paths for our employees in all three of our locations. Our talent comes from all over Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties, but they filter from Michigans outstanding collegiate campuses and refined business community. As such, Infinity is not only able to provide clients with best-in-class service, but also best-in-class staffing though our highly skilled, in-house recruiting professionals and strategic staffing partners.

About Infinity

Infinity, Inc. is an award-winning inside sales and service agency that partners with companies to Get Customers and Keep Customers. We take a highly consultative approach to building high-performance programs that go beyond current revenue targets and achieve the New 100% goal.

Visit http://www.infinitydelivers.com for more information.
Insigniam co-founding partners, Shideh Sedgh Bina and Nathan Owen Rosenberg Sr. What started as two men and a woman committed to building a meritocracy culture now has 50 percent women ownership, with five out of our ten partners being women. said Shideh Sedgh Bina, Insginams co-founding partner.

The Healthcare Businesswomens Association (HBA) is pleased to announce Insigniam as a winner of the 2018 HBA ACE Award. The ACE Award will be presented on November, 5 at the 2018 HBA Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.

HBAs Advancement, Commitment and Engagement (ACE) award recognizes companies committed to ensuring that gender diversity and leadership opportunities for women are part of their organizational DNA. The 2018 honorees will join an elite group of organizations that are committed to realizing the full potential of their female talent pool by fostering programs that deliver impactful and measurable results. said Laurie P. Cooke, HBAs chief executive officer.

Whats clear is that gender parity is a business issue, not a womens issue, said Nathan Owen Rosenberg, Sr., Insigniams co-founding partner. Insigniam would like to congratulate KPMG and Pfizer for being recognized alongside of us in 2018.

A panel of industry leaders and academics judged entrants against five criteria: measurable results and impact on target population; degree to which it supports the overall business performance; stewardship; effectiveness of the execution; built-in sustainability; and measurable results.

What started as two men and a woman committed to building a meritocracy culture now has 50 percent women ownership, with five out of our ten partners being women. said Shideh Sedgh Bina, Insginams co-founding partner. The commitment has delivered results for us beyond what we think would have been possible if we were all men or all women; the answer is parity, not homogeny.

Insigniam joins a prestigious group of past winners that include Quintiles, Bristol-Myers Squibb, athenahealth, Baxter, Quest Diagnostics, Abbott, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, and Bayer.

About The HBA

The Healthcare Businesswomens Association (HBA) is in its fourth decade as a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to furthering the advancement of women in healthcare worldwide. With 15 chapters throughout the US and in Europe, HBA serves a community of 20,000 individuals and 100 Corporate Partners. The HBA provides networking forums to build relationships; knowledge sharing and access to thought leaders to broaden perspective; educational programs to develop leadership skills and cutting edge industry knowledge and recognition of outstanding women and companies to promote visibility of their achievements. For more information, visit http://www.hbanet.org

About Insigniam

Insigniam has over 30 years of experience working with large, complex organizations in generating breakthroughs in their management resultswhether that be in topline growth, strategy implementation, improving profitability, or culture change. Insigniam pioneered the field of organization transformation by marrying breakthrough performance and innovation, thus creating services and solutions that are unparalleled in their potency to quickly create dramatic growth. Clients have documented, in aggregate, more than 50x ROI in management results considered critical and essential to the success of their enterprises. Insigniam solutions include Enterprise Transformation, Breakthrough Projects, Transformational Leadership, and Managing Change. Offices are located in Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Paris and Philadelphia.

To learn more about Insigniam and its breakthrough consultants, visit them online at http://www.insigniam.com.
With Tracys vast expertise, history and knowledge of our industry, we are confident that he will be able to deliver stronger partnerships, better alignment and improved communications and support to our franchisees, said Larry Kraska, Interim HealthCare Inc. CEO and President.

Interim HealthCare Inc., a leading national franchisor of home care, hospice and healthcare staffing, today announced the appointment of Tracy Clark to Chief Operating Officer (COO) for Interim HealthCare Inc.

Tracy joined the company in 2017 as Senior Vice President of Operations and Sales, where he drove multiple efforts resulting in operational improvements, owner acquisition support and product line expansion. In his role as COO, he will continue to identify, operationalize and drive strategic key initiatives amongst the Interim HealthCare network to position the company for continued growth and success.

With Tracys vast expertise, history and knowledge of our industry, we are confident that he will be able to deliver stronger partnerships, better alignment and improved communications and support to our franchisees, said Larry Kraska, Interim HealthCare Inc. CEO and President.

Tracy brings over 25 years of health management experience in the fields of outpatient physical rehabilitation, orthopedic physician practice management, ambulatory surgery center development and home health. He previously held positions as president and principal at Triple Threat Management, as CEO at Family Private Care and Ambassador Health Services, and as executive vice president at OMNI Home Care.

I am excited to continue my work with Interim HealthCare Inc. during a time when the need for home healthcare is rapidly expanding, said Clark. My commitment remains strong in working in tandem with our franchise owners to best support business line development and growth.

About Interim HealthCare Inc.

Interim HealthCare Inc., founded in 1966, is a leading national franchisor of home care, hospice and healthcare staffing. It is part of Caring Brands International, which also includes UK-based Bluebird Care and Australia-based Just Better Care, both well-known franchise brands in their countries. With more than 530 franchise locations in seven countries, Caring Brands International is a global health care leader.

Interim HealthCare in the United States is unique in combining the commitment of local ownership with the support of a national organization that develops innovative programs and quality standards that improve the delivery of service. Franchisees employ nurses, therapists, aides, companions and other healthcare professionals who provide 25 million hours of home care service to 190,000 people each year, meeting a variety of home health, senior care, hospice, palliative care, pediatric care and healthcare staffing needs. For more information or to locate an Interim HealthCare office, visit http://www.interimhealthcare.com.
Keynote speakers like Philip Halpin and James Gagliano combined with more than two dozen compelling SIA Education@ISC sessions create an exceptional content program for ISC East 2018.  Don Erickson, CEO, SIA

ISC East, sponsored by the Security Industry Association (SIA), is proud to announce not one, but two new keynote speakers for this years inaugural Keynote Series. The ISC East Keynote Series features leading members of the security industry who are well known for their widely respected accomplishments and who are prepared to help security and public safety professionals gain new perspectives in order to arm them with the information they need to lead the security industry into the future.

Featured in the Day 1 keynote on Nov. 14 titled Friend or Foe? Technology Disruption and the Physical Security Industry, Philip Halpin, senior vice president and head of global security for one of the countrys oldest and largest privately held financial firms, Brown Brothers Harriman, will speak on how he deals with the demands on security and people management while riding the wave of technology disruption. Halpin also plans to discuss how technology has changed how we work and live and how its clearly poised to disrupt the physical security industry.

Day 2s Keynote Series session on Nov. 15 will highlight James A. Gagliano, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, CNN law enforcement analyst and adjunct assistant professor at St. Johns University. Gaglianos session, titled Twenty-First Century Best Practices: Reporting From the Front Lines on How Law Enforcement and the Security Industry Are Confronting Emerging Threats, will discuss some of the 21st-century changes in law enforcement and security postures and address recent responses to contemporary challenges, such as active shooters, bombings, VIP protection and drone applications, by identifying and breaking down an ever-evolving threat matrix.

ISC East is honored to have Philip Halpin and James Gagliano as keynote speakers for our 2018 event. Their extensive experience managing real-world security and safety issues will be very valuable for our audience at the show.The ISC East Keynote Series spans from corporate and private sector security to law enforcement and public safety, reflecting essential content in line with our ISC Security Events theme of Comprehensive Security for a Safer, Connected World, said Will Wise, group vice president, security portfolio at Reed Exhibitions.

In addition to the Keynote Series, ISC East features SIA Education@ISC, an inspiring free education program composed of over 25 sessions that provide critical information on the newest and most relevant technologies in the industry. Brought to you by SIA, the SIA Education@ISC East program delivers all-new content on the most current business trends, technologies and latest developments in order to help security professionals learn from experts, keep up to date and take their security to the next level.

The security industry attends ISC East not only for the diversity of technology solutions on the show floor, but for the practical education and thought-provoking keynotes for which the event has become known, said Don Erickson, CEO of SIA. Keynote speakers like Philip Halpin and James Gagliano combined with more than two dozen compelling SIA Education@ISC sessions create an exceptional content program for ISC East 2018.

Taking place Nov. 14-15, 2018, at the Javits Center, ISC East is the Northeasts largest security trade show where over 7,000 security and public safety professionals convene in New York each year to meet experts from over 250 leading security brands through exhibits, education, networking events and more. New this year, ISC East will be co-located with Unmanned Security Expo and Infosecurity North America, creating a fully comprehensive event for the security industry in New York City.

For more information on the ISC East Keynote Series, keynote speakers and SIA Education@ISC or to register for this years event, visit isceast.com.

About ISC East

ISC East is the Northeast United States security industrys premier convention for new products, solutions and technologies. Each year, ISC East hosts international and domestic security product manufacturer companies and security professionals at New Yorks Javits Center. SIA is the sole sponsor of the ISC East event. The event is also proudly supported by the New York State Electronic Security Association, the New Jersey Electronic Security Association, the Connecticut Alarm & Systems Integrators Association and the Pennsylvania Burglar & Fire Alarm Association. The 2018 show will take place Nov. 14-15 at the Javits Center in New York. For more information or to register, visit isceast.com.

About Reed Exhibitions

Reed Exhibitions is the worlds leading events organizer, with over 500 events in over 30 countries. In 2016 Reed brought together over 7 million active event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business. Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organized by 41 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events and is part of RELX Group, a world-leading provider of professional information solutions. For more information, visit reedexpo.com.

About SIA

SIA (securityindustry.org) is the leading trade association for global security solution providers, with nearly 900 innovative member companies representing thousands of security leaders and experts who shape the future of the security industry. SIA protects and advances its members interests by advocating pro-industry policies and legislation at the federal and state levels, creating open industry standards that enable integration, advancing industry professionalism through education and training, opening global market opportunities and collaborating with other like-minded organizations. As a proud sponsor of ISC Events expos and conferences, SIA ensures its members have access to top-level buyers and influencers, as well as unparalleled learning and network opportunities. SIA also enhances the position of its members in the security marketplace through SIA GovSummit, which brings together private industry with government decision makers, and Securing New Ground, the security industrys top executive conference for peer-to-peer networking.
JBKnowledge to host touring ConTech Roadshow in Boston, September 12th The ConTech Roadshow is a great opportunity to learn about emerging technology in the construction industry, while also providing great networking opportunities with others in the industry.

What is a Mad Scientist? Is it a maniac toiling needlessly at wild ideas? Or a passionate person who will stop at nothing to discover the innovation to change the world? James Benham, CEO of JBKnowledge, professional speaker, and host of The ConTechCrew podcast, believes in the latter.

JBKnowledge brings a touring educational conference and tradeshow, The ConTech Roadshow, around the United States to share a wealth of leading-edge information about the ever-evolving construction industry. The industry has grown beyond the protractor and hammer and now boasts a dynamic arsenal of smart tools including virtual reality wearables, specialized apps for time tracking, and more, not to mention numerous technical trades that didnt exist a mere two decades ago.

Benhams aim with his presentation, Building a Mad Scientist, is to encourage construction professionals to become the champion of their companys technology adoption. If a research and development team or IT department doesnt exist within companies current structure, Benham teaches his audience the tools and language to create their own test lab and start the conversations to foster change.

The ConTech Roadshow by JBKnowledge will stop in Boston, September 12th. The one-day event is sponsored by the Mechanical Contractors Associations of America (MCAA) and National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and will feature booths and demonstrations from vendors including DeWalt, PlanGrid, Milwaukee Tools, Faro Technologies, eSub, Autodesk, SmartBid, Leica Geosystems, and more! In addition to James Benhams Mad Scientist discussion, attendees will be treated to sessions on BIM/VDC, mobile device management, and practical data security presented by stars of the AEC speaking circuit.

With prior stops in Texas, Seattle, and Kansas City this year, The ConTech Roadshow has inspired attendees to foster their inner construction technologist. The ConTech Roadshow is a great opportunity to learn about emerging technology in the construction industry, while also providing great networking opportunities with others in the industry, a prior Roadshow attendee explains.

Festivities kick off at The Hilton Boston/Woburn on September 12, 7:00am EST. All construction professionals and students are invited to attend. Be sure to secure your tickets at jbknowledge.com/roadshow.
Jon Kilgore, Project Executive, Gilbane Building Company Im honored to join this board of thought leaders ... that advance initiatives in the field of healthcare management to our esteemed membership.

Jon Kilgore, project executive for Gilbane Building Company in Orlando, was named the 2018-2019 Programs Chair of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Central Florida Chapter at the organizations monthly board meeting held at Florida Hospital Celebration.

The ACHE of Central Florida is the regional chapter representing the American College of Healthcare Executives, based in Chicago, IL. The board of directors and volunteer members are comprised of executive healthcare professionals committed to providing the experiences needed to achieve management excellence.

As a past attendee of ACHE educational programs, I realize the value and experience they provide for the attendees, said Jon Kilgore. Im honored to join this board of thought leaders and for the opportunity to play a part in bringing educational programs that advance initiatives in the field of healthcare management to our esteemed membership.

The Mission of the Chapter is to be the professional membership society for healthcare executives; to meet its members professional, educational and leadership needs; and to advance healthcare leadership and management excellence through professional interaction and promoting social collegiality. We proudly serve a geographic area that encompasses nine counties including Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard, Volusia, Indian River, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Lake Counties.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services  from pre-construction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build and facility management services  for clients across various markets. Founded in 1873 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has office locations around the world including seven in Florida. Gilbanes local Orlando office combines the benefits of full service operations capabilities, including in-house estimating, value engineering, scheduling, procurement, accounting and construction operations.

For more information, visit http://www.gilbaneco.com.
Virtual students worldwide log in for new school year Our students, teachers and staff continue to expand the horizons of our community, and we cant wait to see what we achieve this year.

International Connections Academy (iNaCA), a US-based accredited virtual private school, opened its virtual doors this week to more than 750 students in over 50 countries for the 2018-19 year. As technology and the need for digital literacy continues to impact our daily lives, families look to International Connections Academys robust program for a high-quality education and flexible scheduling.

As we begin another school year, were pleased to welcome new and returning students from the US and abroad to our virtual community, said School Director Hannah Rinehart. Our students, teachers and staff continue to expand the horizons of our community, and we cant wait to see what we achieve this year.

While International Connections Academy students log on for another successful school year, the results are in for the 2018 annual Parent Satisfaction Survey:



98% of parents are satisfied with the helpfulness of teachers

95% of parents agree that the curriculum is high quality

92% of parents agree that the technology tools improve their childs learning experience

91% of parents agree that their children are satisfied with the program

International Connections Academy currently serves students around the world who learn from home, or anywhere there is an internet connection, providing an award-winning US curriculum, state-of-the-art technology, high-quality teachers and a secure easy-to-use online learning system. The school offers a non-traditional learning environment for children who want a flexible schedule, are ahead or behind in the classroom, learn at a different pace from their peers, or want a more individualized approach to learning.

The flexibility offered by International Connections Academy is ideal for high school students like McKenna Godwin. Earlier in her education, McKenna attended school on a military base in Germany and, when her family moved to Texas, her parents decided online school would be the best option for her. The flexibility allows McKenna to spend time on her passions, including working at a martial arts studio and practicing archery.

Flexibility is also extremely important for sisters Genevieve Johns, entering 8th grade, and 11th grader Hailey Johns, of Indiana. Both girls are equestrian show jumpers and spend a considerable amount of time training in Florida to improve their skills.

The Johns sisters are also among the inaugural class of recipients for International Connections Academys full-tuition scholarship program. New for the 2018-19 school year, the virtual school launched a merit-based scholarship program open to new and returning students who demonstrated a commitment to learning. The first class of winners range from grades 3-12 and reside in many different states across the country as well as internationally.

Enrollment is currently open for the 2018-2019 school year. Interested families can learn more by attending a virtual information session where advisors can answer questions related to the program, socialization in an online school, our award-winning curriculum and our interactive technology.

About International Connections Academy

International Connections Academy (iNaCA) is an accredited, online private school serving students in grades K12 throughout the United States and abroad. Recognizing individualized instruction as the key to student academic and personal success, iNaCA's highly trained, certified teachers offer instruction tailored to each student's strengths and challenges using an award-winning computer-based curriculum, real-time instruction, and time-tested course materials from leading publishers. In 2017, iNaCA served students in the US and 57 countries. International Connections Academy is part of the global learning company Pearson. For more information, visit http://www.InternationalConnectionsAcademy.com.
Kdan Mobile Software Ltd (Kdan Mobile), a global Software as a Service provider headquartered in Taiwan, today announced its participation in Mobile World Congress (MWC) Americas, an international gathering of the most innovative minds in the mobile industry. This three-day event will take place from Sept. 12-14 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, Calif. During the show the company will give functionality demonstrations, reveal expected new team collaboration and AI reading features, and run special promotions.

We've been working on a number of new features that improve the way we collaborate, work and interact with technology in the mobile environment and were excited to share some at MWCA, said Wei-Chung Wang, vice-president of global marketing and strategy at Kdan Mobile. We aim to change the way the world sees business mobility and share how we can help build a mobile workplace for a better future.

Kdan Mobile will participate in the MWCA Business Transformation Tour. The company has prepared a special presentation and exclusive swag bags for tour participants.

In addition to revealing new features and giving live demonstrations of their flagship software solutions, Creativity 365 and Document 365, Kdan Mobile will also demonstrate how their software integrates with Adonits and Maktars (two of their alliance partners) hardware to exponentialize user capabilities.

The company will offer event-exclusive free trial codes and on the spot purchase promotions including free gifts from their hardware alliance partners. Interested parties can sign up for a meeting with Kdan Mobile or stop by the companys booth W.524 to learn more and check out the new features mentioned above.

For more information, schedule a meeting with us: https://www.kdanmobile.com/en/mwca

About MWCA

Over two-thirds of the worlds population is connected by mobile. MWCA brings together this industrys top leaders and influencers to create opportunities that will inspire ideas that lead to a better tomorrow. More than 1,000 exhibitors will showcase the industries newest technologies and most innovative products to an expected 25,000+ attendees from across the globe.

About Kdan Mobile Software Ltd

Since 2009, Kdan Mobile has been a dedicated provider of mobile software applications and online services that allow users to better leverage their productivity and creativity. Kdan's apps have received more than 120 million downloads worldwide; their solutions empower the world to create, distribute and conjoin projects via a variety of devices across platforms. Kdan Mobile is headquartered in Taiwan with operations in China and the United States.
National executive search firm Koya Leadership Partners has hired Naree W.S. Viner as a Managing Director. Based in the New York City area, Viner will work with museum clients and beyond, helping expand Koyas art and culture portfolio. Viner is well-known and highly respected for her work in the specialized museum search space. She also has experience working with social service and education-oriented nonprofit organizations.

Naree brings tremendous experience and relationships around art and culture to Koya. She has worked with many prestigious museums in the world, including the Yale University Art Gallery, the Menil Collection, the Smithsonians National Museum of American History, and the Buffalo Museum of Science, to name a few, explained Katie Bouton, Founder and CEO of Koya.

Naree is smart, passionate, and mission-driven, and she knows the importance of fostering long-term relationships with clients, Bouton continued. Clients rely on her for advice around their strategic goals, retention, succession planning and more. They see her as a partner and trusted advisor who can help them maximize their successes.

I truly believe search is the thing I was built to do. All of my prior experience  in particular, working at organizations going through significant change  has helped me understand what a difference the right leader makes, Viner explained. I was drawn to Koya because the firm focuses on mission-driven clients and has the flexibility to meet each clients specific needs. Koya takes a thoughtful partnership approach, building relationships over time and becoming trusted advisors. That is precisely how Ive approached working with clients during the nearly 15 years Ive been in the field.

Koya helps clients connect their larger social purpose to business success by identifying, engaging and retaining top talent. Koya is driven by the belief that the right person in the right place can change the world. This approach has proven successful as Koya has experienced ongoing and significant growth over the past 14 years with strategic acquisitions and talented staff expansion.

About Naree W.S. Viner

Naree W.S. Viner has nearly 15 years of executive recruiting experience, with a focus on art museums and other cultural institutions. She also has extensive experience working with higher education and other nonprofit clients, placing seasoned executives as well as next-generation leaders. She has partnered with prominent public and private organizations and with nonprofit board officers in the recruitment, development and assessment of senior executive talent.

Most recently, Viner was with Korn Ferry, a global retained search firm, where she placed chief executives and senior staff at regional, national, and international art, education and social service organizations. Previously she worked at Heidrick & Struggles and began her search career at a boutique generalist firm in Pasadena, co-leading the firms education and nonprofit practice.

Before executive search, Viner was with the J. Paul Getty Trust, where she was a principal developer of one of the first websites featuring art images and associated educational materials for K-12 teachers. Later, she became producer for the parent channel of a K-12 education web portal and manager of instructional design at an online executive education company. Viner also worked at a nonprofit childcare services, research and advocacy organization supporting families in Los Angeles.

Viner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Williams College and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Washington, both in art history. She served on the Williams College Alumni Association Executive Committee and has been a Class Agent for more than 25 years. Viner is a member of the Westport Young Womens League, where she serves as Chair of the Grants Committee.

About Koya Leadership Partners

Koya Leadership Partners is a national executive search firm dedicated to placing exceptionally talented leadership at mission-driven institutions committed to serving a larger social purpose. Koya was founded in 2004 on a single belief  the right person in the right place can change the world  and is deeply committed to its clients and the missions they serve. Koya has been recognized by Forbes for two consecutive years (2017 & 2018) as one of Americas Best Executive Recruiting Firms, and the firms Founder and CEO, Katie Bouton, was named a finalist for EYs Entrepreneur of The Year 2018 New England Awards. For more information, visit http://www.koyapartners.com.

Contact:

Adrienne Walkowiak

Director of Public Relations

E & G Public Relations

AWalk@egpublicrelations.com

603/659-9345

Casey Robinson

Senior Director, Marketing and Communications

Koya Leadership Partners

crobinson@koyapartners.com

978/467-4989
Better Equipped are pleased to announce the launch of their new Autumn 2018 Science and Technology Catalogues. Available to schools, colleges, and universities across the UK from September 2018, the catalogues feature an extensive range of STEM resources at the lowest possible prices.

A recent study by the UK Commission for Employment & Skills found that 43% of STEM job vacancies were difficult to fill. Furthermore, its estimated that each year theres a shortfall of 40,000 STEM workers throughout the UK, and yet despite this demand for STEM skills only 50% of schools achieve the 25% target of A-level entries being in STEM subjects.

Better Equipped aim to encourage more participation in these subjects. Offering STEM resources to schools at the lowest possible prices helps ensure the experience pupils have at G.C.S.E level is full of engaging and enriching practical lessons.

A company spokesperson said These new Autumn Catalogues aim to provide schools with all the necessary equipment to help deliver an enriched and engaging learning experience for pupils. Practical lessons really bring the subjects to life, they live long in the memory of pupils and help promote an interest in the further study of STEM. We hope that by offering an extensive range of STEM resources at the lowest possible prices we can help schools to become better equipped and play a small part in furthering the take up of STEM subjects in education and beyond.

Better Equipped have an ongoing focus of delivering great value to their customers. The new Autumn 2018 Catalogues feature fantastic prices on a vast range of science, food technology and design & technology products along with free UK mainland delivery on orders over 75 (plus vat).

If you would like to request copies of the new Autumn 2018 Catalogues or would like more information about any of the products sold please contact Better Equipped Educational Supplies Ltd. on Freephone 08009707142 or email sales(at)betterequipped.co.uk
ThreeBestRated has named the MaidPro Thornhill as one of the Top Three House Cleaning Services in Vaughan, Ontario. ThreeBestRated is an organization dedicated to helping consumers find the top three businesses, professionals, restaurants and health-care providers in their local area.

MaidPro Thornhill was recognized by ThreeBestRated for its consistent high quality service. The business was one of three maid services in the city of Vaughan handpicked by ThreeBestRated using its 50-point inspection. Some of the points covered in the inspection include a businesss general excellence, reputation, history, complaints, ratings, nearness, satisfaction, trust and costs.

Its exciting to see one of our franchises in Ontario being independently rated and recognized by ThreeBestRated as a top cleaning business in their city, said MaidPro CEO Mark Kushinsky. Were very proud of franchise owner, Jonathan Shelson, for being such an amazing ambassador for our brand by providing outstanding service and value to customers. MaidPro Thornhill is currently hiring. Open positions can be found at jobs.maidpro.com.

MaidPros Thornhill location opened in February 2017 and currently has 9 cleaning PROS. Its a real honor to be ranked by ThreeBestRated as one of the best cleaning businesses in Vaughan, he said. "We look forward to continue bringing the best service to our community."

ABOUT MAIDPRO

MaidPro is a Boston-based franchisor of house cleaning services with over 255 locations in 38 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. The company, which began franchising in 1997, takes pride in its strong owner community, cutting-edge technology, and creative marketing. It has been honored with the Franchise Business Reviews Four-Star Rating and Franchise 50 awards every year from 2006 to 2018 for owner satisfaction. MaidPro was named one of the Top 50 Franchises for Minorities by USA Todays Franchising Today. MaidPro is also a proud member of the International Franchise Association, Canadian Franchise Association, and the New England Franchise Association. The company can be found online at http://www.maidprofranchise.com.
Taiwan Tourism Bureau Los Angeles Office will be participating in the Los Angeles Times annual culinary extravaganza, The Taste , this Friday on August 31st. Integrating the foods highlighted at the Formosa Summer Festival, the Bureau showcases the Meet Colors! Taiwan theme to encourage marine conservation; visitors can play fun and interactive games to bring home prizes like stainless-steel straws and fresh fruit ice pops in 4 different colors: blue for the Blue Tears in Matsu; red and white for Orchid island's indigenous canoe, Tatala; green for Turtle Island, and purple for the cacti in Penghu. Folks in southern California will be able to explore Taiwans tasty treats while learning the essence of preserving mother nature.

Taiwan is known as a food heaven where local delicacies are irresistible. Californias soothing climate cultivated a vibrant lifestyle that resonates this years creative Meet Colors! tourism theme to promote Taiwan as a destination. 110 Taipei restaurants are included in the Michelin Guide Taipei 2018 in March; among them, 20 of the restaurants are awarded with Michelin star(s) and 36 are awarded Bib Gourmand status. The upcoming highlight event in November will be the Taichung Flora Exposition. We invite California travelers who are food and nature lovers to visit Taiwan and experience the colorful wonders and passion across the Pacific Ocean, said Mr. Brad Shih, director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Los Angeles Office.

TTB invited Mr. Jonathan Yao, head chef of the famous KATO Restaurant - located on the west side of Los Angeles - to showcase some of his creative Taiwanese dishes. Jonathan is a rising star and named one of Food & Wines best new chefs of 2018. His inspiration comes from his childhood memories, especially classic Taiwanese dishes served only during festivals. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jonathan combines the incredible flavors from his memory with a twist of U.S. influence to create his very own California style cooking that pay homage to his Taiwanese roots. Food lovers will have a chance to sample his fusion dish of the east and west, the scallion smoked duck salad at the Taiwan booth.

The beloved Tea Station of Ten Ren Tea will return this year with a limited new series of Taiwan Bay Tourism Year latte-art tea: styled in the super cute image of XiaoLiuqiu green turtle, flying fish of Orchid Island, Tatala canoe, and Blue Tears in Matsu. They are absolutely a dual enjoyment of sight and taste!

Arent you tempted by all the incredible offerings? Do you want to fly to Taiwan for a foodie adventure? Super Value Tours will be at the event to share about Taiwan food tourism packages with event goers; inquire about Taiwan information from them for a chance to win a special Taiwanese tasting for two at KATO Restaurant! Please join our Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/TourTaiwan for more information about Taiwan tourism and event details. Please visit taiwan.net.tw for more sightseeing information.
Mockas is truly a family product and I am excited for families to wear and share the shoes from generation to generation.

Today Mockas, a hand-crafted, premium loafer shoe brand with matching pairs for dads and kids, begins its Kickstarter campaign offering an early bird special up to 40% off. Handcrafted by three generations of shoemakers in Peru, Mockas are loafers with a moccasin sole designed for comfort and unique style at an affordable price.

I created the concept for Mockas following a business trip to Peru where I came across shoes featuring a rare color combination, said Mauricio Bielaz, founder of Mockas. Inspired by my findings, I set out to create a shoe to fit any style for all-day comfort for dads and kids alike. Mockas is truly a family product and I am excited for families to wear and share the shoes from generation to generation.

Made with real Nubuck and Gumi leather, Mockas are available in 4 colors: black, blue, gray and tan, in addition to a limited-edition mystery color for Kickstarter backers. The rubber-soled shoes are crafted with cow leather bringing together high-quality products for a lightweight and affordable shoe. From cutting the leather, to hand stitching, shaping the shoe and stamping, every pair of Mockas is unique. Adult sizes are available from 5.5 to 15 and kids sizes are available from 6.5 little kid to 5 big kid.

For more information, visit http://www.mockas.com or back Mockas on their Kickstarter page. Follow the conversation with #mockas and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @mockas.shoes.

About Mockas

In 2016, Mauricio Bielaz, the founder of Mockas, made a trip to Lima, Peru where he discovered a modern loafer with a versatile style and consistent comfort of a moccasin. Upon returning, his son took a special interest in the shoe and wanting to wear one just like him. This began his search for a child size loafer with the same style and comfort. When it was clear he could not find the matching adult and child shoe he was looking for, the idea of Mockas was born. Over the next 2 years, he worked with a family owned shoe manufacture that created the very first pair of father and son Mockas loafers.
Starting in Fall 2019, qualifying incoming full-time residential students will be eligible for the Middle America Scholarship at Liberty University.

Liberty University is offering the new Middle America Scholarship for first-time residential undergraduate students enrolling in Fall 2019, helping to make college education more affordable for middle-income families. Liberty is the first university in the U.S.  public or private  to design a financial assistance program in this manner.

If a qualifying student does not receive a full federal Pell Grant, Liberty University is funding the difference, said Ashley Reich, vice president of Student Financial Services.

As higher education costs continue to rise, the scholarship will enable more students raised on working-class incomes to pursue degrees that will lead to higher-paying career opportunities. Families whose total annual income typically ranges from $35,000-$95,000 may be eligible for over $5,000 per year.

Currently, many families in that income bracket dont qualify for the full Federal Pell Grant amount, and the Middle America Scholarship will help bridge that gap. Based on each students expected family contribution (EFC), from $1-$18,000, the scholarship will assist applicants enrolling full time in degree-seeking programs to reach the equivalent of a full Pell Grant amount allowed each year. (Program-qualifying criteria and scholarship amounts are evaluated annually and are subject to change.)

A valid Free Application for Federal Student Aid(FAFSA) must be on file for each year and eligible scholarship recipients must complete financial check-in no later than May 31 for the upcoming fall.

For more information and a full list of eligibility requirements, visit Liberty.edu/MiddleAmerica.
Lucas Group There is no greater priority at Lucas Group than cultivating the talent of our Associates and giving them the tools they need to reach their potential.

Lucas Group, ranked third on Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firms, announced the promotion of 20 Associates to new recruiter job positions including Executive Senior Partner, Senior Partner, and Senior Executive Search Consultant.

There is no greater priority at Lucas Group than cultivating the talent of our Associates and giving them the tools they need to reach their potential through training and mentorship, says Lucas Group Chief People Officer Carolina King. The promotion of these Associates reflects their success in connecting companies with the exceptional talent they need to succeed today, tomorrow and beyond.

The promoted Associates represent each of the companys seven practice groups: Accounting & Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Manufacturing, Military and Sales & Marketing.

Lucas Group congratulates our newly promoted Associates on their achievement, says King. We look forward to supporting them as they extend their track record of excellence and grow into the next generation of Lucas Group leadership.

The following Associates were promoted to Executive Senior Partner:



Cindy Comisky, Human Resources, Atlanta

Felicia Hoang, Legal, Houston

Hanley Holcomb, Accounting & Finance, Los Angeles

Nicole Spain, Accounting & Finance Contract, Atlanta

Robert Persson, Human Resources, Chicago

Shane Farrar, Military, San Diego

Steven Sarigianis, Legal, Baltimore

The following Associates were promoted to Senior Partner:



Anna Wheeler, Human Resources, DC

Drew Zachmann, Accounting & Finance, Atlanta

Lisa Rossi, Human Resources, New York

Wade Greiten, Legal Contract, Los Angeles

William Gordon, Legal, Houston

The following Associates were promoted to Senior Executive Search Consultant:



Brittany Smith, Manufacturing, Cincinnati

Doug Anthony, Human Resources, Chicago

Josh Seaver, Manufacturing, Chicago

Karen Lustman, Sales & Marketing, Irvine

Kevin Semien, Information Technology Contract, Houston

Lib Lowry, Accounting and Finance Contract, Chicago

Madison Parchman, Accounting and Finance, Atlanta

Ryan McCorkle, Manufacturing, San Diego

About Lucas Group

Lucas Group is North Americas premier executive search firm. Since 1970, our culture and methodologies have driven superior results. We assist clients ranging in size from small to medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 companies find transcendent, executive talent; candidates fully realize their ambitions; and associates find professional success. To learn more, please visit Lucas Group at http://www.lucasgroup.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Our opportunity zones conference is a great way to get in on the ground floor of a new incentive and learn how this community development tool can drive investment into underserved communities, - John Sciarretti, CPA

The tax reform legislation enacted in 2017 created a new incentive to drive private investment to distressed communities: opportunity zones. The incentive allows investors to defer for up to nine years paying tax on gains if those gains are invested in qualified opportunity funds. The incentive is designed to unlock private investor capital to fund businesses in underserved communities. Experts will outline the new community development tool, discuss investment strategies and provide the chance to network with other participants at the Novogradac 2018 Opportunity Zones Conference at the Roosevelt New Orleans in New Orleans, Oct. 2-3.

Our opportunity zones conference is a great way to get in on the ground floor of a new incentive and learn how this community development tool can drive investment into underserved communities, said John Sciarretti, CPA, conference chairman and partner at Novogradac & Company LLPs Dover, Ohio, office. Theres also no better place to make connections with opportunity zones participants.

Daniel Kowalski, counselor to the U.S. Treasury Secretary, will deliver a keynote address on whats ahead for the opportunity zones tool. Panel topics include opportunity zones basics, qualified opportunity zone businesses and combining opportunity zones with tax credits. Conference details and the complete conference agenda can be found at http://www.novoco.com/events/novogradac-2018-opportunity-zones-conference.

Novogradac 2018 Opportunity Zones Conference is co-hosted by The Kresge Foundation, LISC, Manatt Phelps & Phillips LLP, Nixon Peabody, The Strategic Group of Companies, Stinson Leonard Street, Sixty-West, Virtua Capital Management and OZ Impact Fund. Sponsors include National Trust Community Investment Corporation, Fishman Haygood, Morris Manning & Martin LLP, Snell & Wilmer, Husch Blackwell, DV Financial Services LLC, Polsinelli, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Holland & Knight, Dentons, Blank Rome, Squire Patton Boggs, Coats Rose, Boston Financial Investment Management LP and Sebastian Partners LLC. Exhibitors include Applegate & Thorn-Thomsen, NES Financial and Butler Snow LLP.

About Novogradac & Company

Novogradac began operations in 1989 and has grown to more than 600 employees and partners with offices in 27 cities. Tax, audit and consulting specialty practice areas for Novogradac include affordable housing, community development, historic rehabilitation and renewable energy. The firm recently launched a new practice focused on the opportunity zones incentive.

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Divi Little Bay Beach Resort, St. Maarten The island and our beautiful resort have come a long way from where we were this time last year. Twelve months ago, Divi Resorts Management made a commitment that we would come back better than ever before, and weve kept that promise!

Exactly one year after Hurricane Irma hit Divi Little Bay Beach Resort and St. Maarten, the island and its resilient people are well on their way to recovery and eager to welcome back travelers to enjoy the islands stunning beaches, duty-free shopping, mouthwatering restaurants, exhilarating excursions and fabulous accommodations!

The island and our beautiful resort have come a long way from where we were this time last year, said Marco Galaverna, Divi Resorts President & COO. Twelve months ago, Divi Resorts Management made a commitment to our owners, members, loyal guests and the people of St. Maarten, that we would come back, not just the same as prior to the storms, but even better. Weve kept that promise, and our beautiful resort nestled on its own private peninsula, which reopened in May, has been completely renovated, refreshed and refurbished with many new and exciting amenities.

The newly renovated Divi Little Bay features completely refreshed units, updated Seabreeze and Infinity Pools, Fort Amsterdam Cafe (formerly Bayview Cafe) with gourmet coffee and a new menu, new chairs and areas to relax at the pools and beach, new furniture for Gizmos Bar & Grill, a restored dock where boat trips have resumed, brand new restaurant menus and upgraded landscaping and lighting throughout the resort.

Updates still to come in 2018 include a stunning new main pool called the pureocean pool (formerly the Casitas pool), which will be enlarged with waterfalls, a new pureocean pool bar and an expansive seating area, a new eatery, The Shack, serving Caribbean BBQ, Jerk Chicken, Roti and more, expanding pureocean Restaurant and adding new terrace furniture and lighting and creating a new kids space and game room.

We were thrilled to show off our new digs not long after reopening when the famed Patriots Cheerleaders visited to shoot their annual swimsuit calendar and Sideline to Shoreline promotional video, said Divi Little Bays General Manager Anne-Marie Brooks. The ladies had an amazing time exploring both the French and Dutch sides of the island, meeting locals, dignitaries and media, and learning more about St. Maartens culture and history through a variety of planned activities.

Highlights from the Patriots Cheerleaders visit include:



The Patriots Cheerleaders truly enjoyed their stay at the Divi Little Bay, with the island of St. Maarten being one of the most beautiful destinations they've ever visited. The hospitality at the resort was second to none and we were provided so many unique opportunities, giving the squad a great feel for the islands culture and all it has to offer, said the Patriots Cheerleaders Director Tracy Sormanti. The kindness of the locals coupled with the beauty of the ocean and scenery made this a picture-perfect trip.

The Official 2019 Patriots Cheerleaders Calendar goes on sale in the third week in September. For more information or to see more photos from the trip, visit http://www.patriots.com/cheerleaders. To view the Sideline to Shoreline promotional video, visit http://www.patriots.com/video/patriots-cheerleaders-from-sideline-to-shoreline.

Travelers seeking a similar island experience to the Patriots Cheerleaders are in luck! Divi Little Bays Concierge Desk offers special discounts on many of these experiences are more than happy to help you book excursions and plan the trip of a lifetime. Plus, from now until September 30, 2018, travelers can score 30% off room only and all-inclusive stays at Divi Little Bay for travel through December 20, 2019. With rates as low as $169 per night (room only) and $195 per person, per night (all-inclusive), and roundtrip flight deals starting at just $231 from FLL (Fort Lauderdale), now is the perfect time to book fall and winter travel.

Flight deals (starting rates per person for roundtrip flights to SXM) are as follows:

Spirit Airlines



$231 from FLL  September 15-22

$428 from ORD  September

$333 from BOS  September

$385 from DFW  November, January & February

Delta



$335 from BOS  February

$406 from MIA  October

$370 from JFK  December-April

Air France



$464 from CDG  November-June

COPA Airlines



$327 from BOS  December

American Airlines



$330 from BOS  January

JetBlue



$356 from JFK  September-October

Divis 30% off deal runs through September 30th, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. ET, for travel through December 20, 2019. For reservations, book online at http://www.diviresorts.com/caribbean-promotion.htm or call 1-800-367-3484 (Toll-free US) or 1- 919-419-3484 (International). For group reservations, please call 1-800-801-5550 or email groupsales(at)diviresorts.com.

About Divi Resorts

Divi Resorts is the vacation expert of the Caribbean, with a collection of eight premium resorts spanning the five stunning Caribbean islands of Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, St. Croix and St. Maarten. For more information, call 1-800-367-3484 or visit http://www.diviresorts.com.

Divi Little Bay/St. Maarten Photos

Dropbox: http://www.dropbox.com/sh/wr13tl7tvcnmsqe/AABhR0fkaDLY4p1ePQ8WEidPa?dl=0

Sale Terms & Conditions

This offer applies to reservations made through September 30, 2018 for travel through December 20, 2019. Discount based on rack pricing. All-inclusive rates based on double occupancy. Taxes & services charges NOT included, except for All-Inclusive packages. 3-night minimum stay required for All-Inclusive packages. No maximum night stay is required. Restrictions & blackout dates apply. Full payment is required at time of reservation. Cancellations must be received at least 7 days prior to arrival for refund. Flight cancellations are subject to airline cancellation policies. Divi Resorts is not responsible for changes in airfare pricing. Offer is subject to availability and may be discontinued at any time. Offer valid on new reservations booked at a nightly rate only. Offer not valid on timeshare reservations. Cannot be combined with any other Divi special offer or discounted rate.
Meet Messiah: A Simple Mans Commentary on John: a simple but breathtaking study of the disciple John. Meet Messiah is the creation of published author, Paul Murray, a Christian husband, father, and grandfather; with experience in professional ministry, realty, and real estate brokerage who also harbors a passion for fly-fishing.

Murray shares his fascination with this unique disciple, Only Peter, James, and John were allowed in with Jesus when He brought back to life the daughter of the synagogue official Jairus. These three also went alone with Jesus up on a mountain to pray. At the Last Supper, when Peter wanted to know who the betrayer was, he asked John, who was reclining on Jesuss breast, to ask Jesus.

John wasnt just an apostle and faithful disciple among the twelve. He was a close personal friend of Jesus. John was the only disciple at the foot of the cross, comforting Jesuss mother during that tragic event. Knowing He was dying, it was John to whom Jesus entrusted the care of his mother, not to one of His half-brothers. (James, the author of the book of James in the New Testament, was Jesuss brother). At this time, James was not a believer. James didnt become a believer until Jesus met him, one on one, in one of Jesuss postresurrection appearances. Id love to have been at that meeting.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Paul Murrays new book is a perceptive and inspiring discussion that does not attempt to downplay the other three gospels alongside Johns, instead showing how each had an important role to play, and how Johns role in testifying to Jesuss divinity has been foundational to the faith.

Compelling and thoroughly researched, Murray brings to light a new appreciation for one of Christs greatest supporters of all time.

View a synopsis of Meet Messiah: A Simple Mans Commentary on John on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Meet Messiah: A Simple Mans Commentary on John at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Meet Messiah: A Simple Mans Commentary on John, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
PhlebotomyU Mission Valley Location We are very excited to provide our phlebotomy students with a premier teaching facility designed to ready them for the real world

PhlebotomyU, one of the most established trade schools in San Diego for phlebotomy and healthcare education, has completed a relocation of their main office and education center with class sessions currently taking place. The new facility enables PhlebotomyU to offer a premier phlebotomy training experience for students enrolled in their Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT1) and Venipuncture phlebotomy classes.

"The relocation has enabled PhlebotomyU to further develop the phlebotomy vocational school while simultaneously offering new exciting services to our alumni and the greater San Diego healthcare community." Preston Cinco Plumb, President & CEO

The modern, spacious new facility will benefit future PhlebotomyU students by offering ample classroom space for didactic and hands-on phlebotomy training. The office includes all new fixtures from student furniture to phlebotomy specific equipment and tools. Centrally located off Interstate 8 in Mission Valley, San Diego, the new building is accessible and safe for students attending classes at any time of the day or week. The new location also provides ample and secure parking at no cost.

Visit the new office today, walk-ins are welcome! The address for the new PhlebotomyU training center is 2535 Camino Del Rio S. #300 92108.

About PhlebotomyU Phlebotomy Training Center

PhlebotomyUs mission is to enhance students' careers, meet the needs of healthcare providers, and improve patient care by providing high quality, cost effective phlebotomy education through industry leading curriculum, current technology, and extensive hands-on experience. As one of the most established Phlebotomy schools in San Diego, we are approved to operate by the California Department of Public Health Laboratory Field Services (CDPH/LFS) and Californias Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE). We offer accelerated CPT1 classes throughout the year, with programs starting at the beginning of each month as well as weekend and evening classes. In addition to our training courses, we work with healthcare providers around San Diego for externship programs and job placements after graduation.

We are committed to providing students with the opportunity to start or advance a career in healthcare while also assisting employers to find high quality entry-level phlebotomists. Our goal is to drive the healthcare community forward through continual refinement of our course curriculum and improvement of the caliber of Phlebotomy students.
NCPDP announced today that registration is open for its 2018 Educational Summit on SCRIPT which will be held November 6, 2018, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Educational programming for the event will focus exclusively on NCPDPs SCRIPT Standard Version 2017071, which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is adopting beginning on January 1, 2020.

The 2018 Educational Summit on SCRIPT includes a full day of educational sessions designed to help health information technology professionals; EHR/EMR vendors; ePrescribing vendors; product managers; consultants; programmers; business analysts; system analysts; professionals in compliance; testing/certification professionals; implementation managers/coordinators; trainers of new software/applications; and others plan for implementation of the breadth of benefits in the standard for patients and healthcare providers.

Educational programming for the event includes:



Get to Know SCRIPT v2017071. This session will provide a broad overview of the new version of SCRIPT, beginning with an update from the NCPDP Strategic National Implementation Process (SNIP) Committee on important dates and timelines; new functionality and transactions; changes across transactions; use of XML; and electronic prior authorization (ePA) transactions.

Immerse Yourself in Deep Dive Sessions on Targeted Transactions. A series of five sessions will take an in-depth look at new and modified transactions in SCRIPT v2017071. Explore messages for new prescription requests and denials; transactions for resupply, recertification and drug administration; messages for prescription transfer requests, responses and confirmations. Learn more about the use of the new prescription fill indicator, a major enhancement in this new version of SCRIPT, which allows prescribers to choose when to receive and fill based on a patient and medication. There will also be a deep dive session on prescription renewals  requests, responses, and change requests  plus information on transactions for canceling prescriptions.

Learn about whats next for SCRIPT. This session will feature panelists representing various segments of the industry discussing whats next for SCRIPT  including governance, transaction adoption, versioning and other topics impacting the industry. Attendees will hear NCPDP Work Group Co-Chairs and subject matter experts discuss future considerations for SCRIPT to help inform business strategies and product roadmaps.

Engage in interactive Question & Answer opportunities. NCPDP will be taking feedback throughout the day to address attendees most pressing questions and ease the implementation process for all stakeholders involved in implementing and using the robust features and functionality inherent in the new standard.

The enhancements in SCRIPT v2017071 were developed to streamline administrative and business efficiencies; support improved clinical decision-making with workflow-enabled solutions; and fortify patient safety  for the ultimate benefit of patients and healthcare providers.

NCPDPs 2018 Educational Summit on SCRIPT will be held November 6, 2018, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Discounted, early bird registration rates for NCPDP members and non-members are available until October 5, 2018. To register for NCPDPs 2018 Educational Summit on SCRIPT visit: http://ncpdp.org/Education/Educational-Summit.

About NCPDP

Founded in 1977, NCPDP is a not-for-profit, ANSI-accredited, Standards Development Organization with more than 1,500 members representing virtually every sector of the pharmacy services industry. Our diverse membership provides leadership and healthcare business solutions through education and standards, created using the consensus building process. NCPDP has been named in federal legislation, including HIPAA, MMA, and HITECH. NCPDP members have created standards such as the Telecommunication Standard and Batch Standard, the SCRIPT Standard for ePrescribing, the Manufacturers Rebate Standard and more to improve communication within the pharmacy industry. Our data products include dataQ, a robust database of information on more than 80,000 pharmacies, resQ, an industry pharmacy credentialing resource, and HCIdea, an innovative prescriber database that provides continually updated information on more than 2.5 million prescribers. NCPDP's RxReconn is a legislative tracking product for real-time monitoring of pharmacy-related state and national legislative and regulatory activity. For more information about NCPDP Standards, Data Services, Products, Educational Programs and Work Group meetings, go online at http://www.ncpdp.org or call 480.477.1000.

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Responder Corp, LLC welcomes the addition of two leaders in the public safety community; Matt Kuivinen as Vice President of Agency Relations and Rob Farmer as Vice President of Industry Partnerships. Matt and Rob will be critical in the support of Responder Corps commitment to enable entrepreneurs and empower first responders.

Were excited by the growth of our team with passionate and high-integrity individuals that believe in our mission and understand our vision for the future. said Nathanial Wish, Co-Founder & CEO of Responder Corp. Matt and Rob intimately understand the commitment required to successfully innovate in the public safety industry, we look forward to learning from their experience and growing with their expertise said Bryce Stirton, Co-Founder & President of Responder Corp.

Matt Kuivinen

Matt comes to Responder Corp with over 20 years in public service. Matt began his career as an EMT in New Orleans, later transitioned into Emergency Management, and then moved into law enforcement becoming a member of the Foreign Service. As a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of State, Matt managed an immense criminal investigations portfolio and served on countless dignitary protection teams both domestically and overseas. Matt served tours in Afghanistan and Yemen in the diplomatic corps where he supervised a large workforce, and regularly collaborated with various international senior public safety and military officials including in the role of senior law enforcement representative and security advisor to the U.S. Ambassador, the Emergency Action Committee, and the embassys Law Enforcement Working Group. After nearly a decade in the Foreign Service, Matt started his own government contract and security consulting business, continuing to serve the U.S. government as a credentialed investigator.

Even after leaving a position in public safety, it never truly leaves you, and I am honored to stay connected to this amazing community through Responder Corp where we will provide awareness and access to cutting-edge public safety tech to help agencies better serve their teams and their community.

Rob Farmer

Rob Farmer has served for more than 30 years in Fire, EMS and Emergency Management, with 15 of those years in executive-level leadership roles. After spending 14 years as career firefighter/paramedic on a suburban fire department, and nearly a decade as the Chief of a countywide EMS agency, both in central Ohio, he moved to SW Florida to serve as a countywide Director of Public Safety (EMS, EM & communications) in a Gulf-coastal community. He currently serves as a Commissioner for the American College of Paramedic Executives.

I am honored and privileged to join the team at Responder. The Responder Corp platform provides an unprecedented opportunity for emerging technologies to integrate easily into the public safety community. A more efficient work space, and more importantly a safer workplace, will be the immediate result for first responders across the globe.

Responder Corp

Responder Corp supports entrepreneurs working to innovate public safety. Our mission is to deliver the tools and technology first responders need to be safe, secure and effective on the job. We are a team of first responders, innovators and investors united by a passion to support those who keep our communities safe. We work to accomplish this mission with a comprehensive platform designed to support a healthy ecosystem of innovation for the public safety industry. If youre a first responder, entrepreneur, corporation, foundation or agency that wants to support innovation in public safety, please connect and join our mission.

Further Information

Responder Corp Media Contact:

Elise Finger,

877-966-9455

Elise@respondercorp.com

#respondercorp

#responderxlabs

#responderventures
Puls Technologies Inc. today announced that it has been named to the 2018 LinkedIn Top Startups List, a global ranking of the 50 most sought-after startups where professionals want to work and stay.

The LinkedIn Top Startups ranking is based upon metrics including year-over-year employee growth, job seeker interest and applications, and employee engagement. Overall, rankings are informed by billions of actions taken by more than 575 million professionals on LinkedIn.

Founded in 2015, Puls delivers end-to-end technical support for anything with an on switch. By leveraging a proprietary technology platform that matches each customer with a technician armed with the right parts and skills, Puls can deliver a technician to a customers door in as little as 60 minutes. Retailers, manufacturers, and insurance companies also rely on Puls to bring frictionless support to the full life cycle of every device or appliance, encompassing in-store demos and purchases as well as in-home installations, repairs, and upgrades.

Puls is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Tel Aviv and San Diego. In June, the company moved into larger offices to support a growing employee headcount. Today, Puls counts more than sixty full-time employees and a nationwide network of 2,500+ technicians in 50 markets.

We are honored to be recognized by LinkedIn as a global leader in attracting and retaining top talent, says Eyal Ronen, Puls co-founder and CEO. To be named alongside Lyft, Bird and Coinbase as one of the top 50 startups where people want to work is a testament to the incredible team behind our explosive revenue and customer growth, and the culture built by our employees.

The Top Startups list is a part of the LinkedIn List franchise, an ongoing editorial series that celebrates professionals and companies making an impact in the professional world. To see the full list of the LinkedIn Top Startups, click here.

About Puls

Puls Technologies, Inc. connects consumers with highly skilled technicians to service anything with an on switch. Providing end-to-end support for more than 200 devices, Puls leverages a proprietary technology platform to match customers with the right technician with the right skills at the right time. Puls operates in 50 markets nationwide and addresses most service requests within 60 minutes. With thousands of 5-star reviews on Facebook and Yelp, Puls goes the extra mile for each customer and corporate partner to ensure exceptional service and guaranteed results. Puls is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in San Diego and Tel Aviv and has raised more than $90 million in financing to date with backing from Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Red Dot Capital Partners, Samsung NEXT, Maverick Ventures, Kreos Capital, Hanaco Ventures, Hamilton Lane, and Viola Ventures. Learn more at http://www.Puls.com.

Media Contact

Kirstin Hallett for Puls

Puls@sourcecodecomms.com
Bill Feist is the Owner and Broker of Laer Real Estate Group We gave away about 300 backpacks filled with school supplies. This was a great way for me to give back to the community and offer a little help to those who may need it.

On Saturday, August 4, 2018, at Glenmore Park in San Angelo, Bill Feist of the San Angelo real estate firm Laer Real Estate Group joined 20 area businesses, including San Angelo Remodel Company, Triple C's Drywall & Remodeling, in giving back to the children in the community. The backpack giveaway was coordinated by Triple C's Drywall & Remodeling of San Angelo.

We gave away about 300 backpacks filled with school supplies, said Feist. This was a great way for me to give back to the community and offer a little help to those who may need it.

Feist has been part of the San Angelo community all of his life. The free back-to-school backpacks event was only one of the many involvements that Feist has in his community. He is also a part of the San Angelo West Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, and the Salvation Army.

Feist tells anyone considering moving to San Angelo, I love living in West Texas, and I know you will, too. Coming from a farming community here in the Concho Valley, Im very proud of our heritage and our wonderful city.

A graduate of Angelo State University with a BBA in Real Estate and BBA in Finance, Feist acknowledged, My detail-oriented professionalism with many years of experience is why I have been able to provide the best quality service to clients for so many years.

LAER, Feist pointed out, is an acronym for Listen, Acknowledge, Evaluate, Respond. Were focused on LAER, Feist concluded. And as one of the top Realtors in San Angelo, I say experience cannot be optional; it must be expected!

About Bill Feist, Laer Real Estate Group

Bill Feist is the Owner and Broker of Laer Real Estate Group. The mission of the company is to give clients the chance to experience country living by offering experience in buying or selling a home, ranch, or farm in West Texas. For more information, please call 325-450-8394, e-mail info(at)sanangelore.com, or visit http://www.sanangelore.com. Laer Real Estate Group is located at 3103 Southwest Blvd., San Angelo, Texas 76904.

About the NALA

The NALA offers small and medium-sized businesses effective ways to reach customers through new media. As a single-agency source, the NALA helps businesses flourish in their local community. The NALAs mission is to promote a business relevant and newsworthy events and achievements, both online and through traditional media. The information and content in this article are not in conjunction with the views of the NALA. For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.
Sensors Midwest (#SensorsMW18), the event for sensors design and industrial IoT, and sister to show Sensors Expo & Conference, announces their partnership with Fraunhofer USA Center for Experimental Software Engineering (CESE) and Sonoma State University, CA to conduct an IoT Enabled Industrial IoT Certification Program. Taking place on October 17, 2018 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, this partnership will host a Workshop designed to inform and guide the top decision makers and executives on how to prepare their organizations for the Industry 4.0 trend and create higher value to customers.

Quick Links:



Registration: http://www.sensorsmidwest.com/register

Workshop: https://www.sensorsmidwest.com/workshop

Exhibitor Information: http://www.sensorsmidwest.com/why-exhibit

Social Media channels: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram

This workshop aims to help attendees understand and respond to the Industry 4.0 trend through lectures, discussions, factory use cases, and industry 4.0 technology demonstration. It begins with a broad overview of Industry 4.0 concepts, targeting manufacturing executives and decisions makers who want to understand what industry 4.0 is and how they can get their organizations ready for it. Following the introduction, follow-on workshop modules take a deeper dive into industry 4.0 details, addressing the needs of production and technical managers. By the end of the workshop, participants will have a strong understanding of Industry 4.0 and how it can be used to solve business problems and deliver higher value to customers.

I am very excited and honored to Chair the Workshop, said Shivakumar Mathapathi, Adjunct Professor, and International Co-coordinator - Sonoma State University. The IIoT Workshop is designed to help startups, mid-size, and large companies to come together and build world-class industrial IoT solutions. We are very fortunate to work with Fraunhofer USA CESE to bring few real-time Industrial IoT use cases, added Professor Mathapathi.

This is a unique experience to work with Sensors Midwest delegates, to share Industrial IoT research, connecting machines with real-time sensor data, making machinery more intelligent to deliver efficient and optimum results, said Dr. Pankesh Patel, Senior Research Scientist, Fraunhofer USA CESE.

I am very happy to be associated with Sensors Midwest and Fraunhofer to lead the workshop in evaluating the process, expressed Dr. Farid Farahmand, Chair, Department of Engineering Science, Sonoma State University.

The IoT Enabled Industry 4.0 Certification Workshop consists of a wide range of technology, building IoT blocks, connectivity, and cloud solutions. The basic framework and examples created by Fraunhofer will further expand building, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and how robotics equipment are in a more secure way of connection. The Workshop also assists attendees plan for digital transformation for various tasks within their enterprise/manufacturing environment. Each attendee receives an IIoT completion certification. For further details please visit: https://www.sensorsmidwest.com/workshop

About Fraunhofer USA:

The Fraunhofer USA Center for Experimental Software Engineering (CESE) conducts applied research to support the software-enabled innovations created by our customers in industry, government, and academia. Fraunhofer CESE develops and uses advanced, effective and scalable approaches to software and systems engineering, delivers powerful testing and verification strategies and tools, and uses state-of-the-art measurement and analysis methods to support its customer's challenges.

About Sonoma State University:

Sonoma State University is a public comprehensive university, fostering intellectual, cognitive, social and personal growth. The Electrical Engineering program at Sonoma State University is a leading provider of electrical engineering talent to the North Bay areas high-tech industry. The EE curriculum is designed to prepare the EE graduates for the dynamic global society. The state-of-the-art laboratories, sponsored by industry, provide an opportunity for our students to prepare for their profession.

About Sensors Midwest:

Sensors Midwest will take place October 16-17, 2018 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. A sister show of the national Sensors Expo & Conference which will be hosted June 25-27 2019 in San Jose, California, Sensors Midwest is supported by the event's official publication, Sensors Online, the industry's leading resource and authority on sensing, communication, and control. Sensors Midwest is produced by Questex LLC, a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media and information provider, headquartered in Newton, MA.

For further information, contact:

Jen Miles

Marketing Coordinator

+1 617.219.8390

Email: jmiles(at)questex.com
This years National Sewing Month is especially important to me. Sewing is my therapy and with the release of my first tutorial with Creativebug, I hope to inspire others to take up the craft, said Madalynne Intimates founder Maddie Flanigan.

President Ronald Reagan declared September as National Sewing Month in 1982. Nearly four decades later, the ancient art of sewing is making a comeback, particularly among millennials. In honor of the month, millennial designer Maddie Flanigan will be expanding her line of DIY lingerie sewing kits starting this month and through the remainder of fall and holiday. The Barrett Bralette Kit ($40); The Madalynne X Simplicity 8229 Underwire Bra and Underwear Kits ($45 and $28); The Madalynne X Simplicity 8228 Bralette and Underwear Kits ($45 and $28); and the DIY Bachelorette Party Sewing Kit ($49) will be offered in new fabrics and trimmings. All will be available at http://www.madalynne.com. Additionally, Madalynne hosts a month-long campaign asking her followers to post any Madalynne lingerie sewing project using the hashtag #bramakingwithmadalynne for a chance to win a slew of prices that include lingerie books, a Jo-Anns Fabrics gift card and even a free subscription to Creativebug.com.

As a designer, sewing teacher and successful blogger, Maddie offers online tutorials, sewing classes and her own line of Simplicity sewing patterns. Her innovative bra-making workshops  which have been hosted as far away as London and California - regularly sell out in her hometown of Philadelphia, where she recently won a Best of Philly Award (Philadelphia Magazine, Aug. 2018).

On September 12, the first of three lingerie sewing video tutorials featuring Flanigan will be unveiled on Creativebug.com, a popular online crafting community. The first tutorial shows how to sew the Noelle panty; the second will walk viewers through the steps to sew the Barrett bralette; and the third tutorial will add more challenge by teaching how to make Flanigans newest pattern with Simplicity, the 8711 underwire bra and underwear set, which is available at Simplicity.com and at Jo-Ann Fabrics.

This years National Sewing Month is especially important to me. Sewing is my therapy and with the release of my first tutorial with Creativebug, I hope to inspire others to take up the craft, said Madalynne Intimates founder Maddie Flanigan. I started sewing lingerie because I wanted a quick DIY that was pretty, feminine and fulfilling. If I can do it, so can you!

Our community of sewists are always looking for ways to make their own wardrobe staples, and it doesnt get more essential than undergarments. Were thrilled to be partnering with Madalynne Intimates to present gorgeous and challenging (yet totally doable) lingerie classes to our wildly creative members. - Liana Allday, Editor in Chief of Creativebug

ABOUT CREATIVEBUG

Founded in 2012, Creativebug is a subscription-based crafting website that is comprised of a team of dreamers and makers who believe that everyone has a creative side. They pride themselves on bringing the latest in art and craft education to their thousands ofmembers, and work with renowned artists to do just that. Creativebug offers members unlimited access to over 1000 online art and craft classes. More than a crafting website, Creativebug is comprised of volunteers, activists and teachers who think the arts deserve to be shared with everyone. Creativebug gives a percentage of its subscription dollars to nonprofits in art education.

ABOUT MADALYNNE INTIMATES, LLC

Founded in 2016, Madalynne Intimates is a lingerie and loungewear brand offering both lingerie to buy and lingerie to sew. Founded by former URBN (Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, Free People, BHLDN, Terrain) alumn, designer Maddie Flanigan brings an artisanal approach to modern lingerie. Madalynnes modern femme collections are available at Madalynne.com and select boutiques nationwide, including: Expect Lace in Philadelphia, PA // Jay Ann Intimates in Huntington Valley, PA // Sapphire & Seahorses in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Lace Okoboji // KIN Boutique in Philadelphia, PA // Two Percent to Glory in Philadelphia, PA // Elle Lauri in Philadelphia, PA.

Media contact:

Kim Pierce, Clearstream Agency

(817) 808-8569 mobile

kim(at)clearstreamagency.com
JSL Foods, the producer of Twin Dragon Asian Wrappers is looking for culinary focused bloggers not professional chefs to compete in their Twin Dragon Asian Wrapper Blogger Recipe Challenge. The challenge date has been setLooking for those recipes that are creative, adventurous and signature. JSL Foods is excited to see what your vision is when creating original recipes using Twin Dragon Asian wrappers.

Take the challenge and be amazed by the versatility and ease of use when cooking with JSL Foods Asian Twin Dragon Wrappers. Twin Dragon Asian Wrappers include Won Ton Wrappers, Gyoza Wrappers (Potstickers), and Egg Roll Wrappers. JSL Foods Twin Dragon Wrappers are non GMO (soon to be verified), vegan and manufactured with natural ingredients. Twin Dragon brand wrappers are the only Asian Wrappers that are Vegan. JSL Foods wrappers hold up when boiled steamed or fried. Attributes include low oil absorption, even browning and when fried, small bubbles. You will be surprised how easy they are to work with. Consumers have made them the fastest growing wrapper brand in the United States.

Bloggers will compete in three categories that include Wonton, Gyoza and Egg Roll. Winners will be selected from each category. Bloggers are encouraged to participate in all three categories.

The Twin Dragon Asian Wrapper Blogger Recipe Challenge will only be open to the first 50 eligible bloggers who sign-up. Recipes only using Twin Dragon Asian Wrappers will be considered. The contest starts on September 1, 2018 and ends November 30, 2018. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.

What do I win?

Wonton Category:

First Place: $1,000.00

Second Place: $500.00

Third Place: $250.00

Gyoza (Potstickers) Category:

First Place: $1,000.00

Second Place: $500.00

Third Place: $250.00

Egg Roll Category:

First Place: $1,000.00

Second Place: $500.00

Third Place: $250.00

To take the challenge participants can submit an entry form at http://www.jslfoods.com starting on September 1, 2018. To qualify for the Twin Dragon Asian Wrapper Blogger Recipe Challenge the following rules apply:



Must be 21 years old or older at time of entry

Must be a legal U.S. resident - Void where prohibited

Food blog must be updated frequently (at least once per week) and has been in existence for at least 6 months

RECIPE MUST BE ORIGINAL

Applicants cannot be professional chefs

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

JSL Foods Fortune brand Asian noodles are the #1 fresh refrigerated noodle line in the United States. The Fortune brand accounts for 82% of all category sales nationally (Nielsen) and can be found in 5,000 grocery stores nationally. JSL Foods continues to lead the growth of the Asian noodle and wrapper category by creating innovative, high quality products that offer a nutritious and flavorful profile that supports consumers desires to cook Asian foods easily in the comfort of their home.

About JSL Foods, Inc.

Founded in 1951, JSL Foods is a third generation family owned company. Their Fortune and Twin Dragon brands are the category leader of fresh, refrigerated, pre-cooked Asian Noodles, Rice Blends and Asian Wrappers (Egg Roll, Won Ton and Gyoza). Fortunes Asian Noodle product line consists of Yakisoba, Udon and gluten free Rice Noodles. These Asian Noodles come with a natural flavored sauce packet and are available in a variety of delicious flavors such as Thai Peanut, Coconut Curry, Teriyaki and Soy Ginger. The line offer consumers a wide range of health options including Omega-3 Fortified, Non-GMO, Cholesterol-Free, 100% Natural and MSG Free. Twin Dragon Asian Wrappers are 100% Natural, Vegan, Kosher and Non-GMO.

Located in Los Angeles, California, JSL Foods has built its reputation on delivering a fresh, convenient and restaurant quality Asian meal experience for consumers home enjoyment. JSL Foods products are sold under the Fortune and Twin Dragon brands and are located in the produce department next to the Tofu section in supermarkets across the United States. JSL Foods is committed to their consumers through continuous innovation towards healthy ingredients, convenience, and value including authentic and fusion culinary recipe solutions. Contact Wayne Nielsen at 323-223-2484 or email him at wnielsen@jslfoods.com.
Telemedicine and Mesothelioma

The number of cancer diagnoses is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, making the ever-increasing demand for oncologists an urgent concern. However, thanks to the rise of telemedicine, high-quality healthcare is now much more accessible than ever. The rapidly evolving technology has been breaking down the barriers between patients and healthcare providers and may help fill pressing healthcare needs as they arise. For example, telehealth has become a powerful option for cancer screenings; with the potential to report symptoms as they surface and help patients receive a quick and correct diagnosis while the disease is still in its nascent stages. As the world of healthcare continues to advance, telemedicine is providing hope for those battling life-threatening conditions today.

Putting The Patient First

The word telemedicine means healing from a distance, and this telecommunication tool allows professionals to deliver high-quality healthcare to patients regardless of their geographical location. For those battling life-threatening illnesses, distance can be a critical limitation in achieving fast, high-quality care, as access to specialized treatment and physicians may require patients to endure extensive travel despite their health condition. The rising costs of cancer treatment, combined with travel and hospitalization expenses, has allowed telemedicine to become more recognized as a fast, convenient and cost-effective way for patients to monitor their health. This is advantageous especially for two reasons - getting illness and ailments monitored in the comfort of their home and the increased instance of having a disease detected earlier as compared to a traditional visit to the doctors office. In the unfortunate event of a serious illness, this technology allows physicians to perform remote consultations with patients through video calls, monitor symptoms, record images, and share medical insights quicker than ever before.

Penn Medicine is a world-renowned medical center and is recognized as one of the first healthcare organizations to adopt the use of telemedicine. It now runs one of the biggest intensive care telemedicine programs in the nation. Implementing telehealth as a precaution for those in need of 24-hour medical attention, Penn Medicine found that this virtual form of care has reduced the mortality rate among patients as well as the duration of their stay in clinics and hospitals. Furthermore, they have explained how this tool has improved outpatient care - connecting patients and physicians with remote specialists, eliminating the cost of medical care, and the stress of necessary travel. As a leader in healthcare, Penns continued interest, support, and use of telehealth are demonstrating just how beneficial this tool can be for patients and healthcare providers.

Advantages of Tele-oncology

The number of cancer patients is expected to reach as many as 23.6 million people by 2030, making the demand for oncologists a critical need to address. In fact, a shortage of these specialists is predicted in the near future as more than half of these specialists are over the age of 50 and are heading towards retirement. Approximately 70% of counties across the United States are already without a local oncologist, making tele-oncology the future for those residing in rural areas or those who are unable to travel due to health conditions. This includes any form of remote cancer care, ranging from simple teleconsultations to more advanced applications like telepathology and telesurgery. A study conducted in 2008 found promising results for tele-oncology, comparing in-person doctors office visits to virtual appointments for cancer patients. As part of the study, 200 cancer patients were required to attend one in-person visit with their primary oncologist, followed by utilizing telemedicine for half of all their appointments for one year. The results indicated that as many as 95% of patients felt virtual care was just as beneficial as visiting a physician in person.

Telemedicine and Mesothelioma

In addition, during the 2010 American Telemedicine Association meeting, Dr. Gary C. Doolittle, announced several findings from his research, one being the fact that cancer care via video conferencing reduces costs from $812 to $251 per visit, which is much lower than the average cost of an in-person visit today. These findings bolster some of the most promising patient benefits, including prioritizing their medical and financial needs while delivering the best and most convenient care possible. Patients with rare conditions are most vulnerable to receiving a late diagnosis and may have to visit several physicians before a correct diagnosis is made.

This especially rings true for those with malignant mesothelioma, as the symptoms are generally nonspecific and often mimic more common illnesses like asthma or pneumonia. The only known cause of this often fatal condition is exposure to asbestos, a carcinogenic mineral recognized by the World Health Organization as a leading cause of occupational health cancer worldwide. As many as 125 million workers are projected to be affected by exposure to this toxin. Once the disease is diagnosed, there is usually limited information about the ailment and the best route possible for treatment. Telehealth allows physicians to document patients symptoms and refer them to a specialist with the click of a button, which is especially beneficial for those fighting the advanced stages of cancer. Although there is no definitive cure for this disease, early detection is recognized as the key to alleviating further advancement of this disease, and telemedicine provides the rapid transfer of knowledge and treatment that these patients require.

With its maximum utilization in the construction and manufacturing industries, occupational exposure to asbestos is still a threat in many countries. This calls for yet another technological solution for employers and high-risk workers around the world - occupational medicine EHR software. This software connects employers, employees, and physicians on a digital platform enabling them to easily track, monitor and provide treatment in a quick, reliable and cost-effective way.

The Future of Telemedicine

Telemedicine is changing the landscape of healthcare in its entirety by catering to the needs of the patients and their personal circumstances. In addition to tele-oncology, this tool can be applied to a number of medical fields, including teledermatology, teleradiology, telepsychology, and telepsychiatry. With countless ways to deliver remote healthcare, telehealth is transforming the healthcare industry, at a fast pace. More than half of all hospitals throughout the country have adopted this technology today. Just last year, the largest telehealth service worldwide, Teladoc, announced its remarkable progress in achieving more than 100% growth within the hospital and healthcare markets.

This significant growth shows the undeniable rise of telehealth throughout health systems and is just the beginning of its anticipated success. This growth of telemedicine has been predicted to be the highest this year and is suggested to reach as many as 7 million patients by the year-end. Further down the line, as more healthcare organizations begin implementing this alternative form of patient treatment, the overall market for telemedicine is projected to rise above 14% by 2020. Although telehealth is a work in progress, this technological advancement continues to expand because it prioritizes the needs of the patient, is cost-effective, and has the ability to connect medical experts all over the world. On a larger scale, it has the potential to help address the future shortage of oncologists and medical experts, connect underserved populations to quality care, and ultimately lead to early detection and better patient outcomes.
American Parkinson Disease Association Awards More Than $1.7 Million in Cutting-Edge Research Grants The work being done as a result of the grants in this new funding cycle will have an incredible impact on the world of PD. -- Leslie A. Chambers, President & CEO of APDA

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) has awarded more than $1.7 million to support cutting-edge Parkinsons disease (PD) research in the form of: a prestigious George C. Cotzias Fellowship, two Post-Doctoral Fellowships, 11 Research Grants, and eight APDA Centers for Advanced Research, as part of its 2018-2019 funding cycle. With someone diagnosed with PD every nine minutes, this research is critical as we push for better treatments and ultimately, a cure.

The grants are awarded through a competitive application process and reviewed by APDAs Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) which is comprised of scientists with a wide array of backgrounds and expertise in all areas relevant to PD research. The SAB meets annually to review all grant proposals and set the scientific direction of APDAs annual research investment. Their focus is to identify researchers early in their careers and attract them to the PD field, as well as to help established investigators pursue new and novel ideas. In many cases these projects produce significant pilot data, which has enabled researchers to apply for and receive multimillion dollar research grants from the National Institutes of Health and other funding institutions.

It is vital to accelerate research and support translational ideas that can lead to new treatments for those people living with PD, commented David G. Standaert, MD, PhD, John N. Whitaker Professor, Chair of Neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Medicine and Chairman of the SAB. APDAs SAB is focused on investing in the best science to support that important mission.

APDA is funding an exciting array of projects this year, said Rebecca Gilbert, MD, PhD, Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, APDA. Our funding support will help investigate new biomarkers of Parkinsons disease, examine the scientific basis for gender differences in PD, and probe the differences in PD among people of varying ethnicities, among many other worthy projects that will have an impact on the future of PD research.

The George C. Cotzias Fellowship is awarded to a young physician-scientist with exceptional promise. The award spans three years and is designed to fund a long-range project focused on PD. This years awardee is:



- Aasef Shaikh, MBBS, PhD, Cleveland VA Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, who will investigate the influence of basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum network on discordant visual input induced gait disorder in PD. The project will aim to understand how PD interferes in the brain pathways that maintain gait and balance.

Post-Doctoral Fellowships are awarded to support post-doctoral scientists whose research holds promise to provide new insights into the pathophysiology, etiology and treatment of PD. This years awardees are:



- Daniel Joyce, PhD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, who will study pupil-based biomarkers of PD.

- Giulietta Riboldi, MD, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, who will research the role of GBA mutations in the pathogenesis of PD.

Research Grants are awarded to investigators performing innovative PD research at major academic institutions across the United States. This years awardees and their areas of study are as follows:



- Tim Bartels, PhD, The Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston, MA: Alpha-synuclein related lipid pathology in PD

- Christopher Bishop, PhD, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY: Targeting the Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus to optimize treatment of PD

- Shu Chen, PhD, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH: Novel knockin models linking Rab phosphorylation to neurodegeneration in PD

- Elizabeth Disbrow, PhD, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA: Diversity in biomarker discovery

- Yuanfang Guan, PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: Digital biomarkers for monitoring PD

- Mallory Hacker, PhD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN: Investigating long-term clinical outcomes of Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in early-stage PD

- Magdalena Ivanova, PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI: Biochemical and structural studies of alpha-synuclein fibrils derived from brain tissues with PD and dementia with Lewy bodies with Alzheimers disease

- Cameron Jeter, PhD, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX: Protective role of the oral microbiome in PD

- Eunsung Junn, PhD, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ: In vivo identification of microRNAs associated with alpha-synuclein mRNA

- Roberta Marongiu, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY: Menopause as an important transition state in the susceptibility to PD

- Talene Yacoubian, MD, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birminham, AL: Rab27b as a potential regulator of alpha-synuclein spread

APDA Centers for Advanced Research support large PD research programs which include research trainees, fellowship programs, early-stage discovery programs and later-stage clinical translation. These Centers facilitate research which is at the forefront of investigation into the cause, treatment and ultimately cure for PD. This year, two new Centers were chosen through a competitive application process. The current APDA Centers for Advanced Research are:



- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA

- Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA

- Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL (new)

- Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ

- The Brigham and Womens Hospital, Boston, MA (new)

- University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL

- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA

- Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO

Learn more about these grantees and the exciting work they are doing and browse all APDA-funded research by visiting https://www.apdaparkinson.org/research/what-we-fund/.

The work being done as a result of the grants in this new funding cycle will have an incredible impact on the world of PD, stated Leslie A. Chambers, President & CEO of APDA. This work is only possible because of the steadfast support of our generous APDA donors.

Researchers and physicians who are interested in applying for APDA funding can visit for details on the 2019-2020 funding opportunities.

The American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA) is the largest grassroots network dedicated to fighting Parkinsons disease (PD) and works tirelessly to assist the more than 1 million Americans with PD live life to the fullest in the face of this chronic, neurological disorder. Founded in 1961, APDA has raised and invested more than $177 million to provide outstanding patient services and educational programs, elevate public awareness about the disease, and support research designed to unlock the mysteries of PD and ultimately put an end to this disease. To join us in the fight against Parkinsons disease and to learn more about the support APDA provides nationally through our network of Chapters and Information & Referral (I&R) Centers, as well as our national Research Program and Centers for Advanced Research, please visit us at http://www.apdaparkinson.org.

TO VIEW APDA'S RESEARCH VIDEO, CLICK HERE.

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Queensland, Australia is pleased to advise a positive update on the recovery status of the iconic Great Barrier Reef. The Reef & Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC), a non-profit enterprising Australian organization, has reported substantial signs of recovery for corals affected by mass coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. A milder 2017-18 summer as well as cooperation between science, industry and government is supporting the recovery of the Reef in many important locations.

The majestic Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and the worlds largest living organism, stretching 1,430 miles and featuring an abundance of marine life with over 3,000 individual reef systems and coral cays as well as hundreds of tropical islands with some of the worlds most beautiful sun-soaked, golden beaches.

As an iconic natural wonder and an unforgettable lifetime experience, the Great Barrier Reef is one of the worlds most sought-after tourism destinations, offering an abundance of experiences for travelers such as snorkeling, scuba diving, aerial tours and marine educational tours. Tourism provides critical support of the Great Barrier Reef, as visitor fees contribute to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the federal agency with oversight for the protection and scientific research to support the sustainability of the reef, including regulations that provide a global benchmark for responsible tourism practice.

Reefs around the world experienced bleaching in 2016 and 2017, and while the northern part of the Great Barrier Reef did experience some severe bleaching, this condition did not affect the entire Reef and there are currently encouraging signs of recovery at a variety of key tourism sites. Recent photos taken in June and July 2018 show healthy, vibrant coral at numerous locations that suffered during the back-to back coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2017 including Fitzroy Island, Moore Reef and Saxon Reef near Cairns, among other locations.

Coral bleaching occurs when corals experience too much stress  i.e. from high water temperatures or poor water quality - and eject their symbiotic zooxanthellae, losing their distinctive colors. If stressful conditions persist, the corals will die, but if conditions return to acceptable levels, some corals can re-absorb zooxanthellae and recover. A relatively cooler 2017-2018 summer in the northern Great Barrier Reef has helped many corals affected by the mass bleaching to start the journey back to good health.

The Reef Restoration Foundation, a nonprofit social enterprise creating optimism for the Great Barrier Reef through innovative coral reef restoration techniques, established the first ocean-based coral nursery in the Great Barrier Reef in December 2017 to regenerate damaged coral reefs at Fitzroy Island, Cairns, and have plans to install a series of other nurseries throughout the Great Barrier Reef. They are pleased to report that the first crop of corals have exceeded expectations, increasing in size 2.5 times in six months with nine out of 10 corals thriving and 222 new coral fragments resulting from the initial 24 pieces of coral initially harvested. They will soon attach about 100 of these thriving corals onto damaged coral reefs at Fitzroy Island.

Tourism operators have also reported improvements in the condition of corals at their high-profile dive sites. Quicksilver Group Environmental Compliance Manager Doug Baird said there had been widespread recovery from the 2016 and 2017 mass bleaching events at the companys regular sites.

All of our sites that survived the mass bleaching events have shown strong signs of recovery, they look great now. We were fortunate that the effects of bleaching were very patchy, Doug said. I was in the water a few weeks ago at our pontoon site at Agincourt Reef and it looks stunning, theres staghorn coral thats budding out and regrowing.

The Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) in cooperation with the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO) conducted detailed surveys of bleaching levels at key dive tourism sites around Cairns in 2016. While many of the primary dive sites were not affected in the 2016 bleaching, quite a few were quite strongly affected in the 2017 event. Fortunately, these are the same reefs showing strong signs of recovery.

It is important to realize that bleaching occurs in multiple stages, ranging from the equivalent of a mild sunburn to coral mortality  so when a reef is reported as bleached in the media, that often leaves out a critical detail on how severe that bleaching is, at what depth the bleaching has occurred and if its going to cause permanent damage to the coral at that site, RRRC Managing Director Sheriden Morris said.

The Great Barrier Reef is a very large and diverse coral system with a high level of biodiversity and has significant capacity to recover from health impacts like bleaching events. Increasing temperatures experienced around the world from climate change means that the pressure on the Great Barrier Reef is going to continue into the future. In addition to government and community actions to reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of water running into the GBR, managers and operators on the Great Barrier Reef will need to do all they can to protect and support their individual sites.

Multiple recent reports and images from marine tourism operators and from the tourists themselves show some sites are recovering quite well.

Saxon Reef, for example, suffered some form of bleaching on 47.1 per cent of its live coral cover during the 2016 event. Fortunately, much of the bleached coral recovered thanks to better conditions experienced in 2018. However, this recovery is always going to be contingent on environmental conditions. It is critical that all efforts are made to promote the health and resilience of the Great Barrier Reef. It is clearly a misconception that the whole of the GBR suffered from severe coral bleaching and that the reef is dead. This is blatantly untrue said Sheriden Morris.

Sheriden Morris added We all know that the reef may suffer further bleaching events as the climate continues to warm, but we have to do everything we possibly can to help protect our Great Barrier Reef.

The RRRC co-hosted a major Great Barrier Reef Restoration Symposium in July in Cairns, the traditional visitor gateway to the reef. Over 300 scientists, engineers and marine tourism industry representatives from 14 countries explored ways to support tropical coral reefs in the face of the worlds warming climate. The Great Barrier Reef Restoration Symposium was a first of its kind to be held that focused on restoration and recovery of coral reef systems. The Symposium highlighted local actions that can be implemented to recover and be more resilient from impacts such as bleaching.

For more information on the Great Barrier Reef, coral bleaching, and specific reef preservation efforts, please see this video from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority: https://bit.ly/2CvvHxU

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ABOUT TOURISM AND EVENTS QUEENSLAND

Queensland is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. Situated in the north-east of the country, it is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. Queensland has 14 destination regions, the most popular of which include Brisbane, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef, Fraser Coast, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, and The Whitsundays. Queensland is a fascinating mix of cities and coast and offers an array of diverse experience throughout its many regions from the quintessential Aussie beach experience and the islands of the Great Barrier Reef to nature & world heritage experiences and indigenous culture.
Top Harlingen Accident Attorneys There are plenty of busy roads around the area of Harlingen, Texas.

The Villarreal Law Firm, a team of accident attorneys serving Harlingen and Brownsville, Texas, is proud to announce an informational page bringing together its blog content on Harlingen-related issues. The law firm has aggressively pushed its Internet content so that Harlingen residents who may have been in an automobile or trucking accident have an easy Internet reference point when considering hiring an accident or personal injury attorney.

There are plenty of busy roads around the area of Harlingen, Texas. Truckers, commuters and visitors are all on the same roads, explained attorney Javier Villarreal, managing partner at the law firm. When a crash or fender bender occurs, our new informational page can provide guidance for Harlingen residents who may turn first to an Internet search to locate a Harlingen, Texas, attorney.

Interested persons can review the new category at https://www.jvlawfirm.net/tag/harlingen. Those seeking even more information on Harlingen, Texas, and related accident attorney services can visit the city-specific page at https://www.jvlawfirm.net/harlingen/.

HARLINGEN ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS HELP RIO GRANDE VALLEY RESIDENTS NAVIGATE LEGAL TERRITORY

Here is background on this release. Trucking accidents, car crashes and motorcycle accidents unfortunately happen on a daily a basis on Harlingen, Texas, streets and highways. When they are a victim of an accident, residents may pull out their mobile phone and immediately search for personal injury attorneys or at least introductory information on whether a lawsuit may be a good strategy. The new informational page highlights personal injury issues specific to Harlingen, Texas, and surrounding Cameron County.

A local roadway could seem like familiar territory to a daily commuter. Busy drive times and merging lanes may be on the radar of a local driver. It may be common for a Harlingen local to be aware of possible dangers along a familiar roadway. It may be important to learn the most cautious driver could still end up in a car accident. If a car crash occurs on the way to work in the Rio Grande Valley, a driver may not understand how to navigate a personal injury claim. A team of Harlingen accident attorneys could provide answers.

For these reasons, Villarreal Law Firm has announced a new category to its blog so that Harlingen residents can quickly and easily find information specific to Harlingen. That said, after reading the information, the next best step is to reach out for an attorney consultation as only a skilled and knowledgeable attorney can fight for the rights of their clients in a Texas court of law.

ABOUT THE VILLARREAL LAW FIRM

The law firm of Javier Villarreal offers a team of attorneys, considered among the best personal injury attorneys in Brownsville, Texas, and surrounding cities in Cameron County. Whether a person is looking for an auto or car accident attorney, a lawyer with deep experience in trucking accidents and litigation (including 18 wheelers), or a lawyer for injuries that resulted from motorcycles, boating, or other forms of accidents (including slip and fall), the Villarreal team of attorneys can help. The attorneys fight for client rights throughout Cameron County - and are known as the top personal injury lawyers in Brownsville and Harlingen, from Los Fresnos to San Benito, and in all of South Padre Island.

Web. https://www.jvlawfirm.net/

Tel. 956-544-4444.
From left to right: Chris Ragland, Animalytix LLC, Ashley Kalinauskas, Torigen, Alyssa Matz, Torigen, John Kallassy, Torigen, Dr. Karthik Ramachandran, Likarda

Torigen Pharmaceuticals, a company developing personalized cancer immunotherapies for the veterinary market, has been awarded the prestigious 2018 Innovation Award at the 10th Annual KC Animal Health Corridor Investment Forum in Kansas City, MO.

Torigen was among 12 emerging animal health companies selected by a committee of leading agricultural and animal health experts that pitched for the top honor in a Shark Tank style format. Each company was given ten minutes to present their company followed by a five-minute Q&A session with scientists and top executives from within the animal health industry. The event attracted over 1,000 animal health industry executives, venture capital firms, investors and potential partners. As the winner, Torigen receives a $10,000 prize.

Cancer rates in pets are increasing and existing treatment options are impractical or too expensive for many pet owners, said Torigens CEO Ashley Kalinauskas, This recognition from industry leaders validates the innovative work we are doing at Torigen and should facilitate new interest in our company from the entire animal health community.

Select veterinarians throughout the U.S are currently using Torigens experimental companion animal cancer treatment, which utilizes a portion of the patients own tumor that is sent to Torigens laboratory for creation of a personalized vaccine. The company was created by Kalinauskas as part of her graduate thesis project at the University of Notre Dame, working alongside advisor and co-founder, Dr. Mark Suckow.

The KC Animal Health Investment Forum offers one of the only opportunities in the world for early-stage companies in the animal health sector to present their vision and business plan to potential investors and industry partners, said Kimberly Young, President of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor. The event is the premier stage for emerging companies to showcase innovations and technologies. Torigen was selected based on their potential to revolutionize cancer therapies within the animal health industry.

About Torigen Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Torigen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is focused on delivering affordable companion animal immuno-oncology products. Their initial patented product line utilizes a portion of the pet-patients tumor to create a personalized cancer vaccine. With over 10 years of supporting pre-clinical publications, the Torigen team is focused on developing innovative veterinary cancer biologics that allow for the body to recognize foreign tumor-associated antigens and facilitate the reversal of immune senescence. For more information, please visit http://www.torigen.com.

About the KC Animal Health Corridor

Companies with a business location in the KC Animal Health Corridor account for more than half of the sales generated by the global animal health industry. The Corridor, anchored by Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, is home to more than 300 animal health companies, representing the largest concentration in the world. For more information, visit http://www.kcanimalhealth.com.
Uberall, Inc., a global leader in location marketing solutions for businesses competing to attract and win local brick-and-mortar customers, today announced the acquisition of Navads, a company in listings and location data management for agencies that serve enterprise and SMB brands. The acquisition makes Uberall one of the largest location marketing platforms in the world, supporting nearly 700,000 locations for over 1,500 customers for Uberall and Navads globally.

Navads is used by more than 800 brands across four continents, including global companies like; Shell, BP, and McDonalds. The Navads API is also relied upon by many marketing technology companies, resellers and agencies to power their enterprise and SMB clients. The teams extensive experience and deep industry knowledge will help Uberall continue to scale worldwide and meet the growing demand for its technology.

We've known Navads, and especially the executive team, for a long time. Their customer base, knowledge and network in the global mapping industry will greatly contribute to the impact Uberall has on local businesses," said Florian Huebner, Co-CEO of Uberall. "In partnering with them, we manifest our position as a global leader for local marketing and emphasize our presence in the US, where Navads has seen considerable growth. We are excited to be building on their focus on supporting the developments in autonomous driving, augmented reality and voice search and to introducing their clients to Uberall."

According to Google, mobile near me searches for brands and products close by have increased dramatically by 200% since 2016. As more consumers search locally, location-based marketing is critical for multi-site brands and businesses.

Uberalls flagship Location Marketing Cloud platform gives businesses central control of their digital presence and online reputation, providing a consistent, accurate digital brand footprint. By enabling businesses to easily manage interactions at the location level in real-time across websites, mobile apps, store locators, search engines, maps, social media and voice assistants, the Location Marketing Cloud helps capture new customers and maximize revenue for every location.

Navads is an industry leader in listings and location data management, distributed by a growing network of resellers and industry partners. Navads ensures business listings are optimized throughout the entire local search ecosystem, specializing in mobile navigation, autonomous vehicles and voice search.

We are excited to join the Uberall team, said Lex ten Veen, CEO of Navads. Navads, as a location technology company, has created a unique position in the global market for local search. The integration will result in greater value to our customers, partners, and the industry, and forms one of the largest location marketing platforms in the world.

To support the acquisition, Uberall has secured an additional $25 million investment as an extension of its Series B round, which was initially announced in February. The extension brings the Series B round to a total of $50 million. Existing investors HPE Growth Capital, Project A and United Internet all participated in the $25 million extension, led by HPE Growth Capital. Terms of the Navads acquisition were not disclosed.

We are excited to further support the Uberall team on their path towards market leadership, including the current funding for the Navads acquisition, said Manfred Krikke, Partner at HPE Growth Capital. Location marketing spend is growing very rapidly as consumer behavior trends towards localized search. Uberall is globally the best positioned platform to help brands realize the value of their investment in engaging with local consumers.

Added Huebner: Our investors are great partners and understand the potential of our service. Local marketing is a $150-billion category and we are a global leader in our space. Were excited about the future.

For more information about Uberall, visit: http://uberall.com/.

About Uberall, Inc.

Uberall is a global leader in location marketing technology. Its flagship Location Marketing Cloud platform empowers the worlds biggest brands to connect with their customers and turn online interactions into offline sales. Uberall gives businesses central control of their digital presence and online reputation, enabling them to easily manage brand interactions in real-time on all digital platformsmobile, voice and desktopacross websites, mobile apps, store locators, search engines, maps, social platforms, and advertising networks. The Location Marketing Cloud provides a consistent, accurate digital brand footprint that helps businesses capture new customers and maximize revenue for every location.

Uberall is headquartered in Berlin, with additional offices in San Francisco, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Cape Town. Its clients include Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders from all over the world.

Learn more at http://www.uberall.com.

About Navads

Navads is a global company in the GPS, mapping and navigation ecosystem offering location data management for enterprise and SMB brands worldwide. Distributed by a network of resellers and industry partners, Navads ensures business listings are optimized throughout the entire local search ecosystem. Through its data-quality-focused platform, Navads aims to be the preferred data supplier to the navigation and mapping industry and has strategic relationships with all the principal map development companies, including Google, Waze, Uber, TomTom, Apple and HERE and is trusted by over 800 brands across four continents. Navads is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands with an office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Learn more at http://www.navads.eu
Clothing chain store New Look has closed its Burnham-On-Sea shop this week.

The store in Burnham-On-Seas High Street shut for the final time on September 2nd and is now vacant, as pictured above.

The fashion retailer initially revealed in March that several of its stores would be closing amid challenging trading conditions, but the Burnham store was safe at the time.

But in August the firm said that the store would be closing.

It is a blow to Burnham town centre following the closure of Clarks shoe shop earlier this year and several bank branches.

A spokesman for Burnham-On-Sea Chamber of Trade said: We are very disappointed that New Look has closed their Burnham store  they were a high-profile chain store in the High Street and our thoughts are with the staff affected.

Burnham still has a great range of independent shops though, and we encourage shoppers to get into our town centre and support them whenever possible.
Texican Court, opening fall 2018 "This type of platform is an entertaining way to engage our guests and customers right from the comfort of their home while they dream of their future visit," says Amy Trench, Corporate Director of Brand Marketing & PR

Valencia Group is elevating the guest booking experience with the launch of its new virtual reality platform. The Houston-based hotel company has partnered with YouVisit to provide potential guests the opportunity to experience its properties, prior to booking a stay or checking in. Harnessing nostalgia for the motor court travel adventures of yesteryear, Lone Star Court in Austin, Texas and Cavalry Court in College Station, Texas have a retro feel, while offering upscale amenities.

The unique qualities of the court branded hotels, make for a perfect pairing with VR technology as the virtual tour gives a real-life look at their fun and quirky signature offerings such as outdoor fire pits, SMEG refrigerators, vintage cars and live music. Through the new platform, users can take 360-degree tours of the properties on desktop, or engage in a fully immersive exploration via smartphone headsets.

This virtual reality experience has answered the question thats so often asked, What is a court? The real-life visuals of our properties help us to tell our brand story, says Amy Trench, Corporate Director of Brand Marketing & Public Relations. This type of platform is also an entertaining way to engage our guests and customers right from the comfort of their home while they dream of their future visit.

As Valencia Groups court brand continues to expand with the upcoming opening of Texican Court in Dallas this fall, guests will be able to get a feel for what the new property will have to offer by experiencing the brands existing retro-inspired court properties through the virtual reality platform.

To view Valencia Groups virtual reality platform, visit http://www.lonestarcourt.com/#virtualtour or Apple and Android users can download the Valencia Group mobile app in the iTunes or Google Play store.

About YouVisit

YouVisit leverages the immersive power of virtual reality and virtual experiences to spark curiosity, inspire exploration, and go beyond the boundaries of whats possible. YouVisit has partnered with thousands of businesses and institutions to create, distribute, and monetize interactive virtual experiences.

About Valencia Group

Houston-based Valencia Group is a fully integrated hospitality company that provides management, development, branding and repositioning services for independent, full-service hotels owned by the company, in addition to third parties. Exceptional service, style and location have become brand trademarks. Earning both national and international recognition for their distinctive designs, amenities and settings, Valencia Group properties are destinations and gathering places within their respective communities, some further benefitting from and enriching their space within the cultural heart of a city. The company continues to forge a niche with hotels that anchor and add value to urban, mixed-use environments, which further support or enhance the guest experience with superior residential, restaurant, retail and office components. The Valencia Group portfolio currently includes the Valencia brands: Hotel Valencia Santana Row in San Jose, CA and Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. The Sorella brand includes Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE in Houston, TX by developer Midway. Other brands include Midway and Valencia Groups The George in College Station, TX and Midways Hotel Alessandra in Houston, TX. The Court concept brands include Lone Star Court in Austin, TX, Cavalry Court in College Station, TX and Texican Court, coming soon to Irving, TX. For more information, visit http://www.valenciagroup.com.
The conference takes place on September 11th and 12th in Chicago and includes the following topics:



Supply chain optimization and risk management

Globalizing distribution channels

Managing a dynamic workforce

Leadership and talent acquisition -- training tomorrow's leaders

Latest advances in technology

Big data analytics

Supply chain sustainability

The North American Supply Chain Executive Summit aims to bring together a wide array of industry experts, service and solution providers, and media partners from across North America to network, benchmark, share, and learn real-world solutions to universal challenges that face every SCM professional in their daily work.

In addition to sponsoring and exhibiting, Vanguard is hosting a roundtable discussion during the lunch hour of day one of the conference. Brian Lewis, EVP of Vanguard Software, will discuss how companies can optimize their inventory levels with Prescriptive Analytics and Monte Carlo simulation. Sign up on site as seating is limited.

Visit our booth (Booth #1) to learn more about Vanguard Software, a true integrated business planning (IBP), forecasting, and advanced analytics cloud platform.

About Vanguard Software

Vanguard Software introduced its first product for decision support analysis in 1995. Today, companies across every major industry and more than 60 countries rely on Vanguard Softwares Predictive Planning, an IBP Platform. Vanguard Software is based in Cary, North Carolina.
Virtual companies, including Uber, Airbnb and Alibaba, illustrate that the most successful businesses of the 21st century do not exist in traditional buildings. The Internet and technology make it possible to conduct business virtually and allows the business operator to live a meaningful life while earning a respectable income. With approximately 1.34 million attorneys in the United States, the legal profession is ripe to follow in the footsteps of so many successful companies building their platform and conducting business virtually.

Vanst Law, LLP opened its virtual doors on Sept. 4. At this unique and modern law firm, all attorneys are partners with their own book of business. They set their own rates, decide when and how many hours they work each month, and retain substantially more of their earnings. Attorneys work from home or lease space. Because there is no centralized office, Vanst significantly cuts out the bloated overhead costs attorneys normally slave away paying for, and for which clients are billed higher rates.

Additionally, Vanst uses software to provide better services and create a culture of constant collaboration and support. And most importantly, attorneys earn a higher percentage of what they collect. Partners at Vanst take home 70 percent of what they collect on their own clients, compared to the traditional 30-50 percent an attorney earns at a traditional law firm.

Cynthia Morgan-Reed, a San Diego land use attorney, gave up her successful solo practice to launch Vanst because of her passion to provide a firm where attorneys are treated fairly, paid what they deserve, and exist in a culture that empowers them to do what they do best: practice exceptional law.

After my own law firm experiences of sexism, discrimination, and pay inequity, I excelled as a solo practitioner and obtained the financial freedom and flexibility I wanted, said Morgan-Reed. But I continued to be frustrated with the stories of my colleagues and friends that mirrored my own negative experience in traditional law firms. These were strong, smart people who loved what they did, but were continually beaten down by the law firm structure in which they were practicing.

Vanst is especially appealing to women who seek the opportunity to earn as much  if not more than  the standard 89% of their male attorney counterparts salary. Minority and male attorneys who are seeking better income opportunities while working less will also benefit.

Attorneys must meet Vansts stringent standards and have at least seven years of experience in the practice of law (though most of the partners are in the 15 + year range) and have a majority of training and practice experience with a large law firm. The firm also looks for strong educational credentials from respected institutions, adherence to the highest standards of legal ethics and professionalism, exceptional skills and knowledge in their primary practice areas, and a commitment to Vansts culture of supporting and empowering each other.

Morgan-Reed encourages attorneys who are dissatisfied with their current firm and who have a book of business to look at alternate ways to practice law that fits the lifestyle they want to live.

Whether raising a family or being treated fairly, attorneys should realize they cannot succeed in a model that doesnt value them and their life goals, said Morgan-Reed. This Modern Law Firm model allows attorneys to live a meaningful life on their terms while reaping the financial rewards they deserve.

Vanst currently has attorneys in San Diego practicing in the areas of business and corporate law, land use law, lobbying, real estate law, and tax law. This modern law firm is seeking qualified California attorneys in the following areas of law: business and corporate, intellectual property, litigation and dispute resolution, trust and estates, land use, and real estate. Vanst plans to expand its offerings throughout California and across the United States. Learn more at https://vanstlaw.com/
Z-Medica, LLC, a leading developer and manufacturer of hemostatic devices, announced today that Joshua Hazelton, DO, FACS, FACOS was recently appointed Chief Medical Officer. In his new, part-time role, Dr. Hazelton will serve as a liaison, resource and advisor on clinical matters pertaining to Z-Medicas hemostatic device product portfolio.

Dr. Hazelton is a graduate of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, where he completed Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and General Surgery Residency. He completed his Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Cooper University Hospital and currently serves as Attending Trauma Surgeon, Director of Trauma Research and Associate Trauma Medical Director at Cooper University Health System, where he will continue in his full-time position.

We have long respected the work being done by Dr. Hazelton at Cooper University Health System and are excited to welcome him to the Z-Medica team, said Eric Compton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Z-Medica. His extensive experience as a surgeon in a Level 1 Trauma Center will undoubtedly enable him to offer incredibly valuable insight as we work to develop, manufacture and market products designed to control bleeding and improve patient outcomes.

In his role as Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazelton will report to Dina Dubey, Chief Operating Officer, and his responsibilities will include serving as a clinical advisor to the quality, regulatory, R&D, sales and marketing departments; participating in pre-clinical, clinical and regulatory strategy discussions; developing training programs, and guiding publication strategy.

As a board-certified physician who has spent my career working in trauma, I have experienced firsthand the positive impact Z-Medica and the QuikClot products have made on hemorrhage control through the introduction of efficient and effective bleeding control tools, said Dr. Joshua Hazelton. I am thrilled to be part of this team of professionals who are so clearly committed to delivering new and innovative solutions to healthcare providers, military personnel, first responders and consumers around the world.

About Z-Medica, LLC

Z-Medica, LLC, a Linden Capital Partners portfolio company, is a medical device manufacturer based in Wallingford, CT that is focused on the development, sale and marketing of innovative hemorrhage control products. For over a decade, Z-Medica has helped hospitals, militaries, law enforcement, first responders and consumers around the globe save lives and improve medical outcomes with their QuikClot brand of products which are manufactured in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.QuikClot.com and http://www.Z-Medica.com. Follow us on Twitter @QuikClot and Facebook @QuikClotFans.
This years 25th Beijing International Book Fair, which ran from August 22 to 26, threw the spotlight on Chinas boomingand massivechildrens book market, with a 14,000-square meter exhibition hall dedicated to anything and everything to do with childrens content. The inaugural Beijing International Childrens Book Fair hosted local and overseas publishers and technology partners looking to integrate publishing, multimedia, licensing, and film/television for the countrys estimated 370 million children under the age of 18. Weve gathered a selection of photo highlights from the fair. All photos by Ryk Hsieh unless otherwise stated.

Blue skies and a bright sun greeted exhibitors and visitors at the 25th Beijing International Book Fair.



Penguin Fairy Tale is one of the emerging Chinese companies that are focused on publishing digital content for children and creating IPs across different platforms. Incubated by Tencent Holdings, it recently received a $6.3 million investment to further ramp up its content creation efforts.

Subsidiary rights specialist Kimberly Williams and marketing director Jason Wells of the American Psychological Association signed a deal with Chemical Industry Press at the fair. The Chinese publisher bought 20 new titles from Magination Press (APAs childrens imprint), bringing the total bought so far to around 50. Recent years have seen very few deals inked during the fair itself. Photo: Janet Fritsch.

Visitors checking out selected artworks from 66 illustrators from around the world at the BIBF Ananas Illustration Exhibition. This year's Ananas Grand Prix went to Chinese illustrator Liao Ziying, while Grand Jury prizes were awarded to Liao Zongyi (from China), Ekaterina Mikhalina (Russia), and Liva Ozola (Latvia).

A storytelling/origami session based on Katharine Holabirds Angelina Ballerina series, hosted by Chinas biggest online book retailer, Dangdang.

Peppa Pig has become one of China's biggest brands since the cartoon's 2015 launch in that country. This series, which is aired by national broadcaster China Central Television, has also received more than 34 billion views on online video websites, and this success has prompted the planning of two theme parks (in Beijing and Shanghai) for 2019.

Baby Cube, which started as a reading/online book club, is one of the many publishing companies that owe much of their existence to the rise (and success) of social media platformspowered by messaging app WeChat and microblogging site Weiboin marketing and selling childrens books in China.

Colorful aisle banners in the childrens zone highlighted the importance of reading and picture books. This one, for instance, says: Open a picture book. Find a new world.

The booth counter for Ellabook, a digital reading platform for kids three to 10 years old, featured the companys mascot of a smiling owl with a book.

Anhui Childrens Publishing Houses complex pop-up book on the Chinese classic Journey to the West had this boys full attention.

Book and app publisher Nosy Crows booth was a hive of activity during the fair.

Nothing attracts children (and adults) like dinosaurs, and at the PNSO World of Dinosaurs booth, visitors traveled back to prehistoric times through a scientific art exhibition created by artist Zhao Chuang and writer Yang Yang.
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There's a new front in the dockless scooter war.

European ride-hailing firm Taxify is to launch electric scooters for hire in Paris this week, expanding beyond private hire cabs for the first time and jumping on a major Silicon Valley bandwagon.

The company will roll out a fleet of dockless scooters in the French capital this week under the new brand name of Bolt. Passengers will be able to see Bolt scooters available for hire around the city through Taxify's main app, and hire them for 0.15 a minute, with a minimum fare of 1.

The scooters will come with inbuilt GPS, and passengers will be able to "unlock" them by scanning a QR code on the vehicles. Taxify said it would collect scooters every evening for recharging and maintenance.

Paris has become the primary jumping off point for scooter startups launching in Europe because electric scooters are currently illegal in the UK thanks to the Highway Act 1835.

Established US startups Bird and Lime have raised huge amounts of money from venture capital and flooded American cities with scooters before pushing into Europe in recent months, starting with Paris.

Taxify CEO Markus Villig said his firm has the advantage of 500,000 users in Paris already. He also said regulation didn't pose much of a challenge to launching.

"You need to have good relations with a city to deploy hundreds or thousands of scooters," he told Business Insider. "We have been in talks with the local mayor for months and they are essentially very welcoming of scooters."

Asked about the competition, Villig said the goal was to persuade rivals onto the Taxify app.

"Currently we own all our scooters, but we have an ecosystem where we can plug in other providers," Villig said. "At the end of the day, our goal is to be a transportation provider... giving passengers as many options as we can.

"The journey should start with 'Where do you want to go?' and we then offer them a range of options. But we don't have to do it all ourselves."

Uber, which is also expanding from ride-hailing into electric bikes and scooters, has already struck a similar partnership with Lime.

Taxify said it planned to launch scooters in other European cities, and Villig told Business Insider the firm was in talks with London's transport regulator about a British launch. The company is already barred from operating its ride-hailing service in London thanks to issues with its licence, and is currently fighting to relaunch in the capital.

Villig said: "Were in talks with the city on both the ride-hailing front and on launching scooters. Its quite obvious that in the long-term, small vehicles are much more efficient from a traffic point of view, [and] environmental impact, [and] ease of use... It's a matter of how fast cities will realise this and regulate."

Both Bird and Lime are currently lobbying for a change in the law to allow scooters in the UK.

Taxify eyes IPO

Taxify raised $153 million from auto firm Daimler in May to fund its expansion. Asked if the company planned to follow Uber and Lyft down the IPO route, Villig said a float would probably happen but the company was still in the building stages.

"Definitely, as we need further funding, an IPO is one of the options for us," he said. "We are currently still in the developing phase [and that is] a bit longer down the line."
The agreement - signed by representatives of the Government of National Accord, military commanders, security apparatuses and armed groups present in and around the Capital  comprises an immediate cessation of hostilities and a mechanism to monitor infractions. Upon signing the agreement, the parties committed to:

Cease all hostilities; Halt any further hostile movement that would hamper implementation of the ceasefire; Ensure civilians are not put at risk and human rights are respected as stipulated by national and international laws; Protect all private and public properties; Ensure the reopening of Mitiga airport as well as all roads in and out of the Capital; Refrain from taking any action that may lead to armed confrontation including all movement of forces, ammunition resupply, or any other action that could be viewed as generating tensions; Ensure that all groups under their command shall observe this Agreement.

The Mission will reach out to other parties who expressed interest in joining the ceasefire but were unable to attend, and commits to continue facilitations to strengthen the ceasefire and discuss the appropriate security arrangements in the Capital.

Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ghassan Salame will continue to offer good offices and work with all parties to reach a lasting political agreement acceptable to all to avoid further loss of lives and for the benefit of the people of Libya.
Liu Jiaqi who until his latest predicament worked at Sonlink Limited, a motorbikes shop in Ruiru is seen in a secretly filmed video insolently and unapologetically declaring hatred towards his host country.

He is heard in the video saying: "Everyone, every Kenyan is like a monkey. Even Uhuru Kenyatta, all of them. I dont like you monkey people, you smell bad and foolish and black."

The video literally shook the entire Kenyan populace as most people called for his immediate arrest and deportation.

READ MORE: Uber driver forces bragging slay queen to buy fuel for his car

Following the expression of anger, authorities have arrested Liu Jiaqi and processes are said to be underway for his deportation without delay.

The Kenyan Immigration Department said in a tweet that: "Chinese National by the Name Liu Jiaqi who was captured on video yesterday using abusive words has been arrested. His work permit has been cancelled and will be deported on racism grounds."

It is unclear what compelled the young Chinese in his 20s or early 30s to openly declare so much hatred for the country in which he makes his daily bread.
In a bid to remain physically young and attractive in the contemporary society, women, especially the youth have been using all sorts of substances to enhance their beauty.

Some resort to dangerous chemicals through injection and other means to achieve bigger breasts and buttocks.

The latest to have hit the internet is the use of toothpaste to firm up sagging breasts.

Naturally, as women age and continue to give birth, their breasts are no longer small and attractive, but a certain Nigerian YouTuber by the name NaturalBeauty556 says sagging of breasts should be a thing of the past, thanks to toothpaste.

READ MORE: African women are using maggi cubes and chicken stock to enlarge buttocks

Explaining the procedure in a YouTube video, the lady mixed yoghurt, toothpaste, cucumber, flour and egg whites in a bowl then went ahead to apply the contents on her breasts, saying it works within six days.

Though this so called remedy is not scientifically proven, should it become known by women as efficacious, toothpaste manufacturers would have to brace themselves up to face the increased demands to avoid global shortage.

Watch the video below:
Burnham-On-Seas MP has this week said he believes taxes will need to be raised to fund public services.

James Heappeys comments have come in the same week that Somerset County Council has unveiled proposals to cut up to 130 staff and slash public services in a bid to save millions of pounds, as we reported here.

The MP says: The financial woes of our county council have brought into sharp focus the age old political quandary of whether people will pay more in tax in order to fund public services.

In my short time in politics, Ive found that people will often say that theyd be willing to but when elections come, low tax manifestos win more support.

Somerset County Council did the right thing: Whilst wages were stagnant and the financial crisis at its worst, council tax was frozen so that hardworking taxpayers could keep more of their cash.

As necessary as that was however, during the same period demand for key council services like adult social care rocketed meaning the council was being asked to do more whilst asking taxpayers for less money.

At the same time, the Government in Westminster was grappling with the same challenge. We were running a huge deficit and our national debt was growing quickly.

Indeed the interest on our national debt is now the third biggest payment the Government of the United Kingdom makes each year costing us more than the defence of our nation and the education of our young people.

Government spending had to brought into balance and that meant some very difficult decisions which included cuts to the money received by councils from central government.

Alongside that is the utterly iniquitous funding formula designed by the last Labour Government which works massively to the advantage of cities. The Government has pledged to change this but frankly that hasnt happened quickly enough and so its no surprise that it is rural county councils like Somerset that are struggling most with their finances.

Ive spoken in Parliament many times about the funding challenges we face in Somerset and through my chairmanship of the Rural Fair Share Campaign secured a commitment to recalculate the funding formula.

But none of that changes that there simply isnt the money in Westminster or at County Hall to deliver everything that people want unless taxes go up. Ill be asking Government for more but I fear well be needing to ask you for more too.
If you refuse, for instance, to relocate Karpower as quickly as possible, this government will be losing US $40million every single month, Mr Amewu said.

The Minister was speaking during a tour of some energy facilities in the Western Region.

He added that the relocation will ensure availability and access to cheaper fuel supply to the plant to ensure continuous power supply.

READ ALSO: MTN CEO dances Agbadza
According to the Public Relations Officer of the MoH, Robert Cudjoe, the government has decided to demonstrate commitment by employing 14,000 of the nurses.

The assurance comes after the Coalition of Unemployed Nurses and Midwives gave the government a three-week ultimatum to release their financial clearance and get them posted else they will storm the Jubilee House with protests.

Two groups; the "Unemployed Nurse Assistants Association 2016" and the "Coalition of Unposted Private Nurses" have been picketing the premises of the Health Ministry and the Jubilee to put pressure on the Ministry to capture their data and get them posted.

Some unemployed graduate nurses in February demanding posting picketed at the Health Ministry.

Others also strongly protested government's decision to enroll them on the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo). They said that would not give them job security.

Meanwhile, Robert Cudjoe in an interview on Accra-based FM said the decision to employ 14,000 of the nurses is a result of the ongoing protests in various regions across the country in demand for jobs pending a proper dialogue with the coalition on the way forward.

He said: "We have received information although not officially from them about their demonstrations in some of the regions of our country. Some of us have been talking to them and I believe other officers have been able to also discuss issues with the leadership and all that, so, we have pleaded with them.
The Preacher said Christians owe it a duty to pay their tithes, explaining that the church needs money to function and to be sustained.

He indicated that the old testament is very clear on how Christians should give money to support Church activities.

Every institution cannot thrive without money, wherever you are, you need money to thrive. If dont get money, you cannot function. So Churches can function well if they get money, Apostle Onyinah said on Citi TVs Face to Face programme.

The Bible gives a basic way of giving money in the old testament and that is tithing. When the Lord Jesus Christ came, he spoke about tithing and he did not condemn tithing. I will still encourage Christians to do that.

The issue over whether tithing is right or not has been of constant debate in many houses and denominations.

Even among Christians, whiles some churches encourage their members to pay tithes, others believe it is not an outmoded act.

However, Apostle Onyinah said it is the obligation of every Christian to support the Church, and paying of tithes is one way of lending that kind of support.

The preacher has been ministering the Gospel for the past 42 years, and recently retired after serving as Chairman of the Church Pentecost for 10 years.
According to him, it is not wrong to welcome such groups in the NDC since President Akufo-Addo has so far shown reluctance in cracking the whip on the ruling NPPs own vigilante groups.

Mr. Nketias comments follow public uproar over the outdooring of a new NDC vigilante group during last Saturdays regional elections in Sunyani.

Former Ashanti Regional Minister, Joseph Yamin, stormed the venue in the company of a group known as The Hawks.

Spotted in black t-shirts, the over 30 stoutly built men clashed with some Police officers who were at the venue to provide security.

However, speaking on the matter, Mr. Nketia said the emergence of groups like Hawks is "an appropriate natural response" to the Presidents failure to clamp down vigilantism in the country.

He therefore refused to condemn the phenomenon, rather stating that "I endorse it fully".

He added that if the NPP could habour groups like Delta Force based in the Ashanti region, Kandahar Boys based in the Northern region and the Invincible Forces based in Accra, then its time the NDC also had their equivalent for the sake of "self-preservation.

The NDC's vigilante groups across the country also include 'The Dragons' based in the Brong Ahafo region and 'The Lions' based in the Eastern region.

"They [the NPP] publicly insisted they did not have confidence in the security services of this countryNobody took that seriously. But they won the elections and they are now in charge of the security services.

"And they still maintain party vigilantes terrorizing everybody and the security services are quiet," the NDC General Secretary stated in an interview with Accra-based Joy FM.
The former information minister has been on the receiving end of criticisms from some NDC faithful after he advised Mahama not to contest the 2020 elections.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Yankah said the former president will be better served if he decided not to seek a return to the presidential seat.

The educationist advised Mahama to give a second thought to his decision, having already declared his intention to contest the NDC flagbearership and subsequently the presidency.

However, some supporters of Mahama did not take kindly to his comments and directed some harsh words towards him.

Some said Mr. Yankahs advice was unsolicited, whiles other held that he had accepted monies from the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) to speak in the manner he did.

But responding to his critics, the AUCC founder said Mahamas supporters must be careful of how they attack anyone who disagrees with their candidates candidature.

He said verbal attacks and insults have never been able to win arguments, let alone elections in this country.

Democracy, freedom of expression and the national good. It's a test of our ability to make progress while we debate that has been exhibited since my last post. I am familiar with critical expressions of one's opinion; that is the virtue of living in a free society, Mr. Yankah wrote in a follow-up Facebook post.My practice has been to ignore insulting, unproductive and discourteous remarks, most of which are borne out of ignorance, disregard or disrespect of other people's opinions, and a total lack of understanding of the issues at stake. My long experience with communication teaches me that insults have never won an argument, let alone an election.
He said the vigilante group will be used to protect the NDC going into the 2020 polls.

In an interview on Accra-based Okay FM monitored by Pulse.com.gh, he said: "The Hawks are there and they will continue to be there to protect the NDC into 2020 elections."

In April, during one of its Unity Walk in the Ashanti region, heavily built men in branded T-shirts labeled "The Hawks" were on full display at the Unity Walk.

Former Ejisu/Juabeng Municipal Chief Executive, Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh, has said the Hawks of the NDC will not foment any trouble in the country as compared to the governing party's vigilante groups-- the Invincible Forces and Delta Forces.

He said "If they have Invincible Forces, we also have The Hawks, and, so, we will see.

"We in the NDC want peace in the country, we will not foment any trouble in the country.
He said he has the brightest of chances to recapture political power or the NDC amongst the other competitors.

In an interview he granted Accra based Starr FM and monitored by Pulse Ghana, he said: "Prof. Alabi is one individual I can say without fear or contradiction that when you look at the profile of the presidential aspirants, not people who have come out as President before, but they that are starting like we have them now, he is one person who has served his public due."

He had said, "I want to say that after several reflections on the way forward for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), myself and my good brother, Ambassador Gbeho, conducted few investigations and came to the conclusion that the most marketable personality that could carry us into the year 2020, as a flagbearer, is Joshua Alabi".

Joshua Alabi without the intervention of the state was able to grow the Institute of Professional Studies which was a proverbial commercial college to the stature of a huge university which has become the center of reference in Africa. He did this without a pesewa from the State. This alone is enough service that merits at looking him for that favour.

Dzirasah also commented on the current state of the NDC and he said aspiring General Secretary Koku Anyidoho should bid his time.

He said Koku isn't ready yet to be the scribe of the biggest opposition party. Koku is hard working and could do the job but I think he should bid his time. He is young, there are more years ahead of him".

So far about 100 people have picked forms to contest for flagbearer in the opposition party.
The Commission said it saddened by the development which goes contrary to nationwide condemnation of political party vigilantism prior to the 2016 general election.

The NCCE as an Independent Governance Institution vehemently condemned the statement endorsing the formation of the NDC vigilante groups.

READ MORE: Joseph Yamin reveals why NDC will use vigilante group in 2020

The Commission in a statement said it takes the opportunity to once again remind all political parties of their responsibility towards the preservation of peace, law and order in our democratic dispensation.

"All political parties especially the NPP and NDC must disband existing vigilante groups with immediate effect. Security agencies must be proactive in clamping down such illegal groups," it said.

Vigilantism will not promote national peace and security. Vigilantism breads political tension and political intolerance with the tendency to destroy all the gains made under the 4th Republic.

The Commission reiterates that Article 55 (3) and (5) state:

Article 55 (3) - 'Subject to the provisions of this article, a political party is free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, to disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character, and sponsor candidates for elections for any public office other than to district assemblies or lower local government units'.

Article 55 (5) - 'The internal organisation of a political party shall conform to democratic principles and its actions and purposes shall not contravene or be inconsistent with the constitution or any other law'.

In this regard, any political party that forms vigilante groups is acting in contravention of the 1992 Constitution.

The NCCE entreated all political parties and the entire citizenry to seek to promote civic consciousness and stir up patriotism and nationalism among Ghanaians.
According to Fiifi Kwetey, a ranking Member of the Finance Committee, Adongo's boycott is his personal view and doesn't represent that of the minority.

The views he expressed earlier regarding returning assets to owners of the bank is his individual position as well. He represents none of us on the Finance committee and I can say by extension that he doesnt represent the Minority as well", he said.

"Mr. Adongos position is his individual position. He does not represent the Minority.

He told the press the committee had not been furnished with requisite documents to ensure an effective probe.

These are the documents they gave to us; statement of the banking sector, press release by the Bank of Ghana, Governors speech. When it comes to KPMG, they only give you conditions and opinions of uniBank", Adongo said.
He has, however, received condemnation from some of the members of the Finance Committee for his conduct yesterday.

Chairman of the Committee, Dr Assibey-Yeboah said Adongo's attitude was uncalled for.

Fellow NDC MP and member of the Finance Committee, Fiifi Fiave Kwetey also condemned Adongo and said his actions and views doesn't represent the NDC.

However, for Adongo, the probe is a sham and cover up.

He said the documents documents presented to members of the Committee are a pale shadow of the information required to get a better understanding of the circumstances leading to the collapse of the seven banks.

The Finance Committee of Parliament is holding these hearings from September 5 to September 7.

Representatives from Consolidated Bank, KPMG, PwC and the Ministry of Finance are expected to appear before the hearing.

These are the documents they gave to us; statement of the banking sector, press release by the Bank of Ghana, Governors speech. When it comes to KPMG, they only give you conditions and opinions of uniBank", Adongo conntended.

He said he expected that he would have in his possession documents pertaining to the asset quality reviews at uniBank or the terms of reference for the work KPMG did in relation to the bank, among others.

READ ALSO: Bank of Ghana accused of deliberately collapsing local banks

The MP argued that those documents will give me a clearer understanding of what happened and not what the government tells me. I must read the documents and ask the Governor the appropriate questions.

But the Chairman of the Committee later said the documents Adongo spoke about was shared to all members through a WhatsApp platform.
At its June 22, 2018, plenary session, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Strengthening regional and international cooperation to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian Region. According to Uzbekistans Foreign Ministry, all UN members unanimously supported the draft document, developed by Uzbekistan along with other Central Asian states.

BACKGROUND: The adoption of the resolution was a historical event, not just for the Central Asian countries. Indeed, it is difficult to overstate its significance in a broader, international context. It marked a new stage in the history of the Central Asian countries and signaled the regions consolidation. For the first time since their independence in 1991, the Central Asian states confirmed their ability not only to take joint action in order to resolve common regional problems, but also to ensure the wellbeing and prosperity of their citizens.

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev initiated the process of developing the document at the UNGAs 72nd session in September 2017. Speaking in New York on the organization of an international conference on Central Asia in Samarkand in November 2017, Mirziyoyev proposed to develop a UN resolution after the conference in order to support the Central Asian countries efforts to ensure security and strengthen cooperation in the region.

The fact that the resolution is now adopted signifies the implementation of Uzbekistans initiative, and confirms international recognition and support of Tashkents new regional policy. As Mirziyoyev noted during the Samarkand Conference, Our main goal is to turn Central Asia into a stable, economically developed and prosperous region through joint efforts. Indeed, Uzbekistans foreign policy under Mirziyoyev has unlocked regional divisions and opened the way for the development of the entire region.

The other Central Asian countries  Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan  not only actively supported Uzbekistans initiative, but also co-sponsored the UNGA resolution on Central Asia. The document reflects mutual support for the initiatives of the Central Asian states, which have made a significant practical contribution to strengthening regional security and ensuring sustainable development.

The resolution particularly reflected the outcomes of the debate in the Security Council on Afghanistan in January 2018, when Kazakhstan chaired the UN Security Council, as well as the regular arrangement of the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan. Moreover, the resolution included the results of the international conference dedicated to combating terrorism and extremism, organized in Tajikistan in May 2018. Central Asian countries welcomed an upcoming summit of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in Turkmenistan. They also supported Uzbekistans initiative to hold annual consultative meetings of the Central Asian countries leaders.

In sum, the resolution has become the Central Asian states consolidated response to regional problems and threats, and the challenges stemming from globalization. The regions consolidation has allowed the Central Asian countries to significantly strengthen their role as independent actors in the international system as well as their capacity of taking responsibility for the regions present and future.

These positive dynamics in Central Asia are unprecedented since the regional states gained independence, and they have now reached a qualitatively new level of regional cooperation.

IMPLICATIONS: There are two main reasons for these recent developments. First, the Central Asian states gained their independence during the disintegration of the bipolar world order, associated with the emergence of new challenges and threats to stability, increased geopolitical rivalry, and escalating armed confrontation in neighboring regions. In addition, the heavy burden of internal political, socio-economic, ideological and other problems that the Central Asian countries faced in the 1990s and the subsequent period exacerbated the security situation in the region. The newly independent Central Asian states were preoccupied with vital issues of state building and the search for identity in a globalized world. All regional states lacked experience both in domestic and foreign affairs and had to focus on their own problems, as well as on the most acute security threats. Yet over time, the Central Asian states have proven able to strengthened their political systems and administrative institutions, and elaborating their own models of national development. Through their integration into the international community, the Central Asian countries have gained experience in devising foreign policies capable of accommodating the strategic prospects and advantages of regional cooperation in a globalized world.

Second, Uzbekistan has over the two years since Mirziyoyevs ascendance to power pursued a new regional policy in Central Asia, which has served to defuse the countrys conflicts with its neighbors. The Central Asian countries currently express a firm readiness for constructive changes in bilateral and multilateral relations. The states of the region now concentrate on consolidating their efforts to increase their competitiveness in the world and to strengthen the regions unity.

According to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry, all the Central Asian countries leading partners, including Russia, China, the U.S. and the EU, actively participated in the consultations on drafting the document. The adoption of the UN resolution on Central Asia gained unanimous support from countries representing all continents of the world, Australia, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe. Thereby, the international community expressed its firm and unconditional support for the Central Asian countries efforts to deepen regional cooperation, which is one of the most important preconditions for stability and development of the region.

Indeed, Central Asias security is integral to global security. In the current period when other regions of the world undergo political tensions and conflict, the strategic prospect of regional cooperation in Central Asia is particularly important for international security. Growing uncertainty, turbulence and imbalances in the global economy require Central Asian states to undertake closer, coordinated interaction to implement common regional development projects.

The international community, including the regional states, recognizes that only a stable, dynamically developing and prosperous Central Asia can become an attractive, constructive and long-term partner. If the Central Asian countries prove successful in realizing this vision for their region, Central Asia can become a new geopolitical laboratory of stability and peace in Eurasia.

CONCLUSIONS: The UN resolution on Central Asia marked the entry of the Central Asian countries into a new era of interstate relations. It signaled that the Central Asian states have embarked on a decisive course towards regional cooperation, with the support of the international community. These changes in regional dynamics have encouraged international partners to fundamentally reconsider their approaches to Central Asia, and indeed strengthens the prospect of promoting security, development and prosperity in a strategically important region, located in the heart of Eurasia.

AUTHORS BIO: Dr. Batir Tursunov is Deputy Director of Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Image source: By: en.kremlin.ru accessed on 9.5. 2018
They continued their protest to the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council where they formally presented a petition to the Ashanti Regional Minister.

The aggrieved nurses want the government to immediately release their financial clearance for their postings.

Some of the graduate nurses held placards which read: two years in the house, post nurses now, two years in the house is enough, post midwives now!!, amongst others.

There are a whole lot of issues in the Ashanti Region. There have been a series of dialogue. In fact, from last year [2017] till now, we have done that, but we have heard nothing from government so we are here to demonstrate and submit the letter to the President, one of the graduate nurses told Accra-based Citi FM.

I think this government has been giving us assurances that have not resulted in positive results. We are pleading the government to release our financial clearance today or tomorrow so that we will end the issue. Otherwise we will organize another walk and we will end the demonstration at the Jubilee House. We believe the President is a listening President and he will be willing to address our concerns, another added.

The delay is posting of nurses has been an issue on contention between government and Members of the Ghana Nurse and Midwives Trainees Association.

Earlier in February, some unemployed graduate nurses demanding posting picketed at the Health Ministry.

Others also strongly protested governments decision to enrol them on the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo), saying that would not give them job security.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Mensah, has said that a lack of funds is the reason why government has been unable to post all nurses.
Recall that the apex bank slammed a huge N5.8 billion fine on four banks for allegedly aiding MTN in illegal capital repatriation.

The affected banks and their fines are Standard Chartered Bank (N2.4 billion), Stanbic IBTC (N1.8bn), Citibank (N1.2bn) and Diamond bank with N0.25 billion.

But in a regulatory filing to the Nigerian stock exchange on Thursday, September 6, 2018, Stanbic IBTC Holdings expressed disappointment over the deduction and maintained its position on the repatriation.

Following our earlier announcement to The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on 30 August 2018, in respect of the penalty of N1.886 billion imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on our banking subsidiary  Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC (the Bank) in relation to the remittance of foreign exchange on the basis of certain capital importation certificates issued to MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, we write to update The NSE that the CBN has debited the account of our banking subsidiary with the CBN for the full amount of the above-stated fine advised to the Bank, the statement reads in part.

The bank said it has done nothing illegal and accordingly it will continue to provide CBN with documents and details in support of our contention that our actions in relation to these transactions were not illegal.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC said the deduction does not impact on the capacity of its banking subsidiary to handle clients requests or clients ability to continue to carry out viable business transactions.

Last week, Nigeria's central bank (CBN) ordered Africa's telecoms giant, MTN to refund a total of $8.134billion moved out of the country" for breaching the country's forex regulations.

MTN has denied involvement in any wrongdoing.
The musician turned lawmaker who is currently undergoing specialised treatment in the United States, was arrested last month and charged with treason on suspicion he was involved in the alleged stoning of President Yoweri Musevenis car.

"They wrapped me in a thick piece of cloth and bundled me into a vehicle. Those guys did to me unspeakable things in that vehicle! They pulled my manhood and squeezed my testicles while punching me with objects I didnt see.

"I continued to groan in pain and the last I heard was someone hit me at the back of the head with an object," Kyagulanyi said in a 3,611 word statement he posted on his social media accounts after landing in US.

His continued detention however drew international attention with a number of international musicians, activists and politicians calling for his immediate release and condemning his mistreatment by the Ugandan government.

He was released on bail before being re-arrested while trying to leave the country to seek medical treatment. He was subsequently allowed to depart.

The list which was compiled in partnership with Avance Media, mynaijanaira.com & Made Marketing Group presents an opportunity for young Africans to stay committed to their individual causes and continue to blaze trails across their various fields, said Prince Akpah, founding president of Africa Youth Awards said while announcing the 2018 most influential young Africans names.

Bobi Wine is however not alone in the prestigious list, he is featured alongside three other notable Ugandans who are making waves.

Humphrey Nabimanya, a television presenter and team leader at Reach A Hand- Uganda, Brian Mutebi, an award-winning journalist and women's rights campaigner and Kevin Lubega, the founder of EzeeMoney are also featured in the list.

This years list featured a record 90 new entrants and 43 females.

According to Prince Akpah, this years honorees were listed for their individual and collective contributions towards positioning the image of Africa as frontrunners in their respective fields.

Prince Akpah urged other young Africans to emulate the footstep of the listed individuals and join them to make Africa a better and safer place for young dreamers.

Other notable African who made it to the list include; Togos Farida Bemba Nabourema, Egypts Mohamed Salah, Nigerias Davido, Guineas ABD Traore, Kenyas Xtian Dela, South Africas Cassper Nyovest and Tanzanias Alikiba.

Youngest duos on the list include Musician Nasty C from South Africa and Nigerias Social Entrepreneur, Wadi Ben-Hirki at 21 years.
Situated in Gembu in Taraba, Nigeria's Middle Belt region, the 3,050 megawatts Mambilla Hydro-Power project will gulp $5.792 billion (about N1.140 trillion) for the construction.

The project will take six years to complete and delivered by the year 2023 as agreed when the Nigerian government signed the contract with a consortium of Chinese companies in 2017.

The Nigerian leader made the call at the end of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), in Beijing, China.

Buhari who commended the Chinese government for hosting the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), solicited support for the Mambilla hydropower project.

In a statement released by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the president noted that the Mambilla project remains a key priority to Nigeria.

He also sought more Chinese funding for four airport terminal projects as well as the Abuja light rail project.

In his remarks, President Xi promised to take a serious look at it [Mambilla project] and ensure that it succeeds because of its social and economic benefits.

He commended Nigerias fight against terrorism and pledged 50 million Chinese Yuan support to Nigerias military, noting that Buhari is as decisive in dealing with terrorism as China.

President Xi said China will import more agricultural products from Nigeria and expressed gratitude to President Buhari on Nigerias interest to take part in the forthcoming Chinese Import Fair.

The two countries also signed an agreement of $328m for the Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone Phase II (NICTIB II) project.
The military court also ordered the government to pay compensation to the victims. Each rape victim is entitled to $4,000 pay.

The court also ordered the government to pay 51 head of cattle to the relatives of the local journalist who was killed in the raid. The hotel owner is also due to receive compensation for the destruction and looting of his property.

The attack at the Terrain Hotel in the capital was one of the worst attacks on foreign aid workers since South Sudan, Africa youngest nation, plunged into conflict in 2013.

The court case was widely seen as a test of will by the government of President Salva Kiir to bring accountability in the military that has long drawn accusations of widespread rights violations and a culture of impunity.
In a letter to his parishioners, Telegraph reports that Father Cristiano Bobbo proposed a fee of a sort for women who wear wedding gowns with deep necklines.

According to him, he is only making this suggestion because more brides are showing more and more cleavage as the year goes by.

In Father Bobbo's words, "We could establish a sort of offering to be levied in proportion to the decency of the dress of a bride, who often present themselves looking coarse and vulgar, so the least dressed pay the most."

He stressed the need for this fee by explaining that weddings are actually serious spiritual affairs, not the glamorous events that they have become.

The priest added that this is why women need to enter into marriage with conservative gowns that are in "good taste" not dresses that are 'inappropriate for the circumstances'.

Reactions

Father Bobbo's simple suggestion has been met with serious criticism from social media users.

Majority reacted by accusing him of being old school. "It feels like we're going back to the 1940s when there were loads of taboos in place," one man wrote on Twitter. "Does a low neckline really still cause a stir?"

Another made a reference to the ongoing sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic church writing, "So should we fine the Church on the basis of how many victims were sexually abused by members of the clergy?"

However, one person chose to support the priest's proposal commenting, "Finally, a bit of common sense. If people want to turn up in church semi-naked, why are they getting married in church?"

Other supporters described the suggestion as "common sense."
While speaking with Pulse few days after he emerged as the best student in the 2018 WAEC exams, David said he wants to study Medicine in UNILAG.

The 15-yr-old boy who also scores 332 in the 2018 Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) said he prefers the institution because it is one of the best in Nigeria.

''UNILAG is in Lagos. I will be able to study well and the institution is not far from where my parents reside so they will also be able to monitor me. Also, UNILAG is one of the best Nigerian Universities that is why I considered it, he said.

However, the dream to study Medicine in UNILAG will have to be delayed for one more year as the university reportedly did not consider him matured enough for admission into the institution.

ALSO READ: This is why best student in WASSCE wants to study Medicine in UNILAG

Part of UNILAG's admission requirements states that, candidate must have reached the AGE of sixteen (16) by the 31st day of October in the year of admission,but David will not turn 16 until 2019.

Reacting to the age restriction rule in admission processes, the Director of Studies of Starfield College, the school David graduated from, Mr Christopher Eigbe said, ''Nigeria universities should not be seen as the stumbling block to youths progress. I dont like students being delayed for years. We must tap their potentials at a young age.''

Here are the five admission requirements in UNILAG

1. Admission into FULL-TIME undergraduate programmes is ONLY through Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE).

2. Candidates must obtain a minimum of 200 points in Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Candidate's details must have been forwarded to University of Lagos by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

3. Candidate must possess five (5) credits in O/Level or its equivalent as required by the Department of interest.

4. Candidate must sit for the University POST-UTME Screening and must obtain the required minimum score.
In the last couple of years, special needs education has gained more exposure in Nigeria, with schools such as Greenspringsat the forefront of promoting inclusive education and providing appropriate support for children with special needs.

Efforts have been made by the government and other regulatory institutions towards supporting special needs education. An example is the promulgation of section 8 of the National Policy on Education.

The policy describes special needs education in Nigeria as a customized educational program that is designed to meet the unique needs of persons with special needs that the general education program cannot cater for

Everyone has the right to education, says Article 26, section one of the Universal Declaration of Rights.

These initiatives have led to the opening of Anthos House, a unique school for special education needs, located at no.1 Platinum Way, Osapa London, Jakande Lekki.

At Anthos House, Greensprings say that they will be helping children to understand and connect with their learning styles. This will be supported by using systematic methods to discover their skills, abilities and individual needs.

Anthos House will care for children with special needs including, but not limited to the following:

Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD):- this is a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how a person acts and interacts with others, communicates, and learns. It is called a "spectrum" disorder because people with ASD can have a range of symptoms.

Dyslexia: this is a condition that makes it hard to read and learn. It happens when there is a problem with the way the brain processes graphic symbols.

Cerebral Palsy: this is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Symptoms often include; poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles and tremors.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD): this is a brain disorder characterized by a pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning, development and learning

Down Syndrome: this is a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra full or partial copy of a chromosome called chromosome 21. Symptoms include a flattened face, small head, short neck, protruding tongue and tiny white spots on the coloured part (iris) of the eye called Brushfield's spots.

Behavioural disorders: these are the most common reasons that parents are told to take their children for mental health assessments and treatment. These are irregular behavioural patterns recorded in children over a period of time.

If left unattended in childhood, these disorders can negatively affect a child's ability to secure a job or maintain relationships.

ASDAN is at higher levels, is comparable to GCSES and A/AS level. However there are different qualification levels as follows:-

Entry 1,2 and 3 (Access) qualifications meet the needs of learners working below GCSE (Intermediate) level

Levels 1 and 3 ( Intermediate) qualifications are comparable in size to GCSE's

Level 3 (Higher) qualifications are comparable in size to A/AS levels

Assessments

Assessments will be based on a variety of methods used to gather the information required to enrol a child. It includes observation of the child, interviews with the family, checklists and rating scales, informal test and standardized formal test.

Aside from admitting students to the school for special needs, Anthos House will provide these 3 core services:

- Therapy

- Counselling and Assessment

- Training

Dr. Kimberley Scollard, the principal of Anthos House stated 'If you are a parent searching for the right school for your childs special education needs, then your search is over. Anthos House is a unique place for your child to learn and grow!'

Dr Kimberly graduated with a Bachelor of Art, Masters of Art in Education and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Psychology from Trinity University in Canada. Although she was born in Canada, she has been an international educator for many years.

Special Needs Education and the link with Early Childhood Development

For children; early childhood education prepares the foundation for life-long learning and participation, as well as prevents potential difficulties in learning and delays in development.

Developmental delay refers to children who experience significant variation in the achievement of expected milestones for their actual or adjusted ages.

Some children have been diagnosed from an early age with a genetic condition that is associated with intellectual disability and this can be easily spotted during the developmental stage. Other children possess less obvious difficulties and these can only be detected through observation and assessments.

The chart below shows the different developmental milestones in children and the appropriate ages:

If a child shows signs of delayed development, that child should be taken immediately for assessment by experts because such a child may require special needs education.

What are the signs to look out for in children with special needs?

Here are some of the signs to look out for if you suspect that a child may require special needs education:

 They may have difficulties with attention control.

 Lack of concentration in class.

 Easily distracted by noise in the environment.

 Inability to access mainstream curriculum.

 Irregular communication patterns.

 Unprovoked aggressiveness.

. Abnormal quietness.

 Lack of fine motor skill coordination.

Take your child for assessment today

Every child deserves an opportunity to become the best that can be. Understanding your child's developmental milestones is key to ensuring that they receive the support they may require, as early intervention is imperative.

If you are still unsure about your childs development or progress, kindly call Anthos House on 0702663554 or send an email to info@anthoshouse.org for immediate assessment of your child.

Anthos House is a Greensprings School initiative.
It included a series of events that highlighted the various ways in which Mitsubishi identifies as a Heritage brand event. These events included a heritage brunch, a master class hosted by Canon and renowned Nigerian photographer, Emmanuel Oyeleke, the launch of MIs album and many more.

On Wednesday, August 29th, Mitsubishi Motors in partnership with ASPIRE Luxury Magazine held a panel session on Building a Heritage Brand. The panel consisted of heritage brands such as Union Bank, who also celebrated 101 years in business and Oando PLC, celebration just over 60 years in business. These brands came together to discuss the differences and similarities in their approach to instill Heritage Branding values in their corporations.

In setting the tone for the panel session, Bella Ikeme, Editor ASPIRE Luxury Magazine highlighted that African brands will only be able to charge a premium when their history, tradition and consistent narrative proves their quality and authenticity. Todays customer is intelligent, discerning and should not be taken for granted. Following on from that, the panellist highlighted ways that they succeeded in building heritage brands with a focus on history, unwavering values and consistency.

Alero Balogun, Head of Corporate Communications at Oando PLC spoke extensively on her experiences working with the Oando Brand. When asked about Oandos deliberate steps towards building the brand internationally, she said For us at Oando, it has always been about creating a world class brand. We set ourselves against the international standard and strive to be world class in everything we do. Our brand essence is BOLD SPIRIT, LEADERSHIP and PROUDLY AFRICAN and it is communicated through all our mediums. We see ourselves as solution providers in the terrain we operate and take it upon ourselves to think up and proffer workable solutions.

In order to do this effectively you must have a bold spirit, be audacious and resilient. Through the years the brand has managed to remain strong and consistent and we do this through the policies and processes we have created to communicate this messaging from generation to generation. We are also very thorough in our succession planning efforts. Although we are a B2B brand, we are believe in communicating with all our stakeholders from the international corporations trying to understand what a Nigerian company looks like to the man on the street who in some way sees the brand as an extension of himself.

The event was a brilliant platform to discuss the ways in which Nigerian brands can push themselves towards becoming heritage brands. They spoke extensively on consistency even in the face of adversity. Speaking on Oandos ability to stay afloat amidst the chaos, Alero Balogun said We build strong relationships the media that allow us prepare a narrative in every situation. Through our extensive scenario planning efforts we are able to think of all possible scenarios - the good, the bad and the ugly and prepare for all outcomes.

A lot of the time, we find that the media has been misinformed on an issue and we see it as an opportunity to educate the public. For example, in 2015 after we made impairments to re-value our assets post the oil price crash, it was published that we made the biggest loss in Nigerias history, whereas impairments are indeed a well-known business phenomenon and it is essential for businesses to conduct them in times like we did.

Oando PLC inherited big, international brands ESSO and Unipetrol and over the years, they have been able to imprint their own Nigerian story, own the brand completely and make it a national treasure. They pride themselves in their history of consistently paving the way, being the first in every sector we operated in. Their great accomplishments, such as the Apapa Mid-stream jetty, Gas Pipeline etc. have shaped their brand essence and World-class experience.

Speaking on the importance of rebranding to stay relevant in a dynamic market, Omotola Oyebanjo, Head, Strategic Communication, Union Bank said, Our decision to rebrand a few years ago followed a rigorous transformation journey that saw us revamping our products, segments, processes, technology and customer service to ensure we were ready for the next generation of Nigerians. Union Bank has a 100-year heritage of supporting Nigeria and Nigerians and that is a legacy we continue to build on now.

She spoke on how brands must evolve with marketing and communication trends so as to remain relevant and have a competitive advantage. Never get too comfortable and understand that there is and will always be the need to keep innovating.

Creating a heritage brand in Nigeria is no small feat and being recognized, as one is a great honour. It is a deliberate attempt to connect with people in a manner that allows them form an emotional connection to your brand that transcends generations. It is less about how long a company has been in existence for but more about how they have an established track record of meeting needs, exceeding expectations, and consistently delivering on their core promise and premise.
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The latter is reportedly a member of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).

On Sunday, we were to have a meeting at Bariga. The money for the meeting was being brought by the Abore, Jamiu Ojuroye, when he was attacked by the robbers.

Abore said he entered the bus at Estate bus stop and he sat in front with another passenger, who made way for him to sit in the middle. When the vehicle got to Iyana Ogudu, the robbers asked all the passengers to cooperate and dispossessed them of their valuables.

Abore started struggling for the control of the steering with the driver and the supposed passenger beside him, sprayed a peppery substance on his face. They pushed him down at Ifako after collecting his money, phones and ATM cards.

When he narrated his ordeal, we went to the shrines of Ogun and Esu. We gave Ogun and Esu what they liked to eat and requested that the suspects be caught," a community leader Musbau Adekunle who is also a member of the OPC tells Punch.

ALSO READ: Girl gives man poisoned chocolate bar and tries to steal his bike

Next victim

The next day, Adekunle's son identified as Semiu was the victim. He was reportedly on his way to get some items in Oshodi when he met Junior and three other gang members.

Punch News confirms that Semiu described as a mechanic, was thrown out of a bus when he tried to keep a sum of N500,000 away from the group.

"He started shouting and calling for help. A taxi driver decided to help him and they gave the vehicle a chase.

"When they got to Olopo Meji bus stop, they saw the gang dropping off some other victims that had been dispossessed. They did not block the bus because it might not be safe. However, the bus turned and faced Obalende (Lagos Island).

"When they got to Berger bus stop, they informed the police who trailed the bus. The police caught up with the gang around UNILAG Waterfront on the Third Mainland Bridge.

"A policeman brought out a gun and ordered them to park. After the driver parked, the four suspects fled. Some motorists parked their vehicles and raised the alarm.

"A car hit the first robber. He stood up and attempted to continue running, but was hit by a second car.

"The police and my son got a motorcycle, chased and apprehended the other three suspects. However, the first robber who was hit by two cars jumped into the lagoon," Musbau Adekunle mentioned to Punch.

On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, the police released a statement confirming that three members of the gang have been arrested.

The fourth suspect Junior was reportedly hit by two vehicles before diving into the Lagos lagoon.
It was said that Wizkid thanks to his friend in high fashion places, Naomi. The two hit the runway clad in the luxury designer and now they're back again in grand style. Last night, the GQ Men of the Year Awards held in London in association with luxury lifestyle group HUGO BOSS at the Tate Modern and the supermodel took starboy as her date.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Abuja Enterprises Agency (AEA) manages the MSMEs in the territory.

Osibanjo said this while inaugurating the FCT MSME One Stop Shop in Abuja on Thursday through the Minister of State,Industry, Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar.

He said that FCT MSME One Stop Shop was in line with government agenda aimed at boosting the business sector, adding that the intervention had created 12,517 jobs from 2015 to date.

Osibanjo said that the initiative was also designed to further facilitate synergy between the MSMEs and Business Support and Regulatory bodies and eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks faced by the MEMEs in the country.

This is not only deliberate but also a bold step taken by the present administration in the country in a bid to improve the ease of doing business, he said.

The Managing Director of AEA, Mr Muhammad Arabi, said over 8,500 businesses were being sensitised on regulatory issues, government support programmes and projects.

Arabi said that MSMEs had been afforded the opportunity to directly interact with Business Regulatory and support institutions.

He said that the agency was committed to delivering the Ease of Doing Business initiative development by the administration which gave special attention to MSMEs Sub-Sector.

Malam Muhammed Bello,the FCT Minister, said that in the last three months,the territory had approved and inaugurated the MSMEs State Council and made the Permanent Secretary to chair the council.

Bello, represented by the FCT Permanent Secretary, Sir Chinaka Ohaa, said that the procurement of utility vehicles for the smooth operation of the agency was being approved.

The Executive Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Toyin Adeniyi, said that the bank was partnering with the Federal Government to empower more than two million petty traders across the country in the first batch.

Adeniyi said that the project, wholly driven by government, would be expected to give N10, 000 grant each to the traders to boost their businesses.

The executive director said that the bank was targeting at least, 39,000 beneficiaries from every state to benefit from the N10, 000 grant.

According to her, the bank hopes to increase the amount to N15, 000.

It is not a BOI project, but that of the Federal government.
The Chief of Army Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, gave the warning on Thursday in Abuja, after he met with Principal Officers, General Officers Commanding  GOCs and field Operational Commanders.

Buratai said he met with them for consultation and review of ongoing operations.

He assured that the army was prepared to ensure security before, during after the election.

We must make it clear that all political thugs, militants, kidnappers and other criminal elements identified with weapons will be dealt with decisively.

Our rules of engagement are very clear and they conform to international best practices. We are going to apply them to the letter, he said.

On security, Buratai said that the Operation Lafiya Dole and other operations being conducted by the army across the country were being reviewed and reinvigorated to address identified challenges.

The army chief, however, expressed satisfaction with the performance of ongoing operations to tackle various security challenges in different parts of the country.

He promised that the army would strive to maintain the relative security and peace, and ensure that the confidence reposed in it by Nigerians was maintained.
According to a report by AFP, a security source disclosed that the attack happened around 3 pm on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.

The deceased victims were killed in a brief shoot-out that ensued when the terrorists attacked the civilian convoy which was under military escort and was headed for Maiduguri, the state capital.

A civilian militia leader, Ibrahim Liman, told AFP, "A soldier and a civilian were killed in the ambush and a bus carrying around 25 people was taken away."

A military source also confirmed the attack, saying, "We lost a soldier and a civilian in the attack. We are not sure of the exact number of the abducted passengers but they are more than 20."

A Maiduguri resident from Gwoza, Gideon Buba, disclosed that his priest, who was caught in the ambush attack, reported that the terrorists seized one vehicle after a brief firefight.

He said, "He told us that the bus behind his was the one taken. The gunmen opened fire in the middle of the convoy but the vehicles managed to escape. Some made it through while others returned, but one was seized by the gunmen who took it inside the forest."

Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under Abubakar Shekau'sleadership, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.
The former governor said during his eight years in office he did not receive any salary, but rather he used the money to develop the state.

The presidential contender said his victory over the criminal charges against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) showed that he was a politician with a clean record.

He said his ambition for the presidential position was borne out of his zeal to revive the countrys economy for the benefit of all citizens.

I have experience and the most qualified to preside over the present Nigeria and as a good manager I will correct all the anomalies.

PDP delegates should not make any mistake during the partys primaries by electing inexperienced aspirants for this job, that is why I have come to present myself to you, he said.

In his reaction, a PDP Board of Trustee member, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyawu, described Bafarawa as a `true democrat and detribalised politician.

He said Bafarawa had a very strong political track record which stood him out among other aspirants.

Iwuanyawu, who expressed optimism that South-East would not be marginalised under Bafarawa, pointed out that most of his close allies were Igbos.

PDP Chairman in Imo, Mr Babatunde Ezekwe, assured Bafarawa of the state delegates support.

We are strongly behind your aspiration, go and do your underground work well; as for us we are working tirelessly to ensure that PDP wins in Imo and the presidency, he said.
Four officers had carried out a raid on Clark's house on Tuesday, September 4, 2018, allegedly based on a tipoff that he was stockpiling weapons. The search yielded no discovery to prove the allegation and attracted widespread condemnation from Nigerians.

With the raid leading to an outrage, the IGP denied any knowledge of the invasion and ordered the detention and investigation of the four police officers involved.

In a press statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, on Thursday, September 6, 2018, the three inspectors involved in the raid have been dismissed.

While Inspector Godwin Musa, Inspector Sada Abubakar, and Inspector Yabo Paul were dismissed, the fourth officer, ASP David Dominic,is still under investigation for several misconduct charges and might also be dismissed.

The statement read, "The Inspector General of Police has approved the dismissal from the service of the Nigeria Police Force, three (3) Inspectors namely: (i) AP/No. 18858 Inspr Godwin Musa (ii) AP/No. 225812 Inspr Sada Abubakar and (iii) AP/No. 225828 Inspr Yabo Paul, and the immediate interdiction of AP. No 158460 ASP David Dominic who were involved in the unauthorized, illegal and unprofessional misconduct in the search of the residence of Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Clark in Asokoro, Abuja on 4th September, 2018.

"Ap. No. 158460 ASP David Dominic was queried and being investigated for Discreditable Conduct, Negligence of Duty and an Act unbecoming of a Police officer which constitute Serious Misconduct and if not checked can be inimical to the image of the Nigeria Police Force and violation of fundamental human rights of the Elder Statesman as provided for in the 1999 Nigeria Constitution as amended. The gravity of the offences against the officer is serious in nature and dismissal from service is imminent.

"Consequently, the Inspector General of Police approved that AP. No 158460 ASP David Dominic, be on interdiction from Service pending the determination of his case by the Police Service Commission.

"The IGP also approved and upheld the dismissal from service of (i) AP/No. 18858 Inspr Godwin Musa (ii) AP/No. 225812 Inspr Sada Abubakar and (iii) AP/No. 225828 Inspr Yabo Paul, after the trio were tried under Oath in Orderly Room Trial for Discreditable Conduct, Illegal duty, Disobedience to Lawful Order and other misconduct contrary to the Rule of Law."

Informant arraigned for misinformation

Ismail Yakubu, the Abuja resident who informed the police about the weapons in Clark's house, has also been charged for providing false information.

"The suspect (Informant) Ismail Yakubu from Waru Village, Apo District, Abuja, has been charged to Upper Area Court Mpape, Abuja for giving false information and telling falsehood that misled Police action," the statement read.

How I got information - Informant

When questioned on Wednesday, Yakubu disclosed that he obtained the information he passed along to the Police from a taxi driver who said weapons were being stockpiled in Clark's house.

He said, "The whole street was blocked; no way in, no way out. So, I asked questions and it was the taxi driver that told me that this is the area Niger Delta people live. He then pointed to a truck entering the compound at the time.

"I checked the compound and discovered it is House 43. It was a white Hilux and it was sealed. The driver told me that the Hilux was full of ammunition, and I said 'what!'

"As an indigene of FCT, we are peace-loving people. I couldn't take that and that is what I said. I asked him if he was sure of the information."

Clark accepts IGP's apology

On Wednesday, DSP Moshood disclosed that Chief Edwin Clark has accepted the apology of the Force over the incidence after he was visited by a high-level delegation on Wednesday.

The IGP sent a delegation that comprised of the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (Operations), Joshiak Habila, and some Commissioners of Police to apologise for the raid.
"Open your boot. Wetin you carry? Wetin dey?", the first police officer we encountered around the Lagos-Ibadan by-pass demanded gruffly, gun drawn, with the smell of cheap liquor oozing through his nostrils. He delayed us for 10 minutes in the guise of inspecting particulars, before taking the driver to a lonely clearing to discuss N100.

My driver was a stubborn middle aged man with a thick Akwa Ibom accent who knew exactly how to evade beggarly police officers at ubiquitous checkpoints. He would spend the rest of a 12-hour trip dodging gun totting police officers and refusing to pull over when asked to. With guns pointed at us, my driver would make to pull over before depressing the gas pedal and zooming out of sight.

He pulled that stunt so many times even though we told him how silly and dangerous that was.

"Oka, if jou nor get mind, jou no ko fit do transport business for dis kantri o. How I ko make money come give all dis people? Dem dey mad", the driver would say in between stunts.

Once, I could swear that the officer -- who was so angry because the driver was pulling away instead of handing him a crumpled N100 note -- was seconds away from pulling the trigger on us.

I was sat in front, muttering my last prayers on occasion.

Between Delta and Onitsha, I counted 20 extortion points made up of gun wielding soldiers, police officers and federal road safety corps. Near Asaba, a motley crowd of FRSC, police and military personnel made brisk business slapping motorists with all kinds of phony charges.

When we hit the home stretch of Imo to Calabar, it was just as bad. There were times when the officers were so brazen and shameless in their extortion tactics, I had to say a prayer of forgiveness for their depraved souls.

Just before the River Niger Bridge, there were soldiers extorting from motorists and causing a gridlock that kept us rooted to spots for several hours.

I am aware that Inspector General after Inspector General has made a song and dance out of banning police checkpoints. However, on the basis of what I saw this week, I have to say the checkpoints never left. If anything, they only multiplied.
The Africa Programme Manager of Defence and Security unit of TI, Ms Christina Hildrew, stated this in Abuja at a two-day Stakeholders Conference in Abuja.

The conference was organised by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in partnership with TI and support from European Union.

Hildrew also called for measures to put in place for effective oversight structures to monitor confidential security spending, including procurements.

Security votes are opaque corruption-prune security funding mechanisms widely used across Nigerias three tiers of government.

Investigation shows that estimates of 670 million dollars annually, transacted mostly in cash, were security vote spending and it is not subjected to legislative oversight or independent audit because of its substantively secretive nature.\

Yet this veil of secrecy protects the many officials who misspent security votes, and they channel them into political activities or embezzle them outright.

There is a wide issue in the defence sector which is defence `exceptionalism, that is, the public allows defence sector to be unaccountable for what they spend because of national security issues.

However, the defence sector should not be unaccountable to the citizens it is meant to protect, she said.

Hildrew, therefore, called for additional legislative oversight of the defence sector, adding that we think it is important that parliamentary audit committees and civil societies have a say on how security spending is decided.

She also supported the establishment of Security Trust Fund at state level to support the phasing out of security votes.

She said that checks and balances needed to be put in the system so as to ensure accountability and transparency of what security expenditure was going to occur to ensure that it protected citizens.

The programme manager said that the UK Government, through the Criminal Finances Act enacted in August, 2017 and the Unexplained Wealth Orders which came into existence in January, 2018 would support Nigeria.This, she said, was in terms of putting in place systems for the efficient recovery of assets from Nigeria.

She said that though there had been some successes in assets recovery, especially with the James Ibori case, there was more to be done.

Hildrew decried the slow progress the many investigations and assets recovery processes were going, adding that Nigeria could curb her many money laundering challenges by developing a unified defence sector anti-corruption strategy.

She also advised that public access to defence and security information should be extended, and protection given to whistle-blowers.

On his part, Mr Vaclav Prusa, Programme Manager, Anti-Corruption, CISLAC, said that the conference was organised to discuss issues of illicit fund outflow because Nigeria was affected by it more than the rest of Africa.

Prusa said data showed that more money went out of Nigeria than any other country in Africa, adding that as at 2015, it was estimated that about 20 billion dollars to 25 billion dollars went out of Nigeria annually.

He said Nigerias ranking low in TIs perception index in spite of its effort to fight corruption, would be a thing of the past.

According to him, this is because there is a difference between reality and perception, and there is need to consider that perceptions run with certain delays.

Prusa explained that it was because of the delay by the government to sign some laws and take certain actions that the perception persisted.

So, I wont say that TI is not accurate but we have to consider the impact of policies with certain delays like the Proceed of Crime Act.

I think that by next year or in six months from now, there will be much more accurate picture of the impact of this government on corruption, he said.

Prusa said though this administration had recovered millions of dollars like the 321 million dollar Abacha-loot repatriated, and domestic assets being recovered by anti-corruption agencies, they were not accounted for.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the thugs destroyed parts of the secretariat, setting party flags ablaze and tearing posters of candidates vying for chairmanship, councillorships and ward leaders positions pasted at the secretariat.

A witness who preferred anonymity told NAN that the thugs, who came in large numbers, besieged the secretariat chanting solidarity songs and disrupted activities as residents in the area scampered for safety.

Some of the thugs stormed the secretariat to disrupt activities and tear posters of candidates, just as many of the people scampered for safety.

Their action is unconnected with the alleged mishandling of delegates lists and names submitted for Ward positions by some leaders of the party at the state level, he said.

The witness also said that the thugs warned that peace would not reign at the forthcoming chairmanship and councillorship elections in the local government, should the will of the people not be respected.

They said that until the names submitted at ward levels for the posts are restored and the voice of the people respected, peace will not reign in the forthcoming elections, the witness quoted the thugs as saying.

Meanwhile, Mr Bode Ikulala, the APC Chairman, Okitipupa local government, who confirmed the incident, told NAN that the delegates lists were not out as at the time the disruption broke.

He said that the people concerned should have registered their grievances through appropriate quarters, rather than taking to violence.

I was in Akure when the incident happened and they told me that some people came to destroy things at the secretariat over an alleged change in delegates lists, which have yet to be released, even as we speak.

Those people are certainly not APC members because if husband and wife have differences, for instance, and the house is destroyed, when they later settle, where will they live? he asked.

Ikulala, however, said that the situation would be brought under control as he had contacted the Police over the matter.
| BY Ricki Green |

Entrepreneurial advisory and operations partner GrowthOps, has today announced the appointment of Andy Fyffe to the newly-created role of chief marketing officer (CMO) and Priscilla Jeha to the general manager role at Khemistry.

Fyffe is the cofounder of Khemistry and was previously its managing partner for 13 years. In the role of CMO, his primary focus is now on building the companys brand platform.

GrowthOps chief executive officer, Paul Mansfield welcomed the appointment recognising the exceptional experience Fyffe brings to the company.

Says Mansfield: Andy is a first-class leader and innovator. He sets a high bar, always thinking best in category or world- class, upping the ante and going the extra mile for our clients, colleagues and the company.

While he brings deep experience with a swag of awards from client-side roles and as co-founder of Khemistry, its Andys unparalleled creativity and enthusiasm for GrowthOps that make him the ideal candidate to be the first GrowthOps CMO. He is an entrepreneur to his core, recognising patterns and opportunities ahead of the pack.

After various client-side roles in both the public and private sectors, Fyffe co-founded Khemistry with Ashton Ward, based on a conviction that clients and brands would benefit most from results- focused, integrated, cross-discipline services. The business grew to become one of Queenslands largest and fastest growing independent agencies, and earlier this year joined with other market leaders in creativity, technology and management consulting to form GrowthOps.

Says Fyffe: These sorts of opportunities  to be part of a bigger story  dont come along very often. My role as CMO is an ideal greenfield brief, where Im getting the chance to apply 20 years of lessons learned from sitting on both sides of the table. Im helping define and grow a game-changing B2B brand with global ambitions from a base here in Brisbane.

When Ash and I started Khemistry, we did it in the spirit of not dying wondering. Were proud of the agency we created, working across content, digital and creative, but more recently weve had a desire to be part of something bigger, where we could tackle bigger problems, and work with bigger brands across bigger markets, unlocking the potential for growth. Thats why we joined GrowthOps.

New GM Priscilla Jeha first joined Khemistry just over a year ago as its head of client services. As GM, she will lead the business and drive deep collaboration across GrowthOps.

Fyffe describes Jeha as a great listener in an industry of talkers.

Says Fyffe: This is one of the reasons clients gravitate to Priscilla and people want to do their best work for her. Bringing global experience and local roots, shes also not afraid to challenge a brief if she sees an alternative analysis or solution that will get a better outcome for our clients.

Jeha brings more than 20 years experience to her role having worked at a range of boutique and multi-national integrated agencies, in addition to time client-side with Queensland Health. Jehas most recent agency role before joining Khemistry was at Grey London, as the global business director, where she led her team to win two Euro Effies, along with a number of other UK-based marketing awards. As Khemistrys head of client services, Jeha has been instrumental in driving the agencys growth.

Says Jeha: Khemistry is the perfect hybrid agency, and one that I couldnt be more proud to lead into this next chapter. It embodies all the traits that clients yearn for in an indie-style agency  agility, dedicated attention and a growth mindset. Now it is also bolstered by the extensive capabilities of the GrowthOps team, offering our clients a new level of strategic nous, and digital and transformational depth that competes on a truly global level.

There are so many centres of excellence across GrowthOps, from AI to customer experience to voice search, and my mission is to integrate them here to help our Queensland clients evolve and grow.

Former Ogilvy & Mather, group business director, Sheridan Turner has been appointed as Khemistrys new head of client services, replacing Jeha. Turner will be responsible for delivering bespoke end-to-end solutions for the agencys diverse client mix.

Working closely with Jeha, shell also play a key role in driving the companys ambitious growth plans.

Says Jeha: Sheridans wealth of experience on global brands taps into our mandate to deliver world-class thinking and solutions for our clients business pain points. Her growth mindset and pragmatic approach is a perfect fit with Khemistrys culture.

Turner brings more than 15 years senior client service experience managing local and global integrated communications campaigns, agency and client side, across FMCG, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceuticals, and government.
IPAC, the umbrella body of registered political parties in Nigeria, on Wednesday in Abuja held an election which ushered in the new NEC that will stir the affairs of the committee for the next one year.

The tension soaked election saw delegates from the 91 political parties electing their choice of candidates among those who presented themselves for positions in the executive committee.

Ameh polled 51 votes to defeat his closest rival, Chekwas Okorie of the United Peoples Party (UPP), who got 28 votes, and Michael Ndu, who got a vote.

Other candidates elected by delegates at the election included: Geff Ojinika, deputy national chairman, 42 votes; Georgina Dakpokpo, national secretary, 42 votes; Eunice Atuejie, deputy national secretary, 49; and Okey Chikwendu, national treasurer, 46 votes; Olusegun Peters, national financial secretary, 48; Ikenga Ugochinyere, national publicity secretary, 45; Hamisu Santuraki, national organising secretary, 46; and Kenneth Udeze, national legal adviser, 49 votes.

Result of the election was announced by the IPAC, electoral committee chairman, Yunusa Tanko.

In his acceptance speech, Ameh pledged to unite the body and work with all members adding that the core values of IPAC would be brought to fore in the discharge of his duties.
Dismissing the claim by the opposition, APC's acting spokesman of APC, Yekini Nabena, said the 'PDP has assumed the role of comic relief ahead of the 2019 general elections.'

Nabena, in a statement, claimed that the Nigerian public have rejected the PDP and rather than concentrate on the 2019 elections ahead, the opposition has kept hallucinating.

Read APC's reply to PDP's claims of impending defection

With PDP claim that six APC governors and twenty-seven national assembly members have concluded discussions to join the PDP, it is now clear that the PDP has assumed the role of comic relief ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Nigerians have rejected the PDP and all that it represents  corruption, impunity, waste, greed. Hence, in the face of imminent 2019 defeat, the PDP has chosen to hide behind lies and false realities to save face.

While the PDP hallucinates on APC members defection to the PDP, the APC is consolidating to go into the 2019 General Election as a smarter, more united and stronger political fighting force.

While the PDP wallows in its cooked up tales on the state of the nation, the President Muhammadu Buhari administration-led APC administration is focused on bettering the lives of Nigerians, addressing infrastructure needs, revamping the economy, restoring our rank in the comity of progressive nations, confronting the challenges we face as a nation and generally repositioning the country in line with the change agenda promised Nigerians, the statement read.

6 Governors, 27 lawmakers set to dump APC soon  PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has revealed that 6 Governors and 27 lawmakers are set to dump the All Progressives Congress (APC) soon.

ALSO READ: PDP warns APC against rigging 2019 elections

According to Tribune, this was contained in a statement issued to newsmen by PDPs spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan.

Ologbondiyan said the prospective decampees have secured the permission of the constituency to move to the PDP.
Alhaji Lawal M-Liman, chairman of the party in the state revealed this after the stakeholders meeting held at Government House in Gusau on Wednesday.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Zamfara central zone comprised four local government areas of Gusau, Bungudu, Tsafe and Maru. The zone has never produced the governor of the state since its creation.

Liman said the meeting was called by the party leadership to discuss mode of primaries , zoning of governorship position and setting up of the committee of reconciliation or consensus among the aspirants for various elective positions.

We have resolved to adopt indirect primaries to produce candidates for various positions of the party. We resolved to set up a reconciliation committee or consensus were necessary, and also resolved that the governorship candidate of the party should be produced from the central zone of the state, he said.

He thanked the stakeholders for attending the meeting. He also thanked them for their cooperation towards the development of the party,

He urged APC members in the state to remain united so that the party could retain power in the coming 2019 general elections.

NAN recalls that four of the aspirants, considered to be close associate of former governor and a serving Senator Ahmad Sani-Yarima had earlier met and resolved to support any one among them who emerges as the partys governorship candidate for the 2019 election in the state.

NAN further reports that this is coming on the heels of recent development in the state that the serving commissioner of finance in the state, Alhaji Mukhtar ShehuIdris who is also from Zamfara central is being supported by Governor Abdulaziz Yari for the governorship candidature under the party.
This was disclosed by INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, while he was meeting with resident electoral commissioners in Abuja on Thursday, September 6, 2018.

The number rose from the 69,720,350 voters registered for the 2015 general elections, as the commission registered 14,551,482 new voters in its continuous voters registration exercise that took place for 16 months between April 27, 2017 and August 31, 2018.

He said, "As you are aware, the Commission concluded the current phase of the nationwide CVR exercise last week. For a period of sixteen (16) months, from 27th April 2017 to 31st August 2018, the exercise was conducted continuously in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as envisaged by the Electoral Act.

"At the end of the exercise, a total of 14,551,482 new voters were registered. If this figure is added to the existing register of 69,720,350 voters, it means that the nation now has a voter population of 84,271,832."

The INEC chairman also noted that the figure is likely to drop after the commission runs the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). He further disclosed that AFIS will enable the commission present a detailed analysis of the voter register, not only by state and gender, but also by age group and occupation.

He said, "Although the figure may drop slightly after we run the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), the current figure represents about 21% increase on the existing register.

"On this note, let me also appeal to Nigerians to seize the opportunity of the ongoing nationwide display of the particulars of new voters for claims and objections as required by law.

"By doing so, citizens will be helping the Commission to further clean up the register and purge it of all ineligible registrants as required by Sec. 12 of the Electoral Act.

"The Commission has consistently shared information on the voter registration exercise with Nigerians by publishing the figures as well as detailed breakdown by States and gender.

"After running the AFIS, the Commission shall present a detailed analysis of the voter register, not only by State and gender, but also by age group and occupation."

PVC collection will close only a week to election

Professor Yakubu also urged Nigerians who have been registered to dutifully collect their permanent voter's cards when the commission makes them available before next year's polls.

According to him, collection of PVC is an exercise that'll run up until a week to the presidential election in February 2019.

He said, "Already, the Commission has printed the PVCs for those registered in 2017 and delivered them to States for collection. I can also confirm that the PVCs for 2.7 million voters registered in the first quarter of 2018 have been printed and will be delivered to the States next week.

"We wish to reassure Nigerians that every registered voter will have his/her PVC available for collection before the general election.

"The collection of PVCs will continue until one week to the 2019 general elections. We shall ensure that the process of collection is simplified with minimum inconvenience to citizens."

He also disclosed that the commission is partnering with telecommunication companies to ensure that information about the collection of PVCs is widely disseminated through the sending of bulk text messages.

"Registered voters must endeavour to collect their cards personally. We are working hard to ensure that no PVC goes into the wrong hands," he added.
In a recent statement by Hon. Mohammed Wakil, the Director General, Abubakar Bukola Saraki Presidential Campaign Organisation, the Senate President said Nigeria deserves a president, who must have proven capacity, knowledge and capability.

Saraki made this known while in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state during the commencement of his nationwide "Meet the delegates" campaign.

The presidential aspirant further said Nigeria is at a major cross-roads in its developmental history and that at a critical period such that the president needed must have proven capacity and capability.

ALSO READ: We Will Not Be Distracted - Saraki aide tells APC

Read the press statement here

Senate President and Presidential Aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has said that Nigerians deserve a President with proven capacity and capability in 2019.

Saraki made the assertion in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, during the commencement of his nationwide "Meet the delegates " campaign starting from Ebonyi and Enugu States.

Saraki who was given a very warm welcome by enthuastic party loyalists and supporters in Ebonyi State during a reception organized in his honour at the Ebonyi State Banquet Hall, told his audience, which included Governor Dave Umahi, his Deputy, Barr. Eric Kelechi, Speaker, Ebonyi State House of Assembly, former Governor of the State, Senator Sam Egwu, PDP state chairman and other stakeholders, that if elected he will run an inclusive government to ensure equity fairness in the country.

He further told his audience that Nigeria is at a major cross-roads in its developmental history and that at a critical period such as this, the President Nigeria deserves must be the very best available with proven capacity, knowledge and capability.

He congratulated Governor Umahi on his excellent performance in the state which led to his endorsement for a second term by the state PDP stakeholders and also seized the opportunity to request for similar endorsement by the Ebonyi state delegates to the PDP national convention.

In his response, Governor Umahi, praised the Senate President for his achievements as eight year Governor of Kwara State and President of the Senate since 2015.
While speaking at an event organised by the Centre for Social Justice on Wednesday, September 5, 2018, Sowore said Nigeria can make a lot of money from exporting the psychoactive drug which can be used for medical or recreational purposes.

He said, "We have to start taking care of our weed, igbo, such that we can also contribute to the GDP of the world. Some of the best weed in the world are grown in Ekiti state. I'm very serious and people are making billions out of that particular plant that is very potent in Nigeria. We should be focusing on it."

He put the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on notice and said it'll no longer be business as usual for the agency on marijuana if he becomes president.

"Our NDLEA should get the memo in advance that Nigeria will be exporting weed to cure cancer in other parts of the world instead of chasing after people who are growing weed. Whereas, they're not chasing after our politicians who are smoking cocaine in their houses," he said.
Niger is a transit country for thousands of migrants heading to Libya and Algeria, key hubs for migrants trying to reach Europe.

The Saharan route is notorious for its dangers, which include breakdowns, lack of water and callous traffickers who abandon migrants in the desert.

Some 347 people from 13 countries, including Mali, Guinea and Senegal, were found in Assamaka on Monday after arriving on foot overnight, IOM said.

It added that most of them had been taken to a transit camp where they could receive food, water and medical assistance. A further 92 were rescued on Tuesday.

The IOM has reported a sharp rise in the number of migrants left to walk across the border between Algeria and Niger through the desert this year.

In July, the UN body said it had rescued nearly 400 people "abandoned on the border with Niger and Algeria".

But Algeria lashed out at IOM, with Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui denouncing "a campaign of non-constructive and unfounded criticism" against his government.

The European Union has been grappling with massive migration from Africa and the Middle East since 2015.

Niger has become one of the main crossing routes for poor migrants, with 90 percent of West African migrants passing through the country, according to the EU.

In 2015, Niger introduced a law making people-smuggling punishable by a jail term of up to 30 years.

The army also stepped up patrols in the desert.
Hagit Ofran of Israel's Peace Now NGO reported Abbas as saying he had told the US officials, who are working on a peace plan, that he would only be interested if Israel was also part of such a confederation.

Abbas's office confirmed the meeting with Israeli peace activists had taken place, but did not confirm his comments on the confederation.

Neighbouring Jordan, along with most of the international community, has long supported a two-state solution to the long-running conflict.

"Every year we hear about a confederation. My question is: a confederation with whom? This is a red line for Jordan," King Abdullah said, according to a palace statement.

"Jordan's position is firm and steadfast: there is no alternative to the two-state solution and the establishment of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital," he said.

"Any proposal outside this framework has no value."

Palestinians see the idea of a confederation as destroying their long-held dream of a state.

But some on the Israeli right see the establishment of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation as a way to avoid the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

They argue that it would also absolve Israel of any responsibility towards the 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, currently under Israeli military occupation.

The Palestinian Authority severed contact with Washington after President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December.

In response, Trump said in January he would cut aid to the Palestinians in order to push them back to the negotiating table.

The US said Friday it would cease all funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) which helps some three million needy refugees across the Middle East.
Paraguay's announcement that it was moving the embassy back to Tel Aviv came little more than three months after it had transferred it to Jerusalem following a similar move by Washington.

US President Donald Trump's deeply controversial move to recognise the disputed city as capital of Israel sparked outrage among Palestinians who see Jerusalem's east as the capital of their future state.

In May, then-president of Paraguay Horacio Cartes met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem after his country and Guatamala opened their embassies there.
The meeting is already underway and is being attended by among others, National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, Attorney General Kihara Kariuki, Treasury CS Hnery Rotich, National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, MP Kimani Ichungwa who chairs the Budget Committee in the National Assembly, among others.

The country has over the past three days witnessed a crisis in various sectors of the economy after the government introduced a 16 percent value added tax (VAT) on fuel.

The tax has also resulted in a serious shortage of fuel products after transporters in the sector downed their tools to protest the new tax.
Hundreds of patients on Thursday suffering from chronic diseases benefited from the free medical camp with Sonko urging the sick to turn out in large numbers.

I really value human life. When my late father was alive, he used to talk a lot about the importance of good health and education. Therefore, by setting up this free medical camp is a dedication to our late father, he said.

Emotional eulogy

"Exactly three years today, you slid quietly into eternity. Time stood still but it can never erase your presence in our lives. Death may end life but not a relationship.

We remember you as a wonderful gift from God, our pillar of strength. We deeply cherish your memories of love, dedication, kindness, wisdom and generosity which will remain a guiding light to us.

As a leader, husband, father, brother, uncle, friend and for everything you were physically and still are in our hearts, your memories linger, sweetly, tenderly, fondly and truly. We miss you dearly.

Your amazing life was a blessing to us; the memory of your deeds a treasure, your passing le\u001F a void beyond words and your absence a pain beyond measure.

Although physically gone, you have always been a thought away from us.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  From frozen yogurt to musical backtracks to social apps and even hydroponic in-home greenhouses, Purdue University students are taking advantage of Purdues policy giving them ownership when they, as students, create an invention, generating a flurry of startups that advance the lives of others.

Scott Massey and Ivan Ball, 2017 graduates of Purdues Polytechnic Institute and founders of Heliponix LLC, say the reassessment in Purdue intellectual property rights that gives students ownership of their inventions motivated them to found their startup.

We definitely took the leap to found our startup because we liked the idea of owning our own technology, and it has been an unbelievable experience both in learning and contributing to society, Massey said. Being able to take our knowledge and technology to West Africa is something I will never forget. I also would never have believed that I would be a co-founder of a startup that is doing so well. A lot of credit goes to the Purdue Foundry and Purdue University for the strong support system they provide for student entrepreneurs. Weve just learned so much.

Heliponixs technology, called the Gropod is a refrigerator-sized aeroponic appliance capable of growing fresh produce in a consumers home. While in the West African country of Togo, Massey co-led a workshop on hydroponic systems to help participants develop sustainable agriculture methods in an undeveloped environment.

Heliponix is one of about 60 student-driven startups that launched since Purdue University announced five years ago that students could own their own intellectual property. The student startups also have generated more than $2.5 million in venture funding, business plan competitions and startup grants.

Mimir, a software company committed to growing the software engineering workforce, is one of the first student startups to work with the Purdue Foundry to research and obtain intellectual property ownership.

Shortly after Mimir was founded, the team worked in the Anvil, a Purdue student incubator, while also receiving assistance from the Purdue Foundry. In 2015, Mimir's co-founders were accepted into Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator, an investment group that aids promising startups to shape their ideas and prepare them for larger fundraising. After spending the summer in Silicon Valley for the program, the co-founders returned to Indiana.

During our time at the Anvil we were actively planning for the future of Mimir, said Prahasith Veluvolu, CEO of Mimir. With help from partners like the Foundry, we learned how to legally possess our intellectual property so that we could shift our focus toward enhancing our product in an effort to better support our customers.

The company has been nationally recognized for Mimir Classroom, its flagship product, and in 2017 Forbes chose co-founders Colton Voege, Jacobi Petrucciani and Veluvolu for its annual 30 Under 30 list of exceptional innovators under the age of 30. All three are former computer science students in Purdues College of Science.

Mimir Classroom continues to help computer science instructors with the delivery of their curriculum at more than 70 universities. Earlier this year, in an effort to further the company's mission, Mimir Workforce was created. This technical assessment tool helps hiring managers and recruiters evaluate and hire software engineers for internal roles.

Representatives from Mimir are currently attending the TechCrunch Disrupt SF Conference in San Francisco.

The strategic goal of fostering a culture of entrepreneurship for students was paramount in the modification in students intellectual property ownership.

We set out to build the nations best ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship, and granting our undergraduates the control of intellectual property seemed like a positive cultural signal, Purdue President Mitch Daniels said. Its turned out to be far more than symbolic, as 60 startup companies demonstrate. At Purdue, we believe youre never too young to start a business.

The Purdue Foundry, created in 2013, offers entrepreneurial assistance and startup funding to students, faculty and staff. Services include office mentoring, funding, educational opportunities, networking, marketing and business competitions.

Our core value is ideas to impact, and whether a technology is owned by a student or one that is licensed through Purdue's Office of Technology Commercialization we offer the same high level of entrepreneurial assistance, said Greg Deason, senior vice president for entrepreneurship and placemaking at the Purdue Research Foundation. Many of the students creating startups are also creating a career path for their futures.

The Purdue intellectual property guidelines offer students clear ownership rights as long as the resources used were part of a course and were available to all students in the course; that the student was not paid by the university or a third party; and the class or project was not supported by a corporation or government grant or contract.

In 2013, the Anvil was established with support by the Purdue Research Foundation and managed by Purdue students to provide an incubator for student startups.

The Anvil now has 157 members, said Juliana Casavan, entrepreneurial program manager, who provides guidance and entrepreneurial programming for the Anvil. Since the Anvil was founded it has become a hub of entrepreneurial activities for students who have the motivation and desire to create a startup.

The increase in technology transfer activities and startup creation aligns with Purdue's Giant Leaps Ideas Festival celebrating the universitys global advancements made in health, space, artificial intelligence and sustainability as part of Purdues 150th anniversary.

About Mimir

Mimir is software company that grows the software engineering workforce. The company's core product, Mimir Classroom, helps computer science instructors scale and automate curriculum without compromising quality for students. Mimir Workforce, was a supplemental product built to house a technical assessment tool for evaluating and hiring engineers. For more information about Mimir, call 317-449-3517 or visit www.mimirhq.com.

About The Anvil

The Anvil is a Purdue University student-managed startup incubator that assists students with 24/7 office space with Internet access, networking opportunities and conference rooms. The Anvil receives funding from the Purdue Research Foundation and other sources.

About Purdue Foundry

The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization accelerator in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. Managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, the Purdue Foundry was co-named a top recipient at the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Designation and Awards Program by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

Writer: Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340. casequin@prf.org

Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu

Prahasith Veluvolu, 317-449-3517, prahasith@mimirhq.com

Scott Massey, scott@heliponix.com

Greg Deason, gwdeason@prf.org

Juliana Casavan, jbcasavan@prf.org
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  The enigmatic Voynich manuscript, undecipherable to scholars for more than a century, is a 16th century Mexican manuscript, according to a new book written by Purdue University and Delaware State University professors.

The discovery, which also identifies the manuscripts author and illustrator, is a collaboration between Jules Janick, distinguished professor of horticulture at Purdue University, and Arthur O. Tucker, emeritus herbarium director at Delaware State University. Contributions to the book were made by Fernando Moreira, a Canadian linguist, and Elizabeth A. Flaherty, a Purdue wildlife ecologist.

The evidence is contained in Unraveling the Voynich Codex, recently released by Springer Nature. Key evidence for the Mexican origin of the Voynich Codex includes identification of Mexican plants and animals as well as clarification of a kabbalah-like map that shows landmarks of central Mexico.

Polish book dealer Wilfrid Voynich purchased the manuscript from a Jesuit university in 1912 in Frascati, Italy. The manuscript now resides in the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library of Yale University. It once belonged to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, nephew of Philip II of Spain, who allegedly kept the book in his cabinet of wonders. The pages are filled with illustrations of plants, animals, astrological signs, bathing nymphs and symbolic language that has been undecipherable.

Researchers previously assumed the Voynich Codex to be a 15th century European manuscript, reinforced by carbon dating of the vellum but not the text. However, the books last chapter includes contrary evidence, including the previously ignored botanical and animal information, which identifies the manuscript to be of New World origin.

The authors have identified 60 plants, all of which are indigenous to the New World. They have also identified 12 animals native to the New World including an armadillo, alligator gar, Mexican crayfish, ocelot, jaguarondi, coatimundi and horned lizard. Illustrations of the sunflower and armadillo are viewed by the authors as hard proof of a post-Columbian manuscript.

Simply put, there is no way a manuscript written on vellum that contains a sunflower and an armadillo could have been written before 1492, Janick said.

The manuscript includes a map with kabbalah imagery that is centered on the city of Puebla, where the Franciscan friar Toribio de Benavente, known as Motolinia, established the city of Angelopolis as the New Jerusalem in 1530. The map contains four other Mexican cities, Huejotzingo, Vera Cruz, Tecamachalco and Tlaxcala, as well as three volcanoes, Popocatepetl, La Malinche and Pico de Orizaba.

Janick and Tucker identify the illustrator, Juan Gerson, and author, Gaspar de Torres, based on their initials and names embedded in the first botanical illustration. Gerson, an indigenous Indian artist, painted murals of the apocalypse in a church in Techamachalco in 1562. Gaspar de Torres, a Spaniard born in Santo Domingo, was a medical doctor and lawyer who defended Indian rights and

served as master of students from 1568-1572 at the Colegio of Santa Cruz, where sons of the Aztec nobility trained to be priests. He was also a grandson of Jewish conversos, which could explain the kabbalah imagery.

The book is written in a symbolic script that has escaped decipherment by the worlds most distinguished cryptologists, including William Friedman. Friedman deciphered the Japanese Purple Code, a diplomatic cryptographic machine used by the Japanese Foreign Office during World War II. Tucker deciphered the symbols using the Mesoamerican names of labeled plants as the Rosetta Stone. Several words, including plants, cities and apothecary jars based on Nahuatl and Spanish words, have been deciphered. The text remains untranslated, but the authors write that it appears to be a synthetic language, as predicted by William Friedman, or possibly a mutually known language used in written communication by Aztec traders.

Identifying the Voynich manuscript as a 16th century, New World text gives scholars valuable information about the culture of post-conquest Mexican society. Few books like the Voynich manuscript survived the Spanish Inquisition.

Having owned something like this work at the time would have gotten you burned at the stake, Tucker said. But it survived, unedited, giving us a rare, unfiltered glimpse of this time and place.

Janick and Tucker conclude the Voynich Codex is a compendium of Aztec knowledge that is largely medicinal and herbal but includes information on astronomy, astrology and ritual bathing. The Voynich Codex is of extreme historical importance as it contains seminal information of New Spain unfiltered though Spanish or Inquisitorial censors.

Janick and Tucker are continuing to identify the plants pictured in the Voynich manuscript and plan to continue publishing their findings.

Contact: Maureen Manier, 765-494-8403, mmaner@purdue.edu

Source: Jules Janick, 765-494-1329, janick@purdue.edu



A gallery from the books images is available at: https://ag.purdue.edu/stories/voynich-code

These downloadable images are available for reprint:

Armadillo: https://ag.purdue.edu/stories/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Armadillo.jpg

Sunflower: https://ag.purdue.edu/stories/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Sunflower-Helianthus-annuus.jpg

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page
Published on:

5 September 2018





The paper, published in the journal Economic Geography, examined the relations between workplace and local labour regimes, global production networks and EU trade policy. The research focused on the Moldovan clothing industry, the leading export-orientated manufacturing sector in the country.

Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe and signed an Association Agreement with the EU in 2014. The UK accounted for 31 per cent of total EU clothing imports from Moldova in 2015.

External pressures driving working conditions

Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the study found that strucural pressures to meet the demands of EU buyers and retailers were driving working conditions. Wages in particular were impacted, which in Moldova are among the lowest in Europe.

In newly established private firms there was also pressure from factory management not to allow trade union representation despite freedom of association being at the heart of the EUs labour provisions.

Global production networks exploiting current EU trade model

Adrian Smith, Professor of Human Geography at Queen Mary said: Our research has shown that current EU trade policy does not sufficiently take account of the structural causes of poor working conditions and as a result global production networks are able to exploit the current model, and indeed workers.

The paper has implications for the UK government as it negotiates international trade agreements post-Brexit. The research highlights tensions in the role of governments in international trade policy - on one hand seeking to establish new spaces for market exchange whilst simultaneously trying to regulate employment conditions via international standards.

Rather than simply replicating current EU models, future trade agreements should raise the bar to make a meaningful contribution to improving working conditions on the ground, added Professor Smith.

More information

Research paper: Labor Regimes, Global Production Networks, and European Union Trade Policy: Labor Standards and Export Production in the Moldovan Clothing Industry by Adrian Smith, Mirela Barbu, Liam Campling, James Harrison and Ben Richardson. Economic Geography.

Study Human Geography at Queen Mary.
The United Kingdom may soon make misogyny a hate crime, following an MPs call to criminalise upskirting in England and Wales.

The UK Law Commission will review how sex and gender characteristics are treated within current hate crime laws and whether new offences are needed, the BBC reports.

Just because you or I dont see it, it doesnt mean its not going on.

If the amendment is passed, hostility towards women could be listed as an aggravating factor in some cases, and taken into account at sentencing. Police will also have to record incidents.

Blair Scotland, partner at Dundas Street Law, told RadioLIVE that the proposed amendment is pointing out misogynistic behaviour that political leaders may not see themselves.

Just because you or I dont see it, it doesnt mean its not going on.

In France, lawmakers have already gone further enacting on-the-spot fines for catcalling or lewd comments in public.

A two year pilot is already being run by Nottinghamshire police, where officers have recorded misogynistic behaviour as either hate crime or hate incidents, depending on whether or not it is criminal.

Listen to the full interview with Blair Scotland above.

Drive with Lisa Owen and Andrew Gourdie, filling in for Ryan Bridge, 3pm - 6pm Weekdays and streaming live on 'rova' channel 9 - available on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.
An American man is asking for compensation from the state of Kansas after spending 17 years in prison for a crime he didnt commit.

In 2017, Richard Anthony Jones was released from a maximum security prison after Kansas police realised a 1999 aggravated robbery was committed by his criminal doppelganger.

I pretty much did the time for him.

Mr Jones missed his children growing up, and also missed the birth of his grandchildren because of the case. Hes asking for US$1.1 million (NZ$1.66 million) in compensation, which works out to about US$65,000 (NZ$98,000) for every year he erroneously spent behind bars.

I pretty much did the time for him, Mr Jones told RadioLIVE.
In February last year, Rachel Adams and her friend stopped in to the cafe at Julians Berry Farm and Cafe in Coastlands, Whakatane to buy an ice-cream.

As she was leaving, a man armed with a shotgun entered the premises, stared Rachel down and aimed his shotgun at her chest.

Instead of freaking out she stood there staunchly, then tried to protect other patrons and the young staff in the cafe. The gunman then fired a round next to her feet, and schrapnel buried itself into her leg. Medical staff later told her there was 19 pellets embedded in her leg.

On Tuesday, the gunman (Redmond Eruera Huirua) was sentenced to five years in prison on a raft of charges. Now Rachel Adams is being hailed as a hero for standing up to the gunman and putting other people's lives ahead of her own.

Mitch Harris was talking on the incident tonight, then Rachel called up the show to discuss the incident and the fallout.

Night Talk with Mitch Harris, 8pm - 12am on RadioLIVE and streaming live to the rova app on Android and iPhone.

RadioLIVE.
HARTING: Data communications and connector specialist Harting has launched its first modular connector designed for the Category 7A transmission standard, adopted as the future standard for rail vehicle applications.
The submission of legislation enabling the construction of Phase 2B of High Speed 2 from Crewe to Manchester and the West Midlands to Leeds is to be delayed. The Department for Transport said this would better align the project with Northern Powerhouse Rail, and would not affect the planned completion ...
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Russian broadcast network Rossiya-K is to air Star Indias epic drama Siya Ke Ram on Kultura, following a content deal concluded by Stars regional syndication partner Intellecta.





Centring on the romance between Ram and Sita, the series is a classic tale of good overcoming evil. While the show will be dubbed in Russian, its Sanskrit mantras have been transcribed for the benefit of Kultura TVs audience.We are very happy that the Russian TV audience, who is very cultured and demanding will have the possibility to watch Sita and Ram. This is the journey into the history and mythology of India with some very positive messages. And in Russia, there is this very positive attitude towards India with great memories from the times of Raj Kapoor, said Christina Vlahova, CEO, Intellecta Star Indias syndication partner in Russia and the CIS.We do hope that with Sita and Ram we will give the Russian viewers a new possibility to rediscover Indiaboth modern and ancient.Kulturas head of feature films, Anna Dobrovolskaya, added: We are happy with the opportunity to initiate our audience into an unlimited source of Vedic wisdom. One can say that TV probably is unequal to such lofty matters. But usually, we start to tell children about the basic matters of good and evil in the early years through tales and myths. For those who are in the very beginning of their personal evolution, Sita and Ram will be just a tale. For others, it will become a step in the depths and heights of Vedic culture and encounter with its devoted guardians: the Hindus.
Malaysias unify TV is to distribute the BBC Player service to its two million broadband and Streamyx subscribers from 18 September.





Currently only available to unifi TVs ultimate pack subscribers, the deal with BBC Studios will enable more subscribers to access the video-on-demand (VOD) service.The Malaysian audience on BBC Player has steadily grown since the service launched in early 2017, signalling an increasing appetite for our content online. Dramas like Victoria, lifestyle programmes like the award-winning The Great British Bake-Off, our blue-chip natural history programmes like Blue Planet II, and the ever popular irreverent Top Gear, consistently top the charts as the most-watched programmes by unifis ultimate pack subscribers, on both BBC Player and unifi TV, said Ryan Shiotani, VP content, Asia at BBC Studios.It is evident that BBC content resonates with Malaysians and their families who are looking for high quality, intelligent programmes. We are glad that we are now able to offer these programmes to a wider base of Malaysians.The British broadcaster is offering a 30-day free trial to the BBC Player service, which is normally priced at RM10 per month.The expansion coincides with the launch by BBC Studios of Got Science?  a science magazine show hosted by Malaysian comedian Harith Iskander. The BBC Earth original commission, explores and explains food, health and fitness, sport, anatomy and technology using reason, logic, and rationale, and science  along with a healthy dose of humour.Got Science? will be available on BBC Player and air on BBC Earth from 11 September.Other shows available on BBC Player include drama Patrick Melrose (starring Benedict Cumberbatch), Masterchef series 14, Blue Planet II, and celebrity talk show The Graham Norton Show.
The FBI omitted from its application to spy on Carter Page the fact that Russian spies had dismissed the former Trump campaign adviser as unreliable  or as one put it, an idiot  and therefore unworthy of recruiting, according to congressional sources who have seen the unredacted document.

The potentially exculpatory detail was also withheld from three renewals of the wiretap warrant before a special government surveillance court. The warrants issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court allowed the FBI to spy on Page and others he was in contact with for almost a year, the sources also confirmed.

Carter Page: An FBI wiretap revealed the Russians thought he wouldn't make a good spy, but the FISA court was never told.

The FBI was aware of Russians skepticism that Page knew anything of value or was a significant player because the bureau had recorded them voicing such doubts in a wiretap, from an earlier espionage case involving three Russian spies working undercover for the Kremlin in New York.

The FBI cited that 2013 case, minus the disparagement of Page, in its applications to the FISA court. They have been made public only in redacted form, professing evidence that Page was recruited" by Russian intelligence and had "coordinated" with the Russian government. But thats a mischaracterization of the facts in the case, a congressional source said.

As first reported by RealClearInvestigations after Page became a central focus of the Trump-Russia investigation, court filings that emerged from the earlier case show the Russian government wasnt interested in cultivating Page as a spy. Rather, it tried to use him as a source of economic information, but soon discarded" him as low-value and unreliable.

Viewed in full, the FISA warrants show the court was not alerted to this seemingly critical information, the congressional sources now confirm. This happened even though FBI and Justice Department officials had ready access to the 26-page court filing when they signed the applications.

The FISA applications omit the fact that a Russian intelligence officer called page an idiot, " one congressional source said. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity due to the still-classified nature of the information.

The FBI did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Robert Mueller: Were his tighter rules on disclosing exculpatory evidence honored in the breach?

Former FBI officials and agents with experience in FISA warrants say the affidavits for Page appear to be material misrepresentations and failed to properly follow so-called Woods Procedures requiring accuracy of facts by the sworn declarants. Those procedures were strengthened in 2003 by then-FBI director Robert Mueller, now the special counsel pursuing the Trump-Russia affair.

Withholding material and exculpatory evidence from the FISA applications may also have violated Pages Fourth Amendment protections against omissions of material facts that would undermine or negate probable cause to search.

It is illegal, said veteran FBI agent Michael Biasello. The affiant" -- the person swearing to the affidavit -- "cannot cherry-pick only information favorable to the case.

Already controversial, the FISA warrants have been cited by Republicans and other critics as an abuse of process and a fraud on the court," because they relied heavily on other espionage allegations made against Page in the unverified and salacious Steele dossier that was prepared for and funded by the Clinton campaign. The Democratic opposition's financial role in generating the unsubstantiated charges, which Page has vehemently denied under oath, was another material fact omitted from all four applications to the FISA court, which blinded judges to political motives behind the allegations.

If FISA abuses are prosecuted in this case, senior officials who swore out the Page warrants, including James Comey and Andrew McCabe of the FBI and Sally Yates and Rod Rosenstein of the Justice Department, could be subject to perjury and conspiracy charges, and barred from appearing before the FISA court again, sources say.

In preparing its case for the FISA court, the FBI struggled to find credible evidence to support a probable cause argument for spying on Page, a U.S. citizen, a well-placed source briefed on the matter said. Evidence that he was acting as an agent of the Kremlin was thin. Headquarters leaned heavily on an unverified tip in the Steele dossier that Page had secretly met with two Kremlin-tied officials sanctioned by the U.S. -- Igor Sechin and Igor Diveykin -- to hatch a plot to interfere in the election during a July 2016 trip to Moscow.

But the only part of that sensational accusation the bureau could corroborate was that Page had traveled that month to Moscow, where he gave an academic speech at a business college that also once hosted President Obama. Intent on securing the warrant to probe the Trump campaign for illicit ties to Moscow, the agency scrambled to show the court other Russian connections. As a result, the source said, Pages role in the 2013 espionage case in New York was "exaggerated to make it look like he was being groomed by Russian intelligence.

Posing as bankers, the Russians first approached Page, then an international energy consultant, at a January 2013 industry symposium in New York City. Concluding that Page possessed little information of value, the Russians soon wrote him off.

Evgeny Buryakov: Carter Page helped convict the Russian spy, shown in a sketch of the 2016 court proceeding where he pleaded guilty.

I think he is an idiot and forgot who I am, the FBI secretly recorded one of the Russians, Victor Podobnyy, saying to another Russian about Page on April 8, 2013. You get the documents from him and tell him to go fuck himself.

Page says he was unaware that he was dealing with foreign agents. The document he provided was an academic paper on the future outlook of the energy industry, which was based on publicly available, non-sensitive information.

My conversations with Podobnyy were minimal, and completely innocuous, Page told RealClearInvestigations.

The FBI agreed  at least at that time. During its 2013-2016 investigation of the three Russian agents, it portrayed Page as one of many unwitting victims of their tradecraft  including other New York business people, as well as students -- and as someone who was only interested in business opportunities in Russia." Far from being a target of the FBI probe, Page was merely a witness (anonymously identified as Male-1"), one among several, and later became a cooperating witness  indeed, an FBI asset  who helped the government put away one of the spies.

The lead agent on the case, Gregory Monaghan, noted in his court filing that the spies posing as bankers never told Page they were connected to the Russian Government.

After realizing hed been duped, Page told RCI he met with Monaghan and other FBI agents at New Yorks Plaza Hotel in June 2013 to provide support for their investigation. He met with them again, as well as prosecutors, in March 2016, to help put away one of the Russian agents, who agreed to plead guilty to espionage charges.

The FBI's attitude toward Page turned hostile after candidate Donald Trump publicly announced his name on March 21, 2016 along with other members of his foreign policy team. Only then was Page treated as a counterintelligence concern. Not long afterward, FBI Director Comey and his deputy, McCabe, met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch to discuss the news of Page joining the Trump campaign and efforts to compromise him by the Russians, according to a recently declassified memo.

Then, sometime in the late spring of 2016, Comey held an unusual briefing concerning Page and the alleged national security risk he posed, with the Obama administrations highest-ranking national-security officials, who, in addition to Lynch, included National Security Adviser Susan Rice, CIA Director John Brennan, and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

Peter Strzok: He went after Carter Page aggressively.

Peter Strzok, the lead agent in the Trump-Russia investigation, began aggressively targeting Page in September 2016 after the dossier allegations were brought to his attention.

In an Oct. 14 email to the counsel for the deputy FBI director, Strzok discussed applying hurry the F up pressure on Justice Department attorneys to obtain the FISA surveillance warrant on Page before Election Day. On Oct. 21, his team filed the initial application for a wiretap.

By autumn, in the heat of the presidential election campaign, the FBI had Page under constant surveillance, vacuuming up all his text messages and emails and listening in on his phone calls, including communications with Trump officials.

As a top FBI counterintelligence official, Strzok supervised from Washington the earlier case involving the three undercover Russians in New York, and was familiar with Pages help in the case, officials say. He did not target Page as a suspect until after Page joined the Trump campaign. Text messages obtained by the Justice Department inspector general reveal that Strzok was stridently opposed to Trumps bid for president.

In a text message from March 2016  the month Trump announced Page as one of his foreign policy advisers  Strzok called Trump an idiot and said Hillary should win 100,000,000-0. On July 26, three weeks after the FBI had cleared Hillary Clinton of charges of mishandling her classified email, Strzok agreed with a fellow investigator that Clinton just has to win now. In a Nov. 7 text referencing a pre-Election Day article titled A victory by Mr. Trump remains possible, Strzok stated, OMG THIS IS F*CKING TERRIFYING.

Omg I am so depressed, Strzok wrote the day after the election.
Good morning. Its Thursday, September 6, 2018. Five years ago today, two men with a long history of public service -- some of it while wearing the uniform of the U.S. Navy -- were working in tandem to implement President Obamas proposed Syria policy.

John McCain and John Kerry had emerged as Obamas most influential surrogates for a policy that entailed U.S. airstrikes against the regime of Syrian despot Bashar al-Assad. Obama would later shy away from his own plan, but in the first week of September in 2013, McCain and Kerry were trying to sell it to a skeptical Congress.

Two much-watched congressional hearings this week, one in the House and the other in the Senate, were interrupted by protesters. So, too, was the Senate hearing featuring Kerry and McCain five years ago.

It seemed fitting somehow, at least then, as Ill explain in a moment. First, Id direct you, as I do each weekday, to our front page, which aggregates an array of columns and stories spanning the political spectrum. We also offer original material from our own reporters and contributors this morning, including the following:

* * *

Sizing Up Florida Governors Race. Sean Trende assesses the surprise matchup between Ron DeSantis and Andrew Gillum.

Trade Deal -- or Lack of One -- Is Key in N.D. Senate Race. Sally Persons reports on the role the presidents tariffs are playing in the contest between Heidi Heitkamp and Kevin Cramer.

The Times Nameless Author: A Man for No Seasons. Steve Cortes assails the White House insider who penned a scathing op-ed under the cloak of anonymity.

Deep Fakes and the Fight for Truth Online. Kalev Leetaru lays out the threat to credibility posed by the evolving technology landscape.

Our Divided Nation Is United on Energy Independence. Frank Luntz highlights polling results that show widespread support for the program President Trump has championed.

What the FBI Kept From Spy Court About Carter Page. In RealClearInvestigations, Paul Sperry reports that the FBI omitted from its application to surveil the former Trump campaign adviser the fact that Russian spies had dismissed him as unreliable.

Why the Trump Administration Should Preserve MAC Credits. In RealClearEnergy, Christopher Clemence explains why a provision allowing for leeway in fuel efficiency standards is too important to cut.

Congress Must Check the Administrative State. In RealClearPolicy, James C. Capretta expresses concern about the structural shift in the nature of governance.

Five Things to Expect During Open Enrollment 2019. In RealClearHealth, George Kalogeropoulos & Shandon Fowler preview next years Obamacare options.

Halt Cronyism in the Health Care Industry. Also in RCH, Andrew Langer makes a case for free-market competition.

What Comes After the INF? In RealClearDefense, John Maurer cites reasons the U.S. should withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Is the Big Dipper Really a Big Dipper? RealClearScience editor Ross Pomeroy points out that people in different cultures ascribe different shapes to the well-known alignment of stars.

* * *

At John McCains memorial service Saturday, one of the speakers was former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman. It was noted by the eulogist, and others, that McCains maverick sensibilities were epitomized by his thwarted desire to name Lieberman as his running mate in 2008. The problem was that Joe Lieberman was not a Republican, so it didnt happen. Not to quibble with the larger point about McCains intellectual independence, but four years earlier Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry had the same bipartisan impulse. The non-Democrat he wanted on his ticket was none other than Republican Sen. John McCain.

In September 2013, however, Kerry and McCain were trying to help the man whod attained the job they had sought. After their unsuccessful presidential bids, both men had returned to the Senate, where their influence was not diminished, as is the normal way of things, but enhanced.

On this date five years ago, Kerry was secretary of state; McCain was the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The two decorated Vietnam vets embraced at the hearing, then went about their business in a dance captured expertly at the time by my colleague Caitlin Huey-Burns.

Although theyd come to a meeting of the minds on Syria, Kerry and McCain had harbored opposing views about the war that originally made them famous. In 1971, Kerry had testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he would later chair, to accuse the U.S. government of bad faith in its Vietnam War policy. How, he asked the senators then, do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?

Five years ago, Secretary of State Kerry recalled that moment after an antiwar heckler interrupted the Syria proceedings: You know, he mused aloud, the first time I testified before this committee, when I was 27 years old, I had feelings very similar to that protester.

Carl M. Cannon

Washington Bureau chief, RealClearPolitics

@CarlCannon (Twitter)

ccannon@realclearpolitics.com
In the upper Midwest, the brisk autumn air has already signaled the annual harvest season. But farmers in North Dakota, where an election in two months could be pivotal in the fight for control of the U.S. Senate, are feeling another kind of chill: They fear that President Trumps trade battles have created lasting obstacles to their livelihoods.

In North Dakota, Chinese tariffs on soybeans have thrown a wrench in the finely tuned production line that makes agriculture a profitable pursuit. Farmers are now betting on high-stakes negotiations that dont appear to be coming to fruition anytime soon. Although polls show that the presidents support remains strong in this deep-red state, political observers say that the farmers plight has complicated Republicans hopes of ousting longtime Democratic incumbent Sen. Heidi Heitkamp in November.

Soybeans may sound esoteric to city dwellers in Washington, but as a cash crop in this country its second only to corn  worth $41 billion last year alone, much of it sold overseas. Earlier this year, China retaliated against the U.S. by enacting tariffs on U.S.-grown soybeans. This was not merely a symbolic gesture: The Chinese are the number one consumer of American soybeans, which they feed to livestock and use for cooking oil. Addressing domestic political pressure to reach an agreement with China, deputy White House press secretary Lindsay Walters put out a statement last month saying U.S. representatives met with their Chinese counterparts and discussed how to achieve fairness, balance, and reciprocity in the economic relationship. But these talks did not result in a deal.

In the meantime, the impasse is roiling North Dakota politics. Democratic state Sen. Jim Dotzenrod, who runs a soybean and corn farm in the southeastern part of the state, said he had expected more progress in the negotiations by now. I had operated under the assumption that the pressure of this upcoming election would be so great, especially in Midwest, that it would force some sort of action -- that something would have to give, he said.

Dotzenrod runs the farm with his son, Rudy, and explained that farmers begin to meet with their banks in November to settle up on this years debt and secure a line of credit for next year. If soybean prices remain low, farmers will be left with the choice of dumping their beans below cost or holding their product in the hopes negotiations come to a positive conclusion. Some may not have the room to personally store their goods and will have to pay to hold the crops in grain elevators  if they can eventually find a buyer, given the surplus of soybeans out there.

The only way we can carry on with our way of life is trade, Dotzenrod told RCP. And its a world market. If were saying to the world, We dont need you, [then] were not going to be able to carry on.

Other farmers, more sympathetic to the administrations end goal, say they are willing to hang in there, for now. I understand the trade negotiations. I understand the end goal is to make this better for everyone, said Paul Thomas, a farmer in north-central North Dakota. Im happy to be part of that solution, but I cant take the brunt of it forever. A grower of several types of crops including soybeans, he said the tariffs, combined with a drought in his part of the state, have made him decide to store his harvest and hope that the market improves with a trade deal.

Thomas said that prior to the tariffs being put in place, when prices were higher, he pre-sold an estimated 40 percent of his soybean crop. Until prices change, however, its more cost-effective for him to hold the rest. It will still cost him money for storage, since hes needed to buy more barrels, but he sees little choice.

The administration is trying to help farmers get by in the interim by offering up to $12 billion in programs, including payments to farmers. There will also be $200 million put towards developing new foreign markets. Trump announced in July that hes working with the European Union to expand the soybean market and said the EU promised to buy more U.S. soybeans. Farmers say it will be a long time before they see the results of this change and that the means of sending their product to Europe is a complicated process.

Farmers are concerned that in the meantime China will find a different source of soybeans, namely South America. They fear countries there will profit off the trade war and re-sell U.S. goods to China at a higher rate. The U.S. Trade Association said it did not have any information on the subject and referred RCP to the Department of Agriculture. The USDA did not respond to a request for comment.

How all this will go down in North Dakotas voting booths come November is a crapshoot. Heitkamp faces a tough challenge in the state from Rep. Kevin Cramer, the states at-large congressman since 2013. He currently leads in RCPs polling average by a mere 0.5 percentage points. Both candidates have urged the administration to use a different negotiating tactic to reach a new trade deal with China. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross visited the state last month to discuss the policy with farmers as a new poll shows the presidents support slipping by double-digit margins.

A survey from the Farm Journal showed that out of the nearly 70 percent of farmers who voted for Trump in 2016, only 56 percent would vote for him again. Forty-one percent now view him unfavorably and 35 percent say they view him less favorably. The poll, with 2,300 respondents, was conducted at the beginning of August.

Farmers say this is just the beginning of the political consequences if the U.S. and China do not reach a deal. Although those who spoke to RCP were reluctant to wade into politics, they all agreed that if the marketplace does not return to what it was prior to the imposition of tariffs  or improve significantly due to changes  the status quo in this dependably Republican state may not hold.
Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 3:09AM

Looks like theres no love lost between Facebook and BlackBerry. Months after BlackBerry filed a lawsuit against the social network claiming it stole key technology related to mobile messaging that have made BlackBerrys products such a critical and commercial success in the first place, Facebook seems to be returning the favour. Facebook claims BlackBerry has infringed on six of its patents related to a voice messaging feature in BBM Enterprise. It claims BlackBerry violated its patents in the way mobile devices deliver images and audio as well as with patents related to GPS data management and security. The social network filed the suit in San Francisco federal court and is seeking unspecified damages.

Source: Engadget
The government of Burkina Faso granted scientists permission to release genetically engineered mosquitoes anytime this year or next, researchers announced Wednesday. It's a key step in the broader efforts to use bioengineering to eliminate malaria in the region.
Last Wednesday, the FDA threw its hat into Californias eternal does-or-doesnt-coffee-cause-cancer fight.

Requiring a cancer warning on coffee, based on the presence of acrylamide, would be more likely to mislead consumers than to inform, the federal agencys statement read. Thats because scientists are in near uniform agreement that coffee doesnt cause cancer  its safety is reinforced by some of the most comprehensive data available. But since coffee contains a chemical called acrylamide, California's Proposition 65 law requires the beverages to bear a warning. The law is broken, and its inconsistency is just part of the reason why Californians pay these warnings little mind.

So in Augusts waning days, the rules governing Proposition 65 warnings changed to make them more informative. Now, rather than vague notices about cancer and reproductive harm, California law requires manufacturers to identify which specific chemical on the states list of roughly 900 carcinogens and reproductive toxins an item might expose consumers to.

The change is both good and wholly insufficient for addressing Proposition 65s failures.

At the very least, consumers can google the newly identifiable chemical to discover whether a warning should actually be heeded  as might be the case for items containing lead or the plastic softener DEHP when destined for a house with young children. Googling the acrylamide warning on coffee would inform consumers of the warnings needlessness and the clamor to restore coffee's good name.

This whole coffee brouhaha speaks to the most dangerous failure of Proposition 65, one which these more elaborate notices fail to rectify: overwarning.

Its no exaggeration when pundits call these warnings ubiquitous. As a youngster in Southern California, I remember reading the notices that Disneylands parking garage and my local mall contained chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm. Better yet, I remember my mother dispelling my alarm with the first rule of being Californian: Everything is made up and the warnings don't matter.

The signs were so common, appearing on everything from mugs to flip flops, that I also began to tune them out. Unfortunately, theres evidence that this kind of warning fatigue is taking its toll. Californias rate of several common cancers  Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and ovarian, testicular, and stomach cancers among them  are either no different from or higher than the national average. Thats not a great outcome for a law aimed at protecting public health. And though Californians are ignoring the warnings, a group of serial litigants have made a $300 million cottage industry suing companies that fail to display them.

Even state officials know they have a problem. Theres a danger to overwarning  its important to warn about real health risks, a spokesperson of Californias Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) told The New York Times. A major contributor to the problem is that Proposition 65 doesnt require a causal link between a product and an adverse health effect, nor even between the amount of a chemical in a product and an adverse health effect. As a result, items like coffee are under legal obligation to bear warnings when no real risk exists.

How does this happen? OEHHA sets acceptable exposure levels for reproductive toxins by arbitrarily dividing the chemicals observed safe exposure level by 1,000. For suspected carcinogens, the safety threshold is set low enough that someone exposed to the chemical every day for life would have less than a 1 in 100,000 chance of developing cancer. These cutoffs are meaninglessly low.

Certainly, no one wants to flirt with the line between safe and unsafe exposure. But for those who believe such a wide margin of safety is justified, consider this: The level of formaldehyde that requires a Proposition 65 warning in California is less than the amount of formaldehyde we naturally exhale throughout the day. According to California law, human breath poses an unacceptable cancer risk.

All of the law's shortcomings can be boiled down to this single flaw. If California only required warnings on products that truly yielded an unacceptable health risk, people would see them less often. They'd likely take the warnings more seriously. And businesses selling harmless products wouldn't face broad daylight extortion simply because a listed chemical is present in trace amounts in their products. After all, it's the dose that makes the poison.

For more than 30 years, Proposition 65 has operated with little change to how it evaluates chemicals, despite major toxicological advancements in the past decade. If we truly want to protect public health, we cant simply wait for state officials to intervene every time something as safe as coffee lands under the laws black list, nor can we be complacent in allowing the warnings on less familiar products that carry an equally negligible risk.

OEHHA should base its chemical safety thresholds on real data: typical exposure patterns, modern toxicological and epidemiological data, and considerations for vulnerable populations, like pregnant women and newborns. If businesses losing millions each year to the law isnt compelling enough, perhaps the consequences of overwarning will finally inspire action.
Many children first curiously gaze up at the night sky to "connect the dots." When they do, they see a wondrous array of pictures: animals, hunters, objects, gods... the stars are alive!

To kids in North America, one of the most recognizable pictures is the Big Dipper. Formed of the stars Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid, the ladle-like image is actually part of the larger constellation Ursa Major. The Big Dipper is not an official constellation; it's an asterism, basically an unofficial constellation.

And since it is unofficial, that means cultures all over the world see the Big Dipper quite differently. In Germany, Scandinavia, Romania, Hungary, and Italy, children are introduced to the set of stars as an enormous wagon.

Some in China see Wenchang Wang, a Taoist deity, accompanied by two attendants.

In Ireland and the United Kingdom children look up and see a "starry plough."

There's more! In Burma, many see a crustacean. Some Arabs in the Middle East see a coffin with three mourners standing nearby. Astronomers following traditional Chinese astronomy see the "Right Wall of the Purple Forbidden Enclosure."

Before we knew that the stars were fiery suns far, far away, humans placed their mythologies, stories, and deities in the seemingly unchanging night sky. Even to this day, millions look to the stars and constellations for fortune-telling and guidance. But constellations care not for the goings-on of earthlings. In many thousands of years, the constellations we know and place our faith in will no longer be around. That's because the stars that we see (including our Sun) are moving, orbiting about the massive center of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is brimming with bright stars and gigantic black holes. The stars in our sky aren't all moving at the same speeds or in identical directions, however. This means that in hundreds of thousands of years, the stellar pictures we know will be gone.

"Every constellation is a single frame in a cosmic movie," Carl Sagan commented in Cosmos, "but because our lives are so short, because the stars' patterns change so slowly, we tend not to notice it's a movie."

"A million years ago, there was no Big Dipper."

And in tens of thousands of years, the Big Dipper will exist no more, yet again.

"The star at the end of the handle and the one at the far tip of the bowl happen to be moving in the opposite direction from the other stars in the Big Dipper," NASA Dawn Mission Director and Chief Engineer Marc Rayman wrote. "In the future, the handle will appear to be more bent, and the bowl will spread out. To me, the shape in 50,000 years will be more like that of a tadpole than a dipper."
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Athens, GA (30605)

Today

A steady rain this morning. Showers continuing this afternoon. High around 50F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable.
Yale University climbed three spots to trail only Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the third annual installment of a Wall Street Journal index that ranks the University of Connecticut the top state university in the Northeast.

The Wall Street Journal ranks schools from surveys designed to determine a range of factors important to students and parents, to include academic reputation, resources, record in engaging and challenging students, and job prospects upon graduation  with those outcomes given the greatest weight on the index. Unlike many competing surveys, the Wall Street Journal index consolidates universities, colleges and military academies in a unified ranking.
WINSTED  While some political hopefuls and incumbents began the final leg of their campaigns by opening a headquarters, state Rep. Jay Case didnt bother. Hes going door-to-door instead.

Theres not going to be a headquarters, said the legislator, who is seeking a fourth term in office in November to represent the 63rd District, serving the towns of Winchester, Colebrook and sections of Goshen and Torrington.

(My campaign is) going to be my feet on the ground, knocking on doors and reaching out to my constituents, he said. I find its more productive to go out and meet the people, rather than have them come to me.

Case is the ranking member of the Human Services Committee and serves on the legislatures Appropriations and Environment committees. He is the ranking member of the legislatures Internship Committee, where he helps young people learn about state government and policy, according to his website. He is a founding member of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) caucus, which brings members of the I/DD community into state policy-making decisions and provides them with a voice to improve the way government delivers supportive services to the community, he said.

Before serving in the General Assembly, Case was a small-business owner and active volunteer in northwest Connecticut.

The best part of his job, he said, is to be out there.

Its a lot of fun, he said. I like to hear what people have to say, and to try and answer their questions and get their feedback. People are riled up about the states financial status, and want to hear whats going on. You hear a lot about (the proposal to bring back highway) tolls, and you get to talk to people about that. It really depends on who youre talking to. ... If its someone whos elderly, theyre worried about their (MSP) medical savings plan. And taxes are a big thing, too.

During his first three terms, Case pointed out, the state faced large tax increases and a $5 billion debt. This year, the legislature produced a bipartisan budget with no tax increase.

Now we have $1.5 billion in our budget, and thats because we had a zero tax increase this year, he said. The governor gives you a budget to work with, but the legislature has the right to veto what the governor does.

This time we all knew we had to work together, and we showed we could do that by passing a bipartisan budget. I think people liked that  they respect it. We have to keep doing that.

Case, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Winchester Mayor Candy Perez, who kicked off her campaign Sept. 3. Case voiced his opinion of the Democrats based on the states budget.

Its been one party for 40 years controlling the budget, and that has to change, he said. We have to learn to live within our means, and that means stop the frivolous spending. We can do it.

He criticized Gov. Dannel Malloys proposal to do a $10 million feasibility study on whether Connecticut should bring back highway tolls, which many say will bring much-needed revenue to the state. Case doesnt see it that way.

Why do we need a $10 milion study for tolls? What do we need that for? he asked . To spend that money, when were having trouble meeting the money we need for the MSP, doesnt make any sense. The bottom line is, we have to put people before projects.

We have high tax bills and a lot of debt to pay down. Thats a priority, he said. So we still have a lot of work to do.

If he is re-elected, Case will continue to oppose what he refers to as frivolous spending, while focusing on the needs of the people in the communities he serves.

Im not running for office to make a living, Im doing it help people, he said. The biggest part of my job is the day-to-day, helping people who need it. There was a guy who needed a double lung transplant, and he came to me for help. I was able to help him with his Medicaid so he could get that. That was four years ago, and hes doing great now.

I focus on the things that frustrate people about the government, and try to help them, Case said. 

Looking ahead, Case said one of his biggest goals for the state is to get control of and end the opiate crisis in Connecticut.

Mental health and addiction are two of the things that are just not getting enough, he said. Weve put a lot toward gun control, but nothing for mental health and the opiate crisis, which is huge.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 63,632 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United Statesi n 2016. The age-adjusted rate of overdose deaths increased significantly by 21.5 percent from 2015 to 2016. Opioids  prescription and illicit  are currently the main driver of drug overdose deaths, the CDC reported. Opioids were involved in 42,249 overdose deaths in 2016 (66.4% of all drug overdose deaths).

The CDC also listed Connecticut as one of 27 states with a significant increase in drug overdose death rates. Connecticut has continued to seek ways to combat overdose deaths, including providing Narcan, a drug that revives an overdose victim, to police and emergency service workers, and providing more funding to individual towns and cities for education and prevention, according to www.ct.gov/dmhas.

Case said that if Connecticut doesnt find ways to further the fight, its not going away, he said. We need to concentrate on it. Its getting out of hand.

He believes the way addicts are treated needs to change. We dont give people enough rehab  sometimes 30 days isnt enough, he said, referring to treatment programs for people struggling with addiction, which often provide detoxification from the drug, followed by in-house treatment.

Sometimes, 30 days doesnt give them enough time to reacclimate, he said. They need more time to recover and learn how to live. I have some ideas about that, and Im looking forward to working on it.

The incumbent legislator is also concerned with the disabled and mentally ill, who are often overlooked, he said.

For example, we still have more than 2,000 people with disabilities waiting for housing. Thats what I studied in college, and its something thats very important to me. I had a brother with disabilities and I saw how hard it was for him. ... Theres no reason for that many people to be waiting for a place to live. Its a huge priority for me.
BURLINGTON  Lewis S. Mills High School kicked off the school year by launching a one-on-one computer program environment and distributing Bak USA Atlas laptop computers to students in grades 9-12.

Bak USA is a Buffalo-based social enterprise company that prides itself on handcrafting their own computers in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. Its mission is to build accessible technology while making high quality jobs available in the United States.

Region 10s technology team, teachers, administrators and Board of Education technology committee spent the last two years preparing for the launch, which is phase one of a multi-year plan to improve technology at all four Region 10 schools.

A 1:1 environment grants us the unique opportunity to transform the teaching and learning experience for all students and prepare for a strong transition to college and future careers, said Cheri Burke, Director of Student Learning for Region 10. We believe this improved level of technology readiness is necessary to create dynamic learning environments that support creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking within a personalized learning environment.

To achieve these goals, every student in grades 9-12 was given a district-owned Personalized Learning Device (PLD) for his/her use during their time at Lewis Mills.

Students in grades 5-8 at Har-Bur Middle School will benefit from an improved environment for teaching and learning with an influx of laptop carts that will no longer be in use at the high school.

Burke said, Region 10 is committed to the continual improvement of the educational environment. Our goal is to transform teaching and learning, and support inquisitive learners, innovative leaders, and responsible citizens with purposeful and responsible technology integration from preschool to grade 12.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (front-R) and Cambodian People's Party leaders Heng Samrin (front-L) and Sar Kheng (front-C) attend the opening ceremony of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh, Sept. 5, 2018.

Cambodia held the opening session of its National Assembly on Wednesday, drawing scorn from political observers and members of the public who dismissed the now one-party legislature as illegitimate following an election widely seen as unfree and without the participation of the countrys opposition.

The ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) has said that party candidates who contested in the July 29 general election won all 125 parliamentary seats in a landslide victory that also secured another five-year term for strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen to add to his 33 years in office.

The new lawmakers were sworn in by King Norodom Sihamoni who presided over the opening session of parliament, attended by Hun Sen, foreign ambassadors, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.

The government had sent invitation letters to 31 foreign embassies in Cambodia, but only 22 dispatched representatives to the session, according to National Assembly Secretary-General Leng Penglong.

Diplomats from the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the U.K., Sweden, Bulgaria, and the European Union did not attend, he said.

Rights groups, the United Nations, and Western countries have slammed the election as a fraud.

The U.S. called it neither free nor fair and said it failed to represent the will of the Cambodian people, while the EU charged that it was not representative of the democratic will of the electorate.

Days before the election, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow Washington to impose sanctions on Hun Sen and members of his inner circle for their role in undermining democracy in the country and committing human rights violations. The Senate is reviewing the legislation known as the Cambodia Accountability and Return on Investment Act of 2018.

Ly Sreysros, leader of a group of young political analysts who were students of late political pundit Kem Leywidely believed to have been murdered by the CPPsaid the absence of diplomats on Wednesday signaled the disapproval of several key countries.

The new one-party Assembly will be less effective because it now lacks the checks-and-balance system that it had when there were opposition party members, he told RFAs Khmer Service.

In the run-up to the elections, Cambodias Supreme Court dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) over allegations that it was involved in a plot to topple the government. Party officials were stripped of their posts and 118 lawmakers were banned from politics for five years.

The government also shut down independent media outlets, placed restrictions on civil society, and quieted dissenting voices under the pretext that Hun Sens opponents were conspiring with foreign powers to topple his government.



Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni (L) arrives for the opening ceremony of parliament at the National Assembly building in Phnom Penh, Sept.5, 2018. Credit: AFP Bogus institutions

Others in Cambodia criticized the new National Assembly borne of an election they believe was manipulated by the ruling party, despite Hun Sens claims that the government had upheld democracy during the vote.

Outspoken Buddhist monk Buth Buntenh, who lives in exile in the U.S., said all state institutions now filled by officials voted into power through the sham elections lack legitimacy.

Julys national election was a sham. Therefore, the government that was formed from the election is also a sham, he said. When the government is a sham, the prime minister and other ministers are shams as well. When all state institutions are bogus, our nation will become a nation without a future.

Buth Buntenh also said that the king was under duress because he was forced by the government to speak at the Assemblys opening session.

A resident of Kampong Cham province, on the central lowlands of the Mekong River, meanwhile said he has no faith in the new regime.

I dont support the new National Assembly as a one-party assembly, said the man who declined to give his name. I dont support it because the election was not transparent.

A resident of northwest Cambodias Banteay Meanchey province said the one-party parliament will do little to rein in corruption at the top levels of the countrys government.

We have seen how the government talks about the election, but this is an artificial democracy, he told RFA. He [Hun Sen] doesnt care about the peoples interests.

Now the international community has put pressure on Cambodia, so the [Cambodian] people will face difficulties in the future, he said.

We will not let the people down

Political scientist Em Sovannara said the national economy will suffer from deteriorating relations with the U.S. and EU and that improved relations with regional powerhouse China will not make up the shortfall.

The U.S. Senate is going to finalize the draft law on freezing the assets of 16 Cambodian dignitaries, he said, referring to the Cambodia Accountability and Return on Investment Act. Economic sanctions are gradually coming, and I dont think Chinas help will be enough for Cambodia.

But CPP spokesperson Sok Eysan said the government does not care if powerful global players like the U.S and EU refuse to recognize it, because other nations will step in and support Cambodia politically and economically.

The CPP will implement the policy pledges that it made to the Cambodian people, he said.

We will not let the people down, he said.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong and Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on secretly tried a prominent anti-censorship campaigner on subversion charges after holding him for more than a year, RFA has learned.



Zhen Jianghua was initially detained at his home in Guangdong's Zhuhai city on the night of Sept. 1, 2017 on suspicion of "incitement to subvert state power."



He stood trial in Zhuhai on Aug. 10, according to a brief statement that appeared on the Case Information Disclosure website of China's state prosecutor, the People's Procuratorate, but which was later deleted, sources said.



A cached copy of the statement was still accessible via Google search on .



"Defendant Zhen Jianghua stood trial in open court on Aug. 10, 2018 at the Zhuhai Intermediate People's Court on charges of incitement to subvert state power," the Aug. 23 statement said.



"The case was prosecuted by the Zhuhai People's Procuratorate."



Initially held under criminal detention in the Zhuhai No. 1 Detention Center, Zhen was later taken to an unknown location by state security police, to be held under residential surveillance," where he was denied permission to meet with defense attorney Ren Quanniu, who had been appointed by his family.



Ren had told RFA in March that he was concerned that Zhen, who ran an anti-censorship website called Across the Great Firewall, could be being tortured or mistreated in the absence of visits from family or lawyers.



Ren said he was denied permission to meet with Zhen on the grounds that the case touched on matters of "national security."



Zhen had registered his website overseas to elude ruling Chinese Communist Party censorship, and offered information about censorship, and circumvention tools for accessing the internet beyond the complex system of blocks, filters and human censorship that make up China's Great Firewall.



News of his trial also appeared briefly on the Baidu search engine's "Snapshot" function, a source told RFA.



"Some friends saw this pop up from an online search for his name [on], but it was deleted a few hours later, even from Baidu Snapshot," the source said.



"We didn't expect this to happen so suddenly, because his family were informed in July that the trial would likely be in August, but they knew nothing about it," the source said.



"Then suddenly, he stood trial on Aug. 10. ... His family were shocked and surprised by this."



A Hong Kong-based activist who has repeatedly called for Zhen's release told RFA that the Chinese authorities are increasingly using such tactics in the trials of peaceful dissidents.



"This isn't surprising, because ... the Chinese Communist Party has been using secret methods to put dissidents on trial for a long time now, because they daren't let it be public," the activist, who gave only a nickname Ni Ke, said.



"If they allowed them to be public, then a lot of people would show up to observe and support, and there would be a lot of journalists," Ni Ke said.



"They know that what they are doing makes no sense ... and they are afraid that the international community will find out about it, so they put them on trial and send them straight to prison."



Zhen, 33, once known by his online moniker GuestsZhen, was detained when he went to bring money to detained activists after taking part in a memorial event marking the death of late Nobel peace laureate and political prisoner Liu Xiaobo last July.



According to the overseas rights group, Frontline Defenders, Zhen had also worked as a technical consultant with Human Rights Campaign in China, an advising expert with Chinese Wikipedia, and a project officer of a HIV/AIDS prevention education project in Zhuhai, run by the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation.



He had previously been detained by state security police for traveling to Guangdong's rebel village of Wukan following a crackdown by armed police in , on suspicion of inciting protests there, the group said.



The ruling Chinese Communist Party has moved to curb the use of circumvention tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) since the beginning of 2017, deleting swathes of foreign content not previously approved by the government under a draconian new cybersecurity law.



London-based rights group Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action alert on Zhen on , saying he could now face up to 15 years in prison for running his website.



"Zhen Jianghua is a human rights defender with over 10 years experience working for marginalized communities in China and has been detained several times as a result of his activism," the group said in a statement on its website.



He is currently being held in the Zhuhai No. 2 Detention Center, and concerns remain that he is "at risk of torture and other ill-treatment," it said.



Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hubei are holding an unknown number of people after thousands of protesters took to the streets in protest at a planned power facility.



Several thousand residents of Hubei's provincial capital and Yangtze River port Wuhan took to the streets on and over plans to build a transforming station in the city's Gaoxin district, local residents told RFA.



By , several hundred police were drafted in, beating up and detaining protesters, leaving many injured, they said.



By , as heavy rains hit the city, the streets around Gaoxin district's Guangrong Development Area, the proposed site for the power plant, were cleared of protests, an Wuhan resident surnamed Hong said.



"Pretty much everyone from around the development area turned out," Hong said. "There were around several thousand people on both days both in the morning, before we went to work ... and in the evening, when we finished work."



"A lot of local residents came out in protest, and [the police] really did beat people up, shoving them around and bashing them, and I saw one guy dragged into a police vehicle," Hong said. "I saw two or three people in the vehicle as well."



Hong said local residents fear the impact of pollution from the transforming station on their quality of life.



"You get [non-ionizing] radiation from transforming stations, didn't you know?" he said. "It would be around 400 meters [from people's homes], and there are a few primary schools in the area too," he said.



Another resident surnamed Li said that while many residents agree on the need for a transforming station, they are highly suspicious of a lack of official transparency around the project.



"They should have told residents about their plans, and let them see the construction plans," Li said. "They should also have told us other things, for example about whether it's safe or not."



"I think residents of the city; citizens even, have the right know about these things."



Harmful to health

However, an official who answered the phone at the Gaoxin district government offices declined to comment when contacted by RFA on.



"We don't really know the ins and outs of this situation here, so we don't really know much about the latest developments," the official said.



Repeated calls to the local police department rang unanswered during office hours on .



According to the World Health Organization (WHO), electrical substations are sources of extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields.



Short-term exposure to very high levels of electromagnetic fields can be harmful to health, WHO said, adding that current public concern focuses on possible long-term health effects caused by exposure to electromagnetic fields at levels below those required to trigger acute biological responses.



"Despite extensive research, to date there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low level electromagnetic fields is harmful to human health," it said.



The U.K. group Powerwatch said high-level electromagnetic fields have been independently measured in residential accommodation, in particular when substations are in the same building.



"If there is a substation in the building where you live or work, the field levels on the same floor and the floors above and below could easily exceed the levels at which serious health effects, such as cancer, dementia or depression have been reported," according to the group's website.



It cited studies as saying that visible substations and cables also reduce the value of a property, with the degree of drop in value depending on the type of property.



The U.K. Parliament in 2011 cited scientific studies as indicating the "possible doubling" of rates of childhood leukemia in the immediate vicinity of transforming and distribution facilities.



Reported by Wong Lok-to for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.


The Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), comprising leaders of 10 Myanmar ethnic armed groups that have signed a nationwide cease-fire accord, hold a meeting to prepare for an upcoming summit in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Sept. 6, 2018.

Ten ethnic armed organizations that have signed Myanmars nationwide peace accord will hold a third summit in northern Thailand to discuss points agreed to during the governments most recent round of peace talks and a strategy for moving forward to end seven decades of civil war with the national military.

Representatives from all 10 signatory armies will attend the four-day summit in Chiang Mai, according to Khine Soe Naing Aung, vice chairman of the Arakan Liberation Party (ALP), who participated in a meeting of the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST) in the Thai city on Thursday.

We are still discussing where and when we will hold it, he told RFAs Myanmar Service, though an announcement on the ethnic armed groups website said the summit will take place on Sept. 8-11.

The PPST, comprising leaders of the signatories of Myanmars nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA), formed two teams in April to hold informal discussions with the government on political and security issues.

PPST leader General Mutu Say Poe, who is chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU), gave the opening speech at the gathering, urging participants at the upcoming summit to discuss the results of the third round of the governments key peace initiative known as the 21st-Century Panglong Conference.

He also said that the groups should work on a solution that addresses differences among them and discuss their future plans.

The 10 NCA-signatory groups will also consider a framework for political dialogue and discuss issues regarding ethnic armies that have not signed the NCA, the online news service Mizzima reported.

At the third session of the Panglong Conference in July, Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi called for patience and a new strategic vision to build a peace framework to end civil war in the country.

The round concluded with 14 agreements in principle, adding to 37 points of accord reached at the previous peace talks session in May 2017.

Of the 14 basic principles agreed to by 700 delegates over six days, seven covered social issues, four were in the political sector, one involved the economy, and two addressed land matters. But no agreement was reached on the security sector, where the powerful national military and the ethnic militias remain at odds.

The 10 groups, collectively known as Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement-Signatories, Ethnic Armed Organizations (NCA-S EAO), are the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF); Arakan Liberation Party (ALP); Chin National Front (CNF); Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA); Karen National Union (KNU); KNU/Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council (KNU/KNLA-PC); The Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO); Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS); New Mon State Party (NMSP); and Lahu Democratic Union (LDU).

The first eight groups signed the governments NCA in October 2015, while the last two signed the accord in February 2018.

Representatives of three ethnic armies that have not signed the NCA met briefly for the first time with Myanmar government peace negotiators in southwest Chinas Kunming on Wednesday, though the outcome did not yield much in the way of specific proposals.

The three groups  the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA)  have not signed the NCA because of ongoing hostilities with the national army.

The ethnic armed groups say they seek a federated state in which they coexist as equals with the ethnic Bamar majority.

Reported by Kyaw Lwin Oo for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on Uzbekistan to end its harassment of bloggers covering social and religious issues and to release at least four people reportedly arrested for their writings on religious matters.

In urging action, CPJ on September 6 cited the cases of Adham Olimov, Ziyodulla Kabirov, Otabek Usmanov, and Khurshidbek Muhammadroziqov, who were reportedly arrested in various cities between August 28 and September 2.

"Uzbekistan's roundup of bloggers signals that the country is not serious about improving the environment for press freedom," said Gulnoza Said, the New York-based watchdogs research associate for Europe and Central Asia.

"Authorities should release the detained bloggers and ensure that journalists are allowed to comment freely on issues important to Uzbek society," she added.

Under the rule of the late President Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan maintained a tight rein over Islam and Muslims were often prosecuted for practicing their religion outside state-controlled mosques, CPJ said.

His successor Shavkat Mirziyoev, who came to power in 2016, has sought to open up Central Asia's most populous country and move away from Karimov's oppressive policies.

While praising many of the efforts, rights groups have continued to express concerns about free speech, censorship, and prosecutions of journalist in the country.

In its statement, CPJ said that the detained bloggers write on social and religious matters, often pressing for a greater role for Islam in society and mainly on Facebook, given limitations on the independent press in Uzbekistan.

The watchdog said the Prosecutor-General's Office did not respond to its telephone requests for information on the arrests.

It quoted news media as saying that Olimov, publishing under the name Musannif Adham; Kabirov, a blogger and religious scholar known as Ziyovuddin Rahim; and Usmanov, who writes for a local religious website, had been arrested, fined, and sentenced to jail terms of up to 15 days.

Much of their recent writing had focused on Islamic issues, including expressing opposition to a ban on the sale of the hijab in the country.

CPJ also said that police detained Muhammadroziqov in the eastern city of Kokand.

The group quoted supporters as saying that the whereabouts of Muhammadroziqov, who has been critical of the government's transition to the Latin alphabet and educational reforms, were unknown.

The watchdog said it was investigating the cases of other bloggers that local rights groups say have been detained and were either still being held or released after administrative arrest.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Uzbek Service
Iran will relaunch its nuclear program and enrich uranium at a higher level than it has previously if Russia, China, and European powers follow the U.S. example and stop honoring Iran's 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran's nuclear agency has warned.

"We will not return to previous levels if our counterparts leave the [nuclear deal], but will instead reach even more advanced levels," Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying by state broadcaster IRIB on September 5.

"We are at a considerably more advanced status than when we signed the deal. The country is moving ahead in nuclear activities at a favorable pace," he said.

Iranian leaders have repeatedly said they will resume high-level uranium enrichment if the nuclear deal -- which put curbs on Iran's nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief -- falls apart. High-level enrichment is needed to produce uranium that can be used in nuclear weapons.

Following the withdrawal of the United States in May, the agreement's other parties -- Britain, France, Germany, China, Russia, and the European Union -- all vowed to keep honoring it and have been scrambling to find ways to answer Iran's demands that it continue to experience the deal's promised economic benefits.

But Tehran has expressed increasing skepticism that those countries will be able to counter the negative effects from renewed U.S. economic sanctions, including a steep drop in the Iranian currency, which are already battering Iran's economy.

Last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran should be ready to "set aside" the agreement if it is no longer in the country's national interests.

That statement came even as the International Atomic Energy Agency certified that Iran has continued to abide by the agreement, despite the U.S. move to begin reimposing sanctions last month.

The nuclear deal allowed Iran to continue some low-level uranium enrichment activities for civilian purposes. The Iranian agency's disclosure on September 5 that it already has advanced beyond levels reached before the 2015 agreement is likely to stoke skepticism about the effectiveness of the nuclear accord in Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he decided to withdraw from the deal in part because it did not do enough to prevent Iran from eventually developing the capacity to produce a nuclear weapon.

Despite escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, on September 5 Trump said he was still open to negotiating with Iran over a new nuclear deal -- an offer he has made several times in recent months, only to be spurned by Tehran.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he would be willing to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rohani, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

"It's possible. Anything is possible," Trump said. "We'll see what happens with Iran. Whether they want to talk or not, that's up to them, not up to me."

Trump claimed that "Iran is a much different place than when I took over the presidency," describing the country as currently "in turmoil."

"When I took office, it was just a question of how long until they took over the entire Middle East. Now they are just worrying about their own survival as a country," he said.

Trump is due to lead a September 26 meeting of heads of state of the UN Security Council, with the goal of ramping up pressure on Tehran over its alleged violations of UN council resolutions.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters


Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused the United States and Israel of waging a "media war" to discourage Iranians, as the country faces economic hardship following the reimposition of nuclear sanctions by the United States.

"Today, [Iran's] Islamic system faces an all-out economic war that is carefully guided by a war room, but along with this war, there is a major media and propaganda warfare that is often neglected," Khamenei said on September 5.

Addressing the Assembly of Experts, a group of conservative clerics tasked with supervising the supreme leader's work, he said the objective of this media war was to generate "anxiety and pessimism" among Iranians and to "exaggerate economic problems" in their minds.

The United States in May pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with six world powers, and last month began reimposing sanctions that had been eased as part of the accord.

The U.S. moves have exacerbated economic woes in Iran, with the national currency, the rial, losing more than two-thirds of its value over the past year.

Growing public discontentment over rising prices and unemployment has led to sporadic street protests in Tehran and other cities in recent weeks.

On September 5, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Iranian authorities of "ramping up" their crackdown against rights defenders, saying such a policy was "only fueling instability with their silencing of peaceful dissent."

"At a time when everyday life is increasingly difficult for millions of Iranians, rights advocates should be an essential part of solving collective problems, instead of a primary target of the governments crackdown," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW, said in a statement.

With reporting by Reuters
Officials say 11 soldiers of the Afghan National Army were killed in an ambush by Taliban fighters in Badghis Province, in northwestern Afghanistan.

At least 13 militants were also killed in the fighting, which happened early on September 6.

The same day, militants killed eight police officers in Takhar Province when they stormed a checkpoint in the Khawja Ghar district, a local provincial council member, Rohullah Raoufi, said.

Raoufi added that one police officer had been taken hostage.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa
The United States and India vowed to cooperate more closely on defense matters, but reported no breakthroughs regarding U.S. threats to impose sanctions over New Delhi's purchases of Iranian crude oil and Russian weaponry.

U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Pentagon chief Jim Mattis met with their Indian counterparts in New Delhi on September 6, one day after Pompeo visited regional rival Pakistan.

The State Department said the two sides signed an agreement on secure military communications that could pave the way for Washington to sell sensitive military equipment to India.

Pompeo and Mattis also agreed with Foreign Minister Sushma Swarah and Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to establish a hotline between their top diplomats and to hold joint military exercises off India's eastern coast next year, it added.

However, reports said the sides were unlikely to reach an understanding during the U.S. visit over Washington's objections to India's continued purchases of Iranian oil and its planned $6 billion purchase of S-400 antiaircraft missiles from Russia.

The United States has asked Indian to reconsider plans to purchase the advanced surface-to-air missile-defense system, saying it could face penalties for dealing with sanctioned Russian defense contractors.

India has said that if it finalizes the deal with Moscow, it will ask Washington for a special waiver.

The U.S. administration has also set a deadline of November 4 for countries to reduce their imports of Iranian oil to zero or face sanctions.

U.S. President Donald Trump in May pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with six world powers and last month began reimposing sanctions that had been eased as part of the accord.

"We have told the Indians consistently, as we have told every nation, that on November 4, the sanctions with respect to Iranian crude oil will be enforced," Pompeo told reporters after meeting his counterpart.

He added that "we will consider waivers where appropriate, but that it is our expectation that the purchases of Iranian crude oil will go to zero from every country, or sanctions will be imposed."

"We'll work with the Indians" and that "it takes a little bit of time to unwind," the U.S. top diplomat said, without being specific.

The U.S. officials' talks in India came a day after Pompeo met with leaders of New Delhi's bitter nuclear rival, Pakistan.

In Islamabad, Pompeo said he was "hopeful" of resetting the troubled U.S. relationship with Pakistan after he met Prime Minister Imran Khan and other senior officials.

The Pentagon announced it was canceling $300 million in aid a week before Pompeo's visit in an apparent attempt to increase pressure on Pakistan to contribute more to U.S. and Afghan efforts to defeat the Taliban or forge a peaceful settlement with the militant group.

U.S. intelligence officials say Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and other military bodies have even helped fund and arm the Taliban, both for ideological reasons and to counter rising Indian influence in Afghanistan.

Islamabad has denied the accusations.

With reporting by Bloomberg, AP, and AFP
Moldovan and international human rights organizations have criticized a decision by the countrys authorities to detain and expel seven Turkish citizens.

"The expulsion of these people to Turkey poses an imminent danger to their life and security and also the risk of not receiving a fair trial," Moldovas Center for Legal Resources of Moldova and the Promo-LEX human rights group wrote in a joint statement on September 6.

Moldova's state security service, the SIS, announced it had expelled seven foreign nationals because they allegedly posed a "risk to national security," without mentioning their nationality.

The detainees were staff members of a Turkish high school in Chisinaus Durlesti neighborhood that is linked to U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.

Gulen, who lives in the United States, rejects the claim.

A teacher who was also detained but later released told reporters, "We do not know exactly what is happening, but we think that this is an order from Turkey."

The Turkish authorities have not immediately commented on the case.

Nicolae Esanu, a secretary of state at the Justice Ministry, said the consequences of this action were a cause for concern.

"I hope there are solid documents in the SIS dossiers justifying the expulsion of the Turkish citizens because ... we can only avoid a conviction from the ECHR [European Court of Human Rights] if those expelled do not sue us," he wrote on Facebook.

The London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International said the seven detainees had requested asylum in Moldova, claiming they would face persecution in their homeland.

The Moldovan authorities "didnt just violate these individuals' rights once by deporting them -- they put them on a fast-track to further human rights violations such as an unfair trial," Marie Struthers, Amnesty's director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement.

Struthers said the latest arrests in Moldova "follow the pattern of political reprisals against Turkish nationals living abroad by the increasingly repressive government" of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

She said that six Turkish nationals, also school employees, were "abducted and unlawfully returned to Turkey" in March.

Amnesty International said it had received information indicating there may be further deportations of Turkish nationals to Turkey in the coming hours.

With reporting by Reuters and Balkan Insight
Russia holds local elections this weekend amid unusual public discontent -- even hostility -- aggravated by a stumbling economy and sparked by a massively unpopular government plan to raise retirement ages.

"I am a mother with many children," says Nadezhda Devyashina, a resident of the village of Solnechny, about 25 kilometers west of the Khakasia capital, Abakan, "and I'm not getting any subsidies. Not for heat, not for communal services."

She says she's clear-eyed about the usefulness of the September 9 vote.

"Will we go to vote? Only if we can take our pitchforks or something like that! No other way!" Devyashina tells RFE/RL's Russian Service. "We don't even have any hospitals. Who are we going to vote for? Even our children understand that something has to change."

The sour mood of voters threatens to boost various forms of protest voting, possibly tempting local officials to redouble efforts to get out the vote and secure the results the Kremlin demands.

"In this situation, the authorities are interested in suppressing turnout a bit and making sure only 'their' electorate shows up and votes the way they are supposed to," says Stanislav Andreichuk, an elections analyst with the independent Golos election-monitoring group. "They will do what they can to get protest voters to stay home."

Golos has recorded the refusal of local election boards to register Communist Party candidates in Altai Krai and Omsk Oblast, Andreichuk says.

Genuine opposition movements, such as Aleksei Navalny's unregistered Progress Party, are barred from putting up candidates through capriciously applied administrative barriers.

At the same time, he says candidates from "official" or "systemic" opposition parties such as the Communists, the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), and the left-center A Just Russia party "are not using the pension-reform issue as actively as they might."

"Often we see even in those rare television debates where regional officials participate, they are not even asked about the issue," Andreichuk tells RFE/RL. "This is an indicator of a 'simulated' election campaign. It is understood that those candidates who were allowed into the race -- at least at the level of governor -- were allowed only if an agreement was reached about how they would behave. Only ritualistic criticism of the authorities is allowed. Candidates from the Communists or the LDPR have to criticize, but their criticism is much more cautious than you would expect in this situation."

'Administrative Resources'

The lack of competition and real campaigning is perceived by some as a strategy to reduce turnout.

At the same time, officials around the country are "using tried-and-true methods through employers and their own networks to mobilize people -- and we are talking primarily about state-sector workers and regional pro-Kremlin activists -- who are dependent on the current system," Andreichuk says.

In the Siberian city of Barnaul, local tourism companies received a letter from the head of the Zheleznodorozhny district election commission ordering them to submit personal data on all "residents of Barnaul who will be on vacation outside the city on election day."

The Central Election Commission in Moscow has promised to investigate the letter, which commission Deputy Chairman Nikolai Bulayev has denounced as "illegal."

Andreichuk agrees, saying the ploy seems aimed at generating information that can be used to falsify the election. "When election commissions know precisely which voters will not show up at the polls, it creates the opportunity to use that data to falsify the results," he says. "That is, they can cast those votes for whomever they like. Unfortunately, in recent years such episodes have been documented in Altai Krai."

Altai Krai is regularly listed by Golos as one of the most egregious regions of Russia in terms of election-law violations and the illegal use of "administrative resources" by the executive branch.

Unpopular Reform

Earlier this summer, the ruling United Russia party and the government of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev sponsored a bill in the Duma that would raise the retirement age for men to 65 by 2028 and for women to 63 by 2034.

Later, after public outcry, President Vladimir Putin proposed raising the age for women to just 60 (currently, the retirement age is 60 for men and 55 for women; workers in law enforcement, the military, and the secret services are eligible to retire at age 40, which would not be affected by the proposed reform).

The reform proposal set off a wave of protests across the country. Opposition politician Aleksei Navalny has called for another round of rallies to coincide with the voting on September 9.

According to polls, up to 90 percent of Russians oppose the reform. According to the most recent Levada Center poll, 53 percent of people say they are prepared to participate in demonstrations against the proposal, a rate of discontent that has not been seen since the 1998 ruble default and economic crash.

"Dissatisfaction has definitely been growing," Levada Director Lev Gudkov says. "This isn't a one-time thing but a steady pattern since after the March elections [to the State Duma]."

Moreover, Gudkov adds, Russians are not considering pension reform in isolation, but as part of a complex of government policies that they perceive as harming their interests, including military operations in the Middle East and alleged support for separatist militants in neighboring Ukraine.

"When the government is raising retirement ages while at the same time conducting various foreign-policy adventures like the war in Syria or the undeclared war in [Ukraine's] Donbas region and is raising expenditures for the military and for the bureaucracy, people start thinking...the government is trying to solve the budget-deficit problem at their expense," he said.

Nikolai Lyaskin, head of Navalny's Anticorruption Foundation, says the pension-reform proposal has "finally opened people's eyes."

"People have begun to look around and to think that the rising prices they see are not the whim of some aliens from outer space but rather the consequence of the inept policies of United Russia, of Putin and Medvedev," he tells RFE/RL.

Emilia Slabunova, chairwoman of the liberal Yabloko party, expresses hope citizens will "actively present their opinion using all possible means," from protests to appeals to their Duma representatives to the ballot box.

"We need to use our votes during the September 9 elections to protest against those political forces, first of all United Russia, that are pushing such an ill-considered proposal," Slabunova says.

Voters in 22 Russian regions (including the city of Moscow) will be asked to choose executive-branch heads. Sixteen regions will select legislatures. In addition, some single-mandate seats in the State Duma will be up for grabs, and mayors will be selected in several administrative centers in Siberia.

Written by Robert Coalson based on reporting by Lyubov Chizhova of RFE/RL's Russian Service. Mikhail Sokolov, Ksenia Smolyakova, and Svetlana Pavlova of RFE/RL's Russian Service and Igor Chigarskikh of the Siberia Desk
Sava Janjic, the outspoken Serbian Orthodox priest whose decades-long public empathy for ethnic Serbs and Albanians alike suffering at the hands of "immoral and destructive" nationalists, is worried that any deal to redraw the border between Kosovo and Serbia would be costly for the entire Balkans.



Nicknamed cybermonk for his e-mails and correspondence with foreign journalists and other outsiders during the Kosovo War of the late '90s, the popular abbot of Visoki Decani, a Serbian Orthodox monastery in Kosovo, warned amid recent talk of a possible territory swap against an ethnically based solution to Belgrade and Pristina's differences.



The lessons of history have been forgotten," Janjic told Vreme, "and that's why we must warn people while there's still time that the Europeanization of this region cannot be based on the principle of ethnic or territorial partitioning."



Much of the international "conventional wisdom" suggests that altering borders -- reportedly already under consideration by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar President Hashim Thaci -- could have explosive consequences in Kosovo and beyond.



But there are indications that Janjic's suspicion is not so widespread in Serbia -- apart from a few NGOs and some opposition leaders, there has been little public criticism of the rumored proposal, despite concerns that it would be an implicit or explicit recognition of Kosovar sovereignty. And ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo are mostly in favor of the swap, some reports suggest, perhaps in expectation that Serbian citizenship might follow.



Janjic has therefore drawn fire from some local media and nationalists on both sides. And the abbot has noticed.



I have to admit that the threats and the unscrupulous media campaign [against me] directed by the authorities in Belgrade and sometimes also by some [Kosovar Albanian] Pristina-based media -- according to whom I am, in the first case, an American spy and, in the second, a Russian one -- are reminiscent of the threats that were made against Oliver Ivanovic, Janjic told the Belgrade magazine Vreme recently.



That is a reference to an ethnic Serb politician from northern Kosovo who was widely praised for demonstrating cooperation and tolerance in divided times before he was gunned down in North Mitrovica in January. Ivanovic was born in a village near Janjic's Decani monastery.



Janjic has nearly 20,000 followers on Facebook and is active on Twitter, posting in both Serbian and English.



Despite the venerable status of the Visoki Decani monastery (it was built in the 14th century and has been a protected heritage site for decades), its abbot does not speak for the Serbian Orthodox Church.



But there are also ethnic-Serb communities in the areas in question that could find themselves unwilling residents of Kosovo if the proposed border adjustment became reality -- communities that might welcome Janjic's skepticism.

Path To Ethnic Cleansing?

But since his Vreme interview, Janjic's Twitter feed has become a target of insults and profanity over his stance on the border issue. He has been labeled a traitor to Serbias national interests and worse. One tweet attacked him for being an advocate of Kosovos membership in UNESCO. (The Decani monastery is on UNESCOs World Heritage list, along with several other medieval monuments in Kosovo, but Serbia opposes Kosovos membership in that and other international bodies.) Another post suggested -- rightly or wrongly -- that Janjic once held an umbrella for former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who is unpopular among Serbs for her role in the Clinton administrations decision to intervene in 1999.



In fact, Janjic has stood out then and in the ensuing two decades for his resistance to the notion of one-sided solutions or justice for one community over the other.



"The peoples of Kosovo and Metohia are living through the most difficult days in their history," Janjic wrote in the forward to the book Crucified Kosovo in 1999-2000. "The ethnic Albanians experienced their days of suffering, exile and death inflicted by the immoral and destructive policy of [Yugoslav and then Serbian President Slobodan] Milosevic's regime. Now the Serbs are being exposed to suffering, exile and death from the immoral and destructive policy of the ethnic Albanian nationalists."



In an article for Open Democracy in 2002, Janjic insisted that "democracy cannot be built on ethnic discrimination," adding, "The priority for Kosovo should be the building of a stable, civil society which would respect human rights and freedoms regardless of ones ethnic or religious background. Only thus will all its residents be able to overcome the anachronisms of the past."



More recently, Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj, a convicted war criminal, has described Janjic as a "notorious traitor."



I would never attack the church, but I would [attack] some of its individual dignitaries, if they wrong their own people and the interests of the state, Seselj said, adding in a reference to other convicted or accused war criminals who have come before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: I've been attacking Sava Janjic for a long time. This is a man who wanted [former Yugoslav and Serbian President Slobodan] Milosevic, [former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan] Karadzic, and [Bosnian Serb General Ratko] Mladic to be handed over to The Hague."



If not for his monks robe, Seselj vowed, he would give [Janjic] a good slap.



It is Janjics role as abbot of one of Serbs' most venerated institutions -- the Decani monastery has been referred to as the cradle of the Serbian nation -- that lends weight to his views. Janjic also appears to enjoy the respect of ethnic Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Of the rumored territory swap, Janjic said: "I am especially worried about the part that talks about the border separating Serbs and Albanians, which implies that where one [ethnic group] lives, the other will be absent, and vice versa. This is a retrograde model that is very much in line with the policy of ethnic cleansing implemented during the wars of the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia -- and so it's unsurprising that the proposal, which has the backing, albeit for their own reasons, of both Vucic and Thaci, also has the support of one of the chief ideologues of ethnic cleansing, Vojislav Seselj."

The executive director of the North Mitrovica-based NGO Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture, Dusan Radakovic, cited complex dynamics on the ground in Kosovo among the reasons the outspoken Janjic is under fire.

But he also noted that the Serbian Orthodox Church had not yet issued any public reaction to rumors of any territorial swap between Serbia and Kosovo.

"We have yet to hear from other church dignitaries, and even the patriarch himself has not said anything very specific," Radakovic said, adding that "a solution that pleases everyone will not come easily."

"Both sides will have to swallow a bitter pill to make that happen."

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
SKOPJE -- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the military alliance is "ready to welcome" Macedonia as its 30th member once Skopje finalizes an agreement with Athens to change the former Yugoslav republic's name.

Stoltenberg was speaking on a September 6 during a visit to Macedonia aimed at expressing support for the "yes" campaign in a national referendum set for September 30.

"NATO's door is open, but only the people of this country can decide to walk through it. So, your future is in your hands. We wait for you in NATO," he said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

The Macedonian and Greek foreign ministers signed a deal on June 17 to rename the country the Republic of North Macedonia -- North Macedonia for short -- and resolve a 27-year dispute between Skopje and Athens.

Macedonian lawmakers later voted in favor of the bill to ratify the agreement, which paves the way for talks on Macedonian membership in both NATO and the European Union.

But hurdles remain for the deal to come into effect, including the support of Macedonian voters in the upcoming referendum.

'Taking This Country Forward'

Western leaders have also backed Zaev's "yes" campaign ahead of the referendum, in which Macedonians will be asked, "Are you in favor of NATO and EU membership, and accepting the name agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece?"

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is due to visit Skopje on September 7 and German Chancellor Angela Merkel the following day.

In Skopje, Stoltenberg also congratulated Zaev on Macedonia's reforms.

"I congratulate you on the progress you made, taking this country forward," the NATO chief said. "The economy is peaking up and the reforms are being implemented, including on the rule of law, security and intelligence, and the defense sector."

He also called on the Macedonian prime minister to continue with reforms, saying, "This will make you safer, stronger, and even better able to work side by side with NATO allies."

The name dispute between Skopje and Athens dates back to 1991, when Macedonia peacefully broke away from Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia.

Neighboring Greece has objected to the name Macedonia, saying it implies territorial claims on the northern Greek region with the same name.

Because of Greek objections, Macedonia was admitted to the UN under a provisional name, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

With reporting by AP
Russian President Vladimir Putin bears ultimate responsibility for the nerve-agent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England in March, Britain's security minister says.

Ben Wallace said on September 6 that Putin "controls, funds, and directs" Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU, which Britain has accused of using the Novichok nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in March.

Both survived the attack and are reportedly recovering at a secret location.

Asked whether Putin bears responsible for the attack, Wallace told the BBC: "Ultimately, he does insofar as he is president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds, and directs the military intelligence."

"I don't think anyone can ever say that Mr. Putin isn't in control of his state," Wallace added. "And the GRU is, without doubt, not rogue."

A British citizen, Dawn Sturgess, died in June and her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, was made ill when they stumbled across remnants of the poison.

Russia has denied any involvement in the poisoning and has said it is willing to cooperate with the investigation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow on September 6 that assertions the Kremlin was responsible for the attack were "unacceptable."

"We have said more than once and can confirm officially once again that Russia has had nothing to do with the events in Salisbury," Peskov said, referring to the English city where the Skripals were poisoned. "Russia is not involved in any way."

On September 5, Britain filed charges in absentia against two Russian citizens who were identified as Aleksandr Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, although it is believed those names are aliases. The two men were believed to be agents of the GRU.

Peskov also said that Russia was prepared to check information about the two suspects if it received a formal request from the United Kingdom.



Prime Minister Theresa May told Parliament on September 5 that the attack had been approved "at a senior level of the Russian state."

She added that the attack was meant "to give a message to those Russians who were living elsewhere who had been involved in matters related to the Russian state."

Wallace told the BBC that Britain intends to "push back the Russian malign activity" with "whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities."

The United Kingdom will brief the UN Security Council on its findings later on September 6.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
The United States would like to see a thorough and fair investigation" into who is responsible for the violence that followed Armenia's March 2008 presidential election, the U.S. ambassador to Armenia has said.

Ambassador Richard Mills, on the sidelines of a business event in Yerevan on September 5, offered encouragement for an investigation launched by Armenian prosecutors this year into deadly postelection violence that took place a decade ago. His backing for the probe comes days after it was criticized by the Kremlin.

In late July, Armenias former President Robert Kocharian was charged with breaching the countrys constitutional order by illegally using the armed forces against opposition activists who protested against alleged fraud in the disputed election. Eight protesters and two police officers were killed when security forces broke up those demonstrations.

Kocharian spent more than two weeks in custody before being released by Armenia's Court of Appeals, which cited a constitutional provision giving the ex-president immunity from prosecution.

Several other former senior officials, including Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov, the current head of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization, have also been charged in connection with the 2008 events.

These prosecutions apparently irked Russia, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov commenting about them twice in the last month.

On July 31, Lavrov denounced the prosecutions and argued that they run counter to the new Armenian leaderships pledges not to persecute its predecessors for political motives.

This week, Lavrov repeated his concerns, saying: Of course, we are worried by the circumstance that the situation in Armenia remains heated, events that happened 10 years ago are being investigated No doubt, we consider those to be an internal affair of Armenia and wish that internal affairs remain within the framework of law and on the firm basis of the constitution, and be overcome quickly, he said.

The U.S. ambassador was asked by RFE/RLs Armenian Service whether he considered Lavrov's comments to be interference in Armenias internal affairs. He said he had seen the remarks but that "its for the Armenian government to respond."

"Our view remains that there has been a need for a thorough and fair investigation into the events of March 2008. And it is important that that investigation be carried out in accordance with the rule of law and Armenian due process, Mills said.

Mills was speaking on the sidelines of a U.S.-Armenian business conference on franchise opportunities sponsored by the U.S. Embassy.

Also on September 5, Aram Orbelian, a lawyer representing Kocharian, claimed that a decision this week by Armenia authorities not to allow his client to leave the country was "illegal."

Kocharian, who ruled Armenia from 1998-2008, is awaiting a decision from Armenias highest judicial body  the Court of Cassation -- which is considering an appeal by prosecutors of the lower court ruling that found the ex-president was immune from prosecution.

The order to bar Kocharian from leaving the country comes one day after his lawyer indicated he intended to travel to Germany for an annual medical examination.

Given the immunity the lower court granted to Kocharian, Orbelian said, We assume that any action aimed at criminal prosecution -- and applying a measure of restraint is also an act of prosecution -- is not legal."

Orbelian said he may also appeal the order not to leave the country after giving it "a more detailed assessment.

Kocharian claims there are no grounds for his prosecution and says it is politically motivated. The 64-year-old former leader announced his return to active politics on August 16.


Britain, bolstered by strong backing from its allies, condemned Russia at the UN Security Council over the chemical attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter on British soil earlier this year, urging Moscow to accept the "compelling evidence in this crime."

London called the September 6 emergency meeting of the Security Council to brief members on the arrest warrants it issued a day earlier for two suspects in the attack against Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Britain's UN ambassador, Karen Price, told the session that after "painstaking and methodical work" by the country's independent police agencies and prosecutors, the government has concluded "there is enough evidence to bring charges against two Russian nationals" for conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, the use of and possession of the chemical nerve agent Novichok, and other crimes.

Britain on September 5, filed charges in absentia against the two men identified as Aleksandr Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, although it is suspected the names are aliases. They are believed to be agents of Russias military intelligence service, known as the GRU.

'Chilled To The Bone'

Moscow denies any involvement in the poisoning.

"Everyone of us in this room, and listening around the world, should be chilled to the bone with the findings of this investigation," U.S. Ambassador Nikiki Haley said in reference to the British probe into the attack.

Prior to the council session, the leaders of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, and Canada said they backed British law enforcement's conclusion that the poisoning was "almost certainly approved at a senior government level" in Russia.

In a joint statement, they also said they have "full confidence" in the British assessment that the two suspects were GRU officers, and urged Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok program.

The statement was signed by British Prime Minister Theresa May, U.S. President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The allegations against Moscow reiterated what many in the West previously have said about the nerve agent attack against the Skripals -- namely, that the act was approved at high levels of the Russian government.

'Cocktail Of Facts'

The Russian ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, once again denied the allegations on September 6, telling the Security Council that he heard "nothing new" from the British representative and that the charges against Moscow were an "unfounded and mendacious cocktail of facts."

"We hoped we would hear something conclusive today, something to shed light on the incident. Unfortunately...In today's speech, we have heard the same set of lies," he said of what he called "a politically motivated investigation."

Several other council members joined the Western allies in condemning the chemical attack, although not all called out Russia specifically.

Kazakhstans representative, Kairat Umarov, said more time and "concrete data" were needed before a "fair and objective" conclusion could be made in the matter.

The Skripals were discovered unconscious on March 4 on a bench in the southern English town of Salisbury. They were seriously ill but later made a full recovery after spending several weeks in the hospital.

British officials said the two were poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade chemical weapon that was developed in the Soviet Union, and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin's government for the attack.

The attack led Britain, the United States, the European Union, and others to carry out a series of diplomatic expulsions and financial sanctions against Moscow.

British police have linked the Salisbury attack to a separate Novichok poisoning on June 30 in nearby Amesbury that led to the death of a 44-year-old woman.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters
author: Anna Vodopyanova

ReneSola Ltd. (NYSE: SOL) saw its stock drop more than 3 percent by Thursday afternoon in New York after posting disappointing earnings per share for the second quarter, despite better-than-expected revenue.

The Shanghai-based solar project developer said its net income for the second three months was $400,000, half of the income for the same period a year ago and a 93-percent decline from the first quarter of 2018. It reported zero earnings per share for the quarter and 2 cents per share for the six months through June.

The announcement sent ReneSola's shares on Wall Street tumbling 8 cents intraday to $2.32 per American depositary share.

Shares in ReneSola declined more than 3 percent to $2.32 per share by Thursday afternoon.



(Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon)



Revenue of ReneSola was $27.8 million, up from $1.6 million a year ago, but a decline of 38 percent from the first quarter. The number reached the high end of the company's guidance for the quarter and was attributed partly to the sales of 6.7 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale projects in North Carolina, ReneSola said.

Operating expenses during the second quarter were $2.3 million, up from $1.9 million a year ago and a slight decline from $2.5 million in the first quarter.

"We are quite satisfied with our second quarter performance," ReneSola's chief executive officer, Xianshou Li, said in a statement today.

The company made no mention of Beijing's recent regulatory changes to the country's solar power industry. Toward the end of the second quarter, China's regulators suspended construction of new solar panel farms and cut subsidies to the industry, sending the stocks and stock ratings of U.S.-listed Chinese solar companies plunging.

The companies, including ReneSola, JinkoSolar Holding Co. Ltd. (NYSE: JKS), and Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ), responded to the government cuts by turning from domestic market to overseas expansion, snatching contracts in the United States, Latin America, India, and North Africa.

ReneSola, in particular, has been working on overseas projects in the U.S., Canada, Hungary, Romania, and the U.K., among others. It also has 24.4 MW of completed projects for sale in Turkey and Poland.

(Source: ReneSola's earnings call slide Sep. 6)

In China, it operates 226.5 MW of rooftop projects, with 134 MW of rooftop projects under construction, according to its statement.

Li said in a statement today, "In August, we announced a very important development, the potential sale of our operating DG assets in China to Brookfield. Should we reach a deal during the 60 day exclusivity period, this sale will provide substantial capital for us to recycle back into the growth of our business."

He added that the company is optimistic about its projects around the world and the growth of its solar project pipeline, which reached 1.5 gigawatts (GW) in June.

For the third quarter, ReneSola said it expects revenue of between $15 million to $20 million, a decline of between 28 to 46 percent from the second quarter. It expects to generate revenue of between $130 million to $140 million for the full year 2018, the company added.
The School District of Lee County and Florida Gulf Coast University are joining forces to create Southwest Floridas first Joint PreK-12 Innovative School Initiative.

The school will be designed to offer a high quality education for students, a research center for faculty and a training ground and pipeline for teachers.

According to the agreement between the Lee County School Board and FGCU, the PreK-12 Innovative School will be a contemporary model to develop, demonstrate and cultivate new and different ways of learning. The framework will be through learner-centered Experiential, Exploratory and Expeditionary  Triple E  experiences.

The district and FGCU are committed to working together to find a location for the school, securing state funding, hiring the staff and forming a joint advisory board.
Defense march held in Cancun for man accused of double homicide

Cancun, Q.R.  A march was held in Cancun Wednesday in defence of a local man who has been accused of double homicide.

On September 1, Alfredo N was changed with the murder of two, even though video surveillance shows him inside a business at the time of the shooting. Three days after the shooting, Miguel Angel Pech Cen, the attorney general for the state, announced formal charges were laid against Alfredo N for double homicide.

In a press conference, Eduardo Martinez Arcila, president of the Great Commission of State Congress, said it is not time to talk about a possible resignation of the States Attorney General, Miguel Angel Pech Cen, since first, we must wait for the judges decision on the murder of the journalist Javier Rodriguez Valladares and his companion.

Martinez Arcila acknowledged that there is great controversy over the case that has caused outrage, both in the journalistic guild and the general public.

According to the criminal process, it will be necessary to wait for the judge to make a decision and that will be the time when you can see what really happened and if the prosecutor of the state has facts to sustain what he announced, he said.

Martinez Arcila reiterated that it is not a matter that falls directly on congress, and that it is not the time to discuss the possible resignation of Miguel Angel Pech Cen, because first, we must wait until the case is concluded.

The judge, with the elements he has, must establish his verdict, he explained.

The prosecution must be independent and alien to the interests or feelings of a public servant, either executive or legislative. The idea, he said, is that the two powers make a counterweight so, when the time comes to remove or ratify an official, it not be an exclusive decision or on someones whim.

The public have been asking for the resignation of the state attorney general after crime stats continue to exceed arrests. The latest controversy comes after state prosecutor, Miguel Angel Pech Cen, announced the charges against Alfredo N saying in a press release, Alfredo N was detained as a result of research work from several testimonies and evidence analysis.

Alfredo N is set to appear in court September 6 on charges of double homicide. His wife, along with friends and family, defend his innocence.
Lopez Obrador to spend weekend in southeast working on Maya train budget

Mexico City, Mexico  President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he will spend the weekend traveling to several of the Maya train destination cities in an attempt to prepare for a budget.

In a recent meeting, Lopez Obrador said We are preparing the budget for the next year, (which) will free up funds for development. We will have public investments and associate it with private investment and thus boost development.

Over the next several days, Lopez Obrador will hold meetings in the southeast areas the country with businessmen and other government officials. On Saturday, he will be in Villahermosa, Tabasco where he will attend a meeting with personnel of Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

On Sunday, the president-elect will meet with five state governors in Palenque who are involved with the Maya train project. The governors are from the states of Chiapas, Campeche, Tabasco, Yucatan and Quintana Roo, who will meet to review the project.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador affirmed that the expenditure budget for 2019 will see public funds and private investment for the construction of the Maya Train.
Tourist streets of Cancun city center outfitted with security to revamp area

Cancun, Q.R.  A group of private businessmen have allocated 50 million peso to the city of Cancun for the installation of security cameras and lightening.

A group of 27 businessmen have handed over 50 million peso for the installation of security features in the first square of the city. The money has been used to outfit the tourist areas with security features.

In their first investment installment, the 50 million peso has already seen the placement of lights and cameras in shops and markets along Yaxchilan Avenue, Tankah and Tulum Avenue from the corner with Coba to El Crucero.

This area was chosen first since it is considered a busy tourist corridor that business owners are hoping will attract up to 4,000 visitors a day during high season. They started with areas where vendors sell handicrafts, food and events, explained Santiago Carrillo, president of the Business Committee.

For the last eight months, the security project has been worked on with the goal of bringing at least 4,000 daily visitors to the center of the city, he said.

The private investment is being done in coordination with the Municipal Institute of Urban Development of the Municipality of Benito Juarez. The newly secured areas will be promoted through hotels with maps that will show visitors attractions in the citys center.

The reactivation of the city center, which has been sought for years by business owners, would create a minimum of 1,500 jobs which have been lost due to the all-inclusive plans in the hotel zone, which business owners say, keeps tourists in the hotel zone.

Santiago Carrillo says there is already an agreement in place with transport companies to offer a shopping tour to hotel zone tourists where they are also provided with a guide to ensure security.
When something wonderful happens, do we often think: thats too good to be true. Because our news is so saturated with negative images, it can easily seem as if chance, accident, illness, evil itself is the norm; as if life is one big lottery, and we rarely pick the winning ticket.

But, wait a minute. As people of faith, shouldnt we expect good to predominate in our lives? Dont we embrace a God who is totally good?

In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy informs us: In the Saxon and twenty other tongues, Good is the term for God. The Scriptures declare all that He made to be good like Himself. God is natural good and is represented only by the idea of goodness; while evil should be regarded as unnatural because it is opposed to the nature of God.

Eddy continues: If thought is startled at the strong claim of Science for the supremacy of God, good, ought we not contrariwise to be astounded at the vigorous claims of evil, and doubt them, and no longer imagine evil to be ever-present and good absent? Truth should not seem so surprising and unnatural as error, and error should not seem so real as Truth. Sickness should not seem so real as health.

Christian Science doctrine is predicated on the fact that good is all powerful, more real, more substantial than any claim of evil, inharmony, disease. Eddy uses strong words to guide us in resisting evil of every kind.

Dismiss it with an abiding conviction that it is illegitimate because you know God is no more the author of sickness than He is of sin. Mentally contradict every negative condition and rise to the true consciousness of Life as all that is pure, bearing the fruits of Spirit.

In the King James Version of the Bible, Jeremiah reminds us: I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Aligning ourselves with Gods goodness causes wonderful things to take place. Framing our days with a God-ordained expectancy of good, brings comfort, joy, wonderful freedom, and health-giving peace.

June Sieber is affiliated with the Sanibel Christian Science Church.
thursday, september 6

Family Storytime

An all-ages program from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at the Sanibel Public Library, at 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel, that encourages the development of pre-reading skills through songs, rhymes, fingerplays and stories. For information, call Deanna Evans at 239-472-2483.

After-school Crew

Favorite books, new books and never-knew-existed books, plus puzzles, games, crafts and more from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Sanibel Public Library, at 770 Dunlop Rd, Sanibel. Geared toward kindergarten to second grade. Snack provided. For information, call Deanna Evans at 239-472-2483.

R.E.A.D. with Bessie

If you love dogs and books, then you might enjoy reading to Bessie, a bearded collie and Reading Education Assistance Dog, from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Sanibel Public Library, at 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel. Sign-ups are on-the-spot. For information, call Deanna Evans at 239-472-2483.

Trager Approach

The Trager Approach is a bodywork and movement awareness method that promotes relaxation, pain relief and freedom of movement. Marva Sletten, PT, CMPT, CLT-LANA, LMT, will provide brief individual sessions from 10:30 a.m. to noon at The Community House, at 2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel. There is no charge for the event. To schedule a session, call 239-910-7577.

For more information, visit thenatureofwellnessflorida.com or email thenatureofwellnessflorida@gmail.com.

Turtle Tracks

Learn about the life cycles and habits of the sea turtles and shorebirds that nest on Sanibel beaches, SCCFs monitoring activities and what it is doing to protect them from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Nature Center, at 3333 Sanibel Captiva Road, Sanibel.

Cost is $5 for non-members.

For information, call 239-472-2329.

friday, september 7

Farmers Market

Shell Point Retirement Community will host a Farmers Market from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the Center Court at The Woodlands, at 15101 Shell Point Blvd., Fort Myers. Take a leisurely stroll while shopping for locally-grown produce, freshly-caught seafood, homemade baked goods, Brisket Brothers pulled pork, all natural soaps and lotions, and more.

Cash only.

For information, call 239-466-1131.

monday, september 10

Case of the Week at CROW

CROW Case of the Week is at 11 a.m. CROWs teaching hospital offers externship, fellowship and internship opportunities for natural science and veterinary medicine students. While on site, students learn the ins and outs of conservation medicine and wildlife rehabilitation and are excited to share their favorite patient stories. Adults are $12; ages 4-12 are $7. One of CROWs Animal Ambassadors will be present.

tuesday, september 11

After-school Clique

Favorite books, new books and never-knew-existed books, plus puzzles, games, crafts and more from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Sanibel Public Library, at 770 Dunlop Road, Sanibel. Geared specifically for children in fourth through sixth grade. Snack provided. For information, call Deanna Evans at 239-472-2483.

Friendly Faces Luncheon

In partnership with George & Wendys Seafood Grille, F.I.S.H. of Sanibel-Captiva sponsors a Friendly Faces Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the restaurant, at 2499 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel. The price includes an entre, side, non-alcoholic drink and dessert. Open to the public. For information, contact Kathy Y. Monroe at 239-472-4775.

Academy of Lifelong Learning

The Academy of Lifelong Learning at Shell Point Retirement Community will host Iran: Its History and Today, part one of a two-part series, at 4:30 p.m. at 15101 Shell Point Blvd., Fort Myers. Led by Florida SouthWestern State College Professor Adrian Kerr, it will introduce the Indo-Europeans and uncover the rise and fall of the nation.

Tickets are $10.

To buy tickets or for information, call 239-489-8472 or visit www.shellpoint.org.

CROW Patient Profiles: Snakes

Patient Profiles: Snakes of Southwest Florida is at 11 a.m.

Florida is home to 46 species of native snakes, only six of which are venomous. Although there is a widespread fear and misunderstanding of the animal, most species are harmless to humans and form vital links in the ecosystem. Snakes are extremely valuable because they are efficient at monitoring pest populations without relying on chemical pesticides which can degrade the environment and harm other animal species. Adults are $12; ages 4-12 are $7. One of CROWs Animal Ambassadors will be present.
A VILLAGE will pay tribute to a fallen Victoria Cross hero this weekend with the unveiling of a new memorial.

Conisbrough is marking the sacrifice of First World War soldier Sgt Laurence Calvert on Sunday at an event also commemorating the centenary of the end of the four-year conflict.

The lasting memorial will be revealed at Coronation Park in the shadow of Conisbrough Castle in a ceremony starting at 11am, which is due to be attend by Sgt Calverts family and representatives of the Kings Own Light Infantry, in which he served.

Steve Pugh, one of the organising team said, We feel that honouring Sgt Calvert would be a fantastic and timely recognition of a very brave member of our community and be a fitting tribute to the centenary of the end of the Great War generally.

Honouring Sgt Calvert is way overdue. In the place of his birth Hunslet, he has a school named after him but in Conisbrough,the place where he lived at the time of the Great War, theres nothing, not even a side street on a new build estate.

In fact, a double tribute to Sgt Calvert has now been completed, as the small street next to Coronation Park has just been named Calvert Way in his memory.

Before the war, Laurence lived in Beech Terrace, Conisbrough, while he worked as a miner at Cadeby and Maltby Colliery and spent a spell at the former as a rescue worker.

He enlisted in the Army and was shipped to France in 1915 and was awarded the VC for his actions at Havrincourt on September 12, 1918.

Sgt Calvert, who charged and captured two machine-gun posts, was also awarded the Military Medal (MM), and the Belgian Order of Leopold (with palm), in the grade of Chevalier.

The brave soldier, who was 26 at the time, survived the war and lived until 1964.

The organisers of the commemoration event have been in touch with Sgt Calverts family to seek their approval and his grandson Laurie Calvert III, who lives in Hornchurch in Essex is expected to attend Sundays event.

Andrew Kelly of the Royal British Legion will lead the ceremony.

A grant has been obtained from the Dearne Valley Landscape Partnership to carry out the installation of the memorial, but the organisers are still seeking donations to help pay for ongoing insurance costs and maintenance, which can be made through the Light up the Castle Facebook page.

The memorial stone, for which the footings have been supplied by local trader Craig Wordsworth of Construction & Plant Assessments, has been made by another local resident, Steve Arrowsuch, through his company Historic Building Restoration Ltd.


The online sale of jewellery in Russia might be legalized, according to a draft decree of the President of the Russian Federation on The amendments to the list of products and manufacturing residues the sale of which is prohibited, says TASS.

The agency reports that the draft suggests the prohibition on jewellery online sales be removed from the law. The information was featured on the website regulation.gov.ru.

The Head of the Internet Trading Industry Association, Artyom Sokolov, noted that the governments decision to legalize the online sale of jewellery in the country would boost the countrys e-commerce.

We are very happy that the government has supported our initiative and actively works towards the expansion of product categories for online realization. It could greatly boost the legal development of e-commerce in the country, TASS quoted the Head of the association as saying.

According to the association, the online sales of jewellery in Russia have tripled to 5.6 bn roubles in 2017, despite the restrictions in sales of these products.

Sokolov added that the total sales of jewellery in 2018 would reach 200 bn roubles, out of which 7% would account for internet sales.



Victoria Quiri, Rough&Polished


Rajinder Kaur Bhattal with Lambor Malngiang

To ensure inclusive all-round development in the State, the Vice Chairperson of Punjab State Planning Board Mrs. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said that the Board would hold meetings with various departments in a phased manner. A future plan would be made on the basis of their feedback and respective requirements so that optimum utilization of funds to be ensured. This information was given by Mrs. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal during an interaction with a visiting delegation from Meghalaya led by Mr. Lambor Malngiang, Chairman of Meghalaya State Planning Board.

Delegation from Meghalaya led by Mr. Lambor Malngiang

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She said that budget outlay of Rs. 20,661.20 Crore had been made for 2018-19 out of which Rs. 6090.40 Crore is Centre and 14,570.80 Crore is State share. She further stated that an amount of Rs. 32.67 Crore has been earmarked in current financial year for Border Area Development Programme. The neighboring districts of Internation Border Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarn Taran were facing different kind of problems from the other parts of the State, those needed to be resolved on priority basis.

Divulging more, Mrs. Bhattal said that the Planning Department was also funding NGOs, which were playing major role in education and vocational training for girls and women belong to weaker sections of the society. These NGOs also working for child health care, development of women & children in rural areas, welfare of SCs-BCs and drug de-addiction etc and Rs 10 Crore has been earmarked for the cause. She further informed that untied funds to the tune of Rs. 15 Crore had been allocated for completion of the incomplete public utility assets.

Planning Department was also funding NGOs

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Describing the Punjab a leading state of the country, the Chairman of Maghalaya State Planning Board Mr. Lambor Malngiang said their team intended to see the development on site and methods of planning and implementation so that the same could be replicated in their State too. He also exchanged the ideas of both states regarding reorganization of Planning Board on the pattern of NITI Aayog. The other members of Meghalaya delegation included Dr. Krishna Chauhan Expert Member, Under Secretary Mr R.D.H Kharlukhi, Mr. Monbha Ravi member and Mr. Enrich G. Nongbr member. Prominent amongst those present in the meeting were Director Planning Mr. Sumit Sharma and Economic Advisor Mr. M.L. Sharma.
Vegetable farming is set to get a boost in Punjab: Harsimrat Badal

Vegetable farming is set to get a boost in Punjab with a Spanish company setting up a state of the art Rs 350 crore vegetable processing facility in Mohali which will give a ready market to progressive farmers of Mohali and neighbouring districts of the State. Disclosing this here today, Union minister for food processing industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal said she visited the factory premises of Conelodos de Navarra at Mohali and assured the promoters that her ministry will extend all possible support to them besides hand-holding them for their Indian investments. She said with the success of this unit she was confident that more companies from the Navarra region of Spain would establish their processing units in Punjab.

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It made me feel proud to interact with Amsterdam's Indian community, which has made a name for itself. Their success stories are quite inspiring. Wishing each one a very bright and prosperous future. pic.twitter.com/872zovPkqI  Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) September 6, 2018





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Company president and CEO Benito Jimenez briefed the union minister that the new plant would create around five hundred jobs besides benefitting 5,000 farmers directly. He said the company would also focus on potato processing which will open up a new market for potato farmers of Doaba region. The company has already signed a mou with Invest India. Mrs Badal said with the efforts of her ministry value was being added to farm produce be it traditional crops like wheat and rice, milk products, honey, vegetables, fruits or agri produce like haldi. 

It was quite a learning experience to visit the Wageningen Food & Biobased Research of the Netherlands. They have been working on sustainable innovations in healthy food, fresh food chains and biobased products. pic.twitter.com/ELYEEOzWVw Advertisement September 6, 2018





We have created the necessary awareness about the need to add value to agri produce and even hand held farmers by hiring consultants to enable them to form their own self help groups, clusters or join mega food parks. She said two mega food parks at Fazilka which was dealing in vegetables and Kapurthala which was specializing in maize processing, had become operational. My ministry is creating necessary infrastructure for food processing industry and also creating forward and backward linkages to facilitate farmers and industrialists both. We are confident Conelodos de Navarra will also benefit from these initiatives, she added.
Manpreet Singh Badal paid his tributes to nearly 5,000 Punjabi soldiers

Finance Minister of Punjab, Manpreet Singh Badal paid his tributes to nearly 5,000 Punjabi soldiers who gave their lives during the Second World War. Visiting the Kranji War Memorial on September 5, 2018, the Punjab Finance Minister referred to the bravery of these soldiers, who are virtually unknown in their homeland.

Visiting the Kranji War Memorial on September 5, 2018

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One only needs to glance at the names of the fallen at Kranji memorial in Singapore to appreciate how many Sikhs and Punjabis left the safety and comfort of their homes in Punjab and died in British Uniforms to defend distant places, Manpreet Singh Badal said. They died for all free men, he added.

Punjabis left the safety and comfort of their homes in Punjab and died in British Uniforms

He was accompanied by Indian Naval Attache in Singapore, Captain Sandeep Marathe, and British Military Attache in Singapore, Commander Morrison. The Indian soldiers came from the Sikh regiment, Punjab regiment, Patiala State Forces, Kapurthala State Forces, Jind State Forces, the Gorkha and the Dogra regiment, Manpreet Singh Badal revealed on returning to India.

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Kranji War Memorial has 12 columns

The Kranji War Memorial has 12 columns, on which the names of 24,000 martyrs have been inscribed. The War Memorial is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

War Memorial is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

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The finance minister took time off his busy schedule from the Invest North Summit 2018 where states made their pitch to investors.

The finance minister took time off his busy schedule from the Invest North Summit 2018

While Uttarakhand was represented by its Chief Minister, Punjab was represented by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal and PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla, and Uttar Pradesh by their Industry Minister.

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Manpreet Badal pays tribute to Punjabi soldiers

They also met with Singapores Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. The Summit was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and it was facilitated by the High Commision of India to Singapore.
[VIENNA] Outbreaks of African swine fever reported from widely different parts of China over the past month have prompted experts, including from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to warn that the virus could spill into adjacent South-east Asia, with devastating consequence for hog industries.

By Wednesday (5 September), eight outbreaks had been reported in locations as far apart as 1,000 kilometres within China, which has the worlds largest swine industry. The impact can be catastrophic as there is no treatment and currently no vaccine that can be used to protect swine farms, Juan Lubroth, FAOs chief veterinarian, tells SciDev.Net.

While this is not the first time that swine fever has been detected outside of Africa  outbreaks in Europe and the Americas date back to the 1960s  the FAO does not know how the virus reached China. We suspect that it was an extension of an outbreak from a neighbouring country through the movement of pigs or pork products, says Lubroth. Infected wild boars are a possibility, but not likely.

The current strain that entered China is highly virulent, causing fever and death from multiple organ and system failures and internal bleeding, Juan Lubroth, FAO

Lubroth says the links with parts of Africa, where swine fever is endemic, is a possibility that FAO is looking into. This traceback approach, he explains, is important to reduce further spread from the same source. He emphasises that the need is to focus attention and resources on protecting areas that are not infected.

The clinical signs in pigs vary considerably depending on the virulence of the African swine fever strain, says Lubroth. The current strain that entered China is highly virulent, causing fever and death from multiple organ and system failures and internal bleeding. Often, once it has been diagnosed, entire herds are preventively culled.

Wider spread of the virus carries huge implications, especially for the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, which have large pig industries. Francois Louis Roger, animal epidemiologist at the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, Montpellier, France, tells SciDev.Net that he had warned in a paper in Veterinary Record last year that the spread of the virus to China could have devastating socioeconomic consequences for both the Chinese and the global pig industry.

Vietnam is probably at greatest risk, considering its common border with China and the significant trade between the two countries, Roger says. Thailand may be less vulnerable if it takes rigorous biosecurity measures, while insularity could protect the Philippines. Other countries, such as Cambodia and Laos, are also at risk and less prepared due to weak veterinary services, he says.

In order to prevent the spread of swine fever to South-east Asia, Roger recommends that local veterinary services maintain efficient surveillance systems, have strong emergency preparedness plans and also try to determine where and when the virus might make an entry.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk.
The impact of global warming on shallow marine life approximately 56 million years ago is the subject of a significant, new paper by researchers at Syracuse University.

Linda Ivany, professor of Earth sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), is the lead author of an article in Science Advances (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018). Her team's research is the first to address the effects of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) -- a relatively brief period of global climate change, spanning 200,000 years -- on marine invertebrates, including snails, clams and other mollusks.

Marine invertebrates are animals without a backbone or an internal skeleton, occupying shallow seas and reefs. Invertebrates presently account for more than 98 percent of all animal life.

"The response of ecosystems [to the PETM] has been well documented for marine plankton, terrestrial plants and land vertebrates, but, until now, almost nothing has been published on marine shelf faunas," Ivany says. "This is because the stratigraphic record, showing where marine invertebrates are preserved on the continental margins, is full of gaps because of erosion. The chances of preserving a short-duration event, such as the PETM, are small.

Ivany figured that if her team could not "see" the effects of climate change in the geologic record, they could do the next best thing -- look for them in sediment straddling the PETM. Turning their attention to the rich, well-preserved shell beds of the U.S. Gulf Coastal Plain, the team sought out evidence of ancient bivalves, gastropods and scaphopods.

What they found was surprising. "The long-term effects of the PETM on these shallow-water communities actually was unremarkable," says Ivany, taking into account biodiversity loss, taxonomic turnover and ecological restructuring. "Any potential selection pressure imparted by global warming must have been weak, taxon-specific, short-lived and ultimately inconsequential to overall molluscan evolutionary history."

Co-author Warren Allmon says scientists have long presumed the PETM on the Coastal Plain to be a tome of major biological change. "Our study shows the importance of testing ideas we think we're sure of. Some organisms changed a lot across the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary, but most did not," explains Allmon, who doubles as the director of the Paleontological Research Institution in Ithaca, New York, and the Hunter R. Rawlings III Professor of Paleontology at Cornell University.

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There were exceptions, of course. Witness the abundance of marine life below the sediment surface, instead of on it. A large number of invertebrates also engaged in microbial symbiosis -- interactions enabling them to profit from chemicals in the sediment, released by the decomposition of organic matter. "These characteristics are what one might expect from low-oxygen conditions typical of a super-greenhouse world," Ivany adds.

Potentially good news, from an evolutionary and ecological perspective, as these mollusks must have figured out how to stay out of hot water. Ivany thinks they "got lucky." In truth, their adaption to the prevailing warm conditions at the time, coupled with the slow release of carbon dioxide relative to the timescale of ocean mixing (i.e., distributions of heat, salt and chemicals), likely mollified the impact of global warming.

"When the dust settled and the climate had cooled back down, our faunas had not changed all that much," she says.

Nevertheless, the PETM is one of the best ancient analogs of modern climate change. The geologic record shows that, during a roughly 5,000-year span, some kind of terrestrial source -- sedimentary, or volcanic, or both -- pumped thousands of billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere. This raised global marine temperatures by as much as 15 degrees Fahrenheit, triggering severe extinctions in the deep sea, as well as wholesale ecological reorganization on land.

The PETM likely was a perfect storm of global warming, acidification and oxygen stress. "Several things happen when you put large amounts of carbon in the atmosphere -- the Earth gets warmer, and some of the carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, raising the acidity level near the surface," Ivany continues. "The warmer the water, the less oxygen it holds. All of these changes have consequences for marine life. We are seeing these same things today, along with their increasing effects on ecosystems.

Which begs the question: What implications do these results hold for the present and future response of shallow marine biota to ongoing global change? Ivany chooses her words carefully, explaining that the carbon dioxide release during the PETM occurred over thousands of years. Compare that to putting the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from only a few hundred years of human activity."

Whatever happened during the PETM was a "best-case scenario" for marine invertebrates, Ivany explains. "With everything happening so much faster now, it is more likely organisms will go extinct," she adds. "When the environment changes, you must move, evolve or die. If it changes faster than you can move or evolve, you're toast."

The paper's co-authors include Jocelyn Sessa, a former postdoctoral scholar at Syracuse who is assistant professor of biodiversity, Earth and environmental science at Drexel University, where she also is an assistant curator at The Academy of Natural Sciences. Other co-authors are faculty members at the University of Rochester, the College of William & Mary and San Jose State University.
In 1962, an Alemannic burial site containing human skeletal remains was discovered in Niederstotzingen (Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany). Researchers at the Eurac Research Centre in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy, and at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, have now examined the DNA of these skeletal remains.

This has enabled them to determine not only the sex and the degree of kinship of those people but also their ancestral origins, which provides new insights into societal structures in the Early Middle Ages. The results of this study demonstrate that genetic research can complement research made by archaeologists and anthropologists through more conventional methods. The research was featured on the front cover of the academic journal Science Advances.

Archaeologists recovered thirteen human skeletons, the remains of three horses and some excellently preserved grave goods of diverse origin. This burial, which was discovered near a Roman road not far from Ulm, is considered one of the most important Alemannic gravesites in Germany. The site consists of individual and multiple graves, from which it was hypothesised that the individuals had not all been buried at the same time. The molecular genetic investigations have now brought new details to light about the individuals and their final resting place in this high-ranking warrior type burial.

Using DNA analysis the researchers were able to reconstruct maternal as well as paternal kinship. On the basis of tooth samples the scientists could ascertain that five of the individuals were either first- or second-degree relatives. In addition, the deceased displayed a variety of patterns of genetic origin, indicating Mediterranean and northern European roots. "These results prove the existence of remarkable transregional contacts. The fact that they were buried together also indicates a link between the families and their entourage which went beyond death," explains Niall O'Sullivan, who did his doctorate at Eurac Research and carried out some of the analyses at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena.

In this context the grave goods, with which the multiple graves were adorned and which are of Frankish, Lombard and Byzantine origin, are also very interesting. Their diverse origin in combination with the new genetic data indicates a cultural openness and demonstrates how members of the same family were receptive to different cultures.

In addition to the kinship analysis the researchers also determined the sex of the individuals using molecular testing. One of the skeletons had a gracile physique and thus could not be clearly classified as male or female. "Anthropologists determine the sex of skeletal remains by using specific physical sexual characteristics, but if the bones of certain body areas are missing, then this will make gender determination much more difficult. DNA-analyses open new paths in this respect -- and in this specific case we were able to identify the young individual molecularly as a male, and thus exclude the possibility that we were dealing with an early medieval female warrior," explains Frank Maixner, microbiologist at the Institute for Mummies and the Iceman at Eurac Research.

The considerable advances which have been made in molecular genetics in recent years allow thus far unanswered questions to be raised again and for historical as well as archaeological findings to be added to. "This research into the burial site at Niederstotzingen is a textbook example of how we can support archaeologists and anthropologists with new methods, in order to delve deeper into unanswered questions in a regional context," says Maixner in conclusion.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Michigan men with fraud for their roles in a fake accounts scheme perpetrated by a phony day-trading firm, Nonko Trading.

The SEC alleges that Jeffrey Goldman of West Bloomfield, Michigan, and Christopher Eikenberry of Birmingham, Michigan, participated in and profited from a scheme to defraud Nonko's customers out of at least $1.4 million. While Nonko marketed itself as a state-of-the-art platform for day-trading professionals, the SEC alleges that it secretly provided customers with training accounts that merely simulated actual trading. Nonko team members allegedly pocketed customers' deposits and used the money for personal expenses and for Ponzi-like payments to customers who wanted to close their accounts. According to the complaint, Nonko deliberately targeted traders who were inexperienced or had a history of trading losses and lured them by promising generous leverage, low trading commissions, and low minimum deposit requirements.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey today announced criminal charges against Goldman and Eikenberry.

The SEC previously charged four other individuals and two entities in connection with the Nonko fraud. Two of those individuals, Naris Chamroonrat and Adam Plumer, have settled the SEC's charges. Chamroonrat also pled guilty in a parallel criminal case and is awaiting sentencing. Criminal charges against two other individuals charged by the SEC, Yaniv Avnon and Ran Armon, are pending.

The SEC's complaint charges Goldman and Eikenberry with fraud and with aiding and abetting Nonko's fraud and broker-dealer registration violations. Each are charged with violating and aiding and abetting violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") [15 U.S.C.  77q(a)] and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") [15 U.S.C.  78j(b)] and Rules 10b-5(a) and 10b-5(c) thereunder [17 C.F.R.  240.10b-5(a), (c)] and aiding and abetting violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C.  78j(b)] and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder [17 C.F.R.  240.10b-5(b)] and Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act [15 U.S.C.  78o(a)(1)]. The SEC is seeking injunctions and the disgorgement of their allegedly ill-gotten gains, plus interest and penalties.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Simona Suh, Barry O'Connell, and John D. Marino of the Market Abuse Unit and Elzbieta Wraga of the New York Regional Office. The case has been supervised by Mr. Sansone. The SEC's litigation will be led by Ms. Suh and Mr. O'Connell. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Securities Commission of The Bahamas, Financial Supervisory Commission of the Cook Islands, Israel Securities Authority, Financial Services Commission's Nevis Branch, Ontario Securities Commission, Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against a microcap company and its CEO for issuing false and misleading press releases as part of a market manipulation scheme.

According to the SEC's complaint, In Ovations Holdings, Inc. (ticker: INOH) and its CEO, Mark Goldberg, issued false and misleading press releases as part of a scheme to fraudulently induce investors to buy Ovations stock so that one or more stock promoters could sell their Ovations shares. For example, as alleged in the complaint, on June 10, 2014, Ovations claimed that it "obtained exclusive rights to market" a "sophisticated sputum cytology technology for early and pre stage detection of lung cancer from . . . an officer and director of INOH." In fact, according to the complaint Goldberg knew this release was false and misleading because Ovations never provided any funding to the individual under its licensing agreement and that individual never served as an officer or director of Ovations.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced criminal charges against Goldberg, who was a registered representative associated with ten broker-dealers between 1992 and 2003.

The SEC's complaint, filed in federal district court in Brooklyn, charges Ovations and Goldberg with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder. The SEC is seeking a judgment ordering permanent injunctive relief and civil monetary penalties against Ovations and Goldberg, and also disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, an officer and director bar, and a penny stock bar against Goldberg.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI.
Now Playing: The LaMoine started Wednesday afternoon, September 5, 2018, and was filmed here 30 minutes in -- it consumed 1,000 acres in the next two hours -- along Interstate 5 north of Shasta Lake in Northern California Video: Tom Stienstra

A 5,000-acre wildfire blazing near the Sacramento River in Shasta County has prompted evacuations and Interstate 5 road closures in the surrounding area, officials said Wednesday.

The Delta Fire, which started burning just before 1 p.m. Wednesday near Interstate 5 near the Vollmers Exit just north of Lakehead, had burned 5,000 acres by 10 p.m., according to Shasta-Trinity National Forest officials.
When doctors-turned-entrepreneurs Petros Giannikopoulos and Will Polkinghorn were looking for a foothold in the Bay Area this past spring to test their startup, which connects cancer patients with specialists and clinical trials at top cancer hospitals, they found an eager audience in Lea Barbano, an East Bay resident who has lived with thyroid cancer since 2005.

Barbano, 69, was already being treated by oncologists at Houstons MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she was referred by her endocrinologist, but still had many questions about her diagnosis.

So she allowed Driver, a startup founded by Giannikopoulos and Polkinghorn in San Francisco and Hong Kong, to access her medical records and lab results. Driver assigned her a registered nurse, employed by the company, and referred her to a thyroid oncologist at UCLA, whom she consulted with over the phone. The startup has also built a mobile app that analyzes patients diagnoses and biometric markers to match them up with clinical trials for which they may be eligible. Taken together, Drivers services essentially function as a second opinion.

Im sort of their guinea pig, said Barbano, who lives in Clayton. Every hospital has its own protocol how to treat cancer so its not necessarily the same (everywhere). I question, Am I doing enough? Is there something out there I could or should be doing to help me? Am I seeing the right people? This sort of puts all that to rest.

Barbano is one of about 100 patients who have been testing Drivers services since last year. Driver, whose San Francisco office is in the Mission, plans to advance from its current test to a more public stage Thursday. It is an ambitious and complicated business that seeks to bring together many existing services that have separately seen varying degrees of success, such as Zocdoc  an online directory that helps consumers find doctors based on location, specialty and insurance  and clinical trial matching services. Driver also runs its own certified and accredited lab, which analyzes patients tumor samples.

Whats missing in this crowded, noisy ecosystem is something that takes the patient end to end, soup to nuts, and provides them with a comprehensive picture of what their options are and if theyd like to proceed by accessing those options, said Giannikopoulos, who met Polkinghorn when they were studying at Harvard Medical School in 2001. Both are physicians who have a background in treating cancer, Polkinghorn as a radiation oncologist and Giannikopoulos as a pathologist.

The soup to nuts model is not cheap. For people who currently have cancer, Drivers services cost $3,000 up front, plus a monthly $20 subscription fee to store medical information. The company also offers a second option for patients who have had cancer in the past and are in remission: it costs $500 up front plus the $20 monthly fee for information about follow-up care. The patient must pay the costs out of pocket.

The company is finalizing a third option for which it hopes employers and insurance companies will pay, to provide people who have never had cancer with information about prevention and screening.

Drivers network of specialists and clinical trials comes from 30 top cancer institutes in the United States, including UCSF  award-winning cancer scientist Alan Ashworth is on Drivers scientific advisory board  Stanford, Cedars-Sinai, UCLA and City of Hope.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

The companys lead investor is Horizon Ventures, the venture capital firm of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing. Driver says it has raised $90 million.

Barbano said the component she liked most was old-fashioned human contact: the phone number Driver gave her of the nurse assigned to her case, Tabitha Kidd.

She was my resource, Barbano said. I could call at any time if I had any concerns. To have a phone number where a person can pick up the phone and answer your question is invaluable. You cant even get the corner grocery store on the phone right now.

Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat_Ho
A woman who was walking on 5th Street near Market was stabbed by another woman in an apparently unprovoked attack on Wednesday, a witness told The Chronicle.

Valentin Wong, 37, said he saw one woman appear to punch another woman as both were walking toward one another at around 5:15 p.m.

It looked like a regular punch, but apparently she was stabbed, Wong said. There was a lot of blood. It was vicious.

Police confirmed it was a stabbing.

Police rushed to the area to aid the victim, who had a wound in her collarbone area and was sitting against a window of the Nordstrom at 5th and Market. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance conscious and alert. Her condition was unknown.

Now Playing: When crimes occur, many people have a difficult time describing what happened to authorities. Here are some tips if you ever have to report a crime or emergency to 911. Video: Katie Wood / SFGATE

Wong said the suspect was arguing with a man as they walked along 5th Street and the victim was walking with friends  and as the two groups were about to pass one another, the stabbing occurred with one single strike.

Wong said the suspect kept walking, yelling words that he could not understand. The victim sat on the brick sidewalk as witnesses crowded around, asking if she was OK.

It was senseless, Wong said.

Wong and other witnesses helped identify the suspect, who was apprehended just down the street on Market.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

San Francisco police public information officer Grace Gatpandan said police are investigating the circumstances leading up to the attack. Gatpandan did not release the name of the suspect.

Police cleared he scene just before 6 p.m. and dropped bleach on a pool of blood on the sidewalk.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
It was still light out Tuesday night, Sept. 4, when we arrived at Fort Mason Center for the opening of Coal + Ice, a documentary photography and video exhibition (though Sept. 23) thats the main visual component of a three-week-long array of events about climate change.

This observation about the early evening light is not incidental: On Earth, day becomes night with precise regularity, the inexorable rotation of a planet whose natural rhythms and settings have become threatened by the effects of human endeavor.

You walk into the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason, and although it may be day, you find yourself in the dark, engulfed by photographic and video images. Your world is altered, in a setting where alteration is the point. The world is close to the edge is how executive producer Orville Schell put it, in an informal talk to a crowd gathered around a central platform in the vast pavilion space. Organizers, including Schell and co-curators Susan Meiselas and Jeroen de Vries, were bent on an attempt to get peoples attention in a visual way.

This gathering was a celebration of the opening, but the darkness in the exhibition space  until a final section that focused on solutions  precluded most of the usual reception chitchat, and focused peoples attention on the images rather than each other. Roughly, the images, still and moving, are arranged chronologically, from cause (coal mining) to large-scale effects on nature (melting of ice) to effects on humans (rising oceans and storms) and finally, to solutions. We hope we managed to make the question visible, said de Vries.

More Information PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING My great-grandpa fought in Vietnam. Boy of 8 or so, overheard on Muni by The Chronicles Nanette Asimov See More Collapse

The layout is logical, but the displays arent symmetrical, so viewers take individual paths. I stared at a series of photos taken by Gideon Mendel in Nigeria, Brazil, Haiti, India and Florida, of people who had survived floods. These werent people surrounded by raging waters; they were victims, sitting in the water, looking into the camera.

Nearby, images of those people  and others  were projected on screens arranged in a square. The eeriest of them were almost still shots, but not quite. The expressions on the subjects faces were miserable but stoic. At first it seemed these were still shots, too.

But if you looked long enough, you could see movement, not of the people in the portraits, who were surrounded and engulfed, but in particles of debris floating by in the muddy waters.

If you fumble with your bow tie and cant find a missing stud, if your opera-ready ballgown is likely to emerge from the closet looking as though youd slept in it ... theres still a chance to hear music this week. Stay home and listen to elephants on the radio.

Music by and for elephants will be featured on Charles Amirkhanians Music From Other Minds, on KALW on Friday, Sept. 7. Sixty years ago, says Amirkhanian, German evolutionary biologist Bernard Rensch wrote in Scientific American that elephants could distinguish scale tones and remember melodies. His observations were the foundation of recent work at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, where 14 elephants have learned to perform music (with human guidance mainly limited to telling them when to start and stop).

A recorded performance by the Thai Elephant Orchestra of Water Music, which includes individual selections like Teak Forest Mist and Monsoon Tempest, is a result of a collaboration between Richard Lair, a conservationist, and Dave Soldier, an American composer. The program segment will be hosted by male soprano and animal-lover Randall Wong, who discovered the recording.

The elephant musicians play large versions of Thai instruments, drums and harmonicas, created by Lair and Soldier. They particularly like call and response passages, in which one leader plays a pitch and the others join in, and are said to be able to keep a steady beat.

At the Cherry Capital Airport, on her way home from a vacation in Traverse City, Mich., Linda Stansen was listening when the small daughter in a family that had just arrived looked at her mother and said, I thought we were going to Belgium.

Googling for directions to some place or another from her home at Judah and Ninth Avenue, Tina Martin got the departure and destination points written out in what she thought was Russian, and nyet to that, Sergei. A translator friend told her, however, that it was Bulgarian, even more mystifying.

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

My great-grandpa fought in Vietnam.

Boy of eight or so, overheard on Muni by The Chronicles Nanette Asimov

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaughs newly minted category for the courts abortion-rights rulings  precedent on precedent  isnt easy to decipher. But legal analysts said Wednesday it suggested that Kavanaugh would prefer to avoid overturning the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, at least for now, and instead try to chip away at it.

Testifying on the second day of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kavanaugh  whose record tilts decidedly against abortion  seemed intent on convincing skeptics on the committee and the general public that he hadnt made up his mind.

Hes the consummate politician, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor and veteran judicial commentator. Hes got to know that if (the courts justices) blatantly overturn Roe, thats a disaster for the Republican Party, in view of public support for the ruling and reproductive rights.

Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor and author of books on judicial conduct, ethics and politics, said both Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts, who has voted to restrict abortions, are concerned about public perception.

A rapid about-face on Roe as soon as a new justice comes on board conveys a message that Roberts is deeply desirous of avoiding: that the court is comprised of politicians in robes, Geyh said. An incremental approach that officially affirms but slowly guts Roe, leaving an empty husk over time, is a more likely outcome.

President Trump, who nominated Kavanaugh to succeed retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, promised during the campaign to appoint justices who would overturn Roe vs. Wade, which declared a constitutional right to abortion. As a federal appeals court judge, Kavanaugh voted in dissent to keep an undocumented, pregnant 17-year-old in federal custody so she could not get an abortion. And in a speech last year, he praised former Justice William Rehnquists dissent from the 7-2 majority in the 1973 abortion ruling.

But in a round of meetings with senators last month, Kavanaugh told Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who supports abortion rights, that he considered Roe vs. Wade to be settled law, though he did not say whether he would vote to overturn it. At Wednesdays hearing, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked him what he meant by settled law.

I said that its settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court and entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis, Kavanaugh replied, using the legal term for leaving past rulings intact.

He said the ruling had been reaffirmed many times since 1973, most notably in the 1992 case of Planned Parenthood vs. Casey. The court, which had been widely expected to overrule Roe vs. Wade, instead issued a 5-4 decision upholding what it described as the core of the previous ruling, barring the government from placing an undue burden on access to abortion. Kennedy was part of the majority, while Rehnquist again dissented.

Casey specifically reconsidered (Roe vs. Wade), applied the stare decisis factors, and decided to reaffirm it, Kavanaugh told Feinstein. That makes Casey a precedent on precedent.

The court has the power to overturn even long-standing precedents, as a 5-4 majority illustrated last month when it scrapped a 1977 ruling that required nonunion members in government jobs to pay fees to unions for the costs of representing them at the bargaining table.

But Geyh said Kavanaugh seemed to be telling the committee that the more often the court reaffirms its own precedent, the stronger that precedent becomes  and the more deserving that precedent is of being followed in the future.

Still, said the University of Richmonds Tobias, Kavanaugh would have plenty of opportunity to find five justices who will continue to erode Roe.

Cases working their way through the courts include several states bans on common abortion procedures, Arkansas ban on medication abortions, and an attempt by Kentuckys Republican governor to close the states last remaining abortion clinic. Kennedy cast the deciding vote in 2016 when the court rejected a Texas law that would have shut down most of the states abortion clinics by imposing rigid medical standards.

Kavanaughs latest discourse left an abortion-rights group unimpressed and an antiabortion group unperturbed.

When a womans right to control her own body comes up, instead of answering directly, Kavanaugh dances around the barn, said Crystal Strait, president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, noting that the nominee repeatedly refused to say whether he believes Roe vs. Wade was rightly decided.

On the other side, Catherine Glenn Foster, president of Americans United for Life, said Kavanaugh was simply recognizing the fact that (the Casey decisions) discussion of the principles of stare decisis has become recognized as a leading decision in that area.

Regardless, she said, there is no reason to follow the precedent of Roe.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@BobEgelko
Stan Brock, a former British cowboy and co-host of the long-running television show Wild Kingdom, liked to tell of an exchange he had with the sixth man to walk on the moon.

He was recounting to that astronaut, Edgar Mitchell, what had prompted him to quit his job, sell all his belongings and found a volunteer mobile medical service for uninsured Americans and poor people in underdeveloped countries.

The organization, the Remote Area Medical clinic service, or RAM, initially established volunteer medics in the Amazon and has since provided free care for hundreds of thousands of needy patients.

As the genesis story goes, he was a teenager at the time living with the Wapishana Indians in what was then British Guiana, and they had given him a wild Spanish bronco as a gift. The horse, which had killed a previous owner on a wild ride, was only slightly more forgiving when Brock climbed on board.

The bronco bucked across the savanna and collided with a barbed wire fence. Brock was thrown to the ground, the 700-pound stallion landing on top of him.

I was very badly injured, but the nearest doctor was 26 days away on foot, through a narrow trail in the rain forest where you couldnt take horses, Brock told the British newspaper the Independent in 2014.

Ed said: Gosh, I was on the moon, and I was only three days from a doctor, Brock recalled. Sure, I said, but for those people who lived in the Upper Amazon, and the 50 million people were now dealing with in the U.S., they might as well be on the moon for the opportunity they have to get the health care they need.

Stan Brock died Aug. 29 at RAMs offices in Rockford, Tenn., where he had lived ascetically since he founded the nonprofit outfit in 1985. He was 82. The cause was complications of a stroke, said Robert Lambert, a RAM spokesman.

RAM began operating initially in British Guiana and then expanded to the United States in 1992, starting out with a single pickup truck that hauled a single dentists chair. It opened its first U.S. clinic in Sneedville, Tenn., in 1992 and still runs an airborne ambulance operation in what is now the independent nation of Guyana.

The organization estimates it has provided medical, vision and dental care to more than 700,000 patients since its founding, in areas ranging from Appalachia to New York City, and in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

Last year, about 1,400 health professionals volunteered to treat 2,300 people who showed up at one of RAMs outdoor clinics at the fairgrounds in the western Virginia town of Wise. Some had camped out for three days to make sure they would be treated.

The health fair reminded me of scenes Ive witnessed in refugee camps in South Sudan, Nicholas Kristof wrote in his opinion column in the New York Times. But here in America?

RAM receives no government funding and is supported by contributions, which invariably escalated after potential givers learned in news reports about Brocks unwavering commitment.

The organization was the subject of a photo essay in the Times in 2007 and was featured on network television programs like 60 Minutes. Brock was profiled in a documentary film last year titled Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story.

Stanley Edmunde Brock was born on April 21, 1936, in Preston, Lancashire, England, to Stanley and Irene (Mandley) Brock. His father, a civil servant who supervised telephone installations, was posted around the country and later deployed to British Guiana, a colony until 1966. When Stan was 17, he left Britain and the Canford School in Dorset to visit his parents over the summer and never returned to Britain, or to school.

For five years I had been a prisoner of the establishment, he wrote in a memoir, All the Cowboys Were Indians (originally published in 1969 as Jungle Cowboy), strangled by a stiff white collar, black tie, gray drainpipe trousers and an ill-fitting jacket, herded like a convict, carrying armfuls of Chaucer, Homer and English history.

He was married briefly, but said he had subordinated the relationship to his volunteer work.

Im trying to think of a way to put this  would I like to be married? Yes, he told the Independent. Would I like to have children? Yes. But Ive got thousands of them now.

He is survived by his brother, Peter; and a longtime friend, Karen Wilson, RAMs former executive director.

Brock became a cowboy in British Guiana. There, from 1952 to 1968, he was the manager of the 4,000-square-mile Dadanwa Ranch, once the worlds largest cattle station, with 30,000 longhorn cattle and horses.

His other books, including Leemo: A True Story of a Mans Friendship With a Mountain Lion (1967), brought him to the attention of a BBC filmmaker. He was then invited to join Mutual of Omahas Wild Kingdom, the Emmy Award-winning NBC series, as a co-host with Marlin Perkins in the late 1960s. He appeared on the program for more than a decade.

He also appeared in an American sitcom, The Corner Bar, and acted in several adventure films, including Escape From Angola in 1976 and Galyon in 1980.

He was credited with discovering a rare species of bat, which was named for him, Vampyressa brocki. He was also a pilot, which enabled him to reach remote areas, and held a black belt in tae kwon do.

Brock was instrumental in persuading Tennessee legislators to let licensed health care professionals from out of state volunteer to provide free medical services. RAM was nonpartisan in debates about health care, though, he said.

Im just the voice of the homeless and the underserved, he said. But unless they fix these basic things, were going to be doing this long after my lifetime.

Asked in an interview about his legacy, Brock said: I hope that a hundred years from now, nobody will remember me at all because this will be a thing of the past.

But, he added, there seems to be no end in sight.

Sam Roberts is a New York Times writer.
An Israeli teens deadly fall in Yosemite National Park, reportedly while taking a selfie Wednesday, occurred at the top of Nevada Fall, authorities said Thursday.

Tomer Frankfurter, 18, of Jerusalem dropped from the top of the cliff beside the 594-foot waterfall on the Merced River, according to the Mariposa County coroners office.

Park officials are investigating what led to the fatal fall, but a report in the Times of Israel quoted a television interview with the victims mother saying Frankfurter fell from a cliff while trying to take a photograph of himself.

Nevada Fall is one of a handful of well-known waterfalls in Yosemite National Park and a feature on what many consider the parks signature hike. The waterfall is 3.5 miles one way from Yosemite Valley and it includes a steep climb up the Mist Trail  a collection of massive granite steps that pass Vernal Fall, which often drenches hikers.

Now Playing: A look at California's 7 National Parks Video: Martin do Nascimento

The news organization said Frankfurters mother, who was not identified, confirmed the death along with Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She said her son was taking a two-month trip in the United States before joining the Israeli army.

Scott Gediman, a Yosemite National Park spokesman, said Thursday that the death is under investigation and no further information was available.

Andrea Stewart, Mariposa County assistant coroner, said a pathologist has not yet examined Frankfurters body. The Times of Israel reported that his body would be returned to Israel for burial.

Falling deaths from Yosemites soaring granite cliffs and rocks are not uncommon, and signs posted at observation areas atop many of the parks waterfalls caution visitors to stay out of the water and away from the edges.

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.

Frankfurters death is the third in the park this summer.

In June, two climbers plunged to their deaths from El Capitan in Yosemite Valley while using a climbing technique know as simul-climbing.

Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hernandez contributed

to this report.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
Given his selection by a president who has been implicated in a crime and shown no eagerness to schedule an interview with authorities, one might wonder what U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh thinks about the chief executives susceptibility to investigation, questioning and prosecution.

As it happens, Kavanaugh has pointed views on the subject.

As a member of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starrs team, he advocated aggressive questioning of Bill Clinton that spared few of the lurid details of his sexual relations. Since then, Kavanaughs views have, to put it mildly, evolved.

In 2009, after working in George W. Bushs White House, he wrote in a law review article that sitting presidents should be spared the distractions of lawsuits, investigations and prosecutions. He even called the Starr probe a mistake.

Granted, Kavanaugh advised Congress to act to defer civil and criminal proceedings against presidents, withholding judgment as to whether the Constitution provides such protection. But the implication is that if the Supreme Court must resolve a confrontation between President Trump and Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Kavanaughs sympathies are likely to lie with the president.

In fact, Kavanaugh questioned one of the high courts most famous rulings on such a dispute a decade beforehand. In a panel discussion published in 1999, he said United States vs. Nixon, which compelled President Richard Nixon to comply with a subpoena seeking Oval Office recordings, may have been erroneous. Kavanaugh has praised the decision in other contexts, including his confirmation hearing Wednesday, when he reiterated that it was among the greatest moments in judicial independence.

While Kavanaugh offered senators assurance that he thinks no ones above the law, he evaded specific questions of presidential power. When Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked whether a president could be subpoenaed to testify, Kavanaugh said he couldnt respond to a hypothetical. When Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., asked whether a president could fire at will a prosecutor investigating him, Kavanaugh allowed only that he once thought so. And when Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked whether a president could pardon himself, Kavanaugh said he hadnt analyzed the issue and couldnt begin to answer.

Nor had Kavanaugh begun to answer the suspicion that he supports expansive presidential power at a time when its perils are obvious.

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.
SATURDAY

Climate day of action: Rallies, town halls and community forums to call for action on climate change. San Francisco rally begins at 10 a.m. at Embarcadero Plaza, followed by a march to Civic Center. More information about that is here. Information about other events is here.

SUNDAY

Oakland Pride Festival: Oaklands Pride Parade and Festival is celebrated. Parade begins at 10:30 a.m. at 14th Street and heads up Broadway to 20th Street. Festival is held from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at 20th and Broadway. More information is here.

MONDAY

LGBTQ and the high court: A discussion on the future of LGBTQ rights under a changing U.S. Supreme Court. Panelists include Elizabeth Gill, senior attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, and Joel Engardio of the San Francisco Examiner. Sponsored by United Democratic Club. 6:30-8 p.m., San Francisco LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market St. More information is here.

TUESDAY

Climate forums: UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment, and the Economy hosts a series of forums on climate change issues. $15 per symposium. 8 a.m.-7:30 p.m., 555 Market St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Trump forum: San Francisco State University faculty members discuss America in the age of President Trump. Free. 3-5 p.m., Room 270 of the Science Building at San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. More information is here.

WEDNESDAY

Robert Kennedy Jr.: Environmental attorney and president of Waterkeeper Alliance talks with journalist David Talbot about his new book, American Values: Lessons I Learned from My Family. Free. 4:30-6:30 p.m., McRoskey Mattress Factory, third floor, 1687 Market St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Katie Hill: Indivisible Marin hosts a postcarding event for Katie Hill, Democratic candidate for the House in Californias 25th District. 7-8:30 p.m., Zinz Wine Bar, 207 Corte Madera Ave., Corte Madera. More information is here.

Trump disorientation: UC Berkeley philosophy Professor Hans Sluga gives a lecture on political disorientation under President Trump. Sponsored by the university Humanities and Social Sciences Association. Free. 4:30-6:30 p.m., Womens Faculty Club, UC Berkeley. More information is here.

THURSDAY

Climate damage: How countries, states and companies are using climate damage estimates to inform their decision-making. Panel discussion hosted by Institute for Policy Integrity. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; venue to be announced. More information is here.

Latin America and climate: An interactive session to discuss how networks of Latin American and Caribbean non-state actors are helping to raise raise climate ambition. 8:30-11:30 a.m. Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Climate change and socialism: A discussion on socialist solutions to climate change issues, sponsored by the San Francisco Party for Socialism and Liberation. 7 p.m., 2969 Mission St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Tales of the City: University of Wisconsin English Professor Ramzi Fawaz discusses his oral history project on how Armistead Maupins Tales of the City serial in The Chronicle affected gay politics. $5. GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Across the divide: A short group presentation followed by smaller living room conversations designed to give participants experience in building relationships with people who may have different political views. With Citizens Climate Lobby and Joan Blades, co-founder of Moveon.org and Living Room Conversations. Free. Google Community Space, 188 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

SEPT. 15

Schools chief candidates forum: Candidates for state superintendent of public instruction, Tony Thurmond and Marshall Tuck, take part in a forum sponsored by Sistallect, California Black Media and Black Women Organized for Political Action. 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Holy Names University, 3500 Mountain Blvd., Oakland. More information is here.

SEPT. 16

Blue recruiting: Volunteer recruitment fair for NorCalBlueWave Alliance, Indivisible Sausalito, Indivisible Marin, Swing Left Marin, Sister District Marin and Novato Stands United. Sign-ups for actions in Marin and nearby red areas. 3-5:30 p.m., San Rafael Community Center, 1618 B St. RSVP and more information here.

SEPT. 17-18

BART candidates forum: Brian Larkin, Janice Li, Jonathan Lyens and Melanie Nutter, candidates for the BART District Eight seat in San Francisco, take part in a forum sponsored by San Francisco Transit Riders. 6-8 p.m., 795 Folsom St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Constitution conference: Two-day conference on the 231st anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, focusing on the past, present and future of constitutional rights, freedoms, citizenship, democracy, equality and justice. Free. 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. both days at the Paul Leonard Library and Cesar Chavez Student Center at San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. More information is here.

SEPT. 18

DeRay Mckesson: Black Lives Matter activist and Pod Save the People podcast host talks about his new book, On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope. $35 for non-Commonwealth Club members, $10 for students. 6:30-7:45 p.m., Marines Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Berkeley City Council candidates: The League of Women voters hosts a forum for the candidates for Berkeley City Council in District One, Mary Behm-Steinberg, Rashi Kesarwani, Igor Tregub and Margot Schueler. 7-8 p.m., Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. More information is here.

SEPT. 19

Berkeley City Council candidates: The League of Women Voters hosts a forum for candidates for Berkeley City Council in Districts Four, Seven and Eight. 6:30-9 p.m., Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. More information is here.

SEPT. 20

Albany candidates: League of Women Voters hosts a forum for Albany candidates for public office. 7-9 p.m., 1000 San Pablo Ave., Albany. More information is here.

Midterm run: Run 4 All Women sponsors a 4K run/walk to raise money and awareness for candidates trying to flip Congress. 6-8 p.m. at the Assembly, 449 14th St., San Francisco. More information is here.

SEPT. 22

Race and medicine: Panel discussion on the impact of race in medicine. Sponsored by the African American Community Health Advisory Committee and the African American Library Advisory Committee. 2-4 p.m., San Mateo Public Library, 55 West Third Ave. More information is here.

SEPT. 25

Berkeley school board candidates: The League of Women Voters holds a forum for Berkeley school board candidates Ka'Dijah Brown, Julie Sinai, Ty Alper, Abdur Sikder, Dru Howard and Norma Harrison. 7:30-8:45 p.m., Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. More information is here.

Lieutenant governor candidates: Eleni Kounalakis and Ed Hernandez, candidates for lieutenant governor, take part in a forum on higher education issues. The lieutenant governor is a University of California regent and California State University trustee. Free. 4:30-7 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

Get out the vote: Register to vote, learn about legislation affecting local communities and network with social justice advocates. Sponsored by Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency. 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza. More information is here.

Truth decay: RAND Corp. CEO Michael Rich discusses truth decay  the diminishing role of facts and analysis in American public life, at the Commonwealth Club. $35 nonmembers, $10 students. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

SEPT. 26

Berkeley rent board candidates: Candidates for Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board take part in a forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters. 7-9 p.m., Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. More information is here.

SEPT. 27

Iran and Trump: Covering Iran in the age of Trump: a conversation with reporter Melissa Etehad of the Los Angeles Times, moderated by San Francisco State journalism Professor Venise Wagner. 12:30-2 p.m., Room 587 of the Humanities Building, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave. More information is here.

SEPT. 28

Federalism issues: Ed DuMont, solicitor general of California, and Lawrence VanDyke, solicitor general of Nevada, discuss cases before the Supreme Court and the federal courts that center on state vs. federal rights. Sponsored by Federalist Society. $15 for nonmembers, free for students. 6-7 p.m., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher law firm, 555 Mission St., Suite 3000, San Francisco. More information is here.

SEPT. 29

Tech politics: Candidates for statewide and Bay Area offices invited to discuss issues of importance to Silicon Valley and the technology industry. Sponsored by Royce Law LLC. Noon-4 p.m., Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF, 1675 Owens St., San Francisco. More information is here.

D6 supervisor candidates: Matt Haney, Christine Johnson and Sonja Trauss, candidates for San Francisco supervisor in District Six, take part in a forum moderated by Chronicle columnist Heather Knight. 9:30-11:30 a.m., Childrens Creativity Museum Theater, 221 Fourth St., San Francisco. More information is here.

SEPT. 30

Preventing nuclear war: Free forum marking 50th anniversary of Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty features ex-CIA analyst Ray McGovern and anti-nuclear activists Jacqueline Cabasso and Marylia Kelley. Sponsored by San Francisco Public Library and Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament. 1 p.m., Main Public Librarys Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco. More information is here.

OCT. 2

Assembly candidates forum: Jovanka Beckles and Buffy Wicks, candidates in Assembly District 15 in the East Bay, participate in a League of Women Voters forum. 7-8:30 p.m., Berkeley City College, 2050 Center St. More information is here.

The Browns and California: Journalist Miriam Pawel, author of The Browns of California: The Family Dynasty That Transformed a State and Shaped a Nation, discusses Pat Brown, Jerry Brown and the modern history of the state, at the Commonwealth Club. $20 for nonmembers, $7 for students. 6-7:15 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

OCT. 4

Francis Fukuyama: Political scientist and author Francis Fukuyama discusses identity politics. Sponsored by the Commonwealth Club. $25 for nonmembers, $10 for students. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

OCT. 5

Oakland mayoral forum: Ten candidates for Oakland mayor take part in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. 7-8:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland. More information is here.

Barbara Lee: Forum with Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, celebrating her 20th anniversary in Congress. Sponsored by the Commonwealth Club. $30 for nonmembers, $10 for students. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

OCT. 11

Danica Roem: Virginia House of Delegates member Danica Roem, the first openly transgender member of a state legislature, discusses her career and life story. Sponsored by Jewish Community Center of San Francisco. $10. 7 p.m., 3200 California St., San Francisco. More information is here.

Left, Right and Center: A rollicking examination of national issues, with panelists Ana Marie Cox, host of With Friends Like These; Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle; and Business Insider senior editor Josh Barro. Sponsored by Inforum and NPR member station KCRW. $35, $10 for students. 7-8 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

OCT. 16

D4 supervisor forum: Candidates for San Francisco supervisorial District Four participate in a forum sponsored by the Outer Sunset/Parkside Residents Association. 6-8:30 p.m., Ortega Branch Library, 3223 Ortega St., San Francisco. More information is here.

OCT. 18

Hacking politics: Keynote address for weekend conference on how the political system is being hacked. Sponsored by UC Berkeley Center for New Media, SFMOMAs Public Knowledge Initiative, the UC Berkeley School of Journalism and Boalt School of Law. Free. 6 p.m., Phyllis Wattis Theater, SFMOMA, 151 Third St., San Francisco. More information is here. Symposium runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 19 at 310 Banatao Auditorium, Sutardja Dai Hall, UC Berkeley. More information is here.

Berkeley voter information: UC Berkeleys Science Policy Group hosts a voter information night, focuses on state ballot initiatives. 5:30-8:30 p.m., Anthony Hall, UC Berkeley. More information is here.

OCT. 20

Race and politics: Panel discussion on the impact of race in politics. Sponsored by the African American Community Health Advisory Committee and the African American Library Advisory Committee. 2-4 p.m., San Mateo Public Library, 55 West Third Ave. More information is here.

OCT. 23

Rick Wilson: Republican strategist and Daily Beast columnist discusses dark politics in the age of Trump. Sponsored by the Commonwealth Club. $30 for nonmembers, $10 for students. Noon-1 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

NOV. 8

Susan Rice: Former President Barack Obamas national security adviser and U.N. ambassador discusses U.S. foreign policy priorities and national security interests. Sponsored by the World Affairs Council. $40 for nonmembers, $10 for students. 6:30-7:30 p.m., Marines Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter St., San Francisco. More information is here.

To list an event, email Politics Editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle
As their ongoing dispute with the province rolls into another school year with no end in sight, educators across Kelowna are faced with the ugly reality that their next paycheque may still be weeks, or even months away.

Teachers have the choice of being paid out across the 10 months they are teaching during the school year, or a 12-month contract that holds back some pay to cover salaries over the summer.

But no matter which option they chose, there will soon be a bevy of bills, mortgages and other expenses that will quickly become due.

Photo: Ragnar Haagen

Many teachers did not want their names associated with this story, but still wanted to share their concerns as the strike enters its fourth month.

One upper level chemistry teacher at Kelowna Secondary School told Castanet that he is on the 10-month program and typically saves up and budgets over the summer, but this year it was different.

We cut back over the summer, we made sure we didnt do any big trips, or spend anything. We just sort of hunkered down, the man says, noting he even went to his bank to get a reprieve on his mortgage for the month.

While fortunate to have a wife that is not a teacher and able to bring in some income, that is not the case for others who have two teacher families, or even young children to care for during the strike.

I think its fair to say that weve lost a lot of money right now, but it doesnt seem to be shaking our resolve too much. Were certainly not holding out for unlimited massages, he laughs, referring to an incorrect statement made Wednesday by Premier Christy Clark.

In fact that proposal, and only for members with chronic pain, was taken off the table with the union only asking for $500-$700 worth of massages, not the $5,000 claimed by Clark.

Its not like its not a financial burden, but it is so obviously beyond that. If you were to talk to a teacher anywhere, its not about the wage. If it was about wage, this would be solved by now.

The KSS teacher points out that many other recent union strikes were about wages, and thats why contracts were quickly signed in those cases.

For teachers in Kelowna (and presumably across the province) its about class size, composition, and correctly funding the education system in BC.

Because it has that extra component out there  and that seems to be the sticking point  thats why its not done yet, in my opinion, he says.

For me the biggest issue is making sure we have the funding for those things the students do need. And that would be making sure there arent too many special needs students or too many students that need that extra help in one classroom.

Photo: Jennifer Zielinski

Its not something that I get all the time, but that being said, Ive had a number of special needs students in my class, and they need that extra help, they really do. And if were not going to fund it, then what youre saying is thats not important.

Other teachers Castanet spoke with at the same school say they are living off savings, all of which will soon be depleted.

I just saved for myself, so I did my savings for the summer like I usually do and had my September mortgage in place. But after that, its just digging into any additional savings that I might have, said a female teacher who also did not want to be named.

I had a low key summer, lets put it that way.

Although this particular teacher does not have children of her own, she has no problem paying taxes for other kids.

I believe in our system and I think that its every childs right to have a quality education, not just those that can afford it, she says.

Parents should be fighting for this education as well.

Another teacher agreed with the financial hardships facing teaching families, and many others pointed to class sizes and composition as the main points of their struggle.

There are many teachers that are in hardships, because theyre either married to a teacher, or this is their only income because theyre a single teacher, and none of us know how far this is going to go or how long this will last, says an English teacher at KSS.

Often we bargain and receive nothing for ourselves (like raises), because were looking at class sizes and composition. And Im not sure if the public really knows that.

Just down the road at AS Matheson Elementary School, Karen Bernath says it has gotten so bad for some teachers that they cannot afford to drive to their designated picket lines  even a tank of gas is too expensive.

Everybodys finances are in a different state, and their pride to go and seek out that help is in a different place. I know myself, I worked on the cherry processing line at the BC Tree Fruits this summer, she says, her voice cracking with emotion.

(Its) not something I normally do, but I did not want finances to be a reason I did not stand up for what I believe in. I worked 10 hours a day for 23 days straight on the cherry packing line.

Photo: Trevor Rockliffe

The issue of resources and lack of funds is something that Bernath knows well, as a kindergarten teacher at AS Matheson.

At this school, we live what were fighting for everyday. We have one of the most vulnerable populations  families living in poverty, families living at the womens shelters, and we dont have all the resources we need to help these kids. Its sad, she says.

In order for public education to break the generational poverty cycle and have kids have all the skills that they need to be a successful member of society, public education is what they need. They dont need a voucher system, their families cant afford private schools, so if you want to fix poverty in this province, if you want to have a population where you dont need more and more jail space, you need to give kids those resources.

And its not only students that face financial difficulties due to advanced educational training, but some teachers still worry about student loans too.

A part time instructor at Casorso Elementary  who is also married to another local teacher  is paying off her masters degree and says the hardest part of this strike is not having an income.

Ive moved to BC three times now, and Ive left twice already due to financial hardship. And Im really afraid right now that we may have to move away from BC again for that reason, she says.

Im fortunate enough to have lived in Canada and have been able to take out student loans, and maximize that so I could become a teacher. And fortunate enough that teaching has allowed me to have incredible experiences and work around the world. The masters degree programs around BC are excellent to develop you professionally, and my husband and I have both taken those, and have the debt of those now.

While this teacher says she and her husband have been responsible with their money over the past few months, the strike has caused them to reevaluate their profession and how it has affected their relationship with each other and their two school-aged children.

Were very responsible with our money, and its coming to a point where I feel our decisions to have taken our masters, and our decisions to move to BC are making me feel really irresponsible as a parent for what Ive done to ourselves financially, but even more so to what weve done to our children, she says.

Ive taught in other provinces and I know what those kids get. I know the services they get, and I know the services my children are not getting because we are living here (in BC).

She adds theyve already had to cut sports, music, and fine art programs for their children, and now discussions at home revolve around what other sacrifices the couple must make.

Join the discussion
Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court nomination is as much about President Trump as it is about the appellate court judge, Senate Democrats said Thursday.

We have to take this nomination in context of this moment in history, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Kavanaugh during the third day of the Judiciary Committees confirmation hearing on the presidents nominee. Trump has shown disrespect for the rule of law over and over again, Durbin said. Thats why your nomination is different from any other.

Durbin and other Democrats pressed Kavanaugh for his views on presidential authority, pointing to a 2009 law review article in which he suggested that Congress should protect a sitting president from criminal and civil trials.

The judge repeated his response from Wednesday that the review article was nothing more than a suggestion to Congress, not his view on what the Constitution allows. He also said presidential power has its limits, citing the Watergate-era Supreme Court decision that forced then-President Richard Nixon to comply with a subpoena for White House tapes.

Ive made clear in my writings that a court writing that demands a president do something or demands that he not do something is the final word, Kavanaugh said. No ones above the law.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., suggested that Kavanaughs writings and the fact that he was a recent addition to Trumps short list of Supreme Court candidates were danger signals.

Because Trump demands loyalty from the people he appoints, people will have a credible suspicion that the system is rigged and (Trump) is putting someone up (for the Supreme Court) to protect himself from investigation, Booker said.

My loyalty is to the Constitution, Kavanaugh said. He denied that he had made any promises to anyone about how he would rule on any case involving Trump if confirmed to the Supreme Court.

When Kavanaugh refused to comment on whether he believed Trump was a man of good character, Booker asked him to recuse himself from any cases involving the president, saying he should do the right thing.

If he agreed in advance to recuse himself, Kavanaugh answered, all I would be doing is demonstrating that I dont have the independence of the judiciary needed to be a good judge.

It wasnt the only instance in which Democrats tried, without success, to pin Kavanaugh down on issues he could rule on as a Supreme Court justice. California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked about a 2003 email that Kavanaugh wrote as an aide to President George W. Bush in which he suggested that legal scholars might not view the Roe vs. Wade abortion-rights decision as settled law.

Kavanaugh wrote the email in response to a proposed opinion piece that was being drafted in support of a Bush judicial nominee. Kavanaugh took issue with a line in the piece that said Roe and subsequent rulings relying on it were the settled law of the land, arguing that the statement went too far.

I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent and three current Justices on the Court would do so, Kavanaugh said in his email. The New York Times first reported the email, saying it had been provided by an unknown person.

The email has been viewed as you saying you dont think Roe is settled, Feinstein said. She asked Kavanaugh whether he believes the decision is settled law and whether he thinks it was correctly settled.

Kavanaugh said the email referred only to the opinion of legal scholars, and that he believed the draft opinion piece overstated the scholars consensus. As he did Wednesday, Kavanaugh said the abortion case is an important precedent of the Supreme Court and has been reaffirmed in the years since.

Feinstein didnt get the yes or no answer she wanted on Kavanaughs view of the correctness of Roe. As he has done time after time during the hearing, he refused to answer questions on what he contended were legal issues he might face as a judge.

Last month, Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins said after meeting with Kavanaugh that he had agreed with Chief Justice John Roberts 2005 description of Roe as settled law. Roberts made the comment during his Senate confirmation hearing.

On Wednesday, Kavanaugh told Feinstein, I said that its settled as a precedent of the Supreme Court and entitled the respect under principles of stare decisis, using the legal term for leaving past rulings intact.

With Kavanaugh having sailed through most of the first two days of the hearing unscathed, Republican senators spent a bit of time Thursday cleaning up after issues Democrats had raised.

After Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., complained that Kavanaugh wasnt directly answering questions about whether hed discussed Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation into the 2016 presidential campaign with anyone connected with Trump, committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley stepped in with his own version of the question.

Did you make any pre-commitments or offer any hints, previews, forecasts, winks, nods or secret handshakes to the president, the vice president, the White House lawyer or anyone else in the administration or anyone at all about if and how you would rule on any matter related in any way to Special Counsel Robert Muellers current investigations? asked Grassley, R-Iowa.

No, I have not, Kavanaugh said.

Thursdays 12-plus-hour hearing is the last time Kavanaugh will be directly questioned by the senators. The hearing continues Friday with testimony from witnesses supporting or opposing the nomination.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@jfwildermuth
SACRAMENTO  The state Department of Motor Vehicles incorrectly registered 23,000 people to vote, including putting the wrong political party and vote-by-mail preferences for those Californians, the embattled agency said.

The DMV, which has been criticized for excessive wait times in its offices despite millions in new funding, said Wednesday that the erroneous voter registration data were sent to the California secretary of state between April 23 and Aug. 5.

It said the errors occurred when DMV technicians had more than one customer record open on a computer at the same time, causing those records to merge. Updated software and staff training will prevent the mistake from occurring again, DMV officials said.

The errors also included signing people up to vote who did not register and putting the wrong language preference. The DMV said none of the errors involved undocumented immigrants, who are eligible to sign up for drivers licenses.

Affected customers will be sent letters noting the DMVs error and how to correct it, the agency said.

We are committed to getting this right and are working closely with the secretary of states office to correct the errors that occurred, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto said in a statement.

The revelation brought immediate criticism from Republican lawmakers who have chided the DMV during Capitol hearings on excessive wait times. A Republican-backed proposal to investigate the DMV was killed by Democrats during a legislative audit committee hearing Aug. 8.

Officials in the department sent a status report to lawmakers Wednesday saying their wait times are down 30 minutes statewide.

The voter registration errors, which the department discovered Aug. 5, were not made public until Wednesday.

It is one thing to wait in long lines, but quite another and even more troubling, to walk in to the DMV registered in one party to walk out registered in another, said Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno. We have had similar complaints from Central Valley residents who have contacted my office. I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Something is being covered up that must be found, disclosed and fixed. The DMV cannot be trusted to police itself.

Voters can check their registration status and make changes at https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez
Most people who stumble upon areas like San Franciscos Glen Canyon Park or Billy Goat Hill see an escape from a bustling downtown  a scenic running path, a patch of grass friendly to dogs or a spot to unwind.

But some Diamond Heights residents have begun to view such areas as tinder boxes, where a spark from a discarded cigarette or the unpermitted use of fire pits could take hold on a windy night, spit into the surrounding neighborhood, and level homes and take lives as the Wine Country fires did last year in Santa Rosa.

We realize most fires could be put out by the Fire Department, but on a really windy day or night, a fire could spread really quickly, said Betsy Eddy, who lives next to Glen Canyon Park and is the co-coordinator for Resilient Diamond Heights, a neighborhood association focused on community safety planning.

Though fire officials say such devastation in San Francisco is unlikely, District Eight Supervisor Rafael Mandelman will hold a public meeting Saturday during which representatives from the fire, police and emergency management departments plan to address residents concerns.

Community groups such as Resilient Diamond Heights, the Diamond Heights Community Association and the Glen Park Association are asking the city to give more attention to the risk in and around Glen Canyon Park, Billy Goat Hill, Walter Haas Playground and the Upper Douglass Dog Play Area. In other parts of town, residents have expressed concern about Stern Grove, Mount Davidson and Mount Sutro.

We see across the state that California is burning ... so it is a particularly urgent topic, said Erin Mundy, a legislative aide to Mandelman. While San Francisco may not have the same climate and environment as a place like Sonoma (County), fire danger is real.

Fear of wildfires hitting urban areas has grown as California experiences some of its most extreme fire behavior. The two fires known as the Mendocino Complex recently grew into the largest blaze in California history.

Eddy said Resilient Diamond Heights started inquiring about fire danger last year, before the Tubbs Fire swept across the dense Coffey Park and Fountaingrove neighborhoods in Santa Rosa and subdivisions in Larkfield-Wikiup just to the north. The devastation in those urban areas only heightened their concern.

Walking through Glen Canyon on a recent afternoon, Eddy pointed out things that made her nervous: heavy brush along trails, dead branches and dried-out grass that was cut down but not removed, and fire pits where she said kids might stoke up bonfires at night.

Were asking for more fire mitigation in our neighborhood parks, and also for the city to do more to alert people that evacuation in a fire might be necessary, Eddy said. She worries fires could come from a variety of sources, such as an earthquake, gas leak or cigarette butt.

Fire meeting Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Resilient Diamond Heights and Diamond Heights Community Association will hold a public meeting on fire mitigation at 2 p.m. Saturday at the San Francisco Police Academy Community Room, 350 Amber Drive. See More Collapse

But Capt. Mary Tse, a fire inspector for the Fire Departments Division of Fire Prevention and Investigation, said residents have little to worry about.

I know they see how there are a lot of fires up north, where they destroyed towns, Tse said. But the thing is that our terrain is still not the same. San Francisco is considered very low-risk. We do have wildland areas, but not what its like up north.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire, considers the risk in areas such as Mount Sutro, Glen Canyon and Billy Goat Hill to be moderate  the agencys lowest rating, according to the Fire Hazard Severity Zone Map.

What protects much of San Franciscos forested area is the citys famed fog, said Jake Sigg, a conservation chairman of the local chapter of the California Native Plants Society. While walking on Mount Davidson on a recent afternoon, he said, one area was so muddy from fog that he had to be careful not to slip.

Still, the city is under pressure to minimize the chance of disaster. In 2015, Supervisor Norman Yee called a hearing of the Board of Supervisors Government Audit and Oversight Committee to examine how prepared the Fire Department was for brush and forest fires. Officials then outlined the extensive resources and training they can rally in the event of such a fire.

Every year, the San Francisco Park and Recreation Department  under the guidance of firefighters  does a fire abatement, ensuring that structures have 30 feet of defensible space around them, said Tamara Barak Aparton, a department spokeswoman. Workers, she said, cut or trim grass, brush and trees.

It would take a combination of factors for a big wildfire to do damage in San Francisco, with flames driven by low humidity and extremely high winds feeding on dry grass and dead trees, Sigg said. While the city is taking some precautions, he noted that the danger is likely to grow with climate change.

In the past, (fires) havent been too much of a concern for the simple reason that we have had adequate rainfall, Sigg said.

Jane Lidz, who lives next to Billy Goat Hill, worries about a fire sparking in dry brush and advancing toward her home. She said her request is simple  that the city remove more dead vegetation in the area and put up signs warning visitors of fire danger.

The city said they were doing everything they could, but theyre not, she said. My biggest concern is a fire that starts in the middle of the night from careless smoking. ... These really are fires waiting to happen.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
For the first 20 months of Donald Trumps presidency, the opposition has always been clear  Democrats and the resistance. This week, a different adversary surfaced, from within Trumps administration.

As depicted by two extraordinary journalistic pieces, including an anonymous first-person account in the New York Times, these adversaries share a theme: They are saving America from Trump.

Many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations, reads an opinion piece published Wednesday in the New York Times that the newspaper said was written by a senior official in the Trump administration.

I would know, the person wrote. I am one of them.

To be clear, ours is not the popular resistance of the left, the writer said. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous.

But we believe our first duty is to this country, and the president continues to act in a manner that is detrimental to the health of our republic, the author said.

Top administration officials are portrayed as expressing a similar type of self-styled patriotism in Washington Post reporter Bob Woodwards soon-to-be-released book, Fear. They disobey, act autonomously and try to deceive the president to save the country from its leader, Woodward writes.

Woodward, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, describes these efforts to circumvent Trump as no less than an administrative coup detat.

Just who these reported inside resisters are is unclear. The Times said it knows the identity of its anonymous author but offered no hint beyond the senior official label. And Defense Secretary James Mattis and Trump Chief of Staff John Kelly, both attributed in Fear as holding contemptuous views of their boss, denied in statements that Woodwards portrayal of their words and actions is accurate. Mattis called it fiction, and Kelly said Fear is a pathetic attempt to smear people close to Trump.

Trump attacked the accounts as baseless. He dismissed Woodwards book as a work of fiction and the Times op-ed piece as gutless. If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once! he tweeted.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the writer of the Times piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States. This coward should do the right thing and resign.

This weeks pieces show White House aides taking extraordinary steps to keep Trump from following through on what are portrayed as unstable impulses. The Times writer says officials have gone to great lengths to keep bad decisions contained to the West Wing, though they are clearly not always successful.

Woodward reports that former economic adviser Gary Cohn stole a draft of a letter from Trumps desk that proposed withdrawing the United States from a trade deal with South Korea. Top advisers reportedly feared that if the agreement went through, it could lead to a series of events that could cripple the U.S. capacity to detect a missile launch from North Korea.

According to Woodward, Cohn said, I stole it off his desk. ... I wouldnt let him see it. Hes never going to see that document. Got to protect the country.

One conservative critic of Trump cautioned that such resistance, if in fact it exists, is hardly reassuring.

The Times writer risks plunging the government of the United States into even more dangerous turmoil, wrote David Frum, a former speech writer in the George W. Bush White House and author of Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic. He or she has enflamed the paranoia of the president and empowered the presidents willfulness.

In a piece in the Atlantic, Frum added, What happens the next time a staffer seeks to dissuade the president from, say, purging the Justice Department to shut down the (special counsel Robert) Mueller investigation? The author of the Times op-ed has explicitly told the president that those who offer such advice do not have the presidents best interests at heart, and are, in fact, actively subverting his best interests as he understands them on behalf of ideas of their own.

Trump will grow more defiant, more reckless, more anti-constitutional, and more dangerous, Frum wrote.

One problem with the Times piece is that its impossible to evaluate how important it is without knowing how high up the author is. There are hundreds of people at the WH who think theyre senior officials, tweeted former Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer. If its a career official, or even a disenchanted, mid-level political appointee, its not such a big deal.

Steve Schmidt, a longtime Republican strategist who left the party this year, said nothing will change until more Republicans disgruntled with Trump publicly oppose him.

Few Republicans  save for those soon leaving public office such as Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee  counter him, fearful of incurring the wrath of Trumps attacks on Twitter and those of his supporters at the ballot box. Even people who have left the administration unceremoniously dont cross Trump.

Who will step forward? Schmidt said on MSNBC. We need someone in the public to tell the truth.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
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To the left of the entrance to the Lower Presidio Historic Park near downtown Monterey, tucked neatly by the off-ramp from Lighthouse Avenue, is a tiny, inconspicuous shaded oak grove that is one of the most significant plots of land in all of California. Its there in 1602 that Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino and his men gathered for the first Catholic Mass on California soil.

At the behest of the Spanish viceroy in Mexico, Vizcaino led three ships from Acapulco on a mission to find a suitable harbor on the intimidating and uncharted coast of Alta California for merchant ships crossing the Pacific. After six months, he and his crew entered Monterey Bay and ventured ashore, sparking the European colonization that would define California for centuries to come.

The 25-acre Lower Presidio, owned by the U.S. Army and maintained by the city, straddles downtown Monterey and Cannery Row. At its center is the Presidio Museum. Behind it, at the top of the hill, stands the massive Sloat Monument, topped with an eagle looking out toward the ocean. Closer to bustling Lighthouse Avenue is a smaller monument to Californias ubiquitously memorialized figure, Father Junipero Serra. Road access is iffy, and getting there by foot requires a bit of enterprise. But the views and wide-open grasslands are worth the effort.

Today, the spot where Vizcaino landed and first held Mass is marked by a modest stone plaque on one side and a larger Celtic cross on the other. Visitors exiting the park typically zoom past without a glance.

Oh, its a big deal, says Monterey city historian Dennis Copeland of that small plot of land. Its not only where Monterey was actually founded, but its really where California began as well.

Monterey provides a dizzying number of points of entry into Californias history, depending on what era youre interested in.

It was here, for example, in 1849 at Colton Hall, that Californias first constitution was drafted and adopted, paving the way for statehood. Just a few years earlier, during the Mexican-American War, U.S. Navy Commodore John D. Sloat raised the American flag over California for the first time at the Monterey Custom House. Earlier still, in 1770, Serra and Gaspar de Portola arrived from the Spanish outpost in San Diego and, equipped with Vizcainos journals, came ashore at the same spot, found what they believed to be the same oak tree to hold their own Mass and established the northernmost outpost of the Spanish Empire in the New World.

The history is so multilayered that it can be difficult to keep it straight  which is how Tim Thomas stays busy. The former historian and curator for the Monterey Maritime Museum is the author of several books on Montereys history and leads regular tours of the area, including the Lower Presidio, the Monterey Wharf and Cannery Row.

IF YOU GO Historian and tour guide Tim Thomas hops through the centuries with a monthly tour of the Lower Presidio (the third Saturday of every month) and Monterey Wharf (the first Saturday), along with occasional tours of Cannery Row. The two-hour tours are $20 per person. Contact Thomas at timsardine@yahoo.com for details. See More Collapse

Thomas meets me near the entrance to the Presidio of Monterey Museum, which features exhibits on the military history of the area. He gazes out at a meadow in the middle distance.

They were camped on this flat area, Thomas says of Vizcainos 1602 expedition. We dont know that for sure, but its my belief that they did. We had a plumber come in years ago, and he kept running across these underground springs. And one of the things that Vizcaino kept complaining about (in his journal) was how these springs would keep popping up while they were trying to put up their tents.

(Vizcaino) would have been anchored out there just beyond the breakwater, he says, standing on the grassy bluff, gesturing out toward the Monterey Wharf. Thomas points to several rock outcroppings at our feet where small human-made indentations provide evidence that the native Rumsien people had settled this area and might have seen Vizcainos ships arrive. The Rumsien were among the indigenous Ohlone peoples who had lived in the area for thousands of years.

Imagine if you were a native person, says Thomas, standing beside a model of Vizcainos vessel at the Presidio of Monterey Museum, and you wake up one morning, step out of your tule house and see one of these ships out in the water there. For you and me, it would be like a UFO landing in the backyard.

Thomas gets most of his information about the expedition from Vizcainos own accounts of the landing. It was December and very cold here, he says. He points toward an anemic stream to the south. In 1602, what is now called Junipero Serra Creek would have had enough water in it to allow Vizcainos men to paddle their longboats inland.

Vizcaino was not the first European to set foot on the continents west coast; 23 years earlier, the Englishman Sir Francis Drake had landed near what is now Point Reyes. But, despite naming the new land New Albion, neither Drake nor the British ever returned to California.

Vizcaino and his men spent about two weeks on the ground in Monterey, marveling at the water and wildlife and enjoying relatively amiable relations with the natives. Vizcaino created a detailed account of the experience, then sailed back to Mexico. Incredibly, the Europeans didnt visit the area again for 168 years. When they did return, they came with a plan. In 1770, the Spanish colonization of Northern California began in earnest.

This year, Monterey partnered with the nonprofit Old Monterey Foundation to create new paved pathways and interpretive signage to both monuments in an effort to make the park more appealing to visitors. There are also plans for an information kiosk. And later, said city historian Copeland, the sites decrepit horse stables  which in the early 20th century boarded the horses of the U.S. Cavalry  will be renovated as an interpretive history exhibit.

This fall, the city will celebrate the bicentennial of whats known as the Battle of Monterey, an attack by an Argentine privateer on Spanish fortifications, believed to be the first and only land-sea battle on the West Coast and yet another claim on significant local history at the Lower Presidio.

Theres a story that the Rumsien people told each other in the long Spanish absence between the Vizcaino and the Portola expeditions. The story goes that a whale was swimming up from the south to Monterey, says Thomas, the Pacific sparkling in the afternoon light behind him. Somewhere around Santa Barbara, it swallows a man. The whale continues north, but when it gets close to Monterey, it begins to feel sick. Well, the whale comes into the harbor here and he gets so sick, he spits out the man on the beach over where the wharf is today. The story goes that when the whale swallowed the man, he was brown. And when he spits him on the beach, the man is white. And that, the story goes, is how white people came to Monterey.
Over the last few years, California wineries have gotten used to freakishly irregular harvest seasons. Drought and heat have forced extraordinarily early picking; wildfire has threatened entire regions. But somehow, despite all the chaos that natural disasters have brought over the last 12 months, the 2018 harvest is off to a slow, steady and largely undramatic start.

Whereas in a crazy-early year like 2015 some winemakers were harvesting grapes at the end of July, this year many winemakers have still not begun harvesting, and its September. Thats mostly due to the fact that grapevines experienced budbreak  the beginning point of the growing season  later than usual this year. Then we had a cool August, which slowed ripening.

Having an even growing season, without the heat spikes or spring rain, has been a gift, Julie Lumgair, winemaker for J. Moss, Valley of the Moon and Lake Sonoma, told me. Barring a big heat spike  of the sort that hit California over Labor Day weekend last year  Lumgair believes these could be the most naturally balanced wines in a number of vintages.

So far, the vintage looks more classic with the cool weather, said Drake Whitcraft of Whitcraft Winery in Santa Barbara. But the grapes are confused, I think, after five to six years of drought and heat, and there is a lot of disparity in ripeness. Some clusters are looking fully ripe, while nearby grapes are still in the midst of veraison, changing color from green to red.

In Paso Robles, the timing of harvest looks more similar to 2011  a very cold year with rain and frost at all the wrong times  than to any of the warmer vintages since. Yet we had the hottest July on record here in Paso, said Halter Ranch associate winemaker Molly Lonborg. The extreme heat may have actually shut the grapevines down, inhibiting ripening. Although this year the weather pattern is much different, it looks like we may be harvesting around the same time as 2011, she said.

A longer, later harvest season can be a really good thing in terms of wine quality: The longer the grapes hang on the vines, the more their flavors can develop. Intensely flavored grapes without sky-high sugar levels is the holy grail of winemaking. Of course, pushing harvest later into the fall can also tempt rain and rot  and, these days, any number of other unforeseen disasters.

Lumgair is cautiously optimistic. Truly holding my breath with each day on calendar until its all off at end of October, she said.

Where Im drinking

Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle

I hadnt been to Club Waziema in a couple of years when I read Emma Silvers latest Drink Up column. The piece reminded me why this Ethiopian dive bar on Divisadero St. is so inviting: the combination of pool tables and jukebox music with traditional Ethiopian honey wine and spongy injera. Until reading Emmas story, I never knew the history of the space, which was once a legendary jazz club that hosted James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Billie Holiday and others. She paints a beautiful portrait of a unique San Francisco gem.

What Im drinking

Lou Bustamantes profile of Moonlight Brewing made me reflect on the Santa Rosa brewery, which may be the quietest (and the most underrated?) of the Bay Areas many outstanding craft beer producers. Owner-brewer Brian Hunt never does the flashy thing or the trendy thing, and for 26 years hes been making a largely unchanged lineup of beers, including black lager Death & Taxes. Id never tried that beer until I moved to California, and the first time I tried it was really only because I loved its clever name. But to me, its one of the most distinctive Bay Area beers: richly mocha-driven but refreshing and bright. Theres nothing else like it.

What Im reading

Northern Californias most unruly American Viticultural Area, the Sonoma Coast, may soon be getting some long-awaited definition if the West Sonoma Coast is approved as a sub-AVA. In Bloomberg, Elin McCoy names Hirsch, Failla, Ceritas, Peay and Littorai as some of the best producers from this would-be appellation.

There was a sense of fatigue, a well-run race nearing the end, write Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher of their visit to Stony Hill Vineyard last June. They reflect on the recent sale of the iconic Napa winery to Long Meadow Ranch, which I reported last week.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Candytopia debuted in San Francisco this week, the latest colorful attraction in Instagram bait, but our coast is still awaiting the Rose Mansion, which opened in New York earlier this summer, complete with scratch-and-sniff walls and bathtubs full of rose petals.

Sign Up for the Newsletter Want to get the wine world in your inbox every week? Subscribe to Drinking with Esther. See More Collapse

Also in New York: a feminist-themed beer hall is opening two doors down from the new Playboy Club, a 14,000-square foot blockbuster.

Sad news: Barolo master Giuseppe Beppe Rinaldi died last weekend at age 69. He was opinionated and deeply principled, known as il citrico, or the acidic one, and wine lovers around the world are mourning the loss of his stubbornly traditional approach to winemaking. I never met Rinaldi, but was thrilled on the few occasions I was lucky enough to taste his wines. Heres Walter Spellers remembrance.

If my colleague Jonathan Kauffmans piece on how Koichi Ishii makes soba by hand every morning in Oakland doesnt leave you with an unbearable noodle craving, well, I cant help you.

P.S. Ill be on the faculty again at the 2019 Wine Writers Symposium in Napa Valley. If youre a wine writer (or even a food or travel writer!), consider applying for a fellowship to attend the symposium.

Drinking with Esther is a weekly newsletter from The Chronicles wine critic. Follow along on Twitter: @Esther_Mobley and Instagram: @esthermob
The city of Berkeley said no, for a second and final time, to an attempt to use a contentious new state law to build a 260-unit housing complex, with half the units affordable, on Fourth Street.

In a letter to property owner Dana Ellsworth on Tuesday, Berkeley Planning Director Timothy Burroughs said the project proposed for 1900 Fourth St. does not qualify for SB35. The state law overrides the city process, granting over-the-counter approval to developments that are at least 50% affordable. The city argued that invoking SB35 for this project would violate the state constitution, which allows cities to protect landmarked areas. Even without the constitutional issue, the project would not comply with local rules around affordability and traffic, and could demolish a historic structure, making it ineligible for the state law, Burroughs said.
Each year we hear about the headaches and gripes related to Burning Man, and yet roughly 70,000 participants make the trek to the Black Rock Desert each year. For those that have never been, the rationale behind setting up camp outside of Gerlach, Nevada for a week can be a bit of a mystery. But a "Doc Team" of volunteer photographers and videographers tries to demystify the event for the uninitiated and chronicle it for those who want to relive the memories.

Professional photographer Sidney Erthal is one of those photographers. He attended his 14th burn this year and is co-creator of the best-selling photo coffee table book Burning Man Art on Fire. He has provided SFGATE with photographs of the event in the past, and shared many of his best 2018 shots in the gallery above.

The Brazilian-born Erthal found his way to California to study English. After earning a degree in tourism, he "accidentally" ended up in Sausalito, where he had the opportunity to meet people who introduced him to the art of photography.

One of the principles of Burning Man is to welcome everyone, Erthal noted. He hopes sharing his photos will help acculturate prospective participants about what to expect from the event. The art theme of this year's burn was "I, Robot," which focuses on the many forms of artificial intelligence that permeate our lives.

Burning Man Doc Team photographer Jane Hu contributed her photographs as well this year.

"This was my 9th year on the playa," said Hu. "I first started hearing about Burning Man well before that, but it took a few years for me to get over my initial preconceived notions of the event. With the help of some amazing friends, I made the first trip in 2010 and have been heading back there ever since."

"I try to go into each year with a different perspective in mind. This year I kept the word "transition" in my head and focused on experiences that better allowed me to process some major life transitions, experiences like flying over Burning Man to see the scale and temporary nature of what we all built together," added Hu. "The art is new, the interactions are new, even the weather conditions are new. Not to mention every year, despite my attempts to see as much as I can, I probably only cover a single digit percentage of what there is to experience."

______________

Douglas Zimmerman is the Online Photo Editor of SFGATE and oversees SFGATE's Instagram. View his latest stories and send him news tips at dzimmerman@sfgate.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.
WASHINGTON  The internets most infamous right-wing conspiracy theorist was doing his best robot through the hallway of a staid Senate office building.

Beep beep beep beep  I am a Russian bot, the provocateur, Alex Jones, mimed Wednesday, his arms outstretched, his body spinning in circles. Beep beep. I am a Russian bot in the Capitol.

Dozens of protesters roamed Capitol Hill on Wednesday to disrupt the second day of confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trumps nominee to the Supreme Court.

But Jones was on hand to cast a shadow over a different show  a pair of marquee congressional hearings scrutinizing the influence two of the nations largest technology companies, Facebook and Twitter.

It was quite a performance, even for the incendiary Jones, whose website, Infowars, has peddled theories that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, that Hillary Clinton is a demon, and that Democrats run a global child-sex ring. He tussled with the police, wandered in and out of the hearing room, thrusting a smartphone up in the air to film the proceedings. For nearly an hour, he inveighed against Democrats and mainstream news outlets that he said were slandering him, sweating through his blue oxford shirt.

When Sen. Marco Rubio, the pugnacious Florida Republican, stepped out of the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing to speak with reporters, Jones honed in. Rubio launched into a discussion of the risks of authoritarian governments abusing social media platforms.

But what about the Democrats purging conservatives? Jones cut in. Hes not answering. Republicans are acting like it isnt happening. Thank God Trump is.

A bewildered Rubio rolled his eyes. Hes weird, he said, asking aloud who Jones was  a question that appeared designed to irk Jones.

Then Jones patted Rubio on the shoulder.

Dont touch me again, man, Rubio said. Im asking you not to touch me.

Jones asked if the senator would have him arrested.

Youre not going to get arrested, Rubio continued. Ill take care of you myself.

Oh, hell beat me up. He doesnt know who I am, but he is so mad, Jones said with excitement. You are not going to silence me. You are not going to silence America. You are literally like a little gangster thug. Rubio just threatened to silence me.

The senator walked away and the show went on.

For Jones, the appearance of top Facebook and Twitter executives was personal enough to bring his trolling out of the dark corners of the internet and into the halls of the House and Senate.

In early August, Facebook and YouTube banned Jones and Infowars from their platforms, sending traffic to the website tumbling. Since then, he has led an on-air crusade against the companies, pointedly accusing them of an unfounded campaign to suppress conservative speech.

I am here to face my accusers one way or another, he declared to a bank of cameras just outside a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where Sheryl Sandberg, Facebooks chief operating officer, and Jack Dorsey, the chief executive of Twitter, faced questions from senators about how to combat foreign influence campaigns on their platforms. Jones urged lawmakers either to block the companies from banning users or to simply break the companies up.

The real election meddling is by Facebook and Google and others that are shadow banning people, Jones bellowed. They are outright banning people and they are blocking conservatives involved in their own First Amendment political speech.

Neither Jones nor Infowars actually earned a mention inside the Senates hearing room, as lawmakers debated how to combat the influence of foreign powers like Russia to influence the American political process. But later in the day, as House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee pressed Dorsey on what they called Twitters censorship of conservative political figures and viewpoints, Jones arguments appeared to have more resonance.

Jack Posobiec, an ally of Jones, microphone in hand, repeatedly conducted interviews with Jones. He complained about being barred from testifying. Other allies were on hand, armed with rolling cellphone video, including Laura Loomer, a member of the undercover conservative group Project Veritas, and Charles Johnson, a right-wing internet provocateur.

Loomer made her own attempt to halt the proceedings, standing up in the House hearing room to publicly accuse Dorsey of lying about censoring conservatives.

You are censoring conservatives, and I am asking you, President Donald Trump, to help us, she shouted, bringing the hearing to a sharp halt.

Rep. Billy Long, R-Mo., a certified auctioneer, quickly stepped in with a fast-paced patter in an attempt to drown out Loomer until the police could remove her from the hearing room.

Earlier, as he waited with a large gaggle of reporters trying to intercept Sandberg and Dorsey outside the Senate hearing room, Jones sounded pleased with what he had pulled off.

Its kind of fun to get out of the studio, he said to his entourage. Now when they have these hearings, I am going to show up.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times
Two of the three men accused of murdering a 20-year-old man off the Coquihalla Highway in the spring of 2017 remain in custody, while the third is out on bail as they await trial.

Michael Bonin's body was found on Peers Creek Road, just east of Hope, on April 20, 2017. Almost nine months later, 27-year-old Jared Jorgenson, 26-year-old Ryan Watt and 20-year-old Joshua Fleurant were arrested and charged with Bonin's murder.

Bonin's mother Annette says her son and Fleurant had been friends since they were 13, but she didn't know Jorgenson or Watt.

In June, Jorgenson was released from custody on $35,000 bail, with a curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The Crown is seeking a direct indictment in the case, which would see the case proceed directly to a Supreme Court trial, skipping the usual preliminary inquiry that requires the Crown show it has a strong enough case to proceed.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Colin Forsyth told Justice Cathaline Heinrichs the assistant deputy attorney general is still reviewing the matter, and has requested more information. A direct indictment, a rare move, must be approved by the attorney general.

If the direct indictment is not approved, a preliminary inquiry could take several weeks.

The case was put over to Sept. 27 when the Crown expects to have a decision from the assistant deputy attorney general. From there, preliminary inquiry or trial dates can be scheduled.
A federal judge in San Francisco has signed off on a $480 million settlement in a class-action shareholder lawsuit over Wells Fargos unauthorized-accounts scandal.

The deal, granted preliminary approval late Tuesday, would compensate Wells Fargo & Co. shareholders for losses they suffered after the bank in 2016 acknowledged it had created perhaps millions of accounts without customers authorization.

Shareholders, including lead plaintiff Union Asset Management, sued for securities fraud, arguing that executives had inflated the banks stock price by claiming for years that Wells Fargo was a leader in the practice known as cross-selling  getting customers to sign up for numerous accounts and services.

Executives continued to tout the practice, the defendants argued, even after it became clear that aggressive sales goals and quotas were corrupting, rather than reinforcing, Wells Fargos purported corporate values and cross-selling business model.

The company and plaintiffs reached a settlement deal in May. Wells Fargo at the time said it had set aside funds to pay the settlement, though it denied shareholders allegations and said it agreed to the deal to avoid the cost and disruption of further litigation.

Bank spokesman Ancel Martinez said Wednesday that putting the case to rest is in the best interest of the banks employees, shareholders and customers.

We are making strong progress in our work to rebuild trust, and this represents another step forward, he said.

Its not clear how big a payout individual Wells Fargo shareholders might get. Now that the deal has been granted preliminary approval, shareholders will have the chance to file claims.

The settlement is open to anyone who bought Wells Fargo stock between Feb. 26, 2014, and Sept. 20, 2016. During that period, Wells Fargo shares traded for as much as $53. In the following weeks, shares bottomed out at about $41.

Shares have since recovered, closing at . But Wells Fargo has underperformed compared with other banks. Since October 2016, Wells Fargo shares have climbed 43 percent, while an index of bank stocks has risen 57 percent.

Lead plaintiff Union Asset, a German investment management firm, estimated that there could be tens of thousands of eligible participants.

Attorneys in the case say they may request fees of much as $96 million, and $3.2 million more will go to cover administration costs. That will leave about $380 million for affected shareholders.

This is the second major class-action settlement the bank has agreed to in the wake of its unauthorized-accounts scandal. In May, a different federal judge signed off on a $142 million settlement that will pay an average of $35 to bank customers who paid improper fees or were otherwise harmed by the banks practices.

Wells Fargo continues to deal with the fallout over unauthorized accounts, including numerous inquiries  internal and external  about the banks practices prompted by the scandal.

Last year, the bank acknowledged it had forced auto-loan borrowers to pay for unnecessary insurance policies and charged improper fees to some mortgage borrowers.

Citing those practices, regulators in April slapped the bank with a $1 billion penalty, one of the largest levied against a U.S. bank that was not related to the financial crisis. Still, all the fines, penalties and settlements dont amount to much for the bank, which has reported profits of $11.1 billion in the first half of this year alone.

Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve ordered the bank to stop growing while it worked to improve its corporate governance for what the central bank called widespread consumer abuses and other compliance breakdowns.

Executives had hoped to be out from under that order sometime this year but have since said the penalty will continue into 2019.

John James, director emeritus of Pace Universitys Center for Global Governance, Reporting and Regulation, said that even if the settlement and other penalties havent dented Wells Fargos bottom line, the steady stream of bad news and the increased regulatory scrutiny have likely been enough to push the bank to clean up its act.

He cited the banks Re-Established ad campaign, which seeks to improve its reputation with consumers.

Hopefully, with the changes theyve made at the top, there will be an incredible new emphasis on toeing the line, with the understanding that every regulatory agency, state federal and local, will be looking over their shoulder, James said.

James Rufus Koren is a Los Angeles Times writer.
The city of Santa Rosa is offering local artists the opportunity to create original artistic installations related to the 2017 Wine Country Fires, the constellation of devastating wildfires that killed at least 44 people and left thousands of homes charred beyond return.

The city will be granting artists up to $4,000 to create and install their projects, which are required to be in public spaces. The projects can be in public view for as a little as one day, or as long as three months.

Tara Thompson, arts coordinator for the city of Santa Rosa, said artists began reaching out to her shortly after the city went into "recovery phase" from the fires. Many of them wanted to donate artwork or propose installations that could help the community heal, but there wasn't yet an infrastructure to do so.

In November and December 2017, during its annual planning process, the arts program decided to allocate a total of $20,000 toward wildfire-related artistic installations. The plans to do so have just been approved by the arts committee.

There will be two rounds for this project, Thompson said. Applications for the first round must be received by Sept. 26 in order for projects to be installed between October and December 2018.

A panel will review the proposals and decide on the projects to be granted funding.

Thompson said the public element of the project is integral to the mission of the city's art program. It's a way for everyone to have access, particularly those who don't have the funds to spend on a visit to a museum.

More details on the project can be found here.

Read Annie Vainshtein's latest stories here. Email her at avainshtein@sfchronicle.com or follow her on Twitter at @annievain.
[UPDATE #2 Monday, Sept 10: These low fares have been reinstated, with many in the $297 range. Snap em up!

UPDATE #1 Sept 5: 10:20 pm Thurs Sept 6: Fares listed in this post have expired. Lowest roundtrip fares are now in the $350 range, but stay tuned for more sales by signing up for the TravelSkills newsletter]

As the imminent and disruptive arrival of Southwest Airlines to the Hawaiian Islands gets closer, already established airlines are getting a little bonkers as they jockey for position. They want you to get your Hawaii fix in before Southwest's big announcement expected in November. And that's good news for travelers.

Just this week we are seeing a bunch of new super-low fares pop up. The current batch is good for trips in September, so if you are interested, now's the time to jump.

Today's deal: Rare sub-$300 fares from Bay Area airports (and many others up and down the US west coast). According to this Google Flights search, you can fly round trip from SFO, Oakland or San Jose to several islands for just $297 round trip on airlines such as United, Hawaiian and Alaska Air. (Note: Fares available on Thurs Sept 6 and subject to change.)

Some airlines have been offering award seats for fewer miles during the slower fall season to Hawaii, so if you have a big bank, check those, too.

The catch: You have to travel this month- September. This is typically a slower time for flying to Hawaii because kids are back in school. And with all the recent news about hurricanes, flowing lava and floods, demand has clearly taken a hit.

But don't fret if you miss this one as there are bound to be more. If you are interested in going to Hawaii this fall or winter, be sure to set up fare alerts on sites like Google Flights, Skyscanner or Kayak to keep apprised of the Hawaii sale fares airlines will surely dangle in front of us in coming months. You should also sign up for our free bi-weekly TravelSkills newsletter, which includes news about fare sales like this. You can sign up for the newsletter right here.

Will you consider a trip to Hawaii this year? How low will fares have to go to entice you? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here

Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.
Courtesy of the Santa Cruz Police Department

A police officer was injured while arresting a criminal suspect in Santa Cruz after a passing vehicle crashed into a patrol car Wednesday, officials said.

Officers with the Concord Police Department pulled their vehicles over at Ocean Street and Broadway in Santa Cruz when they recognized a suspect with a felony arrest warrant in connection with an ongoing criminal investigation, the department said in a statement.
A woman who was walking on 5th Street near Market was stabbed by another woman in an apparently unprovoked attack on Wednesday, a witness told The Chronicle.

Valentin Wong, 37, said he saw one woman appear to punch another woman as both were walking toward one another at around 5:15 p.m.

It looked like a regular punch, but apparently she was stabbed, Wong said. There was a lot of blood. It was vicious.

Police confirmed it was a stabbing.

Police rushed to the area to aid the victim, who had a wound in her collarbone area and was sitting against a window of the Nordstrom at 5th and Market. She was taken to a hospital by ambulance conscious and alert. Her condition was unknown.

Wong said the suspect was arguing with a man as they walked along 5th Street and the victim was walking with friends  and as the two groups were about to pass one another, the stabbing occurred with one single strike.

Wong said the suspect kept walking, yelling words that he could not understand. The victim sat on the brick sidewalk as witnesses crowded around, asking if she was OK.

It was senseless, Wong said.

Wong and other witnesses helped identify the suspect, who was apprehended just down the street on Market.

San Francisco police public information officer Grace Gatpandan said police are investigating the circumstances leading up to the attack. Gatpandan did not release the name of the suspect.

Police cleared he scene just before 6 p.m. and dropped bleach on a pool of blood on the sidewalk.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
Chantelle Deacon

It's a place where new mothers or mothers-to-be can release some stress and get in a workout, while enjoying time with other ladies and their babies.

MOGA Moms is new to Vernon and on Wednesday many women came out to enjoy the first class.

"We do prenatal yoga as well as mom and baby yoga," said Leah Green, instructor, MOGA Moms. "Babies that are six weeks postpartum to pre-crawling."

"It's a really nice bonding time for mom and baby and gets them all out of the house which is most important as well as just moving their body."

The classes just started in Vernon but have proved to be popular in many cities across the province and even the country, especially in Kelowna.

The owner of MOGA Moms, Amy Rauscher, says mission is to ensure that every mama has the community she so rightly deserves.

"We do a lot of work to regain the core strength after having a baby, pelvic floor and just moving," said Green. "It's nice to move after you have a baby."

"While I was pregnant I had two great pregnancies and really smooth births. I really think that prenatal yoga had a lot to do with that and then postpartum as well, getting out of the house with my second baby was so helpful."

The affordable yoga classes have partnered with TakeCare Kits to support moms in need of community support.

A portion of proceeds goes directly to support this charity and their mission.

For more information on MOGA Moms visit their website.
A repeat auto burglar found guilty of killing a Chihuahua during a car break-in at a seven-story downtown San Francisco parking garage this year was given a three-year prison sentence Thursday.

Wakeen La La Best, 34, lashed out at San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charles Crompton, who handed down the sentence, calling him an idiot and saying f you as she was remanded into custody after the hearing.

Prior to sentencing, Best pleaded with the judge to let her serve part of her time at a residential drug treatment facility.

Things in this case got blown out of proportion, Best said, rambling at times. The media said things that werent true. Im not a violent person, and jail has been very hard for me.

Though she was sentenced to state prison, Best will serve her time in county jail under the states realignment law.

She had maintained her innocence since being arrested shortly after the Feb. 10 crime, but in her statement Thursday she said, When I found the animal in the car, before her attorney, Deputy Public Defender Alexandra Pray, interrupted.

A jury found Best guilty of animal cruelty, auto burglary and vandalism in July after one day of deliberation.

Best has a long criminal record, including several smash-and-grab car break-ins. Prosecutors said she has been on probation 13 times, including for a 2016 auto burglary in the same garage at Sutter and Stockton streets. A judge had issued a stay-away order from the area as part of her probation.

The most recent crime happened around 2 p.m. that February day. The owner of a white Mercedes left his small dog, Dunky, inside his vehicle on the seventh story and went to lunch in Chinatown.

While the owner was gone, Best broke into the vehicle and was confronted by the yapping animal, police said.

Prosecutors played dash-camera video from inside the car that captured audio of the break-in and later showed Best walking in front of the car.

The dog was heard frantically yelping before a voice said, shut yo ass up! Then silence, before the voice twice said bitch.

Prosecutors showed additional video of the dog plunging from the garage and smacking into the ground where it stayed, motionless.

The owner later returned from lunch to find a crowd standing around his deceased dog in the middle of Stockton Street.

I was completely shocked, because I thought there was no way this could happen, Chunan Liu said at a preliminary hearing. I had my puppys body in my hands, and I asked, What happened?

Police found blood in Lius car and on a railing 144 feet away where Dunky was apparently tossed off the seventh floor.

Attendants at the garage recognized Bests image and voice from the video. Police found her a short distance away and arrested her.

Bests attorney conceded her client was the figure captured on video walking in front of the car, but she argued someone else broke into the vehicle. Dunky, she said, could have jumped off the ledge on his own.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
Four out of six paralyzed patients who had 10 million stem cells transplanted into their spinal cords have shown striking improvement a year after treatment, including increased ability to move their hands and arms and to perform basic functions like feeding and bathing themselves, according to research results being released Monday.

All six patients in the early-stage clinical trial, conducted by Fremonts Asterias Biotherapeutics, reported at least some recovery after the stem cell transplant. The trial is among the first to use embryonic stem cells in human subjects.

Its too soon to know for sure that the stem cells were solely responsible for the patients improvement. The patients could have experienced a spontaneous recovery, which is not unheard of in spinal cord injury victims, or their improvement could be the result of intense rehabilitation.

But compared to a large group of people with similar injuries, the results among patients treated with stem cells were remarkable, said doctors and scientists involved with research.

Scientifically, I have to say we dont know for sure if its the stem cells. But Ive been treating these kinds of patients for 30 years, and Ive never seen anything like this before, said Dr. Richard Fessler, lead investigator of the Asterias trial and a professor in the department of neurosurgery at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

There are no FDA-approved treatments for spinal cord injuries, and currently patients can only improve with rehabilitation, Fessler said. This is the first time weve had reason for hope, he said.

The Asterias treatment uses embryonic stem cells that have been expanded from cells first isolated in the 1990s, from an embryo that had been made for in vitro fertilization and was later donated for scientific research. Scientists at Asterias Fremont laboratories process the stem cells to turn them into cells called oligodendrocyte precursors, which are then transplanted directly into the spinal cord with a syringe.

Oligodendrocytes are support cells that are largely responsible for building the insulation material, called myelin, that keeps nerve cells healthy and functional. In spinal cord injuries, many nerve cells are killed outright, and often the myelin on remaining cells is damaged beyond the bodys ability to repair naturally.

Without myelin, nerve cells are unable to send signals up and down the spine to control movement or sensory information in the limbs and other parts of the body. People who have suffered the most serious spinal cord injuries will not be able to move or feel anything below the point of injury.

The Asterias therapy is believed to boost healing. Studies in animals showed that the transplanted cells can repair myelin on their own, as well as release chemical agents that trigger the body to repair itself.

Earlier versions of the Asterias study  which were conducted by a Menlo Park company called Geron Corp. that later passed on the spinal cord injury research  transplanted 2 million cells into patients. That was considered a large enough amount to test whether the transplant was safe, but too small to actually help patients recover.

The newer study transplanted 10 million cells, enough to have a therapeutic effect. Another study thats still enrolling patients is transplanting 20 million cells. All patients are treated within a month or two of their injury, which is considered the optimal time to promote healing, before scar tissue begins to develop.

According to the results released Monday, 67 percent of patients  or four out of six  in the 10-million-cell study had improved by at least two motor levels in the 12 months since they were treated. In control groups made up of patients with similar injuries, 26 to 29 percent experienced two motor levels of improvement.

The patients are by no means fully recovered. But two motor levels generally means they had much better use of their hands and arms. A patient who improves two levels could go from not being able to help a caretaker dress him to being able to mostly dress himself.

That the patients were still improving a year from the transplant suggested that the stem cells were still healthy and functioning  something scientists werent sure would happen.

The bottom line is super, super exciting. Well beyond anything I thought we could have achieved at this point, said Dr. Edward Wirth, chief medical officer with Asterias.

Christopher Block, 31, couldnt lift his left arm at all and could barely raise his right arm to his chest in the first weeks after he suffered a spinal cord injury in a bicycle accident near his home in Lake Forest, Ill., in July 2016.

About a month after my stem cells, I was able to begin feeding myself, Block said. He could raise his right arm to his face, and lift his left arm a few inches off the bed.

Now more than a year after the August 2016 treatment, Block is able to get himself out of his wheelchair and change his shirts. Hes been working out and hopes to be driving and living largely independently in another year or so.

Im excited to be on the forefront of science, Block said. Im happy to be a guinea pig.

The next step in clinical research will be conducting a randomized controlled trial, which would compare patients receiving stem cell transplants to a group getting exactly the same care without stem cells. Wirth cautioned that though the new results are thrilling, its not uncommon for therapies to prove less effective when tested under more rigorous conditions.

We have sufficient confidence that were ready for a randomized controlled trial, Wirth said. What we really need now is to put our therapy to the test. If it holds up, then well be on track for (FDA) approval.

Asterias also announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had granted the companys request for a special designation that is meant to speed up the research and approval process for stem cell therapies. The Regenerative Medicine and Advanced Therapy designation, which only went live this year and has been granted to five or six companies, doesnt guarantee FDA approval, but it implies that Asterias has a strong record so far.

The Asterias trials have been funded in part by a $14 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the states stem cell agency.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @erinallday
With extreme close-ups of squinting eyes, licking lips and teeth clenching cigarillos  the flicking of a lighter roaring like a raging forest fire, Let the Corpses Tan snarls with so much style its too cool for its own good.

A smorgasbord of double- and triple-crosses among a gang of thieves set in dusty desolation, the film by married filmmakers Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani harks back to Italian exploitation films of the 1970s and, before that, the westerns of Sergio Leone.

In reaching into the past in their cinematic time machine, the directors have brought back everything except story and substance. And the distinctive moral dilemmas faced by the characters of Leone, Fernando di Leo and others? That, too, is left to earlier eras.

Let the Corpses Tan starts on a crumbling, castle-like abode overlooking the Mediterranean Sea (the movie was filmed in Corsica). Thats where down-and-out writer Bernier (Marc Barbe) lives with the flirtatious Luce (Elina Lowensohn) and her lawyer-lover (Michelangelo Marchese).

Meawhile, thieves led by the limy Rhino (Stephane Ferrara) execute a violent gold heist and escape with the loot. They pick up a trio of hitchhikers  a sexy woman (Dorylia Calmel), her young son (Bamba Forzani Ndiaye) and nanny (Marine Sainsily). They take her to the seaside home, where the mother turns out to be Berniers wife.

It turns out that the crooks might have a connection to Luce, and the situation is complicated when two motorcycle cops (Herve Sogne, Dominique Troyes) show up and an hours-long shootout commences  against the cops, against each other, etc.

The already confusing story loses all hope of clarity as day turns to night  the second half of the movie is in near-darkness, making even the stylish visuals hard to decipher. What little interest you have in the characters is effectively extinguished as well.

This is the second stylish, French-language action movie to open in Bay Area theaters in the last few months. Coralie Fargeats far superior Revenge is available for streaming.

Let the Corpses Tan Action. With Elina Lowensohn, Stephane Ferrara, Bernie Bonvoisin. Directed by Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani. (Not rated. 32 minutes.) See More Collapse

Cest la vie.

G. Allen Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ajohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BRfilmsAllen
The New York state attorney general has issued subpoenas to all eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state as part of a sweeping civil investigation into whether institutions covered up allegations of sexual abuse of children by priests, officials said Thursday.

At the same time, authorities in New Jersey created a task force to begin a similar investigation.

The announcement by the two states comes several weeks after an explosive Pennsylvania grand jury report detailed the abuse of more than 1,000 children by hundreds of priests over decades.

Barbara Underwood, the attorney general of New York, also said its criminal division wanted to work with local district attorneys to investigate these matters and, if warranted, prosecute any individuals who have committed criminal offenses that fall within the applicable statutes of limitations. In New York state, the attorney general cannot convene a grand jury itself to investigate.

Underwood also urged victims and anyone who knows about clergy sex abuse in the state to contact her office through a new hotline.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover-ups in the dioceses, Underwood said in a statement. Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well  and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve.

Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said that all of the dioceses in the state would cooperate with the subpoenas.

It is not a surprise to us that the attorney general would look to begin a civil investigation, and she will find the Archdiocese of New York, and the other seven dioceses in the state, ready and eager to work together with her in the investigation, he said. Since 2002, the archdiocese has shared with the states 10 district attorneys all information they have sought concerning allegations of sexual abuse of minors.

Underwoods action represents the first statewide investigation of sexual abuse and potential cover up by the Roman Catholic Church in New York. Several district attorneys offices in the state have investigated abuses within single dioceses, but those investigations took place more than a decade ago.

Sharon Otterman is a New York Times writer.
Moving to bypass restrictions on the detention of migrant families in federal custody, the Trump administration introduced Thursday a regulation that would upend a federal court settlement that requires such families to be released after 20 days.

The so-called Flores settlement has become a prime target in the administrations attempt to punish migrants for crossing the border with their children as a means of deterrence. Administration officials have long believed that migrants, primarily from Central America, are bringing children to the U.S. to shield themselves from the consequences of crossing the border without permission.
WASHINGTON  One after another, President Trumps top lieutenants stepped forward Thursday to declare, Not me.

They lined up to deny writing an incendiary New York Times opinion piece that was purportedly submitted by a member of an administration resistance movement straining to thwart Trumps most dangerous impulses.

By email, by tweet and on camera, the denials paraded in from Cabinet-level officials  and even Vice President Mike Pence  apparently crafted for an audience of one, seated in the Oval Office. Senior officials in key national security and economic policy roles charged the articles writer with cowardice, disloyalty and acting against Americas interests in harsh terms that mimicked the presidents own words.

Trump was incensed about the column, calling around to confidants to vent about the author, solicit guesses as to his or her identity and fume that a deep state within the administration was conspiring against him. He ordered aides to unmask the writer, and issued an extraordinary demand that the newspaper reveal the author to the government.

As striking as the essay was the long list of officials who plausibly could have been its author. Many have privately shared some of the articles same concerns about Trump with colleagues, friends and reporters.

With such a wide circle of potential suspicion, Trumps men and women felt they had no choice but to speak out. The denials and condemnations came in from far and wide: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis denied authorship on a visit to India, Interior Secretary Ryan Zeinke from American Samoa. In Washington, the claims of not me echoed from Vice President Pences office, from Energy Secretary Rick Perry, from Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman from Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, and other Cabinet members.

The author professed to be a member of that same inner circle. So could the denials be trusted? There was no surefire way to know, and that only deepened the presidents frustrations.

On Twitter, Trump charged The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy - & they dont know what to do.

First lady Melania Trump issued a statement backing her husband. She praised the free press as important to our democracy but assailed the writer, saying, You are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.

The Beltway guessing game seeped into the White House, as current and former staffers traded calls and texts trying to figure out who could have written the piece, some turning to reporters and asking them for clues.

Zeke Miller and Jonathan Lemire are Associated Press writers.
In a major reversal, the U.S. hotel industry is prepared to launch an employee safety initiative this week, after unions coast to coast pressured major brands to give panic buttons to their workers, the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit has learned.

Top executives of at least five of the biggest American hotel brands  Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Wyndham  are scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon in Washington to unveil their plans, which will go "far beyond" the slice of hotel workers who belong to unions and will impact "hundreds of thousands" of employees, sources say.

In addition, a representative of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, launched as part of the #MeToo movement combating sexual assault in the workplace, will also be part of the announcement from the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

Hotels in Las Vegas; New York; Washington, D.C.; and some properties in Los Angeles provide panic buttons as part of union contracts. Safety devices are required by law in Seattle; Chicago; the unincorporated parts of Sacramento County in California; and Miami Beach, Florida.

But not everyone supports them: the city council in Long Beach, California, has voted not to require them, and a bill in the California State Senate  which had already been approved in the Assembly  to require them statewide failed to move out of committee last month.

CalChamber, which represents businesses, did not object to panic buttons themselves, but warned some of the requirements of hotels were "unworkable" and once called the bill a "job killer."

'We need this'



When the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history occurred in October in Las Vegas, none of the unionized hotels provided panic buttons, including the Mandalay Bay, where the shooter rained down bullets and terror on the concertgoers gathered below. Now, less than a year later, almost all of the major hotels have agreed to give safety devices to their workers.

The union that represents 50,000 hotel workers in Las Vegas and in Reno, the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, did have one worry about panic buttons, however: digital snooping.

"It is a big concern," union leader Geoconda Arguello-Kline explained in an interview at the local union's headquarters off the Las Vegas strip recently.

She led negotiations with Sin City's most famous hotels, extracting a promise that they would not use panic buttons to continuously track workers. Members had voted in May to authorize a strike if they didn't get panic buttons.

Arugello-Kline said it amounted to an ultimatum.

"We say: 'We need this. We need this because it's protecting people's lives," she told Hearst Television.

Union member Dallamy Santos says a guest at the hotel where she's worked for 17 years once "offered me money" for a sex act. The hotel does not provide workers with panic buttons.

"If they would like to have their workers safe," Dallamy said in an interview, "they will do it."

'Protect their loved ones'



New, portable panic buttons  on an iPhone, keychain, or wearable device  use small Bluetooth beacons to overcome limitations in GPS.

The current GPS determines a person's location based on latitude and longitude, but not which floor of a high-rise hotel a person is on. Bluetooth beacons and other Bluetooth-enabled devices such as thermostats and smart door locks, can triangulate a person's position down to within 5 to 10 feet, allowing first responders to know which floor, and which room, a victim of a shooting, assault or medical emergency is in.

In an interview, Robb Monkman, the CEO of React Mobile, a provider of Bluetooth-enabled panic buttons, explained the sobering source of his inspiration for starting his Seattle-based company: a frightening home invasion.

"Two guys, who were armed with guns, broke through our front door, they ended up holding us up at gunpoint, they robbed us and they ended up taking one of our roommates hostage," Monkman recalled.

"I realized then that when you feel that steel of a gun pressed against [your] forehead, that it makes it just about impossible to reach for your phone to call for help."

"We want to give people a useful tool that can protect their loved ones," Monkman added.

He demonstrated for the National Investigative Unit the response times of the three main types of panic buttons his company sells to hotels, universities, railroads, and other industries. The cost to a hotel varies between $0.70 and $2.00 per room, depending on the size of the location and layout, Monkman said. There are many other companies that also sell Bluetooth-dependent safety devices.

"You can click this as many times as you want and the alert will go off," Monkman explained while pressing a keychain panic button.

A few seconds after he pressed the button, a siren wailed and a message box popped up on a laptop security monitor nearby that read, "SOS alert activated."
Chelsea Powrie

The Canadian Border Services Agency in Osoyoos has had its hands full over the past few years, rounding up guns that shouldn't be crossing into Canada.

Since 2013, 214 guns at the small, quiet crossing have been seized, which were confiscated either because they weren't declared or because they were firearms that are not legal in Canada.

According to Eron Labadie, superintendent with the CBSA Osoyoos Port of Entry, most of these cases didn't come from weapons traffickers. He said often drivers crossing the border, especially those who aren't Canadian, don't have a good grasp on what is allowed to come over.

"We've got mostly hand guns, as well as some tasers, a blow gun, things that we don't allow into Canada," he said, indicating a cache of seized weapons on display for the media Wednesday morning.

Labadie stressed that travellers heading into Canada should declare any firearms, and let border agents determine whether it is allowed. Any undeclared firearms will automatically be seized.

The border guard team also has canine help with their firearm searches.

Roca, a lab, has been on the job for over a year, sniffing out contraband. She is trained to detect nine different specific narcotic and gun scents. Her handler, Stephen Robinson, said training dogs to detect guns is a tough process.

"They are a bit of a fickle thing to train with, because you're always changing the scent, to get down to the base odour," Robinson said. "So we'll fire the gun, and then hide it, clean the gun, then hide it after it's cleaned, then let the gun sit for a month and air out, then hide it again."

Roca can detect even small parts of guns and bullets, sniffing cars, their doors and luggage to detect any traces and sitting to indicate she has found something.

Dogs and officers alike will be continuing to monitor cars for undeclared and illegal guns, as well as marijuana, especially in the coming months. Legalization in Canada will not mean it is legal to transport marijuana out of or into Canada.
Photo: Recovery Day Canada A previous year's Recovery Day event, hosted in Toronto.

Penticton will be celebrating wellness and recovery through a variety of free events at Gyro Park this weekend.

Recovery Day aims to end the stigma around addiction and demonstrate to Canadians everywhere that individuals and families can heal from the disease.

Penticton's celebration is one of over 30 happening around Canada on Saturday, and will feature free yoga, a social media booth and a proclamation from the mayor.

With the unprecedented overdose crisis currently taking place in B.C., a Recovery Day brings important focus to the many successes and positive life changes that take place in our city, said Ian Gerbrandt, a program director with OneSky Community Resources and member of the organizing committee.

One way to inspire change and reduce the crisis is to encourage people with lived experience to share their stories of positive change and hope."

The organizers chose yoga as an activity rather than a more typical walk or run. The instructors who will be on hand all have experience supporting people through recovery and harm reduction.

The yoga class will be 60 minutes in length and will consist of breath awareness, guided movement and deep relaxation," said instructor Dana Powell.

It will be a practice that will help us deepen our sense of connection and develop compassion for ourselves and each other.

There will also be a display of local addiction resources, a social media booth, and a space for a memorial to honour family and friends lost to substance abuse.

Recovery Day will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday. Attendees are asked to bring their own mat, water bottle and comfortable clothes, though the event will also have extra supplies on hand for those who wish to support the recovery mission.
A surprising number of Bay Area people grow fruits and vegetables in their front yard where any passerby can easily help themselves.

Unsurprisingly, people do help themselves.

Also unsurprising is that people in the Bay Area have very divided opinions on when it is OK to take fruit that is grown in a neighbor's yard.

The divisiveness became clear recently after Nextdoor member Jay Davis wrote about a fruit poacher he came upon one night while walking near his home in Berkeley. And, with tomatoes, figs and other foods springing to life right now in Bay Area people's yards, Davis' post is especially germane both for those who grow and those of us tempted by all the items ripening in yards we pass every day.

Davis wrote: "While taking a walk with my partner late last night I noticed a suspicious individual wearing knee pads, carrying a long stick and carrying a head lamp. They were climbing over someone's fence and poaching fruit from their tree.

"I thought it may be the property owner but after I took a picture of them they sped off across the street and kept running.

"Just putting the community on alert, and if you have a tree in season, to be cautious."

While he may have thought he was offering a security-oriented alert to his neighbors, Davis was instead setting off a sometimes off-the-rails debate over the rights and wrongs of helping yourself to what your neighbor has grown.

"I believe once a fruit branch extends over your fence or over the sidewalk, the fruit on that branch is available to the public," was one early response to Davis' post.

This fairly moderate statement was just the beginning in a thread of over 100 responses that included references to Les Miserables, Epicurus, housing prices, racism and countries where you can get decapitated for stealing fruit from a yard.

But one group definitely NOT supportive of the fruit-poachers were those who actually see their trees picked bare.

"People around here feel like they can help themselves to fruit from trees whether they are hanging over the property line or not. Every year some people feel as if they can walk up more than a dozen steps into my yard and pick persimmons off my tree. One year I caught two men stripping my tree. Probably had 60 pounds of fruit in boxes and would have taken more."

Others complained about mothers who claimed their children were 'foraging' and, and then there was the dreaded postal worker:

"My mail carrier has also helped themselves to lemons. When the side closest to the walk was bare she would have to walk deeper into the yard--farther from the mailbox--where I happened to find her more than once with pockets bulging with lemons."

So, for some the line of what is okay clearly does not end where the sidewalk meets the yard. And to act as a counterpoint to them is the person who says very simply: "Geez does anyone know the difference between right and wrong? It is wrong to pick fruit off someone else's tree period.

If only it were so simple. How about people who feel they are actually performing a service by relieving some urban grower of the burden of their bounty?

"I think if the tree's location is ambiguous (not clearly within a yard) the owner should put out a sign if s/he doesn't want "poachers" taking fruit. Otherwise we fruit-pickers don't know if we're doing someone a favor or stealing."

As someone who has watched people picking away at the lemon bush out front of our residence, I confess I have NEVER gone outside and thanked them for doing me a favor.

All in all, it appeared that the source for this discussion, a man sneaking around on a stepstool with a headlamp under cover of darkness, was generally not within most people's idea of acceptable fruit poaching.

But then what is? Let us know. When do you think it is OK to take another person's front yard fruit?
WASHINGTON  As a White House lawyer in the Bush administration, Judge Brett Kavanaugh challenged the accuracy of deeming the Supreme Courts landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision to be settled law of the land, according to a secret email obtained by The New York Times.

The email, written in March 2003, is one of thousands of documents that a lawyer for President George W. Bush turned over to the Senate Judiciary Committee about the Supreme Court nominee but deemed committee confidential, meaning it could not be made public or discussed by Democrats in questioning him in hearings this week. It was among several an unknown person provided to The New York Times late Wednesday.

Kavanaugh was considering a draft opinion piece that supporters of one of Bushs conservative appeals court nominees hoped they could persuade anti-abortion women to submit under their names. It stated that it is widely accepted by legal scholars across the board that Roe v. Wade and its progeny are the settled law of the land.

Kavanaugh proposed deleting that line, writing: I am not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land at the Supreme Court level since Court can always overrule its precedent, and three current Justices on the Court would do so.

He was presumably referring to then-Justices William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, along with Justice Clarence Thomas, conservatives who had dissented in a 1992 case that reaffirmed Roe, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. The court now has four conservative justices who may be willing to overturn Roe  Thomas and John C. Roberts Jr., Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch  and if he is confirmed, Kavanaugh could provide the decisive fifth vote.

Still, his email stops short of saying whether he personally believed that the abortion rights precedent should be considered a settled legal issue.

Democrats have complained about relying on Bushs lawyer rather than the National Archives to decide what to provide to the Senate, as one part of a larger fight over how many documents from Kavanaughs years in the Bush administration the Senate and public should be able to vet before his confirmation vote.

A White House spokesman, Raj Shah, had no immediate comment on the disclosure of the secret files. But late Wednesday, in the context of the some of the documents, he condemned the disclosure of committee confidential documents as a violation of Senate rules.

More for you Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearings Day 3: Abortion Documents Take Center Stage

Other documents provided to The Times included a document showing that in September 2001, after the terrorist attacks, Kavanaugh engaged with a Justice Department lawyer about questions of warrantless surveillance at the time that lawyer wrote a memo an inspector general report later portrayed as the precursor to the Bush administrations warrantless surveillance program.

On Wednesday, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., seemed to allude to the existence of such an email, grilling Kavanaugh about whether his testimony at his May 2006 appeals court hearing that he had not seen or heard anything about the Bush administrations warrantless surveillance program before its existence leaked the previous December was accurate.

In another document, Kavanaugh expressed a critical view about some Department of Transportation affirmative action regulations, writing:

The fundamental problem in this case is that these DOT regulations use a lot of legalisms and disguises to mask what is a naked racial set-aside, he wrote, adding that he thought the courts four conservative justices at the time would probably realize as much in short order and rule accordingly.

Another document shed further light on the extent to which Kavanaugh was viewed inside the Bush administration as playing a significant role in trying to get a disputed appeals court nominee, Charles W. Pickering Sr., confirmed.

During his own appeals court nomination, Kavanaugh had distanced himself from that nomination, omitting it from a list of the major ones he worked on and telling senators that it was not one of those he primarily handled, and in August Democrats  based on documents they were allowed to make public  had accused him of having been misleading, while hinting that more details were in the still-confidential documents.

Pickering, who retired in 2004, later told the National Review that another White House lawyer, Noel Francisco, the current solicitor general, was his liaison and that he did not recall interacting with Kavanaugh or knowing his name at the time.

But one of the newly obtained documents shows that when another White House lawyer, Brad Berenson, was invited to a meeting in March 2002 with two top Republican senators, he referred to both Kavanaugh and Francisco as two colleagues who were much more involved in that nomination.

I could probably make it, but Brett and Noel have been much more involved in the Pickering fight, which is what I assume this is about, Berenson wrote.

And in yet another, he offered advice for an appeals court nominee who was scheduled to meet with two Democratic senators:

She should not talk about her views on specific policy or legal issues, he wrote. She should say that she has a commitment to follow Supreme Court precedent, that she understands and appreciates the role of a circuit judge, that she will adhere to statutory text, that she has no ideological agenda.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
A woman who allegedly barged into an Osoyoos home last month with a knife demanding to see a newborn baby was likely extremely drunk at the time due to her severe alcoholism, Penticton court heard Wednesday.

Sharon Constance Forner, 45, appeared for a bail hearing via video conference from the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam, where shes been since shortly after she was arrested on Aug. 9.

A report completed at the hospital found that Forner is mentally fit to be found criminally responsible for her alleged actions.

Defence lawyer Ben Lynskey argued for her release on bail, seeking to have her placed in a treatment centre in Surrey until court proceedings conclude.

He explained that Forner is a self described raging alcoholic, who has been drinking upwards of 12 beers a day for 16 years. This period of incarceration has been her longest sober stretch in a decade.

The defence at trial, will obviously be some sort of mental state defence, Lynskey told the judge.

That is something thats been left open by the report that was prepared by the court, essentially what the psychiatrist was saying is, he didnt know the specifics of the alcohol consumption at the time, so couldnt comment without more clarificationbut he didnt rule it out.

While Crown prosecutor Andrew Vandersluys described the offence, Forner had her head in her hands, crying quietly. Her family seated in the gallery also wept softly at times.

Referring to the surveillance footage, Vandersluys alleged Forner came to the home of an Osoyoos woman on Aug. 8, while wearing a wig and gloves and brandishing a knife, and asked to see her baby.

The victim pushed the woman out the door and called the police.

From her decade living in the community, an attending officer immediately recognized the suspect on the surveillance footage. The bizarre incident made headlines across Canada and the United States.

When police attended Forners home and arrested her for home invasion, she blurted I cant even afford myself, how can I afford a kid? Why would I bring a baby into here? despite officers not mentioning the particulars of the charges.

The Crown argued for the detention of Forner on several grounds, including the safety of the victim.

Lynskey maintained due to the alcohol-driven nature of the offence, she would be better off in treatment in the Lower Mainland, this is going to put her in a structured environment.

I imagine that many members of the public, knowing that alcohol played such a large part in this would also hope that Ms. Forner could get some sort of treatment.

Judge Gregory Koturbash was hesitant to grant bail, and instead ordered a series of pre-bail reports to determine the suitability of the recovery centre in Surrey  of which he and the Crown had never heard  for a woman like Forner, who is facing violent charges.

Ma'am youve got a very good lawyer, a very persuasive lawyer, I haven't reached any decision with respect to this matter yet, Koturbash told Forner. I do want more information about the facility that is being recommended here, and what community corrections (probation) thinks.

I cant say at this time if you are going to be released, but Im prepared to look further into it, he added.

She makes her next appearance in two weeks
Photo: Contributed

Early last week, the federal minister of natural resources stated his Liberal government had done extensive consultation and had gone "beyond what the NEB (National Energy Board) has done.

"We took six months extra to consult with Indigenous communities and affected communities on the route.

Why?

To get the Trans-Mountain pipeline project approved.



In other words, the Trudeau Liberals were so confident that they spent $4.5 billion of taxpayer money to buy the existing pipeline from U.S.-based Kinder Morgan, to be followed by the much more expensive expansion project (estimated cost to be between $7-$9 billion)



Late last week, we heard the Federal Court of Appeal disagree with the Liberal government by ruling that consultation had not been adequate.



This ruling, at least for now, has brought the Trans-Mountain project to a standstill and layoff notices for many crews working on different aspects of the project are expected shortly.



As a result of this Trudeau government failure, the Alberta NDP government announced it would be withdrawing from the Liberal national carbon tax plan until such time that the Trans-Mountain pipeline project is completed.



These negative developments, along with ongoing NAFTA negotiations challenges that resulted in Mexico reaching its own agreement with the U.S. and Canada sitting on the sidelines, resulted in many media referring to this as Trudeaus horrible, no good, very bad week."



So this week, during an emergency meeting of the Natural Resources Committee in Ottawa, a simple request was made to have the finance minister and minister of natural resources appear before the committee and explain what the Liberal plan was to build the Trans Mountain pipeline, in light of the court ruling.



That request was blocked by the Liberal members of the committee.



To recap, the Liberal have spent $4.5 billion buying a pipeline that requires another $7-$9 billion for an expansion and they refuse to disclose how they will actually complete it.



Many experts are suggesting that the Liberals have created a regulatory environment that not even they can successfully navigate.



From my perspective, whether you support the pipeline or not, a democratically elected government should be able to see projects deemed to be in the national interest completed.



Instead, we have a situation where it appears that activists, some of whom are foreign funded, may usurp the will of a democratically elected government.



While some may view the prospect of foreign interference in our elections with skepticism, this is now a mainstream issue with the Liberal government suggesting current federal election laws do not fully take these activities into account and suggesting some legislative fixes are warranted.



I suspect the reason Mr. Trudeau refuses to disclose how he will break this self-created regulatory quagmire is due to the fact that an election is approaching and it is politically more convenient to rag the puck when it comes to a controversial subject such as building pipelines.



I hope that I am mistaken and that the Prime Minister will reveal a concrete plan that supports a project he has defined as being in our national interest.



My question this week:

Given that the Trudeau Liberals define the Trans Mountain project as in Canadas national interest, do you believe they will complete it?

I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll free 1-800-665-8711.
An Israeli teens deadly fall in Yosemite National Park, reportedly while taking a selfie Wednesday, occurred at the top of Nevada Fall, authorities said Thursday.

Tomer Frankfurter, 18, of Jerusalem dropped from the top of the cliff beside the 594-foot waterfall on the Merced River, according to the Mariposa County coroners office.

Park officials are investigating what led to the fatal fall, but a report in the Times of Israel quoted a television interview with the victims mother saying Frankfurter fell from a cliff while trying to take a photograph of himself.

Nevada Fall is one of a handful of well-known waterfalls in Yosemite National Park and a feature on what many consider the parks signature hike. The waterfall is 3.5 miles one way from Yosemite Valley and it includes a steep climb up the Mist Trail  a collection of massive granite steps that pass Vernal Fall, which often drenches hikers.

The news organization said Frankfurters mother, who was not identified, confirmed the death along with Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She said her son was taking a two-month trip in the United States before joining the Israeli army.

Scott Gediman, a Yosemite National Park spokesman, said Thursday that the death is under investigation and no further information was available.

Andrea Stewart, Mariposa County assistant coroner, said a pathologist has not yet examined Frankfurters body. The Times of Israel reported that his body would be returned to Israel for burial.

Falling deaths from Yosemites soaring granite cliffs and rocks are not uncommon, and signs posted at observation areas atop many of the parks waterfalls caution visitors to stay out of the water and away from the edges.

Frankfurters death is the third in the park this summer.

In June, two climbers plunged to their deaths from El Capitan in Yosemite Valley while using a climbing technique know as simul-climbing.

Chronicle staff writer Lauren Hernandez contributed

to this report.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
A teen visiting Yosemite National Park from Israel fell to his death Wednesday while trying to take a selfie, according to an Israeli news report.

The Times of Israel reported that Tomer Frankfurter, 18, died after plunging more than 800 feet after slipping off a cliff at Yosemite. The Fresno Bee reports the incident happened above Nevada Fall.
Photo: The Canadian Press Attorney Samuel Silver leaves Courtroom A after the Bill Cosby pre-trial conference in the Montgomery County Courthouse, in Norristown, Pa.

A former member of Bill Cosby's defence team is suing the 81-year-old comedian for more than $50,000 in unpaid legal fees.

The civil claim for failure to pay for legal services rendered was filed Tuesday by Philadelphia-based law firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. It did not include the exact amount the firm is seeking for work done by attorney Samuel Silver from August 2017 through February.

Cosby's current attorney, Joe P. Green, says the claim arose from a "disagreement over the amount of legal fees charged," and Cosby had offered to submit the dispute to mediation.

Silver says Cosby's team had not challenged the billing or work before this month, but had not paid the bills despite promising to do so.

Cosby was convicted in April of three counts of aggravated indecent assault. Sentencing is scheduled Sept. 24.
SANTA CRUZ (BCN)



Two people in a Concord police vehicle were injured in a collision with another vehicle in Santa Cruz on Wednesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.



The collision occurred at 3:18 p.m. at the intersection of Ocean Street and Broadway, CHP officials said.



A 35-year-old man in the Concord police vehicle suffered major injuries in the crash, while a 26-year-old man suffered minor injuries, according to the CHP. They were taken to Dominican Hospital for treatment.



A 30-year-old Santa Cruz woman in the other vehicle involved in the crash, a 2001 Honda, was not injured.



CHP officials and Concord police were not immediately available to say why the Concord police vehicle was in the Santa Cruz area.



Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash, according to the CHP.





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Six high school students were robbed and American Canyon High School was locked down before two armed robbery suspects were arrested by American Canyon police today, a Napa County Sheriff's Office spokesman said.



The students were coming back from an off-campus lunch at about 12:15 p.m. when two suspects stopped them close to campus, which is at 3000 Newell Drive, sheriff's spokesman Henry Wofford said.



One suspect had a knife and the other had a gun.



Wofford said the suspects demanded the students get on the ground and turn over their personal property such as money, backpacks and shoes and the students complied.



However, one of the suspects put a gun to the head of one of the students. The student got up and a fight ensued between the two.



Shortly after, the student ran toward campus and the other five students followed.



Wofford said the students yelled for help and someone called police.



The school was locked down as police searched for the suspects. Wofford said officers were not sure whether the suspects were on campus.



Four of the six students suffered injuries not considered life-threatening. The four were taken to a hospital and none of the injuries were gunshot wounds.



Wofford said sheriff's officials found no evidence that shots were fired.



According to Wofford, both suspects are from outside the county and are not students.



All of the victims were 16 years old or younger. The lockdown was lifted at about 1:45 p.m.





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Photo: The Canadian Press Guy Leclair

A candidate for the Parti Quebecois has withdrawn his candidacy just weeks before the provincial election.

Guy Leclair, the PQ candidate and outgoing member of the legislature for the Montreal-area riding of Beauharnois, announced his resignation in a statement late Wednesday.

The announcement came on the same day Leclair was charged with impaired driving and refusing to obey a police officer.

In his statement, Leclair says he expects to be acquitted of the charges but he had to withdraw for the good of the party.

He's due to appear in court Sept. 21, just 10 days before Quebecers go to the polls.

PQ Leader Jean-Francois Lisee, who spent much of the past two days defending Leclair after the allegations became public, has 10 days to find another candidate.
HAYWARD (BCN)



City of Hayward officials announced today that enhanced non-English interpretation services will be provided at all open-session City Council meetings.



The city said simultaneous interpretation for Spanish speakers will begin during City Council meetings starting next Tuesday.



Hayward officials said simultaneous interpretation services for all other languages during council meetings can be scheduled upon request.



They said that to ensure interpreters for languages other than Spanish are available, requests must be made at least 48 hours in advance by calling the City Clerk's Office at (510) 583-4400.



Hayward City Council meetings generally are held the first, third and fourth Tuesday of each month, starting at 7 p.m. at City Hall at 777 B St. in Hayward.



However, the meeting next Tuesday will be held at the Matt Jimenez Community Center at 28200 Ruus Road in Hayward.



The schedule of upcoming City Council meetings and published meeting agendas can be found on the city's website at https://hayward.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx.



In addition, Hayward officials said people who need to conduct business with the city, or obtain assistance, in languages other than English will be assisted by bilingual and multilingual city staff members.





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OAKLAND (BCN)



Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley says in a court filing that she opposes a request by Public Defender Brendon Woods for a standing order barring the sheriff's office from unlawfully recording conversations between suspects and their attorneys.



Woods recently asked for such an order after he obtained evidence that sheriff's deputies have been recording conversations between public defenders and juvenile suspects in custody, even though it is a felony in California for a third party to record privileged conversations between attorneys and clients.



A spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office has said that it is reviewing all juvenile cases filed this year to see how many violations there have been.



In a response to Woods' request that she filed last Friday, O'Malley said she agrees with Woods that it is illegal to eavesdrop or record a conversation between someone in police custody and that detainee's attorney.



However, O'Malley said, "While the people (the District Attorney's Office) agree with the Public Defender's recitation of the law, the people disagree that the issuance of such an order (a blanket standing order) is necessary or appropriate in this case."



The Public Defender's motion is actually attached to an adult suspect's case, even though the evidence that it obtained involves the recording of juvenile suspects.



That's because juvenile cases are not made public and the Public Defender is seeking a way to stop the sheriff's office from making additional secret recordings.



O'Malley's filing says the Public Defender hasn't shown that the adult defendant suffered any harm and says the Public Defender is basing its motion on a separate juvenile case that involves "entirely different circumstances."



O'Malley wrote, "That action (the secret recording in the juvenile's case) has nothing to do with the defendant here (in the adult case)."



The Public Defender's motion, O'Malley said, "assumes that all officers will break the law unless there is a lawful order not to break the law."



O'Malley wrote, "The issuance of a standing order against an entire department (the sheriff's office) based on the conduct of one officer would be no more appropriate than issuing a standing order against all Public Defender clients not to assault witnesses just because an isolated number of defendants has done so in the past."



O'Malley concluded, "Simply put, there is no need to order the highest ranking peace officer in this county (Sheriff Gregory Ahern) to follow the law he is sworn to uphold."



She said, "There is no need to issue an order in this case and no need to issue a standing order."



A spokesman for the Public Defender's Office declined to comment today on O'Malley's filing.



An Alameda County Superior Court judge will hold a hearing on Friday on Wood's request for a standing order against the sheriff's office.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A 70-year-old East Bay real estate agent has been sentenced in federal court in San Francisco to six and one-half years in prison for sophisticated housing-sales fraud based on the creation of a phony mortgage company.



Robert Jacobsen, of Kensington and formerly of Lafayette, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Maxine Chesney for one count of wire fraud and one count of carrying out a financial transaction with illegally obtained funds.



He pleaded guilty to the two counts in July. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped 12 other wire fraud counts and eight other financial transaction counts in a 2015 grand jury indictment.



A U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman said Jacobsen admitted in his plea agreement that he created a scheme in 2012 and 2013 to sell two houses in San Francisco and Danville to unsuspecting buyers who did not know the residences had "underwater" mortgage liens, and tried to sell a third house in Monterey in the same way.



An underwater mortgage is one carrying a debt greater than the value of the mortgaged home. The mortgages on the three houses were issued by a business called American Brokers Conduit, which went bankrupt along with its parent company, American Home Mortgage Corp., during the U.S. financial crisis in 2007. The mortgages were then sold to other financial institutions, which were unaware of the scheme.



Jacobsen created a shell company with a similar name, American Brokers Conduit Corp., and told the original homeowners that he could free them of the debt if they signed over the deeds to companies he controlled. He promised to give them a small payment after he resold the houses, according to court documents.



Jacobsen then filed lawsuits against the phony mortgage company and controlled the lawyers on both sides, according to prosecutors. In each case, the two sides directed by Jacobsen agreed to a settlement declaring the mortgages invalid. He then sought to sell the houses.



Jacobsen sold the San Francisco house for $1.2 million and the Danville house for $800,000, but the intended sale of the Monterey house for $3 million was stymied when the new mortgage holder discovered the fraud, according to a prosecution-sentencing document.



Jacobsen laundered the money from the two sales, through banks in the United States and Belize, and spent some of the proceeds on a $475,000 yacht, prosecutors said. As part of the plea bargain, Jacobsen agreed to forfeit the yacht.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



A former orthopedic surgeon from Orinda was sentenced in federal court in San Francisco today to seven years in prison for transporting child pornography while returning from a trip to Thailand in 2016.



John D. Warbritton III, 64, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer.



Warbritton pleaded guilty before Breyer in May to transporting child pornography images on his laptop and his cell phone when he flew from Bangkok to San Francisco International Airport on March 27, 2016.



U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Abraham Simmons said Warbritton acknowledged in his plea agreement that the devices contained between 150 and 300 images of child pornography and that some of them showed adult men sexually assaulting young girls under the age of 12.



Warbritton, who had an office in Oakland, lost his medical license last year when he agreed to give it up in the wake of sexual misconduct charges by the Medical Board of California.



The board charged that he sexually touched two women patients and made inappropriate sexual comments to them at various times during medical evaluations for workplace injuries between 2008 and 2015.



Warbritton was conducting the evaluations for an insurance company and the patients were required to see him as part of their applications for workers' compensation.



In the May 3, 2017, stipulation to surrender his license, Warbritton agreed that if the board had held a hearing, the board "could establish a factual basis for the charges in the accusation and that those charges constitute cause for discipline."



Warbritton was indicted on the child pornography count by a federal grand jury in San Francisco in October 2017.



He was initially released on bail, but was ordered into custody by a federal magistrate in January after a pretrial services officer found that he violated his release conditions by having child pornography images on his smartphone that showed Asian girls and toddlers being sexually assaulted.



Defense attorney Edward Robinson said in a sentencing brief that opiate and alcohol addiction contributed to Warbritton's pornography crime. He said the former doctor has "genuine remorse."



Prosecutors argued in a brief that "opiates do not lead someone to look at child pornography" and contended, "nothing in the defendant's past justifies or mitigates his conduct here."



Warbritton graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1980 and had his residency training at the University of California at San Francisco and St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center in San Francisco.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



San Francisco Mayor London Breed today announced the city's latest efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make it a leader in embracing green policies to tackle climate change.



Breed outlined four key policy pledges: reducing waste generation by 15 percent and landfill disposal by 50 percent by 2030; net-zero carbon buildings in San Francisco by 2050; the issuance of more green bonds to finance infrastructure and capital projects; and switching all electricity in San Francisco to renewables by 2030.



Also today, Breed unveiled the city's largest conventional rooftop solar installation at the Moscone Center, where the Global Climate Action Summit will be held from Sept. 12-14 featuring environmental leaders and activists from across the world.



The facility, which is scheduled to be completed in December, will be San Francisco's largest conventional rooftop array and will generate 20 percent of the building's energy needs, according to the mayor's office.



Breed touted that San Francisco has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from 1990 levels, while its population has grown by 20 percent and its economy by 111 percent.



"As the federal administration rolls back critical environmental protections, San Francisco continues to lead in the fight against climate change," Breed said in a statement. "The Global Climate Action Summit is a chance to highlight San Francisco's environmental leadership on the world stage."



Breed also said she has agreed to become the newest mayoral co-chair of the Sierra Club's "Mayors for 100 Percent Clean Energy" program, a coalition of more than 200 mayors nationwide supporting a goal of 100 percent clean, renewable energy in their communities.





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A law enforcement officer was injured in a car crash while pursuing a suspect this evening, Santa Cruz police reported.



The crash happened at Ocean Street and Broadway, police said on Twitter at 5:05 p.m. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the collision.



The injured officer is from a law enforcement agency outside of Santa Cruz County and is expected to survive, according to police, who said two suspects are currently in custody.



Police said there will be traffic delays in the area of the crash.













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BERKELEY (BCN)



A man suspected of stabbing a woman in her 70s in Berkeley early Tuesday morning has been arrested, police said today.



Officers who responded to a call of a woman screaming for help near a home in the 1500 block of Edith Street at 2:47 a.m. Tuesday found a woman with at least one stab wound, according to police.



Berkeley police obtained an attempted murder warrant for the arrest of Mark Edward Jekabson, 42, on Tuesday and Pinole police arrested him in their city at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Berkeley police.



Berkeley police said the case remains under investigation and they want to thank Pinole police for their assistance.



Police weren't immediately available to provide an update on the woman's condition.





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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



San Francisco police are investigating a man's suspicious death reported early Wednesday morning.



The suspicious death was reported at about 3:20 a.m. in the 300 block of Van Ness Avenue.



The victim was a 61-year-old man whose name is not yet being released by the medical examiner's office.



Police did not say how the man died and said no arrests have been made in the case.



Anyone with information about the death is asked to call the Police Department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.





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Two people in a Concord police vehicle were injured in a collision with another vehicle in Santa Cruz on Wednesday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.



The collision occurred at 3:18 p.m. at the intersection of Ocean Street and Broadway, CHP officials said.



A 35-year-old man in the Concord police vehicle suffered major injuries in the crash, while a 26-year-old man suffered minor injuries, according to the CHP. They were taken to Dominican Hospital for treatment.



A 30-year-old Santa Cruz woman in the other vehicle involved in the crash, a 2001 Honda, was not injured.



CHP officials and Concord police were not immediately available to say why the Concord police vehicle was in the Santa Cruz area.







A man who was fatally shot outside of a motel in Hayward early Sunday morning has been identified by police as 42-year-old Brent Vicens of Hayward.



Hayward police said Vicens was standing in front of the Vagabond Inn at 500 W. A St. shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday when he was shot several times by an occupant of a dark four-door sedan that had pulled up to that location.



Vicens was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. His death is Hayward's first homicide in 2018.



The suspect in the fatal shooting is still at large and is described by police as a Hispanic man in his 30s or 40s with black hair and brown eyes who was wearing framed glasses.







San Francisco police are investigating a man's suspicious death reported early Wednesday morning.



The suspicious death was reported at about 3:20 a.m. in the 300 block of Van Ness Avenue.



The victim was a 61-year-old man whose name is not yet being released by the medical examiner's office.



Police did not say how the man died and said no arrests have been made in the case.







A 64-year-old man was sentenced Wednesday to six years in state prison after pleading no contest in July to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for a crash in 2017 that killed a motorcyclist in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County prosecutors said.



Robert Bosch, a Rohnert Park resident, was driving a Ford Ranger north on Snyder Lane shortly before 6 p.m. on Aug. 23, 2017, when he made a left turn toward a parking lot but pulled in front of a motorcycle driven by 23-year-old Fabian Carreras-Hermosillo.



The motorcyclist was unable to slow down and avoid a collision. He suffered severe injuries and died on his way to the hospital.



Prosecutors said Bosch displayed signs of impairment at the scene and his blood-alcohol content was eventually found to be 0.252 percent, more than three times the legal limit.



He pleaded no contest on July 19 and was sentenced Wednesday by Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Robert LaForge.







Police investigating recent cases of annoying or molesting minors in the area of a school in Alameda arrested a man Wednesday and believe he may also be connected to recent attacks being investigated by East Bay Regional Park District police at a beach in the city.



Alameda police on Tuesday investigated two separate cases in the area of Will C. Wood Middle School on Grand Street in which the suspect was similarly described.



Police did not locate the suspect but assigned extra patrols of the area Wednesday morning, when school resource officers at Yorkshire Place and Camden Road contacted someone fitting the suspect description.



The male suspect was found to be in possession of a loaded handgun and was later identified as the suspect allegedly annoying or molesting minors.



East Bay Regional Park police said the suspect is also believed to be the same one that assaulted at least two female victims and propositioned many others recently at Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda.



The latest attack was reported Tuesday in the western area of the state beach, and other previous incidents were reported Saturday and in early August, park district police said.







An online threat of violence today on the campus of a school in San Ramon was traced back to somewhere in Europe, but that may not be the real location of the suspect due to the potential use of "spoofing" technology, according to police.



The threat against California High School, listed at 9870 Broadmoor Drive, was initially received through an anonymous tip to the FBI. They obtained the internet protocol address, or IP address, through a subpoena and traced it to a location in Amsterdam, according to San Ramon police Capt. Denton Carolson.



That location may not be reliable, Carlson said, due to the availability of "spoofing" technology capable of disguising the threat's source.



Regardless, there's a contingent of roughly a half-dozen officers on campus just in case. As of 10 a.m., they had not observed anything that seemed to be a credible threat.







A 14-year-old girl was arrested for allegedly stabbing another girl in the chest with scissors as she walked out of a store on San Francisco's Market Street on Wednesday evening, police said.



The stabbing was reported at about 5:05 p.m. in the area of Market and Fifth streets.



The 17-year-old victim was walking out of a store when the 14-year-old walked up and stabbed her, according to police.



The victim was taken to a hospital to be treated for her injuries, which are not considered life-threatening.



The victim said she does not know the suspect, who was arrested following the stabbing. Her name was not released.





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A pilot who died in a plane crash in Palo Alto on Tuesday morning has been identified as W. John Spencer, according to officials from the pilot's nonprofit.



Spencer was flying a patient and her mother from Redding to a hospital at 11:10 a.m. when the Mooney M20 plane crashed, according to Angel Flight West, a non-profit organization that provides free medical transport.



The nonprofit's officials said in a statement that they were "devastated and deeply saddened" to learn Spencer had died. He began volunteering there in 2014 and donated over 125 flights to help families "access health and hope," Angel Flight West officials said.



"He will be greatly missed by the staff at Angel Flight West and his fellow volunteers," nonprofit officials said in a statement. "Out of respect for the families' privacy and grieving, Angel Flight West is not sharing additional personal details at this time."



Angel Flight West said the crash is the first in its 35-year history to have happened while a passenger was on board.







The president of Presentation High School in San Jose has stepped down amid community allegations that she did not do enough to prevent sexual abuse and harassment at the private, all-girls Catholic School.



Mary Miller announced her resignation in a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying the allegations had become too much of a distraction to the school's mission and brought about negative press.



"It is my sincere hope that my absence will bring some peace and allow the staff and new administration to focus on the success and well-being of our students--which is our common goal," she said in the statement.



"We cannot change the past, but we can and must dedicate ourselves to the future."



Miller attended the school as a student before serving as a teacher, principal for 25 years and president, according to school officials, who will now begin the hiring process to replace her.







Six high school students were robbed and American Canyon High School was locked down before two armed robbery suspects were arrested by American Canyon police, a Napa County Sheriff's Office spokesman said.



The robbery occurred Wednesday.



The students were coming back from an off-campus lunch at about 12:15 p.m. when two suspects stopped them close to campus, which is at 3000 Newell Drive, sheriff's spokesman Henry Wofford said.



One suspect had a knife and the other had a gun.







Richmond's Hilltop Mall was closed after four armed suspects fled inside, police said.



The mall was closed Wednesday evening.



About 5 p.m. a county task force identified a couple of wanted suspects who were in a vehicle, Richmond police spokesman Lt. Matt Stonebraker said.



The task force notified Richmond police because the suspects were heading into Richmond.



A short chase ensued and four people exited the vehicle in the Hilltop Mall area and went into the mall at 2200 Hilltop Mall Road.



Stonebraker said two persons were armed with guns and discarded the guns in the mall.



Police arrested three of the four people. The mall was closed for about an hour and the guns were recovered.







Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley says in a court filing that she opposes a request by Public Defender Brendon Woods for a standing order barring the sheriff's office from unlawfully recording conversations between suspects and their attorneys.



Woods recently asked for such an order after he obtained evidence that sheriff's deputies have been recording conversations between public defenders and juvenile suspects in custody, even though it is a felony in California for a third party to record privileged conversations between attorneys and clients.



A spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office has said that it is reviewing all juvenile cases filed this year to see how many violations there have been.





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Photo: The Canadian Press

The British luxury fashion brand Burberry will stop using real fur in its products.

The company said Thursday there will be no real fur in its London Fashion Week catwalk show later this month. It will also phase out existing real fur products.

The company has made only limited use of real fur in recent years with clothing incorporating fur from rabbit, fox, mink and Asiatic racoon. Those will now be eliminated.

The Sept. 17 show will mark the debut collection for new creative chief Riccardo Tisci, who replaced Christopher Bailey at the helm.
BCN24)



SANTA CRUZ (BCN)



A Concord police officer who suffered major injuries in a crash with another vehicle in Santa Cruz on Wednesday afternoon is recovering today, according to the California Highway Patrol and the Concord Police Department.



The collision occurred at 3:18 p.m. at the intersection of Ocean Street and Broadway.



A 35-year-old Concord police officer suffered major injuries in the crash, CHP spokeswoman Officer Trista Drake said.



Concord police said today that detectives and officers with their department were in the Santa Cruz area looking for a suspect with an outstanding arrest warrant.



They located the individual in question and were in the process of taking him into custody when a 30-year-old Santa Cruz woman crashed a 2001 Honda into a police vehicle.



Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash, according to the CHP.



Additional information about the investigation that brought Concord police to Santa Cruz was not immediately available.





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Photo: The Canadian Press

U.S. businesses added 163,000 jobs in August, a private survey found, a decent gain that suggests that employers are confident enough to keep hiring.

Payroll processor ADP said Thursday that the job gains were the fewest since October. But last month's pace of hiring is still enough to lower the unemployment rate over time.

Solid economic growth is underpinning an optimistic outlook among businesses. Growth reached 4.2 per cent at an annual rate in the April-June quarter, the fastest pace in four years, spurred by tax cuts and robust consumer spending.

ADP's hiring figures come a day before the government will release its official jobs data for August. Economists have forecast that Friday's report will show that employers added a solid 189,000 jobs last month, according to data provider FactSet.

The job gains ADP reported for August were much lower than the 217,000 that it said were added in July. Hiring by small businesses  defined as those with fewer than 50 employees  remained sluggish last month and depressed overall job growth.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said that with the unemployment rate at a low 3.9 per cent, smaller companies are having a harder time finding workers. Larger firms are typically able to offer high pay or more benefits and can pull in more employees as a result.

Hiring was particularly strong last month for medium-sized companies, with 50 to 499 employees.

Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, lowered his forecast for August hiring to 170,000 after the ADP report was issued.

"This is a bit disappointing but hardly a disaster," Shepherdson said.

ADP compiles hiring data from millions of companies that are clients of its payroll services. Its figures frequently diverge from the government's data but tend to approximate them over time.
Photo: Contributed

There will be more treatment options for substance use disorder thanks to a commitment of more than $70 million from the province and federal governments.

The Province of British Columbia and the federal government have entered into an agreement under the Government of Canadas new Emergency Treatment Fund.

The agreement recognizes the investment of more than $71.7 million $33.98 million from the Government of Canada, in addition to the province of British Columbias contribution of $37.76 million. The funding has been designated to enhance or increase access to quality treatment services for substance use disorder.

"Today's agreement with the federal government will help to save lives as we continue to work together to combat the overdose crisis," stated Judy Darcy provincial minister of mental health and addictions.

"In British Columbia, we are escalating our response to this crisis every single day. Lives are being saved every day at overdose prevention sites; by connecting people to treatment; by expanding the available treatment options; and by training more prescribers. We will continue to build a system where people who need help can receive it quickly and where addiction is no longer treated as a moral failure tainted by shame, but as the health issue that it is."

Nearly 4000 Canadians died in 2017 as a result of apparent opioid-related overdoses.

"The opioid crisis continues to have a profound impact on thousands of people and their families across the country," stated Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor.

"I am pleased that we have signed this agreement with the Government of British Columbia to help accelerate access to treatment services. With the Emergency Treatment Fund, our government is helping to ensure that innovative and comprehensive treatment options are available for Canadians who want and need them."

The money will be invested in:

youth services provided by Foundry, which offers young people ages 12-24 health and wellness resources, services and supports;

expanding injectable opioid agonist treatment, a treatment for people with severe opioid use disorder;

supporting treatment beds;

investing in hope initiatives, designed to improve local-level capacity to connect individuals with the treatment options appropriate to their unique needs;

developing strategies to enhance and improve treatment services;

enhancing the treatment services provided by all health authorities; and

investing in supportive recovery.

In September 2017, the provincial government set aside $322 million over three years to address the overdose crisis. More than $170. million of that funding is dedicated to enhancing treatment services, provider training and outreach, and increasing the range of available opioid agonist treatments.

In Budget 2018, the federal government committed more than $230 million over five years to address the opioid crisis.
Photo: Twitter

A powerful earthquake Thursday on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido triggered dozens of landslides that crushed houses under torrents of dirt, rocks and timber, prompting frantic efforts to unearth any survivors.

At least nine people were killed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Officials said at least 366 were injured, five of them seriously, and about 30 people were unaccounted for after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolted residents from their beds at 3:08 a.m.

Nearly 3 million households were left without power by the quake  the latest in an exhausting run of natural disasters for Japan.

It paralyzed normal business on the island, as blackouts cut off water to homes, immobilized trains and airports, causing hundreds of flight cancellations, and shut down phone systems.

In the town of Atsuma, where entire hillsides collapsed, rescuers used small backhoes and shovels to search for survivors under the tons of earth that tumbled down steep mountainsides, burying houses and farm buildings below. The area's deep green hills were marred by reddish-brown gashes where the soil tore loose under the violent tremors.

Twenty-eight people remained unaccounted for in the town, Atsuma Mayor Shoichiro Miyasaka told public broadcaster NHK.

"We will carry on searching for them," he said.

Miyasaka said the town had emergency meals for up to 2,000 people and that more than 500 had sought refuge in its emergency shelters.

The landslides ripped through some homes and buried others. Some residents described awakening to find their next-door neighbours gone.

"The entire thing just collapsed," said one. "It's unbelievable."

The island's only nuclear power plant, which was offline for routine safety checks, temporarily switched to a backup generator to keep its spent fuel cool. Nuclear regulators said there was no sign of abnormal radiation  a concern after a massive quake and tsunami in March 2011 that hit northeast Japan destroyed both external and backup power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns.

Japan's Meteorological Agency said the quake's epicenter was 40 kilometres (24 miles) deep. But it still wreaked havoc across much of the relatively sparsely inhabited island.

Many roads were closed and some were impassable. NHK showed workers rushing to clean up shattered glass and reinstall ceiling panels that had fallen in the region's biggest airport at Chitose.

In the prefectural capital of Sapporo, a city of 1.9 million, the quake ruptured roads and knocked houses askew. A mudslide left several cars half buried. By evening the city's streets were dark and shops closed.
Photo: Surveillance image

A man with schizophrenia accused of fatally stabbing a 13-year-old girl inside her Abbotsford high school says he's eager to face the charges against him, but he remains plagued by voices "every hour of the day."

Gabriel Klein made the comments during a review board hearing at the forensic psychiatric hospital in Coquitlam to determine his mental fitness to stand trial.

The 22-year-old says he wants to go to court as soon as possible to face charges of second-degree murder and aggravated assault for an attack on another Grade 9 girl in November 2016.

But Klein says court is stressful and he has trouble concentrating because the voices are constantly distracting him.

Psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Kolchak says some voices command Klein to commit acts of violence, such as attacking people in the shower, but he has not obeyed these violent commands in recent months.

The Crown, defence and hospital agree Klein is currently unfit to stand trial and needs more treatment, but review board chairman Bernd Walter says the decision would be reserved as the three-member panel takes time to consider a ruling.
I was born in B.C. and have called it home for 53 years.

Right now, I am embarrassed to call my self a British Columbian.

The Trans Mountain approval process was not flawed, it was the most rigorous one to date  as it should be.

Forty-three indigenous groups agreed and signed letters to their benefit, with only a handful in disagreement.

So how can the court say there was not meaningful two-way consultation? You would think as a rational person, that if there was not enough dialogue, there would be fewer in agreement, or none.

We are not even close to being able to move away from fossil fuels, and the funding for our way of life, in big part, comes from resources such as oil and gas.

Now, we have to move those resources in the most inefficient ways, at a reduced payout to us.

Delaying this pipeline sends a clear message to the rest of the world  doing business in Canada is a gamble at best, and not a good one.

Mind you, Kinder Morgan is laughing all the way to the bank, having paid only $550 million for the existing pipeline and assets, and selling for $4.5 billion. A joke we as Canadians will bear for a long time.

This will set a precedent for future projects, and make it so unappealing to the rest of the world, that I think no one will want to invest in this country. And that's more bad news for us all.

Darren Moran
The Bharat Bandh protest gets intensified on Thursday as thousands of people took to streets in several parts of the country - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

As about 35 organizations planned to hold protests all over the country, Security have already been beefed up and prohibitory sections have been imposed under section 144 of the CrPC in parts of Madhya Pradesh and other states.
President Donald Trump has yet to identify the staffer within his administration who wrote the scathing anonymous opinion piece in the New York Times, but the social media world certainly has some ideas.

The Wednesday op-ed detailing a "quiet resistance" among government staff who are working to stop the president's "reckless decisions" has inspired a flurry of amusing memes and in many of them people make guesses at who the culprit is.

"So that's what Ivanka was typing on her phone during McCain's memorial!" tweeted @skolanach.

Another twitter user who goes by @jules_su shared an image of Kim Kardashian in the Oval Office and wrote, "I figured out who wrote the NYT op-ed..."

(See a sampling of the memes in the gallery above.)

ALSO: Trump rips searing Times op-ed from unnamed senior official

Headlined "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration," the piece says the way Trump manages the government is 'impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective' and states, "The root of the problem is the president's amorality."

The unnamed author assures readers that "unsung heroes" within the White House are "working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations."

The op-ed sparked praise and scorn and heated debate and led the president to declare that he's on a hunt to find out who wrote the "gutless editorial."

ALSO: Internet investigates who wrote the NYT op-ed

An anonymous opinion piece by a senior Trump administration official detailed a "quiet resistance" among government staff who are working to stop the president's "reckless decisions." staffer reveals that many White House staffers are working to stop the president they serve.

The Twitterverse quickly produced a flood of memes, mocking every aspect of the situation. The Times revealed that the author is male and many of the most popular theories focused on Vice President Mike Pence. The Times op-ed author used the word "lodestar" and many pointed out that Pence often says this word in his speeches.

But the memes ventured way beyond the obvious, and there were references to everything from The Wire to Star Wars.

Many took off with a new pun and rewrote the headline and first couple lines from the op-ed to say they're part of their own resistance. One joked they're inside the quiet resistance at Trevor Noah's "Daily Show" and another is leading a resistance at the Jamba Juice corporation.
A gay couple from San Francisco is accusing EVA Air of discrimination following an incident that occurred while boarding a flight from SF to Taipei on Sept. 1.

Jeff Cobb of San Francisco took to Twitter to accuse EVA Air of separating their family during the boarding process.

"My husband and I were told only one of us could join our 19-month-old in the family boarding group," Cobb tweeted. "I explained we were both the fathers of the child, and they said it was their policy that only one parent can board and the other has to wait in the normal line. Not having flown EVA before, I accepted it and let my husband and child go while I boarded later."

MORE TRAVEL NEWS: Pepper spray torments first-class passengers on flight to Hawaii

Cobb alleges that after boarding the plane, his husband told him that the airline allowed straight couples to board the plane together.

"When I met him on the plane, he said there were many other (straight) families all boarding together," he tweeted. "I'm very disappointed that the EVA ground staff at SFO thinks it's OK to separate same-sex families during boarding. I will definitely not be flying this airline again after this incident."

EVA Air issued a public apology to Cobb and his family, and stated that the airline has a "zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind."

"EVA Air and especially our San Francisco International Airport team sincerely apologize to Mr. Cobb, his husband and their daughter for their experience," the airline tweeted. "EVA has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind."

RELATED: Plane passenger arrested after allegedly urinating on another traveler

The airline said that a gate agent gave Cobb incorrect information.

"It is our policy that passengers traveling with infants or children can have priority boarding," EVA Air tweeted. "The policy does not limit the number of accompanying adults or specify the relationship to the infant or child. To prevent a congested and unsafe jet bridge on our September 1 flight, the gate agent incorrectly informed passengers requesting priority boarding that family boarding would be restricted to a one adult, one child ratio."

EVA Air also added that gate agents and airport staff will "review diversity training" to ensure an incident like this one doesn't happen again.
SAPPORO, Japan  Japanese authorities rushed 25,000 military and police personnel to Hokkaido island in a massive rescue effort after a powerful earthquake triggered landslides and buried houses.

Nine people were killed on the island in northern Japan and 31 were missing, as authorities warned of the possibility of more quakes in coming days. The earthquake capped off a deadly summer season that saw hundreds die in floods, landslides and a heat wave.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck at 3:08 a.m., destroying houses and leaving the island of 2.9 million households without power. The town of Atsuma on the southern part of the island was the hardest hit. There, houses were buried as mountainsides collapsed.

Four of the dead and the 31 missing were residents of Atsuma, according to Japanese officials. More than 300 were injured in the quake.

The epicenter of the earthquake was 40 miles southeast of Sapporo, Hokkaidos largest city, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Minutes after the initial quake, an aftershock measuring 5.3 struck the area.

Thursdays earthquake came as Japan was still reeling from Typhoon Jebi, which hit the west of the nation Tuesday, killing 11 people and injuring 200.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government had set up an emergency command center to coordinate rescue efforts.

We will do our best to save lives, he told journalists.

Hokkaido had weathered the typhoon the day before the earthquake struck, leaving the soil soaked and creating the conditions for unstable mountainsides to crumble in the quake.

Buildings tilted and roads cracked in the earthquake. Aerial footage broadcast on Japanese television showed areas where the sides of mountains had collapsed, exposing bare areas of earth and toppling trees.

Nearly 2,000 people took shelter in emergency evacuation centers after the quake hit.

Electricity was restored to parts of the island by 2 p.m. Thursday, but Japans Industry Minister Hiroshige Seko said it would take a week before power was fully restored.

Tomari nuclear power plant temporarily lost external power and switched to backup generators, Cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters, adding that radiation levels were normal and no leaks occurred. Power was restored to the nuclear plant some10 hours after the earthquake. None of three reactors was operating, and spent fuel rods were being stored in a cooling pond at the plant.

Robyn Dixon is a Los Angeles Times writer.
BEIRUT  When the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran meet Friday in Tehran, all eyes will be on their diplomacy reaching a last-minute deal to avert a bloodbath in Idlib, Syrias crowded northwestern province and last opposition stronghold.

The three leaders, whose nations are all under U.S. sanctions, have an interest in working together to contain a potentially catastrophic offensive by President Bashar Assads forces to recapture the province, but Idlib is complicated and they have little common ground when it comes to Syria.

The province and surrounding area is home to about 3 million people  nearly half of them civilians displaced from other parts of Syria  but also an estimated 10,000 hard-core fighters, including al Qaeda-linked militants.

For Russia and Iran, both allies of the Syrian government, retaking Idlib is crucial to complete what they see as a military victory in Syrias civil war after Syrian troops recaptured nearly all other major towns and cities, largely defeating the rebellion against Assad.

A bloody offensive that creates a massive wave of death and displacement, however, runs counter to their narrative that the situation in Syria is normalizing, and could hurt Russias longer-term efforts to encourage the return of refugees and get Western countries to invest in Syrias postwar reconstruction.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which supports Syrias rebels, stands to lose the most from an assault on Idlib.

Turkey already hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees and has sealed its borders to newcomers. It has also created zones of control in northern Syria and has several hundred troops deployed at 12 observation posts in Idlib. A government assault creates a nightmare scenario of potentially hundreds of thousands of people, including militants, fleeing toward its border and destabilizing towns and cities in northern Syria under its control.

I dont think that there is a total solution for Syria on the table, but certainly it is a defining moment, said Sam Heller, a senior analyst at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. He said if Damascus retook Idlib, it would mark its near-total victory over the opposition, but it will likely also bring humanitarian suffering and carnage on a scale not yet seen in the seven-year war.

Zeina Karam is an Associated Press writer.
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Agricultural employers in California face unique workplace challenges due to the outdoor and seasonal nature of many jobsbut they still must comply with the state's stringent employment laws. Here are some ways that they can help ensure compliance and establish safe working conditions for employees.

1. Note Wage and Hour Rules

Agricultural employers may be particularly focused on wage and hour compliance right now because of upcoming changes to overtime rules, noted Alden Parker, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Sacramento.

Most workers in California are entitled to overtime pay for hours worked beyond eight in a day and 40 in a week. Under the current law, however, farmworkers in the state are entitled to overtime pay only after working 10 hours in a day or 60 hours in a workweek. They are also exempt from federal overtime provisions under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

As a result of recent legislation, the exception for farmworkers will be phased out beginning in 2019, when most farmworkers will be entitled to overtime pay after working 9.5 hours in a day and 55 hours in a workweek. By January 2022, employers with at least 26 farmworkers will have to pay overtime in accordance to the standard state rules. Businesses with 25 or fewer employees, however, will have an additional three years.

Some wage and hour changes for farmworkers already took effect in 2017. For example, farmworkers are no longer exempt from certain state law requirements regarding wages, meal breaks and other working conditions.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with California Overtime Payment Law]

2. Look Out for Joint-Employer Issues

Since agricultural work can be seasonal, employers might use outside services to provide workers during the busy times, and those workers typically are not classified as employees, said Monique Ngo-Bonnici, an attorney with Winston & Strawn in Los Angeles. However, businesses might run into joint-employer issues if the service provider isn't following the applicable workplace rules.

For example, California Labor Code Section 2810 prohibits businesses from entering an agreement with a farm-labor contractor if they know or should know that the agreement doesn't include sufficient funds to pay workers in accordance with all the applicable labor laws.

Furthermore, certain businesses may share liability with labor providers for wage payment violations and failure to provide workers' compensation coverage if the work is performed within the usual course of the business and on the hiring entity's premises.

"Harvesting is certainly central to the business," Parker noted. So agricultural businesses should pay particular attention to this law.

"Make sure whoever you are partnering with to provide seasonal workers is reputable and properly vetted, and make sure they are following all the applicable laws," Ngo-Bonnici said.

3. Establish a Heat-Illness Prevention Program

In addition to California's standard meal and rest break requirements, special rules apply for employees who work outside. Providing heat breaks and potable water are essential requirements that everyone in the agricultural industry must understand, Parker said.

Ngo-Bonnici noted that multistate employers might not know that the rules are different in California. Specifically, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) requires employers to take the following steps to prevent heat illness in outdoor workers:

Provide training to workers about heat-illness prevention.



Provide employees with four cups of water per hour and encourage them to drink it.



Provide access to shade and encourage employees to rest for at least five minutes at a time when they feel the need to cool down.



Create written compliance procedures in accordance with Cal/OSHA's Heat Illness Prevention Standard.



The California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) cited a typical example of a violation in which inspectors found farmworkers harvesting crops in 90-degree weather without adequate shade, single-use drinking cups or hand-washing facilities. The employer was fined $24,500. Penalties can add up quickly. Employers might pay up to $25,000 for each serious health and safety violation.

4. Prepare for Sexual-Harassment Training

In light of the #MeToo movement, there have been quite a few bills making their way to the governor's desk that aim to curb workplace sexual harassment. For example, some lawmakers are pushing to expand mandatory sexual-harassment training to all workers at businesses with five or more employees. Currently, businesses with at least 50 employees must provide training to supervisory employees.

"In an industry like agriculture, that's a profound change," Parker said. There are generally just a few managers who oversee a lot of employees at a worksite, so the training would require more coordination and may result in significantly higher costs for employers, he added. Additionally, online training programs might not work in agriculture because the ability to train by computer is limited in field operations.

5. Develop a Documentation System

Employers in all industries must develop documentation systems for time-keeping, disciplinary actions, training and other employment-related activities, but agricultural employers face the challenge of figuring out a system that works in the fields.

"Employers may struggle with documentation in agriculture because of the need to be mobile," Parker said.

In 2017, the state's Labor Enforcement Task Force assessed over $150,000 in initial penalties to agricultural employers, according to the DIR. Proper documentation can help employers to show compliance procedures and speed up investigations, Parker said.


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California wildfires frequently force employers to tackle the arduous task of navigating both business operations and employment law issues during a disaster. To aid employers, we will discuss leaves of absence and other time-off considerations frequently involved when there are wildfires.

Key Leave Considerations

Depending on the circumstances, employees may be entitled to take time off to care for and treat their own health condition or that of a family member because of the wildfires. Private employers should be aware of the following:

Family and medical leave. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) each provide eligible employees with unpaid, job-protected leave to care for their own or a family member's serious health condition. The FMLA and CFRA contain similar provisions and generally run concurrently. However, there are some situations in which leave will count only toward one or the other. Eligible employees are entitled to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period. Covered employers include those that employ 50 or more employees for each working day during each of 20 or more calendar workweeks in the current or preceding year.

Paid sick leave. Employees may use California mandatory sick leave to diagnose or care for an existing health condition or to seek preventive care for the employee or family member. The term "family member" is defined in the California Labor Code as a:

Biological, adopted or foster child; stepchild; legal ward; or child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. The definition of a child is applicable regardless of age or dependency status.



Biological, adoptive or foster parent; stepparent; legal guardian of an employee or the employee's spouse or registered domestic partner; or person who stood in loco parentis when the employee was a minor child.



Spouse.



Registered domestic partner.



Grandparent.



Grandchild.



Sibling.



California's Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act (HWHFA) requires most employers to provide eligible workers with at least 24 paid hours or three paid sick days per year, whichever is greater. There is no federal counterpart.

Eligible employees include those who have worked in California for the same employer for 30 or more days within a year. Employers should note that some municipalities in the state have separate sick-leave requirements for employees within their jurisdiction. These local laws are sometimes more expansive than the California law. As such, employers must review each applicable law to stay informed of their obligations.

Company policy. Employees may also seek leave under a company's paid-time-off policy. However, employers are not required to provide additional sick days if their policies cover the state and local requirements. Thus, employers should review their paid-time-off policies and make sure supervisors are aware of the time that is available to employees.

Nonmedical leave. California law provides a number of leave options to workers beyond medical leave. For example, businesses are required to grant employees time off to perform emergency duty as a volunteer firefighter, reserve police officer or emergency rescue personnel. This leave is unpaid, and employers may not discharge, demote, suspend or otherwise discriminate against employees for exercising this right. Additionally, employers with 50 or more employees must provide up to 14 days off each year for fire or law enforcement training. Employers with 25 or more employees working at the same location must also allow eligible employees to take unpaid leaveup to 40 hours per year, but not more than eight hours per calendar monthto address school-related issues, including school closures because of a wildfire.

Conclusion



Although wildfires create serious challenges that no business can fully prepare for, understanding some of the key leave laws can help employers prepare for employee leave requests during any natural disaster.

Patrick J. Wingfield and Kavin A. Williams are attorneys with Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney in San Francisco.
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An employer in New Jersey didn't have to waive a post-accident drug test for an employee who was a registered medical marijuana user, according to a federal judge.



The ruling means that employers in the state still can dictate the terms of employment to include drug testing, said Myrna Maysonet, an attorney with Greenspoon Marder in Orlando, Fla.

Employers have a lot of discretion over managing their workplaces, but they still have to be aware of other situations that might require a reasonable accommodation, she added. The current ruling was narrow and didn't explore issues beyond waiving a drug test.

[SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What laws should companies be aware of when implementing a drug testing program?]

The employee in the case was suspended indefinitely after he told his employer that he couldn't pass a drug test because he used medical marijuana in addition to prescription pain medicine. He claimed that the suspension constituted unlawful disability discrimination under the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. But the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that the employer didn't unlawfully discriminate against the worker.

"Nothing in the complaint indicates [that the employer] took issue with his disability as such, only with a consequence of his treatment," Judge Robert Kugler wrote for the court.

Kugler noted that all marijuana use is still illegal under federal law and that New Jersey state courts have generally found that private employers may require workers to pass a drug test.

Medical Marijuana Laws

More than 30 states have comprehensive medical marijuana laws, and 15 states permit the use of low-THC products in limited circumstances, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tetrahydrocannabinolknown as THCis the psychoactive component in marijuana. Low-THC products are mainly used for cannabidiol, which is not psychoactive but is said to have medicinal value.

New Jersey's law decriminalized medical marijuana in 2010 and protects registered users from civil penalties. However, the act doesn't require an employer "to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace," according to the statute.

The judge appeared to read the statute to mean that businesses can discipline medical marijuana cardholders, but some experts would argue that the act's language isn't as clear on the subject as it is in other states, said Ruth Rauls, an attorney with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr in Princeton, N.J.

Indeed, Kugler noted that New Jersey's statute is less expansive than some other state laws. For instance, Arizona's law specifically provides workplace protections for medical marijuana users. And New York's law requires employers to provide a reasonable accommodation to certified cardholders. In contrast, Ohio's law expressly allows employers to discipline, fire or refuse to hire medical marijuana users.

"Unless expressly provided for by statute, most courts have concluded that the decriminalization of medical marijuana does not shield employees from adverse employment actions," Kugler said.

The court's ruling emphasizes the need for employers to understand the parameters for authorized medical marijuana use in the applicable state, Rauls said. "The statutory language is going to be key in these types of cases."

Courts in some states have sided with employers. For example, in 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court found that even though a worker was permitted to use medical marijuana under state law, his firing was justified because marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

However, in 2017, a Rhode Island court sided with a job candidate who wasn't hired because she disclosed that she was a medical marijuana cardholder and would fail a pre-employment drug test. Additionally, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found that a registered medical marijuana user who was fired for failing a drug test could proceed in state court with her disability-discrimination claim. The court in that case held that employees have the right to seek a reasonable accommodation for medical marijuana use under the state's disability law.

Employers should think about what substance-abuse policies make the most sense for their workplace, Rauls said. Consider what jobs workers are performing and what constitutes a safe workplace. The analysis might be different for safety-sensitive positions, she noted.

Employers should be aware that they are never required to tolerate on-the-job impairment, Maysonet said. "But if you are a medical user and are abiding by the rules, you may have some protections under state law," she added. However, there are no employment protections for workers who use marijuana recreationally, even in the states that have authorized such use.

The case is Cotto vs. Ardagh Glass Packing Inc., D.N.J., No. 18-1037 (Aug. 10, 2018).


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Are the Island's western waterways a viable route for a fast ferry?

That's the question Borough President James Oddo plans to ask the city's Economic Development Corporation and Coast Guard later this month, as Mayor Bill de Blasio mulls over which part of the city he will select to add to the NYC Ferry service by the year's end.

"Over the years historically, people have said 'oh no, you can't ...'" Oddo said. "I want to know from the definitive source, which is the Coast Guard, what can and can't happen."

The West Shore has been a tricky spot because it is a major shipping and commercial route constantly filled with boat traffic.

But New Jersey seems to have figured out a way to run a fast ferry on the route to Manhattan.

Plans for a fast ferry from Carteret to Midtown have been in the works for months.

Earlier this year, the Federal Transit Administration gave NJ Transit $6 million to buy a 299-seat ferry to lease for $1 a year to run the new ferry service to Manhattan, NJ.com reported.

Oddo said if officials say a route on the West Shore is a possibility, there are several areas in that area he may consider.

When the mayor visited the borough for a week in July, he asked Oddo for a short list of potential routes around the Island for a fast ferry service.

Oddo said he is still putting together that list and plans to include possible routes on the North, South, and East Shores as well as Mid-Island.

He said he also wants to pitch adding the Island to the existing Brooklyn NYC Ferry route.

The mayor said he will make a decision on where to add another route to the NYC Ferry system by the year's end.

It could be Staten Island. It could be Coney Island, or other locations, he recently said.

But he said his administration is looking primarily on the South Shore of the borough, where Island commuters have some of the longest commutes in the country.

Oddo said the routes will need to meet a number of requirements, like having enough space for 500 to 600 vehicles and be accessible to commuters, have the right depth of water, and more.

Some of those requirements have already proved challenging, Oddo said.

"It's incredibly frustrating that we all know and I think the mayor knows that Staten Island can benefit from a fast ferry and needs a fast ferry, but there is no obvious site where it works and that is the struggle right now and that's our challenge between now and the time the administration makes a decision on the next route," Oddo said.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
Saudi Arabia shot down a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Huthi rebels, with shrapnel leaving 26 people wounded, a Riyadh-led coalition fighting the insurgents said.

Two children were among the wounded from the missile that was intercepted over the southern Saudi city of Najran on Wednesday, said a coalition statement published by the Saudi state media.



The Iran-backed Huthis have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh usually says it intercepts.

The Huthis' Al-Masirah TV said Wednesday's strike was targeted at a Saudi National Guard camp in the border city.

The attack brings the tally to more than 185 rebel missiles launched since 2015, according to the coalition, which that year joined the Yemeni government's fight against Huthi rebels.

In 2014, the Huthis overran the Yemeni capital and seized control of much of northern Yemen as well as a string of ports on the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies intervened in the conflict the following March, aiming to push back the Huthis and restore the internationally recognised government to power.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Huthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

Wednesday's attack comes on the eve of United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva, the first public meetings between the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Huthi rebels since 2016.

But both the government and the rebels have said they expect no breakthrough at the talks, which appear likely to be delayed.

While representatives of the Yemeni government arrived in Geneva Wednesday, the rebels remained stranded in Sanaa, amid claims the Saudi-led coalition backing Hadi was preventing them from leaving for the talks.

The war in the impoverished country has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

-PTI
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- New York City's Catholic school students head back to the classroom on Thursday.

Public school students began their academic year on Wednesday.

To help mark the new school year, we are asking you to send us your back-to-school photos by using the hashtag #SILive with your pictures on Instagram and Twitter. Feel free to post photos in the comments section below, too.

We want hear from Staten Islanders on the first day of the new academic year!

We'll be covering the first day of Catholic school for Staten Island students, so be sure to check SILive.com for stories and photos throughout the day!

To view the Catholic school calendar for the 2018-2019 school year, click here.
Sen. Marco Rubio and professional conspiracy theorist Alex Jones almost came to blows after a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on possible bias from tech companies. Jones confronted Rubio during a press huddle, eventually patting Rubio on the shoulder, leading to the senator warning Jones he would "take care of you myself." The confrontation between one of the Senate's most disliked members and the nation's most reviled conspiracy theorist has lead many on the Internet to wonder, who are we even rooting for?

PERSPECTIVES

Jones was attending the hearings to "face his accusers," the tech companies that have removed him from their platforms for violating their usage rules when he accosted Rubio in the hallway.

Much as I enjoyed watching Marco Rubio send Alex Jones into a rage, in a fight between them, I'm rooting for a sinkhole. pic.twitter.com/O1t9NnR7Ji  shauna (@goldengateblond) September 5, 2018

It was a wild moment.

we are all this reporter watching alex jones heckle marco rubio pic.twitter.com/mN7XXft621  marisa kabas (@MarisaKabas) September 5, 2018

They really are both pretty bad.

Video of the Alex Jones/Marco Rubio altercation that happened moments ago: pic.twitter.com/2e7A71gB8T  Rex Huppke (@RexHuppke) September 5, 2018

The scales almost tilt towards Marco Rubio, because he hasn't harassed the families of dead children....

Watching Marco Rubio verbally destroy Alex Jones almost made me forget that he is a horrible human being who is paid by the NRA and doesnt care about the people of Florida...



Almost.  Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) September 5, 2018

Until you remember Rubio told the families of dead children he would not stop taking money from the NRA and we're back to not rooting for anyone.

Why not vote instead for this incredibly cute puppy?! It just wants to play with you and would never peddle conspiracy theories for money! Vote for the puppy!

Bubbly blue eyes pic.twitter.com/btI2XG4yN8  DailyDose Of Puppies (@TheDaiIyPuppy) September 5, 2018

But then out of nowhere here comes this big ole fat fluffy weasel! Who knew fat weasels could be so cute? Certainly not me!

This fat weasel would never agree to take money from the NRA, an organization that consistently puts their special interests before the lives of children! What a choice you have to make between this cute puppy and this adorable fat weasel!

I googled "fat weasel" and I was not disappointed. pic.twitter.com/q1hKoSXeJq  Gretchen Felker-Martin (@scumbelievable) September 4, 2018

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Staten Island Muslim woman claims sensitive religious materials were unlawfully copied off her cellphone after authorities detained her at a New Jersey airport earlier this year, according to federal court records.

Rejahne Lazoja, who wears a hijab, a headscarf, alleges she was illegally searched after a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport on a flight from Switzerland on Feb. 26, said a lawsuit filed in New Jersey federal court.

Lazoja, an American citizen, was traveling with her 6-year-old daughter when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents took her to a small, windowless room and questioned her for several hours before confiscating her iPhone 6s, said the filing.

She was allegedly asked if she was a refugee, her family background and if she was Muslim.

"She feels like she was profiled," said Jay Rehman, legal director of the Council on American-Muslim Relations (CAIR) New Jersey.

Agents asked Lazoja to unlock the phone, but she refused. The device contained pictures of Lazoja without the hijab, and her faith doesn't permit men who are not family members to see her without the covering.

"She was scared and upset," Rehman said. "This is not the first time this has happened."

Before she was released, agents took her phone and gave her a receipt that the phone and SIM card were sent to a "DHS (Department of Homeland Security) lab."

The phone was returned five months later, but the filing said the search and seizure without a warrant violated Lazoja's Fourth Amendment rights. The motion also requests that authorities delete the copies of the data and provide an explanation for the detainment.

"This happened without a warrant or probable cause," Rehman said. "This type of search and seizure is unlawful. Muslims have gone through this since 9/11."

A spokesperson for the CBP declined to comment on the litigation, but said travelers coming into the country are subject to searches, including computers, disks, drives, tapes, mobile phones and other communication devices, cameras, music and other media players and any other electronic or digital devices.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Growing up in the town of Amantea in Calabria, Italy, Natale Giusta always wanted to open a restaurant serving his favorite dishes -- like salmon alla livornese, sausage, peppers and onions, and steak pizzaiola.

"Many, many years ago, my father had a restaurant with his brother in my country. It was always my dream to open a restaurant," he said, noting he was raised in a family of nine kids.

But once he arrived in America in 1980, Giusta began to work in the construction business. A fine craftsman, he loved creating "something from nothing."

"But it [the desire to open a restaurant] stayed with me. I kept saying 'one day, one day'," recalled Giusta.

That "one day" came on March 8, 2018.

At 57 years old, Giusta said it was time to retire from the construction industry, and make his dream of owning his own restaurant with a Calabrese style of cooking a reality.

The name of the restaurant nods to the moniker of Amantea's main thoroughfare, Via Margherita.

'GRANDMA'S KITCHEN'

Giusta designed and created the entire restaurant in Rosebank -- just a few doors away from the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum -- to look like the inside of a "grandma's kitchen" in an old Italian villa.

"From the decor to the food, we wanted you feel like you're home or inside your grandma's kitchen," said Giusta 's youngest son, Benedetto, who manages the eatery.

A focal point of the restaurant is a light wood-stained breakfront, with little knick-knacks -- each a reminder of something from the elder Giusta's childhood, like china circa 1950s and a bowl of plastic fruit.

Checkered tables cloths -- either red and white, or green and white -- mimic the colors of the Italian flag, and create a homey atmosphere.

Artwork by Luigi Marziano -- scenes from Italy -- adorn the walls, some made to look worn and constructed of brick.

FAMILY AFFAIR

And the business is a family affair. In addition to his youngest son, Benedetto working at the business, Giusta's wife, Loredana, and daughter, Romina Giusta-Gallagher, help with the cooking.

Giusta's older son, Joe, who is an electrician, just comes by to eat, Giusta joked.

"We do Sunday sauce, lasagna, stuffed meatloaf. People love to come here for Sunday dinner. ...My mom cooks at night and my sister cooks during the day, " said Benedetto.

"We get a lot of repeat customers. Sometimes we get people coming in three times each week. We get a lot of feedback about how people haven't had this type of food in so many years," he said.

And the Giustas are meticulous about the way they keep their kitchen -- a lot like most Italian grandmothers. Everything shines, and all pastas and other ingredients are labeled in bins and organized.

Of the family dynamic that makes the restaurant a success, Giusta-Gallagher said: "We try to listen to each other with everything. Obviously, there will be a lot of opinions, but you take a little bit of everything and make it into one."

AND THEN THERE'S MARIO

Outside the restaurant is a nearly 5-foot-tall statue of an Italian chef holding a tray of spaghetti. The back story is that the elder Giusta rescued Mario from the trash and gave him a complete, yet detailed overhaul. It's now a signature welcome to the restaurant as patrons often stop to take photos with it.

VIA MARGHERITA AT A GLANCE

Address: 452 Tompkins Ave., Rosebank

Website: viamargheritarestaurant.com

Social Media:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/viamargherita_restaurant/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Viamargheritarestaurant/

New Businesses in Focus is a weekly column that relates the stories of new Staten Island businesses owners.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A man accused of threatening his ex-wife with a knife and snapping her pet parakeet "in half" during a dispute five months ago could avoid jail under a plea agreement.

Javier Villanueba, then 36, was busted on April 24 at 10:49 a.m. shortly after the incident at a Victory Boulevard residence in Tompkinsville, police said.

According to a criminal complaint and a source with knowledge of the case, the defendant grabbed a kitchen knife, pointed it at the 33-year-old woman and said, in Spanish, "I'm going to kill you."

Villanueba then snatched his former spouse's pet parakeet from its cage and "snapped (it) in half," causing its death, the complaint alleged.

The woman told police Villanueba dumped the dead bird into the garbage, said a police spokesman.

Police said the woman wasn't injured.

Villanueba was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, torturing and injuring an animal, menacing, harassment and criminal weapon possession.

The defendant pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Criminal Court to a misdemeanor count of criminal weapon possession and to disorderly conduct, a non-criminal violation.

A source with knowledge of the case said a necropsy performed on the parakeet could not confirm the bird had died due to the defendant's actions.

As a result, the aggravated animal cruelty charge, the only felony count against Villanueba, was dismissed, said the source.

As part of his plea agreement, the defendant must undergo drug treatment, prosecutors said.

If he completes treatment, the weapon-possession conviction will be vacated, and he'll be sentenced to a conditional discharge for disorderly conduct.

Villanueba faces up to a year in jail if he fails to finish the program.

A full order of protection against Villanueba was issued in the woman's favor.

The defendant is scheduled to return to court on Nov. 15 for an update.

His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.
A few hours past midnight on Sept. 2, 1958, Dr. Melvin Nimer and his wife, Lou Jean, were stabbed to death in their home at 242 Vanderbilt Ave. in Clifton on Staten Island's East Shore. The brutal murders left their three young children orphans and plunged the entire community of mostly young families into sheer terror. I remember the astonishing events particularly well because I was a teenager at the time, living with my mother, father and two sisters at 250 Vanderbilt Ave., a mere two doors from the Nimer home. I knew the couple's oldest child, 8-year-old Melvin Dean, who was called Dean by his parents, and Deanie by us kids. My youngest sister, Maureen, knew the small, thin, blonde-haired boy even better, because the two often played together for hours in his backyard.



Clifton, in those pre-Verrazano Bridge days, was a peaceful slice of Americana where crime was virtually nonexistent. The Nimers had rented the house at 242 Vanderbilt from our good friends, Dr. and Mrs. John Glotfelty. Dr. Nimer was working at the Marine Hospital at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and Bay Street. While my mother remembered him as rather aloof, she recalled that Lou Jean, whom she described as "really beautiful," would regularly join the other mothers in the neighborhood for afternoon get-togethers. Since the Nimers were devout Mormons, Lou Jean drank the grain beverage Postum instead of tea.



Startling news



Sept. 1, 1958, was Labor Day. With the sun about to set, our family was wrapping up a barbecue with some visiting family members. Dr. Nimer walked into our yard, asking if we had seen his younger son, Gregory, who had wandered away from their home.



It was an especially cool night for early September, which made for excellent sleeping. In the early hours of the following morning, I was startled out of a deep sleep by rapid knocks on my bedroom door. My father was standing in the hallway. "I think there's been a murder," he said, obviously shaken. Stunned, I followed him to my parents' bedroom and looked out the front window to an incomprehensible scene. Vanderbilt Avenue -- generally stone-cold quiet at that hour -- looked like Times Square. There were numerous police cars, mobile media units and an army of reporters rushing about. Police had cordoned off the area from the Nimer house to ours.



Detectives soon confirmed the startling news to us in our living room. Dr. Melvin and Lou Jean Nimer had been stabled to death in their home by a masked intruder. The perpetrator was at large, and the couple's three children, whose nearest relatives were in Utah, were at the home of next-door neighbors Grace and Fred Ezell.



Fearful nights



In the ensuing hours, we were interviewed by more detectives and fended off a bevy of persistent reporters. I spoke with my friends by phone that day, all of us confined to our homes by parental decree. Our serendipitous neighborhood had been plunged into a vice of dark foreboding. Like the rest of my family, I feared the darkness of the coming night. How were any of us going to sleep with a madman on the loose? Yes, a heavy police presence remained on the scene around the clock for several days, but, emotionally at least, that didn't lessen images of being hacked to death in our beds.



Approximately one week later, in the early evening, a detective gave us the news everybody had been waiting for. Not only was the case solved, but the perpetrator was re-enacting the murders in the home at that very moment. The startling development led to a media onslaught that overran that entire section of Vanderbilt Avenue. We, of course, had a clear view of the Nimer house from the front of our property.



The unthinkable



Suddenly, floodlights illuminated the front door and little Dean Nimer was escorted outside. I didn't immediately comprehend the import of what I was seeing. They couldn't possibly be saying that Dean was the murderer, could they? Quickly, though, as a cascade of flashbulbs assaulted the darkness and people gasped, the unfathomable proposition slammed into my brain. They were, indeed, saying just that.



The shocking revelation that Dean Nimer had confessed to killing his parents catapulted the already frenzied media interest in New York to torrid proportions across the country. Perhaps the worst of the ensuing craziness occurred when a television news team descended on our neighborhood and interviewed children, without their parents' knowledge or consent, asking whether Dean Nimer had wanted to start a "Kill Your Mother and Father Club."



Although Dean soon recanted his confession, and other facts emerged that strongly called it into question, almost everybody in our neighborhood believed that he was guilty. Although it was a convenient conclusion that allowed them to feel safe, it never made any sense to me.



Next week, I'll explain why Dean Nimer, far from being a monstrous parent-killer, was actually a cruelly-persecuted little kid.



Read part two next week. Email Daniel D. Leddy at column@danielleddylaw.com. Follow him on Twitter @LegalHotShots.
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Call it a tale of two tech giants - whose collective shadow looms large over vast swathes of the Australian economy.

This time a year ago, Facebook and Amazon were neck and neck in terms of market value (like they were for the better part of the preceding four years).

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, left, accompanied by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at a Senate hearing Credit:AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Then a gap between the two opened up. And it has progressively widened ever since. It now stands at more than $US500 billion ($694 billion).

Amazon this week became the second trillion dollar company (in US dollars) on the planet, following Apple which reached the milestone in August.
US private equity giant Blackstone has upped the ante in the battle for control of the listed $3.6 billion Investa Office Fund by launching a third, sweetened offer to gazump rival Oxford Properties.

The highly conditional bid is $5.52 per IOF unit, being a 2 premium to Tuesday's indicative, conditional non-binding proposal by the Canadian-based Oxford.

IOF units closed at $5.54.

IOF chairman Richard Longes and the board is considering a fresh takeover offer from Blackstone. Credit:Fairfax Media

IOF independent chairman Richard Longes presided over a short, six-minute meeting in Sydney on Thursday morning, where he told a smattering of unitholders and corporate advisers that in light of the new Blackstone offer, the board would now reschedule any vote as they mulled it over.
Milan: Will the country that gave us the espresso embrace the company that gave us grande Frappucinos?

Early indications suggest the answer could be 'no'. The coffee giant's first store in Italy  which opens on Friday  has already been hit with a consumer rights group protest over prices.

Starbucks has arrived in Italy. Credit:AP

Residents of Milan, the city whose coffee bars inspired Howard Schultz's vision for the chain decades ago, have mostly greeted the company's arrival with a shrug.

"I've tasted Starbucks coffee and I'll absolutely stick to Italian coffee," said Milan resident Giulia Brighenti as she scraped the remains of her espresso at a coffee bar not far from Starbucks' new Reserve Roastery.
The company producing ice-cream products under the Bottega del Gelato and Dairy Bell brands is looking for a buyer after collapsing owing creditors upwards of $1 million.

Administrators at Cor Cordis were called in on Tuesday to oversee Bon Appetit Australia, which produces frozen goods, with a head office in Reservoir.

Bon Appetit Australia has been manufacturing Dairy Bell icecream under licence. Credit:Paul Jeffers

The business makes jams under the Berry King label, as well as Bottega Del Gelato products, which are stocked throughout Australia including in independent supermarkets.

Bon Appetit Australia also makes ice-cream products under licence for Dairy Bell, after its director purchased the licence for the Melbourne brand in 2015.
Women in banking have long had to deal with a boozy, boys' culture" and there is a lot of work to be done in achieving gender equality, says leading businesswoman Ann Sherry, who joins a number of females speaking out against corporate culture.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday criticised the corporate structures that have held back womens advancement and led to financial recklessness.

On Thursday night Ms Sherry told a room full of the nations top chief executives and board directors at the Chief Executive Women annual dinner in Sydney that there was much work to be done on gender equity inside and outside of corporate Australia.

Businesswoman Ann Sherry says in her early years in banking women were given sex toys at Christmas and that these days of humiliation are not over. Credit:Anthony Johnson

Ms Sherry, chairman of Carnival Australia, holds non-executive director roles with National Australia Bank, Sydney Airport and Rugby Australia.
Sydney University academics will enlist the support of immigrant communities, overseas colleagues and students in their fight against a Ramsay Centre proposal for a degree in western civilisation.

A draft of the university's memorandum of understanding with the centre, which would set the terms of a negotiation over curriculum, is likely to be presented to a meeting of the arts faculty board on Monday.

Vice chancellor Michael Spence has pledged to release the MOU for wider debate before it is presented to the Ramsay board, which includes former prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott.

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Academics opposed to the proposal met on Thursday to discuss their strategy, which will include a major public meeting.
The Eastern Curlew

Harry Saddler

The eastern Curlew. By Harry Saddler.

Affirm Press, $29.99

Both Harry Saddler's earliest encounters with the migratory shorebirds of the title, on islands off Victoria, ended with the birds flying away. He's followed them ever since, in particular on the crowdfunded journey that informs the latter part of this book. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway is the path the birds take on their 10,000-kilometre journeys between Australia and their breeding grounds in Siberia; it passes through the Yellow Sea, encircled by China and Korea, where increasing population pressure on its habitat has contributed to the birds' current critically endangered listing. Saddler flies to China, then Korea, finding the curlew and its fellows in both their natural and increasingly urbanised settings. Through it the bird is both its real, striking, extravagantly long-beaked self, and a symbolic citizen of a changing world. Saddler's gentle, reflective book is both celebration and lament.
The short story grew in the 19th century as magazines and mass-circulation newspapers did (think Lawson in Australia, Scott Fitzgerald in the United States). As those outlets have shrunk, the heyday of the form has passed, if not the quality of international work still being widely produced. Writers will always be excited by the technical challenges of the short story: the attack with which it must begin (or "the hook", as an old and honoured journalist such as Drewe might prefer) and the surprise and satisfying rightness with which it ends. Then there is the crucial question of what goes in the middle. Hemingway's test of a successful story was how much good stuff was left out.

In Robert Drewe's renowned short-story collection, The Bodysurfers (1983), he turned for his subject matter to the Australian littoral. In the literature of a nation that is supposed to venerate sun, surf, the beach and their sensual blandishments, this was a strangely uncommon choice. Later, Drewe would edit The Penguin Book of the Beach. Now, the year after his hilarious seventh novel, Whipbird, comes another volume of stories. The True Colour of the Sea features a complex array of narratives  of seaside in childhood and in blighted honeymoons, of islands as the settings for escape, exile, expiation.

The True Colour of the Sea. By Robert Drewe.

Consider several of Drewe's first sentences. In Dr Pacific, "Don dropped dead on the sand and that was that". Or not entirely, his 80-year-old widow, the surfer Bet, takes us on a whimsical, unexpected journey that ends with a pale bone on the seabed. In Another Word for Cannibals, an uneasy group "lined up warily side-by-side in the island's village square". Long ago, in 1867, in the central Pacific, the English Methodist missionary Isaac Horne was killed and eaten here. Now his ill-assorted descendants have gathered for a gruesomely comic ceremony of atonement. Trick endings have often given the short story a bad name (think of the prolific O. Henry) but, as always, Drewe's touch is sure and fresh.

This is one of two stories with a long historical reach (Drewe's first novel, The Savage Crows, 1976, was partly set in Van Diemen's Land in the 1830s). The other story provides this book's title. At the end of the 19th century, Zachary Nash, a young British artist, chooses to be (briefly as he thinks) marooned on an island in the Arafura Sea by the captain of a pearling lugger. There he will attempt to paint the true but ever-shifting colour of the sea, for instance at dusk, when "the ocean was assuming its dominant shade of indigo". In Drewe's daring depiction, Nash is both Defoe's resourceful Crusoe, and Conrad's Nostromo, deranged by solitude.

Elsewhere, Drewe probes the estrangement of old friends who nevertheless won't give up on each other's company (A View of Mt Warning), the strangeness of the ties and the indifference between brothers (Spotting Killer Whales). In a fine flourish, David Lang returns in Imaginary Islands, with others from the cast of The Bodysurfers. Often Drewe's sharp satirical eye is in focus. Into the stories stray a former drug dealer who has changed that addiction for "fighting the good fight against fluoridation of the water supply and child vaccination", a self-righteous vegan (is there any other kind?), ageing desperates thrown together on a cruise whose on-shore excursions include pharmacies selling Viagra.

The mystery of the lives of others for those who possess empathy provides subtle touches in several of the stories. In Varadero, a sullen young Cuban accompanies "the downhearted man in the mankini"; David Lang is intrigued by "a young woman in a black racing swimsuit" on a beach opposite Rottnest Island and  of course  there are the dead, now beyond reckoning save in memory. The True Colour of the Sea is strenuous in the demands that it makes; its accomplishment is therefore the more rewarding.
Canberra's defence businesses could add at least an extra 80 jobs in the next year, with one company looking to double its floor space to accommodate growth.

Two Canberra-based defence technology manufacturers have secured contracts to provide weapons and radar technology to the Australian defence forces.

At the same time University of NSW Canberra is looking to establish the beginnings of a defence technology precinct by 2021.

The Australian government has recently promised to invest $200 billion into Australia's defence forces over the next decade.

Canberra's Electro Optics Systems has already had discussions with the university on its involvement in the precinct.
Canberra is facing the same bushfire conditions it saw in the lead up to the devastating 2003 bushfires, emergency services have warned.

Speaking on Thursday at a national bushfire outlook conference, ACT Emergency Services Agency commissioner Dominic Lane said authorities were expecting dry conditions across NSW and the ACT.

Canberra lost four lives and nearly 500 homes as a result of the 2003 fire, which also had a fire-generated tornado.

Firefighters have warned of conditions similar to those before the Canberra bushfires in 2003. Credit:Sean Davey

"Make no mistake, in Canberra we face the same scenario going into this year," Mr Lane said.
A religiously devout US woman who smuggled cocaine into Australia in her high heels has been jailed for at least 4 years.

Denise Marie Woodrum, 51, was arrested at Sydney Airport and charged over importing a commercial quantity of the drug after stepping off a flight from Los Angeles on August 4 last year.

Denise Woodrum was found with cocaine in her shoes after arriving at Sydney Airport. Credit:Facebook

Woodrum, who was associated with an order of Sisters called the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, claimed to have been fooled by a man she met online named "Hendrik Cornelius" into taking the journey.

But in handing down the sentence, which included a maximum term of 7 years, NSW District Court judge Penelope Wass refused to believe Woodrum had been duped.
A majority of Sydneysiders on the north shore want Luna Park to remain open as a fun park, polling conducted for the venue has shown, as a NSW court decision continues to cast doubt over its future.

The long-term viability of Luna Park is again under threat after a court ruled in July the park did not have the right to install a ride called the "Flying Carousel" without seeking development approval.

Luna Park has fought a string of battles with nearby residents who have complained about noise levels. Credit:Jessica Hromas

"This is a terrible outcome not just for Luna Park but for Sydney," managing director Peter Hearne said at the time.

Eighty-five per cent of Sydney residents, including those on the north shore, wanted the site to continue to operate as an amusement park and function venue, polling released on Friday said.
A highway patrol car was searching for a driver reportedly using a mobile phone before it collided with a Mercedes in Cronulla on Wednesday, police have confirmed.

The collision at the intersection of Kingsway and Connels Road left the driver of the Mercedes, named in media reports as 68-year-old Gai Vieira, fighting for her life in St George Hospital.

A police car and Mercedes involved in a serious collision in Cronulla. Credit:John Veage

A two-year-old boy in the car with her was unhurt, while the 40-year-old senior constable driving the police vehicle received facial injuries.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy would not comment on whether the patrol car had its lights and sirens going.
Amid a $6 billion building boom to tackle population growth, dozens of schools sit half-empty with space for thousands more students.

These once-bursting schools are struggling to attract enrolments as parents embrace "school shopping" and choose to send their kids to private schools and public schools outside their catchment.

Recent Department of Education figures show there are 43 Sydney schools with a utilisation rate of 55 per cent or less, including more than a dozen high schools. A rate of between about 75 and 100 per cent illustrates an efficient use of space.

Another 52 schools operate at between 56 and 65 per cent.

Secondary schools are a particular problem in gentrifying suburbs, where studies have shown that middle-class families worry about sending their children to schools with a high proportion of disadvantaged students.
The abuse PM Gillard was subjected to  not just by Abbott but by Alan Jones and others  should never have been tolerated. The general discourse in Australia now, which is abusive and discourteous, can be traced directly back to that time. - Jan Carroll, Potts Point Bishop says that the bullying in federal Parliament would not be "tolerated in any other workplace across Australia". I can tell her it does. What usually happens is that the one who is bullied ultimately leaves the employ while the perpetrator usually gets a promotion. Former deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop says she has seen "appalling" behaviour in federal politics. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Bullying needs to stop. Whether it is in the school yard, workplace or Parliament. - Lia Friedler, North Sydney

So Peter Dutton's men deny speaking to Julia Banks during the leadership spill ("Dutton's men deny talking to MP during spill", September 6). Well of course, in Mandy Rice Davies' immortal words, "well they would say that wouldn't they". - Nicholas Triggs, Katoomba For many years we have experienced women demanding equality in society. Ever since the creation of political caucuses and business board rooms these places have experienced heated arguments, intimidation, disagreements, demands and threats. Women have now been given equal opportunity and yet there is a constant flow of complaints by some of them about men bullying and intimidating them in either board rooms or caucuses. It is time women have to decide what they really want. Do they want to be treated equal with men or do they want to be given special treatment because they are women? - Ray Warren, Mandurah (WA) Commitment to classroom the sign of a bright future Ally Bass' succinct comments highlight the importance of deep conviction and moral purpose that young educators bring to the profession ("Teaching is a calling, not a career cop-out", September 6).

Ours is a values-rich profession where you continue across your career to learn much about the nature of being a human being through multiple and complex interactions with students, their families and society. It is a profession that above all else is collegial and deeply committed to the long term. From one who has been a member of this profession for over 40 years: welcome Ally. - Rod Leonarder, Roseville Ally Bass has so much to offer our students of the future. I hope she feels the need to remain in the classroom, rather than climbing into administration, leadership or bureaucratic roles, further away from influencing children. - Janice Creenaune, Austinmer After 35 years teaching, I have seen a range of teachers come and go. The real concern in recent years has been in the changing nature of teaching from classroom based to a data-driven activity where the need for good NAPLAN results drives too much of the school. We need more teachers like Ms Bass intends to be: passionate about actual teaching. - Dennis Fitzgerald, Box Hill (Vic)

Nan Howard asks why atheist parents would send their kids to religious schools (Letters, September 6). I'm sure the generous government funding would be a big drawcard. Thanks for raising the important issue of fairness in school funding. I too support the Gonski reforms, and I agree that church schools receive far too much. I'll see you at the picket lines. - Fraser Rew, Summer Hill Michael Egan recounts that education outcomes in his day were still good despite large class sizes (Letters, September 6). What's different today? Both parents often work these days, and so much of the needed home-based support of a child's education are sorely lacking for many young people. Schools are often expected to provide every aspect of a child's education. There are also some fashionable teaching methods that reject tried and true educational methods of the past such as rote learning in certain instances. Sure, everything can be looked up on the internet, but this is never going to create high-level thinkers. A related problem is the ubiquitous use of technology. Their educational value is highly suspect.

Add to that discipline issues, a lack of respect for teachers, and decent pay rates to attract the smartest people to teaching, and you have a multitude of reasons why the education system is failing students. - Anthony van den Broek, Erskineville Scan plan gives shoppers control Interesting to read about the so-called new technology in supermarkets with a scan-and-go app ("The fresh tech people: Woolies trials 'shop-and-go' store", September 6). These have been in place in the UK for years. You pick up a device at the store entry and scan your items as you shop. With items to be weighed, you just place them in a bag and weigh the item and select the appropriate sticker to put on the bag. Once all your shopping is done you then go to the designated checkout for these items and pay the appropriate amount, so you are not holding anyone up on any other queue. Of course, there is always room for cheating, but they have random checks to make sure you are being honest. I just wonder why it has taken Australia so long to hit on this idea. I am sure there is room for improvement, such as using a smartphone to pay and thus not queue at all, but I still think this is the way to go. - Paula Watson, Holgate Another example of the consumer being required to do all the work. First download the app onto an already overloaded smartphone screen.

Shove non-plastic shopping bags into a car. Park the car in a car park full of hidden challenges. Hit the store with one hand on the trolley the other on the phone. You'll need a third hand to transfer the product from shelf to trolley. Race through your shopping at break-neck speed capturing bar codes as you go (fingers crossed you can find them and they register first time). Then pack the lot yourself. - Trish Honeyfield, Woollahra Populist policies It was wonderful watching Scott Morrison proudly announcing not raising the pension age to 70 ("Morrison defends new age policy", September 6). Prime Minister Scott Morrison quickly scrapped the idea. Credit:Mark Jesser

If the definition of populism involves not doing something you've been threatening to do for four years, it's a stroke of genius. If, on the other hand, any of the major parties decides to really embrace populism, they could attempt to introduce a hint of humanity into the Nauru and Manus Island situations. - Bruce Hulbert, Lilyfield The PM is desperately looking for ways to impress the electorate as he dashes from one optimistic announcement to another. What people are entitled to expect however is a cohesive approach based on clear principles and that, sadly, we are not getting. It is starting to look as if the complicated job of running the country and keeping his own house in order is beyond his ability. We need and deserve better. - Nedra Orme, Neutral Bay Horrific statistic

Phil Barker writes that, six men kill themselves every day in Australia. One woman a week is murdered by a current or former male partner. They're just extraordinary numbers ("Players firmly in the 'man box'", September 6). I was well aware of the one woman a week, domestic violence figure as this has been regularly recited throughout the media for a number of years. The male suicide statistic of 42 deaths per week however totally floored me. Why does this horrific loss of life remain in the shadows of contemporary discourse? - Andrew Stark, East Gosford PM still powerless The PM is going to "force" power producers to keep their old coal-fired plants running ("Quick shift from coal worth trillions", SMH September 6). Despite analyses that confirm that this does not make economic - let alone ecological - sense, this stance is indicative of a government that remains regressive and reactive.

They could have taken the leadership change as an opportunity to freshen their presentation to the outside world, but it appears their right flank remains well and truly in control. - Russ Couch, Woonona Fishing for answers Justin Field asserts, without providing a source, that fish stocks on Australia's east coast have fallen by a third in the past decade ("Fishing gone? The planet's future is on the line", September 6). I dispute his assertion. The federal government's Status of Australian Fish Stocks Report 2016 records that 27 fin-fish species in NSW are sustainable, their biomass being above the limit reference point and fishing pressure adequately controlled. I snorkel and line fish from a local ocean beach within walking distance from home and take, when lucky, food for the table. The area is safe and accessible which is important at 77 years of age. The ban would preclude that activity, the alternative being areas unfamiliar to me and potentially dangerous. Local kids who enjoy fishing would be restricted by transport considerations.

Given that there is no evidence that the local biomass is deficient and that I only cast out about 30 metres I wonder what it is that should make my activity criminal. - Greg Maidment, Bronte I don't understand the concept of 'recreational fishing' (Letters, September 6). Why isn't hooking, bashing and allowing fish to die of suffocation treated like any other form of animal cruelty, and prosecuted as such? Is it because fish aren't cute? Or because we don't eat kittens? - Meredith Williams, Dee Why Warm welcomes Self-interest does indeed dominate (Letters, September 6). When I read that coral is forming off Sydney, and tropical fish are arriving as well, my first thought was, "Yay! Now I won't have to move to Queensland for the benefits a warmer climate brings to older bones". - Alicia Dawson, Balmain Marine species are moving south, but they are not the only ones confused by climate change. On August 3 (still winter) our first diamond python was sunning herself on the lawn. - Sonia Stephenson, Wyong Creek

Perhaps politicians will act on climate change when the presence of box jellyfish prevents swimming at Bondi during summer. - Matthew Flattery, Willoughby Slavery selfishness Now there's a serious problem ("Nestle says slavery reporting requirements could cost customers", September 6). Parents of children screaming for chocolate at the supermarket checkout may have to pay more to appease them so other people's children aren't forced into slavery. - Gary Stowe, Springwood Spoken like an Aussie Ah Pat Cranney, if we're going to give the Yanks anything relative to a sauce bottle if should be a suck, not a shake (Letters, September 6). - Ken Ryan, Clovelly

We don't give a "fair shake of the sauce bottle". In the Australian vernacular it's "a fair suck of the saveloy". The former expression was something dreamed up by former PM Kevin Rudd, trying to establish his credentials as a fair dinkum, ridgy didge, true blue, my fur coat Aussie larrikin. - William Galton, Hurstville Grove Establishing a new look Yes, Garth, by all means get a shopping trolley (Letters, September 6). Make sure it's filled with caviar, bubbly and other delights to share with your mates at the retirement village. Also, did you notice the brand-name sneakers? You've all got to wear those. - Peter Skrzynecki, Eastwood Phrase indicative of spin
Counselling and support services should be established for people involved in coronial proceedings, a Queensland coroner has recommended after a Brisbane nurse took her own life before she was expected to give evidence at an inquest.

Marcia Maynard, a nurse at the Woodford Correctional Centre, was expected to give evidence to an inquest into the 2012 death of a prisoner, Garnet Mickelo.

The inquest into the death of an inmate at Woodford Correctional Centre caused stress for Marcia Maynard. Credit:File

Handing down his findings on Wednesday in Brisbane, Coroner John Lock found Mrs Maynard became distressed and anxious about the upcoming hearings and the need for her to provide evidence.

After attending a conference with Queensland Nurses Union lawyers in September 2015, she wrote a letter to the counsel assisting the inquest saying she could not take the stress any longer.
A probe exploring ways to launch Queensland into Australia's space industry will lift off on Thursday.

State Development Minister Cameron Dick said the parliamentary inquiry would consider opportunities for regional Queensland to contribute to Australia's new Space Agency.

Queensland State Development Minister Cameron Dick has announced a new space inquiry.

The agency was launched in June this year, in an effort to unify Australia's space industry into one vision.

The industry generates between $3 billion and $4 billion a year and employs about 10,000 people, with Mr Dick hopeful Queensland would see a greater role in the industry.
A Melbourne publican has been jailed for at least eight years over a side business trafficking substantial quantities of drugs.

Chris Lytros, 50, was busted at the Railway Hotel at Brunswick, where he was the licensee, after selling ice and cocaine to an undercover police officer on eight separate occasions between November 2015 and April 2016.

The Railway Hotel in Brunswick. Credit:Jason South

The undercover officer handed over $67,800 to Lytros for the purchases.

Lytras pleaded guilty in the County Court to one charge of trafficking a commercial quantity of ice and one each of trafficking cocaine and MDMA.
I requested and received some incriminating documents. A year later asked for the same docs out of curiosity and received a different set of very much sanitised docs. I then asked for a one page doc (which I knew had my signature on it) and I received a doc which had been altered and no signature on it. Phil Other issues Victorians are concerned about a range of issues when it comes to state secrecy. Loading Public Private Partnerships. Try to understand the details, backdoor deals and concessions given through any of the PPPs that the state signs up to, which is most of our infrastructure these days. All hidden, signed up and locked away due to a convenient commercial in confidence position, despite it still being taxpayers money at use. Anonymous

The way that VCAT operates, especially in the Guardianship and Administration list is shrouded in secrecy. Anonymous I am a social worker with highly vulnerable families  I have been refused a copy of the familys intervention order against the childrens father by child protection. They have stated they are not allowed to provide me a copy or give a copy to the schools where the children attend. This is despite significant family violence perpetrated by the father which caused child protections involvement. As such, I am unable to provide a clear safety plan with the mother. Anonymous The public need to be given information so that they can make informed decisions about contentious (and costly) issues such as Melbournes Formula One grand prix. Peter and Joan Logan Loading At Box Hill Hospital, our outpatient staff were told not to book any new patients in for two months prior to the time that waiting list numbers are reported. This was to avoid increasing the waiting list numbers. Anonymous

Information obtained under FOI revealed that there is currently 29 [Program for Students with Disabilities] funded students at Emerald Secondary College and the school has received in excess of $500K in each of the past four years. Yet according to DET  no documents exist regarding the expenditure of this money or staffing. Despite this claim that no documents exist, the DET was actually quoted in a recent newspaper article providing some of the exact information it says does not exist. Lynne Stack On the other hand ... I would like to stand up for public servants and government in this instance...it is extremely burdensome to gather FOI information and data. - Anonymous Loading Yes transparency in principle is good, but in reality, it leads to byzantine process, to excessive paperwork and tortuous rabbit holes to cover any possible consideration that any conceivable person may have. so called "Due Diligence" to spend a few thousand dollars can end up costing many tens of thousands, or more. Billy Bob
The crane that dropped the load of concrete. Credit:Paul Jeffers The man fighting for his life, a 28-year-old Caroline Springs man who was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, was struck by the tub and is also believed to have been almost completely submerged in concrete. "It was wet concrete, and as you can appreciate there was a timeline with that because concrete sets... I believe he was submerged under and was brought out quickly by people on scene. That allowed us to have a chance with him... it saved his life and has given him a chance," he said. "He had a lot of concrete all over him. He certainly was submerged." He remains in a critical condition Mr Robertson said the man who died was also submerged in concrete and also had a "fair amount of weight on top of him" from the tub.

A 27-year-old Southbank man was also taken to Box Hill Hospital with minor injuries. Mr Robertson said the incident will have a "massive psychological impact" on the workers and the crane driver, who was "incredibly traumatised". "This is not something you ever want to see," he said. The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union said the company that operated the crane was the same one involved in an incident in Richmond in July where a crane bent backwards in strong winds, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.

"We are calling on the company Clark Cranes - but also any company who has their cranes on their site - to have a full and thorough safety inspection just to make sure they are operating to the full manufacturers' recommendations and to ensure they've been serviced and maintained," said the union's OHS manager Gerry Ayers on Friday. "The cranes shouldn't operate and workers should be asking their employer: 'Show me this crane is safe, prove it to me.' There is a legal obligation for the employer to provide a safe workplace. "WorkSafe Victoria also has a huge role to play in this and they should be leading from the front." Mr Ayers said Clark Cranes was "fairly typical" of a lot of crane companies. "A lot have had mechanical issues, so it's not new but it's certainly concerning the issues this company is having with mechanical issues happening on a regular basis, this says to me there may be an issue with the servicing regime," he said.

"But they aren't alone, there are lots of cranes on site which are behind servicing schedule." Emergency service workers at the scene of the tragedy. Credit:Paul Jeffers Two Clark Crane vans, including a yellow service unit vehicle, were parked directly across the road from the scene on Thursday afternoon. But the company could not be reached for comment.

The distraught crane driver was being consoled by emergency crews and site staff at the scene. Police and WorkSafe are investigating the incident. "The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be established," a police spokeswoman said. Chance Ang, who lives in nearby Court Street, said that he heard a loud thud and then soon after the sound of helicopters circling above. "It's was quite a loud bang, but I didn't think much of it until I heard the helicopters and I started receiving messages from friends telling me what had happened," the 33-year-old man said.

"It's just so sad." Mr Ang said he had driven past the construction site late Wednesday afternoon and was shocked to see a crane facing onto the road with a counterweight positioned above cars on the street. "I thought that's a really strange spot to leave the crane because it was outside of the construction site, and if it fell it could land on a car," he said. "It struck me at the time as being quite weird but I never could have imagined something like this happening the next day. It's just tragic." Opposition Leader Bill Shorten described the tragedy as a "shocking workplace death" in a tweet.
To force this change, the proposals in the North-East Sub-regional Planning Framework  part of the Perth and Peel@3.5million plan  would see rural-residential developments largely a thing of the past. The framework is a road map which lays out the urban, industrial and green footprints for the region and will guide future development. "Rural residential areas provide alternative lifestyle and housing opportunities and may also provide a transition between urban and rural areas," the document reads. "However, rural residential development is a relatively inefficient form of development, places additional demand on community and service infrastructure that is difficult to meet and can prejudice other future planning options."

These tree-change blocks would be limited to the 16,000 hectares already zoned rural-residential in the region, with no more to be approved. City of Swan councillor Andrew Kiely said market demand for these big blocks wasn't what it used to be. Government services and infrastructure  such as the accessibility of health care and public transport  was a growing consideration for prospective residents. "There seems to be a demand for inner-city living more and more," he said. "Your medical and health services are much better, your cost of petrol, there's a whole range of driving factors for individuals, it could be that you're closer to your grandchildren.

"There's a number of factors that drive people closer, it's not necessarily that the government has just decided that we don't want to push people out to those blocks." About 1.4 million people are expected to make Perth home over the next 30 years. Credit:Fairfax Media Concerns over habitat, public open space But it's not just pressure to reduce the size of the Perth's urban sprawl that has put tree-change blocks in the crosshairs. Planners are worried about growing fire risks on the outskirts of the city and the destruction of natural habitats.

"There are issues with flora and fauna, there's fire risks in rural areas that are associated with climate change," Mr Kiely said. "My personal concern is the loss of habitat for fauna, that's a concern for me as a councillor in those areas with greater intrusion into areas of natural habitat. "The sprawl, it can't go on forever, for biodiversity reasons, for loss of habitat, and it can't go on forever because of the cost of service provision and it just doesn't suit people's needs going into the future." People are also after public open space, a contentious issue in the City of Swan, after a public outcry over the development of Midland Oval.

Tempers flared so hot City of Swan mayor David Lucas was assaulted at a public meeting about the development. Safe and enjoyable public open space needs to be a serious part of the mix if the government is determined councils meet their urban infill targets, according to planners. City of Swan to carry bulk of population boom City of Swan acting chief executive Jim Coten said his local government would home 60 per cent of the infill required in the north-east. The City of Swan's New Junction precinct near Midland will deliver between 750 and 1000 new dwellings, providing homes for an estimated 2000 people. Credit:City of Swan

"While we continue to work toward meeting our infill targets, its important to note that there are factors out of the Citys control that continue to influence infill results," he said. "For example, the property market is a big factor in influencing infill. "While house and land prices continue to be relatively affordable in greenfield outer metropolitan areas, the market will continue to contribute to urban sprawl. "Infill is also driven by appropriate public transport infrastructure, and we are starting to see this come to fruition in the City with projects such as Northlink and Metronet, which will bring improved transport infrastructure to our Urban Growth Corridor and provide some development in the area between Ellenbrook and Midland." The City of Swan has rezoned 13,580 properties as part of a new housing strategy, which will contribute toward meeting infill targets.

"Midland Town Centre is a major strategic centre for the City of Swan and surrounds," Mr Coten said. "The New Junction project in Midland ties right in with the Citys infill requirements and aligns with Midlands role as a strategic centre. "The 11-hectare precinct will deliver a diverse new range of housing, business and retail opportunities together with new public and community spaces that make up more than one fifth of the precinct. "Between 750 and 1000 new dwellings are set to be established, providing homes for an estimated 2000 people."

Back to the future: Railways in vogue The history of the north-east of the city was dominated by rail and, to some extent, its future will be, too. The Midland Rail Workshops, which closed in the 1990s, were a major driver of employment in the eastern suburbs. But several recent announcements have made rail relevant again for the region, with new projects on the horizon. The Morley-Ellenbrook rail link, which the government plans to start building in 2019, will lead to affordable housing development along its route.

A 220-hectare development in Brabham will provide 3000 new homes about 23 kilometres from Perth's CBD. Loading "The project will focus strongly on creating a diverse and inclusive community that will enable all groups to be an active part of their local neighbourhood," Housing Minister Peter Tinley said. "Residents will enjoy a vibrant community connected to Perth through the Whiteman Park rail station, which is planned for construction by 2022." While the rail line will be an opportunity for affordable housing development along its route, it has been driven by the growth of Ellenbrook and urban sprawl.

"Not that we would want to change that, or could change it," Mr Kiely said. "But if we see similar developments happening in the future, then it puts pressure on the state government in terms of providing infrastructure for those areas." Earlier this month the state government announced it had chosen Bellevue, near Midland, as the preferred site to assemble 246 new railcars to meet demand from the Perth's expanding rail network. Eventually the Midland line will run to a new station in Bellevue. Guildford's heritage attraction and unanswered development questions

Mr Kiely is also secretary of the Guildford Association, which wants to preserve the heritage of the settlement-era suburb, which he said would be an attraction for developers keen to build around it. But he said infill development just wouldn't work in Guildford. Loading "We trying to create distinct areas with character around Guildford, but we don't want to homogenise the whole of Perth," he said. "On the back of Guildford, to the north, south-east and -west you can put greater infill, because you have greater character that provides relief."
A Perth man accused of exposing himself and indecently touching two children has pleaded not guilty after appearing in court on Thursday.

The man, who cannot be named, appeared in Perth Magistrates Court faced with four separate charges of indecently dealing with a child who is a lineal or defacto relative.

The children were both under the age of 13 at the time the offences took place. Credit:Viki Lascaris

He was arrested earlier this year in relation to the alleged abuse, and first appeared in court in July where he was remanded on bail.

Police allege between April and October last year, the man exposed himself to a young boy, touched him inappropriately, indecently dealt with a young girl and exposed himself to her a second time.
Researchers have warned WA is the canary in the coalmine for climate change in the wake of a new study shining light on the impact of a heatwave that swept across the state in 2011.

The study  a collaboration between international academics led by WA researchers  catalogued the devastation from a heatwave that struck most noticeably in March 2011, on the back of a dry 2010 winter.

It also coincided with one of the strongest La Nina weather events on record, which started in the summer of 2010-11 and peaked between February and March 2011.

Researchers put together a database of information on the response of plants and animals to the heatwave across an area about the size of California, spanning from Exmouth down to Cape Leeuwin.

Maximum temperatures in the area studied were 2C higher than the long-term March average while Perth saw weekly maximum temperatures about 5C higher than usual.
The federal government will be forced to offer low and middle income earners another tax cut or workers will have to fork out thousands of dollars extra in tax by the middle of the next decade.

The Parliamentary Budget Office has found the 6 million Australians earning between $23,000 and $64,000 a year will be pushed into higher tax brackets at five times the rate of the 2.6 million earning more than $100,000 by 2027.

Even after the Coalition's decade long $144 billion tax cut plan was passed by Parliament in June, an adult full-time median salary earner currently on $66,000 a year would be handing over up to $1000 a year extra to the Tax Office by 2026.

"The second and third quintiles are projected to experience the largest increases in average tax rates over this period," the independent parliamentary body found, rising 5 percentage points, compared to only 1 percentage point for the highest earners or fifth quintile.
Australia has signed on to an agreement that labels climate change the single greatest threat to Pacific island nations but has also been outed by one neighbour as having pushed behind the scenes to water down language on emissions pledges.

The finale of the Pacific Islands Forum has also underscored the increasing intensity of competition for strategic influence in the region, with host leader, Nauruan President Baron Waqa, doubling down on his criticism of the Chinese delegation leaders behaviour earlier in the week and warning he would raise the matter in the United Nations.

Children wade through water at high tide in the village of Abarao on the Pacific nation of Kiribati, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Credit:The New York Times

Leaders on Wednesday night, including Foreign Minister Marise Payne jointly stated that climate change presents the single greatest threat to the livelihood, security and wellbeing of the Pacific people and acknowledged the importance of immediate urgent action to combat climate change.

But Australia apparently refused to endorse a push by smaller island states that fear being submerged by rising sea levels to demand countries around the world urgently accelerate the achievements of greenhouse gas reductions to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton was on Thursday night locked in an extraordinary battle of claim and counter-claim with his estranged former border security chief over the au pair controversy after the sacked official gave explosive new evidence to a parliamentary inquiry.

A shadow war that had been building between the two men for days burst onto the public record when Roman Quaedvlieg, the former Australian Border Force commissioner, lodged evidence with the Senate committee stating Mr Dutton's chief of staff had asked for help to get an Italian au pair out of immigration detention on behalf of Mr Dutton's "mate".

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and former Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg together in 2015. Credit:AAP

But Mr Dutton hit back by saying the claim was a fabrication and impossible because the date Mr Quaedvlieg said the phone conversation with the chief of staff Craig Maclachlan took place was actually at least three months before Mr Maclachlan had even started working in the ministerial office.

Mr Quaedvlieg responded by standing by his evidence while acknowledging he might have got the date wrong.
Liberal Party powerbroker Michael Photios is under investigation by the NSW Electoral Commission over allegations he broke lobbying laws in his work with the Spanish contractor building Sydney's light rail.

In a budget estimates hearing on Thursday, the NSW Electoral Commissioner John Schmidt confirmed an investigation was started after he was contacted by Labor's leader in the upper house, Adam Searle.

Michael Photios is under investigation by the NSW Electoral Commission. Credit:Christopher Pearce

Mr Photios, the most powerful figure in the Liberals' moderate faction in NSW, is being investigated for a potential breach of the lobbying act.

The potential breach deals with whether the light rail contractor Acciona was disclosed as a client on the state's lobbyist register when Mr Photios allegedly lobbied the Premiers office in 2017.
The fishing industry calls it bycatch: the unlucky creatures that are snared in nets and hauled in as unwanted extras when trawling for a target species.

Having just hooked Opposition Leader Matthew Guy with damaging new details about the Ventnor zoning debacle, the Andrews government was forced to confront the muck of its own bycatch on Thursday.

Academics and lawyers who were just passing through the planning mess six or seven years ago have this week had their personal information, including phone numbers, addresses and legal and financial affairs, published online.

The farmland near Ventnor on Phillip Island that was rezoned by former planning minister Matthew Guy. Credit:Eddie Jim

It is a remarkable breach of privacy by the Parliament, initiated by the Andrews government out of spite when it used its majority in the lower house to order the production of confidential documents from the former Baillieu government several months ago.
It is heavy for a convertible tablet, weighing almost 1.3kg with the keyboard attached, but it makes up for that by feeling incredibly strong and solid. It's not that much lighter than the more powerful and similarly-priced ThinkPad X1 Extreme laptop, which offers a similar keyboard and stylus setup. The key difference here, of course, is that the tablet can drop the keyboard to become a very capable sub-900g slate.

First of all it includes a stylus for writing, doodling or digital painting, as well as a solid, detachable version of the iconic Thinkpad keyboard. These are optional extras for the Surface Pro, costing close to $400 combined. The Thinkpad also features a newer 8th Gen processor and a bigger, higher-resolution screen. For a couple hundred extra you can add 4G capabilities.

A Windows 10 tablet with a magnetically-attaching keyboard, the new X1 goes toe-to-toe with Microsoft's latest Surface Pro and comes out looking pretty good. The base model packs an Intel i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of in-built storage for $2699. This is $700 more than a similarly-appointed Surface Pro, but the Thinkpad offers several advantages.

The Thinkpad is a mainstay of mobile productivity, a favourite of business users (and astronauts on the International Space Station) since IBM's original 1992 machine. Now produced by Lenovo, the devices continue to offer a premium, powerful option for those working on the go, and the latest X1 Tablet (Gen 3) is no different.

In some ways the new X1 fully commits to the future, dropping just about every legacy port in favour of two USB-C Thunderbolts. This will make it tough to use an external keyboard or mouse, or a USB drive, but when you're on the go it's arguable whether you'll need that stuff. If you're in the office, Thunderbolt makes it easy to connect to a monitor, peripherals and charging brick with a single plug. The Surface Pro, by comparison, has a full-sized USB but requires use of the proprietary Surface Connect port if you want an all-in-one hub like this.

But for all its forward-facing tech, the X1 insists on keeping one foot in the past when it comes to design, looking extremely dated when the keyboard is attached despite its thinness. This is primarily down to the the on thing, more than anything else, that makes a ThinkPad a ThinkPad: that weird red grippy nubbin thing (also called the trackpoint), which sits in the middle of the keyboard. Once upon a time, long before quality touchpads or multi-finger input gestures existed, this was a great way to move the cursor around the screen without needing a mouse. I remember seeing nubbins so well-used that they were reduced to shiny, gripless maroon half-spheres. But in 2018 there's no way I'm using that thing.

The 13-inch, high-resolution screen makes for a great standalone slate.

Aesthetics aside, the grippy nub is a constant hazard when typing on the otherwise amazing keyboard (featuring ThinkPad's iconic rounded, solid keys), and I can't believe there are that many old-school users who prefer it to the smooth, responsive trackpad below. My fingers frequently snagged on the grippy thing when hitting the G and H keys, and while I didn't have that trouble with the B, the fact the printed letter on that key is set lower than every other key (to allow room for the nub) made my blood itch. Also weird is the fact that you can't click with the nub, so you still need those three big clicky buttons underneath. Combined with the touchpad, this makes for a redundant total of five mouse buttons.

Lenovo would argue that the trackpoint is valid alternative to a mouse or trackpad, and one that allows skilled typists to operate both the keyboard and cursor while keeping their fingers on the home keys. Yet while Im sure trackpoint-devotees do exists, I dont think many are buying the X1 tablet. Not enough to justify its inclusion anyway. Its just dressing at this point, a visual reminder of the long-lasting (and for good reason) ThinkPad line.
Tokyo: A powerful earthquake rocked Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido early on Thursday morning, triggering landslides that crushed homes, knocking out power and forcing a nuclear power plant to switch to a backup generator.

The magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck southern Hokkaido at 3:08am at a depth of 40 kilometres, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The epicenter was east of the city of Tomakomai but the shaking buckled roads and damaged homes in Hokkaido's prefectural capital of Sapporo, with a population of 1.9 million.

Police search for missing persons around houses destroyed by a landslide. Credit:AP

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that two people had been confirmed dead. He did not give details.

Japan is used to dealing with disasters, but the past few months have brought a string of calamities. The quake came on the heels of a typhoon that wreaked havoc in western Japan, leaving the main airport near Osaka and Kobe closed after a tanker rammed a bridge connecting the facility to the mainland. The summer also brought devastating floods from torrential rains in Hiroshima and deadly hot temperatures across the country.
They had travelled from Waterloo station to Salisbury by train the day before for what police believe was a reconnaissance trip. They took the underground to Waterloo and from there caught the train to Salisbury, arriving about 2.25pm. They left Salisbury less than two hours later and arrived back in London at 8pm. Twelve hours later they were back at Waterloo to travel to Salisbury again, this time to allegedly administer the deadly weapon. As police locked down the sleepy town of Salisbury, the Russians arrived back in Waterloo and took the underground to Heathrow Airport. From there they returned home to Moscow, leaving on Aeroflot flight SU2585 at 10.30pm.

"We have no evidence that they re-entered the UK after that date," Britain's top counter-terrorism police official, Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, said. "It's almost impossible in this country to hide, almost impossible," said John Bayliss, who retired from the Government Communications Headquarters, Britain's electronic intelligence agency, in 2010. "And with the new software they have, you can tell the person by the way they walk, or a ring they wear, or a watch they wear. It becomes even harder." The investigation into the Skripal poisoning, known as Operation Wedana, will stand as a high-profile test of an investigative technique Britain has pioneered: accumulating mounds of visual data and sifting through it. ... without bothering to produce any evidence, they announce a list of some 'Russian agents' ... to justify London and Washington's witch hunt. Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Basu broke months of silence in a hastily convened Scotland Yard news conference on Wednesday, taking the unusual step of stripping journalists of their electronic devices to keep the news under wraps until arrest warrants for the two men, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, had been issued. Two hours later, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that British intelligence services had identified the men as officers in the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

Russian officials responded witheringly, declaring in a Foreign Ministry statement that "we decisively reject these insinuations". "It is impossible to ignore the fact that both British and American colleagues act according to the same scheme: without bothering themselves to produce any evidence, they announce a list of some 'Russian agents' in order to justify London and Washington's witch hunt," said Maria Zakharova, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. Bayliss said that all along, investigators have been acutely aware that the suspects would be protected in Russia and never tried, though Interpol red notices and domestic and European arrest warrants were issued. Images of the 'perfume' bottle and the bottle with adapted nozzle allegedly related to the Skripals poisoning in Salisbury. Credit:Counter Terrorism Policing "There are a lot of people who would sort of give up on it, because what's the point?," he said. "They're in Russia, we're not going to get them back. But the thing is, once you've got it to that point, that means those people can't leave Russia."

Beyond that, Bayliss said, "there is a satisfaction of getting to the truth, to be able to prove to the Western world that the Russians did this." The day of the attack, Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were found barely conscious on a bench beside the Avon River. (They both recovered, but months later, two Britons, Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, fell ill after being exposed to the poison. Sturgess died.) In the days that followed the Skripal attack, investigators began by collecting 11,000 hours of video from ports, train stations, shop windows, car dashboards and the roadways around Sergei Skripal's house. Before searching for a needle, investigators said wryly, they first had to build their own haystack. Personnel in hazmat suits walk away after securing the covering on a bench in the Maltings shopping centre where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill. Credit:AP

The investigation drew on some of Scotland Yard's most storied assets, like its Super-Recogniser Unit. Its officers are selected for their superior ability to remember faces  the opposite of prosopagnosia, also known as "face-blindness". "They don't concentrate on the obvious: the graying hair or the mustache or the glasses," the unit's founder, Mick Neville, told Britain's Sky News last week. "They look at the eyes, the mouth, the ears  the things that don't change. They can recognise a face from the tiniest glimpse of part of it." In cases such as the Skripal investigation, which begin with an enormous pool of potential suspects, super-recognisers can help by singling out people who seem to move suspiciously, experts say. Local police officers are often brought in to help them eliminate bystanders, like small-time drug dealers, who may also appear suspicious. Sergei Skripal (left), pictured in 2006, and his daughter Yulia Skripal after her recovery from the nerve agent poisoning. Credit:Alamy, AP Those results were then overlaid with passport data for Russians who left the country shortly after the poisoning, bringing the pool of suspects down to a manageable number. The police were able to cross-reference suspects in other ways, mapping mobile phone and bank card use, for example.

"It's a bit like a funnel, the top of the funnel has a vast amount going in, and by the time the liquid comes out at the bottom, it narrows down to a tiny stream," Bayliss said. Investigators had one bit of luck: Heavy snow fell through the weekend of the attack, reducing the number of people on the streets. A big breakthrough took place nearly two months after the Skripals were poisoned, when the police arrived at the City Stay Hotel in East London, where the two suspects had spent the two nights before the attack. Officers took samples from the room where the two men had stayed, and sent them for laboratory testing. Two of them showed trace contamination for the nerve agent used in the attack. On Wednesday, as news of the charges spread, neighbours peered curiously at the building, which had smeared windows and dingy artificial grass. The CityStay hotel, where the two Russian nationals stayed before they traveled to Salisbury. Credit:PA

"I just got a shiver, a cold shiver," said Debbie Weekes, 47, who lives nearby. "It's just shocking, I'm at a loss for words. You never know who's around." Some wondered why they had not received a warning in May, when the police found the nerve agent traces in the hotel. In Salisbury, though, the charges were greeted with relief. Matthew Dean, the head of Salisbury's City Council and owner of a local pub, the Duke of York, said he hoped it would put to rest conspiracy theories circulating about the crime. "This is a piece of closure," he said. Ceri Hurford-Jones, the managing director of Salisbury's local radio station, saluted investigators for their "sheer skill in getting a grip on this, and finding out who these people were."
From a luxury megayacht anchored at the Greek island of Kefalonia, Sinead McNamara made a distressing call home shortly before her death, her family's lawyer says.

Speaking to her mother and brother, the 20-year-old Instagram influencer was crying as she told her family about an incident that happened involving another member of the crew, the lawyer revealed.

The family's lawyer said Sinead McNamara cried in her last phone call to her family. Credit:Facebook

"The deceased had communicated by telephone with her mother and brother shortly before the unfortunate incident under investigation," lawyer Charalampos Triantafyllopoulos said in a statement.

"She was crying and referred to an incident that took place on the yacht with another crew member."
Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the closure of Israel's embassy in Paraguay, hours after the Latin American nation's new government announced it would move its embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem.

The surprising move is contrary to the push started by the United States to move embassies to Jerusalem in recognition of it as the capital of the Israeli state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shakes hands with then Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes in Jerusalem in May. Credit:AP

Most countries do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entire city and say its final status should be set in peace talks.

Paraguay's foreign minister called Israel's reaction "disproportionate". Paraguay President Mario Abdo defended his decision as part of an effort to support "broad, lasting and just peace" among Israelis and Palestinians.
The column, which published midafternoon Wednesday in the US, sent tremors through the West Wing and launched a frantic guessing game. Startled aides cancelled meetings and huddled behind closed doors to strategise a response. Aides were analysing language patterns to try to discern author's identity, or at a minimum the part of the administration where the author works. "The problem for the president is it could be so many people," said one administration official, who like many others interviewed for this story spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid. "You can't rule it down to one person. Everyone is trying, but it's impossible." Loading The phrase, "The sleeper cells have awoken," circulated on text messages among aides and outside allies. "It's like the horror movies when everyone realises the call is coming from inside the house," said one former White House official in close contact with former co-workers.

The stark and anonymous warning was a breathtaking event without precedent in modern presidential history. "For somebody within the belly of the White House to be saying there are a group of us running a resistance, making sure the president of the United States doesn't do irrational and dangerous things, it is a mind-boggling moment," historian Douglas Brinkley said. The column added to the evolving narrative of Trump's presidency, based on daily news reporting and books like Woodward's that rely on candid accounts of anonymous administration officials. "This is what all of us have understood to be the situation from Day One," Senator Bob Corker told reporters. He added, "That's why I think all of us encourage the good people around the president to stay."

Trump was the first to speak for the administration and lashed out at the Times for its decision to publish the column. "The failing New York Times has an anonymous editorial - can you believe it? - anonymous, meaning gutless, a gutless editorial," Trump told reporters during an event with sheriffs in the East Room of the White House. The president went on to brag about his popularity, although nearly all public polls show that more Americans disapprove of his job performance than approve of it. "Our poll numbers are great, and guess what? Nobody's going to come even close to beating me in 2020," Trump said, as the sheriffs assembled behind him burst into applause. The president later tweeted a single word alleging a possible crime: "TREASON?" In the Times column, the official writes about the late Senator John McCain, in heroic terms, describing him as "a lodestar for restoring honour to public life and our national dialogue."

This invocation angered Trump, who in his private talks with advisers and friends expressed particular dismay because he has long viewed McCain as a personal enemy, according to people familiar with the president's thinking. The column reignited Trump's frustration with last week's remembrances of McCain and the widespread adulation of his life. Loading The president was already feeling especially vulnerable - and a deep "sense of paranoia," in the words of one confidant - after his devastating portrayal in Woodward's book. He was upset that so many in his orbit seemed to have spoken with the veteran Washington Post investigative journalist, and had begun peppering staffers with questions about who Woodward's sources were. Trump already felt that he had a dwindling circle of people whom he could trust, a senior administration official said. According to one Trump friend, he fretted after Wednesday's op-ed that he could trust only his children. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also denounced the opinion column in a ferociously worded statement that channelled her boss's rage and echoed some of his favourite attacks on the media.

Her statement began by invoking Trump's 2016 election victory and noting, "None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times." Sanders went on to demand that the paper apologise for what she called the "pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed," and urged the anonymous author to leave the White House. "The individual behind this piece has chosen to deceive, rather than support, the duly elected President of the United States," she said in her statement. "He is not putting country first, but putting himself and his ego ahead of the will of the American people. This coward should do the right thing and resign." There were immediate calls from Trump critics for the author to step forward and share more information with the public, including perhaps testifying before Congress, about Trump's fitness for office. Both inside the White House and in Trump's broader orbit, aides and confidants scrambled to identify the anonymous official, windmilling in all directions; within just hours of publication, they privately offered up roughly a dozen different theories and suggested traitors. One aide, for example, suggested a staffer seeking glory and secretly hoping to get caught, while another mused that the official was likely a low-level staffer in a peripheral agency. Others wondered aloud just what constituted a "senior official in the Trump administration."

A spokeswoman for the Times said she was unable to provide any additional clarity on how the newspaper defines a senior administration official. Times editorial page editor James Bennet declined to provide further information about the writer's position or identity, but said the newspaper received the article before news about Woodward's book broke on Tuesday. He said the newspaper "would not have been able to publish" the article if it had not granted anonymity to its author. "We thought it was an important perspective to get out," Bennet said. "Our preference is not to publish anonymously and we seldom do it. The question is, do we think the piece was important enough to make an exception? We feel strongly that it was." The outing of the op-ed's author is virtually inevitable, according to forensic linguists, who work in both academia and private industry, figuring out the authors of anonymous texts in lawsuits, plagiarism cases and historical puzzles. "We take the questioned document and compare it to known exemplars," said Robert Leonard, a linguist at Hofstra University who is often retained by defendants and prosecutors in criminal cases involving threats, plagiarism and libel.
Washington: Top aides to Donald Trump have scrambled to deny authorship of an anonymous New York Times opinion column that slammed the US president's leadership style and described "a quiet resistance" to him within his own administration.

By early afternoon on Thursday, local time, eight senior officials had disavowed the piece, including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis, while hammering the author for writing it and the Times for publishing it.

US President Donald Trump Credit:AP

Trump seethed about the piece and presented it as one more jab from the ranks of disgruntled critics in denial about his presidential successes, even as Washington was consumed with speculation about who wrote it.

First Lady Melania Trump said in a statement on Twitter, To the writer of the oped - you are not protecting this country, you are sabotaging it with your cowardly actions.
PHILIPSBURG:--- Following the success of the Stand for SXM march on Wednesday, August 29, the organizers of the STAND FOR SXM Petition and march have decided to step up their efforts through the creation of the Stand for SXM Foundation.

The organizers have invited every political party to suggest a representative who will take a seat on the board of this new foundation. The parties by way of letter and phone calls have been invited to attend a meeting on Monday, September 10, where the next steps and decisions on the way forward will be discussed.

Objectives of this Foundation to be called the Stand For SXM Foundation are as follows:

1. To champion autonomy for SXM; fighting for the right to govern ourselves as described in the Constitution.

2. To develop strategies to erase the current Democratic Deficit; Bringing awareness and fighting for us being true 'Equal Partners' in the Dutch Kingdom.

3. To encourage and develop cultural and patriotic awareness among the citizens of St. Maarten

Once the foundation is officially set up, board members and upcoming activities will be announced.
Simpson Bay:---The Mold Remediation and Surface Removal Decontamination process is underway at the terminal building of the Princess Juliana International Airport - SXM. The scope of the work will also include the installation of HEPA air filtration units and portable humidifiers to dry any remaining wet building materials.

The Texas-based company, BMS CAT International, was awarded the contract to carry out the mold remediation work, as the terminal building sustained severe damages following the 2017 hurricanes. During this process, the company will clean all the mold contaminated items on the ground floor of the airport.

The Terminal Reconstruction project includes, Package One, the first phase of which is the remediation method. It also encompasses the cleaning of filters, light fixtures and any item that has remained in the terminal building after the internal demolition.

The Mold Remediation and Surface Removal Decontamination project has also contributed towards the employment of over 50 local workers.

The Managing Board has declared that the project is on schedule. It is the intention to have a seamless transfer of the Departure and Arrival Operations to the ground floor of the Terminal Building in November 2018. The SXM Airport will offer Wi-Fi services and be fully airconditioned.

The completion of Package One, is much anticipated as the peak season for passenger traffic at SXM Airport is from December 15 to April 15 (Winter Season). Despite normal seasonality, the numbers of SXM departing passengers are increasing as St. Maarten/St. Martin tourism recovers from the hurricanes of 2017. For instance, in June 2016 SXM departing passengers were 62% of what they were in March 2016, but in 2018, the June average daily passenger volume was 106% of March 2018. This change reflects the ongoing restoration of hotel & time share rooms and the influence it has on SXM passenger volumes. In June 2018 there were 26 commercial airlines serving SXM with 22 catering to passengers and 4 for the carriage of cargo.
To the people of Sint Maarten who experienced the impact of hurricane Irma,

To all who worked and continue to work to address the effects of the hurricane Irma,

My fellow Sint Maarteners,

In the foreday morning of September 6, 2017, one year ago today, Hurricane Irma the strongest Atlantic hurricane on record made landfall on our island. Some eight hours later it left, having claimed the lives of two persons on Sint Maarten, 11 lives on Saint Martin and having caused extensive damage and destruction throughout the island. While taking stock of the damage to our physical infrastructure and to our natural environment, I was saddened to see the unlawful and inexcusable looting of some. That behavior clearly did not do justice to who we are as a people; behavior that only made matters more difficult for all of us. Today however, as we reflect, let us remember and honor the many persons, the vast majority of our people, who represented our true Sint Maarten spirit. Persons who throughout our neighborhoods picked themselves up to help kickstart the response and recovery of Sint Maarten. And as we do so, let us not forget that our people did so under tensed circumstances. That is, in the face of the fact that three days after the passing of Irma we had to take cover for the threat of the passing of Hurricane Jose which thankfully did not make landfall. And thirteen days after Irma, on September 19th, we were again forced to brace for the impact of hurricane Maria.

We have experienced hurricanes before. However, no one who was on Sint Maarten during and direct after hurricane Irma will ever forget the force of her devastating winds. The emotional, social and economic impact and effects of Hurricane Irma will be felt for a long time to come. I was, and continue to be, deeply moved having seen the damage to property and heard of the heartbreaking loss of treasured goods of so many directly after the hurricane. In the one year since, I have heard of more experiences and perilous situations which persons found themselves in during the hurricane. I therefore stand with them in awe, thankful to God that they are with us today. Thus, as we reflect on this first anniversary of Hurricane Irma, my heart reaches out to those families who lost loved ones and to those who struggle to deal with the difficult memories of their experiences.

Listening to personal accounts of several persons and having seen the extent of the damage to our countries physical infrastructure, reminds me of the strength and resilience of our people. No sectors were spared. Our private and public infrastructure were severely damaged: our homes, businesses, hotels, airport, utilities, and government infrastructure were affected resulting in a loss in economic activity, business revenues, taxes and employment.

In short, we were knocked down flat on our back. But as a strong and resilient people we got back up, dusted ourselves off and went to work with the support of our Kingdom partners. That is, we went to work removing and clearing trees and other debris to make roads accessible, managing shelters, controlling of check points to maintain law and order, restoring telecommunication, repairing of damaged buildings, distributing water, food and other necessities, reopening critical businesses such as supermarkets, banks and gas stations, rebuilding our homes, reopening our schools and so on and so forth. Where people work there will be differences, doubts and setbacks and yes we have had our fair share of such, but through it all our spirit of resilience always shined through. That bolstered by inspirational messages from songs such as Starting all over again, it's going to be rough, but we are going to make it by our own Kenyo Baly. As a result, public life was restored to make way to work on our socio-economic recovery.

With an eye on the future, we can say that a lot has been done to date, including reaching agreement with the Netherlands to make USD.580 million available, through the World Bank, to fund the agreed upon National Recovery and Resilience Plan. At the same time, we must acknowledge that there is still much, so much more to be done. In that respect, we are to remember our brothers and sisters who are still without a home or job, lost during the hurricane. Let us, government, businesses and individuals, therefore in our reflections, continue to embrace our obligation one to another. That is to continue to do everything necessary to ensure that we make it and that no one gets left behind.

While we still have a long way to go, todays reflection on the first anniversary of Irma will not be complete without a word of gratefulness and appreciation for our progress thus far. Gratefulness to the many persons who, having suffered damage to their property themselves and left their own families behind, came or continue to come out under difficult circumstances to make progress possible. Persons, such as, the members of the disaster management team and their support staff, firefighters, medical professionals, law enforcement officers, technicians and business-owners and their employees as well as many volunteers and local and international organizations such as the Red Cross, CORDAID, USAID, ADRA and Samaritan's Purse. Gratefulness to our Kingdom partners, the Netherlands, Aruba and Curacao, who through the deployment of military officers and police officers have made invaluable contributions to the response and recovery efforts. And appreciation for the financial support made available by Netherlands for the recovery plans. To all who contributed and continue to do so, I say thank you for your service to the people of Sint Maarten.

As we reflect on Hurricane Irma and work to rebuild and recover we ought to keep in our thoughts our brothers and sisters on the Northern side of the island as well as those of Saba and Sint Eustatius. We wish them strength as they too seek to rebuild and recover.

Going forward we ought to remind each other that we will need everyone to join in to rebuild our nations infrastructure one day at a time. Today, tomorrow and each day thereafter we must, and I am convinced that we will, continue to take steps to complete the cleanup, reconstruct our airport terminal, rebuild our homes, reconstruct our hotels and restaurants and ultimately secure the recovery of our economy. As we face this challenge we can do so with the knowledge and resolve that we have been down difficult paths before and we overcame. I therefore believe that we will continue to progress and rebound stronger together again. This through concerted national action in collaboration with Kingdom and international partners. And for that I am, as always, counting on my trust in the boundless strength and resilience of We the People of Sint Maarten. May we therefore, with love for our country, encourage, build, support and lift each other up and thus our country with the help of God.

Thank you, God bless you and may God bless Sint Maarten and protect its coast.

Governor of Sint Maarten

His Excellency, drs. Eugene B. Holiday
Hold two minutes silence in company parking lot.

Pond Island:---TelEm Group staffers gathered in the companys parking lot Thursday for two minutes of silence to remember the passing of Hurricane Irma one year ago.

Staff filled the roundabout in the buildings parking lot and flashed their mobile phones in the air to signal a message of TelEm Groups readiness to provide the most robust telecommunication services possible for its customers, especially at times of inclement weather.

Staff turned out early, and at precisely six minutes after nine we were all ready for the two minutes of silence along with the rest of the island, said Manager, Human Resources & Development, Shadira Richardson. This was a joint effort of the HR&D department and the Marketing & Sales Department.

During the event, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Kendall Dupersoy, reflected on the time immediately following the passage of Hurricane Irma last year, when TelEm Group personnel went above and beyond duty to provide telecommunication services to the St. Maarten community despite severe damage and destruction to the companys telecommunication infrastructure. Putting aside their own personal situation at home.

As a new CEO coming in at the time, it changed my whole picture of TelEm personnel.... your commitment to your company and your customers and the way you responded after hurricane Irma, said Mr. Dupersoy before observing the two minutes of silence.

The gathering was filmed by a drone operator and photos were also taken. A montage of the gathering will now be sent to the Ministry of Education, Culture Youth & Sports #906REFELCTION viral campaign where the Ministry is putting together a commemorative compilation video documentary and booklet.

The Ministry is hoping that with #906REFELCTION it can create a national platform of shared stories from different voices in the St. Maarten community.
INCA announces Annual Conference line-up with Government\-\-s Telecoms Director James Heath among speakers

London, UK, September 6, 2018: The author of the Government\-\-s recent Future Telecoms Infrastructure Report will provide insight into its findings and the next steps required to achieve the goals it outlines at Independent Networks Cooperative Association\-\-s (INCA\-\-s) 2018 Annual Conference.

James Heath, author of the FTIR and Telecoms Director at the Government\-\-s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Department, will join other Government representatives, network operators, service providers and equipment manufacturers to discuss the future of Britain\-\-s digital infrastructure.

The conference  which includes INCA\-\-s inaugural awards ceremony  will be held at the Amba Hotel, Marble Arch, London, from Monday, November 5 to Tuesday November 6.

\I am looking forward to the INCA Conference,\ said Heath. \It will be a great opportunity to discuss our plans to accelerate full fibre connections to 15m premises by 2025, and across the UK by 2033, underpinning 5G wireless coverage.\

Split across two days, the first day of the conference will consist of three parallel workshops covering rural broadband, digital infrastructure investment and a technical and operational showcase.

The following day will include keynote speeches, panel discussions and workshop sessions. These will cover various topics including progress on building new full fibre and 5G networks, topical issues in policy and regulation and forward-looking initiatives being taken on by organisations within the broadband industry. The line-up of speakers confirmed so far includes Justin Leese, who leads the Government\-\-s Local Full Fibre Networks programme, Raj Kalia, CEO of Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), plus leading industry figures including Dana Tobak of Hyperoptic, Mark Collins of CityFibre, Erzsebet Fitori of the Fibre-to-the-Home Council Europe, and Wenbing Yao of Huawei.

\The UK broadband industry is at a critical juncture as the Government looks to roll out more fibre and support the imminent 5G rollout,\ said Malcolm Corbett, CEO at INCA. \Our Annual Conference will highlight innovative approaches being taken by the altnets and discuss overcoming potential obstacles. We are particularly pleased to have the support of James Heath and other leading Government and industry figures, who will help frame the discussion about the future shape of our industry.\

The first ever INCA Awards will also be held during the conference dinner on the evening of Monday, November 5. The INCA Awards will honour the best of the UK?s independent network builders and operators, highlighting their innovative work across the country. Companies wishing to enter the awards have until Friday, September 21 to submit their proposal following an extension on the original deadline due to popular demand.

For further information about the INCA Awards and to submit an entry, please see: https://www.inca.coop/awards.

For more information about the INCA annual conference, please see: https://www.inca.coop/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=99.
Aiphones IX Series IP video intercom system helps Roselle Catholic High School upgrade security

Roselle Catholic High School is a co-ed private high school founded 61 years ago in Roselle, New Jersey. Home to more than 400 students, Roselle Catholic is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. In its community, Roselle Catholic is known for its core values promoting academic excellence, service, and tolerance. Like many high schools across the country, Roselle Catholic High School relied on outdated technology to communicate between the front office and classrooms. Outdated intercom system While the front office could connect with the classroom through its dated oneway intercom system, teachers could not communicate with the front office from the classroom. In the event of a classroom emergency, such as a student suddenly falling ill or a classroom disruption, teachers had to rely on a student to run down to the front office to request assistance. Our school is in an older building and the original communication system layout doesnt have the talkback option to the main office, said Principal Tom Berrios. That left teachers in a bad spot if they ever had to reach an administrator for an emergency. Lack of visitor management system School administrators sought a new system that could provide communications between teachers and staff The school also lacked a visitor management system allowing the front office to visually confirm and speak with anyone before permitting them to physically enter the building. In addition, with new health and safety concerns from the COVID19 pandemic, the school wanted to implement new measures to help screen visitors before they enter the building. As part of its efforts to improve security facility-wide, school administrators sought a new system that could provide internal communications between teachers and staffwhile sending audio alerts in the event of an emergency. They also needed a visitor management system enabling them to visually confirm and communicate with visitors before they enter the building. IP video intercom system To assist with these challenges, the school installed the IX Series PeertoPeer IP Video Intercom System from Aiphone. Installing the system was Maffeys Security Group, a systems integration company from Elizabeth, New Jersey, with close ties to the high school. Roselle Catholic High School is my alma mater and we try to help them keep uptodate with the latest technology and security, said Ed Maffey, president of Maffeys Security Group, a family-owned and operated business for 110 years. By leveraging a program through the state of New Jersey, the high school was able to apply and receive a grant designed to support security improvements at both public and private schools. The grant was used to help pay for the new Aiphone IX Series PeertoPeer IP Video Intercom System, which included two master stations, two IP video door stations, and 43 IP audio substations for classrooms. The IX Series delivers flexibility The benefit of the IP video intercom system is its ability to integrate with a recently installed thermal imaging camera The IP system is a scalable, enterpriselevel solution that uses Power over Ethernet (PoE), eliminates the need for a power source for each intercom and substation. The system can easily integrate with access control, video, and other security devices to provide a fully unified solution. One main benefit of the IP video intercom system is its ability to integrate with a recently installed thermal imaging camera system, which is being used to screen students, staff, and visitors before the entrance. A thermal imaging camera located at the front entrance will screen people for a mask and elevated temperature, and only allow access if that visitor is cleared. Video-based monitoring system With the new Aiphone IX Series system, front office staff can respond when a visitor rings a bell asking for entrance. Staff can speak to the visitor and also make visual contact before pushing the door release button to allow that person to enter. The school is equipped with two touchscreen master stations, with one located in the front office and the second located in the principals office. The live video also helps to prevent people from following an approved guest through the doors. Trained front desk staff can monitor a visitor as they enter the building to ensure additional people arent following behind. Added benefits with emergency notifications In addition to enabling communication directly from teachers to the front office, they also can put the entire school on a lockdown notice in the event of an emergency. The Aiphone IX Series can send a prerecorded notification buildingwide, alerting students or staff of a problem and providing directions about what steps to take next. With one push of a button, a message will play continuously and that message can be used for a variety of scenarios The system makes the teachers feel more secure with whats going on in the building and they have an easier way to communicate, said Berrios. Maffey called this feature a hot button capability. With one push of a button, a message will play continuously and that prerecorded message can be used for a variety of scenarios, including fire drills, emergency evacuations, and lockdown situations. Entry door security The school is also using the Aiphone IX Series on an entry door located in the back of the building, which is frequently used by students heading outside for athletics or gym class. After school, the intercom system has become an added security feature because we can now visually see the students who need to enter the building and the locker room, said Berrios. Before we had to keep the door propped open or students could not gain access from the back of the building. Leveraging IP connectivity Maffey said the installation was relatively easy because he was able to leverage the schools existing IP network to run the new IPbased video intercom system. Additional switches helped to fill in areas where network connectivity wasnt available. When we install an Aiphone system we can walk away confident that it is going to work, said Maffey. Aiphone has been our goto intercom system for over 20 years.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell is about to get some much-deserved recognition, and a pretty big chunk of change to boot.

The British astrophysicist will receive a Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, Breakthrough Prize representatives announced today (Sept. 6). The $3 million award recognizes not only Bell Burnell's 1967 discovery of the weird, fast-spinning stellar corpses known as pulsars but also her scientific leadership in the 50 years since then.

"Professor Bell Burnell thoroughly deserves this recognition," Breakthrough Prize co-founder Yuri Milner said in a statement today. "Her curiosity, diligent observations and rigorous analysis revealed some of the most interesting and mysterious objects in the universe." [The Universe: Big Bang to Now in 10 Easy Steps]

A historic discovery

In 1967, Bell Burnell (then Jocelyn Bell) was a graduate student at the University of Cambridge in England. One day that November, she noticed something strange in the data collected by a radio telescope she and her thesis supervisor, Antony Hewish, had helped build  a pulse that repeated every 1.3 seconds or so.

The signal was so odd that Bell Burnell and her colleagues playfully dubbed it "Little Green Man-1," after the putative aliens that might have generated it. But Bell Burnell soon spotted other, similar pings, suggesting that the source was a naturally occurring cosmic object.

Researchers eventually determined that these signals were coming from rapidly rotating neutron stars, the incredibly dense remnants of massive stars that have died in supernova explosions. These objects came to be known as "pulsars," a combination of "pulsing" and "quasar." (Quasars, incredibly bright galactic nuclei, were the targets of the new radio telescope Bell Burnell and Hewish were using.)

Pulsars are fast-spinning and highly magnetized stars. See how they work here. (Image credit: by Karl Tate, Infographics artist)

Pulsars don't actually pulse, however; they emit beams of radiation constantly. The apparent pulsing is an artifact of pulsars' rotation, which brings the beams into line with our planet at regular intervals.

"Jocelyn Bell Burnell's discovery of pulsars will always stand as one of the great surprises in the history of astronomy," Edward Witten, chairman of the selection committee for the Fundamental Physics Breakthrough Prize, said in the same statement.

"Until that moment, no one had any real idea how neutron stars could be observed, if indeed they existed," Witten added. "Suddenly, it turned out that nature has provided an incredibly precise way to observe these objects, something that has led to many later advances."

For example, scientists have used pulsars to test Einstein's theory of general relativity, and the precision of their repeating signals has allowed astronomers to construct detailed maps of the cosmos.

Hewish won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1974 for his role in the pulsar discovery. He shared the prize that year not with Bell Burnell but rather fellow English radio astronomer Martin Ryle. Bell Burnell has said she's not upset about being left out, however, stating that she understands the logic of rewarding team leaders and supervisors rather than research students. [Nobel Prize in Physics: 1901-Present]

50 years of leadership

Bell Burnell is now being recognized for her crucial pulsar work  but not just that. Breakthrough Prize representatives also stressed the importance of Bell Burnell's teaching and leadership contributions. Over the past five decades, for instance, she has headed the Royal Astronomical Society and served as the first female president of both the Institute of Physics and The Royal Society of Edinburgh. (Bell Burnell is currently chancellor of the University of Dundee in Scotland, as well as a visiting professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford in England.)

And the $3 million will allow her to keep giving back.

"The plan is, broadly, to use the money to fund research students  graduate students, particularly students from underrepresented groups in physics," Bell Burnell told Space.com, adding that she's been formulating that plan with the Institute of Physics, the London-based professional society for people in the field.

"I feel that I made my contribution in part because I felt an outsider," she added. "I was one of very few women, and I wasn't from the southeast of England, the affluent part of the country. So, I think increasing diversity of the workforce actually allows all sorts of things to develop."

Bell Burnell also said the award caught her completely off guard. "When I was told about it, I was absolutely speechless, which is most unusual for me," she said. "It was not something I had ever even faintly dreamt to imagine I might get, so it was a wonderful surprise."

Bell Burnell will officially receive the award on Nov. 4, during the 2019 Breakthrough Prize ceremony in California's Silicon Valley. Laureates of the organization's annual prizes in physics, life sciences and mathematics will also be honored at the ceremony, as will winners of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge.

Bell Burnell will become just the fourth recipient of the "special" physics prize, which can be awarded at any time for extraordinary achievement. The others to be so honored are Stephen Hawking; seven scientists at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (known by its French acronym, CERN) who were crucial to the discovery of the Higgs boson; and the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Collaboration, which in 2015 made the first-ever direct detection of gravitational waves.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
At the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Lockheed Martin technicians completed construction of the first Orion capsule structure. Part of NASA's Exploration Mission-2, the capsule is designed to carry humans beyond low Earth orbit.

Technicians recently completed construction of a lightweight capsule made to carry astronauts back to the moon.

The capsule, also known as a pressure vessel, is part of NASA's Orion Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2). NASA plans to send crewed missions in the 2020s to the moon, and the capsule's spacecraft, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, is built to take them there; EM-2 will be the second test-flight of Orion with NASA's Space Launch System rocket and the first test flight with a crew.

Technicians welded seven large aluminum-alloy pieces together over the last seven months to produce the capsule, according to a recent statement from Lockheed Martin, the contractor building the vessel for NASA.

Lockheed Martin has historically had a large presence in aerospace, from the earliest transcontinental flights to current NASA satellite and spacecraft missions. The company also manufactures weapons, and according to its website, the majority of Lockheed Martin's business is with the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. federal government agencies.

The vessel, according to the contractor's statement, is designed to transport a crew safely through the deep space beyond near-Earth orbit.

On Aug. 24, the EM-2 capsule arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Lockheed Martin representatives said the vehicle traveled overland from New Orleans, where technicians and engineers worked on it inside the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility. The EM-2 capsule is now located within the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center. There, the mission will enter the final assembly phase for the full spacecraft.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Editor's Note: This article was updated Sept. 7 at 9:45 a.m. EDT to reflect a one-day launch delay for the Telstar 18V; it will now launch Sept. 9.

See more

After a successful engine test-fire, SpaceX is on track for a Sunday-night launch of the company's Falcon 9 rocket, which will carry a Telstar communications satellite. The launch was delayed one day to complete pre-flight checkouts, according to a tweet from SpaceX.

SpaceX lit the rocket's nine engines for a short static-fire test Sept. 5, later confirming on Twitter a Saturday (Sept. 8) launch date from the company's launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. The launch has faced multiple delays, but its new 4-hour launch window was set for 11:28 p.m. EDT Saturday (0328 on Sunday GMT), according to a report from Spaceflight Now. Its new launch window Sept. 9 should be in a similar time window.

Next, engineers will have to attach the rocket's payload: the Telstar 18 Vantage communications satellite (Telstar 18V for short), which will be shared between the Canadian company Telesat and Hong Kong's APT Satellite Co. Ltd. SpaceX successfully launched the Telstar 19V, the second satellite in this series, in July; Telstar 18V will be the third in the series, according to a release from Telesat.

SpaceX is prepared to launch the Telstar 18V satellite late on Saturday, Sept. 8, 2018. (Image credit: Telesat)

Like 19V, the newest Telstar will launch on SpaceX's latest (and final) iteration of the Falcon 9 rocket, the Block 5. The satellite will reach a high geostationary orbit, meaning it will stay still compared to a specific spot on Earth as the planet turns. Once there, the Telstar 18V will aid communications from India and Pakistan all the way to Hawaii, with a potential mission length of more than 15 years, according to Telesat.

For now, the official weather forecast from the U.S. Air Force suggests a 60 percent probability of favorable launch conditions.

SpaceX's last Telstar launch, in July, reused the Block 5 first stage; the upcoming launch will employ an unused rocket. As usual, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage to reuse again, this time on the company's drone ship named Of Course I Still Love You, according to Spaceflight Now.

Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
The Russian Soyuz spacecraft responsible for last week's leak aboard the International Space Station (ISS) may have received its wounds here on Earth, on the grounds of its manufacturer, according to a new report from Russian news agency TASS.

ISS controllers noticed a slight pressure drop on the night of Aug. 29 and alerted crewmembers about it the next day. The astronauts traced the issue to a 2-millimeter (0.08 inches) hole in the upper "orbital module" of the crew-carrying Soyuz, which arrived at the station in June.

Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev, the Soyuz commander, soon patched the hole with epoxy, apparently solving the problem. Pressure levels have been steady ever since, NASA officials have said. (The leak never put crewmembers in any serious danger, officials have stressed.) [Russia's Crewed Soyuz Space Capsule Explained (Infographic)]

Space station astronauts patched a small hole in the upper orbital module of the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft (left) on Aug. 30, 2018. Russian space officials have said that hole was likely caused by a drill here on Earth; investigators are currently trying to figure out exactly what happened. (Image credit: NASA/Space.com)

The cause of the hole remains under investigation, however. Early speculation centered on a possible micrometeoroid strike, but now human error is strongly suspected. Indeed, the hole's circular shape suggests a drilling mishap, as do nearby marks on the module wall.

The incident may have occurred during the final assembly or testing of the Soyuz, according to the new report, published today (Sept. 6) by the Russian news agency TASS. Both of these activities take place at facilities run by the Soyuz's builder, Russian aerospace company Energia, in the city of Korolyov, near Moscow.

"One of the possibilities is the spacecraft might have been damaged in the final assembly hangar. Or it could happen at the control and testing station, which carried out the final workmanship tests before the spacecraft was sent to Baikonur," an unnamed source in the aerospace industry told TASS, which stressed that it has not confirmed such suspicions.

Soyuz spacecraft  which have been astronauts' only ride to and from the ISS since NASA's space shuttle program retired in 2011  launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz passed pressure-chamber tests before going to Energia's final-assembly hangar, the source told TASS. And the assembly and testing facilities are tightly controlled spaces, he added. (TASS referred to the source as a "he.")

"Only those with proper security clearance are allowed to enter," the source said. "Also, at the entrance to the hangar and the control and measurement station there are security guards checking all those who come and go."

Energia is conducting an investigation into the Soyuz incident. And Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Russia's federal space agency, Roscosmos, has vowed to find the person or persons responsible.

The orbital module is a spherical portion of the Soyuz that allows more gear to go up with the spacecraft. Unlike the lower crew capsule, the orbital module does not survive re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.






WARNING: THIS PREVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM THE PREVIOUS EPISODE.



This is a preview for next week's episode of The Purge. Episode two of The Purge, titled Take What's Yours, will air next Tuesday, September 11th, at 10:00 pm (EST) on USA Network!



In last night's pilot episode, we established the four main threads we'll be following over the next nine episodes; here is a quick rehashing:



1. Jane: A corporate drone whose ambitions are being choked by a boss that doesn't see her potential. She partakes in a mysterious transaction at the end of the episode. Might she have a plan to change that?



2. Rick & Jenna: The picturesque couple attending a wealthy party hosted by Rick's boss. It's imperative that the couple impress him. However, they run into a blast from the past in the shapely form of Lila (Lili Simmons), who threatens to knock both of them off their axis, Jenna in particular.



3. Penelope: After checking herself out of rehab and joining a cult that pledges to let themselves be victims of the purge in order to aide the "greater good," it seems like Penelope may be having some doubts about what she agreed to. Or is she?



4. Miguel: A Marine and brother dutifully trying to find his sister, Penelope, after she checks herself out of rehab without notifying anyone. Miguel's journey certainly isn't an easy one as he meets obstacle after obstacle and several dead ends on his hunt.





Purify my flesh, cleanse my soul, the giving is here, the invisible awaits.

purging interesting and fresh. Gone are the days of hack and slash murder sprees, this year's purging is more intricate and much nastier than that. I have to say, I am rather fascinated by the cult and their beliefs. I wouldn't mind an episode spent discovering its origins. Next episode we do start to see what kind of role Penelope plays within the cult. As for her brother, Miguel? His circumstances aren't any less grim than his sister's. Let's just say that the writers are clearly having a good time coming up with twisted new ways to keepinteresting and fresh. Gone are the days of hack and slash murder sprees, this year's purging is more intricate and much nastier than that.

Based on the format of episode two, it seems like from here on out, each episode will tackle a different character's backstory. Next week we're focusing on Jane and we'll see what lead her to the point where she feels desperate enough to pay someone for their purging services. We will also begin to see the nature of Jenna and Lila's relationship, which may surprise you. Clearly, Lila is a force to be reckoned with and I'm very curious to see how deep her entanglements with Rick and Jenna truly go. Lili Simmons and Hannah Emily Anderson play well off of each other. I'd even go as far as to say they have more chemistry than Hannah does with Colin Woodell, who plays Rick. Don't get me wrong, Woodell is great and very charming in his role. I think that's what makes this particular trio so compelling to watch, they're beautiful and magnetic. It's hard to look away.We do gain a little more insight into the cult. They've adopted a new creepy mantra this episode and it goes a little something like this:I am enjoying having our characters so separate from each other, it makes the world within the show seem more vast and I like experiencing the purge from multiple vantage points, that was a strength in the films and I'm glad it has carried over to the show. But I hope we'll get to see some actual interactions between storylines soon, there is a slight hint of one in this episode but I won't say anymore than that.- I'm really enjoying how the relationship exploration and development is playing out. Almost every relationship or scene between two characters is loaded with tension, even between characters we expect to be friends. Anyone could snap. Is this all a facade?could be setting a potential trap.- It's cool to see the character's adapt to Purge night. Night vision goggles and other equipment are scattered throughout, people always find a way to evolve with the times don't they?
WASHINGTON - Gutless. Cowardly. Amateur. Laughable.

Those were the words of choice as senior officials stepped forward one-by-one on Thursday to denounce the author of an anonymous op-ed claiming there is a "resistance" within the Trump administration - and to make sure the president knew they didn't write it.

Yet if the endless parade of denials was aimed at tamping down talk of an uprising, it may have had the opposite effect, propelling the story to new heights and seemingly delighting Democrats who reveled in the paranoia pulsing through the ranks of Donald Trump's backers in Washington and beyond.

"It probably won't take long for us to find out who wrote it," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said almost gleefully as she responded to a question about the bombshell New York Times op-ed at her weekly news conference.

"The vice president - that was my first thought. Then Coats, Pompeo, they denied that they had written it," she said, referring to Trump's director of national intelligence and secretary of state. "I guess by process of elimination, it'll come down to the butler."

The op-ed, published online Wednesday afternoon, was written by a senior official in the Trump administration, according to the Times. It depicts a "two-track presidency" in which Trump acts according to his own whims while many of his top aides, in the author's words, work to thwart his "more misguided impulses until he is out of office."

In addition to painting a dire picture of Trump's decision-making process, the op-ed also states that some top administration officials discussed early in Trump's presidency whether to seek to remove him from office via the 25th Amendment.

Trump himself erupted in anger at news of the piece Wednesday night, first denouncing it as "anonymous - meaning gutless," then floating an accusation of treason and finally calling for the New York Times to turn over the author "for National Security purposes."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a similarly scathing denunciation and called on the newspaper to issue an apology.

That could have been the end of the story, as far as the Trump administration's response goes - a flat dismissal followed by a pivot to more important business. But instead, in the face of allegations that he had lost control of his administration, the president seemed to lose control of the narrative itself.

Amid frenzied speculation about who was hiding behind a cloak of anonymity, Vice President Mike Pence was the first to assert that he had not penned the New York Times piece.

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen wrote in a morning tweet. "The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts."

Speculation about Pence had been rampant on social media and cable television because of the op-ed writer's use of "lodestar," an archaic word that the vice president has used in multiple speeches.

Pence's denial opened the floodgates for other administration officials to follow suit. They included National Intelligence Director Daniel Coats, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who issued his denial while traveling in India.

Some pundits had suggested that Coats was a possible author in part because, at age 75, he is likely in his final government job. But Coats pushed back in a statement declaring that any speculation that the op-ed was written by him or his principal deputy, Susan Gordon, was "patently false" and maintaining that his focus has always been on providing the president with "the best possible intelligence."

By midday, Sanders had taken to Twitter to speak out once again, chiding the media for what she called a "wild obsession" - even as some administration officials rushed to denounce the piece unprompted - and urging citizens to call the Times opinion desk if they wanted to learn the identify of a "gutless loser."

Yet the denials continued to roll in - some expected, others less so.

They included Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Homeland Security Secretary Kirtjen Nielsen and U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, who denied writing the piece in a statement tweeted by an embassy spokeswoman.

First lady Melania Trump weighed in on the controversy as well, saying in a statement that if "a person is bold enough to accuse people of negative actions, they have a responsibility to publicly stand by their words."

More than two-dozen senior officials had disavowed the op-ed as of Thursday evening. Some offered taut one-word denials through a spokesperson. Others echoed Trump. And still others, such as Energy Secretary Rick Perry, seized on the occasion to declare their fealty to the president in the type of over-the-top, flattering language that has become synonymous with Trump's Cabinet meetings.

"I am not the author of the New York Times OpEd, nor do I agree with its characterizations," Perry tweeted. "Hiding behind anonymity and smearing the President of the United States does not make you an 'unsung hero', it makes you a coward, unworthy of serving this Nation."

As the denials continued to mount, a clipping from a 1974 Wall Street Journal story on the guessing game surrounding the secret Watergate source Deep Throat began making the rounds on social media. In it, the author writes that former top FBI official Mark Felt, who decades later came forward as Deep Throat, "says he isn't now, nor has he ever been, Deep Throat."

"Of course, says the former acting associate director of the FBI, if he really were Deep Throat, you'd hardly expect him to admit it, now would you?" the tongue-in-cheek piece asks.

Congressional Republicans had plenty to say Thursday about the brouhaha, including thoughts on whether they should investigate the identity of the anonymous author.

"I like to pride myself on having a vivid imagination, but I can't possibly construct a fact pattern under which a congressional committee would look at the source of an op-ed," said Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters he viewed the author as "a person who is obviously living in dishonesty."

"It doesn't help the president, so if you're not interested in helping the president, you shouldn't work for the president as far as I'm concerned," Ryan said.

Ryan also downplayed the allegations contained in the op-ed and in a forthcoming book by Bob Woodward, which offers a harrowing portrait of the Trump presidency.

"What I concern myself about is the results of government, and the results of government are good results," he said. "I know the president is very unconventional. I know his tweeting and unconventional tactics bother people. But the results of government are good results."

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a frequent critic of the president who is retiring at the end of his current term, dismissed the furious speculation over the letter, which he said revealed nothing that wasn't already known about Trump's leadership style.

"I don't know why there's a big uproar. I think people inside the White House have understood the situation from Day One. It just hasn't been news to me," Corker said.

Other lawmakers, meanwhile, suggested that the publication of the letter only served to heighten Trump's paranoia.

"It emboldens his view that the world's out to get him," Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said.

As he fielded questions from reporters about the letter, Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., mused aloud about the author's identity.

"I don't know what job title they're currently fulfilling . . ." he said, before Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, answered the question for him.

"I think the job is called 'spy,'" Gohmert said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Mike DeBonis, Karoun Demirjian and Gabriel Pogrund contributed to this report.
This appeared in Thursday's Washington Post.

- - -

When President Donald Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May, some speculated the controversial step could serve to jolt Middle East diplomacy out of a deep rut and open the way for the Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative the White House has been promising. That's not what happened: Instead, an angry Palestinian leadership turned its back on the United States, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pocketed the historic concession without offering anything in return.

Now Trump has adopted a second status-quo-shattering measure, cutting off U.S. support for the United Nations agency that provides economic, educational and health-care services to millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan and Syria. Again, this a major concession to Netanyahu, and again, the administration seems to hope it will force serious negotiations. Not only is this unlikely, but also the cutoff risks worsening an already terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza, with unpredictable consequences.

For decades the United States has been the largest funder of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which was created in 1949 to serve the some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of Israel after its creation. The agency is often blamed for helping to turn Palestinian refugees into a perpetual and ever-expanding constituency; it now has 5.3 million clients, including children and grandchildren of the original refugees. But Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states are chiefly responsible for that legacy, because they have failed to reach an agreement to settle the refugee question.

Trump and advisers such as Jared Kushner appear to believe they can deflate the Palestinian demand for a "return" by the refugees to Israel by defunding UNRWA, just as they thought moving the embassy to Jerusalem would help settle the long- disputed question of the city's final status. More pragmatically, the White House asserted that the United States, which last year supplied $360 million of UNRWA's slightly more than $1 billion budget, was unfairly saddled with a burden that should be more equally shared. UNRWA's directors have responded by raising more money from European and Arab states, but say they are still some $200 million short for this year.

That shortfall could have acute humanitarian effects, particularly in Gaza, where UNRWA supplies food to 1 million people, operates a school system, provides basic health care and employs 13,000 people. The territory is already suffering from severe shortages of power, water and sewage capacity, and the Hamas movement that controls it has been on the brink of a new war with Israel. It's no wonder that Israel's security establishment has viewed the prospect of an UNRWA collapse with alarm.

If the administration wished to constructively end support for UNRWA, it should have done so gradually, while simultaneously shifting U.S. aid to other channels so that Palestinian schools and health clinics would not disappear. Instead, it has acted in a way that will serve only to further diminish U.S. influence in the Middle East - if it does not precipitate a disaster.
G O-AHEAD Group today apologised for the transport mayhem that followed a timetable shake-up in May, a bungled overhaul that saw millions of London journeys disrupted or abandoned.

The buses and trains giant said that the implementation of these changes let down some of our customers and, alongside our industry partners, we take collective responsibility for the shortfall against expected service levels.

It said the ripple effect of one train delay means even small glitches are amplified.

Those affected customers might be irritated to see that the company is booming. Its shares rose nearly 20% as the City digested a 6.5% rise in annual profits to 146 million.

Chief executive David Brown said none of those profits come from the troubled Thameslink railway business.

He said: We only make a profit if we do the right thing. He defended the groups investment in London transport, saying, for everything people would say, if you look around you are in a brand new train, youve got a brand new station at London Bridge.

The shares jumped 250p to 1885p, valuing the business at 706 million. A full-year dividend of 103p per share is maintained.

Go-Ahead lost the London Midland franchise last year, a disappointment it admitted. It still runs the Southeastern and Great Northern franchises. It could face fines from the Department for Transport over the Thameslink failures.

While the buses arm is much more profitable than trains, Brown says there is no chance of ditching the trains arm. Rail is what we do, we are an effective contractor, he said.
W hen it comes to new technologies, we tend to overestimate the impact in the short term but underestimate the impact in the long term.

In Silicon Valley this is known as Amaras Law, named after Stanford university professor Roy Amara, who first observed this behaviour several decades ago.

If you want to see this law in action theres nowhere better to look than healthcare and medicine. In June 2000 the human genome  the entire genetic code contained in our cells  was published for the first time.

By any measure this was a monumental scientific achievement. There are more than three billion letters in the human genome, and identifying them all took 1,000 scientists more than 15 years and cost 2 billion.

After all this effort, the assumption was that this technological breakthrough would deliver almost instantaneous results. After all, if we knew the DNA code, we could spot the genes that make people vulnerable to cancer and other diseases, and quickly come up with treatments.

As Bill Clinton said at the time, cracking the human genome will revolutionise the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases. Eighteen years later, were still waiting. But as Amaras Law says, while it may have been wrong to expect instant results from genetics, its equally daft to underestimate the long-term effects.

It turns out that the key to unlocking the benefits wasnt to sequence a single human genome  we have to sequence lots of them so we can understand how our genes interact with the environment and translate into real-world characteristics and diseases.

In 2012 I proposed a plan to sequence 100,000 human genomes in the UK, which was announced by David Cameron, with funding and support from then Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

This was a radical move  at the time only a few hundred human genomes had ever been sequenced worldwide, but it was clearly the right thing to do. After all, thanks to the NHS we have a standardised patient health record system, which is vital if you want to understand how your genetic code translates into real health issues.

And progress in other fields  such as artificial intelligence  meant the cost of sequencing a genome had fallen massively, and scientists could analyse vast amounts of genetic data more easily than ever before.

This endeavour  known as the 100,000 Genomes Project  is now in full swing, and its a great example of how Britain can lead the way in science and technology.

Even more importantly, 18 years after the human genome was first sequenced, we may finally be on the verge of a new era of personalised medicines and treatments for cancer and other terrible diseases.
I magine what it is like to grow up in a war zone. To spend your childhood in danger, without a secure home, without a right to education, and perhaps forced apart from your family.

That is what life is like for one in six children around the world today  those who live in conflict areas such as Yemen, Iraq and Syria. They risk being conscripted into armies or thrown out of the temporary shelter of refugee camps.

But like all young people they also want to know about the world, to learn and build better lives  and of course they have extraordinary stories to tell others.

Thats why today the Evening Standard is proud to launch Learn To Live: a campaign that will shine a light on the lives of young people by building links between schools in London and those in in conflict areas.

Newspapers and websites such as the Standard thrive on encouraging communication and the sharing of knowledge and ideas. That is what will happen as a result of this ambitious new scheme.

Working with partners including the charity War Child, the British Council and the Department for International Development, we hope to encourage empathy and understanding.

Four London schools have already signed up to partner with schools in Iraq, Jordan and the Central African Republic.

Children will be able to communicate through Skype and by writing and take part in a shared art project.

We will follow their stories throughout the coming weeks and watch as their friendships grow and their understanding of each others lives expands.

London schoolchildren will get an insight into what it is like to live in areas where life is constantly at risk, says Andria Zafirakou, the London teacher named this year as the worlds best in a global competition.

They will learn what education means to children who are fighting for their future prospects at the same time as protecting their physical safety.

We hope many more schools in London and across the country will come forward to take part.

There is more information online at warchild.org.uk/learntolive  and we look forward to telling the stories of the children involved in this inspirational project.

The Evening Standard launches its Learn to Live campaign with War Child

White House whispers

Another day, another sensational revelation describing life inside Donald Trumps White House.

This week has already brought jaw-dropping extracts from a new book by Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter who helped bring down President Nixon.

Now the New York Times has published an anonymous piece by someone they call only a senior official in the Trump administration who describes how many in his team have formed an organised resistance to block an impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective President.

He is, the author writes, anti-trade and anti-democratic. He was reluctant to expel so many of Mr Putins spies as punishment for the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain.

We have sunk low with him, the piece concludes.

A guessing game has begun to name the author. But what matters more is what it will do to President Trumps hold on his job.

Everyone who already loathes him will have their certainties strengthened. The many voters who like him (and his approval ratings are not much lower than Bill Clinton and Barack Obamas at the same point in their first terms) may dismiss it as more of the same.

Either way, it is an extraordinary and frightening insight into a fraught presidency.

Burberry burns no more

Just because fashion is about ostentation doesnt mean it has to cause waste, as campaigners are proving.
P arliament Square is one of the most famous cityscapes on Earth. It is critical that we maintain safety and security at this busy, iconic location while ensuring that it remains accessible to everyone visiting the area and participating in our democracy.

Following the tragic Westminster Bridge terrorist attack in 2017, more measures were put in place to increase protection. Since then, a working group, led by the Mayors office, Westminster City Council and Parliament, was set up to look at permanent measures to make it a safer, better space for all those who use the area. Unfortunately, recent events have demonstrated why we need to consider what other changes may be necessary.

We are jointly committed to assessing options to improve the area, including the possibility of closing parts of the Square to general traffic. That is why we are investing in a detailed feasibility study, which is being resourced jointly by the Mayors Office, Parliament, Westminster City Council, and also the Minister for Security at the Home Office.

The Metropolitan Police and Government security advisers will also support the feasibility study with expert and technical insight.

We look forward to sharing these plans with Londoners as soon as we can.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, Cllr Nickie Aiken (Leader of Westminster council), Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP (Deputy Speaker of the Commons)

EDITOR'S REPLY

Dear Sadiq, Nickie and Lindsay

For years nothing was done to remove eyesores from Parliament Square because those in charge of its pavements would not agree with those responsible for the grass. So its heartening to see the Labour Mayor and Conservative council leader in harmony.

Parliament Square is one of my favourite spaces. I walk through it every day and have spent many hours covering demonstrations, standing in crowds waiting for Big Ben to declare the New Year and, recently, watching the RAF 100 flypast. But the continuous din of lorries precludes lingering for long to absorb the history or even the chimes of St Margarets.

Its absolutely crazy to let traffic bedlam spoil a unique landmark and send tourists scurrying away after a selfie with the ever-patient police officers on duty. The Square should be a place to wander, gaze and contemplate.

Its annoying when security worries force change. But sometimes they may spur improvements that are years overdue.

I wish you success.

Joe Murphy, Political Editor

Dont be derailed by Crossrail delay

The disappointment and frustration of passengers over the delay to Crossrails opening is understandable  but for a project of this size and complexity, set to benefit London and the wider UK for the best part of a century, that is a relatively short amount of time. Worse than that is the decades-long delay that Londoners have suffered as the idea of Crossrail was being bandied around and until work got started  we must get better at planning our infrastructure for the long-term. The National Infrastructure Commission was established three years ago for this very purpose.
A s a museum of pretty much anything, from largely anywhere and from almost every period of human history, you can bet the British Museum offers quite a bit to see.

Londons most famous museum is home to an astounding collection of over 8 million objects, within which youll find thousands of years of history and some pretty significant mileage  but what if youve only got an hour or two to hand?

From places distant in time and space to closer-to-home finds, these are the five historical marvels you need to see at the British Museum.

The Rosetta Stone

Trustees of the British Museum

This stone slab may not look particularly awe-inspiring, but the Rosetta Stone it is in fact the key that has unravelled some of the greatest mysteries of ancient Egypt. Inscribed with a governmental decree, it isnt what it is says that is so extraordinary, but the languages its written in. The meaning of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (the little animal symbols used as an alphabet) had gone undeciphered for over 1000 years until this fragment was found in 1799, showing the same statement written in three scripts including ancient Greek and hieroglyphics. This allowed linguists to finally crack the code, an immeasurable tool in finding out more about the ancient civilisation.

The Sutton Hoo Helmet

Trustees of the British Museum

This extraordinary archeological find was many thousands of miles from the banks of the Nile  in Sutton, to be precise. In 1939, historians discovered the undisturbed remains of a ship-burial dating back to the 7th century. While the wooden ship had largely rotted away, inside remained an unprecedented bounty of early Anglo-Saxon objects, including this opulently decorated, full face helmet, thought to have belonged to King Rdwald of East Anglia. The helmet, which is thought to have been equivalent to a crown, is one of the most extraordinary artefacts ever uncovered from this period in British history.

Hoa Hakananai'a

Trustees of the British Museum

The Moai figures that stretched across the bays of Rapa Nui  or Easter Island  are one of the true artistic marvels of the world. Hoa Hakananai'a  a name meaning either lost or stolen friend or breaking wave  was brought to the UK in the 19th century. While not one of the largest examples of the iconic monolithic statues, it is widely considered one of the finest examples still intact today. Its face is extraordinarily expressive, demonstrating true artistry from its makers, and the myriad carvings on its back  featuring a bird, a ring and even female genitalia  demonstrate symbols important to the bird man religion once practiced on the island.

The Lewis Chessmen

Trustees of the British Museum

Aside from all the mead-drinking, Medieval folk loved a bit of fun and games  chess, in this case. One day in 1831, this 12th century chess set was found on a sand dune on the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. No one is entirely sure how it got there, but it is thought to have been brought over from Norway and got a little lost along the way. Not only is it possibly one of the few complete chess sets from the period, but its walrus ivory and whales tooth figures are full of cheeky, characterful expression. 82 of the 93 figures are now in the collection of the British Museum.

Egyptian Mummy

Trustees of the British Museum

You didnt think wed forget the mummies did you? The British Museum is famous the world over for its extraordinary collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts, constituting the largest in the world outside of Egypt itself. Among this spectacular hoard are 120 human mummies. This guy, who is believed to have been called Djeho from an inscription on his elaborate cartonnage, is one of them. The mask on the exterior of his coffin is gilded with real gold, while inside his nose bears a fracture, indicating the common mummification practice of pulling a dead mans brain out through his nostril.
T here's nothing better than spending an entire afternoon browsing one of London's bookshops.

The smells, the crisp snap of the pages and the countless great minds that stalk the shelves are as alluring as a bookstores architectural chic. Luckily, our city is home to an impressive selection of shops that celebrate the capital's extraordinary literary history. You'd think the digital age would have seen them close by now, but in fact, gadgets like the Kindle have only made their appeal even stronger.

Now, you'll find bookstores donning rare collectibles alongside coffee shops and bespoke shopping experiences  things you simply can't appreciate online. Some also have great niches (early shout out to Word on the Water), too. In short, there's more charm in the pages of a novel than there is on your average iPad.

So that you can appreciate just how darling our bookhavens are, we've rounded up some of the capital's finest. From Daunt Books to Hatchards, here's where to find London's prettiest and most Instagrammable book shops.

John Sandoe Books, King's Road

This glorious place lives on a back road just off the King's Road. It basically looks like it belongs in a Dickens novel. Think picturesque window boxes blooming with florals, creaky narrow stairs leading up to a fortress of humanities favourites and shelves stuffed with mountains upon mountains of leather bound masterpieces. Prepare yourself, because you will spend hours here.

10 Blacklands Terrace, SW3 2SR, johnsandoe.com

Daunt Books, Marylebone

Without question, the Marylebone branch of Daunt Books is the most Instagrammed bookstore in the capital. Occupying a gorgeous Edwardian building, the major sell of this book shop to the stars is its absolutely stonkingly gorgeous galleried main room, chock-a-block with stunning stained glass windows. Throughout, you'll feel like you are in another world. All the books are arranged by country, regardless of genre, so you are bound to pick up something fresh, new and exciting. Such fun!

84 Marylebone High St, W1U 4QW, dauntbooks.co.uk

Hatchards, Piccadilly

The city's most prestigious bookshop is also the UK's oldest. Hatchards first opened its doors to the Great British public in 1797 and is home to more than 100,000 rare, limited and first editions spread over five beautiful oak and mahogany floors. Bestowed with no less than three royal warrants (including one from Her Majesty, The Queen) it's probably one of the most refined, respected and revered bookshops in the Big Smoke.

187 Piccadilly, W1J 9LE, hatchards.co.uk

Gay's The Word, Marchmount Street

Amazingly, Gay's the Word is the only surviving and fully dedicated LGBT+ bookstore in the entire country. A much-loved community gem, the Marchmount Street icon stocks a vast selection of queer stories, theory and literature. Titles cover sex, relationships, parenting and children, as well as traditional canonical works from the gay canon. A favourite amongst advocates Sir Ian McKellan and Sir Stephen Fry, it also hosts countless hub events holding regular discussions with groups and academics up and down the country.

66 Marchmont St, WC1N 1AB, gaystheword.co.uk

Persephone Books, Lambs Conduit Street

Persephone Books is a standout. Unlike many of the city's other bookshops, it republishes print novels long forgotten and has a particular soft spot for stories written by women during the interwar periods. Back in 2001, the owners decided to give Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day a new lease of life. The result? The book became a major hit and was eventually adapted into a hit film starring Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand. All books come with limited edition sleeves, grey covers and the most vibrant linings, so they'll look top notch on your bookshelf.

59 Lamb's Conduit St, WC1N 3NB, persephonebooks.co.uk

Libraria, Shoreditch

Sadly for Instagram folk, Rohan Silva's Libraria actually prohibits the use of phones within its deep, shockingly yellow walls  which probably explains the disclaimer 'our shop is designed as an antidote for the technological age'. It's all very analogue here. Designed to mimic Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges's Library of Babel, the whole place feels like a never ending dream with its mirrored ceiling and wall-to-wall bookshelves. Chairs and intimate reading booths are plentiful, and there's even an old school printing press hidden downstairs, too. Relaxed and downright inspiring, our advice is simple: grab a cushion and surround yourself in the company of Plato, Voltaire and Sartre.

65 Hanbury St, E1 5JP, libreria.io

Word on the Water, Granary Square

Say hello to London's quirkiest bookshop  Word on the Water. Housed inside a 100-year old Dutch barge, expect poetry slams, jazz nights (on the roof stage) and a wood-burning stove inside. Book wise, hundreds of new and second hand bargains are there to tempt your wallet. Another plus, it's dog-friendly, too.

York Way, Granary Square, N1C 4AA, @wordonthewater

London Review Bookshop, Bloomsbury

Since the glory days of 2003, the London Review Bookshop has been here to reflect the ethos of the literary publication. In there words: 'intelligent without being pompous; engaged without being partisan'. Find everything from great literary classics to history, politics and new philosophy donning their pristine wooden shelves. There's also a lovely little cafe, plus oodles of high-profile bookish events that take place throughout the year.

14-16 Bury Pl, WC1A 2JL, londonreviewbookshop.co.uk

Lutyens & Rubenstein, Notting Hill

Lutyens & Rubenstein has gorgeous written all over it. Perhaps it's those elegant striped awnings, or the charming book motifs which dangle from the cutesy interior? Whatever it is, this beautifully designed shop aims to provide all those who enter it with the most idiosyncratic browsing experience there ever was. Lutyen's biggest sell is its stock; all of it was assembled canvassing hundreds of readers, meaning everything on sale comes with its own personal recommendation. If you love art and poetry, their selection is unrivalled.

21 Kensington Park Rd, W11 2EU, lutyensrubinstein.co.uk

Hurlingham Books, Fulham

Hurlingham like to claim that they are the oldest indie bookstore in south west London. Owned by book lover Ray Cole, the shop's charm lies in its very irregular opening hours. Some days it opens at 9am-ish, while on the weekends they might be shut because of the footie. They say, 'it is best to call' before you pop in to avoid any disappointment. If it is, have no fear because the exterior is reason to go alone. From left to right, hardback fiction, art, photography, children and antiquarian goldies line the shelves, and on some days, you might even spot the odd stellar steal. In a nutshell, it's pretty. Very, very pretty.

91 Fulham High St, SW6 3JS, hurlinghambooks.com

Foster Books, Chiswick

Another Instagram favourite, Chiswick's Foster Books specialises in hard to find, out of print, exquisitely bound and rare books. It's a must visit for any bookworm but don't just take our word for it, influencer Siobhan Ferguson of prettycitylondon says it's enough reason to visit Chiswick alone.
W here are you planning on sending your child to school? You know, the one you havent even given birth to yet?

Alexis Zegerman was asked this question more than any other while she was pregnant with her first child, so she did what anyone would do and she wrote a play about it.

I thought: Hang on a minute, this child is still in utero. This is such a ridiculous thing to be preoccupied with, but of course, it becomes the hot topic of discussions wherever you are. How are you going to educate your child?

Her play, Holy Sh!t, which is the first show to open at newly revamped Kiln Theatre (previously Tricycle Theatre), was the result of these questions.

Its not just something people with children have an opinion on, its something that everybody has an opinion on because we all contribute, taxpayers contribute to the education system, they all have a view on it. Your parents, grandparents have a view on it.

Even a trip to a playground in New York led to a conversation about the dwindling number of school places in London. This endeavour to make sure that your child is well educated - its an international preoccupation.

Holy Sh!t follows Jewish couple Simone and Sam, as they start attending church to get their daughter into the best local primary school. While this is the inciting event at the beginning of the play, what transpires is an exploration of how this decision affects their relationship with their two best friends, an interracial couple, and with each other, looking at overlapping issues of race, religion and identity.

Whenever you get into a conversation about education or about parenting with anybody, it can be quite inflammatory, she says, because the way that one person parents can often be taken as a comment on how you yourself parent. And thats, for the most laid back sort of person, a touching-a-nerve sort of subject. Its really hard! It doesnt matter how laid back you think youre going to be as a parent, it all goes out the window the moment you just try and get through a day.

Holy Sh!t in rehearsals at Kiln Theatre 1 /12 Holy Sh!t in rehearsals at Kiln Theatre Claire Goose and Daniel Lapaine in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Daon Broni and Daniel Lapaine in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Claire Goose and Dorothea Myer-Bennett in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Daniel Lapaine in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Claire Goose in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Daon Broni and Dorothea Myer-Bennett in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Daniel Lapaine and Dorothea Myer-Bennett in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Daniel Lapaine and Daon Broni in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Dorothea Myer-Bennett in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Daon Broni and Claire Goose in Holy Sh!t by Alexis Zegerman at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Indhu Rubasingham directing Holy Sh!t at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Alexis Zegerman in Holy Sh!t rehearsals at the Kiln Theatre Mark Douet

[In Holy Sh!t] a drop in the ocean becomes a sort of tsunami that takes everybody over. And its exploring things like race and identity and how our identity changes when we become parents.

What starts as a bit of a lighthearted joke for Simone and Sam spirals out of control when their opinions clash, having knock on effects on Juliet and Nicks relationship as well. Theres a reignition of their own identities and their best friends. It causes them to question and explore themselves and their own identity in Britain today.

People fall out over this, you find that the tribe that you end up being friends with are people that often re-emphasise your choices in life rather than people that make different choices. We end up hanging around people who dont put our choices into stark contrast.

Starring Daniel Lapaine and Dorothea Myer-Bennett as Sam and Simone, and Claire Goose and Daon Broni as Juliet and Nick, Kilns artistic director Indhu Rubasingham is directing. Zegerman approached Rubasingham with a bit of chutzpah to give her the script at an awards ceremony.

This very rarely would turn into a production, lets be honest. That never happens. If it did, Id be turning up on Steven Spielbergs doorstep.

When not writing play scripts (shes got another in the works for Kiln), Zegerman writes for film and tv, currently adapting Mark Lamprells A Lovers Guide to Rome into a Hollywood movie. She acts as well, recently appearing in the film version of Naomi Aldermans Disobedience, which is realeased in November, starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams.

When I came out of drama school, I really couldnt get arrested as an actor. That's quite common, and I thought what am I going to do, beside waitressing and being an estate agent? Which is what I was doing.

The best theatre to see this September 1 /10 The best theatre to see this September Antony and Cleopatra at the National Theatre An Adventure at the Bush Theatre Dance Nation at the Almeida Marc Brenner Sylvia at the Old Vic Manuel Harlan Holy Sh!t at Kiln Theatre Mark Douet Misty at Trafalgar Studios Helen Murray Pinter at the Pinter Getty Images Dust at Trafalgar Studios Richard Davenport, The Other Richard The Village at Theatre Royal Stratford East Getty Images The Woods at the Royal Court Theatre

Writing feels like her calling, though, especially on the issues that she sees affect the people around her.

I do think that we are all just trying to get to a point where our children can survive in a world that seems to be becoming more difficult, more scary as a place, and I think that really can affect our drive to do whats best. Ive certainly taken it to its maximum limit!
T his is the authors 40-somethingth book  she is too cool to count them all  and it is a thing of wonder: a diary of daily musings with zero pretension. It is light yet profound, ecstatic yet melancholy, ethereal yet droll. Which writer could breezily contain so many contradictions, like Tiresias with jokes?

Only Jan Morris in her 91st year. I have never before in my life kept a diary of my thoughts, and here at the start of my tenth decade I am having a go at it. Good luck to me.

Old age has been kind to her. It sounds a pain to live through, but stylistically its great. She is more nimble and friendly on the page than ever, a little afflicted by exclamation marks, yes, but with a heightened perspective. She believed, in her youth, that having covered Everests ascent, she would be asked to join the Moon landings by Nasa. Imagine  the cheek of it!

She loves Montaigne, and emulates his interiority, his grasshopper-like movement of thought. She is silent on her trailblazing gender fluidity. That may come in a book: Fabers are waiting to publish posthumously.

But preoccupations emerge: our waning national confidence (Brits no longer meet your eye in the street, but shrink as though reprimanded by destiny), the pleasures of observation (Cabbage White butterflies, for example  What are they about?), her hatred of zoos (Anathema upon them!), her beloved Honda Civic (still the elderly boy racers dream), as well as her impending departure from this world (her Morrexit).

She and her partner Elizabeth have a slate under the stairs that dutifully awaits their departure, inscribed to them both at the end of one life. Although she has not forgotten the Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, with whom I propose to have an affair in the afterlife.

She is known as a poet of place, from Manhattan to the Hashemite Kingdom, and here Portmeirion and Porthmadog are condensed into two-page wonders: Yesterday I realised that I lived in the best place on earth. It was a glorious evening of early winter, a time of wondrous colouring  golds and greys and vermilions and deepest blues, interspersed and overlaid by towering structures of white clouds...

She turns fanciful when, for example, apologising to her taller books for keeping them horizontally, or dips into doggerel: In the north part of Wales there resided, were told/ Two elderly persons who, as they grew old,/ Being tough and strong-minded, resolute ladies,/Observing their path towards Heaven or Hades
F ancy some really interesting, delicious wine that no one else has, at a reasonable price that doesnt hurt the small companies making it?

Of course you do. Time to get on the world wine web, then, to one of the indie online-only shops that source direct from producers.

We are honest, and doing this for the love of bringing the best wine to people, says Richard Ellison, founder of online wine importer Wanderlust Wines. Almost all of the 30 producers on his books are exclusive to his website: highlights include Jeremy Recchiones superb premier cru Burgundy to Caythorpes super-quaffable organic New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

Ellison points out that if youre buying from nationwide merchants and supermarkets, the pricing and discounts are not honest. Is the Rioja really 50 per cent off? Because I make a much smaller margin at that than at full price. Being online only also means no expensive premises, a saving that gets passed on to drinkers. Win, wine.

Beside helping small producers and getting better wine for your buck, there are also much more interesting regions to be discovered. Like Romania, where Ellison discovered Dagon Clan wines: low intervention and led by Burgundy maestro Mark Haisma, it blends local Feteasca Alba and Negra with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir to make lush wines without the price tag of better-known regions. Look out for the Sandridge, the new 100 per cent Feteasca Negra (49.99) and the best wine Romania has ever produced, as Ellison ebulliently puts it.

Hes so keen for you to try it that Wanderlust will deliver to your door within an hour if you live in central London. Delivery costs a fiver, so it makes sense to stock up on biodynamic Romanian red as well as Hungarian Riesling, English red and lush Cremant de Bourgogne, for a rainy day.

Dagon Clan Clar;
C allous thieves stole a World War I memorial from an east Sussex village prompting police to launch an appeal for it safe return.

The memorial is a black silhouette of a soldier and was taken during the night of August 29 from Main Road in Yapton.

The silhouette is a temporary memorial and part of an initiative by the Royal British Legion to mark the centenary of the end of World War I.

According to police, statue is around five feet tall and has the words Lest we Forget written on its base.

Sussex Police said: While it is of little material value, the memorial is of great sentimental value and police are appealing for anyone with any information to get in touch.

As part of the initiative, many of the statues will be placed around the UK to mark one hundred years since the end of World War I.

Aside from the iconic soldier, other silhouettes include munition factory workers, suffragettes and soldiers from across the commonwealth.
A man has been charged with murder after a 22-year-old was stabbed to death in south-east London.

Shevaun Sorrell died from knife wounds to the chests in Deptford on August 25.

Police discovered Shevaun injured in Creek Road, near his home, at about 11.45pm.

Dana Powell, 27, has been charged with killing the young man and will appear before magistrates in Bromley on Thursday.

The 70-year-old said: I dont know why this happened. I have tried to bring up my children with family values and not everyone does this.

You read about these killings in the newspapers and see it on the news, but until it happens to you its not really possible to understand.

Shevaun lived with his father, a retired railway engineer, his mother Donna and older brother Shane, 24. Mr Sorrell said his son had attended college in Lewisham where he was training to become a tradesman.

Mr Sorrell, who came to Britain from Jamaica in the Sixties, told the Evening Standard: He was good with his hands and could have been an electrician or something like that.

He was bright and good with computers. He also loved his music. He really was one of the best, we are devastated and struggling to understand why he was killed.
T he ringleader of a fraud gang who splashed out on designer watches, expensive shoes, and mobile phones in a 400,000 bank card scam has been jailed for more than three years.

Samuel Bonsu, 36, led a team of conmen who duped their victims into handing over personal banking details, and used stolen cards to withdraw cash and go on lavish spending sprees.

However they were caught red-handed on CCTV cameras as they toured luxury shops across London while spending the profits of the scam.

Bonsu, working alongside Isaac Nai, 39, Junior Boakye-Yiadom, 28, and Bernard Kuffour, 30, drained 377,943 from their victims accounts between February 2015 and April 2016.

Behind bars: Samuel Bonsu was jailed for three years over a 400k bank card scam / Met Police

The scam was uncovered by internal investigators at Barclaycard and sent to the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) which eventually brought Bonsu and his crew to justice.

It is believed the scam involved both phishing and smishing techniques to take over a victims bank account, tricking them with emails and texts into handing over personal information including PIN numbers.

Gang members captured on CCTV in a high-end store

The fraudsters would then be able to impersonate the victims to order new bank cards, transfer funds, and change contact details on the accounts.

Detective Constable Lauren Smith, the lead investigator for the DCPCU, said: This organised criminal gang was using sophisticated techniques to commit card fraud on an industrial scale.

A member of the gang shops with stolen bank cards

Now they have been brought to justice thanks to close cooperation between law enforcement and the banking industry.

This shows how through close cooperation, we are making sure fraudsters are caught and punished.

At Wood Green crown court this week, Bonsu, from Walthamstow, was jailed for three years and three months after he admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

A gang member shops with the stolen bank cards

Nai was sentenced to 30 weeks in prison suspended for 18 months and ordered to complete 150 hours of community service.

Boakye-Yiadom was given an 18-month suspended sentence, with 200 hours of community service.
T heresa May has vowed to take on Russias spy network as she called an emergency UN security meeting amid reports Britain is preparing for cyberwarfare.

It comes after two Russians were charged with carrying out the Salisbury Novichok poisonings in a dramatic breakthrough in the major investigation.

Pointing the finger at Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister made clear the attack was not a rogue operation and was almost certainly approved at a senior level of state.

Mrs May will update the UN Security Council today on the next steps after she briefed Donald Trump and delivered her statement in the Commons.

'Russian spies': Prime Minister Theresa May updates MPs in the House of Commons / PA

Whitehall sources told the Times newspaper that cyberwar will almost certainly play a part in the UKs retaliation against Russias spy network.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  believed to be aliases  are accused of the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey.

Police said they believe the pair flew into Gatwick two days before the attack, when they checked into an east London hotel. They then are said to have travelled to Salisbury to carry out a reconnaissance mission, and the attack itself the following day.

TODO: define component type brightcove

They used a specially adapted counterfeit Nina Ricci perfume bottle to smear the nerve agent on the door of Mr Skripals home, officers said.

No charges have been brought over the death of Dawn Sturgess or the poisoning of Charlie Rowley. This is because police still have to establish how the perfume bottle reached the charity bin where Mr Rowley believes he found it.

The Russians flew back to Moscow out of Heathrow on the night of the poisoning. A series of CCTV images were released showing the men at both London airports, in Bow, and in Salisbury, as counterterrorism officers set out the most conclusive evidence so far of Russian involvement.

The suspects walk together through the streets of Salisbury / Metropolitan Police

Although Mrs May did not explicitly blame the Kremlin for authorising the attempted assassination, senior Conservatives directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of approving the operation.

Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said there was "no doubt it was state ordered and President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act".

The charge d'affaires at Russia's London embassy was summoned to the Foreign Office for a dressing-down by an official following Mrs May's statement on Wednesday.

Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia both survived the nerve agent poisoning

Britain called the meeting of the United Nations Security Council - of which Russia is a permanent member  for today.

Mrs May spoke by phone with US President Mr Trump on Tuesday night and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday. She is expected to speak to other leaders over the next few days as she seeks to forge an international alliance for further action.

The Prime Minister told MPs the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to "counter the threat posed by the GRU".

The perfume bottle recovered by police from Charlie Rowleys address in Amesbury / Metropolitan Police

Former GRU officer Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu also confirmed that officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury four months later.

In the second incident, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent used in Salisbury.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.

Yulia Skripal was poisoned alongside her father Sergei / PA

Mr Basu said: "We do not believe Dawn and Charlie were deliberately targeted, but became victims as a result of the recklessness in which such a toxic nerve agent was disposed of."

The charges relate to the first incident, but Mr Basu said officers continue to liaise with the CPS regarding the poisoning of Mr Rowley and Ms Sturgess.

Police also released an image of a counterfeit perfume bottle after tests found it contained a "significant amount" of Novichok.

Mr Rowley told officers he found a box he thought contained perfume in a charity bin on June 27.

The City Stay Hotel in Bow, where the suspects are believed to have stayed before the attack

Three days later he got some of the contents on himself, while Ms Sturgess applied some of the substance to her wrists.

Mr Basu said the manner in which the bottle and packaging was adapted makes it a "perfect cover" for smuggling the weapon into the country.

But he added: "We don't yet know where the suspects disposed of the Novichok they used to attack the door, where Dawn and Charlie got the bottle that poisoned them, or if it is the same bottle used in both poisonings."

Providing an in-depth update on the complex investigation, Mr Basu said the suspects spent two nights at a hotel in east London and made a suspected "reconnaissance" trip to Salisbury the day before the Skripals were poisoned.

Both suspects pictured at Salisbury train station / Metropolitan Police

The CPS said there was sufficient evidence to charge Petrov and Boshirov with: conspiracy to murder Mr Skripal; attempted murder of Mr Skripal, Ms Skripal and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey; use and possession of Novichok contrary to the Chemical Weapons Act; and causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Ms Skripal and Mr Bailey.

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre on March 4.

They spent weeks critically ill in hospital but have since been discharged.

Mr Bailey, who was involved in searching Mr Skripal's home after the attack, was left seriously unwell.

The officer continues to make good progress but remains off work, police said.

Moscow has repeatedly denied claims that Russia was behind the attempted assassination in March.
A man in his 20s has died in a horror crash between an Audi and a Range Rover on the A12 in Wanstead on Thursday morning.

Officers from Metropolitan Police were called to reports of the collision underneath Waltham Forests Green Man Roundabout on the A12 eastbound at around 2.13am.

Two cars, an Audi and a Range Rover, were found severely damaged in the tunnel by police and paramedics after the early morning horror collision.

A man in his late 20s, who police believe was driving the Audi, suffered fatal injuries in the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene. His next of kin have been informed.

Several people, including the driver of the wrecked blue Range Rover Sport and passengers of both cars, were taken to an east London hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Four people in the Range Rover at the time of the crash have now been arrested on suspicion of drug offences and causing death by dangerous driving.

Road closures remain in place on the A12 as police, who have advised drivers to avoid the area on Thursday morning, continue to investigate the fatal crash.

A spokesman for Waltham Forest police said: Drivers please use alternative routes as there will be significant road closures and delays expected into morning rush hour.

Launching an appeal for information, police have urged anyone with information or dashcam footage to come forward to help with the investigation.
A restaurant whose bosses claim is housed in the only building to survive the Great Fire of London in 1666 has been damaged after a bus crashed into it.

The Thai Square at Wig and Pen, which has survived both the fire and the Blitz, was hit by number 341 London bus at about 4am on Thursday morning.

Owner Haim Danous said he couldnt believe it when he found out the building had been damaged.

Mr Danous said the side of the listed building, which has stood since 1620 was completely damaged and its rare stain-glass windows were smashed.

The force of the crash, Mr Danous added, woke up employees of the restaurant who slept above the building, on The Strand.

TfL have said the bus operator is investigating the crash (Supachai Martwiset ) / Supachai Martwiset

He said: Some of my staff were there and they said the building shook. I had an email at 4am and then at 8am I had calls telling me to come down.

He added: I just couldnt believe it. Maybe it was an act of God, we dont know what happened with the driver.

A spokesman for TfL said the bus operator, Arriva, is investigating the crash and confirmed that there were no injuries to report at the scene.

Mr Danous, who owns several restaurants from the same chain across London, said he was sad to see this restaurant in particular see damaged.

The Great Fire of London took place in 1666 / Getty Images

He said: The building was such a quaint and beautiful one, so much history. Thank God we dont have to demolish it, but there will be expensive work to fix it.

The business, Mr Danous said, has been closed until further notice and it is feared it will be shut for three to four months.

In its past, it was first used by keepers of the exclusive members club Wig and Pen. Following that, it was a club used for members of the press to meet with lawyers, Mr Danous said.
A school in Dagenham which was burnt to the ground could have been saved if sprinklers had been fitted in the building, the London Fire Brigade has said.

Parents with children at Roding Primary School are now faced with weeks of disruption after a large part of the building, which did not have sprinklers, was destroyed in the huge blaze.

Around 80 firefighters were called to the fire in Hewett Road, which broke out in the early hours of Tuesday morning and took nearly three hours to bring under control.

The school, which says it is now making the site safe for children to return, has just under 1,300 pupils attending both their Hewett Road site and a nearby one in Cannington Road.

Firefighters in Dagenham / Jeremy Selwyn

After campaigning for sprinklers in schools for a number of years, the London Fire Brigade said the Dagenham fire was a clear example of why the equipment is needed.

LFBs Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lee Drawbridge said: There could be no clearer example of why sprinklers in schools are so important as they could have significantly reduced the damage and impact of this fire.

Fires in schools cause major disruption to pupils learning and often lead to costly repairs.

Sprinklers use on average 90 per cent less water than hoses and so not only stop fires developing but also prevent costly water damage.

Londons firefighters are called to more than 80 fires in schools every year and in most cases, sprinklers are not fitted  meaning millions of pounds are wasted repairing fire and water damage.

Crews were faced with a serious blaze when they arrived at the school and worked very hard to bring it under control but given the intensity of the fire, there is, unfortunately, significant damage to the school.

Dagenham: Roding Primary School Fire - In pictures 1 /14 Dagenham: Roding Primary School Fire - In pictures The school in Dagenham engulfed in flames Firefighters at the scene of the blaze Jeremy Selwyn 80 firefighters were in attendance Jeremy Selwyn Pupils were due to return to school tomorrow Jeremy Selwyn A firefighter looks on at charred wreckage at the school Jeremy Selwyn A firefighter douses the charred embers with water Jeremy Selwyn Huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky as firefighters tackled the flames at Roding Primary school Jeremy Selwyn Crews from several stations were called to tackle the fire Jeremy Selwyn The London Fire Brigade was first called at 4.50am Jeremy Selwyn Firefighters at Roding Primary School Jeremy Selwyn The fire caused significant damage to the school Jeremy Selwyn It is not yet clear how the fire started Jeremy Selwyn Twelve fire engines and around 80 firefighters are at the scene @67jrde The fire broke out at the school in Dagenham @67jrde

While the cause of the fire is under investigation, a spokesman for Roding Primary School wrote on their website on Thursday that they are continuing to clean the school after the fire.

The statement said: There is so much soot, grime and debris everywhere that needs to be cleared before the premises are made safe for your children to return.

We are still waiting for replacement furniture and are hoping to make a decision on a return date for the children this evening.

The Brigade is calling on the government to make sprinklers mandatory in all new school builds and major refurbishments.

Last year, the Brigade revealed that only four new and refurbished schools it consulted with had installed sprinklers. If incorporated from the design stage, sprinklers are estimated to be around 1 per cent of the total build cost.
S adiq Khan has ordered a detailed study into the pedestrianisation of an area outside the Houses of Parliament in the wake of last months suspected terror attack .

Traffic could be banned from certain sections of Parliament Square after a Ford Fiesta ploughed into cyclists and pedestrians before crashing into a security barrier.

A detailed feasibility study into making the area safer has been commissioned by the Mayor of London's Office, Parliament, Westminster City Council and the Minister for Security.

The Metropolitan Police and government security advisers will also support the inquiry.

How the Westminster terror attack unfolded

Mayor Khan, Westminster City Council leader Nickie Aiken and Deputy Speaker of the Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle said in a joint statement that measures to increase safety were implemented after the Westminster Bridge attack last year, but the latest incident shows "we need to consider what other changes may be necessary".

The statement went on: "Parliament Square is one of the most famous cityscapes on Earth.
W hen you have children you want them to be safe, breathe clean air and grow up healthy  thats the priority, explains new mother Charlie Boyd, 30. She is walking down bustling Tooting High Street where the air is so toxic that it is set to breach the EU legal limit this year.

The annual average should not go above 40 micrograms of nitrogen dioxide per cubic metre of air (ug/m3) but it is already at 53ug/m3 for the year so far, according to figures from scientists at Kings College London.

Air pollution, adds the mother-of-one, is a contributing factor in her decision to move from Tooting, where she has lived for nearly 10 years, to Kent with her partner and baby son Aidan.

Other shoppers and workers on the high street share her concerns. Norwegian barista Michelle Hansen, 26, says: Its like the air here is a lot harder to breathe than in Norway. Artist Amanda Diment, 55, bemoans: Pollution makes my eyes really gritty. And Belinda Rios, 43, a freelance book editor, adds: I presume this air pollution is something the Mayor is trying to combat.

Before becoming Londons Mayor, Sadiq Khan was the Tooting MP. Air quality was a key issue during Labours selection for its mayoral candidate. It escalated up the political agenda when Mr Khan fought Tory environmentalist Zac Goldsmith, MP for Richmond Park, for the City Hall job in May 2016.

Priority: Charlie Boyd is quitting Tooting to ensure baby son Aidan gets clean air. / Alex Lentati

Sadiq walked into the job on the back of good but not outstanding promises to clean up Londons air, said Simon Birkett, founder of Clean Air in London, which gave him six out of 10 for his manifesto.

Today is the final day of the Evening Standards special investigation into the Mayors record in office. The Khan Audit has examined four areas  housing, crime, transport and pollution  that Londoners rated their biggest priorities in 2016 when Mr Khan ran for City Hall. One of his 10 key pledges was to restore Londons air quality to legal and safe levels  an ambitious goal he will almost certainly not reach by 2020.

But air pollution at many blackspots is now lower than two years ago and Mr Birkett says: Sadiq has outperformed expectations in terms of his action on air pollution since becoming Mayor.

The former City banker turned environmental campaigner lists a string of measures which Mr Khan has ordered to tackle air pollution but then added: Perhaps, most importantly, Sadiq has unashamedly spoken the truth about Londons toxic air.

Mr Khan, who grew up in Tooting and himself suffers from adult-onset asthma, has branded toxic air the biggest public health emergency in a generation. He introduced an alert system at Tube stations, bus stops and roadsides to tell Londoners when peak pollution episodes hit the city.

Last October, the 10-a-day T-charge for central London was brought in ahead of the Ultra Low Emission Zone which is also being fast-tracked. The toxicity levy angered motorists, with claims it was a heavy-handed approach which penalised drivers of older vehicles while doing little to improve air quality.

The net cost of the scheme is just shy of 10 million, and it was only expected to lead to a reduction in nitrogen oxides of around two per cent. City Hall estimates nitrogen dioxide levels have fallen by around six to eight per cent at central London monitoring sites since introduction of the T-charge.

Conservatives on the Greater London Assembly dispute whether the T-charge has had any significant impact on air quality, publishing city-wide figures showing no fall in particulate pollution. But Mr Khan rejected the criticism.

The T-charge was introduced as a stepping stone to the Ultra-Low Emission Zone , which is the toughest emission standard adopted by any city in the world and will be introduced in April 2019, said a mayoral spokesman.

Both these bold schemes are part of the hard-hitting measures the Mayor is delivering to tackle our filthy air and protect the health of Londoners. The T-charge also sent a clear message that Mr Khan was willing to take political risks  and act more decisively than his predecessor Boris Johnson  to deal with filthy air which is still above EU limits in many parts of the capital, though not as bad as two years ago.

Putney High Street has seen a dramatic fall in N02 levels, from an average of 98ug/m3 in 2016 to 54ug/m3 so far this year, according to provisional figures from Kings College. Oxford Street is down from 87ug/m3 to 64ug/m3, Beech Street in the City from 85ug/m3 to 71ug/m3, and Strand from 101ug/m3 to 89ug/m3. Close to Ikea in Brent is down from 76ug/m3 to 71ug/m3.

If we compare hotspot locations between 2015 and 2017, both Brixton Road and Putney High Street improved by more than 25 per cent, but we still have roads in London more than twice the legal limit, said Dr Gary Fuller of Kings College. We need more analysis of why policies are leading to fast improvements in some locations but in others progress is much slower.

Mr Khans campaign against toxic air has not been without controversy. He came under fire last year after it emerged dirty diesel buses were taken off the route down Putney High Street  which he championed as the capitals first-ever Low Emission Bus Zone  but simply switched with cleaner ones running through Wandsworth, past many schools and nurseries. City Hall says it has a commitment from TfL not to repeat such a swap-over and highlights that ultra-bad hourly pollution peaks have fallen from more than 1,000-a-year in Putney High Street to just a couple of dozen so far this year.

"Brixton Road and Putney High Street improved by over 25%, but we still have roads twice the legal limit"

In a move which could spark a significant backlash from motorists, Mr Khan is to expand the ULEZ up to the North and South Circular roads from October 2021, after introducing it in central London 17 months earlier than planned. Non-compliant vehicles, generally older ones, within the ULEZ will pay a daily charge of 12.50. Howard Cox, of the FairFuelUK campaign, argued there are bigger sources of harmful emissions and accused the Mayor of anti-driver policies.

Mr Khan can point to a string of other measures, including retro-fitting thousands of diesel buses; more electric models; air audits at 50 schools and 20 nurseries in polluted areas; and stopping the licensing of new diesel taxis. In his manifesto, he also vowed to deliver an electric charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

Figures published yesterday showed the number of new diesel cars bought in London down by a third in the year to August, but the capital lagging in the take-up of electric cars. The Mayor is seeking to speed up boroughs introduction of charging points.
A woman has been found dead after a blaze ripped through a home in south-east London.

Dozens of firefighters tackled the flames after the blaze broke out at the house in Centurion Square, Woolwich, in the early hours of Thursday.

The woman, whose age is not yet known, was discovered dead by crew members after the fire broke out shortly after 1am.

Dramatic images showed smoke billowing from the propertys windows and into the night sky as crews fought to bring the fire under control.

Almost two dozen emergency calls were made after the blaze broke out, with 60 firefighters in eight engines rushing to the scene.

Two people who had left the building before firefighters arrived were rushed to hospital.

Fire crews at the scene where the woman died / London Fire Brigade

London Fire Brigade said: "Sadly one woman was found dead at the scene by crews wearing breathing apparatus."
W hat is it with the Labour Party and attending festivals? This week it is the turn of Tory MP George Freemans Big Tent Ideas Festival to suffer tumbleweed where the red hordes should be gathering.

Organisers of the event in Cambridgeshire were trying to move this weekends festival away from its reputation as a Tory Glastonbury and had booked in a great line-up of Labour, Liberal Democrat and non-party speakers. Sadly the Labour attendees have been kiboshed by the party machine.

We had a whole line-up of Labour MPs ready to come but the party HQ didnt want them to, Freeman (left) said yesterday afternoon, although a source denies that there is a ban.

Shame. So we have tons of brilliant speakers from the centre-Left, and even more from the radical-centre. And were looking for local Labour speakers.

With the threat of de-selection hovering in the air for the type of moderates looking to discuss such Big Tent issues as Raising the tone of public discourse or Is this the end of the liberal era? maybe the organisers are right to be worried about achieving a cross-party consensus in the age of Momentum and Jeremy Corbyn.

The one Labour MP brave enough to appear on the speakers list is Brighton & Hove MP Peter Kyle.

This morning Kyle feared that Clive Lewis and Liam Byrne were among those who had pulled out. I thought [they] and several others were attending  maybe theyre not, he told us. An event like this is gold dust. To sit on a platform with senior figures from other parties and engage in robust conversation is too good an opportunity to miss. Does he fear a backlash?

Previously you expected vitriol from your political opponents, now people are getting used to receiving vitriol from within, he said.

The event still has some high-profile non-Tory backers including Stephen Fry and French President Emmanuel Macron. Sadly, the Tory Glastonbury couldnt find a tent big enough to accommodate Labours fragile egos.

Brexit: stand by for our darkest hour...

The EU may scrap daylight saving time. But, a thought: Brexit legislation passed by Parliament says that we leave the EU at 11pm on March 29, 2019, which is winter time. If the EU switches the clocks and the UK sticks to its plan to leave the EU at midnight its time, then there will be a witching hour when any agreement reached isnt yet in place.

For this hour, will no trade be possible? Everything from air-traffic control to Brits born abroad could, for 60 minutes, lack legal footing. How North Korea of us.

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Bodyguard is a hit with real-life personal protection officers in Westminster. One armed policeman enthused to a colleague that the series, which sees a PPO embark on a steamy affair with the Home Secretary in the second episode, is exactly like real life. Its uncanny. Er, how much of the drama has he seen? Oh just the first episode with terrorists trying to blow up a train. Ah.---

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When Nadine Dorries MP was first elected in 2005, she didnt know what she needed to take down to London with her, says Isabel Hardman in her new book Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. Dorries arrived, writes Hardman, at the Commons with no clean underwear.

Cate and Jack clock in for White City premiere

Jack Black and Cate Blanchett (Photo Dave Benett/WireImage) / Dave Benett/WireImage

Cate Blanchett lit up west London last night at the premiere of The House with a Clock In Its Walls. She and co-star Jack Black were in Westfield White City as they launched their film about a young boy who moves into a magical old house with his uncle. Blanchett, who plays a witch, once tried something off-the-wall to convince her own children to turn vegetarian: she got two pet pigs  Benson and Hedges  in the hope her kids would give up meat. Unfortunately, the sausages are delicious, Blanchett said later. But at least we are closer to the process. Back up the Central line in Soho, TV presenter Laura Jackson hosted a VIP dinner at Kettners Townhouse celebrating her collaboration with Rixo. Over in Shoreditch, actress Jaime Winstone, daughter of film star Ray, partied for a MAC Cosmetics campaign launch with Anais Gallagher, daughter of Oasiss Noel.

SW1A

Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North, finds himself in the Kafkaesque situation of facing suspension from the Labour Party for the second strike of something he does not know he has done. Austin (below) has been under investigation since July, but yesterday told the World At One: It didnt actually spell out what I was being investigated for. Whatever it is, if he does it again, he could be suspended. I think its an attempt to bully me.

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LABOUR MP Chris Williamson continues his Democracy Roadshow tour with a stop at Chuka Umunnas constituency, Streatham. There, amid an almost entirely white audience in one of Britains most diverse seats, Williamson met Ted Knight, whom he described as a Labour movement legend. Recap: when Knight led Lambeth council in 1985 he was accused of wilful misconduct by the district auditor for refusing to set a budget and banned from public office for five years. Yup, legend.

Quote of the day

"Im not sure whether it will go to Christmas cards." Dominic Raab says that while his relationship with his top civil servant Olly Robbins is good, hes not top of his list.

Madelines child star Hatty grows up

That Girl: Hatty Jones

Actor Hatty Jones, 30, rose to fame starring in family classic Madeline in 1998 and still gets recognised usually by women in their twenties who were fans as children.
B rexit Secretary Dominic Raab is set to confront EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier following his withering remarks about Theresa Mays trade plans.

Mr Raabs meeting in Brussels on Thursday comes after Mr Barnier described the Prime Ministers Chequers blueprint as dead at a select committee meeting this week.

Mr Barnier previously said he was strongly opposed to Ms Mays post-EU withdrawal trade plans.

Ahead of Thursday's meeting, Mr Barnier said he would try and find "common ground" with Mr Raab over the European Council's guidelines and the Chequers plan.

EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has criticised Theresa May's Brexit plans / AFP/Getty Images

Mr Raab also came under fire from his own MPs in the Commons on Wednesday. Former Brexit minister David Jones taunted: Why are you flogging this dead horse?

Jeremy Corbyn brings up Thersea May's dancing over Brexit negotiations

Mr Raab replied: "This is a negotiation with the EU, so you are going to hear noises from various sides that are critical.
M inisters have committed to order a review of hate crime law following calls to recognise misogyny as an aggravating factor if it motivated upskirting.

The Walthamstow MP said the true extent of hate crimes against women was being "masked" in the criminal justice system because misogyny is not currently recognised as such, but withdrew her amendment to the legislation following the Government's commitment.

Justice Minister Lucy Frazer spoke against the proposals to amend the Bill, saying statutory aggravating factors "don't usually apply to one or two offences" and would make them "inconsistent with all other sexual offences".

She told MPs: "While I recognise the intent behind the amendments, this narrow Bill is not the time to debate misogyny becoming a hate crime.

"However, we as a Government are concerned to ensure our hate crime legislation is up to date and consistent, and I'm pleased to announce today I will be asking the Law Commission to undertake a review of the coverage and approach of hate crime legislation following their earlier recommendation to do so.

"This will include how protective characteristics, including sex and gender characteristics, should be considered by new or existing hate crime law."

Ms Creasy thanked Ms Frazer for "listening", telling the Commons her commitment was "really, really welcome".

The announcement came amid concerns raised by Conservative Maria Miller that the upskirting legislation risks "artificially narrowing" the number of potential convictions.

The chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Committee warned that the Bill is "very narrowly defined" as she urged ministers to accept her amendment which sought to make all upskirting a crime.

"The Bill explicitly doesn't outlaw upskirting per se, it outlaws it in certain circumstances," Mrs Miller told the Commons.

She pointed to figures from Scotland, where she said only a "handful" of cases had been brought since legislation was introduced eight years ago, despite research suggesting that "one in 10 young people in this country experience upskirting".

"That would mean a far higher rate than just three in Scotland or just under 30 in the UK."

The Government has used the Scottish legislation as a base for the Bill, but Mrs Miller said ministers had not reflected changes made to address "significant shortcomings" in the original law.

She told the Commons: "My concern is that in drawing the Bill in this way it is artificially depressing the number of people that will come forward.

"And I think the courts may think that Parliament, in its very specific omission of certain groups of people who are perpetrating this crime, and we know they are already, they are artificially narrowing the number of convictions that might be brought forward and I don't think that is the way Parliament wants this Bill to work.

"And amendment 3 would make sure that it worked far more broadly than that, and actually call to account all of the people who are committing this crime - not just a very small section of them."

Conservative former minister Sir Christopher Chope said he did not believe misogyny should be an aggravating factor.

He said: "The activity itself should be criminalised, it shouldn't be a motive.

"Why do we need to have a motive in respect to an offence that outrages public decency?"

He also called for the law to be "toughened up" to put upskirting offenders motivated by sexual gratification on the sex offenders register.

Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse (Bath) condemned upskirting as a "vile practice" that should be a specific offence.

"The harm caused to the victim is substantial regardless of the intention of the perpetrator," she said.

The Bill later received an unopposed third reading and will undergo further scrutiny in the Lords.
A woman battling to make upskirting a criminal offence has hailed a government review which could see misogyny become a hate crime "a good result for feminism".

The in-depth assessment of current hate crime legislation was announced by Justice Minister Lucy Frazer MP on Wednesday.

Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, had suggested an amendment to the upskirting bill, proposing to make people taking photographs under dress or skirts without permission a sexual offence, to consider misogyny to be a factor.

But she withdrew this upon assurances this assessment of hate crime, considering whether misogyny should be deemed as one, would be undertaken.

Labour MP Stella Creasy had proposed an amendment to the 'upskirting bill' / Getty Images

Gina Martin was a victim of upskirting at a gig in Hyde Park and following this launched a campaign to make the act a sexual offence.

The 27-year-old said the review is a "good result for feminism and equality".

"I think it's a really good thing, the right outcome happened.

"It's such a massive issue, it's a huge thing that needs addressing," she said.

The campaigner, who lives in London, hopes that if misogynistic acts were illegal it would create a "societal change".

"The hope is that it [misogynistic crime] is taken more seriously. I hope it affects a real societal change on a number of levels.

"I think every woman at some point has experienced misogyny," she added.

Discussing the decision that the misogyny aspect will not be brought into the 'upskirting bill' she said this should be positive as it means each issue is dealt with separately.

The voyeurism, upskirting, bill completed its stages in the Commons on Wednesday and will now go on to be discussed in the House of Lords.

Ms Martin said she had been championing the move for a review and discussed it with MP Stella Creasy, who she commended as a "strong feminist voice".

Martha Jephcott, a misogyny hate crime trainer and campaigner, has also backed the review.

Speaking to the Standard, about what outcomes misogyny become a hate crime might have, she said: From my perspective I think it helps women's confidence in themselves in public life and it strengthens the relationship the police have with women. Women feel like they can trust the police and come forward with hate crime or indeed sexual violence and domestic violence.

Miss Jephcott, who works with Citizens UK, a charity promoting social justice, also added that she feels a review is a much better result than just an amendment to the proposed upskirting bill.

With the review I hope all protected groups, including women will now have better covert through hate crime legislation. Fingers crossed the more practical things like police resources and training will be looked in to too, she said.

She worked alongside Nottinghamshire Police, the first police force in the UK to classify reports of misogyny as a hate crime, and has helped to train thousands of officers in identifying it.

A report in July, conducted after two years of the force implementing this policy, showed there was support in the area for the classification.

The research, conducted by the University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University, concluded: The policy should be rolled out nationally to increase publicity and reporting  there is clear support for the policy from both women and men in the general public and from victims who have reported Misogyny Hate Crime.

After the announcement, Stella Creasy MP took to social media to share her thoughts on the move.

Government agrees to fund a law commission review into all hate crime including misogyny and look at new and existing offences finally we are sending a message misogyny isnt just a part of life we put up with but something men and women together commit to tackling. Thank you to everyone who helped us make the case to their MP, she wrote on Instagram.

Misogyny is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.
A man who survived coming into contact with the deadly Novichok nerve agent has demanded justice after two suspects in the attack which killed his partner were identified.

Charlie Rowley, 45, and his partner, Dawn Sturgess, were exposed to the same nerve agent used in Salisbury to attack ex-spy Sergei Skirpal and his daughter Yulia in March.

Ms Sturgess, 44, died in hospital in July, while Mr Rowley also fell ill. He was re-admitted to hospital last month for treatment of meningitis and loss of eyesight.

He told ITV: I dont recognise the two suspects, but I want to see them brought to justice.

Dawn Sturgess died in July / PA

I am glad that police are making progress with their investigation but at the same time, its upsetting to see Dawns face everywhere, because it brings all the hurt and pain at losing her back to reality.

It is progress to see the suspects identified in the Skripal case.

Two Russian nationals named as suspects in Salisbury Novichok poisoning

On Wednesday, two Russians  Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov  were charged with carrying out the Salisbury poisonings.

No charges have been brought against the death of Ms Sturgess and poisoning of Mr Rowley.

Theresa May accuses Novichok suspects of being officers of Russian military intelligence

This is because police still have to establish how a perfume bottle reached the charity bin in Amesbury where Mr Rowley believes he found it. The counterfeit bottle of perfume contained a significant amount of Novichok.
P rince William nearly became his royal "highness" in a different sense today when he walked into a room where the air was thick with the smell of cannabis.

The Duke of Cambridge was being shown around a room jam-packed with seized drugs near Heathrow airport when he joked: We had better get out before we have a drugs test!

The drugs were locked away in a special locked room full of other seized contraband near the airport.

As he walked in, Border Force officer Steve Harrington told him: Excuse the smell.

The lock-up was full of packages of herbal cannabis and other drugs, as well as seized weapons and wildlife products. These are drugs we get here, large seizures of cannabis. It is coming from the United States, where it is legal in some states.

UK Border Force agents show the Prince various items found recently, including snake skin, ivory and plants that are not allowed into Britain / Getty Images

As they left William made his joke about the drugs test, and added: Its quite a good strong smell.

The tour of the lock-up was part of a visit to see the Royal Mails International Logistics Centre to see the fight against the illegal wildlife trade in action.

Mr Harrington said the room contained 545 drugs packages, as well as 1,657 seized weapons, including stun devices and knives, all seized in the last month.

The tour of the lock-up was part of a visit to see the Royal Mails International Logistics Centre / Getty Images

As he was shown the weapons, which filled one wall of the room, the duke said: That is a staggering amount of weapons in one month. That is quite shocking."

They also get MDMA from the Netherlands, some cocaine, and the occasional package of heroin from Pakistan.

Although the smell of cannabis was highly noticeable, Mr Harrington said: Im fine with it. Some people dont like it. But I dont spend all day in here.

Prince William's drugs exposure came as he visited a special locked room full of seized contraband near Heathrow Airport / AFP/Getty Images

Clive Perry, the senior manager with Border Force who showed the duke around the seizures, said: I think my officers have got immune to it in there, to be honest. We process it and move it out as quick as we can. He did comment on it  its something you cant ignore. I think the smell of paint in there had gone, because we had it decorated for his arrival, so the cannabis has overwhelmed it.

He said the centre, which just deals with packages under 2.2kg, had seized hundreds of kilos of cannabis since April. We get so much. The volume of stuff coming through the post is quite high.

Cannabis and other drugs such as cocaine can be spotted by trained staff, he said. Royal Mail staff spot suspicious packages, and Border Force officers put them through X-ray scanners.

The work we do with Royal Mail  we give them key words to look for when they are looking through the mail. They put those packets to one side, and then we would screen it and find it.

It is all about looking at X-ray images to see what the powders look like. The prime example is just birthday cards with a dealer bag inside. Its easy to identify with an X-ray image.

The duke was visiting the centre to highlight the work of the Royal Mail as a member of his United for Wildlife Taskforce which combats the illegal wildlife trade.

The duke was shown four packages seized this week  two from Thailand, and two from Britain intended for China and Hong Kong.

One of the packages from Britain contained several ivory artefacts, including a pair of binoculars, and a snakeskin which is believed to have been from a rock python. I would not like to have met the snake that was wearing that, said the duke. It is amazing what you find, it really is.

The seized weapons he was shown included an extendable baton and a pair of knuckledusters. Mr Perry told the duke: The other weekend we had 500 knuckledusters in one go. Nasty weapon. We get a lot of flick knives as well.

He was also shown the skull of an Arctic wolf, which is likely to be used as a training aid.
The Russian Embassy delivered a series of withering remarks targeting the UK's intelligence capabilities after Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were named as the Russian agents behind the Novichok attack in Salisbury in March.

Russia accused Britain of issuing fake images and saying the UK's intelligence information had not been seen by anyone.

The Embassy posted online: Men "working with the most deadly military grade toxin of high purity. How many differences can you spot?" followed by a picture of the two suspects next to men in hazardous protection gear dealing with the poison in Salisbury.

They also likened Theresa May's statement in the Commons yesterday to Tony Blair's remarks on the Iraq war, writing: "I remember another story of a high-ranking UK official making accusations about CW (chemical weapons) and citing intelligence information as a proof."

Yesterday they wrote: "UK publishes suspects' names and photos, but shows no willingness to engage with Russia in order to establish the truth. Our offers of cooperation remain on the table."

It came as the Kremlin said Russia is not investigating two men who have been identified as the suspects.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Putin, said Theresa May's accusations are "unacceptable" and that "no one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are believed to have been aliases used by the two hit men / PA

Earlier Britain directly blamed Vladimir Putin for the botched Salisbury poisoning attack.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said Mr Putin had a strong grip over his state which "controls, funds and directs" the GRU.

British and Russian officials will come face-to-face as the UN Security Council discusses the attack in New York.

'Russian spies': Prime Minister Theresa May updates MPs in the House of Commons / PA

Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs it was carried out by two GRU agents and sanctioned at a "senior level" in the Russian state.

Mr Wallace went further, telling BBC Radio 4's Today that Mr Putin bore responsibility for the actions of his administration.

"Ultimately he does insofar as he is President of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence - that's the GRU - via his minister of defence," Mr Wallace said.

"The GRU is, without doubt, not rogue, it is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, into the Kremlin and the president's office."

The PM told MPs on Wednesday the UK would push for new sanctions against Russians responsible for cyber attacks, additional listings under the existing regime and promised to work with intelligence allies to "counter the threat posed by the GRU".

Mr Wallace said the UK would "use whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities" to "push back the Russian malign activity".

Smiling 'killers': Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov in Salisbury (Metropolitan Police ) / Metropolitan Police

Asked whether there would be retaliation for Russia's activities, particularly in cyber space, Mr Wallace said: "We do all the time, but we retaliate in our way.

"We are not the Russians, we don't adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.

"We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way."

Petrov pictured at Gatwick airport / Metropolitan Police

As a permanent member of the Security Council, Russia will be represented at Thursday's meeting - and called on by Britain to update members on progress in the Salisbury investigation - alongside UK allies such as the US and France.

Mrs May has been in contact with US President Donald Trump and other leaders as she attempts to build an international alliance in support of her stance.

The developments came amid claims that President Trump was "reluctant" to expel 60 Russian diplomats following the Salisbury poisonings in March.

An anonymous article in the New York Times, attributed to a "senior official in the Trump administration", claimed that the President "complained for weeks about senior staff members letting him get boxed into further confrontation with Russia ... But his national security team knew better - such actions had to be taken, to hold Moscow accountable".

Washington was gripped by speculation over the author of the column, which painted a damning portrait of the President's "amorality" and his "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective" leadership style, and claimed that many members of his own administration were secretly working to rein him in.

President Trump himself suggested in a series of angry tweets that the anonymous official may have committed treason, or may even be fictitious.

Australia on Thursday said it was in "lock step" with the UK on the importance of holding Russia to account over the "heinous" attack, although it is not currently a council member.

Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill after being exposed to the military grade nerve agent Novichok in March.

The alleged perpetrators were identified in a dramatic joint police and Crown Prosecution Service press conference.

Detectives believe it is likely the pair, thought to be aged around 40, travelled under aliases and that Petrov and Boshirov are not their real names.

Prosecutors deem it futile to apply to Russia for the extradition of the two men, but a European Arrest Warrant has been obtained and the authorities are also seeking the assistance of Interpol.

Detectives believe the front door of Mr Skripal's Salisbury home was contaminated with Novichok on March 4.

Mr Skripal, 67, and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury city centre the same day and spent weeks critically ill in hospital.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu also confirmed officers have now linked the attack on the Skripals to events in nearby Amesbury four months later.

In the second incident, Dawn Sturgess, 44, and her partner Charlie Rowley, 45, were exposed to the same nerve agent used in Salisbury.

Ms Sturgess died in hospital in July, just over a week after the pair fell ill.

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Mrs May's accusations are "unacceptable" and that "no-one in the Russian leadership" has anything to do with the poisoning, while foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the UK and USA of a "witch hunt" against Russia.
B ritain today directly blamed Vladimir Putin for the botched Salisbury poisoning attack as action was being stepped up against Russian dirty money in London.

UK investigators have 140 denial of assets inquiries on-going which include a significant number of Russian citizens, said a Whitehall source.

Security minister Ben Wallace said some individuals could be arrested during the crackdown to drive dirty money out of London.

The Government was today set to make the case at the United Nations Security Council for a united and tougher response to aggression from Moscow.

Mr Wallace also signalled that British police identified weeks ago the two GRU military intelligence officers blamed for the Novichok attacks but had kept this secret in the hope that they might travel outside of Russia and be arrested.

He branded the two agents clowns who had damaged their countrys reputation with the failed assassination operation.

Two men named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are said to have been behind the attack / PA

The UK and its allies would push back against Russian malign activity, Mr Wallace added, with some of the action being covert and other more public, including countering cyber attacks.

He stressed that the response would not be thuggish and destructive but within the rule of law to show the cost to Russia of its actions.

The UK is to push back against 'malign' Russian activity / Getty Images

However, Britain has faced difficulties in persuading some other EU nations to front up more strongly against Moscow.

But the Government sought to pile pressure on the Kremlin after dramatically yesterday naming two GRU officers - who used the aliases of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov - as the suspected hit squad who sought to assassinate former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in Salisbury with military grade Novichok nerve agent in March.

Police published a series of CCTV pictures of Petrov and Boshirov and also the fake perfume bottle which is believed to have been used in the attack on the Skripals, recklessly discarded, before being picked up by Charlie Rowley, 48, and used by his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, who died after being poisoned by the nerve agent.

Pressed on whether Mr Putin bore responsibility for the Novichok attacks, Mr Wallace told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Ultimately he does, insofar as he is president of the Russian Federation and it is his government that controls, funds and directs the military intelligence - thats the GRU - via his ministry of defence.

I dont think that anyone can ever say that Mr Putin isnt in control of his state.

Mr Wallace also made clear that action is being stepped up against Russian dirty money in London, with more unexplained wealth orders, making individuals disclose where they got their fortune, in the pipeline, stressing watch this space over the next months.

Signalling tougher action against foreigners with illicitly obtained wealth, he added that the Government wanted to ensure that the dirty money that often accompanies some of these people is driven out of London and certainly in some cases hopefully people will be arrested.

He also criticised the tradecraft of the GRU agents which had allowed them to get caught, for a timeline of their operation be pieced together and for their pictures now to be beamed around the globe.

They do care that they have looked like clowns. They were sent like a soldier to do a mission, he told LBC Radio.

They failed in that mission...They have ultimately damaged the reputation of their own agency and the Russian state.

If it was supposed to be a sophisticated Jason Bourne-type hit, they travelled on direct flights...more Johnny English than James Bond.

Russia has denied all involvement in the Wiltshire poisonings and has urged Britain to allow it join the investigation into the Novichok poisonings.
C hina deployed a warship and helicopters after a British Royal Navy ship strayed too close to disputed islands in the South China Sea.

The UK was accused of provocation on Thursday after HMS Albion passed near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. The islands are occupied by China but also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Beijing said it has lodged a formal complaint with the UK after it infringed on China's sovereignty.

The Navy hit back, saying the ship has freedom of navigation rights and that crews were complying with international laws.

The warship passed by the Paracel Islands / EPA

HMS Albion, a 22,000-ton ship carrying a contingent of Royal Marines, was on its way to Vietnam when it passed through the Chinese territory on Friday.

Reuters reported both sides were calm when the Chinese warship and helicopters were dispatched.

In a statement, Chinas Foreign Ministry said: The relevant actions by the British ship violated Chinese law and relevant international law, and infringed on China's sovereignty.

Colonel Tim Neild, captain of HMS Albion, shakes hands with representatives of the Vietnam People's Navy on Monday / EPA

China strongly opposes this and has lodged stern representations with the British side to express strong dissatisfaction.

"China strongly urges the British side to immediately stop such provocative actions, to avoid harming the broader picture of bilateral relations and regional peace and stability.

"China will continue to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and security."

The Royal Navy's HMS Albion pictured on Monday / EPA

A Royal Navy spokesman said: "HMS Albion exercised her rights for freedom of navigation in full compliance with international law and norms."
T aiwans parliament has voted to legalise same-sex marriage following a landmark ruling on Friday.

Hundreds of gay rights supporters cheered outside the parliament building in the capital, Taipei, as three different bills legalising same-sex unions were passed on Friday 17 May  which is also the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

In 2017, Taiwans constitutional court ruled that banning same-sex couples from marrying was unconstitutional and gave parliament two years to make the necessary changes.

The ruling marks a huge victory for Taiwans LGBT community who are still fighting the social stigma around homosexuality in their country. But where else in the world is being gay still illegal? Heres everything you need to know:

Taiwan legalises same-sex marriage - In pictures 1 /9 Taiwan legalises same-sex marriage - In pictures Taiwan has become the first in Asia to pass such a law REUTERS Same-sex marriage supporters cheer outside parliament in Taiwan following the vote AP Member of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party hold a sign with Chinese word "Agree" during the parliament vote REUTERS Crowds hold rainbow flags as they take part in a rally during the parliament vote REUTERS The vote is a landmark first in Asia AFP/Getty Images Same-sex marriage supporters gather outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, Taiwan AP A gay rights supporter holds a flower outside Parliament AFP/Getty Images Supporters of same-sex marriage gather outside the parliament building as a bill for marriage equality is debated EPA Supporters of same-sex marriage gather outside the parliament building as a bill for marriage equality is debated by parliamentarians EPA

What will the new bill mean for Taiwans LGBT community?

The proposal of a new bill legalising same-sex marriage was met with public backlash, leading parliament to hold a series of referendums, The results of these showed that the majority of Taiwanese people believe marriage to be strictly between a man and a woman.

For this reason, a special separate bill was created which refers to same-sex partnerships as same-sex family relationships or same-sex unions.

Whilst some of Taiwans LGBT community are not completely satisfied with the new bill, for many it is regarded as the closest thing to full equality with heterosexual couples, despite its limitations.

Supporters of same-sex marriage react as they gather outside the parliament building as a bill for marriage equality is debated by parliamentarians in Taipei, Taiwan. / EPA

Ahead of the vote, President Tsai Ing-wen said she recognised the divisiveness of the issue between families, generations and even inside religious groups.

Today, we have a chance to make history and show the world that progressive values can take root in an East Asian society, she added in a Twitter post.

When did the UK legalise gay marriage?

Up until 1967 in the UK, gay and bisexual men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

In 1967, gay sex was partly decriminalised by the Sexual Offences Act, but gay people living in the UK still faced discrimination.

In 2002, the law was changed to allow gay people to adopt children.

A foodie's guide to Taiwan

And it was only in 2003 when the 1988 ban on 'promoting' homosexuality in schools was overturned.

In 2013, gay marriage was made legal in England and Wales, and later in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, gay marriage is still not legal.

Where else in the world is homosexuality still illegal?

Homosexuality is still outlawed in the following countries:

The Americas

Antigua and Barbuda

Barbados

Dominica

Grenada

Guyana

Jamaica

St Kitts and Nevis

St Lucia

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Africa

Algeria

Angola

Botswana

Burundi

Cameroon

Comoros

Egypt

Eritrea

Ethiopia

Gambia

Ghana

Guinea

Kenya

Liberia

Libya

Malawi

Mauritania

Mauritius

Morocco

Namibia

Nigeria

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Somalia

South Sudan

Sudan

Swaziland

Tanzania

Togo

Tunisia

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Middle East

Iran

Kuwait

Lebanon

Oman

Palestine

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Syria

United Arab Emirates

Yemen

Central, South and East Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Brunei

Indonesia

Malaysia

Maldives

Myanmar

Pakistan

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

India's Supreme Court legalises gay sex in landmark ruling 1 /16 India's Supreme Court legalises gay sex in landmark ruling Gay rights activists celebrate after the country's top court struck down a colonial-era law AP Celebration: The law made homosexual acts punishable by up to 10 years in prison AP Indian Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community react at the Supreme court premises in New Delhi EPA The judges in the case had previously said that gay people in India faced deep-rooted trauma and live in fear. EPA An activist celebrates after the result of the ruling was announced EPA The Supreme Court ruled that consensual gay sex is not a crime and said that sexual orientation is natural and people have no control over it. AFP/Getty Images The law - known as Section 377 - held that intercourse between members of the same sex was against the order of nature. The five petitioners who challenged the law said it was discriminatory and led to gays living in fear of being harassed and prosecuted by police. EPA Members of the LGBT+ community hold placards outside the Supreme Court AFP/Getty Images Campaignes react outside the Supreme Court in New Dehli AFP/Getty Images India's Supreme Court ruled on 6 September, that gay sex is no longer a criminal offence. EPA Five Supreme Court judges repealed a colonial-era law and legalised gay sex between two consenting adults EPA Gay rights activists celebrate after the country's top court struck down a colonial-era law Reuters Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community react at the Supreme court premises in New Delhi EPA Supporters and members of the LGBT community celebrate AP Indian Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community react at the Supreme court premises in New Delhi EPA People hug in celebration after gay sex is legalised in India AFP/Getty Images

Oceania

Kiribati

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Tonga

Tuvalu

In April, Bruneis attorney general announced new sharia-based laws which make homosexual sex a criminal offence, punishable by whipping or stoning to death.

In Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, homosexuality is still punishable by death, under sharia law. The same applies in parts of Somalia and northern Nigeria.
T wo Russian nationals have attracted worldwide media attention after they were identified as suspects behind the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov face a string of charges including attempted murder and breaching the chemical weapons act.

In a statement, the Prime Minister said: "This attempt to access the secure systems of an international organisation working to rid the world of chemical weapons, demonstrates the GRU's disregard for the global values and rules that keep us safe."

Her response came after the UK Government accused the GRU of being behind a number of cyberattacks across the globe.

The GRU has been associated with everything from hacking ahead of the US election to support for the Kremlins wars in the Ukraine and Syria  but what is it and how is it connected to the Salisbury nerve agent attack? Here's what you need to know:

What is GRU?

Russia's military intelligence service, the Main Intelligence Directorate, is more commonly known by its Russian acronym, GRU.

The intelligence wing of the Russian military was renamed GU in 2010, but it's still usually referred to by its old name.

Founded in 1918 after the Bolshevik Revolution, it was independent of other secret services as per Vladimir Lenin's demands.

Emily Ferris, from the Royal United Services Institute defence think tank, said: "GRU is one of three of Russia's intelligence agencies whose activities often overlap, the others are the Federal Security Services (FSB) and the Foreign Intelligence Services (SVR).

"The FSB has a broader remit, including counter-terrorism, border control and domestic surveillance, but all the agencies are in competition for resources and funding."

Although by the end of the Soviet period the GRU declined in importance and size, she said it "appears to have become increasingly prominent since its officers led Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014."

The agency where Sergei Skripal, who was poisoned by the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, once worked conducts military intelligence tasks and foreign intelligence operations.

The GRU answers directly to the chief of the general staff and the Russian defence minister, both of whom are thought to have access to Russia's nuclear briefcase.

With agents across the globe, it has special forces units which have fought in conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

As well as being associated with the annexation of Crimea, GRU have also been linked to the downing of Malaysian Air flight MH17.

Ms Ferris said: "The GRU is currently engaged in active signals intelligence gatherings and espionage activities abroad and has been linked to several high-profile operations."

The GRU has no website and does not comment publicly on its actions.

Theresa May confirms Salisbury suspects are members of Russian military intelligence

Who runs the GRU?

Igor Korobov is the chief of the GRU. In 2016, he was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury and later accused of interference in the U.S. elections and cyber attacks.

The headquarters of the Russian General Staff's Main Intelligence Department (GRU) in Moscow. / AFP/Getty Images

How is GRU connected to the Salisbury nerve agent attack?

Sergei Skripal was once employed by the GRU and is believed to have betrayed dozens of GRU spies across Europe to the MI6.

Anti-terror police investigated the poisoning and discovered the agent used was military-grade novichok, made in Russia.

It was later confirmed by British authorities that officers from the GRU disguised the nerve agent in a perfume bottle to get through British customs without detection.

Some people believe it was Vladimir Putin himself who authorised the GRU operation in Salisbury.

Tory MP Bob Seely, a member of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee and Russia expert, said: "Under a 2006 Russia Federation law, extrajudicial assassinations by agents of the Kremlin need to be approved only by the Russian head of state, without reference to others.

"Therefore, since this appears to be a GRU-planned poisoning, the order can only have come from the Russian head of state."

Foreign affairs Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat added: "President Putin bears responsibility for a war-like act."

What will happen to GRU now?

Theresa May said the organisation posed "a threat to all our allies and to all our citizens" and pledged to "deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus in order to counter the threat posed by GR."

In the US, a handful of individuals with GRU links have been subject to sanctions over the agency's activities.
T he Royal Navys huge 3 billion aircraft carrier Big Lizzie has arrived in the US ahead of the landmark moment when US fighter jets come into land on its flight deck.

HMS Queen Elizabeth, which weighs in at 65,000 tonnes, left Portsmouth Naval Base on August 18 and docked at Mayport, Florida after just under three weeks on the open seas.

Posting on Twitter on Thursday, the HMS Queen Elizabeth account said: Delighted to announce we have safely transited the pond and are proceeding alongside Mayport Florida for our first port call on #Westlant18 to re-supply before beginning final preps for #F35ondeck.

Time to break out Tropical uniform and the sunscreen.

Shortly after, the account added: Our first line is secure, HMS Queen Elizabeth is now alongside Mayport Florida.

What better way to announce our arrival than with a nod to our Lady Sponsor performed splendidly by the Royal Marines Band Service #GodSaveTheQueen.

Footage posted of the enormous carrier shows the Union Jack being raised as the band played the national anthem after docking at the American naval base.

During its trip to North America, the carrier will embark two US F-35B test aircraft based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, which are expected to carry out 500 landings.

Big Lizzie will land fighter jets on its flight deck for the first time in a landmark moment which will come eight years since a fast yet last flew from a British aircraft carrier.

The honour of landing the first of the training jets on to the carrier will go to one of three British pilots taking part in the US deployment.

They are a Royal Navy commander, an RAF squadron leader and a civilian test pilot accompanied by a major from the US Marine Corps.

HMS Queen Elizabeth leaves Portsmouth Harbour in Hampshire / PA

Speaking ahead of the journey to the US, Commodore Andrew Betton, commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, said that the carrier would be provided full protection in the face of Russian threats during its journey.

He said: Russian submarines are more active in the North Atlantic than they have been since the Cold War and we take that very seriously, the ship will be well protected as she makes her transit across the Atlantic.

We will seek to operate professionally and within the standard of laws of the high seas operating in international waters going about our business.
A t least eight people have been killed after a powerful earthquake sparked a landslide that left many trapped in Japan, officials have said.

Over 100 people were injured and millions left without power when the 6.7 magnitude quake shook one of the countrys main islands on Wednesday.

Some 25,000 troops have been dispatched to help with the major rescue mission as scores remained missing. Many were also rushed to hospital after the quake struck on the island of Hokkaido.

The quake left at least eight dead and scores more injured. It sparked widespread power outages and blocked roads across the island, officials said as the search for survivors continued today.

Japan Earthquake: 6.7 magnitude tremor shakes Hakkaido - In pictures 1 /36 Japan Earthquake: 6.7 magnitude tremor shakes Hakkaido - In pictures The aftermath of the large landslide that occurred after an earthquake hit Hokkaido EPA The aftermath of the large landslide that occurred after an earthquake hit Hokkaido EPA Houses are destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP Police officers search for survivors from a house damaged by a landslide caused by an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido Reuters Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel with police dogs prepare to search for missing persons at the site of a landslide triggered by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP People crowd the New Chitose Airport after the restart of flights were announced, after the area was damaged by an earthquake, in Chitose, Hokkaido Reuters Passengers from Tokyo's Haneda airport arrive at Chitose airport in Chitose, Hokkaido AP Police rescue workers search for missing people at a house destroyed by a large landslide caused by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma, Hokkaido EPA Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force's personnel search for missing people at a house destroyed by a large landslide caused by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma, Hokkaido EPA A woman cries after her missing father was found at the site of a landslide triggered by an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP Neighbors look at a manhole where the ground sank by an earthquake in Kiyota, outskirts of Sapporo city, Hokkaido AP Residents receive water from Japan's defence forces in Atsuma town, Hokkaido prefecture AFP/Getty Images Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces search for survivors from a house damaged by a landslide caused by an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido Reuters The aftermath of the large landslide that occurred after an earthquake hit Hokkaido EPA A police officer controls the traffic during a blackout following the strong earthquake in Sapporo, northern Japan AP A woman covers her face as she takes shelter on a road following a strong earthquake in Sapporo, northern Japan AP Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to journalists following the earthquake AP Police search missing persons at the site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP Cars sit on a road damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido AP Police officers and rescue workers search for survivors from a building damaged by a landslide caused by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido Reuters Residents watch a road damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido, AP A mud covered car sits in the middle of a destroyed street following a powerful earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido EPA Police search for missing persons at the site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP A house damaged by a landslide caused by an earthquake is seen in Atsuma town in Hokkaido AFP/Getty Images A building damaged by a powerful earthquake is seen in Abira town in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido Reuters People look at an area damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, Japan Reuters Local residents queuing outside a supermarket in Sapporo, Hokkaido EPA The site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP Landslides after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japan AP Landslides caused by an earthquake are seen in Atsuma town in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido Reuters Aerial view of a road damaged by a landslide in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AFP/Getty Images A road is damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido AP Police officers and rescue workers search for survivors from a building damaged by a landslide caused by a powerful earthquake in Atsuma town in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido Reuters Houses destroyed by a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido AP A car is stuck on a road damaged by an earthquake in Sapporo, Hokkaido AFP/Getty Images Aftermath of a large landslide that occurred after an earthquake hit Hokkaido, in Atsuma, northern Japan EPA

It is just the latest of a number of natural disasters to hit the country, continuing a summer of chaos that has seen deadly floods, typhoons, earthquakes and heatwaves.

The U.S. Geological Survey said earlier it struck some 68 km (42 miles) southeast of Sapporo, Hokkaido's main city shortly after 3pm local time.

The site of a landslide after an earthquake in Atsuma town, Hokkaido / AP

It comes as the country is recovering from the worst typhoon to hit the country in 25 years, which struck the western part of the country on Tuesday.

Typhoon Jebi has left at least 11 dead and caused major damage to the regions main airport.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks to journalists following the earthquake / AP

Authorities said Wednesdays earthquake posed no risk of a tsunami.

Japan, situated on the "Ring of Fire" arc of volcanoes and oceanic trenches that partly encircles the Pacific Basin, accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded in Japan, struck under the ocean off the coast of the northern city of Sendai.

A woman covers her face as she takes shelter on a road following a strong earthquake in Sapporo, northern Japan / AP

The quake set off a series of massive tsunami that devastated a wide swathe of the Pacific coastline and killed nearly 20,000.

The tsunami also damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, leading to a series of explosions and meltdowns in the world's worst nuclear disaster for 25 years.

Saturday marked the 95th anniversary of the Great Kanto earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.9 and killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.
U S secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence have both denied writing an anonymous New York Times opinion piece which claimed an internal "resistance" is working to thwart some of President Donald Trump's efforts.

A spokesman for U.S. Vice President Mike Pence criticized the NY Times and said Pence does not write anonymous opinion columns.

"The Vice President puts his name on his Op-Eds. The @nytimes should be ashamed and so should the person who wrote the false, illogical, and gutless op-ed. Our office is above such amateur acts," Pence spokesman Jarrod Agen said on Twitter.



Mr Pompeo said of the article: "It's not mine."

Speaking after a meeting in New Delhi with Indian officials, Mr Pompeo said that "it shouldn't surprise anyone" that the New York Times chose to print "such a piece".

He said that if the piece actually was written by a top US official, "they should not well have chosen to take a disgruntled, deceptive, bad actor's word for anything".

Mr Pompeo has accused the media of trying to undermine the Trump administration, and says he finds it "incredibly disturbing".

Donald Trump was heavily criticised in the piece (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) / AFP/Getty Images

The New York Times said publishing the essay anonymously is "the only way to deliver an important perspective" to its readers.

The piece, written by an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of a "resistance" working "from within" to thwart Mr Trump's "worst inclinations", has set off a guessing game over the author's identity.

Mr Trump tweeted that if "the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!"

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called on the "coward" who wrote the piece to "do the right thing and resign".

Two insiders have said that Mr Trump has demanded that presidential aides should identify the leaker.

The author of the article wrote: "Many Trump appointees have vowed to do what we can to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office.

"It may be cold comfort in this chaotic era, but Americans should know that there are adults in the room.

"We fully recognise what is happening. And we are trying to do what's right even when Donald Trump won't."

The text of the article was pulled apart for clues:

The writer is identified as an "administration official"; does that mean a person who works outside the White House?

It contains references to Russia and the late Senator John McCain - do they suggest someone working in national security?

Does the writing style sound like someone who worked at a think tank?

In a tweet, the Times used the pronoun "he" to refer to the writer; does that rule out all women?

The newspaper later said the tweet referring to "he" had been "drafted by someone who is not aware of the author's identity, including the gender, so the use of 'he' was an error".

Hotly debated on Twitter was the author's use of the word "lodestar", which pops up frequently in speeches by US vice president Mike Pence. Others argued that the word "lodestar" could have been included deliberately to lay a false trail.

Mr Trump, appearing at an unrelated event at the White House, lashed out at the Times for publishing the article.

He said of the newspaper: "They don't like Donald Trump and I don't like them."

The op-ed pages of the newspaper are managed separately from its news department.

In a blistering statement, Ms Sanders accused the author of choosing to "deceive" the president by remaining in the administration and putting himself or herself "ahead of the will of the American people. The coward should do the right thing and resign".
D awn Sturgesss suspected killers are likely to be hailed as heroes in Russia and rewarded by Vladimir Putin, an expert has claimed.

Dr Yuri Felshtinsky said the careers of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov will be advanced in their homeland following their alleged role in the Novichok poisonings.

Petrov and Bosirov, believed to be alias names, were charged with carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent attacks on ex-spy Sergei Skirpal and his daughter Yulia in March.

It is believed to have led to the death of Ms Sturgess in July, after she was exposed to a perfume bottle which contained a significant amount of of Novichok. Prime Minister Theresa May said Petrov and Bosirov are members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

A Met Police CCTV still of suspects Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov in Salisbury in March / Met Police

The pair fled back to Russia on the night of the Salisbury attack. But Dr Felshtinsky, author of The Putin Corporation, claimed their future prospects are bright.

Even though they botched their covert attack on Sergei Skripal, he said, and are now publicly named, President Putin will praise the two members of the GRU and reward them in ways that will advance their career  promoting them as heroes now that their cover is blown.

Theresa May confirms Salisbury suspects are members of Russian military intelligence

In the case of the GRU, the death of innocent bystanders is foreseen as an accepted risk, as was the case with the first use of Novichok against Ivan Kivilidi in 1995, when not only he but also his secretary died in Moscow from the poison on the receiver of his office phone.

Dr Felshtinsky concluded: For the GRU, a campaign in Britain is no different from the military campaign in Syria where civilians get killed.
L eaders of the US, France, Germany and Canada have agreed that the Russian government was "almost certainly" responsible for the Salisbury Novichok poisonings.

Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau issued a joint statement alongside Theresa May voicing "full confidence" in the UK's assessment that the two suspects for the poisonings were members of Russia's GRU intelligence service.

It comes after the UK earlier directly blamed Vladimir Putin for the botched poisoning attack.

Russia has continued to deny any involvement.

Theresa May accuses Novichok suspects of being officers of Russian military intelligence

The statement said: "We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level.

"We have already taken action together to disrupt the activities of the GRU through the largest ever collective expulsion of undeclared intelligence officers.

They added that the announcement about the suspects "further strengthens our intent to continue to disrupt together the hostile activities of foreign intelligence networks on our territories, uphold the prohibition of chemical weapons, protect our citizens and defend ourselves from all forms of malign state activity directed against us and our societies".

Mrs May has spoken to all four of her fellow leaders in recent days to update them about the investigation.

Novichok nerve agent suspects - In pictures 1 /11 Novichok nerve agent suspects - In pictures Both suspects at Salisbury train station shortly after 4pm on March 3 Metropolitan Police Suspects: Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov Sky News The suspects walk together through the streets of Salisbury shortly after 1pm on March 4 Metropolitan Police The suspects walk together through the streets of Salisbury shortly after 1pm on March 4 Metropolitan Police Both suspects at Heathrow airport security at about 7.30pm on March 4 Metropolitan Police The counterfeit perfume box found by Charlie Rowley on June 27 Metropolitan Police The perfume bottle and applicator recovered by police from Charlie Rowleys home Metropolitan Police Both suspects in Salisbury just before midday on March 4 Metropolitan Police The suspects seen on CCTV at Salisbury train station at 1.50pm on March 4 Metropolitan Police Ruslan Boshirov at Gatwick airport at 3pm on March 2 Metropolitan Police Alexander Petrov at Gatwick airport at 3pm on March 2 Metropolitan Police

On Wednesday, the UK government dramatically named two GRU officers, who used the aliases of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, as the suspected hit squad behind the attempted assassination of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter Yulia, 33, in Salisbury in March.

Police published a series of CCTV pictures of Petrov and Boshirov and also the fake perfume bottle which is believed to have been used in the attack.

The bottle, which contained military grade nerve agent Novichok, was recklessly discarded, before being picked up by Charlie Rowley, 48, and used by his partner Dawn Sturgess, 44, who died after being poisoned.

Security minister Ben Wallace said on Thursday that Mr Putin bore ultimate responsibility for the action of his intelligence agents.

He said the Russian president had a strong grip over his state, which "controls, funds and directs" the GRU.

Mr Wallace told the BBC: "The GRU is, without doubt, not rogue, it is led, linked to both the senior members of the Russian general staff and the defence minister and, through that, into the Kremlin and the president's office."

He said the UK would "use whatever means we have within the law and our capabilities" to "push back the Russian malign activity".

But Mr Wallace added: "We are not the Russians, we don't adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.
W hether youre starting a new school year or a university semester, its time to arm yourself with the best tech to get you through your education.

From apps that'll help you eat well to tech to ones that will facilitate your learning and budgeting skills, these are the apps you need for the best year ever.

Best food apps

BBC Good Food

Many students arrive at university without knowing how to cook and it can make you feel like youre thrown in at the deep end. But, with a little bit of creativity and some willingness to learn, you'll be cooking up a storm in no time.

The BBC Good Food app is a great place to start. Whether starting from scratch and looking for inspiration, or you have a particular ingredient you want to make a dish with, there are hundreds of recipes ready to choose from.

Save your favourites in one place and create collections ranging from cheap eats to big group recipes.

Theres no excuse to reach for the baked beans anymore.

Get the BBC Good Food app on App Store and Google Play

Too Good To Go

The food waste revolution is perfect for students. Apps like Too Good To Go match hungry people with restaurants ready to throw away their delicious unsold food at the end of the day.

Using the app, you can 'rescue meals' that would otherwise go to waste from places like Yo! Sushi, Paul and thousands more. Over 2 million meals have been saved in the UK alone.

Simply log in, select a store and pay a small amount of money for the dish, before going to pick it up from the location. Get tasty food for cheap, reduce food waste and save the environment. Easy.

Find food outlets in your area and subscribe for updates on when to rescue meals that otherwise would have been thrown away / Too Good To Go

Get Too Good To Go on App Store and Google Play

Best interior apps

Measure

You have your interiors inspo and a new DIY project to work on, but you dont have a ruler or a tape measure. Stuck? Not anymore, thanks to Apples AR app Measure.

The app uses augmented reality technology to measure the items you point it at  whether thats a book on the table or the width and length of your floor, so youre never stumped without a tape measure again.

Get the Measure app on iOS

Pinterest

It may be a cliche, but Pinterest is hands-down the best interior inspiration app out there.

For tips on how to decorate your room to DIY how-tos, Pinterest is the best way to cover up those horrid yellow coloured walls in halls of residence.

Pinterest

Get Pinterest on App Store and Google Play

Best learning apps

Lingvist

Want to learn a new language? Maybe you have an Erasmus semester coming up and need to brush up on your skills? Language learning app Lingvist uses machine learning to make it faster and more efficient for people to learn new languages.

Last year, the company introduced a new customisable course creation too, using AI and machine learning so you can create the right vocabulary course for you based on hobbies, interests or careers. Called Course Wizard, you can learn about the parts of the language that are necessary for you.

Speaking about the new learning course, Mait Muntel, Lingvist Co-Founder & CEO, said: "We hope that Course Wizard will motivate people to learn languages again whilst giving them the freedom to learn them exactly how they want to, meaning they can fully integrate themselves into another countrys culture."

With the recent declines in people studying languages in the UK, there is a growing need for people with good language skills.

Lingvist uses machine learning to help you learn languages better and faster / Lingvist

Get Lingvist on the App Store and Google Play

Float

Facing a major essay deadline and feeling overwhelmed with that 3,000+ word count? That's where an app like Float comes in handy. Create a task on the app, set the word limit and deadline date and the app works out a sizeable goal in order to complete the task in hand.

Created by a London-based start-up, the idea is to make managing deadlines easy and accessible wherever they are. As well, by breaking the word count down into smaller chunks, it minimises that pre-deadline stress, helping to improve a student's overall sense of achievement and wellbeing at university.

Get Float on the App Store and Google Play

Best money and work apps

Stint

No time for to fit in a 12-hour part-time job during the week but want to earn some cash? Stint, started by two brothers, is the platform designed to helps students access work shifts around their studies. Sign up to the app and put in your free time between lectures and seminars. Then the app will match you up with retailers and businesses looking for someone to come in for a three-hour shift, or stint.

So far, over 40,000 stints have been carried out on the platform and with the app launching in cities such as Durham, Leeds and Sheffield, expect that number to grow.

L-R: Sol Schlagman and Sam Schlagman set up Stint during their time at UCL / Stint

Get Stint on App Store and Google Play

Yolt

Managing money is one of the hardest lessons you learn as a student. That influx of student loan at the start of the semester seems exciting until you realise you have to stretch it over a 12-week period minimum.

Yolt is a great app for this. You can link all your different bank accounts into one app, see your spending clearly and take advantage of its easy budgeting tools.

Its smart too. If youre looking to save money on things like your energy bills, Yolt can suggest ways to help you do this. When youre a student, every single penny counts.

Get Yolt on App Store and Google Play

Best revision apps

Hold

Hold has a simple premise: the app challenges you to not look at your phone when you should be studying and rewards you with gifts like free cinema tickets and coffee.

You win points for every 20 minutes you dont use your phone between the hours of 7am and 11pm and then you can exchange them using the apps marketplace at companies like Vue cinemas, Amazon, and Caffe Nero.

Hold app was started by three students at Copenhagen Business School (Hold ) / Hold

Get Hold on App Store and Google Play

Studytracks

Strictly for GCSE students only, Studytracks is one of the most genius revision apps out there. The app sets the GCSE curriculum to music to make it easier to learn about anything from key moments in Romeo & Juliet to the history of the atom.

And, it was created by award-winning songwriter George Hammond-Hagan so you know the music is going to be good.

There is a free version and premium edition, which gives you more features. With 300,000+ downloads already, this is one of the best ways to learn and remember everything for your GCSEs.
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The latest statements of European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Gunther Oettinger "are promoting discourse lines which contradicts the constructive attitude of an European Commissioner" and "they don't have a coverage based on reality," Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu wrote on Wednesday on his official Facebook page.

"We voice our regret that a member of the European Executive with so much experience, as Mr Gunther Oettinger, makes statements without a coverage based on reality. I bring Mr Oettinger's mind that it' not normal for an European Commissioner to accuse the EU member states without a serious prior documentation. The public statements made by Mr Oettinger promotes discourse lines contradicting the constructive and balanced attitude which an European Commissioner should have in relation with a member state with full rights," Melescanu underscores in regards to the recent statements of the European Commissioner.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy highlights that "beyond the opinions lacking a historic overview of an European official, Romania remains committed to the values and development of the organisation in which it is a member with full and equal rights."Thus, in this context, Melescanu pointed out that "Romania has been and remains one of the most pro-European states of the European Union, with the European and Euro-Atlantic integration as a country project supported by all the political forces and the entire Romanian society.""For over ten years since joining the European Union, Romania proved enthusiasm and a continuous, and unequivocal support for a strong Union, stable and prosperous. We assure our European partners that this standpoint of Romania hasn't changed and we are prepared to take over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, firmly aware of the responsibility that we have and willing to prove that Europe can be even stronger than it is today," Teodor Melescanu added.The European project is "in mortal danger" from opponents inside and outside the EU, Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said Tuesday, as quoted in an article published on Politico.eu.He said that a swift approval of the EU's next long-term budget by national leaders and the European Parliament would show if Europe remains capable of action in the face of such challenges.'In my view, the project is in mortal danger,' the Commissioner told an event organized by Germany's Federal Association of Non-Statutory Welfare Services in Brussels on Tuesday evening.'Some within Europe want to weaken it or even destroy it ? Poland, Hungary, Romania, the government of Italy,' he mentioned.The European Commissioner added that the EU is also in danger because of the autocrats who use trade wars and aggression, mentioning Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and 'the clever Chinese.'Moreover, Gunther Oettinger stated that the government of his own country, Germany, is not showing enough enthusiasm for the EU, especially in the budget matter. In his view, current Social Democrat Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is 'an even stricter treasurer in this regard' than his conservative predecessor Wolfgang Schauble. AGERPRES
A medical delegation led by Major General Chen Jingyuan, Director General of the Armed Forces Medical Services, who is visiting Romania until Sunday, was welcomed on Thursday at the headquarters of the Ministry of National Defence (MApN) by Secretary of State for Defence policy, Planning and International relations Mircea Dusa.

According to a press release of MApN, the agenda of the discussions featured current and common interest topics in the field of military medicine and military-medical education.

"Among the practical cooperation areas, that of the military medicine has had an excellent evolution. We also have good cooperation in the areas of education and military history and we wish to deepen these collaborations. I hope that this visit will lead to identifying new ways of practical cooperation between our countries' hospitals," Mircea Dusa said, according to the quoted source.The Secretary of State highlighted the fact that Romania and China are jointly participating in missions and operations under the United Nations aegis, thus bringing an important contribution to increasing stability and consolidating peace in areas marked by instability.The Chinese delegation will be in Romania until Sunday, and the timetable also includes discussions with a medical focus between Brigadier General Ionel Oprea MD PhD, the head of the Medical Directorate and Major General Chen Jingyua and also two visits - to the Central Military University Emergency Hospital "Dr. Carol Davila" in Bucharest as well as the "Regina Maria" Emergency Military Hospital in Brasov.The visit of the Chinese delegation is taking place at the invite of MApN's Medical directorate's leadership and it fits within the framework of the Cooperation Plan between the Romanian Ministry of National Defence and that of the Republic of China.
President Klaus Iohannis considers Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has ignored the invite to dialogue on the topic of budget rectification, which emphasises a dangerous precedent in institutional rapport, reads a press release of the Presidential Administration sent to AGERPRES.

President Klaus Iohannis sent on Wednesday an invitation for consultations to Prime Minister Viorica Dancila in view of clarifying certain aspects of the state budget rectification of the institutions with duties in national security for 2018.

"President Klaus Iohannis thus expressed his complete openness to dialogue with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, so as to identify a solution that would allow the Government to adopt the budget rectification draft project by observing the constitutional requirements. Notwithstanding, the premier has ignored the invitation to dialogue with Romania's President and submitted for approval in the Government's sitting the budget rectification draft project, without CSAT [Romania's Supreme Council of Defence, e.n.]'s opinion. Romania's President voices his concern about the situation thus created, which emphasises a dangerous precedent, by the crossing of certain predictability lines in institutional rapport, as they are established in the state's architecture," the release shows.According to the quoted source, a dialogue conducive to a real solution could have taken place if the Government had waited for the consultation at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace to have taken place before adopting the budget rectification."In this context, within the framework of an institutional discussion and not a consultation, whose preconditions have become obsolete, on Thursday, 6 September, a meeting took place at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace between presidential advisors Cosmin Marinescu, the Department of Economic and Social Policies, Mihaela Ciochina, the Legal Department and Eugen Teodorovici, Finance Minister, and Tudorel Toader, Justice Minister, respectively," the release informs.
Social Democratic Party (PSD) MEP Gabriela Zoana considers it is not Romania that puts the European Union in "mortal danger", as the European Commissioner for Budget Gunther Oettinger has stated, but the intentions of some European leaders who have "openly supported" the two-speed Europe do "jeopardize" the European design.

"As far as I am concerned, the statements of European Commissioner for Budget Gunther Oettinger must be placed in the context of the negotiations for the 2021-2027 EU budget. Romania is, through the voices of those of us who represent it in Brussels, one of the toughest negotiators on this matter and this perhaps bothers. The efforts that we have made as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development in the European Parliament, just as the efforts of other MEP colleagues who mean well as regards Romania's future, are not taken as a natural thing during the negotiations carried out on the future budget, but as direct opposition to the path pursued so far, of a two-speed Europe, a Europe that favoured the rich and left behind the countries that strive toward the same degree of economic development. Since taking office, I have constantly fought for eliminating the gap between the subsidies received by Romanian farmers and farmers from other member states," Gabriela Zoana stated on Thursday, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.

She reminded that Romania is one of the countries that is well positioned in these negotiations, "both agriculture and the regional development being due to receive more money from the European Union's budget, and this to the detriment of other countries whose budgets are diminished.""Romania does not put the European Union "in mortal danger", quite the opposite, the Romanian people is a pro-European one, par excellence. I would say though that the intentions of some European leaders who have openly manifested for that two-speed Europe are jeopardizing both the European design and the values we have all adhered to once in the family of the Union's member states," Gabriela Zoana added.
Secretary of State with the Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) George Ciamba on Thursday welcomed the Secretary General with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Estonian gov't, Rainer Saks, context in which the former said that Romania is interested in the experience Estonia has gained in the field of the society's digitization, but also as regards the preparation and management of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a press release of MAE sent to AGERPRES informs.

The Romanian official stressed the very good bilateral relations between Romania and Estonia, that are based on joint stances upon the security regional, European and international matters, and hailed in context, the two states' efficient cooperation in common interest fields within NATO and the EU.

Both dignitaries expressed their satisfaction for the extremely busy high level contacts calendar that peaked in 2018 with the visits of the two prime ministers in Estonia and Romania. They also reviewed the contacts at the foreign affairs ministries' level alongside those at parliamentary level, sectoral and local.Special attention was granted to the security topic, that represents one of the priorities of both states' foreign policy. They stressed that Romania and Estonia have assumed the obligations to support the NATO military spending by allocating 2 pct of their GDP to the Defence sector.Secretary of State George Ciamba presented the foreign policy priorities considered for the period Romania will hold the rotating Presidency of the EU Council. He specified that among other things, our country will grant special attention to the EU enlargement process. In context, the two officials have had an exchange of viewpoints regarding the Western Balkans' developments. Ciamba also said that PRES RO 2019 will pay special attention to the organisation of the Sibiu Summit next spring, that will be a benchmark as regards the EU future, in particular against the background of the current challenges the Community bloc is facing.The two dignitaries have also tackled the Romanian-Estonian cooperation in other formats, such as the Estonian participation in the Three Seas Initiative Summit to be organised in Bucharest this September. Ciamba emphasised the commitment assumed towards the Initiative's principles: economic pro-development (via enhanced inter-connectivity), pro-EU and pro-transatlantic and reiterated that the general approach is oriented toward a pragmatic cooperation format.
Romania needs investments worth 10 billion euro to replace the old electrical distribution networks, that have their lifespan worn out, on Thursday said Catalin Stancu, the Electrica managing director at the "Energy plugged in" conference organised by Bursa newspaper.

"Right now, the lifespan of the power distribution and transport network in Romania is over 60 pct fulfilled, meaning it is a relatively old structure. If translated into figures, as compared to the average of the central and east-European countries, SAIDI - the System Average Interruption Duration Index - is below 100 minutes, while in Romania it stands at 270 minutes. In simple translation: there is an obvious need of massive investment in infrastructure," Stancu said.

The managing director said that from the assessments of the Federation of Energy Utility Companies Associations (ACUE), investments worth 10 billion euro are needed only in the outdated distribution networks."Normally, for objective reasons related to market capacity limitation, the distributors in Romania could achieve 350 - 400 million euro per annum, which would translate into an over 25-year period to recoup the technological gap," the Electrica head stressed.He added that such investments would have an impact on the tariffs, too and the solution should be to define the vulnerable consumer as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, who is on a two-day visit to the Kingdom of Spain, met on Thursday with President of the Government of Spain Pedro Sanchez; the two officials discussed economic exchanges, road and rail infrastructure cooperation and Romania's bid to join the Schengen, the government said in a release.

The two Prime Ministers hailed the two states' excellent cooperation, which follows an upward trend both in terms of economic exchanges, which stand at around 4 billion euro, and of the amount of Spanish investments in Romania. The evolution of bilateral trade confirms a growing economic relationship, the government says.

The Romanian PM also underscored that Romania has a stable and attractive economic environment, expressing appreciation for the Spanish companies' investments in Romania, especially in the field of renewable energies, building and real estate. Viorica Dancila also encouraged the participation of Spanish companies in the tenders organized by the Romanian authorities for projects funded under the ongoing operational programs, as well as the participation in public-private partnership investment projects or in the program for the privatization of Romanian state-owned companies."The talks confirmed the interest of both states in further developing a privileged relationship between the two countries. To this effect, the two officials agreed to continue efforts towards the organization of the first joint government meeting, including by identifying new opportunities for sector cooperation," the release said.According to the government, the sides also agreed on beefing up cooperation among central authorities as well as at the level of local governments, through twinning agreements and direct contacts included, so that the Romanian authorities should benefit from the solid Spanish expertise in modernizing the public administration. Two documents were signed on the occasion: a memorandum of understanding between Romania and Spain's Defense Ministries on defense cooperation, and a memorandum of understanding between the National Institutes of Administration of the two countries.Prospects for expanding cooperation on road and rail infrastructure were also approached, while considering the projects that are being carried out with Spanish partners and the relevant expertise of the Spanish side. The sides agreed on the establishment of a technical working group liaising the responsible authorities and tasked with facilitating access to Spain's relevant expertise, the release also states.The Romanian Prime Minister thanked for the constructive attitude of the Spanish authorities and society towards the Romanian community in Spain, the second largest Romanian community abroad.Viorica Dancila also tackled the subject of the grant of dual citizenship to the Romanians who reside in Spain, as well as aspects related to the expanded recognition of the status of the Romanian Orthodox Church."The interest of both sides was also emphasized in maintaining a permanent bilateral dialogue, in the light of Romania's taking over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2019," the cited document reads.Premier Dancila also pointed out that a good coordination of preparations for the May 2019 Sibiu Summit should provide the opportunity to assess the proposals, ideas and expectations of the EU member states and citizens regarding the future of the Union, including in the perspective of the next European electoral exercise.At the same time, the Romanian PM expressed interest in Spain's proven experience with the absorption of European funds for infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and society overall. Appreciation was also voiced for cooperation in the field of internal affairs."The head of the Bucharest Executive reiterated that joining the Schengen Area stays a major political priority for Romania, and thanked for Spain's constant support in this file. Common challenges were also approached from the perspective of the two countries' position in the EU's eastern and southern neighborhood respectively, and of the convergent interests for a democratic, safe, prosperous and predictable neighborhood," the release concludes. The Romanian Prime Minister also shared Spain's concerns about the recent developments in illegal migration.
The Secretary of State for Global Bilateral Affairs, Monica Gheorghita, had a meeting on Thursday with the Algerian Minister of Relations with Parliament, Mahdjoub Bedda, who is on an official visit in Bucharest, at the invitation of his Romanian counterpart, Viorel Ilie, the Minister for Relations with Parliament.

On this occasion, the Romanian Secretary of State said that strengthening political dialogue and expanding the cooperation with countries from North Africa are an important component in the set of measures for relaunching Romania's bilateral relations with its traditional partners, the objective being included in the 2018-2020 Governing programme, a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) informs.

Moreover, Monica Gheorghita expressed the interest of the Romanian Government to boost and diversify the economic cooperation in order to correlate it with the current excellent political relations between the two states. She highlighted that the "Road map of the evolution of relations with Algeria" currently underway, will include priority actions, both short-term and medium-term, of a nature to invigorate the economic and sectoral cooperation between Romania and Algeria.The Secretary of State Monica Gheorghita appreciated that parliamentary diplomacy, spurred by the visit in Bucharest of the delegation led by Minister Mahdjoub Bedda, is capable of upholding the consolidation of the diplomatic-political, economic and sectoral relations between the two countries.The opportunities for dialogue and collaboration were analysed during the talks with regard to education and vocational training, included, the Algerian side showing significant interest in the training of car manufacturing experts in Romania.The two officials also touched on regional topics as well, among which the migration problem and combating terrorism, with the Algerian dignitary presenting his country's contribution in these fields, with positive effects on North Africa's stability and security.
The United States collectively speaking lost its mind last week during a multi-day orgy of smug self-satisfaction centered on the obsequies culminating in the state funeral of Senator John McCain. McCain became the Everyman American-style, embodying virtues that all red-blooded lovers of freedom should aspire to, a hero who fought for the life and liberty of other peoples in other lands. He was a man, according to the media, of matchless nobility who endured torture for love of country, a war hero who put down his sword before starting a long career in government service where he selflessly defended liberty and justice worldwide.

Unfortunately, very little of the story is true. The entire hagiographic saga of the warrior prince that has been woven around McCain by those in the media and the political world that want to use him to demonstrate the deficiency of those qualities in Donald Trump is little more than a work of fiction. John McCain was a monster, betraying his country while a prisoner in Hanoi and then his former comrades-in-arms after the war ended. From Vietnam he learned nothing, saying I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.

McCain subsequently embraced every war that came his way while also promoting regime change and doing his best to start new wars in places where America had no interests. Think Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia, Ukraine, Somalia and Syria just for starters. A prosperous Libya was bombed into anarchy and is now ruled by gangs who have reopened slave markets. McCain was also an opportunist par excellence, parlaying his dubious war record into a political career and at the same time ditching a first wife whom he considered a liability to marry the daughter of a multi-millionaire Arizona beer distributor to finance his personal ambitions.

The number of politicians of all stripes and media hacks eager to climb on the McCain bandwagon is quite astonishing, particularly as the Senators real track record is well known inside the beltway. Songs of praise were of course expected from leading Establishment and Deep State toadies completely lacking moral compasses, to include George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, but even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, self-described socialist and darling of America's progressives, enthused over the maverick warrior, whom she never had met, whose legacy represents an unparalleled example of human decency and American service. Another leftist who should know better, Senator Elizabeth Warren, recalled fondly how McCain advised her To always get in the fight and throw some punches.

Only the honest and honorable ex-President Jimmy Carter has had the courage to buck the trend and tell it like it is regarding McCain, describing him in 2014 as a warmonger. Hanging the human decency label on McCain is the ultimate travesty as he is a man who actively promoted the policies that have killed millions around the world, to include thousands of his own countrymen. Indeed, he was a symbol of American interventionism, having led the Republican wing of the National Endowment for Democracy, a US government funded democracy promotion engine which has interfered in more elections and governments than even the CIA did in its heyday.

So who is the real John McCain? A credible case has been made that McCain, who was shot down while bombing a civilian target, almost certainly crossed the line and collaborated extensively while a prisoner in North Vietnam before being exonerated through a Navy Department cover-up of his behavior after his release from captivity. His own subsequent actions as a congressman to block any inquiry into the status of possible US prisoners of war remaining in Indochina have also been examined in some detail by prize winning journalist Sydney Schanberg and quite appropriately condemned.

But McCain is perhaps best known for his recent efforts to increase US involvement in Syria and also instigate war with Russia and Iran. Fighting between Georgia and Russia broke out in 2008 when Tbilisi threatened and then attacked Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. McCain responded, We are all Georgians now, urging that the US enter the conflict on behalf of Georgia. He later was present in Maidan Square in Kiev together with the odious Victoria Nuland, stirring up opposition to the regime in power that was friendly to Russia. When regime change subsequently took place and fighting broke out, McCain led congressional moves to actively support the new Ukrainian government against Moscow. And who can forget the good Senators photo-op with ISIS terrorists in Syria as well as his sparkling rendition of bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran on the Howard Stern radio program?

So it is goodbye to John McCain. And I would add, good riddance.
US-Russia relations are at a low ebb and show few signs of improving, but cooperation in space is plowing ahead despite all the odds. Russian rocket engines continue to be used to launch the US into space. NASA astronauts use Russian Soyuz rockets to travel to and from the International Space Station (ISS). The ISS is where Russians and Americans work shoulder-to-shoulder to carry out a common mission. Together they train, communicate, and perform other tasks in order to do their job. And in an emergency, the astronauts will depend on a Russian spacecraft to serve as a their lifeboat.

That bilateral relationship has seen its ups and downs, but the two nations have been cooperating in space ever since the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. Russian President Putin believes thats the way it should be. According to him, Thank God, this field of activity is not being influenced by problems in politics. Therefore, I hope that everything will develop, since it is in the interests of everyoneThis is a sphere that unites people. I hope it will continue to be this way.

Russian media reported on September 4 that the Energomash engine manufacturer had signed a new contract to supply four RD-181 rocket engines to the US Orbital ATK aerospace and defense company by 2021 for its Antares rocket that is used to launch NASAs cargo tugs into space to provision the ISS. The RD-181 engine is a modification of the RD-180, which was developed specifically for Antares rockets. Orbital ATK examined many foreign and American engines, but ultimately chose the RD-181, which has superior technical specifications and is less expensive than the potential American-made options. Without these Russian engines, the cost to launch these key satellites that are used for military purposes would skyrocket. By comparison, the Delta rocket is the only alternative for launching large satellites into high orbit. It costs about 33% more per launch.

Russian rocket engines considerably increase the lift capacity of the launcher. It is hard to find a substitute for them. The US has been purchasing RD-180s from Russia for over 20 years. The Pentagon had to be granted a waiver from the packages of sanctions that have been imposed on Russia since 2014, as it finds that for at least the next few years it still cannot manage without these Russian engines.

It was reported in July that Energomash had signed a contract with United Launch Alliance (ULA) to supply six more RD-180 engines in 2020. The two companies had previously signed contracts for 22 engines to be delivered between 2017 and 2018. ULA relies on the RD-180 to power the Atlas 5 rocket that is primarily used for government launches, such as national security payloads and scientific research missions. Of the 19 engines Energomash got orders for in 2018, 17 are to be supplied to US contractors. ULA has plans to test launch its Atlas 5 rocket equipped with the Russian engine this November. Manned flights are slated for February 2019.

NASA is negotiating with Russia on further joint efforts to advance space programs, including the joint construction of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. A joint statement on cooperation aimed at establishing a research-focused space station that would orbit the moon was signed last September. The platform to be used as a staging area for deep space exploration. Once it is up and running, the project will be a logical continuation of the ISS international mission. Hopefully, Russia and the US will be able to work out other official and mutually advantageous agreements on space cooperation, including arrangements that will prevent the militarization of that domain.

While the US pressures other countries to reject Russian weapons and is adamant in its desire to prevent the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas project by threatening European companies with sanctions, its space contractors are allowed to purchase the Russian rocket engines the space program depends on. The law that makes this possible will remain in place into the next decade in order to keep the space program afloat. Waivers are possible for US companies, but strict compliance with the anti-Russian sanctions is a hard-and-fast rule for Europe. As the late Senator John McCain put it, This is the height of hypocrisy! How can our government tell European countries and governments that they need to hold the line on maintaining sanctions on Russia, which is far harder for them to do, when we are gutting our own policy in this way? Perhaps its time for Europeans, many of whom are opposed to the Russian sanctions, to ask some uncomfortable questions about the US stance on this issue.
Political scientists would argue that the rigors of running for political office coupled with the glaring microscope of press attention would normally weed out any candidate suffering from mental illness. Whether political leaders gain office democratically or from unconstitutional means, the degree of mental illness among the top leadership of nations around the world in recent history has been remarkably high.

For example, in 2014, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a controversial visit to the Yasukuni shrine, where several convicted and executed war criminals from World War II are buried, it was over the strong objections of Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Prime Minister Executive Secretary Imai Takaya. The prime ministers assistants warned him that Japan's relations with China and South Korea would deteriorate even further over the shrine visit. Abe disregarded their advice.

Abe's infuriation with Washington over the Barack Obama administrations criticism over his Yasukuni visit plus his ignoring the advice of his closest aides led many senior governing Liberal Democratic Party politicians to wonder whether Abe was completely sane. In Japan, as in the United States, it is next to impossible to force a chief executive to submit to a mental examination.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has long psychologically profiled foreign leaders. In 1984, CIA deputy director for intelligence Robert Gates, who later became CIA director under George H. W. Bush, renamed the CIA's Political Psychology Division the Political Psychology Center (PPC). Gates also gave the unit higher visibility within the Intelligence Community. Today, the PPC develops  based on intelligence sources and methods  psychological profiles on various world leaders. These include North Korea' Kim Jong Un, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Worldwide intelligence agencies, likewise, maintain psychological profiles of US leaders. Recent revelations have revealed that President Donald Trump suffers from paranoia, emotional delusions, fits of rage, and compulsive lying. Trumps psychological profiles maintained by intelligence agencies certainly dwarf those held on other world leaders. Trump provides a rich subject for intelligence agency psychiatrists, psychologists, and neuro-linguistic experts.

Trump is not the first US president to suffer from mental illness. On September 20, 2007, President George W. Bush suggested at a White House news conference that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein killed Nelson Mandela. Bush said, I heard somebody say, 'Now where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela is dead. Because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas." Mandela, at the time, was alive at the age of 89. In 2003, Mandela conducted his own psychoanalysis of Bush, stating that Bush is "a president who has no foresight, who cannot think properly.

A 1977 CIA analysis of the personality traits of various world leaders concluded that Israels Shimon Peres as arrogant. British Prime Minister James Callaghan was deemed to be an intellectual lightweight. French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing's psychological dossier was summed in two words: "aristocratic" and "cold." West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was described as "cocky," Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau a "charmer" with a lot of personal problems with his marriage, Chinese leader Hua Kuo-feng, "shrewd" and not totally committed to Communist ideology, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, "wily, skillful, and tactful," and Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, "unpredictable" and a "potential mass murderer."

Amin was, in fact, a mass murderer. The CIA also concluded that several leaders suffered from alcoholism. Others were pegged as gossip mongers. The CIA challenged the worlds perception of Costa Rican three-time president, Jose Figueres Ferrer, as a widely respected statesman. The CIA determined that Figueres and certain family members were nothing more than crooks.

Earlier CIA psychological profiles provided unusually honest assessments of certain leaders. For example, one agency profile described Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev as a ham actor, who sometimes illustrates his points with the crudest sort of barnyard humor, but also noting, Khrushchev is endowed on occasion with considerable personal dignity. Iraqs Saddam Hussein was reported to be not psychotic, but having a strong paranoid orientation.

In 2009, after Honduran president Manuel Zelaya was ousted in a CIA-planned military coup, The Miami Herald, the paper-of-choice for Latin American oligarchs and despots, floated a poorly-sources story that Zelaya was an anti-Semitic lunatic. In Zelayas case, charges that he suffered from a mental illness were clearly contrived and disseminated by Israeli intelligence sources in Miami who were pushing back against Zelayas valid assertions of Israeli involvement in the Honduran coup. The Zelaya case shows that not all allegations that a leader suffers from mental impairment are true. Similar tactics were used falsely against former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The CIA has been known to lie about some leaders in its psychological profiling. Its report on former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a case in point. The CIA profile stated that Aristide suffered from manic depression, had sought treatment at a Montreal hospital in the early 80s, and was taking a powerful antipsychotic drug. Louis-H. Lafontaine Hospital in Montreal responded, stating Aristide was never a patient. Aristide denied using any sort of anti-psychotic medications, including Lithium Oligosol.

Although it is a cheap shot to falsely accuse a political leader who is perfectly sane of being the opposite, there remains enough documentation from medical sources to question the mental capacities of some world leaders. In July 1998, a psychological analysis was commissioned on current Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte. The analysis was made during Dutertes annulment of his marriage to Elizabeth Zimmerman, which took place during Dutertes term as mayor of Davao City. Dr. Natividad Dayan diagnosed Duterte as suffering from antisocial narcissistic personality disorder marked by gross indifference, insensitivity and self-centeredness," as well as "grandiose sense of self-entitlement and manipulative behaviors. Dayans report also said of Duterte that he had a pervasive tendency to demean, humiliate others and violate their rights and feelings, was unable to reflect on the consequences of his actions, had a poor capacity for objective judgement, and that he failed to see things in the light of facts.

As far as Dutertes marriage was concerned, Dayan concluded that Duterte was psychologically incapacitated to handle essential marital obligations because of his inability for loyalty and commitment and lack of capacity for remorse and guilt." Such a psychological profile could easily apply to another well-known world leader. In recent remarks delivered in Jerusalem, Duterte said that Trump is a "good friend" who "speaks my language."

Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabes sanity was also questioned toward the end of his presidency. Chris Mutsvangwa, a special adviser to current Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa, said in May 2017 remarks to the Harare Press Club that Mugabe was mentally unstable. In January 2018, Mnangagwa stated that former First Lady Grace Mugabe was not mentally sound.

There is nothing to suggest that leaders suffering from mental illness should be removed from office merely because of their conditions. It is when such illness results in destructive actions that removal is warranted. President Abraham Lincoln is said to have suffered from clinical depression. However, Lincolns actions as president are generally commended by historians for saving the United States. British Prime Minister Winston Churchills physician diagnosed his patients depression as arising from bipolar disorder. However, no one suggested that Churchill was incapable of carrying out both peacetime and wartime duties as prime minister. On the other hand, Adolf Hitlers panoply of reported mental disorders, including schizophrenia and narcissistic personality, sadistic personality, and antisocial personality disorders, made him a legitimate target for removal by any means possible.

When the line is crossed between a benign leader suffering from mental depression to a malignant leader suffering from sociopathic desires to threaten death and destruction, it is a clear signal that such a menace should be removed from power forthwith and without rancorous political debate.
Clayton Mitchell

New Zealand First MP

The report into the state of New Zealands racing industry by Australian expert John Messara was released last week, and was largely welcomed by racing enthusiasts who are at their wits end over the lack of support shown by previous governments.

I was pleased to be at the Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton for the announcement and to read that among the 28 race fields recommended to remain from the current 48, Tauranga is among the survivors. Reducing the number of race fields is a proposed mechanism to get the racing industry back on its feet, but is only one positive move in a suite of changes put forward by Messara, who reformed the NSW industry.

Other measures include outsourcing our betting platform (TAB) to an international provider to achieve greater efficiency and open NZ racing up to larger markets, changing the structure of the New Zealand Racing Board, renaming it Wagering New Zealand, and allowing the three racing codes to manage themselves in a way that would give them more flexibility and freedom.

In all, 17 recommendations were made, and I feel very positive for the future of racing in New Zealand if we manage to implement them all.
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Jim Bunny

Rogers Rabbits

www.sunlive.co.nz

Rogers is incommunicado this week, out on the high seas catching his dinner. So weve got a guest writer to pen some letters on letters.





It was an innocent note penned after a high school graduation dinner one night in October 2011.

Hullo my dear. Today I finally actionised (is that a word?) what I have been trying to do for a long time.

On the face of it, unexceptional. But fascinating because its a very personal letter to someone the author hadnt met and might never meet. A future lover, suitor, perhaps even a husband.

Letters and photos wont come every day, she told the phantom Mr Right. But I will try to write and snap as frequently as possible. Love you, Cayla xxx.

And her expectations of Mr Right? Absolutely none, she says. No tall, handsome, chivalrous prince of happiness walking into her life and sweeping her off her size sevens. Just someone to adventure with, someone who loves me, someone to love, she explains.

Seven years later, the note is still in its envelope, unaddressed, unstamped and unposted along with another 119 very intimate and romantic letters in seven bundles  one bundle for each year.

I just really like letters and notes, says Cayla, and if I get a gift, Im more interested in the card that comes with it.

This story started with a chat about the cost of a postage stamp and NZ Post struggling in an online world  deliveries just three days a week and the cost of a stamp rising to cover significant revenue loss.

Because letter volumes have declined at a rate of approximately 60 million items a year, letters have become anachronisms in a time of text messages and emails.

But there are bastions of consumer support, and people battling for New Zealand Post  like one old buffer in Bureta who refuses to give in to corporate pressure to pay his bills online.

They warn about bills getting lost, incurring late payment fees, bills getting wet. Well bunkum! They just want to save on a stamp.

So what about the sheer joy of a letter? Author Richard Carlson reckoned picking up a pen to write a letter slows you down long enough to remember the beautiful people in your life and helps fill your life with pleasure and thanks.

A real letter that is  paper, ink, envelope and a kiss to seal. Someone has taken the time and made the effort to commit their thoughts and feelings to paper  their love, their sympathy, their gratitude, their hopes and dreams  and posted it.

And they have chosen you to be the recipient. There may be added treasures, a photo perhaps, a clipping, a lock of hair, a rose petal, a sticker or a $50 note.

Napoleon Bonaparte was a statesman and a soldier. He was also a prolific letter writer, and a very randy one at that. He would fire off steamy missives to all of his loves.

How happy I would be if I could assist you at your undressing he wrote the socialite Josephine Beauharnais. The firm little white breasts, the adorable face, the hair tied up in a scarf a la creole.

Would that message have been better articulated in a natural flowing writing hand or Calibri Light in an email?

Kisses on your mouth, your eyes, your breasts, everywhere, everywhere. No love, just lust. But the letter worked. She became Napoleons first wife, and she also became first Empress.

A more famous letter was penned by Martin Luther King Jr, when he was banged up in Birmingham Jail for participating in a civil rights demonstration. Fellow clergymen urged him to drop his campaign of nonviolent resistance and leave the battle for racial equality to the courts.

King had time to ponder and respond, so he wrote a letter  a now very famous one  described as a bristling statement against social injustice, a rallying cry against social discrimination.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Justice too long delayed is justice denied.

There was another letter, written on the outside, and a much more humble one. The author was a young reporter who, aged 24, left his family home in Dunedin for a career in Auckland. He phoned home each week.

Tortuous conversations about how safe the harbour bridge was, how youre more likely to be murdered in Auckland, and the weather. But his Mum craved a letter, a decent letter, and she would harp on. Dont they sell stamps in Auckland?

So he grabbed a roll of teleprinter paper, banged out a 12 metre letter of banalities on his Olivetti portable and posted it off in a cardboard tube. Not the worlds longest letter at 290 metres, but enough to stop the complaints.

The letter is probably the most simple and heart-warming way of telling someone your exact feelings, of expressing yourself. And so the letter became a valuable tool for Clarice.

I would struggle to articulate my thoughts in a discussion, she says, so I started writing down my thoughts to get my point across clearly and concisely.

She did this with her parents when she had issues or concerns, to the point that when I came out as bisexual, I told my parents in a letter and I left it on their bed to read while I went out.

Clarice says her letter enabled her to raise a sensitive issue without that initial sense of confrontation. It also gave her parents time to gather their thoughts, because often people react in a completely different way when they havent had time to process it.

It worked. Mum and I ended up crying, and she told me she would love me no matter.

There are many famous letters, such as the one from Gandhi to Hitler which read: Will you listen to the appeal of one which has deliberately shunned the method of war. Gandhi could have saved himself a stamp.

Then theres Queen Elizabeth who, while writing to President Eisenhower who had developed a liking for drop scones after a visit to Balmoral Castle, said: I never sent you the recipe of the drop scone. I now hasten to do so. A good scone is the business of supreme commanders.

Allegedly, the FBI wrote to Martin Luther King and said: King, look into your heart. You know you are a complete fraud and a great liability to us all. History and a Nobel Peace Prize tells us otherwise.

On Sunday, December 10, 2017, almost six years to the day after penning the first of her 120 love letters, Cayla wrote the last.

So this is it, it reads. Today I am a bride. Today I am YOUR bride. Mr Right had happened along. To be honest, I dont know how I feel. I am both excited and nervous, she told him.

But she had found her someone to adventure with, someone who loved her and someone to love. If you have read this far, congratulations. And hey, it was fun. I love you.

We all love a letter that ends well.
Survivors of abuse in state care are worried about how long it's taking to get a Royal Commission of Inquiry underway.

The inquiry into historical child abuse in state care was announced in February, and after consultation, a report written by the commission's chair Sir Anand Satyanand was given to Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin at the end of May.

Three months later, people like lawyer Sonja Cooper, who represents many who were abused in state care across the country, were wondering when the inquiry would get underway.

She had expected the inquiry's terms of reference would be finalised by now.

"The business of the Royal Commission is supposed to be completed within a parliamentary term. We're now in September, coming to the last third of the year, and the terms of reference aren't finalised and the Royal Commission is not yet really up and running.

"So it is a real concern as to what this Royal Commission can achieve, unless it gets moving very soon."

There had been no word on what the scope of the inquiry would be, or who was going to help Sir Anand hear the stories of survivors.

It was an anxious wait for people who still did not know if the inquiry would be widened to include them, Ms Cooper said.

"Those clients for example who were in church care or who are not sure yet whether they're going to fall in the definition of state care, there is some anxiety for them about whether the Royal Commission's going to cover them."

There had been several calls for churches to be included in the inquiry.

The inquiry would investigate state abuse between 1950 and 1999. Ms Cooper was worried about her clients who suffered abuse in state care after 1999, but might not be covered.

For survivors themselves the wait was taking its toll.

Survivor Paora Crawford Moyle has been a social worker for 27 years. She had been talking to people who were already losing confidence in the process, after hoping it would help children in state care now.

"They're all saying the same thing: that it's taking a really long time and their hopes are being dashed. What they thought would be life-changing or system-changing for tamariki going through the system now, they've lost hope because it's taken so long."

Some people would still tell their stories, to try and create change.

Ms Crawford Moyle said given the over-representation of Maori in state care, the Treaty of Waitangi needed to be central to the process.

She had made calls for a separate inquiry for Maori, and wanted the inquiry to include survivors such as herself, who had frontline and advocacy experience.

Another survivor, Eugene Ryder, echoed those calls.

"The hope is that they draw on the expertise that exists in some of the people that have been abused in care. Some of those people have gone on to lead lives of standing up for the rights of those who aren't in a position to stand up for their own rights. [They would] be able to contribute I suppose to a better outcome for the inquiry if we had a role to play within that, albeit an advisory role.

"But the hope is that the inquiry won't move too far from the voice of the people."

Anne Helm went through Lake Alice, a psychiatric hospital in - Manawatu where children were given electric shock therapy.

She had already heard the stories of many abused in state care, as a panel member of the Confidential Forum for Former Inpatients of Psychiatric Hospitals between 2005 and 2007.

She acknowledged setting up the inquiry was no easy feat.

"We have had no reporting back in this interim period as to what's going on, and I'm part of a survivors group. There's just been this cone of endless silence."

The chair of the inquiry, Sir Anand Satyanand, was also concerned about how long it was taking for things to begin.

He said he agreed with survivors, but that there was a lot of work to be done to get the inquiry underway.

"To be honest, I share that concern, but on the other hand, to be fair to the minister and her colleagues, it's a big task.

"It's New Zealand's biggest Royal Commission and they need to be certain of their grounds when they make their decision."

In the meantime staff in his office were working hard behind the scenes doing historical and legal research.

Sir Anand was worried the inquiry would take longer than a parliamentary term, but said survivors needed to have their stories told well.

In a statement Minister for Internal Affairs Tracey Martin said people should not be worried about the inquiry being delayed.

It was still on track to begin in late 2018.

There was a lot of work to be done in establishing a Royal Commission, from considering scope, to budget, membership, and operational set up, she said.

It was not unusual for there to be less communication while the matter was under active consideration, as the team was focused on getting the commission established.

The other members of the Royal Commission would be announced with the terms of reference, after cabinet had made its decisions, Ms Martin said.
It was a legendary farewell to a true policing legend.

Hundreds of police colleagues formed a guard of honour in Huntly on Monday (3 September) at the funeral of Sergeant Neil Mansill.

Neil, who began his law enforcement career with the Ministry of Transport in February 1980, succumbed to cancer on 29 August.

Neil loved policing our roads, Inspector Jeff Penno  who served with Neil when they were constables in Huntly and later as Road Policing sergeants  told mourners at the funeral.

This was his passion and his calling. He was good at it too, and skilled.

Neil saved peoples lives, lots and lots of lives. The irony is that these people will never know that Neil Mansill saved their lives ~ this is his silent legacy.

So many people attended the funeral at Trinity Church that a video screen was put up in the church hall to cater for the overflow.

More than 300 serving and former Police and MOT staff formed the guard of honour, led by Waikato District Commander Superintendent Bruce Bird. Neils family and other mourners were carried in a motorcade of eight police vehicles.

It was an awesome spectacle, says Jeff, who acted as family liaison. Neil would have absolutely loved it.

It was not a police funeral - it was Neils family day  but, for police, to be the pallbearers and to be able to motorcade him to the church with all his family and to his final resting place was an honour.

In his eulogy, Bruce ticked off Neils attributes: authentic; courageous; skilled in street craft; influential. A good guy.

The mark of any person is how they face adversity  thats the true test, said Bruce.

Right to the very end, Neil never shifted from who he was as a husband, father, friend and police officer.

I spent plenty of time with Neil in his last few days and throughout his career. He was a big man with a lion-heart of gold.

He read a tribute from Commissioner Mike Bush: Neil was passionate and a character but most of all he wanted to make a difference. This he discharged with considerable skill and expertise. But what sets Neil apart was that he cared.

Neil served as a motorcycle Traffic Officer in Wellington, Whangarei, Auckland and on four wheels in Te Kauwhata, Waikato, where he was based at the time of the MOT-Police merger in 1992.

He transferred to the General Duties Branch in Huntly in 1998 and relieved in various positions including Youth Aid Officer and O/C Te Kauwhata. In April 2000 Neil was promoted to sergeant in Counties Manukau, serving in Papakura, Wiri and Otahuhu.

He transferred to Pukekohe, where he was Liquor Licensing Officer for the Franklin Area, and had a short stint on Papakura Strategic Traffic Unit (STU). He returned to Waikato in 2004 as a Traffic Alcohol Group sergeant.

In October 2005 Neil went to Morrinsville to relieve as STU sergeant for Eastern Waikato and stayed until February 2013, when he made his final move to STU sergeant in North Western Waikato, based at Huntly.

He was remembered as a tough but fair officer, a supportive boss and a great talker, with a notable ability to talk down an over-excited offender.

Speakers commented on Neils ever-present sense of humour, which was known to get him in trouble  like the time he spread wasabi thickly on a cracker and convinced a superior officer it was guacamole, and to eat it. It was noted that his paperwork increased considerably soon after.

He was also a hard worker who could be relied upon 100 percent when the going got tough  as it often did in the isolated areas he policed.

As one who stood beside him over those years at all those incidents, good, bad and really bad, I can tell you he was a bloody legend and he will be remembered that way, said Jeff.

Neil leaves his wife Cindy, two daughters and one son.

Funeral photos: Sergeant Nigel Fookes and Senior Constable Warrick Pearson, Waikato Photography Section

-Police Ten One Magazine.
FAYETTEVILLE, NY - Fayetteville has decided to pull its consideration of a Rochester-based developer's proposal to build an apartment-retail complex along Route 5.

Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson said village trustees decided to drop their review of Morgan Management's plan for 200 apartments and retail space on the former O'Brien & Gere manufacturing site at 547 E. Genesee St.

"We felt with the pending federal investigation (of Morgan Management), it was in the best interests of the village to stop the application and the process for reviewing it,'' Olson said. "We are not comfortable going forward due to the looming investigation."

Robert Morgan is the chief executive officer of Morgan Management, a Rochester-based developer which builds apartments and other projects, including Rugby Square Apartments in Syracuse.

In May, a federal grand jury indicted Robert Morgan's son and nephew on fraud charges. Later, the FBI searched Morgan Mangement's Rochester-area office.

Todd Morgan - Robert Morgan's son - and Kevin Morgan are named in the 62-count, 32-page indictment along with business associates Frank Giacobbe and Patrick Ogiony. They are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.

Todd Morgan is a project manager with the company. Kevin Morgan is a vice president at the company. Giacobbe owns Aurora Capital Advisors, of Buffalo. Ogiony works for him as managing director.

The charges involve seven properties, including apartment complexes in Buffalo, Syracuse and Avon.

Olson said the village sent Morgan Management a letter notifying them of the decision in mid-August, and has not received any response.

In June - after village officials initially pulled consideration of the proposal in light of the allegations against the developer - the village reversed itself.

The village agreed to move the review process forward if Morgan Management CEO Robert Morgan agreed to certain conditions because Robert Morgan is not part of the federal case.

However, Olson said the village never signed an agreement with Robert Morgan on the conditions: which included Robert Morgan being the point person and Morgan Management issuing a performance bond and contingency fee.

Olson said the village still wants to see that property developed and officials are reaching out to other developers to see if they have proposals.

In July, Robert Morgan's brother, Herbert, filed a lawsuit against Robert Morgan in state Supreme Court alleging that he was cut out of his nearly $5 million share of the recent sale of several apartment complexes in Texas, according to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Herbert is a principal at Morgan Management.
MEXICO, N.Y. -- A man has been charged with destroying American flags placed on graves in an Oswego County cemetery.

Dylan Ackerman, 26, of Mexico, was arrested Aug. 19 by the New York State Police and charged with criminal mischief, troopers announced Thursday. He has been accused of destroying "numerous" flags in Mapleview Cemetery in Mexico.

State police responded to the 3260 State Route 11 cemetery after a caller reported a suspect was destroying property. Ackerman was still at the cemetery when troopers arrived.

Ackerman told investigators he had broken flags placed at several graves, troopers said. Then he became uncooperative and refused to give investigators more information, troopers said.

Ackerman was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor; third-degree criminal tampering, a misdemeanor; and trespassing, a violation. He remains in the Oswego County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2,500 cash or a $5,000 bond.
Brian Jessmore was sentenced to 5 years probation in Onondaga County Court Thursday, September 5, 2018 for assaulting his 6-week-old child in 2016. The child's mother, Kari Egerbrecht, gave a searing rebuke of her ex-husband.

Syracuse, NY -- A 6-week-old girl was assaulted so severely in September 2016 that she suffered a brain injury that nearly killed her.

Her father, Brian Jessmore, 33, was alone with the newborn when she lost consciousness in the family's Skylark Circle home in Clay.

She was limp in her panicked father's arms when her mother, Kari Egerbrecht, came in and called 911.

"There is nothing more terrifying than being a parent and seeing your child fading before your eyes, and not being able to do anything about it," Egerbrecht said in court today. Later, she added: "My daughter was dying right before my eyes."

The baby was barely breathing and nearly comatose, she said.

The baby spent a month at Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital. She had to be put into a coma to control seizures. She had brain bleeding and five broken ribs.

The young daughter of Kari Egerbrecht and Brian Jessmore, to the left after an assault landed her in the hospital and to the right, after her recovery.

But maybe the worst of all: she'd had repeated brain injuries, meaning she'd been assaulted more than once. Whatever happened the day of her mom's 911 call was only the latest injury.

To treat the brain injuries, the girl has endured 43 trips to the hospital in her first two years of life, 10 EEGs (brain activity tests), four MRIs, three CT scans and other treatments, her mother said.

Fortunately, she survived.

A relatively healthy toddler now, she suffers from developmental delays in speech and motor skills, her mother said. That means a half-dozen therapy sessions a week.

In March, Jessmore pleaded guilty to second-degree assault, admitting he'd recklessly injured his daughter 11 days before she was taken to the hospital.

But he won't spend any time in jail for the conviction. Instead, he was sentenced today to five years on probation.

How did Jessmore admit shaking his baby while avoiding jail?

The outcome reflects real-world difficulties of domestic baby abuse cases, prosecutor Jarrett Woodfork said.

If he'd had better evidence, Woodfork said in court he would be making his arguments to a jury right now. But that's not the reality, he said.

In this case, the victim was too young to speak for herself. And there were two parents who had access to the victim.

Woodfork was quick to note that he believed the father was the abuser. But could he prove that to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt?

The prosecutor acknowledged that he wasn't sure there was enough evidence to ensure a conviction after trial.

Further complicating matters was that baby suffered multiple brain injuries. The most serious injury could have occurred days or weeks before she was ultimately taken to the hospital, Woodfork said.

A medical expert said it was possible that Jessmore was telling the truth when he said his daughter only fell a short distance the day she was rushed to the hospital.

That small fall could have been exacerbated by whatever injuries the daughter suffered in past days and weeks, the prosecutor said.

There were no witnesses -- besides the parents -- to say what happened during that prior assault. Woodfork called the case a "whodunit" between two parents with "complete and utter access to the child."

The baby had been to the hospital around the time of the earlier assaults, but was treated for failing to thrive, not abuse, Woodfork said. No evidence was collected that could have pinpointed what happened.

Jessmore did plead guilty to assaulting the baby 11 days before her trip to the hospital. But that plea came after he was assured he would avoid jail.

If the case had gone to trial, Jessmore's lawyer could have sown doubt by accusing the mother of causing a worse, prior injury.

Egerbrecht today accused Jessmore of trying to pin the injury on her. And she acknowledged after court that she would probably be blamed at trial.

Things got even more complicated this summer, Woodfork said.

After Jessmore's plea in March, the girl suffered a broken arm while in her mother's care. Egerbrecht said her daughter had fallen down two stairs and suffered a common pediatric injury.

But Woodfork said that injury would be fodder for Jessmore's attorney, Scott Brenneck, at trial. The prosecutor also noted that Egerbrecht took her injured daughter for a visitation hand-off with Jessmore instead of directly to the hospital.

Woodfork said there's no indication that the girl's mother did anything wrong, causing the girl's broken arm. But, again, that would be something Jessmore's attorney could cross-examine her about at trial.

"These cases are difficult, even in the best of circumstances," Woodfork said in court today. And the multiple injuries -- with no witnesses -- made it impossible to prove exactly what happened, he added.

The prosecutor said he'd have a hard time meeting his burden at trial. But he still stood by the fact the right person was convicted.

Egerbrecht, who has sole custody of her daughter and the former couple's older son, said probation is not justice.

"He almost took my daughter's life and that should be punishable by putting him in jail," she said in court.

Egerbrecht delivered an emotional account of the impact of her child's abuse on her life. It destroyed her marriage, traumatized the couple's older child and took over her life, she said.

Egerbrecht said her daughter was baptized at her hospital bed with a Dixie cup. She spent 29 days in the hospital.

Today, Egerbrecht took off the first day of school -- she teaches Spanish at a Syracuse high school -- to attend her ex-husband's sentencing.

"I am tired; tired of fighting, tired of having to deal with the aftermath of Mr. Jessmore's choices," she said. "I just want to be a mom again and be able to enjoy my life with my children."

So Jessmore avoids jail or prison. He avoided the possibility of a jury's guilty verdict that could have carried up to a 7-year prison sentence.

But he's also a convicted felon and an admitted child abuser.

Today, Jessmore declined to say anything when given a chance at sentencing.

State Supreme Court Justice Gordon Cuffy said the he had wrestled with the difficult issues in the case.

Jessmore's sentencing had been adjourned five times this summer as the judge and lawyers continued debating the case.

In the end, Cuffy said, he'd sign off on the five-year probationary sentence.

Jessmore left court with his family without comment.
Syracuse NY - The storied Marriott Syracuse Downtown, the historic Hotel Syracuse, will host a second season of the "Jazz at the Cavalier" series in the Cavalier Room. All events will take place Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, beginning on September 19th, and are free, with no cover charge. "CNY Jazz Club" cardholders will receive 10% off food and drink.

Thirty one events are scheduled from September 19th through May 8th, featuring many of Upstate New York's finest resident jazz and cabaret vocalists with grand piano accompaniment. Back for another year are Nancy Kelly (who will kick off the series), Ronnie Leigh, Moe Harrington, Andrea Miceli, Danielle Patrice, Scott Dennis, Richard Crawley, Julie Falatico from Utica, Rochester's Jon Seiger, and Ithaca-based Sally Ramirez. Newcomers to the series like Maria DeAngelis, Cookie Coogan, recent Brooklyn transplant Melody Rose, and Lorenzo will appear. Accompanists including Rick Montalbano, Dick Ford, Dave Solazzo, Andrew Carroll, Jeff Unaitis, and Jimmy Cox will support their efforts. The full schedule may be found at www.cnyjazz.org.

Modeled after formats made famous in midtown Manhattan at hotels like the Carlisle and the Algonquin, the series provides an intimate cabaret atmosphere in the cozy, clubby surroundings of the Cavalier Room. "The public responded to last year's series in a big way," according to Larry Luttinger, organizer of the series. "Exit interviews showed that the Cavalier Room was the top rated space in the hotel last year. Our series quickly became 'the place to be' as a midweek happy hour destination, and will continue to do so. Top singing talent, presented in an engaging atmosphere with grand piano, will always do it in these classy surroundings. The Great American Songbook fits this space perfectly."

Said Ed Riley, developer and driving force behind the hotel's renaissance, "The Cavalier Room was designed to be the perfect setting for patrons to relax and enjoy everything the hotel has to offer, and we're delighted to continue to partner with CNY Jazz as host of this series. Jazz at the Cavalier personifies our commitment to quality hospitality for travelers and downtown residents alike, carrying on our hotel's tradition as the social and cultural hub that this grand old girl has been for almost a century."



2017-18 CNY Jazz Club Cards will be honored until November 14th.
Skaneateles NY - Finger Lakes On Tap, Tom Ierardi's tribute to upstate New York brewing, will host a 4th season of Jazz On Tap" every other Sunday from 2 to 5 pm. Twenty events are scheduled. A special Saturday night kick-off party starts the series on September 8th with the Diana Leigh Trio, and a mid-series "New Year's Day Party" with the Angelo Candela Combo will provide a celebration for those unable to party the night before, or who need a second dose of fun. All events are free, with no cover charge. "CNY Jazz Club" cardholders will receive 10% off food and drink.

"This series puts the spotlight on the fine musicians working not only in Syracuse, but in the Rochester, Ithaca, and Auburn areas as well," according to Larry Luttinger, founder of CNY Jazz and organizer of the series. "It extends the reach of our mission as well. We want this experience to bring new faces to jazz, and to the more than 300 events that we produce across the region each year in public and in schools."

An eclectic lineup of artists including Edgar Pagan, Melissa Gardiner, Jon LeRoy, Steve Brown, Jeff Stockham, Carl Lovell's Swingdom, Cookie Coogan, and Mark Nanni's "The Intention" will appear in a duo and trio format.

Finger Lakes on Tap, located at 35 Fennell Street, offers over 60 taps, with selections ranging from the well-known (Stella Artois, Labatt's) to the exotic (Sam Smith's Tadcaster from Yorkshire England, Stone Brewing from Escondido California,) and many from across New York State and New England. A carefully curated light menu complements the wide variety of craft beer styles.

2017-18 CNY Jazz Club cards will be honored through November 11th. The full Jazz On Tap schedule can be found at www.cnyjazz.org.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Officials from the Catholic Diocese of Syracuse will "cooperate fully" with a subpoena by the New York state Attorney General's Office which is investigating whether dioceses across the state covered up sexual abuse.

The local diocese is one of eight in New York state that received subpoenas today from the state AG.

The AG's investigation comes shortly after a nearly two year grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania that lead to a report detailing sex abuse by more than 300 priests over seven decades.

The investigation, one of the broadest inquiries into church sex abuse in U.S. history, identified 1,000 children who were victims, but reported that there probably are thousands more. The report also criticized Pennsylvania church leaders for covering up abuse case.

The Syracuse diocese said the church has already made local district attorneys aware of any abuse allegations, but the diocese here is willing to cooperate with the state's investigation, too.

"The (local) District Attorneys have been made aware of any allegation of abuse of a minor and have been provided with the names of those accused along with their status and any information they may request," Syracuse diocese spokeswoman Danielle Cummings told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

"Bishop (Robert) Cunningham will continue to work closely with our local District Attorneys and will cooperate fully with the Attorney General's investigation," she said.

The AG's office encouraged abuse victims across the state to call its hotline (1-800-771-7755) as part of its investigation.

Cummings and the AG's office did not say exactly what records were subpoenaed. Cummings also did not immediately say how much material it would be required to turn over as part of the investigation.

The AG's probe is a civil, not criminal, investigation into whether dioceses covered up abuse. Many of the allegations are too old for criminal actions against clergy due to the statute of limitations.

Acting New York state Attorney General Barbara Underwood, in a statement announcing the probe, repeated her office's position that the statute of limitations should be widened for sexual abuse cases. Such a move has been considered but never passed by the New York State Legislature in recent years.

"It is important to note that many cases of abuse may not be prosecutable given New York's statutes of limitations," the AG's office said in a statement. "The Attorney General has repeatedly urged the legislature to pass the Child Victims Act, which would allow all victims to file civil suits until age 50 and seek criminal charges until age 28."

The New York district attorney's association also said its members stood ready to help with the AG's office's investigation.

In addition to New York, attorneys general in New Mexico and Nebraska have launched probes into clergy abuse in light of the Pennsylvania findings.

The subpoena comes near the tail-end of a program the Syracuse diocese launched here in February to compensate victims of clergy abuse.

That program, called an Independent Reconciliation Compensation Program, enlisted two outside mediators to hear abuse allegations from 76 people who have previously accused Syracuse-area clergy of abuse. The program is expected to wrap up later this month, Cummings has said.

As far as the diocese is concerned, Cummings said the subpoena will have no effect on the compensation program, which is voluntary for people claiming abuse.

"It will have no impact on our end," Cummings said. "The program is voluntary and we will have to wait and see how participants respond."
Over the summer, you may have heard about the man in Cortland County who was flying a Nazi swastika flag -- a symbol of hatred against Jews -- on his property as a sort of distress signal. There was a lot of attention on the "Unite the Right 2" rally, held in Washington, D.C., on the one-year anniversary of a deadly white supremacist rally in Virginia. It was a bust; a couple of dozen protesters were met by thousands of counter-protesters.

But did you hear about the 17 trees in a Rochester-area public park spray-painted with swastikas? Or the white supremacist fliers distributed in a Suffolk County neighborhood? Or a swastika drawn on a Queens transit booth? All of these incidents, and many more, occurred in August alone.



The Anti-Defamation League, which tracks anti-Semitic and extremist activity in the United States, once issued press releases and held news conferences to push back at these displays of bigotry. They are now so common, a "'swastika-ing" may merit only a tweet, or is simply added to ADL's interactive map of hate, extremism, anti-Semitism and terrorism incidents.



The group's "H.E.A.T. map" is getting hotter.



In 2017, ADL counted 380 Anti-Semitic incidents in New York state, a 90 percent increase from 2016, when 200 incidents were reported. Between 2016 and 2017, there was a 100 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in K-12 schools and on college campuses, ADL reported.



Syracuse.com's editorial board met recently with Evan Bernstein, regional director of ADL in New York and New Jersey, and Melanie Robbins, director of engagement for the region. They were in Syracuse to raise awareness of anti-Semitic incidents with the Jewish community, elected officials like Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh, law enforcement and our readers.



ADL has provided hate crime training to New York State Police and several county-level police agencies, to help officers recognize and prosecute bias incidents, Robbins said. The group supports a bill in the New York State Legislature that would mandate hate crime training as part of law enforcement training.



The U.S. Department of Justice reports that more than half of all hate crimes from 2011 to 2015 were not reported to police. The latest DOJ statistics counted zero hate crimes in Syracuse, Robbins said. It's hard to believe there was not even one incident "motivated by bias due to the victim's race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religion." This may indicate a lack of trust between minority communities and law enforcement, in addition to a lack of training in the recognition and response to hate crimes.



Bernstein believes it's important for elected officials to respond to bias incidents, and incumbent upon constituents to demand accountability. "The only way there's consistency (in response) is when constituents speak up," he said.



ADL was founded to counter anti-Semitism, but speaks out against bias directed at other religious minorities, Latinos, immigrants and the LGBTQ community. It also tracks extremist movements, including white supremacists, who flourish in online forums and social media despite their setbacks in real life.



Online media platforms that allow users to post anonymously and organize in secret pose a familiar challenge. In the 1950s, ADL championed "anti-mask" laws in the South that prohibited Ku Klux Klan members from wearing masks to hide their identities. Unmasking led to a steep decline in membership. Now, the group is pressing tech companies to crack down on users who violate their terms of service and remove "bots" that disseminate hateful content.



ADL aggressively responded to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg when he said Holocaust denialism was permitted on his platform. In 2017, the group counted 4 million anti-Semitic tweets sent from 3 million distinct Twitter accounts.



"We really feel that is the next great area of hate: It is online," Bernstein said.



In the public square, hate speech is protected by the First Amendment; the remedy is more speech to counter it. Today's social media networks fancy themselves the technological equivalent of the public square -- except they are private, profit-seeking enterprises, where the discourse is far from civil and hateful content is spread and amplified by "bots."



'Earth has a fever'; public policy has the cure (Commentary)
New York could soon become the first state in the nation to require employers to offer up to 12 weeks of paid time off for workers to deal with the death of a family member.

A bill mandating paid bereavement leave passed the state Senate and Assembly in June, expanding the state's paid family leave law that took effect on Jan. 1.

If signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, employees would be eligible for paid leave after the death of a spouse, domestic partner, child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent or grandchild. The law would take effect Jan. 1, 2020.

Critics of the bill say it's too generous to employees and unfriendly to business. There are no expiration dates on when bereavement leave should be taken and the law would treat deaths of grandparents and in-laws the same as spouses and children. Supporters say everyone deserves to grieve as they see fit, and there's little incentive for abuse since employees will be paid only 50 to 67 percent of their salary while on leave.

The bill sailed through the Legislature with bipartisan support, passing the Senate on June 19 by a vote of 61-1 and the Assembly on June 20 by a vote of 111-32.

The bill's authors -- state Sen. Rich Funke, R-Fairport, and Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Rochester - experienced the death of a son and daughter who were in their early 30s.

The lawmakers say their bill is a common-sense expansion of the state's paid family leave benefits, with no added cost. But in the two months since the legislation passed, business groups and some politicians pushed back in opposition, calling the bill an example of New York's unfriendly business practices.

"There's a reason they call it the bereavement bill," former Republican Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey told the Fox Business Network. "And it's because it's another nail in the coffin of New York's economy."

Funke fired back against what he called the "hysteria" over "a simple bill to provide paid time off to an employee who loses a loved one."

"A good example is former Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey calling this bill 'the last nail in the coffin' for business in this state," Funke said. "As someone who buried his own son, I take strong exception to that imagery, and I am sure that other grieving families will as well. What we need here are facts, and not hateful rhetoric and outright lies."

Cuomo has stayed on the sidelines, declining to take a position. The governor said at the Aug. 29 Democratic primary debate with Cynthia Nixon that he is still reviewing the bill, which has yet to reach his desk.

For now, Oregon is the only state in the nation that entitles employees to take paid bereavement leave for the death of any family member, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But the Oregon program is not a broad mandate. It applies only to employers that voluntarily offer paid sick or vacation leave as a benefit. Employees can use up to two weeks of that time as paid leave to deal with the death of a family member. (Massachusetts recently passed a law providing up to 12 weeks paid leave for the death of a family member in the military.)

Under the New York bill, employees would be eligible for the same benefits provided under the state's paid family leave law that became effective Jan. 1.

Most people who work for a private employer in New York are eligible for eight weeks of leave this year. When fully implemented in 2021, the benefit will increase to 12 weeks of paid leave.

There is no direct cost to employers for paid leave. Employees contribute up to $86.25 per year (about $1.65 per week) through payroll deductions and are eligible to receive 50 to 67 percent of their pay from an insurance carrier while on leave.

The Business Council of New York State is among two dozen business and industry groups that have lobbied against the bill and urged Cuomo to veto the legislation.

The groups say the bill was too broadly written, allowing for the potential of widespread abuse and increased costs that could eventually be passed on to business owners.

"We think this is going to be a more costly program than projected, and the end result is this will go from being an indirect cost to employers to a direct one," said Ken Pokalsky, vice president of the Business Council in Albany.

Pokalsky said his members are concerned the New York's paid family leave program will be expanded before anyone knows how much time employees took off in the first year the benefit was available.

Melissa Stewart, a spokeswoman for the state Workers' Compensation Board, said the state does not yet have data on the claims submitted under the paid family leave law.

"It's potentially a lot more cost to the program," Pokalsky said of paid bereavement leave. "How do you assess how much it's going to cost and how much time people are going to claim?"

An independent study by the Society for Human Resource Management found bereavement leave is already provided as a benefit by more than 88 percent of employers, Pokalsky said, with a typical leave of four days.

"Many employers have leave policies," he said. "This (bill) significantly expands them. The cost to the employer is in dealing with unplanned, intermittent and unannounced absences from work."

Of equal concern, Pokalsky said, is that the bill was broadly written, allowing employees to take bereavement leave at any time after the death of family member - even years later - up to the maximum of 12 weeks.

"You can take it three years from now, or you can take it every year," Pokalsky said. "There's nothing that says you can't. When we raised this concern with the bill's sponsors, their answer is, 'We can't dictate how people grieve.'"

The law would allow employees who provide the death notice of a family member to take all of the time they need at once, or in increments.

"It could be every Friday for how many Fridays that make up 12 weeks of time," Pokalsky said. "The point is, the bill is so imprecisely written we don't know how it would work."

Funke said it's ridiculous for business owners to suggest that bereavement leave would encourage widespread abuse, especially since it would come out of the same bank of time that, for this year, allows a maximum of eight weeks of paid family leave.

"If a mother took eight weeks to bond with her newborn baby and, God forbid, lost that child later that year, under this bill she would receive no additional leave," Funke wrote in a statement pushing back against critics.

"Let's play this out further," Funke said. "Someone on paid bereavement leave would receive between 50 and 67 percent of their pay from the insurance carrier -- not the employer. How many working families can afford to be away from their job collecting half of their salary for 12 weeks? The answer is not many, and certainly none that don't truly need the time."

Pokalsky disagrees.

"I think employers will tell you that employees have used sick time when they are not sick," he said.

An incentive for abuse, Pokalsky said, is that the bill sets no limits on when paid time off must be taken after the death of a family member. The bill also treats all family members equally, whether it's a grandparent, spouse or child.

"Is it reasonable to offer 12 weeks of paid leave for the death of a grandparent?" Pokalsky asked.

Jackson Brainerd, a policy specialist at the National Conference of State Legislatures, said New York is among about a dozen states to pass paid family leave bills.

But the idea of adding bereavement leave has been considered in only a handful of states, Brainerd said. Except for Oregon and Massachusetts, the bereavement leave in other states is unpaid.

Illinois employers must allow up to 10 days of unpaid leave for the loss of a child, Brainerd said. Maine employers must allow unpaid leave for the death of family member on active duty in the Armed Forces.

Funke, the state senator, said he knows first-hand why it's so important for New York to be a leader on the issue.

"The grief can be unpredictable and overwhelming," Funke said in a statement. "No employee should have to fear losing their job in order to take the time they need to mourn."

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
ActLight, a Swiss technology firm known for its Dynamic PhotoDiodes (DPDs), announced that it has signed an agreement with a top semiconductor company for the integration and licensing of the DPD into their Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for vital signs monitoring, to be used in the next generation of wearable devices.

"The demand for vital signs monitoring sensors is growing at an accelerated pace with a need for innovative sensor technologies," said Serguei Okhonin, ActLight Co-Founder and CEO. "The collaboration with this prestigious semiconductor company is expected to deliver to the market the new, world-class sensing solution that will enhance the vital signs monitoring experience of the wearable device's users".
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re: 12 years of the Himalayas! # 2 : The second drive to the Himalayas : Sikkim again!



Vehicle : 2004 Maruti Suzuki Alto LX

Places visited: Gangtok and surrounding tourist points



It is for a reason that Alto has been the highest selling vehicle ever since it was launched. Ours is still running strong after 14 years. But it was never a plan to go to Sikkim in the Alto, it was purely circumstantial. My wife and I had 7 days off in the end of December but we have been eternal paupers throughout our life. It was no different at that time. So the only place we could visit during the holidays was the Bakreshwar Thermal Power Plant where my father in law was stationed. It was a "no-brainer" between the Baleno and the Alto for a highway drive, but we chose the Alto to save money on fuel. It turned out to be a fantastic decision in the end! We reached Bakreshwar in the afternoon.











In the evening we went to Shantiniketan in the evening to visit the famous "Poush Mela" (



At that time we used to work for an industry that gave 10 days holiday during the new year. So we had lots of holidays in hand but nowhere to go. At around 11 am that day, just after breakfast, Rajsri asked me if I was not going anywhere due to lack of money and would I travel if she could arrange for it. The answer was obviously yes. Next moment he called her father who was working in the power plant. I did not follow the conversation, but 10 minutes later I saw her father enter the apartment. The plan had been made between the two of them! We were supposed to leave within half an hour for Gangtok

By noon we were out on the highway after a super quick lunch prepared by my mother in law. Luggage was minimal as we were not prepared for a long trip. Still the Alto felt a bit under-powered on the highway with 4 people on-board. We booked the TCS Guest House in Gangtok on the way.

Till Moregram i.e. the junction where SH60 merged with NH34, the road was not too bad. But after that nightmare started. I have never see a worse NH34 in my life, though it is famous for bad stretches quite frequently. I thanked my stars that I had not taken the Baleno as we would have to abandon the journey. It would have scraped its bottom on the lunar landscape. The road condition was so bad that Volvo bus services had stopped. We saw trucks and buses abandoned every now and then with broken axles, broken leafs etc.











Our puny little Alto trudged ahead amidst the chaos. It took us 10 Hours to reach Malda from Bakreshwar, a distance of approx 200 Kilometers. It usually takes 4 to 5 hours! We had ample time in hour hand, so decided to stay at a hotel in Malda for the night.

Woke up at 3 in the morning and started by 4 after quickly cleaning the car.







Road condition was far better than what we had encountered the previous day. But after some time our pace got hindered by tremendous fog. My experience of driving in fog was not that much during those days and I was quite scared. Progress was very slow till a bus came from behind as a savior. I started following the bus and it maintained a good pace in-spite of the heavy fog. After following it for about 50 kilometers the fog became less. I got greedy and overtook the bus. But the good visibility lasted only a few kilometers and the fog came back with vengeance. At one point I was not able to see anything beyond the bonnet of the Alto and almost come to halt. Thankfully saw the 6 bright lights of Lokenath Travels bus in my rear view mirror. When the bus crossed me I realised that I was just meters away from hitting a pole! After that I did not leave the bus till Siliguri.



The saviour!





We refilled fuel at Siliguri and continued towards Gangtok.



The beautiful Sevoke road





Just 64 Kms left





Rafting on the River Teesta. The dam had not been built at that time.





Since it was winter, there was an abundance of roadside shacks selling oranges and apples. My father in law can be called a connoisseur when it comes to fruits and vegetables. He was extremely happy seeing all those shacks and wanted to stop. I, on the other hand, don't like fruits and to stop as well!



A visibly happy father-in-law





Not so happy son-in-law





Welcome to Sikkim board at last!





We reached Gangtok late in the afternoon. The route to the TCS guesthouse was familiar as we had been there before. I was extremely happy to reach there after a grueling journey. We knew Ayub, the caretaker, and he was happy to see us back again. He is an excellent cook and we lost no time in ordering for dinner.



It was bitter cold and I was well prepared!





We had a visitor!





Next day we went out for sight seeing in and around Gangtok.



The famous Rumtek Monastery









Young monks at Rumtek









In the evening, Rajsri and her parents went for the cable car ride. I did not as I am scared of cable cars.





Next morning was the same routine, wake up, relax, have late breakfast and go out for sightseeing. Though it was winter, the snow peaks were not clearly visible. There was a lot of haze.









These were the best pics I could take of the peeping snow peaks!





We went to the Gangtok Zoo, called the Himalayan Zoological Park, Bulbulay.



The Alto parked in front of the gates of the zoo. This road was quite steep.





A few pictures of the animals















That evening, after returning to the guest house I fell seriously ill. I had been greedy in the afternoon and ate a lot of mutton Phalays from a road side shack. Those who dont know, Phalay is a Tibetan delicacy. It is like a fried momo filled minced vegetables and meat. I have had it many times before, but this time the quality of oil or the meat might have been bad. I was literally shaking with stomach pain and high fever. Rajri and my parents in law tried to cover me up with multiple duvets, but I was shivering like hell. Frankly speaking, that night I had thought I would die. I have never felt so sick before or after that in my life till date, touch-wood! Ayub came and said that I would need to be shifted to the hospital. But thankfully before that, Rajsri and her mother made a concoction of water and very high amount of salt that I gulped at one go. That horrible liquid induced vomiting and I felt much better after that.



Next morning woke up a bit late and still felt a bit down with fever. But we had to start for Kolkata as my father-in-law had to attend office the next day due to an emergency.







Said goodbye to Ayub, his wife and son Dehbit. They had been wonderful hosts. The return journey was terrible and it took more that 25 hours to reach Bakreshwar power plant. The condition of NH34 had deteriorated further in the past 4 days and I had a real tough time saving the underbelly of the Alto. It was a stressful journey back, but the memories of the sudden trip to the Himalayas will remain etched for a long time to come! Vehicle : 2004 Maruti Suzuki Alto LXPlaces visited: Gangtok and surrounding tourist pointsIt is for a reason that Alto has been the highest selling vehicle ever since it was launched. Ours is still running strong after 14 years. But it was never a plan to go to Sikkim in the Alto, it was purely circumstantial. My wife and I had 7 days off in the end of December but we have been eternal paupers throughout our life. It was no different at that time. So the only place we could visit during the holidays was the Bakreshwar Thermal Power Plant where my father in law was stationed. It was a "no-brainer" between the Baleno and the Alto for a highway drive, but we chose the Alto to save money on fuel. It turned out to be a fantastic decision in the end! We reached Bakreshwar in the afternoon.In the evening we went to Shantiniketan in the evening to visit the famous "Poush Mela" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poush_Mela ).At that time we used to work for an industry that gave 10 days holiday during the new year. So we had lots of holidays in hand but nowhere to go. At around 11 am that day, just after breakfast, Rajsri asked me if I was not going anywhere due to lack of money and would I travel if she could arrange for it. The answer was obviously yes. Next moment he called her father who was working in the power plant. I did not follow the conversation, but 10 minutes later I saw her father enter the apartment. The plan had been made between the two of them! We were supposed to leave within half an hour for GangtokBy noon we were out on the highway after a super quick lunch prepared by my mother in law. Luggage was minimal as we were not prepared for a long trip. Still the Alto felt a bit under-powered on the highway with 4 people on-board. We booked the TCS Guest House in Gangtok on the way.Till Moregram i.e. the junction where SH60 merged with NH34, the road was not too bad. But after that nightmare started. I have never see a worse NH34 in my life, though it is famous for bad stretches quite frequently. I thanked my stars that I had not taken the Baleno as we would have to abandon the journey. It would have scraped its bottom on the lunar landscape. The road condition was so bad that Volvo bus services had stopped. We saw trucks and buses abandoned every now and then with broken axles, broken leafs etc.Our puny little Alto trudged ahead amidst the chaos. It took us 10 Hours to reach Malda from Bakreshwar, a distance of approx 200 Kilometers. It usually takes 4 to 5 hours! We had ample time in hour hand, so decided to stay at a hotel in Malda for the night.Woke up at 3 in the morning and started by 4 after quickly cleaning the car.Road condition was far better than what we had encountered the previous day. But after some time our pace got hindered by tremendous fog. My experience of driving in fog was not that much during those days and I was quite scared. Progress was very slow till a bus came from behind as a savior. I started following the bus and it maintained a good pace in-spite of the heavy fog. After following it for about 50 kilometers the fog became less. I got greedy and overtook the bus. But the good visibility lasted only a few kilometers and the fog came back with vengeance. At one point I was not able to see anything beyond the bonnet of the Alto and almost come to halt. Thankfully saw the 6 bright lights of Lokenath Travels bus in my rear view mirror. When the bus crossed me I realised that I was just meters away from hitting a pole! After that I did not leave the bus till Siliguri.The saviour!We refilled fuel at Siliguri and continued towards Gangtok.The beautiful Sevoke roadJust 64 Kms leftRafting on the River Teesta. The dam had not been built at that time.Since it was winter, there was an abundance of roadside shacks selling oranges and apples. My father in law can be called a connoisseur when it comes to fruits and vegetables. He was extremely happy seeing all those shacks and wanted to stop. I, on the other hand, don't like fruits and to stop as well!A visibly happy father-in-lawNot so happy son-in-lawWelcome to Sikkim board at last!We reached Gangtok late in the afternoon. The route to the TCS guesthouse was familiar as we had been there before. I was extremely happy to reach there after a grueling journey. We knew Ayub, the caretaker, and he was happy to see us back again. He is an excellent cook and we lost no time in ordering for dinner.It was bitter cold and I was well prepared!We had a visitor!Next day we went out for sight seeing in and around Gangtok.The famous Rumtek MonasteryYoung monks at RumtekIn the evening, Rajsri and her parents went for the cable car ride. I did not as I am scared of cable cars.Next morning was the same routine, wake up, relax, have late breakfast and go out for sightseeing. Though it was winter, the snow peaks were not clearly visible. There was a lot of haze.These were the best pics I could take of the peeping snow peaks!We went to the Gangtok Zoo, called the Himalayan Zoological Park, Bulbulay.The Alto parked in front of the gates of the zoo. This road was quite steep.A few pictures of the animalsThat evening, after returning to the guest house I fell seriously ill. I had been greedy in the afternoon and ate a lot of mutton Phalays from a road side shack. Those who dont know, Phalay is a Tibetan delicacy. It is like a fried momo filled minced vegetables and meat. I have had it many times before, but this time the quality of oil or the meat might have been bad. I was literally shaking with stomach pain and high fever. Rajri and my parents in law tried to cover me up with multiple duvets, but I was shivering like hell. Frankly speaking, that night I had thought I would die. I have never felt so sick before or after that in my life till date, touch-wood! Ayub came and said that I would need to be shifted to the hospital. But thankfully before that, Rajsri and her mother made a concoction of water and very high amount of salt that I gulped at one go. That horrible liquid induced vomiting and I felt much better after that.Next morning woke up a bit late and still felt a bit down with fever. But we had to start for Kolkata as my father-in-law had to attend office the next day due to an emergency.Said goodbye to Ayub, his wife and son Dehbit. They had been wonderful hosts. The return journey was terrible and it took more that 25 hours to reach Bakreshwar power plant. The condition of NH34 had deteriorated further in the past 4 days and I had a real tough time saving the underbelly of the Alto. It was a stressful journey back, but the memories of the sudden trip to the Himalayas will remain etched for a long time to come! Last edited by BlackPearl : 9th July 2018 at 04:22 .
A couple years ago, I took advantage of an antenna deal that seemed too good to be true: A brand Id never heard of, called 1byone, was selling flat-panel antennas with an advertised 35-mile range for $18. That was about half the price of what bigger brands like Mohu and Winegard were charging, and Amazons user reviews looked positive, so I took a gamble and ordered a pair.

My story has a happy ending. The two antennas have served me well for both personal use and product reviews, with no issues picking up all the free broadcast stations I care about. But since my purchase, even more no-name brands have emerged, advertising the same or greater mile ranges for even less than what I paid. Ive always wondered how these cheap flat-panel antennas really compare to the mainstream brands.

To find out, I asked antenna makers and other experts a simple question: Whats the difference between cheaper and pricier flat-panel antennas, given the same advertised mile range? Heres how they responded:

Signal quality

One refrain from the big antenna brands is that their products are better at reducing interference.

Antennas Direct CEO Richard Schneider says his company holds numerous patents on the design of its flat-panel antenna elements, which are designed to reject the out-of-band and off-axis signals that can cause interference.

Most of the flat panels on the market are sourced from a catalog in China and have little if any R&D behind them, Schneider said via email.

I heard a similar claim from Mohu spokeswoman Emma Brothers, who pointed to the companys coaxial cable shielding and a proven antenna pattern. Even our unamplified antennas, such as ReLeaf, continue to outperform competitors, including cheaper models with the same advertised range, Brothers said via email.

Those answers are obviously biased, but Nuvyyo CEO Grant Hall, who founded the company that behind the Tablo line of over-the-air DVRs, acknowledged that sticking with a name brand can yield some performance gains.

The materials used (like RG6 vs. RG59 coax) and engineering tolerances in more-expensive antennas, Hall said via email, should ensure a more consistent experience for those living further away from broadcast towers and for those with more advanced reception requirements. For example, quality antennas with built-in amplifiers will often also include filtering for LTE interference and other signal impediments.

Pricier antennas might have benefits that extend beyond performance, such as longer and more flexible coaxial cables that you can run discretely from your TV to a nearby window. (That said, the aforementioned 1yone antenna I ordered came with a 20-foot cable thats slim and flexible.) Big brands such as Mohu, Winegard, and Antennas Direct also provide domestic tech support by phone, so you can talk to a real person for advice on your antenna setup.

1byone A lengthy, flexible coaxial cable might not affect performance, but it can make setup easier.

Truth in advertising

Established brands are also more likely to be honest about the capabilities of their products.

Schneider, for instance, bemoaned many vendors mile-range claims as snake oil, noting that there are no independent agencies to ensure that vendors arent exaggerating based on ideal conditions. This isnt just true of flat-panel antennas, but of attic and outdoor antennas as well. Some vendors, for example, claim that their outdoor antennas can get a signal from 150 miles away, more than twice what major vendors like Winegard advertise for their most powerful antennas.

Take all the range claims with a huge grain of salt, Schneider said via email.

Range isnt the only way unscrupulous vendors try to mislead cord-cutters. Ive found companies that advertise ESPN and Fox Business in their marketing materials, when both require a pay-TV subscription. Other vendors advertise 4K video, which only a small number of markets have started testing as part of the ATSC 3.0 standard. (This standard will itself require new tuners, which arent even on the consumer market yet.)

Hotcat You cant get ESPN over-the-air, but thats not stopping some vendors from suggesting otherwise.

Weve found that quality antenna manufacturers tend to avoid some of the more dubious marketing claims that weve seen on some of the cheaper knock-offs, Nuvyyos Grant Hall says.

How much does it matter?

Knowing all that, why was I able to achieve such success with my off-brand antenna? The reality is that even a cheap model from an unknown vendor can serve you well under the right conditions and with the proper placement. If you live close to broadcast towers and dont have any major sources of interference in the way, you might even be able to get by with just a paper clip and a coathanger. (The website TVFool has an excellent tool for looking up nearby channels based on your location, and my colleague Martyn Williams has written an in-depth guide on interpreting the results.)

On the other end of the spectrum (oh yes, pun intended), you might need more than just a basic flat panel antenna to deal with troublesome reception, regardless of mileage claims. Additional tools such as an amplifier, attenuator, or an LTE filter can help you get a strong, clean signal. Channel Master even offers an antenna that can cycle through different virtual antenna patterns to find the best reception. And if all that fails, youll likely have to brave the elements with an outdoor antenna.

Ultimately, the only way to know for sure what you need is to start trying things out yourself, which is why Nuvyyo recommends that cord-cutters buy a few antennas at various price ranges, and keep the one that works best. (To that end, Amazon offers a 30-day return policy on all products.)

There is no right antenna for everyone, Hall says, and no minimum price point we think people should spend.

In other words, while my gamble on a cheap flat-panel antenna paid off, that necessarily doesnt mean yours will too.

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Why it matters: Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appeared before Congress on Wednesday to discuss what was being done at the company to curb foreign electoral interference on the platform. In his opening statement, Dorsey brought up the recent allegations by the president and others that Twitter was shadow banning prominent conservative figures including some members of Congress.

Dorsey confirmed that hundreds of thousands of accounts had been "filtered," but claims that it was the result of a software error and not intentional.

We build our policies and rules with a principle of impartiality: objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another for improper reasons, said Dorsey in his opening statement in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee today. In the spirit of accountability and transparency: recently we failed our intended impartiality. Our algorithms were unfairly filtering 600,000 accounts, including some members of Congress, from our search auto-complete and latest results. We fixed it.

The Twitter boss went on to explain that the filtering occurred due to an algorithm that looks at how followers of the shadow banned accounts behaved on the platform. In other words, if followers of Trey Gowdy (only an example) showed a tendency to be trolls, Gowdy's tweets would be filtered by the algorithm. Of course, this is an unfair measure enforced upon the account holder who has no control over how his or her followers behave.

Dorsey even admitted that this was not a fair way to assess accounts and assured lawmakers that the issue was resolved.

He also stressed that Twitter is continually trying to improve the AI that it uses so that it performs in an impartial manner. However, accidental bias sometimes arises in the algorithms depending on what data it is fed. Dorsey claims this is a frequent issue with artificial intelligence.

He also claimed Twitter as a platform held no bias toward one sect of government or the other. Physical analysis of the data seemed to back up this assertion.

Looking at the data, we analyzed tweets sent by all members of the House and Senate, and found no statistically significant difference between the number of times a tweet by a Democrat is viewed versus a Republican, even after our ranking and filtering of tweets has been applied, said the CEO.

While Congress remained respectful of Dorseys opening monologue, many on Twitter were unconvinced of his sincerity.

Honesty can be conveyed in one sentence, lies need 14 tweets!  Space Force (@spaceforcein) September 5, 2018

@jack can we look at the data? Usually when folks refuse to source their data/claims, it raises red flags. Even 8th graders have to show their work in math class...  Cam Hauseman (@CamHauseman) September 5, 2018

What is your criteria for statistical significance? I dont buy this, no one who was shadow-banned for months, or years will either.



No one can see the data, so saying this is your word vs. our experience.



Not buying it.  Mansplain (@MansplainHonest) September 5, 2018

Despite the denials of bias and the excuses of algorithms, it is not likely that this issue will die any time soon. Twitter has a long history of bias accusations behind it, and that is not going to just disappear. It is also worth mention that the outright banning of gay conservative Milo Yiannopoulos was based on the same criteria that the supposedly faulty algorithm used.
Why it matters: Discourse over suppression of free speech on social media is under review by the Justice Department. Findings may spark ideas for new legislation to regulate social media firms to verify that freedom of speech is being upheld.

Users of social media are now realizing that their personal information is widely available, but the latest concerns are now over whether all viewpoints are being fairly treated by platform owners. The Department of Justice has called a meeting for September 25 to help determine whether social media sites are "intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms."

Ultimately, President Trump is responsible for this call to action against social media firms. Complaints about Twitter for shadow banning hundreds of thousands of users and alleging that conservative views are less visible has brought about a formal investigation. Social media companies are adamant that no such bias exists.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently testified before the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the issue of bias. Dorsey admitted that some algorithms did cause lower prominence of certain individuals, but that the mistake has been remedied.

Hearings on Wednesday featured social media personalities that have been banned or suspended from social media platforms. Alex Jones and Laura Loomer were both in attendance, although Loomer was escorted out for shouting at Dorsey and refusing to stop interrupting discussions.

Stock prices of Facebook and Twitter both dipped following the hearings. Investors may be fearful of new regulations being passed that would require greater transparency of how social media platforms operate.

Even though there are partisan viewpoints casting shadows, American citizens of all political backgrounds mostly agree that social media sites are likely suppressing the free exchange of ideas. Survey results do not indicate whether a particular viewpoint is being hidden, only that respondents believed at least one ideology is less visible as a result of platform censorship.
Recap: Regulators in the European Union have given the go-ahead to Apples acquisition of London-based music recognition firm Shazam. The deal is expected to give Cupertino a boost against its rival in the music-streaming industry Spotify.

Apple first announced the acquisition of Shazam back in December of last year, but hints at a partnership go back all the way to 2014. Although no official figures were revealed, the buyout is said to be valued at around $400 million.

The merger was thought to be in the bag, but in February 2018 the EUs antitrust commission began reviewing the deal. By April, the inquiry had expanded into a full-blown investigation. The fear was that the pick-up would have a significant adverse effect on competition in the European Economic Area.

Data is key in the digital economy," said Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager in a written statement on Thursday. "We must therefore carefully review transactions which lead to the acquisition of important sets of data, including potentially commercially sensitive ones, to ensure they do not restrict competition. After thoroughly analyzing Shazams user and music data, we found that their acquisition by Apple would not reduce competition in the digital music streaming market.

Access to Shazam's data would not materially increase Apple's ability to target music enthusiasts and any conduct aimed at making customers switch would only have a negligible impact.

The commissions probe concluded that Apple can go ahead with the purchase. According to the commissions press release, the investigation showed something that most of us already knew  that Apple and Shazam are not in competition with one another. Instead, they provide complementary services. More importantly, the inquiry found no evidence that the acquisition would give the iPhone maker a competitive advantage.

In its review, the commission considered whether the buyout would a) give Apple access to commercially sensitive data on its competitions customers, and b) harm competitors if Apple were to discontinue referrals from Shazam to them. The commission concluded that these considerations were of little consequence to Cupertinos streaming music competition  namely Spotify.

Access to Shazam's data would not materially increase Apple's ability to target music enthusiasts and any conduct aimed at making customers switch would only have a negligible impact. As a result, competing providers of digital music streaming services would not be shut out of the market. The [Shazam] app has a limited importance as an entry point to the music streaming services of Apple Music's competitors. The integration of Shazam's and Apple's datasets on user data would not confer a unique advantage to the merged entity in the markets on which it operates. Any concerns in that respect were dismissed because Shazam's data is not unique and Apple's competitors would still have the opportunity to access and use similar databases.

For these reasons, the regulators could not disallow the acquisition. Details on the buyout price and when completion of the merger will take effect have yet to be revealed.
Summer is coming to an end and fall is right around the corner. This means the flu season, characterized by coughing and runny or stuffy nose, is about to begin.

However, while influenza and similar viruses thrive in cold weather, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised the public to begin preparation as early as now. As they say, prevention is better than cure.

Here are the three steps to fight the flu, according to CDC.

Get Vaccinated

The first thing that anyone should do to prevent getting infected is to get vaccinated. The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that all children and adults, except those who have other medical conditions, to get their flu shot.

Health workers, pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart, and lung diseases are at high risk of severe flu illness.

Babies younger than 6 months are exempted because they are too young for the vaccine. People around them should get vaccinated instead to protect the children from getting the flu.

Public health officials advise the public to get vaccinated by the end of October or before flu season hits their community. People should get vaccinated every year.

"The sooner you get the vaccine the quicker your body develops immunity at least protection against it, so the sooner you get it the better," stated Jason Bryant, medical director at Premier Urgent Care.

The CDC has also listed back nasal spray vaccine this year as a preventive measure for people who are afraid of needles and have not been vaccinated. Flu shots will be available at all pharmacy chains for $20 to $70 starting this month.

Do Not Spread Germs

The second step is to help stop the spread of the virus by limiting physical contact with people who are not infected by the flu. If sick, it is best that the patient stays at home to recuperate. The CDC recommends patients to be isolated inside their homes for up to 24 hours after the fever has subsided.

Using tissues, washing hands, and disinfecting items and surfaces are also necessary steps to help prevent spreading the illness. The CDC has issued a pamphlet detailing preventive steps to fight the flu.

Take Antiviral Drugs As Prescribed

Most symptoms of the flu disappear without the need for antibiotics. However, antiviral drugs can make help patients recover faster. According to previous studies, antiviral drugs work best two days after contracting the flu but taking them a few days after can still make a world of difference.

The flu season in the United States occurs during fall and winter. The number of people infected peaks from December to March when the weather is cold and the virus thrives. Between 2017 and 2018, a total of 30,453 lab-confirmed influenza hospitalizations was recorded across the country.

Symptoms of flu include coughing, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, fever, chills, headaches, diarrhea, and fatigue.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In June, it was announced that Australias electric highway has been rolled out. This highway, a three-year project which involved installing charging points for electric vehicles in every populated region of the country, is part of a voluntary initiative run by the Tesla Owners Club of Australia (TOCA) which splits the costs of installation with the Australian Electric Vehicle Association. With more than 10,000km of power gaps just a few ago, today this electric highway spans an over 17,000km. This means that motorists can drive their vehicles anywhere in the country without having to rely on gas or diesel.

In sync with Teslas announcement, the Netherlands added Tesla Powerpacks to 20 of its universal charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) helping cars run on sunlight-generated energy while balancing the electric grid while allowing non-Tesla electric cars to charge as well. With 200 solar panels providing clean energy, this system ensures that the energy sourced is stored at night through a 400kW/800kWh Powerpack system. This means that sunlight can potentially charge all EVs even at night as supercharging is set to be expanded throughout Europe. This latest station marks the tenth anniversary of Smart Solar Charging which has resulted in the creation of numerous EV charging stations and the installation of 6,000 solar panels.



In cooperation with Tesla, Renault has supplied a fleet of 150 Renault ZOE electric vehicles. Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, also plans to coincide the accelerated deployment of these solar array with the introduction of the new Supercharger V3, due to be released later this summer. Tesla has confirmed that it will add solar arrays and Powerpacks to its already existing grid-based charging stations even if this is thus far confined to a few stations. The expectation is that we should prepare for more solar arrays to be thoughtfully installed in urban centers and highways in order to avoid the creation of carbon emissions typical of power plants.

In the U.K., electric vehicles face many more challenges because sunlight is not nearly as abundant as in Australia. In this way, charging EVs can be challenging even in the daylight hours. So the thought of solar array charging stations is not yet a priority in the country. A related disagreement is whether or not Britain has enough charging points for the eventual boom in the EV market. One perspective is that the country is woefully undersupplied with charging points as only 3 per cent of supermarkets have charging points. And the rapid chargers which can fill 85 per cent of an EV battery in 30 minutes are even less common.

On the other side of this argument, a report last year from Transport & Environment states that there are only 20 EVs on sale in Europe as compared to 417 conventional petrol and diesel vehicles, a fact which has slowed down the EV market uptake. This study shows that there are more than enough charging points in Britain (six cars per charging point), with the current EU recommendation being 10 cars per charging point. The conclusion of this report is that the infrastructure for charging EVs is more than adequate while locating the problem with the EV manufacturers which are dragging their feet in creating more models.

Yet Britain is precisely where Australia was just three years ago in creating its charging infrastructure. The latest estimate is that the entirety of Britain needs 100,000 EV charging points by 2020 and there are companies desperate to be stakeholders in this burgeoning industry such as Swedish energy giant Vattenfall, which has moved quickly into the British EV market.

By creating charging points around the country so that EV drivers will have access to charge their vehicles at work and in public spaces, Vattenfall is breaking with the British trend where drivers must currently charge their vehicles within specific networks where they are a member and have paid a subscription.

There are various EV manufacturers in Britain which are offering viable alternatives to the pricey Tesla which starts at 62,000 and the Jaguar, which come out ust under 60,000. Manufacturers like Nissan, Ford and Bradshaw (for industrial EVs) are hitting the ground running and are pushing the British EV market forward. But the transfer to EVs is not rising in proportion to the ecological urgency at hand, nor is it offering consumers the choices they seek.

Still there are areas of improvement needed in the development of more charging points in the country, especially Wales and Devon where the distance to the nearest charging point is anywhere between 12 and 45 miles respectively. That said, the British government is offering up to 4,500 off zero-emissions cars through its Plug In Car Grant, making the higher purchase price and showroom costs much more bearable for the consumer. Since the beginning of 2011, more than 144,000 EVs have qualified for this grant but there isnt the broad range of choices of purely electric vehicles.

Given that Britain is considering banning all non-electric cars by 2040, we need to start turning our sights towards EVs while encouraging the creation of solar charging stations that will not put pressure on the electric grid as people transition from fossil fuel vehicles towards renewable sources like solar, wind and hydropower.

Edited by Maurice Nagle
Taissa Farmiga plays a novitiate sent to a creepy, remote Romanian abbey to investigate the suicide of a young woman in 'The Nun.' Watch out for the shadows.
CONVENT  It had been three days since 12-year-old Talaija Dorsey was reported missing on the morning of July 1, 2014.

Family, friends and law enforcement had been searching for the St. James Parish girl and seeking the public's help to learn the whereabouts of a white car owned by John D. Celestine Jr., the then-live-in fiance of Talaijas mom.

At the time, Celestine, 47, was already being held on counts of obstruction of justice and false communications in Talaijas disappearance. Authorities suggested publicly that a chance still existed that the youngster from northwestern St. James Parish would soon be able to celebrate the Fourth of July and return to summer camp.

We still have a hope well find her alive, Sheriff Willy Martin Jr. said in an interview on the Fourth that year.

+7 Man arrested in case of missing St. James girl ST. JAMES  Authorities have made an arrest in the disappearance of a 12-year-old, booking the fiance of the girls mother on obstruction of j

Court papers now reveal that while authorities and the community were looking for Talaija, sheriffs deputies and an FBI agent conducted an extended 4-hour interrogation of Celestine the evening of July 2. He had been arrested and invoked his Miranda rights to remain silent and have an attorney present.

Judge Alvin Turner Jr., of the 23rd Judicial District Court, is being asked to decide if prosecutors can use those post-arrest statements at Celestines first-degree murder trial set for Oct. 15, four years after Talaija's death.

Prosecutors in St. James Parish are arguing that a California-based exception to the Supreme Courts Miranda rules when a childs life may hang in the balance, known as the rescue doctrine, should apply in this instance. Defense attorneys counter the doctrine isnt recognized in Louisiana, thus the interview should be kept out of trial.

The statements were involuntary, coerced and obtained in violation of his right to counsel, defense attorney Susan Jones wrote in a motion.

Jones and prosecutors declined comment on the motion to suppress, citing policies on pre-trial publicity. Co-defense attorney Blaine Hebert did not return a message and email for comment by Wednesday.

Two days after the sheriffs July 4 comments were made, the sheriff himself found Talaijas body at the edge of a cane field off La. 3127 in west St. James. Celestine wasnt booked on the first-degree murder count until several days later.

Tyler Cavalier, spokesman for District Attorney Ricky Babin, said prosecutors have not decided if they will seek the death penalty against Celestine. The slaying of someone younger than 13 is an aggravating factor needed for a first-degree murder charge in Louisiana.

Before Celestines initial arrest on the obstruction count, he had spoken with investigators for several hours and made a potentially damaging statement at his home on July 1. One of Talaijas flip-flops was found in the trunk of Celestine's white Chrysler Concorde as he stood with family and authorities.

Celestine said, It didnt go down like that, and was immediately handcuffed and arrested and became a suspect in Talaija's death. Turner has already ruled those statements will be admitted at trial.

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Once Celestine was in custody, deputies read him his Miranda rights in the early hours of July 2. He requested a lawyer, court papers say.

Almost 19 hours later, on the evening of July 2, Sheriffs Detective Julie Scioneaux woke up Celestine, who was lying down in an interrogation room, court papers say.

She told him that, based on the advice of the District Attorneys Office, law enforcement officers could talk to him without a lawyer, whether youre requesting one or not, a defense motion says, citing transcripts and a video recording.

During the interrogation, with his feet shackled, Celestine requested at least nine times to leave, end the interrogation or told investigators he did not wish to speak to them, defense attorneys said.

OK, well, fine then, Celestine told investigators at one point, Then I aint going to answer you. I dont got to answer you, right?

Despite those requests, investigators pressured him to tell them what happened to Talaija and appealed to his sense of fatherhood, defense attorneys argued.

Alive or dead, you got to help me find this girl, OK. Its OK. Alive or dead, you got to help me, the FBI agent is quoted as saying by defense attorneys.

The U.S. Supreme Courts Miranda precedent, which led to the now familiar warning seen in every police drama on television, is aimed at ensuring defendants understand they have a right to legal counsel and they dont have to incriminate themselves.

In the mid-1980s, the Supreme Court created an exception to Miranda for public safety, allowing statements at trial that police get from defendants in emergency situations, even though the defendants never received a Miranda warning.

The California courts, prosecutors say, have extended a similar exception to Miranda  the rescue doctrine  when authorities are trying to find missing children and seek information from defendants, even after they received a Miranda warning.

That doctrine, which has not been applied by the Supreme Court nationwide, arose from a series of cases, including the infamous Polly Klaas slaying in 1993, prosecutors said. Prosecutors in St. James say the doctrine is analogous to the public safety exception long recognized by the Supreme Court.

Here, Talaija Dorsey had been missing for over twenty-four hours. The investigators believed that the situation was urgent, and that (they) had no other course of action except to speak to John Celestine regarding her whereabouts, prosecutors wrote.

Defense attorneys counter that the rescue doctrine has never been adopted in Louisiana or the federal courts and, even if it had been, Celestines statements were not voluntary and the extensive questioning was too broad to fit under the Miranda exemption.

Turner had not ruled on the motion as of Wednesday.
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In May, Crains Chicago Business reported that deal was rejected by Marc and its investment partner, the Wolcott Group, when the buyers said they discovered the need for costly repairs during the due diligence period. Marc lowered the offer to $89 million. After the price was revised yet again, the homeowners approved the sale, with 78 percent of the owners voting in favor, Elmore said.
A juvenile who escaped from custody in Baton Rouge more than a month ago was located Thursday several hundred miles away in Atlanta.

Darreon Wilson, 16, escaped from the Baton Rouge Juvenile Detention Center on July 23 and authorities spent the next several weeks searching for him.

The Louisiana State Police Fugitive Task Force worked with the Atlanta Police Department to locate and arrest Wilson, who is now being detained in Georgia awaiting extradition to Baton Rouge, State Police spokesman Senior Trooper Bryan Lee said in a news release Thursday.

Wilson was originally being held on various counts, including possession with intent to distribute narcotics, illegal carrying of weapons and possession of stolen property. He escaped by scaling one fence and squeezing under a second fence outside the detention center, according to police reports.

Local authorities arrested at least three people in the weeks following Wilson's escape, accusing them of communicating with Wilson and not alerting authorities of his whereabouts.

+3 Two arrested in ongoing search for juvenile who escaped from Baton Rouge detention center A ongoing search for a juvenile offender led to the arrests of two people accused of helping him after he escaped last week from the Juvenile 
Just weeks after announcing a new policy aimed at increasing transparency, the Baton Rouge Police Department on Wednesday released dash camera footage from a chase last month that ended in a fatal crash involving the fleeing car and a marked police unit.

The footage is from two separate dash cams  one from the police vehicle directly behind the fleeing car and another from the police vehicle involved in the crash, showing several minutes of an officer driving at high speeds before smashing into a silver sedan as both vehicles enter an intersection at the same time. That camera stops recording immediately following the initial impact of the crash.

Can't see video below? Click here.

Department spokesman Sgt. L'Jean McKneely Jr. said the officer involved is Steven Whatley, who has been with the department for seven years and works in the uniform patrol division. Whatley was placed on paid administrative leave immediately after the incident but has since returned to his normal duties.

The driver of the fleeing vehicle ran a stop sign entering the intersection, according to police. The video shows the officer had virtually no time to avoid the crash.

An internal affairs investigation is ongoing, but the officer is not under criminal investigation, McKneely said. He added that Whatley was not pursuing the fleeing car but was attempting to get ahead and lay down spike strips when the crash occurred at the intersection of Evangeline Street and Maple Drive.

Police Chief Murphy Paul released the video of his own accord, not in response to a public records request from The Advocate.

Department leaders recently announced a new policy that states the chief will decide whether to release body and dash cam video within 12 days of a critical incident involving an officer. That decision remains under the chief's discretion.

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+5 BRPD adopts new policy for faster release of video footage from officer-involved shootings, chief says A year after the rollout of body cameras for all Baton Rouge police officers, the department has adopted a new policy for the faster release o

The crash footage was made public Wednesday in conjunction with two other videos from a separate recent incident in which an officer is accused of shooting at a suspect who fled a traffic stop.

The fatal crash involved three men police believed were driving a stolen car, having threatened its owner at gunpoint and taken his vehicle and cellphone about 30 minutes earlier, according to arrest reports. Police located the stolen car not long after its owner reported the robbery, still within blocks of the initial offense. Officers tried to pull over the car, and that's when the chase began.

One of the men inside the stolen car was killed in the crash and the other two were arrested. Nicholas Paul, 19, was driving the stolen 2005 Honda Accord. He ran a stop sign on Maple Drive and the Accord was struck by the officer driving west on Evangeline Street. Jerrold Sherbin, 17, was sitting in the rear passenger seat and died on the scene.

Paul was arrested on several counts, including negligent homicide and armed robbery. Shabastin Paul, 28, was riding in the front passenger seat and was later arrested on armed robbery.

Both Nicholas Paul and Shabastin Paul, relationship unknown, were hospitalized with moderate injuries. The officer also was hospitalized with minor injuries but was released later the same day.

McKneely said officers recovered two guns from the stolen vehicle.

The dash cam video from Whatley's vehicle includes voices over the radio  narrating the path of the pursued car  and what seems to be Whatley's own voice, though McKneely said the officer was alone in his unit during the chase.

Several other police units are also involved in the chase and seen in the video footage, one of which passes through the intersection ahead of Whatley just seconds before the crash.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board is holding a special meeting Thursday to select a new vice president to replace Connie Bernard, who gave up the appointment Friday, saying her husband was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

Bernard, however, will be keeping her District 8 seat on the board she first won at the polls in 2010. She's been returned to the seat without opposition for another four-year term starting in January.

As of Wednesday afternoon, in interviews with board members, only Kenyetta Nelson-Smith indicated she is interested in serving as vice president until January, when the new board will decide on its leaders for 2019.

Ive been contacted by a few board members about serving, said Nelson-Smith. I dont mind, sure, I will go ahead and do it.

Embattled EBR school board member Connie Bernard gives up VP post, citing husband's cancer diagnosis Embattled East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member Connie Bernard on Friday gave up her position as vice president of the panel, saying her

Nelson-Smith has sought unsuccessfully in years past to serve as either the boards president or vice president. She and other board members not supported by the local business community have been shut out of many leadership positions since a business-backed majority first took over in 2011, the same year Nelson-Smith joined the board.

If selected, Nelson-Smith, who is black, would return the board to its unofficial past practice of having at least one black member in its leadership. The board departed from that practice first in 2015 and then again this year; both Bernard and Board president David Tatman are white.

The other six board members said Wednesday they are not planning to seek the position.

Board member Evelyn Ware-Jackson, who served as vice president in 2016 and then as president in 2017 and is black, said shes interested but is deferring to Nelson-Smith, partly because shes busy with her own re-election, but also as a way of defusing tensions on the board.

I would like to see some unity on the board, she said. Wouldnt that be nice?

Board member Jill Dyason, who has spent 17 years on the board and never held a top leadership spot despite expressing interest, said she is staying out of this one.

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I will stay focused on key priorities during this time instead, Dyason said.

This time is the end of the board members' current four-year terms. Six of the nine incumbents are facing challengers in the Nov. 6 elections. Bernard, Tatman and Mark Bellue drew no challengers and consequently have been re-elected to new terms. When the new School Board takes office in January, another leadership fight is likely.

Meanwhile, there wont be a full house at Thursday's meeting. Board member Mike Gaudet said hes out of town and wont be attending. And Bernard may or may not be there, depending on how her husbands treatment goes. The meeting is scheduled 5 p.m. Thursday at the School Board Office, 1050 S. Foster Drive.

+3 Baton Rouge school board member apologizes for using profanity; DA looking into confrontation District Attorney Hillar Moore said Tuesday he is looking into a confrontation among an East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member and young 

Board members Nelson-Smith, Ware-Jackson and Dawn Collins said they have been expecting to have to select a new vice president since Aug. 10, when Bernard had a profanity-filled confrontation with several young people having a party down the street from her home  an incident caught on video. Sheriffs deputies issued her a misdemeanor citation for entering and remaining after being forbidden. Bernard soon after apologized but only for the foul language she used that night.

Those of us who are out there campaigning were getting bombarded with comments and questions as if the board could or should do something with her as regards to her service as vice president, Ware-Jackson said.

State law does not give school boards the power to expel their own members. The only action the board could take against Bernard was to strip her of her leadership position.

Collins said she and other members had talked about the possibility of pressing the issue, but Bernards resignation from the vice presidency made the matter moot. Another factor holding them back was they were aware of and sympathetic to the fact that Bernards husband, John, is suffering from cancer.

I think its hard in life to take the time to focus on ourselves, Collins said, and Im glad she did that.

Nelson-Smith said shes been talking to Bernard a lot lately because Nelsons-Smiths own mother survived four successive bouts with cancer, treated each time at M.D. Anderson Cancer Care Center in Houston. Thats also where Bernards husband is getting treated. Nelson-Smith said shes been offering Bernard what help she can.

Its really taken a toll on her, Nelson-Smith said.
Louisiana officials declared an emergency, called out the National Guard, shuttered schools and closed courthouses as Tropical Storm Gordon drew near, but the weather system bucked east and left the Pelican State unscathed.

Such false alarms are the cost of a robust emergency response system, scientists and government officials said Wednesday. Some worried residents could become desensitized to future alerts.

"People think they're getting over-warned," said meteorologist Frank Revitte of the National Weather Service's Slidell office, which issues forecasts for southeastern Louisiana.

Forecasts were much less refined decades ago. With the assistance of modern technology, the three-day outlook now is as accurate as the 24-hour forecast of 15 or 20 years ago, Revitte said.

That's shrunk the so-called "cone of uncertainty" that shows the possible range a storm system is likely to travel. It's a major improvement over a single line or a spaghetti model, said Kam-Biu Liu, chairman of LSU's Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences.

+3 Now Tropical Depression Gordon comes ashore in Mississippi, kills child in Pensacola Tropical Storm Gordon never became a hurricane but it was deadly all the same, killing a child by blowing a tree onto a mobile home as it made

But the cone forecasts issed by the National Hurricane Center still paint with a broad brush. On Sunday evening, forecasters predicted Gordon could make landfall anywhere on the Louisiana or Mississippi coast. Storms could also veer far from the cone, which is designed to predict the path of two-thirds of systems, Revitte said. Gordon made landfall late Tuesday just west of the Mississippi-Alabama state line, just inside the cone's projection.

There are just still a lot of vagaries that dictate how tropical storms move; the National Hurricane Center does a pretty good job predicting where they'll land, said Louisiana state climatologist Barry Keim.

In Gordon's case, the prediction prompted authorities to take steps like mobilizing some National Guardsmen  which has to be planned a few days in advance  even though the system eventually swung east.

"The threat was real" at the time the Louisiana officials had to start disaster-mode activities, said Mike Steele, spokesman for the state's emergency preparedness office.

Decisions like school closures are made locally, but no superintendent wants to answer to families if a single bus full of children slides off the road, and the composition of Louisiana's coast means that hurricanes have greater impact farther inland than elsewhere in the country, Steele said.

"(Hurricane) Katrina was such a game-changer. You just don't take a chance," Steele said.

University of Washington psychology professor Susan Joslyn co-authored a 2015 paper titled "The Cry Wolf Effect and Weather-Related Decision Making" in which she examined how people think about risk analysis and extreme weather. For events like hurricanes, even experts don't know exactly what is going to happen, so they err on the side of caution, she explained in an interview.

"The costs are so great ... in terms of human life that there are more false alarms than misses," Joslyn said. "False alarms are part of it. There are always going to be false alarms."

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After the 2016 flood, people around Baton Rouge were very sensitive to any kind of major rainfall, said WBRZ meteorologist Josh Eachus.

"I worry that people are becoming more and more desensitized since then," he said. "People will only tolerate so many false alarms before they stop paying attention."

Joslyn's research found that there is one factor that determines whether people trust forecasts.

She asked participants to decide whether a hypothetical town should spray salt on its roads to prevent drivers from crashing should temperatures dip below freezing. In one test, subjects were just given the projected overnight low temperature and advice on whether to spray salt. In the other, they were also given the probability that the mercury would dip below freezing.

Participants who were given the probability reported more faith in subsequent forecasts and made better decisions, Joslyn said. Even if it wasn't a given that the roads would freeze, the people who were shown the probability were more likely to listen to the "expert" opinion because the stakes were so high, just as someone who "only" has a 30 percent chance of being in the path of a hurricane might be expected to evacuate, she continued.

The psychologist declined to comment whether meteorologists in the real world are adequately conveying those shades of gray.

That's what the cone of uncertainty is meant to do.

Keim, the state climatologist, isn't sure scientists are getting the message across.

"We really don't know how well people understand all that," he said.

He's begun working with communications professionals to gauge how weather-literate the public is. Keim described his dilemma  giving all the ins and outs of a tropical storm forecast takes time, detail and explanation simple enough for lay folks to understand.

"There just isn't room or time to convey all the information. ... It's a daunting task," he said.

Instead, based on a relatively small but telling survey, Louisiana residents now report that phone apps are their preferred way to stay up to date on weather, surpassing TV reports that were most popular a decade ago, said Eachus, the WBRZ meteorologist.

He worries that even, if run by a local news outlet, the medium of a phone app usually just provides a short blurb. Each storm is unique and changeable, and a lengthier write-up could give a more thorough explanation of the conditions and possible outcomes, he continued.
An attorney who recently settled a case with the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans says the church put its own reputation ahead of the needs
Theres been lots of chatter, some of it from me, about how the new New Orleans City Council is maneuvering to assert its own power and independence from the mayor who was elected, from council ranks, on the same ballot.

And indeed, weve seen this on a number of fronts. Council members have moved to more aggressively oversee the Sewerage & Water Board, which Mayor LaToya Cantrell effectively controls. Theyve asked tough questions over the cost of her plans to remove some or all traffic cameras. Theyve reopened debate over one of the citys most divisive issues, the spread of short-term rentals.

A measure the council is expected to consider at its Thursday goes beyond all that.

2 New Orleans council members propose tax increase, but this key leader not on board At least two members of the New Orleans City Council are looking to put a tax increase on the ballot next year to boost the funding of the New

Two council members, President Jason Williams and Budget Committee Chairman Jared Brossett, are proposing to take the first step toward putting a millage on the spring ballot for the Council on Aging, which operates senior centers and runs the Meals on Wheels program.

Cantrell is skeptical of the idea. While she supports bolstering these services, her spokesman argued that any increase should come through the normal budget process.

This would be new territory, a millage proposal coming from the council without consultation, let alone support, of the mayor  in this case, one who hasnt yet submitted her first budget to the council.

Details scarce as officials question Cantrell's promise to nix New Orleans traffic cameras With budget season looming, Mayor LaToya Cantrells administration has not decided whether it will make any changes to New Orleans traffic ca

And its worth noting that this isnt some initiative from any of the five newly elected council members who might not know just how big a break from precedent this would be. It comes from the two who served alongside Cantrell.

Whether or not the full council votes to explore the millage idea, that alone makes this proposal yet another front in whats shaping up as a real battle over which branch of government is calling the shots.
At least two members of the New Orleans City Council are looking to put a tax increase on the ballot next year to boost the funding of the New Orleans Council on Aging.

However, the two-mill property tax, proposed by Councilmen Jason Williams and Jared Brossett, faces opposition from Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Cantrell has argued that the city should try to free up taxes that are now dedicated to specific purposes or agencies in order to allow officials to decide where to spend money.

It's not clear where the rest of the council members stand on the measure.

The Council on Aging, which operates senior citizen centers and provides services such as Meals on Wheels to the elderly, is now funded through a mix of state and local revenue, with New Orleans share coming out of the city's general fund.

The state funding for similar agencies across Louisiana has been in decline in recent years, and proposals to cut the citys portion have led to an outcry from many elderly residents.

Williams said that setting up a guaranteed stream of revenue for those services would put New Orleans in line with the states other parishes, which he said fund their Councils on Aging through dedicated taxes. And he argued that the extra money is needed to provide important services to the citys 70,000 senior citizens.

As of August 2018 there were approximately 1,200 seniors on a waiting list for Meals on Wheels, Williams said. Some (senior) centers are overcrowded or in really, really poor condition. At the end of the day, all of us  if were blessed  will live long enough to have similar needs.

If approved, the tax would add about $35 to the taxes paid each year on a $250,000 home with a homestead exemption.

It would bring in about $6 million a year, based on the current valuation of property in New Orleans. The agency has gotten less than $1 million a year from the city in recent years.

The council is expected to vote Thursday on the first procedural step needed to get the measure on the March ballot.

If it eventually passes the council and gets the approval of the voters, the tax would go into effect in 2020.

But getting that far could be difficult. Its unusual for the idea for a new tax to come from the council, rather than the administration, and even rarer for such a major change to happen over objections by the mayor.

Cantrell spokesman Beau Tidwell said Wednesday that the mayor was only notified of the plan on Friday and has not had a chance to discuss it with Williams.

But creating a new tax dedicated to a specific purpose would conflict with Cantrells belief that true equity demands a wholesale restructuring of how (tax) money is dedicated and how it can be reallocated to improve the quality of life for all of our people, including seniors, Tidwell said.

He said the mayor commends" Williams call for additional resources for seniors and "supports looking for innovative ways to allocate additional funding for senior services within the 2019 budget, rather than increasing taxes at this time.

Williams argued that similar efforts to find more revenue for the Council on Aging in the city budget have been made repeatedly and have not yielded any results.

Every year I can remember being on the council, every year I can remember as a citizen watching the budget process, there has always been a discussion about the need to step up, and we havent done it yet, he said.

Having this on the ballot, rather than some larger general fund allocation, allows the citizens of New Orleans to step up and decide if they want to help our senior citizens, Williams said.
The resources London & Partners provides could prove vital for startups looking to go to London, said Sarit Markovich, a clinical associate professor in the strategy department at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management. Many large firms fail when they try to expand internationally, and its a risky move for smaller companies. Markovich said the risk is reduced when startups and technology companies get plugged in with the right mentors and communities in their new city  be it Chicago or London.
Judy Reese Morse, a top official in former Mayor Mitch Landrieus administration with a long history in politics and the nonprofit sector, will assume the helm of the Urban League of Louisiana later this month.

The social service and advocacy group said Thursday that Morse will become its president and CEO, effective Sept. 17.

Morse takes over from Erika McConduit, who announced her departure after five years in March.

McConduit said board members chose her successor after a national search.

She has the communications background, shes a phenomenal fundraiser, has strong relationships, and I think shes the perfect person to take the organization into its next phase as a statewide entity, McConduit said of Morse.

Morse worked closely with Landrieu for many years. She was his final chief administrative officer, serving from December until the inauguration of LaToya Cantrell as mayor in May. She previously served as a deputy mayor, the leader of his mayoral transition office, and his chief of staff during his years as lieutenant governor.

Before that Morse worked on Capitol Hill, in the federal government, in communications for National Public Radio and as a producer for WWL-TV.

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McConduit said one of Morses key tasks will be to continue the expansion of the Urban League, which opened an office in Baton Rouge in 2016, to other cities in Louisiana.

She will bring her deep knowledge of statewide politics and relationships to make sure that we are very thoughtful about how we expand and where we expand, McConduit said.

The nonprofits services include a Head Start program, workforce and economic development programs for women and ex-offenders, as well as social justice advocacy and voter registration programs.

McConduit, who serves on the advisory board for The New Orleans Advocate, said she will consult for the Urban League in the immediate future to ease the transition. She is also starting her own consulting firm and taking on new jobs as the CEO of a new nonprofit called Belltower New Orleans and as the state director for the Education Trust, she said.

Reeses jump to the nonprofit world continues a trend for top Landrieu administration alumni.

Longtime CAO Andy Kopplin left City Hall to head the Greater New Orleans Foundation, which also boasts a former Landrieu communications director, Tyronne Walker, as a vice president.

Jeff Hebert, New Orleans' chief administrative officer after Kopplin and also its chief resilience officer, left city government to become vice president at the Water Institute of the Gulf.
And as we say on the jazzy bayou, Laissez les bons temps roles.

I don't know which bayou Brice Miller frequents  the quote is from his website  but next time he is calling for good times to roll there, he will attract fewer mystified stares if he sticks to English.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell just fired Miller as director of her Office of Cultural Economy.

A native who doesn't know that roll is rouler has certainly been sparing in attention to Louisiana's French heritage. So perhaps he has been practicing a kind of cultural economy, but not the kind he was hired to promote. But he was not canned because his French sucks. An office feud seems to have been his undoing.

Maybe saving mental effort by trotting out guide-book cliches qualifies as cultural economy. If so, Miller's got it covered. although Lord knows what makes a bayou jazzy. It can't be home to alligators with bebop scales.

But there is no need to guess, for the city's own website tells us all we need to know about the Office of Cultural Economy. Its role is to create opportunities and systems that enable true economic activity and growth for cultural economy stakeholders and the public.

If that's not clear enough, try this. The Office of Cultural Economy leverages the innovative and entrepreneurial nature of cultural economy development to achieve deeper outcomes across City projects and priorities.

It's impossible to attach any meaning to such dire jargon, but this mission sounds like a tall order. To make it happen might require nothing less than, say, a New Orleans-based jazz musician, performance artist, music/jazz educator, scholar, lecturer, and public humanities/cultural-scholarly engagement specialist, and overall inspiring human concerned with the greater good of all mankind.

Alas, such a paragon is no longer available, for it is Miller's assessment of himself. I am a highly diverse individual. I cannot be boxed in. My existence is a plethora of interest and extremely interdisciplinary. I approach everything I do by thinking outside the box, he adds with his unerring instinct for the cliche. And now he's thinking outside City Hall.

It is a fair bet that few taxpayers know the Office of Cultural Economy exists, and even fewer know what it does, given its somewhat wooly title. And anyone who has checked it out online will have been put off to find Miller congratulating himself for making the universe a better place by utilizing his wealth of far-reaching talents to bring more peace, love and soul.

Those talents did not enable Miller to last long at City Hall; Cantrell gave him his first government job when she took office in May. Among the other department heads appointed the same day was Ellen Lee, who took over Community and Economic Development and who apparently got into a shouting match with Miller last week. On Friday Miller was shown the door.

Cantrell, according to Miller, attributed his dismissal to personality issues. While we can only guess what Miller's personality issues might be, Cantrell evidently sided with Lee.

Personalities aside, the Office of Cultural Economy is former Mayor Mitch Landrieu's baby. He established it when he took office in 2010 as a continuation of his efforts in his previous capacity of lieutenant governor to quantify and grow jobs in Louisiana's culture, music, food, film and art industries, as he put it in a news release.

As mayor, Landrieu took to issuing annual reports on the importance of the cultural economy, which he figured accounted for 28,000 jobs, or 12.5 percent of the total, in New Orleans. Only tourism is bigger. By 2017, Landrieu was able to declare himself proud that our cultural economy serves as a model for the nation.

After he was fired, Miller too declared himself proud, citing the Office of Cultural Economy's role in Bayou Boogaloo, Essence and the Tricentennial visit of Spain's King and Queen to their former colony with the jazzy bayous.

Email James Gill at Gill1047@bellsouth.net.
The head of home sidings and fibreboard maker James Hardie, Louis Gries, will step down as chief executive of the company next year, to be replaced by Jack Truong.

Mr Truong's appointment will become effective toward the end of the firm's 2019 fiscal year, after which Mr Gries will leave the company.

Change of leaders: Jack Truong (right) wil take over from CEO Louis Gries (left) next year.

The change in leadership will end the more than 13 years tenure of Mr Gries at the helm of the fibreboard maker, which records a majority of its sales in North America. Mr Gries said his successor's appointment completes a process James Hardie started about four years ago, when he flagged his intention to retire at the age of 65. Mr Gries turns 65 in November.

James Hardie hired Mr Truong around 18 months ago. He currently runs James Hardie's Asia Pacific fibre cement business and its Europe building products business. Prior to this, he was the chief executive of Electrolux Appliances North America and spent 22 years at 3M.
Millennials have found another reason to resent cashed-up baby boomers: they're subsidising their health care.

Fed up with paying for insurance that mostly benefits older patients, young Australians are quitting private health cover in droves. For many of them, it's a no-brainer: premiums have soared as much as 70 per cent in the past eight years. The amount of insured people in their mid-to-late twenties alone has dropped 14 per cent in the past three years.

Fed up with paying for insurance that mostly benefits older patients, young Australians are quitting private health cover in droves.

Millennials are switching to public health care -- known as Medicare -- as the system prepares for an onslaught of retirees: around a fifth of Australians will be aged over 65 by 2040. With health costs continuing to rise amid stagnant wages growth, that leaves not only insurers exposed to funding pressures, but the economy as well. As health's burden on the budget grows, the government is hoping that its forecast return to surplus in 2020 won't be a one-off.

"If you've got an increasing proportion of the population reliant on Medicare, in particular younger people, then that obviously puts pressure on the funding," said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP Capital in Sydney. "That puts pressure on the budget deficit."
New York has lost its crown as home to the most ultra-rich people, beaten out by the rising tide of extreme wealth in Asia.

Hong Kong surpassed the Big Apple as the city with the highest population of people worth at least $US30 million ($42 million), according to a new report. The former British colony saw its number of ultra-wealthy increase 31 percent last year, to about 10,000, research firm Wealth-X found, higher than the nearly 9,000-strong population of the US's largest city. Tokyo came third, while Paris beat out London to take the European crown as Brexit weighed down the UK capital.

Hong Kong is the ultra rich capital of the world. Credit:Shutterstock

The number of ultra-rich worldwide rose 13 per cent last year, according to Wealth-X, totaling about 256,000 people with a combined assets of $US31.5 trillion. Asia saw the fastest growth, driven by mainland China and Hong Kong, the study's authors wrote. Reflecting the region's rise, its share of the global population of people with at least $US30 million rose to just over one-fourth, up from around 18 per cent a decade ago.

"Asia-Pacific is forecast to close the ultra-wealth gap with other regions over the next five years, but is expected to remain behind Europe, the Middle East and Africa in absolute terms," the report's authors wrote. The number of ultra-wealthy in Asia-Pacific is expected to rise at a compound rate of 8.3 percent a year, they said.
Ten years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers kicked off the global financial crisis, the financial system still isn't safe enough says International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde - and had a woman been in charge of the investment bank, the whole crisis may have been averted.

In a blog post about lessons learnt from the GFC and the challenges that lie ahead, Ms Lagarde says having more female leaders in finance would lead to more prudence, and less of the reckless decision-making that had provoked the crisis.

Diversity reduces the potential for groupthink, says IMF chief Christine Lagarde Credit:Darryl Dyck/Bloomberg

"Our own research bears this outa higher share of women on the boards of banks and financial supervision agencies is associated with greater stability, she wrote.

As I have said many times, if it had been Lehman Sisters rather than Lehman Brothers, the world might well look a lot different today.
Self-efficacy, self-esteem and good old Maslow and his hierarchy of needs, provided the popular momentum to turn the focus inward. However, at least in the 1970s, there were still big causes that united us beyond ourselves  such as the threat of nuclear holocaust and the battle of ideas between free market economics and communism.

Time was called on the beer ration, and then, by the 1970s, the rum ration dried up. Was it a coincidence that this occurred at the precise moment that the celebrated self became a fully fledged superstar? I think not.

There was probably not much time left over to ponder ones self, and ones needs. Those lucky enough to be serving in her Majestys Navy were far too busy enjoying their ration of a gallon of beer a day.

We are living in the century of the self. Throughout history people have been vaguely aware of their presence on the planet. Descartes for instance linked his own capacity for thought to his very existence. However, the outside world was clearly far more interesting to most people, with lots of infectious diseases to catch, wars to attend to, and earning enough to spend time quite literally making a crust.

In the background we had a bunch of European philosophers so far up their own selves that they doubted that anything else existed. The ultimate for the selfishly inclined  the belief there is nothing beyond oneself  or solipsism. It must have caused them tremendous difficulties on their tax returns, when their university salaries dropping into their accounts could only be a construction of their own thinking, therefore making them self-employed. They could get a fine for that from the imaginary tax office.

Technology got in on the act. Despite fancy cameras having self-timers for many years, anyone using this feature would have to go to beyond arms length to get into the focal range of the camera, it was all too hard, and then too expensive to get the pictures developed. Polaroid instant pictures changed that, but was still achingly expensive. Fast forward 20 years, and the selfie is ubiquitous.

One of the few changes in measured personality dimensions over the last 60 years has been an increase in narcissism.

Business more broadly jumped on the bandwagon, by encouraging customers to believe that your opinion matters. Survey companies rose up to measure our reactions to everything, and the ludicrous total quality management movement got so nuts that companies had survey teams measuring the reaction of employees to other survey teams.

Satisfying the self has become the most important goal. Ideas that do not accord with our own are dismissed as fake news, and the messengers mercilessly decried and diminished. The shift from the battle of the ideas to the battle of the selves. This can be seen in our politics  no longer a battle of ideology  just a battle for self-advancement covered by the equally self-focused fig leaf of saving ourselves at the next election.

The ultimate outcome of years of striving to satisfy the self is to become self-satisfied. It is an ugly look. Now wheres my beer ration!
Doctor Who's highly-anticipated new season finally has an air date, but there's a catch. The long-running sci-fi show will return to British television screens on October 7 signalling a move from the show's traditional BBC timeslot on Saturday evenings to Sunday. In Australia, Doctor Who is broadcast on the ABC and the show's new release schedule has thrown the their programming into a spin, given its Monday night schedule is jammed with shows such as Australian Story, Four Corners, Media Watch and Q&A. An ABC spokeswoman promised local fans they'd still be able to watch their favourite series immediately after it airs in the UK. However, a specific airtime hasn't been announced.

"Following the BBC UK's announcement of Doctor Who moving to Sunday nights, the series will be available on demand on ABC iview immediately following the UK's broadcast," she said. "The series will also air on Monday evenings on ABC. The move to Monday evenings will not impact our news and current affairs programming." Jodie Whittaker will play the 13th Doctor Who. Credit:BBC The 11th season of the reboot of Doctor Who will see Australians introduced to a female doctor for the first time, after British actress Jodie Whittaker was named the 13th incarnation of the famous character last year. The announcement stunned fans, given the role has been played by men for the last five decades.
In case you missed my earlier post - and 6.21am is early - here's what's making news this morning.

Experts have weighed in on what our public transport system could look like by 2050.

Following the tragic death of a worker yesterday the construction workers union has called for the crane company involved to stop operating.

Files obtained under FOI laws show a public servant submitted 29 fake sick leave certificates.

Top Trump aides are scrambling to deny they wrote the "resistance" article.
SpotHero also is eyeing new customers and plans to invest in acquiring them and retaining current users, Lawrence said. That could mean changes to the app that would allow users to more easily share it with friends, for example, he said.
Congratulations to 18-year-old Emily Patterson and everyone who contributed to the inaugural Canberra Hay Runners Ball and Auction, which was held last month.

Job well done - Emily Patterson was moved to do something for farmers after family friends left their farm. Credit:Karleen Minney

Emily tells us the event made "$45,000 with another large donation due at the end of the month'', all going to drought-stricken farmers through the organisation Aussie Helpers.

An admin worker with the Royal National Capital Agricultural Society, Emily was moved to act when family friends who had worked a farm in Yass for almost three decades who had to sell up.

A great effort for an obviously caring teenager.
Firefighters have freed a woman who was trapped after a two-vehicle crash that closed Pialligo Avenue in both directions.

An Emergency Services Agency spokeswoman said the crash happened near the Oaks Estate turn-off, about 12.30pm on Thursday.

The woman was taken to Canberra Hospital in a stable condition.

A man who was travelling in the other vehicle managed to get out by himself and was assessed at the scene before also being taken to Canberra Hospital.

Pialligo Avenue reopened when emergency services left the scene shortly before 3pm.
"I'm not going to hit ya. If you don't come here I'm going to bash you there."

Michael Wayne Clark, 32, said these words before chasing one man and striking another outside a Tuggeranong tattoo parlour in February.

The ACT Magistrates Court heard Clark  a senior Nomads bikie  had gone to the Monash tattoo parlour to see one of the victims about a disputed $5000 debt over a business transaction.

However, he became upset when the man refused to speak to him and lashed out.

Clark pleaded guilty before in court on Thursday to two counts of common assault.
A man has been charged after allegedly assaulting an elderly patient at an aged-care facility on Sydney's northern beaches.

Police allege the employee of the Bupa Aged Care Facility in Seaforth entered the patient's room a number of times between August 26 and August 29, and assaulted him.

Video footage allegedly shows the 82-year-old patient raising his arm to shield himself as the worker hits him with a shoe.

The worker can also be seen forcefully pulling at the patient to get him onto the bed. At one stage, the man allegedly pulls the patient's shirt off.
The cousin of convicted terrorist Talal Alameddine will plead guilty to drugs and firearms charges after he was allegedly caught driving in Sydney's eastern suburbs with a loaded gun in his underwear.

Ahmad Alameddine, 28, was in the passenger's seat of a Chrysler driven by his friend Dylan Salmond, 28, when it allegedly drove through a red light on the intersection of Ocean Street and New South Head Road at Edgecliff in Sydney's east in August.

Ahmad Alameddine was arrested in August. Credit:Facebook

Highway Patrol officers pulled the car over, and had "reasonable suspicion" to search the sedan and its two occupants, according to a police media release.

Police say Mr Alameddine became aggressive during the search and in the process of trying to subdue him they located a loaded Beretta pistol in his underwear.
Children living near a creek contaminated by toxic chemicals following last week's West Footscray factory fire have since suffered migraines, nose bleeds and sore throats, parents have told a community meeting.

Authorities conceded the business at the centre of last Thursday's 17-hour inferno, which caused thick black smoke to billow across the western suburbs, had not been on their radar for storing dangerous goods.

Emotions ran high at the community meeting at Footscray Town Hall on Thursday night, where residents spoke of ill-health and confusion around the risks to public safety throughout the week since the fire.

The fire in West Footscray last week. Credit:Channel 7

Parents living along Stony Creek told the meeting their children had been suffering all week from migraines and sore throats, while others reported bleeding noses and respiratory problems from toxic fumes associated with chemicals leaking into the creek, particularly around popular Cruickshank Park.
Emergency services are at the scene of a truck accident in Donvale. Credit:Nine News Melbourne

A woman has died after she was hit and dragged by a truck in Melbourne's east.

Police and paramedics were called to Wattamolla Ridge in Donvale on Thursday at 7.20am.

The woman was about to unload the truck with another man when the accident occurred, police said.

"A truck, which had the excavator on an attached trailer, began moving and the yet-to-be-identified woman was dragged by the truck and sustained fatal injuries," police said in a statement.
The plan to house 60,000 people in Perth's far northern suburbs was revealed today.

The land around the future Alkimos station, the first in the Yanchep rail extension, will become a Metronet precinct.

Alkimos will soon have density greater than Subiaco. Credit:Hamish Hastie

It was expected the precinct, coined Alkimos Central become a hub for the huge growth in population predicted for the Alkimos-Eglinton district.

Landcorp will head the development on a 212-hectare parcel of land east of Marmion Avenue which will start in 2019.
Maybe if the law was on my side when Jaxon was a minor. Jaxon started using drugs when he was 14. Just a few years later, the kid whose father described as popular, friendly and happy, is a man in deep trouble. Gone is the sporty child with a cheeky grin; in his place is a violent and erratic young man in the throes of an addiction he cannot seem to curb. At 20, Jaxon has been in and out of rehab numerous times.

He has entered various treatment programs, but none have been able to make him stay. Last year he was placed on life support after overdosing on benzodiazepines. Twice. He was a great kid, Murray said. We all still love him; were just afraid of him. Jaxons family became so scared of his behaviour his mother and two younger sisters started carrying pepper spray, and Murray installed locks on the girls bedroom doors. There have been a couple of times weve had to have Jaxon removed from the house, Murray said.

Hes become violent and threatening. Weve tried tough love. We kicked him out. He came back seven days later, emaciated. He just cant take care of himself. A proponent of enforced detox and rehabilitation for drug users, Murray took to Twitter just weeks ago saying there were parents of drug users desperate for their child to commit a crime. It might just save their life, he wrote. Within days, his own son was taken into police custody.

It happened on a Sunday evening He just exploded, Murray said. He just went off. Jaxon was placed on life support last year after twice overdosing on benzodiazepines. A seemingly innocuous conversation in the family home about future treatment plans for Jaxon led to a violent incident on the familys front lawn, witnessed by neighbours. He stomped through the house; he was swearing at us, he was just going off, Murray said.

He told me I could go and get f--ked - that I was the worst f--king father in the world. Hes told me that many times. Jaxon then smashed a lead-light door before walking outside. Seeing red, Murray followed his son, telling him not to come back. This prompted Jaxon to take a swing at his father. Murrays wife - and Jaxons mum - tried to pepper spray the 20-year-old, but he took an almighty swing and knocked his mother out.

She just hit the ground, Murray said. My daughters called the police and a neighbour had to pull me off Jaxon. Thats the last time we saw him. Murray has had no contact with his son since the assault on his wife. At this point, he doesnt want to see him. Hed have to do rehabilitation, he said. My son needs detox.

Murray said as much as he hated the idea of Jaxon being in prison, he considered it the best place for him at the moment. Im hopeful he will get better, Murray says. Im hopeful. Am I confident? Not with the way the system is at the moment. We need urgent help There is currently no legislation in Western Australia that allows for the compulsory treatment of people with severe drug or alcohol addictions.

In September 2016, the Mental Health Commission released a discussion paper relating to the proposed provision of a compulsory alcohol and other drug treatment service in Western Australia, Mental Health Minister Roger Cook said. New South Wales currently operate a compulsory rehab program which is being evaluated by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. I look forward to the results of that evaluation which are due to be finalised by the end of 2018. This isnt good enough for Murray. The biggest problem weve had is trying so many different places, he said.

Four psychiatrists have given up on him. Other states have enforced rehab, but try and find me a detox centre in Perth that can hold onto a person. It just doesnt happen. Murray believes a six-step plan needs to be introduced by the government to address the scourge of meth addiction. The plan would include intervention and enforced abstinence, as well as medical treatment, counselling, relapse monitoring and brain scans to determine damage done. He fears the worst for Jaxon if the current system for treating addicts doesnt change. Jaxon has presented numerous times at the local hospital, only to be released within hours.

He wont stay at a residential treatment facility, and his family - who have already spent upwards of $40,000 trying to help him - are at their wits end. Hell end up dying, Murray said. He cant take care of himself. He doesnt know how to. I feel like I failed. I shouldve stopped my boy from getting drugs. I let him go. As much as I hate him being in prison, at this point we only see it as the best thing for him. We havent given up on him, but we need urgent help.
A Perth man who sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl after gaining her trust on a train ride could walk free from jail after serving less than two years, after prosecutors decided not to appeal his sentence.

Liam Jon Dreja, 33, pleaded guilty in the WA District Court in mid August to three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years jail.

He was sentenced to three-and-a-half-years.

The court was told how the offences happened in February 2016 and that Dreja and the girl, who is currently in state care, were not known to one another.

Dreja was on a Joondalup line train when he saw the girl also on the train looking distressed and crying.
The new boss of Canberra Hospital has pulled out of the job, just days after it was announced she would take the helm of the troubled organisation.

Janet Anderson was announced as chief executive of Health Services, which would oversee Canberra Hospital, on Monday morning at the opening of a nurse-led walk-in centre in Gungahlin.

Janet Anderson with director-general of ACT Health Michael De'Ath at the opening of a new walk-in health centre in Gungahlin. Credit:Finbar O'Mallon

After coming to Canberra for the announcement of her appointment on Monday, Ms Anderson flew back to the Northern Territory that evening. By Thursday morning, the government confirmed she would no longer be taking the job.

Health Services is a new organisation that will be formed after the current ACT Health directorate splits on October 1.
The former head of the Australian Border Force has come forward with explosive new evidence in the inquiry into Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, telling the Senate of a phone call from the ministers office to seek the release of an Italian au pair from detention.

Former Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg wrote to the Senate inquiry to reveal the phone call he received from Mr Duttons chief of staff in June 2015, seeking help for a "mate" of the minister who had an au pair in detention at Brisbane Airport.

While Mr Dutton told Parliament in March that he could rule out any personal connection to the family who hired the au pair, the new evidence draws attention to the friendship as a reason for the ministers intervention.

Former Australian Border Force Commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg has intervened in the Senate inquiry into Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Fairfax Media revealed last week that Mr Dutton made the intervention after a request from one of his former colleagues in the Queensland Police, Russell Keag, but that the two men had not spoken for about 20 years.
Known in Russian as stukachi  literally, "knockers" a Soviet term of uncertain etymology, informers basically serve as spies for the Russian state at home and abroad. They are nowhere near as omnipresent today in Russia as they were in East Germany or the Soviet Union, where millions snitched on their friends and colleagues. But after being banned in the early 1990s, the practice of luring Russians into informing on their fellow citizens again seems to have become widespread. Loading The authorities have been thirsting for inside information about their domestic opposition since large anti-government demonstrations exploded from nowhere in the winter of 2011, severely unnerving the Kremlin. A new surge of protests that started in May 2017, while smaller than the previous round, also caught the authorities by surprise  and increased the value of inside information. How many people are serving as informants is impossible to know: The only people who talk about recruitment pitches are those who balked.

Viktor Voronkov, the director of the Centre for Independent Social Research in St Petersburg, told the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta early this year that four members of his staff had told him of recruitment approaches by the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the successor of the KGB. Contacted last week, he said he had not heard of any further attempts but assumed that many more of his employees had been approached. "Believe me, it is rare that people report such things," he said, adding that many of those who are approached are asked to sign nondisclosure agreements. A clear sign that the security services are again in the market for informers came in 2016 when Life, a Russian news service that is often used by the FSB as a conduit for leaks, revealed that retired informers would receive state pensions in return for their service. In the past, that incentive had been offered only to full-time employees of the intelligence agency. The principal incentive for serving as an informer, however, is rarely money but the promise that legal or other problems will suddenly go away.

Convinced that discontent in Russia is largely the work of hostile foreign forces, Russia's law enforcement apparatus has increasingly focused on infiltrating organisations with real or imagined links to foreign organisations and governments, said Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russia's security system at the Institute of International Relations in Prague. The hunt for informants, he said, "has become much more focused" than it was in the Soviet Union, when the KGB padded its roster with people who passed on useless office gossip and domestic tittle-tattle. The emphasis today, he said, is on finding informers who might have real inside information about terrorist groups like the Islamic State as well as peaceful foreign groups that promote democracy, which the Kremlin views as a dangerous threat. A long list of foreign nonprofit groups has been declared "undesirable" and a threat to Russia's national security, including a London-based outpost of Gryaznevich's organisation, Open Russia. The Kremlin is particularly concerned about groups like Open Russia, Galeotti said, because of its links to Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russian billionaire who, after nearly a decade in Russian prison camps, now lives in London and finances a wide range of projects intended to promote democracy and civil liberties inside Russia. Open Russia, whose Moscow office has been raided twice by the authorities, says it receives some funding from Khodorkovsky but not from his London groups that have been declared "undesirable." Representatives for Open Russia in Russia have insisted it is not so much an organisation as an alliance of small and wholly Russian civil society groups.

Unnerved but also intrigued by the motives and identity of the stranger who appeared at her door with flowers, Gryaznevich took his phone number. After calling her boss at Open Russia to ask for advice, she agreed to meet him. "I had no idea who he was or what he wanted, but he was very polite and well-spoken," recalled Gryaznevich, who had recently returned from the eastern city of Vladivostok after spending a night in police detention for helping to organise a conference there sponsored by Open Russia. Over coffee, "Andrei" quickly made clear that he knew all about her troubles with the police in Vladivostok  and a disconcerting amount about her life in general, including her trips abroad on behalf of Open Russia. The man offered to help her solve her legal issues, explaining that her lawyer "cannot protect you, but we can" so long as she reciprocated with help of her own. His proposition, she said, was this: If she agreed to meet once a week to provide information, especially about her foreign contacts  who they were, what they were doing and why  she would no longer need to worry about being pursued by the police and threatened with jail time. "We can solve all these problems," she recalled being told.

She said "Andrei" showed little interest in Open Russia's activities inside Russia, about which he already seemed to know a great deal, but focused instead on its interaction with foreigners. The only time he dropped his studiously courteous manner, she added, was after she declined to serve as an informant and refused his request that she keep their meeting secret. And even then, she said, he did not veer into the crude threats often associated with Russia's secret police. "It was obviously not the first time he had done this kind of thing," she said. Galeotti said that being polite was "standard tradecraft" in security services around the world. "Everyone knows that coercion is the least effective way of getting people on your side," he said. Gryaznevich's mystery charmer never said exactly who he was. "He didn't answer a single one of my questions concretely," she said, but he left her with no doubt that he was working for the FSB, the principal pillar of a Russian security system dedicated to keeping President Vladimir Putin in power. A few days after the meeting, she posted about it on Facebook, explaining that she wanted her experience known by as many people as possible so that "maybe snitches in our ranks will be fewer."
To describe Irving Berlin as merely "legendary" is an insult. But how can one begin to describe a person whose collection of songs  1,500 over the course his lifetime  makes up more or less the entirety of the Great American Songbook? The answer to that question can be found in Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, an occasionally hokey but ultimately loving biographical tribute to the man who wrote enduring tunes like "God Bless America" and "Easter Parade."

Part lecture, part solo show, part interactive concert, Irving Berlin is the latest in Felder's collection of theatrical works about beloved composers to hit New York City, running at 59E59 after a 2016 performance at Town Hall. In it, Felder portrays the 100-year-old Berlin as he examines his past and discusses his life's work with a group of Christmas carolers who annually gather outside his window to sing  you guessed it  "White Christmas."

Structurally, it's a by-the-book biomusical about how young Israel Beilin, an immigrant from Belarus who hocked newspapers on the Lower East Side, became a world-famous songwriter despite having no formal musical education (or any education, for that matter). While the show has about as much depth as a Wikipedia entry, Felder takes great care in his presentation, his affection for his subject shining in every single moment. You leave feeling like you learned a lot about what made Irving Berlin tick, which is more than you can say for shows like Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, running at 59E59.

( Hershey Felder Presents)

Felder is a chameleon. With a small shift in body language and a slight modification in Richard Norwood's highly theatrical lighting, he becomes Berlin's disillusioned older self, his determined younger persona, his heiress spouse Ellin, his frequent leading lady Ethel Merman, and a host of other colorful characters. There's a lot of life to get through in under two hours (Berlin lived to be 101), and, amazingly, Trevor Hay's production never drags, even as the conceit wears thin. When it becomes a literal "and then I wrote this song" at the end, the audience is so invested, no one seems to care about how suddenly hokey it's gotten. Felder knows the audience just wants to hear as much of Berlin's unparalleled catalogue as possible, and he delivers on that. The show has no right to work this well, but because of Felder's warm and sensitive portrayal, it does.

If there are any quibbles, it's that perhaps Felder is almost too good. Berlin wasn't a concert pianist. He could barely write music, dictating his work to musical secretaries who knew how to notate, and had specially designed transposing pianos built because he only knew how to play on the black keys. Felder, on the other hand, is a virtuosic pianist. His fingers don't merely strike the instrument; they glide over it as if they're dancing on air. It's absolutely mesmerizing to watch him play. Berlin would probably be flattered.

Conversely, there are a few points when Felder is a little too much of a showman. He's too strident on certain melodies; his voice pushes a little too hard to hit notes that just aren't there. But when he invites the audience to sing along with some of the more beloved classics, every single person does so, and in harmony, too. That's magic: the magic of theater, the magic of music, the magic of Irving Berlin. Felder proves Berlin is more than just a legend. Thanks to his music, he's immortal.
DENSO Leads $65 Million Series C Funding Round in ThinCI to Make Autonomous Cars a Reality







- Investment speeds development of semiconductor devices with deep learning capabilities required for next-generation autonomous and electric vehicles -

KARIYA, JAPAN, Sep, 06 2018; DENSO Corporation, a $48.1 billion company and one of the world's largest automotive suppliers of technology and components, continues to search for new ways to support the development of future mobility solutions that will revolutionize how society moves. To that end, DENSO subsidiary NSITEXE, Inc., a developer of key semiconductor components enabling automated driving, today announced its investment in ThinCI Inc., an AI hardware startup developing computing platforms. ThinCI's programmable computing architecture can accelerate deep learning, AI and other algorithms relevant to the automotive industry and will provide somewhere around 5 to 10 times the computing power and performance offered by the next best solution.

The successful close of ThinCI's $65 million series C funding round was led by DENSO and Temasek. Other investors include GGV Capital, Mirai Creation Fund - backed by Toyota and other limited partners - and Daimler. DENSO was the lead investor in ThinCI's last funding round in 2016.

"ThinCI has the capabilities to help us usher in the next era of transportation. The company's technology provides the computing power to make autonomous driving and advanced electric vehicles the industry norm," said Tony Cannestra, DENSO's Director of Corporate Ventures. "The move to Level 4 and Level 5 autonomy in the automotive industry will require huge amounts of flexible computing power. It's not feasible for car owners to have autonomous vehicles with server racks in their trunks, so there is a definite need to get that computing power out of the trunk and into a set of chips."

As automotive electronics become increasingly sophisticated, the number of semiconductor devices used in vehicles has increased significantly. When automated driving and electrified power sources become the norm, high-performance, yet low-power semiconductor devices will be required for self-driving cars to operate effectively. These vehicles will need to constantly monitor their surroundings, rapidly process enormous amounts of information and make split-second driving decisions - all of which are made possible by semiconductors being able to properly sense road environments and communicate with one another.

In a bid to achieve practical use of semiconductor devices necessary for automated driving technologies, DENSO established NSITEXE in 2017 to design and develop a next-generation, high-performance semiconductor devices to advance autonomous driving solutions. One of NSITEXE's current focuses is its Data Flow Processor, or DFP, which is a brand-new type of processor that enhances the functionality of central processing units (CPUs) and graphic processing units (GPUs), meaning they can rapidly perform multiple complex calculations at once. Moreover, a DFP is capable of instantaneously optimizing its calculating areas according to the amount and content of information, which reduces its power consumption and heat generation. Since 2016, DENSO and ThinCI have worked together to commercialize the DFP and enhance its development.

"Our Data Flow Processors allow autonomous vehicles to make quick-fire decisions out of complicated and fast-evolving data sets," said Yukihide Niimi, president and CEO, NSITEXE. "This takes highly targeted computing and processing power, which is why adding ThinCI's deep learning and vision processing capabilities help ensure our DFPs operate effectively and efficiently."

"We are thrilled and honored by the financial commitment from such major investment funds and automotive and industrial giants," said ThinCI CEO Dinakar Munagala. "The quality of investors coming together to invest in ThinCI validates our vision of industries adopting AI by leveraging our hardware and accompanying software stack. The interest from our automotive investors demonstrate their confidence that we can build on our early access partnerships with select automotive players and that our silicon will deliver the performance required to meet all five levels of autonomous driving. The expansion of our investor set to include industrial firms outside the automotive sector validates our assertion that ThinCI's technology can accelerate AI adoption across a wide range of non-automotive applications, such as smart cities, datacenters, and surveillance. We firmly believe that ThinCI technology and products will substantially complement their portfolio companies in these diverse areas."

DENSO has long developed in-vehicle semiconductor devices to improve its engine control units and sensors, establishing its Integrated Circuit Research Center in 1968. Using its innovative past as a launching pad to the future, DENSO will continue to develop advanced technologies to help create an environmentally friendly, safe, and secure society for all.

About NSITEXE, Inc.

NSITEXE, Inc., a subsidiary of DENSO Corporation since 2017 and headquartered in Tokyo, is a leading developer of semiconductor intellectual property (IP) cores. NSITEXE's advanced semiconductor components are key for in-vehicle environment and safety technologies, such as advanced driving assistance systems and automated driving in next-generation vehicles. DENSO has long refined in-vehicle semiconductor technologies and NSITEXE continues its mission to develop the advanced technologies delivering an environmentally friendly, safe and secure automotive society. Beyond automotive, NSITEXE's powerful yet efficient semiconductor processors and sensors can be applied to industrial settings, smart homes and more. For additional information, go to nsitexe.com/en/.

About THinCI Inc.

ThinCI Inc. is a venture-backed, deep-learning start-up based in El Dorado Hills, California with teams in California, Hyderabad, India and the UK. The company was founded by a highly skilled technical team with years of experience in massively parallel processing architectures and the software structures to execute on these computing engines. The company is currently in the final phase of developing its deep learning and vision processing solutions comprising hardware platforms, proprietary silicon, comprehensive SDK and application software that can be integrated into a wide range of applications. These include advanced driver assistance systems in automotive; intelligent agents for personal electronics that enhance photos and video, explain the real world surrounding the user, protect the user from potential danger; smart home automation systems that detect and prevent hazards, intelligently manage home energy consumption, and provide the optimum indoor climate. ThinCI's technology is also applicable in commercial applications, for example, providing personalized suggestions to shoppers entering a store; in industrial applications for authenticating access, determining potential problems in operating equipment; in smart cities intelligently managing traffic lights based on real time traffic conditions, collecting and analyzing real-time video surveillance on city streets, and in data centers, where low-latency power-efficient deep learning is essential to manage the exploding volumes of collected data.

About Denso DENSO Corp., headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan has more than 220 subsidiaries in 35 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs approximately 170,000 people worldwide. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, totaled US$48.1 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 8.8% of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges.
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Leaked emails today from Brett Kavanaughs time in the Bush White House reveal what everyone already knew: that Trumps SCOTUS nominee will pose a threat to Roe v. Wade. To get Maine senator Susan Collinss vote, Kavanaugh called Roe v. Wade settled precedent, but according to an email he wrote in 2003, the Court can always overrule its precedent. In other words, though Kavanaugh recognizes that the Court has repeatedly found a right to abortion, he knows he can use his power as a justice to change that.

Is Kavanaugh willing to make abortion illegal or impossible? We dont need emails to know. He wouldnt be at his third day of confirmation hearings if the Trump administration didnt think so; to get there, Kavanaugh had to send early signals to them to prove himself. Hes already said everything they  and we  need to know about where he stands.

Protesters Crash Judge Kavanaugh's Confirmation Hearing

The timeline tells a story. During his campaign, Trump promised with unprecedented bluntness to appoint judges who would overturn Roe automatically. In consultation with legal elites who had decided they could make their peace with him in exchange for legions of lifetime judicial appointments, Trump took the unprecedented step of releasing a series of lists of names to prove he was serious about naming the conservative movements legal soldiers and not, say, Jeanine Pirro or his sister to the courts.

Kavanaugh wasnt on the first list, in May 2016. He wasnt on the second, in September 2016. Two things happened before Kavanaugh passed muster, as Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal highlighted in his questioning yesterday.

In October 2016, Kavanaugh recalled yesterday at his hearing, I was driving home on a Wednesday night, as I recall, and the clerks office called and said we have an emergency abortion case, which is very unusual in our court. First time Id had one.

Before the D.C. Circuit was the case of Jane Doe. She was a 17-year-old unaccompanied minor who came across this border having escaped serious, threatening, horrific physical violence in her family, in her homeland, Blumenthal said yesterday. She braved horrific threats of rape and sexual exploitation as she crossed the border. She was eight weeks pregnant. Under Texas law she received an order that entitled her to an abortion. She also went through mandatory counseling as required by Texas law. She was eligible for an abortion under that law. The Trump administration blocked her.

Being asked to rule on whether Jane Doe could get an abortion had to be a nervous-making experience for Kavanaugh, who has long been groomed for the highest court. As he knew from his involvement in getting George W. Bushs judicial nominees confirmed, paper trails on abortion are a tricky thing. Say too much, and you cant get through, not when you need the votes of senators who know Roe v. Wade is popular (in todays math, ones like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski). Say too little and you wont get nominated at all, not when the right is still bitter about Republican-nominated defectors like David Souter, Sandra Day OConnor, and Anthony Kennedy, who upheld the right to abortion.

Kavanaughs response was to try to kick the can down the road. He and one other judge on the panel, professing concern for Jane Doe, suggested instead that Jane could get her abortion, but first she had to wait even more time for the government to find a sponsor  a qualified adult. This sounded reasonable, except Jane had already proven to a judge that she was mature enough to make her decision and had undergone Texass required counseling and ultrasound.

But it was a hollow solution, as Judge Patricia Millett pointed out when the full court overruled Kavanaugh and said Jane could get her abortion: The government hadnt approved any sponsor in the seven weeks since Jane had asked for an abortion, and she would soon be past Texass 20-week abortion limit. A nine-week waiting period before litigation can start or resume, if adopted by a State, would plainly be unconstitutional, Millett said. In the meantime, the risks to Jane Does health, physical and emotional, increased weekly.

In the end, Kavanaugh didnt manage to stop Jane Doe, but he accomplished other things in that opinion. For one thing, he didnt assert that Jane had a constitutional right to abortion. For another, as Blumenthal pointed out, he larded his opinion with code words like abortion on demand and referred to existing Supreme Court precedent and how lower courts, at least, had to abide by it. The wording, Blumenthal remarked yesterday, is a little bit like somebody introducing his wife to you as my current wife. You might not expect that wife to be around for all that long.

Then Blumenthal got to the point: Lets be very blunt here. [Your opinion] was a signal to the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation and to the preparers of those lists  the president outsourced that task to those groups  that you were prepared, and you are, to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Blumenthal didnt mention it yesterday, but there was another signal Kavanaugh sent just one month before the Jane Doe hearings. He gave a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute praising his first judicial hero, former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who dissented in Roe v. Wade. For 33 years, Rehnquist righted the ship of constitutional jurisprudence, Kavanaugh said.

That was September 2017. Jane Doe was October 2017. In November 2017, Brett Kavanaugh was added to Trumps Supreme Court list.

Kavanaugh also gave himself away on Wednesday when he discussed his reasoning in the Jane Doe case.

I was trying to follow precedent for the Supreme Court on parental consent, Kavanaugh said yesterday, which allows some delays in the abortion procedure so as to fulfill the parental consent requirements. The Supreme Court has previously said that states can require minors to get the permission of their parents, as long as they have the option to go before a judge to bypass the requirement without major delay.

But Jane Doe had already done that. Kavanaugh had invented a new theory that because the Supreme Court says that some minor delays are allowed, any delay is too. For all the Republican talk this week of judges not legislating from the bench, Kavanaughs gambit looked a lot like making it up as he went along. So far, its worked for him. But it leaves little doubt what a Justice Kavanaugh would do.
Photo: Courtesy of The Body Shop

The fight to ban animal testing recently scored a major victory. California is taking a huge step forward by being the first state to pass a bill that would ban all cosmetic testing on animals. If signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, the change will go into place on January 1, 2020, and would apply to all brands currently selling in California as well as any others that enter the market.

The bill, SB-1249, was introduced by California Democratic senator Cathleen Galgiani. It uses straightforward language to implement the parameters of the ban and define what exactly constitutes a cosmetic:

This bill would make it unlawful for a manufacturer to import for profit, sell, or offer for sale in this state, any cosmetic, as defined, if the cosmetic was developed or manufactured using an animal test that was conducted or contracted by the manufacturer, or any supplier of the manufacturer, on or after January 1, 2020.

Furthermore:

Cosmetic means any article intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance, including, but not limited to, personal hygiene products such as deodorant, shampoo, or conditioner.

This is significant because California is taking a much more progressive stance than the FDA recommended guidelines for testing cosmetics. Their official statement essentially says they dont require companies to utilize animal testing, but implies that its fine to ensure safety by testing it on another living, breathing thing who isnt human. Its promising to see California going above and beyond when the federal regulations leave so much gray area.

Hopefully, more states will follow their lead. Several cosmetic companies have been vocal about cruelty-free beauty, including Kat Von D, Lush, Too Faced, Urban Decay, and Tarte Cosmetics. The Body Shop has a Forever Against Animal Testing campaign who has garnered over 7 million petition signatures in support of banning animal testing worldwide.

For now, California is the only state that has passed a bill like this, so the other 49 states are still subject to FDA guidelines. So, lets all plan a trip to California in 2020 where we can, to use SB-1249s delightfully literal description of cosmetics: rub, pour, sprinkle, and spray ourselves with cruelty-free cosmetics to our hearts content.
A member of Indias LGBT community celebrates the Supreme Court decision. Photo: MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP/Getty Images

Gay sex has been illegal in India since colonial times, but the countrys Supreme Court has now officially deemed that unconstitutional. The landmark verdict struck down Section 377, a law imposed by British colonizers that deemed sex against the order of nature punishable with potentially lifelong jail sentences. Since the ruling was announced on Thursday, crowds of activists have taken to the streets in celebration.

Its an emotional day for me. Its a mix of feelings; its been a long fight, rights campaigner Rituparna Borah told CNN. There was not enough media or society support earlier but we have it now. People will not be seen as criminals anymore.

Gay-rights activists have had much pushback in India, where homosexuality is often swept under the rug or outright rejected. When the Delhi High Court ruled Section 377 unconstitutional in 2009, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling following outcry from religious groups. In 2013, the Supreme Court said that LGBT individuals make up a minuscule faction of the countrys population, and that repealing the act would therefore be legally unsustainable.

Photo: Hindustan Times/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Photo: Hindustan Times/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Last year, however, the Court ruled to uphold the right to privacy, which included matters of sexual orientation. Though religious groups and some leading politicians denounced that decision, it became clear that Section 377 would not last long.

The law was introduced by the British in the 1860s and, though not typically enforced in full, had remained more or less unchanged since. Of the estimated 48 former British colonies that criminalize homosexuality, there are 30 which still enforce colonial anti-LGBT legislation, according to Lucas Mendos, co-author of the 2017 International LGBTI Association State-Sponsored Homophobia report. And while the legal basis for discrimination against the Indian LGBT community is eroding, challenges still lie ahead. Activists are now focusing on ensuring the right of gay citizens to marry, adopt children, and inherit funds.

Photo: ARUN SANKAR/AFP/Getty Images

Laws getting passed is one thing, but changing the society is a big challenge, said Yashwinder Singh, of Mumbai-based LGBT rights group the Humsafar Trust. Our work has started multifold now. We have to go and talk to people and change their mindset so that they accept every human as one.
In the bottle: Even the eye says Dead Ringer is no dead ringer for a classic marzen (also called an Oktoberfest)  its deep amber color, inching into chocolaty brown, is a bit darker than usual. But the aroma is a tempting mix of nutty, caramel and a touch of plum. Like most marzens, Dead Ringer is malt-forward, offering mild sweetness. Unlike most marzens, it is hefty enough on the palate  while maintaining that nutty-caramel-fruity combination  to pass for a brown ale. But it dries out with light bready bitterness that makes each taste demand another. Bonus: It pairs exceptionally well with food. For the craft beer drinkers who typically find marzen too boring or too sweet  I was once one of them!  Dead Ringer is for you.
Kamala Harris at Brett Kavanaughs confirmation hearing. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The second day of Brett Kavanaughs hearing brought intensive questioning from multiple senators. The Supreme Court nominee was challenged on his views about abortion and racial inequality for much of the night, as the trial went well into the evening.

Senator Kamala Harris asked the second to last question of the night. She asked Kavanaugh if he knew of any laws that the government has power to make over the male body?

.@SenKamalaHarris correctly explains the Ginsburg standard to Judge Kavanaughanswering fair questions about womens constitutional rights and acknowledging previous writings. Judge Kavanaugh refuses to own his past writings or answer fair questions. pic.twitter.com/AKQ1PZJxgA  Senate Democrats (@SenateDems) September 6, 2018

After she finished, the entire room was silent for three seconds, before Kavanaugh replied: Um  Im happy to answer a more specific question, but 

Male versus female,  Harris responded curtly. Kavanaugh fumbled a few more moments before Harris repeated the question.

Im not aware of any right now, Senator, Kavanaugh finally responded.

He evaded questions about abortion two times earlier in the evening, when Senators Blumenthal and Hirono asked, citing both times that all eight sitting Supreme Court judges did not answer any questions about cases that may come before their bench.

The question came after Kavanaughs repeated refusal to directly answer questions about his views on Roe v. Wade. Many womens-health advocates worry that Kavanaugh will be detrimental to abortion rights, and many people have been arrested protesting the confirmation hearings.
Brett Kavanaugh. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

On Wednesday, day two of Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court confirmation hearings again began in chaos. (For a review of the intensity of day one of the hearings, click here). Although Democratic senators did not start out by voicing their opposition to the hearing as they had the day before, at least four people  including a woman in a wheelchair  were led out of the room by police as they yelled, Sham president, sham justice, Stop slaughtering our children, Mother Earth, and other calls of protest. That was just within the first ten minutes.

Day two of the hearings focused on questioning of Kavanaugh by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Here, a running list of the days most crucial moments, which we will be updating continually.

Senator Dianne Feinstein interrupted Kavanaugh during questioning about assault weapons .

Senator Dianne Feinstein began her questioning by asking Kavanaugh about his vote to strike down D.C.s assault weapon ban. The nominee said he had to vote that way because of Supreme Court precedent. What followed was a tense exchange between Feinstein and Kavanaugh. Let me interrupt you because I think were on totally different wavelengths, the senator said. The pair had a back-and-forth about whether assault weapons are protected under common use. Feinstein asked Kavanaugh, How do you reconcile what you just said with the hundreds of school shootings that have used assault weapons?

Feinstein's 1st question to Kavanaugh is about his position that an assault weapons ban is unconstitutional. Kavanaugh justifies himself by arguing assault weapons aren't "dangerous and unusual," like machine guns are.



Feinstein is taken aback by his answer. pic.twitter.com/t8H3VunQoS  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 5, 2018

Feinstein repeatedly attempted to get Kavanaugh to share his thoughts on Roe v. Wade. He just kept saying it was precedent.

During her questioning, Feinstein then switched to womens reproductive rights. She brought up all the deaths that occurred in the 50s and 60s before Roe, and said she didnt want to go back to those death tolls. The senator repeatedly tried to get Kavanaugh to share his views on a womens right to choose and Roe v. Wade. The nominee, in turn, was exactly as evasive as expected: He talked around the issue, saying that the decision is precedent, and that Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which affirmed Roe, is precedent on precedent. But the Supreme Court has overturned precedent before  its well within the courts power to do so. So, while Kavanaugh also said he understands the importance of the issue, his answer did not indicate how he would rule on womens reproductive rights.

Asked about his view on Roe v. Wade, Kavanaugh says it's a "settled precedent of the Supreme Court" that has been "reaffirmed many times over the past 45 years" https://t.co/WAwKBbR3CM pic.twitter.com/RmE6Pn54Mt  CBS News (@CBSNews) September 5, 2018

Senator Orrin Hatch went out of his way to paint Kavanaugh as a feminist before asking about sexual harassment.

Republican senator Orrin Hatch went on about the number of female clerks Kavanaugh hired  and referenced a letter of support signed by several of his former female law clerks  before asking him about sexual harassment. Hawaii senator Mazie Hirono has already made it known that she plans on asking Kavanaugh about sexual-misconduct allegations against his former boss, Judge Alex Kozinski, which many people have said were an open secret among people close to the judge. Hatch went ahead and asked Kavanaugh softball questions about Kozinski before Hirono had a chance, and the nominee in turn distanced himself from Kozinski and said he did not know about the conduct.

The first thought I had was no woman should be subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace, ever, including in the judiciary  especially in the judiciary, Kavanaugh says of when he learned Judge Alex Kozinski was accused of sexual misconduct pic.twitter.com/6HgVWfVJHG  CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 5, 2018

Kavanaugh refused to say whether he believes the president has the right to pardon himself.

Democratic senator Patrick Leahys questioning of Kavanaugh largely focused on whether the nominee received emails stolen from Leahy and other Democrats in 2002, but at the end of his time, Leahy switched gears and asked Kavanaugh, point blank, about presidential immunity. First, he asked whether the president would have the right to pardon himself. Kavanaugh said he could not answer that question as it is hypothetical. Then, Leahy asked if the president should be allowed to pardon someone in exchange for that person agreeing not to testify against the president, to which Kavanaugh again refused to answer.

Leahy: "President Trump claims he has an absolute right to pardon himself. Does he?"



Kavanaugh: "The question of self-pardons is something I've never analyzed. It's a question I have not written about... It's a hypothetical question that I can't begin to answer in this context" pic.twitter.com/N91BYOuqKV  NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) September 5, 2018

Senator Dick Durbin grilled Kavanaugh on his decision in a case involving a young immigrant who wanted an abortion.

Last year, while serving on the D.C. Circuit Court, Kavanaugh issued a decision that would have delayed a 17-year-old girl in immigrant detention from getting an abortion  even though she was already almost 16 weeks into her pregnancy. In Kavanaughs decision (which was eventually overturned), he described her case as an instance of abortion on-demand.

Democratic senator Dick Durbin grilled Kavanaugh on this point, noting that the minor had obtained a judicial bypass, which should have allowed her to get the procedure without parental consent, and complied with every legal requirement, including Texas state requirements, placed in front of her, so she could move forward with her decision.

In response, Kavanaugh emphasized that Jane Doe was a minor. If she were an adult, he said, she would have a right to obtain the abortion immediately. He added that his interpretation of parental consent laws meant she had to be placed with an immigration sponsor with whom she could consult about the decision if she wished before getting the procedure  even though, as Durbin pointed out, she had already jumped through all the legal hoops put in her way by Texas law, including by obtaining the aforementioned judicial bypass.

Sen. Durbin asks Kavanaugh about Hargan v. Garza, a case of undocumented teen in ICE custody who sought abortion. When asked why he dissented, Kavanaugh said he was following precedent of her status as a minor. JaneDoe had gotten judicial bypass of Texas' parental consent law  Saher Khan (@SaherMKhan) September 5, 2018

Senator Richard Blumenthal compared the way Kavanaugh talks about existing precedent to a current wife.

While Senator Blumenthal was questioning Kavanaugh about his dissent in Hargan v. Garza (the aforementioned case involving a 17-year-old in immigrant detention being denied an abortion) and pushing him to clarify his position on Roe v. Wade, Blumenthal made a curious analogy. Blumenthals apparent intent was to challenge Kavanaughs reference to Roe v. Wade as a current precedent during questioning.

Its a little like somebody introducing his wife to you as my current wife, said Blumenthal. You might not expect that wife to be around for all that long.

Despite the odd phrasing, Blumenthal was firm in his line of questioning. He asked Kavanaugh if he would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade if the decision came up. Kavanaugh declined to answer.

Blumenthal: Calling Roe v. Wade "existing Supreme Court precedent" is like "somebody introducing his wife to you as my current wife. You might not expect that wife to be around for all that long.



Make no mistake: A vote for Kavanaugh is a vote to criminalize abortion. pic.twitter.com/IpSHMHGQ45  Stand Up America (@StandUpAmerica) September 5, 2018

Senator Mazie Hirono asked Kavanaugh if he believes women who accused his former boss of harassment.

Senator Hirono previously stated that she would question Kavanaugh about his former boss, Judge Alex Kozinski, who was accused of sexually harassing over 15 women. Hirono asked if he was aware of the behavior; Kavanaugh claimed he had absolutely no knowledge of Kozinskis behavior.

Hirono seemed skeptical of Kavanaughs answer. You saw nothing, you heard nothing, and you obviously said nothing, she said. She then asked him if he believed the women who accused Kozinski of inappropriate behavior.

I have no reason not to believe them, Kavanaugh responded.

She also asked Kavanaugh if he was aware of Rob Porters history of domestic abuse allegations.

Following up her questioning about Alex Kozinski, she asked Kavanaugh if he was aware of Rob Porters domestic abuse record when he nominated Porter for staff secretary for Donald Trump.

Were you aware of allegations of domestic violence before you recommended Rob Porter for staff secretary?

Kavanaugh claimed he had no knowledge of Porters history, and also implied that he was not the person who suggested Porter for the role.

Kavanaugh evaded Senator Bookers questions about racial inequality and judicial rulings.

Senator Booker wasted no time when his turn for questioning came. He focused his questions on SCOTUS decisions about race-conscious policies and asked Kavanaugh to give his personal opinion on those rulings.

After a series of exchanges between Kavanaugh and Booker, Kavanaugh repeatedly avoided providing an answer on his personal beliefs, instead referencing Supreme Court precedents. Booker did not tolerate the reponses.

Is it never permissible for government to use race to redress past discrimination? asked Booker.

The Supreme Court has said, responded Kavanaugh.

I know what the Supreme Court has said. I want to know what you think, said Booker.

Multiple times, tensions rose between the two men, as Booker refused to accept Kavanaughs non-answers, and Kavanaughs refused to address the actual questions Booker asked. Booker ended his questioning with a monologue about the continued racial injustices in the United States, and reiterated that Kavanaughs potential confirmation would have lasting implications for all Americans.

In an exchange with @CoryBooker, #BrettKavanaugh repeatedly points to Supreme Court precedent when asked if race can be used to remedy past discrimination.



"I have trouble departing from...precedent," Kavanaugh said, refusing to give his opinion on the matter. pic.twitter.com/HHEawYtmla  PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 6, 2018

Senator Harris opened her line of questioning by asking Kavanaugh if he has discussed the Mueller investigation.

Senator Harris asked Kavanaugh if he has spoken with anyone at the Kasowitz Benson and Torres law firm about the Robert Mueller investigation. That law firm is the firm responsible that is representing Donald Trump. Kavanaugh said he could not answer the question, because he didnt have a full roster before him of employees from the firm.

After interruption from protestors, Harris asked the question again. As Kavanaugh repeated his answer of not knowing the full roster of employees. Harris moved on after stating it was that he wasnt going to answer the question.

CSPAN has posted the entire nearly 8-minute exchange between Kamala Harris and Kavanaugh on the Mueller probe. It is worth your time. pic.twitter.com/ezJVEuDeUK  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 6, 2018

Senator Harris challenged Kavanaugh on the use of the term racial spoils system.

Senator Harris asked Kavanaugh about his use of the term racial spoils system nearly 20 years ago in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal. She asked about how he defined that term and pointed out that the term is used by white supremacists. When Harris asked him what he meant by the term, Kavanaugh responded Im not sure what I was referring to then.

When asked to "define what 'racial spoils system' means to him?" Judge Kavanaugh, refuses to directly answer @KamalaHarris' question regarding his use of the loaded term" in a previous op-ed. #KavanaughHearings pic.twitter.com/EtFrjyJY1j  Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) September 6, 2018

More protesters interrupted Wednesday evenings hearings.

During questions from Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, more protestors interrupted the proceedings by standing up and shouting. They yelled be a hero and asked the senators not to confirm Kavanaugh. All of the people were quickly removed from the courtroom, and when they interrupted during Harris questioning, which occurred at the end of the night, all people sitting in the back two rows of the room were cleared out by security.

The protests come after 70 people were arrested on the first day of the confirmation hearing. Activists are protesting the nomination of Kavanaugh based on his voting record and the potentially disastrous effects he could have on abortion rights, civil rights, and access to health care.

This post has been updated.
A developer could buy the property, tear down the building and build a new building, but the zoning requires a first-floor commercial tenant. Heartland could come back as that tenant. Situated in a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) location, at the north end of the Red Line Morse L station, with the number 96 Lunt bus on the corner, a new building could house up to 33 units.
Albany Man Gets 2 Years for Defrauding Concert Promoters out of $450,000

An Albany man was sentenced on Sept. 24, to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution to his victims after defrauding European concert promoters out of $450,000 by misrepresenting his ability to book Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts in Eastern Europe, according to prosecutors.

During a series of communications in 2011 and 2012, Quincy Krashna, 50, convinced the victims to put the money into a fake escrow account as a deposit to secure his services in arranging potential concerts to be performed in Croatia, Romania, and Bucharest.

In an effort to deceive his victims, prosecutors said Krashna created a fraudulent escrow agreement that made use of a Chase Bank logo.

Ultimately, however, they transferred the money into a personal bank account that was under Krashnas control and he moved the money to other accounts.

Krashna was indicted in January 2017 and charged with seven counts of wire fraud. He pleaded guilty to one of those counts and the others were dismissed.

Krashna is scheduled to begin serving his jail sentence Nov. 6. After his release, Krashna has been ordered to serve three years of probation.

By DB
The central train station in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where a jihadist knifeman attacked two American tourists on Aug. 31, 2018. (Yves Herman/Reuters/File Photo)

Terror Suspect in Amsterdam Knife Attack Shot After Just Nine Seconds

An Afghan man suspected of stabbing two Americans in Amsterdams central station was shot just nine seconds after he began attacking people, police said.

A spotter observed the 19-year-old at the time when he pulled out a knife on Aug. 31, Police Commissioner Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said. Nine seconds later, police shot the attacker in the hip.

Shortly after the man got off a train, his abnormal behavior came to the attention of one of a team of transportation police trained to spot terrorists.

He called two colleagues over, Aalbersberg said. While they were working out how to go and talk to him, they see he starts stabbing.

Seconds later, a police officer shot the man as he was running to stab a third person.

Motivated by Controversial Contest

The man, identified only as Jawed S., may not have expected to survive the attack, according to his lawyer. He has been treated for gunshot wounds to his lower body.

My client appears to have made the assumption that he wasnt going to survive his attack, because a will was found at his home in Germany, said lawyer Simon van der Woude, according to the BBC.

He said he thought Jawed S. was motivated to carry out the attack in response to a cartoon competition depicting Islams Prophet Mohammad that was organized by politician Geert Wilders.

The competition was canceled the day before the attack because of security concerns, but van der Woude said his client didnt know this.

Dutch prosecutors said Jawed S. had been of the opinion that in the Netherlands the Prophet Muhammad, Islam, and the Koran were insulted.

He had traveled to the Netherlands from Germany to carry out the attack. Police in Germany searched his house and seized several data carriers, according to Reuters.

US Citizens Injured

The two people injured in the incident were U.S. citizens, the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands said in a statement on Sept. 1. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said the pair were tourists visiting the city. They were admitted to a hospital with serious injuries, local police said.

Hoekstra told Dutch TV on Sept. 4 that it was an attack on Western values, according to the BBC.

There were two victims and that is very serious, but the number was kept to a minimum, Aalbersberg said. Within nine seconds, it was over and the officers made the difference during one precise moment.

In a statement, the two U.S. victims thanked the Dutch police, saying the police had been empathetic and had remained by their side the entire time.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses supporters at a Liberal Party fundraiser in Surrey, B.C., on Sept. 4, 2018. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Canada in Brief, Sept. 6-12

Trudeau says he wont use tricks to ram through pipeline construction

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pouring cold water on Albertas suggestion that the federal government use legislation or a court appeal to get construction started quickly on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

In a Sept. 5 interview on Edmonton radio station CHED, Trudeau said using tricks such as a new law or the Constitutions notwithstanding clause would create further legal fights down the road.

The Federal Court of Appeal last week reversed a cabinet decision to allow Trans Mountain construction to go ahead.

The prime minister was in Edmonton to meet with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who has pulled her government from the national climate plan until theres a fix.

Archeologists aim to uncover more secrets of Franklin expedition

Canadian archeologists are set to spend two weeks exploring the wreck of HMS Erebus to uncover even more secrets from the ill-fated Franklin expedition.

The ship, along with HMS Terror, disappeared during an exploration through the Arctic in 1846, leaving the fate of captain Sir John Franklin and his crew a mystery for more than 150 years.

Inuit guides helped Parks Canada archeologists find the Erebus in 2014, and the Terror was found two years later about 100 kilometres away.

Underwater archeologists are aiming to recover artifacts from the Erebuss living quarters, possibly including Franklins cabin.

New concussion guidelines could change practices worldwide

A University of Calgary researcher says new concussion guidelines in the United States could change care for all children with mild traumatic brain injuries.

The guidelines, initiated by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include recommendations on the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of mild concussions in children.

Keith Yeates, who runs the Integrated Concussion Research Program at the University of Calgary and co-authored the report, said they will better help doctors deal with the cases.

Deal reached on broken rail line to Churchill

A deal has been reached to sell and repair a broken rail line that is the only land link for the northern Manitoba town of Churchill.

The community on Hudson Bay has been isolated since spring flooding in 2017 damaged the line and forced fuel and food to be flown in at skyrocketing costs.

The town said the deal includes the sale of the Hudson Bay Railway, the Port of Churchill, and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm.

A news release from the federal government said the assets have been purchased by the Arctic Gateway Group, a private-public partnership of Missinippi Rail Limited Partnership, Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, and AGT Limited Partnership.

It said they are fully committed to the restoration of the Hudson Bay rail line.

With files from The Canadian Press
China Finds African Swine Fever on Four Farms in a Single Day

BEIJINGChina reported four cases of African swine fever on Sept. 6, bringing the number of outbreaks to 13 since the virus was discovered in the country just over a month ago.

The agriculture ministry said it had identified the disease on three small farms in Jiamusi City in Heilongjiang Province in Chinas northeast, and the cities of Wuhu and Xuancheng in the eastern province of Anhui.

The largest of the three farms had 203 pigs, while the smallest had only 30 pigs.

Earlier on Sept. 6, the ministry had reported a case in the city of Chuzhou in Anhui, on a farm which had over 800 pigs. The disease killed 22 of them, while another 62 were infected.

The new outbreaks bring the number discovered since Sept. 2 to eight, raising concerns about the increasing speed of infection around the country.

All of the new cases were in cities already infected, or in the case of Chuzhou, relatively close to earlier outbreaks.

The disease has traveled vast distances in the worlds largest pork producer from Jiamusi, Heilongjiang on the border with Russia to Wenzhou City in Zhejiang Province, which is 1,865 miles to the south.

Efforts to control the rapid spread of the disease by banning transport of live hogs from and through infected areas has left traders idle, farm pens bursting with pigs, and slaughterhouses short of stock.

The outbreaks have pushed up pork prices in the countrys south as demand grows ahead of a week-long holiday in October and also raised the prospect of more imports.

While most of the cases have been discovered on smallholder farms, the infected farm in Chuzhou was relatively big, underscoring the risk to some of the huge, modern farms that have opened in China in recent years.

Experts say backyard farms are typically more vulnerable to infection as they have lower biosecurity measures in place.

Swine fever is transmitted by ticks and direct contact between animals, and can also travel via contaminated food, animal feed, and people traveling from one place to another. There is no vaccine. It is not harmful to humans.

By Josephine Mason, Dominique Patton & Beijing Monitoring Desk
Clumsy Robber Drops Gun, Then Pants, Flees Empty-Handed

A would-be robber was lucky to escape a Colorado E-Cig store without getting badly injuredby himself that is.

A man, his face partially concealed by dark glasses, walked boldly into an E-Cig of Denver outlet in Aurora, Colorado, intending to commit a crime.

Instead, he committed comedy.

The man walked up to the counter, reached under his Denver Broncos sweatshirt, and pulled out a handgunwhich he promptly dropped.

The gun bounced over the counter and fell to the floor.

The clerk grabbed the gun and backed away. The robber then tried to leap over the counter to retrieve his weaponbut he lacked the coordination.

The clerk waved the gun like a club. The robber stood stupefied.

Realizing that he was not going to succeed, the robber turned and fled the sceneand as he ran out the door, his sagging jeans fell down to his knees.

It turned out afterwards, that the robber was carrying a BB gun.

The entire incident was captured on multiple video cameras.

Chris Burgess, the owner of the Aurora E-Cigs of Denver outlet and two others, couldnt understand why anyone would want to rob one of his stores.

It probably had only about $100 in the cash register, he told the Denver Post.

And if the clumsy criminal had merely held onto his weapon, the clerk would have handed over his the cash, Burgess said. Our policy is Give them whatever they want, he said of the stores policy towards robbers.

Some people are suited for certain careerssome, plainly are not, Burgess explained.

I dont want to downplay the seriousness of an armed robbery, but the guy really does belong in the worlds dumbest criminals, Burgess stated.

He needs to find a new career.

Aurora Police Department spokesman Officer Kenneth Forrest said the department was using all its resources to identify the failed felon.

The robber shouldnt be hard to spot. Police should keep an eye out for someone looking deeply ashamed and embarrassed.

From NTD.tv

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Her favorites from the European lineup include rosemary loaf, tomato basil loaf, beer bread, and one made with Gruyere cheese and Black Forest ham. Dont miss out on the corn muffins, she said, which are made from fresh corn daily. As for Mexican favorites, Lizette loves the bread with cactus, corn and cheese and the pan de rancho, a semisweet bread eaten in small towns in Mexico based on a recipe from the 1900s. Vegan concha is also available.
Disgraceful: Man Assaults Elderly Man in Aged Care, Caught on Camera

A care worker for the aged was charged on Sept. 5 with assaulting an elderly man in Sydney at a care facility for the agedhis actions caught on camera in what police call disgraceful.

Prakash Paudyal, 35, was charged for allegedly pulling on the 82-year-old mans shirt and also using a shoe to hit the elderly man repeatedly.

The elderly mans daughter, Ayda Celine, had noticed dark, black bruising on his body some months ago but was initially advised that he might have fallen, 9 News reported. As months went by, she suspected something was happeningshe told 9 News that her father wouldnt let her touch him, and did not leave his bedroom, or eat.

Alongside the bruising, there had been cases where her father was sitting in a wet nappy for hours and in soaked clothes and no one has changed him, and she had called the facility to alert them of these issues, 9 News reported.

After suspecting that the facility may be mistreating her father, who suffers from dementia, Celine decided to set up a camera that would later capture the assaults.

I installed the cameras because of the bruising and because I didnt trust they were looking after him, Celine told 9 News.

Police released the footage of the incidents, which occurred Aug. 26 and Aug. 29 at Bupa Aged Care Seaforth, Sydneys northern beaches.

It is illegal to set up a camera in an aged care facility, but the abuse captured on camera outweighs the wrongdoing, police said, ABC reported.

Disgraceful

To see an elderly man treated in this way is disgraceful, Superintendent David Darcy from Northern Beaches Police Area Command said in a police release.

These vulnerable people need the communities help to be their voice, Darcy added.

Bupa issued a statement saying that it was shocked and saddened by the incident, ABC reported.

Bupa takes the safety and wellbeing of its residents seriously and we are shocked and saddened by what has occurred at our Seaforth care home, the statement read. The employee in question has been dismissed, and we are cooperating fully with NSW Police.

Paudyal has been charged with two counts of common assault (domestic violence), and use of an offensive weapon with intent to commit indictable offence, the police report read.

He has been granted conditional bail and is due to appear in court on Sept. 11.

Abuse of the elderly can be physical, psychological, emotional, or financial, according to Darcy.

Elder abuse is a fairly underreported crime in New South Wales, Detective Acting Inspector of the Northern Beaches Police Area Command Guy Magee said, ABC reported.

Our research tells us that upward of 50,000 elderly people have suffered abuse in their lives, Magee said.

Magee said that police encourage more victims and their families to report the abuse.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) had warned that abuse of elderly people is likely to rise.

Increasingly, residential aged care facilities are relying on lesser-trained personal care assistants instead of registered and enrolled nurses, AMA president, Tony Bartone said on Sept. 6, The Guardian reported.

As Australias population ages, and without resourcing for enough appropriately trained staff, and education for carers and health workers to identify and prevent elder abuse, neglect and abuse of older peoplewhether accidental or intentionalis likely to increase.

From NTD.tv
A locomotive at the construction site of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Nairobi, Kenya, on June 23, 2018. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)

Kenyans Wary of Chinas One Belt, One Road Investments

The 2018 Forum on ChinaAfrica Cooperation held in Beijing this week ended with much hype as Beijing pledged $60 billion in aid and loans to African nations. But behind the fanfare are social and economic problems that African countries face as a result of Chinese investmentas in the case of Kenya, which is seeking to modernize its infrastructure even as the nations debt load is ballooning.



With Kenyas public debt reaching about $50.6 billion, President Uhuru Kenyatta has been criticized for irresponsibly borrowing from Beijing, according to a Sept. 5 article by Kenyas largest independent newspaper, Daily Nation. As a way to ease some of that debt, Kenyatta, while in Beijing, asked China to split the $3.8 billion cost for building the next phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) into 50 percent loans and 50 percent grants, Daily Nation reported.



If China is willing to foot half of the bill for the next phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in the form of grants, Kenyatta said, taxpayers in his country would only need to pay for half of it, or $1.9 billion.

Many Kenyans consider China the biggest threat to the countrys economic development, according to another recent article by Daily Nation, citing a survey conducted between July 25 and Aug. 2 by market researcher Ipsos Synovate.

Among those polled, 26 percent see China as a threat to Kenyas development, while 38 percent believe the relationship between Kenya and China will lead to job losses. Another 25 percent say that the Kenyan economy will be hurt by imports of cheap Chinese goods, while 8 percent believe that Chinas influence will foster corruption in Kenya.

Corruption is one of the concerns voiced in a report presented at a U.S. congressional subcommittee hearing on Africa and global human rights held on March 7.

The report indicates that some contracts signed between China and top officials in the Kenyan government are shady, greased with bribes and other antecedents, such as all-expenses-paid shopping trips to China and scholarships given to Kenyan elite.

China plays a big part in corrupting leaders to gain business advantages through corruption within Africa, especially in Kenya, the paper stated.

Debt Trap

Kenyas debt to China has ballooned in recent years, according to Kenyan media. Debt owed to China stood at $4.75 billion in 2017, an increase of 52.8 percent from the previous year, and a seven-fold increase from 2013, according to an Aug. 21 article by Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke, citing data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. That amount figures to grow as Kenya moves to the second part of phase two of the SGR.

The mounting debt has some Kenyan experts worried. Jaindi Kisero, a former managing editor with Nation Media Group, the largest independent media house in East and Central Africa, warned that the country could fall into a debt trap, much like what has already happened to Sri Lanka, in an opinion article he penned in the Daily Nation that was published in May.

The Chinese will readily offer you infrastructure loans, but you will only start feeling the pinch when the time for servicing the debt comes callingand you realize that your economy is not raising enough dollars to repay it, wrote Kisero. He added that Kenya must pay back about $258 million in debt to China in 2018, and about $814 million next year, citing data from Kenyas National Treasury.

Kisero concluded, Kenya must not be left to suffer the indignity of the Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka handed over control of its main southern port located in Hambantota in December 2017, after China financed an OBOR project there. Sri Lanka was unable to pay back the $6 billion in loans and, thus, converted the debt into equity.

Eric Wamanji, a public relations and communication expert, in an opinion article published in the Daily Nation in August, warned of Chinas loans, not only for Kenya, but for other developing nations as well.

China is a calculating financier. Most of its loans are collateralized against strategic assets like minerals or seaports, Wamanji wrote. In Congo, for example, China has seized mining rights to copper and cobalt depositskey materials for developing Chinas new vehicles industryafter years of investment in the central African nation.

When states default on the loans, this affords China the liberty to seize assets, and even territory, in lieu of the repayments, Wamanji added.

The SGR is part of Chinas One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road), Beijings massive investment initiative with countries throughout Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Kenya is considered a strategic point in the maritime trade route laid out in OBOR plans, which runs from China through Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Greece, and finally, to Italy.

To push forward its OBOR initiative, Beijing has claimed that its projects will create jobs for locals where projects are being built. Yet, the contrary is often true.

Public Dissent

In October 2014, Kenyan youth blocked a section of a highway in Voi, a town in Taita-Taveta County in southern Kenya, to protest against China Roads and Bridges Company. The Chinese firm, contracted by Beijing, had hired foreigners instead of locals to build a section of the SGR, according to Daily Nation.

The same company was also the target of another protest in the same town in May 2017, with local youth protesting hiring discrimination against locals, according to Daily Nation.

Phase one of the SGR, a roughly 300-mile-long railway connecting Kenyas capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa, was built at a cost of $3.2 billion with Chinese financing and inaugurated in June 2017, according to Reuters. Chinas state-run Export-Import Bank of China paid for 90 percent of the cost, and the Kenyan government paid the remaining 10 percent.

The first part of phase two, a roughly 75-mile railway linking Nairobi to Naivasha, a town located northwest of Nairobi, is currently under construction.

Mombasa eventually will serve as a trade gateway in East Africa, as the SGR will link to railways in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.

The second part of phase twoat a cost of $3.8 billionis a railway linking Naivasha and Kisumu, a port city on Lake Victoria, a body of water bordered by three nations: Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
87 Elephants Found Slaughtered in Botswana, Africa

An alarming number of elephant carcasses have been discovered in aerial surveys across Botswana in what has been described as a poaching frenzy.

Botswana was once known as a sanctuary for elephants, home to the worlds largest elephant population.

But now, conservationists have discovered 87 of them slaughtered just in the last few months.

They were spotted in aerials surveys with their tusks missing.

Elephants Without Borders says it has never seen so many dead elephants in one single areal surveycounting 48 in one flight alone, the New York Times reported.

The NGO says the discovery is indicative of a poaching frenzy in the area.

The new government, which took power in April, recently demilitarized anti-poaching units without explaining why.

Anti-poaching activists say its the sign of a major spike in poaching activity, where despite existing sales bans, the money on the black market is enough to lure poachers.

The survey is ongoing and experts warn the numbers are expected to climb.

Reporter Gavino Garay
Florida Man Flees Traffic Stop, Jumps Into Algae-Filled Canal

A Florida man tried to flee a traffic stop and jumped into an algae-filled canal, forcing police to rescue him.

The Cape Coral Police Department released footage of the escape and rescue from the canal.

Abraham Duarte, 22, was pulled over for speeding, according to the Naples News. Duarte stopped his car, fled on foot, and then jumped into the canal.

Duarte was overcome with the algae in the water after he swallowed some, a police news release said, according to the publication. He swam back to the shore and was pulled out by police.

Officers then sprayed him with a hose to clean off the algae covering his body.

The publication said that several vials of THC oil were found in his vehicle.

Blue-green algae can make people sick or cause skin irritation. He was taken to the hospital to treat the effects of algae, and after he was released, he was booked into the Lee County Jail.

He is charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and resisting an officer, according to the report.

Duarte told The Washington Post that he wasnt thinking about the algae when he jumped into the canal.

There was too much adrenaline, Duarte said. I had a panic attack.

He lives in Ocala, so theres a chance that he didnt realize how bad the water was, Allan Kolak, a spokesman for the Cape Coral Police Department, said. Once he got in, he was saying, This is no good.

It was in his eyes, in his ears, all across his face, all over his body. It was everywhere, Kolak said. Its pretty nasty stuff.
A sold sign is shown in front of a West End Toronto home in this file photo. Toronto has one of the lowest home ownership rates in Canada. (The Canadian Press/Graeme Roy)

Home Ownership in Canada Declines, Reversing Long Upward Trend

Home ownership in Canada fell for the first time in over 45 years, according to a Point2Homes study released this week. It had reached a record high of 69 percent in 2011, but as of 2016, it fell to 67.8 percent.

Using 2016 Statistics Canada census data, the study showed that the drop in home ownership was broad-based, declining in 88 of Canadas 100 largest cities.

The collapse in oil prices that started in mid-2014 and the ensuing recession in Canadas economy marked a turning point in the homeownership story, according to the study, which also cited analysis by Macleans. As the purchasing power of consumers fell while home prices kept climbing, homeownership rates fell.

Another factor contributing to the decline is the fact that millennials have a lower homeownership rate than baby boomers did at the age of 30, according to Statistics Canada. And, increasingly, young adults are living with their parents.

The effect of house prices has the greatest impact on homeownership. Vancouver and Toronto, Canadas two least affordable housing markets, also have two of the lowest home ownership rates in the country at 44 percent and 51 percent respectively.

And Alberta, which suffered acutely from the oil price shock, has the third highest homeownership rate of any Canadian province or territory, since housing there is relatively affordable.

Montreal, long known as a renters city, has the lowest proportion of homeowners at 37 percent. Caledon, Ontario, has the highest proportion at 90.8 percent.

Quebec has nine of the top 20 cities with the lowest homeownership rates in the country. According to the provinces real estate board, home ownership is considered to be less important than in other parts of the country.

Canada does not benefit from the tax deductibility of mortgage interest, a factor that should encourage home ownership. Nevertheless, in the United States, with the tax benefit of home ownership, the national rate is 64.3 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Homeownership in the United States peaked at 69.2 percent in 2004 and had been gradually falling, until it began to rise again in 2016.

Homeownership remains the norm in Canada, with owners outnumbering an increasing amount of renters by more than two to one.

Follow Rahul on Twitter @RV_ETBiz
Police Search Home of New Jersey Couple Who Opened GoFundMe Account for Homeless Man

Authorities in New Jersey have executed a search warrant at the home of a couple accused of withholding hundreds of thousands of dollars raised through a GoFundMe campaign for a homeless good Samaritan.

Officials were at the couples home in Bordentown early on Sept. 6, a day after a judge ordered them to appear in court, Fox29 reported.

Kate McClure and Mark DAmico started the fundraising account that ended up collecting more than $400,000 for John Bobbitt, a homeless man living on the streets of Philadelphia. The couple started the fundraiser after Bobbitt used his last $20 to buy gas for McClure when he saw her stranded on the side of I-95 in November of last year.

But the homeless man, who is a veteran, has sued the couple over what he alleges is missing cash from the GoFundMe account. Bobbitt claims that hes only received $75,000 of the $400,000 raised.

In a statement, the Burlington County Prosecutors Office said on Sept. 6: Due to the enormous public interest in this matter, I am confirming that a search warrant was executed early this morning by the Burlington County Prosecutors Office and the Florence Township Police Department at the residence of Mark DAmico and Katelyn McClure, in connection with a criminal investigation into the Johnny Bobbitt matter.

As of this time, there have been no charges filed. Further updates will be provided as circumstances warrant.

Funds Gone

Bobbitts attorney, Chris Fallon, said he found out in a conference call with the couples lawyer on Sept. 4 that all of the money raised in Bobbitts name is gone, according to ABC. Bobbitt has accused McClure and DAmico of using the funds to purchase a BMW and go on take multiple vacations.

I always felt like I was in a weird situation, Bobbitt told ABC. I didnt want to be pressuring to get a lawyer or do anything because I didnt want to seem ungrateful.

I wish it didnt come to this, he added. I hate that it came to this.

McClure and DAmico have claimed theyve given Bobbitt half of the $400,000, while Bobbitt says hes only received $75,000.

The New Jersey couple also claimed that at one point, they were holding back some of the money because Bobbitt was using the funds to buy drugs.

Judge Issues Order
A job seeker fills out an application at a job fair in this file photo. Canadian small- and medium-sized firms are desperate to hire more young workers.(AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

Labour Shortage Is the New Norm That Will Last a Decade: BDC Economist

TORONTOCanadas small- and mid-sized companies must find ways to adapt to a new norm of worker shortages that will likely persist for a decade, says Pierre Cleroux, chief economist for the Business Development Bank of Canada.

They represent about 50 percent of the Canadian economy, so they are very important. Also, they are very important in smaller communities, Cleroux said in an interview ahead of a report issued on Sept. 5 by the federal crown corporation.

The BDCs survey of 1,208 people from small- and medium-sized businesses, with at least $500,000 in annual sales, found 39 percent of them were having difficulties hiring the types of new workers they required.

Last month, the national unemployment rate for July fell to a four-decade low of 5.8 percent.

A private-sector analysis from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business released last month also found its job vacancy rate hit 3.1 percent in the second quartera new high for a statistic calculated since 2004.

Cleroux says the recent strength of the economy is one reason for the trend but the bigger issue is that the supply of younger workers is barely keeping up with the number of older people who are retiring.

A lot of people think this is only temporary. Unfortunately this is not the case and its important to understand that, because they have to change the way they manage their human resources, Cleroux said.

Because this is a new normal. If you think this is temporary, you will take temporary measureswhich is the wrong way to approach this issue.

The strategies will vary depending on factors such as location and the number of employees in the company, he said, but noted that businesses would benefit from doing more to promote their corporate image through social media.

Most people have a choice when theyre looking for a job, Cleroux said. So if your company is small, it might be a bit more difficult to attract people unless you position your company in a better way.

Only 24 percent of the respondents to the BDCs telephone survey, conducted by Maru/Matchbox between April 30 and May 11, said they were investing more to improve their image.

By contrast, 35 percent said their business was changing compensation policies in response to labour shortage, 40 percent were hiring younger employees, and 43 percent indicated they were hiring less-qualified workers.

CFIB chief economist Ted Mallett said in an interview that the 110,000-member organizations analysis shows businesses who report labour shortages tend to plan for higher wage settings.

Wage growth is projected at 2.8 percent for those with vacancies, compared with 1.9 percent that dont have vacancies, he said.

So they are responding on the price side but that wont solve the issue for everybody, Mallett said.

Some businesses have responded by hiring fewer but more highly skilled employees while others have turned to increased automation.

BDC, which specializes in financing solutions such as commercial lending and venture capital for startups, says the labour shortage is hampering Canadas economic competitiveness.

Specifically, our statistical analysis shows that firms that are more affected by labour shortages are 65 percent more likely to be low-growth companies, the 27-page report said.

The shortage was most acute with companies with from 10 to 99 employees, where more than half of respondents indicated it was difficult to hire new workers and less than a one-quarter said it was easy to hire.
Man Accused of Killing Pregnant Maryland Teacher Found Dead in Cell

A Maryland man charged with the killing of his girlfriend, a pregnant high school teacher, was found dead in his jail cell.

Tyler Tessier was 32 when he was arrested in September 2017, following the discovery of his girlfriend Laura Wallen, who was four months pregnant, in a shallow grave.

Officials said at the time that Tessier was suspected to be the father of the unborn child but was engaged to be married to a different woman.

#BREAKING: Tyler Tessier, man accused of murdering pregnant girlfriend, found dead in prison cell https://t.co/mysOAkcdrL pic.twitter.com/cjWn7ROgSu  FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) September 6, 2018

Found Dead

Tessier was found dead in his cell around 5:10 a.m. on Sept. 6, reported NBC. Officials believe he committed suicide.

The death comes on the same day his trial was scheduled to start.

Tessier was facing a first-degree murder charge.

Read More Boyfriend of Maryland High School Teacher Charged After Shes Found Dead

Kevin Lewis, an ABC7 reporter, said that Tessier was in court on Sept. 4, for jury selection. He was wearing a suit/tie and barely uttered a word, Lewis said.

This news comes as a shock to all. So much work put into the case.

A source told Lewis that Tessier had asked his public defender recently if he even needed to show up to the trial, which was scheduled to last three weeks.

BREAKING: Tyler Tessier found dead in jail cell hours before his trial was set to begin. Apparent hanging. I saw Tessier in court Tuesday during jury selection. He was wearing a suit/tie + barely uttered a word. This news comes as a shock to all. So much work put into the case. pic.twitter.com/vLVxRQCcMJ  Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) September 6, 2018

An Adventure

Tessier was the last known person to see Wallen and surveillance footage showed the pair together on Sept. 2, 2017, near Wallens home.

A text message from Wallen to her sister said that Tessier had taken her on a trip to a farm.

Tyler has me on an adventure in the country  dont know why Im here but its for something, she wrote, according to court records.

She was found dead 11 days later in a shallow grave on a large farm in Damascus. Authorities said shed been shot in the back of the head.

Laura Wallen was reported missing one year ago today. This morning, jury selection begins in Montgomery Co. murder trial of Tyler Tessier, charged with killing Wallen, who was 14 weeks pregnant with his child. He'd just gotten engaged to another woman. https://t.co/588HMiIJrZ pic.twitter.com/2z4t1n8qU8  Neal Augenstein (@AugensteinWTOP) September 4, 2018

Admission

Tessier told police officers that he shot Wallen once because he was afraid he had buried her alive, Montgomery County prosecutors said in a motion obtained by WTOP.

Tessier said that Wallen had tried to attack him with a pair of scissors and he was able to get out of the way but she collided into a wooden post and collapsed. He believed she had died, so she buried her.

When he grew concerned perhaps she was not deceased and that he had buried her alive, he stated he shot her once in the back of the head, to ensure she wasnt suffering, according to prosecutors.

From NTD.tv

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Man Struck by Metal Pipe in Fight Suffers Life-Threatening Injuries

A man suffered life-threatening injuries when another man hit him with a pipe during an altercation in San Franciscos Mission District on the morning of Sept. 4, police said.

The attack was reported at about 9:15 a.m. in the area of 15th and Caledonia streets.

A suspect, believed to be in his 30s, struck the 47-year-old victim with a metal pipe and then fled, according to police.

The victim was taken to a hospital and an update on his condition was not immediately available.

The suspect remains at large. Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the Police Departments anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444.

By Dan McMenamin
Priorat is in the region of Tarragona, Tarraconensis to the Romans and their capital of the entire Iberian Peninsula. Priorat takes its name from the priory, or monastery, built by French Carthusian monks in the 12th century at the behest of King Alfonso The Chaste of Spain who brought them south for that purpose alone.
Mayors of SF, SJ, Oakland Oppose Commissioners Proposal for Energy Exit Fee

The mayors of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland called on the California Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 4, to reject a proposal that they claim would increase the exit fees for customers who opt to buy electricity from local governments instead of investor-owned utilities.

Mayors London Breed, Sam Liccardo, and Libby Schaaf argued in a comment letter to the commission that the proposal by Commissioner Carla Peterman would cost consumers more and hinder efforts to promote clean energy.

This proposal makes it more expensive for San Franciscans to choose clean energy over dirty fossil fuels, Breed said in a statement announcing the letter.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said, This proposal would raise energy prices for all Oaklanders, but it would cost our most vulnerable customers the most.

Petermans proposal and an earlier proposal by an administrative law judge that the mayors prefer are on the agenda of the commissions Sept. 13 meeting in San Francisco and could be voted on by the agencys five commissioners at the date.

The vote could be postponed, however; the commission announces agenda postponements the day before a meeting.

Local-government electricity providers are known as Community Choice Aggregators. They are established by cities or counties and were authorized by a 2002 state law. The local entities buy or generate electricity for participating customers, usually with the aim of providing cleaner energy or lower costs or both.

San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland are among about 19 California cities and counties that are either operating or soon to operate such programs.

Under the law, a utility can charge departing customers for their fair share of the costs of energy generation the utility bought for customers through means such as long-term contracts or acquisition of power plants.

Such a fee is called a Power Charge Indifference Adjustment.

The issue before the CPUC is how to revise a previous formula to provide a fairer way of allocating those costs among the departing customers, remaining customers and the utilities themselves.

Petermans Aug. 14 proposal is an alternative to an Aug. 1 proposal prepared by Administrative Law Judge Stephen Roscow.

The mayors letter urges the commission to adopt Roscows proposal and turn down Petermans.

They wrote, We believe (Roscows) proposed decision is balanced for all parties, encouraging the investor-owned utilities to prudently manage their existing resources and plan future procurement for the benefit of all ratepayers, while allowing the Community Choice Aggregators to continue to grow and develop innovative local energy programs.

A San Francisco-based consumer group, The Utility Reform Network, took a different position, telling the commission in an Aug. 21 filing that it considered Petermans proposal to be fairer to remaining utility customers.

By Julia Cheever
Nauru President Baron Divavesi Waqa at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, on September 20, 2017. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

Nauru Demands an Apology from China for Disrespect at Pacific Forum

WELLINGTON/SYDNEYThe tiny Micronesian state of Nauru is demanding a formal apology from China after a dispute with Chinas representative at this weeks Pacific Islands Forum brought to the surface tensions with Beijing over its support for Taiwan.

Nauru, an island country of roughly 12,000 inhabitants, hosted leaders of 18 Pacific nations, plus delegations from non-member countries including the United States and China, for the forum.

The spat occurred on Sept. 4, when Naurus President Baron Waqa refused to give way after the head of the Chinese delegation, diplomat Du Qiwen, demanded to be allowed to address the forum before the Prime Minister of Tuvalu.

Waqa described Chinas envoy as very insolent and a bully for speaking out of turn.

Nauru and Tuvalu are two of six Pacific countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which is a major source of tension with China. China regards Taiwanwhich has its own democratically-elected government, military, and currencyas a wayward province that will one day be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary.

During a media conference that followed the leaders meeting at the forum late on Sept. 5, Naurus president was asked whether he would seek a formal apology from China over its envoys behavior.

We will go further than that, I tell you we wont just seek an apology, we will actually get the forum to do itas well as our own and we will even take it up to the UN, Waqa said.

Never mind they are big, they are our partners, they should not disrespect us, he added.

Chinas Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying pushed the blame on Taiwan.

I wish to admonish Nauru and the director behind this performance that in the face of the broad historical trend of the one China principle, they should immediately stop creating a scene for no reason and again invite humiliation.

In an effort to delegitimize Taiwan, Beijing has pressured other nations to only recognize one China: the one ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times said in an editorial that the dispute was connected to Naurus recognition of Taiwan.

Taiwan should not believe there is still an opportunity for its diplomacy just because of Naurus actions, the paper said on Sept. 6.

Taiwans Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrew Lee told Reuters in a written statement that it was basic etiquette to respect the arrangement made by a host country in international conferences.

The ministry also thanked the support from Nauru, he said.

Waqa said that he had not allowed China to speak, as protocol dictated that he allow prime ministers and ministers to speak before diplomats.

I have to be strong here because no one is to come and dictate things for us, Waqa said. Its about the way they treated us, theyre not our friends. They just use us for their own purpose, for their own will.

The forum is set to end on Sept. 6.

China has become one of the dominant economic players in the Pacific, spending billions of dollars in trade, investment, aid, and tourism in a region that Australia has long regarded as its backyard.

Chinese lending to the region has surged from nearly zero to $1.3 billion over the last decade, stoking concern that tiny nations could end up overburdened and in debt.

Tuvalu is set to host the Pacific Island Forum in 2019. Waqa said some states had suggested changing the rules around which forum events that countries with dialogue partner status, including China, would be allowed to speak.

By Charlotte Greenfield & Tom Westbrook
New Chinese Social Security Reform Slaps Extra $300 Billion Tax on Enterprises and Workers

News analysis

A social security tax reform introduced by the Chinese authorities this July has been criticized for putting more pressure on small-to-medium enterprises. Employers and employees will have to foot an estimated extra 2 trillion yuan (about $300 billion) annually in order to comply with the updated tax, which will take effect in 2019.

On July 20, the Chinese state released its Reform Plan on the National and Local Taxation Collection and Management System. The plan will be effective next Jan. 1.

On Aug. 20, five ministries  including the State Administration of Taxation, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security  convened a meeting to transfer duties for social insurance and non-tax revenue collection and management. The transfer work should be completed by Dec. 10, per mainland reports.

Hua Changchun, a macroeconomist of the Guotai Junan Securities Research Team, said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) authorities introduced the Reform Plan to counter tax evasion and to cover increasing shortfalls in social insurance funding.

According to Hua, the new social security plan will greatly increase small-to-medium enterprise (SME) operating costs, affecting profits and badly impacting employees incomes.

Companies will pay an additional 1.5 trillion yuan per year, reducing their earnings by about 13 percent. As the Reform Plan increases corporate operating costs, it essentially passes on these burdens to the employees, whose consumption will in turn decrease. Huas research team estimated that the Reform Plan will cause a 1.5 percent hit to Chinas GDP.

Exorbitant Fees

The social security tax rate in China is already very high when compared with most countries at any level of development. For instance, the corporate pension rate in China is about 20 percent, compared with 8.25 percent in Japan, 9.3 percent in Germany, and Swedens 9.25 percent, and just 6.2 percent in the United States.

According to the study by Guotai Junan Securities, the percentage of pre-tax income for Chinese companies and employees that must go to various forms of insurance is double that of the global average.

The China Enterprise Social Insurance White Paper 2017s survey shows that fewer companies are paying the full share of taxes. In 2015, about 40 percent of companies paid their fees, while this figure had dropped to 25 percent by 2017. Over 70 percent of companies fell short in their social security payments.

Aging Demographic Exacerbates Social Security Woes

Pension deficits are worsening as the Chinese population grows older.

According to the China Pension Report 2016, in 2015, the Pension Fund Individual Accounts currently comprises empty accounts of 4.7 trillion yuan (around $684 billion) in net value. Current pension payments are paid out of accumulated balances which amount to only about 3.5 trillion yuan, making a 1.2-trillion yuan shortage.

The pension system includes two components: the base pension and the personal account pension. The employer pays 20 percent into the base pension fund that the government distributes to retirees, while the 8 percent paid by the employee goes to his or her personal account.

If the government doesnt have sufficient funds to pay pensioners from base funding, it has to draw money from employees personal accounts. Once it has been spent, the account becomes an empty account.

Demographic forecasts show that by 2020, over 255 million Chinese will be aged 60 or older  nearly 18 percent of the total population. By 2030, the figure will rise to 320 million.

However, the government is paying current pensioners using funds contributed by people born between the 1970s and 1990s. It is unclear how their own pensions will be funded when they reach retirement age.
North Koreas Kim Expresses Wish to Denuclearize in Trumps First Term

SEOULNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he wants to denuclearize the Korean peninsula during U.S. President Donald Trumps first term, as he agreed to hold a third summit with his South Korean counterpart this month in Pyongyang, Seoul officials said on Sept. 6.

Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet in the North Korean capital on Sept. 18-20, during which they will discuss practical measures toward denuclearization, the Souths national security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, told reporters a day after meeting Kim in Pyongyang.

Kim told the South Korean officials that his faith in Trump remains unchanged and he wanted to denuclearize and end long-standing hostile relations between North Korea and the United States during Trumps first term ending early 2021, Chung said.

Kims remarks to South Korean officials mark the first time that the North Korean leader has offered a potential timeline for dismantling his countrys nuclear weapons program.

Kim reaffirmed his determination to completely denuclearize the peninsula, and expressed his willingness for close cooperation with South Korea and the United States in that regard, Chung said.

Chairman Kim  expressed frustration over the doubt shown by some parts of the international society about his will, Chung said.

North Korea has been preemptively carrying out measures needed for denuclearization, and Kim said he would appreciate that such good faith is accepted with good faith.

South Koreas Moon sent Chung and other envoys to the North Korean capital on Sept. 5 to set the timing and agenda for the third inter-Korean summit this year, and to break the impasse in talks between Washington and Pyongyang over dismantling the Norths nuclear program.

Kim and Trump held a watershed summit in June in Singapore, during which they said they would work toward complete denuclearization, establish new relations, and build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean peninsula.

But negotiations have since stalled over differences on how to implement the agreement, and amid signs of North Koreans continuing with their weapons program.

considerable aid, including money, fuel, fertilizer and various other commodities. This is not helpful! Nonetheless, the President believes that his relationship with Kim Jong Un is a very good and warm one, and there is no reason at this time to be spending large amounts  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018

Trump abruptly canceled U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos planned visit to Pyongyang last month, citing a lack of progress in the talks that he attributed to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Trump accused the CCP of encouraging Pyongyang to renege on its denuclearization commitments.

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

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

As other trade partners walked away, China has been almost singularly responsible for North Korea's growing economy. https://t.co/8dURikmptC pic.twitter.com/cEvnn6UzKu  Chris Canipe ? (@ccanipe) September 27, 2017

During the Sept. 5 meeting, Kim emphasized that the initial steps North Korea has already takenincluding dismantling its underground nuclear test site and a missile engine facilitymeans the country has ended nuclear and long-range missile testing for good, Chung said.

If reciprocation is shown for North Koreas preemptive measures that have already been completed, he strongly expressed his will that more active measures for North Koreas denuclearization can be taken.

By Joyce Lee and Hyonhee Shin
Pearl Harbor Sailors Family Finally Gets Closure 77 Years Later

"He just always wondered if he was dead or alive"

Thomas Clark Jr. had always been interested in his uncle George, a U.S. Navy sailor who died on the USS Oklahoma when Pearl Harbor was bombed. After Clark served in the U.S. Army in 1968 and 1969, his maternal uncles fate became a lot more significant because he understood what war was like.

Navy Electricians Mate 3rd Class George Harvey Gibson was 20 years old when Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941. Multiple torpedo hits caused the USS Oklahoma to capsize in 12 minutes, taking with it 429 sailors and crewmen, including George.

Clarks mother (Georges sister) was driving when she heard over the radio that Pearl Harbor had been bombed.

So she chucked out this letter the next day, December 8, saying: George please send me a telegram. Let me know youre OK. I know the ship was attacked but we dont know anything. Please, please Im worried,' Clark told Humanity in a phone interview.

The letter was never delivered again, it was sent back.

The Wilson Long Beach High School graduate was presumed dead. Although his family knew that he had been buried in Honolulus National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, or Punchbowl, his remains were never identifiedand that made it difficult for his relatives to move on.

After exhaustive search it has been found impossible to locate your son, George Harvey Gibson Electricians Mate Third Class, US Navy and he has therefore been officially declared to have lost his life in the service of his country as of December seventh nineteen forty one, the telegram read.

Georges death was especially challenging for his father, Paul Gibsona World War I veteran and farmer from Winchester, Kansas.

My grandfather really missed him. He took it really hard, Dennis Cummings, Georges nephew from Winchester, told the Humanity. Cummings grandfather always talked about George to Cummings and his siblings.

Not only was missing his son painful, but the lack of a dignified burial added insult to injury.

He just always wondered if he was dead or alive, Cummings said.

The Search

After getting drafted into the Army and experiencing war firsthand, Clark said he wanted to know more about uncle George.

Besides studying and buying books on Pearl Harbor, he spoke to sailors who had been stationed there, and learned a lot about the battleship USS Oklahoma.

After all these years, Clark has kept everything he could get a hold of on his uncle: photographs, original letters between George and his sister, local newspaper clippings from the 1940s, a wooden stool he built in high school, his Navy uniform, and even a lock of his hair.

If you study your family and your history, it brings you all together, it gives you a purpose, a camaraderie, said Clark, now living in Roseville, California.

An Unexpected Discovery

But when Clark did a Google search on the USS Oklahoma earlier this year, he had no idea it would lead to a bittersweet homecoming that was decades in the making.

I found out that they started exhuming bodies from the Oklahoma crewsomething I never expected, Clark said.

In June 2015, personnel from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) began exhuming the remains from The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, where George was buried.

A few weeks after sending in a swab from his cheek for DNA testing, Clark got a call from a woman from forensics who had found his uncle George. He was officially accounted for on February 12, 2018.

I said Its been 77 years. My mom, my grandma, my grandpa are all passed away and they never, ever, thought this could happen,' Clark said.

Clark decided to have his uncles remains buried in Los Angelesbelieving its what uncle George and Clarks mother would have wanted.

George was originally from Winchester, but after his junior year of high school, he followed his sister and his mother to Los Angeles where he finished his senior year of high school before joining the U.S. Navy in San Diego.

This is home, Clark said. And I think George would agreeI know my mom would.

Closure After Nearly 77 Years

On July 20, United Airlines flew the remains to LAX, where a monumental event honoring Georges arrival was more than Clark could have ever imagined.

The mayor of Inglewood, the police, the sheriffs department, L.A. police, airport policethey put together an ensemble of people in vehicles to take Georges remains off the airplane for me from United Airlines at LAX, and drove him via motor chain to Inglewood Mortuary, Clark said.

The Los Angeles Fire Department lined the tarmac as the sailors casket, draped with an American flag, was carried off the plane. A minister spoke and then the Navy did their procedures.

After folding the flag and giving it to Clark, a motorcade of about 20 police cars and volunteer veterans on motorcycles escorted Georges remains to Inglewood Mortuary, giving him the homecoming he deserved.

There was hundreds of people watching at the airport, and then the motor chain at night with all the sirens and lights going on in the city, Clark said. It was just overwhelming.

The veteran was buried beside his sister, Mary Eva Gibson, at the Inglewood Park Cemetery with full military honors on Saturday, July 21 at 11 a.m.

Georges homecoming gave his family a great sense of closure and peace.

I never thought I would ever be in a position where I could bring him home. And all of the sudden within a few days I was able to do it and share it with the family, Clark said. This is really a shock.

Cummings and his wife Martha were present at Georges funeral, representing the family from Winchester.

It was a sad day but a happy day too knowing that hes home finally, an emotional Cummings said. He added that Georges homecoming would have meant a lot to his grandfather (Georges father).

Thats one thing he always wanted for George was to have the military honors, Cummings said. Thats just something that wouldve made it right with the country for his life.

Cummings was also happy for the opportunity for his children to learn about their great uncle and their history.

I think they really appreciate this, Cummings said.

Both men stressed the importance that young Americans know their history and appreciate the sacrifices of the World War II generation.

They have no clue, where, why, or how they got here. This country took on the role of world leader after the war, Clark said. We fought socialism, communism, for our freedom.

The family is looking forward to a reunion in Gower, Missouri, on August 19, 2018.

This article was first published on Humanity.
Pianist Asiya Korepanova Finds Magic Hidden in the Details

"When I'm touched by the music, I'm touched by the music in a very particular way and I'm trying to convey that feeling to the audiences. I'm trying to make them hear the music the way I hear, which is very difficult because we all have different perceptions."

Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No. 1 is a popular piece. And in Russia, where pianist Asiya Korepanova grew up, even more ludicrously so.

You hear it constantly, people play it all the time. You hear on the television, radio, everywhere, everywhere, Korepanova told Humanity. As such, the famous showpiece becomes almost background noise. To musicians, it can feel overplayed.

It wasnt until Korepanova opened the score with her own hands that the music revealed to her what she hadnt heard before.

I discovered that the score actually, when you read it the way its written, there are certain details that sound different than what a lot of people play on stage, Korepanova said. Thats how I first discovered how strong the performance tradition can be.

Following the Score

Korepanova, like all musicians today, grew up in the age of recorded musicit has undeniably changed not only the way classical music is consumed and digested, but the way it is performed.

Somebody prominent plays a concerto or records a concerto, and hundreds of people listen to that [recording], Korepanova explained in a phone interview on Aug. 24.

Inevitably, the famous musicians interpretation takes hold in our psyche, and two things happen: audiences henceforth expect the piece to be played a certain way, and musicians may begin to interpret an interpretationthe recordingrather than the composers original work as written.

A famous example of this is the controversies about the tempos at which Beethoven symphonies should be performed; people used to the slow, sweeping renditions of his works as interpreted by some famous conductors are sometimes shocked or skeptical when a musicologist explains the movement was meant to be quite brisk.

Korepanova was very young when she made this discovery via Tchaikovskys Piano Concerto No. 1and the revelation was incredible. (Incidentally, Tchaikovsky was one of the first composers to witness a preview of Edisons sound recording technology.)

Playing through this piece, I was amazedit actually sounds really fresh for me, Korepanova said. Despite having heard it hundreds of times, it was as if I am discovering it the very first time of my life, because Im just playing whats written in the score.

Korepanova now sight reads voraciously, frequenting the library to meet as many scores, both popular and obscure, as her busy schedule permits.

That fresh feeling of discovery guides her as a performing artist.

When Im touched by the music, Im touched by the music in a very particular way and Im trying to convey that feeling to the audiences, Korepanova said. Im trying to make them hear the music the way I hear, which is very difficult because we all have different perceptions.

Digging Deeper

One of Korepanovas biggest influences is undoubtedly Franz Liszt, the superstar virtuoso whose time was just before the advent of sound recording technology.

I think Liszt is a victim of objectifying, Korepanova said with a laugh.

The Romantic composer left behind an incredibly diverse body of work, but is sometimes thought of as that author of some show-off pieces meant for showy encores (or, perhaps, as the pianist who would play so hard in concerts he would literally break pianos, or challenge other pianists to duels in front of crowds of thousands).

Korepanova is noted for having performed all 24 of Liszts etudes in one recital (S.139, S.141, S.143, S.144, S.145), a project that had her delving into Liszts mind and character through studying the body of his work.

[Liszt] of course made his name as a virtuosic performer and really expanded whats possible on the piano and was really creative about it, she said. But at the same time Liszt had a very deep and colorful and prominent side that is often overlooked.

Beyond the duels and smashed pianos, Liszt was actually a deeply religious man as well as a nationalist and a philanthropist who gave much of his earnings to charities and contributed to the building of cathedrals and monuments and music schools. Liszts rich and storied life is no doubt accessible, in some way, through his music.

Liszt. Mazeppa transcendental etude

The initial work on [the Transcendental Etudes] really changed my perspective of him just being a showoff composerhes extremely serious, Korepanova said.

Korepanova looks forward to performing the 24-etude cycle again in the future, as well as an exciting piano battle she will participate in in September.

In the 1830s, the piano fans of Paris were divided between Liszt and Sigismund Thalberg. and the rivalry resulted in a duel between the pianistsin concert, before the Princess Belgiojoso as a part of benefit event.

The Opera Atelier is putting on a similar recital in which Korepanova will be performing Liszts works against another pianist performing Thalberg, on Sept. 27 at the Maurice Gusman Concert Hall.

Writing Her Own Path

Another similarity Korepanova shares, perhaps, is her transcription work. Liszt is also famous for further popularizing masterpieceseverything from Baroque madrigals to operas to all of Beethovens symphoniesby transcribing them for piano.

Transcribing a piece originally written for other instrumentseven multiple instruments, or an entire symphony and choirinto a work for piano is akin to taming a wild animal, according to Korepanova.

But the depth and breadth of the piano allows it to be done.

If youre really attentive to the sounds and tempers of the piano, you can sound like an orchestra, Korepanova said. I really like the power and colors a piano can give.

The transcription work began with Korepanovas love for Rachmaninoff.

The Russian composer is a staple in Korepanovas repertoire, but when it came to his Cello Sonata, she was stumped.

Rachmaninoff was a genius pianist and he wrote mostly for the piano, and when he wrote that sonata for piano and cello he failedI mean, its a gorgeous piece, dont get me wrongbut he failed to give the cello as prominent a presence as the piano, Korepanova explained. Every measure for the cello would have three to six notes, and the piano could have 30 to 80I counted!

So when you play with the cellist you basically cannot play with your full powers and colors, because if you play as you normally play, you cover up the cello, she said. Cellists love to argue that if the cellist is really good its not a problem, but no, because Rachmaninoff also wrote some episodes in the weaker registers for cello.

As such the work has always been both a joy and challenge for Korepanova, unable to fully express herself on the piano for fear of overpowering the cello.

It got her thinkingwhat if she could play the entirety of the piece, both voices, by herself?

It was a consuming and passionate process, but after thinking about the work for years, she turned out the transcriptionthe first of this piece for pianoin two months.

I enjoyed the process so much Im constantly writing something [now], she said.

Sound recording has reached unprecedented quality and immediacy and Korepanova, in her early 30s, is part of the first generation of musicians who are able to transmit their performance from nearly anywhere at anytime, to the world at large.

Korepanova first began her transcription work in earnest four years ago, though she had been ruminating over the idea for over a decade, and many of these works are viewable in an ongoing YouTube series she began to showcase short pieces.

These 2-minute, 5-minute pieces are otherwise too short to be able to be easily programmed into a recital, but Korepanova thinks they deserve to be shared. At midnight Pacific Standard Time, Korepanova streams live from the piano a little gem of a piece that reminds us thatjust as she finds her own voice in each piece she lovesthere is always something more to be discovered in the rich works of classical music.

Franck-Korepanova Le mariage des Roses

She follows a 4-work cycle in programming: one is always a very famous piece, one is by a Russian composer, one is a transcription of Korepanovas own work, and the other is a complete unknownwhether it be a lesser known composer, or a neglected piece from a well-known composer.

Midnight Pieces will be a series of 53 videos in totalshe began the series last September and after a recent break to put on her music festival in Baltimore, she will resume again in September.

Brahms. Sonata for viola and piano No.2, with Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola

This article was first published on Humanity.
Police Ask for Help in Locating Stabbing Suspect

Berkeley police are asking for the publics help in locating a suspect who allegedly stabbed a woman in her 70s in Berkeley early morning on Sept. 3.

Police said officers responded at 2:47 a.m. to a call of a woman screaming for help near a home in the 1500 block of Edith Street. Officers found the woman with at least one stab wound. Police didnt provide information on her condition.

The suspect was identified as Mark Edward Jekabson, 42, who is listed as 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs around 160 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes. Police provided a photo of the suspect in which he has a goatee but said he is believed to be clean-shaven now.

Police said Jekabson is known to visit Live Oak Park and the Solano Avenue corridor between Berkeley and Albany. Anyone who sees him is asked to call 911.

By PF
Bookers Spartacus Moment at Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing Falls Flat

Sen. Cory Booker called it his I am Spartacus moment.

As an act of civil disobedience, the Democrat from New Jersey was about to release what he thought were committee-confidential documents in a bid to protest the classification of some emails requested as part of the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

I am going to release the email about racial profiling and I understand that the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate, Booker (D-N.J.) said on Sept. 6. I am knowingly violating the rules.

Minutes later, the documents appeared on Bookers Twitter account for all to see. But either Booker or his staff must have missed an important email that morning. The Justice Department (DOJ) had already cleared the documents for public release.

Apparently, someone just wanted to break the rules and make a scene, but didnt check their email, a spokesman for committee Republicans told Fox News.

All of this drama this morning apparently was for nothing and its unfortunate, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters during a break in the hearings. It had already been worked out that this was going to be released to the public.

Booker said he would release what he thought was a committee-confidential email to show that the email didnt contain any sensitive national security-related material, arguing that he didnt agree with the confidential designation and that the public deserved to see the email.

Booker had brought up the same email in an exchange with Kavanaugh on the previous day of the hearings but refused to let the judge see the email. The move drew an objection from a Republican counterpart who argued that its unfair to question Kavanaugh about a document he couldnt see.

When it was still unclear whether the documents Booker was vowing to release were already cleared, Cornyn criticized Booker for pulling a political stunt. Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate and are expected to confirm Kavanaugh even if Democrats oppose the nomination unanimously. As a result, Republicans view the protests and complaints during the three days of the confirmation hearings as theatrics.

Running for president is no excuse for violating the Senate or the confidentiality of the documents we are privy to, Cornyn said, referring to Bookers potential 2020 presidential bid. This is no different from the senator deciding to release classified information that is deemed classified by the executive branch because you happen to disagree with the classification decision.

At the core of the disagreement between the Democrats and the Republicans are thousands of documents related to Kavanaughs tenure at the White House as the staff secretary for George W. Bush. Under the Presidential Records Act, either Bush or the current White House can designate certain documents committee-confidential. Those documents can be viewed by the committee but arent immediately available to the public.

According to Bill Burck, the records representative for Bush, the documents in question were cleared the night before the hearing.

We were surprised to learn about Senator Bookers histrionics this morning because we had already told him he could use the documents publicly, Burck said in a statement. In fact, we have said yes to every request made by the Senate Democrats to make documents public.

After Booker had his Spartacus moment, several Democratic senators on the committee said that they would accept the responsibility for the release of the document along with him. Booker later argued that no Senate rule exists regarding the release of committee-confidential documents.

This is not a Senate rule. I did not violate a Senate rule, Booker said. I did knowingly violate the chairs rule on the committee-confidential process. I take full responsibility for violating that, sir.

Booker then challenged Cornyn to expel him from the Senate for violating the rules.

This is probably the closest I will get in my life to an I am Spartacus moment, Booker added. If he feels that I and now my fellow colleagues who are with me have violated those rules, if he is not a tempest in a teapot, but sincerely believes that, then bring the charges.

In response, Cornyn cited Senate rule 29-5:

Any Senator, officer or employee of the Senate who shall disclose the secret or confidential business or proceedings of the Senate, including the business and proceedings of the committees, subcommittees and offices of the Senate shall be liable, if a Senator, to suffer expulsion from the body; and if an officer or employee, to dismissal from the service of the Senate, and to punishment for contempt.

There is clearly a rule, Cornyn said.

Then, apply the rule and bring it. Bring it, Booker responded.

At the beginning of the hearing, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) noted that a process exists for making the committee-confidential documents public. Booker had refused to show Kavanaugh the email because it was confidential, but never asked the committee to make it public, Grassley said.

There was nothing preventing any senator from asking me before the hearing to get this document publicly released. In fact, the request was made for the first time to release these documents last night after the senator asked the question of the nominee, Grassley said.

The chairman also said that the DOJ was working to declassify the documents in question and that the senators would have them before the end of the day.

Grassleys update on the declassification didnt prevent Booker from going ahead with his vow to release the documents minutes later.

The documents Booker posted include several emails from 2001 and 2002 where Kavanaugh weighs in on legal issues related to the use of a race as a factor in airport security in the wake of 9/11. The email chain didnt appear to be damaging to Kavanaugh, since he wrote that he favored a race-neutral approach to national security.
US Needs New Ways to Tackle Chinas Military Challenge, Senators Are Told

WASHINGTONFor decades, U.S.Sino policy was rooted in the belief that support for Chinas rise and its integration into the post-war international world order would liberalize the communist nation. Now U.S. lawmakers are seeing a need to assess options for countering Chinas less-than-peaceful rise.

China now wants to shape the world with its authoritarian model, so the United States must examine its policy options to prevent Chinas coercion from undermining the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) said during a Senate hearing on Security and Military Developments on Sept. 5 that focused on China.

Countering Chinas less-than-peaceful rise represents a great challenge for U.S. national security, he said.

According to Oriana Skylar Mastro of the American Enterprise Institute, The United States needs a whole-government approach to ensure that we are accurately and completely identifying what China is doing across domains.

She said a Defense Department annual report to Congress on Chinese security and military developments alone isnt enough. She suggested that a USAID report on Chinese foreign aid, a State Department report on Chinas diplomatic efforts, and a Commerce Department report on its growing economic clout are also needed.

Chinas rise is already changing the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, and will have profound implications for the future of the liberal international order, said Abraham M. Denmark, director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

He agrees with the current administrations explicit recognition of the great power competition that is currently underway between China and the United States.

Military issues play a significant role in that competitionthe United States will not be able to sustain a Free and Open Indo-Pacific unless it accounts for the challenges posed by an increasingly capable Peoples Liberation Army, he said.

Within our $700 billion defense budget, we are going to have the ability to out-compete with China, Denmark said. But it will require for the U. S. to prioritize investment, especially tailored to the China challenge, prior to funds going elsewhere. 

Denmark noted that the China challenge isnt just a military question; trade also has geopolitical effects. Many countries in Asia see China as a source of economic opportunity, and the United States as a source for security. These countries dont want to be forced to choose between China and the United States.

Taiwan was one of the focal points at the Q&A session.

Asked about Chinas ultimate goal toward Taiwan, both Denmark and Mastro said that the ultimate goal is reunification that is ideally by peaceful means. But the bottom line is that China is willing to use force if it has to. Chinese leader Xi Jinping promised the Chinese people that the reunification should be achieved by 2035.

Congress has begun looking for ways to respond to Chinese aggression.

On Sept. 3, Gardner, along with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) to strengthen Taiwans standing around the world. This comes in response to several nations breaking official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, due to Chinese pressure and bullying tactics.

The TAIPEI Act requires a U.S. strategy to engage with governments around the world to support Taiwans diplomatic recognition or strengthening unofficial ties with Taiwan.

Additionally, it authorizes the State Department to downgrade U.S. relations with any government, as well as suspend or alter U.S. foreign assistance, including military financing, to nations that take adverse actions with regard to Taiwan.

In April 2018, a bipartisan effort in Congress saw the introduction of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA) aimed at reassuring allies, deterring adversaries and securing U.S. regional leadership. Gardner sponsored the measure, which will set a new course for U.S. policy for the Indo-Pacific, including significantly boosting U.S. security presence in the region, he said.
Suspected Russian Novichok Spies Identified by UKs Web of Surveillance Cameras

British police have published a series of surveillance images tracking the movements of two alleged Russian agents who authorities say traveled to England to execute a nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy and his daughter.

Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who exposed dozens of agents to Britains MI6 foreign spy service, and his daughter, Yulia, were found unconscious on a public bench in Salisbury on March 4.

The Skripals survived the attack but only after being hospitalized for weeks in critical condition.

While the motive for the attack on Skripal, who was exchanged in a Kremlin-approved spy swap in 2010, remains unclear, some analysts point to its function as a deterrent for Russian operatives who may have been thinking about colluding with foreign intelligence against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russias top security officials routinely speak of active attempts by the CIA and other Western agencies to recruit Russians.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said in parliament on Sept. 5, that the attack on Skripal was not a rogue operation and must have been approved at a senior level of the Russian state, The Associated Press reported.

Allies of Britain issued a joint statement pledging to join Mays campaign against the Russian GRU spy agency.

We have full confidence in the British assessment that the two suspects were officers from the Russian military intelligence service, also known as the GRU, and that this operation was almost certainly approved at a senior government level, the statement issued by Canada, France, Germany, and the United States says.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the attack, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov calling Mays allegations that Russian senior leadership signed off on the hit on Skripal as out of the question and unacceptable.

A deadly Soviet-era nerve agent called novichok allegedly was smeared or sprayed onto the door handle of Skripals home in Salisbury.

In the nearby town of Amesbury, local mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess died and her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, was sickened after they came across remnants of the poison in what appeared to be a perfume bottle.

Inconspicuously labeled as Nina Ricci Premier Jour and bearing the words Made in France, the bottle had been specially designed to be leakproof and had a custom applicator, UK Metropolitan police said.

Supposed spy duo Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are suspected of having brought the poison with them on a flight from Moscow, arriving at Gatwick Airport on March 2. The would-be assassins were caught on CCTV going through passport control: Boshirov with dark hair and a goatee, and Petrov dressed in blue and sporting stubble.

The following day, the suspects undertook what police said was a reconnaissance mission, traveling by train to Salisbury from London.

Cameras at the station again captured the two men, this time as they peered intently in the direction of a transit schedule, Boshirov clutching a pair of black gloves.

On March 4, the day of the alleged hit, the men again traveled to Salisbury, with CCTV capturing them walking side by side along a road not far from Skripals house.

Police say the Russians then approached Skripals house and applied the novichok nerve agent to the door handle.

Soon after, the two were again recorded on surveillance cameras heading back to the station.

Detectives say that it was en route to catch the train back to London that the men disposed of the toxin-carrying perfume bottle, which ended up in the hands of Sturgess, who fell ill on June 30 and died in a hospital about a week later.

The recklessness of the Russian state in bringing a nerve agent into the UK, and total disregard for the safety of the public, is appalling and irresponsible, said Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, after the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed on Sept. 4 that novichok was used in all the poisonings.

Several hours after the attack on the Skripals, the alleged Russian spies were once again caught on camera, this time at Heathrow Airport, preparing to depart.

In a telltale sign of state-level support, police say, their passports were authentic while their identities werent.

After that point, the surveillance trail went cold; the mens whereabouts are unknown.

Boshirov and Petrov have been charged in absentia with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and use of a nerve agent.
Former governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the first to tweet his remembrance of the star. "Burt Reynolds was one of my heroes. He was a trailblazer. He showed the way to transition from being an athlete to being the highest paid actor, and he always inspired me. He also had a great sense of humor - check out his Tonight Show clips. My thoughts are with his family," he said.
The sun sets behind the Kremlin at the Red Square in Moscow on June 8, 2017. (MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP/Getty Images)

The Inconsistencies of Bill Browder and the Magnitsky Act

News Analysis

The Magnitsky Act, co-sponsored by Senators John McCain and Ben Cardiff, was signed into law by Obama in December 2012. The Act barred Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses from entering the United States, allowed for their U.S. assets to be frozen, and prohibited financial transactions with U.S. financial firms. The Act was expanded in 2016, allowing the U.S. Government to sanction foreign government officials anywhere in the world.

The Magnitsky Act came into being through the actions of Bill Browder, the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management. Hermitage Capital was formed in 1996 for the purpose of investing in Russia. The firm benefited from the wave of privatization that occurred, ultimately becoming one of the largest foreign investors in Russia.

When Putin became president of Russia in 2000, Browder became a vocal supporter, saying that Russia needed an authoritarian leader to establish order. Browder called Putin his biggest ally in Hermitages efforts at business reform. Browders firm initially thrived, and assets under management reportedly grew to more than $4 billion.

Browder has billed himself as a shareholder activist and forensic accountant who fought against corruption in the Russian business world. Upon discovery of malfeasance, Browder would often give information to the pressboth Russian and international. Some of Browders actions were simply motivated from asset preservation. In the rough and tumble landscape of Russian politics populated by powerful Oligarchs, sharp elbows were often a necessity:

It became a matter of desperation, not inspiration. You had to become a shareholder activist if you didnt want everything stolen from you.

However, it appears Browder wasnt always consistent when it came to corporate governance. Some observers noted that the moral outrage he displayed during his corporate governance campaigns often appeared conditional on which side of the deal he was on.

Browder remained a strong supporter of Putin while investing in Russiaa stance that not only suited his business interests but may have afforded him a certain level of protection against competing players:

[Browder] aggressively argued to anyone prepared to listen that President Vladimir Putin had been unfairly maligned in the western press and was intent on bringing prosperity and order to the biggest country in the world.

He publicly celebrated the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russias richest and most powerful Oligarch, famously asking, Whos next?

Browders investment activities continued until November 2005, when the Kremlin abruptly pulled his visa and banned him from Russia.

Browder has claimed he doesnt know with certainty what triggered his expulsion from Russia, but later speculated that it was his campaign against either Gazprom, the state-backed gas business, or Surgutneftegaz, a Siberian oil company.

Browder would often target large holdings of major Oligarchs and filed lawsuits against a number of Russian companies. As one reporter noted; much of the time he loses, but he causes enough trouble to force shareholder-friendly changes.

Despite his expulsion from Russia, Browder publicly maintained his support for Putin through 2006 and expressed hopes that Putin might eventually lift his visa ban and allow for his return to Russia:

I saw what life was like under the oligarchsSometimes you need a strong man to pull together a country. Russians can objectively say that their lives are much better nowthe average persons income is five times higher than when Putin came to power.

However, Browders support for Putin, along with his timeline, appears to have shifted with subsequent events. In a 2012 article from the Financial Times, Browder pointed towards a break with Putin in 2004:

Putins tactics changed following the arrest of Khodorkovsky and the seizure of his Yukos oil company, causing a shift in the balance of power between the Kremlin and the oligarchs.

Putin tasted the forbidden fruit, Browder says. From that moment on, the oligarchs became his business partners as opposed to his opponents, and all the corporate governance work I had been doing became a huge pain in their backside.'

Browder continued to promote his new narrative that the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky was the defining event that altered his personal fortune. In a 2015 Op-Ed, Browder again pointed to 2004 as the break with Putin:

In the summer of 2004, Putin publicly crushed Russias biggest oligarch, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was put on trial and sentenced to nine years in prison. From that moment forward, Putins interests diverged from mine. Shortly thereafter he expelled me from Russia and declared me a threat to national security.

Browder, who personally cheered the arrest of Khodorkovsky and maintained personal support for Putin through 2006, was now citing these events as the reason for his expulsion.

The reasons for Browders expulsion from Russia vary depending on whos doing the telling. Browders version of events describes himself as a victim of Russian politics and corruption:

After I was deported, 25 police officers raided our offices in Moscow and seized our corporate documents. These were used to steal our investment companies and ultimately to commit a $230 million tax-rebate fraud, the largest in Russian history.

The tax-rebate fraud appears to have been real, but neither Browder nor any of his investors were financially impaired. During the 2007 raid on Hermitage, company seals and corporate certificates were gathered and taken into custody as evidence. In what appears to have been a complex financial scheme, these documents were used to transfer ownership of some Hermitage shell companies.

Fraudulent lawsuits were then created demanding reparations for alleged contract violations, which in turn created fictitious losses for the subsidiaries. The subsidiaries then applied for a tax rebate from the Russian government. On December 24, 2007, Russian tax officials signed off on the rebate which amounted to a staggering $230 million. The money was wired to Universal Savings Bank which was subsequently liquidated following completion of the tax rebate.

But the loss was not to Hermitage, it was the Russian Treasury that saw the money siphoned off. Several people were arrested, although details remain somewhat unclear.

One of those accused of being involved in the scheme was Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in November 2008 in relation to the tax rebates. According to Browder, Magnitsky was framed, his arrest the result of Magnitskys exposure of wrongdoing by the Russian government. Browder would repeatedly put forth this version of events and it has become the accepted sequence of events in the media:

Magnitsky, a dogged lawyer who worked for the law firm that represented Hermitage, later discovered that the Russian authorities had perpetrated a tax refund fraud, using forged Hermitage documents to transfer $230m of state money to a criminal gang. Rather than congratulating Magnitsky for his assistance, the authorities accused him of orchestrating the fraud himself and arrested him in November 2008. After almost a years detention, during which time he was repeatedly denied medical treatment, he was beaten to death in his jail cell.

Browder has consistently maintained that Magnitsky was beaten to death by Russian guards. A 2011 medical report by Physicians for Human Rights does not appear to support Browders assertion, but does cite ongoing inhumane conditions and untreated health problems:

Repeated medical neglect and outright disregard for the wellbeing of Mr. Magnitsky was undoubtedly a significant factor leading to his death.

Mr. Magnitsky suffered prolonged severe pain, was denied regular contact with his family, denied medical evaluations for his complaints, fed meals irregularly, and kept under inhumane conditions. This cumulative inhumane treatment was also one of the contributing factors leading to his death.

Browder has also repeatedly described Magnitsky as a lawyerwhich is strange given that Magnitsky appears to have been an accountant. Russia IC listed Magnitsky as an auditor at the consulting company Firestone Duncan engaged in tax consultation and audit. Magnitsky listed himself as an auditor in CJSC Firestone Duncan with a background in economics, in an October 18, 2006, Record of Evidence taken with Russian Investigators.

In a 2015 deposition regarding Prevezon, Browder again described Magnitsky as his lawyer. He was quickly questioned by opposing counsel. This time, Browder was under oath (page 25):

Q: Mr. Magnitsky is an attorney; you think thats accurate?

BROWDER: He was my attorney.

Q: I see. And he had a law degree in Russia?

BROWDER: Im not aware that he did.

Q: I see. And he went to law school?

BROWDER: No.

Magnitsky had been granted power of attorney on several occasions, but he was not a lawyer. As Browder would detail in his deposition, when there was a 2002 challenge regarding tax payments, Magnitsky represented Hermitage in court.

Browder told a differing story two years later during his 2017 Senate Testimony. Following the Russian seizure of Hermitages corporate documents, Browder said he: hired the smartest Russian lawyer I knew, a 35-year-old named Sergei Magnitsky. I asked Sergei to investigate the purpose of the raids and try to stop whatever illegal plans these officials had.

Browder failed to disclose that he had employed Magnitsky since 2002admittedly through Firestone Duncan. He also failed to mention ongoing tax issues and investigations at Hermitage. And Browder again refers to Magnitsky as a lawyer, when that does not appear to be the case.

Worth asking is why Browder intentionally concealed Magnitskys much earlier involvement in Hermitage affairsand why would he misrepresent Magnitskys true employment as a tax consultant and auditor.

One of the main charges made by Russian tax fraud investigators is that shell companies held by Hermitage incorrectly claimed they employed disabled workers. In doing so, these shell companies obtained material tax breaks they were not entitled to. This is never disclosed in Browders version of events but a careful reading of his deposition provides insight as to what was really occurring (page 63):

Q: The tax regimes in that were set up in Kalmykia required the hiring of basically Afghan war veterans who had disabilities, right?

BROWDER: The Kalmykian tax regime allowed the companies to pay lesser tax than in other regions, and the handicapped tax benefit.. allowed a reduction in the federal tax rate.

Q: A majority of your employees in Kalmykia had to be physically challenged persons?

BROWDER: Handicapped tax regime required that more than 50 percent of the employees qualify under certain rules of definition of handicapped individuals.

Q: So you represented on the Saturn tax returns that a majority of your Kalmykian employees were physically challenged persons?

BROWDER: Yes.

It seems that Browders subsidiary companies were falsely listing employees as meeting the definition of handicapped individuals when in fact they did not. In other cases, workers were listed as holding certain jobs on paper only. They worked in other positions and in some cases did not work for the company at all.

Browder claimed in his deposition that he didnt recall listing certain employees as being disabled because he had contracted out management of these shell companies to Firestone and Duncan (page 69). Although Browder does not disclose the individual responsible, its worth noting that Browders primary point of contact was Sergei Magnitsky.

And despite Browders claims of ignorance, it was Browder himself who signed the tax forms (page 78):

Q: The court found that the employees who were listed as those with handicaps in fact did not work for the company or were not capable of doing the work that the tax returns said they were capable of doing. So who signed the tax returns that made those representations?

BROWDER: I did.

Other material tax violations that occurred prior to Browders expulsion from Russia are covered in the deposition. There also appeared to be strategic use of bankruptcies at certain shell companies as a means to avoid payment of certain taxes and obligations. The Prevezon lawyers summed up the situation succinctly (page 91):

At the time that the search warrant was executed in June of 2007, the situation was that the courts had found that you had taken advantage of the tax regime in Kalmykia, had taxes due, they were unpaid, the company was bankrupt.

Youve said that the investigative authorities had absolutely no basis for conducting an investigation of Hermitage Fund in 2007. What these decisions show is there were false statements on tax returns, there were taxes due, they went unpaid, and the company was placed in bankruptcy.

It turns out there had already been two separate fraud investigations into Hermitage in 2004 and 2005. Both appear to have remained open and active (page 95). It was these initial fraud investigations that apparently led to the search of Heritage offices in 2007.

On December 29, 2017, a Russian court on Friday sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia after finding him guilty of deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion. The evasion of taxes appears to have been material:

The tax evasion by Browder and co-defendant Ivan Cherkasov had caused some 3.4 billion rubles ($58.76 million) in damage to the Russian federal budget.

On June 9, 2018, HSBC, a British bank that was affiliated with Browders Hermitage Fund, was ordered to pay Russia 17 million for its part in alleged tax avoidance. HSBC held private discussions with the Russian authorities last month to reach a settlement on the case. In a surprise move, Russias Supreme Court rejected the settlement agreement on July 30, 2018. HSBC had been seeking written assurances from tax authorities that it wont face future charges or claims. A written opinion has yet to be issued.

There are more questions still to be asked. Browder appears to have shifted his views on Putin as it suited his purposes. It also appears that hes intentionally failed to disclose crucial details in the narrative hes presented to the publicand to Congress. And the ramifications have extended far beyond Browder himself.

The Magnitsky Act has been the subject of much discussion. Some have portrayed it as an overdue penalty against Russian officials. Others have called it a measure that effectively ended post-Cold War hopes for normal relations between Washington and Moscow.

The primary targets of the Magnitsky Act are included in Section 404 (page 11). They list, without name, all those responsible for the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky along with anyone involved in the criminal conspiracy uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.

An excellent article by Lucy Komisar delves into some material problems surrounding the criminal conspiracy that Magnitsky supposedly uncovered. She states that Magnitsky did not uncover the December 2007 tax refund fraud that cheated the Russian Treasury of $230 million and notes that the three testimonies he gave before his November 2008 arrest did not reveal the fraud.

Instead, Komisars article notes that the first indication of the fraud was by the Russian, Rimma Starova, who worked for one of the implicated shell companies. Starovas testimony was taken on April 9, 2008. In translated testimony Starova details the re-registration of three Hermitage shell companies and the creation of fictitious losses that led to the fraudulent tax rebates. No individuals are specified as being responsible, but critical to note is the date of her testimonyApril 2008.

Sergei Magnitsky would not be arrested for another seven months. It appears that at no point prior to his arrest had Magnitsky detailed or alleged fraud. In and of itself, this raises serious question over the entire series of events.

Browders 2015 deposition resulted from the Prevezon case. Browder had made certain allegations against Prevezon, accusing the company of using proceeds from the Hermitage tax rebate scheme to purchase New York real estate.

Prevezon was represented by a Russian lawyer named Natalia Veselnitskaya. It was Veselnitskayas lawyers from BakerHostetler who deposed Bill Browder. If her name sounds familiar, its because Veselnitskaya was one of the participants in the infamous Trump Tower meeting that took place in June 2016. Veselnitskaya had been an opponent of the Magnitsky Act and claims that was her purpose for attending the meeting.

In some respects, the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting virtually ensured that the Magnitsky Act will remain in force. That one event accomplished more than Browder could have accomplished in a year of lobbying. The Trump Tower meeting rendered the Magnitsky Act politically untouchable in the intermediate term. In August 2017, President Trump placed additional sanctions on Russia.

Details involving Magnitskys role and subsequent death remain uncertain, despite the many media reports. As we have seen, the story surrounding actual events appears to be far more convoluted than Browder has led the publicor Congressto believe. Hermitage was already under investigation for fraud years before Magnitskys arrest, and Browders 2015 deposition makes clear some significant differences from his public description of events.

Penalties from the Magnitsky Act assume that Browders version of events, including Magnitskys role, is the correct one. Yet Browders story appears to be subject to material inconsistencies and misrepresentations.

Meanwhile, the Magnitsky Act is effectively passing legal judgment on a case that resides in Russia. And impacting our nations foreign relation policy in the process.

Jeff Carlson is a CFA charterholder. He worked for 20 years as an analyst and portfolio manager in the high-yield bond market. He runs the website TheMarketsWork.com

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
They Left Her to Die Says Family of Nevada Jail Death Detainee

The family of a woman who died in a Nevada jail cell said guards ignored her pleas to be taken to a doctor as she suffered from drug withdrawal symptoms that ended in a fatal seizure.

A surveillance camera captured the final hours of 27-year-old Kelly Coltrain, as she convulsed repeatedly and vomited in her jail cell.

Attorney Terri Keyser-Cooper, speaking on behalf of the family, told CBS that the guards violated policy and left her to die.

This is the worst example of deliberate indifference to a serious medical need that I have ever seen, she said.

Coltrain reportedly alerted guards to the fact that she was prone to seizures while going through detox, and at one point asked to see a doctor, Keyser-Cooper said.

The guards refused.

Within three days of her arrest for unpaid tickets and driving with a suspended license, she was dead.

Multiple Policy Violations

Following her arrest, Coltrain could not afford to post bail and so remained in detention at the Mineral County Jail, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

A 300-page report by the Nevada Department of Public Safety noted that staff at the jail disobeyed department policies by not taking her to a doctor or doing regular welfare checks.

The report also states that staffers may have broken a state law against inhumane treatment of prisoners.

There wasnt a pulse taken. There wasnt an aspirin. They left her to die, said, Keyser-Cooper said.

Coltrain had been in the cell for several days. She told her jailers that she was withdrawing from addictive drugs, and was prone to seizures while withdrawing. She refused food, and vomited repeatedly.

According to the states report, Deputy Ray Gulcynski told Coltrain, Unfortunately, since youre DTing (detoxifying), Im not going to take you over to the hospital right now just to get your fix.

Thats not the way detention works, unfortunately. You are incarcerated with us, so  you dont get to go to the hospital when you want. When we feel that your life is at risk then you will go, he said.

On July 22, 2017, according to the report, Coltrain began vomiting, trembling and making short, convulsive type movements.

Her jailers gave her a mop and told her to clean up her mess. She died about an hour later.

Family Files Lawsuit

Coltrains family filed a federal lawsuit on Aug. 29 accusing jail officials of violating her civil rights and inflicting cruel and unusual punishment.

Kelly Coltrains medical condition was treatable and her death preventable, the complaint stated.

If Ms. Coltrain had received timely and appropriate medical care, she would not have died. Kelly Coltrain suffered a protracted, extensive, painful, unnecessary death as a result of defendants failures, it said.

Two officers seen in the videos were disciplined and are no longer working at the jail, CBS reported.

Mineral County Sheriff Randy Adams said he could not discuss details of an ongoing case, but that he had instituted an update of jail policy.

Obviously its terribly unfortunate and its tragic, Adams told the Gazette-Journal. Thats really all I can say.

Missing Video

According to the state report, the 20-minute section of video, which included the time when Gulcynski found Coltrain unresponsive and tried to find a pulse, was removed from the video sent to the investigators.

The sheriffs department was responsible for supplying the edited video to the state investigators.

The missing segment of video, which establishes when jail personnel first learned that Coltrain needed medical assistance, did not turn up until the civil lawsuit was filed.

The missing video was included in the evidence the state turned over to the two lawyers filing the civil suit.

Chris Jasurek of NTD.tv contributed to this report.

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Three Dead in Three Shootings in Less Than Two Days

A woman was found dead on the morning of Sept. 3, in Salinas after she was shot in the third homicide in the city in less than 48 hours, police said on Sept. 4.

Officers were dispatched at 7:11 a.m. to the 900 block of Acosta Plaza after someone told police that a person was lying on the ground and possibly dead.

Officers arrived and found a 29-year-old woman on the ground suffering from at least one gunshot wound.

Police said there were obvious signs she had already died so she was not taken to a hospital.

Police said there are no signs that the shooting was gang-related, but they are not throwing out the possibility.

The womans name is being withheld until her family is told.

Earlier in the morning, a 37-year-old man was shot and died in what police believe was a gang-related shooting.

Police said that officers found the victim in a home in the 1200 block of Polk Street after officers responded there at 12:30 a.m.

A dark-colored sedan may have been involved in the shooting.

On Sept. 2, police responded at 12:02 a.m. to a shooting in the first block of West Street where they found 24-year-old Obed Orsonio suffering from at least one bullet wound.

Orsonio was taken to a hospital where doctors tried to save his life, but he died.

Organizers of a GoFundMe page said, Obed was a very talented, genuine, loving, caring person. He was a very well known young man who won the hearts of others due to his personality and talent. He would spread love, happiness, and support throughout our community.

Organizers are trying to raise $25,000 to help with expenses related to Orsonios death and as of 9:45 p.m. on September 4 $2,735 had been raised.

Police said 21-year-old Abran Rubio was arrested for allegedly shooting Orsonio.

Rubio was taken to the county jail after being interviewed. Police said they have not established a motive for the slaying.

People with information about the killings can provide anonymous tips by calling the tip line at (831) 775-4222 or the We-Tip Line at (800) 78-CRIME.

By Keith Burbank
Trump Calls on NYT to Identify Anonymous Op-Ed Writer on National-Security Grounds

If the person does exist, the president says, he or she is a threat to national security

President Donald Trump is calling for The New York Times to disclose the identity of the anonymous author of an op-ed that details what the paper is calling a senior administration officials resistance inside the Trump administration.

In a Sept. 5 tweet, Trump cast doubt on whether the official even exists (or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source?), but said that if he or she did, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!

In another tweet two hours earlier, he wrote just one word that seemed to be referring to the same opinion piece: TREASON?

NY Times didnt respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment by deadline.

The op-ed writer claims to be part of a network of senior officials who are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda.

This isnt the work of the so-called deep state. Its the work of the steady state, the writer says.

The article continues that administration officials early on considered trying to invoke the 25th Amendment to have the president removed from office, but instead decided to create a quiet resistance inside the White House to avoid a constitutional crisis.

To be clear, ours is not the popular resistance of the left. We want the administration to succeed and think that many of its policies have already made America safer and more prosperous, it says.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement shortly after the op-ed was published, saying that the writer, who wrote that they were obstructing the presidents agenda because our first duty is to this country, was instead putting himself or herself above the country. She called on the person to do the right thing and resign.

Nearly 62 million people voted for President Donald J. Trump in 2016, earning him 306 Electoral College votesversus 232 for his opponent. None of them voted for a gutless, anonymous source to the failing New York Times, she wrote. We are disappointed, but not surprised, that the paper chose to publish this pathetic, reckless, and selfish op-ed.

There has been wild speculation since the article was published about who the author could be. In a tweet, NY Times called the writer a he but then said the tweet had been drafted by someone who is not aware of the authors identity, including the gender, so the use of he was an error, according to The Associated Press. However, the tweet wasnt deleted.

Sanders called for an end to the medias speculation on who the gutless loser is by tweeting that people should call the newspapers opinion desk if they want to know.

The medias wild obsession with the identity of the anonymous coward is recklessly tarnishing the reputation of thousands of great Americans who proudly serve our country and work for President Trump. Stop, she wrote in a statement.

She then gave the newspapers phone number.
Trump, Mattis, and Kelly Slam Woodwards Washington Brand of Literature

Dr. Sebastian Gorka called the claims 'garbage'

A number of President Donald Trumps close aides have publicly come out to deny claims attributed to them in Bob Woodwards upcoming expose of life inside the White House.

Portions of the unverified excerpts were published by The Washington Post on Sept. 4, one week before the full release of the book titled, Fear: Trump in the White House. Like the authors of similar recent exposes, Woodward, an investigative reporter who has worked for the Post for decades, listed many of his sources as anonymous, prompting questions on the books credibility.

In one excerpt, the book claimed Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had told close aides that the president had the understanding of a fifth or sixth grader, a claim which Mattis refuted in a lengthy statement. He also labeled the other stories surrounding him in the book as fiction.

The contemptuous words about the President attributed to me in Woodwards book were never uttered by me or in my presence. While I generally enjoy reading fiction, this is a uniquely Washington brand of literature, and his anonymous sources do not lend credibility, Mattis said.

Woodwards book is the latest piece detailing supposed chaos inside the White House. It comes after former Trump aide Omarosa Newmans claims in her recent book were discredited by many from both sides of the aisle.

Mattis continued: In serving in this administration, the idea that I would show contempt for the elected Commander-in-Chief, President Trump, or tolerate disrespect to the office of the President from within our Department of Defense, is a product of someones rich imagination.

Sebastian Gorka, a former strategist to Trump and author of the forthcoming book, Why We Fight, told The Epoch Times that Woodwards sources werent credible and called the claims absolute garbage.

Woodward has written a book with the least access possible. This man has less access than the average American, nobody wanted to talk to this person. If they did, they were second-, third-, or fourth-level individuals.

Gorka continued by saying that Woodwards motivations undermined his integrity as a journalist.

I think hes an ideologically motivated individual he has a progressive agenda to undermine the president. If you look at the interviews he is giving, this is an individual whos not unbiased, not a journalist in the ethical sense of the word.

The former Trump aide recalled reading stories about himself from the New York Times and the Washington Post, saying that nine out of 10 times, the report was exactly the opposite of what was happening.

Trump himself came out to slam the book, which he said was seeking to divide the country. In one post on Twitter, he questioned Woodwards political motivations, asking, is he a Dem operative? and commented on the timing of the book.

He also refuted claims that he referred to Attorney General Jeff Sessions using a number of crude slurs.

The already discredited Woodward book, so many lies and phony sources, has me calling Jeff Sessions mentally retarded and a dumb southerner. I said NEITHER, never used those terms on anyone, including Jeff, and being a southerner is a GREAT thing, Trump wrote. He made this up to divide!

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, in a written statement, also shot down the books claim that he made belittling remarks about the president, calling them total BS.

The idea I ever called the President an idiot is not true, Kelly said. As I stated back in May and still firmly stand behind: I spend more time with the President than anyone else, and we have an incredibly candid and strong relationship.

Kelly called this latest book another pathetic attempt to smear people close to President Trump. His sentiments were echoed by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders.

This book is nothing more than fabricated stories, many by former disgruntled employees, told to make the President look bad, she said in a statement.

Fiction

Trump addressed some of Woodwards excerpts in more detail at the White House on Sept. 5. One of the more explosive parts of the book claims that Trump called Mattis to assassinate Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, following the chemical attack in April 2017.

Trump told reporters it never happened: The book is fiction Never even discussed.

Trump said he was honored that his aides put out statements without him even knowing about it.

In an interview with The Daily Caller, the president addressed another claim that former chief economic adviser, Gary Cohn, stole a letter off Trumps desk. According to the book, Trump was going to sign the letter, which would have formally withdrawn the United States from a trade agreement with South Korea; Cohn reportedly later told an associate he did it to protect national security and that the president didnt notice it went missing.

There was nobody taking anything from me, Trump said.

Trump described the books content as just nasty stuff and said Woodward had a lot of credibility problems.

I probably would have preferred to speak with him, but maybe not, Trump said. I think it probably wouldnt have made a difference in the book. He wanted to write the book a certain way.
Trump Indicates He May Declassify Additional Documents to Reveal Corruption

President Donald Trump suggested on Sept. 6 that he may declassify more documents to track down corruption, a move supported by members of the House Freedom Caucus and other law makers who held a press conference the same day calling on the president to do just that.

The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy  & they dont know what to do, Trump wrote in a tweet. The Economy is booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption. Wow!

The Deep State and the Left, and their vehicle, the Fake News Media, are going Crazy  & they dont know what to do. The Economy is booming like never before, Jobs are at Historic Highs, soon TWO Supreme Court Justices & maybe Declassification to find Additional Corruption. Wow!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 6, 2018

On Sept. 4, he told The Daily Caller that hes looking into declassification of a spying warrant or warrants used against his presidential campaign team.

Were looking at it very seriously right now because the things that have gone on are so bad, so bad. I mean they were surveilling my campaign. If that happened on the other foot, they wouldve considered that treasonous. They wouldve considered that spying at the highest level, he said.

Can you imagine if we were doing that to Obama instead of Obama and his people doing that to us? Everybody wouldve been in jail for the next 500 years.

FISA Trouble

As The Epoch Times previously detailed, the FBI under the Obama administration ran an extensive spying operation against the Trump campaign.

One part consisted of a spying warrant filed under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) with the FISA court in October 2016 against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Trump, who has full access to classified documents, has repeatedly stated that his campaign has been spied on.

While the scope section of the FISA warrant is still redacted, Trump may be referring to the NSAs two-hop rule, which would allow the FBI to access not only Pages electronic communications but also metadata, including the phone records of all of the people he was in contact with and all people in contact with each of them, reaching back 18 months. That would likely involve many, if not all, in the Trump campaign.

The warrant relied heavily on the infamous Steele dossier, a collection of flashy but unverified allegations that Trump and his campaign had ties with Russia.

The production of the dossier was funded by the campaign of Trumps presidential opponent at the time, Hillary Clinton, and the Democratic National Committee through opposition research firm Fusion GPS.

The firm hired at least two people in 2016 to work on the project: former British spy Christopher Steele and Nellie Ohr, wife of then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr.

The warrant, which was renewed three times at 90-day intervals, failed to mention that Ohrs wife worked for Fusion GPS, that Clinton and the DNC paid for the dossier, and that Steele had an intense bias against Trump.

Steele got the claims in the dossier from second- and third-hand sources linked to the Kremlin. According to Buce Ohrs notes, most of the content came from a Russian intelligence operative living in the United States. He then funneled them to the FBI.

Russia has been known to try to meddle in the political system in the United States at least since the 1960s through the use of disinformation, a method of feeding false or misleading evidence to legitimate sources, who then spread the falsehoods while lending them credibility.

A heavily redacted version of the FISA warrant documents was released on July 21 (pdf).

End of the Week?

Numerous sources told SaraACarter.com that Trump is expected to declassify over 20 redacted pages of the last FISA warrant renewal. Those pages reveal, according to several Republican lawmakers, that top figures in the FBI and the Justice Department failed to disclose critical information to the court.

[Trump] could always change his mind and its not a guarantee that it will happen, but the indications are that it more than likely will possibly be before the end of this week, an unnamed U.S. official told the news site.

Several members of the House Freedom Caucus, Reps Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), and others held a press conference on Sept. 6 calling on Trump to declassify and release not only the Page FISA warrant and its renewals, but also FBI summaries (FD-302 forms) of interviews with Bruce Ohr.

The FBI was forced to officially cut ties with Steele on Nov. 1, 2016, after he broke source rules by peddling his dossier to media.

But Bruce Ohr continued to collect info from Steele and passed it on to the FBI well into the Trump presidency. He was interviewed a dozen times by the FBI.

Further Documents

The lawmakers also called for the declassification of further documents which they say provide exculpatory evidence regarding Page and others and that should have been provided to the FISA court, but werent, Zeldin said at the conference. The documents have only been provided to the Gang of Eight, he said, referring to the eight members of Congress allowed to be briefed on classified intelligenceHouse and Senate leaders from both parties as well as top House and Senate Intelligence Committee members from both parties.

The only satisfactory outcome now is full transparency for the American public and full accountability for those who maliciously subjected American citizens to surveillance abuses, he said.

Meadows said he got no indication of a pushback from Trump on the declassification requests, based on his conversations with Trump and the administration.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
Trumps Supreme Court Pick Vows Independence

Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trumps Supreme Court nominee, embraced the importance of judicial independence on Sept. 5 during his Senate confirmation hearing, telling lawmakers who sought to know how he would rule on major issues that it would be improper for him to answer hypothetical questions.

On the second day of the contentious hearing, senators pressed the conservative federal appeals court judge on his views on presidential power, abortion and gun rights.

Kavanaugh signaled respect for the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide, calling it an important legal precedent that has been reaffirmed by the justices over the decades. He condemned the spate of school shootings and defended an opinion he wrote that questioned whether semi-automatic rifles could be banned.

Asked by the Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) whether he would have any trouble ruling against Trump or the executive branch, Kavanaugh replied, No one is above the law in our constitutional system.

I think the first quality of a good judge in our constitutional system is independence, he added.

Kavanaugh cited his opinion in a case involving a Guantanamo Bay detainee that went against Republican former President George W. Bush, who appointed him to his current judgeship.

He warned that he that he wouldnt answer lawmakers questions on hypothetical casesfollowing the lead set by eight current justices during their hearingssince it would run counter to the independence expected of a judge.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked about whether a sitting president can be required to respond to a subpoena.

I cant give you an answer on that hypothetical question, Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh cited the same reason for refusing to answer a question posed by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) about whether a president has the power to issue a pardon to himself or to someone else in exchange for promising not to testify against him. President Donald Trump, in a June post on Twitter, claimed the absolute right to PARDON myself.

In citing examples of judicial independence, Kavanaugh mentioned a 1974 ruling ordering President Richard Nixon to hand over subpoenaed materials during the Watergate scandal, and a 1954 Supreme Court ruling ending racial segregation in public schools.

Feinstein asked Kavanaugh about his 2009 article that concluded sitting presidents should be free from the distractions of civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and investigations. Kavanaugh promised a completely open mind if such issues came before him as a judge.

If confirmed, Kavanaugh is expected to move the court, which has a conservative majority, further to the right ideologically. Senate Democrats have vowed a fierce fight. But with Trumps fellow Republicans holding a slim majority in the Senate, and with no sign of any of them voting against the nomination, it remains likely that Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the lifetime job on the top U.S. judicial body.

As they did a day earlier, a succession of shouting protesters interrupted the session, opposing Kavanaughs nomination, before being removed by security personnel.

Trump told reporters at the White House he was pleased with the hearing and said the other side is grasping at straws.

Sitting alone at a table facing a bank of senators, Kavanaugh stressed the difficulty of deciding tough legal disputes and noted real-world consequences of his rulings.

Abortion

Regarding abortion, he said he doesnt live in a bubble and understood peoples strong feelings.

Liberals are concerned that Kavanaugh may provide a decisive fifth vote on the nine-justice court to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

Kavanaugh called the Roe decision an important precedent of the Supreme Court that has been reaffirmed many times. He highlighted the 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling that reaffirmed Roe, calling it a precedent on precedent.

Kavanaughs remarks suggested he might be cautious toward overturning Roe. But that may not preclude him from joining the courts other conservatives in restricting its scope by upholding abortion restrictions enacted in conservative states.

Pressed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kavanaugh defended his dissenting opinion in 2017 when he sided with the Trump administration in an order preventing a 17-year-old illegal immigrant detained by U.S. authorities in Texas from immediately having an abortion. The ruling was later overturned and she had the abortion.

Gun Rights

Feinstein pressed Kavanaugh on his 2011 dissent in an appellate ruling upholding a District of Columbia gun law banning semi-automatic rifles. Kavanaugh said such guns are covered by the U.S. Constitutions Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms, and his opinion was based on Supreme Court precedent that indicated semi-automatic weapons are in common use.

Of course the violence in the schools is something we all detest and want to do something about, Kavanaugh said.

But handguns and other semi-automatic weapons are also used for hunting and self-defense, he added.

The Supreme Court to date has ruled that individuals have a right to bear arms in self-defense, but hasnt extended that right outside the home or specified which weapons are covered.

Trump picked Kavanaugh, 53, to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement in June.

By Lawrence Hurley, Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland & Amanda Becker
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc., testifies at a hearing to examine foreign influence operations' use of social media platforms before the Intelligence Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 5, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Twitter Confirms Shutting Down Algorithm Linked to Shadow Banning Trump Supporters

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged that his social-media platform recently switched off an algorithm that has been connected with the practice of shadow banningthe unannounced suppression of a social-media users content. The practice appeared to be directed mainly toward conservatives, and in particular, supporters of President Donald Trump.

Dorsey also said the company has a long way to go to ensure its algorithms arent biased, according to his written testimony released on Sept. 5 before he answered questions of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

While he didnt say the nixed algorithm targeted conservatives, he said it was one of the algorithms used to filter out from search results the accounts that had a higher likelihood of being abusive.

The so-called quality filter removes affected accounts from the latest category of search results, unless the user manually switches the filter off. The filter then snaps back on after each search.

The Epoch Times previously reviewed dozens of Twitter accounts of Trump supporters and opponents that appeared to exhibit similar patterns of behavior. Only the Trump supporters were targeted by the filter.

Twitter decided that a higher level of precision is needed when filtering to ensure these accounts are included in latest by default, Dorsey said. Twitter, therefore, turned off the algorithm.

A Twitter spokesperson clarified that by these accounts, Dorsey meant abusive accounts.

The Epoch Times reported on Sept. 2 that the previously tested pro-Trump accounts no longer appeared to be affected by the filter starting around Aug. 31, when Dorsey announced hed testify to the House committee as well as the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Biased Machines

Dorsey rejected the idea that Twitter filters content based on any affiliation, philosophy, or viewpoint. But he acknowledged that algorithms can end up being unintentionally biased.

We recognize that even a model created without deliberate bias may nevertheless result in biased outcomes, he said. Bias can happen inadvertently due to many factors, such as the quality of the data used to train our models.

He said his company is very, very early in its work on addressing this issue.

It will be the engineering rigor that will prevent Twitter employees from injecting their biases into their work, he said.

Theyre looking for fairness, theyre looking for impartiality, he said.

However, that doesnt appear to have previously been the case.

A Culture of Bias

A Twitter engineer, Pranay Singh, previously told undercover reporters from the Project Veritas that most algorithms designed to identify automated bot accounts were actually centered around conservative topics.

You look for Trump, or America, or any of, like, five thousand keywords to describe a redneck, he said.

Singh, however, didnt appear to talk about an organized effort to oppose Trump, but more a disbelief that die-hard Trump supporters on Twitter could be genuine.

Just go to a random [Trump] tweet and just look at the followers. Theyll all be like, guns, God, Merica, like, and with the American flag and, like, the cross, he told the undercover reporter. Like, who says that? Who talks like that? Its for sure a bot.

Anti-Trump bias at Twitter wasnt so much an official policy as a company culture, according to Mo Norai, a former Twitter content review agent, who spoke to an undercover reporter on May 16, 2017.

As a company, you cant really say it because it would make you look bad, but behind closed doors are lots of rules, he said. Like, Hey, you gotta do this this way. Or something like that. It was never written, it was more said.

Twitter employees were probably about 90 percent anti-Trump, maybe 99 percent anti-Trump, at the time when he worked there, Norai said.

Trump, Sessions Weigh In

After the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, which continued on Sept. 5 with Facebook and Twitter testifying, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in a statement that hell meet with a number of state attorneys general this month to discuss a growing concern that these [social-media] companies may be hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platforms.

Trump criticized social media at a rally in Indiana on Aug. 30.

You look at Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media giants and I made it clear that we as a country cannot tolerate political censorship, blacklisting, and rigged search results, Trump said. We will not let large corporations silence conservative voices.

In a Sept. 4 interview with The Daily Caller, Trump said social-media giants have interfered in elections.

I mean, the true interference in the last election was thatif you look at all, virtually all of those companies are super-liberal companies. They were in favor of Hillary Clinton, he said. Now maybe I did a better job because Im good with the Twitter and Im good at social media, but the truth is they were all on Hillary Clinton side, and if you look at what was going on with Facebook and with Google and all of it, they were very much on her side.

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, said in a Sept. 4 blog post that tech giants need more transparency. He, however, opposed stringent regulation of online services similar to the way utilities are managed. Such a level of regulation was previously advocated for by figures like progressive billionaire George Soros.

Reuters contributed to this report.
An American flag flies over Capitol Hill in Washington on September 6, 2016. (Susan Walsh/AP)

US Senators Introduce Bill to Help Taiwan Keep its Allies

WASHINGTONRepublican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Sept. 5 to discourage Taiwans few remaining allies from switching their allegiance to China, after El Salvador became the third country this year to move toward Beijing.

The legislation was introduced by Republican senators Cory Gardner and Marco Rubio, and Democrats Ed Markey and Bob Menendez. It would authorize the State Department to downgrade U.S. relations with any government that shifts away from Taiwan, and to suspend or alter U.S. assistance.

It also requires a U.S. strategy to engage with governments to support Taiwans diplomatic recognition or strengthen unofficial ties with Taiwan.

Though Taiwan is a self-ruled island, Beijing considers it part of its territory, to one day be reunited with the mainland. In an effort to delegitimize Taiwan, Beijing has in recent months pressured other nations to only recognize one China: the one ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Gardner, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committees Asia subcommittee, discussed his plans for the legislation in an interview with Reuters.

The State Department had said the United States was deeply disappointed by El Salvadors decision and was reviewing its relationship with San Salvador, without elaborating further.

Washington does not officially recognize Taipei diplomatically but considers it as a staunch ally in the Pacific Rim.

By Patricia Zengerle
Water Supply Undrinkable in Iraqi City as 5 Killed Amid Protests

BASRA, IraqFive protesters were killed and 16 more injured during a second day of clashes with security forces in Iraqs main southern city Basra, Sept. 4, local health and security sources said.

It began on Sept. 3, when a man, Yasser Maki, was killed in demonstrations demanding the local administration fix a problem with the water system in Basra, Iraqs second largest city. A funeral procession for Maki on Sept. 4 turned into a demonstration.

Basra residents say salt and bacteria as well as other chemicals seeping into the water supply has made it undrinkable. The contaminated water supply has sent 20,000 people to hospital, according to France 24; proof, the residents say, that infrastructure has been allowed to collapse in the part of the country that produces most of its wealth from oil.

Protesters are angry over electricity outages during the hot Iraqi summer, a lack of jobs and proper government services, and entrenched corruption.

Twenty-two members of the security forces were also wounded, some by a hand grenade, local health and security sources said, in some of the worst unrest that has swept the long-neglected souththe heartland of Iraqs Shiite Muslim majoritysparked by negotiations to form a new government that continue to drag on since the May elections.

As the clashes continued to unfold, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi convened an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the unrest and ordered the Interior Ministry to conduct an immediate investigation into the protests, state media reported.

Hundreds of people gathered at local government buildings, hurled petrol bombs, and stones and attempted to block roads leading to the building for a second night on Sept. 4. Some protesters stormed one of the provincial government buildings and set it alight.

Security forces fired live rounds in the air as well as teargas to try to disperse the crowd, local sources said. Smoke could be seen billowing from the outer perimeter of the provincial government headquarters, where many had gathered earlier on Sept. 4 to mourn a protester who died on Monday night, Sept. 3, Yasser Makki.

The crowds near the government buildings had largely dispersed by 11 p.m., after a citywide curfew was imposed by the citys security officials.

Iraqs second biggest city, Basra is a stronghold of Moqtada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric and former leader of anti-American sectarian militia who has recast himself as an anti-corruption campaigner.

In a tweet, Sadr appeared to back the protesters, condemning the tactics used by some members of the security forces against who he said were unarmed demonstrators who only want to live with dignity.

The public anger has swelled at a time when politicians are struggling to form a new government after an inconclusive parliamentary election in May. Iraqs top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has expressed support for the protests.

Earlier on Sept. 4, mourners carried Makkis body near the building, chanting Yassers blood will not be lost. They damaged the gate of the local government building but were dispersed by security forces using teargas before they could enter it.

Earlier on Sept. 4, Abadi had ordered an investigation into Makkis death during his weekly press conference.

Our orders are clear in banning the firing of live ammunition during demonstrations, Abadi said.

He suspended the electricity minister last month, saying his government had begun punishing those responsible for poor services in Basra.

By Aref Mohammed
A: Oh, for sure! Its not a big surprise when you consider my background as a visual designer in advertising for so many years. I think design will always be a part of how I create. I had some resistance to it because I just wanted some distance from it. But I have come to realize that design has been really good to me. I anticipate my style will evolve and may be not so heavily influenced, but it would be silly for me to think it would ever go away completely. Design has taught me composition, color theory, how to tell a story visually. Ive had to retouch so many images for ad campaigns, publications and catalogs. I learned about digital printing from being a designer. I think it was an easy and natural transition for me because Im using the same tools Ive been using for decades.
Woman Who Attacked Bus and Driver Held Without Bond

A Washington, D.C., woman who attacked a bus in a fit or road rage and then ran over the bus driver will remain in jail whether she is mentally ill or not, a judge ruled on Sept. 4.

Mariana Silver, 20, was captured on video attacking a Greyhound bus with her car jack in a fit of road rage. The bus driver exited his bus and tried to prevent Silver from leaving the scene. Silver rammed into the bus driver once, knocking him to the ground.

When the bus driver got back up and tried to again to block her escape, she stomped on the gas and hit him a second time. The bus driver was carried halfway across an intersection before he fell from the hood of the speeding car.

Silver was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, the Washington Post reported.

D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Sean Staples watched the video of Silver first attacking the drivers side window of the bus, the twice driving into the bus driver. Afterwards, the judge ruled the Silver was a danger to the community and would remain in jail.

Silvers attorney, Jonathan Armstrong, explained that his client was suffering mental illness and had had an adverse reaction to her medication.

Armstrong said he had already arranged a bed for Silver in a Department of Behavioral Health facility, where Silver could receive the treatment she neededtreatment which would not be available in jail.

Judge Staples noted that Silver had been arrested while a juvenile, in 2012, which made this recent attack part of a pattern.

I am concerned about the danger she presents to the community, the judge said, according to the Post.

Unmedicated

Mariana Silvers uncle, Seth Silver, told NBC that his niece had never been violent. As long as Ive known her, Ive never seen her like this, he said.

He told NBC that his niece was schizophrenic, and had not been taking her medications when the incident occurred.

Seth Silver said that when he watched the video he could see immediately that his niece was having mental difficulties.

When I saw it, I was like, Can anybody see that this is not a normal crime? he said to CBS News.

If anybody saw the video on YouTube, Facebook, you can see that it was bizarre. But do you understand that the word bizarre from a clinical point of view belongs to the people who are Schizophrenic?

He was upset when he heard his niece would be kept in jail, without bond, instead of being released into a treatment center.

I was saddened by the verdict. The first thing that kept going through my mind is that what Mariana needs is pills. Not prison. Seth Silver said.

The suspect wanted on several charges for the offenses that occurred in the 1800 blk of Bladensburg Rd, NE, on Aug 30th, has been identified as 20-year-old Mariana Silver, of NE DC. Her vehicle- Audi A8 with DC Tags FV 9179. Seen her or the vehicle? Call 202-727-9099/text 50411 pic.twitter.com/gy192UhgVt  DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) August 31, 2018

Crazy Driver

The incident began when Mariana Silver drove her Audi A8 illegally past a Greyhound bus on Bladensburg Road around 6:05 p.m. on Aug. 30.

After passing the bus, Silver then cut in front of it in a race to be first to a traffic light, and actually hit the side of the bus, NBC reported.

The driver said something to Silver, who responded. The two began arguing, and at one point the driver said, Youre a crazy driver. You need to get off the road.

Those were exactly the wrong words at that time and in that situation.

Silver climbed out of her car, opened the trunk, took out the jack, and used it to attack the bus, breaking a hole in the drivers side window and mirror.

After several strong blows, Silver appeared to be satisfied and returned to her car.

The bus driver, however, was not about to let her go.

While using his cell phone to report the incident, the bus driver climbed down from his bus and walked into the intersection, physically blocking Silvers path.

Silver unhesitatingly hit the gas and hit the bus driver. She then got out of her car and physically grabbed the driver and threw him aside.

The bus driver tried again to block her. Silver hit him again.

The driver got up, but he didnt give up. He walked back in front her car. This time when Silver rammed him, the bus driver rolled up onto the hood of her car and was carried halfway across the intersection before falling to the ground.

A bystander asked the driver why he had risked his life, standing in front of a very obviously dangerous driver. The bus driver replied, She was going to get away with it.

Mariana Silver will not get away with attacking the bus or the driver. What will be done is unknown though. The judge has ordered a hearing to Silvers medical condition for Sept. 18, CBS reported.

From NTD.tv

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The Connecticut Insurance Department rescheduled hearings to early October on whether to approve a proposed CVS acquisition of Hartford-based Aetna, with citizens invited to comment during the proceeding.

Originally scheduled for Sept. 12, the CVS-Aetna hearing will now be held Thursday, Oct. 4, beginning at 9 a.m. at Marquee Events at 960 Main St. in Hartford. Members of the public are allowed to mail written statements as well, addressed to Jared Kosky at the Connecticut Insurance Department, P.O. Box 816, Hartford, CT 06142-0816.
Through personal safety devices and revamped corporate policies, America's largest hotel brands are joining a collective effort to protect workers from assault and sexual harassment.

The pledge will set a new industry standard for employee security and education around harassment, major hotel companies and the American Hotel & Lodging Association announced Thursday. Hoteliers including Hilton, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott and Wyndham have each signed onto the partnership. The companies also consulted with Tina Tchen, co-founder of the Time's Up Legal Defense Fund, which connects those who experience sexual misconduct with legal assistance, in forming the new initiative.

"No industry is immune from dealing with the issues of sexual harassment," said Katherine Lugar, president and chief executive of AHLA. "Combatting this takes vigilance."

The hotel industry has had to contend with issues of worker safety, particularly for housekeepers and others who work in private hotel rooms and may often be alone on the job. Moreover, the rise of the #MeToo movement has put additional pressure on large hotel chains to mandate stricter protections for tens of thousands of workers. Over the past decade, more than a quarter of sexual harassment charges were filed in industries heavily staffed by service workers, according to a November analysis by the Center for American Progress of unpublished data by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Calls for worker safety, especially surrounding sexual harassment, have come before top-tier hotel executives before. In May, eight female Marriott employees traveled to the company's annual shareholder meeting to tell their experiences of harassment on the job. Arne Sorenson, Marriott's president and chief executive, responded to each comment by telling the employees that they should not have to come to work fearful for their safety.

With the partnership, companies will provide ongoing training and education on identifying and reporting experiences of sexual harassment. And they will provide employees in the U.S. with personal safety devices to have on hand at work, including in private guest rooms.

Some hotels already provide the safety devices in cities including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Washington, in some cases to comply with local legislation. Under the new pledge, participating hotel companies will expand use of their devices depending on the layout and features of their properties.

Personal safety devices come in different forms, and no single one device may work best in all situations. Devices that rely on WiFi, for example, won't fit every building in every locale. Similarly, the training needs of workers in large, urban hotels may differ from those at more rural properties.

"One of the lessons learned from the last 30 years is a lot of sexual harassment training and policies were off the shelf," Tchen said. "They probably all looked alike, across industries, across types of employers. That's why it doesn't work. You do have to have solutions that are tailored to the scenarios that you're working in."

AHLA convened a task force in 2017 to begin outlining the initiative and organized a meeting in July of company executives, lawmakers and security experts to discuss best-practice safety tools. On Thursday, hotel executives said the partnership was not "static," but rather an "evolution" that would require a constant reassessment of the ways to keep employees and guests safe. Lugar estimated that the initiative's entire rollout would cost hundreds of millions of dollars affecting tens of thousands of people.

The alliance also relies on guidance from organizations specifically working to combat sexual assault and human trafficking, including End Child Prostitution and Trafficking, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

Erika Alexander, Marriott's chief lodging services officer for the Americas, told The Washington Post that worker safety is not a new topic for the hotel industry. Rather, what has changed is the capability of new technology that can be used for worker safety. Alexander applauded the hotel chains for setting aside competition to take on a shared intolerance for harmful and dangerous behavior.

Moving forward, Alexander said that as technology further improves, the accessibility and affordability of personal devices and other safety tools will only improve for hoteliers and their thousands of employees.

"This isn't a new conversation," Alexander said. "We're amping up our practices to make sure that we're taking advantage of all the advancements around us."

Still, hotel executives said the initiative is about more than emergency protections in that it aims to comprehensively ensure workers don't find themselves in dangerous situations to begin with.

"The device comes into play when there is a problem," said Elie Maalouf, chief executive of IHG for the Americas. "The primary objective we have is to avoid that problem."
The media-hungry public loves a hard-luck story, especially when the focus is on someone who once rode a wave of success.

Think about the off-Broadway and movie actress Patricia O'Grady (bit parts in Taxi Driver and Next Stop Greenwich Village) who local media last May revealed had lived for 60 years in New York City's cheapest rent-controlled apartment ($28 a month) in high-end Greenwich Village.

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The place was a dump: no heat, no hot water, but O'Grady, whose story gets worse -- she was fatally struck by a car at age 84 ahead of those May reports -- stayed in her rent-controlled space long, long after her career peaked. The point was, she wanted to stay in that apartment; she wanted to pay that rent. She even asked her landlord, who was a pal, not to make improvements because, she said, her tiny rent bill didn't warrant it.

The Geoffrey Owens story is similar, in some ways.

Owens, as the whole world knows by now, played Sondra Huxtable's husband Elvin on the TV hit, The Cosby Show, from 1985 to 1992. But actors' fortunes are known to rise and fall; that's apparently why Owens was working at a Trader Joe's in Clifton, N.J.

There, a shopper named Karma Lawrence snapped his photo and offered it to celebrity websites. The Daily Mail, in the U.K., published a story about Owens on Aug. 30. That led to a second "outing," so to speak, by Fox News. Social media then went crazy -- all creating the distinct impression that these various media players were trying to shame the actor.

But let's hear it for how Owens, 57, responded; he was "devastated" by the photos, but he wasn't bitter. "No one should feel sorry for me.  Ive had a great life. Ive had a great career. Ive had a career that most actors would die for," he proudly told Good Morning America on Tuesday.

"I got to a point where I'd been teaching acting and directing for 30-plus years but it just didn't add up enough," Owens said. "You've got to do what you've got to do."

In short, no shame. You've got a family to support and you're able-bodied and in your right mind -- so you go out and get a job. Any job. And you don't apologize.

Owens's attitude resonated for me, reminding me of the Christmas season of 2013, when, at the tail end of the recession, and deep in debt, I took a job from Thanksgiving to New Year's, selling scarves and fancy tablet covers at Macy's for the princely salary of $8 an hour.

Like I said: You have responsibilities. You fulfill them. I was -- still am -- a single mom; I'd been laid off my editing job in 2008 and was making a very slim living freelance copyediting (with few assignment around in those years), teaching very part-time and plowing through the last of my retirement savings.

Macy's, in fact, wasn't all that bad. I loved counseling old dudes on what scarf their wives would prefer as a gift. ("Tell me, what are her colors?" I'd say with my most sincere face).

I took pride in those tables of sale items I'd just lovingly put back in order (for at least a few minutes).

Image Credit: NBCU | Getty Images

Sure, there were the down sides, like the long intervals between bathroom breaks. And of course there was Christmas Eve at 6:30 p.m., just ahead of the store's 7 p.m. closing, when the crush of very last-minute, very aggressive gift-buyers almost drove me crazy. ("I'm not leaving until you find me a large gift box," one particularly angry and obnoxious woman announced, taking a wide-armed stance in front of my register and literally pushing other people aside. I grabbed a store runner by the lapels and begged him to find me that box.)

Still, you know what? I wasn't at all embarrassed to be capping my 30-year career in journalism with a minimum-wage job. You gotta do what you gotta do.

As for Owens, he had the last laugh. Not only did the photographer behind his "outing," Karma Lawrence, get all kinds of online hate mail, but she apologized. So much hate. So much nastiness. Oh, its been terrible, she said. And Owens? He now seems to be sitting pretty.

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#GeoffreyOwens Im about to start shootings [sic] OWNs number one drama next week! Come join us!" Tyler Perry tweeted at Owens on Tuesday, possibly referring to his long-running show, The Haves and the Have Nots.

Added Perry: "I have so much respect for people who hustle between gigs. The measure of a true artist.

Related:

Geoffrey Owens Never Deserved What He Got. Job-Shaming Is Just Plain Tacky.

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These Friends Snuck a Poster of Themselves Into Their Local McDonald's -- and It's Still There



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Frank Lloyd Wright fans are dizzy with excitement over the fact that a famous spiral-shaped house he designed in Phoenix has rolled its way onto the market for $12.95 million. Seriously, this place not only boasts this starchitect's hands-on pedigree, but its winding shape was a prelude to Wright's (and America's) most famous spiral edifice of all: the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

This home isn't just any old FLW home, but one he designed for his son, David Wright, who lived there with his wife, Gladys, after its construction was completed in 1952. The 2,553-square-foot property features three bedrooms and four baths on 5.58 acres, offering sweeping views of Camelback Mountain. There's also a 360-square-foot guesthouse.

All of which sounds dreamy ... but before you rustle up $13 million and head to Phoenix, there are a few things you should know about this house.

What it's really like to live in a spiral house

Fine, it's a one-of-a-kind beauty. But have you ever considered what it might be like to actually live in a spiral house?

First, let's consider the upsides. Can't do stairs? You're in luck, this place offers elevation without the risks of falling down a flight and breaking a hip. It's the very definition of wheelchair-accessible ... and if you're a kid, you can ride a skateboard from top to bottom, no sweat.

But there are some very real downsides to this curvy design, too.

"Frank Lloyd Wright houses are impressive pieces of architectural art, but they do come with unique challenges," says William Fastow with TTR Sothebys International Realty. "For one, the ability to choose your own furnishings and art can be difficult in a FLW home, because the layout, materials, and flow of the space is so specific."

"The huge negative here is that it will be difficult to decorate and furnish with any existing or non-custom pieces," agrees Drew Henry of Design Dudes. "You would have to get a lot of custom pieces made to fit the curve of the main walls."

Luckily, Wright not only designed homes, but also decorated and designed his spaces with custom and built-in furniture. For example, "This Phoenix home, like many of his residential properties, includes built-in sofa seating," says Fastow. The listing says the home also comes with a dining table and chairs, as well as reproductions of Wright's signature ''March Balloons'' carpet in the living room.

The living room comes with a reproduction of his "March Balloons" carpet. realtor.com

That's great if you like this stuff ... not so great if you don't.

"FLW seating tends to be low to the floor, monolithic in shape, and feature vibrant colors associated with the Southwest, like yellows, burnt reds and oranges reminiscent of the desert landscape," Fastow continues. "That's a very specific set of design features to have to decorate around."

In other words, if you're the type who likes to completely own a space and decorate however you see fit, in this home you'd be butting heads and clashing wills with Wright's almighty aesthetic. Good luck with that.

The surprising downsides of owning a Frank Lloyd Wright home

The kitchen realtor.com

"When you own a FLW home, you are buying into a complete and comprehensive aesthetic that has limited opportunities for imprinting your own individual style and feel onto the home," Fastow concludes. "Owning a FLW home is literally buying a piece of art that you live in. You dont add flowers to a Picasso or paint jewelry onto the Mona Lisa. The house is what it is, and the interior aesthetic will only ever truly work as it was designed."

Furthermore, brace yourself for a ton of visitors.

"I think another negative is living in a space that is so iconic," Henry adds. "You would have to prepare for photoshoot requests and such from fans of the structure."

The exterior at night realtor.com

As such, the seller might not have as easy a time unloading the property as one might think.

"The market for Frank Lloyd Wright homes has contracted in the last few years," Fastow explains. "Though he has many followers, the limitations of his work means that only a few high-net worth individuals who are passionate about architecture or want a trophy home are in the market for such a unique property. My guess is that this [asking price] is a soft number with a lot of flexibility for the right buyer."

"The potential downside of this home is that as beautiful as it is, it is truly unique, and these kinds of homes do not appeal to a wide audience of buyers," agrees real estate agent Cara Ameer. "That being said, it is only takes one buyerand people in this price point often want something that no one else has." This place certainly fits that bill.

The post This Frank Lloyd Wright 'Spiral House' Is Cool, but Contains a Nasty Surprise appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
And of audience connection, she said: I like to go to exhibitions more than once, these exhibitions in particular. The first time, I like to get the lay of the land and get familiar with the works and take in the story that is being told  and then to go back and see how the audience is interacting with the work. And I really feel like there's a deep level of engagement and interest.
Frank Warren, creator of the popular PostSecret blog, will speak in Southern Illinois University Edwardsvilles Meridian Ballroom at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 12 as a culmination of PostSecretU and the suicide prevention conference being held on campus.

In an effort to create an open and safe forum for students to express secrets, regrets, fears, desires, talents, hidden acts of kindness or confessions, Active Minds and iCARE at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville have sponsored PostSecretU since August 20 and conclude with Warrens presentation.

The PostSecretU program serves as a gateway to opening the conversation about many of the hopes, dreams, fears, problems and stresses that students are experiencing, but might not feel comfortable discussing.

PostSecretU brings people together and allows those who have felt isolated or alone to connect to a larger group, says Warren. It starts a conversation that brings people together.

PostSecretU supports Active Minds ongoing efforts to change the perception and conversation about mental health and wellness on college campuses and in the greater community. Many individuals carry secrets that they are too embarrassed or ashamed to admit. All too often, those secrets relate to or impact mental health. PostSecretU aims to break down the barriers by creating a safe, comfortable and anonymous space to share secrets.

Active Minds and iCare collected secrets between Aug. 20 and Sept. 5 at SIUE Counseling and Health Services. A display of secrets will open on Sept. 12 in the Meridian Ballroom. With all PostSecretU materials and events, Active Minds and iCARE at SIUE will be distributing information about local mental health resources to encourage everyone to follow-up and speak to someone about their secret, if needed. The program intends to help create a community of support where ones peers feel as if their thoughts, feelings, and fears matter, and can be shared more freely.

About Active Minds

Active Minds is a national nonprofit organization and the leading voice in college student mental health. Active Minds supports a rapidly growing network of hundreds of student-run chapters on campuses across North America, like Active Minds at SIUE. All chapters work toward one goal: to create a campus culture where it is okay to speak openly about mental health and seek help. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Active Minds empowers students to change the conversation about mental health one campus at a time. Learn more at activeminds.org. Learn more about Active Minds at SIUE at: siue.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/actminds.

About iCARE

The SIUE Initiative to Create Awareness, Recognition and Education (iCARE) on suicide prevention aims to significantly impact student, faculty and staff recognition of risks for and behaviors of a student contemplating suicide. This is accomplished by a) direct involvement of student organizations and leadership in developing outreach strategies, b) identification and deployment of best available training and assessment methods, c) collaboration with community partners on programming decisions, policies, and management plans, and d) outcomes assessment to guide future resources and focus.
EDWARDSVILLE  Caroline Adcock, an Edwardsville High School senior, has been selected to participate in the 2019 Illinois High School Theatre Festivals All-State crew.

IHSTF selected 90 students for its all state cast, crew and pit orchestra from over 350 students from across Illinois. Adcock was the only student chosen for the all-state production that lives in southern Illinois.

The final IHSTF production company is compromised of students representing 49 Illinois high schools who will be producing the Broadway hit, In the Heights at its 2019 All-State production that runs Jan. 10 through Jan. 12 at the Krannert Performing Arts Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Adcock has been involved with the EHS Drama program the past three years and is serving her senior year as the stage manager for the EHS fall production of Noises Off!

My first show was a middle school show, she recalled. I was actually a stage hand for the Wildeys production of Les Miserables. I just got that through a friend who did costumes for it. Ive done both (EHS fall and winter) shows since freshman year.

Being a part of the all-state production requires committing to traveling to the Chicago-area once a month from August through January and spending two to three days working on the production. Adcock just finished her second trip over the Labor Day weekend.

This year, Main East High School in Park Ridge  a Chicago area school, is hosting the production build and rehearsals. Adcock explained what a typical weekend is like.

We go up the first day of the weekend. Call is usually at 5 p.m., she said. We load the set out of these pods and trucks that they were in where we stored them. We have to rebuild everything that we took down basically the last time.

Once the set is completely unpacked and re-built, the crew works on adding new pieces to it before tearing it all down on the final day and returning it all to storage.

This last weekend we had two, 12-hour days back to back and then Monday was 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And that was mostly tearing it down and loading it back up.

Adcock pointed out that the construction of the set was going really well.

Everyone is there to work and so we get so much done. And the cast is like phenomenal. Ive heard them rehearsing, and it is super good, she said.

She felt the all-state experience was an incredible opportunity to build on what she has learned through the EHS Drama program.

Here Im mostly just paint, and there everyone does everything, Adcock stressed. So Im learning how to build and set up things and use all these different power tools. Thats really cool.

The experience is also valuable because Adcock intends to pursue a career in the field of either technical theater or possibly theater education.

I know that I want to keep doing this because its what makes me happy. Its a fun time, she noted. Im looking for a college that can fulfill what I need in the technical theatre aspect rather than just a vague theatre program. I really think that I want to do something with scenic design and scenic painting or maybe theatre education - bringing it to schools because thats how I found out about it.

I know for some people it looks good for college resumes and applications, but Im really just there for the experience because its what I like to do. And I want to try to do it as much as I can while trying to contribute, Adcock added.

Now in its 44th consecutive year, the Illinois High School Theatre Festival (IHSTF) is the largest and oldest non-competitive high school theatre festival in the nation, and is produced by the Illinois Theatre Association. Over 4,500 students, teachers, university representatives, exhibitors, and volunteers come together to put on theatrical workshops and various high school productions.

The IHSTF organizes over 150 workshops, whose topics range from acting, musical theatre, auditions, improvisation, technical theatre, directing, stage management, make-up and costumes, lighting and special effects, to name a few.

This years Festival, themed Take Flight and features In the Heights as its All-State production. The All-State cast, crew, and pit orchestra is comprised of the top student performers, technicians, and musicians in the state of Illinois. In the Heights will be performed throughout the Festival.
EDWARDSVILLE  A Staunton bank has filed suit against an Alton waste hauler, claiming the firm took out a loan in 2016 for $4 million, but still owes nearly $2 million.

The bank named Natures Second Chance Hauling and Vern Van Hoy, the operator of the company, claiming the defendants are in default on the loan. The firms website describes it as a corrugated, cardboard box hauling trucking company. The firm lists its address as 2410 State Street in Alton.
It is with a heavy heart to report that blink must cancel its fall mini-tour which was set to kick off September 12th on their way to headline Riot Fest in Chicago, the statement read. Medical issues have sidelined Travis per doctors orders. Travs medical team anticipated that he would be well enough by fall to tour but after recent checkups, they were not able to clear him in time for the scheduled run of dates.
Remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon could bring massive rainfall to west-central Illinois this weekend, depending on the course the storm takes when it reaches land and moves across the central U.S.

The storm was expected to hit Biloxi, Mississippi, Tuesday night as a hurricane with winds of 74 to 110 mph and be downgraded to a tropical storm by this morning.

The storm was already pounding western Florida with heavy rain Tuesday as it moved closer to shore. The Alabama and Mississippi coasts were under a hurricane warning, with forecasters saying the are could see a life-threatening 3 to 5 foot rise in waters.

Current projections have the storm cutting a swath across western Mississippi and into Arkansas as a tropical depression and then swinging into northwestern Illinois by Sunday.

The National Weather Service in St. Louis said a cold front that will stall over Illinois and Missouri about the same time could bring the potential for several inches of rain from Thursday into the weekend.

The forecasts Tuesday was calling for 3 to 4 inches of rain in a swath cutting through the region that included most of Greene, Macoupin and Sangamon counties.

Jacksonville was right on the cusp of the path where weather forecasters say 4 to 6 inches of rain are likely by the end of the weekend, although they cautioned that amounts are subject to change.

At the present time, it appears areas north of a Jacksonville to Danville have the potential for seeing 3 to 5 inches of rain through the upcoming weekend. Amounts of 2 to 3 inches are expected south of there, according to the National Weather Service in Lincoln.

The concern is heightened because of storms that last week brought 2 to 4 inches of rain to areas near and west of the Illinois River.

These locations correspond with the heaviest rain forecast and would be most susceptible to any flooding, according to the weather service. Elsewhere, flooding is also possible, especially if heavy amounts occur in a short amount of time.
Smaller spaces: Our larger venues have plenty of great things to offer this season, however, branching out to some of the citys smaller spaces can pay off in spades for the more adventurous. Look for performances by Lucky Plush and The Seldoms in new black box spaces in Lincoln Park and Evanston. And Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre again embarks on a Chicago tour, visiting three venues between Hyde Park and Evanston. The evening includes the final section of director Wilfredo Riveras evening-length American Contracho, based on his experiences as an immigrant to the United States from Honduras, and easily his most promising work (www.cerquarivera.org).
Its really difficult to walk away, but I learned so much along this journey. Coming into this, I was a dental student first and foremost, and food was something that I just did on the side, Momin said. Now leaving, I can really see a career in food. For me, this is just beginning.
Like other MasterChef contestants, Momin revisited his elimination dish after returning home  well, sort of. Ive perfected the panna cotta and Ive gotten pretty good at the mousse, but the lava cake I just havent touched. I think its just still too jarring of an experience to go back and make it. But its one of those things where I practiced it before, Ive done it before and Ive done it well, it was just a matter of that time and place. It just didnt work out.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians has filed sued against Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and the U.S. Department of Interior, challenging a land trust decision.

The department denied the tribes application seeking trust status for lands acquired by the tribe in Huron Township, just southwest of Detroit Metro Airport and in downtown Lansing.

The lawsuit alleges the decision to withhold trust status for these lands was arbitrary and capricious and violated his mandatory duty under the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act, a federal law intended to redress unconscionable actions that stripped the tribe of its land base in the nineteenth century.

The act created a self-sufficiency fund and authorized the tribe to use the interest from that fund for the consolidation or enhancement of tribal lands or for the social welfare of tribal members. It specified that any lands purchased by the tribe under this provision shall be held in trust by the Secretary.

The tribe plans to use these lands for casino gaming facilities and, potentially, for other tribal business and governmental activities.

It is expected these projects will each generate hundreds of good paying jobs and will make a very substantial economic contribution to their respective local communities.

The projects have enjoyed strong support from the affected local governments, both of which entered into government-to-government agreements with the tribe dealing with such matters as law enforcement jurisdiction and revenue sharing.

The tribe remains confident of its right to acquire land under the Michigan Indian Land Claim Settlement Act and is determined to protect that right in court, said Sault Tribe Chairperson Aaron Payment.

The departments written decision was issued on July 24, 2017 and celebrated by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.

The SCIT issued a media release which included the following:

We applaud the Interior Department for their well-thought out decision that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe cannot mandate the agency to take lands into trust for gaming purposes anywhere they want to in Michigan. The parcels of land that the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe was trying to have taken into trust are located more than 300 miles from their current reservation in the Upper Peninsula.

The Interior Departments decision affirms our longstanding position that the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act does not provide the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe with authority to shop for lands anywhere in the State merely to build a casino. 

In the decision, Department of the Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason concluded the tribe failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that its acquisition of the parcels would effect an enhancement of tribal lands as necessary to trigger the mandatory land-into-trust provision of the Michigan Indian Land Claims Settlement Act.

The Sault Tribe said it has spent the subsequent 12 months actively weighing legal options assuring all potential avenues short of litigation have been exhausted, and ensuring the resources necessary to carry this fight to the finish line have been secured.
It can take a professional with an otoscope  a device that can look deep inside the ear  to tell if cerumen is blocking the ear canal. Usually, earwax can be safely removed by softening it with water, saline or commercial ear drops and then through gentle syringing or manual extraction with a device called a curette.